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Google Cloud has launched a new managed Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning platform called Vertex AI, bringing together all of its AI tools, including AutoML and AI Platform, in one unified API.
Vertex AI has been set up to make model development easier and comes with pre-trained APIs for computer vision, language, structured data, and conversation, Google Cloud said, as hyperscaler segment heats up.
The company claims Vertex AI requires nearly 80% fewer lines of code to train a model, and Google Cloud says it will give developers access to the AI toolkit used internally to power Google for the first time.
The aim: "Get data scientists and engineers out of the orchestration weeds, and create a industry-wide shift that would make everyone get serious about moving AI out of pilot purgatory and into full-scale production,” as Andrew Moore, VP and general manager of Cloud AI and Industry Solutions at Google Cloud put it.
Vertex AI: Google Cloud aims to edge ahead in a competitive space.
Google Cloud's AI chops are undisputed: the company is heavily engaged in open-source community projects that originated in Google -- think TensorFlow, BERT and Kubeflow.
Gartner's 2021 Cloud AI Developer Services Magic Quadrant notes approvingly of Google Cloud's services that "developers without extensive ML expertise can quickly infuse AI into their applications, rapidly prototype and increase the speed of deployments", while AWS's SageMaker Autopilot is dubbed potentially confusing, with the company deemed by Gartner more focussed on developers than data scientists.
(Microsoft is among the "more flexible providers of CAIDS in terms of deployment options", Gartner notes approvingly. "Its services are deployable in the Azure cloud, a virtual private cloud or on-premises via containers, based on enterprise customers’ needs", but the research firm warns that "Microsoft focuses its citizen developer AI offerings on its Power Platform; for instance, PowerBI and Power Virtual Agents. While Power Platform has prebuilt connectors to industry systems, the separate positioning of the citizen platform may force upon companies an enterprise roadmap for which they were not planning.")
Vertex AI: What can you do?
Vertex AI, in brief, lets users train and compare models using AutoML or custom code training, storing all models in one central model repository. Customers can use GCP's BigQuery ML to create and execute machine learning models in BigQuery using standard SQL queries on existing BI tools and spreadsheets, or can export datasets from BigQuery directly into Vertex AI.
The platform integrates with TensorFlow, PyTorch, and scikit-learn, among other ML frameworks via custom containers for training and prediction; you can also connect to VMs using JupyterLab, the standard workbench for data scientists. (VMs come pre-installed with deep learning frameworks and libraries.) The company put forward L’Oréal subsidiary ModiFace, as a customer example. ModiFace cleverly creates new services for consumers to try beauty products such as hair color, makeup and nail color, virtually and in real-time.
ModiFace uses Vertex AI for its skin diagnostic, which is trained on thousands of images from L’Oréal’s Research & Innovation, the company’s dedicated R&D arm to deliver deliver tailor-made skincare routines, in a compelling example of the use of AI to deliver targeted customer offerings. As ModiFace COO Jeff Houghton put it, the technology "allowed us to create technology that is incredibly close to actually trying the product in real life.”


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Small-and-medium enterprise operators (SMEs) have reason to smile following the signing of a deal between Educat and GT Bank to train and support them.
Under the one-year contract, Educat, an entrepreneurship support not-for-profit organisation, and GT Bank will identify and train upcoming business people to equip them with better skills to grow their enterprises.
GT Bank will also fund a start-up competition run by Educat, which will give promising entrepreneurs the chance to actualise their business aspirations, Andreas Norlem Christensen, the Educat chief executive officer, explained at the signing ceremony on Friday.
“This partnership will enable all the stakeholders to share innovative business ideas that we believe are beneficial to young entrepreneurs,” he said.
Muralidhar Anantapur, the director of business support at GT Bank, said the deal will improve management and growth of SMEs.
Johanne Møller, a communications consultant at Educat, said traders would be trained under the Rwanda Business Accelerator, a comprehensive six-month programme that aims at helping SMEs improve business operations, as well as deliver better products and services that will yield long-term customer retention opportunities.
Last year, GT Bank (formerly FinaBank) sponsored the Real FinaBank Young Entrepreneurship Awards also organised by Educat. The organisation and its partners, including Rwanda Development Board, Airtel Rwanda and KLM, will today kick-start the Rwanda Entrepreneurship Caravan that aims at promoting entrepreneurship and innovation among students.
The drive will feature a three-day Rwanda Entrepreneurship Mindset training (REM) and entrepreneurship competition.

domain: news


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The Oilseeds production in the country is stagnant at around 27-28 million tonnes and the productivity at 950/1000 Kg. per hectare.
The country is heavily dependent on import.
Last year (2010-11), country had to import 87 lakh tonnes of vegetable oils at the cost of over Rs. 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).
During the current oil year (2011-12), we will be forced to import over 90 lakh tonnes of vegetable oils valued over Rs. 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) to bridge the gap between the demand-supply.
Our dependence on import of vegetable oils has increased to over 55 per cent.
It is a matter of grave concern with regard to food security and the country can ill afford to depend so heavily on import of such an essential food item.
In view of this, Solvent Extractors Association of India had made various suggestions including following:
1. Pulses & Oilseed Villages -- Greater Allotment
2. Weighted Deduction for Oilseeds Extension Programme
3. Re-alignment of Tariff Value for Edible Oils
4. Import Duty on RBD Palmolein to nullify the disadvantage faced by local vegetable oil refiners due to Indonesian inverted export duty structure.
5. Withdraw the export duty on deoiled rice bran
It is welcome to note that the Finance Minister has focused on agriculture sector and has proposed 150% tax deduction for agricultural extension activities.
It is unfortunate that in the budget Hon'ble Finance Minister has not proposed any new measures to reduce our dependence on burgeoning
With no change in tariff value in RBD Palmolein, the effective rate of custom duty will continue to be at around 3% as against the intended custom duty of 7.5%.
Also, there is no incrase in custom duty on import of RBD Palmolein, which was requested for by the Association to counter the inverted duty structure of Indonesian Government for CPO (16.5%) RBD Palmolein (8%).
This is evident from the fact that import RBD Palmolein already jumped up from monthly average of 1,00,000 tonnes to 3,00,000 tonnes in the month of Feb.
This will surely call a death knell for Indian domestic vegetable oil refining industry.
This will also cause unemployment of more than 1 lakh people directly and affect more than 5 lakh people of ancillary industries.
Apart from this, huge investment of nearly Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) will be forced to remain unproductive.
This will also cause a major shortage of the byproducts obtained from Palm oil refining, which are used extensively in the manufacture of soaps and other oleochemical products, thereby affecting seriously, the future of those industries and also the consumers of these products.
The Industry is greatly disappointed with the budget proposals as no concrete measures have been suggested in the Union Budget for improving the oil seed production or its productivity and also no measures have been taken to ensure safety of the domestic vegetable oil refining industry against large scale import of finished good i.e. refined palmolein.
Union Budget 2012-13: Complete coverage


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Coinstar’s Redbox DVD Rentals Early Winner With New Netflix Prices
That didn’t take long. The backlash over Netflix‘s decision to price DVDs-by-mail and streaming-video plans separately has already bumped Redbox stock up. Previously, Netflix allowed customers an all-in-one plan that allowed limited by-mail rentals and all-you-can-eat streaming for $7.99 per month.
Now the price for that option will rise to about $16 per month, though I don’t think gouging is Netflix’s intent. Instead, Netflix is making a move toward what looks like online-only service. (Under “Other,” at the bottom of their How It Works page, they note that it’s still possible to rent by mail.)
The company needs to step up streaming titles availability, but broadband customers will I think be perfectly happy with instant viewing. (I mean, I am. I never bothered to use my all-in-one option to rent by mail.)
That’s all to the good for unsexy Redbox, owned by Bellevue’s equally unsexy Coinstar, who have loaded up the nation’s grocery stores with DVD rental kiosks in the hopes of serving the huge numbers who don’t have broadband, or the tech savvy to integrate Netflix into their entertainment system, or the desire to sign up for monthly contracts just to watch a video now and then. Believe it or not, hordes of these people exist (Redbox has rented over 1 billion DVDs.)
27,000 Redbox locations rent regular DVDs for $1 per day, Blu-ray for $1.50, and now games for $2 (all plus tax). GeekWire reported Redbox’s offering video game rentals at their kiosks as well: “Games for Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be available.” GeekWire is also running a “Time to Dump Netflix?” poll.
The Street’s post, titled “Bet on Coinstar in Netflix Price Hike,” quotes Merriman Capital analyst Eric Wold saying:
After a year of delayed studio deals, aggressive management guidance and inconsistent earnings results, we now believe positive momentum is finally back on Coinstar’s side and Coinstar’s shares are poised to continue their recent move higher. We believe Coinstar’s valuation multiple will expand further with additional positive earnings surprises in the coming quarters, further DVD market share gains, the long-awaited digital strategy announcement and confirmation of accelerated kiosk concept rollouts in 2012.
Market bulls are looking at Coinstar to reach $62; CSTR stock is up over four percent already today, flirting with $60 per share. I don’t pick stocks as a rule, but I suggested that you buy back in January when it had plunged to $41.50. I hope you all got in on that.
In late June, Seeking Alpha suggested that you “Start Collecting Coinstar” as well, pointing out that, “With Redbox rentals, customers do not need to sign monthly contracts and can rent whenever they need to for a price of one dollar. This is the big competitive advantage for Redbox since customers are price sensitive to DVD rentals.”


