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AOL to reform customer service after NY probe
Spitzer slams stealth retention scheme
AOL has agreed to reform its customer service operation following complaints that led to legal action by Elliot 'the Blitzer' Spitzer, New York's attorney general. In a settlement announced Wednesday, AOL will be obliged to remove obstacles US consumers faced when seeking to switch or cancel their internet service.
Spitzer’s office began an inquiry of AOL's customer service policies in response to around 300 consumer complaints from 2000 onwards. The investigation revealed that the net giant had an elaborate system for rewarding employees who succeeded in keeping subscribers who had called to cancel their internet service. In many instances, such retention was done against subscribers' wishes, or without their consent, it was alleged.
Service reps could earn bonuses of tens of thousands of dollars if they could successfully dissuade or "save" half of the people who called to cancel service. Consumer reps were expected to meet minimum retain or save percentages. This led to instances where workers failed to honour cancellations or otherwise made cancellation unduly difficult for consumers. Many consumers complained that AOL personnel ignored their demands to cancel service and stop billing.
Under an agreement with Spitzer's office, America Online (AOL) will alter the incentives it offers to customer representatives who seek to persuade subscribers to stay with the firm. It agreed to set up an independent monitoring auditing regime. The net service giant also agreed to pay $1.25m to New York State in penalties and costs. Lastly AOL agreed to provide refunds to New York consumers who claim harm based on improper cancellation procedures, with compensation of up to four months worth of service.
"This agreement helps ensure that AOL will strive to keep its customers through quality service, not stealth retention programs," Spitzer said in a statement welcoming the settlement. ®


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Compared to the World Wide Web, YouTube hasn’t been around for a very long time. The site launched in 2005, but, much like the internet itself, the video-sharing platform has staying power. YouTube has only gotten more popular since its launch. As of 2018, an astounding 1.8 billion users were visiting the site each month (via Business Insider). While plenty of people have started their own YouTube channels, a select few have been able to rake in millions of monthly visitors, which has resulted them in earning millions of dollars.
In 2018, Forbes released the names of the highest-paid YouTube stars. Of the particularly profitable bunch, some stars made over $20 million. These figures are even more impressive considering the YouTubers’ ages. Not a single person over the age of 40 made the cut. One YouTube personality was just 7 years old when he pulled in $22 million. Although YouTube is very much led by young stars, there are YouTube stars who are older than they appear to be. Here are some stars whose ages may surprise you.
Baking extraordinaire Rosanna Pansino
YouTuber Rosanna Pansino started her baking channel back in 2011. According to her site, her videos have since been viewed billions of times and she has become “one of the most-watched and followed personalities on the internet.” As of March 2019, Pansino has over 11 million subscribers.
The YouTuber’s channel is cloyingly sweet — and it’s not just because of the treats she so beautifully bakes. The star’s channel is squeaky clean and the epitome of family-friendly, which is great for both young and older viewers alike. Pansino revealed to Business Insider that she was just a young girl when her grandmother taught her how to bake, so it’s fitting that she’s started to inspire other people to begin baking at a young age.
By simply looking at the YouTube star and her channel, you might have a hard time telling her age. Perhaps 24 or 25? Believe it or not, Pansino will celebrate her 34th birthday on June 8, 2019.
Funnyman and gamer PewDiePie
Even those who know very little about YouTube personalities have probably heard of PewDiePie. Born Felix Kjellberg, the star created his first YouTube channel, PewDie, just a year after YouTube launched. He didn’t stick with the platform at the time, but he ultimately ended up returning to YouTube under a different — but similar — name in 2010: PewDiePie. Two years later, Kjellberg’s channel reached 1 million subscribers, and, by 2013, his channel had the most subscribers on the platform. Within just a few years, PewDiePie had become a household name. As of this writing, he’s still one of the most successful YouTubers. Forbes reported that he earned $15.5 million in 2018 alone.
If you subscribed to the YouTube personality’s channel years ago, you likely noticed that he doesn’t seem to age. It must be all those video games. Despite being the boy who never grew up, the star’s biography confirmed that he was born on Oct. 24, 1989, which means he’ll be celebrating his 30th birthday in 2019.
Beauty vlogger Michelle Phan
As of 2019, Michelle Phan’s YouTube channel has more than 8.8 million subscribers. Like PewDiePie, Phan created her YouTube account and channel in 2006. In doing so, she earned the title of the “first YouTuber,” according to Biography.com. But unlike PewDiePie, Phan’s videos haven’t been about gaming. The internet personality instead became the “Beyoncé of the beauty-vlogging world.” In addition to sharing her excellent makeup tutorials on YouTube, Phan also created the popular subscription-based beauty product service Ipsy — a business venture that Forbes valued at over $500 million in 2015.
By 2016, though, Phan’s YouTube channel went silent. Phan came back to the platform in 2017 to share a video explaining some of her reasons for quitting YouTube. “I’ll return when I’m inspired to share new ideas,” she wrote in the caption of the video. Phan’s fans can still keep up with her on Instagram. In the years since she gave up vlogging, the YouTuber still looks as youthful as ever. You might not believe us, but Phan will turn 32 in April 2019.
Colleen Ballinger and her alter ego Miranda Sings
Colleen Ballinger uploaded her very first Miranda Sings video in 2008. At the time, Ballinger was studying vocal performance at Azusa Pacific University in California. There, she encountered peers who, despite reportedly not being all that talented when it came to singing, were allegedly incredibly rude. As an inside joke of sorts, Ballinger invented Miranda as a way to poke fun at her snarky classmates.
Miranda Sings has since attracted a cult following of “Mirfandas” and Ballinger’s Miranda Sings YouTube channel has over 10.5 million subscribers, as of this writing. Whether she’s wearing Miranda’s signature exaggerated bold, red lipstick or the much more subdued look that is the real Colleen Ballinger — who has attracted her own 8.4 million subscribers on her other, self-titled channel — the YouTube personality could still pass as a college freshman. In reality though, Ballinger was born in November 1986, which means she’ll turn 33 in 2019.
Powerpuff girl Wengie
As the Wengie YouTube channel’s description reveals, you can find just about anything to watch on the channel — from “simple life hacks” to “tricks and pranks.” Wengie, or Wendy Ayche, joined YouTube in 2010 and, as of March 2019, has over 13 million people subscribe to her channel.
The star’s first foray into vlogging came only after people asked her to create makeup tutorials. However, makeup isn’t Wengie’s main focus anymore. “YouTube trends come and go all the time. There’s always a new trend depending on what’s happening in the world right now,” she explained in an interview with Complex. “For me, I switched because I had been doing makeup for a long time. So by the time I’d done 200 makeup videos I thought, ‘I don’t know how to do another smoky eye!'”
Additionally, Ayche has not confined herself to the video-sharing platform. In 2017, she became the voice behind Bliss, a fourth Powerpuff Girl on the Cartoon Network series for Australia and New Zealand audiences. And who better to be a Powerpuff Girl than Wengie? Despite turning 33 in January 2019, the star is forever young.
Toy fanatic and clean gamer Chad Alan
In 2012, Chad Alan started his eponymous YouTube channel. As a toy collector, Alan started uploading unboxing and toy haul videos. In 2013, Alan opened another channel dedicated to video games, aptly called Gamer Chad. Although his secondary channel has surpassed his first in popularity, the YouTube star remains active on both channels. Alan also created his own animated video series called “Baby Alan.”
In a live stream video, Alan revealed that his toy-collecting predated his YouTube channel. He explained that he made his first channel as a way to incorporate his “already existing hobby into YouTube.” Both of Alan’s channels are very family-friendly. He revealed that he won’t play any games that feature curse words on his gaming channel. Given the type of content Alan produces combined with his youthful appearance and personality, pinning an age on him would be difficult. As it turns out, he celebrated his 34th birthday in August 2018, which might just mean the secret to staying young is playing with lots and lots of toys.
Tech YouTuber iJustine
Justine Ezarik uploaded her first YouTube video in 2006. In the years since, Ezarik, aka iJustine, has amassed over 5.7 million subscribers. Her videos cover “tech, video games, failed cooking attempts, clogs, and more,” according to her channel’s description. However, Ezarik revealed in an interview with Forbes in 2017 that she did eventually decide to start paring down her content. She explained, saying, “I kind of stopped and asked myself, ‘What did I like doing when I started and what do I like doing now?’ I like video games, I like tech, I like travel, I like my dog, I like food. I’m like, ‘That’s what I’m going to focus on.'” Surprisingly, Ezarik said she didn’t notice a loss of subscribers when she made changes to her channel.
Since Ezarik has been in the YouTube game almost as long as YouTube itself, she obviously must be older than she looks. On the first day of spring 2019, Ezarik will turn 35 years old.
Zoe Sugg — or Zoella, as she is more commonly known — created her first YouTube channel back in 2007. In just ten years’ time, the star’s net worth grew to an estimated $1.6 million, according to Biography.com. With nearly 11.9 million subscribers on one of her Youtube channels and almost 4.9 million on another, the star certainly has created quite the fan base.
As her biography states, the British YouTube personality originally possessed a sort of “girl-next-door appeal.” However, that image likely became more difficult to maintain as Sugg’s fame and fortune grew. Nevertheless, Sugg’s girl-next-door appearance has really not changed all that dramatically over the years. And although she’s been in a committed relationship with fellow YouTuber Alfie Deyes since 2013, it’s still hard to believe that the star is getting closer and closer to turning 30. On March 28, 2019, Zoella will celebrate her 29th birthday. Oh, how time flies.
Smosh star Anthony Padilla
In 2017, Anthony Padilla revealed his decision to launch a solo YouTube venture. Prior to that, Padilla had been part of the comedy team known as Smosh. According to Vulture, Padilla and his friend Ian Hecox first started their channel in 2005, when YouTube was pretty much brand new. Still, the duo kept at it, and, in 2011, Smosh was bought by Defy Media, which meant millions of dollars for both Padilla and Hecox. Being bought out by a major corporation wasn’t all wonderful, though.
“I’ve been holding onto these memories and hoping that someday Smosh would be like how it was when we first started before Smosh was a brand owned by a company,” Padilla revealed in a YouTube video. “I had to come to terms with the fact that Smosh being part of a company has put all of my creative decisions through a filter of what’s appropriate for the Smosh brand as deemed by the company.”
Although Hecox may look older than baby-faced Padilla, they were both teenagers when they first started their channel. Padilla turned 31 in September 2018, while Hecox turned 31 two months later.
Mommy blogger-turned-beauty vlogger Kandee Johnson
Beginning in 2009, Kandee Johnson transfixed the world with her makeup tutorials. Although YouTube had been around for several years by the time Johnson created her channel, “YouTubers” weren’t exactly a thing. Johnson ended up becoming one of the first — and she is rightfully proud of that accomplishment. “I feel like when I started we were pioneers in the Wild West, and not much was known about what we were doing,” she admitted to Forbes. While the YouTube scene has changed over the years, Johnson revealed to the publication, “I’m honored to be a pioneer in the uncharted landscape that is now YouTube and ‘social influencer land.'”
Before paving her way on YouTube, though, Johnson first tried her hand at blogging, where she wrote about being a mom. Yes, that’s right, Johnson was somehow old enough to be a parent in 2008. She may look like she’s in her 20s, but the star celebrated the big 4-0 back in July 2018.
The woman behind FunToys
In 2011, a YouTube channel called DC Toys Collector launched. In the years since, the channel, which is now named FunToys Collector Disney Toys Review, amassed over 11.5 million subscribers. As the name reveals, this YouTube channel is all about toys. Specifically, FunToys reviews toys for preschool-aged children and younger.
The identity of this YouTuber remained a mystery for years. With only hands and a voice as clues, you might think it impossible to come up with the reviewer’s identity. But the Daily Mail claims it has. According to the site, the anonymous YouTuber is actually Daiane DeJesus. Apparently, DC Toys Collector and FunToys weren’t her only aliases. The publication revealed that DeJesus was actually once an adult film star who went by the name Sandy Summers. If the report is accurate, the content DeJesus produces has done a complete 180. And, despite playing with children’s toys and creating very family-friendly videos these days, the YouTube personality is reported to have a birthday of April 1986, which means she’ll be 33 years old in spring 2019.
Forever YouTuber Jenna Marbles
Jenna Mourey, aka Jenna Marbles, became internet famous just months after she started her YouTube channel. Talk about impressive. Since her days of tricking us into thinking she’s good-looking — her words, not ours! — Mourey has amassed a whopping 19.3 million subscribers as of this writing. And, as of March 2019, the star still churns out content for her fans on the reg. Now that’s dedication.
While Mourey’s subscribers have watched the YouTube star transform her hair and makeup countless times, they’ve probably never seen her get any older. On Sept. 15, 2018, Mourey celebrated her 33rd birthday, which only makes us more convinced that she’s discovered some kind of youthful voodoo. In 2017, Marbles revealed to Entrepreneur, “It is my goal to live on the internet for as long as I can, because I think it’s the place to be.” Hmm, yeah, she’ll probably be a YouTuber for all of eternity while remaining just as vibrant as ever.
Beauty guru Jaclyn Hill
Jaclyn Hill created an account with YouTube in 2010, but she told Women’s Wear Daily that it wasn’t until the beginning of 2012 that she shared her first makeup tutorial. Since then, the YouTube beauty guru has taught her followers pretty much everything she’s learned about cosmetics. From creating makeup tutorials to recording reviews featuring both drugstore and high-end makeup, Hill routinely shares her favorite tips and tricks with over 5.8 million subscribers.
In 2018, Hill critiqued one of her earliest videos and was shocked at how different she looked, thanks to her addition of nose and lip fillers. Although Hill’s appearance has certainly transformed over the years, she seems to look even younger than she did when she first started uploading videos on YouTube. If you were to just click through her newer videos, you’d probably have a hard time believing that she was in her late 20s, but, alas, she is. Born in 1990, Jaclyn Hill turned 28 on July 20, 2018.
Makeup expert Charlotte Tilbury
While most of your favorite YouTubers are probably young, there are some YouTubers who are beyond the age of 40, though you may not have realized it. Charlotte Tilbury joined the video-sharing community in May 2012. By then, Tilbury had already been working as a professional makeup artist. According to the beauty guru’s site, Tilbury trained at the prestigious Glauca Rossi School of Makeup in London, England before jumping into the beauty industry.
“As a determined young makeup artist, I was persistent,” she wrote. “I was constantly building my network of professional peers including photographers, models and stylists — many of whom I still work with today.” And Tilbury’s networking didn’t begin on the internet. The star revealed, “The 1990s — the era of supermodels who epitomized glamorous beauty and really embraced hair and makeup artistry — were inspiring and formative for me.” Wait, the ‘90s? That’s right. This makeup artist and beauty YouTuber celebrated her 46th birthday in February 2019. While she may be older than some of her YouTube contemporaries, you’d never know she’s nearing 50.
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Lately, there has been a lot of press about the conflict between Amazon and Hachette.
Let’s examine the facts.
- Hachette is one of the Big Five publishers sued by the U.S. Justice Department for collusion in price fixing with Apple.
- Following the resulting settlement, Amazon began negotiating with Hachette for the lowest possible price for Hachette’s titles. Amazon has been known to sell items at a cost lower than what it pays, and it is an aggressive negotiator.
- Amazon stopped displaying a preorder icon for upcoming Hachette titles, which it routinely makes available for other publishers’ forthcoming books.
- The time it took to receive an order from Hachette through Amazon has expanded from three or four days to three or four weeks.
There are at least three ways to look at the conflict between these firms, for conflict it certainly is.
- Amazon is the bad guy for applying pressure against a supplier to drive down its own costs. Amazon is using its platform to stress its value-add: “We help people find and buy things.” Clearly, Amazon does. But is it pushing so hard that poor, already-beleaguered publishers can’t survive?
- Hachette is the bad guy. Indisputably, it is launching a worldwide publicity campaign against Amazon, the distributor trying to drive down Hachette’s profits. It’s possible that the shipping delay isn’t—at least not solely—Amazon’s fault. It could be Hachette’s deliberate slow-down. And as blogger David Gaughram pointed out May 26, Amazon shuns most contact with the press; Hachette is a sophisticated global communications company. Is it any wonder that most of the PR has been favoring Hachette?
- This is an old world versus new world conflict: one publishing paradigm struggling against the other. That’s fun and interesting, but I want to underscore a key issue: At the end, someone in this struggle will make more money, or hold onto a profit margin. However, there is no reason whatsoever to believe that the victory of either party will be of any benefit to either libraries or consumers. Let’s be blunt: Amazon won’t sell ebooks to public libraries at all (other than through OverDrive), and Hachette currently charges libraries three times the consumer cost for its new ebooks.
Libraries were doing better with legacy publishers and print than we’re doing in the world of ebooks with either those same publishers or the ascendant Amazon. But rather than try to restore the past, it’s clear that libraries need to find a path to the future. Right now, neither Hachette nor Amazon is a library friend. Let them fight.
JAMES LARUE is a writer, speaker, and consultant on the future of libraries. He can be reached at jlarue[at]jlarue.com.


