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Sainsbury’s announcement that it is launching a fully-fledged banking service elicited a predictable response: it is a me-too effort designed to trump Tesco, which continues to hold most of the aces. Trailing profit figures from Sainsbury this week will do nothing to belie this picture: they will confirm just how strong Tesco’s hand is – at the moment.
But what of the future? Sainsbury’s has little option but to take the ‘strategic’ view. Only in the medium- to long-term can it hope to regain the initiative. Whether it will do so remains to be seen. For now, we can only comment on how divergent the marketing strategies of the two supermarket chains are likely to become – contrary to current appearances.
For Tesco is something of an oddity. It is sticking to a policy of ‘splendid isolation’ while most major high street players huddle for comfort in increasingly complex coalitions.
Yes, Tesco does have a tactical money-off alliance with B&Q and it does collaborate (very much as senior partner) with NatWest on the Clubcard Plus scheme. But this is a world away from the flurry of deal-making which has Sainsbury’s at its hub. Sainsbury’s, it will be recalled, is a fully paid-up member of the Smart Card consortium – which is the most developed of the brand coalitions. Among the consortium’s other partners are Next, Ford, Cellnet, Allied Domecq and, of course, the pivotal founder member Shell.
Both Sainsbury’s and Shell have an additional exclusivity agreement with Air Miles, which has suggested to some that they may inveigle Air Miles’ owner BA into the alliance – a coup indeed. But this secondary alliance is interesting for other reasons as well. In a recent ‘turf war’, Shell (which has Air Miles exclusivity over petrol forecourts) was forced to back off when Sainsbury’s chose to offer Air Miles on its own forecourts through its proprietary Reward card scheme.
The incident demonstrates not only Sainsbury’s importance in the pecking order, but also the fragility of this and other brand coalitions.
Certainly there are important strategic reasons why the partners should stick together. For example, partnership spreads the cost of expensive but invaluable loyalty schemes. It also provides a means of finessing the banks in the provision of retail financial services.
But coalitions are also subject to short-term conflicts of interest – which will become increasingly difficult to manage as more partners pile in. Compromise will be indispensable if the partnership is to survive. Yet implicit in compromise is the threat of brand dilution.
Tesco or Sainsbury’s; isolation or federalism? Which is the right route? It’s the Maastricht dilemma of marketing.v
Cover story page 36; News page 7; Pitcher page 27


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IPL 2018: Samsung to serve as title sponsor Mumbai Indians
Electronic Appliances giant Samsung has struck a three-year title sponsorship deal with the defending champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians.
According to the report, Samsung stitched a whopping deal of INR 25 crore annually.
According to the COO, Kwan Entertainment and Marketing Solutions, Indranil Das Blah, Indians have set a strong foothold when it comes to a brand and consistency.
With Samsung to serve as the lead sponsor for the Mumbai-based outfit, it has been expected that it will further help its drive the value of the brand.
“MI is one of the top three strongest brands in the IPL and Mumbai being the biggest advertising market, there are multiple factors working for the team. Its on-field performance has been consistent,” ET quotes Indranil.
Pertinently, Rohit Sharma-led Indians were sponsored by Videocon earlier. Since 2013, Videocon has completed the five-year deal before being replaced by its rival.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side has the title sponsor in the form of The Muthoot Group.
The three-time champions of the IPL, Mumbai will face-off Chennai Super Kings on April 7 at the home base; Wankhede Stadium.
The Mukesh Ambani-owned team has already registered 100 wins in the IPL.
In February 2018, the reports suggested Samsung was in talks with the IPL franchise which turned out a reality before the impending edition of the IPL leg.
“It is never short on star power and many brands want to be associated with the owners (Ambani). So it is natural for the team to command higher value,” concludes Indranil.
Concluding, Mumbai Indians have the partners in the form of Jio Money, Kingfisher, Sharp and Usha in particular.
Also, Goibino will serve as the shirt sponsor. Moreover, the associate sponsors would also include DHFL, Munch, Performax, Burger King and Taiwan Excellence.
It further includes the ticketing partner BookMyShow and radio partners in the form of Fever 104 FM and Radio City.
Here’s the newsfeed:
Tahir Ibn Manzoor
NBA champion Harrison Barnes to visit India
Mumbai, April 24:National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Harrison Barnes of Sacramento Kings will visit India to promote basketball growth in…
IPL 2019, Match 43: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals – Match Prediction, Eden Gardens
Rahane would be confident to continue with his domination with the bat.

domain: news


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Free online watch Louis Vuitton – Spring Summer 2012 Fashion Show, you will enjoy it.
While some of us may have thought the new man Scarlett Johansson, Sean Penn, was just a rebound, we could be wrong! And Scarlett is not only one exacerbation in spring this year – Keira Knightley seems to be in love, too!
Last week, Cyrus was spotted getting cozy with his new lover, James Rayton, sun-in and park. Do not they look sweet together? I think they make a cute couple!
After the wedding, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds broke up last year and Sean Penn’s marriage with Robin Wright collapsed at about the same time, the couple began to point something. I assumed…
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It is the weekend we have all been waiting since the announcement was made this past February. The grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). As thousands make plans to head into to DC from around the world, the positive energy will be very high as the museum kicks off a weekend-long celebration starting today. In addition, communities are coming together to celebrate this historic moment in their own cities. Events are taking place as close as Baltimore and as far as Jakarta, Indonesia as part of the museum’s Lift Every Voice global initiative. A detailed directory of more than 500 events worldwide is available online at www.nmaahc.si.edu.
If you are in DC or have plans to be there for the weekend, here is a quick recap of what to do and how to celebrate more than 10 years in the making.
1. NMAAHC Weekend-Long Concerts and Events – Friday, September 23 – Sunday, September 25. From the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to Public Enemy concerts, there will be something to bring all generations together. Be sure to go online to check out the schedule for the weekend-long celebration. https://nmaahc.si.edu
2. Jokes & Jazz Comedy and Live Show – Friday, September 23. A fundraising event hosted by CTE Vision Foundation featuring nationally known comedians as well as a Youth Jazz Ensemble joined by some very special musical guests at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in DC. Doors open at 5 pm with a $40 donation. Info and tickets here.
3. Roy Ayes (Vibes/Soul Fusion) – Friday, September 23 – Sunday, September 25. Roy Ayers could very well be the best jazz/R&B artist you don’t know. His performance will take place from 8 – 11:59 pm at Blues Alley Jazz. Tickets are $40 and $45 + $5 fee. http://bit.ly/2dnyjO4
4. NMAAHC Dedication Ceremony – Saturday, September 24. Attend in person or watch the ceremony live on Facebook and on the museum’s website at 10 am EDT. The ceremony will be attended by President Barak Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
5. Black Owned Wine and Spirits Festival – Saturday, September 24. Celebrating Blacks rich history in wine and spirits, this day long festival will lay a foundation of commerce and education that will inspire and propel a movement towards the widespread support of black-owned spirits, wine and beer. Must be 21 and festival starts at 12 pm at the Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, MD. Tickets start at $55. Click here to purchase.
6. DC Beer Week – Saturday, September 24 – Saturday, October 1. The National Capital Region has no shortage of beer, and certainly no shortage of people to drink it. So along comes DC Beer Week, which will satisfy beer connoisseurs and casual beer consumers alike. Pass for the week starts at $164. http://dcbeerweek.net
7. National Book Festival – Saturday, September 24. Every year the Library of Congress hosts the National Book Festival, a free celebration of all things books, from authors to readings to hardcovers. Join fellow lovers of the written word at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. www.loc.gov/bookfest/?loclr=destdc-natbookfest
8. Marlon Wayans at DC Improv – Sunday, September 25. One of the hottest club acts in the country, Marlon started young, popping up on “In Living Color” in his early 20s. He had the highest-rated sitcom on the WB, appearing in “The Wayans Bros.” with his brother Shawn and the great John Witherspoon. Tickets available for Sunday’s 9 pm show only. www.dcimprov.com/home/marlon-wayans.html
9. An Evening of Culinary Excellence Reception – Monday, September 26. Join Cuisine Noir Magazine, celebrity chefs and black-owned wineries as they celebrate the opening of the NMAAHC with a food and wine reception like no other. Event will take place at the Toolbox Pilates Art Studio in DC. Tickets are $125. www.cuisinenoirmag.com
Although the event is sold out, an honorable mention goes to A Vibration Celebration: Honoring the Life of Vertamae Smart – Grosvenor on Sunday, September 25. Mulebone (formerly Eatonville) and NPR will celebrate and honor the life of Culinary Anthropologist, Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor. FREE access and complimentary hors d’oeuvres inspired by Vertamae’s best-selling cookbook: Vibration Cooking, Or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl. Celebration will take place at Mulebone in DC.


