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Recognition for winemaker
Wilyabrup winemaker Cath Oates has been selected as one of 10 women in Australia to take part in the 2019 Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program.
The program is an initiative of the National Farmers’ Federation and aims to fix agriculture’s “gender problem” by developing and empowering female leaders.
Ms Oates said she had heard great things about the program, which was only in its second year, and encouraged other women in the wine industry to apply next year.
“I certainly see us as part of the agriculture sector,” she said.
“We are all involved in farming the land.
“We take produce and turn it into a finished product, but we still have the same concerns about sustainability, climate change and other topics as the rest of the industry.
National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson said women made up 41 per cent the agricultural workforce but only 18 per cent of management roles and 2.3 per cent of chief executive positions. “This is out of step with other comparable industries and is a statistic that the NFF and our committed program partners are determined to rectify,” she said.
“It's time that women are equally represented at the level where decisions are taken that shape the future of our industry and rural and regional Australia more broadly.”
Within the wine industry, Ms Oates is no stranger to leadership roles.
She is an owner of Oates Ends, has her own wine consultancy, is on the board of Wine Australia and is vice-president of Wines of WA.
She has previously been president ofthe Great Southern Wine Producers Association and Margaret River Wine Association, as well as being the first chief female winemaker of Plantagenet Wines.
Ms Oates said she did not feel her gender had held her back.
“Margaret River is unique — there are lots of family-run businesses, which are led by some amazing women, so I never really thought being a women would make my career path difficult as I didn’t see it as an issue for people around me,” she said. “I think I have shown that it doesn’t stop you.
“There have definitely been challenges along the way.
“I’ve had some fairly inappropriate job interviews and had to negotiate some difficult environments, but if you have perseverance and are good at your job, there is definitely opportunity.”
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In an interview with Vima Newspaper published on Sunday, Greece’s Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said that the tourism-oriented economy’s travel and entertainment industry had turned a corner over first eight months of the year through August and reached about a half of a pre-pandemic level which has been well in line with Government’s expectation, painting a pluperfect landscape for global tourism and entertainment industry as more people look to travel overseas following an acceleration in vaccination campaign alongside a lift of travel ban in a raft of countries across the globe.
In point of fact, latest set of upbeat economic data from Greek Tourism Minister came forth as the tourism dependent nation had witnessed its worst year on record in a pandemic-battered 2020, as just 7 million travelers had visited the country last year and brought in about €4 billion in revenues.
In factuality, tourism and entertainment accounted for a 20 per cent of entire Greek GDP (Gross Domestic product).
Greek tourism industry turns a corner
Apart from that, Greece had opened up its door to foreign travelers back in May this year with the Government expecting to reach a 40 per cent to 50 per cent revenues of 2019-level, when a record 33 million foreign visitors had brought in about €18 billion in revenues.
Meanwhile, adding that the Mediterranean tourism hotspot’s tourism revenues had more than doubled over first eight months of the year compared to the same time a year earlier, Kikilias said in an interview with Vima Newspaper, “From January up to August, arrivals were up by 79.2% and corresponding receipts (rose) by 135.7% compared to the same period in 2020, which corresponds to 50% of receipts for 2019 as a whole. We are on track to achieve receipts of more than 10 billion euros”.

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When the story starts out with ‘out of an abundance of caution’ you know the Covid-19 pandemic has forced a change. But hey, change is better than a cancellation and in this case that’s what’s happening. The grand-daddy of all bourbon festivals has announced that out of an abundance of concern the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival will be pivoting from in-person to online happening October 15–18, 2020.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is an annual event that started back in 1992 back before today’s bourbon boom. When the festival first started it was mostly a home town celebration of bourbon whiskey. Over the years the event has grown in scope and visitors to include a national and international audience to the ‘Bourbon Capital of the World’, Bardstown, Kentucky.
With twenty-eight years of bourbon tradition and festival know-how, the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival presented by Koetter Construction will put increased emphasis on everything bourbon and spirits – with a virtual twist. Organizers still promise a unique and exciting bourbon experience that attendees will not get anywhere else, except from Bardstown.
“Bourbon has influence across the world, and we see proof of that every year when the Festival draws thousands of visitors and fans of bourbon to Bardstown,” said Kentucky Bourbon Festival President and COO Randy Prasse. “While this year may look a little different, that makes it even more special. We are constantly reassessing the Festival and making it better for our attendees – with these new, virtual ideas, we’re looking forward to hosting our regulars, as well as new friends who are looking to join the experience.”
2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival to Include 20 Events
- The Art of Whiskey Making will be a four-part series featuring multiple master distillers teaching the particulars of bourbon making.
- Bottled-in-Bond Happy Hour will toast this landmark 1897 law, its great whiskeys and cocktails made with this 100 proof lovely.
- Cocktail Quickies will occur between-session breaks in which mixologists give rapid-fire lessons on cocktails bourbon fans can make at home.
- Bourbon Legends Series features some of the industry’s most famous families as they share hilarious and heartwarming stories.
All sessions will encourage participants to buy their bourbons and cocktail ingredients in advance and ‘play along at home.’
The weekend’s festivities will culminate with the action-packed World Championship Bourbon Barrel Relay. Will competing distillery teams have what it takes to knock off 2019 champion distiller? Details are still being worked out on how the 2020 Bourbon Barrel Relay race will happen. We’ll update you as soon as we get details.
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“We are both proud and excited to support the Kentucky Bourbon Festival again this year”, stated Koetter Construction V.P. of Sales & Estimating, Todd Magner. “We’re really looking forward to the lineup of virtual educational sessions as well as announcing our newest product in barrel storage. In this rapidly growing industry that has provided us with many opportunities, we can’t think of a better way to give back to our clients and the community.”
Bourbon fans can learn more and register for the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival online here.


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Unless you’re a company that is on a constant development cycle and releasing new software features every week, signing new customers every day, etc., ultimately the questions come up, “What now?” “Where do we go from here with PR?”
In the absence of “news,” many companies go radio silent, but silence can be deadly. If your company isn’t generating consistent media coverage, it’s inevitable in today’s 24-7 news cycle that your current clients and potential clients will soon ask, “What’s going on with company X? I never see them mentioned anywhere.”
But what do you do if your company doesn’t have any hard news to announce? Do you scrape the bottom of the barrel and issue a press release touting existing features that have already been announced? One sure way to alienate reporters is to send them non-news. Eventually, reporter will see your number on their voicemail or your name in their email, and they’ll say, “Who cares.”
Yet, in the absence of news, why not make your company a “resource” for reporters? Most smart companies watch their vertical and marketplace like a hawk. They try to stay up-to-date on what their customers and potential customers needs are – either anecdotally or through original research.
Why not take the extra step, tap into the research and knowledge that exists in your company, and package that data for reporters. By initiating a data-driven PR strategy, you become a go-to resource for reporters.
What does data-driven PR look like exactly?
I once worked with a company that had developed proprietary technology to track streaming radio content across the web and determine how many people were listening. Nielsen, the traditional media measurement service, had not yet developed a comparable technology or rating service. The PR team I was working with recommended that our client package their streaming tracking data akin to Nielsen’s traditional tracking of terrestrial radio stations. Each week, the company released a Top 10 Internet Radio Streams ranked by listenership and popularity.
Once we convinced the company to develop this branded weekly data, we built a comprehensive list of media reporters – especially reporters who covered the radio industry. And, we began sending the branded weekly Top 10 data to a wide list of reporters.
Not surprisingly, initially the reporters were skeptical. They’d never heard of the company or their technology. We answered questions, and sure some reporters said they weren’t interested at all and we stopped pitching them. At the outset, media coverage was slow. But we continued our strategy and sent the data every week.
The campaign worked. First, one publication published the Top 10 Internet Radio streams list, then a second publication, then a third, and so on. Then, after publishing the list for several months, one week we missed our regular release date for the data by several days, and we received multiple emails and phone calls asking where the data was.
In today’s never-ending media cycle, the media beast has to be fed. Reporters are looking for information. Reporters usually aren’t interested in rewriting a press release or publishing a story about the latest small feature upgrade. If you can provide a reporter with accurate, informative data related to your specific industry or vertical, many reporters will be interested.
However, I should mention, whenever possible stay as neutral as possible. Most companies aren’t going to issue data that directly contradicts their business model. But you shouldn’t pull together industry data and issue a press release or a report that says in effect, “According to our recent data, we have the solution to all your problems.” Take a neutral path, strive to be a resource for reporters by providing insightful data about your industry and vertical, and data-driven PR can lead to consistent media coverage for your company to augment your company and product PR efforts.


