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Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and automation, has announced plans to transfer its manufacturing operations, assets, and employees to a key country partner in a move aimed at strengthening its assembly and manufacturing operations, services, and products to its partners. The company is committed to its East African business and is focused on positioning the company with key technology partners.
Devan Pillay, the Anglophone Africa cluster president at Schneider Electric, emphasized that the company remains dedicated to its East African business, and the transfer of its manufacturing and assembly operations reflects this commitment. The company is actively positioning itself with key technology partners by carefully selecting, developing, and supporting its partner network in various business streams.
Scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2023, this move will enable the company’s assembly and manufacturing plant employees to continue their professional growth at the partner while maintaining Schneider Electric’s high standards. Additionally, this move allows Schneider Electric to increase its presence in Eastern Africa, offer more products, and expand its partner network to provide its customers with advanced technology and more competitive value.
Carol Koech, the country president for East Africa at Schneider Electric, states that the company will maintain its sales, marketing, projects, services, and logistics operations from Kenya, to serve the East African market. The company’s goal is to optimize the use of energy and resources, which will enable progress and sustainability for all. It is important for the company to have clear business goals and for its partner network to be empowered to execute this shared purpose and mission.
In due course, Schneider Electric Kenya will provide more detail on the assembly and manufacturing partnership. This move indicates the company’s commitment to its East African business and its focus on positioning it with key technology partners. Schneider Electric is dedicated to carefully selecting, developing, and supporting its partner network in various business streams to ensure that its customers continue to receive the best possible service and products.
Schneider Electric Kenya is taking a proactive step forward by transferring its manufacturing operations, assets, and employees to a key country partner. This move will enable the company to expand its reach in Eastern Africa, commercialize more offers, and enhance its partner network, allowing it to provide its customers with more advanced technology and competitive value. The company will continue to conduct its sales, marketing, projects, services, and logistics operations from Kenya, serving the East African market.


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aaplAutomated steering not available on Texas road where Tesla crashed -NTSB - EOS was trading at $8.6315 by 16:09 (20:09 GMT) on the Index on Monday, down 12.15% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage loss since May 10.BlockFi mistakenly sent Bitcoins instead of Tether stablecoins to fewer than 100 users as a part of their promotion. Thepany is one of the biggest cryptocurrency startups so far, which is responsible for borrowing and lending crypto as well as owns some other products. The price of the mistake is tremendous if we consider the difference in price between BTC and USDC.
The retail sector will remain in focus Thursday after L Brands (NYSE:LB), the parent of Victorias Secret, reported first-quarter earnings and sales that topped estimates, continuing the sectors trend of strong numbers as shoppers returned to stores and spent their stimulus money. The likes of Kohls (NYSE:KSS) and BJs Wholesale Club Holdings (NYSE:BJ) are set to release earnings before the open.
The break-even rate on five-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) touched their highest levels since 2011 and 2013, respectively.At its current price, EOS is still down 69.88% from its all-time high of $22.98 set on April 29, 2018.
aaplAfrican crypto exchange registers $3.2B in transactions ahead of global expansion"We feel that local officials are reacting to the levels of tension in the relationship and just taking the safer path which is to offer preference to domestic industry," he said, speaking at a news conference on Tuesday.
Automated steering not available on Texas road where Tesla crashed -NTSB,THE CATCH?
About a third of all Americans have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC data. But the pace of vaccination has slowed in the recent weeks.
"We pay at the pump," he said. "It hasn't hit us yet, but this is going to hurt big time."

domain: news


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Best Buy board investigating allegations CEO Corie Barry had relationship with employee, reports say
Another Best Buy CEO is being investigated for an alleged romantic relationship with a colleague.
Best Buy's board is investigating allegations that CEO Corie Barry had an inappropriate romantic relationship with a fellow executive, who has since left the electronics retailer, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
According to the Journal, the board received an anonymous letter about the allegations Dec. 7, which claimed Barry had a romantic relationship for years with former Best Buy Senior Vice President Karl Sanft before she took over as CEO last June.
Officials with Best Buy did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
“Best Buy takes allegations of misconduct very seriously,” a company spokesman told the Journal, noting the company said its board has hired the law firm Sidley Austin LLP to conduct an independent review that is ongoing.
Is it safe to eat romaine lettuce again?:CDC says E. coli scare 'appears to be over'
Equifax breach settlement:Time is running out to file a claim for free credit monitoring or money
“We encourage the letter’s author to come forward and be part of that confidential process,” the Best Buy spokesman told the Journal. "We will not comment further until the review is concluded.”
Barry, 44, who became CEO of Best Buy Co. six months ago, replaced Hubert Joly after he stepped down and took on the role of executive chairman.
She has worked at the company since 1999 and most recently was chief financial officer. She is the first female CEO in Best Buy's 53-year history.
But Barry is not the first CEO to be investigated over an alleged relationship with a subordinate.
In 2012, Richard Schulze, who founded Best Buy in 1966 and is its largest shareholder, resigned as chairman and left the board after a company investigation found he knew about an inappropriate relationship then-CEO Brian Dunn had with a female staffer.
Many U.S. companies have adopted policies to address workplace romances, even before the #MeToo movement stirred a national conversation surrounding sexual misconduct.
In November, fast-food chain McDonald's fired CEO Steve Easterbrook, after he violated company policy by having a "consensual" relationship with an employee.
Contributing: Associated Press
Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko


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The coronavirus panic has hit America hard, as restaurants and bars close, and people practice social distancing to stem the spread of the virus. As shoppers make runs on basic household goods like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bleach, and groceries like eggs and milk, grocery stores all across America have taken to limiting purchases. Signs are now common that instruct shoppers that they can only purchase a certain number of packages of noodles, or jugs of milk, per day. So why are dairy farmers being told to dump huge amounts of milk instead of shipping it to distribution centers?
Farmers have posted photos and videos like these all across America’s heartland:
. . .
It seems counterintuitive that America’s dairy producers force farmers to dispose of their milk at the very time when it’s become harder and harder to find at grocery stores across the country. Despite record-high demand in the consumer market, it has not filled the crater left in the wholesale market. As restaurants close all over America, wholesale markets for dairy products have largely shut down.
Transitioning the supply chain from wholesale to retail markets has proven challenging. On top of that, retail markets have not kept up, resulting in gluts of milk on the market. In a time when grocery stores have shortages of a lot of different items, dairy farmers have no choice but to dump their supplies.
This farmer explains what’s going on (stand by for an adorable shot of a cow comforting him with a big lick on the arm):
(Read more from “Why Are Dairy Farmers Being Forced to Dump Millions of Gallons of Milk While Grocery Stores Ration?” HERE)


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Kazakhstan exported 1.2 million tons of flour in September-March 2018-2019, down by 21% YoY and the lowest volume in three years.
Afghanistan is the biggest importer with its market share reaching 67%.
Growth in exports is registered to China (+272%) and Tajikistan (+59%).
A decrease in shipments is observed to Afghanistan (-20%), Uzbekistan (-33%) and Turkmenistan (-14%). (UkrAgroConsult/Business World Magazine)


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Australia, Mercedes-AMG, Ruhr-Uni Bochum, Renesas.
News of Gigafactories accumulate with Australia joining Germany and Thailand. Plans by Boston Energy and Innovation are definite as they lead a global consortium, which already agreed with the city of Townsville to build a battery plant with a capacity of 15 GWh per annum. This translates to 200,000 car batteries, or one million home storage units, or 300 microgrids. Location scouting is on and once found, a feasibility study will start. Meanwhile, the same partners, which also include Australian graphite producer Magnis Resources and U.S. battery specialists, want to erect a similar sized facility in the state of New York at the IBM HQ on Huron campus.
The ultimate hyper car: Mercedes-AMG released spare data on its Project One, destined to put F1 technology on the road. The 1,000 hp hybrid combines the F1-based 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 with four electric motors. As the edition is limited to 275 units, demand has already overtaken supply.
Self-healing catalyst: Chemists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have developed a catalyst with self-repairing properties when “hurt” during water electrolysis for hydrogen production. The healing works as long as the required nanoparticle powder is present in the electrolyte solution.
Japan-China alliance for autonomous EV: Japanese Chipmaker Renesas is to work with China’s Great Wall Motor to develop technology for self-driving and electric cars for the latter’s home market. Renesas will send engineers but ultimately hopes to expand its own semi-conductor sales in China.


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Dodge Announces Expanded Hellcat Production in 2016
The “Hellcat” lineup of Dodge models only represent a fraction of the brand’s sales, but they’re still pretty popular. Of the 88,000 muscle cars pushed by the brand so far this year, 4,000 have been Hellcats, and there order books on the 2015 model is officially closed as of now.
Dodge’s 707 horsepower beasts have been something of a runaway hit for the performance automaker, so they’ve opted to expand the quota for 2016 by increasing production of the car’s 6.2L supercharged HEMI V8. In the meantime, Tim Kuniskis and crew are working hard to get current allotments filled, so those who have ordered it won’t have to wait too long.
See the latest spot for the Hellcats below.
We all know by now that the Hellcat is no mewling kitten. Are you up to the challenge of driving one? If so, get in touch with us at our showroom here in Vancouver, WA to learn more.


