text:
How the next president will change the rules of business.
Since the election, the Dow Jones has been flirting with 20,000, apparently adrenalized by the prospect of corporate tax reform and gutted regulations now that Republicans control the House and Senate. Investors expect an economy unleashed from its typical restraints.
But what else might be unleashed?
More From Inc.com: 9 Most Innovative Startups of 2016
If Donald Trump, soon to take the oath of office, has one policy it's this: Stay unpredictable.
To any list of disruptions that can pummel businesses -- technology, new competitors, globalization, financial crisis -- add the political unknown. The blows could be international (What's an American Brexit? An end to NAFTA) or a Twitter rant from @potus.
So what can certain industries expect? Certainly not business as usual.
Trump's transition team for technology policy is led by people very skeptical of an active Federal Communications Commission and who don't see any threat of monopolies in mega-mergers. in the arena of telecom.
Net neutrality policies--also called "open internet"--could also be on the chopping block. These rules require internet service providers to treat all data equally (and not throttle speeds at their whim).
Talk of corporate tax reform has focused on the top rate dropping from 35 percent to 20 percent. But economists who've looked at the GOP tax blueprint say it's a radical new consumption-profit hybrid tax that could really hurt retailers who import goods.
Travel & Transportation
Cuba may no longer be a travel option if Trump reverses President Obama's rapprochement. Already some airlines and travel companies are scaling back, sensing that the momentum for dropping the travel embargo is lost.
Auto manufacturers may expect arm-twisting from Trump if they don't bring manufacturing jobs to the United States or even punitive tariffs on their goods and supply chains.
Chaos in this industry is already in motion. Republicans have not released a single, unified plan to replace Obamacare once they repeal it. Trump attacks drug makers at every opportunity. There could be sweeping changes to programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Trump also keep promising something "better and cheaper" than Obamacare. But Tom Price, the onetime physician nominated to lead Health and Human Services, has historically supported doctors' lobbies -- which pretty much want to get paid top dollar with no push-back from insurers.
With Trump at the bully pulpit, or Twitter pulpit, individual businesses also could get caught in the cross-hairs. Trump has attacked dozens of businesses on Twitter. And his support can be just as harmful. Outdoor-wear company L.L. Bean has been caught in the political crossfire since a board member donated to a pro-Trump PAC, leading to a boycott by some customers, leading to Trump's "Buy L.L. Bean" tweet, which drew more attention to the boycott.
Business leaders need to be ready for America's volatile political climate to ooze into the business sphere at any moment.
Photos of Trump as president-elect:


text:
All recalls are important to take note of, but those related to the safety of products used specifically for the youngest consumers – babies – are often of the utmost importance. And while a recent recall for Bexco is relatively small, because there’s a risk of entrapment of infants the issue falls into the “take note” category. [More]
Many parents choose to buy breast milk to feed their babies, for various reasons, but those folks are under the belief that the stuff is coming from humans. Researchers published a report into the online breast milk industry that said despite the expectation that the milk comes from women, some samples tested positive for cow’s milk.
Joshua and his wife moved their first child’s Graco Sweetpeace swing downstairs from storage in order to rock their adorable new son. They added fresh batteries to the two-year-old toy and fired it up. They were alarmed when the swing began to play music, the lights flashed, and the swing suddenly sped up, all without anyone touching the controls. Was the newest Joshua Jr. some kind of demon baby, or was the swing defective? Had other parents experienced the nightmare of having their newborns in a smoking rogue swing? Josh went online to find out.
Kirsten Gillibrand, a senator from New York, is apparently unsatisfied with the CPSC’s pledge to implement a voluntary ban of drop-side cribs. Gillibrand plans to introduce legislation this week that would outlaw the sale of drop-side cribs and ban them from daycare centers and hotels. Earlier this month, the CPSC said that this crib design has killed at least 32 infants and toddlers since 2000, that over 7 million drop-side cribs have been recalled since 2005.
Cameron Huddleston, an editor at Kiplinger and a mom, has some advice on how to make the most of your new baby budget. The money you save on things like play mats, changing tables, and fancy first-year clothes can be used to pay for less pleasant but more important safety-net things, like life and disability insurance, health insurance, and a will.
This “Recalled Baby Products 2009-2010” graphic from the website hugamonkey is massive, and it shows how many types of products were recalled over the past 16 months. You can use it as a reference tool to see if there’s anything in your home on the list, or to remind yourself why you’d rather have a houseplant.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) was the group responsible for pressuring Disney into offering refunds on Baby Einstein DVDs last October. Now the CCFC says Disney threatened the mental health center where the group had offices, and consequently the center booted them out in January.
The Generation 2 crib, which was sold by ChildDESIGNS until the company folded in 2005, is being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after reports of three infant deaths and 28 other safety incidents. Usually in a recall like this, the manufacturer offers to send out repair kits or replacement parts, but as the manufacturer no longer exists the CPSC is urging consumers to stop using the crib for good, effective immediately. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out the $60-160 dollars that it cost.
Rob’s local Kroger pharmacy screwed up the prescription on his kid’s TamiFlu. Rob caught the error before any harm was done, and he’s not the confrontational type. In fact, he’s wondering whether he should just drop the whole matter. Here’s your chance to convince him otherwise.
Maybe those hamsters are okay, but these Amby Baby Motion hammock beds are not. Two infants have died–one in June, the other in August–from suffocation, prompting Amby Baby and the CPSC to issue a recall notice. You can make the hammock safe to use after repairing it with a free kit, which you can order directly from Amby Baby.
A website that focuses on female entrepreneurs interviewed the creator of the Baby Einstein video line back in 2005. As Boing Boing pointed out yesterday, her explanation of how she developed the videos is pretty funny. Well, Boing Boing calls it “damning,” but it’s funny that everyone—Disney included—took the product line so seriously.
Up until yesterday, 4-month-old Alex Lange was considered uninsurable by Rocky Mountain Health Plans because he was above the 95th percentile for height and weight for his age—that gave him a pre-existing condition of obesity, and earned him a stamp of rejection.
The individual health insurance market can be a scary place for Americans who turn to it for health coverage. If they’re accepted to a plan at all, patients often find that their coverage isn’t quite what they were promised, and limits and restrictions lead to high medical bills for covered services that aren’t really covered.
If you feel like had to pay too much for baby supplies this past decade, look to Babies R Us. Time reports that last week, “the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia granted class-action status to a complaint that Babies ‘R’ Us coerced manufacturers of high-end strollers, car seats, high chairs, strap carriers and breast pumps into preventing Internet retailers from discounting their products.”
More than one million play yards made by Kolcraft and sold under a variety of names have been recalled. Brands include Kolcraft, Carter’s, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bears and Eric Carle. There’s a problem with the side rail, and children can fall out. Check to see if yours is affected at the CPSC.
Don’t know how to take your new baby’s temperature? Babyglow will take care of it for you! These new $35 outfits, which seem to be coming out in the U.K. only, change color when your infant has a fever. This makes a lot more sense than wrapping the baby in a blanket made out of color-changing coffee mugs.(Also: doesn’t babyglow+fever sound radioactive?) [OhGizmo!]

domain: news


text:
The technological giant Apple is working really hard to reduce its reliance on China for manufacturing new products and the company is searching for new manufacturing plants outside the Chinese border. We know that Apple started its iPhone manufacturing in India in 2017 with the older iPhone models and the company manufactured its latest iPhone 14 series in the country as well.
Now we got a new piece of information which is suggesting that Apple is now planning to manufacture iPads in India and the discussion for the same has started with the officials.
The report says that Apple is having lots of obstacles and need to overcome all of them to start manufacturing the iPad models in India.
There is no official confirmation about the same at this moment of time but we are looking forward to learn more about the same in the coming days and we recommend you to stay tuned with us for more interesting information from the technological world at your fingertips.
Read interesting news, reviews as well as tips & tricks on TechnoBugg website, and stay updated with the latest happenings of the tech world on the go with Technobugg App. Also follow on Google News and join our Telegram channel for the latest update.


