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Organizations twitchy about letting staff use social networks have a new cloud-based message and file encryption system to consider.
Wave Systems Corp.’s Scrambls service, released in May for consumers, now has an enterprise version which the company says allows employees to securely send files by email, post Tweets or blogs and use cloud services like Dropbox without endangering enterprise security.
“Here’s an opportunity to have private communications but have all the benefits of the broader social media environment,” said Wave CEO Steven Sprague.
Like the free consumer version, Scrambls is a browser plug-in for Firefox, Chrome and Safari that has to be on both the sender and receiver’s PC. Users open it through an email or Facebook identity. It then encrypts and scrambles text in Web applications. Users create lists of those allowed to read a Scrambls message. Anyone not on the list can’t read the message.
Messages and files go straight to the recipient. Wave Systems only controls the encryption keys.
There’s a Scrambls for Windows application for encrypting files and directories either sent through the cloud or on a USB flash drive. Like the cloud service, only those on the permission list can decrypt the data.
There’s also a software development kit allowing Scrambls technology to be embedded in applications by developers or systems integrators as a Web service.
Wave has created Scrambls iPhone and Android apps for Twitter.
To get the attention of enterprises, Wave is now offering a paid service giving IT administrators the ability to mange Scrambls users’ accounts through corporate email directory domains. Rules can be invoked such as an expiration date for a file or a password needed to view a message.
The enterprise service is priced at between US$10 and US$12 a person a year, with volume discounts available.
To ensure people don’t impersonate a corporate official online, Sprague said organizations have to sign up manually for the enterprise version.
One problem is that there is no plug-in for Internet Explorer. Sprague said that’s being worked on.


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General manager, eBay
New entry Miriam Lahage has ensured that eBay Fashion Outlet is a business to watch over the next 12 months. A range of new initiatives this year, including an augmented reality feature on its iPhone app that allows customers to virtually try on sunglasses, will have competitors on their toes as they await the transition of the technology to clothing. A number of collaborations with high-end designers such as Derek Lam have elevated eBay’s market positioning. Its latest ad campaign, launched in October, will push brand awareness even further among consumers.
Most likely to… Be listening to jazz. Lahage tweeted earlier this year that she was being interviewed for Jazz FM with some of her favourite artists including Django Reinhardt and Billie Holiday.

domain: news


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If you have been remotely following the investment world recently, you are well aware that NFTs have taken the world by storm.
There are now quite a few stocks making use of this technology, opening up a new realm of possibilities for investors. If you are ready to add to your portfolio, you will want to know about some of the top NFT stocks that have potential.
This is why we have scoured the market to find the top ten NFT stocks that may be worth your time to look into.
What Are the BEST NFT Stocks to Invest In?
NFT stocks are relatively new on the investment horizon, the following should give you a solid starting point on which to base your decision.
Coinbase is one of the top crypto trading and investing platforms in the world. They have made it easy for anyone to buy, sell, and exchange various cryptocurrencies.
In reality, Coinbase has successfully made buying crypto as easy, if not easier than buying a stock.
After riding the NFT wave throughout 2021, Coinbase jumped on the bandwagon by creating an actual NFT marketplace. This is how people worldwide can buy and trade NFTs.
With Coinbase offering services around all aspects of the crypto and NFT community, this may be a stock worth watching in the near and long term.
With the market for NFTs continuing to boom, this is seen as a way for Coinbase to increase its revenue base, which bodes well for its investors in the coming years.
Twitter has recently expressed a whole-hearted desire to embrace the NFT movement. In fact, its CEO Jack Dorsey created an NFT out of his first tweet and sold it for nearly $3 million, on March 22, 2021.
It is already possible for individuals to now sell tweets that have been turned into NFTs, so this is almost certain to add to Twitter’s bottom line in the coming years.
This does not appear to be some passing fad. The fact that a major company like Twitter has jumped on board with NFTs demonstrates its staying power.
It is turning the company into the type of environmentally-friendly organization that investors today are looking for.
To further solidify the company’s spot in the NFT space, Twitter announced that they are incorporating NFT verification into their platform.
This means that users of Twitter are able to connect their web3 wallet to their profile in order to display any NFT they own, as well as verify that the digital assets displayed are indeed owned by the user operating the profile.
The fact that Twitter moved so quickly to begin associating NFTs with its brand is a huge signifier that Twitter may have the potential to be a solid NFT stock worth looking into.
Nike is another major company to look out for on the NFT front. They have long been the world leader in terms of sneakers and other apparel that retain their value and that people love to collect.
Now, Nike has received a patent that allows them to make NFTs out of many of its iconic shoes and designs. These digital assets will be available for sale in their store which they are building across multiple metaverses.
You could say that Nike is leading the race to create and offer their products and services to customers in both the real world and the virtual world.
This is attracting countless customers and investors who already believe in the long-term value of NFTs and Nike as a brand in general, so this may be an NFT stock that is worthwhile to own moving forward.
Microsoft has recently started to reward players with a certain number of NFTs that they can use inside Minecraft. Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world, meaning this opens up the world of NFTs to an entirely new customer base.
The incorporation of NFTs in gaming incentivizes players to access different parts of the game and expand their playing horizons. This can be extended to other games in the future as well.
Moreover, Microsoft announced that they are building out several of their platforms to be available to use virtually, from anywhere in the world, inside the metaverse.
This means that people around the world will be able to have meetings, present PowerPoint, and operate a business in a virtual environment, from any location in the world.
In my opinion, I believe the potential for this NFT stock is high.
The new face of Facebook is about to take the NFT world by storm as well. After announcing in 2021 that it will be rebranding as the Meta Platform, this company will likely define what it means to be virtual in the coming years.
This change of name doesn’t change Facebook’s (Meta’s) mission—to connect people all around the world, but it does position Meta to capitalize on the emerging trend towards NFTs and the virtual realm known as the metaverse.
If you thought that Facebook couldn’t grow any bigger, you thought wrong. With Meta making such innovative and bold moves in this space, there’s no doubt in my mind that Meta will be one of the top NFT-related stocks to invest in for years to come.
6. NBA Top Shot
As one of the most iconic professional sports leagues globally, the NBA has quite a bit of history to celebrate.
To create its own version of a collectible digital commodity, the NBA collaborated with Canadian-based Dapper Labs, creators of the NFT CryptoKitties game, to create NBA Top Shot.
NBA Top Shot is a crypto-collectible that customers may buy as an NFT collectible. Recently, the Top Shot brand has begun trading various NFTs containing moments from its 75-year history.
At the time of writing this article, NBA Top Shot has a market cap of more than $700 million. The results have been astounding, to the tune of a nearly 70% increase in trading volume in 2021 alone.
Although the NBA is not a publicly-traded stock, you can still invest in NBA Top Shot by purchasing their NFTs.
Visa has also started investing heavily in NFTs. Just recently, the company bought a digital NFT avatar known as a CryptoPunk. This demonstrates the company’s belief that NFTs have value in the future of society.
By jumping in now, Visa may be well-positioned to take advantage of future trades and transactions that are made with NFTs. There are several thousand avatars alone that Visa could add to its portfolio in the near future.
Think about it for a second. The fact that a well-known financial institution has bought its own NFT is a statement in itself.
Visa may as well have said, “Hey, we’re Visa. We are an open-minded and innovative financial institution that’s willing to adapt to current cultural movements that we often experience as a society.”
Point is, companies that are willing to change with the times, are generally the companies that stay in business and do it successfully. Visa is no exception to this adapt-or-die business model.
Starting with fantasy sports and quickly evolving into an online sports betting platform, DraftKings is now becoming an online marketplace where investors can buy and sell NFTs of famous athletes.
This is huge. They began with several Tom Brady NFTs and plan to add to that portfolio as time progresses. Their stock prices have gone nowhere but up since this announcement.
What DraftKings seems to be aiming to do is create a brand that allows fans to invest in their favorite sports players and teams on a large scale.
This is a very smart move if you really think about it, considering the love for sports that we have as a society.
DraftKings is a company that always seems to be at the forefront of innovation. Likely due to its co-founders, Matt Kalish and serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.
Knowing that I’d say DraftKings is a good company to consider investing in.
9. Funko Inc
Funko Inc. is an American manufacturer of licensed and limited edition pop culture collectibles, primarily known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads.
If you are not familiar with Funko Inc., this company specializes in the trading of collectible pop merchandise and is considered a leader in pop culture content.
That means that they are ideally suited for the NFT marketplace, and they have recently done that in a big-time way with their purchase of TokenWave.
TokenWave is an app that tracks various holdings in NFTs. This makes Funko Inc. a significant player in this world very early, meaning their stock may be worth watching as well.
Shopify is a global online marketplace where individuals can sell just about anything to anybody on the planet. They recently began allowing merchants on their platform to sell NFTs.
The possibilities are endless with this, as millions of dollars of transactions have already taken place on the Shopify platform.
This caused a jump in the stock price at the time of that announcement, with future growth being predicted. If there’s one thing Shopify knows how to do, it’s sell products and various goods online.
NFTs are another sector where Shopify can scale its expertise, making the brand a top company you may want to invest in to keep your eyes on.
The ten companies just described tend to be popular brand names, and as such, they have helped NFT stocks come to the mainstream in the investment world.
Consider each one carefully and determine which of them fits in well with your overall investment strategy. The key is to do your research and make informed decisions that hopefully will pay off in the end. Stay curious.


