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American Trucking Association complaint to FMC alleges that ‘unlawful’ actions by lines have ‘overcharged truckers and their customers for intermodal container chassis at ports and inland terminals’. US intermodal road freight representatives have filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) alleging that foreign-owned container lines have engaged in “unjust and unreasonable conduct” that breach US laws and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars each year in inflated charges for intermodal container chassis.
The American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference (IMCC) filed the suit last week with the FMC, alleging that foreign-owned ocean shipping lines “engaged in unjust and unreasonable conduct in violation of the Shipping Act”, adding that the “unlawful” actions by lines “have overcharged truckers and their customers for intermodal container chassis at ports and inland terminals throughout the United States”.
Bill Sullivan, ATA’s executive vice president for advocacy, commented: “For more than a decade, these foreign-owned companies have worked together to take advantage of hard-working American trucking companies. By denying truckers choice of equipment providers at port and inland locations, these unscrupulous companies have been forcing American truckers and American consumers to subsidize their costs to the tune of nearly $1.8 billion – over the last three years alone.
“This must end, and after several attempts to come to a mutually beneficial resolution, we are now asking the FMC to resolve it,” Sullivan said.
IMCC filed its complaint with the FMC on 17 August, alleging that the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) and 11 ocean carriers “have denied trucking companies choice when leasing this essential equipment, forcing unjust and unreasonable prices upon trucking companies”. Hoping to avoid legal action, IMCC sent a Cease and Desist letter to OCEMA and to the ocean carriers in May, but said OCEMA “failed to address the violations that were raised”.
Randy Guillot, ATA chairman and president of Triple G Express and Southeastern Motor Freight, commented: “By denying motor carriers their choice of chassis provider to haul goods in and out of ports, OCEMA’s overseas members have held US motor carriers hostage and forced them to subsidise the shipping lines. So far OCEMA and its members have rejected all of our attempts to reach a fair and equitable arrangement, but we believe they’ll have less success ignoring the FMC.”
In its complaint , the IMCC outlined “a number of ongoing violations of the Shipping Act”, with the IMCC seeking injunctive relief against OCEMA and the shipping lines.
No one at OCEMA was available to comment at the time of writing.
Detention and demurrage challenge
Following longstanding complaints from cargo owners and their representatives, earlier this year, the FMC issued new guidance on how it will assess the reasonableness of detention and demurrage regulations and practices of ocean carriers and marine terminal operators.
Under the new rule, the Federal Maritime Commission said it would consider the extent to which detention and demurrage charges and policies “serve their primary purpose of incentivising the movement of cargo and promoting freight fluidity”.
It also provides guidance on how the FMC may apply that principle in the context of “cargo availability and empty container return”.
The commission said it may also consider other factors related to the “content and clarity” of carrier and MTO policies addressing detention and demurrage as well as the clarity of their “terminology”.
The final rule adds two provisions that were not included in the proposed rule published in September 2019: That the guidance in the rule is applicable in the context of government inspections; That the rule does not preclude the FMC from considering additional factors, arguments, and evidence outside those specifically listed.
The commission said this “final interpretive rule” was the result of a process initiated following the lobbying of a coalition of shipper groups in December 2016.
Shippers have long complained about what they see as the unfair imposition of demurrage fees when, for reasons beyond their control, they cannot collect or return container equipment during the free period. The rule will become effective upon its publication in the Federal Register.


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In the last few years, cannabis when from completely frowned upon to an industry that is worth billions of dollars. In fact, from 2014 to 2018, there were various companies that went public in the stock market exchange and they managed to attract billions of investments that allowed the industry to grow.
However, if you’re thinking about investing in a cannabis company, you’re probably feeling completely overwhelmed and confused, which is why you might be wondering – what are the top 5 cannabis companies to invest in the stock market? Luckily, this is exactly what we’ll discuss in the article below, so let’s take a look:
1. “Innovative Industrial Properties Inc.”
First on our list – and a favorite to a lot of people – is the “Innovative Industrial Properties Inc.”. In the last year, a lot of people opted for investing their money into buying shares from this company, and when you think about the fact that their combined value of funds went to $235 million from $185 million, it seems quite logical why a lot of individuals chose this company to invest in.
At the beginning of 2023, it has managed to double in value and the people behind the organization decided to only pay in dividends, mostly because they are a Real Estate Investment Trust. Now, they aren’t only a REIT, but they are the only REIT out there that legally works and operates in the cannabis industry.
It’s quite simple to understand how they work – basically, they’ll purchase properties through a sale-lease program, meaning that organizations that grow, process, and distribute cannabis can easily sell the to the REIT, and then, they simply enter a long-term agreement that they’ll use the property while the REIT owns it.
By doing this, businesses can obtain more liquidity, and in some situations, they can obtain extra capital for upgrading or improving the facilities. In the last few months, the company has continued purchasing properties, including six properties in Kings Garden and another 63 located in sixteen states.
2. “Gw Pharmaceutical PLC-ADR”
The first thing that you should know about this organization is that it’s based in the United Kingdom and there is a pretty good reason why it has been referred to as one of the best cannabis stock companies out there, even before the increased popularity and demand for cannabis-derived products.
This is due to the fact that this organization has been partnering with CBD and vaping companies such as VapeElevate and other organizations all in the hopes of creating a treatment product for multiple sclerosis. At the end of last year and as confirmed by Cara from Vape Elevate, the company has announced their launch of “Phase III” where they’ll test their product for treating MS-associated damages.
3. “Cronos Group Inc.”
The third most popular organization for investing in cannabis stocks is Cronos Group. In September 2023, the company disclosed its financial results, and a lot of individuals were surprised to learn that their revenue doubled over the last year, and it totaled $11.35 million, which was a better result than what people anticipated.
Now, you should know, the EPS of $0.19 was also better than all the expectations by $0.25. This has caused hundreds of investors to be pleased with their results, and it has also caused the stocks to go up by 36% over three days of the company disclosing their financial reports and earnings.
4. “Aurora Cannabis Inc.”
Although a lot of investors disclosed long and unchanged positions in September last year, it’s worth mentioning that the company’s aggregated holdings when from $42 million to $9 million. Although a lot of people chose to unload their positions, the fall in the total funds can be attributed to an over 60 percent drop in the stocks seen in July, as well as September.
To deal with their financial problems, the company has started reconstructing it bit by bit in the summer of 2023. They announced cuts in various departments and it also decided to start operating in their manufacturing facilities in Canada as it would allow them to scale down on the production.
Keep in mind, they’re also planning on increasing their manufacturing processes in their facility in Europe in order to supply the growing European need and demand, however, it might also close some of the facilities in order to reduce the number of staff and processes within the organization.
5. “Canopy Growth Corp.”
This is, perhaps, one of the biggest cannabis organizations on Earth, and since all of their processes are extremely diverse and don’t only cover recreational and medicinal marijuana flower categories. Instead, they also cover beverages infused with cannabis, CBD, hemp, edibles, as well as vapes.
Besides their diverse business segments, the organization has also started partnering with some really famous individuals including Seth Rogen and Snoop Dogg. Additionally, they have also worked with Martha Stewart and they launched her branded Cannabidiol gummy bears, as well as her CBD oil and gel in America. However, they have started extending to European markets as well.
Before we conclude this article, it’s worth mentioning that you must ensure that you research the company you’re thinking about investing in completely and thoroughly. After all, you’ll be investing a lot of your funds, which is why you’ll want to do the research, and more importantly, keep an eye on an organization’s stocks for some time before choosing to invest.
By doing so, you’ll ensure that the business has steady growth over a specific period of time, meaning that you’ll rest assured that you won’t invest more than you can actually afford to. Keep in mind, stocks are completely versatile and they’re unpredictable, hence, researching everything can lead to strong results.
As you can see from the list above, there are various companies that you could choose to purchase cannabis stock from. Of course, the ones from the list above are only five or hundreds of companies out there, hence, you might want to do a bit more digging on the entire cannabis stock exchange market.
So, now that you’re aware of what companies you can choose to invest your money into, you might not want to lose any more of your time. Instead, you should open up your browser and start researching all of the options that you have and that you could choose to invest in.

domain: news


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Women from throughout the business industry spoke about how listening to customers is valuable in any market.
What are three mottos you should swear by, according to three of the biggest biotechnological leaders in Israel?
Ofra Strauss, chairperson of the Strauss Group gives her four tips for succeeding in business and growing as a person.
SleepTech company Elvy.Ai wins the prize in Next-Generation Women's Entrepreneurship Competition
Three top female executives from the hi-tech industry gave a panel on how to promote women in the hi-tech industry, and why it’s so important.
Taite will be interviewed on July 26 at the Women's Entrepreneurship Summit.
Advice from Israel’s first female university president, Prof. Rivka Carmi
"Women need to believe in themselves,” Hod said.
An inaugural event: Learn from some of Israel’s top innovators and up-and-coming female entrepreneurs.


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Luxury Real Estate Blog and News
Deep Water Bay
Deep Water Bay, on the south side of Hong Kong, has long enjoyed a reputation of being the home to many of Hong Kong‘s top tycoons.
Panama is set to see rising demand from international real estate investors, a top conference has heard.
More than 80% of properties purchased in Marbella are bought by foreigners, according to a new market index.
Lisbon has seen a surge in residential investment and development activity in the last two years, according to new research.
One in five London properties listed for sale are now priced at £1m or more, with Westminster having the highest number in the seven-figure range.
Hong Kong Island
Store rents at shopping malls in Hong Kong may dip somewhat but the slide for high-end street level retail spaces has yet to bottom out.


