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NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bank of America Corp is anticipating a strong performance in its retail business during the second quarter, thanks to resilient consumer demand, according to Holly O’Neill, the bank’s president of retail banking. Speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event, O’Neill expressed confidence in the health of the consumer, noting that savings and account balances remain above pre-pandemic levels.
This financial stability positions consumers well, providing a cushion in the event of a mild recession in the latter part of the year. The growth prospects for the second quarter are further enhanced by higher-than-expected consumer spending in April, although consumer confidence dipped in May due to concerns about the labor market. Despite this slight decline, households still expressed intentions to make significant purchases, including motor vehicles and other major items, over the next six months.
Bank of America, the second-largest lender in the U.S., is focused on growing through its existing businesses and client relationships instead of making acquisitions, O’Neill said. Rival JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) , the nation’s largest lender, bought First Republic Bank (OTC:FRCB) after it was seized by authorities earlier this month.
“We will certainly look at opportunities, but our focus again, is on organic growth,” O’Neill said. “I don’t think we feel undue competitive pressure.”
Consumer spending on Bank of America cards fell 1.2 percent in April compared with a year earlier, the first year-on-year decline since February 2021, its data showed. Yet the appetite for credit cards, auto loans and mortgages is still holding up, she said.
Meanwhile, even though delinquencies are near historically low levels, more customers are starting to fall behind on their payments, a trend that O’Neill expects to continue.
“We are seeing those numbers come back to closer to pre-pandemic, but that’s what you would expect in this type of environment,” she said.
In a wide-ranging interview, O’Neill discussed the bank’s use of artificial intelligence to power its virtual assistant, Erica.
“There are a whole host of uses,” O’Neill said, such as using Erica and generative AI to help bank employees look up information, policies and procedures.
The executive, a 27-year veteran of the company, also spoke about leadership in an industry that has historically lacked diversity.
“For women, in particular, I really try to focus on confidence and risk-taking,” she said. The biggest shot O’Neill took in her career was moving to the consumer bank after serving as chief operating officer of the private-banking division.
“I learned a tremendous amount, but that was probably the biggest risk — I went from managing 100 people to 12,000 people overnight and I was given the opportunity and I closed my eyes a little bit and jumped, and it was really the best move I made.”


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One of Research In Motion's BlackBerry suppliers, Celestica, said Monday that it will "wind down its manufacturing services for Research In Motion" during the next three to six months. Celestica said the move is part of its own restructuring, which it says will not exceed $35 million. The company will share more information about its decision during a conference call on July 27. Celestica's move could hurt RIM as it tries to get its latest BlackBerry 10 smartphones out the door and as it continues to compete against other companies in emerging markets with its current BlackBerry 7 operating system.
Celestica To Wind Down Manufacturing Services For Research In Motion
June 18, 2012
TORONTO, Canada – Celestica Inc. (NYSE, TSX: CLS), a global leader in the delivery of end-to-end product lifecycle solutions, today announced that over the course of the next three to six months, it will wind down its manufacturing services for Research in Motion (RIM).
Celestica has been a high-performing manufacturing supplier for RIM and will work closely with RIM throughout the transition. As discussed on the company's first quarter results conference call on April 24, Celestica has been working with RIM as it assesses its supply chain strategy. Celestica estimates that prior to any recoveries, its restructuring charges will not exceed $35 million.
More details about this announcement will be provided as part of the company's second-quarter results press release and conference call, which are scheduled for Friday, July 27.
In addition, Celestica is reaffirming its second quarter financial guidance that was provided on April 24. The company anticipates revenue to be in the range of $1.65 billion to $1.75 billion, and adjusted net earnings per share to be in the range of $0.20 to $0.26.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra's Space Zoom camera is amazing and a bit creepy
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http://www.thedrive.com - Production of the previous-generation Chevrolet Silverado will continue through the 2019 calendar year. This production will continue to occur alongside the new model Silverado that recently went on sale.
https://jalopnik.com - ZL1. Z28. Z51. ZR2. ZR1. Z71. Z06. Z24. One of those numbers represents the pinnacle of General Motors’ performance lineup, milled from dragon steel to slay 911s, McLarens, villages full of peasants, etc. One represents an option package on your Cavalier that brought stunning 16-inch alloy wheels. One means your Silverado has locking diffs. One goes on the Colorado. Two are for the Camaro. Corvettes take three of the spots, with the aforementioned Silverado and Cavalier wrapping up the other two.
https://www.trucks.com - The 2020 Chevrolet Suburban is expected to debut sometime next year. An independent rear suspension and the possible availability of the turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the 2019 Silverado pickup in some versions are among the expected changes.
http://gmauthority.com - The 2019 Silverado flaunts a bold, modern design with features that satisfy both form and function. One really neat feature that hits on both accounts are the new truck’s aero-enhancing air curtains.
https://www.extremetech.com - Chevrolet’s new 2019 Silverado 1500 pickup truck just raised the bar. The 2019 Silverado is simultaneously bigger and lighter, the crew cab has limousine-class legroom, safety features abound, the cabin is surprisingly quiet, tech tools make trailer hook-ups easier than Tinder, and a rear-facing camera bolts to the back of your trailer. To push fuel economy above 20 mpg, dynamic fuel management shuts off unneeded cylinders in 17 different steps.
https://www.foxnews.com - With 20 battery-powered vehicles on the way by 2023, the future of General Motors is electric. But it’ll pay for it with pickups. That’s why the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is the most important one yet. As the company’s best-selling and most profitable vehicle, the Silverado is the one that keeps the lights on. And the new one has some fancy lights.
https://www.cheatsheet.com - For the 2019 model year, these trucks got a full redesign, and certain trims have already begun arriving in dealerships from the automaker’s factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the case of the GMC Sierra, you will have a hard time calling it just a fancier Silverado these days, and that was the automaker’s goal. That sentiment goes double for the 2019 Sierra Denali. Following our general rundown of the Sierra redesign, we had a chance to get inside a new Denali and see what the model offers to truck buyers. Here’s what we learned, including impressions from a day driving a 2019 Denali 1500 Cre
https://www.cnbc.com - General Motors delivered Wall Street an unexpected surprise this week, substantially topping Wall Street earnings forecasts for its third quarter, and it wasn't because it's selling more cars. The Detroit automaker is racing to keep up with demand for its new Chevy Silverado pickup which was completely redesigned for the 2019 model-year. In particular, shoppers appear especially enamored with the new High Country model that can be loaded up with features like heated seats, a heads-up display on the windshield and even active noise cancellation.
https://testdrivenow.com - There’s never been a better time if you’re in the market for off-road pickup truck. Available in a wide range of sizes and prices there something out there to fit just about every need. And now Chevy is providing their own version of go anywhere power with the all new Silverado Trail boss.
https://autoweek.com - In the auto industry, imitation is a very high form of flattery, and many automakers copy each other's technologies, adding just enough of their own proprietary design and unique features to keep the patent attorneys from sending the cease-and-desist orders. So, it seems a bit strange that no other automaker has introduced a twin-turbo V6 truck engine to compete with Ford's popular 2.7-liter and 3.5-liter EcoBoost motors in the Ford F-150.


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In the ever-evolving landscape of online transactions, blockchain technology is emerging as a transformative force, reshaping how we secure our digital interactions, particularly in identity verification (KYC) and business validation (KYB). Beyond its crypto origins, blockchain is gaining prominence in everyday banking, garnering support from influential entities such as banks in the UAE and the UK to enhance and streamline KYC processes.
Reflecting on the past, consider the days when proving one's identity required a physical visit to the bank. Contrast that with the present, where opening an online bank account is as straightforward as sharing a photo of your ID and taking a quick selfie. Crypto projects are pushing boundaries by focusing on authenticating individuals, and moving beyond routine ID checks to establish a more robust proof of personhood.
The fascinating synergy between KYC and blockchain unfolds seamlessly. Public blockchains in the U.S., characterized by pseudonymity, may seem at odds with KYC's emphasis on knowing the identities of participants. Public blockchains prioritize transparency, a characteristic reminiscent of online ads seemingly knowing your recent Amazon purchases – an aspect that might border on excessive transparency.
However, as regulatory scrutiny tightens within the crypto space, KYC becomes non-negotiable. Regulators, banks, and users unite in recognizing its pivotal role in enhancing transaction security. The regulatory focus in 2023 aligns the crypto world with traditional finance, underscoring the importance of robust KYC protocols.
Imagine a future where KYC seamlessly integrates into the blockchain ecosystem. It's not merely about adhering to rules; it's about embedding blockchains into mainstream financial operations. Leading the charge, banks in the UAE and UK securely share verified identities through blockchain, expanding the scope of identity verification while fortifying security through advanced encryption techniques.
Challenges inevitably loom on the horizon. Diverse KYC regulations across jurisdictions and the inherently multi-jurisdictional nature of decentralized finance (DeFi) introduce complexities. However, within this intricate terrain, hope emerges through ongoing experimentation. Companies are delving into the possibilities; Deloitte's utilization of the KILT blockchain and Ethereum's Attest.sh project exemplifies the industry's commitment to innovation.
In essence, blockchain and KYC collaboratively elevate the security and efficiency of online transactions. It's akin to upgrading your online security while simplifying processes for users. As we navigate towards a future where repetitive KYC processes may become a relic of the past, the symbiotic relationship between blockchain and KYC promises a smoother, more secure, and interoperable future for online transactions. This partnership not only fortifies digital security but also paves the way for a seamlessly interconnected financial landscape, ensuring a robust and user-friendly experience for all stakeholders involved. As these advancements unfold, we witness a paradigm shift towards a financial ecosystem where trust and efficiency coalesce, fostering a more resilient and accessible global financial network. The collaborative efforts of blockchain and KYC are steering us towards a future where financial transactions are not just secure and efficient but also marked by transparency and inclusivity, shaping a financial landscape that empowers individuals and businesses alike.


