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The programme to market locally produced vegetables, supervised by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, achieved good sales at various major shopping complexes during February.
303 tonnes from the premium products programme and 1,731 tonnes through Qatar Farms programme are sold. Both programmes aim at improving the marketing of local farm products in partnership with some of the leading shopping complexes in the country to increase demand on them and reduce the loss of any amounts due to the lack of proper marketing. This would eventually increase the income of local farmers and encourage investors to go for the agriculture businesses. Besides, these programmes would help in making locally vegetables available at shopping malls all year round.
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Fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power has signed a three-year contract with big retailer Wal-Mart this week. The deal according to Plug, could mean $80 million in revenues from commercial agreements this year.
The contract also includes the option for Wal-Mart to buy around 17% of the company. Plug Power announced a similar multi-year contract with Amazon back in April where Amazon has the option to buy 55.3 million shares at a price of $1.1893 per share for a 17% stake. The price for Wal-Mart will be higher because Plug Power’s stock has seen an increase of more than 60% since then.
Wal-Mart is one of Plug Power’s biggest customers for awhile now. Just last year Wal-Mart made up 34% of the company’s revenue. There are 31 Wal-Mart warehouses across the U.S that have 6,000 Plug Power fuel cells and there are three sites in Canada as well.
According to Plug Power’s vice president of investor relations, John Cococcia, the deal with Wal-Mart “takes the
relationship to another level.”
“It takes the relationship to another level, which is important. With Amazon, and now Wal-Mart, we continue to increase the visibility we have on our business going out in the future,” said Cococcia.
“It gives us the ability to plan better and improve margins and cash flow and get to our profitability goals.”
As part of the deal, up to 30 new Wal-Mart site will be added over the next three years of which ten are already under contract and scheduled to finish by the end of this year.
Disclaimer: We have no position in Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) Wal-Mart Stores Inc.( NYSE: WMT) nor Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and have not been compensated for this article.

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Tourism remains bright spot in Thai economy
Thailand’s draw as a tourism destination remains healthy and robust with foreign tourists during the first three months of this year numbering 9.03 million, generating revenue of nearly $13 billion, an increase of 15 and 18 percent respectively over the same period from a year earlier.
Tourism has been a consistent bright spot in the Thai economy and the sector accounts for 10 percent of economic output and directly or indirectly provides jobs for millions of Thais. Last year, Thailand attracted more than 29.8 million foreign tourists, an increase of over 20 percent from 2014. The government has forecast 32 million arrivals this year, up 7.1 percent from last year.
Thailand has also performed well in recent tourism rankings. Bangkok came 4th in the 2016 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Destination Awards for Asia for the second year running. Three Thailand’s popular southern islands – Phuket, Samui and Koh Tao – also scored top spots in the 2016 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for Islands in Asia, coming in the second, third and fourth places in the rankings. The rankings take into account the quantity and quality of reviews for hotels, restaurants and attractions in destinations gathered over a year worldwide and also take into account booking trends registered on TripAdvisor.
Sources: Royal Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. and Tourism Authority of Thailand


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As he has done for the past three months, N-Club Hall of Famer Marcus Spears is coming back to the Northwestern State campus in a giving mood.
Friday morning, Spears and the Food Bank of Central Louisiana again will partner to distribute food to Natchitoches Parish families with the giveaway originating at the Collins Alumni Pavilion.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., marks the fourth time Spears and the food bank have paired up to assist Natchitoches Parish residents. The initial Sept. 16 giveaway, after Hurricane Laura cut through Louisiana, fed 322 families from the parish.
Successive giveaways have produced similar results with lines winding their way through the Prather Coliseum east side parking lot toward Jefferson Street.
Following the same protocols as previous giveaways, goods will be distributed in drive-thru fashion with recipients needing to provide photo identification. There are no income restrictions to receive any distributed food, which will include non-perishables as well as fresh produce and additional frozen items.
Photo: Marcus Spears gives instructions to volunteers during the October food giveaway he hosted on the NSU campus. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services


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Yes, the jobs report was OK, but it fell short of expectations with the economy adding 155,000 new nonfarm jobs in November. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting payroll growth of 198,000 and the jobless rate to hold steady. The numbers could be a red flag. With the expansion now twice as long as the normal post-World War II recovery, and with worries about trade and interest rates ebbing and flowing sometimes by the hour, it's time for a reminder — your job could still be at risk.
General Motors and its 15,000 layoffs last week are only one example, says Andrew Challenger, vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the Chicago outplacement firm whose monthly surveys of corporate layoffs are closely watched. Unemployment-insurance claims for newly-fired workers hit a six-month high in late November, and Challenger says layoffs at the larger companies it tracks are nearing 500,000 year through November, with big names like Verizon Communications and the bankrupt toy chain Toys-R-Us making cuts.
All the more reason to mind a job-market truism: Even with the unemployment rate remaining steady at 3.7 percent, its lowest since 1969, it can still happen to you.
"In this economy, we've still seen a number of enormous, bellwether companies, in industries where there's disruption, making cuts when the economy is booming," Challenger said.
It's smart to know the warning signs of a coming layoff even when times are good, said Scott Dobroski, community expert at job-search site Glassdoor.com. They might help keep you off the list when the cuts come, or position you to land quickly if they do. It is, after all, still a good economy, without a full-blown slowdown or recession on the horizon yet. Expert advice is pretty similar from study to study, and recent headlines bolster many of them.
"The common theme is, knowledge is power when it comes to your job security,'' he said.
Sound obvious? Maybe it is. But this is something workers in many parts of General Electric may wish they'd paid more attention to. More than half of workers toil for the 0.4 percent of companies that have 500 or more workers, and many of them are publicly traded, according to the Tax Foundation.
General Electric said last month it will lay off 150 workers in Jacksonville, Fla. and another 63 in Wisconsin, as executives scramble to restructure a company that has underperformed the market for more than a decade. One trigger: The company missed analysts' third-quarter earnings estimates by 30 percent, but that was just the latest in a series of bobbles that have even claimed the jobs of GE's last two chief executives. Also, don't just watch how much your company is earning. Watch its forecasts for signs of weakness down the road.
Even at smaller companies, there are communications you can watch, Dobroski said. Don't skip the company all-hands meeting, or fail to read e-mails that might have at least general information about how the firm is doing, he said.
Even in a strong job market, there are sectors and companies having cyclical troubles, said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics. Right now, jobs related to housing construction could come under pressure as interest rates rise and housing demand stagnates. And President Trump's trade battles could lead to job losses in manufacturing, O'Sullivan said.
Challenger points here to Verizon, which just offered buyouts to more than 44,000 workers, and transferred thousands more to newly-hired outsourcing company Infosys, as part of a drive to cut $10 billion in costs. One reason for those cost pressures is the company's need to pour billions into a 5G wireless network, and of course there are ongoing disruptions of Verizon's landline telecom businesses and its TV-distribution service. Buyouts like Verizon's in good times can be a sign of likely layoffs when the economy slows, he says, and a reason to take the money while a new job is easier to get.
And the granddaddy of disruption in today's economy is still the retail sector, buffeted by the sustained rise of e-commerce, he said. "That's been true for years,'' but companies are still closing physical stores to focus more on the Internet, Challenger said.
This is the lesson for GM workers, many of whom were taken by surprise because the company overall has been doing well, at least until Washington slapped tariffs on imported aluminum and steel that will cost GM an estimated $1 billion this year.
The problem was that the overall picture obscured a sharp drop-off in sales of sedans, including the Chevrolet Cruze sedans assembled at the Lordstown, Ohio plant GE plans to "unallocate" next year. Cruze unit sales are down 26 percent this year, and sales of Chevrolet's bigger Impala sedan, also hit by layoffs, are down 13 percent.
People who make those products are going to be on the street, notwithstanding GM's 50 percent-plus stock climb from early 2016 until this June.
"If I'm a GM competitor working on a similar product, I want to do my homework and read beneath the headlines," Dobroski said.
Just because the higher-ups say the deals won't force layoffs won't necessarily make it so. Look at Toys-R-Us, whose bankruptcy and mass layoffs announced in May resulted from a leveraged buyout begun with the best intentions and the full expectation that management would make a pile of money, Challenger said.
Global merger and acquisition activity is at all-time record levels this year, the Financial Times reported in September. Some of those deals inevitably will lead to too much debt, with deals in the especially-busy energy sector likely to be hampered as well by lower oil prices as supplies surge. Even if the buyers don't overborrow, they will often bring in new management, Challenger said.
"They'll bring their own people, and those people will bring their own people,'' he said.
if your company has just been through a merger , and especially if it has begun a buyout that adds debt, management will be under more pressure than ever to make numbers.
This can take myriad forms, Dobroski says. If there's a new restriction on business travel, or just more attention to expense accounts, that can be a sign of initial pressure on profits that will lead to cuts later. (Increased attention to expense accounts can also be a sign that managers are looking to catch an employee in a lie to justify a dismissal, he adds).
Legally dubious though it may be, the presence of a lot of cheaper, younger talent in the office doing approximately what you do can be a sign of trouble. So is being asked to train new workers, who may be your replacements. And, just like when a worker is close to a firing for weak performance, being shunned by colleagues and bosses is a sign that other people may know something you don't. Worst of all, if your work projects are being reassigned to others, it's a sign that management may be getting ready to live without you, Dobroski says.
"When you're left out of conversations it's a worrying sign," Challenger said.
Verizon is a key example here, having transferred thousands of workers to Infosys, where they will work with Indian staffers who are paid much less. Workers who are assigned to train cheaper workers should keep their eyes open and resumes ready, Challenger said.
Office gossip about layoffs can be rife with false positives , such as speculation about cuts that aren't coming, but rarely misses signs of real trouble, says Dobroski.
If there are signs of trouble, there are things you can do to prepare. In theory, you can up your performance to make sure you're not on the list, though, especially for higher-salaried workers, this isn't always a winning strategy. You can begin copying work samples to thumb drives or e-mailing them to yourself in case you need a portfolio ready. You can begin networking in your industry even while you're employed, so contacts you may need to reach out to will have heard from you recently. And you can begin showing your boss — with numbers, not adjectives — the contribution you make to your current team, Dobroski said.
"Don't throw anyone under the bus," he said. "Just use numbers.''
Two things to remember most of all.
One, it's much easier to find a job while you still have one. So don't ignore the signs.
And, perhaps, give a kind of perverse thanks if your company ran into trouble during a good job market. October's unemployment report said the median jobless worker had been out of work for nine weeks, down from a peak of almost 11 weeks in the last recession.
—Tim Mullaney, special to CNBC.com


