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21 April, 2017| By: Kevin Trieu
New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio plans to place a base price on cigarette packs from $10.50 to $13. This would make NYC the most expensive place in the country to buy a pack. For comparison, in Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, and South Carolina the average price of a pack is lower than $5 a pack. The national average for a pack of cigarettes is $6.16.
The City is also planning on limiting the number of tobacco retailers they have, where they currently have some 9,000 retailers across the City. “There are 29 times more tobacco sellers than Starbucks in New York City.” Mayor de Blasio tweeted. His initiative would also ban any and all pharmacies from selling tobacco.
While not in New York, CASAP applauds the City of New York’s efforts to stamp out Big Tobacco. Any effort by any city to curb the use and access to tobacco is a plus in our book. We know that tobacco use is harmful and that a delayed first use of tobacco greatly reduces the chances of someone getting addicted for life, so why not limit where someone can get tobacco and raise how much it costs. Time and time again, raising the price has been a great motivator for people to quit. Let’s all stand together and applaud New York for putting the health and well-being of others over profits.
What do you think about New York raising their cigarette prices? Comment down below!


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Samsung Galaxy S4 First technical data, information released. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is true for the many users as the best smartphone that you could wish for – not least because of the technical specifications. But the rumors currently circulating regarding the Samsung Galaxy S 4 in the Internet, some users teach a lesson because the technology is likely to put in the new Samsung smartphone, the current model does look pretty old.
We take the current speculation in the following somewhat more closely. Although Samsung has not yet ruled on an official successor to the current Galaxy S3, the power pours out pure speculation.
Currently report various technology blogs and portals, that the new Samsung Galaxy S4 will exceed the current model in almost every respect – and sometimes more than evident. According to the latest rumors, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is equipped with a 4.8-or 5-inch OLED display that is almost without edges built on the sides of the housing.
In addition, the Korean company is the new smartphone, the Galaxy S series provide a 13 megapixel camera to take along. If this information is confirmed, the Galaxy S4 would surpass many pocket cameras by miles. As a clocked processor at 2 GHz quad-core CPU is in talks to write and tell of three gigabytes of RAM should be supported. Another highlight: the battery.
This should provide a capacity of 3,200 mAh, which would increase the total duration of the Galaxy S4 significantly. A similarly strong battery is otherwise currently installed in any other smartphone. It is speculated that Samsung will showcase the new Galaxy S4 already officially been on in February of next year, held Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It remains to be seen with tension that the current rumors are confirmed at the end actually.
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Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries seems to be getting a lot of dirty looks for things he’s said about other people’s looks.
Jeffries made his controversial comments seven years ago, but it just in the last few days that his name is back in the headlines, thanks to a new book about the inner-workings of the retail business. “The New Rules of Retail” co-author Robin Lewis told reporters that Jeffries “doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store.”
Jefferies, now 68, said in a 2006 interview with Salon that his company markets solely to people they deem “attractive.” So much so that their stores do not carry clothes in XL or XXL sizes. Women’s pants don’t go above size 10.
“In every school there were the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” Jeffries told Salon. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids.”
He went even further.
“A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes] and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
So what do you think? Is Lewis just trying to sell books? Is Jeffries’ outlook not-so-cool? Sound off on our FOX40 News Facebook page.


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Epic Games have finally revealed the Fortnite Season 3 Battle Pass, skins, cosmetics, and included in those is the one and only Aquaman. If you would like to get the DC Comics character in-game, you’ve come to the right place.
With water proving to be one of the biggest factors this season, just like gold was in the last, the half-Atlantean Arthur has arrived in the world of battle royale.
Now, it’s unclear as to whether or not his ability to communicate with marine creatures, like the sharks in the water, will be included in Fortnite just yet, but one thing we know for sure is that he, and his trident, have been added to the game.
Closer look at Aquaman in Fortnite
This news comes just days after Epic’s very own Donald Mustard posted a link on his Twitter account showing a Season 3 teaser, where just the trident could be seen. Jason Mamoa, the lead actor of the Aquaman movie, also gave the game a nod before Season 3 went live.
Even if this announcement had been teased previously, the skin caught many members of the game’s community off guard. For those who haven’t seen the skin just yet, below you can catch a first look at the DC hero’s costume in the official Season 3 trailer.
Welcome to the waves ?
The Island has flooded and there are all new areas to explore, Marauders to take on and… sharks to ride?
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) June 17, 2020
Of course, it’s just as important to know what the skin is going to look like in-game tool. Here’s what Arthur Curry is going to look like in Season 3.
How to get Fortnite’s Aquaman skin
After rumors and devs throwing fuel on the fire, we now know getting our hands on Aquaman is possible – here’s how to get your hands on the smooth-talking, fish-loving DC superhero.
Unlike the rare Deadpool cosmetic in Season 2, which took a while to release and required you to jump through hoops in more than a dozen challenges, the Aquaman skin is a little easier to get your hands on.
- Load up Fortnite Season 3 and purchase the new Battle Pass.
- From there, rank up the Battle Pass.
- Complete five different Aquaman challenges in the skin’s main mission.
- Once that’s all done, you will unlock the Undisputed King of the Seas skin in-game.
Fortnite Aquaman challenge rewards
The rewards for each Aquaman challenge in-game have also been leaked by iFireMonkey, as seen below.
These include a number of cosmetics and items, including the golden trident he’s famous for using.
- Week 1 reward: King of the Beach Loading Screen
- Week 2 reward: Trident! Spray
- Week 3 reward: Aquaman’s Trident Pickaxe
- Week 4 reward: Supreme Shell Back Bling
- Week 5 reward: 35,000 XP
— FireMonkey • Fortnite Intel ? (@iFireMonkey) June 17, 2020
More challenges are expected to be released for the Aquaman skin in the coming weeks of Season 3. We’ll continue to update this post with more information, once it’s been made available, including guides for specific challenges and more rewards.


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Greece leads the way in terms of minimum individual food waste, with an average 44kg of food wasted each year. The statistics are compiled from the Food Sustainability Index 2017, which was developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Barilla Centre for Food & Nutrition Foundation (BCFN).
To highlight the importance of reducing food waste, Magnet have shone a spotlight on some of the individual efforts that have been made by organisations around the world.
Apps are proving to be popular in helping reduce the amount of food wasted. In the UK, Too Good To Go allows users to purchase surplus food from over 4,500 restaurants and cafes at a low price. In Spain, the Yo No Desperdicio app (which stands for “I Don’t Waste”) allows its users to give away or trade unwanted food items with those living nearby.
In Greece, plans are in development to launch a smart food card in Heraklion. The initiative, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, will collect data from citizens’ shopping trips and tell them what items are in the fridge that have expiry dates coming up.
According to the Food Sustainability Index, people in the United Kingdom waste an average of 74.7kg of food each year, ahead of South Korea (95kg) and France (106kg).
In Australia, each person wastes an average 361kg of food a year – the biggest amount out of all 30 countries listed. Nearly 90% of all tomatoes harvested in Australia are thrown away purely based on their aesthetics and could have otherwise been used.
Hayley Simmons, Head of Merchandising at Magnet, says of the research: “We can already see that those initiatives that are creative and incorporate technology in their approach are proving to be the most successful at whittling down food waste numbers. It shows that by being more accessible, people feel more accountable for the food that they end up throwing away. Something as simple as being more aware of expiry dates and resisting the urge to buy additional food when we have a fridge full is a small change that can have a massive impact.”
Find out more about Magnet’s insights here.


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Tesco has removed over two billion pieces of plastic in just four years.
Since 2019, when the retailer launched its “remove, reduce, reuse and recycle” strategy, the UK’s largest supermarket has removed more than 200 million plastic bags from its Tesco.com deliveries.
As part of the drive, Tesco has also removed over 67 million tinned multipacks, and 50 million pieces of plastic from branded beers and cider and 42 million plastic forks from prepared salads and rice bowls.
Last month the supermarket teamed up with packaging manufacturer Faerch to introduce ready meal trays made of 75% recycled content, in a circular packaging solution.
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Tesco responsible sourcing director Kené Umeasigbu said: “We all have a responsibility to our planet and removing unnecessary plastic is an important way that Tesco can reduce its environmental impact.”
“As well as taking action in our own operations, we want to work with the whole industry to continue to build on the progress we’ve made to Remove, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle more.”
Supermarkets have been called out for practises such as selling fresh fruit in plastic packaging, which doesn’t make the fruit last longer but encourages consumers to buy more than they need, leading to increased waste.
In March scientists found that the ocean was littered with 171 trillion pieces of plastic.


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"There have only been 20 perfect games in history," Marlins president David Samson said. "To the extent that there is any demand for tickets for that game, and there is an availability of tickets, this just made sense."
The White Sox and Athletics did something similar for the perfect games pitched by Mark Buehrle and Dallas Braden, respectively.
Samson noted that in the first four hours tickets went on sale, 3,000 were sold. A majority of them have come from the Philadelphia area.
"As long as tickets are available, we'll keep selling," Samson said. "We'll keep going, the same way we would for a World Series or any other game. What we do is open up different sections."
Because tickets for the historic night are going to continue to be sold, the attendance figure for the game will be revised.
"It would have to be," Samson said. "Any ticket revenue is part of revenue sharing and part of the local revenue. So it gets reported."
The exact number of tickets available will be roughly 40,000 more. Samson added that tickets for the game will remain available throughout the entire regular season.
"We'll see what the demand is," Samson said. "Remember, no matter how many tickets were ever bought, 20 years from now, 300,000 people will say they were there anyway."
Halladay and Florida's Josh Johnson engaged in a classic pitching matchup. In defeat, Johnson allowed one unearned run in seven innings. Halladay, meanwhile, struck out 11.
After the gem was thrown, the Marlins presented Halladay with the pitching rubber from the game. In addition, home plate was removed. The Marlins plan on making it part of the history display in their new ballpark, which will open in 2012.
"It's baseball history," Samson said. "We're just selling tickets. To me, it's natural. We're just selling tickets. We're not misleading anybody. No one is buying a ticket thinking they are going to the game. No one is going to the game saying, 'I wonder who wins?' It's not as though that there is any consumer fraud going on. These are people who are well aware of the result."


