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THE READY BUSINESS PODCAST: The 2017 Ready Business Year in Review and what Irish businesses really want in 2018
For the final Ready Business podcast of 2017, Brian Purcell looks back on the business year that was and looks ahead to 2018 - a year that could see more uncertainty and headwinds for Irish business owners.
Joining Brian on the Ready Business panel was economist, Jim Power, business coach, Paul Fagan and ISME's Eilis Quinlan, while up for discussion were topics ranging from Brexit and Trump to tax and public services.
All agreed that Brexit is creating a lot of uncertainty but Paul Fagan believes, as a business owner, you must focus only on what you can control.
“Focus on the things you can address,” he says. “Focus on the day to day operations you can look after. You can spend a lot of time worrying about the uncertainty which means it’s impossible to plan for.”
GDPR was also flagged as a potential obstacle that many SMEs are unprepared for in 2018, the next Y2K? While Jim Power wants to see the end of ‘new politics’ and a return to strong leadership and tough decision-making.
Finally, the panel asks, why does the government only get multi-nationals and why is there not more being done for Irish SMEs?
“There is a dearth of business savvy in the government,” says Eilis Quinlan. “There’s still too much focus on the short term thinking of the next election.”
You can check out the full Ready Business Podcast series here.


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The open floor plan with split bedrooms is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, and has either an office, playroom or "4th bedroom". An over sized screened lanai and formal dining room are great for entertaining! New Impact Windows, Range (convection), Fridge, Microwave, Pull out slide drawers, Faucets, Gutters, Fans/Lighting, and Curbing around the flower beds are just some of the updated features. The community has a large heated pool and playground. Centrally located to St. Petersburg, Palmetto, Bradenton, Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch. If you are looking for a move in ready, open floor plan home - look no further. This is a must see!!
Increased inventory levels in June helped push existing-home sales to their highest levels since October 2013, according to a recent report by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). Existing-home sales, which include recently purchased single family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops rose 2.6 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted 5.04 million units for the year.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun believes the market is moving in the right direction. "Inventories are at their highest level in over a year and price gains have slowed to much more welcoming levels in many parts of the country. This bodes well for rising home sales in the upcoming months as consumers are provided with more choices," he said. "On the contrary, new home

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Is shark fin banned in the US?
Although shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, fins can still be bought and sold throughout much of the United States. According to an Oceana report, the value of shark-related dives in Florida in 2016 was more than 200 times the value of shark fin exports for the entire country in the same year.
Is shark fin soup legal anywhere?
California has a ban in place prohibiting the possession, sale, offer for sale, trade or distribution of shark fin, effective January 1, 2012.
Is hunting for shark fins illegal?
But that would be against state law. California is one of 12 states that bans the sale of shark fins—measures to help prevent further declines of shark populations and to deter finning, which has been illegal in U.S. waters since 2000.
Is shark fin soup banned in the United States?
This means that even though shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, any given bowl of shark fin soup in the United States may contain imported fins from a country where shark finning is taking place. With a federal ban, the origin of a fin would not matter because there would be no fins entering the U.S. market, legally caught or otherwise.
Should shark fin soup be banned?
However with the constant demands of shark fins soup, comes along with certain consequences. In China, Shark fin soup should be banned for the following reasons it is unsustainability, inhumane, and there are alternatives.
Is shark fin soup illegal in the USA?
In June 2016, Congress announced the introduction of the bipartisan Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act, which would ban the trade of shark fins in the United States. While the act of shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, shark fins continue to be bought and sold throughout the United States.
Why is shark fin soup illegal?
Shark Fin Soup is Now Illegal in Nevada. Shark fin soup, a popular Chinese delicacy, is now illegal in Nevada after the passing of a new law that prohibits the sale of shark fins, among parts and products of certain animal species.


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Although recycling may seem like a relatively simple concept, the plastics recycling supply chain proves otherwise. From understanding which plastics get recycled to determining the quality of those plastics, these issues and more are resulting in lower recycling participation rates.
Statistics show that by 2024, the global recycling market is expected to reach $377 billion. However, plastic waste management has become an issue severely impacting today’s environment. For example, the United Nations estimates that about 300 million tons of plastic waste is produced globally each year. Unfortunately, only 9% of that is recycled. U.N. findings further show that about 12% of waste is burnt into ashes, while the remaining 79% accumulates in landfills, dumps or the natural environment.
Stan Chen, CEO of recycling platform RecycleGo, told Cointelegraph that the recycling business is “plagued with ineﬃciencies, a slew of stakeholders, and a lack of digital data.” In addition, he believes that what stops the industry from growing is “a need for greater supply chain visibility for better decision-making.”
While it’s clear that recycling systems are rather insufficient, Chen noted that much of this stems from the notion that there isn’t enough consumer education or incentives for citizens and businesses to recycle. On increased transparency in the recycling supply chain, he also noted:
“The more visibility you have in any kind of supply chain, the more you’re able to engage in enterprise resource planning, including pricing and purchasing decisions and inventory management, which has a direct impact on protecting your margins and ultimately your value creation as a whole.”
Blockchain bridges the packaging gap
Manager of communications at the Blockchain Research Institute, Noah Lehman, co-authored a report that was shared with Cointelegraph titled “Transforming Plastic Pollution Using Blockchain.” The document states how blockchain technology can…


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Apple is reportedly working on a foldable iPhone to be released within two years, a Wall Street firm said today. Bank of America Merrill Lynch says Apple is working with Asian partners to make a whole new iPhone design, as reported by CNBC.
Senior analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote a note to clients today after meeting several Apple suppliers in Asia. “We expect the iPhones this fall to be largely unchanged for the OLED versions although size changes have proved to be a catalyst in the past,” Mohan wrote, “Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020.”
A Korean media outlet reported last October that Apple was teaming up with LG, but that report only cited anonymous industry sources. It stated that Apple would order foldable OLED panels that could start production in 2020. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment.
Samsung and Lenovo have already demoed phones with foldable screens, but neither have actually released such a device on the market. Given the patents and demonstrations out there, it seems like foldable screens could be the next form factor.


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Photos of a potential iPhone 8 dummy model have been leaked online and they confirm several features that analysts have been speculating about, including a curved glass front and back.
The photos — leaked by Benjamin Geskin on Twitter, who claims to have a source with connections to Apple supplier Foxconn — suggest that a big update to the iPhone 7 could be on the way. However, it’s worth stressing that there’s no way of knowing for certain whether the images of Apple’s new flagship phone are legitimate.
They show multiple iPhone devices with an edge-to-edge glass screen and no obviously identifiable home button. They also appear to have a polished stainless steel chassis that makes it look similar in some respects to the original iPhone, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.
Several of the photos show a device with a dual-camera system on the back that sits in its own designated rectangle. There are separate volume buttons and a mute switch on the left side of the phone, as well as a power button and a tray for the sim card on the right, just like on the current iPhone models. One noticeable difference is that the power switch appears to be slightly longer.
The lack of Touch ID hardware on the front or the back of the dummy model suggests that Apple might be considering integrating its Touch ID sensor underneath the display itself, according to Apple website 9to5mac.
Most of the photos show an iPhone with no Apple logo. However, it’s possible that this is a deliberate move by Apple and its suppliers to keep the dummy iPhone devices a secret and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the new iPhone 8 will not feature an Apple logo.
Geskin also published what he claims is a leaked schematic diagram showing what components will sit underneath the screen of the iPhone 8. Components include a new a noise-reduction microphone in the area dedicated to the dual-camera.
Apple refuses to comment on iPhone rumours such as this one.
Here’s the latest update on what to expect from Apple’s redesigned iPhone, which is expected to launch this autumn, via my colleague Kif Leswing:
- One new model could have a screen that covers almost the entire front of the device. The iPhone’s screen, using OLED technology for the first time, could be as large as the screen on the iPhone 7 Plus but would fit into an iPhone 7-sized phone.
- The double-lens camera on the upcoming redesigned iPhone could be oriented vertically instead of horizontally, as on the iPhone 7 Plus. The front-facing camera might also gain a second lens.
- Apple plans to use faster chips using a “10-nanometre process” that improves efficiency over the “16-nanometre process” Apple currently uses for its processors.
- The latest prototype of the redesigned iPhone 8 uses slightly curved glass on the front and back and is “similar conceptually” to the iPhone 4.
- Two other new models could use the same screen technology and sizes as the current iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
iPhone 8 Dummy (This is CNC model according to Foxconn)
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Wal-Mart and Justin Bieber have entered into an agreement that will give the retailer holiday season access to items that will surely be on the wish lists of many a shrieking teenage girl. While BrandChannel reports that the Wal-Mart partnership makes a lot of sense for the retailer, there are some odd items on the list of things to come.
Wal-Mart will be the only distributor of Bieber’s new album, My World Acoustics, beginning November 26, a.k.a. Black Friday.
That date will also mark the introduction of the Justin Bieber unisex fragrance inspired by his “My World” tour. The scents will be sold in wristbands and dog tags that are meant to be mixed, matched, and traded. Wal-Mart will also be carrying Bieber-branded OPI nail polish.
In other strange Bieber partnership news, the singer also had a baseball-themed acoustic version of his latest song “Never Say Never” with a tie-in to the World Series. In honor of the San Francisco Giants, we’ve provided the video above.


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First is a dither update for ISL 2st, along with a 3D Immersive Extension update allowing second and third order Ambisonic (AmbiX format) output for Halo Upmix.
Forthcoming update is being demonstrated as an alternative to channel-based output for VR, game and other immersive applications.
Re-recording mixer relied on Halo Upmix and MasterCheck Pro for the latest series of the hit Netflix show.
Mumbai-based audio/mix engineer Sreejesh Nair is using Halo to produce an immersive upmix on a broad range of cinema projects, including Bollywood movie soundtracks.
The company will also demo its new AMB modular batch processor – a scalable loudness analysis, correction and upmix solution.


