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In twin storage moves, Hewlett-Packard last week announced an acquisition aimed at boosting its ability to manage multivendor storage-area networks (SAN) and plans to roll out a complete line of disk arrays and related products based on the emerging iSCSI standard by early next year.
The deal to acquire StorageApps should make HP a more attractive player in the SAN arena by offering IT administrators tools to knit storage devices from various vendors into a single pool, according to IT managers and industry pundits.
HP's bid for StorageApps, a maker of storage management software and appliances, is valued at about US$350 million in a stock-swap transaction. StorageApps will become a wholly owned subsidiary of HP.
At least one IT professional sees the HP deal presenting a potential opportunity to exploit more of his company's storage capacity. Bryan Province, a senior systems analyst and storage administrator at Caterpillar, said the industrial machine maker utilises about 50 percent of its storage capacity now, using EMC's storage management software. Province said he would like to expand to 70 - 80 percent of storage capacity.
"We're looking at incorporating other vendors' products into our SAN . . . to create a heterogeneous SAN," he said. "It would be a timesaver to go to a single tool to manage our storage."
Ron Johnson, an analyst at Evaluator Group, said the deal will give HP far more mature storage management software than it currently offers, placing it ahead of rivals such as IBM and Compaq. "This will shake up IBM and Compaq," said Johnson. "I don't see that IBM or Compaq has an appliance that does this."
The StorageApps purchase will also give HP the lead in storage virtualisation capabilities, allowing users to pool and reallocate disk capacity from different arrays, said Johnson. That's emerging as one of the hottest applications in the storage management market, he said, because it enables users to fully utilise their storage resources and get more bang for their storage buck.
HP offers storage virtualisation software for some of its disk arrays, but lacks an enterprise-level product to support devices made by multiple storage vendors. Both IBM and Compaq are expected to roll out storage virtualisation offerings for multivendor SANs later this year.
Meanwhile, HP disclosed last week, its planned iSCSI line will mirror the Fibre Channel-based storage devices sold under its Federated Storage Area Management product suite. That includes 15 to 20 disk arrays, storage networking switches, host bus adapters and other devices, HP officials said. The iSCSI-based products should be ready by the first quarter of next year.
The iSCSI technology, also referred to as SCSI over IP, is aimed at allowing users to take block-level SCSI data and wrap it in TCP/IP packets for transmission across the Internet. That enables end users on remote LANs to access corporate data via the Internet's basic communications protocol.
IBM began shipping iSCSI-based storage devices in June. However, the Internet Engineering Task Force is still working to finalise an iSCSI standard, a process not expected to be completed until later this year.


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Effective May 1, Social Security and Railroad Retirement checks for new recipients no longer will be mailed.
Instead, all benefits payments — retirement, survivor and disability — will go electronically to the recipients’ bank accounts via electronic direct deposit.
Those already receiving Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits via check through the postal service will have until March 1, 2013, to establish direct deposit at a financial institution, or arrange for the benefits to be credited to a debit card.
An advance notice of this change was posted on the UTU website in December. This is a reminder.
An exception will be made for those at least 90 years old and those living in remote areas. Those recipients may continue receiving benefits checks via the postal service indefinitely.
Already, eight of 10 benefits recipients receive benefits electronically through direct deposit.
Electronic payment eliminates the problem of lost or stolen checks, and makes it easier and more prompt for those away from home to ensure payments are available for use.
Beneficiaries who do not have bank or credit union accounts may obtain a Direct Express debit MasterCard by clicking on the following website:
Or, you may call (800) 333-1795.
For new Railroad Retirement and Social Security recipients, beginning May 1, payment must be accepted as electronic payments.
Beginning May 1, when new recipients apply for benefits, they will be asked to provide bank account information.
If an individual does not have a bank account, payments can be made through Treasury’s Direct Express debit card. The benefit amount will automatically be loaded onto the card, which carries a MasterCard logo and functions as an ordinary debit card.
The debit card may be used for cash withdrawals at a nationwide network of automated teller machines and point-of-sale purchases at most merchants and retailers.
By making electronic payments mandatory, the federal government will realize significant cost savings. Since it only costs 10.5 cents to issue an electronic payment, compared to $1.03 for a paper check, replacing the 136 million federal benefits checks issued in a year with electronic payments will save the federal government more than $120 million annually.
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domain: news


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Air Miles founder Sir Keith Mills was on cloud nine yesterday after selling the firm behind the Nectar card loyalty scheme.
Canadian company Aeroplan Income Fund will pay up to £368million for LMG, which also owns the Air Miles trademark.
Sir Keith - who helped bring the 2012 Olympics to London - owns half of LMG.
Nectar is the UK's biggest loyalty card scheme. Half of UK households have the card, which earns discounts from 15 firms such as Sainsbury's, Debenhams, BP and Gala bingo.


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Jack’s Fish House adding hours, menu items under new ownership
Published 7:00 am Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Since 2003, a local seafood restaurant along Highway 11 has been run by the same family, even though it’s changed hands three times.
Scotty and Malorie Welch took ownership of the local business in Sept. of 2016, but it was established by her grandfather in 2003. For a time, it was leased to another member of the extended family before Malorie Welch and her husband bought it
Since Malorie Welch has worked there since she was 14-years-old, she and her husband jumped at the opportunity to assume ownership of it.
“I didn’t want it to go out of the family,” Malorie Welch said.
True to its name, the restaurant serves seafood dishes. But Scotty and Malorie have expanded the menu to include hamburgers, poboys, pasta, corn and crab bisque and several other dishes. Malorie said one of the most popular is the seafood baked potato, which comes with crabmeat dressing, crawfish sauce and four jumbo butterfly shrimp.
A number of desserts have also been added to the menu, including blueberry cobbler, white chocolate cheesecake and ice cream.
There are also plans to add fish tacos to the menu within the next month or so.
While the business is officially open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m., the restaurant is also available to cater to private parties during the off days. Scotty and Malorie said they take the rest of the week off to spend time with their children.
Scotty said there are also plans to open the business on Sundays to provide a country style buffet.
The business currently employs about 20 people part time.
To contact staff or book the venue for a private party, call 601-749-9200.


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Counterfeit imports increase fourth year in row
According to a report from Okinawa Regional Customs Office, the number of cases of imported goods that are counterfeit or violate intellectual property rights has increased for the fourth year in a row.
According to the report published on Mar. 9th, the number of goods that were stopped at the customs and prevented to be imported to Okinawa increased 2.2-fold from the previous year to 6,532. The goods were stopped in 439 cases, which is an increase of 5.5 % .
Most counterfeit goods imported into Okinawa originated from China, which accounted for more than 90% of all the seized goods. The most common counterfeit goods are sundries, especially accessories. Customs officials suspect that some Okinawan vendors have business partners in China that specialize in counterfeit products.
According to Okinawa Regional Customs Office, the number of cases involving import of counterfeit goods has increased four years in a row. They say that for several years, the trend was an increase in all kinds of smart phone accessories like cases and SD cards.
The distinction between Okinawa and other prefectures is that there are a number of counterfeit hats and sunglasses coming in throughout the year because the warm weather on Okinawa creates a year around demand.
Nationwide, the number of import suspensions of illegal goods increased 14 % to 32,060 cases, which is record high. One of the main reasons for the increase was the FIFA World Cup Soccer Games that were held last year, and the demand for specific products, such as team uniforms, increased significantly.


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- Satiated diners have a one-track mind: pay for the meal and leave as quickly as possible. It was discovered that it can take more than ten minutes for a party to pay for the food at the end of a meal. For groups bigger than six, each diner adds another 90 seconds to the transaction., Flypay, claims to cut that time down to a minute. Integrating with restaurants’ existing payment systems, Flypay allows customers to pay with their phones by downloading an app and scanning a QR code on their table, or waving their handset over a near field communication (NFC) tag.Using wireless (Bluetooth) technology, Cover recognises when a diner enters a participating restaurant. Connected to a pre-registered credit or debit card, the app allows diners to add a tip, split their bill, and pay for their food without waiting. Cover do not disclose the precise share of the bill it takes, but Mr Egerman explains it is equal to or less than the standard New York card handling fee, between 3.2% and 4.7%.
- IT WAS in a rather brusque and unceremonious fashion that the Cenci Journalism Project, a crowdsourced and volunteer-run media translation site, was systematically removed this month from the Chinese internet. Its website was blocked and erased from domestic search engines. Its private discussion forums were shut down; the personal social media accounts of its founder and executive editor were deleted;Mr Kang soon discovered that, in the new and tightly restricted media environment of the Xi Jinping administration, it is no longer the content that matters. It is the format and the concept: citizen journalists providing diverse perspectives. Since Xi Jinping took over as China’s president in March 2013, Chinese journalists have operated under increasingly tighter media restrictions.
- The border is unmarked around the lake, which abutted Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria until it began to dry up and shrink over the past few decades.Boko Haram, the equally murderous Nigerian outfit that is striving to expand its base beyond its original area south-west of Lake Chad.. Chad is sending ever more troops to the border. Checkpoints and military vehicles are visible on the roads outside N’Djamena, which is close to the lake.Oil-rich Chad has one of the fiercest armies on the continent. It has deployed peacekeepers in Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR). Nigeria’s armed forces are plagued with corruption; its rates of desertion are high. Niger is poor even by regional standards and militarily unable to cope. The weakest link in the region, however, is Cameroon.Nigeria closed its border with it in February and has called its government negligent. Unlike Chad and Niger, it does not allow troops from neighbouring countries the right of hot pursuit across its border. That may be partly because Cameroon and Nigeria lack an agreed frontier due to a long-running territorial dispute; the UN’s attempt to mark the 2,100km boundary, which cuts across mountains and deserts, may be the biggest project of its kind in the world. In May Cameroon at last deployed a thousand troops to the border region.
- Whole Food’s shares have fallen by more than 40% since hitting a peak last October, in a period when stockmarkets have been strong.The problem is that at Whole Foods, shoppers have been paying way over the cost of regular produce, and its success in getting them to do so has now attracted a lot of competitors, from rival organics chains like Sprouts and Trader Joe’s to mass-market retailers like Walmart and Costco. As a result, the price premium for organic produce is crashing down.
- Reliance invests more in India and pays more corporation tax there than any other firm. Without Reliance, which generates 15% of the country’s exports, the balance of payments would be a wreck.Yet in other ways, Reliance is a rotten role model for corporate India. Reliance is a patriarchy with a lightweight board. Although a listed firm, it makes payments equivalent to a quarter of its pre-tax profits to related entities, mainly privately held by the Ambani family. Its ultimate ownership and beneficiaries are obscured by a mesh of holding vehicles that India’s securities regulator says it does not fully understand. The regulator accuses the firm of making illegal gains from trading derivatives linked to its own subsidiary’s shares (an accusation Reliance is contesting). Some foreign investors, put off by the lack of transparency, shy away. Mr Ambani seems to believe that Reliance does not need to reform. He is wrong, for two reasons. First, India’s economy is opening up, and the firms most exposed to global competition—tech giants, for instance—have the world-class governance and open cultures.


