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PORTLAND, OREGON — The InvestBulgaria Agency is holding a Business and Investment Forum in Portland, Oregon, aiming to establish Bulgaria as a successful investment destination.
The forum is focused on the electronics and information technology industry. It is part of a roadshow that has already taken the Bulgarian delegation to Sunnyvale, California.
At the opening of the forum, the Executive Director of the InvestBulgaria Agency, Bogdan Bogdanov, will address the participants and will present the institution he heads and Bulgaria as an investment destination.
In an interview with BTA a couple of days ago, Bogdanov said the main priority is to position Bulgaria back in the field of vision of American investors and in certain priority sectors because for years it was not among the preferred destinations for a number of reasons.
The keynote speaker in the first panel of the Portland forum is Ryan Fischer, who is a former Vice President of Bank of America at their headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and currently based in Bulgaria as CEO of Hill City Global Sofia.
He will speak about the Bulgarian business and startup environment from an American business expat perspective, including the location advantages, VC infrastructure, underserved areas, access to financing, and market access to the European Union and Asia.
Fischer told BTA Wednesday that the meetings of the Bulgarian officials with the US business representatives were going well and stressed that Bulgaria is becoming a place of key technological innovations.
At the Thursday forum, Krasimir Petkov, CEO of Milara International, a company for semiconductor automation solutions founded in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, will project Bulgaria as a gateway for American automation and semiconductor SMEs and startups, and as a scale booster in the chip and semiconductor industry.
The second panel will be dedicated to practical advice for startups in Bulgaria.
The keynote speaker is Ivan Mihaylov, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham) and ex-CEO of VISTEON Automotive, former regional executive of Johnson Controls, and board member of the Bulgarian Automotive Cluster and the Bulgarian Technical University.
He will speak about the conditions and favorable environment in Bulgaria and Europe for American small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups.
Another presenter is Omourtag Petkov, a partner at the Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov Law Firm, who will focus on GDPR and personal data protection, corporate and tax law, digital legislation, legal assistance for US startups and scaleups in Europe.
Borislav Slavchov, CEO of the American-Bulgarian Technology Transfer Center, ABC Innovations, will share his experience with EU research and development (R&D) grants availability to US startups for innovation and scaleup in Europe.
The final part of the business and investment forum is for discussions and one-on-one meetings like those the participants already had in Sunnyvale.
Additional meetings with potential partners were held by Nedyalko Derenkov, CEO of BESCO - The Bulgarian Startup Association; Victor Manev, a partner at IMPETUS Capital; and Zdravko Zdravkov and Dimitar Mitkov, the founders of Out2Bound, which is a leading Bulgarian company providing sales and product support services to American startups in Europe.
In the Bulgarian delegation are the Deputy Mayors of Sofia, Doncho Barbalov and of Plovdiv, Stefan Stoyanov, as well as BTA Director General Kiril Valchev. (BTA)


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NEW YORK Californias aluminum used beverage container (UBC) recycling rate reached a record-high 107 percent in the first six months of this year, according to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
UBC recycling jumped from 90 percent in the second half of last year, while overall beverage container recyclingincluding glass and plasticsincreased 16 points to 93 percent in the same comparison, according to CalRecycle.
The recycling rate is calculated by dividing the number of beverage containers redeemed by the number of beverage cans sold, the department said in its biannual report of beverage container sales, returns, redemption and recycling rates.
Recycling rates exceeding 100 percent can be a sign of importation fraudan issue California has been dealing with since it increased refunds in 2007 to a nickel for containers less than 24 ounces and a dime for larger containers (amm.com, Feb. 7, 2011).
"Although the recycling rate appears to be very high, there are reasons for that," CalRecycle communications director Mark Oldfield told AMM, noting that recycling rates historically are higher than in winter months and that CalRecycle recently changed its calculation methodology. Based on those new metrics, there are a "higher number of containers per pound, although the redemption rate is the same," he said.
Oldfield conceded that importation fraud continues to be a focus for CalRecycle. "At the beginning of this year, there was a new state law that mandated people bringing in 25 pounds of recycled aluminum cans have to go through inspection," he said. "Anecdotally, at least, we believe we are seeing a decrease in imports."
He added that there are regulations pending that would reduce daily recycling limits for individuals to 100 pounds for aluminum, 100 pound for plastic and 1,000 pounds for glass. "We support these regulations and are confident it would reduce all types of importation fraud for recycled material," Oldfield said.

domain: news


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On Friday, Stellantis and South Korea‘s Samsung SDI have signed an deal to produce electric vehicle battery cells and modules in the United States.
Earlier this week, the forth largest automaker signed a similar agreement with South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution to produce battery cells and modules for North America.
The batteries produced under these agreements will supply Stellantis’ Canadian, Mexican, and American assembly plants for installation in hybrid and fully electric vehicles.
Stellantis has said it wants to secure more than 130 GWh of global battery capacity by 2025 and more than 260 GWh by 2030.
Stellantis earlier this year announced it would invest more than 30 billion euros through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle line-up. It has set a goal that its electric vehicles will account for more than 40 percent of its U.S.A. sales by 2030.


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Ipswich to unveil new home and away kits today... so what do you want to see?
- Credit: Picture: Steve Waller
Ipswich Town will reveal their new home and away kits later today.
Town’s deal with German sportswear manufacturer adidas was due to expire at the end of this season, but that contract has now been extended for a further four years.
Adidas has supplied the Blues’ kits four the last four seasons, having previously done so during the club’s glory years under Sir Bobby Robson, with the latest designs being released later today.
New home and away kits will be revealed at the same time.
Speaking to the club website, Town’s director of retail operations, Lee Hyde, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to extend the Club’s relationship with adidas.
“The partnership has been a huge success throughout the last four seasons – and long may that continue!”
“The quality of the adidas product range is second to none. Over the last four years, not only have the fans fed back their delight at us working with adidas, but the dressing-room has too. The players and coaching staff have loved being able to pull on the adidas brand.
- 1 WATCH: 'Unplayable' delivery from Suffolk bowler goes viral
- 2 New landlord hopes to make Suffolk pub 'centre' of village community
- 3 Seven players who could leave Ipswich Town this summer
- 4 A14 westbound reopens after crash caused 7 miles of delays
- 5 Is this tearoom near Ipswich one of Suffolk’s best-kept secrets?
- 6 Conveyor belt which carried pig carcases across Suffolk A-road is demolished
- 7 Mercedes and Vauxhall flip over after crash in busy Ipswich road
- 8 Boy, 10, asked to get in car by two men near Sudbury
- 9 Boss McKenna on Town's 'challenging and important' pre-season schedule
- 10 Queen's Platinum Jubilee Flypast to pass over Suffolk
“Supporters have been patiently waiting to hear news of the kits for next season, with many fearing we may be moving away from adidas. I’m pleased to finally be able to put their minds at rest.”
Ashley Swain, director of clubs at adidas UK, said: “The extension of our partnership with Ipswich Town was an easy decision. The reaction from the fans and players alongside the relationship with the Club has been nothing but positive and we’re pleased to look at the future together.”


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The artificial intelligence arm of Chinese internet company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) will soon integrate its facial recognition identity verification technology with PonyCar, a mobile electric vehicle time-sharing rental platform that focuses on alternative energy car sharing. The first batch of shared cars equipped with Baidu's facial recognition technology will be tested in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, with the feature accessible to users via the PonyCar app.
In cooperation with PonyCar, Baidu will introduce two artificial intelligence technologies, namely, facial recognition and optical character recognition (OCR). Baidu's OCR recognition technology can recognize users' ID information in order to extract relevant data and cross-check it with a database to more efficiently verify user identity. Users will then follow a voice prompt that guides them through the facial recognition process. The platform then performs a comparison between the user's photo and their face to further verify the users' identity.
PonyCar is operated by Shenzhen-based Letuhui Technology.


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Most of the IHOP menu isn't exactly vegan-friendly, consisting of mostly animal product-based breakfast items — eggs, bacon, pancakes made with animal byproducts, and since the weird iHOB stunt back in 2018, burgers. But recently, the chain's fast-casual subsidiary, Flip'd, released a plant-based breakfast sandwich that sounds truly incredible. That's why we've created a full guide to eating vegan at IHOP, to ensure you're properly fed at the iconic breakfast eatery.
We're absolutely dying to try the new sandwich — and we're really hoping plant-based options become more plentiful at the chain restaurant within the foreseeable future. But now, enjoying a meal at the popular pancake mecca as a plant-based queen isn't quite as difficult as it used to be.
Here's where to get IHOP's new plant-based menu item:
If you aren't already familiar with IHOP's fast-casual subsidiary, Flip’d by IHOP, it offers a wide range of made-to-order meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Customers can order easy-to-eat, on-the-go staples such as pancake bowls and egg sandwiches in the morning, and burritos, bowls, steakburgers and chicken sandwiches later in the day — all through contact-free kiosks. However, until now, neither IHOP nor Flip'd offered any sufficient vegan meal options.
That's why we're psyched to try the Plant Based Cali sandwich, the first vegan offering at any IHOP restaurant (including at subsidiary Flip'd restaurants!). According to a press release sent to Green Matters, the delectable breakfast sammy squeezes a plant-based sausage patty from Sweet Earth, Just Egg, roasted tomatoes, avocado, and arugula between two vegan buns — inspired by a classic New York City breakfast sandwich, it's destined to impress early risers in the Flatiron neighborhood.
The sandwich was specially designed over the course of two grueling years by IHOP's hard-working culinary team, so it goes without saying quite a bit of effort was put into this plant-based delicacy. And even though the highly anticipated sandwich is only in its testing phase at Flip’d By IHOP’s Flatiron location, franchisee Bryan McKenzie stated in the press release he hopes to see it expand to menus nationwide — and that it will be the first of many plant-based IHOP offerings.
If you aren't New York-based, here are other plant-based options at IHOP and Flip'd By IHOP:
As previously mentioned, IHOP isn't plant-based-friendly, aside from this delectable new offering. According to Get Set Vegan, IHOP's vegan breakfast offerings include: grits, oatmeal without milk, English muffin (no butter but jam is fine), hash browns without butter, crispy potato pancakes, red potato pepper & onion hash, and the fresh fruit cup. You can also order French fries, sautéed veggies, oven-roasted tomatoes, sourdough toast without butter, a customized salad, and minestrone soup.
As for Flip'd By IHOP, the only other vegan option outside of the Plant Based Cali sandwich appears to be the steel cut oatmeal, made without milk. The fruit cup and French fries are also fair game — but you may just want to wait until the vegan sandwich is available at your nearest location, before making the trip.


