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Millions of insurance customers are paying high loyalty pentalty says watchdog
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that an estimated six million insurance customers pay high prices and are not getting a good deal.
The watchdog made the statement following the publication of an interim report into the pricing of home and motor insurance.
The FCA said if those customers paying high premiums paid the average price for their risk they could save around £1.2 billion a year.
It is considering how to improve competition, which could include banning or restricting practices such as raising prices for consumers who renew year on year or requiring firms to automatically move consumers to cheaper equivalent deals.
Other changes which have been suggested include restricting the way that firms use automatic renewal and requiring firms to publish information about price differences between their customers.
Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: “This market is not working well for all consumers. While a large number of people shop around, many loyal customers are not getting a good deal. We believe this affects around six million consumers.
“We have set out a package of potential remedies to ensure these markets are truly competitive and address the problems we have uncovered. We expect the industry to work with us as we do so.”
The FCA intends to publish a final report in 2020. The authority worries that consumers who do not switch or negotiate with their provider end up paying high prices.
The FCA discovered that insurers often sell policies at a discount to new customers and increase premiums when customers renew, targeting increases at those less likely to switch. It also found longstanding customers pay more on average.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Last year we submitted a super-complaint showing loyal customers are being penalised hundreds of millions of pounds a year on their home insurance alone. It’s great to see the FCA acknowledging that the insurance market isn’t working for consumers and pledging to crack down on the loyalty penalty.”
The Association of British Insurers has also said the industry will work constructively with the FCA to resolve the issue.


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Amazon calls Visa’s bluff as UK regulators fail retailers over soaring fees
17 November 2021 15:57
Amazon’s decision to block UK-issued Visa credit cards has called the payment giant’s bluff and may be enough to bring its fees down, despite a lack of regulatory action.
The announcement from Amazon today, that it would no longer accept Visa credit cards issued in the UK due to the high fees charged by Visa for processing transactions, is a clear example of where Brexit has not worked for the market or for consumers, as EU rules that would cap charges no longer apply — and regulatory action has been insufficient.
While it’s inconceivable that regulators or politicians will allow this issue to slide, as it will ultimately be consumers who lose out from not being able to use their credit cards to make online transactions, British businesses have warned for years about the rising costs of card fees and inadequate regulation to prevent it.
Amazon might be just the company to take on the challenge in the absence of success from regulators in curbing the fees imposed by rival US payment giants Visa and Mastercard.
“The cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “These costs should be going down over time with technological advancements, but instead they continue to stay high or even rise.”
Without policy action, Visa may be forced to lower fees by Jan. 19 next year, when the Amazon decision takes effect, or put itself at a competitive disadvantage. It’s a decisive move in the longstanding tussle between merchants and card providers, as businesses have for years generally been forced to swallow the fees that Visa and Mastercard levy as there is no viable alternative.
Between them, they account for 99 percent of transactions by payment cards in the UK, with research showing that the costs to retailers, in the billions, is ultimately passed onto consumers. Small-business groups, including the British Retail Consortium, have urged regulators and lawmakers to take on what they describe as anticompetitive card fees.
Instead, it is the UK’s biggest online retailer picking up the cudgel — and it is probably the only company powerful enough to take on the duopoly alone.
Amazon has not made it clear exactly which charges it is referring to, but a post-Brexit increase by Visa to its so-called interchange fees is likely to have played a big role in the decision — although MLex understands it is not just one rule or fee that sealed the deal.
The interchange fees, which are paid by a retailer’s bank to a cardholder’s bank, have increased from 0.3 percent to 1.5 percent of the transaction value for credit-card payments online. The rise has been enabled by Brexit, as the EU’s 2015 interchange fee regulation, which caps fees at 0.2 percent of the value of a transaction for debit cards and 0.3 percent for debit cards, no longer applies for UK-EU transactions.
While smaller businesses have cried foul and called for lawmaker intervention, Amazon has put its money where its mouth is. And the decision has clearly struck a chord at Visa. A spokesperson told MLex that the company is “very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice,” but that "we continue to work toward a resolution" so that cardholders won't face restrictions in January.
The pressure Amazon has placed on Visa might mean market forces pushing the fees down and satisfying businesses, but it also highlights the lack of regulatory action that has prompted Amazon's decision — action sorely needed, given that smaller online retailers couldn't contemplate a similar course of action for fear of losing business.
The UK's Payment Systems Regulator suggested today that the issue is on the agenda: "We note the action Amazon is taking and are engaging with all relevant parties to understand the impact on people and businesses," a spokesperson said.
A routine PSR board meeting today resulted in a new phase of work looking into issues including rising card fees. "If necessary we will intervene to address any issues we identify," the spokesperson added.
Retailers are unlikely to be holding their breath. But as the UK strives to build a more competitive economy in the wake of Brexit, this debacle could represent a crossroads for regulators and lawmakers as to whether they step in to strike the balance between company profits and consumer choice, or whether they leave it up to the industry.
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Indian Railways ended the monetary year with its highest ever earnings from freight companies. The nationwide transporter earned Rs 1.43 trillion in FY22, ferrying 1,418 million tonne (mt) of freight.
Railways’ freight income in 2020-21 was Rs 1.24 trillion. With 1233 mt loaded within the final fiscal year, railways’ annual freight has risen 15 per cent this time. The annual increment of over 180 mt can be the best recorded in a single year.
Earlier this week, the ministry of railways had shared that it had recorded 1400 mt of freight for the primary time ever. Analysts have beforehand attributed this to a restoration of financial growth together with pent-up demand as a result of pandemic.
“The previous best incremental growth in percentage terms was achieved in the year 1981-82 with 12.9 per cent growth. The previous best incremental loading in absolute terms was 66.1 mt achieved more than a decade ago in the year 2005-06,” the Rail Ministry said,” the ministry mentioned.
Coal, which accounts for nearly half of the railways’ whole freight, witnessed a growth of 20.5 per cent to 653.three mt. Raw materials for metal, which incorporates iron ore, grew by 7.three per cent to 197 mt.
The railways’ bold goal to diversify its freight basket continued to be regular, with 15 mt having been added in its ‘steadiness and different items’ part over the year.
Even as most segments noticed elevated cargo numbers, fertilizers noticed a decline of 8.5 per cent at 49.5 mt. The ministry attributed this to subdued demand on account of high worldwide prices of urea.
As per the Union price range for 2022-23, railways goals to extend its annual freight loading to 1475 mt, with a projected income at Rs 1.65 trillion.


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Aug 27, 2012 If you look at the forecast map for Tropical Storm Isaac this morning, you'll see a scary trajectory. But this time, after billions of dollars and years of preparation, New Orleans might just be ready.
Aug 22, 2012 A New Orleans bassist lost everything he owned through Hurricane Katrina. He talks about how his life has progressed since 2005 and what he learned while picking up the pieces.
Aug 17, 2012 Actor Wendell Pierce gives an update on his goal of bringing a chain of fresh food grocery stores to New Orleans.
Aug 17, 2012 A long-time real estate agent in New Orleans talks about the strides made and the challenges being faced in the housing market there.
Kate Archer Kent
Aug 17, 2012 A fisherman's son escapes Vietnam to New Orleans, only have to have to escape again.
Aug 15, 2012 Some generation Y entrepreneurs are turning the idea of going into the family business on its head -- by hiring their parents to work at their fledgling companies.
Aug 14, 2012 The Grammy Award-winning trombonist Stafford Agee is moonlighting as an instrument repairman -- working out of his sweltering garage to make sure New Orleans-area high schoolers have working horns.
Aug 14, 2012 Now that the Games are over, small businesses in London are complaining of losses in their books.
Aug 6, 2012 Networks and cable companies might not like the content boom but it may be too late to stop.