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It's Thursday, September 15th of 2011.
I'm Wilson Tang of CNET.com and it's time to get loaded.
You don't need to be a friend to follow someone on Facebook anymore.
The social network has joined the likes of Twitter and Google Plus offering a way to subscribe someone's public post without the person friending you back.
And you can choose the type of post you wanna get like photos or status updates.
The Subscribe button will only show up if the person activates
the subscribe feature.
You can find the link to that at the Facebook blog.
Netflix expected people to unsubscribe after raising prices, but the drop will be greater than the company initially anticipated.
Netflix predicted its third quarter would have 9.8 million streaming-only users down from the 10 million users it estimated in July.
And forecast on DVD-only subscribers dropped also from 3 million this summer to 2.2 million.
But for those who want both streaming and DVDs, Netflix sees those numbers unchanged estimating 12 million
users would keep both services.
The Vita of the PlayStation Vita has been revealed.
Vita means life and at the Tokyo Game Show this week, Sony said the battery life of the new handheld system will last for 3 to 5 hours of gaming and about 5 hours of video playback which is similar to the Nintendo 3DS.
That is when the 3D effects are turn on; otherwise, the 3DS lasts longer for 8 hours of game play.
Sony also showed out some accessories for the Vita like earbuds, cases and cradles but still no word on a North American
launch date, which is sometime next year.
It will be available in Japan December 17th.
Get ready world, your cute kitten videos will have slightly better lighting and editing thanks to a retouching and editing tool being added to YouTube.
The built-in video editor will let users make a quick fix without having to re-upload the video and has settings to adjust contrast, color, trimming the start and end of the clip and stabilizing shaky video.
Dyson products are always hot in the geek product, but this one is literally hot, really.
Hot is the name
of the Dyson's newest gadget, a room heater and much like the Air Multiplier, a bladeless fan.
This is a bladeless way to stay toasty reaching up to 99 degrees.
It auto-turns off if the room has reached the desired temperature and also turns off if it tips over.
It's retailing for $400.
That's about $100 more than what the Air Multiplier went for when it first launched.
And if you think it's all hot air, you're wrong.
You can blow air without the heat on if you want.
Those are your headlines for today.
I'm Wilson Tang for CNET.com and you've just been loaded.


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Tech earnings kick off in a big way next week.» Read More
Investors will want to keep a close eye on Netflix's subscribers numbers, when the company releases its quarterly report after the bell on Monday.
Sony PS4 sales hit the 7 million mark earlier this month. Microsoft has some work to do if it wants to stay competitive.
Start-ups often find it tough to protect their ideas, especially when faced with so-called "clone factories." But most are unfazed.
CNBC's Jon Fortt breaks down the data on Intel's Q1 earnings and revenues, and discusses where the real growth will come from for the chip maker.
Yahoo shares, which are down roughly 15 percent since the start of the year, rose about as much as 8 percent in after-hours trading.
Intel posted quarterly earnings Tuesday that edged past expectations, while revenue was slightly below estimates. Shares rose in extended-hours trading.
Facebook's latest moves in mobile have demonstrated how messaging is shifting from SMS texts to full-blown content sharing, including money.
Yahoo's recently fired chief operating officer left the Internet company with a severance package of $58 million after just 15 months on the job.
A new agreement requires GrubHub to ensure fees it charges restaurants for its service does not sap tips from delivery people or other workers.
Analysts had expected the company to report earnings excluding items of $6.40 a share on $15.52 billion in revenue.
China's Weibo has priced its initial public offering at $17 per American Depository Share, at the bottom of its planned range.
Is Google fiber coming to New York? CNBC's Jon Fortt and Peter Kafka, Re/Code senior editor, discuss the possible entrance of Google fiber into the New York marketplace and what hurdles the tech giant will have to clear.
Here's what investors need to look for in Google's earnings on Wednesday.
Why Google's modular phone beats Google Glass as the gadget to keep an eye out for from the search giant.
Peter Kafka, Re/code senior editor, weighs in on Yahoo's quarterly earnings and shares his expectations for Alibaba's IPO debut. CNBC's Jon Fortt, discusses.
The wireless industry announced a voluntary commitment to include new anti-theft technology on phones starting next year.
Samsung Electronics is spending more to build its new flagship Galaxy S5 than the previous model despite a slowdown in the high-end smartphone market.
Calling the Heartbleed bug one of the "worst seen in the internet age", Nick Sullivan, Systems Engineer at Cloudflare, discusses the severity of the security flaw.
Four major tech companies said witnesses should not be allowed to offer evidence that Steve Jobs was a "bully" during an upcoming hiring trial.
John Sculley, former Apple CEO and Managing Partner at Inflexionpoint, discusses his company's acquisitions in Singapore and India.
Get the best of CNBC in your inbox
Matt Hunter is the senior technology editor at CNBC.com.
Ari Levy is CNBC.com's senior technology reporter in San Francisco.
Cadie Thompson is a tech reporter for the Enterprise Team for CNBC.com.
Working from Los Angeles, Boorstin is CNBC's media and entertainment reporter and editor of CNBC.com's Media Money section.
Jon Fortt is an on-air editor. He covers the companies, start-ups, and trends that are driving innovation in the industry.
Josh Lipton is CNBC's technology correspondent, working from CNBC's Silicon Valley bureau.
Activism will change over time, but investors expressing ideas and helping to create value is not a fad, Keith Meister said.
Brian White of Cantor Fitzgerald says that he wouldn't be surprised if Apple saw more watch additions sold in China than anywhere else.
Users almost universally hailed Apple's flagship wearable as a transformative moment in mobile tech. But do you need to run out and buy one? Maybe not.


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The eatery has closed for the second and final time.
UPDATE [ 3/1/2016 11:27 AM ]: The restaurant’s website’s homepage has announced its closing.
Paper Mill Grill has chilled.
The restaurant, located at 255 Village Parkway Northeast in the Paper Mill Village shopping center in Marietta, has updated its Facebook page hours to indicate that the establishment is permanently closed.
Erec Ottensmeyer left Downtown Decatur staple Leon’s Full Service in 2015 to be the Chef at Paper Mill Grill when it re-opened – after shuttering for the first time in late 2014 – almost a year ago in April.
Paper Mill Restaurant served American cuisine serving up modern takes on traditional fare and craft cocktails.


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26 June 2019
Inspired by our heritage - EAT.TASTE.CENTRAL will celebrate Central's unique flavours this Spring
Leading on from the success of the first two Eat.Taste.Central events, Tourism Central Otago is excited to announce that the 2019 Eat.Taste.Central will run from 20 September to 28 October and has attracted additional support from a range of new partners and collaborators.
Eat.Taste.Central is an amazing opportunity to showcase not only Central Otago's cafés, restaurants and cellars doors but also the region's local ingredients, artisan producers, internationally acclaimed wines, craft beers and fruit beverages.
This year TCO has challenged venues to create dishes inspired by the region's heritage, whether that is particular flavours, a traditional recipe with a new twist, or incorporating some of our pioneering history into their creations. A new category of Tapas, Shared Plates and Boards will also open up new ways for venues to showcase their skills and flavour combinations.
MiNDFOOD has signed on to support the event for a second year, bolstering Tourism Central Otago's promotional efforts and MiNDFOOD's Editor-in-Chief Michael McHugh said MiNDFOOD will again have a representative on the judging panel.
"Once again we are looking forward to seeing the talent and skill across the region, and tasting some really good food. At MiNDFOOD we love finding and showcasing talent, and Eat.Taste.Central is a perfect platform for locals to show the rest of New Zealand what is happening food wise in Central," said Mr McHugh.
Interest in the campaign and the support from Tourism Central Otago's Advisory Board has helped connect with new partners including GO Rentals, who recently opened a new rental car branch based at Dunedin Airport to complement its Queenstown branch.
"GO Rentals is excited to be supporting travellers to explore the Central Otago region with their taste buds. GO Rentals has branches in both Dunedin and Queenstown, making it all too easy to pick up a rental car and get out on a culinary road trip," said James Dalglish, GO Rentals Managing Director.
Closer to home The Central App has also signed on for a second year supporting the event through a special section on the App.
"Based on evidence from last year, the E.T.C competition is very popular, and we have every reason to believe this popularity will continue to grow. All participating outlets work extremely hard to provide their top dishes using Central's superb local ingredients, matched with local wines and beers. Our taste buds are again in for a treat. We can't wait," said Marielle Craighead, Managing Director of The Central App.
E.T.C campaign manager Antz Longman said TCO was continually looking to grow the event. "The new partnerships for 2019 help lift the event and awareness of Central Otago's food and wine offering. Alongside our key partners this year we're collaborating with organisations like Central Otago Winegrowers, Eat New Zealand, Air New Zealand and Dunedin Airport."
"We will now be supporting venues, producers and business to create a range of Regional Menu offerings and unique one-offs of events that you won't want to miss," said Mr Longman.
"Central Otago is now becoming recognised as a real must visit food and wine destination in New Zealand. Combined with our landscapes, world-class cycle trails, pioneering heritage and welcoming people, it's a pretty attractive destination for a real New Zealand holiday experience."
Eat.Taste.Central gives visitors and locals an additional excuse to travel around the region during Spring and sample the best local flavours and food experiences.
Full details will be loaded onto the event website www.eattastecentral.co.nz as they are confirmed.


