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In context: Apple has lengthy saved its walled garden tightly managed with totally a pair of customer complaints. On the opposite hand, the company has faced increased criticism from builders and regulators concerning its gatekeeping. Step by step, lawsuits to power it to enable outdoors shops to compete and mandates from regulators worldwide have eroded the buttresses of the iOS walled garden. While they’ve no longer crumbled, some explain the industry mannequin is “unsustainable,” including Mark Zuckerberg.
On Wednesday, The Unusual York Times hosted its annual DealBook summit. Tech industry specialists and journalists attended to seem for and listen to leaders loyal during the sector espouse their opinions on the total thing from the scheme forward for cryptocurrency to mounting pushes for extra stringent rules for a pair of of the extra essential corporations.
A chat with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published that he doesn’t procure Apple can continue walling off iOS from totally different app shops that wish to compete in opposition to it for iPhone potentialities’ industry. He believes that separating apps to totally the App Store so that Apple can procure a 30-p.c charge from every app and all in-app sales isn’t any longer “sustainable or correct.”
“Of the foremost computing platforms, Apple stands out,” the Zuck talked about. “It’s a ways the utterly one the effect one company can relief watch over what apps get on the system. I don’t procure or no longer it is sustainable or correct. [Unlike a government], Apple obviously has [its] bear pursuits [and] the reality that firms have to bring their apps completely from platforms managed by competitors — there would possibly be a struggle of curiosity there.”
He pointed to the contemporary dustup this week between Apple and Elon Musk to illustrate of what can happen when a single company has full relief watch over over a platform. Musk alleged that Apple threatened to determine on away his newly got Twitter app from the App Store over inform material moderation. Musk has since talked about that it used to be all a misunderstanding and that the 2 are again on correct phrases. On the opposite hand, such used to be no longer the case when Yarn Video games butted heads with the Cupertino powerhouse.
Over two years ago, Yarn challenged Apple’s closed ecosystem when it circumvented the so-called “Apple Tax” by directing Fortnite gamers to buy in-game items for a 30-p.c minimize value from a retailer outdoors Apple’s relief watch over. Apple retaliated by casting off Fortnite from the App Store, which sparked a huge antitrust lawsuit.
The courts in a roundabout scheme settled the case primarily in Apple’s favor, but neither birthday celebration used to be fully satisfied with the final result. Both have filed appeals which continue to rage on within the judicial system. Meanwhile, Fortnite remains banned from the App Store indefinitely, casting off Yarn’s income mosey from the iOS platform.
Twitter’s frail head of belief and safety advised The Times closing month that if Apple or Google were to ban Twitter from either market, the outcomes would be “catastrophic.” He believes Apple and Google can use this dominance to exert pressure on inform material moderation. In totally different phrases, if user-generated inform material isn’t any longer moderated in a model that Apple or Google has the same opinion with, a threat to pull the app can power conformity and censorship.
While evaluating Apple’s and Google’s manipulative powers is legit, Zuckerberg stopped searching asserting they aged the identical industry mannequin.
“Google would possibly perhaps perhaps relief watch over what goes within the play retailer [sic], but they’ve persistently made it so to facet-load and have totally different app shops and work straight away with phone manufacturers,” Meta’s head honcho identified.
Take into account that, it is value citing that the Zuck has an ongoing bone to accumulate with Apple over its advertising and marketing transparency insurance policies.
In 2020, the company made up our minds that builders needed to be extra comely and forthright concerning the data they procure from iPhone customers and how they use and fragment that data. Fb straight away warned advertisers that the outcomes of Apple’s contemporary rules would be “catastrophic.”
To this point, advertisers level-headed appear to be advertising and marketing. So it sounds as if, the “adpocalypse” used to be averted.
Image credit: Anthony Quintano


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Recent studies have shown that 1 in 4 people living within the United States has fatty liver disease. However, the rate among Latinos is considerably higher at around 45%. Scientists are examining the effects of fatty liver disease and why certain communities are at higher risk than others.
A person is diagnosed with fatty liver disease if more than 5% of their liver weight consists of fat. However, ” it can progress to a more severe condition called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, which is linked to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. This progressive form of fatty liver disease is the fastest-growing cause of liver transplants in young adults.”
A surprising new research finding, is that the sugar in sweetened beverages can be passed from mother to child via breast feeding. When a mother consumes a beverage sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, the fructose level increases in the breast milk and stays elevated for hours. This can contribute to infant obesity and the development of a fatty liver, according to Michael Goran, the director of the Diabetes and Obesity program at University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).
Goran leads a program called HEROES or Healthy Eating Through Reduction of Excess Sugar. The program helps young people avoid unhealthy habits to help reduce obesity and prevent fatty liver disease.
Many lawmakers are now attempting to decrease the consumption of sugar laden drinks, whether it is through a soda tax or added warning labels. However, many believe this is not enough. Public health agencies need to be more involved in raising awareness and discouraging marketing of sugary drinks to children and adults alike.
A concerning aspect is the amount of Latinos affected by fatty liver disease. A study revealed that a gene called PNPLA3 increases the risk of fatty liver and about 1/2 of the Latino population studied had the gene and a quarter has two copies of the gene.
“Medical researchers consider fatty liver disease a manifestation of metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that include excess visceral adiposity, elevated blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.”
Low-income neighborhoods, often struggle with lack of resources combined with increased availability of unhealthy and cheaper fast food options, which can be a barrier to healthy eating. In an effort to improve health in these areas, HEROES has implemented farmers markets, community gardens and turned corner stores into markets with healthier options.
Providers and educators are urging people to decrease sugar intake and cut back on refined, low-fiber, carbohydrates to avoid health risks in the future. Let’s help get the word out eating less sugar and increasing fiber and whole food intake.
To learn more: Why are so many Latino children developing fatty liver disease? – PBS
Learn more about sugar intake, ways to avoid sugar and how to spot hidden high sugar offenders with our “The Joy of Six” resource page.
Download the Sugar Rush app from Fooducate to see how much sugar has been added to your food. Just scan the bar-code of any product and instantly see a breakdown of naturally occurring and added sugar.
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
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In a momentous feat for the realm of NFT-based gaming, Mythical Games’ mobile game, NFL Rivals, has achieved an impressive milestone of over 1 million downloads.
This accomplishment underscores the surging popularity and demand for blockchain-driven gaming experiences in the mainstream market.
NFL Rivals presents players with the exciting opportunity to collect and trade officially licensed NFL player NFTs, elevating the gameplay and instilling a sense of ownership and exclusivity.
By harnessing the power of blockchain technology, Mythical Games has introduced a fresh level of engagement and monetization in the mobile gaming sector.
John Linden, the CEO of Mythical Games, took to Twitter to announce this thrilling achievement, expressing his delight at surpassing the 1 million download mark. The CEO’s enthusiasm mirrors the positive reception and excitement surrounding NFL Rivals and its NFT-infused gameplay mechanics.
Linden remarked, “We currently boast an impressive rating of 4.8 out of five on the App Store, with nearly 22,000 reviews, which is fantastic. Moreover, players are spending almost two hours engaging with the game each day, which is truly exhilarating. It’s incredible to witness players fully immersed in the game.”
The integration of NFTs in NFL Rivals introduces an innovative way for players to interact with their beloved NFL players and teams, fostering a deeper connection and sense of involvement. These distinctive digital assets bestow tangible value upon players, allowing them to showcase their collections within the game’s ecosystem.
The triumph of NFL Rivals underscores the immense potential of NFT-based gaming as a highly profitable market segment. With the fusion of popular sports franchises, captivating gameplay, and the unparalleled value proposition of NFTs, the game has captivated a broad audience.
As NFTs continue to gain momentum across various industries, NFL Rivals’ achievement stands as a testament to the expanding mainstream adoption of blockchain-powered gaming experiences. It also highlights the innovative strides taken by Mythical Games in revolutionizing the convergence of sports, gaming, and blockchain technology.
Compiled by Coinbold


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- CNBC, Friday, July 9, 2021 1:34 PM
IAC CEO Joey Levin told CNBC on Friday that he believes Apple will become the focus on the next antitrust crackdown in the U.S. He said Apple is worse than Google, in many ways, because it forced
companies into the system.
Read the whole story at CNBC »


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Microsoft said that gamers can expect the familiar Cortana experience that is found on other Windows 10 devices and will launch it on the Xbox One in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain first.
The voice commands will work on Xbox One via headsets and the Kinect
controller, with users able to use Cortana to perform tasks like finding new games and turning on their console.
“We’ll continue to build Cortana features over time and our vision is to use Cortana to help elevate your experience as your personal digital assistant for gaming. Just say ‘Hey Cortana’ or launch the app to get started,” said Microsoft.
Digital TV Europe’s sixth annual survey once again provides a unique snapshot of industry executives’ views on the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
06 March 2021 @ 15:00:02 UTC
DTVE: the week in view – The live-streaming revolution digitaltveurope.com/comment/the-li… https://t.co/Kma3rN9PVT
06 March 2021 @ 13:00:02 UTC
ICYMI: Amazon set for US$1 billion NFL streaming deal digitaltveurope.com/2021/03/05/ama… https://t.co/v8pAI05Ujn
05 March 2021 @ 21:00:00 UTC


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Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is reportedly working on a drone software which can help solve problems in windmills or solar farms, that are located in remote regions.
According to a media report, TCS has filed a patent for a software that will enable unmanned vehicles to provide services to customers through other drones or ground-based robotic vehicles.
The patent filing reveals a software that runs aboard unmanned vehicles will be used to track other unmanned aerial vehicles, drones and robotic vehicles throughout their operations lifecycle. This is done through on-board data processing modules as well as specialised software that TCS has filed patents for.
The report notes that the robots — drone or ground-based vehicle — could be used to “update software on a secure network or fix a flaw robotically”
TCS has also set up a drone research lab in Cincinnati, US, which uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and data processing to process images captured by drones, and also track the on-ground robotic vehicles or drones in operation.
The Drone Opportunity In India
According to a global market intelligence and advisory firm BIS Research, the Indian drone market is expected to be valued at $885.7 Mn by 2021, while the global opportunity is estimated to touch $21.47 Bn during this period.
Realising the huge market opportunity and potential impact of civic drones, various state and central government bodies have also announced drone projects.
Last week, the government of Telangana in collaboration with Apollo Hospitals and the World Economic Forum has formalised the plan for a six-month pilot called ‘Medicines from the Sky’, starting in 2020. The project aims to explore the use of drones to increase access to healthcare for communities across the Telangana state.
Interestingly in September, a similar drone delivery project was announced by the Maharashtra government in partnership with California-based medical product delivery company Zipline. The Maharashtra government’s drone delivery network is expected to become operational in early 2020.
Also, India’s science and technology ministry announced an INR 1000 Cr project last month to digitally map the country with a resolution of 10 cm, using drones and technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data.


