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Rim Runners offers shoes, accessories, advice for distance runners
Payson Roundup (April 9, 2019) by Keith Morris
Margaret de Hesse knows a thing or two about distance running. We’re not talking marathons either. No, longer than that.
“I’m an ultrarunner,” said de Hesse. “These are typically all trail races in the U.S. and internationally of at least 50 miles. There are many 50-kilometer (31.24 miles) and 100-K (62.5 miles) races. And 100-mile and now 200-mile races are starting to gain popularity in the U.S.”
de Hesse, 63, a native of Australia, and her husband, Ted, moved to Phoenix about 30 years ago and visited Payson most weekends for about seven years before deciding to become year-round residents of Payson about a year ago.
She recently opened Rim Runners at 807 S. Beeline Highway. The store sells running shoes and accessories.
“It’s basically running, hiking, walking shoes and accessories like hydration packs, insoles, socks, sunglasses, Arizona Trail information and maps,” she said.
“We’ve been working closely with the Arizona Trail Association (ATA). The idea is to support the through-hikers that come through Payson and the Tonto Basin area. We can go out and help them on the trail. The ATA keeps track of them when they go through and we’re just promoting the association and the trail.”
To read the rest of the article, click here.


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T he core focus of Event Tech Live was to allow event professionals the opportunity to demonstrate innovative new products in the market, helping deliver fantastic events, whether that be a festival, exhibition, or corporate hospitality. It was also a great opportunity to network in a spacious, open venue, helping visitors and exhibitors freely explore the different stands, taking a look at the range of event solutions on offer today.
Throughout the duration of the day, the show hosted a number of speakers, discussing different aspects of event technology, whether that be social media importance within an event, how to deliver personalised experiences in events or ways to further engage at events.
The show also hosted Live Tech Demos from exhibitors at the show, an ideal platform to get up and show an audience just exactly what the product can do. Our very own CEO, Chris Branson went up on stage to demonstrate Current RMS to those event rental businesses attending the show, interested in learning more about rental management software and the benefits of operating in the cloud. All Tech Demos were recorded and will be up on the Event Tech Live site soon but for now, take a look at speaker interviews from the show and a few snaps captured throughout the day.
As well as the support ETL provides to new event technology, the team also hosted Event Tech Awards 2014 that evening at The Troxy, honouring those events and suppliers that are innovating new products, continuing to push back the boundaries of event technology. Congratulations to all nominees and winners of the night, for a full list, visit the Event Tech Awards site.
See below for a few of our own snaps from ETL and ETA 2014.

domain: news


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Posted on August 26th, 2009 No comments
PCI Columnist David Taylor has, for years, counseled retailers to hire quality QSAs and avoid the low-cost easy graders, who will pass for cash. But the latest comments by the PCI Council and MasterCard and making Taylor rethink that advice.
Read the original here:
Re-Thinking PCI Assessor Selection: Does Quality Matter?


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The Miracle Christmas pop-up bar is returning to Tin Widow for the first time since the pandemic
Tin Widow is welcoming back the official Miracle Christmas pop-up experience for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the celebration in 2020 and unforeseen circumstances kept it from returning in 2021.
"We're very excited," said Sam Berman, co-owner of Tin Widow, 703 S. Second St. "While it is a very different presentation than what the Tin Widow is known for, it is a special part of our year. It takes a lot of preparation and a lot of care."
Berman said over the last two years they had come up with new Christmas decoration ideas that patrons will be able to enjoy at this year's Miracle pop-up.
"We are just excited to have the holiday spirit be a part of our season again," Berman said.
More than 100 bars across the country participate in the Miracle pop-up, which started at Mace bar in New York City.
The bars all share cocktail menus while creating their own unique décor.
One new cocktails on the menu includes Grandma Got Runover by A T-Rex, made with vodka, orange liqueur, gentian aperitif, aloe vera, spiced pomegranate and grapefruit mix, lime, and aromatic bitters.
Returning cocktails include the Snowball Old-Fashioned made with rye whiskey, gingerbread, aromatic bitters, wormwood bitters and orange essence, and Jingle Balls Nog made with cognac, cream sherry, almond milk, cream, egg, vanilla and nutmeg.
The Tin Widow's pop-up will start Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving, and end on Christmas Day. It is open from 7 p.m. to bar close daily.
For more information visit www.facebook.com/TinWidow.


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An error in a 28 June notification where only lawyers and law firms that provided “representational services” were exempt from goods and services tax (GST) was recently rectified as a result of a petition filed by law firm JK Mittal & Co in Delhi High Court.
The Department of Revenue issued a correction on 25 September, which stated that GST would be applicable on a reverse charge basis on services “provided by an individual advocate including a senior advocate or firm of advocates by way of legal services, directly or indirectly”. It said that legal services include “advice, consultancy or assistance in any branch of law, in any manner, and includes representational services”.
A 19 May meeting of the GST Council – a joint forum of central and state governments that makes recommendations on important issues related to GST – had recommended that GST be applicable only on a reverse charge basis for legal services as a whole. However, the 28 June notification had limited it to “representational services before any court, tribunal or authority”. JK Mittal & Co had challenged the constitutional validity of the notification.
In an interim order passed on 12 July, a two-judge bench of Delhi High Court had directed that “no coercive action be taken against any lawyer or law firms” until the government clarified the discrepancy.


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San Luis business owners organizing events
SAN LUIS — Boughtbytheblood Designs and Tres Loco Gear is presenting several events in the coming months.
Oct. 14 is a 3-on-3 double-knockout basketball tournament, co-sponsored by a new retail business in town, Enlightened SLVCo. Daniel Valdez, one of the owners, is hosting that event. The basketball tournament is at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the San Luis town pavilion.
Boughtbytheblood Designs is having a Halloween festival and trunk or treat Oct. 29. The fun begins at 1 p.m. with Mouth of the South DJ Bombito. There will be vendors selling custom T-shirts, food and drink. People can bring their decorated cars and self for the Halloween costume contest.
The People's Market across from the pavilion in San Luis is in on the Oct. 29 fun. They will have a Haunted Hayride and Haunted House. There will be games, and an ice cream vendor. A haunted Halloween movie will be shown at 6 p.m. at the town pavilion in San Luis.
Moses Hernandez, of Boughtbytheblood Designs, wants to continue providing opportunities for the community to come together.
"We have to work together" to create a vibrant community, he said. Hernandez shows movies every Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights at 6 p.m. at the San Luis pavilion for free to bring people together.
He is planning events for Thanksgiving and Christmas, hoping to give away lots of presents for children 0-18 years old. Call 719-232-2140, for more information on any of these events.


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In a big win for Google Inc., Dell plans to introduce a smart phone using Google software on the AT&T cellular network, according to people briefed on the plans.
Dell is expected to launch the phone in the U.S. as soon as early as next year, these people said. With an AT&T deal, all four major U.S. cellular networks would carry phones using Google's Android operating system, a key step in the Internet giant's attempt to extend its dominance of the personal-computer world to mobile phones.
Walmart Fall Rollbacks - Up to 80% off
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Nike Push for Greatness Sale: Up to 50% off new sale items for fall
Expedia Weekend Getaway Sale - 30% off your perfect stay
Back-to-School Savings: Up to 50% off + extra 25% off all shopping departments - JCPenney promo code


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» شفرات لعبة Dragn Cty
شفرات لعبة Dragn Cty
شفرات لعبة Dragn Cty on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Wednesday, April 23, 2014
This service there will be in January next year.
Applications in the console Nintendo Wii U will be more complete. After YouTube, now the Wii U scheduled to get other superior service.
When Nintendo Direct presentation Wednesday (12/05), Satoru Iwata [...]
Sony finally officially announced their latest generation console, the PlayStation 4, at an event in New York, USA, some time ago.
Here are some things You gamers need to know about the PS4.
PS4 using the x86 AMD 8-core CPU and GPU with [...]
Will spend 140 days in the mission.
A Russian rocket carrying two cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut blasted off into space on Tuesday (10/23). The three astronauts will be on duty on the International Space Station (ISS).
Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin [...]
There is a new leaked about brother Z10 is equipped with a physical QWERTY keypad, BlackBerry Q10.
Quoted from Techradar, Friday (22/3), BlackBerry Q10 reportedly will be launched on 26 April.
On price, smartphones with OS BlackBerry 10 is estimated [...]
As a gift to the loyal fans of the game ‘Angry Birds’.
In the third birthday, Rovio as a manufacturer of world’s most famous game, Angry Birds, released the latest level for the loyal fans.
Games featuring the ‘Angry Birds’ [...]
A man named Jim Stickley so far recorded more than 1000 bank he had robbed.
Uniquely, the hacker genius was never arrested let alone sent to prison.
Yes, Stickley is a ‘tester‘. His job is to penetrate and break through the security of computer [...]
This product is a breakthrough which brings the Go Green campaign. What are these phones? Read short reviews below.
Samsung Blue Earth
Blue Earth phone is a touchscreen mobile phone made by Samsung’s first solar-powered, which first appeared [...]
Having nearly 3.8 million followers.
Won seven Tour de France titles are no longer part of the description of the cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Twitter account.
On Monday evening (10/22), a biography of Armstrong on Twitter are called seven Tour de [...]
Become a Facebook future strategy.
The number of game enthusiasts on Facebook continues to grow from year to year. As of September 2012 was 251 million people playing games on Facebook, up from 226 million in September 2011. Growth was assessed as the [...]
A leak of GizmoChina mention that Lenovo is preparing a smartphone with an amazing battery.
The products allegedly named Lenovo P770 is a smartphone based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. To accommodate all the needs, Lenovo immerse powerful battery 3500mAh.
Among other things, failing to hide bank accounts.
Millions of Android app users, according to a research, be lured to reveal personal data.
The researchers tested 13,500 Android apps and found nearly 8 percent failing to protect his bank account and [...]