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This year Michael Bay released another Transformers movie, Dark of the Moon. It was a bit of a hit with grown ups, children and bored students alike.
With Christmas is around the corner Mr Bay has released the film on DVD. However, before they appear on the shelves DVDs need to get from depot to store – enter Paul Tremaine, Transformers fan and lorry driver.
Paul asked his bosses whether he could pimp his rig to celebrate the film's transition from the silver screen to DVD. Oddly, his bosses said yes and, in collaboration with Paramount Home Entertainment, gave his rig a light aesthetic change: lo, Tescoptimus Prime was born.
Tremiane commented: "I am really excited to get Tescoptimus Prime on the road. It's great that the hard work that us HGV drivers put in has been recognised by Tesco and Paramount Home Entertainment giving us a bit of fun and excitement in the run up to our busiest time of year."
The rig will be on the road from now until January 2012 and will be making the first delivery of Transformers: Dark of the Moon deliveries in time for the DVD's 28th November release.


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High street mobility retailers protected against aggressive rent collection and winding up petitions
Mobility retailers operating on the high street that are under strain will be protected from aggressive rent collection and will instead be asked to pay what they can during the pandemic under new plans set out by Business Secretary Alok Sharma.
The new measures are designed to protect companies that have seen revenues dramatically decline as lockdown keeps shoppers away from physical bricks and mortar stores.
According to the government, landlords and tenants are working together to reach agreements on debt obligations, but some landlords have been putting tenants under undue pressure by using aggressive debt recovery tactics.
To stop these unfair practices, the government will temporarily ban the use of statutory demands (made between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2020) and winding up petitions presented from Monday 27 April, through to 30 June, where a company cannot pay its bills due to coronavirus.
The steps will aim to help ensure struggling companies do not fall into deeper financial strain.
The measures will be included in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, which the Business Secretary Alok Sharma set out earlier this month.
In addition, the government is also laying secondary legislation to provide tenants with more breathing space to pay rent by preventing landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) unless they are owed 90 days of unpaid rent.
“In this exceptional time for the UK, it is vital that we ensure businesses are kept afloat so that they can continue to provide the jobs our economy needs beyond the coronavirus pandemic,” commented Alok Sharma.
“Our unprecedented package of support can help commercial landlords, including through the recent expansion of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme.
“I know that like all businesses they are under pressure, but I would urge them to show forbearance to their tenants. I am also taking steps to ensure the minority of landlords using aggressive tactics to collect their rents can no longer do so while the COVID-19 emergency continues.”
Whilst the new measures aim to give their tenants the breathing space needed, the government has also called on tenants to pay rent where they can afford it or what they can in recognition of the strains felt by commercial landlords too.
Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Rents are a huge burden for retailers that must be paid even where shops are closed. We have raised this problem with government and today’s announcement protects firms who – during these extraordinary times – are unable to meet their rent obligations.”
The announcement continues the government support aimed at the retail sector and high street providers in particular who have been among some of the hardest-hit businesses during the outbreak.
Recently, the government released a new ‘support finder’ tool to help businesses quickly determine what financial support they may be eligible for.https://thiis.co.uk/high-street-mobility-retailers-protected-against-aggressive-rent-collection-and-winding-up-petitions/https://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/coronavirus-store-closed-retail-advice.jpghttps://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/coronavirus-store-closed-retail-advice-150x150.jpgBusiness SupportCoronavirus NewsCOVID-19 Trade NewsGovernment & Local AuthoritiesNewsroomRetailer NewsSector NewsTrade NewsAlok Sharma,bricks and mortar,british retail consortium,Business Secretary,coronavirus,Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill,COVID-19,lockdown,Mobility retail,mobility retailer,pandemic,rent collection,support finding,winding-up petitionMobility retailers operating on the high street that are under strain will be protected from aggressive rent collection and will instead be asked to pay what they can during the pandemic under new plans set out by Business Secretary Alok Sharma. The new measures are designed to protect companies that...Calvin BarnettCalvin firstname.lastname@example.org Magazine


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A brief comment from an NTT Docomo executive points to the imminent introduction of the Apple iPhone 5S.
In and interview published Monday, the executive was addressing the possibility of NTT Docomo handling sales of the iPhone 5S, a widely expected next edition of Apple's smartphone.
"It would be difficult to start sales on the 10th," said NTT Docomo senior executive vice president Kazuto Tsubouchi, in an interview with Japan's Sankei Shimbun, a major business daily.
Tsubouchi was referring to September 10, the day Apple is rumored to announce the iPhone 5S and other phones.
NTT … Read more
A tweet from a Fox News reporter claims that new Apple silicon rumored to land in the iPhone 5S is "very fast," while an Apple-centric blog says it will be 64-bit -- echoing a previous rumor.
Clayton Morris tweeted Sunday that Apple's next-generation A7 chip (the A6 currently powers the iPhone 5 and iPad 4) "is running at about 31% faster than A6. I'm hearing it's very fast."
Then 9to5Mac, which cited the tweet, added a bit of flavor, claiming that some A7 prototypes are 64-bit.
With the supposed release date of Apple's supposed cheaper iPhone just around the corner, you can bet the Web will continue to fill up with supposed photos of the device.
This latest shot, picked up by French site NowhereElse, supposedly shows the 5C being tested near the assembly line, for capacity and general operation.
The site cautions, however, that these could actually be knockoffs. And, you know, this could also be a rather elaborate hoax pulled off with the help of an accommodating refrigerator. We thought you'd appreciate a look nevertheless.
Suppose you want to know more about … Read more
(Update: Another rumor from ifanr -- citing an unnamed source -- claimed that the 5S and 5C have been certified by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. China Telecom and China Unicom will release the two models around September 20, the report claimed.)
Put this in the rumor hopper: A report out of China claims that the iPhone 5S and 5C will be released in China after the US launch.China's First Financial Daily is reporting that the release date is set for November 28. (Note that BrightWire News also is reporting this date, citing a telecommunications &… Read more
Lately it seems that everyone is talking about screen size. Some people think 10.1 inches is the sweet spot for a tablet, some people think 5.7 inches is the best for a phone. If new rumors are to be believed, add 6 inches and 12 inches to your list of possible screen sizes.
Nokia is rumored to be working on a 6-inch Windows phone, which would be the first Windows phablet. I guess in order to carry that thing around, you'll have to get a "murse." Luckily, murses are a thing again.
According to a … Read more
With the speculation moving from unsubstantiated rumor into the zone of credibility as manufacturing ramps up and the product launch nears, it appears that Apple CEO Tim Cook will unveil a gold or champagne-colored iPhone 5S. Several sources are confirming the gold-toned iPhone 5S will be part of the September 10 event.
Gold is not an entirely new color for Apple products, but the iPhone has been cast in black and white since its inception. The company produced a gold iPod Mini, and the latest batch of iPods includes a yellow version that borders on gold.
But why gold, and … Read more
Rumors and discussion of a gold or champagne-colored iPhone are being mined at an ever-quickening pace as we get closer to an anticipated Apple event on September 10.
Over the weekend, iMore refined its own mock-up (above) of what a new, gold iPhone might look like. According to Ally Kazmucha, an editor for the site who also works for a company that anodizes colors onto iDevices as an after-market service, gold is among the easiest colors to bling out an iPhone. An easily gilded iPhone could be a flashy selling point for an iPhone 5S otherwise lacking in flash and major new innovations (depending on how much the rumored biometric sensors excite you).… Read more
Apple's iPhone 5C might not be a "low end" product after all.
If the long-rumored device launches later this year, as expected, the iPhone 5C will actually be considered a midrange product and replace the iPhone 5, KGI Securities analyst and longtime Apple follower Ming-Chi Kuo wrote to investors on Monday, according to AppleInsider, which obtained a copy of the report. The iPhone 4S, which many believed would be killed off by the iPhone 5C, will live on, Kuo claims.
Apple's iPhone 5C has been rumored to be in the works for months. The device was … Read more
With an Apple announcement expected in the coming weeks, iPhone season is upon us once again. And that means that anxious Apple fans are plotting their best options for selling their old devices to buy the new one.
In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some advice to a reader about the best time to sell an old iPhone to get the best trade-in value or price from an individual buyer. But not everyone is in the market for the brand-new iPhone.
Some savvy wireless customers see the launch of a new iPhone as an opportunity to get a … Read more


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The sports and entertainment media industry is highly competitive in Australia, but Fox Sports head of marketing, brand and social, Chris Gross, shows a focused and targeted social and content strategy can boost audience engagement and build a solid brand.
The fight to get noticed in the social media battlefield means the pressure is on brands to make their marketing campaigns more innovative, creative and engaging than ever before.
Consumers are increasingly aware fast fashion is having a detrimental impact on the environment and communities, with its high volumes of cotton consumption, sweatshop working conditions and toxic industrial waste.
Australian travel distribution company Helloworld’s marketing experts reveal how implementing a new social management tool can help optimise sales and drive customer engagement, while effectively improving productivity.
Speaking at the CeBit 2016 event in Sydney, Destination NSW’s director of digital strategy, Diana Kahui, discussed what it really takes to market via digital channels to attract a more global audience.
It’s not every day when a bank decides to create its own gay-friendly Twitter hashtag and emoji in support of the LGBTI community, but ANZ decided it had to do something different and powerful to show its support.
LG Electronics Australia has completed a six-week social media influencer program designed to increase awareness of LG mobile’s latest smartphone release.
With a career spanning over fifteen years and across Australia, China, New Zealand and the US, Austbroker’s head of marketing, Vanessa Lyons, knows what it takes to make a successful international marketing executive.
Brands and executives that haven’t yet realised social media as a new way of working or seen its potential beyond customer support could be missing out on an opportunity to help their organisations grow.
Brands that don’t interact with customers on social, or who fail to build an emotional and consistent connection through channels like Facebook and Twitter, are selling their customer experience strategy short.
In what it claims is an industry first social media strategy, Tourism Northern Territory (NT) has recruited three Australian Instagram giants to showcase the Red Centre using the platform’s hyperlapse video function.
Big data is increasingly becoming a tool for brands to improve engagement with customers. At digital charity portal, JustGiving, it’s also helping to personalise and socialise the experience of giving.
For not-for-profit organisation RSPCA, supporters are crucial to ensuring more animals stay out of harm’s way and are healthy. However, for a long time animals were mostly centre of attention, until executive marketing manager of fundraising and communications, Paige Gibbs, challenged this.
A new social network that aims to connects individuals with their neighbours and local community has launched in Australia today.
The functional silos persisting within marketing teams, as well as data disconnect between marketing, IT and customer support, are inhibiting a CMO’s ability to leverage social effectively for competitive advantage.
CommBank’s former head of social media strategy, Niki Epstein, has turned up as the new head of social strategy at NBN Co, the wholesale company overseeing the rollout of Australia’s National Broadband Network.
Japanese banking firm, Mizuho Bank, is hoping to connect with customers in a more personalised way after signing up to use LivePerson’s live chat software.
The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) has ramped up its social media strategy and launched a digital content portal as it looks to improve engage with prospective and current students.
Instagram has begun rolling out its advertising platform to Australian users 12 months after the social media site launched its inaugural offering in the US.
Australian annual social ad spending will hit $706.3 million within five years, analyst firm Forrester has predicted.
Social media provides a window into consumer sentiment, and is proving to be a highly effective advertising tool. But can it actually drive sales conversion?


