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Global Epoxy resin market is expected to reach USD 11.22 Billion by 2021, according to Zion Research report. Electrical & Electronics, composites for automotive, aerospace, construction, wind energy...
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Government laws and regulations are among the several factors which contribute to the growth of the Global Automotive NVH Materials market. NHV regulations to date have addressed noise from the...
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PolyOne has recently announced that OnFlex™ LO thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) have received a 2016 China Industry Development and Innovation Award, from Automobile & Parts magazine. The new TPE...
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Ford Canada posts decline in October sales in delayed results
- Record-setting rally pushes on as S&P ends week up 3 percent
- Trump's Cohn Pick Most Bullish Sign Yet for Banks - Cowen
- Unusual 11 Mid-Day Movers: (IDXG) (INVN) (EBS) Higher; (SCON) (DTEA) (DLTH) Lower (more...)
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The Ford logo is seen at their plant in Cuatitlan Izcalli, Mexico October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
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TORONTO (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) reported weaker Canadian sales for October on Wednesday, weighed down by a sharp drop in car sales and sluggish truck performance.
Ford's Canadian sales fell 2.6 percent to 21,510 vehicles with car sales down 13.1 percent while truck sales slipped 0.2 percent.
On Tuesday, both Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Ford said it delayed its results due to a fire at its Michigan headquarters this week which affected a data center.
Analysts expected Canadian auto sales to set a new record in 2016, rising to 1.96 million vehicles, up from a record-breaking 1.90 million units last year. But after a strong first half, sales have declined in September and August on an annual basis.
(Writing by Amran Abocar; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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Article source: Onlabor.org https://onlabor.org/april-25-2023/ac
by Lewit Gemeda
On April 25th, a group of Amazon delivery drivers and dispatchers working for a Palmdale, California contractor become the first group of Amazon drivers to unionize, and striking Canadian federal government workers seem to be approaching a resolution with the government.
Last week, 84 drivers and dispatchers at Battle Tested Strategies—an Amazon contractor—entered a contract with the Teamsters, which the employer voluntarily recognized. The contract includes an immediate raise to wages, a schedule for meaningful future raises, and provisions that address vehicle conditions and heat exposure issues. The drivers, while not direct Amazon employees, wear Amazon branded vests, drive Amazon branded vans, and only deliver Amazon packages. The workers informed Amazon of their new union on Monday and asked that it comply with the terms of the contract. The contract may require Amazon to change how it deals with wage floors, selects delivery routes and schedules, and the termination powers it retains. Amazon has responded to the news about the union by emphasizing that 1) these employees are not Amazon employees, and 2) that it had previously terminated Battle Tested Strategies’ contract due to poor performance. Eileen Hards, an Amazon spokesperson, made the following statement: “Whether the Teamsters are being intentionally misleading or they just don’t understand our business, the narrative they’re spreading is false… This particular third party company had a track record of failing to perform and had been notified of its termination for poor performance well before today’s announcement.”
Next, a strike by 155 Canadian federal workers may be coming to a close soon. On Sunday, the union made the statement that progress has been made on remote work allowances and on wage increases for the Treasury Board employees. Currently, the strike is scheduling to continue while negotiations over a deal for workers at Canada’s revenue agency continue. The strike has affected a wide range of public services such as tax return processing and passport renewals. The revenue agency employees want a 22.5% pay raise over three years, while Treasury Board workers are looking for a 13.5% raise over three years. The government has offered each group a 9% raise.


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The Washington Post Company reported (see story in Paid Content) that it has acquired iCurrent, a company in the business of helping internet users assemble and organize online information according to their specific interests. As described in a couple of places, iCurrent is to news and information what Pandora is to music.
The iCurrent business model appears to be in fairly vivid contrast to the notion of content mills, which have been stabbed at in this space several times (here and here, for instance). Content mills create more supply in a market that doesn't need help creating supply. Content mills are a disguise hiding the desire of producers to control information. In contrast, iCurrent wants to help users control information. It is supply v. demand. It is push (old media) v. pull (new media).
Let's skip over all the arguments in the middle of that conversation, and cut to the assertion that Aol. should have bought iCurrent. Or, Yahoo should have bought iCurrent instead of Associated Content. They are two substantial new media brands that could, thus, have been aligned with new media user value. Except, they don't really want to be in the "new" media business. They want to be in the "old" media business. Push vs. pull.
This is the only factor that makes the rise of the online industry different from the rise of the cable industry. Fundamentally, cable was always going to grow-up to be TV. The fact that new media giants such as Aol. and Yahoo, and all the rest, have also always wanted to grow up to be TV has been a critical hindrance to establishing a unique online selling proposition aligned with what users want. So, instead, we sell audience data at a discount to the media space.
Congratulations to iCurrent and the Washington Post Company.
Old media is dead. Long live old media.


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Cadbury bolsters its defence against takeover with revenue hike
Sweet results: Cadbury enjoyed 7 per cent growth in sales in the last quarter
Takeover target Cadbury turned up the heat on its U.S. suitor today by lifting revenues guidance in the wake of an 'excellent' quarter of trading.
The Dairy Milk maker, which last month rejected a £10.2billion proposal from Philadelphia and Oreos firm Kraft, reported 7 per cent growth in sales, up from 2 per cent and 6 per cent in the previous two quarters.
It said revenues for the full year were now expected to be 'around the middle' of its 4 per cent to 6 per cent range.
Roger Carr, chairman of Cadbury, said the third quarter performance reaffirmed its confidence in remaining a 'standalone confectionery business'.
Cadbury also increased annual profit margin targets - to growth of 135 basis points - while currency benefits from the weak pound are now expected to increase underlying earnings by around 9% and net revenue by around 7 per cent.
Cadbury's confident third quarter statement comes as its American pursuer Kraft is widely speculated to be working on an improved approach.
Kraft has been issued with a 'put up or shut up' deadline by the City takeover authority, with a deadline to either make a firm offer or not to bid for Cadbury by 5pm on November 9.
Reports late last month suggested Kraft was working on an £11billion hostile bid for the chocolate giant.
Cadbury slammed Kraft's initial proposal as 'fundamentally' undervaluing the business and for being of 'uncertain value' for Cadbury's shareholders.
In a show of financial strength today, the firm revealed the best performance so far this year.
Todd Stitzer, Cadbury's chief executive, said: 'We have great momentum in our business and our confectionery strategy continues to yield benefits beyond expectations.
'In the third quarter we have delivered growth in every category and every business.'
But the figures revealed that price increases were offsetting a 3 per cent fall in sales volumes in the three months to September 30.
In the UK, where it hiked prices in the second half of last year, revenues grew 10 per cent thanks to the launch of products such as Wispa Gold.
The firm has increased prices globally to combat soaring costs of its key raw materials - cocoa and sugar.
There have been reports the group is considering decreasing the size of its chocolate bars to help keep input costs down while avoiding price rises.
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The greeting card has been kind of like a reptilian fossil, frozen in time unchanged in format for as long as anyone can remember, usually a short message on a piece of cardboard that a purchaser simply signs and mails.
To the recipient the card has often been a sterile, impersonal, one-size- fits-all greeting, with no specific reference to the recipient except for the usual added pen-written message by the sender. In an era of astounding technological change particularly in communications with smart phones and ipads, the greeting card remained a hand-written throwback to the past.
That is changing.
“I knew that traditional greeting cards just plain sucked,” said Robert Beadles, founder of the MemoryTag Greeting Cards, one of the new interactive greeting card manufacturers. “The messages were lame, cheesy, impersonal. They never said what you want them to say.”
Beadles said he got the idea for an interactive digital greeting card after having company employees from another business he owns try to jointly sign a traditional card for their customers.
“It was like herding a bunch of cats,” he said. “It took forever to get everybody together to sign the card and after they did it looked like a graffiti mess.”
Though the technology has been around a few years it has only recently been employed to personalized greeting cards. At the heart of the innovation is a computer software or app Beadles developed and added to the paper greeting card, similar to a bar code that allows the groceries you purchase to be scanned and entered into a cash register.
In this case you can download the smartphone app onto a smart phone for example, and then add your own personal recorded video message or photo to the card using your phone. The person receiving the card also downloads the app, and scans the card with their smart phone to play back the recorded (filmed) message. Or they can go to WWW.MemoryTag.cards and play their message from there. Thus, the receiver of the card gets a personalized message or picture face-to- face from the sender.
“From then on the card receiver can see their video or photo you send to them anytime they want,” Beadles explained. “You see the face of the person and hear their voice, rather than just scribble our name on a piece of paper like you’re signing a check.”
This means the video message or photo remains a lifelong keepsake, unlike old greeting cards, which are often discarded or lost. Beadles said his way of digital message greeting cards has soared in popularity over the past few years while the sales of old-fashioned cards has declined in quality and quantity.
According to the website NPR (National Public Radio), Hallmark, a major supplier of traditional greeting cards, closed its distribution center in Enfield, Conn., in 2015, and cut 570 jobs because of declining profits. Instead social media has become the faster, cheaper means of communication the report noted.
Beadles said the upgrading to Memory Tag video-based greeting cards which are often edgy in their messages and feature humor, is a proper mix of the old and new.
“I wanted to create greeting cards that resonate with what people wished their card would say and show how they really feel,” he said.
Here's a small taste:
Author: John Sammon
Website URL - http://sammonsays.com/
Email Address - firstname.lastname@example.org