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Boot Barn CEO Jim Conroy instructed CNBC on Friday the western attire retailer is lastly seeing gross sales strengthen in its oil-related classes following a chronic interval of weak point.
“No less than for the final couple of years, our oil markets and the product that sells particularly to that buyer candidly has been declining regardless of the actual fact the worth of the barrel of oil has appreciated and rig rely beginning to come again up till just lately,” Conroy stated in an interview on “Mad Money.”
“We’re now beginning to see progress within the quote-unquote oil patch,” he continued. “We’re seeing progress in work attire that is flame resistant that they should put on within the oil patch, in order that enterprise, which had been destructive for most likely two straight years, turned double-digit constructive in January. We’re enthusiastic about that. Appears to be a resurgence in that a part of the enterprise.”
Conroy’s feedback are notable as a result of final 12 months, one Wall Avenue analyst pointed to Boot Barn’s inventory as an under-the-radar way to play the recovery of oil prices from pandemic-associated declines.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures are up almost 78% over the previous 12 months and greater than 16% already in 2022, and a few analysts anticipate the worth of crude to rise even additional.
Shares of Boot Barn tumbled 9.7% Friday to shut at $85.69 apiece, persevering with a downward have a tendency since reaching a excessive of $134.50 on Nov. 18. The inventory’s slide Friday got here as traders digested the corporate’s third-quarter outcomes from Thursday evening.
Conroy stated he was a barely “perplexed” by Wall Avenue’s response to the quarter throughout which Boot Barn noticed whole gross sales soar 61% on a year-over-year foundation and 71% in comparison with the identical interval two years in the past. Boot Barn additionally reported quarterly internet earnings of $69.2 million, up from $29.6 million a 12 months prior.
“We’re on this for this for the lengthy haul, and we’re persevering with to a extremely rising firm,” stated Conroy, who additionally famous the retailer plans to considerably hike its long-term store count. “The valuation will care for itself over time.”
Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Membership to comply with Jim Cramer’s each transfer out there.


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Ardbeg Reveals the Newest Addition to its Line of Whiskies
Ardbeg Distillery has lined up the first addition of a permanent expression in a decade. Ardbeg An Oa (pronounced “an oh”), named after the Mull of Oa, will pay homage to the unexplored provenance of the isle of Islay.
Built in 1815, this popular distillery had been closed down a number of times. It was mothballed in 1981. However, small-scale production resumed in 1989. The distillery closed down again in 1996. It was eventually acquired and reopened 20 years ago by Glenmorangie.
This non-chill-filtered expression is a blend of spirit matured in ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, virgin oak, and ex-bourbon barrels. Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg's director of distilling, whisky creation and whisky stocks, said, “There is a wonderfully Ardbeggian magic to The Gathering Room, where the parcels married together in this whisky merge over time, to reach new levels of complexity.”
Ardbeg An Oa is round, reflecting the contrasts of the Mull of Oa, with hints of toffee, aniseed, dates, peach, and banana. On the palate, this whisky contains a syrupy note. Orange, milk chocolate, and smoky tea leaves blended with cigar smoke, sweet spices, and grilled artichokes lend a lingering and smoky finish.
Dr Bill Lumsden also added, “It is years since the world’s smokiest, peatiest Islay malt added to its core range. We hope smoky malt whisky fans everywhere will be drawn to Ardbeg An Oa.”
Ardbeg An Oa is bottled at 46.6% ABV and is priced at RRP £49.00 in the UK and will be available globally at specialist retailers from September 2017.
Wonderful World of Whiskey' in Cornwall a Success
A first for the city of Cornwall, the Wonderful World of Whiskey’s inaugural event proved to be a roaring success. On March 25 this year, around 400 whiskey lovers gathered together to sample over a 100 whiskies from vendors from across US and Canada.Read More
US Rare Whisky Sale at an All Time High
Whisky lovers are all praise for scotch in a barrel-- the older the better. This year has seen a 100 percent rise in rare whisky sales in just three months. A whisky business analyst recently reported the sales of rare malts over the first half of 2017. He found that between April and June, UK auctioneers sold collectible whisky worth £6.18 million. This marks a 121 percent jump from last year’s £2.8 million over the same sale period.Read More
The Tell All Whiskey Film
tells the story of distilleries located across the United States. Produced by Traverse Image, a Denver based production company, the film’s teaser was recently released on YouTube. The farm-to-barrel will be crowdfunded through an Indiegogo Campaign, launched on March 15.Read More


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Motorola reveals new timeline for Android updates7
Getting the bad news out of the way, the DEVOUR will not be getting Android 2.1. It is destined to finish its life as an Android 1.6 device, no matter how many baths it shares with Meagan Fox. On the other hand, those with AT&T's first Android device will be doing back flips after hearing that the Motorola BACKFLIP is set to receive Android 2.1 this quarter. Considering that Q3 ends next month, this upgrade should not be too far away.
Over at T-Mobile, both the Motorola CLIQ and CLIQ XT are on the board, scheduled to be upgraded to Android 2.1. According to Motorola, testing is in progress for both models with the actual upgrade expected to take place during the tail end of the third quarter, or the beginning of the fourth quarter.
That leaves the supersized DROID X. This giant is expected to receive Android 2.2 late this summer. There was no word on whether or not the DROID X will require two separate upgrades to allow for the installation of the Flash Player, similar to what is happening with the original DROID model.
As far as our neighbors to the north are concerned, all four models (BACKFLIP, DEXT, MILESTONE and QUENCH) are being "evaluated" for an upgrade to Android 2.1. For the upgrade schedule for devices in other countries, check out the source link.


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The LBSNAA has tweeted, "33 officer trainees have tested COVID positive at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. A total of 428 officer trainees are on campus for the 95th Foundation Course. Academy is taking every measure to break the chain of COVID-19 spread in consonance with guidelines of government."
Food and other necessities are being delivered to the officer trainees in their hostels by staff who have been equipped adequately in protective gear, it said in another tweet.
LBSNAA Director Sanjeev Chopra said the academy, the Dehradun district administration and Health department of Uttarakhand are working together to address the challenge.
"All classes will be online till November 30, all non essential departments have been closed, complete sanitisation for the entire campus has been undertaken," he told on Saturday.
Situated at Uttarakhand's Mussoorie, the LBSNAA is a premier training academy for the civil servants.
- Front Page
- Pure Politics
- Concor Suitors Seek Clarity Over Shareholder Rights
Potential suitors for Container Corporation of India (Concor) have sought clarity over shareholder rights after the sale of a partial stake in the logistics major by the government.E-auction for RCap Later this Month; Base Bid at ₹5,231 Cr
Lenders of Reliance Capital will hold an e-auction later this month for Anil Ambani’s insolvent financial services company to identify the highest bidder, two people aware of the development told ET.Premium Models Drive Car, TV, Smartphone Sales in Diwali Season
Indian consumers have purchased more premium cars, smartphones, televisions and appliances than ever before during the week leading up to Diwali this year.
Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
ETPrime stories of the day
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During the 2008 Recession, the last concern on people’s minds were Christmas trees. So there was a glut of trees left and growers didn’t plant any new ones for three or four years.
Then after 2013, folks started buying trees again, but trees weren’t fully grown.
Now, 10 years later, there’s a shortage of the really big trees like 12-14 feet. Those customers have to downsize to a nine to 10 foot tree.
National Tree and Shrub general manager Richard Devine said shoppers who like five to six feet trees are having to buy a six to seven foot tree because growers are holding on to the smaller ones to get the bigger tree supply back up in several years.
He said the supply of Christmas trees in Southeast Texas is “pretty bad”.
“Since we normally get three or four truckloads of trees, so far, we’ve only got two full truckloads. We’ve gotten about 1,000 trees. We were hoping to have about 1,500 trees,” said Devine.
He said for high-quality trees, the volume isn’t there.
And, when it comes to pricing, Devine said prices reflect the shortage.
“We’ve probably seen about a 10 percent increase across the board. I think that they’re probably about as high as they can get right now. I don’t think they can go up much more,” said Devine.
He added two more issues:
- Christmas tree farmer’s families don’t want to follow in the families footsteps, which is causing farms to shut down adding to the shortage issues.
- Amazon is delivering trees in boxes to people’s doorsteps, which is hurting the tree sellers.
He said growers estimate this shortage will continue through 2021.


