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Major West Coast ports experiencing shutdownsMajor West Coast ports experiencing shutdowns
Biden Administration asked to mediate contract negotiations.
June 6, 2023
A breakdown in longshore contract negotiations has led to work stoppages at major West Coast ports, effectively shutting down or delaying operations at the Port of Oakland, Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles. While some operations have resumed, the latest disruptions come as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) have failed to reach and ratify a new labor agreement following more than a year of negotiations.
In a tweet Friday, PMA said similar work actions that shut down or severely impact terminal operations were also planned at Tacoma, Seattle, and Hueneme.
ILWU President Willie Adams said Friday that any reports that negotiations have broken down are false.
“We are getting there, but it’s important to understand that West Coast dockworkers kept the economy going during the pandemic and lost their lives doing so,” stated Adams. “We aren’t going to settle for an economic package that doesn’t recognize the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce that lifted the shipping industry to record profits.”
According to the ILWU, PMA member carriers and terminal operators made historic profits of $510 billion during the pandemic. Despite this, the percentage of ILWU wages and benefits continued to drop compared to PMA rising revenues.
The ILWU said it is committed to bargaining a contract that is fair and equitable, including wages and benefits that reflect the dedication of the ILWU workforce and its contributions to the shipping industry’s success.
The collective bargaining agreement that the ILWU and PMA are negotiating covers more than 22,000 longshore workers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports. The previous agreement expired on July 1, 2022, and talks began on May 10, 2022.
On Monday, the National Retail Federation called on the Biden Administration to intervene.
“As we enter the peak shipping season for the holidays, these additional disruptions will force retailers and other important shipping partners to continue to shift cargo away from the West Coast ports until a new labor contract is established,” said Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French. “It is imperative that the parties return to the negotiating table. We urge the administration to mediate to ensure the parties quickly finalize a new contract without additional disruptions.”
Earlier this year, NRF organized a coalition letter to President Joe Biden that was signed by more than 230 associations, urging the administration to work with the parties to conclude their negotiations.
U.S. red meat exports significantly impacted
U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom said the impasse is a major concern for red meat exporters, especially those with chilled pork and beef departing the West Coast.
“The importance of the West Coast, especially for our chilled cargo going to Asia is paramount. It's the number one location for exporters to ship from. Key markets—chilled markets like Japan, Korea and Taiwan—will definitely be significantly impacted,” Halstrom said.
If it was strictly frozen product affected, Halstrom explained that a short-term disruption would be minimal, but the shorter shelf life of chilled product is why West Coast ports are typically used. “We can switch some of this cargo to places like the Gulf and even the East Coast, but it'll be at much of a disadvantage when it comes to shelf life and marketability of U.S. products. So, shifting especially on a chilled side away from the West Coast is not a particularly good option.”
Further, Halstrom said the post-COVID rebound in consumer demand in Asia is an opportunity the U.S. industry cannot afford to miss out on. “Every forecast has the foodservice business rebounding, getting back to normal, giving us that extra push. So, any kind of supply chain disruption from the West Coast would be very bad timing in terms of maximizing the value opportunity from North Asian markets.”
The U.S. pork industry especially needs this value right now. One of the best returns on investment in the chilled pork business is exports to Asia, Halstrom explained, adding that it is paramount the situation get back to normal as soon as possible.
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Last year’s British Motorcar Festival near our Lenox, MA inn was such an enormously successful event that it calls for an encore! This year’s Berkshire British Motorcar Festival hits the road June 15-17, 2012, in downtown historic Lenox and at Shakespeare & Co. just a couple of blocks from the center of town.
And you don’t have to have a British Motorcar to participate in the weekend events!
- Fun Rally, a 30-minute self-guided rally, back (but paved!) roads driving tour of the scenic Berkshire hills.
- Registrants’ Reception, 4-6 pm, for registrants, car owners and vendors on Shakespeare & Co.’s grounds.
- At 6:15 pm, the British Motorcar owners with festival credentials form a procession to downtown Lenox. This is my favorite event of the weekend with the cars all lined up on the village streets. No drooling on the cars permitted! Also you can enjoy the live British Tribute Band, and savor food and drink along the way.
- The Concours d’Elegance, the judged competition.
- And it’s not over yet! Sunday features a 60-minute scenic driving tour, led by a 1947 Bentley, starting at 8:30 am. Be still my heart!
- British-themed Tailgate Picnic Competition.
- British Car Corral so get your checkbooks out as this is an opportunity to buy or sell a British motorcar or motorcycle.
Throughout the weekend British companies and vendors will be selling all things British at the British Market Place & Auto Jumble.
Come and have a great weekend during your stay at our Lenox, MA Inn!

domain: news


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When it comes to passenger cars, diesel may be struggling in America, but in pickup
, it continues to thrive.
This is especially true in the half-ton pickup category, where
is now offering a V6 PowerStroke diesel and
is working on a new diesel that will see service in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Gladiator. What -- you're probably asking yourself -- about GM?
Well, Automotive News reports, GM is coming out of the gate hard with what it's calling the most powerful diesel engine in the category. The folks from GM claim that the 3.0-liter Duramax I6 makes 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. This puts it handily ahead of the Ford unit, which produces 250 hp and 450 lb-ft.
decided not to give us the new
diesel's fuel economy numbers, towing capacities or payload, but it will undoubtedly be competitive with the rest of the offerings from the Big Three.
The diesel powertrain option will be available to purchase sometime during the summer of 2019 for the same price as the 6.2-liter gasoline-powered V8 model, despite offering the same torque and more power.
didn't immediately return requests for comment.
2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 RST: Gaining more street cred


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2011 did not end on a good note for magazines. According to Audit Bureau of Circulations, the industry was down an average of 10 percent, WWD is reporting.
And that's not even the worst of it. Some fashion titles fell much harder. Allure, for instance, was down 13.3 percent to 130,901, while InStyle, despite the highest single-copy average during the period, showed a 14.2 percent decrease over the prior year. Elle fared the worst, with an 18.3 percent drop in newsstand.
Other glossies didn't get hit quite so hard, but the picture is still bleak. WWD reports:
Glamour was at the industry average, selling an average of 469,544 copies. Marie Claire wasn’t far behind, falling 8.9 percent to 231,054 and W’s newsstand was down 7.4 percent to 20,426. Harper’s Bazaar’s single-copy sales fell 7.3 percent to 147,194. Vogue was down 5.6 percent to 348,850 and Lucky down 5.5 percent to 159,266.
Things aren't going much better for celebrity weeklies either. As a group the six top weekly magazines' newsstand dropped 14% last year from 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal. Besides the shaky economy, fewer trips to the grocery store, and the abundance of celebrity news sites, mean customers are picking up less issues.
And here's no surprise: A member of the Kardashian family appeared on one of every six celebrity-weekly cover stories in 2011, and was a top-five seller for four of the six major titles. Looks like we won't be getting rid of them any time soon...
What is surprising, though, is that issues featuring reality TV B-list stars, like the cast of Teen Mom, are faring better than covers dedicated to A-listers like J.Lo, and Heidi Klum. Apparently, celebrities fail to churn out sufficient drama--their publicists wouldn't allow it, of course. Reality TV stars, on the other hand, are an open book. "You know reality TV stars will tell you every detail about their life," said Richard Spencer, editor of American Media's OK! magazine and Reality Weekly. And that's apparently what readers want these days.
The other thing that's not resonating with readers is "uplifting stories." Depressing. Yep, it seems, drama in the magazine world, as in reality TV, is still king.


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AGRO-FOOD trade participant PLS Plantations Bhd has slipped into the purple after incurring a web lack of RM32.68 mil within the group’s FY2023 ended June 30, 2023 (FY6/20230) from a web revenue place of RM27.31 mil a 12 months in the past because of one-off provision bills and challenges in direct gross sales to China.
Having recognised these shortcomings, the group is dedicated to rolling out initiatives that can strengthen its monetary place. A good portion of those provisions was attributed to the downstream section.
They additional spotlight that the earlier technique of direct promoting to China, primarily by means of exports, encountered challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic performed a pivotal position in slowing down gross sales, therefore making these impairments mandatory.
The impairments and write-offs (together with impairment of inventories), totalling RM26.7 mil had been largely linked to the acquisition of its subsidiary, Dulai Fruit Enterprise Sdn Bhd, and changes in commerce receivables, inventories and bearer vegetation.
Excluding the aforesaid one-off provisions, PLS Plantations would have reported a web lack of RM9.1 mil in its FY6/2023 primarily because of the decrease gross sales in its oil palm divisions.
“We’ve recognised that because of the COVID-19 ripple results, our direct promoting technique to China was not yielding the anticipated outcomes,” commented PLS’ group CEO Lee Hun Kheng.
“Therefore, PLS has set its sights on refining its strategy to the Chinese language market. The group is recalibrating to type collaborations with famend gamers in China’s wholesale and retail sectors as a substitute of the sooner direct promoting technique”.
The group is presently engaged in discussions with a number of stakeholders to boost its entry to the Chinese language market. The purpose of this collaboration is to align pursuits and foster sustainable progress for PLS, thus permitting the group to take care of its core experience in planting, sourcing and downstream processing.
Except for that, PLS has additionally reported a decline of 35.7% year-on-year (yoy) in income to RM118.27 mil in FY6/2023 in comparison with RM184.05 mil in FY6/2022.
Each the decline in income and earnings will be attributed to moderated crude palm oil costs, inflationary pressures on operational prices, and the lingering results of hostile climate on its durian manufacturing.
Moreover, the challenges prior to now 12 months had been compounded by a rise in upkeep actions because the labour provide started its restoration, coupled with a slower off take of our downstream durian merchandise by export clients.
On the finish of at present’s market buying and selling, PLS was up 0.5 sen or 0.54% to 92.5 sen with 1.31 million shares traded, thus valuing the corporate at RM407 mil. – Aug 29, 2023


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This pandemic has proven that we are not letting it take over our lives as fashion designer Vania Romoff took to her Instagram account a photo of her in a black dress and holding her belly. With her is her husband, National ice hockey team captain Steven Füglister, and their four-year-old daughter Emilia. “Surprise! So excited to share that we are pregnant with not one, but two babies! We’re having twins! We have been blessed two times over and are now becoming an instant family of five in six months,” she posted.
Her husband also posted the same photo of them on his own Instagram account and revealed that Vania decided to share the family’s good news on their wedding anniversary. “We’re happy to share that God has blessed us with not one, but two new members joining our family. We’re beyond excited for this new step in our lives,” she wrote, ending the post with the hashtag @werehavingtwins.


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Sportech sells e-gaming business Vernons.com to Netplay TV
It said that the “strategic” move came due to a disappointing performance of the e-gaming business in 2013.
“Brand and platform migrations undertaken in 2012 had a negative impact on the established customer base and despite an increase in marketing spend the business reported a loss of £0.7m for the half year to June 2013. These losses have continued in H2 2013,” it announced in a statement.
A strategic review, conducted over the last 6 months, concluded that Vernons would need further investment or Sportech would need to acquire additional e-gaming assets to “derive an acceptable financial return.”
"Our loss making Vernons casino, poker and bingo business has had a difficult year, and the impending introduction of Point of Consumption tax next year increases the challenges ahead for a sub scale operation in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” said Ian Penrose, chief executive of Sportech.
“We are delighted to have realised £3m in cash for the sale to NetPlay, who will be able to combine increased scale and market leading interactive gaming television skills to take the business forward.
“This is another positive step in increasing the focus of Sportech on operations where we hold competitive advantage, particularly those in the US."
The sale comprises of the Vernons branded online casino, poker, bingo and sports book websites as well as the rights to the customer database of these websites. Customer accounts and “a number of employees” have also moved over to Netplay TV.
“The acquisition, which will be immediately earnings enhancing, fits very well with the Group's core business, adds scale and customer reach, and will be integrated quickly and efficiently to realise the excellent operational synergies,” said NetPlay chief executive, Charles Butler.
"This represents the acceleration of our strategy to grow through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions. We look forward to investing further in our proven marketing strategy for Vernons.com alongside our existing brands and continuing to drive value for shareholders."
The net cash consideration is £2.9m following a £0.1m contribution to restructuring costs.


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Some Kids’ Cereals Are More Than Half Sugar
Refined sugars are toxic if too much is eaten. This has been the conclusion of a number of studies on refined sugar. Now we find there is so much sugar in kids’ cereals that they match the amount of sugar in a rich dessert.
Research has showed that refined sugar increases the risk of cancer. Refined sugars also boost our bad cholesterol levels.
In this article
Sugar in cereals studied
Researchers from the Environmental Working Group have found that most children’s cereals contain more sugar than a twinkie or several cookies, and only 25% meet the government’s panel’s guidelines for sugar content.
While the guidelines recommend no more than 26% sugar content by weight, some of the national brands have as much as 56% sugar content by weight.
The worst cereals, according to the study, were Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, Post Golden Crisp, Froot Loops, Cap’n Crunch and Quaker Oats Oh!s, respectively. The sugar by weight ranged from 55.6 percent in the Honey Smacks to 44.4 percent in the Oh!s. Froot Loops Marshmallow had 48.3 percent sugar by weight.
Dr. Jane Houlihan, EWG’s Senior Vice President of Research, was surprised with the results. “As a mom of two, I was stunned to discover just how much sugar comes in a box of children’s cereal. The bottom line: most parents would never serve dessert for breakfast, but many children’s cereals have just as much sugar, or more.”
Dr. Andrew Weil weighed in on the sugar findings, and refined sugar in general. “50 years of nutrition research has confirmed that sugar is actually the single most health-destructive component of the standard American diet. The fact that a children’s breakfast cereal is 56 percent sugar by weight – and many others are not far behind – should cause national outrage.”
Obesity and refined sugar
While many might not be surprised by the study results, there is a connection between the sugar content in today’s American diet and obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in five children is now obese in the U.S., and about one in three adults is obese. Childhood obesity has tripled in three decades.
Today a majority of packaged foods contain sugar as a principal ingredient. Even many so-called natural products contain “evaporated cane juice” – another name for sugar.
While food manufacturers are compelled to add sugar to enhance flavor, they are contributing to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes – both linked to sugar consumption.
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, commented on the EWG study, which listed ten nationally ranked cereals as having over 41% sugar content by weight. “The cereals on the EWG highest-sugar list are among the most profitable for their makers, who back up their investment with advertising budgets of $20 million a year or more. No public health agency has anywhere near the education budget equivalent to that spent on a single cereal. Kids should not be eating sugar for breakfast. They should be eating real food.”
Dr. Nestle recommends that high-fiber, low-sugar cereals are best, and oatmeal makes for one of the best choices.
Learn the best sugar alternatives and the most scientifically healthy diet:
Sugar in Children’s Cereals: Best and Worst Cereals. Environmental Working Group, December 12, 2011


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It’s time to slather on the factor 50 and crack out the socks and sandals combos: summer is officially in full swing. Just ask Maude Apatow, who plays Lexi Howard in HBO’s hedonism-filled teen drama Euphoria. Though she’s best known for singlehandedly spearheading the twee revival on the show — favouring a peter pan collar over a leather choker — the American actor’s new link-up with adidas and ASOS gives an insight into Lexi’s Italian holiday look.
Modelling adidas’ Original Resort collab, Apatow’s shoot took place on the Italian coast-line and “follows Maude on the trip of a lifetime as she dives into la dolce vita,” according to a press release. Think: shiny green Vespa mopeds, sun loungers, and plenty of vintage-style sportswear featuring Adidas’ vintage crest from 1949.
The collection features twenty-two new pieces, with prices ranging from £28 to £68, and sizes running from UK 6–20. The vibe is slightly nautical, and the collection centres around a “nautical colour palette of red, white and blue, accented with marl grey.”
As well as vintage-style cropped t-shirts, legging-shorts, Original Resort also contains the noughties sportswear co-ords of our dreams and some super-casual vintage-style polo tops.
It’s not the first time that ASOS has partnered up with another brand for a cheeky exclusive – the online retailer previously linked up with The Simpsons for a Springfield-centric collection, and marked Pride month in 2019 with a 50-piece collection created with the LGBTQ+ charity GLAAD.
Here’s our top five picks from the ASOS x adidas collab:


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Electric Cars Are Already Killing Off Big Oil... In China
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It's no secret that electric cars spell doom for oil companies, but since we are only in the beginning throes of the electric revolution many thought this day was decades off. Well new reports are suggesting that EV adoption is already killing off big oil in at least one part of the world, China.
While the US and EU grapple with the winds of political discourse, China has plowed ahead toward a renewable energy future. Just last yearoutspending the US 3-to-1 in renewable energy investment and ear-marking at least $360 billion in annual investment by 2020. All that and China has quickly taken the lead in the electric vehicles market currently owning 40% of EVs on the road.
One things for certain, big oil certainly needs to be worried about its immediate future.
Busing All The Way
While commuter vehicles made by the the likes of Nissan and Tesla grab headlines, the nearest danger to oil demand is in vehicle fleets, specifically city buses. Vehicle fleets require a lot of attention and not just from the fuel pump. Spending nearly all of their vehicle life on the road means parts wear down faster and maintenance is a constant issue. That's where electric vehicles come in thanks to the simplicity of the electric motor and its lack of moving parts. Meaning operating an EV fleet is far less expensive then a gas powered one and China has taken notice.
In 2013 China sold a measly 11,000 electric vehicles, two years later led the world in EV sales with 361,000 and this year they are poised to break over 1M in new EV sales a world's first. These figures don't even take into account for city operated vehicle fleets, however its clear that all these EVs have started to kill oil and gas demand in China and that is a huge problem for oil companies.
China and India make of 69% of expected growth for the oil industry and with Chinese demand plummeting there's no readily available source to make up for that lack of growth. The biggest problem however isn't that the demand is falling its that demand will most likely never come back up. Even with the US still gobbling up massive amounts of oil it appears that peak oil is nearly over and how fast it falls is the real discussion.
If all this sounds like pie-in-sky presumptions there is one more dead giveaway that big oil is doomed, investments.
Swapping Pumps for Plugs
Oil companies aren't having a hard time convincing investors as the largest oil suppliers continually rake in massive profits. However, its their own investments that should raise eyebrows.
Just this year, both BP and Shell acquired EV charging companies (Chargemaster and NewMotion respectively) for $100M sums. This may not be a huge pile of money for gas giants like them it does show they understand the writing is on the wall. Buying up a charging company to diversify their offering means they are in some way acknowledging the electric future isn't decades off but more likely only a few years away.
We may still be under the big oil umbrella, however it seems as though those day are numbered.


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BTS freight index rises by 1.7 perxent in November
The November 2012 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) level (108.9) was 15.5 percent above the April 2009 low during the recession. (The Trucker file photo)
The Trucker News Services
WASHINGTON — The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry increased 1.7 percent in November from October, rising after a one-month decline, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Wednesday.
The November 2012 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) level (108.9) was 15.5 percent above the April 2009 low during the recession.
The BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the level of freight shipments in November measured by the Freight TSI (108.9) was 4.5 percent below the all-time high level of 114.0 in December 2011. BTS’ TSI records began in 1990.
The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation in tons and ton-miles, which are combined into one index.
The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.
The Freight TSI increased in November 2012, at least in part, as a result of recovery from Hurricane Sandy, which depressed both truck and freight rail traffic in October. Both rail freight and trucking showed large increases in November.
Since peaking in December 2011 (114.0) at the highest level in the 22-year history of the Freight TSI series, the index remained in a narrow band through the first 11 months of 2012, except for a drop in October to 107.1, its lowest level since May 2011 (105.2).
The index then returned in November to its level of one year ago in November 2011. After dipping to 94.3 in April 2009 during the recession, freight shipments increased in 28 of the last 43 months, rising 15.5 percent during that period.
Freight shipments in November 2012 (108.9) were 15.5 percent higher than the recent low in April 2009 during the recession (94.3). In April 2009, freight shipments were at their lowest level since June 1997 (92.3). The November 2012 level is down 4.5 percent from the historic peak reached in December 2011 (114.0).
The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Jan 14, 2009
Tiffany cuts forecast after holiday sales plunge
Jan 14, 2009
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) cut its profit forecast again on Wednesday after sales over the holiday season fell 21 percent as the weak economy dealt a hard blow to the upscale jeweler, sending its shares down nearly 7 percent.
The company also said it is reviewing all elements of its cost structure.
Tiffany expects earnings to fall in the fourth quarter ending on January 31. It forecast full-year earnings of $2.25 to $2.30 per share, excluding any one-time fourth-quarter charges it may incur.
Tiffany lowered its full-year earnings forecast to $2.30 to $2.50 per share in late November, just before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, which traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season.
"Deteriorating global economic conditions were clearly reflected in cautious spending by Tiffany customers across the entire range of jewelry categories and price points. We believe these conditions will continue well into 2009," Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Kowalski said in a statement.
U.S. same-store sales in November and December plunged 35 percent, Tiffany said. A year ago, sales were down just 2 percent on that basis.
Total worldwide sales fell 21 percent to $687.4 million and fell 20 percent on a constant currency basis. In the 2007 holiday period, total holiday sales rose 8 percent, or 6 percent on a constant currency basis.
Tiffany forecast full-year sales of about $2.85 billion.
Shares of Tiffany were down 6 percent at $20.68 after falling as low as $20.50.
(Reporting by Jessica Wohl and Aarthi Sivaraman; Editing by Derek Caney)
© Thomson Reuters 2023 All rights reserved.


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Xiaomi just rolled out MIUI 9 for some of its devices recently. Now Xiaomi MIUI 10 developments starts company announce it in an event in Beijing Today. Xiaomi Devices which expects to get MIUI 9.2 Update are Redmi Note 5A/Redmi Y1 Lite, Redmi Note 5A Prime/Redmi Y1, Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, Redmi 5, Redmi 5 Plus, Redmi 4 Prime, Mi 3, Mi 4 and Mi Note.
Although there is not any info about what exactly MIUI 10 packed with. Though Hong Feng, the VP of Xiaomi says the main focus of the MIUI 10 will be on Artificial intelligence. Moreover, Xiaomi is expected to launch a new device in upcoming MWC 2018 in Barcelona next month.
Xiaomi Note 5 Rumors
According to latest rumours, Xiaomi is going to start the ‘Explorer Programme’ soon to test the new Redmi Note in India. In case you are not aware, Xiaomi has done the same for the previous generation of Redmi Note. The company would select a handful number of people from their Mi fan clubs across India to test the phone before the launch. Which clearly means the launch of new Redmi Note is too near than expected. Even, Xiaomi’s Product PR Clinton Jeff tweeted that next month is going to be lit. This confirms that Redmi Note 5 will be certainly launched next month.


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Metro New York is creating a new Web site to counter its Tribune-owned rival, amNew York, which inherited the site of New York Newsday, according to The New York Times. The Web strategy is relatively new for Metro New York, which began distributing free print dailies to commuters a few years ago and now has an average daily circulation of 310,000.
Metro New York and amNew York are competing on two fronts: with each other as well as New York's paid tabloids. To grab readers, they are rolling out new features, including content and advertising partnerships. Such partnerships are critical to the free dailies, which do little original reporting and maintain small sales staffs.
In September 2006, Metro New York partnered with The New York Times to display classified ads. As part of the deal, individuals placing ads in the Times for recruitment, real estate, automotive and general merchandise categories are able to upgrade to dual placement in Metro for an extra discounted fee. These classified ads bear the Times brand. Classified ads that are slated to appear in the Sunday edition of the Times run in Metro on Friday--meaning that the free daily's readers will see them two days before the Times' readers.
In December, Metro introduced financial news from Bloomberg and an exclusive Bloomberg graphic highlighting financial and market data. The new layout also offered more prominent positioning of ads.


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You can tell that a new social media platform has reached a new level when it begins worrying about making money for its creators. This is the question that YouTube views competitor, Clubhouse, is facing right now. Notably, Clubhouse is an audio-based social media platform that came straight out of Silicone Valley. Despite being an invite-only app, it is attracting more than 2 million users every month.
A typical social media app will make money by helping key content creators thrive while using its app. This is something that Youtube does by sharing with its millions of creators billions of dollars in ad revenues. Without creators and influencers, most social media platforms will not attract audiences or make money from advertising, subscriptions, and other social media strategies.
The platform Snap found out about the importance of influencers the hard way. Back then, it largely eschewed these influencers when it was just a public company. As a result, share prices went down below $10 and left the company scraping for resources.
More recently, the company realized how important influencers are. For this reason, they had some changes and began to court influencers actively. They even started paying creators who posted popular content for the platform’s new Spotlight function — a feature similar to TikTok. The payments that the company uses come from a $1 million daily pot of cash. Smart early adopters were able to drop as much as $1 million into their bank accounts. Notably, the shares of Snap topped $56 recently.
Creators are the Lifeline of Clubhouse, Co-Founders Say
The clubhouse had gotten a reminder of how powerful name-brand creators were when Elon Musk logged into the platform for the first time on a Sunday night. Musk took part in a Q&A that drew more attention to the platform than usual. In fact, the room reached its 5,000 listener limit and spawned a number of side rooms for the people who were left outside.
However, not everyone can draw so much attention as Musk. However, people whose smarts and personalities can shrape conversation in a Clubhouse room are important for the long-term success of the platform.
The company’s co-founders acknowledge the aforementioned fact. Rohan Seth and Bruce Davison, the founders of Clubhouse, talked about the $100 million investment received from Andreessen Horowitz in a blog post. This investment made it possible for the company to value up to $1.4 billion. The money will be used on the different aspects of the platform. One of them is taking care of the Clubhouse rooms’ moderators.
In the blog post dated January 24, the co-founders wrote that creators are the lifeblood of Clubhouse. For this reason, they want to make sure that these people who are hosting conversations for other listeners are getting the recognition that they deserve. In the coming months, Seth and Davison plan to launch Clubhouse’s first tests to let creators get paid directly. The payments will be in the form of tipping, subscriptions, and tickets. The company will also use new funding round to roll out a creator Grant Program. It aims to support rising creators on Clubhouse.
Clubhouse Wants to Allow Creators to Get Paid Directly
In an interview on the Squawkbox show of CNBC, Davison said that many people are smart, funny, and have domain expertise, and are great at bringing people together. The company wants to allow them to earn a profit directly on Clubhouse through subscriptions, ticketed events, and tips from listeners who want to pay them directly for giving them something good to listen to.
As of now, the app does not have a built-in method for monetization. It is free and has no ads. It also does not have any subscription tier as well as a direct payment to creators. But Davison announced that the platform would soon introduce payment models.
But despite having no direct payment yet, creators are already looking for ways to make money on Clubhouse. For instance, Jesse Kirshbaum of the music talent firm Nue Agency wrote in a newsletter that brands are beginning to notice the talent that the site is spawning. And these brands are figuring out how they could work with those talents.
She added that influencers are being made on the platform, and brands will soon want to get involved. For this reason, monetization through brands and creators will soon be possible. Kirshbaum also predicted that there would influencer marketing campaigns built around topics on Clubhouse. Brands will start to curate conversations so they can tap into the growing audience of the platform.
The New YouTube Views Challenger Is Actually Clubhouse
One example of how creators make money on CLubhouse is comedian Leah Lamarr. She currently has 11,600 followers. Lamarr hosted a standup comedy show in a Clubhouse room in the middle of January. Along with several fellow comedians, the show drew an audience of 1,300 people. She said that the donations that came from the audience generated between $40 and $00 per comic. This means using any of the top 10 sites to buy YouTube views, the difference would result in significant profit.
According to Lamarr, it has been tough to make money for comics during the pandemic. People had no choice but to transition online. For this reason, she said that the comedy night is quite a good way to make a living. She did not have to do hair and makeup nor travel to get into the show’s venue.
Moreover, Lamarr already had a second show where she did not need to pass the hat. This is because sponsors paid up so they would reach the crowd that her comics were able to attract. Paying sponsors is common, and often associated with many myths about the industry of buying YouTube views.
Lamarr also added that there is a lot of space on Clubhouse to create a profit and grow.
There is no denying that Clubhouse is a pretty good platform. Even if it is new, it can attract many audiences, allowing creators to make a living within Clubhouse rooms. Once the platform already has monetization features, creators would definitely earn more and in an easier way.


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The Wii Fit trainer was revealed at E3 as a new playable character for Super Smash Bros., but today’s screenshot from Super Smash Bros. development confirms there will be a female and male model for the Wii Fit Trainer. This shot was released as a standard development shot instead of the announcement of a newcomer, so it’s likely that this is just a costume swap for the Wii Fit Trainer instead of being considered a new character.
There’s still no official release date for the game yet, but keep your eyes peeled as we still have plenty more characters to be revealed as the release date gets closer.
- There will be two Zelda Wii U demos at E3
- Inti Creates CEO hates new Mighty No. 9 trailer
- Hello Kitty headed to Super Mario Maker
- Mighty No. 9 trailer has questionable marketing


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Preparations are well underway for the 35th edition of Licensing Expo, with a host of new brands already set to exhibit and a new Sports section planned for the show floor.
General Mills has tapped Nifty Home Products to create a line of Betty Crocker-branded bakeware and cookware accessories that will debut at retail later this year.
Media company Meredith will launch its new line of Allrecipes cookware, bakeware and kitchen gadgets at the International Home and Housewares show.
Three top executives from the licensing sector will host a Licensing 101 seminar Saturday at the International Home and Housewares show in Chicago, Ill.
Kate Spade & Company is expanding its presence in the home category with four new licensing partnerships for the Kate Spade New York brand.
Allsop will debut its new line of Gaiam-branded lunch coolers and sports accessories this weekend at the International Home and Housewares show in Chicago, Ill.
Rosanna Pansino, host of the online baking show "Nerdy Nummies," has partnered with Wilton Enterprises for a series of new YouTube tutorials.
Hampton Forge has teamed with chef Maria Loi for a collection of flatware, cutlery and cookware that will launch at the Home and Housewares Show this weekend.
Biaggi will unveil the new, innovative ZipSak by Lori Greiner at the International Home and Housewares show this weekend in Chicago, Ill.
Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products unveiled its long-term consumer products strategy and key partnerships at its Australian upfront event Wednesday.
Sports and lifestyle apparel company Loudmouth has named Dennis Green as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Talent agency N.S. Bienstock has been appointed as the licensing agent for Veria Living, a media brand devoted to health and wellness.
Sequential Brands Group has appointed brand strategist Jameel Spencer as chief marketing officer.
Li & Fung Limited announced that it is considering spinning off its brands and licensing businesses into a standalone unit.
Top brands including Frito-Lay’s Cheetos, Pokémon and American Eagle got up to some mischief yesterday with April Fool’s pranks.
Rainbow and Nickelodeon have announced that a seventh season of "Winx Club” will begin airing on Nickelodeon’s global network of channels in 2015.
Studio 100 International has tapped Empire Licensing to represent May the Bee in South East Asia.
Copyright Promotions Licensing Group, a DHX Media company, has appointed Stephen Gould as its new U.K. managing director.
Licensing Expo 2014 will feature an expanded Sourcing & Production zone this June.
Energizer Holdings is planning to separate its household products and personal care divisions into two independent, publicly traded companies.
Carter Keithley has announced that he will retire as president and chief executive officer of the Toy Industry Association effective April 30, 2015.
©2015 ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS INC. All rights reserved.


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Fashion and furniture retailer Laura Ashley is starting an ‘everything must go’ closing down sale across its Lincolnshire stores.
Laura Ashley announced it would be going into administration back in March, blaming coronavirus on financial troubles.
There are three Laura Ashley stores in Lincolnshire, all of which reopen this week for the sale.
Grantham’s Discovery Retail Park store opened on Thursday, June 19, and Lincoln and Gainsborough’s shops open on Friday.
Strict social distancing is being enforced, with a limited number of shoppers allowed inside stores at any time, as well as deep cleaning and encouragement to pay by card.
Fashion in-store and online will be at least 50% off, while all furniture will be 30% off.
All stock has been reduced, including items that are being cleared from the warehouse.
A spokesman for Laura Ashley said: “There are some fantastic deals to be found in-store, as everything is now reduced and, with at least 50% off fashion, we expect clothing ranges to sell out fast.
“We are extremely mindful of the current coronavirus crisis and customers can be assured that the store will be COVID-19 secure.”


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The device appears to share the characteristic shape and form factor of the original Razr flip phone.
Motorola's upcoming foldable Razr smartphone is, at this stage, more or less an open secret in the smartphone world.
Majority Americans oppose Trump’s impeachment
Not surprisingly, the biggest block of those who say they are more likely to oppose Trump for re-election is among Democrats. Under the Constitution, Congress is a co-equal branch of government alongside the executive branch and the judiciary.
"If Motorola has been able to avoid the problems that marred the Samsung Galaxy Fold, this may prove to be the phone that everyone will lust for this year".
Purported press renders of a foldable Motorola Razr were posted to /Leaks on Sunday.
Samsung and Huawei have been getting a lot of attention for their folding phones, but they'll soon be joined by another competitor in this space. Though, based on how similar the design for the rebooted Razr is compared to the original, that seems like a pretty safe bet. Instead, it's going the other direction by offering something that's significantly smaller and more portable than the glass brick-style handsets we have today, but can be unfolded to offer something with a "normal-sized" screen. Various accessories, such as a charger, charging dock, cover, headphones and a USB-C/jack adapter, are also visible, but it remains to be seen whether these images are authentic.
The foldable Motorola Razr is rumored to have a 6.2-inch interior display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor.
The images show the Motorola RAZR (2019) will come in a triangular prism box.


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Cloud-based monetisation platform Aria Systems has raised $18m in its latest funding round, which was led by Madison Bay Capital Partners.
Other contributions to the round came from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, InterWest Partners, and Venrock.
Aria is an end-to-end active monetisation platform, which has an aim to help businesses market faster and with more products, while maximising customer satisfaction, retention and lifetime value. Offerings include pricing flexibility, secure payments, billing and invoicing, account management, customer engagement, iterate pricing and cloud options, among others.
Through the platform businesses can get help with acquiring more customers, managing recurring revenue, maximising lifetime value, security, automated billing and real-time analytics.
The new capital will allow Aria to support its growth towards enterprise accounts which transform themselves via recurring models.
Madison Bay Capital Partners managing partner Steve Reale said, “With an impressive and growing customer list and years of technology development, Aria is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of today’s enterprises who must improve the agility of their existing billing and monetization capabilities.”
Following the transaction, Madison Bay Capital Partners managing partner Steve Reale and InterWest Partners director Drew Harman will join the company’s board of directors.
The total equity Aria Systems has raised has now reach $150m. The company raised $50m in its Series E funding round early last year, with commitments coming from Bain Capital Ventures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, InterWest Partners, Venrock, VMware, Rembrandt Venture Partners, Madison Bay Capital Partners and Hercules Technology Growth Capital.
Copyright © 2017 FinTech Global


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|Sami Ghanmi |||May 18, 2016 09:50 AM EDT|
(Photo : Adam Dean/Bloomberg via Getty Images) A security guard walks outside the Google Inc. office in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. Google Inc., following through on a pledge to stop censoring search results in China, began serving mainland Chinese users via its unfiltered Hong Kong site, a move that could prompt the government to block the service.
The government of China is reportedly expanding its inspection of technology products developed by major foreign companies - such as Apple - in order to determine whether they constitute a threat to the nation's security and general public.
These foreign companies were caused to undergo "security reviews" that focus on encryption and data storage, according to a report by the New York Times, citing anonymous sources.
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These reviews, which subjected company tech executives and employees to personal questioning regarding individual devices, were reportedly carried out by the Cyberspace Administration of China, including experts and engineers connected to the nation's military and security organizations.
The Cyberspace Administration of China indicated that many countries have conducted similar tech security reviews and that the interrogations did not focus on any specific country or product. Furthermore, the Chinese government did not officially reveal any information on the interrogations.
The Times suggested that American tech giants Cisco Systems and Microsoft Corporation may have been among those foreign companies that were subjected to these inspections as well.
Last April, Apple's iBooks and iTunes Movies stores have been blocked in China, after they had been launched just six months prior to that time. The reason why they were shut down by the order of the Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Film, and Television still remains unclear up to this point.
In mainland China, it is said that around 3,000 websites - among them are popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - have been blocked under the nation's policy of internet censorship. Despite the ban, however, a number of local Chinese tech companies - such as Alibaba and Baidu - have continued to profit from the policy, which encourages domestic competition.
©2015 Chinatopix All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission
China's former Chief of the Ministry of Public Security, Zhou Yongkang, has been given a life sentence after he was found guilty of abusing his office, bribery and deliberately ... Full Article
China Pork Prices Expected to Stabilize As The Supplies Recover
Elephone P9000 Smartphone is now on Sale on Amazon India
There's a Big Chance Cliffhangers Won't Still Be Resolved When Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Returns
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Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Rumors and Release Date: What is the Latest?


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Hundreds of General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) pickup truck enthusiasts will gather in Fort Wayne tomorrow. Organizers of the GM Truck Homecoming say it will involve approximately 1,500 trucks and feature the local launch of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. News Release
Originally Posted August 21, 2013
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Saturday, September 14, General Motors invites owners of its pickup trucks to the GM Truck Homecoming, celebrating the local launch of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. At least 1,500 GM pickup trucks — old and new — are expected to attend.
“GM truck owners are passionate about their Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks,” said Stephanie Jentgen, GM Fort Wayne communication manager. “We want to bring these fans together and introduce them to the all-new 2014 trucks and have fun at the same time.”
The homecoming will be held in the northeast parking lot of the Allen County Memorial Coliseum.
Parking begins at 8 a.m. with festivities starting at 10 a.m. Highlights of the day include a welcome presentation by Jully Burau, GM chief engineer for the Silverado and Sierra program; awarding of grants totaling $100,000 to community groups from the GM Foundation; a fun truck show, and a police-escorted 500-truck parade around the north end of the city. In addition, GM will have a variety of displays including GM Accessories, OnStar/Connected Customer, Northern Indiana/Ohio Chevrolet Dealer Association, Tom Kelley Buick GMC, plus entertainment from Hubie Ashcraft and The Drive and K105-FM.
GM Truck Parade – Participation in the GM Truck Parade is limited to the first 500 GM truck owners to register online at www.gmtruckhomecoming.com. These participants will receive a goody bag when they arrive at the Truck Homecoming and go to the Welcome Center tent.
GM Fun Truck Show – GM truck owners who attend homecoming can be a part of the GM Fun Truck Show by signing up at www.gmtruckhomecoming.com. Prizes will be awarded for oldest GM truck, newest GM truck, most mileage on a GM truck present, and the GM truck that travelled farthest to attend the event.
Parking at the Coliseum is $5 for cars, vans, or motorcycles and $13 for RV's, buses and limousines. Food will be available for purchase.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.
Source: General Motors Co.


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Verizon Wireless Announces Support for Rep Kilmartin's State-Wide Hands-Free Legislation
Presents Companies Proactive Measures for Responsible Driving
March 15, 2001
Verizon Wireless announced today that it would support State Rep. Peter F. Kilmartin's "hands-free" legislation in Rhode Island to promote the responsible use of wireless phones in vehicles by motorists.
At a press conference today Rep. Kilmartin discussed the benefits of his bill for the citizens of Rhode Island. Dan Mullin, director of State Public Policy for Verizon Wireless, was on hand to support Kilmartin in his announcement.
Verizon Wireless supports Rep. Kilmartin's hands-free legislation that incorporates the following criteria:
- It recognizes the safety value of wireless devices; in 1999, for example, more than 118,000 calls were made daily across the country to 9-1-1 from wireless phones.
- It explicitly exempts emergency calls.
- The state law ensures complete uniformity across Rhode Island.
- Similar to the seat-belt law, this hands-free legislation has a three-year "phase-in" period, to allow consumers to upgrade their handsets to ensure hands-free capability, and to provide handset manufacturers additional research and development time to make hands-free capability more widely available at a lower price.
- The state law assesses penalties equivalent to current distracted driving infractions.
"Verizon Wireless' plan is to be the leader in promoting responsible driving through the use of hands-free technology, education, and if appropriate, state-wide legislation," said Mullin "We applaud State Rep. Peter Kilmartin for seeking ways to promote responsible driving on Rhode Island roads."
At the press conference, Mullin presented the company's Responsible Driver Action plan that emphasizes Verizon Wireless' commitment to ensure responsible driving practices by customers and employees. This plan includes:
- Requiring handset manufacturers to produce wireless phones with voice-activated dialing and a universal jack to enable connection with an assortment of headsets;
- A display panel entitled "Accessories With Safety in Mind" in all of the company's 1,400 stores across the country by year-end to showcase available hands-free equipment; the company's 3 Communications Stores in Rhode Island already have this in their locations.
- Incorporating a responsible driving component in company advertising, customer communications and on its website;
- Training sales and customer service teams about the importance of promoting hands-free devices;
- Providing new employees who operate company vehicles with a defensive driving course and a refresher class every three years.
- Supporting legislation at the state level to require the use of hands-free devices while driving.
"Enacting state-wide hands-free legislation would eliminate the confusion that would result if municipalities adopted a patchwork quilt of ordinances that would be difficult to enforce," Mullin said.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with 27.5 million wireless voice and data customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp -- now Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) -- and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 38,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.


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BOSTON (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores has agreed to pay $40 million to 87,500 Massachusetts employees who claimed the retailer denied them rest and meal breaks, manipulated time cards and refused to pay overtime, according to court documents.
The settlement seeks to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed in 2001. It comes less than three months after Wal-Mart reached a deal with state prosecutors to pay $3 million to settle complaints that it failed to give its Massachusetts workers proper meal breaks.
An affidavit filed Wednesday by a plaintiffs attorney, Philip Gordon, says people who worked for Wal-Mart between August 1995 and this year will receive payments of $400 to $2,500, depending upon their years of service.
“Resolving this litigation is in the best interest of our company, our shareholders and our associates. These cases were filed years ago, and the allegations are not representative of the company we are today,” a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Daphne Moore, said.Continue reading the main story


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Solana’s largest NFT marketplace Magic Eden announced last week a switch to an optional royalty model, a move that means those buying or selling NFTs may choose what percentage cut of the sale is returned to the original artist.
The reaction was swift and predictable. One NFT artist called it a “sad day for Solana.” Broccoli DAO, a community built around the CyberVillainz and CyberHeroez NFT collections, said that the decision could kill its project. It estimates it has lost $27,000 to 0% royalty marketplaces and is now taking measures to block anyone avoiding royalties from its Discord channels.
Magic Eden’s defection was a blow to royalty supporters in the Solana network. The company accounts for 86% of the sales volume on Solana NFT marketplaces over the past month, according to data from Hello Moon. The second, third and fourth most popular marketplaces on Solana by sales volume (Solanart, YAWWW and Hadeswap) are also 0% royalty. Together they account for 99% of NFT sales on Solana.
Despite its decision, Magic Eden still supports creator royalties and it is committed to finding ways to make royalties enforceable, co-founder and COO Zhuoxun “Zedd” Yin told The Block in an interview.
Creator royalties have long been touted as one of the top use cases for NFTs, allowing creators to make money on secondary sales. But there’s no way to make people cough up on the protocol level. Instead, collecting royalties has traditionally been left to NFT marketplaces themselves. If markets don’t collect, creators don’t get paid.
Several royalty-free marketplaces have emerged over the last few months on both Ethereum and Solana. The most prominent is X2Y2 on Ethereum. In the last few months, it has taken around half of the share of marketplace volume on the chain, although it’s not clear how much of this is wash trading, which is the practice of buying and selling the same NFT over and over to create a false impression of greater marketplace activity. By some calculations X2Y2 and another marketplace, Sudoswap, have less than 20% of the market share when adjusted for wash trading.
Nevertheless, they proved popular, taking market share from giants like Magic Eden and OpenSea. “In my view, this is sort of a classic prisoner’s dilemma situation… We felt that in the absence of technically enforceable solution at the protocol level things would continue to trend basically toward optional royalties anyway,” Yin said.
Not everyone agrees. Some believe that the move toward 0% royalties could even be a chain-specific issue. Despite X2Y2’s gains on Ethereum, Fidenza artist Tyler Hobbs recently told Decrypt that “the Ethereum space is really much more serious” and that “creators will put up much more of a fight.”
“We did not want to go down this path. We tried to avoid this as long as possible because we knew that this decision is something that would be fairly controversial,” Yin added.
Source : Theblock


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Home / Delhi News / Delhi to get back into high spirits: Restaurateurs elated to serve, foodies eager to order liquor
The news that Delhiites will now again be able to indulge in a glass of aged wine, or a sparkling mojito has made both the foodies and restauranteurs quite high! Hotels, restaurants and clubs in the national capital have been permitted to serve liquor from September 9, on a trial basis.
“I feel this is a really good decision since liquor has already been available at retail shops, and people have been coming out to dine at restaurants where they do miss later. As long as people are sensible and keep safety in mind, I think we can all start getting back to a normal life,” says Abhiram Bidwai, owner, La Cantine Kitchen and Bar, Vasant Kunj, adding, “Liquor service for restaurants is necessary in more ways than one. It not only forms a major chunk of sales but also makes for a complete meal experience.”“Opening up liquor services will save a lot of restaurants from shutting down, and will incentivise those who have shut shop, to reopen.” - Priyank Sukhija, restauranteur
Restauranteur Priyank Sukhija, who owns Lord Of The Drinks and Tamasha, welcomes the move adding, it “should have happened sooner.” He feels, “It’s easier to serve beer, than make a mocktail! Opening up liquor services will save a lot of restaurants from shutting down, and will incentivise those who have shut shop, to reopen. For four months we had zero sales. In the last month, since we opened, we have been running on 7-10% of our pre-covid revenues. With alcohol, we expect the number to go up to 30-40%.”
Delhiites who love alcohol are on cloud nine since this announcement. “For some of us, drinking at home isn’t really an option, so I’m glad that alcohol will now be served at my favourite restaurants. I can finally meet my friends over a pitcher of beer. And safe dining is entirely possible since most places have taken adequate precautions,” says Nivea Jain, a resident of Vasant Kunj. And Delhi-based food blogger Sonika Pandey, adds that the move will finally allow her to have a wholesome dining experience! “I am a foodie, and many of the restaurants that I frequented before the lockdown have closed down due to lack of revenue. When people out to have a meal, they do need a drink along even if not partying full on. So apart from being able to serve what thei patrons demands, restaurants will now be able to stay afloat at a time when there isn’t much income,” adds Pandey.“The industry will serve responsibly and ensure all guidelines are followed. Most importantly this will allow a lot more restaurants to open up thereby significantly increasing employment,” - Zorawar Kalra, restaurateur
The SOPs issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) state that no more than 50% of the approved seating capacity will be allowed inside the restaurant, hotel or club, so that social distancing norms are maintained. Restaurateur Zorawar Kalra of Massive Restaurants Pvt Ltd, says, this move is “a lifeline for a beleaguered industry that has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic”. He adds, “The industry will serve responsibly and ensure all guidelines are followed. Most importantly this will allow a lot more restaurants to open up thereby significantly increasing employment. This will also help in driving more consumers to restaurants and bars and hopefully lead to a much needed increase in revenues.”
Author tweets @Bhagat_Mallika
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Although the capability has been around for several years, the concept of a tradeshow conducted solely in cyberspace is just beginning to take off.
In the past year, a handful of virtual tradeshows have taken place on topics ranging from nanotechnology to plumbing and heating supplies. These events function just like conventional tradeshows, with booths, plenary sessions and keynote speakers—but without the travel and expense that go along with terrestrial shows.
To attend workshops and sessions, attendees need only a computer and a fast Internet connection. The system is set up so attendees can chat with and ask questions of speakers and other attendees in real time.
And like a standard tradeshow, the virtual tradeshow comes complete with booths sponsored by various vendors. Exhibitors use specially designed software to build their virtual booths to showcase products and services, present live presentations and product demos, and distribute literature.
By browsing the booths, attendees can view demos, pick up literature to deposit in their virtual briefcases and chat with sales reps in real time.
Virtual tradeshows also benefit the tradeshow organizers, who can spend more time recruiting quality speakers and exhibitors and less on logistics.
There are only a few companies providing virtual tradeshow software and services, including iCongo Corp. of Brighton, Mass., whose ICE3 Online Tradeshow and Exhibition Platform allows exhibitors to build tradeshow booths and interact with attendees.
Similarly, Internet Business Systems Inc. of Campbell, Calif., provides virtual tradeshow technology for the computer modeling industry, while Tradeshows Online of Priest River, Idaho, provides similar services for a variety of industries—everything from mechanical systems to alternative living.
The virtual tradeshow concept was a great way to answer customer demand for more such events, said Elliot Markowitz, editorial director of Ziff Davis Media eSeminars of New York.
Ziff Davis is running its first two-day virtual tradeshow on IT security this week, complete with two keynote addresses and six editorial panels. The idea is an outgrowth of the companys weekly eSeminars, which Ziff Davis Media eSeminars has been running for some time, Markowitz said.
“We want to grow the eSeminars business, and our audience is clamoring for more editorial events,” he said. “What better way to give them what they are asking for than to create a virtual tradeshow that isnt just a one-hour panel discussion but focuses an entire tradeshow on the topic?”
To create the virtual tradeshow, Ziff Davis Media eSeminars has combined technology from ON24 Inc. of San Francisco—which it has long used to deliver its eSeminars—with virtual tradeshow technology from iCongo.
The virtual tradeshow concept has merit, but its so new to most people that they may not get maximum value out of it, said Jonathan Penn, an analyst at Forrester Research. Penn was a panelist in a session called “Inside the Head of a Hacker” at Ziff Davis virtual tradeshow Tuesday.
“A lot of the value of a conference is in the unplanned moments, where you decide to hear a speaker or visit a booth because somebody mentioned that it was worthwhile,” Penn said. “But with a virtual tradeshow, a lot of people are going to come in for a quick hit and leave.”
But with time, people may become more familiar with the format and begin using more of the virtual tradeshows features, he said.
On the upside, Penn said virtual tradeshows often attract many more attendees because its easy to sign up and attend. The Ziff Davis security show, for example, had about 4,000 attendees. “I dont go to too many security conferences that have that many attendees,” Penn said.
Steve Kramer, chief technology officer at iCongo, said the virtual tradeshow concept has grown steadily over the past several years and will continue on its upward spiral.
“Demand is increasing, particularly with publication companies and those with large product bases that want to do their own product symposiums,” Kramer said. “We think 2005 will be a big year for virtual tradeshows.”
Editors Note: The Ziff Davis Media Security Virtual Tradeshow is run by eSeminars, a division of Ziff Davis Media, parent company of eWEEK.com.


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Bitcoin faced another slump today after Elon Musk tweeted a meme captioning #Bitcoin with a broken heart.
This led to the premier crypto coin fall by 5% to a price of $36,782.95 as of writing. The effect rippled onto other cryptocurrencies and Ethereum falling more than 5% to around $2,651 as of writing.
Other prominent digital coins like XRP, ADA, and DOT faced similar slumps too. Moreover, Elon’s ‘poster’ coin DOGE slumped by 8% to a price of $0.36, according to Coindesk.com.
People weren’t exactly happy with the billionaire CEO ‘joking’ about cryptocurrencies leading to wide moves in the coin’s price. Recently, he tweeted about pulling back his support from Bitcoin as a payment medium for its vehicles, citing environmental concerns. With this tweet, he has garnered criticism from some of the prominent people in the crypto industry.
Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, disapproved Elon through his tweet saying:
“Tweets that hurt other people’s finances are not funny and irresponsible.”
The ‘Musk’ effect isn’t only seen in cryptos but other markets as well. Two days ago, Elon tweeted about a viral children’s song. Following that, shares of Samsung Publishing started soaring since it was a major shareholder in the viral video producer.
His tweets had gathered the attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before, which accused Elon and his electric car firm of committing securities fraud after the CEO tweeted about taking his company private and ‘securing funding’ for the deal.
According to a report from Wall Street Journal, it has emerged that SEC has reprimanded Elon Musk for allegedly violating the terms of a settlement agreement with the securities regulator over his ‘Tesla tweets’.


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Passengers exiting the customs area at the Kuala Lumpur International airport in Malaysia are faced with this huge Samsung ad featuring their now banned product that is smoking hot… in a very wrong way.
There is an issue with the batteries on these devices that have lead these phones to catch fire on the ground and unfortunately in the air as well. Airline regulators and airlines have banned passengers to even carry this phone with them on the aircraft.
These announcements that the FAs make about the banned Samsung Note 7 prior to the flights that I have recently taken seems to be never ending negative reminder about the quality and safety of Samsung products.
You would think that Samsung would have the resources to replace this advertisement at the Kuala Lumpur airport? I was certainly not the only passenger that realized the irony.


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Dixons Carphone today pointed to growing multichannel sales over its peak trading period – but overall sales were down. The retailer said it had had a good peak in a weak UK market and said it was on track to deliver its longer-term transformatioN
The Very Group – newly renamed from Shop Direct – has reported a boost to retail sales in the run up to Christmas. The retailer highlighted the part that offering a personalised customer experience played a part in delivering higher sales at very.co.uk
Greggs – riding high after a very successful 2019 and the 2020 launch of the Vegan steak bake – is to work exclusively with food delivery app Just Eat, launching this week in Birmingham and Bristol, before targeting Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham in the spring.
Online fashion retailers can now access “the largest connected data set for fashion” to insert style, fit, and size recommendations into every phase of the customer journey as apparel personalisation platform True Fit teams up with Google Cloud.
Sunday 19 January marks the start of ‘re-resolution week’, offering brands a fresh opportunity to tap into the lucrative ‘new year, new me’ mindset as UK consumers put their New Year’s Resolutions into action three weeks after they have been set.
While UK retail may have taken a hit over the festive season, new research from Salesforce reveals that digital sales across the festive season actually grew 8% to $723 billion globally, driven by mobile.
The world’s leading (only?) Mexican-inspired quick service restaurant (QSR) Taco Bell is aiming to personalise its app user experience based on location, past dining history, weather and pricing as the eating out sector ups its game.


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By Philip Hopkins
A WOOLWORTHS supermarket will be the anchor tenant at Melbourne's Southern Cross railway station in a big revamp of the station's retail precinct.
The number of shops at the station will be increased by a third in stage one of a $22 million refurbishment by the station's manager, Assetco Management. It is the first upgrade in six years.
AssetCo is a specialist asset management company owned by Industry Funds Management, one of the largest Australian industry superannuation fund managers. It was created to manage public private partnership investments such as Southern Cross.
Assetco's chief executive, Phillip Walker, said the station would have 48 shops, up from 28, and 41 tenants had already taken out leases.
The retail space will expand by more than 40 per cent, from 4700 square metres to 6800 square metres.
The revamp was prompted by Delaware North, the original controller of the retail tenants, pulling out. ''They decided to reposition themselves, having bought other assets in Australia and the world,'' Mr Walker told BusinessDay.
Assetco hired KPMG to do a study of the Southern Cross precinct to charter a course for redevelopment. This was completed late last year.
One thing was clear: the dramatic rise in numbers using the station and the broader precinct's changing demographic had created a dynamic retail market.
Mr Walker said the number of patrons passing through the station this year was expected to approach 40 million. Daily traffic volumes, only 55,000 in 2005, were more than 110,000 now, and rising. ''There has also been a significant rise in VLine passengers, international visitors using Skybus to get to and from the airport, and buses from the country,'' he said.
KPMG estimated there was a potential $4.6 billion retail spend per year in and around the station. A 500-metre radius of the station included many non-traveller customers - more than 17,000 workers within one block and 3000 local residents within two blocks. Etihad Stadium also has more than 70 events annually.
Mr Walker said the analysis meant the station had ''captive'' consumers. ''But this does not mean we are complacent. We must have a good quality offering.''
Woolworths will take up the space previously set aside for the food court. Other key tenants in the refurbishment will be international newsagent WHSmith, which will have three sites; a flagship Hungry Jack's store that will be more akin to a restaurant; and a Loco bar on level 1 where the Virgin store used to be.
Spotless will take seven sites that will include a Red Rooster and a Sumo Salad store. Individual tenants will include Pie Face and a Degani's coffee shop.
Mr Walker said Assetco's policy was not to jeopardise the business of existing tenants. They would mostly relocate within the station.
He said rents would include a turnover component. ''The retail and business patronage will continue to climb. We expect ongoing growth in the precinct, including Docklands, and want to be exposed to that growth,'' Mr Walker said. Thus Assetco had accepted some lower base rents and a higher percentage exposure, ''which makes sense''.
Mr Walker said he was also keen to attract a quality bar-restaurant to the station. Stage 2 would also probably have a medical centre and other service amenities. ''A major influence on our plans has been European train stations such as those in Paris, St Pancras in London and Berlin,'' he said.


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Kuo: Apple Planning Smaller 30W Power Adapter With New Design
Apple may release a new 30W power adapter with a new form factor design in 2022, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a tweet today.
Kuo said the power adapter will utilize gallium nitride or "GaN" technology, which allows for smaller, lighter, and more power efficient chargers than silicon-based chargers. The new 30W adapter would likely be a smaller and lighter version of Apple's existing 30W USB-C power adapter that is included with the latest MacBook Air.
Apple released its first GaN power adapter last year in the form of its 140W USB-C power adapter for the redesigned 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple may release its next GaN charger in 2022, which supports about 30W and has a new form factor design. — 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 7, 2022
Many third-party brands like Anker and Belkin have introduced GaN-based chargers over the last few years for use with Apple products.
Apple will be a hosting its "Peek Performance" event tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with rumored announcements including a new iPhone SE, a new iPad Air, and potentially a so-called "Mac Studio" desktop computer that can be paired with a new Apple external display. A new green color option for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini has also been rumored.


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Written by Jessica Catlow
Market disrupters always make news. Uber, which claims to be a tech company, created a smart-phone application that connects drivers of “black cars”, or livery cars, with passengers, and processes the payment with the passenger’s pre-registered credit card, all in exchange for 20% of the fare. Of late, Uber has been in the news most often because of its “surge pricing” model. As demand picks up, so do the fares. Uber claims the increased price in times of high demand encourages drivers to get on the roads – i.e., to increase supply at the right moment and therefore increase market efficiencies. During a snow storm recently in New York however, (and on New Year’s Eve, or other similar high demand times), this pricing model has frustrated a number of passengers. Most publicly, Jessica Seinfeld posted a Tweet of her $415 fare to bring her kids to a bar mitzvah at another Manhattan location.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, no celebrity or spouse of celebrity has taken to Twitter about another dispute plaguing Uber: in December 2013, a federal judge in San Francisco refused to dismiss a class action lawsuit brought by drivers against Uber claiming Uber misclassified them as independent contractors, kept a portion of their tips, and refused to reimburse them for business expenses as required under California law.
Human resource professionals and employment law practitioners know well that the hallmarks of an employment relationship are direction and control and the employee’s lack of entrepreneurial risk. The drivers claim that they are employees because they “are required to follow a litany of detailed requirements imposed on them by Uber and they are graded, and are subject to termination, based on their failure to adhere to these requirements (such as rules regarding their conduct with customers, the cleanliness of their vehicles, their timeliness in picking up customers and taking them to their destination, what they are allowed to say to customers, etc.” Uber claims that the drivers are not employees because the drivers supply the instrumentalities of their work (i.e., the cars), they are paid by the job, and because Uber has no control over the drivers’ hours, which geographic area they target for pickups, and whether they choose to accept a passenger’s request for a ride. Uber claims it is a tech company merely facilitating the connection between drivers and passengers. The drivers claim that Uber is in the business of providing car services to customers – and that they are integrated fully into that business.
The court allowed the case to go forward because the drivers’ allegations in their complaint were sufficient to state a claim that they are in employees, even if it is ultimately determined later that Uber does not in fact exercise the requisite direction or control over the drivers such that Uber properly classified them as independent contracts.
Stay tuned. This will be an interesting case to watch. As we all know, the determination of whether a person is properly classified as an independent contractor is highly fact dependent, and, oftentimes, there is so much gray that ultimately it will be a matter of judgment and an employer’s appetite for risk. The ultimate disposition in cases like Uber will serve as a further guidepost in that decision making process.


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According to a report by Priti Gupta, a business reporter based in Mumbai, Indian farmers face numerous challenges when it comes to harvesting and selling their produce. Lack of infrastructure, limited processing capacity, natural disasters, and transportation issues all contribute to significant losses in agricultural products. However, innovative solutions are emerging to address these problems.
One farmer, Kapil Jain from Rajasthan, decided to switch from traditional crops like wheat and rice to rose farming due to water shortages in his region. While roses require less water than other crops, Jain faced difficulties in getting the flowers to market quickly enough before they started wilting. To overcome this challenge, he began converting his roses into rose water and oil with a longer shelf life. Additionally, he invested in a solar-powered drying system for his tomato crop.
Varun Raheja, founder of Raheja Solar Food Processing, highlights that lack of storage and refrigeration options is a major issue for small Indian farms. To tackle this problem, Raheja developed a simple air drying system that uses sunlight and solar fans. This low-cost solution can be easily assembled and helps prevent waste on small farms.
On the other end of the spectrum is WayCool Foods, an agritech company that works with thousands of farmers across India. They utilize data analytics and modern distribution systems to forecast demand for agricultural products and optimize supply chains. With their sophisticated approach, WayCool aims to reduce supply chain losses to less than 2%.
While these high- and low-tech innovations are making strides in improving the efficiency of India’s agricultural sector, there is still much work to be done for remote farmers who lack access to such solutions. Sagar Lokhande from Maharashtra faces challenges in transporting his perishable vegetables without temperature-controlled vans or storage facilities. As a result, he is exploring the possibility of freezing his products as a way to extend their shelf life.
Marcella D’Souza from the Center for Resilience Studies emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to support Indian farmers. While technology plays a significant role in improving efficiency and decision-making, it must be accompanied by efforts to restore natural ecosystems, provide traditional knowledge, and offer financial support and credit options.
The final outcome, innovative solutions are emerging to address the challenges faced by Indian farmers in harvesting and selling their produce. From converting crops into value-added products with longer shelf lives to developing low-cost drying systems and utilizing data analytics for efficient supply chains, these initiatives are making a positive impact. However, there is still a need for continued investment and support to reach remote farmers and ensure sustainable agriculture practices in India.
It is rumored to be


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Volkswagen VW.os Vehicle EcosystemSep 03, 2019
Another vehicle manufacturer has announced its own “ecosystem”. VW recently announced it plans to spend almost $4.0 BILLION ($USD) to create a group-wide platform and digital services platform for the "Volkswagen We" ecosystem that makes the car the central hub on the Internet of Things.
This system is being designed to complement the Volkswagen in-car experience and enable customers to take their world into their VW vehicle. Volkswagen already offers its customers the following applications: "WePark", the parking app with integrated billing, "WeDeliver", parcel delivery to the trunk, and "WeExperience", personalized offers and recommendations near the car park. Volkswagen is now expanding its portfolio with "WeShare" and entering the car sharing business. VW expects the new ecosystem to enter selected markets in the U.S. in 2020.
In addition to the new ecosystem, VW is also introducing a new, much simpler vehicle IT infrastructure that eliminates a large number of separate electronic control units (ECU’s), there are as many as 70 ECU’s in a vehicle today, and will move to just a few computers with a unified operating system named “vw.OS”. Buckle up...this is going to be fun!!!!!
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This year, Digital Eye Lab (DEL) — a division of ABB Optical Group — is celebrating its 10th anniversary, with part of the celebration including a new logo, special anniversary offers for select customers, and various initiatives throughout the year.
DEL was reportedly founded in 2007 with a team of 12 people as the first fully-automated optical lab dedicated solely to digital lens fabrication in the United States. Today, DEL has grown more than 10 times its original size, allowing it to fabricate more than 2.5 million pairs of lenses and is reportedly the second-largest independent lab in the U.S.
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Click here to read the full press release


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Money of the Crowds: Crowdsourced Funding
In light of a mini-controversy set off this morning when the founder of a web startup apparently violated SEC laws when he sent out a Twitter message looking for investors, The Globe and Mail’s Matthew Ingram wonders why can’t we raise money from the crowd for startups?
“Why couldn’t someone ‘crowd-source’ a financing for a startup?” he asks. “Why not allow blogs and social networks to play a part in the raising of money? It’s not as though millions of people haven’t been just as impoverished by ‘qualified’ investments and prospectuses as they could ever be by investing in a Twitter financing. Why do we need the government protecting us from ourselves?”
And he raises a good point. What’s more, crowd funding is already a fairly booming business — just not so much for the funding of startups.
- A Swarm of Angels is in the process of raising £1 million to fund the creation of a feature film (and they’re not the first to try that).
- SellABand has tapped the crowd to raise $50,000 each for 24 separate artists to record albums. So-called “believers” who invest $10 or more in fledgling bands own a piece of their investment and make money from advertising on the site and sales of the recorded tracks, and they have the right to open a shop on the site to sell merchandise related to the acts they’ve invested in.
- Last November, a group of football fans at MyFootBallClub in the UK raised money from around 30,000 footie fans and purchased a majority stake (75%) in minor league team Ebbsfleet United for £600,000. Every fan who purchased a share of the team gets to vote on which players to purchase, which to trade, how much to charge for season tickets, and what the club’s weekly budget is, among other operational decisions. In August, the site’s members raised an additional £20,000 to buy striker Michael Gash from rival Cambridge City.
Could this model work for startups? Probably. According to Mashable, Jason Goldberg of SocialMedian — the founder who tweeted the controversial funding announcement — claims to have found 3 legitimate investors within 30 minutes of putting out his message on Twitter. And, the idea of crowdsourced micro-financing via social media seems to be something that other entrepreneurs are interested, judging by the discussion about Goldberg’s tweet unfolding on Twitter.


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Outdoor Dining Plan Tackles Two Thorny Issues
By Jorge Casuso
April 10 -- Come summer, diners could savor a variety of hot gourmet meals al fresco on the Third Street Promenade's central court, which currently is monopolized by teenagers and young adults whose punk style repels visitors to the popular strip.
Unanimously approved by the Bayside District Board's Land Use Committee Tuesday, the plan to convert the area into a rotating venue for Downtown restaurants could help achieve two ends -- halt the conversion of eateries to retail stores and drive out the "gutter punks" from the center of the Promenade.
The deliberations Tuesday focused almost exclusively on the plan's benefits to restaurants, which would garner added exposure and reap much-needed revenues as Promenade rents reach some of the highest levels in Southern California. If successful, the plan could be rolled out to the Promenade's two other courts, Bayside officials said.
"I think it's a great idea," said Bayside Board member Bill Tucker, who also sits on the Promenades Uses Task Force, which is exploring ways to retain a healthy mix of restaurants and retail outlets. "It does help a lot the restaurant retail issue. It seems to solve a lot of problems. I would like to keep the momentum going and do a roll out."
"I would really like to see putting this together by summer," said Bayside executive director Kathleen Rawson.
The plan, which still would require approval from the full board, would likely cost the City between $12,000 and $15,000 to set up, said Mark Richter, who is in charge of the Bayside for the City's Department of Resource Management.
The budget would pay for two 10-foot-by-10-foot tents, a hand sink with hot water required by the County Health Department, tables and chairs (the committee voted to have quality furniture) and maintenance and clean up costs.
Restaurants will be limited to those in the Central Business District, which pay assessments and are within walking distance of the court. Restaurants will have to submit proposals to the City, which is not looking at the venue as a profit-making venture, Richter said.
Most of the food would have to be prepared on site to discourage catering and to provide a "demonstration" that some committee members likened to a "performance."
"We don't want someone with wrapped sandwiches," said committee member John Warfel. "We don't want someone with hot dogs and chips."
The committee agreed that the dining area would be open 10 hours a day, seven days a week (likely from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) but did not decide whether the rotation cycle would be quarterly, monthly or weekly.
Patricia Hoffman, a member of the committee, pushed for a frequent rotation that gives visitors a chance to sample a wide variety of foods. But some committee members cautioned that too frequent a rotation could be impractical, as well as unpredictable.
The committee decided it would be necessary to post a schedule letting visitors know when a particular restaurant would be occupying the court. They also noted that diners who liked a restaurant could easily walk to the permanent site.
"This a promotional thing," Warfel said.
Although some committee members were excited enough by the idea to immediately roll it out to other areas, the majority advised looking at center court as a test case before expanding the program. Richter agreed.
"I would want to make sure it works," he said.
Although the discussion focused on the benefits to restaurants, its impact on the "gutter punks" was hinted at, with some worrying that sealing off the area would also cause them to migrate to the other two courts, particularly to the south court near Santa Monica Place."There still is a possibility they will go south," Rawson said.
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Better-for-You Beverage Solution Poised To Disrupt The Healthy and IoT dispensing beverage category.
CLEVELAND–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Smart Soda Holdings, Inc., one of the nation’s fastest growing wellness beverage technology brands, announces the launch of its sleek, compact, IoT JuLi Connect countertop beverage solution. Developed for commercial use, JuLi Connect allows users to customize sparkling or still flavored alkaline water, craft soda, diet soda, or tea by setting carbonation levels, all-natural flavor combinations, and functional nutrition boosts — all at the touch of a button.
“All SmartSoda offerings are based on the proven health benefits of alkaline water,” explained SmartSoda CEO, Lior Shafir. “That’s only part of why JuLi Connect delivers a great innovative alternative solution to traditional soda for offices, convenience stores, and restaurants. Today’s consumers expect more from their beverages and JuLi Connect delivers. Users can customize their drink choices from a portfolio of over 20 delicious all-natural flavors and a range of functional wellness shots that support energy, Immunity, relaxation, and focus. And easy-to-use tech-enabled management tools that support installation, maintenance, and servicing support – all from a smart phone app supported by a full dashboard and connectivity.”
The JuLi Connect system allows users to mix and match flavors and functional shots of their choice to create endless options of healthy beverages. Every SmartSoda beverage starts with vitamin infused alkaline water and allows users to mix up to three flavors or enhancements per single beverage. Additionally, users can customize carbonation levels to their preference.
“The real benefit of our JuLi Connect system is that it not only offers a healthy and delicious alternative to traditional sodas, but it can also represent a real cost-savings for our commercial customers,” added SmartSoda Co-Founder and Chairman, Julia Solooki. “It’s a better value by far than other comparable dispensers. And it’s certainly more affordable and environmentally friendly than stocking bottled and canned beverages. In fact, the JuLi Connect contributes to our corporate goal of reducing the use of 2.3 billion plastic bottles by 2027.”
SmartSoda is a revolutionary wellness beverage platform featuring clean, functional ingredients. Crafted with alkaline water serving up 21 flavors, and offering dispensing options to the food service industry, c-stores, and workplaces. Presently, the company is Pre-IPO. Smart Soda has offices in the UK and Canada and is positioned for massive expansion — both globally and locally. SmartSoda works with fortune 500 companies, sold to corp office, C-stores and restaurants. The products are available through the largest foodservice companies and distributors.


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According to Zacks, “BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. “
A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BASFY. Berenberg Bank downgraded Basf from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Societe Generale raised Basf from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Basf currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.00.
Basf Company Profile
BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems, such as isocyanates and polyamides, as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastic and plastic processing industries.
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FOR beef, changed consumption habits on the back of COVID-19 have resulted in channel shifting rather than structural change, testament to the entrenched nature of the product in diets both at home and overseas.
Total consumption of Australian beef has not experienced change - it continues to mirror production.
Given the enormity of what the global pandemic delivered to the way people were able to consume food - public dining effectively shut down overnight - that bodes strongly for the cattle industry, prominent animal protein analysts believe.
"2020 has been a fair test for the consumption of beef and it has held its ground," Rabobank's Angus Gidley-Baird said.
The big agribusiness bank's latest Beef Quarterly says as old distribution channels recover, it is likely many consumers will revert to previous long-held habits but there will be opportunities for those in the supply chain that have gained through this period to 'lock-in' new consumption habits.
Domestically, the move in meat sales from the closed or reduced foodservice channels into the retail space has been well-documented and independent butchers have been a big winner.
The Rabobank report says the butchers' share of the fresh meat market has increased two percentage points for several reasons: no limit on purchases, the reduced people exposure with shopping at a smaller outlet and more home cooking.
"We have also seen butchers evolve into offering new services such as home delivery, supplying into foodservice and provision of meat for events, re-inventing packaging, selling pre-prepared meals and selling more branded product," Mr Gidley-Baird said.
"For many consumers, it was possibly more a revival of old ways rather than the opening of new doors but there will be opportunity now for butchers to capitilise longer term.
"The exposure to one-on-one conversations with independent butchers opened consumers' eyes to other cuts, the variety on offer and different experiences with beef. That will encourage them to stay but the onus will be on the butcher make the new custom stick."
After all, consumers developed previous habits, which saw supermarkets secure an 80 per cent share of the fresh meat market, for strong reasons - convenience and price being two.
There is talk about the pandemic experience fostering 'new values' among food consumers whereby they place other attributes above price but Mr Gidley-Baird believes butchers will have to work hard to retain the additional business.
China's new ways
Changed beef consumption habits in China is a different story.
It's more a case of movement of the needle, Mr Gidley-Baird said.
While the changes have come more from the impacts of African swine fever than from Covid-19, but both drivers were important, the Rabobank report said.
As pork supplies have declined in China, the price spread between beef and pork has narrowed, making beef a more attractive purchase.
The slowdown and closure of restaurants and street food vendors has forced more in-home consumption, and that has accelerated the use and skill sets for Chinese consumers to prepare beef at home.
Rabobank takes the view that the combined drivers will continue to see increased consumption of beef as the home cooking market is unlocked, even though pork availability will improve.
"It's an encouraging trend that could potentially change the fundamentals of that market for Australian beef," Mr Gidley-Baird said.
Up to 60pc of beef consumed in China was eaten out of the home prior to COVID-19 but with the movement to the retail space, that is fast coming down.
"It's a different dynamic to our domestic market. In China, it's more of a progression, with new supply chains being developed into retail channels and beef becoming more a part of the home-cook diet," Mr Gidley-Baird said.
A telling sign has been the performance of Australian chilled exports to China, most of which is going into the retail channel.
Total Australian beef exports to China for the year-to-October were down 27pc but chilled exports were up 21pc.
Chilled may be only a small portion - 16pc - of total exports but it is a category bucking the trend.