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36 Crimson students admitted to Oxford or Cambridge with some doubling down with admission to US top ranked colleges like Yale and Stanford.
The International Microgrid Event (TIME) will be held in Perth from 31 March to 3 April 2020. We can also offer readers a 10% discount off the cost of attending TIME.
Digital transformation is emerging as a driver of sweeping change in the world across many traditional industries.
Following on from their recent announcement of obtaining a first ever Diamond Sponsor, the Lateral INCITE Awards today revealed an Exclusive Media Partner - Business News.
BDO has announced the appointment of five new Partners across its Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane offices, bolstering the total number of Partners nationally to 200 in 2020.
The Asian market is one of the fastest growing economies globally and Singapore serves as the gateway to the rest of the region with its stable and secured economic and trade status.
Do you have a media question, big or small? Or do you need help identifying your best ‘story’ or social media campaign ideas?
After the purchase of Expo Group earlier this year, WA’s leading signage business, Jason Signmakers, has announced the addition of Bokay Signage and Digital Print to the group.
Australian agribusinesses are choosing vanadium redox flow batteries to store vast amounts of renewable solar energy because of their low fire risk and excellent ability to provide reliable power.
The International Quality and Productivity Centre (IQPC) Australia have formed a key partnership with the International Microgrid Association (IMA) to deliver the first microgrid summit in the souther
Are you a Western Australian business or entrepreneur looking to expand your market to Singapore or Asia? Are you thinking about using Singapore as the gateway to the rest of Asia?
The team behind Hatchet has launched a new growth marketing arm to expand capabilities across SEO, search, social and content and bring a new customer experience approach into the Perth market.
China Eastern Airlines will trial a new service early next year, connecting Western Australia to around 25 million people in Shanghai.
Global investors should search for investments in quality gold stocks, as equity markets become more uncertain, according to speakers at a Sydney-based gold conference, writes Perth Media's Sydney-bas
Mirrabooka-based Sudbury Community House, in Perth, has an innovative new empowering program to encourage public contributions and engagement.
Rothstein Lawyers firm principal Sophie Manera has been named as a finalist in the Women in Law Awards for Mentor of the Year.
A Business News-sponsored delegation to China last week received plenty of attention from the local media, including this wrap-up of the visit by Beijing News.
Gender equality is not only right – but it is good for business, the economy and community.
Thanks to a new community partnership by Thrifty Car & Truck Rental, essential health care services delivered by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) of Western Australia have been given help on
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MANILA, Philippines – Flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc (PAL) is no longer accepting lithium ion batteries for carriage as cargo, citing potential fire hazards posed by such type of shipment.
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are used in consumer electronics such as mobile telephones and laptop computers. Non-rechargeable lithium metal batteries are generally used to power devices such as watches, calculators, and temperature data loggers.
PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime Bautista said the airline is imposing the ban on lithium ion battery shipments, amid the growing number of international carriers banning the shipment of the product.
“Safety is the cornerstone of our operations. We mitigate risks as we assure our passengers of our commitment to safety,” Bautista said.
PAL said shipment of lithium ion and lithium metal batteries packed with or contained in equipment are exempted from the suspension of carriage as cargo, in compliance with regulatory requirements on packaging and labeling.
The airline advised passengers to handcarry their equipment powered by lithium batteries along with their spare batteries.
Carriage of spare lithium batteries would be limited.
PAL added that recalled or damaged batteries are not allowed as carry-on, checked baggage or cargo shipment.
BBC News reported in March this year that experts think lithium batteries have contributed to several cargo plane fires in recent years, like the UPS Airlines in-flight fire in 2010 that crashed in an uninhabited Dubai area, and the Asiana Airlines 2011 cargo plane crash, which was found out to be carrying 400 kilograms of lithium batteries.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommended new safety standards for the carriage of such batteries, while Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tests showed that overheating batteries could cause major fires. – Rappler.com


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In the era of Netflix and iPads, members of the Millennial Generation now are forgoing traditional television at a rate faster than ever before, based on new Nielsen television numbers.
In the television season between September and January, traditional television viewers aged 18 to 34 fell by 10.6 per cent, more than double the annual average decline, the New York Post reported. Since 2012, viewers in the Millennial age range have fallen by an average of 4 per cent a year.
Television executives reportedly are stunned by the sudden tumble in Millennial viewers, with NBC Universal’s head of audience research telling the Post he had never seen such a rapid change in behaviour in the industry.
Last month, data showed that 17.8 million Millennials were watching traditional television, down about 20 per cent from 2011 when 21.7 million young Americans were tuning in.
The drop likely will continue as providers are offering increased options for so-called cord cutters – those who have given up cable television subscriptions. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon all are bulking up their libraries and continue to push original content, which consumers can watch on tablets or through the televisions with devices like Apple TV or Roku.
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Minecraft Dungeons started its 'Chills and Thrills' event
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MineCon Live 2019 news: updates, trailers, and dates
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Case against Kim goes to grand jury
Two new charges against Andrew Kim will be heard by a Madison County grand jury after he waived his June case Thursday morning.
Kim is charged with theft over $500 and burglary after an arrest earlier this month.
Court documents say Kim went into Dick's Sporting Goods on Vann Drive June 16 and returned items he had picked up in the store, but had not bought, then used a $344.62 gift card received from the return to buy a shirt and Yeti cooler.
The shirt and cooler are valued at more than $300, according to court documents.
Kim is still held on $50,000 bond at the Madison County Criminal Justice Complex.
His attorney, Mark Donahoe, said Kim is scheduled to have a bond revocation hearing in Madison County Circuit Court in July.
Kim's June arrest is his fourth since May.
Jackson police searched Kim's Brooksie Pond Cove home May 5 and recovered items reported stolen in an April burglary from Coffman's Furniture and Appliances. Kim is charged with theft of property, vandalism, and burglary in connection to burglaries at Coffman's and Outdoors Inc. in January.
Memphis police also charged Kim with burglary and vandalism after the back door of Best Buy on Germantown Parkway was pried open, a display case was smashed, and a $900 DJI drone was stolen. Court documents say the stolen drone was found during Jackson police's search of Kim's home on May 5. He admitted to Memphis police investigators that he stole the drone, according to court documents.
Reach Maranda at (731) 425-9657. Follow her on Twitter: @MarandaFaris


