text:
OIV REPORT: CHINA WINE MARKET STALLING IN EVERY WAY
By Susan Lewis
China recorded the largest fall in wine consumption among the world’s top 20 biggest wine consumers in 2018, with a 6.6 percent decline to 18 million hectoliter (mhl), according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).
The organisation’s data also shows that China produced 9.3mhl of wine in 2018, a decrease of 2.3mhl from previous year, representing a sharp 20 percent decline.
The expansion in vineyard area in China also stalled after more than 10 years of fast growth, China’s area under vine reached 875kha in 2018, compared to 870kha in 2017.
While the China market entered into a reverse mode, total world consumption struggled to show fast growth as well. OIV said worldwide consumption was stable in 2018 at 246 mhl, compared with 246.7 mhl in 2017.
Global wine production, however, had a stellar year in 2018 after hitting a 60-year low in 2017 due to extreme weather conditions including drought and storm.
World total wine production rose 17 percent last year to 292.3 mhl, mainly driven by steep rises in Italy, France and Spain - three of the world’s major producers - which all recorded output of at least 13 percent above their five-year average.
Italy confirmed its position as the world’s largest producer with 54.8 mhl, followed by France with 49.1 mhl, and Spain which produced 44.4 mhl.
The global wine trade rose sightly by volume to 108 mhl, mainly contributed by a rise in export volumes from new world producing countries. Some USD35.25 billion worth of wine was traded last year, a 1.2 percent increase from 2017.
France was still the main exporter by value, with wine shipments totaling €9.3b (USD10.5b) in 2018, up 2.8 percent on the previous year.
(the writer can be contacted at: SusanLewis@thewinechronicle.com)
**IF YOU THINK THE WINE CHRONICLE IS WORTH SUPPORTING, PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TO HELP US IMPROVE AND CONTINUE OUR WORK**
TRENDING│ FOCUS│ SERVICES│ ABOUT US│ CONTACT


text:
Written by: Roshan Dwivedi
NBC Olympics taps Azure once again to bring live and on-demand Summer Olympic Games. The streaming will be available on any device including smartphones, tablets, PCs, connected TVs and gaming consoles.
In order to deliver authentic streaming coverage and seamless online streaming to millions of viewers at scale, Microsoft has chosen Adobe Primetime Systems and its Primetime TV publishing platform.
NBC Sports has released a Windows 10 UWP app for PC and mobile on 29th July to allow users to stream the Summer Games. The mobile apps are also customizable to provide personalized experiences to users.

domain: news


text:
This is the best part of Internet outages—when the Internet service provider blames the hardware, and vice versa. The customers really don't care what the problem is. But a "a subset of Time/Warner ISP users" that haven't been able to connect to Xbox Live since noon yesterday still can't get into the system today.
For six hours now "a subset of Time/Warner ISP users" have had problems connecting to Xbox Live, says Microsoft.
Formerly a household name in video games, the bankrupted publisher will end up paying creditors between 16 and 25 percent of what they were owed, under a plan approved by a Delaware judge on Friday.
Time Warner's recent acquisition of LEGO-crazy game developer TT Games was "wildly successful", and has the media giant considering expansion into the video game industry, Time Warner Chief Financial Office John Martin told investors Wednesday.
Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine has just snagged $40 million in equity financing primarily from Time Warner and GGV Capital, the company announced today.


text:
Just Eat soars on London Stock Exchange debut
The City took a bite of Just Eat, sending shares of the takeaway website up 5 per cent on its debut day of trading on the London Stock Exchange, which valued the company at more than £1.5 billion.
The biggest UK technology listing in eight years sees Just Eat — which was founded in Denmark in 2001 but is now headquartered just north of London, in Borehamwood — valued at two thirds more than takeaway giant Domino’s Pizza and a touch more than The Restaurant Group, which owns 400 UK restaurants including Chiquito and Garfunkel’s.
Just Eat priced its shares at 260p, the top end of its range, valuing the business at more than 100 times last year’s £14.1 million underlying profits — but investors devoured more: Just Eat was the most traded stock on the Footsie, as its shares rose 14.6p to 274.6p.
The company claims the majority of takeaway orders will be made using mobile phones within two years; it has put through more than 70 million orders since its launch and has more than 36,000 restaurants, in 13 countries, listed on its site.
The float will raise £100 million for the company and up to £287 million for the shareholders who are selling down their stakes, including directors and private equity backers including SM Trust, and Index Ventures.
The site — which in the UK charges restaurants a £700 sign-up fee, then takes a 10% to 12% commission on orders — is the first company to list on the LSE’s High Growth Segment, aimed at nabbing tech firms that might otherwise have chosen to list in New York. The City banks securing fees worth some £15 million are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Cazenove and Oakley Capital.
Chief executive David Buttress, an ex-Coke executive who already orders in food once a week and will now be able to afford far more, as he owns the biggest slice of a 10% stake owned by management, described the business as “the WhatsApp of takeaway”, and added: “Just Eat is one of the most exciting global growth companies in Europe and we are all delighted at the strong levels of investor interest we have seen in our initial public offering.”
US rival GrubHub, which is listing on Wall Street, has just raised the price range of its own float thanks to huge demand; it is now set to be valued at $2 billion (£1.2 billion).
New UK station Russia Today gives a very bizarre view of Britain
By performing as African Americans or Indians, white people get to play act a kind of 'imaginary liberation', writes Michael Mark Cohen
New essay by JK Rowling went live on Pottermore site this morning
Top Gear presenter is no stranger to foot-in-mouth controversy
- 1 Canadian actor punched in face after 'Islamophobia' experiment goes wrong in wake of Ottawa shooting
- 2 Topshop at centre of row over body image as 'shocking' skinny mannequin photo goes viral
- 3 Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson criticised for beer tweet
- 4 The bubble bursts for Sodastream
- 5 If you think Russell Brand’s new book is confused, you should read what his critics have to say about it
'Nasa Confirms Six Days of Darkness in December': No, they don't - it's a hoax
Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson criticised for beer tweet
The bubble bursts for Sodastream
Russian politician says Apple CEO Tim Cook should be 'banned' from country after coming out as gay
'Santa Claus' dead: John Moore starred in Coca Cola and Morrisons adverts
Pope Francis declares evolution and Big Bang theory are real and God is not 'a magician with a magic wand'
Huge surge in Ukip support after EU funding row, according to new poll
Ukip ‘exploiting grooming scandal’ to secure party’s first police chief
Nigel Farage: 'There’s nothing wrong with white people blacking up'
Maureen Lipman says 'she can't vote Labour while Ed Miliband is leader'
Muslims, immigration and teenage pregnancy: British people are ignorant about almost everything
iJobs Money & Business
£18000 - £23000 per annum + Comission: SThree: SThree, International Recruitme...
£20000 - £25000 per annum + OTE £35K: SThree: We consistently strive to be the...
£20000 - £23250 Per Annum pro rata: Clearwater People Solutions Ltd: Pro rata ...
£40 - 48k + Benefits: Guru Careers: We are seeking a Marketing Manager to join...


text:
A NEW restaurant is due to open at the flourishing Port Solent leisure hub.
The Zippers American restaurant, bar and grill is set to open in August after a £500,000 fit-out, and will bring 20 new jobs to the area.
It will have a new first-floor balcony built, so customers can enjoy views across the marina and to Portchester Castle.
Owned by operator Richoux Group, it is their second restaurant on the Port Solent waterfront.
Richoux Group also owns Dean’s Diner, which opened on The Boardwalk in 2011 and has been a success.
Ed Standring is the managing director of the group.
He said: ‘We are looking forward to opening Zippers at Port Solent.
‘It is a superb destination for dining out, entertainment and sailing and we are pleased to be opening Zippers in the company of other excellent restaurants.’


text:
Four Ford Fiestas were stolen from the Ewood area while the owners were at the Blackburn Rovers game.
Officers from the Blackburn Neighbourhood Policing Team have been investigating these thefts and, with the help of the victims, have recovered three of the four vehicles.
The thefts happened on November 27 police suspect a device is being used to bypass manufacturer security.
A Blackburn and Darwen police spokesperson said: "One of the vehicles is still outstanding so please keep your eyes peeled on your street as it may well be parked up in your neighbourhood.
"The VRM is PF14CNO and a picture is shown above.
"We have recently seen a spate of thefts across Lancashire where Ford Fiesta vehicles appear to have been particularly targeted. It is suspected the offenders are using a device to bypass the security fitted by the manufacturer.
"We would ask owners to remain vigilant and consider using a traditional style locking device such as a steering lock or handbrake lock to deter potential thieves.
"We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the victims for their support and assistance in helping us locate and recover these vehicles for forensic examination. Enquiries into these and other thefts are very much on-going.
"If anyone has any information about these or other thefts you can contact us anonymously on 101 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."


