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By John Richardson
EVIDENCE that decoupling might be a myth has grown with the release of China’s September export data.
Exports to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region fell 9.8% by value in September 2013 compared with the same month in 2012.
Part of the explanation for the decline is the “over-invoicing” fiddle which distorted export data on the upside in September of last year. Dodgy companies used to exaggerate sales in order to smuggle funds into China so that they could speculate on the Yuan, as there were widespread expectations that it would strengthen in value against the US dollar. But from May this year, the government has clamped-down on this practice.
But economists believe that this doesn’t fully account for the decline in shipments to ASEAN. The more important reason for the decline in exports to ASEAN they think, is that the threat of Fed tapering has led to a slump in economic activity across the region.
This underlines our argument that in countries such as Indonesia, growth models are seriously flawed. Cheap Fed credit has delayed economic reforms in ASEAN that are essential for sustainable growth. Time might now be running out for these reforms, as cheap credit could soon come to an end.
If you dig deeper into the export data, you can find support for this argument. Average export growth to ASEAN, year-on-year again, was 26% in July-August 2013. This suggests that in real non-fiddled terms there has been a sharp decline – as July-August 2012 would also have been distorted on the upside.
The polypropylene (PP) market backs up the notion that economic activity in Southeast Asia has weakened.
“Southeast Asia’s PP import prices were assessed as stable to lower amid lacklustre demand,” wrote my ICIS pricing colleague Chow Bee Lin, in her price assessment for the week ending 11 October.
“Buying power remains weak in the region because of the recent depreciation of several regional currencies against the US dollar.
“PP prices in Indonesia were also weighed down by high inventories among local stockists.”
The non-realists might, however, dig further into China’s September export data and point out that September exports to the US rose by 4.2% in September. Although this was slower than the 6.1% increase in August, it is still a very respectable performance.
If decoupling no longer holds as a theory, how about a resurgent West supporting Chinese growth – and perhaps emerging market growth in general? In other words, what about a re-coupling?
But what about the impact of the US debt crisis on consumer demand? We will only know in October, of course, but even if a deal can be reached on raising the debt ceiling, there is bound to be a negative effect.
A further short-term concern is that the peak manufacturing season – when China imports bigger volumes of chemicals and polymers in order to produce finished goods for export to the West in time for Christmas – is now over (it runs from July until September).
And China’s September exports to the European Union fell by 1% after increasing by 2.5% in both July and August.
Longer term, also, the West has more than its fair share of deep, structural economic problems that have yet to be addressed.
The non-realists could again, though, scan China’s September trade data and conclude that the economic rebalancing of its economy is already delivering major benefits.
They might point out that September imports rose by 7.4%, narrowing China’s trade surplus to unexpectedly low US$15.2bn – a sign that domestic consumption is rapidly replacing exports as a driver of growth.
Thus we come to Theory Number 3: It doesn’t really matter what happens in other emerging markets and the West, as China’s enormous potential for much-greater local consumer spending is now being realised.
But the composition of imports worries us.
For example, iron ore imports were up by 14.7% to a record high (this is reflected in the rise of China’s crude steep production – see the above chart).
China imported 1.27m tonnes of polyethylene (PE) and PP in September, up by 4.8% from the previous month, local traders told ICIS.
Compared with official August numbers, the estimated September PE imports were up by 1%, while PP imports grew 12.4%, the traders added.
“Demand is being pushed up by the government. It’s infrastructure that’s using all these raw materials,” Fan Zhang, an economist at Brokerage UOB told the Wall Street Journal in this article.
And the WSJ added, in the same article: “Although Beijing has signalled it wants to keep a tighter rein on local government spending plans, it has given the green light to a batch of new subway projects and has held-off from fresh curbs on the property market over the past few months.”
The reason is that China’s leaders are anxious to achieve a stable economic and therefore political ship ahead of the November plenum meeting.
This is supported by September lending figures as they were higher than analysts’ estimates.
“Chinese banks made 787 billion Yuan ($128.6 billion) worth of new Yuan loans in September, higher than a forecast of 650 billion Yuan and more than the previous month’s 711.3 billion Yuan,” wrote Reuters in this article.
At some point after the November plenum this will have to stop as rebalancing gets going in earnest. This will quite likely be a painful, uncertain and difficult process.
As a result, there is a risk – as we discussed yesterday – that de-stocking down many chemicals and polymers in China might happen once the November plenum is finished, as inventories may prove to be in excess of future needs.
“Investment in inventories must fall sharply, since its level depends on the growth of an economy, not on the level of activity,” wrote Martin Wolf in this article on China in the Financial Times in July.
“Think about it: in a stagnant economy, inventory accumulation would normally be zero. Again, other things equal, an economy growing at 6% would need 60% of the investment in inventories of one growing at 10%.
“The immediate impact of this adjustment would be a sharp decline in investment in inventories, before their growth resumed at 6% a year, from the now lower level.
“Moreover, businesses might well fail to anticipate the economy’s slowdown altogether, particularly after years of far higher economic growth. They would find themselves burdened with rapidly rising inventories and would then be obliged to slash inventories, and so levels of output, even further.”
A further concern is that this year’s renewed economic stimulus – driven perhaps by partly political rather than entirely sound economic reasons – will make the eventual adjustment to lower stock levels that bit more painful.


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- March 24, 2020
- Firm News
Misdemeanor Charges For Violations of Michigan COVID-19 Orders?
Currently, government leaders throughout Michigan, the U.S. and the world seek ways to control and mitigate the harm caused by the ongoing global pandemic, COVID-19. In an attempt to limit the spread of the virus, the president of the United States, mayors and governors, among others, have enacted sweeping new restrictions on public life.
As described in an earlier blog on this subject, our governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed an executive order on March 23, 2020, requiring Michigan residents to stay at home until April 13, 2020, with limited exceptions such as for employment as “part of the critical infrastructure workforce,” for engagement in “an outdoor activity, or performing tasks necessary to the health and safety … like going to the hospital or grocery store.”
Around the same time, she signed another order that created “temporary restrictions on the use of places of public accommodation.” This order encourages businesses to continue serving the public only through methods like delivery, window service, walk-up and drive-through. The order also asks these businesses not to allow more than 5 people to enter at a time, admitting them only to pick up goods or orders.
Targeted facilities in the public accommodation restrictions order include:
- Restaurants, bars, breweries and vaping lounges
- Theaters, libraries and museums
- Gyms, fitness centers and casinos
- Private clubs, bingo halls and amusement parks
The order does not require closure or restrictions on operations of grocery stores, health care facilities, crisis shelters or food courts in airports.
This executive order states that, “a willful violation of this order is a misdemeanor,” but.does not specify what penalties there will be for violators. There may also be grey areas that could result in disputes if citations target businesses, business owners or other responsible parties such as managers. This order also doesn’t indicate whether there might be other punishments, as well, such as:
- Fines or other civil penalties
- Suspension of permits
Potentially, an individual business operator could end up with a criminal record and a business might also lose the ability to continue in operation. With few precedents by which to predict the outcome of an accusation of wrongdoing according to this executive order, an accused business owner, manager or representative should seek the advice of an experienced trial attorney, depending on the nature of the clash with law enforcement or any government agency.

domain: news


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- Alongside other retailers creating wedding e-commerce platforms, Minted unveiled the Minted Weddings Marketplace, a digital hub for wedding decor, gifts and accessories from independent creatives, the company announced on Monday.
- Shoppers can browse products such as candles, cards, cake toppers, robes, vow books and other items. The platform is comprised of artists and makers from the U.S. and from more than 100 countries.
- Customers can also access the company’s concierge service, which provides advice on wedding challenges like invitation etiquette and finding party favors. They also can order customized stationery through the platform, according to the announcement.
For Minted, the decision to enter the wedding market marks an expansion of its product assortment and brings another revenue opportunity for the sellers, the company said. In its announcement, the company also mentioned that its customers want their weddings to be visually appealing for their offline and online communities across social platforms, including Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok.
“The integration of a third-party marketplace alongside our first-party business allows us to scale product categories and offerings,” Minted CEO Melissa Kim said in a statement. “Customers can now access a constantly refreshed assortment of accessories, gifts and decor in the same place that they shop for stationery.”
Minted is entering the wedding market as a competitor navigates bankruptcy proceedings. Similarly to Minted, David’s Bridal launched its Pearl by David’s wedding planning tool in January, where shoppers could access advice content, connect with vendors and earn loyalty incentives. But by springtime, the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and it announced plans to lay off more than 9,200 and reduce its store count.
Though David’s Bridal had considered cutting its store footprint, the post-bankruptcy sale of its business has been approved. As part of the deal, the retailer will keep its nearly 200 stores open and retain roughly 7,000 jobs in the U.S. Its new owner, Cion Investment Corp., poured $20 million into the business, according to a July 24 press release.
While David’s Bridal is sorting out its future, another marketplace has entered the wedding market: Etsy. In May, the company introduced an online wedding registry, enabling shoppers to browse handmade goods, vintage and custom products.
Like Minted, Etsy serves as a third-party marketplace platform where artisans can sell their products. However, the merchants have recently boycotted Etsy in response to its policy of withholding 75% of their funds for potential refunds, PYMNTS reports.