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A Google Survey Sent to Google Business Profile Users Suggests Fees and Paid-for-Features To Come
In April 2019, Google sent out a survey asking Google Business Profile (GBP) users what paid-for-features might interest them — the survey listed 20 possible new features. As search engines continue to develop in sophistication a critical point comes to mind — how valuable is an SEO expert?
Should businesses look for an SEO-based agency or are digital marketers just pulling the many Google “levers” without much-valued expertise? This blogger found that the more sophisticated search engines become, logically, SEO experts will increase in value.
Google Business Profile Began as a Free Service
Google Business Profile — which began as a free service — gives businesses the ability to update their listing information and in exchange provides online customers with local search results that are relevant and accurate. This survey specifically asked local businesses how much they would pay monthly for GBP services — suggesting future subscription fees for new, improved, and current GBP features.
Initially, when GBP was first launched, Google relied on third-party providers to give them local data for business listings. But the data was often out of date, which led Google to allow users to update their own information. GBP has now become a necessity for business owners and marketing agencies. Currently, Google monetizes on its search ads — such as Google Ads or Google Ads Express — and not the search results from its users.
Some highlights of the survey’s new and improved features include:
- Conversions and Leads — Most are related to Local Service Ads. These would drive more value out of Google, and bring its users more understanding (metrics, statistics, etc.) of the value.
- Visibility — These SERP related features might continue with bid prices “organic” boosts from the aforementioned subscription fees, which the survey didn’t determine.
- Customer Services — Automated AI answers to customers’ reviews and questions for local businesses.
- Trust and Verification — Verified licenses and verified bookings would weed out the suspect business that lead consumers away from GBP. Overall a win-win for business, consumers, and agencies.
- Reviews — These features might help with review spam, with verified reviews.
In sum, the survey listed many possible pay-to-play enhancements as well as upgrade paths and subscription models.
How Might This Affect Local Businesses?
From agencies to local businesses to freelance marketers, the digital marketing community would be affected if Google began charging for search marketing services. GBP paid-for-features would substantially increase the marketing service price for business owners looking to advertise — meaning everybody’s services would become more expensive.
Our Beloved Digital Marketing Community Responds
Digital marketers have seen Google’s search results go through a whirlwind of changes over the past 2 years. Modern-day search results have continued to produce more vibrant, quality results — such as Featured Snippets, People Also Ask boxes, maps, images, among other enhancements. Google is slowly providing for most needs a modern-day Internet user might have. Currently, you can browse for flights, hotels, jobs, events, to name just a few directly on Google’s pages.
The best SEO experts are paid for their ability to think and skillfully manage the growing sophistication of search marketing.
Ultimately, if search marketing paid-for-features become the norm, this will affect organic traffic. More SERP enhancements and growth in “position 0” means less organic traffic for both agencies and business owners to use without Google interfering. SEO experts must stay keenly aware of Google’s evolving landscape. The rise of features and search query sophistication continues to aid and complicate the digital marketing and business community.
SEO Experts will Become More Valuable
Regardless of what Google does, the digital marketing community is continuing to lead businesses to successful growth. This blogger has found that the more sophisticated search queries become — with Google leading the development — the more SEO experts will be needed. Google’s features bring more sophistication to the SEO landscape. This may lead to some businesses merely paying more money, depending on their desired vertical reach. But for most business owners, an SEO expert will continue to be an asset.


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Technology giants including Sony, LG, Samsung and TCL among others can be seen putting a popular picture-enhancing technology, full array local dimming in their lineups. Their product lineups end up with high prices, and one of the main reasons for it is the feature. However, it goes without saying that no company does local dimming as well as Vizio does. The American company recently took the wraps off its 2018 TV lineup. The list consists of five different series and 19 splendid models. The company made the announcement earlier on Tuesday. The record further goes on to include a whopping 13 with full array local dimming (FALD). No other manufacturer has more than six FALD TVs in its 2018 lineup. Therefore, Vizio goes on to become the first of its kind to feature such an impressive ability.
The best part about Vizio’s latest list is that the product come at an extremely affordable price. For those who aren’t aware, the FALD ability allows a specific television to brighten and dim different regions of the screen independently. This ability goes on to improve the contrast in the tv. However, it is essential for such features to exist especially when a television with high dynamic range (HDR) technology is present. HDR on LCD TVs look a lot better if such functions continue to live. HDR goes on to provide the best kind of in-home video quality in the market at the moment. In all of the previous tests carried out by media publications. Vizio’s product lineup has always been faring well. As mentioned previously, one of the main reasons why the company’s products are so popular is because of the affordable price at which they arrive. “While many of its budget sets can also do local dimming, Vizio reserves its best image quality features for the mainstream-priced M- and P-series. It also introduced a new flagship TV in just one size, the 65-inch P-series Quantum,” read a report by CNET.
By the specifications that come featuring the Vizio’s latest lineup, it is safe to say that the P-series of Quantum TV should deliver the best kind of image quality in the market at the moment. According to the claims made by the company, the television reportedly goes on to feature 2,000 nits of peak brightness. We are not sure whether this information is accurate, however, it is equally essential for video quality buffs and its prodigious number of local dimming zones to consider this seriously. Apart from this, there’s a bunch of quantum dots that will end up achieving a wider color gamut in comparison to the rest. As far as the standard M and P series of televisions from last year is concerned, there is a significant difference.
Even though, it is not necessarily a bad thing – our favorite TV for the money in 2017 was the M-series. While the 2018 versions have an increased number of zones. The company has also gone on to detail its step-down E and D series sets. As far as E-series is concerned, the FALD Dolby Vision HDR equips itself with 16 different zones. Unlike the 2017 E series, it also extends support for Dolby Vision HDR. The entry-level D-series, meanwhile, loses local dimming and Dolby Vision but can work with HDR10.
Technology giant Vizio has gone on to address another critical issue, i.e. all of its latest product lineups include a built-in TV tuner, just like the one that appears in most advanced televisions these days. The price at which such innovation is offering is genuinely fantastic.


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The Financial Times is suing the Blackstone Group for multiple use of a single online subscription, alleging the private equity firm shared a user name and password to avoid paying for multiple accounts.
The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, says that a senior Blackstone employee distributed login information to other employees. That account accessed thousands of individual articles between February 2006 and June 2008. The suit describes the use as “massive” and “far more than an individual would normally access.”
A person familiar with the situation says that employees in the firm’s London office had passed around the account information. Once aware of the situation, that person said, Blackstone began settlement negotiations with the FT. Blackstone “was very surprised by the filing of the suit,” that person said.
FT publisher Pearson declined to comment.
Online subscriptions to the financial newspaper cost $179 to $299 a year. FT.com offers three articles per month free of charge, and up to 10 per month with a free registration. Certain features are only available through a premium online subscription, including the widely read Lex column.
Only one million of the roughly 7.1 million monthly unique users on FT.com are registered, according to the suit. The site gets 72 million page views each month.
Alan Mutter, an independent media consultant, said slumping advertising sales are forcing media executives to be more determined than ever to monetize digital content. Mr. Mutter speculated that the FT could have filed the suit to make an example of Blackstone and “scare a bunch of people straight.”
“I would say that’s a pretty wise thing to do,” said Mr. Mutter, adding that publishers need to “figure out a way to enforce subscription control.”
Mr. Mutter also said this problem predates the Internet. For example, decades ago people would photocopy expensive trade publications.


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L’artigiano: Word of Mouth
The TV campaign for launching the eight new L’artigiano recipes with Garden Gourmet ingredients reveals the “news” transmitted by word of mouth: the plant based recipes of the well-known food chain, even if they do not contain meat, have an incredible taste!
A TVC campaign launching 8 new plant-based recipes.
- Creative Advertising
- Brand Strategy
- Video productions


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Leaders aim to grow Michigan’s competitive initiatives with state and local business incentives, reopening, recovery efforts, and reshoring
Lansing, Mich., (October 1, 2020) – Economic developers from across the state recently partnered to form Economic Development Leaders for Michigan (EDLM) to protect and advance economic development initiatives through direct legislative advocacy as the state forges ahead in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The priority of the Economic Development Leaders for Michigan is to drive long-term economic growth and keep Michigan competitive in terms of state and local incentives for business retention, expansion, attraction, startup creation, and support for early stage companies.
The 12-member coalition is led by CEOs with over 350 years of economic development experience. Representing 84% of Michigan’s population and 89% of the state gross domestic product (GDP), the CEOs and organizations include: Paul Krutko, President & CEO, Ann Arbor Spark; Rob Cleveland, President & CEO, Cornerstone Alliance; Kevin Johnson, President & CEO, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation; Maureen Donohue Krauss, President & CEO, Detroit Regional Partnership; Marty Fittante, CEO, InvestUP; Amy Clickner, CEO, Lake Superior Community Partnership; Jennifer Owens, President, Lakeshore Advantage; Bob Trezise, President & CEO, Lansing Economic Area Partnership; James McBryde, President & CEO, Middle Michigan Economic Corporation; JoAnn Crary, President, Saginaw Future; Ron Kitchens, Senior Partner & CEO, Southwest Michigan First; and Birgit Klohs, President & CEO The Right Place, Inc.
The group jointly issued the following statement: Our state economy faces unprecedented challenges and uncertainty in the aftermath of a global pandemic. As we chart a path forward, 12 of the state’s leading economic development organizations are collaborating to strengthen critical economic development initiatives and make our voices heard. In order to secure Michigan’s economic future and protect the gains of the past decade, we must seize opportunities for growth and remain committed to our statewide economic development strategy. Economic Development Leaders for Michigan will accelerate Michigan’s economy and keep Michigan on the map during this critical time.
Along with others, EDLM members recently partnered with the Michigan legislature and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to administer $100 million in restart grants to help small businesses keep their doors open and their employees on payroll. As Michigan moves from a short-term restart strategy to a long-term economic outlook, EDLM is committed to retaining and growing businesses across Michigan’s wide variety of geographies and fostering a resilient economic environment.
Formed in June 2020, EDLM stands ready to advance solutions as Michigan navigates new challenges and opportunities. To learn more about EDLM visit www.edlm.org
Detroit Regional Partnership
Tamekia (Ashford) Nixon
EDLM IS FEATURED IN
Recently, DBusiness featured the partnership announcement in their daily news update section. Click here to read the post.
The Grand Rapids Business Journal highlighted the EDLM press release in their economic development news section. Click here to read the article.
Pat Moody from Moody on the Market wrote about Cornerstone becoming a part of EDLM. Click here to read the full article.
Crain’s Detroit Business published the EDLM Op-Ed in their “Other Voices” online news section. Click here to read the opinionated article.
The Right Place, a leading economic development organization based in Grand Rapids, MI featured the press release on their site. Click here to read the release.
Read the press release announcement on the We Love Ann Arbor website, click here.