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Report: Auto Loan Rejections Are Up and Poised to Keep Increasing
With dealer lots starting to fill back up with product after years of lean inventories that encouraged salespeople to ask for absolutely ludicrous prices, the Federal Reserve has found that lenders are declining would-be borrowers at a record-setting pace.
The reasons for this are many. Annual percentage rates have come up, requiring consumers to pay more money over time that lenders just aren’t certain they’ll see a return on. More people are also defaulting on loans across the board and inflationary pressures are poised to make the issue worse since the dollar just doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Based on new data released by the Federal Reserve shared by Car and Driver, auto loans rejections averaged 14.2 percent in June up from 9.1 percent in February. That’s a staggering increase in just a few months and the highest level since the Fed started collecting the relevant data in 2013. Though the report does showcase that vehicle-related loan rejections were actually a little lower than the 21.8 percent rejection rate average for all U.S. loans.
Still, it’s hard to turn the above into good news for regular Americans.
From Car and Driver:
Would-be-borrowers saw their applications for other loan types rejected at an increased rate, too: 21.5 percent of credit card applications were rejected, for example, along with 30.7 percent of credit card limit increase requests, 13.2 percent of mortgages, and 20.8 percent of mortgage refinance applications. The Fed said that the overall rejection rate for all credit applicants was almost 22 percent in June, the highest level in five years. The Fed said all age groups saw an increase in rejections, but the highest rejection rates were among people with sub-680 credit scores.
The reasons for the increased rejections can be found in the broader economy, especially the inflation of the last few years and the fact that rising interest rates have increased the amount of debt people have. Lenders are worried about borrowers being unable to pay, with good reason. Analysts at Cox Automotive noted last month that "auto loan performance resumed deteriorating in May as delinquencies and defaults both increased for the first time in three months."
Considering the number of studies we’ve seen over the years stipulating that the average household can no longer afford a new vehicle, sizable loans are the only way many can procure a fresh automobile. But lenders won’t be happy if there’s a chance they won’t be able to pay it off with interest and they’re buckling down.
We can blame automakers for prioritizing high-margin vehicles, regulators for ensuring tech and safety inclusions that have made manufacturing more expensive, the government for creating inflation through excessive spending, or consumers for going along with massive loan terms and all of the above.
While things may eventually improve, auto-loan delinquencies remain extremely high and are likely to keep lenders from opening the vault. Cox said delinquencies are the highest recorded since 2006 — right before we had a massive recession and some automakers started seeking bailout funding.
Everyone is assuming that things will get worse before they get better. Over the next twelve months, the Federal Reserve is estimating applicants seeking an auto loan will see rejection rates nearing 30 percent. That won’t be quite as bad as those seeking credit card applicants, increased spending limits or mortgages. But that’s going to be of little comfort as the broader economy seems poised for a downturn of epic proportions and incomes fail to achieve parity with annual inflation rates.
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LONDON, UK — Magnum, the classic stick ice cream born in 1989, is launching a new campaign that cleverly emphasizes its leadership and originality with a witty sense of humor.
As consumers began referring to Magnum imitations as “Magnum-like” ice creams, the brand saw an
opportunity to showcase why “Like a Magnum” is not Magnum.
The film tells the story of a woman who discovers that her partner has been buying fake Magnum ice creams all along. And from there, everything falls apart.
The campaign is now live in the UK and includes a series of TVC, OOH, prints, POS, and digital amplification that continues to develop the campaign’s insight while encouraging people to “stick to the original.”
“With this campaign, we aimed to demonstrate that a brand like Magnum can communicate with humor, if done with good taste,” said Tomás Ostiglia, Executive Creative Director at LOLA MullenLowe Madrid.
Ben Curtis, Global VP at Magnum London, said, “At Magnum, we work really hard to make the highest quality, indulgent ice cream products, and we wanted to find a fresh way to tell our audience why it’s worth it for them to ‘stick to the original.’ LOLA Mullenlowe came up with a brilliant and funny way to
dramatize our commitment to delivering true superior pleasure every time.”


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Audi will introduce a production e-tron in the US within the next 2 to 3 years. Audi US boss Johan de Nysschen says he expects to see the all-electric supercar testing within 2 years.
Audi has officially told Autoweek that the e-tron concept car will soon become a full production model. Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen said he expected to see some running examples within the next 24 months. Those words have our spies all excited about the possibilities for the next few months.
The R8-looking e-tron concept of IAA 2009 is powered by four electric motors on each axle. They in turn are powered by a 213kg lithium-ion battery pack located behind the two seats. Maximum system power is 230kW (313hp) and peak torque is a mammoth 4,500Nm (3,319.03 lb-ft). Audi says it will go from 0 - 100km/h (0 - 62mph) in 4.8 seconds and record a top speed of 200km/h (124mph). On a fully-charged battery the car will go on for 248km (154 miles).
The e-tron should be launched in the US by 2012 at the latest. It will compete with cars from Fisker and others, as well as the production version of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept. Several other clean Audis are headed for North America including the Q5 hybrid set for a 2011 debut.


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The Restaurant Group’s trade was severely disrupted by lockdowns earlier in the year
The Restaurant Group has reported underwhelming results for H1, recording a statutory pre-tax loss of £58.8m.
The owner of Wagamama saw its sales fall by 4.5% to £216.8m when compared to the same time period in 2020.
The Restaurant Group saw a slight recovery in its EBITDA, which rose from a loss of £18.2m to a profit of £11.2m year-on-year.
The firm also confirmed its secured refinancing and recapitalisation, raising £500m from loans and a senior credit facility.
“Whilst there are some well documented sector challenges to navigate in the short-term, particularly around labour availability and supply chain, we believe the Group is well positioned for the long- term,” said Andy Hornby, Chief Executive Officer.
For the first six months of the year, trade was severely disrupted by restrictions on the hospitality industry, which was only able to do takeaways and deliveries for large periods.
Harry Barnick, Senior Analyst at Third Bridge, commented on the Restaurant Group’s results: “The casual dining sector has taken a Covid pummelling. Now as customers return the Restaurant Group is operating in a less competitive environment allowing for some breathing space during the recovery period.”
“That being said, we are hearing about aggressive expansion from smaller brands, such as Franca Manca, which could challenge The Restaurants Group’s dominant position in the market,” said Barnick.
“Given the reduction in operating costs during the pandemic, analysts will be hoping for improved margins post-Covid once trading normalises. This largely depends on how successful The Restaurant Group can be in reducing rental rates. However, testing labour and food shortages could drive up costs in the short-term which limits the margin upside potential.”


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MIDDLEWICH lived up to its heritage as a market town on Saturday when more than 50 stalls lined the high street.
Wheelock Street was transformed into a bustling artisan market packed with fine food, drink, art and craft producers.
For the first time, the road was closed to traffic for the whole day.
Dave Roberts, of Whitley Close, said: "It was fantastic and exactly what this town has needed for years.
"A very professionally run event for which I've heard nothing but praise.
"Just the right mix of stalls, too. The only thing missing really was a good fruit and veg stall but no doubt this will be remedied in future markets.
"I think the key to it all was the closing of the main street to traffic, giving all the room needed to put on such a market.
"I hope this market will be the spur for the council giving serious consideration to the permanent pedestrianisation of Wheelock Street."
The event was organised by Denise Valente and Victoria Jackson who run the award-winning Wilmslow artisan market.
They are trialling the monthly event in Middlewich until August.
Victoria said: “Denise and I are absolutely delighted with how the event went.
“We are incredibly thankful to the Middlewich residents for supporting this initiative for the town and are thrilled that so many people enjoyed the day.”
Denise added: “Everyone pulled together. The town council was really supportive by putting out road signs and were on site all day diverting traffic.”
Despite the rain, hundreds of visitors perused the stalls and enjoyed entertainment from Middlewich singer Marie Clare Scott and Cheshire Pipe Band.
Some of the concerns about the town’s business owners losing out on trade were also overcome.
Mandy Daniel, owner of Cynthia's Patisserie, said: “A lot of our trade is passing trade and we were worried that our customers wouldn’t be able to get to us as quite a few are elderly and can’t walk from the car park.
“But the town was really busy in the end. The atmosphere was really good and so many people were coming into the town.”
Wimboldsley's Trish Ryan from Hopley House was selling homemade cakes.
She added: “It’s not long since we shut our teashop so it was good to see the old customers. “There was a nice friendly atmosphere. I sold out within an hour of closing.”
The artisan market was brought to Middlewich after six months of negotiations with Cheshire East Council and the town council.
Town clerk Jonathan Williams described it as ‘the most exciting venture to hit Wheelock Street in recent memory’.
He said: “The first Middlewich artisan market was a resounding success with a great variety of stalls, crafts, foods and local produce on offer to thousands of people who flocked into the town centre.
“The town council is delighted with the quality of the market, the benefits for existing retailers, and the tremendous turn out from residents and visitors alike.
“Thanks go especially to Denise and Vicky, the event organisers, and to all who supported this new initiative.”
- The next artisan market will be held on Saturday, July 28, from 10am until 4pm on Wheelock Street.
- What did you think? What did the organisers do well? What could be improved? Comment below.