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The National Association of Realtors recently released nationwide sales data showing:
- Vacation-home sales dropped 30.6 percent to 740,000 in 2007 from a record 1.07 million in 2006.
- Investment-home sales fell 18.1 percent to 1.35 million last year from 1.65 million in 2006.
- Primary residence sales declined 10.0 percent to 4.34 million in 2007 from 4.82 million in 2006.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a statement that the findings suggest different cycles for each of the sectors over the past two years. “Investment-home sales declined sharply in 2006 as speculators disappeared, leaving the market to serious buyers, with the pattern continuing in 2007,” he said. “Vacation-home sales rose to a new record in 2006 because there was a pent-up demand from buyers who couldn’t find a property as a result of tight supplies in preceding years.”
The overall sales decline in 2007 resulted from a combination of factors. “Certainly, second homes are discretionary purchases and there is a natural tendency to pull back from big-ticket items in periods of uncertainty,” Yun said. “The other factor is the disruption in the mortgage market, with a significant tightening of credit during the second half of 2007. Some buyers simply adopted a wait-and-see attitude.”
Still, the mix of homes sold last year didn’t change that dramatically, according to NAR. Its release states: “The market share of homes purchased for investment last year was 21 percent, down from 22 percent in 2006, while another 12 percent were vacation homes, compared with a 14 percent market share in 2006.”


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VisionBanker aims to reinvent global eyecare.
BANKING AND CREDIT NEWS-July 11, 2019-VisionBanker aims to reinvent global eyecare
(C)2019 M2 COMMUNICATIONS http://www.m2.com
VisionBanker, a startup that aims to help improve the vision of global consumers through technology, has announced that they plan to raise USD 10 million through a token sale, the company said.
The pre sale is currently ongoing, with public sales to be launched in Q4 of 2019.
VisionBanker aims to tap on the growing eyecare market, which is expected to be worth USD 182 billion by 2023 , by using technologies such as blockchain, mobile apps and facial recognition to help global consumers get better access to better-fitting eyecare, while incentivising them through a token system (VBK tokens) to do regular eye check-ups.
At the same time, optometric professionals are also incentivised through tokens to provide answers to questions posed by the app's users -- thus creating a decentralised, distributed and public ledger that allows consumers to solve their eyecare needs easily. All these data will be stored on blockchain, and can be used to help governments and organisations with an interest in eye health research and make decisions through actual and anonymised data.
VisionBanker was founded in Q4 2018 by the team behind SpecTruck, led by Dato Seri David Sew. Since 2017, SpecTruck is the first One-Stop Mobile Optical concept stall in Malaysia, serving both local communities in both urban and rural areas to provide badly needed eyecare to the community. For more information, visit www.visionbanker.io.
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|Date:||Jul 11, 2019|
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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- G2 Worldwide, a unit of advertising and marketing services conglomerate WPP Group WPPGY said Thursday that it will acquire Philadelphia-based Refinery, an independent, interactive ad agency for an undisclosed sum. The deal follows other recent acquisitions in the digital space including Star Echo in China and MDS Boole in Spain."Bringing Refinery into the G2 group exemplifies our strategy going forward to field a truly unique offer in digital marketing services," said Joe Celia, chief executive of G2. "In today's market it is not enough to excel at strategy and creative, but we have to be able to deliver the goods in technology, analytics and operational excellence too."
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A new report suggests Samsung (005930) is preparing to unveil a new Galaxy Tab tablet later this year. According to SamMobile, the slate will be equipped with either a 10.1-inch or 11.6-inch Super AMOLED display with full HD resolution and an eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor. The tablet could come to market as the Galaxy Tab 3 Plus to separate the device from other non-HD Galaxy Tab models. An earlier report claimed that Samsung would debut the Galaxy Note III and Galaxy Tab 3 in September at the IFA trade show in Berlin.
March 22nd, 2013 at 7:29 PM
By Dan Graziano


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NEW YORK — Liebeskind Berlin was founded in 2004, a lousy year for the German economy. The company quickly learned how to rein in expenses as demand for more moderately priced handbags was building. Now Liebeskind, which operates 20 stores in Europe, is testing its formula — leather handbags, for the most part priced under $350 — Stateside with its first U.S. store, a 700-square-foot unit at 276 Lafayette Street in SoHo here.
Chief executive officer Johannes Rellecke declined to provide a sales estimate for the new store, but said Liebeskind units typically have annual sales of at least $2,000 a square foot.
“If this [store] works, we’d like to open two to three more stores in New York,” he said. “Then we can expand in the U.S. market.” Liebeskind wholesales its products to 260 doors worldwide, including Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. Rellecke wants to increase that number to least 300 to 400 doors. “We should expand our wholesale business with existing clients and get 20 to 30 more stores,” he said.
While a price tag of more than $1,000 is not unusual for a designer brand’s logo and brass hardware, Rellecke said, “Several brands in Europe take too much money for their product.”
Liebeskind has lowered its costs by streamlining the production cycle. “We’re very direct,” Rellecke said. “We don’t have so many different stages of suppliers through the supply chain. We produce the leather. It’s very fast.”
The company debates “how much margin to put on the production price,” Rellecke said. “We try to achieve a very favorable price point without compromising quality. If we have to lower the margins for a special material, we do that.”
Liebeskind, which means “love child” in German, was founded by Rellecke and his twin brother Julian, the creative director, and college friend Semih Simsek, who’s responsible for production and logistics. “My brother didn’t study design,” Rellecke said. “He is a shoemaker and his way to create and design is very handcrafted. That experience helped him develop a different view of materials and the design process.
“We saw a big gap for high quality full leather handbags, accessories and shoes, so we decided to make our own,” Rellecke said. “We see a lot of chances in this market. More and more women are tired of spending more than $400 on a leather handbag.”
Liebeskind handbags have both rugged and refined qualities. The idiosyncrasies of the Lotta hobo’s embossed cow leather, $349, are highlighted with color, while the buttery soft leather Mia satchel, $345, has a beltlike strip across the front and turn lock closure.
Exclusive: @britneyspears is continuing to expand her brand. The pop icon, who appears in @kenzo ’s latest campaign, is partnering with Epic Rights to launch a line of branded merchandise. Read @hernameislex ‘s story, link in bio. #wwdnews #britneyspears
The Duchess of Cambridge channeled Princess Diana’s look upon giving birth to Prince Harry, when she and the Duke of Cambridge departed the hospital with the new baby Prince this afternoon in London. #wwdeye #princeofcambridge
The new Prince of Cambridge has arrived! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posed with the 8-pound newborn. She wore a look from one of her go-to designers, @jennypackham. Tap link in bio for more. #wwdeye #princeofcambridge
Jewelry label @alisonlou has made a name for itself with fine jewelry that speaks to the Millennial market. Now @twallz21 reports that the label is bringing those playful ideas to a new affordable line of lucite hoops with the launch of Loucite by Alison Lou. Here’s a look from the line modeled by @emrata. #wwdaccessories
@sarahjessicaparker and @gilt are teaming up on a bridal ready-to-wear line. Tomorrow, Parker will launch SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker Bridal — and as part of the launch, Gilt will offer 15 exclusive styles from the SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker footwear collection that were designed to complement the new line. Made out of 10 styles, the line is designed for a variety of occasions, from bridal showers to receptions. Get more details on WWD.com #wwdfashion
A grooming moment between @tanfrance and @antoni last night at the The LGBT Community Center Trailblazer Awards honoring Anna Wintour, Ricky Martin and more. See more photos at WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
“It was a very surreal feeling. It wasn’t like we were in the studio together coming up with it — it’s more like he discovered it and loved it. I didn’t let myself get my hopes up, but then it happened it was very exciting,” said singer-songwriter @nombe on discovering that @pharrell would be using his song, “Cant Catch Me” on his HBO documentary series “Outpost.” The German-born singer — named Noah MacBeth — talked to WWD about feminism, using art as a platform for political expression and personal style. Read more on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
This season, denim is going west – in influence. Brands like @fathersdaughterla (pictured here), @tommyhilfiger Jeans, @levis and more are opting for raw, top-stitching styles. (Styled by @thealexbadia; 📷: @ryanplett)