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UNITED Asia Automotive Group Inc., the official distributor of Foton vehicles in the Philippines, continues to rise as it becomes the top choice of corporations in the Philippine mining industry.
As a way of strengthening the brand’s commitment to develop the industry’s trading, Foton Philippines takes its part on the development of the industry through its reliable range of vehicles, particularly its reputable line of heavy-duty trucks.
One of the country’s new mining players, 3 Point Shot Inc., confidently chose Foton as main units for their current operations. On March 15, a total of 10 Foton ETX340 6×4 Dump Trucks were delivered to 3 Point Shot Inc.’s site located at Hinatuan, Surigao Del Norte. Used to hustle laterite at Tagana-an Nickel Project operated by Hinatuan Mining Corporation, the Foton ETX430 6×4 Dump Trucks were already utilized by the company last April 14.
Reinforcing its brand identity as a prime commercial vehicle manufacturer, Foton continues to raise its confidence on providing first-rate vehicles with guaranteed reliability, affordability and efficiency suitable for every Filipino’s growing business.
Foton is known as Asia’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles including passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks and heavy machineries.


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It’s too early to tell how much 3D TVs will take off — though it looks as if they’re shaping up to be a success over the long haul. And that means we’ll eventually see 3D supported on computer displays. But that’s likely to be a while.
While 3DTV has been the topic of much industry excitement and hockey stick adoption forecasts, recent research conducted by Strategy Analytics (http://www.strategyanalytics.com) suggests that it will remain very much an event-driven technology, attractive to a select group of consumers.
The survey, which polled 4,800 residents in the US, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, measured consumer interest in, understanding of, and willingness to pay for 3DTV services. Despite the fact that those who have seen cinematic 3D are largely impressed with its quality — 69% overall say they were “somewhat” or “very” impressed — translating those feelings into interest for a home-based service will prove difficult.
“Through our modeling and survey work, we have identified and isolated a group of consumers we believe to be most likely to actively view — and potentially pay for — 3DTV services,” says Ben Piper, service director and author of the report. “This group of individuals, whom we dub ‘Cube Tubers,’ represents between 8%-10% of the overall population.”
Cube Tubers were nearly twice as likely to express interest in receiving 3DTV programming at home, and were more likely to expect to pay a premium for the service.
“The excitement around 3DTV is real, and is well-deserved,” says David Mercer, vice president of Strategy Analytics’ Digital Consumer Practice. “However, it will be of limited appeal as a consumer offering in the short run. We think service providers should focus marketing dollars on the Cube Tubers, the market segment that will be most receptive the technology.”
The DisplaySearch research group (http://www.displaysearch.com) agrees, saying that 3D TV isn’t growing as fast as expected this year, but will become mainstream by 2014 with over 90 million units shipped. So maybe we’ll see that 3D iMac in another three or four years.


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It is expected that food prices will rise in Canadian stores soon, as the ban on price increases during the holiday season ends.
Last fall, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. Said it would freeze prices for all of its own No Name products until January 31, and Metro Inc. said it would hold prices for most products under private label and national brands until February 5.
The lifting of the price freeze comes amid growing consumer outrage over the rapid rise in food prices in Canada and increased attention to the high profits of grocery chains.
But grocery chains claim that their margin on food remains unchanged, and they simply shift higher prices from suppliers to consumers.
Loblaw spokeswoman Catherine Thomas says food inflation is on the rise, and the cost of providing store shelves with food continues to increase from month to month.
According to her, the company, which operates several chains, including Zehrs, Provigo and No Frills, will continue to keep prices for many products at the same level, and the transition to No Name will allow the average family to save thousands of dollars this year.


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New HTC One M8 launched in ‘gunmetal gray’
London, March 27, 2014
HTC, a leader in innovation and design, has unveiled its new HTC One-M8, the evolution of the award-winning HTC One-M7.
Launching in ‘gunmetal gray’ with the all-new HTC Sense 6, the new HTC One (M8), boasts a high quality metal unibody with a smart sensor hub that anticipates your needs and uses motion launch controls to make everyday tasks easier.
The new Duo Camera technology delivers creative, professional-looking photos and effects, and HTC BoomSound sets new standards for audio quality on a smartphone. It is also available in glacial silver and amber gold.
The phone’s body has been re-crafted to create an even more stunning yet approachable look, said a statement.
It features a five-inch, full HD display and is supported by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 2.3 GHz quad-core Krait CPUs and fully integrated 4G LTE. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat, the latest version of the Android OS.
The new model features the all-new HTC Sense 6, available on the device and as an upgrade from the Google Play store. For those who prefer the stock Android experience, the HTC One (M8) Google Play edition is available for pre-order and for purchase on the Google Play store in the coming weeks.
The ‘Duo Camera’ boasts a depth sensor in addition to the main HTC UltraPixel module, capturing detailed depth information from a scene and enabling a range of creative effects that allow the user to do more with images.
The advanced camera technology also works behind-the-scenes capturing images right from launch, so that when the shutter is activated, the sharpest possible image is instantly displayed.
The camera autofocus operates at a speed of 300mseconds, producing beautifully crisp images of split-second action and when the flash is required, the intelligent LED Dual Flash automatically selects the exact colour tone and light intensity for more natural skin tones and a professional-looking shot.
It has also integrated ‘Slow Motion’ mode, which lets the user shoot HD slo-mo video and then edit that video to slow down the action at the required part.
The HTC Dot View case protects the screen, while displaying notifications and interactions in a retro, dot-matrix style.
The new model’s battery power has been made to last 40 per cent longer
The HTC Sense TV will provide an interactive second screen, where a user can follow the conversation about the programme online with integrated official Facebook and Twitter streams along with all the latest fan commentary from your social circles.
It also brings live sports statistics for the 10 most popular sports in the world, with sports fans now able to access the latest scores, match statistics and live updates from games.
Peter Chou, CEO, said: “In 2013 we introduced the best smartphone in the world, but we never stopped challenging ourselves and the status quo in this category. As pioneers in mobile innovation, we continue to design and build devices that will dazzle, inspire and transform the smartphone industry. Today I’m proud to launch the most stunning, intuitive and advanced handset that the industry has seen to date, the new HTC One (M8).” - TradeArabia News Service


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Wall Street brokerages predict that Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) will post earnings per share of $0.32 for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Three analysts have provided estimates for Five Below’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $0.31 and the highest estimate coming in at $0.34. Five Below reported earnings of $0.15 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year-over-year growth rate of 113.3%. The business is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings report on Thursday, June 7th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that Five Below will report full year earnings of $2.40 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.39 to $2.42. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the business will report earnings of $2.91 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.72 to $3.03. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that cover Five Below.
Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. Five Below had a return on equity of 26.00% and a net margin of 8.02%. The company had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $502.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BidaskClub lowered Five Below from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on Five Below in a report on Tuesday, April 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. ValuEngine raised Five Below from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 2nd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Five Below from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 22nd. Finally, Buckingham Research lowered their price objective on Five Below from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Five Below presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.50.
In other news, EVP Michael Romanko sold 6,227 shares of Five Below stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.17, for a total transaction of $480,537.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,136,374.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Five Below during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Five Below by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Zeke Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Five Below during the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. Pitcairn Co. acquired a new position in shares of Five Below during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, We Are One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of Five Below by 173.7% during the 1st quarter. We Are One Seven LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter.
FIVE traded up $0.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $73.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 513,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,686. Five Below has a 52-week low of $44.30 and a 52-week high of $78.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 40.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.60.
Five Below announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Five Below Company Profile
Five Below, Inc operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. It offers accessories, including novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and T-shirts, as well as beauty products comprising nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and items used to complete and personalize living space, including glitter lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, and related items, as well as provides storage options for the customers room.
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Stock Futures Point Higher on 'Black Friday'
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a slightly higher start for Wall Street on Friday as traders prepared for a half-session and shoppers sought deals on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season.
The economic calendar in the U.S. on Friday is empty.
The major U.S. equity averages finished with modest gains Wednesday, taking their cue from a dip in weekly initial jobless claims and improvement in domestic manufacturing data. The Dow rose more than 48 points, or 0.38%, to close at 12,837.
Stock markets in the U.S. were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The FTSE 100 in London was rising 0.2% on Friday, while the DAX in Germany was up 0.03%. A survey released Friday found that German business confidence rose unexpectedly in November after six straight monthly declines.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index on Friday closed with a 0.8% gain while China's benchmark index also ended higher. China's manufacturing expanded for the first time in 13 months in November, helping to boost global stocks on Thursday.
Gold for December delivery was up $5.40 at $1,733.60 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, while January crude oil contracts were down 13 cents to $87.25.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury was trading at 1.69%. The euro rose to $1.2904 from $1.2825 late Wednesday in New York.
In corporate news, retailers such as Wal-Mart (:WMT)and Target(:TGT) will be the focus on Black Friday, so named because the day is traditionally when retailers turn a profit for the year. Many stores opened Thanksgiving night.
Research In Motion (:RIMM) shares surged 14% in premarket trading Friday on optimism over the company's BlackBerry 10 devices. RIM confirmed earlier this month that the BlackBerry 10 technology will debut at a launch event on Jan. 30, 2013.
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joseph Woelfel
>To submit a news tip, send an email to: firstname.lastname@example.org.


