text:
The technology to put in place a paywall may not be new to many parts of the world, but an ambitious project to bring online payments to the media industry in Central Europe has brought its own challenges.
"It is actually harder to do something like this in Central Europe than it would be in Western Europe," Piano Media CEO and founder Tomas Bella explains. "For example, credit cards are much less common here than in the West."
Piano Media is the company behind Poland's 'great paywall', which started operating this week. The paywall ringfences premium content from 46 websites from six large publishers of print media in Poland, including the websites of the regional dailies, the largest daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Forbes Poland and Polish Public Radio.
In some ways, it's a standard paywall set-up: Piano offers a web application that appears as a bar on top of the page. After submitting their payment details and setting up an account, users can log in and view to the website's premium content.
What's not so standard is that the login is valid for all content from all the participating websites of all the participating publishers in a given country — traditionally, paywall technology shields particular articles or sections of a website, or the entire site itself. "You can compare it to a cable television subscription," Bella says. "You get access to different content from different competing sites using one login with one payment."
The login is carried over when a subscriber moves from one site to another, thanks to an API connection between the publisher's CMS and Piano's central server which remembers a user's login across multiple sites. That same API also enables visitor data, including basics like time spent on a site and navigation, to be gathered and shared with the publisher. "They get a login that gives access to data and handmade reports," Bella says.
Technology vs business
The main challenges are not technological, but lie in the business: the concept of paywalls as a whole is fairly new in eastern central Europe, where web users are used to free online content and generally sceptical of online payment and credit cards.
"You can compare it to a cable television subscription. You get access to different content from different competing sites using one login with one payment" — Tomas Bella, Piano Media
That, says Bella, means that Piano has had to be very active in reaching out to visitors and explain the payment procedure (as well as credit or debit cards, the company accepts 'fakturas', bank transfers, and payments made in person in local shops.) In Slovakia and Slovenia, where its paywalls are also rolled out, it has struck deals with mobile phone operators to facilitate payment by SMS.
"We even get people here who want to still pay cash at the post office," Bella says, referring to a practice that is still very common in the region. "They feel more comfortable doing that instead of using their credit card." Bella did not want to divulge what security measures are in place, but did mention much is left to the systems of banks.
Poland is the third and by far the largest market Piano has entered — it's already established in Slovakia and Slovenia — and will see Piano charge 20 zlotys (around €5) per month for a subscription. Piano will take 30 percent of the fee, 40 percent goes to the owner of the website where the user signed on to the Piano system, and the rest is split among all participating publishers.
"We are targeting between five and 15 percent of a publisher's users after three years," he says.
Going the way of software
He compares it to the software market in his region. "In Central and Eastern Europe, there was vast software piracy in the 1990s, but now it's not as prevalent. It still exists, but people have accepted they need to pay for software. We feel the same thing will ultimately happen for those wishing to access high-quality, premium content."
Piano is looking to expand its model to more countries, and eventually to Western Europe, where smaller countries like the Netherlands and Belgium represent a less fragmented media landscape with fewer big players who need to be persuaded to use the same system as their rivals.
"The main trick is to negotiate with customers to adopt the same system, even though they are direct competitors," says Bella. "Getting them to link up to the same system was our biggest achievement."


text:
Photographer captures collision between skydiver, plane
Four American troops are dead after an attack on a military base in Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the violence. This as they plan to meet with US officials soon. Nikole Killion explains why the two rivals are sitting down.
Five teenagers stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from a popular retailer downtown Sunday.

domain: news


text:
Sunday’s NFL playoff games in Baltimore and Landover could mean over a million dollars in tax revenue for local jurisdictions.
The Baltimore Ravens will host the Indianapolis Colts at 1 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium in the AFC Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. Later that day, the Washington Redskins will host the Seattle Seahawks at 4:30 p.m. at FedEx Field in Landover in the last game of the NFC Wild Card round.
Ticket sales for two games could bring more than $1 million in amusement and admission taxes alone. The Ravens anticipate bringing in nearly $900,000 in amusement and admission taxes for the city and state, said Baker Koppelman, vice president of ticket sales and operations for the Ravens. That is slightly less than the team earned for its 2012 playoff game at 71,100 seat M&T Bank Stadium against the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The state comptroller’s office declined to disclose how much tax revenue was generated from last years game.
Amusement and admissions taxes are applied differently for both teams. The Maryland Stadium Authority receives 8 percent of Ravens ticket revenue because M&T Bank Stadium is publicly owned. The city of Baltimore receives 2 percent of ticket revenue.
The extra game adds an extra boost to the Stadium Authority’s overall numbers, said David A. Raith, chief financial officer for the Maryland Stadium Authority.
“When you consider the value of the home game to our revenue and the entire community, it is a bonus home game,” Raith said.
Prince George’s County, meanwhile, expects to net $500,000 in direct revenue through admission and amusement taxes for Sunday’s game at 79,000-seat FedEx Field, said Scott Peterson, a spokesman for Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III.
“This is the first home playoff game the Redskins have had since 1999,” Peterson said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Baltimore City and Prince George’s County are also expecting to see increases in sales and hotel tax revenue due to the playoffs. The state receives remitted sales tax for food or team merchandise sold inside the stadium at Ravens or Redskins games, according to a 2011 report by the state comptroller’s office. It also nets the tax on food and drinks sold at restaurants before and during the game, as well as increased occupancy in area hotels the night before.
Prince George’s County estimates it will take in more than $100,000 in indirect revenues Sunday, Peterson said. Visit Baltimore, the city’s tourism agency, said hotel occupancy doubled from 20 percent to 40 percent the night before the Ravens game against the Texans last season. That led to a small rate increase of $4 to $5 a night, said Tom Noonan, CEO of Visit Baltimore.
Hotels only receive a small boost because most fans live within in driving distance of the game, Noonan said. But every Colts fan from out of town in the stands Sunday means extra dollars for the state and Baltimore, he said.
An earlier version of this article said the state did not remitted sales tax for food or team merchandise sold inside the stadium at Ravens or Redskins games, Those taxes are remitted and reported to the state.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
Plastic wishbone company claims $1.7M win versus Sears
An Auburn company that makes plastic wishbones is claiming a $1.7 million copy infringement court victory over a giant retailer and its advertising agency.
Lucky Break Wishbone Corp. sued Sears, Roebuck and Co. and the Young & Rubicam advertising agency over a national advertising campaign in 2005, where Sears gave away plastic wishbones.
Lucky Break President Ken Ahroni launched his company four years ago, after seeing friends squabble over who got to break a wishbone at a Thanksgiving dinner years earlier. His company was profiled by the Puget Sound Business Journal in 2006, when he reported annual revenues of approximately $700,000.
According to law firm Darby & Darby of Seattle, “a Seattle jury in the District Court for the Western District of Washington returned a verdict of copyright infringement on two copyright registrations, finding that Sears used Lucky Break’s wishbone design without permission in a national advertising campaign before Thanksgiving 2005. Both Sears and Y&R were found liable for infringing Lucky Break’s registered product warning.”
Ahroni said he was “very pleased and relieved” with the $1.7 million verdict.
“We did suffer” financially, Ahroni said of Sears’ actions. “Our numbers are down.”
In 2006, Ahroni said his company was on pace to sell about $700,000 in Lucky Break wishbones.
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
- Most popular
- Blockbuster $1 billion Seattle real estate deal: URG buys Touchstone
- Viaduct stopped sinking but Bertha access tunnel may be refilled
- McGinn-era tunnel study proving true: Bertha project was 'high risk'
- Chinese shaking up the region's real estate market in a big way
- Construction starts next year on huge project in downtown Seattle
- Paseo's new owner says he'll reopen with same recipes
- Curtain rises on new apartment skyscraper in Seattle (slideshow)
- Report: Sounders may seek soccer-specific stadium
- Juno Therapeutics increases IPO, aims for up to $212M
- Washington wines make two prestigious "Top 100" lists, with JM Cellars
Pike Specialty Foods Manager Pike Brewing | Seattle, WA
Center Director Impact Washington | Mukilteo, WA
Project Director (Residential and Interiors) Vulcan | Seattle, WA
Pike On-Premise Sales Position Pike Brewing | Seattle, WA
Sr. Accountant (Real Estate) Vulcan Inc. | Seattle, WA


text:
Nokia UK has tweeted out a teaser that should please many UK Windows Phone users.
The message is simple. "Lumia1020 + UK = this Thursday".
Still not sure as to the where and how much but if you've been waiting for Lumia 1020 with its 41MP Pureview camera, the wait appears to be coming to an end. The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight so to speak.
We are still expecting the Lumia 1020 to reach other parts of the globe in October such as Canada and Russia. Australia is slated to get the Lumia 1020 later this month.
Source: Nokia UK, Thanks, everyone, for the tip!
Get the Windows Central Newsletter
All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.
George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.


text:
Bangladesh’s export-oriented apparel manufacturers have sought policy support from the government to help overcome omicron-induced challenges, and retain the readymade garment sector’s upward momentum of recovery.
Making the call at an event titled “Glorious 50 years of Bangladesh and 40 years of BGMEA” in Dhaka’s Sheraton Hotel on Tuesday, industry leaders said after initially being labeled as a “basket case,” Bangladesh’s development has now surprised the world, which is a matter of national price.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) also unveiled a special edition of its magazine “The Apparel Story” at the event, commemorating the anniversaries of Bangladesh and the association.
Former president of BGMEA Md Siddiqur Rahman said, “The industry makes significant contributions to the country’s economy. We have brought the industry at its current level through labour and investment.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has deeply affected this industry and we are on the way to recovery. At the moment, the Omicron variant is becoming a challenge for this sector, and we need policy support to overcome such challenges successfully.”
Calling for the mitigation of hassle caused by the National Board of Revenue, Siddiqur said sixty per cent of the existing issues will be resolved if the bureau manages to provide hassle-free services.
Addressing the event, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said, “If industry insiders submit formal complaints, we will address any issues found in this sector.”
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan presided over the event, while the association’s directors Barrister Shehrin Salam Oishee and Md Mohiuddin Rubel moderated the programme.
Faruque Hassan said, “Bangladesh has transitioned from one of the poorest counties to one of the fastest growing economies in the world over the last 50 years.
“The country has emerged as a model of development in the world under the prudent and visionary leadership of Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.”
He added, “The RMG industry has made significant contributions to the socio-economic transformation of Bangladesh over the past few decades, and would continue to play the pivotal role in realising the vision of a more prosperous Bangladesh.”
Md Atiqul Islam, the mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and also a former president of the BGMEA, joined the grand celebration. BGMEA’s former presidents Redwan Ahmed, Mostafa Golam Quddus, Quazi Moniruzzaman, Tipu Munshi, SM Fazlul Hoque, Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), and Abdus Salam Murshedy were also there.
BGMEA vice presidents and directors, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh ITO Naoki, Executive Director of Policy Research Institute (PRI) Dr Ahsan H Mansur and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bangladesh Mahbub ur Rahman were present at the programme as well.


