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By TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India & South Asia, VISA
This year has been like no other for digital payments. Even as economies came to a standstill, consumers pivoted to online shopping and businesses turned to remote delivery and digital acceptance. The pandemic-fueled adoption of all things digital uncovered distinct possibilities in consumer and business behaviour. Interestingly, consumers formed brand new habits – using digital technology for work, working from home, and ordering online en masse. Some of the trends we witnessed this year will continue into the new year while others will take form. Here is a look at six such trends that we believe will shape the future of digital payments in India in 2021.
Mainstream emergence of integrated commerce
Digital took centerstage this year with many offline and neighborhood stores closing in early 2020 and some pivoting to accepting digital payments and delivering remotely. As the nation’s economy opened slowly mid-year, businesses started implementing new methods of delivery such as buying online, curbside pickup etc. A noticeable cohort of first-time e-commerce shoppers emerged from tier II & III cities – expected to grow to 170 million in 2023 from just 50 million in 2018. Consumer buying patterns and preferences also changed significantly with shoppers depending more and more on stores that have an online presence.
2021 will see further evolution in this behavior; especially with online groceries in India alone expected to cross $3 billion by the year end . When mapped against the large offline merchant base across the country, integrated commerce will not remain a fad but become commonplace for all of us. Consequently, new-age distribution channels and market aggregators will insert themselves into the value chain as well. To provide seamless shopping experiences in this rapidly changing environment, businesses will become nimbler by focusing on technological advancements for app-centered buyers and a multi-channel commerce strategy for consumers shopping online, in-app and in stores. Omni channel commerce will come of age in 2021.
Rise of pay later
Of the 900 million banking services users in India, less than 4% are unique credit cardholders – indicating the vast opportunity in consumer credit. The acceleration to digital-first experiences this year changed consumer expectations on how they pay and when they pay.In the aftermath of the shutdown, when personal consumption and discretionary expenditure plummeted, affordability has become a central theme with most sellers. In turn, this has led to businesses and consumers welcoming Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options in digital payments, injecting speed, flexibility and convenience in paying. The coming year will witness the explosion of mass affordability solutions primarily triggered by theflexibility and benefits of BNPL options, which are expected to further trigger growth among both merchants and consumers without having to break the bank.Expect the next gen in BNPL to be offered by merchants, manufacturers, marketplaces and, of course, Banks and Fintechs.
This year, in more ways than one, was about ‘contactless’. We saw an accelerated usage of contactless cards due to safety concerns and to reduce contact, leading toan uptick in contactless payments in high footfall segments like grocery and pharmacy.
Besides the safety, speed and convenience offered by contactless payments, the RBI’s new guidelines of increasing contactless payment limits to INR 5,000 is opportune, as it expands the category of purchases which can be made by tap and pay mode. Sectors such as QSR, dining, fuel,supermarkets, pharmacies, are likely to witness a spike as people opt to pay via contactless for transactions up to Rs. 5,000.Expect brand new categories to go contactless – Transit and Tolls is a frontrunner.
MSMEs to embrace digitization
In 2020 MSMEs increasingly adopted digitization as the year drastically altered the way businesses operate, whether to source materials, pay employees or accept payments from customers.A recent report estimates that the total digital opportunity offered by MSMEs will grow from around $30 billion in 2019 to $85 billion in 2024. In 2021, small business owners will continue to look for ways to branch out and stay connected to consumers as well as leverage digital marketplaces to survive and thrive. Not only will they gain exposure to new consumer segments, but will also help them secure new leads, provide 24/7 access to their products and create new experiences for digital-first customers. Increased digital MSME footprint in turn will open the gates to MSME Credit getting mainstream in 2021.
The mobile phone as an Acceptance Device
This year,a number of ‘offline’ merchants especially in unorganized retail embraced digitization and will reap its benefits over the coming years.Further aided by smartphone ubiquity, contactless payments, whether QR or NFC led, is set to become the default payment experience at point of sale in 2021.
On NFC, the advent of ‘Tap to Phone’ will enable micro and small businesses to enter the digital economy with just an app on their existing smartphones, so merchants can accept contactless payments without investing in an acceptance terminal. As India’s current 160 million unique mobile payment users multiply five times to reach nearly 800 million by 2025, contactless payments via physical cards and those embedded on devices will lead the charge. 2021 is expected to be pivotal for contactless payments growth as usage accelerates amongst both consumers and merchants and Tap to Phone could be the catalyst to drive this change. Expect a flurry of Fintech and Payment Facilitators entering the arena riding off this, in 2021.
No compromise on security
According to World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2020, cyberattacks to garner data/money ranks amongst the top risks that businesses are likely to face in the year ahead.As businesses and consumers adopt digital payments for myriad needs, fraudsters too are getting smarter, hence putting payment security back in the spotlight. In 2021, it will be crucial to consider checkout experiences and fraud activities, particularly with Card Not Present transactions, from the lens of payment security. Given the shift to online-first offerings, investments in cybersecurity and authentication will take precedence, especially for small businesses as they are not as equipped to handle large-scale fraud vis-à-vis big firms. Redoubling business commitment to security will be a catalyst for innovation in payment security of the economy.
For our nascent digital payments journey to mature in 2021, a continued focus on Risk and Cybersecurity to protect consumers and keep fraudsters at bay is an area all of us in the payments industry have to be vigilant about, and in 2021, this will assume even more criticality .
If you have an interesting article / experience / case study to share, please get in touch with us at [email protected]


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The Boohoo Group PLC (LON: BOO) share price has fallen 19% since the year started, and many wonder whether there is still hope for the fast-fashion retailer?
Firstly, we have to look at why the shares have started the new year on such a lousy note since they are down 19% in just three weeks, which does not bode well for shareholders.
The fashion retailer faced a significant tailwind last week when a major institutional investor cut its stake in the company to 4.7% from 9.99%. Jupiter Fund Management slashed its stake in Boohoo without giving any specific reasons.
In my previous articles on the company, I highlighted how an exodus of institutional investors triggered the retailer’s current problems as its shares fell 65.66% in 2021.
While the move by Jupiter Fund Management was not surprising, it sent the wrong message to the markets, given that most institutions invest with a long term focus. Therefore, institutional investors tend to sell their shares when they do not see a bright future for the company.
Luckily, institutional investors are not always right. Despite being referred to as the “smart money”, they sometimes get their timing entirely wrong, as when Warren Buffett sold his airline stocks just as the industry started recovering in 2020.
Getting back to Boohoo’s business, we can see that its management has taken measures to revamp its supply chain since the sweatshop labour scandal of 2020 that made the company a pariah among institutional investors.
Boohoo has since tightened its oversight over suppliers and established new standards for its suppliers, with those who fail to meet the new standard being removed from its supply roster.
However, there are other concerns about the fashion retailer’s long term profitability, given the rising costs that ate into its Q3 revenues lowering its overall profitability.
Still, the lower profitability is not a significant threat to Boohoo. It has fared much better than many of its high street competitors, some of whom had to file for bankruptcy after the pandemic, forcing consumers to shop online.
Luckily for Boohoo, they built their entire business based on eCommerce, which saw the company thrive and even acquire some of its competitors after the pandemic since it had optimised its operations for e-commerce.
Boohoo has also taken steps to improve its customer service given the increasing number of returns and has outperformed many of its peers in quickly and effectively handling returns and customer complaints based on recent customer reviews.
Finally, Boohoo’s business seems to be firing on all cylinders, and the latest decline is being driven by negative investor sentiment, making the company appear pretty cheap.
Long term investors may find its current share price attractive, but there are no guarantees we will not get a further decline.
*This is not investment advice. Always do your due diligence before making investment decisions.
Boohoo share price.
Boohoo shares have fallen 19% since the year started. So is there hope for the retailer?
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage . 68 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider . You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money .
Simon has over six years of professional trading experience across FX, commodities and equities. He has a strong passion for financial markets and is particularly focused on price action trading