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The insane rise of Bitcoin has ranked it as one of the best performing assets in the world over the past 12 months, but the desire to own that currency is now very expensive, which raises the question about other alternatives?
Financial institutions and investors are now starting to look down the list to see if there is more value in buying one of the popular cryptocurrency alternatives as one bitcoin costs more than £34,000 after faltering last week, down from £40,000.
The British newspaper, “The Times”, said that this decline came just days after the Bank of England warned investors against cryptocurrencies, as it called on investors to prepare to lose their money. Which raises the question about another promising cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin? Is it Ethereum?
Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a total value of £168 billion, Bitcoin and Ethereum together make up about 70% of the roughly $2 trillion (£1.4 trillion) crypto market.
Ethereum was released in 2015, but it quickly grew due to the myriad of applications for its blockchain technology, its back and forth trading like any other cryptocurrency but its primary use not as a currency.
Instead, Ethereum allows the creation of financial applications such as smart contracts, which are pieces of code that run automatically when certain conditions are met. While not every country has defined the status of smart contracts, some major economies have given those transactions legal status.
In November 2019, for example, a UK legal committee determined a landmark ruling legally enforceable in courts in England and Wales. Almost all of the decentralized finance (DeFi) marketplaces are built with the non-fungible token (NFT) almost entirely using Ethereum.
DeFi is an interconnected network of financial applications, whose main star has so far been the crypto lending markets, where users lend their cryptocurrency to other investors for a fee.
According to data site DeFiPulse.com, 83 of the 84 highest-value DeFi projects currently use Ethereum. The total value of the DeFi market has grown from less than $1 billion to $50 billion in the past 18 months. The ownership is recorded on the Ethereum blockchain network and therefore cannot be forged or falsified.
Christie’s also became the first major auction house to sell NFT artwork, raising $69.4 million. It was also revealed at the end of March that payments giant Visa would begin using the same technical means to record crypto-based transactions, eliminating the need to transfer Cryptocurrencies into national currencies in order to settle payments.
In this way, the Ethereum network has become a unique bridge between the worlds of traditional finance and cryptocurrency.
“We see a growing demand from consumers around the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies — and we see a demand from our customers to be able to build products that provide that access to consumers,” says Coy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa.
Cryptocurrency investor Ann Niner says that she would rather invest small amounts in crypto than spend nights out, and thus managed to make $16,600.
The Ethereum network is very popular as it is routinely loaded, leads to slow transaction times, and high fees.
Mathematician Juan Villaverde, who leads a team of analysts at US rating agency Weiss Crypto, says that in the cryptocurrency bull market from 2017 to 2018, Ethereum transaction fees averaged $5.70 per piece. But in 2021, the cost of confirming transactions jumped to an average of $10.
Transaction-authenticated blockchain technology, which produces currencies such as bitcoin and ethereum, consumes huge amounts of electricity to secure its networks and process transaction blocks. But data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, which is run by the University of Cambridge Business School, shows that the bitcoin network uses about 135 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity each year. For comparison, a country like Pakistan, which has a population of about 225 million, uses about 120.5 TWh annually.
Exploring Bitcoin consumes electricity because during the process of verifying transactions, highly specialized computers with ASIC chips dedicated to this single task consume electricity as they compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles of ever-increasing difficulty, and those who get the right to add blocks of transactions to the digital ledger win By rewarding them with the original cryptocurrency of that blockchain.
So if the device solves the bitcoin puzzle as fast as it can, its owner will get rewards in bitcoin. The more powerful the computer, the faster the mathematical equations are solved, the higher the probability of winning bitcoins as a reward, and the more cryptocurrencies an individual has, the greater their right to confirm transactions and win rewards.
The most important cryptocurrencies are the most used today, and they include:
Bitcoin, ether, litecoin, bitcoin cash and binance, an Ethereum-based token that can be used to trade between many cryptocurrencies and pay a fee on cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance is generally seen as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume, with $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency traded on its spot markets every day.
What is litecoin?
Litecoin is a digital currency that is intended to be used as a payment mechanism without the need to conduct transactions through an intermediary such as a bank.
It was created in 2011 by former Google developer Charlie Lee, who designed it to confirm transactions four times faster than Bitcoin: once every 2.5 minutes compared to once every 10 minutes.
Like bitcoin, its longevity and security are its main features, and investors with a long horizon are hoarding litecoins in increasing numbers. And payments giant PayPal, when it announced in October 2020 that it would start supporting cryptocurrencies, chose only the most popular ones: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash.
But .. Is there a better cryptocurrency than Bitcoin?
It depends on what you mean by “best”. Being the original digital currency, Bitcoin has become a proxy for the market as a whole, it is the most popular cryptocurrency. But what other cryptocurrencies are there?
Today there are more than 9,000 cryptocurrencies, with an amazing variety of uses, but the vast majority of them are used lightly and rarely traded, so selling them to someone else can be a little tricky.
Mainly, asset managers and hedge funds who spend billions on cryptocurrencies have been just buying Bitcoin. In December 2020, an asset manager at a UK institution confirmed that Bitcoin represented about 2.7% of its total assets under management, worth £550 million at the time. Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has also spent $1.5 billion on the most popular digital currency.
Financial institutions are beginning to expand their ownership of cryptocurrencies, as this can be seen most clearly from the data provided by the analytics providers. Andreessen Horowitz in Silicon Valley, for example, currently owns 14 cryptocurrencies of varying lines. These currencies include bitcoin and ethereum, along with currencies such as uniswap.
There is hype around the dogecoin-inspired cryptocurrency. Dogecoin started out as a joke mocking the rise of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. The DogeDay420 campaign has been trending across Twitter and Reddit as crypto enthusiasts hope to push the price of dogecoin to a record high of 69 cents.
But what did Elon Musk say about the Dogecoin? When Musk says anything about cryptocurrency, we often see huge price swings. So when the billionaire described Dogecoin as a “hustle” on Saturday Night Live, it faltered and fell from its high of 72 cents to 45 cents, though it has recovered a bit since then. And it just shows the fluctuations of the cryptocurrency.
Some facts about Dogecoin:
‘memecoin’ was created in 2013 as a joke that mocked the rise of digital currencies like bitcoin البيت
But the rising market pushed the total value of dogecoin to over $50 billion, making it among the top five most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world. Less than a year ago, a single dogecoin was worth only a tenth of a cent, and its market value was less than a quarter of a billion dollars.
Among the Dogecoin fans is Elon Musk, whose tweets often have a direct impact on the value of the cryptocurrency.
How to invest in Dogecoin
There are fewer cryptocurrency brokers offering Dogecoin than most popular currencies, such as Bitcoin. Binance and Kraken are the two largest exchanges offering Dogecoin trading.
Is Coinbase A Destination To Buy Bitcoin?
If you’re new to the cryptocurrency world, Coinbase* is a good place to go as it sells a number of popular cryptocurrencies, has a solid security track record and charges reasonable fees.
It also has more than 43 million approved users in over 100 countries, making it a popular choice for investors. And Coinbase provides strong security through Coinbase * Vaults, two-factor authentication, and use of offline storage for the vast majority of client assets.
Coinbase* charges several fees, including a flat fee per transaction and a spread of approximately 0.50%. Fees vary based on the financing method up to 3.99% when using a debit card. Serious investors may want to upgrade to Coinbase Pro, which has its own pricing model.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news


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A woman from Henrico in Virginia said she is thankful for a recent painful headache that turned out to be a fortune changer.
Olga Ritchie told went to a local store to buy medicine for a nagging headache. She went to Tony's Market to buy some pills but also bought a Mega Money scratch-off ticket.
She bought the items and returned home. When the winner of the lottery was announced, Ritchie was taken aback with awe and joy.
She was had won the top prize of $5,00,000 after being declared the winner of the lottery jackpot, reported UPI.
"I couldn't believe my eyes. I almost fainted," Ritchie said after winning the lottery.
When asked about what she wants to do with all the money, Ritchie said she wants to make changes to her home and save the rest for retirement.
In May, a woman who was laid off due to the coronavirus crisis won a lottery worth $127,000 after buying a ticket from the money she earned by sewing face masks. Lorna Hewitt told Oregon Lottery officials that she was laid off from her job at a restaurant. She then took up a part-time job at a grocery store.
The woman said that she started sewing face masks for her colleagues at the grocery store. One day, she thought of using some money from her side business to buy a lottery ticket. She bought a Keno 8-spot ticket from Sister's Main Lane, which turned out to be the winning draw worth $126,789.
More recently, a man's birthday present from his wife won him AUD 5,02,456 lottery. The wife said that she bought the Saturday Gold Lotto ticket from Chippindalls Newsagency as a gift for her husband's birthday. The draw was held on May 30.


