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20,000-pound towing capacity, 15-min full charge, 0-60 in 5 seconds.
After working with Coritech Services on a bi-directional DC fast charging solution, Boulder Electric Vehicle says it's now the first-ever electric truckmaker to successfully implement Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging. The two companies displayed an electric flatbed utility truck equipped with a Tesla-sized 72-kWh lithium battery pack and a Coritech 60-kW DC Jon LeSage
Plug-in electric vehicles haven't been selling at the high rates hoped for in the past two years as the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and other competitive models made their way to dealer lots. President Obama's lofty goal of one million electric vehicles sold in the US by 2015 appears to be un
As the global economy takes steps toward recovery, truck manufacturers are looking to technologies that can mitigate the rising cost of diesel fuel. Trucks that utilize electricity to meet this goal come in four flavors: hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid, pure battery electric, and plug-in electric power take-off to operate on-board equipment without using fuel.
A recent study conducted by Pike Research found that hybrid powertrains will find a home in some 300,000 medium- (MD) and heavy-duty (HD) trucks and buses by 2015. The study also finds that while North America currently leads the world in usage of hybrid trucks, Asia is expected to take the lead as early as next year and will probably never look back. Here are some of the study's highlights (some very specific):
In addition to the planned Alias from ZAP, the electric vehicle company reportedly wants to branch into the electric pickup truck market as well. According to the latest in a long line of press releases from ZAP, the company has completed the engineering stage of a project to develop a four-wheel electric pickup. The company claims it plans to build the new EV right here in the United
Way back in January, rumors began swirling regarding a potential tie-up between Chrysler's GEM and India's Tata Motors. The rumored love-child was an electric version of the delivery truck known in India as the Tata Ace. Now, we have a potential price for the unit, and it sounds almost too good to be true. According to Jeremy Korzeniewski
The Royal Mail, Britain's post office has ordered a pair of electric vans from Smith Electric Vehicles for testing purposes. They will be receiving one Edison, which is based on the Ford Transit van, and a 7.5 tonne Newton, which is a larger cab-over truck. Both trucks use the Zebra sodium nickel chloride batteries and have a rated range of 150 and 130 miles respectively. The Royal Mail currently has over 33,000 c


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Why You Need Eclipse Glasses Even If You're Not In The Path Of Totality
Unless you’ve been completely off the radar over the last week, you’ve probably heard that a total solar eclipse is occurring on Monday, August 21 — the first of its kind to cross the U.S. in almost 40 years. As the date approaches, people around the country are flocking to stores to buy special eclipse glasses in order to safely watch the sun be obscured by the moon. But do you need these glasses, even if you’re not in the eclipse’s path of totality? The answer is yes, and here’s why.
While only a select few cities will be in the cross-section of the continent known as the “path of totality," you don’t necessarily have to live in one of them to see the eclipse. An estimated 390 million people in cities all over the nation will have some view of the solar event, either in partial or total form — meaning you definitely have a chance to see it.
But even if you live in a city outside of the path of totality, that doesn’t mean you get to skip wearing the special glasses. Staring straight into the sun without any protective gear could do major damage to your eyes and potentially cause permanent damage to your vision. So while you may be hard pressed to find eclipse glasses right now (they’ve already sold out in many retailers around the country), that’s absolutely no excuse for not protecting your eyes during the solar eclipse.
If you’re lucky enough to find a pair of eclipse glasses in the remaining hours until the eclipse, make sure they been verified as safe or properly certified.
If you didn’t plan ahead and aren’t among the fortunate ones to snag a pair of glasses, there are plenty of other ways to watch the eclipse safely. Avoid the risk of looking directly at the sun altogether by making your own pinhole projector. You can use either a piece of paper or a cereal or pizza box (as seen below).
Happy viewing, everybody!

domain: news


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For Week Ending March 11, 2017
In the last three months, the Federal Reserve has now twice increased its benchmark interest rate a quarter point. The good news is that this was an expected move due to strong confidence in the economy. Mortgage rates will likely increase as well. That said, homes are still selling quickly, and there is little indication that the trend will slow down in the spring and summer months.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending March 11:
- New Listings decreased 3.3% to 1,740
- Pending Sales decreased 11.1% to 1,102
- Inventory decreased 24.8% to 9,290
For the month of February:
- Median Sales Price increased 7.7% to $223,250
- Days on Market decreased 14.6% to 82
- Percent of Original List Price Received increased 1.4% to 96.5%
- Months Supply of Inventory decreased 28.0% to 1.8
All comparisons are to 2016
Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From The Skinny Blog.


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The Attention Council, which promotes measuring consumer attention to better align all stakeholders in media and advertising, has added new member, including: Dentsu Aegis, Havas and Horizon Media along with AB InBev, British Gas, Electrolux, Moet Hennessy and Reckitt Benckiser.
Media performance metrics, as well as the effectiveness of digital media, is increasingly being called into question, giving a bigger runway for adoption of the attention economy.
The Attention Council (TAC) is chaired by Professor Karen Nelson-Field, CEO of Amplified Intelligence, and Adelaide CEO Marc Guldimann, with support from founding members TVision’s Yan Liu, Avocet’s Ezra Pierce, and Lumen’s Mike Follett.
"At Dentsu, we believe it is critical to properly measure attention to understand the value of platforms relative to their impact. Therefore, we are seeking to create a consistent and standard value system for comparing media across all channels to drive more effectiveness for our clients," said Clive Record, head of global partnerships at Dentsu, adding that he’s encouraged to see momentum in attention metrics.
Record said: "I think part of the reason why we’ve reached this tipping point is because many have realized that being able to effectively measure the quality of what we’re planning and buying will help benefit all parts of the media ecosystem – from platforms, to agencies, and brands. Because ultimately we all want and value the same thing, which is a genuine opportunity to communicate with a consumer."
According to Neala Brown, global head of mx measurement at Havas Media Group, the network is joining TAC because it wants to understand the most "meaningful media" across channels, moments and brands that drive consumers to act.
"In addition to the measurement use case, we’re also looking to understand how attention can play a role in our planning process and help us make better decisions about how to invest. Is there a way to leverage the data to forecast against attention? We’d love to be in a position to do this," she said.
Havas, Brown said, first became intrigued with the attention economy because of the possibility of having its own in-market metric that it could use to optimize media confidently.
According to new TAC survey data, 45 percent of respondents from the media and ad tech industry are currently using attention metrics to evaluate media.
The research also revealed that 97 percent of media and ad tech industry respondents consider now, or would consider in the future, using attention metrics to guide media buying decisions, while 73 percent said within the next two years they think attention metrics will be a primary KPI for media
When asked if attention metrics will augment, replace - or neither augment or replace - existing metrics as primary KPIs, more than eight in 10 (82 percent) respondents said attention metrics would augment primary KPIs.