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This really is an unpredictable time for weddings. Thousands (if not more) of various events around the globe are on hold, postponed, or even cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. This leaves a lot of people thinking if, when, or how their wedding will happen. As COVID-19 restrictions are starting to lift, couples, the wedding industry, and even various governments are starting to picture how weddings during and post-pandemic will look like. The situation of each future newlyweds varies around the world.
Various activities have been moved online such as shopping, meetings, classes, and other social events, and now even wedding ceremonies are allowed to be done virtually by a new law. A new executive order by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo allows clerks to conduct online ceremonies and for couples to obtain marriage licenses remotely - as he also stated in a tweet. A provision of this executive order even permits clerks who were issued marriage licenses but will expire during the period wherein people are still required to distance from one another, to be waived from the 60 days required to get a marriage license within the period of the declared emergency in the state of New York. The Governor even waived the fees of obtaining a second marriage license (1,4,9).
In the UK, most weddings have already been canceled following the national guidance issued by the government. The country is still under strict COVID-19 restrictions. It is essential that everybody follows the key behaviors as issued by the government; regularly watching your hands, wearing face coverings especially indoors where you come in close contact with people you don’t usually meet often, and staying two meters apart from people you do not live with(2).
For some couples in India, their usual festive, colorful, and big weddings are shaved down to the bare essentials - this really shows how couples stay through thick and thin. A vast number of guests are replaced with nearly as many mobile phones and recording devices placed in front of them for their friends and family who could not make it to their wedding ceremony (2,3).
In a normal year, a lot of us would have been busy attending summer events and gatherings such as weddings - we would have been busy looking for our wedding attires, suits, sundresses, and looking for cute gifts for the happy couples. But 2020 is not a normal year. With the pandemic, there are huge shifts in trends in the wedding industry and how it normally functions. Below are the future possible trends in the wedding industry for the foreseeable future.
Traditional weddings to intimate elopements
It is no secret that weddings constitute mass gatherings and mass gatherings are frowned upon in this time of the pandemic. Only a number of people are allowed in public spaces because of social distancing restrictions. Many of the couple’s friends and relatives are more likely not allowed to travel far and overseas, the guest list will no longer be filled with hundreds of people. Couples may have to consider intimate elopements with the closest family members and friends can attend.
The silver lining of this pandemic shows us that now more than ever our family, relationships, and commitments are very important. Weddings will be less fluff and ceremonies will be shorter, more intimate and purposeful and genuine - more family-centric. Wedding planning will be less stressful and lets you focus on the simple and important things - that it really is all about You. (4,5,6,7,8,9)
Health and safety as the priority
For couples who decide to push through with their wedding ceremonies, having sanitation stations and additional cleaning measures must be ensured in your wedding venue. Hand sanitizers, alcohol, face masks, antimicrobial wipes, and even gloves must be readily available for your guests. Even wedding vendors should observe their own cleaning and sanitation measures on top of yours. You should not shy away from asking your wedding vendors what their health and safety protocols they have put in place for the ceremony and if they could also follow your safety precautions - you can never be too careful!
Inviting fewer guests and ensuring proper sanitation and hygiene are great basic steps, adjusting seating arrangements will also add to you and your guests safety. There will be fewer guests sitting in one table and chairs and tables will have to be spaced further apart from each other. Additionally, you should also consider guests who are more at risk such as the elderly and those who are prone to sickness. Make sure they aren’t seated next to those who are frequently going outside and socialize for work. (6,7,8,9)
Weddings with ceremony only
In the weddings that have been pushed through by couples, they opted to have the ceremony only or a civil wedding followed by a simple lunch gathering. This way everyone can still enjoy each other’s company with good food after a simple ceremony. Wedding banquets and lavish food will have to be set for a later date.
Policies on refund, scheduling, and cancellations
This is one of the most important things that should be discussed. When the pandemic and lockdown started a lot of couples were asking “Well, what should we do about cancellations and refunds?” Most wedding vendors have contracts that have non-refundable deposits - having non-refundable deposits ensures that they are paid for the preparations done before the event.
Since the lockdown we will be expecting changes made to these policies for the foreseeable future. As couples are now unwilling or hesitant in paying these non-refundable deposits, as some couples have lost hundreds or even thousands of dollars because of the lockdown caused by the pandemic. We should see more flexible contracts made by wedding vendors that benefit both the client and themselves (3,10).
Increased demand for wedding live stream
With limited guests for your weddings, demand for live streaming will be on the rise. Local wedding photographers are even teaming up with videographers to stream your weddings via Zoom and Facebook live for your friends and family both near and far. Even photography and videography packages are getting smaller and smaller, too. Before the lockdown, photographers would spend hours at huge weddings, but now they can focus on fewer people and this can even result in better pictures (4,9).
The pandemic did change the future of weddings and the wedding industry, but this doesn’t mean you can no longer memorialize your love for one another.


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ALYN and Deeside MP Mark Tami and AM Carl Sargeant have launched a competition to find a design for their 2007 Christmas card.
This year’s competition will be open to all primary, infant, junior and special schoolchildren in the constituency.
More than 1,000 children took part last year and this year the Flintshire politicians are hoping even more will join in.
Mr Tami said: ‘The hunt is on for the best design that our school children can create.
‘Local businesses are backing the competition and I am looking forward to seeing the entries come in.
‘Among the people who will receive the card are the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan.’
Mr Sargeant said: ‘The prize-giving ceremony will be held in early December and I have my fingers crossed that the standard of entries will be higher than ever.
‘Every year we are amazed by the imagination shown by Flintshire schoolchildren.’


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High street failures have been blamed for government redundancy payouts reaching their highest level in seven years.
The Insolvency Service last year paid out £346m to workers made redundant by the collapse of a company.
Real estate advisor Altus Group, which obtained the numbers under a Freedom of Information request, claims it shows the urgent need for business rates reform.
The payouts, stemming from an employer entering administration, liquidation, a CVA or another form of corporate insolvency, were up £48.4m on 2018. The primary driver was the rise in insolvencies across retail and hospitality sectors, according to Altus Group.
Retail insolvencies in England and Wales rose 3.9%, while insolvencies in accommodation, food and beverage rose by 10.4%, the company said.
High streets across the country had been “battling a perfect storm of rising costs from business rates, historically high rents and minimum wage rules at a time of falling sales amid uncertainty last year over Brexit resulting in subdued consumer confidence”.
New chancellor Rishi Sunak already faces calls from a number of industry bodies and the bosses of 50 major retailers to radically reform business rates in the spring Budget.
The demands have called for the scrapping of so-called ‘downwards transitional phasing’, which limits how quickly business rates can fall in line with dropping rents. The view was echoed by Altus head of UK business rates, Robert Hayton.
“A fair and reformed system is within our grasp,” Hayton said. “If we are serious about ‘levelling up’ the economy to help struggling towns, rates bills must fall in line with declining rents, whilst speeding up meritorious business rates appeals has to be a government priority.
“Bringing some respite to the financial burden of rates through ending annual inflationary rises whilst incentivising, rather than penalising, investment will all deliver long-term lasting benefit to the economy as a whole.”
The payouts were from the National Insurance Fund. Some £222.5m was redundancy pay while £63.9m was for lost notice-period earnings. Another £18.3m was for lost holiday pay and £41.4m for outstanding wages, overtime or commission.


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You never leave the office thinking you should have bought more on a day like yesterday. You always leave saying you wish you had gone home short, or had sold everything.
That's the lonely positive that I come up with. That's the straw I grasp at when I think about the bull case, because how many times did you have that feeling in the last five years and then watched the market rally the next day after the early overseas sell orders were completed? The rallies tend even to start like this, with a grim morning and tepid to terrible overseas markets.
Any sort of advance seems impossible right now because it is absolutely certain that numbers have to come down for most big capitalization companies that sell goods overseas. But yesterday's action in General Motors (GM), an international giant, is instructive of what I would worry about if I were short. We all knew GM would be bad. After all, the so-called "much better run" Ford (F) was terrible and it got clocked after its Monday analyst meeting. We all knew that GM has feckless management vs. the much more seasoned and adult Ford.
We all knew that GM is going to owe gazillions of dollars to plaintiffs -- after all, the press says that endlessly, doesn't it?-- even as the damage tallies right now are much smaller than anyone thought just three months ago. Yep, ever since Ken Feinberg, the master of these difficult settlement cases, has gotten involved the whole thing seems to be a lot more under control, although I am the only one that is writing or even, sometimes I fear, thinking that. We all know the estimates are too high...except they weren't. Mary Barra basically beat and raised expectations after a previous quarter that was nothing to write home about.
So the stock goes up 1.72% and would have been up much more if it weren't for the gravitational pull of the market and a short story running around about very high inventories. Oh sure, there were naysayers out all day who didn't really catch what we have known for some time, which is that GM is actually doing incredibly well, and has the models and structure that will allow it to make money from them. That's been the real rap that no one seems to want to champion and everyone seems to want to run from.
Now, let's say you don't care for GM. You could always argue that it failed to go down because it was already down 20% for the year and has a safe 3.6% yield. It has been punished endlessly. That's not a reason to say the worst is over. This stock traded at $20 two years ago. This market's angry. Things are getting worse around the world, not better. I know it has a hideous chart pattern. I know there were people who took shots at it all day. I know the peak auto story.
But in the end, GM may have fallen too much to get hit when the news is good. Consider it a second-rate Nike (NKE), laying out a good case when people presumed it horrid. When we have more companies like GM and Nike and fewer like Ford and, from the looks of things, Agrium (AGU) or Terex (TEX) -- companies that have already said numbers are too high --then the market will be a dangerous short, with the lightning bolt coming from some sort of political redemption no one expects.
It seems impossible. But remember what I wrote at the top. On days when you wanted to leave 100% short, you've not made a great deal of money since the generational bottom. Maybe this time it has changed.
But right now that's not been the way we have seen it happen. Again, thin reed. However, it has held before. It could hold again.


