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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ford Motor Co.
said Tuesday U.S. sales in February rose 13.8% to 156,626 vehicles from 137,644 in February 2010. The automaker also said it plans to build 710,000 vehicles in the second quarter, up 9% from the same period last year. In the first quarter, Ford plans to build 650,000 vehicles, unchanged from the previous outlook.
Sue Chang is a markets reporter based in San Francisco. She previously worked for Dow Jones Newswires in Asia and served as the agency's bureau chief in Seoul, South Korea. Follow Sue on Twitter at: @SueChangMW.


text: It’s been a pretty bad news week for hipsters and scene kids. First the news dropped that hairstyles that cover one eye might probably make that eye lazy over time. Now a slightly predictable knowledge bomb has finally dropped, and it affects, well, just about every fashion sub-culture. The big newsflash? Skinny jeans may not be great for circulation and may cause painful leg problems.

domain: news


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World Bulletin / News Desk
Over half a million Russian holiday makers are expected to be in Turkey's southern coastal parts until the end of 2016 tourim season if charter flights from Moscow increase shortly, according to Turkey's tourism watchdog.
“This figure is roughly amount to 5 to 6 percent occupancy as a whole. So, it can help the rise of occupancy in the facilities to 80-85 percent during the whole of this season," Ayık suggested. “But, it depends on whether or not the hotel occupancy rate, linked to the domestic market, can climb up to 70 percent."
His statement came after Turkey's marked major Islamic holiday --Eid al-Fitr-- during which most hotels have had occupancy of over 80 percent. “The demand in the domestic market has reached its peak. The occupany in some facilities has reach 100 percent," Ayık said.
In late June, Russian government removed its restrictions on travel agencies, selling tours in Turkey. The interest to Turkey's south has rapidly grown among Russian holiday makers shortly after the removal of the tourism ban by officials in Moscow.
Kommersant business newspaper reported up to 35 percent of tour packages, sold in recent days by Russia-based agencies, has included travel options to Turkey.
The Russian air ticket search engine, Aviasales.ru, announced that the quantity of demands on tickets to Turkey has seen an increase of 40 percent in a week after the removal of tourism restrictions, in a statement on its page.
Russia Beyond's Headlines reported that before the ban was lifted, a large number of Russians preferred to stay at home without seeking an alternative destination, citing a statement by Ekaterina Bezhanova, the director of strategic development at Online Tours. In May 2016, the Turkish government recorded a 10-fold decrease in the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey, due to the restrictions


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In a release, Lenovo revealed that these new feature-rich gaming PCs run on Windows 8 operating system, and are all powered by Intel Core i7 processor. The company was also prompt to add that this would mark Lenovo’s entry into the high potential gaming world, meeting the demands of the NextGen personal computer users with products that offer fast robust performances.
In the words of Shailendra Katyal, the Lenovo India Director- Consumer Business, “We are happy to enter the gaming sphere with a complete portfolio of gaming machines that cater to both individuals and families. Lenovo is fostering its growth in the PC+ era through these multi-media devices that will add a new dimension to our existing portfolio of Consumer products and redefine the concept of gaming in India.”
Amongst the new range, the Lenovo IdeaCenter Horizon 27 catches the maximum attention being the world’s first multi-user, multi-touch, multi-mode table PC with innumerable preloaded games that can be played anywhere at home. This interpersonal device takes gaming experience to another level, enabling family and friends to participate in the computing experience instead of the solitary nature of the computing experience of most of the other devices. Its grand screen-size, the dynamic graphics, touchscreen, and the collaborative nature of the gaming experience that it provides make it a worthy buy despite its higher price tag.
The new Lenovo gaming PC range along with their respective prices is as follows:
Lenovo IdeaPad Z510 – Rs. 50,990.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p – Rs. 69,990.
Lenovo IdeaCenter Horizon 27 – Rs. 1, 36,500.
Want to know more about these PCs? Stay tuned!


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Many Uber drivers — or “partners,” as Uber calls us — read with great interest the recent California Labor Commission ruling that a California Uber driver is in fact an employee, not an independent contractor. While the ruling only applies to one San Francisco-based driver, it could have far-reaching implications, setting up a stage for Uber to make all drivers employees instead of independent contractors. This would mean Uber would have to foot higher costs by providing health insurance, Social Security, worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance to drivers.
But as Uber has grown from an underdog, grassroots startup to a billion-dollar behemoth, one thing is clear: No matter how the worker-employer relationship is defined, Uber and its drivers are joined at the hip. Without Uber, we don’t have a livelihood. Without us, Uber doesn’t have drivers or cars.
Uber provides a seamless app and a wonderful client base. I’ve been an Uber driver for more than three years. In my personal experience, the worst I have encountered during my drives was the minor inconvenience of a young couple asking me to hitch a boxspring and mattress on top of my Cadillac Escalade — hello, U-Haul?
But while this relationship may seem harmonious, drivers increasingly feel they are working harder and longer for less, and that the partnership is increasingly one-sided.
Uber drivers shoulder many expenses and risks to keep their job: car payments, car maintenance, insurance and client satisfaction. The employee-contractor debate touches upon a larger issue of remuneration and satisfaction among Uber drivers. It’s clear Uber needs to do more to address driver concerns. The question is, what steps can Uber take to increase driver livelihood and satisfaction, without turning all of us into employees?
Uber could also make a small change that will have a big impact on driver pay: Adding a tipping feature to its app.
Right now, Uber doesn’t ban tipping, but riders have to have cash handy if they want to tip a driver, so the company certainly discourages the act. There’s no reason to prevent Uber riders from showing their drivers a little love through cashless tipping, which Uber can easily integrate in its wonderful app that has revolutionized ground transportation. Uber’s competitor, Lyft, includes a tipping feature on all rides, so why shouldn’t Uber?
Uber users have spoken and they would appreciate this feature just as much as drivers. More than 18,000 people have signed a Care2 petition that I started, which asks Uber to integrate a tipping feature.
In my local market in Washington, D.C., UberX drivers are increasingly demoralized and reeling from successive fare cuts. UberBlack partners, who helped build Uber’s business early on, feel eclipsed by UberX. They feel Uber continually changes the game at their expense. Uber should give drivers a louder and more meaningful voice in the partnership. Considering many drivers rely on Uber as a primary income source, a good place to start would be allowing us to earn a little extra money when passengers feel we’ve done a good job.
Based on my discussions with other Uber drivers, Uber will ultimately have to examine increasing the fare for UberX and UberBlack rides in order to ensure drivers earn fair pay. All businesses are built on customer service, but the rates in D.C. barely support UberX and UberBlack drivers. A more productive, communicative, and open dialogue between Uber and its partners could create progress. My Care2 petition is a way to start this conversation, but so far, the petition has fallen on deaf ears.
At the end of the day, Uber drivers are part of the service industry. Appreciation in this sector has always been shown via tips. I love working for Uber, and I want to see the app become even better. My Care2 petition shows that a large chunk of Uber’s user base — riders and drivers alike — agree. It’s time for Uber to listen.
Peter Faris is an Uber driver based in Washington, D.C.


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World’s largest integrated Racing and Automotive digital media house expands careers platform into the Automotive recruitment market.
London, UK – June 23, 2020 – Motorsport Network, the integrated digital platform that is the destination of choice for millions of automotive and racing fans, is delighted to announce Richard Brown as the new head of Motorsport Jobs.
Motorsport Jobs has currently over 800 customers in Racing across global racing teams, industry, and candidate databases and is now looking to expand into the Automotive and electric mobility market.
Motorsport Jobs has been matching companies with skilled motorsport professionals for 67 years in Autosport magazine and more recently via the digital domain created when Motorsport Network acquired Autosport in 2016. It is dedicated to providing a global platform to help companies in the industry find their perfect candidates, bringing specialist knowledge of the industry with a recruitment product that is designed to ensure recruiters only receive quality candidates.
Richard joins Motorsport Network with proven expertise in the Automotive, Motorsport, and more recently Gaming recruitment industry. Over a 9-year career with a leading recruitment business, he built long-standing relationships with a range of leading global OEM’s, motorsport teams, consultancies, and suppliers, building tailored recruitment solutions to suit the varying needs of these businesses.
Richard has a strong background in recruitment technology, being a firm believer in utilizing tech and data to improve customer experience, quality of service, and time to hire. He will utilize the latest technology which enables the drive for greater diversity and equality in recruitment
Richard Brown said, “I am very excited to join Motorsport Network to further develop our Motorsport Jobs platform. Aside from our global niche Motorsport platform, I will be developing our Automotive & EV offering to support the complex demand and growth in the global mobility market, and compliment the range of businesses within Motorsport Network.
I am looking forward to developing our platform to provide ongoing career support and guidance to our users, and using innovative solutions to help businesses tackle the ongoing skill shortages, equality and improve their global reach and promote their employer brand proposition.”
Mehul Kapadia, Motorsport Network COO said, “At Motorsport Network, we aim to continuously innovate and look at service offerings which serve the needs of our millions of readers and viewers across both the motorsport and automotive industry. Through Motorsport Jobs, we can play a key role in extending the reach of the recruitment needs of racings teams, car manufacturers, and the rest of the ecosystem to a diverse global community. Richard brings in a key cross industry experience which will help us to scale up the business.”