text:
Last News and Events of Cangini World.
Cangini, the Italian company with a great design capacity is enhancing and renewing its tool range for the green maintenance.
Meeting you at the trade fairs will be a great pleasure.
An important step is ahead for you.
From January 12th, 2018 Enter Cangini World.


text:
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google’s voice-activated Assistant is about to get an impressive power boost. At its annual Google I/O developer conference here Tuesday, the company revealed a new Assistant feature that can carry out an entire phone conversation on your behalf.
The feature, called Google Duplex and available on its Google Home, Android, Chromebooks, and other devices, has been in development “for many years,” CEO Sundar Pichai told the crowd of more than 6,000 Google developers and media.
“We’re still developing this technology, and we want to work hard to get this right,” he said. Google designed Duplex to help consumers do daily tasks like schedule hair salon appointments and make restaurant reservations, even when the human on the other end of the call is not a native English speaker or otherwise not speaking clearly.
READ MORE ON THE CONNECTED HOME
Your old router could be a hacking group’s APT pawn
Shut the front door: The state of the ‘smart’ lock
5 questions to ask before buying an IOT device
4 ways to protect your data when using Google Home and Amazon Echo
How to secure your home Wi-Fi
New ‘secure’ devices aren’t cheap
It’s just one example of how “Internet of Things” connected devices, from personal assistants like Google Home and Amazon Echo, to smart locks like August and Ring, can seemingly give your home powerful technological upgrades.
Internet-connected home devices appear to be at the beginning stages of a massive upward adoption rate. A PriceWaterhouseCoopers study from January 2017 found that 26 percent of U.S. Internet users already own a “smart home” device, and 43 percent plan on buying at least one in the future. An Altimeter report from August 2017 came to similar conclusions, with current usage rates at 23 percent of those surveyed, and consumer intent to purchase a connected home device “very strong.”
An important thing to realize when connecting physical components of your home to the Internet is that the conveniences come with trade-offs, including security and privacy risks, says Eric Michaud, CEO at Rift Recon, a San Francisco-based security company, who has spent more than a decade working on the intersections of physical and electronic security.
While a properly configured smart lock can help consumers gain far more insight as to who has entered their home than a standard lock, for example, it also presents more opportunities for hackers to get in, such as through a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth vulnerability, or a vulnerability in the app controlling the device, or even the device itself. Michaud refers to this as a wider “attack surface.”
When you activate a smart lock, Michaud says, you are “expanding the attack surface, but then I am getting something back because of that visibility: the ability to respond.”
Anticipating new security weaknesses, and taking steps to reduce their exposure in a more Internet-connected home or small office, can shrink some of those “attack surfaces,” he says.
First, Michaud says, use a separate email account for your finance and banking services from the email account you use to manage your IoT devices. That prevents banking spam emails from going to your banking email account, as no other service should have that email account address other than your financial institutions. And if you’re not getting spam sent to an account, the logic goes, you’re not likely to see email-based phishing attacks, either.
Another preemptive technique he recommends is investing in a modern Wi-Fi router that supports guest networks. Many modern routers’ setup assistants help users create guest networks, a feature that can be used to segment all your IoT devices, from lightbulbs to door locks to voice-activated personal assistants, away from your phones, laptops, and tablets. When you set up a separate network for your IoT devices, a hacker can’t use a vulnerability in it to reach your more valuable devices, such as your laptop or phone.
However, Michaud cautions, some devices don’t work as well when on a guest network, and some routers don’t do a good job of separating IoT traffic from laptop or phone traffic.
“All these IoT devices are coming out, and yet our routers are still not built for IoT devices,” he says. “They’ve been focused on making sure your devices can get enough bandwidth, as they need it. They’re not built for IoT security.”
Users will be forced to choose between security and convenience until IoT devices have been engineered to run smoothly on guest network, and vice versa, he says. Today, connected devices simply don’t work as well on networks with multiple SSID (service set identifier) names.
Michaud also recommends checking out an IoT device vendor’s website before purchasing a product, and making sure that the company has a vulnerability disclosure policy. Many IoT vendors say they have “bank-grade” or “military-grade” security, he says. That just means that information sent by the device uses Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, which protects data in transit—but not against the exploitation of software vulnerabilities.
“It doesn’t tell you about any application security written in their code, their cloud environment, their service environment. It just means that they don’t know what they’re talking about,” he says. “They told that to the marketing team.”


text:
2020 Ford Suv - The - 2020 ford explorer suv | redesigned , The suv that started it all has been totally redesigned— inside, outside and under the hood. its silhouette features an athletic stance with sculpted angular lines, and a revamped grille. open its doors and you’ll find a stylish, super-comfortable interior with improved cargo capacity and a. 2020 ford® escape suv | improved , Get a glimpse of the redesigned 2020 ford® escape suv. check out all new features like a sporty new look, plenty of space for cargo and people, and a brand new hybrid option. get a glimpse of the redesigned 2020 ford® escape suv. check out all new features like a sporty new look, plenty of space for cargo and people, and a brand new hybrid. Ford add suvs 2020 - , Ford to add four new suvs by 2020 - is one of them the bronco? millennials, baby boomers, low gas prices driving rise in suv sales.. 2020 ford escape streamlined , hybrid options, Suvs 2020 ford escape gets streamlined look, two hybrid options. this softer, more modern crossover and a future “baby bronco” suv are ford’s way of combatting "the dreaded c word.”. 2020 ford explorer evolutionary redesign - consumer, The all-new 2020 ford explorer has been completed redesigned, shifting the suv from a front-drive platform to a rear-drive configuration. here's what you need to know.. 2020 ford explorer suv – release date details, 2020 ford explorer st is a sporty explorer, likely with rear-wheel drive the 2020 ford explorer is nearly ready for production the 2020 ford explorer has a giant vertical touchscreen. New ford bronco - 2020 ford bronco details, news, photos, Get the latest news, price, and photos on the new 2020 ford bronco. ford promises a new small pickup truck and a return of the legendary bronco name. ford is bringing back the beloved 4x4 suv.. 2020 lincoln corsair luxury suv key time , 2020 lincoln corsair luxury suv comes at key time for automaker. debuting at the new york auto show, the 2020 lincoln corsair compact suv is aimed at young and female buyers.. Redesigned 2020 ford escape adds tech, loses weight, The 2020 ford escape has been revealed weeks ahead of this month’s new york international auto show. the totally redesigned compact suv gets a curvier body and a choice of four drivetrains.
The allnew 2020 ford explorer suv redesigned inside and → 2020 ford® escape suv new and improved inside and out → Ford to add four new suvs by 2020 is one of them the → 2020 ford escape gets streamlined look, two hybrid options → 2020 ford explorer gets evolutionary redesign consumer → 2020 ford explorer suv – release date and more details → New ford bronco 2020 ford bronco details, news, photos → 2020 lincoln corsair luxury suv comes at key time for → Redesigned 2020 ford escape adds tech, loses weight →


text:
New regulations for the production of organic meat, poultry and dairy products could be enacted soon.
In late July the National Organic Standards Board proposed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture allow 20 synthetic substances in organic livestock production and processing. They included medications to treat conditions such as diarrhea, fever, and udder and pulmonary edema (swelling). The USDA accepted 12 of the recommended substances and is accepting public comment on the proposal.
"The list of medications that are allowed for livestock producers currently is very small—there aren't many tools in the toolbox—so I understand the need for adding more medications to relieve pain and suffering," said Jim Riddle, former chairman of the NOSB.
"Predominantly, it appears to me that these are very controlled treatment applications and almost all of them have to be administered under the auspices of an accredited veterinarian," said Dennis Stiffler, executive vice president of food safety and quality assurance at Coleman Natural Foods, a Golden, Colo., manufacturer of natural and organic meats. "We're looking at them to see if any of them gives us any extra heartburn."
Stiffler noted that if an animal gets sick, producers are obligated to treat it. "This [proposal] provides the opportunity under those unique circumstances not to lose the organic status."
The biggest challenge, Stiffler said, may be consumer perception about purity. "There'll be some people who put a spin on this, saying 'What you think is organic is not organic,' but I think if we stress that it is USDA-regulated, we are using third-party certifiers, there are checks and balances, and we're providing a good organic product," people will understand that.
Riddle, however, took issue with the USDA's blanket acceptance of the 12 substances. The NOSB had recommended that the withdrawal time for some medications—the amount of time between the last dose and the time when the animal's meat or milk can safely be consumed—be double what the Food and Drug Administration requires for conventional meat production. In other instances, the NOSB recommended that medications be used only for emergency treatment. The USDA rejected those restrictions, noting that the FDA could not have two separate labeling criteria.
"By abandoning the recommendations of the board, they're actually not following the outcomes of our deliberations—they're essentially changing the meaning. Some of these materials may not have been approved [by the NOSB] if there was not that requirement as part of our vote," Riddle said.
The Organic Trade Association does not yet have an official position on the proposal, said Holly Givens, a spokeswoman for the group. The OTA is soliciting input from its membership. "The official position would be finalized probably just prior to the end of the comment period." The comment period ends Sept. 15. To view the proposal in its entirety or submit comments, visit www.ams.usda. gov/nop/Newsroom/newsroom.html and click on Federal Register Notices.
Natural Foods Merchandiser volume XXVII/number 9/p. 1


text:
Audi Announces Entry Into the Fleet Market
AUBURN HILLS, MI — Audi of America announced in early December that Craig Cheatle has been named corporate sales manager of North America. Cheatle is focused on the development and implementation of Audi´s entry into the fleet marketplace, among his many other responsibilities.
“Audi is excited and committed to bringing luxury vehicles to the fleet market combined with unique programs and services,” said Cheatle, who left QEK Global Solutions in November after 12 years of service where he was the director sales and marketing.
Audi of America is expected to launch its formal entry into the fleet market and introduce its fleet programs in early 2005.