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NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, James Beard Award-winning chef, TV personality and author, JJ Johnson received Series A funding for his NYC-based rice bowl concept from Founder's Table Restaurant Group and Pendulum. The partnership will finance the rapid expansion of FIELDTRIP's footprint throughout Upper Manhattan and to a new market.
Founders Table Restaurant Group, parent company of innovative, founder-led brands CHOPT Creative Salad Company and Dos Toros Taqueria, has partnered with Pendulum, a strategic growth investing, and advisory platform focused on diverse entrepreneurs, on the FIELDTRIP investment. Founders Table and Pendulum, co-founded by D'Rita and Robbie Robinson, have a shared vision to bring better-for-you food to communities of color where too often fast-casual options are unhealthy.
FIELDTRIP utilizes sustainable and ethically sourced ingredients in tandem with chef JJ's signature Caribbean cooking style to create a flavorful and diverse dining experience. The brand's motto, "Rice is Culture," was born out of Chef JJ's belief that rice is the universal ingredient that connects us all and can be found at the center of the table in every community. FIELDTRIP's first outpost opened in Harlem in 2019 and has since grown to two additional locations in Rockefeller Center and Long Island City.
"To have the support from Founders Table and Pendulum will allow me to rapidly expand FIELDTRIP throughout Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, showcasing the future of food to the heart of New York." Said Chef JJ.
The FIELDTRIP investment marks the second alignment between Pendulum and Founders Table, as Pendulum recently made a significant investment in Founders Table's latest capital raise, joining L-Catteron, Founders Table's largest shareholder. This strategic partnership will focus on activating a diverse owned franchise platform on the west coast and making additional investments in restaurant brands led by diverse founders.
"JJ is an extraordinary chef, founder and community leader whose values directly align with the principles upon which Founders Table is built," said Founders Table CEO Nick Marsh. "In line with the mission of our partnership with Pendulum, this investment will not only accelerate FIELDTRIP's growth but will create significant opportunity for diverse founders to achieve franchise ownership in other parts of the country."
Focusing on rice grains and fresh global ingredients, FIELDTRIP services New York City through global flavors and techniques that are often found within various cultures through made-to-order rice bowls. The casual dining black-owned restaurant uses heirloom grains, each of which tells unique stories of how it arrived to the country and into your bowl.
For more information on FIELDTRIP and chef JJ Johnson, please visit: https://www.fieldtripnyc.com
Founded in 2019 by D'Rita and Robbie Robinson, Pendulum is a strategic growth investing and advisory platform focused on businesses and brands owned by diverse entrepreneurs. Pendulum's mission is to create a system that reimagines how great companies are built and redefines who gets to build them. For more information, visit pendulumholdings.com
About Founders Table
Founders Table Restaurant Group launched in January 2020 in an effort to focus on creating, acquiring, and growing innovative, founder-led, line-out-the-door restaurant companies. Chopt Creative Salad Company and Dos Toros Taqueria are the first and second fast-growing and profitable brands to join as cornerstones of the new holding company. For both brands and others in the future, the original founders remain focused on the quality of food and hospitality, while Founders Table builds the operating platform to further scale the businesses. Today, Chopt boasts 70 locations in major markets and Dos Toros operates 21 locations across the New York metropolitan area and Chicago.
For more information, visit www.founders-table.com
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Nortel Networks and two UK companies will test mobile WiMax, a wireless data transfer technology that will compete with Wi-Fi and 3G (third-generation) networks.
Nortel is partnering with Urban WiMax, a company that already provides fixed WiMax service in the UK, as well as Macropolitan, which manages sites where operators place network equipment, the companies said Monday.
On Friday, the companies held a video conference between the UK., Canada and the US. using laptops equipped with PC cards that use mobile WiMax signals, said Sasha Williamson, CEO of Urban WiMax.
Other trials in the U.K. will follow to get feedback from end users on issues such as pricing and overall experience with the technology, he said.
The test comes ahead of an upcoming auction of spectrum by the Office of Communications, the British communications industry regulator. The spectrum could be used for mobile WiMax, as well as other wireless technologies.
The frequencies, from 2.5GHz to 2.69GHz, will be auctioned in early 2008, an Ofcom spokesman said Monday. Ofcom is restricting how the spectrum can be used, as the agency believes leaving it open is better for the economy and consumers, the spokesman said.
Mobile WiMax is based on the IEEE 802.16e standard and offers multiple megabits of data transferred per second over a broader range than Wi-Fi. Mobile WiMax companies are calling the technology "4G," or fourth generation, but it's a misnomer since no 4G standard has been agreed on yet, said Julien Grivolas, a senior analyst with Ovum.
In the US, Sprint Nextel Corp. said last autumn it would invest US$3 billion on a mobile WiMax network, which it claims will be even faster than its own 3G network. Sprint Nextel said it would work with Samsung Electronics, Motorola and Nokia Siemens Networks on building the network infrastructure.
That left out Nortel, a major infrastructure supplier, that said recently it was investing $100 million in mobile WiMax research. The UK trial is an effort by Nortel to "give the impression that they're ready to go to market before the spectrum auction takes place," said Philip Solis, principal analyst with ABI Research.
It's expected that BT Group and Vodafone Group, as well as wireless Internet service providers, will be among those interested in buying licenses for part of the spectrum, Solis said.
The US and South Korea are expected to be the first markets to see a wide build-out of WiMax infrastructure, Solis said, followed by developed markets such as the U.K.
Both analysts said the first mobile WiMax products to hit the market will be modems and PC cards as soon as the end of this year. No mobile phones or handheld devices that can use mobile WiMax signals are on the market now, but by the end of 2008, devices such as smartphones, MP3 players and digital cameras will appear, they said.


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Ahead of the expected launch in October, the new Maruti Suzuki Ertiga has started testing on Indian roads. The folks at indianhoods.com managed to take spy pictures of the test mule plying on the Greater Noida Expressway sporting Haryana State registration plates.
Maruti Suzuki has its manufacturing facility in Haryana and test vehicles usually have number plates with HR tag. The pictures also make it clear that the vehicle is undergoing the final test before the launch, which is expected in October.
The new Ertiga was unveiled at the 2015 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show in August featuring cosmetic upgrades. The front fascia sports an embossing three-slat chrome grill. The fog lamps will get chrome housing and a newly-designed bumper. A horizontal chrome slat above the registration plate and a set of reflectors on the bumper are the changes in the rear.
The latest spy pictures show a set of dark-coloured alloy wheels, which wasn't the part of the Ertiga shown at Indonesia. The test mule also sports rear parking sensors.
When launched, the new Ertiga is likely to get features such as engine start/stop button, new upholstery, electric folding mirrors, keyless entry and SmartPlay infotainment system.
It will carry over the same 1.4-litre K Series petrol engine producing 94bhp and 130Nm. The 1.3 multi-jet diesel engine developing 89bhp and 200Nm of torque will be mated to five-speed manual transmission.
The diesel engine will be equipped with the SHVS mild hybrid system, which debuted with the Ciaz Hybrid launched on 1 September in the country.
With the new hybrid system in place, the new Ertiga diesel is expected to return higher fuel efficiency compared to the current ARAI-claimed fuel efficiency of 20.77kmpl. The increase in fuel efficiency will give a slight edge over its rivals.
Following the lines of the Ciaz Hybird that dropped price by making use of the Government of India's FAME scheme, which offers incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles up to Rs 29,000, the Ertiga Hybrid will also be priced slightly lower than the current models.


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A prep cook, Brandon Huber, for Golden Corral has come out with a viral video, detailing how a Golden Corral allegedly puts its All-You-Can-Eat ribs, gravy, chicken portions and other food by a dumpster during inspection. Since the time of the video’s going viral, Golden Corral cites that the manager of the store in question has been fired. There is no update on the status of the employee who posted the video, but if anything the kid should be getting an award and promotion for his guts in posting the video.
Eric Holm, the owner of the Port Orange, Florida, store where the offenses took place, cites that the food was not served to customers. Hopefully this means that the owner watched the viral video before inspections were over. Huber has not yet responded to our questions asking when he made this video and to see if the food was actually taken back into the restaurant and served to customers.
In a world where food safety practiced are under increasing scrutiny, the video is a timely reminder for consumers. You may not always get the cleanest of meals and sometimes you truly do ‘get what you pay for’. Perhaps eating in, especially during the rib heavy month of July, is not a bad idea.
The shocking footage:


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Popular smartphone benchmarking website, AnTuTu has released the list of most popular smartphones in the major global markets. The website had also compiled the top ten lists of individual country’s which were mostly dominated by Chinese smartphone manufacturers.
According to AnTuTu, Chinese manufacturers dominate the top ten list of the popular smartphones in India. As expected, the most popular smartphone in India is the Xiaomi Redmi note 3 which still remains at the top of the list despite of being launched six months ago. The list is followed by One Plus 2, LeEco 1S and Lenovo K3 Note in the top five slots.
The website stated that the Indian market is the first landing point for the Chinese manufacturers, when ever they think of expanding their brand launch overseas. Also, the report highlighted the role played by Indian domestic brands like Micromax to compete with the foreign brands.
On the other hand, the list of most popular smartphones in the world is dominated by Samsung. AnTuTu reported that Samsung was the most trusted manufacturer globally. Samsung’s galaxy Note 5 tops the global list followed by Galaxy S6, Galaxy Edge and Galaxy S7 occupying the top four spots.
Apart from the global list, Samsung had a formidable command in the US market too. The company occupies as many as six positions in the top ten list of the US market. The rest of the places are occupied by One Plus and Nexus models. Interestingly, none of the Chinese models featured in the top ten list of the US market.
Coming to the dragon nation (China), majority of the slots in the top ten list are occupied by the domestic manufacturers. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 stays at the top of the list with Samsung S7 and Samsung Edge at 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.


