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Good morning. The unseasonably warm winter weather’s having a cooling effect on retail. Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft should break even in around 2020 and with a mostly new management team in place now the company’s set for a comeback, says CEO Alain Bellemare. Meanwhile, the oil and gas sector is expected to have 100,000 job losses by the end of this year. These stories and more in your morning cheat sheet to the Financial Post.
1. Bombardier’s CEO says CSeries jet is ready
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Bombardier’s US$5.4-billion CSeries passenger jet, the long-anticipated, largest plane built by the company, was finally certified by Transport Canada on Friday. After more than 3,000 flight test hours, delays and debt accumulation, the aircraft will go into service for Swiss International Air in the middle of 2016.
“Yes, we’re late, and yes, we’re over budget, that’s water under the bridge,” said CEO Alain Bellemare. “The good news is that our flight tests have been successful.”
Bombardier received US$1 billion from the Quebec government and US$1.5 billion from pension fund giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the company is speaking to the federal government to see if it can get more funding, Karl Moore reports .
The company represents about 2 per cent of the GDP in Quebec and 0.7 per cent of the GDP of Canada.
The planes each cost about $30 million to produce and the company has 243 firm orders, well short of its target of 300.
2. Oil industry to lose 100,000 jobs by year end
The oil and gas sector will see 100,000 job losses by the end of this year, including 40,000 direct jobs, as a combination of policy uncertainties and low crude oil prices decimates the sector, the head of the country’s oil and gas industry group says, Yadullah Hussain reports.
“Canadians should be concerned in times like these,” Tim McMillan, president and chief executive of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said in an interview. “We have a lot of big policy pieces moving around. We need … to ensure we can compete in a slower price environment and if prices do bounce back , that we are the preferred investment jurisdiction and that we are picking up more than our fair share.”
Crude oil prices have halved in the space of a year to around US$35 per barrel and could slip further to the high US$20s as major producers continue to flood the market with record output, Citigroup estimates. Alberta alone has seen job losses of 63,500 jobs in the first eight months of the year, mostly related to the oil sector, according to Statistics Canada.
Apart from the protracted price declines, Alberta’s oil and gas sector has also had to contend with a 20 per cent hike in corporate taxes, a carbon tax and new regulatory policies to limit rein in carbon emissions.
3. Are the days of the public rant over?
Have you ever tweeted a customer service complaint or posted a query on a company’s Facebook page and heard nothing back? It turns out you’re not alone, Ryan Holmes reports. A recent survey of 500 top retailers shows only 20 per cent of questions sent via Twitter and 54 per cent via Facebook get a response. And the average response time is more than 27 hours.
Fortunately, updates at Twitter and Facebook promise to overhaul the way customer service is done on social media. Gone are the days of consumers ranting to friends and followers about delayed flights and faulty merchandise to little avail. Instead, some social networks are offering ways for companies to connect one-on-one with their customers. Innovative chat and messaging functions are promising to take customer service back behind closed doors.
That’s if companies are ready and consumers are willing to give up the power of the public rant.
An estimated 67 per cent of consumers now tap networks such as Twitter and Facebook for customer service. For the socially savvy, the appeal is obvious: Rather than suffer through interminable help lines or wait patiently for a response via email, users can Tweet and, in theory, get speedy, personalized attention.
However, the effectiveness of taking a company to task in public appears to be waning.
4. Warm winter has cooling effect on retail
Blaming the weather for poor retail results is typically greeted with chuckles from industry analysts — a catch-all excuse that can cover underlying issues such as unexciting products or poor inventory planning, Hollie Shaw reports.
But this year, with unseasonably warm temperatures in many parts of Canada and across key regions of the U.S., the weather is no laughing matter for businesses who rely on a more seasonal assortment of goods, from parkas to snow blowers.
“This is clearly not the weather that would shock people into buying winter apparel or winter sensitive type of product — snow tires or de-icer,” said David Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, citing “unprecedented, historic warmth in November and December,” in many parts of Canada. “For me, there has not been any evidence of winter.”
Ottawa, the snowiest national capital city in the world, had just 0.6 centimetres of snow between Nov. 1st and Dec. 16th, a period in which it would have normally seen 51 centimetres of snow. The average temperature in the period was 3.5 degrees, compared with an average of minus 2.5 over 30 years of record-keeping. In Winnipeg, the variance seems even more extreme, averaging negative 2.2 degrees during the period, versus historical average of minus 9.1 degrees. Toronto, Montreal and Calgary are also warmer and less snowy than normal.
“This is going to really hurt a lot of retailers,” said George Minakakis, chief executive officer at Inception Retail Group Inc. in Toronto, who said apparel retailers order goods 90 to 120 days in advance. “You are forecasting your sales based on past sales trends, not on past weather trends. With weather like this, it throws everything completely out.”
5. The hottest toy you can’t buy in stores!
Outside his condo in downtown Toronto – which is also his sales centre, warehouse and logistics hub – Darren Pereira is giving a hoverboard lesson, Claire Brownell reports.
A young woman steps onto the two-wheeled scooter, crying out and laughing when it instantly starts to move. “There you go. Oh, you’ve got a good strong core!” Pereira says, walking backwards in front of her so she has a shoulder to grab if she loses her balance from what he calls “hover legs,” the shaky feeling people experience when they’re trying a hoverboard for the first time.
“Wherever you look, that’s where you’re going to go. It’s freaky, huh?” he says. “Another safe lesson. Take a break now.”
Pereira, 40, is a hoverboard entrepreneur – as well as “a publicist, deal negotiator, artist liaison, iPhone app architect, customer service manager, merchandise director, creative writer, shipping & tour manager,” according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s decked out, head-to-toe, in gear from a clothing line he also promotes.
The woman getting the hover lesson heard through a friend that she could try out the gadget popularized by the Instagram and Twitter accounts of Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Wiz Khalifa, so here she is, at 10 a.m. on a Monday. Such is the allure of the #hoverlife.


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With the recently conducted salary survey, we examined the logistics & supply chain labour market trends and salary evolutions expected for 2024. Viktorien van Loon elaborates on the results of the survey.
The newly released salary guide from staffing specialist Walters People reveals that sales and marketing professionals are optimistic about the exciting opportunities on the job market. Viktorien van Loon offers insights.
The newly released salary guide from staffing specialist Walters People shows that one constant prevails across various sectors: the high demand for customer service professionals. Viktorien van Loon elaborates on some notable trends and reveals what salary these professionals can expect in 2024.
Although the number of advertised vacancies within business support in the past six months was lower than in record year 2022, the demand for these professionals remained prominent. Asia Skifati explains.

domain: news


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Still having trouble getting your hands on a PS5? Toshiba expects that the next-gen console supply shortages could continue into 2023, based on trouble the company is having with power regulating chips that the consoles—and virtually all electronics—use. TheGamer reports that these once common chips are now seeing scarcity thanks to shortages of raw materials that have left Toshiba unable to produce the abundance that they once could.
“The supply of chips will remain very tight until at least September next year. In some cases, we may find some customers not being fully served until 2023.” Takeshi Kamebuchi, a Toshiba director who does semiconductor production, said. “Game console makers are among the customers making the strongest demands and I’m sincerely sorry for their frustration as none of them have a 100% satisfaction.” Even once supply opens up, it will take some time for the production pipelines to get those chips into electronics, including consoles, and then out to customers.
This is a little different than previous reports of semiconductor shortages, which focused primarily on the availability of memory and processors chips like CPUs and GPUs. Shortages on those chips were expected to push the scarcity of next-gen consoles like the PS5 out to early-mid 2022, but Toshiba’s concerns about power regulating chips adds a new wrinkle. If accurate, this would be keeping the PS5 off of shelves for more than two years following its initial launch.
Even some memory and processor semiconductor manufacturers have said they expect shortages to continue into 2023. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said it expects shortages into and beyond next year. TheGamer also reported that some Hong Kong truck drivers have shifted smuggling operations from hard drugs to semiconductors due to the shortages.
Sony recently said that a redesign of the PS5 could ease the strain, and a new model seems to remove some of the overall material weight, most notably in the heatsink. However, this redesign doesn’t change the availability of the chips, which is the real issue creating a hold up in production. Despite shortages, PS5 sales have been exceptionally high, breaking numerous records for Sony and on track to be the company’s best-selling console should trends continue. Still, it’s hard to know exactly where it stands because sales are limited at the top end by how many Sony can produce, selling out just as fast as they can restock.[Source: TheGamer]


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Source – Hillary Clinton took a lot of flak on Monday after a report surfaced that the presidential candidate wore a Giorgio Armani jacket worth more than $12,000 during a speech in April about inequality.
Clinton, who was well-known for her vast pantsuit collection, has upgraded her wardrobe during her most recent bid for president to appear more relatable.
I don’t see what the big deal is really… I’m sure they were a gift, if you don’t believe her, check her emails. Oh wait..
Anyways, Hillary is getting eaten alive for this. How are you going to give a speech about inequality while wearing something that simply doesn’t equate to the common person? Doesn’t an advisor or someone on her staff of 700 people stop her and say “Hey maybe we should rethink this”.
You want to wear expensive suits because you can afford to? Go right ahead, you want to speak about equality while wearing some of the most expensive brands on the planet while speaking about inequality? Bad look Hill. Who exactly are you relating to? Most people in this world can hardly afford to put clothes on their children and still look presentable enough themselves to go to work.
That being said she looks gross and her dress choices are god awful. If you want to relate to pander to today’s audience, how about wearing something that doesn’t look like it came out of the 1940’s, start there. Don’t wear a jacket that costs more than peoples cars. Just a thought…
She literally looks like that old cranky lady that you just can’t stand and want to punch in the face but you don’t because you don’t want to go to jail for the rest of your life. She looks exactly like that. She has a very punchable face. Wearing these god awful jackets, I am only left to assume that you rolled out of bed and threw that on because your fat shirts were dirty.