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“So I finally made it to Harvard,” Rihanna said jokingly to the crowd assembled at the university’s Sanders Theatre yesterday. Flipping her back-skimming ponytail and smirking, she added, “Never thought I would say that, but it feels good.” Receiving Harvard’s Humanitarian of the Year Award may have been a surreal moment for the pop star, but there is no doubting her charitable contributions. Her nonprofit, the Clara Lionel Foundation, has been working tirelessly to support health and education programs in impoverished communities across the globe since 2012. What’s more, she has brought in the fashion world to help extend her philanthropic reach: It was announced today that Dior will donate a portion of the sales of its “We Should All Be Feminists” slogan tees to the foundation.
Of course, Rihanna looked nothing short of a seriously accomplished—and seriously sophisticated—philanthropist at the ceremony. She offered the campus of overachievers a lesson in altruistic chic in her deconstructed off-the-shoulder Monse dress, which was cinched at the waist with an oversize belt. A pair of matching herringbone over-the-knee boots complemented the look’s cheeky side split. It was what Monse designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia called “unhinged daywear,” a subversive twist on the conservative skirtsuit.


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The Oceans' Plastic Pollution Problem Is Far Worse Than We Thought, and Here's Why
More than 5 trillion pieces of plastic are afloat in the world’s oceans, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.
Ranging in size from a grain of salt to larger than a plastic water bottle, the plastic pollution in the world’s oceans weighs more than 269,000 tons—far more than all the gold ever mined in the world and far more than scientists previously estimated.
Study author Marcus Eriksen and his team from the 5 Gyres Institute, based in Los Angeles, spent tens of thousands of hours scouring the world’s oceans for plastic between 2007 and 2012. They used trawling nets to scoop particles from the ocean surface and visually counted very large pieces. The study provides a snapshot of the magnitude of marine plastic pollution and its movement around the world’s oceans, said Eriksen.
The estimate is much higher than what previous studies found.
Marine ecologist Andrés Cózar, who teaches at the University of Cádiz in Spain, calculated that as much as 40,000 tons of plastic was dispersed in the surface waters of the open ocean. Cózar and his colleagues found that only 1 percent of the plastics they netted from the oceans were larger than 10 centimeters.
“If you separate out the larger pieces, we’re in the same ballpark,” said Eriksen, whose study included larger-sized plastic.
Eriksen’s team also ventured into regional seas—the Mediterranean, the Bay of Bengal, and the ocean off Australia—that had not been included in other analyses.
“They have data in places where we had very few or no data,” said Kara Lavender Law, a physical oceanographer at the Sea Education Association who studies ocean circulation and the distribution of plastic marine debris.
The current study found that large plastics accounted for more than 75 percent of the ocean haul—an unexpected result. Because most microplastics come from the breakdown of larger plastic items, the team expected the smallest microplastics to be the most abundant. “Smaller plastics are removed from the surface very quickly,” said Eriksen. “The smaller it gets, the faster it leaves the surface.”
“It’s evidence that there is too much plastic in the ocean,” Cózar said in an email. “Only two or three generations have been using plastic materials. This provides evidence that the current model of managing plastic materials is economically and ecologically unsustainable.”
Eriksen’s team fed the plastics information into a computer model of the world’s ocean currents that assumes that plastics enter the oceans from rivers, storm and sewer drains, shipping lanes, and densely populated coastlines. The model found that the largest plastics are abundant around coastlines and then move to the subtropical gyres, where they degrade into microplastics.
“The gyres are a dynamic step, places where plastic goes and is shredded,” he said.
It seems like a lot of trash, but researchers keep asking: Where is all the plastic?
In 2012, two hundred eighty-eight million tons of plastic was produced worldwide, according Plastics Europe, a trade organization representing plastic producers and manufacturers. The estimates by Eriksen’s group account for 0.1 percent of the world’s annual production.
Most of it may be staying on land. Other studies show that a portion of it is ingested by marine organisms or may sink to the seafloor. It has been found in mussels, lodged in zooplankton, and in large lugworms living in tidal flats.
The average American throws away roughly 185 pounds of plastic per year. The plastics of everyday life wind up in the ocean. That includes the milk jug, those flimsy grocery bags, and the laundry detergent bottle you finally emptied and discarded.
Perhaps the best way to keep plastic from winding up in the ocean is to use less of it. If you shop in stores that pack your purchases into single-use plastic bags, try bringing your own or asking for paper instead. Buy items packaged in cardboard instead of plastic. Shop for staples, such as flour, sugar, tea, coffee, and even household cleaners in bulk stores, and bring your own containers. Earlier this year, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill banning single-use plastic bags in California. Reuse and recycle the plastic that you can’t avoid.
“We mostly find polyethylene, the ones marked by recycling symbols 2 and 4 that are heavily used in packaging,” said Law, who is working on a study estimating the amount of plastic that enters the ocean from mismanaged waste. “It is the suspected largest contributor,” she said.


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We expected the launch of 5G phones at the end of this year, but Lenovo strikes the first cord by announcing the first 5G mobile phone.
Lenovo now became the first brand to manufacture commercial 5G phone which will be available for sale in early 2019. As the phone is getting newest connectivity technology, it will also be equipped with the latest and most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor.
World first 5G phone coming from Lenovo
As per the Lenovo 2018 conference, the company has said that the Motorola will focus on “positioning global and innovative technologies while Lenovo will be focusing on China.
We all are aware of the fact, that Lenovo phones release in the respective series G( Design), E ( Quality), K ( Entertainment ) and S ( Main Series).
No further information related to its name or specifications has been released. As the phone is sporting the latest Snapdragon Processor it ensures that the phone will get supported by huge RAM and high standard of camera setup for clicking great photographs.
We certainly hope that this new phone will strength the Lenovo market in China, as other brands like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are doing a lot of innovations with notch and screen. Also, the reports are suggesting that the Xiaomi is also working on a foldable phone, just like Samsung and will be showcasing the same in 2019.


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Sports Direct is opening a store in Caerphilly town centre.
Caerphilly Council has this morning confirmed the former Tesco store on Cardiff Road has been let to Sports Direct.
The outlet is due to open in August.
Cllr Ken James, Caerphilly’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration welcomed the announcement, “This is fantastic news for Caerphilly and it is great to hear that this key site will be brought back into use again after becoming vacant earlier this year.
"Sports Direct will bring a range of full and part time jobs in the town and we now look forward to welcoming the team to Caerphilly.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Tesco for their help and involvement in this process over the last few months."
Sports Direct is opening its store in the former Passport Office in Newport on August 12.
It has been granted planning permission to convert the basement of the building into a gym.


