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Garment brands and retailers around the world have responded to the lockdowns and economic insecurity caused by the pandemic by cutting down on or fully cancelling their orders with suppliers. This means that workers were left unpaid or with less than their full wages or even lost their jobs. Because of their excessive power in global supply chains, brands and retailers can set the terms and prices in the factories they produce in and basically function as principal employers. Their measures to save money and decrease business risks in the face of a pandemic have created a situation in which workers pay the price for this crisis.
In several countries, governments have officially allowed factories to pay their workers only 50-60% of the poverty wages they were receiving before the pandemic. Many other workers were left without wages or jobs even though governments urged factories not to fire workers and keep paying them in full. Worker protests against wage cuts and dismissals at factories have happened continuously since March. In Cambodia, unions have even started a national campaign to recoup the withheld wages and bonuses from the brands sourcing from the country.
In a report published last month, Clean Clothes Campaign calculated that just for the first three months of the pandemic garment workers in global supply chains are owed between 3.2-5.8 billion USD in unpaid wages, legally owed bonuses, and compensation. The Clean Clothes Campaign network urges apparel brands and retailers to commit to a wage assurance: a public commitment to ensure, by the most efficient means, that the workers in their supply chains are paid what they are owed and to enter into negotiations to establish a fund that will make sure workers can no longer be left jobless without their legally owed severance. The “Pay Your Workers” campaign launched today focuses on H&M, Primark, and Nike - three of the brands that most frequently appeared in reports from workers about worker rights violations during the pandemic -, but the call to take responsibility is directed at all garment brands and retailers with outsourced production. Over a dozen brands have already committed to ensuring their workers are paid in full during the pandemic, including Nile, Kuyichi, Taiyo, and Known Supply. It is up to bigger companies to follow suit.
“This campaign targets some of the wealthiest apparel supply chains in the world. These brands have made profits for decades on the basis of poverty wages and outsourced responsibility without contributing to any form of social protection in garment producing countries. Our campaign aims to reclaim funds for the workers, by convincing brands to take responsibility for the people who enabled great profits through their underpaid labour,” says Ineke Zeldenrust from Clean Clothes Campaign.
“Many workers in Indonesia, who already had difficulty surviving on their wages before the Covid-19 outbreak, have seen their wages cut or their jobs disappear without due compensation during the pandemic. They make clothes and shoes for international brands who have the influence and money to ensure that workers will receive their full wages and benefits. We urge brands to take responsibility for the wages owed during the pandemic and to ensure that workers will never be left with absolutely nothing again,” says Djoko Heriyono from the National Industrial Workers Union Federation SPN.
The wage assurance is deliberately open about how brands and retailers will fulfill their commitment. Some of them will prefer to work through the existing ILO Call to Action to secure loans to enable employers to pay wages, and/or to enable governments to provide facilities that will enable employers to pay wages, or to pay income directly to workers. But as the Call to Action currently does not cover all countries and not all brands have signed it, brands and retailers will all have to monitor which workers are left unpaid in their own supply chains and find other means to make sure these workers receive what they are owed in the short and longer term. This can be done through direct support, emergency funds, cooperation with employers and governments, and a guarantee fund aimed at paying severance owed in future cases.


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The latest game in the Fire Emblem series is almost here. Releasing on May 19, 2017 in North America, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will add new twists to the gameplay by allowing gamers to fully explore dungeons. Nintendo has shown off an extended cut of its new commercial for the game, and you can watch it right here!
For more information on the game, be sure to check out our Game Hub. It contains all of the videos, media, and articles we’ve posted in one central location!

domain: news


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Recruitment of ANA Group ground-based general employees resumed from joining the company in April 2023
ANA Holdings, a major airline company, announced that it will resume recruiting new graduates for general graduates who work on the ground from joining the company in April 2023 next year at all group companies such as All Nippon Airways. However, we will continue to forgo hiring flight attendants.
Bidding procedure started with the release of national oil stockpiles First release at the request of a foreign country
With crude oil prices remaining high, the government began bidding on the 27th to release some of its national oil reserves to the market. This is the first time that the national stockpile has been released in response to a request from a foreign country in response to a request from the US Biden administration.
Yen exchange rate drops slightly
On the 27th of the week, the yen exchange rate in the Tokyo foreign exchange market fell slightly.
Electricity supply and demand outlook for next summer
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said that the supply and demand of electricity next summer will be much lower than the minimum reserve of 3% required for stable supply in Tokyo and the Chubu area, assuming a heat wave of about once every 10 years. He said that the area would be tough.
Hokkaido's only SL sightseeing train "SL Fuyu no Shitsugen" new passenger car released
A new passenger car of the only SL sightseeing train "SL Fuyu no Shitsugen" in Hokkaido, which was undergoing renovation, was released to the press.
Stock price drops slightly
On the 27th of the week, the stock price of the Tokyo stock market fell slightly.
Promotion of "financial education" in high school Securities companies and banks collaborate Dispatch of lecturers, etc.
Next year = In line with the start of "financial education" classes in high schools from 2022, securities companies and banking industry groups will collaborate to dispatch instructors to schools.
Monetary Policy Meeting Main Opinion “Omicron Impact Uncertainty Increases”
The Bank of Japan has released "main opinions" on this month's monetary policy meeting, which decided to extend the financing support measures for SMEs. Policymakers warned that there was increasing uncertainty about the impact of Omicron stocks on the economy.
Strengthening human resources development for major banks DX To support business partners and develop new services
Major banks are stepping up to strengthen their internal human resources development in order to respond to DX = digital transformation. Our aim is to support DX initiatives carried out by our business partners and to lead to the development of new services.
Intensifying competition for cheap smartphones Active development of functions and services
While major mobile phone companies are launching cheap rate plans one after another, the number of contracts is decreasing for so-called cheap smartphone operators who have been selling low prices, and competition for acquiring customers is becoming more fierce. increase.
Digital product certification technology "NFT" Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to the first demonstration experiment
A technology called "NFT", such as a certificate showing that a product bought or sold in a digital space is original. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will embark on the first demonstration experiment using this technology, and intends to hurry to improve the environment that the country can do.


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Alabama Legalizes Medical Marijuana
After years of constant efforts, the lawmakers in Alabama finally agreed to legalize medical cannabis, making this state the 37th in line to legalize cannabis.
Eight Years of Waiting
Cannabis supporters in Alabama had waited eight long years to receive the legal status for medical cannabis. A bill to legalize cannabis in this state was proposed back in 2013. Although the bill wasn’t approved, Republican Mike Ball (who proposed that bill) said in a statement that it did have an impact on the “hearts and minds” of people.
Ball added that he is striving to get the bill turned into law as each passing day without medical cannabis led to the suffering of patients having conditions like epilepsy, terminal illness, or even cancer.
Medical Cannabis Finally Legalized
The bill had already made progress in February when it was passed by the state Senate by a 21-10 vote.
The bill faced significant challenges passing through the House of Representatives as it was sent to multiple committees for scrutiny. Finally, on May 6th, 2021, the years-long wait of cannabis supporters in Alabama saw the light when this bill cleared the house by a 68-34 vote – this took the bill to Governor Kay Ivey’s table for approval, who signed it into law on May 16th, 2021.
Initially, the Republicans opposing this legalization pointed towards the federal laws that bar the use of cannabis. They were concerned that since the FDA hasn’t legalized cannabis, then what gives states the right to do so (implying that if cannabis were to benefit users, the FDA would have legalized it already)?
However, the recently re-introduced MORE Act 2021 is a step taken by the federal government towards cannabis legalization on a national scale – if this Act is seen through to the end, cannabis will be federally legalized, putting the Republicans’ concerns to bed.
Who Qualifies for Medical Cannabis in Alabama?
As per the bill signed by Governor Kay Ivey, anyone with the following conditions is allowed to obtain medical cannabis from authorized dealers across the state:
- Chronic Pain
- Terminal illnesses
- Muscle spasticity
People can opt for medical cannabis in case they suffer from the abovementioned (or certain similar) conditions. This bill also sets up a detailed system of production, possession, and distribution of cannabis within Alabama. Only authorized cannabis dispensaries will be allowed to cultivate or distribute medical cannabis.
Acquiring medical cards will be essential for users, as is the case in Florida where medical marijuana doctors in Palm Beach Garden provide a Florida medical marijuana card to users. Senator Tim Melson, who is a medical researcher, stated that users should be able to receive medical cannabis products to treat certain illnesses that are not being attended to through conventional products.
The Creation of Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission
The bill also results in the creation of an Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission tasked with the regulation of cannabis licenses, transport, possession, distribution, and more to ensure a seamless and growth-oriented industry. This newly formed commission will also be responsible for overseeing the dosage limitations and price of the cannabis products. If you reside in Florida and need a Florida medical marijuana card, reach out to our Florida medical marijuana doctors at MMJ today, or click here to check if you qualify for a Florida medical marijuana card.