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If there’s one thing America does really well, it’s sell products. From Air Jordans to fidget spinners, the U.S. selling machine knows how to crank it out by the millions and create hip products that stick. Some of that success has to do with sleek and novel design, like the iPhone, or the perfect celebrity endorsement, like Michael Jordan. But what’s almost always behind a great product that sells is one key feature: spot-on branding.
Now the expanding cannabis industry — which is projected by BDS Analytics to be a $32 billion worldwide business by 2022 — is getting in on the game. With adult-use and medical marijuana now legal across a solid majority of North America, makers of cannabis products are focusing their attention on clever ways to entice consumers to their wares. Many of the offerings are unique and upscale, such as artsy stoneware pipes and luxurious 24k gold rolling papers, and others are utilitarian tools like indoor lighting systems for hydroponic cultivation sites. All of them have one thing in common — they’re driven by a razor-sharp style of brand awareness.
While Canada certainly has the jump on legal cannabis production in North America since legalizing adult-use pot nationwide in October, it’s the U.S. that is poised to develop marijuana brands that really hit the mark. The GrowthOp reports that CEO Ben Kovler of Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries said at a recent cannabis conference in Toronto, “The Canadians have a first-mover advantage in large-scale production, large-scale farming, large-scale commodity input, but the U.S. has an edge in brands and the consumer experience.” He went on to say that Americans are “not growing the hops or the barley, we’re making the beer; we’re not tomato farmers, we’re making Heinz ketchup.”
A good current example of mega-brand building is the cannabis producer Cresco Labs and their hire of award-winning designer Scott Wilson as the company’s chief experience officer. Wilson holds a Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, one of the nation’s highest design honors, and was once a lead designer for Nike. Cresco CEO Charlie Bachtell told Fast Company about the move, “We know that we haven’t even scratched the surface when it comes to consumption methods, forms, the widgets associated with consumption. There are so many opportunities to improve that consumer experience.”
Improve they will, as Cresco recently secured $100 million in private funding, a move that surely will lead to strategic acquisitions, greater brand awareness and more growth.
Others are honing the look of their brands, too, like players in the popular marijuana edibles and topicals sector. There are more and more glossy cannabis products appearing at premium retailers nationwide. Not too long ago, pot dispensaries sold marijuana chocolates and cookies in plastic wrappers that looked just barely a step above the quality of a Ziploc bag.
Today the presentations are far more high-end. Kiva Confections have been steadily polishing their look since 2010 and is now a well-recognized and widely sold seller of cannabis-infused chocolates across the U.S. The company Lord Jones, who makes a sought-after, high-CBD cannabis body lotion, is currently selling at Sephora.
As the cannabis industry eases into selling to a more mainstream audience over the next few years, the same marketing tools used for promoting sports drinks, perfumes and automobiles will be used to sell legal cannabis products.
“If you asked me two years ago, would we be able to get the global creative director for Nike to help us bring cannabis to today’s day and age and beyond, my answer would have been, ‘No chance,'” said Bachtell.
You can bet it’s just a matter of time before some leading Hollywood actor or top sports figure steps up to be the national face of a billion-dollar cannabis company.


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YouTube is expanding its efforts to combat ad blockers. According to YouTube Communications Manager Christopher Lawton (via The Verge), the platform has initiated a “global effort” to encourage users to either allow ads or explore YouTube Premium.
While YouTube confirmed the disabling of videos for users with ad blockers back in June, Lawton initially described it as a limited global experiment. However, this initiative has now been expanded. In recent weeks, more users with ad blockers installed have encountered difficulties in accessing YouTube videos, as highlighted in a report from Android Authority.
YouTube’s this strategic move may prove to be an irritant for many internet users who resorted to ad blockers primarily due to the disruptive nature of YouTube’s ads. Research conducted by Tinuiti reveals that approximately 31% of U.S. adult consumers currently employ ad blockers, and this segment has been consistently expanding over the years.
Lawton emphasizes that the use of ad blockers is a violation of the platform’s terms of service. He also emphasizes that ads play a crucial role in supporting a diverse community of content creators worldwide and in enabling billions of viewers to access their favorite content on YouTube.
YouTube has made several adjustments to its advertising approach this year. In May, the company introduced unskippable 30-second ads to its TV app, and it later experimented with longer but less frequent ad breaks on TV.
YouTube appears to be leveraging these extended ad breaks to encourage more users to subscribe to its ad-free YouTube Premium service. However, a $2 price increase and the discontinuation of its more affordable Premium Lite plan could potentially make this option less appealing to users.


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|Monday, September 01, 2008|
Admit it. Peeling those little stickers off fruits and veggies is annoying. And those pesky labels waste paper and ink, too. They bugged Dr. Qingyue Ling enough that he’s adapted laser technology to find a way to get rid of them. Two years ago Ling, a researcher at Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center in Portland, investigated the idea and, to his astonishment, discovered nobody had thought of it. “My mind went wild,” he says. Ling’s food laser is a heat-energy beam that rapidly peels away the surface layer of the item; the strength of the laser can adjust for varying textures and thicknesses so it minimizes any damage to the food. But don’t expect to see laser-labeled produce for at least a couple of years. More study is needed on how it alters the composition of food and what, if any, effect it has on humans when the food is eaten. Work also is being done on a clear, edible coating that immediately seals the lasered label to retain freshness. Now all we need is an invention that eradicates those pesky tax collectors.
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
BY LINDA BAKER
Leaders in Oregon's ag sector gathered this morning in Portland’s Coopers Hall winery/taproom to discuss the role of the region as an export gateway, impediments to exporting products and solutions to containerized shipping challenges.
Monday, April 13, 2015
BY GRANT KIRBY | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
The mega-shift from technology-driven to data-driven organizations raises questions about Oregon’s workforce preparedness.
Friday, February 20, 2015
BY COURTNEY SHERWOOD | OB CONTRIBUTOR
Marijuana is big business in Oregon, and it’s about to get bigger.
Friday, March 06, 2015
BY JEFF DELKIN | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
As a local business owner, I believe it’s important to build our economy on a platform of conservation values.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
BY KIM MOORE | OB RESEARCH EDITOR
A conversation with Donna Earley, director of sales and marketing for the Salem Convention Center.
Friday, February 20, 2015
BY LINDA BAKER | OB EDITOR
Vacasa may lack the name recognition of Airbnb. But not for long.
Friday, March 27, 2015
BY LINDA BAKER
Founded 12 years ago, Keen Inc. likes to push the envelope, starting with the debut of the “Newport” closed toe sandal in 2003. Since then, the company has opened a factory on Swan Island and a sleek new headquarters in the Pearl District. The brand’s newest offering, UNEEK, is a sandal made from two woven cords and not much more.
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A new report highlights how Oregon bankers are giving back to their communities.
Since 1932 Tidewater Transportation & Terminals (operating as Tidewater Barge Lines and Tidewater Terminal Company) has operated a multicommodity transportation and terminal company based in Vancouver, Washington. The friendly expression on the company’s shipping containers reflects the attitude of about 330 safety and community-conscious employees but belies how complicated the barge business really is.
The Port of The Dalles has run marine facilities since the 1930s, but they are part of a larger mission to strengthen the local economy. They focus on regional economic development with a strong bent toward adding good-paying jobs in high tech, manufacturing and other industries.
Providing attendees with unique taste of the Northwest Reception.
CFM Strategic Communications turns 25 this year and is celebrating with a revamped website, special events for firm alumni and clients, a special-label wine and a list of 25 stories about its client work over the past quarter century.
The Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University has maintained its business accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.


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CBS is thinking about creating original content for streaming video on demand services like Netflix, an executive told a group of investors today. Asked if he could see CBS producing a studio-caliber show along the lines of Netflix's House of Cards, Global Distribution Group CEO Armando Nuñez said, "it’s definitely a possibility," adding, "we view Netflix, Amazon and all these SVOD platforms as new players. If you can get the right model to work, I can see us doing that."
CBS was in early talks to resurrect 'Jericho' as a Netflix exclusive
Last year, reports surfaced that CBS was in early talks to resurrect its popular action-drama, Jericho, as a Netflix exclusive. The show developed a passionate following, but failed to get mainstream success on broadcast TV, making it ripe for Netflix's Arrested Development treatment. Amazon also recently announced that it would be the exclusive online source for CBS’s upcoming "tentpole" series Under the Dome, but that show will still be broadcast days before it hits the web.
Syndication is a $3 billion business for CBS globally
Syndication is a $3 billion business for CBS globally, and the company is understandably apprehensive about jeopardizing existing businesses with an aggressive shift to digital distribution, which Nuñez calls "taking money from one pocket and putting into another." Lawsuits aside, consumers’ preference for time-shifted viewing and streaming on demand services haven’t done much to change how CBS does things. "[Binge viewing] doesn’t really change the model that much," said Nuñez.


