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Chance currently writes for both 9to5Google and 9to5Mac, in addition to 9to5Toys. He has previously written for several other online publications. He uses a Nexus 5, iPhone 5s, iPad Air, Hackintosh, and Macbook Air.
Over recent months, Amazon has quietly started rolling out a new in-house installation service that aims to offer installation of Alexa products, as well as other devices. The effort is detailed in a new report from Recode, drawing similarities to Best Buy’s Geek Squad installation and repair service…
LG’s upcoming V30 flagship will reportedly drop its second display, switch to OLED
According to a new report from XDA, LG plans to ditch its signature secondary with the V30 later this year. The secondary display as a differentiator for both the V10 and V20 devices, but LG apparently doesn’t plan to continue that trend this year…
Uber has been in the news for numerous reasons over recent weeks, most of which are certainly not positive and center on multiple controversies related to sexual harassment. Today, however, the company is rolling out a new feature that it hopes will help it expand its ride-hailing reach to those without a smartphone…
Everyone can use an Echo Dot: Just $50!
As noted in a new report from Bloomberg, Google has started removing private medical records from search results. Google added a new line to its policy page to reflect the change, saying that “confidential, personal medical records of private people” will no longer appear in results…
Apple Music for Android updated w/ bug fixes and performance improvements
Apple today is rolling out a minor update to its Apple Music app on Android. The update brings the app to version 2.1 and brings under-the-hood improvements. The update is available now on the Play Store.
Consumer Reports today is out with its latest smartphone ratings, highlighting recent releases from Samsung. The iPhone 7 is also in the mix, even though it’s nearing 9 months on the market at this point.
Given the iPhone 7’s age, it shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that it was beat out by newer flagship devices from Samsung and LG…
In a blog post today, Google announced that it will start including an “ad filter” in Chrome early next year as it looks to build “a better web for everyone.” Google’s plans for such a feature were first reported earlier this year and the official announcement today is a way for the company to give publishers time to improve ad quailty…
Acer today has taken the wraps off of two new tablets: the Iconia Tab 10 and the Iconic One 10. The company announced the new tablets in a press release, touting the former as an entertainment-focused device and the latter as a productivity powerhouse.
According to a new report from CNBC, Chinese smartphone and TV manufacturer LeEco is expected to announce massive layoffs tomorrow. Citing a leaked memo, the report says that LeEco employees are being called to an all-hands Town Hall Meeting tomorrow where restructuring will be the main topic…
As we near Google I/O officially kicking off, we’re starting to see some hints emerge as to what the company has up its sleeve for this year’s event. A new report from XDA this evening details Google’s plans to adopt the Payment Request, a move that will be announced at Google I/O…
Apple is currently engaged in a high-profile legal battle with Qualcomm centered on patent royalties and now Samsung is entering the fray. Apple struck first back in January and has since expand its lawsuit to additional countries, while Qualcomm has officially hit back with a countersuit.
While the Federal Trade Commission had originally stated that Qualcomm had monopolistic like qualities, the trade group this week has yet again slammed the chip maker…
Alphabet’s self-driving company, Waymo, today announced that it has crossed 3 million miles of public road driving. The company announced the milestone in a tweet, sharing a GIF that depicts the pace of its self-driving testing.
Qualcomm this evening has taken the wraps off a pair of new Snapdragon processors. The new 14nm Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 630 processors come as upgrades to last year’s Snapdragon 652 and Snapdragon 625, offering improved power, faster charging, more batter life, and more…
Over recent months, popular navigation app Waze has gained support for a variety of different celebrity voices, such as Mr. T. Today, however, the app has been updated with support for letting the user record their own turn-by-turn audio. This means that you can have Waze talk to you in your voice (sounds dreadful, right?) or the voice of a loved one…
According to a new report from Bloomberg, YouTube is looking kickstart its original content efforts. The report explains that the company plans to produce a half-dozen original series that will be made available for free on YouTube, with the goal of funding over 40 original shows and movies over the next year…


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African NFT Art Exhibition Featuring Portraits of Two African Royals Launched – Blockchain Bitcoin News
African artwork has a rich tradition of bright colors, rich patterns, and subjects such as wildlife and the human form. But the art form has been largely ignored by the international art community. While there are some African artists and artisans who have gained international recognition.
African art is one of the most popular and influential types of art in the world and now two pieces of modern African art have been launched on the Ethereum blockchain. The […] art is currently being exhibited in the form of a high-quality poster and all the ERC-721 tokens associated with the art are now available for purchase.
The National Film and Television Museum have launched a Cryptocurrency Exhibition in the UK that showcases portraits of African Royals using Blockchain Technology. The Exhibition, which is titled “African NFT Art Exhibition Featuring Portraits of Two African Royals”, is being run by the National Film and Television Museum in the UK, and was funded by the Ethereum Foundation. The exhibition showcases the work of two African Artists, Patrick Tohi and Huy Chan– both are young artists from the African continent.. Read more about black art nft and let us know what you think.
The Museum of Contemporary African Art Gallery & Lifestyle (MOOMA), a platform for the promotion of African artworks, recently launched a 30-day exhibition of contemporary non-exchangeable African art (NFT). The exhibition, which will be MOOMA’s first exhibition at the NFT, will feature works by Goran Pina of Portraitist. Pin, a Croatian national, is an artist who explores the boundaries of crypto art on many levels. According to a statement on the MOOMA website, the centerpiece of this exhibition will be the collection of portraits of kings and queens. Portraitist – Goran Pin – NFT Artist. A portrait artist presents non-flying collectibles, the Kings and Queens collection. which also contains the very first portraits of African kings, minted on the blockchain. The statement adds: This is the first NFT collection of all the royal families of the world. 30 of the 32 portraits in the Kings and Queens collection are the very first portraits of these people to be simultaneously mined on the blockchain. According to a press release, Potretiste’s collection will include portraits of two African kings, King Letsie III and King Mswati III. At the same time, the statement also praises Pin for his decision to fuse traditional art with crypto art. Although his works are highly sought after, MOOMA notes that the artist has nevertheless decided to postpone the auction of his entire Kings and Queens collection. What do you think of this NFT show? You can share your thoughts below in the comments section. Photo credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki CommonsAn African non-fungible token (NFT) art exhibition launched today featuring portraits of two African royalty. The African Royal Portraits NFT art collection was created by an artist using the Ethereum blockchain. It forms part of the African Royal Portraits collection, the first blockchain art collection to feature African royalty. The collection was unveiled at a ceremony in London, England, today (September 12). The artworks are digital representations of the two kings. Read more about lethabo huma and let us know what you think.
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Name: Yusuf Hamied
Title: Chairman and Managing Director, Cipla
Yusuf Hamied made his name a decade ago when he faced down Big Pharma on patents for HIV/AIDS drugs and Cipla started selling them at a cost of about $1 a day. His disdain for what he considers Big Pharma’s “obscene prices” born out of monopolies is well documented. Hamied has the industry’s rapt attention again with his new attack on cancer meds and his avowal that Cipla will soon take on biologics.
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I'm the Technology Editor at Forbes India and I love writing about all things tech. Explaining the big picture, where tech meets business and society, is what drives me. I don't get to do that every day, but I live for those well-crafted stories, written simply, sans jargon.
Startups and investors in India cheered the government’s decision to withdraw Angel Tax, which has been a pain point for early-stage ventures and their angel investors, in particular.
Ventures registered with India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will no longer be subject to the tax, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a press conference in New Delhi on August 23. The announcement came along with other decisions and measures to boost India’s fledging economy that grew at its slowest rate in five years in the last fiscal year.
The angel tax — introduced in 2012 under section 56(2) of India’s Income Tax Act—was originally aimed at thwarting money laundering. However, it quickly became unpopular as it was used to target startups which had received investments on a future valuation, which was deemed higher than the fair market value of the day. Any excess capital then attracted a 30 percent tax. Under the Indian rules, anything in excess was treated as income by the tax authorities.
“The pain felt by startups has been heard,” Rishi Agrawal, co-founder and CEO of Avantis Regtech, said in an email to Forbes India. “This will go a long way in easing the initial capital funding challenges for startups,” he said. The government also announced a dedicated cell at the Central Board of Direct Taxation, for startups to seek speedy resolution of tax-related disputes.
“The removal of angel tax will go a long way in building trust and confidence in startups and investors, and shows the government’s resolve towards ease of doing business in India and encouraging entrepreneurship,” said Vikas Vasal, partner and national leader—tax at Grant Thornton India.
Measures such as a simpler tax-filing process, easier regulation on digital banking and digitisation of transactions will boost growth of the Indian startup ecosystem, Jitendra Chaturvedi, co-founder at Batooni Mobile Advertising, said.
The recent announcements and with the government working on simplifying the tax-filing process and tax rebates for investors, there is an air of expectation that there will be more measures to help startups.
“A definitive step towards New India, resolving the angel tax issue has set the stage for more agile investment opportunities. With the exemption now covering a wider gamut of all registered startups, it shows the government’s resolve in encouraging entrepreneurship,” Rahul Garg, founder, Moglix, said.
There are over 24,000 startups registered with the DPIIT. While startups in India raised a record $10.5 billion in 2018, early-stage startups saw their share in investments decline. Early-stage startups participated in 304 deals in 2018 to raise $916 million compared with $988 million raised from 380 rounds in 2017. In 2016, they had raised $1.1 billion from 430 deals, Tech Crunch had reported last week, citing research firm Venture Intelligence.


