text:
TORONTO, ON., January 23, 2017 – Toyota was voted as the Most Trusted Brand™ of hybrid car and passenger car manufacturers in the annual Trusted Brand™ study conducted by Reader’s Digest.
Nearly 20,000 more Canadians switched to hybrid vehicles in 2016, and during a record hybrid sales year in Canada, Toyota was chosen as the Most Trusted Brand™ of hybrid car manufacturer for the seventh straight year.
Canadians have also voted Toyota as the Most Trusted Brand™ for passenger car manufacturer for the ninth consecutive year – which is every year Readers Digest has undertaken the study.
“Our team at Toyota works hard to earn and build the trust of our customers, so we’re extremely proud when Canadians recognize us with these awards year after year,” said Larry Hutchinson, President and CEO, Toyota Canada Inc. “It reflects how well we were able to listen to our customers and deliver the high-quality vehicles that Canadians want and need.”
Reader’s Digest commissioned Ipsos Canada to conduct a nationwide online survey of more than 4,000 Canadians to identify the brands they trust most. In an open-ended question format, respondents were asked for their most trusted brand within each of 30 product categories, from packaged goods to financial institutions.
By being chosen as a Most Trusted Brand™ for five or more consecutive years, Toyota continues to earn the designation of GOLD winner status from Readers Digest.
About the Reader’s Digest Trusted BrandTM Study
In an independent opinion poll, commissioned by Reader's Digest, Ipsos Canada conducted an online survey of 4009 Canadian adults from Sept 9-16, 2016. Results were weighted to census data to be representative of the population. Using a credibility interval, the overall results are considered accurate to within +/-1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would be had the entire population of adults been polled.
About Toyota Canada Inc.
Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles. Toyota has sold over 5 million vehicles in Canada through a national network of 286 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships. Toyota is dedicated to bringing safety, quality, dependability and reliability in the vehicles Canadians drive and the service they receive. TCI’s head office is located in Toronto, with regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax and parts distribution centres in Toronto and Vancouver. Toyota operates two manufacturing facilities in Canada. Having produced more than six million vehicles, popular Canadian models built at these facilities include Toyota RAV4, Toyota Corolla, Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h hybrid.
™Trusted Brand is a registered trademark of Reader's Digest
Every effort has been made to ensure the product specifications, equipment, and content on this site are accurate based on information available at time of publishing. In some cases, certain changes in standard equipment or options may occur, which may not be reflected online. Toyota Canada reserves the rights to make these changes without notice or obligation.


text:
For a service that is yet to officially take off (yup, more puns), Amazon has been focusing pretty heavily on its upcoming drone delivery service, Amazon Prime Air. The company has recently released a new video — hosted by former Top Gear front man Jeremy Clarkson — in which the merits and benefits of the new drone delivery are explained in a fun and lighthearted view of a typical family. You can watch the full video below:
The narration touches on several new perks of this updated design. First and foremost, the new design still has VTOL (Vertical take off and landing) capabilities, but once it reaches its destination altitude, it performs more like an airplane with a horizontal flight system. NASA has been toying with similar capabilities with its Greased Lightning drone, as the horizontal flight of an airplane is significantly more efficient than the quad-copter performance of your standard drone. With this new flight system, the Amazon Prime Air drone can reach speeds up to 55 miles per hour, and fly for a range of 15 miles.
The video also touts the new drone’s Sense and Avoidance technology, which would hopefully keep these drones from running into each other, or into buildings, birds, electric poles, etc. Maybe the coolest new perk of the whole system though is the landing and delivery. Upon arriving close to its destination, the drone will return to its quad-copter hover mode and search for a suitable landing spot free from any obstructions. To help out your nearly-instant delivery, you can designate a clear landing spot using a (likely Amazon supplied) doormat of sorts that the drone will find and neatly drop your package upon.
One thing the video doesn’t seem to mention, is the size of these new drones. Based on some of the footage in the video though, these things look huge. The target delivery areas for these drones are more rural or even suburban areas so there should be room for the drones to operate, but as we see more and more stories about people shooting down drones that fly over their houses, Amazon will have to educate the general public before sending their drones out into the world.
What do you think? Are you excited to trim your delivery time down to 30 minutes or possibly even less? Are you wary of any sort of drones flying over your property? Tell us all about it in the comment section below or on any of your favorite social media sites.[button link=”http://www.amazon.com/b?node=8037720011″ icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Amazon[/button][button link=”http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/29/amazon-shows-off-new-prime-air-drone-with-hybrid-design/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Via: TechCrunch[/button]
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.

domain: news


text:
We all knew it was inevitable, but the news that Blockbuster has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection still feels like the bittersweet end of an era. The company did attempt to implement some changes to keep pace with shifting media platforms and market demands. They eliminated late fees, and developed an online/mail in service to compliment their brick and mortar stores in an attempt to compete with Netflix. The changes were, unfortunately, a case of too little too late.
It is likely that hundreds of stores will close as the company redoubles its efforts to stake a claim in digital distribution. The goal is to reduce the company’s crippling debt of almost one billion dollars to a theoretically more manageable 100 million dollars.
Jim Keyes, Blockbuster's chairman and chief executive, says the company will, "continue to transform our business model to meet the evolving preferences of our customers."
Netflix shares enjoyed a more than six percent increase on Wednesday as a result of Blockbuster’s rumored bankruptcy, and another 3.45 percent increase on Thursday when the declaration of bankruptcy became official. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who was once Blockbuster's largest shareholder, has now “reduced his ownership shares in Blockbuster Inc’s Class A shares to below 5 percent”, according to CBC News.
Chairman Jim Keyes, however, remains positive about Blockbusters ability to rebound from this crisis. Keyes says that Blockbuster has several factors working in its favor: "a well-established brand name, an exceptional library of more than 125,000 titles, and our position as the only operator that provides access across multiple delivery channels -- stores, kiosks, by-mail and digital."
For many on the outside it is easy to see how Blockbuster simply did not move fast enough to keep pace with the changing times. In our rapidly transforming world, it is so important for a business to stay ahead of the curve. In Blockbusters defense, the curve moves pretty fast and shifts around quite a bit.
Sources: CBC News, AFP


text:
On October 6, the Fashion Design Council of India and Lakme Fashion Week’s phygital fashion show launched a Virtual Showroom to give industry buyers access to the latest collections by 18 Indian brands.
Rakuten Inc’s shares jumped as much as 24% on Monday after the Japanese e-commerce firm said it would raise $2.2 billion through a stake sale to companies including Japan Post and Tencent as it takes on Amazon.
It’s hard to think of a designer more in synch with a great fashion house than Wes Gordon, the creative director of Carolina Herrera. We Zoomed Wes to discuss creating for an iconic house and designing in the pandemic.
The opening day of Paris haute couture week ended with three experienced designers -- Giambattista Valli, Julie de Libran and Olivier Theyskens at Azzaro -- showing collections that captured the couture's energy.
Nostalgia for a more innocent era, when Italy emerged from another great drama, was the theme of Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Moda show in Florence, the first major women’s fashion collection shown since the lockdown.
Like many brands, some luxury labels are producing online content to dispel the gloom in these times of isolation, for example Bottega Veneta with a multi-media project, and Salvatore Ferragamo with a trivia quiz.


text:
If you will be traveling home for christmas by train, it begins to rush. Several departures are already full, join NSB.
– We have a great interest and sets up several thousand additional seats on the regiontogene our. It is the departures that are sold out on several routes, but if you are a little flexible with respect to the (approx, as there are still many opportunities, " says ms. Gina Scholz in NSB Persontog to NRK.a Lot of free on the fly
65 million chinese will now get easier access to visit Norway
Figures from the Ministry show that 32 per cent of those who should have christmas holidays, to visit friends or family in Norway, while 15 per cent are going on a holiday abroad.
Knut Morten Johansen, managing director at SAS, says it is advisable to book well in advance.
– There are still many places left, although the most popular flyavgangene is quite full weeks in advance. But you have the opportunity to be flexible with time, so there are seats available to get, " he says.
When christmas eve is on a Monday this year, so spread juletrafikken across multiple travel days. The planes were filled Wednesday and Thursday before christmas, " says Johansen.


text:
Sales of PCs through distributors are flat year on year, and saw their biggest drop in June. Figures from channel research firm Context showed overall sales in seven European countries grew by two per cent for the quarter, but the figures showed a massive drop in June. Sales of PCs, laptops and servers were down 11.5 per cent …
I wonder if....
Dell has noticed their sales got marginally worse since they jacked up their prices??
I take it that is Dell's subtle way of saying that it didn't sell anything last month, and that therefore the only possible way is up?
- Product round-up Coming clean: Ten cordless vacuum cleaners
- Product round-up Too 4K-ing expensive? Five full HD laptops for work and play
- 'Regin': The 'New Stuxnet' spook-grade SOFTWARE WEAPON described
- Worstall @ the Weekend BIG FAT Lies: Porky Pies about obesity
- 'Snoopers' Charter IS DEAD', Lib Dems claim as party waves through IP address-matching


