text:
All-time high in store for global 300mm semiconductor fab capacity
March 28, 2023Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide are forecast to increase 300mm fab capacity to an all-time high of 9.6 million wafers per month (wpm) in 2026, SEMI reports.
Sponsored content by EvertiqThe U.S. CHIPS Act is already making an impact - Evertiq Expo Malmö, Krakow & Berlin While the EU equivalent still hasn’t officially been launched, the U.S. CHIPS Act has already sparked USD 200 billion in private investments across the country. But where are all of these new fabs going to be built?
Samsung’s Texas plant could be more pricey than initially thought
March 17, 2023Samsung Electronics' future chip plant in Taylor, Texas, will cost the company over USD 25 billion, up more than USD 8 billion from initial forecasts, undisclosed sources told Reuters.
2022, a record year for semiconductors – but it doesn’t feel like it
March 10, 20232022, the year that the semiconductor market reached an all-time high with total revenues hitting USD 595.7 billion, narrowly beating the previous high of USD 592.8 billion set in 2021. But why does it feel like 2022 was a struggle?
MKS says ransomware incident will chip away $200 million from revenue
March 09, 2023In February MKS Instruments became the target of a ransomware attack that affected certain business systems, including production-related systems. Following a review of the incident, MKS said that it anticipates the attack to have a noticeable effect on its first quarter results.
Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix owns the bulk of leading-edge wafer capacity
February 28, 202376% of leading-edge capacity was held by Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix at the end of 2022, with the majority going toward the development of advanced DRAM and 3D NAND.
CalcuQuote signs rep agreement with MaRC Technologies
February 28, 2023CalcuQuote has partnered with MaRC Technologies as its representative in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Texas.
TI invests $11 billion in new 300 mm wafer fab in Lehi
February 16, 2023Texas Instruments plans to build its next 300-mm semiconductor wafer fab in Lehi, Utah – located next to the company’s existing 300-mm semiconductor wafer fab, LFAB. Once completed, the two Lehi facilities will operate as a single fab.
Chip equipment maker investigating ransomware attack
February 06, 2023MKS Instruments has revealed that it is looking into a ransomware attack that happened last week and affected certain business systems, including production-related systems.
Veeco acquires Epiluvac AB
February 02, 2023Veeco Instruments has acquired Epiluvac AB, a privately held manufacturer of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) epitaxy systems that enable advanced silicon carbide (SiC) applications in the electric vehicle market.
More than 50% of US-owned IC fab capacity exists overseas
February 01, 2023US IC manufacturers have 56% of their wafer capacity installed at fabs located outside of the US, according to a new Global Wafer Capacity 2023 report from Knometa Research.
Allegro MicroSystems opens new R&D centre
January 26, 2023Allegro MicroSystems plans to open a new US-based office located in Richardson, Texas.
Texas company moves all its manufacturing to Skywater
January 25, 2023VORAGO Technologies, a Austin, Texas-based high technology company providing radiation-hardened and extreme-temperature solutions, is moving all its manufacturing stateside in a strategic partnership with semiconductor foundry, Skywater Technology.
Haviv Ilan to become the next CEO of Texas Instruments
January 23, 2023Texas Instruments has named Haviv Ilan to become the company's next president and CEO, effective April 1. Ilan is a 24-year veteran of TI and succeeds current CEO and president, Rich Templeton, who will transition out of these roles but will remain the company's chairman.
ABB sells its power conversion division for $505 million
January 20, 2023ABB has reached an agreement to sell its Power Conversion division to AcBel Polytech Inc. for USD 505 million in cash.
Global semiconductor revenue grew 1.1% in 2022
January 18, 2023According to preliminary data from Gartner, global semiconductor revenue climbed 1.1% in 2022 to reach USD 601.7 billion, up from USD 595 billion in 2021. The top 25 semiconductor vendors collectively generated 2.8% more revenue in 2022, making up 77.5% of the market.
Emerson makes an offer to acquire National Instruments
January 17, 2023Emerson has submitted a proposal to acquire NI for USD 53 per share in cash at an implied enterprise value of USD 7.6 billion.
Tesla spending big money in Texas
January 11, 2023Tesla has decided to invest USD 775 million to expand its gigafactory in Austin/ Texas.
Production capacity for PMIC's will grow by 4.7% YoY for 1H23
January 06, 2023The effect of the low season, the planned scale-back of capital expenditure on the part of enterprises, and the ongoing slump in the wider consumer electronics market are going to constrain the demand for power management ICs during 1H23.
The U.S. CHIPS Act is already making an impactLoad more news
January 03, 2023Yesterday, Evertiq reported that the U.S. CHIPS Act has already sparked USD 200 billion in private investments across the country. But where are all of these new fabs going to be built?


text:
Google has agreed to pay a hefty $22.5 million fine for going around user privacy settings in Apple’s Safari web browser.
The Mountain View-based online ads leader received a court order to pay off almost $23 million, the largest obligatory fine in the history of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as penalty for using special code to avoid the built-in user privacy controls in Safari.
The circumvention gave Google the ability to monitor online activities of users who accessed the Internet via Apple’s web browser. This means the online search and ads company violated its 20-year agreement with the FTC of being “open and honest” on its privacy practices.
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said, “The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order. No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”
Google has published a statement to answer the ruling, saying,
We set the highest standards of privacy and security for our users. The FTC is focused on a 2009 help center page published more than two years before our consent decree, and a year before Apple changed its cookie-handling policy.
We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies, which collected no personal information, from Apple’s browsers.
However, this is not the only tracking job that Google has been alleged of doing, as the company is also involved in an Australian probe (and many others) with regards to the removal of users’ private data collected by its Street View cars.
Source: The Guardian
Image: Carlos Luna via Flickr (CC)

domain: news


text:
Years ago, America was founded on dreams and risks; however, it seems Americans’ today are a lot more unwilling to take chances. According to a recent Wall Street Journal piece, long-running trends show that the U.S. economy is slow to risk; businesses are growing and adding jobs more sparingly, even when their companies are doing well, investors aren’t putting as much money toward new projects. Americans as a whole are also less likely to start a new business, change jobs, or move to pursue a new opportunity. This could be partially due to the aging population and the supremacy of bigger companies in various industries. Experts say these also may account for the lackluster economic recoveries from the last three recessions.
Businesses that take chances on new ideas are both more likely to fail as well as make it big-time. Economists say that just as important as individuals who take big risks in business are the smaller scale risk takers like those who quit their jobs to find new better ones.
After the recession in 2001, it took approximately four years for employment to return to its rate pre-recession. Today, practically four years after the last recession ended, employment still hasn’t reached its previous pinnacle.
The main issue with less Americans launching new businesses is that there are then fewer opportunities for the next Wal-Mart or Amazon or even for a successful smaller sized business.
“It just means that there are fewer new companies that are creating jobs, fewer new companies that are competing for workers,” said economist Lina Khan, who has researched the drop in entrepreneurship for Washington think tank, the New America Foundation. “Traditionally being able to start your own business has been a path to upward mobility.”
The decrease in taking risks can also be seen in U.S. migration patterns. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors economists realized the dropping rate of long-term interstate migration is connected to the decline in job changes. People don’t move as much because they’re not changing jobs like individuals did in the past.
The Census showed for the first time since records have been archived that in 2008 more Americans were employees for large companies – those whose workers numbered at least 500 – than small businesses and the trend has continued since then.


text:
Today’s Daily MarTech Round-up covers the latest in Cloud, Marketing Analytics, Automation, Customer experience AI and ML announcements from Zendesk, Salesforce, eBay, Microsoft Corp and RTW Retailwinds.
Salesforce economy is definitely booming and set to register another phenomenal quarter ahead. The world’s biggest CRM-maker for Marketing, Sales and Commerce has announced big updates this week.
Zendesk, Inc. announced that as part of its global user conference, Relate 2020, it will hold its annual analyst and investor event on March 4, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The analyst and investor event will include executive presentations followed by a question and answer session. It will be available via live webcast beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and an archive version will be available for six months. Both will be accessible by visiting Zendesk’s investor website at investor.zendesk.com.
As part of modernizing its marketplace and creating a more streamlined experience for customers, eBay is expanding its management of payments to the United Kingdom. As part of the rollout this summer, the company will offer buyers flexibility and choice in payment methods, and give sellers an easier way to manage their businesses.
Microsoft to Open New Datacenter Region in Spain and Expand Strategic Partnership With Telefónica to Boost Spain’s Competitiveness
Microsoft Corp. and Telefónica announced plans to further expand their global strategic partnership to accelerate digital transformation for public and private entities of all sizes. Together, the two companies will help their mutual customers leverage the cloud to more quickly, securely and easily innovate and scale their operations to create new business opportunities and improve competitiveness.
RTW Retailwinds, Inc. Announces Multi-Year Partnership with Salesforce for Ecommerce Platform Relaunch
RTW Retailwinds announced that Salesforce will be its new digital e-commerce platform partner for all businesses, including New York & Company, Fashion to Figure, and Happy x Nature. The move aims to optimize the user experience and provide seamless and personalized content across all channels, while improving conversion and increasing sales, for each fashion brand within the RTW portfolio on Salesforce.
To participate, write to us at email@example.com


text:
Asda has rolled out 3D holograms, electronic shelf labels amid more than 20 different initiatives aimed at making “our colleagues’ lives easier and our customers’ shopping experience better”.
The grocer’s store in Stevenage is a testing ground for a range of new technologies enabling staff to “see the benefits of how different tech works together” and put it through its paces before a wider roll out.
3D holographic signs have been installed in the store’s bakery department to advertise products and inform customers how to use its Scan & Go technology.
“We’re one of the first retailers in the UK to test out the holograms in our store,” Asda’s Stevenage employee Michael Rose said.
“The feedback has been very positive and the whole idea of the test is to collect feedback and gather views. If you’d have said to me five years ago that we would have holograms in stores I would have laughed at you – but they are fantastic.”
Next the store has installed a device in their product aisle which allows customers to have a two-way conversation with store staff so they can answer questions about products and availability “at the push of a button”.
In its laundry aisle the store has replaced traditional paper price labels with electronic ones, which are “about the size of a post-it note and run on batteries which last up to five years”.
“In the future they’ll be fully integrated into our system so any price changes can be loaded up immediately,” Rose added.
“We can have 3,000 price changes in a week so could save our colleagues a lot of time. Our customers seem to love the idea too.”
Its Stevenage store now also has an automated parcel service for click-and-collect shoppers, which is “basically a large vending machine”.
This comes after the retailer announced a new sustainable concept store earlier this week, where customers are encouraged to fill up their own containers of products.