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Comparing with traditional diesel or petroleum-fueled vehicles, electric cars offer much cleaner environment with its zero emission feature, lower maintenance cost due to its fewer moving parts, and no or lower consumption of oil.
With these advantages, the global electric car sales is booming, reaching 1.7% market share last 2017. That is, increasing by almost half of 2016’s global market. This leaves us with the question – what mainly drives consumers to switch to electric vehicles?
It is easy to view that government efforts – establishing environmental policies – would drive the global transformation to electric mobility. However, according to beyondbrics, even without these policies, electrical cars will soon be the cheapest option. beyondbrics, which is a forum on emerging markets, believes that cost or economics will be the main driver of global transformation to electric mobility.
Emerging Markets Lead the Transformation
It was formerly believed by some analysts that emerging markets would be less competitive in electrification of automobiles. However, current events show that emerging markets, such as China, are leading the global green vehicle transformation, having surpassed in 2015 American and European auto manufacturers in electric car sales.
China’s market upsurge in performance is associated with three factors:
- Its commuters, who use two- and three-wheeled vehicles, are good targets in electrification. These vehicles are faster to electrify because of their light weight, which would require cheaper batteries.
- Its government is highly focused on fighting air pollution from urbanization.
- To compensate its incompetence in diesel and petrol cars, Chinese automakers are dedicated on developing electric cars that can be globally competitive. While the West has Daimler to probably produce electric vans, China has already built electric vans and buses and launched in the market.
EVs Offer the Lowest Total Cost of Ownership
While it is known that purchase prices of electric cars are more expensive than traditional diesel and petrol vehicles, it is also widely acknowledged that this cost difference is compensated with the savings brought by lower maintenance and fuel requirements.
Savings from electric vehicles increase with increasing distances travelled. This means that high-mileage cars such as taxis can now save up to 30 percent compared with those conventional diesel-fueled taxis in terms of operational costs.
Soon, it is also expected that the purchase prices of brand new low-mileage hybrid vehicles will also be comparable to their diesel-engine counterparts. Analysts project this to occur by around 2025. Volvo and Peugeot have already promised creating hybrid counterparts to all of their car models. In addition, carmakers Volkswagen and BMW are developing fully electric vehicles priced at a comparable level with traditional diesel-fueled cars.
In a study published in the journal Applied Energy, it was shown that electric cars indeed are the cheapest option, in terms of the “total cost of ownership” (TCO) which represents the combination of fixed and variable costs. The study compared the 2015 TCO’s of fully electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and diesel vehicles using their average mileage and average fuel consumption. The authors of the study wrote “Costs were found to be cheaper for electric vehicles due to less wear on the brakes and fewer moving parts.”
This economic assessment used data from two years ago, and currently, the battery prices are steadily dropping, which means electric car prices will still be declining in the years ahead.
Car Financing Scheme Changes the Game
While some projections have regarded the higher purchase prices of electric cars to inhibit or slow down the electrification of transport industry, it also seems that they have skipped or underestimated the power of car financing schemes. An example is the so-called “personal contract plans” which enabled North American and European consumers to purchase vehicles they could not initially afford.
In a personal contract plan, a customer is allowed to lease a car and at the end of the contract, he or she has an option to purchase the unit at a fixed price. Consequently, the car companies are in a race in offering the lowest monthly leasing rates instead of advertising or lowering their prices.
With this system, the customers tend to return their vehicles if the secondhand value is lower than the option-to-buy price. This trend made the personal contract plan scheme a game changer in the car industry, creating a domino effect.
Its success led to an oversupply of secondhand diesel-fueled cars. The scandal of diesel-fueled cars’ cheated emissions tests lowered even further the demand for secondhand diesel cars. As the market for electric cars increases, the secondhand value of diesel cars decreases. To compensate for this loss, the contract prices of diesel cars were increased – about 57% increase in Audi3 from its 2016 price.
Considering that the battery prices keep on declining, then contract prices for electric vehicles are expected to decline even more in the coming years. These trends illustrate how the shift to electric vehicles is happening faster, motivated by costs.
Environmental policies and targets set by governments initialize the awareness on and pushes electrification of transportation. However, in order to achieve targets faster, economics could drive consumers to opt for a green vehicle.
Non-Economic Factors Influencing Car Buyers
Certainly, cost is not the sole factor that will dictate if a consumer is going to purchase an electric vehicle. Other influences are brand loyalty, design features, and raw emotional response. In a survey conducted by McKinsey & Company, it was discovered that about one-third of car buyers in the United States actually had considered purchasing electric cars, but only three percent proceeded on buying them. The reason? Half of the respondents reasoned that they were not sure of how does the electric vehicle technology work.


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Yodlee and Andera today announced a strategic alliance that will unite best-of-breed technologies to provide retail financial institutions with the most comprehensive online account opening and funding solution in the market.
Under the terms of the agreement, Andera will be the exclusive provider of account opening technology to Yodlee, and Yodlee will be the exclusive provider of account verification and funds transfer technology to Andera, with the combined solution being available from both companies to all financial institutions.
According to a 2006 Aite Group report entitled Something for Everyone: Online Account Opening Delivers the Goods..."online account opening functionality is quickly becoming a competitive must-have for financial institutions. Among participants in an Aite Group research panel of Top 50 banks, 72 percent indicated that they offered account opening and funding (62 percent) or account opening without funding (10 percent)." The report also concluded that "the potential savings from online account opening solutions are compelling. For example, a mid-sized bank with 20 percent of new accounts opened online could realize a whopping $1,125,000 in savings over traditional account opening methods."
Andera is the #1 provider of online account opening solutions to U.S. banks and credit unions, serving more than 130 customers nationwide. Yodlee is the #1 provider of Instant Account Verification technology, processing more than four million verifications per year. By incorporating Yodlee's patented Instant Account Verification technology, small and mid-tier financial institutions gain access for the first time to single-session funding account verification, with easy delivery through a single Andera contract. Previously, instant account verification technology has been available only to the largest financial institutions.
"The ability to verify ownership of an applicant's held-away account prior to initial funding is an increasingly important aspect of the ideal online account opening process," said Charlie Kroll, CEO of Andera. "Unfortunately, well-known approaches have typically required an offline process to complete, significantly increasing abandonment rates. Yodlee's instant account verification technology enables true single-session verification with astonishing consistency and effectiveness, and when integrated with Andera's real-time account opening platform, represents a truly unique offering in the market."
Meanwhile, with Yodlee offering the combined solution to its top-tier customer base, larger financial institutions gain ready access to Andera's market-leading platform, previously marketed primarily to financial institutions outside of the top tier.
"Clearly, effective account opening is a key driver for the online channel and a significant cost reducer and revenue generator for financial institutions," said Joseph Polverari, senior vice president, strategy and development at Yodlee. "By integrating our respective technologies, Yodlee and Andera can deliver the best account opening solution and the best value for all of our customers."
The two companies will also be collaborating to integrate Yodlee's funds transfer technology with Andera's account opening application. Yodlee FundsTransfer is an online, interbank funds transfer application that increases the speed and reduces the risk of online money movement. Yodlee FundsTransfer has already processed over $1 Billion in transaction volume since its launch only nine months ago. Andera will be integrating and reselling Yodlee FundsTransfer as the preferred platform for its initial deposit transactions, as well as supporting seamless integration for financial institutions who select Yodlee's FundsTransfer for ongoing, account to account ("A2A") services after the new account is opened.
The integrated Andera-Yodlee Account Opening solution will be available from both companies in early Q4, 2007. For Yodlee customers, the Account Opening solution will be sold standalone and as part of the Yodlee MoneyCenter online banking product suite. For Andera customers, Yodlee's AccountVerification and FundsTransfer will be offered as options within its New Accounts Online suite.


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This peppermint white chocolate creamer is the perfect way to enjoy your favourite holiday coffee…
Apples are stacked and the shelves are stocked. It is with great excitement that we announce that Blush Lane Bridgeland is open.
As the biggest Blush Lane market yet, the new store extends Blush Lane’s commitment to supporting organic and natural products, including farm-direct produce from Alberta and British Columbia growers. Blush Lane Bridgeland has an on-site deli that prepares fresh and healthy snacks, meals and drinks.
At the soft opening on Sept. 23, representatives from the Alberta government and funding partners joined Blush Lane staff, friends and family to celebrate. Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci and ATB Financial president Dave Mowat attended the opening to mark the big step for the Calgary-based small business.
“It’s a big undertaking to do this, and we can’t do it without our partners,” said Rob Horricks, owner and CEO of Blush Lane.
“This is the perfect time to be opening new stores and to be opening new businesses. As some of our larger potential competitors pack up and leave Alberta, we’re going to take these small centres, put them into communities, help build communities and feed the people.”
“You exemplify the Alberta can-do attitude,” remarked Ceci about Horricks. “You have seen the opportunity in the middle of a challenge, and you are optimistic. Your passion for sustainability guides your business approach and you have created jobs for Albertans.”
As a funding partner, ATB Financial recognized Blush Lane’s impact on the local community.
“Most of the time when we see some of the most successful businesses here in Alberta, they have very local roots and they have people behind them that are dynamic and have that drive to succeed,” said Mowat.
Blush Lane Bridgeland is located at 617 Meredith Road, in between 4 Street NE and Edmonton Trail. There is free 45-minute parking available in the heated parkade. And come join us in celebrating the store’s grand opening on Oct. 15! Learn more here about Blush Lane Bridgeland and how to get to the store.
Blush Lane Organic Market a fresh face in Bridgeland
Sellers of produce talk about the importance of freshness. At Blush Lane Organic Market, you can smell it when walking into the new store on the north side of the Meredith Block at the bottom of Edmonton Trail N.E.
The apples and much of the fruits are grown in the company’s orchards west of Osoyoos, B.C.
Owners Rob and Zenya Horricks are excited about the number of customers who visited the store over the past couple of weeks since their soft opening, when the shelving and displays were still in progress.
The market is 10,000 square feet of fresh produce, meats, fish, groceries, vitamins and skin-care lotions. A large, bright kitchen has an in-store bakery and provides take-away meals, while there is a tasty selection of Calgary-made Kombucha fermented teas. Have a sample, fill a bottle and come back and fill it again.
Above the store, Blush Lane has leased another 3,000 square feet that houses the company’s head office.
Rob Horricks got his first real job at age 16, working in a Safeway store where he became interested in the developing trend to organic foods.
In 1998 he started his own company, Organic Express, which delivered orders to homes across the city. The couple then opened a stall in the original Farmers Market in Currie Barracks and quickly earned a wider reputation.
In 2006, he sold his home-delivery business to Vancouver-based Spud (Sustainable Produce Home Delivery), and with the money purchased the 10-acre orchard in Keremeos, B.C., in the picturesque Similkameen Valley, the organic capital of Canada.
“It’s in a community of farmers who just like to share their passion for growing healthy foods,” Rob said when asked how he learned how to run an orchard.
He became a member of the board of the Certified Organic Association in British Columbia, where he served as its treasurer for four years. When the group learned he had studied business and environmental entrepreneurship at the University of Calgary, he was a shoo-in for the role.
At Keremeos, 20 varieties of apples are grown to be ready for harvesting at different times. Ripeness is essential, and the fruit — including, apricots, plums, peaches and nectarines — are picked every day.
Blush Lane is still a popular seller in the Farmers Market and in 2008 opened its first full-service store in Aspen, followed by a successful Edmonton location on Whyte Avenue in 2012.
The Horricks have built an “organic, local, direct” business that thrives thanks largely to the partnerships it has cultivated with local farmers, producers and businesses.
Their employees get to visit the farms, and farmers come into the stores to tell their story to them and to customers interested in being educated on the benefits of buying the best foods.
Opening another new store was a big step for Rob and Zenya, but they already have plans to open two more 10,000-square-feet Blush Lanes — one in Ronmor Developer’s new building in Marda Loop and another in Windsor by Arlington Street that’s under construction along Elbow Drive S.W.