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Full Sail Brewing Company could be tapped by a "sin tax" that company officials say would drain its profit margin and dry up its ability for growth.
Irene Firmat, founder and top executive of the Hood River brewery, said Gov. John Kitzhaber's proposal to help cure the state's ailing economy by adding a "nickel-a-drink" excise tax on beer and wine could actually backfire by bringing more job losses.
And she fears it will set a precedent for government officials to cast their eyes on alcohol producers every time they need a quick income fix.
"It really frightens me that the state government is living beyond its means and the cumulative effect that is bringing," said Firmat. "Full Sail was built with `sweat equity' and as hard as we've worked for our money it needs to be respected because we are a very real part of this community."
The possibility of beer and wine taxes being hiked has also worried Jim Parker, executive director of the Oregon Brewers Guild.
"The `nickel-a-drink' proposal is a true lie because it isn't going to be assessed at the point of consumption so it will really mean more like 25-cents-a-drink when the cost is passed up the line," he said.
Parker said the tax on beer and wine shipped within the state actually pencils out as an increase of 53.7 cents a gallon or more than six times the current rate of 8 cents a gallon. He said that hike to 61.7 cents would be more than triple the national average and the second-highest tax rate in the country -- higher than the federal excise tax of 58 cents a gallon.
Firmat said even though Kitzhaber recently amended his tax proposal to exempt breweries that produce less than 200,000 barrels a year, the original plan applied to any company that generated 100,000 barrels or more. She is worried the original plan may resurface since Kitzhaber has vowed to veto the financial package put together by the Legislature during last weekend's special session.
According to Firmat, Full Sail currently brews about 64,000 barrels a year and could not afford to pay the more than $1 million in excise taxes if it reached its anticipated growth capacity of 126,000 barrels.
She said the employee-owned business is already feeling the pinch from enormous utility hikes last year. In fact, Firmat said since a 50 cent per six-pack price increase was levied last October to offset rising energy costs, sales from the $12 million company have been down by eight percent. And Firmat said to offset that loss, any position vacated by the 54-person workforce will not be filled -- at least in the immediate future.
"The consumer has made it known loud and clear this product has a price ceiling -- and we have reached it," wrote Firmat in a letter to Kitzhaber that was sent in late January.
She is joined in her opposition against the proposed excise tax by Hood River state legislators Rep. Patti Smith, R-Corbett, and Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches.
"This is not a good time to be raising taxes, particularly when our economy is already on a slippery slope," said Smith. "Hood River has certainly carried its burden of high unemployment and job loss and any hint at tax increases would only exaggerate this problem."
She pointed out that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the east coast, the Oregon chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses has reported a loss of 2,000 charter members. In addition, Smith said the state enjoys the dubious first place ranking in the nation for unemployment.
"I strongly oppose this tax because it is really a production tax and the more they grow the more they are penalized -- and that is just bad economic policy," said Metsger.
Oregon is scrambling to cover a $830 million budget deficit that was created when a decline in revenue made it impossible to cover the 15 percent increase in the state government's 2001-2003 operating costs.
Although Democrats and Republicans have been largely united in their stand against Kitzhaber's beer and wine tax proposal, Firmat fears that may change during political negotiations.
"This is not just a tax on the consumer, it's a tax increase for the company and that makes small businesses very vulnerable during a time of recession," said Firmat.
She said Full Sail, like most of Oregon's small businesses, pays between 35-40 percent of its income in local, state and federal taxes and related fees.
Parker said Oregon currently has 68 craft breweries that employ more than 2,600 Oregonians and play a key role in the health of both the agriculture and tourism industries.
"This is an anti-business tax that would take one industry and literally chop it at the ankles and discourage any growth," said Parker.


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At Jefferson Elementary School, the lunch scene changed forever a few years ago when one child learned the hard way that chicken nuggets were no longer on the menu.
Munching on his entrée, the boy found a surprise and announced to everyone: “Hey, there’s a bone in my chicken!”
School cafeterias across Spokane are serving more local food prepared in local school kitchens.
On a recent morning, Garrett Berdan, director of nutrition services for Spokane Public Schools, was looking natty in a chef’s uniform as he described what’s for lunch.
“We feature locally made cheese-and-pepperoni pizza,” said Berdan, who stressed that the bread is made locally from flour milled in Spokane.
“The pizza is really popular,” Berdan said.
It’s easy to see why. The pizzas had just been made by Jefferson employees Teri Smith and Heather Weed, who stood in front of the school’s state-of-the-art kitchen.
However, kids don’t learn by bread alone.
On this day, pizza was paired with a chef’s salad, complete with tomatoes and carrots. It’s a reflection of the home page on the Nutrition Services website, which is dominated by green vegetables and a girl holding a bowl of healthy food.
It’s about making healthy choices, even if what lands on the plate isn’t a student’s first choice.
By design, the salad cart comes first at Jefferson. Kids can’t forgo the greens and pile on the pizza; in fact, that practice is forbidden for those receiving free and reduced-price lunches.
“That’s not the way it works,” Berdan said. “You can’t have two pizzas and skip the salad.”
For their own good, those who balk at that idea are “redirected” back to the salad cart.
At the same time, the district works hard to educate students about good nutrition. The message: Carrots are a reward, not a punishment.
So is the rest of the menu, which is as varied as it is nutritious. On Monday, elementary school students were served all-natural hot dogs – without nitrates – and ham-and-cheese munchables.
On Tuesday they’ll get homemade chicken pot pie or a deli sandwich. Wednesday’s offering is a soft beef taco and fruit-and-yogurt parfait.
Above all, the meat is top quality.
“We go with whole-muscle proteins, such as baked or roasted chicken,” Berdan said. “We’re cautious about selecting foods that are as minimally processed as possible.”
All lunches come with a milk – fat-free, 1 percent fat, chocolate, soy or lactose-free – and a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Breakfasts usually include cold cereal, yogurt parfait and whole-grain muffins and breakfast bars.
With food this good, Berdan wonders why only 250 of the South Hill school’s 550 students elect to have hot lunch.
Certainly, cost is a factor. At $2.85 per meal, that comes to $14.25 a week and $510 per year. However, Berdan also wonders why more parents haven’t signed their kids up for free or reduced lunches.
Some parents simply aren’t aware of the opportunity; others don’t realize that they can apply in the middle of the year, especially if their financial situation has worsened.
“It’s easy to apply,” said Berdan, a Wenatchee native and dietitian who was educated at Washington State University.
As director of nutrition services, he coordinates menu design, makes sure that food is nutritionally compliant with the USDA and helps the food get from the farm to the school.
The logistics are staggering. The district serves 16,000 lunches a day, or almost 3 million per year; and about half that many breakfasts.
“It takes a huge team,” Berdan said. “I’m planning the menu, but we have to work together to make sure what I’m planning is doable in school.”