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A new hybrid pumpkin developed by East-West Seed is becoming a favorite of Sri Lankan farmers, reported Ric Reyes, who has been visiting farmers in different countries growing E-W hybrids. Reyes is the global product and market combination manager of the company.
The new hybrid is Rajah F1, which produces fruits with blotched dark green skin when not fully mature; it turns brown when fully mature. Average size is 3 to 5 kilos per fruit. Farmers claim that the new hybrid is high-yielding and with excellent eating quality. They have also observed it to be resistant to squash leaf curl virus, zucchini yellow mosaic virus, and papaya ring spot virus.
Rajah is a welcome replacement for Suprema, the first pumpkin hybrid produced by East-West, which was renamed Arjuna in Sri Lanka. For more than 30 years, Suprema was the No. 1 choice of farmers in the Philippines and other countries. After all those long years, however, Arjuna has become susceptible to virus diseases.
In a taste test in Sri Lanka, Rajah emerged No.1, according to Ric. It is a favorite for cooking pumpkin curry. Because of its excellent eating quality, fruits command 15 rupees higher per kilo than the other varieties in the market.
This appeared in Agriculture Monthly’s May 2018 issue.


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The strong get even stronger
The evolution of the BrandZ™ Global Top 10 over the past 12 years reflects the dominance of technology and the disruptive impact of the global financial crisis, technological innovation, and changing consumer attitudes about health.
Only three brands that appeared in the Global Top 10 in 2006—Google, Microsoft, and IBM—remain in the Top 10 in 2017. These technology leaders demonstrate the ability of relatively young brands, like Google and Microsoft, and heritage brands, like IBM, to be relevant, each in its own way: Google primarily with search and constant innovation; Microsoft with the versatility of its Surface devices and its expanding cloud business; and IBM with its reinvention, cloud focus, and cognitive computing.
Equally revealing is the presence of three brands in the Top 5 that were not even in the Top 10 just 12 years ago. The innovative technology of these brands—Apple, Amazon, and Facebook—
has disrupted categories and improved people’s lives worldwide. The presence of the Chinese internet portal Tencent, and the disappearance of state-owned China Mobile, also indicates the power of technology, along with China’s evolution to a more competition-driven economy.
AT&T’s rise reflects its scale and the transformation of telecom providers from voice and data transmitters to content and entertainment brands. The strength of payments brands relative to other financial services sectors, along with the ability of Visa to communicate its benefit to consumers, explain that brand’s value rise.
The presence of Amazon, and the disappearance of Walmart (now No. 31), reflect the massive disruption of the retail category by e-commerce. The financial crisis and the slower value growth of the financial services categories explain the value decline of Citi (now No. 59). Coca-Cola (now No. 13) and Marlboro (now No. 12) who felt the impact of consumer health concerns. In addition:
- Over the past 12 years, the value of the Top 10 increased 249 percent, while the Top 100 increased a healthy 152 percent.
- Over the past 12 years, the value of the Top 10 as a proportion of the total Global Top 100 value increased from 28 percent to 39 percent.
- The Top 10 in 2017 are worth around the same as the entire Top 100 12 years ago—$1.4 trillion.
- The No. 1 and No. 2 brands—Google and Apple—are worth more than the Top 10 combined 12 years ago—$480 billion vs. $409 billion.
- Nine of the Global Top 10 are worth over $100 billion, compared with six brands last year.
- In 2017, the average age of a Top 10 brand was 42 (started in 1975). That is, less than half the average age of a Top 10 brand 12 years ago, which was 88 (started in 1929).
Finally, 12 years ago, a Global Top 10 brand scored an average of 216 in Brand Power, compared with an average of 142 for a brand ranked below the Top 10. Today, a Top 10 brand scores 266, on average, in Brand Power, compared with 175 for other Top 100 brands. (An average score in Brand Power, the BrandZ™ measurement of brand equity, is 100.)
Top 10 ranking changes significantly…
Only three brands that appeared in the BrandZ™ Global Top 10 in 2006—Google, Microsoft, and IBM—remain in the Top 10 in 2017.
… Top 10 brands get younger…
The average age of a Top 10 brand in 2017 is 42 (started in 1975). That is less than half the average age of a Top 10 brand in 2006, which was 88 (started in 1929).
… And the strong get even stronger
In 2006, a BrandZ™ Global Top 10 brand scored an average of 216 in Brand Power, compared with an average of 142 for a brand ranked below the Top 10 in the Global 100. Today, a Top 10 brand scores 266, on average, in Brand Power, compared with 175 for other Top 100 brands.


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Vero is the new social media app that everyone’s talking about, but is it worth your time and investment?
What is Vero?
Promising “less social media, more social life”, Vero is the new kid on the block. Although it’s been around a while, ‘influencers’ have flocked to the platform over the weekend and now it’s being touted as ‘the new Instagram’.
Boasting a lack of algorithms and the ability to sort your contacts into categories (acquaintances, friend, close friend and followers) Vero can appear like an encouraging place for a brand to grow. Should you be fooled by the hype?
What are the positives of Vero?
Launching itself as an anti-Facebook app, Vero promises no algorithms for it’s users. It’s also stating that promoted content won’t be an option. For users, this is a huge deal – especially those that still aren’t happy about Instagram’s algorithm coming into play.
Users are presented with chronological content as and when it happens in their network – just like the old, but not forgotten, days of Instagram.
Establishing your ‘tribe’ is much easier on the platform than on others, with the ability to rank your connections. With this comes a simpler way to decide who sees your content and when. With this function built in from the beginning, there should be a lack of privacy concerns further down the line. Although this feature is also offered by Facebook, it’s much harder to control than on Vero.
For the first million users it’s promising free lifetime access – which goes some way to explain the sudden surge in signups to the platform.
What are the cons of using Vero for a brand?
First off are the Ts&Cs of using Vero -creatives joining on the site are concerned that the company have the right to use the content posts there, without paying royalties, forever and anywhere.
Secondly, with the surge of registrations came issues with the platform handling the new load. “Apologies again for the issues we’re having. We’re working to restore things. We really appreciate your patience.” reads a tweet from the Vero account on Saturday.
“We’re experiencing an outage due to heavy load,” says another from Sunday.
Finally, with users being charged in the future, is this really a place for your brand?
“We made our business model subscription-based,” reads the Manifesto on Vero’s website, “making our users our customers, not advertisers”.
Eventually all users (after the first million) will have to pay an annual fee to get onto the site. Companies will also have the option of a “buy now” feature on the site, of which they will be charged a transaction fee.
So what’s the problem with charging users?
It can be hard enough on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others for your brand’s voice to be heard – but you still have the basic rule of social media working for you: Simple word of mouth.
Charging users to use the platform won’t guarantee that word-of-mouth endorsement – and will limit your audience.
Social media users are used to enjoying the platforms and keeping up with friends and family for free – asking them to invest in a membership for a new app is a risk, and one I don’t see paying off anytime soon.
Vero’s growth will be an interesting one to keep an eye on – more so once the free user capacity is reached.
Will you be using Vero? Do you expect it to grow? I’m keen to hear your thoughts in the comments!


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San Francisco, July 29 – The long-awaited cell model of Meta’s social digital actuality (VR) platform Horizon Worlds, might launch quickly.
In keeping with Lowpass publication from Janko Roettgers, when Horizon was launched, Meta executives had stated that they have been planning to launch a cell app for it as properly.
Now, Meta’s metaverse VP Vishal Shah claimed that the corporate had truly constructed a working model of the app a 12 months in the past.
“We ended up not delivery it,” Shah stated.
– Commercial –
“It was a little bit bit an excessive amount of of a VR sport on cell versus a mobile-native expertise,” he added.
The Horizon workforce utterly rebuilt the applying, in keeping with Shah.
He didn’t inform Roettgers when precisely the app will launch.
Shah stated that one of many first video games to be beta examined on cell would be the first-person shooter sport ‘Tremendous Rumble’.
He additionally promised that cell customers will be capable to have interaction with VR customers via cross-platform play.
“We’re going from a world the place we’re VR solely to a spot the place we’re going to be VR first,” Shah stated.
Earlier this week, the corporate had launched a brand new ‘v120’ replace for Horizon Worlds, which included quests and rewards for all customers, a brand new fast actions menu to Pause and extra.
In the meantime, final month, Meta had launched a brand new text-based ‘world chat’ characteristic, a technique to talk with different folks in the identical world session, for its social VR platform.
Along with voice chat, customers can now talk utilizing textual content with this characteristic.
Additionally, customers can @point out others in world chat who’re in the identical world.


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According to figures released by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, trade flow between the Arab countries and Brazil increased by 3.26%, from $25.11bn in 2011 to $26bn in 2012.
The notable rise in the flow of trade between the countries is attributed to the increase in imports by Brazil. The South American country imported $11.10 billion worth of goods from Arab countries in 2012, increasing its imports by 11% from $9.98bn in 2011. The Arab countries that witnessed the increase include Lebanon (491%), Qatar (214%), Kuwait (148%) and Bahrain (103%).
The top three goods imported by Brazil include fuels, which topped the list accounting for $9.11bn, followed by fertilizers ($1.32bn) and salt/sulfur ($180bn).
Brazilian exports to the Arab world totaled $14.83bn last year, declining by nearly 2% from $15.13bn in 2011. The fall has been deemed a result of political instability in some Arab countries. The Arab countries that witnessed a significant increase in exports include Oman (35.73%), Yemen (38.37%), UAE (13.26%) and Egypt (3.35%).
The top Brazilian exports to Arab countries were sugars ($4.24bn), meat ($3.93bn) and ores ($2.44bn).
Michel Alaby, General Secretary and CEO of Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, said,
“Brazil continues to nurture strong trade relations with the Arab world and this is evident in the sustained growth of trade volume between the two parties over the years. Moreover, Brazil and its Arab partners are continuously engaged in multilateral talks to further expand trade activities and explore mutually beneficial investment opportunities across diverse industries. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in particular, plays a key role in nurturing and consolidating these strategic partnerships, while helping generate new opportunities for Arab and Brazilian enterprises. It was certainly another solid year overall in 2012 despite a few challenges along the way, and we intend to build on this important breakthrough to further boost economic, cultural and tourism activities between Brazil and the Arab world.”