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ARARAT - The Christmas trade period has been hailed quiet but steady by Ararat business owners, with visitors to the region helping to boost takings in the lead up to the festive season and in the traditional bargain hunting period following boxing day.
While online and out of town shopping lures many away from Ararat, many business owners believe locals are still supporting Ararat businesses and are being rewarded with good customer service and prices better than expected, proving that taking your shopping dollar out of the region is not always the smartest choice.
Rob Stebbing from Lyal Eales Stores said Christmas trade in the seven-day-a-week business was quieter than the previous year, but last minute shopping on Christmas eve and post Christmas was good.
"The Monday before Christmas and Christmas eve was really busy and it has been busy after Christmas too," Mr Stebbing said.
"Last year was an exceptional year and we were always going to be chasing high figures this year."
With Christmas now a memory and thoughts turning to holidays, camping gear is proving popular, even more so with good weather experienced over the Christmas/New Year period.
Lyal Eales has traded seven-days-a-week for the past 15 years and Mr Stebbing believes it is something all business owners in Ararat should consider.
"We have always have traded seven days a week," he said.
"Some try it for three months, and give up, but you need to do it for six months for it to take off. The first few months will be quiet, but it will pick up.
"It is surprising how many people are around on the weekend."
New business owner Debbie O'Brien, from Something Beautiful, experienced her first Christmas trade period this year and said while it was a good Christmas, she had 'nothing to compare it to'.
Ms O'Brien said she would have liked to have seen more locals shopping in town, but thanked those who did take the time to spend their money in Ararat.
"If people tried to buy local they would find that it was cheaper than going to Ballarat," she said.
"But it was a good Christmas, we were happy with it."
Ms O'Brien also said there appeared to be a few visitors in town since Christmas, and with cicadas proving an annoyance factor in Halls Gap, believes it may have had an impact on the number of people 'retreating' to nearby towns.
"The money that has been taken since Christmas has been from visitors," she said.
"We've seen a few tourists and they have been spending their money."
Jenny Hunter from Hidden Secrets also reported a quieter Christmas than the previous year, although was reasonably happy with takings and said there was a buzz of positivity around.
"We didn't get the passing trade that we usually get, people were browsing, not buying, to start with.
"People seemed to come in and get their ideas earlier so they knew what they wanted and then came back.
"People are a bit wary of their money now. But we did have happy customers who were happy to get what they could in town. The older ones tend to stay in town."
In relation to Christmas trading hours, Ms Hunter said businesses needed to consider opening on weekends in the lead up to Christmas.
"If some shops stay open they all need to be open, it's been a bone of contention for 20 years or more," she said.
"We are retailers and need to realise we are in a tourist town and need to accommodate people."
Ararat Chemmart's Monique Hargreaves agreed that business owners needed to consider extending their opening hours to the weekends before Christmas.
Chemmart also experienced a quieter Christmas trade period.
"We didn't really have that crazy Christmas buzz this year. I think a lot of people shop online now," she said.
Chemmart extended its hours to 9pm for two nights prier to Christmas, which Ms Hargreaves said in hindsight didn't work, however, the business extended opening times to 4pm on both the Saturday and Sunday prior to Christmas proved successful.
"Next year it would be good if more people extended their hours on a Saturday and Sunday," she said.
While planning to close at the end of February, Ararat's Toyland enjoyed a busy Christmas period with a 40 per cent off sale.
"The 40 per cent off made it really hectic, especially after Christmas, there were a lot of travellers around, a lot of new people I haven't seen before," Tim Plush said.
Mr Plush cited the internet as a contributing factor to quiet Christmas trade across the board.
"Everywhere you are getting the same story," he said.
Trade was steady right through December according to Graeme Foster from Fosters Mensland.
"Customers have supported our businesses and as in past years there was a rush towards the end of the month," he said.
Mr Foster said sales were on a par with the previous year and both Saturday and Sunday trading was encouraging.
"The last Sunday (prior to Christmas) in particular we traded well and there were a few people up the street on that last Sunday," he said.
"We need to acknowledge the efforts of ARBA and Council in getting together and encouraging people to shop locally, and having the City Band up the street."
Mr Foster also acknowledged The Ararat Advertiser in organising its annual Christmas promotion.


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Abatec introduces system to convert glycerol into methanol
Argentina-based Abatec SA has introduced its BD4-MG system to produce methanol from raw glycerol.
The Savoia BD4-MG system can treat 1,000 liters (250 gallons) per day of glycerol to produce around 35 percent dry methanol, 25 percent free fatty acids and balance of glycols. The only inputs are water and power, according to Abatec. The methanol and free fatty acids can be added to the alcoholysis reaction to reduce the cost of biodiesel production.
The company also offers the BD2-G reactor to convert 100 percent glycerol in cattle feed.


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As part of the 2019 edition of the North American Manufacturing Excellence Summit, Scott Schiller, HP 3D Printing’s VP, Global Head of Customer and Market Development, gave an in-depth interview on how Industry 4.0 solutions are changing the very nature of Integrated Business Planning.
The full transcript of the interview is below, or you can download a PDF version.
Tell us a little about how HP is using 3D printing technology to change its supply chain.
At HP, we believe digital manufacturing can completely revolutionize major industries from auto to healthcare to heavy industry, and that core digital technologies like 3D printing enable the innovation to do so. HP itself is one of the world’s largest manufacturers, doing business in 170 countries and shipping more than 100 million products per year through its supply chain.
HP is digitally reinventing itself by leveraging its own Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology in designing and manufacturing HP products across all business units. Most recently, our own Print and 3D Printing businesses have discovered previously impossible efficiencies and advantages and are accelerating the adoption of digital manufacturing across the entire product lifecycle.
What motivated HP to move forward with this strategy?
HP began its digital manufacturing journey with the 3D printing business unit. The team was presented with an exercise to determine how many parts in the Jet Fusion 300/500 Series 3D printers could be printed with MJF. Historically, you would likely find a handful of parts that make sense to be 3D printed. But in partnership with our design team, we found around 25 parts that made sense from a design perspective to 3D print for the Jet Fusion 300/500 Series.
From there, the team began working with procurement and manufacturing engineering, and it opened the possibilities further. The number of parts justified to 3D print went from 25 to over 140, making the Jet Fusion 300/500 Series “the printer that print’s itself.” Because we’ve been able to minimize tooling and assembly, we’ve created a 30 percent cost saving and cut development time in half.
This success story motivates us to move forward because our mentality is that if there is one success, there are bound to be more – not only within HP but for our customers. We’re able to take key learnings and considerations from our successes to guide customers in their journey to digitally transform their supply chains. For example, we have learned that we must determine early enough in the product lifestyle to understand how to apply 3D printing and we’re helping customers to identify those crucial moments. And when we can connect all the dots, it unlocks greater potential and has a cascading impact.
Walk us through the rollout. How did things scale up from the pilot project to the present day’s capabilities? And let’s talk results. What is HP capable of doing today that it could not do before Multi Jet Fusion was successfully incorporated into the organization?
After the success we experienced with the Jet Fusion 300/500 Series, we committed to becoming best in class for building a supply base for Multi Jet Fusion. With that in mind, we tasked ourselves with determining how to scale across our business in addition to scaling awareness, best practices and quality control. To do that, we’ve begun implementing Multi Jet Fusion into the supply chain across the rest of our business.
Designing with the capabilities of HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology in mind, HP’s digital printing group, Indigo Printing, has redesigned more than 21 parts for the Indigo 12000 Digital Press printer leading to 80 percent cost reduction and 91 percent assembly reduction. In fact, to date, 30 percent of Indigo engineers have undergone Design for Additive Manufacturing training.
By implementing Multi Jet Fusion in our thermal inkjet printheads supply chain, we were able to redesign consolidate seven parts into one at a 95 percent cost reduction and 90 percent weight reduction. We’ve also been enabled to create large format spare parts on demand, reducing excess inventory and emissions from transportation.
In the HP Latex Printing group, HP’s design engineers used generative design to optimize a part required to hold a sensor in place within a large format printer. It was traditionally made in aluminum, and by printing the redesigned part with Multi Jet Fusion, the weight of the part was reduced by 93 percent, the carbon footprint reduced by 95 percent, and cost was cut in half.
How do you see those capabilities continuing to evolve moving forward? Where do you expect the industry to be five or ten years down the road with 3D printing and additive manufacturing?
The nature of conversation about 3D printing has shifted from early stage exploration to exploring broad mainstream applications. Adoption is happening far more broadly across the product lifestyle across industries including auto, healthcare and heavy industry rather than in specific ways like prototyping, and companies are beginning to experience economic advantages.
The key to driving economic advantages for 3D printed parts is to continue improving the technological and economic inflection points based on the speed, quality and scalability needed by the manufacturer or business.
The breakeven point is key in determining if it is more advantageous to create the part via traditional manufacturing or additive manufacturing. This is the point in production when additive manufacturing is a more cost effective than injection molding. It is also important to consider the high initial costs for injection molding, part size and part complexity factors.
The HP Jet Fusion 4200 printing solution provided a breakeven point of 50,000 units. We also offer the HP Jet Fusion 4210 system which offers lower operating costs and increase volume production capabilities, raising the breakeven point for large-scale manufacturing to 110,000 parts.
This is a great start, but our ambition is to, in time, get to rates of a million plus. Not in the next month, not next year, but to ultimately help accelerate the industry to this position.
Whenever I hear about a new technology changing the way supply chains function, I think how that has impacted the people within the organization. Can you talk about the people part of this transformation?
Widespread use of 3D printing creates a demand for new design skillsets and in many cases, adjusting our thinking surrounding what constraints have previously been established. As innovation continues to take hold and change the economic landscape of the manufacturing industry, there will be new, previously unpracticed technical and automation skills required within engineering, computer programming and data science.
But first, more than skills, it requires a change of mindset. It is critical for us to think about designing for 3D printing from the first stages of a product development and embrace the limitless design possibilities the technology enables. For years we’ve been limited to what traditional manufacturing methodologies were able to do for us, and now we must open our minds.
HP is developing a series of materials and workshops, to help companies adopt the design for additive manufacturing mindset.
We’ve experienced it ourselves and now we’re launching tools, such as handbooks, based on our own learnings during the 3D adoption journey in our own company.
What are some of the key takeaways other manufacturing and supply chain executives should think about based on HP’s experience with this technology?
Businesses and their leaders need to start thinking about the benefits of additive manufacturing now. As we’re experiencing greater adoption across the board, we’re championing the value creation 3D printing provides. We are now able to make parts that were previously inconceivable with potentially more distributed production. 3D printing has profound implications for design flexibility and how we can interact and influence the design from the beginning to create greater outcomes at lower price points and more efficiently.
One way to take action today is to provide effective training opportunities, enabling engineers to more easily understand and identify the advantages of designing for additive manufacturing.
(Joseph) Scott Schiller is the worldwide Head of Customer and Market Development for HP’s 3D Printing global business unit. His position has accountability for vertical market development, strategic customer engagement as well as strategic partnerships and alliances across HP’s 3D printing initiatives. In 2014, Scott joined the organization serving as business director for the launch of Multi Jet Fusion™. Prior to that he spent eight years as part of the team that built a new business in HP focused on mass customization solutions for high volume print manufacturing that continues today as HP’s PageWide Press division. Prior to joining HP, Scott had a variety of entrepreneurial and product development roles with companies such as Honeywell, Microsoft as well as leading several smaller businesses in Seattle.