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Why DTC sneaker brand Vessi isn’t spending on marketing right now
Last week, direct-to-consumer sneaker brand Vessi halted its media spending.
The Vancouver-based company, known for waterproof sneakers made of sustainable materials, has been reducing its marketing spend over the last three months before shutting it off last week so that it can work to build up production capabilities and replenish its stock. It’s unclear exactly when it will start spending again, as that’s dependent on when its production capabilities will be capable of meeting consumer demand.
“We reduced it to zero,” said Tony Yu, co-founder of Vessi, of the ad spending. “It’s kind of a scary thing to do, but at the same time it’s not. We have a massive waitlist of people wanting our shoes right now, and we’re working to [meet] that customer demand before we work to acquire new customers.”
The company, which launched in January 2018, says it shut off advertising after it went through six months worth of stock in one month. Vessi was initially producing 5,000 pairs a month. Now, it is working to scale to be able to produce 50,000 a month.
Figuring out how to scale production and balancing ad spend is a common issue for DTC brands as they grow, according to Nik Sharma, a DTC investor. As DTC brands focus on ramping up customer acquisition via advertising on channels like Instagram and Facebook — the standard channels for new DTC brands — there can be a lack of communication between marketing and operations, which can lead to this issue.
“A lot of brands tend to focus on the demand side and neglect the supply side,” said Sharma. “It’s a good problem to have for a second because you know there is a lot of demand for your company and your product. But customers have an interrupted experience and now they have to wait, so there’s a risk that customer will go buy elsewhere.”
Vessi was spending in the six figures on advertising — the company declined to share its exact spend — with the majority of its spend focused on Instagram. While the percentage changes depending on the performance of the creative and where it works best, roughly 50% of its dollars were going toward Instagram.
“It’s our primary awareness driver to get people to know we exist,” said Yu. “We’re using visual cues to identify with our customers what the experience would be like if they wore our shoes. Instagram is definitely the biggest spot [for that].”
The rest of the spending was split between digital channels like Facebook and Google, offline pop-ups, which account for less than 10% of the budget, and experiments with newer platforms for the brand like Snapchat and Pinterest. Once back, the company plans to spend more on Snapchat and Pinterest, which allowed it to target demographics by age — younger on Snapchat; older on Pinterest — with more creative meant for that demographic.
“Our younger demographic requires a different type of like creative experience for them to engage with the company,” said Yu, adding that that’s what Snapchat provides though it can be hard to scale. “As that platform starts to mature, we’ll definitely try and spend more on Snapchat.”
Once it figures out distribution and starts spending again, the company plans to add podcasts and YouTube to the mix. Those channels offer more storytelling potential than Facebook and Instagram, where the marketing for DTC companies can be more “value prop” and “transactional,” according to Sharma.
For DTC brands like Vessi, it can be important to show investors that they can market outside of Instagram and Facebook, said Sharma. “A lot of brands are getting pressure from investors to show they can expand outside of Facebook and Instagram,” he said. “It’s good internally to know you can put your eggs in other baskets.”
In the meantime, Vessi’s social channels will give consumers a taste of what it’s like to work at a startup and how they are working to scale production. “We want to be more transparent and give people a peek inside,” said Yu. “It might be a tour of a factory or a walk around the office, how we’re making the shoes, all the things people might have questions about.”
More in Marketing
TikTok has officially launched its new e-commerce platform, TikTok Shop, earlier this month on August 1. Using the new e-commerce platform, brands and creators can sell products directly on the platform, potentially creating new revenue streams, and tap into the short-form video platform’s growing popularity.
‘The influencer industry can be really vile’: Confessions of an influencer marketer on the industry’s unfair hiring practices
While the influencer industry might sound exciting and like it’s full of opportunities, one marketer can vouch for the horrific scenarios that still take place behind the scenes.
After a tumultuous 12 months, marketers are getting a clear picture of how they really did during a time of true uncertainty. And, as it turns out, it wasn’t all that bad.
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Last year’s version of the bill prompted allegations of pay-to-play politics
By TIM ROWDEN
Jefferson City – Bumping into chairs and grunting as he propped a package of shingles made by Joplin-based TAMKO Building Products against a chair in a House hearing room last month, State Rep. Mark Ellebracht (D-Liberty) came armed with an obvious argument against gutting the state’s consumer protection law, the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
He brought a stack of TAMKO shingles.
Five minutes into the hearing, Ellebracht directed the room’s attention to Exhibit A.
“If you turn to your right immediately, you’ll see a stack of TAMKO shingles,” Ellebracht said, according to Tessa Weinberg of the Kansas City Star. “Can you see the state of disrepair that those packages are in when they came from the warehouse that they were purchased from?”
TAMKO is owned by GOP mega-donor David Humphreys, the primary backer of the bill who also happens to be facing a class-action lawsuit alleging the company sold shoddy shingles to consumers who ended up with leaky roofs but were rebuffed when they tried to collect on the promised 30-year warranty. TAMKO has argued that it cannot be sued in court because of a binding arbitration clause on the shingles’ packaging that requires customers to use private mediation to settle their claims.
Humphreys also backed last year’s so-called “right-to-work” (RTW) legislation and the campaigns of Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, Attorney General Josh Hawley and a number of corporate-owned, anti-worker candidates in the Missouri Legislature.
(RTW will appear on this year’s August or November ballot as Proposition A. Vote No on Prop. A to protect your pay and defeat RTW.)
The bill eviscerating consumer protections, House Bill 2089 (HB 2089), is sponsored in the House by Rep. David Gregory (R-St. Louis).
Supporters say House and Senate versions of the bill would prevent frivolous lawsuits against businesses. Opponents say it would make it more difficult for Missourians to seek recourse.
In the case of TAMKO, the bill would cause the arbitration clause printed on the packaging to apply not only to a roofing company that purchases shoddy shingles, but to homeowners who purchase a house built with those shingles.
“I cannot begin to imagine how they believe that arbitration clause being enforced against a third-party homebuyer is in any way fair,” Ellebracht said, according to the Star. “They (homeowners) don’t even see the shingles when they come off the truck. The only time they see the shingles is when they’re hammered on the roof of their house.”
Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard (R-Joplin) has introduced similar versions of the bill since 2015, shortly after the class action lawsuit against TAMKO was filed.
Richard carried the Senate version last year, when questions about a pay-to-play scheme arose after Richard received a $100,000 check from Humphreys six days after filing the legislation.
Sen. Caleb Rowden, (R-Columbia), is sponsoring this year’s Senate version (SB 832). It passed out of a Senate committee last month and is currently on the Senate’s informal calendar, meaning it can be brought up at any time.
Meanwhile, the suit against TAMKO is still pending.
Last May, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Humphreys, thereby allowing the lawsuit against TAMKO to proceed in Jasper County.
That caused Humphreys, who has made a career out of attacking workers and attempting to stiff consumers, to threaten to move his business out of state if he couldn’t get what he wanted.
The threat prompted Mike Louis, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO to ask, “When is he leaving?” and “Can we help him pack?”
Humphreys never took him up on the offer, and nothing came of the threat.


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Cambodia’s exports to South Korea up 5 percent in first quarter
Property Invest in Cambodia-Cambodia’s exports to South Korea rose by 5 percent to about $99 million in the first three months this year, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Data from the Korea International Trade Association showed the trend, adding that Cambodia imported $146 million from South Korea, a slight decrease of 0.6 percent.
Cambodia’s major products exported to South Korea are clothes, footwear, travel goods, beverages, and electronical appliances, rubber, and pharmaceutical and agricultural products, while its main imports from the country were vehicles, electronics, kitchen appliances, beverages, and pharmaceutical and plastic products.
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and South Korea was valued at $884 million in 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 14 percent, according to the same source.
Last year, Cambodia exported $317 million to South Korea, a decline of 18 percent compared to the previous year, and it imported $567 million from the country, down 5 percent.
Bilateral trade volume of the two countries is expected to soar once a bilateral free trade agreement comes into effect.


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Korea: Inflation stabilizes in June
July 1, 2016
In June, consumer prices were unchanged over the previous month, which came in below the 0.1% increase registered in May. The National Statistics Office of Korea (KOSTAT) reported that lower prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages, as well as recreation and culture were the main drivers behind the subdued print.
Inflation was 0.8% in June, which mirrored May’s reading. The 12-month average of the annual variation in inflation was 0.9% in June (May: 0.9%). Inflation continues to hover well below the Central Bank’s target range of 2.5%–3.5%. Persistent weak inflationary pressures have caused the Bank of Korea to miss its inflation target consistently in the past three years. As a result, in December 2015, the Central Bank set a lower target band of 2.5%–3.5% for the period between 2016 and 2018.
Core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food and energy prices, rose 0.1% over the previous month in June, which came in below May’s 0.2% increase. Core inflation inched up from 1.6% in May to 1.7% in June.
Author: Ricardo Aceves, Senior Economist