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Shopko creditors: $117 million in dividends paid to owners 'fraudulent,' 'illegal'
GREEN BAY - Shopko's creditors want to force the company's owners to return $117 million in dividends paid over the last four years.
In a motion filed in bankruptcy court on Tuesday, a committee representing some of the company's largest landlords and suppliers said $67 million in special dividends and fees constituted a "fraudulent conveyance" while another $50 million in dividends were "illegal."
The creditors committee is seeking a Nebraska bankruptcy judge's permission to attempt to recover those claims, which could add millions of dollars to Shopko's balance sheets at a time when unsecured creditors, those who do not have a claim to collateral, face a real chance of not receiving anything of what the Ashwaubenon-based retailer owes them for inventory, services and leases.
In February, Shopko's two independent directors identified $179.5 million in dividends paid to Shopko's private equity owners — Sun Capital, Waverly Securities, KLA Shopko LLC and H.I.G. Sun Partners Inc. — between 2007 and 2015. The company borrowed money to pay the dividends, according to court documents.
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In spite of its name, a fraudulent conveyance does not mean fraud in the criminal sense. Instead, it addresses certain circumstances under which a U.S. bankruptcy law gives a court leeway to recover assets sold for less than their value, attempts to transfer assets out of a company about to seek bankruptcy protection or payments made at a time when the company is insolvent.
The creditors' motion also claims Shopko's directors and managers, in paying the dividends, failed to fulfill their obligations to investors, vendors, landlords and the company's employees. It also accuses the company's owners of abetting and encouraging those violations.
“The Committee seeks to commence the action to seek redress for the harm inflicted on the debtors and their unsecured creditors by the sponsor group and Shopko’s directors and managers because the debtors have unjustifiably refused to do so and are hopelessly conflicted,” the motion reads.
The unsecured creditors are pursuing the funds as Shopko's bankruptcy reorganization effort enters a key phase. Shopko must identify a buyer willing to take over the business by early April or pivot to liquidating all its assets.
In either case, unsecured creditors, which have no collateral backing up the goods or services provided and have the lowest priority claims, face a situation where they're likely to get very little, if any, of what they're owed.
Messages sent to attorneys representing the creditors and Shopko were not returned last week.
A hearing on the request has been scheduled for April 2.
Shopko filed or chapter 11 protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Jan. 16, citing assets of less than $1 billion and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. The Ashwaubenon-based retailer has announced plans to close more than 200 stores in attempt to cut costs and emerge from bankruptcy as a viable business.
Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow him on Twitter at @GBstreetwise.


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LONDON – UK retailer, Marks & Spencer, has finally signed the 2018 Bangladesh Accord amid growing public pressure. M&S follows in the footsteps of a raft of recent high profile signatories, including John Lewis, Matalan and New Look. However, despite more than 130 companies having now signed the Accord, many – among them Abercrombie & Fitch, Next and Sainsbury’s – are yet to commit.
Brands yet to sign have, among other reasons, claimed to be still in the decision making process, however, most industry observers agree that this excuse is wearing somewhat thin given that Accord 2.0 was launched nine months ago. Such reasoning is also at odds with the fact that many retailers managed to make a decision on this issue within weeks of the 2018 Bangladesh Accord’s launch.
For a long time many companies were also stalling because of uncertainty about the fee structure, but that has been clarified since early February.
A spokesperson from the Clean Clothes Campaign told Apparel Insider: “Since the establishment of the fee structure many more brands have signed, both small and very big ones, so cost does not seem to be a structural issue. Some companies have been hiding behind the fact that their factories are almost fully remediated, especially if they have only few suppliers in Bangladesh.”
They added: “Two things that we’ve been hearing are quite worrying. Firstly is that if a brand does not sign the Accord that it could replace it by [its] own monitoring system. We have heard several brands say this to media. This is an illusion. Private auditing schemes have failed to prevent Rana Plaza, despite inspections. They have failed to recognise the flaws in the Ali Enterprises building in Pakistan, which was certified only weeks before the deadly fire in 2012. Private schemes are no credible alternative to the Accord.
“Secondly is the idea that the government of Bangladesh could take over all these tasks and could do so on a short notice. Of course the goal of the Transition Accord is to hand over its tasks eventually to the Government of Bangladesh, but it will take time before the government is willing and able to take up those tasks. Above all apparel companies continue to have a due diligence obligation towards their supply chain separate from government responsibility. Saying the government needs to take care of this, is not enough.”


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In a prolonged bidding war for the acquisition of French holiday firm Club Méditerranée, original bidder led by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Limited has decided to sweeten its offer for the third time to €23.5 per share, up €0.5 from a rival bid of €23 per share, according to a company announcement release by Fosun yesterday.
Fosun also agreed to buy Club Med’s outstanding convertible bonds for €24.82, compared with the rival offer of €24.41.
The price increases will add an additional amount of €51.9 million to the total price offered by the Fosun-led consortium.
In early November, counter bidder Global Resorts SAS, a subsidiary of Investindustrial Group run by Italy’s Bonomi family, offered €23 per share in a deal that valued the Paris-based Club Med at €874 million.
It also attracted U.S. private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. (KKR) as a minority co-investor in the deal.
The fight to win control of Club Med started last May, when Fosun International joined forces with private equity firm Ardian in proposing to acquire Club Med at €17 per share.
In June, the two parties decided to improve the terms of the offer, which has the backing of Club Med’s chief executive, Henri Giscard d’Estaing, to €17.5 apiece due to pressure from shareholders.
Then in August this year, the French financial markets regulator confirmed that Global Resorts has proposed a sweetened deal at €21 per share. A few days later, Fosun announced it would withdraw its bid.
But a month later, Fosun and Ardian, with a new co-investor Chinese travel agency U-Tour, launched a last-minute counter offer with a price tag of €22 per share, valuing Club Med at €839 million.
At that time, Fosun bought Ardian’s stakes in Club Med to increase its total shareholding to 18%, compared with 10% owned by Global Resorts then.
In early November when Global Resorts submitted its counter bid, it said the consortium it led has bought Club Med shares on the open market, bringing its total shareholding of Club Med to 15.9%, with options to further expand it to 18.9%.
Founded by the Italian Bonomi family, Investindustrial operates through a series of investment funds and holding companies, each managed independently and established in the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the United States and China.
The family currently has around €4.4 billion of assets under management.


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Forecourt Trader has been named as the media partner for iDAC 15 – an international conference for the retail fuel industry in London on 11-12 May 2015.
McLean Communications, organisers of the industry’s forum for the retail fuel marketplace, erpec, will stage the conference alongside erpec 15, at the Tower Hotel.
This two-day event, in conjunction with petrol station designer Minale Tattersfield and project management organisation Artelia, will focus on retail fuel station design, construction and retail technology, to provide delegates with a bigger picture on issues that drive the way fuel stations around the world look and operate.
iDAC 15 will examine and explain some of the different strategies applicable for a range of operators from multinationals right through to local independents, in developed and developing markets.
On the second day of the conference, sharing a podium for the first time, will be the CEOs from dispenser manufacturers, Wayne, Gilbarco and Tokheim, who will each present a paper on a key aspect of fuel station retail technology, followed by an open Q&A session.
Delegates can sign up for the two-day conference package at www.idac.org.uk. Participation includes a welcome reception and dinner on the evening of May 10 at St Katherine’s Dock. There is also an international showcase exhibition taking place throughout the conference, featuring key international suppliers to the industry.


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Four brothers who ran a garage business in Bolton, which supplied defective refurbished car engines, carried out defective work and took unauthorised payments from customer credit cards, have been disqualified from acting as directors for a total of 25 years following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
Taqeer Ahmed (age 39), Kabir Ahmed (30), Saghir Ahmed (52), all of Bolton, Lancashire and Qadeer Ahmed (36) who is currently resident in Saudi Arabia, all gave undertakings to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills not to be a director of a limited company for periods of between four and nine years.
Commenting on the disqualification, Ken Beasley, Official Receiver of the Insolvency Service’s Public Interest Unit, said:
“The disqualifications are wholly deserved. The services provided by the companies fell well below the standards reasonably expected by customers and the defective motor parts supplied by the companies could have been a serious danger to the public.
“I am grateful to Bolton Trading Standards for assisting our investigations and enabling a joined up approach to address the directors’ misconduct.
“The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to use its statutory powers to investigate and disqualify directors who fail to uphold reasonable standards of conduct in the market place.”
The brothers were directors of Engine World Limited which went into Voluntary Liquidation on 22 December 2011 owing creditors and shareholders £233,489 and RMI Engines Ltd (“RMI”) which was wound up on Public Interest grounds on 15 June 2012 owing creditors and shareholders £354,333.
The misconduct identified by investigators included the companies supplying defective refurbished engines, carrying out defective work and taking unauthorised payments from customer credit cards. The investigation also found the brothers had ignored guidance from Bolton Trading Standards who had intervened after receiving numerous customer complaints.