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DC Comics – home to Batman, Superman and other comic book heroes – is launching its own streaming service, and now we know how much it will cost.
DC Universe will set viewers back $8 (£6) a month or $75 (£57) a year when it launches this autumn. It will only launch in the US at first, so there’s no word on a UK price.
Anyone interested can pre-order a subscription at dcuniverse.com.
DC also released a trailer for Titans, its first live-action series for the service. It’s an edgier, more adult version of Teen Titans. It stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson/Batman’s ward Robin, who leads the Titans. His pals? Starfire (Anna Diop), Raven (Teagan Croft) and Beast Boy (Ryan Potter).
DC Universe will offer Batman Beyond from 1999, the animated Justice League series from 2001-2004, Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008-2011), along with comics, Batman: The Animated Series, the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Batman films and more content featuring DC properties.


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Christmas Train 2020
Holiday Train is canceling all its stops, including Columbus, and will be replaced by a virtual concert this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. . Every year, people from all over the UK travel to the county to witness the award-winning ‘Train of Lights’ which is put on by the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company. The 90-minute journey . New Hope Valley Railway announced Friday that it will reopen to the public Oct. 10 with its popular Track or Treat: Halloween Express trains and plans for a Christmas event. .
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- 5 oz. Pure Silver Coin Christmas Train Mintage: 1,000 (2020 .
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The spirit of the Holiday Train program and the Christmas spirit will carry on this year through our virtual concert. We will have the Holiday Train rolling again spreading Christmas cheer as soon as . The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will not make its annual holiday trip across the country. The CP Holiday Train, which previously visited Muscatine and the Quad-Cities in 2016 and 2018, spreads .
Christmas wall sticker window glass Santa Claus family holiday
A NEW colourful and ‘coronavirus safe’ festive train is set to bring a touch of magic to Swanage this Christmas. Bluebell Railway will be running Santa Specials in West Suscantik, giving families an opportunity to soak up all of the festivities on board a Victorian steam train. On the platform there will be .
Canada 2020 50$ Christmas Train 5 oz Pure Silver Coin YouTube
- Christmas Train.
- 2020 Christmas Train Tree $50 5OZ Pure Silver Proof Coin Canada .
- Christmas Train Rides By State, 2020: A Complete Guide.
2020 Canada Christmas Tree with Moving Train 3D Sculpture 5 oz
Ongar heritage railway is launching a special service for this winter, with trains covered in Christmas lights. . Christmas Train 2020 In the United States. the pet market industry has surged to a record breaking $100 billion valuation this year with the ongoing pandemic causing surging adoptions. .


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Retail sales were flat in September, which did not help overall growth
The UK economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.4% between July and September, according to official figures, meaning the country is still in recession.
It is the first time UK gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted for six consecutive quarters, since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955.
But the figures could still be revised up or down at a later date, because this figure is only the first estimate.
GDP measures the total amount of goods and services produced by a country.
The pound fell sharply after the figures were released, reflecting the fact that many observers had expected the UK to have grown during the quarter.
It was down 1.7% against the dollar, at $1.6323, and down 1.9% against the euro, at 1.0859 euros.
Quarterly growth of 0.2% had been expected in the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), although expectations had been tempered by recent figures showing no growth in retail sales in September, and a 2.5% decline in industrial output in August.
Hugh Pym, BBC chief economics correspondent
There's no disguising how grim these figures are. Almost every City analyst expected there to be positive growth in the third quarter. Instead it was negative.
That means the recession in the UK is the longest since modern records began in the 1950s.
Germany, France and Japan have all come out of recession technically and the UK hasn't. The decline has continued.
And the markets didn't really like the look of that. The foreign exchange markets have been selling the pound.
There's every indication that it's going to be a long hard slog for quite some time to come as the British economy tries to turn itself round.
The unexpected decline in the services sector was the key factor behind the drop, with the distribution, catering and hotels sector performing particularly badly.
The UK economy's reliance on the service sector, and financial services in particular, may be the reason why it is still in recession when partners such as France and Germany exited in the second quarter of this year.
The economy contracted 5.2% compared with the same period last year, which was marginally better than the record figure of 5.5% in the previous three months.
It has now contracted 5.9% from its peak before the recession began.
The worse-than-expected GDP figures are likely to make the Bank of England consider extending its policy of quantitative easing.
Quantitative easing is the central bank's policy of printing money and using it to buy bonds from banks and other companies to help stimulate the economy.
The £175bn already announced for the quantitative easing programme will have been spent by next month, so the third quarter GDP number will be important in deciding whether to extend it.
Indeed, at the Bank's current rate of spending, it is expected to have spent the whole £175bn in the next week.
Chancellor Alistair Darling: ''Confidence is beginning to return''
As the next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, at which quantitative easing decisions are taken, is not until 4 November, that would leave it with a week with no extra cash to pump into the economy.
The figures were "awful with no positive news" according to James Knightley at ING.
"This clearly suggests that the likelihood of an expansion in quantitative easing by £50bn or so over the next quarter is rising, although [it] is not a foregone conclusion."
Former MPC member Professor David Blanchflower said the negative GDP figures should not have been a surprise.
"There's been very little sign among firms that things were very much better," he told the BBC.
"The public seems to have some more confidence - they seem to have believed the talk about green shoots, but actually the data haven't really looked that way at all."
The bottom line is that we should take this as very much a first draft of UK economic history - but clearly a disappointing one
Analysts said it is worrying that the decline has continued despite the stimulus measures that the government and the Bank of England have introduced.
"Continued intervention - including help for businesses to access finance, and incentives to promote investment - is still needed," said David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce.
"Above all else, business confidence must be nurtured to ensure that recovery is not further delayed."
Chancellor Alistair Darling said he had never expected to see growth before the end of 2009.
Dianne Winfield's family lost their home in Stoke after her husband lost his job
"Our job is to support the economy as we come through towards recovery," he said.
"[Growth] will come - I'm confident about that - and I'm confident that businesses and people generally will begin to see a difference, but it will take time."
Shadow chancellor George Osborne described the figures as "deeply, deeply disappointing".
"There are many millions of people who will be deeply concerned to see that Britain is still in recession six months after France and Germany came out of recession," he told the BBC.
"It destroys the myth that Britain was better prepared."
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the figures were "a cold blast of realism".
"We've had a lot of talk recently based on a booming stock exchange and prices of luxury houses in London that somehow this problem was at an end, and it isn't," he said.
One of the measures expected to be a particular help in the final quarter of the year is the change in VAT.
The rate of VAT is due to return to 17.5% from 15% at the beginning of January and consumers are expected to step up their purchasing ahead of that increase.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Reynolds American
said Tuesday its third-quarter profit rose 6.6% to $420 million, or 74 cents a share, from $394 million, or 67 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The tobacco firm's adjusted profit increased to 79 cents a share from 74 cents a share. Sales fell 3.8% to $2.12 billion. Wall Street analysts expected the company to earn 79 cents a share on sales of $2.18 billion, according to a survey by FactSet.


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No cross-platform play for you.
By Tim Colwill on June 13, 2013 at 6:29 pm
The announcement that console players would also get access to The Elder Scrolls Online when it launches sometime this (or possibly next) year had many people wondering/hoping/fearing that cross-platform play would be a possibility. Sadly, according to Zenimax Online, it will not.
A new addition to the TESO knowledgebase confirms that players will be separated by platform, saying “The megaserver technology featured in The Elder Scrolls Online will allow PC (Windows OS) players and Mac players to play together.”
“Xbox One players will play on a specific megaserver with other players using an Xbox One. PlayStation 4 players will have a specific megaserver dedicated to only those players using a PS4.”
Sorry y’all — cross-platform play between PC and consoles will remain a very rare and infrequent beast.


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You are here
Temasek fund invests in homegrown store-fixtures firm
TEMASEK Holdings' Heliconia Capital Management has taken a "substantial minority equity position" in a Singapore store-fixtures company that still sees Asia as a magnet for global lifestyle retail brands despite the bleary economic conditions.
Futuristic Store Fixtures on Monday said it
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Japanese design company Final Aim used an Ultimaker S3 to rapidly prototype the concept for the Camello autonomous delivery bot, which is currently undergoing trials on the streets of Singapore. Final Aim worked with Singaporean robotics startup Otsaw to take the concept from prototype to reality, and Camello is now delivering groceries and parcels for businesses including DHL and NTUC FairPrice.
"3D printing enabled us to bring our numerous ideas to life,” said Yasuhide ‘Yasu’ Yokoi, co-founder of Final Aim.
“The Ultimaker S3 is very easy to handle which gave me extra time to work on new designs while printing. Compared to other common prototyping methods, we found 3D printing to be much more efficient for prototyping."
According to Ultimaker and Final Aim, 3D printing enabled the stakeholders to see and touch a physical product, deepening their understanding of the Camello’s concept and design, while also streamlining and speeding up the decision-making process.
"It has been truly magical to witness the teamwork between Final Aim Inc, OTSAW and our partner Brulé to bring this robot to life,” said William Lee, channel director at Ultimaker.
“This solution contributes to an improved logistic ecosystem for smooth and efficient delivery to customers, while increasing profit margins for those businesses that use it. I am proud that our Ultimaker S3 contributed to the realisation of this ambitious project."