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Another fashion story -- this time from Halifax where fashionistas Amanda Kincaid and Laura Corkum have launched Nova Fashion Incubator! Their goal? To provide co-operative space, equipment, expertise, ideas, and inspiring support to emerging east coast fashion design talent!
As Amanda and Laura told Bill Powers:
“…there is a ready market for an incubator in the region, with about 30 people graduating annually from programs like the Centre for Arts and Technology’s fashion design and merchandising program, Dalhousie University’s costume studies program, and the University of New Brunswick’s craft and textile program.
Learn more about the Nova Fashion Incubator here.


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CX Tech is Caixin Global's real-time tech news portal, featuring 24-hour news, short-form analysis, and roundups from business and tech media in China.
- Kingsoft Office Targets $660 Million as It Moves Toward Listing on New Shanghai Tech Board
- Expanding Central Bank Campaign Imposes More Fines for Money Laundering
- Investors Applaud SMIC and YY, Shun Huami After Latest Earnings Reports
- China Sets PM2.5 Goals for Yangtze River Delta and Fenwei Plain Regions
- Is Didi Next in Line for Valuation Correction?
- Challenging Tesla, Chinese Property Giant Vows to Unveil First Electric Car Next Year
- Two Persons Diagnosed With Pneumonic Plague in Beijing
- Huawei Hands Out Billions in Bonuses for Staff Response to Sanctions
- Tencent Marks Anniversary by Touting Its Tech as Good for Society
- Xiaomi Maintains Lead in India Handset Market, but Chinese Rivals Pose Growing Threat
- China to Launch Mobile Number Portability Program on Dec. 1
- China’s Pork Prices Rose 101% Year-on-Year in October
- In Depth: Is the Sharing Economy Bubble Bursting?
- After Double 11 Smashes Shopping Records, What Next for China’s E-Commerce Giants?
- China ‘Confident’ That Brazil Will Let Huawei Build Its 5G Mobile Network
- Gree to Invest $290 Million in Another Chipmaker
- China Raises Annual Rare Earths Quotas at Least 10%
- Update: Alibaba’s ‘Double 11’ Shopping Gala Reaches New High as Hong Kong IPO Looms
- ‘Double 11’ Spending Boom Comes at Environmental Cost, Study Warns
- Tencent’s Pony Ma Gallops Back Onto List of World’s Best-Performing CEOs
Pork prices in China hit an eight-year high last month according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The data shows pork prices rose 101% year-on-year and 20.1% from September. The CPI itself rose 3.8% year-on-year, a 0.8% rise from September, with pork prices accountable for about 2.43% of that increase. The price hikes are driven by an ongoing severe pork shortage after China’s stock was decimated by the African swine fever outbreak first reported in August 2018.
The skyrocketing prices for China’s favorite meat are now the highest the country has seen since 2012. Prices for alternative meats like beef, mutton, chicken, and duck also rose due to the rising cost of pork.
Analysts have said that pork may continue to get more expensive until the second half of 2020, with steep increases between November 2019 and February 2020.
Contact reporter Ren Qiuyu (email@example.com)
- Nov 12, 2019 02:15 PM
- Asian Markets Struggle to Capitalize on China-U.S. Trade War
- No single economy will be able to step into country’s shoes, Bloomberg report says
- Nov 09, 2019 07:14 PM
- Former Indian Central Bank Chief Says Final Trade War Deal Might Need a Change of U.S. President
- Raghuram Rajan says that reaching an agreement will be challenging, as China and U.S. are struggling for supremacy
- Nov 09, 2019 02:22 PM
- Trump Sows Doubt on Trade Talks With Pushback on Tariff Unwind
- U.S. bonds rallied and stocks slipped after the president’s remarks reduced some of the optimism that had been increasing around the prospects for a truce.
This has been a year of failure in the sharing economy. WeWork’s initial public offering flopped. Uber and Lyft’s stocks have sunk way below their IPO prices. Airbnb faces a safety crisis. Ofo is on the verge of bankruptcy. Didi Chuxing is struggling with resuming its carpooling service after drivers murdered passengers.
The bursting bubble has forced Wall Street and investors to question their judgment, startups to revamp their growth strategies and governments to consider how to regulate the emerging sector.
WeWork created the most dramatic scene after the shared-workspace provider canceled its initial public offering (IPO) and stuck private equity investors led by Japan’s SoftBank Group with catastrophic losses. In the July-September quarter, SoftBank’s Vision Fund wrote down investments in more than 20 other companies, including Uber, as the sharing economy startups failed to deliver profits.
While SoftBank is one of the most-exposed tech investors, the sector’s rough 2019 is sending ripple effects broadly through the nascent sharing economy industry. The failure of WeWork’s IPO and the disappointing stock performance of already-listed companies show that investors in public markets have been more realistic than private equity investors like SoftBank. It’s expected that there will be more reverse valuations of tech companies between the private and public markets.
Read the full story on Caixin Global.
China raised its 2019 national rare earths production quotas by at least 10% last week amid heightened optimism of a phased trade deal with the U.S., though such hopes weakened over the weekend based on remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The world’s largest producer of the chemical elements set its mining quota for the year at 132,000 tons and the smelting and separation quota at 127,000 tons, according to a statement (link in Chinese) Friday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The quotas were up 10% and 10.4% respectively from 2018 allotments.
The announcement followed months of speculation that China might leverage its dominance in rare earths in the trade war by restricting sales to the U.S., a major buyer. The country’s exports fell 18.2% year-on-year in May amid comments from Beijing that it would not tolerate use by countries that seek to hurt China’s interests.
Rare earths are 17 minerals used in products ranging from consumer electronics to military equipment. China releases national quotas semiannually, though this year’s November release came three months later than last year’s second-half announcement.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Commerce said China and the U.S. agreed to roll back tariffs on each other’s goods in phases, raising expectations of an imminent deal. The same day, China’s State Council issued new guidelines on foreign capital that would lift many restrictions on foreign financial institutions seeking to operate in the country.
However, Trump disputed that there was a breakthrough in negotiations, telling reporters Friday that he had not agreed to a rollback.
China accounted for 80% of U.S. rare earths supply in 2018, and the country controls at least 80% of the world’s processing capacity for these elements. In a bid to cut dependence on the country, U.S. and Australian officials are discussing joint development of critical mineral deposits.
Contact reporter Dave Yin (firstname.lastname@example.org)
China should not cut back in supporting traditional industries while it strives to catch up with the world’s rapid technological advancement, a renowned researcher said in a panel discussion at the 10th Caixin Summit in Beijing on Friday.
Policymakers should attach equal importance to upgrading traditional industries and cultivating emerging industries in their pursuit of high-quality economic development, said Yang Weimin, a deputy director of the economic committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s highest political advisory body.
Local governments should not blindly shut down companies in traditional industries just because of pollution problems or hidden risks, Yang warned.
In the foreseeable future, China will still have a large domestic market space, with a huge population of 1.4 billion people, in which traditional industries like agriculture, food, textiles and chemical manufacturing can thrive, Yang said, adding that consumption of many products produced by traditional industries — except coal consumption — is far from its peak.
Furthermore, traditional sectors can still produce high-tech, high-quality and high value-added products through digital transformation and intelligent development, he said.
Contact reporter Lin Jinbing (email@example.com)
China’s wants the country’s top experts to remember its younger minds.
China’s Ministry of Education called for a three-year revamp of the higher education system, aiming to devote vast resources to undergraduate studies, including the expertise of those who are part of the controversial Thousand Talents Program.
By 2021, the ministry wants 10,000 national-level courses and 10,000 provincial-level courses of “top quality,” taught online, offline, via virtual reality and in practical settings, according to a Thursday directive (link in Chinese).
Those courses will be designed by “high level talent” such as scholars of the renowned Chinese academies of sciences and engineering, recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and Chang Jiang Scholars Program fellows. They will also draw on experts from the Thousand Talents Program, a government-backed recruitment project to lure scientific talent from foreign countries to work in China, and a similarly named Ten Thousand Talents Program.
The guidelines also demand that university teaching staff devote time to bachelor’s degree students. In addition to raising their qualifications, professors and associate professors who don’t teach undergraduates for three years will be removed from the system, according to the announcement.
Universities, school presidents and professors who don’t focus on undergraduate studies “are not up to standards,” the ministry said in a statement.
The new courses will be evaluated annually by the Ministry of Education. They must incorporate development of “moral character” as well as integrate “cutting-edge technological development.”
They must also increase the level of difficulty of Chinese bachelor’s programs, notorious for having loose graduation requirements following an arduous “gaokao” university entrance exam. Under the guidelines, multiple second chances for retaking failed exams and so-called “bird courses” that make for easy credits are getting the ax.
“Students should have to jump in order to reach (their goals),” the ministry said. “(The plan) will make the curriculum more challenging … improve the quality of courses, make teachers stronger, students busier, supervision stricter, results more concrete, and create a world-class undergraduate education system with Chinese characteristics.”
It is not the first time the Ministry of Education has attempted to make bachelor’s degree programs more rigorous. In September 2018, the ministry announced regulations asking universities to cancel make-up exams and come up with stricter graduation requirements. However, to report higher graduation and employment rates to authorities, many universities are incentivized to do the opposite.
Meanwhile, China’s Thousand Talents Program has been mired in controversy both at home and abroad.
The U.S. government alleges that the initiative, designed to use foreign-educated researchers to fulfill Beijing’s broader desire to become a global leader in high-tech areas, encourages intellectual property theft from American institutions.
He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who claimed last year to have helped create the world’s first genetically edited human babies, participated in the program, as did the CEO of a Chinese startup that said it built China’s first fully homegrown web browser, later revealed to be based on Google Chrome. In May, Emory University in the U.S. fired two Chinese-American researchers for allegedly failing to fully reveal their ties to China. One of the two was a member of the Thousand Talents Program.
Contact reporter Dave Yin (firstname.lastname@example.org)
A charity fund of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing will donate HK$200 million ($25.5 million) to help local small and medium restaurants.
The donation is part of the Li Ka-shing Foundation’s previously announced HK$1 billion ($127 million) pledge to support local small and medium businesses in Hong Kong to overcome challenges amid months of unrest rattling the city.
Each qualified restaurant will get HK$60,000, which will be disbursed before the end of November, the foundation said Tuesday in a statement.
To speed up the disbursement, the application process will be simplified as much as possible. Any restaurants employing fewer than 50 people and having a proper business registration and license can apply for the assistance fund.
The foundation said the restaurant sector has suffered difficulties more serious than when the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak hit Hong Kong in 2003, with about a 30% drop in overall revenue and closure of about 200 restaurants.
The next target of the support program will be the retail industry. The foundation said it is now working closely with representatives from retailers.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (email@example.com)
China’s hog production could bottom out by the end of this year and is expected to return to normal next year, a senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Friday.
As of the end of September, pig herds in 12 provinces either increased or held stable compared with the previous month, indicating hog production may be entering a recovery phrase from the devastating African swine flu epidemic, Wei Baigang, director of the Agriculture Ministry’s Planning Department, said Friday at a press conference.
But overall numbers still look challenging. Data tracking 400 counties throughout the country showed that September pig herds continued to decline from August and from the same month last year and that the year-on-year drop was expanding. The monthly decline was 3% and yearly drop 41.1%.
The government has launched a series of measures to restore pork production, and the policy effect is gradually emerging, but some local policies have not been fully implemented.