text:
Retailers cut down on M-rated sales to minors
FTC secret shopper program finds stores following ESRB age guidelines; kids able to buy M-rated games just 13 percent of the time.
The Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of a California law that would make it illegal to sell violent games to children, but the Federal Trade Commission today revealed the results of a secret shopper program showing companies are already far less likely to put M-rated games in kids' hands than they are to sell them R-rated DVDs, tickets to R-rated movies, or music CDs with explicit lyrics.
Between November 2010 and January 2011, the FTC sent unaccompanied 13-to-16-year-olds into various national and regional chains to try to obtain media deemed unsuitable for their age group. Just 13 percent of the kids were able to buy games rated M-for-Mature, making games the medium with the most retailer compliance for its rating system. Some 64 percent of the teens were able to buy CDs with a parental advisory label, while 33 percent were allowed to purchase a ticket to an R-rated movie. As for DVDs, the teens were able to purchase films carrying an R rating 38 percent of the time, while unrated DVDs were sold to children 47 percent of the time.
The FTC has conducted such secret shopper programs seven times since 2000, when the agency criticized the game, movie, and music industries for intentionally marketing inappropriate content to children. In that first study, retailers sold M-rated games to children 85 percent of the time. At the time, only music with explicit lyrics was as easy for children to purchase, according to the FTC.
The study also broke down the compliance rates for specific retailers. The FTC's secret shoppers were able to purchase M-rated games at Wal-Mart 20 percent of the time, making it the least compliant of the retailers tested. Target stores were the most vigilant, with minors allowed to buy M-rated games 8 percent of the time. Specialty retailer GameStop was a close second, with secret shoppers permitted an M-rated purchase on 9 percent of attempts.
In the wake of the FTC's announcement, the Entertainment Software Association, Entertainment Merchants Association, and Entertainment Software Rating Board all trumpeted the commission's findings. In his organization's announcement, ESA president Michael Gallagher called the FTC report validation that the ESRB is the "gold standard" of self-regulatory systems.
"Those who would criticize the industry’s commitments are either ignorant of facts or are actively pursuing a political agenda," Gallagher said. "We look forward to building on this level of success."
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
Nokia announced the Nokia 6788, its first device for TD-SCDMA – China’s domestic 3G standard, at an event in Beijing. The Nokia 6788 is the result of close collaboration between Nokia and the world’s largest mobile phone operator, China Mobile.
Speaking at the event, said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia: “Nokia sees TD-SCDMA as being central to the successful evolution of 3G in China, and so is fully committed to this 3G standard. With a wide range of integrated China Mobile applications, the Nokia 6788 marks a new level of collaboration with China Mobile and offers enriched experiences to China’s 3G users. Nokia plans to introduce more TD-SCDMA phones in the near future, further boosting the development of this 3G standard in China.”
“We are excited to see the launch of Nokia 6788,” said Mr. Lu Xiangdong, Vice President of China Mobile Communications Corporation. “With extensive experience in the China market, Nokia will provide Chinese consumers with TD-SCDMA solutions that are perfectly catered to their needs. Such cooperation between the world’s largest operator and the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturer will provide an important boost to the development of TD-SCDMA in China.”
The Nokia 6788 is specifically designed for China Mobile’s network and offers rich data services. It is an all-in-one device that provides its users with faster Internet speeds and download times. Featuring a 5-megapixel (2592 x1944) camera with a dual-LED flash, a 2.8″ QVGA display, and the hugely-successful Symbian S60 platform, the Nokia 6788 allows people to instantly share the things that matter to them most.
Inspired by traditional Chinese furniture and architecture, the Nokia 6788 incorporates Chinese design elements including traditional Chinese patterns on the back of the slide and the battery cover. The Nokia 6788 is expected to become available at the end of December 2009.


text:
A new Steam Packet vessel set to replace the Ben-my-Chree is hoped to offer considerably more passenger space.
That's according to the company's Chief Executive, Mark Woodward, after it was announced last week a deal had been struck to build the new craft at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
Work is due to start in the middle of next year once detailed plans are drawn up and agreed and it's hoped the vessel will start serving the Isle of Man in Spring 2023.
Mr Woodward says: "The final specification and build programme is still in development but it is expected the new vessel will be slightly larger than the Ben-my-Chree in most respects but with considerably more passenger space.
"It is also intended to be more environmentally efficient and manoeuvrable in poor conditions."
The company adds it's committed to maintaining a third back-up vessel, intended to be the Ben-my-Chree when the new craft arrives, to secure passenger and freight links as well as increase capacity during the TT and Classic TT.


text:
The South Korean company said Thursday that its acquisition of Joyent Inc. will allow Samsung to access its own cloud platform rather than renting another company’s data centres to run its internet-based services. The company did not disclose financial terms. Samsung Electronics says it has agreed to buy a US cloud services startup as it seeks to boost software and services.
Demand for cloud computing is growing as more smartphones and internet-connected devices run apps and software that process data on the internet. Many businesses run software in remote data centres while more consumers store their photo and documents on their mobile devices using the apps that rely on cloud computing.
The acquisition is the latest of Samsung’s buys of US-based startups in the past few years.Blancpain Replica Watches
Download the Gadgets 360 app for Android and iOS to stay up to date with the latest tech news, product reviews, and exclusive deals on the popular mobiles.


text:
Pinterest is continuing to push its e-commerce initiatives by introducing a personalized “shopping hub” last week that displays at the top of the user feed with product recommendations pulled from retailers’ organic Product Pins and Catalog feeds.
Retailers will be able to upload Pins via Catalogs and their products will be distributed across Pinterest’s shopping surfaces which includes this new “shopping hub” feature, along with other recommendation spaces and shopping feeds.
Pinterest has even rolled out an updated shopping section that displays below Product Pins, which highlights Catalog content from the respective brand. “Making it easy to browse into the catalogs of brands of all sizes, like Target, Birdies Slippers, Joybird, The Tie Bar and Parachute,” Pinterest wrote on its business blog.
The company is continuing to build out e-commerce features for its discovery platform to connect users to more branded product recommendations. With this personalized “shopping hub,” retailers will have the opportunity to expand their reach on the platform outside of ad campaigns.
With these customized recommendations, brands show be able to have more exposure and more opportunities to move users through the customer journey.
“We’ve found that people increasingly use Pinterest to search for specific types of products and vignettes, and Pinterest’s growing suite of Shopping tools helps us meet that customer demand, providing those shoppers with relevant options from Parachute,” said Parachute CEO Ariel Kaye.


text:
Posted by Rakhi Jha On 22-Oct-2021 07:29 AM
Test Drive: Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro Scooters, Dates Released
Ola is going to start the test drives for the Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro from 10 November.
Ola Electric Scooters website's Q&A section confirms that the corporate will start the test rides in major cities from 10 November onwards.
Ola said, that the test rides are aligned in a way, In which without paying the amount, the customer gets an opportunity to ride the scooter.
An Ola spokesperson says that Ola Electric has provided a particular delivery window to each customer who has purchased our scooter and that we remain on course to deliver the scooters within that window.
We prefer customers to pay the balance amount once they need the chance to require a test drive and hence the ultimate payment window is aligned to the test drive dates, begins Nov 10 onwards, which has also been communicated to the purchasers. We are committed to delivering the scooter within the respective delivery window to each customer."
Buyers won't need to pay anything for the ride. However, Ola has confirmed that riders will have to show their licence. Buyers are contacted directly by the corporate to determine the timing of test rides.
After the official launch event, Ola has started bookings for the Ola S1 scooters in August. the corporate had announced a buying deal date of 8 September. The bookings opened later that month and Ola claimed to possess made ₹1,100 crores in sales of just two days. The sale will resume from 1 November. The Ola S1 will be available in a total of 5 colour options, and Ola S1 Pro will be available altogether with 10 colour options.
The Ola S1 has been priced at ₹99,999 which the Ola S1 Pro is selling at a price of ₹1,29,999. However, the price is different for the states namely Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. the value of Ola S1 starts as low as ₹79,999 within the state of Gujarat. The Ola S1 Pro has Fixed the price at 1,09,999 in Gujarat. the value difference is attributed to numerous subsidies.
20-May-2022 11:33 AM


text:
Google closes book on Reader news story service
Google on Monday closed the book on its free Reader service for gathering news stories and other online items in simple, up-to-the-minute lists.
Reader's "RSS feeds" had long been a popular way to stay updated on subjects of interest, but users are increasingly turning to social media such as Facebook and Twitter instead.
"Most content now is tied to some dedicated platform or other," said Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group.
"Getting rid of this service shows good governance by Google... In a world of limited resources, this service just wasn't making the grade."
Diehard Reader fans were outraged by Google's move.
A 'Keep Google Reader Running' petition online at change.org had nearly 154,000 signatures as of Monday. A 'Please Don't Kill Google Reader' petition at the same website had logged 7,598 supporters.
"This is about us using your product because we love it, because it makes our lives better, and because we trust you not to nuke it," read the first petition, started by a New York City man. "So, please don't destroy that trust."
Google was not deterred, and visitors to Reader on Monday were greeted with a message reminding them that the service would cease to exist at the end of the day.
Online services such as Feedly, Digg Reader, Newsblur and even Flipboard have stepped up as alternatives for Google Reader, which made its debut in October 2005.
"We want everyone's migration from Google Reader to Feedly to be perfect," Feedly—which has won top marks as an alternative to Google Reader—said in a blog post Sunday.
"Google touches millions upon millions of people," Enderle said. "So, even if a small fraction is upset it could be in the hundreds of thousands."
The demise of Reader was among hot topics on Twitter Monday, with many of the one-to-many messages focused on advice about switching to rival services.
Ironically, it was Twitter that helped make Reader obsolete by letting people get rapid-fire updates from anyone in real-time on desktop or mobile devices instead of needing to check RSS feeds in Web browsing software.
But serious concern has been raised by users in the Middle East, who note that Reader is used in places such as Iran to sidestep Internet censorship by oppressive regimes.
Reader feeds are on Google servers, meaning that censors might have to block access to nearly all of the Internet company's websites to stop people from accessing aggregated updates from online outlets.
© 2013 AFP


