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Ban On Mastercard To Impact Banks' Income, Card Operations: Report
India's decision to ban Mastercard Inc for non-compliance with data storage rules has unsettled the country's financial sector as it will disrupt banks' card offerings and hit revenues, payments and banking industry executives told Reuters.
Wednesday's central bank order followed similar action in April against American Express, but Mastercard is a much bigger player in the Indian market, where many lenders offer cards using the U.S. firm's payments network.
A Reuters analysis of online card listings of 11 domestic and foreign banks in India showed Mastercard accounted for about a third of roughly 100 debit cards on offer, and more than 75 credit card variants used its network.
From July 22, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said, new issuance of such cards will stop as Mastercard did not comply with 2018 rules requiring foreign card networks to store Indian payments data locally for "unfettered supervisory access".
Though existing customers will not be hit, business impact will be significant as banks need to sign new commercial deals with rival networks such as Visa, a process that can take months and involve weeks of back-end technology integration, five payment and banking executives said.
One banking executive said the switch to Visa could take as long as five months. And with American Express and Mastercard prohibited, Visa gets an unprecedented advantage in negotiations in a credit card market it already dominates.
"It will mean temporary disruption for banks, a lot of hectic negotiations and loss of business in the short term," said one of the sources, a senior Indian banker.
The RBI's 2018 rules were adopted despite aggressive lobbying by U.S. firms seeking to dilute them. Mastercard has said it is "disappointed" with the decision and will work to resolve the concerns.
"This is consistent with our considerable and continued investments in our customers and partners in India to advance the government's Digital India vision," Mastercard said in a statement on Thursday.
The decision is a major setback for Mastercard, which counts India as a key market. In 2019, Mastercard said it was "bullish on India", announcing $1 billion in investment over the next five years, after investing $1 billion from 2014 to 2019.
Mastercard also has research and technology centres in India, where its workforce of 4,000 is the second largest after the United States, having grown from 29 in 2013.
High Card Usage, Income Impact
Indians' use of credit and debit cards has risen as digital payments have spread. By May, RBI data shows, there were more than 62 million credit cards and about 902 million debit cards, which together accounted for transactions worth $40.4 billion.
The delays in transition to Visa are also seen hitting bank fees and other incomes they generate from their cards business, the sources said.
In a research note on RBI's decision, Macquarie flagged as a "key concern" the risk that banks could suffer as credit cards were a profitable product with a so-called post-tax return on assets of around five per cent to six per cent.
Some banks, such as India's RBL, lists 42 credit cards on its website, all using the Mastercard network, while Yes Bank lists seven using Mastercard, though none on Visa. The Citibank website offers four Mastercard credit cards.
RBL said in a statement on Thursday that it had reached a pact with Visa for its credit cards after the RBI order, but integration would take up to 10 weeks.
One of the sources said, however, that negotiations for the deal had taken six months.
RBL said it had a share of five per cent in the credit card market but its issuance of 100,000 new cards each month could potentially be affected. Its stock fell more than three per cent in early trade.
Yes Bank in a statement said it is "evaluating migration to other platforms for seamless transition" for issuing new credit cards. A Citibank spokesperson told Reuters it was working with its partner Mastercard "to evaluate any potential impact".


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Visiting Lijiang on train to Beijing
A high-speed train is now no longer just a means of transportation but a cultural ambassador of Lijiang, a famous tourist city in Southwest China's Yunnan province.
The high-speed train–No G406, featuring displays of Lijiang's ethnic culture and traditional customs, departed from Kunming to Beijing on Jan 23，carrying the city's ambitions to expand its tourism market and innovate tourism promotion.
It will take the train about 12 hours to arrive at Beijingxi Station. The train is publicizing Lijiang's unique elements by showing its ethnic culture as well as its natural landscapes, local scenic spots and tourist products.
Examples of those products, such as glasses, small tables, baggage holders and headrests, are everywhere on the train, displayed beside images of Lijiang's beautiful scenery. Videos and audio messages are also being used to promote the city.
"Lijiang is actively developing its tourism through availability of high-speed trains and the Lijiang-themed train will meet the demand of public tourism and integrate local tourist and transportation resources," said Zheng Yi, mayor of Lijiang.
Wen Shuqiong, deputy head of the Yunnan Tourism Development Commission, said, "The train will display and promote Lijiang's rich ethnic culture and tourist products to passengers traveling from Kunming to Beijing, marketing both tourism and rail transportation."
Statistics revealed that Lijiang received more than 40 million tourists in 2017, with total tourism revenue breaking 80 billion yuan.
The high-speed train themed on Lijiang's tourism and culture departs Kunming on Jan 23. [Photo by Li Ning/xinhuanet.com.cn]

domain: news


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Gray Dawes Group Chief Executive Suzanne Horner has been re-elected unopposed as a Non-Executive Director on the Advantage Travel Centres board, while Jeanne Lally is stepping down.
Ms Lally, who is Joint Managing Director at the Travel Bureau, has served seven years as a non-exec.
Advantage Chairman Steven Esom described Ms Lally as a ‘highly valued member of the board’, adding she ‘steps down with our thanks and best wishes for the future’.
“I am also delighted that Suzanne has been re-appointed and will continue to work alongside Joanne Dooey (Love to Travel), Sharon May (Worldwide Travel Solutions), Chris Marks (Baldwins Travel), James Beagrie (Meon Valley Travel) and Paul Hardwick (Fred. Olsen Travel) as we come out of the pandemic and move into the recovery phase,” he added.
In addition to existing members, the board was recently joined by Finn Partners Managing Director Debbie Flynn in an advisory role.


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Australian operator Telstra yesterday announced that its Next G HSPA Evolution network will be upgraded to 42Mb/s by the end of the year. The announcement came as the CEOs of Telstra, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Sierra Wireless jointly unveiled the world’s first 21Mb/s peak rated mobile broadband modem. Typically delivering data rates of up to 8 Mb/s to end-users, the Telstra Turbo 21 will be available to business customers from 23 February with a consumer offering following in April. Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo said, “With 21Mb/s rated network and devices, we expect to see business productivity increase even further at a time when business and governments need to find practical ways to lift economies out of recession and do more with less.”
Trujillo reported that Telstra’s 3G penetration grew by 19 percentage points to 54 per cent in the half year to December 2008. Data accounted for 36 percent of mobile services retail revenue over the same period. The ARPU differential between Telstra’s 3G and 2G postpaid customers is in excess of AUD20 (€10.3) per month. Jason Cohenour, CEO of Sierra Wireless, revealed that as well as the Telstra Turbo 21 wireless modem, his company has also developed an embedded module to enable original equipment manufacturers to incorporate Next G network support in new products.


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If you’ve only just come out from under your rock then you missed the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, the best game that’s ever been released in the history of — okay no sorry, we can’t keep that up. Although it received massive amounts of hype leading up to its 10 December 2020 launch, the game that everyone received was definitely not what they were hoping for.
The game was riddled with bugs, glitches and performance issues which made it unplayable for many people, especially if you tried to play it on the previous generation of consoles. Sony even went as far as to remove it from the PlayStation Store. This led to CD Projekt’s share price plummeting by 15% on 18 December. So, not the launch game devs dream of.
Oooh, right in the money bags
Perhaps the people most upset about the game were some of CD Projekt’s own shareholders. According to them, the developer misled them over the quality of Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles which led to them incurring damages when the share price fell. And if there’s one thing you don’t do, it’s mess with a shareholder and their potential monetary gains.
Now it turns out, CD Projekt Red doesn’t actually like being sued so it’s going to settle the class-action lawsuit filed against it. It’s only just filed for preliminary approval so it’s way too early to tell what that’s going to entail, who is entitled to what or any of those details.
In the developers’ defence, it has spent much of the past year releasing patches and fixes to address many of the issues the game faced at launch. But it might be too little too late, the damage to its reputation might’ve already been done and no amount of “ but have you played The Witcher 3?” is going to help.
Source: The Verge


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Following its global debut at the 2016 LA Auto Show, the all-new Mazda CX-5 is getting ready to touch down on European soil for the first time.
Mazda’s new SUV will be on display, among other models, at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, starting with March 7, in the Palexpo Convention Center.
“Six years after the unveiling in Geneva of the Mazda MINAGI concept, the precursor to the original CX-5 and an exciting new range of acclaimed vehicles, the new compact SUV takes Mazda’s most popular model in Europe into a new generation“, Mazda writes.
Slated to go on sale this summer, its engine lineup is expected to differ between markets, and so it’s currently unknown what units will be adopted by the European version. Its North American and Japanese twins get two petrol engines, the SkyActiv-G 2.0 and SkyActiv-G 2.5-liter, along with a SkyActiv-D 2.2-liter diesel.
Joining the new CX-5 in Geneva will be the 2017MY variants of the CX-3 and Mazda2. Both of them will hit European dealers this spring, with enhanced i-ActivSense active safety technology, improved ride comfort, less noise, full-color head-up displays, and redesigned steering wheels, among others.