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Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. warehouse-club chain, posted third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as margins improved for the first time in more than a year.
Net income in the quarter ended May 6 rose to $386 million, or 88 cents a share, from $324 million, or 73 cents, a year earlier, the Issaquah, Washington-based company said Thursday in a statement. Excluding some items, profit was 89 cents a share. Analysts projected 87 cents, the average of 24 estimates.
Chief Executive Officer Craig Jelinek has been luring customers with low prices on everything from baked goods to gasoline. The chain has also added more service areas, such as pharmacies and vision centers, to its locations to claim more of its members’ spending.
“We are particularly encouraged by the gross margin expansion,” Sean Naughton, an analyst for Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis, wrote in a note to clients. There are more opportunities for margins to increase, he said.
Costco rose 1.2 percent to $84.27 at 9:56 a.m. in New York. The shares were little changed this year through Wednesday.
The retailer’s in-store gross margin, or the percentage of store sales left after subtracting the cost of goods sold, widened to 10.55 percent from 10.51 percent a year earlier. That marked the first year-over-year gain in five quarters.
Same-store sales, a key metric for retailers because only established locations are counted, rose 5 percent, excluding changes in gas prices and currency rates. Net sales gained 8.2 percent to $21.8 billion, and revenue from membership fees advanced 9.2 percent to $475 million.
The increase in same-store sales was slower than the 7 percent gain in Costco’s previous two quarters. That decelerating growth and reduced traffic at its gas pumps raises concerns that sales won’t rebound this year, Daniel Binder, an analyst for Jefferies & Co. in New York, wrote in a note to clients.
© Copyright 2023 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.


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Supporting local while broadening horizons, new openings, cracking beers, and #bigdumbdelicioussoughtaftercheckedinthings, here's Guy Southern with a look back at the year in beer in WA in 2020.
Hepburn Springs Brewing Co's trophy triumph at the 2020 Indies was one of the highlights of the night. We got in touch with the tiny family-run operation to find out more about their inspiring win.
At the end of 2019, Bandolier Brewing opened the doors and gave the people of Warragul a brewery of their own. This year might not have turned out how they expected but those locals helped them survive two waves of COVID.
Some of the breweries that helped lay the foundations for SA's beer scene today took centre stage at the 2020 Royal Adelaide Beer & Cider Awards. Lobethal Bierhaus, Vale and Coopers were among the big winners.
Range had an impressive night at the Indies 2020, taking out four trophies including Champion Australian Independent Beer. Perennial award winners Dainton and Moffat Beach also added to their considerable collection of silverware.
Most major beer events have been cancelled in Australia this year. But, having had to cull most of theirs, the IBA was determined the Indies awards would survive. We found out how they reworked it for our COVID times.
Cheeky Monkey's Hazy IPA claimed top spot in the inaugural WA Good Food Guide Beer Of The Year awards. The 18-months-in-the-making beer headed a top three featuring their fellow South West brewers Eagle Bay and Beerfarm.
Feral are one of a few breweries you can say without any doubt changed beer in Australia forever. As they turn eighteen, and with co-founder Brendan Varis no longer involved, we chatted to the new team about the future.
Little Bang claimed the inaugural GABS Can Design Awards title for their Face Inverter beer, designed by Matt O'Connor. Moon Dog and Fixation completed the podium with our designer Jessie Jungalwalla landing two in the top ten.
Blasta cleaned up at the 2020 Perth Royal Beer Awards, claiming four trophies including Champion Small Brewery and Champion Beer. It was a great night for home state brewers, with WA taking out almost every title.


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Not lonely at the top; also see Apple Is Worth $1,000,000,000,000. Two Decades Ago, It Was Almost Bankrupt. (NYT)
"Apple’s new 13-figure valuation highlights how a group of enormous companies has come to dominate the United States economy. Today, a smaller cluster of American companies commands a larger share of total corporate profits than since at least the 1970s.Apple’s $1 Trillion Milestone Reflects Rise of Powerful Megacompanies -- NYT
The impact of this phenomenon has been clear in the stock markets, where a band of household-name companies — led by Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google — has fueled the nine-year bull market, the second-longest behind the rally that ended in 2000. Their successes also are propelling the broader economy, which is on track for its fastest growth rate in a decade.
But the effects of the consolidation of corporate profits extend far beyond the stock markets — and they are not entirely benign."


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HD Radio: SATRAD
"FCC Inquiry on Mandate for HD Radio on Sirius"
"That last issue, the FCC statutory authority to adopt rules in this area, is a general question considered in several other recent FCC proceedings... Rules requiring that equipment manufacturers take certain actions have run into problems in the Court of Appeals in the recent past as the FCC has only limited jurisdiction over such manufacturers..."
"Statement of Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate"
"However, many commenters, particularly those in the automobile industry oppose a government mandate requiring inclusion of HD chips in all radios, and the resulting increase in cost... Without exception, the auto manufacturers I spoke with urged the Commission to forbear from imposing an HD chip requirement. Their estimate of the cost per car was, on average, two, three, or four times the cost suggested by iBiquity... Thus, I believe the proper path for the Commission to take is to review the issue, along with the price cap, in three years."
"DOJ Approves Sirius/XM Merger"
"The statement also dismisses claims by HD Radio that a merged Sirius and XM would exclude competing technology from car stereos and other equipment."
"Ford Slams HD Radio Inclusion Proposal"
"In an interesting move, Ford Motor Company has come out against a proposed rule that would require all satellite receivers to include HD radio capabilities. The position Ford is taking is interesting because Ford was one of the first major auto makers to announce a deal with HD Radio for installations of HD technology their cars."
"Association of International Automobile Manufacturers"
"AIAM opposes a mandate that HD radio features be integrated into satellite radio receivers or vice versa. Such a requirement would, among other things, impose significant new engineering burdens on vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as significant unnecessary costs on consumers and the industry... A minimum of three to four years lead-time would be required to complete all of the necessary design, testing, and approval processes, assuming that no unexpected complications were to arise that could further lengthen the estimated period."
"Ex Parte Notice of General Motors and Toyota"
"We are writing jointly on behalf of our two companies, General Motors Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. to express the opposition of our companies to suggestions that the Federal Communications Commission should require the incorporation of HD radio technology in any satellite radio receiver as a condition of approval of the proposed merger of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio."
"Pioneer says HD Radio succcess should be decided by open market"
"IBiquity, the company behind HD Radio, is making enemies all over the place, the latest of which is Pioneer. The Japan-based corp, which makes the popular Inno, recently told the FCC [PDF] that iBiquity's scheme to force satellite radio manufacturers to include HD Radio playback is absurd. The iBiquity conditions would limit the breadth of radio product offerings to consumers, limit which radio component suppliers’ products be designed into radios, have the effect of decreasing AM/FM tuning performance, unnecessarily increase costs to consumers uninterested in HD Radio and interfere with the useful and healthy free market mechanisms extant in radio electronics purchases."
“You don’t want HD Radio’s Bilk-o in your foxhole”
“How would you like it if one you believed to be a business partner did an about face and supported the very thing your industry is fighting against? Memo to terrestrial radio: iBiquity and the HD Radio Alliance just double-crossed you... The dynamic duo closed their dismal year by firing off a letter to the FCC on December 20 urging that if the merger between XM and Sirius satellite radio companies is approved – HD Radios must be included in all satellite receivers.”


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BELLPORT, N.Y. (AP) -- Perfumania Holdings Inc., which sells perfumes and fragrances, said Thursday that revenue in stores open at least a year rose 7.8 percent in January.
The measurement is considered an important gauge of performance for retailers because it excludes results from stores that opened or closed within the last year.
Perfumania said that this measure rose 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter and rose 0.6 percent in the fiscal year 2013.
Total sales in January jumped 30 percent to $18.2 million from $14 million in the same month a year ago. Sales rose 7 percent to $109.6 in the fourth quarter and 2.7 percent to $290.3 million for the full year.
Perfumania Holdings shares rose 12 cents, or 2 percent, to $6.28.


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One-third of Americans eat less meat now than they did three years ago, according to the Truven Health Analytics-NPR Health Poll.
Truven Health Analytics and NPR conduct a bimonthly poll to gauge attitudes and opinions on a wide range of health issues.
The latest survey asked respondents for their opinions and habits on meat consumption. For comparison, these questions were identical to those asked in a similar poll in 2012. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they eat less meat than they did three years ago. Thirty percent say they have changed their eating habits specifically because of recent news about a link between processed meats and cancer.
Overall, 60 percent cite health as their primary reason for altering their diet, down from 66 percent in 2012. The cost of meat (52 percent) was the next most common reason, which reflected a rise from 47 percent three years ago. Twenty-nine percent said they have environmental concerns, a rate that stayed flat, and 25 percent are worried about animal welfare, which dropped from 30 percent in 2012.
A majority of respondents (51 percent) still indicated they eat meat between one and four times per week, but that figure is down from 56 percent. Slightly more Americans said they eat meat five or more times per week: 38 percent compared with 31 percent in 2012. The four percent of respondents who said they do not eat meat reflected roughly the same amount as three years ago.
When respondents were asked if they would like to decrease their meat consumption in the future, 33 percent said yes. That reflects a slight rise from 2012 (30 percent). Respondents ages 65 and up (82 percent), and respondents who were members of the Silent Generation (86 percent) most frequently answered that they did not want to cut their meat consumption.
“It is clear from these data that a new generation of Americans is rethinking diet in light of concerns about health and the rising cost of meat. But for respondents in the over 65 age range and in the Silent Generation, it seems old habits die hard,” said Michael Taylor, M.D., chief medical officer at Truven Health Analytics. “It will be interesting to see how Americans replace meat in their dietary habits, and if they will lean more heavily on plant-based nutrition.”
To date, the Truven Health Analytics-NPR Health Poll has explored numerous health topics, including generic drugs, vaccines, data privacy, narcotic painkillers and sports-related concussions. NPR's reports on the surveys are archived online at the Shots health blog here. Truven Health maintains a library of poll results here.