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Koydol Targets Philadelphia For Continued Franchise Growth
How Koydol Flooring Came Out of the COVID-19 Pandemic Stronger Than Ever
Koydol Targets North Carolina For Early Franchise Growth
Marange will bring over two decades of sales experience in the commercial flooring industry to help the brand kick off its franchise growth.
With the opportunity to turn a $100,000 investment into quickly scaled business, Koydol Flooring is quickly becoming one of the franchising industry’s most-talked-about concepts.
The commercial flooring brand is preparing to open its first franchise location, and it’s looking for qualified franchisee candidates in Richmond.


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The Great Frog
Posted January 16, 2019 at 5:00 am
By Robert James is saying bye to Orchard Street after just over ten years in business. Like so much local retail, the upscale clothier fell victim to a sizable rent hike. Truth be told, the proverbial writing was on the wall last August when the eponymous owner led a successful crowdfunding campaign to keep the […]
Posted January 4, 2018 at 5:02 am
The Cast leather store on Orchard Street is moving from back room to front of house, so to speak. Owner Chuck Guarino ended his run at 72 Orchard over the holiday weekend, and is currently in the process of relocating product to the months-vacant retail space next door. Where Wendy Mink Jewelry previously operated. This […]
Last modified June 14, 2016 at 11:45 am
To all the lovers of Jianbing out there, you’re in luck. The Bing Kitchen plans on opening its flagship Chinese snack shop at 71 Orchard Street Next Tuesday. Store build-out has been ongoing since mid-April. Here’s a quick look around the premises. Jianbing is Chinese street fare that sorta resembles crepes. Apparently, such stands are […]
Posted September 16, 2015 at 9:22 am
Antique purveyors The Hunt are barely out the (back) door of The Great Frog, and The Cast is already rearing to reopen. It’s been a difficult few months for the punk rock leather brand. Owner Chuck Guarino was forced from his five-year-old space at 71 Orchard Street back in June thanks to a rent hike from […]
Posted September 4, 2015 at 5:16 am
Optimum Appliances relocated down the block a few years ago, leaving valuable retail real estate for the taking. Only, it didn’t actually happen that quickly. Quite the opposite; the former electronics store at 27 Canal Street remained vacant until this summer. As we first reported last month, upscale antique purveyor, The Hunt, is busy building […]
Posted August 12, 2015 at 9:29 am
The Cast is making its Lower East Side comeback. Two months after a rent hike forced it from Orchard Street, the long-running boutique is returning to its stomping ground. Not far from the former HQ. As in, right across the street. Come September, owner Chuck Guarino will begin peddling product in the back room of […]
Posted June 1, 2012 at 6:45 am
The under-utilized back room inside Great Frog NYC is to become a piggy-back business of its own.
Posted December 29, 2011 at 7:16 am
Only on the Lower East Side can you sell an impulse buy of such magnitude from a glass case.
Posted November 7, 2011 at 6:09 am
By Robert James just completed the move over the weekend into the much larger number 74. In its wake, the famed rocker jewelry joint is opening.


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Tesco Mobile rated top for mobile satisfaction in 2019
Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, has published its annual customer satisfaction ratings for mobile networks.
Epic Games, the business behind online video game Fortnite, says it's taking legal action against Apple and Google after both companies removed the game from their app stores.
Folding phablet set for September release
Microsoft has started taking orders for its twin-screen Surface Duo device. The folding Android tablet is being released in the United States on 10th September.
US President Donald Trump has signed Executive Orders that would ban the companies behind the TikTok and WeChat apps from working with American businesses.
Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G revealed
Samsung Electronics has revealed five new devices, including its flagship Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G handset, during a live-streamed virtual event.


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Universal finally committed not to include Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clauses in its favour in any new or renegotiated contract with digital customers in the EEA for ten years. MFN clauses oblige digital customers to extend any favourable term granted to Universal's competitors to Universal. This commitment will allow Universal's competitors to negotiate more freely with digital customers and further levels the playing field between these competitors and Universal.
In light of these commitments, the Commission concluded that competition on the digital music markets in the EEA will be adequately preserved and that the transaction will have no negative impact on consumers.
"Competition in the music business is crucial to preserve choice, cultural diversity and innovation. In this investigation, we have paid close attention to digital innovation, which is changing the way that people listen to music. The very significant commitments proposed by Universal will ensure that competition in the music industry is preserved and that European consumers continue to enjoy all its benefits." said Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy Joaqu?n Almunia.
The proposed merger would bring together two of the four so-called global "major" record companies, leaving only three majors. The EC had concerns that following the merger, Universal would enjoy excessive market power vis-a-vis its direct customers, who sell physical and digital recorded music at retail level. In particular, the Commission focussed its investigation on the markets where record companies license their music to digital retailers such as Apple and Spotify. The Commission found that the proposed transaction, as initially notified, would have increased Universal's size in a way that would likely have enabled it to impose higher prices and more onerous licensing terms on digital music providers. This could have negatively affected the possibilities for innovative providers to expand or launch new music offerings and would ultimately have reduced consumers' choice for digital music, as well as cultural diversity in the European Economic Area (EEA).


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13:28 04th Jan, 2013
US Department Of Defence Invests $617 Million On Windows 8 Licenses | TechTree.com
US Department Of Defence Invests $617 Million On Windows 8 Licenses
Set to save $70 million over a span of three years; says MS' tools meets "specific security needs of the Defence Department".
While the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) prepares its forces to come out with a fully Desi Operating System, citing that the so-called foreign operating systems tend to compromise cyber safety and are susceptible to worms and other security issues, its US counterpart is embracing these OSes with open arms. Reports suggest that the US Army has invested as much as $617 million (approx Rs 33,62,23,04,400) on Windows 8 licenses.
Apart from the Army, the Air Force and DISA (Defence Information Systems Agency) will be using an array of Microsoft products, which includes Microsoft Office 2013, SharePoint 2013, and Windows 8. Officials also said that Office 2013's enhanced security and content management tools "meet the specific security needs of the Defence Department".
While the amount does seem to be a lot, reports suggest that the Department of Defence will save as much as $70 million (approx Rs 3,81,45,24,000) for three years, which is the span on the agreement. Since Microsoft's OS is a home-grown weed for the US Army, they wouldn't have to be paranoid about security snarls like their Indian counterparts, or do they?
TAGS: Software, Government, Windows, Kamakshi
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Since guests bring their own food to Shearwater Cove, most people hit the Safeway or Seward Marketplace for groceries before getting on our boat. Most people don't travel with re-usable grocery bags, so a lot of plastic bags end up making their way to the yurts.
This year, the Sustainable Seward organization is working to shift Seward away from plastic bag use in preparation for the city-wide ban on single use plastic bags which will take effect in October. Sustainable Seward members are hastily sewing t-shirt bags that will be available for shoppers to borrow and return in case they forget to bring their own bags. Keep an eye out for these re-usable options as you shop for your stay at Shearwater Cove!
Read the full story on The Seward Sun: https://sewardsun.com/03/10/sustainable-seward-join-forces-with-local-stores-to-transition-away-from-plastic-bags/


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Ferrari unleashes 'Superfast' flagship
FERRARI NV is unveiling the speediest production car in its history, underscoring its reputation for uncompromising performance even as the Italian manufacturer pushes the limit of how many cars it can sell without losing its allure.
The 812 Superfast debuted at the Geneva
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Ex New Zealand Post chief John Allen in his new role heading up the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is to join Fletcher’s top man Jonathan Ling for the Go Global conference on international business in late September.
The event promises to be the most significant forum for exporters’ calendar this year.
“Go Global will showcase the best of our international business models,” said Phil O’Reilly, chief executive of Export New Zealand.
“The event has been designed for business people to talk directly with government about what’s on the table to support business in developing their markets and earnings offshore.
“Key government ministers attending include Gerry Brownlee and Tim Groser.
“Leading business models, and the thinking behind them, will be presented to learn from, by Glidepath, Vitaco and Animation Research.
“We’ll be getting the very latest economic and emerging market updates on the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia as well on Australia and the Pacific.
“September 30th in Auckland for Go Global will be the day of the year for Kiwi exporters and our other international businesses.”


