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John Stankey, COO of AT&T, stumped for HBO Max during a keynote appearance Tuesday morning at the UBS Global TMT Conference, continuing to emphasize differences between it and Disney+.
“Disney+ is a good product,” he said. “They’ve done a nice job. It has a particular appeal. The strongest appeal for Disney+ is to the youth of the family. Its strength as a product to satisfy the other members of the family, it’s not that deep. There’s stuff that’s interesting to adults in the offer and there’s stuff that’s probably interesting to your 20-something and 30-something-year-old members of your family. But it’s not all that deep in that regard.”
HBO Max, he continued, “is a product that appeals to the entire family and the family wireless plan. It’s something that every member of the family looks at and says, ‘That has something in it for me. … I see myself in that offering.'”
Next May, HBO Max will be the last of five major new streaming launches, joining Apple TV+, Disney+, NBCUniversal’s Peacock and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi. The influx of new offerings will jockey with streaming leaders Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Moderator and UBS analyst John Hodulik about how the bundles for HBO Max with AT&T wireless and pay-TV offerings compare with Disney+ one-year-free packages offered by Verizon. “We own the product, so it’s accretive to us to get it out on the other side,” Stankey said.
The executive said the $15 monthly price for HBO Max (which is more than twice the $7 Disney is charging and at the high end of the streaming market) will not be an impediment to growth. “Disney was kind of like about half of the content of what we have at half the price,” Stankey said. “We’re twice the content of what we currently have [on traditional HBO] at the same price. I’m not really sure that that’s a hard thing to do. I was listening to feedback after the investor day [October 29] and there’s a continuum. There are some who have said, ‘too cheap,’ some who have said ‘just right’ and some who said ‘too expensive.’ That tells me we probably found a good place to start.”
By hitching HBO to the wireless capabilities of AT&T — a core premise of the $81 billion acquisition of Time Warner — the aim is to minimize churn and expand the horizons of the premium network. “The limiting aspect of HBO is that it addresses a particular demographic” and is “not quite broad enough,” he said. “Most of your young kids in your household aren’t thinking about what next HBO show they want to watch. (God help us, right?) We have a characterization where we tend to skew a little bit higher on socioeconomic and age demographics. We’d like to bring that down a bit. That’s what Max allows us to do. I think that’s why it’s so powerful.”
HBO Max will be free to AT&T premium video customers, meaning many of the current 33 million U.S. subscribers to HBO will automatically get the upgrade to HBO Max. But the company faces a significant challenge in swinging deals for cable operators to integrate HBO Max into their offerings as they have over many decades with the legacy network.
Asked by Hodulik how the negotiations with distributors have been progressing, Stankey said, “We’re in the heart of them now. They’re going like they always go.” Carriage talks, he said, “follow a particular construct and a pattern. … It gets down to money and economics and there will be a meaningful reason why they want to participate with us.”
Stankey filled in for AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, who had originally been scheduled to appear Tuesday at the UBS conference.
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Sony has announced plans to hold a Media Showcase at Paris Games Week later this year.
The PlayStation Network will be undergoing scheduled maintenance shortly.
Devolver Digital has released a new trailer for upcoming online melee action experience Absolver.
Ubisoft has released a bunch of new videos for For Honor that offer a closer look at Season 3's new heroes and characters.
Telltale Games has released a new trailer for the second episode of Minecraft: Story Mode Season 2.
Yooka-Laylee's first console update fixes the camera, adds a cutscene skip, and more.
Ubisoft has finally put a release date on The Division's next major update.

domain: news


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Rio Tinto will reduce the payment terms for smaller suppliers to 30 days in a bid to improve cash flow for those businesses.
The 30-day payment terms will apply to Australian suppliers under $1 million of expenditure and will begin on July 1.
Rio’s current payment terms are 45 days from the end of the month after a correct invoice has been received, and this will remain for larger businesses.
Rio said nearly 300 existing suppliers including Aboriginal businesses and charities are on payment terms of less than 30 days, which will remain unchanged.
It added that several businesses that have negotiated payment terms will not be affected by the change.
Rio Tinto managing director Australia, Joanne Farrell, said, “Faster payment terms will help our smaller suppliers manage cash flow and help our local business partners to grow.
“A supply chain of strong local suppliers is good for our business, good for local communities and good for the economy.”
Last year, Rio came under fire from State and Federal Governments for increasing its payment terms from 45 days to 60-90 days due to the tough commodity market.
The new terms come after Rio announced a new procurement programme for Western Australian and Pilbara Aboriginal businesses, providing them more opportunities to bid for contracts with the company’s iron ore business.


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Some gamers who loved Jonathan Blow's Braid were perplexed when early footage of his team's next game, The Witness, debuted on Kotaku last month. To those alarmed or confused, Blow offers some encouraging words.
"The only two guys who have played The Witness to completion have said it will be better than Braid when it is done," he writes after addressing the puzzled reaction to the puzzles glimpsed in his game. "I am certainly not going to jump up and down and say "hey this game is better than Braid", or even claim that Braid is good. But I just want to put that out there as reassurance to those of you who are worried about that gameplay video."
The Kotaku gameplay video showed a player moving through a beautifully-lit and apparently uninhabited island that is full of puzzles, many of them blue squares through which the player has to trace patterns. It seemed simple. It seemed Myst-y. It seemed like something that wasn't as obviously wonderful and innovative as many of our memories of Blow and team's previous game, the time-warping Braid.
In a post about The Witness at the game's development blog, Blow hints at the gameplay significance of some of the early blue puzzles in the clip that ran here. I encourage you to read his full post. It won't take long and should put the early gameplay we've seen in better context.
The Witness has no scheduled release date or platforms.
About the Blue Mazes [The Witness blog]


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office Archives - SoftwareMedia Blog
Microsoft recently surveyed more than ten thousand people in over 20 countries and revealed two interesting facts:
- Around 60 percent of people do not have sufficient time to do the things they want to do.
- More than 80 percent admitted that they could save a couple of hours a day if they were better organized.
Microsoft Licensing customers rejoice! Microsoft has released on-premise versions of Office 2013, Exchange 2013, Lync 2013, SharePoint 2013, and Visio 2013 for purchase. Take advantage of the latest features these products have to offer and be at the forefront of your industry.
The Microsoft Office 2013 launch is right around the corner, and this latest version of the industry leading office suite is going to be better than ever. One of Microsoft’s big ideas with Office 2013 is to incorporate cloud computing technology; something yet to be tried with Office.


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Search Results: 21
Pantheon Macroeconomics aims to be the premier provider of unbiased, independent macroeconomic intelligence to financial market professionals around the world.
Sorry, but our website is best viewed on a device with a screen width greater than 320px. You can contact us at: email@example.com.
21 matches for " producer price inflation":
Friday's economic data suggest that the downtrend in German PPI inflation is reversing.
Data on Friday showed that German producer price inflation is now in free-fall.
Yesterday's sole economic report in the Eurozone showed that German producer price inflation edged lower at the end of 2018.
Core producer price inflation is falling, and it probably has not yet hit bottom.
German producer price inflation fell last month, following uninterrupted gains since the beginning of this year. Headline PPI inflation fell to 2.8% year-over- year in May, from 3.4% in April, constrained by lower energy inflation, which slipped to 3.0%, from 4.6% in April. Meanwhile, non-energy inflation declined marginally to 2.7%, from 2.8%.
All eyes in the Eurozone will be on the second estimate of Q4 GDP today, and the report likely will confirm that growth accelerated in Q4. We think real GDP rose 0.5% quarter-on-quarter, up from a 0.3% increase in Q3, in line with the first estimate. If this forecast is correct, the year-over-year rate will be unchanged at 1.8%. Risks to the headline, however, are tilted to the downside.
CPI inflation held steady at 2.4% in October, undershooting the 2.5% consensus expectation and the MPC's forecast in this month's Inflation Report.
Mexico's central bank likely will pause its monetary tightening on Thursday, keeping the main rate at 6.5%. A hike this week would follow five consecutive increases, totalling 350bp since December 2015, when policymakers were first overwhelmed by the MXN's sell-off.
If you were looking just at investor sentiment in the Eurozone, you would conclude that the economy is in recession.
We expect June's consumer prices report, released on Wednesday, to show that CPI inflation increased to 2.7%, from 2.4% in May, above the consensus, 2.6%, and the Bank of England's forecast, 2.5%.
The latest profits data out of China were grim, as we had expected.
The economic slowdown in China is old news for Eurozone investors.
Friday's data in the Eurozone confirmed that inflation rose sharply last month. Headline inflation increased to 1.9%, from 1.2% in April, and core inflation also rose, by 0.4 percentage points to 1.1%.
We are all for ambitious economic targets, but the ECB's pledge to drive EZ core inflation in the Eurozone up to "below, but close to" 2% is particularly fanciful.
Inflation in Colombia right now is under control but risks are increasing rapidly, and the outlook for next year has deteriorated significantly.
Chinese PPI inflation was unchanged at 5.5% in July; it had been expected to rise modestly. Officially, inflation peaked at 7.8% in February, but we think this peak was artificially high, thanks to seasonal effects. The slowing in PPI inflation since the peak appears to suggest that monthly price gains have slowed sharply. We find little evidence to support this.
CPI inflation held steady at -0.1% in October, matching its lowest rate since March 1960. We had expected the rate to tick down to -0.2%, but the rebound in clothing inflation in October, following a period of discounting in September, was larger than we had anticipated. Looking ahead, we can be fairly confident that CPI inflation will pic k up sharply over the coming months.
The sudden downshift in core inflation at the consumer level since March, clearly visible in the CPI and the PCE, and shown in our first chart, has been accompanied by a steady increase in core producer price inflation.
German producer price inflation rebounded last month. The headline PPI index rose 2.6% year-over-year in August, up from a 2.3% increase in July, driven almost exclusively by a jump in energy inflation.
Producer price inflation in the euro area almost surely peaked over the summer.
Japan's producer price inflation levelled off in June and, for now, both commodity prices and currency moves in the first half imply that inflation should fall in the second half.
pantheon macroeconomics, pantheon, macroeconomic, macroeconomics, independent analysis, independent macroeconomic research, independent, analysis, research, economic intelligence, economy, economic, economics, economists, , Ian Shepherdson, financial market, macro research, independent macro research