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By Matt Artz
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 1:28 pm in Uncategorized.
Western Digital, which has an office in Fremont across the street from Wal-Mart on Osgood is laying off 2,500 employees. Western Digital’s spokesman wouldn’t say the Fremont office is affected, but that’s a lot of layoffs.
Perhaps the pink-slipped in Warm Springs might want to drown their sorrows in some “Technicolor” martinis at the brand new Fuzios on Stevenson Boulevard, just a stone’s throw away from Argus headquarters. The chain started in Castro, and promisies “all kinds of experiences.” Sounds like a perfect complement to Fremont’s two Applebee’s, and, of course, Joey Basils.


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Scotch Whisky Exports
We supply Highland Club® in 70 cl bottles. These are usually packed in cases of 6 and maximum loaded 1500- 1600 cases per 20′ FCL without pallets. Specifically, Further information on our Scotch Whisky Exporters/Importers is available on request .
The US is once again the largest export market for Scotch whisky Scotch Whisky Exporters/Importers and 2012 saw bumper growth with exports breaking through the £700m barrier for the first time. However; The value of Scotch exports to the US increased by 16%, jumping from £654.9m in 2011 to $758m in 2012. Furthermore, the SWA expects this to carry on improving, in a statement the group said: “Demand from the USA is expected to increase as consumer confidence grows and many people trade up to premium brands.”
At the present time this desire for premium whisky is reflected in the fact that despite a big jump in the value of the US export market, volumes sent to the country actually dropped in 2012. In 2011, 130m bottles were sent across the pond, this dropped by 2% in 2012 to 127.5m.
Significantly, SWA chief executive Gavin Hewitt said: “Demand for Scotch whisky from mature and emerging markets around the world grew strongly in the first half of this year after a slow start in 2012. “While these figures provide a snapshot of what is happening with exports, the industry is confident this expansion will continue.
“Significant new investment in the Scotch Whisky Exporters/Importers industry in Scotland by Scotch Whisky producers reflects the belief that growth will be sustainable.”
Top ten Scotch whisky export markets by value


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Almost every year, Apple shows off its new iPhones at a big event in September. This year, there are likely to be new Apple Watch models, and it looks like the Apple Watch Ultra will have a beautiful new look.
We expect to hear about the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max this fall unless the world turns upside down. The only question is when. I’ve said here when I think the new phones will be announced and when they’ll be available to buy.
But a new study says that this might change in a small way. Filipe Espósito at 9to5Mac says that the publication has heard from “multiple sources” that mobile carriers have been telling their workers not to take the day off on September 13 “due to a major smartphone announcement.” Even though Apple isn’t mentioned by name, it’s easy to figure out: a competitor would be crazy to try to launch a phone at a time of year when everyone will be talking about Apple. Aside from that, no other brand’s new models are expected at this time of year.
As you’ll see in my other post, I’ve been saying that the reveal would happen either on September 6 or September 12. I hoped it would be the first one, but I knew that things were still changing and no choice had been made. So, this is a different date.
Maybe the phone companies think that the day after the announcement will be busier than the day of the news.
How about this instead? Apple usually lets people pre-order its goods the Friday after it shows them off. But since the announcement is happening in the second of the most likely weeks, Apple might break with customs and start taking pre-orders on September 13 instead. If the shippers know this, they can expect to be very busy on that day.
Of course, I know it’s possible that I was just wrong, and Tim Cook will take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater on September 13 at 10 a.m. Pacific to welcome people to the address.
I think the story from 9to5Mac is enough to confirm at least the week of the announcement. In either case, I think the iPhone 15 will be in the shops on September 22. There are rumours that one or more of the four phones will be delayed like the iPhone 14 Plus was last year, but at least some of them will be on sale then. More news as it comes out.
You Can Read More: How to Turn off SOS on iPhone


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“Apple Music and Sonos have partnered to create a new ad that was shown during [last night]’s Grammy Music Awards,” Husain Sumra reports for MacRumors.
“The commercial comes days after Apple Music officially launched on Sonos, allowing Sonos customers to stream Apple Music content and direct access to Apple Music features like For You, Radio and My Music,” Sumra reports. “The ad features musical artists Killer Mike, Matt Berninger and Annie Clark using Apple Music on Sonos speakers to ‘defeat silence’ in their homes.”
“Sonos conducted a study a study on the positive effects of music listening in the home,” Sumra reports. “The study, which used an Apple Music subscription paired with a Sonos speaker, found that families who regularly listened to music in their home spent 67 percent more time together, ate meals together more often and other positive effects.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Read the full Music Makes it Home Study from Sonos at http://www.musicmakesithome.com.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]


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Whether in print or online, news media continues to set the daily agenda.
Around the world, a Reuters Institute study found online services are the first source of daily news with many seeking out the news of the day before they even get out of bed.
While business models and news habits change, the large audiences who trust news brands when looking for in-depth content and analysis remain. Australia’s major news brands are also where people turn for breaking news and in times of crisis.
Smart marketers know that this engagement primes audiences to receive advertising messages.
There are no results to display. Please try a different keyword or reset the filters to see everything.
Journalism: the unique strength of news brands
Journalism is what draws readers to Australia’s trusted news brands and sets them apart from other forms of media. With the power to effect major change, journalism drives emotional responses creating connections with Australians.


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Men are less likely to talk than women with 54% of women having had a conversation compared to 37% of men.
Opening Date Set For John Lewis Chelmsford
The department store will open its doors to customers in September.
The 90,000 sq ft store, the first John Lewis in Essex, will join others in the wider Bond Street development opening for the first time at 9.30am on Thursday 29th September.
Other retailers opening include White Company, Foyles, Joules and Jack Wills. Located at the heart of the city centre, the development will feature a range of riverside restaurants and an Everyman cinema.
Laura Rawstron, branch manager, John Lewis Chelmsford said: "I’m thrilled to be able to confirm that John Lewis Chelmsford will open on Thursday 29th September.
"The business has had ambition to open a shop in Essex for some time now, and the Bond Street development couldn’t be a better proposition for us."
Theresa May has now signed a letter to trigger Article 50, the start of the official process to leave the EU.
Three people have been arrested after anti-deportation protesters locked themselves to a plane at Stansted Airport.
A police officer has been dismissed from Essex Police for gross misconduct after admitting criminal offences.
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Find out more about some of the companies advertising on Heart.
Get some great ideas on how to advertise your business on radio, online and on mobile.


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Apple is indeed preparing to lower the cost of screen repair options for its latest iPhone, the iPhone 5.
According to information shared with MacRumors by a tipster with inside knowledge of Apple’s plans, Apple has already began replacing the screens of its iPhone 5 device at its retail locations across the world. A screenshot of the memo sent out to Apple Store managers also confirms the new service, supposedly.
The new program should result in $1 billion in savings for Apple, and as Apple will only be charging iPhone 5 users who don’t have Apple care $149.99 to repair their screen, it’ll also drive down the cost of other display repair outlets who’s prices had been slightly higher than what Apple is now charging.
With AppleCare+ users will only be charged $49 every time they need to replace the screen on their iPhone 5, however that’s after a $99 subscription fee to the service. Previously, Apple charged users without AppleCare a $229 to replace the screen in their device.
MacRumors also believes that Apple will make other sweeping changes to its lineup of in-store hardware services in the coming months. Allegedly, the company will introduce in-store repairs for iPhone cameras, power buttons, and logic boards sometime in July. The company may also introduce new payment and subscription models based on the devices a user owns instead of tailoring the price of AppleCare to the device the user wishes to purchase the warranty service on as it does today.
Lower priced screen replacement will come as good news to many iPhone 5 users. A report by MarketWatch recently examined the prices of the components and repair services that users rely on to fix their iPhone after an unfortunate fall. That report asserted that Apple had been manipulating the prices of components used in repairs in order to keep third-party repair services pricing relatively high.
While most services have already lowered their price to better compete with Apple’s revamped screen replacement services, there’s no clear indication on how this new pricing will effect do-it-yourself companies who only provide installation instructions and new components to customers.
For example iFixit still shows a cost of $199.95 for a new iPhone 5 Display assembly, $50 more than what Apple will charge non-AppleCare users to replace the screen for them.


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In the survey of UK holidaymakers, some 36% of respondents said they were likely to book with Thomas Cook, compared to 43% in last year’s study.
For TUI, 35% of survey respondents said they would book a holiday through the company, down from 38% last year.
“This is the first drop for both companies in four years, and is likely due to newer entrants (On the Beach PLC (LON:OTB), Jet2), and slower capacity growth than the competition,” Morgan Stanley said.
“Including subsidiary brands, TUI and First Choice combined have lost more market share (54% vs. 63% last year) than Thomas Cook and Airtours (45% vs.50% last year).”
Morgan Stanley reinstates target price for Thomas Cook
Morgan Stanley reinstated a target price of 60p on Thomas Cook, representing a 64% upside, saying the company seems to have navigated its way past its cash low point and extended covenants with its banks. The investment bank has an ‘equal weight’ rating on the stock.
Thomas Cook fell out of the FTSE 250 in December after a sharp fall in the market value of the firm amid worries about its debt mountain. Last year, net debt ballooned to £389mln from £40mln a year ago but the company insisted its covenants were compliant and it had headroom for future covenant tests.
Free cash outflow was £148mln last year, compared to a free cash inflow of £146mln in 2017.
Thomas Cook also posted a 23% drop in full-year profits and suspended its dividend after a prolonged summer heatwave and subdued consumer spending meant people were less inclined to book overseas holidays.
“The company is de-risking through capacity cuts and cost savings, but reductions in third-party commissions and marketing are affecting revenue,” Morgan Stanley said.
“The 2019 price/earnings of 4.3x is low, but free cash flow is weak due to exceptional costs, there is low visibility on its covenants and liquidity, and working capital is a risk.
“We stay on the sidelines, noting the very wide risk-reward skew (bull +255%, bear -73%).”
Thomas Cook reports its first-quarter results on February 7 and Morgan Stanley predicts a wider loss of £52mln from last year, due to a slow start to winter trading.
TUI cheap but first quarter 'will be poor'
On TUI, Morgan Stanley maintained an ‘equal weight’ rating but lowered its target price to 1,500p from 1,600p.
The bank said TUI’s shares have derated over the past year due to tour operating and UK concerns.
“TUI looks cheap, but Q1 will be poor, so we stay neutral,” Morgan Stanley said. The bank estimates TUI will report a first quarter loss of €47mln, compared to €25mln a year ago. TUI publishes the results on February 12.
TUI last month reported a 4.1% rise in 2018 earnings (EBITA) and maintained its guidance for the next three years.
For the 2019 financial year, it estimates underlying EBITA will rise by at least 10%.
“We think TUI can deliver 10% EBITA growth again in FY19 given easy tour operating comparables (and despite some one-off gains), and we note the comeback of Turkey in our survey is positive for tour operating margins and its "Other" Hotels line (loss-making in FY18),” Morgan Stanley said.
TUI has said it is concerned about losing flying rights if the UK exits the European Union without a deal.
Brexit concerns overdone, survey shows
But Morgan Stanley’s survey showed people still expect to travel abroad using package holidays this year.
Of the 73% who plan to travel abroad in the next year, 61% of respondents expect to take a package holiday, up from 59% last year. The survey also showed that 54% of these people are likely to book earlier than last year, up from 53% last year. For the rest of the survey participants who plan to stay at home, just 2% mention Brexit as the main reason for not going abroad.


