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Other than my pure, ridiculous love for most two-wheeled vehicles, the thing that gets me most about the motorcycle (powersports) industry is the insanely high level of ingenuity and creativity. While there is no shortage of somewhat useless gadgetry (you know it when you see) making it to market, the vast majority of products out there are nothing short of genius.
Just take a look at the stuff that’ll be on display at Dealer Expo (also, here and here) and at the V-Twin Expo in February. The parts and bikes built by Steve Storz? Roland Sands and his dad, Perry? Bert Baker? Look at what small companies like Nash Motorcycle Co. and Biltwell Inc. are doing. How about FMF‘s long storied history? Phil Davy has turned ICON into, well, an icon. The stuff coming out of Robert Fisher’s and Nick Anglada’s garages? Crazy. Honestly, the list is mind-blowing crosses across all market niches and extends as far back as does motorcycling. My own personal favorite is Chopper Dave. His work kills me.
So considering all these aftermarket players, what happens when the economy takes a dump? Well, it looks like a bunch of them are looking to band together under the auspices of automotive industry heavyweight SEMA to protect their interests. Bikernet.com‘s Keith Ball is calling together the troops for a meeting at the V-Twin Show in Cincy. His goal is to give the aftermarket — and the attendant bodies such as vendors, dealers, clubs, etc. — a strong, unified voice in these shaky times. By banding together under SEMA, the motorcycle aftermarket industry would be able to access the advocacy group’s massive list of services. These run the gamut from business resources to market research to OEM relation services to SEMA’s massive trade show.
If you’re at all interested, the Cincy meeting happens Sunday, Feb. 8 2009 at 9 a.m. For more info contact Ball at 310-830-0630 or email@example.com. You can also contact Ken Conte at Rise Above Consulting at 970-227-3588 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Tags: aftermarket, Baker Drivetrain, Biltwell Inc., Dealer Expo, FMF, Icon Motosports, motorcycles, Nash Motorcycle Co., Performance Machine, Roland, Roland Sands Designs, SEMA, Storz, V-twin, V-twin Expo


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TORONTO (04/07/2000) - The growth of e-commerce and the corresponding need for privacy and security are eclipsing government attempts to curb strong encryption worldwide, according to a study released this week by the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
"Governments attempting to develop e-commerce are recognizing that encryption is an essential tool for transactions and are reversing decades-old restrictions based on national security concerns," according to the study "Cryptography and Liberty 2000, An International Survey of Encryption Policy."
For example, in January, the U.S. relaxed export controls on mass-market encryption software. Former regulations had required companies to obtain a government license to export encryption products with key lengths higher than 56 bits.
"We won, we've really won. There is no going back," said Phil Zimmermann, creator of the widely used Pretty Good Privacy encryption software. Zimmermann was in Toronto last week for the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference. "They are letting strong crypto through, and it would be politically difficult to single out one product."
Privacy advocates found another reason to celebrate last week: Canada passed the first privacy legislation in the world that applies to private industry.
"Canadian companies, if they're dealing with American counterparts, oblige them through contract to meet the standards," said Perrin. The legislation applies to companies in industries that are subject to Canadian regulation.
She noted that the Canadian Direct Marketing Association supported the law, which is called the Protection of Personal Information and Electronics Documents Act.
Encryption Control Remains
But David Sobel, EPIC general counsel, said several countries, including the U.K., India, Belgium and the Netherlands, are still considering proposals that would give public agencies the ability to demand access to encryption keys.
Other countries, such as China, Russia and Pakistan, continue to restrict the use of encryption technology.
According to the EPIC report, the continued expansion of e-commerce and the lack of international consensus on encryption regulations will frustrate efforts by those countries to continue their restrictive polices. The study added that the availability of encryption on the Internet will also make it difficult for countries to enforce these laws without imposing censorship and surveillance.
"Legislation . . . drives crypto activists to develop new and better forms of encryption," said David Del Torto, executive director of the San Francisco-based Crypto-Rights Foundation, which provides security consulting to human rights activists.

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Bermuda’s government has passed a new legislation, which will allow cruise lines to operate casinos while docked overnight.
The Cruise Ship Act 2013 outlined that onboard casinos can operate between 9.00pm and 5.00am. Previously they were not permitted to open while they were in Bermudan waters, Royal Gazette reported.
To be eligible, ships need to stay in port for a minimum of one night, and if passenger capacity exceeds 2,000 the line must pay a licensing fee to the government.
According to Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell, research found the decision would have little impact to local businesses, with most passengers returning to the ship by 9.00pm.
The new rule could also help boost cruising to the region, particularly after the number of scheduled cruise ship visits fell by 25 percent this year to 128 from 163 in 2012.
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Saints Row: The Third's standalone expansion Enter the Dominatrix has been merged into the next main Saints Row game, publisher THQ has confirmed.
This is due to launch in "calender 2013", THQ president Jason Rubin confirmed.
"When I looked at the Enter The Dominatrix expansion in production at Volition, I was blown away by the ideas and desire to expand the fiction of the franchise," Rubin said.
"I asked the team what it could achieve given more time, more resources, and a broader scope for the project. We all agreed we wanted to play that game.
"When it comes to Saints Row, it's clear our fans want bigger, better, and even more over the top, and that's why Enter The Dominatrix will now be incorporated into a vastly expanded, full-fledged sequel, scheduled for calendar 2013."
THQ mentioned the change in production schedule will mean the game's profits will surface in the financial year ending 2014: meaning a launch after April 2013.
Saints Row 4, thought to be in development for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, will offer new characters and "even broader appeal".
Outgoing THQ exec Danny Bilson told Eurogamer last month that the company was still "a year away from talking about it, probably".


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Toolbank names new product director
Published: 30 March, 2015
Mark Allen has been appointed product director at Toolbank, the tools and hardware distributor.
He succeeds Wayne Flory, who was promoted to CEO late last year, and as product director he has overall responsibility for the continued development of Toolbank’s branded product ranges, trade promotions, supplier relationships and negotiations.
Mr Allen brings wide experience of the home improvement and builders’ merchant market to his new role.
“It’s rare for Toolbank to make an outside appointment at senior level, but Mark brings different perspectives that will really add value to our team,” said Toolbank chairman Andrew Strong.


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A third of Britons open to trying lab-grown meat, and a quarter insects, reveals FSA survey
Thirty-four percent of British people are willing to try lab-grown meat while more than a quarter would try edible insects, a recent survey from the FSA (Food Standards Agency) reveals.
The survey on protein alternatives, which was carried out last December shows plant-based proteins are still the most popular alternative protein. 60% are willing to try it in comparison to a third who would try lab-grown meat and around a quarter who would try edible insects.
Seventy-seven percent said they saw plant-based proteins as safe to consume, while half thought the same for edible insects and only 30% responded this way towards lab-grown meat.
A large portion of Britons know about alternative proteins. 80% said they had heard of edible insects, and 78% said they knew about lab-grown meat. Plant-based proteins were again however the most commonly heard of, with 90% of British people having said they knew the term.
Within the survey, when asked why they would try plant-based proteins, 44% answered that it was because they understood it to be safe to consume. When British consumers were asked why they would try cell-based meat and edible insects, the most common response was that it would be for reasons related to sustainability and the environment.
Despite the overall small number of people willing to try edible insects, two in five respondents who’d taste them, said they would if they were used in foods like burgers and falafels. 60% of Britons said they would not try edible insects whole.
Out of the respondents in the survey who did not want to try any alternative proteins, the majority of them did not want to try lab-grown meat and edible insects as they didn’t find the concept appetising, while those who didn’t want to try plant-based proteins said it was because they thought they’d prefer the taste of animal meat.
If efforts were made to highlight that edible insects and lab-grown meat are safe to eat, this group would be more likely to try alternative proteins, says the survey.
While 42% of this group said they would not be encouraged to try lab grown meat, nearly 30% said they would be tempted if they knew more about its safety.
Nearly 70% in this group said that nothing would encourage them to try edible insects, but 13% would be motivated to try it if they knew more about its safety, and 11% would try it if it was made to look more appetising.