text:
URI Nutrition student’s study shows even those with better information can be influenced by potentially inaccurate health-themed posts
Social media has an unavoidable influence on our daily lives, especially among college-age students, and is a significant—but not always accurate—source of information on basically every topic imaginable. That includes information centered around health, exercise and nutrition, which can prove particularly damaging, especially to younger people, as a URI Nutrition student’s study recently highlighted.
While the virtual communities social media creates can serve to connect people like never before, it too often may divide and ostracize people, damaging their self-esteem and making them feel less than the supposedly glamorous posters they follow. While there is research highlighting social media’s adverse impact on self-esteem and self-love, there is a gap in examining the intersection of social media and eating choices, patterns and habits among college students, according to first-year General Nutrition student Emma Cotter.
“A lot of what’s out there in social media isn’t backed by research, but a lot of people are influenced by it anyway and make decisions to either add food or cut certain foods,” Cotter said. “There are a lot of ‘What I eat in a day’ posts, which aren’t even what people should eat. Plus, there are a lot of drinks and products marketed that can be put out there without proper information. There are a lot of influencers without any nutritional background working with companies to promote products without understanding the effect of what promoting these products does.”
Cotter set out to determine how impactful nutrition-related social media posts are on college students. She polled 100 fellow first-year nutrition students on their social media use, and specifically how posts on food, nutrition and exercise affect them. She found that “sports,” “nutrition” and “fitness” were among the most common themes respondents search for on social media. More than 70 percent reported regularly seeing nutrition themes in their news feed, listening to “food swap” advice, and watching videos like “What I Eat in a Day” posted by “influencers” who may or may not have any knowledge of what they are promoting.
“They can be more influential because they have a big following,” Cotter said of the social media celebrities who are often paid to provide advice and suggestions to their followers. “There are a lot of fitness trends that correspond with the nutritional trends: ‘Eat this to look like this,’ or ‘Don’t eat this to look like this.’ That can be detrimental to people who don’t have a nutritional background. It’s dangerous both physically and mentally. There is a lot of shame and guilt surrounding eating and what our food choices are.”
Even posts that may appear to provide positive advice on the surface—such as “swap posts” that recommend alternatives to satisfy that sweet tooth—can be physically and mentally damaging, according to Nutrition and Food Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor Amanda Missimer, who is mentoring Cotter in her study. So can fad diets like Paleo or Keto, which may appear to have positive effects, but could be sapping your body of key nutrients.
“There is no one-size-fits-all dietary pattern, sorry to report. You cannot compare what someone else needs and eats in a day to what you need to eat in a day,” Missimer said. “Fad diets are posted at an alarming rate. Every other week, we’re eating something new, we’re cutting something out, we’re following something insane. The posts related to those topics can be dangerous because they make people think they have to replicate exactly what that person is doing to get the same results, which is just not true.”
There can be mental distress that may come with the pressure of following social media nutrition influencers, and associated feelings of guilt that can come from failing to maintain such a strict regimen, Cotter said. And those feelings don’t immediately dissipate. Cotter’s study determined that 58 percent of survey respondents “often” or “sometimes” recall a nutrition-themed post throughout the day, and more than half find themselves comparing their diets to those of influencers they follow. About half reported adding or subtracting foods from their diet specifically because of a social media post, and 48 percent reported feeling judged or criticized about their food choices.
“They might feel like ‘I don’t look like this because I’m not eating that,’ or maybe ‘I don’t feel great because I chose a bag of chips today,’” Cotter said. “It’s sometimes hard to admit someone else is influencing you, and individuals may be unaware that the choices they are making are not always their own.”
Being aware of the dietary choices you’re making can be daunting, but reminding yourself that all foods—yes, even candy and chips—have a place in a healthy dietary pattern, Missimer said.
The pervasiveness of social media is such that even students with a nutritional background can be influenced by people who know less than them on the subject.
“Unfortunately, the stuff like we say in class is not always sexy information,” Missimer said. “What’s sexy about eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains? Nothing. Now if I get on social media and start ranting about these alternative ‘health Pringle-equivalents’ I found, people will listen. Not many people want to hear that fruits and vegetables are healthy. They want changes now, and it’s the quick fixes that are dangerous.”
Those without specific knowledge may be even more susceptible. Cotter recommends social media users—and internet users in general—carefully scrutinize the sources of their information, leaning more toward websites with .edu or .org suffixes that tend to be more credible than many .coms or the first hit on Google. Review credentials of the individuals talking, and look for a registered dietician credential, as these professionals are skilled in translating nutrition science recommendations to individuals and the general public. Be aware of nutrition red flags like commends to “cut this out” or rules like “only eat this.”
“The study shows there’s definitely a connection between social media, and people’s diets and nutritional choices,” Cotter said. “Even with people who do actively think about nutrition every day, we found social media still affects them. It’s important to be conscious of how much screentime you’re engaging in and always analyze what you’re seeing or reading. It’s difficult to eliminate it altogether, but you want to limit your exposure to harmful educators. Be more critical about your usage and what you’re following.”
Emma Cotter is a first-year dietetics major in the Department of Nutrition and completed the survey as part of a team in a Field Experience in Nutrition experiential learning course. Missimer is a clinical assistant professor on the department, and oversees the trustworthy nutrition communications created by students on the URI Nutrition social media channels @urinutrition and @rhyodysportsnutrition.


text:
23rd March 2018
Grayling has appointed Nancy Wu as managing director, China.
Based in Shanghai, Nancy has 17years’ experience in marketing communication consulting, and has developed and led many corporate and consumer-facing programs for companies including Coca-Cola, Hilton, Bright Dairy, iRobot, Kimberly Clark, IKEA, Singapore Tourism Board, COMO Hotel, and Changi Airport.
Prior to joining Grayling, was consumer practice lead for Edelman China, and previously established MSL’s offering in social and digital communication.
Contact Nancy at: email@example.com.
27th October 2016
PayPal's campaign devoted to people living in remote parts of Russia scoops a silver prize at the Golden Drum international festival of creativity.#WhereverYouAre is a documentary series...Read More
27th July 2016
Grayling has been shortlisted for a PRWeek Award 2016 in the category Public Sector for the campaign 'Protecting Consumers at Christmas'.The Awards presentation will take place on Tuesday 18th...Read More
17th February 2016
Hot on the heels of winning Africa’s ‘Best Newcomer Agency’ award, Grayling’s Africa expansion took another big step forward today with the appointment of the company’s first recruit in...Read More


text:
Nearly one dozen photos emerge showing the sleek, sexy, and fabled Optimus G Nexus.
Scott Webster has spent the better part of his adult life playing with cell phones and gadgets. When not looking for the latest Android news and rumors, he relaxes with his wife and son. Scott also is the senior editor for AndroidGuys. E-mail Scott.
Nearly a dozen photos arrived online late last night, which could prove to be our first glimpses of the fabled LG Optimus G Nexus. Surfacing in a number of places all around the same time, the photos show an LG device that bears a striking resemblance to the curvy Galaxy Nexus.
According to the source of one leak, the phone is code named Mako, runs Android 4.1.2, and carries a model number of E960. Able to run on both AT&T and T-Mobile, this seemingly confirms an unlocked GSM model that will be sold in the Google Play store. Matching the code name up with previous benchmarks, it's likely that the phone features a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with Adreno 320 GPU.
A second source provided another four images of an LG E960, however, the device uses a different form factor. When compared with the other photos, the phone is a little more rounded in the corners. It's possible that this gadget may be more of a final design while the other images show the phone housed in a plastic shell or case. As most of you know, this wouldn't be the first time a handset maker went to lengths to disguise a handset.
With only a few weeks to go before the so-called Optimus G Nexus is announced, it would not surprise me to see a flood of details hit the Internet concerning this device. As one of the biggest Android releases of the year, the phone should boast a Snapdragon quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, a 1,280x768-pixel True-High Definition IPS display, and an 8-megapixel camera.


text:
A federal judge has rejected Apple Inc's demands that its chief rival in the global smartphone market cease selling models a jury found illegally used Apple technology.
The immediate impact of the ruling means Samsung can continue selling three of the older-generation smartphones still on US shelves that a San Jose jury in August found ripped off technology Apple used to create its iPhone.
The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $US1.05 billion ($A999.67 million) after it found the South Korean titan "infringed" several of Apple's patents in creating 26 products - three of which are still being sold in the US.
US District Judge Lucy Koh noted Samsung claims to have "worked around" using different technology than the Apple patents found to have been infringed such as the iPhone's popular "pinch to zoom" feature.
And even if that's a false claim, the judge ruled, Apple's demands to take Samsung products from US shelves and bar future sales was too broad of a punishment in devices built with technology backed by hundreds of patents each.
"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple's patents," Koh wrote in her ruling issued late Monday night. "Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple, it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions."
The judge also concluded the public would be harmed if she ordered a ban.
She also rejected Samsung's call for a new trial because of alleged juror misconduct.
Samsung had alleged jury foreman Velvin Hogan committed misconduct for failing to disclose his former employer Seagate Technology filed a lawsuit against him in 1993. Samsung later acquired nearly 10 per cent of Seagate.
Samsung alleged after the trial Hogan had a bias against it because of its ownership stake in Seagate, but the judge said Samsung had the ability to investigate alleged bias before the trial.
The judge still has before her several other legal demands from both companies. Apple is seeking to increase the award while Samsung is asking for a decrease in damages or a new trial.