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COP26 is coming, with world leaders convening in Scotland to discuss the threat of the worsening climate crisis. The UN Climate Change conference is likely to bring more power to the net-zero movement, aiming for the global economy to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But what changes can sustainable technology bring to this mission?
While regulations can work, a recent GlobalData report on climate change argues that non-governmental organisations and the private sector are stepping in where Big Government is currently failing, launching decarbonisation initiatives that are “driving down GHG emissions in virtually every industry and region of the globe.”
Hundreds of companies have already made commitments to reach net-zero by 2050, while more than a hundred have gone even further by committing to a 2040 target.
GlobalData also notes sustainable technology can play a role in effective corporate governance.
“Modern business would not survive without software … that provides visibility and control over corporate operations,” researchers state in a report on ESG governance factors. “Governance is no different. Governance software can facilitate [ESG goals].”
Verdict therefore has reached out to the technology community to find ways in which tech like blockchain, machine learning and augmented reality (AR) can help the world turn greener by 2050 or earlier. It may not be sustainable technology that is on the COP26 agenda yet, but even so it may bring about disruption in the shorter term rather than longer.
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Blockchain in your beans
The technology of blockchains commonly involves the use of public key encryption and hashing, cryptographic tools which prevent third parties from viewing or tampering with private data.
Blockchain implementations such as bitcoin use a digital ledger of transactions that is decentralised. This means that no central authority or intermediary, like a government or bank, is required to validate a transaction.
One company exploring blockchain in the sustainable technology space is London creative tech studio Rehab. As its product strategist Takunda Chikuku tells Verdict, with consumers starting to care more and more about sustainable development and demanding transparency and accountability in the production of their goods, blockchain technology will “step in and really make a difference.”
“Imagine a farmer making a living producing cocoa beans, they are the first link in the global supply chain that ends in large corporations and affluent consumers but they are rarely compensated according to the value produced,” explains Chikuku.
“Usually, the end consumer has no idea where their purchased goods came from and how they were sourced beyond the Fairtrade sign, and country of origin companies are not incentivized to showcase the value produced at the beginning of the supply chain.
“The farmer must accept the first price offered by local wholesalers. With more transparency across the entire supply chain, farmers could receive fairer prices that can sustain the livelihoods of their families, creating social mobility.”
In Rehab’s vision, when a farmer goes to sell their harvest, the location, quantity and price paid can all be added into the database. This allows what Chikuku calls “an incorruptible view” into the supply chain with consumers able to see the origin and value exchange at each stage. This data can be then used to compel retailers, processors and wholesalers to compensate farmers fairly.
“Furthermore, they can specifically demand and track the environmental impact of their food supply at each stage by inputting this data on the blockchain. This level of transparency can be used to effect real change and accountability to every stakeholder in the supply chain.”
While startups like Bext360 and SkuChain are already building the technology to make this blockchain use a reality, some bigger names are already playing in this field.
“IBM is working on a similar effort,” Chikuku explains. “Founding the IBM Food Trust they entered into a partnership with Walmart to use blockchain for tracing fresh produce and other food products.
“Speaking of Walmart, they conducted a field experiment to locate the source of its mangoes. It took them a week without blockchain but with it, they found the farm in Mexico in several seconds.”
Where the customer comes in is at the end of the chain, with a surprising use of another budding technology theme: AR.
“AR unlocks a richer picture into the production of consumer packaged goods with users being able to see that data visualised beyond numbers, right down to multimedia of the exact farming region producing this batch of cocoa beans.
“This could be implemented through the retailer’s shopping app, or at a brand or industry body level with QR codes leading to progressive web app experiences.
“On a retailer or industry standard level using computer vision we could enable the shopper to scan the entire aisle using their phone’s camera and see which is the most sustainable, giving them another dimension to make purchase decisions beyond price or brand.”
Chikuku believes some “data design magic” from Rehab can put into tangible context the impact and value produced by the item customers are considering purchasing which can “drive powerful shifts in consumer choices”.
“We all know how many zeroes are in a million pounds but seeing it visually stacked quickly unlocks a whole new understanding and juxtaposing the value received and environmental impact of each stakeholder, consumers can make informed purchasing decisions on the spot not influenced by advertising but cold hard data.”
Sustainable technology such as this could make a real difference. But Chikuku is unsure how much of a talking point blockchain will be at COP26.
“Although one of the COP26 sustainability governing principles is to promote responsible use of resources throughout the supply chain, I’m not sure enough knowledge about blockchain solutions is evidenced in COP26 for them to be a talking point on the agenda.
“Perhaps blockchain solutions might get a chance to shine in the ‘Science & Innovation’ section of the programme, where the aim is to demonstrate that science and innovation can deliver climate solutions to meet, and accelerate, increased ambition.
“Regardless, with the blockchain moving to ‘proof of stake’, so drastically reducing its voracity for energy, the possibilities viable blockchain solutions unlock are undeniable and should be firmly on the radar of COP26 attendees.”
Sustainable technology in 2150
If blockchain startups are to thrive they will require capital injection. Enter the London, Copenhagen and Berlin based venture capital firm 2150, seeking to invest in sustainable technology companies which can decarbonise our cities and towns.
According to founder Christian Hernandez Gallardo, 2150 looks to back technologies that solve the big problems of the urban environment, from the materials we use to how we heat and cool our buildings, to how we stay healthy and secure.
“Specifically, we want to identify sectors and technologies that can not only be commercially lucrative, but also have a measurable sustainable impact. Having launched our fund formally earlier this year, we are looking to back ‘Gigacorns’, namely companies whose technologies can impact global CO2 emissions by 1 gigaton of CO2 per year while being commercially viable.
“One of the biggest problems in the urban environment is our global addiction to cement and concrete which generate 8% of global CO2 emissions. Our analysis of the problem and technologies that could mitigate this led to our investment into CarbonCure Technologies in 2020. As part of our investment we are actively supporting CarbonCure to expand into the UK, to help reduce the CO2 footprint of many large infrastructure and construction projects across the country.”
Being based in both the EU and UK, 2150 is in a good position to compare how each is working to encourage sustainable technology. Gallardo points to the EU’s Sustainable Development Goals framework as a “powerful way” that the EU helps to drive sustainable technology activity in the EU. But that doesn’t mean the UK doesn’t have a strong showing in 2150’s portfolio.
“With half of our team based in the UK, we have connected with many great startups coming out of London and beyond. Our investment this year into London-based Nodes and Links, a company which applies machine learning to complex infrastructure projects, is a strong bellwether for our faith in the UK market for sustainable technologies.
“As part of our efforts to engage with the wider sustainability tech landscape in the UK we have also become a member of COP26’s Tech for Our Planet scheme, a collaborative initiative instigated by the Cabinet Office to explore and showcase how digital and data solutions can make a major and essential contribution to the global climate effort.
“There’s no doubt that we foresee a bright future for the UK when it comes to establishing and growing the future of sustainable technologies,” believes Gallardo.
Automation in green bonds
As consumer appetite for sustainable financing grows, so does corporate appetite. The green bond market is set to be worth more than $2 trillion by 2023, earmarking bonds specifically for projects related to clean water, clean air, renewable energy and other environmental objectives.
But the complexity that financial institutions face when embracing green bonds is often underestimated by business leaders. From a tech perspective alone, going green can require customised loan calculations, multiple funding sources, automating complex lending processes and extensive management throughout the life of the loan.
To tackle this problem, Dutch fintech Ohpen is working to enable an ecosystem of tech partners with the expertise needed to help brands navigate the green landscape.
Ohpen was recently chosen as the banking technology partner for the Netherlands’ Nationaal Warmtefonds, a government agency providing financing so that households and institutions can transition their energy sources.
The partnership will see Ohpen facilitate all sustainable products for the next 10 years and is a European first in terms of allowing consumers to simultaneously generate an estimate, apply and activate a loan 100% online with speed.
Speaking to Jan Lamber Voortman, managing director of lending at Ohpen, and Harry de Roo, board member at Nationaal Warmtefonds, Verdict learned how automation is being used to detangle complexities.
“Once a loan request is created, the origination process starts in the background to automatically enrich the dossier with relevant data from multiple trusted sources as input for the automated assessment,” they explain.
“(An) automated conditional approval will result in a loan proposal, including a list of proofing documents that applicants have to share to prove their stated information.
“From there it is up to the customers to start collecting and uploading their proofing documents… Once these proofing documents are uploaded the system will automatically start processing the final assessment based on the input from the trusted sources in combination with the data from the proofing documents.”
Compared to regular loans and mortgages, the products from Nationaal Warmtefonds in question have specific features to accommodate sustainable living, including a sustainability depot for disbursements to the constructors who implement the sustainability facilities.
Also included is a ‘Distribution Agreement Service’ which enables the energy agency to accommodate special rates and discounts on interest for specific partners and funders like municipalities and districts.
Vortman and de Roo think the automated push in making houses more sustainable could go down well at COP26, whilst believing their current work is just the tip of the iceberg.
“In the current situation the initiative to make existing houses more sustainable, especially older houses, is left to the owner and this sponsored sustainable loan is the only stimulus to consider such investments.
“There is a wide range of possible activities to make houses more sustainable and there are many different contractors (of different quality) to perform these activities, with varying results. Quality assurance and standardisation could be improved and enforced as part of the origination process of such a loan.
“The current ‘make your own house sustainable’ activities, with and without sponsored sustainability loans, are just a drop on a hot plate. To meet the global climate goals, activities must increase and accelerate.”
The same can be said about all initiatives aiming to help the world meet net-zero, but perhaps sustainable technologies might make COP26’s grand plans a reality.


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Wayfair Execs to Demo Latest AR/VR Advances at HFN’s Omnichannel Summit
May 25, 2017,
NEW YORK—Wayfair’s augmented and virtual reality experts Mike Festa and Shrenik Sadalgi will headline HFN’s Total Home Omnichnannel Summit with a presentation on the latest advancements in the technologies and how they will revolutionize the consumers’ shopping experience.
Mike Festa, left, and Shrenik Sadalgi
Following the demo presentation, Festa and Sadalgi will participate in a panel discussion among retailers currently using AR/VR to discuss its real world applications.
“Wayfair is a pioneer in this space and we are honored to have them speaking at our summit,” said Maureen Azzato, publisher and editorial director of HFN. “I recently saw a demo of the advances they’ve made in AR/VR and I was blown away by how far Wayfair has come in its development since the last demo I saw a year ago. The technology is evolving at breakneck pace and has great retail potential for both online and off-line applications in physical stores.”
Festa joined the company in 2015 as director of Wayfair Next, the company’s research and development team that is focused on bringing millions of products into the third dimension for use in photo-realistic renderings, virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. Prior to that he was a software engineer for Wayfair. Sadalgi is mixed reality applications lead for Wayfair Next, a position he has held for the past year and a half. Prior to that he was a senior software engineer for the company.
Wayfair was the first to launch a virtual reality app in the home furnishings industry last summer for outdoor furniture. Then in November 2016 the company debuted IdeaSpace, its second virtual reality application for designing spaces with furniture and décor, on Daydream, Google’s mobile virtual reality platform. A month later it launched View in Room, a mobile app feature that places 2-D product images in any room through the camera of iPhones and Android devices so shoppers can see how Wayfair furniture and décor will look in their own homes.
Most recently, leveraging artificial intelligence and other cutting edge technology, Wayfair unveiled visual search that helps shoppers find and purchase furnishings by matching pictures of products they like with items from Wayfair’s inventory.
For these presentations and more, save the date for HFN’s second annual Total Home Omnichannel Summit Nov. 1-3 at the Marriott in Delray Beach, Fla.
For registration and information contact Heather Thompson, senior conferences and events manager at 336-605-1061 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
For sponsorship information contact John Huff at 630-394-4670 or jhuff@HFNdigital.com.
Other Articles By Author
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COVER STORY: Sharpening the Focus on Millennials
Find out what makes Millennials tick when it comes to home decorating, shopping and at-home entertaining with HFN's annual consumer study. Turns out, Millennials favor the in-store shopping experience.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Power of the People - Crowdfunding campaigns provide needed capital, feedback for home and housewares product launches.
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Naples, FL (May 21, 2021) – Buyers eager for more home choices were treated to an increase in new listings during April. According to the April 2021 Market Report, released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), there were 1,460 new listings added to the pool of homes for sale in Naples during April. This was a 106.2 percent increase in new listings compared to new listings added during April 2020. However, and as broker analysts reviewing the report were quick to point out, evaluating market conditions using month-over-month market data will not produce equitable comparisons for the next few months because the real estate industry, like virtually all businesses, experienced reduced productivity levels as a result of mandatory COVID-19 restrictions.
Since January, the Naples area housing market has enjoyed a 14.3 percent increase in new listings compared to new listings during the same time period in 2020. “Some buyers who haven’t found their ideal home yet might think, ‘There’s nothing left to see,’” said Brenda Fioretti, Broker Associate at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, “but new listings are hitting the market everyday so they shouldn’t give up searching for a home.”
Fioretti, along with several brokers who review NABOR®’s monthly Market Report, say buyers are best served in today’s low inventory market environment when they work closely with a REALTOR®. These professionals are trained to help buyers navigate the Naples area housing market using real-time technology that alerts them immediately when new homes that meet their clients’ needs become available.
Buyer demand in April took another bite on our inventory. April had 2,037 pending sales (homes under contract) and 1,882 closed sales, which resulted in 1,432 homes remaining in inventory by the end of the month. Not surprising, and because of increased demand for the Naples lifestyle, the 8-month supply of homes in April 2020 was reduced to a 1.1-month supply of homes at the end of April 2021. This substantial loss of inventory is attributed to post-pandemic relocation buying behaviors, a new reality in many Florida communities.
The median closed price in April increased 30.9 percent to $445,000 from $340,000 in April 2020. But according to Spencer Haynes, Vice President of Business Development and Broker with John R. Wood Properties, “Pricing is not an issue with most buyers. What we are dealing with today is a market of real end-users, not investors or ‘speculative flippers’ like what we saw in 2005/2006. People are not willing to buy anything just to get into a home right now. They have cash and are willing to wait until the right home becomes available.”
“The market is responding exactly as it should,” said Adam Vellano, a Naples Sales Manager at Compass Florida. “The number of new listings is going up and they are selling fast because demand is simply outpacing the inventory replenishment. The rise in homeowners’ equity during this hot market means everyone who bought a home in the last five or six years is in a good position to make a profit if they choose to sell now.”
The NABOR® April 2021 Market Reports provide comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings:
Historically, new construction sales accounted for 25 percent of all home sales in Naples. But raw material shortages are forcing many local builders to require escalation clauses or press pause on future sales as it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to determine market prices a year from now.
While overall closed sales continued to climb across all neighborhoods in Naples during April, according to Phil Wood, President & CEO of John R. Wood Properties, closed sales in the $1 million and $2 million and above price categories outperformed all other lower priced home categories tracked by NABOR®. “Traditionally, our seven-figure sales begin to level off after Easter. But today they remain strong. Whether it’s a single-family home over $1 million or a condominium over $2 million, the luxury market is still very much on fire.”
To view the entire report, visit www.NaplesArea.com