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Kroger Begins Banning Visa Cards in Their Stores
If you currently buy your groceries at Kroger stores, you have probably already heard the news. Depending on where you live, you can no longer use your Visa at the register. The change is expected to spread even further, too, meaning that you may need to change your credit card strategy if you shop at the chain.
So, why is Kroger choosing to ban Visa credit cards at their stores, and who is currently impacted?
Kroger is currently the country’s largest grocer, operating a number of different stores under various subsidiaries. One of these subsidiaries, Food 4 Less Stores, operates a small grocery chain in California called Foods Co. These Foods Co. Stores are currently battling it out with Visa over credit card processing fees, but a resolution has not been met as of yet.
According to Kroger, Visa’s processing fees are the highest among all issuers. This means that more money comes out of the grocery giant’s pockets every single time shoppers swipe with their Visa-issued cards, especially when compared to debit card, check, or cash purchases. In an effort to curb these high fees and avoid raising grocery prices, Kroger has simply announced that these stores will no longer accept Visa credit cards as of August 14, 2018.
The ban immediately affects 21 grocery stores in California and 5 affiliated gas stations. However, if a Visa fee resolution is not met soon, there’s already talk of the ban expanding to even more stores across the country. First on the chopping block may very well be Kroger stores in Memphis, TN, followed quickly by other company grocery stores in other states.
While Visa has said they are “disappointed at Kroger’s decision,” they also say that they remain “committed to working with Kroger to reach a reasonable solution.” Says Kroger CIO Chris Hjelm of the potential ban’s spread to other stores if an agreement can’t be made, “That’s what we will have to do.”
If you’re one of the customers impacted by the immediate ban, or a Kroger shopper in another state that may soon be impacted, you may be irked by this change. This is especially true if you do your grocery shopping with a Visa-issued cash back credit card. In that case, you will be forced to use a different credit card (which may not offer as much back in rewards), a debit card (Visa debit cards are still accepted), or cash/check for your food purchases. Or, of course, you’ll need to shop elsewhere.
While it’s easy to see both sides of the argument here, Kroger shoppers may feel like they’re caught in the middle of an argument that they didn’t start. Sure, credit card issuers need to make money, which is often in the form of merchant fees. And of course, companies like Kroger need to do what they can to reduce expenses. But as a grocery shopper who typically uses a Visa-issued rewards credit card herself, I am personally a little perturbed by the ban. Even if Kroger isn’t my store of choice.
Are you affected by the new Kroger Visa ban? How will this change your grocery shopping habits?


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Everything is changing again. But this time, it’s happening faster.
In his talk at Singularity University’s Exponential Manufacturing Summit in Boston, Deloitte’s Digital Transformation Leader Geoff Tuff gave the audience some great tips for understanding today’s business environment and taking advantage of its opportunities—without falling prey to its exponential speed.
The latest round of quick automation and exponential change is being dubbed the Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to Tuff, though, that’s a misnomer—it sounds like something that’s happening to us, when really it’s something we need to shape and react to. The problem is that the pace of change is so rapid, businesses can’t react like they have in the past; they need new models for innovation and growth. Without these, they aren’t likely to stick around long term.
Forget the Golden Ratio
The Golden Ratio of Innovation, established by his team just five years ago, already seems outdated, Tuff says. The rule states—although Tuff says it wasn’t intended to be so universal—that to stay competitive, companies should allocate 70 percent of their resources to innovating within their core business, 20 percent to the space adjacent to their core business, and just 10 percent to the transformational space, which means discovering brand new customer needs.
A 2012 study of companies in the industrial, technology, and consumer goods sectors showed that companies that allocated their resources according to this ratio outperformed their competitors.
But sticking to this model now yields surprising returns. In fact, it yields something close to inverse returns, with 10 percent coming from core business investments and up to 70 percent from the transformational space. What companies need to do, today more than ever, is invest even greater resources in non-core areas, working across a wide spectrum of innovation.
But what does that mean, and how can companies adapt?
Tuff recommends starting by dividing your business into known or knowable opportunities, which can be planned for and tackled, and unknown opportunities, which must be discovered or developed.
Asking existing business units to discover unknown opportunities won’t work—that will take different people, metrics, and funding mechanisms. Start a team, a digital foundry, and task them with this.
Now you’re ready to find a tech solution to transform your business, right? Not according to Tuff.
Focus on human behavior first
New outcomes and improved efficiency aren’t possible without people changing their behavior. Choosing your technology first won’t get you very far if no one wants to use that technology. The trick is to identify behavioral shifts that will create value, then use data to track those shifts. The insights you gain from that process should then be a guidepost to decide what technologies you want to use.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but you’ll get greater return on your digital innovation by putting behavior first and technology second rather than the other way around. This will help you sort through the thousands or tens of thousands of digital solutions and startups on the market.
As you’re probably aware, we humans tend to be creatures of habit, and changing our behavior on a large scale is no easy task. We can look to three large manufacturing companies to see how they looked at behaviors they wanted to target first and then found the right tech for the job.
1. Drive different outcomes in your own operations
At Nissan, a rapidly aging workforce compelled management to ask, “How do we stop our employees from doing the repetitive tasks that are harder for them as they age and may even harm them?” The answer was to stop them from having to do difficult physical maneuvers without taking them out of the production process entirely. The company came up with ‘cobots,’ or collaborative robots, which work in tandem with people by taking over some of the physical tasks. The company saw higher output levels and improved efficiency in both time and cost.
2. Change outcomes for your immediate downstream customers
Caterpillar just completed the acquisition of Yard Club, a market-making app that connects people who own construction machines with potential renters. Caterpillar wants people to be able to rent their machines instead of having to buy them, letting the company derive value from selling tools, attachments, and parts in addition to large machines. To drive usage of their machines, they need to create an efficient market for those machines. Having witnessed the explosion of Uber, Airbnb, and other apps that interface supply and demand, it’s undeniable that the right app can powerfully change consumer behavior.
3. Change outcomes in the end market
UTC Aerospace Systems understood that they could drive better use of their systems in airline customers if they could get users to work more efficiently, increase on-time performance, and get more information into the hands of pilots and crew. They created an app called OpsInsight that gives pilots access to live data, allowing them to adjust aircraft operations in real time. The app’s creation was driven by a desired behavior in the end market; giving customers tools to improve their own outcomes will improve company outcomes too—double win.
It’s all about adaptation
It’s a complex time to be a manufacturer—the landscape is changing so fast it’s hard to keep up, and traditional business models and systems aren’t yielding the same results they used to.
But the good news is, manufacturers sit right in the middle of the value chain, with the ability to influence suppliers, downstream customers, and even customer’s customers. Shedding outdated ways of thinking and adapting your operations to our exponential times will make all the difference to success or failure.
In closing, Tuff acknowledged that while it’s not certain Charles Darwin actually said this, the words certainly do apply to doing business in the 21st century: “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”
Image Credit: Pond5


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FerriShield recently celebrated its 25th year in business and its 2nd Anniversary as a distinguished Leader Tech product offering. “The addition of FerriShield Ferrites to the Company’s extensive line of board and enclosure shielding products has been an overwhelming success”, states Tim Black Director of Sales and Marketing.
In its founding years, Ferrishield pioneered the concept of “clamp-on” ferrites to help eliminate unwanted RF interference in terminated cables. Today, Leader Tech stays true to the FerriShield philosophy of maintaining the world’s largest in-stock selection of bisected and solid core ferrites.
The FerriShield product line has enhanced Leader Tech’s ability to provide customers with integrated EMI shielding solutions for the vast majority of RF interference problems. Visit the Ferrishield website at http://www.ferrishield.com/
About Leader Tech
Leader Tech is a world-leading innovator and manufacturer of EMI shielding products for circuit boards, electronic enclosures and interconnect cables. The company’s core product offerings include standard and custom circuit board shields, beryllium copper fingerstock gaskets, conductive elastomers, advanced RF absorber materials and EMI/RFI ferrites. Leader Tech is a wholly owned subsidiary of HEICO Corporation, a successful and growing technology-driven aerospace, defense and electronics company. HEICO Corporation is a New York Stock Exchange listed company (NYSE: HEI and HEI.A) and has been ranked as one of the 200 “Best Small Companies” and 200 “Hot Shot Stocks” by Forbes. For more information, call (813) 855-6921or visit us on the Web at http://www.leadertechinc.com.


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We at Blue Sky take our reporting and your innovations seriously.
So when we get James Dyson into a room, we can’t help but envision the next vacuum cleaner.
Reporter James Janega sat down this week with the Dyson company founder, who was in town to visit his company’s U.S. headquarters. Janega says he told Dyson that upon hearing news of the company’s new 360 Eye robot vacuum cleaner, Blue Sky photo editor Keri Wiginton said she and others want a vacuum cleaner that empties itself.
“You see, that's a wonderful problem that's got to be solved,” the...