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Posted by Sheila Shayon on March 3, 2015 06:09 PM
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is on a mission to change the world, from wages to veterans to communities on the brink of collapse. Now he's steering the company into the brands-as-publishers business, investing in content creation by backing documentaries about the social issues he wants the company to take a stand on.
As Starbucks exits the music business, pulling its point-of-sale CD sales rack and unwinding its Hear Music joint venture, it's getting into video instead of audio—a troubled business that even Starbucks can't fix—with a new video production company.
As yet unnamed, it will focus on TV and film projects with "social-impact content," as the journalist leading the effort for Schultz phrased it on social media.Continue reading...
Posted by Sheila Shayon on February 27, 2015 11:01 AM
At its upfront event for TV and digital advertisers this week, Viacom's Nickelodeon, now 35 years old, announced the resurrection of its former Noggin TV brand as a mobile app for preschoolers—and the return of beloved characters Moose A. Moose and Zee D. Bird.
Noggin, the cable channel that was renamed Nick Jr. in 2009 and went off the air in Feb. 2012, is relaunching as a $5.99/month ad-free subscription video service with kid-friendly content.
Coming to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on March 5 (download the app here), titles at launch will include: Allegra’s Window, Blue’s Clues, Blue’s Room, Franklin and Friends, Gullah Gullah Island, Little Bear, Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends, Ni Hao, Kai-lan, Oswald, Pocoyo, Robot and Monster and The Upside Down Show.
“We are reintroducing the Noggin name with this new mobile service because of its built-in equity with moms and as a signal of the high-quality preschool content that will be curated for it,” stated Cyma Zarghami, the recently-promoted president of the Viacom Kids and Family Group. Continue reading...
Posted by Sheila Shayon on January 6, 2015 12:26 PM
2015 may well be the year that entrenched cable gate-keepers like Verizon and Comcast lose their audiences to online streaming.
ESPN’s entry into streaming is now tipping the scales. The unparalleled reach and scale of Disney's powerhouse sports brand is evident in the fact that the top ten most-viewed programs in cable television history are all ESPN programs—making the Dish Network's new Sling TV the Trojan Horse for the pay TV industry.Continue reading...
Posted by Sheila Shayon on November 12, 2014 11:55 AM
CNET, the nearly 20-year-old online news and reviews site, is stepping back to the future with the debut of a print version of its content, CNET Magazine.
Now available in the U.S. and Canada, the inaugural issue features LL Cool J, star of a CBS Television’s NCIS: Los Angeles, on the cover. Inside, Roger Cheng's take on the web of complex connections in our digital lives sits alongside a 24-page holiday gift guide. Priced at $5.99, it’s available on newsstands as well as in stores including Costco, Target and Walmart.
“The arrival of CNET in print is indicative of a trend: Brands that began digitally are turning every day into #ThrowbackThursday by adding versions in traditional forms,” the New York Times commented. Advertisers in the first issue include AT&T, Ford, Gillette, GMC, Hewlett-Packard, HTC, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Porsche, Roku, Salesforce.com, Samsung, TiVo and Toyota.
The print publication joins CNET’s growing portfolio of outlets, including a mobile app, YouTube and a Spanish-language website. brandchannel's Sheila Shayon asked Connie Guglielmo, the editor in chief of CNET News who is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, about why extend into old school media—and why now.Continue reading...
Posted by Mark J. Miller on July 21, 2014 03:30 PM
Amazon may be in a PR standoff with the publishing industry that is leaving both sides licking their wounds, but the situation doesn’t appear to be hurting Amazon’s bottom line. The company’s second-quarter revenue will be announced Thursday and the expectation is that it will continue “to gain share from brick-and-mortar retailers,” according to at least one observer.
Amazon Prime is one of the main ways Amazon continues to grow since its more than 25 million members on average purchase four times more than non-members. Also helping is its Sunday delivery service, which has recently been expanded to serve 15 cities including New Orleans. When the service kicked off last November, only New York and Los Angeles residents could take part. “Sunday delivery is clearly crossing errands off the weekend to-do list,” commented Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North America operations, to New Orleans magazine.
As the Seattle Times also notes, anywhere Amazon has two-day delivery, it also has constructed a sorting center that allows the company to get products into the mailstream quickly and as close to the destination as possible. Sunday delivery is expected to see marked expansion in the coming months.
Sunday delivery may prove a big boon for another embattled industry.Continue reading...
Posted by Taylor Goddu on July 17, 2014 10:29 AM
At some ungodly hour each morning, your alarm is bound to go off, and if you’re like me, you’ll blindly slap your phone, eyes still closed, hoping you happen to press “snooze” rather than inadvertently turn it off. Eventually, though, chances are you’ll roll over and grab said phone and begin your morning ritual of scrolling through feeds and email. Born was the beauty of a simple business plan: “We read. You Skimm."
Founded by two former producers for NBC News, Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin teamed up as the masterminds behind theSkimm, a daily email newsletter that arrives in subscribers' inbox sometime around 6 a.m. that has been featured in NBC's Today Show, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Bloomberg, InStyle, CNN and more.
theSkimm, which turns 2 on Friday, primarily targets Millennial women pressed for time with its bite-sized, gender-neutral news that ranges in topic from politics, sports, entertainment, international affairs, finance and more, all of which is made both relatable and easily digestible through the lens of Weisberg and Zakin’s signature voice.
(Extra, extra!) Read all about it:Continue reading...
video killed the _____ star
Posted by Mark J. Miller on June 30, 2014 11:22 AM
Content is often said to be king, and YouTube knows it. That's why the video giant is heavily investing in new features for its creator community, many of whom make a living off of their online personalities.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced a slate of new features at Vidcon late last week that could prove especially beneficial to its creators, such as a virtual tip jar that allows viewers to contribute up to $500 to a specific account. The site is also allowing for a direct line between YouTube and crowdfunding sites, and revealed a new mobile app that allows creators to track and manage metrics for their videos, as well as a much larger sound effects library.
“It’s a focus of mine to bring more revenue to the YouTube ecosystem,” said Wojcicki, who took over the job less than six months ago, according to Variety. She's also spearheading another initiative to make the site more global, including crowdsourcing video translations.Continue reading...
Posted by Mark J. Miller on June 17, 2014 03:56 PM
Today, Coldwell Banker kicked off its latest branded content partnership with BuzzFeed, where the real estate brand will be sponsoring content like “15 Things That Happen When Your Parents Sell Your Childhood Home,” and “74 Thoughts Everyone Has When Buying Their First Home."
The partnership follows the brand's recent tie-up with Major League Baseball in a sponsored video series, Coldwell Banker Home Field Advantage, that follows baseball greats into their homes, as well as the brand's own film festival, which helped engage consumers around the world as they hopes to capture the meaning of "home."
With content increasingly becoming the "it" platform for advertising, Coldwell Banker's VP of brand engagement, David Marine, gave brandchannel a look into the brand's marketing strategy.Continue reading...


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ValuEngine lowered shares of Sito Mobile (NASDAQ:SITO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.
A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on SITO. Zacks Investment Research lowered Sito Mobile from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services upgraded Sito Mobile from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Sito Mobile in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $9.00.
Sito Mobile (NASDAQ:SITO) opened at $4.33 on Tuesday. Sito Mobile has a 12-month low of $2.06 and a 12-month high of $8.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.99, a P/E ratio of -8.49 and a beta of -1.36.
In other Sito Mobile news, CEO Thomas Pallack purchased 5,625 shares of Sito Mobile stock in a transaction on Friday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.60 per share, for a total transaction of $37,125.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sito Mobile by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. National Asset Management Inc. now owns 707,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,752,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sito Mobile in the fourth quarter valued at $113,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sito Mobile in the fourth quarter valued at $818,000. EAM Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sito Mobile in the fourth quarter valued at $2,219,000. Finally, Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sito Mobile in the fourth quarter valued at $126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.41% of the company’s stock.
ILLEGAL ACTIVITY WARNING: “Sito Mobile (SITO) Lowered to “Sell” at ValuEngine” was originally posted by Stock Observer and is owned by of Stock Observer. If you are accessing this story on another domain, it was stolen and republished in violation of international copyright and trademark legislation. The legal version of this story can be viewed at https://www.thestockobserver.com/2018/03/21/sito-mobile-sito-lowered-to-sell-at-valuengine.html.
Sito Mobile Company Profile
SITO Mobile, Ltd. operates a mobile location-based advertising platform serving businesses, advertisers and brands. The Company’s offerings include SITO Location-Based Advertising and SITO Mobile Messaging. SITO Location-Based Advertising delivers display advertisements and videos on behalf of advertisers, including various features, such as Geo-fencing, Verified walk-in, Behavioral Targeting, and Analytics and Optimization.
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Wednesday 4 October 15:00 - 15:30, Green room
Joseph Cox (The Daily Beast)
We all know about companies that sell malware exclusively to governments — Hacking Team, FinFisher, NSO Group — but another, much more audacious industry has been largely overlooked: that of spyware for the everyday consumer. Completely ordinary people are buying malware to intercept phone calls, remotely switch on device mics, and track GPS locations.
From the very start, some members of this industry have explicitly marketed their products to those wanting to spy on their lover or spouse. And the malware has been linked to a slew of domestic violence incidents, and even cases of murder.
This presentation will explore the consumer spyware market, give an idea of the scale of the industry, and show how some companies profit from a totally unregulated trade of powerful monitoring tools.
Joseph is a journalist covering cybersecurity, the digital underground, and the surveillance industry for The Daily Beast.
Tyrus Kamau (Euclid Consultancy)
The cyber threats Kenya faces range from basic hacking such as website defacements, financial fraud, social media account…
Thiago Marques (Kaspersky Lab)
Fabio Assolini (Kaspersky Lab)
Of all the forms of attack against financial institutions in the world, the ones that are most likely to combine traditional…
Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (Kaspersky Lab)
Costin Raiu (Kaspersky Lab)
Attribution is complicated under the best of circumstances. Sparse attributory indicators and the possibility of overt…