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Huge change is underway for the aesthetics industry – here’s what it means in terms of what you’ll see from us.
The aesthetic procedure industry has been hit a huge shake up this week and if you're engaged in the realm of cosmetic procedures, you'll have already heard all about the latest developments from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). The TGA recently issued updates concerning the advertising protocols for cosmetic injectables, and the team at Coastal Goddess have spent the week acquainting ourselves with these adjustments.
So, here's the deal: the TGA noticed some fuzzy lines in how prescription medicines were being talked about in ads, especially in the cosmetic health services realm. They felt it was time to straighten things out and make sure everyone's on the same page when it comes to the rules.
In the past, clinics offering services like 'wrinkle reducing injections' could get away with using general terms in their ads, as long as they didn't name-drop specific products or ingredients. This was all about letting clinics stand out while playing by the rules.
But recently, the TGA noticed that other health services were also getting a bit too cozy with indirect mentions of prescription medicines.
So, what's the new deal? Well, we’re no longer allowed to use terms like 'dermal filler' or 'anti-wrinkle injections' in our marketing materials anymore. We’ve been forced to say goodbye to those catchy before-and-after images featuring prescription products, too. And all our publicly available price lists with details about injectable services, are currently being deleted. We can’t widely educate our patients, by explaining how injectable treatments work. Even our social media has had a huge clean out this week. Gone are our hashtags that mention those banned terms.
So what does this mean for the industry?
Talk of these changes has been moving through the rumor mill since January, but so far there has been very little consultation with the industry on what the impact might be to our business. While we intend to update our advertising as per the new standards, the move from the TGA feels like knee-jerk policy and not actually addressing their concerns of disinformation, but instead applying blanket bans that will push the industry cowboys to go rogue.
While some of us are committed to adopting the new regulations, they’ll be plenty of others that move ahead with the old standard of advertising, which will put early adopters at a huge disadvantage. I suspect the TGA will be out for some early scalps to set an example and show the industry they’re not playing around. Either that or they’ll be significant industry backlash that will force the TGA to go into the stakeholder engagement process it should have done to start with.
And then what does this mean for us?
This week, we spent a large chunk of our marketing budget going through all our social media channels and website, painstakingly taking down what needs to be removed. Not only was this process costly, but it hurts my head to think about the investment we put into all that amazing content which is now a total waste.
That said, we are turning our attention to how we move forward. We are in the process of rewriting our website to focus on promoting consultations rather than specific services. We will also be talking more to the concerns that our patients have, rather than the treatment that addresses it. We’ll still be doing before and after photos as well, just not for prescription treatments.
Our loyal patients know the premium doctor-led service that we have on offer and that is not changing, but it’s sad to think about how much harder it will be to attract new patients to our business, without being able to tell them exactly what we do.
I did have a moment this week where I felt very thankful that we have a broad range of treatment options available outside of prescription procedures, but I do feel sympathy for those who have focused on the niche prescription business. It’s a time of uncertainty and the unknown as we navigate this new marketing landscape.
Long story short, if you're in the business of cosmetic procedures, it's time to give your marketing materials a little makeover! The TGA is cracking down, and it's best to stay on their good side. Keep it clean, keep it compliant, and keep those patients coming through the door! We look forward to continuing to educate our valued clients in clinic through our free consultations, where we can say what we like! Word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing and clearly still very relevant and powerful now!