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Syracuse, NY -- The two big membership warehouse chains doing biz in Central New York are, of course, BJ's Wholesale Club and Sam's Club. The bigger of the two hereabouts is BJ's, since Sam's downsized its local clubs. So you're a BJ's member? Read on...
From the Boston Globe:
BJ’s latest offer: itself
BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. would be able to improve its stores and product offerings and finally expand beyond its East Coast footprint if it were sold to a private investment company, retail industry analysts said in response to reports yesterday that the discount firm has put itself up for sale.
The Natick shopping warehouse has reportedly hired New York investment bank Morgan Stanley to conduct an auction of BJ’s. Bloomberg News reported that BJ’s management received an undisclosed offer to buy the company from Los Angeles private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP, which has a portfolio of brand-name retail chains and owns almost 10 percent of BJ’s stock.
Shares of BJ’s gained nearly 13 percent on the news yesterday, closing at $47.34. At that price BJ’s has a market capitalization of nearly $2.6 billion.
“Clearly there’s a belief that there’s money to be made,’’ said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at Retail Systems Research. “It’s a clean way to tighten yourself up.’’
BJ’s and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Leonard Green, which took a 9.5 percent stake in BJ’s in July, said in a securities filing at the time that BJ’s shares were “undervalued.’’ The private equity firm said it planned to contact management to discuss options, including taking the company private or finding additional financing.
Leonard Green did not return messages seeking comment.
Industry analysts said that it’s unlikely another US retailer would be interested in taking over BJ’s and that a private equity firm could help BJ’s reinvent itself.
“To go private would get them out of the glare of the public market as they expand into new markets and do things that might not be great for near-term earnings, but might be good for building the company in the longer term,’’ said Jon Springer of the trade publication Supermarket News.
This isn’t the first time BJ’s has dealt with Leonard Green. Four years after the Zayre Corp. discount chain opened its first BJ’s store in Medford in 1984, BJ’s was folded into Waban Inc., and in 1997 Waban attempted to sell its struggling Homebase home improvement division to Leonard Green. After the plan fell through, Waban spun off BJ’s as a separate company. Today, BJ’s has 191 stores in 15 states and is run by Wakefield native Laura Sen.
Leonard Green has a successful history of retail investments, including buying Sports Authority and Petco. The firm also had stakes in Whole Foods Market and Life Time Fitness Inc., positions that it acquired and held “without a perceived hostile role,’’ Neil Currie, a UBS analyst, said in a report yesterday.
My comments: It's not likely we will be getting a Costco -- an even better members-only warehouse club chain -- anytime soon, so we're left to deal with BJ's and Sam's as far as fee-based warehouse clubs. Sam's isn't likely to expand, so we are left to focus on BJ's. This Globe store reads as though an acquisition by private investors will be a good thing for the chain.
That may be a good thing for us. BJ's hasn't brought to CNY all it can potentially offer, including car wash services, a pharmacy and more. I DID think it was a better and more agile and aggressive company when it was owned by Waban. I was disappointed when Waban did that spinoff.
Maybe with the proper new investment and fresh attention...
That is all.
Talk to me.
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Android or iOS first? It’s a choice every mobile developer must make when embarking on a new project. But in China these days, a third option is emerging: WeChat.
With nearly 400 million active users, Tencent’s flagship messaging app offers an exciting new avenue for developers taking aim at the Chinese market. Breaking into that ecosystem, however, might not be as simple as it first seems.
In the latest batch of nine startups that graduated from the country’s premier accelerator program, Chinaccelerator, two companies operate as service accounts inside WeChat: Chishen.ma and GiftPass. The former is a “story driven” restaurant recommendation app, and the latter allows users to gift vouchers within the chat app that can be exchanged for real life goods.
GiftPass co-founder Vincent Mah say he chose WeChat because “we wanted to lower the barrier of entry as much as possible” for users.
“If we compare to native apps, then Wechat puts a lot of restrictions on what can be done on their platform. But they do it to ensure WeChat users get a good experience,” Ma says. “With 400 million active WeChat users, getting access to them outweighs any cons.”
Compared to other social networks, Mah agrees that Tencent has a relatively ‘closed’ ecosystem, “but they are open just enough for us to find creative ways to make it useful,” he says. “It is their platform. They can do whatever they want.”
Chishen.ma founder Ryan Shuken says, “Users are increasingly spending more time within WeChat, time that’s taken away from other native apps. We are positioning ourselves in front of this trend.”
“Instead of reinventing the wheel and creating yet another social platform, we’re leveraging the tools made available by what’s already China’s hottest social network,” Shuken explains. “WeChat’s API is very new, so while its initial launch was relatively limited in functionality compared to some of the other social platforms, it’s been constantly opening up new features in the past few months.”
Mah says GiftPass plans to release its own native apps in the future, but Shuken didn’t mention any such plans for the time being for Chishen.ma. Startups like these are more and more eager to engage the WeChat audience. That gives Tencent the privilege of being picky with who it lets in or out, and is a far cry from competing social networks like Renren and Sina Weibo.
More particular than its peers
Renren and Weibo, often considered China’s equivalents to Facebook and Twitter, have both been on a gradual decline as WeChat surges in popularity. Still, many foreign startups use these domestic social networks as stepping stones when entering the Chinese market.
Beggars can’t be choosers, and the two companies seem ready and willing to partner with whomever they can get to integrate their products. News reader app Flipboard brought them both on board in 2012. Photo gallery app Cooliris integrated Sina Weibo in December last year and Renren a year before that. Personal QR code generator Visualead sealed a deal with Renren to allow any user to link to his or her account using a picture transformed into a QR code last May.
And while each of these companies expressed strong interest in WeChat as a future potential platform, none of them have managed to get on board. Integrating existing apps like these seems to be a much less viable option as opposed to building an app in the form of a WeChat service account. “We’re in talks with Tencent,” or “We’re working on it and it’s on the way,” were common responses when Tech in Asia pressed the issue.
“I wish we had it today,” said Flipboard head of business development Eric Alexander at a press event in Beijing. “It’s at the top of our priority list.”
Cooliris has even integrated with Tencent Weibo and QQ Zone, both under Tencent’s social wing, but WeChat remains elusive. Cooliris CEO Soujanya Bhumkar argues other social networks aren’t apt comparisons, and WeChat should instead be compared to other chat apps like Line and WhatsApp.
“For a fairer comparison, I would compare WeChat with other messaging apps, and the Tencent/WeChat ecosystem is just as open or closed as the other messaging apps around the world,” he says.
Visualead uses QR codes, which are used extensively by both Alibaba and Tencent in their ecommerce and O2O strategies. The startup’s VP of marketing, Oded Israeli, says this makes them more cautious of announcing plans and advancements too early.
“In my opinion, those companies who remember the innovation that made them successful and continue to reinvent themselves will be the ones that will be successful in the long run,” he says.
Game developers get even tougher conditions from Tencent. If you want to develop a game for WeChat, it must be exclusive to WeChat. That could be a tough deal to swallow. But to be fair, all Line games are also exclusive, and Line doesn’t even offer an official open API.
Risks and rewards
So it seems like creating an app that functions as a WeChat service account is the easier, although more limited, approach. It could also be more risky, however. In June, WeChat wiped out thousands of service and subscription accounts in one fell swoop. And while most of these were spam or violate some other terms set by Tencent, the company seems much less discerning in its banishments than, say, Apple or Google.
Last month, Tencent put an end to a chat bot made by Microsoft. “Xiaobing,” as she was named, could be invited into group chats where she could intelligently respond to dialogue. After accusations arose that said Xiaobing was spamming users and invading their privacy, Tencent promptly “massacred” her, to use Microsoft’s rather dramatic phrasing.
Still, WeChat’s API is free to use, making it an enticing avenue for those not afraid of banishment, and that doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. The chat app can be an excellent starting point to penetrate the Chinese market.
Mobile voice search developer Mobvoi made a name for itself with a service account that functions much like Siri does on an iPhone. Send it a voice message, and it will return relevant results within WeChat for restaurants, bars, shopping, navigation, weather, tourism, and transportation. Mobvoi went WeChat-first, and later made an Android app (which remains less popular). The startup secured a US$10 million investment led by SIG in February.
Open for business
One of Tencent’s more recent moves to open up is focused squarely on ecommerce. As of late May, anyone can set up their own store inside WeChat. The move is aimed directly at Tencent’s biggest pound-for-pound competitor in the country, ecommerce titan Alibaba.
Tencent added support for mobile payments in August last year, but only had a few retailers on board. Now, those with official verified accounts and that are qualified to use Weixin Payments can set up a store, much like many businesses have done on Alibaba’s Taobao. Existing online retailers and ecommerce sites can also open up WeChat shops.
Even before shopfronts were opened up to the public, businesses were using WeChat in a more informal way to sell their stuff. A group of college students even set up a local fresh fruit delivery service, taking orders and handling customers via WeChat. Tencent’s encouragement shows that it sees the revenue potential in ecommerce, and that it’s one of the only companies in China big enough to put up a fight against Alibaba.
Earlier this month, WeChat launched a new API specifically for smart devices. The first official batch of gadgets included a handful of activity-tracking wristbands that let users track their personal data through WeChat official accounts, but they weren’t the first to combine hardware and WeChat.
Welomo, a startup that makes physical photo printers, was the first hardware company to be exclusively integrated into WeChat. Tencent persuaded the company to ditch its native apps, a decision the founders later attributed to their ultimate success. Businesses can buy a Welomo printer to be placed inside their shop. Users can subscribe to the official Welomo WeChat account, choose a photo from their album, then input the four-digit code on the Welomo printer into the chat. Out pops a real photo.
The new WeChat API opens up even more possibilites to connected hardware makers like Welomo. Tencent is pushing adoption to gain an edge on its many competitors, like Alibaba’s Alink, Baidu’s cloud platform, and JD’s smart home protocol. But Welomo founder Chance Jiang says it has no plans to deviate from its WeChat strategy.
“Alibaba and Baidu both have their strengths too, of course. Baidu is more about hard technology and search. Alibaba has built a network of buyers and sellers. But Tencent has all the people. It’s like Facebook,” Jiang says.
WeChat has been around since early 2011, but Tencent really only started opening up its ecosystem when version 5.0 was released in August 2013. WeChat v5.0 was the first to allow payments and games. Now less than a year later, it’s already growing as a viable platform on which to build a business.
Perhaps it isn’t as open as developers would like, but it’s still more accessible than both Line and WhatsApp. As WeChat slowly opens up to the world, no developer that wants to break into China should write it off as too closed to consider.
This article was originally published in our Insights e-magazine.


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Gasoline prices — at $2.16 per gallon nationally — could fall another 10 percent or more, and while that's good for consumers, it may not be so for investors. » Read More
Ports along the nation's West Coast face issues like labor strikes that could see them suffer a further decline in business.
Shortly after shuttering its stores, Crumbs Bake Shop is close to securing financing from a prominent investor group.
Graco is recalling approximately 1.9 million harness buckles after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that popular acne products can cause rare but serious and life-threatening allergic reactions.
If you call one of these 10 states home, your home has plenty of room for improvement, from crime to health care and the environment.
Payments startup Stripe and China's Alipay struck a deal to allow Chinese buyers to pay for purchases on the U.S. service.
One company's stock surged 5 percent following a new report detailing strong attendance at the chain during World Cup matches so far.
Starbucks will raise prices of some drinks offered at US shops as well as on its brands of packaged coffee.
A new lawsuit says GM should compensate millions of car and truck owners for lost resale value.
US Agriculture Secretary is confident an approved vaccine would help fight a deadly virus that has killed millions of pigs.
If China's consumers slow their retail purchases, U.S. companies with Chinese market ties may take hits to sales.
A battle between two liquor companies over who has the right to label their whiskey as following authentic Tennessee style.
Dunkin' Donuts CEO says its sandwiches are snacks, not lunch.
Japanese newspaper Nikkei says the touchscreen watch, which includes many health features, will launch in October. MacRumors reports.
Barnes & Noble will develop a tablet with Samsung as it tries to revive its Nook digital business, which has struggled against competitors.
The move is as part of a 'Food Policy' Panera unveiled that outlines its commitment to 'clean' and 'simple' ingredients.
Amid thousands of pet illness complaints and an ongoing FDA investigation, PetSmart plans to pull the treats by March 2015.
Chipotle is asking customers not to bring guns into its stores after it says gun rights advocates recently brought military-style assault rifles into one of its restaurants.
In 1977, Suzanne Somers was one of the most famous women in Hollywood. And even then, she thought like an entrepreneur.
Ronald's not the only one getting a new look at McDonald's, which is testing seasoned fries in some locations.