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STRONG growth in global appetite for its teacakes and caramel wafers saw iconic snack group Thomas Tunnock enjoy a double-digit sales rise last year.
The Uddingston-based firm – whose products played a starring role in this summer’s Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, pictured – saw turnover rise by 13 per cent to £47.8 million in the year to 28 February with pre-tax profits rising 7 per cent to £6.48m.
UK sales rose by 14 per cent to £38.8m and in the rest of the world grew by just under 12 per cent to £9.1m. Staff numbers dipped to 489 from 514 but sales per employee rose to £98,000 from £82,000.
Tunnock’s exports to more than 30 countries, and its confectionery is particularly popular in the Middle East where it enjoys the advantage of a higher melting temperature than other chocolate-based products.
The Tunnock family, who own the business which started in a baker’s shop in 1890, received a dividend of just over £1m during the year after not taking any the previous year. Some £3.3m was invested in new plant which the company said was “essential to maintain our position at the forefront of the market”.
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Google cited a number of reasons why its growth has slowed in the UK. The main reason for the slow growth was the higher mix of Google searches from tablets and other mobile devices.
Google rolled out a product change for mobile users. It will add a “mobile-friendly” label to its mobile search results, according to a Google blog post on November 18.
Google’s operating margins have declined from 27% in 3Q13 to 23% in 3Q14. Let’s find out why Google’s operating expenses continue to increase fast.
The issue with revenue growth coming from other businesses is that these are less profitable businesses than Google’s search advertising business. Let’s see why that is.
Consumer staple ETFs provide exposure to companies that produce essentials, including food, beverages, tobacco, and household items. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) tracks the S&P Consumer Staples Select Sector Index.
In 2014, The Coca-Cola Company (KO) announced a long-term partnership with Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (GMCR). The deal will allow people to enjoy ice-cold Coca‑Cola beverages at home with the soon-to-be-released Keurig Cold machine.
Growing populations and better standards of living in emerging markets will drive demand for beverages. The long-term prospects for growth in emerging economies are promising.
The non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink market is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 5% between 2014 and 2017. A large proportion of this growth will come from emerging economies.
PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) is on track to achieve $1 billion in savings globally in 2014. It’s cutting costs across procurement, research and development, and other functions
The World Health Organization suggests that sugar should account for only 5% of total energy intake per day. A single soda can contains around 40 grams of sugar.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo spend enormous amounts of money on innovation, advertising and marketing, and on strengthening their distribution network. It would be difficult for a new entity to make the substantial capital investments required to compete with these firms.
Soft-drink makers continually invest in branding. In 2013, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo spent $3.3 billion and $3.9 billion, respectively, on advertising and marketing activities.
Market intelligence firm Euromonitor International estimates the middle class around the world will include 1.5 billion households by 2020, a 25% rise over 2012.
US consumption spending accounts for over two-thirds of the country’s gross domestic product. A favorable trend in consumer spending on non-durable goods is a positive indicator for the non-alcoholic beverage industry.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo’s wide distribution network gives them significant pricing power. Carbonated soft drinks have similar prices due to the intense competition in the industry.
Soft drinks contain considerable amounts of sugar, which is a form of carbohydrate. Consumption of excess sugar releases a hormone called dopamine, which induces pleasure in the brain. Caffeine, another key ingredient, stimulates the nervous system.
The non-alcoholic beverage industry broadly includes soft drinks and hot drinks. In the US, soft drinks, or liquid refreshment beverages, lead food and beverage retail sales. In this series, we’ll focus on the soft drinks market.
Qualcomm’s (QCOM) stock performed poorly compared to the company’s peers in the semiconductor industry. As the chart below shows, Qualcomm’s stock has increased by only 2% year-to-date.
These devices include connected home devices such as air conditioners, washers, and refrigerators, security systems such as alarms and cameras, and energy devices such as thermostats.
Qualcomm (QCOM) recently acquired Wilocity to boost its portfolio of mobile chipsets. Wilocity operates high-speed wireless technology WiGig, which works at a higher frequency and promises faster data speeds.


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Tickets to the BCS National Championship game between Florida State and Auburn may not exactly be cheap, but compared to years’ past they might be one of the best bargains in sports.
Ticket prices to Monday night’s game are going for hundreds of dollars less than they did last year and are even cheaper than some of the top NCAA football match-ups over the past season on the secondary ticket market.
“It’s totally unprecedented,” said Jesse Lawrence, the CEO of TiqIQ, where tickets are selling for an average of $374 (as of post time).
The ticket prices are less than half that paid for tickets to the Rose Bowl this year and the average, according to Lawrence, are hovering around $500 less than fans paid for the Alabama at Texas A&M game this season.
Ticket sellers attribute the drop from last year’s prices to the location and teams playing. It’s a long flight for both fan bases, and Florida State, especially, doesn’t “travel well”, said Lawrence. “Auburn does travel well but the issue is for Auburn fans, the last BCS championship they were in they paid (thousands of dollars) for tickets. So Auburn fans four years ago paid this exorbitant amount, saw their team win and said this time around ‘I lost my shirt four years ago, I’m going to watch this one from home.'”
In the last week alone, Lawrence said, ticket prices have dropped 58%.
Auburn’s trip especially this year wasn’t as predictable as teams’ have been in years past, meaning fans couldn’t really plan that far ahead for the game.
“A couple of years ago there was that expectation (was there) weeks and weeks leading into it and this time it was very last minute,” said Glenn Lehrman, the spokesman for StubHub.com. “It’s very expensive to get across the country, you need a car in Los Angeles — it’s not the (easiest) experience.”


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Facebook profits nearly tripled to $US642 million ($A688 million) in the first quarter of 2014 on a 72 per cent surge in revenues, the company has reported.
Advertising revenues on the huge social network were up 82 per cent from a year ago, the company said.
Of that, earnings from mobile ads comprised 59 per cent of that, compared with 53 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Mobile users continued to dominate the growth picture for the company: daily active users were up 21 per cent from a year ago to 802 million, and of them mobile users totalled 609 million, a year-on-year gain of 43 per cent.
Monthly active users meanwhile rose to 1.28 billion, one billion of them on mobile.
“Facebook’s business is strong and growing, and this quarter was a great start to 2014,” Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
“We’ve made some long term bets on the future while staying focused on executing and improving our core products and business. We’re in great position to continue making progress towards our mission.”
Zuckerberg remains cautious, however, on the challeneg of serving a customer base that tops a billion people.
“Understanding who you serve is always a very important problem, and it only gets harder the more people that you serve,” says Mark Zuckerberg.
The company also announced that its chief financial officer, David Ebersman, planned to step down on June 1.
Ebersman, who helped lead the company through its up and down initial public offering and first two years as a public company, will be succeeded by David Wehner, Facebook’s vice president for corporate finance and business planning.
Facebook’s shares rose about 3 percent in after-hours trading overnight after falling about 2.7 percent during regular trading earlier.
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18 Jun London Technology Week: Four key pillars of tech brilliance
As London Technology Week gathers pace, I spoke this morning at the ‘Big Data Breakfast’ at Level39 in Canary Wharf, where around 250 leading entrepreneurs and businesspeople gathered to assess how Big Data is transforming British business.
The event – hosted by Big Data giant WANdisco and supported by Tech London Advocates – reminded me that whilst London Technology Week is a celebration of London’s budding tech scene as a whole, the success of the sum has only been established through the brilliance of its parts.
Arguably Big Data and Data tech, along with FinTech, AdTech and HealthTech, have been the four sectors of London’s tech industry that have underpinned its dramatic rise in recent years.
We are all aware of how Big Data has transformed the way we socially interact, listen to our music or shop online. Social media platforms recommend us friends, Spotify and iTunes recommend us music and Amazon recommends us products – all calculated by Big Data based on our and other users’ previous interactions, likes, playlists and purchases.
But the power of Big Data permeates much deeper than this. Take healthcare for example; instead of clinical trials and targeted research groups, Big Data analysis could potentially unleash an abundance of insight and knowledge into how we tackle diseases and improve treatment – including those for cancer and diabetes.
Human trafficking, political elections, crime and droughts are all other areas in which Big Data has been mooted to solve complex issues. And investors are rightly starting to take notice. Take London-based DueDil, who provide business, accounting and director information on UK and Irish companies based on Big Data; in March they raised a further £10m in funding from a range of high-profile investors.
HealthTech is another hugely exciting area driving the London tech industry’s growth. In March Deputy Mayor of London Kit Malthouse announced plans to establish London as the ‘HealthTech capital of Europe’ through the establishment of Med City – a sister cluster to Tech City that will form a London-Oxford-Cambridge ‘Golden Triangle’.
The Med City initiative will create thousands of jobs and attract millions of pounds worth of investment, and it is for this reason that Tech London Advocates are running a competition to discover the next generation of HealthTech innovators. Those successful will have the chance to pitch to a group of experienced mentors, and will receive invaluable advice and opportunities along their HealthTech journey.
And in AdTech, London can lay claim to being one of – if not the – most creative city in the world. AdTech accelerators such as The Bakery, an incubator launched in collaboration with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, are helping the next generation of London AdTech start-ups get off the ground and solidify London’s status as a global creative hub.
London’s FinTech start-ups have also experienced huge levels of investment and growth, benefiting from the City’s status as the financial capital of the world. For example, FinTech start-ups in the UK and Ireland raised over £400m in investment between 2008 and 2013, with growth in UK companies outperforming that of Silicon Valley in the same time period.
As a financial services global leader, London offers FinTech start-ups the perfect array of Square Mile talent, experience and infrastructure for them to succeed. Canary Wharf plays host to Level39, Europe’s largest FinTech accelerator space, Barclays Accelerator is powered by TechStars and Startupbootcamp FinTech continues to expand at a rapid pace.
And the rewards are being reaped. Just this morning Santander announced a partnership with peer-to-peer lenders Funding Circle, the first time a High Street bank has offered crowd funding support to small businesses.
For London’s tech industry, right across a whole range of tech sectors, the city is brimming with promising opportunities.
Now it is up to our start-ups to seize the day and take them.