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In the recent months, we have seen Oculus take some heat for their approach on creating with the Oculus Quest. Facebook is taking a much more strict approach to the Quest than the Rift or the Go, as we have seen masses of developers turn away from the Quest because of it.
Rubin claims that even if they reject a developer or their idea it will never be permanent. This also means that they may simply not reject or approve an idea until it has the ability to pass. In short, many developers will be waiting a ling time until their idea is even responded to. He says that “I will not categorically say no to anything,” although he might save it for the Rift until the Quest is powerful enough to run the game or app.
“Some developer might come in and go, ‘Listen, we think the future of VR is this type of title. It won’t work on Quest,’” Rubin said. “Let’s just pretend for a second it’s entirely physics-based, and physics is a CPU-intensive process, and at least today, Quest can’t do it. And we think about it, and we go, ‘That’s genius. We’ll fund that for PC,’ because if it works on PC, someday it’s going to work on Quest, and that pushes VR forward. So, that’s the title I would do for PC.”
To rephrase that, he is saying that if you are looking to build a game or app for Oculus, you may be turned away if the idea will never fully translate to being on the Quest. This is telling in many ways. It means that Facebook is banking on the Quest (or future headsets just like it) to be the future of virtual reality. Standalone, with no outside sensors or computing devices, is exactly where many believe we are headed.
When asked about what this headset is and the meaning of it, Rubin said that “It’s evolutionary. It’s not revolutionary,” Rubin went on to say, “Think about consoles. You can update the console, smaller form factor, lower costs, all of that. If it plays the same software, same ecosystem. It’s a different device, but it’s the same ecosystem. PlayStation 5 may play software that you can’t play on 4. That’s a new ecosystem. This is the same ecosystem.”
In light of all of this, we have seen a side loading app, SideQuest, take developers by the masses. This is not a good look for Oculus right now. They are having developers and studios get turned away from the Quest, but they are still getting their games and apps onto the headset. This shows a lack of power that Oculus has to enforce the rules that need to be followed, although the developers are just trying to give customers the best experience on their new standalone headsets.
SideQuest is a premium for getting your half-baked apps and games onto the Quest. The way that SideQuest side loads is very fast, effective, and safe. The first app the brought light to this new feature was Virtual Desktop. After Oculus asked Virtual Desktop to take their most recent app update from the Oculus Store, they fired back and side loaded it for their loyal customers. Many thought this would drive Oculus to let up on their harsh rules, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Oculus isn’t planning on backing down anytime soon, as their reasoning for the decisions they have made are very clear and precise. Unless something changes in the very near future, we can expect Oculus to stay stingy on their rules.


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New Wave Of Electric 2-Wheelers Hits U.S. City Streets
As car companies make strides toward expanding the reach of electric cars in the U.S., the same is happening in the world of two wheels.
Outside the U.S., motorcycles, mopeds and scooters are vital, affordable forms of transportation that alleviate congestion. They also run on fossil fuels, and many of the smaller motors are more polluting than regular cars.
In the U.S., these smaller vehicles largely have been leisure devices. But as battery technology improves and cities get denser, some startups are seeking to produce cheaper and greener mopeds, scooters and motorized bikes.
When John McChesney reported on e-bikes for NPR in 2008, they were pretty much a new thing in the U.S. Electric bikes have a long history but re-emerged after the turn of the century.
In that story, McChesney, a baby boomer, pedaled up a hill in San Francisco with the aid of an e-bike.
"This is pretty extraordinary," McChesney said, "because I can tell you, on this hill, I would never, ever attempt it, on my own."
These bikes aren't just good for hill country — they're helpful to people with injuries or heart conditions who ride on flat terrain, too. And they come in all shapes and sizes, including tricycles and recumbent bikes. The majority of buyers have been 45 or older.
Now, though, new startups in Southern California and Oregon are targeting Gen X and millennial consumers looking for something between a bike and a car that's less polluting. These companies hope to create a market for this kind of personalized travel in the U.S., as well as provide zero emissions alternatives to a market that's already popular elsewhere in the world.
URB-E is a foldable scooter built in downtown Pasadena, Calif. Peter Lee, one of the company's founders, is a millennial, and his scooters are aimed at a younger demographic than the electric bikes.
"URB-E stands for urban electric. We exist to solve the pain points of living in cities," Lee says. He says electric cars go a long way toward solving the air problems in a city like Los Angeles, but do nothing about the traffic.
"Using a Uber and Lyft is great and very convenient," Lee says, "but using a 3,000-pound car to move a 150-pound, 180-pound body 1 or 2 miles doesn't seem very convenient or efficient to us."
Lee isn't trying to replace the car or public transit. The point of these vehicles is what transportation people call the "last mile" — think the trip to the grocery store or from the commuter train station home. As cities around the globe look to ban cars in their central business districts and parking remains a premium, these small vehicles are there to fill in the gaps.
"There needs to be a different class of vehicles," says Ryan Rzpecki, CEO of Jump Mobility, an e-bike manufacturer and sharing service. He says that the new devices could be scooters or electric bikes, but that driving around in everyone's own personal vehicle is not the way.
As cars become more autonomous and electric, small e-vehicles will make sense to Americans as they rediscover the downtown, says Rzpecki.
"Plus they're cooler," he adds.
And Jodie Gates with Oregon E-bikes — headquartered in Hood River, Ore. — says electric bikes and other non-car alternatives can help those with limited mobility.
She says there isn't as big of a hurdle persuading people to ride: "You don't forget how to ride a bike."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Read to learn how the fusion of location data with the Internet of Things (IoT) is making organizations smarter and more efficient across industries
So many devices around us have steadily gotten connected to the Internet that we hardly even notice how extensive the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem has become. Our computers and smartphones may be the most obvious IoT players, but today, everything from household items to manufacturing machinery has been embedded with sensors which are generating and streaming data without any kind of human intervention.
Given this pace of proliferation, Gartner says we should expect to see more than 20 billion Internet-connected devices by 2020. And McKinsey maintains that IoT applications could have a global economic impact to the tune of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion per year by 2025. These incredible figures start to sound all too plausible when you look at the developments closer home.
According to IDC Canada, over 45% of Canadian organizations today have dipped their toes in the IoT pool and the IoT market in the Great White North alone is predicted to reach a value of $13.5 billion by 2019. When you consider how IoT is giving businesses access to knowledge they could never tap into before, the optimism for IoT applications gets more than justified.
IoT sensors generate a massive amount of data every day. To both increase revenue and decrease costs, all companies need to do is know how to extract actionable insights from the information at their disposal. Many industries have discovered that the best way to do that is to tie disparate information streams together using an easy-to-recognize context called location.
By using precise location data, organizations can easily visualize what is happening where. And by analyzing historical data bound by spatial awareness, they can map trends and use these insights to optimize business processes.
Let’s dig a little deeper into how various industries are becoming smarter and more efficient by fusing IoT with location intelligence:
Urban analytics is an essential component of smart city development. IoT and location intelligence are allowing governments and municipal agencies to quickly gather regional insights to identify inefficiencies as well as environmental impacts and risks. For instance, smart sensors on wheels can not only identify most congested areas, they can also provide a telling picture of pollution hotspots. Further, IoT and location intelligence are also creating ladders of opportunities for businesses. For example, the Canadian city of Mississauga publishes its real-time bus locations as a live open data set. A gallery can easily use that information to tell a commuter about an art exhibit they could visit at the next stop.
Supply Chain and Logistics
The marriage of IoT with location intelligence is bringing greater levels of transparency and efficiency in the supply chain, and changing the playing field for organizations that deal with logistics. Embedding tags in cargos is leading to an unprecedented ease in asset tracking and tracing – both during in-freight operations and at the time of inventory management in a warehouse. Distribution centres are also able to manage their yards more effectively by providing up-to-the-minute directions to truckers based on the type of goods they are carrying. And businesses even have an opportunity to provide early intervention in case an asset goes missing or is out-of-place.
A study undertaken by Deloitte and the Retail Council of Canada has found that retailers are using smartphone-based traffic analysis to understand the foot traffic outside and inside stores during different times of the day. This data is helping retailers to implement strategies to grow in-store traffic at preferred times. But that’s not the only way how location intelligence and IoT are transforming consumer retail in Canada. Retailers are also using these technologies to execute everything from offering in-store navigation to identifying profitable locations for new stores.
According to PWC Canada, 63% of insurance CEOs are convinced that IoT will be strategically important for their organization. And location intelligence is a natural fit for this bundle. Sensor data backed by spatial awareness can give insurance providers first-hand information about what happened, improving their ability to proactively address claims. Insurance companies can also use the location-backed data to improve their risk rating, detect fraud, and improve customer loyalty. For instance, a car insurance provider can offer discounts on premiums to its customers based on their real-time driving data.
Energy and Utilities
Providing reliable, high-quality and uninterrupted service requires a great amount of visibility and control across the entire utility network. IoT and location intelligence make that possible in ways more than one. Peterborough Utilities Group in Ontario, Canada efficiently manages outages and voltage discrepancies in its distribution network by using IoT to capture multiple data points like temperature, board status, etc., every few minutes from its metering points. Meanwhile, BC Hydro, the chief electric utility for British Columbia, has found that it can restore power faster and isolate faults to the smallest possible area leveraging an IoT-based smart grid system.
Clearly, location awareness is indispensable for an effective IoT network. Location intelligence can provide both context and relevance to an organization’s decisions supported by sensor data and open up a wealth of opportunities for smarter growth.
To know more about how you can benefit from adding precise location data to your IoT setup, contact us.


