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Google to Share Results of Car Shopper Behavior Study at NADA Convention
THIS IS PART TWO IN A SERIES OF FEATURES ON NADA CONVENTION WORKSHOPS IN SAN FRANCISCO.
MCLEAN, Va. (Dec. 13, 2010) - With nearly 90 percent of car buyers today using the Web to help make their purchasing decisions, it's more important than ever for auto dealers to have an online presence, says Michelle Morris, director of Google's Automotive Industry division in Detroit.
“Whether it's searching for local inventory, comparison shopping or finding directions to a local dealership, car shoppers are using the Web to find dealers,” says Morris, who will be presenting the workshop “Insights into Consumer Behavior” at the 2011 NADA Convention & Expo in San Francisco on Feb. 4, 5 and 6. It's one of nine “Online Presence” workshops offered by NADA University at the convention.
“If a car shopper can't find you online, which is where they go first to research, how will they find your dealership offline?” Morris asks.
Google and Compete, Inc., a marketing firm that specializes in online consumer research, have partnered on a study to analyze and better understand the online behavior of car shoppers six months to one week prior to their vehicle purchase.
Key findings of the study will be unveiled at the workshop, and dealers and their managers will also have the opportunity to look at some online tools designed to reach potential car buyers on the Web.
“We've learned that 84 percent of car buyers utilize a search engine to help them with their automotive research,” Morris says. “During our convention workshop session, we'll share best practices with dealers to help them set up their own search campaigns and implement additional online tools to reach car buyers.”
In addition to shopping for cars and trucks, Morris says automotive consumers are also using the Web to help with their service and maintenance needs.
“The Internet is the first source consumers turn to when looking to find the parts needed to fix their vehicles, shop for new tires or find a service location,” Morris says. “Dealers need to make sure they have a Web presence to ensure that consumers are choosing their service shops for maintenance and repair.”
Here's a list of the other eight “Online Presence” workshops:
- “Blogs, Microsites and SEO” - Brian Pasch (Pasch Consulting)
- “Fixed Operations Retention in the Digital World” - Kevin Root (DriverSide.com) and Mike DeCecco (Dealer.com)
- “Increase Traffic and Engagement through Video” - Sean Bradley (Dealer Synergy, Inc.)
- “Influencing Car Shoppers Beyond the Click” - Howard Polirer (AutoTrader.com)
- “Perfecting the Online Lead Mix” - David Kain (KainAutomotive.com) and Anna Zornosa (Dealix, a division of ADP/Cobalt)
- “Social Media 101” and “Social Media 201” - Jared Hamilton (DrivingSales.com)
- “Web Analytics: Improve Your Conversion Rate” - Todd Smith (ActivEngage, Inc.)
“Online Presence” is one of 10 workshop tracks offered at the NADA convention. In total, there are more than 100 workshop sessions covering 35 topics to help dealers and their managers get the most out of their businesses.


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$OI's net interest expense for 2015 rose to $251MM from $230MM last year, due to higher note repurchase premiums and write-off of finance fees related to refinancing activities in 2015. Exclusive of these items, interest expense slid by $1MM, primarily due to debt management activities and weaker Euro exchange rate in relation to the USD.
I haven’t seen a drop in banks like this in a long time. Looks like $WFC is still facing pressures from its sales practices scandal..!!
Helping President-elect's America first focus, $WMT set to create 10,000 retail jobs in the US in 2017.
Looks like Trump has his eyes on the $MON and Bayer merger next. He had a meeting with the CEOs and apparently got job promises from them.

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Currently, there are three defective hip implants that have been recalled by the manufacturer. There are myriad others that may potentially be recalled in the coming months including Pinnacle and many others. Therefore, it is important to have your case evaluated by an attorney no matter what you are experiencing and adverse effects from a hip replacement. Below are the systems currently recalled:
Hip Implant Lawsuits: J&J Depuy Orthopedics Hip Replacement Recall
Depuy Orthopedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, recalled two of its hip replacement products, 1) the ASR XL Acetabular System – a hip socket used in traditional hip replacement, and 2) the ASR Hip Resurfacing System – a partial hip replacement that involves placing a metal cap on the ball of the femur, a method intended to preserve more bone.
Although the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has received hundreds of consumer complaints about hip replacement failures over the past two years, Depuy (which reported profits of $5.4 billion in 2009) refused to concede that the ASR XL Acetabular System or the ASR Hip Resurfacing System were defective or recall the hip replacement products – even though numerous hip implant lawsuits have already been filed against it and medical data shows that approximately 12 – 13 percent of patients needed a second hip replacement within five years of receiving an ASR implant.
Depuy hip implant recall attorneys say that the company’s failure to institute a hip replacement recall or adequately warn hip implant patients will lead to hip implant lawsuits against it.
Hip Implant Lawsuits: Zimmer Durom Cup Recall
Similar to Depuy Orthopedics, Zimmer Inc. manufactured a hip replacement medical device known as the Durom Replacement Acetabular Components, or simply the Zimmer Durom Cup. The company, which reported sales of $4.1 billion in 2009, suspended sales of the Zimmer Durom Cup in 2008 after hundreds of hip implant patients complained that the product was defective and caused them to undergo additional hip replacement surgeries. Zimmer medical device attorneys say that Zimmer knew that its hip implants were defective years beforehand, but that they – like Depuy – also put profits over patient safety. Zimmer medical device lawsuits continue to be filed across the nation.
Hip Implant Lawsuits: Stryker Hip Implant Recall
Medical device giant, Stryker Corporation, recalled its Trident PSL and Hemispherical Acetabular Cups after numerous warning letters from the FDA about failing to establish and maintain procedures that conform to FDA guidelines or adequately address consumer complaints. Stryker defective hip implant attorneys say that Stryker, which reported sales of $6.7 billion in 2009, knew about these hip implant defects years beforehand. Stryker defective hip implant lawsuits also continue to be filed across the nation.


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If the waiter was rude, your hotel room dirty or the plumber sloppy, you should be able to say so online without fear of getting slapped with a lawsuit.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration still believes in the use of encryption to protect digital information, even after top officials have questioned how law enforcement agencies will get access to data on encrypted devices, a White House adv...
Companies developing Internet of Things (IoT) products should adopt best practices to protect the privacy and security of consumers, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has recommended.
U.S. President Barack Obama will push Congress to pass a law requiring companies that are victims of data breaches to notify affected consumers within 30 days and a second law that gives consumers more control over their digital data, he said.
A debate in the U.S. about whether the National Security Agency should end its bulk collection of U.S. telephone and business records has come down to an argument over the meaning of the word "bulk."
The freedom and openness of the Internet are at stake after the U.S. government announced plans to end its contractual oversight of ICANN, some critics said Thursday.
U.S. President Barack Obama failed to address the National Security Agency's reported efforts to weaken encryption standards and circumvent online encryption technologies in a speech Friday about surveillance reform.
New legislation in the U.S. Senate that would allow Internet users to tell companies to stop tracking them is unnecessary and could slow e-commerce growth, some tech groups said.
Mobile application developers should minimize privacy surprises for their customers by limiting their data collection and retention and giving users access to the data collected, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has recommended.
Many top websites share their visitors' names, usernames or other personal information with their partners without telling users and, in some cases, without knowing they're doing it, according to a new study from Stanford University.
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Google is reportedly considering buying Epic Games!
Epic Games today is one of the most successful companies in the world. This fact is undoubtedly due to their "battle royale" game Fortnite.
Photo Credits: AFP
Epic Games today is one of the most successful companies in the world. This fact is undoubtedly due to their "battle royale" game Fortnite. In addition, the company’s success is linked to a focus on independence, as Epic Games seeks to separate itself from the over-influence and dependence of third-party companies like Steam, the Apple App Store and Google Play. Such an effort by Epic Games seems to have led one big company, Google, to consider buying one or all of Epic Games, so at least Epic claims.
While things still look very good for Epic, it can’t really be said that the company isn’t facing problems. Epic Games is currently involved in several lawsuits around the world, in lawsuits against Apple and Google over the mobile store branches of each company. A new document stemming from Epic’s case against Google in the U.S. details what Epic describes as Google’s attempt to maintain its monopoly. It is said that Google uses its "size, influence, power and money" to force its partners into "anti-competitive agreements" and that when that fails, Google considers even more extreme methods of control.
Because Epic Games at one point separated itself from Google’s App Store to avoid 30% additional taxation because their game is in Store, Epic claims that Google considered a second, more extreme alternative. Epic goes on to claim that Google “considered buying part or all of Epic Games” to keep Fortnite in the Google Play Store environment. The accusation was based on the fact that Google not only wanted money from the sale of Fortnite, but also considered Fortnite's independence from the Google Play Store a threat, which could lead to publishers of other games starting to separate from the Google Play Store in the same way.
Unfortunately, at this point, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that Google really wanted to buy part or all of Epic Games. Epic claims that it is only now that it is learning about Google's efforts to end its competition with the Google Play Store.
Google’s thinking of buying part or all of Epic Games is clearly not illegal. However, it hardly seems realistic, given how much the value of Epic has grown in the last five years. In the context of trying to maintain control over Android devices and directing the entire sale of apps through the Google Play Store, which Google undoubtedly does, this information is anything but pleasant. If Google were to try to retain control of a company worth tens of millions of dollars, what could smaller companies do about such future attempts by Google?
The lawsuit filed by Epic Games against Google, as well as the lawsuit against Apple and several other companies not located in the U.S., continues. It is impossible to say whether the cases will end in Epic's favor. Even if it ends up in their favor, it should in no way affect Google and Apple devices. Nonetheless, seemingly more information comes out every week that upsets the average consumer. The Epic Games case is just one example of such events.
By: Amber V. - Zexron