text:
EDC Wholesale has a new platform. The Holland-based wholesaler combined the different platforms into one platform with six different languages options. The name for the new platform is ONE-DC and it is online now.
The future-ready platform brings together the different web shops of EDC Wholesale into one platform and offers six language options. EDC Wholesale has been working on the new platform for a while now, which was launched on the first of March. “We are now ready for the future and our international ambitions are realized within the new platform. It’s an optimized version compared to our previous platform and we are very proud to introduce all the improvements that the ONE-DC platform has to offer,” commented Eric Idema, CEO of EDC Wholesale. The new platform offers six languages: English, German, Dutch, Spanish, French, and Polish. More language options will follow.
The new ONE-DC platform has had a complete make-over and gives the customer easy access to finding products, brands, and categories. “We are extremely proud to have launched our new platform,” commented Lennard Honebecke, Head of Sales at EDC Wholesale. “Although it’s not 100% ready, behind the scenes we will continue to improve and finalize the details. Customers can already benefit from a platform that is modernized and updated. The new platform offers a solid base for future development with further improvements and an optimized user experience, offering content and training which will reinforce the strategy of EDC Wholesale towards its customers.”
Retail customers can now go to www.one-dc.com or contact: firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
The Sherman Police Department is asking for the public’s help in the identification of two suspects believed to have stolen items from Sherman Power Sports and another power sports retailer in Durant, Oklahoma, in July.
SPD released an email statement on the investigation Friday with links to security footage provided by Sherman Powersports and Jones Powersports. The videos were recorded on July 3 and show two people, whom the department described as adults between the ages of 30 and 50, breaking into the two stores and fleeing with merchandise in a Honda Pilot SUV.
“I think the door to (Sherman) Power Sports is actually glass, so I think they were able to smash that window and gain entry that way,” Sherman Sgt. D.M. Hampton said.
The department’s release detailed the items stolen from Sherman Power Sports as three helmets valued at $500, six riding jackets worth $900, two ATV winches valued at $600 and a sound bar for an ATV worth $700. Hampton said he did not know what merchandise was stolen from the Oklahoma business, nor did he know whether the suspects specifically targeted the items they took.
“As you can see, most of what they took were higher end items and fairly portable,” Hampton said.
The Sherman Police sergeant said it is possible that someone may have seen the stolen items for sale online and unknowingly purchased the stolen items from the suspects.
“A lot of times, I know that when people do this kind of thing, you’ll find those items maybe on Craig’s List or any host of social media or websites that you can trade or sell on,” Hampton said. “Somebody might recognize buying an item from an individual that maybe matched that description or had that car.”
Videos of the thefts can be found on the Sherman Powersports and Jones Powersports Facebook pages. Anyone with information regarding the suspects or the stolen merchandise is encouraged to call Detective Talia Riffe at 903-892-7341 or Sherman Dispatch at 903-892-7290. Anonymous tips may also be left on the city of Sherman’s website.


text:
To tell how the nation's first black beer festival came to be held in Pittsburgh, you might start with a beer.
Maybe it was that introductory Sam Adams Boston Lager that longtime Michelob and Heineken guy Mike Potter drank more than a decade ago. "It had a completely different profile, a completely different taste, you know, completely different aroma," he says. "It just elevated my curiosity."
Or maybe it should be the bottle of Blue Moon that Day Bracey tipped shortly after he got out of college, thanks to $1 specials at a now-defunct bar in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. "That was the first time I drank anything that tasted relatively decent," says Bracey. In college, he and his friends drank "Natty Ice and Vladimir [Vodka]."
In any case, their tastebuds ultimately led them to found Fresh Fest, the first-ever beer festival for breweries owned by African-Americans, along with stand-up comic Ed Bailey.
A dozen such breweries will visit Pittsburgh's North Side at Nova Place on Saturday for the daylong festival. Fresh Fest's purpose is to celebrate black brewing talent and emphasize that craft beer, long implicitly seen as white territory, needs to get more diverse.
"There is an overrepresentation of white folks on both the production and the consumption side," says J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, a professor at Randolph College and an expert on diversity in craft beer.
Brewing beer has always been a white space in the U.S., and craft beer, an industry now four decades old, followed suit: Its product is mostly made and drunk by affluent white people. Yet after years of double-digit growth — the number of craft breweries doubled between 2013 and 2017 -- the industry remains surprisingly monochromatic.
African-Americans are 13.4 percent of the U.S. population. But surveys cited by the Brewers Association say that some 85 percent of craft beer drinkers are white, leaving just 15 percent total for black, Latinos, Asians and Native American drinkers. (However, one recent survey found that blacks make up 12 percent of craft beer drinkers.)
Even more pronounced is the disparity among makers of craft beer: Potter, who founded the group Black Brew Culture, estimated that out of more than 6,300 independent U.S. breweries, only about 50 are black-owned. That's less than 1 percent — and there are none at all in the Pittsburgh region.
"That's not a good number, especially when you consider again the consumption side of it, how many people of color actually purchase these beers," says Potter.
Potter wants to change both sides of the equation. After his revelation years ago with Sam Adams, the Pittsburgh-area native found his way to East End Brewing, one of the region's longest-running craft breweries. He describes the brewery's staff as beer mentors.
"I had no idea of what some of these beers were like," says Potter. "They started breaking down about stouts and porters, Belgians, different kinds of ales, IPA." He got into home-brewing and considered starting his own microbrewery.
He learned it wasn't so easy. Potter is an entrepreneur — he runs a print shop in Homestead, a small former mill town just east of Pittsburgh — but still felt he lacked the funding and know-how that successful craft brewers possessed. And all the ones he knew of were white. "So that led me to start kind of searching around for anybody else of color that is doing this," he says.
Potter founded Black Brew Culture in 2015 and learned that others were out there, including Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver and a handful of black-owned breweries.
Some of them are making a go of it. Chris Harris, of Toledo, Ohio, founded Black Frog Brewery in 2014. On July 31 of this year, he quit his day job with the Social Security Administration to run his brewpub and fledgling distribution network full time. "I'm hoping within the next year to maybe have a small production facility," he says.
Day Bracey was similarly taken with craft beer. He and fellow stand-up comedian Ed Bailey are in the third year of producing Drinking Partners, a popular podcast combining comedy, talk and beer appreciation that each week sets up in a different bar or brewpub.
So why isn't craft beer catching on faster among African-Americans as a whole?
The answer isn't mysterious, but it is complex.
Poverty among African-Americans plays a part, because craft beer is typically two to three times as expensive as bigger corporate brands. That's one reason Bracey cites "systemic racism" as a main factor in the lack of diversity in the industry's customer base. He also notes racial segregation, which keeps people from trying bars in neighborhoods where they might not feel safe or welcome. "I mean, if you get pulled over in the wrong neighborhood, like, that could mean a lot of bad things for you," Bracey says.
Other observers emphasize the role of the brewing industry, which decades ago began marketing cheap, potent malt liquor in primarily African-American and Latino neighborhoods, says beer scholar Jackson-Beckham.
"There is a pretty strong association of beer within black culture with malt liquor," she says. That association is strengthened by advertising as well as by hip-hop's embrace of malt liquor as a cultural signifier.
"If you were to go into any carryout in the inner city, you wouldn't see any craft beer being sold there," says Harris. "It's not the demographic [craft brewers are] going after."
In addition, when craft breweries launch in poor neighborhoods, as they often do, other tensions can arise.
"Breweries, craft breweries in particular, are seen as a gentrifying force," says Jackson-Beckham.
Then there's a simple matter of taste. Like drinkers from any demographic, some black drinkers have a firm idea of what beer tastes like. Potter notes that he has friends who "just can't get into the taste of" craft beer. But craft beer advocates say that can change with exposure.
The barriers to becoming a brewer, however, are notably higher than those for drinkers. Affluent whites, for instance, are much more likely to have grown up with parents, cousins or friends who home-brewed. And even those who, like Potter, get into the hobby find that acquiring credit, capital and know-how can be difficult.
"That kind of entrepreneurship is definitely a place where women and people of color have had a harder time getting a foothold," says Alice Julier, director of food studies at Chatham University.
Craft beer advocates are well aware of these issues. In April, the Brewers Association, based in Colorado, hired Jackson-Beckham as its first "diversity ambassador." Jackson-Beckham, it should be noted, doesn't have a merely academic interest in beer: She is a prolific writer who gained prominence in the industry with her blog about these issues titled "The Unbearable Whiteness of Brewing"; she is also a home-brewer herself.
To many, Fresh Fest seems like a significant development.
"For there to be an all-black brewers' festival, it is just a huge milestone," says Black Frog's Harris, who will be offering his brews at the fest. "It would show a lot more people, you know, that there are people of color that [are] interested in craft beer."


text:
The “Who Shot Ya” mastermind has been on the low this campaign albeit for his stunning performance on JR’s famous balcony for the Feel Good Live Sessions in April, as well as the release of “So Soon” which featured Tellaman in March.
Now, Yanga is all about to change the status quo as he took to social media platform, Twitter, to inform fans of his impending project release.
As you can imagine, the news sent Yanga fans into a world of excited frenzy as industry watchers will readily recall the magic he made in the past year with the success of his “Neighbourhood Genius” EP.
Only thing we know is the fact that “Becoming A Pop Star” EP is one for the pop culture and will be released under Yanga’s Young Legend Music, laying to rest several rumours he has teamed up with AKA at Beam Group.
While we do not know the actual release date of the “Becoming A Pop Star” EP, it is the best time to follow Hitvibes across various social media platforms since we will bring you developing trends as they unfold.
Until then, be sure to share your thoughts and opinion in the comments section below.


