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TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's exports fell for a third straight month in February in a sign of growing strain on the trade-reliant economy from slowing external demand and a US-China tariff war.
Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday (March 18) exports fell 1.2 per cent year-on-year in February, more than a 0.9 per cent decrease expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
It followed a sharp 8.4 per cent year-on-year drop in January, marking a third straight month of falls due to declines in shipments of semiconductor production equipment and cars.
The trade data comes on top of a recent batch of weak indicators, such as factory output and a key gauge of capital spending, which have raised worries that a record run of postwar growth may come to an end. Some analysts say a recession cannot be ruled out.
The Bank of Japan last week cut its view on exports and output, while keeping policy unchanged. Yet, extended weakness in exports could put it under pressure to deliver more easing, especially as inflation remains well off its 2 per cent target and pressure on businesses and consumers continues to rise.
Slowing global growth, the US-China trade war and complications over Britain's exit from the European Union have forced policy makers around the world to shift to an easing stance over recent months.
The trade war between the United States and China - Japan's largest export markets - has already curbed global trade.
Monday's trade data showed exports to China, Japan's biggest trading partner, rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year, rebounding from a 17.4 per cent drop in January. However, overall trade to the Asian giant remained weak, as even after averaging effects of the Lunar New Year holiday, China-bound shipments declined 6.3 per cent in the January-February period from a year earlier.
Japan's shipments to Asia, which account for more than half of overall exports, fell 1.8 per cent, down for a fourth straight month.
US-bound exports rose 2.0 per cent, but imports from the United States grew 4.9 per cent, resulting in Japan's trade surplus with the country declining 0.9 per cent year-on-year to 624.9 billion yen in February.
Japan's still-large surplus with the United States raises concerns among Japanese policymakers and auto exporters that Washington may impose hefty duties on its imports, analysts say.
Imports of Japanese cars make up about two-thirds of Japan's US$69 billion annual trade surplus with the United States, making Tokyo and Beijing targets of criticism by Trump.


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Downtown Greenville restaurant closes after 10 years, cites rising costs
A popular and innovative restaurant in downtown Greenville is closing its doors after 10 years, according to a post on its Facebook page.
The owners of American Grocery on South Main Street cited cost increases in the report of an article from the Upstate Business Journal.
A release by the owners’ publicist said: “When Joe [Clarke] and Darlene [Mann-Clarke] opened AGR 10 years ago, they wanted to bring a new look of food and beverage to Greenville, and they are very proud of what they accomplished.
“Due to rising rents in the city, rising food prices, and the staffing challenges that restaurants are feeling nationwide, they felt like this was the right time to close and put their energy towards the next step in their careers.”
Joe Clarke, is a largely self-trained chef who was born in Spartanburg. He spent more than a decade honing his skills in Los Angeles and several years in New York. He graduated with honors from the French Culinary Institute before making the move to Greenville.
Darlene Mann-Clarke, American Grocery Restaurant co-owner and sommelier, was born in Greenwood. She is a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers with more than 17 years of experience.
The owners opened Vault & Vator, a contemporary speakeasy, in April at 655 S. Main St. and say they will continue to focus their efforts there.

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Are you ready for talking pizza boxes, winking rum bottles, and medication vials that nag you when it’s time to take your pills? Smart packaging, a scifi like technology, is becoming reality thanks to printed electronics.
Global Information says that printed electronics will reduce costs for electronic smart packing by 99 percent to help this currently niche market grow to over $1.7 billion by 2023.
Personally, we’re in no hurry for our pizza box to try upselling us on breadrolls and a winking rum bottle might make us consider reducing our alcohol intake. But it’s a coming thing, Global says.
Flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) will also play a big role in the smart packaging market because FPCBs are found in all electronic products. The FPCB segment grew 15 percent between 2011 and 2012, passing $10.6 billion, and is further expected to grow by nearly 9 percent in 2013.
With these growth prospects, opportunities abound for third-party manufacturers. Global Information (GII) highlights a trio of market research reports that examine the smart packaging industry, its related printed electronics and FPCB markets, and contract manufacturing opportunities in these markets.
Smart Packaging Comes To Market: Brand Enhancement with Electronics 2013-2023
The electronic smart packaging market is only warming up from smart medication that tracks and reminds users to reprogrammable phone decoration.
As the global demand for electronic smart packaging surges to $1.7 billion and beyond over the next ten years, many leading brand owners are starting small by adopting new paper thin electronics on high volume packaging.
Electronic packaging (e-packaging) addresses the need for brands to reconnect with the customer or face oblivion from copying.
That even applies to retailer own brands. It addresses the ageing population’s consequent need for disposable medical testers and drug delivery devices. Electronic packaging addresses the fact that one third of us have difficulty reading ever smaller instructions.
- Electronic devices for car market headed for $17B
- Study says: Consumers want mobility in their electronics
- Increasing popularity of mobile apps provides branding opportunities
- Connected TVs offer advertisers a “powerful capability.”
- Top brands thrive by leveraging technology: Apple, IBM lead
© 2013, TechJournal. All rights reserved.


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We're all familiar with the data deluge, and the need to store and analyze exponential data growth is driving storage manufacturers to provide new technologies to keep that data flowing. According to IDC estimates, the amount of data stored in the world's computer systems is doubling every two years, and is likely to continue increasing at that rate into the next decade.
In order to deal with that data volume, manufacturers are looking for ways to increase storage density, or to store more information in less space.
Another key factor is Moore's Law. Back in 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore observed that the number of components per integrated circuit was doubling every two years. This means that processors were getting about twice as fast every two years, and the law continues to hold true to this day.
However, as CPUs have gotten faster, storage hasn't always kept up. With storage becoming a bottleneck, manufacturers are also looking for ways to increase performance in order to keep pace with Moore's Law.
And, of course, manufacturers also need to keep prices low in order to satisfy their customers.
In order to meet the demands for greater density, faster performance, and low cost, researchers have proposed several innovative new technologies. We look at nine innovations that could drastically affect the storage industry in the near future. Some are already on the market, while others are still on their way to general availability.


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By Wendy Zatylny
Ports are one of the oldest sectors in Canada’s economy, but they are also among the most forward-looking. Innovation will bring transformational change to the cities that have ports.
A half century ago, an apparently simple idea revolutionized transportation: put the things you want to ship into a box – a container – and move the container onto whatever mode makes the most sense.
The container revolution sparked innovations across the logistics system. Terminals moved quickly to build the cranes and other infrastructure needed to unload containers and do it quickly.
The trucking industry boomed, loading containers onto rigs and delivering them near and far. Railways responded by adapting their own systems to lower their costs and deliver on time. They increased the height of their bridges and tunnels so they could handle double-stack containers.
The marine industry built ever larger ships. Before long, ships that could handle 8,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and more, looked for ports that could handle their loads – requiring 2,000 truck moves, and 140 acres of terminal. Today, ships up to 22,000 TEUs are being built; destined for the Europe-Asia trade with ports and cranes ready to serve them.
For years, Canada’s ports sought innovative ways to meet the demand for larger ships. With this growth, most ports had reached their container-handling capacity. New urban development limited their ability to expand, so they looked for new ways to increase their efficiency and reduce container dwell time. To grow in the face of these constraints, further innovations increased trucking efficiency, brought rail sidings along the wharfs, and created “inshore terminals” so that, once unloaded, a container would move quickly to places like Kamloops, Edmonton or Regina for inspection and forwarding.
As the ships got bigger, the challenges grew in clearing below bridge spans and above shoals – a complex problem especially in tidal waters. GPS and tide gauges made clearing the bridges more reliable, and today microwave range finders measure the gap in real time. Innovation above water is also found underwater with draft clearance systems ensuring that vessels to pass safely over sandbars, taking the guesswork out of loading a ship. The end result is that more cargo can be loaded onto a ship without risk of it running aground.
Clearing bridges and avoiding shoals have traditionally been the responsibility of a ship master and crew. Using sensors, cameras, and navigation tools directed from an operation centre on shore, some ships will soon operate autonomously. This is more than simply a response to the perennial challenge of scarce labour. Autonomous ships reduce human error that accounts for most marine casualties. Some estimates predict autonomous ships will reduce costs by 44%, while not forsaking safety.
In the 21st century, security and safety of the system has become a top concern, and technologies have been applied to increase surveillance and connect more effectively with law enforcement. More than 350 video cameras controlled by a mobile command post oversee the Port of Montreal. In Prince Rupert, a shore-based radar system provides information to ship masters, the port authority, the RCMP and Coast Guard.
Another technology innovation involves new ways to solve the age-old problem of tracking ownership and delivery. In early colonial times, merchants who shipped products back and forth across the Atlantic – or their agents – had to accompany their goods. There was no other way to be sure they were delivered to the right destination. One of the great innovations of centuries past was to send ahead a bill of lading, but today it remains cumbersome, inefficient and open to fraud. Today, blockchain technology holds the potential to vastly streamline this process and make it more impervious to fraudulent use.
Many innovations derive from advances in information and communications technologies, and the pace of change will no doubt accelerate. By 2020, according to Forbes, some 26 billion devices will be connected to the internet and will be interoperable. Combining these advances with other technological innovations in such fields as robotics and artificial intelligence and ports enter a new era of the internet of things.
Already some ports are using technology to significantly streamline their operations. But perhaps the biggest impact will be the delivery of vast resources of Big Data by all these interoperable devices. This data can be used to understand and fix bottlenecks and reduce dwell time.
Around the world, port authorities are racing to find ways to turn their facilities into a smart port, where the data related to both the goods and the port operations is integrated. This adds another must-have to the growing list of infrastructure improvements: not just longer wharves, faster cranes, video surveillance. Add to all of that, increased Wifi bandwidth and faster, comparable data management capability.
It all adds up to a transformative change in the way logistics are managed. A harbour master’s workspace used to be consist of ledgers, clipboards and a pair of binoculars to keep track of ships. Today it looks more like the command deck of a starship.
But some far-reaching innovations don’t involve direct application of new technology; those involve human interactions – and how we make decisions.
In the 1990s, senior executives from railroads, airports, terminal operators, unions and the port authority came together to create the Vancouver Gateway Council. They all had a stake in attracting more Asian traffic and were willing to work together to do it.
In 2006, governments joined in to create the Asia Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative. Within five years, it had announced some 47 strategic transportation infrastructure projects across all four Western provinces. The collaboration was replicated with the Atlantic Gateway and Trade Corridor and the Ontario-Quebec Continental Gateway.
Around the world, this is seen as highly innovative. “Boy, you guys really have it figured out in Canada,” one Washington insider told the Association of Canadian Port Authorities. In Southeast Asia, another expert observed, “You Canadians have done a great job.”
Perhaps there is something in the Canadian psyche that makes such collaboration easier here. Perhaps, as a trading nation spread out over a land of vast distances, we are pushed to find innovative ways to work together. Perhaps the invention of the shipping container and the advent of intermodal transportation stimulated our creativity in a quest to make transportation seamless.
In the years ahead, that ability to work together will be applied to new challenges, such as building port clusters. The goal is to help port cities attract knowledge workers and research and development centres. As transportation becomes more driven by technology and innovation, a new generation of logistics workers and managers, technicians and engineers, researchers and experimenters will continue to push the frontiers of how we move goods. The transportation system that helped shape Canada’s past has a bright future.