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The Global State of eCommerce
Since 2014, total sales in eCommerce in retail have been consistently rising and shows an average growth rate of over 20%. This year, before the Coronavirus pandemic, 2020 sales were expected to exceed 4 trillion US dollars and to rise to 4.878 trillion US dollars in 2021.
The UK is the third largest eCommerce industry in the world, and on its own is expected to surpass the £200billion mark this year. The most popular goods are that are purchased online in the UK. UK Shoppers spent an average of £1250 per person in 2019, and online retail accounted for 20% of total retail sales. 87% of individuals in the UK have made online purchases in 2020, and the number one leading consumer motivation for online shopping was price comparison. A third of British people order online once a week or more.
Clothes or sports goods are number one (60 percent), followed by household items (49 percent), holiday accommodation (44 percent) and travel arrangements (43 percent).
How has COVID-19 Impacted this?
This growth has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April alone, the rise of eCommerce in the United States grew from 16%, below the global average of 20%,to 33%. This more than doubled the previous rates of eCommerce uptake in the retail space, and led to the equivalent of 10 years acceleration and growth in a 3 month period.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday increased package deliveries by as much as 140% in November as shoppers remained indoors during the second UK lockdown. In the US, customers spent US$9 billion Black Friday, up 21.6% on a year ago. Smartphones continued to account for an increasing proportion of online sales, with this year’s $3.6 billion up 25.3%, while alternative deliveries — a sign of thee-commerce space maturing — also continued to grow, with in-store and curbside pickup up 52% on 2019.
On a global scale, while retail eCommerce sales made up around 20% of total retail sales in 2019, that’s jumped to 27.5%. Online grocery sales in October of this year increased by 39%, in comparison to a 9% increase that October 2019 faced.
While this rate will most likely slow, it’s clear to see where the future of shopping lies.


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By Elisa King, Horticulture Innovation Australia
This year is set to be Aussie Mangoes’ biggest season yet, with a campaign for the mango emoji kicking off this month (September). The campaign will invite social media influencers and Aussie mango lovers alike to advocate for the inclusion of a mango emoji alongside the other fruits and vegetables we see used in everyday social media communication.
The idea for a campaign for the mango emoji was developed after we noticed many of our followers on social media were crying out for an emoji to express their love for their favourite fruit on digital platforms. In encouraging mango lovers across Australia to rally behind the cause and register their support, we see an opportunity for large-scale involvement to kick-start the mango season and drive awareness, with a passionate online mango frenzy throughout the rest of the season.
At the end of the campaign, we will aggregate the results and sentiment to produce a proposal for the mango emoji that will be sent to the worldwide authority for emojis, The Unicode Consortium. We hope this will convince them to add Australia’s favourite fruit to emoji keyboards around the world.
In keeping with the momentum from the launch of the emoji campaign, we will be celebrating Mess-tival’s 5th birthday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in partnership with the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. On the first weekend of summer, nippers and mango fans will celebrate this five-year milestone by once again stepping up to the challenge of mango eating competitions and mango races, as well as tasting, photo opportunities, mango flower carving demonstrations and merchandise giveaways. The celebrations will be leveraged through national television coverage, event listings, social media content, and influencer attendees.
Based on last season’s success with influencer outreach, we will once again be working with foodie influencers in encouraging them to share their love for the king of fruit by posting mango serving suggestions and recipes across their social media platforms, YouTube channels and blogs. This year, we will be increasing this activity with Instagram takeovers, during which foodie influencers will take charge of the Aussie Mangoes Instagram page for periods of time, posting their favourite mango recipes and sharing their passion for mangoes, whilst driving their audience to our digital channels.
For the 2016/17 season, we will return to the staple of our press office activity, grower famils, to provide the mango loving community with a behind-thescenes look into the industry that brings summer’s most iconic fruit to mango lovers across Australia and the world. Journalists and influencers from print and digital publications will be invited to take a tour of a mango farm, taste-test the produce, experiment with recipes and share their experience and newfound knowledge about the mango industry with their readers.
Finally, we will be continually sharing recipes, industry tidbits, cooking tips and storage suggestions with print and digital publications to maximise awareness and ensure mangoes are kept front-of-mind for the duration of the entire season. Alongside this, the Aussie Mangoes Facebook and Instagram pages will be sharing recipes and cooking tips, running mango madness competitions, posting trivia content, seasonal information, how-to videos and content to drive the mango emoji campaign. This array of content will spur community engagement and content-sharing, increase awareness, and encourage mango-lovers to stock up, cook-up and eat-up the delicious king of fruits throughout the 2016-17 mango season.
For more information contact Elisa King at Horticulture Innovation Australia: email@example.com or (02) 8295 2332


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- New consumer research reveals that US travellers prefer to book their trips via OTAs like eDreams - enjoying greater savings and a wider range of options than on single airline websites
- Consumers booking on eDreams will save a combined one million hours this year compared to booking directly with an airline
LONDON, March 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over nine out of ten (93%) adults in the USA have found a cheaper or more convenient route when searching for a holiday via an online travel agent (OTA) like eDreams.net by comparison to booking directly with an airline. New data from independent market research commissioned by eDreams ODIGEO, one of the world's leading online travel companies, reveals how travellers who are planning future trips can avoid the elements of journey planning they enjoy the least – the time it takes to research the best possible price (43%) – by booking with an OTA.
According to the survey findings, while the vast majority of US adults appreciate that an OTA offers savings, most of them still underestimate the level of discounts that an online agent can generate for them, with 78% of people believing that the saving is likely to be less than 15% compared to booking directly with an airline. In reality, eDreams customers can save an average of $234, the equivalent of 19%, when booking a dynamic package holiday (where travellers can create their own packages by combining accommodation and travel).
Though travel continues to be affected by lockdown restrictions around the world, positive progress in vaccination programmes is starting to create an uptick in searches for the summer months across eDreams ODIGEO's USA travel brand eDreams.net.
Remove the research from holiday planning
When asked which element of the travel booking process consumers find least enjoyable, nearly half (43%) referenced the time taken to find the best possible price. According to an analysis of booking time by eDreams ODIGEO, consumers booking on its OTA websites will save a combined one million hours this year compared to booking directly with an airline, avoiding the least enjoyable element of travel planning.
Another significant frustration felt by US travellers when planning travel is the difficulty in aligning dates and times for flight with available accommodation, with 41% finding this element of travel planning unenjoyable.
Furthermore, just over a third (35%) of respondents stated that they find organising flight connections for multi leg trips an unpleasant part of the travel booking process. OTAs such as eDreams.net can alleviate these frustrations by amalgamating multiple options from travel providers to provide different route and price options in one place, depending on whether convenience or price is the traveller's top priority.
Pablo Caspers, Chief Air Supply Officer at eDreams ODIGEO, commented, "We are starting to see consumer confidence rebuild following positive news around vaccination programmes. As people start to dream and plan for trips overseas, we spoke to US travellers to understand what their pain points are when it comes to planning and booking travel and how eDreams as a travel agent can work to relieve these.
"Despite many people still being in lockdown with plenty of spare time, nearly half of US consumers still find researching price to be the least enjoyable element of travel planning, and this is a place where OTAs like eDreams can really help. Our technology carries out eight billion price calculations every hour, taking the pressure off consumers by ensuring they are presented with the widest choice whilst also allowing them to make easy price and route comparisons.
"With many travellers grounded for much of 2020 and now into 2021, we know people are keen to start travelling again and when they do, they will be seeking convenient, hassle-free booking options so they can focus on relaxing and re-connecting with family and friends after so many months apart."
eDreams ODIGEO is one of the world's largest online travel companies and one of the largest e-commerce businesses in Europe. The leading travel brand offers 274,000 flight routes from over 650 airline partners, giving travellers access to the widest choice and combination of air fares and airlines to secure the best price. Under its four leading online travel agency brands – eDreams, GO Voyages, Opodo, Travellink, and the metasearch engine Liligo – it serves more than 17 million customers per year across 45 markets.
Methodology: An independent poll was carried out by OnePoll between 25th and 28th January 2021. 2,000 US adults who have travelled as an adult were surveyed.
 194 EUR to USD. Exchange rate calculated on 02.03.21
 Price saving is worked out by comparing average gross booking value of eDreams ODIGEO's dynamic packages compared to the same trip booked separately on top airline and hotelier websites. It is not a like for like comparison of the exact same flight, it could be for the same destination via a different route and airline provider.
 Calculated by eDreams ODIGEO based on an internal study that shows that consumers save on average 4.95 minutes when booking via the eDreams ODIGEO OTA brands compared to booking the same products on the airline website directly. The 1M figure is the aggregated time saving expected in 2021 for all eDreams ODIGEO customers, which includes single airline and multi airline trips combined.
SOURCE eDreams ODIGEO