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Pinterest is launching a new “more ideas” tab so that users can explore recommendations based on ideas that they’ve already saved.
In its bid to make it easier for users to bring to life the projects they’re planning, Pinterest is introducing a new tab that will provide personalised recommendations matching what they’ve been saving on the platform. The “more ideas” tab that will appear on all boards and sections will also offer suggestions for new sections to add in order to help organize ideas on Pinterest.
Just in time for Halloween and the big question: Who, or what am I going to dress up as? Users will be able to find more recommendations “that fit [their] theme and discover creative twists along the way.”
In the announcement for the new feature, Pinterest explains that users “can also quickly organize […] ideas into sections, so it’s easier than ever to make all the things [they] dream up on [their] boards a reality.
The “more ideas” tab and section recommendations feature is intended to boost discovery for users in the sense that it will highlight new content for them. Marketers will appreciate that they can stay updated with trending Pins and other content related to their saves. It’s now available now to everyone on pinterest.com and its apps. All you have to do is update your app to try it out.
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Spotify helped pave the way for a new model for consumers to listen to music: pay a monthly fee to stream whatever you want, with no need to own any physical or digital versions of it. Now, a startup
OpsLevel, a startup that helps development teams organize and track their microservices in a centralized developer portal, today announced that it has raised a $15 million Series A funding round. The
Chegg, the NYSE listed student media learning platform is acquiring Busuu, the online language learning startup established in Europe in 2008, for approximately $436 million (€385 million) in an all
To compete with the myriad venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, iFly.vc has a unique vantage point. Its founder Han Shen has straddled the United States and China for several decades. He was the f
Similar to how telehealth faced declines as patients returned to in-person care, edtech will face similar drops as schools become a safer option for students and teachers.
Thanks very much for reading Extra Crunch this week. I hope we can all look forward to a nice, boring weekend with no breaking news alerts.
Some of the biggest decision-makers in edtech are taking a scalpel to the way tutoring used to work.
Like any successful founder, Andrew Grauer had bright, long-term ambitions for Course Hero from the moment he launched it in 2006. He started the business to create a place where students could ask qu
As millions of students and teachers shift to learn from home in response to the novel coronavirus disease, modern-day flashcard business Quizlet has raised $30 million in a Series C round led by Gene
Ransomware is getting sneakier and smarter. The latest example comes from ExecuPharm, a little-known but major outsourced pharmaceutical company that confirmed it was hit by a new type of ransomware l
Chegg has confirmed its third data breach in the past three years. The education tech giant, which last year acquired Thinkful for $80 million, said hackers stole 700 current and former employee recor
Frank, a New York-based student-facing startup, has raised $5 million in what the company described as an “interim strategic round” that Chegg, a public edtech company, took part in. Accor
Thinkful, an online education site for developers, has confirmed a data breach, just days after it confirmed it would be acquired. “We recently discovered that an unauthorized party may have gai
Last April, Spotify surprised Wall Street bankers by choosing to go public through a direct listing process rather than through a traditional IPO. Instead of issuing new shares, the company simply so
Chegg, a technology giant specializing in textbook rental, has confirmed a data breach affecting some 40 million customers. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it
Nationally, bars today lose billions of dollars from improperly managed alcohol inventory. These losses add up quickly as a result of oversized pours, spills and even theft. Nectar, a stealth connect
The online textbook service Chegg today announced that it has acquired Imagine Easy Solutions for $42 million. Imagine Easy is the company behind online bibliography and research tools like EasyBib (
Online textbook and tutoring company Chegg beat Wall Street's expectations when it reported its third quarter sales of $81.3 million. Its revenue was expected to total $78.28 million. The company p
Student textbook resale site Chegg has struck a strategic partnership with Ingram Content Group today. Said to be the world’s largest distributor of books, Ingram will acquire a significant share of
Chegg, the textbook resale site turned all things student hub, today announced a $30 million cash acquisition of student tutoring marketplace InstaEDU. An acquisition like this makes sense for Cheg


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In the quest to prove we're not alone in the universe astronomers have at least proved the Milky Way isn't, according to a paper revealing the existence of two galaxy systems almost exactly like ours »
If recent measurements of cosmic ray particles are correct, then we may have the first evidence that the universe as we know it is really a giant computer simulation »
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of the following companies were among those making percentage moves of 5% or more in the U.S. stock market Wednesday.
shares advanced 7.6%. Third-quarter net income of the Wallingford, Conn.-based manufacturer of fiber-optic and electronic connectors rose 37% to $91.5 million, or 50 cents a share, from $66.7 million, or 36 cents a share, in the prior-year period. It said sales for the third quarter rose 15% to $733.9 million from $636.4 million last year.
Shares of BlackRock Inc.
the New York investment manager, rose 6.4%. It reported third quarter net income and revenue jumped as assets under management as of Sept. 30 rose 16%. Net income reached $255.2 million, or $1.94 a share, from $18.9 million, or 28 cents, in the year-earlier period. Two key special items in the latest period added up to a reduction of 23 cents a share in earnings.
Champion Enterprises Inc.'s
shares jumped 10%. Third-quarter net income of the prefabricated-housing company rose 43% to $12.9 million, or 17 cents a share, from $9.02 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier. The company said sales increased 3% to $357.7 million from $346.5 million.
Crown Holdings Inc.
shares advanced 7%. The packaging company said its third-quarter net income rose to $92 million, or 56 cents a share, compared with $85 million, or 50 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue grew to $2.15 billion from $2 billion a year ago. Analysts estimated earnings of 58 cents a share on revenue of $2.17 billion.
shares gained 5.9%. The railroad operator posted a third-quarter profit of $407 million, or 91 cents a share, up from $328 million, or 71 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding 24 cents a share from discontinued operations, the most recent quarterly profit came in at 67 cents a share. Revenue rose 3% to $2.5 billion, as improved revenue per unit more than made up for a decline in volume. Analysts had expected a profit of 62 cents a share on sales of $2.49 billion.
Shares of EBay Inc., parent of Skype
rose 5.2%. Skype, a provider of phone service over the Internet, will add its functionality to the social-networking site MySpace, the companies said. A statement from the two on Wednesday said that MySpace has more than 110 million monthly active users while Skype has 220 million registered users. The move adds Skype phone calling to MySpace's instant-messaging function. It will enable MySpace users to make free calls over Skype to other MySpace or Skype users.
shares gained 6.7%. Third-quarter earnings of the Milwaukee temporary-employment company rose to $131.7 million, or $1.57 a share, from $100.6 million, or $1.16, a year earlier, boosted in part by strength in foreign currencies. A Thomson Financial survey of analysts' on average predicted earnings of $1.38 a share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates usually exclude items. Revenue rose to $5.3 billion from $4.6 billion a year ago. Looking forward, the company is expecting fourth-quarter earnings $1.50 to $1.54 a share.
shares soared 11%. The Cincinnati specialty insurer definitively agreed to be acquired by Munich Re (843002) for $65 a share cash, or $1.3 billion, the companies said. In a statement on Wednesday, the companies said the German reinsurer would also assume Midland's debt. The deal price is 13.5% over Midland Co.'s closing price of $57.27 on Tuesday.
Steel Dynamics Inc.'s
shares advanced 6.4%. Third-quarter net income of the steel company fell 15% to $100.6 million, or $1.06 a share, from $118.7 million, or $1.09 a share, a year earlier. Results from the most recent period include about 1 cent a share in purchase accounting adjustments from the company's July acquisition of The Techs. The steel company's revenue rose 27% to $1.16 billion from $911.9 million in the year-ago period. Analysts expected per-share earnings of $1.06 on revenue of $1.04 billion. Steel Dynamics said it expects fourth-quarter per-share earnings of $1.02 to $1.07, excluding any impact from the planned acquisition of OmniSource Corp.
Shares of medical device maker Trans1 Inc.
rallied 60% in their stock market debut on Wednesday.
shares jumped 8.4%. The company said its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 5% from the period a year earlier, as the Internet company undertook a broad reorganization under its new CEO. It said net income for the period ended in September fell to $151.3 million, or 11 cents a share, from $158.5 million, or 11 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile total revenue rose to $1.77 billion from $1.58 billion. Analysts expected Yahoo to report earnings of 8 cents a share, and net sales of $1.24 billion. See full story
Axcelis Technologies Inc.
shares fell 5.7%. The Beverly, Mass., ion implantation equipment company revised its outlook for the third quarter and now expects revenue to be "slightly" lower than its original projection of $110 million to $120 million. The company expects a third-quarter loss of 8 cents a share.
Bon-Ton Stores Inc.
shares lost 8.4 %. The department store chain said it doesn't expect to achieve its full-year fiscal 2007 earnings estimate, based on year-to-date third-quarter results and "continued general softness in the retail environment."
CIT Group Inc.
shares fell 5.8%. The commercial and consumer finance company said it swung to a third-quarter loss of $46.3 million, or 24 cents a share, in the third quarter. Last year, it reported a profit of $290.8 million, or $1.44 a share. The company took a $465 million, or $1.53 a share, pretax charge related to its home lending operations and also recorded a $39.6 million, or 12 cents a share, pretax charge to close its origination operations.
Shares of First Cash Financial Services Inc.
the Arlington, Texas, operator of pawn brokerage and check-cashing stores, tumbled 12%. The company reported third-quarter earnings rose 31% on 51% higher revenue. Earnings reached $10.4 million, or 32 cents a share, from $7.9 million, or 25 cents, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $105 million from $69.5 million. A survey of analysts by Thomson Financial produced a consensus estimate of 33 cents of profit on $100 million of revenue.
Fulton Financial Corp.'s
shares slid 7%. Third-quarter net income of the financial holding company fell 31% to $33.6 million, or 19 cents a share, from $48.3 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier on a $16 million charge related to mortgage banking operations at Resource Bank. Its net interest income decreased 2.8% to $122.4 million from $125.9 million a year ago. Fulton increased its provision for loan losses to $4.61 million from $555,000 a year ago. Total assets reached $15.4 billion as of Sept. 30, up from $14.9 billion a year earlier, the company said.
MGIC Investment Corp.
shares tumbled 15%. The mortgage insurance company reported a third-quarter net loss of $372.5 million, or $4.60 a share, compared with net income of $130 million, or $1.55 a share the previous year.
Shares of truck manufacturer Paccar Inc.
fell 6.8%. Wachovia Securities downgraded Paccar to underperform from market perform, saying it believes that short-term consensus earnings expectations are too high. The broker told clients it thinks the company will miss forecasts due to very weak North American truck unit production conditions. Longer term, it believes that the apparent North American demand recovery push-out will translate into lower earnings power in 2008 and 2009.
Shares of Piper Jaffray Cos.
the Minneapolis investment firm, lost 5.2%. The company reported third-quarter earnings fell 98%, reflecting a year-earlier gain from discontinued operations, while revenue fell 20%. Earnings from continuing operations fell 50%. Net income at PJC was $4.4 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with $186.6 million, or $9.79, in the year-earlier period.
Spectrum Brands Inc.
shares tumbled 16%. The Atlanta-based consumer-products company said Wednesday that it has postponed its strategic asset sale process, citing "challenging conditions in the credit markets." In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Kent Hussey reiterated the company's commitment to selling assets, but stated its belief that waiting for credit markets to improve would allow the company to get full valuation for those assets.
Thornburg Mortgage Inc.
shares plunged 12%. It swung to a third-quarter loss from a year-earlier profit and omitted its dividend on common stock. The loss was $1.08 billion, or $8.83 a share, compared with net income of $75.3 million, or 64 cents, in the year-earlier period. A survey of analysts by Thomson Financial produced a consensus estimate of a loss of $7.98 a share for the quarter.
Usana Health Sciences Inc.'s
shares sank 9.5%. Third-quarter net income rose 10% to $11.3 million, or 68 cents a share, from $10.2 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier on stock repurchases and a lower than expected effective tax rate. Earnings from continuing operations rose to 70 cents a share from 56 cents. The nutritional, personal care and weight-management product provider's sales increased 15% to $106.2 million from $92 million a year ago.


