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The COVID-19 outbreak is having a severe impact on the global economy. China had its slowest year of economic growth last year off the back of the trade war with the United States. The timing of the virus could not have been worse, slowing China’s economy even further with their quarterly growth rate dropping to negative 6.8% from 6% in the previous quarter, seeing the lowest rate on record. The UK has also had its problems, stemming from supply chain disruptions due to China’s early shutdown and its business closures resulting in a rise in unemployment and a fall in consumer spending.
Governments across the world have had to quickly respond to limit the economic damage the virus can cause. On the 23rd March, the UK government announced that non-essential businesses were to close and that there was to be a strict nationwide lockdown. Experts predict that the UK’s economic output will be cut by 15% in the second quarter with unemployment almost doubling. The government reacted with the announcement of the furlough scheme, where workers, unable to be supported by their company, will be paid up to 80% of their income by the government. The aims of this were mainly to reduce unemployment and to keep businesses alive by supporting workers and trying to reduce economic uncertainty. With this support and the increasing number of people looking to claim Jobseeker’s allowance, as seen in the diagram above, the government’s budget deficit is going to increase significantly due to the fall in tax revenue and increase in government spending. The announcement of the scheme to aid employers in retaining employees could cost the UK government upwards of £50 billion with the more prolonged the lockdown is, the more the government having to take on debt.
The graph above shows the unemployment claims in the US alone, spiking as a result of the virus. The figure includes some of the biggest financial crises in history, including the 2008 financial crash, the dot-com bubble, Black Monday and many more. However, none of these significant events can be compared to the impact COVID-19 has had on unemployment claims. It could be argued that COVID-19 has hit the United States hardest with the head of St. Louis Fed predicting a 30% unemployment rate and a halving of the GDP by the summer. With each state having different rules, it’s hard to say precisely when the country as a whole will overcome the virus. This is a big issue for the government as they cannot allow businesses to fully function without risking a second spike in cases leading to a second lockdown which would be detrimental to the economy. One of the most notable states, New York, has been affected most, raising concerns as it contributes to the national GDP significantly with experts estimating a loss of $10 billion to $15 billion in revenue due to a lack in consumer spending. However, the United States’ government has responded to this disaster in various ways. The announced $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package is the largest in US history. It includes around $510 billion in loans for large businesses, $377 billion in loans for small businesses, $280 billion tax cuts for all firms and much more. Another major part of the package is the $1200 stimulus payment that was made to the majority of American households (income of less than $75,000 per person) with an extra $500 per child under the age of 17. I expect that this will result in an increase in the wealth effect and consumer spending especially for households on low-fixed incomes.
With the original epicentre of the virus being in China, the world’s supply chains were massively disrupted as 30% of global manufacturing is done in China whose factories had suspended operations. Many countries had not been affected by COVID-19 at this point, and so many sectors saw a lack of supply with the usual quantity of goods still demanded, leading to an increase in the average price level. However, China saw its lowest production growth rate on record with it shrinking by 15% from January to February as the entirety of the country went into lockdown, decreasing consumer spending rapidly as confidence was low. China’s unemployment rate increased to 6.2%, which is also the highest rate on record, leaving many without income, further negatively affecting the Chinese economy, lowering both output and consumer expenditure. Retail sales have fallen by around 20% in China, and they expect to recover slowly over the year, although they released vouchers nationwide to encourage spending. The government are also planning to take further fiscal and monetary measures, including easing tax rates, increasing government spending and lowering borrowing costs. They are also trying to meet the extra supply by spending billions of dollars since February. However, experts do not expect China to come out with as big a support package as they launched in 2008 amidst the financial crisis as they are not capable of doing so due to its already exceedingly high levels of debt.
To summarize, with many countries’ economies disrupted by China’s initial lockdown, most have shrunk considerably. The main objective for the majority of governments is to increase consumer confidence so that spending can get back to original levels. However, the uncertainty as to when these conditions will be lifted has also left many businesses in the dark as to when they can start to plan to function, further delaying any future growth. It seems that the longer the global lockdowns continue, the more economies are affected in the long run, with the fear of a second spike not allowing any early easing of the restrictions.


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With Sony jump-starting the next-generation console hype train with its PlayStation 4 reveal this week, it seems Microsoft might not be willing to wait for June's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) to unveil its follow-up to the Xbox. Computer & Video Games is reporting that Microsoft is planning a "one-off media event" to show off its new system in early April, based on information from unnamed sources inside and outside of Microsoft.
VG247 has corroborated CVG's information, saying it has "also received word of the April event," and National Alliance Securities analyst Mike Hickey has previously said he expected Microsoft to announce its console successor in April. Internet sleuths on gaming forum NeoGAF have noted that the company that helped organize Microsoft's E3 2012 media briefing registered the domain XboxEvent.com just yesterday, suggesting that, um, an Xbox event might be in the works.
Practically the entire professional game industry will be gathered together in San Francisco at the end of March for the Game Developers Conference, which would also seem like a natural time for Microsoft to reveal its next-gen plans to an interested audience. Then again, Microsoft could use GDC as a sort of pre-tease tease, letting slip certain small, developer-centric details before a fuller April event.
One thing seems clear: every day people spend talking about the PS4 without any solid information on Microsoft's response is probably being seen as a bit of a missed PR opportunity in Redmond.

domain: news


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'The silver lining is that the pandemic will serve as a catalyst to force many retailers to accelerate their innovation and technology adoptions.'
The iPhone maker has filed a lawsuit against Prepear, a recipe and meal-planning app, over its request to trademark its minimalistic pear-shaped logo.
Each force has its own implications, ultimately working toward deepening consumer relationships and the expansion of the service economy.
Every July and August, parents across the country prepare their school-age kids with the usual back-to-school goods: gleaming new sneakers, a fresh backpack, binders, paper and packs of bright yellow pencils. Not so much this year.
Moving forward on a positive note will be tricky, because the organization resisted the move for years, begging the question, 'Why did it take so long to get here?'
Here are some of the big trends facing the airline industry and its passengers now.
Recently published findings show that wearing and using a luxury good, like a Prada handbag, can lead ordinary people to behave badly.
When staying home was the only option during the coronavirus pandemic, people turned to the internet to get their fix of entertainment and interaction. For brands, this became their chance to join the conversation.
It can be difficult in times of great turmoil to find the right words. But business leaders and brands can try. And sometimes, when they succeed, it can have a significant impact.
“When people do things alone, they enjoy themselves more than they expected,” Maryland Smith research finds. “People overestimate the benefits of being with someone else.”


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Renault dealer Wests Motor Group in East Anglia has added another French franchise.
It has taken on its first Citroen franchise and will retail the brand in Bedford alongside its existing Renault and Dacia dealership, closing a 10 year open point.
The move comes six years after the long-serving Renault dealer last branched out by acquiring its only Nissan franchise and another Renault business in King's Lynn, Norfolk, from collapsed retailer Swan Street Motors. It also added a Fiat franchise in the town in 2012.
Wests, whose Companies House records show turnover shrinking from £31m to £25.5m in 2011 as Renault's UK business came under pressure, has represented Renault in Cambridge for decades, now also home to Dacia, and also has a Renault service centre near Newmarket as well as the King's Lynn businesses.
Sam Horncastle, Wests Motor Group director, said: "I was initially attracted to the Citroën brand by the DS range, in particular DS3. We can see the positive effect this is having on the financial performance of the Citroën network.
"We love the fresh look the new Citroën corporate identity will give to the site and we hope our customers will enjoy the new experience.”
Citroën’s head of network development Jonathan Sloan, added: "We have had an exciting and busy 2012, opening no fewer than nine new sites and managing a number of takeovers by acquisitive partners currently within the network.
"Wests are a great addition to our brand and are able to demonstrate excellent customer satisfaction. We look forward to building our relationship with them in the future.”
Citroën’s remaining open points include locations in Scotland, the North West and London.


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Tesla Inc said Friday that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s total compensation for 2020 was zero, compared to $23,760 in 2019.
The electric-car maker also said in a regulatory filing that financial chief Zachary Kirkhorn’s total compensation was $46.6 million, compared to the $21.2 million he received in 2019.
The pay package from Musk, who is also a major shareholder and CEO of rocket maker SpaceX, requires Tesla’s market cap and financial growth to reach a series of soaring targets.
As of April, Musk qualified for Tesla options in his 2018 pay package that is now worth more than $30 billion.
Tesla added “Technoking of Tesla” to Musk’s list of official titles in a regulatory filing in March that also named Kirkhorn “Master of Coin.”
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Musk will also be the subject of a biography of Walter Isaacson, the American author who wrote a bestseller about Apple founder Steve Jobs.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)


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The Exynos 2200 SoC may indeed have been cancelled. The day before yesterday, Samsung did not introduce its new platform, at the same time removing all early advertising messages, and yesterday information appearedthat the company allegedly postponed the SoC announcement.
And today, a message appeared on the Web that Samsung nevertheless decided to completely abandon the Exynos 2200 in favor of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in all markets. True, the source mentions the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but it is unlikely that Samsung will go for such a division of models in the lineup in this matter. The source claims that Samsung will officially announce this later.
It is difficult to say how much you can trust this information. The insider who wrote the message has not met us before, but, for example, in mid-December he said that the news about the name Galaxy S22 Note for the upcoming flagship is fake. In addition, the well-known insider Ice Universe positively commented on his recent record. In any case, for now it is worth treating this information as a rumor, although it has good reason.


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Agri-trade deficit implies food crisis?
Growth in food imports is a long-term trend in China as the nation further integrates itself into global trade and becomes wealthier, Chinese economists said.
But China is not a hungry nation facing a food crisis, they added.
China logged an agricultural trade deficit in the year's first seven months, importing US$4.49 billion more than it exported, indicate the latest statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).
"It is too early to conclude whether the agricultural trade deficit will run for the whole year or the coming years," Xu Hongyuan, director of the agricultural trade sector under the MOA's International Co-operation Department, told China Business Weekly.
"But given China's World Trade Organization (WTO) accession, it is a general trend that we will meet our own food demands by making good use of international markets," Xu said.
The entry, since December 2001, has rendered the country more general trading opportunities in the international market while giving foreign agricultural brokers more chances to enter China, experts say.
"The deficit is not surprising. The impact of the entry began to surface this year given an understandable time lag caused by the implementation of WTO rules," said Li Weimin, a senior research fellow with the Institute of Agricultural Economics under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
"China may not be able to sustain a long-standing agricultural trade surplus as it always did before its WTO accession," Li said.
China's average tariffs for agricultural products decreased from 21.2 per cent before WTO accession to 16.8 per cent by the end of last year. It will be further lowered as the country opens the sector wider.
The nation's agricultural trade surplus last year dropped to US$2.5 billion from US$5.7 in 2002, a decrease of 56.2 per cent, setting the stage for the present deficit.
Li said the agricultural trade deficit in the year's first seven months is also due to an animal products trade deficit in this period.
"China's animal products have been long regarded as advantageous in terms of export," Li said.
China exported US$1.67 billion worth of animal products and imported US$2.40 billion, creating a deficit of US$730 million, the MOA statistics indicated.
"The bird flu epidemic that occurred earlier this year and the ever-growing technical barriers imposed on Chinese agricultural products have set back Chinese exports," Li said.
Compared with the first half of last year, China imported 1.8 times as much grain, or 4.115 million tons, in the year's first half.
In particular, the nation imported 2.727 million tons of wheat by the end of June. Back in the first half of last year, China was a net exporter of wheat.
"It is a rational choice for China to import more land-intensive agricultural products, such as high quality wheat, in which China is not competitive, by using its rich foreign exchange reserve," Li said.
Given China's low per capita farmland and water resources, it is even "economical for China to import such products at favourable prices," Li said.
"But the key for China is to have diverse source of imports and to forge long-term contracts with these grain producing countries, rather than just relying on one or two countries," Li added.
China's foreign exchange reserves surged 40 per cent year-on-year to reach US$403.3 billion at the end of last year, indicate State Administration of Foreign Exchange statistics.
The nation imported most agricultural products from North America in the year's first half. The United States alone exported US$4.96 billion worth of farm produce to China, a year-on-year jump of 68.1 per cent, indicate customs statistics.
China's comparative advantage lies in labor-intensive products, such as poultry, pork, fruit and vegetables. These industries are cost-competitive in the international market.
But land-intensive grain production is less economically attractive and faces growing water supply constraints, particularly in the vast irrigated cropping areas of North China.
The Financial Times recently reported on fears of a "food crisis" in China following a near doubling of grain imports in the year's first half.
But academics hold different views.
"China never relies on grain imports for its food security. Grain imports will represent no more than 5 per cent of China's annual grain consumption," said Huang Jikun, director of the Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Li agreed, saying the growth in imports in the year's first half is "no cause for concern from a food security perspective.?
"China has been virtually self-sufficient in grain for many years. Even if its grain imports this year reached 8.2 million tons, more than three times last year's grain imports, they would represent less than 2 per cent of China's annual grain consumption and production," Li said.
Analysts estimated China's annual grain consumption this year will reach 487 million tons.
The MOA has vowed to guarantee an annual grain output of 455 millions tons this year, bringing an end to the production slump that started in 2000.
China is expected to fill the gap through imports and grain reserves, experts said.
"The Chinese Government's recent down-to-earth policies to stimulate farmers' enthusiasm for grain production will increase China's annual grain output and minimize the possibility of a sudden surge of imports in the coming years," Huang said.
At the beginning of this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the so-called "No 1 Circular", which contained a basket of new policies aiming to raise farmers' incomes to help spur rural growth.
Major policies include lowering and eventually abolishing agricultural tax, directly subsidizing grain producers, and setting minimum purchasing prices for staple grain products.
China witnessed a good summer wheat harvest this year with a production volume of 101.05 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.8 per cent. That has put an end to a four-year summer wheat slump.
The rice yield is also expected to rise as the area planted has been expanded by 533,000 hectares this year compared with 2003, MOA officials said.
The Financial Times report said China's grain reserves are under pressure this year and possibly in 2005 given the nation's straining supply-demand relations.
The level of China's national grain reserves is a State secret.
"The size of the reserves should not be a problem, since the Chinese Government has paid lots of attention to build the nation's grain stocks since the founding of the People's Republic of China," said Wu Zhihua, director of the Institute of Food Economics under the Nanjing University of Finance and Economics.
"But the government should improve the management of food reserves. Grain should not only be stored in granaries but in enterprises," Wu said.
The Shanghai municipal government is drawing up such plans. The city plans to allow grain enterprises from Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, which are China's major grain producing areas, to set up firms combining grain storage, processing and selling in the eastern city. Shanghai's major grain processing enterprises are also expected to shoulder part of the city's grain reserves, the report said.


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The main reason why America is still experiencing mass unemployment going into 2014 is because, for decades, our economy has transformed from a manufacturing economy (with good paying union jobs) into a service economy (with low paying "right to work" jobs) --- mostly because of outsourcing and offshoring. Congress has passed trade agreements and wrote a tax code that actually encourages this.
To make matters even worse, the government plans to redefine manufacturing, artificially boosting GDP and artificially lowering the trade deficit --- by reclassifying foreign made products (such as Apple's iPhones that are manufactured in China) as "Made in America".
If we want to put more people to work (and avoid paying a basic income to millions who can't find work), America's "job creators" have to start creating jobs in the U.S., rather than overseas. American industries, rather than just creating digital dollars on their corporate balance sheets, also have to start actually creating "things" here in the good ole U.S.A.
Betty Sutton (a Democrat and former U.S. Representative for Ohio's 13th congressional district from 2007 to 2013), by using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that there were 398,887 private manufacturing establishments of all sizes in the United States during the first quarter of 2001.
By the end of 2010 however, the number of factories had declined to 342,647, a loss of 56,190 facilities. Over a period of 10 years, that worked out to be an average yearly loss of 5,619 factories.
Dividing that number by the 365 days a year, that gives us 15.39 as an average daily number of factory closing during that time. Politicfact rates this as true.
Since 2010, that number has fallen even further --- from 342,647 in 2010 to 334,800 in 2012 --- for an additional loss of 7,847 more manufacturers in two years alone. As the Wall Street Journal reported last year, "Thirty-five big U.S.-based multinational companies added jobs much faster than other U.S. employers in the past two years, but nearly three-fourths of those jobs were overseas."
What's been helping to drive this mass exodus of U.S. manufacturing overseas are base pointers like Walmart. Walmart claims, "We work directly with manufacturers, eliminating costly markups." If by "work with," they mean "dictate to," then Walmart's claim is accurate. But again, as Charles Fishman, the business reporter who wrote The Wal-Mart Effect asks, "What is the high cost of these low prices?"
Walmart's market power is such that many of its suppliers face a stark choice: take dictation from Walmart, or lose half or more of their business. To survive in the face of Walmart's pricing demands, makers of everything from bras to bicycles to blue jeans have had to lay off employees and close U.S. plants in favor of outsourcing products from overseas.
Just ask Steve Dobbins, CEO of 75-year old Carolina Mills, a company that supplies thread and yarn to textile manufacturers --- half of whom supply Walmart. His company grew steadily until 2000. Then his customers (with Walmart's gun to their heads) began a hemorrhage of offshoring in order to find the dirt cheap labor necessary to meet Walmart's low price demands. Carolina Mills shrank from 17 factories to 7 within three years. The way Walmart "works with" its suppliers has been disastrous for American workers. (More here)
Rep. Betty Sutton had noted that many big companies have not created jobs in the U.S. Instead, they’ve taken many of their jobs to countries with the cheapest labor, the least regulations and the fewest labor rights. "This flies in the face of the Republicans’ concern that taxes on the rich means fewer jobs," she said.
Both Republicans and Democrats have been guilty for allowing this to happen.
Bill Clinton's infamous trade deal (NAFTA) was explicitly designed to place our manufacturing workers in direct competition with the lowest paid workers in the world. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994.
In 2000 Bill Clinton also signed into law the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000, which granted permanent normal trade relations trade status to the People's Republic of China.
Just since 2000, the U.S. population has been growing about three times as fast as jobs have been. Had job growth kept up with population growth, we would have had 11 million more people working today. And also since 2000, corporate pretax profits (adjusted for inflation) have more than doubled, reaching record levels --- as have stock values on the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Remember, this was also when we had lost 56,190 manufacturing facilities. A mere coincidence?
Now President Obama is pushing for another trade agreement (TPP) which has been described as "NAFTA on steroids". A study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows 90% of U.S. workers would see their wages decline as a result of TPP --- and it would also raise their internet costs and drive up prescription prices as well. (Free trade agreements are never "free" for American workers).
When jobs are offshored, Americans also lose the multiplier effect --- especially in manufacturing. As factories get "smarter" and more advanced, the multiplier increases significantly. In some advanced manufacturing sectors, such as electronic computer manufacturing, the multiplier effect can be as high as 16-to-1 (meaning that every manufacturing job could support 15 other jobs).
After recently surpassing Japan as the world's 2nd largest economy, China is now on target to overtake the U.S. to be the world's largest economy in just a few years. China's industrial output in the last year rose six times faster than the U.S. --- As China's industrial growth had been increasing, the U.S. industrial growth had fallen.
And it's not over yet. A study shows that almost 1/3 of all current domestic jobs are still prone to being outsourced or offshored.
In May of 1953 the U.S. had a record-low unemployment rate of only 2.5% (think of labor unions and lots of factories in those days). Now look at the chart below, using the labor force participation rate when comparing the number of people employed versus the number of people unemployed in the civilian working-age population of the U.S.
Virgil Bierschwale at Keep America at Work asks, "Will you finally wake up when the unemployment and the employment percentages meet in the middle?"
Based on his calculations (excluding almost 9 million disabled workers), Virgil believes that the U.S. has over 48 million Americans unemployed (not 10.9 million as the government reports for a U-3 rate) --- or a 15.3% unemployment rate if we based it on the total population. But he also says that if we just based it on the working population, we would have an unemployment rate of 24.2%.
John Williams, the statistician at Shadowstats.com, calculated the unemployment rate to be 23.2% (very close to Virgil's estimates). And in a recent article at the Economic Populist titled Employment Stats Misleading, Paul Craig Roberts (former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan) had agreed.
In a survey for Investor's Business Daily, they asked: "How many members of your household are currently unemployed and are looking for employment?" The results from their IBD/TIPP Poll indicated that 47.9 million Americans were looking for work. (also very close to Virgil's estimates).
And the Fed predicts a much further decline in the labor force participation rate in the years ahead. That's why America needs to make stuff again...stuff that's manufactured by American citizens who work and live in America.
Some good people in Congress, who once were fighting for American jobs, no longer can --- because just like Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio, gerrymandering by the GOP had prevented her from being reelected again in 2012.
* As an aside: Are U.S. taxpayers spending millions of dollars every year to ensure that foreign countries comply with international labor laws (set forth in our "free" trade agreements) --- and are taxpayers also paying to Power Africa, creating another "emerging market" so that American-based corporations will have another source of cheap labor and foreign revenues? Are Americans paying to have their jobs sent to all four corners of the globe? Just wondering. Because, if so (and at this rate), the U.S. might one day be the next new "emerging market".
Special Report: The super-rich are being deprived of the true meaning of Christmas. The nation's poor get to experience the true Christmas spirit, whereas the wealthy, burdened by shopping and party obligations, are being left out in the cold.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to 48 million unemployed Americans who might have the opportunity to experience the "true" meaning of Christmas.


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Family Guy, the largest-selling television show in America (nearly 25 million DVD units sold worldwide) will now keep its fans laughing between episodes with the U.S. launch of the Family Guy comic series. The comic series will feature all of the hit characters from the show with outrageous new story lines. Titan Comics will publish the series, and artwork will be provided by comic artists SL Gallant (G.I. Joe, Torchwood), and Anthony Williams (Judge Dredd, Superman, Batman).
Family Guy comic No. 1 will be available on July 27 in specialty comic stories and on newsstands nationwide. Fans anticipating the arrival can follow @FamilyGuyComic on Twitter for the most updated news.


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Dubai: Shoppers want more control over delivery when buying online and logistics providers are now going the extra distance in minimising any barrier that exists. And helping them in the last-mile delivery are the rapid gains made by technology.
One entity filling the need is Dubai-based Jeebly, which was founded in August 2016. “We understood that there is a need for technology for last-mile delivery for e-commerce and food delivery platforms,” said Raman Pathak, CEO.
The industry trend for delivery of e-commerce purchases is between two to three working days, but Jeebly’s benchmark is to have delivery on the same day.
“The concept we worked upon is that whatever purchased today will be delivered today itself,” Pathak added. “We started with food deliveries by reducing the time to half the usual time taken. We are not here to disrupt the whole market ... but there is a need to deliver products on a promised time and we are here to do that.”
Jeebly — which invested Dh5 million to set up the business — has integrated its platform with e-commerce, retailers and food aggregators. It also makes a pickup request for forgotten personal items and its delivery staff will pick it up and deliver at a cost of between Dh50-Dh75.
“Companies with an existing fleet may not be able to meet schedules when the orders are high and then they need to outsource,” the CEO said. “It is better to outsource it to someone who is specialised in that.”
Jeebly has more than 700 drivers and is certified by Dubai Municipality to authorise food deliveries. Pathak said his aim was to penetrate into the top three and also launch traditional courier services.
“The time will come when you can ask Jeebly to get a burger or get clothes from the laundry via voice. We will not be an aggregator, but a last-mile delivery player.
“We will have a Jeebly interactive assistant (JIA) in two months. Go to the Google Assistant and say “Hey JIA”, and she will start talking to you. We have the static content and we want to make it more dynamic.
“We are building a system based on AI, machine learning and neural networks to do automatic sorting of orders and what time they can be delivered. Based on that the orders will go to the drivers.”
Today, to place an order, shoppers need to go the website and fill in the details, and there is no way to communicate with the technology or the system. “We are trying to bring in more efficiency to handle more orders. We want to deliver it at their desired location at any given time rather than their registered address.”
Jeebly, which does 100,000 delivers a month, plans to enter India soon, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in the first quarter, Kuwait in the second, and Oman in the third.“We are able to cater to 2-3 per cent of market demand and to attain a significant market share. We need close to Dh30 million investment to expand into the GCC and India.
“The major cost component in last mile delivery is the operational cost and includes warehouse and operations teams.”


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Featuring more than 150 exhibitor booths, Newsradio KONP’s 37th-annual Clallam County Home and Lifestyle show comes to Port Angeles High School, 304 E. Park Ave., from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 16-17.
It’s the largest exhibition of its kind on the north Olympic Peninsula, organizers say.
Admission is free. There is free parking and a free shuttle bus service provided from the lower parking lots at Port Angeles High School.
The show draws thousands of visitors each year. Attendees will find a variety of displays from purchasing a home, to home improvement to ways to improve one’s daily life.
“Our Clallam County show appears to be gaining a reputation throughout the Northwest — we’re hearing from more and more interested exhibitors from outside of the area,” KONP sales manager Stan Comeau said. “This year, we’ll have nearly 40 exhibits that are brand new to the show — most of them local. Every year the home and lifestyle show is new and fresh full of variety, kind of like spring.”
This year’s show will also feature the “First Federal Community Corner,” and the concessions area at the show includes nine local nonprofit organizations displaying how they are engaged and helping the local community.
The Clallam County Home and Lifestyle Show is presented by Clallam PUD and is also sponsored by Angeles Millworks and Hartnagel Building Supply and Letiz Farm Supply.


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Trip Hawkins founded EA. He also did the 3DO, and is slightly mad, so you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. Regardless, this is interesting.
Speaking with VentureBeat, Hawkins - who now heads a mobile gaming company - says:
Between the iPod Touch and the iPhone, I think the platform is freaking out Sony and Nintendo. Apple has sold 30 million units so far and it has created tremendous awareness. It has taken ground all over the world. But it has only penetrated one half of one percent of its total market.
And you know what? Looking at these rumoured PSP2 specs, he may well be right. Instant, digital purchases is what's driving App Store gaming success, not the quality of the games. If the PSP does, as seems increasingly likely, move towards being a digital platform, that's got Sony covered; it's certainly feasible to see Nintendo, if not FREAKING OUT, then certainly being concerned.


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Late 2018, nonnative linked up with ASICS to revive the GEL-YETI, a silhouette that served as a means of recovery for fatigued trail runners. But rather than reproduce it 1:1, the Japanese label gave it a militaristic spin, applying GORE-TEX, a tactical lacing system, and a sand-suede construction alongside. Fast forward to now — almost exactly two years thereafter — the collaborative model is back in two colorways for a much wider release.
In terms of design, the 2020 variant is no less utility-packed relative to to its predecessor. Weather-resistant GORE-TEX materials return — its name stamped right on the tongue if you had any doubts — while the tooling underfoot molds to a degree as aggressive as any standouts in the same field. Above, the upper bears the benefits of premium suede, its grade passing that of GORE-TEX’s own standards. Elsewhere, along the near seamless framework, the lace unit alludes to combat boots in its metallic hardware and thick paracord strings.
Grab a detailed look at this upcoming reissue below. Though it was revealed in both Beige and Black schemes, it seems a select few retailers have only reported receiving the former. For now, sit tight as more shops will announce their launch by the scheduled December 19th date.
In other news, a Bold Blue Forum 84 Hi is on the way.
nonnative x ASICS GEL-YETI TOKYO
Release Date: December 19th, 2020
Color: Cool Grey/Wolf Grey-Pure Platinum
Style Code: CD0461_007
Make sure to follow @kicksfinder for live tweets during the release date.
Where to Buy


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The announcement on 12th November that the British government was adding the UAE to its ‘travel corridor’ list is enormously positive news and we’ve already seen a surge of UK companies coming out to develop business as a result. As ever, please do keep an eye on formal guidance from your airline, insurance company and the FCDO but this is a game-changer for the medium term and a very welcome fillip for bilateral trade, investment & tourism.
As we outline below, the GITEX tech trade show happening early next month is one of a small but growing number of exhibitions that are taking place in physical form in the UAE and we’re looking forward to seeing another crop of quality UK tech companies coming out this year. The undoubted ‘star of the show’ will be the first ever Israeli delegation & companies to be present for this or any other such event in the UAE.
If you are coming to the UAE in the coming months, do also remember that there’s more to the country than just Dubai. We encourage you to visit the other emirates and we can also help you develop your business interests in all seven too!
Finally, be aware that next week sees a three day public holiday in the UAE (1st – 3rd December) and, anecdotally, it also sounds like a lot of people are taking a lot of leave in December – use it or lose it before the year-end – so make sure you have your meetings confirmed before you travel.
Bouncing back: the return of physical events
Click HERE to learn more on how physical events are making a comeback in Dubai.
Dubai is not a country!
Click HERE to learn more about the growing sectors in the UAE and what the other emirates have to offer UK exporters.
Update on UAE’s Trade Shows & Exhibitions
Check out the upcoming scheduled (in-person & virtual) trade shows & exhibitions over the next 7 months in the UAE.


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Rumors have been swirling that Apple could be producing a touch-screen tablet computer, combining the direct screen interaction of the iPhone with the functions of a MacBook.
PC World pictured, "Apple trying to fill the gaping hole in its existing notebook lineup by releasing an ultraportable computer, one with Apple design influences and a touchscreen."
The debate between Macs and PCs has been going on for decades, many professionals preferring the technological components, particularly graphic quality, that Apple provides, but thrown off by its large size. The creation of a smaller, more portable MacBook would be an obvious winner for people across all occupational fields.
Apple Tablet Underway?
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CINCINNATI, March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- From New York City to San Diego, Milwaukee to West Palm Beach, and dozens of cities in between, local television stations owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) have launched a public service campaign called "We're Open" to support local business owners and their workers.
Many states across the United States have limited the operations of businesses and restaurants in efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Through a multiplatform campaign, Scripps' stations are encouraging viewers to help local small businesses stay afloat through this challenging period. Running in Scripps' 42 Local Media markets across their broadcast, over-the-top, digital and social media channels, the "We're Open" campaign celebrates the value these local businesses bring to the fabric of their communities. View one of the promotional videos here.
As part of the campaign, the stations are promoting #TakeoutTuesday every week to encourage takeout and delivery on a normally slow day for the restaurant business.
"As journalists, our role is first and foremost about public service – and that's more true than ever right now as we cover how the COVID-19 pandemic affects local communities," said Brian Lawlor, president of Local Media.
"As Americans turn to local television for reliable local news and information, we will do our part to support our local economies by covering these businesses and supporting them through this public awareness campaign. Our employees live and work in the communities they cover, so it's important to us that our local businesses have a fighting chance of weathering this unprecedented storm."
More information about these local campaigns can be found on Scripps' local television websites. Links to all the Scripps station websites can be found here. Or follow #TakeoutTuesday on social media.
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) advances understanding of the world through journalism. As the nation's fourth-largest independent TV station owner, Scripps operates 60 television stations in 42 markets. Scripps empowers the next generation of news consumers with its multiplatform news network Newsy and reaches growing audiences through broadcast networks including Bounce and Court TV. Shaping the future of storytelling through digital audio, Scripps owns top podcast company Stitcher and Triton, the global leader in technology and measurement services. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, "Give light and the people will find their own way."
SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company


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Shanghai: As Alibaba Group wraps up the world’s biggest on line buying competition on Friday, the operative phrase appears to be to be flat – possibly flat profits and flat in tone with the Chinese e-commerce large not even holding its regular gala clearly show.
The Singles Day browsing competition, which regardless of its name has developed into a multi-7 days event, is a vital barometer of Chinese retail demand from customers. Purchaser sentiment is, even so, at a minimal ebb – strike hard by China’s stringent COVID curbs and a sharply slowing financial state.
Alibaba has also sought for more than a year to play down buzz encompassing the party as President Xi Jinping ever more emphasises “widespread prosperity” – a press that seeks to do away with escalating prosperity inequities and clamp down on what the Communist Occasion sees as excessive behaviours.
Although Alibaba has claimed its Tmall market would offer you extra than 17 million products and solutions, 3 million additional than past calendar year and that a document-matching 290,000 manufacturers are taking part, the festival is established to have its weakest sales expansion at any time.
A Bain & Co study in advance of the event discovered just 24% of respondents planned to commit additional this calendar year. In a different report, U.S. agency Yipit Data said transactions on Alibaba’s Tmall throughout the Oct. 24-31 presales period of time, in the course of which shoppers can place down deposits on things, had been flat from past 12 months.
Citi analysts said this week they had been conservatively forecasting gross products benefit (GMV) for the celebration to variety involving 545 billion yuan and 560 billion yuan ($75-77 billion), expansion of .9% to 3.6%.
“When marketing campaigns have kicked off with first rate excitement on purchaser demand about the earlier 7 days, we are cautious shelling out sentiment is possible to stay comfortable,” Citi’s Alicia Yap wrote, citing disruptions to economic exercise owing to COVID curbs and mounting career insecurity.
That compares with an 8.5% rise in GMV very last calendar year and a 26% bounce in 2020. Just before 2020, the competition was a a single-day party.
But Citi predicts rival e-commerce large JD.com, which also holds a Singles Day procuring party, to fare relatively greater as it is potent in client electronics and dwelling equipment choices which are expected to continue being preferred.
JD’s GMV expansion is probably to gradual to concerning 4.6% and 8.9% as opposed to 28.6% very last year, it reported.
This year is the very first time that Alibaba will never host both a superstar gala demonstrate, which in the previous has highlighted appearances from Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift, or an celebration on Nov. 11 that culminates in a countdown to the final GMV tally.
The cancellations had been thanks to COVID curbs, it said, though related situations have been held on-line in the earlier two decades.
Singles Day has also had contend with the absence of 1 its two are living-streaming mega sales gurus, Viya, who has been offline given that staying fined for tax evasion. Alibaba also determined not to feature the other, Li Jiaqi, in its advertising for its party.
Models explained to Reuters they had been becoming real looking about this year’s potential customers.
“The platform has undoubtedly attempted to awesome down the expectations from makes,” stated Mauro Maggioni, Asia Pacific main govt at large-stop sneaker brand name Golden Goose.
Alibaba has mentioned loyal and VIP customers will be critical to the occasion this yr and that it is also focusing on acquiring merchants’ loyalty programmes. Alibaba’s membership program has much more than 25 million members who devote an normal of 57,000 yuan ($8,000) every year on its platforms.
“Alibaba has tried to make (the party) less about just dropping price ranges,” said Mark Tanner, main govt of Shanghai-primarily based consultancy, China Skinny.
“But it appears to be most consumers, specifically in the present setting, just want more affordable goods.”


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Dell Dual-Chip Server Revs Response Times
PowerEdge 2650 features Xeons, hyperthreading.Major computer makers are continuing their push to pack more performance into smaller servers, with Dell Computer Corp. last week announcing its first rack-mounted server to feature dual Intel Xeon processors with hyperthreading. The hyperthreading technology featured in the new Xeon from Intel Corp., code-named Prestonia, enables operating systems to view one processor as if it were two logical chips, boosting performance by up to 30 percent and resulting in faster server response times.
While Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, is the first major manufacturer to offer a two-Xeon, rack-mounted system, Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM have announced plans to offer similar products in the near future. In addition, several smaller computer makers that led the push to market rack-mounted servers have also released dual-Prestonia systems, including Gigabyte Networking, of Placentia, Calif., and San Diego-based RackSaver Inc.


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The Spanish pc parts and online tech products retailer PcComponentes is getting ready to launch its e-commerce in France.
This expansión has been expected for a long time and would presumably occur during the coming months, following a report by multiple Spanish e-commerce specialized media.
France represents the second step in its internationalization strategy, following the expansion to Portugal made in 2017 in Portugal, a market that now accounts for approximately 10% of its business. Last 2022, PcComponentes also opened its marketplaces to the local market.
PcComponentes' internationalization strategy - part of the company's medium-term objectives - was initially planned to be developed under the UNILAE brand, a rebranding aimed at offering a more appealing name and concept to the global market.
The UNILAE concept was to offer a more ‘Amazon style marketplace’ offering other products and sectors such as fashion, furniture, and clothing besides the traditional pc parts and tech products that PcComponentes is recognized for.
However, after the closure of UNILAE announced last November, plans are back to square one, and it will be under the PcComponentes brand name that internationalization will be attacked.
In addition, the company from Murcia announced a few months ago the opening of its new warehouses, also located in Alhama de Murcia, which will double the logistics capacity of the brand, which will now allow it to "tackle the challenge of internationalization with maximum guarantees," as the company acknowledges.
In its last fiscal year for which data is known, 2021, PcComponentes closed the year with a turnover of 564.7 million euros, 12.7% less (i.e. 82 million euros less) than the pandemic year 2020, which set the record for the Spanish company: 647 million euros.
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Many prescription drug abusers have discovered how easy it is to use the Internet to obtain painkillers, stimulants and tranquilizers without a prescription. As part of an international crackdown on prescription drug abuse, the federal government has been taking action against online pharmacies that sell prescription drugs without requiring a prescription.
In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration participated in a global effort to combat the online sale of illegal and counterfeit drugs. The effort, which was called Operation Pangea V, led to seizure of drugs valued at more $10 million and the shutdown of more than 18,000 illegal pharmacy websites.
Feds Target Google, FedEx and UPS
The U.S. Justice Department has targeted online pharmacies since 2005. The agency’s focus has recently moved beyond individual website operators to the service providers that have enabled drug sales and deliveries. In 2011, Google agreed to pay $500 million to the Justice Department to settle charges that it displayed ads for Canadian companies that sold prescriptions illegally to U.S. consumers. Under the settlement agreement, Google acknowledged that it assisted the online pharmacies and will submit to additional compliance measures as required by the Department of Justice.
The latest companies to be targeted by the federal government are Federal Express and UPS, the largest shipping companies in the nation. Both companies are being investigated for their business dealings with illegal online pharmacies. CBS News reported that UPS announced that it is cooperating with the investigation and is exploring a settlement with the federal government. FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald called the Department of Justice probe “absurd” and denies any wrongdoing on the part of the delivery company. He also said that the company has no plans for a settlement agreement with the federal government.
FDA Launches BeSafeRx to Educate Consumers about Online Pharmacies
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has found that less than 3 percent of Internet pharmacies operate in compliance with state and federal regulations.
The FDA recommends that consumers limit their legitimate drug purchases to online pharmacies located in the U.S. A licensed pharmacist should be available for consultation and a prescription should be required for drug purchases.


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Starbucks’ “Race Together” initiative introduced recently will end Sunday.
After national outrage and a huge public outcry, Starbucks will cease to have employees write “Race Together” on customer’s coffee cups. Originally intended to “open up discussion about race” and begin conversations between baristas ans their customers about race, the idea will no longer be implemented in the national chain’s stores. The company’s chairman Jim Olson says ending the practice of handwritten notes has nothing to do with the public mockery and protest, but was a part of the plan all along. The Associated Press says:
“A recently released memo from CEO Howard Schultz says the cups were always “just the catalyst” for a broader conversation, and the company will still hold forum discussions, co-produce special sections in USA TODAY and put more stores in minority communities as part of the Race Together initiative.”
Beginning when racial tensions in America hit a high in the media and public’s hearts with Ferguson and subsequent anti-police brutality riots, the company has been trying to help relieve these problems across the nation. From segments in newspapers to opening chains in largely minority neighborhoods, this “Race Together” initiative is the latest in a slew of initiatives. However, the public didn’t take so kindly to this one. For many it was an immature approach to relieving racial tensions, especially coming from a company that largely appears to cater to the affluent white. Others cited this effort as a prime example of “feel good liberalism.”
Whatever the case, the company still claims the program was discontinued according to plan and not because of the national outcry.
Leave you opinion in the comments! Do you think Starbucks is doing any good towards fixing racial tensions and police brutality or is this just a wasted effort? Did you have any personal experience with #RaceTogether, and did it actually start a conversation?


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GM's bombshell lawsuit against FCA alleges years of corruption and includes claims about a failed 2015 merger
- General Motors filed a lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Wednesday, alleging that "million of dollars in bribes" were paid to the United Auto Workers union.
- GM alleged that this racketeering scheme corrupted UAW labor agreements in 2009, 2011, and 2015.
- GM also alleged that the late FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne was a central figure in the bribery scheme.
- GM said the scheme was an attempt to influence a failed merger with GM in 2015.
- Sign up for Business Insider's transportation newsletter, Shifting Gears, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
LOS ANGELES - General Motors filed a bombshell lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in US district court in Detroit on Wednesday.In the lawsuit, GM alleged that "FCA was the clear sponsor of pervasive wrongdoing, paying millions of dollars in bribes to obtain benefits, concessions, and advantages in the negotiation, implementation, and administration of labor agreements over time," the company said in a statement.
The federal racketeering lawsuit goes to the top of FCA leadership from 2009-15. Specifically, Craig Glidden, GM Executive Vice President and General Counsel, said on a conference call with reporters after the lawsuit was announced that late FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne was "central to a bribery conspiracy" that involved the United Auto Workers and former FCA executives who have pled guilty in a federal criminal investigation.In a statement, FCA said, "We are astonished by this filing, both its content and its timing."
"We can only assume this was intended to disrupt our proposed merger with PSA as well as our ongoing negotiations with the UAW. We intend to vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit and pursue all legal remedies in response to it."
Alleged corruption of collective bargaining an an attempt to influence a GM-FCA merger
Glidden said that FCA's current CEO, Mike Manley, was not named in the lawsuit.
But he also said that the "conspiracy was hatched in 2009 and continued for a substantial time" and that Marchionne was a central figure.GM is seeking damages that could rise into the billions, as it said FCA alleged corruption of the collective bargaining process "left it paying higher wages than FCA, and allowed FCA to use more temporary workers and lower-paid second-tier workers than GM," Reuters reported.
"Something's wrong when a foreign company can come to US and say it will abide by law, but then systematically violate those laws," Glidden said.
No attempt to affect FCA-PSA merger
"The scheme was integrated with attempt to force a merger," Glidden said. "At that time. we also know Mr. Marchionne [was] aware of criminal conduct.""We believe that the conduct at issue is stunning," he said.
- Airtel's India business is back in the black after a very long time
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- BJP spent significantly less on advertising during Kerala elections this year, its ad insertions on TV, Radio and Print decreased from 21% in 2016 to 1% in 2021
- Google I/O 2021: Here's what to expect from Google's biggest annual conference
- ISRO announces its decision to share technology to make portable medical oxygen concentrators developed by VSSC


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After recently launching the Samsung M34 5G smartphone in India, the South Korean brand is now reportedly working on a new budget phone called the Galaxy A05. As the name suggests, the smartphone will belong to Samsung’s next-generation budget series and may debut soon. The Samsung Galaxy A05 has appeared on the WiFi Alliance website, hinting at an imminent launch. Let’s find out what information this certification reveals.
Samsung Galaxy A05 gets WiFi Alliance approval
The Samsung Galaxy A05 phone with the model number SM-A055F-DS is listed in the Wi-Fi Alliance Certification Database. The certification confirms that the device will be named Galaxy A05 and will run on Android 13 operating system. Also, it will support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands. However, apart from these, no other information about the device has surfaced so far. So to get an idea of what the Samsung Galaxy A05 can offer post-launch, let’s take a look at the specifications of its predecessor, the Galaxy A04.
Specifications of Samsung Galaxy A04
Launched in August last year, the Samsung Galaxy A04 features an Infinity-V notch and a 6.5-inch display with HD+ resolution. This entry-level phone from Samsung is powered by a MediaTek Helio P35 octa-core processor, paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage. Again, its storage can be expanded via microSD card slot. The Galaxy A04 runs on Android 12 OS, with One UI Core 4.1 custom skin layered on top.
For photography, the rear panel of the Samsung Galaxy A04 features a dual-camera system with a 50-megapixel primary camera (f/1.8 aperture) and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with LED flash. And there is a 5 megapixel selfie camera in front of the phone. For power backup, the Galaxy A04 model comes with a 5,000 mAh battery.


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The doorstep lender Provident Financial has said it could put its consumer credit division into administration unless borrowers agree to a scheme that will sharply reduce compensation payments for customer complaints.
The high-cost lender also revealed that it is facing a regulatory investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority into a string of issues including whether it carried out proper affordability checks before lending to borrowers.
Shares in Provident Financial fell 26% after the announcement on Monday, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 250.
Provident said profits had been affected by the Covid pandemic and a surge in complaints against its consumer credit division (CCD) by claims management companies that lodge grievances on customers’ behalf. It made £25m worth of payouts in the second half of 2020, comparedwith £2.5m in the same period in 2019.
It is now proposing to ringfence £50m for a scheme that will assess claims on loans issued under its Provident brand and Satsuma before 17 December 2020. Provident claimed the scheme would ensure a “fairer and more equitable outcome” for customers, but said compensation payouts “may be significantly less than the amount claimed”.
Customers will be asked to vote on the proposal, which will also need to be approved by the courts. But “if the scheme is not approved, it is likely that CCD will be placed into administration or liquidation,” Provident said.
A similar scheme is being proposed by the guarantor lender Amigo, which has also said it is facing potential collapse.
Provident, which also operates the credit card business Vanquis Bank and the sub-prime car lender Moneybarn, said it was unclear how the administration would affect other parts of the business.
The group may face regulatory hurdles in implementing the scheme even if customers vote in favour. Provident said that the FCA was assessing the proposal and had already raised a “number of concerns”.
“The FCA has made it clear that it will not support the scheme for a number of reasons including, in this specific case, because redress creditors will receive less than the full value of their claims,” the group said.
Provident said it hoped to resolve the FCA’s concerns before its first court hearing, but said customers were unlikely to be prevented from making their own decision.


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Home Tags Darth Maul (Comics)
Tag: Darth Maul (Comics)
We recently caught up with the Marvel Comics artist Luke Ross and quizzed him on all things Star Wars comics.
Welcome to week 50 of 2018 and our list detailing what new publications to expect from a galaxy far, far away.
The official site sheds some light on this topic.
Welcome to week 24 of 2018 and our list detailing what new publications to expect from a galaxy far, far away.
The nominations for Diamond Comics Gems for 2017 have been announced and Star Wars comics from Marvel and IDW are on the shortlists
Steve Potter reviews #2 of Darth Maul.
Steve Potter reviews Darth Maul #1.
John Tyler Christopher has revealed a Darth Sideous Action Figure Variant for the upcoming Darth Maul #1. The limited edition variant goes on sale exclusively on his website on January 26th.
Marvel reveal the covers and a preview to Darth Maul #1
Cullen Bunn talks about the Darth Maul five-parter over at the official site
Following on from yesterday's USA Today reveal of the new Darth Maul series, Marvel have issued the following press release, including comments from the writer, Cullen Bunn.
Via USA Today, Marvel have announced a new mini-series featuring Darth Maul debuting in February 2017.


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14:58 | 02/09/2017 Companies
Beko, the number one freestanding home appliance brand in Europe, has announced the launch of its latest series of modern home appliance products like refrigerators, laundries and other small-sized appliances. By applying Home Whiz technology, Beko meets consumer’s demand and bring them perfect experience right at their homes.
At the IFA trade show 2017 which is underway in Berlin, Beko has launched new-generation technologies and home appliances with full array of options for households.
Of those, Beko announces the launch of its new high capacity refrigerators with the range of freshness solutions, including:
- EverFresh+® that allows fruit and vegetables to stay crisp-fresh for up to 30 days;
- The new EverFresh+® 0°C compartment keeps meat, fish and dairy products fresh for up to 3 times longer also preventing drying out, even when stored unwrapped;
- The new NeoFrost™ Dual Cooling Technology within the refrigerator provides no odour mixing between the compartments, as well as longer freshness of all products;
- FreshGuard® – the new technology which uses a specially-coated filter and UV LEDs which neutralize bad odor molecules;
- Active Fresh Blue Light technology is a first in the refrigeration market and will help customers keep healthier than ever before; ground-breaking new DoorAssist® technology;
- And finally insulation technology enables a 34 dBA noise level, making this the world’s most silent refrigerator..
In addtion, Beko also offers its customers a number of world-class firsts in its laundry offering including the world’s first washing machine with warm air circulation AirTherapy® technology, enabling one kilogram of daily used clothes to be refreshed and ready to wear in 30 minutes. Additionally, it offers the world’s fastest washer dryer with UltraFast, featuring 5 kg washing and drying in less than 3 hours with IonGuard® w/Steam Therapy which helps to eliminate bad odors.
Along with the above-mentioned two major products, Beko also introduced a series of other appliances such as coffee maker Espresso, vacuum blender and powerful steam irons.


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The Hall of Fame trio of trainer Bob Baffert and jockeys Mike Smith and Laffit Pincay Jr. will sign limited edition collectible jerseys at Del Mar on Labor Day, Sept. 6. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each jersey will benefit the Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement, the Jockeys' Guild, and The Race For Education, a national 501(c)(3) scholarship organization that enables young people of equine industry families as well as those who want to pursue an equine-related or agricultural career to obtain a college degree.
“We are calling this a three-in-one Hall of Fame jersey promotion benefiting Thoroughbred charities,” Jack Mutz, owner of MVP Champions, said in a statement. “When Bob Baffert signed our first collectible jersey April 3, 2010, Derby Day at Santa Anita, we knew the vision of supporting Thoroughbred charities with collectible jersey sales would work. Since then, we have had sell-out promotions at Hollywood Park and Del Mar, with Laffit Pincay Jr. and Mike Smith signing jerseys benefiting charities of their choice. We thank everyone for supporting our efforts.”
MVP Champions plans to release new Hall of Fame collectible jerseys at special promotions at Hollywood Park and Golden Gate in October.
The jerseys feature Russell Baze commemorating his 11,000th win; a Hall of Fame All-Star jersey featuring Pincay and other Hall of Fame jockeys Chris McCarron, Gary Stevens, and Eddie Delahoussaye; and a Triple Crown jersey featuring Secretariat.
The collectible Hall of Fame jerseys can be purchased at www.mvpchampions.com.


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March Mega Week Begins With £40 Million EuroMillions Jackpot
Last Updated: Monday 27th March 2017, 11:08 am
A spectacular week lies ahead for EuroMillions players, with a jackpot of £40 million up for grabs and the March edition of Mega Week offering a luxury trip to South Africa. There will be a guaranteed three winners of the Millionaire Maker on Tuesday and another three on Friday, making it an ideal time to try and snap up some special prizes.
Mega Week takes place at the end of every month and gives ticket holders the opportunity to win incredible lifestyle experiences, as well as stunning cash prizes. This week’s promotion will see the six lucky players who match the winning Millionaire Maker codes jet off for 15 days of luxury safari fun. Winners can travel at a time that suits them, up to the end of March 2019, and fly out with three guests.
If you are fortunate enough to win, you can think of your own schedule or follow the recommended itinerary, which includes six nights at the five-star Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town. You will also spend four nights at Port Elizabeth’s luxurious Shamwari Game Reserve, three nights in the sumptuous Stellenbosch winelands and even a night in a deluxe cabin on the famous Blue Train.
As well as five-star accommodation, the holiday will include luxury spa treatments, guided safari tours, a private helicopter ride, a wine-tasting session and £5,000 spending money for Graff Diamond Boutique in Stellenbosch, with a generous allowance for food and drink thrown in.
There is also a huge EuroMillions jackpot to dream of this week after another rollover on Friday night. The top prize was last won on Tuesday 14th March, when a Portuguese player scooped a massive £80.5 million (£70.3 million). If you want to win any of this week’s great prizes, you can choose your numbers online or visit an authorised retailer in the UK. Good luck!


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In collaboration with Logistics Learning Alliance, UKWA (the United Kingdom Warehousing Association) has developed a Warehouse Supervisor Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).
The new Warehouse Supervisor CPC is equivalent to Level 3 of the Regulated Qualification Framework and is considered an ideal programme for supervisors and team leaders working in the warehouse sector.
The course covers warehouse operations, leadership and management as well as customer service skills and, in total, online learning time is likely to be around 140 hours – although a fast-track, face-to-face programme is also offered.
UKWA’s CEO, Peter Ward, commented: “Following the successful introduction of our Warehouse Manager CPC programme last year, it became apparent that there is a need for a lower level programme pitched at those working at Supervisor or Team Leader level in the warehouse sector.”
He added: “This new distance learning course has been structured to meet the needs of the industry in a focused and relevant way and covers the key skills that Supervisors need to build on their technical competence in warehouse operations , leadership and management by developing their knowledge, awareness and ability to manage the activities of their teams.”
Visit www.ukwa.org.uk for further details.
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Q: I heard Apple has some huge plans to revolutionize education and the world of textbooks. What did they do, and what are the implications?
For many, print textbooks are a vital and unchanging part of education. Writers and editors craft the books under the direction of a publisher. Teachers (or states) pick from the top titles on the market to be used in their classrooms. College students buy from their university bookstore, lug large volumes around in backpacks, and later score a few bucks by selling them back.
If Apple gets its way, however, this whole world will be completely disrupted.
A couple of weeks ago, Apple made a major educational announcement in an event at the Guggenheim in New York. The news is actually two different but closely-related developments: a revamped version of iBooks and a new self-authoring platform.
First, iBooks Textbooks for iPad is being billed by Apple as “the next chapter in learning.” These new interactive textbooks go far beyond what can be produced on a printed page, including 3D objects that can be manipulated, interactive images, and galleries. The digital textbooks also help students remember what they’re reading by offering intuitive highlighting and note taking functionality. It’s also easy to create study flashcards from those notes.
In addition to their content, Apple’s new textbooks for iPad will significantly lower the cost per title. Current offerings in the iBookstore do not exceed $15, and Apple has suggested that this will continue to be the cap. When compared with a $90-$150 printed textbook, the choice might seem simple.
iBooks Author, the other part of Apple’s educational announcement, is a new self-publishing platform that allows anyone to create their own interactive textbook for free. It offers rich multimedia features, easy to use templates, and allows authors to customize with a few clicks.
Despite all these benefits, however, there are plenty of negatives in Apple’s attempt at educational revolution. The initial investment is still huge, as the iPad costs not less than $499. (Although Apple typically will offer bulk educational discounts.) No matter how flashy and interactive the textbooks may be, it does not solve the major problem that many students, school districts and colleges will not be able to handle this major start-up cost.
Another point of concern arises with a close inspection of the End User License Agreement for iBooks Author. According to the terms, textbooks sold through the iBookstore cannot be sold anywhere else, which severely restricts both their distribution and the rights of the authors. Blogger Dan Wineman compared it to Microsoft saying what you can and can’t do with documents you wrote in Word. Having textbooks available only through one channel could be damaging, and it might not even be legal. It also completely eliminates the used book market.
We might expect academics, librarians and educators to object to this major move by a huge corporation, but the harshest criticisms I’ve seen thus far have come from tech reporters at business websites such as Business Insider. They cite many of the aforementioned disadvantages: the huge initial cost, the closed system, the antitrust concerns, and also issues of storage. (The current Apple textbooks take up about 2GB of space out of a total of 16GB for a low-end iPad. Just by taking a few classes, students would completely fill up their device.)
One final point to make about this educational revolution is the impact it might have on teachers and educators themselves. The new platform enables them to write and publish directly without having to deal with the politics and policies of major publishing houses. In addition, they can create interactive digital texts without any advanced coding or technological knowledge. On the other hand, the possible lack of editorial control in this new curriculum could be troublesome.
The idea of moving from print to digital textbooks certainly isn’t going away. The major question right now is whether Apple’s exciting but closed model will be able to take hold. It will be interesting to see how their educational goals evolve over the next couple of years.
Andrew Walsh is the owner and editor of Social Web Q and A. He is a freelance writer, academic librarian and web entrepreneur. Check out his book Savvy for the Social Web.


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Amazon retains crown as ‘digital-only’ upstarts power retail growth
A wave of digitally-savvy, internationally-minded upstarts are powering growth in the retail sector, according to the latest International Retail Index– which sees Amazon crowned as the highest-performing retail brand for a second consecutive year. The influential report, is commissioned and carried out each year by Loqate.
After benchmarking 30 top retail performers by brand recognition, global presence, online capabilities, and volume of sales, this year’s report highlights the rise of ‘borderless’ commerce as retail shifts from the high street to digital-first. Four of the top six in this year’s index are ‘digital-only’ (Amazon, ASOS, Boohoo.com, Zalando). And, while the index focuses on retailers in the UK, US and Europe, the report cites online giant Alibaba as another strong performer – it would knock Amazon off the top spot, if benchmarked with the same criteria.
The report offers a number of other key findings, including:
- The Famous Five: Five of the fastest-growing retailers included – Amazon, ASOS, Boohoo.com, Gymshark and Paul Valentine – are also the only five companies offering express delivery across borders. This is becoming a ‘must-have’ in the competitive eCcommerce market
- Going ‘glocal’: The index found a 50/50 split between those brands offering international delivery from their core global site (such as Marks & Spencer) vs. those redirecting consumers to a relevant local site (such as H&M)
- Borderless eCommerce: Despite challenging geopolitical conditions, two of the top 30 companies (H&M and IKEA) now bring in at least 90 per cent of their sales from outside their home markets
- Retailers embracing voice-assistants: Of 30 retailers in the index, almost half (14) now have an official partnership with Alexa or Google Assistant, reaching over 2.5 billion digital voice assistant users
- Next day beats out click & collect: In the UK, for example, 63 per cent of consumers opt for the ease of same or next day delivery over collection
Matthew Furneaux, global commercial director at Loqate, a GBG Solution, said: “The findings of this year’s International Retail Index are clear: digital, borderless, on-demand experience is becoming the new normal in retail. While Amazon has retained its crown, what we see is an emerging group of ‘digital-first’ and even ‘digital-only’ players reshaping expectations among consumers. It’s also remarkable to see leading retailers such as IKEA find huge success outside their home market – with 90 per cent of sales coming outside of Sweden. Perhaps there are lessons here for British retailers, as they look to future-proof their businesses in the wake of geopolitical uncertainty.”


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According to a recent job listing posted by Ford, it is likely that Ford Mustang will get a new generation update in 2020.
Ford Mustang is likely to get generation update in 2022 or 2023
As the per the job listings, the company is looking for engineers for its PVT team in Michigan-based Flat Rock Assembly Plant. The job listing starts as below:
“Be part of the proud team to deliver Ford and Lincoln quality on the current model Mustang (S550) and be the final sign off on the Ford 2023 Mustang S650 vehicle program before it goes to the customers. For this position, you will have primary responsibility for delivering Wind/Road Noise and Air Leakage and work with a strong team of other Ford PVT engineers at the plant as well as supporting the V11/V12 VFG in Dearborn as needed.”
The job description mentioned “Ford 2023 Mustang S650” and listed the responsibility of “on-site launch lead for Wind/Road Noise and Air Leakage attributes when S650 launches in 2022 as a 2023MY,” indicating that the Ford Mustang’s new-gen model is slated to launch in 2022 and will be name-coded the internal code S650. The current-generation Ford Mustang’s internal code is S550.
Shelby GT500 is the most powerful Ford Mustang yet
At the moment, Ford is offering pre-facelift Ford Mustang in the Indian market. The facelift Mustang is expected to embark on our shore this year. The outgoing Ford Mustang is powered by a 5.0-litre, V8 engine which unleashes the top power of 415 Bhp. This engine comes with a 6-speed torque converter transmission. The facelift version will continue with the 5.0-litre V8 engine but the transmission unit might be replaced by a new 10-speed automatic gearbox.


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The total value of NFC mobile payment transactions will increase from US$4bn in 2012 to pass $100bn in 2016 and US$191bn in 2017, according to a new forecast by ABI Research. 26% of NFC handsets will house a contactless ticketing application in five years time, the researchers add.
- Huawei Pay to launch in the US?
- US iPhone users ‘unlikely’ to use Face ID for payments
- Apple Pay Cash to go live in iOS update ‘this fall’
- HSBC uses face recognition to authenticate payments in China
- Macquarie open banking APIs let customers share transaction data with third parties


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New research reaffirms high growth and earnings potential among female enterprise owners, but they need support
Women entrepreneurs remain optimistic and have continued to exhibit great resilience and innovation in the face of unprecedented challenges. This is according to an analysis of existing and new research released in The State of Women's Entrepreneurship 2022 report by the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), which is led by Ryerson University's Diversity Institute and one of the pillars of the Women Entrepreneurship Continuum.
The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, graced a launch event announcing a new contribution agreement worth $4.25 million to the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), which is led by Ryerson University's Diversity Institute. They hub is one of the pillars of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, a now $6-billion program to advance women's economic empowerment.
"We know that women entrepreneurs have been facing systemic barriers long before the pandemic. As we support women entrepreneurs and business owners with our $6 billion Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, we are ensuring that our efforts are data-driven, and that best practices are shared across the country. Through the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), we are providing a one-stop source of knowledge, data, and best practices to help women entrepreneurs across the country succeed," Ng said.
Women are still attracted to business. In all small and medium companies (SMEs), the number of majority women-owned businesses (over 50% of a business's ownership) has consistently increased, reaching 16.8% in 2020.
However, the number of self-employed women in Canada peaked at 1,065,200 in 2019, accounting for 37.2% of all self-employed people, before declining to 982,600 in 2021, representing 36.8% of all self-employed people.
Women entrepreneurs possess a lot of potential for high-growth and earnings.
Since 2019, the number of new start-ups in Canada with a valuation of more than $1 billion (unicorns) with female founders has nearly doubled, and the exporting gap between males and women entrepreneurs has almost closed.
Case studies from organizations that help women entrepreneurs support the beneficial impact of investing in women entrepreneurs, implying that the return on these investments is more consistent and the risk is considerably lower than other programs.
"Entrepreneurship is a pathway to economic growth and an inclusive ecosystem is critical to supporting diverse women entrepreneurs and women [entrepreneurs] are also more likely to help advance environmental and social goals," Wendy Cukier, founder of Ryerson's Diversity Institute and academic research lead of WEKH, said in a statement. "When we develop policies and programs we must apply a gender and diversity lens. Most of our entrepreneurial financing and support systems were designed by men for men."
Cukier, the report's author, made several recommendations in the report to help women entrepreneurs and the ecosystem that supports them, including continuing to collect granular, disaggregated, and intersectional data on women self-employed and majority owners of SMEs across industries.
She also called for the use a gender and diversity lens to government policies and initiatives in order to better understand how varied women are impacted and how to address their needs. Stereotypes and inherent bias must be challenged at all levels, she said, while also urging a rethink of how economic development and innovation goals are framed, as well as how impact is measured.


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May 13, 2014
Negativity needed around nicotine
A Maori tobacco control advocate says if the Government can push through a law banning legal highs overnight, it should be able to get plain packaging legislation for tobacco passed before the election.
Boyd Broughton from ASH says he’s impressed with the progress the health select committee is making on the plain packaging bill.
He says ASH wants cigarettes packets to be a horrible olive colour with no logos and a series of pictorial health warnings.
It wants heavier fines for non-compliance in line with Australia, and for tobacco retailers to be registered, which will allow for better monitoring.
Mr Broughton says the law has to be strong enough to counter a determined and resource-rich tobacco industry.
"When you have these brightly-coloured packs, expensively designed, and they research to death to make sure they are advertising right on their packs, and when they have those packs sitting in their car, whenever they drive anywhere as a family and they go to weddings, funerals, birthdays, graduations, it also paints a false picture of normality, that part of what being Maori or being a New Zealander is having this packet of cigarettes, so it is trying to remove that positive stigma around a tobacco packet and replace it with a whole lot of negativity," he says.
Boyd Broughton says plain packaging will help efforts to stop young people taking up the habit.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH BOYD BROUGHTON CLICK ON THE LINK
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd


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If you need to know about batteries; you’ve come to the right place 点击这里访问我们的中文网站
All the news and views from the world of energy storage and associated industries.
Renewable energy firms Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) and Harmony Energy have commissioned a 15MWh lithium-ion energy storage system using six Tesla Megapack batteries.
Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa has announced it will be supplying a dual chemical— lead-acid and lithium-ion— hybrid energy storage system to a port in the UK.
Battery electrolyte developer Ampcera has announced the latest step in the commercialisation of its flexible solid electrolyte (SE) membrane technology for solid-state lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion battery maker InoBat Auto has secured investment to fund the development of a 100MWh R&D centre and production line in Slovakia.
Germany’s secondary lead battery production fell for the second year in a row, according to the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI).
US lead battery developer Advanced Battery Concepts (ABC) is set to begin a nine-month investigation into the performance capabilities of bipolar lead batteries in micro and mild-hybrid applications.
Government-owned fossil fuel firm Indian Oil has partnered with transport power infrastructure company Sun Mobility to set up electric vehicle battery-swapping stations at select fuel stations in cities across India.
Tesla is planning to expand manufacturing capacity at its Freemont, California, facility to develop more ‘effective’ lithium-ion batteries and more efficient manufacturing technology.
Privately held zinc battery developer Eos Energy Storage signed a letter of intent (LOI) on 24 June with the goal of opening a $225 million finance opportunity by becoming a publicly listed company.
Graphite from Magnis Energy Technologies’ mine in Tanzania could allow the firm to produce some of the lowest cost graphite anode material for the lithium-ion battery market .


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Imaging processing company VineView, drone manufacturer SkySquirrel Technologies, and drone operator Hawk Aerial have partnered to bring more drones to California’s North Coast wine country. All three companies have experience offering their particular services to California vineyards but the partnership will allow them to pool resources and take small advantage of smaller drones to monitor and map crops at small vineyards.
The Marketing Director Bryan Soderblom said,“We found drones most-efficient for smaller- to medium-sized vineyards — less than 100 acres. Above that, it’s more efficient with an airplane.”
According to the partnered companies their drones can cover about 1 acre a minute, meaning they can map between 20-25 acres using one battery charge on a drone. As batteries for drones get better they see drones taking over more responsibility from airplanes.
The team at Drone Dossier sees this as a very important story for agricultural drones. Right now, for larger areas planes may be more efficient (not to mention they can carry more sensors), but as drones and battery technology progresses planes will loose any advantage they have now. Still it should be a lesson for anyone getting into the agricultural drone space…you need to realize your limits right now and not over promise. Also, in order to truly be effective you need to merge ability in flying, imaging and marketing your services, which may mean partnerships.


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Peter Broom, Technical and Innovations Director of the award-winning Meryl Fabrics®, believes that the textile industry must do more to improve its eco and sustainability credentials.
In the first of two viewpoints, Peter looks at how new dyeing techniques can remove the damaging impact the sector has on the environment.
As consumers become more eco-aware they are increasingly calling for apparel which meets their environmental and sustainability demands. Indeed research shows that 31 percent of Gen X would buy more sustainable clothing if it was available.
What we, the textile industry, must understand is that we have accepted that change is needed if we are to be in tune with our customers who really do care about what happens to our planet.
The recent COP27 gathering has been a reminder that there is still much to be done to protect the planet and the sector mustn’t shy away from our role in both being the problem and the solution.
This is particularly important as the World Economic Forum says that the fashion industry and its supply chain are, after food and construction, the planet’s third-largest polluter.
It’s our responsibility to see how we can make changes and do things better. It must be more than simple greenwashing and means developing sustainable materials to offset the textile industry’s detrimental environmental effects.
We need to stand up and act before it is too late.
To do this we have to go back to basics.
Research from the environmental sustainability consultancy Quantis found that over 90% of the industry’s environmentally damaging emissions come from just four basic activities – dyeing and finishing; fabric preparation; yarn preparation; and fibre production.
Each process needs action to reduce the textile industry’s negative impact on the environment. Here at Meryl Fabrics®, the creation of Meryl EcoDye has made advances with dyeing and finishing.
It offers dope dyed fabrics a high-quality colouration and excellent fastness while making the dyeing process more environmentally friendly. With a one-step colourisation process, compared with the traditional two-step, it removes the need to produce white fabric and subsequent dyeing. We add a pigment to our yarn so that the colour becomes an inherent part of the fabric and guarantees the best colour and highest quality control with outstanding fastness to UV rays, washing abrasion, migration and ironing.
This has been tested in closed and open laundry circuits where garments can be washed a minimum of 300 times without losing colour or misshaping.
The dyeing and finishing process is also a major water polluter. The World Bank says that 17-20% of all water pollution comes from textile dyeing treatments so the advent of waterless dyeing reduces environmental harm.
When one tonne of fabric is estimated to use more than 200,000 litres of water and requires a dye discharge with the effluent into water systems, then the fact that Meryl EcoDye uses no water makes a colossal saving in water resources.
Meryl EcoDye’s environmental advantages are further strengthened as it has no heavy metals or additional chemicals, solvents or silicones to protect water sources further.
By using products like Meryl EcoDye, we can significantly reduce the environmental impact of textile waste and stop the destruction currently being inflicted on the planet, while helping to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development goals.
We can do this by standing up as an industry to say we can do things better and showing that eco-friendly and effective alternatives are available.
We must stop talking about doing something; we have an answer so let’s get on and do it.
In his next viewpoint, Peter looks at how the industry significantly reduces its use of one of the planet’s most important natural resources – water.


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Inflation is rampant, the Federal Reserve seems prepared to raise interest rates even higher than previously expected, financial markets are reeling, and rumors of recession are in the air. All of this signals economic pain ahead, and how much pain will depend on whether Washington avoids more of the policy mistakes that got us into this mess.
A recession is by no means certain, especially with a strong job market and consumers still flush from pandemic government payments. But inflation is sapping consumer confidence, with the Michigan sentiment survey falling to 50.2 in June from 58.4 in May, and from 85.5 a year ago. The more consumers believe that their real earnings will keep falling, the less they’ll spend to keep the economy afloat.
Business confidence has also fallen sharply. The small business NFIB Optimism Index fell again in May, and owners expecting better conditions in the next six months hit a net negative 54%. That’s the lowest in the history of the 48-year-old survey.
The grandees of the Business Roundtable aren’t feeling much better. CEO expectations for the next six months registered the sixth largest decline in the history of its Economic Outlook Index.
This is what the uncertainty wrought by inflation does to an economy. Companies feel flush at the onset of inflation as nominal earnings rise. But the euphoria fades as component costs rise, workers demand higher wages, and consumers begin to balk at more expensive goods and services.
None of this is an argument for the Federal Open Market Committee to ease up on its appointed monetary tightening this week. The Fed leaked Monday that the FOMC might consider a 75-point rate increase, and financial markets tanked on the news. But at 1% the real fed-funds rate is still deeply negative, and the Fed’s mistake is that it has been too easy for too long. The sooner the Fed breaks inflation, the better.
argue nearby, the Fed will probably have to go much higher to get inflation back to its 2% target. One sign to watch Wednesday is how much higher the FOMC eminences raise their expectations for the endpoint of rates than their 2.8% median in March.
This inevitably means tighter credit conditions. Fed Chairman
has all but said that the goal of the current tightening is to reduce demand in the economy and ease the tight labor market. This means slower growth, which was already underwhelming at minus-1.4% in the first quarter and is on a paltry 0.9% pace in the second quarter, according to the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tracker.
Tighter money and the risk of recession should also cause the White House to abandon its anti-growth fiscal and regulatory agenda. A slowing economy doesn’t need a $1 trillion tax increase, yet Senate Majority Leader
is still trying to persuade Sen.
to sign on to a smaller version of Build Back Better.
The bizarre claim is that a tax increase will somehow reduce inflation. But the main effect of a tax increase would be to reduce investment and further restrict supply, which would arguably make inflation worse.
Democrats tried the tax increase to break inflation in the late 1960s but prices kept rising. They raised taxes in 1993 in the name of lower interest rates, but the Greenspan Fed still had to raise interest rates in 1994. The only way a tax increase would reduce inflation today is if it triggered a recession.
Businesses and consumers worried about rising costs also don’t need new regulatory burdens, which the Biden Administration is adding willy-nilly. A prudent White House would be calling for a regulatory moratorium, especially on domestic energy production.
The economic point is that policy makers should be pursuing pro-growth fiscal, deregulatory and trade policies to offset the impact of tighter money. That was the
formula that broke inflation in the 1980s and led to a boom.
We realize that the White House isn’t likely to take this advice. Even as growth slows and markets slide, Mr. Biden spent Tuesday shouting to the AFL-CIO that more government spending and higher taxes on the wealthy are the cure for inflation.
But we don’t want a recession on any President’s watch, any more than Americans wanted the inflation that is killing Mr. Biden and his party in the polls as the midterm elections near. We’re here to help, Mr. President, but the Lord also helps those who help themselves avoid recession.
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8


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Apple May Be Planning to Discontinue All of Its Silicone Accessories
Apple may be planning to discontinue its silicone rubber and fluoroelastomer accessories, replacing them with ones made of more eco-friendly next-generation materials, MacRumors has been told.
The move is expected to include accessories such as the iPhone Silicone Case with MagSafe, Sport Band, Solo Loop, and AirTag Loop. The rumor comes from Apple device collector and leaker known as "Kosutami," who has previously shared information about the iPhone 15's braided USB-C cable, various prototypes such as the MagSafe chargers and AirPods in different color options, and more.
Apple is widely expected to discontinue its leather iPhone cases following the introduction of the iPhone 15 lineup, replacing them accessories made with a premium material marketed as "FineWoven." The discontinuation of silicone accessories is not expected to be imminent, instead taking place via a more gradual transition whereby existing models are not refreshed with new color options. For example, Sport Band may not be refreshed with new color options following the launch of the Apple Watch Series 9, being available until supplies of the current units run out. Apple is expected to release new accessory designs, such as a "FineWoven" Apple Watch band with a magnetic buckle, to replace its outgoing products.
The discontinuation of all leather and silicone Apple accessories is believed to be part of a wider move to transition to more environmentally friendly materials. While Apple's silicone rubber accessories have a lower carbon footprint than their leather counterparts, they are not made with any recycled materials. Materials like fluoroelastomer are also difficult to recycle due to their heat-resistant properties and strong, crosslinked structure.
"FineWoven" is expected to be the first next-generation material used by Apple, replacing leather in the immediate term, but it could also displace some silicone accessories at some point. There will likely also be other new, more eco-friendly materials introduced on other accessories in the future.