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While it missed having a proper stage presence at this year's E3, Quantum Break looks to follow up its gameplay debut at last year's Gamescom with another showing at this year's Microsoft conference.
That's the suggestion from Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who replied over Twitter in regards to the game's potential presence by stating it was "in Gamescom review today. I'm very happy [we] gave @remedygames the time to get ready for this show."
You can get a reminder of what the team showed in 2014 with the Gamescom reveal plus full demo walkthrough in the videos below. Microsoft's Gamescom conference is scheduled for August 4th.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s no secret that supply chain issues continue to weigh on our everyday lives. We see the effects in rising prices at the grocery store and when we dine out, but one new restaurant in St. Petersburg isn’t fazed because they shop entirely local.
“We locally source everything, and we're free from common allergens so there's not a drop of gluten, soy, inflammatory cow dairy products, no corn, no refined sugars… or oils,” said Debbie DeVico-O’Neil, co-owner and executive chef of “sōl /a st pete bistrō/.”
DeVico-O’Neil and her husband Ron O’Neil used to own a gym in St Petersburg, but due to the pandemic, clientele dropped and they started considering different ways to help the community with health. That’s when they bought the former WEPA Cocina de Puerto Rico on 22nd Avenue.
DeVico-O’Neil had been a holistic and intuitive chef for a decade. She said it was “the answer to what I was praying for... reaching more people getting the word out about fresh, healthy food and how it really heals like inflammation and you can cure all of these things, Candida, headaches... bloating, all of these things by just swapping out the unhealthy ingredients for healthy ingredients.”
The organic, farm-to-table restaurant concept is known to be a little more pricey from the kitchen to the consumer, but as the country continues to struggle through supply chain shortages, chefs like DeVico-O’Neil don’t even bat an eye.
“People all the time… they're like, ‘Oh, well, it's so hard to find food now.’ And I'm like, ‘but it's not for me because I source everything locally,” she explained.
Sol Bistro works with a handful of urban farms and local purveyors from Gainsville to Tampa.
“We guarantee that our stuff’s staying in the community... we're not to the highest bidder to ship it out of state. There's not trucking issues, big supply chain issues. If you want to come get it, just stop on by,” said Travis Malloy, co-owner of Meacham Urban Farm in Downtown Tampa.
It’s a two-acre farm tucked between city apartment buildings and I-275.
“We were brought in and sponsored by the Tampa Housing Authority in conjunction with the Hillsborough County School District to bring affordable organic local produce to the neighborhood and to teach Hillsborough County students about agriculture,” Malloy said.
After just one year, their crops are thriving, but the yield and consistency will take some time.
“We don't spray anything so especially on a new site, you know, there could be an outbreak of a certain insect or a certain pest,” explained Meacham Urban Farm Co-Owner Joe Dalessio. “You deal with a lot more of those issues in the first couple years and then they kind of settle themselves out as the entire ecosystem gets built.”
Other farms like 15th Street Farm in Downtown St. Petersburg have been around for more than a decade.
“There is a lot of vitality in the plants here…and it is entirely due to the microorganisms that we cultivate in the soil,” said Emmanuel Roux, founder of Urban Food Park which owns the farm.
“The biggest handicap for the development of urban agriculture is the public apathy,” he explained, “The changing purchasing habits is a very difficult thing to do.”
Roux has nearly 100 different veggies at his farm and said he not only grows kale but can beat store prices straight from the soil.
“At Publix… the organic kale probably comes from Mexico or California and has been sitting in warehouses and trucks for two weeks,” he said.
The challenge for consumers is creativity and flexibility based on seasonal produce.
Devico-O’Neil’s advice to restaurants is to be serious about shopping local.
“It does cost a little bit more, but when you create a partnership with them as a wholesale account, they do give you discounts as that partnership grows,” she said. “Start creating the relationships so we can build that, you know, local system and tribe of people who all have the same mission.”
To support local, you can simply eat at these restaurants or shop at the urban farms yourself.
Sol bistro is reservation recommended since they are a small restaurant that makes everything from scratch when ordered.
Meacham Urban Farm in Tampa opens a retail shop every Saturday and Sunday. They also bring in local poultry.
15th Street Farms in St Pete is open to the public Wednesdays and Sundays, but it’s best to call ahead, and easiest to order a $25 dollar box that will include whatever is in season.
If you go to a restaurant that claims to use local produce, be sure the ask what dishes on the menu are from a local farm and order those.
Sol also shops with Brick Street Market on 22nd Street in St Pete which is open to the public as well.
Other local farms include:
- TrailBale Farm Temple Terrace (also owned by Travis Malloy)
- Peach Pit Farms & More Lithia
- Greens N Things Urban Farm St Pete
- South Tampa Farm
- Uriah’s Urban Farms Tampa
- Sonnengarten Farm in Clearwater
- A Simpler Place Farm and Market Lithia
- Wingspread Farm Valrico
- Vitality Farms Company Lakeland
- Sweetwater Organic Community Farm Tampa
- Mother Earth's Urban Farm C.S.A. Tampa
- Life Farms Clearwater
- Providence Cattle Co. Volusia County


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ST Microelectronics will be shifting some of its production lines from Malta to Morocco some time next year because production costs are lower there, sources said yesterday.
The company is not planning layoffs but may take measures to reduce overtime, the sources said.
The company has written to the General Workers Union and to Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi explaining that its hourly costs in Malta have risen to $12 per employee when in Singapore this had gone down from $9 to $8.
Contacted yesterday, Andrew Mizzi, the GWU's technology workers' section secretary, said the contents of the letter were “preoccupying” and meetings would be held both with the employees and management.
The collective agreement of ST Microelectronics expires in April, but Mr Mizzi said he did not think that the letter was a stratagem so that the union would not make wage rise claims.
“All industries involved in electronics are facing similar situations,” Mr Mizzi said.
ST Microelectronics embarked on a cost-cutting exercise long ago, but it was felt that this was not enough, sources said.
They said no layoffs were foreseen but people who left the company may not be replaced and overtime would be curtailed. Such measures were also taken in 2001.
The company has already issued a circular to supervisors to be careful in the authorisation of overtime.
The sources said that in terms of production, the volume being produced by the company in Malta was very good, but costs were high.
“Essentially, the company is exporting more for less revenue. The prices of electronic goods has gone down, so has the price of their components and ST's profit margins.”
“But ST in Malta is here to stay. It is only some lower technology production lines that will go. The more complex products will still be made in Malta, but the company is hesitant to put in new lines as sub-contractors in Asia can handle them for much less.
“The company is still investing in test equipment. Some $40 million worth of test equipment is being bought this year alone,” the sources said.
Labour costs are part of the problem, and as margins are getting lower, the automatic increases in pay envisaged in collective agreements do not make much sense,” the sources said.
“The company wants to hold talks with the unions as everyone has to understand that labour in Malta is not cheap. Apart from the wages they receive, employees take an average of 15 days' sick leave, and 25 days' leave in addition to public holidays.
“While labour costs in Malta are estimated at $12 an hour, in Morocco and China labour costs $1.50 an hour. Some production lines from Malaysia will also be transferred to Morocco. There are lots of incentives by governments in Tunisia and Morocco for industry to go there.
“ST already employs 5,000 in the three plants it operates in Morocco,” the sources said.


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HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (BRAIN) — Accell Group N.V. is selling its Hercules bike brand to Germany’s largest retail cooperative, Z.E.G. The acquisition includes transfer of the Hercules brand, corporate premises in Neuhof and working capital to Z.E.G.
The Z.E.G. buying group controls more than $2 billion in purchases and is a powerhouse among German retailers with more than 1,000 members. Z.E.G. has long been closely tied to the Hercules brand as a major customer.
In a statement announcing the sale, Accell said the move will provide more resources for it to invest in its other German brands.
Hercules booked revenue of around 31 million euros and a limited positive operating result in 2013, Accell said.
“The sale of the Hercules brand enables us to increase the focus of our German brand portfolio, consisting of Winora, Ghost and Haibike and to further invest in the distinctiveness of our German brand propositions,” said René Takens, CEO of Accell Group. “The sale of one of our traditional brands, which we have had in our brand portfolio for almost 20 years, was not an easy decision, but I believe that now, more than ever, it is crucial that we make strategic choices and ensure we have a healthy organization fit for the future. We consider Germany as an important market for high-end cycling offering ample growth potential for our group as a whole. It is also a highly competitive market, which requires a strong focus on market positioning or brand and distribution, as well as continued investments in differentiating potential and innovation. Today’s announcement will contribute to that.”
Accell said the sale will result in a profit of 3 million euros for Accell Group, on a consideration of around 20 million euros. The sale is subject to approval and should be completed by the end of February.
Hercules was founded in 1886 and Accell Group acquired the brand in 1995. After several years of organizational changes, a move to Schweinfurt and a repositioning of the brand, Hercules returned to revenue growth in recent years, partly on the back of a strong rise in e-bike sales in Germany, Accell noted. While other Accell Group brands in Germany were recording healthy growth over the last decade, the market positioning of the separate brands gradually became less distinctive.
At the same time, Hercules was booking insufficient growth through the Z.E.G. dealer distribution channel. After a strategic re-evaluation in 2013, Accell Group explored the sale of Hercules and began negotiations with Z.E.G.


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Hexagon, a provider of IT services that drive productivity for geospatial and industrial enterprise applications, has reached an agreement to acquire MSC Software. The acquisition is subject to clearance and standard regulatory filings and is expected to be complete in April.
MSC will continue to run as an independent business unit within Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence (MI) division. The MI division’s main businesses are in the automotive, aerospace, machinery, consumer electronics, and other discrete manufacturing markets, and are increasingly focused on offering end-to-end solutions.
‘Our mission continues to be laser-focused on driving leadership in simulation tools, with solutions from materials to systems,' said Dominic Gallello, president, and CEO of MSC Software. ‘We will continue to work toward delivering breakthrough value to our customers. Although our mission and roadmap does not change, we anticipate that our ability to offer additional process oriented solutions from design to manufacturing will be enhanced by joining forces with Hexagon.’
‘MSC represents a game-changer in our mission to deliver actionable manufacturing intelligence, taking us another step closer to realising our smart connected factory vision in discrete manufacturing industries such as automotive and aerospace,’ said Hexagon president and CEO Ola Rollén. ‘We can now leverage the data our MI division is generating to improve design choices and processes upstream in the workflow. The acquisition will also open up new markets and touchpoints for MSC via our process, power and marine division.’


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The Pixel 3 Lite was rumored to read rumors from time to time, and now it was Google itself who revealed the slimmed-down version of Pixel 3, Pixel 3a. Judging by a new Google store page, the name could possibly be related to a promotional deal with the new Avengers strip Endgame.
And further: the release of the device (or the two devices, if there is also a Pixel 3a XL) is expected to fall on May 7 this year. Earlier rumors and reports that showed the Google Pixel 3a, or a "Pixel 3 lite", spoke of two devices with 5.6 and 6 inches, a 1080p OLED display, the Snapdragon 670 and 12-megapixel cameras. Such a device will certainly be enough for many people, but the price is crucial.