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Ford Otosan to establish battery factory in Turkey
ISTANBUL- Anadolu Agency
Turkey-based automotive firm Ford Otosan - a joint venture of Turkish Koç Holding and Ford - started works to establish a battery assembly factory for electric vehicles in the industrial province of Kocaeli.
The firm, with its other plants in Kocaeli, will have the first integrated electric vehicle production facility in the country, Haydar Yenigun, the general manager, said during a virtual meeting.
The battery assembly factory will be completed in 2022, he noted.
Previously, the firm produced Turkey's first electric commercial vehicle - Custom PHEV - and currently assuming the production of Ford's electric commercial vehicle E-Transit, Yenigun recalled.
He also said Ford Otosan is one of the largest investors in the country with €2.5 billion (around $3.08 billion) investments, of which €56 million ($67.5 million) was in electric car production, in the last decade.


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When the year is coming to a close, it’s the perfect time to plan for the future. Most businesses begin the year with the hope of growing and improving operations. Much of how a business operates depends on technology. So, it makes sense to look to your IT for areas of optimization. A year-end technology […]
A huge number of small and medium-sized businesses would consider using pirated software to try and save money. Don’t do it.
It seems that nearly as long as passwords have been around, they’ve been a major source of security concern. Eighty-one percent of security incidents happen due to stolen or weak passwords. Additionally, employees continue to neglect the basics of good cyber hygiene. For example, 61% of workers use the same password for multiple platforms. And
Bring your own device (BYOD) is a concept that took hold after the invention of the smartphone. When phones got smarter, software developers began creating apps for those phones. Over time, mobile device use has overtaken desktop use at work. According to Microsoft, mobile devices make up about 60% of the endpoints in a company
Do you inwardly (or outwardly) groan at the thought of yet another video call? They’re now a normal part of our working lives, but it doesn’t make them any more exciting. Good news: Microsoft is introducing Metaverse-style avatars, called Mesh avatars, to Teams. You’ll be able to design your own avatar, personalizing its appearance, accessories, and even choosing its reaction …
Microsoft Teams is a lot of things. It’s a video conferencing tool, a team messaging channel, and a tool for in-app co-authoring, just to name a few. During the pandemic, the popularity of Teams skyrocketed. User numbers for MS Teams jumped from 20 million in November 2019 to 75 million in April 2020. As of
While Windows 11 is only just celebrating its first birthday, we’re already hearing our first rumors about what Windows 12 will have in store. There’s no rush for the time being – we won’t see this new operating system until the back end of 2024 – but we love to be ready for what’s coming next, so here’s what we know …
Have you ever bought a new computer and then had buyer’s remorse a few months later? Maybe you didn’t pay attention to the storage capacity and ran out of space. Or you may have glossed over memory and experienced constant freeze-ups. An investment in a new PC isn’t something you want to do lightly. Doing
Almost half of people with social media accounts admit to falling for shopping scams. If your team are shopping at work, is your business protected?


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What it does
Alfredo Grassi, another customer, is one of Italy’s largest workwear suppliers while G+ will also be used to treat a range of jeans made by Arvind, one of India’s top textile groups.
Directa Plus is also part of a €1mln EU-sponsored initiative to develop a digital printing method for textiles using graphene.
Transport, oil and gas
Directa is working with Marangoni – one of Italy’s leading re-tread companies – to produce better performing tyres for commercial buses and lorries.
Cycle tyre maker Vittoria was the first manufacturer to use Directa’s products, firstly in a carbon fibre wheel, and then in “intelligent” bicycle tyres.
In the oil and gas sector, the firm has joined forces with Italian firm Sartec to develop a commercial-scale industrial system using its graphene-based Grafysorber product for treating oil-contaminated produced water.
Directa owns a majority stake in oil services partner, Romanian firm Setcar.
How it's doing
Deals and partnerships continue to flow through at a healthy pace.
The latest was a technical and commercial agreement with Italdesign, part of VW and a global leader in automotive design and engineering.
Signed for an initial nine years, teh agreement is to explore, test, and build automotive components that are enhanced by the properties of the company's proprietary graphene technology.
Applications could include car interiors, paints, and mechanical components.
Meanwhile, Directa has received a patent from the Italian Patent Office for its G+ graphene to improve the performance of rubber-based shoe outsoles.
The patent covers both the formula containing G+ and the outsole made with the formula.
What the boss says: Giulio Cesareo, CEO
"The strategy we are pursuing to gain traction and capture more value in our key vertical markets is succeeding. We hope that this will help insulate us from the worldwide economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus”.
- Directa has been awarded US patent for its non-chemical graphene process
- A solution for a new type of shoe sole is also being tested
- Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has taken a 28.9% stake


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Sustainable technology showcased
12 December 2012
Hoppecke Industrial Batteries will have a substantial presence at CeMat, where it will display the very latest innovations in battery technology that tie in with the show's focus on sustainable and innovative products.
Centre-stage will be the company's patented trak air battery system, which enables forklift fleet owners to reduce their carbon footprint while saving on battery replacement costs. At the same time, battery temperature levels are reduced by around 10Â°C and energy consumption is cut by trak air reducing the need for battery filling down to four to six times a year, cutting battery gassing and offering over 30% savings on electricity.
In addition, charging times are reduced by around 2.5 hours thanks to the trak air high frequency charger which incorporates a microprocessor.
At the same time, water consumption is reduced by up to 70%, giving the batteries a much longer life and minimising the need for battery disposal.


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Black Friday is setting new records online.
Online sales on Black Friday will hit $3.34 billion, up 22% on last year, and surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time, according to estimates from software company Adobe Digital Index. That’s also an increase of nearly a $1 billion from just two years ago. More than one-third or $1 billion of Black Friday shopping will be done on mobile devices like a smartphone or tablet, while the rest will be done on computers, it said.
The two-day run-up to Black Friday was almost as busy. Thanksgiving Day totaled $1.93 billion in sales, up 11.5% on last year, slightly lower than the $2 billion anticipated, but adding up to $5.3 billion for both days. This was partly due to heavy discounting in the early hours of the holiday season. Sales on Wednesday, Nov. 23, totaled $1.57 billion, up 19% on 2015, $92 million more than Adobe estimates, which also contributed to less revenue on Thanksgiving.
“Black Friday may have just dethroned Cyber Monday’s position as largest online shopping day of the year,” says said Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst and director of Adobe Digital Insights. “Shoppers are still buying at higher than expected levels in the early morning hours of Small Business Saturday.” The highest price drops were seen for tablets (average discount of 25.4%), televisions (23.2%), toys (15%) and computers (11.6%).
Adobe’s latest insights are based on aggregated and anonymous data from 22.6 billion visits to retail websites, and claims to measure 80% of all online transactions from the top 100 U.S. retailers, the equivalent of $7.50 of every $10 spent with the top 500 retailers goes through Adobe Marketing Cloud. The average order value on Apple’s
In previous years, mobile shoppers liked to browse on smartphones but make their purchases on tablets. That changed in 2016. Mobile accounted for 55% of visits — smartphones (45%) tablets (10%) — and also 36% of sales so far — smartphones (25%) tablets (11%), while the rest of the traffic came from computers. Top selling electronics include the usual suspects: iPads, Samsung 4K TVs and LG TVs. Best-selling toys include drones, mini vehicles for kids and Lego sets.
The National Retail Federation, the industry group representing retailers, said last month that it expects sales in all of November and December — excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales — to hit $655.8 billion this year, including non-store sales of $105 billion. This represents an increase of 3.6% on last year, and significantly higher than the 10-year average of 2.5% annual increase and above the seven-year average of 3.4% since the economic recovery began in 2009.


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Google was named the world’s most valuable brand Apple followed by Microsoft Sina Technology News Beijing time on September 10th morning news, the British brand value consulting firm Brand Finance today announced the 2011 list of the world’s most valuable brands, Google, apple and Microsoft ranked three a.
Brand Finance assessment indicators include both the advantages, risks and future potential relative to competitors, including financial data, political environment and economic changes over the past six months.
Google to $48 billion 200 million this year, the world’s most valuable brand. Apple replaced Microsoft ranked second, brand value increased by 33%. Microsoft ranked third.
Brand Finance explained in a statement Apple’s valuation changes in detail. The statement said: Apple’s success, from innovative design, high consumer loyalty and excellent marketing capabilities. It is natural to think that, after Steve · (Steve Jobs) left, how Apple’s brand will be affected by the. However, with the implementation of the company’s innovative culture, Apple will still occupy an important position in the market."
in addition to the above three companies, poor performance of the U.S. banking industry, Bank of America and Wells Fargo brand value is beyond HSBC. But McDonald’s, Nike and Coca-Cola and other traditional giants still occupy a higher ranking.
emerging markets such as China and India, both in terms of the number or value of enterprises have been greatly improved. Chinese enterprise is the highest ranked China Mobile ranked thirty-first, followed by thirty-second ICBC, forty-second of the Chinese Construction Bank, sixty-second of the Chinese bank, seventy-second of the China Agricultural Bank, ninetieth of the oil, and ninety-eighth of the China life insurance.
In contrast to
, European companies have done badly, Spanish companies have lost 13% of their value, and French companies have fallen by about $5%. (Yan Fei)