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I'm With the Shrimp, Not the Band
A team of scientists from universities in the UK, the US, and Brazil have named a new species of pistol shrimp after the band, Pink Floyd, because of its bright-pink big claw, and its ability to shoot sound shockwaves at its foes.
Will Tesla Crash?
Tesla has now surpassed the value of General Motors, making it among the most valuable car maker in the US, despite the fact that most people have never even seen a Tesla on the road. When price to earnings ratios are this far out of whack, worry.
Real Blue Bloods
Blue horseshoe crab blood sells for up to $14,000 per quart. The blood is used to detect harmful bacteria.
Ban ALL the Dogs?
Eugene, Oregon is starting a 6-month ban on all dogs downtown to see if it makes a difference in dog bites. In other news, Oregon is going to cut down all its trees to reduce forest fires, and kill all its politicians in order to reduce graft.
A Bigger Denominator Makes a Smaller Fraction
There are more slaves in the world right now than ever before in recorded history. How can that be possible? Simple: far more people, The numerator may be a wee bit bigger, but the denominator is 7 times larger.
Shake and Bake Baby
Scientists aim to grow premature humans in a plastic bag, aka a "Biobag artificial uterus," after successful tests on baby sheep.
For $850 You Can Get the Suit
It's $425 for artificially mud-stained jeans, and another $425 for the jean jacket which will make you look like your head has been up an elephant's ass. Available at Nordstrom's, of course -- the place where idiots shop. You can also get ones with paint on them, so you can look like a complete home repair incompetent.
|My coffee buddy this morning.|


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The co-founder and chief executive officer of animal health startup Verility Inc. says the technology her company is advancing could help increase protein production for a growing global population. Liane Hart says the company develops and markets a rapid, low-cost assessment of livestock semen and ovulation samples called Fertile-Eyez.
Verility uses artificial intelligence to see if livestock are ready for breeding. It is a process often conducted manually, increasing subjective analysis and errors in the results.
“We want to disrupt and optimize this industry with our fertility proprietary platform,” Hart said to Ag+Bio+Science Podcast podcast and Inside INdiana Business host Gerry Dick. “Using proprietary algorithms, advanced consumer electronics and micro fluidics. It’s like having a lab technician and a digital microscope in the palm of your hand.”
Conception rate is highly correlated with producer profitability and food sustainability. “I believe we can provide more edible meat protein into the food supply based on interventions prior to conception with fertilize while using the existing breeding population,” said Hart.
Hart says she worked for Greenfield-based Elanco Animal Health for 17 years. Most of her career she has focused on genetics and animal reproduction. She also is involved in the thoroughbred racing industry where genetics can lead to success on the track. Hart says the risk associated with investments in horse genetics runs parallel to risks associated with entrepreneurship.
“Obviously, I’m used to taking those types of risk and putting my money down on different animals and seeing what that impact is. But you need to answer this question because it affects the decisions throughout that your startup journey, and potential exits that could come your way,” said Hart.
As she left the corporate world to enter the unknown of starting her own business, Hart says an entrepreneur must answer a lot of questions internally.
“I think you’ve got to understand your why. Why you would want to be an entrepreneur. Is it the ability to potentially have financial freedom? To help your industry and want to see that improvement? Is it ego? You know, just the fact that you want to be a startup? Are you in it for the long haul? Or do you just love the game of entrepreneurship,” questioned Hart.


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The first iteration of the company's platform-level technology landed in its debut security device, dubbed Dojo, which ships in March. The system is designed to connect to home networks, detect intrusions, and prevent attacks through machine learning and behavior tracking.
By expanding to the IoT level, the company, which has $1.5 million in seed funding, aims to act as a layer between smart devices and incoming threats.
Samsung's ARTIK platform will be the first to demo Dojo-Labs' technology at the gateway level. From there, any ARTIK-connected device can be monitored by the platform.
"The IoT is expanding rapidly, but much of our data within it is vulnerable," said Yossi Atias, the company's chief executive in remarks. "The ability to integrate our security technology into any IoT platform enables us to protect even more devices."
Gartner says that there are currently more than four billion connected devices so far, which will likely jump to six billion by next year.
The company's aim down the line is to have Dojo's security on every device, and on more platforms as the IoT market expands.


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Aleph Hospitality signs franchise agreement with Marriott International for a new Protea Hotels by Marriott hotel in Kisumu
Dubai-based independent hotel management company Aleph Hospitality has signed a franchise agreement with Marriott International for a new Protea Hotels by Marriott hotel in Kisumu, Kenya.
On behalf of the hotel owner, Bluewater Hotels, Aleph Hospitality will operate the new-build property under the Protea Hotels by Marriott brand, a statement said.
Bani Haddad, founder and managing director of Aleph Hospitality, said: “We are thrilled to work with Marriott International to bring the first internationally branded hotel to Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city.
“As Aleph Hospitality continues to expand across Africa and the Middle East, we are delighted to once again collaborate with Marriott International, following the signing of Four Points by Sheraton Monrovia earlier this year.”
Located in Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake, the new hotel will feature 125 rooms, three food and beverage outlets, a rooftop infinity pool, gym, spa and more than 500 sq m of meeting space.
“We look forward to working with Aleph Hospitality and Bluewater Hotels to make our debut in Kisumu with the Protea Hotels by Marriott brand,” said Yasin Munshi, director of lodging development, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International.
Protea Hotel by Marriott Kisumu is due to open in January 2022. The hotel marks Aleph Hospitality’s continued expansion in Kenya, following the signing of Best Western Plus Westlands, set to open in Nairobi in Q4, and two further properties, one in Mombasa and one in Nairobi, which are both under construction.
Aleph Hospitality said it has earmarked a pipeline of 35 hotels in the Middle East and Africa by 2025.


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Securing vital COVID-19 supplies for Scotland
Offers of help from more than 1,600 businesses and individuals.
The First Minister has praised those manufacturers and businesses which have stepped in to support frontline services by diversifying production lines, increasing capacity and exploring new distribution routes during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
So far more than 1,600 businesses and individuals have come forward to support the national response.
Leading chemicals company CalaChem has already produced 20,000 litres of hand sanitiser, using alcohol supplied by distillers Whyte and Mackay, with an order in place for a further 560,000 litres over the next four weeks. Stonehaven manufacturing firm Macphie has started bottling the product and will deliver the initial order into the national supply chain from next week.
Meanwhile Annan-based PPE manufacturers Alpha Solway are currently producing 20,000 face visors per day for the NHS, to fulfil an order of 1.1 million visors.
Further PPE and NHS supplies have also arrived at Prestwick Airport today (Friday) on a second charter flight from China. The cargo included around 11 million face masks, with one million of these for NHS Wales, and 100,000 testing kits for NHS Scotland.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:
“Scotland’s health and social care system is facing unprecedented demand, so it’s tremendous to see so many step up to support the national response to COVID-19 and I thank them all for their efforts to deliver what is needed, when it is needed.
“The last few weeks have shown how adaptable and responsive we can be in these challenging times. We have received more than 1,600 offers of support from businesses and individuals, many of them offering to diversify their production lines to support the national response. From these we have been able to secure vital equipment at volume to tackle key manufacturing challenges.
“This morning a second charter flight from China arrived at Prestwick Airport with more PPE and NHS supplies, helping us continue to increase the supply available.
“Protecting staff working on the frontline is an absolute priority and we will continue to do all we can to make health and social care staff feel as safe as possible in their workplace.”
Steve Dunlop, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise said:
“The pace and agility of Scotland’s business community has been phenomenal. In a short space of time, together we’ve been able to not only source and import supplies in a competitive international market, but also pivot our domestic supply chain and scale up manufacturing here in Scotland to meet the critical needs of the NHS and frontline workers.
“We and our partners continue to assess the evolving picture and ensure Scottish businesses can help build resilience right across the supply chain.”
Jim Miller, Director for Procurement, Commissioning, and Facilities at NHS National Services Scotland said:
“A big part of what we were doing in NHS Scotland procurement is to look at how the money we spend with suppliers can have a positive impact on the Scottish economy. The current emergency has accelerated some of that activity and is helping build a strengthened, more sustainable and high quality supply chain in Scotland.
“We’re working to further progress domestic supply routes around PPE, but what has been achieved in a short space of time is testament to the collaborative efforts and innovative ‘can do’ attitude of Scotland’s business communities coming together.”
NHS National Services Scotland’s National Procurement, supported by a cross-government team led by the Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation Ivan McKee and including the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, NHS Scotland and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, has helped to secure 10 million masks plus other critical equipment, from suppliers in China.
The 1.1 million visors being produced by Alpha Solway will be supplied to the NHS National Distribution Centre for onward delivery to all of Scotland’s Health Boards.
Since 1 March, over 90 million PPE items have been delivered to hospitals, and over 20 million delivered to social care across Scotland.
Eight weeks’ supply of PPE was delivered to GPs in Scotland during the week of 30 March, plus 1,200 community pharmacies across Scotland also received an initial PPE stock supply in early April.
Updated guidance on PPE for health and social care workers was published on 2 April.
Email address for people to contact if they do not have the PPE they need: email@example.com
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WeedWorthy News Network
In a surprise reversal, Pennsylvania throws door wide open for industrial hemp production - Cannabis News
In a surprising turn, Pennsylvania is throwing the door wide open for industrial hemp production — something the state, or the U.S. for that matter, has not seen since before World War II.
'Biggest thing to happen to agriculture in my lifetime': Hemp could soon be grown in Indiana - Cannabis News
"Hemp holds a lot of promise for Hoosiers, for what it could do for farming, for business and for individual folks."
Minnesota farmers high on hemp's potential - Cannabis News
A month after the latest farm bill legalized industrial hemp as a crop plant, Minnesota's hemp program coordinator has been swamped with phone calls.