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Even in cars that are only semi-autonomous, drivers say they’ll text, eat and read – Los Angeles Times
Until recently, there was no question about who’s responsible for an automobile’s operation: the driver. One-hundred percent.
Going forward, as driverless cars hit the roads en masse, that distinction will fade. When the robot cars get here, you’ll be able to eat, text and sleep, but you won’t drive, because there won’t be a steering wheel or brake pedal. Your only role: Order the car where to go.
Yet there’s a lot of ground between the old-school cars that people are used to and the driverless experience promised in the next few years. Semi-autonomous cars with features such as self-parking, adaptive cruise control and automatic lane change are fast becoming a sizable portion of the auto industry. Most new cars today are offered with some kind of driver-assist technology package; the more expensive the car, the more advanced the feature set.
While these cars will do much of their own driving, the human behind the wheel will continue to be responsible for the vehicle’s operation, as stipulated on the contract they signed on purchase.
That’s a legal responsibility. In practice, dividing driving duties between human and car is raising uncomfortable questions about who, truly, is in charge, and what it means for auto safety.
“There’s something we used to call split responsibility,” said Hod Lipson, director of Columbia University’s Creative Machines Lab. “If you give the same responsibility to two people, they each will feel safe to drop the ball. Nobody has to be 100%; and that’s a dangerous thing.”
It’s an issue that Tesla has wrestled with ever since the May death of a Model S driver using Autopilot, the company’s popular driver-assist feature. Autopilot users are instructed to keep their hands on the wheel and to stay alert, but many — lulled by a false sense of security — have ignored those warnings. Tesla on Sunday rolled out improvements to the software that it says will make the feature safer.
Automakers say most customers don’t know yet what to make of driverless cars, but many want new cars equipped with technologies that can take over some aspects of driving. The companies are happy to oblige: More excitement brings more people into the showroom, and more options mean higher revenues and profits.
Supporters, including federal transportation officials, believe these cars will prove safer, too, though there’s plenty of statistical analysis yet to be done.
No matter what, though, there will still be spectacular crashes, and the more often humans let their attention drift, the more crashes and bad publicity there will be.
But that’s the new reality for the world’s roadways. From now and until driverless cars are widespread, new vehicles will be something in between: part regular car, part robot, with the robot increasingly picking up the driving duties.
It could be this way for a while. Raj Nair, Ford Motor Co.’s chief technology officer, estimates that only 20% of new vehicle sales will be completely driverless cars in 2030.
How people will drive during this transition is unclear. More than a third of respondents to a recent State Farm survey said that if a semi-autonomous car took over part of the driving duties, they’d eat, read, text, take pictures and access the Internet while driving.
The pace of evolution in driver-assist technology varies among automakers. Tesla, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz are taking an aggressive approach.
Tesla already is on the road with its Autopilot feature, the most advanced semi-autonomous system currently around. Mercedes and Audi offer semi-autonomous features that go well beyond adaptive cruise control. The 2017 Cadillac CT6 will have an Autopilot-like set of features called SuperCruise, in which the car will steer, change lanes and pass other vehicles, all with little driver effort. Same for Mercedes’ E-Class.
Then there are more exotic Tesla fighters in the works. Faraday Future, based in Southern California, is developing high-powered cars loaded with automation, though it has yet to detail what those plans are.
In carmaker lingo, there are six levels that describe a vehicle’s driverless capability, from zero to five.
Level 0 is no driver-assist technology at all. Level 1 covers old-fashioned stuff like traditional cruise control. At Level 2, where most driver-assist technologies stand now, the driver is expected to pay full attention. With Level 3, the robot drives most of the time, but not all the time. Level 4 is driverless on most roads, and Level 5 is driverless anywhere.
Ford Motor Co. plans driverless cars by 2021 but will skip Level 3. Google, an early leader in autonomous vehicle technology, and Volvo, where safety is leveraged as a marketing tool, also say they plan to skip Level 3 and go straight to fully autonomous.
The levels are not rules or regulations, only loose descriptions.
“From a technical perspective, there are really only two levels,” said Jonas Nillson, an autonomous driving executive at Volvo Car Group. “Whether the driver is responsible or not.”
Circling over the issue is the May Tesla crash. Cruising on Autopilot, the car ran under a truck, and the car’s driver was killed. Tesla said it analyzed Autopilot data and concluded the driver was not in sufficient control of the vehicle. The truck driver told police he heard a Harry Potter movie soundtrack playing in the crumpled car after the crash.
The incident prompted a debate on auto safety. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said it was the first known fatality in more than 130 million miles during which Autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the U.S., there is a fatality every 94 million miles; worldwide, it’s every 60 million miles. (In China, a Tesla driver was killed in a crash in January, but it’s unclear whether Autopilot was on.)
Statisticians can argue about whether the numbers are comparable, given Tesla’s short track record. The company has 100,000 cars on the road equipped with Autopilot.
Musk has pledged to push ahead with autonomous features. This month he said it “would be morally wrong to withhold functionality that improves safety simply in order to avoid criticism or fear of being embroiled in lawsuits.”
Any subsequent tragedies involving driver-assist technologies are likely to draw rabid media attention.


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Lime scooters are leaving Memphis. Here's why
Lime is leaving Memphis, but the scooter company isn't sour about it.
The company said Friday that it plans to pull its 450 scooters off the city's streets starting on Monday and that they would be gone by the end of the week.
Robert Gardner, director of government relations for Lime, said the company failed to gain the foothold it was seeking in Memphis' competitive scooter market for a variety of reasons.
"As we move into winter, we didn’t have the fleet size to really be able to compete....We’ve had some fairly high labor costs," said Gardner. He said no one specific factor drove those labor costs.
Scooter companies rely on workers to collect and charge the electric scooters during off-peak times.
Gardner did not attribute Lime leaving the market to geography — the general sprawl of Memphis — or demographics. Lime likes Memphis, he said, and did not rule out a return.
The City of Memphis declined to comment on Lime's departure.
Lime was the second scooter company to come to Memphis, following Bird. Lime initially launched in October 2018 without City of Memphis permission and its scooters were pulled from streets. The company relaunched in late November with about 100 scooters. Over time, Lime expanded its fleet to the 450 it had in early October.
Gardner declined to comment on what role competition from companies such as Bird had on its decision to leave.
Scooters have proliferated across Memphis, and the U.S. in recent years. Besides Lime, three scooter companies will still operate in the city — Bird, Bolt and Spin. Bird launched last June. Bolt and Spin came within weeks of each other this summer.
At present about 1,700 scooters are permitted in Memphis. However, there are about 800 on the streets, according to city data.


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Automakers Geely & Volvo Cars to Launch a New Powertrain Joint Venture After Merger Talks End
【Summary】Sweden-based Volvo Cars and Chinese automaker Geely Auto are combining their vehicle powertrain operations in a new joint venture company while still retaining their existing independent corporate structures. In addition to developing new EV powertrains under the new venture, the two automakers will share electric vehicle architectures and autonomous driving technologies.
In February 2020, Swedish automaker Volvo Cars and Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (Geely) were in talks about merging their operations into a single auto group, which would have resulted in the formation of one of the world's largest car companies.
However Volvo Cars and Geely Auto have now decided as their talks progressed they can better secure new growth opportunities in their respective markets and better adapt to a changing auto industry by leaving their existing separate corporate structures intact. So the two automakers announced they are combining powertrain operations in a new joint venture company.
The joint venture will develop electric, hybrid, as well as internal combustion engine powertrains.
"Having evaluated different options to realize value, we concluded jointly that a collaboration model between two standalone companies is the best way to secure continued growth and at the same time achieve technological synergies in many areas. We welcome the opportunity of further and deeper collaboration with Geely Auto," said Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.
In addition to developing new EV powertrains under the new venture, the two automakers will share electric vehicle architectures, autonomous driving technologies and jointly procure components to save costs. Volvo and Geely will also jointly source EV batteries and electric motors from suppliers.
The joint venture will utilize Volvo's existing distribution and service network to expand globally.
The collaboration will be overseen by a new governance model, supported by Geely Holding, which is the lead shareholder of both companies.
Geely has owned Volvo for over a decade having purchased Volvo from U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company in 2010. At the time, acquiring Volvo was intended to help extend the automaker's reach outside of its home country of China.
The new joint venture company is expected to become operational sometime this year. It will provide internal combustion engines, transmissions, and next-generation dual-motor hybrid systems that both automakers will share among their model lineups. In addition, the company plans to develop systems for other automobile manufacturers.
The collaboration will also include the joint development of an autonomous driving (AD) solution under the lead of Zenseact, Volvo Cars software development company which has developed a scalable advanced driver assist system (ADAS) and autonomous driving software platform.
The two companies are also planning to share Volvo's new SEA and SPA2 electric vehicle architectures among their brands and have launched efforts to speed up the development of hardware and software for the next-generation modular EV architectures.
The sharing of vehicle platforms allows for an expansion of product portfolios across the Volvo Cars, Geely, Lynk & Co and the Polestar brand. Polestar is Volvo Cars' new dedicated electric brand. The new Polestar 2 EV is built in China by Geely.
In addition, the two companies will collaborate on the global expansion of the jointly owned Lynk & Co brand, which launched in 2016. The Lynx & Co is focused on internet connectivity and innovative purchasing models, such as a direct to consumer sales model.
"Geely Auto looks forward to partnering more closely with Volvo Cars, achieving significant synergies for our respective businesses. This will enable Geely Auto to accelerate its global expansion, to capitalise on our strengths in China and develop a new generation of world-class new energy vehicles and associated mobility services," said An Conghui, President and CEO of Geely Auto.
The collaboration agreement has the support of Li Shufu, Chairman of Geely Holding, which is the largest shareholder in Geely Auto.
"We are encouraged by the potential synergies and growth opportunities created by this collaboration, which will create two even stronger globally competitive companies in the rapidly changing world of automotive technology and new mobility services," said Shufu.
Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.
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- Senators Push NHTSA for Action After Latest Tesla Accident
- Tesla Chief Elon Musk Says 'Red Tape' is Causing Delays in Completing its Berlin Gigafactory
- Volvo-backed Electric Brand Polestar in Talks to go Public via a SPAC Deal, Sources Say
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- Electric Ram 1500, Dodge Muscle Car Confirmed For 2024
- General Motors to Source Lithium for EV Batteries From the Salton Sea Region in California With New Strategic Partnership
- Starting Today, BMW is Rolling Out an Over-the-Air Software Update for 1.3 Million Vehicles