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Standard Chartered announced today it has formed a strategic partnership with Indonesian e-commerce giant Bukalapak, to launch “innovative offerings” as part of efforts to advance its focus on digital banking. e27 is reaching out to both companies’ spokesperson to clarify further details of the digital banking offerings. Hosted on the nexus platform – a banking-as-a-service […]
The post Standard Chartered partners with Bukalapak to launch digital banking solutions appeared first on e27.
You can find the original article here


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SHANGHAI, Sept. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 24, 2020, 111, Inc. ("111" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: YI), a leading digital healthcare platform dedicating to digitally connecting patients with drugs and healthcare services in China, hosted its 3rd annual China Online Healthcare Summit and Partnership Conference (the "Healthcare Summit") in Shanghai, China. This year's theme focused on "The Age of Technology and Healthcare Digitalization".
As technology ushers in a new digital era for healthcare, the Chinese government has instituted a number of new regulations to modernize the healthcare industry as well as to encourage the development of virtual healthcare services. Transformative healthcare platforms that provide consumers with more efficient and convenient access to healthcare plays an important role in addressing the needs of an aging population. These new regulations including volume-based procurement policies, have created challenges to the traditional drug commercialization process, and the Healthcare Summit provided an ideal forum for industry leaders to gather and discuss these challenges as well as the innovations poised to tackle these challenges, such as 111's pioneering omni-channel platform.
The Healthcare Summit attracted approximately 600 guests globally, including executives from leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, medical experts, government leaders, and investment institutions. During the conference, 111, Inc. announced strategic cooperation agreements with Novartis, Bayer Healthcare, Huluwa Pharmaceutical, Xiangxue Pharmaceutical, Agilent Technologies Inc., Shanghai Juyin Information Technology Co. Ltd. and Zoenet (Xiamen) Health Co. Ltd.
Dr. Gang YU, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of 111, Inc., stated that over the next decade, the rapid adaptation of digital technology in the healthcare industry will propel the sector to become the largest industry in China, surpassing real estate and the auto industry.
Junling LIU, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of 111, Inc., added that as a digital healthcare platform, 111, Inc. is able to connect patients with medical and healthcare products and services organically through digital technologies. "111, Inc. has built an ecosystem in which we empower pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceutical distributors, pharmacies, doctors, and insurance companies through technologies."
About 111, Inc.
111, Inc. (NASDAQ: YI) ("111" or the "Company") is a leading digital healthcare platform dedicating to digitally connecting patients with drugs and healthcare services in China. The Company provides millions of consumers with better access to pharmaceutical products and healthcare services directly through its online retail pharmacy 1 Drugstore and indirectly through its offline virtual pharmacy network. The Company also offers online healthcare services through its internet hospital, 1 Clinic, which provides consumers with cost-effective and convenient online consultation, electronic prescription service and patient management service. In addition, the Company's online wholesale pharmacy, 1 Drug Mall, serves as a one-stop shop for pharmacies to source a vast selection of pharmaceutical products. With the largest virtual pharmacy network in China, 111 enables offline pharmacies to better serve their customers with cloud-based services. 111 also provides omni-channel support to its strategic partners in their drug commercialization effort, with services such as digital marketing, patient education, data analytics and pricing monitoring.
For more information on 111, please visit: http://ir.111.com.cn/.
For more information, please contact:
Phone: +86-021-2053 6666 (China)
GCM Strategic Communications
SOURCE 111, Inc.


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Bangladesh has climbed up four notches to rank 35th among the 50 most promising emerging logistics markets in the world, thanks to the country's performance in both domestic and international logistics opportunities, according to the 2023 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index.
However, Bangladesh has scored the lowest yet again among four emerging South Asian economies in the 14th annual edition of the index unveiled by Agility – a Kuwait-based global logistics company – on Tuesday.
At number two in the overall ranking, India has made significant progress in the last decade in modernising its logistics and supply chain industry, read the report.
Among other South Asian countries – Pakistan stood at 26th position and Sri Lanka at 30th in the index.
Bangladesh has been languishing at the lowest position among the four emerging South Asian economies in the index since 2019.
The index ranked the world's 50 leading emerging markets for overall competitiveness based on four metrics: domestic logistics opportunities, international logistics opportunities, business fundamentals and digital readiness – factors that make them attractive to logistics providers, freight forwarders, air and ocean carriers, distributors and investors.
This year, Bangladesh's overall score in these metrics is 4.53 out of 10.
China held its spot at the top in the overall ranking with the highest overall score of 8.31, followed by India, the UAE, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Syed Ershad Ahmed, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, said, "It's positive for business ecosystems. We made significant progress in digital readiness and domestic logistics. Now we need to focus on improving customs clearance with full automation facilities, warehouse development and management and temperature control logistics (TCL)."
"Improvement of logistics will help us to attract more FDI and in export diversification," he added.
Bangladesh's performance in the metrics
Bangladesh's overall performance was backed by its better performance in both domestic and international logistics opportunities metrics.
With a jump of four places, Bangladesh ranked 17th in domestic opportunities. This metric measures the performance of each emerging market and its potential to sustain and develop domestic demand that requires competitive logistics markets.
While the country moved up eight notches in the international logistics opportunities metric to rank 33rd. This metric measures internal and external demand for trade-intensive logistics services and the capacity of individual emerging markets to facilitate cross-border logistics operations.
China and India topped the domestic and international logistics metrics.
In the business fundamentals metric – which measures the openness, robustness, fairness and strength of each emerging market's business environment, rule of law and market independence – Bangladesh's rank remained unchanged at 44th position.
UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman again offered the best business conditions. Malaysia, with the 4th best environment for business, was the only non-Gulf country in the top five.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh slipped one step behind in the digital readiness metric to rank 35th. The metric measures each market's potential to emerge as a digitally-led, skill-rich, innovation-oriented and sustainable economy for the future.
Agility Vice Chairman Tarek Sultan, said, "Carriers and shippers are feeling the effects of higher energy prices, tight labour markets and broader inflation even though freight rates have fallen and ports have cleared cargo backlogs."


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In 2015, we announced the acquisition of MMM Group, one of the largest.
In 2012, WSP strengthened its presence in Colombia through the acquisition of.
Today (5 June) is World Environment Day, the United Nations’ initiative designed to encourage awareness and action for the.
Bogota officials say they’re protecting the people in the unauthorized Altos de la Estancia settlement. Residents say they.
Wegens toenemende officiële beperkingen op het verkeer tussen Colombia en.
Armenia/Pereira/Manizales, Salento, de nationale parken die op de websites.
Two and a half million residents. Four confirmed coronavirus deaths. As coronavirus cases surge in Latin America, the.
Official advice is to avoid non-essential travel and many will be forfeiting fortnights in the sun and European getaways for.
A growing number of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia displaced during the pandemic have set up a makeshift camp on a.
Market Cap Healthy $89.6b Does football need a salary cap, as suggested by FIFA president Gianni Infantino? The Sunday Supplement panel discuss the. Plasma therapy works with coronavirus patients: Egyptian health minister. EGX ends Wednesday in green, market cap. gains LE 6.6B . By: Hanan Mohamed. Wed, Mar. 25, 2020. CAIRO – 25 March 2020: The Egyptian Exchange (EGX)
This will direct you to the website of Winterhalter International Website. We also have a website for Winterhalter United States. Forward me to the website for.
15 Jun 2016.
BackgroundColombia began official surveillance for Zika virus disease (ZVD) in August 2015. In October 2015, an outbreak of ZVD was.
How I Predict Bitcoin’s Price By Tracking Twitter Mentions 4 Dec 2018. Especially the great fluctuations in price have attracted such attention. Social media platforms such as Twitter can be seen as a collective indicator of. Several authors argue that Bitcoins, consequently cryptocurrencies in. While we were assessing the above-mentioned literature, we came across a few. 01/08/2019 · Bitcoin and blockchain enthusiasts on twitter are
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Once again, and for the fourth time in a row, Colombia took first place in the Global Big Day, a bird counting competition.
Met deze heerlijke Colombiaanse gerechten en tips voor traditioneel Colombiaans eten weten wij zeker dat jij geen maaltijd overslaat in Colombia.