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The Internet radio company said Wednesday it is imposing a 40-hour monthly limit for listeners to its free service on mobile devices. The cap on free mobile-listening hours should affect less than 4% of the service's total monthly users, Pandora founder Tim Westergren wrote in a blog post, because the average listener spends just about 20 hours listening to the service on phones and computers during any given month.
Still, the new limit addresses some nagging issues that have undercut the Oakland, Calif., company's financial results and rattled investors.
For one thing, because of its Web-based format Pandora is required to pony up royalties for artists and copyright holders every time a user listens to a song on a computer or phone. In the company's third quarter ended in October, the good news was that active listeners rose 47%; the bad news was that so-called content-acquisition costs jumped nearly 75%.
The other issue addressed with the new limit is the growing number of users on mobile phones—a platform where Pandora, like other Internet firms, has enjoyed a growing audience but hasn't yet been able to make as much ad revenue as on traditional desktop computers. Ad revenue per thousand listener hours in the company's third quarter was $26.96 on mobile and $56.40 across devices, according to company officials in a transcript of the earnings call.
Should Pandora's revenue from mobile devices continue to improve as expected and provide more balance to listener hours, the company may also remove the new mobile limit, according to a company spokeswoman.
But there's no immediate relief on the horizon for Pandora's royalty rates.
In his blog post Wednesday, Mr. Westergren wrote that Pandora's per-track royalty rates have jumped more than 25% over the last three years, including a 9% increase in 2013, and are scheduled to rise an additional 16% over the next two years.
Those increases come thanks to an agreement with SoundExchange, which represents record labels. Under the terms of that deal, royalty rates paid by Pandora per song are set to increase to 0.14 cent in 2015 from 0.12 cent this year.
Against this backdrop, Pandora has pressed for federal legislation that could help ease its burden. Mr. Westergren has touted the Internet Radio Fairness Act, which could change the way Internet radio royalty rates are set, as a way to level the playing field with other industries like satellite radio.
The legislation is pending reintroduction in Congress, the Pandora spokeswoman said.
Mr. Westergren acknowledged that "limiting listening is a very unusual thing to do, and very contrary to our mission." But he added that the mobile listening limit will let the company control its "escalating costs with minimal listener disruption."
Pandora users on mobile phones may occasionally receive a prompt to click on the service to indicate that they're still actively listening. The Pandora spokeswoman said it's possible heavy users on mobile are repeatedly clicking on the prompt, though it is difficult to say for sure.
Listeners who reach the 40-hour mobile-listening limit can pay 99 cents for unlimited listening on mobile for the remainder of that month, Pandora said. The company also has long offered a paid service that is commercial-free.
Pandora had previously implemented a 40-hour monthly limit on free listening via desktop computers, which was removed in 2011.
The company has reported having 65.6 million active listeners at the end of January, an increase of 38% from a year earlier.
—Nathalie Tadena contributed to this story.
Write to John Letzing at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Rwanda woos Dutch tourists, showcases at 2015 Vakantiebeurs exhibition in Utrecht
With Rwandan tourist properties registering increased global recognition, the Rwanda Development Board has moved to attract Dutch holiday makers and travelers by showcasing at the premier and high profile Vakantiebeurs; the largest tourism exhibition in the Benelux that took place in Utrecht at the Jaarbeurs Exhibition Centre.
Rwanda’s breathtaking tourist attraction sites were the highlight of the event. This included Nyungwe Forest Lodge that was recently recognized a top ten safari destination for 2015 by CNN Travel. Focus was on the Canopy Walk in Nyungwe National Park and the Nyungwe Forest Eco-Lodge that attract visitors to its luxurious location at the Gisakura tea estates.
Rwanda's Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Jean Pierre Karabaranga said that participating in the Dutch tourism show was part of efforts to draw repeat and new travelers to the Land of a Thousand Hills.
“We are positioning Rwanda as a destination that is offers more than the famous Gorillas,” he added noting that in the six years that Rwanda had been participating in the annual show, the number of Dutch tourists to Rwanda increased six fold.
Rwanda, he added, is very accessible to Dutch tourists with the national airline is KLM serving Kigali five times a week.
Rwanda was among the 160 countries that participated at the Vakantiebeurs which also attracted over 1600 exhibitors. Access Rwanda Safaris and Amahoro Tours from Rwanda represented the country during the five-day event.
Amb Karabaranga said that the Rwandan team put up a marvelous display of the country’s unique tourism offering and showcased the wide range of tourism products available including its rich culture and exciting festivals.
He expressed confidence that the show will result in more Dutch tourists visiting Rwanda going by the past trends where arrivals from Netherlands registered a 22 per cent rise over six years. Overall the Vakantiebeurs tourism exhibition was a success for the Rwandan tourism industry who kept the stand very active holding meetings to generate new contracts and re-establish contacts with existing partners in the Netherlands.
Rwanda’s exhibition stand received many visitors who were entertained by Rwandan traditional dancers and were engaging in the lifetime offer to take a photo in Rwanda style for free and sharing it on the travel Rwanda Facebook page. Rwanda’s national carrier Rwandair is expected to reward three owners of photos with the most likes with a ticket to Rwanda.


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Nice car, Wally
Seems our own Wally Herger is among 136 U.S. House members who spent about $1.05 million last year in taxpayer dollars to lease vehicles, including dozens of gas-guzzling SUVs and expensive luxury cars, according to an analysis by the Kansas City Star. Gas and insurance, also paid for by taxpayers, cost hundreds of thousands more.
Herger spent $8,400 of our money to lease a Ford (the model was not identified). Not as bad as Dan Burton, R-Ind., whose Dodge cost $14,175.33 to lease last year. But considerably more than the $1,276.95 Mike Michaud, D-Maine, spent to lease his Toyota Camry.
To read the complete list and the accompanying article, click here.


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The launch of a new millennial railcard was branded a "shambles" today after the website selling the tickets crashed due to high demand.
The cards could be applied for from today but as there are only 10,000 now available, they are being issued on a first-come, first-serve basis, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said. There are just 10,000 available.
There will be a limit on the number of 26-30 Railcards available while the scheme is trialled to assess the impact on revenue and passenger numbers.
In a message to the National Railcards Twitter account at 7.48am, youth worker Josh Booth, from Leeds, posted: "Been trying to get 26-30 railcard since 7am, your website crashing and been on hold on the phone since then". "Please bear with us".
Some compared the difficulty of getting a card to the white hot rage felt by those familiar with attempting to buy in-demand tickets to Glastonbury.
This new card will costs £30 per year and will only be available digitally, meant to be used on smartphones.
But the sign-up site was unable to cope with the high traffic as millennials nationwide battled to secure the passes, which can be used by people aged between 26 and 30, cost £30 and offer a third off most fares in Britain.
The card is aimed at leisure travel, and will not be applicable to season tickets. There is now a limited number of cards available while the scheme is trialled to assess the impact on revenue and passenger numbers, however, it is expected it will eventually be rolled out across the UK.
Although the decision to make travel cheaper for greater numbers of young people has been widely welcomed, some have said it does not go far enough to solve the transport and economic problems affecting the UK.
The majority of people would not be able to get additional discounts between the age of 25 and 60, when a senior railcard kicks in.