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Increasing plastics demand in China won’t be enough to reverse glut: survey
Canadian PlasticsEconomy Plastics Industry Economic Changes/Forecast
China's consumption of plastic could grow by up to 7 per cent this year after stalling in 2011, but the rebound will not be enough to overcome a regional supply glut that will curb the output of plastic manufacturers and pressure the...
China’s consumption of plastic could grow by up to 7 per cent this year after stalling in 2011, but the rebound will not be enough to overcome a regional supply glut that will curb the output of plastic manufacturers and pressure the petrochemical market.
According to a survey of five industry consultants conducted by Reuters news organization, Asian plastic exporters, who rely heavily on demand from the world’s second-biggest economy, face having to scale back production further this year, in turn cutting demand for naphtha, which is the key oil product used to make plastic.
The consultants forecast China’s consumption of plastic by Asia’s top importer growing around 5-7 per cent, up on last year’s flat growth but well down on the double-digit growth in 2009-2010.
China has forecast its economy will grow 7.5 percent in 2012, the slowest in eight years, with exports crimped to traditional customers such as Europe and the U.S.
China’s industrial production also weakened sharply in April, while the central bank recently cut the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves, in a move to support the economy.
More than 70 per cent of the polyethylene consumed in China goes into packaging, while more than 60 percent of polypropylene is used for consumer and electronic goods, data from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation showed.
The full Reuters report can be accessed at this link.


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In answer to a question after a speech at the New York Historical Society on Tuesday, Volcker said a VAT is “not a toxic idea,” and further said, "If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes."
Adding a national sales tax on top of the federal income tax and other taxes, however, is not a smart idea, say many conservative critics because it would put a drag on economic growth and encourage the government to keep spending instead of balancing the federal budget.
A VAT is a consumption tax that is similar to a retail sales tax but differs in the way the tax is collected. With a VAT, the government collects the tax at different phases of a product’s manufacture.
In his book, Basic Economics, economist Thomas Sowell explains that a value-added tax “is imposed on products as they pass through the production process, each enterprise in the chain of production being taxed on whatever value its operations added to the product.”
“The advantage of this kind of tax, from the standpoint of the officials who impose it, is that the total amount that the taxes add to the final price paid by the consumer is not apparent, as it is with a sales tax, for example,” says Sowell. “In general, the less visible a tax is, the more revenue can be collected without resistance or electoral retribution by the voters.” Many European countries use a value-added tax as “a major source of revenues,” says Sowell.
According to a Congressional Budget Office study on the general topic of a VAT, if it were imposed as a new tax, the VAT would increase administrative costs and place a burden on the poor.
“(A)s a new tax, a VAT would be more costly for the federal government to administer and more costly for businesses to comply with,” said the CBO report. “In addition, the VAT's heavier burden on the poor could not be offset much by adjusting its tax base.”
Further, the CBO study said that “(t)axing consumption is inherently regressive--that is, the burden of the tax as a share of income is greater for families having lower income. A VAT would be regressive because lower-income families spend more, and save less, of their income.”
“Taxing consumption is also inherently costly, both to administer and to comply with, because no general consumption tax currently exists at the federal level in the United States,” the report added.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, said, "To make up for the largest levels of spending and deficits in modern history, the administration is laying the foundation for a large, misguided new tax, a first-time American VAT.”
"If the president wants to add completely new layers of taxation, then he should take this issue before the American people when he runs for re-election,” said Grassley.
The free-market group Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) was also critical of the VAT proposal, stating that the administration apparently wants to use it to generate revenue to cover its federal spending.
“The reason for this is simple: the goal of Obama/Pelosi/Reid regime is to raise federal spending from its historical level of 20 percent of GDP to a ‘new normal’ of 25 percent of GDP,” Ryan Ellis, the director of policy at ATR, told CNSNews.com.
“They want to pay for this, in part, with a VAT,” he said. “Assuming a European-style VAT system, a VAT rate of 5 percent would raise the equivalent of 2 percent of GDP in taxes.”
Last week, even before Volcker’s speech, conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer predicted a VAT was on the political horizon to pay for the new $1 trillion health care plan and other entitlements, as well as a $1.5 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2010.
“With the passage of Obamacare, creating a vast new middle-class entitlement, a national sales tax of the kind near-universal in Europe is inevitable,” wrote Krauthammer on Mar. 26 in The Washington Post. “For the politician, it (VAT) has the virtue of expediency: People are used to sales taxes, and this one produces a river of revenue. Every 1 percent of VAT would yield up to $1 trillion a decade (depending on what you exclude -- if you exempt food, for example, the yield would be more like $900 billion).
“It's the ultimate cash cow. Obama will need it. By introducing universal health care, he has pulled off the largest expansion of the welfare state in four decades. And the most expensive. Which is why all of the European Union has the VAT. Huge VATs. Germany: 19 percent. France and Italy: 20 percent. Most of Scandinavia: 25 percent."
While giving credit to the possible benefits of a VAT, Alan Viard, an economic scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative group, indicated that although the VAT does not tax savings and investments, it would stunt economic growth if it is used to pay for new entitlements.
“To the extent that the value added tax is used as a replacement for the income tax, I think the growth effects will be positive,” Viard told CNSNews.com. But “if it’s used to finance government spending that otherwise wouldn’t have occurred, then of course the impact is likely to be negative.”
“I think the real disagreement about the VAT that you hear from people, a lot of it is related to the question of exactly how it will be used, how it would change things,” he said.
Last spring, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said “there is a growing awareness of the need for fundamental tax reform. I think a VAT and a high-end income tax have got to be on the table.”
Michael W. Chapman contributed to this story.


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December 31 (Reuters) – 3G Capital private equity firm has accepted at buy one control stake in Hunter Dutch Window Covering Group Douglas NV HUDN.ASin an agreement based on a enterprise value of about $ 7.1 billion, the companies said in a joint statement.
3G Capital, best known for its investment in the food and drink sector, will pay 175 euros per share to buy a 75% stake in the company that makes blinds and shutters.
The Sonnenberg family, who founded the company over 100 years ago, will retain a 25% stake.
The price is a 73% premium over the Hunter Douglas stock closing price on Thursday of 101.40 euros and a 64% premium over the all-time Hunter Douglas closing high of 106.40 euros.
âAs a private company, Hunter Douglas will have the opportunity to advance and grow our business while preserving the family culture and strong stakeholder relationships that have been at the heart of our success,â said David Sonnenberg , co-CEO of the Dutch group. .
Once the deal is done, Sonnenberg, will be assume the role of executive chairman.
JoÃ£o Castro Neves, senior partner at 3G Capital, is expected to be the CEO of the company, the statement noted. Neves is a member of the board of directors of Kraft Heinz KHC.O, another 3G Capital investment.
3G has made a name for itself in American businesses by implementing major debt-financed M&A deals, followed by significant cost reductions.
The management philosophy, developed by Brazilian billionaire financier Jorge Paulo Lemann and Brazilian investment bankers Marcel Herrmann Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira, was pioneered by Budweiser brewer Anheuser Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, which they helped create through a series of major mergers.
3G Capital also brought together the Burger King and Tim Hortons fast food chains in 2014 in an $ 11 billion deal.
($ 1 = 0.8829 euros)
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru and Keith Weir; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jane Merriman)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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Winner of the LVMH prize in 2017, Marine Serre has rapidly made a name for herself in the fashion world for her futuristic creations and her “fashion-reality” “I use fashion to talk about what's happening in the world rather than as a means of escape” she said at her Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show.
In recent weeks, the young French designer has enjoyed a peak in searches, to the point of a 426% increase in 48 hours. The reason? Her crescent moon logo has been worn by a multitude of celebrities, starting with Beyoncé in her movie Black Is King, released on 31 July. In the feature film which aims to shed light on the Black Lives Matter movement, the queen of pop and her dancers wear skin-tight outfits printed with this celestial motif. An uncontested fan of Beyoncé, the singer Adele paid homage by photographing herself in a top also designed by the creator. From there, Internet searches for the print have not stopped increasing, according to the figures of the global platform Lyst.
What's the story behind Marine Serre's crescent moon logo?
“I thought this symbol was the most open," Marine Serre declared in an interview with British Vogue. “You see the logo everywhere: a moon on a vintage garment [on jewelry] at Claire's, in [the Japanese manga series] Sailor Moon, and, of course, in Arabic countries. In this ultra-logo period, I told myself, I don't want a logo with my name, I want something with more meaning. The moon is the symbol of women, so I didn't think it could be any better!”
More from Vogue on YouTube:


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Irootfor to start collaboration Steam Workshop Contributor Hyper Beast
Irootfor AB’s two brands, Florpad and X-Gamer, have begun creating exclusive product ranges with Steam Workshop Contributor and creator of Hyper Beast, Brock Hofer. During the multi-year deal, Brock, known by his alias Hyper Beast, will work closely with the two brands including to help develop, design and create a new line of products for X-Gamer and Florpad.
“We are thrilled to have Hyper Beast on board. I’ve been an admirer of Brock’s work for many years, and having him come into this cooperation is going to bring huge value to both X-Gamer and Florpad. I’m very excited to see what comes from it,” said Irootfor CEO Robert Hjelmer.
Having already worked with Valve, NZXT and other big names in the industry, Hyper Beast is no stranger to collaborations.
“We’re all extremely proud at X-Gamer to have secured an exclusive partnership with Brock Hofer for the world’s first Hyper Beast™
energy drink. We look forward to launching a mouth-watering new flavour, licensed globally to X-Gamer Ltd, packaged in unique Hyper Beast™ artwork. It will be available this holiday season with an incredible new shaker cup, and also as a gift set,” X-Gamer CEO Matt Rees said.
He continued: “This exciting and innovative launch marks another leap forward for X-Gamer as our brand continues to strengthen and expand globally. The partnership also demonstrates our commitment to our patrons, retailers, distributors, and our industry, both now and in the future. We look forward to this groundbreaking launch and releasing our other innovations under development.”
We look forward to a great future together with Brock Hofer, Hyper Beast.
Media https://twitter.com/brockhofer https://www.instagram.com/brockhofer/ https://brockhoferart.com/ https://www.irootfor.co/


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In celebration of the 76th anniversary of the establishment of Amorepacific Group, a ceremony was held in a digital and untact manner in a metaverse.
Employees at home and abroad as well as long service award winners joined the metaverse from their offices and home to celebrate the 76th anniversary in a festival concept that was held for three days (September 1 to 3).
Key parts of the company headquarters were created in the metaverse, allowing members to experience the company in a way they couldn’t offline. Members accessed the space, set up their characters and added items then moved around the company, while taking part in various programs such as leaving congratulatory messages for long service award winners at the Hall of Fame, playing company history quizzes, escape room games, or going on a heritage treasure hunt quest, in celebration of the anniversary.
In addition, all members of Amorepacific Group reaffirmed their commitment to ‘customer-centric’ philosophy the company has advocated for the past 76 years despite challenges and shared commitment toward the company’s future direction by embracing its spirit of ‘striving to contribute to mankind through beauty and health’ and its mission ‘We make A MORE beautiful world.’
The ceremony, which was held on September 3, began with Chairman & CEO Suh Kyung-bae delivering the commemorative remarks for the 76th anniversary and was followed by congratulating long-term employees and all members coming together to declare the 2025 vision. In a video, Chairman & CEO Suh said, “let’s build a world of New Beauty where anyone can live truly free and happy lives by living by their own unique beauty.” He continued, “we will focus on high-functional areas like bio and derma as well as the Wellness category for health to expand our company to ‘life beauty’ business that encompasses all moments of our lives and provide ‘ultra-personalized beauty solutions’ customized to each customer based on accumulated customer data and digital technologies” and added his vision of “building a better business ecosystem through genuine ‘empathy’ toward all stakeholders.”
Since its establishment on September 5, 1945, Amorepacific Group has continuously communicated with the world to find true beauty and value. It announced its five sustainable management goals 2030, ‘2030 A MORE Beautiful Promise,’ this year and is dedicated to fulfilling its social responsibility with a focus on various CSR and ESG activities as a responsible corporate citizen.


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The federal government and U.S. regulatory agents approached Uber, the ride sharing service, 415 times between July and December of 2015 for user data. The company complied, and that lead to Uber handing the feds data belonging to more than 12 million users. This covers both riders and drivers.
They were able to provide date for nearly 85 percent of the government’s requests.
This news comes after Uber released its first transparency report earlier this week. Reuters said a large number of the requests “were related to fraud investigations or the use of stolen credit cards.”
Uber only released information for requests made by the U.S. This is interesting news in light of what’s been going with Apple and its current stance on user privacy in the face of the FBI.


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Waterloo (ON) – In the final act of one of the most gripping patent cases in history, BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion has agreed to pay patent holder NTP the sum of $612.5 million, to settle their dispute and to grant RIM perpetual rights to all NTP’s outstanding – and still valid – patents. As a result, the future of BlackBerry service in the United States has been secured.
In a statement released minutes ago by NTP, the company states the settlement gives RIM perpetual license to all NTP patents, past and future, eliminating the possibility that NTP could sue RIM for something else later down the road. Most importantly, perhaps, RIM’s customers and partners will also be protected by the deal, allaying at least one analyst’s fears put forth in our story last Friday that NTP could sue RIM’s partners if the terms of a settlement merely served as evidence that NTP’s rights were breached.
Minutes after statements were issued by both companies, Reuters reported that US District Judge James Spencer effectively endorsed the settlement, dismissing the case.
As the NTP statement reads, “The agreement permits RIM and its partners to sell its products, services and infrastructure completely free and clear of any claim by NTP, including any claims that NTP may have against wireless carriers, ISV partners or against third party products that use RIM’s BlackBerry Connect / BlackBerry Built-In technology.” So RIM can now continue to build on its services without fear of NTP suing on account of any derivative technologies that RIM may create or discover.
NTP’s founder, Donald E. Stout, is quoted as saying, “We are pleased to have reached an amicable settlement with RIM. We believe that the settlement is in the best interests of all parties, including the US Government and all other BlackBerry users in the United States…NTP is pleased that the issue has been resolved and looks forward to enhancing its businesses.” NTP’s business thus far has been as a holder and defender of patents.
For its part, RIM’s statement today says that the company will take a $450 million charge this quarter, which was the amount it had originally settled for, in an agreement which NTP successfully had thrown out of court. The remainder of the charge will be accounted for in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter. Trading of RIM stock was halted on the NASDAQ exchange prior to this afternoon’s announcement, but was trading slightly higher earlier in the day, perhaps in anticipation of settlement news.


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Campaign: Fast Meat Stolen
Company: Conagra Brands
Agency Partners: 180 Global
Duration: December 16, 2023 – ongoing
Slim Jim’s custom Nissan Z, known to fans as “Fast Meat,” has been on the move as part of an ongoing partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), making recent stops in Chicago for the Survivor Series event before traveling on to Los Angeles for a custom video shoot.
Then the car went missing.
At that point, Slim Jim parent Conagra Brands issued a press release announcing that the car had been stolen.
Fans, however, were skeptical, said Amy Morgan, Conagra director of brand content and communications. This is largely down to the fact that stunts are commonplace in the world of professional wrestling (see Stone Cold Steve Austin driving a Coors Light 18-wheeler to the ring and then spraying his nemeses with ice cold beer).
But rather than treat the actual crime as a disaster, the meat snack’s marketers decided to lean into — or perhaps “snap into” is the better phrase — a marketing opportunity.
Slim Jim announced on December 16 that the car was last seen in California.
“We knew we had something special with our custom car but had no idea it would be in such demand that someone would steal it," Ashley Spade, VP and GM of snacks at Conagra, said in a company statement.
But the brand creatives were not immediately sure it was a good marketing opportunity.
“You never want to come across as opportunistic in a cringy kind of way,” said Morgan. “Once we knew that there were no issues with personal safety or anything of that nature and had made the right calls and discussions, we felt like it was worth taking a chance.”
Slim Jim encouraged its loyal followers, known as the Long Boi Gang, to use the hashtag #FindFastMeat on social media to spread awareness of the theft and contact the Los Angeles Police Department with any tips.
“Last Seen: Unknown,” an Instagram post stated. “Condition: MEATY, LOST.”
Then, on December 21, the company shared a video on Instagram in which it declared that Fast Meat was “gone but never forgotten” and asked fans to vote on a replacement.
On X, Slim Jim polled fans about what new car it should purchase, its paint and logo placement and what it should be called, among other questions.
pick your favorite— Slim Jim MEATA (@SlimJim) January 15, 2024
However, on December 22, the brand got an early Christmas present: the police reported that they had recovered Fast Meat outside Chicago.
The custom wrap had been partially removed but otherwise it was untouched.
Still, Slim Jim is moving forward with its plans for a new vehicle: a Nissan GTR with a “yellow to red color shift,” fans determined.
The brand is unveiling the new car on January 17.
Slim Jim’s Instagram post announcing that the car had gone missing received more than 32,000 likes. Meanwhile, the Instagram Reel announcing that the brand would build a new car with input from fans generated more than 30,000 likes and 1,200 comments.
There were more than 13,000 mentions of Slim Jim on social media between December 15 – January 10, a 40% increase over the previous month, according to the campaign.