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With crude prices hitting the roof and the stock market is diving, gold is emerging as a good hedge option against inflation. “It is the right time to invest in gold,” says K Shivram, vice-president of the World Gold Council.
There has also been a shift in the consumption of gold. According to Shivram, a lot of jewelers are now setting up shop in tier-II and tier-III towns. “Small towns have definitely benefited from the influx of the large retail brands,” he said. Moreover, when it comes to gold purchase, it's not restricted to jewelry alone. The sale of gold coins is on the rise. “Many jewel retail brands are catering to the requirements of working women by designing light pieces,” he said. Against the backdrop of this, the Gold Club of Chennai and the World Gold Council are partnering to host an India Gold Conclave (IGC) on July 19. Around 250 delegates are expected to participate. (The Times of India)
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We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.


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Honda has revealed its new electric offering in Germany, based on an all-new e:N Architecture F platform that uses a 68.8 kWh battery that gives a claimed range of 412 km. The B-segment SUV e:Ny1 looks like the Honda HR-V on sale in other markets. It uses a single front-mounted motor that pushes a good 204 bhp and 310 Nm of peak torque. The company claims that the e:Ny1 can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in about 45 minutes.
Inside the cabin, a 15.1-inch vertically positioned touchscreen infotainment system takes the centre stage on the dashboard. Other highlights include a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless charging and multiple storage spaces among others. The company claims that high-tensile steel has been used for 47 per cent of the SUVs body to increase torsional stiffness.
Tom Gardner, Senior Vice President at Honda Motor Europe Ltd said “The e:Ny1 is the logical next step on our electrification journey in Europe. Our development philosophy blends intelligent, customer-centric technology with beautiful design and fun-to-drive dynamics. This latest SUV exemplifies Honda’s commitment to electrification and is the latest step on Honda’s electrification journey.”
It is highly unlikely that the SUV will make it to the Indian shores, and the company has not officially given a statement on it. On the other hand, Honda is all set to launch its Hyundai Creta rival, the Honda Elevate soon.
To read more car-related updates, download the Park+!
By: Sumesh Soman


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The electronics component of Singapore’s Purchasing Managers Index rose above 50 for the first time in 14 months, signaling a stronger recovery in an industry that makes up almost a third of manufacturing in the city state. While output has been expanding in recent months, mainly due to strong growth in semiconductors, exports of computers and other electronics have continued to contract. The improvement in the PMI may be driven by some inventory build-up in expectation of better global demand in coming months and is a good omen for output in the third quarter, according to Weiwen Ng, an economist with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group.
Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. LEARN MORE


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Digital law in Europe is no joking matter. While most of the world is still figuring out how to tackle issues like refunds, cancellations and the legality around that for goods you can’t actually touch, Europe has a history of enforcing stricter guidelines that have set standards for the rest of the world. And now Nintendo is in their crosshairs – in Norway at least. Following years of not granting any sort of viable method for refunds, the Switch makers are being asked to take another look at policy.
The Norwegian Consumer Council is accusing Nintendo of defying European law, which stipulates very clearly the necessity for some sort of refund recourse that consumers can enact. Nintendo has none whatsoever, stepping on the toes of all European players in something Norway wants investigated. According to their report:
The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) has found that out of the seven leading digital video game platforms, only Origin and Steam had adequate systems in place for refunding purchased video games. Out of the seven platforms, Nintendo in particular violates consumer rights by not offering any way to cancel a pre-ordered game.
Now you might be thinking: why just Nintendo? Both Microsoft and Sony have no clear routes for refunds as well, but they do have cases where purchases have been reversed. Either for accidental purchases (like buying FIFA when you thought your controller was only connected to your PC. It happens) or having the ability to cancel pre-orders, Nintendo has never offered any sort of recourse for any situation. They are draconian with their sales; where a purchase is final in every sense of the world.
That’s not just anti-consumer in Europe – it’s pretty terrible across the board. But Only Europe really has legislation in place that attempts to wrestle power back for the end-user. It’s strange that this has take so long for someone in the EU to take issue with, but it might be a bullet Nintendo won’t be able to dodge for much longer.
Last Updated: February 22, 2018


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Agents of Disruption
The online real estate platform McMakler has attracted 50 million euros in venture capital – a record for a proptech start-up in a single round of financing.
“Makler” is German for real-estate agent, and the company’s young founders aspire to become Europe’s online leaders in precisely that area. The fresh capital will be used to expand McMakler’s transaction platform and firm’s teams in Germany, Austria and France.
Investors think that a fresh approach is long overdue in the sector. “It’s astonishing how analogue the traditional real-estate agent branch remains,” says Assaf Harel, partner in the venture-capital investor Israel Growth Partners. “For that reason it’s ripe for disruptive technology.”
Other investors with faith in McMakler’s potential include Target Global and Frog Capital.
Founders and managing directors of McMakler: Lukas Pieczonka, Felix Jahn, Hanno Heintzenberg © McMakler


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Also in this playlist...
This transcript is automatically generated
-- rock then clawing back the market -- But the day before shaking off new worries about Europe's debt crisis even with the late rally the Dow still falling below thirteen thousand.
Job openings in the US are rising the number of help wanted ads hitting near a four year high in March but for each job available.
There's still about three and a half unemployed Americans competing for it.
McDonald is getting a little less -- sales of the golden arches rising less than expected last month.
And it's not because Americans -- munching away and weakness in its Japan business slowing things down.
Girl Scout Cookies get ready for girl -- candy.
Chocolate maker densely will be selling limited edition girls got -- borrowers between June and September.
You'll have three choices based on the -- classics ten minutes -- coconuts and peanut butter cream.
But don't wait for the doorbell to ring you can only buy them in retail stores that's business I'm Adam Shapiro.
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The FDA will soon issue a long-awaited policy for genetically engineered foods, which it hopes will satisfy both industry and consumer groups. Manufacturers argue that most gene-spliced products are no different from old-fashioned crops--and thus require no new oversight. But opponents say the FDA needs to conduct thorough safety reviews of all biotech foods, such as tomatoes that are genetically engineered for long shelf life. The compromise: Companies must notify the FDA before marketing such products, but the agency will take only a quick look to see if new genes make the foods dangerous. "We think this policy will be good for companies and for the consumer," says a top agency official.
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- Tesla Unveils ‘World’s Fastest Production Car’ and Electric Big Rig
- Norway Idea to Exit Oil Stocks Is ‘Shot Heard Around the World’
- Getting a Dog May Save Your Life, Especially If You’re Single
- The Questionable Math Behind Manafort’s Extravagant Home Renovations
- World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Wants Out of Oil and Gas


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Revolutionizing the commercial vehicle industry with their bold vision, Oliver Lewis and Paul Ricketts of Hawkstone Commercials soar to success, embodying the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Oliver Lewis and Paul Ricketts were fed up with working for other people. They had a vision to build their own successful commercial vehicle supply company and in 2022, they launched Hawkstone Commercials. In just one short year, Hawkstone Commercials has already established itself as one of the fastest growing new commercial vehicles suppliers in the UK, supplying all makes and models.
Lewis and Ricketts’ vision, experience and industry contacts have been instrumental to the early success and growth of Hawkstone Commercials. Their ambitious business plan helped the company win the ‘Most Trusted Commercial Vehicle Supplier’ award at the 2023 UK Enterprise Awards, a remarkable achievement for such a new business.
The entrepreneurial duo now have their sights set on further developing their sister-company, Hawkstone Motor Finance, which provides competitive funding solutions to businesses and consumers looking to acquire new vehicles. They also plan to add more members to their growing sales team at Hawkstone Commercials.
With their entrepreneurial spirit and vision, Lewis and Ricketts have built Hawkstone Commercials into an award-winning business in just one year. They are finalists at the 2023 Great British Entrepreneur Awards, known as “The Grammys of Entrepreneurship”. The awards take place in November at London’s Grosvenor House.
To learn more about these inspiring entrepreneurs and their fast-growing business, visit www.hawkstonecommercials.co.uk.