text:
The on-line sale site of Nigerian, Jumia is celebrating its 1st year anniversary. While the start-up employed only about ten people during its beginnings, it henceforth counts more than 450 employees. Here is the incredible story of an E-commerce site that sails before the wind.
One year of success. The Nigerian on-line start-up Jumia can clink glasses to celebrate its first anniversary. This on-line general store that proposes more than 50 000 products (clothing, telephones, household electrical appliances…) is classified the fourth Nigerian site in term of visit, with 100 000 visitors a day. Starting from nothing, Jumia is today at the head of the most fashionable E-commerce site in the most populated country of Africa. It is moreover the first site of on-line sale in Nigeria.
This Nigerian « Amazon » launched himself into this vast conquest with a staff of hardly ten people. Henceforth, it is about 450 employees who are working for the good functioning of the site. This giant of the web is very courageous because he engages at a high rhythm of two people a day. « I doubt that there are many markets of this type in the world with 160 million inhabitants, an increasing middle class and nothing in terms of retailing mass-market », declared Tunde Kehinde enthusiastically, the co-founder of Jumia Nigeria, according to AFP.
Back to his country
Relaxed look, Tunde Kehinde, 29 years old, Co-founder of Jumia, began his career in the United States before making his big return to his country to launch with the Ghanaian Raphaël Afaedor, 36 years old, his first E-commerce site. Both friends met during their studies in the prestigious American university of Harvard. Both bosses that you will see only very rarely in costume and tie, share the same offices with their young employees in the vast open space that they occupy in a chic area of Lagos, the capital town of Nigeria. Soon the places they occupy will no more be sufficient to welcome all the employees that will reach very soon the threshold of 500. They should soon move in a quite new campus of 9 000 square meters.
Two foreign companies believed in the project of both accomplices: the German company Rocket Internet and the Luxemburg group Millicom. They agreed to finance the project and for reason. Rocket Internet moreover launched Jumia in Morocco and in Egypt as well as in South Africa where the start-up carries a different name, Zando. The German company is proud to have created more than 100 companies and 15 000 jobs in more than 40 different countries thanks to start-ups.
In the conquest of the West Africa
The adventure still continues because Jumia should land very soon in Kenya and in several countries of West Africa, a convenient market because the retailing mass-market lines in Africa are still less developed. A nice opportunity for these million connected customers, especially as the use of Internet on computer, tablet and mobile phones progresses at high speed. Only in Nigeria, they were 100 million people in 2012 to use Internet on mobile phones against 46 million in 2011 according to the official figures.
As surprising as it may sound, Jumia Nigeria still does not generate any profit! But clearly with the rhythm at which the site moving and due to the encouraging figures (14 million euros of on-line sales in 2012 against 7,9 euros in 2011), the leaders of the start-up should not delay to celebrate again their success with champagne!
Source : Afrik.com
Original text by: Blaise AKAME


text:
A car company wants to build its own cars, but it’s taking a more ambitious approach to the process.
The company is building an automated factory, called Shenzhen Autonomous Vehicles, to manufacture vehicles from scratch in China.
The Autonomous Vehicle Manufacturing Center will build vehicles at the company’s factory in Shenzhen, one of the largest car factories in the world.
The facility is being built by Shenzhen-based electric car company Tesla, which plans to use the manufacturing facility for the Model 3, the first electric car in the U.S. That’s a huge step for the company, which had a long road to get to this point.
For one, the company has had to overcome a number of hurdles to get the car on the road.
First, it had to convince the U-shaped U.K. government to permit Tesla to build a production facility in the country.
Then, after a series of delays, the factory was approved for the first production of the Model S. That car, and the other vehicles that the company is currently building, are built in the same factory in China, so the Model 2 is actually built in China and not in the United States.
So while the U., the U.-shaped, U.KY., car market is not as big as it was, the Model 4 is a very big deal for Tesla, since it’s one of two new vehicles that is designed to be built at the factory in Shanghai.
It’s the first time that the U, U.- shaped, U-KY, car market has had two of the three major automakers in the industry, and it’s a big step for Tesla.
The factory in Beijing is also a big deal, because it means Tesla will build more cars in China than ever before.
The first two cars are being built there, and Tesla hopes to build more vehicles at that factory in the coming years.
So the factory will be a big part of the company moving forward.
What will the Model III be like?
The Model 3 is the first car that Tesla plans to build in the Chinese market, and we already know a lot about it.
Its price tag is around $65,000.
There’s a range of three or four different models that the Model C and Model E will carry in the car.
The Model S will be the first of the vehicles that will be made at the Autonomous Center, but Tesla is also building a range that includes the Model X, the largest SUV ever made.
So you’re looking at a range for around $200,000 to $250,000 depending on the model.
But, the big surprise for Tesla has been that the car will be powered by a hybrid system, called the Autopilot.
The name comes from the fact that the driver takes over the steering when the car is moving at low speeds.
But that’s not the only feature of the new car.
It will also have a range-extending battery pack.
The battery pack, which is made of a special material called carbon nanotube, will be capable of carrying a lot more energy than any other car battery pack on the market.
That will make it possible to go more than 300 miles on a charge, or to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just under a minute.
And when the battery is full, the vehicle will actually shut down, meaning it will not be able to accelerate to 60 mph.
Tesla has already been making these kinds of cars for a long time, but there is a new generation of technology that it has been working on.
The new technology is called the Powerwall battery, and when it is up and running, it will be able give a full charge to a car at a very low price.
What about the Model Y?
This car will likely be the one that will make up the majority of Tesla’s production in China for a while.
It was originally designed to replace the Model B, but the company changed the name to Model Y, which will allow it to focus more on selling cars in other markets.
The car is still being developed, and there are a number design changes coming for it, but most of what you’re seeing in the Model Z is just a few of those changes.
There are also some changes to the interior of the car, such as a new front fascia that has a new shape that’s different from what you see on other cars.
And the overall interior of Model Y is being changed in a lot of different ways.
But overall, the changes in the interior are going to make Model Y more attractive to buyers, and also make the car more accessible.
So, if you have a lot to say about Model Y on the automotive blogosphere, then you should read our full review of the first-generation Model Y. What’s the Tesla Gigafactory?
The biggest change that Tesla has made to its


text:
Using content to generate commerce, Allergan created an online resource that educates consumers about medical aesthetic treatments in the style of millennial-friendly beauty news and trends sites
Capitalizing on the increasingly mainstream plastic surgery demand in the beauty industry, the retailer will now be offering Botox and lip fillers in its flagship location
The plastic surgery clinic will soon open in the airport for travelers
Military cosmetic that shields the skin from extreme heat of over 1,000 degree Fahrenheit.
Student designs a concept cosmetic line for the beauty retailer that includes replaceable cartridges.
The cosmetics brand's latest offing is inspired by newsprint.
Birchbox, the makeup subscription startup, announced $10.5M in earnings at the close of its first round of funding.


text:
ABC News’ Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller report:
President Obama will today announce new national fuel efficiency and auto emissions standards program beginning in model year 2012.
For the current model year, 2009, the average fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks is 25 mpg.
By 2016 the fleet average will be 35.5 mpg – 39 mpg for cars, and 30 mpg for trucks. This is four years earlier than the current law requires, and is an average 5% per year increase in fuel efficiency from 2012 through 2016.
The total increased cost of manufacturing the average 2016 vehicle will be $1,300. The EPA estimates consumers will make that money back within 3.2 years.
A senior administration officials says the "immediate savings obviously to consumer the consumer because of the fuel savings, the car are more fuel efficient, and so for people who buy their cars on time, over a 16-month loan — which is about 70% of the American people — on a month to month basis, it may end up being a wash, in terms of there is a slight increase in the price of the car but that is off set by the lower gasoline.”
Projected oil savings of the program is 1.8 billion barrels of oil from 2012 through 2016.
The plan will, over the lifetime of the new vehicles, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 900 million metric tons — comparable to taking 177 million cars off the road or shutting down 194 coal-fired power plants, according to the EPA.
More to come on this…
– Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller


text:
Although Google is a formidable force in the international markets concerning quality, except that there is a market one didn’t disappear after, which is China. Because of the strict laws imposed by China’s censorship laws, I withdrew Google of the country in the year 2010, despite the emergence of rumors earlier this year suggest the possibility of the return of Google to the people’s Republic of China.
At a conference held in the city of San Francisco, spoke Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO about the rumors that talked about the possibility of launching a censored version of the Google search engine in China. Mr. Sundar Pichai has stated in the past that Google is not close to the launch of the Google search engine in China and that this statement is still true. But Sundar Pichai revealed that the company was already targeting the idea of launching a search engine complies with Chinese laws.
He says that based on the tests the interior, the police found that although the laws and regulations of censorship, it is still possible to submit answers to 99 percent of the inquiries. However, it has been noted that due to the sheer number of internet users in China, the 1% still translates to thousands of inquiries that will not be able to provide the appropriate answers.
According to Mr. Sundar Pichai, has stated by saying : ” We wanted to know how would it look if the search engine Google is present in China, so that’s what we’ve built internally. It’s too early, I don’t know if we will succeed in China or not, but we felt that it was important for us to explore this idea. I think it’s important for us to know the extent of the importance of the market and the number of users there. “
However, it has been revealed earlier reports that Google staff protested internally on the idea of the launch of Google’s search engine controlled in China, while want some lawmakers to learn more about Google’s plans about whether they will return to China, and when it may do so.
The post Google CEO treats the rumors of the launch of the search engine Google in China appeared first on electronic.