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The US multinational Procter & Gamble (P&G) earned $ 10,317 million in the first nine months of its fiscal year, until this March, which is 12% more than the same period last year, driven by higher turnover of its household products and personal hygiene in the COVID-19 crisis.
P&G, which released its results this Friday, did not report the cumulative sales or earnings per share, but instead focused on the stretch between January and March 2020, its third fiscal quarter, to which more attention was paid by Wall Street analysts. and in which profits increased 6% year-on-year, standing at 2,917 million dollars.
The turnover between January and March amounted to 17,214 million, 5% more compared to the same quarter of 2019, thanks to the increase in the volume of shipments due to “strong demand in North America and certain European markets due to the COVID pandemic- 19 “, although at the same time it had declines in Asia due to the paralysis of retail trade.
By segments, the ones that grew the most in sales were home care (10%), which includes detergents; health care (9%), which includes toothpastes; and family care (7%), which includes toilet paper and diapers; while there was little variation in beauty (1%) and shaving decreased by 1%.
“The strong results of this quarter are a direct reflection of the integral role of our products to meet the daily health, hygiene and cleaning needs of consumers around the world,” said P&G CEO and President David Taylor, at a note.
“Our company has been doing a great job with short-term priorities: protecting the health and safety of everyone, maximizing the availability of P&G products to meet the high needs of consumers, and helping society overcome the challenges of this crisis, “he added.
The firm, which made a profit of $ 1.12 per share, said that this week it has increased quarterly dividends to its shareholders by 6% and has paid some 2.8 billion cash, between that concept and share repurchases.
Half an hour after the opening of the session on Wall Street, P&G shares rose 0.61%. So far this year the firm has cut its market value by 2%.


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This summer, the head of Fidelity’s brokerage business made a bold pronouncement:
Fidelity, he said, thinks of itself “as a technology company that happens to be in financial services.”
Important words, particularly at a time when consumer expectations are being reshaped by technology, and when the average person expects buying a mutual fund or trading a stock to be as easy as streaming a song or shopping on Amazon.
Trouble is, his comments are nothing new or unique:
“Two years from now, WestJet will be a digital company that happens to fly airplanes,” Ed Sims, WestJet’s CEO, writes in the latest edition of the company’s in-flight magazine.
“At our core, we’re a technology company. We just happen to make steel,” Big River Steel’s website proclaims right on its home page.
And perhaps most starkly, the pizza chain Domino’s has for years been telling anyone who will listen that they’re a technology company that happens to make pizza.
I think we can agree technology is intrinsic and integral to virtually any company’s success today, and especially in the future. So, when almost everyone is shouting their commitments to technology from the rooftops, how do you stand out?
This question occupies the time and minds of the best marketers out there, and the answer lies in why tech has been embraced inby business to such a large extent: customers.
Technology has a cost-cutting and productivity promise, to be sure. But that pales in comparison to its potential as a massive business driver. That’s why Fidelity, for example, spends something like $2.5 billion on it a year.
To be fair, I’d bet a good chunk of that money goes to maintaining legacy systems that eventually will die a quiet death, but the rest is being spent on innovation which both lets the company operate with greater efficiency, andefficiency and makes it easier or more enticing for its customers to buy.
“Enticing” is a term probably pursued by food, beverage and retail companies more often than financial services players. In finserv , the aspirational terms tend to be more utilitarian: “painless,” “personalized,” “simpler” or “less complex.”
And that’s really the punchline for financial services companies: those who can use technology to be where their customers are at any given time, to make doing business with them as frictionless as possible and make them feel unique and, frankly, special, are the ones that will win.
After all, the line “we’re a tech company that happens to…” doesn’t really mean anything productive to the average customer. We want to know that our pizza will arrive hot, fresh, and as soon as possible, and that our flight will be reasonably priced, on time and safe. We want to know that our financial services provider will act with integrity to help us plan for the future.
I care how your website looks, or how easy it is to apply for a mortgage with you. But do I care what operating system you’re using on the back end?
Technology is the tool. Customers are the “why” of it. That’s why the strongest and most meaningful pronouncements about the future of technology will come from those companies and leaders who can tie them to the needs of their customers.
The rest will just be lost as noise.


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Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (21 to 25 May 2018).
Shares in Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury soared after special editions of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them helps its childrens division increase profits by a quarter. There was yet more gloomy news from the high street following a profit warning at Halfords, coupled with falling sales at Pets at Home and B&Q-owner Kingfisher.
The FTSE closed at another record high on Wednesday, boosted by a weakening pound, but was down 0.5% over the week by mid-session on Friday.
The UK's economy grew at the worst rate since 2012 in the first quarter, with GDP up by just 0.1%, according to the second, unrevised, estimate. The Office for National Statistics said it expected “a continuation of a pattern of slowing growth, in part reflecting a slowing in the growth of consumer-facing industries". Household spending grew by 0.2%, while business investment fell 0.2% between the fourth quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of this year.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that weak economic data and Brexit uncertainty might hold back interest rate increases, helping the pound to hit a 2018 low. The dovish tone was increase after an unexpected fall in UK inflation to a 13-month low. Inflation fell for a second consecutive month in April, with annual CPI up 2.4%, down from 2.5% in March. Expectations were for the data to be unchanged.
There was some good news for Chancellor Phillip Hammond after UK government borrowing in the month of April fell to a ten-year low. Public sector net borrowing fell by £1.6bn year-on-year to £7.8bn, lower than the £8.6bn expected by economists.
The minutes of the latest Federal Reserve rate-setting meeting showed that officials were generally upbeat about the prospects for the US economy. Unemployment was expected to fall further, while inflation was expected to rise to the central banks 2% target. The minutes implied the Fed should be on track to keep hiking interest rates gradually.
US President Donald Trump pulled out of a highly-anticipated summit meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore next month, accusing the North Koreans of bad faith and lamenting that “this missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.” He said the specific reason for the withdrawal was the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in recent public statements.
The US administration was also active on the sanctions front. It imposed sanctions on several Iranian and Turkish companies and targeted four Iranian airlines. There were also new sanctions on Venezuela following the re-election of the country's socialist president, Nicolás Maduro, with the vote widely condemned as fraudulent.
President Trump also continued with his trade-war rhetoric, despite a vague agreement between the US and China to continue talking to try and reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries. Trump launched a national security investigation into car and truck imports that could lead to new tariffs similar to those imposed on imported steel and aluminium in March. Although this could be a major concern for Germany, the move was likely aimed partly at pressuring Canada and Mexico to make concessions in talks to update Nafta that have languished in part over auto provisions. However, European carmakers shares were hit by the news.
Fitch warned that Italys new populist government posed a risk to the countrys credit rating. The Italian president accepted law professor Giuseppe Conte as the nomination for prime minister in a bid to end 11 weeks of political deadlock. John Redwood, Charles Stanleys Chief Global Strategist, looks at the market implications of the new Coalition government in Italy between Five Star and Lega here.
Chinese yuan-denominated shares will be included in MSCIs emerging markets benchmark from the start of June, as the rapidly-growing country makes another step in the opening up of its economy to international capital. To find out why this matters, click here.
The surging US dollar and this years spike in global borrowing costs may cut off capital flows to emerging markets and engulf a lengthening list of heavily indebted economies, according to the Institute of International Finance. The body warned that the twin currency crises in Turkey and Argentina may be just the opening drama of a much broader rout, as unprecedented levels of dollar leverage hit home.
The US Department of Justice has reportedly opened an investigation into cryptocurrency price manipulation on crypto exchanges. The investigation is in conjunction with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a regulatory body that, among other things, licensed Bitcoin futures contracts.
Criminals have stolen about $1.2bn in cryptocurrencies since the beginning of 2017, according to estimates from the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
Elon Musk is unhappy with the press for negative comments about his electric vehicle maker Tesla and made his feelings very clear on Twitter. To look at the current issues around the company click here.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was questioned by members of the European Parliament. Mr Zuckerberg refused to answer almost all of the questions posed, instead accepting an offer to submit written answers to questions.
Taxi group Uber managed to post a profit in its first-quarter results, but this is down to gains of $2.9bn after it merged its businesses in Russia and Southeast Asia with local competitors.
In a sign of the internets impact on big media groups, the market value of streaming service Netflix exceeded the Walt Disney Co for the first time ever, making it the largest media company in the world.
Brent crude prices touched $80 a barrel, but fell over the week after Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih said Opec and its allies were likely to gradually boost oil output in the second half of the year. There was also a surprise rise in US oil stocks. Brent crude futures fell 1.6% over the week by mid-session on Friday to trade at around $77.30 a barrel. US gasoline prices were approaching $3 a gallon, the highest in four years.
Despite the improving financial situation in the oil industry, BP continued with its cost-cutting programme. The company said it will cut 3% of its jobs in exploration and production, as part of a restructuring of its global upstream business to make the division more efficient and competitive.
Mining & commodities
Midcap Petra Diamonds saw its shares sink by around a fifth after management revealed is was looking to raise £133m in a rights issue to reduce debt so it didnt breach its banking covenants. The new shares will be priced at 40p, a 35.6% discount to the stocks closing price on Wednesday.
Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin also saw its shares plunge after a drastic cut to its full-year production guidance and higher cost expectations because of lower-grade ore at its flagship Sukari.
Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska, an individual target of his US sanctions because of his closeness of Vladimir Putin, resigned from his non-executive directorship of aluminium giant Rusal, the company he founded. Rusal produces 7% of the worlds aluminium.
Tesco revealed plans to close its Tesco Direct website that sells general merchandise, putting 500 jobs at risk. The grocer said the non-food website was a "small, loss-making part of the business" and had "no route to profitability".
J Sainsbury could face legal action from the union Unite after the supermarket said it was pressing ahead with a plan to cut paid breaks, annual bonuses and premium pay for Sundays, leaving thousands of workers out of pocket.
Retail sales rose by a better-than-expected 1.6% in April as consumers resumed spending after unseasonably cold weather earlier in the year. Petrol sales surged 4.7% after falling 6.9% in March after widespread snow disruption. Only department stores reported a decline, with sales volumes down 0.9%. However, Rob Kent-Smith of the Office for National Statistics said the retail sector remained subdued, with sales in recent months largely unchanged.
Marks & Spencer shares rose despite a relatively downbeat set of annual figures, with profits hit by its store closure plans. To discover why click here.
Sales at B&Q owner Kingfisher reported a 4% fall in sales at stores open for more than a year in the first quarter, hit by snowy weather in March. Meanwhile, rival Homebase was sold by Australias Westfarmers, to turnaround investment firm Hilco for just $1. The Australian group took a write down of $1bn earlier this year following its disastrous foray into the UK market. However, new ownership could mean rising competition for B&Q.
Halfords shares slumped after it issued a profit warning. Management said profits were likely to be flat this year, held back by a lack of price rises in cycling, currency moves and increased investment.
Shares in Pets at Home slipped after profits fell by more than 12% last year, hit by rising costs.
Things are looking better in the luxury goods sector. Shares in US group Tiffany & Co soared by around a fifth to an all-time high after the group posted a strong set of first-quarter figures. The luxury jeweller benefitted from dollar weakness which resulted in foreign shoppers flocking to its outlets in places such as New York. US-peer Ralph Lauren also posted a better-than-expected set of fourth quarter numbers. Its strategy of limiting department store sales and cutting discounts appears to be paying off. This is of interest as FTSE 100 group Burberry is pursuing a similar strategy of moving further upmarket to become “firmly in luxury”.
A puzzling report in the Financial Times said that Barclays was exploring a merger with Standard Chartered. Many in the market were cynical about the story. However, there was some good news for Barclays after charges brought against the bank by the Serious Fraud Office over a $3bn loan made to Qatari investors have been thrown out by a court.
Shares in Germanys Deutsche Bank fell after management said it would cut more than 7,000 jobs from its 97,000 workforce and dramatically scale back its investment banking activities.
US cable TV giant Comcast said it was considering a takeover offer for Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, setting the stage for a takeover battel with The Walt Disney Co. Disney has agreed to pay $52.4bn for Fox, but Comcast said it was in the "advanced stages" of preparing a better bid. This It would also include a 39% stake in Sky, for which Comcast tabled a separate bid in April.
Peppa Pigs popularity in China proved a boost for Entertainment One, after full-year pre-tax profits doubled. This was despite the show being banned on some Chinese platforms after the porcine character became a cultural icon among the “poorly educated”.
Bloomsbury Publishing posted record annual revenues, boosted by continuing sales of JK Rowlings Harry Potter classics and TV chef Tom Kerridges Lose Weight for Good book.
Nothing on this website should be construed as personal advice based on your circumstances. No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal.