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Packing specialist Lightning Packaging Supplies have added to their growing fleet with the latest Mercedes-Benz Sprinter recently being delivered to their Hatfield premises.
Does the new C-Class set new standards in the best premium car sector?
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled an image of the new Concept Coupe SUV at its annual shareholders meeting.
Abel Alarm Company has added three Mercedes-Benz Citan small vans to its LCV fleet.
NHS Blood and Transplant has been training drivers for the Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) qualifications with Mercedes-Benz dealer Road Range.
Ambulance chiefs covering six counties have embarked on a major upgrade of their front-line fleet in conjunction with East Anglian Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealer Orwell Truck and Van.
Van and passenger transport operators in Ashford can now get their vehicles MoT tested outside normal working hours following the launch of a new service by Mercedes-Benz dealer Sparshatts of Kent.
Brookfield Utilities UK, owner of some of Britain’s leading independent energy distribution and utility infrastructure businesses, has added Mercedes-Benz Sprinters to its fleet.
Prices and specifications for the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class have been announced.
A lighter and more luxurious C-Class may boost fleet interest, says John Challen
Infiniti will abandon the Renault-sourced V6 diesel engine used in its large cars in favour of Mercedes-Benz diesels in future.
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the new lighter and more efficient C-Class due to make its public debut in Detroit in January 2014.
Diesel hybrid offers the lowest fuel consumption and CO2 of any E-Class model
Europcar has invested in its prestige range with the addition of the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class S350 BlueTEC Line to its fleet.
For the first time in its UK history, Mercedes-Benz has sold 100,000 new cars within a year.
Mercedes-Benz is hoping to meet anticipated demand for cold weather tyres by keeping them in stock at dealers.
Mercedes-Benz has achieved record-breaking registration performances across the board in October 2013, according to figures released by the SMMT.
Tristar Worldwide has become one of the first chauffeur companies in the UK to add the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class to its fleet.
Topspeed couriers have topped up their initial order for 10 Mercedes-Benz Citan vans with an order for a further five.
An enhanced customer version of the Mile Tracker app from Mercedes-Benz has been launched, which shows nearby filling stations and real-time prices.
Fleet News offers a range of reports, whitepapers, in-depth features and manufacturer brochures to enhance fleet decision-makers' understanding of key issues and products.
Fleet News is published monthly, in print and digital formats.
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Sony is latest company to get into the cloud business, launching a new subsidiary, Sony Media Cloud Services, which is aimed to provide an online platform for creative professionals to store and share their large and complex media files.
Sony’s cloud storage platform – dubbed Ci (pronounced “see”) –is currently in beta production and is designed to provide broadcasters, filmmakers, independent producers and marketing teams with a “one-cloud” solution to collect, produce and archive high-definition content, according to Naomi Climer, president of Sony Media Cloud Services.
“Every day, creative professionals around the world spend numerous hours and resources on non-creative tasks like moving and sharing content, figuring out how and where to store it, and getting the right assets to the right places and in the right hands,” Climer said in a statement. “Sony understands these complex challenges, which is why we designed Ci as a functionally rich, scalable and secure, media-focused cloud platform that can enhance and streamline traditional production workflows to make it easier to collaborate more effectively and cost-efficiently.”
Company officials said Ci was designed with intuitive capabilities that can analyze complex media and data to enable machine-assisted workflows with pay-as-you-go pricing.
Applications that will be available at launch include the following:
In addition to Sony Pictures, the company also signed NBCUniversal as a client. Ci will be available within the U.S. and European markets, with plans for additional service capabilities to be launched within the year, company officials said.
In related news, Sony sold off its U.S. headquarters in a deal valued at $1.1 billion. The building, according to multiple sources, went to a group lead by the Chetrit Group, a real estate developer. This move provides Sony with some badly needed extra cash, although the source of the cash may leave some investors worried.
Reportedly, Sony’s been looking to sell off “non-core assets” for some time now and refocus on the main business – but only time will tell if this was a smart move, or just the beginning of the end.
Image via TVNewsCheck
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China's car market kept stable growth in the first half of this year, with sales of vehicles reaching 14.07 million — a 5.57 percent year-on-year increase — and output of vehicles expanding to 14.06 million, making for 4.15 percent year-on-year growth, according to Xinhua.
Data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed the output growth of vehicles in H1 dropped by 0.49 percentage points year-on-year, while sales growth increased by 0.83 percentage points.
A total of 11.85 million passenger vehicles were produced in H1, an increase of 3.23 percent year-on-year, with sales of passenger vehicles reaching 11.78 million, up 4.64 percent year-on-year. Both the growth rates of output and sales improved compared to the same period last year.
The output and sales of commercial vehicles totaled 2.2 million and 2.29 million respectively in H1, up 9.41 percent and 10.58 percent year-on-year, with growth rates receding.
The new energy vehicle sector witnessed robust growth in H1.
New energy vehicle output climbed to 413,000 by 3.23 percent year-on-year in H1, of which the pure electric vehicles (PEVs) output and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEVs) output amounted to 314,000 and 100,000 respectively, up 79 percent and 170.2 percent year-on-year.
In addition, a total of 412,000 new energy vehicles were sold in H1, up 111.5 percent year-on-year. The sales of plug-in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increased 96 and 181.6 percent year-on-year to 313,000 and 99,000 respectively.
The top 10 Chinese auto brands by sales in H1 include SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, Geely Auto Group, Dongfeng Motor Co Ltd, BAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor Co Ltd, China FAW Group Corp, Chery Automobile Co Ltd, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp Ltd.
They sold 5.94 million vehicles together in H1, accounting for 81.32 percent of the total sales of Chinese-brand vehicles.


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Frequent Wireless Upgrade Plans Require Customers to Choose Carefully
NEWS ANALYSIS: Not happy waiting for two years to upgrade your wireless device to the latest and greatest? Now three of the big four wireless operators offer new plans that allow frequent upgrades.Perhaps you remember how things were with wireless carriers back in the mists of time when every company had a two-year contract and cell phones were paid for by subsidies to your plan? You know—back in January 2013. Since then there's been an upheaval in the way wireless companies sell their plans and their phones. This happened because many users didn't want to wait for two years before they could buy another phone and they didn't want to pay the early termination fees that the phone companies demanded if they got new phone before the two years were up. First, T-Mobile announced that it was doing away with contracts that subsidized phones and instead started selling unlocked phones at a discount. You could buy those phones on an installment plan. Then T-Mobile introduced Jump, which allowed customers to trade in their phones and upgrade any time they wanted. But, of course, nothing is ever that easy. There are rules with T-Mobile's plan, and we'll talk about those in a minute. A few days after T-Mobile announced its Jump program, AT&T announced Next. The idea was similar to the plan T-Mobile has, but you can't upgrade your phones as often. A few days after AT&T rolled out Next, Verizon Wireless announced Edge, which is similar to Jump and Next. We haven't heard from Sprint yet, likely because that company has been involved with other things, including fending off a hostile takeover and selling itself to SoftBank.
Since then all three companies have been conducting an advertising war, each one claiming that the other two aren't offering as good a deal as their own. No surprise here. The reality is that each plan has its good points and weak points, and no one plan is right for everyone. The confusion was compounded when T-Mobile took some heat for insisting that it be paid for the phones that customers bought, even if they terminated their T-Mobile contract.


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Nollywood Actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako Becomes Suru Group’s Brand Ambassador
By Mary Nnah
Real estate and hospitality firm, Suru Group, has unveiled popular Nollywood actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako as its new brand ambassador.
The recent move by the company is in line with its efforts to set a new stride in the real estate industry.
Daramola-Salako, who is one of Nigeria’s most loved actresses, is expected to bring tremendous progress to the company by promoting its products and reputation.
She would represent the Suru Group brand and feature heavily in the property marketing campaigns and client-focused strategies of the company.
The beautifully endowed actress who was accompanied by her husband, Kayode Salako, to the event, is expected to use her large followership and popularity that cuts across socio-economic classes and age groups to further deepen the brand’s growing impression in the real estate market.
Managing Director/CEO of Suru Group, Mr. Edward Akinlade, during the event said: “The company will explore every good platform to deepen its strength in every sphere of its conglomerate, which comprises the Suru Homes and Properties, Suru Express Hotel, and Prolific Microfinance.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with a hardworking entrepreneur like Foluke Daramola-Salako, who is also a role model to a wide spectrum of youths and people from all walks of life.
“This partnership aligns with our corporate objective of supporting SMEs and empowering enterprising women.”
Akinlade said he had observed Daramola-Salako for a long time and admired her professionalism, hard work and scandal free life, so he decided to make her a brand ambassador of the company to reiterate that her values and that of the company are parallel.
“Daramola-Salako will be involved in marketing for the company and talking about our brand. We will look at the values she is bringing in and the contract will be extended on the basis of the outcome of the partnership,” Akinlade added.
Responding the actress said, “I am delighted to be signed on as a brand ambassador for Suru Group. The group managing director has been more like a father to me ever before now and has played vital role in my life and marriage.
“It is a privilege to be associated with one of the fastest growing property companies in the country today, we will certainly put Suru Group on the world map together.
“I feel that this partnership is long overdue, I have always wanted to work with this brand because it has been my family brand for a long time. I believe that with this opportunity, I have to go an extra mile to prove myself as part of being a family of Suru Group.”
Speaking on the benefits she will be bringing to the brand, she said “I intend to discuss with the managing director for me to have a party when I get to the US, where all I will do is talking about my brand to people in the diaspora because a lot of them do not have the benefits Suru Group has over other competitors.”