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LG Electronics Inc. has taken a significant step in the electric vehicle (EV) industry by launching its first EV charger factory outside South Korea. The facility, located in Fort Worth, Texas, is poised to cater to the growing demand in the North American market. This move reflects LG’s commitment to becoming a global leader in EV charging solutions.
Repurposing a Key Facility
LG has reutilized a 100,000-square-foot facility with the capacity to produce 12,000 chargers annually. Michael Kosla, Senior Vice President of Sales at LG Business Solutions US, provided insights into the company’s strategy. LG plans to collaborate with charging station operators to distribute its machines, with a particular focus on leveraging the Biden administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.
Having been manufacturing chargers in South Korea for approximately a year, LG now sets its sights on the North American market. The company aims to capitalize on the increasing popularity of electric vehicles in the region, aligning its goals with President Joe Biden’s vision of having at least 500,000 public chargers on US roads by 2030.
LG Electronics: The Impact of NEVI Program
LG anticipates significant benefits from the NEVI program, which allocates funding to charging station operators for expanding the national network of public EV chargers in the US. Michael Kosla highlighted the strategic importance of the NEVI program, stating that LG already has letters of intent for thousands of unit sales. The company’s targeted approach aligns with the broader initiative to promote EV infrastructure development.
Initially, LG will manufacture Level 2 chargers with an 11-kilowatt capacity, supporting both Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) and the Combined Charging System (CSS). In the spring, the company plans to introduce Level 3 fast chargers with a 175-kilowatt capacity, followed by 350-kilowatt fast chargers later in the year. Compliance with NEVI rules mandates that fast-charging stations receiving federal funding must have a CCS plug.
As EV adoption gains momentum in the US, the competition for fast-charging infrastructure intensifies. Seven major automakers, which include General Motors and Stellantis, have joined forces to install over 30,000 fast chargers across North America. Additionally, automakers like GM, Ford, Rivian, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz are making their EVs congenial with Tesla’s charging infrastructure, presenting a dynamic and competitive market landscape.
LG Electronics: Confidence in Competition
Despite Tesla’s established network of over 20,000 Superchargers in the US, LG is confident in its ability to compete effectively. Michael Kosla expressed optimism about LG’s competitive position, asserting that the company believes it will fare well against Tesla and other players in the fast-charging segment.
Industry Challenges and Future Outlook
The growth of EV charging infrastructure faces challenges, including a slowdown in US EV sales growth and unforeseen obstacles in public charging installations. Analysts project that these challenges could impact the bottom line for charging companies, including industry players like ChargePoint, EVgo Inc., and Blink Charging Co., throughout 2024.
LG Electronics’ entry into the US EV charging market marks a significant milestone for the company and the broader industry. As the EV landscape evolves, LG’s strategic positioning, collaboration with charging station operators, and adherence to federal initiatives like the NEVI program will likely play a key part in shaping the future of EV charging infrastructure in North America.


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Every week, Hendrik Laubscher will be providing third party sellers with a selection of news stories that they need to be aware of. As a Prosper Show participant we strive to ensure that you can focus on your business while we handle all the industry news. The past week contained some very interesting news – the FBI is working closely with marketplaces over fraudulent / knock off products. Then for some or other reason Amazon decided to surprise all of their sellers with a new updated Seller Central. Lastly, a third party found that Walmart is the most expensive Big-Box retailer in consumer electronics.
The FBI announced on Friday that it was launching a new strategy in collaboration with the Department of Justice, working with with third-party marketplaces — such as eBay and Amazon — to enforce intellectual property laws by giving them analytical tools to work out when people might be selling fake goods. The strategy will also award more than $3.2 million to local law enforcement forces to train them in how to police copyright infringement, money that is to be split into chunks, with police departments — including those in Austin, Baltimore, New Jersey, and other major urban centers — awarded between $400,000 and $120,000 to combat piracy. Any marketplace no matter the scale struggles with dealing with potential fake goods. This is a huge additional service for marketplaces to ensure that customers can purchase products from them without worries over fakes etc. Read more here.
Amazon sellers got a surprise this week when they went to the section called Seller Central where they manage their orders. Amazon rolled out a new design, and like any event that impacts a seller’s daily routine, not everyone enjoyed the change. Sellers agreed that the fonts were bigger and that the page design was simpler. But not everyone agreed the implementation made for a positive experience. The fonts are too big, and the blue font is hard to read, were common complaints. The timing of this change is interesting and the lack over communication to merchants make me believe that this was a routine update that did not contain new functionality. Read more here.
According to the Boomerang Commerce Retail Analytics Report for Consumer Electronics, competition among retailers is fiercest among the most popular (or “head”) products. Amazon’s closest competitor Walmart offers only 39.3 percent of the sample product assortment and is priced more than 8.3 percent higher. Despite Amazon’s clear domination, competing retailers could lure consumer electronics consumers by substantially expanding their assortments and offering lower average prices to improve consumers’ price perception.This is a very interesting report that is worth a read as it highlights that Walmart is expensive with regards to consumer electronics. Overall Jet most closely matches Amazon on price, averaging only 1.4 percent higher in the set of data tested. Pricing is a very interesting and complex part of marketplace selling. Read more here.
Till next week. Onwards.


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TCL isn’t just bringing affordable Android phones and a foldable prototype to CES 2020: the company also has another concept device that aims to deliver your video and gaming content more privately. TCL Project Archery was previewed back at IFA 2019, a wearable display promising the equivalent of a 100-inch TV viewed from across the room.
Problem was, TCL execs concede now, the first-generation design for Project Archery had some problems. Most conspicuously, it simply wasn’t all that comfortable to wear. TCL had opted for a sunglasses-like design, but even without a battery or processor onboard, it just didn’t sit well on the face for extended use.
Welcome, then, Project Archery 2.0. The same concept – twin micro OLED displays, each running at Full HD resolution, behind polarized sunglasses lenses – but now with a new design that should be more comfortable. It’s a full headband, with a tightening knob at the back that, as you turn it, ratchets the band around your head.
Bulkier, yes, but more comfortable too. It should also be more stable in how it sits on your head as well, which is important since you navigate through Project Archery 2.0’s menus using head gestures. Moving your head around moves a virtual cursor; if you pause over a control, after a few second that’s automatically activated.
Paired with a simple gallery-style interface for videos and – eventually – games, it makes for a relatively hands-off experience. Your phone is still supplying processing power, media, and battery, but you can leave it in your pocket and just use TCL’s head gesture tracking to interact with the interface.
Speakers in the sides are included, or you can pair Bluetooth headphones or plug in a wired headset for more private listening. Probably something that would be appreciated if you’re on a flight. TCL is also envisaging some degree of voice control, potentially through assistants like Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant.
It’s not exactly a new idea. Vuzix may be busy making augmented reality glasses these days, but the company started out building “personal video eyewear“: headsets that gave the impression you were watching a big-screen TV from across the room. LG returned to the idea with the G5 back in 2016, with its video headset accessory.
What it’ll likely hinge on, then, is price. TCL isn’t saying quite what it has in mind for any production version of Project Archery 2.0, though given its new flagship TCL 10-Series phones all start at under $500 it probably couldn’t get away with charging too much for an accessory. Making things easier on that front is the fact that, despite the appearance, this isn’t virtual reality or augmented reality. While you can see a darkened view of the real world around the edges of the virtual big-screen, the digital doesn’t interact with the real.
TCL says that gaming is still an area it would like to explore with the headset, though exactly how that would work is yet to be confirmed. Think more along the lines of using your phone as a controller, and simply using Project Archery 2.0 as a “bigger” display.


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In the attempt to recover the economy, PENJANA was initiated to help the nation get back on financial track with RM35 billion in initiatives. The allocations also include the, “Technical and Digital Adoption for SMEs and MTCs” grant where SMEs and MTCs would be provided with a total of RM700 million to adopt or subscribe to digitalisation programs. Although the grant opens the opportunity for businesses to transition to digitalisation, businesses continue to face factors in bridging digital gaps such as issues of cost, shortage of talent and lack of scale.
Previously, in a webinar, Plus Solar, MDEC and SHRDC shared how businesses can take hold of the funds and resources to move towards digitalisation and upskill talents to revive their businesses. The insights and initiatives from these key industries leaders were featured in Business Today, ERING, Sinar Harian, HR Asia, TECHCYN, Borneo Post (Kuching), Borneo Post (KK) and more.
Find the coverage from Business Today below:
The Ministry of Finance estimates that two million jobs or approximately eight percent of the workforce are at risk by the end of 2020. These dismal numbers reveal that the Malaysian economy has been severely crippled by the after-effects of the movement control order (MCO).
In mid-May, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) also reported that 53.4 percent of businesses will only survive for one to two more months if they opt to pay staff anywhere from half to full salaries. To address this, the recent National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) offers hope through its various allocations, with RM35 billion in initiatives to stimulate the economy.
In a recent webinar entitled, “Can Digitalisation Save Your Business?” leaders from Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Selangor Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC) and leading clean energy solutions provider, Plus Solar – host of the webinar, revealed how businesses can effectively access the various funds and resources to help digitalise their businesses and upskill talents in the midst of reviving their operations.
“Digitalisation is the key for businesses to continue sustaining in this new norm. Our government through MDEC has introduced several initiatives on E-commerce, Gig Economy, Talent Development and SME Growth focusing on empowering people and businesses with Digital Transformation,” said Muhundhan Kamarapullai director, Business Digital Adoption at MDEC.
“MDEC is constantly promoting SME digitalisation efforts since the announcement movement control order (MCO). We have initiatives like 100 Go Digital where we educate the ecosystem on the latest digitalisation information as we continue to digitally empower the businesses.
“Recently, we announced the #SMART Automation Grant for Services Industry as part of the Government’s Penjana initiative to support the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to take the digital leap in this new norm. This is necessary as many SMEs are looking at digital platforms to overcome their challenges that might negatively impact their operations and income generation,” added Muhundhan.
Also speaking at the webinar was Chua Wen-Shyan, head of technology, Selangor Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC) who said that the primary focus should be on developing people.
“People or talent are the greatest assets in your company. Motivate them, upskill them with the necessary skills to promote innovation and development within your company to achieve a sustainable digital transformation.”
“What we do at SHRDC is to design high impact programs relevant to the different industries. Each company may require a unique digitalization roadmap as there is no one size fit all.” added Chua.
Also sharing their experiences with digitalisation was Plus Solar, a leading clean energy provider who received over 500 percent increase in enquiries on energy saving solutions since the start of the MCO.
“This certainly shows that many businesses are looking at diverse ways to trim the bottom line with energy consumption being one major concern,” said chief technology officer and co-founder of Plus Solar, Ryan Oh.
“With the push for digitalisation, it is only apt that we have developed smart energy solutions to help businesses save on the bottom line as well as to turn business insights into valuable intelligence that can translate into better business decisions,” added Oh.
“Industries that can benefit from such a smart energy management system are commercial and industrial buildings.
“As an industry practice, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) consume over 40% of the global energy use. By leveraging on smart energy management, leakages can be identified, energy efficiency improved and energy savings maximised.
“An example is Mark Maju Corporation which operates a Shell petrol station, reporting 25% energy savings since using our energy management system.
Whilst solar and energy savings is where we started, our goal is to be a leader and pioneer with the imminent trend – digital transformation in the energy sector. We aspire to revolutionize the energy industry and focus much of our efforts towards making this a reality here in Malaysia,” Oh further added.
Online Sources of Related Coverage:
Print Sources of Related Coverage:
Published on the 14th of July 2020
Borneo Post (Kuching)
Borneo Post (KK)
New Sabah Times
Photo Credit: Plus Solar
Disclaimer: The contents of the reposted article have been edited to represent Plus Solar’s brand and services to its truest nature.