text:
Now you can search across wacky YouTube comments to find out what vloggers say about you. And because YouTube chews all the comments all the time, you also get trending topics in a Twitter fashion. Welcome to the real web…
Thanks to the New York Times’ insider, we now know that YouTube has quietly slipped a new feature Friday night that lets you perform real-time search across all the comments posted in all of YouTube’s videos. Although YouTube and Google announced no such feature in their official communication, the publication noted that the comment search functionality is now enabled via a dedicated comment search page.
Indeed, we were able to access the feature at press time and it seemed pretty straightforward. You simply enter your query in a large search box to get the list of matching comments from all YouTube videos. For an example comment search for Apple’s alleged Apple tablet, click here. The results are updated continuously and there’s even a handy link that refreshes your results with new comments that appeared since you started searching.
You can also set to show comments in all languages and click on a couple of trending topics that are currently hot on YouTube. Unlike the main YouTube search that has a results feed, the real-time comment search lacked such capability at press time. I advise you to try the real-time comment search feature now before YouTube takes it down.
Read more at the New York Times
Twitter and Facebook have taught us that real-time is so much better than the content acquired in set intervals. Frankly, I’ve always wondered why is it taking so long to bake more of the Google search engine into the $1.65 billion YouTube acquisition? And now that real-time search is live on YouTube, I’m wondering why Google’s main search page still lacks Twitter-like trending topics? True, there’s an experimental trending feature in the Google Labs section, but as long as it’s off the main search page, average users will miss it.
When it comes to YouTube, businesses could easily use the new real-time comment search to discover the latest buzz in the world’s largest clearinghouse for amateur videos.
Likewise, companies could use it to feel the community vibe and gauge public interest for their products cunningly promoted in viral videos. Whichever way you look at it, we now live in the real-time online world. With companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook making a splash with real-time information, there’s no going back to the “old days.”


text:
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Scrapple is a breakfast favorite in Philly, but have you ever had it for dessert?
Whether you love it, hate it or you’re just scared to try it, scrapple is now an ice cream flavor.
At the Franklin Fountain in Old City, co-owner Ryan Berley says it’s time to bring back scrapple ice cream.
“It’s getting cooler. You’ve got to bulk up with your fats,” Berley said. “So scrapple and ice cream are kind of the perfect thing.”
Yes, ice cream made from…
“Various pig parts, stewed within their own broth and then drained and ground and mixed with flours and spices,” said Amy Strauss, author of the new book, Pennsylvania Scrapple. “It’s not just this really mysterious meat.”
Rachel Robbins of South Philly tasted the scrapple ice cream.
“I kind of expected it to taste more bacony,” she said. “But it’s not real overpowering, which is nice.”
Jeff Smelser of Lancaster County was polite after his taste.
“It was like…scrapple ice cream,” he said.
Love it or not, Berley says it’ll only be at Franklin Fountain for a limited time.


text:
I was pleased to hear that Sony Ericsson are shortly about to issue an update to their X10 range. The X10 itself will — as Android Central reports — pick up some rather nifty benefits as a result including 720p video recording with continuous autofocus.
What I’m most pleased about, though, is the news that the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro devices will also get 2.1 (over-the-air) which will make them them the most powerful Android phones in that form factor. And make no mistake, it’s a very popular form factor with a lot of users.
(More on the X10 Mini Pro shortly, I’ve been testing that for some time.)


text:
Checkout payment processor Catch wants to get shoppers to ditch buy now, pay later for the old-fashioned debit card.
Founded in 2020, Catch says the number of merchants it works with has more than doubled this year as it is gaining traction. Catch works with direct-to-consumer brands like Everlane, Lunya and Parade, and also recently added SoulCycle and PacSun.
Here’s how the service works: At the checkout page, shoppers are enticed by messages like “earn $2.46 by paying with Catch.” If they choose Catch as the payment option, they link their debit card or bank account to receive 10% of their purchase back in store credits for future use. Catch users can only redeem the accrued credits at the brand where they earned them.
The concept is to reward customers for using their debit card, while encouraging them to buy again from a particular brand. Catch makes money by charging brands a fee when a customer returns and redeems a Catch-earned store credit. Catch says its model helps brands save on credit card transaction fees while, at the same time, bringing customers back by rewarding them with credit back for paying with debit. It also comes at a time when there is a growing concern that buy now, pay later could encouraging overspending without clearly outlining credit risks. In turn, services like Catch are trying to capitalize on this backlash to buy now, pay later, and reward people for other types of purchasing behavior.
Catch currently has “hundreds of thousands of users,” with the majority having discovered the checkout option through shopping at participating brands. According to Catch, partner merchants see a 43% faster repurchase rate and increase retention by 46%.
Catch co-founder and CEO Nico Perdomo, a former product manager at Affirm, said “working in BNPL, I got a firsthand view of how young customers are looking to change the way they pay after decades of credit cards dominating payments in the U.S.” However, he added that “debt is still a problem that even buy now, pay later hasn’t solved.”
For the next generation, Perdomo says there is an opportunity to offer access to premium rewards and perks without credit debt.
Catch’s solution mainly caters to young online shoppers — its demographic is generally between the ages of 18 and 34 and skews female. In turn, many of Catch’s retail partners fall in the beauty and fashion categories. In the past few months, Catch struck partnerships with beauty brands Farmacy, Ouai and Vanity Planet. The younger side of this demographic, according to Perdomo, tends to be new to credit cards or not have one at all. By giving them store credit back for purchases up front, Catch says it’s creating an opportunity for repeat purchases and loyalty.
Early on, Catch met with fashion retailer Aritzia, which showed interest but wanted to see the startup establish its tech with smaller companies first. “So we started to test with young, digitally native brands that are more nimble and can take on some risk,” Perdomo explained.
The first DTC company to sign on, in 2021, was activewear brand Girlfriend Collective. “We did twice the transactions and volume of Afterpay during the first month, and started courting bigger brands,” he added.
Catch’s revenue is also tied to its ability to get users to return. “Basically, we don’t have a business unless we help merchants retain customers through repeat transactions,” said Catch co-founder and COO Denia Ebersole. She added that this has made Catch an appealing payment partner for merchants, “given that every online retailer is trying to figure out how to increase retention right now.”
Fitness gear brand Bala was an early brand partner of Catch, having used the checkout option on its DTC website for the past 18 months.
Bala’s head of growth, Sam Wilson, told Modern Retail the company was interested in testing Catch as part of its larger goal to increase loyalty among its big Gen Z customer base. “Our customers who use Catch have double the retention rate than those who don’t,” Wilson said. “So we’ve been able to prove Catch’s hypothesis from a brand perspective.”
Matt Schulz, a chief credit analyst at LendingTree who covers personal finance, said debit use is especially welcome at a time when people are accruing debt by paying for everyday purchases with BNPL loans. According to an April LendingTree survey, 21% of Americans say they’ve used a BNPL service to pay for groceries.
“Debit card rewards used to be a thing, but have vanished in the last few years,” Schulz said. “Clearly there is still demand for them among people who prefer to pay in full upfront.”
He added that while BNPL use helps increase retailers’ basket sizes, from his perspective “it doesn’t offer customer loyalty for the merchant — it’s the service that keeps the relationship with the users.”
For retail brands, collecting all-cash payments while encouraging repeat purchases is a win-win at this time. “Any platform that can boost retention in this era of trying to acquire customers at a profitable rate is pretty critical,” Bala’s Wilson said. Other tactics over the past six to 12 months have included the relaunch of Bala’s digital fitness subscription plan.
In the next couple of years, Perdomo said Catch plans to partner with bigger retailers to reach more customers. Over time, the roadmap also includes becoming a more consumer-facing brand and social features like sharing store credits with friends. “We’re building a mobile app to show users where else they can shop and earn with Catch,” he said.
In the long term, Perdomo said the company’s vision is to be available in thousands of locations, both online and at local shops. “We can’t get there right away, but there is no reason we can’t build a payment network that helps both the retailer and shopper benefit,” Perdomo said.