text:
Activision has begun its tease for Call of Duty: Infinite with an update to the NukeTown map in Black Ops 3 that has a spaceship flying overhead. While that’s not too subtle a hint, it looks like the next Call of Duty will most certainly have some far-future elements to it. There have been plenty of rumors hinted over the last few days regarding the next Call of Duty game.
We heard and seen listings for a Modern Warfare Trilogy Remaster, a Legacy Edition of “Infinite Warfare” that includes a remaster of Modern Warfare, and even a leak that revealed the reveal date. While Activision hasn’t come out and said it, their retail partners have pretty much let all of the cats out of the bag.
Earlier today, this image surfaced that revealed a couple of editions of the game with prices, and a clear shot of a very futuristic soldier as the front cover for the game.
Infinite Warfare is all but confirmed to be another take into the far future, but just what that means for the direction the series goes in is anyone’s guess. Apparently Call of Duty: Ghosts was a one and done to kick off the generation. It would seem that the new movement abilities introduced in Advanced Warfare and Black Ops 3 are here to stay, but at least Modern Warfare Remastered players will have more classic gameplay to fall back on.
According to the poster, the Modern Warfare remaster would feature the original campaign and 10 multiplayer maps.
If the image indeed turns out to be the real thing, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will launch on November 11th, 2016. For now, you can go check out this spaceship in Black Ops 3’s Nuketown 24/7 Event which is being held this weekend.
- This article was updated on:February 21st, 2018


text:
There was a time when listening to music on the move meant two words: Sony Walkman. Twenty years later the Walkman has joined Betamax and brick-sized mobile phones on the consumer scrapheap. More surprisingly, Sony itself is increasingly seen as a sleeping giant which has fallen behind its rivals.
Now the Japanese corporation is set to announce the UK launch date of what it has billed as the 'Walkman for the 21st century'. The PlayStation Portable, or PSP, combines games, music and video and is regarded by critics as the 'make or break' product for the ailing empire.
Sony's bleak fortunes were underlined when its operating profits in consumer electronics fell 23 percent in the last quarter after an 83 per cent plunge in the previous three months. Ken Kutaragi, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, took the extraordinary step of admitting the company had blundered by failing to embrace the digital music revolution because of fears its own music business could suffer piracy. 'Even three years ago, because we had music, Sony was reluctant about introducing an iPod-type of new product,' he said. 'The situation is a bit frustrating for everyone.'
Executives in Tokyo will have been alarmed by a withering critique in the influential US magazine Fortune , which analyses 'just how far Sony has fallen'. The article noted: 'Sony has faced one humiliation after another, from its failure to anticipate the demand for the technology that goes into flat-screen televisions to its flat-footed response to the rapid commoditisation of conventional TVs and DVD players. Yet it's in digital music that it has suffered its greatest embarrassment. When it came to navigating the digital future, Sony should have been the leader, not a bumbling follower.'
Fortune describes how the corporation went down a series of cul-de-sacs, such as the Network Walkman and Sony Connect, as meanwhile the smaller Apple invaded its traditional territory with the iPod. If the empire is to strike back, the PSP is 'emerging as its most potent weapon'.
Weighing 270g, the shiny black PSP is 170mm long and 74mm wide, a hand-held version of Sony's PlayStation and PlayStation 2. It also has the ability to play music and videos, which can be stored on 'memory sticks'.
Adam Vaughan, managing editor of Stuff , the gadgets magazine, said: 'Sony came late to the game - it was like a supertanker taking a very long time to turn around. They are now trying to steal back the whole culture that has grown up around the iPod. They are Sony and they're huge, whereas Apple are not that big, so they'll be going crazy to get it back. They want the PSP to become an icon that everyone is talking about and lusting after and imitating. If it flops it will be a big hole in their strategy for the next few years.'
The PSP was launched in Japan in mid-December with a half-a-million units which sold out within hours. It is due out in America next month and expected to reach Britain in late April or early May.


text:
Schaumburg, IL—Aug. 26, 2013—Motorola Solutions, Inc., a provider of mission-critical communication solutions and services for enterprise and government customers announced the results of a research study that details shifts in the plans of warehouse professionals across several industries as they respond to new opportunities in the market and mounting pressures inside their organizations. As a result of these changes, the role of technology in warehouses has shifted from purely reducing costs and has increasingly expanded into adjacent benefits that can drive differentiation and profitable growth for their businesses.
The Motorola Solutions Future of Warehousing Survey polled warehouse IT and operations professionals in the manufacturing, retail, wholesale and third-party logistics (3PL) markets on the state of warehousing today and their vision for warehousing and distribution in the future.
“Warehousing and distribution have not traditionally been the most celebrated functions within leading businesses across manufacturing, retail and wholesale industries,” says Mark Wheeler, Director of Warehouse Solutions for Motorola. “But Motorola Solutions’ Future of Warehousing Survey revealed that these functions are playing a more important role as businesses in these industries face new pressures to cut costs to enhance profitability and free up capital as well as drive competitive differentiation and business growth.”
The findings include a shifting perception of warehouses coincides with increased supply chain investments. For example:
- More than one-quarter (26 percent) of respondents reported that company management views warehouses and distribution centers as an asset that can drive growth for the business.
- By 2018, more than one-third of respondents (35 percent) plan to increase the number of warehouses and distribution centers they operate, representing a 71 percent increase from current expansion plans in action today.
- The most commonly cited reasons for the expansion of storage and distribution networks include a mix of cost-savings and revenue-growth initiatives such as, lower transportation costs (36 percent), shorter delivery times (35 percent), new suppliers and trading partner locations (31 percent) and heightened omni-channel pressures (11 percent).
The survey also revealed that technology investment plans change as workflow requirements evolve. During the next five years, approximately two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents plan to increasingly automate processes by equipping staff with new technology solutions. As the industry moves to reduce order fulfillment costs and increase worker efficiency and productivity, the picking and replenishment solutions of the next five years will shift more toward true multimodal operation, with a 142 percent increase in the integration of voice-directed and screen-directed picking on flexible mobile devices along with a 113 percent increase for voice-, scan- and keyed-response workflows. Warehouse professionals expect a significant shift away from pen and paper-based processes (71 percent decrease) to handheld mobile computers and tablets (100 percent increase) for cycle counting and inventory validation by 2018.
Supply chain optimization initiatives will focus on external compliance and internal agility, the study shows. The pace of supply chain re-evaluation and optimization is quickening as nearly two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents claimed that they are either constantly or annually re-evaluating their supply chain networks. While only 67 percent of items received at a warehouse are bar coded today, respondents expect supplier management initiatives and trading partner compliance requirements to drive higher utilization in the coming years, reaching an estimated 84 percent by 2018.
Internal agility initiatives and the need for intuitive, adaptable and flexible solutions are increasing in importance. Organizations seek to reduce the average training time it takes a new worker to hit full productivity by 44 percent (from 48 hours to 27 hours), while at the same time preparing employees to perform more types of procedures during a single shift as a result of a planned 60 percent increase in the use of task interleaving.
For more information, visit www.motorolasolutions.com.


text:
Apple (AAPL) investors are bracing for the company to report its third straight quarter of declining earnings per share on a year-to-year basis and its first drop in sales in more than 10 years, when the company reports its fiscal Q3 results after the market close Tuesday.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predict that Apple will earn $7.32 a share, down 21% from the year-earlier quarter, on sales of $35.01 billion, down a fraction of a percent.
For the current quarter, Wall Street is modeling Apple to earn $7.96 a share, down 8%, on sales of $37.11 billion, up 3%.
The key question for Apple is how well iPhone sales performed amid reports of an industrywide slowdown in smartphone sales and increased competition from Samsung. Analysts also will be looking at how well Apple's flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5, performed vs. its own lower-cost options, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
The iPhone 5 was released last September and a new model, the rumored iPhone 5S, isn't expected until this September. The new phone reportedly has hit production snags that could limit early supplies of the new handset.
Apple's other growth driver is the iPad. Like the iPhone, Apple's tablet business faces cannibalization from its own lower-cost models as well as competition from devices running Google 's (GOOG) Android operating system.
UBS analyst Steven Milunovich expects average selling prices for iPhones in the June quarter to fall to $595 from $613, due in part to aggressive pricing in Asia, and iPad average selling prices to decline to $436 from $449, because of an increasing mix of iPad Mini sales. He rates Apple as a buy, with a 12-month price target of 500.
Apple shares were up a fraction, near 427, in late afternoon trading in the stock market Monday.
Apple is predicted to have sold about 26 million iPhones and 18 million iPads in the June quarter, according to consensus estimates.
Another concern for Apple is gross profit margins, which have fallen for five straight quarters. Avondale Partners analyst John Bright expects Apple will report fiscal Q3 gross margins of 36.2%, below consensus estimates of 36.6% and at the low end of Apple's guidance of 36% to 37%. He rates as Apple as market outperform, or hold, with a price target of 600.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster remains bullish on Apple's prospects because of new products on the horizon. "We continue to believe new products (iPhone 5S, cheaper phone, television, iPhone 6 larger screen, watch) over the next six quarters will move shares higher," Munster said in a research note Monday. He rates Apple stock as overweight, or buy, with a price target of 655.
Meanwhile, Apple is working to improve its mobile mapping software through acquisitions. Last week, it bought two start-ups, HopStop and Locationary, which specialize in location technology, according to various media reports.
Related: Apple Filings Point To iWatch.