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Nissan’s compact SUV, Kicks, designed to take on the likes of the Hyundai Creta and supersede its own Terrano has..
After announcing upgrades to the Kwid yesterday, Renault India used the second day of the Auto Expo to show some..
Hyundai today showcased the new Tucson SUV to eager fans gathered at its pavilion at the Auto Expo, 2016. The..
South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai has revealed images of its upcoming 2016 model of the Elite i20. The model will..
American car maker Ford is all set to bring a new entrant to the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) market. Ford,..
Just a day after Volkswagen tried to move ahead by showing the future of automobiles with the unveiling of the..
To combat toxic smog in the city, the Supreme Court has ordered a temporary ban on the registration of large..


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Cattle Outlook: Beef Price Skid
Cattle and beef prices skid some more.
By: Ron Plain and Scott Brown, University of Missouri
Fed cattle prices slipped slightly for the second consecutive week. Through Thursday, the 5-area average price for slaughter steers sold on a live weight basis was $166.87/cwt, down $0.55 from last week but up $35.92 from a year ago. The 5 area average dressed price for steers retreated $2.17 this week to $261.13/cwt. This remains $55.09 higher than last year's dressed price average.
Boxed beef cutout values also posted declines this week. The cutout value for choice carcasses this morning was $249.16/cwt, down $2.61 from last Friday but up $46.06 from a year ago. The select cutout was $238.44/cwt, down $0.73 for the week but $48.58 higher than last year. Today's choice-select spread narrowed again relative to last Friday to $10.72/cwt.
Beef imports eclipsed 250 million pounds in September for the fourth time in the past six months. This level had not been reached in any month since April 2009 and had not been consistently achieved since mid-2007. Australia and New Zealand have combined to provide 57% of this year's beef imports, as the U.S. supply of lean manufacturing beef has fallen sharply on reduced domestic cow and bull slaughter. It will be difficult for Australia to grow or even sustain this year's export levels in 2015, as their cattle inventory is projected to reach the lowest level in at least 10 years and rebuilding will take place with adequate moisture. This will provide further upward pressure to U.S. ground beef prices next year.
U.S. beef exports have remained relatively stable in recent months despite record high prices and a stronger U.S. dollar. For the first nine months of the year total beef exports are 1% above last year, with shipments to Hong Kong ( 25%), South Korea ( 21%) and Mexico ( 19%) posting the largest growth. Exports to Japan are down 3% for the year, with beef exported into the Canada market down 23%. Despite stable beef exports, the sum of beef plus pork net exports in September was at the lowest level since August 2010.
This week's cattle slaughter totaled 564 thousand head, up 2.0% from the week before but 7.7% lower than the same week last year. The average dressed weight for steers slaughtered the week ending October 25 was a whopping 902 pounds, up 4 pounds from last week and 26 pounds heavier than the same week last year.
Feeder steers sold $1 to $4 higher this week at Oklahoma City. This week's price ranges for medium and large frame #1 steers by weight group were: 400-450# $311.50-$329, 450-500# $290-$332, 500-550# $274-$298, 550-600# $245-$300, 600-650# $240-$271, 650-700# $223-$256, 700-750# $224-$244, 750-800# $223.50-$231.50, and 800-900# $220.50-$239/cwt.
The December live cattle futures contract closed at $166.80/cwt today, up 75 cents for the week. February fed cattle settled at $168.37/cwt. The November feeder cattle contract jumped $4.37 on the week to end at $238.52/cwt.
December corn closed today at $3.675, down 9.25 cents from last Friday. Despite some large daily movements, December soybean meal futures finished at $390.40 per ton, up just $1.40 from last week. The November Crop Production report released on Monday will provide a revised look at the size of this year's corn and soybean crops.


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Convious, an innovative start-up that uses AI to deliver a personalised online booking and buying experience for visitors, has scooped the Heavyweight award at Get in the Ring The Netherlands.
The event in Rotterdam gives entrepreneurs the chance to pitch to investors, major multinationals, NGOs and governmental organisations.
Get in the Ring takes the form of 600 ‘speed-dates’, giving the start-ups numerous face-to-face opportunities to find customers and strategic partners to help grow their company.
The start-ups are also challenged to qualify for the evening programme which sees them pitch to the 700-strong audience in the ring. This year’s judges were Bas Beerens, founder of international software company, WeTransfer, Rogier Thewessen, founder of scale-up YoungCapital and entrepreneur, Janneke Niessen.
The awards are divided into Lightweight, Middleweight and Heavyweight, ensuring start-ups are only being judged against others of a similar size.
Convious fought off Felyx to scoop the coveted Heavyweight prize. This gives the company a ticket to the Global Meetup of Get in the Ring. In addition, they receive 1 year access to the EY Finance Navigator which was launched during the event.
AI platform personalises pricing to each user
‘This is another great nod from the industry that we’re heading in the right direction,’ says Convious. ‘Onward and upward! We look forward to having even more exciting news and achievements to share when we take Convious to the Global Finals happening next May in sunny Cascais, Portugal.’
Convious has developed a booking and buying platform that uses algorithms to personalise the entire experience. Every feature, from A/B testing to the personalised pricing module is powered by the company’s ‘AI first’ philosophy. Personalised pricing means that the system uses visitor behavior, data, intent and external elements like weather to deliver the optimal price for both parties.
Convious’ AI ticketing platform has been a success for Merlin Entertainment’s SEA LIFE Scheveningen in The Hague, where online ticket sales have doubled as a result of using the company’s innovative AI sales funnel solution.
According to Convious, this adaptive and reactive system means it keeps pace as the market evolves:
“We don’t pretend to know what the future holds,” says the company. ‘Trends shift and change all the time. Our AI driven models allow us to adapt in real-time to changing trends.”


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While Macs aren't yet equipped with touchscreens or Pencil compatibility, the new M1 processor blows away Intel processors in a new Mac mini, MacBook Pro 13-inch and a brand new and completely fanless MacBook Air, while macOS 11 Big Sur arrives this week, too!
Computer peripherals maker Logitech has released two new wireless compact mice, one aimed at Apple users. One is the MX Anywhere 3 and the other the MX Anywhere 3 for Mac.
New versions of VMware's Fusion and Workstation virtualisation products will be available by the end of October. Significantly, the new Fusion Player edition will for the first time move into line with Workstation in that it will be free for personal use.
NBN enterprise ethernet is an answer to the question "how can we make nbn profitable?"A business would be crazy to[…]
Yep. Both can go.
Well written Sam,In addition to the disgusting level of propaganda used by US-led corporations and corrupt warhawk military to discredit[…]
Returb iPhones are cheaper than ever - definitely worth buying one :-)
The Murdoch led LNP is talking crap again. The Murdochracy are out again asking the Government for something for nothing[…]


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AutoFi, a commerce platform for digital automotive sales and financing, has raised $85m in funding, bringing its valuation to nearly $700m.
The financing included participation from investors Santander Holdings USA, SVB Financial Group, the parent of Silicon Valley Bank, and Crosslink Capital.
The company said it plans to accelerate its investment in its engineering and customer-facing teams. With four consecutive years of 100% revenue growth, AutoFi said it has more than doubled the size of its staff in 2021 to 220 employees. The companyâ€™s platform processed more than one million automotive financing requests that resulted in more than $3bn in vehicle sales in 2021.
AutoFi said the capital will further innovation in transformative retailing experiences like its new â€œRealPaymentsâ€ offering. This cloud-based pricing platform allows auto finance companies to extend their decisioning and pricing capabilities into point-of-search shopping experiences. In seconds, consumers are pre-qualified for financing and see their actual price and monthly payment across thousands of vehicles.
Mahesh Aditya, president and CEO of Santander Consumer USA, said, â€œAutoFi is leading the digital evolution of car buying by combining innovation in automotive finance and retailing.
â€œWe want to help dealers sell as many vehicles as possible, and AutoFiâ€™s platform makes it easier for dealers to do business with Santander Consumer, connecting them more efficiently and effectively with consumers, helping complete transactions faster and bringing finance innovation into the car buying process.â€
Copyright Â© 2022 FinTech Global