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It's going to be an exciting year for television. The completion of analogue switch-off will send the UK 100% digital by 24 October, the much-maligned, yet still eagerly anticipated, YouView will eventually transform the way we watch terrestrial TV, greater integration will see an increase in second-screen viewing, and more social media tools will depend on TV audiences for their success.
In short, programme content is becoming more interactive and more accessible than it has ever been and advertising is following suit.
Amid the gloomy economic forecasts of the past few years, TV advertising has maintained its place at the top of the table for return on investment, increasing by 22% since 2006 and returning £1.70 for every £1 invested. This is because TV's effectiveness has largely remained undiminished while the cost of advertising on TV has fallen.
The five-year study by Ebiquity, which produced these findings, analysed 3,000 ad campaigns across TV, radio, press, online static display and outdoor. It measured and compared on a like-for-like basis, sales and profit impact, and found that TV advertising is two-and-half times more effective at creating sales uplift per equivalent exposure than the next-best performing medium, which was press.
Lindsey Clay, managing director of television marketing body Thinkbox, which commissioned the study, says: "We watched some 2.7 billion ads a day in 2011, which is a record number. Now there's clear evidence that they have become more effective over time. However, there are many new ways that advertisers can create inventive and original campaigns alongside the well-established spot.
"We expect all of them to feature heavily in 2012, including event breaks, themed breaks, advertorials, contextual ads, live ads, green-button content, programme sponsorship, channel sponsorship, advertiser-funded programming and gamification. Increasingly, because of social TV, we'll also see two-screen campaigns built around TV ad creative."
Following the arrival of former OMD UK managing director Jonathan Allan to Channel 4 as sales director last July, the broadcaster integrated its digital and TV sales teams to offer a more holistic approach to advertisers. The result has seen a plethora of ad formats made available for both 4OD and the broadcaster's Channel 4, Film 4, More 4, E4 and UK TV channels.
Allan says: "We're constantly innovating and trying to drive the agenda, and we'll be talking to creative agencies a lot this year about how to stop just making linear TV advertising and start focusing on a more connected viewer relationship."
For VoD (Video on Demand) campaigns, advertisers are now able to buy by demographic, as well as genre. Actual viewer data, gathered by Channel 4 through registration profile information, can now be supplemented by third-party data, supplied by Quantcast, to deliver more accurate audience breakdowns.
"We have more than 1.5 million registered users of 4OD and we know exactly who they are and where they're viewing from. In partnership with advertisers, we can therefore personalise the viewing experience, which in turn will push recommendations and advertising sales uplifts," Allan continues
The available Channel 4 online ad formats range from Ad Elect Video, an established mechanic, which allows viewers to choose between different creative executions of an ad, to newly developed formats such as Ad Pop, Ad Bloom, Ad Social and Ad Interact.
The average click-through rate for Ad Elect is between 3.21% and 5.76%, and for standard pre-roll, it's between 1.5% and 1.7%.
Ad Pop enables the product being advertised in a pre-roll to "pop out" of the constraints of the player area, meaning the viewer can explore the product's features through interactive images and overlays. Ad Bloom allows the ad to evolve from an in-player ad pre-roll and grow out into a microsite within the player.
Ad Social drives social media awareness of the ad by offering viewers the option to Like, Check-in with, Recommend or Follow a brand, direct from the player. Ad Interact delivers pre-roll advertising with an interactive element such as competitions or coupon registration, without leaving the player page.
Allan explains: "We launched these latest online formats in September 2011. They'll grow and compliment existing mechanics for both VoD and TV. These include live overlay ads, currently used by companies such as Bet365.com to broadcast gambling odds, geo-targeted ads, or themed packages such as The Premiere Break, which allows advertisers to take over a commercial break and showcase new creative in an appointment-to-view event across the Channel 4 portfolio.
"We're also investing heavily in dual-screen and gamification models such as the 'The Million Pound Drop Live' play-along at home and 'The Bank Job', where contestants were selected to be on TV based on their online performance. Plus, we're putting a lot of money behind social media and we were the first broadcaster to work with Zeebox on 'Desperate Scousewives'."
Zeebox, which mixes social content and ecommerce with an interactive TV guide as part of an iPad, iPhone and web app, sold a 10% equity stake to British Sky Broadcasting in December.
The deal will result in Zeebox's functionality being incorporated into BSkyB's mobile apps, but it also allows Zeebox the freedom to continue to work with other partners such as Channel 4.
Simon Daglish, ITV group commercial sales director, is quick to point out that second-screen platforms are cropping up everywhere now. He admits however, that the survivors will ultimately be supported by all broadcasters and that ITV is monitoring the landscape closely.
He says: "TV is always open to collaboration with other media owners. The interesting area for us at the moment though is how to exploit what we already have.
"We've seen over one million downloads of the ITV Player app and an increase in watching long-form programming on mobile devices. 'TOWIE' is a trailblazer for social media and programming integration with on-screen calls to action and one tweet posted every second it airs."
Leila Gould, head of TV for Total Media, knows that television ads are no longer enough on their own. She says: "Social media integration is giving television advertising a boost and it's creating enhanced shared-viewing experiences. TV is more affordable now and together, we're getting cleverer at integrating ad-funded programming with social channels on behalf of clients."
In April last year, Total Media teamed up with Feel to help amplify a campaign for Linda McCartney Foods. The campaign, to find Britain’s tastiest meat-free dish, only had a small budget, so Gould went to ITV and negotiated two-minute exclusive ad break slots during 'This Morning'.
She says: "It was the first time Linda McCartney products had been back on the TV in 15 years. It reached an additional five million 'This Morning' viewers following an extensive online competition. ITV even changed the show's break pattern just to accommodate us."
ITV is currently on the verge of launching one additional ad format and has two others in development. The format expected first is Ad Play, which allows advertisers to pose questions to viewers relating to the advertised product.
ITV's Daglish says: "Viewer response provides valuable data on product awareness and ad effectiveness in a simple mechanic – if the viewer gets the question right, they are returned straight to the programme content, rewarding their informed engagement.
"The same mechanic could be used to provide access to exclusive content, a reward discount or another type of bonus from the advertiser."
The two other formats in development at ITV are a Save for Later mechanic and a Deep Dive format.
The Save for Later mechanic addresses the fact that when watching VoD content, viewers are reluctant to click away from the show to an advertiser website or further product information.
"It allows the viewer to register their interest so that the relevant ad, associated information or even a voucher can be stored for them to view later," continues Daglish. "Deep Dive ads will allow viewers to watch, say a supermarket recipe ad, and place the ingredients directly into an online basket."
Channel 5 provides advertisers with a package of assets owned by Northern & Shell, including newspaper and magazine spots. This year, the broadcaster will also unlock more of its editorial space for advertiser involvement in programmes such as 'Big Brother' and produce more themed break flashes and idents, such as those created to launch the Nokia Lumia over an entire week in December.
Yet, in spite of all the ad solutions, either in development or newly available to clients, ITV's Daglish, along with Channel 5 commercial sales director Nick Bampton and many others working in television, still laud the 30-second spot as integral to the future of commercial broadcasting.
He says: "The YouTube skippable ad format has its place, but as broadcasters, we don't want people to skip the ads. In partnership with creative agencies and clients, we need to focus on well-produced content such as the pre-Christmas John Lewis campaign."
Bampton agrees: "Iconic adverts are what TV does best and we should never loose sight of that. Creative ad solutions are game-changers, but the creativity of content has to be nurtured. The agenda is far too often set by what's new, when much of it will fall away with time. The 30-second spot is more powerful than any other medium and when it's done right, audiences are drawn to the messaging through the creativity."
On the subject of television, this year's Thinkbox Television Planning Awards, which are sponsored by Media Week and Campaign, will be open to enter from tomorrow (26 January).


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U.S. Housing Gains Spur 206% Caesarstone Rally: Israel OvernightGabrielle Coppola
Caesarstone Sdot Yam Ltd., the Israeli maker of kitchen countertops, is leading gains among the nation’s stocks traded in New York as the strongest U.S. housing market since 2007 bolsters the company’s sales outlook.
Caesarstone has rallied 206 percent this year, putting the Bloomberg Israel-US Index on pace for its biggest annual advance since 2009. Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has more than doubled in 2013 while Alon Blue Square Israel Ltd. surged 77 percent.
Housing construction is picking up in the U.S., where Caesarstone gets 36 percent of its revenue, as builders broke ground on more homes in November than at any time in over five years. Analysts have boosted their 2014 sales forecast for the Sdot Yam, Israel-based company to $413 million from $348 million estimated for this year and $199 million in 2010, according to a Bloomberg survey.
“They’ve shown tremendous growth potential,” Josef Schuster, the founder of IPOX Schuster LLC, an IPO research firm, said in a telephone interview from Chicago Dec. 26. “It turns out this is a great growth stock.”
Caesarstone started trading on the Nasdaq stock market in March 2012 and had the second-best debut of any foreign company in the U.S. in 2012, after Chinese online retailer Vipshop Holdings Ltd. Shares of the company, whose quartz countertops are sold from Australia to the U.S., rose 0.1 percent last week, extending their quarterly gain to 5.7 percent.
Caesarstone is trading at 23 times estimated earnings, more than double its valuation at the beginning of the year and about 27 percent above the average of its global peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The U.S. represented Caesarstone’s largest and fastest growing market in the third quarter, with sales jumping 48 percent, Chief Executive Officer Yosef Shiran said on a Nov. 6 conference call with analysts.
Caesarstone didn’t respond to a telephone and e-mailed request for comment made after Israeli business hours.
In May, Caesarstone was named the exclusive provider of non-laminate countertops for the U.S. unit of Ikea Group, the world’s biggest home-furnishings retailer. The company last month announced a one-time dividend of 58 cents, its first payment on record.
Home prices have increased across the U.S. as investors drain markets of inventory and improving employment brings in more buyers. U.S. homes gained $1.9 trillion in value this year, the biggest jump since 2005, as the real estate market rebounded from the recession, Zillow Inc. said earlier this month. The country’s housing stock lost $6.3 trillion in value from 2007 through 2011 and has recovered 44 percent of that, according to the Seattle-based property-data firm.
Renewed interest from foreign investors in Israel’s technology sector and a strong economy relative to developed-market peers helped buoy Israeli stocks this year, Daniel Goldstein, head of sales at IBI-Israel Brokerage and Investments Ltd. in Tel Aviv, said by phone on Dec. 26.
Israel’s gross domestic product will grow 3.35 percent next year, compared with 2.6 percent in the U.S., 2.4 percent in the U.K. and a 1 percent expansion in the euro area, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The Bloomberg Israel-US Index gained 0.6 percent to 109.71 last week, extending its rally this year to 27 percent, the best performance since 2009, when it soared 83 percent. That compares with a 12 percent gain for Israel’s benchmark TA-25 Index. The gauge fell 1.3 percent, the most since Oct. 23, to 1,315.65 at the close today in Tel Aviv.
Taro, the Israeli company whose products include treatments for head lice and skin discoloration, jumped after Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., its majority shareholder, said in February that it ended a bid to take over Taro at a discount. The Yakum, Israel-based company posted record sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
Blue Square, Israel’s second-largest supermarket operator, is on pace for the biggest annual gain on record after three years of declines. The Tel Aviv shares declined 2.2 percent to 14.24 shekels, or $4.08, today.


