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WASHINGTON – Today, technology industry trade group ITI, the global voice of the tech sector, joined 44 other associations representing a broad cross-section of the business community opposing tariffs as a remedy to the United States 301 investigation on China’s unfair trade practices. While the associations appreciate the Administration’s efforts to address this long-standing problem, tariffs would punish U.S. consumers and businesses for China’s actions.
In a letter to President Donald Trump, the group outlines how imposing tariffs would harm consumers, workers, and a wide-range of industries across the country, and would negate recent gains for the U.S. economy and the benefits of comprehensive tax reform. Tariffs on electronics, apparel, and other consumer products would increase prices for U.S. consumers and businesses, while doing little to address the fundamental challenges posed by unfair and discriminatory Chinese trade practices. The associations encourage the Administration to work with industry experts to identify a targeted solution to this problem.
To read the letter click here or see below:
President Donald Trump
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
March 18, 2018
Dear President Trump,
As representatives of the U.S. business community, we continue to have serious concerns regarding China’s trade policies and practices, including market access barriers and state-directed investment policies, technology transfer and data localization mandates, policies and practices that prevent setting market-based terms in licensing and technology-related negotiations, and theft of trade secrets and other intellectual property. These persistent problems jeopardize U.S. global competitiveness, innovation, productivity, and cybersecurity. We recognize the U.S. Government’s examination of these issues through the 301 process, and support an effort to address China’s discriminatory practices.
However, we urge the Administration to take measured, commercially meaningful actions consistent with international obligations that benefit U.S. exporters, importers, and investors, rather than penalize the American consumer and jeopardize recent gains in American competitiveness.
The imposition of sweeping tariffs would trigger a chain reaction of negative consequences for the U.S. economy, provoking retaliation; stifling U.S. agriculture, goods, and services exports; and raising costs for businesses and consumers. The Administration should not respond to unfair Chinese practices and policies by imposing tariffs or other measures that will harm U.S. companies, workers, farmers, ranchers, consumers, and investors.
Tariffs would be particularly harmful.
- Tariffs on electronics, apparel, and other consumer products would increase prices for U.S. consumers and businesses, while doing little to address the fundamental challenges posed by unfair and discriminatory Chinese trade practices. These increased costs would effectively levy a tax on U.S. consumers and businesses, negating gains for American workers from U.S. tax reform.
- Tariffs would not only affect Chinese shippers but also harm U.S. companies that sell component pieces of final products exported from China.
- Tariffs would harm community service providers—including American health care, education, and emergency responders. These essential services rely heavily on consumer electronics and other imported goods, and would be negatively affected by increased costs.
- Tariffs on product components would hurt U.S. manufacturing exports by making it more expensive to obtain key inputs and disrupting existing supply chains. This would have a negative impact on American jobs. In 2017, manufactured goods made up more than 85 percent of U.S. exported goods, totaling $1.3 trillion.
- Tariffs that result in reduced consumption of products would also depress financial markets—a decline in ICT product purchases alone could result in a potential decrease of GDP by $11 billion for every percentage of stock value lost.
There are alternatives to address China’s policies and practices that would not have the same adverse impacts on U.S. consumers, businesses, and local communities or undermine the benefits of the tax reform. In particular, it is critically important that the Administration work with like-minded partners to address common concerns with China’s trade and investment policies. Imposition of unilateral tariffs by the Administration would only serve to split the United States from its allies, hinder joint action to effectively address shared challenges, and ensure that foreign companies take the place of markets that American companies, farmers and ranchers must vacate when China retaliates against U.S. tariffs.
We urge the Administration not to impose tariffs and to work with the business community to find an effective, but measured, solution to China’s protectionist trade policies and practices that protects American jobs and competitiveness. Consistent with Section 304 of the Trade Act of 1974, we request that the Administration allow industry experts the opportunity to comment on these issues, including the economic impact of any potential actions.
Agriculture Transportation Coalition
Allied for Startups
American Apparel & Footwear Association
CAWA Auto Parts
Coalition of New England Companies for Trade
Columbia River Customs & Forwarders
Computer and Communications Industry Association
Consumer Technology Association (CTA)
Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of Northern California
Fashion Accessory Shippers (FASA)
Gemini Shippers Association
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Home Furnishings Association
Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
International Wood Products Association
Los Angeles Customs Brokers
National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America
National Foreign Trade Council
National Retail Federation
NY/NJ Forwarders and Brokers Association
North American Meat Institute
Outdoor Industry Association
Pacific Northwest Asia Shippers Association
Promotional Products Association International
Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)
Snowsports Industries America
Specialty Crop Trade Council
Sports and Fitness Industry
Tea Association of the U.S.A., Inc.
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
The APP Association (ACT)
The Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders
The Toy Association
Travel Goods Association (TGA)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Council for International Business
U.S. Fashion Industry Association
U.S. Hide, Skin, and Leather Association
Wine and Spirits Shippers Association
CC: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow


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SSA has issued a warning about scams related to its office closures, apparently the first—but likely not the last—instance of an agency having to make clearer to the public the impact of that and other steps being taken in response to the Coronavirus.
The scam involves messages stating that due to the closures, the recipient’s benefits have been suspended. “Scammers may then mislead beneficiaries into providing personal information or payment via retail gift cards, wire transfers, internet currency, or by mailing cash, to maintain regular benefit payments,” the agency said.
“Social Security employees continue to work. Social Security will not suspend or decrease Social Security benefit payments or Supplemental Security Income payments due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Any communication you receive that says SSA will do so is a scam, whether you receive it by letter, text, email, or phone call,” it said.
The Justice Department recently announced that it will give high priority to prosecuting scams related to the virus. Agencies most commonly targeted in impersonation scams include the SSA, the IRS, DHS and the FTC.
ask.FEDweek.com: Social Security Survivor Benefits – Federal Retirement

domain: news


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CHICAGO – Feb. 1, 2022 – IRI®, a fast-growing, innovative, global provider of technology, data and predictive analytics for the consumer, retail and media sectors, today announced that Misty Muscatel Davis will join IRI as global chief marketing officer, effective Feb. 1, 2022. In her new role, Davis will drive marketing and sales initiatives in alignment with IRI's growth strategies with the goal of accelerating demand, awareness and ecosystem growth. Davis joins IRI after a 16-plus year career at Google, where she held several positions, the most recent of which was director, Global Client and Agency Solutions, Consumer Packaged Goods, Consumer Health and Tech.
"We are excited about the new dimension Misty will bring to IRI's marketing function from her work at Google building global partnerships with some of the world's largest global advertisers and their respective media and creative agencies," said Kirk Perry, president and chief executive officer, IRI. "She earned a strong reputation for developing innovative and best-in-class marketing and advertising opportunities to help brands move faster and successfully navigate the continuously evolving digital landscape. I had the pleasure of working closely with her during my time as president of Google's Client and Agency Solutions business and look forward to doing so again."
"IRI has enjoyed tremendous growth and success, and I look forward to working with Kirk and the very talented IRI team to continue to expand on their exciting trajectory," said Davis. "Leading some of the world's largest global brand and agency partnerships with Google over the last 16 years will serve as a springboard to take IRI's marketing initiatives to the next level."
Davis served in several positions during her tenure at Google, starting her career working across U.S. teams, then in various markets throughout APAC in 2011, which catapulted her into the previous decade of global leadership opportunities. She is a thought leader and trusted confidant to her colleagues and a well-respected consultant with expertise in her field with clients.
Davis worked extensively with Unilever during her tenure at Google, and the company is also a longstanding IRI client. Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, said, "Misty is a long-time, trusted partner of Unilever, always providing the deepest industry expertise and thought leadership to help our brands grow across the changing digital ecosystem. The energy and focus she brings to the partnership every day are palpable. We are thrilled that we get to continue to work with her in her new role as CMO as we continue to deepen our relationships at IRI."
In addition to her professional responsibilities at Google, Davis has been involved in initiatives to build and maintain the company's culture since she started in 2005. She is deeply passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, most recently serving as the global executive sponsor for Google's partnership with the Unstereotype Alliance, a platform that seeks to eradicate harmful stereotypes in all media and advertising content. At the start of the pandemic, she founded a community for parents within her global organization that works to provide coaching, mentorship and events to improve well-being and balance throughout the parenting journey. She also recently completed a term on the Board of Trustees at Phillips Andover Academy.
Davis earned a dual bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Spanish from Carnegie Mellon University and a marketing certificate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
IRI is a fast-growing, leading provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights that help CPG, OTC health care organizations, retailers, and financial services and media companies grow their businesses. With the largest repository of purchase, media, social, causal and loyalty data, all integrated into an on-demand, cloud-based technology platform, IRI is empowering the personalization revolution, helping to guide its more than 5,000 clients around the world in their quests to remain relentlessly relevant, capture market share, connect with consumers, collaborate with key constituents and deliver market-leading growth. For more information, visit www.iriworldwide.com.
Phone: +1 312-731-1782


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The Compaq Computer Corporation said yesterday that it would join the rush to sell hand-held computers, a market crowded with announcements but no products yet. The Compaq model, which weighs less than two pounds, will go on sale in the first half of 1994 and will be priced from $1,000 to $2,000, said Lorie L. Strong, vice president for portable and software marketing. The Houston-based company will aim its product at the business market, unlike some rivals, who call their machines "personal digital assistants" intended for the consumer market.
Compaq will call its hand-held model "mobile companion" and expects its customers will be traveling managers, consultants and salespeople, who want to tap into their desktop computers back at the office. Other companies that will offer hand-held machines include Apple Computer, Sharp, EO and a joint effort by Tandy and Casio Computer.Continue reading the main story


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If you have been hanging around the FaithWriters Forums or the FaithWriters Facebook group lately, you probably know that there has been talk of some sort of in-person get-together of FaithWriters folks in the future. Well, it’s official. It will be happening!
While dates and details are not yet firmed up, the FaithWriters Writer Celebration/Gathering will be happening in July 2016 in McDonough, Georgia (about half an hour south of Atlanta). According to Deb Porter (the face of FaithWriters and so [...]