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Business facilitation for MSMEs: A survey of 308 women in the MSME sector by economic policy think tank ICRIER and development bank NABARD has revealed that 88.4 percent of MSME owners reported negative impacts of the pandemic on their business, while only 5.8 percent of them requested help from the government received during the pandemic. The survey report, Digital Financial Inclusion of Women in MSMEs: G20 and India, released Friday, examined the achievements and gaps in digital financial inclusion of women and MSMEs in India.
“MSME owners want government support in the form of simplified procedures for women entrepreneurs to obtain loans, less paperwork, faster approvals, more time for repayment and programs to modernize infrastructure. Although the government has introduced several programs to promote women entrepreneurs’ access to finance, there is a lack of awareness among women in the MSME sector,” the report said.
Additionally, more information about the programs was not available online, resulting in fewer women benefiting from the programs, while the lack of use of digital tools and digital financial literacy also led to information asymmetries, she noted. The most common problem faced by MSME owners surveyed, according to the report, was access to finance, with 60.5 percent of MSME owners finding access to credit difficult. Around 47.7 percent of owners felt it was even more difficult to get a loan when the owner was a woman, showing a hidden perception of gender bias.
Subscribe now to Financial Express’ SME newsletter: your weekly dose of news, opinion and updates from the world of micro, small and medium-sized businesses
“While India has performed incredibly well compared to its past performance, it still has a long way to go to create an all-encompassing digital financial system. Improved access to and use of digital financial services by women will not only enable affordable remittances, but also increase women’s bargaining power in the case of social security transfers, strengthen women’s resilience to financial, economic and health shocks, and eliminate discrimination/cultural prejudice against women as a Borrowers reduce potential,” said Deepak, Mishra, Director and CE, ICRIER.
But the number of women beneficiaries in major government programs had increased significantly since the pre-Covid era, according to government data. According to data shared by Minister of State for MSMEs Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in Lok Sabha in July this year, the total number of beneficiary women under the Prime Minister’s Job Creation Program (PMEGP) Job Creation Program was in FY22 at 39,154, a 43 percent increase from 27,285 in FY21 and 58 percent from 24,720 in FY20.
Also under the Government Procurement Policy, which requires a minimum of 3 percent annual procurement by government agencies and public companies from women-led entities, the number of beneficiaries increased by 180 percent from 3,666 in FY20 to 10,287 in FY22 and 105 percent from 5,013 beneficiaries in FY21. Additionally, the Entrepreneurship Skill Development Program (ESDP) also saw an increase in supported female entrepreneurs from 13,640 in FY21 to 24,734 in FY22, according to data.
The 308 respondents to the survey included 86 MSME owners and 222 employees across eight sectors, namely food processing, garments and textiles, crafts, electronics and engineering, leather, retail, IT/ITeS, and tourism and hospitality.
Also Read: PM Narendra Modi: Break All Records This Festive Season to Shop for Khadi, Handloom and Craft Products


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© Reuters. A dealer works on the buying and selling flooring on the New York Inventory Alternate (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York Metropolis, U.S., Could 18, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
By Devik Jain and Noel Randewich
(Reuters) – Wall Road ended decrease after a unstable session on Thursday, with Cisco Programs (NASDAQ:) slumping after giving a dismal outlook, whereas buyers fretted about inflation and rising rates of interest.
Shares of Cisco slumped 13.7% after the networking gear maker lowered its 2022 income progress outlook, taking a success from its Russia exit and part shortages associated to COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
Apple (NASDAQ:) and chipmaker Broadcom (NASDAQ:) declined 2.5% and 4.3%, respectively, and weighed on the .
“The truth is that inflation is working scorching and rates of interest are rising,” stated Terry Sandven, chief fairness strategist at U.S. Financial institution Wealth Administration in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “Till you get that inflation fee to start out slowing, we’ll have elevated volatility, and in our view that continues by means of all through many of the summer season months.”
Twitter (NYSE:) climbed 1.2% after Bloomberg reported that firm executives instructed employees that Elon Musk’s $44-billion deal was continuing as anticipated and they might not renegotiate the value.
The S&P shopper staples index fell 2% to its lowest degree since December as retail companies face the brunt of rising costs hurting the buying energy of U.S. shoppers.
Kohl’s Corp (NYSE:) turned the most recent retailer to flag a success from four-decades excessive inflation because the division retailer chain minimize its full-year revenue forecast.
Its shares, nevertheless, rebounded over 4% after slumping 11% within the earlier session as a result of dismal outcomes from Goal Corp. (NYSE:)
The S&P 500 is down about 18% from its document shut on Jan. 3 as buyers alter to sturdy inflation, geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the warfare in Ukraine and tightening monetary circumstances with the U.S. Federal Reserve elevating charges.
An in depth of 20% or extra under its January document excessive would affirm the S&P 500 has been in a bear market since hitting that peak, in keeping with a broadly used definition.
GRAPHIC: S&P 500 bear markets (https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/egpbkwmlgvq/Pastedpercent20imagepercent201652990180837.png)
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) strategists predicted a 35% likelihood of the U.S. economic system getting into a recession within the subsequent two years, whereas the Wells Fargo (NYSE:) Funding Institute expects a light U.S. recession on the finish of 2022 and early 2023.
The S&P 500 declined 0.58% to finish the session at 3,900.79 factors.
The Nasdaq declined 0.26% to 11,388.50 factors, whereas the declined 0.75% to 31,253.13 factors.
GRAPHIC: S&P 500’s busiest trades (https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/akvezranxpr/SPX_by_busiest_trades.png)
Thursday’s combined efficiency adopted a drop of over 4% within the S&P 500 on Wednesday, the benchmark’s worst one-day loss since June 2020.
The CBOE volatility index, often known as Wall Road’s concern gauge, fell to 29.5 factors on Thursday, after hitting its highest degree since Could 12 earlier within the session.
Canada Goose Holdings (NYSE:) Inc jumped virtually 10% after it forecast upbeat annual earnings, inspired by sturdy demand for its luxurious parkas and jackets.
Quantity on U.S. exchanges was 12.7 billion shares, in contrast with a 13.4 billion common during the last 20 buying and selling days.
Advancing points outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.15-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.31-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 1 new 52-week highs and 43 new lows; the recorded 12 new highs and 326 new lows.


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Arm and Nvidia partner to bring deep learning to IoT
March 28, 2018
Chip companies Nvidia and Arm announced at this week’s GPU Technology Conference in California that they are partnering to bring deep learning inferencing to the billions of mobile, consumer electronics and IoT devices that will enter the global marketplace.
Under this partnership, Nvidia and Arm will integrate the open-source Nvidia NVDLA deep learning accelerator into Arm’s Project Trillium platform for machine learning. The collaboration should make it easier for IoT chip companies to integrate AI into their designs and help put intelligent, affordable products into the hands of billions of consumers worldwide.
“Inferencing will become a core capability of every IoT device in the future,” said Deepu Talla, vice president and general manager of autonomous machines at Nvidia. “Our partnership with Arm will help drive this wave of adoption by making it easy for hundreds of chip companies to incorporate deep learning technology.”
Based on Nvidia’s Xavier autonomous machine system on a chip, NVDLA is a free, open architecture to promote a standard way to design deep learning inference accelerators. NVDLA’s modular architecture is scalable, configurable and designed to simplify integration and portability.
“Accelerating AI at the edge is critical in enabling Arm’s vision of connecting a trillion IoT devices,” said Rene Haas, executive vice president at Arm. “Today we are one step closer to that vision by incorporating NVDLA into the Arm Project Trillium platform, as our entire ecosystem will immediately benefit from the expertise and capabilities our two companies bring in AI and IoT.”
NVDLA brings a host of benefits that speed the adoption of deep learning inference. It is supported by Nvidia’s suite of developer tools, including upcoming versions of Tensor RT, a programmable deep learning accelerator. The open-source design allows for features to be added regularly, including contributions from the research community.
The integration of NVDLA with Project Trillium will give deep learning developers high levels of performance as they leverage Arm’s flexibility and scalability across the wide range of IoT devices.
“This is a win-win for IoT, mobile and embedded chip companies looking to design accelerated AI inferencing,” said Karl Freund, lead analyst for deep learning at Moor Insights & Strategy. “Nvidia is the clear leader in ML training and Arm is the leader in IoT end points, so it makes a lot of sense for them to partner on IP.”