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The corporate showed its plans to provide excessive quantity semi-trailers and convey sufficient batteries for two million gentle accountability automobiles in keeping with 12 months in Nevada.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo tweeted a photograph of himself and CEO Elon Musk past due Tuesday night time after the newly elected Republican introduced in his first State of the Union deal with on Monday night time that Tesla has dedicated to development a “logo new” electrical plant. vans. in northern Nevada.
The undertaking will successfully make bigger current manufacturing on the Truckee Reno Business Heart, about 20 miles (32 km) east of Reno-Sparks alongside Interstate 80. However the plan brings the corporate nearer to gratifying in the past introduced plans to make bigger the Tesla Semi. manufacturing to provide 50,000 vans in North The united states in 2024.
The White Area issued a remark trumpeting the plans on Tuesday as Musk finished 3 hours of testimony protecting himself in a category motion lawsuit in San Francisco federal courtroom over his paintings with Twitter, one in all 3 primary firms he owns. together with Tesla and SpaceX. .
Musk’s impulsive and infrequently inflammatory use of Twitter took heart degree as prison complaints persevered on Wednesday over a lawsuit alleging he misled Tesla shareholders in 2018 via posting a tweet about an aborted buyout.
Uncover tales that passion you
Mitch Landrieu, President Joe Biden’s head of infrastructure, stated Tuesday that Tesla’s further funding in Nevada is evidence of an ongoing “production growth” since Biden took place of work two years in the past. He stated the growth would create 3,000 jobs in Nevada whilst selling blank power and strengthening US safety. On Tuesday, Lombardo tweeted a photograph of himself with Musk at Tesla’s Gigafactory in an commercial park east of Reno Sparks that makes batteries for electrical automobiles. automobiles.
“That is an implausible funding in our state,” Lombardo wrote.
Elizabeth Wray, director of communications for the governor, showed the photograph’s authenticity and clarified in an electronic mail to The Related Press that the brand new funding used to be to “make bigger current house” in downtown Truckee Reno.
Tesla stated in a remark on its weblog website online past due Tuesday that the corporate has invested $6.2 billion in Nevada since 2014 and has constructed a 5.4 million-square-foot (501,676-square-meter) “Gigafactory.”
“We can be making an investment greater than $3.6 billion additional to additional expand Gigafactory Nevada, including 3,000 new crew participants and two new crops,” the corporate stated, including that it’s going to come with “the primary high-volume Semi plant.”
Tesla delivered its first electrical semi-trucks to PepsiCo’s Nevada facility in December, greater than 3 years after Musk introduced his corporate would get started making vans.
At a November 2017 Tesla Semi release tournament, Musk stated manufacturing would start in 2019 and vans would have the ability to autonomously observe every different in a convoy. However right through Tesla’s third-quarter effects convention name in October, he stated the corporate’s “Complete Self Riding” device is not relatively able for driverless operation.
The truck has a variety of 500 miles (800 kilometers) on a unmarried fee when towing a load of 82,000 kilos (37,000 kg), Musk stated.
The Austin, Texas-based electrical automobile and sun panel maker stated Wednesday it made $3.69 billion, or an adjusted $1.19 in keeping with proportion, from October to December. This beat estimates of $1.13 that had been decreased via analysts, consistent with FactSet. The corporate’s benefit is 59% upper than in the similar length a 12 months in the past.
Income for the quarter used to be $24.32 billion, not up to analysts’ expectancies of $24.67 billion.
Musk stated that regardless of saying previous this month worth cuts of as much as 20% on some automobiles, call for for Tesla merchandise is robust and gross sales are restricted to manufacturing.


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Shimano USA Expands Distribution Centre
LADSON, USA – Shimano American Corporation will double the size of its South Carolina distribution center by adding nearly 99,000 square-feet to the current facility built in 2006. The addition is scheduled to be ready by August 2013.
According to Shimano American Corp’s president Dave Pfeiffer, “the expansion contains more than just doubling the size of our facility. With this investment we will be prepared for both current and future distribution needs for all our brands.”
“It is a necessary step in order to increase services to our business partners up and down the East Coast and throughout the Midwest and Southern states. We look forward to our South Carolina facility playing a larger role in Shimano’s operations in the U.S”, stated Dave Pfeiffer.
The expanded facility will allow Shimano to improve automated material handling. Along with the Shimano bicycle components and fishing tackle, the company distributes its G.Loomis fishing rods and PowerPro fishing line from the Ladson facility. In the near future also the distribution of the Pearl Izumi cycling and running products will take place in Ladson.


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Here in this article, we will guide you how to download, update and install Android 8.1 Oreo on Xiaomi Mi Note 2 which based on LineageOS 15.1 custom ROM. The LineageOS 15.1 custom ROM is developed by XDA senior member Psy_Man for Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Scorpio.
Every major Android update brings some UI changes that attract end users. Similarly, when we talk about design customization, app launcher is the first thing that comes to the mind. Keeping the trend alive, Google this time also with the new Android P has tweaked
There is good news for those who have Moto X4 Android One edition. The Moto X4 Android One edition model starts receiving Android 8.1 Oreo update along with latest March 1st, 2018 Security Patch. The Android 8.1 Oreo update for Android One Moto X4 comes with
Pixel 2 is the latest smartphone running pure Android from Google which was launched year in October. It’s being said that the device has got the most intuitive and great Android experience. However, compared to the stock Android on other smartphones, Google has optimised its


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Gucci pre fall 2017 'Soul Scene' by Glen Luchford
Gucci Pre-Fall 2017 - Gucci Debuts Campaign Featuring All-Black Models and We're Here for It
See all the Collection photos from Gucci Autumn/Winter 2017 Pre-Fall now on British Vogue
Alessandro Michele unveiled his pre-Fall 2017 collection for Gucci.
Gucci just released images of its Pre-Fall 2017 collection, and we spotted a major trend among the gorgeous shoes.
Gucci Pre-Fall 2017 - Worn by Dakota Johnson at the "Fifty Shades Darker" Madrid Premiere


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Office Depot opens on Englar Road in Westminster
Office Depot held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting Thursday for its store at 402 A Englar Road in Westminster.
Local officials welcomed the store and heard about the company's community outreach programs.
The store is donating $500 each to Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland, the Carroll County Public Library to reach disadvantaged children, and Carroll County Food Sunday food bank.
Also, 120 backpacks with school supplies will be donated to Carroll County public schools for at-risk children.
The store will hold a food drive for Carroll County Food Sunday through Friday.
An appreciation breakfast will be held at the store Saturday for teachers who are enrolled in Office Depot's Star Teacher program. The program offers extra savings on purchases and a filled tote bag, along with breakfast.
Office Depot also offers shoppers a chance to donate a 5 percent credit to their local school on school supplies.
The Westminster store is the first Office Depot in Maryland to use the company's new store format, featuring a new color scheme, easy-to-find system and unified service offerings.
The store will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
TownMall seeks models of all ages
TownMall of Westminster is searching for models of all ages for a Back-to-School Fashion Show to be held Sept. 11.
Applications are available from the customer service desk and must include a full-length photo. Entry is free.
A Baseball Card Show will be held during mall hours Friday, Saturday and Aug. 22.
A Red Cross blood drive will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 24. The Red Cross will set up next to Carlton Cards.
Community Banks Inc. declares 17 cents dividend
The board of Community Banks Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa., has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 17 cents per share, payable Oct. 1 to shareholders of record Sept. 16.
The bank reported earnings of $5.4 million, or 43 cents per share, for the quarter ending June 30.
Assets totaled $2 billion as of June 30.
Community Banks has two offices in Carroll County.
Group announces lawyers who provided reduced fees
The Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service has announced the names of 18 Carroll County attorneys who have provided free or reduced-fee legal services to residents in the past year.
Participating attorneys are: Amy E.C. Austin, Bradley Bauhof, Stephen P. Bourexis, Teresa Breen, Douglas Curtis, Alice E. Dansker Doyle, Erin Danz, Donna Engle, Daniel Green, Fred Hecker, Lloyd R. Helt, J. Brooks Leahy, E. Suzan Miller, Kelly Walfred Miller, Samantha Smith, Diana Wallace, Kenneth M. Williams and Phillip Wright.
The lawyers service is a nonprofit organization that provides free and low-cost legal assistance to low-income people in the state.


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Cab-hiring firm, Uber has finalized plans to launch in Uganda.
The technology based modern tax service which connects drivers and passengers in real time will be launching in Kampala in a few weeks. The globally respected firm has already launched in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria.
Samantha Allenberg, the Chief Communication officer for Uber Africa revealed recently that Uber’s mission is to be in every progressive, forward city that has a need for safe, reliable and efficient transport.
‘‘ We are part of a broader mobility movement, establishing smart cities of the future and we are constantly exploring our options. Uganda is among our priority markets’’
While the development is good news to passengers, for it brings efficiency and cheaper services, the traditional taxi operators commonly known as Special hires see this as a threat to their survival.
How it works
Uber connects millions of people globally at a touch of button. All the client needs is to log on Uber’s APP, and request for a cab. Within minutes, the nearest cab will be on the clients point of location.
The firm works with already existing drivers. However, the vehicles must be well maintained and in good condition. Besides, the driver must know how to use simple technology.
Uber charges a base rate-a fixed rate is charged per minute spent on the ride.