text:
High levels of aluminum imports entering Mexico and sold in the US, as well as flaws in the US' Section 232 tariff exclusion process are among the top trade concerns for the domestic aluminum industry, leadership of the US-based Aluminum Association said Sept. 26.
Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience.Register Now
The Aluminum Association and the Mexican Aluminum Association are pushing for the Mexican government to meet commitments under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement to "seriously monitor" metal imports consistent with the requirements of the 2020 trade agreement, Henry Gordinier, CEO of Tri-Arrows Aluminum and vice chairman of the Aluminum Association said during a press conference at the trade group's annual meeting, held in Washington.
"Starting last year, we've seen a degradation of trade data from our counterparts in Mexico, which quite frankly, is unacceptable in a favored trading partner," Gordinier said.
The US dropped the 10% Section 232 tariff on imports of aluminum from Mexico as part of a 2019 accord in which Mexico agreed to ensure greater transparency regarding steel and aluminum imports from third countries.
Following removal of the tariffs, US imports of aluminum from Mexico, including both unwrought and wrought products, increased 86% in 2022 compared with the 2015-2017 historical average, according to US Commerce Department data.
The associations have called on the Mexican government to not only honor their commitments under the USMCA to set up an import monitoring system, but also to fix gaps in their trade data reporting that recently emerged, Aluminum Association CEO Charles Johnson said.
"We're not moving forward at the moment with the Mexican government, we're moving backwards and we need to fix that," Johnson said.
Gordinier said the organization is encouraged this issue is being taken seriously by the United States Trade Representatives' office, particularly as it relates to trade reporting requirements under the USMCA. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who shared the USTR's priorities with the group on Sept. 25, highlighted this issue in discussions with Mexican Secretary of Economy Raquel Buenrostro in July.
Section 232 tariff exclusion
Another area of focus for the association is advocating for changes to the existing Section 232 tariff exclusion process, Johnson said.
After the US introduced tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports in March 2018, Commerce established a process for US companies to file product-specific exclusion requests for cases where there are no domestic availability or overriding national security concerns regarding the specific product.
However, Johnson said the exclusion process is "fundamentally broken."
"The exclusions that are granted annually in many of our markets are larger than the entire US market for those products," he said. "This is introducing distortions in the trade of aluminum and the use of aluminum in the US market," he said. "It's something that we have worked with the administration to fix, and we will continue to focus there until we get some resolution to that issue."
Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security in August issued a proposed new rule aimed at improving the exclusion process for Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs and is currently gathering public feedback on the proposed rule through Oct. 12.
"So broadly, we have the support we need from this administration and the devil is, of course, always in the details," Johnson said.


text:
Rivian Says Senate Climate Bill Favors Rivals Like Tesla, GM
Rivian Automotive claims the pending federal legislation intended to incentivize people to buy electric cars and trucks puts it at a competitive disadvantage.
James Chen, vice president of public policy for Rivian, said in a statement and interview for Automotive News that the pending climate change bill would give most breaks to other manufacturers like Tesla and General Motors that have had longer to ramp up production or build some of their vehicles overseas.
“As currently drafted, this legislation will pull the rug out from consumers considering purchase of an American-made electric vehicle. The final package must extend the transition period to provide consumer choice and protect good-paying manufacturing jobs here at home.”
More specifically, Rivian’s problem is that the $7,500 federal incentive only applies to EVs costing $80,000 or less, including related charges. Furthermore, the income of a buyer could be no more than $150,000 a year, twice that for a couple. Chen says that as a result, “nearly all of our vehicles would be ineligible for incentives,” as the company is not planning to offer a lower-priced model before 2025.
Gallery: Rivian Manufacturing Plant In Normal, IL
The executive argues that the pending legislation looks only at the sales price and does not offer specific incentives for EVs that are made in America, favoring “manufacturers who can come in at lower cost” because of foreign production.
Rivian builds the R1T pickup, R1S SUV and EDV delivery van for Amazon at its plant in Normal, Illinois, which employs more than 5,000 workers. Last week the company announced it was laying off 50 non-manufacturing workers at the plant but said it still plans to hire more for manufacturing this year in Normal. The company plans to open a second assembly plant near Atlanta, Georgia in 2025 to build more affordable R2 series EVs.
The new provisions in the pending bill, which also removes the production cap of 200,000 vehicles for each manufacturer, might be a response to criticism that incentives are going to wealthy people who don’t actually need them. That said, Chen argued that Rivian is just ramping up production and thus has higher costs than Tesla and other companies that have been in the game longer.
Rivian has contacted Senate leadership and senators from states where it has interests—Illinois, Michigan, California and Georgia—to see if the pending bill can be amended to allow startups to use the old rules during a transition period.
- Share on Facebook
- Share on Twitter
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Flipboard
- Share on Reddit
- Share on WhatsApp
- Send to email
Source: Read Full Article


text:
NITI Aayog stated that government will provide Production-linked incentive to more sectors
Key features of Production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme
- PLI scheme was introduced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on April 1, 2020, under National Policy on Electronics 2019
- The scheme would give incentives of 4-6 per cent to electronics companies which manufacture mobile phones and other electronic and nano-electronic components
- As per the scheme, companies that make mobile phones which sell for Rs 15,000 or more will get an incentive of up to 6 per cent on incremental sales of all such mobile phones made in India.
- In the same category, companies which are owned by Indian nationals and make such mobile phones, the incentive has been kept at Rs 200 crore for the next four years.
- The scheme would attract big foreign investment in the sector, while also encouraging domestic mobile phone makers to expand their units and presence in India.
- Duration of the scheme: it will be active for five years with the financial year (FY) 2019-20 considered as the base year for calculation of incentives.
- Production Linked Incentives of up to INR 40,951 crores will be awarded over a period of 5 years
- The Scheme is open for applications for a period of 4 months initially which may be extended. Support under the Scheme shall be provided for a period of five (5) years subsequent to the base year
- The Scheme will be implemented through a Nodal Agency which shall act as a Project Management Agency (PMA) and be responsible for providing secretarial, managerial and implementation support and carrying out other responsibilities as assigned by MeitY from time to time.
- Eligibility: it shall be subject to thresholds of incremental investment and incremental sales of manufactured goods.


text:
The gloves that WWE Superstar AJ Styles wore on Sunday night at the WWE Payback pay-per-view event are being auctioned off on the official WWE Auction website. AJ has signed gloves and the current bid is $270. The auction will end on May 10th.
As noted in our **SPOILER** report, WWE Superstar Sin Cara accidentally (and briefly) lost his mask during match with Baron Corbin that was taped for this week’s WWE Main Event broadcast. You can see a photo of this below:


text:
They basically said, "Hey, Sacramento businesses, there's an office with your name on it in Texas."
As you can imagine, the paper took some heat from the local community, which accused it of helping Texas steal California jobs.
I understand the sentiment to rally around a community, especially during economic hardship — I'm from Michigan, after all. But that's like blaming Interstate 45 for intelligent people moving from Dallas to Houston.
The reason businesses are leaving California is the environment — not the messaging. To block the ads would not prevent the Woodlands from targeting Sacramento businesses or from succeeding in luring them. It could, however, shackle one more California business with unprofitable restraints.
Successful businesses are led by individuals who make tough but necessary choices to extend their company's lifespan. It's never easy to leave a place where we've laid roots — as many of us Houstonians who started out elsewhere in the world know — but we do what's right for ourselves and our families and, as business leaders, our companies.
Should such a scenario come to Houston — and the idea is not outrageous — I would urge you to remember that it's not the messenger that threatens us. It's not even the message. It's the defect in the product that must be addressed — everything else is just advertising.


text:
Agriculture / Aquaculture
Page 1 of 1
- LANXESS Virkon S proven to kill highly pathogenic avian influenza strains
- 12/2/2016 9:57:04 AM
- Virkon S, one of the world’s leading veterinary disinfectants, from specialty chemicals company LANXESS, is recognized worldwide as the disinfectant of choice for the emergency disease control of avian influenza (bird flu).
- New Research Finds Avocado Extract Can Prevent Listeria in Food
- 11/18/2016 4:15:02 PM
- Consumer demand for food products formulated without synthetic additives has increased. However, food still has to be safe for consumers to eat, so food scientists are looking for ways to replace synthetic additives.
- Cryptosporidium Outbreak Discovered in Ohio
- 11/18/2016 10:21:01 AM
- Earlier in November, cases associated with Cryptosporidium, surpassed 1,000 affected individuals in three Ohio counties. The outbreak was originally declared in August after multiple cases were reported from exposure at various recreational water facilities.
- Is Arsenic from Private New England Wells Contributing to Elevated Rates of Bladder Cancer?
- 11/18/2016 10:12:28 AM
- In May, a study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that examined drinking water from private wells, arsenic levels and rates of bladder cancer in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
- EMSL Radiochemistry Laboratory Offers Radionuclide in Soil Testing
- 11/17/2016 10:42:11 AM
- Soil can be radiologically contaminated by either naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) or man-made radionuclides. These radioactive materials can affect crops and drinking water, which can pose health issues to the human body.
- « Previous
- Next »


text:
Quiet Zone increasing access at the Show
Posted on: Thu 5 Sep 2019
For a lot of people, the sights, smells and sounds of the Royal Adelaide Show is a highlight of the year, but for people with sensory processing differences it can be all too much.
This year, the Show has created a Quiet Zone to give show-goers a break from sensory stimulation.
Jenny Karavolos, CEO of Autism SA joins Small Change‘s Bonnie Parker live at the Show to explain more about the positive impact this can have for individuals and families.
Produced by Bonnie Parker
Image supplied and approved for use by Autism SA