text:
Infinix GT 10 Pro: At a time when most Android brands are increasing prices of smartphones due to market dynamics, the Indian budget conscious smartphone buyers are left in a lurch. Anyone following the smartphone market in India would say that ‘Rs 25,000 is the new Rs 10,000’. But just because prices of decent budget phones have increased doesn’t mean people’s salaries have increased too. Infinix India CEO Anish Kapoor claimed that 85% of the Indian smartphone market is still under Rs 25,000. While ‘good phones’ under Rs 25,000 are vanishing swiftly, the under Rs 10,000 market no longer excites neither brands nor consumers.
This is where Infinix, a brand under telcom major Transsion that also owns iTel and Tecno, is trying to make space for itself in the Indian market. For those unaware, China-based Transsion is the largest mobile manufacturer in Africa and in India Infinix and Tecno are already among the top 10 brands with market share of 3.5% and 3.8% respectively as per IDC Q2 2023 report.
In the budget segment, Infinix has now taken a bold step and has announced its first gaming smartphone under Rs 20,000– Infinix GT 10 Pro. Not that just, it has already ‘improved’ on a major criticism– bloatware. CEO Anish Kapoor claimed that the new Infinix GT 10 Pro comes pre-loaded with 19 apps out of which 7 apps can be uninstalled. Apps like file manager, gallery, messages, calculator, clock, calendar and 6 other essential apps can’t be uninstalled, like with any other smartphone.
Infinix has ‘improved’ on a major criticism– bloatware. CEO Anish Kapoor claimed that the new Infinix GT 10 Pro comes pre-loaded with 19 apps out of which 7 apps can be uninstalled.
Infinix India CEO Anish Kapoor in an interaction with Debashis Sarkar, Editor, News18 Tech said that his company’s purpose is to provide Indian consumers with value-for-money options. “Some consumers run after brands but whether such ‘branded gaming mobiles’ can offer the same value that we are providing with Infinix GT 10 Pro is doubtful. What we are trying to do is, while we are trying to create our own brand story, we want to offer a different experience to consumers,” he said.
Having said that, Infinix is clear that they will ultimately have to move into the premium segment as business grows to sustain the growth. “Our focus is to slowly venture into the premium segment and compete in the Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 price point. Going forward, the sub Rs 30,000 will be the 95% of the market,” he added.


text:
Pakistan’s leading financial inclusion institution, Khushhali Microfinance Bank, has joined hands with Minerva’s SheReturns program to organize a social media marketing training workshop for female entrepreneurs on the occasion of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. This day is celebrated on November 19 every year to alleviate poverty by empowering and supporting women entrepreneurs.
A two day free of cost training and skill development workshop for Rawalpindi and Islamabad based female entrepreneurs was intended to make women economically powerful in the digital age. The workshop highlighted how such initiatives will play an important role in equipping women entrepreneurs with the knowledge and technology required to build and grow their businesses online.
The initiative is committed to train women entrepreneurs with the knowledge, connections, skills and technology resources to improve efficiency in their business processes using social media marketing tools.
Talking to the female entrepreneurs, President Khushhali Microfinance Bank, Mr. Ghalib Nishtar, said, “Today is a very significant day that puts female entrepreneurship into the spotlight. Social Media offers easy access and digital mechanisms to reach out to potential customers. Khushhali Microfinance Bank has always been committed to removing barriers for women entrepreneurs in Pakistan.”
“Today is also an opportunity to inspire the female entrepreneurs of the future, by showing them what is possible and why they should be thinking to join the entrepreneurial bandwagon. Pakistani businesswomen have shown that they can be the best in the world and we must continue with this frame of mind,” He further added
SheReturns is a program by Minerva developed to support women on a career break to return to work with confidence. It offers training to build skills required to succeed in modern work environment and create economic opportunities for women by providing them help to grow and succeed in professional world.
Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited is a pioneer institution within the microfinance industry of Pakistan. Having serviced over 6 million loans to date, Khushhalibank takes pride in its legacy of providing access to finance to marginalized segments of the population. For over 18 years, Khushhalibank has enabled easy access to working capital requirements for farmers, self-employed individuals, and home-based workers, and enabled them to realize their economic potential.


text:
Ford Cuts Summer 2015 Shutdown on High Demand for Trucks, SUVs
Two Week Break Cut to One, 40,000 Additional Units Expected
When you’re hot, you’re hot, and there are few vehicles hotter right now than the new Ford F-150. Demand has also been strong for Ford’s SUVs, including the redesigned Edge, compact Escape, and best-selling midsize Explorer. For the month of April, the F-150 was averaging just 20 days on dealer lots, significantly shorter than the usual 60 or 80 days. Demand for the new Edge midsize crossover is even hotter, with an average of just 10 days on dealer lots. Dealers are also reporting strong demand for the new 2016 Explorer, which has started production in Chicago. To help meet the strong demand, Ford will cut its traditional two-week summer shutdown to just one week at the Chicago, Dearborn Truck, Kansas City, Kentucky Truck, Louisville, and Oakville (Ontario) assembly plants.
In addition, 10 other component plants will have their summer break cut by a week to meet demand for parts, which include Livonia Transmission, Rawsonville Transmission, Sharonville Transmission, Sterling Axle, Buffalo Stamping, Chicago Stamping, Dearborn Consolidated, Kansas City Stamping, Kentucky Stamping, and Woodhaven Stamping. The company notes that this is the third straight year that it has done an abbreviated summer shutdown to meet demand for its vehicles.


text:
It may seem like light years before the winter ends and the summer sun begins to shine but experts are already warning us to beware of skin cancer.
High Street chain Superdrug has joined the Institute of Cancer Research UK to launch a new campaign to promote skin awareness for everyone, and supermodel Cindy Crawford is also on board.
The SAFE@Superdrug campaign aims to teach people about the dangers of skin cancer, known as melanoma and non-melanoma, in the run-up to summer.
If melanoma is not caught and treated early, the cancer can spread to other organs and can prove fatal. In the UK, around 1,700 people die from melanoma each year.
The most common type of skin cancer is non-melanoma and around 60,000 people are diagnosed with this each year. If can appear as a growth, spot or sore which does not heal and usually affects people over 50.
Melanoma is a more serious form of cancer and affects 7,000 people in the UK every year. It is caused by exposure to ultraviolet light, mostly from the sun but also from sun-beds.
Cindy Crawford said: "I feel passionate about supporting the Institute of Cancer Research's SAFE Campaign. As a model and a mother I know the importance of being skin aware."
Philip Black, director of Fundraising at The Institute of Cancer Research, added: "We hope our work with Superdrug can make a real difference.
"Not only by informing the country about the importance of being skin aware but by raising vital funds towards cutting- edge research into better treatments for skin cancer and in the end saving lives."
To find out about donating to The Institute of Cancer Research visit www.icr.ac.uk


text:
Norwalk, Connecticut, USA
The Norwalk CT Shoprite Supermarket celebrates worker’s 90th birthday.
Shoprite Supermarket is a regional supermarket brand with 48 individually owned-and-operated affiliates with 250 stores located across the Northeastern U.S.A. The Shoprite Supermarket location in Norwalk, CT was recently renovated; 45,000 sq. feet were treated with PRIMER STX 100 and LEVELINE 15, topped with Armstrong VCT flooring.


text:
» View Kereta Perodua Baru
View Kereta Perodua Baru
We are sorry, article about "View Kereta Perodua Baru" is not found or may be has been deleted. You may read other articles below or searching by type keyword in search form above!
Jakarta – Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with its smartphone technological innovation is likely to soon be your handheld.
Because, Samsung Electronics has started pre-orders or reservations for the Galaxy S4 in Indonesia.
Pre-order Samsung Galaxy S4 already [...]
Search many information about the bombings in the Boston Marathon Monday, the utilized scammers (fraudsters on the internet) to steal data.
According to the company’s anti-virus research the origin of Rome, Bitdefender, malware tragedy into a campaign.
Given the importance to always be vigilant when surfing the internet, here are some practical tips from Microsoft Indonesia.
- Lock your computer and other accounts with strong passwords, as well as a unique four-digit PIN on the mobile phone.
- Do not [...]
Polaroid has agreed to put his name behind a Socialmatic concept, which will embody the spirit of Instagram into real form with an instant camera.
With the help of ADR Studios, Polaroid instant camera will perform retro and is expected to be present [...]
Requires heavenly guidance in work or romance.
A temple in southern Taiwan will launch a smartphone app that can help religious Taoist to seek enlightenment from the Almighty when being activity.
In a report released CNA news agency on Saturday (10/22), [...]
Moscow – Thousands of Russian citizens were mobilized to clean up the damage caused by the meteor hit near the Ural mountains failed to find the space rock fragments. Failing that later sparked a conversation about the conspiracy theories about [...]
Sony has just announced a new game console, the PlayStation 4, the PlayStation event in the U.S. (2/21). What are the new features of the PS4? The following brief review.
Yes, PS4 will include a new controller called the DualShock 4. Controller [...]
Yahoo ranked third under Hotmail.
Based on data released by comScore (a website traffic monitoring agency world) in October 2012, which is a Gmail email service owned by internet giant Google, is expressed as the number one email service in the world.
The event introductions latest smartphone Samsung, Galaxy S4, South Africa is considered too sexy woman indulgence.
Because of this, the South Korean manufacturer is finally formally apologized.
Quoted from Techradar, Monday (25/3), an event held in [...]
New news about the successor to the Galaxy S3 smartphone reappeared. This time, Samsung will release it issued on March 15, 2013.
Quoted from TechRadar, Thursday (2/7), the European market will be the first target and will be available a few weeks after [...]
Good news came over the user’s smartphone Sony Xperia J. That is because, the smart phone made by Sony’s got a release update 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
Through the release of this time, the Xperia J users can now be able to enjoy the advantages [...]