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17 Jul 2017
Was that it for fintech? Looking at the data, the financial technology (fintech) boom peaked at the end of the 2015 financial year.
But then looking at other data, the peak occurred somewhere between the second and fourth quarter of 2016.
However, as you can also see from this other data, from CB Insights Q2 Global Fintech Report, the boom may well be back on, having troughed in the fourth quarter of last year.
Meanwhile Google Trends – which looks at the number of times a search term is used – sits on the fence. The term peaked and plunged between November 2016 and January 2017 but has been stable at a high level since.
For some, and certainly if the gauge is media coverage, the fintech boom never subsided: there’s always a good story to be had in a start-up fintech taking on the giants of global banking. But it’s clear both its momentum and nature have shifted.
"Fintechs have morphed from being the barbarians (or liberators) at the gate to immigrants who may well add diversity and vigour to ageing [banks].” - Andrew Cornell
While some of the fintech revolutionaries may be aghast, there is also clear evidence fintechs have morphed from being the barbarians (or liberators) at the gate to immigrants who may well add diversity and vigour to ageing populations – as long as they adapt culturally.
As one venture capitalist with deep fintech exposure said, “my views on fintech have not changed: despite what many consultants are saying it is laughable in my view to expect start-ups to 'cooperate' or seek 'synergies' with banks - that is a completely one sided trade with the banks as the winner and start up as the loser…”
“Banks don't cooperate with anyone, the dominant culture is one of control (phrased as “risk”) and domination. Just look at the history.”
Of course, many fintechs are seeking such alliances and many banks are encouraging them.
According to the Innovate Finance survey, fintech in the first half of 2017 attracted $US6.5 billion of VC investment with 787 deals, a 45 per cent decrease year on year (based on statistics compiled through Pitchbook by Innovate Finance, a not-for-profit membership association for global fintech).
China, which raised the largest amount of VC investment in 2016, dropped to second place with $US1 billion of investment compared with $US7.0 billion in the first half of 2016, an 86 per cent year-on-year decrease.
That, however, is the rub: Abdul Haseeb Basit, CFO of Innovate Finance noted “the investment data for the first half of 2017 shows that global fintech investment is down versus the same period in 2016”.
“However if you adjust for the exceptional mega-deals in China in H1 2016, where three companies - Alipay, Lufax.com and JD Finance - raised over $US1billion each, we see that global investment has gone up 28.4 per cent. The sector continues to thrive.”
Over at CB Insights, the data show VC-backed fintech companies raised $US5.2 billion across 251 deals in the second quarter of 2017.
Investment dollars to VC-backed fintech companies in 2017 are on pace to rise 19 per cent from 2016, at the current run rate. According to CB Insights, global fintech deal activity could surpass 2016’s all-time high if the rest of the year sustains the first half’s deal pace.
Boom or no boom, as the fintech investment universe expands, becomes better known, and suffers the cold force of Darwinian fitness, the sector is evolving. As are those investing in it.
The vast majority of money flowing into fintech still comes from VC firms. According to CB Insights, more than two third of the funding is from traditional VC. However there has been a steady increase in the share of corporate investors and their venture firms in the fintech space and that now stands at 31 per cent.
While some of this is from corporate funds set up to be investment funds, it also contains funds set up by institutions to invest in this disruptive world and is often a precursor to more formal partnerships.
Falling in Asia
Interestingly this trend is pronounced in the US and Europe but is currently falling in Asia.
The first generation of fintech tended to be concentrated in payments and peer-to-peer or alternative lending platforms.
The fast growth at the moment according to CB Insights is in more specialised areas such as insurance tech and wealth tech. We should make mention too of regulatory tech although the numbers there are still smaller.
In Asia, mobile payments continue to be an area of great interest and also one of the most diverse battlefields as QR-code based systems, ubiquitous in China, expand into sectors traditionally dominated by cards and potentially – but not certainly – the mobile phone version of global payment cards like Visa and MasterCard. In China, Alipay and WeChatPay are behemoths.
Celent has released a new report titled The State of Mobile Payments in Asia-Pacific: The Impact of Fintech, by KyongSun Kong. She argued mobile payments growth has been slower than expected but is expected to accelerate.
About 80 per cent of respondents to her survey said fintech plays an important role in the Asian mobile payments market.
More significantly, 80 per cent of respondents said after five years the penetration of mobile payments in their countries will be high.
“Asia’s mobile payments market is expected to expand further. It is used for payments of goods and services, but also person-to-person payments and cross-border remittance,” Kong said.
Once again, the growing diversity of the market is notable, in Asia amplified by the vastly different stages of development of economies.
“Mobile payment markets in Asian countries are diverse, and the level of growth and speed of adoption of fintech vary,” Kong said. “However, there is no doubt that every country is progressing step by step.”
The investment side of the fintech ecosystem is also interesting: the VC firms themselves are changing, arguably becoming more like hedge funds – that is, more focused on preserving capital and playing markets than betting on new innovation.
In a much-shared blog post, Victor Basta wrote “we are in a perverse moment in the global venture capital industry: VCs are fast coming to resemble private hedge funds, and the more money they are able to raise, the worse off startups are becoming”.
“Capital is flowing into funds of all types, yet the rate of investment is shrinking rapidly. This could mark the decline of true venture capital by many funds as they are forced to evolve into private hedge funds or momentum investors, investing far larger amounts in much later stage pre-IPO companies, and drifting further away from taking higher risk, long-term investment in innovation.
“Perversely, this risk is greatest for the most valuable, value-adding investors with the best track records, since they can raise the most money.”
If that trend does continue, it may be that established institutions step into the breach. But the appetite of a bank or insurance company for fintech solutions may be large but it is nothing like what has driven the VC-fueled investment to date.
Andrew Cornell is bluenotes Managing Editor
The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and may not necessarily state or reflect those of ANZ.
17 Jul 2017
21 Jul 2017
28 Jul 2017


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A Texas couple is threatening legal action against Justin Bieber after receiving thousands of phone calls shortly after the pop star tweeted a phone number, TMZ reported.
The tweet containing the phone number had the caption “call me now.” However, the phone number was missing its final digit, leaving Justin Bieber’s nearly 19 million followers to guess what it might be.
The tweet has since been deleted, but not before teenage girls started blowing up the Texas couple’s phone.
The couple's lawyer has stated that they are now looking for compensation.
Suggestions from the legal team have apparently included tickets for the couple’s grandchildren, an apology from Bieber, an endorsement for an online project created by the husband and monetary compensation.
- The E.U.’s new copyright law spells disaster for the internet
- Ivanka Trump thanks her dad for ending his own family separation policy
- Twitter suspends users for sharing article with Trump adviser’s phone number
- Lucasfilm reportedly shelves ‘Star Wars’ spinoff movies
This article originally published at The Daily Dot here


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The layoffs will focus on human resources and its retail division, Amazon’s chief executive said in an email to employees.
Karen Weise, based in Seattle, has written about Amazon since 2018.
The new wave of layoffs will begin on Jan. 18, Mr. Jassy said, and will focus on human resources as well as the large division that Amazon refers to as Stores. That includes the teams behind Amazon’s main online site, its vast field operations and warehouses, its physical stores and other consumer teams.
The 18,000 in total cuts represent roughly 6 percent of Amazon’s corporate work force. Late last year, managers in a variety of groups said they had been asked to prepare for potential layoffs, and employees have been bracing for the cuts.
Hourly warehouse workers are not included in the layoffs. Amazon has typically reduced those jobs through high attrition.
“These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure,” Mr. Jassy wrote. “However, I’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles.”
The company more than doubled its work force during the pandemic as customers flocked to online services. It had about 1.5 million employees at the end of September.
Mr. Jassy said the expanded reductions were the result of Amazon’s annual business review, which this year “has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years.”
Source: NYTimes Technology


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How to drive category leadership online
Whether it’s inflation or supply chain disruption, the CPG industry has had its fair share of challenges in 2022. But throughout the economic and political turmoil, businesses also continued to push hard on ecommerce finding ways for how to drive category growth online. Many worked on overhauling their legacy operations and embraced the digital revolution as consumers continued to shop online.
With good reason. Across Europe, ecommerce has already gone from a growth opportunity to an imperative, according to the experts at McKinsey. And in the US, Insider Intelligence expects digital sales to account for 15.0% of the US grocery market by 2026.
So, while inflation and economic uncertainty dominate the headlines, we wanted to create space to reflect on online growth. Specifically, the trends, events, and behaviors that drove online category growth this year and what brands should focus on going into 2023.
To do so, we have two incredible guest joining us today: Stephanie Rubin, Head of Digital Shelf Analytics Solutions Consulting at CommerceIQ, and Cristina Marinucci, Global Head of Shopper – Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International
This post is based on an episode of The Digital Shelf Cast featuring Julia Glotz. For more conversations like this one, subscribe to The Digital Shelf Cast on Apple, Spotify and everywhere else you listen to podcasts.
📝 The show notes
01:38 – 02:51 Cristina and Stephanie tell our listeners about the last item they bought online and what that experience was like.
03:13 – 07:17 We turn to 2022 and what happened this year from an ecommerce perspective. We asked our guests how they would sum up 2022 in the ecommerce world, what the main concerns were and the top trends driving online shopper behavior in 2022. Key concerns listed were supply chain issues, rising inflation and shopping behaviors that have sticking power such as the role of wellness and convenience as well as “portability”.
“We’re seeing the growth of ecommerce being very stable, slow, predictable, but consistent. So it’s an accelerated evolution versus a revolution. We’re still seeing ecommerce as the biggest contributor to growth for us. Post Covid, the overall sales expectation from ecommerce is still very strong and while there may be a little bit less buyers, those that do are buying more, and more often online. Cristina Marinucci, Global Head of Shopper – Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International
07:54 – 10:30 We take a deep dive into data and metrics.
“Like many other CPGs, we have our version of Flywheel. We’ve recently adopted it to a framework that we have used in store for years and which fuels our category management practices. It’s called the 5-S. It helps us to unlock significant growth potential by really understanding that shopper behavior along the path of purchase and diagnosing where shoppers are falling out of that sales funnel”. Cristina Marinucci, Global Head of Shopper – Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International
Stephanie explains that besides search, CommerceIQ is helping clients be really inventory aware and stop the campaigns to prevent driving customers to competitor products.
11:41 -12:80 Our guests spell out three main factors that determined online category success in 2022.
- Winning retailer site search (interrupting at that right moment is key to success for both) and driving visibility when shoppers might not be searching
- A connected commerce approach to drive engagement and loyalty
- Value creation and helping shoppers find products on the endless shelf
“Thinking more strategically about that eCategory decision tree, the taxonomy online where and how we show up to serve up those right products for those right shopping occasions”. Cristina Marinucci, Global Head of Shopper – Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International
13:04 – 17:21 How to drive impulse purchases online.
“Beyond search, there are some messaging tactics around curated list experiences, how do we take them through that stock up purchase and the categories they would normally add to cart. I think Instagram does a great job of replicating going up and down the aisles and stores. Really using that past purchase behavior and first party data to personalize the offers and serve up products that we know they might be running out of based on their past purchase history. But also driving discovery and trying online.” Cristina Marinucci, Global Head of Shopper – Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International
Stephanie is seeing a shift in how CommerceIQ’ clients are thinking about their retail media spend and mobile shopping or mCommerce which accounts for approximately 73% of online ecommerce sales in the US.
17:57 – 20:55 Big lessons or surprises of 2022.
“We need to get smarter and hold our retailers to a higher level of transparency. It’s definitely a focus for us to understand retail media investment better and have better measurements so that we can optimize. I think that not so much a surprise but last milers continue to play a bigger role and are starting to take on broader mission types. I think just that bar being raised on convenience and expectations I think the willingness of our customers to compromise on timing and compromise on what they get and how they get it has really gone away.” Cristina Marinucci, Global Head of Shopper – Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International
20:57- 26:23 How will 2023 be different and what trends to expect.
- Mobile & social commerce continue to accelerate
- Larger focus on automation “work smarter, not harder”.
- Managing ones entire ecommerce ecosystem with a single source of truth “save money by having fewer tools”
- Interconnected data around loyalty insights, personalization and monetization
- Convenience expansion with QR codes, artificial reality experiences, predictive analytics and payment options
26:14 – 29:30 Big initiatives planned in 2023.
More engagements in metaverse, testing bundles and capitalizing on those different occasions “Really building the moments to engage with snacking, even outside of the store environment that you’re used to, and building off those occasions.”
For CommerceIQ it’s about connecting with clients data sets and inventory to create a holistic ecommerce retail management ecosystem.
29:48 – 31:03 The one essential advice for how CPGs can retain category leadership online today and in the future.
- Have a holistic view of growth (online and offline combined) and really bring those omni-category growth and insights lead strategies and stories to our customers.
- What gets measured gets done really drive success in this omni world
Stephanie helps connect clients with technology that helps them work smarter and not harder.
“The digital space has become very algorithmic and the day to day work of our clients has changed dramatically. They can’t spend the time making manual interventions when they’re up against the algorithms of really sophisticated online retailers like Amazon. And so in the year to come to retain category leadership, we recommend that our clients really spend time on understanding the technology that can help them run a much more efficient online business and spend the rest of the time working on the strategy side of their business to help them win online and in store.” Stephanie Rubin, Head of Digital Shelf Analytics Solutions Consulting at CommerceIQ