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Travellers will find the world at their fingertips at the Go Global travel show hosted by Lincolnshire Co-op at the University of Lincoln.
From Machu Picchu to Kilimanjaro, providers will be on hand on Wednesday, November 12 to help people plan the trip of a lifetime – and it’s not just for students!
Lincolnshire Co-op’s Travel Group manager Wayne Dennet, is keen to emphasise that the show is open to people of all ages and from all walks of life.
He said: “We know that people’s sense of adventure doesn’t wane as they get older. It’s never too late to jump on a plane and travel somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.”
Focusing on active holidays, the show will provide opportunities to speak to specialists, get advice on visas and even listen to talks from experts on teaching English abroad. There will also be competitions, activities and much more to get involved in, as well as exclusive special offers.
Taking place on the first floor of the university’s Atrium building, the show will also include the opportunity to win prizes in a game of travel-themed Plinko.
The show will run from 10am until 3pm, but those who can’t make it needn’t worry – just pop in to any one of Lincolnshire Co-op’s 13 travel branches and chat to one of the friendly travel advisors.
“More and more people these days are choosing to spend their money on memorable holidays,” added Wayne. “An experience you’ll remember forever is priceless – and at the travel show, we’ll have everything you need on hand to help you plan an unforgettable trip.”


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Small Business News
Three-Quarters of Americans Plan to Shop Local This Holiday Season
Good news for small businesses: consumers are ready to shop small this season. A new survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Mastercard found that 77% of Americans intend on shopping at local retailers for their holiday gifts. What’s more, 75% report that they’re being more conscious about where their shopping this season, prioritizing minority-owned and women-owned businesses. Additionally, more than half of those surveyed suggest they’d rather receive nothing than be gifted an item from a retailer whose values they deem not in alignment with their own.
Of course, small businesses that don’t have an e-commerce component may be at a disadvantage this year as the COVID-19 pandemic makes in-store shopping more difficult. According to Mastercard’s survey, 88% of respondents say they’ll be cutting back on brick-and-mortar shopping this holiday season. Similarly, 82% plan to shop online with 55% stating that they’ll do the majority of their shopping digitally. In a bit of good news, however, 59% of those surveyed say they are likely to spend the same amount or more this year than last.
Speaking to the emphasis on small businesses this holiday season, Mastercard senior advisor (and former Saks CEO) Steve Sadove stated, “City centers and Main Streets have long been the lifeblood of commerce in the United States, with bright lights and shop windows hallmarks of holidays past. While the retail landscape looks different this year, we’re once again seeing the amazing resilience of the American consumer – and the businesses who serve them.” Sadove went on to note that the shopping season —which typically kicks into gear post-Thanksgiving — has already begun ramping up, explaining, “October numbers show that early promotions are paying off as consumers get a jump on their holiday shopping.”
Incidentally, while Mastercard’s survey highlights the increased awareness of shopping small, it’s another card company that’s most associated with that movement: American Express. In fact, 2020 marks 10 years since the company founded Small Business Saturday, which is celebrated on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Ahead of this year’s event, Amex launched what they called their largest-ever Shop Small campaign back in June, with efforts including small business-centric offers for cardholders, a grant program aimed at supporting minority-owned businesses, and more.
With the holiday retail season already underway, it’s great to see that many Americans are choosing to factor small businesses into their shopping plans. That said, business owners may need to work in order to make themselves more accessible — whether that means setting up an online store, offering other options such as curbside pick-up, or perhaps selling digital gift cards. Hopefully, with the support of your community, this holiday season will be the start of a turnaround, leading to a much more prosperous 2021.


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Editor’s note: Tim Merel is Managing Director of Digi-Capital, which advises mobile internet, games and digital companies in the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Europe.
Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth (in late 2013), there were 38 tech unicorns worth over $130 billion. Mobile Internet has changed things in the last 12 months. A lot. Sixty-eight mobile unicorns added $28 billion shareholder value in Q4 2014 to become worth $261 billion. Or a quarter of a trillion dollars. That’s excluding Facebook (64 percent mobile revenue, 59 percent mobile only users, 84 percent total mobile users), which at over $200 billion skews the analysis.
What Is the Collective Noun for Unicorns?
Although unicorns are rare mythical beasts, surprisingly there is a collective noun for them: a “blessing of unicorns.” As it wouldn’t look right for a blessing of mobile unicorns to live in a stable, we’ve put them in one of our valuation pyramids.
There are many striking things about this pyramid, including its size at 68 companies and counting, that it accounts for the bulk of tech unicorns globally, and the companies themselves. Some are household names like Uber and Twitter, but others, such as iQiyi or Mogujie, you might not know so well.
30 Tim Cooks a Day
To put the $28 billion value added last quarter in perspective, that’s $300 million — or more than 30 Tim Cooks (who got paid over $9 million last year) a day.
Uber, Snapchat, Flipkart and Meituan added the most value per company, and 15 new mobile Internet unicorns joined the club. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, as 14 of the billion-dollar companies lost value (in some cases multiple billions of dollars).
Admission also doesn’t guarantee lifetime membership, with two former unicorns falling below $1 billion in Q4 for a total of five dropouts last year.
Pareto’s 80/20 rule was on the money: 20 companies drive 70 percent of all the value in the mobile Internet billions list. The top five (from Uber to LINE) are worth over 40 percent, the top 10 (adding from Snapchat to Square) over half, the top 20 (adding from Pinterest to Gungho) over 70 percent, and the top 30 (adding from Wanda E-Commerce to Momo) over 80 percent. Not all unicorns are created equal.
The Next Unicorn Could Come from Any Mobile Internet Sector
The $261 billion value of the mobile Internet billions list is spread across sectors, with six sectors accounting for 89 percent at $229 billion.
The big six sectors are travel/transport (including Uber, Didi Dache and Yongche), mCommerce (dominated by Asian companies, such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and One97), social networking (including Twitter and Snapchat, and which should count Facebook but doesn’t because it swamps everything else), messaging (such as WhatsApp and Daumkakao), games (with 11 companies from King to GREE) and utilities (like UCWeb).
However, there are 16 mobile Internet sectors on the list, so the next unicorn could come from any sector.
America Dominates by Value, Asia by Volume
America is the king of mobile Internet value creation, with 24 companies delivering $144 billion of shareholder value or over half of all the value in the list. This is partly due to monster valuations of some U.S. players (including Uber, WhatsApp, Twitter and Snapchat over $10 billion), with an average U.S. company worth $6 billion.
Asia dominates by volume with 38 companies worth $102 billion, but its $2.7 billion average valuation is less than half that of America. Yet Asia is accelerating compared to the West, with 12 out of 15 new entrants coming from China, India, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.
China holds the speed record with Wanda E-Commerce worth $3.2 billion only four months after it was founded by illustrious parents Wanda, Tencent and Baidu.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about the list is its link to fundamental growth. With over $700 billion mobile Internet revenue forecast for 2017, the mobile Internet billions list could pass $300 billion by the end of the year.
The full list is here. Note the companies listed all have substantial parts of their business from mobile Internet, but exclude mobile infrastructure, e.g. Qualcomm, device, e.g. Apple or substantial but minority mobile Internet businesses, e.g. Tencent with WeChat. The valuations come from a mix of stock markets, acquisitions and fundraising rounds.