text:
HTC continues to flex its photographic muscles with the Australian release of Re, a camera in the vein of a GoPro designed for the everyman. Re will go on sale today with a recommended retail price of $249.
The OnePlus One is a rare breed of smartphone. Its spec sheet can go toe-to-toe with anything from Samsung, Apple and HTC, and yet the One sells for $US299.
Microsoft has inked a deal with Foxtel to bring its Play content service to the Xbox One -- months after Sony brought the service to its PS4.
The One Mini 2 upholds the strong multimedia repertoire of its One (M8) sibling, with a 5 megapixel camera, a 326 pixel-per-inch screen and amplified front stereo speakers. Brushed metal accounts for the body, but a high resolution 13 megapixel camer...
Years of investment has gone into the development of the LG G3. It started with LG pulling out of the flagship race and realigning its business units before it could return to the drawing board. Now the company has put forward its best technologies...
Electronics giant LG has leap-frogged smartphones from Samsung, Sony and HTC with the unveiling of the 5.5in, 1440p G3.
LG has outed its upcoming G3 handset in a promotional video intended to showcase its ‘QuickCircle’ functionality. The official image corroborates a slew of recent G3 leaks.
HTC is hoping its range of One smartphones will appeal to a wider market with the unveiling of its Mini 2 smartphone last night.
HTC's 130MB software update to the One (M8) smartphone delivers additional improvements to the One’s connectivity, call audio performance and camera, but the most valuable inclusion is the long promised 'extreme power saving mode'.
Whispers of a new smartphone flagship free from a high price-tag has reached Australian shores. A new company called OnePlus would work with fan-favourites CynogenMod on the new no-compromise device, with a selective rollout commencing from April 201...
In a matter of days, Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 will be sold in stores. It’ll sit alongside HTC’s One (M8), which was released but ten days earlier. Sony’s Xperia Z2 will follow shortly, along with Nokia’s recently unveiled Lumia 930. The tech-savvy wil...
Two of the hottest smartphones this year have been priced by etailer Kogan, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (M8). The Galaxy is drastically cheaper than Samsung's recommended retail price. What's the catch, Kogan?
HTC's latest flagship will go on sale before Samsung's Galaxy S5, and the One (M8) will cost you less if you buy it from Optus or Vodafone. Does this make the One (M8) the bargain of the year?
HTC will release a Google Play edition of its recently unveiled One (M8) smartphone. The new device will couple the One M8's premium hardware with Android KitKat software free from HTC's Sense user interface.
Two rear cameras, speakers that are 25 per cent louder and an all metal body are among the innovations made to HTC’s new One M8 smartphone, the Taiwanese company confirmed.
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Sony Xperia Z3 review: The no-frills flagship
- 2 Samsung's Galaxy Alpha review: A peek into the Galaxy S6
- 3 Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review: The busiest, biggest and best Samsung phablet
- 4 Aldi's $279 Bauhn Sphere review: Disappointing
- 5 Nokia Lumia 735 review: Perfectly ordinary
Best Deals on GoodGearGuide
Latest News Articles
- US rejects North Korea offer to investigate Sony hack, reaches out to China
- North Korea wants joint probe into Sony hack, warns of consequences if not
- Staples says hack may have compromised 1 million-plus payment cards
- Judge questions evidence on whether NSA spying is too broad
- Three ways enterprise software is changing
GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


text:
Amazon Announces Fire TV Cube With Dolby Vision, HDR10+, And Anker Soundbar With Fire TV, OLED Fire TVs On Way
Amazon is making a big push to bring its Fire TV platform to as many people, and devices, as possible. At this year’s IFA it’s been showing off its latest hardware and updates. And its partners are doing the same.
Amazon itself has announced its first OLED screen with Fire TV and Alexa built-in. It comes from Grundig and won’t be available in the United States.
It’s also a TV that will ship with far-field microphones built-in, so you don’t need to press any buttons to summon Alexa. That lower barrier to entry is what Amazon is hoping will push use of the assistant in the living room.
The TV itself will come in two sizes – 55-inch and 65-inch while you’ll need to pay a little extra to get those microphones. If you don’t, you’re left pressing buttons to talk to Alexa. TVs with the microphones start at €1,299.99 whereas the standard ones are cheaper at €1,199.99. Both support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision HDR, though. You’ll just need to live in Germany or Austria to pick one up.
Some LCD Fire TV sets in partnership with JVC will launch in the UK starting at £349, although no launch dates are available. The United States is also getting a new 65-inch version of the Toshiba sets that are already available in the country.
Alongside the TVs, Amazon also announced a refreshed Fire TV Cube. It now supports Dolby Vision and HDR 10+, while it also has the ability to locally handle the most common voice requests so as to make the box react more quickly. Otherwise, it’s very similar to the model that’s already available. You will be able to get the new Fire TV Cube in US and Canada for $149.99 on October 10th. The UK and Germany will also get the same release date with Japan having to wait until November.
Finally, there’s Anker. The popular accessory maker has announced its own soundbar that has Fire TV built in. The Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition costs $229.99 and is able to handle 4K UHD video.
Anker says that it supports “Dolby Vision pass through” with no other mention of standards or specifics. It’ll come with an Alexa remote in the box. The soundbar will go on sale in the US on November 21st for $229.99 with Canada, the UK, and Germany also getting releases.


text:
Report: Android Claims Nearly Half of U.S. Smartphone Market, RIM Continues Slide
December 5, 2011 9:08 AM
comment(s) - last by
For three-month average period ending in October, Android nabbed 46.3 percent of smartphone share
According to new figures released by digital analytics company ComScore, Android-based devices made up 46.3 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the three-month measuring period ending in October, representing a 4.4-percent increase over July's data.
Apple's iOS share also rose by 1 percent from July, claiming a 28.1-percent share of the U.S. smartphone market. Apple has been bolstered recently by the mid-October launch of
the best-selling iPhone 4S
The results for BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM), like
much of the news surrounding the Canadian company
, was not so stellar. The company lost 4.5 percent of its market share since the July report, ending October with just 17.2 percent. Both
a widespread international outage
and a business market that has
turned its back on the BlackBerry brand
in favor of the iPhone hurt he embattled company.
Microsoft and Symbian both saw a 0.3-percent loss over the same period, ending October with 5.4 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.
ComScore estimates that about 90 million people own smartphones in the U.S., a 10 percent increase from the preceding three-month measuring period that ended in July.
The report also included a ranking of top U.S. OEM mobile phone manufacturers. Samsung held firm at its top post, with a flat 25.5 percent. LG and Motorola, the No. 2 and No. 3 manufacturers in the U.S., both slipped a bit, although not enough to change rankings. Meanwhile, Apple (No. 4) was the only manufacturer to gain share, with a 1.3-percent surge to end October with 10.8 percent of the market.
ComScore estimates the approximately 234 million Americans ages 13 and up used mobile devices during the measuring period.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
12/6/2011 8:35:19 PM
Those who don't learn from thier mistakes are fated to repeat them.
You think of it as a mistake because you like to see them fail.
I see that as how market works, it's like natural selection.
Apple way of doing thing is never meant to conquer the market, even if they want to. They just can't.
They can keep suing all the way, they won't be able to stop Android anyway. It's just the way market works.
I don't see any reason to hate Apple or Android whatever. They are just phones.
Anyway, both are growing and earning money.
And you should be happy that Apple is making "mistake" for not taking majority of the market.
"Spreading the rumors, it's very easy because the people who write about Apple want that story, and you can claim its credible because you spoke to someone at Apple." -- Investment guru Jim Cramer
RIM to Miss Financial Targets Again, Weak PlayBook Sales to Blame
December 2, 2011, 8:58 AM
BlackBerry No Longer Smartphone Leader for Businesses, Enterprise Prefers iPhone
November 18, 2011, 9:43 AM
Quick Note: iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS Take Top Two Smartphone Sales Spots in Q3
November 14, 2011, 2:39 PM
RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis Apologizes for BlackBerry Outage
October 13, 2011, 10:21 AM
Dreadful Fire Phone Sales Lead to $170M Writedown for Amazon
October 24, 2014, 8:55 AM
Xiaomi Moves Data Out of China to Woo EU, America, Escape Security Concerns
October 23, 2014, 5:11 PM
Android Wear’s First Major Update Brings GPS, Offline Music Support
October 23, 2014, 1:34 PM
Samsung Announces Galaxy S5 Plus with Snapdragon 805 Processor, LTE-A
October 22, 2014, 3:40 PM
Motorola Further Increases Moto 360 Battery Life with New Update
October 22, 2014, 8:08 AM
Apple's iPad Air 2 Features Triple-core A8X Processor, 2GB of RAM
October 21, 2014, 8:32 PM
Most Popular Articles
Chinese Government Declares Digital War Against America's Top Tech Firms
October 20, 2014, 12:07 PM
Report: 2015 Ford Focus Electric MSRP Slashed by $6,000, Will Retail for $29,995
October 18, 2014, 6:23 PM
Apple Releases iOS 8.1; Adds Apple Pay Support, SMS Relay, Instant Hotspot
October 20, 2014, 1:00 PM
Windows 8.1 + Android "Sell Mini PC" w/ Bay Trail Creates New PC Form Factor
October 20, 2014, 5:07 PM
Update: Motorola Droid Turbo Coming Oct 28, 48-hour Battery Life Confirmed
October 19, 2014, 9:19 PM
Latest Blog Posts
The Surface Mini That Was Never Released Gets "Hands On" Treatment
Sep 26, 2014, 8:22 AM
ISIS Imposes Ban on Teaching Evolution in Iraq
Sep 17, 2014, 5:22 PM
Space Terrorism is a Looming Threat For the United States
Apr 23, 2014, 7:47 PM
Facebook Aims to Provide Internet to "Every Person in the World" with Drones, Satellites
Apr 1, 2014, 10:20 AM
Retail Mobile Sites Experience Outages in Light of Simplexity's Bankruptcy
Mar 14, 2014, 8:48 AM
More Blog Posts
Copyright 2014 DailyTech LLC. -
Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information