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June 30 will mark the end of an era for a particular group of New Yorkers. That’s when Artbag, the go-to store for lunch ladies (when lunch was a verb) and needed their best handbags repaired and restored for those tony lunches, left town.
Donald Moore, his son, Christopher, and Christopher’s wife, Estelle, will close their Madison Avenue boutique and move their handbag retail and restoration business to Coral Springs, Florida.
For 90 years, customers have depended on the store, particularly for repairs, which today represent around 85% of its business. The clientele has long had a heady list of celebrities, including Jackie Kennedy, Diane Sawyer, Elizabeth Taylor and Cicely Tyson, who have turned in their Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermès bags for repair.
But celebrities hardly made up the bulk of their business. A loyal Long Island shopper ‘once sent us 160 handbags to clean because smoke from a fire in her house had damaged them,’ Christopher Moore recalled the other day amid store clutter , where packaging is in progress. He also remembers restoring a Hermes handbag that a woman brought in after an ex-boyfriend nearly damaged it with a pen.
“Our business has been good,” he said. “During the pandemic people found things to buy to support us and that got us through water. But rents on Madison Avenue are killing us, and Lexington and Third Avenues weren’t that bad. The Moores believe closing Artbag will end the only black-owned business on Madison Avenue between 59th and 86th streets.
Christopher’s father, Donald, tall and handsome with a halo of white hair, and now 80, started working at Artbag in 1959. “I started from scratch…literally,” he says. . “I swept the floors and dusted the bags every day.” These floors were in the store’s second home, on Madison and 64th Street. Since its founding in 1932, the store has had three locations, the first on Lexington and 55th, then two stops on Madison.
After hiring Mr. Moore, Hillel Tenenbaum, who then owned the store, shone on the young man who, newly married, had come to New York from his family’s farm in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, with just $60 in the pocket.
“He asked me if I would like to learn how to make handbags, and I said yes,” recalls Mr. Moore. “So every night after work he took me home and started showing me how to make handbags. I worked from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. It can take two days to make a new handbag.
Prior to starting his business, Mr. Tenenbaum had been a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He brought in his son-in-law, Lewis Rosenberg, who was a blacksmith. A third partner, Ronald Price, joined later.
In 1976, Mr. Tenenbaum was willing to sell a small stake in the company to Mr. Moore. Nearly two decades later, in 1993, Mr. Moore bought out the three partners. That same year, he brought his son. Six years later, Donald Moore passed ownership to Christopher.
In an interview at the store, Christopher said his family came from a long line of entrepreneurs. “My great-grandfather had the first black-owned general store in Elizabeth City, North Carolina,” he said, adding that his grandfather was an agricultural contractor who hired laborers for farmers. whites in this region.
Donald Moore clarified that his father and grandfather had their own farms. “They weren’t sharecroppers,” he said. “They never worked for white men.” As he recounts, his mother and father also had businesses that supplied black workers to white farm owners.
When asked how he learned to be a successful entrepreneur at Artbag, Mr. Moore just smiled and said, “When you come to a place at 18, you pick up everything.”
Still, he said, at first some customers at the store were unwilling to deal with a black man. In his recollection, only customers in a hurry would settle for Mr. Moore if the other salespeople were busy. But that changed over time, he says, “when they started to realize that I was good with my hands.”
The skill involved in restoring a worn-out handbag may include not only cleaning the leather, but also remodeling the bag, which may require removing the old structure and replacing it with a new skeleton – sometimes in using buckram fabric, sometimes bonded leather – to restore the old handbag. form. It may also be necessary to replace the hardware.
At a time when Artbag made original designs as well as copies of designer handbags, the most popular was the Hermès Kelly bag. At one time, the boutique made custom bags to fit jewelry frames made by Cartier.
The company’s expansion has not been without conflict. In the late 1990s, Hermès sued Artbag and other companies that copied her handbags. In 2000, Artbag moved in with Hermès and no longer made copies. She continues to restore Hermès Kelly and Birkin bags, as well as those of other famous designers.
It’s not always the copies that intrigue customers. Donald Moore, a big fan of Elizabeth Taylor — he adored her in “Cleopatra” — said she called after admiring a handbag designed and made by Artbag that a friend was carrying. Mr. Moore rushed to make one for her so he could take it to Ms. Taylor’s hotel the next day.
When he knocked on the door, he was disappointed not to meet the glamorous movie star, but a woman who wore no makeup and was undressed. It wasn’t until the next morning, when he saw her in a newspaper photo leaving the hotel, that he concluded he had met the actress herself.
He recalled Jackie Kennedy, who lived around the corner from the shop, as charming and very understated.
Artbag’s customers, famous or not, tend to be loyal. Marietta Meyers has been going there for decades and has great confidence in the store’s work. “I bought a cheap straw bag with thick gold binding,” she said. “Of course the paste came off, so I sent them the bag to change the plastic. They put a leather handle on it, and it came back better than new.
The Moores hope the Florida store takes root. They chose Coral Springs because it’s halfway between Miami and Palm Beach and therefore easily accessible from two airports. Customers can send their bags there for repair.
Yet with them gone, their discerning clientele will either have to take better care of their handbags or venture to FedEx more often.


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Wine drinkers in South Africa are traditionally white, but the culture is starting to change as black wine researchers and consumers are growing.
In South Africa many things divide along racial lines. That includes alcohol consumption.
Wine? That’s what white people drink; while black South Africans favor beer.
Or so the stereotype goes. But that might be starting to change.
At a wine bar in Sea Point, near downtown Cape Town, people sip wine in comfortable lounge chairs. The scent of the nearby Atlantic Ocean drifts in. But there’s something slightly unusual about this scene, at least by South African standards – most of the people at this wine bar are black.
“I’m just into my white wines, my Chenins, my Sauvingon Blancs especially – I find it so refreshing, so crisp,” said Latoya Marivate, a patron who came with a group of friends. “I like my Sauvignon Blancs nicely chilled on a hot sunny day.”
In South Africa, wine has long been seen as a white person’s drink. More than 95 percent of the country’s vineyards are white-owned.
Almost all the wine makers are white. And most people visiting the dozens of vineyards near Cape Town are white. But South Africa’s black middle class has been growing steadily since the end of Apartheid, and more blacks can now afford to buy wine.
Latoya Marivate said many of her black friends are embracing the culture.
“But now people are appreciating it more and are collecting wines and going to wine farms, just enjoying the experience of just wine and the lifestyle that it comes with,” Marivate said.
And she said part of what makes that possible is bars like this one, called Naked.
Andrew Chigorimbo is the owner and manager. He’s black, and said some of his customers feel more comfortable when they meet him.
“A lot of black people come in here and they’re actually relieved to see a black person,” Chigorimbo said. “First of all, some people are like, ‘oh, do you own it?’ And you’re like, ‘yes,’ and they’re like, ‘yes, I’m gonna support you.’ Some people are very blatant with it. Like, ‘know what? I’m gonna support you because you’re black.’ And some don’t say it but you know they mean it.”
He said that, in racially-divided Cape Town, the reverse can also true.
“The most negative response I have had is from white people. First of all, white people come in and a lot of people say, ‘Oh, can you call your boss?’ And you’re like, ‘well, I chose all the wines, I’m the boss.’ And they cannot understand it,” Chigorimbo said.
At a vineyard thirty miles east of Cape Town, Erna Witbooi walked through rows of vines. She’s a 28-year-old scientist at the University of Stellenbosch. Plastic sheets are stretched across several rows of grapes.
“Here we’ve got the Cabernet Sauvignon, and these are actually one of the new ultraviolet sheets that we are installed,” Witbooi said. “It is basically excluding all UV light.
Viticulture – the science of growing grapes – is a major field of research in South Africa. But as a black woman, Witbooi is an anomaly in her field. In fact, she said she’s the only black academic in viticulture in the entire country.
She holds a lecturing position at the University of Stellenbosch, presents at international conferences, and publishes regularly in science journals. But despite all that, she said some colleagues still view her skeptically.
“Where I would be the speaker at a workshop, for instance, and they will sort of just look at you in a sort of weird way,” Witbooi said.
She said awkward moments like that are common in viticulture, which still feels like a white man’s world. But rather than being discouraged, she said she sees incidents like that as motivation.
“I do have days that it actually just goes really, really bad and I do get that feelings of no I don’t belong here, but then I just give myself a little kick under my butt and I just tell myself, well somebody has to be the pioneer,” Witbooi said.
She said her mission now is to recruit more black students – especially women – to the field. A few of her current students are interested. And she hopes many more will follow.
Back in Sea Point, the wine bar Naked is buzzing. Manager Andrew Chigorimbo said many of his black customers still buy wine for the wrong reasons.
“Those are the people who walk in here, they do not know what wine it is, they don’t care, just say I want the most expensive wine and I want to drink it,” Chigorimbo said. “I know for a fact that that person does not know anything about wine, they just want to show that they got the money and they can do it.”
But he said, as time passes, more are beginning to appreciate wine – not just the status that comes with it.