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NewDelhi: Global OTT provider Netflix on Tuesday announced that it will include video games in its existing subscription plans at no additional cost, but it did not specify when the service would go live or what types of games it would create.
The long-awaited expansion was confirmed alongside the release of Netflix’s most recent earnings report. As per the financial breakdown, the video service gained 1.5 million users in April and June. That’s slightly more than the modest increase expected by management after the service got off to a poor start during the winter months, but it’s still a fraction of the growth recorded in recent years.
Netflix’s net gain of 5.5 million subscribers during the first half of this year is the company’s poorest since 2013 – when the company was still focusing on original programming and transitioning away from licencing older TV series and movies.
Netflix is now taking another step forward by offering video games that it plans to produce itself as part of a multi-year expansion. Last week, the Los Gatos, California-based firm hinted at the move when it announced the hire of Mike Verdu, a senior video game executive, to explore prospective opportunities in another industry of entertainment.
During the investor call, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said, “The reason we’re doing them is to help the subscription service increase and be more relevant in people’s lives.”
Netflix’s chief product officer, Greg Peters, stated that the business will first focus on mobile gaming before moving to consoles and television sets. According to Peters, the games would first be related to Netflix’s most popular shows, but standalone titles may be added to the mix as well. Netflix is eyeing every possible marketing avenue in India to its sheer size and access of cheap data and penetration of smart mobile phones.


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On Monday, Facebook’s whole ecosystem froze when the app, along with Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, its three largest subsidiaries, failed to work for over six hours. Outages were first reported at 11:30am EST and lasted until at least 5:40pm EST.
According to Facebook, it was a self-inflicted problem. An update to Facebook's routers that coordinate network traffic went wrong, sending a wave of disruptions rippling through its systems. The company claimed “the root cause of this outage was a faulty configuration change” and there is “no evidence that user data was compromised as a result.”
Regardless, the outage raised red flags over just how monopolized our social networks have become.
Twitter, TikTok and Reddit are separate Web 2.0 big players, and Discord is a growing community strongly tied to the coming-up of Web 3.0, but Facebook owns the four most-downloaded apps of the 2010s. Not the top one, but all four of the top web apps in the world.
When one company is so dominant in any market space, it runs the risk of centralizing attention, decision-making, and most importantly, dependence for society to function. Facebook has not lacked controversy over the years, and its similarities to large central banks are tough to ignore.
Facebook's outage will happen to central bank digital currency (CBDC) without exceptions. A CBDC is the virtual form of a fiat currency for a particular nation or region. According to Investopedia, it is “an electronic record of the official currency and is issued and is regulated by its monetary authority.”
In many ways, CBDCs owe their origins to the introduction of cryptocurrencies into mainstream society. They are able to help promote financial inclusion and simplify implementation of monetary and fiscal policy. CBDCs can also bring more unbanked into the financial system. The biggest disadvantage—and arguably the most influential factor as to why CBDCs wouldn’t work—is that they are completely centralized and lead to an erosion of privacy.
Compare these pros and cons to Facebook’s social network oligarchy. Sure, they allow us to have conversations halfway around the world in split seconds, they promote more communication, connection, and fluidity of information. But, they also invade our privacy, track our every like, click, follow and comment, and use that information to target users for further engagement and share that information with advertisers willing to spend to get users to buy their stuff.
In much the same way Facebook attempted to create and launch Libra, its own cryptocurrency, and claim that it could avoid cumbersome regulation, extend beyond borders, and wasn’t controlled by any single regime (besides, you know, Facebook), CBDCs would ultimately do away with the notion that cryptocurrencies wouldn’t be regulated or tracked.
If we pull back the curtains, Libra’s ultimate goal was to find a way into your wallet, and Libra was an additional way to track your online habits and keep users completely dependent on Facebook’s entire ecosystem.
August 31, 2020 the China Construction Bank, one of the big four state banks, enabled open use of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial in its app to help distribute the digital yuan for China.
The digital yuan is being trialed in four regions—Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan New Area, Chengdu, and other Winter Olympics locations.
With CBDCs, digital currency might feel the same as paying for items with Bitcoin, but with it comes a lot of sacrifices. At the end of the day, the first “C” in CBDC stands for central. When any one central authority is able to manufacture its own policies—regardless of how few outsiders can regulate it—central banks will always have a primary agenda to cheat the system.
Bitcoiners are growing by the numbers, much of humanity still relies on central banks. Institutions like China and Facebook have incentives to keep things the way they are today. There's a reason China has tried repeatedly to ban Bitcoin—they know it's better, more sound money than the digital yuan.
Facebook being down for six hours proves just how dependent we have become on one company. If we continue to give this type of authority to central banks and buy into the notion that their CBDCs are being more transparent and equal, then our financial dependence on banks will only increase.


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Il Positano, an Italian eatery and pizzeria in the Meadtown Shopping Center in Kinnelon, was seized and shut down by the state last month because the owners allegedly did not pay taxes.
The business has been closed since Jan. 22, according to Suburban Trends. A bright orange sign explaining the seizure is posted on the door. A total of $67,131, based on three separate judgments from the past three years, is owed to the New Jersey Department of Taxation by the owners of the business.
The owners would have to pay the taxes in full or negotiate a payment plan with the state before reopening Il Positano, Suburban Trends reported.


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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 launched globally
A fortnight after the device broke cover at the 2014 IFA, Samsung has NOTED their latest phablet flagship for a worldwide release.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will first of all land in Samsung’s home country of Korea, where SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ are all offering the smartphone. SK Telecom are to begin taking pre-orders for the smartphone starting from Thursday 18th September. Meanwhile pricing hasn’t been made known to members of the public.
In the UK, Clove will be offering the 5.7″ stylus-enabled phone at ₤479.17 (roughly $785), and pre-orders begin tomorrow. Shipping will start arriving by October 13th.
Finally, in China, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 can be expected via JD.com, who will be selling the device at a price that should be similar to the UK pricing.
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Are we overloaded and paralyzed by too many choices, or is it good to have so many options? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says the jury is still out on so-called "choice overload."
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study finds that diners are at least 13 percent more likely to order a dish if they know it is among a restaurant’s most popular.
More restaurants and vending machines offer healthy choices these days, so why do Americans' waistlines continue to expand? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that some efforts to control eating may backfire.
Here's good news for dieters who face food challenges in the break room every day: A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that our resistance gets a boost after we've just been exposed to similar temptations.
(PhysOrg.com) -- Animals can re-establish their use of smell to detect siblings, even following an interruption such as prolonged hibernation, research at the University of Chicago on ground squirrels shows.