text:
Jeff Bezos announced last year that Amazon was testing drones to speed
purchased goods to Amazon customers, lots of people laughed. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd
wondered whether other alpha moguls would want their own drone fleets
to provide their customers with instant gratification, and she worried
about the dizzying logistics and hazards of thousands of delivery drones
crisscrossing the nation's airspace. Netflix mocked Amazon with a fake ad.
Entrepreneur Andreas Raptopoulos scoffed when Domino's
launched two pepperoni pizzas on a publicity-driven drone delivery last
summer. "Why the hell would you do that," he asked, when perfectly good
ways to deliver pizza already exist? But as a story by Shane Hickey in The Guardian explains, Raptopoulos already had his own vision of drones delivering medical supplies to places that roads don't reach. He founded Matternet,
a company devoted to a network of stations for flying drones that could
expand beyond medical applications to become the world's next
generation transportation system. Matternet has tested drone prototypes
for deliveries in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The technology isn't
yet ready for long distances and mass development, but Raptopoulos
believes safe, reliable drone systems are inevitable.
Bezos, the Amazon CEO, is serious too. Amazon's core business is selling and delivering physical stuff, and a Wired Magazine story by Marcus Wohlsen
reports plans for drone delivery are well underway. According to the
story, Bezos told shareholders in his annual letter that the Amazon "Prime Air team is already testing our 5th and 6th generation aerial vehicles, and we are in the design phase on generations 7 and 8."
It not as far-fetched as it sounds. An administrative law judge for the National Transportation Traffic Safety Administration ruled the Federal Aviation Administration has no authority to ban
the commercial use of unarmed aerial vehicles. Amazon has said it hopes
FAA rules for civilian drone flights will be in place sometime in 2015.
What if they crash or smash into things? What if people shoot them down? An Atlantic story by Alexis Madrigal explains why Raptopoulos thinks those are baseless fears and why drones are the transportation of the future.
have been used already for a friendly gesture, with a little
advertising thrown in. Singapore is a wealthy country, but it relies on a
million immigrant workers from China, India and Bangladesh who get paid as little as $1.60 an hour
for manufacturing and construction work. Fast Company reports
that to cheer people missing their homes, Coca Cola asked Singaporeans
to take photos of signs thanking the immigrants for building their
buildings. The photos were wrapped around cans of Coke, and 2,500 cans
of cold soda were delivered by drone to construction workers. The ad
agency Ogilvy & Mather Singapore filmed workers happily getting their drinks and messages, and you can watch here. Well, that is nice, but don't forget scientists say soft drink consumption is a major contributor to obesity and diabetes, in wealthy and developing countries world wide.


text:
Earlier this month, I wrote a column suggesting airlines from the region should include a ‘green seat’ whereby you can pay extra to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from your flight.
I was intrigued how much that extra fee would cost. Georgina Wilson-Powell, editor of pebblemag, a UK-based website which focuses on sustainability issues and green living, recommends Treedom as it allows to “track the trees you’ve planted and see their growth”.
I got in contact with Treedom and asked them how much it would cost to offset a flight from Dubai to London, the most popular route from Dubai Airport and, according to recent industry data, the third most lucrative route in the world.
According to Treedom, the average flight from London to Dubai is 5.500km, which produces an average of about 1 tonne of CO2 per passenger. Treedom’s website gives a variety of different options for plants to buy but the most CO2 productive is the avocado tree, which over its ten year lifecycle would capture 500kg of CO2.
“So if you were to try and compensate a flight from London to Dubai, on average - two avocado trees would be a good step towards that goal,” a Treedom spokesperson told Arabian Business.
To plan an avocado tree through Treedom costs €24.90 so the cost of offsetting your flight from Dubai to London would be €49.80 (AED204 / $55.55)
The Treedom spokesperson also added that you can also boost your sustainability while flying by looking at other factors that impact the environment.
“This is all dependent on the class you fly in, how much electricity you are using with movies/music, how much of the food you eat, if you reuse your beverage cups - and many more factors,” she added.
Emirates did not respond when asked to comment on whether they would introduce such a service, or ‘green seats’ as they could be called.
“I think it’s a nice idea but every airline needs to offer carbon offsetting on every seat. You can already rank airlines for their emissions (newer planes produce less) on Skyscanner and I think we’re not far off consumers choosing who they fly with based not just on price but also the airline’s commitment to offsetting and investing in greener tech,” Wilson-Powell said.
“Carbon offsetting needs to become the norm and that means making it as easy for consumers at the point of booking as possible, or including it in their flight fee. Wouldn’t it be amazing if Emirates was the first to make every seat a green one?”


text:
Pladis appoints whynot! think people to deliver McVitie’s brand experience
As part of their re-launch of the McVitie’s brand and £12m multi-media advertising campaign whynot! think people have been appointed to create the ‘Sweeter Together Challenge’ for McVitie’s Nibbles, touring stations and shopping centres around the country throughout April and early May.
The Sweeter Together Challenge is an interactive experience, reflecting the creative theme of the new “Crane” TVC created by Grey London. Centred around the iconic tower crane, the touring experience creates camaraderie requiring two consumers to work together to operate the crane to grab a giant McVitie’s ‘prize’ Nibble, to instantly win prizes that are sweeter when enjoyed together.
Sarah Heynen, marketing vice president, Pladis UK & Ireland reflected on the event: “whynot! think people have done an incredible job of bringing both the fun sharing attributes of Nibbles, and our Sweeter Together campaign to life. The challenge element physically executes our new brand purpose – enabling everyday moments of real human connections. We are confident that this brand experience will tap into our consumers’ love for our brands as well as supporting our efforts to drive penetration and repeat purchase of our Nibbles range.”
David Ryan, creative director, whynot! think people comments: “Our Nibble twist on the iconic crane game is the perfect fit for a legendary brand such as McVitie’s. The Sweeter Together Challenge brings to life the new brand purpose, not only visually but by bringing people together to enjoy moments of sharing, the sweet spot for Nibbles.”
The Sweeter Together Challenges will be filmed and edited, with content featuring on outward facing TV screens at the events, as well as part of a social media campaign to amplify the activation, extending campaign reach and driving footfall to future events.


text:
Now, it's ever-more mainstream. He thinks it could end up being as lucrative as Amazon or Google stock, and for him it is worth risking a decent sum in Bitcoin, rather getting caught on the sidelines.
It's hard to resist the action.
In 2017 alone, the price of a Bitcoin exploded from under $1,000 in January to more than $10,000 in early December, earning the top cryptocurrency a market capitalization of more than $167 billion.
Jay Blaskey, a digital currency specialist at BitIRA, a retirement option for cryptocurrencies, said Bitcoin represents the next evolution of money. "There is a lot of enthusiasm, but part of it is likely driven by hype", Catalini said. It certainly is very robust against fraud.
"It's no wonder people are questioning whether this is a bubble", Craig Erlam, the senior market analyst at Oanda says, via US Today.
A number of online and physical shops accept Bitcoin - from pubs and florists to holiday booking websites and charities.
"It's outrageous what CME is doing", said Byrne, a fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, a free-market think tank in the United Kingdom and former chief operating officer of Monax, a blockchain software company in London.
"The fundamental thing is that governments will pull the rug out at some point", he says. A corresponding spike in the price of gold was observed in mid-2016, but nothing has performed quite like Bitcoin over the past 18 months. The law would create a regulated framework in which banks could store cryptocurrencies and electronic payment processing firms could transfer them. About 16 million have already been "mined".
CME's announcement is the latest evidence that the world's masters of money are serious about incorporating bitcoin and similar "cryptocurrencies" into the global economy.
Now, bitcoin is all the rage.
"Bitcoin is 21st century tulips", he said. "So some buyers will lose a lot of money". It is something which is still an underground activity, and because of that, major banks are not able to provide people with Bitcoin.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has said that "you have to really stretch your imagination to infer what the intrinsic value of bitcoin is", calling the cryptocurrency a "bubble". Savings accounts offer no real return.
The next stop for the bitcoin surge could be the United States.
That "would be a game changer", he says. Nevertheless, the blockchain technology with which the digital currency relies on holds a huge potential to be as disruptive as the Internet. These computers or nodes would also keep a record of these transactions in what can be called a public ledger.
But there's a dark side, too. Some are legitimate, some not.
Ether, the second-largest digital currency, has posted massive gains since the bitcoin forks began.
"There are scammy ventures that promise you the next bitcoin", says Leo Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong. It is not computers but people who need to decide this issue.
Predictions of Bitcoin's demise are common. "Almost everyone knows the word, but my guess is that only 5 or 10 percent understand what it is...."
The introduction of bitcoin futures could also ultimately prove detrimental to its valuation should clearing organisations come under stress amid the digital currency's wild swings. Investing in something just because it has gone up has never been sensible. "They will just borrow money or do margin trading and they just gamble". "Given the appreciation we've seen, everyone is talking about it".
The pattern of Bitcoin increasing while conventional investments plummet applies closer to home as well. "But by now there are millions of people who want to get into the market". "So this is something that, if it succeeds, can become very big".
Andreessen Horowitz had a more diverse approach than Union Square by investing in a wider variety of transaction technology. Now, his stash is worth $2,400. "At that time I got to know that crypto-currency makes worldwide transactions a lot easier", he said.
Dalic: Nigeria Is An Unknown Threat
Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. I think we can be happy, we can get out of the group, but it will be hard , " Dali? told HTV, according to net.hr.
Prithvi Shaw to captain India at U-19 World Cup
India are the joint-most successful team in the history of the tournament, with Australia winning the title thrice. They made the final of the previous edition in Bangladesh but lost to West Indies by five wickets.
LPL Financial Holdings Inc's (NASDAQ:LPLA) Sentiment is 1.27
The firm has "Outperform" rating given on Wednesday, January 25 by CLSA. (NASDAQ:LPLA) on Friday, August 14 with "Neutral" rating. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc decreased Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI) stake by 9.34% reported in 2017Q2 SEC filing.
Costco Wholesale (COST) to Release Earnings on Tuesday
Ltd. now owns 920 shares of the retailer's stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc decreased Deluxe Corp (NYSE:DLX) stake by 7,194 shares to 76,000 valued at $5.26 million in 2017Q2.


