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Shares of Fossil Group (FOSL 4.99%), a global designer and distributor of accessory products that include watches and other wearables, plunged more than 25% lower Thursday morning after a surprisingly weak third-quarter report.
Starting from the top, sales declined 11.4% to $539.5 million during the third quarter compared to the prior year, which missed analysts' estimates of $558 million. But it was the bottom line that concerned investors, as Fossil lost $26 million, or $0.51 per share, in the third quarter, compared to earnings of $5 million, or $0.10 per share, during the prior year. The result was wildly short of analysts' earnings estimates of $0.21 per share. Weak sales results were driven by a number of factors including store closures, currency effects, inventory liquidation levels, and reduced sales in the lower-margin off-price channel, among others.
After noting sales performance improved sequentially from the second quarter, Kosta Kartsotis, chairman and CEO of Fossil, admitted some disappointment: "Our overall sales performance, however, was not up to our goals, and we are highly focused on bringing about a positive change in our top-line trajectory. In addition, we continue to reduce our overall cost structure in order to improve profitability and expand our capacity to invest in high growth areas."
It's been an incredibly difficult ride for Fossil and its investors lately; the company has shed roughly 90% of its value over the past five years as it failed to adapt to rapidly changing trends. Management has taken steps to strengthen the balance sheet by removing $500 million in net debt from the end of 2015 to the end of 2018, but it hasn't been able to innovate and develop enough compelling products to energize its business. Management believes in its strategy to bring new products to market and that its New World Fossil 2.0 Transform to Grow initiative will continue to deliver savings, but these moves will take time to bear fruit.


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Deutsch did some fun out-of-home work recently for Purdy—the Sherwin-Williams professional painting supplies brand—showing the versatility and accuracy of its paintbrushes in action.
Now that Google and Verizon have sparked global design debates by redesigning their logos, it makes sense to ask who should be next. I mean, other than Yahoo. Looking beyond the tech and telecom megacorporations, there's one classic brand logo that nearly every designer—or human with eyes—would like to see reworked: Sherwin-Williams.
McKinney remains lead agency on the namesake Sherwin-Williams brand, but Deutsch will now handle the rest of the parent company's consumer brands.
In September 1941, on the eve of World War II, the Sherwin-Williams paint company took a gamble and introduced two new products: Kem-Tone, a water-based paint that company chemists had wisely prepared in anticipation of the government’s rationing of linseed oil; and Roller-Koater, a cylindrical sponge appli

domain: news


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BEIJING (AP) ? Sina Corp., a popular Chinese web portal operator, sank to a loss in the latest quarter due to writedowns on investments in two online businesses but revenues and microblog traffic were up.
The Beijing-based company said Wednesday it lost $336.3 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, or $5.10 per share. Revenue rose 20 percent from a year earlier to $130.3 million.
Sina said most of the loss was due to its decision to write down the value of investments in China Real Estate Information Corp. and online clothing retailer Mecox Lane Ltd. by a total of $281.2 million.
Advertising revenue rose 25 percent to $101 million.
Sina’s popular microblog, Weibo.com, has seen “rapid growth of new users,” CEO Charles Chao said in a statement. He gave no details.
“Our focus now turns to adding more social networking features to Weibo to increase user stickiness,” Chao said.
China has the world’s most populous Internet market with more than 485 million people online as of the end of June.
Sina Corp.: www.sina.com


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Nerdtastic In 3D Episode #6
It’s Game Of The Year time. This week on Nerdtastic in 3D, the inaugural “Nerdy” award is conceived for the Game of the Year, the crew shares their favorite games of all time as well as the most meaningful games they’ve played. A return to “Get To Know Your Nerd Corner,” an odd jaunt into religion with this week’s discovery of the new earth-like planet, Keppler-22b, and a some thoughts on Microsoft’s new Xbox dashboard.
As mentioned in the show, YOUR vote counts. That’s right, whichever game YOU choose as the Nerdtastic Game Of The year, will be honored and bestowed upon the appropriate game developer.


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U.S. equity markets welcomed a robust performance on Friday, which had all the makings of a so-called catch-up rally. All three major blue-chip indices gained an average of over 2%, with the venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average leading the pack up 2.12%, or nearly 370 points. This, however, did not quite make up for the losses incurred on Wednesday and Thursday, and the Dow Jones ended the week up a fairly meager 0.7%.
Wall Street investors didn’t seem too perplexed at the overall picture, with optimistic data from the U.S. Department of Labor overshadowing most other financial news. According to government compiled statistics, the economy added 211,000 jobs for the month of November. Positive revisions for September and October brought in another 35,000 jobs that were not initially counted.
Naturally, this sets the stage for the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates — an event that Fed chair Janet Yellen has been promising since taking over the helms. From a Fed apologists’ perspective, there would simply be no better time, and the central bankers really have no alternative. The consensus has largely been that artificially suppressed rates are not sustainable and that raising them is the responsible course of action — provided, as Ms. Yellen has pointed out, if the economy can sustain the new paradigm shift.
The jobs report pushes one agenda — the economy is healthy enough. But the financial markets tell a different story. When we look at a three-year weekly chart of the Dow Jones, it’s noted that the acceleration of growth has subsided the higher the index went. Quite clearly, the Dow peaked in growth in late spring of this year, and has largely failed to move past this resistance barrier. Despite some strong sessions in recent days and weeks, the markets on a long-term average are actually losing ground. Surely, then, an interest rate hike would exacerbate matters, not improve them.
So the markets can’t support the Fed’s potentially imminent hawkish policy. What about the economy itself — aren’t the jobs numbers good enough to justify a little bit of rate hike medicine? Bluntly, no. If the economy was firing on all cylinders — or even some of them — we would see significant increases in consumer spending. As the old saying goes, money talks and the smelly stuff walks. But in fact we are seeing the opposite. Foot traffic for Black Friday sales were largely considered disappointing by retail experts and the rise in online sales would likely not be enough to make up for the brick-and-mortar losses.
The lesson here is to not get distracted in the month-to-month gyrations of the jobs report. A good economy would be felt by the majority of the populace. However, slowing growth in investment returns and weaker consumer sentiment woefully contradicts the mainstream position.


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“Ireland’s national police force, the Garda Siochana, announced the nationwide manhunt earlier today. A lone man drove into the brewery Wednesday and hitched a fully loaded beer trailer to his truck, driving away with 180 kegs of Guinness stout, 180 kegs of Budweiser and 90 kegs of Danish beer Carlsberg. Guinness brews the latter two under license.
The kegs held the equivalent of 39,600 British pints and they had a value of about $235,000, the police estimated. Diageo, the company that owns Guinness, says it’s the biggest theft in the brewery’s 248-year history.”


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Three Bills filed in Hawaii target marijuana legalization for 2024. These bills, all filed in January, take steps to end criminal penalties for marijuana possession among adults inside of the state. One bill legalizes the possession and sale of recreational marijuana for adults. Another bill proposes the same but would put the legalization up for a statewide vote. The third bill would decriminalize possession of marijuana among adults, but maintain civil fines for those caught with marijuana.
These bills are part of an effort by House Representative David Tarnas and Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, which in many ways grows out of the marijuana legalization efforts begun by Attorney General Anne Lopez last year. If the legalization bills were to pass, adults aged 21 or over would be legally allowed to possess as much as one ounce of marijuana, and up to five grams of cannabis concentrates. The bill would also permit the home cultivation of as many as six cannabis plants and the possession of as much as 10 ounces of marijuana harvested from homegrown plants. This legislation would go into effect on the first day of the year 2026.
One essential aspect of the bill is the creation of a new Hawaii Cannabis Authority. This new state agency would be in charge of regulating the marijuana industry and issuing licenses for cannabis-based businesses, which would include cannabis farms, cannabis processing facilities, and dispensaries or other retailers that carry cannabis products.
The bills would also create a state Cannabis Control Board, which would be made up of five appointed members as well as a leading executive director. The Board would oversee the new Hawaii Cannabis Authority. These bodies would work together to regulate the industry and collect a new 10% adult-use cannabis sales tax, which would be assessed in addition to the state’s 4% sales tax.
The bills seem to have the support of state lawmakers, but it has attracted criticism from surprising sources. “Generally speaking, the bill provides a sound floorplan for adult-use legalization but erects a structure that is still far too punitive in its approach,” says Nikos Leverenz of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, who is among those criticizing some of the bill’s new penalties. “Placing a velvet glove of legalization on law enforcement’s iron hand is not what is called for.”
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Marijuana Policy Project, typical advocates of cannabis reform, have raised objections to some elements of the legislation. According to some cannabis advocates, the bill should do more to expunge past marijuana convictions. The bills also make the possession of cannabis by minors a criminal offense, a decision that has drawn negative attention from some advocates.
“Legalization should mean fewer cannabis arrests, not more,” says Karen O’Keefe of the Marijuana Policy Project, pointing to specific rules that, “Impose jail time for innocuous behavior that harms no one, including driving long after impairment wears off and having a previously opened jar of edibles in the passenger area of a car.”
While marijuana legalization seems inevitable in the state of Hawaii, some believe that these bills could be a step backward when seen through a broader lens.