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House, Senate committees move to double campaign finance audits
A state Senate committee voted unanimously Tuesday to approve legislation that would increase the number of random campaign finance audits from 2 percent to 4 percent.
Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, amended one of her bills to include the doubling of audits, saying it was necessary given "recent events." There was little discussion of the move before the committee voted 9-0 to approve the measure.
A House subcommittee also formally approved the change to the House version of the bill Tuesday afternoon without any debate.
The push to double campaign audits comes on the heels of an ongoing USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee investigation into how state lawmakers spend public money and campaign funds.
The investigation found thousands of public dollars lawmakers spent in 2016 on purchases they may have also used campaign funds to cover, known as double dipping. Last year, lawmakers also spent hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars to pay for impersonators, plane tickets, club memberships and other expenses that may have provided a personal benefit. All such expenses may be illegal, but the investigation shows there are many grey areas and loopholes in state campaign finance and ethics laws.
Yager discussed the concept of increasing campaign finance audits earlier this year, but didn't take action to formally amend any legislation until after the release of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee investigation.
Asked in February about the findings of the audit, Gov. Bill Haslam said it could be time for a broader review of state campaign finance practices. A spokeswoman for the governor has since declined to comment about the issue.
Before the investigation, legislative leaders pointed to the expansive allegations of wrongdoing against former lawmaker Jeremy Durham as an aberration. Durham is accused of possibly breaking campaign finance law more than 690 times after he used campaign funds to buy personal items including sun glasses, suits and spa products, according to the findings of an expansive audit by the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance.
On the heels of the audit, House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said they thought other lawmakers weren't using campaign funds in a similar fashion as Durham. But the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee investigation found expenses from many state lawmakers last year in fact mirror those cited by the state auditor as inappropriate.
Reach Dave Boucher at email@example.com, 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.


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3D-printed protective face shields look to be a practical solution that is fueling an effort to keep medical personnel battling the coronavirus. The population-curbing virus has been prominent in some parts of the world like China and more recently, Italy has seen a Hong Kong-based university turn to 3D printing for possible and practical protective solutions.
The institution has turned to 3D printing technology to print and provide thousands of medical protective face shields to the city’s hospital workers battling to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
A higher learning institution, Polytechnic University, is using its 3D printing lab to design and help produce the transparent protective face mask, which doctors and nurses can wear to protect themselves against bodily fluids from which the infection is known to spread.
The institution is working with local manufacturers to help them produce and deliver up to 10,000 face shields to the Hospital Authority on Tuesday. Production of the protective face mask is expected to be ramped up to 30,000 per day by the end of March.
“PolyU is doing technology transfer to the industry, and for the industry to help the Hospital Authority and society,” said Man Hau-Chung, dean of the engineering faculty at the university, who oversees the lab.
The protective face masks that the Hospital Authority asked PolyU to help produce at the beginning of February is made of a 3D-printed frame to be worn against the head. The frame holds a plastic sheet that covers the entire face. The shields are meant to be single-use equipment and can be worn over surgical masks.
The lab designed, tested, and approved the final product in less than a week.
“The face shield is very simple to produce,” Wai said.
The printing of the protective face masks has been overseen by 6 technicians at the university’s 3D Printing Lab, working hard to monitor the battalion of over 30 3D printers continuously churning out frames. The technicians then attach the plastic covers to get them ready for use. The University’s lab 3D printed the first batch of 800 face protectors, but additional production has been outsourced to local manufacturing companies.
This is not the only practical coronavirus combating equipment inspired by 3D printing. Last week, Chinese construction 3D printing company WinSun announced it was 3D printing and deploying isolation wards for medical staff in Hubei province.


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Trump extending deadline of trade tariff decision
Donald Trump’s decision to extend a deadline on additional tariffs on Chinese goods provides Xi Jinping with some temporary relief as he struggles to arrest an economic slowdown.
Trump announced the extension of the trade truce between the two nations on Sunday, tweeting that if they made further headway in negotiations, he planned to meet Xi at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to end the dispute.
Trump extending China truce gives Xi breathing room on slowdown
The longer truce may provide China’s economy with a confidence boost just as tentative signs emerge that targeted stimulus measures are helping steady the economy’s deceleration. If China bows to U.S. pressure and further opens up the economy, that could also help make the world’s second-largest economy more productive, further boosting growth.
“China’s policymakers have gained some breathing room,” said Eswar Prasad, a former China expert at the International Monetary Fund who is now at Cornell University. “This could prove to be fleeting unless they frontally address overarching concerns about financial risks and lack of reform momentum.”


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At the end of July it emerged that the FCA would not be taking legal action against RBS. This in spite of the report it published five months ago concerning the poor and “systematic and widespread inappropriate treatment” of small business customers by the bank. This has harmed the FCA’s credibility, with one commentator labelling the agency “a paper tiger”.
Nonetheless there are signs the FCA is working to avoid similar problems in the future. Evidence comes from Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub, who commented: “It’s welcome news that the FCA has opened a consultation to improve conduct standards and communications in the payment services and e-money sectors. Innovation in our sector is held back by the opaque, complex marketing of products that leaves people unaware of the fees and charges they can be liable for, with lasting impact on trust in financial services.
“The advent of Open Banking at the start of this year will have a significant impact by putting consumers back in control of their data, but the initiative can only be successful if providers and app developers alike are transparent from the get go. Unfortunately, we are already seeing some apps that, while free at point of download, sell on users’ data or make money from commissions on recommended products. We need to ensure that the opportunity we have to empower consumers is not lost with it, vital payment services and e-money firms are up front with consumers in how they’re using their data.”
Although this does constitute positive news for UK consumers, there is a concern that, like in the RBS case, the FCA may lack the power of enforcement required to force providers and app developers to abide to certain conduct and communications standards.


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Digital marketing activity rising yet skills and metrics remain a challenge
- 02 December, 2013 15:40
Senior marketers may have their heads around digital marketing, but unless they invest in better training for junior staff and stronger metrics, they won’t get the most out of these new channels, an analyst claims.
Jane Briggs, founder and principal research director at First Point Research and Consulting, made the comments at a press launch marking the release of her Emerging Trends in Digital Marketing report, produced in partnership with Web content management vendor, Sitecore. The research was based on a survey of 330 client-side marketers across Australia and New Zealand.
While recent global research has suggested digital marketing is taking over as the dominant method of activity, Sitecore’s survey found offline still represents 61 per cent of total marketing spend. Of the 39 per cent invested in digital marketing channels, 55 per cent was from small firms with annual revenue of less than $2 million.
Briggs attributed this to their smaller marketing budgets as well as the potential to earn “more bang for their buck” through digital activities. Things are changing, however, and 73 per cent of total survey respondents plan to increase spending on digital-based activities in the next 12-18 months.
“The larger companies are finally investing more and catching up,” Briggs said, adding 75 per cent of companies with $20m or more in annual turnover plan to spend more on digital marketing this year.
Holding back the shift from offline to online are budget constraints (51 per cent of respondents), followed by a lack of understanding/education about digital marketing (34 per cent).
What’s interesting is where the knowledge gap around digital marketing lies. According to First Point, marketers who have less than five years’ experience in the field, and who are expected to understand new channels like social media intuitively, are less confident about their digital marketing abilities than counterparts with 15 years or more in the field.
For example, of the 17 per cent of marketers who rated their skills in digital marketing “excellent”, just 13 per cent were individuals with less than five years’ experience.
“The ‘top of the tree’ [marketers] are getting well-versed in digital marketing, and assuming the junior teams know how to do this successfully and are up on this area, but the juniors aren’t as comfortable in terms of knowledge,” Briggs said.
One reason could be that 38 per cent of less experienced marketers have had formal training in digital marketing, compared with 54 per cent of those with at least 15 years’ experience, she said. In total, 40 per cent of marketers said they had undertaken training courses in digital marketing.
Another big hurdle is the way marketers measure digital marketing activities. The research found 73 per cent are still relying on number of visitors to their website to indicate success, rather than longer-term customer lifecycle or satisfaction KPIs.
Alarmingly, more than one-third of respondents are either not measuring digital marketing ROI at all, or are tracking ROI but remain unclear about how to use the analytics information. Nearly 50 per cent are also only discussing analytics around digital marketing activity during periodic marketing meetings, and 16 per cent don’t know how analytics are being discussed.
“The question we need to ask is what’s going on with those organisations, and do they not know how to do that [measure]?” Briggs asked. The next big opportunity is to define better metrics for digital, she said, adding these didn’t necessarily have to be the same for every organisation.
“If you don’t build the case for digital marketing properly, management won’t get on-board,” Briggs said.
“What I also think these figures show is a disconnect between management and junior marketers. If we don’t do a better job of equipping these juniors, that figure won’t change and the margin in offline and online spend will remain disparate.”
When it comes to the metrics wishlist, Web and predictive analytics and personalisation were the top choices for respondents, followed by social media integration. The most popular digital activity remains emails to their own databases (84 per cent), followed by social media (81 per cent). Display ads came in a distant third at 60 per cent.
Respondents were also asked to nominate channels they considered to be over-rated. Print topped the list at 38 per cent, followed by TV at 24 per cent. Briggs said the figures suggested many marketers were cynical about the level of spend still being allocated to print.