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Retail is at a tipping point.
Bankruptcies are at a record high and hundreds of stores are closing. Why?
The retail industry is facing a number of discouraging changes. Sales continue to shift toward online leading to drastically decreased foot traffic in brick & mortar stores.
Today’s consumer has unprecedented access to information. With so much content at their fingertips, consumer preferences are changing faster then ever, causing strain on the supply chain and placing more risk on brands than ever.
As these challenges continue to take affect, it has become more important that ever to get the right product on the shelves at the right price to avoiding new product failures and markdowns.


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If you live in or around the city of Chicago and drive regularly, then you already know how much of a pain parking can be. You spend hours waiting in traffic and then when you arrive at your destination, you can’t find anywhere to park your car. Then, you finally find a place to park, but the spot is very small. You go for it anyway, because you are tired of driving around and that is the only parking spot you have found so far. Then, while backing up into the spot, you accidentally run into the front bumper of the car behind you. Now, you have to deal with the stress of filing an insurance claim with the owner of that car.
All of these problems are currently being addressed by experts in the automobile industry. And as soon as this next year, people will begin to see advancements in auto technology that solve these problems indefinitely. All the big brand car names will be coming out with new models in 2018 that solve the issue of stressful and unsafe parking. Not only will this reduce stress, it will also reduce the amount of auto insurance claims and, eventually, lower the cost of car insurance as a whole.
These new 2018 models will use GPS along with scanner technology to improve the process of parking cars. The GPS system in the car will use the driver’s coordinates to survey the surrounding area and find a parking spot near their location. The car will be able to tell the driver where parking is available, how much it costs, and the hours of the day it is available. This eliminates the issue of driving around the city, block after block, searching for parking spots. The cars will also have scanners and cameras in the back (a lot of cars already have these) to make parking safer for the driver. By being able to see behind them, drivers can be sure that they will not hit anything while backing up.
All of these advancements reduce the risks that currently hang over most drivers today. More importantly, the decreased risk of hitting another car while parking increases the likelihood of car insurance becoming cheaper. After all, the price of an auto insurance policy is always based on the level of risk.


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Roblox Is Rapid Becoming One Of The Most Essential Media Companies
Place a further way: the costs of developing huge-spending budget games are obtaining unwieldy for the largest developers so they’re turning to alternative small business models, specifically advertisements, subscriptions and microtransactions to fund no cost-to-play releases. The platform makes its funds through a 30% tax on its virtual currency as properly as via its subscription service Roblux Premium and other partnerships. As impressive as Roblox’s development is, there are some risks. Certainly, several of the most well-known Roblox experiences are free of charge. For instance, it has a deal with toymaker Hasbro that will see Roblox-game-inspired NERF blasters, a Monopoly board game and a NERF practical experience within the gaming platform arrive later in the year. But what could go wrong for Roblox? Thus, its greatest challenge will be staying relevant to these players for years to come. Regardless of a developing quantity of older games, the gaming platform is most preferred amongst younger players who are notoriously fickle. If you treasured this article therefore you would like to collect more info about roblox working Song ids i implore you to visit the web-site. With an ever-expanding audience of younger playing the game at any given moment, Roblox execs will need to make sure high safety requirements are enforced. There’s also the issue of inappropriate content material. Falling to do so could effect the platform’s reputation.
The arrival Wednesday of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on Nasdaq is a single of the most anticipated events of the year on Wall Street, exactly where enthusiasm for record-breaking bitcoin is in full swing, regardless of questions about the sustainability of the market. The very first corporation devoted totally to cryptocurrency to enter the US stock exchange, Coinbase -- which will be listed beneath the symbol COIN -- is currently a heavyweight. Coinbase chose a direct listing, which does not let it to raise new funds but does offer you current shareholders -- founders, workers and historical investors -- the chance to sell their stocks on the industry. Their reference value will be announced Tuesday evening. Almost 115 million Coinbase shares will be put on the marketplace. Spotify, Slack, Palantir and Roblox had also employed this strategy for their Wall Street debuts. Founded in 2012 in San Francisco by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, the platform permits users to purchase and sell about 50 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase produced a scorching stock market debut Wednesday amid frenzied interest in bitcoin and other virtual currencies in spite of concerns about a bubble. Close to 1805 GMT, shares were at $365.69. Spotify, Slack, Palantir and Roblox have also applied this process for their Wall Street debuts. Coinbase chose a direct listing, which does not enable it to raise new funds but does give existing shareholders -- founders, employees and historical investors -- the opportunity to sell their shares on the marketplace. Coinbase has benefited from bitcoin's meteoric rise more than the past year, with the crypto asset's price increasing from $6,500 final April to new records of as higher as $64,000 Wednesday. Coinbase opened on the Nasdaq at $381 per share, 52 % above its reference price and increasing as higher as $429.54. The enterprise, the first enterprise devoted completely to cryptocurrency to enter the US stock exchange, right away garnered an all round marketplace valuation of $100 billion, bigger than that of Basic Motors and Very best Buy and not far below Goldman Sachs.
Last month’s jump in bookings is a testament to this. Additionally, Roblox gives a glimpse into how the video game market is evolving and changing. For marketers, this is a opportunity to trade in passive ad exposures for immersive possibilities that essentially play a part in the digital lives men and women are building for themselves. The rest came from reside services, downloadable content material and mobile microtransactions. Just 26% of developer Electronic Arts’ revenue came from premium game sales in its fiscal year, per Niko Partners. Why must marketers take notice? It suggests that the gaming platform is finding new approaches to convince individuals to spend for its in-game currency, which provides players upgrades and other specific characteristics. "People are beginning to create a deeper connection with the digital world by means of items like cryptocurrencies, NFTs, avatars, and immersive gaming experiences," said Doug Scott, chief managing director at gaming entertainment holding enterprise Subnation.


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The legend of the Silver Arrow grand prix race cars built by Mercedes-Benz and the Auto Union (now Audi) during the 1930s is well documented here at Motor Authority, so regular readers will be keen to know that some of the surviving cars will be on show, and taking to the track, this weekend at the Goodwood Revival taking place in the UK.
This will be the first time that some of the cars have competed against each other since the 1930s. This is especially true for the long-lost 1939 Auto Union Type D ‘Dual Compressor’ that went missing during World Word II and was only recently reacquired by Audi.
Audi has already announced it will be using the event to honor one of its legendary racing drivers, Bernd Rosemeyer, by racing some of its original Silver Arrows, including the Type D, and now Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that it too will be showing up with its own fleet. On top of this, the Goodwood Revival will also feature a special recreation of the 1930s pit area that once played host to the Silver Arrows during various grand prix races, as well as one of the original Mercedes-Benz transport trucks.
Among the Mercedes-Benz cars set to appear are the W25 (1934), the W125 (1937), a W154 (1939) and a W165 (1939). Power outputs range from the 254 horsepower of the 1.5-liter V-8 W165 to the 600 horsepower achieved by the mighty W125. All were by far the most advanced machines of their kind with innovative suspension and drivetrains meaning they were highly successful and effective racing machines, not to mention performance only surpassed by race cars decades later.
Driving the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows will be former DTM driver Roland Asch, Le Mans winner Jochen Mass, five-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider, three-time Formula 1 World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart and his son, and former F3000 racer and team manager Paul Stewart.
For more on the Goodwood Revival classic car event, be sure to check out our preview.
A Silver Arrow Grand Prix car