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Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) August 3, 2009
ZooLoo.com, the complete online environment, announced today new member sign-ups have far exceeded expectations during Beta, with more than 25 percent coming from outside the U.S.
Users from all 50 states and 76 countries have joined ZooLoo during the first few weeks of its Beta launch. While ZooLoo has plans for local language sites in Europe and Asia, no targeted marketing has yet been conducted outside of its home state of Arizona during this controlled launch.
"People are surprised by ZooLoo," said CEO Jeff Herzog. "It's something different and unexpected. The more time our users spend on the site, the more they discover."
So far, nearly 5 percent of ZooLoo users are choosing to buy their personal .com, .net., .info or .me domain name with a ZooLoo Plus account, costing $29.99 a year. This premium level of ZooLoo comes with added storage space, unlimited custom Website pages and advanced site builder features.
"ZooLoo is taking off like wildfire," said NBC's PC Mike Wendland, "It's a clearing house for connecting, creating and controlling the Internet features you most care about."
ZooLoo, which launched in Beta less than one month ago, allows users of all ages to manage their life online on their own domain name with a combination of personal space and their own website. ZooLoo utilizes a patent-pending privacy manager that gives users the control to display different content to different people or groups. Additionally, the site offers an all-encompassing Internet dashboard that brings together a user's interests including news, sports, stocks, Facebook, Twitter and more, as well as a personalized shopping mall, on-demand entertainment center, blog builder, social features, photos, photo printing and custom gifts.
For more information, visit http://www.zooloo.com.
ZooLoo is a complete online environment for today's Internet. ZooLoo is built around your own domain name, providing you one place to create, connect and control anything on the web, including your own site, dashboard, widgets, blog, news from anywhere on the web, social networks, photos, videos, tools to organize your life and everything else online. ZooLoo is part of the Zog Media suite of companies. For more information, visit http://www.zooloo.com.
About Zog Media:
Zog Media is home to the innovation and development of audience-driven media solutions. Its suite of companies includes the complete online environment, ZooLoo.com; ICANN accredited domain registrar, Zog Names; and advertising platform, Z Audience.
Zog Media's Founder and CEO is Jeffrey Herzog, recognized Internet entrepreneur and award-winning innovator. Zog Media is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information, visit http://www.zogmedia.com.


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With all this talk about the customer centricity over the past few years, it got me thinking, is it really enough? In my view, it isn’t. Customers’ expectations have moved on. As such, banks need a different way to engage with their customers. Rather than
go with the traditional route, banks now have to look to multi channel banking to attract these customers. While some channels may be immediately profitable and others not, the focus of the bank must be the customer experience. Engaging the retail banking
customer is all about addressing their needs through a single customer view and customer intelligence.
How can all this be achieved? Using the right financial technology is paramount in transforming the customer experience. The results speak for themselves. Customer centric technology solutions ensure higher customer acceptance than traditional direct marketing
practices – generating an excess of 40% positive responses to offers (as opposed to 1%)!
The face of the retail banking market is shifting with many non-traditional banks shaking up the market by putting customers at the heart of their core business. Tesco Bank is doing this already and at the BBA conference this week
Tesco Bank’s CEO, Benny Higgins spoke how crucial using the right technology is in building a different kind of bank based on customer intelligence. Through better understanding their customers’ needs
with clever technology, banks hold the holy grail for increasing loyalty and profitability. This means not only continued business with existing customers, but the potential for growing the customer base and in these times who doesn’t want that!


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NEW YORK — Rebecca Danenberg, who already has a full plate as a designer of ever-hot Seven jeans, is about to get a lot busier. She’s relaunching her signature line of sportswear.
During a photo shoot last week, Danenberg, barefoot and wearing low-riding jeans and a black top, darted around the Apropo showroom like a hyperkinetic rock fan. "Too bad we don’t have some KISS music playing. Where’s Gene?" she laughed, as she fiddled with one model’s sleeve and fixed another’s hair.
It’s no surprise the 37-year-old designer was a KISS fan — she once worked on a music video for the band, and believes her spring collection is geared to a cross between KISS groupies and heavy-metal Barbie. Skimpy sweaters, low-waisted pants, body-hugging tops and high-slit skirts are some of the options in the 30-piece line. There are also more feminine styles like a V-neck gauze top with a tie-side and slim striped pants.
Wholesale prices are $50 to $300, and the collection is expected to generate about $400,000 the first season in the U.S., according to Uri Alter, who runs Apropo. The collection will be offered in about 30 American stores and it’s also slated for Japan.
Danenberg was in business about 10 years ago, and last year took a sabbatical from her signature collection. Crown Productions is now financing production and she and her husband Charles are backing the rest. She said the motivation for restarting her own line is a reaction to what’s currently in the market.
"Everything looks so safe right now. It needs to be a little bit more raw," she said. "My customers are a little more rebellious. They don’t want to look like everyone else."
Gabrielle Zuccaro, owner of Bleu in Los Angeles, who has ordered the spring line, agreed, calling the line "street-smart," and "wearable but edgy." Danenberg’s asymmetrical sweaters and knits should be a hit next spring, she said.
Donna Scala, owner of Trendmix in Plainview, N.Y., said she likes that even the line’s low-waisted pants are slightly higher than the hipbone-bearing stylespopular in recent seasons."I bought her line a few years ago. It looks fresh. Her fit is good and she uses nice material," Scala said. "Her pants and skirts have a clean, easy look, and that’s what my customer is interested in. They don’t want anything too complicated."
Danenberg aims to have her clothes bring out the person’s personality, regardless of which coast they live on. A native New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles, Danenberg sizes up the differences between the two coasts this way: "In L.A., it’s more about who you are, and in New York, it’s more about what you are." She’s counting on both regions to come through. "We want the fans right now. I’m not trying to take over the world," she said. "And I get a wardrobe out of it."
In honor of Rihanna’s 30th birthday, we took a look back at an interview with the Barbados-native when she was just 18 years old. Here, she talked about her second album, “A Girl Like Me” in 2006. “I want to be me. I want people to fall in love with who Rihanna is, and that’s why I want the album to be about me so people can really find out who this girl Rihanna is, because they only know the ‘Pon de Replay’ girl.” Fast forward 12 years, and she’s released six more albums and has become a powerhouse in both the fashion and music industries. Happy birthday, @badgalriri 🎈(📷: Pavel Antonov) #wwdarchive
For @simonerocha_‘s fall show, hairstylist @jamespecis created a look inspired by the painter John Constable. Models’ hair was pulled back, tied into knots and topped off with a bow. (📷: @kukukuba) #wwdbeauty #lfw
Queen Elizabeth made a surprise appearance at @richardquinn1's London Fashion Week show to present the designer with the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. The new award will be handed out annually to an emerging British fashion designer who shows exceptional talent, while demonstrating value to the community and sustainable policies. #wwdfashion #lfw (📷: @giovanni_giannoni_photo)


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As we approach the 7 billion mark of people living on this planet it is kind of hard to imagine that this year will also see more mobile devices in action than there are human beings; and going forward this gap becomes even more pronounced as 2016 will see a world population of 7.4 billion but over 10 billion mobile connected devices.
This is one of the gems from a new study from Cisco called Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update where we also found out that mobile traffic grew by more than two-fold in 2011, and is the fourth year in a row that we have seen mobile traffic double.
A few more interesting facts from the report:
- Users with 4G connection generated 28 times more traffic than non 4G
- 2011 mobile traffic is eight times the size of the entire global internet in 2000
- 4G traffic represents 0.2 percent of mobile connection but accounts for 6 percent of all mobile traffic
While this isn’t the imminent take over of world by some science fiction based Skynet it does show that mobile is going to be one of the biggest movers of Web traffic for a very long time.


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The business has 16 stores across Yorkshire and employs over 250 staff. It also has a call centre for business to business customers.
However, Mr Patel has now also turned his attention to high end jewellery.
His latest venture, Pugata, provides wedding rings, necklaces and bracelets to retailers, as well as a bespoke offering for individual clients.
So why the drastic diversion? Mr Patel says it all happened by chance.
The entrepreneur said: “It was a conversation with our jeweller that sparked it. They’re based in the Middle East.
“We looked into the market in depth. We assessed the market as to what was going on. We looked at what was available and we thought there’s a real opportunity here for somebody to come along and do things slightly differently.”
The Batley-based company has 27 staff including both manufacturing and back office operations. Mr Patel is keen on making the jewellery in the UK.
Having made his name in the telecommunications industry, he admitted that there’s a “huge difference” in terms of product.
Mr Patel said: “In the telecoms industry the thing is everybody needs a mobile phone nowadays. However, with jewellery it’s slightly different. Not everybody wears jewellery.”
Pugata has had to take a more proactive approach to getting its product out to market but the principles of commerce remain the same.
“Business is business, whether you’re selling phones, jewellery or whatever product,” Mr Patel said. “Not everyone needs jewellery but there’s still a huge market.”
Despite largely selling to other retailers, Pugata says it is putting a great deal of emphasis on customer service.
Mohsin Hazi, operations director at Pugata, said: “Retailers deserve the same treatment. If retailers buy from us it’s not a short-term fix.
“We make sure that if their client comes back with any issues surrounding the jewellery then we sort that.”
Mr Patel is also able to draw on the experience he gained with a prior stint in the fashion industry. The entrepreneur previously ran fashion brand, Denham, through a licence agreement.
“The fashion industry and the jewellery industry go hand in hand,” he said. “We have some amazing contacts via the fashion industry to help us get through the doors.”
Pugata says its diamonds and gemstones go through the Kimberley Process certification scheme, designed to stop the trade in conflict diamonds.
It’s metals are Assay Assured, meaning that they go through a process of testing to ensure authenticity, Mr Hazi said.
He added: “We’re part of the National Association of Jewellers (NAJ), which also governs the way we do our business within the jewellery industry.”
Mr Patel says that he isn’t worried by Brexit as he believes it will create opportunities.
In all industries, he said, there are different types of people wanting to or toying with the idea of doing business.
Mr Patel added: “There are people who just want to be part-time with very minimal investment. They’re there for a quick buck. All these people will disappear because they don’t have a long-term strategy. We’ve got a very long-term strategy.”
The long-term aim for Pugata is to “become a household name” and Mr Patel is keen to play up the company’s British roots.
Jewellery alchemy to create name
The name Pugata is an amalgamation of the periodic table letters for gold (Au), silver (Ag) and platinum (Pt).
“If you scramble the letters from the three chemical elements, you come up with Pugata,” Mohsin Hazi said.
“And it rolled off your tongue,” Zak Patel added.
Mr Patel said his O2 franchise Talk Direct was doing “very well” despite a downturn on the high street.
He added that company had to be innovative in order to get customers through the door. “It keeps us on our toes,” the entrepreneur said.
Mr Patel wants Pugata to be viewed in the same light as Swiss watches.