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Stores to launch price cut campaigns
BRITAIN'S two biggest food retailers will launch aggressive campaigns this week to try to win new shoppers.
Sainsbury's is to offer across-the-board 20% price cuts on beers, ciders and alcopops. The week-long promotion, starting on Wednesday, is aimed at capturing a bigger slice of the drinks market over the bank holiday and running up to the start of the Euro 2004 football championship in Portugal next month.
Sainsbury's accounts for almost one-fifth of the UK off-licence sales of beers, wines and spirits.
Meanwhile, Tesco is to attack the 'home office' market with a range of stationery and office supplies. 'We will be taking on the likes of Office World and Staples,' said a spokesman.
Tesco's office supplies range will include home safes and filing cabinets as well as basics such as paper, staplers and pens.
The company will also start selling computer accessories.
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Despite capacity constraints and surging inflation, particularly in fuel prices, U.S. airlines recently reported that their earnings recoveries have accelerated in Q2, notes analyst Colin Scarola in CFRA Research's flagship newsletter, The Outlook.
Positive guidance revisions notwithstanding, airline shares have plummeted during Q2. Stock values going down while near-term earnings forecasts rise indicates investors are expecting a severe drop-off in airline revenues and earnings after an initial pent-up demand boom.
Declining real earnings for U.S. households is certainly a negative factor for future airline earnings, but this is only one piece of the story. And when considering other key factors that will influence travel spending and fuel prices during the remainder of 2022 and 2023, we think many U.S. airlines will continue to generate profit growth through 2023, justifying much higher stock prices.
A key reason for our positive airline view is that, despite declining real earnings, U.S. household bank accounts are about 4x larger than pre-pandemic. So while real household earnings may be on the decline, the pandemic era surge in household bank accounts is likely softening the blow, making consumers more comfortable with spending greater amounts on travel.
Many households may also pull back on durable goods spending over the next year or two after the pandemic stay-at-home boom, freeing up significant cash for travel in 2022-2023. Having spent more than usual on home items over the past two years, we think it’s reasonable to expect many households will redirect some money normally spent in this category to travel over the next several years.
Overall, we think the 20%-plus sell-off in airline stocks since April is generally a good buying opportunity, as we expect the firms will continue their recovery back to pre-pandemic earnings levels during 2022-2023.
Meanwhile, there are three stocks in the airlines sector that earn our highest "strong buy" rating of 5-STARS: Delta Airlines (DAL), with a target of $55; Southwest Airlines (LUV), with a target of $64; and United Airlines Holdings (UAL), with a target of $63.


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A key auto industry lobbyist is urging nine states already following California’s stringent carbon emission standards to also buy more zero-emission vehicles for government fleets.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which has argued for easing the Obama administration’s 2025 fuel economy rules, is now pushing for incentives and infrastructure investments to encourage sales of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. This is the most supportive the group has been toward electrified vehicles, despite consumers’ reluctance to embrace the cleaner technology.
“Automakers have invested substantially in zero emission vehicles, including plug-in electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles,” the Alliance said in a statement. “They have a big stake in selling them in large numbers. The last thing we want to see is a zero emission vehicle sitting unsold on a dealer’s lot.”
California and 17 states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in April to prevent it from overturning the Obama standards. States don’t have the authority to establish their own fuel economy standards, but California and nine other states have set limits on emissions of greenhouse gases that effectively require more sales of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.
Automakers and its advocates such as AAM want one national set of rules for both emissions and greenhouse gases.
The Trump administration has proposed standards that would freeze the Obama targets at 2020 levels and require no improvement beyond that. The risk is that the California-led states, which together account for about one-third of the U.S. new vehicle market, could create a separate market, raising complexity and costs for the industry.
Transportation is the largest source of climate-changing greenhouse-gas pollution in the United States, and the biggest share of that comes from cars and trucks, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the EPA.
There are now 58 ZEV models on sale, including 34 plug-in hybrids, 21 battery electric, and 3 hydrogen fuel cells, according to the Department of Energy's www.FuelEconomy.Gov website. That’s expected to expand to at least 80 by 2021.


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First, a quick site note. I am blogging from a new device, and since I am a fossil, that means the transition is far from smooth. In particular, posting of graphs is going to be minimal until I can get a new method working properly. Also, I’m going to be traveling later this week, so don’t be surprised if there is no content for a couple of days. Finally, because the “Blogger” platform is very 2000s, and not supported any more, don’t be shocked if the best way to deal with it turns out to be transitioning to a new website.
No new data economic today, but the Fed did publish data last week that allows me to update one of my “alternate” forecast methods, one that I first laid out over a decade ago: the consumer nowcast.
The way this works is to look at the economy from the viewpoint of the average American consumer. In order for the consumer economy to grow, at least one of the three below items must be happening:
1. Real income is growing.
2. A widely held asset class, in particular stocks or real estate, is appreciating (and thus available to be tapped into to free up cash.
3. Interest rates decline to new lows, allowing existing debt to be refinanced.
If none of these are happening, then a pullback in willingness to spend signals the onset of a recession.
Let’s take these in reverse order.
Last week the Fed released its household debt data, showing that household debt as a share of income peaked over two years ago. In Q3 2018 households became slightly more cautious compared with the quarter before:
Needless to say, stock prices last made a peak over 3 months ago. That source of cash has dried up.
House prices, however, have continued to climb, according to the most recent Case-Shiller index, meaning that home equity withdrawal remains a potential source of spending money:
And perhaps most fundamentally, as I wrote about last week, real average and aggregate non-supervisory wages have continued to grow.
So the consumer nowcast is not signaling recession.
Meanwhile, as I wrote last week at Seeking Alpha, the short term forecast through mid-year is for no a slowdown but no recession, unless caused by poor public policy — like, say, a trade war, or maybe a government shutdown that causes businesses to postpone plans due to lack of transparency.
That sort of policy debacle isn’t going to first show up in the long leading indicators and take an entire year or more to filter through the economy. It will show up, more or less, all at once.
But I would still expect some warning from the short leading indicators, most notably from measures of manufacturing, temp hiring and layoffs.
As of now, neither temp hiring nor layoffs have backed off enough for any sort of warning. On the other hand, although it is just one data point of many, that the Empire State Manufacturing Index’s new orders measure fell to an 18 month low (although still positive at +4) at very least continues the trend of a big slowdown in the industrial sector.
Keep an eye on these three areas (new orders, temp hiring, and new jobless claims). If these turn outright negative, that will be a very strong sign that poor public policy is causing what otherwise would just be a slowdown to tip all the way into recession.