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Sony has updated their overall hardware sales for their entire history, and in it we got an update on the PS4’s total hardware sales. It was revealed that the PS4 has now sold 81.2 million units as of July 22nd, 2018, which results in total sales of all PlayStation consoles now sitting at 525.3 Million.
To celebrate the occasion, Sony has announced that they will be releasing a limited edition PS4 Pro 500 Million. SIE President and CEO, John Kodera, said the following:
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the continued support from our fans and business partners, who have all contributed to PlayStation’s rich history. Without our passionate community, we would not have been able to surpass this remarkable milestone of 500 million units. PlayStation®4 Pro 500 Million Limited Edition has been created to represent our appreciation to our loyal fans. We will continue to make PlayStation the best place to play for all, as does our continued commitment to expanding our library of great games and variety of network services.”
This limited edition console will release on August 24th, with the price being set at $499. The PS4 Pro console, wireless controller, PlayStation Camera, Vertical Stand and Mono headset all feature a unique design.


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Fans of parody shmups like Parodius
, take note: the impossible has happened, and Konami has announced a new shmup for North America. Otomedius Excellent, an Xbox 360 exclusive due this winter, is the first localized iteration of Konami's weird shooter franchise
featuring anime girls in the form of classic Konami ships. Like a girld dressed up as Gradius's Vic Viper
. There's even a Belmont
for some reason.


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Wal-Mart and Amazon.com Inc. are battling it out in a price war over the online sales of their books.
U.S. (WiredPRNews.com) – A discount battle between a retail giant and a leading online book seller has turned into an all out price war. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. recently lowered their prices on the online sales of upcoming book releases in an aggressive campaign to top one another in the marketplace. Many speculate that Wal-Mart may be positioning itself to have the same influence in the online market as it does as a retailer. Both companies reportedly lowered their prices for anticipated releases to $9 since Thursday.
Albert Greco, a marketing professor at Fordham University in New York City, is quoted by the AP as stating, “While it’s the largest retailer in the United States, it’s not the dominant online retailer in the United States… And this appears to be an attempt to increase its position in the online space.”
WiredPRNews.com – The latest in Business News
Photo Credit: Wikipedia User CillanXC


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WELLINGTON, New Zealand--China-based investment manager Citic Capital has made an offer for New Zealand's Trilogy International Limited, which owns natural products and fragrance brands.
Continue Reading Below
In a regulatory filing, Trilogy said that Citic would buy all the outstanding shares in Trilogy for NZ$2.90 (US$2.03) each, a 28% premium to their closing price on Thursday. The deal would value Trilogy at around NZ$250 million (US$175 million).
"CITIC Capital is viewed as a good owner of TIL as it moves into its next phase of growth. In particular, CITIC Capital's strong relationships in the Asian and US markets provide an opportunity to unlock the potential of these brands, and achieve faster growth globally," Trilogy Chairman Grant Baker said in a regulatory filing.
In March, it was reported that Citic Capital Partners, the buyout arm of Chinese alternative investment manager Citic Capital, was nearing a $2 billion close on its third China-focused buyout fund. The amount of capital raised by private-equity firms specifically for investments in China hit the highest level in at least 10 years in 2016, according to data provider Preqin Ltd.
Appetite for China-focused private-equity funds has soared as investors look to profit from the expansion in China's middle class and the associated rise in consumer spending.
Among Citic's previous investments was the acquisition, alongside Carlyle Group, of a controlling stake in McDonald's operations in China and Hong Kong in January this year.
Continue Reading Below
Citic's offer for Trilogy is subject to shareholder and court approval in New Zealand, as well as approval by the country's Overseas Investment Office. A shareholder meeting is scheduled for March next year. New Zealand-based venture capital firm The Business Bakery, which owns 31.2% of Trilogy's shares, has said it is in favor of the deal.
Citic Capital Holdings Limited has US$22 billion of assets under management and was founded in 2002. The firm has over 130 companies in its portfolios.
Hanxi Zhao, a senior managing director of Citic Capital, said the fund was making the investment to boost trilogy's global growth, as it "owns very strong brands in its respective beauty and lifestyle sectors, including Trilogy, Goodness, Lanocreme and ECOYA.
"Its flagship brand, Trilogy, is a leading premium brand in the natural skincare space and has been highly recognised by skincare experts, celebrities and consumers all over the world," she said, adding that if the offer is successful, Trilogy's head office would remain in Auckland.
Write to Ben Collins at email@example.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2017 17:48 ET (22:48 GMT)


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Starbucks tea shop to open in U-Village
The new Tazo tea store will sell hot and iced tea drinks and tea lattes, and it will feature a blending station where customers can create their own versions of Tazo's existing teas.
Seattle Times business reporter
Three months after debuting its first noncoffee store — a fresh-juice shop in Bellevue Square — Starbucks plans to open a store centered on tea in University Village. It is expected to open in the fall, replacing Lululemon, which is moving to a larger space in the shopping center.
Starbucks officials see the juice and tea stores as destinations where customers can experience its Evolution Fresh and Tazo brands in 3-D, but they decline to say how many other juice and tea stores they may open.
Both brands also are sold as packaged goods in Starbucks stores — including two at University Village — and in grocery stores.
"We want to raise customer expectations for tea the same way Starbucks did for coffee," said Charlie Cain, a vice president with Tazo.
The new Tazo tea store will sell hot and iced tea drinks and tea lattes, and it will feature a blending station where customers can create their own versions of Tazo's existing teas
For example, a customer could replace the black-tea base in Tazo's chai with a white tea or rooibos base — or develop something unique.
Customer-blended teas will be sold by the ounce. Prices have not been set.
Although Tazo already books $1.4 billion in annual sales, Starbucks sees more potential, said Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks' senior vice president of channel-brand management.
"What we learned in our years building the third-place experience [with Starbucks] is that having a direct, personalized connection to consumers is powerful and creates a halo that benefits the brand when the consumer sees it on the [grocery] aisle," he said.
Bruzzo, who previously launched Starbucks' successful digital and social-media strategy, now focuses on the marketing of various Starbucks products, including what the company considers its three emerging brands: Tazo, Evolution Fresh, and Seattle's Best Coffee.
Seattle's Best is a chain of about 80 shops that also sells coffee in 50,000 outlets, including Subway and Burger King stores.
Starbucks bought Tazo, a Portland tea company, in 1999 for $8.1 million.
Steve Smith, who co-founded Tazo and Stash Tea, became known at Tazo for creating blends called Awake and Calm, which cost about twice as much a other teas.
Tazo's operations are now being moved to Starbucks' roasting and packaging plant in Kent.
The tea store is a good for University Village's mix, said Susie Plummer, general manager of the shopping center.
"I've been looking for a great tea store for about 10 years," she said. "Even on personal vacations to Vancouver [B.C.], there are some great owner-operated mom-and-pops up there, so to me this is perfect."
Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or firstname.lastname@example.org. On Twitter @AllisonSeattle.


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The Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT) has clarified that John Taolo Gaetsewe and Frances Baard are not being excluded from applying for the Economic Growth and Development Fund (EGDF) for 2018/2019.
In a statement released last week the department stated that the two districts were included in an earlier advertising that called for applications for the 2018/19 financial year. According to the statement the department is alarmed by the number of applications received from the other districts in the province, i.e. Namakwa, Pixkley ka Seme and ZF Mgcawu through an earlier round of funding advertisements.
The advertisement has sparked strong reaction from a Kimberley based company, Ecstasy Communications. The company’s marketing manager, Caution Lesaone, has threatened to march with other Francis Baard businesses to demand for MEC Mack Jack and the acting Head of Department, Sam Mabilo’s removal. The decision by the department to rerun the advertisement was to intentionally target the other three districts to encourage businesses to apply. According to the department’s acting Head of Department they are “working hard to ensure that there is public awareness of the fund.” They want to ensure that funding support is spread equitably across the province.
According to the statement the Department received a total of 440 applications in the 2107/2018 financial year and funded a total of 105 enterprises that were supposed to create h 520. It was further stated that 32% women, 26% youth and 4% disabled entrepreneurs were funded of which 55 enterprises were from Frances Baard, 19 from JT Gaetsewe, 11 from ZF Mgcawu and 10 from Namakwa and Pixley ka Seme districts respectively.