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While the stock market might be down, there is one area right now that still manages to hold high: grocery stocks. The entire world has been looking to grocery companies to be on top of bulk ordering, and most have met the challenge.
However, that also means that while there are a lot of opportunities in today’s market, it’s unclear whether grocery stocks are one of them.
That’s because stocks like Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX:L) and Metro Inc. (TSX:MRU) have been trading high while everything else has plummeted. In fact, both are trading near all-time highs at the moment.
So with that in mind, should grocery stocks be considered a defensive play in today’s market? Or will a crash eventually come?
As one of the largest grocery chains in Canada, Loblaw was practically the first to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced that customers didn’t need to worry. There would be no food shortages, safety precautions would be met, and no, the company would not run out of toilet paper.
Since then, the stock has traded ever higher. Loblaw stock initially fell after the pandemic crisis, in fact it fell twice. First, Loblaw stock plummeted 18% and then again by 9%.
Since that last drop, however, the stock has been climbing back to all-time highs in the $70 range. As of writing, the stock trades at about $74 per share, an increase of 25% since the last dip.
While initial bullishness seems to have occurred with Loblaw stock, I don’t think investors should believe this will last long term. COVID-19 and social distancing are unfortunately here to stay for the time being. That means that even through all those good intentions, Loblaw can’t help but feel the impact on its bottom line.
Even with all of the banners of No Frills and Shoppers Drug Mart under the Loblaw name, each company will be heavily impacted by the crisis.
As earnings reports come in, I expect investors should see further drops in Loblaw stock price. Loblaw already operates in a competitive environment despite having the top two private labels in Canada, and its cost of capital is rarely covered by its returns on capital.
Add the push to increase the minimum wage in both Ontario and Alberta and Loblaw could have some serious trouble on its hands as its customers continue to go to cheaper stores like Wal-Mart and Costco, not to mention the increasing use of meal kits.
While analysts aren’t that bullish about the future of Loblaw, Metro stock is a different story. The stock also fell twice, by 12% and 9%, respectively, but has since bounced back by 15% to around $60 per share.
Metro is still within the highly competitive industry, but has a lot more room to grow out of its main banners. But if you’re going to buy up a stock like Metro, here are a few words of warning.
Metro is under the same pressures as Loblaw, with Wal-Mart, Costco and others all putting strain on the grocery stock. Metro simply does not have the resources that its competitors have at the moment — and that’s unlikely to change in the next decade. But where Metro might just have an edge is through its modernization investment.
The company recently spent $400 million to modernize and automate its facilities. In a post-pandemic world, this could be highly beneficial to get customers in and out of the door as quickly as possible.
With more automated programs in place, this will leave funds available to reinvestment and bring in more customers. While this won’t spur a lot of growth in the near future, Metro might be ahead of the curve in the long term.
But whether Metro will get to this point is up to debate. Online grocery stores, discount operators and meal kit expansion could seriously hurt Metro’s earnings.
All of these areas could see some increased growth, with consumers getting used to online shopping, which leaves Metro needing to find other areas for keeping up its earnings.


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Robyn Datt is in her late forties and she found the kilos weren’t shifting as easily as they used to.
She explains, “I had tried high fat low carb diets but I was never able to lose weight. I’ve been visiting doctors, seeing dietitians and really nothing was working.
“I was getting kind of desperate and I found out about myDNA and I thought, let me try it,” says Robyn.
She recently lost 5kg in two months with a myDNA Nutrition & Fitness Report by following the diet and fitness plan tailored to her genetic make-up.
A Melbourne start-up, myDNA is breaking new ground in the field of health genetics.
Allan Sheffield is managing director of the company behind the technology. He says, “It’s a simple cheek brush, it’s non-invasive. You then send off the sample in the post. It comes to our lab and within 7-10 working days your results are available via a secure online portal.”
Robyn also struggled with a thyroid condition that has made losing weight even more difficult. But after putting her report into action she’s feeling healthier.
Her results showed that she doesn’t process fats well and she tends to store fats easily. But she benefits more than others from using Omega-3 rich fat sources to keep her weight under control. She was recommended a calorie-controlled low-fat diet that favours Omega-3 rich fat sources.
And with a personalised plan for her exercise, she finds she’s a slimmer and fitter mum.
Robyn’s goal is to lose 15kg, but 5kg is a good start, “I’ve adjusted the foods that I eat and so far, it’s still early days but I am seeing some results. I’ve also adjusted the exercise that I do at the gym and I’m already starting to see some of the results.”
This new approach from myDNA offers a scientific alternative to just following the crowd, opting for the latest fad diet or exercise approach.
Allan Sheffield says: “One diet program might work for some people but others might not lose weight or could even put on weight. What we can do now is a simple DNA test that can work out which diet plan or exercise plan is right for you. We have curated the evidence and the scientific studies that are out there. We look at studies that show that a person with a certain genetic type will do better on one diet or another. That’s the information that we use as the basis of our reports.
The appeal of a DNA test is that a person’s DNA results stay the same for their whole life and the recommended diet is safe to be followed for the long term.
This genetic information used to be available in laboratory settings only, but now the cost has come down significantly and a nutrition and fitness report is now available for $99.


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FRANKFURT – Workers at six Amazon web-sites in Germany will go on strike on Monday in protest more than basic safety after some staff at logistics facilities tested beneficial for coronavirus, labour union Verdi explained.
Verdi said on Sunday that the strike would past at the very least 48 hours, under the motto ‘Good and healthy work’, to denounce what it referred to as a absence of transparency by the US retail huge just after staff examined constructive for COVID-19.
“We have info that at the very least 30 to 40 colleagues were being contaminated,” mentioned Verdi representative Orhan Akman.
Amazon has confronted a very long-operating struggle with unions in Germany above better shell out and ailments for logistics employees, who have staged regular strikes because 2013.
Verdi claimed the strikes will strike Amazon web sites in Leipzig, Poor Hersfeld, Rheinberg, Werne and Koblenz. It reported Amazon was placing gain in advance of the safety of its employees.
Amazon turned down the accusations in a statement and explained that as of June it experienced invested $4 billion on actions to protect its global workforce and consumers from the hazard of COVID-19 bacterial infections.
In Germany, its greatest current market just after the United States, Amazon has due to the fact February purchased 470 million hand disinfection bottles, 21 million pairs of gloves, 19 million masks and other experience safety gear and 39 million boxes of disinfectant wipes, a spokesman for Amazon in Germany said.
Devoted music ninja. Zombie practitioner. Pop culture aficionado. Webaholic. Communicator. Internet nerd. Certified alcohol maven. Tv buff.