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The brief news item buried deep in the Philadelphia Inquirer's food section carried the headline, "Study Finds Muffins Helped Cut Cholesterol." "Within 48 hours, we received several letters and a phone inquiry asking for the recipe for these magic muffins," food writer Marilynn Marler reported later when explaining how to make oat and oat-bran muffins.
The study, originally described in the March issue of the Western Journal of Medicine, was carried out by medical student Kurt V. Gold and Dr. Dennis M. Davidson at the University of California at Irvine. It added further evidence to research going back 25 years showing the cholesterol-reducing properties of the dietary fiber found in oats and oat bran, the grain's outer coating.
Consumers now are responding to the findings--perhaps as a side effect of the so-called oatmeal war that broke out last year after General Mills launched Total Oatmeal, backed by a $12-million promotional campaign, as a challenge to Quaker Oats' pre-eminence in the nation's $500-million hot-cereal market. Quaker Oats retaliated massively by introducing a new vitamin-fortified product of its own and doubling its marketing budget to $60 million.
For whatever reason, the long-prosaic oat--a traditional grain of choice for dairy farmers, horse fanciers and grandmothers--appears to be enjoying a new level of respect. The lowly oat is becoming haute --the latest grain to enjoy a run on the nutritionists' bran-wagon.
For example, General Foods' Orowheat bakery is introducing Oatnut bread in the huge and hotly competitive Southern California market this month after successfully testing the soft-textured loaves laced with hazelnuts in Seattle and Portland, Ore., supermarkets. Oatnut becomes Orowheat's second oat bread.
"We keep an eye on the cereal market, and we're seeing a resurgence of interest in oats in the bread market and the cereal market as well," explained William D. Grove, general manager of Orowheat's Southern California operation in Montebello. "I visit grocery stores quite a bit, and there is definitely an increased awareness of oats and oat bran."
Whether this increased awareness constitutes a new consumer trend is at this point open to question, however.
" Any thing having to do with fiber continues to have a vogue," acknowledged Lisbeth Echeandia, publisher of Confectioner magazine, a snacks trade journal. "But I'm not sure whether it's a fad or a trend. It's sort of like the granola-bar business--unless it tastes good, people aren't going to keep buying it."
But Grove, for one, sees growth ahead for the grain after years of flat-to-falling human consumption patterns. "Oats are moving more into the mainstream," the baker insisted. "Actually, we see the mainstream as changing, and we're moving with it."
That view was seconded by Karen Brown, representing the Food Marketing Institute, whose members include major supermarket retailers. "Oats have always been in the mainstream," Brown said, "but there is more use of oat bran now, and more interest in oat-bran muffins, and a resurgence in natural oats products.
"This is no longer the dusty corner of the health-food section, but the main aisles of the store."
If so, that would mark a notable comeback for a grain that had become the breakfast of champion race horses and pleasure ponies, but otherwise had taken its commercial lumps. Until General Mills threw down the oatmeal gauntlet, Quaker Oats had more or less let its century-old mush pretty well sell itself--which it pretty well did, to the point of giving the Chicago-based company about two-thirds of all hot-cereal sales.
That marketing lethargy, plus more recent interest in grains by consumers, is what drew General Mills to return to its roots with Total Oatmeal as a companion to its first and best-selling cold cereal, Cheerios (originally, Cheeryoats).
Heavy promotions launched Total Oatmeal "extremely well," said General Mills spokesman William Shaffer. Quaker Oats Oatmeal enjoyed more than a 10% sales increase last winter, the traditional oatmeal season, said its spokesman, Ron Bottrell.
"In a mature category like hot cereal, a double-digit increase is really something," Bottrell said. "Never have Americans eaten as much oatmeal as they have this hot-cereal season.
"The level of awareness was really heightened this year because there was more oatmeal advertising than there ever had been before," he speculated, "and the messages were new."
The messages were strong on the nutritional value and health benefits of oats and oat bran. Indeed, they were so strong that the Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to issue final regulations this summer that will set tests for food advertising claims, received numerous complaints of exaggeration. The most vocal came from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington consumer advocacy group that has previously taken strong opposition to alcoholic beverage ads.
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Valuation is a real concern right now when it comes to stocks. Many analysts and investors are raising concerns that certain stocks are overvalued and due for a price correction. But not every stock is currently sitting at sky-high levels. There are many cheap stocks out there that are undervalued and could provide decent returns in the year ahead as the pandemic retreats and economies around the world rebound.
Here we look at seven cheap stocks to buy now before markets advance further.
- Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT)
- General Electric (NYSE:GE)
- Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F)
- Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI)
- eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)
- American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL)
- Coty (NYSE:COTY)
Cheap Stocks To Buy Now: Riot Blockchain (RIOT)
Bitcoin is red hot now, recently trading above $40,000 for the first time. And for investors who are not comfortable putting money directly into cryptocurrencies, there are other ways to take advantage of the Bitcoin craze.
Riot Blockchain, for example, provides investors with exposure to Bitcoin’s growth at a much more affordable cost and with less risk. Riot Blockchain is a digital currency company. (It calls itself a Bitcoin miner). Essentially, the company buys cryptocurrency and blockchain technology companies. Blockchain is the database on which Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are built.
As Bitcoin has surged in recent months, RIOT stock has also risen sharply. On Jan. 8 alone, the stock rose nearly 18%. In 2020, Riot Blockchain’s stock rose nearly 1,500%. Consider that Riot Blockchain was trading at $1.12 a little more than a year ago (December 31, 2019), and you get an idea of the stock’s explosive growth. However, at under $30 a share, Riot Blockchain’s stock is still cheap compared to many other securities. And it’s a lot cheaper than buying a single Bitcoin.
General Electric (GE)
Many Wall Street gurus are urging investors to rotate out of technology stocks and into industrials, claiming that industrial stocks will surge once the U.S. economy begins firing on all cylinders again. And among industrial stocks, there are few that are better known, more established and cheaper to buy than General Electric.
The Boston-based company founded by Thomas Edison has been a going concern since 1892. Today, GE manufactures everything from aircraft engines to wind turbines. It remains an industrial powerhouse and despite its diminished fortunes in recent years, General Electric remains a leading American company, ranked 21st on the Fortune 500 list by gross revenue.
In terms of its share price, GE stock has more than doubled since it was trading at $5.49 in May 2020. However General Electric shares remain incredibly affordable at $11.35 each. While many analysts remain down on General Electric, some optimists see brighter days ahead for the company, especially as the U.S. recovers from Covid-19 and the aviation industry rebounds, increasing demand for its aircraft engines.
General Electric is also heavily invested in green, renewable energy, which should get a shot in the arm under President Joe Biden.
Ford Motor (F)
The Ford Motor Company and its stock will get there. Eventually. Despite years of repeated under performance and shareholder disappointment, Ford should finally turn things around in 2021. Hopefully.
While the Detroit automaker’s stock continues to languish, the company is doing a lot of the right things and moving in the right directions, according to industry observers. Consider that in the last year, Ford has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer in Jim Farley, changed its senior leadership team, introduced an all-electric version of its classic Mustang muscle car called the “Mach-E,” and achieved labour peace by inking new contracts with many of its unions around the world.
The company also continues to push forward with its long-term electric vehicle strategy. The positive news has helped F stock to more than double since it was trading at $4.01 a share in March 2020.
Today’s Ford’s share price sits at $9 a share, making it one of the most affordable cheap stocks to buy. And many analysts say 2021 is the year when Ford shares will finally breakout. The company is one strong quarterly performance away from its share price skyrocketing. Maybe.
Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI)
Another perennial underperforming stock is Sirius XM Holdings. A major stock breakout has long been predicted for the New York-based satellite radio provider, yet has failed to materialize.
Many investors expected SIRI stock to move higher after the company completed its $3.5 billion acquisition of music streaming service Pandora. Yet, shares have continued to falter and now trade at $5.91 a share. Cheap, yes. But quickly approaching the $5 threshold that would put the company into penny stock territory.
SIRI stock has struggled to stay above $7 a share since 2018. The stock has fallen nearly 10% since the start of this year after it was revealed that the company plans to write off $1 billion of the Pandora buy as a “goodwill impairment charge.”
Yet, the current share price could be seen as a buying opportunity among bargain hunters looking for cheap stocks. Not everyone has written off Sirius XM Holdings. In fact, the company counts none other than legendary value investor Warren Buffett as one of its shareholders. The Oracle of Omaha himself owns 50 million shares of the company’s stock. And Buffett has a pretty good track record.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) gets all the attention, but what about the other major online retailer? We’re talking, of course, about eBay. The San Jose, California-based e-commerce company that specializes in consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales flourished during the Covid-19 pandemic and had a very good year in 2020.
The company had been posting sales decline prior to the pandemic, but those declines turned into gains of 29% in 2020’s second quarter and 21% in the company’s fiscal third quarter. eBay’s profitability in 2020 climbed above 25% of sales, which is impressive.
The success has helped to lift EBAY stock. In fact, shares of the company have more than doubled from their March low of $26.34 and now trade at $54.48. But eBay stock is still one of the cheap stocks at its current price, especially when compared to Amazon’s share price of nearly $3,200. Investors can buy a lot of eBay stock for the cost of one share of Amazon.
Some investors think eBay’s stock still has room to run and that the company should continue performing well during the final stages of the global pandemic.
American Airlines (AAL)
Airlines stocks are a surefire bet for the post-pandemic economic recovery. And American Airlines stock looks super cheap at its current price of $15.13 a share. This time last year, AAL stock was trading above $30 a share, twice its current level. And while the share price has recovered from its low last spring of $8.25 a share, there is still plenty of upside for the stock of the world’s largest airline.
Many analysts are forecasting an absolute boom in travel and tourism once the pandemic is behind us, something people are referring to as “revenge travel.” And few airlines will benefit more from the boom than American Airlines.
To be sure, the company has endured its share of pain in the past year — it lost $2.2. billion in the first quarter of 2020 alone. But it has managed to endure and weather the storm. The airline and its shareholders should come out stronger on the other side of the pandemic.
New York-based beauty company Coty’s stock is currently trading at $6.81 a share, half the level it was at in early 2020. The company, which has been in operation since 1904 and today owns more than 75 brands, including Cover Girl, Rimmel London and Max Factor, has struggled to boost its share price since it fell last March.
Weighing down COTY stock has been debt that the company took on when it acquired Cover Girl and dozens of other beauty brands from Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG). People working from home this past year has also contributed to declining sales of beauty products.
Things look to improve for COTY stock and its shareholders in 2021. The company hired a new Chief Executive Officer, Sue Nabi, last July and has been working to pare down its debt. The company should also get a lift as consumer spending on discretionary items such as beauty products picks-up in the second half of this year. Coty has also taken stakes in cosmetics brands owned by Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, which should help the company attract younger consumers going forward.
Grab Coty shares while they are still cheap.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole held a long position in RIOT.