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ProFood Tech brings together 9,500 food & beverage professionals
The first-ever ProFood Tech, showcasing cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions within the food and beverage industry, welcomed more than 6,500 attendees with buying power and 3,000 exhibitors in Chicago. Powered by three trade show producers – PACK EXPO, Amiga and the International Dairy Foods Association – the biennial show brought the industry together and addressed key issues facing food and beverage processing operators in North America. The three-day event featured 447 of processing suppliers, 144,000 net square feet of exhibit floor space and 45 hours of educational programming.
Axine signs wastewater services agreement
Axine Water Technologies signed a wastewater services agreement with a supplier of computer storage technologies and solutions. Under the multi-year agreement, Axine will install, monitor and service a wastewater system at the customer’s manufacturing facility in California. The Axine system will electrochemically treat toxic wastewater contaminated with organic solvents generated during the manufacturing process. Currently, the wastewater is transported off-site for incineration.
Hydraulic Institute creates new rating label for consumers
Because power pumps use more than a quarter of the electricity in the U.S., the Hydraulic Institute (HI) developed the HI Energy Rating (ER) Label program to help manufacturers differentiate their higher efficiency products and provide ways for commercial and industrial customers to save energy. The rating label identifies energy-efficient pumps and provides a tool for the developers of energy efficiency programs, electric utilities, distributors and customers to identify energy-saving products. The pumps with the higher ER rating will provide higher energy savings.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Pall Water announces new alignment with Danaher Corporation
Pall Water, a division of Pall Corporation, announced its new alignment within the family of operating companies owned by Danaher Corporation, a global science and technology innovator. Pall Water, while remaining a division of Pall Corporation, will operate in affiliation with the operating companies of Danaher’s water quality platform, which includes Hach, Trojan Technologies and ChemTreat.
University of California, Davis, and Pentair support World Water Day commitment
On World Water Day 2017, Pentair announced its collaboration with the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis (UC-Davis), to advance water stewardship in food and beverage processing. The effort is the first deliverable of the commitment Pentair made at the White House Water Summit, held last year on World Water Day 2016. Pentair’s collaboration with UC-Davis will establish a learning laboratory to identify new technologies and applications in dairy and beer processing.
IDEC acquires APEM
IDEC Corporation acquired APEM, a move that improves its capacity as a manufacturer of human machine interface (HMI) components, panels and systems. Together, the companies have more than $500 million in total sales, a portfolio of industrial automation and HMI products, and access to markets in Europe, North America and Asia.
The McLean Group advises Seaport Environmental on sale to PSC
PSC Industrial Outsourcing LP (PSC) acquired non-hazardous water recycling facility Seaport Environmental. The McLean Group’s Water, Wastewater and Environmental division served as the exclusive transaction advisor to Seaport. PSC is a national provider of industrial cleaning and environmentally sensitive services to America’s energy infrastructure. The acquisition adds regional, facility-based water treatment to existing mobile capabilities, giving PSC’s customers the ability to meet treatment and recycling requirements.
CNP acquires pre-digestion phosphorus recovery technology
CNP – Technology Water and Bio solids Corporation, a division of Centrisys Corporation, expanded its nutrient recovery technology portfolio by acquiring an exclusive worldwide license for CalPrex™, a calcium phosphate (brushite) recovery technology, from Nutrient Recovery & Upscaling LLC (NRU) of Madison, Wisconsin. The CalPrex technology investment allows CNP to gain global market share as the need for sustainable nutrient management solutions for wastewater increase. Calprex™ is a calcium phosphate recovery technology that solubilizes sludge’s phosphorus and recovers it as brushite, a plant ready fertilizer that can be used without further processing.
The industrial lamp manufacturer Victory acquired the U.K.-based ultraviolet (UV) lamp manufacturer Blue UV. With production facilities in the U.K. and Far East, the deal enables Victory to respond quickly to customers’ requirements, regardless of their location. Victory Lighting Ltd. is based in Hemel Hempstead, U.K., and manufactures UV and infrared lamps for industrial heating and curing applications. It has offices and distribution centers worldwide.


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Toyota Warns the World About the Coming Electric Vehicle Crisis
Toyota is the largest global automobile manufacturer. They didn’t become the biggest without learning a few things about consumer behavior and market conditions. Toyota has a very different opinion about electric vehicles than governments and the auto industry. Toyota thinks the infrastructure will not support fully electric vehicles for decades. Also, consumer adoption will not happen as quickly as the talking heads say. When a leader speaks, the world should listen.
Why Does Toyota Hold Their View?
1. Charging infrastructure: A 2017 U.S. government study found that around 8,500 charging stations would be needed to support seven million electric vehicles. A fully electric fleet would require charging stations to support around 290 million electric vehicles. If the relationship is linear, there would need to be 352,000 charging stations to support all 290 million cars on American roads. There are only around 145,000 gas stations. Who pays for it? Does it become the taxpayers or the small business owners paying to convert the gas stations?
2. Charging takes too long: Technology will improve, but currently, there isn’t a super-fast charge option for electric vehicles. The charging process is just too long for the person at the front of the line, let alone the person who is third or tenth in line. Charging can take 15 minutes or more, but most chargers take hours. Gas pumps can put between 2-4 gallons per minute, making most gas fill-ups less than five minutes.
3. Affordability: The average price tag of an electric vehicle is around $66,000. According to U.S. Census data, the average 2021 American household income was $70,784. Less than 15% of American consumers can afford an electric vehicle. With inflation raging, it will be a long time before a more significant percentage of American consumers can afford an electric vehicle. Price compared to a gas/diesel vehicle is the most stated reason people would not buy an electric vehicle, and lack of charging infrastructure is the second.
4. Consumer adoption: According to a 2021 Australian study, only 49% of respondents said they would be driving an electric vehicle by 2030. 39% of respondents said they would not consider an electric vehicle for their next purchase. A little bit of math translates into a 12% increase in adoption between today and 2030. Suppose these numbers indicate a predictable and consistent adoption rate. In that case, it could take at least 40 years before the market fully embraces electric vehicles. It may not take 40 years, but two decades is almost a given before the market fully adopts electric vehicles.
How Will This Affect Gold Prices
The world is gung-ho, full speed ahead on electric cars and alternative energy sources. The environmentalists will pressure politicians for even less oil production. Since governments are involved, the most predictable situation is that something will go wrong. An energy crisis is the most predictable outcome of the move to electricity without sustainable infrastructure. The pendulum will swing the other way when people see the prices and inefficiencies. People will turn back to oil and coal, but since production will have been shut down, the prices will be high, and supply will be tight. Fossil fuel prices will spike quickly.
It is very oil intensive to pull gold from the earth. They use heavy equipment to dig and build concrete supports for the mines. The miners need ridiculous amounts of electricity to light and cool the mines. Transportation is also energy intensive. Oil will be costly. The large land-moving machines probably won’t be able to operate on electricity and will require diesel. There is an 80% price correlation between the price of oil and the price of gold. If it is true there will be an energy crisis because the transition was not seamless, the price of gold will follow oil. Oil will spike. Gold will follow and be one of the biggest winners in such a scenario.
The U.S. has the largest oil reserves but doesn’t drill for environmental reasons. Abandoning energy independence leaves us vulnerable to policies of tyrants, despots, and dictators throughout the middle east. However, China is treating those dictators kinder than we are and spending significantly more on oil than the U.S. The U.S. buys about 500,000 barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia. China buys about 2 million barrels. In the 1990s, the U.S. bought roughly 2 million barrels per day.
Bad policy and diplomacy have increasingly made the U.S. isolated and dollar-backed assets less desirable. Saudi Arabia has officially applied to the BRICS and is negotiating to sell China oil in Yuan. If Saudi Arabia abandons the West, that’s the ball game. Call the fat lady and have her start singing. Stick a fork in the Dollar. It’s done.
The easiest way to predict the future is to figure out what and who gets rewarded for specific actions. Saudi Arabia is rewarded by selling oil. 51% of the Saudi economy is oil, so whoever buys the most oil will have Saudi loyalties. One example, the U.S. government is committed to its entire fleet being electric vehicles by 2030. The U.S. is committed to buying less oil to ramp up electric car production. China is committed to buying more oil to build its economy, production capacities, and infrastructure.
What is the most predictable action for Saudi Arabia to take? Will Saudi Arabia be loyal to its most significant and fastest-growing customer, China? Or, will it choose a customer, the U.S., that routinely insults it in public and has committed to systemically buying fewer oil products over time?
As counterintuitive and contrarian as it sounds, the electric vehicle trend will continue to raise oil prices. Due to the high demand and scarcity, high prices are predictable. People will realize that the electric car movement will have problems and significant inconveniences. People will return to coal and oil, but environmentalists will have limited their production.
Economists almost universally agree that raising oil prices translate into higher gold prices. Currently, the price of gold is near the low for the year but slowly climbing back up. It hit the low for the year last week. If you want to position yourself best from the inevitable governmental missteps, buy gold while it is cheap and wait. If you think gold is a good idea and like buying low and selling high, call the U.S. Gold Bureau as soon as possible.
Call for a free consultation.


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It's safe to say that the PlayStation 4 is dominating the market in the current console era. After just recently hitting the hugely impressive milestone of 60 million units shipped, it appears that Sony's successful console is far from showing signs of slowing.
But how will the PS4 fare this year in light of Nintendo fortuitous launch of the Switch and Xbox's Project Scorpio that's expected to launch later this year? Well-known analyst Michael Pachter suggest one answer—that a price cut is likely on the horizon for the PS4.
That prediction has to do with Sony saying that it is looking to sell 18 million units within the next year. Pachter, talking to GamingBolt, said all that's possible as long as Sony gets the price right:
"Yes, if they price the PS4 correctly, they can sell another 18 million, and I think the forecast suggests that there is a price cut coming.”
Such a price cut would likely affect both the PS4 and the PS4 Pro. The PS4 Pro is Sony's direct competition to Xbox's Scorpio, and while the specs of the Scorpio are far higher than that of the PS4 Pro, Sony could sway consumers its way by offering its own higher-end console at a far lower price than the competition.
Keeping the sales of the PS4 up as Sony predicts would continue to keep the console neck-and-neck with the sales numbers of the PS2 and its lifespan. However, despite the PS4's phenomenal success since launching in 2013, Pachter doesn't think the console will outdo its older sibling:
“I don’t think it will outsell the PS2, mostly because the competition from Xbox and Switch will soak up too much of the addressable market."
Sony has already decided to give gamers more for their buck, bringing a 1TB version of the PS4 to market at the same $299 price of the console that has contained a 500GB hard drive. That $299 price point has held since September 2016, with occasional special deals that have dropped the price down to $249. There's no telling if Sony will follow through with a price drop in the near future of what the new price point would be if so. But in light of the competition the PS4 will be going up against this year, such a move could help Sony keep its console on top.


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PepsiCo announced that Indra Nooyi, who is 12 years CEO, will hand over the reign of the giant CEO after a 12-year period, according to CNBC
President Ramon Laguarta has been appointed by the board elected. director to take over and start on October 3rd.
After 24 years in the company and 12 at his leadership, Nooyi will enter until the beginning of 2019 and will remain president.
"Growing in India, I never thought I would have the opportunity to run such an exceptional company. I had an impact on the lives of people bigger than I dreamed. Peugeot is now in a strong position to continue to grow, "Nooyi said.
Laguarta, a 22-year veteran in the company, has been president and CEO since September last year, corporate governance, public policy and affairs with governments. For this position, Laguarta has coordinated the operations of the company in Europe and Africa.
After the announcement, the company's share price dropped slightly.