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Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
UK government borrowing dropped last month, as the reopening of the economy helped to improve the public finances, with more firms reopening and people returning to work.
The Office for National Statistics reports that public sector net borrowing came in at £24.3bn in May (this is excluding public sector banks).
That’s £19.4bn less than a year ago, when the government had to borrow around £43.8bn as it ramped up spending to fight the pandemic, and the economy was in lockdown.
It indicates that the easing of lockdown restrictions, and the reopening of hospitality venues and non-essential shops this spring, is now feeding through to the public finances.
It’s also the second-highest borrowing figures for the month of May on record.
The ONS reports that tax receipts rose compared to a year ago, while government spending dipped:
- Provisional May 2021 estimates of central government receipts were £56.9 billion, £7.5 billion more than in May 2020, while central government bodies spent £81.8 billion, £10.9 billion less than in May 2020.
In the first two months of this financial year, the UK has borrowed £53.4bn. That’s the second borrowing for April-May on record (after last year), but still 41.4% less (or £37.7bn) than a year ago.
Encouragingly for the chancellor, this is below the official forecasts for borrowing this year from the Office for Budget Responsibility, as this chart shows:
Michal Stelmach, senior economist at KPMG UK, says:
The reduction in spending from its peak at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that government borrowing was down by £38bn in the first two months compared to last year, amounting to over a half of the improvement forecast by the OBR for the whole year.
“It should come as no surprise that borrowing has fared better than expected this year considering the improved economic outlook. We expect the deficit to fall to £211bn this fiscal year, undershooting the OBR’s forecast by around £23bn.
“Spending should continue to recover in the coming months as the economy absorbs more furloughed workers during the reopening phase. The furlough scheme, which the OBR expected to cost nearly £50bn less this financial year, is likely to undershoot that forecast thanks to stronger demand for staff and some companies returning unused cash to the Exchequer.”
The national debt is at its highest level since the early 1960s.
Public sector net debt has now risen to £2,195.8 billion at the end of May 2021 or around 99.2% of GDP — that’s the highest ratio since the 99.5% recorded in March 1962.
Reaction to follow…
European markets are set for a higher open, after rising yesterday.
- 7am BST: Public Sector Net Borrowing for May
- 11am BST: CBI Industrial Trends survey for June
- 3pm BST: Eurozone consumer confidence flash survey for June
- 3pm BST: US existing home sales for May


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Piovan will join the 18th International Plastics Expo 2016 taking place on November 06-09 in Ningbo (Yuyao).
At the stand 7055-7058 there will be on display the latest innovations for the drying process such as the dryers of the DP series and solutions for the volumetric dosing like the MDP unit. Attention will be focused also on the temperature control unit with the machines of the TP series and on the cooling products by Aquatech: the thermochiller Digitemp and the chiller CH180. Piovan sales and technical engineers will be available to discuss any project and provide the best advice for your needs.
Come visit us at 18th China (Yuyao) International Plastics Expo 2016, stand 7055-7058.
Discover more on 18th China (Yuyao) International Plastics Expo 2016 website.


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This post was originally published on this sitehttps://i-invdn-com.akamaized.net/news/LYNXNPEC3I0I7_M.jpg
Investing.com — Europe’s stock markets are ending the week in highly bullish mood, lifted by evidence of life after the coronavirus from two French heavyweights.
Cosmetics group L’Oreal and luxury group LVMH both reported better-than-expected sales figures for the first quarter, with L’Oreal in particular sounding an upbeat note about its recovery prospects.
“China is already seeing an encouraging recovery in beauty product consumption,” chairman Jean-Paul Agon said in a release.
LVMH’s chief financial officer meanwhile said that sales in China had rebounded by 50% in the last two weeks, according to the Financial Times.
To be sure, all the figures that mattered were negative, with LVMH’s organic sales falling 17% from a year earlier and L’Oreal’s down 5% in constant currencies. And LVMH also warned that the second quarter would be miserable too, as the virus impact moves from China to its other core markets in Europe and North America.
LVMH also cut its dividend by 30%, although it will at least continue to pay out, in contrast to many other companies who have suspended theirs in order to conserve case. L’Oreal deferred a decision on its dividend. With a net cash position on its balance sheet, there is little reason to doubt that it, too, can afford to keep its owners happy.
As with Thursday’s StockBeat post on Zalando and its rivals, the most salient point from L’Oreal was the importance of good online distribution at a time when retail stores are closed. The company said e-commerce sales rose 52.6% on the year, largely compensating losses from physical stores.
By 5:30 AM ET (0930 GMT), L’Oreal shares in Paris were up 3.2%, while LVMH shares were up 5.0%. Both were at three-week highs. The CAC 40 was up 3.5%, while the Stoxx 600 benchmark was up 2.6% at 333.24.
Another standout point was a 13% rise in skincare sales – all that hand-washing has to be good for more than just soap-makers, after all. Nivea maker Beiersdorf stock also picked up on the news, rising 1.8%. By contrast, makeup sales underperformed, providing further evidence to sad male suspicions that wives make less effort when they have only locked-down husbands to impress…


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ST, Intel delayed phase-change memory to make improvements
February 12, 2008 //
Researchers from Intel and STMicroelectronics could have produced samples of 128-Mbit phase-change memories in 90-nm process technology as early as June 2007 but opted instead to take time to improve the memory, according to Paolo Cappelletti, group vice president for advanced technology development at ST's flash memory group.
LONDON Researchers from Intel and STMicroelectronics could have produced samples of 128-Mbit phase-change memories in 90-nm process technology as early as June 2007 but opted instead to take time to improve the memory, according to Paolo Cappelletti, group vice president for advanced technology development at ST's flash memory group.
In March 2007 Intel organized a teleconference in which Ed Doller, then chief technology officer of the flash memory group at Intel, told listeners that Intel was preparing to sample a 90-nm 128-Mbit phase change memory to customers in the first half of 2007. Doller said at the time that he was hopeful the memory would go into volume production by the end of the 2007.
The phase-change memory is based on a thermally-induced reversible change in a chalcogenide material - between an amorphous and crystalline state. The 128-Mbit device has been designed as a pin-compatible NOR replacement that provides fast read and write speeds at lower power than conventional flash, and allows for the bit alterability normally seen in RAM.
Capelletti told EE Times that the 90-nm nonvolatile phase-change memory was delayed from that original prediction to help build a better foundation for a memory product at a more advanced manufacturing node.
During the first half of 2007 engineers working on the follow-on to the 90-nm phase-change memory at an ST pilot line in Agrate, Italy, made some changes to the memory cell to improve integration, said Cappelletti. "We saved one critical mask, made the memory cell more scalable and changed the electrical distribution across the array."
"We were not yet in production so we decided to reproduce these changes in 90-nm," said Cappelletti. He added that the decision was done to allow an easier transition from the 128-Mbit 90-nm memory to the next-generation. Cappelletti said he could not say whether that would be implemented in a 65-nm process.
"We were able to produce the 90-nm sample in Q4 2007. The shipment happened in Q1 because we wanted to tie three events together * the delivery of samples; the ISSCC paper on multilevel cell PCM and the demonstration in Barcelona," Cappelletti said.
The reference to Barcelona is believed to be a demonstration of the use of phase-change memory as a replacement for NOR flash memory within a mobile phone.
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Italy’s ExpoBici to Break Records Again at 4th Edition
With 350 exhibitors and 35,000 visitors ExpoBici’s 3rd edition last September was the biggest ever. However, the 4th edition, taking place from 24 to 26 September 2011, will be even bigger. According to ExpoBici organizer Paolo Coin
PADUA, Italy – With 350 exhibitors and 35,000 visitors ExpoBici’s 3rd edition last September was the biggest ever. However, the 4th edition, taking place from 24 to 26 September 2011, will be even bigger.
According to ExpoBici organizer Paolo Coin – General Director of PadovaFiere – the year has only just begun, but the number of companies confirming their participation is multiplying. “In solid terms, ExpoBici’s great wave of success currently counts one sold-out hall and a second one following closely behind. Our objective for 2011 is at this point to fill 6 halls.”
All the spotlights will be focused on the presentation of new products for 2012. This year’s ExpoBici will be the only Italian showcase bringing together at a single exhibition event the major innovations to be put on the market the following year.
With the intent of giving greater importance to innovation in the bicycle sector, in 2011 the Bicitech Innovation Award will become “Expo – Bicitech Innovation Award”: a jury of sector experts, coming from the world of research, production, design and communication, will be judging the new 2012 products introduced by companies in the categories: MTB, road, urban, components and accessories.
The popular bike test area will be back this year. Exhibiting companies will be able to give visitors and retailers the opportunity to try the new 2012 models.
More at www.expobici.it