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NEXT International Brands Limited, marketers of premium wines and spirits recently introduced Russia’s No. 1 premium Vodka, Russian Standard Vodka (RSV) into the Nigeria market. Russian Standard Vodka; with its natural ingredients brought together at the state-of-the art distillery in St Petersburg, passing through a proprietary distillation process more than 200 times to arrive at a state of near-celestial purity and smoothness which prides itself as the standard expected of Vodka.
Backed by a rich Russian heritage and complex technology since 1894, Russian Standard Vodka is the way Vodka should be. The Russian Standard Vodka variants in the market are Russian Standard Platinum, Russian Standard Gold and Russian Standard Original
The Managing Director, Next International Brands Limited, Mr. Wale Dosunmu stated, “We are excited to bring this sophistication and distinct offering to the Nigerian consumers(as is already being enjoyed in over 80 countries across the world) which is to truly raise the standard and vodka experience in Nigeria. Since its short entry, Russian Standard Vodka has gained a lot of acceptance from socialites and top consumers. Currently, a campaign is on to foster a robust grassroot campaign in bringing the brand closer to consumers through events online and offline to help create demand, as well as a strong social media presence to create product awareness”
He added that the brand had engaged 2 celebrities, former BB Africa winner and top presenter – Uti Nwachukwu and The Melanin Queen and Screen diva, Linda Osifo to take consumers on a series of pre-reveal puzzles showing the brand’s top of the shelf positioning around the world with associations and placements in top movies and entertainment materials. Winners of the puzzles were well rewarded for their efforts and expressed optimism that the brand will continue to produce the right consumer engagement via associations and activations. The brand will soon be having an online unveil party to be anchored by the popular DJ Kaywise.
If you think all Vodka is the same, take a sip of the Premium Russian Standard Vodka and have a first-hand premium experience. The brand is available in top retail outlets nationwide and in markets where spirits are sold.


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The safety inspection certificates of some 200 vehicles in Manitoba were declared null and void after an investigation by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) found that the certificates were issued fraudulently.
According to MPI spokesperson Brian Smiley, the insurer launched an investigation after it received information that nearly 200 fraudulent light vehicle inspections were allegedly completed by a technician at Birchwood Automotive Group.
Birchwood Automotive Group president and CEO Steve Chipman revealed to CBC News in an email interview that the company recently uncovered safety inspections being prepared on stolen certificates of inspection. As soon as Birchwood Automotive found the fake certificates, it immediately notified MPI.
“Our primary concern is for the safety of the driving public in Manitoba,” Chipman said, adding that Birchwood Automotive has offered to re-inspect the vehicles affected by the scheme.
Both MPI and Birchwood Automotive have notified all of the vehicle owners affected by the falsified certificates, explaining that they are considered “null and void.”
Smiley revealed that as a result of the investigation, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles immediately suspended the former technician from conducting any more light vehicle inspections.
“As administrators of the Light Vehicle Inspection program, the safety of vehicle owners and other road users is the priority of MPI,” the spokesperson added.


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Jan 7, 2019
CES 2019: Smart doorbells ring in changes in Las Vegas
A number of firms have shown off smart doorbell products at CES, aimed at the growing smart home security market. The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell is fitted with a microSD slot to store video in an encrypted form, but it can also be transferred to a Dropbox account or another server. Smart smoke-detector maker First Alert announced its first smart doorbell system, the One Link Bell, which it said would also work with both Amazon Echo and Google Assistant smart speakers. Industry analysts Futuresource Consulting estimated that nearly 110 million smart home devices were shipped worldwide in 2018. "Our forecasts suggest it will be knocking on the door of $10bn in trade value for 2018. Penetration rates will continue to climb, with 7% of homes worldwide having at least one smart security device installed by 2022.".
Make a complaint about Smart by viewing their customer service contacts.


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Allen Mistysyn has been promoted to CFO and senior vice president – finance at The Sherwin-Williams Co., effective Jan. 1. He takes over for Sean Hennessy, who will become senior vice president – corporate planning, development, and administration. Mistysyn joined the firm in 1990 and is currently senior vice president – corporate controller.
Finance chief Mike Koppel plans to retire from Nordstrom in the spring. He has been at the retailer since 1999 and has held the top finance spot since 2001.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings has named Paul Lundstrom CFO and vice president of finance, effective Nov. 7, replacing Kathy Redd at the propulsion-systems manufacturer and supplier. Lundstrom is a former vice president of investor relations at United Technologies.
Energy firm Allete has promoted Bob Adams to head finance, effective March 4. Adams, who will take over for retiring Steve DeVinck, has been at the company since 1987 and is now chief risk officer.
Buffalo Wild Wings has selected Alexander Ware to lead the finance function. He comes to the restaurant chain from MStar Holding Corp., where he was executive chairman. Earlier in his career, he was finance chief at PepsiAmericas from 2005 until it was acquired by PepsiCo in 2010.
Information-technology and management-consulting firm Calibre Systems has promoted Jeffrey Giangiuli to the posts of CFO, corporate treasurer, and secretary, succeeding the retiring Jack Mutarelli. Previously, Giangiuli was chief operations officer.
Subject to regulatory approval, Penn National Gaming has promoted William Fair to the top finance spot, effective Jan. 1. He takes over for Saul Reibstein, who is retiring at the end of the year. Fair has been chief development officer since 2014.
Magnum Hunter Resources, a crude-oil and natural-gas exploration and production company, has appointed Michael Koy finance chief. Most recently, he was CEO of Denali Energy.
Kurt Abkemeier has resigned as head of finance at Inteliquent. Controller Eric Carlson will serve as interim principal financial officer and interim principal accounting officer while the company conducts a search for Abkemeier’s replacement.
Chemical company Tronox has chosen Timothy Carlson to fill the top finance spot. Previously, he led the finance function at Precision Valve.


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On 1 February HM Treasury published a consultation and call for evidence on its proposals for a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. This follows a previous consultation and a commitment to legislate to bring cryptoassets within the FCA’s remit, and has been informed by recent market events including the failure of FTX.
Key elements of the regime include proposals to:
- expand the FCA’s remit to regulate the financial promotion of certain cryptoassets (though, notably, NFTs will not be captured under the proposed regime, since they can represent a wide array of assets which constitute non-financial services products);
- establish an issuance and disclosure regime; and
- adopt a crypto market abuse regime.
The consultation also acknowledges the environmental impact of consensus mechanisms (due, largely, to the energy usage of the computing tasks) and calls for views on the information that should be provided to consumers in this regard and appropriate metrics for sustainability reporting.
The consultation is open until 30 April 2023 and implementation is expected in late 2023 or early 2024. The FCA has stated: “All crypotasset firms marketing to UK consumers, including firms based overseas, will soon need to comply with the new UK financial promotions regime. Firms must start preparing now for this regime. We will take robust action against firms breaching these requirements.”
In the meantime, although cryptoassets are largely unregulated, businesses engaged in the promotion of cryptoassets (including non-crypto businesses considering sponsorships and partnerships with crypto businesses) must remain conscious of the existing advertising regulations. The ASA continues to classify cryptoassets as a “red alert priority issue” with enforcement notices and rulings against misleading crypto ads on a steady rise since 2021.
The ASA’s guidance is clear that ads referencing cryptoassets must “expressly and prominently” state that:
- cryptocurrencies are unregulated in the UK;
- cryptocurrency profits may be subject to Capital Gains Tax; and
- the value of investments is variable and can go down as well as up.
Businesses must take particular care that ads do not create a sense of urgency or fear of missing out, or imply that investments in cryptoassets are low risk or that past performance is indicative of likely future performance of the assets.
Interestingly, the ASA’s role is not mentioned in the current consultation, but we expect that the ASA will continue to retain some level of oversight over cryptoasset advertising (particularly in respect of NFTs) even after implementation of the new regime.


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Having a Safeway grocery store isn’t enough for residents of Frederickson.
John Marshall, a 50-year resident of the unincorporated area southeast of Tacoma, said the population there is exploding and commercial development isn’t keeping pace with that growth.
“I can’t buy a pair of socks in Frederickson,” he said, stressing that the area needs to strike a balanced approach to development. “I want to see everybody win.”
The Pierce County Council on Tuesday paved the way for large-scale retail development in Frederickson.
The council voted 4-3 to approve a zoning change to the Frederickson Community Plan that will allow big-box stores up to 175,000-square-feet.
The decision was one of many changes to the county comprehensive plan, all approved in one collective vote at the end of a nearly six-hour meeting during which each individual component was separately deliberated.
Many Frederickson residents, including Marshall, spoke in favor of expanded retail uses.
They pointed to the area’s Safeway at 176th Street East and Canyon Road East as an example of a successful retail operation that has attracted other commercial tenants and provided needed services.
But they want more.
Frederickson is primarily an industrial area, but the number of residents has boomed by more than 225 percent during the last decade. The population grew from 5,758 to 18,719 between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.
Chris Pallis, of Pallis Properties, spoke about his vision for the area. His company was responsible for the Canyon Crossing Shopping Center development, completed in 2008, that includes the Safeway.
He wants to move ahead with a long-awaited Frederickson Town Center project, but said without an “anchor” retailer it won’t come to fruition, he said.
“We will build a high-quality, well-received project,” Pallis said.
Joan Cross, a member of the Frederickson Community Council, said she was impressed with the developer’s approach when the Safeway was built. The shopping center followed the community plan as preferred by the people who live in the community, she said.
“This is the kind of person we want to work with,” Cross said. “They’re local people.”
Others on Tuesday expressed concern that allowing large-scale retail would negatively affect industrial operations and freight mobility.
Denise Dyer, the county’s economic development director, said the 65,000-square-foot Safeway has proven successful. She said expanding retail uses to 175,000 square feet is excessive and would have negative impacts on the industrial area.
Council members Jim McCune, Joyce McDonald, Dan Roach and Doug Richardson favored the proposal, while Connie Ladenburg, Rick Talbert and Derek Young opposed it.
Ladenburg said she’s confused why a “massively large building” is necessary when the moderately sized Safeway has proven so successful.
Young said he doesn’t oppose retail changes in the area, but stressed that it needs to be carefully thought out.
“The community clearly wants retail development on site,” he said. “Our job is to make sure it fits and doesn’t impact the Frederickson industrial center.”
Talbert said the attempt to expand retail there could mirror the “poor planning decisions” that created problems with sprawl along Meridian Avenue East in nearby Puyallup and South Hill.
“It could be the start of the downfall of the investments we’ve already made in (the Frederickson) corridor,” Talbert said.
But McCune said concerns about traffic and negative effects on the industrial sector are overblown.
He pointed to part of the proposal that would require a conditional use permit for any project 75,000 square feet and larger.
“It’s not like they’re just going to go out and build,” McCune said.