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Over a decade ago, chip and PIN technology was first rolled out in Europe and the UK. Its adoption was fast, and almost complete, with only a few merchants not accepting the new technology. And there are certain lessons that America can learn from the European adoption that could speed up its own adoption rate.
The Liability Shift began in 2005
In 2005, MasterCard began the Liability Shift, holding merchants liable for any card present transactions that were fraudulent, and Visa followed suit a year later. The reason for this was the EU-wide adoption of EMV chip and PIN cards. EMV stands for EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa, who first implemented the technology that embeds a microchip into the credit card to make payments more secure at retail locations and self-serve terminals. The technology meant a move away from magnetic strips, which could easily be “cloned” to a standard which required the customer to input a PIN into the terminal for authorization, instead of a signature.
Why was the roll out in Europe so successful?
So what lessons could be learned from the successful roll-out of EMV in Europe? Firstly, education is the key to any successful roll-out. In Europe, both consumer and retailer were given a mass of information surrounding the impending adoption and roll-out of EMV technology. Cardholders are a major part of the adoption strategy and must be educated properly on the uses and benefits of the EMV tech. And by educating the merchants in the benefits of EMV-enabled terminals – such as the reduced number of fraudulent transactions that can be processed in card present transaction – the European roll-out handled a lot of the major concerns of the retailers.
Another way the migration to EMV was achieved was by adopting rolling deadlines for different areas of the markets. By shifting the migration date incrementally, the card issuers showed the merchants what the cost would have been if the Liability Shift had already been implemented. The figures given included a breakdown of the merchant’s fraud liability would have been in comparison to the cost of upgrading their terminal and training their staff. The breakdown was given monthly to the merchants, which prompted many of them to make the move to EMV before the actual deadline came about.
Online and card not present fraud increased
However, despite the reduction in card present fraud in Europe, migration to EMV did little to stem the onslaught of online and card-not-present fraud. Fraud will never go away permanently. When one technology takes hold to stop fraud, the fraudsters soon find another avenue to commit their crimes. When educating cardholder, issuers need to be careful in “overselling” the security of benefits of EMV. And that can be more clearly seen in the recent Target breach, which could never have been prevented by EMV, since the attack was on the point-of-sale (POS) software itself, using memory-scraping malware
EMV is not omnipotent in protecting data
And it should be noted that EMV, even in the secure systems in Europe, is not infallible. Ross Anderson, a professor at Cambridge University, produced research results that showed EMV cards can be cloned – using a method called “chip-and-skim” attacks – and then used to commit card present fraud at the POS. As this makes it look like the cardholder was responsible for the transaction, it is hard to determine that it is fraud.
However, in Europe, this has yet to be seen, and card present transactions so far have been secure, which has prompted the normal move to other means of fraud for the criminals. EMV adoption in Europe triggered a move to online fraud and card-not-present fraud types. Online fraud activity saw a huge increase since 2006, and stolen EMV-enabled cards were used just as much as the magnetic strip type. And likewise, the incidents of card-not-present fraud increased dramatically as well. In the UK, the total fraud losses actually increased in the years immediately after the migration to EMV. Anderson explained that this was due to fraudsters “always being able to find the path of least resistance”.
PIN is more secure than signature
One definite advantage that Europe has had over the U.S. roll-out is the use of a PIN instead of a signature. The use of chip and PIN security may prove to be much more secure than the new American idea of chip and signature. With the remarkable ability of fraudsters to forge signatures, card present fraud may not match the drop it did in Europe. And when you add to that the merchant’s likelihood to actually match the signatures, it means that the security of EMV may well be compromised. While the U.S. use of signatures may be due to the idea that people will more easily forget their PINs, when faced with that option in the United Kingdom, the concern proved to be unfounded as the issue was not a major one after the migration occurred.
Expensive education costs in Europe
One of the downsides of the European migration was the cost of educating the consumers and merchants on how to use chip and PIN cards and terminals. In the UK the advertising was immense, and all available press and television outlets were used for this. In the U.S. it may cost less since people already know how to make a payment by card using a signature, and the only education needed is to ensure they remember to use the chip instead of the magnetic strip. However, despite being immensely costly, it proved to be a major factor in the success of the UK migration.
In Europe today, mobile payments and contactless card payments are fast becoming the trend, and the “1980s technology” of EMV, while still useful, is old spec. But, while mobile payments may be the next generation of payment solutions, EMV technology will still be a major factor in the protection of card use.
Related articles published in Mobile payment :
- Biometrics represents the key to safer mobile payments in the future
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- Compatibility is the key for new mobile payment apps


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By Saidou Baldeh
Stop Step Pharmacy, a retail and wholesale pharmaceuticals importer and Medicare Clinic, Tuesday donated consignment of medical products worth over D6M to the Ministry of Health.
The donated products are meant to help the ministry in its fight against the deadly Covid-19. The donated products include sanitizers, hand gloves and other medical items.
Speaking at the presentation held at the Kotu Central Medical store, the general manager Stop Step Pharmacy Mahawa Njie said the donation serves as the pharmacy’s contribution in the fight against Coronavirus.
“Covid-19 is a very serious disease that has caused a lot of havoc around the world and considering the spread of this pandemic, government alone cannot do it all. Fighting against this deadly pandemic requires all handson deck,” he said.
He continued: “This is why Stop Step Pharmacy and Medicare Clinic decided to put resource together to provide medical products to the Ministry of Health. We believe this donation will go a long way in helping the people of the Gambia.”
“We urge other individuals, companies to mobilise their efforts and help in the fight,” he added.
Musa Saine, logistics officer at the Ministry of Health assured the donors that the materials will be put into good use.
The acting director of health services, Musa Bittaye thanked the donors and called on other institutions to emulate Stop Step Pharmacy and Medicare clinic.


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File photo : Move Forward deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul
The adjustments to the digital wallet scheme, as proposed by an ad hoc sub-committee, are an indication that the government is encountering problems in securing the estimated Bt560 billion needed to fund it, Move Forward deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul said today (Thursday).
Even if the scheme is downsized to reach only those who are in need of the benefit, using means testing, the government will still need about Bt430 billion to fund the scheme for 43-49 million beneficiaries, instead of about 55 million as originally planned.
Again, even if the funding needed is cut to 430 billion baht, she said that there won’t be enough money in the national budget for the 2024 fiscal year, which means that the cost will have to be spread across four fiscal years, at about 100 billion baht a year.
The Move Forward party-list MP noted that, if the budget is spread over four years, many shops may not be interested in joining the scheme, because they may not receive cash refunds immediately and have to wait until the next fiscal year to be paid by the government for goods and/or services bought by the consumers.
She pointed out that the scheme may hit a dead end, because the government cannot get the required funding from state-run banks, due to budgetary constraints, adding that the scheme may require a complete overhaul if the original objectives cannot be achieved.
Sirikanya said that the government may, finally, choose the first option proposed, which is to limit the digital wallet scheme to low-income earners or those who hold state welfare cards, but this will not help stimulate the economy, as intended by the government.
She said that the most convenient option, to make implementation of the scheme possible, without worrying about budgetary constraints, is to issue an executive decree to allow the government borrow from financial institutions, similar to the decree which was promulgated during the COVID pandemic.
She noted a hitch in this option, however. An executive decree can be promulgated only in case of an emergency, otherwise the government may risk a political crisis for breaching the Constitution “which may be political suicide.”


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Myriant Opens Successful Start-Up At Bio-Succinic Acid Plant in Lake Providence, LA
June 18, 2013
Myriant Corporation, a global renewable chemicals company, announced the successful start-up at its flagship bio-succinic acid plant located in Lake Providence, Louisiana. Myriant has produced on-spec commercial product at the plant and the company anticipates that customer shipments will commence soon. Myriant’s bio-succinic acid plant is the first of its kind and scale in North America and has an annual nameplate production capacity of 30 million pounds of bio-succinic acid.
Myriant’s Lake Providence Commercial Facility is partially funded through a $50 million cost sharing cooperative agreement received from the United States Department of Energy (DOE), $25 million from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) B&I Loan Guarantee Program and a $10 million grant from the Lake Providence Port Commission and the Louisiana Department of Transportation.