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Hotels dislike talking about it, but theft and other crimes do happen on their premises. Just how much is impossible to pinpoint because hotels do not disclose numbers, and government statistics do not record crimes by property type.
While hotels try to educate guests on protecting themselves — putting safety tips on the back of doors, in room brochures and sometimes on the plastic room key cards — new surroundings often lull guests into a false sense of security.
That is what happened to Glenn Haussman during his stay in October at a luxury resort in
“I had no identification, no
He said security at the hotel, which he did not want to name because he was likely to attend another conference there, looked into the theft and asked him to sign a paper that said he had left the balcony door open. In other words, he said, “It was my fault.”
John Powers, an
When he returned, he said, “There was no laptop and no luggage.”
His complaint was brushed off initially, he said, because the electronic room key card showed that he was the only one to enter the room. Hotels program room cards to keep track of who enters a room, whether it is a housekeeper, maintenance worker or the guest.
Key card checks have greatly reduced theft, but not in every situation. In Mr. Haussman’s case, no key card was used because the thief entered through the balcony. Mr. Powers noticed gouge marks, indicating a forced entry.
Most hotels, even those affiliated with the largest and best-known chains, give the on-site manager discretion about how — and whether — to investigate thefts and whether to call the police. Assaults are generally handled by the police. The Milwaukee hotel’s manager did not respond to calls for comment on Mr. Powers, and Hilton’s policy is that because the hotels handle the investigations, they should speak for themselves.
Hotel safety has substantially improved in the past decade, said Thomas G. Davis, a security consultant for the American Hotel and Lodging Association, an industry association. This is because hotels not only keep tabs on who enters a hotel room but also more thoroughly check employee backgrounds, remind guests to take precautions and consistently train staff members.
Hotels stepped up their efforts, he said, because of civil lawsuits by crime victims or their families. Now, he said, many hotels lock meeting rooms, use plainclothes security and use security cameras and automatic room deadbolts.
Joe McInerney, chief executive of the hotel and lodging association, said there was “a minuscule amount of hotel crime when you consider that about 3 million people stay in hotels each night, and maybe there are five instances a night.”
Mr. Davis, who heads Hospitality Risk Controls Inc., in
But he noted that hotels could be skeptical about travelers’ claims. The reason, he said, is that some are false and “a lot of time people just lose things.”
State innkeeper laws generally shield hotels from liability, unless the guest can prove the lodging did not follow the law’s requirements. But that is a long legal road, and most victims are eager for the hotel to step in and act quickly.
That does not always happen. Mr. Haussman, for example, said he was able to replace his
“It was inexcusable that they didn’t even
Mr. Powers said that the Milwaukee hotel’s on-duty manager initially blamed him, saying he failed to close his door when he left, and suggested his
Robert V. Allegrini, a spokesman for
Mr. Powers said his experience led to collaborating on a book called “Greenhorn Traveler: The Art of Travel for Those Who Rarely Do,” to be published in April by PSI Publications. And, he said, now he “almost never” leaves his laptop anywhere.
Mark A. Sanna, vice president for global security at Hyatt Hotels, said his company’s hotels and others were beginning to adopt one answer to the theft of laptops, their biggest theft problem.
“We are retrofitting many rooms with safes that have an electrical outlet,” Mr. Sanna said. “And the safes are big enough that you can leave your laptop and cellphone inside charging instead of leaving it out on the desk.”
But, he added: “We can’t prevent everything. It’s a shared responsibility, and simple things like using the room safe can prevent a lot of problems.”Continue reading the main story


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CBD Products Off Limits for Navy Sailors | Mary Jane’s CBD Dispensary / CBD and Navy, Why CBD Products Have Proliferated, Navy Warns of Mislabeling, CBD Products on Hold for Many Service Personnel
August 27, 2019
The U.S. Navy has told it’s sailors that they are not allowed to use hemp-derived products, including those containing CBD, even though theHemp Farming Act of 2018(part of the 2018 Farm Bill) declassified hemp as a controlled substance.
The Navy said in its memo to all serving personnel that the Farm Bill has no bearing on Navy policy and therefore all sailors remain banned from using hemp-based products.
As mentioned, the prohibition on hemp (and therefore CBD) was relaxed in 2018, leading to the creation ofnumerous CBD productssuch asCBD oilandCBD flowers.
CBD is a chemical compound harvested from the hemp strain of the cannabis plant and is often wrongly associated with its closely-related chemical compound THC.
THC is psychoactive and is found in much larger quantities in the marijuana strain of cannabis, giving users a “high” sensation after consumption.
Commercially-grownhemp contains very little THC(0.3%), and CBD products often contain even smaller amounts after processing, meaning those taking CBD products don’t experience a “high”.
However, the murky regulation of the industry is still a cause for concern for the Navy.
Within the memo, the Navy explained their reasoning for upholding a ban on CBD use.
They noted that “Commercially-available hemp products, including CBD, have not been inspected by the FDA and therefore have not been proven to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any illness. Some of these products do not list all ingredients, making it impossible to know definitively how much CBD, THC or other synthetic cannabinoids they may contain.”
While the healthbenefits of CBD have been widely claimed, science is still playing catch up. Clinical trials are still ongoing and so far only one drug containing CBD (Epidiolex) hasgained FDA approval.
The Navy also correctly asserted that labels on CBD products often do not match up to their ingredients. A2017 studyshowed that as much as 1 in 5 of the CBD products tested contained an amount of THC which would see a sailor fail a drug screening. daily dose hemp seed oil
Sailors will likely have to wait for further legislation for their situation to change with regards to taking CBD products, regardless of the potential health benefits taking the CBD products could bring them.
Other organizations have taken a similar line, with the U.S. #https://www.justcbdstore.com# Best Selling CBD Snack from JustCBDCoastguard issuing an order banning all personnel from visiting businesses that grows, sells, or distributes marijuana. This is regardless of whether the personnel live or operate in one of the 11 states that have legalized marijuana.
The negative connotations surrounding cannabis products looks set to continue to dictate military policy towards substances derived from this versatile plant. Without more clinical trials and more thorough legislation provided by state capitals and the FDA, it’s difficult to foresee a situation where the Navy will change its stance.
CBD and Navy, Why CBD Products Have Proliferated, Navy Warns of Mislabeling, CBD Products on Hold for Many Service Personnel
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February 24, 2020
In anew study, mice with pancreatic cancer who were treated with cannabidiol (CBD) and chemotherapy survived nearly three times longer than those treated with only chemotherapy—a major discovery, considering how low the survival rate typically is.
February 24, 2020
Dollar General has announced they will begin selling cannabidiol (CBD) products in select stores, starting with Tennessee and Kentucky. They plan to sell 20 different types of CBD products across 1,800 stores in those two states.
February 16, 2020
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The largest acquisitions by the two former CEOs were Compaq by Fiorina in 2002 and EDS under Hurd's watch in 2008.
HP's EDS unit has faced problems that can be traced to having four different leaders in as many years, she said. The CEO disruptions resulted in changes in strategy and a reliance on short-term fixes that did not help the company, Whitman said.
She also noted that HP has too many products. In printing division alone, she noted, there are some 2,100 laser printers. She expects that number to be cut by nearly 50% over the next year.
"In every business were going to benefit from focusing on a smaller number of offerings that we can invest in and really make matter."
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What was first announced by Barnes and Noble as a dirt cheap Father’s Day sale on NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ last week, have now been extended for an unknown period of time.
Barnes and Noble officially announced the continuation of the discount on both of these HD Android tablets after the deep price cut of last week seemed to boost sales quite a lot.
Commentators are split between those who think that B&N are having a sale to clear out inventory before new models arrive, and those who believe that B&N might discontinue the production of tablets and ereaders altogether.
Another tablet on sale at the moment is Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1-Inch, Wi-Fi). But at least there is no confusion over motive with Samsung, since we know that they are clearing out inventory before the Galaxy Tab 3 is released in a matter of days.
But at $299, even on sale the price remains so high that you can still get two B&N tablets for the price of one 10.1″ 1280×800 Samsung tablet.


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FIFA 15 Celebrations Tutorial Will Show You How to Celebrate in Style
There is a new tutorial trailer released for Fifa 15, through which players can learn all about the new celebrations. You check out the Tutorial here, showcasing the goal celebrations mechanics in detail.
Furthermore, Just ahead of the Fifa 15’s release in about two weeks, the developer has also released a demo of the game. It’s the first time fans will be able to try out FIFA 15’s new Ignite Engine and with it, we will see some pretty intense emotions and celebrations on the field.
“The launch of the FIFA 15 demo is like our pre-season and the first chance for millions of FIFA fans to get hands-on with the game,” EA Sports FIFA Senior Producer Nick
FIFA 15 Demo went live across Europe and North America on all major platform. Unfortunately, fans who downloaded the demo on PS4 reported some technical issues which EA responded too and said they are aware of the situation.
Our team is aware of an issue affecting some players on the PS4 #FIFA15Demo and is investigating now. Thanks for your patience.
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) September 10, 2014
You’ll be able to take any of the following teams for a spin in the new demo.
- Manchester City
- Borussia Dortmund
- Boca Juniors
FIFA 15 is se for a release on September 23 in North America and September 25th in Europe for PS4,PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. Have you tried the demo? Share your opinions with us in the comments below!