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Philadelphia's 'Overdue' Ban On Single-Use Plastic Bags Goes Into Effect FridayThe city will start with warnings. After April 1, any business that doesn't comply will get fined.
Governor Wolf To Veto Bill Preventing Local Plastic Bag BansPennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf says he will veto a bill on his desk that would prevent cities like Philadelphia and other municipalities from banning or taxing plastic bags.
Bill To Prohibit Bans And Taxes On Plastic Bags Goes To GovernorA bill that would prevent cities like Philadelphia and other municipalities from banning or taxing plastic bags is on its way to Governor Wolf’s desk.
Pa. Senate To Consider Bill That Would Prevent Cities From Banning Plastic BagsThe Pennsylvania Senate could consider a bill as early as Monday which would ban local governments from addressing problems caused by disposable plastic bags.
Jersey Shore Town Voting On Whether To Start Charging Plastic Bag FeeLongport officials are expected to vote on whether businesses will have to charge customers a dime for each plastic bag they use.
Philadelphia Councilman Proposes Fee On Disposable Shopping BagsCouncilman Mark Squilla is proposing a bill that would charge shoppers five cents every time they use a disposable bag.
FTC: Makers Of Biodegradable Dog Waste Bags Misleading ConsumersMakers of biodegradable dog waste bags are in some deep doo doo with the FTC.
Local Lawmaker Wants 2-Cent Fee On Plastic Shopping BagsBring your own bag to the store, or pay a two-cent fee for each plastic one you get. That's the idea of one Pennsylvania lawmaker.


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During 2020, Elon Musk set records by having one of the fastest streaks of wealth accumulation in history. However, 2021 has not been so positive for the character or for his company, Tesla.
Elon Musk’s fortune fades
Yesterday, Tesla shares closed below $ 600 for the first time since December 4. In fact, since the beginning of the year, the stock price has fallen 15%, according to CNBC.
In this way, Elon Musk lost $ 27 billion since Monday, according to Bloomberg. However, despite the loss, his net worth still ranks him as the second richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Index.
Musk’s recoil is particularly curious because of the speed with which he climbed to the top. It is worth noting that during 2020 Tesla shares increased by 743%.
In fact, the Tesla price hike was precisely what caused Musk in January to strip Jeff Bezos from the position of the richest person in the world.
So what happened? What is slowing Tesla shares down? Will Bitcoin have something to do with it?
How is the electric car market doing?
According to CNBC, there are several factors that have been hurting the company’s stock price.
Just this week the president of the FED assured that inflation could reach the United States and, with it, bond yields are increasing. Therefore, this situation is generating downward pressure for technology stocks.
On the other hand, Tesla investors have begun to notice that it is not alone in the market. In fact, according to CNBC, investors like Ron Baro have sold their shares in Tesla and invested in their competitors.
And, another element that has been affecting the market in general, is the shortage of semiconductors. This has forced multiple manufacturers to temporarily close some production plants.
Bitcoin, did it destroy Elon Musk’s fortune?
Last month Elon Musk revealed that Tesla would have invested $ 1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Obviously, this investment generated much controversy and several investors shared their disappointment.
However, everything got complicated after Elon Musk commented on Twitter that the prices of Ethereum and Bitcoin seemed to be very high. According to Bloomberg, Musk’s fortune took a $ 15 billion hit following the Bitcoin price crash.


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Kids See Fewer Ads for Sweets, More for Fast Food
Study Shows Some Improvement in TV Ads Targeting Kids Since 2003
July 6, 2010 -- Children are seeing fewer commercials hawking cookies, candy bars, and sugar-sweetened beverages, but more TV ads for fast-food restaurants, according to a new study published online in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
“There have been some positive changes, but fast-food advertising went up quite a bit from 2003 to 2007,” says Lisa Powell, PhD, a research professor and senior research scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “It’s a mixed bag.”
Childhood obesity is on the rise in the U.S., and weight-related diseases and conditions previously only seen in adults such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes are now increasingly being diagnosed in children.
The Institute of Medicine has stated that there is evidence that short-term food choices among children aged 2 to 11 are influenced by TV ads. As a result, several major U.S. food companies created the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. Companies involved in this pact -- about 16 to date -- pledged to devote at least 50% of their child-targeted advertising to promote “better for you” products. The definition of "better for you" varies from company to company, as does exactly what is categorized as children’s TV.
“The new research provides a first glance on this data, but we need to continue to monitor to see what happened after 2007,” Powell says. Some of the companies involved in this initiative had not fully implemented their strategies at the time the data was collected and analyzed.
“Some of the news is good, but we haven’t made huge strides,” she says. “This study only examines TV. But food companies are moving into digital media, so if you're concerned about food ads, you should replace sedentary TV time with physical activity. Or if you need downtime, replace TV with reading,” she suggests.
Some Positive Strides Seen
The researchers looked at television ratings data in 2003, 2005, and 2007. They divided ads into beverages, cereal, fast-food restaurants, full-service restaurants, snacks, sweets, and others. Sweets included candy bars, gum, cookies, pastries, and other sweets.


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Private car ownership under threat as pay-as-you-go schemes are ‘the future’
Michael Gove grilled by Hartley-Brewer on car ban cost
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Richard Falconer, Managing Director at Co Wheels Car Club said a pay-as-you-go model allowed drivers to enjoy vehicles “without the commitment of owning it”. Vehicles can be hired for “as low as £5 per hour” which could become a big threat to private car ownership.
Experts have also warned car subscriptions could be a big boost to electric car ownership.
Mr Falconer said: “Is a pay-as-you-go subscription the future of car rental? The answer is yes!
“The beauty of a pay-as-you-go subscription is that you can enjoy all the benefits and conveniences of a car without the commitment of owning it.
“You can book a vehicle wherever and whenever you want, for as long or as little as you like.
“Even half an hour will do! You can hire your car from a handy app 15 minutes before you need to use it, and only pay for it when you actually drive it.
“Rates can be as low as £5 per hour.”
He added: “A pay-as-you-go subscription is perfect for those people who tend to use public transport or bikes.
“When in need of a vehicle though, whether for a weekly shop or an outdoor trip, this subscription offers you the liberty to book a car at a time and place that best suits you.”
Mr Falconer said drivers would typically come with insurance, tax, roadside maintenance and fuel all included in the price.
Moving away from private car ownership must be a ‘balance’ [INSIGHT]
Groups call on parking restrictions to ‘discourage’ car ownership [ANALYSIS]
UK cities look to introduce parking taxes to cut down car ownership [COMMENT]
He said this would mean drivers are never faced with expensive “unexpected costs” when on the road.
Car subscriptions services have grown in recent years with drivers now facing a range of options.
It is now being seen as a way to encourage road users to adopt electric cars due to the heavy upfront costs involved in switching.
All-inclusive EV service Onto has recently raised almost £130million ($175million) to “transform” the car ownership model.
Save 10% on your MOT
It’s Kwik Fits’ Midsommer Madness sale and you can take 10% off your MOT Test with the UK’s #1 MOT tester – just click the link to book online.
Source: Read Full Article


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Muscat: The Asyad Group has announced the opening of registration for Omani data analysts and entrepreneurs to participate in the Asyad Global Logistics Challenge which will be held at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) from November 2-4, 2021.
Asyad Group is inviting Omani data analysts and entrepreneurs to pitch for a place in the Asyad Global Logistics Challenge to be held at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) from November 2-4, 2021, as part of Expo 2020 Dubai events. Local registration for Asyad’s Global Challenge qualifier will begin today, Wednesday, 13th October and continue for a week. The best pioneering projects and inspiring ideas for the logistics sector will then be selected to compete alongside international contestants next month.
The Asyad Global Logistics Challenge will include Asyad Global Logistics Hackathon and Asyad Logistics Startup Challenge and will provide an international platform for promising national data scientists and startups to showcase their skills and share their ideas on how to harness emerging technologies to advance the transport and logistics sectors. Judged by a jury panel consisting of logistics data and technologies experts from the public and private sectors, the competition aims to find sustainable solutions to today's challenges and tomorrow’s aspirations, while leveraging opportunities in both the Omani and global markets.
Engineer Ghaith Mohammed Al Darmaki, Chief Technology Officer at Asyad Group, said :"Asyad Group has always been focused on cultivating national talent and supporting Oman’s 2040 Vision for economic diversification, in which the logistics sector plays a pivotal role. Through Asyad Global Logistics Challenge, we are giving a unique opportunity to young Omani contestants to present their ideas on a global stage. "
"The winning projects will then be developed and implemented in Oman first, as we continue to build a globally competitive logistics sector based on innovation," Al Darmaki added.