As a result of the outbreak of African swine fever and subsequent plunge in pork supplies, average prices in the world’s largest consumer of the meat surged past 50 yuan ($7) per kilogram as of Thursday, up 42% from September and 78% from August.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (firstname.lastname@example.org)
Move over, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Those older megacities that traditionally attracted many of China’s best and brightest are losing some of their attraction for technology workers, who increasingly prefer a generation of “new first-tier cities” that offer higher salaries, a new survey showed.
According to the survey released on Thursday by recruitment app Boss Zhipin, 15 such “new first-tier cities” offered technology professionals an average monthly salary of 12,153 yuan ($1,719), up 6.6% year on year, in the first three quarters of 2019.
Of those 15, the picturesque city of Hangzhou, about 200 kilometers from Shanghai and home to e-commerce giant Alibaba, needs technology experts most urgently. The number of technology-related job vacancies accounted for 16.8% of all job opportunities in the city, the survey showed.
Nanjing ranked second after Hangzhou in needing people engaged in technology.
The term “new first-tier cities” was created by local media six years ago when 15 cities, including Hangzhou and Nanjing, were recognized with the designation, based on five assessment criteria.
The survey also said that artificial intelligence-related jobs in the “new first-tier cities” paid the highest salaries in the first three quarters of this year, hitting the 20,000 yuan mark on average, as the central government threw its strong support behind the area.
Following the broader government call to support technological development, a dozen major cities in China including Hangzhou, Wuhan and Xi’an, have joined a fierce race for talent by offering a wide range of incentives over the last two years.
Contact reporter Ding Yi (email@example.com)
China’s online retail sales in the first nine months of the year rose 16.8% year-on-year to 7.3 trillion yuan ($1.03 trillion), according to data published Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Though that growth was lower than the 27.7% recorded for the same period last year, online sales — excluding services — as a percentage of total retail sales rose 2 percentage points to 19.5%.
Total retail sales for the nine-month period rose 8.2% to 29.7 trillion yuan. Nearly half of the total retail growth came from online sales, according to NBS.
Online retail has also boosted logistics services, with China handling a total of 44 billion packages in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 26.7% over the same period in 2018, according to the State Post Bureau.
Contact reporter Mo Yelin (firstname.lastname@example.org)
China’s economic growth slowed further in the third quarter, reaching a new low not seen for nearly three decades, amid sluggish domestic and global demand clouded by the ongoing trade war with the U.S.
Year-on-year growth in China’s gross domestic product (GDP) edged down to 6% in the third quarter from a 6.2% rise in the previous quarter, marking the lowest level in available figures dating back to 1992, according to data (link in Chinese) released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The reading marked the second straight quarter of slowdown, and was in line with the average forecast for the period among economists polled by Caixin.
In the first three quarters of this year, the country’s GDP grew 6.2% year-on-year.
Read the full story on Caixin Global later today.
Contact reporter Lin Jinbing (email@example.com), editor Yang Ge (firstname.lastname@example.org)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised down its projections for both Chinese and global economic growth for the second time this year in the latest installment of its World Economic Outlook report, which was published Tuesday.
The report predicts that global growth will slow to 3% in 2019, down 0.3 percentage points from the Fund’s April projection. Meanwhile, China’s annual economic growth will fall 0.2 percentage points from April to 6.1%, the report says.
The increasingly pessimistic outlook for global growth reflects slowing industrial output, the trade and technology tensions between the U.S. and China, and slowing demand in China, the report said. The January version of the report anticipated 3.5% global growth, which was revised down to 3.3% in April and down further to 3.2% in July.
The IMF projected that China’s 2019 economic growth would be 6.2% in January, 6.3% in April, and 6.2% in July.
Contact reporter Ren Qiuyu (email@example.com)
Multiple local governments in eastern China, one of the country’s most developed and wealthiest regions, reported plummeting industrial profits for the first eight months of the year, fueling concerns that the world’s second-largest economy is slowing further.
Of the 10 provincial-level regions of eastern China, six saw industrial companies’ profits decline year-on-year in the period from January to August, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Shanghai led the drop, posting a 19.6% plunge in profits. Beijing came second with a 14.4% decrease. Shandong, Hebei, and Jiangsu provinces, as well as Tianjin municipality, also recorded declines.
The picture remained bleak nationwide, with NBS data showing that China’s overall industrial profits fell 1.7% year-on-year during the same period, mainly due to the sluggish performance of upstream companies and the automobile manufacturing sector.
That, in turn, owed much to the ongoing economic slowdown, trade frictions with the United States, falling prices of industrial products, and a high comparison base from last year.
Read the full story on Caixin Global later today.
Contact Reporter Liu Jiefei (firstname.lastname@example.org)
A cooling economy might be hitting consumption growth at home, but Chinese travelers seem more than willing to whip out their digital wallets abroad.
Data from mobile payment platform Alipay on overseas transactions during China’s weeklong National Day holiday, which ran from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 and is also known as Golden Week, shows a 10% year-on-year increase in in-store transaction volume as well as an average total spending increase of 15% per user to about 2,500 yuan ($351).
In a press release, Ant Financial, the company that operates Alipay, attributed the growth partly to rapidly rising growth in the platform’s use in several so-called “emerging destinations” such as Europe and Southeast Asia during the past 12 months. Transaction volume in Portugal, for example, grew 64-fold compared with last year’s Golden Week, Alipay said. In the Philippines, transaction volume grew 26-fold.
Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, and Singapore continued to top the list of destinations by transaction volume, mostly unchanged from 2018. The Philippines, which didn’t rank in the top 10 last year, surged to No. 7.
Chinese consumers’ demand for cross-border payment services has been steadily growing. The country’s cross-border business-to-business e-commerce transaction volume is expected to reach $1.24 trillion by 2020, making up more than half of global transactions, according to global consulting firm Accenture.
Alipay also dominates China’s trillion-dollar mobile payment market, particularly in the field of online shopping. The company claims its payment services cover 110 countries and regions around the world.
But it will soon have to contend with U.S.-based PayPal, which recently became the first foreign company to obtain a digital payment license in China. Industry insiders told Caixin they expect the American company to go after cross-border payments.
Contact reporter Dave Yin (email@example.com, @yindavid)
China’s online retail sales growth weakened in the first eight months of this year, official data showed, amid a slowing national economy.
The domestic online retail market recorded sales of 6.4 trillion yuan ($900 billion) from January to August. Sales of physical goods, including products such as clothes and food, were up 20.8% to 5.1 trillion yuan during the period, the data showed.
The lackluster performance comes as China grapples with a slowing economy and trade frictions with the U.S. In August, China’s major economic indicators, including fixed-asset investment and value-added industrial output, posted worse-than-expected performances.
Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (firstname.lastname@example.org)
As self-driving vehicles edge closer to widespread rollout in China, the country is taking its autonomous mobility technology onto the high seas.
China has built its first research and development test base for autonomous ships in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai next to Macao, state-owned newspaper Economic Daily reported Monday.
Called the Xiangshan Ocean Science and Technology Port, the 52,000-square-meter base will design, develop and test smart marine technology and unmanned seafaring systems. Backed by local unicorn Zhuhai Yun Zhou Intelligent Technology, it is expected to go into operation at the end of the year, the report said.
Zhang Jinghua, an officer at the Zhuhai National High-Tech Industrial Development District where the base is located, said it will help the Chinese government to promote the technology and innovation required to develop the marine economy in the Greater Bay Area, a densely populated group of southern port cities that include Guangzhou, Macao, and Hong Kong.
The project marks China’s latest step in strengthening its capacity to built autonomously operated vessels that can navigate the seas without human personnel. In 2017, the country commenced operations at what it then claimed was the world’s largest automated cargo terminal in Shanghai, state-owned broadcaster CCTV reported.
Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (email@example.com)
A top Chinese agricultural research institute has edged closer to a vaccine for deadly African swine fever that has ravaged the country’s pork industry.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences announced Tuesday that a potential vaccine developed by its Harbin-based veterinary science research institute has completed lab safety and efficiency tests and now awaits biosafety tests at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs with a view to launching clinical trials in the near future.
As of July, African swine fever, which currently has no reliable vaccine or cure, had resulted in the culling of more than 1 million pigs in China and roiled the world’s largest pork market. Pork prices in China in August surged 46.7% year-on-year and helped to sustain a 17-month high in consumer inflation.
Last Monday, the ministry said that the government had approved no commercial vaccines to combat African swine fever and that the ministry itself had not yet given the go-ahead to any clinical trials.
Contact reporter Zhao Runhua (firstname.lastname@example.org)
Chinese auto sales fell for the 14th time in 15 months, extending what’s already been a historically prolonged slump in the world’s largest car market.
Sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans and multipurpose vehicles in August fell 9.9% from a year earlier to 1.59 million units, the China Passenger Car Association said Monday.
Automakers reeling from the industry’s longest downturn in three decades continue to face headwinds as economic growth slows and trade tensions with the U.S. persist. To help stimulate demand, China has rolled out a series of supportive measures to encourage consumption — the latest coming last month when the government issued guidelines to loosen car-purchase restrictions.
But the slide continues, battering carmakers’ earnings. Top Chinese SUV maker Great Wall Motor Co. reported that first-half profit tumbled 59%, and the country’s biggest automaker — SAIC Motor Corp. — recently predicted its first annual sales decline in at least 14 years. Billionaire Li Shufu’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. recorded a sales drop of 19% in August.
Separately, Indian car sales tumbled 41% — the most on record — in August amid a prolonged slump. In the U.S., which was experiencing its own downturn, automakers posted a much-needed rebound last month — though deliveries were helped by the inclusion of the Labor Day weekend in August.
After shrinking for two straight months, China’s manufacturing activity expanded in August, as factory output grew at its fastest clip in five months, a Caixin survey showed Monday.
As the Chinese proverb says: The moon waxes only to wane, and water surges only to overflow.
After nearly 10 years of steady expansion, the world economy faces growing concerns of a looming recession. There are plenty of reasons to worry as major economies including those of China, Britain and Germany are struggling with downward pressures or entering a contraction, underlining mounting uncertainties in a world rattled by growing protectionism and mounting trade barriers.
Analysts say the question is not whether there will be another recession, but when.Find out what the details tell us here, in our in-depth read.
China’s population of internet users hit a record high in the first half of 2019, with the vast majority of them primarily using their phones to get online, a new report shows.
The total number of Chinese netizens grew by 26 million from the end of 2018 to 854 million by mid-2019, with 847 million using mobile internet, according to industry tracker the China Internet Network Information Center.
During this period, 686 million people in China browsed news online, 639 million shopped online, 421 million ordered food-delivery services online, 759 million watched videos, and 339 million used ride-hailing services, according to the report.
One factor contributing to the continued rise in internet service take-up has been the country’s push for network operators to roll out fast and cheap internet, according to the report. The report said each Chinese internet user consumed on average 7.2GB data per month during the first half of 2019, about 120% the global average.
The report provided no information on 5G internet usage in China.
Contact reporter Runhua Zhao (email@example.com)