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Bitcoin Has No Intrinsic Value, Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey
Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey Warns Bitcoin Has No Intrinsic Value, Not a Practical Means of Payment
On Monday, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned about bitcoin and cryptocurrency on the Jobs of the Future podcast.
His warning came after the crypto market plunged, shedding close to $500 billion this month. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has fallen more than 25% over the past 30 days.
While admitting that blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, is essential, Bailey is unconvinced about bitcoin as a means of payment. He added that Britain’s central bank looks at its digital currency.
In terms of payments, I don’t think it will be crypto in the sort of bitcoin sense of the term.
I don’t think that is really a practical means of payment.
The central bank governor opined: “What I think is to be determined is, if we are much more likely to be living in a world of digital currency than old fashioned sort of payment methods, precisely what form of digital currency, digital use, becomes the one that becomes the accepted norm.”
While confirming that he does not hold any crypto himself, Bailey said:
I am probably not liked by the advocates of bitcoin because I have said I don’t think it has any intrinsic value.
“It can have extrinsic value in the sense that people want to own it — people collect all sorts of things — but it doesn’t have intrinsic value,” he noted.
Bailey has never been a fan of bitcoin or crypto.
He said last month that crypto creates an “opportunity for the downright criminal.” In March last year, he said cryptocurrencies are “dangerous.”
In November, Bailey voiced concerns about El Salvador adopting bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar.


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- Alibaba and Amazon dominate global e-commerce
- ChineseInvestors.com just successfully launched first hemp-infused skin care products in China
- Company aims to dominate market
When considering e-commerce, Amazon is usually the first name that pops up. However, Alibaba is, by many metrics, both China’s and the world’s largest online e-commerce company. Alibaba commands about 50% market share of business-to-consumer e-commerce in China, while Amazon is the e-commerce elephant in the United States, garnering about 44% of e-commerce sales. To achieve maximum market penetration and global exposure, ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) just successfully launched its OptHemp Product Line on both Amazon and Alibaba.
Initially launched as a specialized investment services company providing real-time commentary, analysis and educational related services in the Chinese language, ChineseInvestors.com’s long-term quest for value-add opportunities led it to stake out a position in the explosive new medical CBD market. With nearly two decades of brand recognition, a 100,000+ user base and a target market of nearly two billion Chinese-speaking people, ChineseInvestors.com launched into the CBD market in 2016. Simultaneously, the company continued to expand its core investor education business, adding a Chinese speakers-targeted daily video telecast on cryptocurrencies, and recently announce a 186 percent jump in sales for 1Q2018 in its investor relations division.
In addition to nurturing its legacy business to record growth, ChineseInvestors.com has established a significant footprint in the global CBD market in only one year. The company’s latest foray into the CBD market may be its boldest and, potentially, most profitable endeavor to date, as it aims to dominate the entire hemp-infused skin care products market throughout China. The company retails its hemp oil-based cannabidiol (CBD) products on Alibaba and Amazon under the “OptHemp” brand through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, CBD Biotechnology Co. Ltd. and ChineseHempOil.com, Inc. As indication of consumer acceptance, the company’s “CBD Magic Hemp Series” generated 40,000 views and registered over 91 units purchased just minutes after launch. Commenting on the overwhelming response to its product launch, ChineseInvestors.com CEO Warren Wang stated that it “solidifies our belief that Chinese consumers recognize that the anti-inflammatory agents and anti-oxidants contained in hemp-extract can have positive effects on the skin.”
In business for nearly two decades and with a track record of stellar revenue growth and strategic diversification, the company is primed to capitalize on its position as the first to market in China with hemp-infused skin care products through its partnerships with global e-commerce behemoths. These factors certainly suggest strong upside potential for ChineseInvestors.com.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ChineseInvestors.com
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Increasingly, how and where you shop could be driven by your age
Saving money on the essentials and niceties of life is something most of us care about at some level. After all, why waste money if you don’t have to?
For decades, one of the places that cost-conscious consumers turned was to such warehouse wholesalers as Costco and Sam’s Club.
Warehouse clubs such as Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club have for decades been an American staple: a place where families can stock up on bulk items, try free samples and spend the better part of a weekend morning meandering through aisles filled with 26-packs of canned salmon and king-size mattresses. But as more of Americans’ buying shifts online, some retail analysts say warehouse clubs may largely be left behind.
“The core club customer is older: It’s generally someone with a family and a house,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at the research firm Forrester. “Costco has been one of the least digitally forward companies out there. This segment has had its head in the sand when it comes to competing with Amazon.”
These trends are driven largely by a divide in generations. Boomers and older are largely sticking with the clubs, while Millennials, the largest single adult demographic made up of people born from roughly 1981 to 1996 (Ernst & Young), are forgoing the warehouses for online shopping.
“Today’s adults are not spending a lot of time shopping like my parents’ generation did,” said Kim Whitler, a marketing professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. “Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, they’re all time-starved and want to order groceries while they’re riding a bus to work.”
“It’s like, I’m basically a walking commercial for Costco, but I look at my kids, and they just want to do everything on Amazon,” said Stacy Schulz of Little Rock, 50. “And it’s the same when I go to Sam’s Club: I look around, and it’s all people in their 50s, 60s and 70s.”
How this all shakes out remains to be seen. Amazon and other online retailers just had record holiday quarters, leading to equally epic slowdowns by shippers UPS and FedEx, trying to keep up with the increased load of packages. For now, warehouse retailers are still crowded on the weekends and evenings, but if they don’t grow their appeal with younger shoppers, a change to their business model seems inevitable.
“There’s a lot of overlap, and people are shopping on Amazon for other reasons as well,” said Mulpuru of Forrester. “Retail is a zero-sum game: As consumers shop more at one company, they’ll shop less at another.”


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How Kim Kardashian's Lesser Siblings Are
Daily BeastHow Kim Kardashian's Lesser Siblings Are Sullying Her BrandDaily BeastEver since the 2007 release of Kim Kardashian's Ray J sex tape, the Kardashian family has been spinning notoriety and sex appeal into solid gold. To a legion of Juicy sweatpants-wearing 2006 pop culture devotees, Kim K was just a pretty girl who Paris ...Kim Kardashian steps out in sheer bra top as she stays silent on Rob Kardashian dramaAOLHow much is Kim Kardashian actually worth?Cosmopolitan.comKim Kardashian Brings Back the 'Sheer Nipple Vibes' in a See-Through Gucci Bra and Velvet LeggingsPEOPLE.comHollywood Life -Just Jaredall 29 news articles »
Posted on 10 July 2017 | 9:36 pm
Peekaboo! Kim Kardashian barely contains her
Daily MailPeekaboo! Kim Kardashian barely contains her assets in sheer Gucci bra...adding velvet leggings and blazer for ...Daily MailShe flaunted her legs in leather bicycle shorts with a white shirt and blazer during her outing with daughter North on Monday afternoon. And hours later, Kim Kardashian changed into something a little more revealing for dinner. The 36-year-old ...
Posted on 10 July 2017 | 7:27 pm
Kim Kardashian and Bethenny Frankel say this
CNBCKim Kardashian and Bethenny Frankel say this trait helped them ...CNBCHate them or love them, there's no denying that Kim Kardashian and Bethenny Frankel are savvy businesswoman.and more »
Posted on 10 July 2017 | 5:17 pm
North West Rocks Corset Dress Just LikeKim
Hollywood LifeNorth West Rocks Corset Dress Just LikeKim Kardashian & Kylie JennerHollywood LifeWhen she steps out for fashionable events, she often matches her mom, Kim Kardashian — and her latest look in LA on July 10 totally reminded us of something we've first seen on Kim, as she rocked a corset over a slip dress. In fact, this wasn't even ...North West Turns Natural Curls and Custom Yeezy Sneakers Into a Street Style WinVogue.comall 6 news articles »
Posted on 10 July 2017 | 12:29 pm
Kim Kardashian's contour kit: A brutally
USA TODAYKim Kardashian's contour kit: A brutally honest review - USA TodayUSA TODAYIs the queen of contouring's first beauty product worth the price? We have answers.This Is What Really Happened When I Tried Out The KKW Contour ...Hollywood Lifeall 2 news articles »
Posted on 10 July 2017 | 11:41 am
Kim Kardashian’s Slicked Back Hair For
Kim Kardashian, 34, is statuesque in the September issue of C magazine. Her hair was styled by Chris McMillan using Living Proof products. Find out how to get Kim’s beauty look right here! Kim looks absolutely amazing in the photo shoot, where she ...
Posted on 28 August 2015 | 5:38 am
Kim Kardashian’s Placenta Accreta
The pregnant star revealed that she’s dealing with “placenta accrete”—a complication that is very real and can be very dangerous for mothers. “I had this condition called placenta accreta,” she tells interviewer Amanda de Cadenet. Removal can ...
Posted on 28 August 2015 | 5:34 am
Kim Kardashian Reminds Us the Media Has a
Famous for everything Kim Kardashian has something interesting to say about how the media weighs a woman’s worth the best way they know how: their weight, even when a woman is making people. In her new interview with C magazine, Kim talked about how news ...
Posted on 28 August 2015 | 5:32 am
Kim Kardashian's Worried Her Pregnancy May
Kim Kardashian has been very open about the struggles she’s faced with her second pregnancy, and while everything’s fine right now, the reality star recently revealed that she’s worried that her second child may be the last she can carry to term herself.
Posted on 28 August 2015 | 5:31 am
Kim Kardashian Reveals the Reason Why She No
Smiling is not her favorite. Kim Kardashian revealed in a new interview why she rarely smiles in photos. The reality star, who's currently expecting a baby boy with her husband, Kanye West, said it stems from her first pregnancy with daughter, North West ...
Posted on 28 August 2015 | 5:28 am


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Clipsal have now released a new MK2 model Wiser. The new Wiser is much more straight forward to set up and sits on your network like any other network device. No longer do you have to decide to use its router or wireless capabilities or consider upsetting your clients existing network and devices. Along with the new Wiser comes a … Read More
Want to control your home lighting,power, security, TV etc from your phone when sitting in your lounge or what about when you are not there at all? With a smart phone and intelligent home control systems, like C-Bus and Wiser, this is all possible. Clipsal CBus has a product called WISER which is basically a wifi router connected to … Read More
Anyone out there with a C-Bus Wiser unit? There has been a recent firmware upgrade and if you are experiencing any issues, it may be a good idea to get your installer back and upgrade to the new firmware version.