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Thanks to reader and colleague Mark Unger for passing along this blog post with the question - is this true?
MIT has recently praised the steps Apple has taken to enhance iPhone security. Here is what it has said: “In fact, in its efforts to make its devices more secure, Apple has crossed a significant threshold. Technologies the company has adopted protect Apple customers’ content so well that in many situations it’s impossible for law enforcement to perform forensic examinations of devices seized from criminals. Most significant is the increasing use of encryption, which is beginning to cause problems for law enforcement agencies when they encounter systems with encrypted drives.”
There has been a lot of improvement in iPhone security, but don't think it is secure out of the box. Two things you need to do: Have a PIN to enable encryption and go into the settings to permit a PIN longer than the default four digits. There are several available tools that can brute force the four digit PIN in less than 15 minutes even if the iPhone is set to wipe data after ten invalid attempts. Another reason to have a long complex passphrase.
E-mail: email@example.com Phone: 703-359-0700


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The UK's highest court has paved the way for a £14bn mass consumer claim against credit card firm Mastercard.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) must reconsider the class action against the firm which it previously threw out.
The claim alleges 46 million people paid higher prices in shops than they should have owing to high card fees.
The court's decision gives the go-ahead for this first mass consumer claim of its kinds, with others set to follow.
The long-running case has been brought by former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks on behalf of all individuals over 16 who were resident in the UK for at least three months between 1992 and 2008 and who bought an item or service from a UK business which accepted Mastercard.
He alleges that fees which Mastercard charged businesses for accepting payments from consumers, known as interchange fees, were too high and broke competition law. This led to UK consumers paying higher prices on purchases from businesses that accepted Mastercard.
In a statement after the ruling, Mr Merricks said: "Enforcement of fair competition laws is vital for this country's market economy and companies who break these laws can now expect not only to be fined by the regulator, but to face much bigger bills in redress claims from those they damaged."
Mastercard said it "disagrees fundamentally with the basis of the claim".
"No UK consumers have asked for this claim. It is being driven by 'hit and hope' US lawyers, backed by organisations primarily focused on making money for themselves," the company said.
"Mastercard will be asking the Competition Appeal Tribunal to avert the serious risk of the new collective action regime going down the wrong path with a case which is fundamentally flawed."
Mr Merricks' original claim was thrown out by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). The Court of Appeal said the CAT had applied the wrong legal test in making its decision, a ruling now upheld in a majority decision by Supreme Court judges following a challenge by Mastercard.
If the £14bn is ultimately awarded and divided between the 46 million eligible people the payout would amount to £300 each. Any final decision or payout would not be made for some time.
A raft of class actions are backed up eagerly awaiting the ruling. The court has now set the benchmark which a new breed of mass consumer legal claim must meet in order to proceed to a trial where damages can be awarded.
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, said: "The Supreme Court's ruling will increase access to justice for consumers and set the standard for collective claims of this nature to proceed to trial.
"From today, the route to collective redress will be fairer, simpler and more attainable, and many cases that are currently on hold will be able to proceed to trial, ensuring victims of anti-competitive behaviour can get the justice they deserve."
Law firm CMS suggested the decision could lead to a flood of claims.
"We could see many more large claims being filed - and a shift towards the class action culture that we associate with the US," a spokesman said.


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The adoption of technology and the internet into Africa has changed the way Africans interact and do business. In rich countries this was mostly through e-commerce whereas in Africa it’s mainly mobile phones and other cheap technology. These two segments have made the African economy the fastest growing in the world and most Africans are getting on board with this change.
The great thing about Africa is how it’s going through a tech boom. Today, Africa is leading the world in mobile power, with more than two-thirds of Africans owning a mobile device. And this is only just the start, with Google’s Project Loon promising to bring high speed internet to the whole continent, and Facebook setting up its first African ‘Connectivity Lab’ HQ in Nairobi Kenya.
Google and Visa have also set up their development centres in Kenya already These things will no doubt give Google an edge in the highly competitive search engine market but it also means there’s more choice for consumers to find what they’re looking for.
The Rising and Influence of tech hubs in Africa
Tech hubs are an exciting new trend in Africa. These co-working spaces are designed to help people who want to start a business or grow an existing one, but don’t know where to begin. The hubs provide resources like meeting rooms and equipment rentals, as well as mentorship programs and networking opportunities.
The hubs are especially useful for people who live in rural areas, where access to broadband internet is limited. In addition, they can help startups gain more traction by allowing them to network with more experienced entrepreneurs who have already been through the process of starting a company.
There are several major tech hubs in Africa: The Hive (Kenya), iHub (Nairobi), and Yaba Tech Village (Yaba) among others.
In 2018 alone, there were over 1,500 startups launched in Nigeria alone. This means that there are more opportunities for entrepreneurs to create their own companies and launch their own products or services. As a result, this has contributed towards transforming the economy into one that is more innovative and entrepreneurial-minded.
The growth of these tech hubs has also led to an increase in job creation as well as economic growth within each country’s economy. In fact, according to studies done by The World Bank Group, it was found that technology contributes up to 30% of GDP growth per year in emerging economies such as Kenya or South Africa where there are many tech companies located within these countries.
How Mobile Phones Are Changing Africa
Mobile phones are changing the way we live, the way we work and the way we play. In Africa, they are even changing the way we think.
African governments have recognized how important mobile phones are to their citizens’ ability to communicate with each other, as well as access information and services. The result has been an explosion of innovation and investment in mobile networks across Africa’s 54 countries.
Today there are over 1 billion mobile phone users across Africa—that’s almost half the population! Mobile phones are now used for everything from managing finances to accessing education resources to connecting with loved ones.
In Kenya, M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer service that was launched in 2007 and has become a major part of everyday life for many Kenyans. The service allows users to send and receive money using their mobile phones as well as pay bills or buy goods at participating stores. For many people living in rural areas without access to banks and other financial institutions, M-Pesa has been an important innovation that has changed their lives for the better.
In Nigeria, another country with a large rural population, over 50 percent of those who use mobile phones have now adopted internet banking services thanks to companies like Ecobank Transact. These services allow Nigerians to access their bank accounts from anywhere at any time through their mobile devices instead of having to go into physical branches or wait for snail mail delivery times before getting access to their funds again (which can take up until 3 days after making an online transaction).
How Tech Is Breaking Down The Gender Gap In Rural Africa
The gender gap in Africa is gradually closing due to certain technological advancements such as smartphones, which are helping both men and women gain access to information and financial services. Women are now able to learn more about technology, which will enable them to take advantage of this digital boom. In fact, there are many start-ups that focus on women-led businesses and provide resources for them to start their own ventures on digital platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.
This has given women an opportunity to earn money from their talents and skills through various channels like coding, web design and development etc., which would not have been possible without these technologies becoming accessible at an affordable price point for everyone across all genders regardless of location or socio-economic status.
How Tech is Changing Africa’s Agriculture
Africa’s agricultural industry is one of the most important sectors in the continent, accounting for about 50% of its GDP and employing about 80% of its workforce.
But despite its importance to the economy, it is also one of the least developed. This is because agricultural productivity in Africa has been hampered by a number of factors, including poor infrastructure and lack of access to technology.
However, there are signs that things are changing for the better. For example, we’ve seen an increase in smartphone usage across Africa over the past few years (from 4% in 2010 to 15% in 2018), which means farmers can now rely on technology such as mobile banking and GPS tracking systems to help them manage their farms more effectively.
We’re also seeing an increasing focus on research and development into new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain that could make farming even more efficient in Africa than it already is today!
Technology is making it easier for people to get more out of the land they have, and make their farms more profitable.
When farmers have access to information about their crops, they can make better decisions about what to plant and when. This allows them to maximize yield while minimizing waste.
New technologies in agriculture are also making it possible for small-scale farmers to do things like track the condition of their soil and crops remotely, so they don’t need expensive equipment or visits from experts.


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ROG is the official coverage partner of the world's largest DOTA news website
The world's most powerful microATX X99 motherboard for compact workstations and high-performance desktops
Online photo competition celebrating ZenFone 2 launch proves incredibly popular, with thousands of stunningly-creative images already submitted
ASUS today announced that the flagship Republic of Gamers (ROG) Rampage V Extreme gaming motherboard and elite Strix GTX 980 Ti graphics card have combined forces to set a new world record and achieve 16 first-place hardware rankings.
New ZenFone 2E is the perfect smartphone for value-conscious users.
Partnering with musician Skylar Grey, filmmaker Devin Super Tramp and Co-working office Projective Space, ASUS sets out to inspire young professionals' creativity
Ultra-portable ChromeBook combines form and function into a svelte convertible device
ASUS today announced the Strix GTX 980 Ti , a super-cool new graphics card with pumped gaming performance, perfected manufacturing, and strong fortification for extreme reliability and longevity.
ASUS today announced the Strix R9 390X, R9 390, R9 380 and R7 370 graphics cards. Powered by the latest AMD® Radeon™ graphics-processing units (GPUs), the new Strix R9 390X and R9 390 graphics cards are packed with exclusive ASUS technologies. These include DirectCU III with a patented triple wing-blade fan design and ASUS Auto-Extreme technology with Super Alloy Power II components for aerospace-grade production quality and reliability . All models feature GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster so
ASUS today announces consumers are rapidly embracing the ZenFone 2, an unlocked smartphone that combines premium design, build quality and features to create a flagship device for smart buyers that want to break-free from carrier contracts. The ZenFone 2, which began selling last month, claims the #1 spot on Amazon's Best Sellers list for unlocked smartphones.