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Actions of Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), a gaming platform, fell 14.5% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, as investors continued to look past so-called pandemic games and after the company’s shares received a sell note from an analyst.
Roblox stock began to fall in mid-July after benchmark analyst Mike Hickey began covering the technology company with a target price of $ 75 and a sell rating on the stock.
After Hickey issued his sell note, some Roblox investors were scared and lowered the company’s stock price by about 6%.
Investors have likely also sold Roblox recently, as the company was viewed by some as a good investment during the pandemic as more people were spending time at home during lockdowns and social distancing.
But as the U.S. economy has reopened and some social events and gatherings have returned to relative normality, investors have given up on some of their pandemic games.
Roblox stock rebounded slightly in August and is up around 5% this month. Some investors are starting to rethink their tech stock selling strategy due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, caused by the delta variant, across the United States
Roblox will release its second quarter results on August 16 and with the company still firmly in the growth mode, long-term investors may want to ignore some of the recent declines in stock prices and focus more on their original reasons for investing. in this fast. Growing gaming platform.
This article represents the opinion of the author, who may disagree with the âofficialâ recommendation position of a premium Motley Fool consulting service. We are heterogeneous! Questioning an investment thesis – even one of our own – helps us all to think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.


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- Uber has agreed to list all of New York City's 14,000 taxicabs for rides on its app, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
- This is the first time the ride-sharing company has collaborated with a cab company in the U.S.
- Uber is calling it "a real win for riders," but the move follows years of protests from cabdrivers who have lost business from the app, and several months of rising fares for Uber riders because of a driver shortage.
The ride-sharing company Uber has agreed to list all of New York City's taxicabs on its app, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning. This is a practice Uber has adopted in some other countries but not yet in a U.S. city. The app has been heavily criticized by proponents of the New York taxicab industry, which has suffered lost business because of the popularity of Uber and Lyft in recent years.
New York has 13,587 taxis that are registered and wear official medallions, according to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. Cabs already have software for ride-hailing from Creative Mobile Technologies, which makes a taxi app called Arro. Now riders using Uber can choose a ride in a cab, for which they will pay about the same fare as for an Uber X ride. Cabdrivers will be able to accept or decline Uber-hailed rides based on information they're given about how much they'll be paid. Uber itself will get some as yet undisclosed percentage of the fare for taxi rides through the app.
Uber's director of business development said in a statement this morning, titled "Once Rivals, Now Partners," that the move is "a real win for drivers . . . No longer do they have to worry about finding a fare during off-peak times or getting a street hail back to Manhattan when in the outer boroughs." It is likely also a win for riders in New York City, who saw Uber driver shortages cause prices to rise precipitously for rides booked through the app in the past several months.
The taxi-Uber tie-up will start this spring in beta mode and will become available to everyone over the summer, Uber said, and Uber's head of global mobility, Andrew Macdonald, told WSJ that Uber has a goal to include every taxi in the world on its app by 2025.


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Sports carmaker Porsche, as noted in our 2011 L.A.
Read This Article
Porsche displays photos of the new Macan testing before its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Not much is known about Maserati's upcoming Kubang SUV, with the exception that we'll get another look at it next month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Without a doubt, Porsche’s flagship luxury sports sedan, the Panamera, has been a runaway success for the German automaker.


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EU reserves right to break up Google in antitrust investigation
European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has fought to retain the right to physically dismantle Google into smaller entities amid ‘grave suspicions’ that its absolute dominance of the online sphere is hindering competition.
EU reserves right to break-up Google in antitrust investigation
Google is already facing up to the imposition of more stringent rules on its commercial agreements with smaller businesses which make use of its services after it was found guilty of favouring its own shopping service over others, incurring a 2.4bn euro fine in the process.
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The European Commission is currently working up new regulations aimed at regulating e-commerce sites, app stores and search engines to ensure they become more open in the way that they rank search results and why some listings are de-listed.
In other battles Google has sought to win over publishers by investing $300m in anti-fake news and subscription tools.
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Google is an American multinational technology company providing Internet-related services such as search, online advertising, cloud computing, software and hardware.Find out more


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As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down large parts of the economy and upended the way many companies do business, Canadian consumers were watching, and judging.
The Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria's annual brand trust study tracks consumer trust in hundreds of brands across five measures, including consumer perceptions of the brand's social responsibility and how it interacts with consumers. This year, researchers also conducted a follow-up study due to the pandemic. They tracked changes to consumer sentiment for 125 brands.
The study revealed that when it comes to brand trust, consumers put a premium on how companies treated their employees during the pandemic.
One company that saw its trust erode among Canadians was Amazon.
The tech titan's trust score in the overall survey was 31--down from 48 in 2019, said Saul Klein, the business school's dean and lead author of the report.
In the follow-up survey, Amazon's trust score fell to 24, said Klein, and it took the no. 68 spot in an overall ranking of the 125 brands.
"Those are big moves," he said, explaining brands that Canadians trust the most tend to score between 55 and 60 points, while those in the bottom rankings fall just below -30 points.
"I think there's a whole bunch of things (that) came together at the same time," said Klein of Amazon's fall.
Early in the pandemic, consumers worried about price gouging on the platform, he said.
While Amazon promised to crack down on any sellers looking to profit from the pandemic, the initial impression left many consumers worried about whether they could trust the company to do so, he said.
Meanwhile, the company experienced an increase in volume, resulting in some delivery delays and supply-chain problems, he said, and faced questions around its treatment of employees.
As bricks-and-mortar retailers start to reopen after temporarily shuttering operations due to the coronavirus, customers may not have to rely on Amazon as much, said Klein.
"If it doesn't come across as providing a superior alternative, then they have to worry.''
Lysol and Clorox also saw their scores drop slightly in the follow-up survey thanks to supply shortages.
In the early days of the pandemic, customers flocked to grocery stores to stock up on a number of products, including cleaning supplies. Many retailers experienced temporary shortages of some cleaning products and limited the number that shoppers could purchase at a time.
"While customers might have wanted them, they couldn't find them," said Klein, noting even now consumers may struggle to find the brands' products in stores or online.
Neither brands' score dropped dramatically, he said. Lysol fell from 44 in the initial survey to 41 in the follow up, while Clorox lost six points going from 32 to 26.
Lysol was no. 28 in the follow-up list, while Clorox took the 51 spot.
On the positive side, Canada Post claimed the top spot with Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix, CTV News, Costco and The Weather Network rounding out the top five in the follow-up survey. The latter two tied for the fourth spot.
Consumers also rewarded Loblaw, Real Canadian Superstores and Walmart with higher scores on employee treatment. Their trust scores on employee treatment rose by 19, 15 and 13 points respectively, according to the report, which attributes the rise to the retailers being at the forefront of Canadian food and drug retailers to raise wages temporarily for their workers during the pandemic.
Overall, Loblaw claimed the no. 12 spot, the Real Canadian Superstore tied with Sobeys for 13, while Walmart fell into a five-way tie for the 77 spot in the follow-up survey.
On Friday, Canada's major three grocers--Loblaw Companies Ltd., Metro Inc. and Sobeys Inc.--announced they were eliminating so-called pandemic pay increases for workers as of Saturday, June 13. Walmart made a similar move at the end of May. Two unions called the decision premature, with one of them calling for the pay increases to be made permanent.
READ: Unions ask grocers to make pandemic pay permanent
For the overall survey, AskingCanadians surveyed 7,800 Canadians 18 years and older online for opinions on more than 342 brands between January 8 and February 10. The follow up survey questioned 1,050 people to gauge changes in trust for 105 brands between April 8 and 23.
According to the polling industry's generally accepted standards, online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.