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Buoyed by positive same-store sales and customer traffic results, the Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) rose in November. The RPI, a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry, stood at 99.9 in November, up 0.5 percent from October. However, November marked the second consecutive month in which the RPI stood below 100.
“The November gain in the RPI was driven by improving same-store sales and customer traffic levels, both of which registered their strongest performance in three months,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the research and knowledge group for the association, in a statement.
The RPI is constructed so that the health of the restaurant industry is measured in relation to a steady-state level of 100. The RPI consists of two components: current situation index and expectations index.
The current situation index, which measures current trends in same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures, stood at 99.8 in November, an increase of 0.6 percent from a level of 99.3 in October. Although restaurant operators reported net positive sales and traffic results in November, softness in the labor and capital spending indicators outweighed the performance, which resulted in a current situation index reading below 100 for the fourth time in the last five months.
Restaurant operators reported positive same-store sales for the 18th consecutive month, with November’s results representing the strongest performance in three months, the National Restaurant Association reports. Fifty-five percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between November 2011 and November 2012, up from the 40 percent who reported positive sales in October, it states. In addition, 30 percent of operators reported lower same-store sales in November, down from 36 percent in October.
Restaurant operators also reported a net gain in customer traffic levels in November. Forty-three percent of restaurant operators reported higher customer traffic levels between November 2011 and November 2012, up from the 30 percent who reported positive traffic in October, according to the association. Meanwhile, 35 percent of operators reported lower customer traffic levels in November, down from 41 percent in October.
Although sales and traffic results improved, restaurant operators reported a dip in capital spending. Thirty-seven percent of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months, which represents the lowest level in 32 months, the association reports.
The expectations index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions, stood at 100.0 in November — up 0.4 percent from October.
Restaurant operators are somewhat more optimistic about sales growth in the coming months. Thirty-seven percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared with the same period in the previous year), up from 31 percent last month, according to the association. Meanwhile, 14 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, down from 21 percent last month, it adds.
In contrast, restaurant operators registered mixed opinions about the direction of the overall economy. Twenty-one percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, essentially unchanged from 20 percent last month, the association states. Meanwhile, 36 percent of operators said they expect economic conditions to worsen in the next six months, while 38 percent reported similarly last month.
Along with the uncertain outlook, restaurant operators reported a pullback in capital spending plans for the months ahead. Forty-five percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, down from 50 percent who reported similarly last month.
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Jamf Customers Can Upgrade with Confidence When the Latest Apple Operating Systems for iOS (10.3), macOS (10.12.4), and tvOS (10.2) Become Available
MINNEAPOLIS – March 22, 2017 – Jamf, the leader in Apple device management, announced support for the upcoming Apple releases of iOS, macOS and tvOS. When customers upgrade their iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, IT administrators using Jamf Pro (formerly Casper Suite) or Jamf Now (formerly Bushel) can be confident their management workflows will be uninterrupted. Committed to helping organizations succeed with Apple, Jamf has offered zero-day support for all Apple releases for over a decade, ensuring customers can take advantage of new Apple technology as it becomes available.
Jamf Pro Supports Operating Systems’ New Functionality
In addition to version compatibility, Jamf Pro, a solution designed specifically for professional Apple administrators, supports the new functionality launched for macOS, iOS and tvOS. This includes new security capabilities and configuration management for devices, additional managed restrictions, a new version of Apple's Classroom app, making it easier to set up ad-hoc classrooms, and substantial new device management capabilities for Apple TV, including zero-touch setup, configuration and app distribution.
Apple TV With New Management Capabilities Will Transform Experiences
“For the first time, businesses and schools can set up and manage Apple TV just like they do iPhone or iPad, which means they can not only mass deploy Apple TV with ease, but create a seamless and interconnected experience between Apple devices,” said Dave Alampi, vice president of product management and marketing, Jamf. “And, the desire to make Apple TV management more turnkey is there. In a recent survey of 959 IT admins on Jamf Nation, 97 percent reported Apple TV devices in their environment, with 35 percent saying they have 50-plus TVs. When asked about Apple TV growth, 44 percent of respondents are planning to add more Apple TV devices in the next year.”
"We imagined teachers being able to display any historic picture, map or other educational content on a classroom display with the simple command of their voice," said Blair Anderson, technology manager, Shawnee Heights School District in Tecumseh Kansas. "That's why we deployed fourth generation Apple TV devices to every classroom and conference room in the district. Being able to use Jamf Pro to manage our entire ecosystem of Apple products, including Mac, iPad and Apple TV, lets us transform, yet supervise, the total learning experience for students and help improve teacher effectiveness."
"As usual, Apple's new functionality for iOS, macOS and tvOS coupled with Jamf's zero-day support will help organizations empower people with technology that puts the user first," said Dean Hager, CEO, Jamf. "Specifically, the new management support for Apple TV opens up tremendous potential for transformation in education, healthcare, hospitality and boardrooms around the world. We have only seen the beginning of what life looks like in a world of network connected things. I look forward to the automation we can help organizations achieve by supporting future Apple innovations the day they become available.”
Since 2002, Jamf has been solely focused on helping organizations succeed with Apple. Jamf is committed to enabling IT to empower end users and bring the legendary Apple experience to businesses, education and government organizations via its Jamf Pro and Jamf Now produces, and the 42,000+ member Jamf Nation Community. Today, more than 10,000 global customers rely on Jamf to manage 7 million Apple devices. To learn more, visit: https://www.jamf.com/


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Last year was the 'year of' a number of things. One of those was certainly the 'year of the smartwatch'. With so many companies either announcing their intentions to or actually unveiling their offering. In fact, this year already looks set to be very much another year of the smartwatch with the likes of Huawei and Apple already announcing their first steps into the new realm. That said, even with last year being a big year for smartwatches (and wearables in general), it was difficult to gauge if the year was the year such tech became mainstream. Many report have been suggesting smartwatches are a niche product and have yet to hit the big time. This was further fuelled by a report which emerged not long ago suggesting Android Wear devices 'only' managed to shift 720,000 units in 2014.
A new report which has now come to light from Statista, reveals when you take Android Wear out of the equation the number of smartwatches shipped last year was actually quite high. The reports suggests that in total 6.8 million smartwatches were sold. What is probably of more interest is that of the various manufacturers, Samsung seems to have been crowned king of the smartwatch for last year. The report goes on to state that of the total 6.8 million units, Samsung alone accounted for 1.2 million of them. Which coincides with another recent report which suggested the same number. That is in stark contrast to the second biggest manufacturer, Pebble, who only managed to shift 700,000. Not to mention that the report specifically name-drops Samsung's Gear line of smartwatches as those which occupied 17.65% of the overall market share.
Other memorable mentions include Sony who managed to shift 550,000 and Lenovo who managed to shift 500,00. It is worth remembering that Lenovo presumably reflects the highly popular Moto 360 smartwatch, since Lenovo are now the owners of Motorola. Following down the list, LG accounted for 420,000 while Asus managed 120,000 units in 2014. It won't come as a big surprise to some people that Samsung do rank top, as they offer a wider selection of smartwatches then most other companies. That aside though, its collective sales cannot be argued with and does show that Samsung are quickly becoming the market leaders in this new and emerging market, as they have done in other markets before. How these companies will fare in 2015 and with the introduction of the Apple and Huawei options remains to be seen for now. What do you think of the figures? Let us know.


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Published Date: Mar 18, 2013
Pak-India Track-II dialogue
high-level business and trade delegation from Pakistan recently visited India
to take part in track-II dialogue on enhancing trade relations between the two
The dialogue, held in New-Delhi, was the result of efforts by the Sustainable
Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Indian Council for Research on
International Economic Relations (ICRIER) to forge greater business ties
between the two nations, said a press release issued on Sunday. The track-II
meeting successfully concluded with the formation of joint India-Pakistan
Business Council, which is an important milestone for businessmen of both the
countries to deliberate on issues concerning mutual trade.
was also decided to keep this process alive on a sustained footing and hold the
next meeting at Wagah-Attari border to signify the ownership of this effort.
There was also a consensus on the demand to award MFN status to India.
Referring to measures taken in terms of trade liberalisation, the delegates
showed satisfaction and mentioned the encouraging fact that Pakistani exports
to India have risen by 27 percent from $333 million to $422 million in 2012.
Pakistani delegation consisted of two former finance ministers, Dr Hafeez A
Pasha and Dr Salman Shah, SDPI Deputy Executive Director Dr Vaqar Ahmed,
Pakistan’s former ambassador to WTO Dr Manzoor Ahmed, Nestle Pakistan Chairman
Syed Yawar Ali, faculty members from LUMS and representatives of the media.
During the meeting, Pakistani delegates conveyed that for the first time there
is a consensus in Pakistan on promoting trade with India, not just in goods but
also in services along with greater cooperation on foreign direct investment.
They also explained the constraints in awarding MFN status to India and
highlighted various measures taken by the government of Pakistan for the
rationalisation of “trade list” and trade facilitation with India. Speaking on
the occasion, Dr Vaqar Ahmed of the SDPI highlighted the potential of Pakistani
investments in India and estimated it to be around $2.6 billion annually. The
dignitaries at the meeting from the Indian side included Indian Minster for
Railways Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ministry of Commerce secretary and additional
distinguished delegates included ICRIER Chairperson Isher Judge Ahluwalia, UN
ESCAP Director Nagesh Kumar and Nisha Taneja, Professor at ICRIER. A vast
number of academics from Jawarlal Nehru University; Jamia Millia University and
representatives from business community also attended the meeting.