text:
The latest stop of Retail Week’s summer roadtrip takes us to Scotland where we visit Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and the Highlands.
Edinburgh and Glasgow have long grappled over the right to be considered the jewel in Scotland’s retail crown, both offering genuine shopping destinations for natives and tourists alike.
Indeed, they now find themselves also tussling over a direct flight from China, which should provide a further boost to tourism.
Whichever city winds up with that feather in its cap, both appear well-equipped to thrive.
Edinburgh is perhaps more accustomed to servicing a tourism influx – the Edinburgh Fringe, currently in full flow, more than doubles the city’s usual 500,000 population during August.
But the area has slowly adapted to create reasons to visit all-year round – and retailers have had to move with those times, too.
Jenners, the House of Fraser-owned department store that celebrates its 180th birthday next year, offers a prime example of meeting such challenges.
While its nine elevators, three escalator banks, six stairwells and countless nooks and crannies create something more akin to a maze than a shop, the store has embraced its unique layout and legacy – it boasts two royal warrants – to become the go-to location on Edinburgh’s Princes Street.
“I love the fact that people come in here because they have heard about it, read about it and expect to have a fantastic experience,” Jenner’s store manager Alan Thomlinson tells Retail Week.
“Some people will absolutely love it, some people may not, and the difficulty is trying to keep all people happy and be all things to everybody – our core customer, tourists and the younger consumer we are trying to attract.”
Jenners, like many retailers, believes its experiential credentials are central in achieving that aim.
The store houses restaurants, spas, hairdressers and an art gallery. It puts on gin, whiskey and cheese and wine tasting events and its boardroom even hosts small comedy shows during the Fringe.
To support the shift towards year-round tourism, it now employs Mandarin speakers permanently rather than seasonally on the shop floor, and dedicates the same amount of space throughout the year to Scottish souvenirs – such as tartan-dressed teddy bears – instead of contracting space during winter months.
But Thomlinson and Jenner’s aren’t stopping there.
“We’re also looking at the possibility of maybe next year using the roof as an area to watch the firework displays, either during the festival or at Christmas and at Hogmanay, where we can have a small event for maybe 50 VIP customers,” he says.
Room for growth
It’s a forward-thinking approach is mirrored across Edinburgh as the city seeks to realise its growth potential.
The £1bn redevelopment of the Edinburgh St James scheme will provide the city with a shopping and leisure destination, something it currently lacks, when the first phase opens in 2020.
Anchored by John Lewis, it will comprise 850,000 sq ft retail space, a multi-screen cinema, 214-room hotel and 150 apartments.
There is investment in other areas of the city, too. In April Moorgarth Group acquired the Waverley Mall, which links Edinburgh Waverley train station to Princes Street.
(CHECK WITH LUKE) The new owner has wasted no time in changing its image, adding ‘the Waverley Festival concept’ to its roof at street level, where bars and grab-and-go food stalls complement the likes of Superdry, New Look, Body Shop and Flying Tiger Copenhagen inside.
“We are wanting to create a true destination here and nurture the convenience offer that currently exists with an interesting mix of uses and offers,” Moorgarth chief executive Tim Vaughan says.
“Our proposals will massively improve the profile and prominence of the scheme.”
Glasgow packs a punch
Far from throwing in the towel amid such competition, Glasgow is countering with an increasingly powerful punch.
Centred around the pedestrianised ‘Z’ of Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, retail in Glasgow has more than held its own amid the uncertainty sparked by Scotland’s independence referendum, the Brexit vote and this year’s snap general election.
St Enoch Shopping Centre, at the apex of Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, offers affordable, high street names including H&M, Debenhams, M&Co and Boots, while at the opposite end of the ‘Z’, Buchanan Galleries boasts the likes of John Lewis, Next, Oasis, Quiz and Glasgow-based Trespass.
The half-mile walk along Buchanan Street, which connects the two destinations, provides a world-class retail thoroughfare, featuring House of Fraser’s first-ever store, Hotel Chocolat, L’Occitane, Michael Kors, JD and Paperchase.
It is easy to see why, according to data from commercial real estate firm CBRE, retail rents jumped 9.4% in Glasgow during the first quarter of 2017, compared to the same period last year.
But Princes Square, Buchanan Street’s outside-in development that with its atrium design offers a Mediterranean feel, provides a slightly cheaper alternative for luxury retailers looking for prime pitch.
Indeed, independent Scottish operators including high-end kids’ retailer Ollybear and jean maker Rabbie Denim – which counts Manchester United footballers Michael Carrick and Edwin van der Sar among its customers – have opted for the lower rents offered there, alongside the likes of Ted Baker, Vivienne Westwood, Kurt Geiger and Jo Malone.
John Menzies, partner at retail estate agents Cushman & Wakefield’s in Glasgow, believes London could learn from the city’s successful pedestrianisation.
“The principal retail ‘Z’ in Glasgow gets about 55 million shoppers per annum. That’s a big footfall,” Menzies explains.
“It’s busy and it’s visibly crowded, but it creates a great buzz and it also lets you create a bit of theatre on the street.
“You see pop-ups and you see some of the restaurants putting tables outside and creating zones where people can have a bite to eat.
“You have to applaud the local council for letting Glasgow become a little bit more cosmopolitan and do these kind of things that you can’t really do on a non-pedestrianised street.”
Schuh on the front foot
The focus rightly remains on Glasgow and Edinburgh when it comes to Scottish retail, but there are other stories to be told north of the border.
Livingston, which lies 15 miles west of Edinburgh and 30 miles east of Glasgow, sprung up in the 1960s when it started to become something of an “overspill area” from the two key cities.
“It is a bit like Milton Keynes in that sense,” our trusted taxi driver informs us en route to West Lothian.
It’s here that footwear retailer Schuh has proudly called home since moving its central operations to Livingston in 1991.
Since opening its first store in Edinburgh in 1981, the business has grown to 130 stores across the UK, Ireland and Germany, 17 of which are in Scotland.
It now employs about 5,000 people, 328 of whom work at its Neilson Square headquarters, with a further 174 based five miles away at its European distribution centre just off the M8.
From its low-profile Livingston location, Schuh has masterminded a strategy to kick into touch the footwear blues being experienced by many of its rivals.
Investments in technology, mobile payments, its online platform and store openings helped pre-tax profits jump 9.3% to £16.6m in the year to the end of January, as sales climbed 5.3% to £280.9m.
The retailer is eyeing further growth. Schuh boss Colin Temple says: “There are some areas where we are very under-represented, such as central London, and we are also rolling out our kids’ footwear standalone store chain, so we are definitely looking.
“We are reaching maturity in our standalone business, but we still have some growth within kids and the M25 area.
“How many will that be? We know it’s not going be 500, it might be 30 to 50 kids’ stores, perhaps 150 to 200 Schuh stores, depending what happens with ecommerce. We’ll be considered.”
Even with such targets in mind, Temple insists the Genesco-owned retailer has no plans to move its base south of Hadrian’s Wall.
“We are a Scottish-based UK retailer that is ambitious in Europe, but Scotland has a number of advantages with regards to the geography and location,” Temple explains.
“We have quite a good business in the Republic of Ireland and you can get the ferries from here quite easily. That’s a good plus for us.
“A lot of the population is within the M25 and obviously we are a bit distanced from that, but we have a satellite in West Bromwich to help us out.
“So we’ve never had plans to relocate the office. There is no reason to do it and we don’t see why that should change.”
Aberdeen slips into crisis
Away from Scotland’s central belt, smaller towns and cities can only dream of replicating their more illustrious neighbours Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Aberdeen, the capital of North Sea oil, was once hailed as one of the richest cities in the UK, where retailers would consequently trade well.
But the nosedive in oil prices has sparked something of a crisis – even for a city accustomed to such fluctuations – as money dries up, residents move out and retailers find the going tougher.
Menzies insists that while retail spend has fallen, it has done so from “a very high base”.
Hammerson-owned Union Square and John Lewis-anchored Bon Accord & St Nicholas shopping centres undoubtedly still represent relatively vibrant destinations, where, during the good times, retailers were clamouring to be.
But for many businesses there now, it has become a case of weathering the storm.
Former KPMG head of retail David McCorquodale, a Scot, paints a bleak picture of the current landscape.
“Over the past two years, sales have been down 20 or 25%,” he says. “It was a city that had a lot of disposable income when the oil times were good, but the dip in the oil price has significantly affected the retail market.
‘But there is always a belief that something will come back in some way in Aberdeen and, when it does, that population will have money to spend’
Former KPMG head of retail David McCorquodale
“Retailers there have five and 10-year leases, so they can’t just get out when times are bad. They will batten down the hatches.
“But there is always a belief that something will come back in some way in Aberdeen and, when it does, that population will have money to spend.”
High hopes in the Highlands
Inverness, on the other hand, is in the midst of a growth spurt.
The population of the unofficial capital of the Highlands has grown 17.8% within the past decade to more than 79,000, according to the 2011 census.
The Highland Council expects that figure to top 100,000 by 2035.
Its retail and leisure offer is also moving fast to cater for a growing student population at the University of the Highlands and Islands – Scotland’s newest university – as well as the thousands of retired residents seeking a quiet and scenic lifestyle in Inverness.
Spearheaded by Eastgate Shopping Centre, the city’s retail proposition is expanding at a similar pace as its catchment, although retail parks and an out-of-town Tesco Extra have taken some footfall and trade away from the high street.
“The challenge it has had is the layout of the city centre with too many one-way streets,” McCorquodale says.
“That’s difficult for traditional retail because car parking is very difficult there.”
Yet there is one road that could create an appetite for retail in more remote Highland locations.
The North Coast 500 – Scotland’s self-styled “answer to Route 66” launched in March 2015 – begins in Inverness, taking in Applecross on the west coast, heading north to the towns of Torridon, Ullapool and passing by John O’Groats, before returning to Inverness via Dingwall.
The route is becoming increasingly popular with holidaymakers who are keen to see more of the countryside having initially flown into Edinburgh or Glasgow.
While those two cities remain unchallenged in their scrap to be seen as the Flower of Scotland, the country’s wider retail scene can continue to blossom.


text:
Statistics from the UK's largest free to use discount and voucher code website have revealed that sales related to online supermarket shopping have outstripped electronic and gadget related online sales for the first time since internet retail was established.
More people than ever before are now buying their weekly shopping online from supermarkets with Tesco taking the lead as the customers favourite, meaning that for the first time ever, internet based sales of electronic items such as computers and televisions are not the number one most purchased items on the web.
Sales statistics from MyVoucherCodes have revealed that more people are now looking to find bargains on their essential items such as bread and milk and are being attracted to the online supermarket sites because of the exclusive offers and discounts on home delivery as well as shopping.
The Top Four current online shopping sectors are; online grocery shopping with 31% of sales; 25% of sales for electronic items such as computers, TV's and gadgets; 21% of sales attributed to clothing and fashion items and; 15% of sales related to holidays.
Having identified the upwards trend in web-based supermarket shopping MyVoucherCodes commissioned further research into which supermarkets were the most popular and how much was being spent on average.
4238 people from across the UK took part in the research and revealed that Tesco leads the way when it comes to the most popular online supermarket website with 44.2% of people saying they shopped at the retail giant leaving ASDA trailing with just 23.2% and Sainsbury's with only 11.7% of market share. The rest of sales were attributed between brands such as Waitrose, OCADO, Iceland and John Lewis*.
The research also revealed that the average amount spent on online groceries was £53.00 per week and the North West is the region that uses online supermarkets the most, followed by the South East.