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A recent report from BI Intelligence has analyzed precisely what location based services such as Foursquare are actually all about — and if they can be a genuine business.
The report from BI Intelligence has taken a look at just how leaders in the space are going about attempting to create sustainable and large-scale business models by examining precisely how and why the hugely successful Foursquare is succeeding. There are a number of methods being used by Foursquare, including analytics and yield management, customer loyalty, search and discovery and deals.
The Vice President and Head of Business Development for Foursquare, Holger Luedorf, told BI Intelligence that Foursquare intends to monetize the “merchant dashboard” which it presently offers to as many as 500,000 registered members. This is actually a massive opportunity due to the fact that local merchants have high fixed costs, with the dashboard allowing merchants to be able to run specials, claim their venue and access a great deal of other information as to how their customers are interacting with their business in real time.
Foursquare is also intending to replace “a digital version of a stamp card”, which is where check-in specials come in. Furthermore, Foursquare is presently partnering with such brands as Bravo and the New York Times in order to create branded content and badges linked to the check-in achievements of users. Because of the fact that it is effectively operating loyalty rewards programs for other firms it should be able to go about monetizing these partnerships.
A year ago Foursquare added the Explore feature in order to allow users to search neighborhoods and to be able to garner recommendations for local businesses, a clear challenge to the local reviews site Yelp and even to Google, but also a move to try to increase user engagement away from their phones.
Foursquare has also partnered with a variety of daily deal sites over the course of the past year in order to offer real-time location-based deals, as well as inking a deal with American Express to allow users access to location-based deals via their American Express card.


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An enforcement chief for the Department of Transportation said commenting and petitioning the hours of service that are backed by the electronic logging device (ELD) rule are necessary for any changes to the mandate.
The bulk of Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts closed lower on Friday, pressured by the morning’s bearish U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monthly Cattle-On-Feed report, said traders.
As access to information continues to evolve, so do consumer perceptions of animal agriculture. Today, industry leaders are seeing increased questions from consumers regarding antimicrobial resistance in livestock.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and lean hog futures rose to life-of-contract highs on Tuesday, lifted by investment fund buying linked to optimism that meat prices will continue to rise, traders said.


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The demand for hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, has increased exponentially in recent years due to a large onslaught of published studies and media coverage reporting on the benefits of this non-intoxicating compound. Despite its effectiveness, CBD still inhabits a grey area when it comes to legality.
While the legal status of CBD is still up in the air in many parts of the world, Bulgaria has officially become the first European Union (EU) country to authorize the sale of CBD products in open markets.
According to official documents obtained exclusively, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, has granted this authorization in the form of a Free Certificate of Sale for a series of products containing CBD.
This means that Kannaway products are now certified to “comply fully with relevant requirements of the Law on Foodstuffs of the Republic of Bulgaria and of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of European Parliament and the Council on the hygiene of foodstuffs.”
This success was predicated on Kannaway’s meeting with Bulgarian government officials and regulatory bodies earlier this year.
We believe hemp is a human right and aim to move the conversation forward about hemp.


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Windows 11’s system requirements are heavy, and Microsoft’s decision to limit the operating system to newer hardware has been criticized even before launch.
A significant number of PCs can’t officially upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10 or any version of the operating system, and this is unlikely to change in the future. While Microsoft is not bringing back support for older models, the company always updates Windows 11 with support for newer processors.
Microsoft recently delivered Windows 11 version 22H2 (Windows 11 2022 Update) to the general public, and the operating system’s first major update apparently adds support for new processors. According to the documentationwhich was quietly updated earlier in October, Windows 11 is officially supported on Intel’s 13th-generation processor.
According to another support documentAMD’s Ryzen 7000 series (desktop) is now also officially supported.
Microsoft officials have backed off that it will not add support for Intel 7th generation and AMD Zen processors. It has no plans to look back at any of the older processors to see if any of them can be added to the Windows 11 22H2 compatibility list. Last year, after testing, the company added support for select 7th-generation CPUs such as the Core X series and Xeon W series.
Likewise, the other requirements such as TPM 2.0, UEFI Secure Boot, 4 GB memory and 64 GB storage have become indispensable. These requirements are necessary to provide the best Windows 11 experience, so there will be no changes to the hardware compatibility list for now.
It’s pretty clear that Microsoft really wants users to upgrade to new hardware or at least have an Intel 8th Gen or AMD Zen 2 processor. While the company has allowed some 7th-generation CPUs, it won’t expand the hardware compatibility list to older processors.
Windows 11 version 22H2 rollout
Windows 11 version 22H2 (Windows 11 2022 Update) is currently available for all eligible devices, with Microsoft confirming that the rollout has expanded to include more PCs excluded in the first wave due to compatibility issues.
The company has not provided more information on when the new update will appear in all configurations. However, it is likely that availability will expand in the coming weeks as Microsoft gathers more information from early adopters.
If the update scores high on stability and reliability in early feedback, more users can upgrade. We expect more information about Windows 11 version 22H2 and the next update (Moment 2) in the coming months.
Windows 11 continues to be supported for many users, and the release of the 2022 update does not change Microsoft’s operating system support plans.


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Patriot Memory Announces Participation in CeBIT 2009
California-based Patriot Memory Participates in CeBIT as The State of California Steps into the Global Spotlight
Fremont, California, USA, January 26, 2008 - Patriot Memory, a global provider of premium memory module and flash memory solutions, today announced it will be showcasing its award-winning products at CeBIT, which will be held in Hannover, Germany March 3-8, 2009. CeBIT attendees can expect to see Patriot's full line of DRAM and flash memory solutions.
"Europe was our second largest market in the world in 2008 and continues to show incredible growth potential," says Johnny Van Esch, General Manager for Patriot Memory, B.V. "CeBIT gives us the opportunity to meet with new and existing customers and to showcase our newest products for 2009 and beyond."
CeBIT allows all those involved in the technology industry, along with retailers, government agencies, and those in the science sector, to catch a glimpse of the latest technology and products. In past years CeBIT has had designated Partner Countries. For 2009, for the first time, a United States state has been honored with this status and governor Schwarzenegger has accepted the invitation to have California step into the spotlight. This program -- which will consist of forums, presentations, exhibit displays, sponsorship opportunities, and more -- will place California and its participating companies on a global stage as never before. Patriot will be participating with the host state to increase Patriot Memory's global presence through the forums and their booth exhibit. Among those products on display will be the newest additions to Patriot's Extreme Performance line of DRAM: their DDR3 Tri-Channel 6GB 2000MHz Viper Series gaming memory kits for the Intel® Core i7. Also showcased at CeBIT will be the Patriot's wide array of flash memory solutions from USB flash drives to Secure Digital cards, SDHC cards, miniSD's, microSD's and Patriot's 256GB Warp v3 Solid-State Drives (SSD).
Patriot Memory will be located in Hall 21, Booth C06.
For more information on Patriot Memory solutions, please contact your Patriot Sales Representative or visit us at http://www.patriotmemory.com
About Patriot Memory
Patriot Memory designs, manufactures and markets premium branded memory module and flash memory solutions worldwide. The company's DRAM solutions include award winning memory for high performance and gaming applications and high quality upgrade solutions for desktop, notebook, server, and storage systems. Patriot's flash products include removable flash cards and universal serial flash drives designed for personal computers, digital cameras, mobile phones, gaming consoles and other digital devices.
Patriot Memory sells its products through original equipment manufacturers, retailers, e-tailers and distributors. It has operations in North America, Asia and Europe. Patriot Memory's parent company, PDP Systems, Inc., was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Fremont, California, USA.
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Following the news last week that Saskatchewan has the highest rate of youth smokers in the country, more information is coming to light concerning young tobacco users in the province.
And for many, it's leaving behind a bitter taste.
New data from the national Youth Smoking Survey shows that more than half of the youth smokers in the province are using flavoured tobacco products.
Nationwide, nearly 170,000 high school students admitted to using flavoured tobacco in the past 30 days.
"These products are brightly coloured in flavours like grape and chocolate and cherry and citrus, which is enticing to a young person," said Donna Pasiechnik of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS).
"(They) are intended to make that first smoking experience more pleasurable by improving the taste."
In many cases, the end result of experimenting with flavoured tobacco is addiction, Pasiechnik said.
Flavoured tobacco products range from cigarillos (a shorter, thinner cigar) and chewing tobacco to menthol cigarettes and rolling papers.
Over the past decade they have exploded in popularity, despite the federal government attempting to ban them in 2009.
In an amendment to Bill C-32, the Conservative Party defined flavoured cigarillos as a product weighing less than 1.4 grams and having a filter.
To circumvent the new legislation, tobacco companies made their flavoured cigarillos heavier and replaced the filter with tobacco, "but I can show you products before that bill and products now and you'd have a hard time distinguishing the difference," Pasiechnik said.
The cigarillos can also be purchased as singles - a perfect fit for the low-income high school crowd.
"We know that kids are price sensitive," Pasiechnik said. "And here we have these products that you can pick up for a toonie and smoke."
A quick survey of five convenience stores in Regina found that flavoured singles are indeed a big seller - mostly among men aged 18-35, according to store employees.
The cheap price and convenience of a single, flavoured cigarillo is appealing to those who might not consider themselves full-time smokers.
The CCS, along with the Lung Association of Saskatchewan and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, is calling on the provincial government to ban all flavoured tobacco products.
Tim Macaulay, director of environmental health with the Ministry of Health, said discussions about flavoured tobacco are already taking place.
The ministry is looking at what other provinces are doing about flavoured tobacco, as well as the federal government's attempt to outlaw the product, Macaulay said.
"We want to look at being careful with the wording ... so that it lessens the likelihood of the tobacco company being able to circumvent it," he said, of possible amendments to the Saskatchewan Tobacco Control Act.
But legislation is only one part of the solution for the provincial government.
Public awareness and engagement are equally important, Macauley said, citing anti-smoking ads as an example.
"It's a whole package of different types of approaches that, overall, will make this most effective," he said.