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Crystal Galbraith sucks on a device that resembles a bulky pen, blowing out smoke-like clouds of vapor behind a counter.
Inside the new electronic cigarette store on Foothill Boulevard that the 30-year-old co-owns, “vaping” is a regular activity for both employees and customers.
Galbraith, along with her father, Romie Galbraith, opened Crystal Vapor one month ago and said sales have been good. A typical starter kit that includes the device with a battery, atomizer, and juice runs for around $65 with tax. Customers can also buy parts for their existing device in an array of colors and sizes.
Crystal Galbraith, an environmental activist who was on the Animal Planet reality show “Whale Wars,” said she is passionate about helping people quit smoking or find a healthier alternative.
“I am really in this to help people,” she said. “I want to save people’s lives.”
An e-cigarette uses a battery and an atomizer to turn a liquid blend of nicotine, vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol and artificial or natural flavors into a vapor. Juices are sold with various levels of nicotine, and some contain none.
Flavors range from strawberry lemonade to butterscotch. The store also sells special blends such as Crystalosophy, named after the co-owner, which is a top seller.
The Galbraiths said they wanted the store to feel different from other e-cigarette stores in the region. They commissioned a graffiti artist to paint a large, psychedelic mural on the back wall and decorated the space with clear bar stools and red couches. A vending machine in the store allows customers to pick up refill juice on the go. Dance music plays in the background. The result is a store that feels more like a lounge than a shop that offers an alternative to cigarettes.
In September, a revised smoking law takes effect across La Cañada Flintridge. The law bans smoking within 20 feet of city-owned property, outdoor dining areas, shopping centers and public events.
But the law excludes e-cigarettes, allowing for Crystal Vapor and other shops to cater to residents who may want to smoke in public.
Romie Galbraith said he quit smoking 20 years ago and uses juices without nicotine. But he has seen the device change heavy smokers.
“I’ve seen people in three months go from a pack and half of cigarettes a day to just smoking one of these,” he said. “This is so much healthier than a cigarette.”
Crystal Vapor is located at 2259 Foothill Blvd. Call (818) 248-2200 for more information.


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ALLARDT, Tenn. (WATE) – It’s pumpkin time again in Fentress County and this year is the 30th annual Allardt Great Pumpkin Festival and weigh-off.
The event is taking place Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Allardt City Hall. The winner of the heaviest pumpkin could win $2,000.
An assortment of corn stalks, potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers, and other entries will also compete for recognition in addition to the giant vegetables.
Hundreds of vendors will be on hand selling food, crafts and more.
The festival kicks off at 10 a.m. at Allardt City Hall.


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SPS Commerce Buys Australian Firm For $14.9M In Cash, Stock
Minneapolis-based SPS Commerce, Inc., a public company that provides e-commerce software and analytics for the retail industry, announced the $14.9 million purchase of an Australian cloud-based e-commerce management provider on Monday.
The company said it paid $12.7 million in cash and $2.2 million in stock to acquire Leadtec, which is headquartered in Melbourne. Leadtec also serves New Zealand, and has a customer base that includes most of the region’s largest retail companies. SPS Commerce said Leadtec employees would remain based in Melbourne.
“This acquisition strengthens our international presence, adds key retailer relationships to the network and broadens our team of retail and supply chain experts in Australia, New Zealand and beyond,” SPS Commerce CEO Archie Black said in a statement.
SPS Commerce, which has 50,000 customers in more than 50 countries, said it anticipated that the acquisition would add roughly $750,000 of revenue in its 2014 fourth quarter results and about $4.5 million in fiscal 2015.
Last year, it was one of four Minnesota firms to make Deloitte, LLP’s annual “Technology Fast 500” list, an annual ranking of North America’s 500 fastest-growing technology companies. The company later reported 2013 revenue of $104.4 million—a 35 percent increase over the prior year.
Following Monday’s mid-day news, shares of SPS Commerce’s stock closed trading at $53.39, an increase of 5.6 percent from $50.54 to begin the day.


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Real food allergies can be terrible — but fakers who nitpick over Christmas dinner are hard to stomach
Raymond Blanc got into trouble the other week for blasting people who have self-diagnosed food allergies. He said that up to 50 customers a night at his two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Oxfordshire claimed that they had issues with various foods. He said the situation was “horrifying”, and that naturally the kitchen had to take every claim at face value, regardless of their veracity.
But “we are a kitchen, not a hospital”, he said. “Of course, now, if you don’t have a food allergy, you’re nobody.” There is a vegetarian version of the £162 tasting menu at Blanc’s restaurant, but not a gluten-free, vegan or dairy-free option. This seems fair to me. After all, vegan restaurants don’t have a meat’n’dairy option. I have a close relative whose


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Frankfurt Anyone traveling on behalf of their company is traveling to India more and more frequently. This is shown by a current analysis by the Lufthansa subsidiary Airplus, a business travel service provider.
According to the analysis, India ousted China from second place among the most popular long-haul destinations for business travel last year. The USA remains in first place.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has just been to India – accompanied by a business delegation. “We feel an increased demand for India,” said Oliver Wagner, CEO of Airplus, the Handelsblatt. The travel expert also attributes the new ranking to the long and strict corona measures in China, which have only now been relaxed again.
“We will see a sharp increase in trips to China in the coming weeks,” predicts Wagner. In the second half of the year, China could again reach 60 percent of the pre-crisis level for business trips.__Courtesy handelsblatt.com


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And while we’re used to seeing dispensers everywhere selling anything from food and beverages to books, this time around we’re dealing with the world’s biggest luxury “vending machine.”
There are impressive car shows around the world – many catering to highly affluent regions such as Dubai and also having to do with the most expensive names out there – Bugatti, Rolls-Royce and others alike. But this is something else entirely – it’s something you would expect to see in the next installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, when they decided to also hit Singapore. It’s a rather archetypal tower, but instead of offices or loggings you get to see every floor stacked with supercar and luxury cars. It’s a 15-floor, 60-slot showroom that was just inaugurated and is featured as the “world’s largest luxury car vending machine.” Local dealer Autobahn Motors, who deals with luxury, sports, exotic, and supercars is the author of this interesting feat.
“We needed to meet our requirement of storing a lot of cars. At the same time, we wanted to be creative and innovative,” said Gary Hong, general manager at Autobahn Motors. And the fun fact is it actually functions exactly like a real vending machine – buyers have a touchscreen display on the ground and can select the desired car that will appear in one to two minutes. This is thanks to the building’s Automotive Inventory Management System – full developed in-house, with others now interested in acquiring it for other uses, such as parking spaces.