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Leafly and Weedmaps were the first companies to tackle online searching for cannabis, but a new player is entering the field and launching on Monday. Jane is a new online search engine that is combining cannabis product search with real-time availability. The site also uses a smart search function to help customers determine what they might work for a specific need and then locate the product and even reserve it for pick up or delivery.
By tapping into a dispensary's point of sale system, Jane can tell customers which location actually has the product. This is a service that neither Leafly or Weedmaps provides. The company has already signed up eight stores in the Santa Cruz, California, market and founder Socrates Rosenfeld said more dispensaries are requesting to be added. The service is free to the customer with dispensaries picking up the cost when a product is sold.
Rosenfeld saw some weak spots in the first-to-market sites and believed he could improve upon them. He pointed out the Los Angeles Times story in August suggesting that 62% of the reviews on Weedmaps were fake and neither Leafly or Weedmaps could assist in the purchasing effort with real-time inventory information. He is a U.S. Army veteran and MIT graduate and he recognized that by tapping into the dispensaries database, he could help the customers and help the owners. Jane can share with the dispensary owners what their customers are searching for and analyze their buying habits. Jane is also only allowing reviews from people verified by using the service in order to reduce fake reviews.
Jane isn't the only company trying to take market share from Leafly and Weedmaps. Green Rush, Tradiv and Hello MD are all hitting the internet with their search and online marketplaces. Hello MD connects patients to virtual doctors that make recommendations and help customers find the recommended products. Tradiv is a wholesale marketplace and Green Rush is an online ordering and delivery service.
With this many software companies knocking on the doors of dispensary owners, it would seem that Jane will have its work cut out for them, but Rosenfeld is undaunted. “There's no heavy lifting from their end on the platform,” he said. “It's easy to scale and we are already looking at entering the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets.” Jane started with the goal to raise $1 million and instead got $1.2 million. Rosenfeld said he hopes to raise more money in the fall.
With thousands of cannabis products now available, the need for a smart search system is important to customers. If they can get real-time inventory information, it also makes their shopping experience more efficient.


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MERVYN’S FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY
HAYWARD, CALIF. — Department store Mervyn’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday, citing the state of the economy as one of the chief reasons. The company has also received a $465 million debtor-in-possession facility from a lender group led by Wachovia Capital Finance Corp. as the agent. Under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, companies continue to operate while they reorganize business operations and finances. Hayward, Calif.-based Mervyn’s operates 176 mid-tier department stores in seven states.


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For your Memorial Day mini-vacation, check out these cities with year-round appeal, plus extra holiday happenings.
Government offices, courts, schools, libraries, banks and post offices will be closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
The two sides have been trying to negotiate a new contract for months, and as tensions have risen the rate that cargo is moving has slowed.
Police and county firefighters in Covina often team up to save lives.
The parade is set to begin at 11:15 a.m. at the corner of Crenshaw and Adams Boulevards, then head south along Crenshaw to Leimert Park, where a “Black Lives Matter” rally will be held.
Local stores saw sales rise and kids were dazzled by the display.
The Winter Holiday Festival kicks off Saturday at noon and features an ice skating rink, craft booths, family entertainment and photos with Santa.
Final preparations were underway Saturday morning for the event as volunteers showed up and people lined up outside the door – some waiting all night long.
L.A.’s newest holiday tradition – L.A. Zoo Lights! A very special nighttime event for all ages where you’ll experience a fantastical wonderland with glowing animals in LED lights, lasers, 3D projections and more!
Ready to make your season bright? Bring your whole family to Six Flags Holiday in the Park to experience a thrilling display of over one million lights, festive shows and seasonal treats throughout the Park!
Get ready for your next holiday party, family event, and wintry get together with these handy recipes and holiday themed cocktail selections.
The 26th annual CHiPS for Kids toy drive kicked-off around the Southland Thursday.
Use this handy guide to plan your gift exchange this year.
As the Christmas shopping season kicks into high gear, federal officials Friday warned consumers that detecting counterfeit goods is getting tougher as more products are sold online.
Extra officers are expected to be on the roads and highways Wednesday night in search of impaired drivers.


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T-Mobile is using network acceleration technology from F5 and Bytemobile to support the rise in the use of mobile data due to the iPhone and the popularity of USB 3G dongles.
T-Mobile, which serves approximately 95 million subscribers across its European operating companies, is using the technology from the two companies to increase network scalability, availability and performance for the delivery of value-added mobile data services to T-Mobile customers.
The mobile operator will be running an integrated platform based on F5 VIPRION on-demand Application Delivery Controller with Bytemobile's Unison Mobile Internet Platform within the core data path of its network,
Adrian Hall, chief marketing officer of Bytemobile, said, "The Apple iPhone, USB dongles, mobile video, and other factors have caused data traffic on tier-one networks to grow at rates of 10% to 15% per month. "In some cases, 1% to 2% of users are consuming up to 50% of a network's traffic."


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Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) — China’s exports fell by the most in almost 13 years as demand dried up in the U.S. and Europe and imports plunged by a record, signaling a deepening slump in the world’s third-biggest economy.
Outbound shipments declined 17.5 percent in January from a year earlier and imports fell 43.1 percent, the customs bureau said on its Web site today. Both numbers were worse than economists’ forecasts.
The $39.1 billion trade surplus, the second biggest on record, may add to international tensions as global leaders warn of the risk of protectionism amid the worst financial crisis since World War II. China’s economic growth is likely to cool to 6.1 percent this quarter, the least since 1999, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The slowdown has cost 20 million jobs and increased the risk of falling prices, profits and consumption.
“It’s a very eye-catching trade surplus and people will ask how it can be so high at a time that everybody else’s economy is suffering,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets Ltd in Hong Kong. “What’s happening here is really dramatic, underscoring plunging global demand.”
The yuan traded at 6.8331 per dollar as of 5:20 p.m. in Shanghai from 6.8342 before the announcement.
Falling commodity prices drove down import costs as China’s demand for raw materials also faltered because of the export slowdown and a property slump. The value of crude-oil imports fell 57 percent from a year earlier.
Toys, Electronics, Steel
Exports to the European Union, China’s biggest market, fell 17.4 percent. Those to the U.S. slid 9.8 percent. Shipments of machinery and electronics dropped 21 percent. Steel slid 32.5 percent and toys declined 14.7 percent.
The trade slump was likely exacerbated by a week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which occurred in January this year and February last year.
China’s economy grew 6.8 percent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, the weakest pace since 2001. Producer prices fell the most in almost seven years in January, data released yesterday showed.
The trade collapse adds pressure on the government to expand a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package as factories close and millions of migrant workers return to the countryside, adding to the risk of social unrest.
U.S. Consumer Spending
Mattel Inc., the world’s biggest toymaker, said this month that fourth-quarter profit plunged as consumers cut spending on Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars during the worst U.S. holiday- shopping season in 40 years.
Mattel imports from China, where more than 4,000 toy companies closed last year as demand fell and countries tightened safety standards, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“Policy makers should continue to ease monetary policy and to come out with policies to stimulate consumption and stimulate property transactions,” said Frank Gong, head of China research at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong.
The government should cut the key one-year lending rate by more than 100 basis points this year from 5.31 percent, reduce taxes and distribute discount coupons to encourage spending, Gong said. Export demand is out of its control and wouldn’t be revived by depreciating the nation’s currency, he said.
Government researchers have advocated weakening the yuan to support exports. China should “actively guide” the yuan to about 6.93 against the dollar to aid growth and bolster employment, according to a report by the Ministry of Finance’s research institute published Feb. 7.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday that the new administration is yet to decide whether China is manipulating its currency. He added that China was an important force for global economic stability and “it is in the interests of the United States to work closely with them.”
Rising protectionism may make it “even more difficult for China to have an export recovery any time soon,” according to Isaac Meng, a senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in Beijing.
He cited “Buy American” provisions in a U.S. economic stimulus package, watered down after warnings from President Barack Obama and foreign leaders that they risked triggering a trade war.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week described “a retreat into protectionism” as the biggest danger facing the world economy.
Ban on Chinese Toys
India imposed a six-month ban on imports of Chinese toys last month, citing product-safety concerns. China may ask the World Trade Organization to investigate, the official China Daily newspaper reported last week.
China is relying on a stimulus package spanning spending through 2010 on public housing, railways, highways, airports, and power grids to revive growth. The plan helped to drive bank lending to a record in January, according to the official China Securities Journal.
A revival of import demand will be “one of the tests of whether China’s fiscal package is successful or not,” said Stephen Green, a Shanghai-based economist at Standard Chartered Bank Plc.
The government invested 100 billion yuan of the stimulus money in the fourth quarter and is spending 130 billion yuan this quarter, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Feb. 3.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kevin Hamlin in Beijing at firstname.lastname@example.org
Last Updated: February 11, 2009 04:56 EST
By Kevin Hamlin


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Businesses helping their laid-off employees
DELMARVA– Restaurants that are usually filled with people, have had to make some changes due to the coronavirus and one of those changes has started with their employees.
“It’s pretty tragic, it’s the largest threat we ever had as a business and how it affects us long term we just don’t know,” Rich Garrahan, founder of Crooked Hammock Brewery, said.
Crooked Hammock Brewery, which is a part of the La Vida Hospitality group, is just one of the many businesses that is making changes because of COVID-19.
“These are the worst couple of days of my restaurant ownership, brewery ownership career it’s been really hard there’s just so much uncertainty on what’s ahead for us,” Garrahan said.
We are told that one major change is having to lay off employees.
“Because we are mandated to move to delivery and takeout only model we had to lay off all of our hourly team,” Garrahan said.
But trying times like this, show how a workplace comes together to help their own.
La Vida Hospitality said they’re donating 100% of their online gift card sales back to employees that were laid off.
“We did a gift certificate sale online where all the proceeds are going to go to benefit our team,” Garrahan said.
Crooked Hammock is far from the only business that’s had to lay off workers. Passeri’s Pizza in Salisbury had to do the same, but they’re also finding ways to help their employees.
“If you need a roll of toilet paper come in and I will bake off a 12 to 14 inch roll for you fresh free of charge you don’t have to purchase anything in here 4554 and that money whatever you choose to donate will go to our few employees,” Bill Green, Co-owner of Passeri’s Pizza Subs and Cosmos, said.
Through this all, restaurants like these want their employees to know that they will continue to help all they can.
“We’re just trying to be the people that we are and even though our team isn’t employed by us they are still our family, so we’re trying to do everything that we can to support them,” Garrahan said.
Crooked Hammock said that they are cooking dinner for their laid off employees to take home to their families everyday.
They also told us that their gift card deal will happen until this Sunday.