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The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has released its 18th annual vehicle environmental ratings on greencars.org. The top rated vehicles for the year were Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Convertible/Coupe with the highest score ever, Chevrolet Spark EV, Fiat 500E, Toyota Prius C and the Nissan Leaf. Six out of 12 places in this year’s Greenest List were claimed by plug-in electric vehicles. This year’s list also features a diverse array of manufacturers: nine different automakers are represented by the 12 top-scoring vehicles, including two American manufacturers (Chevrolet and Ford) and two European manufacturers.
“As the electric vehicle market continues to develop, we’re seeing a number of different options from a variety of automakers, including several from American manufacturers,” said ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan.
ACEEE notes at the same time, it’s important to note that some of the Greenest are only being offered in a handful of states, and that the larger classes are not represented. As the list demonstrates, consumers can make greener choices whatever their vehicle needs may be by providing facts that allows a consumer to examine the eco-performance of any 2015 model. The site assigns each vehicle a Green Score, a single measure that incorporates lifecycle greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions. Updates to this year’s methodology include the incorporation of a fuel cell vehicle analysis and a new estimate of nuclear damage costs.
In addition to highlighting the year’s Greenest, Meanest, Greener Choices, and best-in-class lists, the greenercars.org website features informative write-ups on model year 2015 highlights, a consumer primer on vehicles and the environment, and advice on how to buy green when shopping for a new car or truck.


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Container shipping shambles claims first high profile victim
Malaysia’s top carrier has decided to exit the container shipping business altogether, tired of having its profitability dragging on the ocean floor.
Some pundits are predicting significant consolidation of the container shipping industry as it is hit from all sides by falling demand and burdened with over capacity and high fuel prices.
Among the top carriers, it is hard to see where that consolidation will come from and who would even be interested. Maersk buying P&O was the last major merger and it took years to digest the acquisition.
However, an Asian carrier has made the first move. It won't be consolidation, but it will be a dramatic exit from the market nonetheless. Malaysian carrier MISC announced that it would pull out of the container shipping business by the middle of next year.
It may have come as a surprise, but shouldn’t have, really. The results from its container division have been dragging the company down like it forgot to raise its anchor. The last three years have seen MISC racking up losses in the box sector totaling US$790 million.
MISC told its investors that the container shipping industry was plagued by over capacity and operators were struggling to be profitable in such a depressed freight rate environment. Liftings are down, bunker fuel is more expensive.
Throwing its hands up, the Malaysian carrier decided to head for the exits. So certain is MISC that the decision is the right one that the line is prepared to absorb the US$400 million hit that the move out of containers will cost. There are trade alliances to pull out of with early termination of service and operational contracts.
This will decimate its 2011 earnings (year end Dec) but the company believes it will be a wise move long term.
MISC has 16 container ships in its fleet and 14 chartered in. By contrast, the carrier is the world’s largest operator of LNG vessels with 29 in the fleet. It also has a giant fleet of petroleum tankers with 53 on the books, 30 chartered in and 11 on order. In addition to the gas and petrol carriers, MISC has 19 chemical tankers in house, nine chartered in and two on order.
Dropping the container shipping business will enable the Malaysian carrier to focus on the energy shipping business that is its core speciality and where better margins can be found.


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Much of the U.S. economic data in the last two months have been weaker-than-expected. And now some economists are warning of a spring swoon.
However, it's not all bad news. In fact, some of the headwinds of recent weeks appear to be turning into headwinds.
High Frequency Economics' Jim O'Sullivan points to lower gas prices and accelerating tax refunds.
...Gasoline prices have continued to decline and refunds have continued to show catch-up after this year's slow start. The chart above shows the downtrend in wholesale and retail gasoline prices; the chart below shows the four-week total in tax refunds. Retail gasoline prices are on track to fall by around 4% before seasonal adjustment in April, which implies a 9% decline after seasonal adjustment—even larger than the 5% drop we expect in today's CPI for March. The data provide more reason not to simply extrapolate the weaker-than- expected March numbers.
Here's a look at gas prices:
And here's a look at the recent pickup in tax refunds:


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Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of AMERCO (NASDAQ:UHAL) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,957 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 404 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in AMERCO were worth $1,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AMERCO by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 476,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $174,460,000 after buying an additional 7,690 shares in the last quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of AMERCO by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 394,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $144,451,000 after buying an additional 124,918 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AMERCO by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $95,606,000 after buying an additional 20,275 shares in the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AMERCO by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 157,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,471,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of AMERCO during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,388,000. 30.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
In related news, Director John P. Brogan sold 200 shares of AMERCO stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.16, for a total value of $76,232.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,728. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.60% of the company’s stock.
Shares of AMERCO (NASDAQ UHAL) opened at $374.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $7,330.00, a P/E ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 1.11. AMERCO has a 1-year low of $338.30 and a 1-year high of $400.99.
AMERCO (NASDAQ:UHAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The transportation company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.90 million. AMERCO had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 9.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.01 EPS. analysts expect that AMERCO will post 22.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 21st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 20th.
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AMERCO is a do-it-yourself moving and storage operator through its subsidiary, U-Haul International, Inc (U-Haul). The Company supplies its products and services to help people move and store their household and commercial goods through U-Haul. It sells U-Haul brand boxes, tape, and other moving and self-storage products and services to do-it-yourself moving and storage customers at its distribution outlets and through uhaul.com and eMove Websites.
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Despite the wind and rain, the first Crediton Farmers’ Market of 2015 took place in the town square on Saturday. To encourage customers to come along, there was an opportunity to win a hamper full of delicious local produce all kindly donated by the stall holders themselves.
The hamper was won and delivered to the door of Sarah, Jenny, Alby and Ben Tiley who were excited to win!
The second market of the month will be held on Saturday 17th January from 10am to 1pm. There will be another free draw to win a hamper of market produce. A ticket will be given to anyone who makes a purchase from any of the participating stalls and the draw will be made at 12.30pm.


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EA Motive, the developer behind Star Wars: Squadrons has said that it’s working on ‘several’ games after EA recently said it would ‘double down’ on the license, following the success of titles like Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and Star Wars: Battlefront II.
Speaking in a blog post published earlier this past week (and spotted by VGC – thanks guys), EA Motive General Manager Patrick Klaus discussed how it was his vision for the studio to “empower players to create, experiment, live and share their own unique stories.”
More than that, Klaus went on to say that the release of Star Wars: Squadrons heralded a new beginning for the studio as it seeks to strike out on its own and develop new and interesting experiences going forward:
“In the days leading up to the release of Star Wars: Squadrons, you may have seen our refreshed brand logo and that’s what I’m here to talk more about. In addition to Star Wars: Squadrons, we’re also working on several unannounced projects. Innovation is tough, but it’s also exciting and energizing. With our new mission, we’re trying a lot of things and testing many ideas which you can’t get attached to, as iteration and experimentation are healthy and a key to finding something great.”
What new Star Wars titles would you like to se EA Motive come up with next? Feel free to let us know in the comments long ago and far away below.
Relatedly, you can catch our review of Star Wars: Squadrons here.
Source: [EA Motive] via [VGC]


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It looks like the Metro franchise is about to return sooner rather than later. According to a studio member, the Ukrainian developer is going to be at E3 2016 together with its publisher Deep Silver, and that would mean we’re very close to a new Metro announcement after Metro Redux compilation released in 2014.
The studio member who revealed the information talked about this topic on forum Gameinator, but later removed it replacing it with a generic emoticon. Maybe the information was considered too much spoiler and detailed, and the developer might still be keen in not making official its presence in Los Angeles next month.
4A Games has recently opened a new division in Malta, mainly due to the recent Russian/Ukrainian conflict, but efforts for building a brand new IP have failed and it has already confirmed in the short-mid term it is going to work exclusively on the Metro intellectual property.
Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light have been both praised thanks to great graphics and immersive storytelling, blending elements from the RPG and first-person shooter genres.