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ICE Totally Gaming Opened at London's Excel This Week
The largest gaming trade show in the world, ICE Totally Gaming, opened to enthusiastic crowds at London’s ExCeL this week.
The opening ceremony was attended by show organisers alongside Eurocoin, one of the 16 pioneer organisations at the inaugural ICE, and first time exhibitor Gamevy in the inaugural ribbon cutting on the main boulevard of the expo centre.
Tom Veitch, the founder of Eurocoin, and Helen Walton, co-founder and marketing director of Gamevy, were joined by key representatives from Clarion and ICE Totally Gaming to launch the 2016 edition of ICE.
Kate Chambers, who has overseen the recent development of the ICE brand, including its successful relocation to the ExCeL Centre, said: "I was delighted to have both Tom Veitch and Helen Walton officially open the 2016 edition of ICE.
"Both Eurocoin and Gamevy have an infectious 'can do' philosophy and in so many ways epitomise the entrepreneurial spirit and energy which is in the DNA of gaming. On behalf of the ICE team I wish all of our 529 exhibitors from 62 nations another successful ICE and of course, a successful 2016."
Show updates coming soon - watch this space!


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Worksop: International ales alongside the best of British for pub beer festival
They will complement the 30 beers from across the UK being served in the pub during the festival, which runs from Friday, 28th to Sunday 13th April, with all beers priced at £1.99 a pint.
The festival will feature new, seasonal and speciality beers, including a hazy wheat beer, a chocolate beer, a raspberry beer, a lemon beer, a juniper beer and a plum porter.
In addition, many of the beers are available in the pub for the first time, having been brewed exclusively for the festival.
Pub manager Robert Colls said: “We are thrilled to be serving such a fantastic selection of beers from across the world, as well as those brewed in the UK.”
“The overseas beers have never previously been available as cask ales in the UK, which makes them even more special.
“The festival will be the perfect way for real ale enthusiasts to enjoy a range of excellent beers from overseas brewers.”


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A mystery Nubia smartphone equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC appeared today on AnTuTu’s Weibo page and revealed some of its technical specs. Obviously, we have reasons to believe that this phone is the purported Nubia Z17 flagship, scheduled to be unveiled soon, in the coming weeks.
Gizchina News of the week
According to its listing, the device uses a Snapdragon 835 SoC as “engine”, backed by 6GB of RAM and a massive 128GB of internal storage. The Nubia device relies on an Adreno 540 GPU and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat, while offering a 5,5 inch display with 1920×1080 pixels resolution.
According to rumors, the most awaited model was expected to pack a dual lens camera, but the AnTuTu listing reveals just one main camera with a resolution of 12MPixels. Obviously we’ll just have to wait and see the official unveiling to sort this out. Seeing an upcoming device appear on AnTuTu usually means that a launch is imminent and we’re ready for it.


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Global Logistics-April 2008
Given Belgium’s proximity to mainland European markets; well-developed, multimodal transportation infrastructure; and highly skilled labor force, its potential as an offshore manufacturing, research and development (R&D), and distribution location far exceeds its geographical size.
The Port of Antwerp, together with Liege and Brussels airports, places Belgium squarely among Europe’s top-tier cargo crossroads, incenting U.S. businesses such as 3M, Tenneco, Donaldson Filtration Systems, and Pfizer to set up operations there. In 2007 alone, more than 1,200 U.S. companies contributed $52 billion in foreign direct investment within the country.
Despite its trade advantages, Belgium’s economy has been somewhat constrained by its exclusive dependence on the services sector and limited local market growth.
As a result of the country’s relatively small area, and lack of readily available natural resources, it has historically relied on regional trade to drive its refinished goods export market. Nearly 75 percent of Belgium’s import and export volume is with European partners such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, making it highly susceptible to global market shifts and economic fluctuations.
To counter these concerns, Belgium’s government has been strategically angling to expand foreign trade partnerships beyond the continent and leverage transportation infrastructure and capabilities to diversify and drive its economic engine. Thus far, efforts appear to be gaining traction.
The U.S.-Belgian Double Taxation Treaty, which went into effect Dec. 28, 2007, reduces double taxation of income, eliminates barriers to trade and investment, and facilitates cross-border capital movement—incentives that will go a long way toward stratifying Belgium’s economy, while similarly giving U.S. companies greater reason to locate operations there.
Taken in the context of Belgium’s evolving economic strategy, the new tax treaty is one more step in a series of measures the government has taken recently to increase the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors.
Since 2006, Belgium has allowed a deemed interest deduction for equity invested in a Belgian company or branch, which ultimately alleviates some tax burdens.
A recently enacted “Patent Income Deduction” similarly reduces tax rates for patent income to a maximum 6.8 percent, a rate substantially lower than those available in most other European countries.
This break significantly improves prospects for patent development and holding companies that locate in Belgium or license patents to U.S. affiliates. In turn, this will likely draw interest from U.S. pharmaceutical, chemical, and automotive businesses looking to site R&D facilities.
Additionally, a new tax regime for pension funds went into effect last year, making Belgium the first European country to offer multinationals a complete and comprehensive framework for both pan-European and international pension funds—a measure that provides additional impetus for stateside companies looking to locate operations and employees abroad.
The U.S.-Belgian Double Taxation Treaty also contains five features that specifically target U.S. companies with business interests in Europe:
1. It introduces a 0 percent withholding tax on dividend payments from a U.S. company in Belgium to its U.S. parent company, provided the U.S. entity in Belgium owns 10 percent or more of the Belgian company. This 10-percent ownership threshold is significantly lower than the threshold in other treaties recently concluded by the United States.
2. It introduces a 0 percent withholding tax on interest. Together with the Notional Interest Deduction, this makes direct loans between the United States and Belgian-affiliated companies more attractive, and increases possibilities for companies in Belgium to finance U.S. affiliates.
3. It is the first income tax treaty concluded by the United States to contain a binding arbitration procedure with a foreign country. The United States and Belgium have two years to resolve a tax dispute before arbitration starts, unless the two countries decide that the provision is not suitable for arbitration. An arbitration panel will decide one of two final offers by both governments. It gives taxpayers the prospect of finality to a tax dispute within a specific timeframe.
4. Anti-abuse provisions designed to deny inappropriate use of the treaty were strengthened to bring them into closer conformity with current U.S. treaty policy. On the other hand, new categories of taxpayers, such as qualified charities or pension trusts, will now be able to claim benefits.
5. It extends the benefits of the treaty to companies owned by so-called “equivalent beneficiaries,” which may provide opportunities for multinational groups that are based in the EU, Switzerland, or NAFTA.
Businesses considering China as a possible offshore location are better served by thinking “big” than pursuing narrower objectives, reports China Manufacturing Competitiveness 2007-2008, a joint study by McLean, Va.-based management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Shanghai.
The country’s advantage solely as a low-cost, manufacturing-for-export market is diminishing. Companies that integrate China into their global supply chains as a source of competitive advantage are far more successful.
Specifically, businesses that pursue China as both a growth market and a market for lower-cost labor and sources, and integrate these operationally, enjoy significantly higher profits than others pursuing only one of these objectives.
Those that employ dual sourcing and sales strategies report an average profitability rate two-thirds higher than those focused on just one of those targets (29.6 percent compared with 17.8 percent). Despite the returns that this approach can generate, only one of four companies is able to combine a strong in-country market growth effort with manufacturing and sourcing operations.
While a stronger Chinese currency and rising wages are putting pressure on manufacturing margins, failure to deploy operational best practices and fully leverage China as both a growth market and source of labor and products is also limiting profits.
“The manufacturing philosophy employed by many foreign multinationals in China in recent decades needs an overhaul,” says Ronald Haddock, vice president, Booz Allen. “China’s changing cost and currency structure have shifted, forcing companies to rethink how they develop their Chinese operations and how they perceive China in their overall global strategy.
“At the same time, China is increasingly a major source of product and business model innovation. We’re seeing globalization at work and China’s role has changed,” he says.
More than half of the surveyed foreign-owned or foreign-invested companies manufacturing products in China believe that the country is losing its competitive edge in manufacturing to other low-cost nations.
As a result, nearly one in five manufacturers surveyed has concrete plans to relocate or expand China operations to other countries, with Vietnam and India seen as top alternatives.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT-CTL) is taking educational outreach beyond the four walls of the classroom to all corners of the globe.
The center recently debuted the MIT Global SCALE (Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence) Network, an international alliance of research centers dedicated to developing supply chain and logistics excellence through innovation.
The Global SCALE Network spans North America, Latin America, and Europe, with plans to expand into Asia and Africa. Currently it includes: the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics in Cambridge, Mass.; the Zaragoza Logistics Center in Zaragoza, Spain; and the Center for Latin-American Logistics Innovation in Bogotá, Colombia.
The Network allows faculty, researchers, students, and affiliated companies from all three centers to pool their expertise and collaborate on projects.
“Today’s supply chains stretch around the world and back again, requiring successful organizations to have an on-the-ground understanding of the logistics, supply chain, and general business challenges and opportunities in every region.
The Global SCALE Network will provide that global context through research projects that will literally be taking place around the world,” says MIT-CTL Director Yossi Sheffi, a professor of engineering systems at MIT and director of the Engineering Systems Division.
The Network will also enhance supply chain and logistics education at each center. Graduate students can benefit from the shared knowledge created through this collaboration, as well as take part in educational exchanges and learn alongside other students.
The recurring threat of a global economic downturn and increasing trade liberalization within Europe are having a negative impact on the UK freight forwarding sector, according to Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets’ Freight Forwarding Market Report 2008.
In 2006, the UK international freight services market totaled US $37 billion, of which US $28 billion was attributed to cargo forwarding activity. The total represented a significant reduction of 7.4 percent in activity compared with the previous year, largely due to a 9.2 percent decrease in turnover in the freight forwarding sector.
One factor contributing to this weakening is the accession of several Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) into the European Union, which took place in 2004 and 2007. As these nations are now part of the Single European Market (SEM), customs regulations that formerly governed the movement of goods between outside countries and existing EU member states no longer apply.
Consequently, exporters and importers trading between the United Kingdom and these new CEE EU members no longer require the expertise that freight forwarders provide.
Another important development was the decision by EU government ministers late in 2006 to repeal the block exemption from restrictive trading practices enjoyed by container shipping lines. This decision emerged as governments sought to bring carriers in line with rules that apply to the majority of the EU transport industry.
Of continuing concern for many smaller firms in the UK freight forwarding sector is the burden of regulation, particularly in the field of employment and health and safety legislation, covering matters such as unfair dismissal, equal opportunities, flexible work hours, the hiring of illegal immigrant workers, and illegal mobile telephone use by drivers.
Despite some signs of a slowdown in the global economy, and the risk that developments such as further trade liberalization and the removal of certain trade barriers might reduce the need for forwarding expertise, the macro-economic environment is generally favorable for the continued growth of UK international freight services.