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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WDTV)-- Bass Pro Shops and WestRidge, Inc officials announced on Monday plans to open a new destination retail location to anchor WestRidge Crossing, a new mixed-use development in Morgantown.
According to a press release from Bass Pro Shop, the location will have a Bass Pro Shop, Cabela's and TRACKER Boats and ATVs.
“As a lifelong outdoorsman and fisherman myself, I can tell you that having a Bass Pro Shops store at the new WestRidge development by Morgantown will be a total game-changer for our state,” West Virginia Governor Jim Justice said. “It will make the area an absolute destination location for anyone and everyone who loves the outdoors across the entire region. I can’t wait to visit for myself when it opens.”
The press release says that this building will have a five-story, first-of-its-kind boat display tower that will showcase industry-leading boat. The center will also have a display of wide assortment of new TRACKER OFF ROAD ATV's and side-by-side vehicles.
“We are thrilled to be announcing Bass Pro Shops at WestRidge, where they will be located directly on Interstate 79 – right at the front door of our 1,000-acre mixed-use development,” said Director of Business Development & External Relations for WestRidge Holly Childs.
“The decision by Bass Pro Shops to open their first West Virginia store in Monongalia County speaks volumes about the economic strength of the Morgantown region," said President of Monongalia County Commission Tom Bloom.
The store is expected to employ more than 100 "outfitters" at its new Morgantown location, according to the press release.
The press release says construction timing and opening date will be announced in the following months.


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From Home Furnishing Business
Ikea Founder Steps Down
Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of furniture retailer Ikea, has stepped down and removed himself from all official duties including the company's board.
Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, has resigned from all his formal duties within the company, the first time ever that Kamprad plays no role in its board.
Kamprad was still active in two foundations which own parts of IKEA, but he has resigned from both institutions as well, something that had already been done sometime last year, but the news only leaked out now through the Financial Times. However, he remains an informal advisor to the Ikea Group's board.
Kamprad had already passed on a lot of responsibilities onto his sons these past 10 years and an IKEA spokesperson declared it to be the final step in passing the torch to a new generation.
Read Entire Story Source: Retail Detail


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Hybrid Windows 8 notebooks take off, finally
Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 8, has yet to inspire a wave of consumer adoption of Windows 8 hardware.
But in 2013, hybrid notebooks will finally take off. Microsoft's Surface Pro and the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 will gain traction with business professionals who don't want to compromise on either the convenience of a tablet or the functionality of a laptop.
As Microsoft and its hardware partners succeed, Apple rumor mills will buzz over the possible development of the MacPad, an Apple hybrid said to run iOS X. Apple won't comment on the rumor, but it will issue a blanket order prohibiting its engineers and prototype developers from visiting bars for the next six months.


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It is the most carefully-scrutinised red carpet of the year and welcomes the biggest names in film, fashion and music. So while the Oscars are awarded for the best of Hollywood talent, there's another gong that guests like to keep a close eye on; best dressed.
And with designers all over the world vying to dress the biggest names on the guest list, it is no surprise that a number of gowns worn to previous Oscars ceremonies have earnt a place in fashion history.
Proving to be a particularly popular choice over the years has been Christian Dior, with the likes of Nicole Kidman (1997), Charlize Theron (2005), Jennifer Lawrence (2013) and Reese Witherspoon (2006) all wearing designs by the French fashion house to the event.
Another red carpet favourite is Elie Saab, whose stunning creations have been worn to the annual ceremony by stars such as Emma Stone (2015) and Diane Kruger (2006).
Which fashion house is set to be the most popular this year?
It's hard to say, but with the likes of Alicia Vikander, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence and Rooney Mara on the list of nominees, you won't want to miss it.
Visit standard/fashion on Monday 29th to discover our favourite looks from 2016's ceremony.
See More:Brudklanningar For Stranden


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Corona crisis: Belgium closes stores, restaurants
The Belgian government has issued a number of measures in order to combat the spread of the corona virus. All shops, except those selling food or medicine, must be closed on weekends.
Cafés and restaurants must even close completely, and that at least until 3 April. “Without urgent measures, 2020 will be the year of bankruptcies”, analysts fear.
Belgium is banning sports events and cultural activities, closing schools and shutting down all restaurants for nearly a full month.
Shops selling food are allowed remain open, as are pharmacists, but all other shops must be closed on Saturdays – still by far their best day – and Sundays. Still, it is stressed again that hoarding is and remains pointless; supermarkets do remain open.
Source: Jordan News Agency


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Photo from Unsplash
Massiano Logistics, a leading name in the world of logistics and transportation, is excited to announce its upcoming expansion with the opening of a new facility in Thomasville, North Carolina, on September 1, 2023. This milestone is a major move for Massiano Logistics on its mission to provide quality services and top-notch logistics solutions to its valued clients.
“I am incredibly excited and deeply grateful for the upcoming expansion of our new logistics warehouse in Thomasville, North Carolina. This milestone reflects the dedication and hard work of our entire team at Massiano Logistics. We look forward to continuing this journey and exceeding expectations as we grow together”. Alex Rodriguez, CEO at Massiano Logistics Corp.
This news comes in the wake of many recent initiatives and accomplishments of the company including:
- Massiano Logistics has consistently received industry recognition for its White Glove Delivery services, demonstrating a dedication to handling valuable items with utmost care and attention, especially in the realm of Furniture delivery services.
- The company has established itself as a go-to partner for e-commerce businesses seeking seamless fulfillment services, particularly in Last Mile Delivery. Their innovative approach to order processing, real-time tracking, and accurate order picking has enabled clients to meet the increasing demands of online shoppers and provide threshold delivery options.
About Massiano Logistics:
Massiano Logistics is a leading logistics and transportation company known for its unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional services to a diverse range of industries. With over 10 years in the logistics industry, Massiano Logistics has established itself as a trusted partner in ensuring timely and efficient shipments. As they continue to expand and innovate, their dedication exceeds the expectations every step of the way.


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The official fifa app keeps you fully up to date with live football scores from across the globe, as well as breaking news, exclusive videos and highlights, interviews and featuresget in-depth live coverage of every fifa tournament, from u-17, u-20 men’s and women’s tournaments through beach soccer, esports and futsal to the fifa world cup. Former fifa president sepp blatter says the north american bid to host the 2026 world cup now seems afraid of losing to morocco. Fifa world cup countdown, days until world cup on thursday, 14 june 2018 in moscow, russia fifa world cup countdown widget, design your own fifa world cup countdown clock from a range of countdown widget and ticker designs. A group of undisclosed investors wants to buy an expanded version of fifa’s club world cup, as well as the rights to a proposed national-team league. Allegations of bribery made in a new york court over the 2022 world cup in qatar have included the names of disgraced former fifa grandees such as jack warner and nicolás leoz. Fifa world cup soccer tickets at ticketcity get your tickets today for the world cup qualifier matches and 2018 world cup russia tickets bbb rated a. Store office windows surface xbox deals support more software windows apps onedrive outlook skype onenote.
Fifa has revealed the design for the russia 2018 world cup world football’s governing body said on tuesday that 17 million tickets had already been sold for this summer’s tournament. In one of the most bizarre moments in world cup history, prince fahid of kuwait stomps down from the stands and onto the field to personally protest and successfully overturn a goal scored by france. The fifa world cup, often simply called the world cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the fédération internationale de football association (), the sport's global governing body. Fifa announced that it has sold an additional 394,433 tickets to the world cup in russia following the closure of a three-week sales window. The south american football confederation (conmebol) have told fifa to increase the number of nations competing at the 2022 world cup from 32 to 48 conmebol, which says it has the backing of its 10 member associations, wants more south american nations to be represented in qatar, although fifa.
The park inn by radisson pulkovskaya on tree-lined moskovsk avenue, offers guests convenient access to both the city centre and the airport. Complete list of all winners of the fifa soccer world cup. Download this app from microsoft store for windows 10, windows 81 see screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for world cup. 61m followers, 1,165 following, 5,670 posts - see instagram photos and videos from fifa world cup (@fifaworldcup.
Russia is the world's largest country more than half of the population are football fans or at least follow the sport occasionally fifa world cup. As hosts of the 2018 fifa world cup™, russia have automatically qualified for the tournament. Enter a description of the store front you're creating here.
The fifa world cup trophy finally arrives in nigeria make sure you are “readyfor” the one-of-a-kind tour experience. The 1994 fifa world cup was the 15th fifa world cup, held in nine cities across the united states from 17 june to 17 july 1994. Browse, search and watch fifa world cup videos and more at abcnewscom.
Get the latest fifa world cup 2018 football results, fixtures and video highlights from yahoo sports including live scores, match stats and team news. John oliver's excitement for the world cup is tempered by knowing information about fifa, the organization that produces it john details the problems with t. The 2014 fifa world cup brazil which is taking place between june 12 th to july 13th, 2014 in brazil, is the 19th edition of soccer's most prestigious tournament brazil, having already won five titles, are very strong favorites to win the tournament. Ticket-inclusive hospitality packages for the 2018 fifa world cup russia™ official website of the exclusive hospitality rights holder appointed by fifa.