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Nike introduced the FuelBand wristband in January 2012, and it has apparently sold well enough for the company to further invest in its growth as the device at the center of the connected universe it envisions. News on how Nike plans to boost its mobile/digital offering sets the stage for the company’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday.
The athletic-wear giant’s inaugural Nike Accelerator mobile development incubator, announced late last year, this week awarded $20,000 to 10 different startups that are building apps for its Nike+ products. The hope, CNET reports, is “to create a platform in much the same way that Apple has created a platform with iTunes and Microsoft with Windows.”
Hundreds of app ideas were proposed to Nike and its partner, TechStars, and the 10 that will receive funding as well as mentoring from Nike include “games that encourage users to exercise and a corporate wellness app that espouses healthy living habits,” CNET notes. The companies will work on their apps in Portland, Oregon, near Nike’s campus, and then pitch them to Nike bigwigs, venture capitalists and angel investors in June.[more]
The FuelBand was set in motion back in 2009 when Nike VP of Digital Sport Stefan Olander and his staff got excited about the idea at a staff meeting. While Nike targets plenty of its products at serious athletes, it was hoping that FuelBand, which went through hundreds of prototypes such as the one above before finally becoming real, would be attractive to the masses.
According to a press release, FuelBand was partially inspired by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman’s statement, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” The design, however, was partially inspired by the “thick, terry wristbands worn by the tennis greats of the ’70s.” Whatever the retro inspiration, Fast Company last month gave Nike its future-forward Most Innovative Company award as a result of the game-changing device.
Will that innovation pay off? CNBC notes that Nike’s third-quarter income “is expected to be down, despite higher revenue, as the world’s largest athletic shoe and clothing company sees its North American strength offset by weakness in Western Europe and slower sales growth in China.” What has helped the company is its basketball shoes and NFL gear in North America.
Something that is likely to help the Nike brand in England, anyway, is that the men’s and women’s national soccer teams are about to start wearing Nike gear after more than 50 years of wearing Umbro. That’s what “a contract believed to be worth over £20m ($30.3 million) a year,” according to the Guardian, will do.
Something that inevitably comes up in earnings calls these days is what companies are doing to save the planet, and Nike Inc. has long been committed to sustainability. The company just announced that it is partnering with “Swiss company bluesign technologies to accelerate the supply of sustainable materials and chemistries for use in NIKE, Inc. products.” This will help Nike’s massive supply chain be more aware of the sustainable products available to them in the production process. It will also allow Nike to “begin using (its) tools to analyze more than 800 factories in about 50 countries,” SustainableBusinessOregon.com reports.
While the company’s environmental efforts are the cause of some pride, there is another subject that once brought embarrassment: its association with Tiger Woods. Through all the revelations of the famed golfer’s many sexual partners and marriage troubles, Nike stood by their man and now have introduced his 2013 Collection, which addresses two areas that have been “distraction points” throughout Woods’ career, according to Kim Kenney, design director for Nike Golf.
“Tiger was typically adjusting his sleeves before he addressed the ball, moving the garment’s shoulder seam back as a way to mark his golf stance,” she said, according to a company release. “Then after he followed through, he had to adjust and pull his sleeves back to the original position.” So the company addressed these issues. One hopes, now that Woods is publicly dating famed skier Lindsay Vonn, that he has addressed his own history with other distractions as well.
Speaking of distractions, plenty of basketball fans this week haven’t spent a whole lot of time paying attention to earnings calls or anything else as the NCAA’s March Madness is suddenly thrust upon American culture. Nike or subsidiary Jordan Brand have outfitted 14 of the last 16 men’s champions and 50 of 64 Final Four teams and has its duds on 52 of the 68 teams in the Big Show this year, but Adidas may give it a run for its money this year as it outfits two of the No. 1 seeds, Louisville and Kansas.
What surely won’t come up during the call will be any information on where Nike plans to expand to next in Oregon, “but an engineering company’s report offers a hint that something big is planned on 28 acres west of Nike’s World Headquarters campus,” according to the Oregonian. A water survey was done on the land in October for Project Impact, which is Nike’s code name for its planned expansion.


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Industry Update – July 2021
July 23, 2021
Shipping woes continue to plague supply chains worldwide – including the fireworks industry.
Supply chain issues have hampered US industries in 2020 and all through 2021. We reported earlier in Sept 2020, Dec 2020, May, and June about rising freight costs, supply chain issues, exchange rate uncertainty, and more.
Despite multiple parties pushing for change, including efforts by the National Fireworks Association, supply chain issues persist. We were recently made aware of another increase in ocean freight. This price increase went into effect on July 16th, bringing the total cost of delivering a fireworks container to over $30,000 for most locations in the Midwest. This price is over double the cost of early 2020.
We are opening up wholesale sales on Monday, July 26. Like most wholesalers, we sold out of fireworks leading up to the 4th of July. This means that the fireworks we have to sell have just arrived from China, or are still on the way and have incurred these massive costs.
We are keeping our prices as low as possible. To that end, our pricing will be valid from July 26 – September 1st. Due to the frequent and numerous increases in freight costs, we cannot guarantee these prices beyond that date. We hope that freight costs will stabilize so we can maintain these prices for as long as possible.
We are offering 20% off shipping through Oct. 1. We know many fireworks buyers are eager to restock and expect record sales again for August. We encourage you to take advantage of our shipping discount to get the best possible deal when reloading your fireworks cache.
Check back often as we will continue to provide updates and let you know pertinent information that may impact our industry.


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Hyderabad in India is aiming to become the main air freight hub for the country. Airlines are increasing their freighter services to and from Hyderabad, improving links with East and North Asia.
The airport is within two hours flying time of every other major airport in India, which would make it an ideal gateway for air cargo. The operating company has already set up feeder services for transhipment by road.
Traffic is increasing: in 2002-03, the airport handled 20,728 tonnes of freight. By 2006-07, this had risen to 46,411 tonnes and in 2010-11, it handled 80,777 tonnes. Hyderabad’s cargo terminal is India’s first modular integrated freight facility, providing capacity for 150,000 million tonnes a year.


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PORT-AU_PRINCE: Better known for producing third-world poverty and political mayhem, the Western Hemisphere’s least developed country, Haiti has made a surprising entry into the high-tech world with its own Android tablet.
Sandwiched between textile factories in a Port-au-Prince industrial park next to a slum, a Haitian-founded company has begun manufacturing the low-cost tablet called Sûrtab, a made-up name using the French adjective “sûr,” meaning “sure,” to suggest reliability.
Unlike the factories next door where low-paid textile workers churn out cheap undergarments for the U.S. market, Sûrtab workers are equipped with soldering irons, not sewing machines.
With only a limited selection of expensive imported tablets available in Haiti, Sûrtab is the cheapest device on the market.
The company has a retail distribution deal in Haiti with Digicel, a global telecom company that dominates the local cellphone market, as well as sales to Haitian government ministries and local non-governmental organizations.
A university in Kenya also ordered 650 Sûrtab devices.
Sûrtab is hoping to diversify its product line beyond tablets, said Patrick Sagna, director of business development.


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OSC director says all regulators ‘struggling’ with short selling
The head of enforcement at the Ontario Securities Commission says his entire industry is wrestling with how to deal with short sellers. “We’re all struggling with the short-selling issue,” Jeff Kehoe told BNN in an interview. “Short selling by its very nature is not an evil. Short selling is a very useful tool … [but] the ‘short and distort’ is a completely different animal.” His remarks come after a series of high-profile shorts against Canadian companies, including Home Capital Group and, most recently, Shopify. Watch for the interview with Kehoe here, and we’ll gather reaction throughout the day.
SEARS SEEKS GO-AHEAD TO LIQUIDATE
Sears Canada is back in court today, as its court-appointed monitor seeks the go-ahead to start a full liquidation next week that will serve as a precursor to the ultimate closure of 131 stores and 12,000 job losses. BNN's Paige Ellis will be there as the story develops this morning. And we’re expecting to hear from ex-CEO Ron Boire at 12 p.m. ET.
TRUDEAU: CANADA WON’T ABANDON NAFTA TALKS
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to rip up the trilateral trade deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is committed to NAFTA renegotiations. “We will not be walking away from the table based on the proposals put forward,” he said yesterday alongside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. While the PM is ready to grind it out, check out what experts told BNN's Jameson Berkow about the what-if scenario.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:
-Variety was first to report the news that Amazon has suspended Roy Price, the head of its entertainment division, amid sexual harassment allegations, criticism of ties to Harvey Weinstein, and broader concerns about Amazon Studios’ day-to-day business.
-Samsung Electronics Vice-Chairman Oh-Hyun Kwon is resigning, citing an "unprecedented crisis" at the company.
-Interesting call on oil by S&P Global Platts analyst Gary Ross. He’s quoted by Bloomberg as saying “sentiment killers” like electric vehicle and shale are killing investment, potentially propelling oil to US$80/barrel over the next couple years.
-U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver his long-awaited remarks on the Iran nuclear deal today at 12:45 p.m. ET. There are multiple reports he won’t certify the agreement, but also won’t immediately ask Congress to sanction the country.
-Notable earnings: Wells Fargo, Bank of America
-Notable data: U.S. CPI, U.S. retail sales, U.S. consumer sentiment
-9:00 a.m. ET: OSC holds roundtable on review of women on boards and in executive positions
-10:00 a.m. ET: Sears Canada back in court
-12:45 p.m. ET: Trump delivers remarks on Iran nuclear deal
-5:00 p.m. Et: Canadian innovation and economic development ministers hold news conference after meeting in Vancouver
-Fourth round of NAFTA renegotiations continues in Arlington, Virginia (runs to Oct. 17)
-G20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Washington
Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.