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AR Deadline is Thursday, March 9
AR Deadline for 5% Bonus is
HALLOWEEN IN THE LIBRARY!
The library now has books out for Halloween and they also have a cool haunted house book display! Check out the pictures below.
Banned Books Week
Banned Books week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. The books featured during Banned Books week have all been targeted for removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. Banned Books Week highlights the value of free and open access to information. Teachers and Students visit the library to see some of the books that have been challenged.


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AMD have confirmed something we all knew was coming - Cayman and Antilles GPU's - the 6900 series.
This isn't big news, it's just finally confirmed news from AMD slides.
Cayman Pro being the 6950, Cayman XT will be the 6970 and Antilles (a dual-Cayman-GPU based card) will end up with the 6990 moniker.
- >> NEXT STORY: Opera Mobile 10.1 for Android gets it's public beta on
- << PREVIOUS STORY: NVIDIA GeForce GTX580 review roundup!


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Apple TV Gets Two New Channels Today, Here Are The Details
Rumors have been ongoing for some time, perhaps even years, in the suggestion that Apple would be ditching the little black Apple TV box in favor of something more substantial, like a connected TV. But while certain analysts seem adamant that this will be the case, the time has not yet come, and for the time being, we’re to make do with the device that Steve Jobs once described as “hobby.” Yet, while there hasn’t been much by way of updates in the past couple of years, the short period of time following WWDC has seen quite a bit of new Apple TV content added, and as well as Disney, ESPN and a plethora of others, it looks as though soccer and Disney fans now have something to shout about.
MLS, or Major League Soccer, has, as yet, only been represented on Apple TV via ESPN, but with a new, dedicated channel now created for the Cupertino’s streaming set-top, soccer fans can now get their fill. The new service works in conjunction with MLS Live, which is the subscription service most fans will already be familiar with, but there is plenty of free-to-view content besides.
Also included are are a bunch sub-channels, and you can find all kinds of information relating to your favorite club as well as league standings and upcoming fixtures.
Although we’ve heard nothing to suggest that Apple is now finally going to focus its efforts on a more significant entry to the TV market, this continual signing of new deals with content partners – as we’ve seen a lot over the past few months – may be the company’s way of laying the necessary foundations.
Also, Disney Junior is also making its debut on Apple’s set top box. If you have kids at home, this is something that will likely appeal to them – or you, maybe.
Steve Jobs was once quoted as saying that his company “cracked” the TV market with an as-yet unreleased product, and although today’s Apple is very much led by Tim Cook – an emollient character with his own set of ideas – we’d still like to think that the product line doesn’t begin and end with Apple TV.
Still, if you do own an Apple TV set top box, you can now enjoy your favorite soccer highlights and replays right from the new MLS channel. It’s pretty neat, you should definitely give it a shot.
Thanks to Patrick Schroeder for the hat-tip!
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.


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Commercial Dispute Resolution > 17 US states join FTC in Amazon antitrust lawsuit
17 US states join FTC in Amazon antitrust lawsuit
Claim accuses the retail giant of “exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself”.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with attorneys general from 17 US states, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, one of the world’s largest companies with a September 2023 market value of a whisker under an almost unimaginably huge USD 1.3 trillion. If the company were a country, it would be the 17th largest in the world, with a larger GDP than that of oil-rich Saudi Arabia. The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday (26 September) in a federal court in Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered, accuses the company of harming consumers by stifling competition. This move is part of a larger effort by the FTC to address antitrust concerns related to major tech companies.
The FTC and its state partners allege that Amazon’s actions prevent rivals and sellers from lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, discourage innovation and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon. The claim states that “Amazon’s anti-discounting conduct helps maintain Amazon’s monopolies by stifling competition in relevant markets, denying scale to rivals, harming sellers and depriving shoppers of lower prices.” The federal agency has asked the court to issue a permanent injunction ordering Amazon to stop its unlawful conduct.
The FTC further claims that Amazon had engaged in unfair tactics to “illegally maintain its monopoly power” over the online retail marketplace. For example, the agency is accusing Amazon of punishing sellers who offer lower prices elsewhere, burying them “so far down” the website’s search results “that they become effectively invisible”. The FTC also says that Amazon forces sellers to use its warehouses and delivery services, inflating costs for both consumers and sellers, and at one point in the detailed, 172-page claim, the FTC is claiming that “left unchecked, Amazon will continue its illegal course of conduct to maintain its monopoly power”.
“Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement. “The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them. Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition.”
“We’re bringing this case because Amazon’s illegal conduct has stifled competition across a huge swath of the online economy. Amazon is a monopolist that uses its power to hike prices on American shoppers and charge sky-high fees on hundreds of thousands of online sellers,” said John Newman, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Seldom in the history of US antitrust law has one case had the potential to do so much good for so many people.”
London-born FTC Chair Khan is something of a bête noir for Amazon. While at Yale, she published a paper entitled Amazon's Antitrust Paradox, writing: “With its missionary zeal for consumers, Amazon has marched toward monopoly by singing the tune of contemporary antitrust.” Her article went on to claim that Amazon “has evaded government scrutiny in part through fervently devoting its business strategy and rhetoric to reducing prices for consumers.” In June this year she filed a lawsuit on behalf of the FTC accusing the company of unlawfully enticing consumers to subscribe to its Prime service and making it unacceptably difficult to cancel their subscriptions.
There is a good chance that Amazon will file a formal objection to Khan’s participation in the case. In June 2021 the retailer filed a petition requesting Khan's recusal from all matters related to Amazon because of her previous work while at an antitrust advocacy group, her previous public statements and her work for a congressional subcommittee. In that filing, the company wrote: “Given her long track record of detailed pronouncements about Amazon, and her repeated proclamations that Amazon has violated the antitrust laws, a reasonable observer would conclude that she no longer can consider the company's antitrust defences with an open mind. Indeed, doing so would require her to repudiate the years of writings and statements that are at the foundation of her professional career.”
In response to these allegations, Amazon said the FTC is “wrong on the facts and the law”. It also accused the federal agency of overreach, saying that instead of fostering competition, the FTC was stifling it. “The practices the FTC is challenging have helped to spur competition and innovation across the retail industry and have produced greater selection, lower prices and faster delivery speeds for Amazon customers,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon’s general counsel, in a statement.
In a lengthy blog post published on its corporate website, Amazon noted that it had 500,000 independent sellers on the platform: “If the FTC gets its way, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers, and reduced options for small businesses – the opposite of what antitrust law is designed to do.”
Newman filed the lawsuit on behalf of the FTC alongside the attorneys general of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
Photo: Andrew Stickelman.
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This week’s Industry Current is written by Bernays ‘Buz’ Barclay, New York-based managing partner of law firm Rimon P.C. and senior adviser to boutique investment bank Marathon Capital.
The year 1994 was tumultuous for the U.S. power industry. Irrepressible forces of emerging competition were challenging utilities, new “non-utility generators”, regulators and legislators in ways that no one had anticipated, let alone experienced. There would be winners and losers. There was name-calling previously unheard in public forums of corporate conversation. Utility bankers were squirming to recover from their institutions’ recent balance sheet catharses, and the managing directors captaining the investment banks were coiling with long-repressed venom to deploy the capital markets to disintermediate the commercial bankers for a $20 billion annual prize. It was frankly exciting to be part of the struggle, especially for lawyers and financiers. But from that cauldron of commerce, one event that seemed very small at the time, has recently been bubbling up in my memory.
That was the year in which I chaired the second annual Power Industry Forum. That unusual conference series brought together ceos and other senior executives from across the nation’s traditional electric utility industry and the rapidly-coalescing independent power industry, to identify and argue about strategic issues they were all facing. The 1994 edition was when I first heard a presentation by a gentleman with a Ph.D. and a great smile, whom no one seemed to know, unless they happened to be from Palo Alto, which is greater now than it was then. He rose to the podium and spoke passionately, a clarion’s message that employed an unfamiliar term. He said “The Internet changes everything—everything!” He said it quite a few times. Most of the ceos in the audience listened politely, as I recall. They may have been grateful for what seemed an amusing break from the blood sport of berating each other’s business models and prospects before the regulatory officials and lenders in attendance. In any event I think it fair to say that they, (and to be fair, I), lacked any meaningful grasp of what the Internet would soon mean to our businesses, let alone our lives.
CAZELET'S 'KILLER APP'
Only 24 months later, in 1996, that same perspicacious and visionary entrepreneur Dr. Edward G. Cazalet founded Automated Power Exchange (APX). APX applied the Internet and a new business model to instantly squeeze huge costs out of buying and selling electricity, while for the first time making hour-ahead markets possible. He had not only foreseen, but brought to life, the 'next big thing'. It was the Internet’s first 'killer app' for the business of power.
Two decades after the startup of APX, 50 global thought leaders will assemble this month to identify and argue about the issues surrounding another new thing with the potential to transform the business and prospects of the power industry: the technology known as blockchain. On Sept. 13-14 in New York, the Blockchain World Congress will present an agenda focused on “use case” presentations. There are a lot of blockchain conferences around the world these days. Notably, this will be one of the first such conferences in the U.S. to devote attention to the potential application of blockchain technologies to energy and power.
WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN?
Very much simplified, in its most widely-recognized application, blockchain technology is the distributed ledger underpinning for such digital value exchange propositions as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto-currencies. Deloitte has called it the “internet of value”. Developers worldwide are working to make it even more. Wall Street, the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms, IBM and other global consultants are investing and preparing their clients in the financial, insurance, and other transactive industries for the coming of structures, products and 'smart contracts' that will change not only the way they do business with each other, but the ways in which they are governed and regulated. Delaware is already taking a leadership role in amending its Corporations Code to accommodate blockchain business models, and New York is licensing crypto-currency exchanges.
The first area of interest among the financials has been the application of blockchain to settlement and payment transactions. Over 40 major banks are devoting significant time and resources, working together to develop and perfect settlements and payments through private and public blockchain platforms. They are not alone. Insurers, commodity suppliers and traders, very high net worth individuals, governments, and others with global footprints are looking for ways to transact through new protocols that offer trust-less transactions, lower cost, and locked-in accountability. Let us ask: if your bankers and accountants are doing it, why don’t you know about it?
Importantly for the power industry in the U.S., one of the most obvious early applications for financial application of the blockchain is expected to be in facilitating financial hedging transactions. Reduced availability of financial and commodity hedges has become a significant impediment to the financeability of merchant generation. If blockchain protocols could help open that door to alternative and strategic investors around the world, the impact could be very important to U.S. developers.
'BLOCKCHAIN CHANGES EVERYTHING'
Ironically, Wall Street heavyweight Blythe Masters, whose financial engineering led the development of the credit-default swap product, recently said that “the blockchain changes everything”. And Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreeson has opined that the “blockchain is the most important invention since the Internet”. At least for those whose fortunes are invested in the power industries, I believe Dr. Cazalet would, with a smile, advise us to pay close attention. There are more than a few similarities between the financial and transactional worlds that blockchain entrepreneurs are currently addressing, and those of the electricity business of 1994. With the strength of an idea whose time has come, who is to say how soon transformation may find us? The first blockchain “killer app” for power may not yet have been discovered, but be assured that there is a headlong effort underway to find it.
Applying a powerful new set of blockchain-based tools to the power grid and the businesses around it is bound to have exciting results. Even beyond the purely financial opportunities blockchain may offer, there are venture-backed entrepreneurs, young geniuses in Palo Alto and literally everywhere else, as well as the global accounting and consulting service providers to our industry, who are already thinking about the application of blockchain and its formative elements to greatly enhance the value of innovations we already have available. I personally like to imagine (and have had the pleasure of discussing with some young geniuses on both coasts) that it could be used to decimate transmission and distribution losses, harden the grid against cyber-attacks and multiply the value of distributed storage and electric vehicles, microgrids, demand response, smart meters and energy management. It could conceivably change how we balance and hedge intermittent renewable generation. It could help monetize valuable energy management in ways that would make retail customers want to stay hooked to the grid rather than leave it, and it could bring whole new business models to retail competition. And ceos across the grid dealing with aging employment rolls would agree that whatever has the potential to invigorate our great industry with youthful energy and ideas is worth serious consideration and probably investment, from every quarter. Blockchain certainly has that potential.
It has been fun and gratifying to scale this new information curve since my two technical power entrepreneur sons first hooked me on blockchain during a fishing trip a year ago. It is time for more of us to become conversant with it. Admittedly the potential of blockchain has not yet materialized into something from which our industry can finance, make money, and improve lives. Things move quickly, however. You may be a little late, but you are not behind. Yet.
For more information on the Infocast Blockchain World Congress, visit http://infocastinc.com/event/blockchain-world-congress.