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WELCOME TO The advertising REPORT
Feature market insights and perspectives from top C-Level executives, elite technology influencers and thought leaders from your company here. This signature initiative has garnered immense support...
Admixer | September 02, 2021
One of the main aims of Admixer is to support projects and initiatives that educate the digital advertising community by delivering accessible high-end field expertise.
During Adsider LIVE / Programmatic Spend fifteen experts from the leading industry companies, Admixer, PubMatic, Algorix, Adtarget, Awarion, and Unruly will explain how their clients managed to succeed in crisis and explain the upcoming changes in the advertising industry.
Speakers and lecturers of w...
IBM | October 06, 2020
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced three new products to add to its growing suite of AI solutions for brand and publishers. The new capabilities are privacy-forward and designed to allow brands to reach consumers while considering user privacy. IBM intends to work with industry leaders, including Xandr/AT&T, Magnite, Nielsen, MediaMath, LiveRamp and Beeswax to help scale the use of AI across the industry. The announcement was made this morning at Advertising Week's digital-first virtual eve...
Kwalee | November 20, 2020
In excess of a fourth of mobile game developers intend to begin adapting their allowed to-mess around with dynamic in-game publicizing in the following a half year, as per an ongoing industry study completed by Pocketgamer (26.7%)
On the ball is UK-based engineer and publisher of hyper-casual games Kwalee, which has filled fundamentally lately and now has in excess of 100 employees around the globe. The business driving firm has chosen AdInMo, the InGame Mobile AdTech platform to ...
medium | February 24, 2020
Android devices are more secure than ever. Some developers, though, are continuing to release malicious apps. In a blog post, Google announced that nearly 600 apps were removed from the Play Store after violating its disruptive ads and disallowed interstitial policies. There’s an ongoing effort to stop these apps from entering the Play Store and getting distributed on a large number of smartphones and tablets. It’s all part of mobile ad fraud, which Google labels as an industry-wide ...
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Need a new skincare routine but not sure what products to shop for? Lazada shoppers in Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia can now get suggestions and product recommendations by conversing with LazzieChat, a first-of-its-kind AI chatbot that can act as a personal shopper.
Leveraging Lazada’s own AI technology and the natural language capabilities of ChatGPT technology in Azure OpenAI Service, LazzieChat can respond to shoppers’ queries in a natural manner and also suggest relevant products or topics that may interest them. It can also look up product descriptions and share listings on Lazada directly in the chat, enabling consumers to make informed decisions quickly and purchase the right products conveniently with confidence. Just as importantly, LazzieChat’s algorithm adheres to Lazada’s trust and safety policies and is continuously being optimized to safeguard consumers’ experience on the platform.
“Online shopping journeys are becoming more dynamic with the help of technology. We want to bridge the gap between offline and online shopping by providing high-quality experiences that consumers love, and create value for brands and sellers who can tap into new technologies to reach out to a wider audience. We are confident AI will drive new developments in making online shopping and selling a seamless daily activity for everyone,” said Howard Wang, Lazada Group’s chief technology officer.
“By combining the scale and power of Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service with the breadth of Lazada’s consumer reach, this collaboration will transform the shopping journey for Lazada’s customers, sellers and brands,” said Diomedes Kastanis, chief technology officer for Microsoft in Asia Pacific. “We’re excited to help Lazada welcome a new era of retail innovation with Microsoft Cloud. By adopting artificial intelligence, Lazada will deliver personalized recommendations, enhance the customer experience, provide faster customer assistance and transform the buying experience in APAC.”
LazzieChat is currently available in English in Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia. A Bahasa Indonesia version is also available. The service is set to be rolled out in more languages and across other markets in the future.
Highlights from this week’s roundup include a partnership with a local model network, an e-waste disposal management campaign and a series that champions women’s voices.
The eCommerce platform has launched a weekly series that turns the spotlight on inspiring female entrepreneurs.
Intelligent innovations are creating more dynamic online shopping experiences.


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In the UK, medicated confectionery products are traditionally bought for the cold and flu season, which runs from September to March. However, Kraft Foods is looking to extend sales of its Halls brand beyond this period by invigorating consumers with a new proposition, product and pack design, as well as a £1.3m marketing campaign.
Kraft reckons there is an opportunity to extend usage occasions for Halls Mentholyptus to times when consumers need the "power of a deep breath" in order to tackle everyday challenges, such as facing a crowded commute to work, a first date or a tough presentation.
According to Kantar Worldpanel data, more than half of Halls’ sales are currently driven by consumers who buy the confectionery year round, which Kraft says shows the potential to double Halls’ sales in five years.
A new variant joins the line-up this month: Halls Mentholyptus assorted citrus, which contains three mild menthol flavours (orange, lemon and lime) that Kraft says makes it more relevant for everyday consumption, in addition to the traditional cold and flu season.
There is also a new look for Halls Mentholyptus and Soothers to improve stand-out on shelf. And each pack will feature a ’menthol power meter’ with a different strength for every occasion from one (mild) to five (strong) to help consumers to choose the right product for their particular need.
To help retailers drive impulse sales, there is a new counter-display solution which enables them to have both Halls Mentholyptus (extra strong and assorted citrus) and Halls Soothers together at the till.
To help consumers understand the new brand positioning, Kraft is investing £1.3m in marketing support for Halls throughout September and October, including press and outdoor advertising positioned near locations such as London train stations, where consumers may require a ’breath of fresh air’, as well as radio sponsorship and tailored point-of-sale. There is also a sampling campaign.
Laura Cristea, Halls assistant brand manager at Kraft Foods, comments: "Halls is already an extremely popular brand in the UK, but sales are limited due to the very short season. Extending this season will not only drive sales for the brand, but also help retailers to maintain its relevance all year round."
Kraft is not the only company repositioning products as suitable for year-round consumption.
Wrigley’s recently unveiled a multi-million pound campaign to reposition its Airwaves as an all-year-round portable ’pocket pick-me-up’.
The gum itself has been enhanced to deliver a "more intense, longer-lasting flavour experience", plus there is a new blackcurrant variant, designed to appeal to younger chewers. Support for Airwaves comes from TV and outdoor advertising as well as sampling.
Daniela Campari, marketing director at Wrigley, says: "This major repositioning is going to unleash the full potential of Airwaves, which is already the number one brand in a number of other global markets. Airwaves is the ultimate mental refreshment brand. There’s nothing quite like it!"
Finally, Strepsils is currently backed by a ’Seasonal Affected Throat’ campaign, which is designed to grow the throat care category ’out-of-season’. One million pounds has been invested in radio and digital activity to raise awareness of the brand. Strepsils’ brand owner Reckitt Benckiser ran its first ’Seasonal Affected Throat’ campaign last year and aims to increase category penetration to 5% in the summer months by 2014, which would mean an additional £4m for the throat care category.


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Tea Production of India rose by 6.5 percent in 2013: Indian Tea Association
ITA announced that tea India’s production has gone up by 6.5 percent in 2013 as production rose to 1200 million Kg against 1126 million kg in 2012.
Indian Tea Association (ITA) on 2 February 2014 announced that the tea production of India has gone up by 6.5 percent in the year 2013. In its report it said that the country’s production has rose to 1200 million kilograms in 2013 as against 1126 million kilograms in 2012.
The northern part of India (Assam and West Bengal) produced 957.44 million kilograms in 2013 as against the 886.95 million kilograms in 2012. Production of the southern region stood at 242.60 million kilogram in 2013 against the 239.38 million kilogram of 2012.
In its report, it also said that the exports from January to September 2013 (nine months) also went up by 5 percent. During this period the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent State) countries imported maximum of 39.88 million kilograms of Indian tea, which was followed by Iran with 16.47 million kilograms, Pakistan 12.35 million kilograms and the US 10.29 million kilograms apart from others.
Indian Tea Association (ITA)
Indian Tea Association (ITA) was founded in 1881 and is the premier and the oldest organization of tea producers in India. It is the body that formulates policies and initiates action towards the development and growth of the industry by liaising with the Tea Board, Government and other related bodies. It has its branches in Assam and West Bengal. It branches represent over 60 percent of the total tea production of the country.
CIS (Commonwealth of Independent State) Countries
CIS Countries consist of the ex Soviet Union nations, which were formed after disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991and includes


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No Matter The Business, There’s an AI Efficiency to be Found
Demonstrating how artificial intelligence can overhaul any organization, no matter the sector, our friends at Information Age magazine have published a great article Artificial intelligence is poised to transform sales.
Almost every sales operation has plenty of administrative task that require many hours of manual human labour. None of these hours bring in any new revenues, so why not automate this part of the job and spend that money on more frontline sales folks who can drive new business.
Artificial intelligence can be used to take over data entry, employee scheduling and even drumming up leads. As the article explains, AI can learn when to apply discounts or map out future incentive offers. This is all done through reading “previous billing interactions from numerous customers as well as considers available data from current ones.”
The program then applies the “incentive or discount automatically,” while freeing up the salesperson to do more strategic, business development.


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Across the world, millions are still having difficulties reliably accessing the Internet. This digital divide, however, is especially more pronounced amongst women in the developing world. In an October report published by the World Wide Web Foundation , it is estimated that men are 21% more likely to access the Internet than women, and 52% in least developed countries.
In addition to typical access barriers such as a dearth of reliable network infrastructure and the inaffordability of mobile devices, women faced additional challenges, such as lack of education, digital skills, and social norms that discourage them from going online. The cost of this exclusion, according to the report, is a whooping $1 trillion over the last decade for these countries. As economic activities become increasingly reliant on the Internet, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic, the missed opportunity cost is expected to grow at a higher pace.
Despite these barriers, however, there are many cases of women who embraced the full economic potential of the Internet and became successful entrepreneurs. Across a wide range of sectors and backgrounds, women are increasingly using the Internet to navigate a place for themselves in the digital economy. At the same time, many of these entrepreneurs still report concerns for their safety, as well as facing wider social stigma. Furthermore, these stories, even though they highlight the successful roles that women can play, are outliers rather than the norms.
Internet accessibility has drastically increased over the last decade, radically changing the way businesses are conducted and the way people interact with each other. At the same time, developing countries, for the most part, had largely ignored that half of the population remained disconnected from this new, digital world. While efforts such as expanding IT infrastructure have been made to increase accessibility, not enough have been done to ensure that women are part of the process. In order to truly close the digital divide, it’s time that we start to discuss how to empower female netizens.