text:
The real estate boom puts California’s Central Valley on the retail map.
California’s Central Valley has been the country cousin to the Golden State’s glittering coastal communities for generations.
But the region — Stanislaus, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties — is California’s bread basket, a wide-open landscape that is home to most of the state’s approximately 84,000 farms and produces hundreds of commodities, most notably dairy products, cotton, grapes, lettuce and almonds. Agriculture accounts for 21 percent of all income and 25 percent of all employment in the Central Valley, according to the California Farm Bureau Federation.
Although the region’s reputation may grow from its agricultural roots, the recent interest in commercial and residential real estate in the Central Valley — fueled by population spillover from California’s biggest cities — may leave its image in the dust.
“What’s going on is a population shift that’s been going on for three or four years,” said Stephen Fisher, retail real estate agent for CB Richard Ellis in Fresno. “Things are so expensive [elsewhere], and the valley still represents a reasonably decent buy, both from a residential and investment standpoint. What we see is people relocating from [coastal cities] and buying a bigger and better house for half the price here.”
During California’s development in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Central Valley attracted largely blue-collar workers, a demographic that remains strong in the region. The average household income in Fresno was $40,473 in 2003, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Four of the county’s top 12 employers are food-processing companies, the local Economic Development Corp. reported.
Because of its socioeconomic makeup, the region has been somewhat ignored by upscale housing developers, residential buyers and major retailers — until recent years.
The nationwide housing boom, which ramped up in 2001 and is only now leveling off, didn’t miss the Central Valley.
“The housing market has gone crazy in the last four years here,” said John B. Hans, a commercial and industrial real estate agent for Fortune Associates in Fresno. “It’s gone up 20 to 25 percent.”
And though most residential real estate brokers in the area agree that sales are leveling off — 38,300 homes sold statewide in January, down 27.5 percent from 52,800 in December and down 9.5 percent from 42,300 in January 2005 — the housing market in the Central Valley is still bustling.
“We’re still selling a house a day,” said David Crisp, a residential real estate agent and novice developer in Bakersfield. “I saw 46 percent price increases last year. This year, it will be 15 to 20 percent increases. Houses are sitting on the market longer because their sellers are trying to sell for the top, top dollar. That’s over.”
Despite comparatively higher prices, buying in the Central Valley remains far less expensive than buying near the coast. “The area is still the second most affordable in California,” said Donna Waddel, vice president of market development at Guarantee Real Estate in Fresno.
According to statistics from the National Association of Realtors and the California Department of Finance, the median sale price of single-family homes in Central Valley cities is about half what it is in San Francisco and San Jose, and roughly a third less than that of cities in Southern California.
The median home price in Tulare County in mid-2005 was $190,000, an 86 percent increase from 2000. Fresno, the Central Valley’s most populous city, with an estimated 464,727 residents, according to the California Department of Finance, has seen the highest price hikes in residential real estate: The average home price in mid-2005 was $243,000, up 129 percent from 2000.
Home buying is, of course, a byproduct of population increase. Fresno County’s population grew by 67,116 residents between 2000 and July 2004, according to the Census Bureau, and the agency named neighboring Madera County among the 100 fastest-growing U.S. counties, with a population growth rate of 3.9 percent between 2003 and 2004, when the population hit 138,951.
The Central Valley communities of Bakersfield, 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, and Stockton, 60 miles east of San Francisco, are becoming a draw for commuters.
“Even though growth has gone up dramatically, it’s still less expensive [than Los Angeles and San Francisco],” said Scott Manson, senior vice president of apparel and general merchandise manager at Gottschalks, the largest department store chain in the Central Valley, with 63 units. “I think, for right now, the growth of the Central Valley will continue, based on longer commute times, but a better quality of life.”
Commercial real estate costs in California have risen just as sharply as residential costs, and, as in the residential market, the high prices are driving business owners out of coastal regions and, in many cases, toward the Central Valley.
Prices in L.A.’s most luxury-minded shopping districts range from around $5 per square foot on Melrose Avenue to around $25 per square foot on Rodeo Drive. And in San Francisco, asking commercial rents in the central business district hit $28.86 per square foot in October 2005.
In Glendale, an L.A. suburb with population and income statistics comparable to Fresno’s, prime retail space costs about $2.75 to $4 per square foot per month.
In contrast, commercial rents in “reasonably vibrant shopping districts” in Fresno start at about $1.20, said Fisher of CB Richard Ellis. “In newer areas like Riverpark and Fig Garden Village [two major shopping centers], rents can be anywhere from $2 to $2.50 per square foot.” Commercial leasing rates in the most coveted parts of up-and-coming Madera range from $1.25 to $1.65, said Fisher, adding that Visalia rents are $1.80 to $2.
Visalia is the town where most new retailers have been opening in Tulare County, said Paul Saldana, president and chief executive officer of the Tulare County Economic Development Corp. “In the last couple of years, we’ve had well over 2 million square feet of retail commercial space that’s been added to the county, varied in size and type,” he said, listing Home Depot, Target and Kohl’s among the recent arrivals.
Saldana added that there are several projects slated for development in the city of Tulare, including a new Wal-Mart. “Even our smaller communities are gaining from some of the major retailers looking at the buying power that comes from the growth of the population.”
Kohl’s, the Wisconsin-based department store chain, has staged one of the most aggressive infiltrations of the region in recent years, opening 28 stores in California since March 2003, including Central Valley locations in Fresno, Modesto, Turlock, Stockton and Visalia. On March 2, Kohl’s opened a new store in Manteca, just south of Stockton.
“We now have over 70 stores [in California],” said a company spokeswoman. “We expect to be more aggressive with our expansion plans in the Southwest over the next five years, particularly in California. We plan to open 80 to 85 stores this year, ultimately reaching over 1,200 stores by 2010.”
Zinkin Development, based in Fresno, is making room for the retail newcomers. Company owner DeWayne Zinkin spearheaded four recent and upcoming multiuse projects in the Central Valley, in collaboration with Fresno real estate firm Commercial West Associates.
Among the highlights is a multiuse center located in what Zinkin calls the “golden loop,” an as yet unnamed, horseshoe-shaped, 26-acre parcel of land in Fresno. The project will include 250,000 square feet of retail space across the “loop” from a 133,247-square-foot office building. Construction begins “in the next 60 days,” said Zinkin. Retail tenants have yet to be announced.
Also on Zinkin’s résumé is the Riverview Shopping Center, a $15 million retail project in downtown Fresno. The outdoor complex features 120,000 square feet of retail space and specialty store tenants such as She She, which carries better young contemporary brands Sweetees and Rock & Republic, and Angelica Haley, which stocks Italian designer apparel from Blumarine, Prada and Gucci.
Zinkin is building a third shopping center (as yet un-named) in Fresno with 50,000 square feet of retail space. It is scheduled to open in the next 10 to 12 months, he said. Retail tenants have yet to be announced.
The developer is also making final plans for a shopping center in Madera. The project will have 50,000 square feet of retail space anchored by a major department store. Zinkin said he was talking to “the biggest retailers in the country,” adding that construction on the shopping center will begin in the next six months.
All this expansion in the region, however, is not likely to come without costs.
Leland Shapiro, a professor in the agriculture and natural resources department of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., said that agriculture eventually will be pushed out of the Central Valley, creating a trade imbalance and forcing the U.S. to import the commodities grown in the region.
“When building homes, you often destroy the part of the land where the soil comes off the rivers,” Leland said, “and that’s the land best suited to growing the best crops.”
Irrigation also poses problems. “It takes a lot of water to grow food, but so many people are moving into California, there’s competition for the water,” Leland said. “But if you take water away from the farmer, you have to pay for [food] as an export.”
Developers eyeing the Central Valley may meet some resistance from environmental groups when encroaching on existing farmland, though frequently the farmers themselves are selling to developers for top dollar.
And if growth continues here at even a fraction of its current pace, retailers would be wise to expect an increasingly savvy consumer to surface in the Central Valley communities.
“The local customer is becoming more sophisticated,” said Manuela Frignani-Perkins, co-owner of Angelica Haley at Riverview Shopping Center, which opened in 2004. “However, it takes a lot of education. You have to nurse your clientele and educate them about the brands.”
Metropark, an 11-door young contemporary chain owned by Hot Topic, opened in Fresno’s Fashion Fair mall in December. “There happens to be a lot of disposable income in Fresno,” said Renee Bell, vice president and general merchandise manager. “We had an inclination that they would be hungry to shop.”
Helena Etchart-Tin opened her third women’s apparel specialty store, What’s Up Europe? Exclusive Designs, in Visalia last year. The retailer, who was raised in Milan, agreed that the Central Valley consumer is evolving.
“People [here] who really go to events used to go to buy [apparel] in San Francisco. They never bought in Visalia,” she said. “Then it changed a lot, starting a few years ago. This area is growing so much and it’s changing the type of life that is here — it’s an incredible environment.”
Sweet Home California
Median Sale Prices for Single-Family Homes in 2005
San Francisco: $715,700
San Jose: $744,500
Mill Valley: $874,508
Central Valley Cities
Long Beach: $529,000
West Hollywood: $556,964
San Diego: $604,300
Santa Monica: $827,729
Beverly Hills: $1,323,721


text:
Inside Distil Networks, a San Francisco security firm, engineers are waging war on bots.
“Bots are a huge deal,” said Anna Westelius, Sr. Director of Security Research.
Distil is warning that illicit computer programs are posing as humans and tinkering with flight prices.
“A lot of the time, what the bots are doing in travel is they are forcing the prices up for consumers,” Westelius said.
Here one shady scenario they’re fighting: Say an airline announces a sale. Distil says bots sometimes reserve all the cheapest seats -- before anyone else has a chance.
Consumers get burned when the airline computer, which lives on the laws of supply and demand, increases fares for the leftover seats.
“They make these systems sort of confused,” Westelius said. “They throw them off.”
Distil says the bots are working for unscrupulous online travel agents. They’re exploiting how an airline seat can be held, but not bought, free for 24 hours. The bots make dummy bookings -- even makeup passenger names – and then repeat the trick every 24 hours or so.
“This is a constant battle,” Westelius said. “For some airlines, there are thousands of requests every day. They hold thousands of seats.”
We asked Westelius: what happens to all those dummy seats? She said fringe travel sites sell them at a price somewhere in between the low fare they’re holding and the higher fare the airline is charging.
It’s clever scalping. And they know they’ll find unsuspecting buyers… because most people book flights like Linda Distefano.
“Whoever offers me the best price,” she said.
We sought a second opinion on bots.
“I don’t believe it’s a big issue,” said Rick Seaney – a mathematician who founded Farecompare.com, a website that analyzes airline data and tracks flight prices.
Seaney hasn’t seen bots gobbling up seats. But, he agrees that if they are, everyday consumers are probably paying more than they should.
“If inventory goes away, and that’s cheap inventory, there’s less cheap inventory for everybody else that’s shopping,” he said.
We asked several major U.S. airlines if they’re taking action to combat bots. None responded.
“We have some dedicated airline specialists,” Westelius said, nothing that Distil is working for more than five dozen airlines that have confidentially hired her team to take down the bots.
“That’s airlines you know,” she said. “That’s airlines you fly with often.”
Distil wants to give you a heads-up.
Westelius says third-party ticket sellers are supposed to support customers -- especially when problems occur on your trip. Anna warns that a bot-based site might not fulfill that responsibility. So, be careful before booking on a site you’ve never heard of just because it’s a few bucks cheaper.
“If you buy these Bot tickets, you don’t have access to direct communication with the airline,” she said. “Meaning that if your flight is canceled or delayed, you don’t get that information.”
And not having that info could leave you stuck after a delay or cancellation.
So, how do those of us who are not cybersecurity experts figure out if we’re booking with a bot-based website? Anna says to call them on the phone. Find out if any actual human beings will be there to help if your plans go south.