text:
These are the retail brands that will be hurt most by Chinese tariffs
Among the retailers and brands that could be most impacted from the proposed 10% tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods are Best Buy Co. Inc., Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., and Coach parent Tapestry Inc., say analysts.
Raymond James analysts led by Dan Wewer think every company in its research universe will be hurt by the proposed tariffs, but say consumer electronics giant Best Buy BBY, +1.59% and arts-and-crafts shop Michael Cos. Inc. MIK, +0.51% are “the most vulnerable.”
“A negative development from [Tuesday’s] U.S. Trade Representative’s new list of products is that television parts along with monitors are now included,” analysts wrote in a note . “This could become a headwind, given Lenovo, a Beijing-based technology manufacturer, is Best Buy’s fifth largest vendor.”
In addition, Michael’s sources a lot of its merchandise from Asia.
“Items included on the new list range from drawing paper, to diaries, to dyed woven fabrics, reflecting categories that may prove to be less price inelastic,” the note said.
Raymond James thinks value retailers like Dollar General Corp. DG, +0.96% and Dollar Tree Inc.’s DLTR, +1.18% Family Dollar are the least exposed since about 80% of their sales are in food, personal care and home cleaning supplies, which are largely sourced domestically.
See: Thanks to Amazon Prime Day, the back-to-school shopping season is already under way
“Within the value retail sector, Dollar General is the least exposed with only ~5% of their products being directly sourced, this compares to ~16% for Family Dollar and ~41% for Dollar Tree,” the note said. “Nonetheless, minimal categories from these retailers are impacted and we do not believe the cigarettes sold at these stores are imported from China.”
At Wells Fargo, three companies are “under the microscope”: Fossil Group Inc. FOSL, -0.43% , Michael Kors KORS, +0.17% and Tapestry TPR, +1.97% , whose portfolio of brands includes Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman as well as Coach.
Fossil has the biggest risk among the businesses in its coverage, with about 40% of its sales impacted. About 90% of the cost of goods sold (COGS) associated with those sales is sourced from China.
Michael Kors will be impacted “less than most investors perceive” because the company has moved “a substantial amount of its sourcing out of China and into Vietnam.” About 40% of sales would be affected, though Jimmy Choo is not included because its products are sourced in Europe. About 5% of COGS associated with those sales are sourced from China.
Tapestry will also have minimal exposure.
“[W]e believe the Coach brand has completed its plan (announced in early 2011) to diversify its sourcing base by shifting the vast majority of its handbag production out of China (Vietnam has become by far the largest producer of product today) and Kate Spade is currently undergoing a similar process,” Wells Fargo analysts led by Ike Boruchow wrote.
Instinet analysts led by Simeon Siegel think the impact is “likely overblown,” largely because of that sourcing shift to Vietnam.
Also: Victoria’s Secret can’t even sell its merchandise at a discount
“In our universe, inclusion of handbags, luggage and leather accessories were the topic du jour, with particular questions surrounding Tapestry and Michael Kors,” analysts said. “The reality is, most of our companies (particularly handbag companies), have been working to reduce China exposure over the past several years in the face of increasing labor.”
Instinet notes that Tapestry’s Stuart Weitzman’s sourcing is based out of Spain.
Moreover, analysts think clean inventory measures have increased average unit retail, which will provide a buffer.
“Therefore in that scenario, even if tariffs were to be extended, we believe the reality is strong brands could likely offset pressures via price increases,” the note said.
Analysts think off-price retailers like Burlington Stores Inc. BURL, +2.14% and TJX Cos. TJX, +1.15% are “likely most insulated.”
“The flexible merchandising strategy allows buyers to quickly act on inventory that needs to be cleared, while at the same time enabling off-pricers to maintain their targeted pricing umbrella,” they wrote.
Best Buy shares have rallied 10.8% for the year to date, Michael Kors shares are up 5.7% for the period, and Tapestry shares have gained 5.2%. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT, +0.55% is up 8.3% for 2018 so far and the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.11% is up 4.8% for the period.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
Modeling their online company after the shoe-brand, Toms, which brought eco-friendly and charitable sales to popular attention, one Elkhart couple are doing their part to give back to the community.
Garner Wireman and his wife started the company One For One two years ago after seeing an interview with Blake Mycoske, the founder of Toms.
One For One sells shirts, head gear, and tote bags online, operating on the simple theme of “buy one, give one. For every purchase made, Wireman says he gives another item to the community.
"So we try to as a community, or as a community member we want to make sure we're taking care of our neighbors and now just rely on the state or government. To do that. We can just do something simple such as a clean shirt or food or water," he said.
For now, Wireman is partnering with the Elkhart community, the Salvation Army, and The Shelter for the Homeless. In time, he says he hopes to expand to help more people in need.
One For One’s products are also available at the Goshen Farmer’s Market.


text:
Nima | Gelephu
In an attempt to prevent damage to food stock, Food Corporation of Bhutan Limited (FCBL) is going to move them to dzongkhags in the cooler regions.
The corporation has stored a large number of food items in the multipurpose halls of schools in the southern dzongkhags.
For instance, FCBL would store essential items that would last only three months in Sarpang and move most of the items to Bumthang and Trongsa where the weather is favourable to store for a longer period.
FCBL chief executive officer, Naiten Wangchuk said this in response to concerns from the LG officials during a meeting in Sarpang on June 25.
Local government officials said the plan to stock essential commodities to last for seven months in the southern dzongkhags like Sarpang could be unsafe with rising heat and onset of monsoon.
Gelephu gup, Ugyen Wangchuk said essential items like rice could be stored only for a few months in the region.
“Too much of heat and humidity leads to contamination of essential items within a few months. Mice and birds could contaminate the food items too. This poses an even bigger threat to the health of people than the coronavirus,” he said.
He added that the country was burdened with debt and struggled with a bad economic situation even before the ongoing pandemic.
“The plan to stock essential goods for seven months was not necessary. This might lead to a huge loss if the stocks are not properly monitored,” said Ugyen Wangchuck.
He said certain measures of selling old stocks and storing the new stocks for the later days must be stocked to avoid unnecessary loss.
Naiten Wangchuk said that measures were in place to avoid contamination.
“We are using sprays. But, we can’t assure the contamination doesn’t happen,” he said. “The storage places must be kept dry and cold, which is difficult.”
He said that installing humidifiers would be expensive at this time.
FCBL has not received any reports of contamination and damage.
Today, there are over 619 MT of rice, 100MT of oil, and 20MT of pulses stocked in Gelephu, which would be supplied to the dzongkhag as a preparation for the worst-case scenario.
The local government official said the stores and halls used to store essential commodities lacked proper facilities that would prevent contamination of the commodities and also from birds and rats.
“There were incidences where birds and rats feeding on the supplies stored in the halls. Most halls are open air,” said Ugyen Wangchuk.
Naiten Wangchuk said earlier FCB planned to stock up essential commodities that would last for three months.
“The lockdown was extended in India and the pandemic was getting worse. We started to stock essential items to last seven months then,” he said.
The schools are preparing to open gradually and FCB has requested schools and dzongkhags to ensure the stocks are properly monitored.


text:
When considering new launches, the role that advertising plays is consistent: Advertising drives awareness; awareness drives trial; and trial drives volume. It makes sense therefore, that when compared to existing products, new products are more reliant on advertising support to grow.
The sentiment around staying safe and hygienic has amplified the relevance of certain product claims. Specifically, consumers now believe product claims focused on killing germs, providing immunity and overall health promotion are more relevant than claims around naturalness, sustainability,...
Nine million Australians say they have travelled domestically in the past six months or internationally in the past 12 months. But are all travellers the same? Using Nielsen research, we identified six distinct types of Australian travellers and looked at how best to reach and engage each group.
Whether it be a domestic getaway or a long-haul international holiday, over 2 million New Zealanders have travelled in the past year and 3 million intend to travel over the next 12 months. Our love of travel has translated into strong sales for travel and holiday guide books.
Global sport's top-line metrics, notably global sponsorship and media rights spend, continued to point in the right direction in 2016 but it was also a year of rapid change across the industry.
Consumer confidence throughout the European region continued its steady, uphill climb in the third quarter, as 21 of 32 markets (66%) showed index score improvements from the second quarter.
Starting the year positively, global consumer confidence saw an increase of one point from fourth-quarter 2014, with an index score of 97. After a slight dip at the end of last year, when all regional confidence scores declined, it was a more upbeat start to the year, as confidence increased...
Spend more than a few minutes in a conversation with someone in the CPG industry and you’ll almost inevitably find yourself discussing the spiraling cost of trade promotion. In Europe, decent returns on trade promotion spend are increasingly hard to generate. So how can we turn things around?


text:
Organics: Let the Good Times Roll
Organic foods and nonfoods look like the California Chrome of the supermarket industry. In 2013, their sales growth outpaced that of conventional products: organic food sales sped ahead 11% and nonfood sales 13% vs. a 3% advance for comparable conventional items.
The collective effect: organic products tallied $35.1 billion in U.S. sales, up nearly 11.5% in 2013, reports the Organic Trade Association (OTA) in its 2014 Organic Industry Survey, conducted and produced by Nutrition Business Journal. This rate has escalated from 4.6% growth in 2009 and 7.4% growth in 2010, yet “is unlikely to return to the 18% average growth experienced from 2003-2008,” the study says.
Probably true. Yet the OTA survey projects “growth rates over the next two years will at least keep pace with the 2013 clip and even slightly exceed it.”
And separate research corroborates there is a clear lane ahead for organics growth. In its United States Organic Food Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2018 report, TechSci Research predicts that organic food sales will grow at about a 14% compound annual growth rate between 2013 and 2018. “The increasing awareness of health benefits coupled with the per capita income are stimulating the demand for organic food” in the U.S., says TechSci. It notes the U.S. is home to about 17,750 organic farms, and cites OTA 2012 estimates that 8 out of 10 U.S. parents reportedly purchase organic food.
Organic food and farming continue “to gain in popularity, says Laura Batcha, executive director and CEO of OTA: “Consumers are making the correlation between what we eat and our health, and that knowledge is spurring heightened consumer interest in organic products.” Organic food sales in 2013 posted $32.3 billion or 92.1% of total organic sales. Non-food organic products include flowers, fiber, household products and pet food; their sales reached almost $2.8 billion in 2013, up nearly eightfold since 2002. Organic foods now represent more than 4% of the $760 billion annual food sales in the U.S., says OTA.
Where is this growth occurring? According to OTA:
- Organic fruit and vegetable sales rose 15% to $11.6 billion in 2013. The $1.5 billion in new sales comprised 46% of the organic sector’s $3.3 billion in new dollars. Organics now account for more than 10% of the nation’s fruit and vegetable sales.
- Other double-digit advances were posted by organic condiments (up 17% to $830 million), organic snack foods (up 15% to $1.7 billion), organic breads and grains (up 12% to $3.8 billion), organic meat/poultry/fish (up 11% to $675 million), and organic packaged and prepared foods (up 10% to $4.8 billion).
- Single-digit growth occurred in organic dairy (up 8% to $4.9 billion) and organic beverages (up 5% to about $4.0 billion).
Despite hefty gains and optimistic projections through most of this decade, OTA cites three challenges that could eventually impede growth if left unaddressed:
- U.S. farmland isn’t being converted to organic at a pace ample to meet current demand.
- Supplies of organic feed and organic grain are tight and expensive.
- Consumers are still confused about the meaning of certified organic.


