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Financial Conduct Authority
FCA highlights its areas of concern in financial services markets
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published its annual Sector Views, an assessment of the risks and potential harm to consumers across financial services markets.
The Sector Views look at the impact of macroeconomic developments and common drivers of change emerging across financial markets. They also outline areas where there may be a negative impact on consumers or the integrity of the financial system in that sector. The report sets out what factors are driving harm, as well as considering how the harm may develop over time.
The kinds of harms the FCA is concerned about, include:
- Although the FCA has seen a number of positive corrections in the credit market, our Financial Lives data shows that 7.4 million UK adults are over-indebted and find their financial commitment a burden.
- Pricing practices in insurance still penalise loyal customers – the ‘loyalty penalty’ in home and motor insurance cost 6 million longstanding consumers an extra £1.2 billion in 2018, and the FCA is finalising remedies following its market study.
- High-risk retail investment products are exposing consumers to more risk than they can absorb – some of the highest risk products are often marketed directly to retail consumers with poor communication of the risks involved and implications that the investments are regulated, when this is not the case.
- Many new payments firms have been able to enter the market and grow quickly, but some of their products don’t have protection in place for consumers, for example e-money services advertised as ‘current accounts’ aren’t covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA and interim Chief Executive designate, said:
‘We are committed to reducing harm in the markets we regulate. Our analysis of markets ensures that we do this effectively, helping us to decide where to focus our attention. We expect firms to be similarly focused on preventing harm and assisting us where they can, and we will continue to actively supervise all firms to ensure they achieve this.
‘What is clearly apparent from the Sector Views, is that many of the harms we are seeing are created by a significant number of smaller firms we regulate or firms beyond our remit.
‘The findings in the report will contribute to our upcoming Business Plan and the decisions we make affecting consumers, market integrity and competition.’
Notes to editors
Latest News from
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The FCA has banned Simon Varley from working in financial services and fined him £68,300 for knowingly performing a controlled function without approval and for providing investment advice to retail customers when he knew he was not qualified or approved to do so.
Financial Stability Board publishes Peer Review of UK remuneration regime14/04/2021 13:25:00
We have published a joint statement with the PRA welcoming the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Peer Review of the UK’s remuneration regime.
FCA publishes Decision Notice against Jon Frensham for non-financial misconduct30/03/2021 10:25:00
The FCA has published a Decision Notice in respect of Jon Frensham (formerly known as Jonathan James Hunt), an independent financial adviser and the sole director at Frensham Wealth Limited.
High Court finds that 24HR Trading Academy unlawfully advised on investments and unlawfully promoted CFD trading29/03/2021 10:25:00
The High Court has delivered a summary judgement in proceedings commenced by the FCA ruling that 24HR Trading Academy Limited (24HR Trading), run by Mohammed Fuaath Haja Maideen Maricar, contravened the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) by providing unauthorised investment advice to consumers via WhatsApp messages.
FCA reminds consumers financially impacted by coronavirus of the support available26/03/2021 14:10:00
As the deadline to apply for a payment deferral ends on 31 March 2021, the FCA wants to reassure consumers in financial difficulty that support will continue to be available under the Tailored Support Guidance (TSG).
FCA launches campaign to encourage individuals to report wrongdoing24/03/2021 15:25:00
The campaign, 'In confidence, with confidence', encourages individuals working in financial services to report potential wrongdoing to the FCA, and reminds them of the confidentiality processes in place.
FCA warns that younger investors are taking on big financial risks24/03/2021 10:25:00
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) yesterday published research findings into better understanding investors who engage in high-risk investments like cryptocurrencies and foreign exchange.
FCA starts criminal proceedings against NatWest Plc16/03/2021 12:20:00
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today announced that it has commenced criminal proceedings against National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest) in respect of offences under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR 2007).


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FinTech Alliance Nepal joins Asia FinTech AllianceThis collaboration presents exciting opportunities for FAN to leverage insights and expertise from across the region, accelerating the development of Nepal’s fintech ecosystem.
FinTech Alliance Nepal (FAN) has joined the Asia FinTech Alliance (AFA), marking a significant milestone in Nepal’s fintech connection.
This partnership underscores FAN’s commitment to fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and driving collective growth in the fintech sector, FAN said in a statement.
The Asia FinTech Alliance brings together a diverse group of fintech associations from key markets such as Singapore, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Mongolia.
This collaboration presents exciting opportunities for FAN to leverage insights and expertise from across the region, accelerating the development of Nepal’s fintech ecosystem.
“We are honoured to join the Asia FinTech Alliance and collaborate with esteemed fintech associations from across Asia,” said Sanjib Subba, president of FAN. “This partnership aligns with our vision of driving fintech innovation and digital financial inclusion in Nepal, and we are excited to contribute to the collective growth of the Asian fintech community.”
Through its membership in the Asia FinTech Alliance, FAN aims to strengthen the voice of Nepal’s fintech industry on the regional stage, advocate for policies that promote fintech innovation, and facilitate cross-border partnerships to drive positive change in the financial services sector.
“We believe that by working together with our counterparts in Asia, we can unlock new opportunities, address common challenges, and drive impactful change in the fintech landscape,” added Bikash Saran, the FAN spokesperson.
FinTech Alliance Nepal is a leading fintech Alliance dedicated to promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital financial inclusion in Nepal.

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Amazon UK has revealed early Black Friday deals starting this week and promises daily offers over the next few weeks.
Following the recent, rescheduled Amazon Prime Day, the online retailer has unveiled a month-long series of deals in the run up to Black Friday 2020.
Amazon UK will offer “Black Friday-worthy deals across the most giftable categories” over the coming weeks, “from small businesses and top brands, including toys, fashion,
electronics, home, kitchen, beauty and more.” The Amazon UK website states that the Early Deals will be available from 26th October until 19th November, before Black Friday proper takes place following Thanksgiving on 26th November.
Alongside Daily Deals, limited Lightning Deals will be available while stocks last, and are available first to Prime members, who get a 30 minute window of early access.
The Black Friday deals will be followed by further special discounts to coincide with Cyber Monday on 30th November.
Prime Day was intended to kick off the Christmas shopping season and encourage consumers to shop early, spreading out their purchases to avoid a last minute rush and overwhelming online fulfilment and delivery services. Although the response to Prime Day was reported as being muted, the potential for a deluge of online orders on and around Black Friday, which will take place in its traditional timeslot, may well have prompted Amazon to spread out its offers in order to avoid fulfilment issues. The website advises customers to “Shop early. Relax later.”
Amazon said: “Amazon’s Early Black Friday Deals event is serving up festive cheer and epic savings early this year to give customers more time to shop and save. With new deals dropping every day, customers can shop early for incredible savings on a huge selection of products—making it easy to check everyone off the gift list earlier than ever.”
The company says it will have over a million deals available worldwide in the run up to Christmas. The retailer has also introduced an extended returns window, which means most things bought between now and the end of the year can be returned up until 31st January.


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2019 was supposed to be the year of the foldable smartphone, but we’re halfway into the year and we have yet to see anything. Huawei’s foldable Mate X has been delayed, and last we heard, the Samsung Galaxy Fold had also been delayed with no new launch date in sight.
While the Huawei Mate X is currently pegged for a launch in September, it seems that Samsung could be getting ahead of the competition because according to Samsung Display Vice President Kim Seong-cheol, he has revealed that the company is now ready to launch the Galaxy Fold, or rather to relaunch it.
During a speech made at The Korean Information Display Society in Seoul, Kim was quoted as saying that the issues with the display have since been ironed out and that the handset is now ready to hit the market. Kim stopped short of actually offering up any kind of release date, but his statement does bode well for those who have been looking forward to the handset.
For those who are unfamiliar with the issues surrounding the phone, basically, reviewers who received early review units discovered what they thought was a screen protector on the front of the phone. Some tried to peel it off, only to discover it was adhered rather strong to the actual display, which caused some units to get damaged.
It was also discovered that the gap between the hinge was too big in which it allowed some debris to get in, causing issues when the phone is folded. Samsung later recalled the review units and announced that they would be going back to the drawing board to try and fix these flaws, ultimately causing a delay. So far both Best Buy and AT&T have cancelled all Galaxy Fold pre-orders until a new release date has been set, which based on Kim’s statement, should be soon.
Source: The Investor


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Officials at industrial packaging power Mauser Group say that over the past 12 months, the company, which blowmolds drums, intermediate bulk containers and other industrial packaging, has experienced increasing demand in all product areas and all countries. Mauser worked recently with plastics supplier Sabic to develop an improved grade of HDPE especially suitable for blowmolding these large containers.
|Clemens Willée, CEO at Mauser Group.|
The improved business situation is global and across all of its business UN its, reports Mauser, but particularly strong demand is coming from the chemical and oil/lubricants industries. "As one of the first links in the supply chain, the packaging industry is a leading indicator for economic development and I am optimistic that order volume will continue to remain stable at a high level in 2011," says Clemens Willée, Mauser Group's CEO. "We are expecting demand to be strong, especially from the chemical and oil/lubricants sectors. However, the sector still faces greater challenges in terms of rising electricity, transport and freight costs as well as volatile raw material prices."
The industrial packaging processor has worked recently with Sabic (Sittard, the Netherlands) to help the plastics supplier develop its new ICP 5602 grade of high-density polyethylene. This grade is designed for blowmolding of tight head drums with a capacity of 25-220 litres. Characteristic of the material are its very high impact resistance and rigidity, plus ease of processing and resistance to stress cracks and chemicals, says Sabic. Most significantly, this material delivers improved melt flow for higher productivity and reduced energy usage. It is offered in a granular form—a departure from traditional powders—and, reports Sabic, this change of form helps prevent waste, increase machine efficiency, and permits safer product handling. Mario Scholle, business manager HDPE for Sabic in Europe, says the completely new product line was developed in just 18 months.