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Seasonal stores like Spirit Halloween may be killing the Halloween spirit at local independent costume shops, but stores like Creative Costumes & Rental in Olympia have made up for the loss with an increase in their year-round business.
Halloween sales and rentals constitute between 40 and 45 percent of Denise Keegan's business. Keegan, the sole owner of Creative Costumes & Rental, has developed an opinion over the years on pop-up stores like Spirit that sell what she calls snag-in-the-bag costumes.
“They're trying to take income out of a community. Their goal is to make as much money as possible,” Keegan said. “There are solid community mom-and-pop stores and other outlets that sell items that you can see what you're buying. You can take it back.”
Keegan, who opened her store on Rich Road in 1997, said there seem to be more Spirit stores in her area this year. Within a 10-minute drive of her business, she said there are about three or four temporary Spirit locations.
Crystal Rodriguez, manager of marketing and licensing for Spirit, confirmed there are a few more stores in Washington state this year: 34 in 2013 compared to 32 last year.
Both Rodriguez and Sheila Rigney – Spirit's district manager for the southernmost region of Washington, which includes Tacoma, Spanaway, Lakewood, Lacey and Olympia – said they have yet to hear complaints from businesses like Keegan's, though. They said the stores have been positively received by businesses surrounding the storefronts they occupy for about two months each year, from Labor Day through Halloween.
Dori Hayden, owner of Lakewood Costumes, Magic, and Clown, though, also has a complaint.
Over the last 20 years, Halloween sales have dropped from 95 percent to just 35 percent of her business.
But about the time she began noticing the decrease, she found herself specializing her business to cater to professional entertainers. This, over the years, would makeup for the Halloween business she lost.
“We needed to find things to go on during the year,” Hayden explained. “We started branching out, so we were doing a lot more dealing with professional clowns and magicians. That helped with the off-season time.”
October to December are still her busiest months, but Christmas has become just about as big, if not bigger, than Halloween, she said.
There's been about a 20 percent spike in business, particularly in spring and summer months, over the last several years, which she believes is tied to the economic downturn.
“The recession I don't think bothered me at all,” Hayden said. “On the offseason, it's probably helped, because, instead of people going on vacation, they're staying home and having home parties.”
She's seen a lot of birthday parties that call for costumes. The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire in Bonney Lake brought a noticeable amount of business this summer. And the growing popularity of zombie walks and other ghoulish events around the Sound have increased traffic at her store year-round.
Keegan said she, too, has noticed a growing trend of themed events.
“My specialty is a higher-end genre. I do a lot of murder mystery dinners, theme weddings (and) specialty events. It seems like there are more opportunities now,” she said. “There are more theme weddings than there used to be. More people are getting in on the act, and that's why I'm a year-round shop. Year-round, overall, I've noticed an increase.”
In her shop, the themed-wedding trend began about three or four years ago.
About that time, she started seeing more customers looking for costumes for conferences too.
“It seems like people are relaxing more with those types of things. They have these great themes where people really have a great excuse to dress up and have fun,” Keegan said. “When you add a theme to something, they bite. It's a lot of fun and it just adds something to an event. It offers a great icebreaker.”
Two or three years ago, she had two Olympia-area doctors come in to get costumes for 12 doctors from around the state who were going to the same conference in Florida.
Later this month, she's helping dress guests at the 1920's-themed Lacey Chamber of Commerce annual auction.
Mary Johnson, who owns Northwest Costume on Sixth Ave. in Tacoma with her husband Tom, said she also does a significant amount of business with people looking for costumes for different themed events. However, she hasn't seen an increase in that aspect of her work in recent years.
Mary couldn't say what effect stores like Spirit have on her business, but Tom could.
“They basically take all our Halloween business away,” he said.
Luckily for the pair, Halloween sales only constitute about 20 percent of sales and rentals for the year. Their store, rather, focuses more on stage and theater wear.


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An alternative labelling approach to the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) traffic light system is gaining momentum, with 21 food and drink manufacturers and three retailers now adopting the Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) labelling scheme.
A spokeswoman for the GDA said that, by the end of the year, approximately 37% of relevant UK retail food and drink packs would carry these labels - twice the combined share of alternative schemes. She said that industry had spent 12 months developing its labelling approach, designed to help consumers assess the nutritional content of the food they buy. The industry is committed to an 18-month communications campaign to promote GDA labels - the first phase of which is now online at www.whatsinsideguide.com ,she added.
A spokesman for the FSA said: "We are happy if they want to use GDAs as part of their scheme. But our research shows it is the use of traffic light colours, which really informs consumer choice."


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Irving Forest Products marks official opening of the new Ashland Sawmill in Nashville Plantation, Maine
The $30 million sawmill started operating in June and today employs 60 people, producing over 100 million board feet of quality, environmentally certified softwood lumber per year. Ashland Sawmill is one of the most modern sawmills in North America and operates the fastest trim line on the continent.
The softwood lumber produced at this new facility will provide customers their choice of products that are environmentally certified under the Forest Stewardship (FSC) Council or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) programs. The majority of the lumber produced will be sold to major retail lumber yards located throughout the US Eastern Seaboard.
The round wood log supply for the new sawmill will be procured sustainably from the company's Maine freehold woodlands as well as other woodlot and timberland owners in the state.
"We have proudly been part of Aroostook County for over 65 years,” said Jim Irving, Co-CEO of J.D. Irving, Limited. "Today is a great day for our operations in Maine as we welcome 60 new employees to the team. They are working in one of the most modern mills in North America, using the best technology. We appreciate the support of the 84 Maine contractors who worked with us on the project. We are continuing to hire in the state for our forestry operations, requiring over 125 people between now and 2016 and value the partnerships we have with the University of Maine system and local community colleges that are providing the skilled workforce of the future.”