text:
India’s first Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster has been spotted in Bangalore. Car spotters have been following it around the city and their excitement can be clearly seen in the video below.
The Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster LP750-4 was first showcased at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concourse. It is based on the Aventador and features a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine which has been tuned to produce 750 hp compared to the pedestrian 700 hp available on the standard model.
Numerous weight savings have brought down the overall weight of the Aventador SV Roadster to just 1575 kg which is almost the same weight as an average family sedan. Thanks to this, it can accelerate to 60 mph in under 3 sec and has top speed of 217 mph.
Bangalore is also home to India’s first Ferrari 458 Speciale.


text:
Samsung loses bid to ban iPhone 4S in Italy
Samsung Electronics Co, the maker of the Galaxy mobile devices, failed to win a sales ban on Apple Inc’s latest iPhone in Italy, as a global patent dispute between the two companies continues.
A Milan court rejected the Suwon, South Korea- based company’s bid to block the iPhone 4S in Italy, said Nam Ki Yung, a Seoul-based spokesman for Samsung, confirming an earlier report by Ansa news agency.
Samsung, which reported a 73 per cent jump in fourth- quarter operating profit after selling a record number of handsets last year, also failed to win a sales ban on the iPhone 4S in France last month. Samsung and Apple have been suing each other in multiple countries over patents related to mobile technologies and designs since the iPhone maker accused the South Korean rival of copying its products last year.
“We will review the ruling and consider all available measures to further protect our intellectual property rights and stop this free riding on our technology,” Samsung said in a statement, referring to the court’s decision.
Steve Park, an Apple spokesman in Seoul, reiterated the company’s earlier statement on the dispute that Apple needs to protect its intellectual property against “blatant copying.”
Samsung fell 1.4 per cent to 1,040,000 won at the close of trading in Seoul, the lowest level since Dec. 20. The stock was the biggest contributor to the benchmark Kospi index’s 1.1 per cent decline.
The South Korean electronics maker overtook Apple as the world’s largest maker of smartphones in the third quarter, helped by the popularity of the Galaxy line of products.


text:
Celebrating a decade of crafts with anniversary event at church
- Credit: Archant
A craft group in St Ives celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 6.
Saints Crafters, set up in 2009, offers members the opportunity to display and sell craft items and support each other.
Monthly craft fairs are held in the Free Church, in Market Hill, St Ives.
The anniversary craft fair was held in the upstairs room of the venue and Val Bush, of the group, said: “This meant that there was space for several demonstrations by some of the crafters.
“Old friends and new visitors came to the fair and the event was enjoyed by all. We are looking forward to the coming years of successful events in the centre of this historic market town.”
INFO: Anyone interested in a stall at the craft fair should contact Beth on: email@example.com.


text:
Kanda Partners with Scooter’s Coffee
Kanda is proud to announce our recent partnership with Scooter’s Coffee.
What started as a drive-thru coffeehouse in Bellevue, Nebraska has now blossomed into a household name with nearly 400 locations nationwide thanks to the tenacity and integrity of co-founders Don and Linda Eckles. Scooter’s Coffee has provided customers with responsibly sourced coffee and sincere service since 1998. The company’s commitment to its core values and business principles has largely contributed to its success over the last two decades.
Kanda will provide a team of DevOps and software engineers to assist Scooter’s Coffee as they continue to grow and scale.


text:
Care … Amazon’s Revolutionary Move into Healthcare
Posted April 15, 2021| Michael Ratcliffe
In just three years, Amazon has put together a package of leading-edge services that have the potential to revolutionize the US healthcare market.
The major global brand is now maximizing the use of technology to allow patients to continue to use telemedicine to interact with providers on their time and in their preferred location. It is delivering prescriptions to patients rather than forcing them to go to a retail pharmacy, and it is providing a low-cost, hi-tech 24/7 on-body monitoring service backed up by leading-edge AI analytics to provide early disease detection and real-time health data. And, all of this is accessed through best-in-class online customer portals and supported by 24/7 online customer service.
2018 — Haven, PillPack, and Aiva
Amazon’s public charge into the US healthcare market started in 2018. In January, it announced Haven, a joint venture with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway to create a revolutionary low-cost, high-quality healthcare service. Five months later in June, it announced the $753 million acquisition of PillPack and its move into the drug supply chain with mail order pouch packaging services.
Come September, Amazon’s Alexa Fund joined forces with the Google Assistant Investment Program to invest in Aiva, a startup using Google Home and Amazon Echo to connect care providers with patients and seniors. Aiva works with over 30 health systems on digital innovation and healthcare transformation.
2019 — Cerner, Amazon Care, and Health Navigator
Amazon continued to make additional strategic moves in 2019.
It announced a partnership with Cerner, the second largest provider of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the US, to use Amazon Web Services (AWS), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning to develop new diagnostic services, such as being able to predict congestive heart failure over a year in advance of it being seen clinically. It also announced that it was making progress with Alexa and was working with both the U.K.’s NHS and in the US with the major health plan, Cigna, and the remote diagnostic firm, Livongo, to create healthcare “skills” for Alexa. For example, being able to make appointments and monitor prescriptions and post-surgical care, even helping with medical advice around common ailments like the flu and migraine.
All this activity led to the launch of Amazon Care in late 2019 for Amazon employees in the state of Washington. Amazon Care was to offer 24/7 primary and urgent care by bringing care to the person rather than the person having to go to the provider. By using the app on a smartphone, a member could text chat with a nurse or video meet with a doctor. Then, if they needed in-person attention, Care would send a mobile nurse to the member to provide at-home administration of physical assessment, vaccines, and diagnostics tests.
Amazon’s 3 Year Moves into the U.S. Healthcare Market
In October, Amazon formalized its relationship with Health Navigator which was providing much of the connectivity for Amazon Care by acquiring it. Health Navigator had been providing its services to a number of Internet start-ups to help navigate patients to the right provider, give access to symptom-checking tools, and help patients decide whether they needed to see a doctor or go straight to the emergency room. Following its acquisition by Amazon, Health Navigator announced it would be dropping these services to third parties.
2020 — Neighborhood Health Centers and Amazon Halo
By 2020, Amazon had built or had agreements in place to offer a very impressive portfolio of patient-focused healthcare services around primary and urgent care considering it had only started on this journey in early 2018.
In mid-2020, it announced yet another component to its ever-growing healthcare offering. It would develop 20 “Neighborhood Health Centers” in five cities across the U.S., including Phoenix, Louisville, Detroit, and San Bernardino. This concept would be piloted at its Dallas-Fort Worth facility for its employees and operated by Crossover Health, a provider of employer health centers. It would provide the full spectrum of acute, chronic, and preventive primary care, prescription medications, vaccinations, behavioral health services, physical therapy, chiropractic care, health coaching, and referral services.
August 2020 saw another major announcement with the launch of Amazon Halo. It is believed that Halo was developed inside Amazon’s secretive Lab126. The small waterproof wrist band has multiple AI-driven technologies built into it to monitor patients’ activities, sleep, body fat, physical tone, and “Labs”, links to multiple 3rd party services. In addition, Halo links directly to Alexa to talk to Halo and get data readouts. Halo data would link into Cerner’s EMR systems to allow physicians to access this data with the permission of the patient. Now Amazon could monitor patients and with this data, which could be stored in AWS to develop revolutionary predictive diagnostics that would try to early identify health issues with a member.
2021 — Haven Shuts Down
After all this good news, the first bad news for Amazon’s healthcare strategy came in January 2021. Haven, its first major healthcare venture, would be closing down operations at the end of February 2021. A number of high-flying healthcare experts, brought in by the joint venture to run Haven, had been trying to make it work. However, they could not gain sufficient market share to drive costs down and to achieve their very ambitious goal of being the catalyst to change the U.S. healthcare system. COVID-19 did no favors to their efforts, either.
Did the failure of Haven signal a roadblock in Amazon’s drive to disrupt the U.S. healthcare system?
The answer would seem to be a resounding NO, as one month after this Haven announcement Amazon announced it would expand Amazon Care to all 50 lower states and to other companies rather than just Amazon employees.
To try to understand Amazon’s strategy and the implications of Amazon Care for the US healthcare market, we need to stand back and look at what Amazon has put together and how Amazon is rolling it out to the market.
The fact that Amazon has over 120 million Prime members has been often mentioned as a great market for Amazon’s healthcare. These individuals are generally under 50. It is safe to assume that they are generally working and so Amazon’s statement that it is rolling out Amazon Care to “other companies” would seem to point to its target demographic being the fully employed 20 to 50 year old individuals, not the over 65 baby boomers. The hi-tech services that Halo offers would also seem to fit far more for the 20-50s rather than the over 65s even though the elderly could benefit significantly from Halo’s monitoring services as well as getting their medications delivered in PillPack pouches.
Attacking the corporate care market would seem to be an extremely viable strategy for Amazon. It can take the learnings it found from offering Amazon Care to its nearly 900,000 employees and triage them into other corporate settings. Capturing large employees as customers could allow Amazon to rapidly grow its Care membership. These members will nearly all be tech-savvy and so happy to have Amazon’s high-tech, touchscreen-based interface and its user-friendly healthcare system. Nearly all corporations have self-funded health plans and so have direct control over their plans. Many are likely to welcome Amazon’s approach, especially with the potential to integrate leading-edge technology to monitor major high-risk, high-cost disease areas like cardiovascular, diabetes, and respiratory, plus the opportunity for Amazon to use AWS and AI tools to develop early detection of a wide range of diseases.
What is critical to understand is that Amazon appears to have put all of this together in 3 years. However, some areas of this package have clearly come from Amazon’s Lab126 and this was found in 2004, or 17 years ago. So we can expect that what we have seen today is only part of a major Amazon healthcare strategy.
If this analysis is correct, health plans as well as major pharmacies need to closely monitor Amazon, especially if they have large corporations as part of their customer bases. They need to watch additional announcements, especially acquisitions and partnerships that Amazon might make. These will help give additional insight into Amazon’s longer-term healthcare strategy, something that it has traditionally held very close to its chest.
In terms of taking action, health plans and major pharmacies should also seriously consider running regular strategy workshops after each new Amazon announcement to better understand where their customer base is vulnerable and start building competitive defense strategies now before they find that Amazon has moved in and taken major customers away from them.
The healthcare market has known that Amazon has had the potential to be a major disrupter for some time. The time has now come!