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New details surrounding Samsung's much-rumoured Galaxy Note 3 have emerged.
A new edition of the super-sized handset was reportedly confirmed by a Samsung official to Korean site ETNews (via Engadget).
The device will apparently feature a 13-megapixel camera - similar to the flagship Galaxy S4 - and optical image stabilisation, although the insider noted that final decisions could be altered before production begins.
The Note team are also said to have considered the introduction of 3x optical zoom but were limited by the handset's thin frame.
The follow-up to the Galaxy Note 2, the device will likely launch in the second half of this year, with many suggesting it will be unveiled at the IFA technology trade show in Berlin in September.
Samsung will unveil new Android and Windows devices at an event on June 20.


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NFL Agrees Multi-Year Renewal With Long-Term Partner Majestic Athletic
January 15, 2016
The National Football League (NFL) has agreed a wide ranging multi-year contract extension with long-standing partner Majestic Athletic.
Through the new agreement, Majestic will retain the rights to design, produce and distribute men’s and women’s fan wear apparel across multiple channels of distribution.
“We’re thrilled to announce the extension of this premier sports license and believe it illustrates the long-standing trust and partnership we’ve enjoyed for decades with the National Football League,” said Jim Pisani, President of Majestic Athletic.
“We’re excited to extend our strategic partnership with a company who shares our passion for providing NFL fans with fashionable and trend right apparel,” said Leo Kane, the National Football League’s Senior Vice President of Consumer Products
The deal sees the two parties continue a partnership that first began in 1989.


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Microsoft announced the next generation of its Xbox console at E3 2019 on Sunday. The tech giant revealed the console will go on sale before the end of 2020.
Codenamed Project Scarlett, Microsoft opted against showing designs of the machine, but said it would be the "biggest leap" over a previous generation there had ever been. There was no mention of price, but the firm did confirm Halo Infinite would be among its launch titles.
The untitled console will host an AMD processor, said to be four more powerful than its Xbox One X predecessor. To improve loading times, the machine will include SSD storage that can serve as virtual memory, meaning a 40-fold performance increase in storage speed over current generation consoles.
Additional key points include:
- The console can support 8K-resolution playback (but this may be limited to video-streaming, rather than games).
- Games can be played at up to 120 frames per second.
- It will allow real-time hardware-accelerated ray tracing for an improved lighting experience.
Those in attendance at the event were treated to a surprise appearance by Keanu Reeves. An ebullient Reeves strode on stage to reveal his involvement in Cyberpunk 2077, also confirming that the game will go on sale in April 2020. "You're breathtaking," shouted one excitable audience member, to which Reeves replied, "No, you're breathtaking!"


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Following the successful kick-off in Vancouver, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will bring the “Flavours of the Philippines” In-Store Promotion to T&T Supermarket in Pacific Place Mall, Calgary, Alberta from 8 June to 10 June 2018.
“It is very timely to showcase the quality of Filipino brands to celebrate our Filipino heritage in time with Independence Day,” said DTI Senior Trade Commissioner Maria Roseni M. Alvero.
On 8 June 2018, T&T Supermarket will start showcasing Filipino food at the dedicated stalls for Flavours of the Philippines through pallet displays and food tasting stations. It will be followed by a ceremony on 9 June 2018 with the Filipino-Canadian community where attendees will be treated to lively music and a vibrant display of Filipino talent with cultural performances by the Philippine Cultural Center Foundation.
Hon. Consul General Gilberto Asuque is expected to welcome the Filipino-Canadian and mainstream community in Calgary during the event.
The event, considered to be a centerpiece trade and cultural program with the Philippine Consulate General in Calgary and the Department of Tourism in San Francisco, aims to reconnect Filipino-Canadians with the motherland in time for the celebration of the anniversary of Philippine Independence. It also aims to increase the consumer awareness and appreciation for Philippine food products among Canadian consumers.
The weekend-long festivities will also include cooking demonstrations of delicious Filipino dishes and big discounts on popular Filipino products.
“We hope that this event will contribute in raising the popularity of Philippine cuisine along the levels enjoyed by other internationally accepted Asian cuisine, ultimately towards increasing the level of Filipino food exports into Canada,” Alvero added.
“Flavours of the Philippines” at T&T Supermarket is the second of a series of In-Store Promotion events in Canada spearheaded by DTI this year, following an In-Store Promotion at the PriceSmart Supermarket in Richmond, British Columbia.
In 2016, Canada was the 16th export market (out of 213) of Philippine merchandise goods. Processed food including processed fruits and vegetables and processed marine and ethnic foods are among the top commodities for export promotion in the said market.♦
Date of release: 08 June 2018


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GlobalData has revised India’s insurance forecast in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak. An analysis of GlobalData’s Global Insurance Database reveals that Indian life insurance industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of seven per cent over 2019-2024, driven by favourable demographic factors, and economic recovery expected over the second half of 2021.
Manisha Varma, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “A high number of Covid-19 related deaths in the last year has increased awareness for life insurance in India. Easing of lockdown restrictions and increased adoption of digital distribution will further support the growth.
“Digital distribution got a much-needed push as insurers are focusing on ensuring uninterrupted sales support and customer service. Insurers are also offering new products with Covid-19 specific benefits to push sales. In January 2021, new business premiums grew by year-on-year 3.7 per cent to INR213.9 billion.”
Positive regulatory developments
Positive regulatory developments seen in the last six months are expected to support life insurance growth. For instance, increasing FDI limit in insurance from 49 per cent to 74 per cent will encourage foreign insurers to enter the market and bring additional capital.
Additionally, in April 2021, the regulator permitted insurers to invest up to 10 per cent of the outstanding debt instruments in a single Infrastructure Investment Trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts issue. The additional investment options will strengthen the financial position of insurers and encourage them to expand their product offerings.
Varma concluded: “With a pick-up in vaccinations, the Indian economy is expected to recover over the second half of the year. Increasing consumer awareness along with favourable demographics and regulatory environment will support the demand for life insurance policies.”
A survey by reinsurer Swiss Re highlighted an increasing trend among Indian consumers to buy insurance digitally, especially through payment apps.


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WARREN - Four new businesses with a total projected investment of more than $1.2 million are coming to Warren, three of them on the store-poor west side.
The most visible one for now is a Family Dollar being built on the corner of West Market Street and Parkman Road S.W. Building Inspector Chris Taneyhill said the store's permit values it at $500,000.
Another Family Dollar store is planned on the site of the Golden Gate restaurant at 2186 Parkman Road N.W. which will be demolished.
No information on that store was available.
O'Reilly Auto Parts is planning two stores, one in a former video outlet at 2320 Parkman Road N.W., and the other at 4468 Youngstown Road S.E., where the JD Byrider used car building was torn down.
Renovation at the Parkman Road location was put at $140,160, while construction of a building, plus improvements, on Youngstown Road was valued at $505,750, according to Warren records.
O'Reilly spokesman Mark Merz said the Parkman Road store tentatively is scheduled to open in a month. He said the stores typically employ eight to 12 full- and part-time workers, with the number at the lower end for a new store.
He said he had no information on a possible Youngstown Road store.


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Hangry, a culinary startup with a cloud kitchen and multi-brand concept in Indonesia, today announced that it has closed its “oversubscribed” funding of US$13 million in an Alpha JWC Ventures-led Series A round.
Atlas Pacific Capital, Salt Ventures, and Heyokha Brothers also joined.
Hangry plans to use this capital scale its business and open more than 120 outlets in total, with the aim of launching 20-plus dine-in restaurants across Indonesia in 2021.
Founded in 2019 by Abraham Viktor, Robin Tan and Andreas Resha, Hangry follows an asset-light business model wherein it produces “quality food at affordable prices” to cater to the urban, mobile-first consumers in the archipelago.
It has launched multiple brands with large culinary varieties, such as Moon Chicken (Korean-inspired fried chicken), San Gyu (authentic Japanese cuisine), and Ayam Koplo (a new take on traditional ayam geprek and various chicken delicacies).
The prices range from IDR 15,000 – IDR 70,000 (US$1-6) per portion.
Hangry’s in-house brands’ menus are available on GrabFood, ShopeeFood, GoFood and on its Hangry App.
Today, Hangry runs more than 40 outlets in Greater Jakarta and Bandung. In 2020 alone, it opened more than 35 outlets and claims to have grown 22x over the course of the year.
According to the founders, Hangry managed to not only survive but also thrive amidst challenges brought by an economic slowdown and government-imposed social restrictions following the onset of COVID-19.
“There are not many global food chains with gourmet-quality dishes, let alone one originating from Indonesia. That’s what we aspire to be. We’ll start from home and will continue to expand across Indonesia as well as to neighboring countries soon,” co-founder and CEO Viktor said.
Hangry received its first institutional funding of US$3 million from Alpha JWC Ventures and Sequoia Capital through the latter’s Surge programme in 2020.
“In the span of 1.5 years, they launched multiple brands across a myriad of tastes and categories, and almost all of them are amongst the best sellers list with superior ratings in multiple platforms — tangible examples of product-market-fit. This is only the beginning and we can already foresee their growth to be a top local F&B brand in the country,” said Eko Kurniadi, Partner at Alpha JWC Ventures.
“Hangry’s exceptional business model has been proven to withstand the crisis. Despite the pandemic, Hangry has shown phenomenal growth, opening more than 35 outlets in 2020 alone,” says Danny Sutradewa, Managing Partner at SALT Ventures.
Of late, the concept of cloud kitchen has received great attention in Southeast Asia, and the onset of COVID-19 has further accelerated the growth of the industry.
In Indonesia, Yummy Corp. is another cloud kitchen startup that in September raised US$12 million in Series B funding, led by SoftBank Ventures Asia.
Image Credit: Hangry
The post Hangry swallows US$13M Series A to scale its cloud kitchen and multi-brand concept in Indonesia appeared first on e27.