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NAPA (CBS SF) – The most powerful earthquake to strike the Bay Area in nearly 25 years will likely take a toll on wine industry after rocking the Napa area.
The magnitude 6.0 quake crumbled walls in downtown Napa, sending bricks a debris into the streets and forcing the closure of nearby streets. Nearby, winemakers were rushing to see what damage was done to the region’s most famous export.READ MORE: UPDATE: Woman Accused of Starting Fawn Fire Was Boiling Bear Urine to Drink
“I went in to the winery,” said winemaker Aaron Miller. “A few of the barrels fell, but all of the wine is ok.”
Grocery store shelves did not fare as well:
Nor did some cellars:
Though the epicenter in American Canyon is south of most of the most esteemed Napa Valley wineries, many of the better known vintners store finished bottles much closer to the epicenter, where real estate is more affordable.
The total toll to the the $13 billion dollar Napa wine industry won’t be known for some days. CBS San Francisco will report those findings when the become available.
EXTENDED COVERAGE:MORE NEWS: Frequent 'Fast Trip' Power Outages Spark Outrage Against PG&E In Town Of La Honda


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Millennials are leading the charge in embracing mobile banking, but are also its most impatient users, suggests new Jumio-commissioned research.
The findings come from an online survey, conducted by Javelin Research, of 2,000 US-based digital banking customers. It found that Millennials lead mobile banking adoption, with 47 percent having adopted such services, while Baby Boomers lag at 23 percent. But Millennials are also faster to abandon mobile banking activities, with 43 percent saying they had done so, compared to only 13 percent of Boomers. And Jumio says that the biggest complaints from such individuals about the online banking process were that it either took took too long, or they couldn’t remember their password.
The findings point to two key conclusions: First, that the future of financial services is mobile. It’s the clear favorite of Millennials, and they are only going to grow in importance as a demographic for financial services providers. But the other important takeaway is that mobile services need to have an intuitive and speedy user interface.
That, of course, is what Jumio’s Netverify onboarding process offers, since it leverages a standard mobile camera to apply facial recognition and document reading for remote customer onboarding. The platform is already a clear leader in the financial services sector, and numerous other solutions providers are finding success in offering their own biometric authentication solutions to the financial services industry. Many, clearly, are already adapting to the shift depicted in this latest research, and many more are sure to follow.


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The fight against bad passwords is stepping up a level. Google will now alert you if you're using a password that has been compromised by hackers or leaked as part of a wider data breach.
The feature, Password Checkup, is built into Google's existing password manager, and tells you if you username or password has been compromised in a third-party data breach. Along with this service, Checkup will also tell you if your passwords are being reused across different sites, and recommend if your password should be strengthened.
Password Checkup is built from a Chrome extension launched earlier this year. Google says the extension has been downloaded more than one million times, with nearly half of those users receiving a warning that their password was compromised. In the future, Password Checkup will be built directly into the Chrome browser by default – users will receive the feature without needing to install a separate extension.
Weak passwords continue to be a problem, despite security researchers attempting to improve people's habits for several years. Research from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ, and the Department for Digital, Media and Sport revealed in April that there's still a lack of awareness around the passwords people choose.
Working with security research Troy Hunt, who has created the databreach notification website Have I Been Pwned, the NCSC revealed the 100,000 most commonly used passwords. The top result from 23.2 million accounts? 123456. The string has been the most popular password for several years.
However, even ostensibly more obscure formulations, like 'oreocookie' were seen over 3,000 times. The analysis also found that though 70 per cent of the public always use PINs and passwords for smartphones and tablets, less than half of these do not always use a strong, separate password for their main email account. 89 per cent use the internet to make online purchases – with 39 per cent on a weekly basis, and 42 per cent of Brits expect to lose money to online fraud before 2021.
In its own research, Google has also found more than 4 billion usernames and passwords that have been compromised in third-party breaches.
Weak passwords have a few things in common: they're often repeatedly used across multiple websites, they contain obvious formulations (such as: 'iloveyou'), and can be easily be guessed (or automated) by attackers. The more a password is reused, the greater the risk.
Good password practice involves using a password manager. However, understanding what a secure password looks like can help with improving your online security. Passwords should never contain personal information, they shouldn't involve obvious combinations and they shouldn't be reused. Every password you use should be unique. (Read our guide to creating a strong and secure password for more information).
Google is not the first company to offer this checkup service. The password manager 1Password, started working with Hunt's Have I been Pwned in March 2018. The password manager lets users know if their details are included in previously disclosed data breaches. The Google announcement is important, however. The company's Chrome web browser is the most popular in the world – a default password checked is a giant step forward in the fight against cybercrime.
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Retail sales in the Czech Republic have declined for the thirteenth consecutive month. According to revised data released by the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), retail sales in May showed a year-on-year decline of 6.1%, a slight improvement from April’s decline of 8.4%. However, monthly sales increased by 0.5%.
Compared to May of last year, non-food product sales decreased by 9.2%, while food product sales decreased by 6.4%. On the other hand, sales of motor fuels increased by 11.5%.
The CZSO reported that all types of stores, except those specializing in computer and communication equipment and pharmaceutical and medical products, had lower sales. Sales also increased for non-specialized stores with a predominance of non-food products.
Sales of household products decreased by 16.2% in stores, sales of clothing and footwear decreased by 12.4%, sales of sporting goods decreased by 7.2%, and sales of toiletries decreased by 2.6%. On the other hand, sales of computers and communication devices increased by 2.6%, and sales by pharmacies increased by 1.4%.
Sales of food products decreased by 6.5% in non-specialized stores with a predominance of food products and by 3.6% in specialized food stores. Sales of internet and mail-order stores declined year-on-year for the seventeenth time, this time by 8%.
Sales and repairs of motor vehicles increased by 2.3% year-on-year in May. Customers paid 2.7% more for motor vehicles, including spare parts than a year ago. Repair sales increased by 0.7%.
The decline in retail sales in the Czech Republic has been ongoing for over a year and is a significant concern for the country’s economy. Companies are struggling to recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the CZSO’s data suggests that consumers are still hesitant to spend.


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New Delhi: Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) on Saturday announced it has sold 5,383 units in the domestic market in July 2020 registering a decline of 48 percent as the company is gradually ramping up its production.
The company had dispatched 10,250 units in July’19 in the domestic market whereas June 2020 sales stood at 1,398 units.
The export stood at 282 units last month.
Speaking on the current situation, Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President and Director, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd said, “July was action-packed for us as we launched 3 models - New WR-V, Civic BS-6 Diesel and All-New 5th Generation Honda City, which have helped us create excitement in the market and improve buying sentiment.”
Goel further added, “We gradually ramped up our production to 60% of the pre-COVID level in July and despatched the entire available factory stock with us, registering a sequential growth of 285% over June’20. With festive season ahead of us, we are quite positive about the industry getting back on track gradually.”
"ICVs are seeing a spurt in demand and this is the best time to introduce our proven I-Gen6 BS-VI technology in one of our best-selling brands in the portfolio. These launches will further strengthen our portfolio and help us achieve our vision of being in the global top 10 CV makers," Vipin Sondhi said.


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The Transport Exchange Group (TEG) Road Transport Price Index shows again that the average PPM for freight transport vehicles jumped from 100.6 points to 112.2 points between March 2021 and March 2022.
A spokesman for the group said its figures reflected increases brought about by Brexit, driver shortages and high fuel prices, as well as the knock-on effects of the Ukraine invasion, noting a significant jump of 2.6 points in February to March alone.
The supply chain is coming under severe stress due to the war and rising energy costs and it's reported that some manufacturers were experiencing shortages of components produced in Russia.
Lyall Cresswell, TEG chief executive, said: “There are so many factors pushing road freight costs up right now, and the war in Ukraine is adding to an already uncertain situation.
“Unfortunately, there’s no end to the conflict in sight, so its knock-on effects will continue for some time. The cost of living won’t plummet overnight either.
“However, governments are pulling various levers to alleviate the situation and ease supply chain issues.
“How quickly we see any results is another matter, of course, and events remain unpredictable,” he added.