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In a recent tweet ADTEKR asked our followers what challenges they face in adtech. Ad pre-validation experts Adavow, tweeted us the following:
This got us thinking. Despite the rhetoric around the lack of education on programmatic being the key to some of its pitfalls, there is still a lack of understanding from those working in advertising. Perhaps when people truly understand more about programmatic, explaining exactly what your adtech company does won’t actually necessitate jargon. Instead it will involve using commonplace, industry standard terms that are understood in a programmatic-driven advertising industry.
Most recently this issue was reported in the Reaching Full Potential report from AppNexus which examined the attitude towards programmatic across the global advertising ecosystem. The result of this showed that for those involved in advertising, 67% of the market now use programmatic. As its prominence continues to grow, both agencies and advertisers can’t afford to be unfamiliar with this method of trading and the technology and data behind it.
According to the AppNexus report 71% of people in advertising believe that an understanding and knowledge of programmatic is one of the most important capabilities that agencies will need to possess in five years’ time. The report also found that 44% of those questioned did not actually understand how programmatic works, including advertisers, agencies and publishers. This shows it is clearly an issue reported at all levels of the advertising chain. Below, we take a look at three different parts of the chain and the role that education can and should play.
One of the issues historically with programmatic has been that it has scared those who work on the creative side away. Too many see programmatic as techy and complicated, placing value on hits and not quality. Historically this didn’t seem to matter too much because programmatic was just seen as a way to buy cheap online advertising space, not something creative agencies needed to concern themselves with as their content was still marketed the traditional way. This is simply not the case anymore. Unilever provides a great example of creative and programmatic coming together. Unilever re-launched its Axe brand in Brazil this summer with a video which could be programmatically served in many variations depending on the viewer’s interest. There is little doubt that creative agencies will continue to find their work being influenced by the ability that programmatic has to target a specific user. They won’t just be producing one version of a creative but potentially multiple versions all with different variants, creating a layered approach. This is a long way from the banner adds that many associate with programmatic, and this will be further advanced when programmatic TV makes a final successful break for our screens. Educating those at the creative level then becomes vital; having an understanding will result in better collaboration, richer work and more effective targeted advertising.
It is not just those at the creative level who need to be taught the intricacies of programmatic and how it can impact on the work they do, but also the agencies, at a planning and buying level. It is these people who are working directly with the advertisers; they are the ones signing off on large budgets and therefore they need to know exactly what it is they are selling. Advertisers will place more and more emphasis on their lead agency being able to serve them programmatically but also being able to truly understand the model they offer, the savings and the results. Agencies should no longer rely on wheeling out their trading desks to explain when things get a little too complicated, but should themselves be able to speak confidently to their clients on how they can deploy programmatic into large marketing plans. This will encourage clients to commit to spends with far greater confidence. Deeper knowledge on the type of technologies and solutions available to clients is therefore important for agencies now and going forward. Agencies have already found that there has been a rise in the focus on programmatic in the pitch process and it is likely that this is set to continue and grow. Whether this is at RFI response stage, forming core elements of chemistry meetings or even long schedules on programmatic contained in the agreements which govern these relationships, clients will seek answers on topics such as transparency and ad fraud, and agencies need to be ready to answer these questions consistently. Education at this level plays a crucial role because agencies provide the link between the client and the trading desks, with the in-depth knowledge on the broad marketing objectives of their client.
Whilst those directly involved in providing programmatic solutions need to take the time to educate the agencies at both a creative and planning/buying level there is little doubt that advertisers need to be able to speak confidently on this subject. When they request “programmatic” from an agency neither party will get far if the one instructing doesn’t really know exactly what it is they are asking for. As we see more and more brands appoint leaders in programmatic in house, who dedicate their time to this area, brands will grow in confidence. However, there is some adtech protest that some of the “head of programmatic” roles are yet to be truly meaningful, seeing people appointed to these roles who don’t yet have the knowledge required and who can’t keep up with the industry. It might be that we see the movement of personnel from the programmatic sphere directly into roles like this, leveraging people who know the industry, have seen it evolve and can stay apace. Equally as agencies become more astute and take the time to consult and educate their clients, brands will in turn become more au fait with programmatic.
There is no doubt that there are some challenges in educating on all things programmatic. The adtech industry develops and changes at a fast rate and is constantly evolving. Perhaps it is important to remember that the arrival of programmatic is the biggest change to advertising since the advent of the TV. There is a vast quantity to absorb and a lot to adapt to. The Drum suggested that education on programmatic can be viewed in stages: from the “in the dark phase” to the “frustrated phase”, via a period of “over informing and confusion”, arriving in 2015 at “in control” or “a considered time”. Perhaps this last stage is the most interesting in light of the comments above. If programmatic is at a more “considered time”, in the sense that it is more evolved, then perhaps this is the ideal time for everyone to take stock and catch up. The time is now for education; thoughtful, considered education from experts who understand how technology can deliver against marketing objectives and which reflects not just on what has changed but on the lessons that have been learnt from programmatic in the last few years.


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The FDA announced another recall of high blood pressure medication due to potential cancer risk due to contamination. SciGen is recalling certain batches of irbesartan.
The recalled lot will have “Westminster Pharmaceuticals” and “GSMS Inc.” on the label, according to the FDA.
You can view a full recall lot list HERE.
The FDA said it will continue to test all products containing valsartan and similar drugs for the presence of impurities.
For more from the FDA visit their website.


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Driven by Libra, more cryptocurrency regulations coming
Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans were met with a swift and critical response from politicians in both the United States and Europe.
The digital currency, Libra, is set to launch next year. Facebook also introduced the Libra Association, a consortium of 28 companies and nonprofits that will govern the digital currency. Though Facebook says it won’t directly manage Libra after the launch, the company’s reach of 2.4 billion global users positions Libra to garner a larger mainstream audience than other cryptocurrencies have attracted.
If all goes to plan, Facebook thinks Libra could become a stable, digital currency used by people around the world, with the potential to fundamentally change financial and payment systems. The company said it has and continues to work with regulators on Libra’s rollout, but that didn’t stop some lawmakers from voicing their concerns this week about privacy and security on the platform.
The common thread in their messages: Regulators need to consider or implement stronger rules for cryptocurrencies.
The US Senate banking committee scheduled a hearing on the Libra plans and data privacy concerns for July 16.
Challenges for regulation
House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, called on Facebook on Tuesday to halt development of Libra until legislators have a chance to evaluate the plans and “take action.”
“Facebook is continuing its unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users,” Waters said in the statement. “Regulators should see this as a wake-up call to get serious about the privacy and national security concerns, cybersecurity risks and trading risks that are posed by cryptocurrencies.”
North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, followed up by asking Waters to schedule a hearing on Libra.
Cryptocurrency has been a largely unregulated market for about a decade. The digital tokens present a quandary for US lawmakers because, unlike other products, it’s not clear which federal agency should regulate them, according to Columbia Business School professor and cryptocurrency expert R.A. Farrokhnia.
But pausing the development process, he said, is likely not realistic for Facebook.
“Regulators want to make sure new products don’t pose a systematic risk, those are good causes,” Farrokhnia said. “But the timelines for regulation have not kept in pace with the advancements in technology.”
A Facebook spokesperson said the company looks forward to answering lawmakers’ questions “as this process moves forward.”
Concerns about privacy and security
Facebook has also recently faced criticism and fines after a number of data privacy scandals.
Ranking member of the US Senate banking committee Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, also weighed in on Libra, calling Facebook “already too big and too powerful” in a statement Tuesday. His committee asked Facebook in May for details on how users’ data would be protected. A Facebook spokesperson told CNN Business on Monday that the company received the letter and is “addressing senators’ questions.” Brown said Facebook has yet to provide a written response.
Facebook created an independent subsidiary, called Calibra, that will manage the development of applications for Libra on its platforms. It has said Calibra will not share users’ financial data with Facebook except for in “limited cases,” though it has not offered specific details on how the separation will work.
The Libra announcement coincided with the European Central Bank’s annual symposium in Portugal, where German member of the European Parliament Markus Ferber warned regulators to be on high alert, saying he feared Libra could become a “shadow bank,” Bloomberg reported.
Mark Carney, Bank of England governor, took a slightly more optimistic tone at the ECB gathering, pointing out that Libra could help unbanked or underbanked people, an aim Facebook focused heavily on in its announcement. However, Carney went on to caution that, if Libra is successful, it could become “instantly systemic” and should therefore be subject to the “highest standards” of regulation.
Speaking on Europe 1 radio station Tuesday, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that while Libra might become a digital means of transaction, it must not become a “sovereign” currency like the dollar or the euro.
“We need to make sure that there’s no risk for the user,” Le Maire said. “It’s our role as a state to protect consumers … It’s what at stake in the 21st century.”
Le Maire called on central bank governors belonging to the Group of Seven to compile demands for Facebook relating to Libra ahead of the group’s meeting in August. Le Maire wants a guarantee from the company that Libra could not be used to finance terrorism or other illegal activities.
Because blockchain platforms provide a layer of anonymity to cryptocurrency users, concerns about money laundering scams and the ability to divert money to fund terrorism have come up with other digital currencies. Facebook said it developed a process to verify the identity of Libra users on its own platforms in order to mitigate those risks.
–CNN’s Brian Fung, Antoine Crouin and Jacqueline Davalos contributed to this report.


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The largest Ukrainian agricultural company plans to import oil products.
Kernel, the agro-industrial group, wants to supply oil products, fertilizers, and other goods to Ukraine to overcome the shortage of agricultural production resources, announced the head of the Kernel commercial department, Ihor Stelmashchuk. In particular, Ukraine’s future annual diesel fuel need is estimated at 4 million tons. Therefore, Ukrainian producers need to cooperate with Europe now in order to completely change the pre-war sourcing of petroleum product supply to the Ukrainian market. The company also announced the signing of the first contracts for supplying fertilizers for sowing winter wheat and rapeseed.