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How to connect to the Internet in America without a smartphone
AT&T and Verizon have signed a deal that allows them to give their customers access to the internet without having to use a smartphone.
In the first phase, customers who subscribe to the DirecTV Now and DirecTv Now streaming services can get access to their favorite websites and apps without having a smartphone, AT&Ts CEO Brian Roberts said at a Wall Street conference on Wednesday.
They can also stream TV shows on the Internet through their DirecTab boxes.
Verizon and AT&ts have been working on this program for years.
AT&t says that it is one of the biggest wireless providers in the world and it has more than 50 million Direc Tab customers.
The company said it will use the new service to give consumers access to its network of 4G wireless networks and bring more of its customers onto Direc tab.
AT &ts has also been working to connect its customers to the web via the internet through the Internet.
AT said in March that it had about 50 million broadband subscribers in the United States.
Verizons website is updated once a day.
Verizon has been working with Direc Networks to get more of those customers to join the service.AT&Ts also said that it would work with the Direktovers internet service provider, T-Mobile US, to bring more Direktab customers onto the service so that AT&TS could get access more to its networks and the content it delivers to customers.
AT’s Roberts said the Diretab service would not be a competitor to the Comcast internet service.


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Nintendo UK has announced a second version for the region, at a slightly more friendly time of 7am on the 25th.
This will be the first time we'll see what form Animal Crossing will take as a smartphone game. So far, all we know is that the app will be "free-to-start" (essentially, there will be microtransactions), and that it will be a "pure game app", as opposed to Miitomo's skewed social network approach. It will also "be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems", (which just makes us a little sadder that we won't be hearing anything more about new console versions).
The game was delayed early this year so as not to overlap with the release of Super Mario Run.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and he probably wouldn't be able to help himself paying for an Axel he could carry around in his pocket. Here's why.
If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, learn more.


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As a leading luxury brand, Ralph Lauren is on a mission to inspire its customers to dream of a better life through authenticity and timeless style. Supporting upward of $6 billion in revenue, the procurement team at Ralph Lauren is responsible for ensuring that the company’s multiple brands are consistently represented across more than 600 locations. To keep up with high demand, the team must have complete visibility into its suppliers, contracts, and in-progress requests.
Ralph Lauren global procurement leader Juan Ahmad joined us at Conversations for a Changing World and shared his insights on driving a world-class procurement organization for the Fortune 500 company.
Managing over $1 billion in indirect spend, Ahmad and his team provide strategic decision-making support across marketing, IT, HR, and more. Getting that proverbial seat at the table, however, didn’t happen overnight. The team spent nearly four years laying the groundwork for procurement transformation—an effort that paid dividends during the first volatile months of the pandemic.
According to a recent chief procurement officer (CPO) survey by Deloitte, the office of procurement is undergoing widespread transformation. Catalyzed by supply chain and labor disruptions, CPOs are reevaluating their priorities in an effort to elevate the office


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China’s Factory Inflation Seen Easing From Peak in November
China’s factory inflation may have peaked and started slowing in November, providing some relief for companies and making room for the central bank to do more to support the economy.
The producer price index is forecast to have climbed 12.1% in November from a year earlier, slower than the 26-year high of 13.5% in October, according to the median estimate in a survey of economists. Despite the retreat, the projected increase would still be the second fastest in 26 years.
Faster inflation in China in recent months fanned stagflation concerns amid a domestic economic slowdown and worries about persistent global inflation. It also increased the challenge for the People’s Bank of China on how to stimulate growth without adding to inflationary pressures, so slower price rises may make it easier to add stimulus.
The central bank acted to release 1.2 trillion yuan ($189 billion) into the economy, announcing Monday it would reduce most banks’ reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage point from next week. While the central bank said this wasn’t the start of an easing cycle, financial markets are showing some expectation of further action.
The Communist Party’s top leaders also indicated earlier this week that their focus for the coming year is stabilizing macroeconomic conditions and signaled an easing of some property curbs next year, as a real estate downturn and sporadic virus outbreaks weigh on the economic outlook.
A milder pace in price hikes show previous government measures to boost commodity supplies and tame surging costs are having some effect. Iron ore prices continued dropping in November, although they have started to climb again this month. An easing power crunch also helped to lift caps on factory output which had boosted prices.
The falling inflation trend can also be seen in the price sub-indexes of China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index. Input prices for manufacturing dropped sharply in November to 52.9 from 72.1, while output prices plunged to 48.9 from 61.1.
Consumer inflation is forecast to have risen faster, quickening to 2.5% from 1.5% in October and potentially hitting the highest level since mid-2020. The pickup was likely driven by more expensive food, but there are signs that soaring vegetable prices have started to come down in December from a recent peak in November.
Vegetable prices have fallen in recent days, according to Zhao Lihua, a 67-year old Beijing resident, who said cauliflower prices have dropped by around 30%. However, she feels that living costs keep increasing despite the muted CPI readings this year.
“I don’t feel prices got any cheaper this year. They are always getting more expensive year after year,” she said Wednesday.
Read more: China’s Falling Pork Prices Mask Rapid Inflation Gains
A deflationary drag from pork prices will likely continue for a while due to the low base for comparison from last year. The rise in core CPI is still muted, as it excludes more volatile food and energy prices, and sporadic Covid-19 outbreaks likely continue to weigh on services consumption.
The National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release the November inflation data at 9:30 a.m. Thursday Beijing time.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
With assistance from Bloomberg


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Supply chain problems and rising prices are pinching the U.S. solar industry
Energize Weekly, March 23, 2022
Facing supply chain problems and rising prices, the U.S. solar industry delayed about a third of its utility-scale capacity in the fourth quarter of 2021, and installations are projected to be down in 2022, according to an industry market report.
The 2021 fourth quarter projects were delayed for at least one quarter, and 8 percent of planned capacity for 2022 has been posted to 2023, while another 5 percent has been cancelled, the report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and consultant Wood Mackenzie said.
As supply chains continue to face backlogs and delays, Wood Mackenzie is forecasting that 15 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity will come online in 2022, down from 17 GW in 2021.
“Demand is incredible, but the exact timing of projects remains very dynamic because customers are contending with so many moving pieces within their supply chain,” Jason Whitaker, president and CEO of Shoals Technologies Group Inc., a maker of electrical balance systems for solar projects, said on a March 10 earnings call.
As was the case for many industries reliant on imports for key materials, the solar industry, which imports about 90 percent of its panels, faced supply chain problems related to the pandemic.
The situation was compounded by tariffs on solar cells first put in place by the Trump administration and continued by President Joe Biden.
Prices for equipment started rising in the second quarter of 2021 and continued to increase for the rest of the year reaching, 18 percent for fix-tilt projects and 14.2 percent for single-tracking projects in the fourth quarter when compared to 2020.
In 2022, trade issues will continue to affect the solar supply chain, but with less volatility than in late 2021, the market report said.
“In early February, the White House extended Section 201 tariffs on solar cells and modules for four years but doubled the tariff-free solar cell import quota from 2.5 GW to 5 GW and maintained the exclusion for bifacial modules,” the report said. “The decision offered some relief to both module assemblers and project developers.”
Despite the difficulties, a record 5.9 GW of utility-scale solar came online in the fourth quarter of 2021, and for the year, a record 23.6 GW of solar capacity – including residential and community installations – was completed, a 19 percent increase year-over-year.
After years of robust growth and falling solar prices, the supply problems and rising prices have led solar industry groups to call for government action.
The SEIA is calling for a long-term extension of the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar, which is scheduled expire in 2024.
“If we pass a long-term extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit and invest in U.S. manufacturing, solar installations will increase by 66 percent over the next decade, and our nation will be safer because of it,” SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in statement.
Solar manufactures are also backing the Solar Energy Manufacturing Act for America, sponsored by Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, which would provide incentives for developing domestic solar manufacturing capacity.
“The U.S. cannot remain reliant on overseas solar supply chains, nor can we assume those monopolized supply chains will continue to keep prices low,” the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Coalition said in a letter to President Biden.
Still, the SEIA-Wood Mackenzie report said, “these headwinds are unlikely to outweigh demand for the utility-scale solar segment in the long run. Ongoing efforts to expand federal clean energy support, increasing interest in ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] investments, and new procurement strategies will allow industry recovery in 2023.”


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This content has been translated by bestmembers
Instagram is about to become TikTok: test the new feature!
Popular social media app Tic knockit grew rapidly in the face of strong interest, especially from young people. This growth has also mobilized other social media platforms. The last step came from Instagram. To make the contents on the platform more engaging and identifiable Instagram, full screen mode is testing. Here are the details!
Instagram images will now be full screen
parent company of Instagram HalfTake the first step in editing like TikTok coils threw it away. Today, many users spend most of their time in the application watching Reels. Aside from all this, the company, like TikTok full screen It is preparing to change format.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, recently shared a story on Instagram. In this post, you announced the full screen format, which will soon enter the testing phase. A version of this format first appeared in early May.
Meta’s spokesperson pointed out that the goal with this format is to increase the load of images on Instagram. In this testing phase, users had to click on the image for the full screen version. But the full-screen format is similar to its stream on TikTok, with image highlighting.
Looking at the sharing, it can be seen that the posts also include the notification bar at the top. Besides that, shortcuts for creating direct messages and posts are also available. differentIt is noteworthy that I. Users with a module of this test will see the images almost completely in full screen while browsing the stream. There are also shortcuts that allow you to like and comment on the image. At bottom will include.
Meta’s spokesperson Seine KimSecond, this test is the platform’s latest effort to compete with TikTok in terms of visuals. Zuckerberg said the new format is currently being tested and will be available to all users soon.
So what do you think about Instagram’s full-screen switch? Don’t forget to share your views with us in the comments section.