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Caffeine Fiends in Japan Don't Have to Choose Between Soda and Coffee
Coca-Cola Coffee Plus combines coffee and cola in a single can.
If you need a little jolt in the afternoon and are standing in front of your office vending machine, trying to decide on whether that means a coffee or a Coke, consider this: In Japan, people don’t have to choose.
Coca-Cola Japan has just launched a new coffee-cola hybrid it’s calling Coca-Cola Coffee Plus. The new product, which comes in a familiarly red-and-white, if comparatively diminutive, can (190ml, just over half the size of a traditional 12-oz can of Coke), is available only via vending machines in Japan.
With added “coffee extract powder,” it packs a punch with 50 percent more caffeine than regular Coke, the Japanese website shin-shouhin.com explains. At the same time, thanks to the use of sweeteners, the high-octane cola has half as many calories.
Still, a reporter for shin-shouhin.com who tried it didn’t describe it in the most flattering terms — at least according to a translation of the review via Google translate. The fragrance doesn’t seem “to be very tasty,” and the aftertaste was not so hot either, according to the reporter, who added, “It was exactly like I added coffee to Coke … I do not think it's delicious, but it's not as bad as I thought.”
A drink best drunk for effect rather than taste then?
In related news, Jolt Cola, the late, lamented proto-hyper-caffeinated soda, just announced it was coming back on the market, making itself exclusively available for the next year at Dollar General Stores across America.
The deal, according to a news release trumpeting the drink’s return, “will provide customers with access to single $1 cans offering 16 ounces of all the sugar and twice the caffeine.”
And you don’t even have to go all the way to Japan for that one …


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Compiled Sanet van Zijl
Last year Namibia was named the fastest growing tourism industry in the world and now magazines, blogs, websites and social media are all buzzing about Namibia as one of the top travel destinations of 2015.
As of late international media has been praising Namibia and encouraging its tourists to visit the country. The travel destination has made some very prestigious lists:
Forbes Life is one of the most reputable travel magazines in the world. They called Namibia a must-see and complimented it for being an example to Africa of power and sustainable development. Montenegro, Namibia and Lithuania was the magazine’s top 3 travel destinations for this year. Among the reasons they list for visiting this beautiful place are the following:
Namibia is celebrating twenty- five years of independence this year, its silver anniversary. Namibia was also the first country in Africa to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution. Wildlife is protected and managed by communities in communal conservancies. More than 43% of Namibia’s surface area is under conservation management and these parks are some of the most popular tourist attractions with their vast landscapes.
Namibia is also home to the largest sand dune in the world at Sossusvlei and the largest canyon in Africa – The Fish River Canyon.
The British newspaper, The Guardian, said that the fourth Mad Max film that was filmed in Namibia would most certainly convince travelers to add Namibia to their lists. Keeping in mind that the British pound is stronger in currency than the Namibian dollar, Namibia will offer more value for money than other African destinations would.
Lonely Planet also praises the country for its conservation efforts, noting that it hosts the world’s largest number of cheetah and black rhino and unlike anywhere else in Africa, its populations of giraffe and lion are growing.
The site lists its life changing experiences in Namibia: Climbing the Sossuvlei dunes at dawn to witness the sun ‘set the red sand dunes on fire’; staying up late in Etosha National Park to experience the big game at the waterholes and taking a flight safari to witness the dramatic landscapes and wildlife of the Skeleton Coast.
Travel Plus Style called their experience of the country “transcendental”. According to the site Namibia should inspire future travels with its amazing nature, breath-taking landscapes and ancient tribes, such as the last truly authentic Himba people.


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Rane Group updates about new business wins[ India ]
Rane Holdings Limited (RHL) announced that during the quarter that ended on March 31, 2022, Rane (Ma .....
Daily updates of global automotive news for your business! Search easily by country or keyword.
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Hyundai Extends Warranty for Over 1.2 Million Cars WorldwideApril 6, 2020
Hyundai has announced that it will extend warranties for more than 1.21 million vehicles worldwide to support owners who may have difficulty maintaining and repairing their vehicles during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is another great example of how we support our customers and continue to strengthen America’s best warranty,” Hyundai North America said. “Despite the fact that most Hyundai dealers are open to the provision of services, we want our customers to feel comfortable visiting their dealerships for warranty work and servicing any vehicle.”
Hyundai also confirmed that although many of its showrooms in the US were closed, most service departments remain open. The car manufacturer also has a new policy that allows customers to give permission for an electronic signature to repair a vehicle, as opposed to having to physically sign documents.
Worldwide, Hyundai will also extend warrants that expire between March and June 2020 for up to three months.
“We understand that many of our customers may have limited or no access to vehicle service during these unusual times,” said Wonghong Cho, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Service at Hyundai Motor Company. “With these warranty extensions, we want them to simply extend the right to warranty repairs and related services in the coming months.”
- Skoda prepares rival Renault Duster for sale
- Mercedes-Benz CL600 coupe from the 90s for sale
- Tesla will build a new plant to assemble trucks and sports cars
- All-new Nissan Skyline R34 sports car for half a million dollars at auction
- Photos of the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 with solar panels on the roof published


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Jobs at risk as Trinity Motors enters administration
Eighty-one jobs are at risk after a Leicestershire car dealership went into administration.
Trinity Motors in Hinckley operates a Hyundai and Mazda sales and service dealership, a used car sales and car parts business and a garage forecourt.
Eddie Williams, Tony Barrell and Matthew Hammond were appointed joint administrators on Monday.
Investors are being sought to "secure interest" in assets, but no decision has yet been made on the firm's future.
Eddie Williams, joint administrator at PwC in the East Midlands, said: "Trinity Motors is a long-established family business which has unfortunately been severely affected by the ongoing impact of the economic downturn on the automotive sector.
"We are exploring the strategic options in respect of all parts of the group with key stakeholders at the moment and are looking to secure interest in the assets of the business if possible."


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Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a significant role for many businesses as its tools streamline, mitigate, and automate their everyday operations.
2022 is set to be another year of AI advancements and breakthroughs, which means more than ever, enterprises everywhere will be looking to make the most of this powerful tech.
According to a report by SEMRush, 75% of executives fear going out of business within five years if they don’t learn to correctly scale AI.
With AI predicted to continue to rapidly evolve, the question becomes, will enterprises learn to harness this technology to inspire their creative workforce, or will the augmentation hinder creativity altogether?
Is AI Creative?
When it comes to AI technology, it’s clear we’ve barely scratched the surface of what this powerful tech is capable of augmenting and streamlining.
While AI advancements mean streamlined productivity for businesses many wonders if and when AI will become creative.
Organizations like OpenAI have made strides in creative AI and currently have developed two AI models called DALL·E and CLIP that combine language and images to generate new visual designs.
Still, AI and Machine Learning (ML) experts don’t expect AI technology to grasp creativity all on its own any time soon. Senior Vice President of Hybrid Cloud and Director of IBM Research, Arvind Krishna, spoke on the subject and said, “I think teaching AI what’s melodic or beautiful is a challenge of a different kind since it is more subjective, but likely can be achieved … Now, if you ask it to create something beautiful from scratch, I think that’s certainly a more distant and challenging frontier.”
Creatives won’t be replaced by AI tech anytime soon but will be working alongside AI.
The goal should be to leverage AI to advance creativity, leading to innovation and success, rather than to focus on augmenting talent completely or ignoring it altogether.
Not to mention that a recent Forrester study has revealed that AI technology has can help empower unconventional thinking and help foster a cooperative mindset for creative teams and make for better collaboration.
How To Successfully Leverage AI In Creative Spaces
- Streamline operations: Hand over as many of your creatives’ mundane, day-to-day tasks to AI and free up some of their days to focus on being more productive on important responsibilities and projects.
- Remain independent: Train employees to manually execute certain business processes even if you have automated them. Creatives shouldn’t be dependent on AI automation, or else things may be overlooked and cause issues later on.
- Utilize personalized data: Use AI to uncover exactly what your audiences are asking and looking for through predictive data on the consumer to personalize creative offerings.
If you learn to use emerging AI and ML technologies to your advantage, you won’t have to worry about it negatively impacting your creative teams.
Now is the time to start focusing on how your human workforce and AI integrations can join together for creative ideas and solutions that can take your advertising to the next level and secure your success for the year.


text: Today’s Chicago Trib had a long and generous article about local author Veronica Roth. She’s a 25-year old phenom who’s hot, hot, hot with the YA crowd who latched onto her debut novel, Divergent, the first of a trilogy set in Chicago which depicts a disturbing, dystopic future society. Roth grew up in Barrington, attended NU, and currently resides in Chicago. She’s feeling pleased but anxious with all the media attention, the press of adoring fans at all her bookstore appearances, and the expected surge in popularity the release of the Divergent movie will bring. The second book, Insurgent, was released in 2012, and third book, Allegiant, will be released in five days. Roth spent the day recently at a HarperCollins warehouse in Aurora signing over 3,000 copies of the new book in preparation for the release parties and sales events coming up next week.