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Macy’s is a mainstream retailer with a lot of tradition. But don’t hold that against the company.
It’s catering to the “modern man” and breaking fashion taboos. Like incorporating vivid colors into a guy’s wardrobe, or mixing prints and patterns in unpredictable ways. And according to Durand Guion, Macy’s vice president and fashion director for men’s wear, purple suede driving moccasins, bright-blue slim chinos and unconstructed red blazers have been among the recent bestsellers. “Not so long ago, the mere suggestion of those very items may have potentially jeopardized the job of a fashion director,” said Guion.
Add slimmer suits, narrow neckwear, tie bars and pocket squares to the mix. “The redefined modern man associates a sexiness with looking sharp,” Guion said.
In his presentation on redefining the modern man and how Macy’s markets to the paradigm, Guion said that taboo-breaking fashion can come from evolving the familiar — like remaking plaids, which have been staples, to be larger and colorful, or taking floral prints seen in neckwear, also within the comfort zone for most men, and “spraying” them over slim-fit polos.
For inspiration, Macy’s has turned to pro basketball. “We love the revised guidelines regarding pre- and post-game attire for NBA players,” which have helped reenergize tailored clothing and dress furnishings, Guion said. “These classifications are no longer considered boring or stiff. Athletes — almost overnight — have broken taboos about colors and fit. We want to take this excitement and run with it. We continue to look toward celebrity icons, actors, musicians and athletes to break the taboos of what it is to be a modern man. Their influence has never been stronger on inspiring our customer to see himself differently.”
Guion also cited designers Tom Ford and Thom Browne for having a “seismic influence” on men’s wear. He credited “the street style phenomena” for driving fashion, and predicted the upcoming “Great Gatsby” movie remake will be a trend factor too.
“We believe at the heart of every modern man is a source of inspiration, not necessarily to be copied, but to awaken his inner confidence and link it to factors responsible for building the courage to represent himself in a stylish manner and begin breaking taboos,” Guion said.
With brands, those that display newness work the best, Guion said, though it’s more about creating a look rather than being logo-ed head-to-toe. He singled out Zara, the Spanish chain, for doing “a fantastic job distilling what is happening in the fashion world, getting it out there fast, and setting a benchmark on how to talk fashion to men and not make it scary.”
Guion also singled out outerwear, where he sees plenty of innovation and newness. “I am crazy about outerwear. We have been pushing to make sure we have interesting outerwear all of the time, from top coats to this bomber jacket thing, to the jean jacket. Guys are starting to build wardrobes for outerwear. He is really expressing himself through outerwear.”
Until recently, “the terms ‘modern’ and ‘men’ did not have a comfortable association with each other and there were so many taboos associated with identifying oneself with modern, especially as it related to fashion and style,” Guion said. “Fashion is still considered a taboo word for many men.”
Yet “the modern man,” he maintained, at least at Macy’s, gets redefined today “through the lens of color, print and pattern, tailoring and the Millennial generation.…One of the most effective ways to communicate our fashion message to the modern man is through color. Until recently, color was relegated to neckwear as the only acceptable way for a man to incorporate color into his wardrobe without any questions being asked. Today, our customer has started to expect, and anticipates, being introduced to the newest color trends. Each season we select a trend in color to highlight across all relevant categories through the men’s store and we reinforce it through marketing, in-store trend shops and omnichannel.”
There’s also a focus on the 13-to-30-year-old male demographic. “They do not want to conform,” Guion said. “Old rules don’t apply. This guy will be well informed on the trends.” In an omnichannel world, “He relies on self research and discovery more than ever. The possibility of being ‘Instagramed’ to stardom is very real. Even the guy in the background wants to look cool — because who knows who will see the posting. It is really about constant innovation.” Still, as Guion cautioned, don’t confuse modern with young.“Modern is a mind-set. We don’t necessarily think of modern as young.”
My character, Dinah Madani, is just the coolest, [most] badass woman imaginable," says @amberroserevah. The actress stars in @marvel's newest series on @netflix, @thepunisher. To prepare for her role, Revah sat down with Homeland agents to get a real sense of with Dinah's day-to-day life is really like. Read our full interview on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
A scene from the 91st annual @macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade, which boasts 50 million TV viewers and 3.5 million on-site spectators, is considered one of the largest and most watched parades in the world. (📷: Jason Szenes/EPA-REX)
The circus came to @bloomingdales 59th Street on Tuesday night and lit up Lexington Avenue with acrobatic dancers, death-defying knife throwing, sword swallowing and aerial acts with no net. The 45 minutes of theatrics built up to unveiling the holiday windows depicting @swarovski crystal-encrusted circus pieces and scenes from “The Greatest Showman” – songs from the soundtrack included. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: Joshua Scott)
The psychedelic fashion that pervaded the ’60s is back with an exhibit at the @museumofcityny. “Mode New York: Fashion Takes a Trip” chronicles the changing styles from 1960 through 1973 and features designers such as @ysl, @oscardelarenta and more. The exhibition, which is on display through April 1, is organized into four periods: First Lady Fasion, Youthquake, New Bohemia and New Nonchalance. Pictured here is model Pat Bardonella during the Garvey Day Parade in 1968. (📷: @kwamebphoto) #wwdeye #wwdfashion
“People should be a lot more honest in expressing both the dark and light of themselves. We need to give each other the space to do that because it’s the only way we can grow and evolve,” says @noelwells of her new film “Mr. Roosevelt,” which is largely based on her own struggles. Unexpectedly leaving @nbcsnl in 2014 after just one season, Wells felt set back in her self-esteem and career trajectory. She quickly refocused her energy to more personal projects, which led to the completion of “Mr. Roosevelt.” Read the rest of WWD’s interview with the “Master of None” actress on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
@barbrastreisand is giving fans a chance to see her perform up close in a new concert series, which makes its debut on @Netflix today. From behind-the-scenes takes to her concert performance in Miami last December, the two-hour streaming special captures Streisand in her element. Pictured here is the singer/actress photographed for WWD in 1963. (📷: Palmieri Tony) #wwdeye #wwdarchive
@chanel and @pharrell dropped what’s being dubbed as the world’s most exclusive sneakers yesterday. The Adidas Originals NMD Hu, which Williams designed in collaboration with Chanel and @adidasoriginals, has a waiting list of over 120K people who pre-registered online at chanelatcolette.fr –– and only 500 pairs are on sale. The singer predicted the resale value of the shoes could reach $40K. Read the full interview on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdfashion (📷: Dominique Maître)
@imanshumpert is diving deeper into his creative endeavors and relaunching his clothing line, Post 90s, and is helping to raise money for the hurricane victims in St. Maarten with a jersey he’s designed with his brother. The Cleveland Cavaliers player talked to WWD about kneeling during the national anthem, working with fashion brands and how he wants to be more than an @nba player. Read the interview on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: George Chinese)


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Even in winter, Polaris Industries (PII 0.82%) benefited from the acquisition of Boat Holdings last year. The addition was responsible for most of the sales growth the powersports vehicle maker recorded in the first quarter. But with softness in some of its most important legacy businesses, Polaris' results were uninspiring even if they did come in ahead of projections.
Revenues of $1.5 billion matched Wall Street's forecast, while earnings adjusted for amortization and restructuring costs were $1.08 per share, handily exceeding analyst expectations of $0.92 per share.
While that allowed the powersports vehicle maker to raise its full-year guidance by $0.05 per share on both the upper and lower ends, forecasting earnings between $6.05 and $6.30 per share, the actual performance of the company left something to be desired.
Motorcycles still sliding
As one would expect from a quarter that featured cold, snowy weather, snowmobiles contributed to Polaris' growth with sales up by mid-single-digit percentages. Unfortunately, it's a smaller segment than its primary off-road vehicle business, and it could not overcome the 10% drop in ATV and side-by-side sales in the period.
Winter weather also caused motorcycle sales to fall, with Indian Motorcycle suffering a slight decline. And it didn't seem to matter what the weather was when it came to the three-wheeled Slingshot, as its sales tumbled again regardless. CEO Scott Wine did say Polaris has figured out what's wrong with Slingshot and is addressing it. It's not expecting the trike to return to profitable growth this year, though he's confident it will eventually.
Even so, Wine's patience is not limitless, and he said if Slingshot sales don't turn around in a couple of years, Polaris will revisit its investment. It's likely that its lifeline is a lot shorter than that. If sales don't improve this year, we may see its production shut down sooner rather than later. It is a constant drag on performance and profitability, and dealers are looking to get out of their contracts to carry it. Slingshot was an idea worth a shot at the time because of softer demand for its other products. Today, though, it has larger opportunities elsewhere such as boats. Management could free up capital for these other prospects should it kill off the Slingshot sooner than later.
Another one of those better bets is its new FTR 1200 motorcycle it will begin selling. Born out of Indian's wildly successful flat-track racing program, the FTR 1200 is seen as a motorcycle that could help spur more sales. Polaris has a facility in Poland to which it will shift production for the European market, but right now that plant produces only the Indian Scout and needs to be adjusted for the FTR. Even so, the impact of tariffs remains substantial, and Polaris anticipates the motorcycle segment's profitability will be "challenged this year" as a result.
It also continues to have problems in the aftermarket business, as its Transamerican Auto Parts (TAP) unit continues to fall, with sales down 2% from the year-ago period. (Other aftermarket brands apparently did quite well this quarter.)
TAP continues to have problems at wholesale and with e-commerce, just as it did last quarter, part of which ended up causing it to lose access to Amazon.com's (AMZN 1.79%) Prime membership program. Although Polaris didn't specify what the problem was, it noted it hadn't lived up to the requirements of Prime and was booted off, though after making adjustments it says it was able to regain access.
TAP also had problems with its own website due to upgrades being made, and, similar to the hiccups Polaris said it experienced with parts and such when it made similar changes, it suffered a slowdown with TAP.
Yet there's been no real indication that the slump TAP has been in since Polaris acquired it will reverse anytime soon; it, too, is serving as a drain.
The bright spot is Polaris' boat acquisitions, which added $185 million in sales this quarter and benefited from the hikes it imposed earlier this year that raised average selling prices 7%. It noted that traffic at boat shows was higher, and that tends to be a good indicator of sales later on. It is looking for the boat business to contribute about 6 percentage points to the 11% to 13% growth in revenue this year.
Polaris Industries is still a solid business, having produced more than $200 million in trailing free cash flow, which reflects a seasonal decline in the first quarter. But its better earnings outlook for the year is one that's not necessarily based on business picking up. Rather it counts on macroeconomic factors like better currency exchange rates and lower interest expense to improve more than it had originally forecast.
We are into the start of the spring selling season for off-road vehicles and motorcycles, but both markets are weak, which will put pressure on the company to show it can get sales in its most important segments growing again.