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Buffer, a company considered one of the leaders in social media with a massive presence (think top 1 percent, unicorn status) made a shocking announcement recently.
In an update on the their blog, Buffer author Kevan Lee plainly states, “We as a Buffer marketing team — working on a product that helps people succeed on social media — have yet to figure out how to get things working on Facebook (especially), Twitter, Pinterest, and more.”
Somehow, some way, Buffer social media traffic has dropped to nearly half its social referral traffic over the last year.
The bottom seems to be falling out across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+:
Now, the figures are shocking, but Buffer’s openness about them is par for the course. They’ve long been trailblazers in corporate transparency, even publishing all of their salaries to the Web.
The Buffer team is running some experiments to try to determine the cause of this huge loss in social referral traffic, but I have a few ideas of my own on it:
1. It Could Be an Attribution Error
Facebook Mobile (which is essentially 80 percent of Facebook’s traffic) apparently doesn’t add UTM parameters. This means that some of that social traffic could potentially be mischaracterized as direct.
Google Analytics doesn’t really have a reason to make Facebook, Twitter or other social networks look great, so they have no big incentive to straighten this out.
2. The 72 Percent Drop in Google+ Traffic Seems Reasonable Without Having Done Anything “Wrong”
The biggest drop Buffer social media traffic has seen (by far) was in their Google+ traffic, which is down 72 percent over the last year. Honestly, we all know Google+ has had one foot in the grave, so long I wouldn’t even include it in a calculation of average traffic losses.
I checked our analytics and discovered that our Google+ referral numbers are actually similar to Buffer’s, despite the fact that I’ve maintained an active presence on Google+ both personally and for the company.
I’d be willing to bet that other companies are seeing similar results on Google+. It’s just not as active as it once was.
3. We’re Drowning in Crap Content
Organic social is so ridiculously competitive now, with an ever-increasing volume of content going after the same finite amount of attention. Even when you’re exceptional, the pool of other exceptional content creators is growing.
As Rand Fishkin said, “Buffer’s content in 2013/14 was revolutionary and unique. It’s stayed good, but competition has figured out some of what made them special.”
It’s actually a bit humbling that even companies like Buffer, whom so many of us look to for strategy on creating and promoting remarkable content, are also struggling with this.
4. Facebook/Twitter Ads Are Super Important
WordStream Facebook traffic grows every month at a really good clip — but yes, we’re spending money on Facebook Ads.
Sure, it’s a bummer that all of social isn’t free. But what the heck. Sometimes it’s nice be able to fix a problem by throwing money at it (it’s a pretty easy solution, actually).
Organic Facebook reach is just really pathetic now. If your only plan for getting people from Facebook to your website is to post things on your Page, you’re going to fail. You’ll get lucky sometimes. But for the most part, it doesn’t matter how awesome your content is. Facebook just doesn’t want to show it organically anymore. The Newsfeed is too busy.
The good news is that if you’re posting quality content and focusing on engagement, Facebook ads can be super cheap.
5. Organic Social Is a Hamster Wheel
With declining organic reach, there’s less of a snowball effect, like what you typically see in SEO, where a steady amount of effort produces increasing returns every month.
In truth, you have to work really, really hard on a continuous basis at organic social to move the needle even a little. Since old social posts just fall off the map, you pretty well have to double your efforts to double results, which is pretty hard to do when you’re already as big as Buffer.
In short, I definitely don’t think Buffer’s plummeting organic social traffic is the result of any lack of creativity or effort on their part. I reject Kevan Lee’s conclusions to that effect, as they’re obviously brilliant people and didn’t get where they are by sucking at social.
Personally, I think it has more to do with external factors and their need to adapt to them. In fact, I first thought, “What?! They don’t have a social media manager?!!” But then almost immediately afterward said to myself, “Don’t hire one now … put that money into your social ads budget instead.”
Best of luck to Buffer as they try to figure out their internal numbers, and kudos to them for sharing them in such an honest and forthright way. The whole industry will learn from their experience.
What do you think of the Buffer social media traffic loss?
Republished by permission. Original here.
Images: Buffer, Wordstream
More in: Content Marketing, Publisher Channel Content
I think this points out the danger of relying on organic traffic from any source because “organic” is almost entirely out of your control. Any platform, whether it’s Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. can change the algorithm at any time. Unless you’re a paying customer (which backs up your point about paid social) they have no reason to care how it affects you.
I agree. Unless you advertise in the platform itself, it is hard to qualify what real organic traffic is.


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Shared Pregnancy Women’s Center is excited to be hosting its annual fundraiser open house at the Grand Ledge Opera House. This year the silent auction will be both virtual and in-person. The auction opens for bidding online on Monday, April 17 at 12:00pm and will close at the in-person event on Thursday, April 20 at 8:30pm. It is FREE to attend and in addition to a fabulous silent auction there will be children’s activities, ice cream sundaes and a short award ceremony. All proceeds will be used to help moms and babies in the Lansing area with emotional and material support.
Click HERE to go to the auction site or download the Givi App.


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Dapper Labs is shifting its focus to mobile and is aiming to help Apple and Google improve their approach to NFTs and Web3.
NBA Top Shot, the officially licensed basketball NFT platform that has produced over than $1 billion in sales to date, is going mobile with the release of smartphone apps on Apple’s iOS App Store and Google’s Android Play Store.
The native apps aim to provide NBA Top Shot users with an easier way to access and purchase digital collectibles on the move. Yet for founder Dapper Labs, which invented the Flow blockchain and also runs platforms like as NFL All Day and UFC Strike, this is the first stage in the company’s shift into a mobile-first Web3 business.
“The NBA Top Shot app will really be the start of our move to be a mobile-first company,” Dapper Labs Senior VP of Sports Partnerships Jennifer van Dijk told Decrypt. She added that the move will let Dapper “lead the way in what mobile looks like in Web3, and continue our path of wanting to bring everybody to Web3.”
Dapper Labs is releasing a limited version of their app that allows users to view their own collection of NBA Top Shot NFTs, see platform activity, be notified of drops, and purchase a starter pack of NFTs. Apple’s 30% fee makes primary sales more expensive for mobile users, but throws a wrench into secondary market sales between users.
Van Dijk stated that Dapper is keeping this in mind as it develops and expands the Top Shot app, in addition to working closely with its sports league partners, Apple, and Google to determine the best course of action. When consumers purchase an NBA Top Shot starter pack through one of the mobile apps, the displayed pricing will include any applicable Dapper fees.
“When we present a price, that will include everything that would be taken out or managed by us on the back end, and the consumer will have that price,” she explained. “We’re committed also to keeping prices reasonable for fans and making them accessible.”
She pointed to the 100,000 Top Shot starter packs that sold out last week. These packs were based on LeBron James breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record, which James did. Each of these packs, which can be bought through the web interface, costs $9.
“We’re going to continue in that trend, as well, on the starter packs,” van Dijk added. “Maybe not $9, exactly, but reasonable and affordable.”
The idea is to expand the Top Shot mobile apps to allow peer-to-peer marketplace trades between users, notwithstanding Apple and Google’s in-app transaction fees. Apple and Google seem very interested in exploring this market with the proper partners and experiences, according to Van Dijk.
NBA Top Shot gets 75% of its traffic from mobile web, but buying and handling NFTs on a mobile browser is difficult.
Dapper Labs was one of the shining stars of the NFT boom in 2021 when Top Shot went popular, but it has struggled recently due to falling NFT sales. As NFT and cryptocurrency markets struggled, the Canadian firm laid off 22% of its employees in November.
As the Web3 market evolves, embracing mobile marks a new direction for the organization. The Top Shot app is the first step in “bridging the divide” between clunky Web3 experiences and a potentially much larger audience of smartphone users without simple access to NFT experiences.
She added that Dapper’s “hope for the future” is that the company and its partners can “over time, come together and figure out what evolves from here.”
“There’s no easy answers,” van Dijk said. “But I think that is also the ability for us to be good partners together, and come to those things together—instead of in any way trying to go around the rules or things like that. [We’ll] change together, evolve together, and I think we’ll get to a pretty good place.”
Content Source: decrypt.com
Cover Image Source: decrypt.com


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Jill Zmud, a musician from Ottawa, has launched a crowdfunding campaign for her new album on indiegogo and her perks to get donors to give their donations include her husband, CBC Radio host Alan Neal, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
San Francisco, California-based crowdfunding firm Crowdtilt launched an open source crowdfunding solution called Crowdtilt n that supports Bitcoin and allows anyone to start a campaign on their own websites.
KKT Interactive owner and Snap-pay.com co-founder Jim Rudnick has introduced a crowdfunding site which intends to help entrepreneurs in Hamilton, Ontario, The Hamilton Spectator reported.
Boston, US-based smart eyewear startup Laforge Optical launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise $80,000 for the testing and app development for its fashionable smart glasses called Icis.
Palo Alto, US-based Bluetooth controller ring maker Fin hit its $100,000 funding target on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, and now wants to stretch its goal to $150,000 to give visually impaired people a discounted price for the product.
Berkeley, US-based biotech startup Exogen Biotechnology turned to crowdfunding to raise money for its DNA damage measuring technology amid shortage of venture capitalists investing in biotech firms.
France has become friendlier with young firms as it substantially raises the limits of Kickstarter-like crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding campaigns of French startups to $1.4 million respectively each year, TechCrunch reported.
Fuel3D, the UK-based company that raised $300,000 on Kickstarter for its high resolution 3D scanner, has secured $2.6 million for its early stage funding round, TechCrunch reported.
Munich, Germany-based firm Bragi launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to build wireless smart earphones called The Dash, which has sensors that can track fitness activity and vital signs.
Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site, won the "Best Overall Startup" at the 2013 Crunchies, besting other tough contenders in the category which included Uber, CloudFlare, Snapchat and Twitter, TechCrunch reported.
Oregon, US-based startup bRight Switch launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise $115,500 for a prototype of a wall-fixed smart tablet that will replace the ordinary home light switch.
Ten billion shares of common stock were offered by bitcoin firm Bitcoin Kinetics on the website Cryptostocks, Quartz reported. The startup intends to make hardware that enables vending machines to accept payment in Bitcoin.
As crowdfunding continues to grow in popularity, its effect towards giving to more established and bigger charities have become a cause for concern among nonprofits, The New York Times reported.
San Francisco, US-based scientific research crowdfunding platform Experiment.com (formerly Microryza) opened its site to include independent scientists in the scientific communities that the firm supports.
Yobie Bejamin, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Citigroup, raised $1 million on via crowdfunding platform Kickstarter for hardware startup Avegant's new kind of headset called Glyph.
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The year’s been good to 20-year-old model Karlie Kloss. Between her new, grown-up haircut and her “House of Style” revival co-hosting gig, it seems the model has been everywhere in 2012 — including at the center of Photoshop scandal. But there is one place that we saw the model a lot this year that’s sure to make any agent happy — other than our best looks of the year list, that is — the pages of Vogue magazine.
Fashionista did the magazine math, and for the first time since 2009, the St. Louis native was the glossy’s most photographed face. Racking up covers for international editions from Australia to Germany, England, Italy, Korea, China, and Japan, the six-foot stunner edged out last year’s favorite Arizona Muse, as well as other frequent faces Toni Garrn and Kati Nescher. See you in 2013, ladies.