text:
Accra, Oct. 26, GNA - Dismissed officers of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have been identified as major contributors to fraud committed at major ports of entry in the country.
These dismissed workers were engaged by customs house agents and given the leeway to continue the very acts that led to their dismissal, Mr. Sampson Hammond, Deputy Commissioner in-charge of Finance and Corporate Planning at CEPS, told journalists in Accra on Wednesday. Mr. Hammond, who was briefing the journalists on measures to enhance revenue collection therefore cautioned freight forwarders of the consequences that awaited them with regard to their businesses. "Such ex-officers of CEPS are nullified by law to be certified as proficient to operate as customs house agents in spite of their knowledge in customs operations."
According to Mr. Hammond, the Service had received a lot of negative comments and remarks from the general public but CEPS believed that the comments were made in ignorance hence it had embarked on an education campaign.
The campaign is aimed to arm the importing public or traders with the right knowledge about CEPS and their work and the requirements expected from the public when dealing with the Service. Speaking about their work, Mr. Hammond said the CEPS collected about 55 per cent of total national revenue which was made up of import, VAT and other agency levies and fees.
However, a huge chunk of expected revenue is lost through leakages from various means, including abuse of transit trade. The Deputy Commissioner said some arrests carried out recently revealed that Ghanaians had resorted to describing goods meant for home consumption as transit trading in order to avoid the payment of import duties.
Some of the tricks are to consign goods to known foreign names in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali or use of their names through the foreign names.
The importers also forge Ghanaian transit stickers and attempt to smuggle goods out of the port, avoid scanning and front for goods in transit and assist foreigners to evade taxes.
Mr. Hammond said some of the transit goods had been traced to popular markets in the country and evidence of this had led to the arrest of 20- and 40-footer containers in Tema and some vehicle parts currently parked at the CEPS headquarters.
He said, other importers were also taking advantage of the ECOWAS protocol of free movement of goods and services to bring in vehicles through Togo.
The vehicles are meant to return to Togo after 90 days of stay but this had become an avenue for Ghanaians to bring in vehicles through Lome or through unapproved routes in order to evade import duties, Mr Hammond said.
He noted that the abuse of temporary importation was rampant at the eastern and western frontiers saying, "unfortunately, these vehicles are fraudulently registered at DVLA."
Mr. Hammond therefore urged the management of the DVLA to start using the CEPS database GCNet system to help check such acts. CEPS has also set up a special task force to smoke out such tax evaders.
The Deputy Commissioner outlined the new requirements for clearing of vehicles to include the need for importers to show certificates of title, origin, retail sales, bill of sales or any official authorised evidence of bona fide ownership.
He said the Destination Inspection Companies had also become an avenue for fraud through the fake invoices and urged such companies to live up to expectation and show due diligence in the discharge of their duties.
He said CEPS previously handled pre-shipment work expertly and could do the same if destination inspection was handed over to the Service.
As part of control measures, Mr Hammond urged the public to seek information through the CEPS website.
He said the CEPS had also entered into a mutual assistance agreement with Niger in the spirit of south-south cooperation for Niger to provide the names of registered importers with their identification numbers to their Ghanaian counterparts. The two customs organisations would also share monthly information on landed cargo.
This would enable Ghana to associate goods imported as transit to Niger to specific importers and also facilitate a reconciliation process to confirm that goods sent to Niger actually landed. The agreement would be extended to other neighbouring countries including Mali, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire.
CEPS network system under the GCNet is also working on a route mapping and tracking system to monitor transit goods to the exit points while the Gateway Secretariat is also working on a private-public investment for electronic tracking.
Mr Hammond said as part of the control measures all customs officials were mandated to wear nametags.
The Service has also stepped up its anti-smuggling activities while task forces had been established to monitor and check tax evasion and weed out saboteurs, including CEPS officials from the system. Mr Hammond said so far, the anti-smuggling exercise had resulted in the arrest of smugglers of 2,547 mobile phones declared as accessories with a duty element of over 450 million cedis, excluding penalties. Importers of over 20,000 pieces of African print smuggled through the eastern frontier had also been arrested while over 27 vehicles suspected to be uncustomed were seized in September. CEPS said it was expected to collect 12.5 trillion cedis in revenue for 2005 and it had collected 8.2 trillion at the end of September. CEPS says it believed that the last quarter was its "cocoa season" when imports increased and therefore it was determined to check leakages in order to meet the target.
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said the Ministry was interested in getting what was due it and would therefore support CEPS.
He said the Ministry was aware of the conditions of CEPS officials, especially those at the border towns, and added that an enhanced revenue would enable them to improve their conditions. 26 Oct. 05


text:
Xtreme Racing recently announced a new pair of dirt oval specialized shock towers for the Traxxas Slash 2wd. The new towers are machined out of 4mm thick carbon fiber for increased rigidity and have multiple mounting positions for both the shocks and camber links. The upper shock mount holes allow the shock to be stood up for a more linear feel as opposed to the laid-over progressive setup of the stock towers. The new shock towers are sold individually and include all hardware necessary for installation.
Link to rear shock tower: http://www.xtremercracing.com/Products/TRAXXAS_SLASH_CARBON_FIBER_DIRT_OVAL_REAR_SHOCK_TOWER_4mm/10642


text:
The store is located in Dawson, Maryland. Of the 110 employees, 65 voted in favor and 33 against. The group of workers campaigning for the formation demands pay, working hours and security measures. They teamed up under the name Applecore.
The mood was a major setback for the parent company. The efforts made before the workers’ union came to fruition. According to the American news channel NBC, the polls could have a snowball effect: stores in Louisville (Kentucky) and Nashville (Tennessee) have also announced ballots.
After learning that the Dawson branch was organizing the referendum, HR chairman Deitre O’Brien visited. According to O’Brien, forming a union makes it very difficult for Apple to respond to employees’ concerns and preferences. That visit was in vain.
Broadcast live by the federal agency that oversees the turnout. Employees want to join the International Union of Machinists and Astronauts (IAM).
Amazon and Starbucks
The decision in Dawson could have long-term consequences for other technology companies and large companies in the United States. On Amazon, workers at a New York warehouse voted to form a union in April. However, the group’s management is pushing for a new referendum. Starbucks employees also want to unite.
Apple declined to comment in a poll in Downtown.
“Award-winning beer geek. Extreme coffeeaholic. Introvert. Avid travel specialist. Hipster-friendly communicator.”


text:
Wall Street begins the new week with solid gains on hopes for progress by European leaders in curbing the region’s debt crisis. See full story.
Europe stocks soar on hopes for debt-crisis action
European stock markets soar on Monday after media reports indicate that the region’s leaders are making progress in addressing the euro-zone debt crisis. See full story.
Citi, Genworth lead financial sector rally
U.S. financial stocks rally almost 4% in early activity as investors cheer initial strong consumer spending for the holiday season and reports that politicians are close to a decision on how to support the European economy. See full story.
Dollar drops against major rivals; euro gains
The dollar falls sharply on Monday, while the euro gains after media reports give investors hope that policy makers will be able to get a grip on Europe's debt crisis. See full story.
Thanksgiving is the new shopping holiday
This year, stores rolled back opening times to nab an even-earlier shopper. Many opened at midnight. Some were ringing up sales on Thanksgiving day. And it paid off, writes Angela Moore. See full story.
Instead of acknowledging that banks have become a part of government, we keep pretending they are private institutions, writes David Weidner. See full story.
The unintended consequence of a law’s obtuse wording means that some military widows and widowers are ineligible to receive certain annuity benefits unless they remarry. See full story.


text:
General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac Motor Car Division disclosed marketing plans for the launch of its 1998 Seville. Humorous TV ads from D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, Troy, Mich., feature guest appearances by TV sitcom characters. National TV ads break the week of April 6. Print, outdoor and spot radio support. The tagline is "It's what's next." Spending was not disclosed.
Copyright March 1998, Crain Communications Inc.


text:
ORANGE - A Kane in Your Corner investigation into a gas station overcharging its customers has led to a state investigation into the Lukoil station in Orange.
The Division of Consumer Affairs is looking into whether managers and owners at the station on Central Avenue deliberately manipulated prices at the pump. The station has been shut down and its pumps red-tagged.
This follows a News 12 New Jersey investigation over two consecutive days where a customer bought gas that should have been $3.29 a gallon and was charged $4.09.
In addition, the New Jersey Gasoline C-Store Automotive Association says the Orange Lukoil is not a member and is calling on the state to impose penalties.
Executive Director of the NJGCA Sal Risalvato says, "The thing that really has me sick is the bad impression of all gas retailers that people will get from this episode."