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Celebrating World Trade Week 2012May 21, 2012
Cory Churches is a Communication and Outreach Specialist in the Office of Public Affairs within the International Trade Administration.
This week we’ve launched World Trade Week with the President’s Proclamation and we are hard at work highlighting the opportunities, successes, and innovation surrounding trade and exporting.
In the past 50 years, U.S. exports have expanded 80-fold from $26 billion in 1961 to a record $2.1 trillion last year. It is our mission here at the International Trade Administration to continue that trend by working to expand opportunities for businesses of all shapes and sizes, helping them connect with more international buyers, and opening new markets for the great products and services we innovate and manufacture here at home.
Day in and day out, trade specialists, international economists, and commercial service officers around the globe are working to ensure that U.S. businesses have the tools they need to be successful as provided:
- Through trade events and advocacy;
- Through our world-class foreign and domestic commercial service officers in over 100 U.S. cities and more than 70 countries.
- And through partnerships with organizations and entities such as the National Association of Manufacturers, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and DHL Express.
Your success is our success and we have many ways for you to keep up to date on the most important changes in rules and regulations impacting your business, find out about trade event opportunities and provide feedback on how we’re doing. Our monthly newsletter International Trade Update is issued on the first Tuesday of every month and will keep you on track and in the know. You can also find us on Facebook and twitter.


text: profitable vegetable crops The market has its origins in ancient times when people used the term of place to trade in fixed time or place. In the present, the market has two meanings, one is the trading place, such as traditional market, stock market, futures market, etc., another meaning is the general term of trading activity. The word "market" refers not only to a trading venue but also to all transactions. So when it comes to market hours, it's not just about the size of the site, it's about whether the consumer activity is active. In a broad sense, all property rights transfer and exchange relationships can be market. Keynes argued that savings and investment were two interdependent variables, not two independent variables. Accounting earnings include only realized gains, and exclude unrealized gains and losses, the economic benefits will be enterprise's operating earnings and are favorable to the same treatment, regardless of whether they have been implemented. Thus, in general, accounting gains are less than economic gains, and the difference is mainly in the interest. Mr Vesteson said he was concerned that "the message of strong growth and low inflation would become incongruent". He added that "economic growth will slow slightly next year", but inflation will continue to rise. Donald trump won the presidency of the United States with the support of working-class and socially conservative white voters on the populist economic nationalist platform. Trump refused the republican traditional pro-business, close trade agenda, just as left-wing Bernie Sanders (Bernie Sanders), called for by the disruptive technology and the policy of "globalism" to free trade and migration of americans. In just three days, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond jumped 16 basis points, the biggest gain since December 2008. The two-year - 30-year spread widened at the fastest rate since last year's U.S. election. This week the yield curve flattens out. Is it a short adjustment or a bear market start? The manufacturing capacity of the UK car is ranked by the top, which can be seen from the manufacturing scope of the product and the scale of the industry involved. The British automobile manufacturing scope covers include cars, commercial vehicles, buses, bus in various fields, such as mass production can be conducted at present, the UK has seven car manufacturers, eight commercial vehicle manufacturers, 11 bus passenger car manufacturers, more than 10 large premium cars and sports car manufacturers. According to the British association of automobile manufacturers and dealers, in 2013, Britain has 1.6 million cars, rolled off the production line is equivalent to have a new car every 20 seconds, 77% of products exported to all over the world. The level of car manufacturing in the UK is also attracting top manufacturers from around the world.


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Snapshots of Food Industry News
Mahindra and Mahindra enter Dairy Market
Mahindra and Mahindra, the auto-aerospace conglomerate has added milk to their agricultural division. Mahindra already sells pulses, fruits, and oilseeds and with the launch of milk in Indore, Madhya Pradesh they have expanded their portfolio which will soon include other dairy products. The milk will be sold under the Saboro brand in Indore first and later will expand to other cities like Bhopal. The Saboro milk is available in four variants which sell at the price range of Rs.35-50 a liter. The company has carried out research to ascertain customer requirements and they feel that it will be able to fulfill the customer requirement of cream and nutrition in the milk. Their milk will be fortified with Vitamin A and D.
Mahindra and Mahindra agricultural division were launched in 2015 but they have already seen the sale of pulses and oilseeds grow by 50 percent. In the fruits section, Mahindra has become one of the largest exporters of grapes with a turnover of Rs.900crore. The company will be working directly with farmers in 70 villages around Indore. They have put in place technically sound milk collection chain but the milk will be processed in Indore. They will process 10,000 liters of milk a day, to begin with, and then hope to take it to 50,000litres. India’s 4 lakh crore dairy market is mainly made up of unbranded milk and dairy segment and for brands to enter the segment will see a new high in this industry.
Patanjali targeting 7,000-crore annual turnover by end of 2017
Currently, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has a turnover of about Rs.4,500crore and this is inching towards the targeted Rs.5000crore for this fiscal. If current monthly sales rise to about Rs.600crore from the present 550crore then the company will definitely have an annual turnover of Rs.7, 000crore by 2017. The company feels that they are moving in line with the target and there is no doubt that they will become a leading FMCG in the near future. Advertising has caught the eye and new product launches have been successful so Patanjali is on a roll.
Patanjali products include medicines, food, personal care, and groceries. In a new move, they have raised a debt of Rs.320crore which they will use for their expansion plans. Some of the debt will also be used for research and development of new products. The company has grown so swiftly that it has already closed the gap with Dabur, Marico and even Godrej Consumer. In business circles, the predictions say that Patanjali sales would soon become as big as ITC’s non-tobacco FMCG sales if the turnover reaches Rs.10, 000crore.
Domino’s Pizza’s e-catering services for Indian Railways to double
Domino’s Pizza is to double their e-catering services for the Indian Railways by expanding their delivery parameters. Presently Domino’s delivers food at 60 stations but a positive response from passengers has resulted in expansion for their delivery parameters to130 stations. Passengers want hygienic, fresh and quality foods and since IRCTC has received good feedback there will be an increase in Domino’s footprint for railways.
Indian Railways and Domino’s franchisee Jubilant FoodWorks had tied up last year for e-catering service named ‘food on track’. Domino’s has delivered more than a thousand pizzas to passengers across all tiers of Indian cities. Seeing the demand for quality products Jubilant is likely to also expand their menu. Jubilant sees this partnership as having immense scope for growth and are geared for the increase in demand as the summer vacations are to begin soon.
Kerala to soon produce ‘organic milk’
Seeing an increase in demand for ‘organic’ produce the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd is all set to provide nutritious and high quality ‘organic milk.’ The milk co-operative has tied up with the Netherlands and will provide milk from animals that have not been given synthetic feeds or antibiotics. The organic milk will be produced by rearing cattle in a natural environment and the current agricultural practices will be changed. Cattle will be fed only natural fodder and grass, which has not been subjected to pesticides or insecticides for one and a half years before they can provide ‘organic milk.’
Five milk societies in Mullankoli in Wayanad have been selected for implementing the project and the farmers have been given directions accordingly. Once the Dutch government gives their approval the scheme will get underway. A MoU is likely to be signed soon with MILMA, which manages six societies in the high northern regions of Malabar. MILMA has also joined hands with Solidaridad a recognized NGO form the Netherlands and Transdisciplinary University Bengaluru which encourages the promotion of traditional food, treatment, and culture. The milk will be certified by the Aluva based Indocert. Local women have been trained in the ethnic veterinary treatment and they will take care of the cattle under this scheme.
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti: Food processing industry must use solar energy
Speaking as an event organized by Assocham, Minister of State for Food Processing, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, said that the food processing industry should use solar energy for their manufacturing processes. She said that the growth of the food industry is essential for the growth of farmers and encourages rural development. Since solar energy is environmentally friendly the food processing industry should maximize use in their operations. This will also help to promote renewable energy in rural areas.
According to the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), India’s total capacity of power generation is approximately 2.88 lakh Megawatt, out of which only 15 percent is from renewable sources and maximum from thermal power. So the focus must shift to energy sources that are environmental, economically and socially more sustainable. Development must, therefore, go hand in hand with the conservation of nature and natural resources.


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Court Decides Facebook Can Legally Track Everyone
Today in "Your paranoid uncle in the tinfoil hat is actually right about everything"
Facebook won back the right to track the online behavior of every internet user in Belgium this week, whether or not they choose to use the social platform or not—in move that’s cool and good and not at all terrifying.
A Brussels court came down in favor of Facebook on Wednesday in a suit taken by the Belgian Commission for the Protection of Privacy. The decision means that the social networking site can once again track the browsing activities of citizens whether or not they have or are signed into Facebook. The site can track signed-up users and non-users alike using the “like” and “share” buttons that feature on websites all across the internet.
What has Facebook been tracking?
A lengthy report by the commission, published in 2015, details how all users are given a unique user ID which is placed in a “cookie,” that’s then tracked as a user moves from website to website. Your unique ID is tracked when a page featuring the same share buttons you see everywhere loads on your browser.
The code that makes the button appear also tracks who has loaded the page, and sends that data back to Facebook, allowing Facebook to piece together your internet browsing history. The buttons appear on close to 2 million websites, covering all categories. Cookies are a pretty common thing, and there could be upwards of 200 of them on a page that has a mess of advertising and other third-party elements. Not all are used for tracking, but enough privacy concerns cropped up for the European Union to issue a “cookie directive” which demanded that sites make EU web users aware when cookies are used.
What does Facebook do with the information?
They try to sell you stuff, mostly. The primary function for the data collection is to serve up online ads that you’re more likely to click on. So if you click through five websites about outdoor sports, and then finally land on a page that has a Facebook ad module installed, chances are that you’ll see an ad appear for products related to the great outdoors. That’s a rudimentary example, but it’s pretty much how it works. If you’ve ever thought that an ad seems to be following you around the internet, you’re not paranoid, you’re just beginning to realize the kind of trail of data you leave behind for companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook to use.
The really paranoid people will say “Sure, that’s what Facebook says it’s doing with the data, but what are they really doing?” It’s not a totally crazy question. Facebook has admitted to running psychological experiments on its users. The platform is essentially an enormous machine, sucking in vast quantities of behavioral data from its 1.65 billion users to sell to advertisers as business insights. Tracking non-users means that it can potentially track a large chunk of the non-Facebook internet population, too.
What does the decision mean?
“This decision means simply that Belgian citizens can not obtain protection of privacy by the courts vis-à-vis foreign players. Citizens are thus exposed to massive violations of privacy,” Willem Debeuckelaere, president of the watchdog organization, said in a statement. And, he’s pretty much right.
This ruling, which took place in an appeals court, reverses a previous decision that temporarily forced Facebook to stop using cookies on people who were not logged into their accounts. Facebook claimed its actions did not fall under the jurisdiction of Belgium since its European branch operates out of Dublin, Ireland. The case is likely to go to higher European courts, along with others from similar watchdog bodies in a number of countries.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision and look forward to bringing all our services back online for people in Belgium,” a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters. Throughout the case, Facebook has maintained that its tracking served the purpose of keeping hackers and spammers at bay. It didn’t mention that it also hones their gigantic advertising machine and vastly extends its reach. Facebook made just shy of $18 billion in ad revenue in 2015.
No stranger to legal trouble, Facebook has become involved in several major court cases centering around its use of citizen data across the continent. A German court recently found its “friend finder” tool unlawful and a means of advertising harassment, and it is currently embroiled in a major EU class action lawsuit of over 25,000 people playing out in Austria.
Why should I care?
If you’re in any way concerned that the world’s largest media company is tracking your every move online and will do for years on end to do God-knows-what with your data, it’s probably a precedent you should care about at least a little. The more successful and profitable a company like Facebook becomes, the greater its global influence. On the issue of net neutrality, it’s important to remember that the company has been previously criticized for attempts at controlling the internet marketplace with services like Free Basics. The zero-rating service, which is offered to over one billion people throughout the world, essentially controls what users can and cannot access on the web (though Mark Zuckerberg will be the first to note that its alternative in these areas is complete lack of access).
And not to be too tinfoil-hat about it all, but Facebook’s ever-expanding influence and data access is pretty much the stuff of sci-fi horror that some speculate could shape the future of acutely advanced artificial intelligence. In a Terminator 2: Judgment Day kind of way.