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Big businesses are quickly realizing the benefits that the new office leasing co-working phenomenon brings which has led to the amount of Auckland office space occupied by this segment of the market almost doubling in just 12 months
Big businesses are quickly realizing the benefits that the new office leasing co-working phenomenon brings which has led to the amount of Auckland office space occupied by this segment of the market almost doubling in just 12 months, according to a new Bayleys Research report.
Co-working – at its most basic the renting of shared office space and facilities – has long been the norm for tech start-ups and creative companies. But the concept is now also attracting a more diverse range of corporate tenants wanting to tap into the start-up culture, cultivate innovation and win new talent and clients.
Recent analysis by Bayleys Research shows the co-working scene in Auckland is expanding rapidly, with more than 28,000 sqm of office space, up from 15,000 sqm last year. This has resulted in the number of co-working members increasing from approximately 1,500 to 3,300. 76 percent of the space is operated by two companies – Generator and BizDojo – with 17 other operators making up the balance.
An additional 14,500 sq m of co-working space will be up and running by 2018 with the 11,000 sq m B: Hive building at Smales Farm in Takapuna, and Kiwi Property Group announcing its new office development at Sylvia Park will have a full floor occupied by operator BizDojo.
Spaces, a Regus company, have also signed up to 2,700 sqm at 501 Karangahape Rd. This will push the total number of co-working members to just under 5,000 by 2018.
Director commercial, retail and operations at Bayleys, Lloyd Budd, presented the latest research findings to CoreNet members, an association for corporate real estate professionals this month, at Auckland’s newest purpose built co-working premises - GridAKL/12 Madden Street in Wynyard Quarter’s Innovation Precinct.
Mr Budd said most of the larger co-worker property operators were looking to expand their offerings and believed there was considerable scope to broaden the current reach from the ‘entrepreneurial-creative’ sectors to the more lucrative corporate sector.
“For the corporate sector, working alongside energetic start-ups and techies gives them direct access to a customer base and ideas that might otherwise be out of reach,” Mr Budd said.
Generator, owned 50 percent by Precinct Properties, newest 8,000 sqm lease deal at Grid AKL/12 Madden St is the latest example of the co-working sector’s growth. This vision has been made possible by the head lease holder Auckland Tourism Events & Economic Development (ATEED) and the building is also owned by Precinct.
This makes Generator the largest co-working operator in Auckland. BizDojo - the second largest sector landlord in Auckland, but the largest overall in New Zealand - also operates in Wellington and Christchurch, and has recently announced a new site at 5 Mile in Queenstown.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said in June this year that ATEED’s GridAKL initiative – part of the wider Auckland Innovation Precinct in Wynyard Quarter – showed that co-working played an important role in driving growth of the region’s technology sector, with 9,000 jobs added in the last five years and nearly 26 percent growth in the tech sector’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Mr Budd said that the “millennial demographic” was the key driver underpinning co-working floorspace growth.
“Over the next five years, millennials will be the fastest growing age demographic – contributing about 70,000 people to Auckland’s workforce,” he told the more than 120 attendees at the CoreNet event.
“Conservatively, the demand for co-working space could potentially rise more than eight-fold over this period if current global trends continue.”
The Bayleys research highlights that most of the current Auckland co-working offerings are centred in the Auckland CBD and city fringe - with the largest cluster in and around the Waitemata harbourside close to a wide variety of amenities and public transport connections.
The report noted that in Auckland, the average monthly desk rate is around $800 for quality dedicated co-working space, but the market ranged from $400 per month to $1,499 per month - depending on the menu of services, location, quality, facilities and other factors.
Mr Budd, who has followed the co-working scene in his time working for Barangaroo South developer, Lend Lease in Australia and more recently in New Zealand with Bayleys, said there was an immense drive for building owners to keep relevant in the face of disruption from new trends such as co-working and the new ‘gig-economy’ being driven by the growing millennial workforce.
“The move away from the traditional corporate style of employment, towards an innovative, entrepreneurial and freelance style of work these days, means co-working has not only become the new way to work, but it is also the new way for landlords to lease space and potentially increase revenue,” he told the CoreNet attendees.
“Landlords who understand that co-working operating models can profitably, lease space at ‘co-working appropriate’ rates - which may sit outside of normal rent per square metre rates for more traditional office tenants.
“The sector has innovated and driven in new density standards through custom built spaces as well as a better understanding of the product customers want and smarter design solutions,” said Mr Budd.
The Bayleys report also noted that density in office space occupied by co-working members had increased over the past year - from a ratio of one member per 10.3sqm to one per 8.6sqm, a 17 percent increase in floor space efficiency.
There are close to 14,000 co-working spaces around the world, according to the global online co-working group Deskmag’s latest global survey with that number expected to keep growing. In their 2017 survey, two out of three co-working spaces intended to expand their floor area.


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Malaysia Grows As Supply Chain Node, Bizav Market
Malaysia continues to grow as a low-cost aerospace supply chain node, as well as a potential marketplace for business aviation and commercial transport, according to recent executive comments and industry forecasts. “The economic progress of Malaysia and a growing number of high net worth...
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Did you know? Aviation Week has won top honors multiple times in the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards, the business-to-business media equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes.


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Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus have committed $75 Million to the growth of predictive analytics industry leader Blue Yonder. The investment adds Warburg Pincus to the existing group of investors which includes OTTO Group and the founders.
Blue Yonder has strong foundation in the European retail market, with customers including the Next, Otto Group, EAT, dm, Bauhaus and supermarket chain Kaiser’s Tengelmann. A recent expansion into other verticals including industrial and transport, and logistics adds customers such as Eurotunnel, Lufthansa Systems and Bosch to that list.
“We are very excited about the large and rapidly growing market for Predictive Applications and see many opportunities developing alongside the rise of the Industrial Internet of Things.”
“Going forward Big Data analytics will be used to improve operational efficiencies and to transform business models, changing the way our clients can compete in the marketplace.”
Uwe Weiss, CEO at Blue Yonder
The Managing Director at Warburg Pincus, Joseph Schull, stated their delighted to partner with Blue Yonder, accelerating the company’s international growth as more and more corporates understand the value of harnessing their data assets for predictive analytics and decision automation.
Read more in the press release here.
(image credit: Blue Yonder)


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For the record, responses to my query on Wednesday about which automaker would (have the audacity to) launch an ad campaign promoting manual transmission, by far favored Dodge, which is not that surprising given the brand's rakish advertising. But it's not Dodge. Nor is it the other brands people offered: VW, Audi, Porsche, Nissan, Mazda, two votes for Fiat, a couple of votes for Cadillac, two Chevrolets, one Corvette (which I sort of don't see as Chevrolet), two Chryslers, one vote for Jeep, and one for Saab.
Only one person actually got it right (kudos to Tom Keane at USA Weekend.) Yes, it's Mini. And the BMW unit actually makes perfect sense if one recalls that when the brand (re)launched here in 2002, it offered the Mini Cooper only as a manual-shifter, and most certainly the brand has the highest manual take-rate percentage among any automaker that isn't a pure sports-car brand.
Thomas Salkowsky, manager of Mini brand marketing, says that in spite of an increasingly clutch-free world, about 34% of buyers of the Clubman, the Mini Cooper convertible and the hard top buy the manual version, and that even for the AWD version of the Countryman, Mini's answer for a crossover, the manual take rate is about 30%. In New England, according to Salkowsky, it's a 50/50 split between auto and manual, and even in highway-bound L.A. it's about 15%. That's a huge percentage, given the national average. AOL Auto's editor, Kirk Seaman, wrote last year that back in 1985 22.4% of all vehicles sold in the U.S. came with a manual transmission. By 2007, it was 7.7%. AOL Autos says last year it was about 5.5%.
So the Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based Mini this week is rolling out a campaign celebrating its "Manualhood," touting the virtues of old-fashioned shifting, and new-fashioned technology that makes it just a bit easier during those terrifying moments starting from zero on hills: the widgetry keeps the brake on for about three seconds so one does not ram the car behind when the light turns green.
The campaign is also for those of us who see a sports car, can't resist taking a peek into the cockpit, and are rewarded for our curiosity with a sinking feeling once we glimpse that cushy sequential shifter and those big "D, D1, R, N, P" toddler-style letters on the center console: the new campaign includes car stickers that tell passers-by that the vehicle has a stick. But the big focus, says Salkowsky, is digital and point-of-purchase.
"We are bringing to Mini's Facebook page, for example, and running creative that communicates 'Manualhood' and exhilaration at Miniusa. com and in online advertising on different auto shopping sites, as well as enthusiast sites like Jalopnik," he says. "We will bring it forward in dealerships."
Retail elements include posters and car toppers, and a "Manualhood" Motoring Manual for dealers to help them communicate the message to shoppers. There is also a phone number, 855-Manual-Up (as in "man up") with a humorous message about what it means to be in the 'hood. Mini dealerships will have a manual-shift car set aside for test drives with "Manual Up" signage. "We will also be encouraging dealers to host events," says Salkowsky.
The company debated whether to do a regionally focused effort favoring markets like New England, which has that 50% affinity for manual shifting, "or in Southern California where it isn't so high," says Salkowsky. Instead, it is making it less about conquesting specific rivals in specific regions than what the manual transmission says about Mini and its owners. It is also communicating the benefits: the base price is over $1,000 lower for the stick, manual gets better mileage, and the above-mentioned hill-start assist technology. "And, really, it's about how it's just a lot more fun driving a manual. Mini is very a sporty car, and many drivers view it as performance car," he says.
Also possible in Mini's future -- driving programs and performance-driving schools for owners. "Because so many owners do this on weekends at autocross events. We are investigating that," says Salkowsky, who adds that Mini sent an email blast this week to all of the people who have configured a Mini online with manual transmission "to encourage them to take action; we are also communicating electronically with owners who bought a manual Mini to let them know about a program we launched this month: an optional credit of $500 when you buy a manual."
The Manualhood effort has nothing specific to do with the forthcoming Mini Coupe launch in the fourth quarter, although one might be forgiven for making that connection. The coupe will be the brand's first bona fide roadster, although Mini also has a performance version of the Cooper, the Cooper S, and the even higher-performance John Cooper Works customized Cooper. "But this is about supporting the entire brand," says Salkowsky. "Manual is the essence of Mini; it's about the fun of motoring. We just think there's something to celebrate because manual drivers love to drive, and we want to rekindle that fun and enthusiasm about driving."