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The organization says the brand is guilty of false advertising.
Awards were presented on May 15th at New York's Waldorf-Astoria.
Will develop 3D bioprinted skin tissue with Organovo
Tips to determine who’s right—and who’s not.
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Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. has announced that it has commenced consultations with the Works Council to cease production of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-based resins at its Leuna site operated by Momentive Specialty Chemicals Forest Products GmbH (the "Company").
This action will better align European market demand for forest products with Momentive's existing assets. The Company intends to cease production at the Leuna plant by June 30, 2012.
"We remain committed to serving the European forest products market from our other sites and are well positioned to do so with our existing Momentive assets," said George Gallacher, Vice President and Managing Director of Momentive's European Forest Products business.
"The decision to close the Leuna plant is not easy for us, but is an unavoidable action that will allow us to maintain a competitive and profitable cost structure for our European Forest Products business in the future," said Dale Plante, Executive Vice President and President - Forest Products Division.
Affected associates have been notified and the Company will provide appropriate severance and other support. The site closure impacts 80 associates.


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Online Sales Tax Bills Reintroduced in House and Senate
April 28, 2017
Bipartisan House and Senate versions have been reintroduced of bills that would allow states to collect taxes on goods and services purchased by their citizens online without regard to where the seller of the goods was based.
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According to the Times of Israel, the Australian government approved the move in a late-night national security meeting...Posted on December 12, 2018
After getting clearance from local authorities, Samaritan's Purse has more than 140 volunteers...Posted on December 12, 2018
The FCC has voted on a Report and Order (a final vote) on eliminating requirements...Posted on December 12, 2018
An Arkansas state representative has filed a bill allowing social media websites to be sued...Posted on December 12, 2018


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Netflix, everyone loves it, there are some great shows, there are some incredible shows, but it comes at a cost and according to the LA Times. Netflix are in $20 Billion worth of debt. Yes you read that correctly, it’s BILLION with a B!
LA Times are reporting that, Netflix hopes that more original shows will capture more subscribers to fend off competition from Amazon and Hulu by expanding their original programming. Resulting in Netflix churning through cash at an amazing rate. LA Times are reporting that the company is pouring money into prestige projects and expects to spend at least $6Billion this year. They are betting that debt financing in the near term will create growth and yield big results down the road.
It’s a pretty hefty read but if you want to know more about Netflix and their numbers head on over to the LA Times!
To listen to the guys chatting about this click here!


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How Ford's F-150 Lightning Stacks Up Against Rivian And Hummer EV
Ford's F-Series lineup, including the F-150, has been the best-selling vehicle in America for 40 years and the top truck for 45 years. So an electric pickup for the masses is something Ford was in a unique position to bring to market. CNBC's Michael Wayland test drives the new Ford F-150 Lightning and compares it to other electric trucks he has driven — the Rivian R1T and the GMC Hummer EV.
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How Ford's F-150 Lightning Stacks Up Against Rivian R1T And GMC Hummer EV


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The cost savings from buying handmade furniture can vary depending on the level of quality you’re buying, what you’re purchasing and whether you’re trying it yourself. We found prices on handmade furniture for sale on eBay and on other online retailers, but that you’ll ultimately need to buy them locally to be certain that you’re getting a reasonable value.
If you buy handmade furniture on eBay, it could be as high as 100% of the invoice price. On Amazon, you’ll pay much less.
A good guide to the different products you can find on the web is www.pinterest.com/buyoffers/faqs/made.
On the evening of July 23rd, 2001, a car careened into the back of a truck on the busy highway between Baltimore and Washington, DC–not only killing the driver and injuring his passenger, but also the three people riding in the truck as well. The police were able to determine that the driver had been drinking heavily, and found a small quantity of cocaine in his pocket. And while the vehicle’s owner didn’t go to jail, a police officer’s bullet-proof vest was found in the truck, but it wasn’t enough to save the others.
In the weeks after that crash, news reports about roadside drug busts spiked along with the growing number of people being arrested in those areas. The number of arrests had quadrupled since 2000. The number of drug-related convictions had climbed by nearly 70% in the two years that followed. In 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that “drivers convicted of drug offenses increased by 70% from 2000 to 2001.”
At the same time, the number of people being charged with drug offenses in federal court, including charges of drug distribution and use, dropped more than 3% in 2001 and continued to drop throughout the 2000s.
This trend was driven largely by two developments, both of them related to the increasing number of arrests and convictions made locally in the early to mid-2000s. First, judges were issuing more and more drug-related sentences, and more prosecutors were prosecuting drug cases when they could. Second, state legislatures, with some help from federal and local prosecutors, began aggressively targeting drug-related offenders with criminalization laws that criminalized low-level users and dealers as well as the wholesale distribution of drugs. Federal, state and local law enforcement officials made clear that their priority was to take down drug cartels and traffickers, while allowing “normal” citizens the legal opportunity to
custom woodworking business near me for sale, woodworking business plan sample, how to start a small carpentry business, woodworking business start up costs, how to start a home-based woodworking business


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In addition to updating consumption and emissions data for European manufacturing operations, the new report starts by setting out clearly and simply the Group’s environmental objectives and strategies.
“As the report states, one of Bridgestone’s core environmental strategies is to communicate openly on environmental issues” says Gianluca Tosatti, European Regulations & Environmental Affairs Manager, Bridgestone Technical Center Europe. “This latest edition shows again that we intend to stand by our commitment.”
The main body of the report presents the environmental impact of Bridgestone products and manufacturing processes based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) scheme, covering the whole life of the product.
It also adds important content on the upcoming European tyre labelling legislation, Bridgestone’s eco-friendly Ecopia tyre range and environment-related company activities in the community.
The new report follows the announcement in September 2011 that all Bridgestone European tyre production plants had completed ISO 14001 certification – a benchmark in the steady improvement of Bridgestone Europe environmental performance.
The 2011 edition of Bridgestone Europe’s “Environmental Commitment and Performance” report is available in electronic form on the company’s website: www.bridgestone.eu
About Bridgestone EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Bridgestone EMEA, with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tyre and rubber company. Bridgestone EMEA operates in more than 60 countries and has over 18200 employees. Across the region it has 14 tyre and tyre related plants, a major R&D Centre and a proving ground. Bridgestone EMEA’s premium tyres are sold in Europe, Middle East, Africa and globally.


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Microgreens firm Lightfoot's in Sway spreading small wonders in the New Forest
MICROGREENS have long been a staple in high-end restaurants around the country, but a Sway couple are pushing to make the increasingly popular superfood a go-to in kitchens across the New Forest.
Pete and Gracey How set up Lightfoot’s Farm microgreens in 2019, growing 15 varieties of herbs and vegetables – perfect, miniature versions of their fully grown counterparts that are promoted as being tiny powerhouses of goodness.
The couple bought the farm at auction in 2018 after moving back to the UK from Afghanistan, where they had worked in international development. Pete spent 15 years working with farmers there and in Iraq to create sustainable and resilient agricultural practices.
Growing microgreens started out as purely an effort to improve the family’s nutrition, but Pete and Gracey saw a potential niche market for their product and began selling the plants to farm shops, restaurants and pubs, as well as to local residents.
These aromatic, nutrient-dense greens are grown indoors in stacked trays, and are cut when they are just a couple of weeks old. Varieties grown at Lightfoot’s include brocolli, pea shoots, ruby raddish, basil, red cabbage, cavolo nero, black kale, rocket, ‘bull’s blood’ beets, mint and lemon balms.
“The nutritional content of these plants is through the roof, and flavour-wise they pack quite a punch,” said Pete. “Many of them contain a higher concentrated nutrient content than mature vegetables, making them great for kids and older people.
“And they really are delicious, giving food lots of flavour and adding colour and texture to dishes. They create a great side salad or can be used to make pesto, and they’re great in a sandwich.”
Lightfoot’s supply many New Forest pubs and restaurants, including The Elderflower and The Fisherman’s Rest in Lymington, The Gun Inn at Keyhaven, The Snakecatcher in Brockenhurst, and Offbeet at The Retreat New Forest in Christchurch. The microgreens are also sold in farm shops including Ferndene in New Milton and Setley Ridge in Brockenhurst.
“We sell directly to people’s homes too, and this is what’s most important to us and what we want to do more of,” said Pete. “This is a fabulous way of getting a really diverse range of vegetables – each 30g pot we provide is the equivalent of more than a kilo of mature veg.
“But this is not about replacing vegetables – it’s just making it easier to get that nutrition but in a more concentrated way.”
Microgreens are more sustainable than crops grown to maturity on large farms that use pesticides and chemicals, said Pete.
“We have an incredibly efficient vertical farming system here,” he explained. “We would need more than a hectare to grow outdoors what we are growing inside, and then there’s all the associated water and spraying.
“If, for instance, you are growing broccoli, you would sow this year and harvest next year, but if there’s any adverse climate event you will lose your crops.
“We are part of a resilient system, and we want to generate a living feeding people nutrient-rich food using less space so we can utilise our outdoor space by growing trees – our aim is to grow nuts like hazlenuts, walnuts and sweet chestnuts.
“Our protein mostly comes from soya, which is linked to the deforestation of the rainforest – nuts are a cheap protein alternative, but there is a lot of labour involved in growing them.
“We want this to really work – we want to produce fantastic, sustainable food for local people. Right now, as a planet, we are not looking after our landscape and we’re not growing food in a sustainable way and we want to change that.
“With Covid and Brexit interrupting our supply chains, this is the answer – local food grown right on people’s doorsteps. And by buying food that is being locally produced you know that the local landscape is being cared for – you’re increasing the likelihood that you will continue to live in a beautiful place.”
Microgreens have been growing in popularity since their introduction to the Californian restaurant scene in the 1980s. Researchers have found that miniature versions of plants like red cabbage, cilantro, and radish contain up to 40 times the levels of nutrients from those that are fully grown.
Pete and Gracey, who have two boys aged eight and 11, have also started a very small-scale glamping business at the farm to supplement their income, which they run over the summer. Each of the five bell tents comes complete with a hot tub, toilet and shower, and a shared kitchen is also available.
For more information about Lightfoot’s or to purchase some microgreens, go to www.lightfootsfarm.com