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News ItemSynlait Milk has opened its new Auckland site, which is home to its second state-of-the-art blending and consumer packaging facility.http://www.synlait.com/news/synlait-auckland-officially-opened-doubles-infant-formula-packaging-capacity/
News ItemOur 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Synlait Milk Limited will be held on Wednesday 29 November 2017 from 1:00pm at Tait Technology Centre, 245 Wooldridge Road, Christchurch 8051, New Zealand.http://www.synlait.com/news/notice-2017-annual-meeting-shareholders/
News ItemSynlait Milk’s Lead With Pride™ programme is the first independent programme in the New Zealand agricultural industry to become an approved audit management system.http://www.synlait.com/news/synlaits-best-practice-dairy-farming-programme-endorsed-regional-council/
News ItemSynlait Milk’s Annual Shareholders Meeting (ASM) will be held at Tait Electronics (Christchurch, New Zealand) on Wednesday 29 November 2017, commencing at 1pm.http://www.synlait.com/news/notice-2017-asm-date-notification-closing-date-director-nominations/
News ItemSynlait has received registration which will allow exports of The a2 Milk Company Limited’s China label infant formula to China to continue. All manufacturers of infant formula are required to ...
News ItemSynlait is establishing a research and development centre in Palmerston North to continue building expertise and capability in food technology. http://www.synlait.com/news/synlait-establishing-research-development-centre-palmerston-north/
News ItemSynlait (NZX: SML; ASX: SM1) has reported their strongest performance yet with a net profit after tax of $38.2 million, double digit growth in profit margins and revenue increasing 39 % to $759 ...
News ItemSynlait will announce their annual results for the financial year ending 31 July 2017 (FY17) on 19 September 2017. http://www.synlait.com/news/notice-date-synlaits-fy17-annual-results/
News ItemSynlait has today announced a new supply agreement with New Hope Nutritionals for production of their infant formula brands. The arrangement provides certainty of supply for both companies over a ...


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Like many entrepreneurs before them, Kyle DeWitt and Tim Schmidt had a dream to turn their passion and talents into a business - in their case, the talent is making beer, and the business is the forthcoming Tecumseh Brewing Company
. Also like many others, securing startup funding was a huge challenge.
"We got an initial round of investment and then we stalled," says DeWitt. "We went to multiple banks. The whole system is kind of antiquated. It's really hard for people who don't come from money to get money."
And like an increasing number of business owner, DeWitt and Schmidt decided to turn what they were confident would be an enthusiastic base of supporters into the solution to their problem through crowdfunding. But their crowdfunding campaign was like none other before it in Michigan. Those who financially supported Tecumseh Brewing Company became actual investors in the company, rather than just getting a one-time reward like a shirt or name on a bar stool.
This was made possible by a recently passed Michigan law which, not coincidentally, Tecumseh Brewing Company played a role in getting the legislation on the books.
The limits of traditional crowdfunding
Though the partners considered Kickstarter and Indigogo, they found something lacking in the popular platforms for achieving their goal. When you can only offer one-time prizes to donors, how can a business motivate enough people to contribute enough money raise serious seed money? But prior to December of last year, giving investors equity in the company was illegal in Michigan.
"It adds teeth to the investment," DeWitt says of the new law that helped them raise $175,000 to complete their funding. "Otherwise you're just asking for a handout. They can make money back and you can structure it anyway you want."
In Tecumseh Brewing Company's case, their investment levels ranged from $250 to more than $10,000, offering investors the kind of rewards popular with traditional crowdfunding campaigns - such as membership in the mug club and complimentary beer - as well as revenue share payments. And as good as Tecumseh Brewing Company's beer might be, it's hard to believe that any number of complimentary pints would inspire a $10,000 donation.
The nuts and bolts of investment crowdfunding
As it turns out, a lot of people would love to make serious investments with local businesses - which is great news for the many local businesses that struggle to raise startup funds. But how can it be done safely and securely?
Tecumseh Brewing Company was funded using an online platform called Localstake
. Similar to sites like Kickstarter, an overview of each company is provided, along with investment levels and rewards. Visitors create an investment account and can then shop for local investment opportunities.
"It's basically like an E-trade for local businesses," says DeWitt, "We paid them a small up front fee and they only got paid once we met our goal. We put in our information and they put it all together."
Unlike traditional crowdfunding campaigns, during which creators often far exceed their goal amount during the funding period, the Tecumseh Brewing Company campaign ended right when they meet their goal - in just 45 days of their 90-day campaign.
"Even when we were fully funded we still had 100 people who were going on the site and interested in investing. We probably could have financed the whole business with it," DeWitt says. "But that's money you have to pay back."
Tips for a new wave of crowdfunders
DeWitt and Schmidt are more than just early adopters; they played a role in the new investment crowdfunding becoming possible in Michigan. Because the partners were so committed to opening their brewery, they reached out to a number of small business and economic development organizations to help them develop the company.
When the Michigan Municipal League
caught wind of what they were trying to do, they determined DeWitt and Schmidt were the exact kind of entrepreneurs who could benefit from what was then a proposed investment crowdfunding law. The brewers agreed and allowed their story to be held up as an example to lawmakers of the kind of business the could be helped by the law. It worked, and the men were therefore prepped and ready to become the first business in the state to jump on the opportunity.
That means they'd also have plenty of advice for future entrepreneurs hoping to take advantage of the new law. First and foremost, advises DeWitt, do your homework and be as far along in the development of the business as possible before launching a campaign.
"Get your grunt work done ahead of time," he says. "Become a legal business, do your research, have that all ready. Because if you do, these websites can get you up and running."
And while online platforms like Localstake are the best way to manage a campaign, the partners learned quickly that reaching out to potential investors in real life through tasting events was the key to their success.
"You have to get in front o people, says DeWitt. "It took a little while for us to get some traction. The tastings were the catalysts. It made sense for potential investors to meet you. Everybody was smart about their investment."
DeWitt and Schmidt have been working to create Tecumseh Brewing Company for four years. Today, they're beginning the buildout of the space, and could begin brewing by the end of October. It's been a long time coming for the partners, but now, they not only have the ability to get their doors open, but with more than 20 serious financial investors in their own town, keeping them open isn't something they'll have to do on their own.
Natalie Burg is a freelance writer, development news editor for Concentrate and IMG project editor.
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All photos by Doug Coombe


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Light vehicle sales were down 7.2 % in June 2019 compared to last June, according to the latest data from auto industry analysts DesRosiers Automotive Consulting.
Some 200,156 units were sold last June. This year, Canadians took home 185,741 new light vehicles – 73.2 % of them light trucks, and 26.8% passenger cars.
DesRosiers is reporting that June sales of passenger cars were down 21.3% compared to June 2018. Light truck sales in the same period were down 1%.
Passenger car sales decreased 15.1% in the first half of the year, compared to Jan-June 2018. The only increases were seen by Genesis, Volvo, and Porsche.
Although they recorded decreases, sales for Ford, General Motors, and FCA were down 4.5% overall with the three brands jointly performing better than the rest of the manufacturers in Canada, according to DesRosiers.
Light trucks continued to outperform the passenger car market.
Global Automakers of Canada president David Adams said he remains optimistic about sales for the full year.
“Canadian auto sales continue to be fairly robust amidst pretty stable and positive consumer confidence ratings,” Adams said in a statement. “Looking at the glass half full, if sales for the remainder of 2019 track along current levels, we will still have one of the better sales years ever in Canada.”


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There are still more questions than answers.
The domestic gaming industry has always been breathing heavily before, and after the events that took place this year, it could not stand it at all, becoming either Cypriot, or Georgian, or some other. Although the gaming industry is not even the least important industry for society, the situation can hardly be called positive, and they see it in the government, in connection with which, for several months now, there have been reports of plans for state support for video game developers.
Today, the Kommersant publication reviewed the list of instructions sent by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko to the relevant departments on December 1 regarding support for the video game development industry. From this list of instructions, in particular, it follows that by February 10 of the coming year, the Ministry of Digital Development should form proposals for the creation of a special federal project to support domestic game developers.
In addition, today, December 14, a meeting on the relevant topic will be held at the Ministry of Digital Development, which will also be attended by domestic companies related to video games. Both the participants and the organizers of the meeting did not comment on anything to Kommersant.
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Before us is not the first attempt to bring to the attention of the state the need to support the above industry. Earlier, government officials said that Russia should have its own game engine, since there is no hope for the corresponding software products developed in the countries of the collective West – access to them can be turned off at any time, leaving developers without tools and support.
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Kyosho have released a second teaser that reveals the highly anticipated new Inferno MP10 1/8 nitro buggy. The body is similar to the TKI4’s but got some aerodynamic updates. This new racing buggy will be officially revealed on December 20th.
Last weekend, at the International Off-Road Carpet Championship in Las Vegas, Team Losi Racing showed the new racing buggy TLR 22 5.0.
TLR 22 5.0 2WD Racing Buggy
Few days before Christmas, during the Rally dell’Autodromo di Monza a new line of Traxxas models inspired by Valentino Rossi will make its official debut.
TRAXXAS VR46: Valentino Rossi RC
Losi has just announced the Super Rock Rey: a 1/6th Scale Rock Racer. This new radio controlled giant arrives Ready to Run with AVC stability system.
Losi Super Rock Rey
Take a look to the new models presented at the 58th Annual All Japan Model and Hobby Show. The Fair was held at Tokyo's Big Sight at the end of September.
Tokyo Hobby Show 2018