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Research Asks: IS UV Light The Ultimate Disinfectant?
Disinfectant is in high demand these days. With people clamoring for hand sanitizers and aerosol sprays in grocery stores, one might be wondering; what is the ultimate form of disinfectant?
Priorities have certainly changed over the past few weeks and maintaining health, distance, and sterilization have risen to the top of everyone’s list. Most are doing their part to stay home as much as possible, and many states require residents to wear face masks while shopping for essentials. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most N95 face masks used by health care workers are designed for single-use, to be worn and then thrown out after they’ve been contaminated with germs throughout the day. But with a shortage of quality masks, many are left wondering how to keep their masks clean enough to reuse.
Last week the CDC released new guidelines for using UV germicidal decontamination methods in emergency situations to kill deadly viruses without harming the mask’s filtration abilities. UV light is already commonly used in hospitals and other areas that require heavy sanitation due to its intense germ-killing properties. With this in mind, the CDC is working to discover more ways to utilize its power. While we know that UV light has been used in home air purification systems to effectively eradicate germs, toxins, viruses, and allergens in the home’s air, many people are just now learning about UV light and are wondering exactly what it is and how it works…
What Is UV Light?
According to NASA, Ultraviolet (UV) light is a form of radiation that is invisible to the human eye. As an invisible part of the “electromagnetic spectrum,” its electromagnetic radiation wavelengths are shorter than the violet end of visible light, making them impossible for our eyes to register and see.
While UV rays are invisible, they’re extremely powerful. Have you ever sat outside for a few hours on a cloudy day without sunscreen, thinking you’d be fine, only to realize you got a terrible sunburn? That’s the power of UV rays! Fortunately, the atmosphere of the Earth blocks the transmission of seriously dangerous levels of ultraviolet light.
There are three types of UV light; UV-A (lowest energy), UV-B (medium energy), and UV-C (highest energy). UV-C light can be the most damaging if used incorrectly, but is also the most powerful when harnessed for proper use.
How Does UV Light Work To Disinfect?
UV light penetrates the cells of bacteria, protozoa, germs, and viruses, absorbing the DNA or RNA that contains their genetic code and damaging it. Once harmful microorganisms are exposed to the germicidal wavelengths of UV-C light, they are rendered incapable of reproducing and infecting.
UV light has demonstrated its germ-killing power over the years, fighting pathogenic organisms responsible for viral and bacterial diseases like polio, typhoid, and cholera. This makes it a promising option for future disinfecting efforts.
Should I Be Disinfecting My Own Mask?
If you’re not a health care worker wearing an N95 mask on the front lines of this pandemic, you don’t need to take these serious steps. The CDC has recommended that if you are one of the many who are simply trying to weather this storm, pick up groceries without getting infected or passing on a potential infection to anyone else and cover your face with a cloth that can be laundered at home.
Recently, The World Health Organization put out a warning stating that UV lamps should never be used to sterilize hands or any other part of your skin. Improper use of UV light could result in loss of sight, skin irritation or burning, and even cancer. While UV-C light is a great disinfectant, it should be used in safe, trusted formats like air purifiers until more testing is concluded.
New research is happening, but that doesn’t mean you should go out and purchase every UV wand or tool you see on Amazon. UV-C light might very well be the ultimate disinfectant, but it must be used in a specific way to be both truly safe and effective. For now, consider protecting your home, where you’re spending most of your time, with a trusted UV-C light whole home air purifier. Stay informed, stay healthy, and stay safe!


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- Read Time: 12 min
Philip Kim discusses how his division utilizes data to continuously improve performance — whether that’s to grow sales, decrease costs or improve performance — and in the process, democratize analytics.
Using geo-coding and analytics to reshape operations and care is taking hold in healthcare systems. A recent conference on healthcare and geographic information systems from GIS software company Esri highlighted how the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Veterans Health Administration use technology to gain better understanding of patient and health trends. The related area of social work is also beginning to see some uptake of the technology.
More than half of managers surveyed strongly agree that their organizations need to step up analytics use, according to a 2013 global survey by MIT Sloan Management Review and SAS Institute. In addition, survey data suggests that in companies where analytics has improved the ability to innovate, managers are more likely to share data with partners and suppliers.
Words have become data; the physical states of our machinery have become data; our physical locations have become data; and even our interactions with each other have become data. Three recent books offer expert perspectives on the increasing power and importance of analytics.
“Big Data in Manufacturing” was the theme of a daylong conference held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in November 2013 and sponsored by the MIT Forum for Supply Chain Innovation and the Accenture and MIT Alliance in Business Analytics. But the speakers’ insights weren’t restricted to manufacturing.
While some industries like health care and retail are starting to see the transformational potential of big data and predictive analytics, these strategies haven’t quite panned out for supply chain managers. Why? Two big barriers: The cost of hiring skilled employees and the complexity of connecting nodes across an extended supply chain network. New research suggests that the convergence of data science, predictive analytics and big data have the potential to transform the way in which supply chains leaders lead, and supply chains operate.
Researchers are proposing a new method to limit privacy harms from predictive analytics: Apply due process that would determine, legally, the fairness of an algorithm. While a new framework may be a step forward for individual privacy, what does it mean for organizations that collect and utilize big data through a predictive analytics lens? A couple of things — should data-oriented due process pass policy and legislative muster.
Current thinking has big data and analytics turning companies into data-driven powerhouses. But if companies don’t know how to use data well, it can actually prevent companies from making the transition to data-driven operations. Jeanne Ross, director of MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research, says that companies can build cultures that encourage people, even low-level employees, to work well with data by using evidence-based management.
A recent data and analytics survey sheds light on what large organizations are actually doing with big data initiatives. The survey of nearly 100 senior executives from Fortune 1000 companies found that executives are reporting anincreasing commitment to big data projects. As well, most executives, 70%, are looking to improve their “time to answer” with big data.
The 1997 sci-fi film Gattaca presents a society where DNA determines social class. A registry identifies and creates genetically superior individuals — termed “valids” — while winnowing out their naturally conceived “in-valid” counterparts. The “valids” have a predetermined career (and life!) path, unalterable by desire, capability, circumstance or happenstance.
But how close are fact and fiction? Can genetics, biometrics and, essentially, predictive analytics be utilized to determine an individual’s path?
The growing importance of algorithms to business and society is a little discussed feature of our increasingly digital world. These algorithms are the underpinnings of NSA surveillance, online search engines, corporate security, modern matchmaking and other activities in both the private and public sector. They can be a source of competitive advantage (think Google), play an operational role or drive marketing. Just what are algorithms, how are they used, and what happens when influential algorithms go wrong?
Smart cities are popping up around the globe, from China where 193 smart cities are being piloted, to Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. Their development involves a wide scope of technology, everything from renewable energy, green buildings and smart grids to traffic management, urban security and medical technology. The goal: urban sustainable development and economic growth. Opportunities abound to be part of this global urban revitalization effort. The question is, at what cost to participants?
On the website of energy analytics startup Pilio, CEO and cofounder Catherine Bottrill says that it is a combination of technology, economics and politics that are instrumental in environmental problem solving. However, there is another ingredient necessary, says Bottrill: People. Bottrill is combining behavioral science with energy analytics to help organizations better understand — and manage — their energy use.
Social networking and digital advertising are colliding at a dizzying rate. Facebook, which has over 1 billion users, is launching video ads. Twitter, with more than 200 million users, just bought MoPub, a digital advertising platform that essentially creates an ad space that is sold and delivered every time a user views a page. What does this all mean for the relationship between businesses and consumers? The short answer: Market manipulation.
Recommendation engine StyleSeek is relying on data and analytics to drive business and fashion decisions — every single one of them. With about 50,000 actively registered users — impressive considering the company recently came out of private beta — and close to 200 retailers on board including the likes of Nordstrom, Macy’s and Anthropologie, StyleSeek may have tapped a new approach to a longstanding industry.
It is an understatement to say LinkedIn is growing like a weed. With 238 million members in over 200 countries, 2.8 million active company profiles, and 1 million professionally oriented groups, LinkedIn has become the world’s largest professional networking site. Deepak Agarwal, LinkedIn’s director of relevance science, explains how his company uses data and analytics to sustain this growth.
Recent research out of the Department of Operations and Information Systems at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and the Department of Management Information Systems, Eller School of Management at the University of Arizona, Tucson, asks a seemingly simple question about organizations’ data collection and usage that could have some big implications on your own data techniques. The question: When is the right time to refresh data to support organizational decision-making?
We’re in a new world of omnichannel retailing that includes physical, online and mobile channels. And those channels are blurring. In a recent AllAnaltyics video and web chat, Analytics in the Age of Omnichannel Retailing, researchers Erik Brynjolfsson, Yu Jeffrey Hu and Mohammad Rahman discussed the challenges facing retailers.
Facts: 900 million. Active sources: more than 100,000. Data sets: 30,000, with 200 million time series and 1.5 billion fact values. Link all these data sources together and what do you get? Timely, if not crucial, contextual information about markets, trends, competitors, products and consumer opinions. This is the promise of DOPA, a project funded under the umbrella of the European Union.
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Newswise — The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event of the year, but, as we know, many of those viewers will be watching to see the commercials and could care less about the actual game.
John Antil, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Delaware, says these folks might end up feeling disappointed on Sunday. Some of ads we normally count on to be hits are gone, he says, while others have adopted what appear to be rather strange strategies.
This year, AdAge has thus far published only 25 companies who plan to be in the game, though in the past that number seems to have been much higher with just over a week left before the big game (the final tally is normally about 50 companies/brands), Antil says.
Another indicator that things may have changed comes from iSpotTV who collects massive amounts of data on most every TV ad. For 2016 they reported Super Bowl ads received just over 297 million earned views while for 2015 the number was nearly 382 million (a 22% decline).
The commercial offerings during Super Bowl LI won't be a complete goose egg, Antil says.
- 84 Lumber - The building material and supply company is looking to break new ground. As a B2B, it would typically skip the Super Bowl and other big ad slots since its target audience is small relative to the audience it would reach. But this year its taking a new tack, airing an ad to help recruit 400 new employees with the primary message related to 84 Lumber being a great place to work.
- Snickers - Mars is planning what it’s calling the “first live Super Bowl ad.”
- End-around ads - Yellow Tail wine will get around an exclusive rights agreement with Anheuser Bush by running regional ads that appear to be national.
These are just a few of the many observations Antil has regarding the commercials planned for this year's game.