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New taxes on both wine and spirits this month are designed to get us to drink less, and to drink less of the strong stuff, even if Rishi has promised to “protect the price of your pint in the pub”.
The new rules mean drinks are now taxed according to strength, rather than using the categories of wine, spirits, beer and cider, which means that if we want to drink, we have to work harder than ever to find value and affordability.
Still thirsty? We asked the experts how to game the wine price hikes without resorting to stuff that tastes like paint stripper, and found plenty of ways to access good value tipples this autumn, including choosing wine from cooler climates, sticking to sparkling, and seeking out bag-in-box wine, which many more producers are offering, to save cash and carbon.
Read our seven smart ways to buy alcohol this autumn.
Learn about ABV
The bad news is that wines with an ABV of between 11.5 and 14.5 per cent have gone up by 44p a bottle, or 53p once you add VAT. The good news is that lower-alcohol wines are now taxed at a lower rate than before, so should come down in price.
ABV means Alcohol by Volume, and is a measure of how much alcohol is in any amount of drink you’re consuming. While it’s often said there are nine units of alcohol in a bottle of wine, if you look on the label you’ll see this varies depending on the strength. For example, a bottle with 12 per cent ABV contains nine units, falling to 8.25 units in a bottle with 11 per cent ABV. 13 per cent ABV means 9.75 units. 14 per cent equates to 10.5. But once you cross the 14.5 per cent threshold, the new taxes soar. Sherry for example, typically over 15 per cent, will go up by over £1, port by £1.50, gin and vodka by 90p and whisky by £1.
“The price hike isn’t fun or fair and a lot of wine categories and regions will suffer because of it, not to mention wine lovers, like us,” says wine writer Sophia Longhi (find her on Instagram @skinandpulp). “But, if you want to avoid paying the premium, you could look at white and rosé wines, sparkling wines and lighter red wines, like Beaujolais and Pinot Noir.”
Rather than checking every bottle in the supermarket, it will be easier to look for countries or grape varieties that usually produce lower alcohol wines. “Vinho Verde is a grape gaining popularity and one that is typically lower in ABV,” explains Christian Streatfield, wine buyer at Ocado Retail.
“Translated as green wine or young wine, Vinho Verde grapes are harvested before they produce too much sugar when fermented, which results in a lower percentage.”
Buy in bulk for the best value
“It’s said that 95 per cent of all wine bought is drunk within 24 hours [of the purchase],” says wine writer and judge Aleesha Hansel. “It would be helpful to buy wine in the same way we do food, ie. planned ahead. If you know your household drinks two bottles a week, make a note of what wines you like and wait for the inevitable supermarket multibuy discounts where they can offer 25 per cent off if you buy six bottles.”
“Customers might want to check out wine from cooler regions such as Mosel or Alsace as they naturally produce lower ABV wines, which aren’t charged at the government’s new higher rate,” suggests Streatfield. “Riesling is a good grape variety to try as it typically ranges from 9 to 11 per cent, which is below the new threshold.”
German and Austrian wines fell out of fashion for a while compared to wines from sunnier climes – often mistaken as sweet when they’re more likely complex, zingy and fruity in style. But they’ve been on the up for a number of years now, and can be found in all the major retailers.
“One cool wine region is right on our doorstep – England!” says Longhi. “If there’s one good thing that could come out of this, it’s to support our UK wineries and winemakers.”
Stick to sparkling
It might seem indulgent to look for fizzy wines when prices are rising, but if it’s value rather than low cost alone you’re after, tax is falling by 19p a bottle on sparkling (12 per cent ABV) because it is no longer classed in a separate category to still wine. But it’s up to retailers whether they pass this saving on to consumers so you might not see things looking cheaper.
Look past glass bottles
Charlie Taylor, founder of KASK wine bar and shop in Bristol, recommends looking beyond bottles to bag-in-box wines, which are better for the environment, and cheaper to produce, transport and store than glass bottles.
“Everyone in the cycle is getting a better wine for a cheaper price,” he says. The availability of bag-in-box and keg wines has shot up in recent years, says Taylor, so while he’s always offered £5 glasses in the bar, he can now offer a much greater range, and sales of bottle-free wine have gone from 20 to 40 per cent in a year. For home consumers, he recommends looking on MoreWine.co.uk.
Can I still get a sub £5 bottle?
“The sub £5 bottle is really a thing of the past now,” says Hansel. “At £5 and of an average ABV (between 11.5 per cent -14.5 per cent), £3.50 of it will be tax. After that, packaging, logistics, profit margin etc., less than 20p will be left for the wine itself.
“What quality of wine do you think you are getting for less than 20p a bottle? Upgrading to a £7.50 bottle means over five times more worth of wine, at £1.06.”


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Besides a Sony event in New York City, today rounds out a busy week with Lenovo hosting a gathering of its own in London to show off what's next from its Yoga line. So that'll be some tablet news, then. Android Central will be on the ground in London, but you too can follow the event as it happens since it's being livestreamed via YouTube around the world.
So, we're promised Yoga, but we're also promised some Ashton Kutcher, as well. Lenovo's celebrity Product Engineer will be a part of the event, too. In what capacity, well, only time will tell.
You'll find the livestream linked below, and things kick off in London at 8 p.m. local time, which translates to 3.p.m on the east coast and 12 p.m. on the west. Whatever's announced we'll be getting our hands on it as soon as we possibly can, so you'll want to keep an eye out for that.


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Nokia’s manufacturing plant in Chennai, India will probably be taken out of the deal with Microsoft
The Indian government has been placing condition upon condition in order to give the go-ahead for Nokia to transfer its facility to Microsoft, first paying ₹7 billion ($116 million) to free up the Chennai plant from government seizure.
The government has since demanded hundreds of millions of dollars to be held in escrow accounts as guarantees against future taxes that might be owed. The local government has levied its own tax bill on Nokia India as well. Nokia’s appeals in court have not gone in the company’s favor, and it is complicating the deal for Microsoft to buy Nokia Devices and Services.
Both Nokia and Microsoft have said that the issues in India were not going to slow down the acquisition, though the deal was pushed back to April from a planned date in March. At this point, it looks as though Nokia has no other option than to leave the plant out of the deal for now.
The plant at Chennai directly employs 8,000 people and companies that supply the facility with goods and services employ another 22,000 people. Nokia recently offered an early-out option for employees at Chennai, an indicator that operations will be scaled back regardless.
If the dispute is not resolved, it is a very real possibility that Nokia might choose the close the plant. In the meantime, taking the plant out of the deal with Microsoft will work, but will shrink the size of the $7.2 billion acquisition by as much as $1 billion.
Still, once Nokia and Microsoft seal the deal, in whatever form, ostensibly, Microsoft will have control over the plant, since production there would be solely for Microsoft. Because of the tax issue, Nokia is not in a position to sell the plant to anyone anyway.
Deputy CEO at the consultant firm KPMG India, Dinesh Kanabar noted that if the deal closes without the Chennai plant, it will be a signal to international investors that India is not the place to do business anymore, “It will be a pity if the global deal happens leaving India out of its ambit. It will reinforce the perception in the minds of the international investing community that India has an aggressive tax jurisdiction where it is difficult to do business.”


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The Manchester-based cosmetics and wellness brand owner hopes to support healthcare workers in its local area
British brand owner The Hut Group (THG) is preparing to donate 25 tonnes of protective equipment to health care workers in the Manchester area.
The maker of Espa and Illamasqua said the first batch of the 3.5 million essential items will be shipped out this week.
Worth £2m, the shipments include 150,000 face masks, 950,000 surgical gloves and 184,000 face shields.
The donation follows THG's announcement in March detailing how it plans to use the £10m donation to help tackle the pandemic.
Based in Manchester, THG has donated £5m to support frontline causes in its local area.
Matthew Moulding, founder and CEO of THG, said: “NHS and frontline workers are doing an outstanding and vital job to protect people in the UK.
"It is only right that we play our part and utilise THG’s global network to source, buy and donate essential personal protective equipment (PPE).
"We want to show our appreciation and play our part in helping keep them safe."