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WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2014 – Whole Foods Market today launched a new rating system for its fruits, vegetables and flowers that assesses growing practices on how they affect human health and the environment.
The produce will be labeled “good “good,” “better,” or “best” to help shoppers make more informed choices, the company said in a news release. The new Responsibly Grown initiative also prohibits “some of the most hazardous neurotoxins still allowed in agriculture,” Whole Foods said.
“Responsibly Grown is the result of our collaboration with suppliers, scientists and issue experts to continue our strong commitment to organic, while embracing additional important topics and growing practices in agriculture today,” said Matt Rogers, global produce coordinator at Whole Foods Market. “We are excited to broaden the conversation to recognize additional growing practices and drive more transparency in the industry.”
To earn a “good” rating, a farm must take 16 major steps to protect air, soil, water, and human health. Growers must also comply with the Responsibly Grown pesticide policy, which restricts growers to using only EPA-registered pesticides, regardless of the country of origin. In other words, farms outside the U.S. cannot supply Whole Foods with fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers grown using pesticides not allowed in the U.S., with very limited exceptions. Growers also cannot use biosolids or irradiation and must commit to transparency about the use of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms.
A “better” rating indicates advanced performance and a “best” rating indicates exceptional, industry-leading performance in a scoring system covering multiple topics in key categories including:
-Pest management (e.g. using beneficial insects to control pests);
-Farmworker welfare (e.g. providing protective equipment for workers);
-Water conservation and protection (e.g. using efficient irrigation techniques);
-Enhancing soil health (e.g. adding compost to soil; planting cover crops);
-Ecosystems and biodiversity (e.g. planting wildflowers to restore natural bee habitat for pollinator protection);
-Waste reduction (e.g. recycling plastics used in the field);
-Air, energy and climate (e.g. solar panels for renewable energy).
Whole Foods is launching Responsibly Grown by rating hundreds of products with key suppliers, more than 50 percent of produce nationwide. The goal of reaching 100 percent ratings of all fruits, vegetables and flowers will be achieved over time, the company said.
Ken Cook, founder and president of the Environmental Working Group, said Whole Foods is “redefining what constitutes responsibly grown produce for a major retailer.” He said the company’s new standards for pesticides were especially significant.
“The long-standing line among most American produce retailers amounts to ‘our produce meets government pesticide standards,’” Cook said in a release. “Instead, Whole Foods is saying, in essence, ‘government pesticide standards are not good enough for our customers – not good enough for their health and not good enough for the environment that they want to protect through responsible shopping.’”
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Anglo Has an `Optimistic' Outlook on Demand For Its Commodities, CEO Says
Anglo American Plc, owner of stakes in some of the world’s biggest metal and diamond mines, said it has an “optimistic” outlook for its commodities as demand increases from China and other emerging markets.
“We are quite optimistic in terms of the outlook, driven largely by emerging countries,” Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll said today in Seoul. “It’s driven out of China, GDP growth out of China and GDP growth out of India.”
The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials has advanced 13 percent this year, rallying to a 25-month high yesterday. Factory output in China, the top consumer of raw materials from copper to soybeans, grew at the fastest pace in six months in October. The nation’s economy expanded 9.6 percent in the third quarter.
Anglo American expects the “strong” demand for copper to continue, Carroll said. Copper has surged 35 percent in the past year as the global economy recovered from the worst recession since World War II and the dollar fell.
“We saw copper prices increasing substantially and we expect continued, very strong demand,” said Carroll, who is in Seoul for the business summit of the Group of 20 leaders’ meeting that starts tomorrow. The two-day business summit began today.
Refined-copper output will lag behind demand next year for the first time since 2007, the International Copper Study Group has said.
Copper futures for delivery in three months fell 0.8 percent to $8,787.50 a metric ton as of 6:20 p.m. Seoul time on the London Metal Exchange.
Anglo American, which has suffered delays and cost overruns at its biggest project, has secured two more of the “key licenses’ it needs to start operations at its Minas Rio iron-ore development in Brazil, Carroll said in an interview on Oct. 29.
“It’s progressing very well,” Carroll said today. “We are very much in line with what I announced in the interim results presentation.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Sungwoo Park in Seoul at email@example.com
Bloomberg moderates all comments. Comments that are abusive or off-topic will not be posted to the site. Excessively long comments may be moderated as well. Bloomberg cannot facilitate requests to remove comments or explain individual moderation decisions.


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Many Singapore celebrities have been leaving Mediacorp in the last several years. In the past month alone, we've seen three of them announcing their departures from the local media company: celebrity couple Andie Chen and Kate Pang as well as Jeanette Aw. Here's a look back at all of the stars who have moved on.
Pandora, the jewellery brand that is well-known in Singapore for their customisable charm bracelets, launched their new spring collection on Thursday (16 March). Launched on the same day were new additions to Pandora’s existing Disney collection, Tinkerbell, Winnie the Pooh, Donald Duck and Beauty and the Beast (just in time for the movie’s release on the same day). The Pandora Rose and Mother’s Day lines were also announced for release in end March and mid-April respectively.


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While "patent peeping" shows what Apple might be doing in the far flung future, the equally voyeuristic "job watching" gives a slightly better idea of what's going to be happening in the now and soon. With that in mind, following up on rumors of the next generation iPhone packing a 3.5 or 5 megapixel camera, it's nice to see Apple looking for a Camera Project Manager and Camera Design Engineer.
AppleiPhoneApps.com points out:
The most intriguing part of the job listing is that they mention integrating a camera into an iPod as well.
Could it simply be a boilerplate mixup, or is the iPod touch 3,1 (likely to debut this fall at the next iPod/Music Special Event) going to be packing it's own megapixel surprise?


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Volkswagen India is slowly restarting operations. The brand has got more than 90 per cent of its sales and services across the country, operational. The company says that during the lockdown, it has fixed more than 400 cars through its Assistance program. These cars had either broken down or needed minor repairs to be road-worthy. It’s 137 sales and service touchpoints (116) have been integrated into the online booking program. Volkswagen has confirmed that the number of online inquiries have gone up significantly. Moreover, customers can now get their cars sanitised by Volkswagen. The German carmaker says that they have introduced Ozone vehicle disinfectant treatment and anti-microbial cleaning. These not only disinfect the car from bad odour but also will safeguard against germs. Given the zones that are operational, Volkswagen is also enticing customers by offering them some great deals. These are listed below.
The 103 Volkswagen workshops that are functional at present are giving a free 10-point car check-up. This one is much needed as many of the cars might have stayed inactive during the two long months of lockdown. Free pick and drop for customer cars too are being provided. For the COVID-19 warriors, Volkswagen dealerships are offering a 3-month EMI Holiday scheme on the purchase of a Volkswagen Polo or Vento model. Interest rates as low as eight per cent are being given out on the car purchase for these warriors. These benefits can be availed till the end of this month from authorised VW dealers.
Volkswagen has already launched two CBUs this year. They are the Volkswagen T-Roc and the Tiguan AllSpace. Reports claim that the Volkswagen T-Roc is sold out for this year. Based on demand, the brand might even start locally assembling the car, thereby bringing in a more effective price point. Currently, the car is priced at Rs 19.99 lakh.
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Result for Class X students of Chennai region is already out and results of the remaining regions will be declared today at 4 pm according to a statement from CBSE.
Like last year, students who have appeared for their class X examination of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) this year can also get information about their result through IVR (interactive voice response) and SMS.
Every year CBSE results of class X as well as of class XII are declared in phases according to the various regions of CBSE, i.e. Delhi, Guwahati, Allahabad, Chennai, Ajmer and Panchkula. Result for Class X students of Chennai region is already out and results of the remaining regions will be declared today at 4 pm according to a statement from CBSE.
To help parents and students get instant information about their results on their mobile phones CBSE has tied up with different National informatics Centre and service providers to give information on mobiles.
Results by IVR:
Class X results can be accessed today at 4PM when they are announced globally through IVR, a technology that allows a computer to interact with humans through the use of voice and keypad inputs, by dialing 91 - 11 - 24357276.
MTNL users from Delhi can dial 28127030 to access the result whereas students from other parts of India would have to dial 011 -28127030 to get their CBSE class X result.
Some other dedicated mobile numbers for accessing results are: 55530 (Idea), 1255536 (BSNL outside Delhi), 54321223 (Tata Docomo) and 54321202 (Airtel).
However, these services will not be toll free and users will be charged 30 Paisa per minute for accessing result through IVRS per roll no. Results with subject wise marks would be conveyed in about 30 seconds through IVR.
Results by SMS:
Students can also get their results through SMS by typing cbse10 (roll number) and sending SMS to 9212357123.
Also, if students want to get results from their mobile service providers, they can type cbse10 (roll number) in compose section in the messages and send it as SMS to 52001 for MTNL; 57766 for BSNL; 5800002 for Aircel; 55456068 for Idea; 54321202, 55077 for Airtel; and 54321, 51234, 5333300 for Tata Docomo.
Charges for sending the SMS charges will be 50 paisa.
Students can get their results on their e-mail address if they register themselves on the following websites: www.results.nic.in, ww.cbseresults.nic.in, www.cbse.nic.in
Interested buyers can pre-book Apple iPhone 6s, 6s Plus starting tomorrow.
Airtel customers will need to have an activated Airtel 3G/4G pack/plan since the WiFi data consumption will be charged from this pack/plan.
One has to download the Blowhorn mobile application to place the order.
The smartphone will be available in stores globally from 16th October 2015 onwards.
The tablet comes with optional 10-inch HP ENVY Note Keyboard Folio.
Gionee said that all of its new devices will come with Android Marshmallow version.
Gionee Elife E8 was launched today at Rs 34,999 and will be available exclusively via Snapdeal initially.
The insurance cover will be a hundred times of the monthly recharge value and up to a maximum of Rs 50,000.
The registration for M812 opened on 23rd September, on Snapdeal, and closed on 7th October.
Last month, Oppo launched two smartphones in India, the R7 Lite and R7 Plus.