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The company's contact person is businessman and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, who also brought to Israel the Forever 21 fashion brand, which is expected to open its first store in October at the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv.
Gillerman told Calcalist that the president of the global brand, Michael Weiss, and the company's CEO Matthew Mollering visited several shopping malls throughout the country, including the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv.
"They checked out the local retail market and were very impressed by the quality of the local fashion and with way Israeli women dress. They were also impressed by the traffic in the shopping malls – they said they hadn't seen such crowds in many places."
Express made a strategic decision to enter the Israeli market; however, Express management has yet to determine whether to join a local partner or to enter the market independently.
The company is leaning towards a partnership but has not stipulated that the partner must come from the retail sector. The president and CEO will make a decision in the matter within the next month.
Calcalist has learned that among the prospective partners is Harel Wizel, co-owner of FOX Fashion. Furthermore, Calcalist has learned that one of the owners of Castro fashion chain, Gabi Rotter, was approached and that two other parties which are not from the retail market have expressed their interest in the deal.
Express is looking at opening between 15 and 20 stores in Israel. As oppose to the Forever 21 stores which span over some 2,000 square meters, the size of the Express stores will be 600-800 square meters (6,500-8,600 square feet), a fact that may assist the brand's entrance to Israel as it is easier to find smaller retail spaces in Israel's shopping malls.
Express is a well-know and popular fashion brand in the US with stores in main shopping malls and main commercial streets, among other Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.
The brand's customers are predominantly men and women in their 20s and 30s and its main competitors are Banana Republic and ZARA. The brand offers clothes and accessories at prices that are higher than H&M retail fashion chain.
Click here to read this report in Hebrew
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World-renowned robot Sophia hosts an interview with her Hong Kong-based inventor, David Hanson. He says he set up Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong because it is the best place in the world to make robots. Besides being a centre for robot developers, Hong Kong is also a robotics marketplace, a well-established location for IP protection and encourages an AI eco-system for the Greater Bay Area.More
Peruvian Pisco unlocks hundreds of new flavours for Asia’s cocktail drinkers, says Erick Aponte of the Trade Commission of Peru in Hong Kong. Peru presented local pisco and wines at its first pavilion at the Hong Kong Int’l Wine & Spirits Fair 2018. Meeting knowledgeable buyers who know precisely what they are looking for made for a rewarding exhibitor experience, says Mr Aponte.More
The Chinese mainland and Belt and Road partner countries are looking to Hong Kong for financial capabilities, says Abdul Qadir Memon. Pakistan’s Consul General for Hong Kong & Macau says the key Gwadar Port under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor relies on a Hong Kong registered company while Hong Kong firms can partner in Pakistan’s needed “soft infrastructure” such as professional services and trade facilitation.More
Hyundai's fuel-cell electric vehicle NEXO generated plenty of green buzz at Eco Expo Asia 2018. The car is the first hydrogen-powered SUV shown in Hong Kong and takes just several minutes to fully charge. Raymond Kwek, Assistant Manager at Hyundai Hong Kong Company Limited, sees the expo as an ideal space to introduce their latest technology to an increasingly environmentally-conscious public.More
The HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair 2018 receive plaudits from new and returning exhibitors, citing the quality of buyers, proximity to rising Asian markets and global recognition for excellent new products. Speakers also mention the event’s dynamism and interactive atmosphere. More
The HKTDC Hong Kong Optical Fair 2018 attracted more than 16,800 buyers from 111 countries and regions. The number of buyers from emerging markets rose significantly, while sizable growth was also recorded for buyers from mature markets. The fair will continue to offer great business opportunities for industry players from around the world when it returns in November 2019.
Smart lighting stole the show at the HKTDC Hong Kong International Lighting Show (Autumn Edition) 2018. The Smart Lighting & Solutions zone and Smart Home Gallery attracted a flurry of global buyers, while seminars shed light on the latest industry innovations. Among the overseas exhibitors was Slovakia’s SEAK s.r.o.. CEO Heliodor Macko welcomes Asia’s proactive approach to producing intelligent lighting products, and hopes to leverage this energy to propel SEAK beyond the European market.More
Pakistan’s infrastructure drive and China’s new energy options through Pakistan characterise the developing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative, according to Pakistan’s Hong Kong & Macau Consul General. Abdul Qadir Memon says a Hong Kong registered company and other Belt and Road participants are bringing prosperity and optimism to Pakistan.
“Think Global, Think Hong Kong”, the large-scale Hong Kong business promotion organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Tokyo on 1 November 2018, attracted more than 2,500 participants keen on exploring Hong Kong-Japan collaboration opportunities. More
Solar energy is a key component of any smart city, says the Executive Director of Lap Energy HK Limited. The company is committed to improving urban liveability by developing renewable energy solutions, which is seeing growing demand from countries along the Belt and Road. Jack Cheung believes Hong Kong sets an example for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area when it comes to green energies, as seen at Eco Expo Asia 2018. More


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April 4, 2016
Ari Jónsson, a product design student at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, has created a biodegradable bottle made of red algae, which fully decomposes over time.
Jónsson displayed his work in an exhibition called “Drifting Cycles” at DesignMarch, a festival in Reykjavik, Iceland, that showcases work from local and international designers.
PSFK has the details:
Designers are an important force in creating a more sustainable future. After all, a little bit of creativity goes a long way. Besides encouraging good habits that will benefit the environment, efforts to reduce waste could benefit from a good design project. Ari Jónsson, a student pursuing product design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, recently created a biodegradable bottle that tackles this very issue.
Made of red algae, the bottle can break down with time—avoiding the need for more waste to be created.
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“Farmers markets have become a critical ingredient to our nation’s economy, food systems, and communities. Connecting rural to urban, farmer to consumer, and fresh ingredients to our diets, farmers marketsContinue reading “City Adopts to Seek Funding for Permanent Farmer’s Market Structure”
“Creating streets for people starts with creating a safe, sustainable, and healthy place for residents and visitors to connect, engage, and support the local economy. Truly the front porch ofContinue reading “City Council Adopts Downtown Streetscape Improvements”
Join us every Saturday in Downtown DeFuniak for the Farmer’s Market held from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. (July – September) on Baldwin Avenue.


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CHICAGO/BOSTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Campbell Soup Co is close to naming Mark Clouse, the former CEO of Pinnacle Foods, as its new chief executive, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, a key step in the U.S. company’s efforts to regain market share and boost profits.
Clouse led Pinnacle as CEO between 2016 and earlier this year, when that company was sold to ConAgra Brands Inc for $8.1 billion. He has the support of Campbell Soup shareholder and activist hedge fund Third Point LLC, which has been hoping Campbell Soup will also eventually be sold, according to the sources.
Clouse is at the final stages of negotiating his employment terms with Campbell Soup, the sources said. Barring any last-minute disagreement, his appointment will be announced in the coming days, the sources added.
Campbell Soup declined to comment while Clouse did not respond to a request for comment.
Clouse has a reputation as a seasoned food industry operator. Shares in Pinnacle Foods surged 54 percent during his tenure as CEO, widely outperforming packaged food peers, most of which have lost share value in recent years as they struggle to grow sales among increasingly health-conscious shoppers.
A military veteran who served in the U.S. Army after having graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Clouse began working in the food industry more than two decades ago. He had been chief growth officer at Oreo-maker Mondelez International Inc and previously worked in marketing at Kraft Heinz Co.
By picking Clouse, Campbell Soup has made good on its promise to name a new CEO before the end of the year. It operated for months with an interim chief, Keith McLoughlin, after former CEO Denise Morrison left in abruptly in May.
The exact details of Clouse’s compensation package as Campbell Soup CEO could not be learned. In 2017, Clouse earned $5.22 million as Pinnacle Foods CEO. In 2016, he earned $14.1 million.
Campbell Soup has been struggling for some time, trailing other food companies, as its stock price tumbled 20 percent in the last 52 weeks. Its foray into fresh foods faltered, its soup sales shrunk and Wall Street questioned the company’s aggressive acquisitions, led by former CEO Morrison, that failed to lift profits and saddled the company with fresh debt.
The news of the new CEO comes just weeks after Campbell’s and Third Point settled a bitter proxy contest. Third Point initially proposed sweeping out all 12 Campbell’s directors and then ended up settling for two board seats.
As part of the settlement, two Third Point nominees, marketing expert Sarah Hofstetter and food industry veteran Kurt Schmidt, were added to the board and a third director will be chosen later. The hedge fund was also given an opportunity to weigh in on who the new CEO would be, according to the settlement.
Campbell’s board, including three heirs to John Dorrance, the chemist who invented condensed soup and ran Campbell’s a century ago, conducted a strategic review earlier this year and agreed to sell its international and fresh refrigerated-foods units.
The Wall Street Journal had reported last month that Clouse was the leading candidate to be Campbell Soup’s next CEO.
Reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston Editing by Nick Zieminski


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The most recent Nintendo Direct offered us many details about Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the new installment of the franchise that will release on Switch. The broadcast of the Direct was not saved from the controversy, as Nintendo withdrew the original YouTube video shortly after re-uploading it.
The players realized that the company modified the video and removed an important detail. The Direct talked about various issues related to the game, including the lack of support with the save in the cloud.
In case you do not remember, Nintendo said that, despite the lack of such a function, players could save their game in case their data was lost or something happened to their console. The original video mentioned that this process could only be done once.
“Nintendo Switch Online members can only have save data recovered one time due to loss or damage of the system,” the video originally said. However, the new version of Direct deleted that message.
This modification is not necessarily bad news, as it could be that Nintendo is planning a better way to offer the restoration of save data. In the new video, the following message is displayed: “More details on save data recovery functionality will be shared at a future date.”
Currently, it is not known what was the intention of Nintendo to modify the message. Some players believe that the company hid the information since it was not very well received by the community. However, most believe that Nintendo will make improvements in this regard in its game recovery service.
We will have to wait to know more about it. Surely Nintendo will give an update on the subject in the coming days. Another detail of the Direct caught the attention of the players about gravestones appearing in the title.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons will release on Nintendo Switch on March 20.