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Originally published on EV Obsession.
The state of California, in great likelihood, surpassed the milestone of the 200,000th plug-in vehicle sold in the state earlier this month, according to recent reports.
While these reports are estimates — the count won’t be confirmed until April, or perhaps May, by the CNCDA — all signs point towards them being accurate. What that means is that California has been responsible for roughly half of all electric vehicle sales — both all-electrics (EVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) — to date.
Total US electric vehicle sales to date are somewhere near the 450,000 mark. The California market comprised around 54.5% of the total US EV market in 2015. At the end of 2015 about 191,650 electric vehicles had been sold in the market.
Reprinted with permission.
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Wal-Mart's Black Friday deals uncovered
Retailer's hot Black Friday discounts include a 42-inch Plasma HDTV for $988, $398 Compaq Presario desktop computer and more.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wal-Mart is setting deep Black Friday doorbuster deals on high-definition TVs, DVD players, home computers and toys, according to a copy of the retailer's ad obtained by CNNMoney.com.
Wal-Mart (Charts), the world's largest retailer, already signaled its intention to be very price aggressive over the November-December gift-buying period by being be the first out of the gate to chop prices on toys and electronics.
On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, its deals get even lower.
And here's what to expect: A 42-inch Plasma HDTV for $988 (one per customer); Compaq Presario PC media and entertainment center for $398 (minimum 15 per store and one per customer); Kodak EasyShare C633 digital camera and printer dock bundle for $189.74; Barbie Fashion Fever dolls priced at $5 each and movie DVDs priced between $1.88 and $3.44 each.
The ad showed these special discounts will be available to shoppers on Nov. 24 from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Typically Wal-Mart and other retailers debut the eagerly awaited day-after-Thanksgiving specials a few days in advance, but the information appears to have been leaked to a few Web sites such as Gottadeal.com.
Wal-Mart officials said they weren't aware that the ad was leaked.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Linda Blakley said the retailer will unveil its Black Friday deals Nov. 20. "We want customers to know that they should stayed tuned. We're not done yet," she said.
Brad Olson, the founder of Gottadeal.com, a Web site that markets itself as one of many "official Black Friday deals site," told CNN/Money that Wal-Mart's ad was sent anonymously to him. Besides Wal-Mart, the site has also posted Black Friday deals from 16 other retailers, including Kmart, Best Buy (Charts) and Circuit City (Charts).
Another Web site - dealtaker.com - also obtained the Wal-Mart ad anonymously this morning, said the site's founder Neal Rapoport.
While some smaller merchants have leaked their Black Friday ads to his Web site in the past, Rapoport said he doesn't suspect bigger retailers like Wal-Mart would deliberately want to lose the element of surprise two weeks before Black Friday.
CNNMoney.com first reported that Wal-Mart - after suffering some spooky October sales figures - wasn't waiting until Black Friday to unveil its holiday bargains and get people buying again at its discount stores.
Wal-Mart has already chopped prices on hot electronics and more than 80 toys. Some analysts speculate that Wal-Mart's rival Target (Charts) could be pressured to match Wal-Mart's holiday prices although other merchants such as J.C. Penney (Charts) might hold off on going head-to-head against Wal-Mart and set only moderate holiday discounts.


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18-metre inflatable is not the real deal, says Dutch artist
It appears Dubai Creek’s colourful new resident (an 18ft inflatable duck, if you haven’t already spotted it) is not everything it seems. It was installed to celebrate National Day and Dubai’s Expo 2020 win, while highlighting water conservation, but mobile car wash firm GeoWash, the company behind it, has incurred the wrath of Florentijn Hofman, the Dutch artist who owns the original. According to Hofman, the duck that has toured cities such as Amsterdam, Osaka, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong, is currently in Taiwan – not Dubai. As a result, GeoWash’s CEO has revealed that its duck has never been on tour, and was in fact made in China, before being shipped to Dubai.


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As the winemaking team strategized about how to deal with grapes from a wet, cool summer, September arrived with sunshine and warm temperatures. The grapes responded by ripening beautifully, and the winemaking team waited and watched as the fruit got sweeter and more flavorful. Now, aromas of fermenting juice fill the air at Lakewood Vineyards…
Month: October 2017
Lakewood Vineyards Wins Best Upstate NY Winery Judges’ Choice AwardPosted on
NewYorkUpstate.com held a readers’ poll asking people to vote for their favorite upstate New York winery. The top five wineries in the voting were then visited by three members of the NewYorkUpstate.com team—and they named LakeWood Vineyards the Judges’ Choice Award Winner.


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VANCOUVER — Lululemon Athletica Inc. says revenue climbed 29 per cent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year as it saw sales climb across its operations including higher gains in both online and international segments.
The Vancouver-based athletic clothing company, which reports in U.S. dollars, said Thursday it had revenue of US$1.9 billion for the quarter ending July 31, up from US$1.45 billion last year, as sales increased 28 per cent in North America and 35 per cent internationally.
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Sales climbed as the company saw higher traffic both in stores and online, and it was better positioned for inventory than last year, said company chief executive Calvin McDonald on an analyst earnings call.
“Much of last year we were under-inventoried and not able to fully maximize our business. This year, we are in a much better position.”
The sales translated into net income of US$289.5 million, or US$2.26 per diluted share, up from US$208.1 million or US$1.59 per share for the same quarter last year.
Lululemon was expected to earn US$1.87 per share on US$1.77 billion of revenue, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
Total comparable sales were up 23 per cent, including 16 per cent for in-store and 30 per cent for direct-to-consumer net revenue.
Traffic to stores were up over 30 per cent, and to its online store up over 40 per cent, said McDonald.
“Importantly, we are not creating this traffic through markdowns or price promotions. Lululemon remains predominantly a full-price business,” he said.
Lululemon has set a goal of doubling 2021’s net revenue by 2026, including a quadrupling of international net revenue.
In that aim the company is especially focused on China, where it recently launched a digital flagship store on online retail giant JD.com and in the quarter added eight stores in China.
Lululemon will also shortly be opening stores in Spain, it’s first new market in the region in three years.
Overall the company opened 21 net new company-operated stores during the second quarter, ending July with 600 stores.
Lululemon is also looking to boost sales and customer retention closer to home, including with a new two-tier membership program it plans to soon launch.
While recessionary concerns could potentially lead customers to cut back on spending, McDonald said the company hasn’t seen any indication of that yet.
“Given the current macro backdrop, we have been looking closely at our guests data and metrics to identify any shifts in spending patterns, behaviours or habits. And to date I am pleased to share that we are not seeing any meaningful variation.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2022.
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Forget productivity, consumers returning to work after the Thanksgiving holiday set a record for online sales on the annual "Cyber Monday" this week. Consumers bought nearly 10 percent more items per order on Cyber Monday compared to last week's Black Friday and nearly 30 percent more than Cyber Monday in 2008, according to statistics compiled by Web analytics firm Coremetrics. Consumers also spent more per online order ($180.03 versus $130.24) over last year's Cyber Monday, led by apparel retailers.
The analysis was part of Coremetrics second annual Cyber Monday Benchmark Report that looked at online shopping in the U.S. through 12 a.m. Tuesday.
"What we've seen in the past week is that online sales have grown quite a bit, and that consumers are willing to shop late into the evening and early morning," John Squire, chief strategy officer at Coremetrics, told InternetNews.com. "Consumers respond to value. When there are discounts, free shipping and other offers, they open their wallets."
Coremetrics aggregates online shopping data from more than 500 retailers in the U.S. including big names like Macy's, Bloomingdales, Petco, Nordstrom, Office Depot, Williams Sonoma and QVC, though two of the biggest online sellers, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), are not among its clients and not part of the report.
Other notable stats from Coremetrics report show Cyber Monday sales up 24.1 percent compared to Black Friday. Also, consumers spent more per online order ($180.03 versus $170.19) compared to Black Friday this year.
Specific segment analysis shows that apparel retailers and jewelry retailers reported the biggest jumps in the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order up 26.4 percent and 14.3 percent respectively.
Sports apparel and gear retailers reported an increase of nearly 55 percent in the number of new consumers visiting their sites. But the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order declined slightly by 3.1 percent.
Department stores also did a good job of attracting new consumers to their sites, reporting a 33 percent increase. However, Coremetrics' findings show average order value down nearly 10 percent.
Web sales are only a fraction of overall U.S. holiday sales, which are still dominated by brick and mortar outlets, but online shopping or e-commerce has seen steady growth particularly around the holiday season. Cyber Monday is a term coined in 2005 by Shop.org, the online division of the National Retail Federation, and it refers to promotions offered by retailers on the Monday following Thanksgiving.
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Facebook expands ad business to Zynga's website
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) has begun showing ads on Zynga Inc's (ZNGA.O) website, the first time the company has distributed ads beyond the borders of its own website and raising the possibility that Facebook could eventually launch an online advertising network.
"People may now see ads and sponsored stories from Facebook on Zynga.com," said Facebook spokesperson Tucker Bounds. He said that Facebook does not share information about people or advertisers with Zynga, and that Facebook's advertisers do not have any new "targeting criteria."
Asked if Facebook was planning to create a full-fledged online ad network that distributes ads on other sites, Bounds said "we are only showing ads on Zynga right now."
Zynga was not immediately available for comment.
Shares of Facebook, the world's No.1 social network, were up 4.4 percent to $33.25 in mid-afternoon trading on Friday.
Facebook's stock has been under pressure since its initial public offering last month, due in part to concerns about the company's slowing revenue growth.
Facebook made most of its $3.7 billion in revenue last year from ads that appear on its site.
An ad network could significantly increase the reach of Facebook ads, offering an important new source of revenue growth.
(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
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- Modi eyes breakthrough nuclear pact on Japan trip
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Ratan Tata, the former chairman of salt-to-steel Tata conglomerate, has bought a stake in Indian online retailer Snapdeal, the company said on Wednesday, joining a list of funds who have invested in the country's growing e-commerce industry. Full Article