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Up until recently, Apple CarPlay has been an in-car infotainment option only for cars and trucks, with nearly 50 manufacturers putting the system in their vehicles.
Apple CarPlay, the in-vehicle system that has been steadily picking up support ever since it was originally announced, has just confirmed a pair of new manufacturers to its list of supporters.
Honda has been a long-time partner with Apple when it comes to supporting the in-car system CarPlay, and now the auto manufacturer has just confirmed one more addition to the lineup.
Ford has been a partner with Apple CarPlay ever since the feature was first introduced, but the rollout has been a slow one.
Google and Apple offer Android Auto and CarPlay, their own take on how you can easily use your phone while driving through your car’s infotainment system. Just like Android and iOS, the approach taken by both companies are very different from each other here.
Technically speaking, Apple introduced the ability for in-car systems to support wireless CarPlay with iOS 9, but the adoption has been anything but quick.


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[Abstract] just one year, the number of ready to the unicorn has doubled, but the investment market is the reverse cooling.
is also the valuation, valuation, unicorn listed companies more and more, but more and more narrow door.
technology company IPO in trouble, a huge amount of money investors will dashuipiao? Business executives, but also listed the dream of success? For entrepreneurial employees, then listed Ali night creating thousands of millionaires miracle can happen to you
in the past, valued at large start-up companies even more than $1 billion, not listed are very rare, but now, they are like bamboo shoots after a spring rain as commonplace. We now call them unicorn.
February 2015, Fortune magazine paid close attention to this wave, and the first to cover the coverage. Since then, unicorn concept has become one of the industry’s evaluation of the scale of venture companies. At that time, we combed out the world’s more than and 80 Unicorn company. The latest statistics show that unicorn’s number has increased to 173.
just one year, the number of ready to the unicorn has doubled, but the investment market is the reverse cooling. Over the past few years, a representative of listed technology companies profitability has plummeted, see more losses. 2015 listed technology companies, interest income tax depreciation and amortization of the median profit loss of $9 million. The American stock market is one disaster after another, after nearly seven years of the bull market has been gradually declining, and the stock market volatility also repeatedly in Chinese.
this means that a large number of technology companies to be listed not only to have lined up, still desperate wrestling to ensure that you are still alive get listed tickets. A unicorn Battle Royale can hardly be avoided.
fortune 2016 global Unicorn list:
industry: consumer electronics
industry: traffic travel
U.S. group public comment network
industry: Internet service


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NEW YORK ( TheDeal) -- McAfee Inc., the digital security unit of Intel Corp. ( INTC), issued a tender offer for Finnish network firewall design company Stonesoft Oyj worth $389 million in cash, or about $6.09 a share. Stonesoft, based in Helsinki, has more than 6,500 customers worldwide and employs 2,200 people that McAfee would absorb. McAfee said it would combine its cloud-based security capabilities with Stonesoft's businesses in security and connectivity services. The company also provides product training courses and technical support. "McAfee is making a significant investment in next-generation firewall technology. These solutions anticipate emerging customer needs in a continually evolving threat landscape," McAfee president Michael DeCesare said during a Monday conference call. Stonesoft reported ¿40.1 million ($52.6 million) in net sales and ¿451,000 in operating profit for 2012, compared with ¿30.6 million in sales and a ¿1.1 million loss for the previous year. About 71.2% of sales came from European markets. The company operated 12 wholly owned subsidiaries based in Finland, the U.S., Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Poland, Italy and Belgium at the end of 2011. Stonesoft shares closed up ¿2.48, or 125.8%, to ¿4.45 on Monday, and were little changed on Tuesday. Intel was rising 0.8% to $24.10. Intel bought Santa Clara, Calf.-based McAfee in August 2010 for $7.68 billion. McAfee was active in dealmaking before Intel bought it, announcing nine transactions in the three years prior. It remained active on the M&A front even after Intel's purchase. McAfee in October 2011 agreed to purchase NitroSecurity Inc., which designs analytical tools to detect security threats, for about $160 million. That followed McAfee's March 2011 purchase of Sentrigo Inc., a startup whose technology protects databases from hackers.Intel itself bought Northern Irish cloud-based communications network and business services tech provider Aepona Group Ltd. from its venture capital and corporate backers on April 26. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports in the Belfast media suggested a price of up to up to £80 million ($123.7 million). Aepona's investors included British venture firm Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd., Boston's Polaris Partners, Toronto's Relay Ventures, German software group SAP AG, French venture firm Innovacom SA, Sweden's InnovationsKapital AB and Ireland's Trinity College.McAfee and Intel didn't return calls. Stonesoft Oyj couldn't be reached.
Written by Thomas Zadvydas in New York


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After a recent facility tour organized by WDSrx for the local and regional life sciences community, the Delray Beach Newspaper (The Pineapple) wrote an informative story about the daily output at our Boca Raton headquarters facility. Read the original story here reproduced below:
By: Marisa Herman Associate Editor
When you have a prescription that needs to be filled, you head to your local pharmacy. Ever wonder where the pharmacies get their supply from?
It is likely from one of warehouses operated by WDSrx, which supplies pharmaceuticals to 530 zip codes.
One of those warehouses, a 70,000-square-foot facility on Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton, ships out more than 800 packages containing 14 million dosages per day.
“Pharmacists are licensed to dispense to patients,” President Adam Runsdorf said. “We are licensed to dispense to stores.”
Local healthcare and life science companies were recently invited to tour the facility, a retrofitted IBM building, in an event organized by the city’s Office of Economic Development. The goal was to get people in the same industry to network and better work together.
Runsdorf said the local life sciences community is unique because of the willingness of companies to cooperate and collaborate with each other to build businesses together.
The audience of about 50 included healthcare professionals from local universities, financial institutions, manufacturers, start-ups, support services and other suppliers. Several elected officials including Mayor Susan Haynie and Councilman Robert Weinroth attended as well.
“It’s not a fancy business,” Runsdorf said during the tour. “We are in the trenches.”
The company has to be licensed in every state it distributes to and each have their own set of rules, he said. The one exception is the state of Massachusetts, he said, which doesn’t require licensing.
Everything that the warehouse receives and then sends out is electronically catalogued. Monthly, he said a report is sent to Washington, D.C. where activity is monitored by the government. Because everything is electronically catalogued, Runsdorf said there is very little phone calls to the warehouse. Communication is typically handled electronically.
“With a scan gun we can see and know where everything is in this location,” he said. “In this business accuracy is key.”
The warehouse itself is also regulated. Temperature readings are taken every 30 minutes to make sure the correct temperature is maintained to house the medicine. Of course there are cameras and security measures taken as well.
Inside the warehouse is the second largest controlled substance vault in the state. He said it was built to accommodate a New Jersey-based company. The door weighs 11,000 pounds, has a generator, alarm system, cameras and must be handed by two people at all times if it is in use.
“This is Fort Knox,” he said.
Runsdorf said Florida doesn’t produce a lot, rather it imports a lot. The warehouse receives shipments from 14 countries daily including fish oil from Lima, Peru and other European countries like Italy and Spain.
“We have become a destination location,” he said. “We are Fed Ex’s largest customer in Palm Beach County.”
About once a month he said everything in the warehouse is replaced with new inventory.
Another function of the company is to collect, catalog and transport old and expired medication to be incinerated. The company collects from 800 pharmacies across the country and then take the drugs to be destroyed.
The facility also has machines to bottle medications and capsules in house. A new machine will begin making blister packs after it receives FDA approval. He said the machine cost $700,000 and was custom ordered from Taiwan.
Starting in November, he said all prescription drugs will have an individual serial number just like a dollar bill. The machines will be equipped to handle the new regulations.