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Ambiance Lighting Market size is projected to expand at a commendable rate from 2021 to 2027, given the growing need to ensure comfortable illumination levels without glares for comfort, wellness, and safety across the commercial spaces. Likewise, the strong focus on installation of outdoor landscape lights for home security will further amplify the deployment of ambiance outdoor lighting solutions during the forecast timeline. Ambiance lighting refers to a form of lighting used for general illumination and is crucial for setting the mood in the room. This lighting is typically soft or diffused and can be dimmable to allow users to enhance the natural feel of any room and ensure more ease in daily living.
High emphasis on the replacement of traditional lighting technology with energy-efficient options and the considerable increase in homebuilding activities will foster ambiance lighting market trends through 2027. The emergence of LED light as an eco-friendly and cost-effective lighting system will positively influence the adoption of ambiance lighting systems worldwide. For example, Signify unveiled a Philips HexaStyle LED downlight in India in 2021, designed to offer ambient and functional lighting. In addition, the escalating need for smart lights with increased reliability to set the perfect ambiance for stable, smart home experiences is also expected to contribute to the overall industry growth in the coming years.
Considering application, the hospitality sector is poised to account for a major share in the ambiance lighting market by 2027. This is a result of the growing awareness about the effects of well-designed and visually appealing lighting on elevating the ambiance and increasing footfall in hotels. The rising consumption of downlights and ceiling mount luminaires as preferred lighting choices for hotel reception areas and restaurants will further push the recessed ambiance lighting system demand during the forecast timeframe.
The Europe ambiance lighting market will exhibit a strong growth rate through 2027, driven by the significant recovery in vehicle sales in the region. According to estimates from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, car sales in the EU are likely to surge by nearly 10% in 2021 as compared to a year earlier. Such factors could generate opportunities for regional industry expansion, given the use of ambiance lighting in car interiors to ensure a soothing driving experience. Additionally, the high investment interest towards infrastructural development projects in an attempt to offset the economic downturn induced by the coronavirus pandemic will asset a positive fuel on the regional growth.
Some of the prominent players in the global industry include Hafele, Thorn Lighting (Zumtobel Group), Eaton Corporation, Wolfspeed (formerly Cree), Hubbell Lighting, GE, Wipro, Acuity Brands, Philips, and Osram (ams). These companies are focusing on several initiatives such as new product launches, business expansions, and partnerships to strengthen their footprint across the competitive market. For instance, in December 2020, Osram Opto Semiconductors launched its Ostune family of packaged ambiance LED lights with innovative features such as 90-CRI, designed to allow car owners to light specific areas in the automotive interior for optimum functionality.
The outbreak of coronavirus has posed devastating impacts on businesses and industrial establishments across the globe. Construction is among the industries that faced the massive brunt of the pandemic, with multiple projects being canceled or delayed at the peak of the crisis. The dwindling output and the financial constraints across this sector have led to a decline in both residential and commercial infrastructure developments and in turn, hindered the ambiance lighting industry share over the past months. However, the implementation of stay-at-home measures and the growing focus on interior design across residential spaces may help the industry regain traction in the upcoming years.


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Fourteen diamond companies from Antwerp, Belgium, will exhibit in the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion at the 27th India International Jewellery Show in Mumbai from August 19 to 23.
This marks the third consecutive year for the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion at IIJS, which draws more than 30,000 jewelry retailers and industry professionals. Information on the pavilion is available o
This is the third consecutive year that an Antwerp Diamond Pavilion will be exhibiting at the show. Some 30,000 jewelers and other industry professionals are expected to attend IIJS, which is viewed by Belgium's diamond industry as a critical springboard into one of the world's fastest developing jewelry consumer markets.
In the first six months of 2010, polished diamond exports from Belgium to India rose by 42.6 percent to $362.1 million. Belgium is also the largest supplier of rough diamonds to India's polishing sector. About 60 percent of Belgium's rough diamonds head to India.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), which organizes the Antwerp Pavilion at IIJS, launched a mini-site at www.antwerpdp-mumbai.com. The website includes an interactive map of the pavilion and a module by which contact can be made with the Antwerp companies exhibiting at the show. (Source: IDEX Online News)


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11 posts tagged "Carla Sozzani"
The French Open is well under way, a fine time to remind us all that there’s bad tennis fashion and good tennis fashion. In the latter category: the recent collaboration between Lacoste and Carla Sozzani, doyenne of 10 Corso Como. The Lacoste alligator has always been up for a little imaginative tweaking—the brand has collaborated with everyone from Jeffrey Kalinsky to the Campana Brothers—and Sozzani has given him a new accessory: a bouquet of tennis ball flowers, which he carries in his mouth on scallop-hem polos, shorts, and sneakers. The limited-edition capsule collection, available at 10CC’s Milan and Seoul boutiques and online, was inspired by Sozzani’s daughter, who apparently imagined she was a crocodile while growing up. This had mama scouring the market for croc collectibles and buying a lot of Lacoste polos over the years. (The Lacoste logo is technically a gator, not a croc, but never mind that.) The younger Sozzani may be a crocodile, but her mother’s a fashion plate through and through. Asked how she’d wear the new collection, Sozzani opined, “I’d wear the sneakers and a bag to accessorize my Alaïa dresses.”
Nicholas Kirkwood isn’t the only London-based designer with shoe news, it turns out. At the party i-D threw for him, Christopher Kane revealed that the heels on his Fall ’10 runway (left) are the first styles in a new collaborative range with Giuseppe Zanotti. And on Tuesday, at her traditional London fashion week tea, Charlotte Olympia designer Charlotte Dellal ‘fessed up that she’s opening a store off Bond Street in seven weeks or so. Come fall delivery time, shoppers will find satin-covered footwear in rainbow colors, vertiginously high or ballet flat, and each pair will come in a set with matching stockings, a first for the brand. “We’re not selling the stockings separately,” Dellal explained. “They’re designed to go with the shoes, tone-on-tone.”
London shoppers looking for a louder volume, meanwhile, should head to Liberty. The buzz in the U.S. has centered on the store’s collaboration with Target, which will bring Liberty-print apparel and housewares to both countries, but on Tuesday, the celebrations were for a different collab—with Milan’s 10 Corso Como. Liberty CEO Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye and 10CC’s Carla Sozzani co-hosted a cocktail party to celebrate the effort, which prints bikinis (below), sun hats, wallets, and scarves from the Milanese store with Deco-era Liberty prints from the archives. Yasmin Sewell, Liberty’s chief creative consultant and one of the driving forces behind the update of the store’s fashion floors, was on hand and took the opportunity to talk up the latest local designer to blow out the doors. “Michael van der Ham is killing it,” Sewell said of the designer, who showed his second collection earlier in the week at Fashion East. “We just got his first collection in, and it’s selling out.” Coincidentally, we’d caught up with van der Ham the day prior, at his stand at the New Gen installation at Somerset House, and he’d explained that one of the inspirations behind his collaged designs is a series of Warhol films composed of sundry, spliced-together footage. Van der Ham is on the laconic side, and he speaks softly, but it’s worth pricking up your ears: You’ll be hearing more from him soon.
Friday morning attracted an impressive assortment of fashion identities at the Raleigh hotel in Miami as Vogue Italia‘s Franca Sozzani hosted a breakfast to unveil—wait for it—a duck. Not just any duck, however. This one, a giant resin sculpture (pictured at left) measuring in around one meter, is British contemporary artist Stuart Semple’s ode to the iconic mascot of Moncler. “It’s just a very funny and different way of seeing the symbol of the brand,” attested Sozzani, who, with sister Carla, greeted Bruce Weber, Roxanne Lowit, Bob Colacello, Thom Browne, and Stefano Tonchi (complete with his tennis racquet fresh from an early morning match). Next up on the duck’s itinerary is Aspen for a Moncler store opening at the end of the month, followed by an auction with all proceeds from the Moncler Toy Charity Project to be donated to the Child Priority Foundation.


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Chinese short video sharing app Snack Video has now crossed 100 Mn download mark on Google play store, virtually becoming the no 1 short video sharing app of India. This despite all the hype around the made in India apps that are today trying very hard to capture the Indian market by riding high on the atam nirbhar bharat campaign.
Few weeks back Snack Video’s download numbers on play store were hovering around 50 Mn – 70 Mn and the app has managed to cross the 100 Mn mark within the span of two weeks since then. The continuously growing download numbers is a clear indication of app’s growing popularity among Indian consumers. More importantly, it now seems to be in the pole position to replace the numero uno position of TikTok app, which was banned in June due to the growing Indo-China tension.
As for the Indian apps, ShareChat’s Moj, InMobi’s Roposo and Times Internet’s Max Taka Tak may have a semblance of chance in challenging the domination of Snack Video. Moj and Roposo can especially muster a challenge for the Chinese app, with both apps boosting more than 50 Mn downloads on the play store. However, unlike Snack Video, both apps apparently have been unable to add up to their download numbers over the last few weeks.
Chinagri and Mitron apps, on other hand, still have a long way to go to close the gap on Snack Video. Both these apps have just managed to clock 10 Mn – 20 Mn download on the play store so far. But given that both these apps have managed to recently raise funds, post-funding they maybe probably in a better position to compete with Snack video or even Moj and Taka Tak.
Snack video is owned by a Chinese company called Kuaishou Technology. Although a relatively unknown company in India, Kuaishou has a global presence across the world. It operates many entrainment apps, with Kwai app being one of its flagship apps. Many of its other apps have gained huge popularity, topping the Google Play and Apple App Store’s “Most Downloaded” lists in as many as eight countries.
Interestingly, Kuaishou’s Kwai app was one of the 58 Chinese apps that got banned by Indian government in June. Curiously enough, it was exactly during June that the Snack Video app was launched in India.