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STC Tyre Mart Sdn Bhd is the sole distributor of the Rovelo Tyres in Malaysia. Rovelo is a tyre manufacturer focused on delivering sustainable value to an industry teeming with demanding customers and investors alike. Rovelo targets the entry-level market by offering its consumers an economical, dependable and efficient option in an already ultra-competitive automotive tyre market. Currently the lineup of tyres Rovelo have are the SPORT A1, RHP-A68, RHP-778, RACER R1, and ROADQUEST AT.
On the 12th of March 2019, STC Tyre Mart Sdn Bhd is the host to a number of VIP from Rovelo which includes Mr Yuan Zhong Xue the chairman of Rovelo, Mr David Ji and Mr Bruce Zhou the Vice President, Mr Sam Zhou the Assistant President, Mr Andy Wang the Sales Director and last but not least is Mr Will Yan the Business Management Manager. The Rovelo VIP were greeted as soon as they arrives at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The purpose of the Rovelo VIP visit to Malaysia is to visit STC Tyre Mart Sdn Bhd as well as to attend the Rovelo Dealer Appreciation Dinner. STC Tyre Mart Sdn Bhd, Singapore Tyres International Ptd Ltd, and PT Stamford Tyres Distributor Indonesia welcomes the Rovelo VIP with a dinner as a token of appreciation after the long flying hours. The Rovelo VIP had a wonderful time at the dinner being accompanied by Mr Wee Kok Wah the President of Stamford Tyres, Mrs Wee the Executive Director of Stamford Tyres. Ms Clare Law the Senior VP, Head of Spore Operations & Supply Chain, Ms Tang Kay Kay the Senior Purchasing Manager of Stamford Tyres, Datin Anne Leong Our Malaysia Director, Mr Cham Soon Kian the Executive Vice President, CEO Msia, Mr Conson Tiu Sia the Senior Vice President, Deputy CEO of Malaysia, Ms Chng Lee Lee the Head of Finance and operation, Mr Ang Beng Loo the Sales Manager of Rovelo, Ms Chye Chew Yong the AM of Purchasing & Marketing and Mr Erwin Chua the General Manager Stamford Tyres Indonesia.
The following day 13th March 2019, The Rovelo VIP were taken for a meeting at the STC Tyre Mart Sdn Bhd office with a tour at their Glenmarie warehouse. After the meeting and tour ended, the VIP went for a quick lunch before visiting the dealers of Rovelo. The VIP visited a total number of four dealers which is MK Tyre Centre,Shah Alam , Ban Hooi, Shah Alam, YB Tyre Services, Pandan Indah and STC Tyre Retail Cheras, Tmn Maluri Cheras. Once the dealer visit concluded the VIP went back to the hotel for some rest before attending the Rovelo Dealer Appreciation Dinner. STC Tyre Mart Sdn Bhd held an appreciation dinner for all the 24 Rovelo Dealers at the Seafood World in Plaza 33. Dealers in Malaysia will have a change to meet the Rovelo Top Management team and also lots of fun, food and drinks. The Rovelo VIP presented 24 dealers with the Dealer Appreciation Award that night. The night ended on a happy note.


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Porsche in talks with CATL for battery cells
Porsche is apparently negotiating a supply contract for battery cells with CATL. The German sports car manufacturer and the Chinese battery specialist are “in good talks”, said Porsche development director Michael Steiner, who meets regularly with CATL management.
Nio & ProLogium working on solid-state batteries
China’s EV start-up Nio is cooperating with battery cell manufacturer ProLogium of Taiwan to develop solid-state batteries. The short-term goal is a prototype. Whether the longer-term goals can be achieved will probably also depend on the economic situation at Nio.
Akasol marks minor profits for first half of 2019
The German battery system supplier Akasol was able to significantly increase its sales in the first half of the year and has already almost reached the total sales for the 2018 financial year. After a loss of millions in 2018, the company is now in the black – albeit only marginally.
Voltabox marks loss for first half of 2019
Although the battery system manufacturer Voltabox was able to significantly increase sales in the first half of the year, the operating result was still in the red. An improvement is probably not in sight until 2020 and may require an austerity program.
Valmet builds battery testing facilities in Germany
Valmet Automotive, a development and manufacturing services provider, has started construction of its new Battery Test Center in the German carmaking region of Baden-Wurttemberg. The centre will expand Valmet’s testing capabilities for batteries and battery systems in EVs.
JT Energy set for intralogistics battery operations
JT Energy Systems will be taking over the former Solarworld plant in Freiberg, Germany. The company was founded by Jungheinrich and Triathlon Holding at the beginning of 2019 and aims to create “the largest European production centre for batteries and charging systems in intralogistics”.
Graz researchers improve solid-state Li-Ion conductors
An international research team at the University of Technology in Graz presented a new solid electrolyte for batteries. According to a statement by the university, it shows one of the fastest lithium migration processes ever measured in a lithium-ion conductor. Toyota was also involved in the project.
Solid electrolyte batteries – the next big thing?!
Battery cells with a solid electrolyte promise high energy densities. Batteries in electric cars could thus become smaller and lighter – and the range could increase. Christoph M. Schwarzer spoke to experts to analyse the current situation for electrive. Whether and when all-solid-state batteries reach series production is an open question.
Kreisel Electric developing batteries with VinFast
The Austrian e-mobility specialist Kreisel Electric announced a cooperation for battery development with the Vietnamese vehicle manufacturer VinFast. The partners will jointly develop a battery pack, which VinFast will launch in its electric cars and electric buses in 2020.
ECO COM’BAT: High power battery by Fraunhofer
As part of the EU-funded ECO COM’BAT, ten partners from industry and research have been working on more sustainable high-voltage lithium-ion batteries since April 2016. As the project coordinator Fraunhofer ISC now communicates: apparently with success.


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Shopping center revived in Middle Smithfield
Stroud Mall's corporate owner will buy and build a long-planned Middle Smithfield Township supermarket/drug store complex, officials announced during a supervisors' meeting Friday night.
The project will create 150 permanent jobs.
CBL & Associates Properties Inc., based in Tennessee, hopes to close within weeks on buying the Crossings at Marshalls Creek from Tom Maoli. CBL plans to start construction immediately on a complex to be anchored by a Price Chopper supermarket and Rite Aid pharmacy and open for business next summer.
The Marshalls Creek Crossings will be built at the former Pocono Bazaar outdoor flea market.
"Our goal is to close this month and begin site work this month," said Mark D. Mancuso, CBL's vice president for development.
Sale terms weren't disclosed.
"We have very good quality clients to be our anchors," Mancuso said. "We anticipate shops, restaurants, potentially a bank."
Sal Candarella, representing Morristown, N.J., developer Tom Maoli at the meeting, won final supervisors' approval Friday for the project land development plan Maoli formally proposed two years ago.
The approval is subject to several township conditions, with the developer — in this case, CBL — agreeing to post a $1.7 million bond guaranteeing the work is completed.
CBL is a large commercial developer that has the resources to build and operate the Crossings at Marshalls Creek, Candarella said when asked why his boss is selling the project.


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Western Digital has a new $100 media streamer it would like you to buy. At first glance the new WD TV is a standard affair with the usual A/V jacks, Miracast support and a focus on local media streaming with MKV and FLAC support. But it lacks Netflix. Seriously. The ubiquitous app is not available on this player making it — and I don’t think I’m exaggerating here — the only A/V streamer released within the last three years to not support Netflix in any way.
The player has other streaming apps: YouTube, Spotify, Vudu, Slingbox, Aol HD, Hulu Plus and many others. Except Netflix. Good job, Western Digital. Gold star.
It seems WD is going after the niche market of those who want a $100 media player that can play back media from a local network source but can’t be bothered to install XBMC (or the like) and has a burning hatred of Netflix to the point that they will not buy a player that has Netflix installed.
Western Digital has long made similar streaming devices (those supported Netflix, too), but this is the first time the company has released an SDK for devs to build custom apps for the device. But if I was a developer, I would develop an app for a streaming device that people will actually buy instead of this Western Digital turd very few people ever would because it lacks a ubiquitous feature. But that’s just me.


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Tax prep business continues it’s nice growth ramp
Posted by Tom Taulli on April 15, 2009 in Business Valuation [ 0 Comments ]
A common question I get is: What’s a good business to start?
Of course, this is one that involves saying “depends.”
But on Tax Day, I think there is something to consider; that is, a tax prep business.
In fact, according to a BizEquity research report, there’s been continued strength in the industry. For the past year, the valuations of tax prep firms has increased 9% (based on a sample of 35,000 companies).
Let’s face it, taxes are complicated – and things will likely not get any better. Besides, with the recent raft of new tax regulations, it’s even more important to have sage advice.
And, the good news is that with operators like H&R Block, it’s fairly straightforward to setup a franchise.
So, if you want to see the full report, you can check it out here.