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Instacart stops selling alcohol for compliance reasons
Selling alcohol on the Internet is an attractive but tricky prospect, governed by state regulations that hardly bear in mind the expediency of the Web. So when the grocery shopping startup Instacart began delivering alcohol alongside groceries to users via a simple mobile app tied through its Web service, it seemed almost too good to be true. Apparently, it was.
It appears that Instacart's happy hour of online booze selling has ended. A search on the site for alcoholic beverages either returns “no results” or lists products with, at best, a tangential connection to alcoholic beverages. For example, a search for vodka brought up frozen dinners for chicken Alla Vodka and Rigatoni in a Vodka Cream Sauce but no Stoli. There's no Cuervo for tequila; instead you get tequila-lime flavored chicken sausage. And Mojito? It conjured sweet midget pickles. Apparently Instacart made the changes on the fly. After pulling alcoholic beverages from the search engine, the sign-in screen still showed a category for “Beer, Wine and Spirits” in the background.
The service lets users in San Francisco and the Palo Alto and Mountain View areas order groceries on the Web, with the promise of a delivery in three hours or less. The big plus of the service is nighttime delivery – a customer can order as late as 9 p.m. and still expect the items within three hours.
The company essentially acts as a delivery service: Instacart shoppers pick up the groceries from a local Safeway and bring them to a user’s door. But that’s where compliance becomes an issue. According to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, all transactions of alcoholic beverages must be made directly through the vendor that holds the liquor license – in this case, Safeway. An Instacart shopper is not allowed to simply buy alcohol off the shelves and sell it like any other grocery item. So, instead of a customer paying Instacart when buying booze, the money should go to Safeway, and then from Safeway to Instacart.
So why doesn’t Instacart just have its customers transact through Safeway? The two companies don’t have any formal relationship, and Safeway has its own (less flexible) delivery service. Apoorva Mehta, Instacart’s founder and chief executive, says his company is working quickly to restore the service, though he said there is no timeline. “We have worked with our attorneys to come up with a solution that is in-compliance and still gives customers the seamless experience that they have come to expect from us,” he said in an email.
That solution could be any number of things, but it’s likely going to take a considerable amount of restructuring for the company behind the scenes. It’s not as simple as just applying for a liquor license; California law also states that an alcoholic transaction must come from a physical brick and mortar reseller, or an authorized shipping point like a public warehouse. Instacart has neither, and doesn’t likely have the funds to build them. The company could also consider officially partnering with a more realistic retailer than Safeway. While more plausible, it would require a shift in operations as well, since a smaller retailer (or a group of smaller retailers) is likely to have fewer locations in fewer areas.
Mehta said he was unavailable to speak verbally this week, and did not answer all of my questions when I resorted to email, but he did leave this statement:
We take alcohol compliance very seriously. Since our launch, we have given our customers an amazing experience and stayed incident free. We'd like to stay that way. As such, we are not going to be delivering alcohol until all Instacart shoppers have been trained to follow standard alcohol delivery procedures. While growth is important, it should never come at the cost of putting any individual's (customer or driver) safety at risk.Mehta clarified that he was talking about the procedures like making sure to check identification, but this seems a bit like corporate messaging sleight of hand. The real issue has to do with selling liquor with no liquor license.
From day one, selling alcohol was the linchpin of Mehta’s pitch. In a first person essay he wrote for TechCrunch, Mehta told the story of his late application to Y-Combinator, explaining that he wowed YC partner Garry Tan into giving him an interview by sending him a case of beer using Instacart’s service.
What’s of note is that all throughout the YC program, the issue of alcohol compliance never came up. Or if it did, it was not addressed. Y-Combinator founder Paul Graham did not comment on specifics, only saying, “We don’t usually have insights on tactical matters" like the decision to stop selling alcohol.
Instacart’s situation is another reminder of the tightrope that is innovation. Several companies, in the name of disruption, have shunned regulations in favor of a “don’t ask permission now, ask forgiveness later” attitude. Most recently it was Uber. In the Web’s Wild West days, it was Napster. But some are sympathetic to those working around a set of rules that never anticipated the advances of the Web.
“If you’re not an alcohol attorney, how would you know?” one entrepreneur tells me.
You make it your business to find out. It's called due diligence.
[Image credit: Luiz Roberto Galetto]


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It’s a big investment coming up with a new smartphone, which is why many phones on the market are similar to each other. If the public responds positively to one manufacturer’s phone, why not stick to a tried and true option and create something similar to it?
Of course, from time to time, there is the one manufacturer that decides NOT to go the same route and do something unexpected. This is what happened when BlackBerry decided to come up with the KEYone. While it wasn’t a hit – there were problems with it – the phone had its own style.
And, it appears that BlackBerry has come up with a KEY2, with invites going out about its launch. According to the invite, the release of the KEY2 will be within a month, with the unveiling taking place in New York June 7.
It’s not known if the phone BlackBerry is releasing will be officially called KEYone 2 or if it’s just being used for promotional reasons. However, doing the advertising this way does make it easier for people to remember it.
There have been rumors that the new phone will be a huge improvement compared to the KEYone such as keeping the odd screen size and resolution but improving the RAM to 6GB and processor to the Snapdragon 660 chip. If it can do this and keep the battery life it currently has and address the issues with performance and audio, it may be a great phone in the end.


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Ford, along with their local distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC) are celebrating their official Heritage Month by offering a slew of cash rebates for its most popular vehicles as well as other promotional items and deals.
In addition to the rebates themselves, Ford is including extra Ford Heritage goodies such as a cap and umbrella as well as a Ford ST sports bag (for Focus, EcoSport, Fiesta, Fiesta ST, Mondeo, S-Max, Kuga customers). For the Ranger, however, a limited G-Shock Ranger watch is on offer.
These extras all complement Ford’s Extended Service Plan (ESP) nicely, which lets owners have one less thing to worry about by offering a three year or 60,000km maintenance programme at no extra charge.
It also includes Ford’s aftersales service which constitutes a free multipoint inspection by a Ford’s team of certified technicians as well as a 15 percent discount off Motorcraft and Castrol engine oils and filters which is valid through all of June 2015 and applies to all Ford models.
“Since the first Ford vehicles were distributed in Malaysia in 1909, customer satisfaction has always been our top priority. Heritage Month continues this tradition by rewarding customers as we welcome them into our Ford family,” said David Westerman, managing director, Malaysia and Asia Pacific Emerging Markets, Ford Motor Company.
You can find out more about the Ford Heritage Month and the promotions that that entails by visiting www.ford.com.my


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TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Saying it empathizes with the supercharged pressures U.S. suppliers currently are enduring,Motor Engineering and Mfg. North America Inc. plans to help do something about it.
Sigmund Huber, assistant general manager-purchasing/supplier relations for TEMA, says here at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars the auto maker has adopted a new process to reduce the “burden” OEMs often inadvertently place on their suppliers.
Huber says suppliers are dealing with increasing global competition, ever-shorter lead times and current high material costs.
In addition, OEMs often unwittingly place “unnecessary” burdens on their suppliers, he says. It is these pressures that TEMA, with a new component to its supplier-interaction process, hopes to stamp out.
’s “Voice of the Supplier” process was instituted to allow the auto maker’s suppliers to anonymously submit a complaint or issue. From there, Huber says, Toyota presents the matter to the Bluegrass Automotive Manufacturers Assn., its North American suppliers group.
A BAMA subcommittee reviews the problem and generates a survey regarding the matter that is distributed to each supplier in the BAMA network.
Once the survey results are assimilated, Toyota assigns a department head to institute a solution. Finally, the BAMA suppliers grade Toyota on how well the issue was resolved.
For example, Toyota adopted an Internet-based request for estimates process, by which suppliers would submit detailed cost quotes for a component. However, the system did not have the capability to upload figures from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets – a format used almost universally by suppliers submitting bids.
The Toyota system, designed to save time, actually was forcing suppliers to spend inordinate amounts of time transposing figures from their Excel spreadsheets to the Toyota RFQ system. The new Toyota Voice of the Supplier process identified the situation and resolved it.
Huber says the anonymous aspect of problem submission is key. “The only way (to solve problems) is to listen to your supplier,” he says. But “sometimes suppliers are hesitant” to voice concerns to their OEM client.
Huber says the issue of supplier relations was “rediscovered” at Toyota about a year-and-a-half ago, when TEMA created a supplier-relations department within its purchasing department.
The auto maker realized it had employee relations, community relations, public relations, even investor relations, but no supplier-relations function. This despite the fact that many surveys, including Ward's most recent survey of suppliers, indicate Toyota is a coveted customer.
Huber says supplier content on today’s average vehicle accounts for about 70% of the vehicle’s content, so it is critical to foster good relations with suppliers despite the fact the idea seems self-evident.
Only by helping its suppliers with processes such as the Voice of the Supplier, can Toyota improve, he says, noting, “Suppliers’ performance equals Toyota’s performance.”