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Drug maker Sandoz has started two late-stage clinical trials of biosimilar drugs for treating cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, the company said Thursday, saying the studies were meant to support the drugs' eventual marketing in the United States.
Patent expirations of key blockbuster drugs and efforts by payers to contain costs are likely to bring strong growth to the global generic drug market in the next few years as market-earned revenues grow by more than $100 billion, according to an analysis by research firm Frost & Sullivan.
Pharmacy technology provider PDX is partnering with Mscripts to allow existing PDX Classic and Enterprise Pharmacy System customers to add mobile to their customer-facing offerings, the companies said.
A Pfizer painkiller appears to produce a much less positive experience for recreational drug users when crushed than when administered whole, according to results of a post-marketing clinical study program.
The Federal Trade Commission has voted to approve Valeant's acquisitions of Dermik, a unit of French drug maker Sanofi that makes drugs for skin conditions, and Ortho Dermatologics, a division of Johnson & Johnson that also makes skin drugs.
According to two new surveys of parents and pediatricians from Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, more than half of all parents report feeling anxious, fearful or helpless when their child comes down with a fever.
Though they've been on the market for less than a month, the generic and authorized generic versions of Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor have captured more than one-tenth of prescriptions, according to published reports.
The Food and Drug Administration will decide on Wednesday whether to remove merchandising restrictions on the emergency contraceptive Plan B and allow the product to be merchandised in the front-end without age restrictions, according to a report published Monday in the Washington Post.


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In the latest beta version of Instagram for Android, everyone’s favorite selfie app has revealed a major upcoming change: the ability to add multiple photos to a single post. The change, first spotted by Droid Life, takes a feature that’s been available to advertisers for a while, and rolls it out to mere mortals.
The change creates quasi-photo-albums by putting multiple photos into a post. According to The Verge, you long-press on a photo when you’re making a new post. That takes you to an options page, where you can add up to 10 photos or videos which are then posted as a gallery.
— Philip Chang (@Philip_Changg) February 1, 2017
For viewers, the effect is much like the multi-photo posts of Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. If you’re scrolling down through your timeline, you swipe horizontally on the first photo of a post to view the entire gallery. Again, if you’ve been using Instagram to look at promoted posts before, this interface won’t be new to you.
The capability is built into the current Android beta, but users can’t post galleries to their timelines yet. Still, if we assume that this isn’t the work of some rogue programming hero, you can expect the change to roll out within weeks, or a few months at most.
Photo galleries would just be one of many new features Instagram’s been rolling out lately. Other features have been shamelessly copying Snapchat, which has positioned itself as Instagram’s biggest rival for teen eyeballs. With Snapchat rumored to be floated in an IPO this spring, it’s crunch time for Facebook (via Instagram) to cannibalize Snapchat’s users and keep its crown as the most valuable social app.


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How Long Can The Mac Be Apple's (AAPL) Hero?
But, the Mac went wild. Unit sales hit 1.76 million up 33% compared to the same quarter a year ago, and above most Wall St. guesses. iPod sales grew only 22% between the two periods.
But, the Mac can’t be counted on for this kind of growth in future quarters. It is now becoming a big enough thorn in the side of the large PC companies that they are likely to start to push back with new products. And, overseas PC companies, particularly Lenovo, are moving into the US with new products and marketing dollars.
Even if Apple sells one million iPhones in the next quarter, that is still a very small portion of overall US handset sales. And, the iPod is the dominant product in its part of the consumer electronics field. But, a market share of 6% in the personal computer industry is going to draw fire from companies that need to do well in that business to keep their shareholder happy.
That means that the sale of every new Mac is going to face a stronger and stronger headwind.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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NEW DELHI (Taiwan News) -- The Taiwan-based IT major, Foxconn, is planning to set up a production center at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust's (JNPT) special economic zone (SEZ), in India, for which it has sought 13 acres of land from the government.
The company, that makes products for global device brands like Apple, BlackBerry, Amazon, Motorola, Xiaomi and Sony, has several factories in China.
"Foxconn has sought a land parcel of 13 acres in the JNPT special economic zone in JNPT and I have spoken to Maharashtra Chief Minister about the project," said Nitin Gadkari, the shipping, road transport and highways minister, without disclosing further about the project.
Foxconn Technology Group is one of the world's largest electronic manufacturing contractors, headquartered in New Taipei City. It is the third largest information technology company by revenue.
The company's India Head and Managing Director, Josh Foulger, had in March met with Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss about its plan of exporting mobile phones from the country.
JNPT, Mumbai, is one of the 12 major ports in the country that handles over 40 per cent of Indian volumes.


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DETROIT – The juggernaut that is the Subaru brand had its eighth straight year of sales increases in the U.S. in 2015, no thanks to low inventory.
“Our biggest issue still is we just don’t have enough cars,” Tom Doll, chief operating officer-Subaru of America, tells WardsAuto here in a recent interview. “Clearly you could probably see in the fourth quarter we actually lost sales…our share actually came down over the fourth quarter simply because we didn’t have the vehicles to sell.”
Subaru closed out December with just a 17 days’ supply of vehicles, down from 20 year-ago and well off the 61 days’ industry average late last month, WardsAuto data shows.
As Doll notes, Subaru’s share fell to 3.4% in December 2015 compared with 3.5% in December 2015, but the brand still was able to increase share in the calendar year, growing to 3.4% from 3.1% in 2014.
Doll blames holiday downtime in November and December for low inventory, an effect that will carry over into the early months of 2016.
“Particularly now as you get into January and February, these next couple allocations are going to be on the weaker side,” he says, indicating share again may suffer.
The automaker has been working to fulfill the growing desire Americans have for its cars and light trucks, but progress has been slow.
Short of overtime, Subaru has had to wait for capacity expansion initiatives to take hold.
Later this year marks the end of its contract with Toyota to build Camrys at its Lafayette, IN, plant, allowing Subaru to build 100,000 more units annually of its Legacy sedans and Outback CUVs.
Also this year the automaker is expected to complete a capacity expansion that will allow another 100,000 units, slated to be Impreza compact cars, to be built on the former Camry line, boosting the line’s capacity to 200,000 and total plant straight time capacity to 400,000.
But with the brand this year set to surpass 600,000 U.S. sales, and 1 million global sales, those expansion plans still may not be enough.
However, a Subaru spokesman says the automaker is not yet ready to commit to more capacity, either in the form of another Lafayette expansion or a new plant elsewhere, just yet.
WardsAuto data shows Subaru assembled 308,647 units at its Indiana plant last year, up 7.7% from 2014.
Purchasing Mitsubishi’s soon-to-be-shuttered Normal, IL, plant is a non-starter, the spokesman says, implying turning an older plant into one specialized to handle Subaru’s unique processes and machinery is as expensive a proposition as building new.
Toyota, Honda Still Top Conquests
As has been the case during Subaru’s previous years of growth, the brand last year still saw the highest number of trade-ins from the Toyota and Honda brands.
Perhaps defying logic, as all auto brands selling in the U.S. need to meet government-mandated vehicle-safety regulations, Doll says safety is a big draw for buyers new to the brand.
Also bringing in customers new to Subaru are high residual values and all-wheel drive without a lesser gas penalty.
“You don’t get the fuel-economy disadvantage as with other AWD products out there,” he says of the brand’s nearly-all-AWD lineup (only the BRZ sports car is not AWD).
The Subaru buyer of today is different than the one of eight years ago, in that he or she is more apt to buy a Subaru for family reasons than as an extension of their outdoorsy lifestyle.
“They have the same soul (as Subaru buyers of yesteryear), but what they’re looking for is just a little bit different because they purchased mainstream cars before,” Doll says.
Newer Subaru buyers still are as affluent as loyalists, with the COO noting Subaru typically doesn’t incentivize its models.
“The types of customers we’re getting, they’re probably more of (the) better customers (of the brands we’re conquesting) you could say.”
Turning the new Subaru buyer into a loyalist is a challenge Subaru is facing going forward, Doll says.
“You want to make sure they have the best possible ownership experience they possibly can, so they stay with us.”
To that end, Subaru has been beefing up its dealership service departments through its fixed operations expansion (FOX) initiative, a Subaru-funded cooperative to renovate and expand service operations at some of its 620 U.S. dealers.
About 45% of dealers are signed up for the program and one-third have completed it, the spokesman says.
“Those dealers are guaranteed a return on service for the cars they sell now, so they will have three times as much service work as they had five years ago by doing nothing, because there’s three times as many cars out there to get serviced, so their business is in much stronger shape,” he says.