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Increased Spending on Hispanic Ads Boosts Marketers’ RevenueNovember 11, 2011
Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies says
But 57% of Top 500 Advertisers Allocate Less Than 1% to Target Latinos
Marketers who spend heavily on Hispanic media are seeing their revenue grow faster than those that don’t, according to a new analysis by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. For advertisers who allocated 14.2%–the percentage of adults who are Hispanic in the U.S.—or more of their ad budgets to Hispanic marketing, that Hispanic allocation explains about half of the variance in their revenue growth over the last five years, the study found (www.ahaa.org).
But those are rare marketers. The AHAA study found that 57% of the top 500 advertisers spent less than 1% of their ad budgets on Hispanic advertising in 2010. AHAA refers to that group, which includes Fedex, Southwest Airlines, Hasbro and Mattel, as “in denial.”
The study, conducted by Santiago Solutions Group, split the top 500 advertisers into five tiers. Just above the “in denial” group, the “laggards” — 16% of all advertisers — spent up to 3.5% of their budgets on Hispanic advertising and the “followers” — 11% of advertisers — spent up to 6.3. At the top of the pyramid, just 5% of the top 500 marketers spent more than 14.2% of their 2010 ad budgets on Hispanic media, and 11%, dubbed “leaders,” spent between 6.4% and 14.2%.
Carlos Santiago, president and chief strategist, said that on average about 5% of the total print, radio, and TV budgets of the top 500 advertisers are dedicated to the Hispanic market.
“Brands with a Hispanic market focus with determination and discipline are going to see more rapid growth,” he said. “Companies cannot just pop in and out of the Hispanic market and see benefits.”
Robb High, an agency new business consultant who spoke at AHAA’s annual conference this week in Miami, urged Hispanic agencies to compete for general market assignments, just as general market agencies are trying to move into the Hispanic space. “It requires a perception change,” he said.
Some Hispanic agencies are already getting there. General Mills, ranked in the “leaders” category in AHAA’s study, uses its Hispanic agencies for some general market work for certain brands. Casanova Pendrill, for instance, is both the general market and Hispanic agency for FUN da-middles, a new cupcake mix with a creamy filling. Three videos debuted last week featuring elaborately decorated cupcakes in awe of a plain cupcake with delicious filling.
And Bromley does general market work for Yoplait Delights and Totino’s. Bromley is re-positioning itself through a new tool based on values and culture, said Jessica Pantinini, Bromley’s chief operating officer. “We found we could segment the total market against values,” she said. The four segments range from “Stagnatives” who aren’t open to outside cultural influences to “Eye to Infinities” who want to share and experiment, she said.
McDonald’s Corp, which ranks in AHAA’s top tier of Hispanic advertisers, even uses its Hispanic TV ads in the general market rotation. This year 15% of McDonald’s general market rotation is devoted to Hispanic spots, done by Alma DDB, up from 10% last year.


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LURING THE BARGAIN HUNTERS
As Asians’ love for shopping keeps cash registers ringing at outlets worldwide, travel consultants are becoming more creative too.
In recent years, the global outlet shopping industry has turned its attention on Asian travellers, whose penchant for shopping while holidaying abroad has been a well-documented phenomenon.
Shopping has become a particularly important driving force of China’s burgeoning outbound tourism sector. In 2012, 78.4 million Chinese are expected to travel overseas, spurring outbound tourism consumption to a new high of US$80 billion, according to a research paper by China Tourism Academy.
Data from the World Luxury Association also showed that the luxury spending of Chinese consumers abroad during the seven-day National Day holiday in 2011 was equivalent to three months of what they spent locally.
In addition, outlet operators are increasingly keen to set up shop in Asia, with established chains having launched or in the midst of opening branches in the region (read more in the sidebar below).
Clockwise from left: Chic Outlet Shopping’s La Vallée Village outside Paris; McArthurGlen’s Noventa di Piave Designer Outlet near Venice; newly opened Johor Premium Outlets in Malaysia; Citygate Outlets in Hong Kong
Europe remains the nexus
According to The Economist’s Globe Shopper City Index in 2011, Europe is the world’s leading destination for luxury shopping, with 44 per cent of the global receipts from international tourism spent on the continent.
Furthermore, Asia’s rapidly rising disposable income levels, coupled with stronger Asian currencies relative to the euro and US dollar, have propelled both Western Europe and the US to become the top outlet shopping destinations, travel trade members pointed out, adding that Asians generally prefer to shop at branded enclaves such as Chic Outlet Shopping Villages and Premium Outlets.
Jane Chang, marketing and communications manager, Chan Brothers Singapore, said: “Besides favourable exchange rates, Singaporeans on holiday can collect refunds from value-added taxes, which amount to substantial savings. Moreover, Singaporeans want more bang for their buck, and factory outlets offer exactly this as items can be discounted by as much as 60 per cent.”
“The outlets in Europe are usually more popular with PMEBs, while the ones in the US tend to also appeal to families, as they feature a wider variety of brands, including children’s labels,” revealed Eileen Oh, head, marketing & communications, ASA Holidays Singapore.
Besides hefty discounts, outlet stores in Europe and the US also draw Chinese tourists for its superior product quality when compared to homegrown stores, noted Ding Jianmin, assistant general manager of China International Travel Service (CITS) Shanghai. As a result, the majority of Chinese group tours now supplement their sightseeing tours with outlet shopping, he added.
For Indians, Italy holds the greatest fascination for outlet shopping as it is commonly perceived as an alta moda (high fashion) destination with a wide variety of designer labels.
Said Alessandra Bolzagni, owner and president of Milan-based inbound operator, My Special Guest: “Popular among Indian tourists are Serravalle Designer Outlet, Prada’s Space Outlet in Montevarchi, Fidenza Village and FoxTown Factory Store. We try to bring (Indians) in during the sales period between July and October, when products come from previous years’ collections, samples or overproduction. The April-August period is when we get most Indian clients.”
Manoj Saraf, managing director, Gainwell Travel & Leisure India, said: “The discounts available at the shopping outlets are outstanding and entice the Indian tourist, as a 50 per cent discount on a genuine Prada dress or a Bottega Veneta bag is an unbelievable bargain for the knowledgeable Indian shopper.
“Italy is the most popular (destination) as shopping tours are easily combined with sightseeing and gastronomy in the Milan-Florence-Venice-Rome-Bologna region.”
Cashing in on demand
Asian outbound tour operators remain buoyed by their customers’ growing appetites for outlet shopping.
Said CITS Shanghai’s Ding: “Sometimes, there would be so many tourists in the stores that stocks would run out, so we choose to visit large-scale stores in big cities such as Bicester, suburban Paris, Milan, Rome, Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
“We usually include one or two outlet stores in each (itinerary). However, such stores are often located in remote areas – which takes almost one to two hours to reach – so the shopping time given to our customers will differ, ranging from three hours to a day,” said Ding.
Ankur Khanna, director, Tristar Travel Services India said: “We tie up with shopping outlets in the Milan, Bergamo, Florence and Bologna areas, and earn good commissions from them. This segment of the outbound market is growing by 25 per cent annually.”
Koushik Goswami, general manager-outbound, Travelcorp India, said: “We create new itineraries by combining shopping at outlets with gastronomy tours in the region like wine and balsamic vinegar tasting in Tuscany, and prosciutto and parmigiano reggiano cheese tasting in Emilia Romagna. These tours are becoming increasingly popular with upscale Indian travellers, and we have seen a 20 per cent growth in 2012.”
For others like Sunway Travel Malaysia, outlet stores are the clincher when choosing incentive destinations for some clients, according to the company’s operations manager, Agnes Loh.
She added: “Most popular destinations in Europe are Italy and France. If there happens to be a factory outlet at the destination visited, clients will suggest we include it in the itinerary.
“We will inform the outlets in advance to let them know that a group is coming over and suggest that they prepare a small welcome gift, such as a shopping voucher or a souvenir for participants.”
However, selling standalone shopping packages can be tough. “Some customers do not appreciate the effort travel firms invest to put these trips together and think that they can do it themselves. They overlook the fact that consultants are better connected, offer time-tested itineraries, economies of scale and take care of all (transport) logistics,” said Chan Brothers Singapore’s Chang.
Despite the challenges, booking volume for Chan Brothers’ 10-day Los Angeles and Las Vegas Shopping Spree and nine-day London and Paris Shopping Express have so far climbed by 20 per cent year-on-year.
High value for shoppers
Although highly popular among their clients, most travel consultants TTG Asia spoke to said they did not receive commissions or substantial profits from shopping tours.
Tie-ups with local operators to offer value-added services, such as reserved parking lots, extra discounts on shopping items and discount coupons at restaurants located within the shopping complexes are more commonplace.
“Although there isn’t any commission, the inclusion of shopping outlets is still important as it adds value and variety to our tour packages. For long coach journeys, it is a superb way to break the journey up as it provides time for what Singaporeans love to do – shopping,” said Alicia Seah, senior vice president, marketing & PR, CTC Travel Singapore.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Abdul Rahman Mohamed, deputy general manager channel management of Mayflower Acme Tours Malaysia, which includes a Chic Outlet Shopping Village as a half-day programme in some European itineraries.
He said: “We don’t earn commission from it, but the shopping element provides added value to the itinerary. It appeals to travellers who are not concerned about buying last season’s fashions, as discounts are up to 70 per cent. For FIT travellers, we include a Chic Outlet Shopping Village as an option.”
Tang Jiye, general manager, American region, Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, also pointed out that he was unable to obtain commission from outlet stores in the US, but said his company continued to include such stops in his itineraries due to the high demand among Chinese tourists who want to shop at such discounted rates. Outlet stores around the world bag Asian shoppers
La Reggia Designer Outlet near Naples, a McArthurGlen outle
Chic Outlet Shopping Villages
China is the top visiting nationality for its nine Villages in Europe, while South-east Asia is ranked the fourth largest market overall, with sales up by 41 per cent year-on-year compared to the second quarter of 2011. South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan also feature in the top 10. For the first two quarters of 2012, the top three Asian growth markets were Vietnam, China and Indonesia.
Chic Outlet Shopping works closely with the travel trade across China, Malaysia and Singapore through joint marketing initiatives such as the co-sponsorship of prizes and advertisements in brochures. Partner consultants are offered net rates for various products, including Shopping Experience packages and Chauffeur Drive services.
The first Chic Outlet Shopping Village in Asia is due to open in Suzhou, just outside Shanghai, in 2014.
McArthurGlen Designer Outlets
With nearly 900 brand partners across 21 outlets in eight European countries, McArthurGlen offers savings of 30-70 per cent, with further VAT refunds available at the discretion of individual stores. An additional 10 per cent savings is available for group tours, an incentive that has enticed hordes of Chinese who want to avoid China’s luxury sales tax.
Premium Outlets, which has a stronghold in the US, has ventured into South-east Asia with the debut of Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) in December 2011.
JPO boasts close working relations with Malaysian operators to include the outlet in their itineraries before these are promoted to overseas travel consultants.
JPO general manager, Jean Marie Pin Harry, said: “JPO also works closely with various local hotels in the state of Johor to offer Shop and Stay Packages, ensuring a complete visitor experience, including discounted room rates and access to additional savings at JPO.
“JPO is represented at overseas trade and travel shows by travel agencies and Tourism Malaysia. We target a wide range of shoppers, including residents from the area and international visitors from South-east Asia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India.”
Domestic visitors currently constitute JPO’s biggest growth market. On the international front, growth markets are South-east Asia, China and India.
Featuring over 90 international brands, this Hong Kong-based outlet mall offers 30-70 per cent discounts year-round, with different promotion programmes available at different times of the year to attract both local and overseas shoppers. The addition of 10th Avenue with nine new stores in December 2011 has augmented the mall’s shopping experience.
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Earlier during the day, Mr. Deep Kapuria, Chairman, CII Trade Fairs Council and Chairman Hi-Tech Group of Companies expressed his pleasure to witness the explosion of an entrepreneurship and start-up culture in tier - 2 cities of India. Such ... Noodls, 1 month ago
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on your WebpageAdd Widget >Get your members hooked!