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John Shahidi is the king of Twitter.
Teenagers beg him for retweets, and he appears in Vine videos where friends Justin Bieber and boxer Floyd Mayweather spar in the ring. Everything that Shahidi tweets — and we mean practically everything — is retweeted and favorited thousands of times. If Shahidi mentions you in a tweet, you’ll spend the next two weeks slogging through dozens of notifications every time you open the app.
It’s a phenomenon that Fortune’s Dan Primack has dubbed "Getting Shahidi’d," and it’s a very real and rather overwhelming experience. Shahidi says he has even turned down six-figure offers from brands asking him to tweet out their products.
What makes his Twitter dominance all the more significant is that Shahidi, 34, runs a small San Francisco startup called Shots, which he founded with his brother Sam late last year. His Twitter fame has helped his startup immensely.
His year-old photo-sharing app, which is primarily used for selfies, has more than three million downloads — 73 percent of which are active users, Shahidi says — but you probably haven’t heard of it unless you have a teenager in the house.
But first, how does a startup founder like Shahidi get so much engagement on Twitter?
Part of the reason is that Shahidi’s friends, Bieber and Mayweather, are Shots investors and very active users. Shahidi has grown part of his Twitter following simply by associating himself with Bieber, the second-most-followed Tweeter on the planet with an audience of nearly 56 million people. Beliebers want to be as close as they can to Justin, and that often means following his friends.
The other reason, though, is that Shahidi has a follower base that breaks the mold. More than 72 percent of his followers are on Shots, where the average user is 15 years old. According to Twitter analytics company StatSocial, Shahidi’s followers are abnormally active. They tweet, on average, almost eight times as often as the average Twitter user.
Shahidi also has great second-degree reach on the platform. What that means is, while he has a healthy follower base of his own with just over 325,000 people, his followers themselves are also very influential. They reach roughly 572 times the number of people of the average group of Twitter followers, according to StatSocial.
In other words, Shahidi’s followers tweet often and reach a massive audience — a combo that helps him spread content like wildfire across the service.
Why does all this matter? Because Shahidi says his Twitter success directly impacts his company. Shots doesn’t have a company blog and no longer pays for a PR agency. Instead, Shahidi simply tweets out company updates from both his own account and the @Shots handle (that also drives crazy engagement). When Shots released an Android version of its app on July 31, it simply tweeted the update. The company hashtag, #ShotsForAndroid, was actually trending on Twitter, and the app has already been downloaded just under one million times without a single marketing dollar spent, according to Shahidi.
In today’s tech environment, where social networks are valued on their user base well before they ever make money (just look at WhatsApp), this makes Shots an intriguing app. Shots users are almost all teenagers, the demographic that investors (and advertisers) clamor over, and while celebrity-powered apps often gain early traction before fading, Shots is still going strong 12 months in. The company isn’t making money yet, but it’s not the first social network to make user growth a priority.
Shots is NOW available for both Android and iOS. Tell your friends about it! #ShotsForAndroid— Shots Studios (@shots) August 1, 2014
Shahidi also relies on Twitter to keep Shots users checking the app. "Where a lot of social products fail is they have a great product but have a hard time reminding people to go back and make it part of their [everyday] life," he explained to Re/code. For this reason, the Shahidi brothers regularly tweet out images from celebrity users on Shots and respond to diehard users from time to time to let them know they’re listening. As a result, the company’s daily active users have climbed from 22 percent of its total active user base in April to 41 percent today, just under one million people.
"Everyone wants to be part of the community," Shahidi said. "Our community is inside [Shots] and outside it as well on Twitter."
For Shahidi, that’s a great place to be a king.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.


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Paired with an earlier round of US tariffs on Canadian and European steel — and Canadian and European countertariffs on American goods — it’s clear that the United States is now embroiled in a multi-front trade war.
Rosy Martinez wants to Donate to SHEPHERDS DOOR -
Indeed, according to an official statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Trump has just “launched the biggest trade war in economic history so far.” This kind of bold rhetoric has generated dramatic press coverage, with Ana Swanson of The New York Times writing that “escalation of the trade war from threat to reality is expected to ripple through global supply chains, raise costs for businesses and consumers and roil global stock markets.” Big business and some congressional Republicans are pushing back on Trump, while die-hard Trump haters are enjoying stories about places like Poplar Bluff, Missouri — a town that voted overwhelmingly for Trump but that is also home to a nail factory that his new taxes on imported metal will likely put out of business.
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5. Steve Ballmer saying "Linux is a cancer" and a decade later Microsoft going open source In fairness, Ballmer himself said this in one of (many) unguarded moments, but it's an excellent illustration...
As well as the 250Tbps Dunant cable, work is ongoing on the Equiano and Grace Hopper cables, connecting New York and South Africa to Europe
IBM foresees a 1,000-qubit device by 2023, and 'frictionless quantum computing' by 2025
'Things that think want to link, and things that link want to think'
The new material can physically reconfigure itself as it processes and stores new information
The WEF's new platform will work to ensure that AI governance reflects best practices in data governance


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Chinese food now haute cuisine of choice for America’s rich thanks to chefs who’ve taken it to another level
Pioneering chefs from San Francisco to New York are changing perceptions of Chinese food as they serve high-quality, high-priced takes on traditional dishes, from duck and chicken feet to potstickers stuffed with foie gras
From coast to coast in the United States, there is a sense that a new day is dawning for Chinese cuisine. On the west coast, especially in the fine food-obsessed San Francisco Bay Area, chefs are taking advantage of the wealth and natural bounty to pioneer a new level of Chinese-American fine dining. On the east coast, some of the mainland’s most successful restaurateurs have opened their first overseas outposts, introducing eager local diners to the food of modern China.
Everywhere, chefs and restaurant owners – both Chinese and Chinese American – are introducing new flavours and changing opinions of the cuisine itself.
In the American restaurant industry, Chinese food has long been lumped with other so-called “ethnic” cuisines like Mexican or Thai, which were expected first and foremost to be cheap.
It had been accepted that diners who think nothing of spending US$500 on a tasting menu at The French Laundry would recoil at spending even a tenth of that at a Chinese restaurant – even if the chefs were equally skilled and working with ingredients sourcedfrom the same producers.
Now, chefs and the dining public are pushing back.
- Superabundant dispatch: Celebrating Lunar New Year with Portland’s Chinese history
This week, to celebrate Lunar New Year, she offers a brief history of Chinese food in Portland. PSA: Don’t sleep on endive. We’re deep in winter vegetable season, which can mean a lot of the same old, …
- Red envelopes and tragedy: A Monterey Park restaurant owner moves forward the only way she knows how
As Lunar New Year unfolded against the backdrop of tragedy in Monterey Park, the holiday's red envelopes became a symbol of a tension: how do we honor those killed in the mass shooting while also …


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Macy’s on Thursday raised its earnings forecast for the year after the department store operator said it has fresh merchandise and is ready for the holiday shopping season.
The company stood by its revenue guidance as it faces a tougher sales backdrop during the retail industry’s most crucial quarter. The updated outlook came after Macy’s reported third-quarter revenue and earnings that topped Wall Street expectations.
related investing news
Shares of Macy’s were up 7% in pre-market trading.
In an interview with CNBC, Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette said company can hold the line on prices because it has fresh merchandise. That has allowed it to bring in new apparel, home goods and other gift-giving items. He said it is not seeing customers trade down to cheaper brands.
However, he said Macy’s did see a drop in sales in the final weeks of October and early November. Store and website visits remained the same — but the browsing did not lead to buying. In the past week, he said, Macy’s has seen a return to a better performance.
“Is that a slowdown in the consumer confidence that we are going to take all the way through the fourth quarter?” he said. “Or is it going back to the 2019 buying patterns when those weeks I’m quoting were actually consistent with the trend we had before ramping into Christmas this year? Right now, we are watching it very carefully.”
Here’s how Macy’s did in its fiscal third quarter compared with what analysts were anticipating, based on Refinitiv estimates:
- Earnings per share: 52 cents adjusted vs. 19 cents expected
- Revenue: $5.23 billion vs. $5.2 billion expected
Comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis fell 2.7% from a year ago. But Macy’s said the figure was up when compared to the the third quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.
Macy’s has seen a shift in what people are buying in the past few quarters. That pattern held in recent months, as shoppers bought dressier attire instead of the pajamas, workout clothes and home goods like bedding that they loaded up on earlier in the pandemic, Gennette said.
Shoppers turned to its beauty chain, Bluemercury, and higher-end department store chain, Bloomingdale’s, to buy new clothing, shoes and makeup. Those banners outperformed the rest of the company.
At Bloomingdale’s, comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis were up 4.1%, as shoppers bought dressy clothing, women’s shoes and luggage.
At Bluemercury, comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis rose 14%.
Gennette said the company benefits from having a wide array of price points — so shoppers can choose a high-end fragrance and then a lower-priced shirt from a private label.
Heading into the key holiday shopping season, however, Macy’s is facing inflation that’s hovering at a near four-decade high. The company cut its full-year revenue and earnings per share forecast in August, saying it anticipates shoppers may spend less on discretionary merchandise like apparel as they pay more for groceries, housing and gas.
For the three month period ended Oct. 29, Macy’s said Thursday that its net income fell to $108 million, or 39 per share, from $239 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.
Macy’s stood by its revenue guidance from August, saying it still expects a range of $24.34 billion to $24.58 billion for the fiscal year. It raised its annual adjusted earnings per share forecast to $4.07 to $4.27 per share, up from its previous range of $4 to $4.20.
Earlier this week, industry-watchers got fresh clues about the health of the consumer. Both Walmart and Target reported a noticeable pullback of sales in categories like apparel, electronics and home goods as shoppers spent more on necessities. Target slashed its forecast for the holiday quarter, saying weaker sales have continued into November.
As of Wednesday’s close, Macy’s shares are down about 25% so far this year. Shares closed Wednesday at $19.71, down about 8%.
This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.