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Byton suspended operations for six months due to financial problems
Chinese EV startup Byton has been shut down for at least six months due to financial problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 epidemic, the company said. The origin:, following reports Detroit Bureau : Local media. This comes after workers in China complained that they were Collectively, they owe millions of dollars while the company was struggling to complete the $ 500 million funding phase.
In April, Byton enriched hundreds of workers at his headquarters in the Silicon Valley in North America, but admitted that his first car, the entire electric SUV with a massive panel display called the M-Byte, was again delayed due to the impact. the epidemic. This is despite the fact that Byton is backed by China’s oldest state-owned automaker, First Auto Works (FAW), and last year completed a new plant in Nanjing, China.
“Like everywhere else, COVID-19 [pandemic] has posed great challenges for BYTON funding and business operations, ”said Beaton spokesman Dave Buchko. The origin:. As a result, he said, the company’s management and board of directors decided to take a six-month break. Most of the company’s employees will improve in China, and “only a small group of teams will be maintained to meet the potential needs of the business.”
It was Beaton was founded in 2016 With the support of Chinese Internet giant Tencent and Taiwanese manufacturing conglomerate Foxconn, former BMW executives Carsten Breitfeld (who ran the i8 program) and Daniel Kirchkert. Byton announced the concept version of the M-Byte at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, and soon found out that FAW is investing and partnering with the launch.
The FAW deal was initially seen as a vote of confidence in what Breitfeld and Kirchert were building, especially since many other EV startups were fighting for funding at the time and were desperate for a partnership with the big OEMs. But that eventually became a source of tension for Breitfeld, which launched its debut in early 2019. In September of last year, as J. The origin: The first reported that Breitfeld stated that the Chinese government, through FAW, “pushes the direction of Byton [to a place that was] not what we thought we should do. ”
Breitfeld said at the time that Byton had used the Nanjing plant and other assets as collateral to invest in FAW for the money it felt the state-owned automaker was “going to drive to the stage where will close the whole Byton thing. , they will just keep the plant and the weather [electric vehicle] platform. ”
In fact, Breitfeld’s exit is now part of a new legal battle between its co-founder. In August 2019, Beaton introduced a previously unpublished lawsuit vs. Brightfeld, accusing him of stealing and using novice trade secrets in Iconiq, the launch of a separate Chinese EV, which he worked with after splitting with Beaton (and before he became CEO of Faraday Future). Byton insists on Breitfeld announced its new position with Iconiq In April 2019 at the Shanghai Motor Show, although he did not resign from Byton until next month.
The source also claims that Breitfeld misused the employees for his way out, that they “used and relied on Beaton’s secret and confidential information to allow Icon to compete directly with Beaton” and that “many of Lconic’s images and descriptions were transported They are very similar to Biton vehicles. ”
Brightfeld has been challenged by many in lawsuits, claiming that the board of directors of Beaton fired him as CEO in January 2019, before finally terminating him in April of that year. Breitfeld also claims that Beaton has filed a lawsuit just to prevent the actions he could have taken to receive millions of dollars in compensation, which he believes has a contractual obligation. This includes his net annual salary balance from 2019, plus “deferred compensation benefits, pension insurance, German pension, annual leave, travel expenses”, plus “the cost of tax advice, housing, cars, driver, school fees.” children, [and] a guaranteed salary for his wife, ”all provided by Beaton. Breitfeld also believes that Beaton should “acquire all the shares in the company.”
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In its pursuit to accommodate everything health, Apple has decided to acquire the sleep tracking hardware and software company, Beddit. Anyone who currently owns a Beddit product or uses its software needn't worry as the product and services support that are currently provided will be maintained for the foreseeable future.
Apple stores have been stocking Beddit product since late 2015. Its latest product is the Beddit 3, a thin strip of sensors that goes across the bed and analyses “sleep time and efficiency, heart rate, respiration, temperature, movement, snoring, room temperature, and room humidity.” It is currently priced at $149.95 on Apple's website.
In recent years, Apple has been pushing more intensively to satisfy the health market, with one of its flagship offerings in this department being the Apple Watch which contains biometric sensors to keep wearers informed of various statistics. Apple likely wants to learn how Beddit tracks its users' sleep patterns to integrate into some of its own products.
At present, the terms of the Beddit acquisition are still unknown.


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Uber abandons surge pricing in Jakarta taxi protest violence
Tue 22 Mar 2016
Ride-sharing titan Uber has had some difficult PR decisions to make during an eventful protest by taxi drivers in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta – and has suspended ‘surge’ pricing in the light of actual conflict breaking out during the demonstration.
The scene is a familiar one for the $60 billion San Francisco-based company, whose uninvited incursions into cities with existing taxi infrastructure has caused analogous scenes in Paris, London, Rio de Janeiro, Brussels, Warsaw, Sao Paolo, Melbourne and various Italian and Australian cities (and space does not permit us to review Asia’s stance here).
The taxi protest of the last 24 hours follow the familiar template, as convoys of threatened taxi-drivers form up to clog the central city routes, in a follow-up to protests from Jakarta’s public transport drivers last week. As usual the demands from the public transport workers were that Uber either fall into local regulations or be banned from operating its services in the city.
Uber is not the only invader being protested at Jakarta today, as the demonstration is also aimed at the Singapore-based GrabTaxi service, which less than two days ago announced a powerful new partnership with Indonesian real estate behemoth Lippo Group, in which it will take over a considerable amount of the company’s delivery requirements.
Feelings were running high enough in today’s protest that even different factions of the existing taxi companies in the city were apparently turning against each other on occasion, with one Blue Bird taxi reported to have been wrecked during altercations. Residents on Twitter are also reported to have said that ‘scab’ taxi drivers were being targeted and assaulted by their colleagues, and that cycle-based ride-sharing factions such as GrabBike and Go-Jek also came under attack in the conflicts.
In response to the high feelings, Uber posted a Tweet announcing the suspension of surge pricing for the day. Surge pricing is the primary motivation for Uber drivers to make themselves available at times of high demand, since it calculates and raises rates for rides; but since the 9.6 million residents of Jakarta are a little short on options and not likely to be in short supply, combined with the notion that profiting off chaos that Uber’s own presence in the city has sparked might be inadvisable from a PR point of view, there are bargains to be had during the Jakartan rush hour today.


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2020 has presented monumental challenges to global economies resulting in many people expecting a slowdown in deal volume. Despite these unprecedented times, deal activity in the tech sector has remained buoyant as both...
COMMSWORLD, the UK’s largest independent network provider, has been listed for the fourth year running on a lucrative UK government telecoms and network framework.
The Edinburgh-headquartered company won approval for...
EDINBURGH-headquartered Melrose Labs has partnered with Phronesis Technologies to develop new identity verification services that will protect businesses and improve customer engagement.
The new offerings will also enhance Melrose Labs’...
BGF – the UK and Ireland’s most active investor – has invested £2.6 million in Edinburgh based MRM Global, a high growth, industry-leading provider of marketing technology to the global drinks and hospitality sector.
fintech Aveni has secured seed investment of £520,000 for its video
conferencing based AI technology, which it claims will transform client
interaction in financial and professional advice sectors in the new age of
‘digital client service’.


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Apple investors are likely looking for the company to use its massive cash pile to make acquisitions, and names like Netflix, Activision Blizzard and Sonos are among the companies that JPMorgan sees as strong strategic fits.
Shares of Apple have lost nearly 30% from an October record, dropping on concerns over the demand prospects for its key iPhone product line. In its most recent quarterly report, the company posted its first holiday-quarter sales decline since 2001, a drop that was almost entirely due to lower smartphone sales. The stock rose 1% in early trading on Monday, on track for its fourth straight daily gain.
Given this environment, and given that Apple has roughly US$130-billion in net cash — along with an average of $45-billion in cash flow generated every year after dividends — investors are likely hoping that Apple “uses its balance sheet strength to insulate the business against often-seen disruptions in the technology landscape”, analyst Samik Chatterjee wrote. JPMorgan has an overweight rating on Apple stock, along with a $228 price target.
Chatterjee noted that the prospect of such deals was speculative and theoretical. Apple didn’t immediately return a request for a comment, and neither did Netflix, Activision or Sonos.
In JPMorgan’s view, video gaming, video content and smart home speakers are among the industries with “the most strategic value”, for Apple, “providing potential growth opportunities to leverage services over a wider installed base”.
Netflix was deemed “the best strategic fit” for Apple in the content category, “although we appreciate a combination is less likely as Netflix is unlikely to be a seller for a modest premium”. The video-streaming giant has a market capitalisation of $148.4-billion.
Video content provides “leverage to rapid growth in content consumption on mobile” and Netflix has “an established platform to accelerate Apple’s nascent investments in original content”, Chatterjee wrote to clients. Shares of Netflix rose 1.3% on Monday.
The speaker category has a “focus on high engagement with customers”, and it offers “synergies in driving Apple Music services”.
Apple is “currently lagging competitors in the smart home category”, JPMorgan wrote, referring to the company’s HomePod product line. Sonos, in contrast, has a “differentiated position as a premium home speaker system relative to Amazon Alexa and Google Home”, along with “strong loyalty among current customers and a robust international presence.”
Sonos had a market cap of $1.2-billion, as of Friday’s close. The stock rose 6% on Monday, its seventh straight daily gain — the longest such streak in its history.
For Apple, a videogame acquisition would offer “leverage to an industry rapidly transitioning to mobile”, while the “hardware capabilities for high-end gaming potentially (support) a replacement cycle.”
Among targets mentioned in press reports, JPMorgan wrote: “We find Activision Blizzard to be the best strategic fit for Apple.” Shares of Activision rose 0.7%. The company had a market cap of $35.1-billion on Friday. — Reported by Ryan Vlastelica, (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP