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Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), the world’s largest restaurant company with nearly 38,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in more than 120 countries, announced today that chairman and chief executive officer David Novak received the “2012 CEO of the Year” award from Chief Executivemagazine, an honor bestowed upon an outstanding corporate leader, nominated and selected by a group of his or her peers. Novak was recognized in front of more than 200 leading CEOs and other executives at an event hosted by NYSE Euronext and the Chief Executive Group at the New York Stock Exchange last night.
Novak is one of an elite group of executives recognized with this annual honor since its inception in 1986. He was selected by a group of his peers for Yum!’s sustained performance and the high level of employee engagement, leadership development and strategic alignment of the Company and its people under his leadership. Novak’s commitment to recognition and his people was one of the defining characteristics that impressed the members of the 2012 CEO of the Year Selection Committee. Yum!’s innovativeness in establishing its brands so vigorously in emerging markets also impressed his peers.
“Not only is David laser focused on what customers want and value, but he has developed a compelling vision and a comprehensive strategy,” said Alan Mulally, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company, and 2011 CEO of the Year. “And he follows that up with relentless implementation.” Mulally presented Novak with the “2012 CEO of the Year” award at the New York Stock Exchange.
Under Novak’s leadership, Yum! has established itself as a global powerhouse going from approximately 20 percent profits coming from outside the U.S. in 1997 to more than 70 percent in 2011, while driving one of the highest returns on invested capital in the restaurant industry. Today, Yum! is the leading retail developer in China as well as the largest and fastest growing restaurant company in emerging markets with a two-to-one advantage over its nearest competitor. The Company’s track record of success includes at least 13 percent earnings-per-share growth for each of the last 10 years.
Additionally, Novak has built Yum!’s entire global people-first culture around reward and recognition to drive results. He is noted for developing and personally training his “Taking People With You” leadership program to thousands of mangers and franchisees around the world during his 15 years at Yum! Brands. His book based on the highly successful program, TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen, is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller and all of his proceeds are donated to the United Nations World Food Programme in conjunction with Yum! Brands’ global hunger relief efforts.
Nominations for CEO of the Year were garnered from among the 124,000 readers of Chief Executive magazine. The 10 most frequently cited nominations were evaluated and a winner voted upon at a meeting of a peer Selection Committee, which took place earlier this year in New York City.
Prior CEO of the Year winners include Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Michael Dell, A.G. Lafley, John Chambers, Anne Mulcahy, Larry Bossidy, Andy Grove and Herb Kelleher.
The 2012 CEO of the Year Selection Committee was comprised of Brian Duperreault (CEO, Marsh & McLennan), Fred Hassan (Chairman, Schering-Plough), William Hickey (CEO, Sealed Air), Christine Jacobs (CEO, Theragenics), Alan Mulally (CEO, Ford Motor Company), William R. Nuti (CEO, NCR), Thomas J. Quinlan III (CEO, R.R. Donnelley), Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (CEO, The Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute), and James Turley (CEO, Ernst & Young). Tom Saporito, Chairman of RHR International, was an advisor to the Selection Committee.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with nearly 38,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #213 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of more than $12 billion in 2011. The Company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened approximately four new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader in international retail development.
Chief Executive Group enhances the effectiveness of CEOs and the organizations they lead. The company produces Chief Executive magazine (published since 1977), ChiefExecutive.net, original research, conferences and roundtables that enable top corporate officers to discuss key subjects and share their experiences within a community of peers. Visit ChiefExecutive.net for more information.


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Are you a Jif or a Skippy type?
Your answer could determine which political party you align with, according to an unusual study conducted at the University Of Chicago.
The study purported that everything consumers buy or even watch on TV could predict their gender, race, social status and politics with 90% accuracy.
According to research by Marianne Bertrand and Emir Kamenica, it turns out that people are separated not just by gu… https://t.co/0Qu8fNr7vX— Chicago Booth News (@Chicago Booth News) 1531247707.0
Economists from the university's Booth School of Business, Marianne Bertrand and Emir Kamenica, programmed machines to identify a person's background based on their consumer behavior.
The duo trained their algorithms to detect patterns in decades of responses to three long-running surveys, each with between 669 and 22,033 responses per year.
The surveys were tuned and filtered to be consistent over time, which allowed Bertrand and Kamenica to measure how America's cultural divides have evolved.
“The researchers found that a person owning an iPhone gave them a 69.1% chance to correctly infer that the owner of… https://t.co/XWHEiD9NjQ— Keith Stoeckeler 🍔 (@Keith Stoeckeler 🍔) 1531140491.0
To accurately demonstrate how cultural factors were influenced by a person's race, education and economic status, Bertrand and Kamenica tested the algorithms on subsets of the data that were foreign to the program.
What a treat to see this paper by Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica. #SocSciResearch They ask: Is cultural dista… https://t.co/Y5VyY2HfeM— Jan Zilinsky (@Jan Zilinsky) 1531343255.0
What magazines people read, what movies they watch, and what products they buy contains some information about peop… https://t.co/m3MdA4wWIm— Jan Zilinsky (@Jan Zilinsky) 1531343491.0
This is important because people are more likely to socialize with people who share the same culture. Interaction… https://t.co/gQAAJf4bEW— Jan Zilinsky (@Jan Zilinsky) 1531343647.0
The study showed the obvious, of course. Like men don't spend as much on mascara as women and, conversely, women don't buy after shave as much as men.
But other results were more revelatory. Like White people and Black people are almost as different in their spending habits as poor people and rich people.
Research from @ChicagoBooth’s Marianne Bertrand and Emir Kamenica (https://t.co/fBc69CscZF) argue that owning an iP… https://t.co/UdJiFdh3Sx— Becker Friedman (@Becker Friedman) 1531434600.0
The top ten TV show predictors for White people included such offerings as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, American Pickers and The Big Bang Theory.
Top ten brand name products included Thomas' English muffins, Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce and Stove Top stuffing.
In 1992, using @thegreypoupon was 62.2% indicative of being high income, by 2016 the fancy mustard was replaced. Ow… https://t.co/JNqcpqgtk4— Chicago Booth News (@Chicago Booth News) 1531234512.0
When it came to predicting liberals, the data became more interesting. The 2009 binary analysis results included examples like 56.2% of liberals bought a novel and 56.8% did not own fishing gear.
When it came to predicting brands, 54.4% of liberals did not purchase Jif peanut butter and 54.4% did not buy meals at the fast food chain Sonic.
Kamenica commented on America's cultural divide, saying that those with higher incomes purchased different products from a demographic with lower incomes and whites and non-whites watched different TV shows.
Interesting paper that I look forward to reading from Marianne Bertrand and Emir Kamenica. A little shocked that th… https://t.co/oygQQVirxp— Morgan C Williams Jr (@Morgan C Williams Jr) 1531175121.0
There are fewer shows like 227 or Martin on the air today and movies like Coming to America, but shows like Game of… https://t.co/ZfLMkINckR— Morgan C Williams Jr (@Morgan C Williams Jr) 1531175571.0
What's really striking to me is how constant cultural divisions have been as the world has changed. This is not a new phenomenon.
For the past 40 years, liberals and conservatives are disagreeing more each year. On every topic, liberals and conservatives are disagreeing more than they used to.


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Espacio USA proposes 12-story office, retail building in downtown Miami
- Staff South Florida Business Journal
Espacio USA, a subsidiary of Spanish developer Inmobiliaria Espacio, has proposed a 12-story office and retail building near the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.
The Miami Herald reports that construction of the mixed-use building would begin next year on the 1400 block of Biscayne Blvd. and a 650-foot tower would later be added with retail, office and residential space.
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Essential business news for South Florida leaders.