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It’s hard to visualise $85 million, but try. Imagine it all stacked up neatly in crisp $1 bills. It’s astronomical. That’s how much money Star Citizen has been given in pledges. If we measure the success of a crowdfunded game in how much money it’s made, then Star Citizen is an unprecedented success. If we measure the success in tangible results, however, then Star Citizen still has a long way to go.
The vast amount of money raised, the new elements, delayed anticipated elements and what many consider to be a lack of transparency have given some backers pause. One of those backers is developer Derek Smart, who made his concerns known in several blog posts, the latest of which went up today, along with the promise that he’ll be taking an ad out in the New York Times. And his concerns, as well as the reactions to those concerns, have escalated considerably. Now it’s personal.
On July 6th, 3000AD’s Derek Smart wrote a blog post regarding Cloud Imperium’s Star Citizen. Smart was an early backer during the Kickstarter campaign, pledging $250 to the project. Writing on his blog, Smart advised backers to get in touch with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US consumer protection agency, if they felt that they had been misled by the Kickstarter.
On July 13th, Roberts Space Industries (RSI), the subsidiary of Cloud Imperium developing Star Citizen, emailed Smart to inform him that his account had been cancelled and that his original pledge was being refunded. The email was curt, though RSI were within there rights to refund the pledge according to the Kickstarter ToS.
That might have been the end of it, but Smart doesn’t consider this a win. He doesn’t want a refund and it doesn’t change how he feels about RSI or Star Citizen. If anything, the way it’s all been handled has made him more frustrated.
“I never wanted a refund at all. It was never my intention.”
Smart still considers himself a backer, seeing as that his cheque from RSI has yet to arrive. And what he wants is for Chris Roberts and his team to be held accountable.
“What I really wanted was accountability, to know where my pledge went and what was going on with the product,” Smart told me over Skype this afternoon. It was the first time I’d spoken to Derek. He was friendly, relaxed. Perfectly amiable. Nothing like the firebrand I expected.“You must remember, I was one of the original backers. I was excited when this product went online, I was excited with Elite, you know. After a while I realised that things weren’t happening fast enough. The signs were all there that there was something very wrong.”
It was after the Star Marine module delay and after reading the blog posts from Roberts around that time that Smart started to get concerned. After speaking with friends who were involved in development, and some who had already left, “a really bad picture started forming,” he explained, “and it just went from there.”
“It was never about the money”
Given that RSI was not exactly in the habit of giving out refunds, when Smart received a notification from Kickstarter, he was “shocked”. He tweeted about it, and eventually other backers wanted to know if RSI was giving out refunds to any backers who wanted them. On the forums, a backer made a poll, and by the time it closed, around a quarter of the 1173 voters believed that a refund option should exist.
RSI’s Ben Lesnick eventually stepped in to explain the situation.
“We refunded Mr. Smart’s package because he was using Star Citizen as a platform to gain attention as part of a campaign to promote his ‘Line of Defense’ space game. Our ToS (or in this case the Kickstarter ToS) allows us to refund troubled users who we would rather not have interacting with the community.”
You can read the full forum post on a screenshot from Smart’s blog.
Things had taken a rather personal turn.
“I know who wrote it, I’ve already heard who was behind that post going up, and they’re going to pay, even if it doesn’t come from me,” said Smart when I brought up the forum post. “Everyone’s going to end up with full accountability. They made it personal, it’s not professional. It wasn’t coming from Chris [Roberts], it wasn’t coming from PR, it was just coming from this guy, in a forum, with direction from whoever he’s answering to, and I’m not going to name names, but I already know how it went up, and they’re all going to account for it.”
Smart believes that the poll scared RSI, and that the studio was not banking on any attention being given to him. He thinks there’s an element of fear driving some of the backers as well, a small percent of them that are now attacking him while defending RSI.
“It’s human nature, it’s about denial.”
Smart continued blogging about Star Citizen with a third article, posted today, titled Interstellar Justice. Near the bottom, there’s a list. The items on the list could be characterised as demands or ultimatums, and almost certainly will be by Roberts and RSI. Smart sees them as options, however, and not demands. There are four items, and they start with Smart calling for Roberts to resign as CEO.
If that’s not dramatic enough, Smart also calls for RSI to refund every Kickstarter backer and give backers the opportunity to hire a forensic accountant and executive producer to perform an audit. Smart even offers to pay for this by putting $1 million in an escrow account.
The list ends with, “If you ignore this, the more time passes, the more articles that myself, and investigative media write, revealing what we know, the more likely it is that this will end in legal (someone suing someone, and opening the flood gates) action, thereby forcing you all to come to court and answer these questions.”
That’s where he thinks this is heading.
I asked Smart what, knowing that the list will be ignored, his goal with it was. It seemed almost like a piece of theatre, and by Smart’s own admission at the top of the blog post, “drama, flair, hyperbole, sarcasm, humor” are all part of how he writes and acts.
“Psychologically you should never put someone in a position where they feel like they have no choice, there’s no out,” Smart told me. “Human nature is to dig in… and when you dig in, and somebody has nowhere to go, and you leave them with no alternative, they’re going to do the dumbest thing imaginable. Specifically, how they did my refund. That’s the sort of thing that happens when people freak out.
“I wanted to give them options, because it’s easy to say ‘We screwed up, we should have known better, we’re going to walk away.’ It happens all the time.”
It sounded to me like the sort of things you’d expect dissatisfied investors or board members to say, rather than Kickstarter backers. I wondered if Smart saw himself and his fellow backers as Star Citizen’s investors.
“The thing that people have been forgetting about is the word I’ve been trying to push. It’s got nothing to do with what you’re vested in, in the broad sense of the word, it’s more about accountability. If you walk into a store and buy something, you have some expectation of satisfaction. If you order something online, you have an expectation of it being delivered to you.
“People who say ‘You’re crowdfunding, don’t expect anything,” they are right, in the sense that you shouldn’t expect anything to be delivered. The difference is, if you go to Amazon and you order something and it doesn’t show up, you have recourse. But when you crowdfund, the only recourse that you have are mostly individuals who, without accountability, can just walk away into the sunset scott free with your money.”
That’s where he sees the FTC playing an important role in protecting consumers’ rights, holding crowdfunders accountable. And he believes that backers do have a legal recourse and that the FTC will eventually come in and enforce changes.
“The FTC is aware of it,” Smart said. “My guess is, right now, they’re formulating a plan to address it. There’s no getting away from that. When you’re talking $85 million, a lot of irate people and all these newsbits and everything that’s going on, there’s no way they can avoid it. So what I think is happening is, even though they could continue pushing it forever, the FTC, once they get in there, they’re going to trump all that. It’s going to come to a screeching halt. I can almost guarantee it. So that was the purpose of me writing my first article saying somebody has to be accountable for this before it falls apart.”
If the FTC does roll in, will it lead to a change in crowdfunding, bringing it more in line with other types of transactions? Smart doesn’t think so. He believes that crowdfunding will peter out in favour of alternatives like equity funding.
“Down the road, somebody going on Kickstarter and asking for a million dollars is less likely to get any traction than somebody who goes through the regular channels of equity funding with SEC regulations and asking for $5 million.”
As much as Smart’s blogs and RSI’s reaction have spurred on a lot of discussion about crowdfunding and game development, throughout it there’s been a vicious undercurrent. Punches have been thrown from behind keyboards, at both Chris Roberts (and RSI in general) and at Smart himself.
“I knew I’d get attacked, I knew that people would make it about me, because I’m a controversial figure. The thing people are missing is that I’m a controversial figure because I’m not afraid of asking or saying things that evoke thought. That’s what people are missing. A lot of people will hide behind PR, hide behind a keyboard, but people know who I am.
“I just want people to look at this at face value. Stop making it about me.”


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Frequently changing hairstyles are helping haircare grow into a multi-billion dollar industry in Africa. It's still largely based in the informal economy, but now global giants like L'Oreal and Unilever are also involved. Joel Flynn looks at how hairdos can mean dollars.
On the streets of Abuja, the difference between what's hot and what's not can be just a hair's breadth. A big deal when's there's a lot at stake. Women in Nigeria can pay up to 40 dollars for a new do - a hefty sum in a country where many live off less than two dollars a day. But that's a cost hairdresser Josephine Agwa says they're willing to shoulder. SOUNDBITE: Hairstylist, Josephine Agwa, saying (English): "If I look ugly will you like me? You will not like me. Yes, I am married and my husband wants me to tidy in on myself, so hair is very important and hair is a beauty of a woman." Euromonitor International estimates over $1 billion of shampoos, relaxers and hair lotions were sold in South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon alone last year. That's not including sales from more than 40 other sub-Saharan countries. Or the huge "dry hair" market of weaves, extensions and wigs. Some estimates put Africa's dry hair industry at as much as $6 billion a year. Now big business is getting its hands on the market. Bertrand de Laleu is Managing Director of L'Oreal South Africa. SOUNDBITE: L'Oreal South Africa Managing Director, Bertrand de Laleu, saying (English): "South African women change their hairstyle between six to 12 times a year, so the average is 8, so imagine if you compare to Caucasian or an Asian woman is total difference ritual and culture. And they move from straight hair, to dreads, to braids, to extensions. They colour the hair sometimes with fancy colors, so they are very, very daring." It's not just L'Oreal getting involved. Anglo-Dutch group Unilever has a salon in downtown Johannesburg to take advantage of business that pours out onto the streets. Women aren't only spending on haircare either - they're also earning from it. The industry provides a vital source of jobs, especially for those working in the informal economy. As companies and consumers have their heads turned by wigs and weaves, Africa's haircare industry looks likely to grow and grow.