text:
Why tech startups favor outdoor advertising
There’s an irony that a company dedicated to helping brands improve their online marketing opts to market itself through outdoor ads.
But for marketing tech startup Percolate, a heavy presence in outdoor, mostly on top of cabs, allows it to stand out. James Gross, co-founder, said that he has a very specific target in mind when he thinks about investing in outdoor. It’s not for people to ask, “What’s Percolate?” and then go Google it, he said. Instead, it’s for marketers who already know what the company does; the ad is the nudge that may encourage them to get back in touch, or give the company a call. But Gross said, of course, the first one — just getting people to become aware of the company — does happen.
“We don’t have a lot of evidence of it working,” he said, “but we do look at some click paths and see where the queries are coming from and so on.”
There’s also the intangible: Outdoor has a higher barrier to entry — “you can buy an online ad for 14 cents,” said Gross — and so it makes people think of the company differently. Gross also said there is an employee investment angle. Percolate now employs about 240 people, he said. “Our ad also touches a tertiary audience, the people we want to hire and the people who work here,” he said.
Of course, it’s not just marketing tech startups that are making a splash outdoor. Consumer companies like mattress company Casper is a presence in the subway — co-founder Luke Sherwin says it was the best place to get a captive audience — as does Seamless and health insurance company Oscar.
Still, those services are trying to reach millions of consumers. For business-to-business startups, the equation would ostensibly be different. Then again, the crowded marketing in advertising and marketing technology, not to mention the billions invested in companies in those sectors, make a dash for mindshare make more sense. After all, Buddy Media raised eyebrows with its aggressive outdoor marketing, focused mostly in airports, but then was bought by Salesforce for nearly $700 million.
“We’ve seen a real upswing in the past three years,” said Carly Zipp, spokeswoman at Outfront Media (formerly CBS Outdoor), one of the largest OOH inventory owners in the country, who added that the interest runs the gamut from smaller tech and martech companies to giants like YouTube.
Shai Goldman, managing director of SVB Capital, who also runs a Tumblr documenting startup ads on outdoor media, said that one other reason why startups are bullish on outdoor is because they’re finding that Facebook and other social advertising is getting more expensive and possible less effective. “People just want to try new channels,” he said. Outdoor also might make you think the company “supposedly has money” to either attract customers or maybe even new hires.
Matt Sraz, founder and CEO of HR software company Namely, which also runs outdoor ads in New York, said he’s a fan because it can be targeted to specific neighborhoods. There’s also the opportunity to get into a space traditionally dominated by legacy competitors. “And perhaps the best reason: It works,” he said. “We can track website traffic increases to our OOH advertising in specific geographies.”
Buddy Media was probably the company that started it all. Five years ago, when the company was just starting to define its business, decided it needed to capture CMO and digital marketer attention, and bought out-of-home space in airports and across cities. “In a new market, there is the leading brand and then everyone else,” said Mike Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy media. It was pretty unheard-of for a startup at that stage to go all out in airports and outdoor, but Lazerow and his team thought it was enough. “No other vendors were doing integrated campaigns across out-of-home and digital,” said Lazerow. “We stood out.” The result, the company said, speaks for itself: “We were acquired by Salesforce for $689 million.”
“The genius of New York is that it’s like, a six-by-three island, so lots of people that we need to see the ad see the ad,” said Gross. While it may be a bit weird to run cab ads anywhere else, it makes sense since a lot of marketing people and agency-side people live, work and commute through New York. One of the biggest challenges about being a growing brand is “getting your product back in front of senior folks that make buying decisions,” he said. New York is the place to do it.
But at the same time, he’s clear about outdoor’s limitations: “People ask if we have thought about putting more messaging on it, and that’s definitely a no. How would anybody have time to read it?”
Homepage image via @bmorrissey
‘We’re letting Facebook grade their own homework’: Here’s how advertisers’ desired changes differ from overall boycott
The overall goals of civil rights advocates organizing the boycott differ slightly from those of advertisers.
How Facebook’s brand safety audit with the Media Rating Council will work
The MRC audit will determine whether Facebook has applied an advertising adjacency standard into its brand safety protections.
Member Exclusive‘Are you going to put people over profit?’: As Facebook boycott continues, DTCs still running ads on the platform in a tricky spot
The Facebook boycott is part of a larger cultural shift towards a more “values-based consumerism.”
SponsoredWhy data clean rooms are a start, but not enough
Clean rooms are intended to be a “safe space” for brands to collaborate with walled gardens, but the greater opportunity for all brands is bringing together all of their data to create a single source of truth that they own and can continually enrich.
WTF is California’s new, and potentially stronger, privacy law?
In November, California residents will vote on the state's second privacy law, which is basically the CCPA 2.0
‘Influencer deals are being paused’: As Facebook boycott begins in earnest, influencer marketing feels a sting
The latest move to pause influencer marketing comes as marketers are not only reconsidering where their ads appear and the kind of content they appear next to, but as they work to figure out how they can better support Black creators and Black-owned businesses following the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.


text:
Samsung’s Gear S3 is easily one of my favorite smartwatches on the market today, but it hasn’t been immune to issues. In a previous update, Samsung seriously hurt the battery life on the Gear S3, but now, the company is taking steps to fix that.
Update: Samsung has confirmed that this update is rolling out globally to all Bluetooth Gear S3 models, Frontier and Classic included.
First spotted by SamMobile, Samsung is currently rolling out a new update to Gear S3 owners which fixes battery problems. In fact, the only note on the changelog for the roughly 21mb update is simply that it “improves battery usage time.”
Unfortunately, there is a pretty major catch here. So far, it’s only been confirmed that this update is rolling out in Canada. Thankfully, there have also been some mixed reports of the update rolling out in other regions. We’ve reached out to Samsung for input on the scope of this rollout. In the meantime, if you have a Gear S3, it can’t hurt to manually check for updates in the Gear app on your phone.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


text:
A Breakdown of COVID-19 Financial Aid
The coronavirus came into the U.S. with a vengeance, breaking down the economy and mimicking the impact of the Great Depression. While there are specific funds in place to help suffering small businesses through the pandemic, many U.S. companies received emergency government loans despite having months of cash on reserve. According to a report from Reuters, 41 publicly traded companies that received emergency aid already had enough to cover basic expenses for two months or more when they applied for the funds, while 30 had over three months worth of expenses stocked up.
To ensure businesses actually get the aid they need, Ratchet+Wrench breaks down where the funds are going and how to ensure you get what you need.
Where Is The Money Going?
During the pandemic, two stimulus packages were released before funding for small business owners became widely available. The third stimulus package, worth a record-breaking $2 trillion, followed by a fourth worth $484 billion, had allocated funds for small businesses. The third stimulus package, for example, helped cover most of the aid in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). To qualify for the program, small businesses needed 500 or fewer employees. And according to a report by the Observer, the PPP had a $10 million limit to each loan applicant. However, some borrowers were able to well exceed that cap by filing multiple applications across subsidiaries, as long as each operates as a separate legal entity and employs fewer than 500 people.
With all of that money up for grabs, many small businesses have not received any aid. Why? Part of the issue could be public companies, who have applied for a combined $870 million from the PPP, according to the the Observer. When small businesses that desperately needed the money found out, there was an outcry to return the money and a few companies did—Ruth’s Hospitality and Shake Shack, for example—but others have not, leaving many mom-and-pop shops without needed funds.
Is The Auto Industry Getting A Cut?
In an Automotive Service Association (ASA) webinar highlighting the stimulus programs, Ray Fisher, executive director at the ASA, shared how many industry members took advantage of these programs.
According to the data, roughly 90 percent of the industry applied for the PPP and roughly 55 percent applied for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, with less than 4 percent not filing for any assistance at all, showing the majority of the industry need help in one way or another. But, are they getting the help they need?
As of April 22, less than half (40 percent) that applied had been approved for the PPP. 20 percent of those that approved received their funding roughly a week after the stimulus program became available. Overall, Fisher says the data shows a positive trend for the industry and how operators are taking advantage of the funds.
How Can You Get Your Money?
The money is in high demand and going quickly. Here are tips for how small business owners can ensure they get the funding they need.
Get Paperwork in Order
When it comes to getting the necessary paperwork to apply for loans, businesses should have a copy of their driver’s license or an official ID and have the business’s most recent IRS form showcasing the business’s payroll, like Form 941, 1099, or a 1040, for example. Business owners should also establish basic company and contact information, like a preferred phone number, email address, and preferred person to be contacted regarding financial matters.
Go with a Small Bank
Some business owners who bank with larger banks discovered upon applying for the PPP that they were either ineligible for the program or that they simply couldn’t get through fast enough to be in line for relief. If business owners want to decrease their chances of getting rejected, consider a smaller, local bank. Local banks may get back to you faster or have more relaxed eligibility requirements for customers.
Utilize the SBA Website
In addition to health and safety measures, the Small Business Administration (SBA) website is providing guidelines for companies seeking loan and funding assistance. Business owners can expect the site to be updated regularly as things evolve.


text:
|Allison Johnson, who was HP's senior vice president of corporate marketing, is returning to Apple.
WHAT HEWLETT-PACKARD SHOULD DO NOW
Marketing Strategies for the Post-Carly Era
HEWLETT-PACKARD CEO CARLY FIORINA RESIGNS
Executive Differed With Board Over Tech Company's Direction
An HP spokeswoman said the departure of Ms. Johnson, senior vice president of corporate marketing, is unrelated to Ms. Fiorina's. Ms. Johnson, in fact, resigned Feb. 4, but the board asked her to stay on through a transition to a new CEO and HP's first-quarter earnings report.
Report to CMO
HP corporate marketing staff and executives will report to Chief Marketing Officer Mike Winkler on an interim basis.
At HP, Ms. Johnson's office was located near to Ms. Fiorina's, and she was known as a trusted advisor to the CEO. Ms. Johnson staunchly defended their professional relationship after Ms. Fiorina's departure last week, saying she was "angered" at the suggestion she was distancing herself from the embattled CEO. She said she was proud of the work they had done together at HP.
Return to Apple
For Ms. Johnson this is a return to Apple, where from 1988 to 1992 she worked as an independent marketing communications contractor there. She joined HP in January 1999 from IBM, where she had helped craft its e-business strategy.
Apple did not return calls for comment.


text:
Swiss vendor Temenos has inked a definitive deal to buy FE-Mobile, a UK-based m-banking specialist. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Formed in 2002, FE-Mobile sells downloadable application, XHTML browser and SMS offerings under the SecureLink brand.
The vendor has been a Temenos partner since 2007 when the SecureLink technology was integrated with ARC - which is part of the T24 platform - to help banks implement easy-to-use mobile banking services.
Mobile banking is widely predicted to see a surge in popularity over the next few years, with the advent of smartphones, all-you-can-consume data plans and better applications. Temenos cites ABI Research, which predicts that in 2015 about 407 million people worldwide will perform financial transactions with their banks using their mobile phones.
Andreas Andreades, CEO, Temenos, says: "The acquisition of FE-Mobile follows our identification of mobile banking as an area of strategic investment. Although it is well known that mobile banking has experienced quick adoption in emerging markets, we believe that following the online banking explosion, mobile banking is poised to become a global growth driver."