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Major events in the 2008 DRAM industry
Taipei, December 30, 2008 --- Looking back at 2008, WW DRAM industry has faced severe oversupply and industry structural problems. In 1H08, most 8 inch fabs has switched to non-DRAM productions. Vendors switching from 8 inch DRAM capacity to 12 inch capacity to lower DRAM chip cost has claimed that they will migrate to 50nm process in 2009. At this point, the whole industry believes that the recovery will come in 2H08. After all, the global financial crisis once again pushed the DRAM industry into the frozen period, and not only the DDR2 1Gb eTT chip price fell once below its historical low 0.58 USD, but the net cash outflow put the DRAM vendors in a devastating position. After the operating crisis emerged, consolidation commenced and hopes to bring the market mechanism back to normal again.
A. According to DRAMeXchange, DRAM chip price has dropped nearly 75% in 2008 and the industry total loss from Q108 to Q308 was more than 8 billion USD. DRAM 667 Mhz 1Gb chip price fell from high of 2.29 USD to the low of 0.58 USD, a 75% drop range. The price was not only lower than the cash cost (exclude depreciation) 1 USD but also close to the back end testing and packaging price 0.6 to 0.7 USD, and expose the DRAM vendors to the operating crisis. The WW DRAM industry lost 8 billion USD in the first three seasons of 2008.
B. Nanya gave up Qimonda, Micron officially entered Inotera and gained half of its capacity.
Nanya officially announced its alliance with Micron on March 3rd, and will co-develop the products of under 50 nm process. This also means the relationship between Qimonda and Inotera had changed. On October 12th, Micron officially announced it gained the 35.6% Inotera stake of Qimonda which worth about 400 million USD. The Micron technology camp officially formed.
C. The stack technology took the lead and trench technology faded.
In 2006, the trench technology camp once accounted for 23% of the market share. Along with the technology development bottle neck, the stack technology fell six months to one year behind. In 2008, the market share declined to 8%, which means the stack technology had gained 92% market share. In 2008, Qimonda announced its new Buried Wordline technology, the trench technology will be history.
D. Oversupply drove the capacity cut
After PSC first announced capacity cut this September, Elpida, Promos, Nanya, and Inotera continued to follow. WW DRAM capacity decreased nearly 20%. Recently the Taiwanese vendors are the most aggressive ones to cut capacity, and have cut about 29% capacity which is the most among all vendors. Capacity cut not only can reserve cash for the vendors to survive through the industry winter, but also can speed up the market inventory consumption, lower the inventory level, and let the market go back to its normal market mechanism.
E. The uniting of Taiwanese, American, and Japanese DRAM vendors, to fight against the Korean vendors
After Samsung announced it’s 100% annual bit growth target, with its title of WW DRAM leader, Samsung would like to see some other DRAM vendors being driven out of the market. The Taiwanese vendors bonded themselves closer to their technology partners Elpida and Micron with closer cooperating relationship in order to survive, forming two alliances with Micron and Elpida as the leaders, to fight against the Koreans.
F. Government bails out the DRAM industry
The war among DRAM vendors has become a war between nations. German company Qimonda has gained support from Saxony government, bank, and its mother company Infinion with the amount of 455 million USD. The Korean company Hynix also has received 550 million USD support from its creditor banks. The Taiwanese government has also prepared its 100billion NTD National Development Fund to bail out the Taiwanese DRAM industry.


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The New York Times' Steve Lohr reports that Tony Fadell has stepped down as CEO of Nest, the company he helped found, following months of controversy over his reportedly abrasive management style.
The company reports that he will be succeeded by Marwan Fawaz, who was formerly the executive vice president of Motorola Mobility, the mobile phone maker Google bought for $12.5 billion in 2011. Fadell will become an adviser to Alphabet and to its chief executive, Larry Page.
In the troubled Motorola acquisition, Mr. Fawaz led a financial bright spot, Motorola Home, a television set-top box business. He pared its product line, cut costs and oversaw its sale in 2013 for $2.35 billion to the Arris Group, a cable television equipment maker.


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THE cost of watching live sport on telly is set to be slashed in a dramatic shakeup of the pay TV industry.
BT plan to launch a price war that will see them selling subscriptions to watch the English Premiership and Ashes cricket for more than a third less than rival BSk yB.
Virgin are also planning to undercut Sky, which could lead to the satellite broadcaster losing hundreds of thousands of viewers.
Watchdog Ofcom are expected this week to agree Sky will have to drop the prices they charge competitors for premium content, including Sky Sports and Sky Movies.
Last June, Ofcom said they wanted to reduce Sky's dominance of Premiership football by forcing them to open up their content to competitors at lower prices.
It's believed BT could charge as little as £15 a month for Sky Sports 1, compared with the minimum £25.50 their rivals charge.
Most Sky subscribers pay £36 a month for a package of sports channels and other basic content.
Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT Retail, said: "I'm definitely looking forward to the decision by Ofcom. The case is crystal clear - customers benefit if they get more choice."
The price cuts could mark a sweeping change in Britain's pay TV market, where BT and Virgin Media have struggled to make much headway.
While Sky boast 9.5million subscribers, Virgin have 3.7million and BT Vision, who were launched in December 2006, just 436,000.
But Sky chief Jeremy Darroch said: "BT and Virgin Media do not deserve to be handed a reward at Sky's expense for their repeated failure to invest."


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Lawrence Barbecue was set to open at Raleigh’s Boxyard RTP (a shipping container startup development) in Research Triangle Park, in Spring 2020. But like the entire food and beverage community, Jake Wood, owner, was left treading water — with blueprints for a restaurant, unable to open as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns and regulations.
A bar was always part of Wood’s idea for Lawrence Barbecue, however, the pandemic days leading up to now have left him in survival mode. The team cooked barbecue overnight in parking lots around the Triangle and popped up at spots like Wye Hill and Killjoy, offering a glimpse into the world of Lawrence Barbecue, in hopes to stay afloat.
Back to “leisure bar.”
An opportunity presented itself to Wood to take over the shipping container above the restaurant. A silver lining, he relayed, and an opportunity to launch Lagoon, a “leisure bar,” to coincide with the barbecue joint. “First and foremost, it’s a way to pack on revenue and try to make up for the hole we’ve dug ourselves into this year,” says Wood. “We’ve been so lucky to work, stay paid, help folks out, and do some cool things along the way.”
Wood and Lawrence Barbecue beverage director Zack Thomas have always had a soft spot for tiki drinks. “We wanted to steer away from that and create our own thing,” Wood says. “We’ve never heard of a leisure bar or leisure beverages,” he says, adding that it allows the team to explore within their own concept, keeping it fresh and fun.
Drinks will be presented like “mid-70s, mid-80s resort-style beverages” that you’re used to paying way too much for, laced with a bunch of booze — but with thought and intention going into each drink. The drinks are designed to pair effortlessly with barbecue and oysters, and everything in between. Wood reiterates that Lagoon’s drinks will be a bang for the buck, crafted with local spirits whenever possible. Lagoon has been designed by architect team Matthew Konar and Jenn Truman, of Matthew Konar Architect, the same team that is designing Lawrence Barbecue.
“Lagoon is a callback to places I’d visit as a kid with my family down on the coast,” says Thomas. What to expect? A mix of frozen drinks, fun garnishes, and a “dope playlist.” “We aim to take folks to a place of relaxation with a cold drink and a setting that encourages you to kick your feet up and enjoy the time off,” Thomas adds. A step into the “leisure bar” will offer a world of escapism for a few hours.
At Lagoon, ICEEs are coined “NICEEs.” Slushie machines are a bar staple, filled with nostalgic drinks, like smoked Cherry Coke slushies and Sun Drip (house-made Sun Drop) — with booze. Branded souvenir cups, reminiscent of childhood, will vehicle beverages. “Everywhere we went [growing up] I got souvenir cups and color-changing plastic cups,” wood notes, throwing it back to the Welch’s Jelly Jam glasses with Disney characters. “It’s another layer of our brand that people can feel connected to.”
Paul Tuorto, a designer and art director in Raleigh, jumped on board to help Wood develop the branding for Lagoon. Lagoon’s vibe is best described as, “a beachside resort, but something is lurking in the water.” Wood instates Lagoon will feel like an old-school beach dive.
Downstairs at Lawrence Barbecue, customers will be able to take advantage of Lagoon drinks but upstairs will have bar seating and a more dialed-up beverage menu. Lagoon is slated to open in March 2021, slightly staggering behind Lawrence Barbecue in February. “We will serve folks however we can, whether full service or 50% capacity — and we will follow all CDC guidelines and provide the best guest experience we can until the world opens back up,” says Wood. “We will continue to adapt and keep surviving.”