text:
In the coming years, you’ll see a lot of new features and tweaks coming to the iOS app store.
And while many of those features are free, some of them could also get paid.
We’ll be looking at how they stack up in the coming months.
Shazam recently updated its free trial service for the iPhone and iPad, and the new feature includes the ability to use its apps for up to three months without a paid plan.
You can get started by signing up for a trial, and then signing in with your Apple ID, password, and iTunes password.
Then you can start using the app in just 30 days.
Shrazam is also making a few tweaks to its mobile app to make the experience even more convenient.
The app now uses Apple’s new cloud-based services, which means it will be faster to access its data and get to know you better.
You’ll be able to track your progress on each of Shazam’s 3,000+ apps, from the top 100 apps to the bottom 50, and access your shopping history, weather, and more.
You don’t have to pay a subscription fee to access the free service, either.
It will also be easier to share your data with your family and friends, and it’s a little easier to find new Shazams for free.
You’ll also be able purchase Shazamas with credit through Shazm, and you’ll be notified when your Shazama has been purchased and added to your account.
You won’t be able buy another Shazum app on Shazammakess either.
There are also new Shzams coming to Shazamazesthe app store that will have a few more features and more features, but you’ll have to wait until March of next year to find out.
Shamazam also announced some big new features for its mobile and desktop apps.
The company says it is launching two new apps: One for the iPad, one for the Mac, and one for Windows.
Shazamacallers will be able choose from one of the two new Shamazam apps, and Shazazam will provide a one-time $5 in-app credit for the first app.
These two apps will be available for iOS and Mac.
Shzam also has a new iOS app called Shazameer, which is designed to help users find and shop for their favorite Shazums.
Users can search through Shzam’s extensive inventory of Shamazums, or search for Shazames that are currently in the market.
The search function lets you filter out certain Shazoms from searches that are too expensive, too rare, or too out of stock.
Shizam says the Shazami app will be free to download and install, and will be updated weekly with new Shizams.
Shizam also said it will continue to offer its Shazamus and Shzama apps for free to the public.
Shozam has said it plans to continue making updates to its Shamazams app through the new Shozam app store, but that the company will have to change its plans for the app store to accommodate new ShAzam features.
The Shazaman app will continue being available for free on Shozmakess, but the Shozams app will have ads for the Shamazamas and Shamazami apps.
Shozaman says it’s hoping to get into the app stores with the new app, but it may not be soon.


text:
The Big Vegan TS features Nestlé’s new plant-based Garden Gourmet patty, as well as mustard, ketchup, onions, tomato, and salad.
A spokesperson for the chain says the burger delivers the ‘typical McDonald’s taste’, and a review by eKitchen.com brands the sandwich the ‘best veggie burger so far’ created by the eatery.
Nestlé Garden Gourmet patty
Nestlé will be launching its Garden Gourmet Incredible Burger as a standalone product from this month, first coming to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
The patty is made from soy and wheat, and uses plant extracts from beetroot, carrot, and bell pepper to ‘help create the look of a beef burger before, during, and after cooking’.
“These new burgers don’t compromise on flavor, texture and cooking experience,” Wayne England, Head of Nestlé’s Food Business, said in a statement. “They underline Nestlé’s increased focus on tasty, authentic plant-based food. We believe this trend is here to stay, as consumers look at different ways to enjoy and balance their protein intake and lower the environmental footprint of their diets.”
The new release joins a slew of recent vegan options, with McDonald’s has acknowledged the growing demand for meat-free options from customers – saying it is ‘always open to their suggestions’.
Current animal-free dishes include vegan nuggets in Norway and falafel nuggets in Sweden, as well as the McVegan Burger in Sweden – which McDonald’s rolled out across the country at the end of 2017. The burger chain is also trialing the El Veggo in Finland.
In addition, McDonald’s launched a vegan Happy Meal in the UK earlier this year – as well as a wrap which is suitable for those on a plant-based diet.
The vegan Happy Meal includes a breaded red pesto goujon wrap. The Spicy Veggie Wrap, on McDonald’s main adult menu, also contains a breaded vegetable goujon.The kids’ wrap also contains tomato ketchup and shredded lettuce, and the adult option features spicy tomato relish, tomato, lettuce, and red onion. Both are wrapped in a flour tortilla. The items are both certified by The Vegetarian Society.*
Last year McDonald’s revealed it could have more vegan options in the pipeline.
Lucy Brady, a Senior Vice President for the company, said the company is tracking major trends and how to keep up with them while speaking at the recent Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit in California.
Leading vegan media outlet VegNews reported Brady as saying: “Plant-based protein is something we’re keeping our eye on.”
The Big Vegan TS will launch at participating restaurants from April 29.
*While all the ingredients in the wraps are suitable for vegans, McDonald’s has marked the items as vegetarian because the tortillas pass through the same toaster as the buns that contain milk – and therefore there’s a minor risk of cross-contamination. The items are both certified by The Vegetarian Society.


text:
Anterra Capital, the new venture capital investment firm that recently formed following a spin-off of Rabobank's investment team, recently launched its new growth capital fund investing in innovative companies that will make the food and agriculture supply chain safer, more efficient and more sustainable.
The recipient of Anterra's debut investment is Food Freshness Technology Holdings (FFT), a UK food preservation firm. FFT's new technology, called It'sFresh!, absorbs and locks away ethylene gas, the natural plant ripening hormone. By reducing ambient ethylene levels, It'sFresh! radically slows the ripening and decay of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers in the supply chain, reducing waste and assuring consumer product quality.
"We are delighted Anterra Capital has chosen to invest in us. It'sFresh! technology has tremendous opportunities to reduce waste, improve food security and sustainability and provide consumers with fresher fruit in both the developed and developing worlds," said Peter Sugarman, Chairman of FFT. "For example if all UK supermarkets used It'sFresh! technology, we calculate they could avoid wasting over 13,500,000 packs of tomatoes and almost 19,500,000 punnets of strawberries every year. In each case that's a saving of almost 7,000 metric tonnes, an equivalent mass to the Eiffel Tower-and in only two of the many fresh produce categories, in one country." To read more, click HERE.


text:
Intex Cloud Scan FP has been launched in India at Rs 3,999. The entry-level smartphone sports a fingerprint scanner on the back, as its USP. Previously, seen as a premium feature, Intex has brought the ‘fingerprint scanner’ to entry-level smartphones.
Earlier this month, the company launched the Aqua S2 with a fingerprint scanner at Rs 4,490. The new smartphone is exclusively available via Snapdeal. It comes in Champagne and Dark Blue color variants. Snapdeal is also offering a 20 percent discount for purchases via a Standard Chartered debit or credit card.
The Intex Cloud Scan FP features a poly-carbonate body with metallic edges. The fingerprint scanner is placed below the rear camera. It sports a 5-inch LCD display with FWVGA (854×480 pixels) resolution and a pixel density of 196ppi. The new smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz Spreadtrum SC7731C quad-core processor with Mali 400 GPU and 1GB of RAM. It comes with 8GB internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB via a micro SD card.
The budget handset runs on Android Marshmallow OS. It comes several pre-loaded with apps such as Matrabhasha, Dailyhunt, Saavn, OR code, LFTY, Intex service, Fillr, and QTouch.
On the camera front, the Cloud Scan FP sports a 5-megapixel auto-focus rear camera with OV5648 image sensor, f/2.8 aperture, and a LED flash. There is also a 5-megapixel front camera with f/2.2 aperture.
Connectivity options include dual-SIM (micro+nano) card slots, 3G support, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, AGPS and FM Radio. However, the smartphone is missing 4G support, which can be very valuable for budget users since the launch of Reliance Jio Welcome Offer. It is backed by a 2,450mAh battery, that offers up to five hours of talk-time and up to 110 hours on standby mode.
While the Intex Cloud Scan FP will get an edge over competition, the lack of 4G with VoLTE support might be a significant drawback.


text:
The company, based in Mountain View, California, said in March that it would hold its own contest name “Pwnium.” The contest would feature hackers putting their skills together attempting to hack into the ACER Chromebook C720 or Chromebook 11 from Hewlett Packard.
The tech giant said it would pay out $150,000 and $110,000 prizes. In all, Google said it would pay $2.71828 million a reference to e the mathematical constant, a concept that is important to know if writing algorithms.
Google announced bonus prizes to those hacks that were clever in their makeup.
The contest will take place at in Vancouver, Canada at the CanSecWest conference on security.
Google has had these types of contests prior to this one as a means to entice computer hackers to find the holes in their security and present them upfront to the company, instead of disturbing users and the Internet giant through hacks at any random time.
Computer hacking has become a huge problem with the onset of commerce on Internet. Large retailers, such as Target and Niemann Marcus have had their computer systems hacked and large amounts of personal data from credit and debit cards have been stolen in the process.
Michaels, the largest U.S. retailer of arts and crafts announced this week it was investigating the possibility of a breach of data for credit and debit card users. The U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation at Michaels, as well as a computer forensics company.
One small credit union in the Midwest reportedly lost over $400,000 in the Target hack.