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The company said it expected client revenues for April and May to be similar to 2009, despite the short-term closures of the European airspace due to volcanic ash.
“While the pace and level of economic recovery remains unclear, the positive momentum we are seeing is encouraging and, for the full year, we expect to deliver further progress,” chief executive David Radcliffe said.
For the year to 31 March, the company said its pre-tax profit before items rose to £28.4m from £24.7m last year.
Revenue fell seven per cent to £326.8m as client travel spend declined 12 per cent during the year. The company maintained its full-year dividend at 1.2p.
Rival Holidaybreak had already reported a narrower first-half loss.


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Oh boy! Animal rights activists clashed with fashionistas at Michael Kors’ talk at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Activists stormed the event on Wednesday night to protest Kors’ use of fur.
According to WWD, around twenty protestors rushed the stage at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium.
While Kors was being interviewed by fashion correspondent Alina Cho, a group of protestors jumped on the stage from the audience and started to yell.
The group of individuals held up signs and chanted repetitious rhymes while apparently bothering Kors, Cho, and the staff at the Met.
However, Kors handled the situation extremely well.
The fashion juggernaut sat in his chair and looked merely, amused.
From the video posted by TMZ.com, it appears they began the interruption with a full recording of a squealing pig, possibly to compare the rituals of the fashion company to the terror experienced by the animals.
Kors seemed entirely aloof when he uttered a tired-sounding, “Ok.”
A man yelled during the event, “Michael Kors is responsible for the deaths of countless innocent animals! Taken for their fur, for their skins, in the name of fashion.”
The protestors screamed at Michael, “you should be ashamed of yourself,” while the security attempted the move people out of the room.
Not long after, the protestors began a chant screaming, “animal fur is not fashion. Where the hell is your compassion?”
One of the activists appeared to be getting very confrontational while getting close to Michael’s face, nevertheless, the fashion designer remained calm and said, “get away from me.”
After more protestors had moved really close to Alina and Michael, the two hosts got up from the stage so the activists could be rounded up by security. Shortly after, Alina asked, “why can’t they just do it outside?” Michael, on the other hand, seemed to respect the group’s protest.


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</h2>In an attempt to understand the functioning of Human Brain, President Obama will unveil a $100 million initiative named as BRAIN (Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) on Tuesday. This project will help to find new ways to prevent many mental disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy.<h2>
President Obama promised included BRAIN project in his State of the Union address in February.
The project is “a bold new research effort to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and advance the President’s vision for creating jobs and building a thriving middle class by investing in research and development,” said a White House statement.
“Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy — every dollar.If we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in the best ideas” Obama said on Feb. 12. “Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer’s.”
The National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation will work on this project.
Facebook is launching its own phone on Thursday (April4,2013). Compnay has organized an event called “Come See Our New Home on Android ” at Menlo Park HQ in California.It is rumored that Facebook is launching the phone with HTC.
Regarding the features of the phone there are many speculations. According to The Guardian Facebook Phone will be similar to a black iPhone but with a bigger 4.3 inch display. There will be a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.6 megapixel front facing camera for video calls, and a 16 gigabytes of storage.
Information from various sources is indicating that this phone will promote Facebook services like Instagram ,Instant messaging tool, photography tool and Home screen that will showcase the owner’s feed. So we can say this phone is going to be a ‘Facebook powered phone’ that will promote Facebook on mobile . 680 million people access Facebook on mobiles.So Facebook can not ignore mobile arena.
As reported earlier at DimensionToday Facebook want’s to tap the potential of mobile arena and this is the reason why facebook is leaving no stone unturned to promote facebook on mobile. Facebook is just making itself more mobile friendly. This move by facebook can be seen as ‘Facebook hardware integration’ that will make facebook more user friendly on mobile.
Facebook owner Zuckerberg said in January 2013 “You have a good version of all the Facebook features you know and want on your phone. So now the next thing we’re going to do is get really good at building new mobile-first experiences. That’s going to be a big theme for us this year.”
HTC is the obvious choice for Facebook as HTC provided ‘Facebook’ button in HTC ChaCha and Salsa phone to access facebook directly.
Scientists at the University of Georgia have achieved a breakthrough that can transform the carbon dioxide useful industrial products. Scientists have created a microorganism that can convert carbon dioxide into biofuel.
This microorganism plays the role of the plant.Functions performed by a plant in photosynthesis process will be played by the microbe known as Pyrococcus furiosus. Pyrococcus furiosus is found in super-heated ocean waters near geothermal vents.Scientists manipulated the genetical material of microbe .
This unique microbe known as Pyrococcus furiosus, or “rushing fireball can be used to fight Global warming and pollution control as Carbon dioxide is a major cause of global warming.
This discovery can pave the way to create biofuels directly from the carbon dioxide in the air.
Michael Adams, member of UGA’s Bioenergy Systems Research Institute, explained the mechanism “Basically, what we have done is create a microorganism that does with carbon dioxide exactly what plants do-absorb it and generate something useful”
“Basically, what we have done is create a microorganism that does with carbon dioxide exactly what plants do-absorb it and generate something useful,” said Michael Adams, member of UGA’s Bioenergy Systems Research Institute, Georgia Power professor of biotechnology and Distinguished Research Professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
“What this discovery means is that we can remove plants as the middleman .We can take carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and turn it into useful products like fuels and chemicals without having to go through the inefficient process of growing plants and extracting sugars from biomass.”
This discovery can produce fuels and solves the problem of global warming. This microbe can be used to fight Global warming and climate change and pollution control.
Summary of News : Amazon.com ‘s acquisition of Goodreads will help Amazon to expand its ebook empire.
This deal will be a catalyst for online reading and digital publishing as Goodreads now have adequate resources to expand itself.
This deal will give an advantage to Amazon’s ebook reader Kindle.Kindle will have access to 16 million members of good reads.
Amazon.com has acquired Goodreads, a site for voracious readers having 16 million members and 530 million books.
Amazon Vice President, Kindle Content has confirmed this. “Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading. Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world.
In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike”
Good reads was started by Otis Chandler and Elizabeth in 2007.Goodreads is world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations.Goodreads has 16 million members and 530 million books.
Goodreads CEO and co-founder Otis Chandler has said in a statement “Books – and the stories and ideas captured inside them – are part of our social fabric.People love to talk about ideas and share their passion for the stories they read. I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to partner with Amazon and Kindle.
We’re now going to be able to move faster in bringing the Goodreads experience to millions of readers around the world.
We’re looking forward to inspiring greater literary discussion and helping more readers find great books, whether they read in print or digitally.”
This deal is going to strengthen Amazon’s ebook reader Kindle as with this acquitions amazon will get access to 16 million book loving users and 30,000 books club from good reads.
Good reads and Amzon has not disclosed how much amount has been paid to good reads and what are the terms of this deal.
Condom is the most widely used method of contraception and can prevent pregnancy and STDs, including HIV/ AIDS.But there are many drawbacks associated with condoms that discourage to use condoms like decreased pleasure, problems with erection, embarrassment and mistrust and Latex allergy.
Due to these drawbacks they are not fulfilling their objective.There is a need to reinvent them. ‘Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’ will help to reinvent condoms.
Anyone who will give a genuine idea to reinvent “the next generation of condom.” will be given USD $100,000 by Microsoft Cofounder Bill Gates’ foundation ‘Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’.
Depending on the potential of the project this grant can be increased up to USD$1 million.
Winners will be chosen by The Gates foundation and an independent group of reviewers.
This grant is being offered through ‘Grand Challenges in Global Health Program’. Grand Challenges in Global Health Program’ initiative was started in year 2008 and till now funded more than 800 grants in 52 countries.
According to Bill and Melinda gates foundation “To overcome persistent health and development problems, we need new, game-changing ideas. Inspiration can come from anywhere and we are hopeful that this new round of Grand Challenges Explorations will uncover innovative approaches to improve lives around the world.”
Proposals are being accepted at www.grandchallenges.org through May 7, 2013.
The current rate of global production is 15 billion units/year. Approximately 750 million users use condoms.So Condom market is a growing market.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation describes Next Generation Condom further
“We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use. Additional concepts that might increase uptake include attributes that increase ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for example better packaging or designs that are easier to properly apply. In addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired. Proposals must (i) have a testable hypothesis, (ii) include an associated plan for how the idea would be tested or validated, and (iii) yield interpretable and unambiguous data in Phase I, in order to be considered for Phase II funding. ”
Recent advancements in mobile arena have created a lot of opportunities. Android is the example how Google created its places in this realm. No one wants to be left behind in mobile arena. Like erstwhile browser war, Operating system war now many similar wars can be seen in Mobile arena like Apple-Samsung war.
Google and Microsoft cold war is also given rise to a new trend in Mobile domain.
Social Media King Facebook is also aware of this and making efforts in this direction desperately. Mobile is so important for Facebook future strategy that recently Facebook’s turns offs its website internally so that Facebook’s employee can use it on mobile.
Basic intention is surely to test Facebook on mobile from layman user’s perspective.This has been revealed by Facebook product manager Josh Williams at SXSW.
Surely Mobile war is going to shape up Social Media also. Keeping Face book’s proximity with Microsoft is going to make this war exciting. Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, Mobile photo sharing site is also a move in this direction.
Tip: URL to open Facebook on mobile is m.facebook.com. You can login face book using this URL.