text:
AirPods already sold out online -- here's how to get Apple's wireless headphones before Christmas
Apple's Airpods are undoubtedly very cool technology. Whether they look fashionable is up for debate, however. While I think they make the user look futuristic and cool, others think they look nerdy -- like someone snipped the wires off a traditional pair of Apple EarPods.
If you did want to buy the AirPods, it has been a very bumpy road. After Apple announced them, they were delayed for mysterious reasons. Today, however, the iPhone-maker makes them available online for ordering. Unfortunately, if you have not already placed an order, they are essentially sold out. While you can still order them, the shipping date is currently four weeks from now -- well after Christmas. If you need them sooner, there is still hope, however. Here is how to get them as early as next week!
"Available today from Apple.com and will start delivering to customers and arriving at Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers next week. AirPods will be shipping in limited quantities at launch and customers are encouraged to check online for updates on availability and estimated delivery dates. Stores will receive regular AirPod shipments", says Apple.
As per Apple, quantities are very limited, and this is apparently very true as AirPods sold out online almost instantly. So, how can you get them in time for Christmas if you didn't already order them? Old school brick-and-mortar shopping. Yes folks, you should prepare to wait in line at Apple retail stores, or other retailers as your only hope. Apple promises that stores will have stock starting next week.
If there is an Apple fan in your life that wants AirPods, you pretty much have to camp out in front of a store, or risk disappointing them. True, you could order them online and print out the receipt with a promise of 2017 delivery, but that is sort of sad. As a last resort, you can, of course, overpay on eBay and similar sites, but that can feel like robbery.
As someone who did quickly order them, mine are scheduled to be delivered on December 21, 2016 -- well before Christmas Day. Keep checking BetaNews for both an unboxing and review.


text:
BOULDER, Colo. — Whole Foods vs. Cracker Barrel is how David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report recently framed the 2012 election. Only, that divide leaves out the many Americans who don’t fit in either camp.
Wasserman makes some fine points in using a slice of data showing that President Obama carried 81 percent of counties with a Whole Foods and just 36 percent of counties with a Cracker Barrel in 2008.
But look at the swing states of Colorado (where I’ve lived for 18 years) and Iowa (where I grew up). There are four Cracker Barrel restaurants in Colorado, all along the Interstate 25 corridor. Obama won three of the four counties with Cracker Barrels in Colorado.
In Iowa, there are three Cracker Barrels; Obama won two of the three counties. As for Whole Foods, three of Colorado’s 14 stores are located in two counties that voted overwhelmingly for McCain. Iowa, meanwhile, still awaits its first Whole Foods Market, slated to open during this election year.
While Wasserman addresses Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s libertarian tendencies, he fails to mention Cracker Barrel’s history of claims that the company discriminated against blacks and gays. Cracker Barrel agreed to a $2 million settlement in 2006 in connection with sexual and racial harassment allegations and a 2004 settlement for $8.7 million in seven lawsuits, five of which claimed racial.
In reality, Whole Foods vs. Cracker Barrel is just one slice of data in an election year when voters will be identified and targeted based on millions of data points collected from vast stores of survey, census and market research information.
As William Wheeler pointed out in Good magazine, campaigns will be micro-targeting voters with messages tailored to the individual and those data points. The Obama campaign, for instance, has advertised for “data-mining scientists” with doctorates for senior jobs.
The Whole Foods vs. Cracker Barrel argument is easy because there’s not much overlap there.
But in fact, 2012 campaigns will mostly be targeting the middle ground, those who can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods and may still be offended by Cracker Barrel’s history of discrimination. In my home state, that’s the folks who shop at Hy-Vee, the predominant grocery chain in Iowa, or smaller stores such as Fareway.
Plenty of us in Colorado go to Safeway or Costco or even Walmart for groceries, finding “Whole Paycheck” just a little too pretentious in addition to expensive. (And we’re elated about the upcoming arrival of Trader Joe’s.)
During the next weeks — and even more intensely in the fall — campaigns will be looking for those Safeway/Publix shoppers whose ideology isn’t set in stone.
Right now, the focus is on the Republican Party and its search for a candidate in a race that often appears to be catering to the Cracker Barrel crowd. But by summer, the GOP nominee will realize the 2012 election pie is much larger. Certainly, he won’t need to win — or maybe even be able to win — much of the Whole Foods crowd.
But the November winner — either Obama or one of the Republicans — will definitely need to find a way to reach the Safeway and Publix voters at a time when the American middle is increasingly disillusioned with the country’s political elite.
Sandra Fish teaches journalism at the University of Colorado and has reported on politics in Iowa, Florida and Colorado. Follow her on Twitter at @fishnette


text:
The retreat from the recent highs for the move on Tuesday had some follow through in Wednesday’s session. The S&P 500 futures went red around 5:00 AM EST and drifted lower into the opening bell.
Sellers were aggressive off the opening of the regular session. They easily breached the premarket low and kept on going. The index went on to breach last week’s low (4120), but not by much, falling to 4114 before staging a rebound.
The index showed signs of both strength and weakness in the final hour before ending the session in the red by 32.75 handles at 4126.
It should be noted that a Q1 beat and raised guidance by one of the top components, Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA), had the index going out at strong premium at the last after-hours print (4150.75 vs. 4126).
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) benefitted from the retail buying frenzy in Wednesday’s session and was the biggest winner of the top components of the index. For the session, the issue added $1.76 or 1.53% at the closing price of $116.75.
That was over two percent better than the cash index’s decline of 0.79%.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was the biggest loser of the top components of the index. For the session, the issue declined by $2.87 or 1.54%.


text:
IE Domain Registry has published its annual SME Digital Health Index (DHI) for 2019 today.
The report examines the digital behaviours of 1,000 Irish SMEs, including their usage of digital assets like websites, social media, and e-commerce and their general attitudes towards digital technology, learning and investment. It also analyses consumers’ attitudes to digital technology, e-commerce and retail trends.
A key component of the DHI is the ‘Digital Health Assessment’, which ranks SMEs’ capabilities to communicate with their customers online, facilitate transactions online, and enhance or ‘boost’ their online presence with productivity software, like data analytics tools.
Irish SMEs have more digital assets than ever before, 87% have at least one digital asset. However, only a minority of SMEs are using them to their full potential. E-commerce is the exception rather than the rule, less than a third (32%) of SMEs can actually take sales orders or process transactions through their website.
The report warns that this trend could pushing Irish consumers to shop with online competitors and international online retailers. 54% of Irish consumers will shop with a competitor if their preferred retailer is not online.
72% of Irish SMEs say that one of the biggest benefits of being online and digitally savvy is an increased awareness or understanding of their business among customers. A third believe their online presence has led to increased revenue.
As with last year, the Digital Health Index has broken down its findings into regional factsheets. Dublin and Leinster show the highest levels of digital engagement: 76% of Dublin SMEs have a website.
The report has some key findings on consumer attitudes. 63% of Irish consumers think a business is outdated if it doesn’t have a website. It also identifies some of the barriers people encounter for doing more online. 28% say a lack of time is their main problem. Business outside Dublin, in particular, report that broadband availability can be a problem, and 66% of Irish SMEs say they don’t believe the Government can deliver the National Broadband Plan in its current form.
The report points out: “just under three-quarters of all Irish SMEs have websites. What truly matters, however, is how these websites are used”. Agribusiness website homeland.ie is referenced as an exemplary case study.
The full IEDR SME Digital Health Index 2019 is available to download here.
Blacknight is Ireland’s leader in web hosting and domains. We think every Irish SME should have a website and its own domain name – and you can set one up in minutes for as little as €40!


text:
The development of Starlink satellite internet has now entered a new phase, and after passing the pilot phase, its official service will soon begin throughout the United States.
It was two weeks ago that the CEO of SpaecX announced that Starlink, the company's satellite Internet network, would soon be out of beta. Now, in response to a Twitter user, he has announced that the Internet will be available worldwide in the United States by the end of this month.
Internet access may be challenging, but it will gradually improve as Starlink's constellation fleet grows. Will put all over America. This is an issue that we will have to wait for in the coming months to spread to other parts of the world.
Still, the question is, how will Starlink global coverage be possible? Although the company currently operates in most US states, Ookla's data as Netindex's parent company shows that many areas still do not have enough coverage.
Starlink Official Order Site
Users now have to go to the company's official website to use Starlink services and pre-order the service for $ 99 if they are in the covered areas. The number of users who have signed up for the service in the past now exceeds 500,000. 2022 or even 2023 will not be available depending on the region.
But SpaceX seems to be looking for new ways to accelerate this process. The company is developing a new user terminal with easier production and lower cost, and is expected to launch later this year (late fall).
Cover Photo: Starlink Satellite Internet Dish
> Credit: SpaceX
Sources: PC Mag, ArsTechnica


text:
Mindshare China said that it was the largest media pitch ever to take place in China. Quoting figures from research firm CTR, the agency claims the account is worth up to US$2.5 billion.
The transition of the business will begin immediately, which consolidates the entire brand portfolio in China, which includes L'Oreal Paris, Lancome, Maybelline New York and Kerastase.
"We are enormously pleased by this appointment," said Melvyn Goh, president Mindshare China, "the growing prosperity in China has changed the way we consume media, view brands and judge products. This is why it is so important for a brand like L'Oreal to become more sophisticated in the way they communicate and share information with their consumers."
For years, L'Oreal has held one of the biggest ad accounts in China, and Mindshare's latest win is believed by many industry insiders as a significant victory.
L'Oreal has called a number of pitches in China over the past two years. In July 2009, L'Oreal China pitched its TV buying business in the mainland as part of a mandatory review every two years.
This follows the recent consolidation of L'Oreal's U$70 million US media buying account into Universal McCann, also following a pitch against Zenith Optimedia. In India, ZenithOptimedia again lost out during a pitch process in July that saw Maxus clinch agency-of-record.
The brand works with Mindshare in Hong Kong where the agency managed to keep hold of the account following a statutory review and pitch against UM, Zenith Optimedia and Carat at the end of last year.
In the UK, Zenith Optimedia continues to handle L'Oreal's US$115 million media planning and buying account.


text:
Excipial hand cream wants to protect and repair chefs' hands.
The campaign features the fictional character Liz Arden, and Chelsea Handler.
The actress attended Giorgio Armani Parfums launch party in London.
The talc-free and paraben-free line is now officially cruelty-free.
Glenroy Inc., a converter and printer of flexible packaging, has been recognized by the Flexible Packaging Association.
The surveyed 1,000 American women to better understand how they perceive age limitations.
The relaunch includes its Country Apple, Freesia, and its first-ever scent, Sun-Ripened Raspberry.
Sign up now to receive the free weekly newsletter, and more!