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The era of Angela Merkel’s rule is over and it’s apparently high time the former chancellor decided what to do with her spare time. And German firms came up with a few suggestions.
Several German companies, including a local IKEA branch, decided to pay tribute to the former German government head in a fairly unusual way as they featured her image in their latest ads.
IKEA congratulated Merkel on being “finally home” as it ran an ad featuring her lookalike sitting in a comfy armchair in a plainly furnished room. The company apparently did not believe she would completely forget about politics after 16 years of chancellorship since a caption to the ad on social media read: “Could you please pass me the opera glasses, I would like to see if Olaf is already busy.”

„Kannst du mir bitte mal das Opernglas reichen, will doch mal sehen, ob der Olaf schon fleißig ist.“ #IKEA pic.twitter.com/p2K5P7H6n0
— IKEA_Deutschland (@IKEA_Presse) December 8, 2021

The pun was a reference to Olaf Scholz – Merkel’s successor at the chancellor’s office.
A hardware store, Toom, suggested Merkel would find her new calling in gardening as it posted an ad featuring Merkel making an iconic hand gesture known as ‘Merkel’s rhombus’ or ‘diamond’ while wearing the company’s gloves.
“For all those, who finally have time for a garden,” the ad’s caption read. Toom could also not help but remind its clients to treat politics seriously since the ad also featured another caption reading: “First go to vote and then off to the garden!”
It is unclear if Merkel is a passionate gardener but she does love nature. After all, she is known to be passionate about hiking on vacation.
Germany’s Astra beer brand suggested the former chancellor might find a better use for her iconic ‘diamond gesture’ now that she does not have to pose in front of photographers during official events. The company placed a bottle of its Astra Urtyp beer into the ex-chancellor’s hands and wished that everyone “have a nice evening.”

#Astra macht immer noch die beste Werbung.#Merkel pic.twitter.com/UszKjqYqh8
— Salander_7 🎄 (@Salander_7) December 2, 2021

Merkel is yet to comment on the ads, so it is unclear if she will follow any of this advice. Earlier, when asked about what she would do after leaving the chancellor’s office, she said she would find herself a good book and take a nap. “And then we’ll see,” she added.
https://ift.tt/2hpq7SJ 09, 2021 at 05:46PM
from RT – Daily news


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Atmel Is Touching Bottom and Ready to Rebound
Even though Atmel disappointed investors with its downward guidance in the third quarter, it was in line with projections made by the group's high flyers such as Qualcomm (QCOM) and Broadcom (BRCM) . So far, it appears investors are now beginning to make this connection. But is it too late?
Since reaching a 52-week low of $4.37 a month ago, Atmel shares have soared 30%. This leads me to believe the stock has touched bottom. As I've noted previously, upon the release of the company's third-quarter results, there's still plenty of growth opportunities.Again, as evident by the stock's recent movement, the Street agrees. On the other hand, there's a lot that needs to go right for Atmel for that value to be realized. Unfortunately, some of these requirements are outside of the company's control.
For instance, although Atmel's management did what it had to do to get controllers inside both Microsoft's (MSFT) Surface tablet and Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle Fire, it doesn't appear as if these devices are flying off store shelves, according to published estimates.
Likewise, even though the Kindle Fire continues to gain traction in the tablet market, Apple's (AAPL) iPad is still regarded as the standard. Complicating matters further is the strong demand for Apple's new iPad mini. Though it is not yet clear how the lower-end tablet market will be divided when the quarter's results are released, according to current sales data Apple remains the leader in overall sales.
Still, working in Atmel's favor is its technology is far superior to that of its rivals, which is why the company's products tend to cost more. This very fact brings up another concern. Granted, it is a huge benefit to Atmel to have scored wins with Microsoft, Amazon and Samsung but it also presents the risk that at any point these companies might decide to look for cheaper alternatives.
In the meantime, Atmel has the competitive advantage from an up-market standpoint. This is because average selling prices (ASPs) are higher which helps the company's margins. In my opinion, signs of improved profitability are what it's going to take to compel the Street to believe.
In that regard, the company is making some good strides, but it remains a challenge. Though management was able to make the best out of what has been a difficult economic environment, that gross margins shed almost 1% sequentially and 7% year-over year in the third quarter was discouraging.


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TIPA announces the winners of the 2010 Awards
The TIPA 2010 Award winners in the digital camera category:
DSLR Entry level:
Compact system advanced:
Compact system entry level:
and the in the Prestige Camera class...


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‘The Interview’ brings in more than $15 million; played across NC
NEW YORK — In a landmark moment for digital movie distribution, “The Interview” has earned more than $15 million through online sales in its first four days of release.
Sony Pictures said Sunday that the scandalous Seth Rogen comedy was “rented or purchased online more than 2 million times” between Wednesday, when it was released, and Saturday.
The totals do not include Sunday, when Rogen and others held a live-tweet session to further promote online streams of the movie.
“Total consumer spending through Saturday for The Interview online is over $15 million,” Sony said in a statement. Earlier, studio executives would only say that rental numbers were strong.
That’s far more than the movie made in theaters — despite sold-out showings in a patchwork of theaters across the country. Through Sunday, “The Interview” is expected to make about $2.8 million at the 331 independently-owned theaters that have been showing it since Christmas Day.
This is about in line with industry expectations. Had it opened in the 2,000 to 3,000 theaters it was originally scheduled to be in, the movie would have made far more. But security fears scuttled that release two weeks ago and led to a hybrid in-theater and at-home release plan.
That’s how Sony un-canceled the movie last week, with the help of independent theaters and online stores like Google’s YouTube. (Some of the big theater chains would have considered showing the movie, but they objected to online distribution while the movie was in theaters.)
“While this is a completely unprecedented circumstance without proper comparisons, we are very pleased with how it is doing both theatrically where we are seeing numerous sell-outs across the country, and online where it remains at the top of many charts,” Sony Pictures president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer said in a statement earlier on Sunday.
The movie was initially available through YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft’s Xbox video store, and a dedicated Sony web site.
At 1 p.m. Sunday, it was also made available through Apple’s iTunes store, a development first reported by Re/code. Rental through iTunes costs $5.99, the same price as through the other sites.
The addition of Apple is noteworthy because an earlier distribution deal between Apple and Sony fell apart last week.
“The Interview” is still not available through Sony’s PlayStation video store. The PlayStation Network has been plagued by an apparently unrelated outage in recent days.
To encourage more rentals of the movie, Rogen, his co-star James Franco and co-director Evan Goldberg held the live-tweet session Sunday afternoon. It was a twist on the notion of “social TV.”
One Twitter executive dubbed the social networking site “the world’s biggest movie theater.” The site has been promoting the live-tweeting session extensively.
In a statement about the weekend box office numbers, Rogen said, “The fact that people actually left their houses when they had the option of staying home is amazing.”
The movie played at various theaters in the Piedmont area including businesses in Greensboro and Martinsville.


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British indie label One Little Indian has officially changed its named to One Little Independent Records. The renowned imprint, famous for being home to such artists as Björk, A.R. Kane, Kitchens of Distinction, and Cody Chesnutt, revealed the new name today on social media.
“The last few weeks have been a monumental learning curve,” shared the label’s founder Derek Birkett on socials. “Following the receipt of an eye-opening letter from a Crass fan that detailed precisely why the logo and label name are offensive, as well as the violent history of the terminology, I felt equally appalled and grateful to them for making me understand what must be changed.
“I’m aware that my white privilege has sheltered me and fostered my ignorance on these issues,” he continued. “I realize now that the label name and logo instead perpetuated a harmful stereotyping and exploitation of Indigenous Peoples’ culture. This is the exact opposite of what was intended. However, I know that it is not the intentions but the impact that is important.”
Birkett added that the label has made and will continue to make donations to a number of organizations, including Honouring Indigenous Peoples and the Association on American Indian Affairs. Read the full announcement below.


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Amazon has announced it will shut all its bookshops in the US and UK - deciding instead to focus on Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, its convenience concept called Amazon Go and its upcoming Amazon Style Stores. The online shopping giant will close its 68 bookshops - 66 of which are in the US, while the UK only has two.
The news comes as Amazon Prime Video was told it had fresh competition after ITV announced today it was launching a new streaming service called ITVX, reports Birmingham Live.
"We remain committed to building great, long-term physical retail experiences and technologies and we’re working closely with our affected employees to help them find new roles within Amazon," the company said in a statement.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said: "They were designed for people to pop in and browse rather than as destinations where people would head on a mission to buy something. Ultimately, this wasn't great for driving footfall - especially in an era where people are visiting shops less."
Mr Saunders added that the other problem is the assortment which, in many locations, was disjointed and unfocused. Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in 2015, two decades after it began selling books online and helped drive a number of shops out of business.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.