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A women’s clothing retailer that opened more than 16 years ago at the South Coast Plaza shopping center in Costa Mesa shuttered last month, according to the mall. The brand counts celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton among its fans.
The A.B.S. store at South Coast Plaza opened in March 1994. The brand itself was founded by Allen B. Schwartz.
The first A.B.S. retail store launched in Santa Monica in 1988. In 1993, the Pasadena boutique was opened. These are currently the only two A.B.S. stores in Southern California.


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The company has been disposing of its fleet through a series of sales at sites in London, Manchester and Glasgow, with about 300 vehicles sold from each venue each month. But, as a result of plunging residual values last year which saw Europcar lose money on the sale of many nearly-new vehicles, it has arranged 'buy-back' agreements with many of the manufacturers supplying its fleet in an attempt to end the disposal risk.
This has seen sales at the sites fall from about 300 to under 100 a month and Europcar says the Manchester and Glasgow venues are no longer viable. All vehicles not on a buy-back policy will go to the London site for sale. The closures also mean redundancies, including the regional fleet sales managers.


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U.S. service sector growth held steady in August, although employment conditions deteriorated to their weakest level in nearly five years, according to a report released Thursday.
The read on the service sector followed other economic reports on worker productivity, jobless claims and home prices. This economic data is being examined closely by investors, who are wondering whether the Federal Reserve will act to change rates later this month.
The strength in the service sector as well as a decline in the number of jobless claims this week reduced expectations for a cut in official interest rates.
The Institute for Supply Management's services index was unchanged in August at 55.8 from July, above Wall Street forecasts for a drop to 54.8. A number above 50 indicates growth.
The ISM's employment index fell to 47.9 in August, its lowest since December 2002, from 51.7 in July.
The prices paid index eased to 58.6 last month from 61.3, while the new orders index rose to 57.0 in August from 52.8 in July.
"We are getting mixed messages on the economy -- looks like tight credit is slowing business down," ISM's respondents from the professional, scientific and technical services said, according to an ISM statement.
The services sector represents about 80 percent of U.S. economic activity, including businesses like restaurants, hotels, banks and airlines.
Inflation Worries Could Ease
Meanwhile, U.S. worker productivity rebounded, growing at the fastest pace in nearly two years, while wage pressures eased sharply in the spring -- developments that should reduce inflation worries.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, jumped to an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent in the April-June quarter, even better than the 1.8 percent increase that was originally reported.
Wage pressures, as measured by unit labor costs, slowed to an annual growth rate of 1.4 percent, slower than the initial estimate that labor costs were rising at a 2.1 percent rate.
Rising wages are good for workers, but if those gains are not accompanied by increased productivity, they can trigger unwanted inflation. If productivity is growing, it allows businesses to pay their workers more out of the increased output rather than by raising prices.
The increase in productivity and the reduction in labor costs were better than had been expected, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve will have the leeway to cut interest rates at its next meeting on Sept. 18.
Investors are hoping for such a move to insulate the economy from the steepest housing slump in 16 years, and from the turbulence in financial markets stemming from rising mortgage defaults.
Jobless Claims Fall
In other economic news, the number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week for the first time in seven weeks. The improvement was double what had been expected.
The Labor Department reported that jobless claims dropped to 318,000, down 19,000 from the previous week. A string of increases in jobless applications had raised concerns that the severe slump in housing was beginning to take its toll on the labor market.
In another hopeful sign, the nation's retailers reported that consumers returned to the malls in August. A late back-to-school shopping spree helped retailers rebound from lackluster sales in July. However, economists are still concerned that the weakening housing market and turbulent financial markets might hurt future sales.
Among the big chains reporting strong sales in August were Wal-Mart Stores and Target.
The government will report August jobless figures on Friday. The expectation is that the unemployment rate will hold steady at 4.6 percent with a modest 108,000 new jobs created, up slightly from the 92,000 jobs created in July.
In its latest snapshot of business conditions around the country, the Fed reported Wednesday that there were only limited reports that the turmoil in financial markets in August was having an adverse effect on business activity outside of real estate.
The revisions to productivity and labor costs had been expected given an upward revision announced last week to overall economic growth in the second quarter. The government said that the economy was growing at an annual rate of 4 percent in the April-June period, the best showing in more than a year and up from an initial estimate of 3.4 percent.
The increase in output pushed productivity higher and meant lower unit labor costs.
Separately, the Cleveland Federal Reserve issued a new study that said U.S. house prices may fall further as credit availability tightens.
"House prices may still fall in the future," wrote the researchers. "Any change in the ability to purchase a home, such as from innovations in the lending environment, can have a large impact on the level and volatility of housing prices."
The study went on to forecast that the boom-bust cycle of lending could crimp the ability of households with a weaker credit profile to borrow.
"Private mortgage originators have announced substantial changes to their subprime variable-rate mortgage programs, which are likely to result in the sharply curtailed availability of this type of credit," said the economists.
Home prices in the 20 biggest U.S. cities fell 2.8 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.


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Shopping will never be the same again. Right from one’s daily grocery buying habits to a sudden splurge on some fancy pet accessories, quite a lot of shopping happens online now. And the significance of this shift is most evident if you follow the money.
So, let’s look at who’s getting investor love.
- In December 2021, 15-minute quick commerce startup Astro—started by former associate vice president of Tokopedia, Vincent Tjendra—raised a US$30 million Series A round led by Accel and Sequoia Capital.


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has never been shy about following marketing trends, whether it's building smartphones, serving up smart watches (Galaxy Gear
), or in this case, filing a patent for eye-wear to compete with Google Glass
. The version Samsung has in mind is called Galaxy Glass (no surprise there), and it will look and function similar to Google's head mounted display (HMD).
According to a report in The Korea Times
, Samsung may launch Galaxy Glass as early as this year's IFA convention in Berlin.
"The market potential for smart glass is huge. It will be used in trucks, cars, and has a greater impact on related industries such as glass- and coatings-makers," The Korea Times
quotes a Samsung official as saying.
It will be interesting to see how the smart glass market develops in relation to smart watches, the latter of which haven't been the game changer that some mobile device makers perhaps though they would be. Samsung's Galaxy Gear, for example, is expensive at $300, and Apple has yet to release a smart watch as has been rumored on several occasions.
Meanwhile, there's been a lot of excitement around Google Glass, which Google may try to make commercially available in the second half of this year. As for Samsung's Galaxy Glass, it will be able to receive phone calls through speakers built into the frame and give users hands free control of their smartphone, among other things.