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A leaked document shines new light on the fund's relationship with Mastercard and the embattled grant program.
“When is a bot a person?,” my colleague Kirsten asked after I learned that Polestar’s climate bot is more human than machine. Polestar launched its “Truth Bot” on X (form
The notorious ransomware gang LockBit has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack targeting India’s state-owned aerospace research lab. On Wednesday, LockBit added the National Aerospace Labora
We have options for all of your loved ones!
German micromobility operator Tier Mobility is laying off another 22% of its workforce to cut costs in the never-ending grind toward profitability, according to a LinkedIn post from CEO Lawrence Leusc
Research delving into a less visible component of Google’s search ads business — a network of third-party sites called Google Search Partners (also known as the GSP network or SPN) —
The rise of generative AI opens up a massive new market for the large cloud providers, but it’s also a bit of a reset. Unlike the rise of containers, for example, generative AI is an entirely ne
Australia and New Zealand are facing the same challenges as the rest of tech: valuations have come back down, early-stage funding is up, and investors want their businesses to focus on sustainable lon
Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups. This week Becca and Dom are joined by Neil Batlivala, the CEO and co-founder at Pair Team, a startup building infrastructure to hel
We will deliver quick hits of the biggest news from AWS re:Invent as they are announced.
Popular stock trading app Webull has acquired Mexican investment platform Flink, giving it an entry into the Mexico market. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Although Webull has China ro
Amazon is launching an AI-powered chatbot for AWS customers called Q. Unveiled during a keynote at Amazon’s re:Invent conference in Las Vegas this morning, Q — starting at $20 per user per
We are all talking about the business gains from using large language models, but there are lot of known issues with these models, and finding ways to constrain the answers that a model could give is
Apple’s year-end review and answer to Spotify Wrapped, Apple Music Replay, has arrived, but it’s still no match for Spotify’s personalized look back at your year in music. The Apple
In one of the largest studies ever on mental health and internet use, the Oxford Internet Institute has declared that there is no “smoking gun” linking the internet with psychological harm
Nvidia has long been involved in the development of autonomous vehicle technologies, providing the industry with graphic processing units that can perform millions of calculations simultaneously. Now
There’s a shortage of GPUs as the demand for generative AI, which is often trained and run on GPUs, grows. Nvidia’s best-performing chips are reportedly sold out until 2024. The CEO of chipma
Your business must ensure that internal and external targets understand what the merged company will deliver and how it will make it happen.
At its annual re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, Amazon AWS cloud arm today announced a major update to its S3 object storage service: AWS S3 Express One Zone, a new high-performance and low latency t
It’s a tough day for Dataminr, the New York-based big data unicorn last valued at $4.1 billion. TechCrunch has learned that the company — which uses AI and big data algorithms to provide p


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Tesla Inc.’s former India coverage chief is becoming a member of homegrown electrical scooter startup Ather Energy Pvt, one of many best-funded fledgling companies in a sector attracting file funding.
Manuj Khurana, who give up his publish as Tesla’s native head of coverage and enterprise growth in June, will begin subsequent week on the agency primarily based within the southern know-how hub of Bangalore, an individual with data of the matter advised Bloomberg News. Khurana will be part of as a vp, although his particular function there may be unclear, the particular person mentioned, declining to be named because the matter isn’t public.
Ather, which competes with native rivals together with Ola Electric, this 12 months raised $128 million from buyers together with Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and India’s National Investment & Infrastructure Fund. It’s certainly one of a number of gamers vying for a slice of a market anticipated to surpass $150 billion by the top of the last decade — roughly 400 instances its present measurement.
Representatives for the startup didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Indian customers are anticipated to gravitate towards electrical automobiles because the nation combats among the world’s worst air pollution. Venture capital and personal fairness funding in Indian electrical mobility companies is on monitor to exceed $1 billion for the primary time in 2022 as gross sales rise steadily, in keeping with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Khurana had joined Tesla in March 2021. The US electrical automaker, run by billionaire Elon Musk, has confronted a raft of challenges in India over import taxes and an area manufacturing facility. It’s sought decrease levies in India so it could possibly take a look at the market by promoting cheaper imported electrical automobiles earlier than committing to a producing base of its personal.
–With help from Ragini Saxena.


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Fintech startup KreditBee said Friday it has topped up its Series D round with another $120 million, led by private equity firm Advent International.
This takes the funding round to $200 million and pushes the company into the club of ‘soonicorns’, or a startup at the cusp of attaining a valuation of $1 billion or more.
KreditBee has raised $100 million from Advent and $20 million from others. This adds to $80 million it raised as part of the Series D round from existing investors PremjiInvest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, TPG-backed NewQuest Capital Partners and Mirae Asset Ventures with participation from Japan’s MUFG Bank, last month.
The Series D round has been struck at a pre-money valuation of around $500 million or a post-money valuation of around $700 million.
The venture, co-founded by Madhusudan Ekambaram, Vivek Veda and Karthikeyan Krishnaswamy, will use the money to scale existing business and diversify its product offering by venturing into digitally enabled financial products.
The startup is looking to expand its product portfolio by introducing financial services such as insurance, credit score report, and merchant-side offers. It is also aiming to cross an asset under management of more than $1 billion over the next 2-3 quarters.
The startup runs a tech platform which originates loans for its non-banking company company (NBFC) unit KrazyBee Services Pvt Ltd. The company offers unsecured personal loans to young professionals, with ticket size varying from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3 lakh with average tenure of around five months and average annual percentage rate of around 42%. Prior to FY19, the company offered loans to students with a tenure of up to two years.
The tech platform earns revenue by way of processing fees from borrowers, along with commission income from partner lenders, and gives first loss default guarantee (FLDG) of 5-10% to partner vendors.


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Tesla shares fall as pressure mounts
Shares of Tesla fell almost 5pc yesterday ahead of the electric car maker's announcement of quarterly production numbers for its Model 3 sedan.
Shares in Elon Musk's $50bn (€40.6bn) venture have been reeling from a triple whammy of probes into a fatal crash in California, concerns about Model 3 production and nerves over its debt load after a credit downgrade by rating agency Moody's.
Tesla has committed to build 2,500 Model 3s per week by the end of the quarter as a reassurance to the market that it can meet targets.
Three Wall Street analysts said the company was likely to fall short of its own estimates again, but might satisfy Wall Street's reduced expectations.
"We like the set-up headed into Q1 deliveries as we believe sentiment is overly negative, and think Tesla may be able to exceed lower expectations," Baird analyst Ben Kallo wrote.
Shares of the company were last down 4.4pc at $254 (€206) in heavy trading, bringing its losses this year to nearly 15pc.
Failure to meet its production targets also prompted the Moody's downgrade last week. It said Tesla was likely to raise more than $2bn (€1.62bn) in new capital, partly to cover about $1.2bn (€0.97bn) in convertible bonds coming due by March 2019.
"We consider a small possibility of Tesla releasing supportive data this week but mainly high probability that management and the board will take more drastic action on guidance and funding to restore credibility," Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois wrote in a client note.
"At the current share price, either would be positive, including higher than consensus dilution from raising capital if it credibly de-risked the Model 3 ramp up."


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The federal government’s top auto-safety agency is significantly expanding investigations into Tesla and its autopilot driver-assistance system to determine if the technology poses a security risk.
The agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Thursday it was upgrading its initial assessment of the autopilot to engineering analysis, with more intensive level verification required before a recall could be ordered.
The analysis will look at whether the autopilot fails to prevent drivers from distracting them from the road and engaging in other predictable and risky behaviors while using the system.
The NHTSA said it had not determined that the autopilot had a defect that could cause the car to crash while it was busy.
Extensive investigations have covered 830,000 vehicles sold in the United States. This includes all four Tesla cars – models S, X, 3 and Y – in the model years 2014 to 2021.
The agency’s preliminary assessment focused on 11 incidents in which automobile-controlled Tesla cars collided with parked emergency vehicles and their lights flickered. In that review, NHTSA said Thursday that the agency was aware of the 191 crash – not limited to those involving emergency vehicles – that needed a closer investigation.
This is a developing story. Check for updates.