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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for March 2017 has indicated a further decline in the rate of inflation by 0.52 per cent points lower from the rate recorded in February (17.78) per cent to 17.26 per cent.
According to the NBS, this is the second consecutive month of a decline in the headline CPI on a year-on-year basis, representing the effects of stabilising prices in already high food and non-food prices as well as favourable base effects over 2016 prices.
The report further revealed that the food index increased by 18.44 per cent (year-on-year) in March, slightly down 0.09 per cent points from rate recorded in February (18.53) per cent driven by increases in the prices of bread, cereals, meat, fish, potatoes, yams and other tubers and wine, while the slowest increase in food prices year-on-year were recorded by soft drinks, fruits, coffee, tea and cocoa.
The NBS report also stated that price movements recorded by all items less farm produce or core sub-index rose by 15.40 per cent (year-on-year) in March, down by 0.60 per cent points from rate recorded in February (16.00) per cent.
Similarly, urban index rose by 18.27 per cent (year-on-year) in March from 18.57 per cent recorded in February, and the rural index increased by 16.47 per cent in March from 16.98 percent in February.
The NBS further disclosed that during the month, the highest increases were seen in miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling, electricity, solid fuels, clothing materials and other articles of clothing, liquid fuel, spirits as well as fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment.
In a related report also released by the NBS yesterday, the bureau disclosed that the average price of one dozen of medium size agric-eggs increased year-on-year by 50.38 per cent and month-on-month by 1.45 per cent to N527.69 in March 2017 from N520.16 in February 2017 while the average price of piece of agric-eggs medium size (price of one) increased year-on-year by 40.80 per cent and month-on-month by 2.39 per cent to N43.93 in March 2017 from N42.90 in February 2017.
According to the report, the average price of 1kg of tomato increased year-on-year by 29.63 per cent and month-on-month by 13.53 per cent to N268.64 in March 2017 from N236.62 in February 2017.
Furthermore, the average price of 1kg of rice (imported high quality sold loose) increased year-on-year by 55 per cent and month-on-month by 1.98 per cent to N418.71 in March 2017 from N410.58 in February 2017 the average price of 1kg of yam tuber increased year-on-year by 63.40 per cent and month-on-month by 18.70 per cent to N255.586 in March 2017 from N215.55 in February 2017.
Meanwhile, following World Bank’s low ranking in the ease of doing business in Nigeria, the Federal Government yesterday reduced the export documentation from 10 to seven while import documentation was slashed from 14 to eight.
The Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the President on Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, who announced this in Lagos at a two-day sensitisation workshop on ease of doing business reforms, said the directive takes immediate effect.
The SSA regretted that Nigeria has been looked at as a difficult place to do business and some steps have to be taken to relax some measures in the process of doing business.
So, it is against this backdrop that the Federal Government decided to meet the stakeholders in the maritime sector of the economy to rub minds and seek ways to remove certain bottlenecks in the process of doing business.
“We have identified training across borders as the most critical areas in need of reforms in the Nigerian economy. It does a number of things. In our diversification process, we all know that this administration has a strong diversification push for exports. In our diversification push, it is impossible to import and export without functioning ports. We started work in October 2016 on entry and exit of goods. In January we took it up basing on World Bank’s training across borders indicator. We started working with Customs, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Shippers Council, terminal operators and a whole range of stakeholders to identify the key problems. We scoped them and divided them into short term and medium term and long term.
“So we started with the short term. We have a 60-day action plan which is ending on April 21. This is one of the key areas we have been working on. We have released some directives through the Minister of Finance. The Minister of Finance has issued some directives, the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) has issued some directives on palletisation of goods coming into Nigeria. Because we want to save cost and time for SMEs in Nigeria, for anybody exporting from Nigeria or importing into Nigeria, the documentation for export has been reduced from 10 to seven and for imports from 14 to eight and that is with immediate effect,” he said.
In his presentation, Deputy Controller of Customs, Antony Ayalogu, identified the challenges in the importation process, saying that goods are not stratified before they arrive. This, he said, leads to inefficient movement of containers to yard.
According to him, the scanners are not functional and physical examination of cargoes are slow and tedious thus leading to inefficiency in the ports.
Other challenges include non-palletisation of goods and poorly-parked containers, noting that the new procedure would accelerate pre-export documentation procedure, increase effectiveness and optimise pre-arrival processing.
Recall that the World Bank ranked Nigeria 182 out of 190 countries in the world in the ease of doing business.
Some of the stakeholders present at the sensitisation workshop include Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Shippers Council, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), among others.
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CYBERSPACE—A couple of billion-dollar deals announced Monday help illuminate the underlying strategies of some of the largest technology companies in the world as they maneuver into positions of perceived advantage against equally humongous competitors.
The most publicized deal of the deal of the day is the announcement by Facebook that it has purchased the very popular photo-sharing mobile app Instagram in a cash and stock deal worth $1 billion. This morning, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted up to make sure everyone knows not to expect too many of these deals—"We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all"—but perhaps more importantly to explain the rationale behind it.
"For years, we've focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family," he wrote. "Now, we'll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.
"That's why we're committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.
"We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook."
Like on Skype, for instance?
As FastCompany.com's Austin Carr noted last summer, the long-term alliance between Facebook and Microsoft, which acquired Skype in 2011, is a relationship that is ignored at one's peril, especially if that one is Google. Commenting on a remark by Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt that was wholly (and literally) dismissive of Microsoft's significance in the pantheon of tech leaders, Carr wrote, "Given Facebook and Microsoft's widening footprint in industries Google lusts after, it's perhaps no surprise Schmidt would like to pretend the latter company does not exist. ... With Bing's leverage of Facebook social data, Microsoft now has a leg-up against Google in search. Facing the Skype-Facebook partnership, Google is launching Google+ at a significant disadvantage. And with Windows Phone 7, with whatever Facebook decides to contribute to its social elements, there will be even more competition for Google's Android platform."
Well, we now know one element Facebook wants to contribute to its social elements, but of perhaps equal significance was the other, less publicized, billion-dollar deal announced today: namely, the sale by AOL to Microsoft of 800 of its patents.
In an 8K filing today, AOL announced that the deal gives "Microsoft a non-exclusive license to its retained patent portfolio, for aggregate proceeds of $1.056 billion in cash. The transaction is structured as a purchase of all of the outstanding shares of a wholly-owned non-operating subsidiary of the Company and the direct acquisition of those patents in the portfolio not held by the subsidiary."
The deal is complicated and includes having to get "third-party consents and approvals required to consummate the purchase agreement," as well as a termination fee of just over 200 grand that Microsoft will have to pay if it fails to meet certain covenants and timelines, but assuming it goes through the question on some people's minds is what's in it for Microsoft.
According to PCWorld's Tony Bradley, the answer likely has everything to do with strategic positioning with Facebook against Google. "Odds are fair that there are some specific patents Microsoft is targeting, and that it has a strategic reason for wanting those patents," he writes. "It’s possible that the interest in AOL’s patent portfolio has to do with Microsoft’s rivalry with Google, or perhaps Microsoft’s alliance with Facebook."
According to an analyst cited in the article, AOL "likely holds a number of core patents from the granddaddy of all online social companies—CompuServe. The patents acquired by Microsoft could be used to support Facebook in the ongoing patent war with Yahoo. It’s also possible that some of the 800 patents could prove useful against Microsoft’s primary rival—Google," which the analyst characterized as "particularly inept when it comes to patents..."
The not-so-good news here, according to Bradley, is the legal mechanism Microsoft will use to put those patents to use—the dreaded patent litigation, which, when abused by so-called patent trolls, can cause serious damage to both startups and established businesses, as the adult online industry well remembers.
Unfortunately, it's no longer just patent firms (or farms) like Acacia and Lodsys that are engaged in proactive patent litigation anymore, adds Bradley. "The use of patent litigation as a means of competing with rivals is unfortunate, but it’s the reality of the tech world today. Until or unless something is done to change the nature of tech patents, or reverse the tide of patent infringement litigation, companies like Microsoft will continue to arm themselves with the largest patent portfolio possible."
They pretty much have to. After all, he concludes, "It's the Silicon Valley equivalent of the nuclear arms race and mutually assured destruction."


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Japan’s exports tumbled at their fastest pace in three years in October, threatening to tip the trade-reliant economy into recession as weakening demand from United States
Tata Steel plans to cut costs across its European operations, the company said, as the sector wrestles with excess supply, weak demand and high costs. Earlier, a source close to the
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group will raise up to $12.9 billion from its landmark Hong Kong listing and is set to price its shares at a 2.8% discount to their New York close,
Aston Martin, which has seen its share price plunge this year as sales failed to meet expectations after a stock market flotation, launched its first sport utility vehicle on Wednesday,
Japan’s lower house of parliament approved on Tuesday a limited trade deal Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with the United States, clearing the way for tariff cuts next year on items including US farm goods and Japanese machine tools.
India may keep a ban on onion exports until February because domestic prices have risen after the harvest of summer-sown crops, which were expected to augment supplies, was delayed and damaged by untimely rains, a government official said.
Japan’s SoftBank Corp plans to merge internet unit Yahoo Japan with messaging app operator Line Corp to create a $30 billion tech giant, as it bags struggling internet companies to bulk up against rivals like Rakuten Inc.
J.C. Penney reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on lower ad spending and higher margins, results Chief Executive Jill Soltau said showed efforts to revive sales and profits at the department store are taking hold.
US retail sales rebounded moderately in October although consumers did cut back on purchases of big-ticket household items like furniture and discretionary spending, which could temper expectations for a strong holiday shopping season.


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Good news for those of you eagerly anticipating the HTC EVO 3D's arrival: you're one step closer to getting your hands on Sprint's latest WiMAX wonder. The EVO 3D recently passed through the FCC and got the A-OK from our favorite government agency. There's not really any new information to be found in the report, but hey, all that matters is that another item on the EVO 3D's pre-launch checklist can be crossed out.
Although neither the EVO 3D's launch date nor its pricing has been made official by Sprint or HTC, some leaked RadioShack flyers have shown that the next member of the EVO family could very well be arriving on June 24th for $199.99. If that info is the real deal, we should be hearing official word from Sprint in the next week or two, so stay tuned!


text: Is it safe to say that we should expect a Call of Duty game every year now? I hope so. Activision Blizzard has announced the next installment of the series with the follow up to 07’s Modern Warfare to be released this holiday. Infinity Ward will be taking up the reigns as expected and it will surely be one of the biggest games this upcoming holiday season. I want a longer single player campaign, vehicles in multiplayer, bigger maps, etc. What it is, what it is.


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Drink maker HYTN adds cultivation licence
Published on June 17, 2022 by David Wylie
Cannabis drink maker HYTN has now received a licence to grow its own supply.
The company says it applied for the licence because it’s having trouble securing good enough quality cannabis for its products.
“While sourcing dry flower and downstream cannabis form factors for our infused cannabis products, we have asked our suppliers to only provide inputs that meet HYTN’s exacting specifications,” says Jason Broome, HYTN’s COO.
“Consistently finding inputs that meet the standard has been a challenge. However, through that challenge, we have found an opportunity to further advance our mission of elevating the cannabis experience by controlling where it begins, specifically with the cannabis plant itself.”
RELATED: HYTN moves ahead with flurry of changes
Broome says the company now plans to partner with Okanagan-based cannabis breeders to create a library of cultivars.
“Okanagan cannabis breeders and the cultivars they have created are elite and among the best in the world,” he says.
HYTN’s CEO Elliot McKerr says controlling cannabis cultivars, as well as their cultivation, curing and processing, is key to “elevating the cannabis experience” for consumers.
“Securing a cultivation license allows us to build our tissue culture program in our Kelowna facility. We see this as core to entrenching HYTN as a leader of cannabis innovation and ensuring superior and elevated cannabis experiences every time a consumer chooses the HYTN brand,” he says.
The license amendment from Health Canada allowing for the cultivation of cannabis, adds to the company’s array of licences, including Standard Processing License, a Research License, and an Amendment for Sale of Cannabis to provincially and territorially authorized retailers.
HYTN currently has a couple of drinks on the market.