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Derek Picot is stepping down as general manager of the five-AA-star Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel, London, after 11 years in the role.
He will also relinquish his position as regional vice-president, Europe, of Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts. He will leave the hotel at the end of September, but will continue to consult for the group until April next year.
Picot's decision to leave Jumeirah coincided with the company's decision to move the regional role overseas.
Doris Greif, currently general manager of the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi, has been appointed to the regional vice-president role, to be based in Frankfurt, and the company is looking to recruit a new general manger for the 211-bedroom Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge.
Picot, who joined the company in 2003 from his previous role as regional general manager, Le Meridien Piccadilly London, and oversaw the Carlton Tower's 50th anniversary three years ago, said he was proud of helping to establish the Jumeirah brand in Europe over the past 11 years.
"Alongside the Carlton tower and Lowndes hotels in London, we've opened hotels in Rome, Majorca and Frankfurt, as well as launched the Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living in the capital.
"Now is a good time to explore new opportunities and move on," he added.
Gerald Lawless, president and chief executive of Jumeirah Group, said that Picot has been "a great leader" within Jumeirah, supporting the growth and development of hotels in London and throughout Europe.
"A consummate hotelier, he has leveraged his reputation in the luxury hospitality sector to support the Jumeirah brand and build loyalty among the many thousands of guests who have graced the lobbies of the hotels under his supervision. I would like to personally thank him for his many years' service and for the inspiration he has provided to the many colleagues who have had and continue to have the privilege of working with him."


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The Prime Minister has confirmed that ‘non-essential; shops, hairdressers and gyms can reopen in England from Monday 12 April. Boris Johnson said that the next stage of England’s roadmap out of lockdown can go ahead as planned.
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council is urging local residents to shop local.
A spokesperson said “It’s vital we support our own communities. By buying your meat from a local butcher, purchasing from one of the new stall holders at Epsom Market, opting to use the shops at Stoneleigh, ordering a takeaway from restaurant in Ewell and getting a haircut at one of the many shopping parades across the borough, you will provide much-needed support to your local community.
“Research form the campaign group Independent Retailer Month, suggests that for every £1 spent locally around 50p - 70p of that money recirculates back into the local economy. That’s why the Council’s 'Shop Safe, Shop Local, Shop Epsom & Ewell' campaign is encouraging residents to shop safely and buy locally wherever they can.
“Supporting local businesses means that they will stay in business through this difficult period.”
Staying local, as individuals can walk and cycle, also boosts exercise and is more environmentally sustainable.
Some retailers will be taking advantage of temporary relaxation in trading rules that will allow them to stay open until 10pm from Monday to Saturday in a bid to spread out shoppers and avoid congestion.
Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality can reopen from 12 April, but customers must sit outdoors and be served via table service. Indoor leisure centres - including swimming pools and gyms can also open their doors again.
Hosted activities at council venues, including at Bourne Hall, will be re-established in line with the government roadmap, increasing the activities available to residents and supporting neighbouring businesses.
Please help us continue to make the borough safe for the return of shoppers by:
- Following social distancing guidelines
- Paying by contactless where possible
- Following directional signage
- Being considerate and give way
- Wearing face coverings when social distancing isn’t possible.


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It's been almost a decade since the initial release of Grand Theft Auto V, and now, Grand Theft Auto VI seems right around the corner.
Last month, a multitude of developmental footage and assets from the highly-anticipated third-person shooter leaked online. However, Rockstar Games assured fans that the tremendous leak hasn't delayed development.
A reputable Rockstar Games insider by the name of Tez2 recently took to the GTAForums to reveal their own leak (via Charlie INTEL). According to this leaker, Rockstar Games planned to end an upcoming Grand Theft Auto Online Halloween event with an announcement pertaining to Grand Theft Auto VI.
It's said that, beginning on October 15th, UFOs will begin to appear around the Grand Theft Auto Online map and ultimately culminate with the appearance of the unique UFO that has been hovering over Fort Zancudo since 2013 on October 23rd.
Players had speculated that something to do with Grand Theft Auto VI and UFOs was on the cards, as a photograph was discovered in the Lil' Probe'Inn location in GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition which depicts a house in Vice City, the setting of Grand Theft Auto VI, with a UFO sat atop it.
Tez2 later clarified that the aforementioned leak may have delayed the intended announcement. Therefore, we should all temper their expectations for the finale of the upcoming event — but our fingers are certainly crossed.


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The meaty food court frank and fountain drink cost $1.50, unchanged since the 1980s, demonstrating Costco's dedication to value. Despite
decades of inflation and Costco's losses, that pricing has stayed constant. Cheap bites are more of a draw to keep clients.
One of Costco's founders informed CEO Craig Jelinek in 2018: "If you raise the [price of the] effing hot dog, I will kill you."
Jelinek has not lost the price, his life, or his work. At a recent shareholders meeting, he said the burgeoning warehouse chain sold 157 million
After rival Sam Club lowered its price, Jelinek may be tempted to do the same. Sam's Club undercut Costco by lowering its hot dog combo to $1.38
The Los Angeles Times' high-profile review of both hot dog dealers fueled their rivalry this week.
The competing wieners "tasted virtually identical" but Sam's Club's toppings and soft drinks were "superior"—a verdict that "almost hurts,"
The review sparked a heated internet dispute between rivals over hot dogs, cola, and which warehouse club is best.
Someone on a Sam's Club Reddit thread said the Walmart-owned club's hot dog wins in a "taste comparison," to which another replied, "You take that back!"


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Key Reasons Behind the Sensex & Nifty Fall (5.5% Drop)
The stock markets, majorly Sensex & Nifty, has seen a fall of 5%-6% in the period of last one month. Why are Indian Stock Markets (Sensex & Nifty) Falling? What are the reason behind this? Many theories are being developed regarding this. Many people are trying to link this fall with the election outcome.
Sensex & Nifty
- Sensex, which attained a top of 39,275 on 16th April,2019, has now come down till around 37,114 on 15th May,2019.
- Nifty, which went up till a high of 11,787 on 16th April,2019 , is currently being traded around 11,157 on 15th May,2019. .
- Thus, both the indices are down by close to 5.5% from last one month.
- We think that the this fall in the stock markets is not because of the elections but because of global coupling effect. Coupling effect means if there as some activities going in the global market then the corresponding activities will also happen in the Indian stock markets.
World Indices :
- Nikkei, an index of Japan, has come down by 5.6% in the last one month.
- Hang Seng, an index of Hong Kong, has come down by 6.4% in the last one month.
- Shanghai, an index of China, has come down by 11.19% in the last one month.
- European indices such as FTSE of UK, DAX of Germany, CAC 40 of France have also come down by 4% to 5% in the last one month.
- And similarly, Indian Indices, Sensex and Nifty, have also come down by 5.5%.
- There are no elections going on in any other countries, but still their stock markets are falling. Hence, elections in India cannot be the reason behind the stock markets falling in India or in ant other country for that matter.
Reason Why the Global and Indian Stock Markets are Down
1. US – China Trade War :
- In January 2018, Trump administration started taking action on the trade deficit between US and China. There was a trade deficit of $379 billion, in January 2018 as per calendar year. That is exports worth $379 billion were additionally done form China to US. At that time, Trump administration stated that the export amounts should be same from both the countries. And that is when the US – China trade war actually started.
- In July 2018, US levied an import duty of 25% on exports worth $34 billion from China. To reciprocate, China did the same thing. China too levied an import duty of 25% on exports worth $34 billion from US.
- In August 2018, US levied an import duty of 25% on exports worth $50 billion from China. China took levied similar duties as well.
- In September 2018, US and China again repeated their action of September 2018. US did not just stop there. To take some more aggressive actions, it levied import duty of 10% on exports worth $200 billion from China. At that time China took a backfoot and did not reciprocate similarly. Instead it levied 5%-10% import duty on exports worth just $60 billion from US. This was when China started to lose some ground.
All these things were definitely not good for the global markets.
- In this trade eventually only US would come out as the winner as China was the one from whose side there was trade surplus. And, China needed to understand this. After that discussions were going on regarding this trade war but no actions were being taken particularly.
- And now on 10th May 2019, US levied 25% import duty on exports of $250 billion from China. At this point, China is a little scared and they have only thought to levy import duty on exports of $110 billion. And that too China is saying that they will levy an import duty up to 25%, meaning different import duty depending upon the product.
- Thus, till now, US has levied import duty on imports worth $584 billion. And on the other hand, China stands at just $304 billion. There is a difference of $280 billion which shows the aggressiveness of US.
- Other import duties can be still be said that were less, but the import duty of 25% on exports worth $250 billion from China was a very aggressive step.
- Now, definitely discussions will be conducted and efforts will be made to reach a resolution.
2. India Specific Reasons :
- There are no India specific reason as of right now because of which the stocks markets are falling.
- But yes, if the results of Lok Sabha elections are not as per the expectation and the results are totally different and unusual, then the markets can give negative reactions at that time.
- Therefore, in conclusion US – China trade war is the reason why global markets are going down and also the Indian stock market is falling.
- In the future, the election result can have an impact, but it is certainly not the current reason behind the fall in Indian stock market.