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Tesla Q2 2020 Earnings Report: $6 Billion in Revenue, $104 Million Profit
Tesla has just announced its Q2 2020 earnings for the period ending June 30, 2020. The company achieved $5.17 billion in revenues, while seeing a $104 million net income, meaning four quarters of sequential profit for the company, despite COVID-19 lockdown at its Fremont factory.
Wall Street expected earnings per share of $0.03 and revenue of $5.37 billion for Q2, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates (via CNBC), with data compiled from 16 different analysts.
As for Q2 vehicle production and deliveries, Tesla saw 82,272 cars produced for the quarter, with 90,891 electric vehicles being delivered. Tesla’s Fremont, California factory was affected by lockdown procedures in the area due to COVID-19, and was forced to shut down for most of the quarter.
“Although the Model Y production line was operating for about four months in the first half of 2020 due to shutdowns, we exited Q2 with Model Y production running at installed capacity. This ramp was significantly faster than our initial Model 3 ramp, which took over nine months to reach the same weekly rate. We are installing additional machinery at the Fremont Factory, which is expected to increase total Model 3 / Model Y capacity from 400,000 to 500,000 units per year,” explains Tesla.
As for cash reserves, Tesla now has $8.6 billion in cash and and cash equivalents, a staggering amount for the company. “We should have sufficient liquidity to fund our product roadmap, long-term capacity expansion plans and other expenses,” says Tesla.
Tesla now has 2,035 Supercharger stations worldwide, a 28% increase compared to the year ago quarter.
“We have the capacity installed to exceed 500,000 vehicle deliveries this year, despite recent production interruptions. While achieving this goal has become more difficult, delivering half a million vehicles in 2020 remains our target,” reaffirmed the company in its investor newsletter.
“We are continuing to build capacity for Model Y at Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Shanghai, and we remain on track to start deliveries of these vehicles from both locations in 2021. The next US Gigafactory site has been selected and preparations are underway. Tesla Semi deliveries will also begin in 2021. We continue to significantly invest in our product roadmap,” added Tesla.
Shares of Tesla are now trading at $1,642 in after-hours trading, up 3%.
Updating story, refresh for updates.


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How luxury retailers like Gucci, Stella McCartney and LVMH are embracing digital transformation
Luxury retailers often rely on the exclusivity of their brands to generate sales. Names like “Louis Vuitton” and “Gucci” evokes a certain sense of craftsmanship and in the eyes of many brands, purchasing luxury goods should be about an unrivaled in-store experience.
The problem for this business model is that more wealthy customers are doing their shopping online. In fact, a recent report by McKinsey forecasts that nearly one fifth of luxury sales will take place online by 2025. The same report points out how nearly 80% of luxury sales today are “digitally influenced”, meaning that consumers hit one or more digital touchpoints in their luxury shopping journeys.
As the competition heats up, it seems that luxury retailers have no choice but to embrace digital transformation. This are how some brands are taking on this challenge.
Led by creative director Alessandro Michele, the reinvention of Gucci is a blockbuster success story. This is partially thanks to its revamped digital strategy. To drive customer satisfaction, the Italian retailer has built a Facebook-integrated chat bot and it also launched scannable adverts. Elsewhere, for its spring 2018 campaign, Gucci developed in-store augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) installations, which allowed consumers to become a part of the campaign. So far, this digital transformation has proven to be a roaring success. Speaking to CNBC, Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO and Chairman of parent firm Kering, noted that about 50% of Gucci’s sales now come from millennials - a demographic of 35-year-olds and younger which many luxury brands are struggling to capture.
Neiman Marcus has quickly earned a reputation for its digitally-savvy approach, winning the 2017 IRT Retailer Innovation Award. In 2012, the luxury department store line launched the Neiman Marcus Innovation Lab (iLab), spearheading the evaluation, design, testing and piloting of new technologies and applications for luxury retail. One such technology from the lab was Memory Mirrors. Composed of giant video screens and cameras, this interactive mirror enables shoppers to see outfits from 360-degrees, and compare clothing options side-by-side. The technology – which has been rolled out to most of the store’s 44 locations – also remembers what customers have already tried on. In a similar vein, Neiman Marcus also rolled out an AR beauty tool that allows customers to try on makeup virtually when looking in mirrors. Elsewhere, the company launched ‘Snap Find Shop’: if you see an item you like, you can take a photo and the Neiman Marcus app will use image recognition to deliver comparable products.
- Read the latest issue of Gigabit magazine
- H&M wraps up a year of technology and store tests as it looks to improve customer experience
- Marks & Spencer launches trailblazing 'Data Academy' as part of digital transformation
- Artificial intelligence could help retailers save up to $340bn, says Capgemini report
- How digital transformation at ABC improves the Lebanese shopping experience
French conglomerate LVMH, which counts Louis Vuitton, Dior and Sephora among its brands, is making waves with its digital strategy. Last year, the firm created an accelerator programme at the Station F startup campus in Paris. Welcoming around 50 international startups, the accelerator aims to “support the Group’s key issues around the durability of raw materials, the reinvention of customer experience and stores, and the production chain, as well as the security of products”. Through LVMH’s start-up accelerator, one participating firm developed an artificial intelligence solution which consumers can use to detect counterfeit products with their smartphones.
Digital transformation isn’t just transforming how luxury items are sold, it’s also impacting production and supply chain. For instance, Stella McCartney is harnessing technology to push for eco-futuristic fashion, honing in on footwear. Using cutting-edge technology, the luxury brand launched a sustainable ‘Loop’ sneaker that is glue-free and entirely recyclable. “The sneaker’s design is the result of pioneering innovation and technology developed over 18 months,” the brand wrote in a blog post. A study from Nielsen highlighted that 73% of millennial respondents were willing to spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable or socially conscious brand. As more and more luxury brands pivot towards sustainable and conscious business models, digital transformation is proving to be an essential task.


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By Kris M. Crismundo
MANILA, June 28 (PNA) — Philippine exporters were urged to look into increasing specific trade concerns (STCs) in the global market to continue and enhance trade ties with other countries.
In a report shared by the Philippine Exporters Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. (Philexport), Philippines envoy to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Esteban Conejos Jr. disclosed during the meeting of WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee that there are now increasing STCs in the world market, particularly in the sectors of food, liquor, and tobacco.
For instance, the country’s important export partners such as the United States, European Union, and Canada have raised their standards in food safety and food labelling requirements, as well as labelling requirements and licensing regulations on alcohol and liquor products.
Likewise, Costa Rica brought up STC on standards in food safety and food labelling requirements while Argentina also had concern on labelling requirements and licensing regulations on alcohol and liquor products.
Conejos added that for Filipino tobacco exporters that would likely to continue or start exporting to markets of Cuba and Malawi, they must meet the packaging requirements of the said two countries after they raised STCs on tobacco products.
He also mentioned that other WTO members also brought up STCs in sectors of chemicals, tires, ICT, and safety of products for children and adolescents.
Thus, Philippine exporters must look into STCs of other countries and meet the requirements of the world market to further boost the country’s export performance.
“Although tariffs had significantly decreased, technical regulations and other non-tariff measures have grown in number, stifling market access for Philippine exports,” Conejos noted. (PNA)


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Essential Phone’s ‘First Look’ event scheduled for August 25
In an invite received by the Droid Life website, the company will be giving a ‘First Look’ on Friday, August 25 in the US. While no other information has been given in the invite, we assume the company officials, including Rubin, will be revealing details about the Essential Phone. Rubin could also use the opportunity to reveal when the smartphone will be hitting the shelves.
A couple of days ago Andy Rubin tweeted that the Essential Phone is in mass production and details about its availability will be revealed next week. “We are in full mass production, ramping up to deliver your Essential Phone. Find out where you can get yours next week!” he tweeted.Read more ↓
It is worth mentioning that Rubin launched the Essential Phone back in June and said the device will be hitting the market in next couple of weeks. However, there has been a two-month delay now.
At the time of the launch it was mentioned that the Essential Phone will cost $699 (roughly Rs 45,200). The 360-degree camera module launched alongside the device, when bundled with the handset, will cost $898 (roughly Rs 58,000).