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A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data shows that the national credit card debt decreased $76 billion after the initial COVID-19 outbreak, the steepest decline in credit card balances since this data started to be collected in 1999. Later in 2020, there was another $10 billion decrease. The center reports that the decline can be attributed to less overall consumer spending and more consumers paying down their existing debt. Experian, a top consumer credit reporting company, thinks student loan forbearance is partially to thank for the latter.
Student loan forbearance first took effect in the early days of the pandemic. It placed a temporary hold on interest accruing on federal student loans, and it allowed borrowers to forgo monthly payments. This freed up their funds for other necessary expenses, such as rent, utilities, and even credit card payments.
After taking office, President Joe Biden extended the hold until at least September 30, 2021. This was a welcome relief, but many are left wondering whether the president will push forward with his plan to cancel at least $10,000 in student loans, which he proposed on the campaign trail.
While student loan forbearance is not solely responsible for the downtick in credit card debt, it likely helped quite a bit — and permanent student loan cancellation could have an even more profound effect.
The Connection Between Credit Card Debt and Student Loan Cancellation
According to a recent CreditCard.com poll, nearly half of the U.S. population, 120 million people, have credit card debt. Cushion data shows that the average monthly payment is $1,240.64. Cushion data also shows that people charge an average of $1,602.72 to their credit cards each month, which means they’re carrying over a balance of several hundred dollars.
Not everyone who has credit card debt has student loan debt and vice versa; EducationData.org reports that 23% of borrowers with outstanding educational debt also have a credit card balance.
The effects of these debts become more clear when taking income into account. Higher income individuals disproportionately have both more student loan debt and credit card debt, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lower and middle income individuals who have both.
The fact of the matter is that higher income individuals have a better debt-to-income ratio, meaning that a smaller percentage of their monthly income goes toward their debts. In other words, lower and middle income individuals who have both student loan debt and credit card debt have more trouble paying them off.
For the 63% of people who have reported living paycheck to paycheck since the start of the pandemic, cancelling student loans could enable them to reallocate that money to credit card debt and other debts, inching them closer to financial freedom.
How to Cut Down Credit Card Debt
There’s no guarantee that student loans will be canceled, and if they are, there’s still the question of how much would be canceled and who it would apply to. With so much still up in the air, people should take this time to assess their options when it comes to paying off their debts.
First, you should remember that we are still in a pandemic, and if you don’t have the means to pay off your debt right now, that’s okay. Keeping the lights on and keeping food on the table should be your top priority.
However, if you do have a little wiggle room with your finances, there are a couple things you can do now to chip away at your credit card debt while student loans are in forbearance, things that you’ll thank yourself for whether student loans get canceled or not.
Ask your credit card issuer for a lower interest rate
While this won’t immediately reduce your credit card balance, your balance will grow at a slower rate. Your issuer is more likely to lower your interest rate if you have a positive payment and credit history. But amidst this prolonged pandemic, they might be a little more willing to accommodate your request, so if you’re struggling financially don’t hesitate to use that as part of your argument. If the customer service representative won’t reduce your rate permanently, ask for a temporary reduction or try again in a couple of months.
Consider a balance transfer
Transferring a credit card balance can be beneficial if you want to take advantage of a lower or 0% APR to pay off your debt quicker. There are also negative consequences associated with balance transfers, though, so do your research before making a decision. For instance, there is usually a fee associated with transferring a balance, the lower or 0% APR probably only lasts a certain amount of time, and a balance transfer can temporarily reduce your credit score.
Make more than one monthly payment
Making more than one payment on your credit card per month helps eliminate your debt faster, but it has some other hidden benefits. Most notably, it reduces the amount of interest that you pay overall, it helps raise your credit score by freeing up credit utilization, and it can help you budget more effectively.


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Don’t be surprised if all your techie friends are proudly flaunting new year resolutions that go on the lines of ‘Organic food only’, ‘Clean eating’ and ‘Organic cleanse’.
Everyone’s dream diet
today, yes we are talking about organic food, is actually being buoyed by the initiative in city corporates to provide healthier food for its employees. The scene at office cafeterias in Hyderabad is currently undergoing a steady change. From deep fried bread pakodas and samosas to ragi laddus and lemon tea with organically-processed honey, the shift though small is noticeable.
If not for a complete shift in diet and lifestyle
, at least the executives and techies
are increasingly becoming conscious of what they consume and are opting for cleaner and greener alternatives as often as they can. Prabhakar Reddy, head of energy division in a leading corporate house, is one of them. “After organic food was introduced in our office cafeteria, I became more conscious about eating cleaner and greener. Yea, we don’t eat every meal organic but at least once or twice in a week, my friends and I make it a point to get lunch from the organic counter.
The change might be small but we believe it is definitely something that will have a positive effect on our health,” he says. Besides dishing out an organic spread for their employees, the human resource departments are also hosting awareness programmes. Nithya Nivali, HR Head for Hitec City-based IT company, Progress-Software, says, “We are right now working on a survey to understand what our employees want in terms of their diet and food. We are also welcoming suggestions and ideas from them. We also have sessions to raise awareness among them about organic food.”
As for the menu, the food is more millet-based and is made of completely organic ingredients. The changes are simple like jowar and ragi laddus are on offer instead of let’s say, besan or mothichur laddus in the dessert section. Organic food is more expensive than other food available in the market. But the corporates don’t mind shelling out a few extra bucks for the sake of better health of their employees. The companies tie up with vendors to offer organic food at discounted rates so that the habit of eating healthy also goes home with them. Vishal Fernandes, who works in Cyberabad and who also incidentally happens to be a food blogger, calls these initiatives a boon.
The senior executive says, “Our office had organised organic-food only stalls on the office premises. I was quite taken in and bought organically-processed millets and honey to take back home!” N Balasubramanian, who provides supplies to most corporates, confirms, “A major shift has happened in last two years where corporates have started using organic products. We have been supplying daily grocery products such as rice, atta, dal, spices and other natural products like juices, breakfast cereal and honey regularly to corporates in Hyderabad. Just when people think that the hue and cry about organic might just be a fad, you know that the awareness is all around.
And it is catch on so fast that the shift is going to continue on, with software professionals like Vikram, who works in Gachibowli asserting: “My friends who work in Cyberabad talk about organic food all the time. I am hoping to get my company’s attentions towards this so that we can eat healthy too!”
What exactly is organic food?
Vegetables, fruits, pulses and even livestock grown and bred without any chemicals such as pesticides, synthetic fertilisers or any mechanised chemical-based methods. As far as animal produce like meat or eggs are concerned, they have to be reared without antibiotics or hormones for them to be certified as organic.


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While we come out of numerous years of COVID limitations toward a discount hit from the rising individual rates, supply strings issues and you can inflation, obviously of numerous Aussies is embracing unsecured loans in order to funds its go back to normality.
Personal loan credit is actually hitting a top, according to Australian Bureau of Analytics (Abdominal muscles analysis). Across most of the consumer loan kinds, February and you may March of seasons noticed increases simply beaten by the fresh new watched $dos.295 billion during the personal loans, another-higher credit amount registered on close-in order to 20 years regarding offered Stomach analysis.
Probably the convenience and you may versatility from a consumer loan was exhibiting a stylish approach to take for some Aussies trying to shelter normal can cost you.
Australian car and truck loans hitting brand new highs
Brand new previous investigation in addition to suggests that Australian continent is sense somewhat of an automible transformation boom. The beginning of 2022 spotted popular development in personal loans removed aside on purchase of street auto.
Within the , $step 1.312 billion is actually loaned to possess auto orders, addressing the 2-. Even though there is actually a fall inside the February, it was simply moderate at the $step one.284 billion, it is therefore the 4th-high day into the number.
That it increase in car fund is a bit surprising, as the both the the fresh and you will car or truck markets were coping having have factors given that beginning of the pandemic, resulting in popular and you will soaring rates.
After that however, Moody Analytics reported that made use of passenger automobile pricing enhanced of the 18% in the first quarter off 2022. Australians looking to buy the fresh vehicles face up to twelve-few days hold off times, therefore more people is turning to the utilized field, which is following, therefore, seeing a lot less change-ins and you may resales. Continuer la lecture de « Signature loans take an upswing one of Aussies. But as to why? »


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In less than three years, a single initiative has saved more than ten million coffee cups from landfill.
Formed in 2017, Simply Cups launched with the aim of diverting used paper coffee cups from landfill and up-cycling them into new products.
And while making great tracks on their own, it was when they partnered with 7-Eleven in March, 2018 that it began to grow exponentially, with the convenience store chain making up two-thirds of their collection sites across more than 632 of their retail stores.
Simply Cups have just celebrated the incredible milestone of up-cycling 10 million cups. Stacked end to end, they would reach close to 900km – roughly the distance from Sydney to Melbourne and would fill close to 200 trams.
Managing Director of Closed Loop Rob Pascoe told C&I Magazine recycling cups was a win for both the environment and the economy.
“Australians love their coffee, however takeaway coffee cups cannot be recycled via traditional recycling facilities. Simply Cups is able to recycle the cups because they are separated into a clean source stream, effectively turning waste into a resource. The cups are then transformed into Australian-made products, such as outdoor furniture, wheel stops, roadside kerbing, and reusable trays,” Mr Pascoe said.
“Simply Cups is a perfect example of the circular economy in action, and has now rescued more than 10 million cups from landfill in less than 3 years. There are nearly a thousand cup collection points across Australia, including at 632 7-Eleven stores, which have rescued more than 2.7 million cups.”
“Simply Cups aims to collect more than 100 million cups every year, so we encourage every cafe, shopping centre, and workplace to set-up cup collection points so we can divert your cups from landfill.”
Among the products made from recycled cups are a reusable drink tray (through company Stay Tray), mini wheel stops, dunnage and air con mounting blocks (made by Plastic Forests) and resins for injection moulding (through Martogg), wheel stops for car parks and other road materials (through Newtecpoly), and reusable cup rCUP. As well as moulded fibre products, such as egg cartons.
Incredibly, 7-Eleven have even used some of these wheel stops in their sites.
Simply Cups have collection points across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. And outside of 7-Eleven, they can be found in Wesfield shopping centres, select Muffin Break stores, office buildings, university campuses and even the MCG.