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Indian start-up Smartron, with Sachin Tendulkar as one of the investors has launched an ultrabook t.book and a smartphone t.phone which runs on Android based Tron-X.
The batting maestro who is also the brand ambassador for Smartron said, “I have always been fascinated by technology. Smartron’s founding vision for the need for a robust product ecosystem in the country to grow is very impressive. We need to support brands that are ‘designed and engineered in India’ by our Entrepreneurs and Engineers that ably compete in the global markets.”
t.book is a 2 in 1 ultrabook which acts as a tablet as well as a lightweight laptop. It features a WQXGA (2560×1600 pixels) screen, 2.0 GHz Intel Core M processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 128GB SSD storage. The storage can be further expanded up to 128GB with a microSD card.
The ultrabook runs on the Windows 10 operating system and the specs are similar to Mac Air, and other light weight competitors like HP Envy and Microsoft Surface. It comes in gray and orange colors. It’s 10,000 mAh powers the t.book for ten hours.
MRP is set at Rs.40,000.
The smartphone, t.phone, features 5.5″ screen and runs Tron-X, which is an Android based OS which provide IoT experience to users. Meaning data captured in one device can be captured across multiple devices instantly. Say a photo clicked on your smartphone gets across your laptop and tablet, and you could receive and make calls, send and receive SMSs using any of the devices.
The price of the t.phone is yet to be revealed.
Smartron was started by Mahesh Lingareddy and is founded strongly on Indianism and is backed by the make-in-India initiative launched by prime minister Narendra Modi. The entire range of products including microchips is manufactured indigenously.
The company claims to have invested $10 million in the past couple of years, in its bid to create a strong IoT ecosystem. They are in search of more funds, $100 million in precise, to be spent on research and development in the next 5 years.
The IoT company having Tendulkar as the investor need not look any further for marketing and advertising concerns. He is keen on promoting the products on all mediums.
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Google is introducing a new community feed to Maps that the company says will help keep you informed of all the latest developments in your city, including new restaurant openings and service changes. Located in the app’s Explore tab, the feature collects all the latest reviews, photos and posts submitted to Maps by local experts, as well as people you know and merchants.
Additionally, if you follow a nearby store or restaurant, you’ll get updates from them through the feed. So if your favorite taco joint adds a new item to their menu, Maps will do its best to let you know. If you’ve gone out of your way to share your food and drink preferences through the app, you’ll see those reflected in the feed as well. For example, those into clean eating will see a greater number of places that serve healthy food highlighted by Maps.
According to Google, the feature has helped local businesses better communicate with their customers. “In early testing of the community feed we saw that posts from merchants are seen two times more than before the feed existed,” the company said. “So now more people can see if a local business is offering a new service, has a limited time specialty or opened outdoor seating.”
Google doesn’t explicitly mention the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s easy to see how a feature like this was likely informed, at least in part, by recent events. With limited support, local businesses in cities around the world have been devastated by the pandemic and accompanying lockdown orders. In a place like New York, a recent report highlighted by The New York Times found that by the end of the pandemic, approximately one-third of the city’s small businesses could close permanently.
The new community feed in Google Maps is now rolling out to all Android and iOS devices globally. As always, if you don’t see the new feature right away, you may need to wait a couple of days before it shows up in your app.


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The ”33 Export lager beer is supporting “33” Export Friendship Experience parties has continued to excite consumers in different parts of the country. The parties, which started yesterday in Port Harcourt, will be held today in Jos and tomorrow in Uyo.
In a statement, the company said “33” Export Lager Beer connects and engages with its target consumers by celebrating friendship and friends across the country.
It said the brand had commenced this year’s Experiential Parties in March, and has hosted several top DJs and Comedians in the entertainment industry to thrill consumers with the best of music, games and comedy experiences. The experiential parties are targeted at bringing to live the values of the brand, and deepening the bond that exists between the brand and its customers.
“My friends and I have not attended an event this interesting in a while. It is not just about the party, but the ambience of friendship, memories, and wonderful stories that we can share from this,” Abba Cornelius, a winner and guest at the event held in Abuja, said.
“This week, the experiential parties will hold in Uyo, Jos and Port Harcourt. Lovers of “33” Export Lager Brand outside these cities need not feel left out, as they and their friends in those other cities across the country will definitely have a taste of this remarkable experience,” he said.
According to the Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Lager and Stout, Nigerian Breweries, Emmanuel Agu, the parties are part of the brand’s commitment to creating memorable experiences for consumers of “33” Export Lager Beer wherever they are.
“In line with the brand positioning as “Your No. 1 Friendship Beer”, the brand has continued to create consumer experiences that bring our consumers together, recognising that those moments are memorable to our consumers,” Agu said. “We have successfully created an opportunity for them to connect, and we can promise our dedication towards a more engaging and memorable experience for all our consumers across the country.”


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A Nurofen ad has been banned for implying it could specifically target joint and back pain. So are we seeing the start of a change in the way companies can market their painkillers?
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told Reckitt Benckiser, the manufacturer of Nurofen, that it must stop showing a TV advert that misleads people into thinking that Nurofen Joint and Back could target pain in a specific part of the body.
In fact, the ASA ruling stated that the ad breached three rules (3.1, 3.9 and 3.12), meaning that not only was it misleading but its claims were unsubstantiated and exaggerated. The banned advert showed an anatomical image of a woman with the Nurofen moving down her body to her back, while a voiceover said: ‘Just a single dose of Nurofen Joint and Back provides you with constant targeted pain relief for up to eight hours’.
But this wouldn’t be the first time painkiller marketing claims have been brought into question…
Nurofen targeted pain relief
Back in December we reported on Nurofen’s ‘targeted’ pills as part of our research into this market.
We highlighted that the products Nurofen Migraine and Tension Headache are exactly the same as each other and – available until recently – Nurofen Express caplets (342mg of fast-acting ibuprofen lysine, which is equivalent to 200mg ordinary ibuprofen), yet are marketed differently.
Last year, the Australian Federal Court ordered the manufacturers of best-selling painkiller brand Nurofen to remove its targeted range of painkillers from Australian shops and face a potentially heavy fine for misleading consumers.
We think this is about more than just marketing. One pain expert said:
‘It’s a waste of money to buy so-called targeted painkillers, and potentially dangerous as you might be misled into taking a double dose for two main pain types [thinking they’re different medicines].’
Nurofen defended the sale of targeted painkillers, saying that they can help consumers choose the right one, just as it has defended the marketing of its Joint and Back saying it showed it could provide backache relief rather than implying this was all it could do.
But it’s also surely about the way we spend our money. Nurofen Joint and Back is actually licensed for a range of pain, including rheumatic or muscular pain, backache, neuralgia, migraine, headache, dental pain, period pain, feverishness, symptoms of colds and influenza.
Considering that extensive list, do you really need a plethora of painkillers in your cupboard all making different marketing claims? Do you feel mislead by these marketing claims, or do you consider yourself savvy enough to see through them?


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Port Washington, NY, November 30, 2018 – According to the Q3 2018 Games Market Dynamics: U.S.* report from leading global information company The NPD Group, overall total industry consumer spending on video gaming in the U.S. reached $9.1 billion in the third quarter of 2018 (July-Sept.), an increase of 24 percent compared to the same time period last year.
Video game content sales increased 25 percent to $7.9 billion. All content categories, which include full-game, DLC/MTX, subscriptions, and mobile saw increases, with mobile games and digital content for console and portable platforms experiencing the most growth.
The software titles having the most positive impact on dollar sales in the third quarter of the year include (listed alphabetically) Candy Crush Saga, Fortnite, Madden NFL 19, Marvel's Spider-Man and NBA 2K19.
Hardware sales grew 11 percent in the quarter to $737 million, led by Xbox One, PS4 and Plug & Play devices like NES Classic and SNES Classic. Accessory sales* grew 44 percent in Q3 2018 when compared to a year ago, with headset and game card sales setting all-time records in Q3 dollar spending. Game cards sales reached a record high, growing 63 percent to surpass accessories for the first time in the third quarter of a calendar year.
“The Video Game market in the U.S. continues to thrive with compelling gaming content expanding the market, driving higher spending of hardware, accessory and software,” said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group. “And with the sales strength of recent releases such as Marvel's Spider-Man and NBA 2K19, combined with cross-platform titles such as Fortnite, there appears to be no slowing down as we head into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season.”
Methodology: Games Market Dynamics: U.S. provides a comprehensive measure of the consumer spend on video games in the U.S. including purchases of video games hardware, software and accessories as well as on PC games. It is released on a quarterly basis and provides insight and trending into the broader consumer spend on the industry including physical format sales such as new and used physical retail sales as well as game rentals, and digital format sales including full game digital downloads and downloadable content (DLC), spending on subscriptions and mobile gaming. This assessment of the broader consumer spend on the industry utilizes NPD’s monthly POS tracking services as well as consumer data from other NPD trackers, monitors, and reports.
*Accessory sales exclude game cards