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Shares of SVB Financial Group (SIVB) are trading up 0.00% as of 3:59PM EDT, hitting . SVB Financial Group has a 52 week low of 36.72 and a 52 week high of 59.05.
First Cash Financial Services Inc. (FCFS), a leading provider of specialty consumer financial services and related retail products, reported first quarter 2011 earnings of 50 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents and shot up 52% from the year-ago quarter.
llegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) isslated to release its first quarter 2011 results on Wednesday, April 27, before the market opens. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is 49 cents, representing a significant annualized growth of 103.13%. With respect to earnings surprise, over the trailing four quarters, Alleghenyout performedthe Zacks Consensus Estimate in the two quarters and lagged behind in the other two quarters. The average earnings surprise was a negative 15.42%, implying that the company was behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate by the same magnitude over the last four quarters.
3M Company (MMM) is slated to release its first-quarter 2011 results on Tuesday, April 26. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings per share (EPS) is $1.43, representing an annualized growth of 2.25%. 3M had outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate over the trailing four quarters with a positive surprise of 7.02%.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY) recently announced that it entered into a collaboration agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX) for the US rights to Cloderm Cream, 0.1%. Per the terms of the agreement, Dr. Reddy’s will make an upfront payment to Valeant Pharma for the rights to manufacture, distribute and market Cloderm Cream in the US. Valeant Pharma is also entitled to receive royalties on future sales of the product. Cloderm Cream, 0.1%, which is available only by prescription in a 45 and 90 gm tube, and in 30 and 75 gm pump, is used for the relief of the inflammatory and pruritic manifestations of corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses.
Wright Medical Group (WMGI), a leading orthopedic company, recently announced that its Board of Directors has selected Mr. David D. Stevens as interim President and CEO with immediate effect. He will continue to be the Chairman of the Board.Mr. Stevens comes in place of Mr. Gary D. Henley who resigned, on April 4, 2011, from his position as CEO and President as well as a director. Mr. Henley had held these positions since 2006. He submitted his resignation ahead of a Board meeting to discuss management’s monitoring of Wright Medical’s current compliance effort.
Shares of CIT Group Inc. (CIT) are trading down -0.94% as of 12:08PM EDT, hitting 42.64. CIT Group Inc. has a 52 week low of 30.00 and a 52 week high of 49.57. The companies last released earnings were 2.58 per share.
Shares of Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) are trading down -0.97% as of 12:08PM EDT, hitting 26.03. Denbury Resources Inc. has a 52 week low of 14.02 and a 52 week high of 26.03. The companies last released earnings were 0.76 per share.
Shares of Towerstream Corporation (NASDAQ: TWER) are trading up 0.00% as of Mar 21, 4:00PM EDT, hitting . Towerstream Corporation has a 52 week low of 1.36 and a 52 week high of 5.09. The companies last released earnings were -0.16 per share. were The company has a market cap of 180.47M and a price-to-earnings ratio of .
Shares of Given Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIVN) are trading up 0.00% as of Mar 21, 3:59PM EDT, hitting . Given Imaging Ltd. has a 52 week low of 13.38 and a 52 week high of 24.00. The companies last released earnings were 0.28 per share. were The company has a market cap of 564.67M and a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.18.
NTCT are trading up 2.30% as of Mar 17, 4:00PM EDT, hitting 25.94. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of 12.25 and a 52 week high of 27.72. The companies last released earnings were 0.78 per share.
LDK) are trading up 4.95% as of Mar 17, 4:01PM EDT, hitting 12.53. LDK Solar Co., Ltd. has a 52 week low of 4.97 and a 52 week high of 15.10. The companies last released earnings were 0.98 per share.
HSOL are trading down -4.10% as of Mar 17, 4:00PM EDT, hitting 7.68. Hanwha Solarone Co Ltd has a 52 week low of 5.61 and a 52 week high of 13.48. The companies last released earnings were 0.95 per share.
DSPG are trading up 0.00% as of Mar 17, 3:59PM EDT, hitting 7.45. DSP Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of 5.76 and a 52 week high of 9.10. The companies last released earnings were -0.32 per share.
MarketAccess Holdings Inc. (MKTX) as the company has put together three consecutive positive earnings surprises.Its latest earnings beat came in the fourth quarter in which commission revenue jumped 12.9% due to higher trading volume in high-grade corporate bonds. The company was also able to leverage its fixed expenses which led to a significant increase in its net profit margin.The company also recently raised its quarterly dividend by 29%. It yields 1.6%.
(TRW) continues to trade near its 52-week high on strong Q4 results from mid February that included a 40% earnings surprise. With an average earnings surprise of 79% over the last four quarters and rising estimates, this Zacks #1 rank stock has the right parts for momentum.
BMRC) are trading up 2.25% as of Mar 7, 4:00PM EST, hitting 37.00. Bank of Marin Bancorp has a 52 week low of 30.08 and a 52 week high of 37.00. The companies last released earnings were 2.55 per share. were The company has a market cap of 194.73M and a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44.
The rating upgrade is based on fourth quarter 2010 earnings, which were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, primarily driven by growth in the top line. Additionally, in fiscal 2011, the company intends to turn around its business and has thus undertaken Project RED, which will focus on revenue growth, expense control and capital deployment.
Cogo Group Inc. (COGO) announced a wind turbine contract win following the acquisition of MDC Tech in late Jan 2011. The contract was signed with DongFang Turbine Co., Inc., and is valued at approximately $1.5 million.Cogo will provide design, engineering and logistical services over the life of the contract. The company expects that shipments will commence and revenue will be recorded in the third quarter of 2011.Cogo is in a position to benefit from the explosive growth in China, as the company’s design solutions that are used in three major growth areas, telecom, mobile handsets, and digital media. Cogo's strength lies in 1,000 customers who represent virtually all Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 players in the markets.
Arrow Electronics Inc. (ARW) completed the acquisition of RF, Wireless and Power Division of Richardson Electronics Ltd. (RELL) for $210 million.


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Among the many new devices promising to boost fuel economy during these times of high gas prices, the PLX Kiwi tries to improve the driver rather than the car. The PLX Kiwi is a training device that monitors driving habits and assigns the driver a rating based on how "green" it finds the driving style, with 100 being the best. For the most part, the Kiwi does just that, but issues with the way the device interfaces with the vehicle may leave some drivers scratching their heads.
Samsung Electronics, an arm of the giant Korean company (second only to General Electric in annual revenue among conglomerates), held a press event in San Francisco last week to show off its products for the coming holiday season.
I'd been looking for an excuse to go up to the city, so off I went-- taking Caltrain rather than driving. Conveniently, the Samsung event was just a few blocks from the train station in San Francisco.
MacRumors.com is reporting on a rumor that Apple will announce its new Cinema Displays at MacWorld San Francisco 2009, set to take place January 5 through 9.
It's been nearly four years since CNET reviewed Apple's 20-inch, 23-inch, and 30-inch Cinema Displays, all of which used normal lamp-based backlighting to illuminate the displays. The most exciting prospect for the new versions is that they are expected to use LED-based backlighting.
LED technology in displays is kind of the new hotness right now, with good reason. Lamp-based LCD solutions are never able to achieve true, deep blacks because … Read more
The line between HDTV's and computer displays is continually blurring. The latest case (or cases) in point are three new computer displays from Samsung.
In late July Samsung released three new computer displays that might as well be HDTV's. The 25.5" T260HD, the 24" T240HD and the 22" T220HD. All three displays have the same basic design with the only difference in appearance between them being their relative size. The T220HD does not have a screen swiveling mechanism built in, though this is included in the other two. All three models inherit Samsung's … Read more
In a step closer to more interactive advertising, a prototype LCD screen in Tokyo is using the aroma of delicious Japanese ramen and crispy tempura to reach customers.
Japan's Recruit and NTT Communication Corp. have teamed up to produce an innovative advertising booth that teases our senses unlike traditional media.
The prototype currently deployed in the Tokyo subway station not only displays video-style ads through a large 42-inch LCD panel, it also emits appetizing scents of the onscreen offerings to lure unsuspecting shoppers. Even better, it dispenses discount coupons right on the spot just in case you're raring … Read more
HALF MOON BAY, Calif.--What's Google's next big revenue stream? Text ads remain the cash cow for the present, but the company's future includes a big role for display advertising.
"I think the opportunity for display is pretty large because people are shifting what we think of as offline budgets to online," said CEO Eric Schmidt at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference here.
"The reason I say it's the next logical one--customers who buy text ads are also busy buying display ads from other sources...So, it's a big space," said … Read more
Toshiba and Matsushita Electric Industrial will jointly manufacture small electroluminescent displays in an effort match the output from Korea-based makers, according to a Japanese report.
The two companies will set up manufacturing lines in Ishikawa Prefecture in the fall of 2009, aiming to produce 1 million "high-quality" 2.5-inch organic EL displays, according to a report in Monday's Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
This is a first for domestic Japanese production of EL displays on this scale, the report said. The displays are targeted at cell phones and other small devices.
EL displays are based on organic light-emitting diode (… Read more
Yahoo and Turner Broadcasting System announced on Thursday a multi-year content and advertising alliance.
Under the agreement, Yahoo Sports will gain access to content from the league sites of the National Basketball Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing that are managed by Turner Broadcasting. And, in turn, Turner Network will be able to exclusively sell all display, sponsorship, and video advertising in Yahoo Sports' NBA, Nascar, and golf pages on Yahoo Sports.
On Yahoo Sports, Turner will provide live and on-demand video, leaderboards, and editorial content for the NBA, Nascar, PGA Tour … Read more
Summer road trips are a bit less fun with gas over $4 a gallon and no peak in sight. But there are a couple gadgets to help make fuel go farther.
Named after the green fruit, the PLX Kiwi from PLX Devices is a small device (a little more than 2 inches by 3 inches) that attaches to your dashboard or windshield.
By plugging into a vehicle's diagnostic port, it can display miles per gallon as well as trip information and even the cause of engine problems.
But really it's designed to make your driving habits more energy-efficient. … Read more
Korea Electronics Technology Institute is developing a 4-ounce device that can basically throw pictures off your mobile device to a 60-inch full-color SVGA image more than 6 feet away. KETI's "Eye Glass Display" can receive picture input signals like S-video, composite, component, and analog RGB, and it comes equipped with controller that can realize 3D images. Lest we get too excited about the potential waiting to be unleashed here--from billboard-type messages to sales pitches--the device is still in gestation mode. But with any luck it won't be long before we can turn our mobile phones into … Read more