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If you’re handling your own investment portfolio — and just by reading this article, I’m wagering you at least have some interest in that — then surely you know about Robinhood (NASADAQ:HOOD) and Robinhood stocks.
These picks are the most popular stocks trading on the platform. The do-it-yourself investment app’s simple functionality and no-fee trades forever changed how retail investors manage their portfolios.
Robinhood says it has 17.3 million monthly active users on its site, running 22.7 million funded accounts. So, there’s a lot of community brain power trading every day on Robinhood. The platform currently manages $98 billion in assets.
Robinhood publishes its list of the 100 most-popular stocks on its website. But be warned — there are a couple of names on that list that are real stinkers. For example, meme stock AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) is high on Robinhood’s list, but that’s a name smart investors should avoid at all costs.
Fortunately, we’ve weeded through the duds for you. Here are 10 of the best Robinhood stocks to buy now for March 2022.
Best Robinhood Stocks
- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)
- Nvidia (NYSE:NVDA)
- Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
- Ford (NYSE:F)
- Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
- Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)
- Disney (NYSE:DIS)
- Nio (NYSE:NIO)
- Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID)
- Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Not too many stocks sell for $800 per share and are seen as a veritable bargain. But Tesla is one of those names.
Down from more than $1,200 in November, it’s just a matter of time before TSLA resumes its climb higher.
The company is in the midst of rolling out its popular Model Y vehicle to new markets in the U.K., Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As InvestorPlace’s Samuel O’Brient reports, Tesla should see big numbers in Europe after the Russia-Ukraine conflict is resolved.
Yahoo! Finance reports 36 analysts have an average price target of $964.88, an increase of 10% from the current TSLA stock price.
It would have been the biggest deal in the history of the semiconductor industry. But it failed because of concerns that the acquisition would give Nvidia an unfair advantage over technology its competitors utilize in making their own chips.
But even without that deal, Nvidia remains a hugely powerful company. In the most-recent quarter, it posted $7.64 billion in revenues, which was better than the $7.42 billion Wall Street expected.
For the coming quarter, NVDA projects $8.1 billion in revenues. 42 analysts have an average price target of $343.46 per share.
Apple had a good 2021, but an even better fiscal 2022 Q1 earnings report.
Revenue jumped 11% to set a new all-time record of $123.9 billion versus analyst expectations of $118.66 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) rose 25% on a year-over-year basis, coming in at $2.10 per share. Analysts had expected $1.89 per share.
In nearly every category, Apple outperformed expectations. And here’s something to look forward to: the company is expected to launch a third-generation iPhone SE this spring.
AAPL stock is up 34% over the last 12 months, but dropped 7% so far in 2022. The average price target of 44 analysts is $192.96.
Ford is one of the old-school traditional automakers that is proving an old dog can learn new tricks.
The company is all-in on the electric vehicle (EV) movement. Sales are solid with its Mustang Mach E. And there was so much interest in its F-150 Lightning pickup truck that Ford stopped taking preorders.
F stock rose 136% in 2021 and by 160% since CEO Jim Farley took the top job in 2020. But Ford still trades at an attractive 8.4x 2022 estimated earnings.
According to Yahoo! Finance, the average price target of 21 analysts for F stock is $21.60, nearly 27% higher than its current price.
Microsoft joined the tech stock selloff so far this year, falling more than 16% since Jan. 1.
But the company also issued a strong earnings report in January, showing year-over-year revenue jumped by 20% to $51.7 billion. Earnings for the fiscal second quarter came in a $2.48 per share.
Microsoft will also benefit from its planned $68.7 billion cash deal to buy Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI). The company will add Activision’s huge catalog of games and increase its presence in the growing metaverse.
Currently, 46 analysts have a average price target of $370.89 for MSFT stock, an increase of more than 24% from its price today.
I’m a firm believer in Amazon, which I think is going to go up 25% to 30% this year.
Already an e-commerce powerhouse and holding a dominant position in cloud services, Amazon is also quickly growing as an advertising juggernaut. In the fourth quarter, Amazon’s advertising services business grew 32% from a year ago.
For the full year, advertising generated $31.2 billion in revenue. Amazon is in third place in the U.S. market, trailing Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google and Meta Platforms’ (NASDAQ:FB) Facebook.
AMZN stock is considerably lower than its average target price. 52 analysts predict the stock can reach $4,100.54, a jump of more than 33%.
Disney is the company to know when you think about entertainment and family fun. Not only does Disney have its famous theme parks, but the company operates cruise ships that offer family-friendly vacations.
Its entertainment division includes the ABC family of stations, as well as sports giant ESPN. And don’t forget about its streaming channel Disney Plus, which owns valuable franchises like Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel.
DIS stock is on sale these days, down 24% over the last year. But there’s plenty of upside available. 29 analysts have an average price target of $190.18.
Even though share in the Chinese electric vehicle company are down more than 30% so far this year, Nio makes this list because of its sheer potential.
The company produced 25,034 vehicles in the fourth quarter, a jump of 44% from a year ago. For all of 2021, Nio delivered 91,429 vehicles, which was a 109% increase from 2020.
Those numbers will go up in a big way this year when Nio jumps into the mass market by releasing its first sub-brand. Expected to be known as the Gemini, the new Nio offering will be priced below the company’s high-end sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and sedans.
Currently, 25 analysts have an average target price of $51.21 for NIO stock. That’s more than double its price today of about $22.50.
Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID)
The similarities between Tesla and fellow EV company Lucid Group can’t be ignored.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson was the vehicle engineer for the Tesla Model S. Now he runs Lucid, which is manufacturing the Lucid Air. The vehicle was already named as the 2022 Car of the Year by Motortrend.
LCID stock dropped 3% on a February report that 203 of its Air sedans were being recalled for a potential incorrectly installed part. But I don’t expect that to weigh on Lucid over the long term.
As reported by Yahoo! Finance, 42 analysts have an average price target of $42.75 for LCID stock. That’s an increase of more than 75% from current levels.
I recently listed Netflix as one of my bargain streaming stocks to buy now, and for good reason.
Netflix dates back all the way to 1997 and was the first of the major streaming services, having successfully transitioned from its DVD-by-mail model. But growth slowed as Disney, Apple and AT&T’s (NYSE:T) HBO Max provided serious competition.
Even so, analysts give NFLX stock an average price target of more than $500. The stock currently trades at $387, which gives investors potential upside of more than 30%.
On the date of publication, Patrick Sanders was long TSLA and NVDA. He did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


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With two weeks to go before the grand opening of its Family Store in Gala Plaza, Salvation Army of Greater Rome staff and volunteers are pushing to stock the shelves and fill the racks in its new space.
A ribbon cutting for the Family Store at 2511 Redmond Circle, in the shopping plaza across from the West Rome Walmart, will be held at 10 a.m. on Aug. 29.
“The 29th will be Black Friday for us,” said Capt. Jason Smith, the corps officer for the local Salvation Army.
The new space is 11,500 square feet, compared to the 3,500-square-foot size of the old Family Store on Second Avenue, and opens up the opportunity for putting more donated items on the sales floor. The old Family Store will be used as an additional donation site and the warehouse will continued to be used for storage and prepping of items — the new store is also a donation site.
Smith said the focus right now is mainly on getting items ready and out for sale by Aug. 29. And staff and volunteers have been sorting clothes and accessories into more than 75 barrels, which are stacked in the spacious back room of the new location. Advisory board members have also lent their trucks for moving items to the new spot.
Last spring, Smith said the search for a larger space began, and for the religious charity, God played a role in leading them to their new site. He touted the location of the new space as being a benefit for the organization, due to its proximity to popular shopping destinations. Also, the extra space opens up room for a staging area for items being readied for sale.
At their previous site, space in their warehouse was becoming limited, with Family Store donations being held alongside the pallets of canned food, which supports the group’s mission of feeding the needy. The proceeds from the store benefit the feeding program as well as the homeless shelter and other programs.
Members of the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary Judy Hawkins and Sherry Baker were at the Family Store on Thursday afternoon putting shoes on display.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Hawkins said of the new spot for the store.
Baker said more volunteers are always needed, especially with the opening of the new store. The Women’s Auxiliary, which supports the work of the group, is accepting new members, she said.
A luncheon for prospective members will be held Sept. 24 at the Salvation Army Fellowship Hall at 310 E. Second Ave. The event is open for anyone interested in joining the group, Baker said.
“It is such good work,” she said.
Those wishing to find out more information can contact the Salvation Army office at 706-291-4745.