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YuTeleventures a subsidiary of Micromax has been in the news and constantly teasing fans and users alike with features of the expected high end Yutopia smartphone which mirrors the activities of the company leading up to the official launch of the recent OnePlus 2 device.
The smartphone company in recent tweets flawed the OnePlus 2 smartphone which evidently lacked the Quick Charge featured provides by Qualcomm and also accompanied the tweet with an image which stated the better side of the Yutopia smartphone which can Quick charge. The specific tweet from Yu’s twitter page reads “Big batteries, small charging capabilities. 3 hours wasted” with the hashtags ‘WhySettle’ and ‘Raisethebar’ to accompany the message to fans.
The expected Yutopia smartphone is to feature a 32GB In built storage memory against the normal 16GB found in its predecessors and a previously confirmed Quad HD display which will make the smartphone the company’s first smartphone with the QHD display with an hint that the company might be going metallic on the Yutopia smartphone making it also the first smartphone in the company’s line to spot a metallic build and hood. As for other specifications of the expected device, the smartphone’s listing on Geek bench hinted an Octa-core Snapdragon 810 chipset clocked at a speed of 1.5GHz coupled with 4GB of RAM on a 5.2-inch full-HD display running the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop based Cyanogen build OS.


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Don't miss the latest stories
IKEA Officially Opens In India, Uses Solar-Powered Rickshaws For Deliveries
By Yoon Sann Wong, 12 Aug 2018
Swedish furniture giant IKEA officially opened its first store in India on 9 August in the city of Hyderabad and received a very enthusiastic welcome reception.
Unlike its delivery fleets in other countries, IKEA India has taken to another mode of transport to tackle the country’s infamously dense traffic and at times, narrow streets: solar-powered rickshaws.
The electric vehicles will be fueled by 4,000 solar panels that have been installed on the roof of its store’s building. Any excess electricity generated will power the store’s lighting and other electricity-related operations.
The rickshaws come in IKEA’s signature colors, with its logo on the front, that instantly stand out from the crowd.
See the vehicle designs below.
[via Electrek, images via ikea.india]
More related news
Also check out these recent news


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- Facebook tests ‘buy’ button to help companies drive sales
- Study: Only 5% of Americans have made purchase on a social media site
- Facebook Q2 revenue, profit soar amid strong increases in mobile ad spending
- Pinterest testing Promoted Pins with retail brands, including Gap and Target
- Twitter testing ‘buy’ button enabling shopping directly from a Tweet
New York City -- Aeropostale has launched a fully integrated Facebook Store, powered by Usablenet's technology platform, that combines shopping and social media and extends full e-commerce functionality to the Aeropostale Facebook community.
In addition to being able to purchase from Aeropostale's entire online inventory, the integrated Facebook e-commerce store allows users to easily 'Like' and share items and purchases with their Facebook network - leveraging the viral nature of Facebook's news feed.
"Aeropostale has 5 million Facebook fans that are engaged and connected to our brand," says Scott Birnbaum, senior VP marketing and e-commerce. "The next logical step is to give them the opportunity to shop while in this environment."
Developed by Aeropostale in partnership with mobile technology company Usablenet, consumers can use the Aeropostale Facebook store to search through a 'shop' tab, 'like' and 'share' with their friends, review products and complete transactions all while staying on Facebook.


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With CO2 levels for new cars having fallen by 13 per cent since 1997, SMMT is urging the Chancellor to take a long-term and consistent approach to vehicle-related taxes to encourage both manufacturers and consumers to opt for cleaner, greener cars, vans and buses.
“We have made significant improvements in reducing CO2 emissions and transformed the environmental impact of our products,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT¡’s chief executive. “New vehicles are cleaner, safer and more secure than the models they replace.
“It is important that Government understands these achievements and works with us to deliver fair tax measures. These can help boost cleaner vehicle sales, but without creating damaging market distortions,” he explained.


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BlizzCon 2018 last weekend featured tons of exciting game announcements such as WarCraft 3: Reforged and the new Overwatch hero, Ashe. Aside from big game reveals, Blizzard also showcased its latest line of toys and apparel that will sure put a dent in your wallet! The new toys will especially be wallet-busting for Overwatch fans!
So better ready your cash folks, here’s all the cool stuff that Blizzard has coming real soon:
LEGO Overwatch Sets
Teased back in April, the LEGO Overwatch sets were confirmed by Blizzard last month. At BlizzCon 2018, we finally got a look at the first five LEGO Overwatch sets!
Check out the LEGO playsets here:
The five sets include fan-favorite vehicles, along with the following minifigures: Tracer, Widowmaker, Hanzo, Genji, Shimada Henchman, Soldier: 76, McCree, D.Va, Reinhardt, Pharah, Mercy, Reaper, and Winston. The LEGO Overwatch collection will come out in retail stores this 2019, with the sets being priced from USD $14.99 to USD $89.99.
Click here for a more detailed look at the LEGO sets.
Overwatch Nerf Guns
A few months ago, Blizzard revealed the Nerf Rival D.Va blaster and Hellfire Shotgun which will come out in 2019. At BlizzCon, more Nerf guns were revealed, this time in Nerf’s Microshots line.
The new Nerf Microshot Overwatch line includes blasters based on Tobjorn, Tracer, and D.Va‘s signature weapons. The Nerf guns will be released exclusively through Gamestop in January 2019.
Overwatch Ultimates Figures
If Nerf guns and Lego sets aren’t really for you, Blizzard has also revealed the upcoming Overwatch Ultimates Line of figures. The first figure in the lineup is Mercy, and it will be released in Spring 2019. Not a Mercy main, don’t worry as there are more figures that will soon be revealed in the Ultimates line.
ASHE Funko POP
Can’t get enough of Overwatch? Blizzard also revealed a Funko POP! Ashe vinyl figure. Yup, the latest Overwatch hero that’s not even in the game yet already has a POP! fig that’s available for pre-order now!
Uniqlo X Blizzard 2019
While Overwatch fans were treated to some new upcoming toys, fans of the rest of Blizzard’s franchises should also be prepared for 2019. This year’s Uniqlo UT x Blizzard collection has been such a big succes that Blizzard announced that there will be another batch of Uniqlo tees coming out in in spring 2019!
Those aren’t all the new merch announcements at BlizzCon 2018 though, as there’s also the Hot Topic and BoxLunch t-shirt design contest, as well as the Her Universe x Blizzard female apparel collection!
Missed out on all the other big announcements at BlizzCon 2018? Here’s a handy list of all the BlizzCon news over the weekend!


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Unifi supplies yarns and fibers to more than 100 companies that are producing masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment needed by first responders, medical staff and military personnel, a recent news release from the company says.
“We have customers actively engaged in the fight against COVID-19,” said Tom Caudle, president and chief operating officer of Unifi.
As examples, Contempora Fabrics, based in Lumberton, North Carolina, normally supplies fabric for baseball uniforms, but this season’s fabric is shifting to the production of medical masks and gowns. The factory using Contempora’s fabric is located in Pennsylvania and is owned by sports gear producer, Fanatics. The repurposed fabric is 100 percent polyester sourced from Unifi’s operations in Yadkinville, North Carolina.
Phenix Engineered Textiles, based in South Carolina, supplies elastic strapping for face masks. Unifi supplies the fiber to Phenix Engineered Textiles, and yellow yarn for straps is dyed in a Unifi dyehouse.
“We’ve had to ramp up production to keep up with the demand,” said Rod Grandy, CEO of Phenix Engineered Textiles. “This local supply chain is why we haven’t missed a beat.”
Caudle also expressed recognition and thanks to Unifi’s hard-working employees, “especially during these unsettling times.” Unifi Inc. is a global textile solutions provider and manufacturer of synthetic and recycled performance fibers.