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01 June 2009 23:38 [Source: ICIS news]
NEW YORK (ICIS news)--SAFC, the fine chemicals business of US-based Sigma-Aldrich, and Cherokee Pharmaceuticals, a US-based manufacturer, will co-market and co-sell bulk pharmaceutical raw materials, the companies said on Monday.
The companies said the exclusive partnership will combine SAFC’s global sourcing and production capabilities with Cherokee’s analytical laboratories, large-scale current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities.
“In marrying SAFC’s sourcing capabilities, which bring significant cost and quality benefits to the table, with Cherokee Pharmaceuticals’ expertise in analytical testing and cGMP manufacture and storage, we are providing top level, high-quality resourcing that will support our US customers throughout their respective supply chains, enabling them to both streamline and improve their risk-mitigation strategies,” said SAFC president Gilles Cottier.
The Cherokee Pharmaceuticals site in Riverside, Pennsylvania, was acquired from US pharmaceutical major Merck on January 1, 2008. It continues to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for Merck through a five-year supply agreement while expanding its customer base to include other companies.
“This strategic partnership allows us to provide an integrated sourcing, distribution process to our customers who seek a secure supply chain,” said Murvin Lackey, president of distribution for Cherokee.
The status of Cherokee’s parent, the Philadelphia-based industrial services company PWRT, as a company owned by a US ethnic minority was a key driver in SAFC’s decision to partner, according to Ed Roullard, vice president of supply solutions at SAFC.
Many US government procurement contracts cannot be obtained unless ethnic minority-owned vendors benefit in one way or another, he explained, and Cherokee’s participation would provide pharma customers with the means to fulfill the requirement.
Initial products will include processing aids, excipients and general raw materials for small- and large-molecule drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, said Roullard.
“We think there is opportunity to leverage our global exposure to vendors, our knowledge of those vendors, as well as bring demand of different pharmaceutical customers together in this partnership to lower overall costs,” he said.
The service will also allow customers to consolidate their vendors, Roullard said.
“We have a large number of pharma customers coming to us saying, ‘You know, I’m buying this excipient from one vendor, that from another vendor. This marketplace is so diverse, I need someone to pull this all together,” he said.
The operation will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he added. Cherokee is three hours or less of driving time from half of all US pharmaceutical production.
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Chicago-based Windy City Motorcycle Company (WCMC) has named Matt Sheahan vice president of Sales, Powersports Business has learned. Sheahan comes with a strong background in the motorcycle industry with over 15 years of experience, most recently holding the position of chief operating officer for Triumph Motorcycles America.
Sheahan is an innovative and entrepreneurial leader with a passion for creating profitable and sustainable business growth. He is a lifelong motorcycle enthusiast having spent most of his life riding, wrenching, racing, designing, marketing, and selling motorcycles. Prior to his time at Triumph, he was lead design engineer for Buell Motorcycle Co., where he prepared and executed strategic and tactical plans that led the organization through efficient new motorcycle model development programs.
“We are thrilled to have Matt on board heading our sales effort,” said WCMC CEO Ozzie Giglio. “Matt is a clear industry leader and brings great expertise of unparalleled value.”
“Windy City Motorcycle Company is at the forefront of the development of the motorcycle retail industry,” said Sheahan. “I’m incredibly excited to be joining the team to help drive continued growth while delivering the future of the motorcycle retail experience.”
Sheahan is a former engineer, mechanic, and 11-time CCS Road Racing champion. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration with a Marketing Specialization from Marquette University. He currently resides in southern Wisconsin with his wife and three children.


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In each of the last three years, Cisco has surveyed organizations to learn if they reaped benefits from privacy beyond meeting compliance requirements. The data shows that it does.
Over the past few years, data privacy has evolved from ‘nice to have’ to a business imperative and critical boardroom issue. The surveys revealed that:
- More than 40 percent of organizations in the study are seeing benefits at least twice that of their privacy spend.
- A strong correlation exists between organizations’ privacy accountability and lower breach costs, shorter sales delays and higher financial returns.
- More than 70 percent of organizations receive significant business benefits from privacy, such as operational efficiency, agility and innovation.
- 82 percent of organizations view privacy certifications as a buying factor when selecting a supply chain product or vendor.
- Across all companies, for every dollar of investment there was roughly $2.70 worth of benefit.
If your company needs help designing and implementing an effective privacy and security plan, contact us, we can help.


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(Quoted from Printwear. Full article here.)
The M&R Companies makes the 2019 list of Crain's Chicago Business Most Innovative Companies. The news outlet annually profiles Chicago-area businesses in an extensive set of industries.
This year's list spans the gamut from categories like medical supplies and packing materials, to software and industrial equipment, like M&R's machinery. The list points out that in addition to recent developments, the company has developed six patents in the past year. David Blake, vice president of sales, comments in the article that the company continues to focus on merging digital technology with screen printing.
Click here to read the full article


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We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of "Playing the Edge." Apply to speak here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here. At the event, we will also announce 25 top game startups as the 2024 Game Changers. Apply or nominate today!
Two new tablets are joining the Motorola/Verizon Droid lineup in time for holiday shopping.
The tablets will both be called Xyboard, a punny name that plays well off the current heavy-on-robotics Droid marketing.
One model will apparently feature an 8.2-inch screen, and the other will feature a larger 10.1-inch screen. Both will have 4G LTE connectivity, as noted in a Verizon press release today.
Sadly, few other specs about the tablets have been confirmed. We’re especially interested to know whether the Xyboards will be running Android 4.0, a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich, the one-size-fits-all version of Android intended to run on both smartphones and tablets (as well as just about any other connected device).
While Android tablets are still nowhere near market dominance, they are slowly chipping away at the iPad’s market share. As of August 2011, Android tablets held around 20 percent of the tablet market globally.
However, this holiday shopping season in particular, the heavyweight, high-powered tablets in the Android spectrum are also up against a slate of low-cost touchscreen ereader-tablet hybrids. These units, exemplified by Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet, pack a powerful punch that includes games, apps, full-color screens, email, web browsing and (incidentally) ebooks.
Most of the hybrids retail for around $200, and they fit the bill for all but the most graphics-intensive users.
We’ll see where the Xyboards and other Android units fall on the collective holiday wishlist — and whether Android can expand is successful smartphone stake into tablet territory.
Image courtesy of laihui.
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NEW DELHI: As states gradually open up for business, tourism boards have amped up their campaigns across social media platforms to drive interest and pique curiosity.
Digital campaigns from Meghalaya (#TripNowTravelLater), Madhya Pradesh (#IntezaarAapka) and Arunachal Pradesh (#DekhoApnaPradesh) and Goa comprise videos, images of picturesque tourist spots, and interactive posts.
“The social media promotions will work. People who have a steady flow of income or enough savings would want to travel. This segment likes to flaunt their new buys and travel experiences. People are frustrated sitting at home and they will prefer taking road trips to nearby destinations. This trend is picking up in US and revenge travel has started and it should start here as well,” said Shrenik Gandhi, chief executive officer and co-founder of digital marketing agency White Rivers Media.
Issuing guidelines for Unlock 2.0, Uttarakhand recently lifted curbs on inter-district, inter-state and international travellers and allowed homestays and hotels, outside the containment zones, to open up for business.
Tourists, visiting from other parts of the country, will have to necessarily upload their covid-19 test report on the government web portal. If tested negative they are not required to quarantine themselves. The Char Dham Yatra, however, will be available only to residents of Uttarakhand as of now.
State tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said, “Tourists from other states are welcome in Uttarakhand’s Devbhoomi. We will be promoting remote destinations which have accommodations for all budgets from hotels to homestays. We will be launching a big campaign to promote indigenous and immunity boosting Garwali and Kumaoni cuisine.”
Like Uttarakhand, Goa has allowed tourists and has done away with quarantine if they test negative 48 hours before entering the state. Pre-booking of hotels is mandatory.
The first batch of travellers Madhya Pradesh is looking to attract are people from within and neighbouring states. Its “Intezaar Aapka” campaign brings out the eagerness of getting away after days of stringent lockdown.
Destinations being promoted include Amarkantak, Panchmari, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Ujjain and Mandu.
“In order to facilitate smooth travel, the board has come up with short road itineraries mainly for 2 -3 nights and solves the boredom of a weekend from the neighbouring states with all safety measures that are required at the destination,” read a statement from Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board.
Meghalaya has invoked nostalgia in its ‘Trip now, travel later’ campaign, being promoted across social media platforms.
“The film is about the relentless human spirit, the forever wandering mind, a film of hope. So until things get better, stay safe and keep imagining a tomorrow where we can again travel, tell, transform. Meghalaya awaits you,” said chief minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma on Instagram.