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By Sumit Passary | Aug 11, 2012 01:33 PM EDT
News suggests that IBM made an informal approach to Research In Motion (RIM) to buy BlackBerry e-mail and messaging service. After losing its market share to rivals like Apple and Google's Android system, will RIM have a second thought on IBM's proposal?
More than a decade ago, RIM's first BlackBerry devices virtually invented the mobile e-mail service. A lot has changed since the last decade and with shrinking market share, the fortunes of the Canadian company, in the mobile handset industry, has sharply declined. "You can only view the handset division as in a death spiral," said Frank Marsala, an analyst at Gartner.
Before 2007, when Apple launched its first iPhone, BlackBerry devices accounted for one in every five mobiles sold. Along with stiff market competition RIM has suffered from a series of strategic and operational mistakes The mistakes include a daunting week-long Internet blackout throughout Europe and the Middle East in Oct. 2011. This blackout was caused due to a hardware glitch in Egham, Surrey. With RIM's failure to invest in its infrastructure, the company ended up projecting itself as a diminishing technology power.
"Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and we will continue to keep you informed," stated a RIM spokesman, according to The Telegraph.
Even with all the misfortunes surrounding RIM, the software in its BlackBerry devices give IT departments control over the security of their company information by using strong encryption algorithms to confuse attempts of hackers. However, the increasing popularity of Apple and Google Android-based smartphones may present RIM with an opportunity to sell its high-security systems to other smartphone manufacturers.
Deal or no deal with IBM, BlackBerry still remains RIM's most valued asset.
© 2013 Mobile & Apps All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — MILES Auto Spa and Express Carwashes announced in a press release that the carwashing enterprise will celebrate the grand reopening of its Mallory Station Road location with a free weekend of carwashes Friday, Aug. 25 through Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023.
The reopened site, located at 404 Mallory Station Road in Franklin, marks the debut of its reimagined concept, MILE15, that offers one exterior carwash for one low price to provide an easy, convenient option for customers.
“In January 2022, during the industry-wide challenges caused by the pandemic, we made the decision to temporarily close our Mallory Station location to redirect our employees to our other three sites across the area that feature larger footprints,” said Miles Johnson, founder of MILES. “The unique size of the Mallory Station location didn’t allow us to provide the same interior cleaning services compared to our other sites. However, after assessing that half of our customer base prefers exterior-only services, we decided to relaunch our Mallory Station location with a completely new concept — MILE15 — that was custom designed to cater to our customers’ specific needs, which this location is perfectly suited for.”
For an all-inclusive price of $15, the MILE15 concept offers a premium exterior wash featuring top-notch services including tri-color foam conditioner, underbody flush, Turtle Wax Ice polish and sealant, Buff and Shine chamois dry, fire bath, wheel cleaner, MILES hot wax and tire shine.
The carwash tunnel is packed with the latest technology and wash chemicals, offering a simple five-minute cleaning solution.
With the MILE15 concept, guests can receive a premium exterior carwash with services that would traditionally cost approximately $24 if purchased a la carte.
As an alternative to the $15 deal, customers can purchase unlimited washing for $30 a month that can be used across all four of its local locations.
“We pride ourselves on continually evaluating customer trends and infusing that into our business model so we can best meet our guests where they are,” said Rocky Crossland, president of MILES. “Our wide range of offerings are evidence of that. Customers can choose what type of experience they would like to receive based on our four locations — whether that be a luxury detail, express wash with the option to self-clean the interior, or express wash only. Our ability to adapt and customize our offerings to cater to customer needs is one of the main drivers behind the success we’ve experienced in the local community for the past 16 years.”
All four MILES locations are open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information, visit www.milesautospa.com.


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Axie Infinityhas earned %190.9 million in revenues over the previous 30 days, surpassing OpenSea.
metaverseannouncement final yr has put many blockchain video games on the expansion path.
- The AXS token reached an all-time excessive of $162 after the
Decentralized video games play an essential function sooner or later metaverse that males like Fb chief govt Mark Zuckerberg wish to construct. However they’ve additionally been opposed by gaming firms like
Valve, which banned blockchain-based video games from Steam just lately. However these firms might discover it tougher to argue towards these video games in the event that they preserve racking up the numbers by way of revenues.
To that finish, standard
blockchain-based game Axie Infinity has surpassed NFT-platform OpenSea in 30 day income numbers for the primary time, based on crypto journalist Colin Wu, who
cited knowledge from Token Terminal, a knowledge analytics platform for crypto property.
“Prior to now 30d, Axie Infinity continued to prepared the ground with $190.9 million in income from Dapps. With the cooling of the
NFT market, dYdX surpassed OpenSea with 30d $66.9million in settlement revenue,” Wu famous on Twitter.
Compared, OpenSea, which is likely one of the largest NFT-auctioning platforms on the planet, earned $66.9 million throughout the identical time.
NFT video games on the rise
Axie Infinity has been rising quick over the previous three months, with over 200% income progress within the final three months. Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to shift Fb’s focus to constructing the metaverse, led the sport’s token – AXS – to its all-time excessive worth of $162. Fb rebranded to Meta final week, and mentioned it plans to concentrate on digital actuality and augmented actuality merchandise to construct the metaverse. The AXS token has appreciated by 200% over the previous three months.
Fb’s metaverse plans might assist the social media large in future, however in the meanwhile it’s serving to blockchain recreation builders. Axie Infinity isn’t the one recreation that has seen such progress. Decentraland’s MANA has gained a whopping 300% since Fb’s rebranding, lower than per week in the past.
In keeping with
DappRadar, 4 of the highest 10 video games by way of quantity have gained greater than 20% customers up to now seven days. One recreation, known as Wanaka Farm, has elevated its person base by over 500% up to now seven days, whereas Axie Infinity’s use base itself has grown by 5% on the similar time interval.


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Geeks who brought the Macintosh computer to life became Silicon Valley rock stars, with people asking for autographs or photos while celebrating the Apple desktop machine’s 30th birthday.
Members of the original “Mac” team got the star treatment yesterday for passionately building a home computer “for the rest of us” at a time when IBM machines dominated in workplaces.
The friendly desktop referred to as the Mac and, importantly, the ability to control it by clicking on icons with a “mouse,” opened computing to non-geeks in much the way that touchscreens later allowed almost anyone to get instantly comfortable with smartphones or tablets.
The birthday party was held in a performing arts centre in Cupertino, where legendary late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs first introduced the Mac to the world on January 24, 1984. “Ever since I can remember I’ve been entranced with how these Macs work,” 16-year-old Tom Frikker told AFP as he worked his way through the crowd, getting original team members to autograph the vintage Mac he brought from home.
“It seems like a work of art,” the teenager continued. “I thought it would be cool to come out and see all these people that I’ve heard about.”
Prior to the Mac, with its “graphical user interface,” computers were commanded with text typed in what seemed like a foreign language to those who were not software programmers.
“The effect the Mac had on the world and on computing is really fascinating,” said Warren Sande, a fiber optic telecom company manager who was a school boy when the Apple desktop debuted.
Sande’s 14-year-old son was eager to hear inside stories from those who made the Mac. “The Mac had no video hardware, a tiny amount of RAM and a floppy drive, and it did stuff that my computer with eight gigabytes of RAM and dedicated video hardware has trouble doing,” Carter Sande said.
“I need to figure out why,” the teenager said. “It is so amazing that they did so much with a tiny amount of hardware.” The original vision of launching a Macintosh with 64 kilobytes of RAM and a $1,000 price gave way to introducing one with 128 kilobytes of RAM at $2,500.
Members of the Mac team told of being crushed when they got word of the higher price because they had been driven by a belief that they were making a machine that typical people could afford as well as easily use.
Applause erupted from the audience as members of the original Mac team stepped on stage to share memories. Video clips, many starring a young Steve Jobs, were played.


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Beef trade continues to be very favorable. Beef exports during February were 25.4% higher than 12 months earlier and beef imports were 16.5% lower. The big growth markets for beef exports were South Korea, Japan and Canada. Canada, Australia and Brazil account for the drop in beef imports. During the first two months of 2011, the U.S. exported 9.4% of U.S. beef production while imports equaled 6.9% of production. Exports have exceeded imports during each of the last six months. A stronger world economy and a weakening dollar are two main causes of the trade gains. The trade-weighted value of the dollar was down 4.6% in February compared to a year earlier.
The year-over-year inflation rate for March was 2.7%, the highest since December 2009. Rising inflation poses a threat to economic growth.
The 5-area daily weighted average price for slaughter steers sold through Thursday of this week on a live weight basis was $119.23/cwt, down $3.97 from last week’s record. Steers sold on a dressed weight basis this week averaged $190.15/cwt, $6.37 lower than the week before. This week last year, slaughter steer prices averaged $99.53/cwt live and $159.26/cwt dressed.
On Friday morning the choice boxed beef carcass cutout value was $187.09/cwt, down $3.89 from last week’s record. The select carcass cutout was down $3.46 from the previous Friday to $184.24 per hundred pounds of carcass weight.
This week’s cattle slaughter totaled 640,000 head, up 1.4% from the week before, but down 0.5% compared to the same week last year. Steer carcass weights averaged 821 pounds during the week ending April 2. That was down 6 pounds from the week before, but 8 pounds heavier than a year ago. Steers weights have been above year-ago for the last 17 weeks.
Cash bids for feeder cattle around the country this week were mostly steady to $4 lower with a few reports as much as $10 lower. Oklahoma City prices were $2 to $4 lower on stocker cattle and $2 to $5 lower on feeder cattle than the previous week with price ranges for medium and large frame #1 steers: 400-450# $174-$179.50, 450-500# $163, 500-550# $151-$159, 550-600# $142.25-$151, 600-650# $140-$149, 650-700# $135.25-$139.50, 700-750# $132.50-$138, 750-800# $128-$137.25, 800-900# $122.50-$130.75 and 900-1000# $119-$123/cwt.
The April fed cattle futures contract ended the week at $117.40/cwt, down $1.42 from a week ago. The June contracted closed out the week at $115.30/cwt. The August contract settled at $117.25 and October contract ended the week at $121.825/cwt.
May corn futures settled at $7.42 on Friday, down 26 cents from 7 days earlier. September corn ended the week at $7.014/bushel.