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Who wants to dress in Slash's clothes, play his guitars and drive his pristine Corvette Stingray?
The former Guns N' Roses guitarist has teamed up with a Beverly Hills auction house to sell a wide range of personal property to fans and collectors next month.
Buyers with a passion for skulls and dinosaurs will be in luck, along with those whose living rooms would sparkle with exotic Southeast Asian furniture.
A sizable share of the proceeds from the March 26 sale will go to charity, according to Julien's Auctions, which specializes in selling entertainment memorabilia.
Auctioneer Darren Julien said he expected most of the items to end up overseas, particularly in Japan and other Asian markets where Guns N' Roses are still revered.
One of the perils of being a successful rock star for more than 20 years is that money buys a lot of clutter.
"I have a bad habit of collecting stuff that I don't necessarily use," Slash told Reuters, calling from a tour bus en route to a show in Oklahoma.
But a recent house move provided the 45-year-old rocker and his wife, Perla, with the perfect excuse to open their storage closets to fans and to boost the coffers of a local charity for abused and homeless adolescents.
'Monster of a car'
The crown jewel is a 1966 Corvette Stingray, estimated to sell for at least $90,000 to $100,000, and described by Slash as "a monster of a car."
It was the toughest item to let go of, because it was the first good car he ever bought just as Guns N' Roses were becoming big stars in the late 1980s, and it is largely in original condition. Fluffy dice are included.
But the car has been sitting in storage while Slash drives new Aston Martins and his wife ferries their two young sons in an SUV. "I know that somebody would love to have that car because muscle cars are very, very popular," he said.
He estimates he has about 100 guitars, and will sell 14 of them at the auction. Among them is a Guild acoustic on which he recorded the band's early ballad "Patience." Also on the block are various custom and one-of-a-kind Telecaster, Stratocaster, Sanchez, Epiphone and B.C. Rich models.
Jackets, T-shirts and jewelry — with skull motifs in abundance — are going on sale, and two of Slash's trademark top hats.
And then there are the model dinosaurs, which would thrill any 6-year-old boy and evidently did the same to an adult rock star.
"My house was completely immersed in prehistoric animal lore," when he started dating his wife, Slash said. But she married him anyway.
Want to get the latest Entertainment news? Follow TODAYshow.com Entertainment .


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The two-wheeler weighs only 15 pounds. According to the London startup, the bike features a unique folding mechanism where "the rear triangle pivots around the bottom bracket, so the chain tension never changes. Not only does this prevent the chain from falling off but it also removes the need for a chain tensioner."
The bike is light but sturdy. Dezeen reported that Hummingbird partnered with British motorsport company Prodrive—which constructs cars for companies such as Aston Martin, MINI and Volkswagen—to develop the bike frame's carbon layout with the minimum number of layers for the maximum strength.
Hummingbird founder and designer Peter Craciun also said that the "bike is safe and would pass all the safety requirements for the British and ISO standards."
At £3,495 ($4,515), the Hummingbird, which comes in yellow, black, blue and burnt orange, is pricey. There are certainly more affordable, albeit heavier, foldable bikes on the market.
You might be wondering why anyone would want a folding bike over a regular bike. Well, a folding bike has a number of advantages over its clunkier cousin, especially in cities where space is at a premium. For instance, in the Netherlands, where there are 1.3 bikes per person, finding a bike parking spot can be a serious challenge. After launching construction for the world's largest bike parking garage beneath Utrecht's central train station with 12,500 parking spots, city planners are looking for even more parking spaces.
But with a folding bike, parking is not even necessary. It can be stowed in an apartment closet or the trunk of a car, tucked under the work desk, or easily toted onto a crowded bus, subway or train.
Notably, Hummingbird also has an electric version of the folding bike in mind that will hopefully launch by the end of the year, giving urban commuters another method to zip from A to B.
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
Over six gallons of water are required to produce one gallon of wine. "Irrigation, sprays, and frost protection all [used in winemaking] require a lot of water," explained winemaker and sommelier Keith Wallace, who's also a professor and the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia, the largest independent wine school in the U.S. And water waste is just the start of the climate-ruining inefficiencies commonplace in the wine industry. Sustainably speaking, climate change could be problematic for your favorite glass of wine.
By Jeff Turrentine
From day to day, our public health infrastructure — the people and systems we've put in place to keep populations, as opposed to individuals, healthy — largely goes unnoticed. That's because when it's working well, its success takes the form of utter normalcy.
Cell Phone Tracking Analysis Shows Where Florida Springbreakers and New Yorkers Fleeing Coronavirus Went to Next
By Eoin Higgins
A viral video showing cell phone data collected by location accuracy company X-Mode from spring break partiers potentially spreading the coronavirus around the U.S. has brought up questions of digital privacy even as it shows convincingly the importance of staying home to defeat the disease.


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Yves Saint Laurent just released a new mascara called Baby Doll that is said to produce “a false-lash effect.” The mascara is currently available exclusively online (Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effect Faux Cils Baby Doll, $30). (WWD)
Sofia Vergara has gone blonde! Apparently the Modern Family actress is a natural blonde—who knew! Do you prefer her as a blonde or brunette? (UsWeekly)
The Kardashians have broken into skin care with a new sunless tanning line with New Sunshine LLC, called Kardashian Sun Kissed. The line will be available exclusively at Ulta later this month. (E! Online)
Rihanna’s new undercut hair was voted worst hair trend of the past decade. Are you a fan of this edgy look? (Grazia)
Deep citrus lips are in! Celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Solange, and Bella Thorne worked the red carpet sporting tangerine-colored pouts. (THR)Tell us, do you love Sofia’s new blonde ‘do? Sound off in the comments below.
About the Author:Our goal is to create a beauty experience that’s personalized, educational and, most of all, fun.
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Counting the cost of fashion
The journey from catwalk, to wardrobe, to landfill is getting shorter. Around 100 billion garments are produced each year, so what impact does this have on the climate?
The journey from catwalk, to wardrobe, to landfill is getting shorter and shorter.
Our demands for fast fashion mean around 100 billion garments are produced every year. We’re buying more, then wearing them less often. Many will end up in the trash. Not only that, there’s been a big growth in clothes being made out of synthetic materials originating from crude oil.
In this edition we ask can fashion cost less to the climate?
Speaking to Kate Lamble and Sophie Eastaugh are-
• Vanessa Friedman New York Times Fashion Editor
• Lily Cole Fashion model, actress and podcast host- ‘Who Cares Wins’
• Phillip Meister - Quantis Sustainability Consulting
• Claire Bergkamp – Textile Exchange
Producer: Jordan Dunbar
Researcher: Natasha Fernandez
Series Producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: Emma Rippon
- Mon 6 Dec 2021 02:32GMT
- Mon 6 Dec 2021 09:06GMT
- Mon 6 Dec 2021 13:32GMT
- Mon 6 Dec 2021 20:06GMT
- Mon 6 Dec 2021 21:06GMT


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CES this week has been absolutely buzzing with news from all quarters, and another great new company is now showcasing their first line of 3D printers. Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based NEA (which stands for Newly Evolved Art) spent the last 14 months developing their line and are now unveiling it at CES. The three printers introduced are the FFF-based NEA PRO, NEA PRO Mini, and NEA PRO+.
“Throughout 2014 we engineered the NEA family of 3D Printers to be able to offer professional quality and specifications with models for home, education and professionals – whether in art, entertainment or medical and professional prototyping and final product,” said CTO and chief inventor Stoyan Tadin.
The development process at NEA was thorough, and backed up by team members with significant experience in R&D, 3D modeling, branding and visual effects, and successful entrepreneurship of previous startups. Stoyan Tadin and William Chang, the co-founders of NEA, trace the beginnings of NEA to an idea born at Playfight VFX, which Chang founded in 2009. NEA and Playfight are now partners, and the new company is able to draw from the experience in modeling, model curation, and the support of a strong community that Playfight has to offer. The partnership of these two companies brings together a 3D printer maker with the 3D media/visual effects and online community building background of a visual effects production/3D modeling concern.
“We’re applying two decades of experience in high end 3D modeling to further enrich peoples understanding of what can be created and how it can be applied to the rapidly growing 3D printing industry and community,” said Chang. “We’ve brought together a team of 3D printing experts to design one of the coolest, most innovative 3D printers in the world. Our unique online maker experience puts customer support and education at the forefront, empowering professionals and hobbyists to share their creations and knowledge with everyone.”
Once they had the right team assembled — led by Tadin, Chang, and chairman/partner Rene Pardo — NEA sought to bring their vision of affordable 3D printers to fruition. The inspiration came from the desire to bring “the best industrial 3D printer for consumers and professionals” into being, as they were collectively disappointed by the existing offerings in the sub-$5,000 3D printer space. They call the team the “NEA 3D Family,” and are happy to see their family grow — NEA is building the NEAT STUFF community for interested parties: makers, innovators, builders, and designers who want to share their thoughts, plans, designs, and inspirations.
“In my 30 years of management and involvement in Research & Development, this has been and is my most exciting endeavor because it is only the beginning of the many innovations we have in the pipeline,” Tadin continued.
The development time seems to have paid off. NEA’s line of 3D printers share a similar design based on a steel cylinder that focuses on providing an optimal footprint-to-build ratio. The printers all feature NEA’s Proprietary Vibration Dampening system, which allows for consistency of prints. Further features include wireless access, resolutions up to 50 microns, modular assembly, self-leveling, and the ability for the filament holder to raise another 2″ to allow for taller builds.
- NEA PRO
- 10″ x 10″ x 10″
- NEA PRO Mini
- 6″ x 6″ x 6″
- NEA PRO+
- 14″ x 14″ x 14″
During a meeting at CES, the company told 3DPrint.com that they will be launching an Indiegogo campaign for the printers by the end of this month. Special pricing will be available through the crowdfunding effort, with the above-quoted prices the projected retail prices for the final launch.
In addition to these big announcements is another, which may just be a first: for every ten NEA 3D printers sold through the Indeigogo campaign, the company will donate one to designers for prosthetics. The focus on the bigger picture runs clearly throughout NEA’s materials, as they note that they seek to “further democratize building practices in production and medical worlds to benefit a greater good.”
“In our business we understand and need to produce quality, excellence and performance,” said Chang. “We simply weren’t satisfied with the 3D Printers we had purchased on crowdfunding platforms. So we embarked on engineering out the flaws we had experienced with those products, the result producing what we believe is not only the most stunning series with superb engineering craftsmanship, but fully featured and calibrated out of the box.”
NEA is at CES this week at booth #75087 in Eureka Park. Check out more photos of the NEA 3D printer line below, taken by 3DPrint.com’s Brian at CES, as well as a video from NEA laying out more details about their printers. Let us know if you’re interested in NEA’s business model or printers in the NEA Announces 3D Printer Line, Soon to Launch on Indiegogo forum thread at 3DPB.com.
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There is a strong likelihood that the blockchain technology revenue might experience a drastic growth of over $1 trillion in World Trade, this according to a recent report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The June-Published White Paper
The white paper published in June made an in-depth examination into supply channel management and the significant roles that the blockchain technology will play in years to come most especially in the SMEs (small or medium-sized businesses).
According to the estimate made by the Asian Development Bank, there existed a $1.5 trillion trade deficit or trade gap which is speculated to grow into $2.4 trillion in the next seven years. The main reason for the gap being that the smaller businesses have insufficient access to credit. The report went further to state that:
“Distributed ledger technology, can reduce a large part of this gap, facilitating about $1.1 trillion of new trade volumes globally (see Figures 3 and 4). Trade allows countries to specialize in industries; it helps technologies and ideas to spread and yields economies of scale. But a major impediment stands in the way of expanding trade and making it more efficient and safe: namely, paper-intensive, manual processes.”
Past Futile Effort
There is a certain section of the white paper described as ‘Financing: Suffering under the paper monster’ which is dedicated to this issue. Where reference was made to a ‘futile’ experiment where Maersk and IBM tracked a particular shipping container from Kenya to the Netherland only to discover that the process was faulty.
The WEF also considered an advancement from the paper-based manual to the digitalized system using the blockchain technology while pointing out that:
“Paper-based, manual processes, some created centuries ago, lead to complexity and delays, introduce errors and risks, and stand in the way of reliable, real-time information gathering and tracking required for credible financing decisions.”