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Video Gamer Play // Six years later, PS3 exclusive Starhawk is down
Six years later, PS3 exclusive Starhawk is down
Six years after PlayStation 3-exclusive Starhawk came out, its online functionality has gone dark.
Multiplayer features for Starhawk ended on 30th June, while the single-player campaign remains playable.
Starhawk is a third-person shooter developed by LightBox Interactive as a spiritual successor to 2007’s Warhawk. “What impressed in 2007 is no longer enough,” we wrote in our review, “and while Starhawk is a perfectly fine entry in the third-person multiplayer shooter genre, it’s unlikely to inspire much long-term passion in its current state.”
- Blizzard to remove option to buy loot boxes with real money from Heroes of the Storm March 24, 2019
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds wants you to celebrate its second anniversary with this free in-game item March 24, 2019
- One more character will drop before the end of Apex Legends’ first battle pass season March 24, 2019
- Space Junkies PSVR open beta shows promise, shame about the control scheme March 24, 2019
- Is The Division 2 sending secret messages via flashing lights and Morse code? March 24, 2019
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is already Steam’s fourth most-played game March 24, 2019
- Death Stranding hits a “critical phase” as Kojima plays the game “every day” on PS4 March 24, 2019
- Uncanny games with hidden rooms March 24, 2019
- In-game tributes paid to “amazing” Minecraft server owner who died of cancer March 23, 2019
- Five months after launch, Super Mario Party finally gets its first update March 23, 2019


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Monthly auto sales are being released Tuesday and while there are winners and losers, the overall trend of higher sales remains in place. The thing for investors has been trying to pick the winners among these names.
It’s clear to me American automakers are struggling and losing share. Be that as it may, one way to play the macro trend in autos, entertainment and professional music is Harmon International (NYSE:HAR).
Auto sales are 56% of the company’s business, but the pure audio part is only $3.1 billion of its current backlog, $13 billion is infotainment, which includes the navigation system and multimedia like the Internet.
Late last month S&P upped its credit rating on the stock to BBB-, which is investment grade, citing the following:
• Improved margins • Lower business risk • Expectations of continued leadership position • Strong liquidity
I agree with all of the above, as cash flow is up 245% compounded from 1Q10. I’m also excited about global growth. BRIC sales were 1% in 2008, 12% this year and will be 25% by 2015 as China alone has a 94% compounded annual growth rate.
Domestically the company's sales are outpacing the overall market, suggesting market share gains.
The company is strong in Lifestyle and Professional, which includes recording, broadcast and equipment for music tours which is the only way artist make money these days.
There are big tech names like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) looking to get in on the dashboard action and that’s held the stock back. But this is a stock changing hands at a 10 PE, PEG of 0.40, less than one times sales and two times book.
A close above $50 would be monumental and the stock would probably be off to the races.
Charles Payne, a FOX Business contributor, is president of Wall Street Strategies. At the time this article was published he, his firm and/or his family did not own securities in Harman.


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Ford Motor Company is an automotive manufacturing company, and it is putting in a lot of resources and time in developing electrified vehicles. The company is investing $90 billion in battery and electric cars. The funds are channeled into a sector that registers only 1% of the 90 million sold annually. In 2017, Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc sold only three models that sum up to more than 100,000 vehicles. The Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc was the most dominant company in 2017.
The question has always been who will buy all the electric vehicles that are to be produced. There will be an increase in the number of electric models in the next five years. Many automobile companies want to manufacture the battery electric and hybrid gasoline-electric models. Most of those companies are from China. In the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford confirmed that they were also involved.
AutoNation Inc is the most renown US auto retailing chain. The CEO of AutoNation Inc said that Tesla was facing stiff competition. It is expected that electric vehicles might account for 15-20% of new vehicles sales in the US by 2030. In the US alone the automotive investments sum up to not less than $19 billion. China is at $21 billion while Germany records $52 billion. Chinese government developed escalating electric-vehicle quotes. It will give the country an advantage over US and Germany. It will start to be operational in 2019.
There is an outcry by mainstream automakers on regulations in California and Europe. There is a move to do away with carbon emission from fossil fuels. Currently, Tesla is the most favorite electric car maker. But soon the market will have many electric vehicles. This is according to Daimler AG Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche. Daimler is looking forward to spending $11.7 billion to produce ten electric and 40 hybrid car models. It also plans to upgrade its vehicles from small vehicles to heavy-duty trucks.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd’s 7-year-old Leaf is still the world’s top-selling electric vehicle. The high competition will influence the pricing. Toyota had to spend 18years for sale of hybrid vehicles before getting to 3% share of the total market. Getting to 4 or 5% will take them more time. The value of hybrid vehicles is less costly than battery electric vehicles.
Volkswagen AG has the largest single investment. The company wants to spend $40 billion by 2030. It will use it to manufacture electrified versions of its 300-plus global models. General Motors Co (GM) has plans to take 20 new battery and fuel cell electric vehicles by 2023 in the US. Many of them will be built on a new modular and dedicated platform which will come out in 2021.


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Question No. 2: Anti-gay-rights activists staged a boycott of which retailer for airing commercials starring Ellen DeGeneres?
We already know that the Cannes Film Festival brings some of the most incredible fashion statements of the year, but nothing beats the amfAR Cinema Against Aids Gala!
Sun’s out. Hunk’s out.
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield were just spotted together, two months after it was announced the couple was “taking a break.”…