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Scrap thieves are risking death by electrocution to obtain precious metals. Copper miners in Peru went on a five-day strike in April, demanding a greater share of record profits. And in a chemicals-cost report released in May, consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Co. offered an ominous warning regarding the future of U.S. manufacturing if chemicals prices keep increasing. The reason for all these activities is rising raw materials prices, and manufacturers continue to grapple with what seems to be a never-ending trend.
In fact, P&G predicts "wide-reaching losses" for U.S. manufacturers unless the federal government loosens restrictions on the exploration of natural gas, a critical raw material in chemicals used in many P&G products. Some of these losses could include reduced research and development efforts, as costs increase faster than manufacturers can implement process improvements or technology-based solutions, notes Keith Harrison, P&G's global product supply officer, in a forward to "The Hidden Backbone of U.S. Manufacturing: Weakening Under Chemical Cost and Supply Pressures," authored by AMR Research and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). In the report, 90% of the 165 respondents say they're experiencing chemical cost increases, including 62% who say the increases are substantial.Some manufacturers are responding with plant shutdowns and increased offshoring, according to William Canis, acting president of The Manufacturing Institute, the research and education arm of NAM.
"There are a lot of chemicals that are made with oil, but a large chunk of feedstocks come out of the natural gas sector," Canis says. "It's one reason why Dow [Chemical] has shuttered a lot of plants and is building no new ones." Dow Chemical has closed 20 plants in recent years, partly because of rising U.S. energy costs, according to the report. Dow also has seen energy costs increase from 29% of its overall spend in 2002 to 50% in 2005, the AMR/NAM study concludes. At the same time, metals prices continue to increase, with copper hovering around the $7,000 per metric ton mark, compared with approximately $1,500 per metric ton in 2003. Other metals, including zinc, steel and nickel, have also risen substantially. Platinum prices rose 14% in 2006 over the previous year, partly due to an increase in demand for use in light-duty diesel vehicle autocatalysts, according to catalyst manufacturer Johnson Matthey. There is some potential good news, though. Commodity prices may be at or near their peak, says Dan Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, an executive education and business research organization. For instance, copper has fallen from its May 2006 high of $8,800 per metric ton, and steel also has likely reached its peak price, according to Meckstroth.
Joe Breunig, BASF Corp.
In some cases, manufacturers are finding lower-priced substitutes or engineering certain metals out. As an example, some manufacturers are getting by using carbon steel, which costs substantially less than stainless steel. Others are substituting aluminum for copper, zinc and other more costly metals. When substitution or reduction isn't an option, manufacturers are examining their supplier contracts and establishing long-term agreements or buying in bulk to take advantage of price discounts.
Copper price volatility makes short-term forecasting challenging for Highland Heights, Ky.-based fiber cable manufacturer General Cable Corp., which uses copper, aluminum and polyethylene in its products. But strong supplier relationships have helped the company manage pricing pressures, says Brian Schulties, General Cable's vice president of sourcing.
Part of General Cable's supplier relationship strategy includes providing lean training to vendors at the company's cost with the understanding that they'll use those tools to improve their pricing and performance, according to Schulties. In addition to price, the company measures a supplier's lead times, quality (defects per million) and technology investments.
"It comes down to much more of a long-term strategy than, What am I paying for this widget today?' It's, What am I going to pay for that widget five years from now, and what is that widget going to look like?'" he explains.
Agreements also come into play. Contract length with suppliers varies depending on order size. That means if General Cable has a multimillion-dollar agreement with a particular customer, the company may require a multiyear agreement with its supplier because of the value of the deal, Schulties says. For the most part, General Cable hasn't run into much resistance from suppliers in response to its contract requirements. If there are issues, it's typically because the supplier is experiencing stability problems.
"We aren't going to do things like what some of the automotive outfits did historically or some of the larger equipment manufacturers are doing, like asking for 5% year-over-year cost reductions on an ongoing basis," says Scott King, manager of manufacturing operations for Gorman-Rupp. "We've been very much focused on Purchasing 101. We focus on the relationship being solid for the long term."
Simply put, the company pays its bills on time, King says. "We know that gets us extra attention from a delivery standpoint, and we're confident that gives us an advantage from a pricing standpoint as well. Beyond that, we focus on just good old-fashioned negotiation." Since the company produces high-mix/low-volume quantities that don't produce high-volume profit for vendors, it seeks suppliers that are accustomed to its industry, according to King.
Like General Cable, Gorman-Rupp enhances its relationship with suppliers by helping its vendors improve efficiency. The company invites suppliers into its headquarters and shares with them a scorecard that monitors pricing, quality levels and on-time delivery. "Rather than bring folks together where the beatings occur, as some other organizations handle it, we treat it as an opportunity to get our expectations out in front of folks and fairly let them know what it is that we're asking for and give them an opportunity to ask questions and respond," King says.
In some cases, manufacturers may consider bringing suppliers on board with their research and development operations to help reduce costs, says MAPI's Meckstroth. "That's primarily what they do -- work with the supplier, get them involved in the engineering process so the supplier can help develop new products." The supplier also can help determine where the manufacturer is using too much of a particular material.
Even with supplier cooperation, manufacturers still face pricing pressures that are beyond their trading partners' control. This is when manufacturers turn their attention toward alternative materials and creating in-house efficiencies.
Florham Park, N.J.-based BASF Corp., the North American affiliate of chemical giant BASF AG, is exploring several different options to address rising raw materials costs. In addition to chemicals, the company produces plastics, coatings, agricultural products and fine chemicals.
BASF has raised prices on several products in the past few months because of "unprecedented costs for raw materials." To offset rising energy costs, the company has integrated, or co-located, several plants so that waste streams at one plant are transferred into fuel for another facility, says Joe Breunig, executive vice president and president of market and business development for BASF Corp. As an example, the company's Freeport, Texas, acrylic acid facility generates large amounts of heat that are captured and used to produce steam that's supplied to another plant.
Another way BASF hopes to mitigate raw materials costs is through the development of alternative raw materials. The company has five major R&D growth platforms, three of which directly address the raw materials situation, Breunig says. They include testing of plant biotechnology and industrial biotechnology, which will not only address traditional raw materials costs but energy sources as well.
"We have a number of things in the discovery phase at the moment," Breunig explains. "The ideas are to find alternatives. There's a big push toward bioethanol and biodiesel. These types of things can be leveraged a lot of different ways to look at how some of these types of processes might be used in basic chemistry." Most of the company's biotechnology efforts have been focused on the agricultural side of its business.
While composite materials are always a possibility, the reality is some of them have experienced the same cost increases as traditional products, says King of Gorman-Rupp. That being said, it's unavoidable that some costs will have to be passed on to customers. If that is indeed the case, Tom Seymour, vice president of marketing and sales for Gorman-Rupp, says his company will need to focus on providing additional value to the customer so the higher-priced products are "somewhat more palatable."


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Significant decrease in mobile malware, Lookout reports
16 January 2015, Jo Prowse, Acting Chief Executive
Mobile security provider Lookout issued today its 2014 Mobile Threat Report noting a decrease in malware in the UK. While in most parts of the world malware threats are still on the rise, in the UK there have been significant drops especially in chargeware (45% decrease), adware (61% decrease) and malware (60% decrease).
This goes to show that our efforts for strong and effective regulation in partnership with the information security and PRS industry, together with consumer education and assistance can make a real difference.
It is even more encouraging to see a global mobile security expert like Lookout acknowledging the results of our regulation efforts: ‘(…) a year-over-year decline in chargeware and malware encounter rates in the U.K. suggests this may be a decreasingly effective monetization path given countermeasures by regulatory bodies like PhonepayPlus.’ (Lookout, 2014 Mobile Threat Report)
Last month we issued fines totaling up £330,000 to three companies breaching the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice whose malware apps would charge the users’ phone bills without their consent. Separately to the apps, monitoring by our investigations team also found that some consumers interacted with the services through a WAP link sent to their mobile phone, the majority having been sent a link after their details had been obtained from marketing lists. All three companies were unable to show that they had obtained consumers’ consent to charge them.
PhonepayPlus is continuously working to monitor and counter mobile malware that misuses premium rate services and when required we will take robust action to protect UK consumers and the digital economy.


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Naloxone, the life-saving antidote to opioid overdose, will for the first time be available over-the-counter to the public on big box store shelves and online perhaps as soon as next week, maker Emergent Biosolution announced.
Under the brand name Narcan, the drug will first be available online and in drugstores including Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart, and CVS with a retail cost of about $44.99 for a two-dose carton, CNN reports. No prescription will be required.
The call to make the drug readily available has grown louder as the rate of opioid overdoses has been soaring. The New York Times reported that there have been more than 100,000 overdose deaths each of the past two years in the United States.
Narcan has been a critical tool for emergency teams and street outreach organizations. Scientists and health officials hope that it will become readily available in libraries, dorms, corner delis, and street vending machines, the Times said.
The hope is that it will also be a staple in home medicine cabinets as recreational street drugs like cocaine and fake Xanax pills often are spiked with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid many times more potent than heroin.
The FDA approved Narcan as an over-the-counter drug last March. It will be sold in the form of a nasal spray that can counteract the effects of opioid overdose in minutes, CNN reported.