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TikTok: Even A Temporary Ban Could Make 90% Of Users Quit The App
In a new court filing, TikTok leaders make clear just how much is at stake in a prolonged battle with the Trump administration: If TikTok were banned for two months, up to half of its users in America would never come back. If the ban persisted for six months, 90% of TikTok users would be gone forever, according to a top TikTok executive.
"We would not be able to make up for lost ground, because people who would have downloaded TikTok will have already turned to other competing platforms such as Byte, Triller, Zynn and the Reels feature on Instagram," Vanessa Pappas, TikTok's interim global head, wrote. Pappas' submission was part of a TikTok lawsuit urging a federal judge to halt a ban on the app from Trump from taking effect on Sunday.
President Trump's crusade to ban the popular video-sharing app in the U.S. has already cost TikTok millions of dollars in advertising revenue, made it more difficult to recruit new employees and, unless a federal court blocks Trump's ban from taking effect this weekend, TikTok is facing "catastrophic economic loss," Pappas said.
Just days ago, Trump indicated that a deal to keep TikTok alive had received his blessing. Under the terms, U.S. software company Oracle would gain control of TikTok's U.S. user data and, together with Walmart, a one-fifth ownership stake in the app.
But soon TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart released contradicting statements about key details of the deal, leading to confusion about the actual terms of the agreement and whether or not Trump will approve it.
But that order — which would make TikTok disappear from app stores and eventually cripple the app for those who already have it — is set to start now on midnight Sunday.
TikTok's lawyers are asking for an emergency hearing to prevent the prohibition on TikTok from beginning this weekend. The Justice Department opposes the hearing. In a response to the court, it says while the ban prevents downloads and updates of the app, it will "otherwise largely preserve the status quo" for TikTok users in the U.S.
There is a consensus among Washington lawmakers of both parties that China-based technology companies could pose a national security risk. In its economic trade war with China, the Trump administration has taken aim at a number of Chinese technology firms, but officials in the White House have not provided concrete evidence that TikTok constitutes a specific threat.
Nonetheless, Trump has said that any deal to save TikTok would have to mean that ByteDance, TikTok's corporate owner, has no power or control, a proposition the company does not appear willing to accept.
Lawyers for TikTok are asking a federal judge to block the order from taking effect, claiming, among other arguments, that Trump's action violates users' First Amendment rights.
The president ordered that Chinese-owned app WeChat be effectively shut down in the U.S. along with TikTok, but a federal judge recently blocked that ban over free speech concerns, saying such apps operate as a "a virtual public square."
In the Wednesday court filing, Pappas, for the first time, spelled out the damage Trump's clamp down already has caused.
A dozen brands have cancelled or delayed advertising on the app, costing TikTok $10 million in revenue in August alone, she said.
Hiring has become more difficult with a giant target from the White House on its back. Pappas said 52 candidates have declined offers to work at TikTok due to Trump's attacks against the app.
At the same time, TikTok, which has some 100 million monthly active users in the U.S., has seen explosive growth. Pappas said before rumors started to circulate in July of a looming Trump ban, TikTok had been adding 424,000 new daily users in the U.S. every day.
Regulators in Washington have been conducting a security review of TikTok for more than a year. But in its filing to the court, TikTok lawyers say Trump seemed to step up pressure on the app following a prank in which many TikTok users reserved tickets to the president's campaign kick-off rally in Tulsa, Okla, then failed to show up.
At any rate, TikTok's attorneys wrote on Wednesday, Trump "began targeting TikTok, shortly after it surfaced in public reporting that TikTok users had claimed they used the app to coordinate mass ticket reservations for the President's rally in Tulsa, resulting in an embarrassment for the President's campaign," according to lawyer John Hall, who is representing TikTok.
Shortly after, Hall writes, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that the administration is "looking at" banning TikTok. Then the president's re-election campaign ran negative Facebook advertisements urging supporters to sign a petition to ban TikTok.
The Trump campaign has denied the impact of TikTok users on attendance at the Tulsa rally, pointing out that registration was never capped since it was a first-come, first-serve event. Fears over the coronavirus, the Trump campaign says, is what really depressed turnout.
Editor's note: TikTok helps fund NPR content that appears on the social media platform.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Blockchain-based gaming has for quite some time been one of the most mainstream and normal articulations of the persistently growing decentralized economy. Not exclusively do these stages democratize access to incredible gaming innovation, yet the inherent digital money economy works as an implicit trade philosophy that makes for an interestingly unique encounter.
Simultaneously, the decentralized gaming environment is still especially being dealt with; in any case, it increased some lucidity this month when the blockchain-based working framework, TRON, reported that it was cooperating with Biscuit Labs to create and circulate the following emphasis of blockchain games.
TRON will give vital financing to the Biscuit Labs’ gaming studio with the objective of quickening appropriation for its prevalent gaming choices.
The lab’s most famous game, Knight Story, is one of the most mainstream blockchain-based games ever. Presently, the new crucial self-evident: pull in whatever number new clients as could reasonably be expected to the decentralized gaming economy.
At top prominence, Knight Story approach $20,000 in day by day income, and TRON’s association with Biscuit Labs will start with the arrival of a refreshed variant of the game on TRON’s blockchain.
The main adaptation of Knight Version was facilitated on EOS, yet the organization is leaving the blockchain stage for the extra innovative capacities gave by TRON’s system.
The new emphasis, planned for discharge in December 2019, will utilize depend on TRON’s high throughput to give another, increasingly fit form of the game, which will be accessible on most iOS and Android gadgets.
TRON as of late reported its mix with Opera, an internet browser with 350 million clients. Their organization legitimately incorporates TRON’s wallet into the Opera program while making the stage’s DApp biological system accessible to Opera clients. Along these lines, when Knight Story dispatches on TRON, it will be open by a huge number of potential new clients.
To help its objective of rushing blockchain reception, TRON plans to intensely advance the most recent cycle of Knight Story through its other conspicuous affiliations, including BitTorrent and Opera.
Certainly, the association is definitely not uneven. TRON is contending with different blockchains like EOS and Ethereum both in fame and capacity, and decentralized gaming can be a major draw.
This objective of making a blockchain for everybody incorporates numerous elements, however blockchain-based gaming is ready to be an unmistakable move. TRON’s help for Biscuit will without a doubt position the organization to exploit its past progress while helping assemble the gaming biological system of things to come.


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Bollywood star Sunny Leone is all set to become a fitness guru with her upcoming TV show ‘FitStop’.
The show will go on air in November on the channel, MTV beats, Asia Net News reports.
The hour-long show will have the former porn star teaching and motivate viewers to do some quick and easy-to-do exercises to lose weight and stay fit.
Workouts designed by fitness guru Micky Mehta, the show will be a fusion of great music and quick exercises.
“Everyone should make some time in their daily schedule for some quick exercises,” Sunny said in a statement. “I know exercising can be a chore and to make it exciting for people, I’ve teamed up with MTV Beats to launch ‘FitStop’ — where I’ll be showing people how to exercise and also treating them to some fabulous music, which will help them work up a sweat.”
Sunny is brand ambassador for Manforce, India’s largest condom manufacturer, and one of its most searched celebrities online. She has often been accused in India of promoting obscenity and eroding cultural values.


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Jamie Oliver to open restaurants in Russia next year: Jamie's Italians in Moscow and St. Petersburg
Next year, British chef Jamie Oliver will expand his restaurants to Russia. Two new restraurants Jamies’s Italians will be opend in Moscow at Petrovsky Blvd 8-1 and in St Petersburg at Konushennaya sq, 2.
Both new restaurants will open in partnership with the Ginza Project group, which operates restaurants in Russia and the U.S. While the Moscow restaurant is slated for a «trendy» building, the St. Petersburg outpost of Jamie's Italian is bound for the historic city center.
Jamie's Italian si already looking for senior management team for the restaurants that are both expected to open in 2013. As the job ad declares, «We have a feeling that these restaurants, in two of Russia's most iconic cities, are going to be something special.» And, as the British chef tweeted earlier this year, «To Russia with love, think I'm gonna need a translator and editor @ Russia.»


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The idea was to design a compact yet spacious SUV, that’s also fully electric and capable of Level 5 autonomous driving.
Seat, who until recently had no SUVs whatsoever, now offers three, with the Tarraco being the largest.
The wide body kit is priced at €5,117, with the rear wing, exhaust system, suspension and rims costing extra.
The first Cupra Ateca power kit is complemented by a set of lowering springs and 20-inch wheels.
ABT will also display other tuned cars at the Essen Show, which kicks off in Germany on December 1.
Seat’s biggest SUV to date will offer space for up to seven passengers and keep the driver happy.
Seat’s newly formed performance brand wants to expand its range – and fast.
Cupra’s first standalone model is a unique proposition right now, so does it deliver on its promises?.
It combines electric technology from the Segway ES2 with Seat design.
Having shifted less than 7,000 units last year, the Spanish brand finally decided to discontinue the compact saloon.
The cloud-based voice service is now available on the Ibiza, Arona, Leon, Ateca, and Tarraco.
The study will preview the “sensual” design of the next-gen Seat Leon.


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Netflix acquires Oxenfree developer Night School Studio
The streaming giant says it wants to hire "the best talent in the industry to deliver a great collection of exclusive games"
Oxenfree developer Night School Studio has been acquired by Netflix, co-founder Sean Krankel announced.
It's the streaming service's first games studio acquisition, and the terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
Krankel clarified that Night School Studio will continue to work on Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, which was announced earlier this year.
Mike Verdu, the newly appointed VP of game development at Netflix, said that the company is in the "early stages of creating a great gaming experience for [its] members around the world," which was the driving force behind the Night School Studio acquisition.
In his announcement, Verdu added that Netflix's games offering will be included as part of the service's already existing membership and confirmed that it will come without ads or in-app purchases, which the company had already mentioned during its Q2 earnings call. More will be announced about the service soon.
"[Night School Studio's] commitment to artistic excellence and proven track record make them invaluable partners as we build out the creative capabilities and library of Netflix games together," Verdu continued. "We'll continue working with developers around the world and hiring the best talent in the industry to deliver a great collection of exclusive games designed for every kind of gamer and any level of play."
Krankel said: "Night School wants to stretch our narrative and design aspirations across distinctive, original games with heart. Netflix gives film, TV, and now game makers an unprecedented canvas to create and deliver excellent entertainment to millions of people. Our explorations in narrative gameplay and Netflix's track record of supporting diverse storytellers was such a natural pairing. It felt like both teams came to this conclusion instinctively."
Earlier this year, GamesIndustry.biz contributing editor Rob Fahey looked into Netflix's strategy, arguing that those expecting the streaming giant to take a Stadia-like approach to games might be disappointed.


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WH Brand, a family-run MG dealership in Lincolnshire threw a party for more than 250 guests at its premises in the village of Whaplode Drove, near Spalding. They held the event to celebrate being named the top-performing MG dealer of 2014 as well as being the top-selling MG3 dealer. In addition, the company was marking 90 years in business.
The celebrations coincided with the 90th birthday of Fred Brand, the son of the firm’s founder, William Horace Brand. Fred showed off a classic 1949 speedway bike – he took up the sport to earn money to build a new garage for the business.
While customers tucked into a fish and chip supper on a London double-decker bus parked outside the showrooms, sales manager Adam Brand – great grandson of the firm’s founder – enjoyed a bit of business success.
He said: ‘I was chatting away to a customer I’ve known for years and before you knew it, I had an order for an MG6 Magnette.
‘Ten minutes later, someone ordered an MG3 and following the event, someone else rang up and ordered another MG3. I didn’t really sell the cars – they sold themselves! Taking on the MG franchise was the best business decision we have ever made.
‘We seem to have been celebrating for weeks on end, but we’re not complaining.’
During the celebrations, WH Brand’s customers and suppliers raised nearly £500 for the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance.
WH Brand joined the MG dealer network in December 2013. In the last 12 months the number of MG dealers has almost doubled. There are currently 56 MG dealerships and 10 aftersales outlets across the country. More dealers will be appointed in the coming months.