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Consumers have grown to love Mint Mobile, the cheap cellphone provider headed by Ryan Reynolds.
Besides the great advertising, mainly featuring Ryan Reynolds, the provider offers low-cost cellphone plans that are easy to use.
In an “announcemint” sent out on March 15, Mint Mobile said, “We believe bringing together these two innovative brands will supercharge our mission to provide you with the most affordable premium wireless service.”
They continued, “Mint Mobile has run on the T-Mobile network since day one, and now that we’ve joined forces with T-Mobile, we’ll be able to bring the best value in wireless to a whole new level. More importantly, we have no plans to change our $15 per month pricing, and you will continue to benefit from the same reliable and affordable service that has defined Mint Mobile since the beginning.”
They said, “This exciting arrangemint will allow us to accelerate our subscriber-centric approach and deliver the Mint Mobile experience you’ve come to expect while securing permanent access to the nation’s largest, fastest and most reliable 5G network.”
What Does This Mean?
What does this mean for users of the popular service? We don’t know how this will play out, and initially, it probably won’t affect consumers too much, but in the long run, T-Mobile does not have a good traffic record of treating customers properly.
Customers can’t be blamed for feeling disappointed in what can only be seen as a “Sell-out.” As more and more companies combine into a few telecom monoliths, customers are once again getting the short end of the stick.
Mint Mobile shared the following video in an email to customers, which Ryan Reynolds posted on his YouTube Channel.
“Here to talk about that are two names you might know: Mint Mobile Owner, Ryan Reynolds, and T-Mobile CEO, Mike Sievert.”
Cellphone providers are notorious for trapping customers into long contracts and for charging high prices for very little service. Mint Mobile was bucking the trend by offering easy, low-cost plans that helped consumers get quality cell phone service without breaking the bank.
What do you think? Will this merger be a good thing for consumers or be another case of a large company ruining the good thing a small company had going?


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Shares of data integration and software firm Palantir Inc (NYSE: PLTR) have plummeted premarket on Tuesday after the company reported its Q1 earnings showing a widening net loss.
The company reported a net loss of $123.4 million or -$0.07 per share compared to a loss of $54 million or -$0.10 the previous year. The adjusted EPS came in at $0.04 per share.
Revenue for the period rose, beating analyst expectations, coming in at $341 million compared to $229 million in Q1 2020.
Looking ahead, the company expects Q2 revenue to be $360 million, again above analyst expectations and representing year over year growth of 43%.
They also expect annual revenue growth of 30% for 2021 through to 2025.
Palantir's stock price is down 10.45% premarket at $16.54 after a 6.48% fall on Monday. So far in May, Palantir's share price has tumbled over 20%.
Tech stocks offer some of the best growth potential, but time and time again, traders and investors ask us “what are the best tech stocks to buy?” You've probably seen shares of companies such as Amazon and Netflix achieve monumental rises in the past few years, but there are still several tech stocks with room for significant gains. Here is our analysts view on the best tech stocks to buy right now
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage . 68 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider . You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money .
The AskTraders Analyst Team features experts in technical and fundamental analysis, as well as traders specializing in stocks, forex, and cryptocurrency.


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First, you should crank up the thermostat at home to make sure the furnace fires up.
"If you have a high-efficiency furnace with venting out the wall, like a PVC plastic venting, you want to make sure that there's no obstructions," said David Oliver, owner of Oliver Heating and Cooling. He explained if that vent is blocked, your house will fill with carbon monoxide.
If the heat doesn't turn on, Oliver said it's likely something small.
"Sometimes it's as simple as dirt in the components where they're not making a proper connection," said Oliver.
For your car, it's smart to pack an emergency bag and leave it in the trunk because while nobody ever plans to get stranded, you can be prepared for it.
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield gave advice for what to pack.
"Additional clothing and outerwear such as a hat and gloves," he said. "Bottled water and snacks. A collapsible snow shovel."
Padfield said to make sure to pack your medications too, if necessary.


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SAN ANGELO, Texas — With so many restaurants seeing a loss of business over the course of the Coronavirus pandemic, The Color Brand, a local marketing company, came up with a way to get people to order takeout from their favorite establishments. They created a Facebook Easter egg hunt.
“Really, the point of it was just to have fun with people online,” says Rylan Oaks, Creative Director at the Color Brand, a marketing and branding company located in San Angelo, “Kind of getting them out a little bit and doing something fun with the family. But also, at the same time, doing that to support local businesses that they love and want to see thrive even in the midst of the quarantine.
Oaks initially created the Easter egg hunt with a cash prize of $200, but thanks to City National Bank, there’s more money to go around.
“Now,” says Oaks, “if people participate in the contest they’ll be eligible to win a grand prize of $300, and then we’re also going to give away a runner up $150, and then we’re also going to do a $50 drawing for anyone that shares a picture on social media with hashtag #SanAngeloEggHunt.
People can participate through the ‘San Angelo Facebook Egg Hunt 2020‘ event on Facebook. Oaks says the reaction so far has been encouraging and he’s happy it’s helping to get people to restaurants when it’s most needed.
“To see so many people in San Angelo really getting out to support these food establishments that they love and they want to see do well and, day one, start to react to it has been great and we’re looking forward to even more reactions in the days coming up.”
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HCC boosts demand for Welsh Lamb
The new catchline for the marketing push is ‘Not All Lamb Is Created Equal’ and is set to increase consumer demand, ultimately driving sales in the retail and hospitality sectors.
HCC is investing £500,000 in delivering a raft of on and offline advertising, PR and social media activity from this autumn through to summer 2015.
Highlighting the superlative quality of lamb born and raised in Wales, the campaign focuses on the promotion of Welsh Lamb as a flavoursome and versatile option for every household with a taste for great food.
Perfectly timed in line with peak availability, the ‘Not All Lamb Is Created Equal’ campaign will motivate cooks and diners alike. Fresh TV, digital and consumer press advertising in lifestyle, food and supermarket magazines picks up where previous ads left off, emphasising the product’s provenance and its well-deserved Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status as one of the world’s most cherished foods.
Recognising the ever-increasing relevance of social media in the battle for consumer attention, the campaign will up the ante on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, sharing accessible recipes as diverse as they are inspiring. It’s also intended that traditional magazines and food columns will revisit Welsh Lamb as a culinary classic worthy of a contemporary twist.
Great British Chefs, the thriving online foodie magazine, is backing the campaign in an exclusive deal to provide brand new Welsh Lamb recipes and ‘how to’ video content from some of the UK’s top chefs.
The campaign kicks off with digital advertising and at point-of-sale with an innovative competition promoted through independent butchers and on-pack in multiple retailers, encouraging amateur cooks to show off their favourite Welsh Lamb creations in a bid to win a hamper of Welsh Lamb.
Philippa Gill, HCC’s Brand Marketing Executive, said: “With some fresh strategic thinking and more than a little creativity, we’re confident this integrated approach, which puts the digital consumer at the heart of our communications, will deliver real benefits for everyone in the supply chain.
“Make sure you’re fully stocked with Welsh Lamb. It’s what customers will be looking for this season.”
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Kia Motors to launch an all-electric version of Seltos: Report
Kia Motors is working to launch a fully-electric version of its popular subcompact SUV, the Seltos, according to The KEEA. The report has also claimed that the EV will be powered by the same motor which is used on Hyundai Kona and is likely to make its debut in 2020. Notably, the model is also said to be exclusive for Asian markets only.
Codenamed as SP2 EV, the all-electric version of the Seltos will share its powertrain with its cousin, the Kona EV. The car is likely to pack an electric motor which produces 204bhp of maximum power and is fueled by a 64kWh battery pack. Moreover, the fully-electric SUV is expected to offer a range of 400km on a single charge.
When will the fully-electric Seltos arrive in India?
The all-electric Seltos is likely to make its global debut sometime in 2020. It would go on sale in Korea first, followed by an India launch later in the year. As far as its pricing is concerned, we expect the upcoming car to be positioned above the Hyundai Kona which currently starts at Rs. 23.71 lakh in India.
Meanwhile, here's recalling Kia Seltos
To recall, the Kia Seltos, which was launched in India in August this year, features a sporty look with a big cascading grille, silver-colored skid plates, and roof rails. The crossover houses sleek LED headlamps with DRLs, LED fog lamps, indicator-mounted electronically adjustable ORVMs, and LED taillights. Moreover, it runs on 17-inch alloy wheels and has a wheelbase of 2,610mm.
The car offers a feature-loaded cabin
Inside, the five-seater Seltos offers a luxurious and hi-tech cabin with ventilated seats, an 8-inch head-up display, and a 10.25-inch infotainment system with UVO connected car technology. The car also gets a sunroof and several handy features like wireless charging, automatic climate control, and Kia's Sound Mood Lighting. Moreover, it offers upto six airbags, ABS with EBD, and a 360-degree camera with parking sensors.
Finally, here's a look at the engine options
The Kia Seltos is offered in three BS6-compliant engine options: a 1.4-liter as well as 1.5-liter petrol, and a 1.5-liter diesel. The former two churn out 138bhp and 113bhp of power and 242Nm and 144Nm of peak torque, respectively. On the other hand, the 1.5-liter diesel mill produces 113bhp and 250Nm. Moreover, it is available with both 6-speed manual or automatic transmission options.