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Magic hair combed neatly, a purple tie gracing his own neck, Ricardo Salinas Pliego chatted because of the smooth self-confidence of one that not concerned with profit some time. “Today there is a bank that didn’t use to are present,” Salinas taught the group. “Today we now have 11 million members, people who weren’t banked before.”
It’s improbable that Salinas, a Mexican business person worth $18.5 billion, possesses realized themselves inside the regrettable position of not having the means to access lender treatments. Most of the people following your talk final fall season at a summit of Mexico’s businesses management most likely possesn’t, often. Except for the 12.5 million associates whom now have loan profile at Salinas’ Banco Azteca, buying the daily cost of life is an entirely various event.
In a country where 52percent of men and women survive around $80 four weeks, Salinas is
various world’s wealthiest group by promoting goods–and credit–to Mexico’s employed bad. And organization is flourishing. Salinas’ Grupo Elektra (the rear team of Banco Azteca) received an explosive 2011: complete consolidated income raised 19per cent in nearby bucks, to $3.7 billion, with 45per cent of income during the last one-fourth from the bank. Owing to Elektra’s soaring communicate terms Salinas, who owns about 70% from the regular, put much more than ten bucks billion to his own individual total benefit in just over a-year. And Elektra is among the fastest-growing businesses on FORBES’ ranking of the 2,000 most significant employers on the planet, jumping 746 sites to 802 on our personal show this coming year. “The lender conducted really well in 2011,” says Fitch scores’ Alejandro Garcia.
In principle, increasing financing to Mexico’s underbanked society happens to be a worthwhile objective and the other that serves the country overall. To be honest, a Mexico with a much more inclusive financial system happens to be a Mexico with an improved chances at the gargantuan process of carrying half its populace from poverty. “We’re seeing that low-income clients in Mexico, exactly where two decades ago they solely got moneylenders and good friends for wants, surely have usage of conventional providers,” claims Carlos Danel, executive vice-president of Compartamos Bank, a microcredit loan provider that recharges the lendees amazingly highest rates of interest.
Experts are actually interestingly simple. “They serve individuals who have no other selection,” states Marco Carrera, a spokesman for Condusef, Mexico’s buyer safety organisation for financial service people. “There is not any more pricey dollars than cash which isn’t around.”
And debt in Mexico try insanely costly car title loans near me for everyone–rich and inadequate equally. Mistake lax regulations, little opponents and a historically fickle currency exchange. an United states present azure cards, as an instance, expense a usurious 42per cent APR in Mexico versus 15percent to 20 percent for the U.S. supplementary fees motivate prices nearer to 57percent, as indicated by Condusef–and several credit cards recharge higher still numbers. It’s not easy to know exactly exactly how Azteca stacks up, within the financial cannot report its records on the institution (an Elektra spokesman rejected to describe why), but BanCoppel, an Azteca competitor, provides the finest noted rate–88per cent, like included charges. Hence’s merely loans cards–Condusef does not post the rates creditors cost private funding.
Charges are highest in Mexico if you have the very least money–and there’s in fact a legitimate businesses situation for what may appear like an unethical practice. Garcia, the Fitch analyst, states Azteca’s overheads plus debt bills need a minimum of a 30per cent fees rate–and which is so that your budget can break-even. Better prices are due to considerably active support services, and also the greater risk of financing to these owners, most of them first-time customers. “Especially because of the low income owners, there are no info on his or her creditworthiness–and a lot of them operate in the everyday economic system, so that they wouldn’t actually able to convince you ways a great deal of revenue these people acquire,” claims Jorge Gonzalez, professor of economics and dean of Occidental university in l . a ..
Salinas is a trailblazer in lending on the bad. In 2002 his Grupo Elektra retail sequence nabbed
a finance permit and started opening branches inside its electronics and property items price cut shop. Banco Azteca offers the consumers three types of account: unsecured loans, which associates normally use for health related expenditures or quinceanera (15th-birthday) people; a bank-branded Tarjeta Azteca charge card; and customer financial products for in store acquisitions in Elektra’s electronics and homes items shop. They won’t declare what percentage of the lending are widely-used to pick fridges from Elektra versus paying for surgical expenses, but its loan portfolio is continuing to grow fasting: the latest 12.5-million-client lineup is actually 45per cent greater than it actually was the last 12 months. Since 2005 Banco Azteca have put outside Mexico’s boundaries so possesses limbs in Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil and El Salvador. Within Mexico opposition like BanCoppel, Famsa and Wal-Mex has sprang as many as gobble a slice on this sector.
Elektra suits a certain demographic: households which makes at the least $400 per month–the minicab vehicle operators, mango suppliers and cleansing ladies of this us. Costs on settees and automatic washers marketed inside Elektra stores basically television emphasise the reduced every week rates–not simply how much the customer pay with fees. As soon as the purchase is actually closed in, a cadre greater than 5,000 motorcycle-riding financing officials scoot during usa to gather funds. (Though unrelated for the debt officers, Elektra is usually adult team to Italika, Mexico’s the majority of respected vendor of motorcycle scooters.)
“The big problem with Banco Azteca’s structure is that it can don’t let increase sourced elements of revenues for low income individuals; rather, what it really induces was a system of usage,” states Clemente Ruiz Duran, a prof of business economics on Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.


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The 21st century isn’t just characterized by digital transformation but the craze associated with smartphone adoption, the growing tech standards and industry, and the idea of a connective ecosystem. Thanks to tech, we get to experience world-class apps, and innovation in the same field, has been highly impressive.
In the past five years, 1.4 billion smartphones have been sold worldwide. We are addicted to mobile phones and the services related to it and mobile apps are important for. With that said, the smartphone market is on a boom, particularly in highly populated countries like, China and India. As a consequence of this, the best iPhone app development companies are looking to invest in such tech-friendly apps
Let’s look at this statistic from Statista.
The above stat shows the cumulative Apple App store earning through mobile app developers, from Jan 2014 to Jan 2020. Furthermore, Apple has paid a total of 155 billion US dollars to iOS developers alone. Apple’s iOS owns an 18% market share and a combined share of 99.6% with Android. The conclusion is that Apple’s iPhone application development is the most aspired, and the highest technologically capable operating system in the world.
Now, let’s consider the most popular app versions in the Apple App Store category.
The following shows the most popular app category in the App Store. Most of them were about games and business. According to a study, the mobile apps market is projected to generate more than 935 billion US dollars in revenue, by 2023.
These trends alone portray the importance and the need of iPhone app development services. With more than 20 million registered iOS developers catering to the 500 million weekly visitors on the App Store, the phenomenon of developing an iOS app doesn’t seem so old. The world is a pool for developer talent. Coincidingly, there are over 5 billion mobile users in the world, with global internet penetration at 57%, looking forward to a new app now and then.
The Apple App Store and Google Play Store dominate the landscape of the app market in the world. In the past few years, the mobile application is making their way into the various business segments. With the evolution of technology, you can now keep up with your routine tasks, all through applications. Right from AI to IoT mobile apps, the iOS app development industry is pacing its way forward into the industry.
Let’s jump to the different trends for iPhone app development services in 2020.
There was an article published by Forbes on 30th August 2019. The title read iPhone Hack: Google warns 1 billion Apple users. They May have been attacked. This was just before the iPhone 11 was launched, and every iOS device was said to be vulnerable. Security is one of the biggest issues in Apple devices, and there have been various updates regarding it.
Apple has a wide culture that caters to the needs of every user, be it an adult or a child and provide a safe environment. This will include improving the overall security and prevent any sort of attacks and data breaches.
As technology progresses so does the hackers. That is why Apple needs to renovate its security terms now and then, to nullify the effect of such security breaches.
Internet of Things is advancing every day. This technique is becoming more prominent for app developers worldwide. Since IoT connects every other device, many iOS developers are working on building such apps that could connect all the internet-enabled devices. IoT is not a new trend and has been in talks for a few years now, but it is still an important discussion and a much-needed tool for the future. The assistance makes the lives of the users easier, and so more and more customers will be looking out for such apps.
While cloud technology has brought joy to several companies in the tech space, the opportunities associated with it are immense. Through this tech, users and companies can store vast amounts of data in the cloud without ever using too much data space. For all those companies that suffered from data storage issues, the cloud offers an ample amount of space for the entire organization.
For the same reason, most of the iOS apps are now built on cloud technology, called the iCloud services. This way, the users can store all their content without worrying about the space. Content like the images, contacts, files, notes, songs, chats, everything can be backed up in the cloud. All a user needs are, a login id and password, and they can store anything you want in the cloud. A particular advantage of using the cloud is that you don’t need any space to store them but, you can still run your data into the cloud.
One of the upcoming and important trends is AR or augmented reality. More and more people are looking forward to apps related with AR and VR features. As for the iOS developers, the focus has shifted to ARKit, with the release of the iPhone 11. Through ARKit, developers can create 3D and virtual-based mobile applications for users.
Furthermore, with Apple and Amazon partnering for ARKit, AR will be in demand in the consumer market. This is an invitation for iOS developers, to work on the innovative power of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
With so much going around with the best iOS mobile app development trends, more and more developers are working on apps that speak about the advanced technological elements. There is a great demand for such apps in the market, and that is what inspires developers to walk through the arcades of technology and innovation.