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Italian photographer Paolo Roversi took inspiration from William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” for the 2020 Pirelli calendar, which features Hollywood names such as Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart as well as transgender model and actor Indya Moore.
Migrants danced and burst into song as a rescue ship brought them into the Italian port of Taranto at dawn on Tuesday, days after they were found drifting in a rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean.
The leader of a Spanish rescue mission said on Sunday that Italian authorities had refused to grant port access to its Open Arms ship, leaving the vessel stranded in rough conditions in the Mediterranean with more than 70 African migrants on board.
The lasting contributions of World War ll Italian prisoners of war in the arts, technology and social sectors in South Africa have been remembered at a moving memorial at Zonderwater outside Pretoria.
High-end fashion met budget high-street retail at a glittering catwalk show in Rome on Thursday evening, where Italian designer Giambattista Valli presented his new collection for Sweden’s H&M in Rome’s sumptuous 17th-century Palazzo Doria Pamphilj.


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Briefly, here are a few of the most notable highlights of what the year 2019 can teach us, based on sales data from various sources.
Multiple outlets have cited IWSR data on the growth of hard seltzer—not that anyone needs data to tell them it's exploding, since Bud Light Hard Seltzer is now a thing. In 2018 it accounted for less than 1 percent of alcoholic drinks sold; last year it was 2.6 percent. IWSR estimates that sales could triple by 2023. One borderline-dubious stat from the IWSR report: half of U.S. drinkers have at least one hard seltzer per week. But hey, maybe it's a fad.
Barring some sudden, tidal shift in consumer preference, 2020 will be the year that craft beer in cans outsells bottles, according to Brewers Association Economist Bart Watson, citing IRI scan data. That symbolic moment, when cans officially pull ahead, may happen as early as February. "What the data suggest is that early in 2020 we’ll see the can/bottle lines cross for craft and that they won’t cross back during the year, making 2020 the first year where cans have outsold bottles in distributed craft," Watson says, in an analysis for BA members published earlier this week.
Based on the same data, 16 oz cans are the fastest-growing package size—that jibes with what Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® readers say is their preference—growing by nearly 21 percent last year. However, based on IRI scan data of craft multipacks, they are still a fraction (about 5 percent) compared to 12 oz can (about 35 percent) and 12 oz bottle sales (about 60 percent). On the other hand, those data do not include brewery to-go sales, where—anecdotally, at least—four-packs of 16 oz cans have become a very popular option over the past couple of years. "Those aren’t a huge part of packaged sales," Watson says in his analysis, "but I do think you’d see higher 16-ounce can share (mostly four-packs) if we could capture that brewery sales data."
Lager! (No, really.)
Beer pundits have been predicting—or perhaps just wishing for—the rise of craft lager for many years now. Some data suggest that it may finally be happening (fingers crossed). According to Nielsen, of the 10 biggest-selling categories of craft beer (BA definition), the fastest-growing is pilsner—gaining nearly 24 percent in sales and 32 percent in volume from October 2018 to October 2019. IRI data suggest that "other pale lager," bocks, and pilsners are all on the rise (though amber lager is falling, amid drops in sales of Samuel Adams and Yuengling). However, there is another category growing much faster than lager...
Demand for low-sugar, low-alcohol (and no-sugar, and no-alcohol) drinks continues to rise. Beer is no exception to that trend. Though it still represents a tiny fraction (less than 1 percent) of craft beer sales overall, Nielsen data suggest that low/no-ABV beers gained more than 890 percent in both sales and volume. Among the larger craft breweries, budding success stories include Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty, Oskar Blues One-y, and Firestone Walker Fly Jack. As with hard seltzer, AB InBev is wasting little time in jumping on the trend, announcing four new beers via Goose Island (So-Lo IPA, 98 calories and 3 percent ABV), Four Peaks (Gilt Lifter, 99 calories and 3.4 percent ABV), Breckenridge (Resolution Blueberry Acai Golden Ale, 98 calories and 3.5 percent ABV), and Golden Road (Mango Cart Non-Alcoholic Wheat, below 0.5 percent ABV).
In its predictions for 2020, driven by various sorts of survey data, Nielsen says that "hyper-local will continue to lead the way within beer." The prediction continues: "The continuing popularity of brewpubs and taprooms lead many consumers to order based on what’s local in the neighborhood as opposed to what’s local in the city. This continued enhancement of local will prove a challenge for ambitious craft beer brands who want to develop outside of their geographic heartland." The market has been tightest for the larger regional craft breweries—but not for all of them...
Citing IRI data, the CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective says it was fastest-growing among the top 20 craft brewers in 2019. Its retail scans were up 22 percent in 2019. The company includes the geographically diverse set of Oskar Blues (Colorado), Cigar City (Florida), Wasatch and Squatters (Utah), Deep Ellum (Texas), Perrin (Michigan), and Three Weavers (California). CANarchy cited "relentless innovation, including the company’s foray into the hard seltzer category, flourishing flagship brands, and refreshed packaging." Its biggest seller is Cigar City Jai Alai, whose retail sales grew 41 percent over the previous year. Other regional brands on the rise in sales include Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing, Firestone 805, and New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger IPAs.


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A Vietnamese company has created what it says is the world’s first biodegradable face mask comprised almost entirely of discarded waste from large-scale coffee manufacturers.
Branded AirX, the mask is made using coffee waste collected from huge Vietnamese coffee factories, which is then spun into yarn to create a covering that is antibacterial, reusable and biodegradable.
Two months after launching, the company has already sold more than 500,000 masks, which are on sale for around US$4 (RM17) apiece. It’s also exporting them to 10 different countries, in addition to its made-from-coffee ShoeX footwear, costing around US$90 (RM385) or more.
Veritas Bespoke founder Thanh Le began developing the masks in late 2019 after Hanoi experienced its worst period of air pollution in five years.
This inevitably led to increased usage of disposable masks and, in turn, further environmental damage from littering and overflowing landfills.
Dandelly Nguyen, a company representative, says that even before the coronavirus outbreak, people in Vietnam were already using more and more one-time medical masks.
“But they didn’t realise that this doubled levels of pollution. By that time, we’d already begun researching how to turn recycled coffee into masks that are eco-friendly, fashionable and antibacterial.”
Within weeks, the Covid-19 pandemic brought fresh urgency to their development, and the makers say interest in their new masks has increased dramatically.
“Then, when Covid-19 started in Wuhan, we pushed production harder to create the coffee masks because we were sure the demand would increase crazily.”
Now selling their masks since March this year, Veritas Bespoke says this is its long-term business, not just a short-term one during the pandemic.
The need for environmentally friendly face masks has grown increasingly evident as the coronavirus pandemic continues to afflict the globe.
In March, Hong Kong-based marine conservation group Oceans Asia made headlines after releasing images of surgical face masks littering the region’s coastline. In France, authorities have already ordered over two billion masks.
According to Laurent Lombard, a snorkeller and rubbish collector for Operation Mer Propre, a French non-profit that regularly picks up litter in the Cote d’Azur, there is a “risk of having more masks than jellyfish in the Mediterranean.”
For over three months, wearing face masks in crowded areas and on public transport has been mandatory in Vietnam, as well as in many other countries outside of Asia. – dpa/Chris Humphrey


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New Glamping Website Gets Major Boost From National Press
Unveiled at the start of April 2018, Glampingly, created by the award-winning team behind Cool Camping, features over 800 different properties and focuses solely on luxury glamping accommodation.
Already to date, glampingly.co.uk has featured in The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The I, The Mirror, The Mail on Sunday, The Star, The Sun and The Observer, along with well-known magazines such as Stylist and Closer.
“It’s been an excellent year for press coverage across the industry”, Glampingly founder Jonathan Knight told The Farm Business Innovation Show. “Good weather and a growth in ‘staycations’ has increased the interest of journalists and publishers, while the launch of our new website has helped shed light on a host of brand new glamping properties.”
Big winners from the early press coverage have been the unique and more unusual glamping sites in the Glampingly collection. A floating cabin that sits on a lake in Pembrokeshire has been billed as one of the UK’s best glamping sites in multiple newspapers, while suspended, dome-shaped treehouses in Wales and a converted helicopter in Sussex have also featured heavily.
“The national press have recognised that glampingly.co.uk is the perfect place to find new accommodation and bespoke glamping properties,” Marketing Manager James Warner Smith observed. “When journalists come to us, they’re looking for something new that their readership haven’t seen before, so it’s the more unusual accommodation that generally stands out. We’re more than happy to help contribute to them and offer our recommendations.”
Part of the new website’s success is undoubtedly down to the more established Cool Camping brand. Founded in 2006, the company is considered one of the first to champion the (then-nascent) glamping trend and bring it into the mainstream with an innovative glamping chapter in their 2007 publications and the first ever glamping-only guidebook, Glamping Getaways, published in 2011.
“When we launched Glampingly in April this year we made no bones about the fact that it was put together by the same team behind Cool Camping,” Warner Smith continued. “We’ve managed to use our reputation for recommending the best camping and glamping sites over on coolcamping.com and build a new high-end accommodation focus for glampingly.co.uk.”
“While Cool Camping continues to go from strength to strength and has increased its booking figures every single year, we’re thrilled that Glampingly is clearly already well respected by the press in its own right.”
Glampingly’s top tips to help boost your own press coverage:
1) Invest in good photography: Travel media outlets look for eye-catching images that will look good online or spread across the pages of their magazine. Getting a professional photographer to visit your glampsite and take high-end, high-quality images makes every bit of difference.
2) Work with the experts: List your business with well-known, reputable brands like Glampingly who receive regular press coverage and can promote your business to the mass media on your behalf. If you have the budget, you could even invest in a PR company.
3) Write press releases: Do a little research on how to produce a press release and send them to local news outlets and media. Even local newspaper articles begin to give you an online presence, which will help boost your rankings on search engines like Google.
4) Establish your USP: From designing your glamping site you should already know what your unique selling point (USP) is and who your target audience are. Think of the media that’s most relevant to your audience and create specific press releases for those outlets.
5) Update your content: Make the effort to keep online content (not just your own website) up to date, by checking third-party websites regularly and updating them on fresh news or information about your glampsite.