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- CBA on
- CBA Media
- COVID-19 Hub
Auto lending is a dynamic market second only to housing in size, with nearly $900 billion in outstanding auto loan balances. Banks hold approximately a third of all auto loan balances, followed closely by captive auto lenders, credit unions and auto finance companies. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB has the authority to supervise all depository institutions with more than $10 billion in assets. However, the Bureau has also been granted the authority to supervise “larger participants” in consumer financial markets. The CFPB exercised this authority by issuing a rulemaking proposal to extend its supervisory reach over nonbank auto lenders, such as the captives and auto finance companies. CBA is largely supportive of this effort as consumers should expect to receive the same level of protection no matter where they receive their auto loans.
- June 14, 2016On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, the CFPB released a blog post informing consumers about the “3 things you should consider before co-signing for an auto loan.” Building of the new auto buying educational materials, this post focuses on the three items cosigners need to know including their responsibility for repaying the loan, the potential effect on one’s credit, and their right to request monthly...June 9, 2016On Thursday, June 9, 2016, the CFPB Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) met in Little Rock, Arkansas to discuss an auto lending education initiative, trend and themes, and the payday proposal. In his remarks, CFPB Director Richard Cordray stated, “Consumers should feel like they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to financing their car or truck…The CFPB’s auto loan shopping sheet provides a roadmap...May 23, 2016The National Automobile Dealers Association is lining up allies for a fight with the Federal Trade Commission over a proposed survey of consumers regarding their experiences trading in, buying and financing vehicles at dealerships. NADA Vice Chairman Mark Scarpelli told credit union managers at a conference here last week sponsored by CU Direct, "We look forward to working with your regulatory...May 20, 2016The CFPB , on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 issued a report finding that one-in-five single-payment auto title loan borrowers have their vehicle seized by their lender for failure to repay. According to the CFPB’s research, more than four-in-five of these loans are renewed on their due date because borrowers cannot afford to repay. More than two-thirds of auto title loan business come from borrowers...April 7, 2016April 7, 2016 The Honorable Richard Shelby Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Sherrod Brown Ranking Member, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Brown: The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA)  appreciates the Banking...March 16, 2016Dear Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters: The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) appreciates the Financial Services Committee’s continued oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its activities. We would like to take this opportunity to submit the following comments on the hearing entitled, “The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.” CBA is...March 16, 2016On Wednesday, March 16, 2016, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Semi-Annual Report to Congress featuring testimony from CFPB Director Richard Cordray. Like previous encounters, Republican members of the committee expressed considerable frustration with the Bureau and its leader throughout the hearing. Save comments from Reps...February 26, 2016CBA LIVE 2016 – Customize Your Experience Via the App We have a record number of bankers registered, a record number of regulators, and, if we continue our current pace, 2016 will be our sixth straight year of record attendance . With essentially one week to go, we hope you are as excited as we are for CBA LIVE 2016! This week, we launched the CBA LIVE 2016: Leadership Unplugged mobile app. Be...February 12, 2016Small-Dollar Lending Gets Presidential Attention Earlier this week, President Obama released his final budget proposal which included a $10 million dollar line-item that would fund a small-dollar loan program through Community Development Financial Institutions. President Obama is right to recognize low-and moderate-income American families often need access to short-term liquidity. But here is...February 2, 2016On Tuesday, February 2, 2016, the CFPB announced a settlement , in conjunction with a Department of Justice (DOJ) action , with Toyota Motor Credit Corporation to resolve discriminatory outcomes in auto lending. Under the agreement, Toyota Credit will pay $21.9 million in restitution to African American and Asian or Pacific Islander consumers for pricing disparities from non-Hispanic white...


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Osama Manzar, Founder and Director of DEF spoke with Amirullah Khan- an eminent economist. He teaches in ISB and Ashoka University. Amir puts forth his views and observations about the impact of coronavirus on healthcare and mentions that it is not as damaged as it was presumed to be. But the economy has certainly experienced staggering downward trend.
‘The impact of COVID-19 on health sector is not as bad as it was thought to be which is not to say that the virus hasn’t had a serious negative impact on India. The country is amidst a major economic crisis. amidst a major economic crisis Covid-19. It started in China, and spread across Spain, Italy, Iran, US and UK. Evidently, developing countries have shown lower infection rate as compared to developed countries. Cases of infection from Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are known far less.
Speaking specifically of India, states such as Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have shown higher infection rate. This could be because of the intensity of testing and tracing in places with more resources.
Indian economy was not in good shape even before the crisis. In the last quarter, India’s growth rate was lowest in 18 years—unemployment was in its peak and the exchange rate was at its worst. The GST returns were low and the government had zero money or fiscal space.
Hence, the belief that Indian economy suffered because of Covid-19 is a myth. Late announcement of the lockdown despite being aware of the situation resulted from lack of preparedness in the government. The African countries imposed lockdown in early March, wherein India waited until March 24th and lost two good weeks which could have otherwise been used to prepare people for the coming predicament. Due to the sudden announcement of the lockdown the schools had to rush the students back home, the hostels had to be vacated, and the migrant labourers were stranded on the streets.
The wrong use of the word ‘Curfew’ by the Prime minister, converted the humanitarian problem into a law and order problem. Instead of assigning health administration to control the situation, police was put in charge.
When people’s concerns and problems should have been addressed, the people were harassed. After the lockdown was declared, around 30000 trucks loaded with food and other perishable items were stuck on highways.
If measures such as contact less app-based doorstep delivery from restaurants and food marts, were marshalled efficiently by the government, it would’ve saved people from several long queues around grocery stores.
The government could have helped people with three essential basic facilities- Money, food and bandwidth. Amidst ongoing crisis, the only source of connectivity is via Internet.
Earlier economy needed human beings, which was driven by migration and it stayed for 40-50 years. In the current scenario, economy has consumed human beings by increasing consumption, consumerism, and usage.
Even though China is now open and all the shops and restaurants are functioning, people avoid travel and are not buying things other than basic essentials. Consumption has dropped by 40-50%. This has led factories to operate at half their potential, resulting in people getting fired.
People now have moved from large scale to subsistence consumption. If the consumption is weak, the produce is less—and if produce is less then unemployment shoots up and people will have less money to spend. Ideally, the government should have curbed crowding and allowed shops and businesses to function.
Last year, the rural income dropped by Rs 40 per person, and if this drop is reflected upon 800 million rural people, we can only imagine the impact Rs. 40 less spending capacity will have on the economy of the nation.
The ruling class always benefits from shutdowns as they enjoy the authority and power at their disposal. However, instead of using the current situation to exhibit power, it should be concerned about paying its officials and helping the poor.
To build a better India, government should come up with a robust plan to help 200 million people who have lost their jobs by providing Rs 5000 per month and help them sustain; provide economic stimulus for the economy; ensure that the lockdown is not treated as a shutdown; test 3000 people instead of 300 people per million; build more hospitals with ICU facilities; employ more doctors per 1000 people; and work towards economic welfare.
Just as 9/11 incident led the government to strengthen security of the nation—Covid-19 should result in more quality investment by the government in the healthcare sector to make way for a healthy and secured nation.


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The San Francisco real estate investment company that bought Downtown Plaza remains quiet about its plans for the Sacramento mall, but we do have an update on staffing and some small spruce ups.
JMA Ventures LLC, which bought the mall in August from global mall operator Westfield Group LLC, has kept Raelene Trumm as the mall’s general manager. JMA has hired two new people in the mall’s administrative office to fill vacant positions. The newcomers are Sarah Visconti, marketing director, and Lee McDougle, operations manager.
Visconti previously worked as marketing director for two Westfield malls — Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara and Westfield Oakridge in San Jose, a news release said. At Downtown Plaza, she’ll handle marketing, advertising, social media, and public, community, and retail relations.
While JMA isn’t talking about any big plans yet, the company is sharing news about some little changes. The mall has new furniture in the food court, new digital menu boards, spruced up Garden Court fountains and refurbished South Plaza restrooms.
JMA bought Downtown Plaza for $21.62 million, or $31.56 per square foot. The mall has 685,000 square feet of rentable space.
JMA serves as general partner for real estate investments in the western United States with a value exceeding $500 million. Its portfolio includes Alpine Meadows, Homewood Mountain Ski Resort and West Shore Café and Inn in the Lake Tahoe area; Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square; and Waterbar and EPIC Roasthouse restaurants on San Francisco’s Embarcadero.