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Pigeon Wear a mask for colds sold to the Philippines
Wearing face masks has become the new normal, and considering the fact that they play a role in reducing the spread of the coronavirus, it is likely that were going to be wearing them for quite Asian Demand for Face Masks Soars on Fears of Chinese Jan 28, 2020 · Japanese often wear surgical masks to protect against colds, flu or hay fever. Shelves of some stores were scooped bare as Japanese health officials confirmed four cases of the virus.
Jan 28, 2020 · Japanese often wear surgical masks to protect against colds, flu or hay fever. Shelves of some stores were scooped bare as Japanese health officials confirmed four cases of the virus. Christine Yuuki, a 25-year-old tourist from Hefei, west of Nanjing, was shopping in Tokyo for masks for friends and family back in China. Asian demand for face masks soars on fears of Chinese virusJan 28, 2020 · Japanese often wear surgical masks to protect against colds, flu or hay fever. Shelves of some stores were scooped bare as Japanese health officials confirmed four confirmed cases of the virus. Best Mask Guidelines:Mandates, Medical-Grade, How Best Mar 06, 2020 · A year after masks began to blossom on the streets of some cities -- and not in others -- in response to the Covid-19 crisis, guidance over how best to
Jan 09, 2021 · W ith COVID-19 still among us, even a slight cough or sore throat can be concerning, especially because older adults are at higher risk of complications Congresswoman has COVID-19 after sheltering with some Jan 11, 2021 · A press release from Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman's office noted she had been sheltering during the riot "with several colleagues who refused to wear masks." Coronavirus:Why some countries wear face masks and May 12, 2020 · Meanwhile in Indonesia and the Philippines, where there are suspicions that there are many under-reported cases, most people in major cities wear masks to protect themselves from others.
Dec 14, 2020 · The Pennsylvania guidelines state that masks should not be worn damp or when wet from spit or mucus, and in a press conference on April 3, DOH warns public vs. buying masks from street vendors The N95 face mask is sold at PHP130 per piece, more expensive than the PHP110 standard price. Molon said instead of wearing masks, the public should be more conscious about proper hygiene practice, maintaining a safe distance, and taking vitamins to boost one's immune system. Only pregnant women, senior citizens, those with colds, cough, and Japan's Coronavirus Numbers Are Low. Are Masks the Jun 06, 2020 · With paper masks sold out everywhere, the Japanese government sent cloth masks in the mail in April. The initiative, which cost about $400 million, became the
Jun 22, 2020 · A large percentage of people in Japan continue to wear masks as coronavirus case numbers remain low in the reopening country. Evidence increasingly points to mask compliance as a Personal Air Purifier:Does It Really Work?Oct 22, 2019 · A wearable air purifier is a small device typically worn like a necklace. Supposedly, the device creates a bubble of clean air around your head by continuously emitting negative ions that push pollutants away from you so you wont inhale them. Review of Face Shields for Coronavirus (COVID-19 I believe people should only wear face shields in addition to a face mask, not instead of a face mask. At the food co-op where I shop, one of the cashiers wears a face shield and no mask. From my perspective, the allows droplets to be directed downward from her nose and mouth, onto the food she is scanning and placing on the conveyor belt.
Jan 14, 2020 · The price of an ordinary surgical mask, which was sold at P30 per box before the volcano erupted, went up to as high as P100. There have been reports that the price of an N95 mask The Latest:Charges Possible After Philippines Parade Jun 28, 2020 · The Latest:Charges Possible After Philippines Parade, Dance Another tragic milestone was passed Sunday in the coronavirus pandemic:500,000 deaths worldwide. By Associated Press , Wire Service COVID-19 Safety Protocols Will Also Protect You from Colds Oct 05, 2020 · Experts say safety measures such as wearing a mask and keeping physical distance can help reduce droplet transmission of colds, influenza, and COVID-19.


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Halo 5 confirmed for 2015 release on Xbox One
Developer 343 Industries confirms that Halo 5: Guardians isn't coming out this year. The Halo TV series will also begin in fall 2015, but the Halo "journey" will continue in 2014.
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Microsoft has confirmed that Halo 5, now known officially as Halo 5: Guardians, will not be released on Xbox One until fall 2015, but has once again reiterated that the Halo "journey" will continue this year.
"Making a Halo game that runs at 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features, and scale we’ve been dreaming of for more than a decade, is non-trivial," said 343 Industries general manager Bonnie Ross. "It’s a task that we, at 343 Industries, are taking very seriously to ensure we deliver the Halo game that fans deserve, and a game that is built from the ground up for Xbox One."
"Halo 5: Guardians is a bigger effort than Halo 4," continued Ross. "That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine. Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen."
Actual details about Halo 5 are still scarce: a lavish CG trailer was shown off at last year's E3, and we've not heard anything official about the project until now. Ross says that "it’s a game that will hopefully demonstrate the talent, learnings and abilities of the 343 Industries team. A game that will incorporate the things we learned from Halo 4 about technology, aesthetics, performance and scale--and perhaps more importantly, understanding and embracing a community of gamers who love what lies at the heart of this game, and the limitless potential of the Halo universe."
Halo 4, released on Xbox 360 in 2012, was the first entirely new Halo title to be released by 343 Industries, the studio founded by Microsoft to take over development of the franchise after original developer Bungie upped sticks and left to create Destiny. Halo 4 was billed as the first part of the "Reclaimer" saga and presumably will lead directly into the events of Halo 5.
Ross also added that the Halo television series, announced alongside the Xbox One itself last year, will also launch in fall 2015. Might it be connected in some way to the events of Halo 5? Ross says it will both "stand alone" from but simultaneously "complement" the game.
But with no Halo 5 and no Halo TV series, what can we expect for this year? Rumours of a Halo 2 Anniversary Edition have been circulating for a while now, and 343 Industries general manager Bonnie Ross has said that the Halo journey "begins in 2014 with a giant leap, rather than one small step."
Whatever the team is cooking up for this year, Ross confirmed it will be shown at Microsoft's E3 2014 press conference on June 9.
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Teesside firm expands with acquisition of Yorkshire refrigeration specialist
An air conditioning company in Teesside has announced its acquisition of a North Yorkshire based firm as part of its ongoing growth.
Aircon Group, which is based in Thornaby, has acquired Allied Refrigeration in order to strengthen its reach across the Yorkshire region and diversify its offering.
Founded in 1984, Ripon-based Allied Refrigeration specialises in commercial refrigeration and air conditioning, focusing on the agricultural and hospitality industries.
Steve Farrell, managing director of Aircon Group, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Allied Refrigeration to the Aircon Group family.
“The move will broaden the range of services we are able to provide to our customers as well as give us access to new industries and markets.”
Aircon Group, which was founded in 1963, hopes to build on the growth with further opportunities in 2020.
Steve added: “It’s an exciting time for Aircon Group and we’re looking forward to growing the company even further next year.”
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Wiebke Produce will pay $100K in ginseng poaching case
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A Minnesota-based dealer of furs, mushrooms and herbs has agreed to a $100,000 penalty after a conviction for selling illegally harvested Wisconsin ginseng.
The Associated Press reports that Wiebke Produce, which has stores in La Crosse and Eitzen, Minn., also agreed to a two-year ban on ginseng trading, which is regulated in Wisconsin. (Minnesota too; here's a PDF explanation for why.) According to the Wiebke Produce's website, the CEO operates out of Minnesota as well.
Ginseng, which is widely used in medicines and tonics, can only be harvested in the wild with landowner's permission. But with prices ranging at $500 per pound and higher, poaching has become an issue. Officials said they found cases of Wiebke selling licenses for harvesting ginger and buying the product at the same time — which meant that the ginseng had been harvested illegally.
Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.
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Google Inc.’s Nest Labs is acquiring Dropcam Inc. for $555 million to boost its offerings for the connected home.
The deal will be in cash and subject to adjustments, Nest said in a statement today. Dropcam makes in-home cameras that can be checked from a smartphone anywhere in the world, an offering that would broaden Nest’s product lineup into home security. Nest sells digital thermostats and smoke alarms that can also be checked and adjusted remotely from mobile gadgets.
“We care very deeply about helping people stay connected to their home, especially when they’re not in their home,” said Matt Rogers, co-founder of Nest, which is based in Palo Alto, California, in an interview. “This is another offering that helps people get insights into their home.”
The purchase underlines how Nest, which Google bought for about $3.2 billion earlier this year, is working to become a bigger player of connected devices for consumers. The trend is part of a technology movement dubbed the “Internet of things,” where more gadgets and everyday items are connected to the Web and can deliver data and be controlled by mobile devices.
The products gather data on consumer habits and usage. Privacy experts have questioned how Google, the world’s largest search engine, would use Nest’s data. Nest has said its information will remain separate from its parent company.
Dropcam’s data will also remain distinct from Google, Rogers said.
The acquisition adds to a growing list of purchases by Google this year as it looks beyond its own engineers for new capabilities. The Mountain View, California-based company disclosed at least five purchases in May and has announced at least three more in June. One of those was a $500 million deal for Skybox Imaging Inc., which designs satellites that can help Google’s efforts around mapping and Internet access.
Nest, which was cofounded by former Apple Inc. executive Tony Fadell, has run into product challenges recently. In April, Nest said it was suspending sales of its smoke alarms after it determined the units could be switched off unintentionally. The products are now back on the market.
Dropcam, which was founded in 2009, lets users place cameras throughout a home for live-viewing and recording. The cameras also include options for night vision and two-way talking with built-in microphones. The San Francisco-based company’s backers include Accel Partners and Menlo Ventures.
The discussions began a little more than a month ago after Nest approached Dropcam, which wasn’t looking to sell, said Mark Siegel, managing director at Menlo Ventures. The talks were led by Fadell and Rogers, he said. Menlo Ventures invested about $8 million in Dropcam in 2012 when the startup was valued at around $50 million.
“There’s very much of a shared vision there,” Siegel said in an interview. “Had this not been Nest, I think it might have made it a harder decision to make.”
As part of the acquisition, Dropcam’s staff will move to Nest’s Palo Alto offices. Dropcam’s co-founders include Chief Executive Officer Greg Duffy and Chief Operating Officer Aamir Virani.
“Nest and Dropcam are kindred spirits,” Duffy wrote in a blog post about the deal. “Both were born out of frustration with outdated, complicated products that do the opposite of making life better.”
There could be Nest and Dropcam offerings that are tied together after the acquisition, Rogers said.
“Given how closely aligned the teams are, in terms of our product philosophy — we see lots of product offerings and tie- ins we could do in the future,” he said. “We haven’t figured it out yet.”