text:
Chinese solar power company Trina Solar Ltd. on Tuesday said it signed a new sales agreement to supply about 8 megawatts of photovoltaic modules to the Chinese domestic market, as part of its efforts to expand sales in China.
Shipments began in November and are to continue through the end this month.
Trina Solar said it agreed to supply the products at predetermined prices but provided no details of the deal.
The company said it received government approval for a 2 megawatt project under the Golden Sun program, which aims to install about 20 megawatts of solar power capacity in every province.
Shares of the company rose $1.39, or 3 percent, to $47.97 Tuesday after climbing to $47.99, a new 52-week high.


text:
It appears K11 Group’s bet on its “cultural commerce” business model is paying off, as K11 Musea in Tsim Sha Tsui reports a 120 percent surge in its overall sales this summer compared to pre-pandemic levels.
SEE ALSO: Hong Kong retail rallies back
In addition, more than 30 percent of tenants at K11 Musea and K11 Art Mall, also located in Tsim Sha Tsui, recorded unprecedented sales performances across dining, retail, and entertainment at both malls.
Both establishments have achieved their highest footfall since their respective openings, likely due in part to Hong Kong lifting its Covid-19 restrictions in the first quarter of the year.
K11 Musea, which opened in 2019, was 10 years in the making and a project of New World Development CEO Adrian Cheng, the third generation scion currently at the helm of the conglomerate. Cheng is well known for his support of the arts, particularly through his K11 Foundation.
The number of active members in KLUB 11’s highest-spending consumer group, Black Card Members, has also seen a notable increase of 210 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, with their total spending reaching approximately HKD 1.1 billion (USD140.1 million) in the past 12 months.
K11 Concepts’ focus on cultural commerce has not only drawn a significant number of affluent customers and generated foot traffic. K11 Musea’s occupancy rate has remained consistent at 98 percent, demonstrating the substantial demand for premium retail spaces within the mall.
Among the brands that have recently expanded to K11 Musea are the outdoor brand National Geographic and Swiss watch brand Swatch. K11 Art Mall has also welcomed additions such as Arc’teryx, Lush, and Rains.
The fourth quarter will see K11 Musea build on its current success, with a series of cultural events set to take place. Coming soon is the international art exhibition Digital Art Fair in October, which will also include a digital art auction staged in collaboration with premier auction house Sotheby’s.
The mall will also debut collaborations with Parisian fashion label Maison Kitsuné, French perfumer Maison Margiela Fragrances, MoMA Design Store, and a new Thai fine dining restaurant, Niras.
K11 Group is also set to launch its 11 Skies project, an upcoming destination for retail, dining, and entertainment as well as wellness and wealth management. 11 Skies will span 3.8 million square feet in SkyCity, strategically placed near the Hong Kong International Airport and the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. By 2026, K11 Group is set to establish a presence in 10 cities across Greater China, with a total of 38 projects spanning an impressive gross floor area (GFA) of 2.80 million square metres.


text:
Parisian brand Lanvin, owned by Chinese business Fosun, held its runway show in an ancient garden in Shanghai to reveal its Eastern-inspired spring/ summer 2021 collection which combined opulence and chic minimalism.
McLaren Construction has officially been appointed to complete the development, which will deliver 77,000 sq ft of leisure space including a new 10-screen Empire cinema to increase dwell times at the mall.
TK Maxx has taken a 37,500 sq ft unit at Queensgate shopping centre and is to open a new store in mid 2021, Lendlease and Invesco Real Estate, the global real estate investment manager, have announced.
Taraji P. Henson is the latest celebrity to launch her own haircare line.The "Empire" actress has been working on a new brand, ‘TPH by Taraji,' which is set to launch officially at Target stores on January 29.
Daniel Lee staged his second runway show for the famed Venetian house on Thursday night, building a set that riffed on the key essential of BV – intreccio leather – which the designer has revived as an object of cool.
On Wednesday, Tiziano Guardini’s eco-couture, Calcaterra’s classy style, Marco Rambaldi’s light touch and Arthur Arbesser's cheerful elegance demonstrated the potential of Italy’s up-and-coming designers.


text:
The long-awaited meeting has come at last. According to Bespin Bulletin, Project Maverick is finally set to be revealed on June 9th.
Project Maverick was first introduced to us on March 4th when it was added to the European PSN store as a teaser and has been rumored since then to be a small project EA Motive has been working on for a while now to enter the world of Star Wars gaming. Although removed from the PSN store, it has caused many theories and speculations. Below is the teaser image that was released. As it can be seen, we see one Imperial Star Destroyer as well as X-Wing fighters. This setting seems to be on a volcanic/fiery planet which has led many to believe this takes place on Mustafar. Mustafar has made many appearances since its first appearance in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, thus also appearing in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
With this reveal on June 9th, I believe we will learn either a release date, a trailer, or a little more knowledge that may light our way.
The gaming universe of Star Wars has definitely become one in the Force with us, allowing us the opportunity to experience the great games released by EA in the previous few years such as Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Battlefront II, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. With the upcoming release to be later in 2020 for Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and the 2022 release of the sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order, the future of Star Wars gaming is very bright, especially with the addition of Project Maverick.
As seen with previous projects EA has released in the Star Wars universe, we can expect Project Maverick to be released on platforms including Xbox, PS4, and PC.


text:
At a time when many parents are shopping for back-to-school clothes and adults are seeking bargains as well – State Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) today announced the upcoming “Sales Tax-Free Week” in Connecticut at the store with President Carol Wilder-Tamme.
Senator Duff, Darien First Selectwoman Jayme Stevenson, Darien Selectman/Chamber Ex. Board Member John Lundeen , Chamber Ex. Board Member Kaye Leong, Ms. Wilder-Tamme and many local business owners were at the upscale women’s shop to bring attention to Connecticut’s annual sales tax-free week, which begins this Sunday, August 19 and concludes next Saturday, August 25.
During the week, shoppers do not pay the 6.35-percent state sales tax on clothing and footwear costing less than $300 per item.
Dick Kelsey, a SCORE counselor and Vice Chairman of the Darien Chamber Board said, “The Darien Town Wide Gift Certificate program run by the Chamber was founded on the goal of supporting local businesses all year long.
Next week offers an opportunity for residents to realize additional benefits while enjoying Darien’s unique shopping experience and supporting home town businesses."
“Much of the appeal of our wonderful town comes from the diversity of local shops and restaurants. The sense of pride shop owners feel about their businesses and about in Darien in general creates a great sense of community”, said First Selectwoman Jayme Stevenson. “When you have a choice, please shop and dine right here in Darien.”
“Our economy is obviously not yet back to full-strength, either in Connecticut, across the nation or around the globe,” Sen. Duff said. “I know sales-tax free week has become something of a tradition here in Connecticut, but giving people a break in this economy is even more important. And it’s not only a boon for consumers, it’s good for local businesses, too. That’s one of the reasons why I have fought for the past several years to retain these tax-free weeks.”
The timing is excellent for “back to school shopping” and many shops in Darien are hoping the surrounding community takes advantage of this opportunity. Saving 6.35 percent is great at one store, and it adds up even more at the next!
For more information, visit the Department of Revenue Services website at http://www.ct.gov/drs/.


text:
Nintendo has a bit of celebrating to do this week, the company’s latest offering ‘Super Smash Bros.’ for Wii U is now the fastest-selling Wii U game ever in the U.S., this according to the company’s statements sent out earlier today. According to Nintendo the popular franchise has sold more than 14 million Super Smash Bros. games in the U.S. alone, the title currently holds a Metacritic score of 93, making it the highest-rated original game of this generation, tied with last year’s Super Mario 3D World game.
With Super Smash Bros. for Wii U taking the title of fastest-selling Wii U title ever in the U.S. market, that means that Mario Kart 8 will have to move to the number-two slot, that title had sold more than 490,000 physical and digital units combined sold during the three-day period of Nov. 21 through Nov. 23.
“The Nintendo holiday is off to a great start, but there’s a lot of work left to do and a few more surprises in store for our fans,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “With great deals coming on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and great content like Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker launching next week, Nintendo will offer shoppers the best combination of fun and value this holiday season.”