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|Dear Credit Insurance Colleague
Welcome to issue 11 of Credit Insurance News Digest: 4 -18 October.
This issue is kindly sponsored by UK Export Finance.
If you are reading this Credit Insurance News Digest, but have yet to sign-up for regular copies, please add your name to my list of subscribers. You can sign-up to this service using this online form or simply send me an email.
Credit Insurance News
Berne Union reports that credit insurers support the real economy. The latest results from the Berne Union show that in the first half of 2012, members of the Berne Union indemnified US$ 2 billion to exporters, protecting them from losses suffered due to buyer defaults in all regions of the world. For insurance of trade transactions with payment terms of typically 30 to 90 days, members increased levels of support in the first half of 2012, maintaining a level matching the pre-crisis levels. Credit insurance capacity remains steady at just over US$ 900 billion at the end of the first half 2012, a level similar to pre-crisis. To view the Berne Union's press release go to http://www.berneunion.org/press-releases.html.
The official launch of Euler Hermes XoL (EH XoL) is due to take place on October 25. The core product is Excess of Loss with non cancellable Credit and Country Limits, Group Buyer Limits and high Discretionary Limits. As well as servicing clients who require an XoL solution, the City based team will also focus on Captive solutions, Policies in support of client’s ﬁnancing and Trade Credit based Single Risks. Where there is a need for capacity to be secured across multiple insurers, EH XoL will be able to syndicate on portfolios. Nicolas Delzant CEO World Agency comments: “The launch of XoL is Euler Hermes’ response to a growing demand from larger companies to see their investment in Credit Management truly rewarded.” For more information, contact Alexia.Parmentier@eulerhermes.com.
CIFS purchased by Nexus. Nexus Underwriting Management Limited has announced the purchase of the Trade Credit Insurance Division (CIFS) from Novae Syndicates Limited. Nexus will form a new Managing General Agency which will continue to trade under the CIFS name, with underwriting capacity provided by Novae Syndicate 2007 and other Lloyd's Syndicates. CIFS will continue to be led by Bob Lilley, Sue Morley and Neil Payton. Nexus Group CEO, Colin Thompson, commented "CIFS has been established for well over a decade and is a highly regarded franchise that fits our Group model of underwriting profitable specialty classes." Nexus is a private equity backed MGA underwriting Specialty classes of business. On a pro forma basis, the Group manages in excess of US$100 million of Gross Written Premium through its operating subsidiaries and has quickly established itself as a leading Specialty MGA. For more information go to http://creditindemnity.com/cifs-news/all/cifs-moves-to-nexus.
Equinox Global increases available capacity by more than 30%. Equinox Global, the Lloyd’s coverholder specialising in trade credit, has announced that it has increased its available capacity to underwrite by more than 30%. Equinox Global’s carrier panel comprises of Lloyd’s syndicates Aspen, Beazley and Pembroke each providing $12 million, $13 million and $5 million capacity respectively, giving Equinox Global the delegated capacity to underwrite $30 million per buyer - with greater capacity possible by special acceptance. Mike Holley, Chief Executive Officer of Equinox Global commented: “Businesses need trade credit insurance that they can rely on and that they can be confident will always be able to support them."
Euler Hermes launches a multi-channel campaign to warn SMEs of the hidden threat of bad debt. Features Exec Media Database has published an article, 'One secures Euler Hermes account,' (5 October) which advises that Euler Hermes UK has appointed One Marketing Communications to work on its marketing strategy, starting with a multi-channel campaign warning the SME market of the hidden threat of bad credit. One will also be promoting broker services, customer loyalty and retention. To view the article on Features Exec Media Database go to http://www.featuresexec.com/bulletin/news_article.php?id=17948#.UHfvyFGafC4.
Northern companies remain more vulnerable to failure, according to Euler Hermes. Business Money News has published an article, 'Northern firms bearing brunt of corporate insolvencies,' (October 12) which advises that firms in the north of England are still more likely to fail than their southern counterparts. According to a report from Euler Hermes, no fewer than eight of the top 10 hot spots for insolvency are in the north of the country, with the top spot occupied by Darlington which has an insolvency rate (year-to-date) of 1.68% – almost double the rate of its nearest competitor, Manchester (0.87%). To view the full article on Business Money News' website go to http://businessmoneynews.net/index.asp?ItemID=1831&rcid=75&pcid=69&cid=75.
Atradius discusses how businesses can take advantage of burgeoning export opportunities. Insider News has published an article, 'Business Matters: Exporting our way to economic excellence,' (4 October) in which Marc Jones, head of sales at Atradius UK & Ireland, discusses how credit insurers' knowledge helps businesses trade with confidence on an international stage and to overcome some of their biggest hurdles. He concludes that it’s time for businesses 'to get some support in identifying the right risks, grasp the nettle and to go for it.' To view the article on Insider News' website go to http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/national/78027-business-matters-exporting-our-way-economic-excellence/index.html.
Atradius advises that few Irish businesses seem to be really exploiting some of the export support available to them. Business & Leadership has published an article, 'Managed credit – your secret export weapon,' (11 October) in which Stuart Ramsden, country manager, Atradius Ireland, explains the importance of managing credit risks when doing business abroad. Mr Ramsden also advises that fewer than a quarter of Irish businesses make use of trade credit insurance, and examines what makes it so vital for Irish exporters. To view the full article on Business & Leadership's website go to http://www.businessandleadership.com/exporting/item/37613-top250exp/.
Coface has announced that it is extending its offering in Western and Central Africa to companies in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal. In Ivory Coast and Senegal, Coface has concluded a technical partnership agreement with Axa, which will give companies in these two countries access to Coface’s credit insurance services, analysis of country, sector and credit risks, as well as protection from the risk of financial default of their clients. In Ghana, Coface opened its 9th branch in the region and has signed a technical partnership agreement with Activa International Assurances Ghana, a member of the ‘Globus’ network of African insurers. To view the news release on Coface's website go to http://www.coface.com/CofacePortal/COM_en_EN/pages/home/Who_we_are/News?news=121009en.
Aon Trade Credit stresses that having the necessary intelligence and local knowledge is crucial when assessing overseas trade risks. Insider News North East has published an article, 'Talking Point: Exposure to risks abroad threatens balance sheets at home,' (4 October) in which Charles Arbuthnott, branch director of Aon Trade Credit in Glasgow discusses overseas trade credit risks. Mr Arbuthnott stresses that by outsourcing their risk assessment companies can obtain the necessary intelligence and local knowledge to lessen their company’s exposure to risk wherever it is trading, as well as ensure that Trade Credit agreements are robust. To view the article on Insider News' website go to http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/north-east/77998-talking-point-exposure-risks-abroad-threatens-balance-sheets-home/index.html.
QBE announces partnership with the Institute of Risk Management. QBE has announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) involving sponsorship of the Risk Leaders Conference, Professional Development Forum and Special Interest Groups. David Draper, Director of Client Management at QBE, said: "The scope and diversity within the IRM allows us the opportunity to engage with company directors and business leaders across all sectors. We hope that this will enable us to develop a greater understanding of emerging issues that differing types of businesses are facing and where our experience and insight might be able to help and add further value." To view QBE's press release go to http://www.qbeeurope.com/news/2012-archive.asp.
Coface warns that South African construction faces an uphill battle. BDLive has published an article, 'Construction faces ‘uphill battle’ next year on 7% costs rise,' (4 October), which reports that Coface estimates that South African construction costs will rise 7% next year, which means the industry will need to grow above this figure to show any improvement. However, Coface feels that this is unlikely, and that the sector faces an uphill battle. To view the full article on BDLive's website go to http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/industrials/2012/10/04/construction-faces-uphill-battle-next-year-on-7-costs-rise.
EFCIS acquires niche commercial credit management consultancy business Demergo. Credit insurance broker EFCIS has announced that it has acquired commercial credit management consultancy business Demergo. The acquisition follows the successful launch of the AccountSure credit management product as a joint venture between the two companies in 2011. Demergo will re-brand as EFCIS Credit Management and provide non-regulated services to EFCIS clients in the UK and 29 other countries via the International Credit Brokers' Alliance (ICBA).
Oval has launched a new website. To view, go to http://www.theovalgroup.com/.
New Reports and Video Clips
A.M. Best advises that the trade credit insurance industry is stabilising. A.M. Best Co.’s latest video episode of 'First Monday' features a section in which Carlos Wong-Fupuy, senior director of analytics for A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Ltd, examines stabilising conditions in the trade credit insurance industry and advises that the industry is now rebounding moderately . To view the clip, go to http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=fmwongfupuy1012.
Coface reports that German companies are more resistant than French ones, but for how long? Coface has published its latest Panorama Autumn 2012, 'France-Germany: comparative analysis of company insolvencies.' The report advises that the rate of insolvencies for French companies is nearly twice as high as that of German ones, and that German companies show strong resilience thanks to their robust financial health. However, the cost of insolvencies is higher in Germany than in France. To view Coface's press release go to http://www.coface.com/CofacePortal/COM_en_EN/pages/home/Who_we_are/News?news=121011.
Ducroire|Delcredere reports that Turkey's economic indicators show a much sounder picture now than they did only a decade ago. Ducroire|Delcredere has published its latest, 'Country Risk Assessment – Turkey,' which advises that over the past decade, the Turkish economy has undergone an important transformation. To view the assessment or its executive summary, or see at-a-glance facts and figures, pros and cons etc., go to http://www.ducroiredelcredere.co.uk/WebDucDel/Website.nsf/HomePageEn%28Visitor%29?OpenForm.
Dan North of Euler Hermes ACI advises that U.S. job creation needs to double. A video clip in which Euler Hermes ACI's chief economist, Dan North, discusses the U.S. September jobs preview and the unemployment rate on Yahoo Finance's 'Breakout' is now available to view on Euler Hermes ACI's website - http://www.eulerhermes.us/en/economists-corner/economists-corner.html.
Additional recommended reports:
Hiscox report on entrepreneurs in 2012 finds that they may be losing sleep, but not hope. A report published by Hiscox, 'The 2012 DNA of an entrepreneur survey,' paints a revealing portrait of 3000 SMEs in the UK, the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain as they cope with another year of economic crisis. The report found that 48% of respondents were optimistic about the year ahead for their business, while 27% were pessimistic and 26% were not sure. The Spanish (28%) had the lowest optimism, and the Dutch (61%) the highest. In addition, in five out of six countries respondents reported an increase in new customers, and 45% of SMEs overall reported profit growth over the last 12 months. For more information and to download a copy of the report go to http://www.hiscox.co.uk/press-room/features/hiscox-dna-of-an-entrepreneur/.
London takes top accolade in annual global PwC study of major finance capitals. London has climbed four places from sixth last year to rank top in a virtual tie with New York in the fifth edition of 'Cities of Opportunity,' a major global study released by PwC. The annual report, which analyses of the development of 27 global cities, finds that London finishes in a virtual tie for first place overall this year, one point behind New York, and ahead of Toronto, Paris, and Stockholm. Overall, the British capital ranks in the top ten in all but two indicators; it also finishes in the top five in over a third of the variables and in the top ten in nearly two-thirds, ranking first in an impressive six variables. For further information and to download a copy of the report go to http://www.pwc.co.uk/economic-services/publications/cities-of-opportunity-2012-london.jhtml.
BDO reports £10 billion growth across the UK's Central South's top 150 companies. BDO have published a new report, 'The Central South Report,' which advises that the UK's Central South's top 150 companies have increased revenues to £75 billion - a £10 billion jump from £64.2 billion last year. However, profits across the top 150 have dipped slightly to £3.8 billion from £4.1 billion, proving that margins are still being squeezed across the board. To download the report from BDO's website go to http://www.bdo.uk.com/press/10bn-growth-across-central. A link to the full report is given at the end of the press release.
IMF reports that the global economy has deteriorated over the last quarter. The IMF has published its latest 2012 World Economic Outlook (WEO), 'Coping with High Debt and Sluggish Growth,' which assesses the prospects for the global recovery in light of such risks as the ongoing euro area crisis and the 'fiscal cliff' facing U.S. policymakers. The report also advises that amidst a deteriorating global economy both the UK and US are "notable" disappointments. The full report can be downloaded from the IMF's website at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/02/index.htm. A webcast of the IMF's press conference at the launch of the WEO is also available to view from this webage.
Economic growth in the UK remains weak. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has published a new 'Quarterly Economic Survey,' which shows that economic growth in the UK remains weak, with the Q3 results slightly worse than the previous quarter. While the report does not agree with the ONS’ gloomy estimation that the UK was in technical recession for three consecutive quarters, it does find that the economy is stagnant. To download a copy from the BCC's website go to http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/policy-maker/policy-reports-and-publications/quarterly-economic-survey-q3-2012.html.