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Syngenta to sell vegetable seeds business and buy back shares
Swiss agricultural chemicals group Syngenta AG plans to buy back more than $2 billion worth of stock to boost shareholder returns after rejecting a takeover approach from Monsanto Co, selling its vegetable seeds business to fund the measure. The world's largest pesticides company is under pressure to offer tangible rewards to shareholders after it turned its back last week on a cash-and-shares bid from unwanted U.S. suitor Monsanto worth $47 billion at the time. The Swiss group will part with the most profitable of its seeds businesses, which has gross profit margins of well above 60 percent compared with about 45 percent for all seeds last year, complicating its efforts to widen group margins. However, finance chief John Ramsay said a sale was the best way to exploit the strength of that business: "We're not getting proper recognition either by the market or by Monsanto's approach for the fundamental value of our vegetable seeds assets"
Investors welcomed the share buyback decision, lifting Syngenta shares by 3.6 percent. With no alternative bidder on the horizon, analysts had speculated that a buyback could help to appease investors. Ramsay added there was also little point in combining vegetable seeds with their respective pesticides, as vegetable seeds were mostly grown in greenhouses with pesticides applied more precisely than on crops grown outdoors in fields. One of Syngenta's strategic principles since 2011 has been to develop and sell seeds in tandem with crop chemicals, but investors have been unimpressed by the results. Valuation multiples in vegetable seeds are "quite easily" in the 3-6 times sales range, the CFO said. With revenues of $650 million, that implies targeted proceeds of up to $3.9 billion that should easily pay for the share buyback. "Ultimately the two will wash out," he said.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts put the value of the business at between $1.6 and $2.4 billion. Bernstein analyst Jeremy Redenius estimated it could fetch more than $2.5 billion, adding that pressure from investors would not let up. "The 2018 targets (for the entire group) still look unachievable and selling the highest gross-margin seeds business makes them even more distant," he said. The company, however, expressed confidence in its 2018 margin goal of 24-26 percent and reiterated the full-year guidance for 2015 it gave in July. It said that the share repurchase programme, which it described as "initial", would commence in the coming weeks, with no change to its policy of increasing dividends .
Syngenta's Chairman Michel Demare had promised a thorough review of the company's product lineup after Monsanto walked away, and raised the prospect of taking a major investor on board.
CFO Ramsay specified that only if efforts to boost profitability and market share failed would the group be keen to seek outside partners.
Original article: http://www.reuters.com


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OPINION: Could the cost of superyacht berths be about to soar?
Price competition for superyacht berths, particularly at popular marinas, is likely to intensify, according to Ignacio Erroz, manager of OneOcean Port Vell (pictured).
Superyacht berths at Barcelona’s port on the Costa Brava coast are significantly less ‘costa’ than other berths at some of the more traditional luxury yacht locations.
That’s what Ignacio Erroz, manager of OneOcean Port Vell, told Superyacht Investor this week. Now, he obviously has a vested interest in trying to lure superyacht owners and operators away from the bright lights of the Côte d’Azur to his Barcelona port. But has he got a point? Does his claim imply a wider truth that the cost of superyacht berths at the most popular locations is about to soar?
There’s certainly evidence for the claim that demand for luxury yacht berths could soon outstrip supply. Under construction in yacht yards around the world is a large number of superyachts and the vessels needed to support them.
Luxury yachts bigger than 80 metres
Set against that, there is a limited number of berths at the most popular glitzy locations on the South coast of France and elsewhere. Competition for very large berths – for luxury yachts bigger than 80 metres in length – is thought to be particularly fierce.
This is not a new trend – but it could be about to intensify. There’s the story of a 30-metre berth in the South of France that cost £225,000 in the 1970s, which was then sold for £12 million in the 1990s, according to James Munn, sales and charter broker with Northrop & Johnson.
Sold for £12 million
Competitively priced luxury yacht berths are not the only attraction of OneOcean Port Vell, according to its manager. The Barcelona port is one of only a handful of European marinas allowing tax-free servicing for minor maintenance work, he claims. That is a big draw to non-EU superyachts undergoing repairs and maintenance – enabling their owners and operators to benefit from tax exemption on berth fees, works, supplies, tools, spare parts, and a selection of approved support services.
It’s unclear how the EU regards such incentives – particularly after its action to curb tax breaks offered by the Italian and Cypriot yacht sectors?
But we will leave navigating the murky waters of EU tax law and its impact on superyachts for another day!
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There are people online who love to hate on the Epic Games Store. They consider it as being unnecessary and separating them from their gaming friends with exclusives. They even talk about boycotting the store and not purchasing games that are only available there. However, Borderlands 3 and other games are showing the reality isn’t so cut and dry.
Actual Borderlands 3 data hasn’t come in yet, so all we have to go by is Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford’s word. He said on Twitter, “Fun Fact: On PC, the data is that the launch day peak concurrent players of Borderlands 3 is about *twice-as-high* as the all time peak concurrent players of Borderlands 2 . WOW! You guys are great!” Could this be true? Probably. Borderlands 2 came out in 2012, when Steam and digital gaming wasn’t as big as it is now. This installment was very much anticipated. Let’s go ahead and just stick with yes. Borderlands 3 is an unquestionable success.
But, Borderlands 3 isn’t an outlier. This is happening with other games that are exclusive to the PC retailer. Metro Exodus is an example. It was an Epic Games Store exclusive on the platform. At GDC 2019, Deep Silver and Epic confirmed it sold two and a half times as many copies on Epic Games Store compared to the number of copies of Metro: Last Light on Steam. This was for the same launch period.
Yes, there are other factors to consider. Metro Exodus benefited from being the third game in a series. It was established. There was a lot of hype leading up to its release. Also, it was getting a lot of attention for being an Epic Games Store title, and most publicity is good publicity. We also have to consider that digital gaming is far more prevalent in 2019, when Metro Exodus was released, than in 2013 when Metro Last Light debuted. (You could even still buy that PC game on a DVD!) But, sales are sales.
This is even applying to indie games. Given the size of Steam and lack of curation, things can get lost. Coffee Stain Studios is a rather big name indie developer, thanks to Goat Simulator. It made Satisfactory an Epic Games Store exclusive. As a result, it had the best launch out of all of its games. In three months, 507,374 copies were sold. Maybe that’s because it stood out more in a less populated store. Perhaps it is because Coffee Stain Studios is a bigger name now. Or, it could just be that the idea of Epic Games Store boycotts and outrage is all bluster.
People like to act indignant about change. They’ll claim that they are boycotting things. But, we’ve been seeing the opposite. Actions are speaking louder than words. Borderlands 3 had a hugely successful launch. Metro Exodus didn’t suffer from being an exclusive. Indies like Satisfactory are performing well. There could be other factors, sure. But, it could also be that all that boycott talk is just that: talk. Competition is out there. And now, maybe we’ll see better prices and incentives for consumers since it seems people are still buying.


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This year the Berlinale Film Festival and European Film Market made the Horizon section bigger and VR is a substantial part of it: VR Cinema at Marriott, VR NOW conference, VR Lounge at Berlinale Africa Hub with several discussions worth taking part on the current state of Cinematic VR.
The way how stories are told changes constantly. A new technology, or the rise of a new medium also alters forms of storytelling and audience expectations. One of the greatest changes in storytelling comes with immersive media – Virtual Reality and 360 video. The EFM VR NOW Summit at the Berliner Freiheit demonstrates how film, television and immersive media are all coming together.
While the 2018 EFM Horizon edition showed that VR is continuously evolving into a viable section of filmmaking, the previous edition highlighted the transformation of VR from challenged to established art form and audience-accepted medium. In the upcoming 2020, VR NOW Summit is excited to follow up VR’s latest developments in reach, monetisation and much more.
Get excited about how entertainment is advancing today, get inspired by fantastic stories and opinions of international VR figureheads, and connect with content creators, producers and IP owners from both worlds.
360 VR Screenings
The 360° VR Screenings will be presented at the new screening venue “EFM VR Cinema”. Thanks to our cooperation partner INVR, who will be providing the latest Oculus Rift technology, VR content can be presented under ideal conditions. The EFM VR Cinema is located right next to Berliner Freiheit within convenient walking distance from the Marriott Hotel.