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It was a record year for online sales this past holiday season, but Target saw others experience stronger growth, according to the most recent site visitation statistics from online measurement firm comScore.
As previously reported, the size of the prize this holiday season was $37.2 billion. That’s the volume of online sales comScore recorded during November and December, which was a 15% increase from the prior year.
Target had roughly 37.3 million unique visitors in December, down from 40.2 million visitors in November and roughly flat with the prior year, according to comScore. Meanwhile, Walmart had 55.8 million unique visitors in December, which was also lower than the 58.5 million visitors it had in November, but Walmart’s December 2011 figure was well ahead of the 51.4 million visitors it had last December.
A similar situation existed as Best Buy and Sears where December figures were less than November, but still above December 2010. Best Buy had 34.5 million visitors in December, down from 36.5 in November, but above the prior December’s 29.3 million visitors. Sears had 29.8 million visitors in December, down from 31 million in November, but above the prior December’s 28.7 million.
Bucking the trend of decelerating traffic from November to December was Amazon.com, which had 114.7 million visitors in December, compared with 112.8 million in November and well above the prior December’s 91.1 million unique visitors.


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The trio will reissue their Grammy-winning 2004 punk-rock opera, 'American Idiot,' on special-edition vinyl this Friday, Nov. 27.
Record Store Day
Dan Auerbach's the Arcs have announced 'The Arcs vs. the Inventors,' an EP with Dr. John and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo, for Record Store Day Black Friday.
Nine Inch Nails will issue 'Halo I-IV,' a four-LP box set encompassing material from their 1989 debut, 'Pretty Hate Machine,' for Record Store Black Friday.
Record Store Day has unveiled this year’s list of releases, and it includes titles from Beck, Spoon, Faith No More, David Bowie and more.
'Just Like a Puppet Show' will be issued as a special Record Store Day Black Friday release.
The resurgence of vinyl is no secret -- physical sales doubled last year in the U.S. alone.
Dave Grohl was the Record Store Day Ambassador for 2015, and his schedule was packed, but his reign culminated in an intimate Foo Fighters performance.
Do you want to hear My Morning Jacket's new album before it hits the streets?
This year's event looks like it was the most successful Record Store Day ever.
Fans who picked up vinyl copies of U2's 'Songs of Innocence' on Record Store Day found an old Tool EP in its place. Find out what Tool think of the mishap.


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Martin Lewis advises how to clear an overdraft with a credit card
Martin Lewis appeared on ITV on Thursday to cover the latest financial developments and coronavirus news. The Money Saving Expert spent much of his time analysing Rishi Sunak’s new announcements but he also covered general banking news, ISA developments and travel insights.
Martin has also become adept at handling questions on the fly and he continued to be on fine form last night.
A viewer named Matthew Collison asked Martin the following question: “Can you put an overdraft onto a zero percent credit card and pay off over the longer term to stop the 40 percent coming into force?”
This is a very pertinent question given that many banks plan to raise their overdraft charges in the coming weeks and months.
Fortunately, Martin provided some good news in his response: “Yes, you have to use a special credit card called a money transfer credit card, a zero percent money transfer which pays the money into your bank account which will then clear your overdraft so you will owe the credit card the money.”
Martin Lewis appeared on ITV to give advice
Martin went on to warn though that consumer’s options in this area may be limited: “Now there are very few of this currently and many have been withdrawn.
“The only one of a decent length available to all is with MBNA, which is up to 18 months zero percent for a three percent fee off the top of my head, you can double check that but I think I’m right.
“So, you’d want to apply for that and if you get the credit limit it is a good way to clear your overdraft.
“Then you owe the card, just make sure you make the minimum payments and you clear the card before the zero percent ends or it will jump up to 20 percent or something like that."
Tax Credits warning: Renewals must be done by end of month [WARNING]
Tax warning: Your ISAs and pensions could be raided [INSIGHT]
Martin Lewis reveals if SEISS grants will be ‘clawed back’ by HMRC [EXPERT]
Banks across the UK announced in recent months that they were planning to raise the fees for using overdrafts to as high as 40 percent.
This plan was eventually delayed because of coronavirus but consumers may start to see their costs rise over the coming summer months.
The FCA were taken back by the announcements and asked banks to explain their reasoning.
Despite this, the regulator announced at the beginning of July that they do not intend to take investigations further.
As their announcement detailed: “The new overdraft rates came into force between November 2019 and April 2020, following the rules we published in June 2019.
“In January 2020, we wrote to firms to ask them to explain how they reached their new overdraft rates.
“We have analysed the strategic, competitive and financial drivers of banks’ overdraft pricing decisions based on their responses.
“Having reviewed the evidence we obtained we do not intend to open a formal investigation at this stage.”
Their announcement went on to advise consumers themselves on what should be done: “It will take time to see the full impact of the new rules as banks respond competitively to one another.
“Overdraft charges are still higher than other mainstream borrowing products like credit cards and personal loans.
“But we expect these forms of credit to create more competitive pressure on overdraft charges as consumers respond to the pricing changes and greater transparency.
“Consumers using overdrafts should think about whether that is the right product for them, as other products may well be cheaper or more suitable.”


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A fitting tribute to the 2019-2020 NBA Champions.
One of several LeBron 8 retros set to release in the forthcoming months.
Teaming up with CNN Films.
The latest in the sports brand’s bid to get out the vote.
An “epic basketball game” is promised.
After LeBron James himself debuted it during Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
A two-part video series appealing to millennials and Gen Z voters.
The two companies have already started on three projects.


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Realme X7 Max 5G and Realme Smart TV 4K range ‘coming soon to be launched in India’. Was the launch of the smartphone earlier postponed due to the increasing cases of Covid-19 in India. But today the company has announced a new date for its launch. This new flagship phone will be launched in India on 31 May.
India Realme CEO Madhav Sheth has announced on Twitter that the Realme X7 Max 5G will be announced in India through an online event at 3L St May at 2k30pm Par online as well as the launch of the Realme Smart TV 4K range. This is the third television range from Reality that is going to be launched in India.
Talking about the specs, Realme X7 Max 5G will be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G chipset and it is the first phone in India to come with the chipset. Also, according to the information shared by the company, it will come with dual 5G SIM card support. Apart from this, some information about the upcoming phone is also available on the company’s microsite. In this you have been given 120Hz AMOLED screen and it will come with FHD + resolution. Along with this, 3.5mm audio jack is also visible in pictures and triple rear camera also. It will have 8MP ultra wide angle camera with 64MP primary camera and 2MP macro lens.
The company has also partnered with the gaming company for the phone and you will also get Asphalt 9 Legends where you can be a part of an online e-sports time limited event. Apart from this, a punch-hole selfie camera is also visible in it. Along with this, information about 50W Super Dart Charge fast charging support has also been given in the phone.
Realme X7 Max 5G is the third phone in the Realme X7 series. Earlier, the company has also launched Realme X7 5G and Realme X7 Pro 5G in India. It will be released in India in Black, Gray and Pink colours. Information about up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage support has been given in the phone.
The same Realme Smart TV 4K teaser has surfaced in the range, according to them it will also have Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support. In the new range, the company is going to launch two variants of 43 inch and 50 inch which can come with Ultra HD resolution. Not much detail is available yet.
Well, all the product details and prices are going to be revealed on 31st May. Stay tuned to techsushil for details.