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Drivers and Shippers: Partnered for Success
The driver shortage is causing serious concerns across the industry. But the solution is not just to add more drivers.
Transportation in the NewsU.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes dip for week ending July 6, says AAR A. Duie Pyle opens up Maine-based integrated logistics center Truckload and intermodal pricing see gains in June, notes Cass and Broughton Driver turnover rates head in opposite directions, says ATA Cass Freight Index Report points to ongoing freight declines More Transportation News
There's an estimated 175,000 open truck driver spots by 2026, and little talent in the pipeline. The driver shortage is causing serious concerns across the industry. But the solution is not just to add more drivers.
In this exclusive whitepaper, we dig in deep to uncover how progressive shippers can take steps to improve capacity and shipping speeds.
Download the whitepaper to learn how:
- Industry-wide inefficiency is the real root cause
- Shippers improving the carrier experience is a crucial part of the solution
- Smart, actionable use of data at scale can eliminate the inefficiencies that are holding the industry back
Subscribe to Logistics Management Magazine!Subscribe today. It's FREE!
Get timely insider information that you can use to better manage your entire logistics operation.
2019 State of Logistics: Third-party logistics (3PL) providers 2019 State of Logistics: Air cargo View More From this Issue


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Those Manufacturing Mexico Electronics Gaining On China
Businesses Manufacturing Mexico electronics and component parts are elevating their profile and prowess as compared to China. A recent Charlie Barnhart & Associates report revealed a startling challenge to China’s previous preeminence in the electronics production. And While China still tops Mexico in “high volume manufacturing” and “continuous flow” for OEM’s, Mexico’s electronic industry beats China in all other categories. Both American and Canadian markets continue to rank below both countries. The even wider regionalized trend is that manufacturing is moving from the U.S. to Mexico, from Western to Eastern Europe and from China to Mexico and Southeast Asia.
Several factors contribute to the shift from China to Mexico. Rising labor costs and freight/logistics expenses continue to reduce China’s previous advantage while those manufacturing Mexico electronics are capitalizing on a drop and labor costs, among other factors. For example, the relative costs in American production’s labor prices at $39.32, China’s is at $11.83 (and rising) while Mexico’s is fallen to $11.26. According to CBA analysts, even with China’s more sophisticated electronic designs, they don’t exactly compete in the same fields. China targets communications, computers and consumer markets while Mexico continues expanding production in the heavier electronics industries of aerospace, automotive and appliances.


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Health and beauty just got a new meaning
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic LJBILJE starts producing hand sanitizer; Sweden/USAID FARMA II project helps brand it.
Disinfecting hands became a must after the COVID-19 pandemic started. But due to high demand, antiseptics are hard to find.
Responding to COVID-19, and in an effort to satisfy the demand for antiseptics, organic cosmetics producer – derived from words meaning “medicinal herbs” – from Eastern Hercegovina’s town of Ljubinje started producing hand sanitizer that disinfects and nourishes the skin – a big win-win in these peculiar times.
More importantly, this new antiseptic is helping to ease shortages and expanding access to this necessity. Being a socially responsible company, LJBILJE has donated the sanitizers to their employees and several business partners, and they made a larger donation to the Ljubinje hospital.
Rapid Development with Fast-tracked Approval
LJBILJE normally produces some 250 products made from organic medicinal and aromatic plants, and engages 25 farmers and 100 collectors in the process. LJBILJE’s said that in this fast developing situation they had to act quickly.
“We really did not have much time to wrap our heads around this,” Slobodanka said. “As the coronavirus started spreading, antiseptics and disinfectants became scarce. Being a producer of organic cosmetics and knowing how to produce an antiseptic, we felt the need to act.
“We did not have the antiseptics among our products,” she said, “so once we put the formula together we had to get approval from the Republika Srpska Ministry of Health to produce and sell this new product.”
Slobodanka said that the Ministry approved the production through a fast-track procedure.
Nourishes skin and smells great
LJBILJE’s antiseptics are pleasant to use because they are enriching them with organic lavender, sage and immortelle hydrolytes and glycerin, which gives them a great smell while nourishing skin.
“The FARMA II project was helping us develop new product labels and also improving our online marketing when this COVID-19 situation happened,” Slobodanka said. “So with FARMA II assistance, we also rapidly developed labels for our new antiseptics, and shipped the first batch in the first week of April.”
LJBILJE informed their regular buyers, including pharmacies and retail shops, about the new products, and orders have been pouring in. They are now producing more than two thousand antiseptics a day packaged in 100 ml to 1 liter containers.
In 2017, the Sweden/USAID FARMA II project helped LJBILJE to increase its production and export creams and lotions by assisting with the purchase a vacuum homogenizer, an aquatic bath and a dozer.
This expands their engagement with farmers and collectors benefiting the overall economy. This prior assistance prepared LJBILJE for this current leap to assist with the pandemic.


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Throughout the history of video gaming, we’ve always been able to expect a new console “in a few years”, and that rule of thumb has kept rather consistent. Since the turn of the century though, things have changed dramatically in the game console landscape, some for better, some for worse. Consoles are becoming more like computers with each new release, not to mention much, much more advanced.
Microsoft released their Xbox 360 in November of 2005, close to four years ago, and Sony and Nintendo followed-up with their current-gen consoles the following year, the PlayStation 3 and Wii, respectively. So the question must be begged, when will be seeing the next-gen consoles? If Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft’s claim has merit, then we may very-well be seeing them earlier than originally expected.
The reason? Services like OnLive, which aim to deliver high-quality gaming to consumers through their network connection. This method completely removes any limitations that a home console would have, as the servers for the service would be able to keep current with updated hardware if desired. What that means is that the big three may end up releasing their consoles earlier than they would have liked, and something in me tells me that’s going to be a bad thing. I don’t think I need to explain why.
Beyond a potential early release, Guillemot also spoke about the potential development costs for the upcoming consoles. Whereas it costs between $20 – $30 million today to create a top-tier game, the next-generation of consoles could skyrocket that figure up to $60 million. The game companies will have two options there. Raise the prices of retail games (which isn’t going to help piracy any), or make certain that the games they release are epic, so they’ll sell far more in volume. It’s actually kind of scary to picture what the console landscape is going to be like in the next-gen… hopefully all the changes will be good ones.
Next generation, estimates Guillemot, top tier games will likely average $60 million to make. The ramifications for that are unknown. It could mean higher retail prices or lower return on investment. Ubisoft hopes to supplement the cost by reusing assets in the film community (as it is currently doing with its game adaptation of James Cameron’s “Avatar”.)


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Minneapolis-based Target Corporation announced Wednesday that its first quarter profits fell 16 percent to $418 million, compared to the same quarter last year. The company also predicts second-quarter earnings will dip below expectations.
The report comes in the wake of the massive data breach that hit Target during the 2013 holiday shopping season and amid losses from its Canadian expansion.
In a company statement John Mulligan, Target’s interim president CEO and CFO, said, first quarter performance in both the U.S. and Canadian segments were in line with expectations reflecting recovery from the data breach, but noted he would like to see more improvement. “We have made changes to our management team and are investing additional resources to drive U.S. traffic and sales, improve our Canadian operations and advance our ongoing digital transformation. We have updated our 2014 earnings expectations to reflect the impact of these investments and believe that they position Target for accelerated profitable growth as a leading omnichannel retailer,” he stated.
Target’s sales in the U.S. grew just 0.2% to $16.7 billion. Sales at stores open more than 13 months dipped 0.3%. The amount of transactions declined, but the average transaction amounts increased as consumers shopped for items like electronics.


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Ubisoft has gamers on the edge of their seats for a game that seems all but a fantasy right now. Skull and Bones is essentially the pirate version of Destiny. The game is a massive sprawl of ocean and wonders waiting for the player to go out and plunder. The game had massive hype and its release was highly anticipated after gameplay was shown at E3… four years ago.
Will you live as pawns…or die as pirates?
Watch the new cinematic trailer for #SkullandBones.
Set sail November 8th. pic.twitter.com/9UMdfXIC0l
— Skull and Bones (@skullnbonesgame) July 7, 2022
Delay after delay has pushed Ubisoft’s apparent crowning achievement back since the ramp-up to release in 2018. The game was presumably in an alpha stage at some point a few years ago, but no further information was released for a game that has been in development for eight years.
However, recently reports have claimed that a release date was on the horizon for Skull and Bones. With the ESRB rating the game last month, many assumed that it was just a matter of time before the highly anticipated game was on shelves. This week, however, insider Twitter account Aggiornamenti Lumia said a release date was imminent following a leak of data from the Microsoft and Xbox online stores. Lumia tweeted out the date of November 8, 2022 for the sought-after game.
To the doubters and Skull and Bones truthers, Lumia has shared accurate leaks before and the November launch date does have some consistency with the current development trajectory. However, what can you believe from a game that has been delayed four times! Reportedly, the new Skull and Bones game began as an expansion to 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag before it became the frustrating series of twists and turns that is the development saga of Skull and Bones. Ubisoft has many games in the hooper that they are not ready to release to the public, and have since opted to focus on smaller games such as the new Mario + Rabbids game, Sparks of Hope.
Ubisoft has confirmed the legitimacy of the November 8 release date with the release of the trailer last week, but it would not be surprising if another delay was announced yet again.