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14 November 2017, 06:29 | Melvin Schneider
Woman Fired For Flipping Off Donald Trump's Motorcade - Huffington Post UK
J&K: 1 soldier, terroist killed in Kulgam encounter
The gunfights erupted in Kulgam and Pulwama districts, south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. A police officer said a militant hideout has been unearthed, while the search operation in the area is still in progress.
Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) Underpriced by 12.7%
The department store operator reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.10. Penney from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 15th.
Rosogolla originated in West Bengal not Odisha stamps Geographical Indication
One of the most popular and signature candies of India was judged to have been originated in West Bengal and not Odisha. The Mowa is a winter delicacy made of puffed rice and date-palm jaggery with origins in Joynagar, West Bengal.
Amazon might soon offer a free, ad-supported version of Prime Video
We heard back in 2014 that Amazon was thinking about developing a free version of its Amazon Prime Video streaming service. According to AdAge , Amazon may be making an ad-driven "complement" to its Prime Video streaming service.


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On the 30th September 2016, The Washington Post published an extremely indepth and informative article on the horrors of the cobalt supply chain in the DRC. We have seen recent breakthroughs in understanding the conflict mineral supply chain, with Amnesty International publishing the first report “This is what we die for” (6 January 2016).
The Amnesty report documented how traders buy cobalt from areas where child labour is rife and sell it to Congo Dongfang Mining (CDM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese mineral giant, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd (Huayou Cobalt).
The Washington Post has now furthered this report in an article which traces the artisinal cobalt supply from the Congo to consumers’ phones and laptops.
The article is the first research that links clearly cobalt mined with child labour to the development of an iPhone. The research is credible using primary information sources and sound investigative journalism practice. The Post gave artisinal miners cameras. This was the first time a typical day in the life of a “creaseur” or “digger” could be documented.
Core Consultants is honored to have been included in the Washington Post’s research process and quoted in the article.
Major end users can no longer claim ignorance with respect to their supply chain. End users should and do know the providence of their raw materials. In 2014/15, Core Consultants completed a conflict supply chain study on behalf of a multinational technology company in California. The aim was to identify risks to their supply chain and recommend responsible supply partners. To review the case study, click here. Since this time, Core Consultants has been working on a solution to assist companies in understanding their supply chains and identifying the problematic links. In addition we aim to assist end users to put in place measures to ensure a comprehensive audit trail across every aspect of the supply chain.
Core Consultants has been documenting the developments of the cobalt industry for a number of years. Previously Core Consultants presented on the cobalt market at the Mining Indaba and at the Cobalt Development Institute.
In May 2017, Core Consultants will be presenting on solutions to the supply chain problem. This presentation will pay close attention to end-users can develop an audit trail to trace conflict minerals from the source to the battery manufacturer. This will empower end-users not continue advancing the horrors that the Washington Post article clearly documents.


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Auto blogTue, 27 Nov 2012 18:30:00 EST
Kelley Blue Book announced its annual Best Resale Value Award winners, and we weren't too surprised to see the list dominated by Japanese automakers - mainly Toyota and Honda. KBB hands out the awards based on the projected residual value of mostly all 2013 model year vehicles, and Toyota skated home with a number of awards including 10 of the 22 overall categories and having five of its products in the top 10 for models with best resale value. KBB's Best Resale Value Awards were announced in the same week as the ALG Residual Value Awards, and there were many similarities between both lists, especially when it came to Toyota.
To come up with its winners, KBB measures depreciation over the first five years of ownership, and looks for the cars it expects to hold its value the best after this time; on average, the report says the 2013 model year vehicles will lose 61.8 percent of its value in five years. Of the 22 categories, 15 slots were filled by Toyota, Honda and Nissan products, while the Camaro and Porsche (Cayenne and Panamera) each took home a pair of awards. If Toyota has anything to be upset about in this list of cars, it's that categories for Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car and Electric Vehicle went to the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Volt, respectively.
The overall top 10 models for the best resale value in 2013 are, in alphabetical order:
Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:59:00 EST
It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.
It happens every year. We bid adieu to some cars and trucks that will be missed, and say good riddance to others wondering how they stayed around so long. Whether they're being killed off for slow sales or due to a new product coming along to replace them, the list of vehicles being discontinued after 2012 is surprisingly long and diverse.
CNN Money has compiled a list of departing vehicles, to which we've added a few more of our own. In the slow sales column, cars like the Lexus HS 250h, Mercedes-Benz R-Class and the full Maybach lineup appear, while the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda CX-7 and Hyundai Veracruz are all having their gaps filled with more modern and more fuel-efficient alternatives. Obvious exceptions to the rule include models that still sell in decent numbers like the Jeep Liberty and the Chrysler Town & Country (which will eventually be replaced by a crossover-like vehicle).
Check out our gallery of discontinued cars above, then scroll down for more information.
Automobile Magazine scribe Jason Cammisa was sent into the desert to referee four carbon-fiber-bodied wild animals fighting it out over the quarter mile: the V8 McLaren MP4-12C, the V10 Lexus LFA, the V12 Lamborghini Aventador and the W16 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. It's a tough job, innit?
The Head 2 Head race was run elimination style, with the winner of each two-up challenge facing the next devil up the totem pole. Although you might not have any doubts about the eventual victor, how each of these supercars fared is good watching. See all the screaming for yourself in the video below.


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Tesla’s price cuts have prompted a new response from a rival automaker, and this time it’s Hyundai that takes to the stand to explain how it will handle the issue of lowering prices for its EVs.
Speaking during the Reuters Automotive Conference in Munich, Hyundai’s European CEO Michael Cole said that the carmaker was not making a direct change to its pricing strategy, adding that customers need reassurance that prices won’t go up and down, in a jab at Tesla’s sometimes confusing price changes.
"We are not taking what I'd call a knee-jerk reaction to what the competition does... we know that Tesla's pricing will alert some consumers to consider Tesla that hadn't before, so of course you have to look at that," Hyundai Motor Co Chief Executive for Europe Michael Cole said.
Furthermore, the European chief said that Hyundai has to be confident in its pricing strategy, hinting that retail prices will remain the same for the time being, at least in Europe.
Gallery: 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5: 2022 Motor1.com Star Awards
Recently, American EV startup Rivian, which makes the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, reaffirmed its determination to not cave in to cutting prices, with the firm’s CEO, RJ Scaringe, saying that the “flagship” prices aren’t going anywhere.
Additionally, Ford CEO Jim Farley went on to compare the price war started by Tesla to Henry Ford’s price cuts for the Model T starting in 2013, but later went on record describing the current price cutting as “a worrying trend,” and that Henry Ford’s strategy ultimately put the company at risk.
Currently, the Tesla Model Y, which is the EV maker’s best-selling vehicle in the United States, is more affordable than the average new car or truck in the United States, according to a recent report by Bloomberg.


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Better ways to fund that second-hand car
A top-up on an existing home loan, a personal loan or one availed of through dealer-lender tie-ups may be more cost-effective borrowing options
Though used cars may fit into your budget, financing them through used car loans may be a bit costly
As state governments gradually lift the lockdown, many office goers would want to avoid public transport and prefer to commute in their private vehicles. Many of these buyers would prefer second-hand cars due to budget constraints and because they may use the vehicle only until the threat of covid-19 looms large. According to a study by online classifieds portal OLX, of the people planning to buy a car in the next three to six months, 54% would prefer a pre-owned vehicle. The study, which the company undertook between April and July, covered over 3,800 respondents.


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With traders’ eyes locked on their computer screens, fingers twitching as
they awaited the GOOG ticker to move, Google floated into the public markets
Thursday at $85 and immediately jumped to $100 on the Nasdaq stock market.
As investors moved to get a piece of the oft-delayed, but apparently still-hot IPO,
shares of Google
had settled in at about $98 just
after noon eastern Thursday, up by about 15 percent from its debut offer.
At that price, which was trending higher at presstime, Google and its shareholders had raised just under $2 billion. But at $85, the company raised $1.67 billion.
The debut followed weeks of missteps, gaffes and even some investor
confusion about its unique Dutch auction style — a process that managed to
ruffle the feathers of institutional investors and some Wall Street
brokerages for how it was handled.
Institutional and retail investors were rumored to be lukewarm on the
offering because of the high valuation, rumors that were confirmed by
Tuesday’s reduction in the size and price of the offering from its earlier
range of $108 to $135.
But Kevin Lee, the CEO of search engine Did-It, a U.S.
search engine marketing firm, said he expected more interest after the
shares began trading. Lee, who bid to buy 200 shares
during the Dutch auction process and was awarded about 140 shares from his
tiered bids on the stock, said he was waiting to see how the issue fared before
deciding what to do.
“There may be a whole lot of pent-up demand, people who thought $108 was
too high, or who felt the [underwriters] set too high a threshold in terms
of investing experience or net worth” in order to participate in the IPO,
he told internetnews.com. “I spoke to a lot of people who wanted to
wait and see.”
At press time, shares of Google had gone as high as $149.93, a 76 percent
jump from its initial price of $85, before settling back around $98. However, a Nasdaq spokesman told CBS Marketwatch that a broker-dealer put up premature data. The $149 trade is expected to be canceled.
Google’s road to its IPO had been bumpy, such as an ill-timed
interview granted to Playboy magazine and millions of shares that the
company failed to register with the SEC. IPO ambitions are frequently
reduced in lackluster markets, but Google’s reduction was above average.
The selling mood in the markets as of late didn’t help either. Google eventually slashed its anticipated price range for the IPO, and shareholders reduced the number of shares they sold in the
Chris Winfield, the president and co-founder of 10E20, a
global search engine marketing firm, said he was sitting out the IPO.
“I still don’t think the price is justified. From my perspective, I love
Google, but I see too much competition from Microsoft’s
MSN and Yahoo
to really think they’ll be able to sustain
the same level, even market share, they have.”
Yahoo trades at 83 times 2004 earnings estimates and 60 times 2005
estimates. Using the estimates of Mark Mahaney of American Technology
Research, at $85 a share, Google will trade at 65 times 2004 estimates and
just 36 times 2005 estimates.
For the six months ended June 30, Google’s profit was $143 million, on revenues in the same period of $1.35 billion, according to its SEC filings.
The real measure of GOOG will come in the next few weeks, as Googlemania gives way to business as usual on the Street. That’s when the market will make clear the true value of the stock.
“It will be a volatile stock,” said Tom Taulli, author of Investing in IPOs. First, hedge funds and short-sellers will have their way with it, selling it off to bargain hunters who eschewed the auction. “If you’re a retail investor playing with professionals,” Taulli said, “you’ll get crushed.”
Susan Kuchinskas contributed to this story