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Throughout The Car Industry
NHTSA Expands Probe, Chrysler Holds Breath
Late last year a Lake Mary, Florida accident rose to the attention of national media. A 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee was involved in a rear-end collision, and then proceeded to explode and roast a 24-year-old male caught in a series of tragic, and unexpected, events. And, while heart-wrenching, the incident reached critical media mass not because of the vehicle, driver, or ensuing disaster. Instead, it seemed that the accident verified AND fueled an investigation already underway by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – which started a full year before, in August 2010.
Even so, up until recently, the NHTSA was set on evaluating only 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees. Apparently though, after a half year, the NHTSA has finally decided to broaden the scope of the agency’s investigation to include the 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty and…you guessed it…the 1993-2001 Jeep Cherokee. That brings the total to a whopping 5.1 million Chrysler vehicles.
The heart of the debate is the location of Chrysler’s fuel tanks. In older models, mostly made before 2005, the company placed plastic fuel tanks behind the rear axle and slightly below the rear bumper. The Center for Auto Safety alleges that such a location makes the tank more prone to leak or rupture during an impact.
Without a recall, or safety notice, in 2005 Chrysler starting moving affected vehicles’ fuel tanks in between the axles, and moved spare tires into the vehicle’s rear compartment. But, of course, retrospective safety changes are not to be considered evidence of product liability. Boo…
The Center for Auto Safety has also found that the total number of fatal vehicle fires associated with 1993-2004 Grand Cherokees is roughly four times greater than from different brands of SUV.
In the meantime, though, Chrysler has conducted an investigation as well. After 21,000 rear impacts in company and peer vehicles, there was no increased safety risk found. David Dillon, Chrysler’s head of product investigations and campaigns, said Wednesday that the tanks are “neither defective nor do their fuel systems pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.”
As with any agency investigation, the NHTSA’s probe will likely take a lot longer than most Chrysler owners are willing to wait. But applying some common logic here: we’re talking about a plastic tank, filled with explosive liquid, strapped near a heavy-duty impact zone.
If you own a vehicle with a rear-mounted plastic gas tank, now is a good time to (a) move it elsewhere or (b) visit the local dealership for a trade-in.
Posted In: Car News, Good, Bad & Ugly, Miscellaneous, Reports, Safety
Tags: NHTSA, probe, investigation, expand, expands, Chrysler, breath, explode, fuel, tank, rear, plastic, gas
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When Vishwajit Pureti, Pallavi Tipparaju and Ashish Singh graduated, they faced problems not uncommon to young professionals – they didn’t know how to manage money, how EMIs worked, how they could save, the different financial options available and so on.
“We ended up making decisions without any background knowledge. Everyone needs to save, but no one is taught how to do it in school,” Vishwajit tells TNM. The trio then decided to change that.
In a bid to help make the next generation more financially literate, the techies founded Pencilton in Hyderabad in 2017, a platform for children to learn money management and be more financially responsible. While they registered the company in 2017, they came on board full time last year.
One may wonder – why children? It was in line with former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan's view that financial literacy education needs to be included for school children, says Vishwajit. "If we want to solve this problem, we start with young children. You just need to give them a push and they will learn it for the long run,” Vishwajit says.
And Pencilton, which is also part of T-Hub's Lab32 program, is doing that by replacing traditional piggy banks with their platform. On Pencilton, children can learn finance management using pocket money that parents give them. “Most kids get pocket money. Parents also give them piggy banks to save money. We are just making it more efficient,” Vishwajit says.
(L-R) Vishwajit, Pallavi and Ashish
Over the last six months, Pencilton did extensive research and pilots with various schools to discern how they could teach kids these concepts in an age-appropriate manner. Armed with those insights, the company wants to teach children two things: money management and personal finance.
While personal finance may sound complicated even for some grownups, the idea is to teach kids the very basics of financial discipline – how they can save, where they can put their money, and so on. The startup is developing an app where these will be taught in a gamified manner through tasks and challenges. Parents too, can create saving goals for their children.
“Say a kid wants to buy a cricket bat. The parent can create a saving goal of maybe Rs 500. And when the kid reaches that goal, the parent can additionally match the amount and buy them the bat,” Vishwajit explains.
The Pencilton Card
Pencilton has come up with a pre-paid card that can be issued to children. Parents can disburse a child’s monthly allowance by just loading the card via Pencilton’s app. The idea here is to teach children money management on an everyday basis through real-life situations.
Children can use this Visa-powered card for withdrawals and daily transactions. This also gives children an early introduction to using debit cards and banking systems. However, Vishwajit says that it is a restricted card that does not allow children to buy things like alcohol.
For parents, Pencilton provides insights into their children’s spending habits with a monthly report based on how the card is used. Pencilton claims that a child’s privacy will be protected where a transaction-by-transaction breakup of the child’s expenditure will not be shown; the insights will come in categories such as spending, savings, impulse purchases and planned purchases.
“This report is built with algorithms that use details of transactions made on the child’s card, to come up with unique behavioural analysis of the child’s spending habits. We then also tell the kids if they need to be saving more or even saving less,” Vishwajit adds.
What the homepage of the parent version of the app will look like
Since issuing a card requires a banking license, Pencilton is in talks with a few top banks in India to partner with.
“In fact, I believe that banks stand to gain more. While they have license and we have cards, we are giving banks potential customers since these children will eventually have to open bank accounts,” Vishwajit says.
While the card has not officially been launched yet, Pencilton has opened pre-bookings for parents to register for the card. Vishwajit says that they already have requests for 250 cards within the family and friends circle and over 250 more requests through the website.
Pencilton will earn revenue by charging parents a subscription fee for the app, its gamified modules and insights. It also covers the one-time cost of the pre-paid card.
Pencilton’s vision is to help kids across Indian metros manage their pocket money. It hopes to expand to other countries as well.
“Pocket money given to kids amounts to over $10 billion just in India. That is a huge untapped potential that we want to tap by teaching kids about money. We want to make piggy banks redundant by becoming every kid’s piggy bank,” Vishwajit says.


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MVMT has broken records ever since launching their Indiegogo campaign. Their latest record? Being acquired for $100 million. Learn more about Indiegogo and how you can become the next crowdfunding success story.Learn More About Crowdfunding
MVMT makes affordable, fashionable watches for people around the worldhttps://mvmtwatches.com
Los Angeles, California
Jake Kassan, Kramer LaPlante
If there’s no time like the present, MVMT is making full use of every second. As one of the watch industry’s hottest new brands, MVMT is changing what it means to make timepieces, proving that with a good idea and a strong following on Indiegogo you can build an empire, and be acquired for $100 million, in no time at all.
Six years ago, MVMT started as a simple idea in Jake Kassan’s mind. He believed that owning a high-quality, good-looking watch shouldn’t have to break the bank. And as Kassan looked around, he observed that few of his fellow millennials wore watches, largely because they lacked affordable, sophisticated options.
When Kassan and his friend Kramer LaPlante began to research the market, they realized that by cutting out the traditional middlemen of retail and distributing watches primarily online, they could sell stylish, well-made watches for under $100, or about half the price of other entry-level watches.
So Kassan and LaPlante formed MVMT, the first company to offer high-quality, fashion-forward watches at an affordable price point.
But a major obstacle stood between the MVMT team and their vision of a more accessible watch market. Banks were unwilling to loan them the money they needed to get the business off the ground.
“We knew we were onto something, but banks don’t typically just take your word for it, especially when you’re 23,” Kassan says. “For us, crowdfunding just made sense.”
That’s when the MVMT team turned to Indiegogo. Crowdfunding offered a perfect platform to obtain an initial stream of capital, directly from the consumers they’d be selling to, in order to launch their business.
Before their campaign launched, MVMT put together a growth hack marketing approach to drum up excitement. “We told everyone we’d ever met to support the campaign,” Kassan says. “We even went to college fraternities to get them to support us on day one. We told literally everyone.”
And it worked. Within two weeks, they raised over $15,000, and the momentum caught the eye of Indiegogo’s audience of millions of early adopters, who contributed to the campaign en masse. After two months, MVMT had $300,000 in their company coffers.
The injection of cash gave MVMT the runway they needed to take their idea from an interesting prototype to a fully fledged business. With the funds raised on Indiegogo, the MVMT team perfected their designs, found suppliers for their watch movements, and built their website — all which allowed them to sell their first units and start bringing in revenue. And perhaps best of all, they already had 3,000 backers from their Indiegogo campaign to serve as their initial customer base.
Ever since, Kassan’s hunch about high-quality, well-priced watches has proved wildly correct, and MVMT has become a rocketship. After just two years, Forbes named MVMT “the world’s fastest-growing watch company,” and today MVMT brings in over $80 million in revenue annually.
MVMT was so successful, in fact, that incumbent watch companies began clamoring for a piece of the action. In 2018, Movado Group, producer of Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, and Lacoste watches, acquired MVMT for $100 million.
“We didn’t realize it at the time, but getting rejected by venture capital firms was a blessing in disguise,” Kassan says. “Crowdfunding allowed us to retain 100% independence and build the company we wanted, without being beholden to people who might not share the same vision. Indiegogo made it all possible.”
Thanks to their campaign’s success on Indiegogo, Kassan and LaPlante are shaking the watch market to its very foundations, and have made a pretty penny doing it. Going directly to their consumers for backing, they proved their detractors wrong and have reshaped the way people think about watches.
“With crowdfunding, there’s nothing stopping you from turning your ideas into something big,” Kassan says. “Almost every day, I see people walking down the street wearing products we built from nothing. It’s completely unreal, and it’s the most fulfilling thing in the world.”


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Major Concert Announcement
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band will launch their 2017 North American Tour later this summer, and will play the iWireless Center on Saturday August 26.
The tour announcement comes on the heels of the highly-anticipated show at Pine Knob selling out in 9 minutes during the pre-sale.
Tickets for the Moline date go on sale starting Friday, June 9. Ticket prices are $48.00, $78.00, and $98.00 and go on sale Friday, June 9 at Noon. Tickets will be available at the iWireless Center box office, by phone at 800-745-3000, and at www.ticketmaster.com.
Bob Seger fan club members will have special access to purchase tickets in advance on the Tuesday before each scheduled on-sale. To become a Bullet Club member, visit BobSeger.com. Tickets can be purchased at BobSeger.com and LiveNation.com.
Just this week Seger’s GREATEST HITS album was certified diamond by the RIAA for achieving 10 million units sold in the U.S.
In 2015, Seger was honored with Billboard’s “Legend of Live” award at the 12th annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards for his significant and lasting impact on the touring industry.


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>> Deals on wheels in China on Monday, the country's number one taxi app Didi Chuxing confirming its buying Uber's Chinese business, creating a $35 billion powerhouse. The two have been locked in a bruising price war for a long time, but with more than 11 million rides a day, Didi has always been miles ahead in China.
Reuter's Jake Spring says this is a deal that works for both sides.>> There's been speculation of a tie up between Uber and Didi since last year, at least. And last week in earlier, there were reports that was pressure from investors for some sort of decant between the two companies because they were spending billions to subsidize rides in attempt to gain more market share.
Both companies have been spending upwards of a billion dollars on subsidies for rides to offer them a cut rate prices, in order to gain market share. Uber had been gaining ground, but Didi still had about 87% market share, so it was a costly and slow battle. So, this merger could potentially put an end to that.
>> Uber will take a 20% stake in the new combined business, shareholders in Uber China will also get the same, and Didi will plow a billion dollars into the U.S. company. It's called the makings of a good deal for investors, but this tie-up may not be such good news for the people actually using the service.
>> Well, it's hard to say exactly what both companies will do, but the logic goes that they'll have less pressure to subsidize rides, so ride costs to the end user would increase.>> The deal comes at a convenient time for online cab services in China. They were just made officially legal last week, and no longer have to operate in the grey area they once did.
A long awaited move for a booming industry in the world's number one car market.