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Arnold Worldwide Takes Office Space in Downtown Crossing
Millennium Partners announced it has signed a lead tenant for the Burnham Building redevelopment at the former Filene’s department store, this will help fill in a piece of the puzzle for Boston’s Downtown Crossing redevelopment.
Arnold Worldwide will take occupancy of 125,000 square feet of office space at the Burnham Building in September 2014. The Burnham Building will then be known as the global headquarters for Arnold Worldwide.
“Downtown Crossing is buzzing with new energy, and Arnold Worldwide’s commitment to bring
its Worldwide Headquarters to the Burnham Building speaks volumes about the future of the
neighborhood,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Plans include nearly 200,000 square feet of office space on the upper floors and more than 135,000 square feet of retail on the lower portion. In addition to Arnold Worldwide’s space, 75,000 square feet remains available. (CoStar)
To read the full article click here.


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Apple is rumoured to be working on a China-exclusive budget iPhone.
It will reportedly drop Face ID in favour of an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Apple is possibly dropping Face ID in a bid to cut production costs.
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Apple ditched the home button from its iPhones on the 10th anniversary of the iconic product line-up. Alongside the home button, the company also dumped Touch ID in favour of Face ID. The latest development was painted as the future of biometric authentication, which is present in all iPhone X and up devices.
Now, fresh reports indicate that Apple might be looking to bring back Touch ID on iPhones. However, there’s a catch. The new Touch ID could be built into the display of the upcoming “budget” iPhone and this model could be exclusive to China.
According to the Chinese outlet, The Global Times, Apple is preparing to launch an affordable flagship with an in-display fingerprint scanner in China. Moreover, as the in-display fingerprint scanner can only be built into an OLED display, the budget iPhone will now also feature an OLED panel instead of an LCD panel as found on the iPhone XR.
Additionally, Apple is allegedly looking to ditch Face ID for this in-display fingerprint scanner. There were reports in 2017 that future iPhones might support the in-display biometric tech but the idea was ultimately shelved in favour Face ID.
The report goes on to say, “The new phone will reportedly remove Face ID, the facial recognition system for the iPhone, and instead employ an under-display fingerprint function, news site caijing.com.cn reported, citing sources on the upstream industry supply chain. An industry insider revealed that this is likely to "save on costs."
Apple is taking steps to cut costs on the affordable iPhone. A major component of Face ID, a structured light sensor, reportedly costs several hundred yuan, removing which could result in a price drop for the upcoming iPhone.According to the report, Apple is taking the required steps to regain Chinese users it has lost in the recent past to the likes of Huawei, Vivo and Oppo. It now holds nine percent of the Chinese smartphone market in contrast to 34 percent, 19 percent, and an 18 percent market share held by Huawei, Vivo, and Oppo, respectively.
It would be interesting to see if Apple rolls out the new “budget” flagship to other countries as well. We are expecting it to launch in India sometime after the China roll-out.
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Scientists from Canada conducted a study of the exhibit, considered the missing link in the chain of evolution.
2016-11-01 17:19:36 38
evolutionmissing linkchain evolutiondiscovery madelink chainlink chain evolution
Found in Brazil fossilized snake with four shortened legs actually was a marine lizard. This discovery was made by canadian researchers Michael Caldwell and Robert Reitz. Your research report they published in the journal Cretaceous Research. We recall that a year ago, many media published sensational news that was discovered a missing link of evolution. The discovery was made while viewing the collection in the Museum of Solnhofen in Germany. The author stated that he had found the missing link in the chain of evolution, which is looking for many years. It is believed that snakes evolved from creatures with legs, getting rid of them in the process of evolution. But the study showed that the found creature is not more than a sea lizard. Tetrapodophis have not found the characteristic features of the snake: no hooked teeth or projections of the vertebrae, and neither typical of the skull.
2016-11-01 17:51:26 124


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Square Enix has revealed a new trailer for Final Fantasy VII: Always Crisis on Android and iOS during your special final fantasy VII 25th anniversary broadcast.
First introduced in February 2021, always crisis is a rolling recount of the entire Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix’s long-running metaseries surrounding final fantasy VII. As such, always crisis will cover the original final fantasy VIIas well as the prequels core of the crisis Y before the crisis and the aftermath children advent Y Funeral song of Cerberus. Notably, children advent it’s a movie, so this will be the first time that story has been told in a game.
In the new trailer, we get a closer look at all these old games (and movies) in action. like the original final fantasy VII, always crisis features combat based on the Active Time Battle system, a form of turn-based gameplay. In battles, the visuals are fully 3D, while the character models outside of combat are blocks reminiscent of the original. final fantasy VII. Character portraits and other artwork have been drawn by Lisa Fujise.
Key members of the original final fantasy VII The team is also involved, including Tetsuya Nomura (original co-writer and character designer) as creative director, Kazushige Nojima (original co-writer) as screenwriter, and Yoshinori Kitase (original director) as producer.
always crisis It will be free to play on mobile with in-app purchases for loot boxes, which will contain random weapons and costumes. Curiously, while the game’s co-developer has reported a September release, CyberAgent, Square Enix did not confirm a date during the broadcast. Instead, it simply said that a closed beta test will take place later this year.
it should be noted that always crisis is one of the two remakes of Final Fantasy. The other, appropriately titled Final Fantasy VII Remake, is a multi-game project to reimagine the events of the original PlayStation classic. The second installment of Redo Serie, Renaissancewas also unveiled during the anniversary broadcast, as was a new version of core of the crisis.
Image Credit: Square Enix


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No one has ever looked at James Bond’s Aston Martin and said, “I would never want to drive that.” The Aston Martins Bond drive are far from regular. To start off, they’re Aston Martins with the perfect mix of sophistication and badassery. To add to that, they’re Aston Martins equipped with concealed tech goodies, contributing to all the badassery.
And now, you can own all of that.
The 1965 original James Bond Aston Martin DB5, also known as “the most famous car in the world,” is landing at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Car Week in August to be auctioned off. This particular DB5 is one of only three in the world and was featured in the 1964 classic Sean Connery film, Goldfinger. The car is expected to go for $4 million USD to $6 million USD.
The best part? It retains all of its tech goodies that were featured in the film, which includes a front and rear hydraulic over-rider rams on the bumpers, a Browning .30 caliber machine gun in each fender, wheel-hub mounted tire-slashers, a bullet-proof screen, in-dash radar tracking scope, oil, nail, smoke screen dispensers, revolving license plates and a passenger-seat ejection system.
The auction is set to take place between August 15-17 in Monterey, California and will include over 30 Aston Martin models along with other classic cars.