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Helping the giant retailer meet its commitment of being supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, Walmart Puerto Rico and SunEdison are partnering on the largest solar energy project in Puerto Rico. The two companies plan to deploy rooftop solar systems on five Walmart PR stores, which are expected to deliver about 25 to 35 percent of each store’s energy needs. The pilot project has the potential to expand to 23 stores over five years.
Although each solar power-generating system installed may vary, construction on the first 895-kW rooftop system at Walmart Supercenter Caguas is scheduled to begin by the end of 2009. Under a solar power services agreement with Walmart, SunEdison will finance, own, build and operate the photovoltaic solar energy systems. During the 15-year contract, the zero-emission systems are projected to produce 90-million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity.
Two Sam’s Club locations and three Wal-Mart Supercenters are participating.
- Sam’s Club Rexville: 795 kW
- Sam’s Club Ponce: 936.44 kW
- Wal-Mart Super Center Ponce Baramaya: 1239.84 kW
- Wal-Mart Super Center Manati: 854.44 kW
- Wal-Mart Super Center Caguas: 895.44 kW
This latest project contributes to Wal-Mart’s goal to double the amount of solar power it uses over the next 18 months. In April, Wal-Mart installed solar at 18 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores, along with two warehouses in California and Hawaii. It also has rooftop installations underway at 10 to 20 stores and distribution centers in California.


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Ashley MacKenzie, media executive and son of former editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, is trying to raise money to launch a new blockchain agency, called Fenestra.
According to The Times, the blockchain technology will be designed to plug into brand’s marketing efforts, offering “a new, independent and more transparent model”.
MacKenzie said: “Change is coming. Advertising is an incredibly powerful tool, today’s media supply chain does not work in favour of the advertiser who ultimately funds it.”
The company is pitching that the tech can instill trust back in the media supply chain, giving a better idea of where spend goes. It has already reportely raised $1.5m.
There is a lot of talk about whether blockchain is actually the tool that can clean up the industry. If properly implemented, the decentralised ledger would be continuously updated with ad buys, helping keep an infallible register of digital ad spend. Once entered, the transaction is encrypted, and cannot be edited.
Truth, a media agency that's part of The Marketing Group, launched last November with a similar promise to harness the tech to provide full transparency to advertisers.


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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is authoritatively getting back to an in-person format in Las Vegas in 2022, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) declared today, denoting the arrival of the biggest tech conference in the world one year from now.
“We’re thrilled to return to Las Vegas – home to CES for more than 40 years – and look forward to seeing many new and returning faces,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the CTA, in an announcement.
All things considered, the CTA had consistently proposed to get back to an in-person CES in 2022. The group had effectively reported designs to do as such in July 2020, when it declared that CES 2021 would be moving to an all-digital format because of the continuous COVID-19 pandemic. Other major tech conferences, as IFA 2021 in the fall, are likewise getting back to in-person events this year.
CES 2022 will be held from January 5th through the 8th, with the typical media days going before the actual conference on January 3rd and 4th. As indicated by the declaration, the forthcoming conference will be a hybrid of sorts, with events set to occur both physically and digitally. Affirmed participants will incorporate major tech organizations like Amazon, AMD, AT&T, Dell, Google, Hyundai, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Sony.
The CTA says that CES 2022 will be following the CDC’s Covid security rules, alongside state and neighborhood rules for Nevada and the city of Las Vegas to guarantee a protected event for participants.


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The international DVN Workshop in China got off to a great start this morning with 250 attendees, despite the difficulty to travel in and to China right now on account of Covid restrictions. More than 30 car maker representatives are attending the event, with its rubric Innovations for New Lighting Functions.
After the thoughtful keynote from Hasco Vision’s CEO came a parade of innovations presented by speakers from Audi; Volvo; PATARC; Changan; Great Wall; Stellantis; Human Horizons; FAW, and Jidu. It is regrettable that most of the lighting community members could not be physically present because of China’s travel restrictions.
The second day of the Workshop will get started in few hours, with a presentation by GTB ex-president Geoff Draper, now DVN’s senior regulatory adviser. There will be lively lectures from Koito; Hella; Valeo; Mind; AMLS/Plastic Omnium; Hasco; Marelli AL; XingYu; Chongqing Varroc TYC, andAMS Osram.
As Wolfgang Huhn described last week, we are working to spotlight and showcase lesser-known innovative companies, today it’s Lightworks’ turn; you’ll find an interview with founder Michael Höfgen.
Do enjoy the China Workshop as you can. In the meantime, we proudly present this, the 769th DVNewsletter.


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Kia Motor India has finally revealed the Seltos compact SUV in India and it's the production model based on the SP Concept which the company showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo. The Kia Seltos will go up against the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier and even the newly launched MG Hector.
Seltos gets a first in segment 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation. Adding to the premiumness, is an 8-speaker sound system by Bose.
Kia has also provided an air purifier which has been placed between the front two seats and provides for an AC vent for rear seat passengers.
There's a 360 degree surround camera added to the segment first list as well which provides for better visibility.
It also gets three drive modes- Normal, Eco and Sports.
There's also Apple Carplay and Android Auto on offer.
The Seltos has been designed and developed keeping the Indian market in mind but will be exported from the company’s plant in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, to Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other Asian countries.
He said the Anantapur plant will manufacture four new models, including the Seltos, in the next two years.


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Catachrism has released a must-have mod for the PC version of the first Mass Effect game. Mass Effect Restored Light & Illumination Natively (MERLIN) is a mod that aims to restore dynamic lights and post-processing effects from the X360 version. Continue reading Mass Effect Restored Light & Illumination Natively Mod available for download
We already know Bioware’s science-fiction trilogy is getting remastered, and will be available for purchase on May 14th. We also know that another Mass Effect is under development, and it will probably be a continuation of the original trilogy.
Back in November 2020, we informed you about a new Mass Effect game that is currently under development. And tonight, Electronic Arts and Bioware revealed its first official trailer. Continue reading Here is the first official teaser trailer for the next Mass Effect game
Parent company of BioWare, Electronic Arts, has just revealed that Mass Effect director and BioWare general manager Casey Hudson, and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah have resigned from the studio. Continue reading Mass Effect and Dragon Age leads “Casey Hudson” and “Mark Darrah” have resigned from BioWare
Following the announcement of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Bioware also revealed that it’s currently working on a brand new Mass Effect game. Although the team did not reveal much, it did share the following artwork. Continue reading A new Mass Effect game is currently under development
After numerous hints, rumors and teasers, it’s finally official. Bioware has just announced that Mass Effect Remaster Trilogy, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, will release in 2021. Continue reading Bioware officially announces Mass Effect Remaster Trilogy, releases in 2021
It appears that the time has finally come. Bioware has announced that it will make an interesting announcement tomorrow on its blog. And, in case you didn’t know, tomorrow is the N7 Day, a celebration day for the Mass Effect franchise. So yeah, we can safely assume that Bioware will officially reveal tomorrow the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Continue reading Bioware will most likely reveal Mass Effect Legendary Edition tomorrow, and here is a glimpse at its box art
The Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea has rated the Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster. This upcoming remaster will feature the first three games of the series, and will be called Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Continue reading Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster has been rated in Korea
Back in August 2020 we informed you about a possible release date for Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster. However, it appears that this won’t happen after all. According to VentureBeat, Electronic Arts now plans to release Mass Effect Trilogy in early 2021. Continue reading Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, to be released in early 2021
Weekend content once more! In the sixth episode of Gaming After Dark we discuss the ominous Halo: Infinite delay, Gamescom being a nothing-burger and Mass Effect Remastered rumors.
Continue reading Gaming After Dark Episode 6


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Unveiled during Sony's 2016 E3 conference, Days Gone was the dark horse of the PS4 exclusive lineup. When stacked up against the likes of God of War and Spider-Man, it was completely overshadowed. However, now that the bigger titles have been released and Days Gone has the spotlight, it's showing off exactly why PlayStation owners will be more than happy with the system's latest exclusive.
Many feared that Days Gone was just The Last of Us-lite, offering standard zombie action without any of the quality story and characters from Naughty Dog's masterwork. Sony and developer Bend Studio have worked to remedy that perspective through the gradual release of video diaries and trailers, indicating the type of experience players can expect.
The Last of Us gave players a zombie story where plot and characters were the focus, leaving gameplay more as a means to keep the story progressing. DG hopes to be in that middle ground between the two components, giving players an action-heavy survival game with a fully realized plot surrounding it.
What does Days Gone have? Faction systems, dynamic weather effects (snowfall realistically builds over time), a story that's being teased as a good old-fashioned zombie tale full of heartbreak and tragedy, and much more. Best of all, it comes out this Friday.