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Today Kotaku has learned there are three possible buyers interested in Midway Games, the developer and publisher responsible for the hit series Mortal Kombat as well as Ms. Pac-Man, Spy Hunter and Tron.
According to the article Warner Bros, Ubisoft and a private Chicago investor are all interested in buying the bankrupt company. Ubisoft have reportedly been in talks with Midway for some weeks now and a vice president at Warner Bros visited the company for talks just last week.
The news comes as a surprise to many, as previously mentioned the company filed for chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code in February this year. Midway owes creditors $281 million in liabilities; however the company only claims $167.5 million in assets. It was later revealed Midway were contemplating selling the rights to their largest franchise, Mortal Kombat, however they uphold the decision didn't come easy.
"We're not going out of our way to sell Mortal Kombat," Geoff Mogilner (head of investor relations at Miday) told EDGE last month. However last week it was revealed the 50 staff of Mortal Kombat want to leave Midway due to unpaid bonuses from the recent title 'Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe'.
Kotaku contacted Midway this morning for a comment however the company declined, refusing to comment on rumours or speculation. Kotaku's sources believe Warner Bros are the most likely candidate to buy the publisher/developer.


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Undaunted by the global pandemic, four alumni of the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) launched small businesses throughout Kentucky last year. Recognizing need and seeing opportunity, these innovators took risks and solved problems.
Their businesses are building a better Kentucky economy and helping reverse a trend that’s seen the number of new companies in the U.S. drop 44% since 1978. While entrepreneurs ages 20-34 have declined from 34% in 1997 to 25% currently, according to the Kauffman Foundation and the Brookings Institution, GSE is committed to reversing these trends in Kentucky. And it’s working.
“Team Kentucky focuses support on entrepreneurs who will build a stronger, better economy for the commonwealth’s future. Their innovative and entrepreneurial efforts are creating an ecosystem in Kentucky that can attract talent and investors,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “These GSE alumni and their continued commitment to the ecosystem highlight the strength of Kentucky’s next generation of entrepreneurs and provide the state additional momentum for the future of startups in the commonwealth. Theirs is the kind of initiative and courage that exemplifies Team Kentucky.”
Anneli White, a 2019 GSE alum from Martha Layne Collins High School in Shelby County, launched Anneli White Designs last year. Anneli knew that even amid the pandemic, the time was right to chase her dream of selling custom designed notecards, stickers, apparel and more.
“During the summer, I received 240-plus hours of collegiate-level entrepreneurship training, heard from business owners and startups from across the region, and gained a family of coaches and friends who believed in me at Kentucky’s prestigious business boot camp – GSE. It was there where my business dreams were confirmed and I began planning for my business’ future,” she said.
Riley Mayberry, a 2020 GSE alum from Louisville Collegiate School in Jefferson County, brought a long-time vision to fruition with the launch of Riley's Pantry – Snacks for Diabetics, a monthly subscription service that curates snacks for Type 1 diabetics.
“Launching a business takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but I also learned that it is achievable,” Mayberry said. “Before GSE I felt like launching a business was this insurmountable thing that only certain people could do, but my experience launching Riley’s Pantry taught me anyone can do it if they put in the work.”
In Kenton County, Paige Neuhaus founded Prints by Paige, a business focused on crafting custom gifts.
“Due to the support I received during and after GSE, I knew the only thing holding me back from launching a business was myself, and not a pandemic. Because if there is one thing that stuck with me at GSE it would be that entrepreneurs embrace problems, not hide from them,” said Neuhaus, a 2020 GSE alum from Notre Dame Academy in Park Hills, Ky. “There comes a time where you have to stop planning for the worst and start doing your best. You’ll most likely encounter obstacles or failures, but let those guide you and not discourage you.”
Cam Lasley, a 2017 GSE alum from LaRue County High School, recognized a need in his rural county: access to high speed, affordable internet service. He founded Telecast Communications.
“I launched my company in 2020 when COVID-19 hit our state the hardest because everyone needs access to reliable, high-speed broadband,” he said. “With the massive increase in families working from home, the demand for bandwidth and access to the internet skyrocketed. Old DSL service just wasn't cutting it anymore, so we built our own Internet service provider company, Telecast Communications.”
Since 2013, the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs has served entrepreneurially minded teens throughout Kentucky. While all participants gain vital entrepreneurial skills through the program to use as they enter the workplace or continue into higher education, 15-plus new businesses have already been launched by GSE alumni. Others have filed for patents and developed new ideas and relationships that sow the seeds for more business formation. Dozens of alumni have chosen to enroll in entrepreneurial programs at Kentucky universities and attribute this decision to the inspiration they received by attending GSE in high school.
“While the three-week GSE experience is transformative and deeply impactful for our teens, their journey with our organization truly begins after the residential experience,” said Tasha Sams, executive director of Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs. “We continue to mentor our entrepreneurs, to connect them with our statewide entrepreneurial partners, and to inspire them to pursue entrepreneurship. Now, more than ever, young entrepreneurs are needed to help sustain and rebuild Kentucky’s economy, and GSE is where that journey starts for them.”
Parents, educators, entrepreneurs and teens who believe grit, a growth mindset and creativity in problem solving tell as much about a young person as good grades and test scores, can learn more about the Governor’s School of Entrepreneurs at www.KentuckyGSE.com.
Thanks to strong partnerships with entities including the Kentucky Workforce and Education Development Cabinet, the Cabinet for Economic Development, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky and numerous public and private supporters like The Marksbury Family Foundation, and Nate Morris of Rubicon Global, GSE is completely free for selected entrepreneurs. Alumni of GSE gain access to a host of scholarship opportunities, high school class credit and a statewide network of entrepreneurial support.


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The market for tech products for aging baby boomers is expected to balloon to $20 billion by 2020. Here are some of the best
Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images
- The number of Americans over the age of 60 will double by 2060 - from 46 million today to 98 million - according to a 2016 report.
- Scientists said people are living much longer than ever before, too. Some tech companies have been tackling aging and conditions like dementia that often affect the elderly.
- It's a nice change from the past, when tech products were aimed primarily at younger users and left many older users confused.
Our elders may be wise in years but they're not always very tech savvy, as anyone who's had to provide tech support to an uncle or grandparent can attest.
But tech products are starting to become more senior-friendly. New innovations, like voice recognition, touch screens and sensors, are making the power of digital technology more accessible to older people. The market for tech products aimed at people aged 60 and over is set to swell by $20 billion in the next two years.
The best tech products for elders need to serve a real purpose in the lives of their users, many of whom may suffer from Alzheimer's or other forms of cognitive impairment - there's no room for superfluous gizmos or useless apps.
This is where apps like Papa and products like Jiobit come in. They answer simple questions like "Where did Grandma wander off to?" and "Who can take Dad to the doctor?" When it comes to tech products for seniors, use will overshadow flash every time.
Check out some the best new, as well as tried-and-true, tech products and services for older adults:


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While the eternal battle between Android manufacturers and Apple continues to be prevalent, with each looking to see who can manufacture a better device, who copies the other and who can sell the most. Another more subtle battle is continuing between the two platforms. This is the battle of the app stores. While it is understood (and continually reinforced with each new monthly and quarterly report) that Apple's App Store continues to dominate in terms of revenue generated from app downloads, it is also as equally understood that Google's Play Store is dominant in terms of number of downloads. While Google cannot yet offer the same amount of revenue as Apple's App Store does, it certainly can ensure a greater level of downloads and customer hands-on with developer's apps.
What's more, it seems Google have further plans to see and help developers obtain even more downloads in the near future. A new report from The Information (source link below) states that Google is likely to introduce an A/B testing option for developers and for their apps on the Play Store. For those unfamiliar with A/B testing, the basic idea is that developers have the option to switch up elements of their app listing while the app is live and available to downloads. In short, this could mean that developers could instantly change the price, the icon, coloring and other details. All with a view to seeing and testing whether one change results in more downloads than the other. For instance, the A/B testing will allow developers to change the price of the app and compare the results to see which price is 'considered' (defined as number of downloads) to be more appropriate by the public. In fact, A/B testing could result, in overall complete different app store listings. One page being the initial and standard 'control' page, which is known as 'A' and the other being completely different in all respects and providing the 'experimental' comparative page, aka the 'B' page.
The actual implementation is unlikely to affect the end-user in any great detail, but will provide a greater level of insight for developers in how to more effectively price structure or display their apps, to obtain a greater level of app download returns. Not to mention, as A/B testing is not currently offered by Apple or Google, this will see Google being the first major app store to offer the testing and further might encourage app developers to list their apps on the Play Store. Of course, at the moment this is still unconfirmed, but the source report does also suggest Google are planning to unveil the A/B testing option at their I/O event at the end of this month.