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A team of seasoned managers wants to renew the medical procurement system from the ground up with Hystrix Medical
Giorgio V. Müller, NZZ-E-Paper, 06.08.2019 (translated from German)
If you want to make a difference, you have to risk a lot and also make sacrifices. For 38-year-old Philippe Hügli, this meant giving up a well-paid job as head of Switzerland at the American medical technology group Boston Scientific a good two years ago and in one fell swoop getting by on just a quarter of his previous salary. It is already an achievement that a young company like Hystrix Medical is able to pay its employees wages right from the start.
Since then, the Zurich-born entrepreneur has put all his energy and time into the company, which has established a digital marketplace for medical products and has a vision of becoming a “healthcare hub”, as the young entrepreneur explains in an interview. Hügli is well aware of the risk of clustering, because his wife, a lawyer, is also a member of the staff, which has now grown to 12 people.
Hügli studied biomechanics and logistics at the ETH Zurich. His idea for a digital marketplace came to him years ago when he was still working for well-known American medical technology companies in Switzerland. He was always at the interface between the suppliers of medical products – his employer – and the customers, mainly hospitals and clinics. Hügli is therefore well aware of the concerns and needs of both sides. At St. Jude, he was responsible for the sale of implants and pacemakers, then at Boston Scientific it was artificial heart valves and stents.
Consumables at the centre
This process was extremely complicated and cumbersome, he recalls. He often negotiated back and forth with the purchaser in a hospital for months until a contract was concluded. For highly complex products, this procedure may be tolerable. But for mass-produced goods such as plasters, sanitary facilities and hospital furniture, but also simple implants, this is superfluous. Hügli estimates that this is the case for 50 to 70% of all medical products.
With Hystrix, he wants to simplify the procurement of medical consumables. The online platform is a web-based software-as-a-service application to which suppliers and buyers have easy access. Initially, only 150 products were available on the digital marketplace, the first deal was a measly CHF 150. But now the range includes 72,576 products and 586 brands, offered by four dozen affiliated suppliers. The whole thing is financed by a 3% transaction fee, which the supplier pays to Hystrix. Currently, more than 30 clinics, including university hospitals, are connected. The service is free of charge for the customers. The same 10,000 medical devices are available in every hospital, currently about a quarter of them are available on the platform.
In concrete terms, a supplier offers his articles for sale on the platform, including price and discount structure. For security reasons, a two-factor authorization including a personal password is required. The competition does not see his conditions, and he only knows who the actual buyer is when the contract is concluded. Instead of months, the purchase takes only minutes. The payment process takes place outside the platform to keep the technical requirements as simple as possible. To ensure that everyone is informed about the market prices of the articles, the respective conditions are published in anonymous form.
Everything still in the early stages
Hystrix Medical is still in the start-up phase. Over two financing rounds, CHF 2.6 million have been raised so far. The three-man management team consists of Hügli and his two co-founders Jonathan Campbell and Roman Eminger. Campbell was most recently Executive Director at JP Morgan, but now he is responsible for day-to-day business as CFO. Eminger came from Actelion, the Swiss biotech company acquired by Johnson & Johnson.
The board of directors of the young company also includes top-class members. Hans-Peter Güllich, a proven IT entrepreneur, serves as Chairman. Florian Teuteberg, the founder and CEO of the Migros online subsidiary Digitec Galaxus, sits on the board. Stephan Wehrli represents the lead investor of the first round of financing, Zühlke Ventures, and the second round was joined by Stephan “Essi” Fischer from the Start Angels Network.
At the end of March Hystrix moved its headquarters from Solothurn to Langenthal. “The Berne-based location promotion agency was by far the friendliest and most sincerely interested,” is how Hügli explains the decision.


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October 31 is important for two reasons. The first reason is the Halloween and traditions associated with this day. The second has nothing to do with Halloween, but it an important for the crypto owners as well as enthusiasts. This day is also associated with cryptocurrencies.
Exactly 11 years ago, on October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. The world’s first cryptocurrency not only survived but managed to become one of the popular digital currencies in the world.
At the moment, Bitcoin is the number one cryptocurrency when it comes to market capitalization. This fact underlines the importance of this digital currency for the market. Even after more than ten years, Bitcoin remains one of the recognizable symbols of the crypto era.
Another interesting fact which coincided with Bitcoin’s birthday is that Bitcoin blockchain’s cumulative transaction fees reached $1 billion.
It is desirable to understand the importance of transaction fees. It plays key roles in the bitcoin blockchain. All of them are important for the integrity of the network.
The first function is that attaching fees to bitcoin transactions helps to minimize the risks connected with so-called “spam attacks.
Let’s move to function number two, which is that fees serve to prioritize which transactions get confirmed and written onto blocks faster than others.
Last but not least is the third one is that transaction fees ensure the transaction finality. It means that coupled with the Bitcoin block subsidy; transaction fees provide an incentive for the Bitcoin miners from editing or stalling the blockchain.
It is essential to mention that without transaction fees, it will hard to buy and to sell cryptocurrencies.
- Interested in Trading Bitcoin or Ripple? Read WiBestBroker’s comprehensive review on Uptos.
Cryptocurrencies on October 31
On Thursday, Bitcoin’s price remains above the key $9,000 support level against the U.S. dollar. Right now, Bitcoin’s price is $9,104. It needs to break the resistance levels above $9,200 and $9,320.
Another major cryptocurrency, which is the Ethereum is struggling to regain its position. Ethereum failed to overcome the resistance levels above $194 and $195. This trend continued as the price started to fall first to $190, and then the price decreased to $179. At the moment, Ethereum’s price is $180.


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By Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch
This isn’t the only time Arnott has kissed a frog. Another came a year after his BP-over-AAPL bet: In August 2011 he predicted that Bank of America /quotes/zigman/190927/delayed/quotes/nls/bac BAC +0.58% would outperform Apple over the long term.
At that time, it was hard to imagine Bank of America’s reputation being more awful. It represented all that was dysfunctuional about bank and mortgage-company behavior that led to the credit crunch and liquidity crisis of 2008.
Even today it is paying the price for its bad deeds: Its latest quarterly earnings, released last week, were hugely depressed by billions in charges related to the settlement of various legal disputes arising out of the subprime-mortgage fiasco. Read full report on BAC earnings.
Is Apple a value investor's dream?
With Apple's share price nearing 52-week lows, growth-minded investors are selling to value investors, who are drawn to the stock's valuation and potential for a dividend hike.
Yet on this BAC-over AAPL bet, Arnott is even further in the black than he is with his BP bet: Since my August 2011 column reporting it, Bank of America stock has produced an 18-month real return of 60%, versus 25% for Apple.
To be sure, contrarian bets like Arnott’s don’t always work out this nicely. But, more often than not, they do.
We know this because of the superior long-term performance of benchmarks like Arnott’s so-called fundamental indices, which almost always end up underweighting the stocks with the largest market caps.
Consider the FTSE RAFI All-Caps US 1000 index, which weights stocks according to a number of fundamental criteria rather than market cap. In the summer of 2010, for example, when Arnott made his BP-over-AAPL bet, Apple was the 27th largest company in that index. It would have been the second-largest company in the index if its weight had been based on market cap.
Since the inception of the FTSE RAFI All-Caps US 1000 index in November 2005, its alternate weighting scheme has added 1.44 percentage points per year to its return. That’s a lot of alpha to trace to changing each stock’s weight in the index.
Keep that in mind the next time you’re tempted to invest in the latest fad on Wall Street.
What frog might a contrarian be kissing right now?
In an email earlier this week, Chris Brightman, head of investment management at Research Affiliates, suggested betting on Wal-Mart /quotes/zigman/245476/delayed/quotes/nls/wmt WMT +0.11% over Amazon /quotes/zigman/63011/delayed/quotes/nls/amzn AMZN -0.06% . The latter company may not have the same pizzazz that Apple did in its heyday, but it still represents the allure and promise of the high-tech sector — especially in contrast to Wal-Mart.
Amazon’s stock is up over 50% over the last year, triple Wal-Mart’s stock gain of just 17%.
Brightman’s contrarian-based reasoning: “Today, Amazon has a market capitalization of $124 billion, more than half of Wal-Mart’s $233 billion market cap. Yet Wal-Mart is more than five times the size of Amazon measured by sales, cash flow, dividends, and book value. Wal-Mart has free cash flow ... of $11 billion per year to distribute to its shareholders — which is paid as $5 billion in dividends and $6 billion as share buybacks — providing a nearly 5% annual yield.”
“Amazon [in contrast] has only $2 billion of free cash flow and pays nothing back to its shareholders. Amazon’s sales and cash flow will need to more than quintuple relative to Wal-Mart to match Wal-Mart’s ability to pay its shareholders. Anything less, and Wal-Mart is the better investment.”


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Kasich Helps Announce Company Expansions In Tri-State
Kao USA, Biofirmix To Expand Local Operations
A major beauty products maker and a company that makes environmentally sensitive adhesives and other materials are both expanding their southwest Ohio bases.
Republican Gov. John Kasich took part in separate announcements Tuesday that will mean nearly 100 new jobs in Ohio and millions in investments. He touted the planned expansions backed by state tax incentives as the latest signs that the state is on an economic rebound.
"You can see Ohio is really beginning to percolate," Kasich said in a news conference at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.
Kao USA plans to add 50 jobs in Cincinnati while investing some $21 million in a new downtown headquarters office and in research, development and manufacturing in the West End. Kao USA is a unit of Tokyo-based Kao Corp., making such brands as Jergens and Curel lotions and Ban deodorants.
Meanwhile, Bioformix in Loveland will add at least 43 jobs as it consolidates operations. The company makes and distributes adhesives, coatings and sealants.
Kasich says Ohio has become one of the nation's leading job creators, and he is promoting aggressive efforts to lure new businesses and keep existing ones in the state.
"Now we have a game plan," he said.