text:
October: RingCentral #CodeTogether
Continuing on the AI theme, thousands were interested in this tweet from a developer event that RingCentral held in October. Contact center has become a fertile field for AI giants AWS, Google, and Microsoft. This conference session highlighted that companies don’t necessarily need to build their own applications. There are vertical-specific, boutique vendors that have created templates that allow companies to deploy intelligent virtual assistants for voice and chat relatively quickly.
Beyond RingCentral, many contact center vendors have created or acquired orchestration platforms (e.g., Genesys, and Cisco with IMImobile), CPaaS (e.g., Avaya, Vonage, and others), or integration platform-as-a-service offerings (Five9’s Whendu) that allow companies to choose their preferred AI vendor.


text:
Are Cannabis Laws Controlled by Corporations?
Can you imagine what the headlines would be if cannabis was killing 41+ people every day in the US? Or how severe the consequences would be for possession or distribution of cannabis if this were the case?
Prescription opioid overdose deaths average 41 per day in the US. That's more than 15,000 deaths each year. These numbers are also increasing year over year. As many of us already know, people who become addicted to pain pills sometimes switch over to heroin as it is a more affordable option to feed their addiction. Deaths by heroin added another 35+ deaths per day in the US in 2015. So who are the people making these deadly drugs and why isn’t the government after these individuals the same way they are after cannabis growers, who are responsible for 0 annual deaths? Below are five companies who produce the majority of these prescription opioid pills:
Purdue Pharma: averages $700M in annual revenue
Endo Health Solutions: valued at $9.8B
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and subsidiary Cephalon: latest records indicate $2.8 B in sales in 2010.
Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals: did $70.1B in revenue in 2015.
Allergan: Ended annual sales in 2015 with $15.07B
After looking at the numbers above, it’s clear that there are a relatively small group of individuals making a lot of money by selling addictive pain pills to people. I think It’s also pretty safe to say that these five companies would consider cannabis to be a competitor since cannabis also alleviates pain. However unlike pharmaceutical painkillers, cannabis is natural, not known to cause addiction, nor is it known to kill people.
So why would the government be against cannabis and not pharmaceutical drugs? Could it be that these companies are in bed financially with our government? That’s the obvious thought. In fact, according to the AP and Center for Public Integrity, the pharmaceutical industry and its allies spent more than $880 million nationwide on lobbying and campaign contributions from 2006 through 2015.
Below are a few other industries who are fighting cannabis legalization as well:
Law enforcement & private prisons: Drug war money has become a notable source of funding for law enforcement interests. Huge government grants and asset-seizure windfalls benefit police departments, while the constant supply of prisoners keeps the prison business booming, according to The Intercept.
The alcohol industry: A recent article from Forbes reported the beer industry alone could lose as much as $2 billion dollars from legalized cannabis.
Commodity companies: For thousands of years, hemp has been used to make all kinds of things like clothing, paper foods and even biodegradable plastic. Meaning a number of commodity companies benefited greatly when hemp was made illegal in 1937 by the “Marijuana Tax Act”. Notably, one year after the tax act, The DuPont Company patented the processes for manufacturing plastics from coal and oil as well as a new process for creating paper from wood pulp. Today, the Dupont family is one of the richest families in America and according to Opensecrets.org, last year alone the family racked up $5,504,342 in government lobbying expenditures, So yes, companies like the DuPont Company and many others benefit greatly by hemp remaining illegal.
Next time you wonder why it’s illegal to smoke a joint in most of the country, consider who controls the cash and who has something to lose by cannabis being legal. The money trail usually leads to the truth…. this article is all public knowledge and nothing really new, but I think it’s important to keep this discussion alive so that we can start holding our government more accountable.


text:
ATLUS has announced that they will be localizing and publishing FURYU Corporation's JRPG The Alliance Alive in North America and Europe.
One thousand years ago, Daemons invaded the world and subjugated all that stood in their path. They then separated the realms with the Great Barrier, which thrust the world into a sea of chaos. The barrier caused the Dark Current, an ocean current that submerged most major cities, to wreak havoc and decimate humanity. All hope was lost, and all remaining humans had to bend the knee to their new Daemon kings. Hundreds of years later, the world is about to change again... There are whispers of resistance, and now the time is ripe to bring it to a roar. Can you fan the flames of rebellion and lead mankind to victory?
The game was originally released in Japan earlier this year and features nostalgic gameplay developed with a modern touch. Featuring massive world-exploration, an intertwining story of nine protagonists, an exhilarating turn-based battle system, and more, JRPG fans will instantly feel at home. ATLUS currently has the game aimed for an early 2018 release, with North America getting the game physically and digitally while Europe will get a digital-only release. It will be priced at $39.99/€39.99/£29.99 and pre-orders are now live.


text:
Eating organic and all-natural foods has become an increasingly hot topic. I recently read an online blogger's opinion on eating grass fed versus corn fed animals-- local grocery stores and butcher shops were creating "fancy" names and marking up prices because of how "trendy" it is to eat organic meats. The blogger's opinion is that the emphasis on organic meats is more on its popularity rather than its benefits. The blogger discusses the potential of pushing away consumers who are trying to learn more about the benefits of eating organic foods rather than following a popular trend. I am one of those consumers.
When I studied nutrition in school, I was never taught why organic meats and produce were better than non-organic products. Within the last 5 years, large media exposure to organic foods has helped increase my knowledge and awareness teaching me the differences between non-organic and organic, specifically the harmful side effects of consuming excess pesticides found on non-organic fruits and vegetables and the poor dietary habits of animals.
In addition, the release of the documentary, Food, Inc, taught me the tough decisions that struggling farmers face: corn feed animals for a quicker turnaround or grass feed animals for a healthier lifestyle but slower growth. I also learned from a colleague that similar to grain farmers in the movie, her family is pursued by large grain companies to genetically modify seeds so that they will be resistant to harmful herbicides.
With the increasing technology and quick turnaround that companies seek, the food we eat is slowly becoming modified, causing damage to our health. Numerous food poisoning outbreaks from non-organic foods have occurred in recent years. Scientists expect the reasoning for this is due to the hormone injected animal's resistance to harmful bacteria, something to which our bodies have not adapted. The burning questions become: Is it safe to eat non-organic foods? Is paying top dollar for organic foods worth it? What will become of our food in the future for our children and grandchildren?
There really are no answers. As a dietitian, working in the industry and understanding the harmful effects of non-organic foods, I tend to shy away from purchasing organic foods due to their prices. I also do not believe in buying foods because they are trendy or popular. Yet, I do think about what I am eating and constantly wonder if I should pay extra for organic meats and produce for the health of my family. For friends and family who do not understand the true problems in the foods we eat, may purchase organic foods because it is the popular choice. What happens when it is no longer the popular choice? Will that behavior eliminate organic foods, possibly causing more health problems? On the other hand, what if organic foods become increasingly popular? Will food then be too expensive for us to enjoy? The answers and decision to eat organic foods are ultimately yours. Only time will tell what will happen to the food industry.
Rhea Li is a Registered Dietitian who received her Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Master's degree in Public Health from the University of Texas. She has a special interest in working with children and has received her certification in pediatric weight management. Currently, she is working on a research study to determine the importance of nutrition in pediatric cancer patients. In the past, she has worked with pregnant women and their children. In her spare time, she enjoys being with family, exercising, traveling and of course, eating.


text:
Fiction Factory, a Holland-based builder, has unveiled its new modular home, which is made of layered cardboard.
According to architects on the project, while cardboard is not among the normal top choices for building materials, the home, called “Wikkelhouse” (which translates to “wrapper house”) will they claim will last for up to 100 years, and can be built in virtually any size that an owner wants.
Each home is built out of several modules, which are made of corrugated cardboard glued together by an eco-friendly adhesive.
Each module is approximately four feet thick and provides 54 square feet of living space, with a ceiling height of 11.5 feet.
The cardboard layer is wrapped around each of these modules 24 times via a large rotating machine. According to Fiction Factory, this ensures a strong, sturdy, and well-insulated module.
The cardboard layer is then wrapped in a waterproof, breathable film called Miotex and the exterior is finished with pine slats. Each module weights about 1,100 pounds and can be disassembled and moved easily. They are also fully recyclable.
Plywood is used for interior paneling, which according to Fiction Factory gives the home a warm and minimalistic feel.
MHProNews and MHLivingNews publisher L.A. “Tony” Kovach provided commentary on the Wikkelhouse, pointing out an important comparison even though the layered cardboard homes claim to be waterproof.
“I recall the elation of those who wanted to promote Masonite and other similar brands of siding. They too said it would last and last, but we found out the hard way that it deteriorated rapidly once the material below the surface was exposed to water,” said Kovach.
“What research, if any,” Kovach asks, “has been done on this process to prevent a similar multi-billion-dollar fiasco that occurred with those Masonite-type sidings?”
The question from Kovach is relevant, as the Daily Business News covered Fiction Factory earlier this year, where they claimed that their homes would last up to 50 years, not 100. ##
(Image credits are as shown above.)
Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.