text:
A Hong Kong-headquartered apparel manufacturer is suing the U.S. government for putting it on an official blacklist of foreign entities with links to forced labor practices in China’s Xinjiang region. According to the complaint that it filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd. (“Esquel”) claims that it was added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s “Entity List” – which imposes trade restrictions on named companies – “based on a wholly false and unsubstantiated allegation: that [it] was supposedly engaging in ‘the practice of forced labor involving members of Muslim minority groups’ in Xinjiang, China.”
In the newly-filed complaint, which names the U.S. Department of Commerce and Secretary of Commerce Gina Riamondo, among others, as defendants, Esquel argues that “towards the end of the Trump Administration, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security” added it to the U.S. Entity List “without prior notice, without evidence, and without any opportunity for [Esquel] to defend itself … in connection with [its alleged] participation in the practice of, accepting, or utilizing forced labor involving Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups.”
“The appalling assertion that [Esquel] would use, or has ever used, forced labor is antithetical to everything Esquel stands for,” the 43-year-old company argues, stating that it has never “engaged in the practice of forced labor in Xinjiang or anywhere else in the world,” nor has any other Esquel-owned company, including its New York-based entity, Esquel Apparel Inc. “In actuality,” Esquel claims that while it does maintain operations in the controversial Xinjiang region, it has “a thoroughly documented, independently audited, and longstanding track record of adherence to ethical labor practices that absolutely bar any use of forced labor, including in Xinjiang.”
“Neither Esquel nor its major U.S. and European customers would ever countenance forced labor practices in any of their operations or supply chains,” the company asserts in its complaint, and cites “recent independent third-party audits of [its] facilities in Xinjiang (some of which were requested by customers who share the same commitment to socially responsible business practices), [which] have confirmed Esquel’s adherence to ethical labor standards barring forced labor.” Esquel further argues that “adherence to [responsible business] practices is not only an absolute moral imperative” for the company, it is also “a business imperative,” given that it uses “highly sophisticated spinning equipment,” making it so that “cheap or forced labor would have no place” in its factories.
“The outrageous assertion that [Esquel] used forced labor is completely contrary to fact, and the defendants have never provided any substantiation for their false accusation,” the plaintiff argues, claiming that “despite continued outreach and the sharing of numerous business documents with the Department of Commerce’s End-User Review Committee since September 2020, [it] has received no meaningful response or evidence from the U.S. government that would support its inclusion on the List.”
As a result of its allegedly unmerited inclusion on the U.S. blacklist, Esquel – which maintains the title of one of the world’s largest shirtmakers – claims that it has suffered “incalculable reputational and economic harms.” Specifically, on the day the Trump Administration announced that it would be added to the Entity List, Esquel alleges that articles published by various media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Guardian, “not only repeated the defendants’ false findings about [Esquel], but also named many of [its] major customers, [which] unsurprisingly led several customers to notify Esquel that they would either pause or terminate business with Esquel as a whole.” These included “Michael Kors, Nike, Gap Inc. (for the brand Banana Republic), and PVH (for the brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger).” Esquel also names Lacoste and Patagonia as among its “major U.S. and European customers.”
“Beyond direct economic effects, the severe stigma associated with placement on the Entity List has caused immediate and incalculable reputational damage to Esquel, both in the United States and worldwide,” the company claims, leaving it “no choice but to take legal action to end the devastating ongoing reputational and commercial damage resulting from this erroneous designation,” particularly since Esquel claims that it “has no idea when (or if) the defendants will ever remove [it] from the Entity List.”
“Unlawful Agency Action”
In terms of the basis for its complaint, Esquel argues that the defendants’ decision to designate it on the Entity List “was outside the [U.S. Department of Commerce’s] statutory authority.” This is because the “only statutory basis for placing an entity on the Entity List is to prevent certain enumerated harms to U.S. national security and foreign policy, including ‘the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or of conventional weapons,’ ‘the acquisition of destabilizing numbers or types of conventional weapons,’ and even ‘acts of terrorism,'” none of which is relevant here, per Esquel. The plaintiff also argues that the defendants acted outside of the scope of their authority in placing it on the Entity List, as they “neither possessed nor offered any ‘specific and articulable facts’ demonstrating that [it] was engaged in the practice of forced labor in Xinjiang.”
As such, Esquel claims the defendants’ have engaged in an “unlawful agency action” and have run afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act in the process. Additionally, it asserts that the defendants violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by denying it “at a minimum, the right to notice of the basis for [their] decisions and an opportunity to be heard, including an opportunity to rebut whatever evidence on which the government relied.”
While Esquel asserts that it was “entitled to constitutionally mandated due process prior to any deprivation of its constitutionally protected interests,” it claims that it was “not afforded constitutionally sufficient process: [it] was not provided with the evidentiary basis for [its] designation on the Entity List, and [was] not given an opportunity to rebut the determination reflected in the July 2020 Notice,” which formally added the company to the Entity List and served to immediately “impose a license requirement for all exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) to [Esquel] of items subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations.”
With the foregoing in mind, Esquel has asked the court to “vacate and set aside [its] designation as a listed entity on the Entity List,” to “preliminarily and permanently enjoin the defendants from implementing or enforcing [Esquel’s] Entity List designation,” and to award Esquel its “costs and reasonable attorney fees,” among other things.
A representative for the Department of Commerce told the WSJ that it does not comment on pending litigation.
The case is Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd., et al. v. Raimondo, et al., 1:21-cv-01798 (D.D.C.)


text:
The Met Gala doesn’t exactly scream “forum for social change.” Celebrities walk the grand entrance stairs in gowns that could fund dozens of college educations and snap selfies with hands manicured to the tune of $2,000. Last year’s ball, entitled “China: Through the Looking Glass,” even led to some embarrassingly politically incorrect costumes when certain attendees — and the designers behind their look — bungled their Asian references (Lady Gaga, Georgia May Jagger, we’re looking at you).
However, when Madonna gets outfitted in yards of costly couture, she does it for a good cause — and we don’t mean the upkeep of the Met’s Costume Institute. Although this year’s breast and derrière-baring lace number triggered a slew of criticism, the inimitable pop star made it clear her reckless (we’re using the Beyoncé intonation here) Givenchy dress was “a political statement as well as a fashion statement” intended for one of the most-watched red carpets of the year. (more…)
You’d think with the jaw-dropping covers Vanessa Paradis has provided us in the past, daughter Lily-Rose Melody Depp would be doing just fine in the photogenic department. In January, LOVE magazine did a number on the Chanel ambassador with a cover shot of Lily-Rose wearing a face full of garish makeup and now Vanity Fair France serves up a fairly generic and lifeless cover for May 2016. Photographed by Scott Trindle, the 16-year-old looks pretty uncomfortable in the portrait cover image and our eagle-eyed forum members picked up on the awkwardness immediately.
“What an ugly cover. One of the worst of her,” pointed out narcyza straight away, about to set the tone for comments to come.
“Prime example of someone who can take good pictures of themselves but fails when it comes to pictures being taken of them by other people. See also: Kendall [Jenner],” laughed Elite13. (more…)
Something about it containing a drying agent makes us actively avoid licking our nail polish. Something about KFC accidentally serving one woman a fried kidney makes us not want to frequent the fast food establishment. Yet we’re oddly intrigued by the chicken chain’s new “Finger Lickin’ Good,” limited-edition, flavored — and supposedly edible — nail polishes.
As part of KFC Hong Kong’s new marketing campaign, the brand teamed up with McCormick, the makers of its secret spice mix, to create two savory polishes: “Original,” a glitter-flecked nude, and “Hot & Spicy,” a bright, sparkly blood orange. (more…)
James Corden has nailed it again. This Wednesday, The Late Late Show host invited the voice of our every angst-ridden moment, Gwen Stefani, to “Carpool Karaoke” and the results were nothing short of magical.
Highlights include the No Doubt co-founder sharing the secret to her youth (apart from cosmetic surgery), explaining what the heck she is saying in “The Sweet Escape” and acting out various emojis, until Corden stumps her by declaring she be the “eggplant.” (“It’s the dick, no? Yea, the eggplant is this guy. It’s the truth, as I call it,” Corden explains, to which Gwen, giggling, points out that the name of her new record is This Is What the Truth Feels Like.) (more…)
Johnny Weir at the 2015 Kentucky Derby; Image: Getty
The first Saturday in May is nearly upon us and we all know what that means — another Kentucky Derby and another outlandishly stylish getup by onetime Olympian, current NBC Sports reporter Johnny Weir. Johnny and bestie Tara Lipinski, also of former figure skating glory, will once again lug their seven suitcases to Louisville to act as fashion and lifestyle experts for the network’s coverage of the two-minute, 142-year-old pony show.
Though the majority of equestrian society will be sipping mint juleps decked out in pastels and fascinators, Johnny’s outfit will be all about the wearable tech — i.e. a robotic brooch that gallops and lights up at your command. Yes, those of you with an unquenchable thirst for sartorial domination can tweet using the hashtag #WatchMeNeighNeigh (will that meme never die?) and it will be just as if you were trackside with Johnny and Tara, pulling on his lapel in the flesh. (more…)
Vogue Netherlands missed the opportunity to have a stellar cover last month by ruining a gorgeous shot of Romee Strijd with a rather mediocre layout. This month, however, the mag hits the nail RIGHT on the head with a clean and pure cover featuring Julia Bergshoeff. Making a return to the cover for a third time, Julia was captured wearing a dreamy off-white Chanel dress by Annemarieke van Drimmelen.
Our forum members unanimously praised the cover. “Easily their best cover to date,” declared a very affirmative MON the second the cover broke.
Nepenthes agreed, enthusing, “Definitely one of their best covers! Love the serenity of it!” (more…)


text:
Dubai-inspired design and live music weren’t enough to woo a buyer to a funky Brunswick West house in auction conditions.
But an influx of offers after the property passed in on a vendor bid of $1.1 million saw the property sell for $40,000 beyond that price.
“Everyone came out of the woodwork after the auction because they all needed (sales) subject to finance,” Ms Gervasi said.
A last-minute bid from a fourth party trumped three offers from buyers all requiring subject-to-finance restrictions.
A low $900,000 opening bid by a buyer’s advocate was quickly superseded by a vendor bid $100,000 above that mark.
After passing the property in on the second vendor bid of $1.1 million, Ms Gervasi received four offers within the $1.05-$1.15 million quoted range.
All the offers were from young couples.
“I’m finding it everywhere to be honest,” she said of receiving offers after an auction.
“In terms of brokering and the major banks lending, it’s not that they’re not lending – they’ve loosened up a bit, it’s just taking so much longer.”
“When you’ve got a three- or four-week auction campaign, people look at it but it’s taking six to eight weeks for them to get approval.”
Ms Gervasi said she was advising vendors to conduct longer marketing campaigns to get “better traction” from buyers.
“What I’m seeing is, we’re getting incredible numbers through opens – this one had 98 groups through – and then come auction day you only get 20 or 30 (people),” she said.
More from news
Caulfield North dream home features ‘Elite Class’ cinemaless than 1 hour ago
“There’s a lot more activity but people are not as strong as they were.”