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McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Insider Stephen Easterbrook Sells 171,577 Shares of Stock
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) insider Stephen Easterbrook sold 171,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.32, for a total value of $28,879,840.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,778 shares in the company, valued at $8,378,632.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $169.11. The stock had a trading volume of 963,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,050,000. The company has a market cap of $137,030.00, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.67. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $117.71 and a 52 week high of $170.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of -8.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The fast-food giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 216.45% and a net margin of 24.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 54.26%.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 449,237 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $68,805,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Partners Inc. now owns 26,154 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 467,212 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $71,558,000 after purchasing an additional 44,899 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 323.7% during the 1st quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 10,589 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 8,090 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 28,274 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,330,000 after purchasing an additional 16,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.95% of the company’s stock.
MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $185.00 price target on McDonald’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank AG set a $185.00 price target on McDonald’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Canaccord Genuity reissued a “hold” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Longbow Research raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $154.05 to $183.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. Finally, Argus restated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $169.96.
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McDonald’s Corporation (McDonald’s) operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants. The Company’s restaurants serve a locally relevant menu of food and drinks sold at various price points in over 100 countries. The Company’s segments include U.S., International Lead Markets, High Growth Markets, and Foundational Markets and Corporate.
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China ready to advance comprehensive strategic partnership with EU: vice premier
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said on Monday that China stands ready to work with the European Union to fully implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two sides, and take the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.
He made the remarks during the 10th China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, co-chaired in Beijing with Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the European Commission.
He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. China stands ready to work with the EU to fully implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two sides, consolidate cooperation in traditional areas, actively explore new areas of cooperation, jointly address global challenges, and take the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, said He.
Dombrovskis said the EU is willing to work with China to strengthen the pragmatic cooperation on economics and trade, and push forward the sustained development of EU-China relations.
The two sides have conducted candid and pragmatic communication on issues such as macroeconomics, trade and investment, industrial and supply chains, and financial cooperation, and have reached a series of mutually beneficial outcomes and consensuses.


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LG is about to launch another Windows Phone. This time they are about to launch LG Miracle. Unfortunately, photo of LG Miracle were leaked. This happens before official launch of devices so we can expect it to launch in few weeks or so.
Along with image of LG Miracle, phone specificatios were also leaked. LG Miracle will be using WVGA NOVA display which will make it first Windows Phone of its own kind. NOVA display is surely going to help LG Miracle to stand out in crowd of Windows Phones.
LG Miracle will be using Snapdragon chipset with 1GHz Scorpion CPU. This is far apart from 1.5GHz units which were used in second generation Windows Phone. You can even record 710p videos with its 5MP camera. Video calling is also possible with its secondary VGA camera.
You will be able to surf Internet at a great speed of 14.4Mbps HSPA. Phone also supports Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi a/b/g/n. NFC might be included with it. But still price and availability of phone is unknown. We can expect launch of LG Miracle at MWC.


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BERLIN (Reuters) - The political agreement between Japan and the European Union on a free trade pact sends an important signal against protectionism on the eve of the G20 summit in Hamburg, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Thursday.
“The agreement shows that trade deals for open markets can be concluded with mutual interests. Globalisation needs rules, and trade agreements contribute to this,” Zypries said in a statement.
The EU’s active and committed trade policy is the right way to shape globalisation and strengthen the high standards of the EU in the areas of employment, environment and consumer protection around the world, Zypries added.
“Of course, a number of issues and open questions are still to be clarified after the basic agreement, in order to be able to conclude the negotiations completely by the end of the year.”
Japan and the EU agreed on Thursday to a free trade pact, signaling their opposition to what they see as U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist turn.
Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers


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The Humane Society of the US has issued the following alert:
Warmth Without Cruelty
Strawberry, a leading New York-area retailer, was recently found selling real fur vests marked as "faux fur" and unlabeled sweaters trimmed with raccoon dog fur. Strawberry continues to sell rabbit and raccoon dog fur even as other companies reject this cruel trade.
Tell Strawberry to keep fur cruelty out of its product line. With many warm and fashionable alternatives available, there's no reason to wear animal fur and no reason for Strawberry to sell it.
Please call 1-201-393-0600 and ask Strawberry to hold the fur, then follow up with a quick email »
Thanks for all you do for animals.
Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO"
The story was picked up by Gothamist:


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The acquisition expands Legendary Companies’ Corvette-focused product offering, and together with Coker Tire, Paragon Corvette and Corvette Central, the acquisition of Zip represents the fourth family-owned business to be added to Legendary Companies’ portfolio of brands since partnering with Irving Place Capital in 2018, the company said.
Founded in 1977, Zip maintains a broad product offering for C1 through C8 Chevrolet Corvettes. The company, which has been owned by David Walker and his family since its inception, offers over 45,000 unique parts, the company said.
“Adding Zip to our existing hard parts businesses, Corvette Central and Paragon Corvette, creates an industry leading supplier with an incredibly broad parts library well suited to serve all Corvette owners,“ said Legendary Companies President and CEO Mike Kealey. “David Walker and his family have built an outstanding business with a 45 year history of providing high-quality parts and leading customer service. We are excited that David remains committed to Zip and it’s continued development, and we look forward to working with the broader Zip team to continue growing our combined business.”
“Joining forces with Legendary Companies will expand the breadth of our product offering and improve the level of service we are able to provide to our customers,” said David Walker, president of Zip. “We share an unwavering commitment to providing enthusiast vehicle owners with authentic, high-quality restoration parts, wheels and tires. By working together, we will be able to accelerate the pace of new product development and deliver even more solutions to our customers and partners.”
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.


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One of the key goals of the Blockchain Advocacy Coalition is to better inform policymakers about how regulation impacts the blockchain/cryptocurrency/ distributed ledger industry. For brevity’s sake we’ll us BCDL as a catch-all from here on out. We used Crunchbase to source data about the industry size and trends. Here’s what we found out about the BCDL industry in California:
California is losing ground…rapidly
Since 2012 the global number of BCDL businesses has grown steadily. As shown on the chart, 2017 was a bit of breakaway year but the number of businesses tracked by Crunchbase using this tech has been consistently on the rise during the last six years. At the same time, the percentage of the those businesses headquartered in California has fallen from nearly 20% to just over 11%.
While this is a strong indicator that CA is losing out on this quickly growing market, we needed to establish what range of market share is typical for the state’s technology industry. We compared the percentage of businesses headquarted in the Golden State across a variety of subsections of the technology industry and confirmed that 11.8% is an alarmingly small market share for the state. The second lowest was for SAAS businesses, and CA is still home to over 18% of them.
For the rest of the tech sectors we looked at CA was typically home to 18–25% of marketshare while the U.S. enjoyed 40–50%. For BCDL they clock in at only 11.8% and 27%, respectively. This indicates an unwelcoming environment for BCDL businesses and suppresses the ability of other companies to experiment with this technology. For a state that prides itself on innovation and leading the global tech industry- this is a major blind spot.
Why the U.S. and California are losing the BCDL Market
A research team led by Sheena Shah of Morgan Stanley concluded that well-defined regulations are a key factor in where cryptocurrency businesses choose to headquarter. Shah notes “regulatory certainty is part of the attractiveness for the companies so they can plan for the future as they know what to expect. Low taxes are a benefit.”
The U.S. has the oft-cited compliance problem of 4 different definitions of virtually currency by 4 different regulatory agencies: security, commodity, currency, property. California has passed no major regulation regarding the BCDL industry but has twice considered legislation similar to New York’s industry-quashing BitLicense. The states’ lack of leadership coupled with confusion over federal jursidiction creates the atmosphere of ‘uncertainty’ that Morgan Stanley found to drive away businesses.
California needs to pass regulation that welcomes and strengthens the BCDL economy. In my next post I’ll go over some of the policies that are working globally and how this election cycle impacts what we can achieve next year. In the meantime, if you are interested in getting involved in educating policymakers and supporting positive regulation please email email@example.com .


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Samsung Mobile is now started rolling out its newest Android 13-based One UI 5 update to its lower mid-range Samsung Galaxy A33 5G in limited countries.
One UI 5 comes with a number of useful new features, including the new notifications UI, helpful multitasking gestures, Pro camera modes, stackable widgets, note-taking functionality during calls, and much more.
The firmware with the newest update for the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G is A336BXXU4BVJG in some European regions.
The new major software update also includes the October security update 2022 that comes with addressing several privacy and security issues, according the official documentation.
So, if you’re a Galaxy A33 5G user in the countries, you can download the new update by heading over to Settings > Software update > (tap) Download and Install. Users across more countries will get the security patch within the next few days.
The South Korean tech giant has recently begun releasing the same update for its Galaxy Note 20 Series in the United States.