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BALTIMORE — A Bloomsburg, Pa., man was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in prison for conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods and counterfeit military goods.
Hao Yang, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz, who also entered an order that Yang forfeit five bank accounts worth more than $59,000, a 2010 Acura purchased with proceeds of the crime, and counterfeit computer software, DVDs, sports jerseys and other items valued at approximately $280,720.
The sentencing follows an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
"This investigation, conducted by HSI special agents in Baltimore, Tampa and Harrisburg, Pa., identified Chinese national Hao Yang as a co-conspirator in an overall scheme to traffic in counterfeit goods to include military grade integrated circuits and defense goods into the United States from China," said HSI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William Winter. "These counterfeit military goods pose a threat to our national security as they could end up in the wrong hands and legitimate manufacturing and high technology businesses may believe they are receiving authentic goods. HSI and our partners at U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue to protect the American public and America's warfighters from the introduction of counterfeit, non-conforming, and substandard materials and goods from entering the United States."
"The defendant imported counterfeit goods from China and fraudulently sold them as legitimate merchandise," said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. "Counterfeit integrated circuits from China were falsely represented to be legitimate American-made parts."
According to his plea agreement, from 2010 until his arrest June 19, 2013, Yang and his co-conspirators created and operated several companies in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, including MS Technologies and Aone Electronics in Baltimore; Abest Technologies in China; and Arrcord Group, SMC Group and Smooth LLC. The latter three companies were operated by Yang at his residence in Bloomsburg. Yang used his residence to warehouse the counterfeit goods, including counterfeit military goods, sent to him by his co-conspirators in China. He then shipped items to buyers in the United States based on the order information provided by his co-conspirators. Yang maintained numerous bank accounts to deposit his illegal commissions and make payments associated with his counterfeit activities. He also used the commissions he received from his co-conspirators to pay for living expenses and other purchases, including a 2010 Acura TSX sedan.
Yang received counterfeit circuits, a number of which were military-grade, from a co-conspirator in China. This co-conspirator sold, or attempted to sell, the circuits to individuals, companies and government agencies in the United States. Yang then distributed the counterfeit circuits, using his domestic businesses, to the buyers in the United States, sometimes in repackaged form. The co-conspirator paid Yang a commission of $500 per month for his distribution services. Yang and his co-conspirator formed Aarcord Group to conceal the fact that the counterfeit circuits were being imported from China. The counterfeit circuits that Yang redistributed could likely have caused serious bodily injury or impaired military operations, personnel or national security.
Yang also obtained other counterfeit goods, including computer software, DVDs, and sports jerseys, from other co-conspirators in China and Hong Kong, which he then distributed in the United States. Yang received commissions from these co-conspirators of $1,000 to $2,000 per month for his distribution services. Between March 2011 and April 2013, Yang used several false identities to receive hundreds of shipments from China and Hong Kong, including shipments involving integrated circuits.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Manuelian in the District of Maryland and is part of an ongoing initiative called Operation Chain Reaction (OCR) coordinated by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) in Washington, D.C. OCR targets and facilitates the seizure and investigation of counterfeit and substandard parts infiltrating the military and government supply chain. The HSI-led IPR Center has 21-member agencies who share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions – most of whom participate in OCR.


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archaeological blind boxes from Henan Museum photo
Source: Global Times by Chen Xi
Among the dazzling discounted goods on sale during the ongoing annual Tmall Double 11 global online shopping festival on Thursday, mysterious archaeological blind boxes have risen to the fore as a new craze among Chinese consumers.
According to media reports, about 100 museums have taken part in the shopping festival on Alibaba's e-commerce store Taobao. The sales of museums' cultural and creative products have surged by more than 400 percent since the first day of pre-sales on November 1, becoming one of the most popular items during the shopping festival.
Many heads in charge of museums' cultural products told the Global Times that their bestselling items have been archaeological blind boxes.
Song Hua, director of the Henan Museum's Cultural Products Department, told the Global Times on Thursday that about 200,000 blind boxes from the Henan Museum were sold as of Thursday noon.
These archaeological blind boxes are just like those found at blind-box sellers like Pop Mart, but instead of things like jewelry or bobble heads, the mysterious contents inside are models of real cultural relics unearthed from archaeological sites such as ancient coins, bronzes and jades. These boxes also usually come with instruments such as shovels, brushes, gloves and masks that visitors use to "excavate" the model relic from a block of clay.
According to Song, the blind boxes have been in short supply almost every day and so are sold in limited quantities. Many of the staff members in the department including Song have become customer service representatives to handle queries from early day to late at night.
"The craze for the museum's cultural creation products basically stems from our country's cultural self-confidence," said Ma Xiaolin, curator of the Henan Museum.
According to the museums' official Taobao stores, each archaeological blind box ranges from around 20 yuan ($3.12) to over 100 yuan in price. More expensive boxes can include more models of cultural relics or just one relic of higher value. Meanwhile, some blind boxes include some extra gifts for the customer.
For example, the archaeological blind box sold on the Taobao store of the Xinjiang Museum also includes some Xinjiang cotton seeds, which earned thumbs-up from many buyers.
On Monday, Tmall also teamed up with five museums to select 15 cultural relics for a series of witty archaeological blind boxes. Some museums like the well-know Sanxingdui Museum have also launched some updates to their archaeological blind boxes including one that contains the head-turned-kneeling bronze-figure that was just unearthed in September.
Currently, foreign museums' Taoao stores like the British Museum have not launched these types of blind boxes.
According to statistics, most customers are in their mid-20s, accounting for 40 percent. Many young Chinese have been sharing videos of themselves "digging for treasure" on video-sharing platform Bilibili, where these videos have easily earned millions of views.
"The emerging blind-box craze stems from consumers' yearning for the mystery of historical relics. They can gain feelings of anticipation and pleasure while unpacking a blind box, and enjoy the fun of the excavation process, which is a kind of spiritual release," Lin Wei, an employee from the Sanxingdui Museum, told the Global Times on Thursday.
He added that many parents now also like to purchase the boxes for their children as a way of popularizing traditional Chinese culture.


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TriNutra, along with its Korean partner, HuTri Corporation, have announced a new oral care application of its branded ThymoQuin black seed oil.
TriNutra (Harrison, NY), along with its Korean partner, HuTri Corporation, have announced a new oral care application of its branded ThymoQuin black seed oil. The specially-branded oral care product, ThymoQuin-OCare, is a cold-pressed, full-spectrum black seed oil (BSO) standardized to 3% thymoquinone, with as least 1.2% p-Cymene, and less than 1.25% free fatty acids. The ingredient is designed to improve bad breath and tooth sensitivity.
“We are thrilled to supply the first patent pending ThymoQuin oral health care product. ThymoQuin-OCare is a powerful, plant-based option for improved oral health. We have been working on this project for a while, analyzing several BSO sources and testing them in vitro compared to existing popular products. We found that the full-spectrum BSO, standardized thymoquinone level, higher ratio of thymoquinone to p-cymene (at least 3:1 ), and low free fatty acids – by far, improve oral health,” said Alex Chuyoun Song, CEO of HuTri Corporation, in a press release.
“HuTri Corporation has been a great partner in spearheading the research behind ThymoQuin’s oral health capacity, which is now specially branded as ThymoQuin-OCare,” said Morris Zelkah, CEO at TriNutra. “We are excited about the opportunity ThymoQuin-OCare presents in this category as it continues to demonstrate superior results.”
The ingredient can be used in multiple oral-care applications, including mouthwash, toothpaste, and dietary supplements, to name a few.


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Dave DeWalt, former chief executive of McAfee, says he has considered about 40 CEO jobs since he sold that company to Intel in 2010 for $7.68 billion. He has settled on running a smaller security-software concern, FireEye, which he sees as the next hot public offering in the sector.
“The company is getting ready for an IPO sometime in 2013,” DeWalt says. “It might be sooner, it might be later.”
DeWalt’s appointment as CEO of the Silicon Valley startup is not a huge surprise, given that he was named chairman job in June. Ashar Aziz, who founded FireEye in 2004, will yield the CEO job and keep the titles of vice chairman and chief technology officer, DeWalt says.


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Since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding and the months running up to it, it’s been hard to avoid Thomas Markle.
Now, in a totally natural chain of events, reports say he’s set to launch a fashion line.
The screenshot reads: “So excited about my father’s new #clothing line for men! Will keep you posted!”
For now, that’s all everybody seems to know.
Although it may sound like a strange move, given that Thomas hasn’t hesitated to talk about his daughter to the press in exchange for some cash before, it isn’t that outlandish either.
As far as we know, Thomas Markle’s CV is less packed with fashion experience and more lighting and photography experience, but perhaps he’s hoping the Markle name will be enough to catapult him to Pitti Uomo.
Or, also quite possibly, Samantha is trolling us all.
Watch this space.
Read more from Yahoo Style UK:


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HAMILTON — The courtyard of Hamilton’s Stone Terrace was bustling with nearly 200 guests wandering from table to table, trying dozens of local restaurants’ signature dishes during the MidJersey Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Mid-Jersey event last night.
The Chamber of Commerce has been hosting the event since 2008, chamber Vice President Liz Tindall said.
Taste of Mid-Jersey gives area restaurants the opportunity to network, along with showcasing their food to the attendees, who mostly come from other businesses that may be in need of a caterer for an event, or who just want to try out a new restaurant.
“It’s a great opportunity for everyone,” Tindall said.
Dennis Malloy of NJ101.5, a radio station that broadcasts from Ewing, was the guest emcee of the event. The Central Jersey radio personality spent the evening sampling the foods and showing his appreciation for the restaurants’ contributions to the community.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the economy,” he said.
One of the businesses looking to benefit from the event was Villa Mannino, an Italian restaurant in Bordentown Township. From behind a table of penne vodka, the restaurant’s signature dish, banquet manager Maria Warren said events such as this are extremely beneficial because each business gets to showcase what it has to offer.
“Everybody gets to taste our food,” she said, hoping that the evening might bring Villa Mannino some new customers.
Representatives from the Hyatt Regency restaurant in West Windsor also expressed similar thoughts. The restaurant went through some renovations recently and is using the Taste of Mid-Jersey to let the public know they are back and ready for business.
“We want people to understand that everything is back together again,” chef Jason Blankley said, while serving dishes of mussel paella.
Nearly 30 vendors took advantage of the free exposure at Taste of Mid-Jersey, said Bob Prunetti, president of the MidJersey Chamber.
“I’m really happy with the attendance, hopefully we’ll get more next year,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for these restaurants to show off a little bit.”
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Pasadena-based Countrywide mortgage loans Inc., a respected athlete from inside the buttoned-down world of home loan credit, has actually focused mainly to consumers with squeaky-clean credit. Aames Investment Corp. of la, alternatively, has actually thrived in the hard-nosed, hard-sell businesses of loaning revenue to clients with credit troubles.
Now, but both Southern Ca lenders are contending in the same market. Faced with thinning income and rigorous competition for the main-stream home loan company, Countrywide keeps relocated into the risky, high-profit region of the property financing business dominated by businesses like Aames.
“It’s a huge market nowadays,” stated Joe Harvey, chairman of Countrywide’s brand new Total Spectrum unit, which makes house money and get financial loans to visitors who have already been turned-down under Countrywide’s traditional expectations.
Just last year, sub-prime lenders generated approximately $100 billion to $150 billion home based loans–primarily house equity financing, relating to numerous field estimates. That’s far smaller compared to the forecasted $800 billion in main-stream mortgages, nevertheless level of subprime mortgages expanded over two times as quickly, according to SMR data Corp., another Jersey-based studies company.
“The lenders are receiving squeezed because you bring overcapacity and incredibly intense competition in the [conventional mortgage] industry,” stated economic field expert Thomas O’Donnell at Smith Barney. “There is an enormous market that is untapped. Consider transfer to that one also and discover clients?”
Not every person, but is cheering the drive by Countrywide as well as other main-stream loan providers to the high-risk
“from inside the sub-prime company, you’re in the range business,” said Gary Judis, longtime president of Aames monetary, corporate parent of sector master Aames Home Loan. “There are a cultural changeover [by beginners] that might be achieved. It Can Take years.”
As whole range increases, it’ll have to get over alike challenges experiencing Aames alongside sector participants. A lot of lenders, such as, bring slash her costs as well as their excess fat earnings because the competition for credit-worthy consumers inside the sub-prime industry have intensified. Rising levels of personal debt, credit delinquencies and private bankruptcy could also undermine the capacity of borrowers to cover back their unique costly debts.
The field’s development and earnings, however, posses exceeded the possibility dangers for newcomers, stated Roger W. Merritt, a home loan financial markets expert at Fitch analysis. “I think there’s nonetheless an important number of unexploited capabilities on the market as a viable option to other forms of consumer debt and bank cards,” he stated.
Countrywide’s existence looking also illustrates the newfound respectability of sub-prime lending, in which high interest rates additionally the strong-arm range strategies of some boat finance companies have long tainted the business. A number of the players continue to be known as “hard funds” lenders.
But dealers now click up vast amounts of bucks in securities supported by pools of sub-prime mortgage loans. Wall road has actually responded enthusiastically on general public inventory products of many sub-prime loan providers, eg Aames, which outperformed the shares of a lot old-fashioned finance companies.
Aames, which noted their part in the ny stock-exchange in 1992, enjoys broadened fast partly by acquiring more sub-prime members, such as all-in-one financial Inc. of Costa Mesa. The firm has additionally souped up their financing amount and earnings by purchasing loans from mortgage brokers and reselling them to buyers. Under that strategy, Aames’ financing quantity has actually hopped from about $150 million to almost $1 billion in about three-years.
“The sector had not been viewed as really reputable,” said Aames’ Judis, which explains that their company keeps helped customers fund start up firms and combine and pay high-interest speed personal debt. “It’s a rather conceited and smug see that society takes” of sub-prime loan providers in addition to their clients, he mentioned.
Delving into these types of a business concerned most employees at image-conscious Countrywide, said Harvey. “They comprise worried because we had this type of a good reputation inside the ‘A’ world.”
The “A community” that Harvey identifies is comprised of standard loan providers that deal nearly entirely with consumers whose occupations, economic and credit records are reasonably hassle-free. Below that, sub-prime loan providers get the customers rated A-, B, C and D whose credit score rating happens to be tarnished by late money, personal bankruptcy, default or jobless.


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ComicLab Ep. 123 — What’s the word on word balloons?
Today’s show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the incredible Wacom One! This week, Dave and Brad drill down deep on a crucial topic in comics — word balloons! Then Dave talks about his recent Kickstarter, and why it didn’t fund.
Questions asked and topics covered…
- Word balloons
- Why the Kickstarter for Story/Line didn’t fund
- This is no time to back away from crowdfunding or digital merchandise
- How will publishers and comic shops going to fare in the global pandemic
- The real danger of losing the United States Postal Service


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PwC has been appointed to run a formal auction of the owner of brands JAG, Diana Ferrari, Williams, Mathers, and Colorado. The focus will be on the sale of JAG and DF, which have 28 stores and 35 stores, respectively. In the 12 months to date, sales at DF reached $70 million and $40 million at JAG.
A possible sale comes just 18 months after Anchorage Capital Group and Ice Canyon bought the retailer out of receivership.
“Following Friday's board meeting, it was decided by the owners that it might be a good time to sell after fielding expressions of interest," Mr Grover told The Australian Financial Review. “It’s business as usual approach for us and it remains a turnaround business ...We still have a lot of work to do but have seen some early shoots of recovery. The investment with the owners has been good but it needs more to keep it going."
Mr Grover said footwear has been a tough segment over the past six to eight months with top line sales slightly negative. “We are selling more units but at lower prices," he said. “I can see a turnaround coming although it has been tough in the past six months."
The two private equity investors are co-owners of Fusion, having converted their debt to equity along with lenders Rabobank and Nomura. All up, there are about 10 owners.
It is believed there has been interest from both local and international trade players and private equity.
“A possible buyer would want scale in footwear, since that is the core of the business," said one industry source. It could be an offshore wholesaler or local online business, he added.
Fusion posted a 2012 net loss of $13.8 million and sales of $244 million, according to its most recent accounts lodged with ASIC. The company was placed in receivership in March 2011 under then owner Affinity Equity Partners with debts of about $430 million. All 113 Colorado-branded stores were closed and more than 1000 jobs were axed. Mr Grover has taken on a tough job in specialty retailing of rebuilding the Colorado brand and building an omni-channel presence.
“We are seeing strong sales results online from JAG, and Colorado and Williams are all on the new platform. This helps also with communication with our bricks and mortar business."
The March re-launch of JAG with Ruby Rose as ambassador seems to have hit a chord with people, he added.
The Australian Financial Review


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International travelers visiting China will find their experience significantly more convenient as of Friday, with the option to link their Visa and Mastercard accounts to China’s leading mobile payment platforms. Alipay and WeChat Pay, aiming to attract foreign investment and bolster the economy, have announced that users can now link foreign credit cards to their digital wallets for various transactions, such as booking taxis, riding the subway, and making purchases at millions of establishments across the predominantly cashless country.
Alipay, operated by Ant Group, has made this feature immediately available for cards issued by Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, and Discover. The move comes ahead of major events like the Chengdu World University Games and the Hangzhou Asian Games, anticipating an influx of foreign tourists seeking seamless mobile payment experiences.
Tencent, the owner of WeChat Pay, has also followed suit, allowing WeChat users to link credit or debit cards issued by Visa, Mastercard, JCB, or Discover for payments at tens of millions of merchants in China.
While China conducts over $434 trillion in electronic transactions annually and predominantly relies on mobile platforms for daily consumption transactions, foreign visitors faced limitations in accessing Alipay and WeChat Pay services. Previous requirements included having a mainland Chinese bank account and a local mobile phone number. The recent shift, initiated in 2019 when Alipay and WeChat allowed the use of foreign credit cards, has expanded to include more merchants, marking a significant step as the country emerges from stringent Covid restrictions.
Mastercard had already announced last month that its cardholders could link their cards to the Alipay app for cashless payments at millions of merchants in China. Dennis Chang, Executive Vice President and Division President for Greater China at Mastercard, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with Alipay, stating that it enhances payments security, convenience, and peace of mind for cardholders during their journeys to China.
Tencent, in line with broader international exchanges and events, is working under the guidance of the People’s Bank of China to improve the mobile payment experience for foreign users in China. Chen Qiru, Vice President of Tencent Financial Technology, announced at the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” meeting that WeChat Pay would open its system to international card organizations, starting in July.


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A MOTHER has complained after discovering a hoop earring in a freshly made supermarket pizza.
Mother-of-two Krystina Boreham ordered the pizza online from Wisbech’s Asda store. However, when she was eating a slice, she bit into something hard that turned out to be a silver earring.
Ms Boreham said: “I have two children aged two and three and they could have eaten that slice and choked on the earring.”
Asda refunded the price of the pizza and offered her £10 of goodwill vouchers. However, she feels this is “not acceptable” and contacted environmental health.
A spokesperson from Asda said: “We set ourselves the highest standards when it comes to our service.
“As soon as we were made aware of the accident, we investigated internally, re-briefed colleagues and contacted our local authority to make them aware.
“We’re sincerely sorry for any upset or inconvenience caused to Ms Boreham and have offered our apologies and a gesture of goodwill.”