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We’re coining them the “zeroes”—this new generation of zero-waste heroes are conscious creators, plantfluencers, and eco-crusaders that are marching to the beat of a green drum towards a sustainable future. They’re also keeping the fashion industry accountable for its high waste-producing reputation. (For context, the EPA estimated rubber, leather, and textiles make up more than 9% of all solid waste within the US.)
According to the Pulse of the Fashion Industry 2019 Update, more people are choosing to look for fashion brands with an eco-friendly focus. In fact, 75% of consumers in the report view sustainability as either extremely or very important to them. But we’re at a critical point where the environment can no longer wait for the consumer to lead this movement—it’s up to fashion leaders to make the bold moves and switch to a sustainable business model. That’s why we’re so thrilled to be partnering up with Timberland for their Nature Needs Heroes event at their stunning NYC flagship on 5th avenue.
While the lens on sustainability has been magnified in recent years, Timberland’s environment-first commitment has been ongoing. In a bid to alleviate the fashion industry’s impact on global C02 emissions, they’re going to plant 50 million trees over the next five years—they’ve planted more than 10 million trees worldwide already.
We’ve invited four conscious creators for an enlightening conversation on why putting the planet first is good for all—and we want you to join us!
Read on to learn more about each of our panelists, the work they're doing, their mission, and why we should get behind them—be sure to RSVP NOW as space is limited and this will fill up fast!
You can’t talk about sustainable fashion without mentioning Aditi Mayer. The creative force by sustainable fashion blog, ADIMAY, she has been exploring the ties between style, sustainability, and social justice for four years. *Read: Before it was a buzzword. Frustrated with the lack of representation and intersectionality within the sustainability movement, ADIMAY became a space that looked at sustainability with an eye that was equally curious, curatorial, and critical.
The 25-year old writer and speaker founded Clothed In Abundance to teach people about the benefits of minimalism and how the art of decluttering can positively impact our mental health, and finances. Deborah teaches spiritual women to care about things, deeper than things. She’s also the founder of Broke Not Broken a clothing line and upcoming podcast that supports and uplifts mental health survivors through the power of storytelling. Follow her minimalism journey on Youtube, Instagram, and find out how to support her work.
As the founder and CEO of Package Free, Lauren Singer is on a mission to make the world less trashy by offering products that help you reduce waste daily. Her zero-waste editorial platform, Trash is for Tossers is an extension of that MO where she showcases how to live a low or zero-waste lifestyle that’s cost-effective, accessible, and fun.
An Environmental Studies graduate from NYU, former Sustainability Manager at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and popularizer and pioneer of the Zero Waste Movement, the amount of trash that she has produced over the past eight years can fit inside of a 16 oz mason jar. Singer has empowered millions to reduce their waste and has kept over 100 million pieces of trash out of landfills through her work at Package Free.
As the writer and photographer behind popular lifestyle blog, Reading My Tea Leaves Boyle writes about all things slow, simple, and sustainable. In 2016, she authored her first book, Simple Matters—a nod to the growing consensus that living simply and purposefully is more sustainable not only for the environment but for our own happiness and well-being, too. Boyle embraces the notion that “living small” is beneficial and accessible to us all—whether we’re renting a tiny apartment or purchasing a three-story house.
Please come and join us on October 2 at Timberland’s NYC flagship on 5th avenue from 6:30—9:00 PM for our panel conversation “Conscious Creators—Why Putting the Planet First Is Good for All” and celebrate a more sustainable future. Make sure you RSVP HERE because this will be sure to fill up fast!


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Sensor Advancements Can Overcome Supply Chain Disruptions
Supply chain and logistics have seen massive disruptions as a result of COVID-19, creating new challenges for retail and manufacturing operations worldwide. In the new report “Sensing for Modern Logistics,” Lux Research identifies how sensors can be used to improve and modernize logistics across various industries to shore up global supply chain infrastructures.
The report points out four critical points in the logistics process – point of origin, warehousing, transit, and destination – each with a unique set of challenges that has an impact on the efficiency of supply chains. It can sometimes result in complete breakdowns. Moreover, demand patterns have shifted overnight. Increased restrictions are imposed on the movement of products. As a result, there is a growing demand for close monitoring of products as they move through the supply chain.
Analyst at Lux Research and lead author of the report Lisheng Gao, PhD, explains, “Things that go wrong in the logistics process include pilfering, asset misplacement, and physical damage thanks to improper storage conditions and unexpected events.”
Even though these logistical challenges are expected to be exacerbated as vaccines become available for COVID-19, Gao mentioned, “It’s now more important than ever to ensure the right goods are transported within the right quantities, under the proper conditions, and delivered to the proper place at the proper time. Only then will it’s possible for society to stay functional and make sure that abundant resources are available to fight the pandemic.”
Here’s where innovative new sensors come into play. Sensors can alert companies to those problems and help them address these issues. “IoT sensing solutions are the foremost promising, as they will enhance data visibility and transparency across the whole process and facilitate planning, optimizing, and uncovering other invisible insights,” Gao says in the report.
Fortunately IoT sensors are equipped to monitor environmental conditions, prevent misplacement, and identify damages. Additionally, the sensors also used to avoid accidents, ensure compliance, track location, reveal real-time conditions, and many more. Even without network connections, sensors can still reveal the logistical history of the practice. It also identifies events which could have compromised goods.
For instance, as pointed out in the report, Airbus, one of the biggest airplane manufacturers globally, has a complicated logistics system that it uses to ship parts to sites throughout the world.
Airbus integrated Sensolus’ solution with its IoT platform are fully equipped to provide full location visibility for its assets. Sensolus’ GPS tracking system provides real-time location data on RTP. The system provides regular updates about the goods that are in transit among Airbus’ warehouses and international departments.
Today, sensing solutions for logistics are fragmented, with no standardized solutions available to span the entire logistics journey. Nonetheless, sensors play a critical role in enabling information transparency to facilitate planning, optimization, and risk management in the supply chain.
The research recommends that companies that are looking for sensing solutions embrace the available technologies, despite their current limitations.


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Honda bringing back Accord hybrids for 2013
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Honda Accord hybrids will return to the road in 2013.
The Japanese automaker on Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show took the wraps off a plug-in hybrid version of its flagship sedan and said it will go on sale in New York and California in January. A traditional hybrid model will be launched nationwide in the summer.
The plug-in hybrid, starting at $39,780, has a fuel economy rating of 115 miles a gallon, and the traditional hybrid is rated at 47 miles a gallon combined. Pricing for the Accord hybrid was not disclosed, nor were details on where the car will be produced. Most of the company's Accords are assembled at the company's Marysville works.
The unveiling wrapped a busy auto show for Honda. Also Thursday it unveiled its 2013 Honda Civic, which went on sale the same day, and on Wednesday the company showed off the 2014 Acura RLX, which hits showrooms next year.
Dan Eaton covers retailing and restaurants for Columbus Business First.
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Apple will announce its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday July 17 at 11pm (BST), the day before Macworld Expo New York kicks off with a keynote speech from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
It also delivered its third-quarter results the evening before Expo last year. The recent stability of its share price, and positive predictions from analysts that it would meet its revenue targets indicate a successful quarter, according to industry observers.
Apple's remaining stockholding in ARM is unknown, but the company has announced quarterly sales of its remaining portfolio in that company. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter yesterday rated ARM a "Strong Buy", so Apple could benefit from a strategic sell-off as its financial call approaches.
Apple's stock value rose 3.04 per cent (67 cents) on trading yesterday, closing at $22.7. This exceeds growth across the Nasdaq Index, which rose 1.13 per cent on the day.