text:
Split cap scandal claims new victim
THE FALL-out from the split capital investment trust scandal dogging the investment industry has claimed another victim. Exeter, one of the firms at the centre of the furore, is to merge with specialist investment firm iimia.
The troubled group, which last year sold its unit trust business to fund management firm New Star for £9m, will also move down from the main market to the Alternative Investment Market.
More than 50,000 small savers lost hundreds of millions of pounds on split-trusts which were marketed by some advisers as low-risk investments but in fact borrowed heavily and took out cross shareholdings in each other's funds. Last year, the Exeter admitted that of 4,000 split cap complaints to the Financial Services Authority, 200 were from its customers.
Exeter is one of 21 firms being investigated by the City watchdog and may yet face a fine or demand for compensation. The new group would be held liable.
Iimia, which already manages £288m of funds just two years after launching, plans to use its expertise in investment trusts to turnaround the performance of Exeter's nine trusts, most of which are split capital funds. The combined group will run £500m-worth of funds.
'We have been discussing the possibility of this merger for some time and have been compelled by the strategic fit of the two businesses,' said Michael Phillips, chief executive at iimia.
The board and staff will hold 58% of shares in the new company. Exeter investors will receive 62 shares in the new group for every 100 they own.
Exeter shares, which plunged to a low of 40p in March last year, were up 5p at 102 1/2p.
Most watched Money videos
- Rare 1965 Jaguar E-type found in barn sells for £40,000
- A rare 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Coupe being driven at Goodwood
- Watch the BANNED Land Rover ad that 'misrepresented' parking sensors
- 1990's advert for the Vauxhall Cavalier Turbo 4x4
- BMW's new 7 Series luxury limo features giant cinema screen
- Rustbucket Mercedes-Benz roadster sells at auction for almost £40k
- Ray Massey gets exclusive access to the new green Rolls-Royce Spectre
- Bentley brings the comfort of a limo to their popular SUV
- Land Rover unveils its new £80,000 Range Rover Sport
- Ford unveils electric version of Britain's best-selling vehicle
- RM Sotheby's has sold a Mercedes for a record £115million
- Ford tests traffic light tech that could change the commute forever


text:
Breaking News - Inside Retail Singapore
Starbucks has launched its mobile order & pay (MO&P) service at 32 selected Singapore outlets ahead of a city-wide launch by March next year.
Popular Japanese ramen chain Ichiran will open a pop-up at Takashimaya Singapore’s Japan Food Matsuri event.
More writedowns and restructuring costs have seen fashion retailer Esprit post another full-year loss, but the company is adamant its recovery plan is beginning to show results.
In Singapore, more and more people are connected to the Internet and the number of online shoppers follows the same trend. Back in 2014, Visa stated that approximately 26% of Sin…
New research shows the total transaction value of online remote payments for digital and physical goods will exceed US$6 trillion by 2024.
Sales at H&M stores worldwide rose by the steepest rate in three years in the third quarter.
Vietnamese startup footwear brand Saado plans to expand its retail network into the US after successful launch in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar within just a year.
Japanese cosmetics & personal care brands Anessa, Senka, and Tsubaki have partnered with Watsons Singapore to launch a My Japanese Beauty pop-up store in Orchard Road.
A GIC-led investment group has purchased a minority shareholding in a Vingroup JSC retail business for US$500 million.
The Madewell denim brand is set to be split off from J Crew as part of a planned IPO by parent Chinos Holdings.
Gap Inc is planning to roll out Janie and Jack and Athleta stores globally, via a franchise model.
Japanese baker Hattendo is planning to ramp up its store rollout in Asia, with particular focus on Greater China and Southeast Asia.


text:
News by Andrew Kameka on Thursday February 13, 2014.
|Sponsored links, if any, appear in green.|
Google owned Motorola for two years before deciding to sell the company to Lenovo after billions in loses. When Lenovo takes ownership pending regulator approval, CEO Yang Yuanqing says his company will be hurt by Motorola's poor performance but can see a turnaround happening in a less than a year. As Lenovo announced a $265.3 net profit for the most recent quarter, Yang said that purchasing Motorola and IBM's server division would have a short-term negative impact on the company, but he estimates that Motorola could be profitable in three to five quarters (9 to 15 months).
Lenovo doesn't officially take over Motorola until regulators approve the deal and it becomes official, but Yang has provided a broad outline for how to improve Motorola. Like it did with Thinkpad computers, Lenovo plans to cut costs for production and use its own supply chain to make Motorola earn more money. That means "lower material costs," according to Reuters. It might also mean layoffs of Motorola's 3,500 employees. Lenovo says it has no plans to have layoffs, but there will be incentive to reduce head count if it plans to return to profitability that quickly.
Lenovo also plans to use Motorola as an entryway into markets in the west and reintroduce the brand into its home market of China. The company is banking on its Thinkpad strategy being as successful in mobile as it was in the PC industry. Lenovo is currently the fourth biggest global producer of smartphones.source: Lenovo
Andrew is based in Miami, Florida.


text:
Forget corporate sponsorships: In a widely watched event like the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the winners of the advertising game are not the companies that spend the most, but the ones that capture the most attention.
As the most-watched sporting event on television, the World Cup will boost global advertising by $1.5 billion this year, according to ZenithOptimedia, up 5.4% from last year.
But do exclusive sponsorships – which can cost up to $75 million – still provide the most bang for a company’s marketing buck? With social media allowing both brands and fans to broadcast their own messages from the event, television advertising is losing market share to Internet brand-building.
And companies of all sizes are using social media to ambush rivals who are paying to sponsor the event. The innovative Apple-owned Beats by Dr Dre, for example, took on World Cup sponsor Samsung with a 5-minute YouTube commercial featuring local Brazilian star Neymar Jr. listening to inspirational advice from his father on Beats headphones. “Run like you’re a crazy man chasing happiness,” his father tells him. The ad never mentions the World Cup, but it does feature other star players preparing for the big event, as well as a cameo from LeBron James.
While not every business has Apple’s funds to sponsor celebrities and star players, the emotional father-son YouTube ad is a great example of how companies don’t need to mention the World Cup to capture the attention of local World Cup fans.
Puma also has a few lessons to share with mid-size companies. The smaller brand took on both Nike and World Cup sponsor Adidas by getting players to wear its standout candy-colored cleats (one blue, one pink) — the one piece of equipment not dictated by sponsors.
Puma also focused on its strengths by drawing attention to its well-known cleats, once worn by soccer legend Pelé, reports Inc. Although the company completely bypassed TV commercials, its product will get plenty of air time – the brightly colored cleats are easy to spot on players’ feet.
Puma is also waiting until after the World Cup to launch its ad campaign so its message won’t get lost in the marketing blitzes of its bigger rivals, and can conveniently target back-to-school shoppers.
Smaller brands can also make a strong World Cup statement with socially conscious ad campaigns. With 6 in 10 people in Brazil saying their country should have invested in infrastructure and poverty reduction instead of the games, corporate sponsorships that shut out local businesses may not be the best way to capture viewers’ loyalty.
Many Brazilians are unhappy with FIFA’s official “We Are One (Ole Ola)” World Cup theme song, for example, which has been criticized for not representing Brazil’s culture, and primarily featuring American music stars Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez with only a 15-second spot by Brazilian pop singer Cláudia Leitte.
Dannon’s Activia yogurt, however, paired up with Shakira and the World Food Programme with a more culturally authentic video for her song “La La La (Brazil 2014),” featuring Brazilian music legend Carlinhos Brown. By tapping into local culture and celebrity power – and helping local children in need — the Dannon video already has nearly 130 million hits on YouTube. That’s about 20 million more views than “Ole Ola” in a shorter period of time.
It’s clear that while corporate sponsorships may help fund the World Cup games — they’re not the only game in town for creative companies looking to connect with international fans.


text:
Netgear has issued firmware updates for select Wi-Fi router models that were affected by a remote code execution vulnerability discovered in mid-June. While there are dozens of SKUs potentially vulnerable attacks, more than half of the models will not get a fix as they are ‘outside of Netgear’s support window.’
As many as 79 Netgear home Wi-Fi router models (which are sometimes used in small offices too) are defenseless against both local and over the internet attacks that exploit their remote code execution vulnerability.
As it turns out, perpetrators can bypass the login process to get access to the router’s web server that runs the web-based administrative interface and take control of the device.
- Best wireless routers: the best Wi-Fi for your home network
- Wi-Fi 6 routers: the best Wi-Fi 6 routers you can buy
- Best mesh Wi-Fi routers: the best wireless mesh routers for large homes
Netgear router flaw
The security flaw was discovered by at least two security researchers over half of a year ago and Netgear was alerted about the vulnerability back in January. The findings were eventually published through Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative program in mid-June, months after Netgear was notified about the issue.
Netgear has issued new firmware that addresses the flaw for 34 out of 79 routers affected by the vulnerability. Meanwhile, Netgear has no plans to patch 45 models that were sold into the channel more than three years ago.
“Netgear has provided firmware updates with fixes for all supported products previously disclosed by ZDI and Grimm,” an official statement by Netgear reads. “The remaining products included in the published list are outside of our support window. In this specific instance, the parameters were based on the last sale date of the product into the channel, which was set at three years or longer.”
A number of Wi-Fi router models that will not be patched are ancient and were launched in 2007, but a few of the them support Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and do not seem to be completely outdated at all. In fact, some are even available in retail.
The list of SKUs that will not be fixed includes the following models:
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
Anton Shilov is the News Editor at AnandTech, Inc. For more than four years, he has been writing for magazines and websites such as AnandTech, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Kit Guru, EE Times, Tech & Learning, EE Times Asia, Design & Reuse.