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The shift to electric vehicles is the greatest change to the automobile market since the invention of the windshield wiper. The Green Party of Ontario is making it a matter of policy to encourage you to trade in your gas-powered car for an EV and on Friday leader Mike Schreiner and deputy leader Dianne Saxe held a virtual press conference to tell Ontarians that they should have an easier time getting into an EV.
“I hear from people across the province that Ontarians are getting gouged to the gas pump. Gas prices are up over $1.50 a litre again today, and as high as $1.58 a litre in the GTA. That means it’s costing many Ontarians over $100 just to fill up their tank, and experts are predicting that gas prices will only continue to go up,” Guelph MPP Schreiner explained.
“That’s why the Ontario Greens are committed to getting Big Oil out of your wallet by making electric vehicles more affordable for the average Ontarian,” he added.
The Green Party plan includes cash incentives of up to $10,000 for Ontarians that buy a fully electric car, low-cost financing for EVs, the expansion of charging infrastructure and the creation of more charging stations on public and private property, and the adaptation of a zero-emission vehicle mandate.
The Green Party proposal will also see the Provincial government taking over the Plug n Drive program for Ontario, which offers a $1,000 rebate for anyone that buys a previously enjoyed fully electric of fully hydrogen vehicle. On top of that, a Green Provincial government will add an additional $1,000 rebate if you buy an electric-assisted bicycle.
“If you look at our roadmap, we give a lot of details what happens between now and 2030 and a longer scale framework for what happens until 2040 and 2045,” Saxe said. “The incentives won’t have to be so big year-after-year because the price difference between fossil fuel vehicles and electric vehicles is dropping fast. So we would start right away and give the highest incentives to people who go now and buy zero emission cars, and smaller incentives for people who buy used or lease more efficient longer range hybrids.”
The various rebates will be funded by a “feebate”, meaning fees will be put on new vehicles that burn either gasoline and diesel, with a sliding scale that sees the fee increase with the size and amount of fuel used per kilometre. To begin, the feebate policy proposes a $500 fee for cars and a $1,000 fee for SUVs.
According to Saxe, the move to electric vehicles is meant to support the overall Green agenda to end sprawl. Priority one is to create an environment for more sustainable living and more diverse communities so that people will choose not to own a car, but if they do need to own a car, then the Greens want to help them buy electric.
“The number one thing is to stop sprawl, because sprawl is what drives emission growth in Ontario, as well as it’s destroying the environment,” Saxe said. “We’re the only party that would stop sprawl and stop new highways, and we would have a lot of encouragement for building new housing within existing urban areas. That increases density to levels that support transit, and puts emphasis on making active transportation safe and convenient, which is good for health and air quality.”


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Should we be paying more attention to Silver? Geologist and natural resources expert, Matt Badiali says absolutely. The Penn State graduate has these ahead-of-the-curve insights that draws attention to Matt Badiali’s common-sense approach when it comes to investing in precious metals, and according to Matt Badiali, our attention needs to be on Silver.
The price trend of silver is less in the spotlight than gold. One reason for this lies in the different production volumes, but what many people miss sight of is that silver is not just for producing coins.
Products with silver content include electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, TV sets and solar cells. The industry uses around 50 tons of silver annually in these product groups alone. Further fields of application are automobiles, office technology, housewares, and medical technology.
Examining The Demand
Matt Badiali points out numerous industries use silver, and one of the most important is the medical field. In fact, silver has been proven to be antibacterial: it is therefore not only used as a coating on patches, but now there are also hospital and doctor’s clothing with silver fibers, which have an antibacterial effect.
The trend worldwide is to equip antimicrobial medical devices and the greatest potential is in hygiene-sensitive areas. Health-sensitive areas include, for example, hospitals or care facilities. In addition to medical devices such as implants and catheters, professionals need to protect work surfaces, curtains, protective clothing and work clothing, and silver is being infused for these reasons. The technology is based solely on the antibacterial effect of the positively charged silver ions and demand is growing.
Badiali also points out that the demand has grown over the last five years. But experts warn, gold prices are increasing and this could push more investors to purchase silver, triggering a rise in the prices, so it makes since to buy now while prices are low.
Matt Badiali is a long-time traveler, getting first-hand knowledge by researching and reviewing mining opportunities. He’s published hundreds of posts and can be found at Banyan Hill Publishing, pinpointing what investors should do next.
About Matt Badiali: banyanhill.com/expert/matt-badiali/


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At Heimtextil 2017, SPGPrints will be combining the premiere of its new digital inkjet printer for home textile printing applications, with a special event to celebrate the long, successful relationship it has enjoyed with its textile customers in Pakistan.
For fifty years, SPGPrints has been supplying the textile printing industry in Pakistan, and since 1996, local demand for equipment, consumables, support and consultancy has been provided by SPGPrints Pakistan, in Karachi. During that time, the company has maintained a market leading position in the sector, with hundreds of rotary screen printing machines and more than 20 preprint screen engraving systems installed at leading textile factories across the country.
More recently, SPGPrints Pakistan sold four JAVELIN® digital inkjet printers and the new SPGPrints NEBULA HD inks are being readily taken up by quality-conscious customers.
Special event for Pakistan’s textile printers
To celebrate this long relationship as well as the premiere of the wide-format JAVELIN digital inkjet printer for home textile applications, Pakistan’s textile printers are cordially invited to an exclusive High Tea, from 3.00pm to 7.00pm, 12 January, on the SPGPrints stand, Hall 6, Level 0, Stand B22, Messe Frankfurt, Frankfurt-am Main, Germany.
During the event, customers will have the opportunity to see live demonstrations of SPGPrints’ 3200mm-wide JAVELIN inkjet printer, specially adapted for home textile applications, and making its global debut at the show.
“With a strong local presence and focus on providing comprehensive printing solutions, SPGPrints is playing a significant role in introducing digital textile printing to this country,” said Salman Hydrie, managing director, SPGPrints Pakistan. “This approach ensures that printers and end-users here enjoy the benefits of the latest technologies to address demands for the shorter runs, faster turnarounds, and streamlined logistics demanded by fashion brands.”
“We are delighted to show our new wide format JAVELIN printer, which will enable bed linens and other home textiles to be printed digitally, opening opportunities for easy design changes, limited editions and even personalised products in that sector.”
“The High Tea will provide an informal setting for conversations with customers as well as a way of better understanding their needs and concerns,” concluded Mr. Hydrie. “Printers who would like to attend the event should register their interest with their local SPGPrints representative.”


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20 Aug 2019
Vauxhall Grandland X impresses us during nine-month test with impressive economy, spacious cabin and excellent safety.
3 Jul 2019
It might not be the most aspirational vehicle on a company car choice list, but the Combo Life XL is a low-cost way to move seven people comfortably and efficiently.
12 Nov 2018
Many standard safety features plus three child seat mounts make a family winner. By Richard Kilpatrick
17 Dec 2019
Vauxhall has confirmed a cheaper, front-wheel-drive, version of the Grandland X plug-in hybrid will be available next year.
12 Nov 2019
Young Driver urge parents to give children early driving experience.
14 Oct 2019
Groupe PSA has called for stronger and long-term consumer incentives to help accelerate electric vehicle uptake in the UK
Fleet News offers a range of reports, whitepapers, in-depth features and manufacturer brochures to enhance fleet decision-makers' understanding of key issues and products.
Fleet News is published monthly, in print and digital formats.
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The creator of the Telegram messenger Pavel Durov remindthat already a year has passed since monetization mechanisms appeared in Messenger. Despite significant limitations, the initiative worked well and even exceeded Durov’s expectations, as did the idea of a paid Telegram Premium subscription.
Mr. Durov said that they decided to approach advertising in Messenger taking into account the requirements to ensure user privacy – the administration refused to use users’ personal data for targeted advertising. The ads themselves only appeared in public channels. The dynamics of financial indicators turned out to be higher than the market average, and Telegram embarked on the path to financial self-sufficiency.
And just five months ago, the Telegram Premium subscription model was launched, which was quickly joined by more than a million users, becoming one of the most successful examples of subscription adoption on social networks. In the future, Mr. Durov is sure that Telegram Premium will be able to compete with advertising revenue in terms of revenue.
Monetization mechanisms will help the platform pay for servers and traffic, and provide funds for employee salaries – all of which is necessary to both introduce new features and support existing ones. “While some other apps see users as a means of maximizing revenue, we see revenue as a means of maximizing value for our users.”– concluded Mr. Durov.


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Machina Labs, a company that combines AI and robotics to rapidly manufacture advanced composite and metal products, brought in $32 million in Series B funding. This brings the company’s total funding to date to $45 million.
The company plans to use the latest round of funding to meet accelerating customer demands, further intensify its research initiatives, and continue delivering innovative systems that exceed customer expectations.
NVentures, a new investor in the company and NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, along with returning investor Innovation Endeavors led the round, which also included participation from other new and existing investors.
Machina’s patented manufacturing platform’s first process is robotic sheet forming. The system uses material- and geometry-agnostic technology to outperform traditional sheet-forming methods that rely on custom molds or dies.
“With their deep heritage in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, we are looking forward to NVIDIA’s support as we further develop our AI and simulation capabilities,” Edward Mehr, CEO and co-founder of Machina Labs, said. ”We are also thrilled to see our current partner Innovation Endeavors continue to support our vision. This Series B funding underscores the transformative potential of merging robotics and artificial intelligence. With this support, we are poised to develop the next generation of manufacturing floors; ones that can easily remake production with no hardware or tooling changes, but only requiring software modification.”
Machina Labs aims to allow factories to not be tied to specific products with limited capabilities. Instead, the factories can be configured via software to power on-demand manufacturing and unlock innovation in manufacturing.
The company combines the latest advances in AI and robotics to deliver finished metal projects in just days instead of months or years. It does this by using robots the way a blacksmith uses a hammer to manufacture different designs and materials. This gives manufacturers unprecedented flexibility and agility.
“AI is rapidly accelerating industries across the global economy, including manufacturing,” Mohamed “Sid” Siddeek, Corporate Vice President and Head of NVentures, said. “Machina Labs’s work to apply advanced computing and robotics to sheet-metal formation enables companies to operate manufacturing facilities with substantially improved efficiency and broadened capabilities.”
Machina Labs’ robots use an array of AI-driven sensors to gather data and manipulate sheet metal to form parts. For each unit the company makes, it creates a digital twin with all relevant process information. This provides accurate process characterization and part qualification information.
The company creates metal parts for the automotive, aerospace, defense, heavy machinery, electrical and architecture industries.