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The showdown between the European Union and United States over auto tariffs reminds this viewer of Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West, and with good reason. Both players appear ready to reach for their Colt Single Action Army in a bid to do maximum damage to the other.
After the U.S. Commerce Department delivered a confidential report to the White House on Sunday, the EU is warning its trading partner that any tariffs imposed on European-built vehicles will be met with similar levies on American goods.
With the United States’ government shutdown now over, lawmakers have an opportunity to work together as promised. Interestingly, one of the first pieces of bipartisan legislation to emerge after the federal bureaucracy resumed operations involves a plan to severely limit presidential authority to impose tariffs for national security reasons.
The Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act, introduced by Senators Patrick Toomey (R-PA) and Mark Warner (D-VA), along with House Representatives Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ron Kind (D-WI), would require the president to get approval from Congress before taking any trade actions based on national security threats. If passed into law, the bill would let the Legislative Branch effectively block the tariffs being proposed by the Trump administration on automobiles and automotive parts.
With Britain’s parliament rejecting Prime Minister Theresa May’s latest Brexit deal, European automakers stand to face some strong headwinds in the near future. As of now, no clear path lies ahead. Many believe the European Union will continue playing hardball, punishing Britain for leaving. But, even if it doesn’t, loads of regulatory and trade issues must be resolved in short order to avoid problems.
There’s also no shortage of hyperbole surrounding the issue. Just this morning I heard cable news call it “the largest crisis in Britain’s history,” as if World War II never happened. A channel away, another outlet proclaimed how splendid it would be for trade between the United Kingdom and United States.
Regardless of which side of the fence you fall, there’s more at stake here than Theresa May’s job. Automakers, who like consistency above all else, worry a no deal plan for “British independence” could be tantamount to flipping the industry table. They don’t like being caught up in the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, and there appears to be an endless list of issues to contend with.
China announced Friday its intent to reduce tariffs on imports of American-made cars as it tries to negotiate a trade deal with the United States. As you’ll recall, the People’s Republic imposed additional punitive tariffs on U.S. cars and auto parts earlier this year after promising it would lower the trade barriers on a global scale.
Things look to be different this time around. China has already taken steps to scale back the trade war and appears ready to continue down that path. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in the trade war at their meeting in Argentina. This was followed by an announcement, via Trump’s Twitter account, claiming China had agreed to scale back auto tariffs against the United States.
Last night President Donald Trump tweeted that China had agreed to reduce tariffs. While The People’s Republic already lowered tariffs over the summer, it chose to cut the United States out of that deal as trade relations worsened. In fact, America found itself subject to an increased, 40-percent fine on imported autos while the rest of the world saw their tariffs (partially) eased. But the president seems optimistic.
“My meeting in Argentina with President Xi of China was an extraordinary one,” Trump explained in a follow-up post. “Relations with China have taken a BIG leap forward! Very good things will happen. We are dealing from great strength, but China likewise has much to gain if and when a deal is completed. Level the field!”
Meanwhile, China remains silent on the matter.
The Trump administration was supposed to make an announcement Tuesday as to whether or not imported automobiles pose a national security risk, following discussions with trade representatives. While it wasn’t presumed that the White House would say anything truly definitive or hold a formal press conference on the issue, it was assumed that the president would take a stronger public stance either for or against an earlier proposal to raise foreign auto import tariffs to 25 percent. And it has, in a way.
According to those familiar with the matter, the White House decided to postpone any major decisions after discussing a draft Commerce Department report on the impact of auto imports with trade reps. However, the administration doesn’t have forever to make up its mind. Nor does its trading partners, which could be the point.
The U.S. Commerce Department has submitted draft recommendations to the White House on its investigation into whether it’s prudent to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported automobiles and parts, based on the premise that they’re a threat to national security. The possibility has the industry in a tizzy, with both foreign and domestic brands lobbying against it.
Truth be told, we half assumed the entire concept was a ruse to bring other nations to the bargaining table with something to lose — a scenario where the United States could be viewed as a favorable alternative to tariff-crazy China. However, China has begun opening its market to foreign automakers while also placing a massive 40 percent duty on American autos, leaving the U.S. at a disadvantage. Now it looks as if the Trump administration may go through with everything.
Ford Motor Co. is blaming Donald Trump’s commodity tariffs for elevating U.S. steel prices higher than any other market on the planet. Regardless of your opinion on the president’s policies (the economy is reportedly booming), it’s a little hard to rebuff Ford’s criticisms on this one. The automaker’s now going straight to the source in an attempt to remedy the situation.
Trump hasn’t gone easy on Ford. He spent a large portion of his presidential campaign coming down on the automaker over its plan to move small-car production to Mexico. However, the company’s about-face proved a short-lived victory — it ultimately decided to stop selling cars altogether. This was followed by Ford’s cull of the upcoming Focus Active in North America after Trump’s 25 percent levy on Chinese-built vehicle made the introduction impossible (and unprofitable).
Now that China has relaxed its joint-ownership mandates, BMW has announced that it will procure a majority stake in its venture with Brilliance Automotive. The German firm will be the first foreign automaker to have majority control of its business in the region.
Being first will not come cheaply, however. It will cost BMW $4.2 billion to assume control with a majority stake of 75 percent of the business — albeit as part of a larger deal. All the manufacturer has to do is come up with the funds and wait until 2022, when rules limiting foreign ownership for all Chinese auto ventures are officially lifted.
Canada’s autoworkers feel pretty confident they’ll still have a job next year, as the free trade agreement reached by the U.S. and its northern neighbor Sunday night pretty much keeps the status quo alive in that country’s auto sector.
Just last week, with headway essentially absent from the trade negotiations, President Trump repeated his threat of levying a 25 percent import tax on Canadian vehicles. Such a tariff could easily have seen 160,000 jobs erased from the auto and parts manufacturing industries; perhaps more.
However, just because the industry came out all right in the end doesn’t mean the future is entirely rosy.
Man, if you live south of the 49th parallel, you missed quite a hubbub yesterday evening. Actually, Americans likely caught a whiff of it, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s lengthy post-UN press conference Wednesday covered a lot of topics, including the one that had Canucks up in arms.
Up here in the Great White North, a country some commenters would prefer to never see mentioned (as this writer apparently mentions it ALL THE TIME), trade remains an understandably hot topic. Canada hasn’t reached a renegotiated free trade agreement with the U.S., unlike Mexico, and there’s a Sunday deadline looming to sign on to the U.S.-Mexico accord. Tick tock. Among other planks, Canada wants to protect its dairy cartel — an entity not universally loved up here, as it greatly increases the price of common food staples on store shelves. However, protecting jobs in that sector means risking jobs in the larger auto sector, a crucial industry whose vehicles Trump has threatened to tax to the tune of perhaps 25 percent. Auto parts could see a 10 percent tariff.
Canada exported $48.8 billion worth of vehicles in 2016.
Toyota, Honda, and the Detroit Three all have assembly plants in Ontario. Last night’s news conference brought nothing but worry to the nearly 200,000 people employed in the vehicle and parts manufacturing sector. What would it mean if Trump pulls the tariff trigger? And is Canada blameless in not yet reaching a deal?
Ford’s decision to construct the current-generation F-150’s body purely of aluminum paid off in terms of lightweighting, fuel economy, and sales, but rising commodity costs over the past couple of years eroded some of the financial benefit. There’s far greater headaches facing Ford these days, as the industry grapples with tariffs on not just imported aluminum and steel, but vehicles as well.
A second income-sucking tariff hit in July, when the U.S. applied an import duty of 25 percent on a slew of Chinese goods, prompting China to up its own tariffs on American goods, including automobiles. Ford isn’t having it. Having already lost $1 billion in profit, CEO Jim Hackett has a message for President Trump.
While the trade situation is still very much in flux, Toyota sees itself as standing to gain from the turmoil, just not in the United States. The automaker, along with other Japanese brands, finds itself in an advantageous position in China — a massive market facing its own troubles.
China’s anger at the U.S., and vice versa, could mean big bucks in the short term for Toyota.
President Donald Trump jumped on Twitter Sunday morning to rattle off a series of musings I couldn’t have cared less about. However, mixed in with the rest of them, was a reference to last month’s news that Ford abandoned its plans to import the Chinese-built Focus Active into the United States.
“‘Ford has abruptly killed a plan to sell a Chinese-made small vehicle in the U.S. because of the prospect of higher U.S. Tariffs,'” Trump said in reference to a CNBC article from August. “This is just the beginning. This car can now be BUILT IN THE U.S.A. and Ford will pay no tariffs!”
Whether or not you support the president, he has made a genuine effort to convince automakers to do their manufacturing within the United States. However, his comments on the matter make it seem as if he’s a tad confused on how things actually work. Perhaps we can attribute his statement to an unbridled optimism or a tongue-in-cheek jab at Ford. Otherwise, the only explanation is that he doesn’t have the best understanding of what’s happening with the industry — which would be mildly alarming.
U.S. Ford Focus production ended in May, but the automaker planned to import the next-generation Focus Active, a slightly lifted, mildly cladded five-door, in order to have something to sell to entry-level buyers. With the subcompact Fiesta ceasing production early next spring and the Fusion following it a couple of years later, that left very little low-end product for new or returning customers.
Well, scratch a crossoverized Focus off your shopping list. The automaker now says the Focus Active will not arrive on these shores in the latter part of 2019, or any date after that.
After learning this, how many of you are now pricing a three-cylinder, FWD EcoSport? Anyone? Hello?
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- Jwee I think it is short sighted and detrimental to the brand. The company should be generous to its locked-in user base, treating them as a resource, not a revenue stream.This is what builds any good relationship, generosity to the other partner. Apple does with their products. My iPhone is 5 years old, but I keep getting the latest and greatest updates for free, which makes me feel valued as a customer and adds actual value. When it is time for a new phone, Apple past treatment towards me certainly plays into my decisions (as did BMW's - so long subscription extracting pigs, its been a great 20 years). Imagine how much good will and love (and good press) Polestar would get from their user base if they gave them all a "68 fresh horses" update overnight, for free. Brand loyalty would soar (provided their car is capable).
- ToolGuy If I had some space I would offer $800 and let the vehicle sit at my place as is. Then when anyone ever asked me, "Have you ever considered owning a VW?" I would say "Yes."
- ToolGuy In the example in the linked article an automated parking spot costs roughly 3% of the purchase price of the property. If I were buying such a property, I would likely purchase two parking spots to go with it, and I'm being completely serious.(Speaking of ownership vs. subscription, the $150 monthly maintenance fee would torque me off a lot more than the initial acquisition cost.)
- ToolGuy "which will be returned as refunds to citizens of the state" - kind of like the Alaska Permanent Fund? Make the amount high enough and I will gladly move to California to take advantage (my family came close to moving there when I was a teen, and oodles of people have moved from CA to my state, so I'm happy to return the favor).Note to California: You probably do not want me as a citizen.
- ToolGuy Nice torque figure.


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Most shore communities from Long Beach Island to Cape May reported that they sold thousands fewer beach tags by the start of June than they had in previous years, even though sales had trended upward in recent years.
Surf City sold 12,164 badges as of June 1 this year, but had sold 14,042 as of June 1 last year. That’s a 13 percent drop.
Sea Isle City sold 42,919 beach badges as of June 1, 9 percent fewer than the 47,412 it had sold by that point last year.
Avalon sold 32,025 badges as of June 1 this year, a 9 percent drop from the 35,307 sold last year by then.
The knee-jerk reaction to these numbers is that visitors were wary of committing to buying tags ahead of time following Hurricane Sandy, and that may have certainly been the case for at least some people.
Some officials argue, however, that the weather to start the season was as much, if not more, to blame.
“The weather hasn’t caught up with the calendar yet, and everyone’s saying that,” said Sea Isle City Mayor Len Desiderio. He pointed out that rainy weather during Memorial Day weekend kept people off the beach.
“The weather has not cooperated with us so far,” he said, “It has nothing to do with Sandy.”
The declines were not just down from last year, though. In most cases, they were down from the past several years.
Cape May, for instance, sold between 43,000 and 45,000 tags by June 1 from 2010 to 2012. This year, it sold 32,387 from Dec. 1, when preseason tags went on sale for 2013, to June 1.
Brigantine sold between 26,000 and 27,000 tags by the start of June the past three years, but had sold a little more than 20,000 this year. Ship Bottom normally sells about 16,000 tags by June 1 but sold fewer than 13,000 by the start of June this year.
John Cooke, president of the Greater Cape May Chamber of Commerce, also said he blames the rainy weather during Memorial Day weekend as the reason for the decline. He said that while clouds and cool temperatures kept people off the sand, the Washington Street Mall was packed, evidence that people were not scared away from the resort entirely.
“Our crowds on the Washington Street Mall over the Memorial Day weekend during the day resembled a July 4th evening,” he said. “We had nighttime-style crowds during the day on our mall, which is indicative of it not being beach weather.”
Ocean City officials said the same thing about the holiday weekend, noting that the weather made people visit the downtown on Asbury Avenue and maybe even increased the economic impact of their stay.
“The one nice day we had Memorial Day (weekend), there were tons of people here, I can tell you that,” said Ocean City Beach Patrol Chief Tom Mullineaux.
The declines in sales do mean less revenue for the governments that use beach tag fees to offset maintenance and replenishment costs.
Municipalities make between $145,000 a year in Cape May Point to about $4 million a year in Ocean City from beach tag sales. That ranges from less than 1 percent of the government’s entire budget, such as in Ventnor, to as high as 12 percent or 13 percent, such as in Ship Bottom, according to an analysis by The Press of Atlantic City.
Total revenue from beach fees has been steady in recent years. Most towns saw an increase in 2011 and a slight dip in 2012.
Those communities that saw increases last year, such as Ocean City and Sea Isle City, had recently raised their fees. Cape May was one of the only communities to raise its rates this year, with daily badges now $6 instead of $5 and seasonal badges $28 instead of $25.
Just how precious beach tag money is to these governments became clear when a bill was proposed in December that would ban charging beach fees in areas replenished with sand as part of recovery from Sandy. Local leaders immediately objected.
Desiderio organized a news conference in Sea Isle City with a number of mayors and tourism officials from Cape May County to argue against the bill. Nothing has happened with the bill since it was introduced.
“I’m figuring no news is good news on this account,” he said.
Contact Lee Procida:
Follow @ACPressLee on Twitter