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Facebook Surprises Brands with a Test to See If It Can Tame News Feed
January 29th, 2021 |
UM in the News
Facebook is trying to make News Feed safer for brands, testing a way to control what posts appear in the vicinity of ads at the advertisers’ discretion, which is a highly technical feat that some in the industry thought would be near impossible.
The social media giant today announced that it was experimenting with the new tools for a select group of unnamed advertisers. “These controls will help to address concerns advertisers have of their ads appearing in News Feed next to certain topics based on their brand suitability preferences,” Facebook said in the announcement on Friday.
In July, Ad Age was the first to report that Facebook was working on the News Feed problem, as it was responding to an outcry from advertisers worried about a rising tide of hate speech and disinformation. At the time, Facebook had brand safety controls in place in other areas of the platform, but News Feed was a more difficult environment to crack. News Feed is where 1.84 billion daily users receive streams of content tailored to their interests. The prospect of filtering all that activity to make it predictable for advertisers is daunting.
Brands have been concerned about abusive posts and videos appearing alongside their messages. It’s a problem that has plagued many companies in social media, including Twitter and YouTube, where everyday users create most of the content.
Facebook has been working with industry groups like the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, an offshoot of the World Federation of Advertisers, to design new brand safety protocols. The effort has attracted a number of platforms to cooperate on issues like defining what constitutes hate speech online. Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest, Snapchat and TikTok have also joined in the industry-wide initiative. But each platform has unique challenges—for Facebook, News Feed is one of them.
On Friday, Facebook said it would offer “topic exclusion tools.” As an example, Facebook said a brand could select topics like “crime and tragedy,” which could be useful for, say, a toy brand. By applying that filter, Facebook would try to prevent the toy maker from showing up in a person’s News Feed when the other content on the page is related to “crime and tragedy.”
Facebook declined to comment beyond its public announcement. So it is unclear how many exclusion topics are available.
“Providing advertisers topic exclusion tools to control the content their ads appear next to is incredibly important work for us, and to our commitment to the industry,” Carolyn Everson, VP of global marketing solutions at Facebook, stated in the announcement. “With privacy at the center of the work, we’re starting to develop and test for a control that will apply to News Feed. It will take time but it’s the right work to do.”
Privacy concerns are one of the issues that has prevented Facebook from sharing too much information with brands about the content that is served to individual users. That makes it harder to give brands context about where ads run.
Brands have been pushing for more transparency though, especially in the past year. Marketers grew concerned about how social media sites were being co-opted by groups that spread hate speech and disinformation. Advertisers took a close look at Facebook during the racial justice protests of 2020 after an outcry by civil rights groups that claimed the company did not do enough to purge hate speech. In July, the NAACP and Anti-Defamation League led a boycott in which more than 1,000 brands pulled ads from Facebook. Verizon, Bayer, CVS Health, Dunkin Brands, Kimberly Clark Corp., Mars Inc., PepsiCo and a litany of other major corporations joined the protest.
The Facebook brand boycott did not harm the company’s bottom line; it grew in total number of advertisers last year to more than 10 million. But Facebook promised changes that would improve brand safety.
Facebook claims to catch at least 95% of posts that would qualify as hate speech before they are seen publicly. To provide more confidence about its enforcement, Facebook has committed to independent audits of its systems to prove the effectiveness.
Joshua Lowcock, chief digital and brand safety officer at the media agency UM, has been working with Facebook and other platforms to fix the problems that have plagued social media.
Read Full Article on Ad Age.


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How Hurricanes Are Affecting Texas & Florida Manufacturing
Two of the costliest Hurricanes in U.S. History, Harvey and Irma, have decimated Southern Texas and Florida in the last two weeks. The total cost of the damage is still being calculated, but economist Michael Montgomery of HIS Markit is reporting that August and September output data will be affected by Hurricane Harvey. “Supply disruptions will rock oil refining that accounted for 3 percent of industrial production last year, and the chemical industry, responsible for 12.4% of industrial production in 2016, Montgomery said Friday.” This article will briefly explore how hurricanes are affecting manufacturing around the United States.
Hurricanes Wreak Havoc on Supply Chains and Infrastructure
The U.S. Gulf Coast is home to many oil production and refineries that create base plastics for various industries. The disruption due to Hurricane Harvey is a major hit to supply chains nationwide, and manufacturers are struggling to find new short-term suppliers.
“If we get into the middle of September and we’re not back up and running and producing various plastics, even at some minimal sustainable rate, you’re going to start being concerned about the overall supply chain,” said Mark Eramo, Vice President of Global Chemical Business Development at IHS Markit.
After Harvey, Hurricane Irma was quick to follow. Irma demolished the Florida Keys, took out power for half of all customers in the state, and brought storm surges to the southern and western sides of the state that wiped out beachfront communities and crippled shipping ports. Florida is home to over 19,000 manufacturers employing more than 331,000 workers, many of whom may temporarily be out of a job. Initial estimates for the damage caused by Irma were between 150-200 billion, but have been reduced in recent days due to a change of course that caused the storm to mostly miss the most populated areas of the state, including Miami-Dade County. The total cost is still unknown.
As noted earlier, many expect affected supply chains in the short term. This may cause delays in deliveries and production time and is cause for concern for economists who measure the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
The hurricanes have destroyed or crippled many businesses and permanently damaged infrastructure, which will add stress to the local and national economies. Goldman Sachs analysts warn that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could have a “sizable” impact on the U.S. Economy. The bank reduced its GDP growth projections by 0.8% to 2%.
Due to a concentrated effort by State and Federal officials, Texas and Florida ports are already starting to open today, and many have had their power restored. “In the U.S., more than 50,000 utility workers from the U.S. and Canada are descending on Florida and other states hit by the storm, part of a long stream of trucks joining returning residents on highways with loads of water, generators, food, and construction materials.” There have also been an incredible amount of donations and people flooding into the areas affected. The effect on manufacturing and the economy might be short-term, but local officials and residents will be cleaning up the mess made by these devastating hurricanes for months, if not years, to come.
What is Softline?
Softline Brand Partners, a soft goods manufacturing industry leader, offers integrated design and manufacturing solutions. Softline Brand Partners ensures each detail is crafted with precision and quality, perfectly embodying your brand’s identity. Contact us for expert assistance in developing patches and labels that resonate with your brand’s message and appeal.
 US Manufacturing and Spending Seen Taking Short-Term Hit From Hurricane Harvey’s Impact
 Harvey has ‘paralyzed’ a critical part of US manufacturing supply chain
 Florida Manufacturing – Industry Overview
 Hurricane Irma Might Have a Sizable Impact on U.S. Economy, Goldman Sachs Warns
 Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ


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Microsoft expands its AI product line with enhancements to Bing and ChatGPT.
Reuters || Shining BD
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) on Tuesday began making a variety of AI upgrades available to users, including improvements to ChatGPT, its search engine Bing, and cloud services. This extensive launch aims to catch up to Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL.O) Google.
One of the most significant modifications is the rollout of real-time search results from Bing to ChatGPT, the popular chatbot from its partner OpenAI, whose original responses were only informational as of 2021.
The company announced at its annual Microsoft Build conference that ChatGPT will soon allow free users to access Bing web results in addition to paid subscribers.
Using a standard embraced by OpenAI, the company is also extending so-called plug-ins for Bing, facilitating easier business-to-consumer interactions in its search engine.
In an interview, he stated that "this is a profound change to how people will use the web."
Mehdi responded that Microsoft has not yet reached the point where it can sell ad placements associated with the plug-ins, but "the model for how people acquire customers is changing."
Microsoft is attempting to increase its share of the estimated $286 billion global market for search advertising with the updates to Bing.
Similar to Microsoft, Google recently debuted generative AI improvements for its search engine that use historical data to learn how to respond to open-ended questions for which the web does not provide a clear answer.
It's still unclear which updated search engine users prefer because Google hasn't yet made its changes widely available. However, ChatGPT's sole rival, the Bard chatbot, is already accessible and offers responses based on Google search results.
According to Yusuf Mehdi, chief marketing officer for Microsoft's consumer division, one such tool can provide a web surfer looking for dinner ideas with a suggested recipe and ingredients that can be ordered from Instacart with just one click.
Mehdi responded that the programs offer different experiences, but that Microsoft would benefit in either case because citations in ChatGPT drive traffic to Bing. When asked if ChatGPT will replace Microsoft's Bing now that it incorporates recent information from the web.
Businesses can now create plug-ins that connect to Microsoft 365 Copilot, the company's AI assistant for enterprises, thanks to new cloud service features.
According to Microsoft, a plug-in could allow a staff member to ask the AI in plain language to book travel or to clarify legal matters pertaining to vendor contracts. Microsoft wants to make it easier for businesses to customize their own AI copilots.
The business added that starting in June, a preview version of an AI assistant, or copilot, will be made available to some users of its popular Windows operating system. It also disclosed methods for assisting customers in determining whether an image or video was created by its AI, similar to a Google announcement.