text:
Most Recent Articles In Business
Latest Business Articles
More Articles By
Mindy Grossman is a walking advertisement for HSN.
On a recent rainy, blustery day in Manhattan, the trendy CEO arrives at the Frank Gehry-designed IAC building and almost immediately begins dishing about her outfit, which includes Sam Edelman platforms, a Joan Boyce necklace and several other items purchased from the shopping network.
“I always say I’m a perfect example of how people interface with our product,” Grossman said in an exclusive interview with Footwear News. “I can wear a $79 necklace, a $500 ring, a $250 pair of shoes and a Balenciaga dress. That’s how people look at things today, especially because of this economy. It’s not about status, it’s about ‘Hey, this is something I desire, so let me see how I can access it on my own terms.’”
After moving to HSN in 2006, Grossman knew she had to shake things up. Competition in the broadcast world was fierce, and more viewers were tuning away to new lifestyle channels. Her aggressive revamp of the company — which in August 2008 spun off from parent company IAC to become a separately traded public firm — has touched every aspect of the 32-year-old HSN, from branding and product assortment to programming and customer service. In addition, she overhauled the Website, a move that has significantly expanded online sales and HSN’s reach.
“We embarked on this pretty aggressive journey to go from thinking of ourselves as the TV shopping channel to thinking of ourselves as a network of transactional innovation,” said the executive, who came to HSN from Nike, where she was global VP of apparel. Grossman also held several executive positions at Ralph Lauren before joining Nike in 2000.
The new strategy is paying off, and Grossman said the economy isn’t holding her back. HSN, which reaches 93 million households, reported a sales decline of only 1 percent for the third quarter, with Internet sales up 7 percent, representing 30 percent of total sales.
In addition to beefing up its online presence, HSN last year debuted an iPhone app, as well as applications with Comcast and Verizon Fios that allow customers to make purchases through their remote controls. The company also rolled out a high-definition channel in 13 million homes.
“The model of getting the consumer to come to you is old, and the new model is how can you get to the consumer on their terms, in ways they want to engage in,” Grossman said. “How people are choosing to interface with content is very different. You’ve got to marry different platforms.”
Giving the HSN audience access to more fashion-forward product and exclusives also has been a priority for Grossman during her nearly four-year tenure at the firm. Recent high-profile partnerships include the American Glamour line with Badgley Mischka; Curations with Stefani Greenfield, a lifestyle line by the Scoop founder; and new fragrances from Sean Jean.
In the footwear arena — HSN’s fastest-growing category — brands from all corners of the market, from Vince Camuto to Sam Edelman to Born, have been performing well, Grossman said. The firm also has steadily been adding apparel, accessory and footwear exclusives, including American Glamour and jewelry by Iman.
HSN’s partners cheered Grossman’s innovative rebranding.
“There is a very sophisticated merchandising and buying team within the HSN organization, and Mindy truly understands partnership and brand building” said designer and HSN vendor Sam Edelman. “People believe in Mindy Grossman.”
Several new initiatives are on the agenda for 2010, though Grossman remained mum on specific details. “[Overall], we will continue to launch new concepts, new brands and new business ... as we find our growth potential in alternative distribution channels. If 2010 is going to be the year of anything for us, it will be the year of innovation.”
FN: What were your impressions of HSN before joining the company?
MG: When I [first] looked at the channel, it didn’t feel very lifestyle or real — even though it was live — and there wasn’t a synergy between the experience on TV and the experience online. I knew we had to not just think of our competition as retail but as lifestyle television, whether it be the Food Network, Style, HDTV, DIY, or any emerging lifestyle channel. The more I looked [at the business], the more excited I got. Today, HSN is more relevant than at any other time in its history. Content is power in today’s world, and if you can own that content, create it and make interaction more of an experience than a transaction, you create a different kind of loyalty.
FN: Cultivating more loyalty among HSN consumers has been a priority. How have you done that?
MG: When I joined the company, I would say our customer experience was sub-par. We used to outsource about 30 percent of our calls off-shore. We changed that around and said the No. 1 focus is the customer experience. We brought 100 percent of our sales and service back to the U.S. and elevated our pay scales in those areas. We elevated our quality standards and changed how a package was received by the customer. We re-trained not only our sales and service people but even our hosts on air to be very authentic on how they articulate the product.


text:
The theme for Fashion Revolution Week this year is “Money Fashion Power”, so we’re diving into the systems that perpetuate fashion’s inequity. One keyword is “degrowth”, which a diverse movement claims fashion’s future relies on. It’s a heady concept that could become a feasible model. Here’s why many believe it’s the future we must choose.
Fashion’s negative impacts are getting worse
How do you solve a problem like fashion? The industry is only getting bigger and its sustainability performance is not catching up with the pace of growth.
Set to a backdrop this stark, it’s no surprise that an emerging number of super-engaged, eco-critical academics, activists, designers, and advocates are turning towards the ultimate alternative: rejecting mainstream economics in favour of something hopeful, complex, and to some, delusional.
The banner they fly is “degrowth”—a fascinating word, as it refers to a process, a calling, a framework, and a lifestyle all wrapped up into one.
For the diverse movement of people calling for degrowth, the motivation is simple: rich countries must balance their economies with planetary boundaries.
For many in the growth-focused fashion industry, the term creates discomfort by challenging establishment thinking. So much so, it might be hard to imagine the fashion industry choosing this route.
But as grassroots movements have shown us throughout history, degrowth could be our future if we choose it. And for the diverse movement of people calling for degrowth, the motivation is simple: rich countries must balance their economies with planetary boundaries. The survival of many people around the world already depends on it. And what fashion industry is there without people?
As an emerging sustainability topic for fashion, degrowth can feel like a heady concept rather than a feasible model. Few corporate-level case studies exist. So what does degrowth really mean? What could it look like? For answers, let’s take a look at the ideals behind degrowth and some of the glimmers of progress pushing for change in the industry.
What is degrowth all about? Transforming an unjust system
At a high level, degrowth refers to a voluntary reduction of growth in a democratic society. And degrowth is not specific to fashion alone.
This transformative process doesn’t come from an “outside” force like, for example, a recession. A recession isn’t degrowth because it’s a reactive contraction, rather than proactive, controlled shrinking.
In fashion, degrowth starts with a rejection of the fast fashion business model. That looks like decoupling the production of cheap garments from profitability. That looks like producing fewer garments that we keep for longer and repair instead of throwing them away.
That’s where you can begin to understand why degrowth sounds so radical and controversial: it calls for a full-scale reimagining of our economic system.
Degrowth isn’t new: the movement’s roots go deep
At its core, the ideas behind degrowth call for new strategies: degrowth is a framework that’s about transformation. It builds on the work of ecological and anti-colonial theorists. In this way, the concept of degrowth is closely linked with climate justice, Indigenous rights, and reparations for fashion’s extractive and neo-colonial production models.
As a movement, degrowth is often said to have emerged in France in the 1970s. But that’s not the full story. Non-Eurocentric communities around the world have operated according to degrowth’s ambitions for millennia—proving that our minds create our worlds, not our markets.
Communities around the world have operated according to degrowth’s ambitions for millennia.
Degrowth addresses the contradictions at play within “sustainable fashion”. From our values-based shopping choices through to our brand alignments, it is both compelling and painful to address this industry’s deeply exploitative history.
“Current environmental crises are a result of the societal crisis of inequality” argues Marula Tsagkari, Degrowth PhD candidate at The Autonomous University of Barcelona. She’s also a member of Research & Degrowth, an academic collective dedicated to research and awareness-raising.
New data underscores the urgent need to act now
The global context and system that fashion’s production and consumption operate in make degrowth a radical framework for transformation. One of the movement’s key calls is for rich countries to stop focusing on GDP (gross domestic product) growth as a primary objective and to organise their economies instead around supporting human wellbeing and reducing inequality.
Ground-breaking new data is beginning to reveal the extent of this unequal exchange, highlighting the ecological debt of rich nations in the so-called “Global North” and what they owe the rest of the world.
We have mishandled our relationship with nature because only a small percentage of the population decides on how we deal with it.
The evidence-based research, led by Prof Jason Hickel of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), assigns responsibility for damage caused by 160 countries in the past 50 years, demonstrating which regions are behind the vast majority of global ecological damage. It finds that the US is the biggest culprit, accounting for 27% of the world’s excess material use, followed by the EU at 25% (which included the UK during the analysis period).
While this research is not specific to fashion, it’s poignant to see that these polluting regions house the headquarters of many of the world’s powerful global fashion brands. Aside from ecological impact, the social struggles of workers in fashion’s commodity chain expose the inequity driving commercial success for corporations.
Don’t let the terminology distract you from the problem
Like any alternative argument, degrowth is regularly met with mainstream resistance. Despite the tremors of excitement around degrowth among advocates for sustainability, big brands haven’t been great at giving us examples of it in action.
Why, when degrowth offers so much opportunity to resolve climate and human justice issues at scale, is the topic so rarely addressed?
Immediately, we can reference the economic system that fashion operates in that prioritises the accumulation of capital over the wellbeing of people. Market logic is currently at odds with degrowth theory. However, the terminology used is another barrier set in the way between theory and practical adoption.
To engage with degrowth, a high level of political literacy is required. That’s something that turns off many individuals and fashion brands alike. Yes, degrowth—like the problems it aims to solve—is an inherently complex model for the future. It can be time-consuming to understand and apply.
Why is that, when degrowth offers so much opportunity to resolve climate and human justice issues at scale, is the topic so rarely addressed?
Some of the tangible, interdisciplinary actions that take place in degrowth strategies include economic modelling, civic scenario planning, environmental justice lobbying, teaching and communications, care work, industry-level systems design, grassroots activism and so much more—all contributing to and occurring under new policy conditions.
In addition, the language of degrowth is subject to interpretation and not always that accessible. When we hear the word “growth”, many of us have been conditioned to immediately associate it with goodness. That poses messaging challenges for the degrowth movement, as we make the case for moving to economic models that respect planetary boundaries.
When the movement was emerging, “degrowth” was chosen intentionally and provocatively as a “missile word” (when used, it creates disruption and reaction) to foster debate. Some thought leaders, including the esteemed economist Kate Raworth, author of “Donut Economics”, argue that the missile tends to backfire: “throw it into a conversation and it causes widespread confusion and mistaken assumptions”.
Degrowth ideas sometimes go by other names, too. “Post-growth”, “Altgrowth”, “Donut Economics”, “the Wellbeing Economy”—there are a constellation of terms and intersectional approaches, which could be why this topic is so vulnerable to its language being co-opted.
Degrowth calls for creativity and collective imagination
Despite these challenges, seeds of degrowth are quietly being planted. An invigorating mass of small and independent brands, which aren’t constrained by public ownership, are rejecting corporate operations in favour of slower, localised, and intentional fashion production. They’re reconfiguring what is meant by the word “success” as they go. There’s so much creative potential when the pressure to exponentially expand as a company isn’t central. That can look like working on small-scale, custom tailoring; upcycle-only operations; renewal and repair offerings, as well as simply limiting the range of available products to prioritise more modular/capsule dressing systems.
In addition to the degrowth values of designers and brands, new services are emerging across the market to support degrowth’s focus on less. In the UK, The Restory is an aftercare service that’s gained a massive social media following for its luxury repair videos. Meanwhile, in the US, newcomer Lotte offers a remote sustainability styling service focused on your relationship with the clothes you already own.
These attitudes are showing up in high-level industry guidance, too. In an effort to shift the narrative, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) created a high-level commitment included in the renewed Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action—sharing recommendations for fashion communicators to align with the Paris Agreement goals.
There’s so much creative potential when the pressure to exponentially expand isn’t central.
It’s a necessary tactic for progress, when, according to Good On You, only 6% of large brands have a science-based greenhouse gas emissions target. Promoting lifestyle changes that help limit global temperature rise is central within the UNEP recommendation, ranging from “spotlighting new role models and notions of aspiration or success” right through to “celebrating the ecological, cultural, and social values of the industry”. Such recommendations align closely with degrowth strategy frameworks and could be integrated into policy that supports wellbeing over wealth.
Elsewhere, fashion is betting on the impact of circular business models as a way to decouple revenue streams from production and resource use. According to the Ellen McArthur Foundation, clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2015 while during the same period, utilisation of those clothes decreased by 36%.
We’re creating more clothes and wearing them less, underscoring the simple call to make less stuff.
In 2021, the British Fashion Council’s Institute of Positive Fashion addressed the impact of the fashion industry. Their top key target outcome? Reduce the volume of new physical clothing.
Encouraging fashion brand stakeholders to reduce consumer demand for new physical goods doesn’t make sense within the current market logic. Yet here we are. Degrowth may be complex, but it’s far from illogical.
The future of fashion can’t centre on consumption
Tackling the dominance of growth is a profound economic question that cuts to the very core of our planetary crisis.
“We don’t want a world where fashion does not exist at all. We want a world where fashion is not overconsumption but freedom of expression”, Tsagkari says. “Imagining this new idea of fashion as something creative but also simple and accessible to everyone can be a great challenge.”
But it can also be fun.
We don’t want a world where fashion does not exist at all. We want a world where fashion is not overconsumption but freedom of expression.
The best way to understand degrowth theory is to try and live out some of the movement’s values. After all, degrowth isn’t just about the economy. It’s about culture. For example, you might try swapping or trading your future fashion rather than focusing on its currency cost. You’ll notice how such small shifts can change your own experiences with clothes.
If our personal values systems are capable of shifting, then maybe our market is, too.
Owing to fashion’s unmatched ability to reflect and influence culture at large, perhaps this industry is well-positioned to move society towards degrowth. It could be the future we choose.