text:
BC Wildlife Federation
SURREY – A recent report released by B.C. Statistics shows that public recreational fisheries, both tidal and non-tidal, contribute nearly $1 billion per year to the B.C. economy.
“The provincial government has just issued important economic data that confirms something that our organization has been saying for years: ‘It pays to go fishing!’”, said BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF) president Bill Bosch.
The report, entitled “British Columbia Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector, 2012 Edition”, was released on Feb. 1, and clearly supports a longstanding position of the BCWF that public access to our province’s recreational fishing resources is a significant contributor to the economic health of B.C., especially in areas desperately in need of economic diversification and employment opportunities.
The economic impact analysis included in the report shows that recreational fishing creates jobs for 13,900 British Columbians and contributes $936.5 million dollars to B.C.’s economy each year. Local and visiting anglers make significant contributions to the tourism and retail sectors through their purchases of equipment, boats, vehicles, travel, and services.
“This report has established a clear need for both the provincial and federal governments to wake up to the economic importance of investing in building and maintaining sustainable recreational fisheries across British Columbia”, said BCWF president Bosch.
The BCWF is British Columbia’s largest and oldest conservation organization with over 40,000 members committed to protecting, enhancing and promoting the wise use of the environment for the benefit of present and future generations. Visit www.bcwf.bc.ca for more information.


text:
Thus far, 2022 has been a difficult year. Russia invaded Ukraine, which has sent commodity and oil prices soaring; China has locked down its Shenzhen and Shanghai ports, which are some of the busiest in the world, due to rising COVID-19 cases in the country; and global food inflation is skyrocketing, with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Food Price Index for March climbing to its highest point since 1990.
Despite the volatility of world markets at the moment, FinTech remains a good investment for venture capitalists. This is largely because of the trends driving the industry forward, which are unlikely to shift over the short and medium terms.
“During 2021, interest and investment in FinTech grew significantly in many regions of the world — its scope broadening well beyond its early definition. This expanding scope, combined with the growing maturity of a number of FinTech subsectors, increasing investment in less mature jurisdictions, and surging corporate interest, is expected to keep investment high as we enter 2022,” says KPMG.
Below are a few FinTech trends to look out for in 2022:
COVID-19-related restrictions and lockdowns resulted in more people staying home. In order for retailers and other businesses to keep their operations afloat, many of these shifted to online ordering and deliveries, which, of course, require online payment systems. As COVID-19 continues, and as consumers are now used to the relative ease involved in online shopping, this trend is likely to continue.
A growing number of banks will offer embedded solutions, says KPMG. This means that an increasing number of banks will become service providers to non-financial institutions, “looking to deliver a customer experience or service proposition involving financial services as a component of a larger offering”. This is being driven by consumers’ increasing ease with online shopping and other e-commerce purchases. According to KPMG, increased regulatory oversight will go hand-in-hand with the increase in embedded solutions.
In its article, ‘Six FinTech trends to watch in 2022’, Forbes magazine says that a key part of embedded finance likely to become increasingly popular in 2022 is the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) option. “On Black Friday , PayPal facilitated around 750,000 BNPL transactions: a 400% increase from 2020.”
Forbes goes on to say that the popularity of BNPL may see the BNPL industry reach $680 billion in transactions in 2025.
With the many opportunities available for FinTech companies and businesses in developing regions, FinTech concerns are likely to increase their footprints in regions such as Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. TalentintheCloud, which already has a footprint in many developing countries, will be key to FinTech start-ups launching in these countries, due to its track record for helping FinTech businesses hire the right talent for companies in these regions.
The fall and rise of unicorns
In its article on FinTech trends in 2022, KPMG says that unicorns are likely to lose their “lustre” in developed economies, while remaining an important “building block” in emerging markets. According to PitchBook, investors invested more than $71 billion across 340 unicorn deals in 2021.
As Web3 (the new concept of the worldwide web, which features blockchain, decentralisation, openness and greater user utility) becomes more accessible, according to Forbes, 2022 is expected to be a significant year for blockchain technology. Blockchain offers traceability and security, and is increasingly being used to battle fraud across industries and sectors.
“The benefits of blockchain and the growth of cryptocurrency could also lead to a growing demand for blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) as companies look for innovative ways to digitise and streamline all areas of their operations,” says Forbes.
AI and machine learning
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly becoming important in data analysis across sectors. In agriculture, for example, AI and machine learning are being used to record and analyse data to help producers make better-informed production decisions.
In FinTech, AI helps predict consumer behaviour and enables targeted product recommendations, says Forbes. “AI also saves time and effort for businesses by handling customer FAQs through chatbots, which frees up employee time to focus on higher-level tasks and customer service needs.”
As FinTech becomes a more developed industry, it will become more and more important for start-ups to be able to engage with and analyse consumers’ behaviour. However, this takes time and expertise. With AI, however, much of this responsibility can shift from people to machines.
Make 2022 the year for FinTech
COVID-19 has taught consumers that online buying is easy and convenient, and the rise of super apps will mean that e-commerce becomes more accessible for buyers across the globe.
While the trends listed above all aim to make business easier for companies and consumers, it is important that as a FinTech start-up or business, you take control of your future by ensuring that you employ the right people for your business concern.
TalentintheCloud can help with this by taking the lead in the process of recruitment, freeing up your time to focus on business development. As a company is only as strong as the people it employs, it is important that you do not allow this function to take a back seat. The next year will only be as good as you make it!
Embedded Talent uses the power of the leading FinTech search business dedicated solely to your needs. Find out more about our Embedded Talent services by clicking on the image above.
TalentintheCloud is a Leader in FinTech Recruitment – We connect companies and executives, enabling businesses to achieve key business objectives. Looking To Grow Your FinTech? Book A Call With Us!
Trusted by: DPO Group, Makosi, MeaWallet, Pay@, Paymentology


text:
The global pandemic has devastated the economy and the automotive industry is no exception, with sales of vehicles down across the line. Ford reported that Mustang sales were down 27-percent year-over-year, but there’s more to the story.
The Ford Mustang has actually performed respectably when looking at year-to-date sales numbers, down only 12.3% from the same time last year. Even more impressive, the Mustang blew away its competitors — the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger — by a wide margin.
Ford sold 15,717 Mustangs in the second quarter 2020, almost double both of its main rivals combined, with Dodge selling 9,880 Challengers and Chevrolet selling a meager 6,675 Camaros.
Check out all of the Q2 2020 sales figures inside.


text:
News & Media
eSUN will attend CHINAPLAS 2016
CHINAPLAS 2016 will rotate back to Shanghai on April 25~28. This year’s Chinaplas will feature a plethora of polymer technologies aimed at improving today’s healthcare environment.
CHINAPLAS 2016 presents international medical plastic exhibitors and Medical Plastics Conference, offering first-hand information to Medical Devices, Disposables and Pharmaceutical Packaging Manufacturers.
Plastics recycling and reuse has been benefiting to environmental protection and now becomes a sustainable business. CHINAPLAS 2016 gathers over 200 recycling related equipment manufacturers to showcase a variety of cutting-edge technologies that cover the entire recycling process.eSUN will take their a series of environmental friendly material,such as Polycaprolactone ,Polyol Product ,Methyl Lactate,PLA etc.to discuss prospect and application of green biodegradable material.
Welcome to booth N3M11 to meet eSUN!


text:
Fintech’s direct lending puzzle
Next stop: renewable energy.
India is planning a $2 billion incentive programme for the green hydrogen industry, reported Reuters, to cut emissions and become a major export player in the field. The goal is to reduce the production cost of green hydrogen by a fifth over the next five years, in part by increasing the scale of the industry.
In other news, 2022 was about goodbyes to some classic tech products and services. From the iconic Internet Explorer to the pathbreaking iPod, here’s all the tech that was discontinued this year.
But hardcore iPod fans refuse to let go and modders are taking matters into their own hands. You know what they say, where there is a will…
Oh, and here’s an interesting video on how oysters make pearls.
Spoiler alert: It’s just science.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Fintech’s direct lending puzzle
- TruKKer: An Uber for trucks
- Urban Company best for gig workers
Here’s your trivia for today: Who became the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange?
Post the Reserve Bank of India's digital lending guidelines, many fintechs are now queuing up at the regulator's doorstep in the hope of a lending licence that will help them shift from their asset-light growth and capitalise on NBFCs.
- While , , , etc were not granted licences, Ftcash and 4Fin were approved this year.
- co-founder Ankur Bansal says that the reason behind the rush is the uncertainty surrounding FLDG/cash collateral regulations pertaining to non-regulated entities.
- A Bain India CXO survey revealed that nearly 60% of fintech leaders believe that obtaining appropriate licences will drive long-term relevance and sustainable growth.
Riyadh-based TruKKer is a truck aggregator platform for businesses to find in-land logistical and freight support without the involvement of middlemen and freight brokers. It is also a marketplace for truck owners and fleet owners to find the right clients.
- TruKKer has onboarded about 50,000 truckers and lorry drivers to date.
- The startup has so far served more than 750 businesses for cargo movements, last-mile delivery, port movements, and more.
- It offers trucks with capacities ranging from a tonne to 7 tonnes, as well as trailers measuring 40 feet in length.
According to the Fairwork India Ratings 2022 report,was the most equitable platform for gig workers in India, with a score of 7/10. It was the only company to check for biases in its work allocation systems and adopt anti-discrimination policies.
- The report assessed platforms against fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation.
- bigbasket, Flipkart, and Urban Company ensure their workers earn at least the hourly local minimum wage after factoring in work-related costs.
- Dunzo, Ola, PharmEasy, and Uber scored nil points.
News & updates
- Opening up: China will start issuing new passports and Hong Kong travel permits to mainland residents as it removes some tourism barriers. The government will also resume express checkpoints on the borders with Hong Kong and Macau.
- In relief: Spain on Tuesday announced 10 billion euros ($10.65 billion) worth of measures to ease the pain of inflation in the third major package this year, bringing total aid to 45 billion euros since early 2022.
- No pay hike: Brits hoping for a new-year salary bump to offset soaring food and energy costs may be disappointed. The average British worker’s pay in 2023 is expected to fall back to 2006 levels once inflation is taken into account, according to PwC.
Who became the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange?
Answer: Muriel Siebert in 1967.
We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail [email protected].