text:
Retail round-up on April 18, 2016: Qatar state fund and CVC withdraw Sainsbury's bid and Waitrose to stop paying Sunday and overtime rates.
Qatar sovereign wealth fund and CVC abort £6bn Sainsbury's takeover bid
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a Qatari sovereign wealth fund, private equity group CVC Capital Partners and Canadian property specialist Brookfield have withdrawn a £6bn secret plan to bid for Sainsbury’s.
The trio had plans earlier this year to launch a dramatic takeover approach for the grocer, Sky News reported.
The City’s takeover panel had given formal approvals for the plan in a sign of how close the consortium got to going public with the offer.
Sainsbury’s is on a hiring spree in a bid to improve its online store, according to The Guardian.
The supermarket is adding 150 digital and technology experts, which includes software developers and engineers, who will work in tandem in Manchester with 900 other digital and technology experts based in London and Coventry.
Waitrose brings in changes to premium pay for new employees
Waitrose has revealed it won’t pay its new staff Sunday and overtime rates, the Daily Mail reported.
The upmarket supermarket chain has joined the likes of Tesco, Morrisons, B&Q, Wilko and Dunelm who have also taken similar steps with existing workers.
The firm said its cuts were introduced in February and are not linked to the living wage.
A spokesman said: “Changes to premium pay for new starters is separate to national living wage implementation and was planned before the living wage was announced."
Stores let to M&S across UK put up for sale
Marks & Spencer stores across the UK are to be offloaded for £500m, The Telegraph reported.
Landlord Topland Group has hired property advisory firm CBRE to seek a buyer for 76 outlets, 13 of which are in prime London areas such as Camden, Chiswick, Clapham and Putney.
The retailer is keen on generating cash from its assets in order to return about £2bn to shareholders at the time.
No comments yet


text:
WII SHOOTING ARTICLES
May 10, 2006 - With over 20 games playable at Nintendo's booth, we've got our hands…
May 10, 2006 - New peripheral to team up with the latest Duck Hunt sequel.
May 10, 2006 - Grab your Wii-mote because it's time to go hunting. New Wii version of classic shooter playable!


text:
According to an April study published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in fear of transmitting COVID-19 via cash, people are increasingly looking into cashless payments.
With a sudden increase in consumer demands for cashless payments, the pandemic can accelerate the worldwide transition to digital payments while serving as a catalyst for the modernization of the financial industry.
And it's not the first case where a global crisis serves a catalyst for a major structural change.
After the Great Depression in the 1930s, the devastating economic crisis accelerated the process of eliminating the international gold standard while expanding social welfare and strengthening labor unions.
However, we don't have to look that far to see how a global crisis accelerates major economic changes.
The 2008 debt crisis was followed by strict regulation of the banking industry, creating a system
where banks have weaker financial performance but bear fewer risks to the world economy.
Shifts similar in magnitude to the previous economic crises are happening now.
First, consumers are looking for alternative ways to replace cash. This includes contactless credit cards, mobile, and cryptocurrency payments.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which many (including the
BIS) see as the next step in the evolution of money and global finance.
After China began testing its digital yuan, many countries around the world have been picking up the pace in regards to CBDC research and implementation.
Britain, EU countries, Sweden, US, Canada - all of them are heavily discussing this topic right now.
Just recently, Japan also revealed that it's going to add the matter of a central bank digital currency into its official economic plan.
When can we pay for coffee in crypto?
Many countries understand the importance of digital currencies - but so far payments in cryptocurrencies are not common.
This matter depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is cooperation and compliance with the existing financial structures and payment providers.
But while the governments of various countries are busy making decisions on the status of cryptocurrencies, there are already ways for you to buy coffee with crypto today.
How can this be done?
Cryptocurrencies as a method of payment
Here, a service provider creates a cryptocurrency credit card that allows consumers to fund their cards with digital assets and use them for payments in a similar way to standard payment cards.
As this method doesn't require merchants to set up dedicated cryptocurrency payment gateways, crypto cards allow consumers to use their digital assets to pay for products and services at their favorite stores.
On the other hand, to bring the idea of a cryptocurrency card to life, the service provider must possess vast experience and an extensive network in the payments industry, working with Visa, MasterCard, or their principal partners' to issue the payment card.
Due to the highly resource-intensive process, only a few successful cryptocurrency card projects are present on the market.
Here, a café decides to accept Bitcoin directly.
The owner uses the customer's bill to calculate the BTC equivalent a consumer has to pay, displaying a QR code on a tablet device for the customer to scan and initiate the transaction from his crypto wallet.
While theoretically, customers can use crypto to buy coffee at the café, this simple integration of cryptocurrency payments has some caveats in practice.
First, consumers have to wait until their transaction gets confirmed – which can take up to an hour, especially when lots of people are utilizing the blockchain network –, which could discourage them from using cryptocurrency as the payment method at the
Second, due to the high volatility of cryptocurrencies, employees have to continuously recalculate the crypto-fiat exchange rate in order to avoid making a loss. Because of the same reason, upon a successful transaction, they have to convert the digital
assets to fiat currency quickly.
Third, while some governments have already regulated cryptocurrency and recognized it as a payment method, digital assets are unregulated or banned in other countries. In the latter case, the café may not be allowed to accept crypto payments as a business.
Here, the consumer uses a cryptocurrency exchange to convert his digital assets to fiat currency, which he then withdraws to his payment card or bank account.
After the transaction is processed, the consumer can use his withdrawn fiat currency to pay for products and services via a payment card. As you can see there are multiple steps involved in this process and the flow is complicated with potentially multiple
service providers needed to fulfil the end to end requirements of this flow.
Since this is the only method available on the market that currently works in practice, it will take time for cryptocurrencies to reach widespread adoption unless a major change in consumer behavior occurs.
Mainstream crypto adoption will come when the boundaries blur between traditional finance and the digital economy. When this happens, it will become a habit for the average consumer to use digital currency to pay for his day-to-day expenses in a similar
way contactless smartphone payments have become habitual now.
A major shift in the financial industry and the regulatory landscape can also accelerate crypto adoption.
For example, if central bank digital currencies become the standard payment methods for daily expenses, decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will get better adoption by consumers since they are already familiar with the technology.


text:
With April’s National Car Care Month just around the corner, the Car Care Council is partnering with Google on a free webinar for auto care industry organizations titled, “Spring into Maintenance.”
“After a rough winter that has left many vehicles in need of service, repair shops should make sure that customers shopping for inspections, routine maintenance and delayed repairs find them,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. “Join me and analysts from Google for a free webinar where we’ll share search trends and insights around why service is important in the spring, as well as information on where drivers are turning for their vehicle service needs.”
The “Spring into Maintenance” webinar will be held Thursday, March 20 at 2 p.m. ET /11 a.m. PT and will cover the following types of helpful information:
How many people pursue seasonal maintenance in the spring, and how many are proactive drivers seeking routine maintenance?
Are drivers getting their vehicles serviced at dealers or service centers? Where do they do their research to determine where to take their car?
How do successful brands reach, inform and influence full-service consumers and do-it-yourself drivers?
How can businesses use National Car Care Month to boost consumer awareness of maintenance and drive more business?
Click here to register.
For more information about the Car Care Council, visit www.carcare.org.


text:
L & L Europe Limited is an online gambling operator who recently came under fire due to issues involving self-exclusion. The operator was fined in Sweden after it was caught sending promotional materials to players who had chosen to self-exclude.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has fined Caesars Entertainment Corp. a whopping £13 million for failing to adhere to social responsibility as well as money laundering and customer infraction issues. Caesars currently operates 11 casinos in the United Kingdom and
On Monday, Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gambling regulator, announced that a subsidiary of The Stars Group was fined €400,000. The fine was issued to TSG Interactive Gaming Europe Limited for offering online poker gaming to Dutch customers via a PokerStars website.


text:
FG laments high cost of food prices, proffers solution
THE Federal Government has said the consistent growth in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has not had a positive impact on the lives of its citizens as a result of growing inflation.
Speaking today at the 28th edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmad, said soaring food inflation in the country has outshined the seventh quarterly growth in the economy.
“We constantly say we have witnessed seven consecutive quarter a of growth, it is the truth, but the growth has not permeated to the citizens as they are still buying food in high prices from the market so we need to look at how we can reduce the high cost of food prices. That means we need to look at how we can better handle inflation because inflation in Nigeria today.”
“The highest push of inflation is the food components and the food inflation is driven largely by high cost of transportation, which is also driven by high cost of energy. So we must address that energy source by diversifying the type of energy that we use, not just generally, but for transportation and also be able to expand the transportation sector itself.”
She added that the country needs to diversify while different sectors are contributing their growth.
She however said none of the sectors are growing high enough as expected “except for information and technology sector that continues to grow on a consistent way.”
“Agriculture sector has been reporting growth but it has been slow, that is what we believe. We need to be able to really grow agriculture on an exponential basis and it means we have to concentrate on not only production but also processing and exporting agricultural produce to be able to earn foreign exchange.”


text:
2021 has introduced higher costs for automobile customers in India. However, the manufacturers plan to counter the hike by introducing new offerings. Car manufacturers are set to introduce a wide range of products in the Indian market. January is an eventful month for the industry with six launches that have been confirmed by companies.
Here’s a look at what’s in store for the month of January:
Audi India recently commenced bookings for its upcoming Audi A4. The new Audi A4 will be launched in India on 5 January. The new sedan is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder TFSI petrol engine. Not only does the company promise updated aesthetic design but also a tech-rich cabin. The new Audi A4 will be the company’s first launch for the year 2021.
Toyota has already launched the new version of Fortuner in a few South East Asian countries.The new Fortuner comes with an updated front fascia and as well as updated interiors. The company is expected to also launch a new Fortuner Legender which will be a more premium variant compared to the standard variant. The company recently shared a few teasers for the new car. The launch event will be conducted on 6 January.
Tata Altroz Turbo
Tata Motors has sent a media invite for an event on 13 January. The invite does not specify the Turbo variant but it does mention that it is an Altroz event. The Tata Altroz Turbo variant has been spotted various times, leading up to the launch. The new Tata Altroz is expected to feature a 1.2-litre turbo-charged petrol engine that can also be found on the Tata Nexon. However, the Altroz may get an engine that will be tuned for its size.
MG Hector Plus (seven seater)
Last year, MG Motor introduced a longer Hector Plus variant which could accommodate six passengers. The company will now launch a new seven seater version of the car. The new MG Hector Plus (seven seater) will be introduced in two variants only, Super and Sharp.
BMW 3 Series Gran Limousine
One of the most affordable offering by the German luxury brand, the BMW 3 Series will get a new addition. The company will be launching the Series 3 Gran Limousine. As the name suggests, it will be a longer wheel-base version of the standard Series 3. The new Limousine will be 120mm longer.
Jeep Compass facelift


text:
With Lee on a media blitz promoting his new company, tech pundits have begun to weigh in on his gamble. What's everyone saying?
- The Man Himself In an interview with Businessweek, Lee stated that his firm will fill an important void in China, especially as the country builds a larger appetite for risk. "It's a unique fit for China because Chinese entrepreneurs are less experienced and more in need of this kind of matchmaking: smart entrepreneurs with smart business people with smart engineers with ideas that have been vetted -- and money."
- Hungry for Risk? Sarah Lacy from TechCrunch is skeptical when it comes to Lee's plans to hire 100-150 young Chinese engineers to innovate the web. Can Lee really attract talent with established names like Microsoft and Google around the corner? "The biggest gamble in Lee's analysis is whether or not that culture of risk taking is indeed changing in China. The question isn't whether he'll find 100-150 kids to employ, it's whether he'll be able to pull the best ones."
- Can it Live Up to its Name? Shel Israel from Global Neighbourhoods asks if innovation can happen in China, a country where a top-down government tends to regulate a large share of people's lives. "I find the most interesting aspect of Mr. Lee's very interesting move is the name itself. Can Innovation Works make innovation actually work in China?"