Deloitte reports that 90% of CFOs in the UK rate the economic uncertainties facing their business as being above normal. The latest 'Deloitte CFO Survey: 2012 Q3,' results have now been published. Although the report shows a rebound in confidence after record Q2 decline, it also cautions that finance chiefs see a 43% probability of the UK recession continuing or recurring within the next two years. In addition, 27% of CFOs expect one or more countries to leave the euro within next 12 months. To download a copy of the report go to http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/research-and-intelligence/deloitte-research-uk/the-deloitte-cfo-survey/index.htm
Business Development Director to join a team of 5. As a result of growth, a leading Insurance Broker with interests throughout the world is looking for a Business Development Director to join a team of 5 across the UK. This international role will cover London and the South East, dealing with FTSE 500 clients headquartered in London as well as some local business. With an annual target of £150k (average brokerage ~£25k) you will be expected to develop business both using extensive leads from the large multinational and your own business development. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in winning Trade Credit Insurance business in a large multinational broker working with FTSE 500 clients, and a team player. In return, the successful candidate will have a £45-55k basic salary with commission of 10% on sales, company car and a 12.5% non contributory pension. If you think you are appropriate, please forward your CV to firstname.lastname@example.org
. Please quote Credit Insurance News Digest if applying.
During July, the Digest noted that the UK construction industry was experiencing a confluence of issues - a waning pipeline resulting from cancelled construction projects, decreasing profit margins and lengthening payment periods – which painted a bleak short-term outlook for the industry. This prompted some of the heads of the country's biggest building groups to join together to publish an open letter in The Daily Telegraph on 11 July, which called on the Government to use the construction industry to stimulate the economy. In tandem, a campaign, 'Creating Britain's Future,' was launched to promote the industry and a short video produced (see YouTube http://youtu.be/EIjY3pFd8l4). Days later, the Government unveiled initiatives, including its 'UK Guarantees' scheme – a plan to use the strength of the UK's public-sector balance sheet to accelerate major infrastructure projects that have stalled, with up to £40 billion to be unlocked to benefit nationally-significant projects. An additional one-year temporary lending programme worth £6 billion, designed for smaller public-private infrastructure projects that might otherwise get delayed, as well as £5 billion long-term support for British exporters were also announced.
Now, just three months later, it is still too early to say whether the initiatives announced in July are likely to have a significant positive impact in 2013 and beyond, although there is a good deal of industry skepticism that enough has yet been done. For example, the Infrastructure Alliance is currently promoting an action plan to boost Britain’s infrastructure sector* advising, in the words of Nick Baveystock, Director General of the Institution of Civil Engineers that some 'big, bold and brave steps'** need to be taken by the Government. That said, some positive news emerged recently with the announcement that Crossrail’s £1 billion rolling stock was confirmed as the first scheme to receive support through the UK Guarantees initiative - with £240 million against private investment promised. The Thames Tideway tunnel has also been tipped as a likely recipient in the near future, with more deals reputedly in the pipeline.
However, despite these isolated instances of good news, the evidence that the industry as a whole is more in the doldrums than ever is incontrovertible; with some information sources having recently reported their worst industry statistics since the height of the recession and all commentators and reports/surveys, somewhat rarely, in agreement with each other about the current state of the sector. As we now head into the Winter months, when construction activity tends to slowdown, the outlook for the next few months is especially depressed.
Some current hard data from various sources is given below:
* The Infrastructure Alliance brings together four major industry groups: Association for Consultancy and Engineering, Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Construction Products Association, Institution of Civil Engineers. The Alliance’s report. entitled, 'Avoiding the Infrastructure Crunch: Getting Britain working,' has called for immediate action to stimulate ‘shovel-ready’ maintenance and minor works.
** As quoted in New Civil Engineer, 'Engineers urge action after MPs cast doubts on infrastructure delivery,' (3 October).
Contractions to construction activity. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently reported that UK activity was 11.6% lower in August 2012 compared with the same month a year ago; when comparing the quarter from June to August 2012 with the same quarter in 2011, the volume of construction output had decreased by 11.9%.
In September Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index posted a mark of 49.5, which - for the second month running - was below the 50.0 score that separates growth from contraction. This was the first back-to-back sub-50 reading since the start of 2010, and significantly lower than the Index’s long-run series average of 54.2.
Reduced profitability. According to Glenigan, median profitability in the construction industry has fallen to 2.7% - in contrast to the 5% recorded in 2011 and 9.9% recorded in 2009 - the lowest level since the survey began. Anecdotal evidence, published in Construction Enquirer, also suggests that as many as 90% of contractors are facing competitors prepared to bid below cost to secure business.
The public industry sector suffering the most. Glenigan noted that the trend of recent years for private sector work to buoy up the waning public sector does not seem to be the case at the moment. According to the ONS, the public sector was the worst affected: the volume of new public housing work decreased by 20.%, new infrastructure decreased by 18.4% and new public non-housing (excluding infrastructure) decreased by 21.9%.
Poor results for SMEs across all sectors. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB), 'State of Trade Survey,' which looks at construction SMEs, reveals that workloads in the SME construction sector have declined across all sectors. 39% of respondents to the FMB survey reported a decline in private new house building workloads in the third quarter of the year, and 40% predict a further decline in the last three months of this year.
A poor outlook for the Industry until 2014. According to the Construction Products Association (CPA), 'Construction Industry Forecasts,' construction output is forecast to fall by 6.3% this year and a further 1.4% in 2013, before a return to growth in 2014. This is a reduction of almost £8.5 billion of construction activity over two years. Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI also advised that confidence in the business outlook was much lower than at any time prior to mid-2008.
An industry suffering from high comparative levels of insolvency. Although recent research from PricewaterhouseCoopers indicates that the number of construction companies becoming insolvent has dropped from 749 in Q1 201 to 656 in Q2 and 631 in Q3, construction remains ones of the sectors hardest hit by insolvencies. More than 6,000 construction companies have now failed during the last two years.
Glenigan Constructing Insight - report 9 October 2012, 'Construction KPI Report 2012.'
Glenigan Constructing Insight - report 15 October 2012, 'Glenigan Index, October 2012.'
Construction Products Association – report 15 October 2012, 'Contraction Increases for Construction Output - Forecasts Autumn 2012.'
Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI, news release 2 October 2012.
ONS - news release 12 October 2012, 'Output in the Construction Industry - August 2012.'
Federation of Master Builders - news release 15 October 2012, 'House Building Slump Continues, warns Federation of Master Builders.'
Construction Enquirer - article 16 October, 'Nearly 90% of contractors hit by suicide bids.'
Who's UP/Who's DOWN
UP: Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Aldi marketshares. According to latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel, Waitrose achieved its highest ever marketshare of 4.7% in the 12 weeks ended September 30th 2012. In the three months to 2 October, Sainsbury's also boosted its share of the market from 16.2% for the equivalent period last year to 16.5%. Although not yet in the premier league of UK supermarkets. Aldi also continued its successful run - achieving its highest ever marketshare at 2.9%.
UP: Bellway, the house builder, has announced that for the 12 months to July 31, its total group turnover was £1,004.2 million - compared to £886.1 million in 2011 - and its pre-tax profit was up 57% to £105.3 million. These impressive results were driven by the increasing proportion of completions from sites the company had purchased cheaply during the recession, as well as a 6.3% increase in the price of the average house sold - now £186,648.
UP: Asda has announced a pre-tax profit of £506.9 million, compared to £491.8 million last year - despite making a substantial loss following its acquisition of Netto stores (store refurbishment programme and Netto's operating loss of £31.4 million). In the 12 months to the end of December 2011, operating profit increased by 9.2% to £463.3 million, while sales grew 5.5% to £21.7 billion. Like-for-like sales were up 0.5%.
UP: Ted Baker has announced a 10.4% increase to £9.4 million in its pre-tax profits for the first half year. Total revenues rose by 15.4% to £118.6 million: UK and European retail sales increased by 7.9% to £74.7 million, U.S. retail sales grew by 53.3% to £15.8 million, rest of the world sales increased by 58.1% to £2.8 million.
UP: Halfords has reported that its like-for-like cycling sales increased by 14.7% in the three months ending September 28th 2012 - at least in part due to the successes of Bradley Wiggins and the British cycling team in th Tour de France and Olympics. Halfords Autocentres also recorded a 19.9% increase in total sales, while online sales grew by 30% over the period. Halfords now anticipates group profit before tax of between £40 million and £42 million for the first half.
UP: Samsung Electronics has reported that its operating profits rose by 90% to £4.5 billion in the last quarter, primarily as the result of strong sales of Galaxy smartphones. However, most analysts now expect Samsung's run of four straight record quarters to end in the next quarter due to a combination of one-off expenses and a likely pay-out to Apple of more than US$1 billion for patent infringements - currently being appealed.
UP: JP Morgan Chase & Co has announced record quarterly profits - up 34% from a year earlier. Low interest rates and a recovering housing market in the U.S., helped mortgage lending increase by 36% to U.S.$1.8 billion. Wells Fargo & Co. also reported a 22% in third quarter profit due to a more than 50% increase to U.S.$2.8 billion in mortgage banking revenue.
DOWN: Recruitment firm Michael Page International has warned that its full-year operating profits will miss expectations and has reported an 11.3% decline to £126.5 million for its pre-tax profits in the three months to mid-September compared to a year earlier. The firm saw the biggest fall in profits in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which represents nearly 40% of the company's profits.
DOWN: After struggling for many years and agreeing a CVA in April 2011, Uniglaze has called in administrators KPMG to try to sell it as going concern - although KPMG has described the chance of a potential buyer coming forward as 'remote'. The company has a turnover of about £21 million
DOWN: United Carpets has just undergone a pre-pack, in which its trading arm was placed briefly in administration before, shortly afterwards, buying the subsidiary back out of administration. This controversial move has allowed the company to renege on its former rental agreements and seek better terms, as well as divest itself of debts connected to the subsidiary. Similarly, after recently putting a subsidiary with 83 sites into administration, Optical Express has attracted some fierce criticism by controversially taking the step of buying back around half the practices.
Global companies issuing profit warnings in the last week include: engineering firm GKN, industrial group Morgan Crucible company, telecom equipment maker ZTE, personal finance website operator Bankrate Inc, Nokian Tyres, own-brand cleaning products Manufacturer McBride, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), logistics firm Panalpina, technology distributor Avnet, Oil and gas giant Chevron Corp.
About this issue's sponsor: UK Export Finance
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On June 18, 2021, i.e. today, Realme broadcasted the 27th edition of #AskMadhav, in which Realme Vice President & CEO Madhav Sheth made a few major announcements. He announced that Realme GT 5G will be available in India before Diwali. The Realme GT 5G was released internationally earlier this week, and the phone’s debut in India had already been confirmed.
During the global introduction of the Realme GT, Realme had showcased its future laptop, the Realme Book. The firm will also be releasing its first batch of laptops in India before the end of the year. In addition, the firm plans to release a beard trimmer in the country next month.
The Realme GT made its worldwide premiere in Europe earlier this week. At present, it is the brand’s flagship device. In some regions, the Realme GT is the most inexpensive Qualcomm Snapdragon 888-powered smartphone. A 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate is included in the smartphone.
In terms of optics, this Chinese smart device has a 64-megapixel triple-camera system with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2-megapixel macro lens. The gadget features a 4,500mAh battery that supports 65W rapid charging.
Although the Realme GT 5G India debut has been anticipated for a long time, unfortunately, the Realme GT release date is still unknown. Presumably, the release date of the Realme GT India will be announced in the upcoming months.
There have been rumors about Narzo changing its identity, but Realme CEO Madhav Sheth denied it, by giving a statement:
“As of now, No. We won’t announce Narzo as an independent brand just for marketing gimmicks. Narzo will continue to make performance-centric devices for young players under Realme. We are in no rush to make a brand without proper infrastructure to support it.”Madhav Sheth, CEO Realme