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The surprising rise of climbing in ‘flat’ Uruguay
Often visitors are taken aback by Uruguay’s distinct lack of mountains, and yet, rock climbing is a growing activity in the South American country — once people realise it’s possible. ARRANGED IN SEQUENCESN°1PR5U9
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If you’re up for a new adventure, check out five of the most beautiful places to travel to in spring.
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As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, travelers are becoming fearful of flying leading major airlines to cut their flights and change their policies.
Source: Read Full Article


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Americans Finally Plan to Actually Use Their Vacation Days ASAP
A year of stay-at-home recommendations may have something to do with it.
Conventional wisdom, or at least everyone’s boomer relatives, claim that if you work hard, go above and beyond, and get into work before the boss each day you’ll be rewarded with… well that part’s never been totally clear. But plenty of members of the workforce have long left hard-earned vacation days on the table in vague hopes of some kind of reward in kind that never quite comes. But we might be wising up, according to Travel + Leisure.
Citing a survey conducted by online travel company Expedia, the outlet reported that 11% more Americans identified as “vacation deprived,” than they did five years ago. And that goes beyond workers letting their earned PTO go to waste. Among those surveyed, 47% used their days not for vacations (or more appropriately, staycations), but rather to care for ailing loved ones or for children stuck at home.
According to Expedia’s data, many people now plan to make the most of their time.
“According to the annual Vacation Deprivation study from Expedia, in 2021 Americans plan to take an extra week (five days) of vacation,” a press release reads. “With this new 'no days left behind' mindset, Vacation Deprivation is well on its way to becoming a thing of the past.”
Although it still isn’t safe to vacay with abandon, Expedia’s recent search inquiries could be pointing to some near-future travel trends. Some of the company’s top-search destinations include Maui, Tulum, and Puerto Vallarta.


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HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – An effort to increase electric vehicle charging stations may start in Pennsylvania, starting with new commercial buildings.
House Bill 1908 was introduced Thursday by Rep. Kristine Howard (D-Chester) to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations around the state.
The legislation would require new non-residential buildings to be constructed with the necessary infrastructure to support EV charging stations.
The bill would ensure the ability to charge EVs in the places people often frequent, such as retail facilities, hotels, schools, and restaurants.
“The Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees us the right to clean air and clean water, but we can’t have clean air and water while we depend on fossil fuels,” Howard said in a statement. “To that end, we must encourage consumers to embrace clean, emission-free EVs, and that begins with supplying the infrastructure needed to support the technology.”


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DAYTON, Ohio — Dorothy Lane Market, a three-store independent here, has signed up 3,000 customers to its biometric loyalty and payment program just two weeks after a soft launch on July 18 and a week after the official launch July 25, said Amy Brinkmoeller, director of information services. The program, provided by Pay By Touch, San Francisco, allows shoppers to use a fingerprint scan to call up and print a list of 10 targeted offers at an in-store kiosk and then receive the discounts — and pay for their order — via a fingerprint scan at the POS. “We are very pleased with the response,” said Brinkmoeller, who added that Dorothy Lane’s goal is to have about 40% of shoppers — about 20,000 — enrolled in the program. Shoppers may opt to use their loyalty card to trigger the weekly kiosk discounts and receive them at the POS. They can also receive weekly emails listing the targeted offers; last night the first group of email offers was sent, said Brinkmoeller.
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- The new 2022 Honda Civic hatchback will debut June 23.
- Unlike the recently revealed sedan, the hatch will offer a six-speed manual transmission.
- Honda is also moving hatchback production from the U.K. to its plant in Indiana.
Honda is nearly ready to show us the hatchback version of the new 2022 Civic. Along with a teaser image of the new body style that debuts June 23, Honda also confirmed some great news: the hatch will continue to offer a six-speed manual like its predecessor.
We expect the hatch to come standard with the 180-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four that's optional on the 2022 Civic sedan, as that model's base 2.0-liter inline-four likely won't be offered here. LX, Sport, and EX trim levels are sure to be part of the lineup. Along with the manual transmission, a continuously variable automatic will be available.
You can't see much in this dark, blurry image, but we know that the new hatchback will adopt the same design as the clean and attractive sedan. The key differences will be seen aft of the B-pillar, as the hatchback will have a different greenhouse and more cargo space in back.
Once the hatchback is revealed, we'll still be waiting to see the new Civic's performance variants, the Si and Type R. We're thinking that the new Type R will once again come only as a hatchback, while the Si will surely come standard as a sedan—although a hatchback Si would be an interesting addition.
Look for more information to come about the 2022 Civic hatchback, which will make its live-stream debut on Honda's YouTube channel on June 23 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.


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When it was launched in Malaysia, it was the most expensive Xiaomi device yet at RM2,499. Although it had great specs with a generous 128GB of storage, not many are willing to fork out that much money on a Xiaomi phablet.
For its successor, Xiaomi is making the Mi Note 3 a “Plus” alternative to the current Mi 6 while maintaining the same price tag. On top of that, they have also added something extra to pit it against the selfie kings like OPPO and vivo.
After revealing their Mi A1 smartphone earlier this week, Xiaomi will be announcing not one but two new models tomorrow at Beijing. The main highlight is the successor of its radically designed Mi Mix as shown above. It is probably the first flagship phone in recent times that started the whole all-screen bezel-less obsession.
Xiaomi’s Co-Founder and President, Lin Bin, had also recently revealed that a bigger Mi 6 will be making its debut at their upcoming event.
It’s no secret that I wasn’t a big fan of last year’s Xiaomi Mi 5. I didn’t like how it performed, I didn’t like its camera and for the most part, I was quite annoyed that we got what felt like scraps instead of the proper flagship we hyped it up to be.
This year, as Malaysia finally gets its turn at the Xiaomi flagship Mi 6, it’s time to find out if they’ve learned their lessons.
Xiaomi is doing what they do best yet again and has launched a brand new mid-range smartphone, called the Mi 5X, that’s honing in on two big features — its camera and the desire to be trendy. Well, that and a killer price tag.
If you’ve been eyeing for an affordable compact flagship smartphone, the wait could be finally over. Xiaomi has just teased a new product launch in Malaysia and it appears to be a dual-camera smartphone. This is likely to be their Xiaomi Mi 6 that was introduced in China 3 months ago.
The most affordable Snapdragon 835 powered flagship smartphone appears to be coming to Malaysia real soon. The Xiaomi Mi 6, which was launched exactly a month ago has finally passed our local certification.
UPDATE: Xiaomi Malaysia opens pre-order for Mi 6 and Mi Max 2.
Can’t wait for Mi Malaysia? The latest Xiaomi Mi 6 smartphone is now available in Malaysia through our local grey importers. This is currently the best spec smartphone you can get in a compact 5.15″ form factor.
Xiaomi is always known for making smartphones with the best specs at an unbeatable price. With the Mi 6, this trend continues and Xiaomi is taking a step further by attempting to make a phone that looks and feels more expensive.
Xiaomi clearly isn’t cutting any corners when it comes to raw specs. The Mi 6 runs on a 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and all variants will get 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM. But is it all good? Read on for our first impressions of Xiaomi’s new flagship smartphone for 2017.
It has been slightly more than a year since Xiaomi unveiled its Mi 5 flagship at Barcelona. After introducing a mid-cycle flagship like the Mi 5s, the Chinese smartphone maker is about to unveil its latest flagship on 19 April in Beijing.