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RepSteveStivers Steve Stivers
The Republican agenda of wiping out regulations because they say it kills jobs is a bunch of hogwash. These regulations that they are attempting to destroy are important to protect the well-being of human beings, our water, air, and environment. See the ProPublica article for more information: Do Regulations Really Kill Jobs Overall? Not So Much
The fact that Stivers and his corporate sponsors continue to try to tear apart the Dodd-Frank Law shows us that Stivers would prefer banks to make risky deals while using and possibly losing our money. Stivers was once a bank lobbyist, but unfortunately, he thinks he still is protecting bankers from governmental regulations. As a state senator, he also voted against consumer protection law. Stivers definitely continues to support the wealthy 1%.
That second Stivers tweet from above that mentions the U.S. Department of Labor is open to interpretation. No one has proven that any of the Republican passed bills would create one job, and the U.S. Department of Labor has not claimed that the Senate should pass any Republican legislation. Stivers is just interpreting news through his own skewed right wing agenda.
* According to news reports, Gov. John Kasich has offered Sears $400 million in tax incentives to move their headquarters from Chicago to Ohio. Considering what is happening to big box stores, why would such a huge amount of money be offered to an industry that is losing its foothold in the marketplace?
An LATimes article (6/23/11) reports how Best Buy and other stores are reducing their presence in traditional buildings:
When it comes to retailing, big is not so beautiful anymore.
Weak sales, online competition and changing consumer habits have big-box chains looking to downsize. Best Buy Co. is the latest merchant shedding space, in an initiative that stands out in both size and scope.....
..."Big-box has already seen its heyday," said Brad Thomas, a retail analyst with Keyblanc Capital Markets. "Retailers just don't need as much space as they once did. Across the retail industry there is an effort to reduce the size of your stores as retail and purchases increasingly occur online rather than through brick-and-mortar stores."...
Will there be a Sears company in 10 years?


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BBC bosses have announced that a planned Top Gear tour featuring Jeremy Clarkson WILL go ahead - but with the show’s name changed after he was axed from the show.
In a statement, BBC Worldwide, in charge of the BBC’s commercial business around the world, announced dates in Australia and Norway would be rescheduled but would still take place.
Instead of being called Top Gear Live, the show will now be known as Clarkson, Hammond and May Live.
A statement from BBC Worldwide said: “So as not to disappoint the thousands of people around the world who have already purchased tickets,BBC Worldwide has agreed with our joint venture partner Brand Events that the remainder of the tour can continue. These events will not however feature any BBC Top Gear branding or content. We believe this is a sensible approach in the circumstances.”
The spokesman went on to say a decision has also been made to reschedule the Festival planned for Sydney in April until July of this year and will instead become an indoor arena show staged in both Melbourne on 18-19 July and Sydney on 25 -26 July.
The live shows that were due to have taken place in Stavanger, Norway last weekend have been re-scheduled to 20-21 June. For UK fans, dates in Belfast, Sheffield and London will also go ahead in May, June and November.
Organisers Brand Events added: “This is a great solution for the fans. We’d like to thank our ticket holders for their continued patience. The fans are the most important people to Jeremy, Richard and James so we’re delighted to be able to say ‘we’re still coming’. We’re sure it’ll be something you won’t want to miss.”
The Top Gear live shows are a different kettle of fish - run by the worldwide branch of the BBC.
And the rider is wild, according to the Star, the backstage list for Mr Clarkson and his co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond includes 20 bottles of wine, 24 bottles of beer, champagne and Bombay Sapphire gin.
The middle-aged men have also requested a PS3, DVD players, scrabble, steak knives, cigarettes and a nearby McDonalds. Yes, really.
A source told the paper: "All three presenters have their eclectic tastes and they all know what they want.
"Jeremy is very into his rose and very particular about getting exactly the right type of wine -it's fair to say he can be a little bit of a prima donna."
We'd never have guessed.


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USA: Levi Strauss FY Profit Plunges 84% To $25m
Jeans giant Levi Strauss & Co on Monday reported a sharp fall in fourth quarter net profit and said its full-year net profit plunged 84 per cent to $25 million from $151m in 2001 due to restructuring costs. The San Francisco-based company said its quarterly profit slumped to $45m from $63m in the year-ago period despite a two per cent rise in net sales to $1.26 billion from $1.23bn. It cited a "higher effective tax rate and the impact of currency volatility" for the profit fall.
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Start the conversation
Good morning! For Friday, May 22, here are your U.S. stock futures, top market news, earnings reports, pre-market movers, and stocks to watch in the stock market today…
Stock Futures Today
Dow Jones futures forecasted a 14-point gain ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech at 1 p.m. this afternoon. She will discuss the outlook of the U.S. economy. Investors will look for clues on the Fed's interest rate plan. [Here's what the FOMC meeting minutes released Wednesday had to say.]
Although both the Dow Jones and the S&P are hovering near record levels, investors can expect lower volumes today as the Memorial Day holiday approaches and the quarterly earnings season ends.
Top News in the Stock Market Today
- The Stock Market Today: In addition to Yellen's speech, investors today will keep their focus on U.S. economic data, which includes the Consumer Price Index.
- Earnings Reports: Companies reporting earnings this morning include Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Hibbett Sports Inc. (Nasdaq: HIBB), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), and ANN Inc. (NYSE: ANN).
- Oil Prices Today: Oil prices were sluggish this morning, ahead of the weekend that kicks off driving season in the United States. WTI crude futures for June fell 0.8% this morning to hit $60.22 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil was down 1.1% to hit $65.81 per barrel.
Pre-Market Movers in the Stock Market Today: HPQ, DE, BBRY
- Pre-Market Movers 1 – HPQ: Shares of the Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) were on the rise this morning after the company beat Wall Street earnings estimates, but the world's second-largest PC manufacturer offered a cautious outlook for the road ahead. The hardware giant said it had per-share earnings of $0.87, besting Wall Street expectations by a penny. It also announced plans to sell controlling 51% stake in its China-based data-networking company to China's Tsinghua Unigroup for roughly $2.3 billion.
- Pre-Market Movers 2 – BBRY: Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. (Nasdaq: BBRY) were up more than 3% on news that the tech firm plans to purchase roughly 2.6% of outstanding shares in a buyback program. The company said it is engaging in the buyback plan to offset any negative impact of an employee-stock-purchase plan that is poised to go into effect.
- Pre-Market Movers 3 -DE: Shares of Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) jumped more than 3.4% this morning after the company reported positive quarterly earnings. The heavy equipment maker reported per-share quarterly earnings of $2.03, well ahead of Wall Street's projections of $1.55. Deere had a small downturn in revenues, but outpaced expectations given significant weaknesses in the global agricultural sector.
Stocks to Watch Today: EXPE, CTRP, AMZN
- Stocks to Watch No. 1: EXPE: Global travel operator Expedia Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE) said it has sold its 62.4% stake in China travel site eLong. The firm sold its shares of $671 million to a consortium of buyers that included Ctrip.com International Ltd. (Nasdaq ADR: CTRP). Shares of CTRP were up more than 5% on news of the deal. Shares of eLong Inc. (Nasdaq ADR: LONG) jumped more than 36% this morning.
- Stocks to Watch No. 2 – AMZN: Shares of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) were climbing again this morning after yesterday's announcement that the company's Amazon Prime Now one-hour delivery services will soon be available in Manhattan. The services guarantees one-hour deliver of groceries, meals, and baked goods. Shares of Amazon were up more than 1.8% during yesterday's trading session.
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
- Consumer Price Index at 8:30 a.m.
- PMI Manufacturing Index Flash at 9:45 a.m.
- Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at 1 p.m.
- SIFMA Close 2 p.m.
What Investors Must Know This Week
About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.
Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.


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An unlock and untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4/4S iOS 5.0.1 firmware has been announced by the EasyRa1n.com team, which calls it EasyRa1n 0.9.
Apple users running their devices on the iOS 5 operating system and waiting for an untethered jailbreak can now breathe easy with this much-anticipated news. But the team has reported that iPad 2 owners cannot take advantage of it because the 0.9.6rc14 version of EasyRa1n only supports the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 (GSM), iPod touch 3G/4G and the first generation iPad.
This can be good news for jailbreakers since, according to @EasyRa1n, Apple did not patch up the hole it discovered. Those who have already upgraded to iOS 5.0.1 and now want to jailbreak and unlock their iPhone 4 device with iOS 5.0.1 can get the latest version of EasyRa1n, which is 0.9, to perform an untethered jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 for their devices.
Additionally, this will not be limited to a tethered boot, which means users will not have to reconnect their devices to their computers every time they reboot iOS devices, even though the iPad 2 is not supported. The team also reports that this has been confirmed by MuscleNerd of the iPhone Dev Team.
The Windows and Mac versions will provide an untethered jailbreak on iOS 5.0.1 and install Cydia on iDevice. Cydia enables a user to find and install software packages on a jailbroken iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.


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Raising funds for charitable causes is not only good for your company’s bottom line, but it’s also a great motivator for staff. It’s also the right thing for a successful business to do.
Do leaders fully appreciate the importance of having clearly defined business values that are lived and breathed across the organisation” Sadly not!
With the Rugby World Cup fast approaching and an estimated economic impact of £2.2bn, there are plenty of ways businesses of all shapes and sizes can capitalise on this. Elavon's Hannah Fitzsimons advises on going contactless to avoid a scrum and why diversifying your payment options is a savvy move.
On its website, The Happiness Index, featured in the Everline Future 50 this year, explains disruptive technology as that which "shakes up its market or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry”. This is what the company is setting out to do in its field.
A new Salesforce and Deloitte report outlines how CMOs are going through a rapid transformation, now arguably making them the executives with the most power to affect business bottom lines.
An Association of Accounting Technicians report, compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, found that apprentices offer UK businesses a significant return on their investment, with economic output often exceeding average wage and training costs.