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Leon’s Furniture Ltd. LNF-T has been selling home furnishings for more than 100 years. Now, the company has decided to also sell homes.
The furniture empire, with brands such as Leon’s, The Brick, The Brick Mattress Store, and Appliance Canada, plans on turning one of its large plots of land on the outskirts of Toronto into nearly 4,000 new homes, including rental apartment buildings, single-family houses, townhouses and condos.
It will be Leon’s first foray into residential building. Leon’s Furniture Ltd., or LFL, owns 430 acres of land across the country and is figuring out how it can make money from its vast acreage.
The residential project in Toronto is slated for a 40-acre parcel that lies between two major highways – the 401 and the 400 – north of the downtown core. The site is predominantly fields and currently holds the company’s headquarters and a signature Leon’s retail store with its giant signature yellow sign that is visible from the highway.
“I get a question from friends and colleagues all the time. ‘You guys own that farm field in front of you?’ And the answer is, ‘Yes, we do,’” said Mike Walsh, LFL’s chief executive. “We think we can build 3,500 to 4,000 homes of different designs and types to maximize the space,” he said.
LFL is in the early stages of planning. It will start with building a new head office and new Leon’s retail store to replace the ones on the site. Then, it will move onto developing the residential real estate.
Leon’s is the latest to jump into the residential building business in Canada, as the federal government attempts to deal with the lack of affordable housing across the country.
The high cost of real estate had already priced many out of the market before the Bank of Canada started raising interest rates in March, 2022, which caused borrowing expenses to soar. Then, over the past year, rental prices shot up as landlords eliminated pandemic-related discounts and record levels of new immigrants and temporary residents increased demand for shelter.
In order to encourage more developers to construct apartments that are purposely built for rental, Ottawa has eliminated the 5-per-cent federal goods and services tax on new units.
Mr. Walsh said LFL has not yet made a decision on what portion of the new housing will be rental. He hopes his company will be able to use the tax break, which applies to rental construction that begins by 2030 and is completed by the end of 2035.
Leon’s is following the playbook of other big-box retailers and mall operators, which have been changing their properties into residential units, warehouses and office buildings.
RioCan REIT has been developing its shopping centres into a mix of apartment buildings, condos, offices and retail. SmartCentres REIT, whose shopping plazas are dominated by Walmart stores, has been redeveloping some of its land into a similar mix. And Hudson’s Bay Company sold off some of its coveted department stores and changed one floor of its Toronto department store into a co-working space.
Leon’s, The Brick and other LFL brands are known for their large square footage with warehouses, which allow customers to take home their furniture or appliances immediately. But as shopping has changed and more customers order online, LFL has been building smaller stores and warehouses or distribution centres that are centrally located.
Currently, LFL has 303 stores, 22 warehouses and eight distribution centres in the country. Nearly three-quarters of LFL’s 430 acres is pretty much vacant with parking lots, fields or farmland.
LFL has already said it wants to hive off some of its real estate into a publicly-traded REIT, or real estate investment trust.
“It’s about making the best use of the land,” said Mr. Walsh.


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In addition to a new slew of games being released over the past few days, NVIDIA SHIELD is about to get a kick in the Android TV software pants. The first – and perhaps most important to those actively using SHIELD today – is the addition of a low battery notification for the SHIELD Remote. Before today, power would just run out and you’d have to make a guess at why you weren’t turning the volume up automatically. The SHIELD Remote is getting a “snappier response” upgrade as well.
NVIDIA GameStream is getting a speed enhancement – small, but noticeable to those of you pro gamers in the crowd. This upgrade requires that you hit the update button in the GeForce Experience on your PC, as well. That’s version 2.25 BETA on your PC.
This update brings enhancements for NVIDIA SHIELD’s SD card auto-move setting. As of this week, you’ll be able to share pictures of all sorts in full 4K resolution through the Photos & Videos app.
The entire streaming experience for both Netflix and Google Play Movies has been “optimized” as well.
This update will be coming today – if you’ve not already gotten it, expect it to pop up in settings before the end of the day.
Several new Android TV apps have appeared over the past week, including Fox Sports GO, EPIX, CBS News, and CBS Sports. The following apps will be coming to Android TV devices soon, according to Google: HBO Now, HBO Go, Fox News, Fox Now, FX Now, Qello, Twitch, UFC, USA Today, Vimeo, Vudu, and WWE – worldwide wrestling entertainment.
If you’re aiming for a set of new games, you’re going to want to check out Machinarium as well as A Game of Thrones HD. The Game of Thrones app has been given an update this week to access full 1080p resolution for SHIELD. Trine 2 has been released for SHIELD Android TV as well.
And – above all else – DOOM 3: BFG has been released and you need to play it. Now. Immediately. Have a peek at the following video to see what other awesome games are available on the device now or in the immediate future.


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Thread, the start-up turning waste into wearables, has its eye on growth and just enlisted a former Under Armour executive to help it get there.
Bill Besselman, previously vice president of Connected Fitness strategy and integration at Under Armour, will join the Pittsburgh-based company as executive vice president.
“Bill is a proven operator and disruptor. He brings world-class experience to an already great team and will have an immediate and profound impact on Thread’s growth,” Thread founder and CEO Ian Rosenberger said. “He shares our conviction that retail is not innovative enough in meeting the needs of the 21st century customer, and he’s here to help us build Thread into the preeminent purpose-driven brand in the industry.”
Before joining Under Armour, Besselman served as senior vice president of merchandise planning and allocation at corporate strategy at American Eagle and held strategic and operational roles across retail and consumer goods at McKinsey & Co.
Born out of a desire to find an innovative solution to the age-old problems of poverty and waste, Thread uses post-consumer discarded plastic to make its sustainable fabric.
The company employs workers in the poorest communities of Haiti and Honduras, enlisting them to collect tossed plastic products that are then sorted, sold to Haiti Recycling, washed and shredded before heading off to U.S. production facilities to be spun into synthetic fiber to make Thread Ground to Good fabric.
The company has focused on making most-requested fabrics: jersey, canvas, denim, fabric for shirting and bottom-weight fabric.
Thread already announced this summer that Timberland bags and footwear using its Ground to Good fabric will be in stores for Spring 2017 and that it has started shipping smaller fabric quantities to smaller manufacturers.
Thread says Besselman’s appointment will help the team meet the increasing demand for Ground to Good materials and products.
“The greatest brands are those that find a way to deliver emotional value above and beyond great product and do it within a large commercial market,” Besselman said. “By working with the world’s best brands to make the most connected apparel and footwear in history, we’re transforming an industry to truly connect people with the products they wear.”


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Author: Misha van Niekerk
The Massmart exclusive lease saga, which commenced with Massmart’s complaint to the Competition Commission (“the Commission”) in October 2014, has finally come to an end.
The Competition Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) yesterday upheld exceptions brought by Pick ‘n Pay, Shoprite Checkers and Spar (“the Excipients”) and dismissed Massmart’s complaint that the Excipients’ exclusive lease agreements with various shopping malls were anti-competitive and falls foul of the prohibition on restrictive vertical practices contained in Section 5(1) of the Competition Act 89 of 1998 (“the Act”).
Massmart initially self-referred the complaint to the Tribunal in 2015, following the Commission’s non-referral of Massmart’s 2014 complaint – the Commission put forth its decision to institute an enquiry into the grocery retail sector as the reason for the non-referral. A number of exceptions were raised to this first referral and Massmart was granted an opportunity to amend. Massmart’s amended referral was again the subject of a number of exceptions which were heard by the Tribunal on the 19th of September 2017 and resulted in the complaint finally being dismissed yesterday.
The common thread running through all the exceptions raised was the fact that Massmart’s complaint failed to make out a cause of action in respect of Section 5(1) of the Act – not only did Massmart fail to define the markets with sufficient particularity, it also failed to sufficiently demonstrate an anti-competitive effect. In this regard, the Tribunal stated that the “fact that Game is excluded from malls does not equate to an exclusion of competition if another rival is present…Mere proof of exclusion of a particular competitor does not suffice.”
The Tribunal’s approach to exclusive lease agreements as demonstrated in this case, can be summed up by its statement that a “complainant needs to allege more than the existence of a contractual restraint.”
by Misha van Niekerk | Associate


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Revolutionizing Data Integration and Management In the rapidly evolving world of data analytics, choosing the right platform can be
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In the rapidly evolving business world, time is not just money; it’s the currency of success. As companies navigate
Introduction In today’s data-driven world, organizations are inundated with vast amounts of data from diverse sources. Making sense of


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Now Ikea has ventured into home electronics with its new furniture group Uppleva, which integrates an LED TV, sound system with wireless speakers, Internet connection, and Blu-ray, DVD and CD players into a single piece of furniture.
The new line (Uppleva is the Swedish word for "experience") is planned to enter the market in June.
Ikea introduces the Uppleva in a YouTube video. "This is not a TV. And it's not a piece of furniture. It's all in one," the spokeswoman says.
The furniture comes in several styles and colors, and a five-year warranty is included.
An Associated Press story mentions one potential problem with the Uppleva:
"Martin Rask, a 38-year-old from Stockholm, said the all-in-one concept sounded interesting but wondered how it could keep up with new technologies.
" 'The furniture is a tempting idea -- I'm wrestling with a bundle of cables at home myself at the moment -- but the problem is that so many new things are released all the time,' he said. 'I've had three different Internet suppliers in the past year for example, and imagine if you had an old VHS player built into your furniture that no one is watching.'
"(Spokeswoman Ylva) Magnusson at IKEA said that although the electronic devices are physically attached to the furniture, there is plenty of room for customers to put in IKEA-designed add-ons."
If you love the idea of the Uppleva, though, there's bad news. Though lucky shoppers in a few European cities can see it this June. and it will be widely available in Europe this autumn, it won't be available in the U.S. until 2013. An Ikea spokeswoman said the product's U.S. launch is tentatively scheduled for April next year.
Pricing starts at about $950.
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-- Pat Jeffries