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Although Facebook still seeing more decline in its stock prices, but what according to the latest quarterly report from ad agency TBG Digital is that the social giant is earning 58% more per ad than previous year, and even mobile ads clicked 4 time more than that of Twitter ads. The report further indicates that cost per thousand impressions (CPMs) on ads on the social network increase by 58 percent compares to the same period last year. Sponsored Stories saw 53 percent more engagement than standard ads.
“Our clients, upon our advice, are now willing to pay more for quality clicks and fans. Focus is shifting toward measurable engagement and the difference Social Media connections are making to their bottom line,” the analysts write. The report also accounted 406 billion impressions that social giant receives from 190 countries and 276 clients. Now, what all awaited is Facebook second quarter results that is on the way, coming on July 26th, 2012.


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A Test of Leadership
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By Tom Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
America's economic prospects depend on many factors, but one we can't afford to ignore is the growing role of the Asia-Pacific countries in the global economy. With more than half of the world economy now centered in this region, the old rules of international commerce no longer apply.
Instead of seeing these changes in the global balance of economic power as a problem, we should view them as an opportunity. The Asia-Pacific region represents a tremendous market for American businesses of all sizes to export their goods and services to more than 2 billion potential customers.
But to take advantage of these new opportunities, we need stronger leadership. Asian nations are increasingly trading with one another, while the United States sits on the sidelines. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, there are 168 free trade agreements in force in Asia today, up from only 22 in 1980. Seventy more are under negotiation. However, the United States has only 2 FTAs with Asian countries: Singapore and Australia. America is increasingly on the outside looking in. We will pay a price if this continues. What can we do to ensure that America remains engaged and competitive in Asia? President Obama took an important first step last week when he committed the United States to engage in the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership negotiations that could one day lead to freer trade across the Asia-Pacific region.
But there is much more that must be done. We need Congress to ratify the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement that was concluded two years ago! South Korea is already our seventh-largest trading partner, and companies of all sizes--including the nearly 17,000 small and medium-size U.S. companies that already export to South Korea--will benefit from a trade deal. The cost of inaction is high. According to a U.S. Chamber study, failure to implement this agreement could mean the loss of 345,000 U.S. jobs and $35 billion in exports.
We also need to successfully complete the Doha Round of global trade talks, fight economic isolationism wherever it exists, and rebalance growth, spending, and currency values to bolster global economic stability.
If America is absent from the Asia-Pacific, the resulting power vacuum will be filled by China or even by our European competitors. But if we embrace free trade across the Pacific, we can drive global economic recovery, create badly needed jobs, and advance economic and social progress in developing and developed countries alike. All that's needed now is leadership to make it happen.


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Bitcoin and blockchain have become buzzwords that everyone has likely heard, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who fully, confidently understands the concept. Communicators need to be prepared to discuss the subject with the C-suite, and we’re here to help give a short overview that will help you help your executives.
On June 16, Amazon announced its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods in a press release. But what does its messaging look like to its investors and top stakeholders? In the 10 days since the press release and accompanying front-page headlines, messaging for investors has centered on sales, showing that automating more jobs is a good thing, aligning with government priorities and maintaining a CSR narrative. Here are five ways Amazon has been communicating the acquisition as a benefit to investors.


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Once the Q&A session at Apple’s iPhone 4 press conference ended, Apple invited select members of the press to personally take a tour of Apple’s once secret iPhone testing facilities. MG Siegler of TechCrunch was lucky enough receive such an invite, and drops a few interesting tidbits about what he saw and what he learned.
It was the first time anyone outside of Apple has ever seen them. In fact, most people who work at Apple have never seen them, we were told. The tour was led by Ruben Caballero, Apple’s senior antenna expert (and, incidentally, the man in the news recently thanks to a BusinessWeek story — a story which Apple says is a “crock” and “total bullshit”).
You can tell that Apple is really trying hard to get out ahead of this story when they let outsiders into the hallowed testing grounds that even most Apple employees never get to enter.
On the tour, Siegler noted a few objects on tables that were covered by black cloaks.
When I asked about the black cloaks, Caballero said that “we have a lot of other projects going on.”
At one point we were told that the iPad had been in testing in this facility “for years.” Even more interesting may be that the iPhone 4 specifically had been in testing in these chambers for 2 years. You know that that means. Not only was the iPhone 5 likely in the same room that we were in. But the iPhone 6 may have been around as well.
Seigler divulges a lot more info about Apple’s testing methods over here, and it’s well worth a read as it provides a extremely rare glimpse into the testing processes Apple employes before a product is deemed market ready.


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Like few other insurers, Baloise is committed to a digitization strategy and invests in a wide variety of startups. The latest engagement in the founding scene of Berlin makes sense.
Two years ago, Baloise founded a fintech in Mitte of Berlin, which specializes in digital car insurance. As was heard at the time from industry circles, the Swiss company invested around 45 million euros in the startup Friday.
This start-up is differentiated by the fact that it sells its insurance only online and customers pay a monthly premium. The premium can be cancelled and that corresponds from the kilometers. For now, the company is only present in Germany. Other markets are possible, such as the Benelux countries. An expansion into Switzerland is not planned, because it does not want to cannibalize the Baloise own auto policy unnecessarily.
In its first year, 2017, Friday was able to attract around 15,000 customers and double the number of last year. This was later announced on Thursday at its annual media conference in Basel by Baloise.
The value is slightly below expectations because they wanted to clearly outperform 30,000 customers, as a Friday spokesman told Finews last October. But the trend remains intact because there are now 45,000 policies so that the startup has good chances to come in the medium term on 100,000 policy. This is the guideline to reach the breakeven point.
However, this goal has its price for the time being. For Baloise, it is now investing another CHF 85 million on Friday, as further publicized on Thursday. And that’s not all, Sevenventures, the financial investor of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, and the media investor German Media Pool are now investing a total of 39 million euros which is around 45 million Swiss francs in digital insurance through media for equity investments.
Media for Equity Investments means that through Sevenventures, Friday can promote its insurance products in high reach and target group specific advertising environments of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group. And German Media Pool will bundle Friday’s media companies in the categories television, radio, out-of-home and print.
New Consumer Behavior
“The time to get started is ideal. Because digitization is currently changing consumer behavior in the insurance sector and offers unique opportunities for new insurance products”, says Aljoscha Kaplan, Managing Director of German Media Pool.
“First TV campaigns have already achieved very good results”, adds Florian Pauthner, CEO Sevenventures. That is also necessary because Friday aims to become the most popular digital insurer in Germany by 2021. To achieve this goal, the Baloise obviously spares no effort and expense.
Also published on Medium.


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Operating results at 99 Cents Only Stores ( NDN) have disappointed Wall Street for the third quarter in a row. Shares of the discount retailer were moving downward in Tuesday trading after the company said first-quarter earnings fell despite healthy sales, while also guiding full-year 2004 earnings below a prior estimate. Earnings fell to $9.3 million, or 13 cents a share, from $14.6 million, or 20 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Results in the latest quarter included a charge of 5 cents a share from a class-action lawsuit settlement. Excluding the settlement, the company earned 18 cents a share, which was below a 21 cents-a-share consensus estimate from Thomson First Call. In the latest first quarter, sales increased 17.1% to $230.1 million, as retail sales rose 18.5%, helped mostly by sales of grocery products and household items. Same-store sales in the first quarter increased 0.2%. First-quarter 2004 gross margin fell to 39.8% from 40.4% a year earlier, the company said. The company's operations in Texas posted a loss of $1.2 million on sales of $11.5 million. "Houston store sales have not improved sufficiently to absorb operating and administrative costs," the company said in a statement. "We are new to Houston and our challenge has been to introduce our unique concept to this marketplace. Thus far, we have fallen short of our plan." During 2004, the company plans to increase square footage by 25% by opening 48 stores, with 12 in Houston and 13 in Dallas. Capital expenditures for 2004 are estimated to be $70 million to $80 million. Looking ahead, the company said total sales for full-year 2004, including wholesale sales, are expected to be $1.01 billion to $1.03 billion, while same-store sales for the year are expected to be flat to up 2%. 99 Cents Only lowered full-year EPS for 2004 to 76 cents to 79 cents, which is down from the company's March estimate of 90 cents to 96 cents. At that time, analysts were calling for 93 cents a share; they now expect 88 cents a share, on average.
March 11, City of Commerce, Calif.-based 99 Cents Only reported a 25% decline in fourth-quarter earnings, but had said it expected full-year results to show improvement. Specifically, it said first-quarter earnings should be 20 cents to 21 cents a share. Results in the third quarter also fell to 17 cents a share from 19 cents a share in the prior-year quarter. Analysts had been expecting 18 cents a share. Despite the continuing disappointments, Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst J. David Cumberland said long-term prospects at the company look good. He cited high margins and return on investments, a unique competitive position and a solid balance sheet. "We believe 99 Cents Only can achieve EPS growth near 20% over the next three years through square footage growth of 25% a year, low single-digit comps and maintaining a 10% to 11% operating margin," Cumberland said. He thinks the company's store count is low, presenting a capability of expansion momentum. The company stands out from competitors for Cumberland in part because its merchandise mix holds 80% consumables and its name-brand selection is about half of its product mix. It also has larger, highly visible and easily maintainable stores, the analyst said. (Robert W. Baird & Co. does investment banking for 99 Cents Only Stores.) But J.P. Morgan analyst Shari Schwartzmann Eberts is not so positive on the company. She called the operating results in the quarter disappointing. "Operating performance continues to deteriorate," she said. However, Eberts thinks now is a good time for investors who are short shares of the company to cover their positions. "We expect the almost 20% short interest to limit downside for the stock," she said. (J.P. Morgan has an investment banking relationship with 99 Cents Only Stores.) Recently, the shares were down 18 cents, or 0.9%, to $19.72 on the New York Stock Exchange, after falling as much as 2% earlier in the session. The shares are hovering near the new 52-week low of $19.63 reached Monday.