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After 10 years of leading Barilla Group, as of April 2023, Claudio Colzani will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer to pursue other professional opportunities.
After a “scrupulous” selection process, the company say, the position will be filled by Gianluca Di Tondo, former Chief Marketing Officer for the Group.
“I’d like to thank Claudio for these ten years we’ve spent together. He has provided us with significant growth, and has solidified the Barilla Group to a great extent, making it optimistic as it faces its future challenges,” said Guido Barilla, Chairman of the Barilla Group. “Claudio has achieved major development in international markets, and at the same time has invested in a pathway of sustainability. He has also created a more inclusive culture of valuing diversity.”
“I’m incredibly happy, proud and grateful to the Board of Directors for this honor. I’m also conscious of the challenge in front of me having big shoes to fill coming after Claudio that in his 10 years at the helm of the company did an incredible job to bring Barilla where it is today,2 said Gianluca Di Tondo.
Mr Di Tondo has gained experience with over 25 years in the food and beverage industry, having held positions in both sales and marketing. Among other roles, he assumed global responsibility for the Heineken brand, with has a presence in 129 markets.
In March 2020 he joined Barilla as Group Chief Marketing Officer where his responsibilities including defining a new category strategy for pasta which resulted in the creation of the Barilla Al Bronzo line, the launch of new logos for Barilla and Mulino Bianco, and establishing the Barilla Acceleration Team, which is based in London.
Read more latest industry news and developments in our free to download magazine.


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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (TSX:VRX)(NYSE:VRX) has been very quiet since it failed to acquire Botox-maker Allergan, Inc. It was announced on November 17 that Allergan had agreed to be acquired by Actavis plc. Since then, Valeant’s shares have grown by over $46 a share.
Investors are clearly happy with where the company is headed. And they should be, because Valeant has a unique business model that allows it to grow without spending tremendous amounts of money on R&D.
Buy rather than research
Over the past few years, Valeant has focused on buying companies rather than investing in new drugs. In many cases, the creation of a single drug from concept to commercialization can cost $1 billion. What’s really dangerous about that is many drugs go through many stages of investment and then are rejected by health agencies. That’s a lot of money spent without anything to show for it.
Valeant would rather buy companies that have products already well into development. Valeant then cuts research and development on fringe products, synergizes the sales forces, and streamlines the overall business. If a company has 10 products in the pipeline, Valeant may slash five because they are too far away from commercialization.
Many argue that this is bad because no research means the company can’t grow organically. The CEO of Valeant disagrees with this claim, arguing that many of its products are grown from within and that it just doesn’t throw money at the wall hoping it will stick.
China is its future
The types of products that Valeant creates are targeted toward the middle class. It’s advertising during the Super Bowl for a foot fungus treatment. It creates a lot of ophthalmological products. These are examples of products that people who have spare money can think about.
And China is getting to the point where its people are starting to join this middle class. Thanks to its acquisition of Bausch & Lomb, Valeant now has a strong foothold in China. When the Chinese start to think about buying contacts, Valeant will be in a prime position to supply these products to them. Other pharmaceutical companies don’t have the type of stronghold that Valeant has, so they will struggle to gain market share.
In 2013, China saw a 25% increase in contact lens usage. With a population over 1 billion, there is still plenty of room for Valeant to grow in Asia.
There is some concern, though, about Valeant. Its P/E of 108.69 is astronomical. Further, it does not pay any dividends to investors. And finally, it has a lot of debt on its books. Fortunately, the company is focusing on paying its debt down, so it won’t be making new acquisitions for at least a few months.
All in all, Valeant is a good company. It’s rewarded investors with an incredible increase in share price. However, if you are looking to generate dividends, it’s not the company for you. Instead, you might want to check out our report on three really great dividend paying companies.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium service or advisor. We’re Motley! Questioning an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer, so we sometimes publish articles that may not be in line with recommendations, rankings or other content.


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Manager, Communications and Strategy
September 15, 2021
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual Dream Big Awards, presented by Spectrum Reach, celebrate the achievements of small businesses and honors their contributions to America’s economic growth.
The most anticipated award—whose winner earns a $25,000 cash prize—is Small Business of the Year. Each of the three finalists for Small Business of the Year exemplify the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and individual initiative. Read more about the businesses in the running below.
The winner will be announced at the Dream Big Awards Ceremony, part of The Big Week for Small Business virtual event, on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at 5:00pm ET. Learn more about the other Dream Big Award categories and finalists here.
Small Business of the Year Finalists:
GaN Corporation,Huntsville, AL
Founded in 2004, Geeks and Nerds (GaN) Corporation is a high-tech company on a mission to make a positive impact. GaN works with federal agencies, including NASA and the Department of Homeland Security, to solve challenging technological problems in cybersecurity and engineering.
From keeping workers safe from heavy industrial equipment, to keeping soldiers safe from hazardous testing, GaN invents and develops the solutions that ensure the nation’s most important work can get done.
Sky Blue Builders, LLC, Denver, CO
Sky Blue Builders is a general contracting and construction management firm with a commitment to its community. Inspired by the American Dream to build the business, President Mowail Haile says each milestone reached is a true testament to the amazing people that are part of the business.
All employees volunteer their time and expertise throughout their employment to help support philanthropic efforts and create a strong community presence.
The Urban Grape,Boston, MA
TJ and Hadley Douglas say The Urban Grape is more than just a wine store, it’s a place where people can learn, feel welcome, and explore their palates.
Founded in 2010, Urban Grape was built with the desire to build community, belonging, and equity in the wine industry. Customers get an experience that meets them where they are—and the wine store’s message of inclusion has led to a national reach and audience.
Register for the Dream Big Awards Ceremony on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at 5:00pm ET to find out who will be the U.S. Chamber’s Small Business of the Year and win $25,000!


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New York-based liquor delivery app Coasters is opening its first retail liquor store in D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood, and adding a neighborhood mural to boot.
Coasters now occupies the former Lions Wine & Spirits location at 3514 Georgia Avenue NW, which closed in April. It has renovated the 9,000-square-foot store with new racks, shelves and displays.
Coasters offers free, one-hour delivery on purchases of $50 or more.
The Petworth location is the first brick-and-mortar location for Coasters, founded in 2021, but it has plans for stores in Juniper, Florida; San Mateo, California; Creskill, New Jersey; and Boston. It currently operates its delivery business in eight markets, including D.C.
The company says the Petworth store has one of the largest selections of beers, wines, and spirits in the D.C. area, including more than 1,000 wines.
The company has also commissioned D.C. artist J.D. Deardorff, who began painting a mural on the building’s facade this week. The full mural will be unveiled Sept. 9.
As part of its grand opening this week, the Coasters store is doing in-store tastings with local produces, including Right Proper Brewing, Capitol Cider House and Republic Restoratives Distillery.
“My staff and I are super impressed with the craft beverage and cocktail scene that surrounds our store. Having some of these makers in-store is a natural way for us to embrace the neighborhood and build connections,” said store manger Ryan Cho.


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In its 2019 Data Privacy Benchmark Study, Cisco found a correlation between GDPR preparedness and the frequency and severity of data breaches. Even though the vast majority of businesses reported having a data breach in the past year, 74% of GDPR-ready companies experienced one compared to 80% of companies that are less than a year from having compliance measures in place and 89% of companies that report being more than a year away from compliance.
Of the breaches that did occur, companies with compliant privacy provisions in place had an average number of 79,000 records impacted compared to 212,000 for the least-prepared, and had an average systems downtime of 6.4 hours compared to 9.4.
This translated into lower breach-related costs, with only 37% suffering losses of more than $500,000, compared to 64% of those least prepared.
Survey respondents also indicated some concrete benefits from implementing the more robust privacy programs required. When selling to existing customers, GDPR-ready companies reported privacy-related sales delays from request investigations, policy translation and product redesign of only 3.4 weeks compared to 5.4 weeks for the least prepared.