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HOUSTON — PVC pipe makers that attempt to acquire and run their own PVC resin operations may be biting off more than they can chew, according to a pipe executive who spoke at the CMAI World Petrochemical Conference.
``There's sort of like a frenzy right now for pipe companies to integrate back upstream to PVC,'' said Freedom Plastics Inc. President Steve Scaccia. ``If they have an opportunity to have resin in the chain, they think it will automatically increase their margins, but I don't really believe it.''
The most recent example of such a move came in December when Eagle Pacific Industries Inc., a $72 million-a-year pipe maker in Minneapolis, obtained a PVC resin plant owned by Condea Vista Co. in return for a share in Eagle Pacific ownership.
North America's two largest pipe and profile makers — Royal Group Technologies Ltd. of Woodbridge, Ontario, and CertainTeed Corp. of Valley Forge, Pa. — each produce their own PVC as well.
The third- and fifth-largest pipe and profile makers, J-M Manufacturing Co. Inc. of Livingston, N.J., and North American Pipe Corp. of Houston, are owned, respectively, by PVC makers Formosa Plastics Corp. USA and Westlake PVC Corp., which supply much of their raw material.
Pacific Western Extruded Plastics Co. of Eugene, Ore., a $202 million-a-year pipe maker, also operated a PVC plant in Pace, Fla., in the mid-1990s before exiting the business for logistical and profit reasons.
``I think some companies want to [integrate into PVC] to guarantee their supply in the midst of all the consolidations that are going on,'' said David DiPiero, Formosa's business director for vinyl resins and compounds. ``If you can go from fabrication back to the polymer, there's an economic advantage.''
But there's more to PVC resin operation than simply making an acquisition, said Scaccia, whose Janesville, Wis., firm ranks 44th among North American pipe and profile extruders, with annual sales of $55.5 million. Freedom produces pipe at facilities in Janesville and Fort Pierce, Fla.
``There's not a whole lot of people who will be happy about [integrating into PVC] five years from now, especially about having to control all aspects of integration,'' Scaccia said.
Scaccia said he'd like to see his company remain independent, where he believes it can grow in niche markets at a rate faster than that of the overall pipe industry.
``They say anything's for sale at the right price, but I hope the right price doesn't come along,'' Scaccia said. ``I want to work at growing our company.''


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Ceva's Janet Ang joins Crane Worldwide as VP industrial
Crane Worldwide has appointed Janet Ang as global vice president industrial. Ms Ang has spent 25 ...
UPS has appointed Daniel Carrera (pictured above) as the new president of its European operations.
In his new role, based at the firm’s European headquarters in Brussels, Mr Carrera will be responsible for managing operations and more than 50,000 staff across 56 countries and territories.
He has been with UPS for 16 years, most recently as president of the West Europe district, as well as acting as its international ambassador for diversity & inclusion. That followed stints as president of East Europe, vice president of sales and solutions in Europe and MD Spain and Portugal.
UPS said: “In these roles, he played a key role as the region, completed a $2bn, five-year investment cycle which improved speed, added capacity and met increased demands driven by e-commerce, healthcare, and cross-border trade.”
Before joining UPS in 2005, he was the EMEA director of global accounts at Menlo Worldwide, and following UPS’s acquisition of the company in 2005, he oversaw the successful integration of the sales teams.


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Updated: May 20, 2020 09:38 PM
Created: May 20, 2020 09:34 PM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Call it a sign of the times. Stepping in to help businesses with their messaging during the coronavirus pandemic is Image360.
Jackie Ciresi is a co-owner of the business.
"Our focus is on commercial business, a lot of interior branding, what's called environmental graphics," Ciresi said. "So that's really where we found our niche here in the area."
The Henrietta-based sign and graphics company was started by Ciresi and Julie St. Germaine and has been in business since 1999. They began by doing quick-turn banners, car decals and other smaller items.
"As we grew and the industry itself grew, it turned more into a graphic design and sign kind of business," Ciresi said.
Growing to 10 employees, Image360 now specializes in wall murals, dimensional signs and vehicle graphics. They were setting revenue records in January and February when the coronavirus halted everything.
"We're small. We kind of feel like a family and having to send people home was really rough," Ciresi recalled. "We've been in business 20 years. we've been through 9/11. We've been through the 2008 recession. Nothing felt like this."
Ciresi says they needed to figure out a way to stay viable for their employees and their families. So they pivoted to creating customized
COVID-19 related signs, sandwich boards, and floor decals for businesses.
"We got listed as an essential business, so we were able to do a little bit more, still though just Julie, myself and one production person," she said.
They also had an acrylic cutting machine in-house. So they began manufacturing custom, clear protective panels for their customers.
"The open environment office has been a thing for the past couple of years, so obviously that's now going to be kind of an issue for people. So creating some kind of divider in between those cubicles that look good is kind of where we were going with it," Ciresi added.
Ciresi says they were able to get a federal PPP loan. Plus, now that manufacturing has been re-instated in phase one of the state's re-opening plan, they were able to bring the whole staff back and ramp up production. Ciresi says she's encouraged that their customers have stuck with them.
"We're trying to focus a little shorter term at this point. a month here, two months there, and the main thing really is just getting our information out there and letting people know we're open and available and have the full staff to get things turned around."
If you know of a local small business we should feature, email us at email@example.com.
Copyright 2020 - WHEC-TV, LLC A Hubbard Broadcasting Company


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Most Exchange stores will be closed for Thanksgiving ahead of Black Friday deals
DALLAS – With 85 percent of its workforce connected to the military, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service is a true example of family serving family. As such, the focus on Thanksgiving Day will be on family and most Exchanges will be closed.
Military shoppers can gobble up the savings online at ShopMyExchange.com on Thanksgiving Day at midnight Central Standard Time.
“As part of the military community, the Exchange understands that time with family, for both customers and associates, is a priority,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes, Exchange senior enlisted advisor. “Being closed on Thanksgiving allows shoppers to give thanks with friends and family and still partake in the savings online that day or bright and early in person on Black Friday.”
On Black Friday, online sales start at midnight Central Standard Time, and Exchange doors will open at 6 a.m. in the United States, 8 a.m. in Europe and 7 a.m. in the Pacific region (except Guam and Hawaii which will open at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., respectively).
Some service members will have access to convenience items on Thanksgiving Day, as about 140 Express locations will be open worldwide. Shoppers can contact their local Exchange or check their Exchange’s Facebook page for information on their local Express.


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Facemasks have become an integral part of our lives amidst the coronavirus outbreak. This new accessory is becoming a pain when it comes to unlocking the new-age smartphones which use facial recognition as a means of unlocking the phones.
But, now, Apple users can rejoice as the tech giant will soon be releasing a software update which will allow the users to unlock their devices even while wearing facemasks.
According to a report by 9to5Mac, Apple’s iOS 13.5 update will let iPhone users automatically see the numeric passcode field as soon as they turn on the iPhone. Currently, the user either has to take off the mask to unlock the phone or it takes several seconds for the passcode screen to come up.
"It’s impressive that Apple has developed it such that if you’re not wearing a mask, Face ID still works as normal, with the experience only being changed when you are wearing one," the report says.
Not just this, the new update will allow the Exposure Notification API, which Apple has developed in collaboration with Google, to seamlessly integrate Covid-19 tracing apps.
Meanwhile, Apple is set to open 25 more stores in the US and 12 in Canada amidst the pandemic. But, people visiting the stores will be required to wear a face mask and follow social distancing norms at all times. Temperature checks will be conducted before entering the stores and facemasks will be provided in case a visitor isn’t wearing one.


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They say that all publicity is good publicity, but Yahoo has been particularly prone to the bad kind in recent years. A series of data scandals combined with doubts over Yahoo’s relevance in the modern marketplace together paint a pretty sombre picture.
However, the brand is still looking to the future, which it’ll go into with a new visual identity created by Pentagram in a project led by New York-based Partner Michael Bierut. With the refresh comes a new logo that sees Yahoo do away with its former goofy typeface in place of a slick, lower case sans-serif.
The new logo is said to throw back to the original 1996 design, though the logo itself hadn’t changed radically over the subsequent 20 years, the tilted exclamation mark having been a staple of its logo throughout this time.
Today, the branding is decidedly sleeker and neatly ties all of Yahoo’s sprawling sub-brands under one identity. Meanwhile, the vibrant purple palette (comprising ‘grape jelly’, ‘malbec’ and ‘hulk pants’) packs a punch, while the overall simplicity does push the exclamation mark to centre stage. Images showing the new look splashed across billboards in a real-world context look significantly more pulled together and representative of a contemporary tech brand.