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Hervé Payan to leave the company
London – WarnerMedia, a division of AT&T Inc., today announced the appointment of Christina Sulebakk to lead HBO Europe including the linear networks and streaming service effective immediately. In her new role as General Manager, HBO Europe, Sulebakk will report into Priya Dogra, President, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks, EMEA and APAC.
Sulebakk replaces Hervé Payan who served as CEO of HBO Europe for eight years and who will be leaving the company at the end of August 2020.
Priya Dogra said: “Christina is a tremendously talented executive who has been integral to the success of HBO Europe. She has a deep understanding of direct-to-consumer businesses and has played a pivotal role in the development of our international plans. She will be a key force in driving our growth in Europe.”
Dogra continued: “We’re incredibly grateful to Hervé for his leadership in building and growing the HBO Europe business and importantly, for his vision in launching streaming video offerings in key markets in Europe. I’ve personally worked closely with Hervé over the past few years and I’ve appreciated his entrepreneurial spirit, his focus on innovation and good sense of humor. We are thankful to Hervé for staying on until the end of August to ensure a smooth transition of this important business.”
Payan said: “I am enormously proud of what the HBO Europe team has achieved over the years. I am delighted to see the torch pass to Christina. She has been here since the outset and I’m sure she will play a valuable role in accelerating the pace of the business.”
Sulebakk said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled about my new role and our ambitious plans for HBO Europe. Working on this iconic brand with exceptionally talented colleagues at such a pivotal time in the industry has been an educational and enriching experience. I can’t wait to get started on the opportunities that lie ahead as we build on the strong foundation that is Hervé’s legacy.”
Sulebakk has been at HBO Europe for over eight years, most recently serving as Executive Vice President, CMO & Head of Distribution. During her years at HBO Europe she has been expatriated to Madrid, Budapest and New York and has played pivotal roles in transforming the Central European business into streaming and launching HBO España.
WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others, as well as Xandr’s suite of advanced advertising solutions designed to help to improve advertising for brands, publishers, and consumers. WarnerMedia is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).


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Read Stock Insights by ET for a quick analysis
These companies gave an average excess return of 23 per cent over the Sensex between 2002 and 2007. Between 2008 and 2010, the average excess return over the Sensex stood at 14 per cent. The same stood at 44 per cent in the 2011-2014 period and 36 per cent during the 2015-2016 period.
"Spin-offs create value for shareholders through greater management focus, alignment of management rewards with the spin-off's performance, removal of conglomer ate discount, and lower information asymmetry for the investment community , aiding value discovery," said Lakshminarayana Ganti and Garima Malpani of SBICAP Securities in a note.
For example, Transport Corp of India has jumped 29 per cent since listing in December 2016. Marico Kaya Enterprises -the beauty and wellness business of Marico -is up close to seven times after listing as a separate unit in August 2015.
SBICAP's analysis is based on 154 transactions for which data is available out of the 248 transactions that happened during that period. Most of the spin-offs were done by companies in the midand small-cap segment and the action was not concentrated in specific sectors or companies within a particular range of market capitalisation, the brokerage said.
According to Sanjiv Bhasin, executive vice-president, market and corporate affairs at IIFL, lower borrowing costs is the key positive that spun off companies enjoy.
"Market tends to buy the best assets. So, companies that have been spun off also tend to have better credit profile and return on equity . More importantly, they have lower borrowing costs," Bhasin pointed out.
Fund managers said the trend may continue going ahead. "Such spun-off entities can offer better value as there is clarity over individual business. Typically, by spinning off, sum of the parts is greater than the whole," said Dhiraj Sachdev, senior fund manager at HSBC Global Asset Management.
Some of the pending spin offs which can be interesting bets according to market participants include the demerger of consumer electric business of Aditya Birla Group's financial services business as a result of merger of Aditya Birla Nuvo with
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Cadillac Celestiq to be built at GM's Warren Tech Center
General Motors Co. is investing more than $81 million at its Global Technical Center in Warren for production of the hand-built Cadillac Celestiq, the automaker said Wednesday.
The investment will cover the purchase and installation of equipment to make the ultra-luxury electric Celestiq. Renovation work has already started. Hourly employees represented by United Auto Workers Local 160 will build the cars. GM hasn't said when it will launch production of the Celestiq.
This is the first time a production vehicle will be built at the Warren campus, which has been the center of GM engineering and design since its inauguration in May 1956.
GM last week released teaser images of the Celestiq. Additional images will be released throughout the summer, ahead of the show car's debut in late July, the automaker said.
The Celestiq is built on GM’s new Ultium electric vehicle platform. It features a four-quadrant roof with smart glass that allows occupants to set their own level of roof transparency.
It will be built with more than 100 3-D printed parts that include both structural and cosmetic pieces, and polymer and metal pieces. The Celestiq production facility will also use additive manufacturing for tooling, fixtures and gauges in the assembly process, GM said.
GM’s Additive Industrialization Center, which opened on the Warren campus in 2020, enabled the use of 3-D printing for Cadillac. The luxury brand's CT4-V and CT5-V high-performance sedans were GM’s first vehicles to use 3-D printed parts, including the shifter emblem, transmission components and HVAC ducts.


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Last week, Samsung rolled out an update for its Galaxy S10 series with lots of camera improvements and some other features. on the other hand, immediately after releasing these updates, the user has started some complaints which are about some apps and other problems. Now reports are coming that Samsung has stopped the updates to fix the bugs. the new updates will no longer available to download and users need to wait for another update package without that kind of bugs soon.
According to SamMobile update states, that company has just revoked its latest Galaxy S10 update after having a verity of bug reported by the users. so the news updates are now no longer available to download, so the rollout has been ceased as well, so all the users who have already updated their smartphone, have no other option and should have to wait for the upcoming bugs free Samsung Galaxy S10 updates. The company has not revealed the dates when these updates are going to be released yet.
You May Also Read:–Google Stadia
The latest released updates launched by the Samsung came with having some bugs that induced some third-party apps like Twitter, WhatsApp, and Nova Launcher to become unresponsive. while for several customers, smartphones have touch input problems and become absolutely unresponsive sometimes, and then suddenly reverted back to performing normally. Other Some other problems that users are facing after having recent updates include overall laggy user interface navigation experience, phone apps getting stuck randomly, slow unlocking speed, and automatic apps restrictions.
some other issues such as clearing the system cache, clearing the app, booting the phone in recovery mode are also included. even more, a factory reset was not able to solve the issues. The recent update was announced to deliver new Android security patches,
Night Mode adjustments, Live Focus support with both for telephotos lens and ultra-wide lens as well.
Thanks for Reading


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Apple has already refreshed its iPad Pro lineup this year with an A12Z Bionic chip, a LiDAR scanner, and an ultra-wide angle shooter. However, there have been rumors of the company refreshing its iPad Pro lineup again later this year with 5G connectivity and faster 5nm A14 Bionic chip. Now, it looks like Apple could delay the launch of this 5G iPad Pro refresh to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Apple was only planning on launching a 12.9-inch iPad Pro refresh later this year with 5G connectivity and a Mini-LED display which the report now claims has been pushed to next spring. Analyst Jeff Pu had also claimed last week that Apple has pushed back the launch of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Mini-LED display until 2021.
Apple is likely prioritizing the development of the 5G iPhone 12 lineup right now and since it is working with limited resources right now, it has seemingly decided to delay the release of its other less-important products.
It is very rare for Apple to refresh its iPad lineup twice a year. The early-2020 iPad Pro refresh was not a major one and did not even bring any major performance improvements which could perhaps be the reason as why Apple was looking to refresh the lineup again later in the year. However, given the prevailing conditions and the rise of work from home culture and video calling/meetings, it would make more sense for Apple to update its 10.2-inch iPad and the iPad Air lineup later in the year instead of focusing on the iPad Pro fresh with Mini-LED display.
Apple is working on a number of other products with Mini-LED displays including MacBooks and iMacs, with many of them scheduled for launch in 2020 or early 2021. Given the global pandemic though, it is likely that Apple will reschedule the launch of some of the products.[Source UDN]


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After 10 years and 87 re-enacted movies, 30-Second Bunnies Theatre says so long with a swan song of "Blade Runner."
In a deposition for a lawsuit brought by a paparazzo against him, the next Steve Jobs muses about the effects drones will have on society.
"Reservoir Dogs," "Seven," "The Exorcist," and other disturbing movies get a kid-friendly restyling thanks to artist Todd Spence, who wants to swap screams with smiles.
Live out all your horror-film fantasies with Berlin's deserted Spreepark, for sale on eBay for a mere $2.2 million. Warning: it's a fixer-upper.
The cable TV network decides to focus on cult classics with established fan bases, and to set its service apart by offering bonus features such as exclusive interviews with filmmakers.
A new study by the University of Westminster has found that watching horror films is as effective as exercise for burning off the kilojoules.
Bodyform, a UK company that makes menstrual pads, has issued a fabulous response via YouTube to a male complainer.
The Barany, a chair that spins you carefully (at first) to get you used to motion, is designed to help pilots avoid throwing up on the job.
To market the new movie "The Last Exorcism," producers lead apparently unsuspecting Chatrouletters to believe they are about to see a girl take her clothes off. Until...
A new Jersey company is presenting a blinding alternative to tasers--a gun that emits a green light at suspects and causes them to temporarily lose their sight.