text:
Things are looking up at the St. Tammany Parish Tourist and Convention Commission, but CEO Donna O’Daniels, her staff, and commission board members are not leaving anything to chance.
Treasurer Patti Ellish told the board at its June 29 meeting that parish hotel occupancy tax collections for April and May exceeded prepandemic levels for the first time since the coronavirus dealt a blow to tourism worldwide. Marketing Vice President Christina Cooper confirmed that recent local tourism statistics show that “the recovery is in progress.”
But rather than relying on the rebound to take its normal course, the board adopted a strategic plan it developed with O’Daniels and her staff to grow the industry even more over the next four years.
The plan is the result of a monthslong effort led by Berkeley Young, of Young Strategies, a North Carolina firm that has helped tourism organizations across the country grow their markets.
The plan is based on input from community, civic, and travel industry leaders who participated in a planning survey deployed earlier this year, and the results of a planning workshop led by Young and attended by board and staff members in March.
The plan defines the tourist commission’s mission as: “To market and promote St. Tammany Parish as a highly desirable destination for visitors and, thereby, increase the economic impact of tourism on the area.” It establishes three strategic initiatives to grow the parish tourism economy:
• Market St. Tammany Parish as a destination with the highest skilled and most dynamic sales and marketing team, while meeting the highest standards of financial and ethical accountability; continually update research and marketing strategies; ensure board support of staff excellence; participate with state and industry partners to leverage the Louisiana Northshore brand and reach a wider audience; provide leadership to the parish industry through cooperative sales and marketing and workforce development; provide dynamic visitor information services; promote travel to the parish; and track results using leading-edge industry methods and metrics.
• Support the improvement and expansion of existing and new visitor experiences to attract new business by encouraging the development of meeting and event spaces; a multisports facility; a luxury RV park; unique shopping opportunities, attractions, improved transportation options; and the recruitment of outdoor outfitters and guides.
• Advocate for travel industry issues and communications within the parish by creating policy/action committees to improve industry and community relations; advocate for needed legislation and funding, and create opportunities for diversity, equity, and inclusion; working with industry associations to address issues at the local, state and federal level; providing annual industry updates to elected bodies; maintaining a crisis communications plan and adequate reserve funds to cover crisis-related expenditures; developing a tourism master plan for inclusion in the parishwide master plan; and sponsoring an annual Tourism Week to promote the benefits of the travel economy to parish residents.
Annual reviews by staff and board leadership will measure how effectively the commission is achieving its strategic goals, and adjust as necessary.
O’Daniels stressed that a primary goal is to incentivize and support the development of new facilities and attractions by industry partners in order to grow the parish tourism and general economy.
“We’re truly in a supporting role,” O’Daniels said. “What we can do is provide knowledge, research and resources to help drive our vision of what this destination can become.”


text:
Banks, governments and enterprises worldwide rely on Bell ID software to safely issue and manage credentials on smartphones, smart cards and connected devices. Our software integrates with any third party technology and simplifies the issuing complexities of payment, identity, loyalty and transit applications.
Whether it’s EMV payments data stored on a chip card, in an NFC-enabled mobile device or in the cloud leveraging HCE, Bell ID has the expertise to manage the lifecycle of any application on any form factor.Read more
With the various mobile payment platforms rolling out worldwide, and consumers increasingly demanding mobile services from their bank, the issuing ecosystem is faced with a number of key decisions. Chief among which is how to access the essential tokenization services that underpin the security of mobile transactions.
Rotterdam is establishing itself as a leading hub for FinTech innovation, so we are excited to be welcoming the city’s best and brightest to our headquarters for next week’s Holland FinTech Meetup event.
Tokenization is here to stay.
As a technology, it’s been around for a while and its use to secure payment card data has surged in recent years as mobile contactless payments have rolled out worldwide and online payments have cried out for additional security.
It may not be March Madness, but with lots of the big industry events opening their doors over the coming weeks, April is certainly a busy month for Bell ID as we travel the world talking all things mobile payments.


text:
From Shekou to Seattle, Amsterdam to Auckland, containerships are backing up like never before in the 65-year history of the industry as the liner industry grapples with the enormous strain brought by Covid-19 and exceptional consumer behavior.
While much has been written about the ongoing port congestion issues in the US and the fallout from a recent outbreak of Covid-19 at ports in South China, the map (see below) supplied by Seaexplorer clearly shows the global phenomenon of liner congestion in 2021.
As it stands today, there are more than 300 containerships waiting for berth spaces to open up around the world.
Looking at the map today, Simon Heaney, senior manager, container research at UK consultants Drewry, said that bottlenecks and delays at ports around the world are the symptom of the wider breakdown in the supply chain infrastructure, all related to the pandemic that spurred changes in consumption habits and reduced inland productivity.
Commenting via LinkedIn, Otto Schacht, executive vice president for sea logistics at Kuehne + Nagel, noted: “Shippers better increase inventories, supply chains are too tight, just in time does not work in these times, consumer demand will remain strong.”
“It is very clearly a global problem as the map shows, and as such is going to take time to be resolved,” Heaney said, suggesting that there are “big philosophical questions” the industry and its customers need to address about how to best avoid a repeat of this calamitous scenario.
Red dots represent clusters of ships while orange ones mark out ports that are congested or suffering from disrupting operations.


text:
Savor Seattle Steps Up for the Market!
Savor Seattle has always been known for their exciting food tours around the Market. But when the Market closed in March, the team at Savor Seattle quickly pivoted to provide Market food delivery with tastes and treats from dozens of Market businesses.
These boxes have now generated over $700k in revenue for Market businesses in the past couple of months since they started.
But, Savor Seattle’s impact reaches the larger Market community as well! For every single Market box sold, $5 is donated directly to the Market Community Safety Net. Because of this generous contribution, Savor Seattle has already raised more than $30k for the Market community.
If you want to sample the great tastes of the Market from home and give back to the community, order here: www.shop.savorseattletours.com