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BurJuman looks ahead to renewed retail growth led by new management & renovations
With the appointment of a new COO, Mr. Leigh Regan, and the mall’s major renovation project nearing its completion, BurJuman is looking forward to unwrap its growing retail offering that is set to further enhance the mall’s existing strong portfolio of world-class brands and outlets.
Born and educated in Australia, Mr. Regan brings with him more than 25 years of international retail and real estate experience to his new role as the head of the management team. Supported by his extensive work portfolio and impressive track record, Mr. Regan’s experiences and strong vision are set to herald a new era of growth and development for BurJuman.
Further, BurJuman’s renovations and new developments are building on Dubai’s increasing retail and real estate growth. According to the Jones Lang LaSalle’s City Momentum Index Q1 2014 report, Dubai ranks third on the City Momentum Index – Global Top 20 list. The index takes into account a city’s short-term socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum analyzed over a three-year period.
Based on the report, Dubai’s ranking reflects the emirate’s upward bounce since the Global Economic Crisis situation. The upswing can be credited to the city’s global connectivity and its prominent position as the service hub for the MENASCA (Middle East, North Africa, South and Central Asia) region. In addition, Dubai’s win to host the Expo 2020 is another driver that has further boosted Dubai’s potential on the global platform.
“It is important for the malls in Dubai to restructure their focus in line with the upswing in Dubai’s retail growth at large. In the wake of all the developments and transformations that Dubai is witnessing in the current times, such a change is possible and essential,” said Majid Al Ghurair, President, BurJuman Centre.
“BurJuman’s renovation plans have been undertaken keeping in mind the needs of the individual shoppers as well as their families. It is an endeavor to better connect with our consumers and to give them easy access to everything they need in one place. The addition of the cinema complex, Carrefour hypermarket and the extended family entertainment area are some examples. Further, the increase in retail space is an additional bonus for both the shoppers as well as for the mall,” added Al Ghurair.
BurJuman’s North Wing renovation includes a larger entertainment area for families, a cinema complex, rest lounges as well as better and more seating options throughout the mall. Keeping the needs of the new generation shopper in mind, the developments are aimed at strengthening BurJuman’s relationship with its customers by offering greater choices and more convenience.
For more information please contact:
Tel: +9714 3672530


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Sex and the City, Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty are all set in the the city where fashionistas retreat to for some style therapy. Yet, up and down Fifth Avenue the fashion pack are seething from the news that they are well…no longer fashionable.
According to The Global Language Monitor (GLM), New York is now the second fashion capital of the world, falling behind Milan.
Further more, it seems London is also falling far behind in fifth place behind Paris and Rome.
The report bases its findings on money and due to the global recession cities that had larger retail spending habits are no longer so prosperous. I find it a shame that businesses such as these conclude their results on economic factors and not merit, otherwise London would probably trump the lot of them!


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Samsung recently announced the Android 12-based One UI 4 beta for the Galaxy Note10 series in South Korea, and now it’s the Galaxy S10 lineup’s turn to get a taste of the latest custom Android skin.
Samsung is recruiting One UI 4 beta testers for the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 5G, Galaxy S10e, and Galaxy S10+ in South Korea, and those who are interested in checking it out can enroll in the beta program through the Samsung Members app.
Samsung hasn’t provided an exact date for the release of the stable update, but its One UI 4 roadmap for India revealed the company will begin the rollout of the stable build starting January 2022.
Samsung Galaxy S10
The Galaxy S10 Lite is also slated to receive One UI 4 next month, but it’s yet to get the beta build.
Source (in Korean)


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Goosefoot to sell real estate to pay for Bayview Center improvements
BAYVIEW – Goosefoot Community Fund is selling more than 10 acres of land in Bayview — including the historic Sears House — to pay for improvements to Bayview Center.
In preparation for the first phase of changes at the shopping center located on Highway 525, Goosefoot will sell several properties at Bayview Corner valued roughly at $1 million, Goosefoot CEO Chris Hurley said earlier this week.
The proceeds from the property sales will support upgrades to the center such as an improved parking lot, new signs and landscaping. Goosefoot will launch the first phase of improvements to Bayview Center this summer.
Hurley said the Goosefoot board of directors decided on the move because they need to liquidate assets fast so the first phase of the project can start, which will cost about $1.8 million.
“We have our resources to start,” she said. “But we don’t have enough.”
The three Bayview Corner parcels owned by Goosefoot that will go on the market are:
• The Potato Field, 6.1 acres of open space at the northeast corner of Bayview and Meinhold roads;
• The Swenson Farm, 5 acres with a restored farmhouse;
• And the Sears House, a restored Sears kit house and outbuilding at the southeast corner of Bayview and Meinhold roads.
Hurley said it isn’t necessary to sell all three if they can make enough money by selling two, but they wanted to give buyers options.
“We don’t expect to sell all three,” Hurley said. “But we need to raise about $600,000.”
The Swenson Farm and Potato Field properties were chosen because they have relatively limited development potential.
“We had a few ideas for the Potato Field. It’s our favorite property,” Hurley said, adding that Goosefoot negotiated with Whidbey General Hospital to have the South Whidbey medical and emergency center built there and most recently worked with the county's housing authority on plans for the property. Those plans never came to fruition, however.
Goosefoot also hopes to negotiate a permanent easement so parking for the Bayview Farmers Market could be preserved.
The Sears House property was picked because it has already been fully developed. The historic building has been the home of Goosefoot headquarters since 2004.
Hurley said Goosefoot has no plans yet where to relocate if the property sells.
“We decided in some ways not to worry too much,” Hurley said. “Somewhere or another, we’ll find a place for ourselves.”
The Sears House may be the money maker if sold. While the other two properties add up to major acreage, the relatively small parcel the Sears House sits on is zoned “rural center” while the other two properties are zoned “rural.” The distinction on the zoning map makes the land three to four times more expensive than the neighboring Potato Field, Hurley said.
Goosefoot did not reveal asking prices and declined to say if any potential buyers are lined up. But Hurley said there is one interested party for one of the properties and a sale could be announced within a month.
Two tenants will be affected by potential sales. The Northwest Language Academy is renting classroom space next to the Sears House and a single tenant lives on the Swenson property, Hurley said.
Goosefoot will continue to own nine acres at Bayview Corner if all three parcels are sold. This includes the Cash Store and its surrounding landscaped “campus,” the large open space bordered by Highway 525 and Bayview Road, and 3.5 acres with development potential behind the Sears House.
Goosefoot bought the eight acres of property at Bayview Center four years ago, including the retail structures.
A new challenge for Goosefoot is that the Bayview Center project be financially viable. Unlike Bayview Corner across the street, the Bayview Center project is not being bankrolled by a philanthropic gift.
Goosefoot borrowed $8 million under a market tax credit program to buy Bayview Center. The developer plans to create a total of 110,000 square feet of retail space; the shopping center currently has 32,000 square feet of retail space.
Plans for the second phase of the project are still up in the air and will be shaped by market demand and future tenants’ needs.
“The market will tell us,” said Gordy Edberg, an architect and Goosefoot’s board president. “We really are at the mercy of the market.”
While the organization hopes to maximize the build out of the property, it hopes to do it with the “Goosefoot feel.” Aesthetics, as well as environmentally-friendly buildings, are priorities.
Current businesses at Bayview Center, including Casey’s Red Apple and Neil’s Clover Patch Café, have leases that run until 2009. Sebo’s Do-It Center and the Exxon gas station are not on Goosefoot property.
If Goosefoot sells its properties, work on the center could begin later this summer with major work moving forward in early 2009.
Edberg is ready to dig in.
“It’s actually really exciting,” he said. “We are actually at a point when we are doing things.”
It’s a big job to transform the strip mall shopping center into something that can be compared with Bayview Corner.
“We want to make it a more people-friendly area,” Edberg said.
“The center is in need of old-fashioned, elbow-grease clean-up, common-sense safety and energy upgrades, as well as some creative touches. Our property sales will allow us to improve the appearance of the center and the retail strength of our merchants,” he added.
“We talked a lot about how much love and attention Bayview Center needs,” Hurley said, adding that the center has huge potential.
“This is really the last big piece of commercial real estate on South Whidbey,” she said.
Goosefoot will hold a community meeting to talk about the sale at 6 p.m. Monday, July 21 in the Front Room in the Bayview Cash Store.