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- Kmart is first retail chain to launch a holiday campaign this year, with an ad that promotes layaway by pointing out that it’s “Ridiculous” to start thinking about holiday shopping—or is it?
- Kmart bought more than $675,000 in media time for its ad last week, according to Kantar Media, running it on at 16 television networks and in nationally syndicated programs.
- This is the second year in a row that Kmart has launched the holiday advertising season; Home Depot was first to the airwaves in 2013.
Kmart is the first with a holiday ad this year, “Ridiculous,” which subtly ridicules the idea that it’s too soon to think about seasonal shopping. Featuring a spokeperson walking aisles festooned with holiday displays, the ad promotes the chain’s no-money-down layaway and leasing program as a “ridiculously awesome” way to get ahead on holiday shopping.
Since layaway contracts can take 12 weeks for a buyer to pay off and take delivery, the retailer indicated, it isn’t ridiculous to start planning holiday shopping in September. Last year, Kmart was first out of the gate with the similar “Not a Christmas Ad,” which also featured Kmart Kelly talking tongue-in-cheek about layaway purchases for a hypothetical “event in late December” in which one’s “entire family is having a birthday on the same day.”
In spite of cheeky spots such as these and 2013’s viral “Ship Your Pants”, Kmart has continued to experience sluggish sales. A division of Sears Holdings, the discount chain reported a decrease in same-store sales of 6.8% in the second quarter of 2015. Layaways—which take in revenue with little risk to the merchant—could help Kmart get the jump on a better third quarter.


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Washington, DC – Jamaica’s Ambassador has called upon Jamaicans in California to come together to leverage the Jamaican culture, a creative industry by establishing “Jammywood”.
“I think it’s time for the Diaspora in California to dream big and begin to monetize the Jamaican culture – our food music and dance. If you think about it we are all ambassadors for our country, especially its culture which has so influenced the world stage that people are constantly amazed at our geographical size size”, Ambassador Marks said.
Delivering the keynote address at the Jamaica Awareness Association of California (JAAC) 30th anniversary banquet at the airport Marriott hotel, Ambassador Marks said the establishment of “Jammywood” as the seat of Jamaica’s creative industry has the potential to be a big, mega income earning industry.
She said the scope of monetization of our creative industry is potentially lucrative when one considers that in Hollywood there is now demand for greater recognition of diversity. Jamaican actresses and actors like Madge Sinclair, Sheryl-Lee Ralph and Jeff Gunther Anderson have brought the Jamaican flavor to Hollywood, being trailblazers for others coming behind them.
“When I speak about the potential for “monetization”, I’m not simply talking about becoming the next famous movie star, but about all areas of filmmaking, directing, producing, documenting and other forms of storytelling. She said there are sufficient number of people who are interested in the Jamaican culture to warrant taking charge our own destiny and telling our story our way, with authenticity.
Ambassador Marks told the large audience of Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica that the Jamaican brand is a globally recognized brand. Our music like Reggae and dancehall, even our movie making have recognized potential.
The Ambassador added that it’s time we use the creative industries to transform our uniqueness, resiliency, creativity and commitment to turn the best of our culture into real economic opportunities.
Ambassador Marks emphasized that the key to harnessing our creative industry is an active collaboration between connected members of the Diaspora and our talented local creative industry community. “We can start by organizing more concerts and tours in the USA, knocking on the doors of studios in Hollywood to do more to incorporate Jamaican culture in productions involving music, dance, fashion and other areas that we are known for including athletics”.
The establishment of “Jammywood” is possible with hard work and an informed strategic plan of action with people who are willing to participate, support and invest in this vision.
Ambassador Marks lauded JAAC for their over 30 years of outstanding achievement and contribution to Jamaica. Dr. Lawrence Weeks, Dr. Barnett Grier and Mr. Stepfon Glen were recognized for giving 15 years of service to the organization’s medical mission.


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The Good and Services Tax Council on Saturday decriminalised several offences specified in the Central Goods and Services Tax Act of 2017, the finance ministry said.
Among the offences decriminalised included the obstruction or preventing any officer in the discharge of his duties, deliberate tampering of material evidence and the failure to supply the information.
The decisions were taken at a GST Council meeting attended by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary and finance ministers of all states and Union Territories.
At a press conference after the meeting, Sitharaman said no new taxes have been introduced and added that the Council could decide on only eight out of the 15 items on the agenda due to paucity of time.
At Saturday’s meeting, the GST on the husk of pulses was reduced to 0% from 5%, while the tax levied on ethyl alcohol to refineries for blending with motor spirit (petrol) was reduced from 18% to 5%.
Among the items not considered included the setting up of appellate tribunals for GST and the issue of setting up a mechanism to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses.
Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said the issue of levying GST on online gaming and casinos could not be discussed as the report of a Group of Ministers, chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, on the issue submitted its report a few days back, reported PTI.
He also added that the Council agreed to raise the minimum threshold of launching prosecution to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1 crore.
However, offences related to the issuance of invoices without the supply of goods or services, or both, remains exempted.


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According to BitPay CEO, Stephen Pair, the mass distribution of payments using decentralized technologies will begin in 3-5 years.
Speaking on CNBC, he said that Bitcoin payments will definitely become part of our life, but only some time must pass. Commenting on the situation around the fall of Bitcoin from historic highs, Stephen Pair noted that the main coin began to fall in price due to speculation from major traders.
I am sure that the introduction of blockchain technolog is inevitable. It is the side of the cryptosphere that determines the true value of the largest cryptocurrency.
BitPay CEO is confident that Bitcoin will grow in the future, as new players will enter the market, which will stimulate the rise in this asset.
Earlier, Pair said that blockchain payments would massively penetrate into our lives in about 10 years, but now he is confident that the market will develop at a more rapid pace.
A similar point of view was expressed by the CEO of Circle startup Jeremy Allaire, who predicted the rise in the price of the main cryptocurrency in about three years. Now Bitcoin is trading at $3,300, the market capitalization of the crypto market is just a bit over $104.3 billion.


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After the rumors on a game console by Apple, we are now hearing that Google and its operating system Android could join the club!
The video game sector is dominated by the 2 huge Sony and Microsoft and the market amounts to several billion dollars.
Although a console running on Android wouldn’t exactly be news, Google‘s entry in the video game sector could have a huge impact on the market category. The search engine giant can already count on over 100,000 titles even if they might not cash-in as much as PlayStation 3‘s 800 titles…
The rumor was announced by the Wall Street Journal, was neither confirmed nor denied by Google. We all know what this means….


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Congratulations to CEO and co-founder Phil Soran and the Compellent data storage company for a sparklingly good quarterly report released Feb. 11.
Compellent makes intelligent, automated SANs (storage area networks) for enterprises that allow the user to deploy Fibre Channel or iSCSI — or a combination of both connectivity forms. Highlights of the report:
–Revenue of $27.0 million represented the company’s 13th consecutive quarterly increase. Revenue grew 60 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 and 10 percent sequentially from the third quarter of 2008.
–End users numbered 1,278 at Dec. 31, 2008, compared with 740 at year-end 2007.
–Cash and investments totaled $100.3 million at Dec. 31, 2008, exceeding $100.0 million for the first time.
Compellent’s still relatively small but growing fast, as is obvious by the numbers. The downturn, at least at this point, hasn’t affected it.
Let’s hope this kind of success rubs off on lots of other people, too.


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Corruption in COVID-19 test kits purchase? Modi govt must make all transactions public, demands Congress
Senior Congress leader and spokesperson, Manish Tewari said that the silence of the Modi government in this regard was deafening
Hours after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi flagged the issue of huge profiteering in COVID-19 testing kits procurement, Congress demanded that all the transactions be made pubic.
Senior Congress leader and spokesperson, Manish Tewari said that the silence of the Modi government in this regard was deafening.
Demanding that all the all procurements which have been made, whether they pertain to testing kits, ventilators, or personal protection equipment related to COVID- 19, must be transparently put in the public space, Tewari said, “At what cost have they been imported, by whosoever and whom the order was placed and at what price has he further supplied it to the ICMR or any other agency given the fact that all procurements have been centralised by the Central Government, everything must be made public.”
Saying that non-transparency and profiteering is an extremely serious matter that hurts India’s fight against COVID-19, Tewari added, “We have to optimise the utilisation of those resources and not allow companies in the middle to make an arbitrage of over 60-65 per cent per transaction, 18.75 crores out of 30 crores. All procurements need to be put out transparently in the public space.”
It is important to highlight here that the matter of profiteering in COVID-19 test kits purchase came in to the light after Rare Metabolics Life Sciences Pvt Ltd – a company that has the distribution rights to supply COVID-19 kits to ICMR – filed a case against Matrix Labs, the sole importer of antibody kits manufactured by China’s Wondfo Biotech, demanding enforcement of their contract.
As per the information provided to the Delhi High Court, test kits procured from China, whose delivered cost was Rs 245 per test, were sold to the ICMR for Rs 600 per test, a huge mark up of 145%.
According to the petition, Matrix Labs sold the kits to Rare Metabolics for Rs 400 per test and Rare Metabolics and Aark Pharmaceuticals supplied them further to ICMR for Rs 600 (plus GST) per test.
As per media reports, the total amount to be paid by Rare Metabolics and Aark to Matrix Labs for these 500,000 kits was Rs 21 crore (including GST). Out of this Rs 12.25 cr has already been paid to Matrix but Matrix demanded payment of the remaining amount before delivery of the remaining 224,000 tests to Rare Metabolics and Aark.
At this point, as per the information, Rare Metabolics approached the Delhi High Court seeking the delivery of the remaining 224,000 tests which were to be delivered to ICMR. Rare Metabolics argued that the payment will be made as soon as it is received from ICMR.
Alleging that Matrix violated the contract, Rare Metabolics said that the Matrix had entered into a separate agreement to supply 50,000 kits to the Tamil Nadu government at the ICMR approved price (Rs 600 plus GST) via Shan Biotech and Diagnostics. Out of these 50,000 test kits, 24,000 have already been delivered, claimed Rare Metabolics.
As per the reports, after Delhi HC’s intervention, both the parties agreed that they will supply the kit to anyone who wants it at Rs. 400, which still is a markup of Rs. 155 per kit.
“Imagine, how many more kits the country would have got for Rs. 18.75 crores rather than 5 lakh kits, the country could have imported 15 lakh kits,” said Tewari.
As per reports, there are only 3 lakh kits left in the country, only enough for 7 days of testing.
Published: 27 Apr 2020, 7:41 PM