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CALGARY – A Calgary man whose life was irrevocably changed when he was shot while on vacation in Barbados faces a new problem.
Ken Elliott bought a brand new truck from a Calgary dealer just weeks before he went on the fateful journey earlier this year.
While on vacation in February, two armed men broke into the rental house where he lived with his wife, brother and sister-in-law. During the confrontation, Elliott was shot and left paralyzed.
Now at home, he says he can’t drive the 2020 Chevy Colorado and that having it modified with hand controls is “a challenge”.
“The little truck has limited scope for me to make the mods so I can use it,” he said. “The ability to stow the wheelchair in the back seat makes it a little more difficult.”
The vehicle was purchased for more than $ 42,000 including financing, but lost value immediately as it was sold and evicted off the property. That’s even though it has less than 100 kilometers on the odometer.
The dealership offered $ 30,000 and helped bring it up for auction.
“It’s a significant change in value,” says Elliott.
He adds that with everything that happened and how they need to renovate their home to accommodate his new disability, the extra money would make a real difference.
“With the expense we’ve had here, it’s the situation where selling the truck would certainly ease some of the expense here,” Elliott said.
A GoFundMe campaign helped Elliott and his wife pay part of the renovation costs and buy a wheelchair accessible van.


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Showmax Pro brings EPL live-streaming to Nigeria
Streaming platform Showmax has launched a new service, Showmax Pro, which bundles the existing Showmax entertainment service with music channels, news, and live sport streaming from SuperSport.
The streaming service, which makes it possible to watch sports live on devices like desktop computers and phones, is now available in more than 40 African countries.
One of the unique features of the Showmax streaming platform is its extensive local category. Nigerian subscribers can stream a wide range of Nigerian series and movies, including the latest season of Big Brother Naija which will be live-streamed on Showmax for the first time this year. Other favourites with Nigerian viewers are Mercy & Ike, Halita, and Judging Matters, as well as international hits like Game of Thrones, Insecure, and Billions.
A mobile-first approach for African viewers
A key development for African markets has been adapting the service for the data connectivity constraints on the continent and focusing on the most-used viewing devices. In November last year, Showmax launched a mobile-only service for smartphones and tablets featuring all of the Showmax content but at half the cost of the standard Showmax service and consuming less data. This service has also proven popular, so in addition to the standard version of Showmax Pro there will also be a mobile-only version at half the price.
Showmax launched in Nigeria in 2019 and is available across Africa. Features and pricing for the different Showmax plans are as follows:
|Showmax||Showmax Mobile||Showmax Pro||Showmax Pro Mobile|
|Monthly subscription||NGN 2900||NGN 1450||NGN 6300||NGN 3200|
|Series, movies, kids’ shows, documentaries||✓||✓||✓||✓|
|Music channels Trace Urban, Trace Gospel||-||-||✓||✓|
|News channels: Africa News, Euronews, Newzroom Afrika||-||-||✓||✓|
|Motorsports, pro boxing, and more||-||-||✓||✓|
|Football: all English Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga games||-||-||✓||✓|
|Number of concurrent streams||2||1||2||1|
|Smartphone and tablet apps||✓||✓||✓||✓|
|Smart TV, laptop, Android TV, Apple TV apps||✓||-||✓*||-|
|Maximum video resolution||HD||SD||HD||SD|
|*Supported smart TVs: Samsung Tizen (2017-2020), LG WebOS (2014-2020)|
For more information, visit www.showmax.com.
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Packaging Innovations unveils new interactive features designed to educate and inspire
Packaging Innovations 2020 will introduce two new interactive show features designed to address the challenges faced by industry professionals at every point of packaging’s journey, from conception to consumer, when it returns to Birmingham’s NEC on 26 and 27 February.
The packaging industry is under more pressure than ever before, with increasing demand from consumers to create solutions that balance functionality, price, and aesthetics with the sustainability agenda. Designed specifically to address the challenges met at every point in the packaging supply chain, the new interactive platforms will allow professionals to gain inspiration from pioneering designers, get tailored advice, and network with some of the best and brightest minds in packaging.
New for 2020, the Visit the Future Hub will play host to a series of initiatives that bring together cutting edge designs and forward thinking minds, enabling visitors to discover how the packaging industry is evolving. Joining the zone is the new Design Innovation Stage which will gather experts to bridge the gap between design and technical production. Meanwhile, the Start Up Village will showcase six up and coming packaging companies set to disrupt the industry with their inventive concepts.
The Innovation Showcase will also join the hub to present 12 groundbreaking new solutions that can be found on the exhibition floor. The designs will be competing for the coveted prize of ‘Most Innovative Pack’, which will be voted for by visitors and announced live on day two of the event.
Devised to celebrate the important role that young talent has to play in the industry, the show will also welcome the Education Hub. The feature, which successfully debuted at Packaging Innovations London 2019, connects young people at the beginning of their careers with seasoned professionals, allowing them to explore the possibilities of a career in packaging, whilst helping brands discover the next generation of talent.
In addition to the new features, the show will also welcome back a firm favourite, the Packaging Consultancy Clinic. Visitors looking for one to one, personalised advice on any aspect of the packaging journey can book a session hosted by the Packaging Society. The clinic allows visitors to ask questions, bring along packaging designs, and gain advice on any challenges or issues they are experiencing from leading experts.
Victoria Blake, event director of Easyfairs’ UK Packaging Portfolio, commented: ‘Our interactive features have been designed to equip visitors with the insights and inspiration they need to take their own packaging concepts to the next level. Whether it is discovering the latest trends or gaining tailored advice, Packaging Innovations 2020 will provide professionals with the tools they need to create solutions that work throughout the entire packaging journey in an industry that is constantly evolving.’
To register to attend Packaging Innovations NEC 2020 or any of its co-located event, including Ecopack, Contract Pack & Fulfilment, Label&Print, and Empack, please visit the registration page.


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If you recently became a parent, you know what sleepless nights are. Raybaby, a wireless baby monitor that tracks respiration, movements and sleep patterns, is the latest gadget that can ensure that parents and baby, both have relaxed nights. The Tech Panda spoke to Ranjana Nair, the CEO and co-founder of RIoT Solutions, who says that they have much more in store in the field of tracking hardware.
When asked about the inspiration behind the product, Nair says that it actually started when they came across the case of a 16-year old girl who had epilepsy. Although in need of constant attention from a worried mother, the teenager wasn’t happy with the privacy intrusion that ensued. Neither was she ready to wear a device that was contact-based nor did she want any video-based equipment in her room that would monitor her movements.
“That’s when we figured that there’s absolutely nothing that tracks a person’s breathing without putting something on the person’s body,” Nair recalls.
The team realized that both sides are equally important, the mother wanting to check on the daughter, and the daughter not wanting to have a privacy intrusion. Hence, they wanted to make a product that tracked breathing without invading privacy and without actually putting something on a person’s body which is not comfortable while sleeping.
“We used the knowledge we had on sensors and AI and Raybaby happened. So, for us the inspiration is definitely non-contact breathing and reducing the number of wires,” Nair says.
Raybaby is a baby monitor that tracks respiration, movements and sleep patterns using a technology that works on the principle of ultra-sound, with a 98% dependability rate. Parents are alerted through smartphones or laptops when the baby experiences variations in respiratory/breathing rate, indicating fever or other conditions.
The palm-sized device also has an integrated infrared video camera that enables live video streaming even in darkness, built in speakers, and audio monitoring that uses a highly-sensitive microphone. In addition, parents can play music or talk to their little ones through the device.
“We are basically collecting the data through AI,” Nair explains.
Nair says the struggle to reach a place where Raybaby is now on the shelves of retail stores like Target, Walmart, has taken years. Nair recalls that she and her co-founders, Aardra Kannan Ambili and Sanchi Poovayya, received financial as well as emotional support from their families. Also, MNCs like Oracle gave them a place to start work. In addition, HAX, the first hardware accelerator in the world, gave them the infrastructure and encouragement to develop their idea and prototype.
“HAX just gave us $100,000 and said, ‘We think your idea is great, now work on it’, and that put us on the world map,” says Nair.
They also got support from Johnson & Johnson. The initial Raybaby products went out with a tagline supported by Johnson & Johnson, which gave them a huge boost.
As a woman startup, Nair says, though she had as much support as she required, they had to up their game to get noticed.
“We had to be the best to get any sort of attention. We couldn’t have been average, especially as women in hardware, who were putting a consumer product in the US market. I think people only take you seriously when you are the best,” Nair says.
RIoT Solutions have dared to get into marketing of a product in the US, which companies rarely opt for. However, their hard work paid off when Raybaby sold around 1,100 units on the kick-starter platform last year. They were able to sell 600 units within 24 hours. The Raybaby video went viral and it got 2.5 million views. That and widespread coverage by the media helped their PR.
“We didn’t even do any marketing. We just continued selling on our website,” Nair recalls.
Currently, Raybaby is getting into Amazon and Buy Buy Baby. RIoT Solutions is targeting June to launch in retail space, both online and offline. A top distributor in Japan has approached them for distribution in Japan.
“Right now we are at a place where we are looking at selling at least 10,000 units per month, starting June,” she beams.
For the future, RIoT Solutions is coming up with a similar product in senior care, called Raycare. They have filed the patent for it and plan to launch it in the next three or four months, once Raybaby is in the market. The product will be able to predict things like a heart attack an hour before it actually happens. Right now it’s not a diagnostic tool but Nair says they want to become one in the future.
“We understand that with age, a lot of things happen after a certain age. A lot of accidents happen between the bed and the bathroom. Being able to predict just by looking at a person, any events that can happen in an hour. That’s where we are heading to,” she says.
Raybaby is not a medical device but a consumer product, sold in places like Target, Walmart, and Amazon. However, the product gives the power of tracking an important vital into the hands of people. A parent can track a baby’s breathing, a son or daughter can track their parents’ breathing.
Nair, who is a computer engineer from MKU university and Anna university in Tamil Nadu, has worked for Microsoft, Accenture, and i-Vista. She also founded 21st Century Odyssey (XXICO), a company that worked in sensors. A self-confessed Netflix buff, she loves that her job entails traveling to various places to demonstrate the product, because she is able to fulfill her passion for traveling.
Nair says she can imagine the difficulties that women entrepreneurs in tier two and tier three cities face coming from backgrounds that lack encouragement. She states that Riot Solutions is a women startup, but they are an equal opportunity company. They have a core hardware team, half of which comprise women.
Raybaby has also been winning several awards. They won the People’s Choice Award at the Chloe Women’s Startup Fund Award. Raybaby has the patent on non-contact breathing trackers.
“So anyone who breathes is our customer,” says Nair.