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PETALING JAYA, 1 September 2020 – Dutch Lady, the No.1 dairy brand in Malaysia has refreshed its entire range of Dutch Lady Liquid Milk and Family Milk Powder with a brand new look and improved recipe. Remaining true to the brand’s firm commitment of continuously innovating to offer more variety of dairy products for our consumers, the new range lines up nutritious products packed with protein, vitamins and even more calcium for their consumers to enjoy and drink at any occasion.
Dutch Lady, being a household dairy brand, has been serving Malaysians delicious and nutritious milk since 1963. Over the years, the Dutch Lady brand has continued to evolve to meet consumers’ needs and has never compromised on its quality. With the refreshed range, the products will now include an improved recipe packed with protein to support body growth and development plus muscle, calcium to build stronger bones and essential nutrients and vitamins such as A, B2 and D3 which are vital in keeping our bodies strong and resilient.
The new improved recipe meets the Malaysia Healthier Choice criteria for the dairy category. Part of Dutch Lady’s continuous commitment to constantly innovate products in line with the Government’s efforts to address the rising issue of non-communicable diseases in Malaysia. The Malaysia Healthier Choice Logo will be incorporated onto aXll Dutch Lady Liquid Milk and Family Milk Powder products in helping consumers make informed product choices within the same category when making purchasing decisions.
“Our Dutch Lady liquid milk has always been a firm favourite among our Malaysian consumers and we’re so excited to share our latest new look and improved recipe here first. As part of our 140-year Dutch dairy heritage it is our mission to continue serving our consumers with high quality milk with nutritious dairy goodness to keep Malaysians healthy and resilient especially during these difficult times,” said Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad Managing Director, Tarang Gupta.
Aside from introducing our new milk formulation, Dutch Lady will be reinforcing its commitment to sustainability, with its new packaging made from recyclable materials that are entirely sourced from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified forests and other controlled sources – this allows each Dutch Lady pack to be recycled.
As part of Dutch Lady’s commitment to lead in sustainability, the new packaging will feature instructive steps on how to recycle each pack and further educate and increase consumer awareness. This is to drive the practice of recycling among Malaysian consumers. The new pack will also feature a QR code printed on each pack to provide consumers with useful information on recycling centers and steps on how to recycle at the respective centers when scanned.
“Dutch Lady has always acknowledged the importance of protecting our environment. This dates back to as early as 1871 when our farmers joined forces to create a community dedicated to sustainable farming in order to produce a better quality dairy product while preserving our natural resources. We hope to continue our journey towards sustainability while empowering our consumers to participate in these efforts towards a greener future,” Tarang concluded.
With greater nutritional formulation, a renewed commitment to supporting governmental health efforts and sustainability initiatives, Dutch Lady nourishes consumers and strengthens the community around them. From August, the new and improved Dutch Lady milk products will be available in all major hypermarkets and supermarkets, and also e-commerce platforms.
For more information on the refreshed products, log on to Dutch Lady’s Instagram and Facebook pages at https://www.instagram.com/dutchladymy and https://www.facebook.com/dutchladymalaysia respectively or visit the website at www.dutchlady.com.my.
Download the complete press kit here!