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Starting From Scratch
Culinary trends, cooking styles and palates routinely change with the times. However, those changes have been even more pronounced of late as hospitality industry continues to be hit hard by the pandemic in everything from supply chain challenges to price increases.
Those issues, and others, are at the fore as resort/hotel chefs and F&B managers look ahead to 2022 and beyond.
“As we navigate living through a global pandemic, we as chefs have had to rethink how we cook, how we eat and how we create our offerings moving forward,” said Charly Houegban, executive chef at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville. “This is an exciting time, and at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, it’s an opportunity to introduce new food trends to our guests and within the market.
“We are seeing a focus on healthy eating more and more. This means balancing menus that feature the classic Southern staples for which our destination is known, with balanced and sustainable cuisine. This year there will be a much higher demand for cuisine with a wellness twist and ones that combine global flavors on a plate.”
Sebastian Ratti, executive sous chef at Loews Miami Beach, also is a proponent in the plant-based trend.
“More people are looking for different meat replacement options,” said Ratti. “They want healthy options, but ones that taste out of this world and mushrooms are answering the call. We will see more plates that include different types of mushrooms.
“Another trend that we are seeing more of is teaming up with food and beverage brands to create memorable experiences and also focus on local and small business support. Here at the hotel, we strive to highlight local artisans and shine a light on these purveyors via our Flavor Miami program and unique collaborations for our guests.
Read the full story on Hotel Interactive.


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Coca-Cola is set to launch a new logo in Norway dedicated to Muslims during the holy month known as Ramadan.
The campaign will feature advertising posters with the familiar Coke logo surrounded by a crescent moon, an iconographic Islamic symbol.
Coca-Cola’s Norwegian marketing manager, Johanna Kosanovic, says the new logo is part of the brand’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
“In Muslim countries we have a long history of highlighting Ramadan, just as we in this country have tradition for Christmas campaigns,” Kosanovic told the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, according to an English translation provided by Google. “Now for the first time in Norway, we want to celebrate Ramadan together with Norwegian Muslims.”
Asked if the company is worried about backlash, Kosanovic said “it’s ok” if some don’t share their vision of cultural inclusion.
“We believe most share our values, such as the importance of community and joy. So we understand that not everyone will like us to take an active stand for cultural inclusion. It’s ok,” Kosanovic said.
The new campaign will kick off Friday.
H/t: Leo Zagami


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Germany is one of the countries where the electric car market has grown the most thanks to assistance from the national state
Government participation is essential to promote electric mobility. Automotive companies would be responsible for research and development and then production, but these types of cars They are more expensive than similar engines with internal combustion engines and therefore, subsidy required To accelerate the park to a higher speed that closes the circle.
is that If manufacturers invest crores in their production but sales do not follow up, the loss will be so high that the business will not work. Premium electric cars have high profit margins because the prices are so high, but since they are aspirational vehicles, the people who buy them don’t take into account the investment, but the condition they are in for their owners. provide to.
The problem is in medium and small vehicles, and certainly in commercial vehicles, where the decision to switch from oil to electricity has other motivations such as environmental ones. And it is in this area that the incentives offered by governments with subsidies have allowed more people or companies to decide to “switch sides”.
Electric cars for personal use should lower their prices, car sharing is the solution to high cost. Price subsidies are a state policy to promote ecological mobility.
but as always, All is not well when public money is involved for private activities. First, questions arose about the misuse of cars by consumers. plug-in hybridwhich in a large proportion, They don’t charge the battery during idle hours, and they last longer in vehicle use, which is powered by a thermal engine. Compared to electric, with which they consume more and generate more polluting emissions by pulling a heavier car thanks to the battery and electric motor.
worry again Subtract subsidies from these vehicles, called PHEVs. A state in Switzerland was the first to study this phenomenon, and once it was confirmed that it was indeed happening, several countries proposed a scheme to reduce state aid for the purchase of these cars. Gave. Germany was the one that took that position most strongly and has already drawn up a plan to remove subsidies for PHEVs.
Plug-in hybrids were the first to focus on removing the price subsidy. Now the measurement can be extended to pure electric
But now another problem has come to the fore which again affects those public funds and that too Risking the subsidy system for the acquisition of all types of electrified cars. this is a Research published by Financial Timesthrough which it was found that Many electric cars that are purchased with state aid provided by German taxpayers are sold at higher prices in EU countries. The difference between the discounted purchase price and the free selling price has generated a kind of commercial bicycle not only in private vehicles, but also in commercial fleets.
According to the data presented in the report, there are already more and more 100,000 electric vehicles that have been sold abroad at a premium in the last 10 yearsthere are several thousand of them American brand Tesla.
The Financial Times report highlighted Tesla as one of those electric cars that are bought with subsidies and sold in another country with no government support.
market in which they can be made This type of “business” belongs to countries that do not have assistance to purchase electric cars.As with the Scandinavians. NorwayThe country with the highest proportion of new electric vehicles in the entire continent is one of them, although reports indicate where more of these types will be operated. Denmark. There, simple comparison between Patented Electric Cars and Records of Electric Cars Sold Shows a noticeable difference in favor of the first, and the only way to do it is a . is with Import volume is higher than normal.
The study was done by the analyst Mathias Schmidtwho proved that Of the 98,000 Teslas registered in Germany in July this year, only 76,690 continue to travel on the country’s roads and routes. This is equivalent to saying One in 5 Teslas bought in Germany is no longer on the market. But another curious fact is that between the purchase of a subsidized car and its sale, only a few months have passed, which allows us to establish that this operation was not for personal use, but at a better price. Had to sell again. This situation has caused concern and Intensifying the debate about whether maintaining subsidies is really necessary electric car price Germany.
Electric car price aid reduction plan to be cut in half from current 6,000 euros by 2025
in present, German government subsidies are up to 6,000 euros per vehicle, And as has already been announced, that help It will be reduced to at least half of its value between now and 2025. Under this scheme, in addition to a small amount, it will be necessary that Between buying and selling a subsidized carperiod should be extended for at least one calendar year.
Used to note data. In Argentina, it is still far from a coherent electrified market, But although more options gradually begin to appear, the majority in the hybrid sector, when economic and financial conditions permit it, It would be interesting to note the experience One of the pioneers in terms of mobility subsidies.
“Ariel”: A Hybrid Car That Makes No Mean, But It’s Part Of An Experiment
how is the supermoto that represents a lamborghini huracan on 2 wheels
President of Renault Argentina: “State is important to introduce electric cars, but then they will have to fly alone”


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Hasbro today announced an extended relationship with Lucasfilm, renewing its longstanding licensing deal for Star Wars, and announcing a new agreement to develop products based on the Indiana Jones franchise.
- Hasbro will continue to create toys and games designed to appeal to fans of all ages for the Star Wars franchise and is excited to start on designs for the Indiana Jones franchise.
- The Indiana Jones line by Hasbro will be available globally in 2023, aligning with the release of the highly anticipated 5th Indiana Jones feature film.
- The forthcoming Indiana Jones product line marks Hasbro’s return to the franchise; Hasbro last produced Indiana Jones toys in 2008, when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released. Prior to that, Kenner, which is now part of Hasbro, made toys for the original Raiders of the Lost Ark film from 1982-1983.
- The two companies have a decades-long strategic merchandising relationship, as Hasbro has developed and manufactured toys and games for a variety of entertainment properties from Disney.
- In addition to the agreements with Disney with respect to the Lucasfilm properties, Hasbro announced a multi-year extension for the Marvel business in 2020 and is continuing its strong Marvel relationship with an impressive slate of upcoming content, products, and more.
What They’re Saying:
- Eric Nyman, Hasbro Chief Consumer Officer, said: “We’re proud to deepen our close working relationship and collaborate with the Disney team to bring innovative and engaging play experiences to kids, fans, and families inspired by some of the world’s most iconic entertainment brands. In addition to a slate of new collectibles, figures, role play gear, and games for Star Wars and Marvel, it’s an honor to bring Indiana Jones back to Hasbro and help introduce the beloved franchise to a new generation of fans.”
- Stephanie Young, President of Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing, said: “Disney has long valued its relationship with Hasbro in developing fresh, imaginative products and toys that delight our fans of all ages. We’re thrilled to continue collaborating with this iconic company—one that will help lift our consumer experiences across the Marvel, Star Wars and now Indiana Jones franchises to new heights for years to come.”


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Revenue for all of 2007 rose by a third to 1.55 billion zloties, TVN said in a statement on Feb. 18. Operating profit increased by 38% to 482 million zloties, while TVN's operating margin was 31%. Adjusted profit increased 42% to 330 million zloties.
TVN (www.tvn.pl), a part of the media and entertainment group ITI Holdings SA, is riding the results of a fast-expanding television advertising market which rose 22% in 2007.
TVN said it expects its sales to rise 18-20% this year, and its EBITDA margin will be around 35-337% compares with 36% in 2007.
TVN owns 14 TV stations and web portal Onet.pl.