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New York issued a ban to ignore EPS recycling benefits. The enterprise alliance sued and protested
release date: it is also a good time for your product to be implemented free of charge -15 source: China Plastics editor: Yu Jia browsing times: 2174 copyright and disclaimer
core tip: previously, the New York City Government will start to ban EPS foam packaging in November. Although the materials are technically recyclable, they are not cost-effective. On September 12, some restaurants, recyclers and manufacturers jointly sued to try to prevent New York City from expanding the ban on polystyrene food packaging for the second time
[China Packaging News] previously, the New York City Government will begin to ban EPS foam packaging in November. Although the materials are technically recyclable, they are not cost-effective. On September 12, some restaurants, recyclers and manufacturers jointly sued to try to prevent New York City from expanding the ban on polystyrene food packaging for the second time
New York issued a ban to ignore the benefits of EPS recycling. The enterprise alliance sued to protest
however, the enterprise alliance believed that the city was flouting the ruling of the New York state court in 2015, overturning the previous ban of wiping the city with clean gauze, and said that the material could be effectively recycled
Randy mastro, chief lawyer of the business department, said: "the de brasio government should abide by the court's instructions, give up the latest wrong attempts, and implement the comprehensive recovery plan proposed by industry participants and supported by finance."
"in fact, the comprehensive plan to recycle all poly (e.g. styrene with a tolerance zone of 0.8mm) will be more environmentally friendly and economically feasible than the limited ban on soft foam, thus saving cities millions of dollars in landfill costs and protecting many small catering enterprises that rely on soft foam"
the organization brought a lawsuit to the Supreme Court, which is the trial court in New York. The Supreme Court of New York state is called the court of appeal
the business group believes that the EPS alternative will cost urban enterprises and consumers US $51million per year, and said that it may cause environmental problems such as solid waste due to the emission of green gases
the New York City Department of health did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, but in the ban report issued on May 12, it said that EPS in the food industry "cannot be recycled in New York City in an economically feasible or environmentally friendly way"
New York City believes that recycled food foam may be "worthless" when it arrives at recycling facilities, because it is covered in food residues and broken into small pieces, so it is difficult to find buyers of recycled materials
"this is the experience of dsny and several other large cities that also try to recycle edible foamed plastics." The experience of New York City will be different, which has no basis
however, enterprises believe that New York City has chosen to release information, and said that the city is spreading "false claims that polystyrene foam is not recyclable"
they believe that this ban will increase the purchase cost of plastic foam substitutes by about $11.2 million per year, and a recycling plan proposed by dart container company will save millions of dollars in landfill avoidance costs and generate millions of revenue
allen Shaw, President of EPS recycled plastics company (algb/t 3098.4 (2) 000 fastener mechanical properties nut fine tooth rib an Shaw), said: "New York City once again ignored the fact that polystyrene foam can be recycled, and refused to make up for the huge economic losses of the city through recycling and landfill."
Copyright © 2011 JIN SHI


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The biggest shift in the business landscape since the Internet continues to grow–and established, traditional companies need to act soon in order to compete. That’s one of the key findings in The New Rules of the Collaborative Economy, a report I co-authored with tech researcher Alexandra Samuel, released today. The report is an update to Sharing is the New Buying, a 2014 report that, for the first time ever, mapped the prevalence of the collaborative economy and its impact on the business world.
What is the collaborative economy?
The collaborative economy is an economic movement where common technologies enable people to get the goods and services they need from each other, peer to peer, instead of buying from established corporations.
You don’t have to look very far to see how disruptive the collaborative economy has become. Today, the world’s largest hospitality brand–Airbnb–owns not a single room or hotel and is worth $25 billion. Uber, valued at over $50 billion, is the world’s largest taxi service–and it doesn’t own a single vehicle. Barely four years old, the online grocery shopping service Instacart is already worth $2 billion.
Overall, the collaborative economy has produced 17 billion-dollar companies and 10 so-called unicorns. Collectively, sharing startups have already received $15 billion in funding–surpassing the social media space that spurred giants like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
How big is the collaborative economy?
In one word: massive. We used Vision Critical’s customer intelligence platform and discovered that at least one in five customers now chooses sharing as their initial preferred option. The past year alone has seen an impressive growth in the collaborative economy. In North America, participation in this space has grown by 25 percent. More than 110 million people in the U.S. and Canada have participated in some form of sharing in the past year.
The collaborative economy encompases many different categories and different forms of sharing. Last year, we looked at 11 categories; this time, we explored 13, adding online learning and Bitcoin to the list. It’s worth noting that all categories that we looked at this year have seen some growth in participation–reiterating the impressive growth of this movement.
The following inforgraphic is a portion of the full report, which you can download at no cost.
Is sharing here to stay?
To determine the staying power of the collaborative economy, we asked people who stopped using sharing services in the past 12 months why they did so. In every category of sharing, about 2 to 6 percent of sharers report skipping that form of sharing in the past 12 months even though they had previously tried it, so we asked them why. Is it due to disenchantment with the sharing movement?
What we found is that people who stopped sharing in a certain category are doing so not because of dissatisfaction but because of experimentation. Indeed, 70 percent of people that have used a given form of sharing (but not in the past 12 months) say they’re likely to try that form of sharing again in the future. And, in fact, people who’ve dropped out of one or more categories of sharing are the people most likely to be engaged in other forms of sharing. In other words, people are trying different forms of sharing, sometimes to the detriment of other categories.
Dissatisfaction is not a factor. Where a sharer has given up on a form of sharing in the past year, only two percent of those instances are due to the sharer having a bad experience.
Will the collaborative economy grow even more?
Based on people’s intent to try different sharing services, we’re forecasting that eight in 10 Americans will be part of the collaborative economy by 2017. But the bigger threat for companies is this: as many as three in four traditional buyers have indicated that they might choose sharing instead of buying in the next year. For every person who has participated in a form of sharing in the past 12 months, there’s a new person who intends to try that type of sharing.
The continued, rapid growth of the collaborative economy makes it clear that sharing is not a fad. Figuring out how to compete in this space is an urgent issue for companies today, and it’s one of the main reasons why I founded my company, Crowd Companies. To remain relevant, brands need to get closer to their customers and identify the business models that make the most sense for them.
If you’re not yet feeling the effects of collaborative consumption, it’s only a matter of time. Sharing is disruptive and the companies that win in the collaborative economy recognize that they must change with and for their customers in order to thrive.
Download the full report The New Rules of the Collaborative Economy to learn more.
- WSJ: Why the Sharing Economy Isn’t Such a Boon for the Little Guy
- HBR: What customers want from the sharing economy
- Entrepreneur: What You Need to Know to Compete With the Surging Sharing Economy
- Retail Dive: Survey: Millennials leading the growth of sharing economy
- VentureBeat: 3 Ways Brands can Compete with the Sharing Economy
- Shareable: New Report: Price, Convenience, Trust Are Keys to Sharing Economy
- Entrepreneur: What you Need to Know to Compete with the Surging Sharing Economy
- Forbes: Jeremiah Owyang: How the Collaborative Economy Impacts the Future of Work
- Triple Pundit: Report: Collaborative Economy Has Opportunities for All Companies
- Structure 3C: New Industry Report: The New Rules of the Collaborative Economy
- SHIFT: Convenience and Mobility Power the Collaborative Company
- Amy Bishop:How to Survive & Thrive in the Collaborative Economy
- For Immediate Release: The New Rules of Collaborative Economy (Podcast)
- L’économie collaborative doit faire sa mue
- Scott Monty: New Collaborative Economy Report Shows Importance of Price, Convenience and Brand


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Tokyo Disneyland’s brand new event Donald’s Hot Jungle Summer runs from July 9 to September 1, 2019, with entertainment, decorations, food..
Tokyo Disney Resort has launched a delicious new range of ice cream themed merchandise.
The Pink Pop Paradise range features Mickey and..
New Ariel, Cinderella, and Rapunzel merchandise is available now at Tokyo Disney Resort.
The floral designs feature the princesses surr..
Tokyo Disneyland Resort has launched a fabulous new range of Minnie Mouse merchandise.
The bright red and black designs feature Minnie ..
Tokyo Disneyland Resort is launching new retro stationery featuring Mickey and Minnie enjoying a day out at Tokyo Disney Resort.
To celebrate the grand opening of Soaring: Fantastic Flight, Tokyo DisneySea is releasing special merchandise, souvenirs and food.
Tokyo Disneyland Resort has launched a new range of Disney Sports merchandise featuring Mickey Mouse designs and items produced in partner..
It’s Donald Duck’s 85th birthday on June 9, 2019! And Tokyo Disney Resort is celebrating with special merchandise.
It’s not a huge sele..
Duffy and Friends are hitting the beach this summer with the brand new Duffy’s Sunny Fun event. The celebration is underway from June 6 – ..