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EA has released an infographic detailing achievements earned in 2013 for its Origin platform.
According to the announcement a total of 1.3 billion game sessions were logged, adding up to 61 billion minutes of playtime. As far as game achievements are concerned, players unlocked 158,952,020 achievements last year and logged 299,446,345 chat sessions in total. EA also revealed that players logged into Origin 726,858,789 times during 2013.
By summer of 2013 Origin had amassed more than 50 million registered members, including 22 million on mobile platforms. EA though did not reveal the final figure by the end of the year.
In comparison Valve announced this week that Steam added 10 million members in just the past three months bringing their total player-base to over 75 million users.
Steam though has a head start on Origin by eight years. From that perspective EA’s online platform is doing really good.
However, considering the recent online issues that have plagued their titles and services, one has to wonder whether this will only get worse as the Origin platform gets more populated.


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The new site of the leather and bags store Ambrosetti of Varese, launched a few days ago, is a project that promotes the image of the store, with a total redesign of the brand, and integrates new e-commerce features.
The portal was created in WordPress, with the implementation of the WooCommerce module for online sales management.
WooCommerce has a very simple and intuitive user interface, to insert product data sheets, manage prices and special promotions.
The payment system has been linked to Paypal, which allows usage of the most common credit cards, in addition to providing payment on delivery and bank transfer.
Less than a week after its launch, some of the products have already sold out!
A great result due to a good SEO work which has raised visibility of the website on search engines and thus the accessibility by potential new clients.


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Sales of SAFCOIN, an exclusive African cryptocurrency, opened this month, giving South Africans an opportunity to invest in tokens before the rest of the world.
During the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), 500 000 SAFCOIN tokens will be made available to investors with a valid South African bank account, for just R70 per token.
In October, the remaining 5 million crypto coins will be listed for sale on local and international cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as on an exclusive SAFCOIN exchange, when the price of the coins is expected to increase. At the same time, all valid tokens will be converted into tradeable coins.
Neil Ferreira, director and co-founder at blockchain company FHM, says SAFCOIN aims to make cryptocurrency investment easy and understandable for average South Africans, from the curious dabbler to the serious investor.
“We want to make cryptocurrency trading as accessible as possible, to as many Africans as possible,” says Ferreira. “So it was crucial that our platform was easy to use, secure, and that the tokens were affordable. For the price of a takeaway meal, South Africans can be part of the growing cryptocurrency movement.”
You can become a cryptocurrency investor in under 10 minutes. Here’s how:
- Visit https://safcoin.co.za
- Register for free as a new user.
- Select ‘Buy Tokens Now’.
- Read through and accept the terms & conditions.
- Select the number of tokens you’d like to buy, at R70 each.
- Choose a verification method – email or text message – and enter the one-time password that will be sent to you.
- Pay quickly and securely with i-Pay and confirm the transaction on your phone.
- That’s it. You’re officially a cryptocurrency investor!
Referral programme: Tell others, get free tokens
You will be issued with a unique referral code, which can be found in your profile section on the SAFCOIN site. Send this code to friends and family and earn 5% commission on their token purchases. For every 20 tokens sold using your referral code, you’ll earn one token.
Buying tokens through the SAFCOIN website is 100% secure, with all instant EFT transactions facilitated by online payment processor, i-Pay. i-Pay is trusted by merchants and buyers to facilitate instant payment on all smartphone and desktop devices, using a simple three-step payment process.
You will be required to enter your Internet banking details and confirm all transactions on your phone. For your peace of mind, when you get to payment stage, check that the URL is green, that it is preceded by ‘https://’ and that there is a padlock in the browser bar, to indicate that you are transacting on a secure site.
Cryptocurrency for Africans, by Africans
“Africa has typically been left behind in most cryptocurrency rushes and currencies like Bitcoin are now unaffordable for a lot of people. By investing in SAFCOIN during the ICO phase, investors can secure their coins at a lower price, with the potential to grow their investment over time. However, as with any investment, there is a risk attached and we advise investors to never invest more than they can afford to lose,” says Ferreira.
Cryptocurrency works on the supply-and-demand principle: the more people that invest and the higher the demand for the currency, the higher the price will be. An ICO is essentially a crowdfunding initiative for a new currency that allows early investors to purchase tokens at a rate that will likely be lower than the initial listing price, depending on demand generated.
When Bitcoin launched in 2010, one Bitcoin was worth $0.003. At its peak, Bitcoin surged to $17,900 in December 2017 before dropping to $6 200 in February this year.
Despite the market volatility, Ferreira says cryptocurrency is here to stay, as a store of wealth and as a revolutionary payment processing system with the ability to facilitate easy, affordable cross-border payments.
* FHM (Pty) Ltd is a registered member of the World Blockchain Association.


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Cape Town, South Africa – August 2022 – The new 2022/23 Vodacom Bulls Home and Alternative kit celebrates a decade of PUMA x Vodacom Bulls with a modernised version of the Smash kit from 10 years ago.
The Home jersey is in sky-blue, while the Alternative kit marks the return of the provocative but top-selling pink jersey which debuted in February 2012. The Bulls and sponsors logos are monochrome to add to the unique look and feel of the Alternative jersey.
“The Smash 2.0 kit design honours our history together – 10 years of breaking the rules and breaking new ground. While reminding us all to keep smashing into the future,” said Brett Bellinger, Marketing Director of PUMA South Africa.
“Our kit designs began with the Smash and Die Blou Masjien has since gone into battle in camo, starred in Taurus, and proudly worn the pink. We are confident the new jersey will inspire the players and fans to always give it horns whether at away games or home at Fortress Loftus.”
The campaign video for the new kit highlights PUMA Vodacom Bulls jersey designs from the past 10 years and celebrates Bulls fans, players and that very traditional Loftus experience – boerie rolls!
In-store from 15 September the new 2022/23 Vodacom Bulls Home and Alternative Replica kit will be available from PUMA.com, PUMA Retail stores, Totalsports, The Cross Trainer, Sportsmans Warehouse, JB Active and selected retailers at a recommended retail price of R899 (men), R799 (women) and R799 (kid sizes).
Vodacom Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone said: “It is not often that two world-class brands are able to celebrate and commemorate such a milestone as a decade of partnership. The Vodacom Bulls are certainly proud to be associated with a leading brand such as PUMA, who have provided some of the best kits in rugby over the past 10 years.
“We are most excited and proud of the new Home and Alternative kit we have produced to mark this significant milestone. We would like to thank PUMA for the decade long partnership, and we look forward to many more years together.”