text:
A comprehensive report from New Frontier Data and MJ Freeway gained new insight into cannabis consumers in the U.S. The report is titled 2018-2019 Cannabis Consumer Report: Archetypes, Preferences, & Trends and intended to identify different cannabis consumer groups and reasons for why they use cannabis.
New Frontier surveyed over 3,100 cannabis consumers in medical and recreational use states and the District of Columbia (D.C.). Although the survey was meant to uncover spending behavior, purchasing decisions, and long-held beliefs about cannabis, the report found that more people are replacing alcohol and pharmaceuticals with marijuana.
9 Cannabis Consumer Archetypes
From the results, New Frontier assembled consumers into nine distinct archetypes segmented by the frequency of use, spending habits, product preferences, and other factors. The nine archetypes can be broadly classified into three groups: High-Frequency consumers, Moderate-Frequency consumers, and Low-Frequency consumers.
Among the heavy users were the Traditional Lifestylers, Modern Lifestylers, and Functional Dependents. Of these, the Functional Dependent is the archetype for the cannabis consumer that enjoys cannabis at parties and spends a considerable amount every month on cannabis. A Traditional Lifestyler takes a classic approach to cannabis consumption, while the Modern Lifestyler may use new cannabis technology to enjoy the plant.
The Moderate-Frequency group includes Medical Purists that primarily use cannabis for its medical applications. Weekend Enthusiasts are more relaxed in their cannabis use, but they do like to indulge in moderation. The Discreet Unwinders refers to consumers like parents who value the effects of cannabis but aren’t outspoken about it.
The light consumers include the most prevalent consumer type, the Social Opportunist, who typically like to consume cannabis in social situations a few times a year. The Silver Dabblers don’t partake in cannabis use that often, maybe a few times a month to relax. The Infrequent Conservatives consume cannabis only a few times a year to unwind.
Medical Cannabis Replaces Opioids
Among participants, 84% said that they believed cannabis has medicinal benefits. The survey results seem to support that percentage. A staggering 94% of medical users reported that medical marijuana significantly improved their condition enough for them to reduce their medication or replace it completely. 73% of medical cannabis patients said they used marijuana instead of taking other medications.
Specifically, 41% of cannabis users used cannabis as a replacement for over-the-counter painkillers. 48% of participants replaced their prescription medication entirely with medical cannabis. The report suggests that the opioid epidemic in the U.S. has turned many patients away from opioids and on to medical marijuana.
Cannabis Preferred Over Alcohol
In terms of cannabis and alcohol consumption, 74% of cannabis consumers believed that cannabis is safer than alcohol. Only 4% of survey respondents disagreed. 46% of participants that drank alcohol said they liked cannabis better than alcohol. 28% enjoyed cannabis and alcohol equally. Surprisingly, nearly half of the alcohol drinkers said they expected to reduce their alcohol consumption for cannabis in the future.
As legalization continues to roll through the U.S., more Americans are becoming more likely to purchase cannabis and even replace their current alcohol and pharmaceutical use. Cannabis consumers use the plant for a variety of reasons from wellness to relaxation and stress relief. With so many cannabis products available, new consumers are growing wise to the personal benefits of cannabis.


text:
ON THE PULSE OF SWISS ECONOMY
Based on the competence of leading heads of the Swiss business community.
7th Swiss Business Pulse Edition – Q1 2022
Development of the demand situation
61% expect customer demand to improve over the next 12 months.
This is once again and increase compared with the last quarted. The financial services sector in particular is very optimistic.
The target markets of Asia and North America now have the worst expectations, but there is great optimism for the target markets of Europe and Switzerland, with an improvement of up to 69%.
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH THE EU
The decision of the Federal Council is supported and rejected by the same amount of people.
The majority think that it will have no short-term impact on the company.
In the long-term however, up to 49% see a negative impact on the company.
Coping with the Corona crisis remains the biggest challenge, but this has been steadily decreasing since last October.
But now, at 9%, a completely new challenge is the procurement of materials, as deliveries have been delayed by months due to COVID-10.
Executives Get Together
Watch our latest live event, where market
researches and top executives discussed the
challenges and the future of the Swiss market
What experts think
Managing Director CQ-Factory GmbH
Sales Engineer SailPoint
CEO CodeCoda Ltd
CEO Kramer Immobilien Management GmbH
Business Area Manager bbv Software Services AG


text:
The European Commission's monthly business and consumer surveys suggested that the Eurozone economy gained some strength at the end of 2013.
Eurozone consumers were still lacking confidence in the economy in December, although not as much as in November. The consumer confidence index came in at -13.6 last month from -15.4 the month before.
Meanwhile, the economic sentiment indicator showed signs of improvement in feeling in the euro area, returning to its long-term average for the first time since July 2011, and vindicating hope that 2014 will see continued recovery. Hitting 100, it beat expectations - it was expected to reach 99.1 from November's revised 98.4 (was 98.5).
While improvements were geographically broad, difference between sentiment and implied rates of economic growth in the core and peripheral economies remain marked. Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics points out that even in the core, "while Germany’s ESI of 106.0 points to reasonably solid growth, France’s reading of 95.3 points to stagnation or recession."
While the survey provides further hope that conditions in the euro-zone economy are slowly improving, the outlook is probably one of sluggish growth at best - we expect euro-zone GDP growth of about 0.5 per cent in 2014 - and there are few signs that the imbalances across the currency union are narrowing.
When it came to business attitudes, the EC's business climate indicator was down slightly on November's revised 0.31, at 0.27, but was above expectations.
Sentiment in the services sector improved in the month, increasing to a small 0.2 from a revised -0.9 (expected -0.5).


text:
Were 13,200 Girl Scout cookie boxes destroyed recently for no good reason? Sadly, it's true. The massive waste of money, flour, sugar, eggs, cardboard, ink and other components of the tasty cookies and their packaging was caught on camera last May but brought to light by CBS Los Angeles nearly one year later, according to a Feb. 16, 2013 report by Gawker.
The 1,100 cases of cookies were unsold treats ordered by the Girl Scouts that were returned to the bakery where they were produced. The Girl Scouts are permitted to return 1% of product to the bakery without paying for it. It was reportedly the supplier, ABC Bakery, that destroyed the treats, not the Scouts.
CBS Los Angeles's David Goldstein uncovered the shocking destruction as the 13,200 Girl Scout cookie boxes were destroyed on video, and he followed the figurative trail of cookie crumbs to the San Gorgonio Council of the Girl Scouts in Redlands, which claimed to have donated 100,000 boxes of cookies last year, the same year the footage was shot.
Imagine the joy that all those sweet, delicious cookies could have brought to underprivileged children, people living in homeless shelters, soup kitchens, nursing homes or outreach centers. Instead these 13,200 Girl Scout cookie boxes were destroyed unceremoniously by a bulldozer as a worker gleefully shouted, "Goodbye, Girl Scout cookies!" Thanks to the publicity surrounding the videotaped destruction, the distasteful practice has been uncovered, and the Girl Scouts have the opportunity to redeem themselves by making better choices in the future.


text:
By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business
Fintech giants Square and PayPal are taking Main Street by storm. More consumers, especially younger ones, are using services like Square’s Cash App and PayPal’s Venmo for mobile payments.
But banks and other traditional financial services firms are fighting back — and investors have taken notice.
Goldman Sachs is the top performing stock in the Dow this year, surging 55%. American Express isn’t far behind, up 45%. Both companies have begun to embrace digital banking as a way to attract newer customers.
Goldman Sachs, for example, has moved beyond its roots as a powerhouse investment bank and wealth manager for the affluent, thanks to its Marcus online bank. The platform, which launched in 2016, has no branches and offers personal loans with no fees.
“There’s no question that activities that we’re involved in are digitizing quickly,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said on an earnings call with analysts earlier this month. “I think there’s a meaningful acceleration in the disruption that the digitalization of financial services is occurring.”
American Express is sprucing up its somewhat stodgy image as well. The company announced new digital checking plans for small and mid-sized businesses Thursday. As part of the rollout, AmEx even launched its first ever debit card.
“This is part of a multi-year strategy of going beyond the credit card. This is the latest manifestation of that,” Dean Henry, AmEx’s executive vice president of global business financing, payments and digital experiences, said in an interview with CNN Business.
“We have an obligation to go where clients are transacting,” he added. “A debit card is new for AmEx. We are modernizing the network and keeping pace with payment types that are popular.”
Large financial firms also recognize that partnering with fintechs can be extremely lucratve.
“Fintechs have also fueled our growth,” Visa CEO Al Kelly said on an earnings conference call Tuesday. “In the last year, nearly 30% more fintechs issued Visa credentials, and they have more than doubled their payments volume.”
Buy now and pay later is all the rage
The moves by Goldman Sachs, AmEx, Visa and others are a sign that traditional financial firms realize they must keep pace with Square, PayPal and other top fintechs that are getting bigger by the day. Stripe, a privately held payments firm, is now valued at $95 billion, and the red hot “buy now and pay later” (BNPL) fintech Affirm, recently partnered with Amazon, Walmart, Target and other retail giants.
Affirm, which lets customers pay for purchases in monthly installments, went public earlier this year and shares have more than tripled since then.
Affirm rival Klarna is another top private “unicorn” that’s valued at $45.6 billion. And Square bought Australian BNPL startup Afterpay this summer for $29 billion.
Visa competitor Mastercard recently unveiled its own BNPL program, dubbed Mastercard Installments, as well.
The buy now and pay later trend is clearly not going away anytime soon.
“Everyone is talking about it,” JPMorgan Chase chief financial officer Jeremy Barnum said in an earnings call with analysts earlier this month.
“We’re in a moment of taking all types of potential disruptions, especially fintech-y type disruptions, quite seriously. And in the case of BNPL, it’s obviously particularly high profile because of the growth that we’ve seen,” Barnum added.
And JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon promised that the bank will also keep pace with its emerging fintech rivals.
“We will spend whatever we have to spend to compete with all these folks in our space,” Dimon said during the earnings call.
Still, the big banks will have to tread cautiously in the evolving fintech world. Regulators in Washington are keeping a close eye on the financial giants.
To that end, Visa was forced earlier this year to abandon plans to buy fintech startup Plaid due to antitrust scrutiny.
And The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Department of Justice is now looking into Visa’s relationships with Square, PayPal and Stripe as part of a broader investigation that Visa first disclosed to investors in March.
™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.


text:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is encouraging hemp growers to construct a Ghostbusters-like backpack vacuum that will allow them to collect up to 10 grams of cannabis pollen in less than a minute. It’s part of an effort to gather and distribute the pollen to an international group of researchers and breeders.
In an instructional video the agency recently posted, an official with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) first walks viewers through the process of building and setting up the device, which was invented by a former department employee and a hemp cultivator to streamline the pollen collection process.
The setup involves attaching a 100-micron mesh filter to a wearable vacuum nozzle with an affixed glass vial. The user then turns on the vacuum and gently runs the nozzle along the stem and leaves of male hemp plants. Because pollen is about 25 microns, it gets through the filter into the vial while raw plant material is kept out.
The device can collect “10 grams of high quality hemp pollen in under a minute,” USDA said. “We hope to use this device to distribute hemp pollen to an international group of hemp breeders and researchers.”
Farmers who are growing cannabis for flower or oils generally tend to avoid male plants, as they do not produce buds. But growers who find a strain they want to replicate—or who want to experiment with cross-breeding plants—can use male pollen and apply it to a female cannabis plant to produce the desired seeds.
The informational video comes from USDA’s Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU), which has been partnering with university researchers and hemp growers to develop best practices to support the industry. The sector is playing catch-up with other agricultural commodities given that hemp was only federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.
PGRU maintains the USDA’s hemp germplasm collection in order to “develop and apply curatorial techniques and approaches to conserve hemp genetic resources,” the agency says:
“These resources will be backed-up at the ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, regenerated, monitored, and maintained with best management practices, so that high quality germplasm can be distributed to researchers and breeders within the hemp community. Vulnerable or threatened genetic resources for hemp wild relatives and cultivars will be safeguarded so that these critical sources of genes for hemp research and breeding are widely available. In addition, new genetic resources for hemp that might be suitable for U.S agricultural systems will be introduced.”
USDA has been promoting the hemp market in a number of ways, including recently teaming up with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to host farmers for an educational event focused on cultivating cannabis in a “bio-based” economy.
The department also recently shared the success story of an Indiana-based hemp farm, touting how the agency offered financial and technical assistance to help the business to maximize its output of high-quality CBD oil.
USDA has also renamed a trade advisory committee to prominently feature hemp among a select group of specialty crops—reflecting the agency’s understanding of cannabis as a uniquely valuable commodity.
The hemp sector took a major economic hit last year, according to an analysis from USDA that showed the crop’s value drop precipitously across all metrics. Stakeholders have largely attributed the downturn to a lack of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on marketing hemp derivative products, such as CBD oil, but FDA has insisted it needs Congress to enact such rules.
Bipartisan lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced companion bills this session that aim to reduce regulatory burdens for farmers that grow industrial hemp for non-extraction purposes. (Full Story)


text:
While fans eagerly anticipate the Super Bowl matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, the battle over Super Bowl ads is already heating up online, according to Amobee Brand Intelligence.
Perennial Super Bowl advertiser Bud Light has been the brand most associated with this year's big game when it comes to digital content engagement, says Amobee. The brand's digital chatter increased 661% between December 26, 2015 -- January 26, 2016 after the alcohol brand released a Super Bowl teaser ad on January 21, featuring comedians Amy Schumer and Seth Rogan getting ready for their Bud Light Party -- in this case “party” apparently being a play on political parties.
Sister brand Budweiser comes in second in terms of digital engagement with 97% as much chatter as Bud Light. Budweiser had one of the most popular Super Bowl ads for the last two years, and there is a high level of anticipation around their entry this year, says Amobee.
Celebrities seem to be a surefire way of attracting viral buzz. Skittles and Shock Top were the third- and fourth-most popular brands after Skittles revealed a digital spot showing that Steven Tyler of Aerosmith is going to be featured in their Super Bowl commercial, while Shock Top released a teaser ad starring comedian T.J. Miller and a talking beer tap.
"Super Bowl advertising has many layers to it," says Assaf Henkin, SVP brand intelligence solutions, Amobee. "Brands that will resonate with consumers will have a strategy in play before, during and after the big game. As marketers, we have to act beyond the 30- and 60-second TV spot by magnifying a brand message around a shared experience using a combination of mobile, social and video channels.”
Perhaps the biggest digital winners are Nationwide and GoDaddy both of whom are not even running Super Bowl ads this year. Nationwide ranks fifth in terms of Super Bowl digital chatter entirely because of its controversial but memorable Super Bowl Ad from last year. That ad featured a child talking about things he wouldn't be able to accomplish since he died in an accident.
"Nationwide and GoDaddy’s decision to not participate in this year’s Super Bowl demonstrates the long-tail impact of the previous years’ advertising," says Henkin. "If you look at the continued level of interest around the Nationwide brand, specifically in terms of digital content engagement, their multi-million-dollar investment gave them an extended opportunity to shift brand perception and turn what was a negative experience for consumers into a positive one.”
Here’s the Top-10 List:
1. Bud Light
4. Shock Top
7. Avocados From Mexico


text:
Bikers surprise families in a good way at local grocery store
This motorcycle club wanted to do something special that would help families who might need an extra bit of cash around the holiday season to be able to treat their loved one.
A motorcycle club in Greenville, Michigan called The Chosen Ones decided to brighten up the 2015 Christmas season for some lucky families. To do so, they went out and bought 40 $50 Meijer giftcards, and started handing them out.
It was just in time for Christmas, the time when money becomes particularly tight in many American homes, and the club wanted to help lighten the load for local residents.
After buying the giftcards, club member Jerry "Bear" Cook said that they sent crew out with the gift cards in hand to source out shoppers who looked like they could use a little help.
As grocery shoppers entered the checkout aisles, some of them were greeted by a tap on the shoulder and the most unsuspecting gift imaginable.
"It’s been amazing" said Cook. "At least two of the families I tapped on their shoulder said please don’t make me cry and it happened."
One stay-at-home from Lakeview was overwhelmed with the wonderful generosity of the club.
"This guy came up to me and gave me a $50 Meijer gift card to help pay for groceries and Christmas presents," Tara Williams said. "Hopefully I can pay it forward someday to help other people."
Another woman, Jessica Reway, had just gone over her bills at home and desperately needed the money to buy her groceries and Christmas presents, but had never expected it to come from this unlikely source.
"Its amazing. It’s great to see that there are people out there that are paying it forward what they can do," said Reway.
Cook explained that the club, which is a 502(c) non-profit, aims to help children and better the community through them. Their other holiday charity saw them collect and distribute toys and backpacks for children.


text:
Google is all set to transform its Pixel smartphones by moving into the world of custom chip design. It is probably inspired by Apple’s successful path. The company first introduced the Tensor chip in the Pixel 6 series. Now, Google plans to release a fully customized Tensor G5 chip in 2025. This is a strategic shift from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for chip production. Moreover, it is aiming to enhance performance and integration between hardware and software.
Google Tensor G5 Rumors Roundup:
Google initially planned to release a fully custom in-house chip called “Redondo” as early as 2024. The Tensor G4, codenamed “Redondo”, would power the Pixel 9 series phone next year. But the company faced delays in production due to challenges in engaging employees and coordinating development across multiple teams. Therefore, Google pushed back the idea of a self-developed chip to 2025. What this means is Google will still rely on Samsung and its Exynos platform for the Pixel 9 series before moving to a fully custom Tensor G5 chip on the Pixel 10 series.
- You may also like:
- “Google Play Games on PC” is now available in Nepal as well
- Pixel 7A Review: There’s A Lot To Love, But…
- Google leaps into the foldable phone market with “Pixel Fold”
- Latest Google Pixel 8 Pro leaks hint at massive camera upgrades
Shift to TSMC
Google has been gradually reducing its reliance on Samsung components by incorporating more of its own intellectual property with each new generation of the Tensor chip. But the upcoming Pixel 8 lineup for this year and the Pixel smartphones set for a 2024 launch will continue to feature processors designed and manufactured by Samsung.
Not only will the upcoming Tensor G5 chip be fully designed by Google but it will also be manufactured by TSMC. The shift of Google from Samsung to TSMC for the production of the Tensor G5 chip enhances power efficiency and reduces thickness. It is because Google will be leveraging TSMC’s advanced 3nm manufacturing process and Integrated Fan-Out technology.
Google Tensor G5 Rumors: Conclusion
Google aims to achieve tighter integration between hardware and software, resulting in superior performance for its devices by developing a fully custom chip. Google’s transition to a fully customized Tensor G5 chip and its partnership with TSMC marks a crucial turning point in the company’s custom chip journey. These developments will pave the way for future Pixel devices and other Google products to have enhanced capabilities. Further innovative features, and improved hardware-software integration.
- Meanwhile, check out our review of the OnePlus Nord 3.