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Christchurch entrepreneur Carl Selby launches ethical marketplace Dirty Hippies
A CHRISTCHURCH tech entrepreneur has launched an ethical online marketplace where only sellers who meet strict criteria can list their products.
The guilt-free shopping site Dirty Hippies was built by Carl Selby who hopes to create an online community in which traders with a similar outlook can congregate and sell their products – and attract like-minded shoppers.
Each selling partner must meet a number of standards, including correct treatment of employees and having an ethical supply chain.
And each product must meet at least one ethical goal, such as being carbon neutral, educational or being recycled or upcycled.
Products so far on the site include clothing, bags, embroidery, food and drink, skincare products and homeware.
Carl said people were becoming increasingly concerned about from where their purchases were coming.
“They want to know that they are ethically sourced, environmentally friendly and created by workers treated fairly and paid well,” he said.
“I decided to build an online marketplace and app where shoppers can go and be confident that everything they browse has been checked against a list of values.”
Dirty Hippies uses partner self-certification and spot-checks to assess whether companies meet its standards, but is also developing an independent supply-chain audit system.
“This will add to the reassurance we offer buyers that everything listed on Dirty Hippies is ethical,” Carl added.
“And it will also reassure our partners that their products are listed alongside those of other sellers with similar outlooks. As far as I know we will be the only marketplace to offer such an assurance.”
Carl said Dirty Hippies provided a shop window for many people who had launched businesses during lockdown.
“This year, for the first time, global online sales are set to make up more than 50% of all online spending – and it’s a trend that will continue,” he said.
“While most sales are channelled through the online giants, there is definitely a place for a purely ethical marketplace.
“We want to establish Dirty Hippies as the go-to online marketplace for all sustainable products – and when people start Christmas shopping we want them to search for us.”


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Articles About Cadillac CTS
November 26, 2014
Here are the 10 best cars available in the U.S. for less than $80,000 according to Car and Driver's rankings for 2015.
September 20, 2014
Cadillac is hoping to have a semi-autonomous system in place in its vehicles as early as 2016 on the 2017 model year CTS.


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As more and more millennials enter the workforce, the expectation of what a business device should be is changing. This generation of workers wants their devices to look good and be fit for entertainment as well, which is why companies are taking design cues from their consumer products.
LG is making a return to the local notebook market, and spearheading its efforts is its new ultra light LG Gram notebooks. So light, they might redefine expectations of a notebook.
At Computex 2016, Dell updated its range of Inspiron 2-in-1 convertible notebooks, which also includes the world’s 17-inch 2-in-1 notebook. We took a closer look to see what’s what.
Apple has updated its super thin and light MacBook with new processors, faster storage, and it's now available in rose gold. Do these upgrades make it the must-have ultraportable notebook? We find out.
The Razer Blade Stealth, Razer's 12.5-inch ultrabook, goes on sale here on 3 May. Here's a closer look at the machine, which comes with goodies like individually backlit RGB keys and the ability to sync up with Razer's other Chroma products. Stay tuned for our full review that's coming really soon!
It's time to spring clean for Chinese New Year, and your Windows PC should get some love too! Here's how to clean up, declutter, and speed up your Windows PC for Chinese New Year, focused on Windows 10.
What makes a truly premium gaming notebook? Is it a powerful graphics card and processor, or is some extra magic required? A dedicated liquid-cooling dock for instance? We pit the sheer extravagance of the ASUS ROG GX700 against the G752 to see how well a luxury gaming notebook really performs.
At IFA 2015 earlier this year, ASUS debuted the ROG GX700, a notebook with a water-cooling dock. It's finally here in our labs and we can't help but give you our quick first impressions of this monstrous machine!
The new Yoga 900S from Lenovo is the company’s thinnest and lightest convertible notebook ever. We check it out at CES 2016 to find out what’s new and great about this ultra-thin device.
With Star Wars now showing in cinemas, HP has unleashed its Star Wars Special Edition notebook. Available now, we checked it out to see if the Force is strong with this one.


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Snapchat has updated its app and will now offer users the ability to use Bitmoji. This comes as no surprise, as Snapchat recently acquired Bitstrips, the company responsible for creating Bitmojis.
...of Microsoft money, ARM's acquisition, and Windows 10 updates
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
JESBOD QY13 sports Bluetooth earphones
Time is running out to claim your free Windows 10 upgrade
windows 10 upgrade
Insider build 14393.3 for PC and Mobile released to Fast ring
Snapchat is being taken to court by a lawyer over the sexually offensive content which can be found on its Discover feature, which can be easily accessible for minor users of the app.
Snapchat today introduced Memories, "a new way to save Snaps and Stories on Snapchat". Users can combine Memories into Stories, or they can combine Stories to create an even longer one.
Rumors that a Snapchat app might finally land on Windows 10 Mobile were seemingly confirmed a couple of days ago. Now a Microsoft Support agent is giving us a second confirmation - but is it true?
According to the Spanish Lumia Support account on Twitter, an official Snapchat app could finally be making its way to Windows 10 Mobile soon. A timeframe for release has not been announced as of yet.
The popular social media app Snapchat is currently being sued by a man from Georgia after a woman using the Snapchat speed filter violently crashed into his car, causing him brain injuries.
While encryption has been troubling the US government in its case against Apple recently, more tech companies are reportedly working on expanding it to more services that deal with user data.
Snapchat might be looking to evolve its app with the introduction of new audio / video calling, stickers and more. The new features were unearthed by digging into the code of the current Android app.
Alongside a recent update to the Snapchat app, the company has altered the policies surrounding the service. Among the changes is a term that allows Snapchat to publicly distribute user photos.
A new set of features is rolling out to Snapchat users, including unlimited paid replays, lenses and trophies. The update is live now, and can be accessed through respective digital stores.
A controversial law proposed by the UK government to control communication over the internet could result in monitoring of popular messaging applications as well as log user activity.
You aren't dreaming. After many years of battling third party developers and fans, Snapchat's support Twitter suggested that the company is planning to release an official app for Windows Phone.
After threats against the Windows Phone application 6discover were issued earlier this month, Snapchat lawyers are forcing Rudy Huyn to pull the application.
Rudy Huyn released a new "6discover" app to the Windows Phone Store less than 24 hours ago, but now he has been contacted by the company's lawyers regarding the legal implications of the app.
Technology and always being online is a wonderful thing, although there are always people who can find the most baffling ways to make use of it, incriminating themselves in the process.
If you have a Windows Phone and want to use Snapchat, you had a few unofficial options but that all changes today as these apps have been pulled as Snapchat works to control its platform.
A quite surprising report by Global Web Index dictates that Tumblr is now the fastest growing social platform. Other social networks like Facebook are currently facing strong competition.
Snapcash is a new way for users of Snapchat to send money. The new feature will allow users to send cash to friends simply by texting them a dollar amount.
Yahoo is reportedly closing a deal to invest in instant messaging service Snapchat, in a move that will net Snapchat millions of dollars and which values the company at $10 billion.
Popular messaging application, Snapchat, is seeking deals with advertisers in order to generate revenue, which would result in the app becoming ad-supported some time in the future.
Microsoft has posted up that its app WindUp is not a Snapchat competitor and that it is a research project designed to provide feedback to Microsoft on how content is shared.
If you don't trust the security and privacy of Snapchat, but still want disappearing messages, then Microsoft Research has you covered with a competitor called WindUp, available for Windows Phone 8.
A version of Facebook's rumoured Snapchat-rivaling photo messaging app, Slingshot, appeared erroneously on the App Store for a few hours earlier today allowing some to download and try it.
In the fourth 'Who Has Your Back' report into the privacy standards of companies online, Snapchat, AT&T & Amazon have been named as failing to provide adequate privacy protection for their customers.
The social network Facebook is rumoured to be building its own rival to the popular Snapchat photo and video-messaging service after an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the company last year.
Snapchat settles with FTC over charges that it misled consumers on the disappearing nature of messages, on the secure nature of its service, and its data collection policies.
Snapchat has silently acquired a video streaming startup called AddLive which the company might be using to power the recently introduced video chat capability in its messaging application.
Microsoft's Joe Belfiore confirmed that the company is "talking" to Snapchat about bringing its popular messaging app to the Windows Phone platform but offered no other details.
Many users of the photo-sharing app Snapchat have reported that they are being sent spam messages of photos of smoothies with links that redirect to a recipe for a smoothie on AllRecipes.com.
Nokia used its Snapchat account to send out an odd image with a written question mark and a series of numbers that suggest something is being revealed on Feb. 14th.
A security researcher has found a flaw in Snapchat which allows hackers to crash users' phones through DoS attacks. This comes only months after 4.6 million accounts were breached through the app.
Snapchat users can rest a bit easier today, as the company has finally updated its mobile apps. Folks can now opt out of the feature that was used in the exploit that exposed 4.6 million accounts.
The creators of the messaging app Snapchat have announced an update that they claim will help secure accounts, a few days after a group published millions of Snapchat user names and phone numbers.
Hackers posted up the usernames and phone numbers for 4.6 million Snapchat accounts on a website this week, thanks to exploiting a known security issue with the service that has yet to be fixed.
Snapchat is doing a highly mediocre job at building up security within the app. It's been months since a hole was found that would allow hackers to obtain phone numbers and Snapchat has yet to fix it.
Famed developer and Microsoft MVP, Rudy Huyn, has released a third-party Snapchat client called 6snap for Windows Phone following the success of his previously released apps for Instagram and Vine.
Popular image messaging app Snapchat, known for its infamous NSFW aspect, has been drastically updated with UI improvements and speech enhancements - but image quality hasn't been enhanced.
An unofficial Snapchat client has landed on Windows Phone 8, bringing a number of classic features into what seems like a rushed application, although it is the first client for the platform
Theories have appeared, with one being that Facebook's Poke app is a direct result of a failed buyout. Potentially supporting a bruised ego, Poke might just be a challenge to Snapchat's niche.