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Even as the Reserve Bank of India and the government have said that ₹2,000 denomination banknotes continue as legal tender, a large number of kirana shops, retail outlets, petrol stations, and transport companies are not accepting the note, leaving thousands of customers in many parts of the country with no option other than taking their currency to a bank.
Take the case of Kailas Mandal, a blue collared worker in Matunga area of Mumbai who could not buy medicine for his daughter after a local pharmacy refused to take his ₹2,000 note. “That’s the only cash I have with me. Now, I’ll have to wait till tomorrow to get the note exchanged at a bank,” he said.
A similar story unfolded in Delhi too where neighbourhood kirana and departmental stores are no longer accepting ₹2,000 notes.
Satish Wadhwani, who runs a small departmental store in Masudpur near Vasant Kunj in South Delhi, said: “We have started refusing to take ₹2,000 notes. Exceptions are made for old customers. But overall, we are apprehensive about accepting these notes now.”
About 2,700 km away in Tirunelveli, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation issued a circular ordering the bus conductors not to accept ₹2,000 notes from passengers. The Managing Director of the Corporation also demanded that conductors should not exchange their collection (coins & notes of low monetary value) with outsiders.
In Kerala, the Guruvayur Temple Administration, which manages one of South India’s well-known Srikrishna Temple, is concerned over the possibility of the notes landing in the ‘hundis’ in the temple after the currency loses legal tender status. VK Vijayan, Chairman of Guruvayur Devaswom Board, told businessline that the temple administration had faced such a situation after the currency ban in 2016.
Retail liquor outlets of Kerala’s State Beverages Corporation have stopped accepting the notes from customers. Yogesh Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, told businessline that “we have asked outlets to avoid taking ₹2,000 notes following the sudden surge in transactions on Saturday”.
In Hyderabad, corporate hospitals have stopped accepting ₹2,000 notes for the same reason. A senior official of a major corporate hospital chain said: “From Saturday, we have noticed a significant increase in payments in ₹2,000 notes. Most of them are partly soiled or old. As there are other options like exchanging them in banks or depositing in bank accounts, we are being extra cautious.”
The horrifying memories of being straddled with a pile of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes in the days following demonetisation seem to be acting as a deterrent for many shopkeepers. Pratap Majumdar, who runs a kirana shop in South Kolkata, says there has been an increase in the number of customers walking into his shop with ₹2,000 notes for buying goods worth ₹300-500.
- Editorial.The decisions on tax tweak on overseas spend and withdrawal of ₹2000 notes needed more clarity
“Earlier, these customers would insist on online payments; now, they want me to accept the ₹2,000 notes for such low-ticket purchases. If every customer starts doing this, I will be piled up with a number of notes and it is difficult for me to go to the bank to deposit it.”
In Mumbai, grocery stores are charging a 10 per cent commission while the jewellers are selling gold at premium prices to customers who are presenting ₹2,000 notes.
However, the extent of the impact wasn’t widespread. For example, business at Jamalpur vegetable APMC market in Ahmedabad was almost unhampered. “Initially, there was some resistance to accept the ₹2,000 note. But it has been made clear that this note continues to be legal currency,” said Ahmed Patel, a trade representative.
In Bengaluru, the impact was minimal as most of the consumers do not use cash on a day-to-day basis as they have switched to digital platforms.
- Also read: Demonetisation – 6 years after


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IBM Throws Apple a Bone with Notes-Domino 8.5
January 13, 2009 Alex Woodie
It used to be that Mac users would have to wait a year or more to get the same version of Lotus Notes that Windows users had. But IBM changed that in one fell swoop last week when it unveiled Lotus Notes 8.5 at the Apple MacWorld expo in San Francisco and delivered functional parity between the Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux versions of Notes. Version 8.5 also introduces XPages, a much-anticipated new development tool, and various security and administrative upgrades.
IBM expressed some much-delayed love for Macintosh at last week’s MacWorld show. The initial release of Notes version


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The margins between Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max & Netflix and Prime Video continue to grow smaller. While Netflix is still the market leader by a 8% margin, they lost nearly half-a-million subscribers during Q2. According to JustWatch, Prime Video now holds just 6% over Disney+. Apple TV+ didn’t find the key to growth while offering a free trial, and we will see how ending the trial affects its market shares in the Q3 analysis.
Market share development in 2021
Disney+ and HBO Max were the only two streaming services to gain market share (+1%) through Q2. The mid-field SVODs managed to retain their shares, but the larger players Netflix and Prime Video saw the most drastic change in market share.
Overall streaming viewership is most likely down in 2021 versus 2020 for obvious reasons. Largely freed from the home confinement forced by the pandemic, SVOD consumption has shrunk considerably. And Netflix is clearly not the only streaming service to see a dip in viewership and engagement, but they are still considered the market leader.
According to the Financial Times:
Netflix lost 430,000 subscribers in the US and Canada in the second quarter and issued weaker than expected forecasts for later in the year, rekindling investor doubts over how the streaming group will fare after the economic reopening. The California-based company predicted it would add 3.5m subscribers in the third quarter, disappointing investors who were looking for a stronger rebound in the second half of the year. Analysts had forecast that Netflix would add 5.9m subscribers during the third quarter.
As the market-leader, Netflix’s ebb and flow undoubtedly created significant ripple effects throughout the SVOD field. Other contributors to Bleeding Fool have their own ideas why Netflix may be losing the most. Let’s see how they do in Q3.


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Consolidation isn’t Uber’s strategy, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said so in an email to his employee after the American ride-hailing giant sold its SE Asian operation to local rival Grab this Monday.
However, consolidation seems to be the strong suit of Uber’s investor, the world’s largest tech investor, SoftBank.
On Tuesday, WANG Xing, founder and CEO of Meituan-Dianping, posted on Fanfou, the first Chinese Twitter-like service WANG co-founded, claiming that he heard on the grapevine SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is orchestrating a merger between two of its most important investees in ride-hailing, Didi Chuxing and Uber.
If the rumor turns out to be true, just like how the Uber selling China unit to Didi rumor and Uber ceding SEA operations to Grab speculation wounded up becoming reality, then SoftBank would end up being the biggest winner in the global transportation market.
Interestingly, right at the end of last year, CHENG Wei, Didi founder and chief exec, while talking to local media Caijing right after Didi’s whopping US$ 4 billion investment from SoftBank among other investors, hinted an upcoming war between Didi and Uber.
He told Caijing that “A massive global war is on its way. Didi Chuxing is going to face a fierce competition with Uber in the global setting. But the competition between Uber and Didi Chuxing won’t be an end. The winner is going to compete or cooperate with automakers, Google and Tesla in autonomous driving. The final winner is going to revamp the transportation and vehicle space.”
And it seems that in Latin America, Didi Chuxing is about to ignite a blooding war against Uber.
The Beijing-based company has acquired Brazilian 99, Uber’s biggest competitor in the country and also a SoftBank investee, to tap into Uber’s second largest market outside of the US. Didi Chuxing is also recruiting in Mexico, another major market in the region, and is said to launch its service in the first quarter of 2018.
Almost in everywhere, ride-hailing industry is indeed a capital-driven industry, given the cash burned by companies to dole out discounted fares to riders and cash rebates to drivers. Uber is reportedly burning $2 billion a year.
In this cash burning war, Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank has invested globally in ride-hailing companies with its massive investment vehicle, the $100 billion Vision Fund. The Japanese conglomerate has invested in Ola in India, Grab in Southeast Asia and Didi Chuxing in China. It also became Uber’s largest shareholder in January this year after a 15% share purchase at a 30% discount.
If a consolidation between Uber and Didi Chuxing really happens, their shared investor SoftBank could potentially arrange which market the two companies should focus on to avoid a unnecessary competition. After becoming Uber’s largest shareholder, SoftBank has called Uber to focus on key markets, including the US, Europe, Australia and Latin America, according to previous media reports.
Eventually, Didi and Uber wouldn’t have to fight each other to death in a global setting, and they could, probably as CHENG suggested, start to collaborate with automakers and other transportation constituents to revamp the transportation and vehicle space.


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Fiat Chrysler has issued a voluntary recall of roughly 75,000 examples of the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 – all of which are equipped with all-wheel drive – over a concern that the front drivesh
The 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit’s Cobo Hall introduced the world to the first ever North American Utility Car of the Year, joining the North American Car of the Year and
Chrysler is unveiling what it is calling the “fifth generation” of family transportation, the Chrysler Portal.
Each year, automotive journalists from all over the United States and Canada come together to pick the North American Car and Truck of the Year.
Tuesday morning finds an announcement from the Los Angeles Auto Show listing Green Car Journal’s 2017 “Green Car of the Year” finalist - there all electrified, a first, in recent memory anyway.
SEMA just wrapped up in Las Vegas, but people are already talking about what may be hits for next year. Ring Brothers are promising to create a show-stopper out of a 1972 AMC Javelin AMX.
However, times are different. Cars have more constraints with emissions, safety, and many other areas. Not to mention the common platform cars use today.
A quartet of Republican congressmen, apparently feeling a threat no one else is perceiving, has begun pressuring the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to launch a major effort
The automaker formerly known as the Chrysler Group has recently faced an issue with drivers not understanding how their single-position automatic shifter works, but it should be immediately noted t
With yesterday’s announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it had expanded its investigation into devices made by ARC of Knoxville, Tenn., a new page has been
Forza Horizon 3 is the next chapter in the incredible open-world racing series and the makers of the game are promising more than 350 vehicles when the new title hit shelves in September.
The Chrysler Group continued its incredible run of year over year gains, with May 2016 marking the 74th consecutive month where their brands combined to move more units than they had the same month
It has long been expected that the next generation of the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger and the Dodge Challenger would arrive in or around 2018.
The Chrysler Group brands combined to post positive year over year growth of 6% in April 2016, moving a total of 199,631 units across their six brands.
A few months back, we brought you the news that a handful of Chrysler Group vehiclesincluding the Dodge Charger, the Chrysler 300 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee were under investigation by the NHTSA o
Back in January, Chrysler Group boss Sergio Marchionne suggested that the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 would eventually leave the lineup as the company focuses more heavily on their popular trucks,