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Google Stadia struggled even more than we thought
Google's game streaming service accounted for only 5% of the cloud gaming market in 2022
Stadia’s demise last year didn’t come as a huge shock. Google’s gaming service struggled to find a foothold in the nascent cloud gaming market, but new figures reveal just how little space it was able to carve out for itself.
Statistics shared in a new report by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, produced as part of its ongoing investigation into Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard, suggest Google Stadia enjoyed one of the lowest market shares of all the major cloud gaming services and was resoundingly trumped by Xbox Cloud Gaming.
➡ The Shortcut Skinny: Stadia’s small share
🤏 Stadia was an even smaller gaming service than many thought
☁ New statistics show it accounted for a tiny share of the game streaming market
🌍 Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently leading the pack by a wide margin
👀 The stats will affect regulators’ view of Microsft’s Activision Blizzard buyout
Google Stadia accounted for only 0 - 5% of the total cloud gaming market in 2022, level with Amazon Luan. PlayStation Plus (or PS Now as it was formally called) made up 10-20% along with Nvidia GeForce Now, while Xbox Cloud Gaming dominated 60-70% of the market.
The year before in 2021, Stadia accounted for 5-10%, Xbox Cloud Gaming for much less at 20-30%, PlayStation for 30-40%, and Nvidia for 20-30%. Amazon Luna’s share isn’t recorded, presumably because its presence was negligible.
The findings are based on several sources of data, including those from the companies themselves and “third-party evidence”.
Although the CMA does clarify these “static measures of market share are unlikely to accurately reflect the relative strengths of different cloud gaming services providers”, it does provide us a glimpse into the growth and presence of Google’s ill-fated streaming service. Stadia was already fumbling by 2021, only two years after its release, and shrunk to a tiny size by the time it was eventually shuttered.
The CMA attributes that fall to Stadia’s poor content library. “We provisionally believe that content is particularly important to the success of a cloud gaming service, particularly considering Google’s failure with Stadia, which our evidence suggests was caused at least in part by a lack of gaming content, which was connected to its use of a Linux OS,” the report says.
The findings will have significant implications for the CMA’s study of Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard. As well as highlighting the popularity of Call of Duty – which Microsoft has repeatedly responded to by promising not to make the franchise an Xbox exclusive – regulators have also voiced concern over the company’s stranglehold of the cloud gaming market. These statistics will only worry regulators further, as Xbox’s streaming growth looks to be already on the up.
The CMA’s report also notes that Microsoft estimated its own global market share for cloud gaming services in 2021 amounted to only 0-10%, behind that of Nvidia and Facebook Gaming (which presumably means the many arcade games integrated into the social media platform). Notably, CMA excluded Facebook Gaming from their analysis since it isn’t a streaming service, and found from its own data collection that Microsoft vastly underestimated its own share of the market, and overestimated Nvidia’s.
Much of Xbox Cloud Gaming’s growth will stem from its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – it’s a free perk and doesn’t require an extra subscription fee. It appears the CMA has recorded users as possessing the streaming service even if they don’t actually use it as part of their Game Pass subscription, which could lead to inflated real-world player numbers. Maybe people will be more likely to play more games via the cloud when the Xbox Streaming Stick finally materializes.
In the meantime, you can hop aboard what’s apparently the world’s most popular gaming streaming service for a bit of money off with our Xbox Game Pass discount code.
The Shortcut is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.


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May 8, 2012 The Spanish government could pump $9.1 billion into one of its biggest banks.
Apr 30, 2012 In a matter of days, two countries at the center of the European debt crisis will hold elections: France is on the verge of electing a socialist as president and Greece may also shake up its leadership. But it's Spain that's causing some heartburn today.
Apr 30, 2012 Spain has officially slipped back into recession and to make matters worse, Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the credit rating on 11 Spanish banks. That makes it harder for those banks to borrow money.
Apr 30, 2012 Economist Edward Hugh discusses how Spain's economic woes compare to Greece and whether the country is "bailout-able."
Apr 26, 2012 The fast-food giant will move away from tightly packed chickens and pigs within five years. Farmers and consumers will feel the impact.
Apr 17, 2012 Spanish oil giant Repsol currently controls Argentina's largest national oil company, but perhaps not for long.
Apr 17, 2012 According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, dark meat chicken is once again rising in popularity compared to its lighter counterparts.
Apr 16, 2012 The Commerce Department reports retail sales rose more than expected in March, by a solid 0.8 percent.
Apr 16, 2012 Thanks to TV chefs, the dark meat of chicken thighs and drumsticks are getting a leg up on the once-popular chicken breast.
Apr 11, 2012 Over 50 percent of a small village in northern Spain has voted in favor of a plan to allow marijuana to be grown there. The aim is to generate money for the village to help wipe out its debt. However it's still unclear if the idea will go ahead.


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In 2017 Paphos is announced as the Cultural Capital of Europe and this is the most outstanding moment in Paphos Modern history.
Paphos will host a very important tourism conference in December which has attracted more than a thousand participants and Tour Operators.
The participants come mainly from the UK, our largest tourist segment, representing the giant operator Thomas Cook, Jet-2-Holiday and Jet1, the key participants that are taking active role to ensure the synergy between the Cyprus Tourist Product and the UK visitor experience stays fresh, exciting and unforgettable.
According to the statistics October showed excellent results in number of arrivals which reached more than 350,000 arrival for the month and nearly 30% more than last year.
Presently, the government’s extensive investment in infrastructure is the key to secure new airlines adding new flight routes and have opportunity to lengthen the tourist period and be able to reach new markets.


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If you’re looking to step back into Gotham City has the Dark Knight then you’re out of luck. However, you will get an opportunity to clear the streets of Gotham City as either Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, or Red Hood. Within Gotham Knights players will follow a brand new storyline that features Bruce Wayne’s demise. However, Bruce sent out one last message to the Bat-Family alerting the group that it’s up to them when it comes to keeping the citizens of Gotham City safe.
So far we know that this is an action RPG title where players will be putting up a fight against a new enemy group, the Court of Owls, which was featured in the DC Comics universe from The New 52 Batman run. Gotham Knights are also set up to be a completely open-world right from the start and best of all there’s no level grinding. You will find that the enemies will become stronger as you level up naturally so it doesn’t look like the game will keep you out from any particular area.
While the game was slated to release this year, it was confirmed to be pushed out of 2021. The new release window is set for Gotham Knights to launch within 2022, so that’s a bit of a bummer to those that were waiting to get their hands on a copy of this video game. However, it’s not that surprising as video games get delayed all the time and we’re likely going to see plenty of dates shift around because of the coronavirus health pandemic outbreak.
The coronavirus wasn’t specifically mentioned in the tweet alerting fans of the delay. However, the message does mention that the developers are needing more time to deliver the best possible experience for their video game. After the fumble CD Projekt Red had with Cyberpunk 2077’s launch, fans might be fine with more games getting delayed to ensure that they are ready for a proper launch.


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Retail sales flat in April
Australian retail turnover was unchanged (0.0 per cent) in April 2023, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This follows a 0.4 per cent rise in March 2023 and 0.2 per cent rise in February 2023.
Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said the slowdown in retail spending seen since the start of the year has continued in April.
“Retail turnover has plateaued over the last six months as consumers spent less on discretionary goods in response to cost-of-living pressures and rising interest rates. Spending was again soft in April but was boosted by increased spending on winter clothing in response to cooler and wetter than average weather across the country,” Mr Dorber said.
Clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing (+1.9 per cent) and departments stores (+1.5 per cent) were the only retail categories to rise in April.
Households goods retailing (-1.0 per cent) recorded its third straight monthly fall in turnover, while other retailing remained unchanged.
Food-related spending was down this month, with falls in both cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-0.2 per cent) and food retailing (-0.1 per cent). Food retailing recorded its first fall following 13 straight monthly rises.
“The modest fall in food-related spending comes after a period of consistent growth driven largely by high food inflation,” Mr Dorber said.
“Spending at cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services remains at a particularly high level despite the fall in April, with turnover up 13.3 per cent compared to this time last year.”
"Spending has also been boosted by the return of large-scale sporting and cultural events.”
There were mixed results across the states and territories with four falls and three rises, while the Northern Territory remained unchanged.
Tasmania (-1.5 per cent) recorded the largest drop, followed by falls in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. The largest rise was recorded in Western Australia (+1.0 per cent) followed by smaller rises in South Australia and Queensland.
“Turnover is at a record level in South Australia following three straight rises of 0.6 per cent and boosted by the inaugural AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf Adelaide tournament this month,” Mr Dorber said.
Additional information on the April reference period will be released on 1 June 2023 containing more detailed results, including state by industry, state by industry sub-group and online sales timeseries.
The ABS would like to thank businesses for their continued support in responding to our surveys.
- All statistical figures in this media release are in seasonally adjusted terms.
- Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing seasonal effects to allow comparison of data for adjacent months. See methodology for more details.
- Revisions to seasonally adjusted estimates are due to the concurrent methodology for deriving seasonal factors. For further information, please read survey impacts and changes.
- When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
- For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via firstname.lastname@example.org (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
- Subscribe to our media release notification service to get notified of ABS media releases or publications upon their release.