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Skoda revealed on Tuesday (25) Octavia Laurin & Klement's. This is the new version of top of the line model, and can be seen from public scrutiny since at Geneva, with the next scheduled for opening week.
Toyota, which launched last week the cornerstone of its new engine plant in Porto Feliz (SP) reported that, from 2016, will be produced in the plant blocks 1.3 and 1.5 of Etios and 1.8 and 2.0 of the new Corolla.
Chevrolet prepares the launch of the conceptual crossover Adra for the Hall of New Delhi on Wednesday (5). Before that, however, the automaker released a teaser of the model, without confirming official technical information.


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NEW YORK International cosmetics giant Coty is reviewing its media planning and buying assignment in the U.S., per sources.
The New York-based company spent $112 million in domestic measured media last year, down from approximately $140 million in 2007, per Nielsen.
Sources said three shops are contending for the business, including the incumbent, Omnicom Group’s OMD, and WPP Group’s Maxus. The third contender could not immediately be identified.
Earlier this year, the client reviewed its $40 million media chores for the U.K. and opted to retain incumbent OMD. Maxus was the other finalist in the U.K. review. A separate pitch covering France is also said to be in the works.
The agencies referred calls to the client. Coty marketing executives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sources said Coty has retained Billetts America, a media audit firm, to help it evaluate the buying efficiency and effectiveness of the contenders, though no traditional search consultancy is involved.
The client markets fragrances, cosmetics and toiletries under many labels, including Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Joop!, Davidoff, Sally Hansen, New York Color, Rimmell and Kate Moss.
Coty reported net sales of $4 billion in fiscal 2008, up 26 percent from the previous year.
A decision in the review is expected in July.


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Shares of Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms (META) are being cooked up as the tech company spends money manufacturing virtual reality devices, generating awareness, and finding friends for a future in the metaverse.
Its clients’ advertising budgets are tightening as companies restructure costs amid macroeconomic challenges — which leads even an optimistic analyst to say the third quarter for Meta Platforms is “make or break.”
“I think the stock is back to questions about really fundamental fundamentals,” Mark Schmlick, chief analyst at AB Bernstein told Yahoo Finance. “People can understand that this [the metaverse] As a long term initiative. I imagine investors would love it if they were spending a lot less on it.”
Advertisers tend to run digital marketing campaigns where there is the largest audience, targeting capabilities, and conversion rates – for a decade, Meta affiliates Facebook and Instagram have been that place. Corporate budgets during macroeconomic uncertainty make it crucial to experience the value of advertising spend through sales.
“The macro environment continues to deteriorate. We believe many companies that rely on advertising will lose profits in the fourth quarter,” Needham’s chief analyst, Laura Martin, told Yahoo Finance. Re-losing a lot of user time on TikTok. And it continues to happen. “
According to research by Piper Sandler, TikTok is the preferred social media app among teens and the margin has only widened for the Bytedance-owned company compared to Facebook and Instagram.
“I think Mark Zuckerberg is telling us he doesn’t think he has a core business,” Martin said. “He’s moving to Reels because it’s competing with TikTok. He’s moving into the metaverse, and he’s changed the name of this company, which tells me he doesn’t think his core business he built 15 years ago is actually a business anymore.”
Find the legs in the metaverse
Facebook spent $10 billion in 2021 in early efforts to build the metaverse and Mark Zuckerberg told shareholders in 2022 that the company would continue to spend heavily to build the metaverse and would drain money for three to five years.
The big bet could be that the Meta will be able to sell beta hardware to the metaverse and why it’s there.
“If you take a look at the drivers behind this, we’ve gone through these changes in the past from desktop to mobile,” Shmulik said. [Meta] Understand that at some point, there will be another change in the computing platform. They don’t want to be stuck in the application layer. “
At Meta Connect, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced a $1,500 VR headset, with the prevailing plan that a suite of familiar workplace collaboration apps might spur participation in the metaverse.
Accenture, Zoom, and Microsoft have also announced a metaverse partnership with Meta platforms. Microsoft delivers an important friend in virtual reality with a commitment to bring productivity tools and cloud gaming technology to the experience.
“I think what he’s talking about in terms of changing the world of consumer computing is really innovative, interesting and risky, but bringing the CEO yesterday to both Microsoft and Accenture? Great – he says he has some great partners in the enterprise,” Martin said. . “And I don’t think consumers want to pay $1,500. I think that’s the exception. But I think Accenture can pay to buy thousands of goggles out of $1,500.”
Brad Smith is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter Tweet embed.
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Water company Severn Trent has launched an RPI-linked 10-year Sterling bond.
The bond will pay interest semi-annually at 1.3 per cent a year adjusted to take account of changes in the inflation rate. After the 10-year term, the full value of the bond will be repaid.
This is an investment. If the bond falls in value investors needing to sell before 10 years would lose out. Also if the company were to go bust, bondholders would not be repaid.
These retail bonds are becoming more common – Tesco launched one recently, for instance – as companies seek new ways to raise money. But investors need to be aware of the risks and be confident of the company they're backing.


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BEIJING/JAKARTA -- Ride-hailing services across Asia are working to improve the quality of their offerings as the industry's explosive growth leads to more accidents and trouble with customers.
Industry leaders like China's Didi Chuxing and Singapore's Grab are exploring new ways to make rides safer and ensure that good drivers -- an increasingly hot commodity -- stay with their framework.
The ride-hailing business model was first popularized in the U.S. by Uber Technologies. But the Chinese market has long overtaken the U.S. and is now nearly double the size.
Amid this growth, Didi began providing a proprietary system for managing fleets and cash flow through an app in April, which it hopes will be used by 1,500 ride-hailing companies by the end of the year.
Instead of the typical model where individual car owners provide rides in their free time, a growing number of companies are using a dedicated fleet and drivers to offer ride-hailing services. About 6,000 companies in China operate under the latter model.
Didi collects data from about 30 million vehicles each day. It hopes the system, built on seven years of data and risk management efforts, will help these companies enact better safety controls and make money more efficiently.
Didi has grown rapidly with the backing of the Chinese government. The company merged with rival Kuaidi Dache in 2015 and acquired Uber's China operations in 2016, and it now boasts about 550 million users.
But even though Didi controls over 60% of its home market, the company is not a household name abroad. CEO Cheng Wei plans to bolster investment in foreign markets.
Meanwhile, Grab introduced a program in parts of Indonesia designed to keep good drivers from moving to a different platform. Those who are rated 4.7 or higher by customers and meet certain sales targets are deemed "Elite +" drivers and earn 20% more per trip than regular drivers.
Grab bought Uber's Southeast Asian operations in 2018 after an arduous battle, and the region has become dominated by Grab and Indonesian rival Go-Jek. The two companies are among just 17 "decacorns" in the world, an exclusive club of unlisted startups valued at $10 billion or more.
New entrants are also fighting hard for a piece of the pie. Vietnam-based FastGo this year launched FastBike Pro, a motorcycle-based service that uses only drivers interviewed and screened by the company. It thinks securing better drivers is the way to break into the Vietnamese market, now mostly controlled by Grab.
The "Pro" drivers take higher cuts of fares, and are guaranteed income over a certain period of time. They also receive free uniforms. About 500 have been hired so far.
Ride-hailing services are expected to rake in $49 billion across major Asian economies in 2019, with China alone accounting for $35.5 billion, according to Statista. The figures are projected to reach $85 billion for Asia and $62.1 billion in China by 2023.
Didi has established an unparalleled presence in China. But competition is only growing in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, driving companies to meet the unique demands of each target market in an economically and culturally diverse region.


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Gone for home in Japan back in 2012 prior to getting here in international markets later on in 2013, the existing Corolla got a mild upgrade last year that should keep it fresh till the next generation. Spotted early in the testing phase, the all-new model was carrying several types of camouflage to conceal the changes that remain in tow as far as the exterior style is concerned.
Toyota engineers are out screening exactly what’s predestined to be the 12th generation of the Corolla. The engineers are still at the test mule phase, implying the majority of exactly what you see here will be altered by the time the car finally debuts.
That debut is anticipated to take place in late 2018 or early the list below year. That indicates we’ll likely see the brand-new Corolla introduced for the 2019 model year. Toyota is known to likewise be working on the hatchback variant of the new Corolla, which if introduced to the United States will change the present Corolla iM.
2019 Toyota Corolla Redesign
The new model will be a real redesign. Its platform will be Toyota’s TNGA modular style which currently features in the most recent versions the Prius and Camry as well as the new C-HR. The platform allows a low center of gravity and increased body rigidity and need to see the brand-new Corolla manage far better than previous generations.
2019 Toyota Corolla Engine
It’s too early to talk powertrains however expec a series of inline-4s and maybe a hybrid choice. Toyota has revealed new 8- and 10-speed automated transmissions that will be coming to replace a variety of 6-speed and CVT units it currently uses, though it’s unclear if these will make it into the new Corolla.
The report mill shows Toyota will set up a BMW engine underneath the hood, as part of a tie-up in between the 2 car manufacturers signed some years ago. If the reports will turn out, the 2019 Corolla will follow the BMW-powered Verso MPV and the Avensis midsize sedan and wagon.
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