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Zoe Dvir (@zoedvir) appears to be your typical millennial model influencer. She is gorgeous, with a full head of curly hair, deep brown eyes and a button nose.
Dvir travels, meets friends and shares the clothes and products she likes best on her Instagram page. So far, she has 28,000 followers.
But what makes her unique is that she is not actually real – well a real person, that is. She is a digital personality created with computer-generated imagery by a company with the same name.
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The man behind the brand is Tal Melenboim, 42, a serial entrepreneur turned content creator who recently founded VFR.ai, a fast-growing technology company that manages and funds multiple ventures that use and develop different artificial intelligence-based technologies, tools and services within the media, consumer applications and advertising sphere.
Zoe, modeled after his biological daughter Shoval, is the first stage in his dream of a world where every brand, product and service has a virtual face.
According to Melenboim, the global digital advertising revenue is expected to grow to $460 billion by 2024, and he plans to be a part of it.
His company uses a unique stack of technology built from in-house technology and innovative tools to create these virtual people. The team consists of programmers to fashion stylists so that Zoe can provide the whole value chain for virtual entities - from creation to virtual brand management.
Take Ella Stoller (@itsellastoller). She is listed on Instagram as a “fashion model.” Her bio simply says, “Creative head. Moving to Berlin. Dog mom.” Stoller has amassed 10,000 followers in less than 100 posts, sharing images of herself with big-name brands like Prada.
There is yet a third model, too: Linda Knight – @thelindaknight.
“Our virtual entities have proved successful in Israel with live campaigns and extensive media coverage,” Melenboim said, noting that his company has signed the world’s first virtual talent contracts with model agencies in Israel, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. His “girls” have even starred in major fashion weeks wearing designer clothes.
To make the women look real, the company leverages machine learning and AI. Neural networks bring them to life, integrating sound, text, facial expressions and movement. And everything is automated.
Melenboim is a software developer and a content creator. He is also a gamer.
“Content for me is everything I can see and feel – but it has to be digital,” Melenboim said. “I am not an artist, but I know how to create new worlds.”
And he is making a lot of money from having fun in these virtual worlds.
After creating Zoe, he developed a way to use these models through another company called Styletech, a visual AI solution that he believes will transform the e-commerce industry.
Styletech is making avatars for the middle-pages of e-commerce sites.
The company provides fashion retailers with an unlimited supply of “models” at a lower cost than using real people. The process is faster, and the possibilities are endless using the company’s cutting-edge AI technology that can convert simple photos into multiple, high-quality looks personalized for every shopper.
The fashion industry is demanding more inclusivity when it comes to size, skin tone and age. To accomplish this, companies need to hire multiple models, spend days in photo shoots, edit the pictures and then put it all together.
With Styletech, companies can simply pick a model from a limitless virtual variety and get a look-book with the styling of their choosing. Product styling can be adapted in real time to fit the viewer. Skin tone and size can also be altered based on learned shopper preferences.
For instance, if a shopper tends to make more purchases when she sees a model with brown versus blond hair, when she clicks on a certain item, a brown-haired model can be wearing it.
“We do not tell the customer that the models are not real, because this is not the focus with Styletech,” Melenboim explained. “Whereas Zoe is a virtual personality, here it is just about selling the clothes – and the clothes are real.”
Right now, the company is working with small brands. But in the future, Melenboim said he envisions the technology being sold as a software as a solution service so that any website can use the tech.
But that is not all.
Melenboim has also developed a company called Mythreal, a solution that allows game developers to seamlessly integrate and distribute their games through connected TV (CTV).
CTV is a device that connects to or embedded in a TV to support video content streaming. Most people have heard of Xbox, PlayStation, or Roku. In the case of Mythreal, it works with Roku, but puts the computing power into your personal smartphone.
All of Melenboim’s family is in on the experience.
His wife collaborates with him on the accounting side of VFR.ai. His youngest daughter, Avigayil, 14, is a gamer.
“She plays with me all the time,” he said.
Michal, 17, is into the stats and the data.
And remember, Zoe is really Shoval, 18.
“All three of them are actually involved in their own way,” Melenboim said with a smile.
“I really love what I do,” he stressed, “so much so that I do not feel like I am working. I play all the time.
“I feel like the world is just calling me to do more and more,” he continued, “to create more and more content for the virtual world.”
This article is written in cooperation with VFR.ai.