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Logan, 38, succeeds W’s longtime group design director, Edward Leida, who was shown the door soon after Tonchi came into power. Logan — who has also worked at French Vogue and Arena Homme Plus — will report to W’s new creative director, Jody Quon. In a conversation with Tonchi and Quon, Logan told WWD, “What we’ve talked about is making something extremely refined and something in line with, or maybe built around, the interests of the first W that existed under Mr. Fairchild.”
Archives: May 2010
Frank DiGiacomo will be returning to his former beat as he takes over the Daily News‘ gossip column. DiGiacomo, who contributes to Vanity Fair and has formerly covered celebrity and entertainment gossip for Page Six, is taking over the Gatecrasher column as the section’s current writer, Amanda Sidman, moves on to become a features writer at the paper.
DiGiacomo’s hire comes in in the wake of fellow gossip scribe George Rush‘s decision to take the buyout package offered to Daily News staffers. In fact, DiGiacomo co-edited Page Six with Rush’s wife, fellow Daily News columnist Joanna Molloy, who most recently co-wrote Rush & Molloy before her husband’s departure.
• FishbowlLA: I sing this softly to myself every morning while in a fetal position.
• FishbowlDC: Is TPM being a copygato?
• The L Magazine: Twenty-four hours of eating and drinking in NYC. Starting… Now!
• Twitter: Gary Coleman is in critical condition in a Utah hospital. And, so. Now you know what everyone’s talking ’bout.
Time Inc. Is Introducing Several New iPad Apps For Their Magazines, Boasts Industry Leaders Among Titles
Time Inc. is launching a slew of new apps for their various titles. At today’s Time Warner investor day, Time Inc. chairman and CEO Ann Moore told the audience about some of new products we have to look forward to: Real Simple, for instance, will introduce apps for $4.99 that will tackle issues relating to cooking and cleaning and will be made available at the end of this year on a number of devices, including the iPad, iPhone and Android.
According to Mediaweek, there are “skeptics who question the business benefit e-readers will bring magazines, despite the hope that they’ll help the industry offset its advertising declines and capture circulation revenue,” but Moore remained enthusiastic about the role e-readers will play for magazines in the very near future.
In her presentation to Time Warner investors today, the company happily shared the fact that it is a leader in its industry, boasting $3.7 million in magazine revenue in 2009 and, in the same year, 105 million U.S. magazine readers and 48 million U.S. online visitors. Additionally, it showed that lifestyle title readership is up 18 percent since 2003, with Real Simple and Cooking Light poised as top titles in women’s lifestyle magazines and top epicurean magazines, respectively.
The powerpoint also shows how the recession impacted several titles, with total group PIB ad revenue in 2008-09, with style and entertainment dropping 2 percent between those two years, lifestyle experiencing a 7 percent drop and news and sports seeing a drop of 19 percent.
On a positive note, however, magazine advertising, which had, obviously experienced a decline, is either holding steady or seeing a boost across different magazine titles.
Another glimmer of hope on the ad-sales front: online ad revenue for newspapers rose 4.9% in the first quarter to $730.4 million, breaking a two-year streak of losses, according to the Newspaper Association of America.
The NAA’s results weren’t all gravy, though; print sales dropped 11% to $5.25 billion. National print ad revenue fell 8.3% to $1.04 billion and classified revenue dropped 14% to $1.25 billion.
“While broad, macroeconomic factors indicate we are not out of the woods yet, NAA is encouraged by the improvements we are seeing in newspaper ad spending. At the core of these latest statistics is the fact that declines are moderating across the board and, in some instances, have turned positive,” said NAA CEO John Sturm in a statement.
The NAA study follow’s yesterday’s report by Kantar Media that overall ad spending climbed 5.1% in the first quarter.
God (or chance or the one religious / earth-based deity of one’s choice) bless the New York Times: It truly has something for all of us, even those who find ourselves at happy hour at Lakeside Lounge, listening to country music and watching Bruce Lee films while the bartender offers more whiskey because “it’s good for your epidermis,” or savoring the perfect whiskey cocktail (it is, in fact, the “Improved Whiskey Cocktail”) at the Clover Club. That is to day, now the New York Times has a section for the drinkers (and the drunks) among us. Say hello to the “Tipsy Diaries” — a new column on city bars, lounges, dives, speakeasies and pubs (and, most importantly, the people who love them) that will run every other week.
So far, the Diaries, which is penned by the Times restaurant critic and Choco Taco connoisseur Frank Bruni, have introduced us to Doug Quinn, P.J. Clarke’s talented bar tender. Here’s how Bruni himself describes his new column:
[I]t will sometimes profile interesting people who are part of the New York drinking scene. Other times it will look at special bars or special rituals or special drinks. Anything and everything that celebrates the drinking life: that’s what the column is about.
Bruni’s pretty excited about it and, we’ll admit, so are we.
Hachette Filipacchi Media, publisher of Elle and other titles, today announced that Kate Berg will assume the role of vice president of corporate communications effective June 1. She replaces outgoing SVP Anne Janas, who will continue to do consulting work for HFM U.S. through the end of the year.
Berg has also worked for Gartner, KPMG Consulting and Jupiter Research. She has also created early social network Avenue B and launched mobile advertising startup Mojiva.
“A few years ago, Kate Berg worked for us on a project basis in the Corporate Communications department, and we had had the opportunity to experience her impressive skills first hand,” said HFM U.S. CEO Alain Lemarchand in a statement.
Press release after the jump.
Wired New York bureau chief John Abell has tweeted that Wired‘s new iPad app (which costs $4.99) has sold 24,000 copies in its first 24 hours. That’s 1,000 apps an hour, and a much higher rate than that of fellow Conde Nast publication GQ.
In a post concerning the 24,000 figure, Wired says that The Business Insider had predicted first-day sales of around 3,000 units, that Popular Science has moved about 18,000 units since April 3 and that Wired‘s print mag sells about 82,000 issues every month.
Looks like magazines may be able to milk the iPad for much-sought-after subscription revenue after all.


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Video: Cookham High Street transformed for jubilee as Home Secretary Theresa May drops in for the party
HUNDREDS of jubilee revellers poured into a thriving Cookham High Street this afternoon as the Queen's big weekend celebrations continued.
With Union Jacks flying from virtually every shop and business in the village centre, partying friends and family dined on tables laid all the way along the street.
There was music, entertainment, a bake off and a number of special guests, including Home Secretary Theresa May and TV football presenter Jim Rosenthal.
Mrs May, Cookham's MP, said: “The jubilee weekend has been fantastic. We've had masses of street parties and they're still going on today and tomorrow.
“Everyone is turning out for this huge celebration.
“People have really taken it to their hearts and it's all ages, including the youngsters getting involved.
“I think it's really lifted everyone's spirits.”
She said the Queen had been a “tremendous rock” and an “inspiration for the country and the commonwealth”.
Some economists have expressed concerns that the country is losing out on important working days which could disrupt the growth rate.
But Mrs May said there was actually a positive financial impact to the celebrations.
She said: “I think it generates money. Economists can always guess whatever they like, but if you look at all the people enjoying these events, people are raising money for charity, local businesses have been doing well.”
She admitted it was also a nice break, personally, from the daily rigours of being a Government Minister.
She said: “It is, it's very nice to come down to these street parties and see people enjoying the parties.”
Mrs May was one of four judges for the Bel and Dragon pub's big bake off – which pitted cake makers against each other. Many royally themed sponge delights were created.
Cookham Parish Council Chairman Derek Fry was out enjoying the party.
He said: “I think it's amazing. Mother Nature has been kind and everyone has been in great spirits. It's quite a spectacle, very British and it's a generational event. When it comes to doing things like this Cookham always does it well.”
Cookham Parish Council donated £1,000 to the event.
Mandy Brar, owner of Hillcrest Store in Hillcrest Avenue and also a parish councillor was a volunteer running a children’s stall.
She said: “I think it's brilliant and nice to see so many people here.
“People are buying things from the restaurants and shops, it will definitely give them a big boost.”


text: BUSINESS: Suppliers Kenmark Promotes Justice to SVP of Sales, Woodward to Oversee Northwest By Staff Monday, February 11, 2013 12:00 AM John JusticeLOUISVILLE, Ky.— Kenmark has promoted John Justice to senior vice president of sales, where he will oversee the domestic and international sales forces. The company also announced the promotion of Cliff Woodward to regional manager of the Northwest territory. Justice has been with Kenmark since 1988, when he began his career in order fulfillment. Since then he has been promoted numerous times, from shipping manager to export manager to international sales manager and, most recently, as vice president of international sales. Justice will report directly to Mike Cundiff, chief operations officer. Additionally, Cliff Woodward, previously territory manager of Kenmark accounts in the San Francisco Bay area, has been promoted to regional manager over Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota and Nebraska. The territory managers in those states will now report directly to Woodward, who will also continue to service his current California sales territory. Woodward will report to Justice. Woodward has been with Kenmark for eight years and in the optical industry for 25, having previously sold for Nordic, Charmant and REM. In other personnel news, Matt Kremer has been promoted to the position of Supply Chain & Inventory Planning Manager. Kremer has been with Kenmark since September 2011 and has exhibited superior capabilities in inventory strategy and process improvement. Prior to his promotion, he held the Procurement Coordinator position at Kenmark. He implemented and managed various projects within the organization including high level demand forecasting models, comprehensive inventory reporting plans and cross-functional integrated business plans. Kremer will now focus on advancing Kenmark’s footprint worldwide by assuming responsibility for the Kenmark team’s long-term inventory and supply chain planning.


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''Billboard'''s crowded album chart
Getting into the top 10 of Billboard‘s album chart may be every musician’s dream, but now it’s becoming a nightmare. The problem: Too many superstars are releasing albums at the same time — and they can’t all be in the top 10. Given that Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Mötley Crüe, Prince, Public Enemy, and Bryan Adams are already taking up all the slots — with GN’R’s Use Your Illusion selfishly claiming two — what can we expect by the end of November, when stores will be uncrating over a dozen more albums by artists who regularly top the charts? Joining the current biggies — and otherwise likely prospects Dire Straits, Tesla, and Karyn White — will be U2, Genesis (with Phil Collins), Hammer, John Mellencamp, Paul Simon (his Central Park concert), Richard Marx, Lisa Stansfield, INXS, Poison, Linda Ronstadt, and Keith Sweat, all of whom scored mightily last time out. And then there’s Michael Jackson. Toss in the Barbra Streisand boxed set (obviously every kid’s gift to his parents this Christmas) and the likelihood of plenty more hit singles from Michael Bolton, Bob Seger, and Paula Abdul to propel their albums into the top 10 again — and the mix gets even murkier.
According to Billboard‘s chart columnist Paul Grein, artists most likely to suffer won’t be superstars like GN’R, Streisand, or U2, but those ”a rung down” in terms of fan loyalty. Take singer Richard Marx, whose last album actually went to No. 1. ”If his new album goes to No. 5 but sells as many copies as the last one did, I don’t think anybody’s going to be too upset,” Grein says. ”But it’s more likely that in a very crowded field, competing head to head with John Mellencamp and Bryan Adams, that it won’t be able to sell as well as his last one. That’s the issue really, more than how high it goes.”
Maybe. But not to everybody. Charlie Springer, VP of national sales at Warner Bros. Records, recalls a conversation with one band at his label: ”I asked them if they’d rather have a record that sold 10,000 copies a week that was No. 5, or 5,000 copies a week that was No. 1. And they said, ‘Five thousand a week (at) No. 1.”’ Adds Springer: ”Hey, I’m in sales — I’d rather have the 10,000.” Tell that to Richard Marx, Mariah Carey, U2, and Mötley Crüe — whose last albums hit No. 1, whose new ones will duke it out with Guns N’ Roses, and who likely get chills whenever they hear the words ”disappointing follow-up.”
To the record industry, which saw shipments take an 11 percent nosedive in the first half of 1991, the coming quarter couldn’t be more promising. To retailers, already excited about Use Your Illusion‘s spectacular sales (5.5 million copies in its first three weeks) it’s a dream come true. But to artists who’ve gotten used to sitting pretty at the top — it’s going to get ugly out there.