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Dollar Thrifty Urges Hertz Make Bid or End Pursuit
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., which has been the target of a takeover by Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) for more than two years, said today its suitor should make a “compelling offer” or end the process.
Dollar Thrifty’s comments come after Hertz reaffirmed yesterday it wants to proceed with an acquisition. Chief Executive Officer Mark Frissora said on a conference call that Park Ridge, New Jersey-based Hertz is continuing to try to sell its Advantage unit to appease Federal Trade Commission antitrust concerns. Hertz made its initial offer in April 2010.
“It is time for a compelling offer to be made or for this process to come to a close so that the company can move forward under its standalone plan without the constant distraction of merger speculation,” Dollar Thrifty said in a statement in its second-quarter earnings news release today.
Dollar Thrifty CEO Scott Thompson added in an e-mailed statement that “while we believe that things should finally come to a conclusion, we are still open to the very real possibility of a win-win transaction with another larger rental car company.”
Both Hertz and Avis Budget Group Inc. (CAR) unsuccessfully tried to acquire Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Dollar Thrifty, with Dollar Thrifty shareholders rejecting a Hertz bid in September 2010. Hertz renewed its pursuit with an offer in May 2011. In October, Hertz said it withdrew an exchange offer because of market conditions and Dollar Thrifty’s share-repurchase program.
Dollar Thrifty fell 3.8 percent to $71.61 at the close in New York. The shares have risen 1.9 percent this year after gaining 49 percent in 2011. Hertz slid 1.7 percent to $11.07.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Clothier in Southfield, Michigan at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at firstname.lastname@example.org


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It looks like the Los Angeles Clippers may finally be sold thanks to the judge in the Donald Sterling vs. Shelly Sterling case ruling against DST.
BREAKING: Judge rules against Clippers owner Donald Sterling, OKs sale of team to ex-Microsoft CEO.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 28, 2014
Immediately after the verdict was decided, the NBA released a statement showing pleasure in the judge’s ruling.
“We are pleased that the court has affirmed Shelly Sterling’s right to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer. We look forward to the transaction closing as soon as possible.”
Now the transition from Donald Sterling to Steve Ballmer begins. This isn’t the end of DST as we know him–there will be lawsuits filed after this–but there is little he can do at this moment to further postpone the transferral of ownership to Ballmer.
The sale ultimately avoids what could be the biggest protest in modern sports as Doc Rivers, Chris Paul, and Matt Barnes have all openly discussed the possibility to sitting out if Sterling continued as owner into 2014-15. Though the words of Rivers and company hold little weight at the moment as they’re currently partaking in the off-season, momentum would’ve likely gained on the players–and coaches–end as the process to remove Sterling would’ve (and could’ve) bleed into the upcoming season.
When will the sale become official? Per the lawyers of Shelly Sterling and Steve Ballmer, August seems like the ideal date.
Shelly Sterling and Steve Ballmer’s lawyers said they expect the sale of the Clippers to go through by Aug. 15.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 28, 2014
Now, we wait.


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Coke, Travel Companies Stand to Benefit From Opening CubaMatt Townsend
Coca-Cola Co. sells its beverages in all but two countries -- North Korea and Cuba. The list might soon shrink to one.
President Barack Obama moved today to end the isolation of Cuba, proposing to remove trade and travel restrictions that have lasted more than 50 years. The policy change could benefit a raft of companies.
Obama would let U.S. businesses export goods such as building materials, farming equipment and communications infrastructure on the island. The loosening of travel restrictions could aid the cruise and airline industries. U.S. financial institutions will be allowed to open accounts with Cuban banks. The unexpected thaw could mean new business for companies as varied as Carnival Corp., Nike Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Normalizing relations with the island nation about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Florida would open a market of about 11 million people -- about the same size as a U.S. state like Ohio -- that have been longing for U.S. products for decades, according to John Kavulich, a senior policy adviser at the U.S.- Cuba Trade and Economic Council.
“What’s attracted U.S. companies from before the revolution, through the revolution to today is there’s an incredibly high awareness for U.S. brand names,” Kavulich said in an interview. That means the cost of entering the market would be lower because not as much marketing is needed, he said.
The steps Obama laid out would loosen an embargo that had been one of the most durable elements of U.S. foreign policy.
Orbitz Worldwide Inc., a longtime critic of the embargo, applauded Obama’s moves on Cuba, saying it would hopefully pave the way for travel between the two countries.
“There are numerous economic, social and cultural benefits that will flow from free and open access and our customers are eager to visit Cuba,” said Barney Harford, CEO of Orbitz.
Any excitement over the potential for Cuba to become an outpost for global brands like Nike, McDonald’s Corp. or Wal-Mart has to be tempered. It’s a poor country and its people don’t have enough access to credit to spend a lot on discretionary goods. The government in Havana, the nation’s capital, also has been known to make moves toward opening up to foreign firms, only to pull back.
“The only thing that works in Cuba at the moment is the black market,” said Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, professor of economics at Florida International University in Miami. “It’s the most inefficient economy in the world, with the exception of North Korea.”
The World Bank, citing 2011 data, pegs the island’s gross domestic product at more than $68 billion -- about what the U.S. produced that year in a day and a half, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Cuba’s GDP is expected to increase 1.2 percent this year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, which compiles data on Cuba. That growth should accelerate to 4 percent over the next few years, even without more trade with the U.S., the researcher said.
While Cuba has some of the best trained workers in Latin America, foreign companies will have to overcome a lack of infrastructure and corruption, said Irene Mia, EIU’s director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“No one should be holding their breath for the Havana-Mac,” Kavulich said. “Or investing in McDonald’s today in anticipation of the Havana-Mac.”
Coca-Cola would consider re-entering the market “at the appropriate time and in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations governing U.S. relations with Cuba,” Ann Moore, a spokeswoman for Coke, said in an e-mail.
PepsiCo Inc., which does business in more than 200 countries and territories, looks forward “to adding Cuba contingent on business relations becoming normalized,” said spokesman Jay Cooney in an email.
Obama’s plan boosted the shares of some companies that may benefit from the opening of Cuba. Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, a closed-end mutual fund that aims to profit from a resumption of trade between the U.S. and Cuba. Herzfeld, which overseas $45 million, jumped as much as 47 percent. Its top holdings are airline Copa Holdings SA and Coca-Cola Femsa SAB, the world’s largest Coke bottler.
Even before Obama’s announcement, Cuba had been pushing to attract more foreign investment. The government issued a report in November targeting the energy, agriculture and tourism industries. The plans include more than 20 new hotels, golf courses and condos as well as partners in oil drilling and making aluminum cans for beer and soda.
Cruise operators have eyed Cuba for years in the hope that normalized relations would allow for greater travel to the country. Many have already developed plans in anticipation of loosened travel restrictions, said Matthew Jacob, a cruise industry analyst with ITG Investment Research.
While limited infrastructure reduces the near-term potential for port calls, the prospect of vacationing in a little-seen destination could appeal to travelers and help jump-start previously weak demand for Caribbean cruises, he said.
“Given the novelty of it, Cuba makes for a compelling destination for cruise itineraries,” Jacob said. “This is a unique situation in that here is an island that people used to visit but has been basically closed off to U.S. visitors for the last 50 years.”
Cuba may also be ripe for automakers because many of the cars in use are decades old.
“Anyone who has been to Cuba can attest that in terms of cars, time stood still,” Michelle Krebs, an analyst at researcher AutoTrader.com said in an e-mail. “Beat-up classics from the 50s and 60s are on the streets. But Cubans can’t afford today’s cars until their economy is revived. This is a first small step.”
There’s also plenty of room for telecoms such as AT&T Inc. to expand. Only about 5 percent of people in Cuba have access to the Web, one of the lowest rates in the world.
“It’s a virgin market in relation to everything that has to do with telecoms,” said Jose Otero, director of Latin America and the Caribbean for 4G Americas, a telecommunications trade organization. “It could be interesting to any U.S. operator.”