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Sure, Netflix may be enhancing its content deals and trading for over $200 a share — but it’s no real threat to major media companies, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes argues.
“It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world?” Bewkes tells the New York Times. “I don’t think so.”
Bewkes credits much of Netflix’s growth to a deal with Chris Albrecht-run Starz that expires next year. The partnership gave Netflix rights to stream the Sony and Disney movies from its network, which cut into the pay TV channel’s revenue. Netflix reportedly paid $25 million a year.
“Why should anyone subscribe to Starz when they can basically get the whole thing for about nothing?” Bewkes said, adding that it undermined the business model of cable television to collect subscription fees. “That doesn’t make much sense.”
Media analyst Michael Nathanson also called it “probably one of the dumbest deals ever. Starz gave up valuable content for tens of millions of dollars.”
Bewkes points to the media industry’s originally embrace of Netflix as a DVD rental outlet without foreseeing the company would eventually chip away at profitable DVD sales, which the industry has long counted on for revenue. Now Netflix is threatening to the same thing to cable television.
“Once you put it on Netflix, you really can’t sell it anywhere else,” said Bewkes, whose HBO is launching online service HBO GO for subscribers. The industry is also working together to launch TV Everywhere to give verified cable subscribers access to network programming.
“This has been an era of experimentation, and I think it’s coming to a close,” said Bewkes of Netflix.
At a UBS conference earlier this month, Bewkes called Netflix’s offer for $100,000 an episode of currently airing TV shows “measly.”
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More than 40 years after its conception, John Lennons’s classic track ‘Imagine’ is still stirring nationwide controversy. In the ongoing senate session, the republican candidate from Texas Senator Lee Tiralo argued that Lennon’s magnum opus has ‘inflammatory lyrics’ with a potential to ‘stir up major political conflicts’ particularly in the strife prone Middle East.
“The lines, Imagine there’s no countries, would incite unnecessary tension in the already volatile Israel-palestine zone.” He adds, “the opening lines Imagine there’s no heaven, are outrightly, impudently blasphemous.” According to the senator, “this is just another example of Lennon’s extremely subtle contradictory style: as if heaven were a product of imagination instead of being a solid fundamental reality.”
The bill has found support in various quarters. The National Rifle Association has hailed this bill. “We have been complaining since years about Lennon’s anti-freedom stance,” says Larry Prattle, chief of the NRA. “The rifle is the emblem of a free man. Lennon’s lines nothing to kill or die for, disregard American citizens’ right to self-defence.”
The Wall Street also welcomed this bill as an important step in a continuing war against anti-capitalist propaganda. “Who would want a world without possessions?” says media mogul and noted philanthropist Donald Trump referring to the song lyrics Imagine no possessions. “Possessions are what define us,” agrees fifth avenue designer Staccoci, ‘specially clothes.’ Stacocci had already launched a blog on the all time worst-dressed rock stars and “John Lennon and Yoko, with their flowing tresses and white pyjamas” definitely take first place.
In all this brouhaha, Smooth, the toilet paper manufacturer has decided to withdraw its spring ad campaign. According to a spokesperson who refused to be identified, the images of sprouting greenery and a blonde model blowing bubbles holding a ball of toilet paper, swishing to the tunes of ‘Imagine’ can no longer be considered appropriate. “We apologize for offending religious and materialistic sentiments.” Sources say the company has yet to decide on the new soundtrack; Mozart’s fifth symphony and the internet sensation Gangnam style have been reported to be the likely contenders. “These tunes have the twin characteristics of being incomprehensible as well as catchy and are, thus, relatively safer bets”, says the spokesperson.
On another note, this controversy has directly impacted Lennon’s reputation as a champion of universal peace and album sales. Apple records registered a 500% increase in sale of the original 1971 album as well as the 2000 remastered version since the presentation of the bill.


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It’s not often that an entire industry is disrupted in one fell swoop, but that’s precisely what’s happened to the once-stodgy auto industry. The electrification of consumer vehicles and enterprise fleets, and the desire by most countries to reduce their carbon footprints and halt climate change in its tracks, mean that we’re witnessing the beginning of what could be a multidecade vehicle replacement cycle.
According to a survey conducted late last year by KPMG, the average forecast of the more than 1,000 global auto leaders KPMG spoke to was for worldwide electric vehicle (EV) sales to reach roughly 50% of all autos sold by 2030. Meanwhile, a November report from Market Research Future calls for the EV industry to hit $957 billion in market value by 2030, which is more than quadruple its value at the end of 2021.
Although investing in EV growth looks like a no-brainer opportunity, not all stocks associated with the electrification of autos will be winners. While I believe one name can be bought hand over fist (I’ll get to this company in a bit), there are two EV stocks that should be avoided like the plague.
The first EV stock to avoid: Rivian Automotive
On the surface, Rivian Automotive ( RIVN -6.35% ), which was one of 2021’s hottest initial public offerings (IPOs), looks like it has the tools to be successful. The company will offer three differentiated vehicles — the R1T pickup truck, the R1S SUV, and the EDV electric van — with planned annual capacity ranging from 200,000 vehicles at its Illinois factory to 400,000 at its Georgia plant. The latter is an estimated figure, with Rivian spending a cool $5 billion to build the factory. Production is anticipated to begin by 2024.
Rivian also has an order for 100,000 EDVs from Amazon, which it received in 2019. The sheer size of this order has validated Rivian as a player of interest in the EV space for years.
But the flipside to Rivian is that it’s still very wet behind the ears. The company produced only 1,015 EVs in 2021 and had its IPO with no trailing-12-month sales. It missed an already low production bar for 2021, and will likely deal with the same supply chain constraints affecting the entire industry. In other words, Rivian’s trajectory is bound to hit numerous speed bumps and potholes. It’s par for the course when building an EV company from the ground up.
Making matters worse, Rivian finds itself in hot water with the public after announcing, then walking back (for those who ordered before March 1), a price hike of $12,000 on its quad-motor models. Higher material costs are forcing automakers to boost prices. While Rivian was simply following the pack, a $12,000 price hike on vehicles that already cost $70,000 (or more) didn’t sit well with customers. If Rivian isn’t careful, it could price customers out of buying its vehicles.
While Rivian could eventually grow into an investment-worthy company in the EV space, it has little business being valued at $45 billion.
The second EV stock to avoid: Nikola
Well before Rivian was the hottest thing in the EV space, Nikola ( NKLA 1.14% ) was making waves. It was one of many companies that went public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). On June 9, 2020, Nikola hit an intraday high of nearly $94 a share. Unfortunately, those same shares were trading hands for $7 and change as of March 3, 2022.
The initial buzz for Nikola had to do with its introduction of the Badger in February 2020. The Badger was to be a battery EV (BEV) or fuel-cell EV (FCEV) pickup truck with an estimated 600-mile range and a reasonably low $60,000 price tag. When coupled with Nikola’s ambitions to also build BEV and FCEV semi trucks, Wall Street was enamored, at least initially, with the company’s potential. Then the proverbial wheels fell off.
Over the course of the next year and a half, the Badger would be shelved before it even rolled off the production line. This was due, in part, to Nikola being unable to land a manufacturing partner for the truck. Though it looked as if General Motors would step up and be that partner, an eventual agreement between the two companies didn’t include the Badger.
Worse yet, a handful of allegations of wrongdoing levied by short-side firm Hindenburg Research against Nikola proved to be true. An independent review found that pre-order figures were exaggerated. This resulted in a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission, leading to former CEO Trevor Milton being indicted on three counts of fraud this past July.
Today, Nikola is only just beginning to deliver its first BEV semi trucks. Even though it’s received a couple of letter-of-intent orders during the fourth quarter for its semi trucks, it’s not clear if the company has the capital necessary to ramp up production and ward off significant quarterly losses. When coupled with its damaged reputation, Nikola becomes an easy pass for investors.
The EV stock to buy hand over fist: Nio
On the other end of the spectrum is Nio ( NIO -11.90% ), which checks all the appropriate boxes and can be bought hand over fist following its recent pullback.
I’ll freely admit that, a little over a year ago, I had Nio in the same camp as Nikola — i.e., Avoid! Avoid! Avoid! At one point, Nio’s valuation topped $90 billion with the company pacing for only around 20,000 EVs in production annually. Its valuation just didn’t make any sense.
However, management has really impressed with its ability to boost production in a challenging environment. Though the Chinese New Year held back production in February, and supply chain issues curbed output in January, Nio managed to top 10,000 deliveries in both November and December. Management has offered guidance suggesting that the company can hit 50,000 deliveries monthly by the end of the year. This would work out to an annual run-rate of around 600,000 EVs.
Fueling this production surge is Nio’s existing line of EVs, as well as the introduction of three new vehicles. Until now, the company’s premium SUVs (the ES8 and ES6) and crossover EV (the ES6) have received plenty of interest. But the next wave of growth will come from the deliveries of the ET7 and ET5, which are EV sedans that take direct aim at Tesla‘s Model S and Model 3, respectively. With the top-tier battery option, Nio claims an estimated range of approximately 621 miles for its sedans.
Furthermore, the battery-as-a-service (BaaS) program that was unveiled in August 2020 by management is pure genius. For buyers, BaaS lowers the initial purchase price of their vehicle and gives them the option to charge, swap, or upgrade their batteries at a later date. For Nio, it trades lower-margin near-term sales for high-margin fee-based revenue (buyers pay a monthly fee for the BaaS program) that keeps buyers loyal to the brand.
And did I mention Nio is based in China, the world’s largest auto market? The EV industry is still nascent in China, meaning market share is up for grabs.
With Nio expected to turn the corner to recurring profitability next year, and the company valued at just seven times Wall Street’s forecast earnings per share in 2024, it looks like a screaming buy.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis – even one of our own – helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.