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A special Handicraft and Handloom exhibition is organised at Sri Sankara Hall, TTK Road, Alwarpet. The exhibition cum sale will be held from August 14 – 26.
The exhibition will have Orissa Ikat saris, appliques of Orissa, Patta paintings, Silver Filigress, Rajasthan bangles, Bandhani saris, terracotta, toys, jewellery and Furniture
A special discount of 10 – 20% will be given on Handcraft and Handlooms.
The sale is open to public from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on all days, including public holidays.


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New Apple iPhone 4S: Full coverage on the latest smartphone
The government is sourcing the tablet from UK-based Datawind at Rs 2,256 – inclusive of all taxes, levies, freight and insurance charges, servicing and documentation. The first lot of 100,000 tablets will be provided to states at Rs 1,750 per tablet. The government wants to bring down this cost to less than Rs 500.
“Our ultimate aim is that in the coming years this tablet should cost less than $10. Datawind has offered that if an order of 1 million units is placed the cost of the tablet (to the government) would be Rs 1750 ($35), in which the government will offer 50% subsidy (while giving it to students),” Sibal said.
He added that private sector was also interested in providing subsidy to help the government achieve the sub-$10 cost for the tablet.
Aakash is the first government initiative in the crowded tablet market in India, with more than a dozen Indian and multinational tablet makers vying for a share of the 3 lakh units a year market. The world’s cheapest tablet comes is launched in India at a time when Apple’s iPad holds more than half the market, followed by Samsung’s Galaxy that has cornered roughly a quarter and the rest of the turf occupied by the low-cost manufacturers.
The $35 tablet is Wi-Fi enabled with a 7-inch touch screen and is based on Google's Andorid 2.2 operating system. It has an internal storage capacity of 2GB which can be increased to 32 GB with an SD card, a battery back up of nearly three hours and two USB ports. Internet access can be with the help of separate data cards, or WiFi.
Datawind, which makes the tablet in Hyderabad at 700 units a day, will begin selling the tablet commercially by end of November at Rs 2,999 with a year-long warranty and additional, under brand name of UbiSlate, the company’s chief executive officer Suneet Singh Tuli said. UbiSlate will come with an inbuilt 2G SIM for web access, with an internet plan at Rs 99 per month, from an Indian mobile operator, which Datawind is finalizing as of now.
The UbiSlate will be launched in 3-inch, 5-inch, 7-inch to 8-inch versions. “We're hoping that the government in their roadmap will look not only at having a GPRS and a 3G modem in there, but also a a capacitive screen. We've submitted a proposal that at 3 million-units volume, we can give a GPRS module and a capacitive screen with a much higher end processor at $35. These are achievable numbers,” said Tuli.
Sibal added that the government would look at making the tablet with state-run telecoms equipment maker ITI to scale up production and reduce costs. “Our plan is to increase the manufacturing capacity of this tablet in collaboration with the ministry of information technology. ITI can manufacture this tablet on a large scale,” he said.
He added that the HRD ministry would try to make a scheme that Wi-Fi that may be rolled out across India in the next six months will allow connectivity with these devices and offer free content. More than 1,000 institutions across the country have been connected through high-speed Wi-Fi networks
Considered as his brainchild, Sibal unveiled a prototype of the tablet, made by IIT Rajasthan, in July last year and announced selling it at cost of around $35. However it’s launch was delayed several times, as vendors weren’t able to match the price.
Tuli says his market is 1 billion Indians, most of who will have their first internet experience on a mobile device. India has a dismal broadband penetration rate with 12.5 million subscribers and a large mobile subscriber base of more than 850 million subscribers. This provides an opportunity for tablet makers and mobile operators providing cheap internet usage plans and third-generation mobile services that offer high-speed web browsing and live-streaming on the go.
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The Chinese ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported in September that industrial profits in the country dropped for the fifth month in August, with an overall year-on-year decline of 3.1% (see Fig. 1) for the first eight months of the year, and the August month alone reporting a year-on-year decline of 6.2%.
Among the national-scale industrial enterprises (those with annual revenues more than 20 million yuan), state-owned and state holding enterprises and overseas-invested private enterprises each reported a year-on-year decline of 12.7% cumulatively for the first eight months of the year (see Fig 2.). Fig. 2 below reveals overall year-to-date performance of the Chinese industrial sector. The latest figures from the Chinese Ministry of Industry also showed that out of the 41 industry sectors, 24 reported year-on-year increase, with 16 reporting profit drops and one reporting a loss.
The nosedive of the Chinese Industrial profits confirms the severe Chinese economic slow-down revealed by their other macroeconomic indicators including the purchasing managers' survey and the sharp decline in their tax revenues. With the dip in demand in Europe and the US, the declining business revenues is not a surprise, but the precipitous decline in profit margins is a surprise to some extent (see Fig.1 and Fig. 3)
But, one we look at the numbers with a fine-tooth comb, the complete picture comes together, as the center piece of the next phase of the Chinese growth emerge - the transition from an export-led growth to consumption-led growth; the Chinese government has begun the transition in right earnest. Ever since the paradigm shift was announced by the Chinese government in its economic blueprint, the 12th Five-year plan (2011-15), you can see in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 there has been a significant increase in profit margin compression, primarily from rising wages.
Fostering wage (or income) growth would be one of the cornerstones of the transformation from an export-oriented economy to a consumption-oriented economy. To begin with, this paradigm shift was spurred by the realization that the export-oriented growth mode was not sustainable in the long-run primarily due to two reasons:
- The capital-intensive, export-oriented economy was yielding diminishing returns and was exacerbating the social inequality, which was slowly threatening the political legitimacy of the Chinese government. Also, the 2008 global financial crisis gave ample evidence that the Chinese economy was severely vulnerable to demand in the western economies.
- The declining working-age population, as a result of the one-child policy instituted in the early eighties, which is threatening to be a major demographic shift, made the Chinese policy makers to take note that it is imperative to rebalance the country's economy - as the earth under the world's largest workshop - the comparative advantage from abundant cheap labor - was slowly slipping away (see below the population charts of Chinese population projections for age groups 15-24 and 15-64 (see Fig. 4).
The compression of the profits in the industrial sector reflects the nascent, but slow and steady progression from an export economy to that of a consumption economy, wherein the income redistribution policies would elicit transfer of wealth from producers (the industries), in the form of wage hikes and contributions to social safety net programs, to the consumers (mainly the workers). This transfer of wealth should naturally expand consumption, which currently is about 25% of the economy, well below that of some of the other major emerging countries.
The fundamental economic policy shift outlined in the 12th Five-Year Plan is a policy in the right direction in the long run, as it would ameliorate the economic imbalances in the country as well as the global current-account imbalances that we have seen in the last decade or so. So, one can't help wonder if the apparent severity of the Chinese slowdown from the global slowdown has been aggravated by the fundamental change in the Chinese economic policy.
Those who have been writing off the Chinese economy in the recent days are jumping the gun, for the Chinese policy makers now are putting their economy on a sounder footing through a policy that stresses on all-inclusive economic growth. The severity of the current slow-down is nothing but growth pangs of a developing country shifting directions in order to put itself on a path of natural progression from a blue-chip developing economy to a truly developed economy. Of course, there is an impending demographic shift, as shown in the last chart above, in about 10 to 20 years down the road, but there is still definitely a lot of growth and prosperity in China between now and then. The fundamental demographic shift is definitely a bridge that needs to be crossed far out in the future.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: I am long GXC - SPDR S&P China ETF.


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7:30 a.m. – enjoy breakfast.
Women who don’t eat breakfast are more likely to be obese. Dr Nigel Turner, metabolism section of Gavin Institute in Australia, said, “eating a breakfast rich in protein can consume a lot of energy in the body while satiating.” Data show that overweight women who eat two eggs a day can lose 65% more weight and 83% less waist circumference.
7:45 a.m. — drinking a slim figure
Many people have heard of and tried green tea to lose weight, but it has no obvious effect, because you have not mastered the correct method. Research shows that drinking more than four cups of green tea every day can consume more than 100 calories. That is to say, with a normal diet, drinking green tea alone can reduce the weight of 1.5kg for a month.
8:00 a.m. – take a cold shower.
According to a study published in the New England Journal of medicine, a 30 second cold shower in the morning can activate the body’s “brown fat” – a good fat used to burn energy. At the same time, it speeds up metabolism and burns “white fat” – fat that makes us fat.
10:00 a.m. – Office simple exercise
Dr. Turner calls the office movement “accidental movement”. The data published in the British Journal of sports medicine shows that women can quickly improve their physical fitness within eight weeks by climbing stairs for two minutes each time and five times a day. Many white-collar workers attribute their inactivity to lack of time. However, scientists have pointed out that standing up and walking for five minutes every two hours or climbing several flights of stairs can accelerate their metabolism.
11:00 a.m. – it’s time for calcium supplementation.
Data show that women who consume 1500mg of calcium every day can not only strengthen their bones, but also consume more fat. A small cup of nonfat latte, a cup of milk cereal, 200g of yogurt, and a piece of cheese are all sources of calcium energy. It should be noted that nonfat milk contains more calcium than full fat milk, so try to choose nonfat milk.
1:00 pm – “magnesium salad” is very important
Magnesium is an essential element for maintaining human life activities. It has the functions of regulating nerve and muscle activities and enhancing endurance. In addition, magnesium is also a “killer” of hypertension, high cholesterol and high blood sugar. Green beans, mung beans, spinach, pumpkin seeds and so on contain more magnesium. Every day at noon, there is a feast of “magnesium salad”.