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Caterpillar to sell part of Bucyrus to Malaysia's Sime Darby for $360 mn
14 December 2011
Caterpillar Inc, the world's biggest maker of earthmoving equipment, yesterday said it would sell a part of its Bucyrus distribution business to the industrial division of Malaysia's Sime Darby, for about $360 million.
The sale includes the Sime Darby Industrial Cat dealerships operated by Hastings Deering in Queensland and the Northern Territory of Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia.
The deal marks the first of several that are expected to move the product distribution and support of former Bucyrus machinery to Cat dealers that support mining customers around the world.
Caterpillar said that it also intends to start selling former Bucyrus mining products through Sime Darby's other Cat dealerships.
Following Caterpillar's $8.6-billion cash acquisition of mining equipment maker Bucyrus International last year (See: Caterpillar to acquire mining equipment maker Bucyrus for $8.6 billion), which had in the preceeding year, bought a mining unit of Terex Corporation, the world's third biggest maker of heavy earth-moving equipment for $1.3 billion in cash (See: Bucyrus to acquire Terex mining unit for $1.3 billion)
Following the Bucyrus acquisition, Illinois-based Caterpillar made two key strategic decisions - utilise the Cat brand, and use its own dealers who would be best suited to sell and support former Bucyrus mining products.
Caterpillar is currently holding discussions with other Cat dealers that have mining activites in their territories. Caterpillar said that it will continue to operate the former Bucyrus distribution business in a given dealer's territory until the post-merger transitions have taken place.


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First Chevrolet Volt Sold to Retired NJ Airline Pilot
Jeffrey Kaffee, a retired airline pilot from New Jersey, is going down in history as the first customer to take delivery of the recently released Chevrolet Volt.
Mr. Kaffee was actually on vacation this week but made the decision to return early and head straight to Gearhart Chevrolet in Denville, N.J. There, he partook in a photo-op with jubilant dealer staff, including dealership owner Judy Tilton, before taking the keys. The early adopter looks pleased indeed.
Earlier this week, the first shipment of 300-plus Volts were put on transport trucks and sent to the initial launch markets of California, New York, Texas, and Washington D.C.
And Kaffee isn't a stranger to the world of alternative propulsion. He traded in his Toyota Prius to get behind the wheel of the Volt.


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China continues to suspend the imposition of new customs duties on vehicles and parts of American vehicles
China will continue to suspend the imposition of new customs duties on US vehicles and parts after April 1, in a goodwill gesture following a US decision to defer an increase in tariffs on Chinese imports, the State Council said.
In December, China said it would suspend a new 25 percent increase in US vehicles and parts for three months following a truce in a trade war between the world's two largest economies.
The move was aimed at "continuing to create a new climate for continued trade negotiations between the two sides," the State Council said.
The government said it would announce separately when the suspension would end.


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First it was ‘cargo class’ where passengers could exercise on extremely long-haul flights it the cargo hold. Now, designers have come up with a way of making a cargo hold a ‘bedroom in the sky’. Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace have partnered to develop and market lower-deck modules with passenger sleeping berths that would fit inside an aircraft’s cargo compartments. These would offer “new opportunities for additional services to passengers,” say France-based Zodiac.
This will improve their experience while enabling airlines to differentiate and add value for their commercial operations.
The new passenger modules will be “easily interchangeable” with “regular cargo containers” during a typical turnaround if required. Moreover, the aircraft’s cargo floor and cargo loading system will not be affected at all, as the passenger module will sit directly on it.
“This approach to commercial air travel is a step change towards passenger comfort. We have already received very positive feedback from several airlines on our first mock-ups. We are pleased to partner with Zodiac Aerospace on this project which will introduce a new passenger experience and add value for airlines,” says Airbus cabin and cargo programme head, Geoff Pinner.
“We are delighted to work with Airbus on this new and innovative project, which reaffirms our expertise in lower-deck solutions. An improved passenger experience is today a key element of differentiation for airlines,” says Zodiac Aerospace Cabin Branch CEO, Christophe Bernardini.
Airlines will initially be able to choose from a catalogue of certified solutions by 2020 on A330 for retrofit and line-fit markets.
Offerability of sleeper compartments on the A350 XWB airliner is also being studied. The innovation builds on both Airbus’ and Zodiac Aerospace’s experience in producing and integrating lower-deck crew-rest facilities.


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- Midlifers Are Self-Medicating: More Americans aged 35-50 are using cannabis and binge-drinking, according to the University of Michigan’s latest Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of substance use. Their cannabis use more than doubled over the past decade, reaching 28% in 2022. And while relatively low, hallucinogen use doubled year-over-year, to 4%.
More of these consumers are also binge-drinking now than at any time since the study’s 1976 launch: in 2022, 29% reported doing so over the past fortnight. Still, according to new Gallup data, 35- to 54-year-old Americans have grown more likely to believe moderate drinking (defined as one to two drinks daily) is detrimental to their health – 39% agree, compared with 26% in 2018.
For insights into the pressures millennials and Gen Xers are currently confronting, see Future Consumer Life Cycle 24/25.
- Young Adults Swap Alcohol for Alternative Substances: The majority (52%) of Americans aged 18-34 now regard moderate drinking as unhealthy, with Gallup logging a dramatic 18-point rise in this belief over the past five years. Aligned with this, the MTF study shows a decline in binge-drinking among 19- to 30-year-olds: 30.5% in 2022 versus 35.2% a decade before. For related insights, see Future Alcohol Consumers and Gen Z Leisure Trends: 2023.
Meanwhile, boosted by the spread of legalised recreational cannabis, MTF found a significant uptick in marijuana use: in 2022, nearly 44% of those aged 19-30 reported using it, versus 28% in 2012. Hallucinogen use was also up, reaching 8% – from 3% a decade earlier – as was nicotine vaping (24%, from 14% in 2017). As we’ve reported, a third of 21- to 24-year-old Americans participating in Dry January this year said they replaced alcohol with cannabis/CBD (CivicScience, 2023).


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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lost another round this week but continues its fight for the rezoning needed to build two warehouse-sized stores in Ellicott City.
The County Council, acting as the Zoning Board, unanimously rejected on Monday a request for reconsideration of its July 29 denial of Wal-Mart's rezoning petition.
The petition had sought to rezone 54 acres in Ellicott City near U.S. 29 and 40 for retail rather than office use. The nation's largest retailer hopes to build a 14,000-square-foot Wal-Mart department store and a 13,000-square-foot Sam's Club wholesale outlet.
The same day, Wal-Mart and property owner Nicholas Mangione filed an appeal of the Zoning Board's denial in county Circuit Court.
Wal-Mart's attorney, Richard B. Talkin, now has 10 days to file arguments supporting that appeal. He could not be reached for comment.
That 11-page petition's arguments included the assertion that the board did not properly consider economic trends such as the county's depressed office market.
To prove that an individual rezoning is warranted, a petitioner must show that the Zoning Board erred in its last comprehensive rezoning or that the character of the neighborhood has changed since then.
Thomas M. Meachum, an attorney who represents residents opposed to the Wal-Mart petition, said the company has proven neither.
"Even their own witnesses testified that the downturn in the office market did not occur until approximately 1987," he said. The last comprehensive rezoning was in 1985.
Wal-Mart also failed to show what made the Ellicott City property different from other office-zoned property in the county, Mr. Meachum said. "If that argument were accepted, then all of these properties that were zoned office could come in and get B-2 [general business] zoning," Mr. Meachum said.


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Xiaomi wants to sell its premium phones to Indian buyers (again) and it wants to do it in 2020. The company has announced that its premium Mi series phones will be coming to India after their China launch this year, and chances are that one of the first phones in the series is going to be the already-announced Mi Note 10 with its 108-megapixel camera. The decision to bring Mi series phones in India marks a change in strategy for Xiaomi, which until now has mostly pushed the mainstream Redmi phones to India consumers, while hoping to woo premium phone buyers with devices like the Poco F1 and the Redmi K20 that have some premium components but cannot be considered in the league of what, for example, OnePlus sells.
However, there seems to be a change in this strategy, although it is not yet apparent why Xiaomi is changing it. The Poco F1 was a decent success, but for some reason, Xiaomi shied away from this sub-brand it created. There has been no update for brand Poco after the launch of the Poco F1.
The Redmi K20 and the Redmi K20 Pro were the first "premium" phones under the brand Redmi from Xiaomi in 2019. The idea was to target consumers that were familiar with the Redmi brand, but this too seemingly had not brought Xiaomi the kind of dividends it was hoping for. The result seems to be another change in the strategy with the Mi "premium" phones all set to make a comeback in India.
The plan to bring back Mi phones was announced by Xiaomi at a media event in Delhi, where the company also showcased the Mi Mix Alpha. While this concept phone will not be coming to India, other Mi Mix devices that are launched this year globally may come to India.
Xiaomi has said that the Mi phones and the "premium" Redmi phones will co-exist in the market and that there prices could be above Rs 20,000.
Given the price points that Xiaomi may be looking for its Mi phones, it is bound to compete with the likes of Honor, Asus, Realme, a brand that is also hitting it in the mainstream market, and most significantly OnePlus. And given that the company has not always been able to woo consumers with its premium offerings -- people associate Xiaomi with its superbly successful but more affordable and mainstream Redmi phones -- it may not find the going easy.
In the past, for example, the company has been little wary of getting into the premium phone market. At a time when it sold premium Mi phones, the results in the market were not good enough for the company to continue with them. This is the reason why phones like the Mi 5 were not launched in India. However, the company did launch the Mi A series, which consisted of Android One powered phones, in India. But unlike the in China, where all Mi series phones are "premium" phones and where the Mi A series doesn't exist, in India, the Mi A series has been a mainstream market product, with devices like the Mi A3 priced under Rs 20,000. Xiaomi has said that the Mi A series will continue to be sold in India in 2020.