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Posted: November 9, 2016
The 2016 ‘Bureau Veritas Engineering Cadet of the Year Award’ was presented to Engine Cadet, Peter Lynch on merit of a recommendation from his sponsor, Trinity House and his Year Head, Mr. Stefan De La Cour.
Each year the Bureau Veritas Award shall go to a Cadet that has demonstrated a great willingness to help his/her classmates, has displayed good team skills and has exceeded expectations from an academic and practical point of view.
The award was presented to Cdt. Peter Lynch in the National Maritime College of Ireland on October 20th 2016. In attendance was Head of College, Mr. Conor Mowlds, Head of Dept. of Maritime Studies, Mr. Vivion Gough, Mr. Yannis Calogeras, UK & Ireland Marine Chief Executive with Bureau Veritas, Mr. Phillip Robson, Principal Surveyor with Bureau Veritas, Maritime Liaison Officer, Ms. Annette Coughlan, Mr. Stuart Benge of Chiltern Maritime and NMCI Lecturer of Engineering, Mr. Stefan De La Cour.
The National Maritime College of Ireland strives to encourage team work, collaboration, and training opportunities amongst all its students and staff. With successful ongoing projects such as PALS – Peer Assisted Learning & Support (CIT/NMCI’s Peer Mentoring Programme) students are given an opportunity to share experience, knowledge and offer guidance to their peers. This line of support allows cadets such as Cdt. Peter Lynch to inspire students to follow in the footsteps of those who walked before them and grow as individuals whilst focusing on a successful maritime career.
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Posted: October 4, 2016
The Port of Cork had a team of over 90 cyclists who recently completed the An Post Rebel Tour cycle from Glengarriff. Cyclists from a range of port related companies took part in the cycle which was co-sponsored by the National Maritime College of Ireland and Zenith Energy Management Ltd. Together the cyclists raised over €1800 for Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland and over €1100 for the Seamen’s Christian Friends Society.
Back L to R: Brendan Keating Port of Cork, Sara Mackeown Port of Cork, Sunhwa and Colin Jenkins Seamen’s Christian Friends Society
Front L to R: Jessica Mullins Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland and Conor Mowlds, Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland
Cyclists chose either 85km or 160km routes across which led them to West Cork and into Kerry.
Brendan Keating, Port of Cork Chief Executive said: “This is our third year organising the cycle which was by far the biggest turnout of cyclists to date. We were delighted to partner with NMCI and Zenith Energy Management Ltd and as result two very deserving charities benefitted from our cyclists generous donations.’
He continued: ‘I’d like to congratulate all those who took part and thank you for your kind donations.’
The Seamen’s Christian Friend Society (SCFS) is based in 40 ports around the world and spends their days boarding ship after ship, meeting and assisting crews. Over a million men and women live in the twilight world of big shipping and it’s a lonely life roaming the world’s oceans for up to 12 months at a time. An SCFS Friend brings a welcome, an offer of friendship or a chance for a sympathetic talk and news of the Christian gospel to crews.
Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland is a national charity providing highly trained assistance dogs for children with autism and their families. The dogs are specially trained to provide safety, independence and companionship to children who would otherwise live in a very isolated world. These dogs help to transform the lives of children and their families.
Commercial Marketing Executive
Port of Cork Company
Custom House Street
Tel: +353 (0) 21 4625 375
Mobile: +353 (0)86 1044011
Follow us on Twitter @portofcork
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Posted: September 22, 2016
WORLD MARITIME DAY 2016
SHIPPING: INDESPENSABLE TO THE WORLD
Every evening, millions of people around the world all settle into their armchairs to watch some TV after a long day at work. Many will have a snack and something to drink. It will occur to almost none of them that they have anything to thank shipping for. And yet everyone of the undoubtedly owes a debt of gratitude to the unsung industry of which everyone in the world relies.
The TV probably arrived in a containership; the grain that made the bread in the sandwich came in a bulk carrier; the coffee probably came by sea, too. Even the electricity powering the TV set and lighting up the room was probably generated using fuel that came in a giant oil tanker.
The truth is, shipping affects us all. No matter where you may be in the world if you look around you are almost certain to see something that either has been or will be transported by sea, whether in the form of raw materials, componanats or the finished article. Yet few people have any idea just how much they rely on shipping. For the mast majority, quality and efficiency, day and night, never pausing and never stopping, keeps the world turning and keeps the people of the world fed, clothed, housed and entertained.
This is a story that needs to be told. And this is why the theme that has been chosen for World Maritime Day 2016 is “Shipping: Indispensable To The World”.
The theme was chosen to focus on the critical link between shipping and the everyday lives of people all over the planet, and to raise awareness of the role of IMO as the international regulatory body for international shipping. The importance of shipping in supporting and sustaining todays global society gives IMO’s work a significance that reaches far beyond the industry itself.
International trade has evolved such that almost no nation can be fully self-sufficient. Every country relies, to some degree, on selling what it produces and acquiring what it lacks: none can be dependant only on its domestic resources.
Shipping is the only truly cost-effective and sustainable means by which this can be fulfilled. Today, people all over the world rely on ships to transport the commodities fuel, foodstuffs, goods and products on which we all depend. Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade and the global economy.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), around 80% of the global trade by volume and over 70% of trade by value are carried by sea and are handled by ports worldwide. These shares are even higher in the case of most developing countries.
At the beginning of 2015, the world’s commercial fleet consisted of nearly 90,000 vessels, with a total carrying capacity of some 1.75 billion dwt. This fleet is registered in more than 150 nations and is manned by more than a million seafarers of virtually every nationality. It is this fleet that enables the import and export of goods, on the scale necessary to sustain the modern world, to take place.
And what incredible ships make up this global fleet. A single ship can carry enough grain to feed nearly four million people for a month; another, enough oil to heat an entire city for a year, and others can carry the same amount of finished goods as nearly 20,000 heavy trucks on the road. Modern ships are, truly, among the engineering wonders of the modern world. Estimates of the volume of shipping trade are usually calculated in tonne-miles – a measurement of tonnes carried, multiplied by the distance travelled. in 2014, according to UNCTAD, the industry shipped 9.84 billion tonnes of cargo for an estimated 52,572 billion tonnes-miles trade – a truly staggering statistic. It is a huge credit to the industry that the vast majority of the indispensable work is completed safely and without incident. It is difficuilt to quantify the value of word seaborne trade in minority terms. However, UNCTAD has estimated that the operation of merchant ship contributes about US$380 billion in freight rates within the global economy, equivalent to about 5% of total world trade. The transport cost element in the shelf price of goods varies from product to product, but is ultimately negligible as far as the customer is concerned.
Shipping is perhaps the most international of all the worlds great industries. The ownership and management chain surrounding any particular vessel can embrace many different countries. It is not unusual to find that the owners, operators, shippers, charterers, insurers and the classification society, not to mention the officers and crew, are all of different nationalities and that none of these is from the country whose flag flies at the ships stern. There is, therefore, a clear logic in favour of a framework of international standards to regulate shipping – standards which can be adopted, accepted, implemented and enforced by all. Clearly there has to be a common approach, so that’s ships can ply their trade around the world and that countries receiving foreign-flagged ships can be confident that, in accepting them, they do not place their safety, security and environmental integrity at an unreasonable risk.
IMO’s main task has been to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for international shipping. Its mandate was originally limited to safety-related issues but, subsequently, its a remit has expanded to embrace environmental considerations, legal matters and technical corporations. IMO today also addresses issues that affect the overall efficiency of shipping – such as how to deal with stowaways or how a cargo manifest should be transmitted to the authorities ashore, as well as piracy and armed robbery against ships and maritime security.
The direct output of IMO’s regulatory work is a comprehensive body of international conventions, supported by literally hundreds of guidelines and reccomendations that, between them, govern just about every facet of the shipping industry. To a considerable extent, shipping’s success in improvement its safety and environmental record can be attributed to the comprehensive framework of rule, regulations and standards developed over many years by IMO, through international collaborating among its Members and with full industry participation. It is thanks in no small measure to the Organization that all those millions of trouble-free tonne-miles referred to earlier are possible. Just about every technical aspect of shipping is covered by an IMO measure, from the drawing board to scrapyard. Every single piece of this all-embracing regulation structure makes a contribution towards the overall sustainable of shipping and is a testimony to the highly responsible attitudes that pervades the shipping industry at all levels.
Shipping and the developing world
Over the past half century or so, the world has seen an unprecedented escalation in both international trade and cultural exchange. As a result, the world is becoming increasingly interconnected – phenomenon widely known as globalization. Globalization has been made possible by the progressive dismantling of barriers of trade and capital mobility, judgemental technological advances, steadily declining costs of transport, communication and information technology. The potential benefits are clear: growth can be accelerated and prosperity more widespread; skills and technology can be more evenly dispersed, and both individuals and countries can take advantage of previously unimagined economic opportunities.
Shipping has been essential to this evolution. But how to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the worlds people, and not for just a privileged few, is something we must all address. The United Nations is actively engaged in meeting this challenge. Maritime activity has a key role to play in achieving this objective. It already provides an important source of invisible income to many developing countries. Indeed, developing countries now lead the world in some of shipping’s most important accelerating businesses, including the registration of ships, the supply of seagoing personnel and ship recycling. They also play a significant part in ship owning and operation, shipbuilding and repair and port services, among others.
But, if the benefits of globalization are to be evenly spread, all countries must be able to play a full and active part in shipping.
The population of the world has topped 7 billion and in many developing countries is set to double by 2050. the GDP’s of many developing countries are not growing fast enough to meet the demands of their increasing populations. Their economies are based largely on the export of raw materials, with no value added.
So how can such countries promote desirable outcomes such as sustainable economic growth, food security, employment, prosperity and stability? There is, of course, no single easy answer. But developing trade by sea, improving port infrastructure and efficiency, nurturing national shipping lines and promoting seafaring as a career, as well as managing and protecting fisheries, securing offshore energy production, and creating the stable conditions that encourage tourism, can all have a very positive and beneficial effect. Sustainable economic growth, employment, prosperity and stability can all be enhanced through developing maritime trade, improving port infrastructure and efficiency and promoting seafaring as a career – especially within the developing world. IMO’s work makes a strong contribution in all these areas.
It is the availability of low-cost and efficient maritime transport that has made possible the major shift towards industrial production in emerging economies which has, in large part, been responsible for taking many people out of acute poverty in recent years.
The volume of maritime trade is expected to increase as the worlds economy and population continues to expand. And, as the world moves towards a low-carbon future, just how that growth will manifest itself is hard to predict. But one thing is certain: without cost-efficient maritime transport, the movement of raw materials and energy in bulk to wherever they are needed, and the transport of manufacturing goods and products between the continents – which are prerequisite for growth and development – would simply not be possible.
Because shipping is inherently the servant of the world’s economy, the contraction in trade following the financial crisis of 2008 resulted in a dramatic and abrupt reduction in demand for shipping.
Yet the longer-term outlook for shipping industry remains very good. The world’s population continues to expand, and emerging economies will continue to increase their requirements for the goods and raw materials that shipping transports so safely and efficiently. Shipping will need to respond to the demand for its services.
The volume of world trade carried out by sea has begun to steadily increase in recent years. In the longer term, the fact that shipping is the most fuel-efficient and carbon-friendly form of commercial transport could mean an even greater proportion of world trade will be carried by sea – which will bring benefits for consumers across the world, through competitive freight costs.
Shipping can also be considered a driver of *green growth*, given its impressive environmental performance. Under IMO’s regulatory regime, both accidental and operational pollution from ships has steadily diminished over many decades and the industry is bound by strict controls on discharges and emissions; and, even though it is already by far the most carbon-efficient form of transport when cargo volumes are taken into consideration, further measures are now in place that will make future ships even more energy-efficient.
Sustainable development is dependant on the continuing cost-efficiency of maritime transport, which should not be taken for granted. But economic and regulatory incentives will continue to encourage ship-owners to invest in modernizing their fleets. Theses investments are not only beneficial for the environment, but may also lead to cost savings in the longer term.
Through its work in London and throughout the world, IMO underpins development of the maritime sector and the *blue economy* by fostering maritime safety and securely, protection of the environment and the facilitation of maritime trade. Creating the condition in which international shipping can operate safely, securely and with a minimum impact on the global will remain central pillars of IMO’s mission.
Standards of living in the industrialized and developing world, and the jobs and livelihoods of billions in the developing world all depend on ships and shipping. Yet the vast majority of people remain blissfully unaware of how much they rely on it and how much it shapes their lives.
This year, the World Maritime Day theme provides an opportunity to put that right. It gives an opportunity for the shipping community to tell its story: the story of an industry that, in terms of efficiency, safety and environmental impact and its contribution to global trade is unmatched by any other transport sector; the story of shipping – which is, truly, indispensable to the world
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After the launching of its Manila-Cagayan de Oro flight earlier this month, Tigerair will also start its Cebu-Cagayan de Oro flights on November 29. It will be a twice a week flights with P1.00 as the lowest available fare. Read further, here.
For more updates about Tigerair fares, promos, and new routes, visit their Facebook page here.
Photo credits: stocklogos.com