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Holiday travel to hit another record
Another year another record for holiday travel.
AAA expects 94.5 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles during the year-end holiday season. That's an increase of 0.6 percent from the 94 million people who traveled last year, the fifth consecutive increase, and the highest travel volume recorded for the season.
The year-end holiday season runs from Dec. 21 to New Year's day.
Nearly 5 million are projected to travel in Florida.
And gas prices must not be that big of a concern, as a vast majority of travelers will travel on the roads — with 91 percent opting to drive. Holiday air travel is expected to fall to 5.5 million from 5.6 million last year.
Michael handles our digital coverage (including the website, social media accounts and videos) and covers sports business.
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Business News›interim ceo and chief operating officer
INTERIM CEO AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Anant Goenka steps down as CEO of CEAT, Arnab Banerjee to take over
Anant Goenka who has been appointed vice chairman of the CEAT. Anant Goenka is son of RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka and he will now take up strategic functions at the group level for its next stage of growth. Arnab Banerjee is currently the COO of the tyre major.
No dramatic transition; talent pool deep in TCS: incoming CEO K Krithivasan
Outgoing CEO Gopinathan said the decision to quit had taken centrestage for him a couple of months back and he initiated definitive discussions with the board and chairman about a week ago.
Vijay Sachidanand joins Niro as Chief Operating Officer
Sachidanand will lead the company’s business operations including product development as Niro looks to further bolster its credit and other financial offerings.
Honeywell company veteran Vimal Kapur to replace Darius Adamczyk as CEO
The 57-year-old Kapur will take over the top role on June 1, roughly 10 months after he was appointed Honeywell's president and chief operating officer.
Adobe won't do mass layoffs, says its chief people officer
Bucking the layoff trend that has hit companies across the spectrum, software major Adobe has said it will not perform company-wide layoffs.
ETtech Unwrapped: Confusion, chaos, and disruption in wake of Delhi's bike taxi ban
The notice issued by the Delhi government last week warned bike taxi operators such as Rapido, Ola and Uber to not ply on Delhi roads as it violates the motor vehicle laws.
IT firm Alten Group expands its operations in India; opens Chennai officeThe engineering and IT services company said this is a continuation of its expansion plan. It already has a presence in cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Aurangabad and Hyderabad.
Neal Mohan, Punit Renjen, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella: List of Indian-origin executives leading tech firmsNeal Mohan, who will replace Susan Wojcicki as the CEO of YouTube, is the latest addition to the ever-expanding list of Indian-origin executives leading global technology firms. Take a look at others in the list.
Interview | Focus is on profitability, growth at all costs never sustainable: ShareChat CEOThe Bengaluru-based firm, backed by Twitter and Snap Inc, has cut its cash burn down by a third compared to the same time last year, ShareChat founder and CEO Ankush Sachdeva told ET.
BharatPe Group appoints Aparna Kuppuswamy as its chief risk officerKuppuswamy will be leading the risk portfolio across the BharatPe group of companies, including the merchant and consumer businesses
Crypto giant Binance moved $400 million from US partner to firm managed by CEO ZhaoThe Binance.US account was registered under the name of BAM Trading, the U.S. exchange's operating company, according to the records. Company messages show the transfers to Merit Peak began in late 2020.
Stock investment firms eye tax relief on foreign equity purchase; Indian-American Neal Mohan is new YouTube CEONew-age stock investing platforms are planning to write to the government seeking exemption for foreign equity investment use cases from the new TCS regime wherein the tax collected at source (TCS) will go up sharply to 20% from 5% as suggested in the Budget 2023-24 proposals. We have this and more in today’s edition of the ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Telcom operators push for regulation of communication OTTs in meeting with TRAI chiefThe Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had scheduled a meeting with telecom operators and ISPs to chalk out the agenda for 2023 where players raised multiple issues. Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal, Vodafone Idea Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer P Balaji, and Reliance Jio board member Mahendra Nahata participated in the discussions on Wednesday.
Zuari FarmHub appoints Prasanna H K as the Chief Financial OfficerPrasanna, a veteran finance leader, with extensive experience in fundraising, fund accounting, valuation of companies, controllership, business finance, financial planning & analysis, compliance, and reporting, he will be leading the finance section within the Adventz group, the parent company of Zuari FarmHub Ltd.
Flipkart gets interim relief in tax case; why Macquarie increased Paytm target price?The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday granted interim relief to Walmart-owned Flipkart in a case pertaining to Rs 1,100-crore income-tax demand for assessment years 2016-17 and 2018-19. The court said there will be no coercive action against the etailer till the next hearing on February 24.
Nykaa appoints P Ganesh as chief financial officerFormer CFO Arvind Agarwal quit Nykaa in November last year to join PayU, the fintech and payments arm of Dutch investment giant Prosus.
Zoomcar appoints Ashu Singhal as chief technology and product officerSinghal will be overseeing the overall product strategy and engineering execution to deliver customer experience across all the markets where the firm operates.
Industry flags concerns over self-regulatory body proposal for online gaming sectorOne of the key proposals in the online gaming policy is the creation of a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) that would be responsible for registering and approving games, as well as providing a grievance redressal mechanism.
BharatPe appoints CFO Nalin Negi interim CEO as Suhail Sameer steps downSuhail Sameer’s exit comes at a time when the New-Delhi-based fintech is struggling to cope with an exodus at the leadership level.
BharatPe CFO Nalin Negi to become interim CEO; Satya Nadella all praise for India’s digital infrastructureBharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer, who had a fallout with ousted cofounder Ashneer Grover last year, is set to step down from his post this week. CFO Nalin Negi, who was brought in from SBI Cards last August, will be interim CEO until BharatPe finds a permanent replacement, the company said.
Sugar Cosmetics appoints former Nykaa CHRO Nirav Jagad as chief people officerIn his previous stint, Jagad was part of the leadership team at Nykaa. He has experience spanning various sectors like e-commerce, consulting, manufacturing and infrastructure, and has worked across companies like Randstad, Cerebrus Consultants, IL&FS, and has also been an advisor to assist early-stage startups with scaling.
CarDekho Group narrows loss to Rs 246 crore in FY22The firm which enables buying and selling cars and bikes, including electric vehicles, besides providing information and research; insurance broking and financing for cars on its platform said it witnessed significant growth across all its business segments in FY22.
Sundararaman Ramamurthy to join BSE as MD & CEO from January 4In November, BSE received consent from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to appoint Ramamurthy as the MD and CEO of the exchange.
'Bored Ape' NFT startup names Activision operating chief as CEOAlegre, who has served as operating chief at the videogame publisher since April 2020, will succeed Nicole Muniz as Yuga's CEO in the first half of 2023. Muniz will stay on as a partner and strategic advisor to Yuga.
Paras Healthcare appoints Santy Sajan as the new Group Chief Operating OfficerBefore joining Paras Healthcare, Santy was the COO of Apollo Hospitals, Chennai and the cluster-1 Hospitals.
Indian-origin Nihar Malaviya named interim CEO of publishing giant Penguin Random House"Following Nihar Malaviya's appointment, the GMC will comprise 20 top executives of eight different nationalities," the publisher's parent company Bertelsmann said in a statement. As interim CEO of Penguin Random House, Malaviya will "lead the creation of new competitive advantages that position the global company for future growth," the statement said.
Sterlite Technologies group chief corporate officer KS Rao quitsDecember 15 is Rao’s last working day at the Pune-based company which is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of optic fibre cable. This is the third high profile exit from the company in recent months after the chief operating officer (CEO) Anand Agarwal and chief financial officer (CFO) Mihir Modi.
The CTO is the new CEO: ETILC & HSBC RoundtableAs companies look to advance their technology transformations, they can learn from how high-performing technology organizations manage talent and culture modernization with the same rigor as technology modernization, measure the business value created with technology and share it broadly.Load More
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Egypt’s factions launch rival boycotts
The Islamist “Anti-Coup Alliance” supporting deposed Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi has announced the boycott of “hostile military-controlled” media and products, a week after a rival group called for the boycott of businesses and products owned by the Muslim Brotherhood.
A statement, published on Ikhwanweb, the official English-language website of the Muslim Brotherhood, asked for the boycott of media, businesses, and products from parties that “support the military coup,” and called for gradual escalation to civil disobedience “according to circumstances and events.”
The statement, which also appeared on the official website of the Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, described anti-Mursi media as covering up “massacres, inciting hatred, promoting lies and generally working to mislead public opinion.”
“Do not trust the putschist [General Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi] who kidnapped Egypt's elected President and fabricated farcical, implausible charges against him. Do not trust the mass murderer who thrives on blood of the Egyptians,” said the statement.
Last week, the Tamarod (Rebel) campaign called on Egyptians to boycott shops, companies and factories owned by the Brotherhood as a response to the violent clashes that occurred after the authorities dispersed the Pro-Mursi sit-in at Rabaa al-Adwiyah square.
Egyptian daily news website Ahram Online quoted a statement from the group listing 51 companies, factories, supermarket chains and charities said to be owned by the Brotherhood.
“Boycott the products of the murderer terrorists who are trying to set the country on fire with our money and the money of the United States and Qatar,” said the statement.
EU agrees to suspend sale of arms, security equipment to EgyptEuropean Union foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to suspend the sale of ... Middle East
Four-finger salute: Egypt rivals use ‘Rabaa hand’ to turn Facebook yellowForget your typical peace sign, two fingers are so last century. A new victory ... Media
Egypt to Erdogan: We do not need lectures from a ‘Western agent’An Egypt presidenctial spokesman on Tuesday said that Egypt does not need lessons ... Middle East