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Although marketers are unsure of how they will be affected, they are concerned that ad claims will have to be more conservative and they may be vulnerable to lawsuits.
In the past, the lack of ad regulation encouraged many marketers to use blatant puffery and sometimes outright lies about product perfomance and, without legal protections, consumers often found themselves vulnerable. The Consumer Foundation R.O.C., Taiwan's largest organized consumer group, in fact, processed more than 50,000 consumer ad complaints last year.
That may change, however, as the government issued new regulations in January that give consumers more recourse than ever before regarding false ad claims. Meetings to determine "follow-up regulations," designed to clarify questions and establish guidelines, start this week but won't be complete for at least six months.
"It's hard to tell how much impact the law has on us [yet]," said James S. Chen, assistant general manager of Kaulin Mfg., an industrial sewing machine manufacturer.
Outlining general principles about product liability, the regulations would hold marketers liable for compensation for defective goods and services even if there is no negligence. Earlier, negligence had to be proved.
Of most concern to marketers, however, is the new rule that marketers must insure the acccurancy of ads and that advertising will now be considered "an invitation to contract" rather than a "solicitation."
Legal experts said that means that whatever marketers now claim in ads becomes part of a contract if a consumer accepts the offer in the ad by buying a product. Advertisers, legally obligated to make sure that promises are carried out, would face a fine of up to three times the consumers' claimed damage.
Previously, Taiwan's civil law stated that advertising is only a "solicitation to contract," which meant advertisers had no legal responsibility for its ad claims, even false or exaggerated ones.
For the first time, registered consumer organizations are also now authorized to inspect products, judge the accuracy of ad claims and make public announcements if the products are found defective or dangerous to public health. They may also seek collective damages.
Introducing product liability without a clear definition could result in a lot of unnecessary lawsuits, said Kuo Young-Hsiung, assistant secretary-general of the Chinese National Federation of Industry.
Toyota Fon-Tien Motor Co. also thinks the law will result in more conservative ad claims.
President Co., a major food advertiser, believes mounting bills for compensation, lawsuits and liability insurance will hurt profits, forcing retail price hikes.


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No "Soft Landing" Is Possible For An Economy Already In Recession
The Only Operative Question Is How Hard Will The Crash Be?
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has drunk way too much of the Wall Street Kool-Aid, and now thinks the Federal Reserve will engineer a “soft landing” for the US economy with its fight against persistent consumer price inflation.
“I see a soft landing as being a possible outcome and the one that I hope we will be able to achieve,” Yellen said. “The economy is fundamentally in good shape, and inflation is coming down if you measure it on a 12-month basis.”
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard expressed similar opinions after chugging a similar amount of Wall Street Kool-Aid.
Bullard at a conference in Columbia University, New York, said that a “soft landing is feasible in the U.S. if the post-pandemic regime shift is executed well.” He shared a similar level of optimism earlier this year.
Both get their “soft landing” optimism from their misguided belief that the US Economy is strong and robust, rather than weak and stagnating.
First, we must understand what economists mean by a “soft landing”, as opposed to a “hard landing.”
A “soft landing” occurs when a country’s central bank raises rates just enough to bring or keep inflation under control, and manages to only slow the economy down as opposed to tipping it into a recession.
A soft landing, in economics, is a cyclical slowdown in economic growth that avoids recession. A soft landing is the goal of a central bank when it seeks to raise interest rates just enough to stop an economy from overheating and experiencing high inflation, without causing a severe downturn. Soft landing may also refer to a gradual, relatively painless slowdown in a particular industry or economic sector.
Similarly, a “hard landing” is just the opposite scenario: a country’s central bank raises interest rates too high too fast and tips the economy into a significant if not severe recession.
A hard landing refers to a marked economic slowdown or downturn following a period of rapid growth. The term "hard landing" comes from aviation, where it refers to the kind of high-speed landing that—while not an actual crash—is a source of stress as well as potential damage and injury. The metaphor is used for high-flying economies that run into a sudden, sharp check on their growth, such as a monetary policy intervention meant to curb inflation. Economies that experience a hard landing often slip into a stagnant period or even recession.
For obvious reasons, it is the objective of every central bank head—including Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell—to engineer soft landings when tinkering with monetary policy. A prevailing strain of thought both in Washington and on Wall Street is that Powell might actually succeed in guiding the US economy to a soft landing.
Some even flirt with the possibility that the US economy will manage to avoid any sort of slowdown or recession at all—a “no landing” scenario.
The risk is a “no landing” scenario, which would mean more downside for U.S. stock and credit markets because it will force the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rate higher than market participants or central bankers currently expect, said Torsten Slok, chief economist and partner at Apollo Global Management, in a phone interview on Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy and bring down inflation are often likened to landing a jumbo jet, with economists and Fed officials frequently talking of the effort to achieve a “soft landing” as opposed to a “hard landing.” A “no landing” scenario implies that an economic slowdown can be avoided or at least delayed, though with the risk of a later reckoning as the Fed continues tightening monetary policy.
The benefits of this scenario are problematic, however, as it necessarily implies that the Fed continues to tighten and raise interest rates indefinitely.
Other economic observers argue that, as the economy is already slowing down, the “no landing” option is already off the table.
So all good and its back to the brandy, eh? Perhaps not. The macro news has indeed given some cause for cheer relative to some of the more dour scenarios we’ve been looking at in the past few months. We’ll take the best unemployment rate since before the 1969 moon landing, for sure. But “no landing” is a misleading sentiment. The economy is starting to slow down – that is evident from the vast majority of corporate management calls we’ve been tracking this earnings season. It’s a question of when, not if.
Certainly there are plenty of reasons to doubt both the “no landing” and the “soft landing” outcomes.
For starters, household debt is at a record $16.9 Trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve Quarterly Report on Household Debt And Credit.
At the same time, delinquency rates are increasing for nearly all forms of household debt.
These high debt loads, the service of which is increasingly problematic, have been fueling a large portion of nominal retail sales growth during the past year, but the bulk of that growth has been due to inflation.
Whether the economic slowdown turns into a recession or not, and if so for how long, depends mainly on consumer spending as that single metric accounts for nearly 70 percent of total GDP. When we look at where companies have been showing sales growth for the past twelve months, much of it has come from pricing power. Sales is a function of volume and price; how many units of something you sell, and at what price. For many companies especially in the consumers goods space, that function has largely gone as follows: we sold fewer units but we sold them at higher prices, so the net effect was that our sales grew. Customers happily (or maybe grudgingly but still willingly) paid whatever price was on tap.
As a direct consequence, real sales ex inflation have been either flat or declining throughout 2022.
Moreover, those high debt loads mean an increasing proportion of retail sales have been funded with debt. This is the inevitable consequence of the relative growth in credit card debt exceeding the relative growth in retail sales for all of 2022.
Unfortunately for vendors, delinquency rates are increasing along side the debt.
Eventually, rising delinquencies must choke off inflation-fueled increases in sales, even if nothing else is done to alter the economic outlook (e.g., raising interest rates).
These trends are strong arguments that there will be a “landing” for the US economy, and it will not be a soft one.
It is data such as this that has led one Wall Street economist, David Rosenberg, to conclude the “no landing” scenario is nothing but a “hoax”.
Rosenberg also argues the economy is already in recession.
As readers of this Substack already know, that the US economy is experiencing an ongoing and worsening stagflationary recession is an argument I have made more than once.
Moreover, in a white paper presented at the US Monetary Policy Forumon February 24, economists Stephen G. Cecchetti, Michael E. Feroli, Peter Hooper, Frederic S. Mishkin, and Kermit L. Schoenholtz argue central banks have never successfully tamed consumer price inflation without causing a significant recession.
What do history and a simple model teach us about the prospects for central bank efforts to lower inflation to target from recent multi-decade highs? To answer this question, we start by analyzing the large disinflations that occurred since 1950 in the United States and several other major economies. Then, we estimate and simulate a standard model over several time periods, using various linear and nonlinear measures of labor market slack. We draw three main lessons from the analysis: (1) there is no post-1950 precedent for a sizable central-bank-induced
disinflation that does not entail substantial economic sacrifice or recession; (2) regardless of the Phillips curve specification, models estimated over a historical period that includes episodes of high and variable inflation do a better job of predicting the post-pandemic inflation surge than those estimated over the stable inflation period from 1985 to 2019; and (3) simulations of our baseline model suggest that the Fed will need to tighten policy significantly further to achieve its
inflation objective by the end of 2025. Going forward, our analysis supports a return to a strategy of preemptive policy. We also argue that raising the Fed’s inflation target is a misguided alternative to incurring the sacrifice needed to achieve the 2 percent target.
The Cecchetti white paper is important because the research team looked at disinflation scenarios beyond those in the US, and no central bank in any of the countries scrutinized made significant disinflation happen without a significant recession along the way. Disinflation via recession is the historical norm.
Thus the current data and the history of central banking since WW2 come together to issue a compelling rebuttal to Janet Yellen’s “soft landing” optimism.
Against that history especially, the prevailing rebuttal by the Federal Reserve is little more than “this time is different.”
That was the explicit conclusion of Federal Reserve Governor Phillip Jefferson in his responseto the Cecchetti white paper.
The current situation is different from past episodes in at least four ways. First, the pandemic created unprecedented disruptions to global supply chains. Second, the pandemic is having a long-lasting effect on labor force participation rates. Third, the credibility of the central bank is higher now than it was in the 1960s and 1970s. Fourth and most importantly, unlike in the late 1960s and 1970s, the Federal Reserve is addressing the outbreak in inflation promptly and forcefully to maintain that credibility and to preserve the "well anchored" property of long-term inflation expectations.
Moreover, one point cannot be stressed often enough: Recession is the ultimate goal of the Federal Reserve’s strategy of interest rate increases, and always has been. Janet Yellen might choose to overlook this reality, but we know this because Federal Reserve officials, such as Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin, have said as much quite explicitly.
However, further on down, Barkin said the quiet part out loud about what “whatever it takes” really means (emphasis mine).
Barring an unanticipated event, I see rising rates stabilizing any drift in inflation expectations and in so doing, increasing real interest rates and quieting demand. Companies will slow down their hiring. Revenge spending will settle. Savings will be held a little tighter. At the same time, supply chains will ease; you have to believe chips will get back into cars at some point. That means inflation should come down over time — but it will take time.
Let that bit sink in. The reason rate hikes “work” to cure inflation is that rising interest rates make the cost of credit (aka, the “cost” of money) too high for consumers to utilize. Consumers are forced to spend less. Along the way, a few jobs are wiped out, a few workers are laid off, and eventually prices come down.
Fed Chairman Jay Powell himself delivered substantially that same message at last year’s Jackson Hole symposium.
The way interest rate hikes tame inflation has always been by triggering a recession. That is exactly how the process works. That is how the process worked during Paul Volcker’s tenure as Fed Chair and that is exactly what the Federal Reserve has stated time and again. Contrary to Fed Governor Phillip Jackson’s rather pollyannish belief, this time is no different than the last.
Even if the history of disinflation episodes offered some encouragement for the “soft landing” scenario, that option is confounded by the reality that the Federal Reserve has lost whatever control over consumer price inflation it ever had.
The Federal Reserve’s strategy of rate hikes has been losing forward momentum even on interest rates—its increases in the Federal Funds Rate have since November produced only minimal upward movement on Treasury bills.
Even if the economy were not already in a recession, and even if the Federal Reserve were not actively planning on causing a significant and severe contraction in the economy, we would still be staring at a “hard landing” outcome simply because the Fed does not have a handle on its own strategy.
How much harder the landing then, given that the economy already is in recession, and the Federal Reserve is actively planning on making that recession worse?
Barring a miracle, we may be confident of this much: the US economy is heading for a very hard landing, in the form of a deep and potentially long-lasting recession.
It is pointless to talk of a “soft landing” for the economy, of somehow avoiding a recession, when the Fed insists on a recession. It is absolutely silly to speak of avoiding a recession when the economy is already in recession.
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Greenwald, I. Soft Landing: Definition and History in Economics. Investopedia. 17 Nov. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/softlanding.asp.
Chen, J. Hard Landing. Investopedia. 26 Apr. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hardlanding.asp.
Quarterly Report On Household Debt And Credit. New York Federal Reserve. Feb. 2023, https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html.
Cecchetti, S. G., et al. Managing Disinflations. US Monetary Policy Forum, New York, 24 Feb. 2023. Conference Presentation. http://www.chicagobooth.edu/research/igm/USMPF/USMPF%20Paper.
Jefferson, P. N. Speech by Governor Jefferson on Discussion of the Paper “Managing Disinflations.” US Monetary Policy Forum, New York, 24 Feb. 2023. Conference Presentation. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/jefferson20230224a.htm.