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Microsoft-acquired Mojang has announced that Minecraft Realms is coming soon to Android, iOS, Windows 10 and Windows Phone devices. Realms will allow users to play Minecraft with people in an online mode, allowing them to create groups of people that they want to play the game with.
Mojang also went on to state that given that Realms will allow users to play Minecraft on servers that are online 24/7, it will be a paid service; however, the company hasn't released pricing plans yet.
Mojang also affirmed that Realms will offer cross-platform play across multiple OSes, stating that:
Minecraft Realms will support cross-platform play between the iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 10 editions of Minecraft. We’re using Xbox Live logins to make that possible. If you don’t already have one, don’t worry, they’re quick to create and free! Minecrafters have been playing Minecraft via Xbox Live since we released Xbox 360 Edition back in 2012, and it supports multiple platforms, so it made sense for us to use it for Realms. Also: now that we’re part of Microsoft, we have easy access to the fancy back-end systems and Xbox Live technology, so it was kind-of a no-brainer.
Mojang has also cautioned that users will also need an Xbox Live account to play Realms. While the company plans to offer Realms on Android, iOS, Windows 10 and Windows Phone soon, users with an Android device, an Xbox Live account and a copy of Minecraft Pocket Edition from the Google Play Store can opt-in for a free alpha right here. However, the company warned that given that this is an early build, users should expect bugs and crashes.
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Alisha Martin MAT '18 Launches Fitness Brand
Alisha Martin MAT '18, and her husband Taylor, created the fitness brand Brute Fit, which produces premium health supplements. The couple launched their first official product, a pre-workout, in November 2020. Brute Fit has other products in the pipeline, including a vegan protein powder set to launch in late 2021.
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021


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Less than a year after closing a $500 million funding round led by T. Rowe Price Associates, autonomous delivery startup Nuro raises $600M. The money will be used to hire more employees and enhance its technology. In this new funding round, the lead investor was Tiger Global alongside Google LLC, SoftBank Group Corp., and several others. Nuro is now reportedly valued at $8.6 billion.
Nuro’s growing fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles can deliver groceries and medicines from shops or retail locations to consumers’ homes. As a part of a partnership with Kroger Co, Nuro’s vehicles have carried out thousands of deliveries. Neuro teamed up with FedEx corp earlier this year to evaluate whether its vehicles are suitable for parcel logistics.
Nuro’s autonomous delivery vehicle, called the R2, uses an artificial intelligence driving system and several sensors to collect data about the environment for navigating the roads. Each vehicle can ferry 400 pounds of merchandise.
The design of R2 plays a significant role in pedestrian safety. The vehicle is smaller than a car and has a specialized panel to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision. The vehicle also has a redundant braking and control system that allows it to continue operating if a component malfunction.
Nuro is expanding its manufacturing capabilities; the startup announced its plan to invest 40 million dollars in a test track and a new manufacturing facility. The startup aims to build vehicles faster, and the current funding round could help advance its expanding plans. The proposed test track will help the company boost the startup’s development effort by providing a safe environment to test R2’s autonomous driving software. Testing is essential because machine learning systems improve through training, and practice runs on simulated roads will improve R2’s navigation.
Additionally, Nuro is partnering with Google to enhance its autonomous driving software. The company announced a five-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud that will extend to data storage and running vehicle simulation workloads. Google’s collaboration with Nuro is notable given its sister company Waymo is also developing fully autonomous cars and vehicles.


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La Tienda in the Press
- February 20, 2013
El Clásico! LaTienda.com Announces a Giveaway of Signed Soccer Jerseys from Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona
LaTienda.com announces a giveaway of jerseys signed by soccer superstars Xabi Alonso of Real Madrid CF and Carles Puyol of FC Barcelona. Fans are welcome to vote for their favorite team and need only provide a valid email address to enter. Sponsor La Gula del Norte has provided the coveted jerseys and has recently launched a product campaign featuring Xabi and Puyol in a video dining together on delicious La Gula Del Norte seafood.


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Stephenie Landry, Amazon’s vice president for Prime Now, has been handed responsibility for Amazon Fresh (the company’s grocery delivery service) and Amazon Restaurants (its restaurant delivery service), Re/Code reports.
Retail Dive’s request for comment wasn’t immediately returned by Amazon, and as of Friday morning no changes were reflected at Landry’s LinkedIn page.
She told Re/Code that the e-commerce giant will continue to run the separate delivery services, reflecting the different ways consumers think about delivery through Amazon, according to the report.
Amazon is constantly reiterating its own innovations, so a shuffle in some of its delivery operations is hardly a surprise. Landry, who has led Prime Now for more than a decade, is an obvious person to take on other delivery efforts there.
Still, it’s an indication of how dynamic the retail delivery market is at the moment, with cumbersome last-mile practices and steep costs yet rising customer expectations.
Target last week announced the acquisition of same-day delivery startup Shipt, months after its purchase of same-day delivery company Grand Junction. In that time, a slew of other retailers have also announced same-day delivery services or expansions of existing same-day services, including Office Depot, Macy's, Best Buy and Rent the Runway, to name just a few.
More than half (51%) of retailers say they now offer same-day delivery, up from 16% last year, and within two years 65% plan to offer it, according to a survey from retail management consulting firm BRP. Third-party delivery, through the likes of Uber or Lyft, has also increased, from 20% of retailers offering that last year to 32% doing so this year, according to that report.
While in-store pickup of online orders is also popular, delivery has emerged as critical, according to Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York City-based retail consulting and investment banking firm Davidowitz & Associates. "This business of picking up in stores is a peanut thing," he told Retail Dive. "If you ask anybody in this business, the name of the game is delivery."


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Cryptocurrencies were dealt a blow today when Google announced a widespread ban on related ads. The ban goes into effect in June and covers all aspects of cryptocurrencies, including initial coin offerings (ICOs), exchanges, wallets, and even trading advice.
Google is following in the footsteps of Facebook, which implemented a similar ban at the beginning of the year. At the time, Bitcoin declined in value by 12 percent, according to CNBC.
This time around, the announcement knocked Bitcoin back from its position above $9,000 to $8,252.39 earlier today, it's lowest value in a month. It's recovered somewhat since then, though not by much—it's trading at $8,279.44 at the time of this writing.
Bitcoin is not the only digital currency that's taken a hit. Ethereum and Litecoin are both down a bit today, with the former falling 9.5 percent and the latter slipping 6.5 percent.
There is mixed reaction to the announcement. Brian Kelly, CEO of BKCM, told CNBC that the ban amounts to a "nothing burger" in the grand scheme of things, and that "China has been banning Bitcoin since 2013." Others are more peeved about the ban.
"Google is a tech pioneer, driving global innovation for both consumers and SMBs. This blanket rule on cryptocurrencies, which ignores the underlying blockchain technology, not only seems like a step backwards, but as though Google is stifling the very tech innovation that made them grow. Blockchain is often misplaced under the same criminal umbrella as Bitcoin. This is ironic, as one can facilitate fraud and the other fights it," said Marwan Forzley, CEO of Veem, the first global payment platform to use blockchain.
How this ultimately affects mining and the current shortage of GPUs, if at all, remains to be seen. We're not getting our hopes up, in part because we've learned not to read too much into drops in value. Bitcoin especially has been highly volatile. That might not seem relevant since Bitcoin mining has largely moved to ASIC hardware these days, but it's not uncommon to mine any of several alt-coins and trade them for Bitcoin.
GDC and GTC are both around the corner. Hopefully there will be new GPU announcements, or at the very least some news on what is being down to combat the shortage.


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A young Toronto entrepreneur has started a business allowing women to rent out their own clothes, aiming to help reduce the environmental damage of fast fashion.
Three weeks ago, Socrates Reppas was told he had until the end of the year to vacate the facility that has housed his business, Marquis Jewellers, for the past 46 years.
Located in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood, the store is within the Cumberland Terrace, a plaza that is slated for demolition to make way for condominiums.
Toronto Police are trying to track down Chase Kincaid, 32, who they allege is responsible for stealing more than $58,000 worth of alcohol from LCBO stores over the last year.
According to Constable Caroline de Kloet, Kincaid has allegedly been on a shoplifting spree since June of 2018, and now police are asking for the pubic’s help in finding the accused thief.
De Kloet said in a statement that Kincaid “was last seen about 10 days ago in the Burnhamthorpe Rd. and Saturn Rd. area.”
Organic Garage Ltd. (“Organic Garage” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:OG) has released the Company’s financial results for its first quarter ended April 30, 2019 and is pleased to announce an increase in year over year sales and gross profits.
Fitness trainer Larry Track described his favourite thing to do at his club while off duty as “[being] a client and [taking] as many classes as I can”.
But suddenly, Track’s own paying clients can’t take classes because he closed the doors of his Forest Hill Village workout studio, Track Fitness.
He did so without warning, and after running a promotion encouraging customers to pay up front for bundles of classes at a discount.
So much so, that fans started lining up on Thursday for Raptors/OVO championship t-shirts and hats, which is being sold at Real Sports Apparel on Friday, from 8 am to 6 pm.


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Dec 05, 2017
The Bay Park Brewery and Tasting Room now features a quick-service kitchen, as well as several new brewery upgrades.
Oct 19, 2017
Coronado Brewing takes a decadent spin on the classic dessert.
Aug 12, 2016
It might feel like summer, but autumn is in the air with Coronado Brewing Company's highly anticipated autumn release, Punk'In Drublic.
Jul 27, 2016
Coronado Brewing Company is celebrating 20 years of crafting award-winning beers, and now the company is taking a major step forward in planning for the future.