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The Banff World Media Festival will run as an online-only event from June 14 to July 16, 2021, organizers said Tuesday.
Any hope the 42nd edition of the TV festival could return to the Canadian Rockies for an annual industry retreat have been dashed by COVID-19 infection rates rising this winter in Alberta. “Banff has always been about bringing people together, and this year’s festival will do that on a grand virtual scale,” Jenn Kuzmyk, Banff fest executive director, said in a statement.
Banff will shorten its upcoming pandemic-era edition to just over one month, compared to a 2020 edition that spanned four months after also being disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis.
In place of the regular physical Banff festival, organizers have built their own digital platform and plan a new Marketplace Week for real-time industry networking, pitches and dealmaking from June 14 to 18. Banff will also bring online its Summit Series keynotes and master classes and winners of the Rockie Awards international competition will be unveiled on June 15.
Banff’s bespoke digital platform also promises virtual Pavilions with multiple meeting spaces, and each delegate will have their own private video conferencing room and messaging and scheduling tools.
Nominations for the Rockie Awards, a competition that American and British TV producers traditionally dominate, and announcements on master classes and other virtual events for the 2021 edition will be unveiled in the coming months.
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France: Cooperative group InVivo in exclusive talks to acquire Soufflet Group, including its malt business
Cooperative group InVivo has entered exclusive talks to acquire family-controlled Soufflet in a deal that would create one of Europes biggest agricultural businesses with 10 billion euros ($12.17 billion) in sales, the French firms said on January 13.
The potential consolidation comes as France, the European Unions largest agricultural producer, is trying to embrace environmentally conscious farming practices while vying with cheaper grain suppliers like Russia.
A tie-up could also let InVivo, a grouping of 192 farmer-owned cooperatives, and century-old Soufflet better compete with rivals such as U.S. group Cargill and Germanys BayWa.
The combination of InVivo Group and Soufflet Group would lead to the creation of a French champion in agriculture and agribusiness with an international footprint, they said in a statement.
A deal would bring together their international grain trading activities while also associating complementary businesses with limited overlap, including Soufflets flour milling and malt production and InVivos wine distribution and garden retail, they said.
The transaction price was not disclosed.
The deal, under which the Soufflet brand would be preserved, could close by the end of the 2021, they said.
The talks were welcomed by French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, who said in a statement sent to Reuters that the creation of this group would be positive for France and French agriculture.
That contrasted with Le Maires initial opposition to a $20 billion takeover approach for French retailer Carrefour SA by Canadian convenience-store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard, with the minister citing food sovereignty concerns.
InVivo said it expected to finance the acquisition through its own funds, bank loans and potentially by selling stakes in some activities to partners.
InVivo has in recent years sold its animal nutrition division Neovia to U.S. agribusiness group Archer Daniels Midland, while expanding its garden retail business and entering wine merchandising.
It restructured its grain trading unit after losses, and developed a wheat and barley trading joint venture, Grains Overseas with two other cooperative groups.
Soufflet has been the subject of takeover rumours in the past, partly because of the lack of a family successor to take over from Michel Soufflet, board chairman, and his son Jean-Michel, who is chief executive.
InVivo would maintain Soufflet as a separate entity within the group and no asset sales were planned, InVivo said.
Current Soufflet management would stay for a transition period expected to last a few years, it added.
E-malt.com, la fuente de información global para los profesionales de la industria cervecera y de malteado. Los boletines quincenales de E-malt.com incluyen las últimas noticias de la industria, estadísticas en gráficos y tablas, precios mundiales de cebada y malta, y otra información relevante. Haga clic aquí para obtener acceso completo a E-malt.com. Si usted es un cliente de Castle Malting, puede obtener acceso gratuito al sitio web y publicaciones de E-malt.com. Contáctenos para obtener más información en firstname.lastname@example.org.


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World’s second largest economy and emerging market giant, China registered an uneasy low inflation of 1.2 per cent. According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the economy has registered a further decline in its Consumer Price Index compared to the 1.5 per cent inflation experienced in April.
The low inflation for China given its inflation target of 3 per cent is not good news for its growth trend. Deflationary trends are just hinting the arrival of slow growth. China expects a mutually combatable GDP growth rate of 7 per cent and inflation rate of 3 percent.
The slowing prices are strongly visible in manufactured items. The producers’ price under the Chinese CPI has registered deflation for the consecutive 39th month. The producer price deflation always creates the risk of slowdown in investment and further economic growth. China last year has registered first below target growth rate in nearly ten years.
Over the last couple of years, the developed world has been reeling under the pain of hurting deflation-a situation that produced shrinking GDP in many countries. The US economy also shrank in the first quarter of this year according to the early estimates.
On the other side, most EMEs have survived deflation despite falling energy and food prices. Many of them including India are feeling comfortable low level of inflation.
For China, the present low inflation needs a policy correction in the form of monetary easing reported Chinese state media -the Global Times.


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Sin Chew Daily
As we proceed to the fourth phase of the national recovery plan with interstate travel ban lifted, restrictions on social activities relaxed, dine-in allowed and VTL between Malaysia and Singapore opened up, demand for daily necessities from consumers is expected to rise drastically.
Unfortunately the supply chains have failed to cope with the surge, triggering a sharp rise in the prices of food, beverage and other goods in the country.
When the economy reopens and private consumption picks up, but manufacturers and merchants are unable to absorb the rising transportation and logistic costs, the uptick will eventually be transferred to the consumers. As a result, prices of goods ranging from vegetables, meats, seafood and all sorts of daily necessities have increased.
Such a phenomenon happens not just in Malaysia but the world over. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) statistics show that global food prices in October reached their highest levels since 2011, up 3% from a month earlier and a whopping 31.3% climb compared to the corresponding month last year.
Here in Malaysia, the October consumer price index (CPI) was up compared to last year. Economists have warned that Malaysia’s inflationary pressure has stemmed from ringgit depreciation and intermediary profits.
No doubt, depreciation of the local unit has made imported raw materials more expensive. Malaysia, by and large, still relies heavily on imported raw materials and equipment, and this has shored up our production costs. As if that’s not enough, we also import large volumes of food materials.
Take the locally produced vegetables for instance, the unpredictable weather, in particular the year-end monsoon season, coupled with middleman and transport costs and SOP limitations, have hampered vegetable production and supply, and thus higher retail prices.
B50 and the urban poor are among the most badly affected communities of the current price upsurge.
Inflation does not just concern the general public, but has evolved into an issue exploited by the politicians. We had better ready ourselves for a jaw-dropping 30% to 200% rise in goods prices which could hit any time next year!
Even as skyrocketing goods prices are a global phenomenon, the government has a definite role to play in mitigating this major issue pertaining to the day-to-day living of Malaysians.
The government must initiate interdepartmental discussions within the shortest time possible to seek effective solutions to tame the inflationary pressure and manage the issue of fast rising goods prices.
The government must also come up with viable strategies to address the woes of the rakyat who have just delivered themselves out of the pandemic gloom but are slapped with yet another dilemma of skyrocketing goods prices that has exacerbated their mental stress as well as financial burden.
Prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has admitted that rising goods prices have become a heavy burden for Malaysians. As he has attributed the runaway prices to costs accumulated at various levels of the supply chain, he promised that the government would look into this problem seriously.
To resolve the urgent issue of price hikes, the government should consider introducing several short- to medium-term measures to help relieve the inflationary pressure arising from supply crunch and soaring goods and service costs.
Economists are of the opinion that the government may consider lowering the excise taxes and import duties of consumables, including intermediate raw materials for the manufacture of end products, and to make price control an essential strategy to stabilize the prices of necessities.
Undeniably, the government can help relieve inflationary pressure by imposing price control measures such as setting ceiling prices for specific goods, and the provision of subsidies for fuels and other goods.
With economic activities now liberalized, consumer needs and inflationary pressure are expected to soar, and the government should therefore draw up more effective solutions such as specific price control mechanisms to stabilize goods prices.
Economists feel that the government can work with producers to up the supply in tandem with rising demands. Both the government and the private sector must think of ways to boost productivity in a bid to ward off unchecked price hikes.
Consumers will invariably take the brunt if the issue remains unresolved over the long term.


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The Forbes Digital 100 is our inaugural ranking of the top publicly-traded IT, hardware, media, digital retail and telecommunication companies that shape the digital world. A global list, companies on the list come from 17 countries.
Amazon takes the top spot. The online retailer has seen its stock soar with the price nearly doubling in the past year (prices through September 7). The company’s market cap hit $1 trillion on September 4 in intraday trading. This makes Amazon the second U.S. company to cross the $1 trillion threshold after Apple (No. 38) did it in August.
Digital streaming company Netflix ranked No. 2 on the list. Domestic streaming accounts for a majority of the company’s $11.7 billion revenue in 2017. However, starting in 2010 Netflix expanded into international markets and that segment now accounts for 43.5% of revenues.
American companies make up nearly half the list, with 49 companies, and dominates the top. Nineteen of the top 25 companies hail from the U.S. Familiar names include Twitter (No. 21), Microsoft (No.69) Spotify (No. 71) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (No. 99).
China’s top-ranked company is Tencent Holdings at No. 18. The company behind China’s popular mobile messaging app WeChat has a number of other businesses including online and mobile gaming, a digital payment system and video streaming. Profits grew 71.7% in 2017 due in large part to performance of mobile games, cloud services and on-demand video subscription. Its wildly popular mobile game Honour of Kings has over 200 million monthly players.
The Digital 100 includes companies from all the different corners of the digital economy. IT software & services companies make up 35% of the list. Following close behind are technology hardware & equipment companies with 26 companies and semiconductor companies with 23 companies. However, industry classifications don’t always tell the whole story of what a company does. Amazon.com, the No.1 company on the list, is classified as a retail company. And while retail makes up most of the company’s $108.3 billion revenues, it’s cloud computing division brought in $17.5 billion or 16% of sales last year.
To compile the top 100 digital companies, we first looked at the technology, media, digital retail and telecommunication companies that made it onto the 2018 Global 2000, our annual ranking of the biggest companies in the world. To that group we added in big digital companies that have gone public since the Global 2000 was published in May. Companies were scored on a variety of factors including sales, profits, assets growth and performance of the stock over the past year. The list was priced on September 7, 2018.
To see the full list, click here.