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Need a gift idea for the tech gadget geek in your life? Here are several of the hottest new tech toys for the 2011 holiday season, from the Looxcie Camera to the Logitech Harmony Link to the Amazon Kindle Fire, and much much more.
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Building A Mobile Business MindsetAmong 688 respondents, 46% have deployed mobile apps, with an additional 24% planning to in the next year. Soon all apps will look like mobile apps – and it's past time for those with no plans to get cracking.


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Since 2005, when the Supreme Court decision Granholm v. Heald cleared the way for wineries to ship their products directly to consumers across state borders, the National Beer Wholesalers Association has been getting increasingly nervous about protecting its distribution monopoly. Citing the threat of drunk driving and underage drinking, it persuaded Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) to introduce a bill aimed at maintaining barriers to interstate commerce in alcoholic beverages.
The bill would give states immunity against lawsuits challenging monopolies on alcohol distribution and reaffirm the states' special authority to regulate the industry, a power granted by the Prohibition-ending 21st Amendment. In Granholm v. Heald, the Supreme Court ruled that the Commerce Clause imposes limits on that authority, forbidding protectionist rules that favor local businesses over competitors from other states.
At a quiet subcommittee hearing in March, alcohol wholesalers and their pet state regulators painted a menacing picture of "an alcohol epidemic" allegedly caused by deregulation. They drew inapt comparisons between the large-scale deregulation of alcohol sales over several decades in the U.K. and the relatively minor incursions on their wholesale monopoly in the U.S. In her testimony, Nida Samona of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission cited Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson's 1941 comment that "liquor is a lawlessness unto itself "—and then she gave away the game. "Because of their potential for abuse, and their importance as a source of tax revenue," she said, "alcoholic beverages must be highly regulated." She also noted that litigation is "expensive and uncertain."


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Sudarshan has opened its new office in the Netherlands in January 2008 in order to enhance the level of customer service to its European customers.
Through their long-standing partnership with one of the largest Printing Ink and Pigment manufacturers worldwide Sudarshan has already been active in the European market for more than 20 years. And their business success in other regions like the Middle East, Latin America and India has inspired them to further introduce Sudarshan as India’s leading, quality brand to its European customers.
From January 2008 onwards they are dedicated to service key accounts across Europe directly, offer local stock of samples and core products, to provide coordinated service from India to Europe, and to manage the REACh registration process to guarantee a long-term partnership approach.
In addition, Sudarshan will collaborate with several agents & distributors in key target markets as Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom to achieve a consistently high level of service across Europe.
With very best regards,
The European Team
Marc van Os (Key Account Manager) Ralph Vluggen (Key Account Manager) Vincent Bembaron (Customer Service Coordinator)


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From Best Of Times To Worst: A Tale Of 2 Phoenix-Area Bookstores
At this time last year, KJZZ launched a series featuring locally-owned bookstores. The series coincided with Independent Bookstore Day, which, like many events, has been postponed this year. Revisit two of those featured stores to see how they’re doing in this era of social distancing.
Palabras Bilingual Bookstore
When I met Rosaura “Chawa” Magaña last year she was preparing to quit her full-time job to focus solely on running Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix. Palabras is Spanish for words.
“The mission behind the bookstore is to promote cultural representation and diversity through literature, language and the arts,” she said.
Beyond the bookshelves, the store provides a safe, encouraging space for community gatherings, workshops and events like open mic nights for people of color. This weekend’s open mic event will be conducted by video conferencing, a new venture for Magaña. She used it during a book club earlier this month.
“I hadn’t been doing Zoom at all, I’d never even been on a Zoom meeting,” she said. “So (laughs) it’s all very, very new to me.”
Also new to Palabras: curbside pickup and online ordering. Online orders cost her more in fees than if someone buys a book face to face. To compete with bigger retailers, Palabras offers free shipping. Online orders for children’s books include free coloring sheets made by local artists. Plus, every online order is entered into a weekly drawing for a prize.
“It’s nerve wracking because you’re not making as much and you’re spending more money in order to make money,” Magaña said. “But I also do understand the privilege that I have that I’m still open. There are so many businesses that had to just completely close so I’m very, very grateful that I’m still able to operate in the way that I’m operating now.”
The Poisoned Pen
Permanently closing was a fear for Barbara Peters after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
“The airlines all grounded for some period of time,” she said. “It was impossible to bring authors into the store, the tourist business died down and it was a terrible cash flow problem.”
Every year The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale hosts hundreds of events. Between January and mid-March, more than 60 authors visited Peters’ store to talk with readers and sign books. While virtual events can fill the void, Peters says they’ll never replace in-person events.
“You really miss the energy in the room. You really miss the customers who, I mean the fans of these authors, who are so happy to be with the authors, you can’t replace that with a virtual event,” she said. “And it’s harder to do an interview because you lack that energy in the room.”
"You really miss the energy in the room ... You can't replace that with a virtual event."
— Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen Bookstore
After 30 years in business, The Poisoned Pen has developed a loyal customer base with strong online sales.
Our goal, which we’ve succeeded in doing, was to keep everyone on staff employed at the same salary level with the same medical insurance and to keep our customers happy,” Peters said.
She said they’ve actually seen an uptick in sales, but doesn’t expect it will last. Publishers are delaying book launches, and Peters says at least three publishing warehouses have temporarily closed.
“If the shipping system isn’t working or the warehouses for the publishers close or whatever then we reach a point where we have to work out what it is we can do to stay open,” she said.
Peters has applied for two federal loans, including one that will be forgiven if most of the money is used to keep her 18 employees working.
At Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, Magaña and her partner, Jeff Slim, operate the business with some outside social media help.
“If I don’t sell books, then I don’t succeed and I don’t have a business anymore.” Magaña said.
She said Palabras is about more than sales.
“I don’t think people support my bookstore because I have all the latest and greatest authors coming in or I have the most stylish store or perfect marketing or any of those things,” Magaña said. “I think that people support me because they know that I support them.”
"I think people support me because they know that I support them."
— Chawa Magaña, Palabras Bilingual Bookstore
During this pandemic she thinks more people are recognizing the importance of community and the value locally-owned independent businesses bring to their cities.


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The Menlo Park-based company is building a service for quick at-home health services, such as lab draws and Covid-19 testing. The company is looking to build the “DoorDash for lab draws,” raising $33 million from backers.
The Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for an at-home Covid-19 and flu test kit by Labcorp. It uses a test that was developed by Roche and authorized last year.
The diagnostics company opened on the Nasdaq on Friday, trading for $20 per share. It’s now trading at $18.63 per share.
The call to action is that point-of-care testing needs to move to the home and it needs to be supported by a Medicaid or Medicare billing code to support insurance coverage and payment for the testing.
The at-home testing startup plans to launch a broader virtual care offering after raising $150 million in funding. It plans to roll out virtual visits and offer prescription medications, in addition to building out its array of tests.
Covid-19 has renewed interest in diagnostics and a way to deliver care at home. Learn from companies and experts as they address the future of these two developments.
After insurers were mandated to cover at-home Covid-19 tests, more people tested at-home screenings for other conditions. As preventive tests declined significantly during the pandemic, insurers also turned to creative means to give people access.
After the Food and Drug Administration authorized a swathe of over-the-counter tests for Covid-19, pharmacies are preparing to stock their shelves. But at $20 to $100 a pop, will enough people use them to make a difference?
After a busy year, at-home testing company Everlywell is growing through two acquisitions. It bought telehealth practice PWNHealth and another at-home lab testing company.
As Covid-19 joins the ranks of cancer and chronic diseases to be tracked and prevented through testing, health plans will need testing solutions that can be distributed quickly and at scale.
After Everlywell received an emergency use authorization last year from the FDA for its at-home collection kit, the agency gave Everlywell the green light to sell its test kits without requiring a prescription.
Ellume, whose at-home Covid-19 test was cleared by the FDA in December, got a $232 million contract from the Department of Health and Human Services to deliver 8.5 million tests.
Few people question whether care delivery will continue to migrate out of the hospital into new settings such as the home. The better question is, what services – specifically – will migrate to the home, and what innovations are necessary to support these migrations?
During a panel discussion at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, three physicians from Stanford Medicine discussed the investment opportunities that can help accelerate innovation in healthcare in the coming year.
The Austin-based startup has distributed more than 500,000 Covid-19 test kits to date, and expects total sales to quadruple by the end of the year.
The retailer is offering at-home Covid-19 testing kits, including nasal swabs and saliva test kits, from Los Angeles-based startup myLab Box.