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(Adds detail on Robinhood crypto policies)
Feb 17 (Reuters) - Online broker Robinhood said on Wednesdayit intends to give customers the ability to deposit and withdrawcryptocurrencies, including the meme-based dogecoin.
The trading app popular with young investors currentlyallows customers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies such asBitcoin on its platform, but users cannot withdraw their assetsto transfer to other wallets.
In January, Robinhood had temporarily disabled a feature onits app that allowed users to buy crypto securities instantlydue to volatile market conditions sparked by a trading frenzy inshares of GameStop Corp. The brokerage faced criticismfrom users who could not move their assets to other wallets.
As part of a series of tweets https://twitter.com/RobinhoodApp/status/1362143073510121472,Robinhood said on Wednesday it does not currently invest incryptocurrency or use any customer cryptocurrency for its ownbenefit.(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by MajuSamuel)


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Embracing the SDV: Welcome to Life in the Software-Defined Fast Lane
Love it or hate it, electrification is coming to a vehicle near you, and soon. But there’s another, bigger change taking place at the same time – one that transcends which kind of power your vehicle uses. This shift is much more fundamental, affecting how we define our vehicles, and how carmakers deliver the features that differentiate one make and model from another.
The era of defining cars by their hardware attributes – engine, body style, even performance measures like RPM and MPG — is fading. Welcome to the era of the software-defined vehicle.
Software-Defined Vehicles and the Future
The software-defined vehicle (SDV) is the primary building block for the electrified, computerized, cloud-connected future of personal transportation. A recent panel of auto industry execs made it clear that the road to automotive innovation — and market success — is paved with software.
“This is the most transformative time I've ever seen in the auto industry,” says Scott Miller, vice president of software-defined vehicle and operating system at General Motors. Miller was speaking during a recent panel at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, hosted by Ed Loh, MotorTrend’s head of editorial. “The transformation of the whole portfolio to EVs and the software-defined vehicle is just accelerating.”
Fellow panelist John Wall, senior vice president and head of operations for BlackBerry QNX, provided validation for the vendor community. “What we're seeing is the commitment to the next-generation software architecture within the vehicle ramping up.” Wall also has a front-row seat to this transformation, since BlackBerry® technology is running in more than 215 million cars on the road today.
Automotive Evolution to SDVs
Over most of the century-plus history of the automobile industry, carmakers built their vehicles from the best-suited individual components available at the time of manufacture. Each component did its job — engine, braking system, suspension — and it was up to the vehicle manufacturer to make the “whole” operate well together. The software-defined vehicle takes this orchestration of components to a new level, because the whole can be so much more than the sum of its parts. It can also adapt and improve during the life of the vehicle, rather than being “set in stone” the moment the car leaves the production line.
The SDV approach makes the most important functions of a car much better, too. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) can be enhanced with inputs from all the proliferating sensors on a modern vehicle. Cars can now be equipped with multiple cameras, radar, ultrasonics, and even LiDAR, informed by hundreds or thousands of other sensors monitoring every aspect of safety and performance throughout the vehicle. A robust, sophisticated, and centralized software platform is essential to harness and realize the possibilities that all these sensors provide.
Stellantis SDV Developments
SDVs can also enable the integration of third-party digital services within the car, as well as allowing the car to provide data to external services, such as road tolls or fuel payment. Stellantis has been working on its software platform to go with its grand electrification strategy, with initial details announced at its Software Day in December 2021.
“There is so much that we have done with our commitments from Software Day,” says panelist Mamatha Chamarthi, head of Stellantis’ software business and product management. Chamarthi was referring to Dec. 7, 2021, when the auto giant shared its sweeping software-defined vision with the world. “We are working in partnership with Amazon across the three technology platforms that we have announced: STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit, and STLA AutoDrive. We are bringing all those technology products into the Jeep Recon, which is a brother of the Wrangler and equally exciting.”
The Jeep Recon is a forthcoming all-electric vehicle from the brand that will arrive alongside an all-electric Wagoneer. At the Paris Motor Show in October 2022, Stellantis further cemented its commitment to EVs by revealing a smaller electric SUV called the Jeep Avenger, primarily designed for the European market.
Central to Stellantis’ software-defined future are its STLA Brain, SmartCockPit and AutoDrive. The STLA Brain is the end-to-end solution for Stellantis vehicles that will connect the car to its onboard electronic control units (ECUs) and cloud-based services, while the STLA SmartCockPit presents the car’s functions to the driver. STLA AutoDrive will enable Levels 2, 2+, and 3 autonomous driving capabilities. Level 2 provides semi-automated lane changing, while Level 3 can take over more driving functions, albeit still subject to supervision by a human driver.
General Motors SDV Developments
“The vehicle is becoming a whole lot more than ‘A-to-B’ transportation," says GM’s Miller. “It's going to be your digital assistant. It's going to have all your information. It's going to drive you where you need to go (by) itself. Bringing all that together is a massive effort — to build a team, to build the technology infrastructure, and to get the software expertise, the tools, the processes.”
General Motors is already rolling out these SDV capabilities in its latest EVs — and that’s only the beginning. “We’re launching it right now in our Cadillac LYRIQ, and our Hummer is out already. We're about to launch a major offensive in every area.”
Central to General Motors’ SDV strategy will be its Ultifi platform, announced in 2021. This is intended to build upon the company’s Vehicle Intelligence Platform, which already offers over-the-air updates so that software features can be improved and augmented dynamically. Ultifi adds a centralized layer consisting of key software, enabling accelerated deployment of applications and software updates. “We have it working on our vehicles right now, and we’re going to launch very soon,” said Miller. “Cars will keep getting better over time. When you leave the dealership, that’s just the start of the relationship.”
BlackBerry SDV Developments
Even huge corporations such as General Motors and Stellantis can implement major software development projects such as these faster, more robustly, and with richer features by partnering with experienced third parties. The BlackBerry® QNX® platform has specialized in providing a foundational, safety-certified real-time operating software (RTOS) platform used by numerous original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their Tier 1 suppliers to work their software-defined automotive magic. And the addition of BlackBerry IVY™, jointly developed with Amazon Web Services, enhances those efforts with added capabilities such as cloud connectivity and scalability, simplified and “normalized” collection and onboard computation of sensor and ECU data, and security.
“We like to think of our company as the safe foundation for the car that allows the GMs and Stellantises of this world to be able to imagine what's possible, and execute on that in a safe and secure way,” says BlackBerry’s Wall. There is a huge need for these services, too, Wall says. “We're growing our business. We're probably going to increase our engineering headcount almost by a third, so that we can keep up with the demand.”
SDVs and Autonomous Driving
The most significant and complicated element of the emerging SDV is autonomous driving. An increasing number of cars now offer Level 2 capabilities, with Level 3 starting to arrive. There is still a lot of work to do in this area, though, to drive forward toward building Level 4 and 5 self-driving models that are safe to use with the endlessly variable driving conditions vehicles encounter on every journey. But most car owners will continue to drive themselves for the foreseeable future, the utility of having the vehicle take some or all the effort — particularly on long, mundane journeys — has huge appeal, and is a market just waiting to be fulfilled.
“The future is about unlocking the vehicles as a platform,” says Ed Loh, head of editorial at MotorTrend, who moderated the Detroit Auto Show panel.
The SDV represents the essential building block to make this automotive future unfold. But it’s also a catalyst, a major disruptive force transforming the way cars are made, and the roles they play in our daily lives.
“We're in an era where customers expect new features and new capabilities,” concludes GM’s Miller. “It comes down to the speed of innovation. You can keep making the car ‘fresh,’ and you can add new capabilities to it. Software-defined vehicles are going to free up the speed of innovation.”
Software-Defined Vehicle Innovator Awards
MotorTrend also announced at the Detroit show that it has launched a new award series to honor and recognize pioneers and innovators at the core of the global SDV transformation. Taking its place alongside MotorTrend’s iconic Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, and SUV of the Year awards programs, the automotive media division of Warner Bros. Discovery revealed a multiyear partnership with BlackBerry to establish the annual SDV Innovator Awards.
Most of the leaders in this space have worked quietly behind the scenes, Loh says, creating a new class of automobiles that is igniting the imaginations of today’s drivers and passengers. These individuals are changing more than the cars we drive today, and the ones that may be driving us in the not-too-distant future. These pioneering engineers and executives are also remaking the industry itself — one car, one company, and one codebase at a time.
To focus attention on the fundamental importance of software-defined vehicles to the future of the automotive industry, and the contributions of the visionary individuals bringing it about, MotorTrend Studios has produced an exclusive 22-minute documentary. The online film release is among several editorial activities taking place this fall, leading up to a gala SDV Innovator Awards show scheduled during the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next January.


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21 September 2020, 15:41
Zenimax acquisition will provide stream of blockbusters for Xbox.
2 May 2014, 11:15
Also the Xbox head signals that Microsoft is about to dip its toe in the VR world.
25 June 2009, 13:13
Consolidation among games publishers as the company behind The Elder Scrolls buys the maker of Doom and Quake.