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Consumer price inflation at 8 pct if food removed: RBI chief
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's consumer price inflation remains high but if the impact of food prices is removed it is at 8 percent, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Tuesday.
India's annual consumer price inflation accelerated to 10.56 percent in December from the previous month. Food items contribute 49.71 percent to the index.
Analysts have been worried about the central bank's ability to cut rates given high consumer price inflation even as wholesale price based inflation eased to a three-year low.
Earlier in the day, the RBI cut the key repo rate for the first time in nine months by 25 basis points, and also lowered bank's cash reserve ratio to 4 percent from 4.25 percent. (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta)
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The Sensex fell on Friday to mark its biggest weekly fall in nearly a month, as rate-sensitive stocks such as ICICI Bank fell on caution ahead of the RBI's policy review and the U.S. Federal Reserve meet next week. Article
Asia-Pacific M&A volume falls for third consecutive year, deal size grows. Full Article


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The new Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R will make its debut this Saturday, January 25th at the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in the Grand Sport production class but unlike many of the cars tha
It has become commonplace for the first unit of a new model to be auctioned off for charity – especially a high performance model – so when General Motors announced that 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Like the rest of the C7 Corvettes, the new C7R Chevrolet Corvette race car is almost entirely new for the 2014 racing season and unlike the previous C6R, this new Corvette racer is based on the new
I originally bought this 2002 Corvette Z06 to drag race. That lasted about a year before motor was trashed, so after putting a ton of money into the car I decided to turn it into a show car.
It all began on a chilly January afternoon in Midwest City, OK. I had been wanting to test drive a Camaro for some time, but kept putting it off.
The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 was introduced as the most track capable Corvette of all time and should that be the case, it will have to beat out the C6 ZR1.
The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is powered – as we expected – by a new supercharged LT4 V8 that the automaker has promised will make no less than 625 horsepower and 635lb-ft of torque.
General Motors came into the 2014 North American Car and Truck/SUV of the Year awards with the best chance of taking home some new hardware with three of the six finalists coming out of the GM stab
The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 follows a very long line of incredible performance cars so when GM promised that the C7 Z06 would be the most track capable Corvette ever, we knew that it would make
My Hottie is one of about 1500 Camaro Hotwheels Editions produced produced by Chevrolet and one of about 500 in the automatic v8.


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After Flipkart and SoftBank, Bengaluru-headquartered foodtech startup Swiggy has reportedly initiated discussions with Chinese investment conglomerate Tencent and existing investor Naspers for a potential $150 Mn-$200 Mn investment.
If the deal goes through, it would raise the online food delivery platform’s post-money valuation to $600 Mn-$650 Mn, sources revealed. Swiggy was last valued at $400 Mn when it raised $80 Mn in Series E funding from South African Internet giant Naspers, SAIF Partners and others.
According to some reports, the latest round could see Naspers forging a strategic partnership with Tencent to pump around $150 Mn-$200 Mn in the foodtech startup.
An email query sent to Swiggy’s communication team awaited response till the time of publication.
Prior to this, Swiggy was in talks with Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank for a $200 Mn-$250 Mn fundraise. At the time, it was reported that SoftBank was looking to pick up a minority stake in the food delivery startup.
Interestingly, Tencent was reportedly planning to co-invest in the round with SoftBank, apart from pouring an additional $50 Mn funding in Swiggy. This, according to sources, would have taken Tencent’s proposed investment in the startup to around $100 Mn.
Reports of Flipkart initiating acquisition talks with Swiggy first surfaced in October 2017, when it was said that the ecommerce player was gearing up to diversify its business through acquisitions and investment. In the third week of November, The Ken reported that Flipkart was preparing for a possible infusion of $50 Mn in Swiggy.
As per some sources close to the development, the fallout of discussions with SoftBank could be because the Japanese behemoth recently finalised a $7 Bn investment in cab aggregator Uber, which owns and operates food delivery platform UberEATS. As part of the deal, SoftBank has reportedly acquired a 15% stake in Uber.
Foodtech Startup Swiggy Growing At A Rapid Pace
Founded in August 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, and Rahul Jaimini, the platform is currently functional in over ten cities and has reportedly partnered with 20,000 restaurants. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the foodtech startup has raised a total of $155.5 Mn funding to date.
Swiggy reported a 6x jump in revenues from $3.6 Mn (INR 23.6 Cr) in FY16 to $20.6 Mn (INR 133 Cr) in the last fiscal year. However, losses have also increased by 50% to $31.7 Mn (INR 205 Cr) from $21.3 Mn (INR 137.18 Cr) in FY16, as per its regulatory filings.
In an interaction with Inc42, a spokesperson from Swiggy stated that the company clocked 4 Mn orders in July 2017 with a steady increase since. In last several months, the company has been introducing new products and services. In September 2017, it was reported that Swiggy was in the process of building a new cloud kitchen vertical. While Zomato’s first Cloud Kitchen came up in Dwarka in March 2017, Swiggy won the race when it launched its cloud kitchen, “The Bowl Company” in January. The cloud kitchen caters to select areas in Bengaluru and provides Pan-Asian, Continental, Indian cuisines.
Later in November, it announced the launch of a strategic initiative aimed at reaching more customers and making its delivery more seamless. Dubbed as Swiggy Access, the new service allows restaurant partners to set up kitchen spaces in areas where they do not have a physical presence.
Lately, the company has been doubling down in its efforts to strengthen its senior leadership. In December, for instance, it hired Vishal Bhatia as the CEO of New Supply and former OLAM executive Rahul Bothra as its first ever Chief Financial Officer. Consequently, Cherian will assist Bhatia in building the vertical and Swiggy Access through 2018.
A week later, Swiggy announced the acquisition of Bengaluru-based gourmet Asian food startup 48East. As per the terms of the deal, 48East founders Joseph Cherian and Nabhojit Ghosh have joined the Swiggy team, with the former acting as the COO of Swiggy’s New Supply business line.
According to a study by Netscribes Research, the foodtech sector is expected to expand by 34%-36% between 2015 and 2020. At a time when the segment is witnessing the entry of new players like Google Aero and UberEATS, Swiggy is focussed on bolstering its services against its biggest rival, Zomato.
Incidentally, in November 2017, reports surfaced that Zomato and Swiggy were holding discussions for a potential stock-based merger, on the basis of a 4:1 share swap. However, as per sources, the talks ultimately failed due to differences in valuations and business alignments.
Irrespective of whether a merger between the two fructifies, it would be interesting to watch how Swiggy utilises the funding from Naspers and Tencent to cement its position in the Indian foodtech space.


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For Adidas, the price to play in Michigan's Big House? $6.5M
The University of Michigan is climbing the ranks of the country's best football teams after a big win over Notre Dame Saturday.
It's already at the top of another ranking. It has the biggest footwear and apparel contract in the Big Ten Conference.
This summer the Business Journal requested the shoe deals of the country's 125 top football teams. An in-depth story this month examined the contracts.
Michigan finally responded to the Business Journal's request on Monday.
The football and athletic powerhouse signed a giant eight-year deal with Adidas in 2008.
The university got a $6.5 million bonus for signing the deal. It gets $3.8 million in cash and $2.2 million in equipment annually.
The equipment is valued at wholesale prices, giving it a retail value of roughly $4 million (wholesale value is 55 percent of retail).
Michigan has an option to extend the deal for an additional five years through 2021.
See how Michigan's deal stacks up against other teams in the Big Ten.
Matthew Kish covers footwear, apparel, banking, finance and general assignment news.
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Online furniture marketplace Pepperfry is going aggressive on expanding its offline footprint, though keeping itself asset-light, as it is betting big on the franchise model. The company expects to become profitable in FY23, while its initial public offering (IPO) of $200-250 million is in the works.
The company has opened 19 new company-owned and company-operated stores in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad, with an investment of $5 million, over the last four months.
It has opened 110 franchisee stores in the last 11 months, and is expected to maintain the same run rate this year as well. To make the model more scalable and expand at a faster pace, the company has tweaked its franchise model as well, to make it less capital intensive for the franchisee partners.
“From a High Street business in top towns, I want to now become a neighbourhood store. I want to continue penetration in the cities in the top seven towns through franchisee expansions. Wherever I see more than 10,000 apartments (we want) they should have a Pepperfry store near them,” Ashish Shah, co-founder and COO, pepperfry.com, told FE.
Pepperfry narrowed its losses to Rs 106 crore in FY21 versus Rs 168 crore in FY20. It is yet to disclose its FY22 numbers. However, Shah said that the “orientation” on profitability continues to be there, and hopes to become profitable by FY23. “We have halved our losses in the last two years, and we are well on the path to profitability. We should report profits in FY23,” he said.
The company is also looking to raise $200-250 million through an IPO. The proceeds, he said, would be used to make investments towards technology, as it is preparing for a virtual reality scenario over the next 3-5 years. Currently, 40% of its catalogue is already 3D model-enabled. Some of the proceeds will also go towards expansion into new geographies, even outside of India, and more marketing spends.
Pepperfry first launched its franchise model in 2015, the Pepperfry Venture model. This required an investment to the tune of Rs 80-90 lakh, going up to Rs 1-1.5 crore, by the partners, as it was for 2,000-3,000 square feet stores. According to Shah, the company opened 20 stores between 2017 and 2019 under the model, but given that the investments were huge, it became dependent on having seasoned franchisee partners to be able to turn this around, although there were repeat openings and Shah said the stores did well.
However, with the challenges thrown up by the pandemic, the company’s business was impacted, being under the non-essential category. “We realised that once the pandemic was over, a lot of furniture shops would shut down due to lack of supply, while we were uniquely placed because 85-88% of our total supply today is produced domestically,” he said.
This led to the launch of a new model that was low cost; the company has called it Build Your Own Business or Become Your Own Boss, targeted at corporate employees, small furniture shops, ex-servicemen, freshers out of design colleges, etc.
“We launched this `20-lakh model which includes everything — doing up the store, putting up the inventory, air-conditioning — the entire fit-out including Rs 1 lakh of Pepperfry franchise fees,” Shah said. The company has been opening 10 stores a month through this route, and it has worked well, said Shah.
Stores take around 18-24 months to stabilise and reach their potential, and Shah said omni-channel businesses at the beginning of the year used to be 30% of the business, and is now 45%.
“AOV (average order value) from offline stores is 2.2 times my online business. So, I am able to get much more from customers’ wallets when they are coming to my stores, because the entire approach is of consulting. Repeat rates from stores are 1.8 times my online business,” he said.
A store enables initiation for the online business as well. “When I opened in Chandigarh, let’s say the city would do Rs 50 lakh of business in a month, and another `50 lakh from online, so it would be Rs 1 crore. However, it is actually Rs 1.8 crore, because the store is serving reminders on my brand. I am activating new towns by opening stores, and these are like my hoardings for marketing,” he said.
For comparison, if a hoarding is put up in the western suburbs of the Bandra-Santacruz area in Mumbai for 15 days, it would cost Rs 10-12 lakh. “Whereas, my Rs 4-5 lakh rental store does great business, interacts with my customers and costs me much less,” he said.