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- For Starbucks customers, the last ten years have meant many new ways to enjoy their morning coffee.
- From a focus on „Instagrammable“ drinks that go viral to more sustainable initiatives such as strawless lids, Starbucks drinks have undergone quite a few changes as the company strives to reach billions of consumers worldwide.
- The Pink Drink, Starbucks Refreshers, and Teavana tea drinks were all added to Starbucks menus in the 2010s, indicating that Starbucks has been attempting to extend beyond its standard espresso coffee beverages.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
It may be hard for some Starbucks coffee drinkers to imagine a time without Cold Brew, almond milk, or Starbucks K-Cups.
Yet, at one time, these menu items and products were brand new.
After the cult-like following of the „Starbucks secret menu“ began requesting custom fan-made drinks, secret menu items have even begun showing up on the official Starbucks menu, namely the fan-favorite Pink Drink.
Year after year, the brand is also leaning into the „Instagramable“ quality of colorful and vibrant drinks, which can quickly go viral on social media, bringing in traffic and sales to Starbucks stores nationwide.
Here’s how Starbucks drinks have changed and evolved over the last ten years.
In 2010, Starbucks introduced its However-You-Want-It Frappuccino.
Starbucks released its very first Frappuccino back in 1995, but it wasn’t until 2010 that Starbucks customers could easily customize their frozen beverage with their choice of milk, coffee type, syrups, and toppings. As syrups didn’t cost extra to add to the drinks, analysts at the time reported that the new customizable option was warding off competition from McDonald’s, who had released their own less expensive frozen Frappe drinks.
„The free additions make the drinks seem like a better deal,“ Tom Forte, a restaurant analyst with New York-based Telsey Advisory Group, told Bloomberg in 2010.
By allowing customers to create their own Frappuccino drinks, Starbucks also inadvertently allowed customers to begin ordering „secret menu“ versions of the popular blended drink, such as the fan-created, Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer Frappuccino or the Cadbury Cream Egg Frappuccino.
Starbucks told Business Insider that customers can now customize beverages in more than 170,000 different ways.
In, 2011 Starbucks allowed customers to bring their favorite brews home with the launch of Starbucks K-Cup packs.
In November 2011, Starbucks customers could begin purchasing Starbucks K-Cups for single-serve home-brewing. The new product’s release followed the global success of the company’s VIA Ready Brew line, which surpassed $200 million in sales in its first year on the market.
K-Cups grew immensely in popularity between the years 2011 and 2015. In 2015, Forbes reported that a study conducted by the National Coffee Association showed that 25% of American coffee drinkers used single-serving coffee machines, and Starbucks brand K-cups owned 15% of the market.
In 2011, the brand also redesigned its logo to be more minimal.
Starbucks drinks got a makeover when the company’s cups were rebranded with a new logo. Changes to the logo included removing the „Starbucks Coffee“ company name and simplifying the color scheme to green and white.
In 2012, Starbucks acquired Teavana and began selling tea in its locations.
Starbucks purchased tea chain Teavana for $620 million in an acquisition move that attempted to gain access to the „rapidly growing $40 billion global tea category,“ according to a Starbucks press release from 2012.
Starbucks Handcrafted Refreshers entered Starbucks locations in 2012.
Marketed as a low-calorie beverage with a natural source of energy, Handcrafted Refreshers were made with fresh fruit. The beverage was also made available as powdered VIA Refreshers instant beverages and in cans as Starbucks Ready-to-Drink Refreshers. Starbucks has continued to sell Refreshers in the past few years, with a continued focus on „healthier“ beverage options.
In 2014, Teavana Shaken Iced Teas and Teavana Hot Brewed Tea arrived in stores.
Interest in Teavana and tea products has dwindled over the years. In 2017, Starbucks announced that it would be closing all 379 of its Teavana retail stores on account of poor performance. However, the company expanded its Teavana packaged tea products to grocery and other retail stores in 2018, following a 14% increase in packaged tea sales in Starbucks locations.
Starbucks launched its Cold Brew iced coffee in 2015.
Starbucks released its Cold Brew in the summer of 2015, and it’s been a popular menu item ever since. Starbucks Cold Brew is unsweetened, but the process of brewing reportedly makes for a „naturally sweet, smooth“ iced coffee flavor, and numbers show that fans love the cold beverage.
Forbes reports that sales of cold brew nationwide rose 25% following the release of Starbucks‘ Cold Brew.
Evolution Fresh cold-pressed juices and smoothies entered Starbucks stores in 2016 after the company was acquired in 2011.
An initiative to promote healthier options and turn away from Starbucks‘ coffee-centric branding led to a partnership with juice brand Evolution Fresh. With a desire to enter into the, at the time, $50 billion health and wellness sector, Starbucks purchased the juice company for $30 million.
Though the smoothies and cold-pressed juices are still available in Starbucks retail locations, the last two remaining Evolution Fresh stores closed in 2017.
In 2015, Starbucks announced it would begin adding pumpkin puree to its iconic pumpkin spice latte and remove all artificial colors.
The Pumpkin Spice Latte, Starbucks‘ most popular seasonal menu item according to a press release, debuted in 2003 and sold more than 200 million between its launch and 2013. Two years later, Starbucks began adding real pumpkin puree to the fall drink, as it had previously used pumpkin spices. The company also removed caramel coloring from the pumpkin-flavored syrup used to make Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
Starbucks also launched a nationwide rollout of coconut milk in its locations.
In its first alternative to dairy and soy milk, Starbucks began using coconut milk in its stores. The company touted in its press release at the time that coconut milk was the best nondairy alternative for Starbucks beverages, „without the same allergen challenges present in almond milk.“
However, in 2016, Starbucks gave its customers the option to order drinks with almond milk in a greater push towards more nondairy milk alternatives.
Following the success of its original Cold Brew, Starbucks launched Nitro Cold Brew in 2016.
Starbucks‘ Nitro Cold Brew promised to be smoother and creamier due to the infusion of nitrogen into the coffee. In 2018, as Frappuccino sales were declining, the new cold beverage was rising in popularity, especially among younger male millennials, according to Forbes. Restaurant Business also reported that since its release in 2016, Nitro Cold Brew has generated „strong sales“ for the company, as did the 2019 release of the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.
In 2017, the Pink Drink — a far cry from the espresso-based drinks of Starbucks‘ early days — took over the internet.
If one Starbucks drink holds the title of the most viral Starbucks drink of the decade, it would be the Pink Drink. The drink is made with Strawberry Acai Refreshers with accents of passion fruit and acai, coconut milk, and topped with strawberries.
With the introduction of the Pink Drink, customers were choosing to order the beverage with non-dairy milk options. The original drink recipe comes with coconut milk instead of water or dairy milk.
Another „Instagrammable“ drink that drove sales in 2017 was the Unicorn Frappuccino.
Market Watch reported at the time that Starbucks executives claimed the drink was an „Instagrammable success“ that „drove significant traffic“ to stores nationwide.
The colorful and flavor-changing drink quickly sold out in stores across the country, according to CNBC. The Unicorn Frappuccino was only made available for five days, creating a large stir online as customers flocked to Starbucks locations to try the colorful beverage.
In 2018, the look and function of Starbucks drinks changed drastically with the introduction of strawless lids.
In an effort towards improved sustainability practices, Starbucks released its plans to phase out plastic straws from its 28,000 stores, or an estimated 1 billion plastic straws per year, by 2020. However, plastic straws would still be available upon request.
Blonde Espresso, a lighter version of the brand’s signature espresso, debuted in 2018, six years after the release of the Blonde Roast blend for drip coffee.
After the successful release of the Blonde Roast in 2012, the new addition to Starbucks‘ menu allowed customers to customize their beverage with a slightly more subtle, sweet-tasting espresso. However, the new espresso option was released to not much fanfare.
„I don’t think [lighter roasts] work so great in milk-based drinks because they lose their taste,“ Chris Vigilante, founder of Vigilante Coffee Company told the Washington Post at the time.
Starbucks released a line of cold foam beverages in April 2018, allowing customers to enjoy iced Starbucks beverages in a new way.
Instead of hot steamed foam, cold foam is made by blending nonfat milk until it is smooth and frothy. The frothed milk is then topped on top of cold brew, iced Blonde Cappuccinos, and other cold Starbucks beverages. This change allowed Starbucks consumers to enjoy a new kind of whipped topping in a greater push to diversifying the company’s cold beverage options.
The Cloud Macchiato marked Starbucks‘ first celebrity collaboration, with pop star Ariana Grande.
While celebrities have perhaps been known to carry Starbucks cups as accessories throughout the years, the Cloud Macchiato marked the first time in which the coffee company worked with a celebrity endorser. While the drink built off popular Starbucks drinks of years past – the Caramel Macchiato and Cinnamon Almond milk Macchiato, to name a few – the drink used a new method of creating a meringue-like foam on the top of the drink using powdered egg whites.
The company received light backlash online, however, when customers complained that although Grande herself is vegan, the drink she promoted with Starbucks cannot be made vegan due to the use of egg white powder to make the signature „cloud foam.“ However, the drink can be made with non-dairy milk alternatives and the company never claimed that the drink was vegan.
As part of the chain’s summer menu in 2019, Starbucks released a number of fan-favorite menu items including the new Dragon Drink and Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers.
In an effort to capitalize on Instagram-worthy food trends and products, Starbucks released a colorful duo of summer drinks in 2019. In a press release, the company stated that „these Starbucks Refreshers beverages will add a pop of color to your cup (and social media feed) this summer and all year long.“ The vibrant drinks are just one example of how Starbucks is encouraging social media users to drive the popularity and sales of its latest beverages.
Starbucks also brought back popular „fan-favorite“ Frappuccino blends including the S’mores Frappuccino, Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino, and the Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino.
In 2019, Starbucks released an updated version of its popular Pumpkin Spice Latte — the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.
Released in response to high numbers of cold coffee orders – Starbucks reports that half of all beverage orders are for cold beverages, up from 37% in 2013 – the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew was the first new pumpkin-flavored coffee beverage to join the Starbucks menu in 16 years. The fall menu was also released on its earliest date in Starbucks history, August 27.
Following the success of the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Starbucks also released an iced winter-inspired drink, the Irish Cream Cold Brew.
This seemingly paradoxical drink is the first cold drink to be added to the chain’s holiday menu. While it might sound strange to introduce a cold drink in the winter season, following the success of the pumpkin cream cold brew, it might not be so surprising. Nevertheless, it’s a big change from the warm Peppermint Mochas and Eggnog Lattes of years past.


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A company called Eucalyptus Fibre Congo S.A. is alleged to have paid at least US$76,500 in “black money” to Congolese public officials in 2012. At the time, the company held an FSC chain of custody certificate.
Three weeks ago, Arnaud Labrousse sent an email to Kim Carstensen, FSC’s Director General. Labrousse has a few questions for FSC. Unfortunately, FSC seems reluctant to answer them.