text:
Geekbench benchmarks for the new iPod touch prove Apple has made lots of improvements to the fifth-generation device, with its dual-core A5 chip making it significantly faster than its predecessor. When compared with iPhone performance, however, the iPod touch is lagging far behind.
Despite the same 800MHz processor, the new iPod touch is still slightly slower then the iPhone 4S, and not even half as fast as the iPhone 5.
The iPod touch, which has 512MB of RAM, scored 617 in the latest Geekbench tests, a big improvement over the 378 points scored by its predecessor. It’s also faster than the original iPad, which scores 454 — but didn’t quite meet the iPhone 4S, which scores 653.
As for the iPhone 5, the new iPod touch doesn’t even come close. Its dual-core A6 processor, clocked at 1300MHz, means it scores a whopping 1572 in Geekbench tests, far more than any other iOS device. Only the third-generation iPad comes remotely close, with 823 points.
While the new iPod touch may look like a great alternative to the iPhone 5 for those who don’t need the phone, then, it’s hardly going to provide you with the same experience. While the device certainly isn’t sluggish, there will be a noticeable difference at times — especially when it comes to gaming.


text:
The Google Play store has finally graduated. The update is now finally available to the first few Chromebooks, but only two out of the trio. Gasp.
That’s right. Google announced that it’s bringing Android apps over to Chromebooks via the Google Play store. The update, however, has always been in the developer channel because it was never stable enough to release to the general public. It was basically still in beta testing for bugs, patches, and security issues. But now, most of those have been sorted out and the update is considered good-to-go for now. Of course, more updates will roll out to fix bugs which will be found as it’s now released to a larger audience. Not a problem though, as owners can report these issues to Google by a feedback form and have them patch it up.
The first two Chromebooks get Android apps
The Android update has always been in the works for a few Chromebook models, which have had access to the developer channel for a while now. You would be able to play around with the Play store update even if you didn’t have these specific models as long as you were in the developer channel. But if you wanted to be the first to get the actual update, you had to either have the Acer R11 or the Asus Chromebook Flip. There was a third Chromebook- the Google Pixel 2015 model, which was supposed to be a part of this group to receive the first Play store updates. This didn’t happen. Only two out of the three Chromebooks have received the update so far.[the_ad id=”2505″]
Now, the company has been slowly working towards bringing the update to the public. As of now, Google Play access is fully available in the stable channel for those two Chromebooks. This means, any owner of the Acer R11 or Asus Chromebook Flip can use an update to the newest Chrome OS version, which allows the use of Android apps on Chromebook.
Play store update coming to your Chromebook
Google stated that Google Play access should be available for the Chromebook Pixel (2015) soon and that they would add support for more devices. So if you’re an owner, fret not. The update will be released to the original trio.
If, however, you don’t own one of these Chromebooks, don’t be worried. Google plans to add support to plenty more Chromebook models from all makes and manufacturers. Check out this list and see if your Chromebook is planned to receive the Play store update.
The Play store is still pretty much in beta, and you have to manually turn it on the Settings menu. If you want to test it out since you don’t own either of those Chromebooks, you can do so. Be forewarned that the experience won’t be without error. Using an app built for a smartphone or tablet on a laptop using a keyboard and touchpad isn’t a smooth transition if you really think about it, no? Of course.[the_ad id=”2477″]
Either way, this is huge for Google. Two out of three Chromebooks have received the initial update, and plenty more are on the list. Some manufacturers are starting to use hardware built for the porting of Play store apps on Chromebooks, such as Lenovo with its Yoga Book and other brands with more touchscreen integration and tweaks to make apps a more seamless experience on Chromebooks. A small step for updates. A Big step for Google. As Chromebooks evolve, we should see them more suited for apps all around.


text:
Peg Johnson Brings Deep Operational Experience with Focus on Customer Success
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 13, 2017 /CNW/ -- i2c, a global provider of smarter payments and integrated commerce solutions, today announced that it has appointed Peg Johnson as executive vice president of Global Client Success to oversee global operations of its client services and customer success organizations. Reporting directly to i2c's Chief Executive Officer Amir Wain, Ms. Johnson will continue to scale the company's service delivery operations and lead a team of professionals dedicated to customer success.
"Our clients' success is the foundation of our business," said i2c CEO Amir Wain. "We are on a path to $1 billion in revenue, and we're committed to expanding our operational expertise and footprint to support this growth. Peg is a strategic addition to the company, and I am excited to have her join the executive team. She brings deep financial services industry experience and operational expertise in building large global success organizations."
Ms. Johnson has over 20 years of experience running global service delivery teams in the payments industry, working with the world's largest credit, debit, and prepaid issuers. She comes to i2c from First Data Corporation, where she was senior vice president of business operations and led client services for the company's Financial Services organization, managing 400 employees responsible for the strategic interface between the company's executive, legal, and product teams and its clients.
"I am excited to join i2c because its success comes not just from its best-in-class payments processing technology, but also because of the focus on making clients successful," commented Ms. Johnson. "I'm passionate about customers and leading teams that build winning relationships, and I look forward to scaling success and expanding a world-class service delivery organization."
About i2c Inc.
From its Silicon Valley headquarters, i2c provides smarter payments and integrated commerce solutions that financial institutions, corporations, brands, and governments around the world rely on to deliver high impact, personalized experiences today's consumers expect. i2c's single, global cloud-based platform supports virtually any card payment program in plastic, virtual, or mobile form. Our customers use the i2c Agile Processing platform to deliver profitable credit, debit, and prepaid solutions that meet the highly differentiated needs of cardholders in 216 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.i2cinc.com.
SOURCE i2c Inc.
For further information: John Sommerfield; VP, Corporate Marketing; +1 (650) 480-5275; [email protected], http://www.i2cinc.com


text:
Nintendo reveals Cranky Kong as a playable character in Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime made the company's first appearance on the VGAs at VGX this year to show off some new gameplay from Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze.
Cranky Kong has been a big character in the Donkey Kong series but has not been a playable character until now.
Fils-Aime also announced a release date for Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze. It will hit the Wii U on February 21st of next year in North America although there's no news on a European launch yet.


text:
Nexus refers to them as ‘impact investments’ — businesses where the pursuit of profits is accompanied by the premise of social good.
In the four years it has been in India, Nexus has invested $10 million in social businesses. However, in the next six months alone, it expects to match that amount. Says Sandeep Singhal, co-founder, Nexus: “Businesses are targeting the bottom of the pyramid because people have a genuine ability to pay. So, we are looking at a few good deals in this space.”
It’s not just Nexus that is looking at a sharp increase in exposure to social businesses.
Each of the seven VCs that invest in social businesses that ET spoke to say they expect to increase their investments in such ventures at a faster pace. These seven VCs, which started investing in social businesses at various points between 1997 and 2009, have invested $220 million in such ventures in India so far. In the next six months, they say, they expect to add a combined $53 million.
In its five years here, Acumen, a dedicated social-investing fund, has invested $20 million in 12 social businesses. Rajan Kundra, director of its capital markets and energy portfolio in the US, says interest is growing. Acumen receives several hundred proposals in a year. Currently, it has 8-10 deals in the pipeline and expects to close two by the end of this year in India.
Says Mr Kundra: “The flow of capital in such businesses is a poor indication of the dialogue that VCs are having with companies looking to serve the bottom-of-the-pyramid customers.”
The big addition, however, is not expected to come from dedicated social-investing VCs like Acumen and Aavishkaar. It is expected to come from VCs which are known for investing in out-and-out commercial ventures and have since diversified into social businesses.
For instance, VenturEast, which has invested $162 million across 30 social businesses, hopes to secure incremental investments of $25 million in the next six months — the maximum in this space. Nexus follows it, with $10 million.
Traditional VCs are beginning to see the base of the pyramid as future consumers, with significant collective buying power. Says Sarath Naru, managing partner, VenturEast: “The opportunity is large, as there is a huge need for such businesses. This is attracting a lot more VC interest.”
The focus of social investing is on sectors like education, clean technologies, electronic waste, microfinance and recycling, among others, as compared to, say, wine-making or TV shows, where there’s no direct social benefit.
For instance, VenturEast has invested $4 million in Kolkata-based Orion Edutech. Orion trains youngsters to work in call centres. Its clients include Wipro, IBM, Genpact and Tech Mahindra. It has about 100 training centres across 17 states; of this, 66 centres are in tier-II and tier-III cities like Bijapur, Siliguri, Trichy and Agartala. “We have invested in Orion as it provides employment to rural and semi-urban youth,” says Mr Naru.
Orion, which began in 2006 with an initial investment of Rs 3 lakh, posted revenues of Rs 21 crore in 2009-10. “This year, we expect to cross Rs 40 crore,” says Manish Agarwal, director, Orion. Mr Agarwal and his team have trained about 50,000 students till date.
Over the next three years, Orion plans to open about 500 centres, in India and in neighbouring countries with large bottom-of-the-pyramid potential like Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Kenya and China.
The growing presence of traditional VCs in the social-investing space is opening up a debate on the ‘social impact’ of the businesses they are investing in. Aavishkaar Venture Management has been managing a pure social-investing fund since 2002, and has invested $7 million in 18 businesses. Vijay Rajagopal, its investment manager of services, says: “Some of the mainstream VC investments might have a superficial social relevance, unlike us.” In other words, the profitability of a scalable business model is much more attractive to such funds than doing social good, which can be incidental.
Where an Aavishkaar won’t invest in a company that is not motivated by social impact, Nexus or Indo US will, if they can see a payback. “One can’t build a business to touch a million lives by being purely social,” argues Mr Singhal of Nexus. “The idea is to provide a quality product at an affordable price, but do it in a manner that is scalable.”
Mr Singhal’s argument is that once a business becomes scalable, it has the potential to impact more lives. “So, yes, in that sense, our businesses would not be as cheap as a completely social one,” concedes Mr Singhal. Nexus looks for an IRR (internal rate of return) of 25-30% from its investments. Getting that from a pure social business is not easy.
So far, VCs have invested $220 million in 77 social businesses in India. But there hasn’t been a single exit. In conventional commercial ventures, VCs work with a holding period of 3-5 years. In social businesses, the holding period is longer — typically, 6-8 years. Aavishkaar, for instance, is currently working on its first partial stake sale in a company — it refused to give the name — in which it invested eight years ago.
Investors of a conventional VC like Nexus include private investors, institutions, university endowments, foundations and sovereign funds. Some of these investors — called ‘limited partners’ — might be more demanding for a payback. By comparison, a pure social-investing fund like Acumen is funded entirely through grant money. Its investors are more inclined to philanthropy, and will probably be more patient on the payback.
Social investing is a difficult space, where the challenge is to manage costs and squeeze more out of capital. Commercial funding tends to become available only after a business shows proof of concept. “Most of my companies have raised commercial capital from other funds,” says Vineet Rai, founder, Aavishkaar.
He says that Vaatsalya (an affordable hospital chain) has received $6-7 million in the past two years and Vortex (a rural ATM company) has received $1-1.5 million from new investors.
One way VCs are de-risking is by co-investing. Gray Matters Capital (GMC), a $12-million fund set up in 2006 under the Gray Ghost Ventures banner, invests in social-impact enterprises. It has invested $5.6 million in India, all co-investment deals with other funds. “Collaborations work well, as we need to share our knowledge with each other,” says Arun Gore, managing director and principal of Gray Ghost Ventures, social-venture investments division.
The strategy behind looking for co-investors is they are able to provide additional strategic, regional and sector expertise. Says Mr Gore: “Unless social funds like ours rope in mainstream investors, money will not come into this sector, without which it cannot mature.”
The other aspect VCs, dedicated or hybrid, are placing emphasis on is management quality. “When we invest in a company, we invest in people and expand the management teams at all levels,” says Kumar Shiralagi, managing director, India, IndoUS Ventures, a hybrid VC. Adds Eric Berkowitz, chief investment officer of Bamboo Finance, which manages the Oasis Fund: “We are active investors and typically seek a board seat with our investees.”
The objective of a board seat is to help these companies with governance, market development and microfinance linkages.
Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
ETPrime stories of the day
Under the lens
14 mins read
8 mins read
13 mins read