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Dell Computer Cuts Prices on Its Entire Line
Citing the continuing easing of the computer chip shortage that has plagued the industry for most of the last 18 months, one personal computer manufacturer Wednesday announced price cuts of $200 to $2,400 throughout its product line.
Dell Computer Corp., of Austin, Tex., said the price cuts on products ranging from its top-of-the-line personal computer to its memory upgrade kits stem from the company’s increased access to dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips. DRAM shortages throughout 1987 and the first half of 1988 had forced production slowdowns and price increases by several personal computer manufacturers.
Dell’s announcement lends support to projections that the shortage--which was at its peak about six months ago--could be over within the next six months.
According to Instat, a Scottsdale, Ariz., semiconductor market research firm, DRAM prices on the domestic spot market have dropped from a peak of nearly $40 for the popular 1-megabyte model to about $24.
Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive of Dell Computer, said the company previously couldn’t price some of its products competitively because of its high DRAM costs. “Now we have more DRAMs, so our pricing can be consistent with the rest of the market,” he said.
Other computer makers, which had raised prices earlier this year because of the chip shortage, said Wednesday that they did not expect to immediately announce price cuts of their own.


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On May 11, 2017 and August 02, 2017 the females pictured below used victims' debit cards to withdraw money from two Mount Dora bank ATM’s.
In both cases the suspects called the victims and identified themselves as an employee of the victim’s bank. The suspects advised the victims they needed to have their debit card replaced. The victims were instructed to leave their old debit cards in a specific location at their residences. The victims did as instructed and the debit cards were retrieved by the suspects.
Utilizing the PIN provided to the suspects by the victims, the suspects were able to withdraw cash from two banks in Mount Dora. If you have any information as to the identity of these women you can call the Mount Dora Police Department at 352-735-7130. Residents are reminded to never give financial information or PINS over the phone or email.


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Who will lead the tri-county corporate scene over the next decade?
The ranks of corporate leadership in the Tri-Counties are undergoing a bit of a shakeup.
Our middle class of public companies, including a number of banks, is gradually fading. In some cases that’s through acquisitions, but it is also because companies are going private through management buyouts with private equity partners.
Replacing those middle-class firms are a mix of startups and technology companies, which often are not as big or community-focused as the larger companies being sold. From San Luis Obispo to East Ventura County, the region boasts a number of vibrant smaller companies that are still private, still growing fast and poised to be the next generation of corporate leaders. But, to paraphrase my grandkids, they are not there —yet.
The shifting of corporate leadership to smaller and nimbler growth companies has broad ramifications for philanthropy, the arts, culture and even housing. Philanthropy is likely to be driven more by entrepreneurs and their passion than by workers putting a small part of each paycheck into a worthy cause.
Employees are likely to play a bigger role in steering volunteer efforts and promoting cultural activities. Companies such as Patagonia, Deckers Outdoor Corp. and Montecito Bank & Trust are pioneering employee driven philanthropy as a way to motivate and retain workers, who increasingly will want to ditch long commutes and live closer to the workplace.
I offer these observations as the Business Times publishes the 2012 version of 101 One Hundred, our annual special report on the largest public and private companies in the region. Most notably, our public company-list, once loaded with community banks, has shrunk significantly in the last few years — from 50 to 35 — thanks in part to bank mergers and acquisitions.
Two other good examples of the M&A trend, both based in Carpinteria, come to mind. First, CKE Restaurants, the parent of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains, used to be one of my favorite stocks to follow. It was an excellent proxy for consumer tastes and for marketing trends and also a bellwether for gauging the health of the California economy. CKE has been taken private, and while it still does release quarterly financial data, its stock is no longer traded independently from its parent, Apollo Management.
Second is Clipper Windpower, maker of some of the largest wind turbines in the world and at the leading edge of the region’s clean technology sector. Clipper went from a startup to a private company to a public company very quickly, listing on one of the emerging-company markets in Europe. Although its revenue skyrocketed, the wind energy business is not risk-free. Turbines are hard to sell without lengthy warrantees, and U.S. subsidies are very fickle. Clipper was sold to United Technologies in stages but even that vaunted engineering conglomerate couldn’t find a way to win in the wind industry. Clipper is now up for sale again.
The region continues to add to its public company ranks, with the current growth wave focused on East Ventura County. Ryland Group, a major homebuilder, entered our orbit when it moved its headquarters from Los Angeles County to Westlake Village last year. That move has given us a window on the residential construction industry. Ceres, a Thousand Oaks maker of agricultural products that can be converted into ethanol, is a terrific case study in the future. It went public in late February after a long delay and its prospects are still far from clear. It represents one of those early-stage companies that might succeed spectacularly and really put the region on the map.
Among private companies, we’ve seen Affinity Group, once a major media and financial services company, put its Ventura headquarters up for sale and leave the area. But we’ve also seen Mission Produce and Jordano’s, two long-standing private companies in our region, remain stable, making money in traditional industries such as agribusiness or food and beverage distribution.
One thing for sure about our current corporate lineup is that, with one notable exception, South Santa Barbara County has lost some of its cache for hosting larger corporations, public or private. The exception is Deckers
Outdoor, the Ugg-Teva-Simple footwear juggernaut that is building global brands and a new headquarters in Goleta. But several other mid-sized companies in technology or medical devices have been sold to corporate giants.
The current lineup of companies in the South Coast, in Ventura County and in the Central Coast includes a number in the 100 to 250 employment class that are still fast growing and worth keeping a close eye on. From these companies will come the future corporate leaders for the entire region.
• Contact Editor Henry Dubroff at email@example.com.


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Welcome to techradar BrandWorld @ PluggedIn
TechRadar is the UK’s number one consumer technology website, supplying reviews, buying advice, features and the latest news on everything from laptops to tablets and mobile phones.
More than 5 million people check out TechRadar every month to get advice on the greatest mobile phone or tips and tricks on the latest technology, with our reviews written by some of the UK’s finest technology journalists and experts.
As part of Future Publishing, TechRadar is home to content from some of the finest technology magazines in Britain, including PC Format, PC Plus, What Laptop, Official Windows Magazine and MacFormat.
Three has confirmed that it has bought part of Everything Everywhere’s 1800MHz spectrum meaning they can now begin deploying their own 4G network ahead of the spectrum auction in 2013.
Our complete guide the latest details and rumours on the possible Apple iTV release date, price, specs and more. Will Apple’s venture into the TV market pay off? Find out here!
The BBC says the prospect of its iPlayer application coming to Windows Phone is remote due to the development tools Microsoft requires app developers to use which the beeb are unable to reuse on other platforms.
The man who ran Apple when Steve Jobs departed in 1985 says he’s backing the company to take over the TV market with the announcement of the long awaiting Apple iTV flatsreen set.
Samsung announces that its Galaxy Note “phablet” has broken a milestone for the number of units sold (10 million) and also announce the arrival of the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet and soon arrival of the Galaxy Note 2.
The long wait for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 looks like it’ll finally come to an end next week thanks to a listing on the Carphone Warehouse website earlier this week. Find out more about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 here!
Speculation that Samsung will release a black shade of its Galaxy S3 smartphone have seriously gathered pace in the last week as another UK retailer website adds the device to it’s pre-order listing.
One of the hardest parts about starting up on your own is deciding how to kit out your home office. Do you chose a Mac or PC, wireless or wired? Our ultimate how to guide will help you decide.
Google’s new piracy-fighting search algorithm, which downgrades illegal content, is unlikely to affect its YouTube service which, is arguably the home of much of the web’s illegally uploaded content.