text: NAIOP’s Industrial Space Demand Forecast, First Quarter 2017 Report, predicts industrial quarterly net absorption to average approximately 64 million square feet, a level similar to that in 2016. The model indicates that areas involving consumer products and e-commerce distribution are likely to remain the largest generators of demand for industrial space in 2017. Contributing to the growth is marijuana legalization where operators in this sector are occupying run-down industrial buildings in tertiary markets that act to offer value-add opportunities for investors due to in part to companies working in the cannabis trade typically paying above market rate for space given the challenges facing the business. Legal pot sales hit $6.7B in 2016 and are expected to rise above $20B by 2021, according to Acrview Market Research, creating an entirely new sector in the industrial real estate market. However, some experts believe that investors supporting these projects could lose over the long term due to unclear state and federal regulations.


text:
The automaker may have undermined safety in designing its Autopilot driver-assistance system to fit its chief executive’s vision, former employees say.
Cybersecurity experts tracing money paid by American businesses to Russian ransomware gangs found it led to one of Moscow’s most prestigious addresses.
Some social media users are not feeling the Christmas spirit — or this box of mini lipsticks and branded stickers.
Cryptocurrency miners are flocking to New York’s faded industrial towns, prompting concern over the environmental impact of huge computer farms.
Versions of “mobility as a service,” or MaaS, apps exist, but companies and cities will need to come together for the idea to gain momentum.
This year’s data dump from the streaming music service leaned heavily on contemporary buzzwords and slang — and inspired many, many memes.
A 2011 thriller was supposed to cost $15. One merchant listed it at $987, with a 17th-century publication date. That’s what happens in a marketplace where third-party sellers run wild.
Twitter’s head of engineering, Michael Montano, and its head of design and research, Dantley Davis, will leave the company by the end of the year.
With plenty of its own money and a greater desire to control the private sector, Beijing is pushing its companies to tap investors closer to home.
Genomic surveillance has improved enormously in recent months, but the system has built-in delays, and blind spots remain.
The proposed deal would give Nvidia control over computing technology and designs that rival firms rely on.
New gaming consoles remain in short supply this holiday season, spawning cottage industries of tipsters and scalpers making money off their scarcity.
Tears of joy prevailed as the most-used emoji in 2021, despite Gen Z’s stated contempt for it.
The social media giants removed a large number of accounts that promoted Covid-19 conspiracy theories and undermined reports of human rights abuses.
Mr. Dorsey has in recent years grown more fascinated by cryptocurrencies and the promise of technological decentralization that blockchain technology could allow for.
To plan for safe travels and gatherings this holiday season, here are some simple ways to take your Covid-related health data with you.
Some lawmakers from both parties argue that when social media sites boost the performance of hateful or violent posts, the sites become accomplices.
A mainstay of the internet is regularly used to build audiences for people and organizations pushing false and misleading information.
Under cross-examination, the founder of the failed blood testing start-up defended herself but admitted that she had made mistakes.
Mark Zuckerberg wants us thinking about visual art when we contemplate his company’s new venture. Artists should take the suggestion seriously.
Jack Dorsey, who is stepping down after six years as Twitter’s chief executive, is one of the tech leaders who seem to have grown tired of managing their empires.
He personified the blend of technical enthusiasm and counterculture values that shaped the industry, launching the West Coast Computer Faire in the 1970s.
Transactions for properties in digital realms are jumping, guided by the same principle in the physical world: location, location, location.
The company said the policy was consistent with privacy laws in the European Union and elsewhere.
David Marcus had most recently spearheaded Meta’s push into a global digital currency.
Ms. Holmes, the founder of the failed blood testing start-up Theranos, blamed Ramesh Balwani, the former No. 2 at the company.
A longtime Twitter insider and a confidant of co-founder Jack Dorsey, Mr. Agrawal takes over as the social media company confronts various challenges.
The social media pioneer, whose name has become synonymous with the company, was replaced by Twitter’s chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal.
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood testing start-up Theranos, took the stand for a fourth day on Monday.
The Information Commissioner’s Office said it fined Clearview AI for failing to inform British residents that it was collecting billions of photos from sites including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to build its facial recognition software.


text:
In the model used by Purdue University they found that 45.9% of your battery's charge is drained by apps which access resources while your screen is turned off and that 28.9% of that is because of bad programming in apps which refuse to let the CPU go back to sleep. Being able to prevent the launch of the apps, or to ensure that they do properly release resources when finished could therefore extend your battery life. They have modified Android framework to do so in this proof of concept available at GitHub, it is not an app yet so you will need to be familiar with the Android OS to test it out now. Check out the their paper at The Register, modify your phone or simply wait for the app to be released.
"Too many Android apps are battery hogs when the screen is off, so researchers at Purdue University have released to a tool to shut them up."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- The TR Podcast 187: Opening the Zbox and a bunch of new Apples
- OpenWrt gets update in face of FCC's anti-flashing push @ The Register
- TSMC secures A10 chip orders from Apple, says report @ DigiTimes
- Intel launches Automotive Security Review Board to tackle hacks on connected cars @ The Inquirer
- Microsoft faces growing calls for transparency over Windows 10 updates @ The Inquirer
- Seagate layoffs SHOCKER: 1,000 heads to be laid under the axe @ The Register
- 3D printer blueprints for TSA luggage-unlocking master keys leak online @ The Register
- Netis WF2190 AC1200 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter @ eTeknix
- Hats off to Nintendo’s platform supremo Super Mario Bros at 30 @ The Register


text:
Today at Intel's Developer Forum day one keynote, Intel Architecture Group Executive VP David Perlmutter took to the stage to give a presentation entitled ""Reinventing Computing – Collaborating to Shape the Future From Datacenter to Devices." During an hour-long presentation, he emphasized Intel's leadership position in mobile and datacenter computing and showed off new technologies including the company's upcoming Haswell platform, new voice and gesture control feature for Ultrabooks and a mobile payment system using NFC.
At approximately 9 a.m. local time, Perlmutter took the stage and started by talking about the events of September 11, 2011 which occurred 11 years ago today. Perlmutter talked about where he was when the attack occurred -- planning for what would become Intel's Centrino mobile platform.
He said that by the end of the decade, Intel will be able to touch not just the billions of people that it affects today, but everyone around the globe. He also said that said that today also marks 15 years of Intel's Developer Forum, which started in 1997 and originally focused mainly on CPUs, but today encompasses all kinds of mobile and pervasive technologies.
Perlmutter talked about what "Reinventing Computing" means. "It's all about working together to really deliver the vision of touching everyone on earth," he said.
To show the breadth of Intel's products and services, he then held up two different Intel chips to show the difference in size: the tiny Medfield SoC on in his left hand and a high-powered Xeon server processor in his right hand. He said Intel's advantage is that it has so many capabilities under one roof, from software and services to manufacturing and transistors.
"This is the era of the digital transformation," he said, talking about how data such as pictures and video moved from analog to digital. He said that the great thing is not just the data but our ability to analyze this media for trends and information. "It's about cloud and mobility and devices," he said.
He then spoke about datacenters. "The datacenter is not just about one thing," he said, speaking about the different kinds of infrastruture businesses need, from small services to big data.
Mobile Personal Computing: Ultrabooks
Perlmutter then spoke about the transition from stationary to mobile computing. "This is just the beginning," he said, talking about the evolution from gray desktops to notebooks and today's Ultrabooks and tablets.
He said that next year's Intel 4th Generation Core series processors will make a huge difference in mobile computing. He then showed off some of today's upcoming 3rd generation Ultrabooks on stage, including the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga and Sony's VAIO Duo 11. He talked about the flexibility provided by convertible form factors that let you convert from notebook to tablet mode in a snap.
"Form factor is the basic," he said. "It is necessary but not sufficient." He then talked about all the other platform capabilites Ultrabooks need including instant on, full Hd displays, touch, and all day battery life.
Perlmutter spoke about the evolution of computer input, from punchcards to keyboards to GUIs and now touch and gesture controls. He then called a rep named Craig on stage to demo an impressive voice recognition application from Nuance that will be available on Ultrabooks in Q4. Craig tolled the Dragon digital assistant to search Amazon for sunglasses and Google for pics of San Francisco.
He also told it to play the song "Gagnam Style" and the name of a difficult-to-prounounce foreign song and the software accurately performed his requests. We were impressed with not only the software's responsiveness, but the way it overlayed its notifications on top of the screen. When Craig told it to share his Sunglasses page with Twitter, it showed his tweet. When he told it to play "rock music," it showed the player floating on top of the browser.
Perlmutter showed off a gesture control camera from Creative Labs, rotating a digital model of the sun by moving his hands in front of the notebook and then destroying the model by clapping.
He then invited MasterCard's Gary Flood to talk about ecommerce. Flood talked about creating an environment where it's easy for users to buy with a technology that's ubiquitous. He spoke about PayPass Wallet services for mobile payments, which MasterCard introduced in May. He said PayPass is open and flexible, white labeled for vendor customization and accessible because of its open API.
Flood said that Intel's identity and protection technology makes sure they're properly connecting a consumer to a device. He then called Craig on stage to show how an NFC-enabled Ultrabook can pair with an NFC-enabled MasterCard to enable tap-to-pay on the web. While we watched, Craig logged into Tiger Direct and purchased a Toshiba Ultrabook by simply tapping a MasterCard against the notebook's deck; all of the payment details like the purchaser's name and address were automatically filled in, without typing anything into an online form.
Perlmutterr than talked about how Intel's architecture works well in the Enterprise, demoing a tablet based on Intel Atom and showing how a doctor could use it to show live ultrasounds or talk to other doctors via Skype.
He then called an Intel rep named David on stage to demonstrate a couple of Windows 8 slates in the ASUS Vevo Tab and the Dell XPS Duo 12. On the Duo 12, David showcased a video editing app that lets you change the color sof moving objects like a wind sail.
Perlmutter then talked about Intel's upcoming Haswell platform which is due to launch in 2013. "We've taken the architecture extremely seriously," he said, talking about how the company has been able to cut idle power by 20 times ompared to Ivy Brdige.
He demonstrated the same graphics benchmark on both an Ivy Bridge and Haswell, with the graphics twice as smooth and fast on Haswell. He also demonstrated that Haswell uses significantly less power than Ivy Bridge while running the same graphics demo.
Perlmutter explained how Intel Core Series CPUs now power a variety of non-computing devices by demoing a Coke machine that contains an Intel CPU. While we watched he bought a soda from the Coke machine which shoewd animations of the drink and then took a photo of him buying it that he could share with his wife. However, he said the most interesting feature of a connected vending machine is its ability to gather data on who purchased what products and when.
He then talked about the value of collaboration between Intel, its developers and partners. He said that Intel's "ecosystem of ideals," including its standards platforms and cloud services, fuels innovations like touch and gesture recognition.
"We are not just developing the applications as a way to ignite the industry," he said. He said that Intel is hosting a contest with a one million dollar prize to the developer that creates the best perceptual computing application (touch, gesture, etc).
He then reiterated Intel's vision which is "about creating a technology that touches and enriches everyone on mother earth." Then he showed a video about how technology can help global solve problems like hunger, lack of water and health care issues.