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Pasta comes in a variety of shapes and sizes — from the plain and simple to all sorts of quirky spirals. But for the most part, they have one thing in common: they’re not using space very effectively. But a new study may change that.
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have found a way to change that, designing new types of pasta that use less packaging and are easier to transport, reducing both transportation emissions and packaging plastic.
Pasta is big business. In 2019, nearly 16 million tons of pasta were produced in the world — up from 7 million tons produced 20 years ago. That adds up to billions of packets that are transported, stored, and ultimately discarded across the world.
Since pasta often has such odd shape, pasta packages often end with a lot of wasted space, which also has to be transported and stored. Using less space means less trucks driving across states and less plastic.
Carnegie Mellon University’s Morphing Matter Lab director Lining Yao had an idea on how that could be reduced — with a bit of help from an old friend: geometry.
“By tuning the grooving pattern, we can achieve both zero (e.g., helices) and nonzero (e.g., saddles) Gaussian curvature geometries,” the study reads. It then goes on to translate what this means. “This mechanism allows us to demonstrate approaches that could improve the efficiency of certain food manufacturing processes and facilitate the sustainable packaging of food, for instance, by creating morphing pasta that can be flat-packed to reduce the air space in the packaging.”
They started out with a computer simulation to see how different shapes would achieve the goal. They tried various designs, including helixes, saddles, twists, and even boxes. After they settled on a few efficient shapes, they put it to the boiler test — quite literally.
Speaking to Inverse, Yao says wasted space could be reduced by 60% by flat-packing pasta — and that’s just the start of it. The method could also be used for things like wagashi or gelatin products. The method could also be used to design more complex and fancy shapes for special occasions. In dry form, a piece of pasta could look like a disc, but when boiled, it could become a rose flower.
However, there are limitations to study. Flour dough is known to be a complex material. It can have different proportions of water, starch, gluten, fiber, and fat. Flour dough also has variable, nonlinear properties, which makes it hard to anticipate how different types of pasta would behave — this was just a proof of concept.
Researchers recommend more quantitative models of assessment to see how different materials with complicated groove shapes and patterns would behave.
The study was published in Science.
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STILL unsure what blockchain is, or what it potentially means for the Australian beef industry?
At the recent Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association conference in Alice Springs, Rabobank agricultural analyst Wes Lefroy offered several insights into how the digital technology is already being applied to agriculture, and the potentially transformative role it could play in Australian beef supply chains in future.
It’s a relevant and pertinent message at a time when more beef stakeholders, from production to processing to retail, are aligning into customer-focused value-chains, with the view to sharing performance data and premiums captured between all stakeholders involved.
So what is blockchain?
Mr Lefroy described blockchain as a digital platform that stores and verifies transactions between users.
Transactions, or ‘blocks’, are recorded and stored on a digital ledger, which is replicated on a wide network of computers. This makes the chain of transactions, or the ‘blockchain’, extremely difficult (some say impossible) to tamper with or change, creating a digital record that is very secure.
This in turn means there is less need for trusted third parties to facilitate transactions, reducing costs and streamlining the transaction process.
Blockchain was created in 2009 to underpin the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but is increasingly being applied as a technology in its own right to a wide range of alternative applications.
As Mr Lefroy pointed out to the NTCA audience, it can be used to facilitate the transfer of commodities such as beef, wool, grain or fertiliser quickly and efficiently.
Blockchain helps to assure the traceability and provenance of a product, can lower counter-party risk by ensuring finance is available before a transaction proceeds, and can facilitate virtually instant payments between supply chain stakeholders.
In countries such as China food fraud is a major concern after a series of food safety scandals involving locally produced food, such as the contamination of infant formula with the toxic industrial chemical melamine. As a result imported product from safety-assured sources such as Australia is highly valued. The transparency and tamper-proof nature of products underpinned by blockchains can allow consumers to buy with confidence knowing the product they buy is what they think it is – ie Australian beef, not a lower priced substitute of unknown origin packaged and sold as Australian beef.
Mr Lefroy said trends favouring the use of blockchain technology included the rising amount of online food purchases, which is giving consumers greater access to products with their desired attributes, and the increased interest consumers now take in the provenance of their food.
“There are other technologies and tools that can trace products through the supply chain, but the real strength of blockchain is the strength of verification of that information along the supply chain,” he said.
Blockchains are already in use
This is not a technology of the future, but one that is quickly advancing and might be here sooner than we think.
Last year IBM partnered with Nestle, Unilever, Walmart and other food giants to use blockchain to improve food safety.
In March the world’s second biggest e-commerce platform, JD.com, announced a deal with Australian exporter InterAgri to use blockchain to sell beef from Victoria and Tasmania to its multitudes of online customers in China.
“We’re increasingly implementing blockchain-enabled traceability solutions to give consumers confidence that they are buying safe, reliable products for their families,” JD.com’s CTO, Chen Zhang, said of the deal.
“Consumers in China don’t just want quality imported products, they want to know that they can trust how and where their food is sourced, and blockchain helps us deliver this peace of mind.”
Rabobank itself executed a proof of concept trade in commodity finance last year with blockchain startup Agridigital, through which a graingrower was paid instantly on delivery of his grain. Australian bulk grain handler CBH also partnered with Agridigital to pilot blockchain technology for tracing Australian oats through the supply chain.
A base for better supply chains
Source: Rabobank, 2018
A traditional centralised supply chain, as shown on the left of the above slide, follows a series of vertical interactions between the various stakeholders, with transactions from producer to feedlot, feedlot to processor, processor to wholesaler, wholesaler to retailer, and finally to the end customer.
Transactions between each stage are verified by a trusted third party such as a bank. The flow of information up and down relies upon the accurate passing of information between stakeholders and depends on trust from stakeholder to stakeholder. Information can still be altered or communicated inaccurately along the way.
In a blockchain-driven model (as shown at the right), the supply chain is decentralised with all stakeholders connected via the blockchain network. Transactions and information is stored and verified by all users, and all stakeholders are equally connected.
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“When the physical commodity moves along the supply chain, everyone on the network is linked together on that blockchain, bringing transparency, provenance and reduction in counter party risk,” Mr Lefroy explained.
“Data sharing is now also two-way, so producers at the top of the supply chain have a view of what is happening downstream and to get market feedback.”
However, it could not work without the full participation of all stakeholders.
“For instance if we don’t have the processor, or if we don’t have a feedlotter, or we don’t have an exporter on the blockchain, essentially that is a black hole undermining the integrity of that blockchain,” he said.
“So we have lost track of who is in possession of that commodity, the value they are adding, the information they are adding and also the finance transfers can’t be facilitated by that blockchain.”
Who will drive blockchain for producers?
Mr Lefroy said there was a lot being done to progress blockchains at downstream levels of the value chain, such as in e-commerce companies and supermarkets, but there were still questions as to who would or should drive blockchain at the production end. “Who is going to drive that agenda for producers? Who is going to make sure producers have the ability to operate in these markets?,” he asked.
Mr Lefroy said blockchain opened the door to direct interactions between supply chain stakeholders.
“In terms of the producers’ relationship with the end user, transparency and provenance can bring opportunities for them to link directly with consumers and really strengthen that production story, not only on food safety and health, but the environment and animal welfare.”
The feedback available through blockchain meant producers would be able to identify opportunities that weren’t previously identifiable, and move from being supply driven to being more reactive to demand.
Mr Lefroy said blockchain was not a silver bullet or free of downsides, but he was confident that over time the benefits it offers would outweigh the initial costs.
“In our view we will see producers go from being supply driven to more demand driven and a continued emphasis on data collection to strengthen the production story,” he said.


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BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 20. Over 19.7 million tons of petrochemicals were transshipped via the Turkish ports from January through March 2022, Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure told Trend.
According to the ministry, in the reporting period, Turkish-flagged ships transported 775,082 tons of petrochemicals through the ports, and ships flying the flags of other countries – over 18.9 million tons.
Meanwhile, over 11.5 million tons of petrochemicals were transited via the Turkish ports, added the ministry.
Totally, over 66.2 million tons of petrochemicals were transshipped and 48.1 million tons - were transited via the Turkish ports in 2021.
In March 2022, Turkey's ports handled 24.18 million tons of cargo. Ships flying the Turkish flag delivered 2.28 million tons of cargo through Turkey’s ports whilst ships flying the flags of other countries – 31.89 million tons.
Meanwhile, Turkish ports transshipped 6.67 million tons of transit cargo.
Turkish ports handled 98.6 million tons of cargo from January through March this year.
In the reporting period, cargo transportation by ships flying the Turkish flag amounted to 6.9 million tons, while freight traffic by ships under the flags of other countries reached 91.68 million tons.
Besides, in the first quarter of 2022, Turkish ports handled 20.57 million tons of transit cargo.
In 2021, Turkey transshipped 386.39 million tons of cargo via its ports.
During the reporting period, freight transportation by Turkish-flagged ships via domestic ports amounted to 29.9 million tons, whereas the cargo traffic by ships flying other countries' flags reached 356.39 million tons.
Furthermore, Turkish ports transshipped 78 million tons of transit cargo in 2021.


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Lindows 4.0 remains the easiest Linux distribution around, but its software subscription scheme can get pricey. We'd also prefer more bundled apps.
Pricing not available
Linspire, the company that once raised Microsoft's ire with its Linux-based Lindows operating system, is being swallowed by Xandros, another Linux company.
These are the products CNET users have been looking at the most this month.
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Michael Robertson, a veteran of copyright battles with the music industry, appears to be daring the labels and big radio to challenge him on his DVR-for-radio service.
With $100 rebate, Sears--a major national retailer that doesn't specialize in electronics--offers a Linux desktop PC from Linspire.
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