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India’s smartphone market is facing unprecedented times ever since the country was put in a lockdown in March to tackle the growing Covid-19 pandemic. Latest reports say that shipments fell by as much as 48% during the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period a year ago, the biggest that a growing market has seen in a decade.
These were the findings based on a research conducted by Canalys with shipments falling to just 17.3 million smartphone units in the April-June period as against 33 million that were shipped during the second quarter of 2019 and the 33.5 million units that shipped during January to March 2020.
- Upcoming smartphones in India for July: Specs, launch date, price
- Why are smartphones in India suddenly getting expensive?
- Worldwide smartphone sales in a slump
- Smartphone makers unable to meet growing demand – here’s why
Xiaomi continues to lead, Vivo is next
Xiaomi was the market leader in India, capturing 31% of overall market share, shipping 5.3 million smartphone units in the quarter, closely followed by Vivo which shipped 3.7 million units, and grew its market share to 21.3% from 19.9% in Q1 2020. Samsung was third, with 2.9 million smartphone shipments while Oppo edged out Realme to take the fourth position with 2.2 million units, compared to Realme’s 1.7 million.
Local production suffered in the early stages of Q2 with vendors like Xiaomi and Oppo importing smartphones to meet the demand. “It’s been a rocky road to recovery for the smartphone market in India,” said Canalys Analyst Madhumita Chaudhary. There was also a sudden trend of smartphones getting expensive.
The Covid-19 led issues
“While vendors witnessed a crest in sales as soon as markets opened, production facilities struggled with staff shortages on top of new regulations around manufacturing, resulting in lower production output. The fluidity of the lockdown situation across India has had a deep-rooted effect on vendors’ go-to-market strategies. Xiaomi and Vivo have undertaken an offline-to-online strategy to support their massive offline network. Online channels, too, while seeing a positive effect of the pandemic on market share, have seen sales decline considerably,” she said.
The anti-China sentiments
Then there were the anti-China sentiments that resulted in a shift away from Chinese smartphones. Canalys Research Analyst Adwait Mardikar says, “There has been public anger directed towards China. The combinations of this and the recently announced ‘Atma Nirbhar’ (self-sufficient) initiatives by the government have pushed Chinese smartphone vendors into the eye of the public storm.”
Canalys estimates that over 96% of all smartphones sold in India during 2019 were manufactured or assembled locally. “Vendors are driving the message of ‘Made in India’ to consumers and are eager to position their brand as ‘India-first.’ Despite the overall anti-China sentiment, the effect on Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Realme is likely to be minimal, as alternatives by Samsung, Nokia, or even Apple are hardly price-competitive,” Mardikar said.
In comparison, the smartphone market in China, the largest in the world, saw just an 18% drop in shipments during the said quarter. Shipments in India grew by 4% in the first quarter of 2020 when the impact of Covid-19 wasn’t really felt, as against a 13% decline globally.
Meanwhile, Apple was the least affected amongst the smartphone brands. iPhones command barely 1% of the Indian market and year-on-year, shipments only fell by 20% during the second quarter, the report said.


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Revolut’s Business Savings Account Has Attracted Significant Interest
In just six weeks, UK firms have deposited £150m into Revolut’s business savings account. This fintech company has introduced its business savings account in January, offering the potential to earn up to 3% in annual returns. The demand for this service has been strong, leading to its success.
Revolut Business General Manager James Gibson announced that although the business savings account is currently only available in the UK, the company plans to launch it in Europe during the second quarter of 2024. The decision to offer business savings accounts was driven by strong demand from clients wanting to earn returns on their accounts.
To attract startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and major corporates, Revolut has been actively increasing its efforts. This includes rolling out an HR platform for over 300 firms, partnering with tech firm Jabil to enhance the production of Revolut Reader, a device that helps businesses accept contactless payments, and developing a range of tools to help businesses manage their money.
Gibson mentioned that Revolut is also working on treasury products for its business customers and highlighted that the company’s business customers come from various sectors such as travel, marketing, and ecommerce. Many businesses have turned to Revolut due to the difficulties they face in opening accounts with traditional high-street banks, especially small businesses with global operations that want to avoid high FX fees.
Revolut is headquartered in London and serves over 35 million customers worldwide. The company aims to continue expanding its business offerings to meet the needs of a diverse range of companies.


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HTC revamped its Sense UI after learning that most smartphone owners rarely use widgets and barely bother to customise their homescreens after the first month of tweaking.
The Taiwanese company launched version 5 of its popular Sense UI last month, alongside the stunning HTC One handset, which offered a fresh new feel for the first time in a number of years.
In a blog post entitled 'Redefining HTC Sense (opens in new tab)' the company's Assistant Vice President of User Experience Drew Bamford said the company listened to customer feedback and became 'students of human behavior,' when preparing the new version.
According to Bamford, the findings showed many users do no differentiate between apps and widgets and, beyond live items like the Weather, Clock and Music, widgets are employed by less than 10 per cent of users.
Homescreens remain largely untouched
Bamford also said that after the first month of perfecting and tweaking, 80 per cent of folks do not continue to customise their homescreen layout.
The findings allowed the company to re-envision the information presented on the phone's landing page, which brought about the idea for the BlinkFeed interface, which presents a host of continually updating information from social networks and news feeds, similar to the Flipboard digital magazine application.
Bamford wrote: "The goal of creating a user experience that supports how most of you consume information, led us to BlinkFeed.
"Now, every time you power on your new HTC One you'll see fresh content – whether it is from your friends, your social feeds, or our premier content partners – that is uniquely relevant to you."


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SACRAMENTO — After decades, there will soon be no more flipping through CDs and records to find what you came for at Dimple Records.
Since it opened, Dimple Records and its seven area locations have been a family business.
“In ‘83, (John) incorporated it and it became Dimple Records,” said Dilyn Radakovitz.
But for founder John Radakovitz, it’s time to move on.
“My husband just wants to retire,” said his wife, Dilyn. “He didn’t want to leave liabilities there for our sons.”
Their son, Andrew, is the business’s treasurer. It’s not an easy job when selling hard copies of music in this day and age. So, years ago, he started to expand his products by buying and selling other items.
“The reason why we’re still in business, well up to this point, is because our margins for retail on the used is like 80%, 70%. So, it’s pretty healthy,” Andrew Radakovitz told FOX40.
Andrew knew selling just music wasn’t going to turn a profit. So he turned to what’s called “non-core,” or products that are outside of what people expect in a certain business.
“And this stuff is impulsive, right? You’re standing in line, you’re looking at your board, you’re grabbing it,” he said.
For store regular Misty Webb, her shopping has always been about CDs and DVDs. However, the tunes and flicks will never compare to the memories of finding them with her son.
“I am just going to miss it because everything that is really good about the store we’re gonna lose it,” she said.
Dilyn Radakovitz is also one of the founders of Record Store Day, an annual, global event that encourages music lovers to shop at independent retailers.
While Dimple Records will be closing after its liquidation sale, Andrew said he’s going to open a similar store in Folsom around September.


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HTC has just announced that the company's President of Smartphone and Connected Devices Business, Chialin Chang, is leaving the company. Mr. Chang has joined HTC back in April 2012, and he was first positioned as the company's CFO (Chief Financial Officer). A reason for Mr. Chang's resignation is a 'personal career plan', at least that's what HTC says. HTC did not mention who could replace Mr. Chang, but chances are that the company will announce its new President of Smartphone in the near future.
Mr. Chang's departure may be surprising to some of you, but considering HTC's poor performance in the smartphone sector, that is not much of a surprise in general. HTC actually lost around $103 million in Q3 2017, according to the latest info, which was the company's tenth consecutive quarterly loss. It is also worth noting that HTC did let go of its Pixel team recently, as Google basically acquired a part of HTC that has been making Pixel devices for the Mountain View giant, and that could also be connected to Mr. Chang's departure in some way. In any case, HTC needs to find a way to revive its smartphone business, as these constant losses in the smartphone department are definitely not good for the company, and even though HTC can push through it, chances are that the company will be looking for a way to turn things around, as they have been thus far. Mr. Chang's resignation may end up being good for the company, as some changes are definitely needed, so it remains to be seen what step will HTC take next, in other words, who will replace Chialin Chang.
HTC won't be announcing its new flagship at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, which will start later this month. The company is actually expected to introduce the HTC U12, or whatever it ends up naming the device, later on, during a separate event. The HTC U12 may arrive in March or April, or even May, depending on what time frame HTC opts for. The device will probably resemble the HTC U11 Plus to some extent, though it's expected to sport thinner bezels. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 64-bit octa-core SoC is expected to fuel the HTC U12, while the phone will probably ship with stereo speakers, and a high-end spec sheet.