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The study also found that two out three organizations have more than 50 percent of workloads virtualized.
Combined with Cross vCenter vMotion, it's a powerful feature.
The newest version of VMware's flagship promises easier virtual HDD conversions. James puts that promise to the test.
DataCore's survey has lots of valuable insights.
The new Atlantis product, Hyperscale, works with existing storage to make it more efficient.
What changes excite Rick the most?
The company finally gets its own OS.
Infinio promises greater vSphere performance.
Rick's shortcuts for better storage efficiency.
VVOLs are a breakthrough for virtual environments, but every storage vendor handles them differently.
Rick is upgrading his lab, and passes along hard-earned wisdom for getting the most out of your home environment.
Year-over-year sales were up more than 30 percent over 2013, according to IDC.
Qumulo demonstrates its new file system, the heart of its software-defined-storage product.
With so many options, like the StorTrends 3600i, it pays to choose wisely.
This first look shows how powerful Qumulo Core is.
Google Inc. challenged established cloud services leader Amazon Web Services Inc. with last week's introduction of a beta Nearline Storage service for housing data that needs to be kept by enterprises but is infrequently accessed.
The latest revision has more than 650 upgrades.
The company gets a new round of cash, raising its value to more than $1 billion.
All the upgrades to the VMware flagship product lead to much better availability of services.
VVOLs, as they're known, could revolutionize your datacenter. Learn how they work and how to set them up.
SUSE Enterprise Storage is unveiled, further crowding the space.
vSphere 6 has more than 650 new features. Here are five of the ones that have the ability to transform your environment.
How does the new, all-flash version compare with VSAN 5.5?
The company now integrates all layers of the virtualization stack.
The VDI giant is evolving beyond its core competency. That's a good thing.
More Tech Library
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Confidence in start-up electric vehicle producers is stronger than ever, signaled by a huge increase in venture capitalist funding pouring in during the first quarter of this year. According to Ernst & Young LLP, investments in clean-technology have doubled through the first three months of the year compared to the same time frame in 2009. Leading the way are Fisker Automotive and Coda Automotive, both of which have seen a huge spike in money coming in and together have secured $193 million in venture funding in the first quarter.
The two California-based automakers accounted for 26 percent of the total $733.3 million in investments that came in for all clean-tech companies in the first quarter. The investments thus far have exceeded the year-over-year growth of the clean-tech industry, which Ernst & Young says is 11 percent. Though still a far cry from the amount of money that corporations such as General Motors and Nissan have available, the small start-ups are looking good to at least some people with money.
[Source: Green Car Advisor]


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On Friday, news broke that Clare Waight Keller is leaving Givenchy. After three years with the famed fashion house, her fall/winter 2020 collection, which showed in Paris on March 1, will be Keller's last. As the first female creative director for the house, her collections remained true to the brand's DNA: sensuous, feminine, and romantic with a bit of edge.
One of the British designer's most memorable moments during her short tenure was creating the wedding dress for Megan Markle. It took 3,900 hours to create the masterpiece that was seen by millions and drew acclaim from many observers. Prior to Givenchy, Keller had been highly acclaimed at Chloé and was credited for bringing a '70s bohemian, feminine flair to the brand.
Of her departure, Keller released a statement: "As the first woman to be the Artistic Director of this legendary Maison, I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity to cherish its legacy and bring it new life."
Sidney Toledano, chairman and CEO of LVMH, thanked Keller for her contributions and noted that she connected the brand back to the elegant aesthetic that Hubert de Givenchy once created.
While we don't yet know the reason for the departure (as of now, fans are under the impression that her contract is up), we do know that in pre-COVID-19 life, fashion was always a game of musical chairs. Now, it seems like the game is back. With Keller's killer resumé and romantic vision, any fashion house would be lucky to have her. And that's what we call winning.
For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.


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Starting the first official day of summer (we know, we know, it’s been soooo hot already) Thurs. June 21, all you hop heads will be able to score a new seasonal brew aptly named “Beach Bod.”
The summer beer collaboration between Revelry Brewing and The Darling Oyster Bar began in April, and over several meetings, the owners of the brewery and the restaurant came up with the citrus-heavy, light drinking beer perfect for sipping at a restaurant or “with your friends on a boat.”
“We have always been fans of Revelry Brewing and the beers they produce,” said Robert Young, co-owner of The Darling in a press release. “We wanted the beer to be something you could enjoy over the warm weather months, which in Charleston can last well into the fall months.”
Revelry’s head brewer/owner Ryan Coker said that they discussed citrus and how it complements seafood, which is the perfect flavor profile for anyone saddling up to the Oyster Bar.
Work on your beach bod and get a first taste of Beach Bod at Revelry June 21 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Revelry. The Darling will be there shucking oysters on the rooftop.


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The merger of the world's top online search firm with the industry leader in matching ads to people's internet activities came after European regulators signed off on the deal, and strengthened Google's domination of the lucrative online ad business.
"We are thrilled that our acquisition of DoubleClick has closed,'' Google chairman and chief executive Eric Schmidt said in a written statement shortly after European antitrust regulators cleared the deal.
"Google now has the leading display ad platform.''
The European Commission said an investigation opened in November 2007 concluded the transaction "would be unlikely to have harmful effects on consumers''. US regulators approved the deal last year.
Google ended a bidding war with Microsoft in April 2007 by agreeing to pay $US3.1 billion ($3.4 billion) to add DoubleClick to its internet money-making arsenal.
"It's part of Google's desire to control most of the online ad revenue,'' said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
"Google is trying to become a one-stop shop for ads.''
Google's purchase of DoubleClick is likely among the reasons Microsoft is now trying to buy Yahoo for $US44.6 billion in cash and stock, analysts said.


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JJ’s Takeaways from CEDIA 2011
Dedicated touchscreens are back, LED lighting is hot, Cat 5 is king, motorized shades are for the masses ... and other top trends from CEDIA Expo 2011
CEDIA Expo 2011 was two months ago, but the innovations from the event are still fresh. While there were some mind-blowing products like Sony’s affordable 4K projector, there were also some more modest developments that signify industry trends:
Return of the touchscreens
iPad and Android tablets were all over the show floor, as usual, but that doesn’t signify the end of the dedicated touchscreen. Seems they’re actually enjoying a comeback, even in the middle market.
Both Control4 and URC introduced new 7-inch touchpanels that look like sleek tablets but act like home controllers
The Control4 unit, which includes video intercom capabilities, will retail for about $1,000 and many dealers think they can sell it. One of them comments, “This touchpanel is perfect. The $1,000 price point is awesome. Good luck using an iPad for intercom.”
LEDs are hot – or not (get it?)
Never before have we seen so much enthusiasm for LED lighting and controllers.
Colored LEDs from Stewart Filmscreen enhance an outdoor movie venue
Several CEDIA newcomers demonstrated colorful fixtures, and traditional lighting companies like Lutron showed new flicker-free technologies that enhance the performance of those quirky lights. LEDs even are coming from unusual sources, such as Stewart Filmscreen (left), which continues to build its line of lights that bring big screens to life.
So the big question is: how will these LEDs – especially the colored ones – be controlled?
Several companies touted DMX, the popular commercial standard for controlling colored LEDs, but others like nuLEDs dismiss the technology for home use.
Co-founder Lisa Isaacson says, “The future in our industry is serial control for LED lighting. This is the language our integrators speak.”
Cat 5 is king
In January, we touted one-wire (Cat 5) technology as one of the Top 5 Home Technology Opportunities for 2011. At last, we have the opportunity to distribute high-quality A/V, control signals, data and sometimes power over a single Cat 5 cable. In January, we cited the emergence of HDBaseT and the perfection of A/V over IP (with NetStreams and Just Add Power), plus SpeakerCraft’s new Nirv system that taps the commercially popular CobraNet platform.
Well, Nirv is finally in the field and the early results are positive. “Given that Nirv has less than ten pieces of hardware to choose from, it is incredibly simple to design a system in a fraction of the time,” says one of the first installers, Brad Sundberg of BSUN Media Systems in Fairhope, Ala.
Although HDBaseT has failed to penetrate the mass market, the group did announce several new specialty implementers including Vantage Controls. Plus, there’s a new kid in town—Audio Video Bridging (AVB)—which is being adopted by mainstream component manufacturers at a rapid pace. Stay tuned for a feature story on that.
One-Wire Technology is the Next Great Retrofit Opportunity
SpeakerCraft Makes Radical Improvements to Nirv GUI
SpeakerCraft at CEDIA: All Speakers, Some Nirv
HDBaseT Alliance to Demo Multi-Device Home Entertainment at CEDIA 2011
Made in the shade
Anyone who has (or sells) motorized shades – and those like myself who covet them – understand that they are a killer app for energy management, aesthetics, convenience and so much more. But they have long been the most expensive element, by far, of an automated home.
Finally, we’re seeing some movement (get it?) in the category. Somfy, whose motors are used in the majority of motorized shades, recently introduced the very affordable Tahoma control system that lets window guys and home systems integrators actually lead with the shades sale.
Of course, Lutron famously introduced at CEDIA its affordable line of battery-operated cellular shades, which opens up vast new opportunities to traditional integrators and window shading specialists.
Although I missed several of my favorite #avtweeps at CEDIA—@jmota3 in particular—I was lucky enough to spend time with @rfregosa. How about we do something big at #EHX12, March 15-17 in Orlando? It would be the treat of @ce_pro and @juliejacobson.
Julie Jacobson, recipient of the 2014 CEA TechHome Leadership Award, is co-founder of EH Publishing, producer of CE Pro, Electronic House, Commercial Integrator, Security Sales and other leading technology publications. She currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. She's a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player currently residing in Carlsbad, Calif. Email Julie at firstname.lastname@example.org
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