text:
“This leaves foreign investors wanting to set up Sino-foreign equity or cooperative joint ventures in something of a dilemma due to the change in governance structures,” McGinty observes. “Do they set up a JV now under the old rules and renegotiate with their partner down the line, or do they agree two sets of documents now and have a ‘flip-over’ to the new documents on Jan. 1, or do they wait till the effective date of the FIL thus giving them better visibility as to the outcome of the trade war and what the implementing regulations will look like?”
“The FIL also sets forth new rules for the protection of intellectual property and technology transfer compliance, both in response to an escalation of disputes in these two areas and as China takes new steps towards market reform. While the new law aims to promote trade and break down barriers for foreign investment, the ongoing trade tensions have caused multinationals to adopt a more cautious approach towards market entry or exit in the U.S. and China,” says Dora Wang, Partner in Reed Smith’s Global Regulatory Enforcement group.
“Many Chinese and U.S. companies have also become more vigilant in managing the compliance issues and commercial and employment disputes that often surface during wind-downs or corporate restructuring, which could be corruption or bribery, HR-related disputes or even environmental noncompliance, or any issues that might trigger a government investigation. These MNCs recognize that they need to step up their efforts to curtail and remediate noncompliance in order to avoid becoming targets of regulatory enforcement in China or the U.S.,” Wang comments.
“We are seeing a significant uptick in legal risk assessments, investigations and regulatory advisory work in the areas with the most enforcement activity—trade sanctions, antitrust and competition law, cybersecurity, and anti-corruption and anti-bribery compliance, for example—as there is a growing concern among multinational companies that they face heightened regulatory scrutiny in the current environment. Chinese companies and foreign companies that transact business with Chinese entities are seeking our legal advice in recalibrating their risk profiles and risk mitigation strategies in light of the changes they see in the external environment,” Wang notes.
“For example, a client may contact us for advice on how to restructure its supply chain or reroute its logistics in order to minimize the impact of tariffs and comply with international sanctions. In doing so, the client may discover previous noncompliance, or disputes may arise as a result of stopping payment or the delivery of goods in connection with the sanctions. Over the course of our representation, we could end up assisting the client with advice on international trade sanctions, multijurisdictional import and tariff rules, contract disputes, banking regulations, and international shipping, as well as conducted an internal investigation and a compliance system upgrade.”
With the recent news about Huawei and other major Chinese firms, “many Chinese companies are reaching out to us on advice regarding how to comply with U.S. export controls and sanctions,” says McGinty. “We help them set up export control compliance programs and guide them when they discover a potential violation of U.S. or other jurisdictions’ export control laws.”
On the trade remedies side, the number of U.S. investigations has doubled in the past two years. “So, we have represented a wide array of Chinese companies and their U.S. importers in front of the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission assisting in either reducing the tariff levels or making arguments that the U.S. industry was not ‘injured’ as a result of the tariffs,” he notes.
As far as tariffs are concerned, companies are seeking exemptions from the bilateral tariffs but both countries have product exclusion processes where companies can argue that a specific product should not face tariffs. “We represent clients before the U.S. Trade Representative. While it is a difficult policy environment, we find that a targeted message regarding the potential economic harm can help avoid the tariffs,” says McGinty.
“Many companies, therefore, have already started proactively considering modifying or diversifying their supply chains, looking at alternative investments, or increasing their investments in other countries in the region that are less affected by the trade tensions,” Wang points out. And the most burning questions for them, according to McGinty, are about actual investments currently going through the CFIUS process in Washington.


text:
If you are over 35, you probably don’t know much about electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigs”. Millennials call smoking e-cigs and e-hookahs “vaping”, a term describing the way an e-cig heats flavored liquids containing nicotine to generate vapor that is then inhaled.
Nicotine used to make e-cig liquids is extracted from traditional cigarette tobacco and combined with colorings, chemicals, flavorings and propylene glycol. Found in many processed foods, medications and cosmetics, propylene glycol helps the body absorb certain chemicals more efficiently. Manufacturers of e-cig fluids add propylene glycol to nicotine-based solutions to enhance the smoothness and taste of the vapor.
What is the FDA Doing to Stop the E-Cig Craze?
After months of speculation about action the FDA was going to take, some reports going as far as saying the FDA would out-right ban e-cigarettes, they unveiled their plan. On November 15, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a series of actions intended to reduce the number of young people who are smoking flavored cigarettes and e-cigs. Some things the FDA plan to implement include:
- Increasing enforcement of regulatory laws against retailers selling electronic cigarette products to people under 18 years of age;
- Working with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to target manufacturers of e-liquids who use misleading imagery (lollipops and juice boxes, for example) that deliberately appeals to older teenagers and young adults;
- Working with Ebay to eliminate listings for e-cigarettes and flavored cigarettes.
In addition, the FDA says it wants to ban flavored cigars, menthol cigarettes and restrict sales of e-cigs online. However, the FDA does not plan to completely ban vape flavors being sold in brick-and-mortar stores.
A ban on menthol cigarettes requires completely new regulations which may take years to pass. But the FDA intends on pursuing such regulation because research clearly indicates menthol cigarettes are difficult to quit and more attractive to younger people than non-menthol cigarettes.
Statistics on E-cig and Flavored Cigarette Use in the U.S.
- The US e-cig market expanded 40% in 2017 and generated over $1 billion in sales;
- High schoolers using vaping devices has increased nearly 80% since 2017;
- The most popular vaping products are made by Juul, a rapidly growing e-cig company offering exotic flavors and vaping devices that conveniently burn “pods” instead of fluids;
- A CDC study recently found that the majority of adults resorting to smoking e-cigs while trying to stop smoking traditional cigarettes ended up using BOTH products;
- Nearly 5% of all U.S. middle schoolers (ages 11 to 14) report smoking e-cigs on a regular basis;
- A University of Michigan study discovered that young people using e-cigs are four times more likely to begin smoking traditional cigarettes within one year.
Dangers of Using E-cigarettes
In addition to nicotine, e-cig aerosol contains heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other possibly carcinogenic substances meant to enhance nicotine activity in the brain. A 2018 article in Pediatrics examined urine samples of 16 year olds using e-cigs and found excessively high amounts of cancer-causing VOCs like propylene oxide, crotonaldehyde and benzene in their urine. Authors of the study state that although e-cig vapor is slightly less dangerous than tobacco smoke, the combination of nicotine and VOCs inhaled by young people carries a genuine risk for development of cancer and other diseases as they age.
Why Does the FDA Want to Restrict Sales of Menthol Cigarettes?
Contrary to a long-standing belief that menthol cigarettes are less harmful than non-flavored cigarettes, menthol cigarettes pose a definite health risk higher than the risk seen with non-flavored cigarettes. Researchers have found that the mint-flavored coolness of menthol cigarette smoke covers up the harshness of tobacco smoke. Consequently, people tend to smoke more menthol cigarettes than non-menthol cigarettes.


text:
By April 15th next year, 2.1 million residents in the Delaware Valley will file a tax return. More than 53% of these returns will be completed by the taxpayer themselves, either by hand or with the help of an online provider like Turbotax.
Every season, Philadelphia area small business owners who specialize in tax preparation services lose customers to the do-it-yourself options. This year, 975,000 local consumers will spend $188,000,000 with tax professionals. But, based on the average cost of services, more than $215,000,000 will stay in the wallets of the DIY crowd.
To clawback this enormous amount of money from the DIY market, local tax services will need to advertise the valuable benefits of using a professional.
The best advertising option for tax professionals is on Philadelphia radio stations. Here's why.