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The company, part of Daikin Industries, a Japanese multinational air conditioning manufacturing company headquartered in Osaka, is celebrating this year the 50th anniversary of entering the reefer container market with the LKS501 model - or should we rather say: co-creating a completely new business.
Cast your imagination 50 years into the past over the mountains and lakes of Switzerland, and you won't see what today seems obvious, namely a safe passage for trucks throughout the Alps, known as the Gotthard Road Tunnel.
As the latest issue of BTJ is also devoted to the ro-ro & ferry market, whose players trade in trailers, it's maybe worth mentioning Alexander Winston who back in 1898 invented what's today know as a semi-trailer
We're continuing our search for innovative uses of a shipping container. This time we're attracting your attention to the Solar Powered Internet Schools (SPIS) project launched back in 2014 by Samsung Electronics through the Hope for Children initiative.
On 3 October, we'll be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the more than successful end to the Swedish oceanographic Albatross expedition, which - what a coincidence! - got its name because it took place aboard the Albatross.


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The battle for sporting supremacy was expected to commence when the Olympics arrive in China this August. But yesterday two international rivals went toe-to-toe in a Shanghai courtroom, as Nike and Adidas tussled over the right to football star Zheng Zhi's endorsement.
Rarely has so much passion been expended over a Charlton Athletic midfielder. But the legal fight is merely a foretaste of their accelerating struggle for Chinese consumers - which could settle their worldwide sportswear battle. While Nike has a global lead, Adidas is catching up fast in China; both firms are expected to enjoy around $1bn (£500m) of business there this year.
Nike signed Zheng, who captains the Chinese national team, as a "brand ambassador" in 2003. Now it is seeking 8m yuan (£580,000) from the 27-year-old and Adidas, arguing the player broke his contract by appearing in the other firm's clothing. It accuses the German firm of recruiting famous players from other brands.
According to state-run newspaper China Daily, Nike's lawyer Yang Jun told Shanghai No 1 intermediate people's court that Zheng had pledged to wear Nike products in public and attend publicity events.
Yang added that in 2005, after Nike had turned down a request for more cash, Zheng wore Adidas boots in Japan and then said he wanted to cancel his contract.
Jiang Xian, the player's lawyer, argued that the case was not justified and alleged that Nike had withdrawn a similar suit accusing Adidas of unfair competition for lack of evidence.


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United States: based in San Diego mobile platform Sekr, which aims to simplify the outdoor travel experience, announced the closing of a $2.25 million seed funding cycle.
The round was led by Storyteller Overland, Backstage Capital, Techstars, Ad Astra Ventures, Crescent Ridge Ventures and Andy Ballesterco-founder of GoFundMe.
Described as a “participatory mobile platform based on women and minorities”, Sekr aims to make every step of the outdoor travel planning experience “easier, safer and more social”. From full-time digital nomads to the occasional road trip, the company creates an inclusive community with access to over 50,000 campsites, including the nation’s largest database of free campsites.
After the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, interest in outdoor travel has grown, with notable increases among active and would-be campers, according to Statista. As a result, Sekr reported seeing a 1530% increase in user sessions from May 2020 at May 2021 and a 492% increase in app users August 2020 at August 2021.
Founded in 2018, Sekr plans to use the funding to expand its bookable inventory and grow its community initiatives, events and forums, such as its Respect Outdoors project. [PRO]. The PRO event brings together business owners, nonprofit leaders, and disruptors who want to raise awareness of shared experiences and make the outdoor industry a more inclusive space.
Breanne Acio, co-founder and CEO of Sekr, said: “As women-led businesses only received 2.4% of venture capital in 2020, a drop from 2019, this increase is not not only significant as it speaks to the need for technological innovation in the camping industry, but also an important movement in the diversification of funds financed by venture capitalists.We are proud to work with a growing team of investors, employees, partners and outdoor enthusiasts who seek a better quality of life through safe outdoor travel and community.
Jeffrey Hunter, CEO of Storyteller Overland and lead investor in Sekr’s funding round, said, “The camping industry is one of the only hospitality verticals to have successfully embraced technology, and Sekr has seized the opportunity to digitize campsite inventory at scale, transforming outdoor planning. moving from a frustrating loop of hours of fruitless Google searches to something consumers can do for themselves.
“Like leaders before them in the hospitality and vacation rental industries, we believe the Sekr team is uniquely positioned to have the greatest influence and impact on the outdoor travel planning experience. for the nearly three-quarters of Americans who take part in outdoor travel each year,” he added.


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By Simon Eastman
Sterling ended last week’s trading with a positive run to levels not seen in weeks, against the euro and US dollar giving some great end of week buying opportunities, gaining around one percent against both as the weeks trade closed.
As the UK gets over the hangover from crashing out of the World Cup at the weekend, with sentiment at a low, the positivity behind the pound could well change this week as we enter a data heavy week, full of major UK economic releases including inflation, retail sales, GDP and several central bank interest rate meetings.
There seems to be a deepening divide amongst Bank members, over what is the right way forward to combat inflation, whilst being mindful of the increasing cost of living crisis and looming recession with rising interest rates adding a great deal to the squeeze on household finances. Markets are speculating the divide may see a four way split when voting is published on Thursday, where it’s expected we will have a 50 basis point rise, bringing interest rates to 3.5 percent, the highest they’ve been in 14 years. Inflation sits at a 41 year high at 11.1 percent, over 5 times the level they’re tasked to keep it at, so the Bank must look to combat this but with pressures of increasing debt as we try to avoid a deep recession, interest rate rises are only adding to the pressure. This is why a split vote is expected, with speculation some members will vote for a 25 basis point hike instead and some for no change at all.
The bank are forecasting a deep recession with growth low and unemployment high, and experts expect we will see interest rates rise to around 4-4.5 percent. All this while central banks around the world seem to be keeping inflation under some sort of control and forecasting growth levels to return much sooner than the UK does. All this is likely to cause the UK and more importantly the pound to struggle as we enter 2023. Those of you with sterling in hand and a currency requirement in the coming weeks may be prudent to look at securing sooner rather than later, whilst rates sit at a high and ahead of the festive break where trading is limited and volatility heightened.
We highlight the main economic releases for the week below:
UK GDP, industrial and manufacturing production and trade balance. Bank of Canada governor Macklem speaks at 20.25.
UK Financial stability report, average earnings, unemployment count and claimant count. German consumer prices and ZEW economic sentiment survey. US inflation and Australia’s RBA governor Lowe speaks at 22.30.
UK inflation, EU industrial production, FED interest rate decision, statement, economic projections and press conference. New Zealand GDP.
Australian unemployment. Swiss interest rate decision, policy statement and press conference. Bank of England interest rate decision, minutes, policy summary. European Central Bank policy decision statement and press conference. US jobless claims and retail sales.
UK retail sales. UK, US, German and EU S&P composite, manufacturing and services PMI’s. EU core inflation and trade balance.
As you can see, there is an immense amount going on this week in the economic markets, with plenty of central bank activity going on surrounding interest rates and policy statements to give future inclinations as to what each area might do next and how that could affect the currency markets in the coming month. As the year comes to a close, these could be key insights and give clear indications how a currency might perform so if you have a currency exchange, buying or selling to make, ensure you contact one of the team today for some friendly guidance.


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New Delhi (India), June 2: A trailblazing and glittering “International Health & Wellness 2023” will be organized by The Yogshala at Hall No. 7, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, scheduled from 2nd – 4th June 2023. It is a focus exhibition on AYUSH, Herbal, Organic, Hemp, Nutraceutical and Wellness.
This 6th edition of the international health & wellness expo event will advocate the importance of wellness and mindfulness in this millennial world to spread awareness of good health and well-being among the public.
This mega-expo event will be interactive and is anticipated to get tremendous media coverage; it will also incorporate interactive workshops, seminars & health consultancy. The expo will be graced by a multitude of elite and top-notch experts from the healthcare fraternity across India to foster the significance of living a healthy life.
The forthcoming edition of the International Health & Wellness Expo Event is expected to attract about 100+ exhibitors and more than 10,000 attendees within three days. It’s an intense event filled with many workshops, activities and product presentations.
Also, this exhibition is backed by UP Tourism and MSME under the PMS scheme for holistic healthcare development supporting the healthcare industry.
Speaking about the forthcoming expo event, Mr. Vijay Sharma, Chairman of Namo Gange Trust, added, “We are anticipating a great response from attendees and exhibitors and are sure that this expo will provide a colossal platform for various health and wellness opportunities related to exhibitor profile. As a showcase of their various products and services & will host a comparatively wider platform to accommodate all health and wellness-related topics.
If you have any objection to this press release content, kindly contact email@example.com to notify us. We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 24 hours.


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A new Assassin’s Creed will be released sometime between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018, Ubisoft has confirmed.
The news comes alongside new art that suggests we’ll learn more of the title at E3 2017.
One image emailed today, above, says fans should “stay tuned for more at this year’s E3”, while another, below, simply states, “a new era begins.”
Ubisoft today detailed its E3 2017 press conference, taking place at 6.00am AEST on 13 June.
Nothing else of the “new era” of Assassin’s Creed is known, but rumours suggest the title is called either Empire or Origins, and will take place in Egypt.
We’ll have more on the new Assassin’s Creed as it is made available.