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SHANGHAI — “The goal is to create this beauty community. We want to be the most loved beauty community,” said Sephora Asia president Benjamin Vuchot. The executive was seated on the second floor of the Sephora Shanghai flagship on Nanjing Road, sharing what the LVMH Group-owned beauty leader has in store for the region.
There was plenty to share. While the retailer has held a presence in this part of the world since the early Aughts, in the last few years the beauty chain has ramped up its investments substantially with the goal to make the region as strong as the business it does in the U.S. and Europe.
China is the main engine of that, but there’s growth happening in every geography Sephora operates in: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Phillippines, Indonesia, India and Australia. The company is embarking on three new market entries this year alone: New Zealand in July, Hong Kong in September and South Korea in October.
“Sephora globally is doing very well,” Vuchot said. “We are enjoying double-digit growth in 20 of our 34 markets. Definitely China and the Middle East have had double-digit growth for the past few years. Our goal for Asia is to double the business in the next two years.”
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While declining to share financial specifics, research houses put the Asian beauty sector growing between 25 and 35 percent every year and Vuchot confirmed, “we are on par with the market.”
Some of the biggest changes will soon roll out in Hong Kong. The city’s first location will launch at IFC mall, taking over the men’s space that Zara was occupying, and the idea is to launch five to eight stores in the city over the course of the next five years.
While for most cities that would be aggressive, Vuchot reminds that it’s in line with the market importance, which comes from local and tourist demand. “If you look at distribution of major brands, it’s not uncommon to see from 12 to 18 boutiques and on top of that [counters in] department stores.”
He also thinks when it comes to online shopping, Hong Kong in general has been missing a trick, and he is pushing Sephora to provide a better, more seamless option.
Of course, the real big piece of the Asia pie is Mainland China. There, Sephora’s store count is at 238, but by year-end will reach 258, and the company plans to keep opening at a rate of about 30 stores a year. It was an early mover on digital with its Sephora.cn site in 2006, but has evolved to a multichannel approach with WeChat and Tmall more recently.
“In China, we’re able to deliver to 700 cities, but only physically retail in 74 cities. E-commerce just opens doors you would never explore before,” Vuchot said.
Sephora is paying close attention to a few major shifts in China. One is premiumization, with consumers hungry to know more about creating an in-depth regimen, desiring more expensive and quality brands, and with specific active ingredients. The other is the explosion of color cosmetics and individualistic expression.
“Only in the recent years have people started wanting to go out in color with red lips and great eyeshadows or brows,” Vuchot said. “I believe that China 10 to 15 years ago was still about conformity — not wanting to stand out, but look after themselves. What’s happened with the modernization of the country, the consumer feels more free to express differently, hence the opportunity to use makeup.”
“The great part is, they’ve had such a good skin-care regime [over the years],” he continued. “To have good makeup you need to have good skin. The hottest skin-care trend is serums in China today — it’s about density and about formula, but once you have great skin, you can apply the new makeup ideas.”
Fragrance is small but emerging in the market. However, Vuchot pinpoints one sector in particular is set to rise.
“One trend we’re visiting is hair play,” he said. “It used to be color happened in a professional hair salon, but hair is the new skin. You can take care of your hair — that’s the care aspect — but you can also play with your hair, put color and accessories to it. I think we’ll be in that space.”
In Southeast Asia, the situation is nearly exactly flipped. The portfolio has been very strong in makeup, but skin care is taking more nurturing.
With smaller and disparate markets, e-commerce has been a game-changer and in 2015, Sephora acquired the pure online player operator SEA-PAC, which has fueled growth in multiple countries.
“The regulatory issues and fragmentation in these markets is a longer journey, but the consumer is so amazing and so curious and craving for newness and trends that we have,” he said.
Australia, despite some bad publicity when Sephora launched in 2014 surrounding higher prices in that market compared to the retailer’s U.S. pricing, is one of the biggest markets now behind Asia.
“The consumer tends to be connected particularly to the West Coast of the U.S. and there’s been so much coming from L.A. and San Francisco,” said Vuchot. “The beauty of the global business of Sephora is we’re able to facilitate that. Australians shop beauty closest to the way Americans do but we’re also able to bring in Asian trends and the Asian community is very big there.”
In Australia, the company has 17 stores spread across the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and resort destinations on the eastern coast. It’ll soon be heading to Adelaide.
Nearby New Zealand will also get its first store when Sephora plants a flagship in Auckland this summer. First though, a Sephora swatch shop bus is to tour cities on the two islands, allowing customers to swatch test brands and order online ahead of the brick-and-mortar opening.
Toward the end of the year, Sephora will break into one of its most crucial markets: South Korea. The plan focuses exclusively on Seoul, with the first store to open in October and another four stores are planned by the middle of next year.
“It’s the fourth [largest] beauty market for prestige in the world,” he reminds. “I would hope that we would have 20 to 25 percent in Korea of Korean brands assortment.”
There’s yet another reason why Sephora wants to set up in South Korea and that is to be closer to spot trends and innovation. Being there will help product research and development for Sephora’s private-label business, which contributes between 10 and 18 percent of any one given market’s revenue.
“Cushion technology came out from Korea and is now used by all the major beauty brands. What’s the next thing that could come out from Korea?” Vuchot said.
Sephora is keeping an eye on innovation from all its markets, in fact. It carries a few Chinese brands already, including Marie Dalgar, a color cosmetics brand that the retailer recently collaborated with to produce a premium eyeshadow palette collection, and skin-care line Wei Beauty, which is based on the tenets of traditional Chinese medicine. Then there’s Skin Inc., which is popular for its custom-blended skin serums, from Singapore.
Japan is the only major Asian country missing on the map, and Sephora has no immediate plans there. Not for lack of innovation there or for robust local beauty demand but rather “realistically how fast can we do things and how much can we do?” said Vuchot.
He readily acknowledges that J-beauty is still very much a leader in innovation. Japan and Korea are likely to remain the two top countries regionally in that regard, but the hope is for Sephora to discover and curate new products and brands for global audiences.
“We’ve just seen the wave of L.A. indie founders’ culture, the kitchen brands coming in. There is a lot of money poured into the industry with these brands being brought in by major groups and these are brands that found their home in Sephora years ago,” he said. “We’re very proud of being able to be part of that journey — any part to incubate new trends and new brands.”


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13 January 2018 marks a critical day in the European banking landscape. It’s the date on which all EU Member States will incorporate the EU’s new payment service directive (also known as the Second Payment Services Directive, or PSD2) into their respective national laws.
PSD2 sets out a common legal framework for businesses and consumers making and receiving payments within the European Economic Area (EEA). It is, in effect, the driver for a new era of open banking, wherein banks will be required to implement secure APIs for account transactions and data available to third parties.
Just survive, or thrive, in the open banking era?
With PSD2, I’m seeing established banks finding themselves at a crossroads. They can choose to adopt digital banking technology and open up new revenue streams by becoming an end-to-end service provider for account information, payments and value added services. Or they can become a utility service provider supporting other service providers. If they choose the latter, they risk missing out on their transactional income as new players take a bite out of the payments pie.
More than that, although PSD2 will only affect current accounts and credit cards in the first place, that’s only the start. In time, open banking principles will be applied across other core banking products, such as loans and mortgages.
Bearing this in mind, I believe that taking the digital banking route and starting on the journey to becoming an end-to-end service provider becomes the clear choice. After all, established banks already own a large amount of data and information about their customers – information that new market entrants have yet to amass. They can leverage that unique insight to offer wider transport, entertainment, and other personalised services, and add enormous value to their digital banking solutions.
Keeping digital banking customers close
Various surveys, including those from Fortune, TechCrunch and PWC, have found that although typical smartphone users have between 20-25 apps on their devices, they only tend to use five or six of them regularly. In fact, their digital banking app is one of the apps they use the most. Although they may spend less than a minute there (checking their balance, for instance), it’s somewhere they regularly go. This gives banks an opportunity to connect with their customers on a regular basis.
However, if customers turn to the new fintech players instead – the likes of NerdWallet, Money Dashboard, Digit, Bud or Varo Money – traditional banks will lose direct interaction with their customers. While these new players offer customers unique services, they don’t yet have that deep understanding of their customers, and customer loyalty is still being built up.
With another PwC survey finding that six in 10 UK financial services firms believe up to 40% of their revenue is at risk of being lost to standalone fintech firms, I can’t emphasise enough how important it is for traditional banks to act now. If they don’t, they won’t be able to ensure that their long-term customers will remain loyal.
Embrace PSD2 with an API-led partner ecosystem
I firmly believe that UK banks must embrace PSD2 as an opportunity to open up new revenue streams and get closer to their customers. But I also understand that a transformation to digital banking is an enormous undertaking. Transforming legacy systems for the new era is too much for any individual firm to attempt on its own. But there are partners available to help. The key is not to try to do everything in-house. Instead, build an API-led partner ecosystem and choose an experienced technology partner to help manage that ecosystem, and create an integrated digital banking solution.
There are tools available too: digital banking platforms that can act as a layer between your legacy world and the API-led world of open banking. You have the customers. You own the data. You have the insight needed to create the tailored offerings that today’s customers are demanding. You have a head start, but the new players will quickly catch up.
Take the opportunity you still have available to you today and start working on your open banking strategy before it’s too late. If you don’t, you may find yourself supporting, rather that being, a key player in the open banking era.


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3D for the home continues to gain traction in key markets: Futuresource Consulting forecasts that nearly 15 million US homes will own a 3DTV by the end of 2012.
The analyst’s Home 3D Tracker report shows that with manufacturers engaging in a battle for 3DTV market supremacy in 2010, the market has been boosted by price premiums reducing quite sharply with household brands incorporating 3D in more and more of their TV and BD model ranges.
The analyst predicted that by the end of 2010, 31 3D pay-TV services were available throughout Europe, with 18 linear/demo channels and 13 VOD services. Across North America, 11 3D services have been launched, with two 24/7 channels and six separate VOD services.
Yet, even though it believes that 2010 finished on a positive note with strong sales for manufacturers, especially in Q4, 3D content was unable to keep pace with consumers’ expectations. This was, says Futuresource, due to studios agreed hardware/content bundling deals with CE manufacturers, creating a lack of packaged 3D content at retail.
Explained Market Analyst Fiona Hoy: “Limited retail content availability has placed greater importance on the role of the broadcast segment as a key 3D content source. Although early broadcast services struggled to provide the breadth and quality of viewing material that this nascent technology requires, many CE manufacturers have now formed partnerships with pay-TV operators to help co-fund and produce original 3D content. Many of these partnerships will last up to three years, by which time the market will have become more established. Collaborations have included Cyfra (Poland) and LG for 3D sports; NTV-Plus (Russia) and Panasonic; Sky (UK), LG and Panasonic; and DirecTV and Panasonic (USA).”
Futuresource expects broadcast to continue to play an important role, not only in providing 3D content directly into the home, but also in educating the consumer and driving awareness. Physical media sales will also receive a fillip with a release slate that will include key franchises Harry Potter and Transformers. “Although 3D represented less than 1% of total US Blu-ray retail sales during 2010, this is expected to reach nearly 25% by 2015,” added Hoy.
However, the analyst noted that there were still a number of fundamental issues that needed addressing before mainstream acceptance could take place. “Futuresource research continues to indicate that auto-stereoscopic technology is still many years away from offering the quality and large screen viewing experience demanded by the consumer and at an affordable price point,” added Jim Bottoms, Futuresource’s Director and Co-founder. “Several key technical issues still remain: a highly restricted viewing angle and a limited number of viewing points or ‘sweet spots’ are among the primary challenges. Outside the sweet spot, the viewer sees either no 3D effect or, worse still, a reverse image which is highly uncomfortable to watch.
“Although 12-inch and 20-inch glasses-free 3DTVs are now available in Japan, designed primarily to work for a single viewer, a large screen watched by more than one person may need to display up to 100 unique views, each of which must be created separately. Even when the TV technology is in place, the production issues for live action content are still likely to be a major hurdle, as creating content for these multi-view displays requires multiple cameras and a different production/broadcast infrastructure.”