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"With the new gender thinking, there is nothing that is right or wrong," says Top Toy's director of sales. "It's not a boy or a girl thing, it's a toy for children."
Girls with Nerf guns: Toy retailer creates gender-swapped catalog
one plus one


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August 24th, 2019
Voyage Charters, located in Soper’s Hole Marina on Tortola, has announced the addition of their first electric powered charter yachts, the VOYAGE 480 and the VOYAGE 590 to their BVI fleet.
These vessels are truly powered by Wind, Water and Sun, combining thoroughbred sailing performance and luxury with the latest in eco-friendly electric drives, renewable power generation and a high efficiency standby generator. They see this technology as the future for our charter industry, offering an enhanced boating experience and less impact on the environment.
It’s great to see that Voyage Charters is taking the lead in moving towards more environmentally friendly boats in the BVI.
Voyage Charters: +1 888-869-2436 or +1 443-569-7007 | [email protected]


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Microsoft intensified its legal assault on spam with the filing of seven lawsuits against alleged spammers marketing sexually explicit material, the company said last week.
The complaints were filed in Washington state Superior Court in King County. They allege seven unnamed defendants violated the federal CAN-SPAM Act by failing to include the label “SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT” in their e-mail subject lines and text. The Federal Trade Commission mandated such a label as part of rules it was charged with devising under CAN-SPAM.
Spam lawsuits often are filed against unnamed defendants. The suits let plaintiffs subpoena records from Internet service providers to identify the defendants.
Microsoft's lawsuits allege the defendants also violated federal and Washington state law by using compromised computers to send e-mail, as well as failing to include an unsubscribe option and physical address. Microsoft said hundreds of thousands of unsolicited e-mails were sent.
Microsoft said it also filed another suit against an alleged spammer marketing adult-oriented material. On Nov. 12, the company sued an unnamed defendant alleged to have sent unsolicited e-mail advertising Korean-language pornographic Web sites.
Microsoft has filed 115 spam-related lawsuits worldwide, 86 of them in the United States.


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French retailer Fnac probably will have to improve its 800 million euro offer to win its bid for homeware specialist Darty. Sweetening what is currently an all-share deal with some cash would also help. But the bidder’s estimate that the merged company will secure 85 million euros of annual cost savings suggests the takeover is worth doing at a higher price.
The current offer – outlined on Sept. 30 – proposed that Darty investors would get one new share in Fnac for every 39 shares held. Using Fnac’s current 59.66 euro share price on Oct. 26, the terms value each Darty share at around 110 pence.
Before news of the bid approach became public, Darty stock was trading at 81 pence. Even without a bump in terms, that looks like a pretty handsome 36 percent uplift. But that is a little misleading. Since the premium in an all-share merger is how much economic benefit the bidder is giving away to secure the deal, the key calculation is the relative size of Darty’s shareholding pre and post-deal.
Under the Sept. 30 terms, Darty shareholders would get around 45 percent of the new company, where it had around 40 percent of the combined market values had the companies been put together at their pre-deal values. The premium already offered, therefore, has a lump cash value of around 100 million euros. The premium being offered under current terms is around 16 percent.
That suggests the target might be able to hold out for more. The present value of the 85 million euros of synergies outlined by Fnac on Oct. 25, taxed at 25 percent and capitalised on a multiple of 10, is around 640 million euros – although Fnac reckons it will have to spend 65 million to get them, and they will take a few years to come through.
Still, the synergies will only come if Darty plays ball, and that means Fnac may need to improve its terms. It probably will. A negotiating deadline, due to expire on Oct. 28, has been extended by an additional two weeks. There seems to be enough in the synergies pot to make an increased offer affordable.


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Over 3,200 vehicles recalled in UAE; do you own this brand?
The recall is in coordination with the UAE's Ministry of Economy.
Al-Majid Motors Co., distributor of Kia vehicles in the UAE, has announced the recall of more than 3,200 units of its Carnival model due to safety reasons.
The company announced that the safety recall is in coordination with the UAE's Ministry of Economy campaign to inspect the Integrated Circuit Relay Box module and change it as it might exhibit damage due to moisture ingress.
"Following communication with Kia Motors Co., Al-Majid Motors has started a recall campaign on 3,239 Kia Carnivals produced between 2005 to 2014. This campaign aims to inspect the Integrated Circuit Relay Box module and install a new cover and/or replace the module on some vehicles, which might exhibit damage in the module due to moisture ingress," a statement by Al-Majid Motors said.
Customers can contact the distributor at 800-542823 from 8am to 8pm from Thursday-Saturday for further information.
Earlier, Kia had announced the recall of 826 Carnival units from 2015-2019 due to a problem with the power sliding doors. Gargash Motors and Emirates Motors Co. recalled 2017-18 models of the C-Class Cabriolet Mercedes-Benz while Trading Enterprises, Honda dealer in UAE, announced recall of 2,325 units of 2011-2016 YM Odyssey model.
The forensic report confirmed that the bruises on the body of the... READ MORE
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Lawyers are seeing surge in enquiries, including some coming from 40- ... READ MORE


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Yerecic Label has launched SafetyReseal, a line of food packaging labels with tamper-evident and re-seal features.
The new labels are made specifically for bakery packaging. They are customizable for retailers and food manufacturers, according to the New Kensington, Penna.-based company. When the package has been opened, the break in the seal becomes obvious, Yerecic said. The upper portion of the label can close and re-seal the package repeatedly, the company added.
Yerecic said the label’s application will be similar or the same for most implementations used by delis and bakeries. According to the company, switching to SafetyReseal is affordable and easy.
Company Stresses Innovation
Yerecic Label President Art Yerecic said:
“We have been working hard to perfect this innovative product; we are very excited to bring this new solution to market. We always strive to find new solutions that will resonate with our customers and their fresh perimeter shoppers.”
Yerecic also offers the re-sealable food packaging labels in a version without the tamper-evident tabs.


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By Holly Williams - Sep 25, 2019
The fashion retailer reported an 83% jump in pre-tax profits to £45.2 million for the six months to August 31.
Share this article
Online fashion retailer Boohoo has cheered a “fantastic” first half as it notched up more than £1 billion in sales for the first time.
The teen fashion brand said revenues overall jumped 43% in the half-year to August 31, which meant it hit the £1 billion milestone over the past 12 months.
Underlying earnings lifted 53% to a better-than-expected £60.7 million, while pre-tax profits jumped 83% to £45.2 million.
It told the market earlier this month that sales growth was outstripping its own forecasts, though it stuck by full-year profits expectations in its latest trading update.
Boohoo is seen growing underlying earnings to £115.1 million over the full year.
John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, said: “It has been a fantastic first half of the year for the group.
“We have delivered significant market share gains across all of our key markets, and for the first time in our history, revenue has exceeded £1 billion in the last 12 months.
“We enter the second half of the year well-placed and confident,” he added.
Shares in the retailer – founded in Manchester in 2006 by Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane – slipped 2%, though this comes after recent impressive gains has seen Boohoo’s market value overtake rival Asos.
Boohoo’s first half results showed sales growth of 41% for PrettyLittleThing and 148% for Nasty Gal – the brands it bought in 2017.
Its core Boohoo business saw revenues rise 34%.
The group confirmed recently acquired chains Karen Millen and Coast – which it snapped up in August – will begin trading online next month.
Its acquisition of the brands has been watched with interest, given their current High Street focus and older clientele.
Boohoo also said MissPap, which it bought in March, had seen revenues start to grow “rapidly since go-live in April”.
Caroline Gulliver, an analyst at Jefferies, said Boohoo had delivered a “stunning” performance.
She added: “Other retailers may suffer from weak consumer confidence and hot weather, but Boohoo has posted an acceleration in total sales growth.”
Holly Williams is PA Deputy City Editor.
UK High Street ‘Not Geared Up’ For Boom In Chinese Tourism
By August Graham - Jan 20, 2020
Ministers Mull Town Centre Enterprise Zones To Boost Ailing High Streets
By George Ryan - Jan 14, 2020
Building Trust In A Retail Workforce Threatened By Automation
By Mathew Donald - Jan 9, 2020
Boohoo Sails Past £1bn Sales Mark After ‘Fantastic’ First Half
By No Author - Sep 25, 2019
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Donna Tartt's "The Goldfinch" topped this week's bestseller list after completing 6 weeks on the list. Mary Oliver's "Dog Songs" was placed at number two with Billy Collin' "Aimless Love" coming in at number three.
Janet Evanovich's "Takedown Twenty" ranked number one in this week's New York Times' best seller list while John Grisham's 'Sycamore Row' dropped down to third spot with David Baldacci's "King and Maxwell" coming in at number two on the list.
Janet Evanovich's "Takedown Twenty" ousted John Grisham's "Sycamore Row" to rank number one in this week's Publisher Weekly's best seller list. Grisham's novel dropped down to third spot while King and Maxwell by David Baldacci made it to number two on the list.
Late author John Williams' novel "Stoner" was awarded the 2013 Waterstone Book Prize.
As part of its Cyber Monday deals, Amazon Kindle Fire HD 16 GB and Kindle Fire HDX 7" devices are now available at a $50 discount
After using the same sales tactic for Black Friday, Amazon announced that it will also be releasing new deals every 10 minutes on Cyber Monday.
John Grisham's "Sycamore Row" topped NPR's bestseller list for the third time. "The First Phone Call from Heaven" by Mitch Albom came in at the second spot while "Dust "by Patricia D. Cornwell was placed at number 3. Read on to find out which other novels made it to the list this week.
Barnes & Noble Collaborates With Samsung To Create First Reading App For The New Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids
Barnes & Noble revealed that it has collaborated with Samsung to create the NOOK App which is the only reading app on the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids.
John Grisham's "Sycamore Row" has been ruling Publisher Weekly's bestseller list for weeks now and was placed at number one this week too, a position the novel has held on to for four straight weeks. Read on to find out which other novels made it to the lis this week.
Amazon revealed it plans to open a new fulfillment center in Windsor which will create many full-time job opportunities.
Fifty Shades Of Grey: E.L. James Talks About Casting Controversies And What She Loves About Dakota Johnson
E.L. James, the author of "Fifty Shades of Grey" opened up in a recent interview about the casting controversies surrounding the movie adaptation of the film and what she loves most about Dakota Johnson.
Jamie Dornan gave his first interview since bagging the coveted role of Christian Grey in the movie "Fifty Shades of Grey" revealing his excitement on landing the part.
Amazon launched the Australian Kindle Store, Wednesday, offering over 2 million eBooks that include many English best sellers, more than 400,000 Kindle-exclusive titles, best-selling illustrated children's and young adult books, cookbooks, comics and graphic novels, and more.
John Grisham's "Sycamore Row" retained the number one spot on Publisher Weekly's bestseller list for the second week.
John Sandford's "Storm Front" entered NPR's bestseller list for the first time this week at number one. Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep" was placed at number two while Nicholas Spark's "The Longest Ride" came in at number 3.