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Rob Moore, the CEO of ioSafe, joins me to chat about some of their solutions which should help answer ALL THREE of those questions about your data and how secure it might be!
On the one hand, I think it’s great that Apple will start taking steps to block the use of knock off cheap Lightning connector cables and chargers. There’s a chip built into each cable, communicating with the iPhone or iPad to verify authenticity. This chip can be cracked and cloned, but there are still varying reports of people getting shocked or even killed by knock offs.
Apple has started a trade in program, where customers can bring in knock off chargers and get an official Apple charger for $10. This is a very conscious move on Apple’s part getting ahead of a market which could be damaging their brand, and acknowledging a potential consumer health risk.
However, there’s a part of me which can’t help but point out that Apple’s use of non-standard connectors and cabling is what’s causing this cottage industry of building and selling knock off chargers. Buying the official Lightning connector cable by itself from Apple will set you back $30. Buying an Amazon branded Lightning cable will still run you $14. Total cost to get an official Apple cable and charger is around $50.
Buying a decent MicroUSB cable capable of charging and syncing any Android, Blackberry, or Windows Phone? About $5, or at least usually less than a dollar a foot.
In part it was this kind of situation that the EU was hoping to avoid back in 2010 when they started working towards a universal device connector. Not just to halt the price gouging of every company coming up with proprietary connections, and the e-waste associated with one-off accessories, but also the health and safety issues associated with people trying to find deals. MicroUSB was eventually agreed upon, but Apple decided to continue with a proprietary dock connector. To appease the EU, Apple released a $20 Lightning connector to MicroUSB adapter, which will allow your iPhone to charge off of those aforementioned $5 cables. While within the letter of the law, it certainly violates the spirit of developing a standard.
If you’re using a cheap “alternative” brand charger for your iDevices, I would highly recommend checking out Apples trade in offer. Saving a few bucks is hardly worth a fried iPhone.
So, iPhone 5S was officially released two days ago, and Touch ID has already been bypassed. It must have taken an army of L337 haxxors running server farms to crack the protection right? Well, unfortunately for us fans of biometric security, it would seem that the same low tech methods for bypassing still work, even on Apple’s improved fingerprint sensor.
So, as long as you can gain access to someone’s fingerprint, you know those pesky traces of ourselves we leave after touching just about any surface we come in contact with, even potentially ON the fingerprint reader itself, you can spoof someone’s print well enough to fool Touch ID.
From the Chaos Computer Club (the team responsible for the hack):
“In reality, Apple’s sensor has just a higher resolution compared to the sensors so far. So we only needed to ramp up the resolution of our fake… “
Earlier implementations of optical fingerprint readers could even sometimes be fooled by silly putty, so I had very high hopes that Apple’s implementation would solve this problem. The dream of not having to enter complex alpha-numeric passwords on an unforgiving touchscreen isn’t quite realized yet.
Now the process for spoofing your print still requires a little work, making sure you can take a high resolution picture of the print, printing it out, and transferring it to a glue or latex membrane. You have to judge for yourself if the information on your phone is valuable enough for someone to go through this process to try and obtain it. Also, to be fair to Apple, it does require more work to crack than Google’s “Face Unlock” from the front facing cameras on Android handsets.
Unfortunately this will likely strike a blow to corporate and government use, as while it’s still one of the best implementations of biometric security we’ve seen on a mobile device, it’s still entirely defeat-able.
A video demonstrating the exploit can be seen below.
I might just start doing this for all launch day activities. The folks at AT&T were kind enough to open a store early for me to check out the iPhone launch. I got hands on with the iPhone 5S, and got to see a store in action on one of their busiest days of the year.
I did the whole day on about three-ish hours of sleep, so I might’ve gotten a little goofy… Yes I’m holding a Lumia 1020… This photo of me MIGHT have been taken with an HTC one…
Maybe the final sign that Blackberry might be running out of options, their terrific Messenger app is being ported to iOS and Android. It was one of the few experiences that BB could claim as being superior to other messaging apps on the market. However under the onslaught of Facetimes, Hangouts, Skypes, WhatsApps, and more BBM was getting lost in the shuffle. If BB leaves the hardware market, there’s still a potential future for them as a branded software solutions company. Releasing BBM wide could help them improve mind share with consumers who might have walked away from their phone offerings.
BBM is now available on iOS, but we’re still waiting for the official Android version. There are apparently some security concerns regarding the Android app ecosystem. From the BBM Blog:
Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already – more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app – is incredible. Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day.
Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visitwww.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.
As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone. Please follow @BBM on Twitter for the latest updates and go to www.BBM.com to sign-up for updates about BBM for Android and iPhone. These issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry.
Now the question remains, how many of my friends might still be using BBM…
I’ve been staving off writing this for some time now. Even among all the reports of potential buyouts, I kept hoping the company would start to turn itself around, find some momentum. It looks like that wont be happening.
Blackberry is warning investors ahead of their official call on September 27th that revenue will be more than a billion dollars below expectations. Yup. Expectations were hovering around $3 Billion, and BB will be reporting $1.6 Billion. Ouch.
Of course these are analyst predictions, and analysts are notoriously bad at predicting the future, but this will obviously hurt BB’s image (under-producing) more than it’ll hit any market watching “guru”.
Reactions to the news has caused a stock slide of almost 20 percent. Another blow to the company, and now CEO Thorsten Heins is announcing the first measure to be taken will be a round of layoffs to the tune of 4,500 axed jobs. They’ll also be streamlining future handset launches. Instead of the six phones they were planning on introducing over the next year, they’ll be dropping down to four, two high-end and two entry-level.
It’s this combination of expectations and time which is going to put a hurt on upstarts and smaller companies moving forward. Yes, BB once ruled the smartphone landscape, but they didn’t properly focus on the consumer experience. Sure they have great mind-share and brand recognition, but they are also creating a new product line from scratch. New OS. New devices. Customers are wary of “new” right now.
Apple found success in smartphones based on years of consumer trust built on iPods. Android needed about three major revisions before it started gaining traction outside low cost, entry-level gear. HP bailed on Palm before it had a shot when it wasn’t immediately successful out of the gate (they’re currently floundering with half-way attempts at Android, with rumors pointing to a possible Windows Phone in the works). Microsoft is just now starting to be taken seriously in mobile, now that we’re looking at a third generation of Windows Phone hardware about to hit the market.
BB is on that “new” list. The bummer is, BB OS10 is pretty great. It’s a refreshing spin on a mobile UI. Gestures are clean. It looks good. It’s a nice experience. This means almost nothing right now. Customers don’t want “new”, they want an established ecosystem. They want to trust that their devices will get updates and that they’ll see new devices in the future. They want apps, and they want to see cases they’ll never buy at Mall kiosks. Those things only come with time and sales. Those early sales are going to be harder and harder to come by as every player that fails in this market will only reinforce why consumers should only buy something established. Why they shouldn’t take a risk.
Years. Blackberry needs years.
So here’s the deal. If for some reason you find yourself without a car, or need to find a ride in LA, it used to be a somewhat miserable experience. It’s hard to rely on buses, the Metro only has a limited route, and cabs are slow to arrive and expensive.
When ride-sharing services started filtering into the city, it was a refreshing and high tech change of pace. Looking for a nicer “Town Car” service, you could fire up Uber, and for those short trips I might’ve called a cab for in the past, Lyft consistently proved faster and nicer. Especially from those ride-sharing folks who really got into it, offering beverages and snacks.
Of course Taxi companies, being somewhat old school, have to follow myriad rules and regulations that their app based counterparts weren’t subject to. Understandably, this has led to friction as established companies feel this gives newer services an unfair advantage. Plus many have brought up safety issues as things like vehicle maintenance and driver background checks aren’t executed in the same fashion as they might be with cabs and divers.
Well now ride-sharing services will be brought under the regulatory control of the Public Utilities Commission which unanimously voted to allow these services to operate. Creating a new classification, “Transportation Network Services”, now drivers will be required to pass background checks, pass training courses, and carry a minimum $1 million liability insurance policy.
This vote by the state government will probably serve as an end-run around cities and smaller communities which were exploring outright bans on ride-sharing. I’m personally glad to see this move, as we can always use a little more competition, and maybe we’ll see traditional taxi services step up their game too. Hopefully this encourages a little more open-mindedness around alternative forms of transportation all around.
You can always count on Louis C.K. to have a “unique” perspective on modern society. On the Conan O’Brien he takes a couple minutes to skewer smartphone usage. There’s a little NSFW language on this one folks. So maybe watch it on your phone instead of your work computer… It’s what Louis would want you to do…


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You don’t drive the instant a light turns green? Cancelled, by the car behind you who immediately honks and speeds past you flashing a look. You end up standing instead of walking on the left side of an escalator? Cancelled, by the annoyed stranger behind you that asks you to move. People are quick to cancel, even when it’s as small as the above examples. But are we cancelling the wrong things?
It seems like there is a daily exposé of a fashion magazine exercising racism in the workplace. A former Black and queer communications manager at Meredith, called out the magazine publisher for paying him less than his white co-workers during his four years of employment. “My patience for performative allyship is over,” wrote Ashley Alese Edwards, former deputy director of news and politics, on Twitter. “You know what real allyship looks like? Paying your Black employees fairly, having Black women in top leadership positions & addressing the microaggressions your Black employees deal with from management on a daily basis.” Andrea González-Ramírez, former senior news and writer, tweeted her frustration as a woman of color saying she’s seen “others take credit for their work, being mixed up with another [woman of colour] who looks nothing like them.” Michael Love Michael, a former culture editor at Paper magazine, resigned stating, “systemic racism, mistreatment, gaslighting, etc.”
It seems like every story revealed has three more behind it. It’s created another form of the #metoo movement. It’s opened up wounds, a collective trauma that says: this happens. And it happened to me. These experiences and comments were very well known in minority and oppressed communities and are now being brought to the surface. People are angry and disappointed, but to what degree? Should we, and more importantly, will we, hold them accountable?
Magazines have rushed in with blanket corporate statements or senior leaders stepping down, in response to all the allegations, but it is still uncertain what they intend to offer and what they actually can offer their readers to make sure racism doesn’t exist in their organizations. I’d like to think that lasting change will come out of this crisis but I refuse to be that naive. I think brands and magazines rely on the duration of the buzz. Usually people move on quickly from crisis to crisis. I think magazines will bank on consumers getting over their racist behavior, forgetting about such encounters and pray their love of content exceeds their morals.
The question for consumers is, now that you know better, will you do better? Will you stop purchasing the glosses? Or is there a percentage of the story you’re willing to let slide? Do you give the same degree of cancellation to everyone? Or do fashion magazines get away with a warning? Similar to a person wanting to lose weight but often indulging in sweets, people love what they love despite the consequences. Gucci and H&M have done many racist and cultural appropriate things but people still support them. Why? Gucci has luxury status and H&M has value items.
It’s very hard for some people to fully let go of something even if they know it is bad. On the other hand, with more and more people participating in the Black Lives Matter movement, I think there is a great intolerance right now. People will be hard pressed to make impactful statements against racism because some things are truly unforgettable and unforgivable.
When your favorite brands and magazines get called out, who you read and engage in quickly becomes a statement. And like every other consumer, I needed to decide what statement I plan to make. For me, deciding what to read and who to spend my money on was fairly easy. As a women of color, discrimination is unfortunately part of my daily life and I refuse to support anyone and anything that exercises this negative and disrespectful behavior. I can’t advise you to stop consuming content from these offensive magazines but now that it’s out in the open, will you keep reading these magazines or cancel them forever?