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October 09, 2021 | 15:28
A large number of textile and footwear enterprises have been fined for late deliveries in 2021 and had new orders for 2022 suspended or reduced in quantity.
October 05, 2021 | 17:57
The latest update from the MoIT in September showed how resilient the manufacturing sector is in the early stages of re-opening, according to KIS Securities.
October 02, 2021 | 13:40
Vietnam's manufacturing sector witnessed a further sharp fall in production and a record rise in backlogs of work during September due to COVID-19.
September 27, 2021 | 22:13
Nearly half of the roles in manufacturing will need to change within the next 3-5 years as the industry transitions to become fully digital.
September 27, 2021 | 17:10
LPEC Joint Venture JSC and FUJI Elevator (Malaysia) signed a strategic cooperation to bring elevator products made in Vietnam to international markets.
September 19, 2021 | 21:25
Uniqlo is the latest big apparel retailer experiencing sourcing challenges because Vietnamese factory are struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
September 07, 2021 | 08:41
During its 28 years in Vietnam, GE has strived to improve local suppliers’ capacity, bridging local high-tech products to the global supply chain.
September 01, 2021 | 15:05
With this additional capital, the total investment of LG Display in Vietnam has reached $4.65 billion.
September 01, 2021 | 15:00
Vietnam Manufacturing PMI fell to 40.2 in August from 45.1 in July, the worst deterioration in the health of the manufacturing sector since April 2020.
September 01, 2021 | 13:26
Samsung Electronics is considering to increase production capacity by 50 per cent at its Vietnam smartphone plant for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3.
August 19, 2021 | 08:52
Apple has put on hold its plans to relocate part of its production including iPad and MacBooks from China to Vietnam due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 02, 2021 | 20:06
The current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam led to further disruption across the manufacturing sector during July.
July 05, 2021 | 15:24
The latest wave of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam led to a sharp deterioration of output and new orders, while businesses scaled back employment and purchasing.
June 08, 2021 | 13:15
The Taiwanese government has given a nod to Pegatron Corp to pour additional $101 million investment in Vietnam, according to Reuter.
June 01, 2021 | 17:47
Vietnam's PMI posted 53.1 in May, down from 54.7 in April, signalling a sixth successive improvement in business conditions.


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Aquanta first came to our attention way back in 2014 with a very simple but very clever idea: a device that controls your water heater so it produces hot water only when you need it, instead of keeping 40 or 50 gallons of water hot 24/7. Since then, Aquanta has mostly worked with public utilities to get its product into homes. The company is now selling its controller direct to consumers, and after spending some quality time with a review unit, I think it's a strong value. That makes it the second-largest contributor to your energy-related utility bill (after heating and cooling), at a cost to the average family of $400 to $600 every year. You can think of a conventional tank water heater as a big thermos.
Four men have been arrested in the theft of $1 million worth of tankless water heaters from a western Michigan warehouse. The Kent County sheriff's office says Thursday that the thefts started several months ago in Cascade Township, near Grand Rapids. On Saturday, deputies stopped two vehicles leaving the warehouse with Bradford White water heaters valued at more than $100,000. Other Bradford White water heaters valued at more than $750,000 were later recovered. They were being sold by word-of-mouth and over the internet.
When the cybersecurity industry warns about the nightmare of hackers causing blackouts, the scenario they describe typically entails an elite team of hackers breaking into the inner sanctum of a power utility to start flipping switches. But one group of researchers has imagined how an entire power grid could be taken down by hacking a less centralized and protected class of targets: home air conditioners and water heaters. At the Usenix Security conference this week, a group of Princeton University security researchers will present a study that considers a little-examined question in power grid cybersecurity: What if hackers attacked not the supply side of the power grid, but the demand side? In a series of simulations, the researchers imagined what might happen if hackers controlled a botnet composed of thousands of silently hacked consumer internet of things devices, particularly power-hungry ones like air conditioners, water heaters, and space heaters. Then they ran a series of software simulations to see how many of those devices an attacker would need to simultaneously hijack to disrupt the stability of the power grid.
Often there seems to be a trade-off between efficiency and cost; the more efficient the product, the more it costs. While long-term costs are harder to estimate, when they are considered, the more efficient a product is, the better for the consumer. As builders and developers seek ways to differentiate their residential properties, adding modern, efficient ecological advances is a growing technique. Tankless water heaters, for example, are rapidly gaining marketshare because of their reputation for running more efficiently, an appealing characteristic given heating water is the average home's second-highest utility cost after heating and cooling the house itself. While switching to tankless from a storage tank water heater has a wide range of benefits, it may not be the ideal option in remodeling due to potential costs to retrofit the plumbing.
Although wind and solar energy are growing in popularity, storing that clean energy costs a lot of money. If consumers wanted to keep their green energy in Tesla's Powerwall home battery, for example, they would have to shell out 3,500. That may be why Tesla discontinued sales of its largest Powerwall a couple weeks ago. Instead of expensive battery storage, utilities are turning to a low-cost alternative: For a just few hundred dollars, your electric water heater can be made to work like a battery, a fraction of the cost of a Tesla Powerwall. If you're a homeowner, you may have noticed a man-sized cylinder in your cellar.


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Popular fashion retailer H&M will open a 22,000-square-foot store at Four Seasons Town Centre in Greensboro on Nov. 14.
H&M, which in August first announced coming to Greensboro, opened a Raleigh location in the spring and is also opening a Charlotte store.
“North Carolina has been an important market for H&M’s U.S. expansion this year,” said Daniel Kulle, U.S. president for H&M, in a news release.
The store will feature clothing and accessories for men, women and teens, as well as plus-size, maternity and children’s collections.
The store opens at noon on Thursday, and regular store hours are Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday noon to 7:00 p.m.
Catherine Carlock covers commercial and residential real estate, construction, economic development and retailing and restaurants. Contact her at 336-370-2918.


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LOS ANGELES (Hypebot) – The WiMP brand is being retired before the ink is even dry on Jay's $56 million contract to buy it.
TIDAL is now the sole name of the music service that was once divided between streaming services WiMP and hi-def streamer TIDAL. The unified music service will offer high-fidelity streaming music when available alongside exclusive content editorial, experiences and merchandise.
A Push For Exclusive Content
The announcement bills TIDAL as "a single destination for artists and fans to share ideas, exclusive content, songs, videos, studio sessions, rough tracks, personal conversations and more." That description would match with reports that Jay-Z has been in talks with Madonna and other top level artists about partnering with the music service. His pitch apparently promises more control over how the content is presented than is offered by streaming competitors.
Full U.S. Launch Next Week
While TIDAL has been available as a hi-def music service for several months, a full launch of the broader service is scheduled for Monday March 30th, according to a countdown clock on TIDAL U.S. home page.
Current TIDAL Stats
• 25 million music tracks
• Lossless quality (FLAC/ALAC 44.1kHz / 16 bit – 1411 kbps)
• 75,000 music videos
• Curated Editorial provided by experienced music journalists and industry experts
• Dedicated apps available for iOS and Android phones and tablets


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Blue profile checkmark returns
Elon Musk is relaunching its Twitter Blue subscription on Monday, a month after its initial launch was marred by hoax accounts and general chaos. The subscription will cost $8 per month on the web or $11 per month through the iOS App Store to compensate for Apple’s up to 30% commission on in-app purchases. This time, users who want to display a “verified” checkmark on their profile will need to register a phone number first, and changing their “handle, display name or profile photo” will remove the label until their account is reviewed again.
What Twitter Blue offers
Twitter is relaunching its checkmark subscription service, which includes the blue profile checkmark and features such as the ability to edit tweets, upload 1080p videos, and access reader mode. The company has also stated that fewer ads and prioritization in search and replies will be “coming soon.”
In addition, Twitter is replacing the “official” label from the previous Blue launch with a gold checkmark for businesses, with a gray checkmark for “government and multilateral accounts” to be added later this week. Esther Crawford, the product manager at Twitter, has stated that the company is adding a phone verification requirement for users to receive a blue checkmark in order to combat impersonation.
Why It was paused
Elon Musk launched his own version of Twitter Blue last month but removed the feature after two days due to fake verified accounts. The rushed rollout caused concern among advertisers and government officials, leading Senator Ed Markey to tell Musk to fix his companies or Congress would.
Is it worth the $8 per month?
Some users believe that the additional features and benefits offered by the subscription service are worth the cost, and the blue checkmark itself can provide valuable benefits. While other users may not be willing to pay for the subscription, a lot believe that it is a worthwhile investment for those who want to take advantage of its features and enhance their experience on the platform.


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A legislative committee passed a bill late Thursday that would replace local-option sales taxes for improving school buildings and property with a permanent, statewide penny sales tax.
Lawmakers made some changes to the original proposal to ensure that taxpayers would not see their vehicle sales or use taxes rise. They also approved an automatic date for repealing the statewide tax.
House File 2066 would set the state's sales tax at 6 percent and dedicate 1 percent, now raised in local-option taxes, to schools on a per-pupil basis statewide.
Local-option sales taxes already are in effect in each of Iowa's counties. The measure would require the money to be redistributed evenly, instead of based on sales in the county where the tax is collected, as current law requires.
The bill is aimed at eliminating disparities between school districts. It would also eliminate the regularly scheduled public referendums to reauthorize the taxes and thereby not interrupt the revenue, supporters say.
Opponents object to what they say is a measure that makes it more difficult for the public to discontinue the tax. Some have said the bill amounts to a large tax increase.
But the bill had bipartisan support, and lawmakers approved it 18-6 Thursday evening in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Provisions to the bill aimed at winning Republican support included a section that will provide property tax relief.
Other changes included exempting vehicle and equipment sales from the higher tax. Local-option taxes are not currently applied to vehicle and equipment sales. Without the amendment added Thursday, sales tax on such items would have increased from 5 percent to 6 percent.
The Legislature passed legislation in 1998 giving voters the right to adopt 1-cent local-option sales taxes in their counties to pay for school infrastructure. Since then, all 99 counties have enacted them.