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Unprecedented drop in UK car production
The recent SMMT statistics, showing that UK car production was down by 29.3 per cent in 2020, highlight a stark and worrying outlook for the automotive sector. A global health pandemic and the UK leaving the EU, combined with a seismic shift in government policy toward electric vehicles has fundamentally changed the future landscape for car manufacturers in the UK; but what does 2021 hold for the industry?
Brexit and coronavirus – the impact on supply chains
The impacts of coronavirus have highlighted the fragility of the ‘just in time’ manufacturing process, fracturing supply chains and challenging demand planning. The agility for manufacturers to source parts from the EU and further afield has been further undermined by Brexit and what many are hoping will be short-term consequences of leaving the EU.
Despite the UK agreeing a trade and cooperation deal with the EU, we have already seen delays at ports and supply chain disruption due to changes in tax, increased paperwork, and in turn cost.
The impacts of coronavirus on supply routes and ports are further adding to the issue, with freight costs spiralling northwards due to higher demand globally for container shipments and congestion in international ports due to delayed shipments now flowing from the far east.
Add to this a continuing global pandemic as well as shortages of key components, such as microchips, and large-scale production can stall.
In November and December, the latest ONS stockpiling statistics show that manufacturers in the UK were most likely to be stockpiling materials and goods to mitigate any risk ahead of the Brexit deadline at the end of the year. This approach is prudent; but with low production levels and supply chain issues mounting we may not be at the tip of the iceberg regarding challenges for UK production.
High volume brands to bear the brunt
The full impact of coronavirus from an economic perspective is still unknown as governmental support remains in place to help preserve jobs and businesses through unprecedented times. Premium brand consumers are probably less likely to be impacted economically by the effects of the epidemic in the coming months, and are more likely to be tolerant of additional lead times for vehicles that have been impacted by supply chain disruption. It may be volume brands that bear the brunt of reduced disposable income throughout 2021.
The road ahead
The impacts of the coronavirus on consumer demand are hard to determine currently. The anxieties of lock down may encourage many to avoid the use of public transport and rely more heavily on personal vehicles, potentially driving demand.
However, the sharp shock of coronavirus may have changed working practices for good, making many rethink their current needs. In the longer term, we may see two car families move to one car as more people work from home; while other consumers may move towards smaller platforms or even electric as journeys become shorter, less frequent and they look to reduce cost.
Looking longer term
One thing is for certain, the environmental pressures on the industry are here to stay and the environmental benefits seen throughout the pandemic due to less travel will only accelerate this change. However, the minerals required to produce electric vehicles are difficult to access, finite and in demand by multiple industries; inevitably the cost ends up with the consumer.
The market for personal transportation has been evolving for many years, and perhaps the latest changes will see an acceleration towards mobility as a service rather than car ownership. Perhaps consumers will just have a rental agreement to have use of a fleet of vehicles rather than a credit agreement to own the vehicle itself. This also presupposes that people will be driving, who knows where automation and self-driving vehicles will take the industry. There are more questions than answers for automotive manufacturers at the moment, but the sector is full of innovative people who will be being relied upon more than ever before.


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You’d be hard-pressed to find a brand that doesn’t have a chatbot these days. Western Union’s virtual teller lets you move money between accounts. Lyft’s chatbot allows you to request rides via Slack or Facebook Messenger. And Tito’s Handmade Vodka’s digital mixologist recommends cocktail recipes based on ingredients you’ve got on hand.
Now Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo is getting in on the chatbot craze. The company today announced that Uniqlo IQ, its machine learning-powered “digital concierge” service that shares personalized style recommendations sourced from the retailer’s sprawling collection, is launching in Japan.
“As retail moves deeper into the digital realm, shopping needs to be not just portable and perpetual, but personal as well. There has been a lot of talk about AI in the last few years, but most use cases have been toys, not tools,” said Rei Inamoto, founding partner of Inamoto & Co., the agency that created the assistant in partnership with Party, in a statement. “[This] iteration of Uniqlo IQ is the foundation of how Uniqlo will provide customer service on a personal level, not just reactively but also proactively.”
Uniqlo IQ is built into the Uniqlo app for smartphones. It bubbles up product rankings by occasion, personal preferences, and even daily horoscopes, and helps digital window shoppers complete purchases by providing directions to the closest Uniqlo store with products in stock.
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In addition to Uniqlo IQ, Uniqlo customers in Japan can now access the digital clothing curator via the Google Assistant, the company announced. Uniqlo claims that the voice app, which was created with Google’s Dialogflow, marks the first time that a brand has worked closely with Google to create a brand-specific chatbot.
Uniqlo isn’t the first to tap artificial intelligence to tackle style questions. In March, Mode.ai launched a Facebook Messenger chatbot that uses computer vision to identify items of clothing — including pieces from top brands like Levi’s, Louis Vuitton, and Ann Taylor — and show customers where to buy them online. Last year, major fashion retailer Asos rolled out a visual search tool to help customers shop using their smartphone.
About 13 percent of people shop for clothes online, according to market researchers at NRF. And the chatbot and virtual assistant market is expected to be worth a combined $7.7 billion by 2025, according to Kaleido Insights.
Update at 7:25 a.m. Pacific: An earlier version of this article said that Uniqlo IQ is launching in the U.S. We’ve amended the wording and regret the error.
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South Africa’s headline consumer inflation quickened more than forecast to 7.4% year on year in June, surging to a 13-year high, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a rise to 7.2% in annual terms from 6.5% in May.
The pickup in inflation comes the day before the South African Reserve Bank is due to announce an interest rate decision.
Analysts expect the Bank to announce a further 50 basis point rise in the repo rate, which would mark the fifth increase in a row.
On a month-on-month basis, consumer inflation was at 1.1% in June from 0.7% in the previous month, Stats SA figures showed.
Core inflation, which excludes prices of food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel and energy, rose to 4.4% year on year in June, from 4.1% previously. On a month-on-month basis, core inflation was at 0.6% from 0.2% in May. — (c) 2022 Reuters


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Gaming LinksFirst, the website for The Guild 2 is now up. The Guild was enormously buggy yet enormously entertaining, and I hope they can resolve the quality control issues that plagued the first release. Here's the link:
Here also is a link to some remarkably attractive screenshots:
From Kotaku, a Google Map application--of Azeroth, believe it or not. Some of the data sets have been disabled because the site's been getting hammered, but it's an amazing piece of work. Here's the link: http://mapwow.com/.
Here's a link from DQ reader jwojtas to a BBC survey of gamers and their habits. Surprise, it's not all men. Duh. We talked about that back in May last year. Here's an excerpt from Boing Boing, where the story originally appeared:
Contrary to popular belief, the gender split between gamers is fairly even across all age groups. Although female gamers never overtake their male counterpart, the figures are particularly even in the youngest and oldest gaming groups. Between the ages of 16-35 the ratio of males to females is slightly higher, but the stereotype of a large gender gap in gamers - in any age group - is untrue.
Of course, people who don't want to believe this will ignore the data, because being stupid gets them high.
Here's a link to the full report:
Finally, as it turns out, Heroes of Might and Magic V has been delayed by Ubisoft. Mission accomplished, although I'm sure they'll never admit that's why they did it.


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DHL, the international courier and express mail company, has partnered up with African e-commerce giant MallforAfrica to help online retailers bring more African products to the international market. Earlier this week, the two companies launched MarketPlaceAfrica.com, an e-commerce site where African artisans can sell products to buyers from any of the 220 countries where DHL operates. The website focuses on clothing, bags, jewelry, personal care, and home décor.
”MarketPlaceAfrica.com was created to remove the barriers to buying directly from craftspeople and small enterprises throughout Africa”, reads MarketPlaceAfrica’s website. ”When you shop and make a purchase on MarketPlaceAFRICA.com, you are engaging directly with a small or medium size business. These are the enterprises that are building the economies of African countries”.
“We are thrilled to be a part of this innovative e-commerce solution for African artisans. DHL is a facilitator of global trade and if we can improve connectivity and accessibility to global markets for local business, this will go a long way in helping small businesses grow”, said Hennie Heymans, CEO for DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa, as cited by Business Week.
Founded in 2011 in Lagos, Nigeria, MallforAfrica is a platform through which Africans can purchase more than 8.5 billion items from international online retailers. Previously, most African consumers could not purchase directly from foreign webshops. Backed by UK private equity firm Helios Investment Partners, MallforAfrica is a subsidiary of TechMindSoft, LLC.
Established in 1969 in the United States, DHL is the world’s leading postal and logistics company. It operates in the African continent since 1978.
Photo: MarketPlaceAfrica website capture


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A Guilty Gear Reboot has been announced by Arc System Works at EVO 2019.
The game was unveiled by Daisuke Ishiwatari from Arc System Works on stage. Guilty Gear appears to be a soft reboot with Ishiwatari stating it is a “Completely new Guilty Gear.” The game is set to arrive in 2020. More details are expected later this year or early next year.
You can check out the announcement trailer below:
EVO 2019 is currently happening in LA this weekend. The event has already concluded the tournament for half of its titles. The event has already announced the next game in the Under Night series. Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] is set to come to PS4 in early 2020. On top of that, Janemba was confirmed as the final DLC character for the FighterZ Pass 2 in Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Arc System Works also confirmed the version 2.0 update for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, which will add nine new characters this November. On top of that, SNK has officially announced that The King Of Fighters XV is in development. Bandai Namco have announced Season 2 DLC for SoulCalibur VI.
Guilty Gear is a franchise that is more than 20 years old and has a cult fanbase who adore the franchise. The franchise is particularly beloved for its animation and soundtrack. The most recent entry in the franchise was Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- which released back in 2016. Our review of the game was incredibly positive, with us stating the following:
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is easily the king of fighting games released up to this point, at least in this generation. It’s not only accessible for new players but keeps the hardcore players satisfied as well. Arc System Works has outdone themselves with their fantastic art and animations.
Guilty Gear is set to launch in 2020.
What are your thoughts on Guilty Gear? Are you excited for a reboot? What has been your favourite announcement from EVO 2019?