text:
Rising OTT platforms continue to grow. But currently are there scale, frequency and high pricing concerns. And there is also Netflix.
“When you are in a fragmenated marketplace, and you are trying to manage against one demographic it’s difflcult to control frequency -- unless you are working with one platform,” says Carlos Ramirez, group director, of Quigley-Simpson, speaking at MediaPost’s TV & Video Insider Summit.
But Ramirez adds OTT right now -- as a single platform -- has scale limitations, which in turns can lead to frequency issues.
Pricing can be high as well. Concerning connected TV campaigns, Trey Dickert, media director at Media Two Interactive, says his agency started using micro-attribution models for clients when it comes to transactions, brand lift and other areas to justify the high media costs.
Dickert: “While these CPMs are much higher than other CTV content out there, it still influences a great deal of engagement on the backend.”
Overall, Jared Lake, vp of digital strategy of Ocean Media, says of OTT: “From a consumer perspective, it’s a much better experience” Lake says the advertising load is lighter and there is more user control.
More positives of OTT viewers: Ramirez says “light TV viewers and cord cutters, cord-nevers are valuable demographics.” OTT has a big upside: “It hasn’t been truly realize by marketers.”
OTT ad concerns are also pitted against non-ad supported services. Lake: “The best consumer experience is not ad-supported, unfortunately. What Netflix does from a content perspective and a consumer perspective -- they are kind of hitting it out of the park.”


text:
While, according to a Tom Ford rep, Paltrow wore the runway sample for the Bazaar shoot, Zendaya’s stylist, the “Image Architect” Law Roach, told me that after an early fitting, the singer and actress put in a custom request. “We actually tried it a while ago, and Zendaya said that she wanted it to be, in her words, ‘her boobs and no one else’s,’” Roach said. “That one was molded and made specifically for Zendaya. @harpersbazaarus ???? on #thegooplab and other bits.
The sleek, midriff-baring outfit turned heads not just because it stood out against an otherwise voluminous red carpet lineup—Saorsie Ronan, Olivia Wilde, Cynthia Erivo, Awkwafina and Anne Hathaway all continued to ride the statement sleeve wave that started at the Golden Globes earlier this month—but also because Gwyneth Paltrow was styled in an almost identical piece on the February cover of Harper’s Bazaar, which was released a few days earlier.
He was inspired by references to vintage Saint Laurent, Paco Rabanne, and Issey Miyake, who designed a molded metallic breastplate first worn by Grace Jones in the 1980s. “For me, my whole reason for wanting to be in fashion is because of Grace Jones,” Roach said. “I’m just so captivated by her.


text:
The USTR said the goods that would face the punitive tariffs had an estimated trade value of about $119 million in 2019. The UK, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Austria are the others for which the US announced and suspended the tariffs simultaneously.
“The US is focused on finding a multilateral solution to a range of key issues related to international taxation, including our concerns with digital services taxes,” USTR Katherine Tai said, adding that Washington remained committed to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20 processes.
This levy of 2% on revenue exceeding Rs 2 crore applies to ecommerce companies that do not have a permanent establishment here. This is in addition to a 6% levy on payments for digital advertisement services.
The USTR said the levy was unreasonable or discriminatory, and burdened or restricted US commerce, and was actionable under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
“The USTR made an announcement on its ongoing Section 301 investigation into DSTs of countries including India on June 2. The postponement of tariffs is similar to the DST investigation into France, where USTR indefinitely postponed tariffs after the first six-month delay to pursue negotiations at the OECD,” said a government official.
Experts said India could raise a dispute at the World Trade Organization if the tariffs were implemented and draw up its own list of retaliatory actions such as banning American audio-video streaming services, social media platforms and credit cards here, but cautioned against withdrawing the equalisation levy.
The experts said this might be a signal of some solution in future. “Its current announcement of suspension of punitive tariffs is a positive signal to demonstrate that it is willing to negotiate an amicable solution to conflicting tax systems borne out of each country’s desire to protect its tax base in an era of digital disruption and globally mobile capital,” said Sudhir Kapadia, national tax leader, EY.
“The US has put on hold the tariffs since negotiations are currently going on and it wants to give time for these to fructify. The tariffs can still come back. This is a good development and since now the US is playing ball, there are good chances that a consensus at a global level may be reached,” said Amit Maheswari, tax partner at AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm.


text:
To Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Belief, in Santa Ana, California, buying Bitcoin as an inflation hedge would possibly make btc bitcoin trader sense ought to inflation shoot up -- but too much depends upon timing. Now, males between ages 20 and forty make 60% of Unocoin's consumer base, which also contains some 2,000 merchants. “Right now, the categorization itself just isn't complete,” meaning that no one knows if crypto should be looked at as a forex, commodity, digital asset, even equity, and this additional affects the best way crypto transaction is treated in different scenarios - corresponding to taxation. For now, it exists only on my computer as an inert string of nonsense, however the second I try to perform any sort of transaction - say, contributing to a crowdfunding campaign or voting in an internet referendum - that handle is broadcast out to an improvised worldwide network of computer systems that tries to confirm the transaction. Local insiders know that a new ban is unlikely, but “the development shall be a bit of slower if this type of reports retains on popping up again and again”, Vishwanath mentioned. Monero is actually a type of digital money which may be used for price effective, fast funds wherever on the planet.
Malaysia exchange dogecoin to bitcoin bitcoin exchange
Coinbase Card, a Visa debit card that allows customers to make use of their Bitcoin or different crypto holdings to buy online and in shops, along with converting their cryptocurrencies to money at the ATM. Simply enter your money into certainly one of our ATMs, enter your digital wallet deal with, and Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Dogecoin will probably be despatched directly to you utilizing the current alternate price. New Bitcoins are created when computers compete to process transactions by fixing complex puzzles in change for tokens. Blockchain, meanwhile, has this week drawn the attention of two of the “Big Four” international audit corporations, Deloitte and PwC, both of whose recent experiences revealed high percentages of enterprise executives satisfied by technology’s potential. Often, Ripple is only talked about for its extraordinarily excessive market cap; for a lot of the previous yr, Ripple had the second most upper market cap behind Bitcoin. Blockchain will do to mortgages what the internet did to the stock market and put all these extra charges again into your pocket.
Crypto exchange ranking by volume
Best crypto exchange in uae
Always have a look at Skilled Advisors that run on MT4 platform and have a high profit factor of extra then 2. By means of out all the trades, it ought to have low dawn down at much less then 20% and a high return fee of return of 50% annually. 0.03, NEO is up 15.77 % at .18 and Dash, ranked thirteenth, has outstripped all the top a hundred cryptos on the day by rising 27 % to 6.54. The https://www.tmbroker.com.au/how-many-people-have-invested-in-bitcoin mixture of falling prices and a rising hash price -- which measures computing power -- exhibits how complex the economics of cryptocurrency mining are. But computing energy may be rising now due to past expansions in capacity, that are a sunk cost to miners and reflect greater costs earlier. An rising hash price means Bitcoin mining remains to be profitable sufficient for a lot of players to stay put, defying hypothesis that costs have fallen past break-even points. The good news is that the brand new Coinbase Card handles all the conversions itself, exchanging whatever cryptocurrency that users have in their accounts to U.S. This know-how is going by a collection of bubbles and corrections, and each time it does that, it’s at a new plateau. A representative for CoinsShares wasn’t immediately out there for comment at press time. The bitcoin value is at the moment just over $6,000 after falling below the psychological barrier yesterday for the second time this yr.
Is bitcoin traded on forex
- vaultoro bitcoin gold exchange
- ai trade crypto
- crypto exchange real time
- swedish bitcoin exchange
- where do i invest in bitcoin
trusted bitcoin exchange sites new zealand crypto exchange https://alignhomesolns.co.ke/2021/02/12/bitcoin-exchange-rate-calculator crypto broker ag http://brighterenergy.us/best-hours-to-trade-crypto


text:
Solar module manufacturer and developer Canadian Solar has launched a US$150 million fundraise to support its growth strategy and build out a substantial battery energy storage business.
The ‘Solar Module Super League’ member said on Thursday (27 May) that it plans to sell up to US$150 million of its shares through the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Canadian Solar said it intends to use the proceeds from its at-the-market equity offering programme (ATM) to “execute its long-term strategic growth plans” which include both its battery energy storage business and an energy storage project pipeline. It added that this may involve acquiring a business or assets, but also investing in strengthening its existing portfolio of solar projects. The sale is expected to close within roughly six months, with common shares to be offered through sales agent US Tiger Securities, the company said in a statement.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
Canadian Solar has turned its attention to the rapidly growing battery energy storage sector this year, and included full-year guidance for battery storage shipments of 810 – 860MWh in its first quarter results last week. The Ontario-based solar technology and renewables group’s battery storage project development pipeline has nearly doubled to 17GWh, with 1.2GWh of projects currently under construction.
Canadian Solar also acquired a stake in and signed a strategic partnership with UK-based energy storage software firm Habitat Energy earlier in the month, and plans to launch its first N-type heterojunction (HJ) PV modules in the second half of this year.
The company reported a jump in both shipments and revenues in its first quarter results last month in spite of what president Yan Zhuang called a “challenging” year for the company, marked by rising costs of transportation and raw materials. Module shipments reached 3.1GW in the first three months of 2021, up 42% year-on-year, while total revenue and group margin stood at US$1.1 billion and 17.9% respectively, towards the top end of the company’s guidance.
More than 1.4GW of battery storage capacity came online in the Americas last year, according to a recent report from research group Wood Mackenzie, which has predicted that the region will overtake Asia Pacific in energy storage capacity over the next four years.