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Visitors can sign up to receive a newsletter for 2014 C7 Corvette updates at Singh Chevroletâ€™s new website. Visitors can also view pictures and see pricing and ordering information as it is released.
Online PR News – 03-November-2012 – Riverside/California – The all new 2014 C7 Corvette will be officially unveiled on January 13, 2013. To help their customers stay on top of every new piece of information, Singh Chevrolet in Riverside, CA has created a website dedicated to the C7. Customers can sign up there to receive updates when new information is released.
Singh Chevroletâ€™s website is www.allnewcorvette.com. There, visitors can enter their e-mail address to get a newsletter with updates for the C7 Corvette. They can also view artist renditions of what the C7 is expected to look like. And, as the reveal date and actual release date get closer, visitors can see pricing and option information along with ordering information.
GM has stated that the 2014 C7 Corvette will be a â€śworld-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency, and driver engagement that is second to none.â€ť GM also revealed that the C7 will be nearly 100 percent newâ€”as in the only parts from previous Corvettes they are using are the cabin air filter and rear latch for the removable top.
GM also has a dedicated website for the C7 at http://www.chevrolet.com/one13thirteen.html. There currently is not much information there, but the first video will be available on November 15. Information is also available on Corvetteâ€™s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/corvette.
For more information on the 2014 C7 Corvette, please contact Singh Chevrolet in Riverside, CA. Their knowledgeable staff will be happy to answer all questions. You can also visit them online at http://www.singhchevrolet.com/. To see Chevrolet news and Singh updates, please visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ThinkSingh?ref=ts.
About Singh Chevrolet
Singh Chevrolet, a trusted name located in Riverside, CA since 1997, has consistently served the Inland Empire, Los Angeles and Orange Counties with honesty, integrity and a commitment to exceptional customer service. The award-winning service department knows how to keep each GM vehicle running in its best condition, and is prepared to assist with all repairs and routine maintenance. Singh Chevrolet is always renewing their stock of new and used Chevy cars to be sure that each customer can find exactly what he or she needs.


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More than three billion pounds of carpet were sent to U.S. landfills in 2018, according to Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). Eastman Chemical has partnered with Circular Polymers, a company headquartered in Wilmette, IL, that reclaims post-consumer waste products for recycling, to turn carpet that has reached the end of its useful life into valuable feedstock. This is Eastman’s first announcement regarding sourcing of feedstock for its carbon renewal technology, an innovative chemical recycling method that recently began commercial operation at Eastman's primary manufacturing site in Kingsport, TN.
"Our work with Circular Polymers will divert millions of pounds of carpet from landfills in the first year of our agreement," said Mark Costa, Eastman Board Chair and CEO. "Securing consistent sources of feedstock is an important element of our circular solutions platform, as it ensures we can provide Eastman customers with materials that contain certified recycled content.”
Under this agreement, Circular Polymers will collect polyester carpet from homes and businesses and recycle it at its reclamation facility in California, where it separates the PET fiber from the carpeting. Circular Polymers densifies the fiber, which enables its efficient transport by railcar to Eastman's Tennessee manufacturing site for chemical recycling, where it will produce new materials with certified recycled content. Those materials will be used to manufacture products used in Eastman markets, including textiles, cosmetics and personal care, and ophthalmics.
A nonprofit created to support and facilitate market-based solutions that keep carpet out of landfills, CARE partnered with Eastman and Circular Polymers to facilitate the agreement. Since its founding in 2002, CARE has diverted more than 5 billion pounds of carpet from landfills.
This announcement comes less than a year after Eastman first announced its intention to prioritize meaningful contributions to the circular economy.
"We're a company committed to immediate, substantive action to support a circular economy," said Steve Crawford, Eastman Senior Vice President, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer. "Finding new value in old carpet is something we can all appreciate and relate to. If we just discard the carpet and landfill it, then it's as if the valuable resources it took to make that carpet are locked up and no longer useful. Eastman is also committed to changing that story for multiple sources of mixed plastic which now are being landfilled. By collaborating with feedstock providers like Circular Polymers and others across the value chain, we are going to work together to reclaim the value of our resources."
Eastman expects to use up to 50 million pounds of waste plastic in carbon renewal technology operations in 2020, and projects are currently underway to significantly expand that amount. "In addition to other feedstock agreements like this one, we are also developing take-back programs in partnership with strategic customers to supply additional feedstock for our innovative recycling technologies," Crawford said. "Our carbon renewal technology is already operating at commercial-scale capacity, so we are actively pursuing additional feedstock opportunities to realize a material impact as quickly as possible."
Image: Piggypa/Adobe Stock


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In what was probably the worst kept secret, Playstation Plus members can officially look forward to a new set of free games in June including the first-person coop zombie shooter “Killing Floor 2” and the amazing episode “Life is Strange.”
Playstation Plus members can look forward to a new set of free games in May including TellTale’s “Tales from the Borderlands” and atmospheric “Abzu.”
Playstation Plus members can look forward to a new set of free games in April including David Jaffe’s new arena shooter “Drawn To Death” and the excellent couch co-op game “Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime”. Loverrrrrs… in a dangerous spacetime. I know you’re singing it in your head.
Microsoft and Sony are holding a free multiplayer weekend for both of their online services. That’s right, this weekend you’ll be able to rocket your league and call your duty with all your online friends for free.
Just a heads-up for Playstation owners that their Black Friday and Flash sale ends tonight (well technically at 8am Tuesday morning). Also ending is the extra 10% off code that they’re offering.
The folks over at PlayStation.Blog have released the list for the November free games for PlayStation Plus members.
Hey everyone! I am so stoked to jump back into the Podcast / Blogging saddle! So much so that I have a wicked plan to beat the PSN price hike coming on September 22nd. Wait, what?!


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LAFAYETTE, LA. (KLFY) – LARC’s Acadian Village is set to continue their holiday tradition with the 2017 edition of Noel Acadien au Village.
The annual Christmas festival fundraiser begins Friday, December 1st and runs through December 23rd nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., weather permitting.
Noel Acadien au Village featured half a million lights, Christmas displays, live entertainment, carnival rides, food, photos with Santa, holiday shopping and much more.
All proceeds directly benefit LARC’s Acadian Village and all of the services they offer.
For more information, CLICK HERE.


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Apple launches Apple Music TV
October 20, 2020
By Nik Roseveare
Apple has launched Apple Music TV, a free channel offering a livestream of music videos 24 hours a days, that will also include “exclusive new music videos and premieres, special curated music video blocks, and live shows and events as well as chart countdowns and guests,” according to a statement in Variety.
The Apple Music TV channel is currently available to US viewers only via the Apple Music app and the Apple TV app.
The channel will celebrate the upcoming release of Bruce Springsteens’s Letter to You album with an “all day Bruce takeover” on October 22nd, featuring music-video blocks of The Boss’s most popular videos, an interview with Zane Lowe, and a special livestream fan event. The takeover ties in with a new Springsteen documentary that will premiere on Apple TV+.
Apple Music TV will also have two exclusive video premieres on October 23rd from Joji and Saint Jhn. The channel intends to premiere new videos every Friday.


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In 2023, we expect to see the digital identity market continue to evolve and adapt with a notable shift toward serving the needs and demands of consumers - crystallizing their role at the center of the identity ecosystem. It’s no easy feat – and if done successfully, we calculate the opportunity for reusable identity as a $32.8B market TAM, growing at a 68.9% CAGR by 2027. This includes a focus on user experience and commerce, as well as an emphasis on data protection, privacy, and inclusivity. Additionally, with the expansion of digital payments and the proliferation of new digital channels and technology, we’re likely to see an increase in services for biometrics, passwordless authentication, and identity networks. It could be another challenging but exciting year for enterprises as they create innovative ways for solving old problems like persistent fraud attacks and the ever-evolving regulatory environment while serving the needs of end-users in a rapidly changing digital market.
So, where do we predict that 2023 will take the digital identity market?
A new class of integrated identity platforms will emerge as market conditions will push young companies to exit prematurely and incumbents to buy revenue.
Many early-stage digital identity companies faced a stark reality in early Q2 last year, as onboarding and transaction volumes waned or decreased due to a general slump in the tech sector. The rapid slowdown stifled early-stage company growth and compelled them to retrench, resulting in mid-summer layoffs. Many of these same companies, with skeleton crews, stopped innovating at the rate required to differentiate themselves sufficiently to replace incumbents.
Many of these early-stage companies with a few million in annual revenue will be acquired over the next year, accelerating large platform growth while the economy limits organic growth. Several platforms are well-positioned to capitalize on buyer demand for large integrated identity platforms that service the entire customer lifecycle with well-designed solutions and a decision platform to improve platform efficiency.
To enhance user experience (UX), businesses will prioritize behavioral analytics and biometrics on their product roadmaps.
Consumers have become accustomed to using physical biometrics to unlock devices, authenticate payments, automatically tag photos, and various other uses over the past few years. Younger consumers are accustomed to and expect everything on their devices to be delivered to them in milliseconds, which presents another challenge for many product managers. To address the question of “how do we improve user experience to match expectations while maintaining security and minimizing fraud,” many product managers are turning to behavioral analytics and biometrics. Over the next five years, we anticipate that both solutions will be essential for any consumer platform.
Small and medium sized businesses have been the first to implement passwordless solutions, but Big Tech companies will create momentum for widespread consumer adoption.
Rarely has the answer network provided its community with such unanimity of opinion. Nearly all technology buyers concur that passwordless solutions lower cybersecurity risk, lower costs, and offer a better user experience. Large organizations still have a ways to go before adopting passwordless, lagging behind their SMB counterparts.
Big tech giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft announced early this year that they would cooperate to increase the use of FIDO™ passkeys. We can anticipate seeing the FIDO-authorized passkey technology integrated into macOS, iOs, Windows, Chrome OS, and Android this year as they are the major device manufacturers in the majority of the world.
Numerous start-up companies will be founded this year to make the internet safer for children.
According to a recent Trusted Future survey, 77% of parents are concerned about protecting their family’s digital privacy, and 73% are worried about personal data being collected without their consent by third parties. Unsurprisingly, privacy and data protection laws are becoming more potent worldwide. Countries have been enacting online child protection laws, requiring businesses to verify users’ ages and segment them on their platforms. A growing number of industry-specific regulations are also being passed, putting additional pressure on businesses to implement age-restriction measures. It is an excellent opportunity for a few entrepreneurs to take on.
The increasing popularity and use of AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney will prompt policymakers to devote more time to its effects on consumer technology
Artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology are advancing exponentially and is expected to significantly alter how businesses operate globally. Competitive pressures and the benefits of AI optimization drive business processes, and sometimes entire industries, to rely more heavily on AI. Companies devote more resources to developing, procuring, or acquiring AI tools and strategies to meet this demand.
This has been noticed by legislators and policymakers. Initial AI regulation models emerged this year, and 2023 promises to usher in a new wave of AI obligations for organizations. Despite the steady growth of global AI adoption, the United States needs comprehensive federal AI legislation. Instead, the United States has a patchwork of current and proposed AI regulatory frameworks. Understanding these frameworks and preparing to comply with them is critical for organizations looking to harness this novel technology.
We won’t have a clear set of winners or losers in the battle for the reusable identity market.
In our recent research report, The Market Opportunity for Reusable Identity and How to Get There, we captured, distilled, and projected what the future might look like if we achieve identity nirvana. Building upon by our consumer survey research, we outlined the thesis in required to realize early adoption of reusable identities in our report, Personal Identity Ecosystems (PIE). We see several companies align their efforts with the PIE thesis and begin developing products that capitalize on the natural synergies between use cases and specific communities. Meanwhile, companies with existing networks and consumer adoption (e.g., Google, Apple, EarlyWarning, Mastercard, Gen) have yet to roll out the solutions we all know are in the works. By the end of the year, we should have a few more signals to use when forecasting the future, but we won’t know who the winners and losers are.
Value investing is replacing growth and we expect to see companies aligning go-to-market and product strategies for strong unit economics, steady revenue growth, and good business practices.
We saw a decrease in fundraising volume and value in 2022, with 113 deals totaling $8.7B, a 65% decrease from 2021. While many well-known companies quietly financed their businesses through debt or other novel equity structures, we anticipate that valuations will remain low relative to pre-pandemic levels.
Speaking with private equity and venture capital investors, the narrative has shifted from growth to value investing. The general agreement is that solution providers must align their GTM and product strategies, as well as demonstrate positive unit economics, sustained revenue growth, and sound business practices. In 2023, we expect clear market winners and losers, with opportunities for market winners to consolidate competitors through mergers and acquisitions or a roll-up strategy.
As we continue to keep a close eye on the changes in the digital identity market, referring to our annual Digital Identity Landscape is the best way to explore how these new trends might impact your business. Each year, we assess and validate the industry trends to provide the most up-to-date market intelligence to support digital identity executives in their strategic decision-making.