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After a thorough pummeling by the music industry , peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software vendor LimeWire Inc. will launch a subscription-based music service for consumers.
The service is scheduled to go live later this year and will allow users to download and stream music to laptops, smart phones and other mobile devices for a monthly fee.
Spokeswoman Tiffany Guamaccia said that what the company is launching is not just a legal version of LimeWire, as some have speculated, but a completely new service that it has been working hard on for some time now.
"Essentially, the new music service will be an ecosystem comprised of a desktop media player, mobile applications and a Web-based music experience for downloading and streaming," Guamaccia said.
The new service will have several cloud integration features including one that allow iTunes content to be synched to the cloud. The subscription service will allow users to have "complete and instant" access to music on their desktops, mobile devices and stored in the cloud.
The desktop media player will have "robust" music discovery features and will be capable of dynamically generating playlists based on user preferences, and recommendations, Guamaccia said. The media player will also include other discovery features, such as finding community editorial ratings and reviews.
News of LimeWire's planned service comes even as the company is coming under tremendous pressure from the music industry over copyright infringement issues.
Just last week, eight music publishers sued the company for enabling what they claimed was massive copyright infringement. The lawsuit was filed as a related case to another, previous lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over the same issues.
Both parties have claimed that LimeWire's P2P file-sharing software has contributed to massive music piracy over the last few years. Both the RIAA and the publishers have argued that LimeWire has done little to stop problem, and has in fact, actually encouraged illegal downloads with the features in its software.
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, where the lawsuits have been filed, found LimeWire liable last month for enabling massive music piracy. That ruling in turn has prompted the RIAA to file separate motions asking for the company to be shuttered and for all of its assets to be frozen.


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Whether it’s the holidays or just another day in the tropics, South Florida has a reputation as fertile ground for so-called “porch pirates” — people who steal shipped packages.
Home security devices such as Ring doorbell cameras regularly record thieves swiping boxes from our door steps. And that video regularly shows up on local newscasts.
But a new study finds that Florida, statewide, isn’t that bad for porch package thefts when compared to the rest of the country.
The state ranked 12th-lowest in porch piracy search volume, according to a study recently released by U.S. Packaging & Wrapping, a supplier of shrink wrap.
The company used Google Ads data to see which areas of the country searched for terms such as “stolen package” and “amazon package stolen” suggesting that the user was a victim of porch piracy.
The state with the lowest rate of package theft searches was Mississippi, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas and Kentucky. And the state’s with the highest rates were Wyoming, Vermont, California, Massachusetts and Alaska.
The U.S. Packaging and Wrapping study also found that December — a peak time for online holiday shopping —had the highest number of package thefts from people’s homes. It was followed by November and January.
At the other end of the spectrum, May was the month with the least amount of package thefts. The study suggested that may be due people being outdoors more “and less time inside shopping” on their computers, thus giving thieves less opportunities to strike.


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The buyers’ strike is in effect. Retail sales of used vehicles are plummeting, dealers are singing the blues but unwilling to cut prices from their ridiculous levels.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
The problem with used vehicle prices is that wholesale prices at auction have been plunging all year, and fell again in October, and that’s where dealerships buy a lot of their inventory. .
But retail prices for used vehicles haven’t come down, even as retail sales have fallen amid a buyers’ strike following ridiculous price spikes in 2021 and 2020. And there’s a pressure on dealers to reduce prices, and dealers complain about this environment and drive down sales. But they’re still furiously trying to keep those ridiculous retail prices down for as long as they can.
Wholesale prices for used vehicles have fallen 2.2% in October compared to September, 16% compared to the December and January peak, and 10.6% year-over-year, the first year-over-year decline since May 2020, according to data from Manheim, the largest car auction house in the United States and a unit of Cox Automotive. Compared to October 2020, despite the recent decline, the index is still up 24%, showing how ridiculous the price spike has been.
Wholesale prices reflect input costs for dealers. The cost of newly purchased inventory has fallen throughout the year. And generally, companies do not complain when the price of their inputs goes down.
But whatever vehicles they had in the field for a while, they were purchased at the higher prices prevailing at the time, and that’s a problem for dealers.
And since these input costs are falling for all dealers, price competition will eventually have an effect on the retail prices charged by dealers, but dealers are furiously trying to hold their own.
In 2020 and 2021, dealers had their eyes on the sudden willingness of buyers to pay anything, even paying more for a used vehicle than an equivalent new vehicle would have cost, if any. had. This special effect of paying anything was partly due to the torrent of free money that has been raining down on everything and everyone since the spring of 2020.
The “average listing price” at dealerships hasn’t budged This year. At $28,237 in September, it was roughly unchanged from December, according to Cox Automotive (it will release October data in a few days). This reflects the average price at which dealers advertise their retail units.
In the 17-month period from August 2020 to December 2021, the average listing price jumped a ridiculous 41%, as dealers foamed at the mouths of buyers’ sudden willingness to pay anything. what, and they were driving the prices up at auction to ridiculous levels, knowing that they are still making historic gross profits selling these vehicles at even higher prices to retail customers suddenly willing to pay anything.
This mania peaked in December and January. But listing prices just haven’t come down since:
The consumer price index for used vehicles did not fall either, but has been teetering in the ridiculous zone since February. In September, it was still up 7.2% year over year, and 34% from September 2020, that’s how ridiculous the whole spike was.
But there’s never been a shortage of used vehicles to justify the ridiculous price spike.. In February 2020, before the distortions of the pandemic, there were 2.95 million used vehicles in stock at dealerships. During the first months of the pandemic, stocks fell, but never in the “shortage” range, then they largely recovered. So far this year, inventory has been around 2.46 million, according to data from Cox Automotive:
Vehicles are discretionary purchases: most people can easily drive what they already have for another year or three. But buyers were suddenly ready to pay anything – that’s when the inflationary mindset started. The whole industry took the ball and ran with it, and they ran as fast and as far as they could. The race ended late last year in the ridiculous zone.
Demand at these prices has dropped for two reasons: first, the prices are just ridiculous and no one should buy a used vehicle at these prices; and second, interest rates to finance used vehicle purchases have jumped, making those ridiculous prices even more expensive. Just say no?
A sharp drop in retail prices to less derisory levels would stimulate demand. But lower retail prices are the last thing dealers want. But it would definitely increase sales.
Supply is back to normal and ticked up to 50 days in September, where it was before the pandemic, given the drop in sales this year:
Used car dealerships sing the blues.
CarMax, the largest used vehicle dealership in the United States, said in its latest earnings report that in the quarter ending August 31, same-store retail used vehicle sales, in terms of number of units sold, fell 8.3% year on year. from; and total unit retail sales fell 6.4%.
Despite the drop in sales, CarMax said the average retail price rose 9.6% to $28,657 per vehicle sold.
Gross profit for its retail unit rose to $2,282 per vehicle, “an increase of $97 per unit despite sharp market depreciation,” as its earnings report said.
This higher gross margin reflects the dynamics of selling prices and the lower costs of vehicles purchased on the wholesale market. Its net profit fell 56% to $126 million.
That was until August, and the retail price situation remained difficult, and shares of CarMax fell 59% from the peak of November 2021 mania.
But the folks at CarMax are the adults in the room; they have gone through a turning market many times before. And they were still making money.
This cannot be said for Carvana, the largest pure online used car dealership. Similar to CarMax, it reported an 8% drop in the number of used vehicles sold at retail, but its gross profit per unit fell 25%, its expenses jumped and its net loss soared to 508 million of dollars. Its shares plunged 39% on Friday, following its disastrous earnings report, and today are down another 15.8% today, closing at $7.39, after plunging from 98% from the August 2021 peak.
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#Wholesale #prices #vehicles #fell #retail #prices #Theyre #ridiculous #zone


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Nearly half of all Californians expected to benefit from inflation relief have already received their payments. According to KTLA, scammers have been working overtime in an attempt steal money from those who continue to wait patiently for their money.
“Unfortunately, there are some bad actors hoping to take advantage as Californians patiently wait for their direct deposit or prepaid debit card to arrive,” KTLA obtained in a statement from attorney general Rob Bonta. “Do not be fooled. Know what to expect and when, and take precautions to protect yourself and your loved ones from falling victim to a scam.”
These scammers are not only targeting recipients through call and text, but some have went as far as sending fake mail that looks as though it is issued by the government. KTLA mentioned that one specific way these individuals are scamming California residents is by promising to get them their money faster than scheduled.
“The first middle-class refunds were made by direct deposit on October 7, 2022; payments by debit card began on October 24, 2022. Payments are expected to continue through January 14, 2023. Anyone who claims they can get you your money quicker is a scammer,” the statement continued.
The checks are being distributed exclusively by the California Franchise Tax Board and they will not contact you via call or text to let you know that your payment is on the way. There is no action required on your part to receive the payment despite scammers claiming otherwise. KTLA shared a photograph of what real envelope containing the inflation relief debit card should look like for those receiving their payments in the mail.


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Square Enix has released update 3.57 for Final Fantasy XIV.
Square Enix has announced yet another free login campaign for Final Fantasy XIV.
Mobius Final Fantasy players get a brand new job, lots of new ability cards, and more.
Final Fantasy XIV's newest mount is eggcellent.
Update 1.08 is now available for Final Fantasy XV on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Final Fantasy XIV's free trial is no longer time-restricted, Square Enix has announced.
A new update is now available for Final Fantasy XV that makes changes to the game's thirteenth chapter.