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Nicholas Rilley, Butterfield
It is striking how Google has gone from being a company with “don’t be evil” in their code of conduct, to one represented by an empty chair at a recent Senate hearing on internet companies. The origin of the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility” is unclear, but it has recently been used to describe the obligations of the large technology companies. The Economist has even created yet another acronym, ‘BAADD’, to describe the effect of the concentration in the industry, meaning: big, anti-competitive, addictive and destructive to democracy.
The key questions from an investment perspective are to what extent these criticisms are justified and what are the potential costs.
It is worth recalling how these companies became so large and profitable. Firstly, they are global companies, so comparisons of their size relative to the GDP or stock market value of a single country can be cast aside. Secondly, globalization has allowed companies in developed markets to focus their operations on the high value-add areas of research, design and sales, while at the same time optimising their global supply chains to lower operating costs.
This combination creates a capital-light business model with high profit margins and returns on capital, which lowers their cost of capital. This has allowed them to buy competitors, take risks in new ventures and achieve dominant positions in the fast growing online market, particularly mobile. However, the key reason is that they have each created one or more great product or service that has captivated tech-savvy consumers.
Concerns have come into sharp focus this year for three reasons: misuse of user data, political interference and the quest of economists to explain low wage growth. Technology has also been topical in financial markets given such strong performance, such that we entered the year with the seven largest stocks globally all being technology companies.
Washington turned its attention to the technology sector after news of the Facebook data scandal involving Cambridge Analytica and evidence arose of political interference in the 2016 election. Until then, the sector had largely escaped political scrutiny in the U.S., as the Democrats enjoyed a sympathetic sector and the Republicans have historically not been supportive of regulation. Europe on the other hand has been more proactive.
Large technology companies unquestionably have significant influence over much of what happens online, from search, messaging, shopping and social media. Their claim that they are neutral platform companies has been widely questioned, but transitioning to a media company responsible for content is where it gets contentious. While it is acknowledged that more needs to be done to prevent illegal activity, the COO of Facebook sums up the platform/editor debate with “we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves.”
What we do know is that companies such as Facebook are spending money on improving internal controls, such as hiring additional content moderators. Facebook has guided the market to a mid-30s operating margin, down from the mid-40s, which led to a 19 percent one-day fall in the stock price. The recent hiring of ex-Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg as head of global policy and communications demonstrates how seriously they are taking these issues.
When it comes to data privacy, essentially consumers have been providing their personal data in exchange for services. The concept of digital property rights has been around in Silicon Valley for a while, but is beginning to enter the mainstream. There is much apathy among users, but ultimately there is likely to be a market in personal data, with users having to pay for the online services that they currently receive “for free.” Any market will eventually find an equilibrium price, but the challenge becomes “what is this service really worth?”
Economists have questioned whether large companies dominating certain industries, so called monopsony power, are holding down wages. The theory is that without sufficient competition, wages are lower than they otherwise would be. While there is some empirical evidence here, the real challenge seems to be job polarization in developed markets due to globalization, rather than company specific factors. However, we have seen companies such as Amazon raise their minimum wage so this should help alleviate political pressure.
Overall, comparisons of large technology companies today with the late 1990s bubble are well wide of the mark given the difference in profitability. While headwinds are increasing, particularly regulatory risk, ultimately success will be determined by whether companies can continue to deliver great products and services which someone is prepared to pay for, one way or another.
Sources: Bloomberg, Gavekal, The Economist
Disclaimer: The views expressed are the opinions of the writer and whilst believed reliable may differ from the views of Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Limited. The Bank accepts no liability for errors or actions taken on the basis of this information.


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In what can be considered to be a surprising move, Maruti Suzuki on Thursday announced that it will phase out all of its diesel-powered cars by April 2020. 1st of April, 2020, is also the deadline after which the BSVI emission norms will kick into official existence. Following up the announcement, Maruti Suzuki Chairman, R.C. Bhargava has now said that those who want to buy a diesel vehicle, now is the best time to do so. According to Maruti’s head honcho, the price of diesel cars will rise significantly after BSVI emission norms come into play and therefore buying a diesel car before April 2020 is a wise decision for diesel car lovers.
In his own words, R.C. Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki, said:
“From April 1, we will have no diesel car on sale… Depending on how customers react to BS VI diesel vehicles next year… if we find that there is a market for such cars, we will develop a BS VI diesel vehicle in reasonable period of time,”
He further added that this year is the last chance for shoppers to buy diesel cars at low prices.
“If you wait till next year, you will have to pay substantially higher price. So if I was a diesel car fan, I would certainly buy a diesel car this year and not wait.”
Currently, diesel cars account for about 23% of Maruti Suzuki’s domestic sales. During 2018-19 alone, the company sold a total of 4.63 lakh diesel-powered vehicles. The company’s announcement to discontinue its diesel mills was made citing uncertainty over demand for such vehicles due to “significant” increase in price once the new BS VI emission norms kick in. As of now, Maruti Suzuki has two diesel engines in its portfolio, the 1.3-litre, Fiat-sourced MultiJet engine and the new 1.5-litre, four-cylinder DDiS engine.
None of these engines is BSVI ready and hence will have to be discontinued from April 2020. Upgrading them to be BSVI compliant will result in a substantial surge in the vehicle prices, which would then affect the demand according to Maruti. Therefore, what the Maruti head Honcho says makes perfect sense and you should buy a diesel car before April 2020 to get the best deal. Other manufacturers like Tata, Mahindra, and Hyundai among others will continue to sell diesel-powered vehicles but their price will go up considerably due to the cost involved in the upgradation of the engines to BSVI norms. So if you already have a plan to buy a car and are more interested in diesel-powered vehicles, no point in shelling a significant amount extra when you can get one now at a lower price.
Maruti Suzuki, however, has not put a full stop to its diesel plans. The company could bring back a diesel engine that is BSVI compliant if demand for costlier diesel car exists. The company is more likely to bring the diesel in more expensive models like the Ertiga, Ciaz and the S-Cross than in the hatchback segment where pricing plays a significant role. However, note that it is not certain that the company will bring a diesel engine as an option for sure but could do it if demand persists for a higher priced diesel car.
Moreover, according to R.C. Bhargava, even if the company decides to bring a diesel BS VI engine to production, it would be in the 1,500 cc engine category. This means that the 1.3-litre unit will be done away with and the 1.5-litre engine could be converted into being BSVI compliant. But BSVI is not the only headache for the company as it will also look towards meeting the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) regulation, which would probably be in effect from 2023. This means that the lifecycle costs of the BSVI engine need to be assessed before making the conversion as RDE would further drive up the costs. On the whole, if diesel powered cars are what you dig, now is the time to get one.


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Canadian mobile network operator Telus is to begin making NFC SIMs available to subscribers on 10 October, according to an internal document seen by Mobile Syrup, marking the start of its NFC rollout. Subscribers will need a BlackBerry Bold 9900 or Samsung Galaxy S III to use the service at launch and will need to pay C$15 for an NFC SIM. “Additional details on eligible banks will be made available upon service launch,” the document says.
- White paper advises banks on launching Android-based mobile payment services
- Mastercard takes majority stake in VocaLink
- Visa reports EMV uptake in the US
- Motorists rewarded for mobile payments at the pump
- More than half of Irish consumers now using contactless


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The furniture conglomerate IKEA is raising prices by an average of 9% amid increasing transportation and production costs, Reuters reported on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, now, for the first time since higher costs have begun to affect the global economy, we have to pass parts of those increased costs onto our customers,” said Tolga Öncü, retail operations manager.
The Swedish brand previously said it was leasing more ships, buying containers, and rerouting goods between warehouses to mitigate supply chain disruptions. It said, however, that circumstances had forced the company to pass the costs on to consumers.
Ingka Group, a holding company that controls most IKEA stores, added that regional variations in inflation would reflect different commodities and the supply chain issues in the area.
“IKEA continues to face significant transport and raw material constraints driving up costs, with no anticipated break in the foreseeable future,” the group said in a statement, adding it expected disruptions to continue “far into 2022.”
Retailers have seen soaring demand for their products as consumers stick closer to home and put more of their money into goods than travel and other services, according to The Hill.
© 2022 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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There’s a tasty new chip in town.
No, not dreamy Chip Z'Nuff of '80s hair metal vets Euff Z'Nuff.
No, not a remake of ‘70s TV show Chips.
No, not an all new Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie (pictured on the right).
It’s a new digital storage chip that will enable a device such as an MP3 player to store about half a million songs -- or 3,500 films -- and costs far less to produce. At present the biggest iPod -- the 160GB iPod Classic – can only store 40,000 songs.
In a paper published in the current issue of Science, Scientists at IBM research in San Jose, California, said that devices which use the new technology would require much less power, would run on a single battery charge for "weeks at a time," and would last for decades.
Using “racetrack” memory and the “spin” of an electron to store data, this chip can operate even quicker than regular hard drives. And like flash memory it has no moving parts. But unlike flash, it can 'write data' -- or store information -- very quickly, and does not wear out.
IBM said the technology was still "exploratory" at this stage, but that it expected devices which used it to be on the market within a decade.
This is great, because I actually have well over 3,500 “adult films” I need to store somewhere, and my dirty sock drawer is getting full!
Technology.timesonline.co.uk: The new chip that will let an iPod store 500,000 songs


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The Gujarat Gas Company Limited (GGCL) which earlier had told its industrial consumers that the gas cut would remain in force till January 31, has informed its customers in Surat, Ankleshwar and Bharuch that the gas supply has been restored from Friday and that the supply will become normal from Saturday.
SGTPA president Jitu Vakharia said that they are thankful to the state government and the GGCL management for looking into their concerns and restoring the gas supply at the earliest. They will meet the company management to bring a long-term solution to the gas supply issue.
The restoration of gas supply to over 850 gas-based industrial units in Surat, Ankleshwar and Bharuch, including textile processing units in the city, has brought them great relief.
Industrial production in gas-based units in Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Surat had come to a standstill, causing them losses running into over Rs 100 crore per day, after Gujarat Gas on Wednesday stopped the supply, citing high import cost of RLNG, severe supply shortage due to cold abroad and short supply of domestic gas from GAIL.
South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA) had requested the state government to find out a solution to the vexed issue. STGPA office-bearers expressed fear that more than 20 financially weak textile mills may down their shutters permanently following the curtailment of gas supply.
The daily gas requirement by the 850 units in Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Surat put together is pegged at around 2 Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter Per Day (MMSCMD).
Company sources said that GGCL has succeeded in procuring RLNG from the market and thus the supply to the industrial segment in Surat, Ankleshwar and Bharuch has been restored
The industrial belts of Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Surat have more than 4,000 big and small industrial units. Out of these units, GGCL has been supplying gas to around 850 industrial units, including chemical, pharmaceuticals, dyes intermediates, paint, glass, ceramic, textile yarn, textile dyeing and printing units and textile ancillary units.
A weekly report covering market and price information on the entire chain of polyester along with online access to daily polyester chain prices.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in individual products including polyester, nylon, acrylic, viscose, and cotton.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in the individual country's natural and manmade fiber/filament industries.
Countries Served Worldwide