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News: All Fyter Fest Packages Sold Out, But One And It's $3.5 Billion!
Packages to this event sold out instantly! But just what is #FyterFest ?!
What is this really?
It is a wrestling event cross-promoted with one of the biggest eSports fighting game events of the year. AEW will be selling tickets in early May for the wrestling event to be held the first day of CEO 2019, June 29th at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center!
Trending Video Games
- Street Fighter 6
- Tactics Ogre: Reborn
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Halo Infinite
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Skull and Bones
- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
- Tekken 8
- Marvel's Midnight Suns
- AEW Fight Forever


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Lockdown restrictions have cemented the position of ‘in home’ entertainment as the fastest growing leisure market in the UK, with consumer spending on music, gaming and video growing by 18.3% year-on-year to reach £9.3bn in 2020.
Figures from the Entertainment Retail Association’s (ERA) latest Yearbook showed that while the headline
entertainment spending growth rate for music, video and games is the highest recorded in the UK, the overall
leisure sector – ranging from hobbies, sports and eating out to holidays abroad – shrank by 29.1% thanks to the pandemic restrictions.
The combined music, video and games markets have grown 38% since 2016, according to the ERA, driven primarily by the growth of digital services.
In 2020, Sheffield Hallam University’s Leisure Industries Centre, records that while ‘in home’ leisure spending of all types grew to an overall £77.7bn in 2020, ‘away from home’ expenditure including eating out, events and holidays declined to £154.1bn.
Gaming remains the largest single entertainment sector, accounting for almost half of aggregate sales (48%), followed by video (35%) and music (17%).
However, video was the fastest growing digital sector in 2020, where sales soared by 37.7% to £2.9bn, helped by the growth of subscription services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
Kim Bayley, chief executive of the ERA, said: “The entertainment market was already growing without coronavirus, but with much of the leisure sector shuttered due to lockdown, music, video and games were in the right place at the right time.”
Online food delivery firm Deliveroo has confirmed plans to list on the London Stock Exchange in a move that could value the company at around £7bn, based on previous fundraisings, making it one of the largest London listings in years, despite recording an underlying loss in 2020.
Founded in the UK in 2013 by chief executive Will Shu, Deliveroo currently has around six million customers globally and works with around 115,000 restaurants, takeaways and grocery stores across 800 locations in 12 markets around the world.
The company revealed it had increased its total transactions by 64.3% in 2020, from £2.5bn in 2019 to £4.1bn a year later. However, it acknowledged that while it also grew its gross profit last year, the company overall produced an underlying loss for the year of £223.7m.
Deliveroo noted that given the significant growth potential in the online food delivery sector, the IPO would help it to deliver its ambitious growth plans.
Irish aircraft leasing firm AerCap Holdings has confirmed it is in talks with General Electric (GE) regarding its GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) business, which could create the largest aircraft leasing company in the world.
Aercap stated that the outcome of the talks had “yet to be determined” and that there was no guarantee an agreement would be reached.
However, should the world’s two largest aircraft leasing firms unite, it would create a business estimated to be worth around $30bn, with more than 2,000 jets at its disposal.
In 2020 around 49.6% of the world’s active aircraft were operated under an operating lease, and with air travel particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, this figure could increase should struggling airlines become reliant on leasing rather than buying aircraft for added flexibility during the recovery.
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Czech National drink king Kofola to serve up bubbly stock exchange debut
Introduced amid Czechoslovak communism in 1962, Kofola was for three decades the cola alternative to then unavailable Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Following a post-revolution period of decline, the soft drink was re-established as a national favorite, especially among consumers who take pride in all things Czech. Now, following an agreement for a merger with a Polish peer, Kofola Holding hopes to make an effervescent stock market bow. The formula for Kofola was hit upon by Czechoslovak pharmaceutical company Galena.
Conducting experiments aimed at finding a use for surplus caffeine obtained from roasting coffee beans, researchers produced the dark, sweet and sour „Kofo” syrup that was seen as a suitable basis for a carbonated drink. Following the near disappearance of Kofola from the market during the influx of rivals that entered the newly capitalist Czech and Slovak republics, Kofola Holding, based in Krnov, North Moravia, nowadays likes to think of the flagship brand as leading a renaissance of Czech products.
The stock market initial public offering (IPO), however, will not take place on the Prague bourse. Instead the shares, amounting to 22% of the company, will be offered on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) following Kofola Holding’s merger with Polish firm Hoop, which is expected to be completed by May next year. Hoop is the number three soft drink maker in Poland.
The merged company, boasting annual sales revenue of Kč 8.9 billion (€332.3 million) and named Kofola-Hoop, will operate in the Visegrád countries — the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — as well as Russia. Kofola Holding will be the major shareholder, with 57% of the share capital, while the current co-owner of Hoop, Marek Jutkiewitz, will hold 15% and Polish investment fund ING TFI 6%.
So, given the fact that Kofola Holding is the majority shareholder, which of the two partners is the bigger player? „It depends how you look at it,” said Martin Klofanda, spokesman for Kofola. „If you take the sales revenue view, Hoop is stronger. But then the Polish market is much bigger, so it’s easier to generate great volumes there. If you take the profitability view, then Kofola is stronger. And we believe we have the know-how how to make Hoop more profitable too,” Klofanda added.
Explaining why Kofola’s putting its stock through Warsaw rather than Prague and why it has not opted to go for a double listing by simultaneously offering equity through both bourses, Klofanda pointed out that Hoop is already listed on the WSE. „The reason is simple. We are not doing a new listing. We are just working with the fact that Hoop is already on the Warsaw bourse,” said Jannis Samaras, CEO of the company and a member of the Greek family that owns Kofola Holding.
Nevertheless, equity analyst Jan Pavlík, a specialist on the Polish and Hungarian stock markets at Prague-based brokerage Wood & Company Financial Services, said he’s of the opinion that a double listing would be the best way forward. „If you look at [specialty textile maker] Pegas Nonwovens, which is double listed in Prague and Warsaw, you see that the liquidity of it is higher in Czech. There may be a good level of subscription to its stock in Poland, but I’m afraid that the liquidity is not going to be any good,” he said.
Milan Vaníček, an analyst at brokerage Atlantik finanční trhy, also doubted that a sole listing on the WSE is the best step forward for Kofola. „If they placed stock on the Prague Stock Exchange (PSE), they would do more for their image … Here, it would be one of a dozen [titles], while in Warsaw it will be one of 250 and so more likely to drift [into obscurity],” he said. But, he added, the WSE admittedly enjoys more interest than the PSE from investors and from companies in terms of placing stocks.
Targeting the Polish subconscious
Kofola, which won’t currently discuss whether it has plans for a future debut on the PSE, hopes to make sales mileage in Poland through the Kofola-Hoop listing in Warsaw. „One reason they are entering the WSE is to try and make it on to the [Polish] market with their products. If they want to get into the subconsciousness of Polish consumers, they can do it by being listed on their stock exchange. From the moment this happens, they won’t be unknown [in Poland],” Pavlík said.
Given the relative patriotism of Polish consumers, the listing might be a very good strategic marketing move, he added. And given the fact that Poland annually witnesses many more IPOs each year than does the Czech Republic, the appetite of investment and pension funds for stocks is higher in Warsaw than it is in Prague, Pavlík noted. Kofola Holding has been active on the Polish market for about three years. Originally, the company simply had commercial representation there, but in 2005 it placed a factory in Kutno, central Poland.
Kofola, which also has three plants in the Czech Republic and one in Slovakia, plus a business representation subsidiary in Hungary, Kofola Zrt, views the Kofola-Hoop market move into Russia, where Hoop already distributes goods, as a longer term objective. „Priority number one for now is the Polish market. This is where we would like to strengthen our position until 2010,” Klofanda said.
In the Czech Republic, the company is the number three soft drinks producer, behind the Coca-Cola Česká Republika based in Prague and Karlovarské minerální vody based in Karlovy Vary, West Bohemia. Its 2006 sales stood at more than Kč 3.5 billion, while its market share was 12.8%. This year it is targeting sales of Kč 4 billion.
Ads for the young and hip
Kofola is seen as something like a domestic business champion in the Czech Republic. Successful advertising campaigns aimed at the young, hip market segment have included slogans such as „When you love it/her nothing else matters.” Although Kofola now has two other product lines — fruit juice and mineral water — it’s the „black stuff” that continues to keep it in good health. The cola currently makes up about 40% of the company’s sales.
The re-emergence of the Kofola brand can be traced back to 1993 when the Samaras family, led by Jannis’ father Kostas, took possession of the privatized soda factory in Krnov that had been run by state company Nealko Olomouc. After it was turned into Santa Nápoje, a maker of drink syrups, the firm continued as one of various soft drink producers entitled to use the Kofola trademark under license from Galena, now named IVAX Pharmaceuticals.
„Then, in 2002, we bought the trademark and started to invest into it. And the brand went up steeply,” Klofanda said. At the time of the trademark purchase, spontaneous general knowledge of the brand Kofola stood at 5% but by now it has risen to 74%, surveys by market research company GfK Praha show. „It’s definitely not a question of money, our competitors invest much more,” Klofanda said. This line is actually borne out by figures recently published in trade weekly Marketing & Media.
These show that last year Karlovarské minerální vody spent Kč 415 million on advertising, Coca-Cola Kč 395 million and Kofola a mere Kč 246 million. Advertising agency Kaspen, which Kofola has used for seven years, remains involved in making Kofola some kind of „ideological alternative” to Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
This is particularly applicable to Moravia, he added, because in Prague and Central Bohemia people still prefer international brands. „There are definitely people who feel some national pride and drink Kofola just because of this. And they feel sympathy not only toward the Kofola brand but also to the company as they sense it can compete with the global giants,” Klofanda added.
One in the eye for globalization
Czech advertising expert and former head of the Brussels-based Association of Communication Agencies (AKA) Jiří Mikeš admires Kofola’s marketing triumph. „It seemed that globalization was definitely going to win. But now it’s been shown that in the new times people want something local, national. It’s been shown that the value of the national brand is much higher than we thought,” he said.
Praising the move that has seen Kofola made available on tap in restaurants and bars, he added that the company’s advertising strategy has eventually gotten through to the older generations. „They’ve done really well. First they went after the young generation, then, they went after us, the older ones, who drank Kofola when there was no Coca-Cola. They just recalled it all in our minds. And their ad campaign is imaginative, different. It’s Czech.” (Czech Business Weekly)
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Apple stock buyback imminent? Carl Icahn says so
Apple's share price is currently trading up by nearly 4.5 percent after Icahn tweeted that he had a large stake in Apple and was discussing a large stock buyback program with CEO Tim Cook.
"We currently have a large position in APPLE. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to Tim Cook today. More to come," he tweeted at 11:21 AM Pacific time Tuesday.
Then, four minutes later:
"Had a nice conversation with Tim Cook today. Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now. We plan to speak again shortly."
The stock price almost immediately spiked, peaking at $487.81 before dropping again. It closed the day at 489.57, or up 4.75 percent. That's the highest it's closed since mid-January.
The Wall Street Journal reports Icahn has a $1 billion stake in Apple.
There's not a lot of information about what kind of a stock buyback Apple would potentially do. But the 77-year-old investor has a good track record for getting his way on these things, and he's been very active in technology companies lately — he's behind a competing bid to Dell founder Michael Dell to take that company private, and before that he bought a 10 percent stake in Netflix, prompting that company to take measures to protect itself from a takeover.
Jon Xavier is the technology reporter at the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
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Britannia has been renewed for its third season, but that renewal comes with bad news. Amazon won’t have any part in it.
If you were hoping to see the rest of Britannia on Amazon Prime Video, you’ll be disappointed. Despite Sky Atlantic renewing the series for a third season, Amazon has stepped away from the project.
Sky Atlantic will now look for U.S. partners to bring the British historical fiction to our shores. For now, though, only the first season will be available through Amazon Prime Video. The second season, which premiered in November 2019, isn’t even heading our way, according to Deadline.
It’s not entirely clear why Amazon decided to walk away from the project, but it’s most likely to do with viewer retention. Historical dramas are extremely expensive to run due to the costumes and sets. Britannia would have been no different, set during the Roman invasion of Britannia. The Romans found themselves in a world of the Druids, where the land was run by warrior women.
For those who are interested and will be looking elsewhere when Britannia Season 3 arrives, the season will follow Cait’s journey as the Chosen One. She will become tied to the future of her ravaged land, while General Aulus is under pressure from his wife, who has been taken over by a dark force.
The show has aired on STARZ in the Middle East and on HBO in some European countries. It’s possible that one of these two will license the series. Both have worked a lot in recent years with UK partners, so it would certainly make sense.
What do you hope to see in Britannia Season 3? Where would you like to see the recent two seasons head in the U.S.? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Britannia Season 1 is the only one available on Amazon Prime Video.