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The Entertainer has launched a weekend quiet hour to make toy shopping easier for families with special needs.
The aim is to give families the opportunity to shop for an hour before the store opens to the rest of the public - and to discover gift ideas and experience an everyday environment that may not always be easy for children to cope with under normal conditions.
Following a trial during February half term, the 'quiet hour' has now been made permanent - at 9am on Saturdays in every Entertainer store.
Music is turned off, as well as loud demo products, with the aim of making 'the shopping experience a less daunting experience'.
The news has been welcomed by customers, with many praising the move on the retailer's Facebook page.
Annie Belasco said: "Thank you for recognising that this is an essential need for many parents. Inclusion of all children’s needs. And to help spread awareness to those who are uneducated around autism and the impact this can have on a child."
But some have suggested the timing is not the best for families who may struggle to get there for the early morning slot - and then face crowds of people arriving in shopping centres as they leave.
Haley Rowlands said: "I love the idea of open for a quiet hour but why is it always so early? It takes me at least two hours to get the kids up and dressed.
"Other shops have tried it and it's not been very successful due to it always being the first hour of opening.
"I've spoke about this subject with many different people over the last few years and what I hear off most people is the last hour of the day is more fitting.
"The centres are not as busy, not as many people about, not as many babies crying. It's the little things but they all add up.
"It's not just the getting up early (I'd happily do that), it's the fact that after the hour you still have to make your way back through the centre and the crowds are starting to gather, the noises are everywhere and the lights are shining."
Gary Grant, founder and managing director of The Entertainer, said: “It was great to hear the positive feedback from customers who had visited an Entertainer store during the daily Quiet Hour, which was held during half term and as a result we are delighted to announce the introduction of a weekly Quiet Hour, which will take place each Saturday morning.
"We continually look for ways to improve customer experience as it’s hugely important to us that all children feel comfortable in our stores and are able to explore the toys we have available.”
Daniel Cadey, autism access development manager for The National Autistic Society, said: “We’re delighted that The Entertainer is taking this positive step to make shopping a better experience for autistic children.
"Small changes such as removing in-store music can make a huge difference to autistic people, who can struggle to filter out background noise which can cause them enormous distress.
"We hope to see other stores follow The Entertainer’s lead and make whatever changes they can to support the needs of all their customers.”


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Actress and singer Rose McGowan has apparently filed a complaint (Case Number: 1419570) over the domain name RoseMcGowan.com with the National Arbitration Forum.
First registered over ten years ago, today, rosemcgowan.com is parked with HITFARM (part of the Reinvent Media Group), an online monetization service for domain names.
The rosemcgowan.com website currently displays third-party ads, many having to do with her career, such as Netflix ads for the supernatural drama television series Charmed, which she is well-known for.
The owner of the domain name is currently hidden behind WHOIS privacy, according to registrant records.
Because the National Arbitration Forum doesn’t publicly identify complainants on its website until a decision has been handed down by a panel, the official complainant isn’t immediately known. As domain disputes usually go though, it’s all but guaranteed that Rose McGowan filed the complaint.
In the online world, Rose McGowan is an active Twitter user, with nearly 200,000 followers. However, outside of fan pages and information on websites like IMDB, apparently she has no official site to call her own.


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The Tesla Semi has sent shock waves through the trucking industry. In many ways, it is boldly innovative in a way that has become customary for Elon Musk. On the other, it signals even greater capital expenses ahead for the company, which will need to invest in a new manufacturing facility to build it and a new network of Megachargers to keep it charged during normal use.
Headwinds Ahead For Tesla?
Critics like perennial industry gadfly Bob Lutz say Tesla will be bankrupt by 2019. He whined to CNBC’s Power Lunch recently, “The company, folks, is going out of business. At this rate they’ll never get to 2019. There is no secret sauce in Tesla. They use the same lithium-ion batteries as everybody else.”


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Female overseas Filipino workers send more money home for their children’s education than male Filipino workers, a study conducted by a digital money transfer company has found.
The study, conducted by WorldRemit, a company based in the United Kingdom, said that 92% of Filipino women consider their children’s education as the most important reason for sending money home, the Manila Times reported.
A total of 72% of women were more likely to provide financial aid to those outside their immediate family. According to WorldRemit, Filipino women send on average 2% more in remittances than men.
The study was conducted on 1,000 Filipino respondents who are customers of WorldRemit.
According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippines’ central bank, total remittances from overseas Filipino workers last year increased by 4.3%, from PHP1.42 trillion in 2016 to PHP1.51 trillion (US$28.06 billion) last year.


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This article is more than 1 year old
LG starts producing flexible, curvy displays you can STROKE
Need to get 'em on handset before Samsu.. Do people even WANT curvy smartphones?
LG's display unit has confirmed it is beginning mass-production of a flexible, "unbreakable" screen for its new smartphones. The screen is capable of curving rather more than one might want on a handset but, more importantly, it's made of plastic.
LG describes the new screens as "bendable and unbreakable", which is a little hyperbolic but based on the idea that while glass shatters under pressure, plastic bends like a willow branch.
Meanwhile, rival Samsung has already said it would introduce a curved display smartphone in October, so LG is doubtless in a rush to release its own model ahead of time. Originally, the LG's curved smartphone was due in 2014, but sources told Reuters that it would attach the displays on the phones by November in order to fight off its largest South Korean rival.
While LG Display's screens will be fixed to curved surfaces – they'll be permanently bent into a curved phone rather than being freely bendable – when someone sits on them or squeezes them, they'll flex rather than snap.
While reports have been focused on the idea of a curved phone, the technology which LG has now put into production can curve unto a circle of 140cm diameter – capable of putting a camber onto a phone but also well suited to a car's dashboard.
Being plastic, it's incredibly light and less than half a millimetre thick, so could be mounted in much more interesting places than, say, the front of a fondleslab.
It's an idea pursued by various companies over the years, with limited success. Cambridge-based Plastic Logic pioneered the idea with its (unsuccessful) Que Reader. The company still owns patents for technology used to lay down transistors into plastic surfaces and has been building display panels based on a jigsaw of bezel-less screens.
While traditional glass screen technology has got harder, and stronger, it remains brittle and heavy. Plastic might be prone to scratching, but LG's new screen is .44mm thick and a six-inch version should weigh only 7.2g, offering a much lighter alternative if the screens can be mass-produced in sufficient quantity.
Making the screens is simple enough, but a proportion of them will be faulty and getting the yield rate viable may still cripple the idea. Qualcomm started mass production of its breathtaking Mirasol screens before discovering the yield rate couldn't be made high enough for true mass production. Mirasol popped up again on the Toq watch (smaller screen = higher yield rate) and hopefully will emerge again, once manufacturing techniques have improved.
LG's announcement is not a new phone with a bendy screen, but mass production of a new technology which promises thinner, lighter and better screens which can adorn all sorts of devices. Perhaps we'll begin seeing phones with bent fronts, should anyone decide they want such a thing? ®


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What do you do after writing a book called “The End of Advertising?” If you’re Andrew Essex, you co-found an advertising company. The advertising veteran launched Plan A last year, he says, with a different model in mind than the traditional holding company; “a leaner model, a lighter... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'
[ Advertising Age | 2019-09-12 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recent acquisition #parting ways #paid media #parted ways #important skill #decades ago #book called
The Financial Times and New York Media suspended their paid media on Facebook over concerns about how news publishers are treated under its new ad policy. The post Publishers stop Facebook ad spending over policy that treats publishers as political advertisers appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at 'Digiday'
[ Digiday | 2018-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad policy #paid media #news publishers
Photo: Alfred Maskeroni Specs Who Dao Nguyen New gig Publisher, BuzzFeed Old gig Vp of growth and data, BuzzFeed Age 41 Twitter @daozers What do you do as publisher? Publishing is literally the act of making information available to the public. For a purely digital operation like... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'
[ AdWeek | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #shed light #paid media #ve found #brand affinity #pop culture #buddhist nun


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Heads of economic and commercial sections of Czech embassies meeting
02.07.2010 / 17:45
The annual meeting of heads of economic and commerce sections of Czech embassies in abroad was held in Prague on June 28 - July 2, 2010.
The meeting was focused on issues of Czech economic take off in current international financial crisis. New models of partnership between the state and corporate sector were discussed too.
The opening speech was held by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Kohout on Monday, June 28 at the Czernin Palace.


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The competition watchdog has said it may be forced to launch an investigation into Amazon's plans to invest in food delivery firm Deliveroo.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was worried the tie-up could increase delivery prices.
The regulator gave the two firms five days to prove that the deal would not hurt competition in the market for food delivery.
If they fail to impress the watchdog, the $575m (£437m) deal may be blocked.
The CMA said that the investment may prevent Amazon from launching its own food delivery operation, a move which could reduce prices for customers in the future.
"Millions of people in the UK use online food platforms for takeaways, and more than ever are making use of similar services for the same-day delivery of groceries," the executive director of the CMA Andrea Gomes da Silva said in a statement.
"There are relatively few players in these markets, so we're concerned that Amazon having this kind of influence over Deliveroo could dampen the emerging competition between the two businesses."
She said that if the deal were to go ahead in its current form then there was a "real risk" that customers, restaurants and grocers would face higher prices and lower quality services
Deliveroo has grown quickly, last year it doubled the number of towns and cities it operates in, helping sales to surge by 72%.
However, losses deepened to £232m in 2018, from £199m a year earlier as the company splashed out £18m on technology and £10m on free insurance for its riders.
Sales grew to £476m in the year to December 2018, up from £277m in 2017.