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Trucking companies typically prefer to keep things rolling. Recessions, it turns out, are a painful exception.
Paul Lee, Institute for Supply Management (ISM) director of research and analytics, reviewed the concept of a “rolling recession”—in which many experts say the U.S. is mired—and explained why it’s a pernicious problem during National Tank Truck Carriers’ 2023 Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.
“That isn’t a good thing because it means different sectors of the economy are going through the recession at different points, and you don’t see the overall cooling you need to get inflation to come down,” he told NTTC’s energy services, and chemical committees. “What you see is pain rolling through the economy, and until we start to cool off a little bit more, we won’t be finished with government intervention in financial markets.”
The prospect of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve certainly is unpleasant, but it’s unsurprising to carriers already dealing with a freight recession that has left market conditions “at or near the bottom,” Avery Vise, FTR vice president of trucking, said after FTR released its March Trucking Conditions Index. Unfortunately, Lee also said chemical products—where many tank truckers have focused their recent expansion efforts—have “underperformed” compared to other manufacturing sectors.
But Lee also shared some good news with attendees, saying petroleum and coal products have performed relatively well, and ISM now expects prices to “roll back” in manufacturing and services in the second half of this year while discussing ISM’s latest Report on Business—which covers all aspects of business operation, from sales and production, to imports and exports—and newly released Spring 2023 Semiannual Economic Forecast.
“When we broke this down [in December 2022 for ISM’s fall economic forecast], manufacturing was expecting a recession to hit in the first half of the year, with recovery in the second half,” Lee reported. “Now we’ve all seen that didn’t happen, so expectations have been pushed out compared to the end of last year.”
ISM, founded in 1915, is the oldest association for supply chain professionals in the world. The organization boasts 50,000 members who manage $1 trillion in corporate and government spend. ISM began publishing its Report on Business in 1931 after President Hoover requested a briefing on the work of supply chain managers, who he believed were the “nexus of supply and demand,” Lee relayed. The now-30-page report features qualitative and quantitative analysis of 36 manufacturing and services sectors, including a Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and 10 sub-indexes, and board-selected comments from over 1,000 monthly respondents.
Manufacturing represents only 12% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—down from approximately 24% 30 years ago—but is considered a “bellwether of economic performance” in the U.S. by financial and government institutions, who pay close attention to ISM’s numbers, Lee said. The top six sub-sectors represent 70.3% of total U.S. manufacturing GDP. Computer and electronic products, to no one’s surprise, are No. 1 on the list, representing 16.4% of U.S. manufacturing efforts, chemical products (14.8%) are second, transportation equipment (13.9%) is third, and petroleum and coal products (6.5%) rank sixth.
Services represent 88% of U.S. GDP. The top six sub-sectors make up 61.2% of U.S. services GDP, and include No. 1 real estate, rental, and leasing (13.7%), No. 2 government (12.8%), and No. 3 professional, scientific, and technical services (9.8%).
ISM’s PMI for manufacturing and services has trended downward since the fall of 2021. But while manufacturing has consistently declined, services have only recently begun to dip, and not as much as regulators want to see, Lee said. “This is actually pretty hopeful, even though it’s painful,” he asserted. “If services start to follow that trend a little bit, maybe we’ll get some respite from the interest rate increases.”
New orders have slowed since October 2021. Manufacturing new orders declined for the ninth consecutive month in May, registering 42.6% on ISM’s index. Anything above 50% is expanding and anything below is contracting. “People have been waiting to see that percolate into the services sector but it’s not doing that up to this point,” Lee said. On the flipside, with the backlog of orders, manufacturing dropped below 50% in September 2022 but services didn’t begin to contract until this past March. “You’re not seeing enough production eating into what’s already been ordered,” Lee elaborated.
Supplier deliveries, overall, have moderated since the fall of 2021, indicating supply chains are improving, and the pace of price increases has slowed since March 2022, Lee said. ISM’s Prices Index hit 44.2% in May. But service business activities have yet to dip below 50%, and manufacturing production, which fell below 50% in December, rebounded to 51.1% in May, further delaying the economy-wide downturn many expected. “When we get into a recession, we’ll see both these sectors below [50%],” Lee said. “And typically what happens is we hit a recession after they’ve been below the black line for a couple of months. But the recession people thought was coming the first half of the year didn’t materialize.”
Petroleum and chemicals
Petroleum and coal products helped prop up the economy in the first four months of the year, performing well relative to other sectors of the manufacturing economy, Lee said. However, the sector reported contraction in May. “Generally speaking, petroleum and coal products have had a relatively good time of it over the last year,” Lee said. New orders contracted only once between May 2022 and April 2023, and the sector’s backlog indicates sales largely have remained in balance with production and deliveries. “Earlier in the 12-month period, there were a couple of spikes [in the backlog of orders],” Lee said. “In fact, in July, petroleum and coal products had the best performance relative to the other 17 manufacturing sectors.”
Petroleum and coal products enjoyed a “pretty good production run about six months ago” before flattening out, Lee added, while supplier deliveries and input prices have been “up and down,” revealing volatility.
Chemicals, on the other hand, have “mostly underperformed compared to other sub-sectors,” Lee lamented. “Chemical respondents are saying their new orders have been retracting for a long time now,” he said. “And backlogs of orders mostly have been contracting [since May 2022]. We had a little blip up at the beginning of the year [in January], but generally speaking, it hasn’t been positive news for chemicals.”
Chemical production was the worst-performing manufacturing sector in December 2022, and contraction continued in ISM’s May report. However, one chemical products respondent voiced an encouraging view in May, saying “Demand continues to gain momentum due to new business pipelines finally yielding billable production.
“Personal care and home care are drivers.”
ISM mirrored that hopefulness in its spring forecast released during the ISM World 2023 Annual Conference in Grapevine, Texas, with the nation’s purchasing and supply chain executives predicting the economy will continue to “softly expand” for the rest of 2023. Lee pointed out this includes price rollbacks in the second half of the year. ISM reported a 2.3% year-to-date jump in net average manufacturing prices in May, but they’re expected to increase only 1% for all of 2023, so some softening is expected in the second half. Services prices rose 5.1% in the first half of the year but are expected to increase only 4.3% for the year, again reflecting an expected rollback, “but they’re still pretty [big] price increases,” Lee said.
ISM also expects “modest” gains in manufacturing and services capital expenditures, employee headcounts, and revenue in the second half of the year. In December, manufacturing anticipated a 5.5% increase in revenue this year, but that expectation was revised down to a 1.7% gain in ISM’s spring forecast.
“Growth is slowing—but the economy is still expected to grow,” Lee concluded.