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Health Cannabis in Louisiana: Legal Since 2015 But Nevertheless Unavailable
It’s been almost four years since medical cannabis ended up being legalized in Louisiana, but clients remain awaiting it going to the shelves.
In June 2015, then Governor Bobby Jindal finalized a bill that creates a appropriate framework for dispensing cannabis that are medical. Everyone else expected it would just just take at the very least until 2018 when it comes to structures to be placed in position and also for the drug to finally be dispensed to patients.
But we have been well into 2019 and medical cannabis advocates are getting impatient. Clients with chronic health conditions, including veterans, are obligated to relocate to other states and become “cannabis refugees” simply They need because they still do not have access to the drug. There was fear that lots of patients won’t have the ability to ensure it is until medical cannabis finally becomes available.
Global CBD Exchange
Product Sales could introduce in May
Their state has granted nine pharmacies the permit to circulate medical cannabis. But they all are nevertheless looking forward to the go-signal.
The Lousiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry is apparently keeping down on authorizing the product sales until they have the all-clear from testing laboratories.
They reported that as they will work getting the product away, testing Will not be rushed and any corners won’t be cut by them.
Based on Mike Strain, the department’s head, “everyone has a target of Might.”
“In other states, they’d to return and additionally they learned that there have been pesticides in there. We must make none that is sure of ever happens,” Strain explained. He included that they’re really strict however they desire to ensure that the cannabis products released are without any contaminants and are positively neat and safe.
Strain said these are typically hoping evaluating shall be finished by might 15. Nevertheless, he revealed that it’s nevertheless not yet determined the length of time from then on date it could Take for sales to begin finally.
What’s lab that is taking so long?
The assessment lab is jointly operated because of the agriculture department as well as the Louisiana State University AgCenter, which was authorized by hawaii — in partnership by having a personal firm — to make non-smokable medical cannabis for a listing of particular conditions that are medical.
The diagnostic tests around 8,000 examples in a 12 months to ensure that fertilizers, animal feeds, and pesticides meet with the standard detailed on the packaging.
Lab http://www.cbdoildelivery.org officials estimated they spent lower than $800,000 to buy gear when preparing for medical cannabis evaluating. Nevertheless, they consumed with stress that none associated with gear will be utilized entirely for testing only one item.
In accordance with Mark LeBlanc, manager for the AgCenter’s Agricultural Chemistry Department, even after the cannabis that are medical is in complete swing, testing for cannabis services and products will need up only 5 to ten percent associated with lab’s time and that it’ll be regular or each time a batch of cannabis items comes.
The only real state-produced cannabis
Louisiana could be the state that is only the union creating medical cannabis products which is likely to be offered to certified patients. Unlike other states that have actually legalized medical cannabis, none regarding the cooking pot services and products could be offered in smokable type.
Health cannabis is necessary by state law to stay in fluid kind, such as for instance spray or oil, as capsules or pills, as topical items, as gelatin-based chewables, as suppositories, and also as transdermal patches.


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WhatsApp Messenger to end support for BlackBerry, Windows 7.1 and Nokia S40
WhatsApp just celebrated its seventh anniversary with more than one billion active users. The Facebook owned company just make it free for their users in some countries including India. WhatsApp is continuously making changes in its layout and adding more features. A few weeks ago WhatsApp updated its emoji with new set. Now there is a bad news for WhatsApp lovers. WhatsApp is ready to discontinue its support on BlackBerry, Nokia S40 and older version of Windows mobile operating systems. WhatsApp Messenger team recommends users to upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.
Yes, it’s true. WhatsApp will no longer work on most BlackBerry devices, even those loaded with the company’s latest mobile platform by the end of 2016. WhatsApp is also ending support for BlackBerry 10 — an OS that last shipped on a new phone less than a year ago. BlackBerry itself eschewed the OS when building its latest flagship, the Android-powered Priv slider phone. In the blog post the WhatsApp team confirmed that it will no longer supported to old mobile operating systems. They reminisced about their launch back in 2009, when most smartphones were either a BlackBerry or a Nokia. That was a different time. According to the blog post:
“As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use. While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.” So, by the end of 2016, we will be ending support for WhatsApp Messenger on the following mobile platforms:
- BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10.
- Nokia S40.
- Nokia Symbian S60.
- Android 2.1 and Android 2.2.
- Windows Phone 7.1.


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Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic to be biggest ever
THIS year's Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet according to Jacki Hull.
The classic's marketing manager said last minute entries were still flooding in yesterday in preparation for the start of the competition tonight.
The eight-day festival is one of south east Queensland's most iconic and largest annual fishing events.
Now in its 29th year Ms Hull said everything was looking good for the 2015 classic.
"The weather is looking magnificent for fishing," Ms Hull said.
"Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are looking good for boating and there is no rain forecast all week.
"It looks like it is going to be another good year for us," she said.
While a little reluctant to give up any good fishing spots for this year's competition she said the whole beach had been producing quality catches.
This year the event has introduced the Twilight Outdoor and Fishing Expo to add more excitement for anglers and the public.
Event administrator Affra Chappil said they had already received more than 400 registrations to compete for over $100,000 in prizes including $10,000 cash first prize.
"We are anticipating over the 750 professional, amateur and recreational anglers that entered last year," Mrs Chappil said.
"We believe this year is going to be the biggest year yet for the event."
Anglers can register online at http://www.rainbowsportsclub.com.au. More information about the event including rules, categories and details are available online.


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Shrek Glass Recall: McDonalds Recalls 12 Million Contaminated Glasses
McDonald’s is recalling 12 million Shrek-themed drinking glasses after discovering they contain a dangerous metal called cadmium. Cadmium is a known carcinogen and can cause severe kidney problems and softening of the bones.
The 16-ounce Shrek glasses were sold for $2.00 at McDonald’s restaurants nationwide as part of a promotion for the new Shrek Forever After movie. McDonald’s announced they would be recalling the glasses after Cadmium was found in the painted designs on the glasses.
McDonald’s said they would be recalling all 12 million Shrek glasses, which come in four different designs featuring characters from the Shrek Forever After movie. The company will be posting instructions for the recall and refunds on its website next week. Until then, purchasers are asked to stop using the glasses “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We believe the Shrek glassware is safe for consumer use,” McDonald’s spokesman Bill Whitman said in a press statement. “However, again to ensure that our customers receive safe products from us, we made the decision to stop selling them and voluntarily recall these products effective immediately.”
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is working with McDonald’s on the recall, said “long-term exposure to Cadmium can cause adverse health effects” but did not specify how high the level of the metal was in the glasses. The UCPS has previously issued three recalls for children’s jewelry sold in the U.S. found to contain Cadmium. All of the jewelry was made in China.
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Loads of start-ups are developing software security that thwarts would-be cyber attacks. But Core Security Technologies Inc. takes a different tack by using artificial intelligence to hack into companies, permission-granted.
Its software can automate a cyber attack — a powerful proposition for companies that want to learn their own vulnerabilities, but potentially very dangerous in the wrong hands.
Customers, which range from companies like Citigroup Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to government arms such as the National Security Agency, give Core Security’s software information about what they want tested, such as a range of IP addresses, URLs and employee email addresses. The customers define the scope of the attack, such as operating on only a specific portion of the network or targeting a database of customer names. The software will then search for vulnerabilities, calculate an attack path through those and mimic the actions of an intruder.
The purpose of Core Security is to provide reports that enable companies to see where their weak points are. But given the nature of the technology, which includes a vast library of security exploits and an algorithm to identify and validate attack paths, it could also be used for malicious purposes.
Such uses of security software are not unheard of. Open-source programs like Metasploit — which provides a database of security exploits but doesn’t have Core Security’s automated attack features — are well known by hackers.
“We’re very cautious about who we sell to,” said Mark Hatton, the chief executive of Core Security. “With the nature of where [cyber-security] is going it’s important to know your partners.”
Though such cases are rare, the company has had to pass on sales leads from suspicious organizations. Core Security, whose investors include Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and Pegasus Capital, has a “very consultative sales process” to make sure that potential customers are well suited for its products, not only by scrutinizing their intentions, but to ensure they have a substantial security infrastructure in place to get the most value from them, he said.
Generally, it won’t sell to companies that originate in countries whose governments are known to support cyber-crime or have loose intellectual property laws. Also, examining things such as where a potential customer has invested its money can tell you a lot about their goals, Hatton said.
Core Security released its Insight software in December and now has more than 1,300 customers. Earlier this week it announced Core CloudInspect, which provides similar services for applications and information hosted on Amazon Web Services.
The Boston-based company has been developing penetration testing software for over 10 years, but earlier offerings weren’t fully automated, so the amount of testing that could be done on a network was limited by a customer’s human resources.


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With more than 14,000 head of weaners and grown cattle on offer during the five days of the feature sales last week at Northern Victoria Livestock Exchange, Wodonga, it was a relief for many vendors and agents that there was terrific confidence shown by the buyers.
And that relief was expressed succinctly by Elders state livestock manager for Victoria and the Riverina, Matt Tinkler, when he said the "significant rain in the north has been a godsend for the sales".
"Certainly, I guess back in October and November we were looking at the sales being fairly tough when forecasting where this was going to be," he said.
"We all knew the cattle were going to present very well, people consistently breed for these sales and the presentation and quality was outstanding."
Mr Tinkler said the northern rains underpinned the sale and the buying interest representing those producers took home the bulk of the offerings.
"I'm not sure of the percentages but if we didn't sell nearly eighty per cent of the cattle over the four days to the north, we must be very close," he said.
"Weaning was again prominent in the whole equation, weaned calves were well sought after, there was good competition and a good start to the year."
Elders Wodonga manager Brett Shea was "really happy" after the second day of Angus breed sales.
"A feature of the day was probably a great run of grown steers where we saw cattle on either side of 500kg making up to 320c/kg," Mr Shea said.
"Back inside on our black calves, the heavy end of them made 300c/kg to 310c/kg.
"We had fantastic support from the north which we all hoped was going to come on the back of the rain but we still had enough local inquiry to keep the job up."
Peter Ruaro Livestock Rodwells auctioneer Scott Campbell, Wodonga, said the first sale of the "coloured breeds" opened on par with the previous two days of Angus sales.
"Year-in, year-out, you have a different set of buyers for this 'coloured' sale to the black sales, and I thought the cattle sold pretty well," Mr Campbell said.
Paull and Scollard Nutrien auctioneer Tim Robinson, Wodonga, said the sale last Friday "certainly met the [vendors] expectations".
"It is a different market to that of the Angus cattle but the cattle of those different breeds are a credit to their bloodlines and also the producers who are committed to the Herefords, black baldies, Shorthorns and European breeds," he said.
"We were just so blessed there was that rain in the north and are very thankful those buyers were able to support our sales and we hope they have great success."