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Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) has signed an agreement with the Dubai-based cloud networking company neutrality.one (N1) in order to expand its global network services.
Under the agreement, Batelco will get access to N1’s extensive global network. N1 offers SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) reach to over 180 countries, cloud connectivity, and managed security services.
“Customers are looking to expand into new locations every day as we see demand in markets that are embarking on digital transformation journeys. By partnering with Batelco, we’re able to offer increased network reach, availability, and connectivity throughout Bahrain and beyond, providing customers access to a whole range of managed network services. We’re building a foundation for innovation that is secure, transformative, and accelerates growth. The team at neutrality.one are delighted to be partnering with Batelco as we look to extend our reach and serve new global customers throughout the Middle East and beyond.”
As a result of the collaboration with N1, Batelco’s SD-WAN reach will be expanded enabling improved services for its business customers. Further, neutrality.one will benefit by gaining access to Batelco’s robust global network, which includes numerous regional and global partners, enabling N1 to extend its customer reach in the region.
Mr. Hani Askar, Chief Global Business Officer at Batelco, said that, “This collaboration allows both Batelco and N1 to leverage each other’s capabilities, reach, and expertise, to add value for our respective customers. It further contributes to the development of an even more robust global network with extended reachability and the provisioning of enhanced global business solutions.”
“We are confident that this is a strong step towards the evolution of our existing SD-WAN service and the future expansion of our other global business solutions. We look forward to working alongside N1 and to building on the partnership through future collaborations,” Mr. Askar added.
Related: UAE’s e& expands its strategic partnership with US-based MoneyGram


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China may encourage Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (Group) and China FAW Group Corp, its two biggest auto makers, to buy rivals in a bid to revive the car industry, according to two people familiar with the plan.
Dongfeng Motor Corp and Chang'an Automobile (Group) Ltd will also be allowed to buy companies nationwide, said the people, who have seen a draft policy document. Four other auto makers will be able to make acquisitions within defined regions, added the people, who declined to be identified as the policy hasn't been published yet.
SAIC Motor Corp, Shanghai Auto's listed unit, has surged 66 percent this year in trading in the city on speculation the government will step up efforts to develop global players out of state-controlled auto makers now mainly reliant on being assemblers for overseas partners. Consolidation may also help Chinese car makers as they battle slumping domestic demand and competition among the country's 52 different car brands, Bloomberg News said.
"The policy is more aggressive than the market's expectations," said Ricon Xia, an analyst at Daiwa Associate Holdings Ltd. "The government chose the right time to do the right thing to nurture a few auto makers that will be stronger to compete with overseas rivals."
Dongfeng Motor Group Co jumped 4.2 percent yesterday, the most in a week, in Hong Kong to close at HK$2.98 (38 US cents). SAIC Motor climbed 0.8 percent to close at 8.9 yuan (US$1.30) in Shanghai. FAW Car Co, a unit of FAW Group, rose 3 percent to close at 10.92 yuan in Shenzhen.
The government plans to combine the country's 14 biggest auto makers into 10, the people said. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co, Beijing Automobile Industry Holding Co, Chery Automobile Co and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co will be able to make acquisitions within specified regions, they added.
China also aims to revive nationwide auto sales growth to 10 percent this year and for the next two years, they said. Vehicles sales rose 6.7 percent last year, the slowest pace in a decade, to 9.4 million, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
(Shanghai Daily February 26, 2009)


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Will Electric Powered Trucks Save the Trucking Industry?
For several years now the trucking industry has been forced to cope with widespread issues. Fuel prices rising, a lack of qualified drivers, and federal regulations including the Electronic Logging Mandate have stifled profits. Trucking companies of all sizes want to reduce the volatility of the trucking market so they have more control over their budgets. Experts say electric powered trucks have the capacity to improve the trucking industry. But could this technology actually protect against several of the issues the trucking industry is reeling from? Take a look at the benefits of electric semi trucks to find out.
Electric Truck Market
Right now the electric truck market is just ramping up. Currently there are three preproduction models of Class 8 semi tractors:
- Tesla Semi
- Nikola One
- Thor Trucks ET-One
Each of these Class 8 tractors are capable of current weight limitations of a max 80,000 pounds. Where they differ is on the specifications. For example, the ET-One is an all-electric truck with a battery powered range of 300 miles. The Tesla Semi, another fully electric semi, has a range of up to 500 miles. Meanwhile the Nikola One, which is a hydrogen-electric tractor, features a range of up to 1,000 miles. These new trucks are expected to be in production mode in 2019 for the Tesla Semi and ET-One, while the Nikola One will hit the commercial markets in 2020.
Improving the State of the Trucking Industry
The trucking industry is changing fast thanks to advanced technologies ranging from safety features to fully electric semis. These trucks are going to alter the way the industry operates, and most industry professionals see this as a positive evolution. We can expect to see shipping rates and freight rates fluctuating during this time of change.
Impact of Driver Productivity
One of the biggest questions for electric semis is how this type of technology will reduce operating costs. Part of this involves driver productivity, as the more miles a driver can cover the more money they can earn for a company. Along with being electric, these new trucks are designed with flatscreen panels in place of dials and gauges. They are also equipped with automated driver safety features. All together these features are expected to decrease the stress associated with operating a big rig. Less stress and an easier to navigate truck is expected to boost productivity.
Increase in Driver Wages
Right now there is a driver shortage that is creating a competitive wage market noted by massive sign-on bonuses and benefits. Electric trucks won’t fully alleviate the driver shortage issue at this moment, so the competitiveness of wages remain. However, we could also see truck drivers needing advanced education in trucking technology to help them operate these types of trucks. This could increase wages based on the amount of training that is required of the job type.
Saving Money on Diesel
What is the largest portion of any trucking company’s expense report? Fuel tickets add up to 30 to 40 percent of a driver’s cost per mile. It is the biggest segment of trucking operational costs. As a result, reducing fuel expenses has always been a goal for carriers. All-electric trucks like the Tesla Semi and hydrogen-electric Class 8 trucks like Nikola One do not require diesel fuel for operating the trucks. Does this mean fuel companies will cut out nearly half of their expenses simply by moving to electric powered trucks?
Theoretically, yes, but they also need to account for set-up costs to be able to run this e-powered fleet. On face value, this looks like a massive economic gain for trucking companies of all sizes. This could save those smaller carriers or companies in debt by giving them a financial boost, but only if they are able to afford to adopt all-electric trucks and technologies.
Improved Driver Performance
Ultimately, those trucking companies who choose wisely to invest this extra income in their own fleets will have the capacity to improve driver performance. Through automated safety features on these new electric powered trucks, carriers are also winning in the areas of driver safety and performance. These features include autopilot features that automatically center the driver on the roadway. This helps drivers avoid collisions. The new trucks are also designed to be more aerodynamic. As a result, they feature a low center of gravity that aids in rollover prevention.


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CBA beefs up intelligent ATM controls after review
ACCC sues Optus for rushing users onto NBN
The NSW govt's answer to Uber
Hackers halt plant operations in landmark attack
NSW lost $2.6m from discarded Opal cards
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LinkedIn exploit left millions exposed to malware
Vulnerabilities in LinkedIn's messaging service now patched.
Aug 22 2017 9:42AM
LinkedIn can't block start-up from public profile data
US judge grants preliminary injunction.
Aug 15 2017 12:12PM
Microsoft is using LinkedIn data to challenge Salesforce
'Critical' to 'three-cloud' strategy.
Apr 26 2017 9:00AM
Microsoft pursues 40 native LinkedIn integrations
Working out unknown email recipients and more.
Mar 16 2017 6:40AM
Microsoft lures LinkedIn infrastructure boss as CTO
New deputy role created under Nadella.
Jan 25 2017 9:48AM
LinkedIn’s Open19 is nearly production ready
Project head to visit Australia.
Jan 12 2017 6:50AM
Microsoft's LinkedIn acquisition cleared by EU
After agreeing to handful of conditions.
Dec 7 2016 10:08AM
Russia starts blocking LinkedIn
Follows data storage court ruling.
Nov 18 2016 11:50AM
LinkedIn's data centre lead to keynote Cloud & DC Edge 2017
[Blog post] First round of speakers revealed.
Nov 7 2016 6:33PM
Police arrest Russian tied to 2012 LinkedIn hack
Russia to fight extradition.
Oct 20 2016 6:29AM
Salesforce tries to block Microsoft, LinkedIn merger
Urges EU to probe antitrust issues.
Sep 30 2016 7:37AM
Botnet scraped LinkedIn for eight months
Bypassed all technical countermeasures.
Aug 17 2016 10:36AM
Microsoft to buy LinkedIn for $35 billion
Software giant's largest ever deal.
Jun 14 2016 6:46AM
MySpace breach potentially the largest ever
Hackers offer 360 million user credentials for 6 Bitcoin.
May 29 2016 9:31PM
LinkedIn hack balloons to over 100 million accounts
Easily cracked passwords for sale on the dark web.
May 19 2016 6:41AM
TechSydney seeks to catch city's slipping start-up scene
Tech-backed initiative wants to create Australia's Silicon Valley.
May 17 2016 6:56AM
Tech giants unite to create encrypted email transfer
Seek to make underlying protocols more secure.
Mar 22 2016 8:01AM
Tech vendor shares crash over spending uncertainty
Lower earnings forecasts sends worry throughout industry.
Feb 8 2016 6:00AM
LinkedIn to pay $18.3m in email class action settlement
Continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Oct 6 2015 9:33AM
LinkedIn settles with users over massive password leak
Class-action against networking site succeeds.
Feb 25 2015 6:38AM
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