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Google has mandated all apps selling digital goods to use Google Play’s billing system from Jan 2021
India startups have criticised the move and are exploring the possibility of a ‘Made In India’ app store
Play Store commissions are priced the same standard rate as other existing app stores
Earlier this week, Google officially joined Apple and Epic Games’ battle on platform monopoly. In a recent payments policy clarification, Google said that all developers selling digital goods in their apps must use Google Play’s billing system (from Jan 2021). Like Apple, Google too levies a 30% commission on all the Play Store distributed apps that use the native billing system.
The mandatory use of Google Play billing would apply to purchase of virtual items, subscription services (such as fitness, game, dating, education, music, and video), ad-free version of an app, data storage services, business productivity software, and financial management software. This has naturally rankled a few feathers and many Indian tech startups are now considering the possibility of moving away from Google Play and setting up an alternative app store.
While App Store’s commissions were not a big concern for Indian companies given the low market share for Apple devices in India, the commissions on Google Play Store have attracted considerable backlash from tech startups given that Android accounts for over 95% of the smartphone user base in India. Plus, most of these Android smartphones come with Google Play Store pre-installed and rely on Google services for optimal functioning.
“I think it is impossible for a digital company to move out from the Play Store. I don’t think we will do that, we have 1.5 Mn subscribers on our Android app. Having said that, 30% commission is too much and we cannot afford it as a company,” said Gaurav Garg, cofounder of edtech startup StudyIQ, which claims to have a sustainable business with 30% profit margin.
Things could get way more darker for companies that have not yet hit profitability and are selling at zero margin in hope to expand the customer base. Giving 30% commission to Google Play would mean taking a 30% hit on the EBITDA, thereby worsening profitability.
Ravi Mittal, founder and CEO of dating app QuackQuack, told us that the repercussions of this payment policy will be huge for digital startups. “Majority of our users are on Android and enforcing Google Play billing will have a huge impact on our margins and user’s ability to pay,” he said.
Mittal added that while QuackQuack can offer a plethora of payment options since payments are so fragmented in India, Google Play doesn’t have such versatility which will further lead to a drop in revenue. In India, Google Play allows purchase of paid apps through credit/debit cards — MasterCard, Visa, and Visa Electron supported and Maestro and Rupay not supported — netbanking, UPI and carrier billing (added to the postpaid bill). In case of in-app purchases too, the same options are available, but that does not hold true for recurring payments for subscriptions, where apps have to use credit card or debit card billing, with UPI also supporting this recently, but hardly any apps are using UPI for subscriptions currently.
Vaibhav Vasa, director of a SaaS company Biz Analyst, which offers enterprise tech applications and services to SMBs said, “SaaS module companies in India have a less margin on the app pricing, so if we have to pay an additional 30% to Google, this increase in cost will directly impact SMBs or the end customers.”
Study IQ’s Garg also said that one of the ways to deal with the 30% commission is to increase the price of its courses.
The Hunt For Google Play Alternatives
While Android has supported third-party app stores from the very beginning and also allows users to install apps without an app store, these alternatives are far from ideal for startups, given the reach and ease-of-access provided by the Play Store.
The alternatives for Android users include the likes of Xiaomi’s Mi Store, Samsung Galaxy Store, Huawei AppGallery or Indus OS. Or they could bypass all stores and establish a massive brand presence which attracts sideloaded installs (like Dream11, MPL and others have done).
However, founder of a fantasy gaming company Fantasy Akhada, Amit Purohit noted that currently, a lot of users become circumspect about downloading an app if it is not available on Google Play Store. Further, he also agreed that the customer acquisition cost of fantasy gaming apps would come down if they were allowed to be listed on the Google Play Store which is essentially a gateway to majority of smartphones (android) in India.
While, established companies like Amazon, Tinder, Netflix can still afford to drive subscriptions through their websites — it would be a humongous task for early-stage startups, novice developers and apps. It may even be feasible for edtech companies to drive subscriptions with their already established web presence, but the discovery of new and smaller games, fitness and dating apps is still largely driven by the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Ever since Google’s clarification, many Indian startups have called out for an Indian app store to replace the duopoly of Google and Apple. According to TechCrunch, more than 150 Indian companies are working towards forming an alliance for an Indian app store and cut India’s reliance on Google Play Store. Interestingly, another report by ET Now has claimed that Indian government is also planning to launch a domestic app store and wants to make it mandatory for it to be pre-installed on all Android phones in India.
The dating company, QuackQuack is also considering moving its app distribution out of the Play Store and is also working on creating a channel for direct app downloads, which it acknowledges, won’t be an easy feat.
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“We need an India focused or alternative app store which can break the monopoly and arbitrary rules of Google and Apple which is affecting and going to affect all digital startups – small or big alike,” said QuackQuack’s Mittal.
Similar to Apple, Google has also prohibited apps from leading users to other payment methods through in-app promotions, app descriptions, or in-app interface flows. Which means, play-distributed apps will have to email users or advertise on other channels about their alternative payment options.
To circumvent these restrictions, Netflix does not allow users to sign up for subscriptions on the iOS app. “You can’t sign up for Netflix in the app. We know it’s a hassle. After you’re a member, you can start watching in the app,” the app tells new users. Subscription-driven digital media company Ken also shows a similar message to new users on their android app.
Post the enforcement of Google Play Store billing policy, such messages could become a part of many more subscription-based applications.
The Need To Make Money
However, there is an important caveat here — at the end of the day, any app store or marketplace has to make money, whether it is India-focussed or not. If this ‘Made In India’ app store does not charge commission from the apps, it will have to solely depend on ads for revenue.
“They [alternatives] may likely resort to showing ads, or alternative options like promoted apps, which the not so sophisticated users of ‘Bharat’ wouldn’t be able to distinguish from others. Eventually, hurting the smaller developers, the ones who can’t invest in marketing and ads as much as the behemoths,” Navin Madhavan, VP at adtech unicorn InMobi, tweeted in his personal capacity.
However, the same can be said for any kind of paid marketing campaign, so it does not really change the reality much.
“I hate to say this, but I think Google isn’t entirely at fault here. They provided the distribution, built a fairly neutral app store that benefits apps through organic loops, algorithms, and invested a lot in building this and they need to make money. But, the ecosystem’s ask for Google to consult them on changes and that 30% is too high for a market like India is a fair one” Madhavan added.
According to Google, the Play Store service commission covers everything from security updates to an array of developer tools for building and maintaining a global app marketplace. In addition to this, Google Play also enables user discovery and developer growth by curating relevant recommendations. “In fact, our investment in the curation process for the Google Play Store accounted for over 46% of all installs on the Google Play Store in 2018,” the big tech company noted.
Google also added that it removes 99% of the malicious apps before anyone can install them. However, fake versions of popular apps are a common sight on the Google Play Store, so it’s not like Google has a 100% record in this matter.
In terms of publishing cost on Google Play, developers have to pay a one-time fee of $25 to create a developer account, post which they can publish any number of apps on the Play Store. Which is way cheaper than the $99 annual fee that developers have to pay for publishing apps on Apple’s App Store.
Are We Discounting The Benefits Of Google Play Store?
Drawing a parallel to other ecosystems, Rajesh Sawhney, cofounder of InnerChef also noted that restaurants also have to pay a similar 30% cut to food aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy. Ola and Uber drivers pay a 20%-25% commision to the ride aggregators. In a physical commerce space too, B2C brands pay a cut to the offline stores that sell their products.
There are also developers who believe that Google Play Store is the fastest and cheapest way to distribute a new app in India. Roby John cofounder of social gaming app SuperGaming and five-year old game development company June Gaming, said, “This route fetches most organic users for us. We have had over 150 Mn organic installs of our games on Google Play in our previous games.”
John claims that other distributions systems are even worse and could be unstructured in requiring fees or hidden costs to be paid for user acquisition. “If I was to get on a third party app store, things are not so well distributed. I have practical experience of this, since I used to run on the Airtel Wynk Games Store earlier,” he added.
Further, commenting on the option of investing towards building a prominent brand presence to attract users and convince them to do a sideloaded install (through an APK file on Android), John said, this is quite expensive. Plus on the Play Store, good apps and developers get noticed through organic promotions by Google.
That being said, John acknowledged that 30% is a significant cut and he hopes that there is a reduction in Google’s commission percentage over time.
On the other hand, Arvind Gupta, head and cofounder of Digital India Foundation believes that the issue at hand, is about lack of choice and monopoly. Google has an unfair advantage, because it owns the core experience of Android through Google Mobile Services, the Play Store and is also an app developer that competes with Indian startups.
QuackQuack’s Mittal compared payment gateway’s charges to Google Pay billing and said that 30% is a hefty commission in comparison to around 2% TDR charged by other payment gateways. “It’s a clear monopoly which needs to be addressed by the law of the land. This will nip the bud for any innovation in the digital startup ecosystem and affect all kinds of industries ranging from dating, education, consulting, fitness, and many more,” he added.
The Omnipresent Platform Fees
While the question of whether a 30% commission by Google is justified may not have an immediate answer, the reality is that alternatives may not exactly help startups. Most including Samsung Galaxy Store, Amazon Appstore, Apple App Store charge 30% on purchases. Even in the case of open source Android app store Aptoide, the commission rate is 25% (shared between Aptoide’s telco partner and Aptoide). Interestingly, in China where Google Play is not available, the commissions charged by alternative Android app stores often go as high as 50%.
Platform fees or commissions are not exclusive to app stores. Every other online marketplace or content distribution platform charges stakeholders for the services and technology support that they provide. Twitch charges a 50% subscription fee and a cut of advertising, YouTube takes 45% of adsense revenue from channels, Patreon charges 5% -12% commission and similarly SubStack too charges a 10% subscription fee from creators.
That’s the harsh reality of our times, either you build a brand recognisable enough to drive organic traction or you pay an aggregator or platform like Google Play Store to drive that organic reach. Even with the Indian government and startup alliance launching their own app store, it will be a tall task to match the global reach that Google Play Store and other popular app stores offer new tech products.