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Google Maps gets a whole new experience called immersive view to provide an enhanced digital model of buildings and streets around the world. The new mode uses advances in computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a rich visual experience for users, Google said as it announced the new feature of its I / O 2022 key consumer report on Wednesday. Google also announced the second beta version of Android 13, the upcoming operating system. The company also announced that updates are coming to Google Workspace, including automated transcriptions, portrait lighting and portrait recovery in Google Meet. In addition, there were messages related to Google Assistant, YouTube, presentation of skin tone and others, which you will find in detail here.
Google Maps Updates
With immersive views, Google Maps helps you get a rich view of your neighborhood, landmark, restaurant, or popular place. It brings together billions of Street View and aerial imagery, along with advances in computer vision and AI, to provide a rich digital model of virtual maps, the company said.
“Whether you’re traveling somewhere new or exploring hidden local gems, the immersive view will help you make the most informed decisions before you go,” Google said.
In addition to the immersive experience, the new view includes a time slider that users can use to even check out what the area looks like at different times of the day and in different weather conditions. Users can also slide down to street level to browse nearby restaurants and see information such as live traffic and traffic nearby.
Immersive View uses Google Cloud to offer users a digital view. So it does not depend on the device and can work with any phone and device, Google said. Initially, the experience began to spread to Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.
Google Maps is also expanding green routes to more places, including Europe. It was launched in the United States and Canada in the recent past and was used by humans to travel 86 billion miles, saving approximately half a million metric tons of carbon emissions, according to Google.
In addition, Google is making its Live View available to developers through the new ARCore Geospatial API. It brings augmented reality (AR) to display arrows and directions on real-world views to help users navigate indoor areas such as airports, malls and train stations.
Android 13 beta 2 edition
Among other announcements, Google during the I / O 2022 user report announced the release of Android 13 beta 2. The update will carry a list of improvements and enhancements over the first beta, which debuted for select Pixel devices last month. Google has also announced features, including a unified security and privacy settings page, new media controls including an album art, and a new photo that allows users to choose the exact photos and videos they want to share. Android 13 will also include optimizations for tablets, including better multitasking capabilities and features, including an updated taskbar with the ability to switch the look of a single tablet to a split screen.
Google Meet Updates
Google Meet gets portrait recovery, which uses Google’s AI to help improve video quality and add enhancements, even if the user is sitting in a dimly lit room using an old webcam or has a poor Wi-Fi connection. Google said the feature could help automatically enhance the video.
In addition to the portrait recovery feature, Google Meet receives portrait light, which is said to use machine learning to simulate studio-quality lighting in a video show. Users can also adjust the position of the lighting and brightness.
Google Meet also gets de-reverb, which helps filter echo in hard surfaces with machine learning. The company claims that the feature helps you sound “like you’re in a conference room with a microphone … even if you’re in your basement.”
In addition, Google Meet receives live sharing to sync content shared in a virtual call and allow participants to control the media. Developers can also use the Live Sharing API to integrate Meet into their applications.
Google is too bringing automated transcription later this year and a summary of next year’s meeting to improve Google Meet conversations.
Google Workspace Updates
Google Workspace receives automated transcripts from Google Meet to help users transcribe conversations directly into their documents. Google is also extending the automatic summaries in Spaces to provide a summary of long conversations. Automatic summaries were introduced in Google Docs earlier this year.
Google also adds security protections that were part of Gmail to Google Presentations, Docs, and Spreadsheets. The company claims that these protections will help users prevent the opening of documents containing phishing links and malware using automatic alerts.
Google Assistant Updates
During I / O 2022, Google announcements Look and Talk, distributed in the US by Nest Hub Max to help people access Google Assistant without saying the hot word “OK Google” or “Hey Google”. Users will just have to look at the screen and then ask what they need. The feature uses Face Match and Voice Match features based on machine learning and AI algorithms to recognize users and quickly activate voice interactions. Google has said the feature will be available as an inclusion offer.
Once activated, you can use Look and Talk to interact with Google Assistant by simply looking at the screen of your Nest Hub Max.
“The video of these interactions is processed entirely on the device, so it is not shared with Google or anyone else,” the company said.
Google also noted that the feature works in different skin tones and for people of different backgrounds.
In addition to the Look and Talk feature, Google is extending Nest Hub Max quick phrases to allow users to skip saying “Hey Google” about their most common daily tasks. This means that you will be able to turn on the lights in your room by saying “Turn on the lights in the living room” without saying the hot word first.
Google Assistant is also getting new speech and language models that can help understand the nuances of human speech – for example, when someone pauses but hasn’t finished speaking, the company said.
Google during I / O Keynote announced that it provides automatically translated YouTube captions to mobile users to help users watch video captions in as many as 16 languages. Google will also introduce automatically translated captions for all Ukrainian content on YouTube next month.
Skin tone updates
Google is launching a new skin tone scale called the Monk Skin Tone (MST) Scale, based on research conducted by Harvard professor and sociologist Dr. Ellis Monk. This will help the company contribute more to the spectrum of skin tones said.
In the coming months, the new scale with 10 skin tones will be integrated into various Google products. Google is also openly releasing the scale to allow others in the technology industry to incorporate a wide range of skin tones into their experiences.
One of the key Google products that will start using the MST Scale will be Google Search. It will start showing users an option to help users further refine their skin tone results. Creators, brands and publishers will also be able to use an inclusive content labeling scheme with attributes such as skin tone, hair color and hair texture.
Google Photos will also use the MST Scale to allow users to enhance their photos with a new set of real-tone filters. These filters will be introduced in Google Photos on Android, iOS and the web in the coming weeks.


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A Facebook app that encourages you to de-tox sounds like it could be useful. Especially come January, that month of penance and eating detox soup. But, on closer inspection, this app – MirrorMe – also sounds like it would make you run screaming away from your computer screen.
According to a press release, the MirrorMe app uses the same facial recognition technology that the CIA and police around the world use to show you what your face will look like if you persist with your bad habits. After answering a few questions about your lifestyle, it takes a suitable photo from your Facebook profile to produce an image of what your future face will look like. After you’ve ravaged it with Quality Street, cocktail sausages and booze that is…
The app takes medical factors into account, as well as factors such as location and ethnic origin.
Of course eat lettuce all you want, there’s not a whole lot that can be done about the natural ageing process, it’s part of being a human isn’t it.
Anyway, if for whatever reason, you want to guess what your face will look like in 10 or 20 years, try the app out. It’s free and according to the site, “fun”. Yeah real fun…
Jeremiah Alexander from Ideonic, the team behind the app, says: “In a way the MirrorMe app reflects what Ideonic is all about – a fresh and innovative company which seeks to inform and educate but in a fun, free, innovative, non preaching or judgemental way.”
By Anna Leach | December 16th, 2009


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Australian eChallenge 2016 winners, Praxis Aeronautics, continue to go from strength to strength with their innovative solar powered drones. They have just secured $150,000 worth of funding under the State Government’s Early Commercialisation Fund which will allow them to scale up and commence commercial manufacturing and sales.
Praxis Aeronautics has created a process by which solar cells can be encapsulated into a composite material, such as the body of a drone. Whilst solar powered drones do already exist, they are currently not as efficient as Praxis Aeronautics’ design. “Our new manufacturing process is disruptive because it enables standard solar cells to be used in a much more productive way,” said Managing Director, Don Donaldson.
The government funding is administered by TechInSA, offering start-ups and early-stage companies customised programs including grants, business and marketing assistance and lab and office space, as well as assisting with access to global networks. TechInSA also supports the new Cybersecurity eChallenge stream. “By supporting the state’s researchers and entrepreneurs, we are creating the jobs of the future and investing in the incredibly innovative ideas that are being generated in our state,” said Manufacturing and Innovation Minister, Kyam Maher.
The Australian eChallenge is proud to play its part in this dynamic support network, and we’re certain that the sky is the limit for alumni Praxis Aeronautics!
Links to similar articles
The solar powered drone that could fly indefinitely
New solar power drone technology gets government backing
Funding for new solar power drone technology


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Is WPP Group chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell superstitious?
Until Friday, the globe's second largest marketing services holding company, had thirteen advertising, media and research operations on Russian soil.
Unlucky number? Sorrell is better known for good judgement than bad luck. But the question is no longer relevant: there is now a fourteenth member of Sir Martin's soviet stable, WPP Russia.
WPP Group has taken a 51% stake in a new joint venture with well-connected former local politico Mikhail Lesin, one-time minister for press and information and these days an adviser to president Vladimir Putin.
Lesin runs a company called Video International which belies its name by dealing in media buying and running a string of advertising agencies.
But could it be Lesin who is superstitious? His company has thirteen major shareholders, reportedly all well-connected Russian businessmen. WPP is now the fourteenth.
The WPP-Lesin joint venture is expected to earn annual revenues upward of $30 million (€24.45m; £16.25m).
Data sourced from: Telegraph.co.uk; additional content by WARC staff