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LONDON: Consumer confidence levels in the UK remain broadly negative, meaning shoppers are continuing to delay making major purchases, a new survey has found.
According to figures produced by GfK NOP for the European Commission, the Consumer Confidence Index in the United Kingdom fell by four points in November, to –17 points overall.
In assessing the possible economic situation in the next 12 months, sentiment among GfK's panel of 2,000 people was static, at three points, but was up from –36 points posted in the same month last year.
When asked to rate their own financial prospects for the coming year, respondents also remained mostly positive, on five points, down one point month-on-month, but up by 15 points on an annual basis.
However, the barometer tracking the "climate for major purchases" stood at –19 points, down by seven points from October 2009.
Similarly, in measuring the impact of the recession on their personal finances in the period from November 2008, contributors delivered an average total of –14 points, indicating that the overall gloom is yet to lift.
Nick Moon, managing director of GfK NOP Social Research, said "after a fairly steady rise throughout 2009 the index is 20 percentage points above where it was at the start of the year, but this month is the first time the index has fallen for over a year."
Data sourced from GfK NOP; additional content by Warc staff


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Twitter has confirmed that it has handed its creative account to digital agency R/GA, following a competitive pitch.
It comes just days after the news that independent media agency Bohemia had won the account for its media work.
It marks the first time Twitter has locally appointed media and creative agencies. AdNews understands the appointments are part of a consumer marketing push by the social media behemoth.
R/GA VP managing director Jon Holloway told AdNews: “We're so excited to be working with Twitter in this first phase of taking them to market.”
US-founded R/GA, which is owned by one of the “big four” global advertising holding companies, The Interpublic Group of Companies, has offices across eight countries. Its New York office scooped Agency of the Year at Cannes, and globally works with clients such as Nike, Mastercard and Johnson and Johnson.
Both pitches were unveiled by AdNews in April, along with news this month that Twitter was looking for a head of consumer marketing, with the role to report into the global consumer marketing team in San Francisco.
Twitter made a similar push in the UK in April this year, appointing Lucky Generals as its first UK retained creative agency and PHD on media.
Twitter declined to comment.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at email@example.com


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With only a fortnight to go until the inaugural Freight in the City Expo at London’s Alexandra Palace, we’d like to hear from freight operators about the key challenges when delivering goods into urban environments. […]
Booking is now open for this year’s Freight in the City Expo, which will take place on 2 November at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Quiet Cities is the first global summit focused on enabling quieter deliveries of freight in urban environments. The two-day summit, a joint imitative between Motor Transport, TfL, DHL and Route Monkey, and it will take […]
London Councils could improve cycling safety by relaxing the London Lorry Control Scheme (LLCS) to enable more deliveries to be made at night, the FTA has told Motortransport.co.uk.


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Paddock Pools has been purchased by one of its former executives and a local businessman, who sense an opportunity with a recovering housing sector.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Tom and I always believed if there were ever an opportunity to take this brand over, we could do some fantastic things with it,” said Maggi, who worked for Paddock from 2009 to 2012, most recently as general manager.
The new owners are looking to take advantage of the recovering economy by renewing its focus on pool construction and remodeling. After its 2005 acquisition by New York-based Lincolnshire, Paddock embarked on an ambitious expansion of retail stores that proved not to be as profitable as expected. Prior to today’s sale, Lincolnshire made a decision to close a number of those retail outlets.
“Our renewed emphasis is on construction in the Valley and service,” Maggi said. “Customers are our No. 1 priority.”
The new owners said those efforts would begin immediately, starting with a showcase at the Phoenix Home and Garden show in March.
In the deal, Maggi and McKee receive Paddock’s two remaining retail stores, but not the company’s headquarters location at 64th Street and Thomas Road. As a result of the acquisition, the headquarters operations will relocate to Paddock’s 29,000-square-foot store at 8718 E. Shea Blvd. in Scottsdale. The other is at 1238 W. Elliott Road in Tempe.
“The main thing is, we own the Paddock name,” McKee said.
The bursting of the housing market bubble drained the pool industry, along with just about every other sector of the economy. Paddock’s annual sales have been hovering around $12 million for several years, McKee said -- a far cry from prerecession levels.
“Our goal and objective after this acquisition is to maintain the $12 million in annual sales and, obviously, over time, grow back to $60 million,” he said.


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Christmas Commerce: What’s in store this Q4?
‘Tis the season… for sales. For retailers, December is synonymous with big business. Between gifts, decorations and food, almost everyone ups their spending during the festive season. But with a backdrop of economic crisis, and shoppers tightening their belts, what does this month hold for retail, and how can you make the most of it?
The Festive Forecast
Despite economic downturn and concerns that Q4 would take a hit, Black Friday still saw over 196 million shoppers, up almost 20 million from last year, according to the NRF in the United States. Similar success was noted in the UK, with an all-time record reached on the number of transactions per second between midday and 1pm. Although overall consumer intentions are to spend less in 2022, the proportion of online spending still remains high, as 55% of adults say they’ll be shopping online this festive season, which should provide reassurance for e-commerce retailers.
Santa goes sustainable
Although facing strain from economic challenges, the ever-relevant climate crisis is also placing pressure on consumers to consider making conscious choices when spending. Over 54% of adults in Britain intend to make positive changes for the environment for the first time this Christmas. So, think recyclable wrapping paper, eco-friendly Christmas crackers and Christmas dinner food with less packaging. As of October, planet first and affordability first were tied as the most important factors whilst spending. Consumers are considering the impact of their presents. 44% plan to be more mindful of how useful the present will be, hoping to make them more financially worthwhile and sustainable in use.
Bring on Boxing Day!
After the festivities of the big day, focus turns the last sale day of the year – Boxing Day. It first became a shopping sensation in the late 1990s, after Sunday trading laws were relaxed. Although the traditional shopping holiday is starting to lie in the shadow of sales giant Black Friday, it’s still a hit in the UK, Australia, Canada and across Europe. Whilst most shoppers tend to use Black Friday as an opportunity to buy presents and other Christmas related essentials, Boxing Day is an excuse for us to treat ourselves, and spend our Christmas money. With the New Year less than one week after, consider promoting resolution related items, such as exercise equipment or organisational planners.
Has your online store got your New Year strategy ready? Why not get in contact with one of our e-commerce specialists here at Kelkoo Group.


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Microsoft To Buy Discord.
Microsoft is busy shopping for assets, only last year it sought to buy the famous social media app TikTok as well as got in talks to acquire Pinterest Inc. And now, Microsoft and Discord are in talks for a whopping $10 billion acquisition deal. Microsoft is interested in assets that would provide access to a vast variety of thriving users. So, what made the company of Bill Gates interested in Discord? Let’s find out.
Discord was co-founded by Jason Citron and Stan VIshnevsky in 2015 with an aim to provide people with a platform to chat and play video games. It is a free app and offers text, video, and voice services. It also includes the ability for users to stream the name of the game they are playing. The app became ultra-popular last year during the worldwide lockdown, thanks to Among Us game.
Besides video games, Discord also became a hub for different communities like the Black Lives Matter movement, book clubs, homework help, etc. The app pitches itself as a “place to talk” with more than 140 million monthly users including celebrities and the biggest names in video games like Fortnite’s Ninja.
The company shows a steady growth trajectory with $100 million in revenue last year. Moreover, its valuation has also doubled $7 billion in last year December and raised a whopping $480 million from investors. With Microsoft in talks with Discord, it may also aim to integrate Xbox Game Pass with Discord.
It seems thrilling at first to fathom about Microsoft acquiring Discord, however, a lot of gamers are not happy with such developments. Many people are begging the company on Twitter not to sell itself. Acquiring Discord will result in further power consolidation in one tech giant.


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Video game company Nintendo has sold out its new product, Nintendo Switch, immediately upon release.
Nintendo’s newest gaming console is named Switch because of its dual nature: it functions as a portable console or a device linked to a television, much like a traditional console. According to Japanese game magazine Famitsu, Nintendo sold around 330,637 units of the Switch in Japan within the first three days of its launch. Similarly, Nintendo of America revealed that the Switch sold out faster than any other Nintendo system in the US.
Despite earning praises, the Switch also had to deal with doubts from the public due to the underwhelming performance of the Wii U, its immediate precursor. Although the Wii U was released back in 2012, only 13.56 million units were sold as of March 2017. Among the reasons for Wii U’s underperformance are the lack of support from third-party developers, weak hardware compared to its rivals, and some constraints on its online features.
Nintendo has struggled to develop a product that could rival Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One because both consoles have been in the market since 2013. Currently, the company hopes that the Switch could succeed against its competitors in areas where the Wii U failed to deliver.
To give the Switch an edge, Nintendo allows multiplayer gaming by connecting several Switch systems together. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime stated that the Switch gives gamers the liberty to customize their gaming experience. In addition, the new device allows game developers to bring more of their ideas to life.