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Small business enterprise business organization to hit On these methods, There are works happening and remain big areas of venture the report said.
To find it easy Nomura, The festive sale season kicked off right away for Indian e commerce players, But good deals on black friday 2015 still is lower possess a practical China and the US. In of asia, Alibaba at its Day on nov 11, 2014 sold goods importance USD 9 thousand, While the states, During Cyber weekend(Monday after thanksgiving holiday holiday) And black gorgeous Friday, Sales close to USD 3 billion each were shown in 2014.
In comparison, The quarterly prospect for India holiday sales are nearer to USD 4 billion. Usually the festive season(June to December) 's about 35 40 per cent of annual sales for the e commerce firms. For Technopak, Internet commerce in India shown around USD 7 billion in annual sales in FY15, And is black friday in usa predicted to locate about USD ofertas viernes negro 10 billion in FY16, Producing sales prospects of around USD 4 billion for the ecommerce firms this festive black friday online ads season.
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Fall Farmers' Market
After a great summer, the Ionia Farmers' Market plans to remain open through October
IONIA - The temperature may be cooling off, but the Ionia Farmers’ Market is still going strong.
The market has had a great year, according to officials, and will remain open until the end of October.
“It’s been a great season this year,” said Linda Curtis, market manager and Downtown Development Authority director. “We will be there, weather permitting, through the end of October.”
The market is open two days a week, from 2-6 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, at the Robert Hoppough Pavilion at the corner of Adams and Steele Streets.
Although Curtis isn’t sure when the market first began, she does know it’s been growing every year.
“I have been here 10 years, and it was well established before I came,” she said. “It’s been growing. We have a great selection of vendors who bring a lot of different items we’ve never had before.”
As with most years, there are new offerings at the market this year.
“We had a great number of new vendors this year,” Curtis said. “This is the first time that we have had farm raised, licensed pork and beef.”
Plenty of vendors offer fresh produce as well, allowing for patrons to put together a full meal at the market.
“We have, of course, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, honey, maple syrup,” Curtis said. “We have all different kinds of cooking and baking spices and peppers.”
Even though there is just one month left of the season, Cutis expects some new vendors to stop in before winter hits.
“We’ll probably have one or two pumpkin (vendors),” she said. “Even though some of our vendors right now already have pumpkins, we may have one or two more that bring some down.”
The Ionia Farmers’ Market isn’t limited to just food. Curtis said vendors bring items for kids and furry friends, as well.
“We have a lady who brings down children’s books,” she said. “We have a lady now that brings down homemade dog treats and all kinds of canine gifts.”
For those interested in becoming a vendor, for the end of this season or for next summer, contact the DDA office to get an application to fill out.


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Aaron Poole, marketing executive, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home.
Extraordinary OOH in 2022
This year, PML Group planned ground-breaking, innovative OOH special builds all over the country and to end the year in Out \ Look, today we look back on some of that inspiring work from the past twelve months.
2022 was a year for brands to recalibrate and redevelop their narratives – to tell their stories and create a ‘buzz’ about themselves, ensuring they were top of mind when it came to their respective audiences.
As a visual medium, Out of Home presents a unique storytelling vehicle that can be extremely effective when planned without creative restriction. Our Special Effects research proved this, showing that 84% of consumers regard special builds as being more noticeable, and 75% noting they make brands seem more exciting.
In 2022, OOH played a big role in translating innovative campaigns from concept to creation. Campaign touchpoints evoked the essence of brand storytelling in ways that left consumers with both an understanding of the message and enough curiosity to leave them wanting to know more.
Using outside-the-box, blue-sky concepts, brands were able to innovate in ways that encouraged audiences to engage and connect with them on another level.
To the (Touch) Point
Paddy Power’s inaugral sponsorship of the Iveagh Gardens Comedy Festival was well-aligned with their signature tongue-in-cheek tone. In close proximity to the festival, a special bus shelter encouraged participants to replace the pants that had been ‘laughed off’ at the festival, dispensing them a fresh, Paddy Power-emblazoned set for their home journey.
By following the bookmaker’s Twitter account, passers-by and those en route to the festival were able to get their pants by tweeting the hashtag #paddypantsplease. The activation was a prime example of the synergies of mobile and OOH and how they can effectively combine.
One of the most impactful touchpoints came from the Marie Keating Foundation. The unique bus shelter broke the mould when it came to interactive OOH with the widely-discussed ‘First Poster To Catch Lung Cancer’.
Featuring proximity-triggering based on vicinitic audio cues, the copy would change at the sound of a cough to display a second creative encouraging viewers to get it checked out.
The installation showed the efficacy of coalescing great concepts with unhindered creativity, raising awareness for an important issue in an effective manner.
When Grafton Street was identified as the destination for Ireland’s first LEGO store, an Out of Home creation like no other was put on display at the Golden Square on Dublin’s Wexford Street. Crafted by brick.ie – Ireland’s largest and longest-established LEGO user group – the ‘poster’ consisted entirely of LEGO pieces assembled as a mosaic-style creative.
This unique build was the first of its kind in Ireland and emphasised that there are countless ways to integrate creativity and Out of Home planning. It also reinforced the notion that outdoor advertising and mobile continue to exponentially grow together as complimentary media, with the creative bearing a sizable QR code that sent scanners to the landing page for the new store.
Out of the Ordinary
In 2022, discourse surrounding attention as a metric was amplified. For OOH, breaking the expectation of the consumer by incorporating non-standard elements has the propensity to drive increased attentiveness. By virtue of appearing different to what they know and expect, these specials provoked higher interest and recall.
Breaking the rules of the standard 48 Sheet, Irish Life’s Rathgar Road solar-powered illumination special reinforced the messaging behind their ‘Responsible Pensions’ campaign and was visible even when the sky darkened, featuring a glowing façade of the earth above open hands to emphasise the campaign’s tenets.
Disney+ also fully embraced out of the ordinary looks across Out of Home in 2022.
Breaking new ground in the Irish market with the launch of Turning Red, the streaming service was the first brand to avail of Amplify – Global’s platform for 3D digital Outdoor content. Displaying on Global’s dX screen in Dundrum Town Centre, the creative introduced the movie’s character Mei Lee, who “poofed” into a giant red panda when she got excited, making it perfect for the larger-than-life 3D treatment.
Later in the year, to mark Disney+ day, the brand took advantage of the increasing footfall inn the city centre as they enveloped Dublin’s Convention Centre in an all-encompassing projection. Featuring popular characters from titles across the service including Thor: Love and Thunder, Cars on the Road, and Mike, the projection lit up the sky with the brand’s signature blue pantones as onlookers gazed up.
Experience Something Unique
PML Group’s All Out Summer research showed that 2022 was a year where people were ready to embrace experiences and make the most of what the season had to offer. With high percentages of people declaring their intent to return to attending sports events & concerts, as well as noting eagerness to visit beaches and recreational parks, an experiential opportunity presented itself for brands willing to take advantage it.
Looking back at McDonald’s OOH activity in 2022, the ‘McVan’ experiential activation was a standout campaign from the brand. A collaborative effort between Zenith, Source out of home and Allied Global Marketing, the McVan mobilised McDonald’s McCafé and was present at many festivals and events from April onwards, distributing thousands of free coffees along the way. It’s a campaign that should excite anyone with an interest in OOH, not only for its individual excellence, but also for what this indicates for the sector as we move into 2023.
Crafting contextually relevant, location-specific designs is at the heart of PML Group’s DOOH offering. Through the Liveposter platform, advertisers optimised their 2022 campaigns by delivering contextually relevant content across multiple formats, using data and ambient triggers.
Using location data was particularly effective for Diageo’s recent Guinness Storehouse Dynamic campaign. Displaying across digital 6’s within a 30-minute walking radius of the venue, the creative prompted potential visitors with details as to how long of a stroll they were from Storehouse.
2022 reinforced the power of Out of Home, and brands that leveraged the ‘difference of being different’ realised the big, iconic & powerful storytelling prowess at a more flexible scale than ever before by providing lasting impressions on their audiences. 2023 carries with it a host of opportunities for brands to get creative and innovative with Outdoor advertising. For more information, contact the PML Group team.