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The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been very busy in the past couple of days. As a new week rolls in, a great deal more of auto recalls are launched with the help of the NHTSA. While several automakers continue to struggle to produce safer, more efficient vehicles, others struggle to ensure cars do not leave the factory with faulty parts that could render more recalls in the future.
In the past year, General Motors spent a great deal of resources handling the scandal revolving a major recall impacting vehicles that had been fitted with faulty ignition switches. Ever since GM launched the recall ten years after the first reports of accidents were registered, the company launched several other campaigns over other deadly issues.
Now, GM is issuing a recall that impacts 59,474 units of the 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt vehicles. These units were manufactured between January 4, 2010 and June 23, 2010. These vehicles come with Side-Impact Sensors that may have been improperly routed. If that is the case, the misrouted wiring harness may cause an electrical short, and the driver side curtain air bag may become disabled.
Since this issue could cause the air bag to fail to deploy in case an accident takes place, the driver will be vulnerable to potential injuries.
According to the firm, recalled vehicle owners will be contacted directly and dealers will have the vehicle’s sensor’s wiring in the driver’s door inspected. If necessary, repairs will be made promptly and for free.
GM has announced that the company will begin contacting recalled vehicle owners in late August.
As GM car owners are contacted to have their vehicles repaired, Subaru of America, Inc. is also launching a recall campaign. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Subaru has recalled all units of the 2015 and 2016 Subaru Legacy 4-Door and Outback vehicles.
The vehicles associated with this recall include units manufactured between July 3, 2015 and July 27, 2015. Since the transmission oil in these vehicles may leak from a deformed seal cap on the propeller shaft yoke, the oil may leak onto the exhaust pipe and a fire may ensue.
Subaru has announced that it will be notifying impacted vehicle owners and that dealers will have the propeller shafts replaced entirely for free.
The company has indicated that consumers will be notified about this recall personally on August 28th. Subaru is not aware of any accidents linked to this recall.
If you’re serious about staying safe and avoiding auto accidents, heed the instructions put forth by automakers whenever a recall is launched.


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Wesfarmers board members depart
Two of the longest serving directors of Coles owner, Wesfarmers, will step down from the board in November.
Charles Macek joined the company in 2001 and has provided significant financial and economic advice on the company’s investment opportunities, chairman Bob Every said.
Colin Carter has been on the board since 2002, and has proved an invaluable source of corporate governance advice in that period, Every said.
Both directors will come to the end of their terms when Wesfarmers holds its annual general meeting on November 20, and will not seek re-election.
Wesfarmers told shareholders late on Monday it would divest 5.2 per cent of its stake in Coles Group to further sol… https://t.co/oUsodYshX01 day ago
In order to address Government concerns around how customers should change purchasing behaviours to relieve supply… https://t.co/Vey5IU16lO1 day ago


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“Kickstarter doesn’t really work in South Africa… it’s a difficult market to break in to… It could be said [Kickstarter] is more about making money than empowering people; there’s no responsibility towards funding more entrepreneurs. Patrick is providing opportunities and helping communities.”
A new way of doing business
Good ideas are “a dime a dozen” Schofield says, but many South Africans lack the “the skills and resources” to bring their idea through to fruition. New businesses that do receive funding are often saddled with heavy debts or give away significant portions of their company to investors in return for guidance. Whilst the likes of Kickstarter “stand aside” once a campaign is launched according to Kruger, Thundafund has guided its entrepreneurs through the process, optimizing their chance of attracting investors.


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Amityville-based NAPCO Security Technologies reported second quarter earnings rose 97 percent to $309,000, as the company reduced expenses while net sales remained flat at $17.6 million
The electronic security provider, which markets fire and burglar alarms, said gross profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011 rose 4 percent to $4.9 million.
The Amityville-based firm’s selling, general and administrative expenses dropped 4 percent to 4 million.[dmc-related-post-wp numitems="3" title="Related stories"]
President Richard Soloway said the firm maintained sales, while cutting “overhead expenses, increasing our profitability even as we sustained ongoing investment in research and development.”
He said the firm paid down $1.8 million in debt in the first six months of its fiscal year, reducing interest expenses.
“The past few years have been challenging for all companies,” Soloway continued. “NAPCO has risen to this challenge and we are a stronger, more stream-lined and better company as a reward for our efforts.”
The firm has been rolling out new products including its Gemini Commercial integrated fire and intrusion product platform and Networx wireless locking system. NAPCO’s also continuing to market products such as its iSeeVideo remote-viewing system.
“We are optimistic that these products will add sales volume to the legacy products for which the company is so well known,” Soloway said.
More breaking news
- Q&A with Emerald Brand
- Brookhaven IDA approves $7.5M PILOT for Bristal facility
- State greenlights med marijuana sites
- Invenergy files documents for solar project
- Wayback Burgers to open in West Hempstead
- Wage hike for fast-food workers may face legal challenge
- Tesla opening pop-up store in Southampton
- New media market emerges with business opportunities
- New York-area construction sizzling this summer
- To B or not to B


text: Britney Spears will be featured in an interactive video DVD coming out later this year exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 2, Enroute, Inc. announced Thursday at the annual Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The DVD will contain concert footage, allowing for an interactive viewing experience that puts the viewer in the center of the action and gives them fill control over camera angles as a recorded event unfolds in a 360-degree landscape. The user will be able to look at any direction and see everything happening in all directions. In a statement, Spears said she was very excited to be involved with the new technology. “It’s a great new way of watching a concert,” she said.


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Growth spurt: Haggen conversions a step forward for seafood
Albertsons and Safeway shoppers in the Pacific Northwest will soon notice a completely different look to their stores — particularly at the fresh seafood counters. As Bellingham, Wash.-based grocery chain Haggen converts 146 former Albertsons and Safeway stores to the Haggen banner throughout the spring and summer, it is significantly enhancing the quality, selection and environment of the stores’ perishable departments.
The chain, which previously operated just 18 stores and employed around 2,000, is known for its selection of natural, sustainable and high-quality products, and the environment of its stores is decidedly more upscale than a typical supermarket. Now, as Haggen converts the acquired retail sites in California, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, executives will transfer the style, quality and staff training to the new stores.
“We’re on a journey to ‘Haggenize’ our stores, so guests can anticipate continued changes over the coming weeks and months,” said Haggen’s Fresh VP Rich Winters. “Overall, our goal is to deliver fresh, high quality offerings throughout the store and especially in our seafood department, given our Pacific Northwest roots.”
The fresh seafood counters in the new stores are undergoing a number of changes, including the addition of fresh items to replace some frozen/defrosted items, the addition of sustainable seafood options — Haggen recently committed to carrying only “yellow” and “green” items according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program — as well as more regional species and more prepared seafood products.
“We will also listen to our guests to bring in items they’re looking for and introduce variety into their shopping experience. Our goal is to bring in any guest-requested item within 48 hours and our standard supply chain delivery time is 48 hours as well,” Winters said. In addition, Haggen is swapping out seafood cases as needed, “to enhance our fresh image and standards in our newly converted stores,” Winters said.
To maintain the trust shoppers have with their local Albertsons and Safeway stores, Haggen opted to retain the meat/seafood managers in each store, according to Winters. At the corporate level, Haggen’s seafood purchasing is handled by Oscar Romero, director of meat and seafood, and the company plans to hire a seafood specialist soon.
Southern California distributor Santa Monica Seafood is supplying fresh seafood for 100 of the converted Haggen stores in California, Arizona and Nevada. While the company did not previously supply Haggen stores, it was simply because the stores were outside of the company’s distribution area, said Giovanni Comin, VP of Santa Monica Seafood.
“We have relationships that existed with many of the people at Haggen and were already familiar with many of their stores,” Comin said.
The two companies’ shared commitment to sustainability makes the new partnership a perfect fit. “Our goal is to have as many ‘green’ items throughout our seafood department as possible,” Winters said. Already, some Santa Monica-supplied products are being sold in converted stores, including Ahi Poke Salad, salmon burgers and Santa Monica Seafood’s seasoning line.
The Haggen-Santa Monica Seafood partnership is not only beneficial to the two companies, but it sends a positive message to the U.S. retail seafood industry, said Phillip Walsh, VP of business development at Miami-based Alfa Gamma Seafood Group and former director of seafood sales and procurement for New England retailer Stop & Shop.
“That’s a great decision Haggen made. They didn’t go with the cheapest supplier and instead took the high road. For seafood in America, it is a step forward,” Walsh said. “Seafood harvested from managed resources, traveling through transparent cold chains to correctly merchandised display cases staffed by knowledgablle associates answers not only to customer’s expectations, but to the bottom line as well.”
As Haggen’s sole seafood supplier for the 100 stores, Santa Monica Seafood has a unique relationship with the retailer, educating staff in the converted store’s fresh seafood departments. “We added staff specific to Haggen, and we do training and merchandising in the stores,” Comin said.
The additional training will likely increase Haggen’s fresh seafood department profitability, according to Walsh, “because customers that are told where their seafood comes from, how it was caught and what it’s like, are happy customers and happy customers spread the word.”
Meanwhile, Haggen is sourcing more wild and regional species to add to the converted stores, “similar to what they do in the Pacific Northwest,” Comin said. Next, Santa Monica Seafood is looking for sources of sustainable farmed salmon for Haggen.
“Currently, they have farmed salmon and we are working towards a plan to upgrade that to ‘yellow’ and ‘green’ choices. Otherwise, all other items are yellow or green,” Comin said.
While Santa Monica Seafood is Haggen’s sole seafood supplier for its stores in California, Nevada and Arizona, Haggen executives are open to working with other distributors. Seattle's Ocean Beauty Seafoods is Haggen's sole seafood supplier for its Northern division stores. “With local being a key value for Haggen, we will certainly keep an eye out for opportunities to partner with local suppliers/distributors as it makes sense for our business and our customers,” Winters said.