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UPitchNJ is sponsored by the New Jersey Collegiate Entrepreneurship Consortium, which represents the entrepreneurship education programs at New Jersey’s four-year colleges and universities. Twelve universities compete in UPitchNJ 2019: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Monmouth University, Montclair State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Rider University, Rowan University, Rutgers University, Seton Hall University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and William Paterson University.
The competition will be held at Seton Hall University’s Bethany Hall Friday April 26, 2019. Each university will send an undergraduate student team that has developed a startup idea, or has launched a startup, to compete for cash prizes and business services. An independent panel of judges will evaluate the student teams on the innovativeness and originality of their startup idea, and the quality of a written Executive Summary and oral presentations. The contest judges will look for creative and innovative thinking about markets, products and services. The teams will be evaluated on their perceived ability to execute the idea and turn it into a viable, profitable business, and/or venture with significant social value.
Each year, the competition is held on the campus of a participating college or university. The UPitchNJ 2018 competition was held at Montclair State University. UPitchNJ 2017 competition was at Princeton University and the inaugural UPitchNJ 2016 was at Rutgers University. Rowan University will host UPitchNJ 2020 and New Jersey Institute of Technology will host 2021.
UPitchNJ’s aim is to highlight the ingenuity and creativity of today’s college entrepreneurs, whom are increasingly launching businesses from their dorm rooms. As entrepreneurship educators in New Jersey, we want to provide our entrepreneurial students with a networking forum with other students, mentors and potential investors.
We believe UPitchNJ will help brand New Jersey – home to Bell Labs and Thomas Edison – as the innovative state that it is, plus encourage young entrepreneurs to develop their businesses here, leading to economic growth and job creation.
“Given the combination of universities, financial institutions and successful startups, New Jersey is one of the best places in the nation for entrepreneurship to flourish,” says entrepreneur Greg Olsen, UPitchNJ 2016 judge as well as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Princeton University.


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The CEO insists that Apple had an "incredible quarter" compared with other companies.
In an effort to keep rents lower for residents living in the German capital, a law goes into effect prohibiting hosts from renting out their full homes.
Vimeo says acquiring VHX, which helps creators sell their own content, will bolster its streaming options.
One year after its launch, the Home Services program is now in 30 metro areas and offers over 1,200 service options.
Check out the S7's awesome gaming features, including the new game launcher and screen-recording tools.
If Thor, Iron Man, Wonder Woman and Daredevil ever want some extra recognition for their mild-mannered alter egos, then they should get these custom business cards.
Wonder Woman wants your eyes up here and Superman doesn't want to hear any questions about his underpants in a series of funny superhero business cards.
Technically Incorrect: Plonked claims there's a need for more advanced, business-specific search. It says there are far fewer than six degrees of separation between companies. But, oh, that name.
After failing to break into phones in the past, HP is back with a high-end smartphone focused on business customers.
A complaint with the FCC accuses the "Uncarrier" of adding unauthorized charges to customer bills and deceptive advertising practices.


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Ubiquiti, a major vendor of cloud-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as routers, network video recorders, security cameras and access control systems, is urging customers to change their passwords and enable multi-factor authentication. The company says an incident at a third-party cloud provider may have exposed customer account information and credentials used to remotely manage Ubiquiti gear.
In an email sent to customers today, Ubiquiti Inc. [NYSE: UI] said it recently became aware of “unauthorized access to certain of our information technology systems hosted by a third party cloud provider,” although it declined to name that provider.
The statement continues:
“We are not currently aware of evidence of access to any databases that host user data, but we cannot be certain that user data has not been exposed. This data may include your name, email address, and the one-way encrypted password to your account (in technical terms, the passwords are hashed and salted). The data may also include your address and phone number if you have provided that to us.”
Ubiquiti has not yet responded to requests for more information, but the notice was confirmed as official in a post on the company’s user support forum.
The warning from Ubiquiti carries particular significance because the company has made it fairly difficult for customers using the latest Ubiquiti firmware to interact with their devices without first authenticating through the company’s cloud-based systems.
This has become a sticking point for many Ubiquiti customers, as evidenced by numerous threads on the topic in the company’s user support forums over the past few months.
“While I and others do appreciate the convenience and option of using hosted accounts, this incident clearly highlights the problem with relying on your infrastructure for authenticating access to our devices,” wrote one Ubiquiti customer today whose sentiment was immediately echoed by other users. “A lot us cannot take your process for granted and need to keep our devices offline during setup and make direct connections by IP/Hostname using our Mobile Apps.”
To manage your security settings on a Ubiquiti device, visit https://account.ui.com and log in. Click on ‘Security’ from the left-hand menu.
1. Change your password
2. Set a session timeout value
3. Enable 2FA
According to Ubiquiti’s investment literature, the company has shipped more than 85 million devices that play a key role in networking infrastructure in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
This is a developing story that may be updated throughout the day.


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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 26 November 2023 – In thrilling news for the region’s Ferraristi, the marque has debuted the new SF90 XX Stradale for the very first time in the region with an in-depth look at the new model at Casa Ferrari Abu Dhabi – the ultimate Ferrari lifestyle event in the Middle East.
Coinciding with the on-track excitement of the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 GP weekend, attendees at the fourth edition of Casa Ferrari Abu Dhabi celebrated the history, elegance, and craftsmanship of Ferrari through an exclusive, immersive experience from the 24th – 26th November.
Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale
During the event, guests received an exclusive unveiling of the special edition of this high-performance model. Based on the SF90 Stradale, the new limited series SF90 XX Stradale was first unveiled in June at Ferrari’s Fiorana test track in Maranello, and this weekend one of the 799 examples of this new V8-powered PHEVs has been showcased in Abu Dhabi, wowing regional fans.
The SF90 XX Stradale represents the latest and most extreme example of a concept of special versions, which pushes the performance of Ferrari’s road-going models to new levels.
The concept has been honed over the past 20 years or so, with many of these models quickly becoming considered benchmarks in the Prancing Horse’s line up, such as the 488 Pista and 812 Competizione. Over the same two decades, Ferrari has also developed the XX Programme to offer a select group of expert client drivers extreme cars that are not homologated for the road, but that can be driven at the very limit on the track. All of the models produced by the programme have proved a huge success, with the most recent addition being the FXX-K EVO.
Drawing on its experience in both of these spheres, Ferrari decided to create a road-legal car which embodies the maximum expression of the two programmes’ engineering concepts. The SF90 XX Stradale is based on the supercar in the range, the SF90 Stradale, and raises its already impressively exhilarating track and on-the-limit driving experience to new heights.
Performance is boosted thanks to its impressive 1,030 cv (30 more than the SF90 Stradale), specific software logics and the use of radical new aerodynamics solutions, including a fixed rear spoiler – the first to appear on a road-going Ferrari since the days of the F50 – which delivers an unparalleled 530 kg of downforce at 250 km/h.
During Casa Ferrari Abu Dhabi, the brand showcased this unique vehicle, while honouring a shared love and passion for performance, excellence, and the intentional design that Ferrari is known for, delivering a uniquely intimate and personalised experience.
For more information on the SF90 XX Stradale, please visit https://dubai.ferraridealers.com/en-GB/sf90-xx-stradale


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The agreed deal, struck by Intel’s McAfee security-software business, adds Stonesoft’s firewall technology to the chipmaker's suite of anti-hacking products at a time when companies and governments are under increasing pressure to stop cyber criminals infiltrating their networks and stealing intellectual property.
Shares in Stonesoft more than doubled, as Intel tabled a €4.5-a-share bid at a 128pc premium to Friday’s closing price.
Stonesoft chief executive Ilkka Hiidenheimo, chairman Hannu Turunen and board member Timo Syrjaelae, who together hold almost 35pc of the shares, immediately backed the deal, which was also recommended by the Finnish company’s board.
“The combination of the two companies allows Stonesoft to benefit from McAfee’s global presence and sales organisation of over 2,200 employees,” said Mr Hiidenheimo.
California-based Intel paid $7.7bn for McAfee in 2011 as it sought to add a presence in the fast-growing security market to its prowess as a chipmaker.
“The mega-trend for cyber security isn’t showing any signs of slowing down as you’re always hearing about some corporation being hacked,” Mikael Rautanen, an analyst at Inderes Oy in Helsinki, told Bloomberg. “Stonesoft has the potential to see strong growth so this is a pretty good deal for Intel.”
Last year, Stonesoft reported a 31pc rise in sales to €40.1m (£33.8m) and reversed 2011’s operating losses to post a €451,000 profit.
Stonesoft, which has 6,500 customers and 265 staff, also specialises in monitoring “advanced evasion techniques” – methods used by hackers to prevent their activities being detected.


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Around 2,000 jobs are to be saved at Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group after FRP Advisory agreed a deal with international investors to acquire Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Homes.
FRP advisory confirmed that the joint administrators to The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Limited (t/a The Edinburgh Woollen Mill) and Duvetco Limited (t/a Ponden Home) have completed the sale of the businesses to Purepay Retail Limited (“Purepay”), which is backed by an international investor consortium.
Purepay, a secured creditor to the businesses, has acquired all the remaining stock, as well as the head office site and distribution centre in Carlisle. Purepay will operate 246 stores under licence from across both brands. The corresponding 1,347 store staff will transfer to the acquirer, alongside all 72 head offices and 34 distribution staff.
The remaining 85 Edinburgh Woollen Mill stores and 34 Ponden Home stores have been permanently closed. The roles from these stores, including 358 Edinburgh Woollen Mill staff and 127 Ponden Home staff, have been made redundant.
It is thought that Purepay will be led by Steven Simpson – the current COO of the EWM Group.
Tony Wright, joint administrator and partner at FRP, said: “We have extensively marketed these businesses for sale and this transaction provides the best chance to save stores and jobs, but also meet our own statutory obligations to creditors.
“However, with such little visibility on future trading conditions in UK retail, we regret that not all of Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home could be rescued.”
He added: “This has resulted in a significant number of redundancies at a particularly challenging time of year and period of economic uncertainty. We have a team working hard to support all those affected as we help make applications for redundancy payments.”
Bonmarche has also been acquired by Pureplay with a deal agreed by its administrators RSM.
Bonmarche will retain 72 of its stores and 531 staff including head office and distribution centre staff.