text:
Nreal ARG Gets A Total of $200 Million in Funding
Specializing in augmented reality, Nreal , a Chinese startup, recently successfully raised $200 million in funding in a Series C funding round. This funding will help propel Neal in the realization of its project. It’s about making augmented reality accessible to the general public.
To do this, the company plans to produce relatively light smart glasses. Products that should attract attention with bright colors. In total, Nreal has received an investment of $200 million over the past 12 months. Incidentally, it should be noted that it was Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, which led the latest financing.
Tech giants invest cautiously
Alibaba has long been a more involved corporate investor than rival Tencent. Nevertheless, the latter remains more active than him. Thanks to its investments in startups, this tech giant has cultivated quite a reputation. Note that these could complete its gigantic retail ecosystem. Moreover, the Chinese giant is one of those who invest the most in these startups.
However, Alibaba’s participation in Nreal’s advance this time is purely financial. In concrete terms, the two companies had the opportunity to forge strategic links. An opportunity that Alibaba did not seize despite its reputation.
Still, had they seized on it, Alibaba could have notably integrated Nreal into its gaming and video broadcasting units. Among other things, the second could also have designed smart glasses for the millions of meal deliverers of the first. In addition, the latter began, not so long ago, to use voice-activated headsets.
Why have these two entities not created such synergies? The most likely reason is that tech giants in China, including Alibaba, have become more vigilant. They avoid any funding that may encourage unfair competition or lead to misunderstanding. For good reason, the country’s antitrust measures are putting pressure on tech companies .
Nreal will make an incursion into China
In its early days, Nreal opted for a rather particular strategy. Although based in China, the company decided to target overseas consumers first. It has entered the market of six foreign countries like the United States and Japan. To this end, it has developed partnerships with local operators to promote its products.
Verizon, for example, is helping Nreal sell its mixed reality glasses dubbed Nreal Light in the United States. These devices have a relatively affordable price and are compatible with Android devices. which have 5G technology. This means that Nreal has not yet developed at the national level (China).
A presentation of glasses called Nreal Light.
However, the startup has just decided that it will introduce its devices to the Chinese market this year. An initiative that is notably possible thanks to the 60 million dollars of funds. Aside from this project, the money will likewise be used in R&D and the growth of Nreal’s content and application ecosystem. It is the development of this ecosystem is essential for consumers to fully adopt its devices.


text:
The technology giant is never far from the headlines, albeit good and bad. After surviving several scares in the UK; being ‘banned’ from operating in London and mass black-cab protests to name a few, but this weeks news maybe it’s most damaging.
HMRC has opened an investigation into Uber over allegations it owes around £1bn in unpaid VAT. The investigations have arisen regarding Uber’s claim it is exempt from paying VAT because their drivers are considered self-employed, combined with the fact their earnings fall below the £85,000 threshold. HMRC is now looking into the validity of these claims, and whether Uber can be instead classified as a transportation company, and should, therefore, be liable to pay the levy.
Uber, which has more than 60,000 drivers in the UK, does not pay any VAT on fares because the company says it is just a middleman between its self-employed drivers and passengers. How Uber’s drivers are classified has been an on-going headache for Uber for a number of years. In 2018, the Court of Appeal agreed with an employment tribunal decision that its drivers were in fact directly employed by the firm, and therefore entitled to minimum wage, sick pay and also holiday pay.


text:
It’s Electric (Vehicle)
Pittsburgh ranks No.7 best city in the nation to own an electric vehicle. The city can thank its charging station infrastructure, local incentives for electric vehicles and electricity costs for this recognition.
The city ranked fourth highest in charging stations, and also factored in the average electricity costs of $0.11 per kwH. Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and Austin came in at spots Nos. 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
The full report can be seen here.Read More
From the Blog
Electricity. We all know it. We all use it. And now we’re becoming more familiar with a next generation application: electric vehicles.
The rise in electric vehicle demand is growing the electric transportation supply chain. Electric power provider company, Duquesne Light, is one of the leaders in advancing this supply chain for consumers and public transportation. The company has made developments in micro-mobility options such as electric bikes and e-scooters, to major public transportation vehicles like Port Authority of Allegheny County’s all-electric buses.
In the past five years, there has been a 480% increase in EV adoption in the Pittsburgh region service territory. The vision is for the Pittsburgh region to continue on a path to equitable electric transportation. People like Sarah Olexsak, a manager of transportation electrification at Duquesne Light, are leading the way.
Read more in our blog from Sarah and how Duquesne Light’s efforts are benefitting the region and creating a model for the nation to follow.
Matt Taylor, Managing Partner, MTT Ventures
EV infrastructure is growing
Related Blog Posts
Using Technology to Unlock the Potential of People with Disabilities
Rory A. Cooper,
Director, Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), University of Pittsburgh, May 18, 2022
An Investor’s View of Pittsburgh’s Investment Scene: “More Optimistic Than Ever”
Catherine V Mott,
BlueTree Capital Group; BTVC Fund I; BlueTree Venture Fund I; and BlueTree Allied Angels , May 11, 2022
Looking to the Outer Space to Create a New Corporate Citizen Model on Earth
Justine Kasznica, Shareholder, Babst Calland and General Counsel to Astrobotic; Founder/Board Chair, Keystone Space Collaborative; and Founding Board Member, Moonshot Museum, May 4, 2022


text:
best cufflinks brands in india – Drawing inspiration from Superman’s suit, this is an update to a tried and true favorite. The texture is what sets this pair of cufflinks apart and makes it a must in any Superman collector’s stash. Impress modern-day Lois Lanes with these gems. Approximately 3/4″ x 5/8″, Plated base metal and enamel, Fixed logo backing,
“Elimination of industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers only get us part of the way there, especially when we face major barriers to agricultural trade in the EU,” Grassley, himself an Iowa farmer, said in a statement. “Agriculture is a significant piece of the global economy and it simply doesn’t make sense to leave it out.”. The European Commission has said it is willing to discuss cars as part of the industrial goods talks, but not agriculture. “Agriculture will certainly not be part of these negotiations. This is a red line for Europe,” Malmstrom said best cufflinks brands in india.
She added Brussels would strive to agree what amounted to a limited deal before the Commission’s term ends on Oct. 31 best cufflinks brands in india. “If we agree to start, I think it can go quite quickly.”. Malmstrom stressed that the potential tariffs deal was far less ambitious than the previous “TTIP” negotiations, which stalled after three years and have now been rendered obsolete. The two sides are each other’s largest trading partners. Flows between the two represent 30 percent of global trade..
A Commission survey estimates an agreement on industrial tariffs would increase EU exports to the United States by 8 percent and U.S. products bound for Europe by 9 percent. Hanging over the talks is U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on cars and auto parts of around 25 percent on national security grounds best cufflinks brands in india. Trump last July agreed with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker not to impose tariffs on EU-produced cars and parts as long as the two sides negotiated on trade, including removal of tariffs on “non-auto industrial goods.”..
But Lighthizer has voiced frustration with a “complete stalemate” with Europe on agriculture, telling a congressional committee in March there would be no U.S.-EU free trade agreement without agricultural access. EU governments agreed the bloc would not conclude negotiations until Washington removed tariffs it has applied to EU steel and aluminum and would suspend negotiations if the Trump administration imposed new tariffs, such as on cars. Germany, whose exports of cars and parts to the United States are more than half the EU total, has been among those most keen to press ahead with talks best cufflinks brands in india.
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – The United States will push its allies at a meeting in Prague next month to adopt shared security and policy measures that will make it more difficult for China’s Huawei to dominate 5G telecommunications networks, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters. The event and broader U.S best cufflinks brands in india. campaign to limit the role of Chinese telecommunications firms in the build out of 5G networks comes as Western governments grapple with the national security implications of moving to 5G, which promises to be at least 100 times faster than the current 4G networks..