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Banbury backs budding businesses
Oxfordshire’s brightest budding entrepreneurs will visit Banbury on Saturday 28 February, as the North Oxfordshire Area of Young Enterprise stages its annual Trade Fair in the town as part of Banbury’s Charter Market.
Following the success of last year’s event in the market, the Trade Fair, this year supported by Cherwell District Council, Banbury Town Council, the Federation of Small Business, Wellers Accountants, First Line Limited and Sketts, will give students aged between 15 and 18 the opportunity to sell a wide range of products and services to the public.
Cherwell District Council’s lead member for estates and the economy, Cllr Norman Bolster, said: “These young entrepreneurs represent the future of business in Britain and it will be great to see them getting to grips with the realities of business life at this market event. Cherwell is a district of opportunity and the council will continue to encourage activities that promote this. I’d urge people to come along and support the Trade Fair and pick up some bargains at the same time.”
The students are taking part in a programme where they set up and run their own real businesses from scratch over a school year. The now-established Banbury Trade Fair provides them with a valuable opportunity to test and sharpen their sales and marketing skills. There will be awards on the day for the best trade stand, best product and best customer service, all determined by a team of mystery shoppers.
Paul Skett from Sketts Quality Events said: “Sketts are proud to be huge supporters of Young Enterprise and look forward to working with this event again after last year’s successes.”
The Trade Fair will be open between 9am and 5pm. The Mayor of Banbury, Councillor Sean Woodcock, will be visiting from 2pm and will judge one of the competitions. Independent radio station Banbury Sound will be in attendance during the morning with breakfast s
how presenter Kirsty Leahy linking live to the Saturday morning programme from the event.


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Over the past 5 years, there is an on-going conversation regarding consumer data and privacy online. Key players in the industry, such as Google and Facebook are responding to growing consumer awareness, governmental action and a willingness to address consumer concerns.
In 2013 California passed the Online Privacy Protection Act which extends to any visitor based in California (IP address) that visits a website. Similar to gasoline CAFE standards, California is setting the standard and most websites are implementing changes for all US visitors to websites.
This year Google has announced that they will no longer allow browser history to be shared and start to block cookies globally. This is a major and yet inevitable shift in the industry. Google will now allow advertisers to target users by “cohorts”, users grouped around interests instead of specific site visited. In other words, you can no longer target a user who visited “nike.com” in the last 30 days but interest based categories such as “athlete”, “runner” etc. are targetable.
Another major shift this year is the deprecation of IDFA in iOS14. The latest operating system released by Apple for iPhones defaults to not sharing your unique device with advertisers. Consumers are able to “opt in” but it requires navigating to that setting and flipping the switch.
This reduces the ability to target by device ID, one of the primary targeting tools for advertisers on Facebook. This change has ZERO IMPACT on interest based targeting which we do. Our targeting tools and AI machine do not require device ID and in this post device ID era, we will be the most effective targeting approach.
Interest based targeting is the way forward for the industry, with adoption by both Google and Facebook on this approach to ad targeting. GREAT news for us as we have been developing interest based targeting tools for the last 18 months, patented and proprietary technology AND an “interest graph” that is effective, efficient and privacy first.
Right place, right team, right time!
Notes and Links:
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation#:~:text=The%20GDPR%20was%20adopted%20on,enforceable%20beginning%2025%20May%202018.
On Line Privacy Protection Act.
IFDA changes -
Google changes to “cohort based targeting”
Facebook has released an overview of how they see these changes impacting small businesses:
With more detailed guidance to manage it here:


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This year, Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) stock is off to a flyer, rising over 10% in value in the first couple of weeks of trading. The gains have a lot to do with investing legend Charlie Munger doubling his stake in the company. After a forgettable 2021, this is just what BABA stock needed to kickstart a reversal of fortunes.
Last year turned out to be one of the worst trading years for Alibaba in recent memory. It spent most of January in an uptrend before things went south by early February. At the conclusion of 2021, the stock had shed over 40% of its value and had cost its investors over $300 million in market capitalization.
For BABA stock to show long-term strength, its underlying business must start firing again. It has had a couple of quarters of muted performance, but is likely to return to winning ways soon. Hence, with it trading at just two times forward sales, now is probably the best time to load up on BABA stock.
Recent Earnings Misses
In the past three quarters, Alibaba has fallen short of its consensus earnings estimates. Its second quarter for fiscal 2022 missed estimates on both lines. Its earnings per share (EPS) of $1.74 came in 19 cents lower than analyst estimates. This is despite a healthy 29% jump in total revenues during the quarter.
Nevertheless, during the second quarter, its core Chinese eCommerce business revenues surged by 30% from the prior-year period. Moreover, international and cloud revenues grew by 34% and 33%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. Consequently, there is robust growth in Alibaba’s businesses at this time. Additionally, increased lockdowns are likely to drive more online traffic.
However, in the upcoming quarters, Alibaba will have to deal with higher tax rates. It is no longer a key software enterprise (KSE), with a massive jump from 10% to 20%. The consensus estimate for the third quarter is $2.48 in adjusted EPS, which is 3.8% lower than the same quarter last year.
Chinese November retail sales were unimpressive and with the increased investments in its subsidiaries, things are looking tough for Alibaba in the upcoming quarter. However, by March, things are likely to change for the company. Due to easy comps, Alibaba will probably beat analyst estimates and reverse course.
The Strength of Alibaba’s Services
Alibaba has amassed monopoly status in the Chinese online retail market. It has an incredible 953 million annual active consumers in the domestic market. Moreover, it has also been expanding overseas and boasts over 285 million international consumers. The company’s combined customer count totals up to 1.25 billion and it will continue experiencing growth for the foreseeable future. Though the local market has become somewhat saturated, its average consumer buying volumes will continue driving revenues higher in the coming years.
Furthermore, cloud revenues represent another bright spot for the company. Revenues rose 33% for the segment in the past quarter and outpaced its eCommerce business growth. Moreover, Alibaba cloud now possesses over 38% of the Chinese cloud market. Though it isn’t profitable on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, it has turned profitable on an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) basis in the past four quarters. Hence, the business has gradually improved and reduced its dependence on its slowing eCommerce business.
Bottom Line on BABA Stock
BABA stock had a torrid time at the stock market in 2021, but seems to be moving in the right direction since the beginning of this year.
It will take a couple of quarters to generate market-beating earnings results, which is likely to have a strong effect on BABA stock. It operates a robust business that still has plenty of upside potential. Hence, BABA stock is an attractive bet at this stage.
On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines
Muslim Farooque is a keen investor and an optimist at heart. A life-long gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a bachelor’s of science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University.


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Apple's CEO Tim Cook has made no secret of his preference for augmented reality over virtual reality applications. And with a glimpse at a newly-granted patent application for the Cupertino company, we now have a good look at what those future iPhone AR ambitions may be.
Submitted back in February 2010 and granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, Apple's "augmented reality maps" patent shows off how digital mapping data could be overlaid onto real-time video from an iPhone's camera.
Eschewing a headset in favor of mobile AR, the proposed application would make use of a phone's GPS, camera, accelerometer and compass to locate a user in the world, and then place markers for places of interest on top of the real-world video feed coming from the camera.
Turning the camera to face other locations would reveal new points of interest (without removing the previously identified ones, ready to be turned back to), while tapping one of the floating markers would then overlay navigation and direction instructions over the real-time footage.
Think Google Maps, but with the iPhone acting as a window on which you can paint a route to a destination.
As ever, a patent application is not necessarily indicative of a product in progress. But, at the very least, it shows Apple's AR intentions are not a knee-jerk reaction, having been quietly submitting patents like this since 2010.


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Think pink! As Kendra Anderson noted last week, it's rose season -- and tonight, Elway's Cherry Creek will host its annual Pink Patio Party, where guests can sample more than thirty rosé wines from around the world -- and help Elway's sommelier Adam Vance pick the three wines for the rosé flight on the Elway's Cherry Creek list. See also: The six hottest rosés of spring 2014 -- and where to find them
To go with all those wines, Elway's Cherry Creek Executive Chef Aniedra Nichols will prepare several special appetizers, including salmon tartare, black pepper seared fois gras and grilled lobster salad.
Want to think -- and drink -- pink? Head to Elway's between 6 and 8 p.m. tonight. Admission is $35 per person including tax and gratuity; to make a reservation, call 303-399-5353.
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TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Read our ethics statement.
Bitcoin software developers, whether individuals or companies, can operate in New York without any license, while banks and other financial institutions will require regulation, according to state Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky.
"We are regulating financial intermediaries. We are not regulating software development", Lawsky said in a speech at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City.
His comments came nearly a couple of months after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) doubled the length of the open-comment period for its proposed BitLicense regulatory framework for virtual currency businesses, extending the period for another 45 days, to October 21st. The agency cited a large number of requests from various sources for additional time to study the proposal as the primary reason to extend the period.
Lawsky clarified that the agency doesn't intend to regulate software as software or software development. "For example, a software developer who creates and provides wallet software to customers for their own use will not need a license", he said, adding that banks, however, cannot start providing virtual currency services without prior approval from the NYDFS.
First proposed back in July this year, the BitLicense regulatory framework is the first of its kind from a US government regulator covering the Bitcoin industry. The proposed rules under the framework would require firms engaged in the virtual currency businesses, for example, receiving or transmitting virtual currency on behalf of consumers, buying and selling virtual currency as a customer business, and more, to obtain a BitLicense and comply with other regulations.