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Just pondering the pandemonium over the highly anticipated Facebook Inc [FB.NASDAQ] IPO. (download the prospectus here)
There has been so much hype and interest whipped up by general mainstream media, online media and Facebook itself it is hard to know just what is hype and what is reality. Even U2's Bono is in on the action !!!! Cue bizarre looking smoky shades.
Well, Facebook is expected to file a preliminary prospectus for an IPO today and prospective investors will find out whether the hype matches reality and the value that Mark Zukerberg and his mates at FB central have put on the popular social networking site.
I don't have to tell you the littered corpses of hundreds of tech companies that were going to be "the next big thing" that have gone before Facebook and only just a handful of them still remain.
One of course is Google Inc [GOOG.NASDAQ]which debuted in 2004 and has been a moderate success since. Google though, had and still has strong revenue streams and their market share is such that they dominate just about every business sector that they operate in. They are pretty much a dominant monopoly cash cow.
Facebook, when listed, would, in actual fact, have to go after Google advertising revenue - and win - to have a decent shot at long-term success.
Both Facebook and Google operate businesses in the fast moving, ever changing technology sector where Google has thus far cemented their place on the internet as a business but Facebook, while dominant in the social networking arena, could be subject at any time to a new technology start-up that removes that dominance in a heartbeat. Anyone remember MySpace?
Facebook may well be one of the notable exceptions to the tech disasters the markets have seen since the late 1990s but it would be one of the rarities if it did.
By all accounts, market watchers expect the company to be way overvalued and that really is a symptom of the hype surrounding the IPO and the expended demand as a result of that hype rather than the fact it is a good business worth investing in. Overvaluing an IPO of a company with an unproven business model seems to me to be a recipe for disaster, for initial investors in the public pool anyway.
In a once over lightly of facts and figures leaked from Facebook back in 2009 it showed revenue of US$ $1.24 billion and net income of $355 million for 9 months in the 2009 financial year. It is unclear whether this revenue has increased over the years or how much of that income has been spent on keeping Facebook going and growing but the IPO could be one of those nasty grabs for cash that happened during the dotcom frenzy of the 90s and may need to happen again if FB is to continue to grow.
The big winners are going to be Mark Zukerberg and the rest of the early investors in Facebook who will be billionaires or multi millionaires when the company lists and early participants in the IPO.
I am clearly very cautious about the Facebook IPO and will not press the "Like" button just yet.
My comments above will suffice.
Download Facebook SEC Filing - Prospectus
Google: Has it lived up to its Hype?
Buy Bird on a Wire: The Inside Story from a Straight Talking CEO & more @ Fishpond.co.nz
c Share Investor 2012


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Posts Tagged: mashable
Welcome to This Week in Trumplandia. Check in with us every Thursday for a weekly roundup of the most pertinent content on our country, which is currently spiraling down a crappy toilet drain. You owe it to yourself, your community, and your humanity to contribute whatever you can, even if it is just awareness of the truth....more
Digital media companies are suddenly worried about declining ad revenue, and the venture capitalists funding these companies have also turned off the faucet of cash as they realize that success stories like BuzzFeed and Mashable are not the unicorns everyone thought they were....more
3D printing has all sorts of unique applications, and the most recent of these is making it possible for blind and visually impaired children to read classic children’s books like Goodnight Moon and Harold and the Purple Crayon. The project, started by researchers at the University of Colorado, uses printing technology to create pages with raised illustrations....more
Fans of the hit television show “The Office” will surely know that former “Office” star BJ Novak has come out with a collection of stories entitled One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories. Find out on Mashable why Novak thinks social media may unleash a new generation of prolific writers:
“[Social media] makes everyone aware of the minutia of conversation in literary form,” Novak told Mashable.


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NatWest Intermediary Solutions has announced that, from tomorrow 9 November, customers using its services will receive free home valuations.
Customers who remortgage using selected products will also qualify for either £250 or £500 cashback, the lender says. Specifically, a set of new fee-based two-year remortgage products at 85 per cent and 90 per cent LTV feature the former offer, and certain 90 per cent LTV products the latter.
The lender has also adjusted some of its rates.
Within the lender’s semi-exclusive range, the 90 per cent five-year purchase product has had 0.16 per cent chopped off its rate, while two-year fee-based products have had up to 0.09 per cent added.
Meanwhile, in the core rate, the 95 per cent LTV two-year purchase product has had 0.15 per cent removed and £250 cashback added, while the 80 per cent – 90 per cent LTV fee-based two-year remortgage product has had 0.11 per cent added to its rate with, again, £250 cashback added to the offering.
Buy-to-let products in the semi-exclusive and core range have also received changes, including the issuing of new two-year products and rate reductions in the lender’s selection of five-year products.
NatWest Intermediary Solutions head of sales Mark Bullard says: “The launch of free valuations strengthens our proposition within our Intermediary Exclusive purchase range.
“Along with this, we are now able to strengthen our remortgage proposition by offering a cashback incentive to complement our current existing free legals and valuation features.”


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Twitter today added a unique “Like” animation to Apple’s “Hi, Speed” event later today. This short animation reflects the consumable circles used in artwork and graphics used to promote Apple’s activities. These circles also appear on the wallpaper of the leaked images of the iPhone 12.
This is the second time Apple has used a unique Twitter “Like” animation to campaign, the first at last month’s “Time Flies” event.
Like last month’s “Time Flies” event, Apple customized its logo to Twitter at today’s “Hi, Speed” event.


text: NETWORKING company 3Com has announced a complete range of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) products, aimed at providing an ATM backbone solution. Nachman Shelef, vice president and general manager of 3Com's ATM division, said the company was the only vendor to provide a complete backbone solution. He said the company was targeting the corporate backbone, as the industry view was this would be the first area to deploy ATM. The products form part of 3Com's high performance scalable networking strategy and include ethernet to ATM switching. The different products are being introduced in phases. The initial products are now available, while others are expected within the next year. Although the ATM Forum has yet to fully agree on all standards, Mr Shelef said 3Com would ensure that their products followed standards as they evolve. At the centre of the strategy is the first product to become available, the CELLplex 7000, an ATM campus backbone switch, which began shipping in February. Another early product is the LinkSwitch 2700, an ethernet to ATM workgroup switch, which will be available in May. The LinkSwitch is stackable and has twelve ethernet ports and one ATM port. He said 3Com also intended to release ATM to Token ring switches. Meanwhile, 3Com also announced details of its departmental ethernet to ATM switch, the CELLplex 7200. Mr Shelef said the 7200 was a combination of the 2700 and the 7000, and was meant for departments or smaller companies. The product has four ATM ports, and 48 switched ethernet ports, which could support up to 500 users. Mr Shelef said he expected to see other vendors bringing out ATM products in the future, and that 3Com would not expect to have a large head start. He said he believed there would be some significant networks based on ATM available by the end of this year.


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Facebook is on its way to becoming a one-stop shop for all of your social networking, selfie, news, disliking and retail therapy needs. Select merchants will now feature a Shop section on their Facebook pages, allowing customers to purchase items without leaving the site. The new section is made in collaboration with digital commerce company Shopify, and at first the Shop addition will be available only to Shopify retailers (at no additional charge). It's designed with mobile devices in mind, since that's where most of Facebook's users are, Shopify says.
"Existing Facebook Store apps don't work on mobile devices, which is how most people now use Facebook," Shopify writes. "As well, existing Facebook Store apps only add a tab to your page, while the new Facebook Shop section appears as a larger section on your main Facebook Page.... Finally, the new Shop section includes a subscribe button that lets people get notified when you add new products."
Facebook and Shopify have been testing out the Shop function over the past few months. So far, Facebook doesn't take a cut from sales secured via Shop.
[GIF credit: Shopify]