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Want to join the conversation?
Paul Trussell of Deutsche Bank asks about the drivers of better than expected GM performance in 2Q16. $M said that the key is its sales were better than expected. Also the company has a good merchant team that was able to plan out the promotions and needed clearance markdowns to get the inventory in shape as it was at the end of the quarter.
For the past few years, $AAPL has been buying domains with the iCloud name. According to a report from TechCrunch, the latest acquisition was of the domain name iCloud.net.
$AAPL just released the first look of its $5 billion Cupertino campus, now named Apple Park. Take a look.
Looking forward to the first $TSLA earnings after SolarCity acquisition.


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After a long time of covid problems in the international tourism market, the 8th Athens International Tourism & Culture Expo 2021, in physical version, is a vehicle for the international promotion of Greek tourism and will continue the efforts, as every year, to support incoming tourism.
The exhibition will offer a unique opportunity for all participants to increase their contacts, build new business and discover new destinations in Greece.
This year over 120 exhibitors from Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark and others will take part, and 150 international buyers from 50 countries (Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, Russia, Turkey, the USA and Canada) will take part in b2b meetings with exhibitors. The exhibition will offer an opportunity for all participants to increase their contacts, build new business partnerships and discover new destinations. The event will cover the tourist categories: Leisure, Luxury Tourism and Business Tourism (MICE) with an emphasis on cultural tourism.
Bulgaria: Honored country at 8th Athens International Tourism & Culture Expo 2021
Bulgaria will be the Honored Country at the 8th Athens International Tourism & Culture Expo 2021 with the widest participation of many Bulgarian tourism companies.
For the first time, the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism officially participates with co-exhibitors Municipalities, Organizations and companies such as the Municipality of Bansko, the Association “Festivals in Bulgaria”, the Prevention, Rehabilitation and Recreation EAD, The Castle in Ravadinovo – In Love with the Wind, Rila Travel EOOD, Grand Hotel Bansko and Hotel Regnum – Bansko, etc.
According to the Press Release of the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism, “the two countries are developing active cooperation in the field of tourism. Greece is the main target market for Bulgaria, and in 2019 it holds the second place in number of tourist visits (over 1,100,000). Given the pandemic and anti-epidemic measures, visits from all markets, including Greece, have declined significantly since early 2020, but are gradually recovering in 2021. Greece continues to be in the top 10 markets with the largest influx of tourists to our country.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition will be held in a hybrid form – on site and online. Through a virtual stand, each online visitor will have the opportunity to make a one-click teleconference meeting with exhibitors.
Where: Zappeion Megaro, Athens
When: Thursday 25 & Friday 26 November 2021
Hours: 10:00 – 20:00
Saturday 27 November 2021
Hours: 10:00 – 18:00
Entry Fees: Check official website


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Donald Trump, years ago, famously suggested his brand’s value fluctuates based on his feelings on any given day. But it has more to do with how people feel about him.
Trump has long wrapped himself in a personal brand he valued as high as $4 billion before he became president. Successes like Trump Tower and “The Apprentice” helped absorb flameouts like his airline, casinos, and steaks, helping him get elected president despite six bankruptcies, fraud and discrimination lawsuits, and sexual assault allegations.
But now a divisive presidency capped by a deadly riot on Capitol Hill has stirred unprecedented brand-altering forces. The abstract enterprise of determining his name’s value carries concrete implications as Trump returns to a business where old partners are fleeing, revenues are plummeting, and debts of hundreds of millions of dollars are coming due.
“Obviously right now it’s a polarizing brand. There are people that really bought into it, and people who absolutely despise it. You would have to consider all the new facts,” said intellectual property attorney Fabrizio Lolliri, global head of transfer pricing at Hogan Lovells LLP. “There are a lot of variables, and it’s not pure math where two plus two equals four.”
Seventy-four million votes don’t necessarily translate to dollars, particularly after a Trump-inspired—if not implicitly directed—insurrection, trademark attorney Doug Rettew of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP said.
“I think people are going to run from this brand,” Rettew said. “And the people who go for it: Are they going to pay a high price based on what he believes the brand represents?”
The Trump Organization didn’t respond to a request for comment on this story.
Show Your Work
Determining a value for a brand blends objective data with subjective judgments on the most relevant data and business projections, valuation attorneys say. There are several methodologies. But whether a valuation is done for tax or accounting purposes, or to facilitate a sale, you have to show your work and justify your choices, they say.
“You really, really have to have a lot of support for the numbers you have,” said Cristina Espiritu, whose business Sparkvation Consulting does valuations. “It’s really more of an art than a science.”
Brand value can be derived from the cost of developing it, income from licensing it, competitor licensing, and business data, or what’s left after subtracting from the business’ value its more quantifiable assets.
Several estimates can be produced using different methods or estimates of subjective variables to see whether they reach a similar result. They can also indicate how much changing those variables alters the result.
Data on Trump’ prolific brand licensing could in theory provide a window into the brand’s worth. But formulations must take into account all the available information—at the time of the valuation, Lolliri said.
That includes the effects of the Capitol riot on his voters’ passion for him, as well as corporations rethinking their relationships with his brand.
Since the riot, Trump has been kicked off social media, longtime lender Deutsche Bank led a group that cut ties with him,, and the PGA of America canceled plans to host the 2022 PGA Championship at the Trump National golf course in New Jersey. Some owners of condominiums at Trump Palace in New York are trying to get his name removed from the building, according to Bloomberg News.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen provided Congress documentation that Trump used a $4 billion brand valuation to justify a jump in his stated net worth during his 2014 unsuccessful bid to by the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
The document provided by Cohen—who by then had pled guilty to lying to Congress on Trump’s behalf—said his net worth grew from $8.7 billion to $4.2 billion. Trump’s presidential campaign estimated the brand to be worth $3.3 billion in 2015 “for real estate licensing deals, brand and branded developments.”
Neither documentation showed its work at the time, and his presidency undoubtedly has had an effect since. His hotels and golf courses already had seen downturns during his time in office before the Covid-19 pandemic brought travel to a halt for the entire industry.
Bloomberg News now assesses Trump’s total net worth at $2.5 billion, but doesn’t attempt to value his brand.
In his final financial disclosure statement as president, Trump reported that income for his businesses fell to between $273 million and $308 million during 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021, as revenue plummeted at many of his most prominent properties. In 2017, he reported making more than $528.9 million over the prior 15 1/2 months, including his first three months as president.
Brand values are difficult to pin down even under ordinary circumstances. A rule of thumb is one to three times revenue, but it depends on factors including whether the name would still hold its value if owned by someone else.
Even within the same industry, competitors’ brand calculation methods can vary considerably. Apple may rely more on its trademark and brand than others relying more on technology itself, Lolliri said. In that case, looking outside the industry at a brand that similarly aims to signal a luxury brand and lifestyle—like fashion designer Chanel—may be more illustrative, Lolliri said.
Name recognition is a big part of brand value, and Rettew noted that Trump’s brand is more well-known than ever. But even before the riot, years of scrutiny of his past business ventures increased awareness of “a graveyard jam-packed with failed ventures” bearing his name, Rettew said.
He added that some of Trump’s 74 million voters may have been turned off by the riot, or were voting against Democrats rather than for the man and his name.
“That makes the value of the brand questionable at best. What does the brand stand for?” Rettew said. “When you go to the voting booth, people don’t see what you’ve done. When you buy a brand, people see it and it makes a statement.”
Trump’s brand isn’t the first to face a public relations crisis, including brands heavily associated with one person.
Forty years after Coco Chanel died, a 2011 book revealed that she had collaborated with Nazis during World War II. But by then Karl Lagerfeld had become the face of the company. That contained the damage, showing the ability of a personal brand to overcome severe controversy, Lolliri said.
Trump’s brand, though, is more difficult to separate from its political implications, Lolliri said.
He’ll have more difficulty recovering than, say, Martha Stewart did after her jail stint for insider trading, said trademark attorney Monica Riva Talley, who heads Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox LLP’s trademark practice.
“The horse is really out of the barn here. There have been too many assaults from different angles on the brand and its reputation,” Talley said, referring to the hospitality industry in particular.
Brand value can also vary by industry. Espiritu said it’s hard to envision anyone in Hollywood or other liberal-leaning media industries agreeing to work with him.
But Trump has also floated the possibility of starting his own political media outlet, which would probably bring in audiences of millions. That may be “more aligned with the value of the brand, where it is now,” Talley said.
There’s also the proven Trump brand resilience, which may be as unprecedented as the new obstacles it now faces.
“People forget, too; people are so fickle,” Espiritu said. “During the presidency, his hotels took a hit. What he was doing was in people’s faces. As he steps back and it settles down, eventually people forget.”
—Bloomberg News reporters Tom Maloney and Caleb Melby contributed to this report.