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Eight over 80 2017: Walter D. Mueller, 89
May 8, 2017
By Chuck Soder
View original article
As a kid, every Sunday after church, Walter D. Mueller and the rest of his family would pile into their old Dodge sedan and make stops at gas stations all over town.
Those gas stations bought tires from his father’s company: Mueller Tire. So each week, his dad would pay them a visit. But he wasn’t just trying to sell more tires: He was making friends.
All the while, his son was paying attention. Today, that boy is 89 years old. He’s been working for the family business â€” which is now called Dealer Tire â€” for roughly 75 years. But he has not forgotten the lessons he learned from his father, Walter J. Mueller, so many years ago.
His dad genuinely enjoyed running the business, meeting new people and helping others in any way he could. Those traits rubbed off on his son in large quantities.
“The business was built on friendships, customer relationships â€” one on one,” Mueller said.
Today, his sons Dean and Scott run Dealer Tire, a tire distribution company that employs roughly 450 people in Northeast Ohio alone. But their father still keeps an office at the company’s new headquarters on Euclid Avenue, where he regularly entertains visitors. And if any of those visitors are kids, they usually walk out with a $5 bill.
He was generous in other ways back when he was running Mueller Tire, which owned a regional chain of tire stores before the family sold the retail business to Tire Kingdom in 2002.
Mueller said he was willing to hire people who really needed a job, even if they didn’t have a sparkling resume. He occasionally hired homeless people and let them sleep in the shop.
Years ago, Dean Mueller would get frustrated when his dad would hand an employee in need some extra cash, but these days he sees things differently.
“You don’t see that very often. That’s special,” he said.
Walter D. Mueller never thought about doing anything else in life. He started working for the company in his teens, sweeping floors, changing tires and doing odd jobs. Eventually his father taught him how to balance the books and work with customers.
Mueller spent two years in the Army after World War II ended, serving in South Korea. He got on a boat to head home just as the Korean War was starting.
“And I thought, oh boy, they’re going to turn the ship around â€” we’re all going back. But for some reason they didn’t,” he said.
Shortly thereafter, Mueller earned a business administration degree from Mount Union and went back to work for the family business.
“It was just a natural thing … I never questioned it. I just knew it was going to be my life,” he said.
He says he never pushed his sons to join the business, but he’s glad they did. He’s always enjoyed the goodwill and the atmosphere that came from being part of a family company (a company that now has well over $1 billion in annual revenue).
He also enjoys spending time with friends and reading newspapers and history books (reading anything, really). He exercises regularly, and he’s thinking about getting back into tennis.
One of his favorite sayings is “keep moving” â€” so don’t expect him to retire anytime soon.
“It just isn’t for me. I’ve worked all my life,” he said


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Nintendo Switch data-miners have delved into Super Mario Odyssey files and discovered a bunch of new unreleased costumes. These costumes are planned to be released at later dates.
According to the data-miners, these files have already been downloaded by players and have been implemented into the game but have been blocked by Nintendo servers.
We can assume that based on some of the costumes titles and descriptions that costumes such as the Santa outfit will be released at their respective times. What also could be speculated is that some of the costumes that don't have a respective event will be added in with a new mini-game or even a new kingdom, this is not confirmed as of yet but just a guess towards how Nintendo will release some of these very cool costume ideas.
- > NEXT STORY: Mulaka receives a trailer with its debut to the Switch
- < PREVIOUS STORY: Blizzard teases Diablo 3 coming to the Nintendo Switch


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Surge in consumer credit dims rate cut hopes
Saturday 01 June 1996
A pounds 1bn rise in consumer credit, driven by a surge in credit card spending during April, was well in excess of expectations. Most analysts had pencilled in growth of about pounds 700m. They said the rise pointed to much faster economic growth in the second half of the year.
"Overall this is a pretty unambiguous signal that consumers are feeling more confident about the future," said Jonathan Loynes, economist at HSBC Markets. He thought the figures showed Budget tax cuts, which took effect in April, had quickly made themselves felt in people's pockets.
In the currency markets, dealers said a well-covered gilt auction on Wednesday, and yesterday's strong credit numbers, had fuelled buying interest in sterling. The pound reached $1.55 and DM2.36 in London, continuing its recent surge against the dollar (up more than 3 cents over the past two days) and the mark (up 2 pfennigs in the same period.).
Analysts agreed that the credit data more or less guaranteed there would be no cut in interest rates at next Wednesday's monthly monetary meeting between the Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, and Eddie George, Governor of the Bank of England.
HSBC's Adam Cole added: "The April consumer credit data are further evidence that we are on the verge of a veritable boom in consumer spending.
"Against a background of falling taxes and rising income, one might have expected consumers to borrow less. Quite the opposite is happening, suggesting the acceleration in consumer spending goes beyond simply the arithmetic of recent tax cuts and windfall gains."
HSBC believes that the Chancellor's forecast of 3.5 per cent consumer spending growth this year, which was slated as hopelessly optimistic last November, looks increasingly plausible.
Spending would be underpinned by continuing recovery in the housing market, which was confirmed yesterday by a 1.4 per cent year-on-year rise in Nationwide Building Society's house price index and another rise in mortgage commitments in April. Figures from Halifax on Monday are expected to show a rise of up to 4 per cent in its own, larger index.
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