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DENVER (KRDO) -- The popular fast food company, Raising Cane's announced Wednesday it will increase its minimum wage for all Colorado workers.
According to the press release, all hourly Raising Cane's workers in Colorado will receive a minimum pay of $15 an hour. The company will also be adjusting the hourly manager pay to $18 an hour. The decision branches from a $1.6 million investment.
Raising Cane's expands across over 15 restaurants statewide. The company is looking to hire 10,000 new employees in the expansion of over 50 days for the 100 new restaurants planned to open.
“We are so grateful to have been part of the Colorado community for years,” said Jason Zwerin, Raising Cane’s Vice President of Restaurants. “While we continue to be a staple for Coloradoans, we’ll continue to share in our success with our crewmembers that make this all possible.”


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- Hotel Market Research
- No comments
The monthly LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report, from tourism market research specialists LJ Research, tracking city centre hotel performance showed occupancy growth in Scotland’s major cities, although there was mixed performance overall across the cities.
In Edinburgh, hoteliers sold 80.8% of their rooms during the month which was 0.3 percentage points higher than this month last year. In addition to increasing room occupancy, Edinburgh’s hoteliers also grew room rates as the Average Room Rate (ARR) increased from £84.75 in November 2015 to £100.76, an increase of a hefty 18.9%.
Overall, these figures showed strong growth of 19.4% for Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) – the key hotel performance metric – as RevPAR stood at £81.44.
The trend of future bookings also shows positive signs for Edinburgh hoteliers as forward bookings for each of the next 6 months are all above last year’s levels.
Glasgow and Aberdeen hotels also welcomed more guests compared to last year. However, the overall picture was mixed.
In Glasgow, November’s occupancy rate at 87.5% was 1.1 percentage points higher than last year. But more rooms were sold in return for lower average room rates: the ARR was £74.46 for a Glasgow city centre room which was 1.6% less than in November 2015. Combining the occupancy and ARR performance, RevPAR was almost on par with last year, falling by 0.5%.
In addition to the occupancy growth, there was an increase in business on the books in Glasgow as confirmed and tentative bookings were above last year for four out of the next six months.
In Aberdeen – where hoteliers heavily rely on business guests – a recent rebound of the oil price to above $50 a barrel was likely noted with relief. The effects have not yet fully affected the hospitality industry, however: occupancy grew to 70.0% (which is 1.5 percentage points higher than November 2015). But November’s average room rates were only £65.38 compared to £76.55 last year – a drop of 14.6%. Consequentially, RevPAR decreased by 13.0%.
In Aberdeen, business on the books was largely unchanged compared to last year which does not suggest that there will be a significant rebound anytime soon.
Sean Morgan, Managing Director at LJ Research said: “November was the seventh consecutive month of £100+ average room rates for city centre hotels in Edinburgh. The fact that these prices did not negatively impact on room occupancy are signs of a very healthy accommodation market indeed.
The growth observed in Edinburgh’s hotel industry is perhaps even more astonishing when considering that 800 new hotel rooms have opened in the city so far in 2016 and also factoring in the growth of the sharing economy. For the latter aspect, our ongoing Edinburgh Visitor Survey continues to record growing usage of Airbnb: since July this year some 8% of Edinburgh visitors stayed in lettings marketed by Airbnb. This compares to only 5% in the same period last year and indicates that the sharing economy is attracting more visitors to the city. Without Airbnb, hotels’ room rates and occupancy would potentially be higher still.”
Alistair Dickson, Partner at RSM, said: “Hotels in Edinburgh and to an extent, Glasgow, appear to have been enjoying post-Brexit life. The ‘shot in the arm’ provided by low exchange rates has given international tourism a boost and, if the Scottish government is successful in negotiating a cut to air passenger duty, this could continue in the mid-term.
“Aberdeen’s hotel industry is more dependent on oil revenues than exchange rates and air passenger duty. This is reflected in the 70 per cent occupancy rates and circa £65 room rates, far removed from the dizzying heights of £300 room rates of yester-year. Better times will come however, and recent rises in oil prices following the OPEC agreement to cut production, opening the Western Peripheral route and a regenerated town centre all signal optimism in the market. Clever cash flow and financial management will help those impacted until the market uplift is realised.”
John Donnelly, Chief Executive at Marketing Edinburgh said: “Along with being recognised as one of the world’s most beautiful and culturally inspiring cities, Edinburgh’s solid reputation as a hub for business and innovation makes it equally appealing to our business and leisure visitors. Between 2010 and 2015 the number of visits to the city has increased by 18%, a huge reason why the city has been able to maintain its high occupancy rates and grow RevPAR.
“Edinburgh is on target to grow the number of visits to the city by one third by 2020. Increasing visitor numbers in the quieter shoulder months is critical in Edinburgh achieving its visitor figure objectives. It’s therefore very encouraging to see this year on year increase in November’s accommodation figures, a traditionally quieter time of year for the city, just ahead of the popular Christmas and Hogmanay celebrations in December.”


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Shanghai's sports industry continues to shape up
At 6 pm on a Tuesday, the east bank of Shanghai's Huangpu River in the Pudong New Area is already abuzz with fitness activities.
Runners, cyclists, and tai ji enthusiasts intertwine with health qigong followers, square dancers, and groups practicing the traditional dance of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in a scene that exemplifies the city's growing ambitions for its booming sports industry.
The daily activities at the riverside are a microcosm of how the national fitness campaign and sports culture are putting a spring in the city's step. For the past decade, Shanghai has tirelessly promoted the development of the sports industry.
According to a report co-published by the city's sports and statistics bureaus, Shanghai's sports industry was worth 178 billion yuan ($28 billion) in 2019, with an added value of 56 billion yuan, accounting for 1.5 percent of the city's GDP that year.
However, last month's publication of the 14th Five-Year Plan by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government is set to take the industry to the next level. The plan envisages that the city will become a world-renowned sports hub, with over 46 percent of residents regularly participating in physical exercise. The per-capita sports venue area will reach about 2.6 square meters by 2025.
Chasing a revenue target of 20 billion yuan from major annual sports tournaments by 2025, Shanghai will strive to double the total scale of the sports industry compared with 2020 and increase the sector's added value to about 2 percent of the city's GDP.
Huang Haiyan, professor at Shanghai University of Sport, said that the overall growth of sports in Shanghai is directly related to improving living conditions as more and more Chinese people pay greater attention to their health. Huang said that demand for sports goods and services in Shanghai is not only strong but also diversified. Huang, though, cautions that the newly launched plan is both an opportunity and a challenge.
In addition, a shortage of young industry talents is a nationwide issue. "We need to keep improving the integration of education with industry, and to cultivate more young industry talents," Huang said.
Source: China Daily


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The past year has seen major changes in all aspects of life. Between a global pandemic, social justice causes, economic turmoil, and increasing awareness about the environment, the world seemingly has been turned upside down. As a result, there has been a shift in the consumer mindset from “me” to “we.” People have become more aware of the issues that surround them in the world, and are demanding change, accountability, and increased communication.
Today, shoppers want brands that help make the world a better place, not just improve their consumers’ lives. According to Edelman’s Brand Trust survey in 2020, 85% of respondents want brands to solve their problems, while a comparable 80% want brands to solve society’s problems.
As a result, brand trust has gotten more important. Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer Special Report found that brand trust is even more important than brand love when it comes to deciding which brand to use.
Brands can no longer rest on the laurels of being long-beloved or well-regarded.
Consumers are asking for more: honesty and trustworthiness.
In 2021, trust is what drives growth. Per the same Edelman special report, shoppers who fully trust brands are more likely to advocate for and purchase from them. In fact, highly-trusted brands are seven times more likely to be purchased.
Brand trust is key for building a strong base of loyal customers. But how do brands build trust? By being authentic, transparent, and leading with their values.
Being Authentic As a Brand
The most important element to building trust is being authentic. “More than just large donations or empty platitudes, consumers want to see that brands actually care … And what’s more — consumers and prospective employees will hold them accountable like never before,” says Jason Mander, Chief Research Officer at GWI.
This is especially true during major social happenings, like the Black Lives Matter movement, or dedicated months, like Pride Month. Brands flock to show their support, but many don’t do anything to promote lasting change.
During the Black Lives Matter marches, brands showed their support for the movement with social media posts and advertising, but they were urged to do more. Sharon Chuter called out Nike in an Instagram post, saying, “We need to see those receipts. We love your campaigns but we need to know how many Black people you employ at a corporate level and executive level. Our culture has fed your brand. Show us how you feed us.”
Sharon, the founder of Uomo Beauty, also challenged fellow beauty brands to share the number of Black employees in corporate roles. A haircare brand, amika, not only shared their numbers but also announced a commitment to change with concrete go-forward actions. Consumers recognized the value of amika’s statement combined with action, as shown in this Instagram comment from @theblendedbeauty: “What I like here is that you were transparent but most importantly you’re willing to do the internal work. Which is more important than [sic] posting a black square.”
Leading With Brand Values
Being authentic and transparent naturally leads to being committed to positive causes and showcasing your brand values. 2021 is the year of “we,” and consumers want brands to use their power to bring results.
Shoppers will support brands that commit to change and give them the opportunity to believe in what they buy. According to Edelman, 86% of people expect brands to take one or more actions beyond their product and business, including giving money to good causes, addressing societal challenges, supporting local communities, and displaying representative images.
The CMO of Chipotle, Chris Brandt, has taken to emphasizing the brand’s purpose and values. Under his leadership, the brand launched its first tagline, “For Real,” to showcase its real ingredients that are farmed sustainably.
Brands should show that they not only understand social responsibility but also lead by example. Shoppers trust brands that live their values, from sustainability and fair trade to supporting relevant causes.
Building Brand Trust Through Content
Since authenticity and brand values are key to building trust, use branded content to showcase what you’re doing as a brand. Write blogs and thought pieces sharing your brand values. Make statements during world events — and be sure to stand by what you say. In advertising, highlight cornerstones of your brand, like “100% recyclable” or “cruelty-free” or “made in the USA,” that show consumers how you live your values.
As Katie Thomas at the Kearney Consumer Institute says, “Showcase core trust elements with thoughtful messaging. Build the foundation with consumers by identifying the right message, messenger, and platform. Invest in messaging and campaigns focused on honesty and consistency.”
By representing your brand and its values transparently in all messaging, you make yourself trustworthy. By acting responsibly within today’s world, you build this trust. “Trust grows from the foundation of honesty and credibility,” says Katie Thomas — so start there. Trust sells.
Contact NetElixir to see how we can help you structure your content strategy to authentically tell your brand’s story.