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An expected pickup in U.K. retail sales failed to materialize in September, though economists suggested the industry remains on a solid footing.
Sales were flat in September from a month earlier, defying consensus expectations for 0.4% growth, after a 0.2% decrease in August. On the year, sales growth slowed to 4.1% from 6.6%, well under the 4.8% forecast.
The Office for National Statistics report follows brighter-than-expected August retail sales data and September figures from the GfK research institute showing U.K. consumer confidence back at pre-Brexit vote levels.
ONS senior statistician Kate Davies noted that the "underlying trend is one of strength, suggesting consumer confidence has remained steady since June's referendum. There was some variation between store types, clothing stores saw a fall in the quantity bought in part due to rising prices and a warmer than average September."
The ONS said sales volumes from food stores rose by 2.9% year-on-year as prices decreased by 1.8%, while sales from textile, footwear and clothing stores declined by 5.4% as prices rose 0.4%.
The information meshed with Tuesday consumer price data, which attributed a larger-than-expected 1% September inflation rate in part to rising clothes prices.
Capital Economics U.K. economist Ruth Gregory noted that the ONS retail sales report put the quarterly retail sales growth rate at 1.8%, up from 1.1% in the second quarter, while PricewaterhouseCoopers chief economist John Hawksworth also said the "underlying trend is still reasonably strong."
Gregory noted that "some moderation in quarterly retail sales growth will surely occur ahead. Although the economy should avoid recession, it has certainly slowed, which should lead to softer employment and wage growth. What's more, the 15% or so drop in sterling is set to push inflation above 2% next year, and above 3% in 2018, eating into consumers' real spending power."
However, she said an expected additional Bank of England rate cut, following its quarter-point reduction to the benchmark rate on Aug. 4, along with government stimuli measures in its so-called Autumn Statement should mitigate the slowdown.
The disappointing September retail sales numbers come as the pound hovers near multi-decade lows against the dollar after both the U.K. government and EU counterparts this month hardened their stance about the potential terms of Britain's retreat from the bloc.
A "hard" Brexit is perceived to be the economically most damaging for the U.K. and associated worries may yet feed through into consumer sentiment. The GfK consumer confidence barometer for October, due out around month's end, will be closely scrutinized for any evidence that the political mayhem is panicking shoppers.
The pound was recently down 0.20% against the dollar at $1.2260.
U.K. 10-year government bond yields were recently up 3 basis points at 1.11%.
Retail stocks were mixed, with leading grocer Tesco down 1.4% but nearest listed rival Sainsbury little changed. FTSE 100 clothing retailers Next and Marks & Spencer were both down only marginally.


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Dublin Web Summit announces new competition aimed at 'early stage' Irish start-ups
Dublin's Web Summit has announced a new startup competition aimed at "early stage" Irish startups.
The three winners of the 'Go Global' competition will be offered expert advice from senior investors, technology entrepreneurs and technology journalists.
All three winning Irish startups will also be flown to the Web Summit's sister conferences in Las Vegas and Hong Kong.
They will also appear in front of an expected 6,000 people on the main stage at this November's Dublin Web Summit to talk about their companies.
“We've built good relationships with many of the world's leading tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, journalists and more who attend our events around the world," said Paddy Cosgrave, chief executive and co-founder of the Web Summit.
"From investors like Google Ventures and Index Capital to entrepreneurs like the founders of Dropbox and Uber, to journalists like the editors of the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
"At the same time, Ireland has some brilliant early stage startups. We want to connect these two world's and help accelerate the next wave of breakout Irish startups. We want to help the next Liam Casey, the next Patrick Collison or the next Oisin Hanrahan. That's what our Go Global competition is about."
To apply, startups must be less than three years old and have raised less than €3m in funding.
Applications for the competition close next Friday, March 27th. Startups can apply at http://websummit.net/GoGlobal


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RUMOR HAS IT: Is IKEA Building Their Largest Store in the Philippines?
We know, we know. We’re all excited for IKEA to finally open in the Philippines. While it has been years in the making and with no final date of their opening, everyone is scavenging for information about this furniture giant coming to the Philippines. Maybe it’s the affordable furniture or the meatballs, but we’re all on stand-by for every news bit about this iconic furniture brand!
Read More: IKEA Philippines Finally has a Location!
In an interview with Bloomberg TV Philippines, Georg Platzer, the Marketing Development Manager of IKEA Philippines, expressed that the team is still in negotiation with all the major business names in the country.They are still hunting for the right partners for the job who will build according to their standards, especially since this is their first time to be in the country.
“The [IKEA store] biggest so far is in Seoul and we want it to be bigger,” shares Platzer. If you haven’t heard, the Seoul branch is the largest in the whole world at 57,100-square meters. The international furntiure’s Stockholm branch comes a close second at 55,200-square meters. The location of IKEA Philippines has been rumored to be in the compound of SM Mall of Asia, but with Platzer mentioning that negotiation is still on-going, this is also subject to change.
Aside from having one major store in Metro Manila, the furniture giant is also planning to open other satellite stores in provincial locations from Baguio, Cebu, to Iloilo. This means they can cater (meatballs and linens!) to the whole country. However, while waiting for these to come into a reality, we’ll run around IKEA in our dreams.


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As touring cars move to a simpler formula, the S60 TC1 has become obsolete. Here's what the world is losing.
Why use a road car engine, when you could have one from a race car?
Plus long auto loans and who won what.
So much goodness.
Toyota's somehow making the Prius even more Earth-friendly.
This 250 is shockingly original and comes with a whole bunch of racing history.
The idea is that you'll never have to get out of your car while getting gas.
It will slot directly above the Velite 5 hatch, a rebadged Chevy Volt.
Lexus pulls back the curtain on its newly styled mid-size sedan.
A cleaver sweatshirt depicts the many ways in which motorsport legend AJ Foyt has eluded death.
German news media reports that Jörg Kerner was arrested in connection to VW's diesel emissions-cheating scandal.
Need a tiny weird cargo van in your life? We have just the solution.
Hershel McGriff has been racing professionally for more than 70 years. He's not done yet.
Bugatti focused on handling, rather than outright speed, to create the upgraded Chiron Sport
You don't need to spend your life savings on a car to get something with muscle under the hood.
When carmakers start doing wacky stuff with exhaust systems, they can become distinctive works of art.
This S3 Esprit lives up to its looks.
The Spice-Acura prototype had a lovely VTEC V6 that made a noise like nothing else.
All with video to back them up, these are some of the quickest production cars to ever lap Germany's most famous, difficult track.
Plus Indy's pace car and the F150 Diesel.
The 850 was a gorgeous coupe with a lovely engine.
Porsche factory driver Kevin Estre just lapped the new GT3 RS quicker than a 918. And 24 seconds quicker than the last GT3 RS.
Watch it blast out a dyno pull
Live out your wildest import fantasies with this pristine piece of Skyline history.
Yes, you read that right: The 2019 BMW M2 Competition gets 405 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque thanks to tougher emissions laws.
Sure, it might not be the outright best luxury sport sedan out there, but it certainly stands out the most.


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Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian previews Rivian earnings and what to expect in terms of production.
AKIKO FUJITA: A big brand here. Of course, Rivian reporting today. What do we see in the numbers there? And did we get a little more color on the kind of bump they're likely to expect from the Inflation Reduction Act?
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: So with regards to earnings, the big thing is going to be that production forecast. Can they maintain that 25,000 vehicle unit per year, for 2022, that they had mentioned before? As of right now, they made around 4,400 trucks last quarter, 2,500 in Q1, so they got to make 19,000 trucks ish in the back half of this year. That's a tall order for them.
We'll see if they can actually say that, hey, we can actually do that. We have a good chance of doing that. Our factory's coming online faster than we thought it would. Maybe we can do that. So that's a big question for investors, you know.
From a top line point of view, they're looking at $335 million in revenue and a loss of $1.61. So that's, like, the kind of headline numbers, but it's going to be all about their forecast and what the IRA. You know, I have done some reporting here on what Rivian is doing. They're actually, right now, sending people these actual binding purchase orders. If you put 100 bucks--
AKIKO FUJITA: You can lock in the $7,500.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yes, and the consideration is $100 of your deposit is non-refundable. That's part-- that's a consideration for you. You're actually signing a binding contract. And they're saying that hopefully this will allow you to preserve that tax credit because most of these trucks are around $90,000 when they're optioned up. So that's already waived beyond the IRAs limit of $80,000 for trucks and SUVs. So we'll see how that works out.
AKIKO FUJITA: They have the supply?
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Well, I mean, as of right now, they have 90,000 preorders, and they're making, what, 4,000 a quarter? You do the math, right? It's going to be like 10 years. I mean, it's going to be a long time.
AKIKO FUJITA: OK, we'll be looking out for your story. Pras Subramanian, thanks so much for that.