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The Sally Carrera Porsche 911 was the result of a joint effort between Porsche and Pixar.
According to its moniker, this one-of-a-kind Porsche 911 was designed with the 2006 Pixar classic Cars in mind.
On August 20, RM Sotheby’s will auction off the one-of-a-kind car at their sale in Monterey, California, with all proceeds going to a good cause.
Finished and destined for the RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale, Porsche has revealed the 911 Sally Special. The inspiration for this Sally Special came from a modern Carrera GTS. This unique Sally edition of the Porsche coupe is powered by a 473-horsepower flat-six engine and is loaded to the gills with special, one-of-a-kind extras.
As much of this special Porsche as possible is painted in the appropriately named Sally Blue Metallic. Custom tires, an updated interior, and Sally’s signature pinstripe tattoo make this vehicle one of a kind. There are extra wheels, a car cover, and other bits and pieces from the Sally Special’s creation process.
Many new car fans, especially among children, can thank Pixar’s Cars.
The 2006 animated film not only broke box office records and is a mainstay in the Pixar canon, but it also introduced a new generation to the joys of automobile culture. Though Lightning McQueen stole the show in the film, local Radiator Springs attorney Sally Carrera is getting a new start in the real world.
In an effort to bring Sally Carrera to life, Porsche and Pixar are collaborating on a project. This Porsche 911, while clearly inspired by Sally Carrera, won’t be a law-abiding resident of Radiator Springs. So, yes, you can expect a genuine Porsche 911.
In addition, the Porsche 911 you’ll be getting will be a one-of-a-kind creation built by the minds at Pixar and Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. Porsche Design also produced an equally rare wristwatch to go with the vehicle. Therefore, this Porsche 911 won’t come cheap.
It’s not easy to get your hands on a 911 Carrera Sally edition, so don’t even try. RM Sotheby’s will be holding an auction for this Porsche, and all proceeds will go to a good cause.
Porsche says the money raised will go to Girls Inc., where it will help fund programs that empower young women, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which will help deliver aid to children and families displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.
We anticipate this 911, which was inspired by the movie Cars, will raise a substantial sum of money.
What do you think this Porsche will go for at auction? Or is the market segment too small to attract major investors? Don’t be shy; share your opinions in the space provided.
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IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is supporting a new project to strengthen Brazil’s healthcare and hygiene sectors and increase domestic production capacity with less impact on the environment. The $50 million financing for Fitesa, Latin America’s largest producer of spunmelt non-woven, will support the company in expanding its production of medical masks, hospital gowns and other healthcare personal protective equipment.
As part of the company’s investment plan to strengthen the operation of its two main plants in Brazil, located in the states of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul, 65 percent of the loan will be allocated to the replacement of more sustainable equipment in industrial production, resulting in a reduction in energy consumption. Fitesa’s non-woven production capacity will increase by 20,000 tons per year, which means a 17 percent growth from the current volume. IFC’s investment will address key development challenges of Latin American and the Caribbean by improving competitiveness and increasing productivity and addressing climate change and supporting sustainable growth.
This is IFC’s first project with Fitesa, and it is part of IFC’s Global Health Platform (GHP). The GHP is $4 billion program aimed at mobilizing private investment in order to close the massive healthcare supply gaps created by COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the private sector must invest more than $60 billion to expand manufacturing and delivery capacities for healthcare products to meet the demands of the pandemic.
“We are happy to develop projects that simultaneously contribute to the economic and environmental development of the business. This plant will receive unprecedented technology in Latin America, with the potential to reduce the consumption of materials of fossil origin and energy consumption. This means a greater contribution to the reduction of the carbon footprint in our value chain, delivering products of the highest quality and performance to the market worldwide”, says Sandro Nogueira, Global Manager of Treasury at Fitesa.
With this project, IFC fulfills its role of offering long-term credit, with conditions that are not available in the market for the private sector due to the scarcity of resources. The proposed funding aligns with IFC’s Textiles and Apparel Deep Dive report presented to the Board of Directors in January 2020, which encourages IFC investments in companies to increase complexity in products, processes, and value chains.
“One of IFC’s strategic priorities in Brazil is to encourage productivity gains through plant expansion and supply chain integration. Given the global pandemic, the role of the private sector will be key to increase regional and local medical equipment manufacturing capacities and encourage the resilience of the Brazilian healthcare system,” says Carlos Leiria Pinto, IFC’s Country Manager in Brazil.
Fitesa was founded in 1973 a textile manufacturer of packaging, carpet, and other fibers. In 1989, the Company opened its first non-woven manufacturing plant in Gravatai, Brazil. Since then, it has expanded its technology portfolio and specialized in developing innovative solutions for the hygiene, healthcare and industrial markets. Currently, Fitesa operates 23 production units and 5 innovation centers around the world.


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“The world does not stand still and issues impacting small business constantly change; the impact and speed of technological advancements is just one example”
The Institute of Public Accountants, in partnership with the IPA-Deakin SME Research Centre, has released its second Australian Small Business White Paper after more than 18 months of extensive research and consultation.
IPA chief executive Andrew Conway said numerous policy recommendations have been adopted from the first edition, which was launched in 2015.
However, he recognised that the state of Australia’s economy is reliant on the productivity, growth and prosperity of the small business sector, so this work must be ongoing.
“The world does not stand still and issues impacting small business constantly change; the impact and speed of technological advancements is just one example,” Mr Conway said.
“However, there are some areas that still remain as ongoing issues such as access to responsible and affordable finance.”
In the second edition of the white paper, Mr Conway said it consolidated substantial research, practitioner insights, industry views and direct input from consultations with hundreds of small businesses across the country.
He also said it introduced new areas of consideration not prevalent when the IPA conducted its research in 2015 but are now of key concern, including cyber security and mental health.
“This dire need to dramatically increase productivity needs to start with the sector most critical to the Australian economy and the sector that is most capable of achieving growth if appropriately supported; the small business sector,” Mr Conway said.
“Our White Paper has been produced to consider and debate real policy options for small business efficiency, productivity and growth.
“Simply put, if we are to drive economic prosperity and retain or improve the level of living standards that we currently enjoy, we must do a lot more in support of small business. Our intention is to turn Australia into the best place in the world to start and run a small business.”
Deakin Business School’s professor of accounting and co-director of the IPA-Deakin SME Research Centre, George Tanewski, said that small businesses report slower rates of productivity improvements (28 per cent) compared with large firms (36 per cent).
He suggested that typical Australian businesses need to focus on being smarter at their current levels of operation rather than seeking to expand.
“Our research also indicates that small business can play an important role in lifting national productivity growth and, more importantly, national living standards through a variety of ways, including improved diffusion of knowledge, products, processes and technologies across businesses,” Mr Tanewski said.
Originally published on Institute of Public Accountants


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The effort to weave in trivia suggests that marketers still have a desire to reach consumers in this way despite HQ Trivia's recent closure.
- Gen Z wants brands to be ‘fun,’ ‘authentic’ and ‘good,’ study says
- Budweiser cuts beer prices based on St. Louis heat waves
- WPP’s GroupM launches multicultural marketplace with 300 vetted publishers
- Creative Works: including Bodyform, Channel 4 and Macmillan
- Why this Facebook advertising boycott is different


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Kudakwashe Mhundwa and Kumbirai Tarusarira
RETAILERS have said consumer spending has declined considerably in recent months, as Zimbabwean consumers cannot afford to maintain spending with the high prices of goods and services.
Prices of most goods have risen by between 25 and 75 percent over the last few months with the trend notable across leading retailers and wholesalers in the country.
However, consumers have struggled to keep pace with the wave of frequent, and in instances, wanton price hikes, as the majority of employers have not increased salaries.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says the spiralling cost of living justifies upward increase in the minimum wage to US$600 (RTGS$1 800) to cushion workers although there is not that sort of money available.
Most retailers admitted to increasing prices, but said this was in response to prices rises by manufacturers.
However, a handful of major domestic manufacturers is understood to have assured the Government that they will not and have not increased prices of their products.
A survey by The Herald Business of leading supermarkets and wholesalers that include Pick ‘n Pay, OK Zimbabwe and Mohammed Mussa revealed common thread of large increases in the prices of most if not all basic commodities.
The price increases cut across the majority of basic commodities such as mealie-meal, sugar, rice, flour, bath soaps and laundry soap, according to a survey by The Herald Business.
Roil cooking oil is selling at $12,99 for a 2l bottle, Ma-Hat-Ma rice 2kg — $8,49, Huletts sugar $2kg — $5,29, Gloria self-raising flour $2kg — $5,49 Happy sky sanitary wear — $2,99,Washing powder (Sunlight) 1kg — $11,79, Lulu toilet paper 4pack 1ply — $4,49, jade bath soap —$1,99 and Stay soft — $17,99.
Prices of similar goods from some manufacturers are lower than the prices or traditional brands, and shoppers now shop around.
A shopper, Luckmore Mauro, commenting on the price hikes over the last few months said he had changed his buying habits to stay within the confines of his static income.
“I am roaming around trying to buy groceries for my family but it’s proving to be a difficult and stressful process. The prices are unbelievable,” said Mr Mauro.
“I don’t know what is happening; I am no longer buying products that I used to buy. We are now buying only the cheapest products that fit into my budget,” he said.
Notably, most retailers and producers of basic have increased prices in tandem with the wild swings in parallel market rates of foreign currency, where they buy forex.
A number of manufacturers have had to resort to buying foreign on the black market, as they could not get much from allocations by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Authorities are also on record admitting that in instances, price increases reflect the negative impact of the pass through effects of foreign currency premiums on the black market.
But some producers who have no significant foreign currency input in their processes have taken advantage of the prevailing situation to effect wanton price hikes.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president Denford Mutashu said there has been a notable decline in consumer buying, which was caused by high prices.
He attributed the fast changing consumer behaviours to the mismatch between prices of commodities and consumers low disposable incomes.
Most firms have little latitude to adjust salaries, as some are battling to simply get by or stay afloat due to the difficult, but improving operating economic environment. “There is a mismatch between prices and the rate at which incomes have been eroded. It is a serious cause for concern because there has been a notable decline in demand of goods.
“You have a situation where sugar suppliers are increasing prices of the commodity by 120 percent in a space of a few months; it means the majority cannot afford.
“Over the past few weeks prices have gone up by at least 25-75 percent on all retail products while prices of household electrical goods have gone up by 200 percent.
“The sad part is that all these pricing increases are being swallowed by the consumers.
“Consumers are opting for substitutes as much as possible and unfortunately some of the substitutes are being smuggled into the country. We need to continue to explore robust import substitution programmes which are hinged on a vibrant export programme,” said Mr Mutashu.
Mr Mutashu said his organisation was consulting with various stakeholders in the country to try and make sure that the parties reach a consensus on their pricing matrix.
“We are engaging the confederation of Zimbabwe industries, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe to agree on the price structures and get to a point where consumers are not ripped off,” he
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Sifelani Jabangwe said producers had increased prices on the back of rising costs, for instance prices paid to sugar cane producers.
“(Producers) they are also saying fuel has gone up and also The National Railways of Zimbabwe has increased its transportation costs by as much as 120 percent,” he said.
“Prices of imported commodities have gone up because while Government has availed the inter-bank trading platform, producers and retailers are finding it difficult to access foreign currency so they end up going to the parallel market,” Mr Jabangwe said.
The forex premiums were contributing to rising prices of goods. Mr Jabangwe said CZI was discussing with producers and Government to find ways of taming the problem.
Government on Tuesday last week raised serious concerns over continued price hikes, which saw prices of most basic goods go up by over 50 percent in the past month.
Economic analysts said the price madness had moved most basic goods out of the reach of many as salaries for the majority of the workers had largely remained unchanged.
Zimbabwe’s inflation, at 59,39 percent as at the
end of March, has also been going up in recent months.
But some suppliers base their pricing on the movement of the parallel market exchange rate, resulting in increases multiple times higher than inflation.


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Boston, Massachusetts-based for-business blockchain and digital currency Algorand announced in a press release CoinReport received from March Communications, Algorand’s PR company, the closure of a $62 million equity investment.
Algorand also announced the addition of senior executive hires from the world’s top technology brands, with Fuze co-founder and chairman Steve Kokinos joining the company as CEO and uPromise co-founder and ex-LogMeln CMO W. Sean Ford coming aboard as COO.
The funding comes from a broad worldwide investment group that represents the digital currency, venture capital and financial services communities. The amount, together with the executive hires, will assist in launching the innovative blockchain protocol designed by MIT’s Silvio Micali.
Union Square Ventures managing partner Albert Wenger said in the news release we received, “At USV we believe that foundational innovation is required to deliver on the promise of blockchain technology. Algorand is building a crucial part of that with their novel consensus algorithm that solves for security, decentralization and scalability.”
Pillar Venture Capital founding partner Jamie Goldstein commented, “Algorand is a company uniquely approaching the blockchain and cryptocurrency space from both a technology and business perspective. Silvio Micali is an award-winning cryptographer, and the technology he and his team have developed has the potential to transform industries. With the addition of Steve and Sean, he is now joined by a senior leadership team that has deep expertise in building enterprise companies at scale.”
Turing Award winner, MIT computer science professor and Algorand founder Micali stated, “We have been developing Algorand as a technology for several years with the ultimate goal of creating a business-ready protocol for a truly global and decentralized economy.”
He added, “Our team of scientists is comprised of some of the most accomplished minds in cryptography, theory, and finance, and we are very excited to add the proven business acumen we need to help bring our protocol to market.”
Ford and Kokinos bring a combined more than four decades of proven technology experience in leading disrupting brands. They provide exceptional and deep know-how in driving the development of pioneering technology firms. Kokinos is a serial entrepreneur who has established and developed three successful firms – WebYes, Inc.; BladeLogic and Fuze, while Ford created an image for himself for operational execution and go-to-market proficiency at numerous technology firms, including LogMeln, Oracle and uPromise.
Algorand logo via their Twitter profile


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The event is titled “Spring Loaded” and while that and the event invitation graphic has evoked speculation, I wouldn’t read too much into it. Nevertheless, we’ve seen enough leaks and rumors so far pertaining to the event that it’s pretty much transparent at this point as to what we’ll be seeing then.
That said, here’s what you can expect Apple to reveal at the event, what you can kind of expect, and what you absolutely shouldn’t.
Highly expected: New iPad Pro models, a refreshed iPad Mini, and an upgraded low-cost iPad
It was clear from the beginning that Apple would conduct an event sometime between March and April to reveal new iPad Pros purely based on past events from the company.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apple is expected to release two new iPad Pros. One would be the 11-inch iPad Pro which will only benefit from a processor upgrade set to bring it on par with the latest M1 Macs in terms of performance.
Another would be the 12.9-inch iPad Pro which is expected to be the highlight of the event since it’s rumored to sport the new Mini-LED display technology that will see a major improvement over traditional LED displays. It will also undergo the same processor upgrade as the 11-inch iPad Pro.
The existence of a refreshed iPad mini and an upgraded entry-level iPad wasn’t on the board up until recently, when Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives sent out a letter to clients claiming so.
Based on rumors so far, the iPad mini will only improve its internals while its exterior is slated to remain pretty much the same, if not bloat up a bit.
Highly expected: AirTags
Apple’s tile-like trackers AirTags have been the topic of discussion for an unusually long time. Tuesday maybe when Apple finally puts rest to rumors.
According to a recent hint from leaker l0vetodream, Apple will announce its AirTags at the event tomorrow. Other sources that agree include hit-and-miss leaker Jon Prosser who has also hinted at the launch.
Other than that, the fact that Apple recently made significant improvements within its Find My app including introducing support for third-party accessories is a big indicator that it’s time for Apple to launch AirTags now.
Highly Expected: iPhone spring cases
Based on various last-moment rumors, Apple is expected to also introduce new silicone cases for the iPhone 12 lineup at its “Spring Loaded” event as a part of its Spring lineup. The Spring lineup usually brings fresh, new colors that are appealing to the eye. This year, leaks accompanied by pictures indicate that the new colors will include Pistachio, Capri Blue, Cantaloupe, and Amethyst.
Apple’s transition to its own custom-silicon is a hit. Since Apple said it will take two years to completely transition all its Macs to Apple Silicon, the next update that will push the transition further is likely to be a new iMac.
That said, we’ve already heard multiple rumors about the device. It’s expected to sport a refreshed design similar to the flat-edged design of the iPad Pro. Moreover, it’s expected to come with a variant of Apple’s M-series chips.
As to the assurance that the iMac may launch at the event, leaker l0vetodream recently hinted at its role in Tuesday’s Apple event by tweeting a photo of the old, colorful G3 iMac lineup. That tweet corroborated a previous rumor by Jon Prosser that stated the iMac will launch in an array of new colors similar to the 2020 iPad Air 4.
Adding fuel to the rumors is the fact that supply for the current 21.5-inch iMac is dwindling at Apple stores indicating that Apple might discontinue them when it releases the new iMac just as the company did with the early-2020 MacBook Air and the Intel-based 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Despite that, rumors for a new iMac prior to the event announcement were coarse, suggesting otherwise.
All of this means that if Apple releases an iMac tomorrow, it’s going to be a surprise for a lot of people.
Not expected: AirPods 3
Apple’s AirPods 3 have been pretty extensively leaked. They’re expected to borrow AirPods Pro’s design with shorter stems and a wider casing.
However, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who has a fairly accurate track record, Apple moved the production of AirTags to the second half of 2021. This information was also reported by supply-chain publication DigiTimes and echoed by leaker l0vetodream.
Not expected: Updated Apple TV
An Apple TV refresh is long overdue. And while a new Apple TV 4K with an upgraded processor, more storage, and a new remote is rumored; there have been no indications Apple will launch it at the event tomorrow.
Although, recently, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on an updated Apple TV system that will also feature a HomePod speaker and a FaceTime camera attached to it. But that is still in the initial stages of development at Apple which means there’s a chance that it never sees the light of the day.
Usually, Apple’s live stream on YouTube is a couple of seconds ahead of that on Apple’s website. Interestingly, even Apple directed its TikTok ad promoting the event to the YouTube live stream as opposed to Apple’s own website.
Moreover, YouTube is much more convenient because of its wide availability.
However, Apple will also stream the event within its Events app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.
The live stream will begin at 10 a.m. PT on Tuesday, April 20th which is tomorrow. And as always, we’ll be extensively covering the event. So stay tuned!


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The Trojan apparently affected Samsung Wave smartphones in Europe is not a concern for UK owners of the handsets, according to Samsung and Vodafone.
The Waves that arrived in Germany allegedly had a Trojan installed on the microSD memory cards, although it would only become active if the Wave was connected to the user's computer.
However, a spokesperson for Samsung has since dismissed the likelihood of the problem spreading to these shores in an official statement to Tech Radar.
The statement read: "This is an isolated issue that took place solely in the German market. As soon as the problem was identified the issue was immediately resolved.
"All products currently available on the market have been tested and are perfectly safe to use. To be absolutely clear – this problem does not and did not affect the UK."
Samsung is working to ensure that no future smartphones arrive with any form of pre-installed virus, but it is clear that some damage could be done to the reputation of its first Bada-based phone as a result of this incident.
In an explanation as to why the UK Samsung Wave mobiles will not infect PCs, Vodafone announced: "Our phones do not come with a bundled microSD card."
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