text:
Dains acquires Isosceles Finance: The dawn of a new business services model
Dains is a leading firm of chartered accountants and business advisers specialising in advising growing and owner-managed businesses. They are backed by Horizon Capital, a private equity investor specialising in technology and service businesses.
Since its formation in 2001, Isosceles has built an enviable client list and experienced exceptional levels of organic growth providing FD, Commercial Accounting and HR Services.
The new Dains group will transform the traditional accounting practice model and offer a full-service package of both technical and commercial business solutions relevant to the entire lifecycle of their clients. A unique combination for the industry.
Isosceles clients will also have access to over 300 finance and HR professionals from nine locations across the UK.
“Mike O’Connell, CEO of Isosceles Finance, said “We are enormously excited to join the Dains’ group of businesses because of our shared hunger for client success. Our businesses are a great fit, and this development provides a platform for future growth and development of our fantastic team”.
Richard McNeilly, CEO of Dains, commented, “Isosceles adds breadth to our service proposition and has developed a compelling offering for their clients. Managing director Mike O’Connell has built a strong team, and I am delighted that he and Greg Eaton are remaining in the business as we work together to build it to even greater heights. They are a shining example of a modern, tech-enabled business with high customer focus”.
Luke Kingston, partner at Horizon Capital, added “We are delighted to have supported Dains on their second acquisition this year and welcome Isosceles to the group. Both businesses have a lot in common, with a shared focus on client success, quality, and innovation. We are excited about the combined opportunities for growth across the Group”.


text:
Best of Boston
1995 Best Turnaround, of a Defense Contractor...Almost
Bolt Beranek and Newman CEO George Conrades
Harley rider and former senior vice president at IBM, Conrades cruised into town and flouted conventional wisdom by selling off the company’s profitable LightStream subsidiary. Now, he says, profits for the company that virtually invented the Internet are just around the corner.


text:
CBD Producers Jumping the Pond to Capitalize on Potential Multi-Billion-Dollar EU CBD Market
FN Media Group Presents Potstocknews.com Market Commentary
NEW YORK, June 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Much has changed in the aftermath of the World Health Organization's (WHO) marijuana reclassification recommendation back in February — in particular, the potential for the European Union (EU) CBD market. Products made from the non-psychoactive cannabinoid are growing in popularity in the EU, through innovation and perseverance from North American companies such as StillCanna Inc. (CSE:STIL) (OTCPK:SCNNF), Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTCQB:MCOA), ICC International Cannabis Corp. (OTCPK: WLDCF) (CSE: WRLD.U), OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OGI) (TSX. V:OGI) and Aleafia Health Inc. (OTCQX: ALEAF) (TSX: ALEF).
Europe's CBD market potential is startlingly large. Leading market intelligence firm Brightfield Group predicts the estimated $318 million market (2018) to grow +400% through 2023 and be at least 2 times larger than the U.S. market. It's an opportunity not lost upon producers, such as StillCanna Inc. (CSE:STIL) (OTC:SCNNF) that has already accumulated EU CBD assets in the UK, Romania, and Poland, leading to lucrative global supply deals.
Positive momentum for CBD and medical cannabis is growing, as the WHO recommendation was soon followed by a non-binding resolution voted on (and passed) by the European Parliament.
"CBD is just starting to take hold in Europe, with both product availability and consumer awareness still quite limited," says Brightfield Managing Director, Bethany Gomez. "This is a great opportunity for developed brands to enter and expand through Europe with far less competition than we're seeing in the U.S. ... CBD has been well received on a greater scale, especially in countries that already have medical or recreational cannabis programs and there are growing efforts in countries with no cannabis or CBD programs to have one or both in the coming years."
So far, the largest CBD markets in Europe are in the United Kingdom and Austria, while Switzerland and Spain are building out and improving regulations surrounding product quality. With a population of more than 740 million people, the European market is home to more than double that of the combined populations of the United States and Canada.
Joining StillCanna Inc. (STIL-SCNNF) in the race to stake EU ground are companies both large and small, including both Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTCQB:MCOA), and ICC International Cannabis Corp. (OTCPK:WLDCF) (CSE:WRLD.U.CN) who have also gained ground in the UK.


text:
Tesla continues to assert its dominance in the California electric vehicle (EV) market, with Tesla Model Y and Model 3 leading as the top two selling vehicles in the state. In the first quarter of 2023, Model Y recorded 31,940 units sold while Model 3 sold 17,715 units.
California, known for its forward-leaning stance on EVs, now sees almost a quarter (23.2%) of new vehicles sold in the state being electrified. This comprises of 19.5% Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and 3.7% Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). The state’s overall “electrified” vehicles, which include hybrids, now stand at 34.2%.
Interestingly, BEV sales are growing faster than PHEV and hybrids, indicating that Californians are gradually shifting towards fully electric cars. In fact, BEV and PHEV sales remained flat from the last quarter of 2022, while BEV sales alone continue to rise, Electrek reports.
The state’s preference for Tesla is becoming increasingly clear. Last year, Tesla’s Model 3 even outsold the Toyota Camry, which had been the state’s best-selling car for 28 consecutive years. Model Y has managed to extend its dominance over competitors, claiming 10.3% of the popular light truck segment in the first quarter, selling 2.4 times as many units as the second-place Toyota RAV4.
However, Tesla still trails Toyota as the No. 2 selling brand due to its presence in fewer market segments. That said, Toyota’s market share dropped from 17.3% in 2022 to 15.2% in the first quarter of 2023, while Tesla’s rose from 11.2% to 11.8%. If this trend continues, Tesla could potentially overtake Toyota as the top-selling brand in the next couple of years.
While the first quarter of 2023 has seen increased sales for most brands compared to the same period last year, Tesla’s sales growth was modest at 10.6%. Despite some concerns over supply challenges and the public image of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the brand has managed to maintain its stronghold in the California EV market.
Given California’s status as a trendsetter in the adoption of new technologies and styles, this trend in EV sales is likely to spread to other states. The state’s increasing preference for BEVs over PHEVs and hybrids may also indicate a future trend towards fully electric vehicles in the U.S. automotive market.
0 comments… add one


text:
Major Taiwanese textile suppliers that have long been part of the supply chain of FIFA World Cups are using their advanced technologies to transform recycled plastic waste into soccer jerseys and accessories, tapping into tremendous business opportunities.
Far Eastern New Century Corp is one of them. The textile brand has closely worked with Adidas and environmental organization Parley for the Ocean to make jerseys from marine plastic waste.
In this year’s tournament, which kicks off tonight, seven teams — Germany, Japan, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Belgium and Wales — use Far Eastern-made jerseys, while an additional two teams wore them in their unsuccessful qualification bids.
Mexico have even been selected by several international news media as the “best dressed” team.
“Mexico have never been short on strong designs, but even by their lofty standards, their 2022 kits are impressive,” ESPN said. “The detailed pattern emanating from the collar and stretching all down the front of the shirt — a nod to Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec god whose name translates to ‘feathered serpent’ — grabs your attention and refuses to let go.”
The World Cup, running through Dec. 18 in Qatar, is expected to attract a record 5 billion viewers across the world, creating hundreds of billions of US dollars in business opportunities for suppliers of merchandise, soccer’s world governing body FIFA estimated.
Huang Chuan-yi (黃全億), a manager in Far Eastern’s long fiber division, said that his company has spent about seven years to develop products from marine plastic waste, and this year is the first time it can demonstrate its prowess at a big international event.
Far Eastern long fiber division manager Huang Chuan-yi, left, and Far Eastern materials researcher Hsieh Tsung-yi at a news conference in Taipei yesterday hold sports items made from recycled plastic. CNA photo Nov. 19, 2022
Huang said Far Eastern has been part of supply chains for World Cups for more than 10 years.
Far Eastern also produced jerseys from recycled marine waste for the soccer clubs Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, he said.
Huang said Far Eastern’s 200 research-and-development experts need at least three years to develop new products.
Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp has also been a major player in the World Cup supply chain for more than a decade, said Lo Shih-chuan (羅時銓), deputy head of the 55-year-old firm’s decisionmaking committee.
Lo said his company has been developing yarn based on recycled PET bottles for many years and has built a solid customer base with high loyalty.
The recycling rate of PET bottles in Taiwan is 95 percent, the highest in the world, helping the company source its base material, Lo said.
Shinkong has secured patents for its Shin Sigma 3.0 technologies, which help its products draw moisture away from the body, Lo said, calling it a key property for sports clothes.
Shinkong’s products are light-weight and opaque, Lo said, adding that the company uses low carbon emissions technology to produce them.
Local textile firms are good at integrating resources from upstream, middle-stream and downstream segments to produce yarn, cloth and finished garments, Lo said.
Its products are successful in the global market, he said, citing FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, where Taiwanese textile firms accounted for more than 80 percent of the supply chain.


text:
Having driven some of the latest and greatest EVs including the Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan recently, I must say that the new Kia Soul EV delivers considerable punch and poise for price.
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton will be making a milestone 250th Formula One start as he seeks to sign off his championship-winning campaign in style in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi season-ender. FILE PHOTO:
The 2020 Mazda CX-5 is getting a little more desirable in the new model year. It’s also slightly more expensive. Most of the benefits are realized with the 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. This engine
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Formula One is a global series with a large carbon footprint. Teams, drivers and fans fly to 21 races around the world, hauling tons of equipment. The cars use up and discard hundreds
The U.S. is unique in that we tend to think of towing as the domain of trucks, specifically trucks of the overkill heavy-duty variety. But elsewhere in the world, the citizenry tows its trailers with handy,
New York (CNN Business) — The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into four major automakers who have rejected the Trump administration's relaxed air pollution and mileage regulations.