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Consumers are dancing to the beat of Pandora. In an RBC Capital Markets study conducted in November 2014, 51% of US internet users reported listening to music via Pandora—nearly double those who did so in December 2013. This put the music streaming platform in the top spot as it surpassed more traditional FM/AM radio as well as CDs.
Usage of almost all other platforms flatlined or declined between December 2013 and November 2014. CDs saw the biggest drop in respondents, falling nearly 20 percentage points from 36% to 17%. Traditional FM/AM radio also had grim results as it dropped from 44% to 36% of respondents. Meanwhile, the iTunes music library and iTunes Radio, YouTube and satellite radio stayed put.
Results indicated one possible threat to Pandora: Spotify, which 14% of respondents said they used to listen to music—still small, but up from 6%. While this was around just one-quarter of Pandora’s audience, RBC pointed to some signs that Spotify could affect Pandora usage. For example, among the 18% of Pandora users who listened to Spotify as well, 65% preferred the latter.
Nearly 80% of respondents who used both Spotify and Pandora said they were replacing time on Pandora with Spotify, and further results did find that average weekly time spent listening to Pandora had fallen. For example, US internet users were most likely to listen to Pandora for less than 1 hour a week, cited by 47% of respondents in November 2014, vs. 39% in December 2013. All higher frequencies fell or remained the same.
Still, eMarketer estimates that US adults spent more time daily with Pandora than all other digital radio in 2014, at 25 minutes vs. 14 minutes.
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Washington, DC – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration published today its final rule establishing a standard of identity for white chocolate, the common name given to confectionery products made from cocoa butter, milk solids, nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners (like sugar) and other ingredients, but containing no non-fat cocoa solids. The decision is the result of a 1993 petition filed by the chocolate and confectionery industries and subsequent meetings with FDA as recently as this summer asking for a standard of identity to help eliminate consumer confusion created by the use of various terms for white chocolate-type confections and potential economic fraud through the substitution of lesser-quality ingredients.
The new standard establishes that a product labeled and marketed as white chocolate must contain at least 20 percent cocoa fat, 14 percent milk solids and 3.5 percent milk fat, and not more than 55 percent sugar (or other nutritive carbohydrate sweetener).
“We are very pleased with and encouraged by FDA's final rule on white chocolate,” said NCA President Larry Graham. “The chocolate and confectionery industries have worked very hard for many years to establish a standard that assures consumers confectionery products labeled white chocolate meet the high standards the Food and Drug Administration requires.”
Prior to 1993, white chocolate-type confections were labeled with the words “cocoa butter confectionery” or other similar term not using the word “chocolate.” After the 1993 petition was filed, manufacturers were required to apply for temporary marketing permits to use the designation “white chocolate.” The TMPs created a burden for both manufacturers and the FDA.
The new rule for white chocolate is effective starting January 1, 2004.


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TORONTO—Canadian Tire reported strong earnings for the fourth quarter, as the national retailer saw sales spike across all its divisions.
The Toronto-based company, which sells everything from automotive parts, to fuel, to housewares, to clothing and sporting goods, says sales at its Canadian Tirestores rose 9.6 per cent in the three month period ending Dec. 31.
Same-store sales at locations open more than a year, an important gauge in retail, was up 8.1 per cent at the Canadian Tire retail division.
Same-store sales at FGL Sports, which includes Sport Chek, was up 5.1 per cent while same-store sales at the Mark’s clothing chain was up 10.6 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2015.
Its net income attributable to shareholders climbed 10 per cent to $246.8 million, or $3.46 per diluted share, from $225.2 million, or $3.01 per diluted share, a year earlier. For the full year, net income was $669.1 million in 2016, up from $659.4 million in 2015.
Revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was up 7.7 per cent to $3.64 billion from $3.38 billion a year earlier. Full-year revenue was $12.7 billion in 2016, compared with $12.3 billion in 2015.


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The site, euroffice (www.euroffice.co.uk), will supply services and products to small businesses in the UK. It will become an integrated Application Service Provider, helping white-collar businesses of up to 50 people solve their procurement, administration and productivity problems, according to Anthony Karibian, euroffice's co-founder.
Set to launch next month, euroffice will initially offer some 6,000 products - from pens to printer cartridges - and Karibian claims that prices will be up to 80 per cent lower than when bought through existing outlets.
Services such as insurance, accounting, payment facilities and payroll will be added in the second phase of the site's launch. Karibian said that the site should be fully operational, with the addition of such features as training facilities and forms for accounting and legal work, by Spring next year.


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U.K. girl band The Tootsie Rollers has appointed Game of 2 Halves as its new licensing agent.
Bulldog Licensing has been appointed to represent the gaming brands Saints Row and Dead Island across the U.S. and Canada.
Game of 2 Halves has added a series of new partners for Deep Silver, the video game publisher behind games such as “Saints Row.”
Licensed Twitter property @iQuoteForHer will soon move from computer screens to products with the extension of the brand to women's apparel.
Licensing Agent Game of 2 Halves has signed an exclusive representation deal with video game publisher Deep Silver, a division of Koch Media.
Copywrite Stationery is planning a new line of products featuring the Twitter brand @IQuoteForHer.
Licensing agent Game of 2 Halves has signed on to represent the Twitter brand @IQuoteForHer.
©2017 UBM. All rights reserved. A UBM Company.


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The board says this is due mainly to last May's late frost – an unusual event that brought heavy losses, especially in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria).
It goes onto to emphasise that because overall weather conditions during the year were quite favourable, the quality of the wine is high, and this for all regions and grape varieties.
The dry weather at the end of the vegetation period and during the main harvest season ensured the gathering of healthy and ripe grapes, both white and red.
Willi Klinger, managing director of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board said: “The total volume forAustria's 2012 wine harvest is significantly lower than the long-term average, but it is much better than had been anticipated.”
“However, the decline has particularly affected our flagship Grüner Veltliner, whose quantities in the Veltliner strongholds of Niederösterreich are rather scarce. But we are very happy the harvest provided fully ripened grapes that resulted in strong but very well-balanced wines and an outstanding red wine vintage,” said Klinger.


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Baidu takes competition in its stridePUBLISHED: 31 Oct 2012 00:34:00 | UPDATED: 31 Oct 2012 00:34:00PUBLISHED: 31 Oct 2012 PRINT EDITION: 31 Oct 2012
Baidu, owner of China’s most used search engine, has posted third-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates as it fended off competition from Qihoo 360 Technology, maker of China’s most used web browser.
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The two firms surveyed 5,013 smartphone owners, and reported that 81% regularly surf the net via this route, while 77% access search engines, 68% leverage apps and 48% stream video.
Simultaneous media use was also widespread, as 72% of those polled were active on their touchphone when consuming other channels, including 33% doing so at the same time as watching TV.
More broadly, 93% of participants used gadgets like the iPhone and alternatives powered by Google Android at home, suggesting they have grown beyond solely being deployed on-the-move.
Search engines proved the most-visited category of website, as 77% of interviewees logged on to these platforms through their phone, beating social networks, ecommerce portals and video-sharing services.
Overall, 90% of mobile enquiries entered on properties such as Google and Bing resulted in some form of concrete outcome, be it buying something, travelling to a store or calling a company.
Indeed, 24% of contributors recommended brands and products after inputting a search enquiry in this way.
Elsewhere, 71% of respondents had searched the mobile web in response to advertising, with traditional media ads registering 68% here, measured against mobile’s 27% and online’s 18%.
Another 82% could recall viewing ads on a wireless handset, and half of this group engaged in a positive reaction, incorporating 49% making a purchase and 35% going to a website. Mobiles are also exerting a growing influence as a “shopping tool”, with 79% of people possessing smartphones having used them to compare prices, find product specifications or locate retailers.
Exactly 74% have previously bought goods and services as a consequence of using smartphones for parallel purposes, whether it be in stores, online or from mcommerce platforms.Similarly, 70% had employed their phones for these reasons when in bricks and mortar shops.
Local information was revealed to be especially popular, as 95% of the audience looked for such content on a handset, and 88% took action within a day of tracking down relevant material. A 77% share contacted a company, with 61% calling on the phone and 59% attending a physical outlet.
“Make sure you can be found via mobile search as consumers regularly use their phones to find and act on information,” the study said.
“Incorporate location-based products and services and make it easy for mobile customers to reach you because local information seeking is common among smartphone users.”
Further recommendations included developing a meaningful cross-channel strategy, and taking advantage of mobile advertising which taps in to concurrent media usage.
Data sourced from Google; additional content by Warc staff, 28 April 2011
Contact ApolloBravo for more information on reaching mobile shoppers.


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Pokemon Journeys is pushing ahead with new episodes overseas, but fans have been waiting for the show to go ahead with its next arc. The anime has been in a lull of sorts since Mewtwo made his big debut, and it seems like things are about to pop off. After all, fans did begin to speculate about a new arc at the start of February, and a new toy drop seems to lend credence to the idea.
Over on Twitter, the whole thing popped off when Paul Ryan, the man behind PokeShopper, gave fans a tip. They told netizens some important legendary Pokemon were set to get toys this year specifically for the anime. Now, the tip has come true as pictures have appeared of the toys, and fans believe the merchandise will lead into an arc featuring the Crown Tundra.
でんきななかま pic.twitter.com/KuvKokElgO— ポケモンセンターNAKAYAMA (@pikachu_pcn) February 22, 2021
The new toys include a slew of miniature Pokemon figures, so there are guys like Pikachu and Eevee included. However, there are several Galarian Pokemon included which can only be found in the Crown Tundra or the Isle of Armor. For example, Regidrago is included in this toy line as well as Kubfu and Regieleki. Obviously, fans of Pokemon will know these legendary beasts made their debut in generation eight, so they have roots in the Galar region.
This sort of DLC-inspired arc has been rumored for a long time, so it is no surprise to see these toys come about. The items are expected to drop closer to the summer, so Pokemon Journeys may have new arcs planned in the coming months. This all could be confirmed this week when Pokemon Day comes around to announce the franchise's 25th-anniversary plans. So for now, we are keeping our fingers crossed for the best!
What do you make of this new rumor...? Do you believe Pokemon Journeys is about to explore the Crown Tundra? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB!