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Total revenues at Bloomsbury were up 19% year-on-year for the three months ending 31st May 2017. Meanwhile, the board said it expects profit for the financial year to be “in line with its expectations”.
The first quarter traditionally generates its smallest profit of the financial year, the company said.
Top selling titles in the period included A Court of Wings and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, the Harry Potter series, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, Tom Kerridge's Dopamine Diet and The Strange Death of Europe by Douglas Murray. Kate Pankhurst's Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World was the biggest selling children's general non-fiction title in the UK in the calendar year to 3rd June, according to Nielsen Bookscan.
In the non-consumer division, sales of digital resources were up by 16%, with output “continuing well” against the Bloomsbury 2020 plan, which seeks to reposition the publisher from a primarily consumer-focused one to a digital B2B company.
The digital resource Bloomsbury Popular Music, released earlier this year, is “proving popular” in academic library trials, the company said, adding that Bloomsbury Professional Online has had a “strong start” to the new financial year. The company’s professional resource International Tax was launched in May and the law resources Practice and Procedure; Intellectual Property and Info Technology and Clinical Negligence were also launched in the first quarter. This month, the Bloomsbury Design Library will be launched, following its successful showcase at the American Library Association conference in Chicago in June.
The 20th anniversary of Bloomsbury's first publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was celebrated on 26th June 2017. Predicting the success of the financial year, the company cited the forthcoming publication of two new Harry Potter books. To coincide with the British Library’s Harry Potter exhibition, Bloomsbury is publishing Harry Potter: A History of Magic - The Book of The Exhibition and Harry Potter - A Journey Through A History of Magic in October, which are tipped by booksellers to perform well in the Christmas market.
The previous financial year saw revenues for the company grow by 15% to £142.6m, in a “very strong” performance for the company, driven particularly by the strength of its children’s publishing which achieved double-digit revenue growth for the fourth year in a row.
The results for the six months ending 31st August 2017 will be announced on 23rd October 2017.


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It wasn't a typical Saturday morning garage sale.
It didn't take place outside of someone's home, but rather at the Pembroke Pines Charter School West Campus. The school's covered basketball court was transformed into a bazaar with tables featuring everything from toys and DVDs to furniture and custom tire rims.
The garage sale was also different because it was organized by charter school teachers and the local chapter of the American Cancer Society to benefit three students fighting cancer. The garage sale was opened to students and families at three charter school campuses to donate items, said Frank Jones, an eighth-grade English teacher at the west campus. Proceeds from the sale will be split between the three families.
"Aside from the financial aid, it lets them know the community is behind them," Jones said.
The garage sale will likely become a sponsored yearly event, said Natalie DiCenso of the local ACS Relay for Life group. Raising money for the affected families is important not just because of the cost of medical treatments, but also the associated travel expenses for parent and child, she said.
"It's a huge financial burden," DiCenso said. "As little as $600 sounds to you and I, that family is so touched to get that."
Items from nearly 800 families participating in the sale were displayed across the court. Several tables were filled with standard fare garage sale items, including books, CDs, movies, toys and video games. But the range of items also included items such as computer monitors, fax machines, candle holders and sports equipment, as well as furniture, a mini-pool table and a two-person paddle boat.
The garage sale featured a treasure trove of items for Sarah Winchell of Davie, who came shopping with her 2-year-old son, Benjamin. After some browsing, Winchell had picked up several books, puzzles and action figures for Benjamin.
"It's perfect for this age because they go through stuff so quickly," Winchell said.
Finding good items on sale and participating in the benefit went together perfectly.
"It's a worthy cause," she said. "You can't do enough for people with special needs."
One of those people is 10-year-old Pilar Sanchez, who was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago. Pilar's mother, Mariana Sanchez, said it has been a constant struggle for her daughter, who would sometimes be hospitalized two or three times a month while undergoing chemotherapy. Sanchez said the garage sale is welcome help because it's difficult as a single mother of two to deal with medical expenses.
"It's very costly," Sanchez said. "It's beautiful that the school is doing this, and they've poured their hearts out."
Sanchez said Pilar has stayed strong throughout the process. Aside from having no hair, Pilar didn't stand out at the sale as she spent time with friends. Coping with the condition hasn't been difficult, she said.
"I've met a lot of people with the same thing, so I see I'm not the only one," Pilar said. "You don't feel left out."
This month, Pilar will travel to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis to receive a bone marrow transplant with marrow donated by her brother, Albert.
Chris Guanche can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.

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September 27, 2018
Smart meters are helping to transform the electric grid, but the enormous amounts of data generated by the technology could be better leveraged by utilities in order to provide more customized energy solutions for customers.
The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) asked 1,698 U.S. consumers what they want from their smart meters, and their answers detailed in a new report can help electric utilities gain insight into how best to engage their customers. The nonprofit SECC, which counts electric utilities and consumer advocacy groups among its members, works to advance smart energy technologies.
“We know there’s a lot of data being collected across the country from consumers who have AMI (Advanced Meter Infrastructure or smart meters) installed that generates a tremendous amount of data,” said Patty Durand, president & CEO at Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative. “It can even be every minute, and most utilities collect it every 15 minutes. Whereas prior to smart meters, utilities only had one data point a month on consumers, so to going from one data point a month to a 15-minute data interval is an exponential change.”
Despite the new data on customer usage, as well as added control for customers to change behavior, utilities have seen little change or engagement from their customers.
Utilities use smart meter data to provide customers with more accurate bills and more reliable forecasts. The data has also helped improve the functionality of the grid due to faster restoration of power, along with strengthened security. But utilities could do more to offer additional services to customers, Durand said.
“We have not yet seen the uplift and benefit to consumers that we would hope,” she said. While noting that there have been outage and restoration improvements as a result of smart meter data, Durand added, “There haven’t been as many opportunities for consumers to save money from all of the data that their energy usage generates. Data analytics is a very important component of this revolution.”
SECC compiled a report to focus on consumers’ needs and how utilities can meet those needs. Although the study found that many of the benefits of smart meters have yet to be realized by customers, there were also some positive findings.
The report found that the idea that customers will purchase new appliances or items to save money, termed “Replace & Save,” generated “pull” in many cases — meaning customers will research a term or idea on their own instead of having to be shown that idea, or advertised to, multiple times before adoption.
“We were delighted, I guess you could call that surprised, that we found one of our program solutions created what’s known as pull in marketing terms,” Durand said. “The way we positioned this program to consumers is that they would find out from data what they could do to actually save money on their own data.”
The other two programs that the SECC report studied were coined “Manage & Save,” which focuses on how consumers could use their appliances differently to save money; and “Shift & Save,” which looks at when consumers use energy in their home. These consumers would allow the utility to delay the start of appliances in order to save money.
More than 50 percent of consumers said they would be researching the internet about both “Replace & Save” and “Manage & Save,” and 48 percent said they would do the same about “Shift & Save.” For all three programs, consumers were most interested in learning more about potential savings, and they were most likely to seek out more information if they had taken energy efficient actions or contacted their utility in the last six months.
Durand said while it is possible for a utility to reach all of its customers and teach them, it can be expensive to connect with an entire service territory. SECC found if there is slow adoption, utilities think that means consumers don’t want or don’t care about their own energy, and “just want to pay the bill and be left alone.”
“Those conclusions are wrong,” she said, “if a scattershot approach is taken to marketing.”
“So in order to save money, in order to validate a program, and in order to delight consumers who are neglected who might not want to be neglected, the recommendation is target the ones that are already engaged …,” Durand explained.
Another barrier to smart meter adoption and having consumers take control over their own energy use is the level of difficulty into entry of the programs. If those barriers are removed, levels of adoption can increase, Durand explained. For instance, if a customer is already on the phone or on chat with a customer service representative about another matter, or if a customer is logged into their account, then customers should also be recommended offers.
Another topic the study looked at was privacy concerns over smart meters, but they found those concerns were far fewer than expected. “I think consumers would be willing to give up certain privacy issues or concerns to get the benefits they want,” Durand said.
The SECC analysis suggested four steps utilities could take to encourage smart meter adoption, including: targeting consumers who already expect and are accustomed to data sharing and analytics in other aspects of their lives; focus on “already engaged” consumers, who are likely to be interested in additional offers; start with offers consumers can easily understand and design them for ease of use; and use actionable information as an entry-level feature.
“Energy is really in an innovative place right now with digitization changing the industry and all the benefits that come with that, from electric vehicles, online access to data, and data portals and phone apps,” Durand said. “We’re really on the cusp of amazing changes in the energy space. It was slower to come than the rest of industry, but that’s because it’s regulated. But it’s here now.”
from Daily Energy Insider by Jaclyn Brandt


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Dark Web Market
By SL Chua 2022 Cited by 1 on the Dream darknet market in response to Operation Bayonet, a law enforcement opera- tion. I tease apart theeffects of the operation's. An academic study published in 2022 identified 38 dark marketplaces, including Silk Road, White House Market, Corona Market, Dark0de Reborn and. By A Bracci 2022 Cited by 18 In particular, dark web marketplaces (DWMs), commercial websites accessible Silk Road marketplace, which launched in 2022, was the first. Repeated searches of markets on the dark web have found negligible trace of illegal wildlife products. This news is troubling. After other sites, such as the Silk Road and AlphaBay, shut down, Empire Market was the most-trafficked dark web marketplace, Bloomberg reported.
The Dark Web (sometimes referred to as the Darknet) was officially launched 20 years ago, on March 20, 2000 with the release of Freenet: a. Dark Web Intelligence Market Size, Share, Trends and industry analysis silkkitie market darknet now available from IndustryARC. Report reveals Dark Web Intelligence Market Market in. Over the past three weeks, Digital Shadows has observed another popular dark web criminal market - Nightmare - experience several. Hackers who do this had been doing it in the underground Dark Web (or darknet) marketplace, like for example, the Silk Road. Prosecutors claim that Hydra, a Russian-language website, was responsible for 80 of all dark web market-related cryptocurrency dealings since.
Okparaeke used the dark web marketplace AlphaBay to peddle his drugs between 2022 and 2022, engaging in over 7,000 sales of synthetic opioids. Founded in 2022 in Russia, Hydra had 17 million users at the time of closure, and has been the largest market on the dark web since the closure. By Y Abdel Samad 2022 Hansa and The Wall Street were two of the biggest Dark Web markets in Europe and across the world. They consisted of thousands of merchants. Popular darknet sites.Royal Market, dark web market.Protonmail, dark web market.Sonar Secure chat, dark web market.Vice. But the most exciting story in economics is one where an innovation disrupts a market and creates new ones. So once he said the dark web.
'Treasure hunter' Dark Web marketplace Hydra seized and shuttered by German cyber police. Hydra Market operated on a vastly different model. Dark Web Intelligence Market Size, Share, Trends and industry analysis 2022 darknet market now available from IndustryARC. Report reveals Dark Web Intelligence Market Market in. Popular darknet sites.Royal Market, dark web market.Protonmail, dark web market.Sonar Secure chat, dark web market.Vice. German authorities were able to shut down Hydra Market, a prominent darknet portal known for selling narcotics as well as offering lucrative. By Y Abdel Samad 2022 Hansa and The Wall Street were two of the biggest Dark Web markets in Europe and across the world. They silkkitie darknet market consisted of thousands of merchants.
Dark web market loaders, dark web market dark web market malware. The diagram below shows the prevalence of dark web ads for particular. German authorities were able to shut down Hydra Market, a prominent darknet portal known for selling narcotics as well as offering lucrative. Relationship to the State, takes on the relationship between Dark Web markets and state violence. Specifically, I consider a shift in thinking among Dark. On the same day, European authorities announced they had also deep web drug url pulled the plug on Silkkitie, another dark web marketplace. "No matter where they. Repeated searches of markets on the dark web have found negligible trace of illegal wildlife products. This news is troubling.
In fact, researchers Daniel Moore and Thomas dark web market Rid of King’s College London found the majority of dark websites are used for criminal activity, primarily drugs, money laundering and trading in stolen credentials. A few hours later, I immediately placed an order into my account and the money was paid to my account. Arthur Blank is a businessman, philanthropist, and owner of the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League. The alleged owners, Tal Prihar, 37, and Michael Phan, 34, both from Israel, were arrested Monday, Prihar in France and Phan in Israel, where they remain in custody. But beneath the surface, there’s a web of secrets that few have gateways to. Saya mendapat uang saya tepat waktu, terima kasih teman-teman, Anda menyelamatkan saya dan hidup saya! The Silk Road NTC Vendor List, referenced above, dark web market contained a list of vendors on Silk Road with over $100,000. This means that its users expect and are entitled to anonymity. Previously, the tool was available only on Tor, an anonymous web browser used to access the dark web. If you want to buy these type gallery or want to get affiliate commission, then you may explore link for more information. I received a better working knowledge of the dark web in general. Plus, motifs such as Skulls and bones are a great symbol to add to your look if you want to keep your style creepy.
“As I’ve already said, I didn’t manage to find any feedback on that website, though I tried hard. Harmon, who maintained a residence in the nation of Belize during his criminal activity, also faces assessment of a $60 million civil monetary penalty from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, authorities said.”
If you thought your nerdy classmate could never ever become a drug lord, you might have to change your mind. Cybercrime already surpasses the total of black market marijuana and deep web drug store cocaine sales, Norton says, which totals. Associated Press writers Frank Jordans in Berlin, Frank Bajak in Boston and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Statements Ulbricht made in college and posts he made online show he leaned libertarian. Even if they do leave feedback for Amazon products, it’s more likely negative reviews. Seattle overdosed three weeks after he bought pills deep web drug markets from Pharma-Master in March 2016. An alternative theory brought up by those who were not able to withdraw their funds was an exit scam of the admins. Jim doesn’t concern himself much with political activism, but he does think the dark web has its public safety benefits. Currently it is the only available cryptocurrency to use on our marketplace due to its higher security and anonimity. Exploit kits are automated attack tools that first compromise websites, and then exploit vulnerable browsers of site visitors in order to spread malware or carry out other attacks. Ross Ulbricht's defense team argues Silk Road made buying and selling drugs safer". You didn’t mention that Alexandre Cazes committed suicide in his Thailand jail cell.
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The 37-year-old reality star - who is imminently expecting her third child via a surrogate - debuted a short bob in December but has since had extensions put in. She said of why she was ditching her blunt bob, "I'm gonna put extensions in 'cause my short natural blunt is annoying me, so thank you Violet for all of the unbelievable hair".
Kim Kardashian had hard, high-risk pregnancies for both of her previous children, and had advised by doctors that taking on that kind of physical burden a third time could be very unsafe.
But Kim isn't being too strict about her diet it seems.
She also talked about his style consultations throughout their relationship.
She said: 'It is frustrating like to not be able to do it on your own. Kardashian West wrote on Twitter.
Yep, Kim shared a photo of two Louis Vuitton bins via Instagram Stories on Wednesday, with the snap showing a blue container next to a black one which are both covered in the luxury brand's iconic LV monogram.Читайте также: Supreme Court appears likely to approve Ohio's voter purging
When she returned home, Kim vowed that she may never wear jewelry again.
An insider close to the couple told E!
Over the past year, there have been lots of vague reports that Kanye West is working on new music.
"We had a massive Christmas this year and between my Mom's party, Christmas and New Years..."
"Because they're all about getting women back on track... they've got a 20% off sale going on right now if you want to start 2018 off right... trust me, you're going to want to check them out". Along with their security team, Kim and Kanye have made plans to keep intruders out.
Kim Kardashian shocks fans by posting photos with grills, after she vowed not to flaunt pricey, luxury items following her 2016 Paris robbery.При любом использовании материалов сайта и дочерних проектов, гиперссылка на обязательна.
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On June 11 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 held at Los Angeles Convention Center, Electronic Arts (EA) announced that its next edition of popular franchise Battlefield 5 would feature a Battle-Royale mode, which was first introduced by rival Epic Games. The announcement sent shares of the gaming giant up almost 2.5% on the next day.
In the one month since the announcement, EA shares have increased almost 4%. Battlefield 5 is set for launch on October 16 and we expect the rally to continue till then. It is still perhaps not too late to benefit from last month’s announcement. It may be noted that the gaming giant’s shares have increased 32% since the beginning of this year, compared to 3.3% by S&P 500 index.
Battle-Royale is a multi-player feature that allows as many as 100 players to fight each other at a common gaming environment till only the winner is left standing. It was introduced by Epic Games last year in its widely-popular Fortnite, and later adapted by PUBG, developed by South Korean gaming company Bluehole.
Thanks to the huge popularity of the format, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) had recently announced that it would incorporate Battle-Royale to its own flagship title Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Reiterating its overweight rating on EA stock, Piper Jaffray had recently expressed optimism that Battlefield 5 would provide a fillip to the company’s sales. The rating agency expects the game’s sale to be 16 million units in fiscal 2019, which would help EA regain some of the market share it lost to PUBG and Fortnite.
Apart from this, Anthem, a multi-player title that allows gamers to battle it out in super-cool exosuits, is coming out in February 2019. Anthem is developed by BioWare, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts.
Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AlphaStreet, Inc.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) reported fourth quarter 2022 earnings results today. Revenue increased 12% year-over-year to $1.14 billion. Net income attributable to Harley-Davidson, Inc. rose 94% YoY to $42 million,
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) this week issued a cautious outlook for the first quarter of 2023, after reporting stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results. The chipmaker did not provide full-year guidance,
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) reported fourth quarter 2022 earnings results today. Revenue declined 4% year-over-year to $32.17 billion. Net income fell 55% to $4.6 billion while EPS dropped 52%


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AS Nigeria makes move to reclaim over 10million metric tonnes of lost transit cargoes, that factors that initially led the loss of this category of the country’s trade to neighbouring countries are still very much present in the Nigerian ports.
The 10million metric tonnes of transit cargoes are from Niger alone have been distributed amongst five neighbouring countries namely Ghana, Togo, Republic of Benin, and Ivory Coast.
The issue of port has also been given as the major factor militating against the the return of these cargoes to Nigerian ports.
In an exclusive interview with Vanguard, the country representative of the Niger Council of Public Transport Users, NCPTU, Alhaji, Idi Homissou told Vanguard that high duty rate and other associated port cost actually drove Nigerien importers to port of neighbouring countries.
Homissou said that while 4.3million metric tonnes of the 10million metric tonnes of transit cargo has been taken to Togo, Nigerien importers have also moved 2.5mliion metric tonnes of their transit cargo to Togo.
For Ghana and Ivory Coast,1.8million metric tonnes and 400,000 metric tonnes were taken over them respectively, while Nigeria is left with a paltry 200,000metric tonnes of transit cargoes from Niger.
“The issue of port cost is the major challenge importers from Niger are facing in Nigeria,even though we see some level of efficiency, the high duty rate is still an issue that must be looked into.” he added
He explained that Nigeria and Niger used to be a single country until the Europeans came and separated it and carved Niger out of Nigeria.
The Nigerien representative in Nigeria said that Nigerian ports are much more nearer to Jibiya (a border town between both countries) than Togo or Ghana.
He further said that from Ghana to Niger, it is about 3,400 kilometer as against 1,300kilometers from Lagos to Jibiya in Niger.
He disclosed that transit cargo from Niger was lost to other countries long before the ports were concessioned adding that the seeming efficient services currently being experienced at the port is what is attracting importers from Niger.
Homissou also said that the issue of safe passage of their goods has been a source of concern until the leadership of the Nigeria Customs Service assured them of safe passage of transit cargoes.
“Naturally, Nigeria is the nearest country to Niger, and it makes sense for us to move our cargoes through Nigeria but if the Customs duty is as high as it is now then we may have to look else where for us to transit our cargoes.
Even what we pay to Nigerian Customs officials to escort our goods to the border is very exorbitant when compared to what other countries collect from us.
“While other countries collect payment per convoy, in Nigeria, we pay per container” he said
He also disclosed that there have been situation where the Nigerian Shippers’ Council has to come to the rescue of the a vessel that almost got stranded with Nigerien transit cargoes on board.
He commended the effort of the management of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council for trying to woo Nigerien importers back from Nigeria
Homissou also told Vanguard that the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has visited importers in Niger and assured them of quick passage of their cargo through the Nigerian port system.


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Google has updated the Australian version of its Maps application, which coincides with the search giant announcing that next week, it will update its global service so that maps can be embedded into any Web page using an iframe.
At a press event in Sydney on Tuesday, Google senior product manager, Carl Sjogreen explained that from now on, if an Australian search query contains a place name, such as “pizza Surry Hills”, a map box displaying local businesses that match the query will be displayed before the main search results.
“It seems straightforward but this kind of experience is not easy to find on other mapping sites. Type three words, find a result, get driving directions? I challenge you to find that on any of the other sites in Australia as easily,” he said.
Google’s increasing focus on local markets is driven by the vast majority of searches being directed at local services and businesses, according to Sjogreen.
“Now when you do searches for local businesses on Google.com, the interesting local results appear as well — with a map and with the most relevant places highlighted.
“We have over nine million Australians that use Google everyday and our estimates show that something like 50 percent of Web queries are local or map related in nature,” said Sjogreen.
Google also announced that next week it will make life much easier for users that want to share a Google Map using their Web page or blog by providing some code that will allow Google Maps to be used almost anywhere on the Internet.
“This makes it easy to take a Google map and make it accessible from any other Web site,” said Sjogreen.
Local Google means local adverts
Australian businesses are now able to purchase advertising space within Google Maps search results. The offering allows for customisable icons and text to appear both in the results and on the map itself, said Jeremy Wood, Google Australia’s field product specialist.
“It functions as an ad type from within adwords,” said Wood.
Google is also increasing its focus on user generated content with the option to search all public My Maps via a link at the bottom of the map search results. Although not completely integrated into Google Maps search results, Sjogreen said that this would be something Google will investigate.


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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently discussed the importance of protecting children's personal information from identity thieves during a testimony before the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. An FTC official told the committee, "Protecting consumers--especially vulnerable consumers such as children--against identity theft and its consequences is a critical component of the commission's consumer protection mission." The testimony also detailed initiatives the FTC is using to fight identity theft. Meanwhile, the FTC also announced that it has released a publication, Protecting Your Child's Personal Information at School, to advise parents about how to protect their children from identity theft.
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The Andhra Pradesh government headed by Prime Minister YS Jagmohan Reddy has decided to end the black ticket threat. The government has introduced a new online platform through which moviegoers will book their tickets at affordable prices.
The government also set fixed prices for films. Movie buffs will now book movies in your APFDC screens portal. “It will help to know how many tickets were sold at the price, how much GST was charged, and other details, to check for tax evasion,” said Andhra Pradesh Film Development Corporation Managing Director, Vijay Reddy.
“It is unlikely that an additional fee of 20-25 rupees per ticket will be charged by other gates,” said one of the officials. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Asia Pacific Film Distribution Center and the film exhibitor that the collection achieved by the film portal will be attributed to the exhibitor on a daily basis.
There will be no cancellation of prior agreements between movie exhibitors and online ticket sales portals. The government does not want to monopolize any portal on the Internet. Recently, the Competition Committee India Make an order regarding an online web portal for selling movie tickets online.
The government also said moviegoers are free to choose any gate, but if they choose APFDC, they will book tickets at a much lower price than the others. The official said, “The government has been working hard for some time to make movie tickets available to everyone. For this initiative, many meetings and discussions have taken place with many famous movie stars.”
Furthermore, he said, “The government has made it clear that it will implement transparent rates through this portal.” Speaking to the media, APFDC MP Vijay Kumar Reddy said, “Theatre owners should only implement the prices set by the government. Therefore, we are making the online system available.”


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Nick Sampson, co-founder of Gardena-based electric vehicle manufacturer Faraday and Future Inc., resigned on Oct. 30 after calling the company “effectively insolvent.”
Sampson’s departure is the latest defection from Faraday; the company’s vice president and chief engineering designer Peter Savagian left on Oct. 29.
Sampson is one of Faraday’s three co-founders and served as senior vice president of product strategy for the company. In an email obtained by The Verge, Sampson said “the company is effectively insolvent in both its financial and personnel assets, it will at best will limp along for the foreseeable future.”
“I feel that my role in Faraday Future is no (longer) a path that I can follow, so I will leave the company, effective immediately. I cannot continue knowing the devastating impact we are having on the lives of our employees, their families and loved ones as we as the ripple effect this will have on lives throughout our suppliers and the industry as a whole.”
Sampson said in the email that he would consider returning to the company if circumstances “should materially change.”
Founded 2014, Faraday made headlines in June 2018 after receiving a $2 billion investment from Chinese real estate firm Evergrande Group. Evergrande gave Faraday an initial installment of $800 million, which ran out just under two months later in July. After being denied a request for the remaining $1.2 billion from Evergrande Group, Faraday took the case to arbitration in Hong Kong, where an arbitrator allowed Faraday to seek up to $500 million in new investment money from investors approved by Evergrande.
A statement provided by a Faraday spokesman confirmed Sampson and Savagian’s departures, and suggested creditor Evergrande was to blame for the financial hardships.
“Recent actions taken by Evergrande is causing Faraday Future to experience extraordinary financial hardship," the statement said. "The investor has intervened in the company’s capital planning and is preventing Faraday Future from utilizing our assets, which requires (us) to take some very difficult yet necessary actions.”
To conserve funds, Faraday Chief Executive Jia Yueting announced unpaid furloughs for employees who began working after May 1, 2018, according to The Verge, which pegs Faraday’s monthly payroll at about $10 million. Currently, hourly workers who have been with the company more than six months are not subject to the furloughs but they have been demoted to minimum wage, while full-time staff workers are operating under reduced salaries of $50,000 annually, a roughly 20 percent wage cut.
The Faraday spokesman noted the furlough, an unpaid leave of absence, is likely to run through December and that “all employees will continue to receive healthcare benefits if they previously received benefits them.”
According to Menlo Park–headquartered financial services firm Robert Half International Inc., the average salary for a moderately skilled quality assurance and testing engineer is an annual $71,000. Developers and program analysts make an average of $87,000 yearly, while skilled developers can pull in salaries up to $148,500, according to Robert Half.
The electric sedan Faraday plans to bring to market costs roughly $180,000, compared to Tesla Inc.’s Model S Sedan, which retails for an estimated $75,700.
In August 2017, Faraday agreed to lease a 700,000 square-foot factory in Hanford, promising the creation of some additional 1,300 jobs.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Hanford factory lease was paid for by a $14 million loan from New York–based Innovatus Capital Partners after Faraday put its Gardena headquarters up for collateral.
“This was an extremely tough decision to make, and we recognize the emotional stress and financial strain this puts on people’s personal lives. We are grateful to all of the hundreds of employees who are willing to stay and continue to work on the FF 91 core project, as well as those who will be on a temporary furlough,” the Faraday statement said. “In addition, we take our relationship with our suppliers seriously, and we hope to receive support and understanding from our global partners as Faraday Future overcomes our difficulties.”
Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.
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- Silicon Beach Report Feb. 27: Faraday Future Continues Furloughs
- Faraday Future Sells Gardena Headquarters
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- Silicon Beach Report Nov. 30: Bankruptcy on Horizon for Faraday Future?
- Silicon Beach Report October 26: Faraday Future Faces Further Financial Troubles


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2019 Hyundai Elantra facelift will get redesigned exterior and updated interior while the engines could be BSVI compliant
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) will be on a product offensive this year as the arrival of the Venue compact SUV on May 21 will be followed by a range of new launches. It includes the electric version of Kona along with the new generation Grand i10. The hatchback is expected to be accompanied by the facelifted Elantra during this festive season and here are the five changes you need to know on the updated D-segment sedan:
1. Completely Revised Exterior:
The biggest update in the facelifted Elantra will be on the exterior. The Elantra is already a top-class sedan in terms of elegance and the changes made to the facelift will further enhance its appeal. It gains a redesigned triangular-shaped headlamps, revised bumpers up front and rear, brand new fog lamp housing, slimmer Cascading front grille, redesigned bonnet section, new boot structure, sportier set of alloy wheels and more appealing LED tail lamps with new graphics.
2. Updated Interior:
The 2019 Elantra will come equipped with an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, updated processor for intuitive operation, redesigned multi-functional steering wheel and revised instrument console as well as new switchgear.
3. Could Get Blue Link Connectivity As Venue:
Hyundai unveiled the new generation Sonata last month with features such as a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.23-inch infotainment display with Blue Link services. The upcoming Elantra is anticipated to get the in-car connectivity solutions as the soon-arriving Venue compact SUV.
4. Launch Likely This Festive Season:
With rising competition, Hyundai is expected to debut the updated Elantra during the festive season (September or October) to capitalise on the positive buying sentiments customers will have during that period.
Do not expect any mechanical changes to accompany the facelifted Elantra as the existing 1.6-litre diesel and 2.0-litre petrol powertrains will be carried over. However, since the executive sedan will likely go on sale towards the closure of this year, the engines could be updated to meet BSVI compliance.
Spy Image Source: IAB


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05 September 2002
As part of its continuing war on terror, America is beefing up its checks at ports outside its borders. David Arminas examines how purchasing professionals should respond
Delivery times look set to increase as the US steps up its customs checks at sea ports around the world.
In a continuing effort to beef up security after 11 September, inspectors from the US Customs Service will be based at a select few - 20 - overseas ports designated as official entries to America.
Containers passing through any other ports will be subject to more stringent searches and paper-checks. This means the eight days normally taken for a container to cross the Atlantic may rise to two weeks or more.
As our news story shows, just-in-time (JIT) and extended supply chains are threatened by this restrictive customs inspection network.
The reality is increasingly that security of supply is the main competitive edge for many firms, and only purchasers can deliver that.
For purchasers, the key question must be whether their supply chains will be secure and flexible enough to cope with logistics disruptions. The forthcoming US customs regime is the first such test.
Purchasers must ask themselves whether their supply chains will perform under this regime as expected by their internal and external customers.
The question is important because it raises cost issues about supply chain efficiencies that are a main factor in competitiveness.
If costs go up because of the inspections, purchasers will have to examine their logistics and overseas supplier networks carefully.
Threats to supply chain logistics hit at the heart of a company's competitiveness. Communication between purchasers, logistics heads and operations managers will become increasingly important. They will have to co-operate on major corporate decisions, such as whether a company abandons JIT manufacturing now on the assumption that security of supply is or will be impossible.
One aspect of this is whether managers believe contingency plans will sustain JIT in times of disrupted logistics and supplies.
Whatever form of manufacturing is undertaken and whatever industry a company works in, contingency plans will be needed. If there are overseas suppliers in the supply chain, then contingency plans will include a database of local suppliers and their capacity and capabilities should late delivery - or non-delivery - threaten production and in the worst case jeopardise a company's financial stability.Local sourcing
If another 11 September happens and access to overseas suppliers is cut off, purchasers could find themselves in heavy competition for local firms that are inundated with calls from procurement directors. A resourceful supply chain professional will already have avenues of communication open with these alternate suppliers to ensure they get priority.
Issues of security will become more important in all aspects of supply chain or purchasing activity. Since 11 September purchasers have been working in a much more high-risk environment and it doesn't appear to be getting any easier. Never before has risk assessment been as important a factor in supply chain activities.
But only the largest companies can afford employees who deal solely with security matters, such as travel and executive safety.
Purchasers with little or no experience of evaluating security will find themselves having to decide when they have enough of it. The cost of providing security will become more important to supply chain activity. Insurance is yet another issue where costs will rise according to perceived risks.
These issues are not likely to go away in the near future. America, its allies and many Islamic states are clashing over an expected US attack on Iraq, the country thought to pose the biggest danger since 11 September.
Purchasers can expect continuing rises in freight costs because of added security, slower shipping times and more paperwork.
Also, the cost of improving security measures such as security consultancy is likely to increase and become integral to purchasing functions at all levels.
In this climate, how purchasers handle the unforeseen and unexpected will be a test of their professionalism.


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Minneapolis / MN. (cg) Cargill Company is unfolding its plans to build a «Chocolate House» complex at its Belgian site in Mouscron with the aim of facilitating the development of new products and improving collaboration with customers. The complex will be adjacent to Cargill’s existing chocolate factory and will consist of an innovative chocolate experience center, a unique pilot factory, a sensory lab and a creative workspace for Cargill’s European R+D team of chocolate engineers.
The new 700 m2 complex will allow our customers to experience the comfort of an all-in-one development process. Inspiration, innovation and training will be key ingredients, along with pilot lab testing, sensory testing and finally commercial scale production – all in a single location.
«Innovation comes first at our Chocolate House, as that’s where we bring all our expertise and resources together,» says Harold Poelma, Director of Cargill Cocoa + Chocolate. «It will allow us to work with customers every step of their product development process. Ideas will be turned into reality: our structured way of working makes it easier to implement innovations and bring new products to market more efficiently and faster».
The Chocolate House is undoubtedly the only one of its kind and combines three essential functions under one roof. In the Chocolate Experience Center, customers can get fresh inspiration from Cargill’s gourmet chocolate chefs, brainstorm on new product concepts and take their chocolate knowledge to the next level in in-depth training sessions. The pilot plant on the same site allows product developers to test their concepts in small-scale production runs that are a true simulation of working conditions on industrial lines. The sensory lab in the same building guarantees that the new products meet consumer expectations in terms of taste, appearance and texture, among other things.
The new building will house a team of more than 40 chocolate engineers, including sensory experts, technical service providers and R+D scientists. The complex will be the hub for all of Cargill’s chocolate, coating and filling activities.
«There’s a very good reason why we’re just making this investment in Belgium,» says Inge Demeyere, Managing Director of Cargill Chocolate Europe. «Our country has a unique place in the world of chocolate. Our Chocolate House builds on that rich tradition and offers our customers a unique place to discover what’s possible with our high-tech facilities and our wide range of brands, including Cargill, Veliche Gourmet and Smet».
Construction has already started. The pilot center is scheduled to open its doors in the fall of 2021. The chocolate experience center and sensory lab will be operational from January 2022. The new complex will be good for the creation of about ten local jobs.
In line with Cargill’s commitment to sustainability, the new complex is equipped with innovative technologies that reduce its ecological footprint. For example, the choice of geothermal energy will drastically reduce energy consumption.
This investment follows a series of previous innovations in the adjacent Mouscron chocolate factory. In 2019, for example, we commissioned a new production line for low-sugar chocolate and opened a production line for liquid chocolate in 2018.


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Reviews New registrations: Hybrid electric drive for the first time before Diesel
How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car?
When shoppers are considering the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle (EV), one of the first questions they ask is, "how much does it cost to charge?" While it's easy to answer that question for a gas-powered car by looking at its fuel economy and your gas station receipt, it gets a bit more complicated for an electric car. If you're charging from a home charging station, the cost of charging an electric vehicle is based on the vehicle'sIf you're charging from a home charging station, the cost of charging an electric vehicle is based on the vehicle's energy efficiency and the cost of electricity, which can vary greatly depending on where you're charging.
Around each fifth car buyers in the European Union has decided in the third quarter for a vehicle with hybrid electric drive. Thus, these were more recent than diesel cars, as the European Manufacturer Association Acea announced on Friday in Brussels.
compared to the same period of the previous year, the information was approved after almost a third more hybrid vehicles, especially in Germany, Italy and France. This corresponds to 455,000 vehicles or a market share of almost 21 percent. Plug-in-hybrid and pure electric cars each make up about 10 percent of new registrations. The proportion of diesel vehicles is almost 18 percent.
Video: The first BMW IX - electric all-wheel drive and nude wheel slip limitation (automototV)
Most newly authorized vehicles are still petrol engine, whereby the tendency goes back: In the third quarter, nearly 855,500 vehicles with one Such drive approved, which corresponds to a minus of 35 percent in the previous year. The proportion of gasoline slips below 40 percent.
"Fast & Furious 10"-comeback by Dwayne Johnson? Vin Diesel begs to return his "little brother" .
very publicly have ridden Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson and it became clear that the two alpha grandchildren did not do each other well. Too different are the labor philosophies, The superstar explained a clear cancellation of a return to the main series. He only wanted to continue with the spin-off series "Hobbs & Shaw".


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Lara Baltaji, Hadi Knaiber, Batoul Ramadan, Abdallah Yahfoufi, Nour Azakir, Herbert Pritzki, Shadi Youssef
Background about the Lebanese Crisis:
For nearly three years now, Lebanon has been facing the most devastating financial crisis in the modern era. The crisis started in October 2019 and aggravated by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and by the massive Port explosion on August 4, 2020. As a result, the black market dollar exchange of the Lebanese Lira increased from 1515 L.L. (before the crisis) to around 40,000 L.L(today) marking an almost 2500% increase.
You can find below a visual that shows the change of the official LBP/Dollar exchange rate over time until this November 2022.
This huge increase came with countless economic impacts on inflation, unemployment and poverty. Lebanon’s severe crisis which was blamed on the government’s corruption and failure has led to massive impacts on the Lebanese currency causing extreme poverty, unemployment, medicine shortage, electricity shortage, fuel shortage, malnutrition and much more.
You can find below a visual that shows the change of the Food Inflation and the Food Consumer Price Index with the LBP/Dollar Exchange Rate over time until this March 2022.
The huge inflation was directly reflected on the prices of basic food commodities in Lebanon ever since the start of the economic crisis in 2019. What is meant by basic food commodities is the minimum raw agricultural or animal products sufficient to satisfy the nutrition needs of an average household which comprise of:
- Cereals and Tubers (rice, wheat, corn, starch)
- Meat, Fish, Eggs and Seafood
- Dairy (milk, cheese, labne)
- Oil and Fats
- Vegetables and Fruits
- Sugar and Salt
The slope of increase before 2021, however, was quite subtle due to the fact that food commodities were subsidised by the government back then. As the Central Bank started to run out of resources to keep the subsidies, the government lifted them in March 2021. That is when the increase in prices of basic food commodities started to follow a much steeper slope.
The below interactive visual shows the change in average prices of food commodities in Lebanon over the years.
According to the World Bank, food price fluctuations between Lebanese markets are caused by the Lebanese government’s “deliberately inadequate policy responses”. Due to the inadequate policy responses by the Lebanese government and due to the fact that Lebanon follows a free market economy, the problem of increased food prices started to worsen as not only are prices increasing, but now they are further inconsistent between markets in the different Lebanese regions . This adds an additional overwhelming problem to the many hardships Lebanese people are facing today.
In order to provide evidence for this issue, we decided to visit two supermarkets in Beirut and observe the differences in food prices. The variation in prices of the same food products was absolutely surprising.
The below figure shows the price receipts of the two supermarkets.
Our next step was to explore two datasets issued by World Bank and World Food Programme Price Database. Our data explorations go hand in hand with our observed hypothesis which reveals that “there exist extreme and unexplained variations in food prices around markets in different Lebanese regions”.
The variation in prices of different food commodities has been an existing situation for many years now in Lebanon. This situation has exacerbated ever since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2019 as the price control responses have become inadequate.
The following dashboard shows a comparison of prices of the different food categories between the different Lebanese districts over the years until 2021
The following bar graph shows a comparison of prices of specific food products between the different Lebanese districts over the years until 2022
Below we present the percentage difference of some food products between different Lebanese districts in 2022 (until October):
- The average price of a one kilogram bag of wheat flour in Mount Lebanon was 28,000 LBP whereas in Baabak-El Hermel 10,000 LBP, recording a 95% difference.
- The average price of a 160 gram Akkawi cheese in the South was 60,000 LBP whereas in Akkar 40,000 LBP, recording a 40% difference for cheese.
- The average price of a can of powdered milk (2.5 kg) in Mount Lebanon was 325,000 LBP whereas in Akkar 210,000 LBP, recording a 40% difference for milk.
- The average price of a 3.6 Litre gallon of olive oil in the South was 500,000 LBP whereas in El Nabatieh 430,000 LBP, recording a 15% difference for oil.
And the list of unexplained price variations between districts just keeps growing and growing.
Finally, in order to further prove our hypothesis, we conducted interviews with random Lebanese residents walking on Beirut’s seaside. When asked whether they were noticing price variations between supermarkets, most interviewees agreed that there exist obvious price variations of basic food commodities between different supermarkets. They added that this variation is not related to the location of the markets, for in many cases they have noticed that even markets lying walking steps away from one another vary in food prices. This means that the price variations cannot be explained by the products’ cost of transportation. It is only explained by the fact that there exists no governmental supervision.
In Lebanon, there are laws that protect consumers from monopoly and from overpricing. However, as with many other laws, the government is unable to strongly implement these laws and monitor the prices of the supermarkets especially in the areas that are far from Beirut. For that, we propose a website, which can later be developed into a mobile application. The website shows the official prices of basic food products in the Lebanese market which are regularly updated by the Ministry of Economy whenever a significant change in the LBP exchange rate occurs. It also displays the prices of these same products in different Lebanese supermarkets. This way, Lebanese consumers will be able to check the prices of products before they go shopping, and thus can tell which supermarkets are following the official prices specified by the ministry and which supermarkets are overpriced.
We are working on involving Lebanese consumers in our website. As we all know, the Ministry of Economy has a limited number of employees. Thus they will not be able to monitor the prices in all the Lebanese shops. A better way for monitoring prices in different supermarkets would be to include consumers in the process by giving them the chance to report prices directly on our website. This means that consumers will act as data collectors, and thus can contribute to the success of this project. Now, the ministry will be able to track the overpriced supermarkets and take the necessary measures.
We also hope to develop the website idea into a mobile application, which is a proposition heavily backed by the Ministry of Economy.
The application concept we came up with to tackle the problem needed to be validated in order to be put into action. We needed means to check if our ideology could in fact lead to a change in the real world or it is only a theory on a piece of paper.
Therefore, we decided to take the view points of two parties:
- The Lebanese citizens which are the potential future users of our application in order to check if they are actually willing to use it and if it could lead to a change in their lives and to the country in general
- The General Director of the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade, Dr. Mohamad Abou Haidar to assess the practicality and the feasibility of the concept by a professional in the field.
In the streets of Beirut, we went down asking random people about the issue and the proposed solution. All in all, people supported the idea and many claimed that they would be using the application without any doubt and believed that it would make a positive change in the pricing system in Lebanon.
On 25 November 2022, our team visited the director general of the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade, Dr. Mohamad Abou Haidar. We interviewed Dr. Abou Haidar about how practical it is to do such an application and how much it could lead to change and the interview was recorded. Dr. Abou Haidar claimed that this application would lead to a significant change in several aspects. First, this application will help fight corruption in terms of pricings because it will be directly synced to the ministry, so any abnormal pricings will be directly reported to the ministry and the issue will be transferred to the responsible authorities that are able to take any legal action. The ministry also is trying to work on implementing online services that protect consumers’ rights along with the UNDP and other organizations. So, this application will be aligned with the goal of the ministry, since it is online-based. In addition to that, it will play a role in controlling the pricings in the market since it substitutes the need for the huge number of employees and the human resources needed that, no matter how many, cannot roam around the entire supermarkets and stores in all the Lebanese regions. He also said that the complaints of the people will reach the ministry in a more efficient and effective way, because they are via the application and therefore, the ministry can know about the concerns and the issues in a much faster way. Finally, Dr. Mohamad summarized the idea by being a “win-win situation” for both the ministry and the consumers. This is because it will fulfil the needs of the consumers by knowing the exact pricings of the items in any supermarket with a press of a button, will ensure that the rights of the consumers are protected, and will lead to the right selection of the place to be visited. It will also help the ministry in terms of protecting consumers’ rights, censorship and supervision.
The concept website was presented to the General Director of the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and again, the solution was validated and approved by the ministry by providing us the full support in order to create this website as soon as possible in order to help the people followed by the country in general.
Ending with a future perspective, we believe that this problem is crucial to be solved in the very near future because of the damage it is causing in several aspects ranging from economic, financial to social. We, the people and the ministry have bets that our application concept could be a positive game changer in this issue. Solving this problem marks one of the battles against corruption, and is an attempt to make this country perfect, again.


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Panamax, an open-source management platform to ease the development and deployment of any application in a Linux Docker environment, was made available this week by CenturyLink.
In a flurry of activity, Oracle has announced a number of new offerings for enterprise users. Latest news involves Oracle Database 12c, Oracle Project Procurement, Oracle Linux 7, and Oracle Data Cloud.
The possibility that the Tizen operating system can survive is dropping. So the scheduled third-quarter launch in Russia of the Samsung Z smartphone, which is designed for the mobile OS, is being postponed.
Continuing to walk the walk when it comes to addressing the big data needs of its enterprise customers, HP has invested a whopping $50 million in Hadoop distributor Hortonworks.
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AR Not Changing the App Economy (Yet)
Ahead of its launch, Apple's ARKit, which lets developers build augmented reality (AR) apps, was billed as a transformative new technology for mobile devices. Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook has talked AR up whenever possible. Despite all that buzz, however, a new study shows that ARKit hasn't made a huge impact on how the app economy operates – at least, not yet. Sensor Tower, an intelligence firm that tracks apps for marketing purposes, has released a study showing which apps and services are driven by ARKit. It tracked the overall AR-only app economy, as well as the top ten in each subject category. (One thing to note: the apps discussed rely exclusively on augmented reality; those "regular" apps with additive AR features aren’t factored in.) While much of the pre-launch buzz around ARKit focused on utility apps, games remain AR's main driver. Sensor Tower's study suggests 35 percent of augmented reality apps are games, while 19 percent are utility apps. (Overall, though, utility apps may be finding their footing; App Annie notes that, in 2016, utility apps were ranked fifth for worldwide downloads.) [caption id="attachment_144363" align="aligncenter" width="1450"] Games enjoy the bulk of AR downloads.[/caption] AR-boosted entertainment apps came in third, followed by education, photo and video, lifestyle, and "other." Games don’t dominate the AR scene completely, however. The top paid AR app is TapMeasure, a measuring tool, while AR MeasureKit, a similar tool, is number four on the ‘top grossing’ list. A healthy number of books and apps for kids also appear on these lists. So what's the takeaway here? Despite some great AR apps (and interesting use-cases), the economy surrounding AR doesn't seem all that different from the one around traditional apps: games still rule, although "productivity" and utility apps make a strong showing. (Not all utility apps are suited for AR, mind you; for example, there's probably little point in an AR document viewer.) Also, keep in mind that ARKit is only about one month old, and we’ve yet to see what impact Google’s ARCore will have on the mobile AR space. Headsets may also surface new use-cases for AR (or make us want to use it more), but those aren't anywhere near ready for mass consumption.


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Nokia N8: Symbian Successor Due In October
by Ernest Doku
The Nokia N8 has finally been given a release date: it is to hit European shores in October 2010.
Despite the phone's good looks and a few hints from Nokia that they might be releasing Symbian phones in the future, it is has been confirmed that this handset will be the Finnish manufacturer's last effort to push the platform on an Nseries device.
A pre-emptive roasting of a pre-production model by serial leaker Eldar Murtazin has then hamstrung the N8's image ahead of it's launch. Nokia will find it very hard to claw back confidence after such an awful start.
paper, the N8's specs do look impressive: it's got a large capacitive
touchscreen, a 680Mhz processor and a 12 megapixel camera. However,
specs alone do little to make a great phone (just take a look at the
People want a phone that is easy, if not enjoyable to use, and after some supremely disappointing Symbian-based experiences in the past 18 months, Nokia are going to have to pull off a miracle to make the N8 have any impact on Apple's infamous competition.


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Spotify's mega launch in the US has probably alarmed Apple, whose pioneering iTunes service cut a new path in digital music business.
In 2010, Spotify paid labels a whopping $60 million in royalties, emerging as the second biggest paymasters to music labels after Apple iTunes. If Spotify replicates this success in North America, then iTunes will have reason to worry.
Although Spotify's music streaming service looks too good to be free, it does have a solid business model. Labels are paid royalty instead of a fee charged for each download. Though this means each song has to be streamed multiple times over for labels to make serious money through advertising, the experience so far has proved worthwhile.
It is no coincidence that leading music labels have considerable stake in Spotify, a giant cloud offering millions of songs.
Within the United States, Spotify also enjoys another unique advantage: Spotify's music streaming service is integrated with Facebook, which means users can easily share songs with friends.
Operating in only seven European countries, Spotify has 1.6 million paid subscribers and more than 10 million registered users. Spotify is seen as the future of digital music business and is billed to eclipse pioneer Apple iTunes.
Instead of selling individual downloadable tracks, Spotify will offer a three-tiered subscription model that lets customers choose between a free, ad-supported service, an ad-free subscription for $5 and a premium service available on mobile devices for $10.
Users can now stream whichever song they like to their computer or mobile phone. “We want to make it simple for people ... If you want to take your music with you, you shouldn’t have to worry about 15 different sync programs or anything else. It ought to be as simple as pressing play and it works. And ultimately when you get to that point, that’s when people are prepared to pay. People are prepared to pay for convenience,” Spotify founder Daniel Ek says.


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Guatam Patel has joined Battery Ventures as a partner focused on investments in India. He previously served as head of European operations for iGate, a business process outsourcing and IT services company. Patel will initially be based out of Battery's Silicon Valley office, but later this year will help open the firm's new location in Mumbai.
Battery Ventures, a venture capital and private equity firm focused on investing in innovation worldwide, today announced the addition of Gautam Patel to its investment team. Joining as Partner, Patel will focus on investments in India, supporting Battery's strategic goal of building out its global investment platform. Patel joins Battery with nearly 15 years of combined venture capital, private equity and operational experience, most recently serving as head of Europe at IT services/BPO company iGate.
Patel joins the firm's India investment team, including Ramneek Gupta and Mark Sherman. Battery has been investing in India since late 2004, concentrating on the Financial Services, Media, and Technology Sectors; it is currently investing BV VIII, a $750M fund. Patel will initially be based in the firm's Silicon Valley office, preceding his and colleague Gupta's move to Mumbai in the second half of the year.
“This is an exciting step in our plans to build out our India practice,” said Mark Sherman, Battery Ventures General Partner. “Gautam began in the Indian private equity market in 1997 when it was just getting off the ground, and a lot has happened since then. He shares our vision and passion for investing in the country, and has the essential blend of work experience in India, the US and Europe, which will help our portfolio companies scale globally. India is a major hub of entrepreneurial activity and innovation and represents an important geography in our global investment strategy.”
“In addition to the country's surging economy, we believe there are significant demographic, income patterns and lifestyle shifts that are creating opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors alike,” said Patel. “We expect an enormous amount of value to be created in the coming years, and it's great to join a firm that is willing to diligently search for the best companies in the most compelling sectors.”
Battery's current portfolio of direct investments in Indian-based companies includes:
– Tech Process: A leading provider of transaction and payment processing services across a variety of industries in India. Based in Mumbai.
– Tejas Networks: Developer and marketer of leading-edge optical networking products for worldwide customers. Based in Bangalore.
– Travelguru: A pioneering travel solutions company that offers travelers the opportunity to plan and purchase their hotel travel instantly, in a transparent, hassle-free, quick and smart way. Based in Mumbai.
– High Mark: India's newest credit bureau, based on a new-generation technology platform. Based in Mumbai.
In addition, as business has globalized and moved offshore, Battery has invested in numerous U.S.-based companies with major operations in India, including BladeLogic (acquired by BMC Software), Consona, Mformation, Movius, Netezza (NYSE Arca: NZ), Veraz Networks (NASDAQ: VRAZ) and Witness Systems.
About Gautam Patel
Prior to Battery, Gautam was the Head of Europe and a member of the leadership team at iGATE, a Nasdaq listed Technology/BPO/Infrastructure services firm. Previously, he was the head of Middle East at MphasiS, also a publicly listed Technology/BPO firm. In addition to day-to-day P&L responsibilities, Gautam completed the acquisition of an SAP company for the firm. Prior to MphasiS, Gautam founded 3Genesis, a venture-backed Indian wireless telco services firm with clients in the US and Europe.
He joined the Private Equity/VC industry in India in 1997, as it was just getting started, working in Mumbai for Indocean Chase Capital Partners and eVentures (where he incubated and spun out 3Genesis). Gautam began his career in finance in the U.S., working in New York and Chicago for investment banks Lazard Freres and Smith Barney. In these positions, he worked on a variety of cross-border transactions, including sell-side mandates, restructurings, share buybacks, and secondary market offerings. Gautam graduated from the University of Texas at Austin's management and technology program.
About Battery Ventures
Since 1983, Battery has been investing in technology and innovation worldwide. The firm partners with entrepreneurs and management teams across technology sectors, geographies and stages of a company's life, from start-up and expansion financing, to growth equity and buyouts.
Battery has supported many breakthrough companies around the world, including: Airespace (acquired by Cisco), Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), BladeLogic (acquired by BMC Software), Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY), LIFFE (acquired by Euronext), Neoteris (acquired by Netscreen), and Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR). Its current portfolio includes emerging firms such as Bazaarvoice, Netezza (NYSE Arca: NZ), Spot Runner, Tejas Networks, TradeKing, and Travelguru as well as more established companies such as ITA Software, Cortera and MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS).
From offices in Boston, Silicon Valley and Israel, Battery manages nearly $3B in committed capital. For more information, visit www.battery.com.


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The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities extends its congratulations to Fordham University for being the latest Catholic university to be designated a Fair Trade University! Fordham students have worked hard to create Students for Fair Trade (SFT), the official fair trade student organization at Fordham, and to incorporate fair trade products into daily life at the university.
SFT is a student-run club that promotes fair trade in business and consumption through education and advocacy. Through SFT, Fordham has been able not only to sell fair trade products at almost all of their restaurants and bookstores, but also to host employees of Alta Gracia, the only garment company in the global south to be certified for paying its workers a living wage.
Congratulations to Fordham for their great work in promoting fair trade!


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FORD Australia has not ruled out a start for the sizzling Focus RS.
Some British reports claim that the RS (Rallye Sport) is a quicker car than the potent Sierra RS Cosworth of the mid-1980s.
It will be launched in Europe in October and is reported to tackle 0-100km/h in just over six seconds.
With power close to 160kW, the Focus RS will represent a serious challenge to the long-running Subaru Impreza WRX.
The hot hatch will be considered for Australia following Ford's most important launch of the year, the BA Falcon in September.
"We'll buy one and have a look at it," Ford Australia president Geoff Polites said. "I would probably get Tickford to do the Australian Design Rule work on it. Then I would say it could be a case of getting it in in low numbers in the order of 25 cars."
The RS is 25mm lower than the standard Focus and has 18-inch Oz alloy wheels.
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AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.


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Christmas is always a fun time for kids. Nothing gives them more joy than unwrapping their presents on Christmas Day.
Sadly, this tradition might be something some kids take for granted, as so many kids in our area don't have the means to experience this joy.
But that could all change with your help this holiday season.
All you have to do is drop a new, unwrapped gift off at one of the many locations in Toledo that are participating in the Gift of Joy toy drive.
Service manager Jason Kelley said Toledo Auto Care wanted to get involved with the Gift of Joy toy drive to help the kids.
"We all have families with some children involved, so we like to make sure we're doing anything we can to help people have a better Christmas. It's a time of giving and being happy," Kelley said. "Some folks out there can't afford to have a really fun Christmas for their children, so this is a way we can help step in with our community and gather some toys and pass them out to the children."
Kelley believes everyone should participate in the toy drive to make sure the kids have a great Christmas, and to remember what Christmas is really about.
"Helping out the community is a big part of being a community, so if we can all help out and help these children, help the families out that may not have enough to provide a fun Christmas for their children. It's all about giving again," he said.
A few dollars out of your pocket could change a child's entire Christmas.


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FIRST “plaice” in a national chip shop competition is still in sight for one of three local businesses.
Fryz, in the Bretton Centre, Bretton, Peterborough, and Market Deeping’s The Boundary, in High Street, and Linfords, in Market Place, have scooped the top three spots in the regional finals of the National Fish and Chip Awards 2012.
Rob Brownlee, who owns Fryz in Bretton with wife Caroline and has a PHD in applied mathematics, said the secret to success is their “scientific approach” to cooking and staff training.
He said: “Batter. The number one mistake people make is to make it too thick. Ours is thin, light, crispy and natural.
“Fish and chips is the least processed fast food available.
“He added: There’s nothing artificial to it at all, just potatoes and fish in batter.
“And it helps that the best spuds in the country are grown in Cambridgeshire.
“We also have our own views and targets on sustainability, for example, spreading the mix of fish we use across the species.”
Paul Linford, who has run the family chip shop with his wife Pat for the last 22 years, said the secret to producing award-winning fish and chips came down to consistency.
He said: “We have three generations of fish friers in our family.
So our batter recipe has been handed down through the generations which helps make the fish one of the best in the area.”
No one was available from The Boundary to comment.
A mystery chip connoisseur will eat at all three chip shops by the end of September. .
The chip shop that wins out in the East of England will go on to the grand national final, with the award ceremony taking place in London in January 2012.


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Meet the Asus VR Headset
During the Computex Taipei, in the Asus booth is a VR headset all laden with leather straps that looks like a ZenWatch. Is this a VR headset from the tech giant?
Asus hasn’t announced in their laptop and phone announcement about their VR headset but when going around the Asus booth is a unique headset behind a display glass. It’s named as the “Asus VR” with zero explanation of what it actually is. The device sports leather straps which resembles a ZenWatch that is targeted more to fashion than for technology.
The company thinks augmented reality is more interesting than VR and have been publicly open about it. In addition, it will be releasing an AR headset in 2016. If any of these are planned or in the works, nothing was confirmed at Computex.


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Limitations in current regulations, lack of reporting culture cause for dangerous goods-related incidents
Developing a work culture where individuals feel free to report incidents without the fear of punishments, avoiding blame and taking responsibility was at its core.
The recent incident of fire at HKIA initiated many discussions among the air cargo industry safety professionals. Developing a work culture where individuals feel free to report incidents without the fear of punishments, avoiding blame and taking responsibility was at its core.
As several airlines announced embargoes on Vivo and logistics companies involved in the fire at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), air cargo dangerous goods experts and consultants discussed the need for a temporary ban, no-blame culture, just culture and training across the industry.
Paul Horner, managing director, Dangerous Goods Safety Group UK, said, “Placing embargoes on logistics companies each time we have an incident is maybe a bit harsh. Aviation safety should operate a ‘no blame culture' where we treat incidents as an opportunity to improve.”
Henrik Ambak, senior vice president, cargo operations worldwide at Emirates, informed that just culture and temporary bans after incidents are completely unrelated matters.
“It is normal practice that when a serious incident occurs that you then try to neutralise any apparent root causes until you have the final investigation outcome,” he said.
“Just culture is a workplace culture where staff as part of the continuous improvement process are encouraged to report incidents, risk and failures (typically confidentially) without fear of punishment. Noting that punishment may always apply for actions criminal, reckless or with done the intent to cause harm and damage,” he added.
Also Read: Need for no blame culture as logistics firms, Vivo banned after HKIA fire
After the fire, Emirates suspended the transport of products from Vivo. “We did not suspend the agent as the shipment as per initial information appear correctly declared and documented. This is not a punishment of Vivo but buying time for the investigation to give us the understanding of the true causes,” Ambak said.
On Sunday, April 11, 2021, one of the three air cargo pallets with Vivo Y20 smartphones and related accessories due to be shipped to Bangkok caught fire on the tarmac of HKIA before loading to an Airbus A330-200F aircraft of Hong Kong Air Cargo. The fire was later spread to the other two pallets as well.
Hong Kong Air Cargo immediately imposed an embargo on all shipments of Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo and the freight forwarders CargoLink Logistics HK and Sky Pacific Logistics HK. Carriers like SpiceJet, GoAir, Garuda, IAG Cargo, Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa Cargo also announced a ban on shipments of Vivo.
Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (HK CAD) has commenced an investigation to identify the cause of the fire.
No penalty culture
“When people feel free to report we learn and grow, when they don’t, we face potential catastrophe,” as described by David Alexander, general manager of Johannesburg-based Professional Aviation Services and ICAO AVSEC PM: aviation security and training specialist.
“A ‘no penalty’ culture would be in force when any person in an organisation would feel free to report anything they had seen or done (for example dropped a pallet of cell phones) without fear of repercussion. If this is not part of an organisations culture people would tend to hide their own mistakes whenever possible for fear of consequence or would not report something for fear of repercussion,” he said.
Regarding the just or no penalty culture he thinks that the air cargo community need to make some very important distinctions.
“Very importantly we are talking about an honest mistake or accident not a willful act of disobedience, destruction, or corporate sabotage. We are not talking about creating a corporate culture where ‘anything goes'. We are striving to create a learning and development culture where continuous improvement is part of organisational DNA,” said Alexander.
He points that organisations should search for root cause and not blame. “Avoid blame, it is toxic,” as he says it.
“Sometimes the default (particularly in a very high-profile incident) is to seek somebody, anybody, to blame. And preferable somebody outside of your organisation! It was them, not us, we did nothing wrong,” he said.
Eric Gillett, dangerous goods inspector at Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, said, “In a blaming culture where individuals are fired, fined or otherwise punished for making mistakes they are often hidden preventing lessons to be learned. But a balance needs to be struck as reckless or negligent behaviour should not go unpunished.”
Potential reasons for fire
Kamlesh Taank, managing director of Nairobi-based Dangerous Goods Specialists, argued that the best practice is training, as this limits risks involved in the safe transport of dangerous goods.
He raised five questions if the whole pallet or pallets, that caught fire had mobile phones with lithium-ion batteries.
1. Were the lithium-ion batteries tested as per the UN manual of tests and criteria?
2. Were the lithium-ion batteries of poor quality or counterfeits?
3. Were they packed, marked, labelled and declared as per the ICAO technical Instruction and the IATA DG regulations?
4. Were the shippers/forwarders personnel trained in the safe handling of dangerous goods?
5. Were the ground handling agents aware, of the presence of lithium batteries, whilst building up the airline pallets or offloading the same from the trucks etc.?
Meanwhile, Gillett suggested three potential causes of fire.
1. Damage due to mishandling. e.g. if the packages were dropped or pierced by forklift. If there isn’t a just culture, it’s unlikely that mishandling will be discovered unless shown on CCTV.
2. An absence of UN38.3 tests for example if the phones are counterfeit (presumably Vivo are fully aware of this requirement).
3. A manufacturing fault not captured by QC (like the Samsung Galaxy issue). I suspect that is why the carrier placed a ban on Vivo pending the conclusion of the investigation.
“The goods were virtually destroyed by the fire so determining 2 or 3 above may not be possible. Another element discussed in the media is the time that elapsed without RFFS in attendance and speculation that ground staff took video without calling them,” he added.
Gillett pointed to the limitations of current regulations and the need for a reporting culture. “Within many states, including the UK, there are millions of shippers as the population has easy access to mail services. In addition, exposure to undeclared dangerous goods has increased following the advent of e-commerce whereby goods are sold and distributed by an increased number of small and medium enterprises.”
“Shippers are not typically required to hold any aviation approval; therefore, states cannot proactively identify all shippers, nor schedule oversight on all their dangerous goods activities. Instead, some states implement regulatory actions in response to occurrence reports received. This necessitates a strong reporting culture within a state as the report provides the necessary input prompting an investigation and response aimed at preventing recurrence,” he added.
Gillett informed that ICAO Annex 6 will soon require the air operator to conduct a specific safety risk assessment on the range of items placed within cargo compartments.
“This presents a significant challenge to air operators because shippers and forwarders are the customers of airlines, not their service providers. Further, as cargo is often consolidated, and consolidations may themselves be consolidated prior to being ultimately offered for air transport, it can be difficult for the air operator to apply effective controls at source,” he said.


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The US imposed sanctions on more than 100 Russian companies and tightened the export ban
The US authorities announced a new round of sanctions against Russia, blacklisting more than a hundred companies, dozens of individuals, as well as more than a thousand different goods that are currently subject to an export embargo.
First, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced new sanctions. The agency imposed restrictions on 71 companies. Of these, 69 are Russian companies, one from Kyrgyzstan and one from Armenia. In addition, the Ministry of Trade banned the export to Russia and Belarus of 1,224 industrial goods, including electronics, fibers for reinforcing composite materials. Now an export and re-export license will be required for the supply of these products.
Later, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposes personal sanctions on 46 people, notably human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova and Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko, Russian billionaires Igor Kesayev and Vladimir Litvinenko. IN the sanctions list included not only Russians, but also citizens of Poland, Germany, India and other countries.
In addition, OFAC imposed blocking sanctions on almost 200 companies. Among them are gold mining companies Polyus and Polymetal.


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LISBON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The Portuguese government imposed fuel rationing at petrol stations on Monday as fuel-tanker drivers started a strike and it promised to prevent the labour action from paralysing the country at the height of the tourist season.
A strike in April was Portugal's worst outbreak of industrial unrest in years. Tanker drivers decided to stop work for the second time this year after talks with their employers over better pay and workers' rights failed.
The Socialist government declared an energy crisis on Friday ahead of the strike, allowing it to ensure full supplies to ports, hospitals, airports and other priority users.
The fuel rationing for the public restricts drivers to a maximum of 15 litres of petrol or diesel per filling at specially designated stations covered by the government-decreed minimum services scheme, and 25 litres at all other stations.
Some stations were out of fuel on Monday morning, but there were few lines so far.
The National Hazardous Materials Drivers' Union (SNMMP), which called the strike, said they would comply with the minimum services, but there are concerns they may fail.
"It's absolutely essential that everyone does their part, that those on strike exercise their right and that the minimum services enacted are respected," Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Sunday. "Common sense must prevail."
The government stands ready to launch special measures to ensure steady supplies, he said.
The fuel-tanker drivers said the strike will carry on until the employers' association ANTRAM makes a "reasonable proposal".
"Until then we will strike for a day, a week, a month, as long as it takes," said SNMMP vice president Pedro Pardal Henriques. The Independent Freight Drivers' Union (SIMM) will also take part in the strike. (Reporting by Catarina Demony, editing by Andrei Khalip and Angus MacSwan)


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Judah S. Kraushaar, an equity analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co., initiated coverage of Charles Schwab Corp. with a near-term neutral rating Friday.
Though Mr. Kraushaar gave the San Francisco financial services giant a long-term buy rating, crediting the companys management style and ability to create shareholder value and earnings growth, he also outlined some obstacles. Tougher market conditions are causing retail investors to place a greater premium on advice, and the full-service brokers continue to enjoy important content advantages relative to Schwab, he wrote in his research note.
Schwab, which has reinvented itself repeatedly over the years including its 2000 acquisition of the private banking company U.S. Trust Corp. faces heavier competition from traditional brokers that have also redefined how they reach customers and now offer online trading at commissions comparable to Schwabs, Mr. Kraushaar wrote.
But its efforts to reach the high-end market through U.S. Trust seem to be paying dividends, according to a report issued last month by Goldman Sachs Group. Schwab plans to increase assets by 20% a year and to add 300 employees at U.S. Trust this year, wrote Richard Strauss, an equity analyst at Goldman Sachs.
At the same time Schwab is looking to hire for the ultra-hands-on portion of its business it has been forced to lay off 13% of the brokerage units work force because of the dearth of retail investors trading online.
And recent off-the-cuff comments by Charles Schwab, chairman and co-chief executive, indicate the company may not be done buying banks. In a question-and-answer session after the annual shareholders meeting last month, Mr. Schwab said that down the road it might consider buying a transactional bank.
A spokesman said that Mr. Schwab was merely responding to a question about the types of deals the company might do and that no such deal is imminent. It is, however, canvassing customers to see if there would be any value in adding FDIC-insured accounts to its bank services. It is unclear how the company would implement that, the spokesman said.
Todd Halky, an equity analyst with Putnam, Lovell Securities, said Schwab could do one of two things: follow E-Trade Groups lead of acquiring a bank (referring to E-Trades purchase of Telebank) or use its branch network to create one.
Its hard to say whether Schwab would make a purchase in the near future, given ongoing market volatility and its effect on the companys stock price which hit an all-time low of $13.14 in early April off a 52-week high of $40.50 Mr. Halky said.
They do have additional room to make acquisitions if they really believe that the continued revenue diversification is going to make their earnings less susceptible to volatility, he said.
Mr. Halky added that the stock has climbed back recently and has found a trading range of $18 to $20.
Merrills Mr. Kraushaar, however, said he believes that the stock is still very expensive near term trading at 35 times the projected 2002 earnings of 53 cents a share.
On Friday, a generally losing day for the market, which was hampered by technical glitches at the New York Stock Exchange, Schwabs stock shed 1.62%.
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Consumer prices jumped 7% in December to hit the highest cost of living increase since 1982, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, just a few months after President Biden scoffed that “no serious economist” was worried about unchecked inflation.
Prices rose on a wide variety of goods such as food (6.3% for the year), furniture (17.3%) and propane (33.8%). Used vehicle prices increased 3.5% in December because of persistent supply chain shortages of semiconductors and other parts, bringing the increase from a year ago to 37.3%.
The historic rise in prices has put many families further behind with their household budgets and erased significant wage gains in 2021. Real wages for the year fell 2.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Core inflation, which subtracts food and energy costs, jumped 5.5%, the highest level since 1991.
The report puts Mr. Biden and congressional Democrats on the defensive as midterm election campaigns swing into high gear.
The president and his advisers increasingly are calling inflation and supply chain bottlenecks global problems, implying that the challenges are partly out of the administration’s control.
SEE ALSO: Powell calls inflation a severe threat, disputes White House claims of easing supply-chain woes
Voters are losing more confidence in Mr. Biden’s handling of the economy. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed that 34% of Americans approve of the president’s supervision of the economy, down from 43% in the same poll in August.
The president’s overall job approval was 33%, including 25% among independents and 28% among Hispanics.
Republican candidates for Congress seized on the development.
“President Biden and Democrats’ reckless left-wing spending spree has poured gasoline on an inflation firestorm,” said Mehmet Oz, a Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania.
Alek Skarlatos, a Republican running for a House seat in Oregon, said inflation is costing families “more money to buy groceries, heat our homes, fill our gas tanks, which is proof that Joe Biden’s policies are failing.”
In July, the president belittled the suggestion that inflation was becoming a serious problem.
“There’s nobody suggesting there’s unchecked inflation on the way — no serious economist,” Mr. Biden said at the time.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden tried to put the dismal report in the best possible light by pointing to “a meaningful reduction in headline inflation over last month, with gas prices and food prices falling.”
“We are making progress in slowing the rate of price increases,” the president said in a statement. “At the same time, this report underscores that we still have more work to do, with price increases still too high and squeezing family budgets.”
Gas prices were up 49.6% for the year despite falling 0.5% in December.
Brian Deese, director of White House National Economic Council, didn’t have many answers. “A number of projections and forecasts have come out differently than we anticipated,” he said. “We’ve seen a number of unanticipated outcomes.”
He said most projections now estimate that price increases “will moderate … over the course of 2022.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Tuesday that inflation is now a “severe threat” to healthy employment levels and that he expects high prices to continue into the middle of the year. He said the central bank is prepared to raise interest rates several times this year to fight rising prices. Such action will increase the costs of home mortgages, auto loans and credit card balances.
Mr. Powell refuted the White House claims that the supply chain crisis has eased. He blamed the problem for the brunt of inflation and said little progress has been made to resolve it.
Mr. Deese said the administration is working to set up more “inland ports” to relieve congestion at waterfronts and is planning to impose a fee by the end of the month on empty shipping containers sitting at ports.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, led by Maya MacGuineas, released an analysis Wednesday noting that Washington borrowed $2.6 trillion in 2021.
The group called on the administration and Congress to curb spending. “With high debt, surging inflation and interest rates slated to rise, it’s time to put away the national credit card,” it said.
Business groups and Republican lawmakers pointed to the record-high inflation rate as another reason to put the brakes on federal spending, including Mr. Biden’s stalled $1.8 trillion social welfare and climate proposal.
“Today’s numbers are a reminder that we need policymakers focused on combating inflation,” said Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “That means avoiding policies like the current so-called Build Back Better Bill that will fuel greater near-term price increases. Instead, policymakers should pursue policies that will reduce inflationary pressures, including addressing the worker shortage crisis, expanding trade and reducing tariffs.”
Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a holdout Democrat whose vote is needed to pass the social welfare bill, said inflation “is a concern for every American, especially every West Virginian.”
“It’s hitting us very hard,” Mr. Manchin told reporters.
White House officials said the inflation report gives Congress even more reason to approve the president’s Build Back Better plan.
For working Americans struggling with costs, Mr. Deese said, the measure “would directly address those issues” by providing more money for child care and other expenses.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, said Mr. Biden and his advisers don’t know what they are doing.
“Despite the glaring warning signs, President Biden’s only strategy has been to spend more and do nothing to get ahead of these soaring costs,” Mr. McCarthy said. “Now, six months later, we know they were either misleading or completely incompetent in their assessment.”
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Mr. Biden “does not care about the hurt he’s brought on millions of Americans.”
“Under Joe Biden, everything costs more, store shelves are empty, and small businesses are struggling to hire workers and stay open,” she said. “Americans are paying the price for Biden‘s failures, and Biden doesn’t care.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect past position for Maya MacGuineas.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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