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SONY through virtual reality helmet manufacturing PS4 to attract those potential players, to strengthen the company’s power game department. Facing due to heavy losses of mobile business’s share price fell sharply, SONY is positive thinking strategies, plans to better its games division into entertainment service center.
the CEO of SONY’s games division, Andrew, “House said in an interview last week, their department has been in talks with a number of potential partners, the plan at the end of the year to launch Internet TV service in the United States. SONY has also revealed some of their cooperation and Viacom company details, roughly as they can provide customers with more than 20 television channels, including MTV and Nickelodeon channel. House at a Tokyo game show that SONY also plans to develop a can be used on the smart devices such as mobile phones, tablet of streaming media video game service, and support the game is not only a SONY developed by our company. “Support streaming mode requires large channels, means that we need to take a variety of methods, not distinguish to the manufacturer.”
since last November announced the release, sells for $399 in the PS4 console has become the fastest selling game in the history of SONY, sold in the nine months later, PS4 has sold 10 million units, far more than its rivals Microsoft and nintendo product sales of the same period. Analysts at bank of America merrill lynch Eiichi Katayama, once said: “SONY has the game market into the potential of its exclusive territory.”
but compared to the ambitious development games division, SONY mobile business is worrisome, while the core of the business has been the company development, but over the years a lot of problems. Recently, SONY announced in this fiscal year is expected to have 230 billion yen ($2.12 billion) in losses, this is mainly influenced by far below expectations of smartphone business. It is understood that after the news of SONY’s stock exchange in Tokyo on Thursday showed a plunge of 8.6%. Deutsche securities analyst Yasuo Nakane it as “shocked” think the matter, he felt that additional cuts may be necessary, and points out that in the note to investors “SONY sales company headquarters and the morphology, size and organizational structure should be a thorough adjustment, so as to cope with its core business of shrinking.”
SONY announced in July when they have a little profit in the second quarter, many analysts by surprise, thanks to its games division. But smartphone business is still at a loss, and the contribution to profits and film production department and financial department.
analysts said the PS4 weakened the third-party developers to design the difficulty of the game, this means that the consumers will get more extensive choice. In addition, SONY also free open to third-party developers of the game software development, hoping to attract more games.
in Makuhari lasted four days at the international exhibition centre of the video game show, people will focus on SONY’s virtual reality helmet, the helmet was named Morpheus. And other similar helmet, can let a player overwhelmed Morpheus, the helmet also configured the 3 d stereo, can from above and below the rear and voice. And touching the motion sensor let users have can have more than one direction interaction of the senses, they feel even to stand in front of the dinosaur dialogue and feeding.
virtual reality helmet leading is the hardcore gamers, but is in charge of the whole project Shuhei Yoshida hope I can bring to the players “unprecedented new experience”. For example, he said with the headset for instance music lovers can feel like personally went to the concert.
although games division denies Mr House caused by the failure of the smartphone business their department’s strategic plan to change, but when he admitted to hand in the final data is full of pressure. “SONY as a member of the senior managers, I am very much concerned about the development of the company, now I want to focus on promoting a strong and can bring profit the health of the environment, the company that can help SONY’s overall development is my ultimate goal.”
SONY hopes to use the software to poor performance of the intelligent mobile phone business. Recently held in Berlin fair, SONY said its latest smartphone Xperia Z3 will allow users to WiFi network remote PS4 operation of the game.
but Katayama PS4 to what extent on reverse SONY’s destiny to be cautious. He said: “the game will no doubt become a stable source of profit, but for SONY this income diversification, with only the game support such a large enterprise must be wrong.”


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Canon sales rise
TOKYO: Japan’s Canon said on Wednesday that annual net profit fell 13.6 per cent last year owing to weak demand for cameras in emerging economies and a slowdown in China. The firm also said company veteran Fujio Mitarai will step down as president but remain as CEO and chairman, following the company’s general shareholders meeting on March 30. Masaya Maeda, currently chief executive of Canon’s image communication products division, which includes cameras, will become the new president and chief operating officer, the company said. The camera and office equipment giant reported a 220.21 billion yen ($1.86 billion) net profit for the year to December, while operating profit slipped 2.3 per cent to 355.21 billion yen. Sales ticked up two per cent to 3.80 trillion yen.


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Vietnamese rates gain on fresh Chinese, Philippine orders
Vietnamese rice export prices rose this week on fresh orders from the Philippines and China, while the onset of winter and sparse rainfall raised concerns over supply, which, when coupled with a stronger baht, propelled Thai rates higher.
Vietnam's 5 per cent broken rice prices rose to $495-$500 per tonne from $493-$497 last week.
"Buyers from the Philippines and China have returned to place new orders," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said. Domestic supplies are low and the ongoing autumn-winter harvest will end this month, the trader added.
Government data showed Vietnam's rice exports in October fell 5.8 per cent from September to 362,930 tonnes. For the first 10 months of this year, total shipments fell 2.8 per cent from a year earlier to 5.35 million tonnes.
Thailand's benchmark 5 per cent broken rice prices jumped to $470-$485 from $455-$458 a week earlier.
The baht scaled a 10 month-peak on Wednesday, translating into higher export prices in US dollars.
Thailand officially entered the winter season in late October, with rainfall becoming more sparse, prompting worries that the volume of new crops being harvested at present would be lower, traders said.
Prices of top exporter India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety were unchanged at $366-$370 per tonne, the lowest since end-March. "New season supplies are rising in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. Export demand is a bit weak now," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, a food ministry official in neighboring Bangladesh said the country could import a small amount of rice amid a potential production shortfall and a spike in domestic prices of the staple.
A recent domestic rice procurement drive by the government fell nearly 1 million tonnes short of the 1.95 million tonnes target, as Bangladesh struggled with dwindling supplies amid soaring domestic prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.


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Biohazard for GameCube (known in Europe and the United States as Resident Evil) will be a totally new game with only core essences remaining from the original game of the same name. Biohazard for GameCube is scheduled to release in Japan in the spring of 2002. European and US release dates were not announced.
Biohazard left its mark in history when it originally released in March 1996 and established the Survival Horror genre. Since then, the original Biohazard has sold more than 3.4 million units worldwide and more than 18 million units of the entire Biohazard series have been sold. Biohazard for GameCube is directed by Shinji Mikami, the producer and creator of the entire Biohazard series. Mikami plans to deliver Biohazard with a new fear that no one has ever experienced.


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- A crypto analyst put Soulja Boy in the spotlight.
- It appears Soulja Boy is involved in dozens of scams.
- The rapper has netted hundreds of thousands in promoting these scams.
Although Soulja Boy has an exceptional track record as a performer, he has yet to flourish as a businessman. From bootleg consoles to cannabis brands, the rapper often indulges in questionable business adventures.
After struggling to hit it off with his “hustles,” he now appears to be turning his attention to a new business plan – Crypto and NFT Scams, which surprisingly has done well for the hip-hop icon, according to on-chain data.
A Shilling Scene
Pseudonymous on-chain sleuth ZachXBT recently published a comprehensive research thread on Twitter, exposing the shilling campaigns run by rapper-turned-crypto enthusiast Soulja Boy. The study comes after the entertainer released a new NFT collection, which saw promotions from many influencers in the space.
According to ZachXBT, the rapper has so far indulged in 73 crypto promotions and 16 NFT Drops, most of which have turned out to be scams.
This includes pumping now-defunct token RAPDOGE and other infamous rug pulls, including Tronix, BitTorrent, SaferMars, Flokinomics, and ParrotsDAO. Some of these scams have cost the rapper lawsuits; however, he has decided to ignore the charges and continue with his egregious shills.
According to the study, the Superman rapper has no limits regarding rug-pulling users. Whether it’s claiming that Elon Musk endorsed the project or it is funding cancer and suicide prevention charities, he would use any excuse to pump up the price and make money.
Besides the blatant token rug pulls are his NFT projects and promotions, where he promised many forms of utility. Data reveals that the hip-hop artist released nine NFT collections in 2021, which are now obsolete. Additionally, during 2021’s NFT boom, he charged up to $12,000 for social media promotions, which netted him over $730,000.
The controversial entertainer is now back with seven more collections. This includes Soulja Boy 3D NFTs, which OpenSea has taken down for using the Ferrari and Nike logo; however, he has yet to reimburse buyers for the abandoned NFT project.
Soulja Boy Responds?
Following the post from ZachXBT, Soulja Boy drew scrutiny from many users on Twitter. In response, the rapper shared cryptic messages suggesting that people have yet to hear his side of the story. However, this post could be related to him canceling his concert at the last minute.
Soulja Boy has yet to respond to the accusations. However, it’s unlikely the rapper responds to them.
On the Flipside
- The SEC recently put Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather under the magnifying glass for their involvement in EthereumMax. However, a federal judge dismissed the case because of “heightened pleading standards.”
- Jake Paul, Justin Sun, and Lindsay Lohan were also part of the Tron and BitTorrent lawsuit that involved Soulja Boy.
Why You Should Care
Soulja Boy’s flurry of scams is a great example of how easily celebrities on social media can influence many people into losing their money in scams, raising the importance of doing your own research and not FOMO-ing into projects.
Is Donald Trump a nice guy?:
Trump’s Second NFT Card Series Launch Sees First Collection Plummet in Nice Guy Credit Bid
Read about other exploits:
MetaMask Dismisses Allegations of $10M Wallet Draining Exploit