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How ‘prolific con artists’ scammed MVC and banks by selling cars, NJ prosecutors say
Five North Jersey residents, including a brother and sister, are facing charges for their roles in a scheme that the state Attorney General's Office says was aimed at manipulating the deeds to cars in order to sell them for profit.
Attorney General Christopher Porrino said the five defendants were involved in a scheme from June 2012 until March 2016 that started with them or their associates buying cars on credit. They would then create letters claiming to be from the creditors saying that the loans had been paid off in order to get new titles from the Motor Vehicle Commission. The cars would then be sold with the bogus clean titles without the new owners knowing the cars had not been paid off.
Over the course of just under four years, Porrino said the five were involved in the sale of at least 25 vehicles.
The defendants are David L. Dunaway, 42; Paige E. Hunt, 26, of Bloomfield; James Lamont Tutt, 43, of Somerset; Shanel Terry, 35, of Somerset; and David Terry, 34, of Newark. Porrino said Shanel Terry is David Terry's sister and Tutt's girlfriend.
Porrino said the five had three methods they would use to get the cars involved.
Dunaway, Hunt, or David Terry would buy a car with a fraudulent car loan that they got with falsified employment and salary information.
They would also use a stolen identity to get a car loan.
The third method involved women being fooled into buying Dunaway a car in their names, including paying the car loan until they were led to believe the loan had been paid off. They would then either give the car to one of the other defendants or the car was sold with the defendants keeping the money.
Porrino said some of the cars involved were bought from a former dealership in Rahway where Porrino worked as a salesman.
"The five lead defendants in this case allegedly were prolific con artists who managed to steal loan proceeds and cars worth well over a half million dollars in the span of just a few years," Porrino said.
"Those who fraudulently obtain titles and other official documents from the MVC frequently are involved in identity theft and other criminal activity, such as the elaborate conspiracy charged in this case."
All five defendants were indicted on charges of first-degree conspiracy, first-degree money laundering, second-degree identity theft, four counts of second degree theft by deception, one count of third-degree theft by deception, as well as third-degree tampering with public records, and fourth-degree forgery.
In addition to the main defendants, Porrino said three other people are facing third-degree charges. Caprice L. Simmons, 27, of Rahway, and Raheem A. Reason, 30, of Newark, were charged with third-degree theft by deception and third-degree tampering with public records. Porrino said the pair are charged with having given false employment and income information to buy a 2013 BMW 650 from Tutt. Porrino said when the pair struggled to make car payments they helped Tutt to draft false documents to clear the title.
A third person, Robert Rivera, 22, of Newark, has been charged third-degree theft by deception after a car one of the women had bought was signed over to him. Porrino said he then worked with Dunaway to sell the car.
The first-degree crimes carry a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years and a fine of $200,000. The first-degree money laundering charge carries a fine of up to $500,000 and an anti-money laundering profiteering penalty of up to $500,000 or three times the value of any property involved.
The second-degree charges carry a prison sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, and the third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. The fourth-degree charges carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
More From WOBM:
Contact reporter Adam Hochron at 609-359-5326 or Adam.Hochron@townsquaremedia.com


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If You Build It, They Will Come: Demand For Spec Industrial Soars in Dallas-Fort Worth
Developers in Dallas are chasing skyrocketing demand for industrial space by going all-in on speculative projects.
Without a tenant lined up prior to construction, spec projects are inherently risky. But more developers are adopting an “if you build it, they will come” mentality as the onshoring of manufacturing, record-low vacancy rates and the rise of e-commerce push demand far beyond supply.
“We’ve seen that speculative developments are leasing before they have broken ground or while they are under construction, and since the lease-up timeline has been so dramatic, people are just comfortable with this,” said Grant Pruitt, president and co-founder of Whitebox Real Estate.
The DFW market absorbed 45M SF of industrial space in 2021 but delivered less than 28M SF. Recent market data by Cushman & Wakefield shows speculative projects accounted for 100% of new project completions in Q4. Of the 54M SF of projects under construction now, 82% are speculative.
“Right now, investors look at [spec] as lower risk,” said Ching-Ting Wang, research director at Cushman's Dallas office. “Demand is very, very strong in the market … You can build these buildings and get people in very quickly.”
About 28% of industrial projects under construction are pre-leased, Wang said. This is lower than the 35%-40% benchmark seen a couple of years ago, but Pruitt said a variety of other factors put him at ease with that lower percentage.
“When you have almost 60M SF that you’re projecting for [absorption in] the coming year, and you’re at 10% rent growth … and you're at a 5.4% vacancy — which is an all-time low — I can get behind having less of a pre-leased product because the comfort level is there,” he said.
Land prices for industrial development in DFW have been on the rise, which Pruitt said has pushed some players out of the game entirely. According to reporting by the Dallas Business Journal, pricing across submarkets was about double or triple the historical average in late 2021, and those costs are expected to continue to rise in 2022.
“You really have to be an institutional investor to play in these spaces,” he said. “We’re seeing industrial property trade at higher values on a per-SF basis than office properties in DFW. When you’re doing that, you have to have massive pocketbooks to accommodate.”
Robinson Weeks Partners is one of the latest out-of-state developers to plant its flag in the DFW industrial market. The Atlanta-based firm has about 2M SF of spec space in the pipeline, including I-20 Dallas Crossing, a more than 410K SF, Class-A distribution facility in South Dallas.
Tyler Jones, the company’s senior vice president of acquisitions and development, said the spec model is highly sought after because most companies need space sooner rather than later.
“Most users don’t have the time to wait for build-to-suit,” Jones said. “Most build-to-suit deals are really just going to users that are highly specialized and have some sort of reason that they can’t go into an existing space.”
The pandemic accelerated the need for industrial space as more people began buying goods online. According to Federal Reserve Economic Data, online purchases accounted for close to 13% of overall retail sales in Q4 2021, up from 11% during the same quarter in 2019.
More industrial space will be required if this shift continues — according to Pruitt, 50M SF of industrial space is needed to accommodate every 1% in sales that transitions from sticks-and-bricks retail to e-commerce.
Transwestern Development Co. recently announced its foray into the DFW industrial market with two major projects: Cowtown Crossing, a 1M SF logistics center in North Fort Worth, and McKinney National Business Park, a 945K complex in McKinney. Regional Partner Denton Walker said the group is marketing to a variety of users, including retailers leasing warehouse space for inventory.
“Industrial is the new retail,” Walker said. “Most retailers are stacking up, they’re leasing more space than they need because of some of the supply chain challenges.”
“I’m not saying [brick-and-mortar] retail is dead by any means, but the way people are buying goods now is drastically changing,” he said. “With that, you are seeing a lot of downsizing in the retail world showing up in distribution centers, because [people] can do more with less retail space on the industrial front.”
Experts don’t foresee industrial development slowing down in DFW anytime soon; however, Ragsdale said external factors, such as labor shortages, could force owners to become more efficient with their space, thereby minimizing demand.
“Labor is tight,” he said. “The only way to really sort through that is to pay people a lot more or to become innovative in your operation and in your supply chain — whether that’s [through] efficiency within the warehouse or creative solutions to how you move goods through your supply chain.”


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Carphone snaps up Tiscali UK for £236m
Carphone Warehouse today revealed it has snapped up the UK operations of struggling internet provider Tiscali in a £236m deal.
TalkTalk-owner Carphone said the takeover would give it 4.25m broadband subscribers and seal its position as the UK's biggest residential broadband provider.
Shares in Carphone Warehouse were up 6.5p soon after news of the deal was released, to 164.5p.
Buy tech: Tiscali video on demand set top box
Italian group Tiscali, which is reckoned to be on the brink of collapse, put the UK business up for sale last year as it sought to reduce its debts, which are now thought to total around €600m (£559.6m). But a merger with BSkyB fell apart in March and Carphone has since been touted as a potential bidder.
The group was dealt a further blow last month after it said its auditors had refused to sign off its accounts, warning of 'fundamental uncertainties' on business continuity. It is understood to have received a stay of execution from its creditors, who agreed to suspend interest payments on the firm's debts.
In April, TalkTalk tried to capitalize on Tiscali's woes by offering a £50 bribe to Tiscali customers to switch.
Tiscali has been one of the best-priced broadband and phone providers in recent years. It offers 8Mb broadband, phone line rental and weekend UK calls for £14.99.
TalkTalk, which has an estimated 2.7m broadband customers, offers a similar package, but with evening calls included, for £17.74.
Carphone founder Charles Dunstone has said he is considering splitting the TalkTalk broadband business from its retail operation, and the Tiscali deal could precipitate this. Carphone sold a 50% stake in its retail business to US electronics firm Best Buy for £1.1bn as it looks to enter the European market for the first time.
Tiscali, which employs around 700 staff in the UK, was formed in 1998 following the deregulation of the Italian telecoms market.
The Cagliari-based firm takes its name from a 2,000-year-old village hidden in the centre of Sardinia where the population used to shelter from invaders.
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