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Kim Kardashian, the renowned reality TV star and fashion icon, found herself amidst a controversy when she was accused of copying the iconic fashion style of supermodel Naomi Campbell. The comparisons raised eyebrows among fashion enthusiasts, prompting Kim to respond to the allegations. In this article, we delve into the controversy surrounding Kim’s fashion choices and her reaction to being compared to the legendary Naomi Campbell.
The Accusations of Fashion Copying: As a trendsetter in the fashion industry, Kim Kardashian is no stranger to being in the limelight for her style choices. Recently, critics pointed out striking similarities between some of Kim’s outfits and the iconic looks worn by Naomi Campbell during her illustrious career. These comparisons ignited debates among fans and fashion followers, leading to speculation about the intention behind Kim’s fashion choices.
Kim’s Defense and Authenticity: In response to the accusations, Kim Kardashian addressed the controversy with grace and poise. She emphasized that while she admires Naomi Campbell’s influence on the fashion world, her personal style is an expression of her individuality and creativity. Kim stood firm in asserting that her fashion choices are driven by her passion for self-expression and empowerment, rather than an attempt to imitate or copy others.
Embracing Diversity in Fashion: Kim Kardashian’s fashion journey has always celebrated diversity and inclusivity. Throughout her career, she has championed the idea that fashion is for everyone, encouraging women to embrace their uniqueness and express themselves through clothing. She believes that the fashion industry should be a space for creative exploration and self-confidence, rather than a place for comparison or judgment.
Conclusion: As a fashion icon, Kim Kardashian’s style choices will always be subject to scrutiny and comparison. However, her response to the accusations of copying Naomi Campbell’s fashion style exemplifies her commitment to authenticity and individuality. In a dynamic and ever-evolving fashion landscape, it is essential to celebrate the diverse expressions of style and the empowering impact fashion can have on self-confidence and creative exploration.


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Shashi Fernando, CEO of angel investor and business incubator Yonder & Beyond, introduces the company's products, such as U.S. social media music app PlayMeet.» Read More
Liberty United founder & CEO Peter Thum, discusses how he is trying to reduce gun violence in America by recycling illegal guns into jewelry.
Alan Patricof, Greycroft LLC founder, discusses the current economic environment for starting a new business.
The fourth annual Siemer Summit ended yesterday—a meeting for startups looking to pitch their ideas, and for VCs looking for the next big thing.
CNBC's Julia Boorstin takes a look at the hottest startup and venture capital trends.
Adi Tartako, CEO and co-founder of Houzz, tells CNBC that the interior design platform is expanding into the U.K., and explains how the company is making money.
Danny Rimer, partner at Index Ventures, explains that social network Secret, which has just raised $25 million, gives its users a trusted environment to share their deepest thoughts.
Mr. Wonderful grilled four entrepreneurs about raising money for their companies.
CNBC's Kayla Tausche reports on attendees at the Allen & Company media and technology conference.
CNBC's Carl Quintanilla takes a first look at the Birchbox store opening in New York City tomorrow.
Spring, a company co-founded by former Techstars NYC head David Tisch and his brother Alan, has raised a Series A investment of $7.5 million.
Are the top U.S. entrepreneurs born or made? Kevin O'Leary talks to four entrepreneurs about the fear of failure. Jon Steinberg, Daily Mail North America CEO, provides perspective.
Monkey Parking in San Francisco has come up with an app to enable consumers to sell their parking spots to other drivers. CNBC's Josh Lipton reports the city says this is illegal and wants to shut it down.
Kevin O'Leary talks to four entrepreneurs about how to position their companies to stand out-- Rap Genius, Milk & Honey, Plated.com and lover.ly.
Tim Love, CNBC's "Restaurant Startup," provides a preview of Tuesday night's reality show on CNBC, where Love and Joe Bastianich vie for the opportunity to invest their own money in food ideas that could make them millions.
Pley rents Lego sets to kids through monthly subscriptions. Elina Furman, Pley co-founder, describes the company's business model and how they save parents time and money.
Daymond John, "Shark Tank" host, discusses lifestyle technology for "entrepreneurs on the go" that offers new products that cater to mobile professionals, including a Bluetooth keyboard.
Smart home technology is state-of-the-art and undeniably cool. But does it help where it really matters— in consumers' pockets?
Dominic Jackman, co-founder of Escape the City, discusses how his company helps people move away from their corporate jobs and find new opportunities.
Homepolish co-founders Noa Santos and Will Nathan pitch CNBC's Power Pitch team their business model for decorating homes and offices of all budgets and sizes.
A better credit score may eventually be just be a few mouse clicks away.