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| ||Thread Tools|
|23rd August 2012, 07:33||#1|
Join Date: May 2010
E-crime hitting UK businesses hard
The British Retail Consortium has claimed that e-crime is the biggest threat to online stores, highlighting a need for a clearer analysis of cyber crime.
According to the BRC's study, the effects of e-crime on businesses are significant both in direct cost and prevention, setting them back a total of £205.4 million between 2011-12.
The most expensive form of e-crime for retailers was personal identification related frauds, producing £20 million of losses between 2011-12. Card fraud caused £15 million losses to retailers over the same period, while refund frauds were responsible for £1.2 million of losses.
Much of the cost is through the less easily quantifiable, however, with the BRC claiming that £111.6 million worth of business is rejected due to crime prevention measures. This could mean, for example, honest customers being deterred from online purchases because of additional security measures.
One online retailer, Jennifer Hakim, director of online fashion store the Retrosphere, told TechEye that e-crime is a serious problem, particularly for businesses that aren't aware of the dangers that exist.
"When you open an online store it is definitely something you need to think about," Hakim said. "It is not something I particularly thought about when I started, but it did happen. I made a big sale online, early on with the website. I sent two designer pieces, I received the money, but checked with my bank and realised it was card fraud."
"The person had tried several cards and it was really obvious it was stolen cards," she said. "This meant I had to pay back what was taken from the person's account."
This led to significant costs for the business.
"I pay a fee for a transaction, so the bigger the transaction the more I pay," she said.
Such stories are not uncommon, and the government has its work cut out in trying to stem the wave of cyber crime as sales through online stores increase at double digit rates each month, while criminals modernise fraud techniques.
Cabinet Office figures have previously estimated the total cost of cybercrime for the UK to be £27 billion. This figure has been debated, and it is often difficult to arrive at an exact figure when collating information on the matter.
According to David Emm, senior regional researcher at Kaspersky Labs, the BRC report shows that more is needed to be done to give an accurate representation of the threat landscape.
"One of the things that comes out of this is that e-crime is not that easy to measure," Emm said. "One of the things that the British Retail Consortium is urging is that we have a more effective way for gathering information on what the losses are, because obviously you can't really manage something unless you can first measure what its impact is."
"The government needs to make sure that it is measuring, and that there is a reporting mechanism," he said. And such figures can be hard to pin down in real terms.
"One of the dangers when you see figures like these is that sometimes they get used to dramatise the impact of something," he said. "Sometimes the personal impact to an individual, or to an online store, can get lost in the huge numbers."
"£27 billion - or in this case £205.4 million - its a number," Emm said, "but unless you bring it down to what the impact is to you then it starts to lose a bit of meaning. I don't necessarily object to numbers being published but I tend to take them with a pinch of salt."
What is important is raising the awareness of individual companies and how they are being affected.
"Any business will say that the real interesting thing is the impact your organisation," Emm said. "If you look back over the last six months, the past quarter, what impact has e-crime had?
"Whatever the figure is for your business, that is what is really meaningful, and whether it has increased is more important than any overall figures," he said.
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|Microsoft to Bring Real-Time Crime Prevention To Law Enforcement Agencies||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||10th August 2012 08:01|
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When CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes to the stage at Facebook's F8 developer conference this year, he won't be talking about the social network, but about an ever-growing list of products ranging from mobile messaging to virtual reality.
Facebook is booming. Its stock price is soaring. Its revenue is expected to rise 37% in 2015 as it continues to capitalise on the move to mobile and it has spent almost $25bn in recent years to expand its range of products including messaging service WhatsApp ($21.8bn), virtual-reality company Oculus ($2bn) and photo-sharing app maker Instagram ($1bn).
To reflect this expansion, its F8 developer conference this year is taking place over two days with over 2,000 developers expected to fly into California for the event which kicks off on Wednesday, 25 March, with Zuckerberg's key note.
Here we cover what we expect to see the social media giant talk about about, and how you can follow it all online:
F8 - What to Expect
- LiveRail-based ad platform
Among the lesser known of Facebook's acquisitions in recent years was video ad tech startup LiveRail which it purchased in July 2014. What we could see announced at F8 is an expansion of that service to sell ad space for other companies.
This could be a hugely powerful tool for Facebook, putting it in direct competition with Google's ad exchange and Twitter's MoPub. While a lot of the attention will be focused on Oculus Rift and WhatsApp developments at F8, for analysts and investors, what Facebook does with LiveRail will be much more important as it could significantly boost its revenues.
- Facebook Phone
Not a piece of hardware but a new app which Facebook is said to be testing called Phone which would allow you make and receive phone calls without having to leave the Facebook universe at all. Facebook wants to own the mobile space and along with Messenger, Phone could allow it to expand its control over your smartphone experience.
The native dialler app would likely only work on Android as Apple's iOS is a very closed system. It is said to automatically block numbers which are commonly blocked and would work even if the person you are calling is not using Phone - which will be worrying for carriers.
- News content within Facebook
Widely reported in the last week, according to the New York Times, "Facebook has been quietly holding talks with at least half a dozen media companies about hosting their content inside Facebook rather than making users tap a link to go to an external site."
Initial partners are said to include New York Times, BuzzFeed and National Geographic. This will be a major leap of faith for media companies who rely heavily on Facebook to help drive some of their 1.4 billion users to view their work.
- Oculus Rift release date
This will be what grabs all the headlines, and Facebook has even set aside a special half hour keynote just for virtual reality-related news on Thursday, 26 March. What everyone wants to hear is a specific release date (and maybe even a price) for the consumer version of Oculus Rift.
Is that likely? Our heart says yes, but our head says no.
- Messenger as a platform
Messenger, Facebook's standalone messaging app, recently rolled out a new feature to allow contacts to easily send money to each other. At F8, we expect Facebook will announce even more plans for its new app, with the goal of developing it into an even more established platform of its own. These plans could include adding more details about contacts and even adding the ability to view news through the app.
Zuckerberg's project to connect the five billion people without internet access is likely to get some air time at F8, after the CEO spoke about it recently at Mobile World Congress. Zuckerberg is trying to woo mobile networks around the world to work with him to give people access to the internet for free for services like news, weather and of course Facebook.
F8 - How to watch Facebook developer conference online?
Facebook's F8 event takes place on Wednesday, 25 March and Thursday, 26 March in the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. There will be keynotes on both days, both starting at 10am local time.
Here are local times around the world for the event:
- San Francisco - 10am
- New York - 1pm
- London - 5pm
- Amsterdam - 6pm
- Johannesburg - 7pm
- Bangkok - midnight
- Hong Kong - 1am (Tuesday)
- Seoul - 2am (Tuesday)
- Sydney - 4am (Tuesday)
The keynote on Wednesday, 25 March is simply titled Opening Keynote but on Thursday the keynote is split in two, with the opening 30 minutes devoted to Innovation at Facebook while the second half hour will focus on Why Virtual Reality Will Matter to You and will be given by Oculus chief scientist Michael Abrash.
To watch all the keynotes online, Facebook will be publishing a live stream here: f8.facebooklive.com
IBTimes UK will be covering all the announcements as they happen so make sure to check back here from 5pm (GMT) on Wednesday 25 March.


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On Friday, Nintendo started a drive to replace broken and faulty wrist straps for their new console, the Wii. This replacement plan was prompted by multiple reports of damaged home equipment and personal injuries caused by over-exuberant players. The manufacturing fault in the straps has caused them to break and make the controllers fly out of players’ hands and into the faces of family and friends… if they’re lucky. Otherwise, the “Wiimote” has been known to damage expensive home theater equipment and other household items.
Nintendo has also stated that it plans to replace approximately 200,000 power adapters for its Nintendo DS and DS Lite hand-held systems because they may overheat and cause damage. The replacement plans are expected to cost Nintendo several million dollars, but the company should see very little negative impact on its earnings.
For fun, you can check out Wii Have A Problem for an ongoing look at how people have managed to hurt themselves in search of the perfect swing.