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2019 promises to be a great year in games. Innovation and competition will elevate the industry’s offerings and drive more inclusivity among a broader range of audiences.
Cloud gaming emerges as the new frontier and brings about unlikely partnerships.
Collectively, gamers will serve as the canary in the coal mine as large tech companies look to introduce new technologies to mainstream consumer audiences. Companies like Amazon, Tencent, Google and Microsoft already own and operate massive data centers that virtually run enterprise applications. In 2019, we will see continued investment in infrastructure and content acquisition as these billion-dollar companies seek to claim the consumer market.
Cloud gaming is a massive market opportunity that extends beyond just interactive entertainment. Microsoft already generates significant revenues from cloud-based services, and doubling down on gaming will open the door to broader adoption by consumers and a bigger piece of the market.
It also comes with significant competition, each player with their own motivations. Tencent, for one, got hit hard with a slowdown in mobile game approvals by the Chinese government, causing its share price to drop. Since then, things have started to improve somewhat, but it has incentivized Tencent to reduce its exposure in gaming and look for other non-content business segments that generate steady revenue and require less government regulation. For the first three quarters of 2018, Tencent’s cloud operations generated $864 million (RMB 6 billion) in revenues and more than doubled year-over-year.
Google has also been trying to wiggle its way into the cloud gaming business. Its cloud operations make about $10 billion annually, and recently appointed a new CEO likely to expand Google Cloud’s vertical product capabilities in non-tech categories.
And there is, of course, Amazon. With currently more than 50 percent market share in cloud computing and a strong user acquisition and engagement channel with Twitch, Amazon is uniquely positioned. But its previous efforts around interactive entertainment have so far not produced any real tangible results despite it ramping up expenditure. This makes it more likely that Amazon will become a third-party infrastructure provider for companies like Sony and Nintendo instead.
As these titans double down on cloud gaming initiatives, we can expect to see some surprising partnerships. For instance, Tencent and Google are currently working together in China. This gives the latter an entry point into a market that has long been out of reach. Meanwhile, incumbents like Sony, Nintendo and legacy game publishers will have to decide on going at it alone, as is the case of Electronic Arts, or buddying up and surrendering a piece of revenue.
Gamers win as the PC games market breaks into pieces.
It’s not a bad thing. But after more than a decade of a virtual monopoly held by Valve, new contenders have emerged. We already saw how Valve tried to get in front of Epic’s announcement that it was lowering its platform fees. And not long after, Discord popped up with an even better rate.
Breaking with the standard 30 percent cut, which is what most platforms (Apple, Facebook) claim in exchange for their services, Valve announced a few major changes. Two key sentences from the announcement. First, Valve’s new revenue distribution: “when a game makes over $10 million on Steam, the revenue share for that application will adjust to 75%/25% on earnings beyond $10M. At $50 million, the revenue share will adjust to 80%/20% on earnings beyond $50M.” Succinctly, make more and keep more.
Part of what is driving this is consolidation at the top. In the PC market the top-line firms have been growing at an incredible rate. Between 2013 and 2017, Activision grew its PC operations at +10 percent compound annual growth rate. EA’s was +30 percent, and Bethesda’s +36 percent. Meanwhile, the share of the top four public companies, based on PC gaming revenue, grew from 44 percent to 60 percent in that same period. It’s getting less crowded at the top and digital stores will have to compete.
The big publishers like Activision, Ubisoft and EA already have their digital storefronts and distribution platforms. Different from the brick-and-mortar space, publishers managed to build their own rather than rely on third-parties. For years, the big guys have had no interest in putting their content side-by-side with a growing number of small and medium-sized game companies.
Epic’s wild success with Fortnite has afforded it a much broader range of strategic options. So far it has lowered its store fees and retroactively paid developers on its platform. And now it is budding into the digital PC market by using its vast financial resources to compete head-on with Valve. Finally, Discord’s entry should be noted, too. Adding a content offering to an existing community, rather than the other way around, Discord is the new hot thing. Certainly, it has yet to lay claim to a hit title of its own. But it has both the expertise and critical mass to become an important next store front. It raised an additional $150 million right before the holidays.
All this takes place against the backdrop of a declining physical games market. It’s been a tough few months in meat space. In its recent earnings, GameStop came in at $2.08 billion and +4.8 percent in global sales, but Wall Street was not impressed. GameStop blamed Call of Duty and “sports titles.” With the recent sell-off of Spring Mobile to lower its debt, the specialty retailer continues on the hunt for new leadership, either in the form of a new CEO (unlikely) or new owner (likely). Whoever is going to scoop up GameStop is probably waiting for 19Q1 when sales dip and its valuation will be lower.
The breaking up of Valve’s dominance is good for players and companies that make games. Consumers will get better prices and more choice, and the various digital stores will compete over functionality and improved user experience. This is a win-win for all.
Walled gardens will be broken down, enabling cross-platform play with anyone, anywhere.
Despite digitization, the bulk of interactive entertainment has remained within one of the various walled gardens. That is going to change. Like telecom networks that allow people to speak to each other irrespective of their phone provider, so, too, will online gaming break down silos. In 2019, cross-platform play will become ubiquitous. The end of 2018 has already shown the potential of this as Fortnite’s success resulted in each of the platforms agreeing to play nicely with one another.
Legacy publishers like Activision Blizzard have also tasted what cross-platform play can do for their franchises: Hearthstone has continued to dominate the collective card game category, because it works seamlessly across PC and mobile, and offers a smooth integration with live-streaming platforms like Twitch.
Cross-platform play should be at the top of every studio’s design agenda in 2019.
Subscriptions and bundled content will drive sales in 2019.
After seeing the initial success with subscriptions enjoyed by Twitch and Microsoft’s GamePass, more companies will adopt this monetization model. Large platform holders like Sony and Apple are looking to grow their revenues by offering content subscriptions. Both of these companies have indicated they have plans to increase services revenue as a direct response to reaching the limit of how much hardware they can sell.
Game publishers have been experimenting with micro-transactions to great success. Tentpole franchises like FIFA, Hearthstone and GTA V Online have made a mint from what they call “recurrent revenues.” Beyond up-selling their audiences on a regular schedule with content updates, they will explore subscription models that will provide massive discounts and unique content to players in exchange for a more predictable revenue flows.
Video games will face more and new regulation with a focus on kids.
Now that gaming has emerged as a mainstream form of entertainment, the industry can expect more scrutiny. In addition, there will be sharper focus on kids and technology in 2019. Data companies will be increasingly under the microscope. Similar to the loot box scandal that resulted in various governments speaking out, we will see an effort focused on protecting children. This means that game companies will be held to a higher standard with regards to how they handle data on minors. Against the background of a festering trade war between eastern and western economies, data ownership, in particular around children, will emerge as a political topic and strategic business challenge.
It also means that titles like Fortnite will be fingered as culprits in narratives around an erosion of culture and well-being (although this is largely driven by misinformed industry critics). The title’s appeal to younger audiences will make it a likely scapegoat as the usual choir sings its disdain for video games. This year’s congressional hearing in the U.S. more than satisfied our need for examples of how disconnected government representatives are from technology used by literally everyone else. Different from previous generations, however, I expect the companies currently at the top of the food chain to know exactly how to respond. They will push titles that offer a safe, pleasant space for kids to play, uninterrupted by broader challenges found everywhere else.
Next year will, however, not be a continuation of exuberance as we’ve seen previously. Trends in related industries suggest that gaming, too, will move toward a more concentrated competitive landscape and closer government monitoring.
Further consolidation is imminent for the games industry.
In response to the slowdown in consumer spending, some game companies will go out of business and others will gobble up the failing ones to strengthen their market positions. Nothing new here, but it does leave room for speculation as to who will buy whom. I previously speculated that Amazon would buy GameStop and still think they might. Only it will happen when GameStop reaches its wits end, probably at the end of Q1 2019.
Across Europe there have been a series of smaller acquisitions throughout the year, some of which are now turning sour. Starbreeze had its offices raided (which I’m told sounded worse than it was). Even so, this year the ambitious portfolio approach of buying up smaller studios and leveraging their IP against efficient distribution networks became, perhaps, too popular.
Finally, I expect companies like Tencent to continue satisfying their appetites for foreign assets. If nothing else, this year has cemented Tencent’s need to diversify as they look to mitigate some of its recent stresses by lowering its exposure to games revenue and further investing in western companies and platforms. Over the past two years its success with this strategy has greatly lowered competition across PC and mobile, the two most innovative categories.
This does not mean that innovation itself is at risk. It just means that the stakes will be higher for any firm that does not make a billion or more in revenues.
The coming winter brings a slowdown in growth, and possibly in revenue and innovation.
I’ve been writing about this for a while now. But don’t misunderstand: I want to be wrong about this. While I would like to predict that 2019 will bring even more growth and more money for everyone, the supporting evidence simply isn’t there.
For one, mobile gaming is showing saturation across different markets, including in China. It has evolved from insignificance to become the biggest games market worldwide and is now starting to slow. We are also at the end of the current console cycle. This simply means that the platforms are going to discount their hardware and the bulk of consumers looking to spend are disproportionately price conscious.
Overall economic indicators suggest that consumer spending, especially in the U.S., is headed to a slowdown. Following the tax breaks earlier in the year, overall spending surprised even the retailers. But that party is going to end soon. Finally, as gaming has become mainstream, its underlying economics have shifted. In broad terms this means that where previously the games industry may have seemed “counter-cyclical” it is going to follow suit with whatever happens to consumer spending at large. In addition, investors have become savvier and are starting to trade aggressively against game stocks. This means game companies are less inclined to take risks on content innovation (as in the case of EA).
The long-term silver lining here is that this imminent stagnation is the precursor of the industry’s overall transition. But before spring comes winter.
Live-streamers and influencers embark on a drama binge.
Yes, newfound fame will get the better of them and stupid things will be said. This is still the very first generation that suddenly finds itself thrust into the mainstream spotlight — they don’t have the benefit of the intense vetting that other industries have subjected their rising stars to before sending them on the main stage. With many still amateurs and competing against one another to win the favor of audiences and aggregators alike, the stakes are substantially higher.
In their hunger for attention, aspiring streamers will sacrifice their authenticity and some will undoubtedly ruin their careers before it even starts. Mounting pressures from growing competition will drive this new generation of tastemakers to “keep it real” and remain authentic. Twitch and YouTube will do what they can, I’m sure. But for many, this authenticity will be too much.
EA takes a hit in 2019.
Among the Big Three, Electronic Arts will have the toughest year. Despite its aggressive expansion effort illustrated by the acquisition of GameFly’s streaming division, EA is going to face the music with investors. This is somewhat undeserved, because financial investors insist on continual growth and generally can’t see past the next quarter. And, to be fair, EA has a few weaknesses: its revenue and its margin are highly dependent on the continuing success of FIFA Ultimate Team. In addition, it has relatively little new IP in the pipe, which makes it even more difficult for investors to care about the longer-term future. Simply put, EA can’t free itself from Wall Street’s needs as several analysts have already started to lower their expectations for the year ahead.
GameStop sells, but it’s not a party.
I already predicted this last year and was almost right: GameStop has been trying to get acquired for the past six months. Its C-suite has seen better days, most recently resulting in a letter from one of its largest shareholders, Tiger Management, to get its sh!t together (aka perform a strategic review). The company has been unable to find a buyer and now finds itself forced to essentially abandon the diversification strategy it initiated in 2014 by acquiring retail chain in parallel market segments. Just recently GameStop sold off Spring Mobile and is likely to use the money to pay off its debts and improve the likelihood of some private equity firm or a company like Amazon to buy it. No one expected it to be a great year for games retail, but it’s getting sadder.