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Reps for Alessandra Ambrosio have confirmed that the Brazilian beauty will be the face of brand’s fall 2010 advertising campaign. Good choice, Moschino team.
There’s a reason that Karl Lagerfeld loves Baptiste Giabiconi so much, and it’s also why he’s the highest ranked male model on our Power Grid. The answer: he’s amazing. And now the 20-year-old Frenchman is now being featured in April’s L’Officiel Hommes China — on their cover and in a 10-page and musically-inspired spread, in which he poses as rock icons like Jim Morrison, David Bowie, and in drag as Lady Gaga.
Once upon a time, the cover ladies of fashion’s most important and influential magazines were referred to as Supermodels. But with the advent of tabloids and the obsession with celebrity culture, fashion magazines steered away from model-covers and opted for actresses, musicians, and socialites instead. And then Kate Moss graced the cover of W’s September Issue, Linda Evangelista the cover of November, and now this month’s Vogue features a decidedly 90s-inspired Gisele Bundchen.


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Deloitte: Let’s Not Forget That Crises Are OpportunitiesBy Alejandro Enríquez | Mon, 09/07/2020 - 06:00
Q: What were the highlights for the Mexican automotive industry in the past decade?
MN: The automotive industry consolidated itself in terms of historic amounts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The sector became the pillar of the manufacturing industry in the country. Thanks to the industry’s performance over the last 10 years, the country is in a solid position to face the current pandemic. Once the pandemic is over, we expect the sector to push the economy forward.
Opportunity areas for Mexico remain in the development of the domestic market to lessen our dependence on foreign markets, which receive more than 80 percent of Mexico’s vehicle production. 2020 is an atypical year and will result in a historical low for vehicle sales.
AT: One of the biggest achievements of the automotive sector over the last decade is Mexico’s emergence as an important pole for development, which represents a unique opportunity for the country to transform itself into a global platform for advanced manufacturing and innovation. This should motivate the entire ecosystem to take advantage of existing capabilities in the coming years.
Q: What should vehicle brands do to strengthen their sales performance?
AT: Transparency and visibility remain key. An adequate flow of information between dealerships and brands should create greater levels of assertive communication to make demand visible. This is a gap that has yet to be filled.
It is indeed an important moment to foster online sales and digitalization strategies. A customer-centered focus has, on the one hand, an important research element. On the other, it requires a more personalized experience through digital channels. Brands must understand their customers; we are in a time when customization is leading the way; a general focus is not enough anymore.
MN: It should all be about teamwork. Apart from the dealerships and OEMs, the government should get involved to promote vehicle sales. Having said that, brands should be focused on the customer. There should be greater awareness of the seasonality of demand and the current needs of customers amid the pandemic, taking as an example experiences in markets such as China. The more dealerships and brands understand the customer, the faster their recovery will be. Mexico is in a peculiar position when it comes to the pandemic, sitting third in the world in terms of the largest number of infections, which is having an impact on the consumers’ decision to purchase a vehicle. Deloitte’s consumer surveys show that Mexico is more sensitive in terms of how external elements affect purchasing decisions, mostly due to insecurity. That is why reactivating the industry should be based on teamwork.
Q: How will EVs and autonomous vehicles influence the future of mobility?
MN: Electrification, autonomous and shared vehicles will have a great influence. The automotive industry in Mexico should get involved in this regard, possibly through R&D operations. These trends will take time to fully land in the Mexican market, so the next step for the country’s automotive hub is to create the value needed for those trends to ramp up. Electrification will arrive faster and autonomous vehicles will rely on the development of other technologies, such as 5G networks. The country should advance its manufacturing capacity toward research and development skills.
AT: Although there have been delays, there is no turning back from these technologies. There are numerous examples of important partnerships in this regard. At Deloitte, we believe that corporations will need to innovate in their business. Tech companies and even some Tier 1 companies are already building vehicle prototypes, thus it is a chess game between OEMs and the entire ecosystem to assure success. Increased connectivity will also foster digital sales, which implies partnerships for brands to implement an omnichannel strategy.
OEMs should also look into the development of new business units besides manufacturing. For instance, what about content creation or data generation? These represent an immense opportunity. If OEMs fail to adapt their business in this regard, they might lose market focus. Japanese and German companies, for instance, are creating partnerships with large technological companies or smart cities. Mexico should take advantage of the technological wave and advance its traditional manufacturing footprint.
Q: What important consumer trends do you see in the Mexican market?
MN: Important mobility trends can be seen among younger generations because they are choosing not to buy vehicles. Shared mobility is becoming a thing, given that Generation Y and Generation Z are strongly focused on sustainability and experiences. We will see how this consumer trend impacts vehicle sales in new schemes such as expanded fleet purchases and more EVs on the streets. If companies fail to understand the new scenario the pandemic is leading us to, they could be left behind. At Deloitte, we help our customers understand where these trends are leading to, including digital trends.
Q: How will USMCA benefit companies in the country in terms of Industry 4.0 capacity?
MN: An interesting scenario has emerged from the USMCA’s rules of origin, particularly the labor value content rule that establishes a salary increase. In reality, very few OEMs can affirm that as of this moment they are complying with the rules. The opportunity for Mexico lies in developing local suppliers that help OEMs meet the new standards. The manufacturing industry in Mexico is world-class. According to our last Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index in 2016, Mexico was ranked eighth.
In the automotive sector, the opportunity area is in the development of local suppliers for both components and raw materials. Rules of origin set additional requirements regarding special steels and companies have started to act accordingly. The industry needs to make an effort. The key word is investment, as large companies need to invest in developing local capacities. Clusters have played an important role in this regard but government, academia, Tier 1s and OEMs should participate as well.
AT: The country seems to be in a risk-averse environment but the opportunities are there. Mexico has a great number of components that are imported and OEMs and Tier 1s are actively looking for those components locally. However, the quality and costs of such components are not adequate. For instance, there is a clear need for molds and dies.
Q: Manufacturing GDP faced a 26 percent reduction in 2Q20. What does this mean for the Mexican manufacturing footprint?
AT: A GDP reduction affects the available amount for investment. The market is now prioritizing the money it has. FDI in the past decade built manufacturing plants that still have room to expand operations, but a new wave of investments will require macroeconomic stability and demand recovery, particularly in the US and China, which will not arrive in 2020.
MN: GDP performance can be worrisome but if companies continue to focus on the customer and other players participate in sales recovery strategies, recovery will come sooner. Looking at the sector’s trends, the US market will recover faster than Mexico, which is relevant since 80 percent of vehicle exports go to the US.
Q: What are your views on what is to come for the automotive sector?
AT: There are fears in the industry that the crown jewel of the manufacturing GDP will be permanently affected. We see concerns among our customers regarding not only the pandemic but Mexico’s certainty for long-term investments. What companies can do is look at the customer while taking advantage of the certainty USMCA provides. These are interesting times and there are interesting opportunities.
MN: Crises are opportunities. We are living the worst crisis in economic history. These processes can be complicated but this moment provides the opportunity to think about what companies are doing right and where they can improve. The more focused companies are, the better their results. The sector will increase the speed at which companies adopt Industry 4.0 capabilities to eliminate bottlenecks in production processes.
Deloitte is one of the world’s leading audit, consulting, tax, financial advisory and risk advisory brands, with about 245,000 people working at member firms in 150 countries and territories.


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Clever types analysing the Android code that ships within the company's Google Glass hardware have discovered code for a multiplayer gaming service, which appears to show that Google will soon offer built-in online gaming support to players and developers.
The code mentions support for all sorts of modern play types, with features enabling real-time online matchmaking, turn-based multiplayer options and even the possibility of in-game chat all showing up. Code for achievements, game lobbies, leaderboards and play invitations has also been yanked out of the Google Glass APK, making it look like Google's got its very own mobile Xbox Live equivalent up and running and ready to launch.
Google's I/O developer event takes place this May, where it traditionally shows off new Android software and hardware. Expect this gaming tech to be one of the big announcements. [Android Police]