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Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos attended Vanity Fair’s iconic Oscars after-party. While Bezos opted for a traditional black suit, Sanchez wore a stunning and shimmery black gown with a revealing skirt.
Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos sit front row at the Versace show
Lauren Sanchez shows off her press-on nails while flying a helicopter
Sanchez’s gown was long and black, showing off a translucent floor-length skirt with black vertical and horizontal stripes. Underneath, it showed off a black bodice that climbed up Sanchez’s body in a tight top with crystals that had a deep neckline.
Bezos smiled for the cameras and wore a traditional black suit, with a white button-up and a black bow tie.
Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party is one of the most prestigious events hosted over the course of award season, being the meeting place of most of the evening’s nominees and winners. This year, the event was hosted by YouTuber Amelia Dimoldenberg and featured guests like Kylie Jenner, Florence Pugh, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser, and more.
Over the past week, Bezos and Sanchez have been busy, traveling to prestigious events in various locations. One of Sanchez’s most recent Instagram posts shows her and Bezos attending the Versace fashion show in Paris. “Right before the Versace fashion show in LA with my favorite person,” she captioned the post, showing the two excited to be attending the event together.


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ViaSat Acquires WildBlue
The deal will help WildBlue break out from its slowing growth and it will enable ViaSat to enter the consumer market with a hefty 400,000 WildBlue subscribers under its belt.
"WildBlue and ViaSat have been close partners for nearly a decade and today's announcement is the logical next step," said Mark Dankberg, ViaSat's chairman and CEO, in a statement. "By integrating ViaSat-1 and its ground network technology into the WildBlue operational and distribution platform, we believe we can meaningfully reduce our operational execution risks."
To continue reading, see the full story at InformationWeek.com.
— W. David Gardner, InformationWeek


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Warren Buffett sells shares in British retailer Tesco
US billionaire investor Warren Buffett's investment company has cut its holdings in British supermarket giant Tesco, which is grappling with falling profits and probe by the financial watchdog.
Berkshire Hathaway has cut its holding in the world's third-biggest supermarket group to below three percent, according to a stock market filing published on Thursday.
Buffett, nick-named the "Sage of Omaha" for his successful track record in investments, admitted to CNBC early this month that his investments in Tesco had been a "huge mistake".
Berkshire Hathaway initially held five percent in Tesco but had previously cut its exposure to around 3.2 percent.
Tesco stunned investors on September 22 when it revealed that its profit for the six months to August 23 was overstated by an estimated £250 million ($408 million, 318 million euros).
The group had previously forecast its half-year trading profit at £1.1 billion.
Tesco is the world's third-biggest supermarket group after France's
© 2014 AFP


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Amazon's most recent trend suggests a bullish bias. One trading opportunity on Amazon is a Bull Put Spread using a strike $1827.50 short put and a strike $1822.50 long put offers a potential 42.86% return on risk over the next 9 calendar days. Maximum profit would be generated if the Bull Put Spread were to expire worthless, which would occur if the stock were above $1827.50 by expiration. The full premium credit of $1.50 would be kept by the premium seller. The risk of $3.50 would be incurred if the stock dropped below the $1822.50 long put strike price.
The 5-day moving average is moving up which suggests that the short-term momentum for Amazon is bullish and the probability of a rise in share price is higher if the stock starts trending.
The 20-day moving average is moving up which suggests that the medium-term momentum for Amazon is bullish.
The RSI indicator is at 53.1 level which suggests that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold at this time.
To learn how to execute such a strategy while accounting for risk and reward in the context of smart portfolio management, and see how to trade live with a successful professional trader, view more here
LATEST NEWS for Amazon
Why Diversified ETFs Are Becoming Increasingly Risky for Investors
Tue, 10 Sep 2019 08:51:44 +0000
The holdings of these ETFs may be highly concentrated in a few hot stocks, making them less diversified than most investors are led to believe.
Slack Joins the Lagging IPO Club
Tue, 10 Sep 2019 05:00:00 +0000
The growth numbers aren’t bad, but they make it clear that Slack’s fastest days are probably behind it.
Jack Ma Ends 20-Year Reign Over Alibaba Wealth Creation Empire
Tue, 10 Sep 2019 03:14:56 +0000
(Bloomberg) — Jack Ma is giving up the reins of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. after presiding over one of the most spectacular creations of wealth the world has ever seen.The former English teacher steps down as executive chairman of China’s largest company on his 55th birthday after amassing a $41.8 billion fortune — a trove surpassed only by India’s Mukesh Ambani in Asia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His record-breaking rise from a bootstrapped entrepreneur working out of his apartment in 1999 to jet-setting e-commerce mogul is one for the history books, mirroring China’s own evolution from technological backwater to world’s No. 2 economy.Over two decades, Ma and his co-founders built a business-to-business marketplace into a $460 billion titan that bested EBay Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., operates one of the world’s largest cloud computing businesses, and runs a logistics network that delivers millions of parcels every day. Now the country’s most recognizable businessman, he hands the helm on Tuesday to finance maven Daniel Zhang — a momentous transition for Asia’s largest corporation.Read more: New Alibaba Chief Explains Why He Wants to Kill His Own BusinessMa became Asia’s richest person in 2016, overtaking Dalian Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin. The title now belongs to Reliance Industries Ltd. Chairman Ambani, who’s worth $47.4 billion, according to a Bloomberg ranking of the world’s 500 wealthiest individuals.The Alibaba co-founder has become the face of Chinese business even while a member of the ruling Communist Party. Ma, who recalled in a 2015 interview how KFC once rejected his job application, currently owns a 5.3% Alibaba stake worth $24.6 billion, or about 10-fold the $2.6 billion his 7.4% slice in 2012 was worth. Since taking over as executive chairman in 2013, Alibaba’s revenue has surged about 1,100% to 378.8 billion yuan ($56.2 billion) in the year ended March 2019. His fortune doesn’t count shares in the company held by his foundation, or the value of stock he’s sold over time.Ma isn’t the only person to derive fabulous wealth from the Alibaba empire. The company’s trajectory at one point spawned at least 10 other billionaires across its ecosystem, from a parcel delivery company and supermarket to an online payments affiliate. Despite stepping down, Ma is expected to remain pivotal to a sprawling industrial machine with e-commerce at its heart.“At this point, it’s still unlikely that Zhang would make important decisions without Ma’s support,” said Brock Silvers, managing director at Shanghai-based Kaiyuan Capital, an investment advisory firm.Read more: Alibaba’s rise creates 10 billionaires not named Jack Ma\–With assistance from Pei Yi Mak.To contact the reporter on this story: Venus Feng in Hong Kong at firstname.lastname@example.orgTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at email@example.com, ;Peter Elstrom at firstname.lastname@example.org, Peter Eichenbaum, Edwin ChanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Amazon launches Prime service in challenging Brazil market
Tue, 10 Sep 2019 03:04:46 +0000
Amazon.com Inc said it will launch its Prime subscription service in Brazil on Tuesday as it seeks to broaden its footprint in Latin America's largest economy, where it has struggled against tough local competition. In a bid to dislodge established local e-commerce rivals including Magazine Luiza and Mercado Livre, Amazon is offering Prime subscribers unlimited nationwide free shipping and a maximum 48-hour delivery time in over 90 municipalities for goods ranging from clothes to electronics. Subscribers will also have access to movies, music, and digital books and magazines on the Prime platform, as Amazon looks to compete with online streaming services like Netflix.
Shopify to acquire Waltham robotics startup for $450M
Tue, 10 Sep 2019 01:09:37 +0000
Waltham-based 6 River Systems Inc., a startup founded by former executives from Amazon Robotics, is being acquired in one of the year’s biggest M&A; deals in the local technology sector.
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Since “heat season” started this October, 35,770 complaints have been made to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development as of the start of this week. That’s almost 5,000 more reports year-to-date compared to 2021.
Until the end of next May, landlords are required to keep indoor temperatures above 68 degrees between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. if outdoor weather dips under 55 degrees—during the night, inside temperatures need to be north of 62 degrees. The HPD recommends reaching out to landlords for heating issues first before filing a complaint to 311.
In addition to New York City’s right-to-shelter laws, Code Blue drop-in centers are available if temperatures drop below 32 degrees between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. And anyone can enter a city shelter for the night without typical intake procedures.
Propane and kerosene space heaters are banned in New York City, but electric ones can be used away from flammable items.
While the cold weekend is met with clear skies this upcoming weekend in the city, winter storms are arriving in other parts of the state. The State Attorney General Office issued a warning against price gougers looking to make a quick buck off the frigid weather.
“Taking advantage of consumers during emergencies will not be tolerated,” said State Attorney General James. “As New Yorkers prepare for the heavy winter storm, this is a reminder that retailers cannot hike prices to profit off emergencies. I urge New Yorkers to remain vigilant as the storm passes and encourage anyone who believes they are a victim of price gouging to contact my office immediately.”
The Office recommends folks to speak to at least three competing, reputable contracts when searching for storm-related services, along with getting everything in writing, negotiating a pay schedule and getting references.
Report a heating violation online at https://portal.311.nyc.gov/
Price gouging complaints can be reported to the AG’s Office online or by calling 800-771-7755.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://bit.ly/amnews1


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A spokesman from Lloyds TSB has said that the bank expects the market for Islamic finance products, ie, those that are Sharia law compliant, to maintain its growth.
Lloyds TSB already provides a number of Sharia law compliant products, including student bank accounts, regular current and business bank accounts and also a mortgage. The bank spokesman expressed his opinion that these products would become more popular over times, and not only with Muslims who are their primary audience. Sharia compliant products can be used by anyone.
They key to selecting any financial product is that it should meet the customers needs, hence the provision of these Sharia compliant products by Lloyds TSB, but they can also do a great job for non-Muslims who are simply looking for a good bank account or mortgage.