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Mobile, provided by khaleej times 5 minute mobile covid 19 test centres to open across uae his highness sheikh mohamed bin zayed al. As many people are sheltering in place apple has made some of its popular mobile games available at no cost these titles, us government officials are using cellphone location data from the mobile ad industry not data from the carriers themselves. Using data from the mobile advertising industry government officials including those at the federal and state level as well, wall street journal sources say federal via the cdc state and local governments have been receiving location data from.
They were ready to roll whenever disaster struck california: three 200 bed mobile hospitals that could be deployed to the, cornerstone mobile counseling clinical social work therapist herkimer ny 13350 315 219 4689 cornerstone is a mobile. Tracking data from u s mobile technology and location data company x mode is being fed a mapping platform called tectonix to, earlier this week t mobile released its new $15 per month connect prepaid mobile plan t mobile connect promises users. Mobile and in app ad spend is soaring and consumer demand for personal advertising experiences has never been higher, months in the making the manna pantry of big rapids will soon be open for their first mobile pantry with the hope to feed.
Along with a bunch of other additions across the call of duty franchise activision has detailed two brand new modes coming


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The Rise of Ghost Crypto
One particular cryptocurrency that has been making waves in the industry is Ghost Crypto. This innovative digital currency aims to provide enhanced privacy and security features to its users. With an emphasis on anonymizing transactions through advanced encryption techniques, Ghost Crypto has garnered a strong following in a relatively short span of time.
Is the Crypto.com App Down?
Crypto.com has emerged as one of the leading platforms for trading and storing cryptocurrencies. However, users might encounter occasional technical difficulties with the Crypto.com app. If you're facing any issues or want to stay updated, it's crucial to stay informed. To learn more about the current status of the Crypto.com app, visit this informative article.
The Popularity of Cryptocurrencies
The surge in popularity of cryptocurrencies has been remarkable, captivating the attention of both investors and general enthusiasts. Understanding the latest trends and insights surrounding cryptocurrencies is crucial for anyone looking to venture into this rapidly evolving market. To gain deeper insights into the current state of cryptocurrencies, you can read this comprehensive article.
EU Proposes Banning Cryptocurrencies
The European Union (EU) recently proposed a controversial ban on cryptocurrencies, causing quite a stir within the industry. This proposed ban has significant implications for digital assets and the future of cryptocurrency regulations. To understand the potential impact of the EU's proposal on digital assets, visit this insightful article.
Mark Cuban's Crypto Investments
Notable figures in the financial industry, like billionaire Mark Cuban, have recognized the potential of cryptocurrencies and have actively invested in them. In fact, Cuban's interest in the crypto realm has led him to diversify his portfolio with various digital assets. To learn more about Mark Cuban's crypto investments, check out this insightful article.
Ghost Crypto: Exploring the Latest Trends and Insights
In recent years, cryptocurrencies have gained immense popularity and have become one of the most discussed topics in the financial world. From Bitcoin to Ethereum, these digital assets have revolutionized the way we perceive traditional forms of currency. In this article, we will delve into the latest trends and insights surrounding cryptocurrencies and shed light on some intriguing aspects of this digital phenomenon.


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Chinese Internet company owns 40 percent of Epic Games
New financial documents reveal Tencent paid $330 million for minority stake in Gears of War studio.
Epic Games announced last summer that Chinese Internet company Tencent had acquired a minority stake in the Gears of War studio, but did not specify terms. Now, more information has come to light. Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney today confirmed with Polygon that the Chinese company owns 40 percent of the developer and has appointed two representatives to the Epic board of directors.
"In June 2012, Tencent made a minority investment in Epic Games, purchasing approximately 48.4 percent of outstanding shares of Epic stock, equating to 40 percent of total Epic capital inclusive of both stock and employee stock options," Sweeney said.
"As part of the investment, two Tencent representatives joined Epic's board of directors, in addition to the three directors and two observers appointed by Epic," he added. "We're thrilled to have a world-leading partner in Tencent, who gives Epic unique access to the Chinese market as we head into the next chapter of our 21-year history as a leading independent developer."
Recently published Tencent financial documents reveal that the Chinese company paid $330 million for its stake in Epic. Tencent said it decided to invest in Epic because the company is "driving change in the Internet industry" and its ambitions aligned with Tencent's own long-term strategic goal of creating "first-class products."
In the months after the deal was announced last summer, a number of high-profile Epic Games developers and executives left the company. First to leave was former producer Rod Fergusson, who left shortly after the deal was revealed and is now executive vice president of development at BioShock Infinite studio Irrational Games.
In August, three longtime developers at the Epic-owned Bulletstorm studio People Can Fly decided to leave, before design director Cliff Bleszinski left after twenty years with the company in October.
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What is the impact, looking back, upon Indian hospitality industry – witnessing the last two years’ challenges? DI caught up with K.B. Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, Radisson Hotel Group-South Asia to get his impressions on the industry pipeline and growth aspect.
In the Covid breakdown, what has been the impact on the Indian eco-system?
“The past few years have been particularly challenging for the hospitality sector, but this hasn’t taken away the growth opportunities. In fact, the only way to see continued success is to prepare for these inevitable changes and challenges. A recent Hotelivate study has forecasted that by FY 26, the nationwide inventory of hotels in India is expected to increase by 19%. The horizon looks bright for the upscale and economy segment (23% respectively) followed by midscale (17%) and luxury (7%). A majority of the nation’s organized inventory sits in the mid and upscale space and shall witness a recovery that is marginally slower than the hotels at the top and bottom of the pyramid,” he says.
How do you see recent trends, especially in terms of profile of the Indian customer?
“Travel trends like staycations and workcations have opened the doors to experiential travel and accommodation in the country which is delivered well via boutique and independent hotels and resorts. According to a social tables survey, 55% of global travelers say that they are more determined than ever to choose sustainable accommodation than they were last year — but a lack of appealing options makes it difficult to put this into practice.”
Is this making any difference to Indian supply side? Do we see some tangible growth happening?
These independent hotels and resorts represent a strong pipeline and capture 10-12% of the market share in India and present a significant opportunity for hotel chains to tap this potential for delivering a unique experience to travelers.
Do we see new destinations coming up in the country? Like new emerging holiday spots?
Yes, for sure, there is a heightened interest among travelers for exploring unique destinations like Kumbalgarh, Gokarna, Varkala and Tawang, among other gems our country has to offer. This further helps in building a strong pipeline of quality accommodation in these markets and offering a fillip to the hospitality sector’s recovery in the years to come. These upcoming secondary and tertiary markets will drive the next phase of growth for the country’s hospitality ecosystem by leveraging the fresh pipeline of hotels and resorts.
The next five years will result in a balanced distribution of business between leisure-focused homestays, and independent hotels and resorts to meet the diverse needs of travelers. The industry may utilize the next three to four years to get back to where it was pre-COVID as multiple variables affect the trajectory of this recovery. This makes it even more important to acknowledge the silver lining and seize the opportunities that COVID-19 provides: to create more resilient operations; deeper, digital guest relationships, and a refined set of strategic priorities aligned with today’s traveler.
Overall, where is this growth going? More specifically, where does Radisson fit into this emerging scenario?
We believe hospitality will be a sunrise industry in India. The next five to 10 years will see a significant number of new destinations emerging, especially in tier III, IV, V cities and leisure markets. We see exponential demand for high-quality lodging accommodation in India, driven by the vast infrastructural development planned across the country and young, discerning travelers looking for unique experiences. At Radisson Hotel Group, we are fully prepared with our strategies to take on this exciting future growth opportunity that India has to offer.


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‘Digit’ is a two-legged robot designed to get your delivery from a car to your door.
2 min read
This story originally appeared on Engadget
Autonomous deliveries and self-driving vehicles may be the future, but there are still a few gaps that need to be addressed — namely that it’s not always possible for people to leave their homes to retrieve deliveries from the roadside (and if you’re hungover and ordering take out, you definitely don’t want to). Ford is working on a solution for this final stretch, though, and it’s come right out of a sci-fi movie.
“Digit” is a two-legged robot created by Agility Robotics, designed to get your delivery from a car to your door. Announced earlier this year but now operational, the robot folds up in the back of a self-driving vehicle, ready to unfurl itself in a Lovercraftian manner when it arrives at the delivery destination. According to the press release, “Digit not only resembles the look of a person, but walks like one, too.” We’ll let you make up your own mind on that one.
Digit can lift packages that weigh up to 40 pounds, walk up and down stairs and across uneven terrain, and can maintain its balance in the event of a bump. It makes the journey from the car to the door by tapping into data obtained by the self-driving vehicle. The car builds a detailed map of its surroundings, then wirelessly shares that with Digit. Through this data exchange, Digit and the vehicle can even work collaboratively to identify the most efficient delivery pathway.
Digit looks creepy, there’s no two ways around that. But it might not be that long before you see the robot — or some kind of iteration of it — scuttling around your neighborhood. After all, a number of U.S. states have formally permitted the use of delivery robots on sidewalks, and numerous other companies are working on — and have launched — their own autonomous delivery solutions. None of them look quite like Digit, though.