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Valentine’s Day, with estimated sales of $15.7 billion, is a huge boon for retailers in an otherwise bleak economy, but if you’re a socially conscious consumer, finding one of the top-selling items — chocolate, jewelry or flowers — that fits your ideology may pose significant challenges.
From environmental concerns to labor rights to civil wars, American consumers may be hard-pressed to find ideologically pure valentines.
Take flowers, for example. Last year, the United States Customs and Border Protection processed 320.8 million cut flower stems from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, with 66 percent of them coming from Colombia and 33 percent from Ecuador.
The lengthy transport on refrigerated planes and trucks burns fossil fuels, says Ellen Frost, owner of a floral design company in Baltimore that deals exclusively in locally grown flowers. Because of “cheap labor and lax environmental law,” growers in Latin America can produce flowers at a much lower cost, she says.
Availability is also an issue for consumers, Frost says. When you can buy a dozen roses at a gas station or from a stand on the side of the road, you may be less likely to go to your local farmer’s market to purchase blooms.
Consumers can look for the VeriFlora certification label, which guarantees farms are audited for sustainability measures and labor practices.
“We’ve worked with the flower industries and the growers to determine how we can get the freshest flowers… that will last for the consumer,” said Michael Keyes, certification manager for Scientific Certification Systems, the company that administers the VeriFlora program.
While consumers cannot control the supply chain, they can make informed decisions about the purchase.
“Certainly talk to their florist about their flowers and share your concerns with your florist and let them know exactly what you’re looking for,” said Jenny Scala, marketing director for the Society of American Florists.
Chocolate may seem like a sweet alternative but it may be bittersweet for the socially conscious consumer.
West Africa produces 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, according to a report by the World Cocoa Foundation, where reports of forced labor and child labor continue to emerge.
Some companies are working with independent third-party monitoring organizations to trace their supply chain and make sure that the farms where their cocoa is grown comply with international labor standards, Newman said.
Hershey’s, which produces more than 40 percent of chocolate consumed in the United States, does not use third-party verification, according to a report issued by the labor rights forum.
However, Kirk Saville, a Hershey’s spokesman, said the company focuses its efforts on educational programs in farming communities and partners with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to train farmers in West Africa in production techniques, market access and crop diversification.
At the upper end of the chocolate market, members of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association value knowing not only where their beans are grown, but also how they are harvested, said Mary Jo Stojak, association executive director.
Because of their focus on quality, she said, fine chocolate creators have a vested interest in the livelihoods of the farmers who grow their beans.
As with flowers, chocolate labeling also has shortcomings.
“Just because something has a fair trade or an organic label on it,” Stojak says, “how do you know that’s true unless you talk to the farmer?”
Jewelry is another popular Valentine’s Day option, but for some, this choice loses its luster when they consider the mining practices of diamonds, stones and metals.
The 2006 movie “Blood Diamond” called attention to the issue of “conflict-free” diamonds, or diamonds that were not mined by rebel groups in war-torn countries. Congress passed the Clean Diamond Trade Act, banning the importation of any diamond not certified by the Kimberley process that ensures their production does not finance insurgent groups.
Steve Samaras, owner of Zachary’s Jewelers in Annapolis, said some shoppers were concerned about conflict-free diamonds, but ethics sometimes took a backseat to price.
“When the ‘Blood Diamond’ movie came out, we had seminars that we were attending to sort of combat the fallout that we thought this movie may present to us,” he said. “And I tell you, it was our best Christmas ever.”


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In 2019 South Africa sold 2,145,342 tonnes of chickpeas. Through 2019 alone, the demand for South Africa chickpeas (pulses/legumes category) has climbed, changing by 8.582 percent compared to the year 2018. Between 2017 and 2019, chickpeas' exports went down by -32.38 pc bringing South Africa US$2.99m for the year 2019. South Africa's chickpeas exports are classified as:
In 2019, South Africa exported chickpeas with a value of 2.99m USD, an increment of 41.91% from 2018's total chickpeas export of 2.107m USD. The annual change in value of South Africa chickpeas between 2017 to 2018 was 1815.455%.
The per year variation in the amount of South Africa's chickpeas exports between 2017 and 2019 was -32.38 percent compared to a variation of 8.582% in the period between 2018 and 2019.
South Africa's portion of the world's total chickpeas' exports in 2019 was less than 1%. South Africa is ranked position 56 in world exports of chickpeas.
South Africa's best performing export markets for chickpeas are Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Botswana and Zambia.
South Africa is a net exporter of chickpeas. The annual growth of South Africa chickpeas in value between 2015 to 2019 was -3%, per year, while annual growth in quantity for the same period was -12%, per annum.
South Africa imported 9,353 tonnes of chickpeas in 2019.


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Gameplay Trailer For Sonic Frontiers Is Out And Pretty But Not Much More
The amazing graphics of Sonic Frontiers are showcased in a new clip, but the lack of adversaries or NPCs makes it feel quite lonely
The gameplay shown off in previous trailers, particularly the lush open world that players quickly compared to games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, is the main topic of discussion surrounding Sonic Frontiers and how it differs from previous Sonic 3D offerings. Sonic Frontiers will also change up battle with new, fast-paced combat methods for Sonic to bash up his robotic adversaries with, as seen by a recent clip of video in which Sonic used punches and kicks in addition to his trusty Homing Attack and Spin Dash. This quick Sonic Frontiers teaser also hinted to a longer video being released later this week, as well as plenty of interviews and fresh material throughout the month about Sonic's next big adventure.
Indeed, IGN has now published a new Sonic Frontiers gameplay teaser through the official IGN YouTube channel, showing the Blue Blur exploring even more of the grass-covered ruins that have been heavily featured in previous Sonic Frontiers footage. Sonic shows off his complete range of platforming skills, including running, leaping, boosting, rail grinding, and even wall running, as he gathers Rings, money, and even some type of health-giving heart trinkets across beautifully portrayed ruins and landscapes. It even begins pouring at one point, implying that Sonic Frontiers may include a weather cycle in-game. Throughout the entire Sonic Frontiers gameplay clip, though, the Blue Blur does not encounter a single traditional Sonic adversary or NPC, making the huge and graphically beautiful open area feel a little too barren.
Sonic Frontiers was supposed to be published last year to celebrate Sonic The Hedgehog's 30th anniversary, but Sonic Team chose to push back the release date to allow for additional gameplay refinement and, presumably, avoid the bug-ridden releases of previous Sonic games like Sonic Colors: Ultimate.
Sonic Frontiers' lush visuals and expansive open world appear to be a promising departure from previous Sonic games' linear structure, but fans may be left wanting more after today's almost empty gameplay trailer, which some have compared to a tech demo or Sonic-themed game mod rather than a high-octane triple-A release. Of course, SEGA has plenty of time until Sonic Frontiers comes on all major platforms later this year to show off the game's more action-packed components, but it seems odd that today's demo was low on the fighting and thrills that gamers have come to anticipate from SEGA's super-fast mascot.


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The long, troubled history of Yahoo's top execs
On Tuesday, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer unveiled a cost-cutting initiative that includes trimming 15% of its workforce. It's the latest chapter in Yahoo's recent drama, as the company continues to weigh how to handle its Internet businesses amid shareholder scrutiny.
Mayer is the latest top executive at Yahoo to struggle with turning around the former Silicon Valley heavyweight. Here's a history of the executives who held Yahoo's top job:
Stock price when started: $33
Stock price when left: $20.18
Highlights: Known as the “grown up” at a very young company, Koogle drove Yahoo to its peak, moving the start-up from a simple search engine to a Silicon Valley giant. When Yahoo launched its initial public offering on April 12, 1996, it closed at $33. In early 1999, Yahoo shares would surge above $400. Then came the dot-com bust. Koogle was one of several executives that would announce their exit from Yahoo in March 2001 after reporting a huge quarterly miss.
Where is he now: Koogle serves as a board member for San Francisco-based vitamins company Olly.
Stock price when started: $22.31
Stock price when left: $28.12
Highlights: The former Warner Bros. executive ran Yahoo when it made one of its most important investments in 2005 by securing a stake in Chinese company Alibaba. Since then, Alibaba has grown into an e-commerce giant. However, Semel also committed one of several massive missteps: missing a chance to acquire Google. You know, the company that would eventually trounce Yahoo in search.
Where is he now: Semel serves as Co-Chair Emeriti on the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Stock price when started: $28.12
Stock price when left: $12.10
Highlights: The co-founder of Yahoo took over the CEO role at the request of the company’s board of directors. Along with Semel, Yang helped pull together the investment in Alibaba. But Yang was widely criticized in 2008 for spurning a buyout offer from Microsoft for $44.6 billion. As of Wednesday, Yahoo boasts a market cap above $25 billion.
Where is he now: Yang serves on the board of directors for Alibaba Group and Lenovo Group. Yang also co-founded venture capital firm AME Cloud Ventures.
Stock price when started: $12.10
Stock price when left: $12.91
Highlights: The former CEO of Autodesk was brought on board to reverse Yahoo’s fortunes in the display ad market, dominated by Google and rising threat Facebook. Between failure to catch up to Facebook and Google and continuing to lag behind in mobile, social and cloud markets, Bartz was fired two-and-a-half years later, replaced on an interim basis by chief financial officer Timothy Morse. During an interview with Fortune right after her dismissal, Bartz said Yahoo “f— ed me over.”
Where is she now: Bartz remains a member of the board of directors at Cisco, a position she’s held since 1996.
Stock price when started: $15.46
Stock price when left: $15.50
Highlights: The former president of PayPal boasts the shortest tenure as Yahoo CEO. Four months into the job, activist investor Daniel Loeb exposed inaccuracies in Thompson’s resume, claiming he did not earn a computer science degree listed among his credentials. Yahoo confirmed the misinformation and launched a review of Thompson’s hiring. Thompson would depart Yahoo, replaced by Ross Levinsohn as interim CEO.
Where is he now: Two months after leaving Yahoo, Thompson was named CEO of online shopping service ShopRunner, a position he continues to hold.
Stock price when started: $15.60
Current stock price (as of Apr. 18 close): $36.52
Highlights: The former Google star kicked off an acquisition spree, including the $1 billion deal to snag Tumblr. Yahoo’s stock price surged under Mayer, as investors appeared confident in a turnaround. So far, it hasn’t happened, and shareholders are pushing Mayer to sell off its core Internet businesses and maintain its lucrative stake in Alibaba. Yahoo recently closed a round of bidding for its core businesses.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.


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By Grace Mugabekazi, Director of New Business at Inkomoko Entrepreneur Development
In most African economies women are involved in various trades, and have been known to mostly run micro businesses. These businesses are important for the survival of their families and of local economies. Now a growing number of ambitious and competent young women in Rwanda are building strong brands to compete not just locally and regionally, but also internationally.
Last week a crowd of 40 young people convened at the Innovation Village in Kigali, Rwanda, for the opportunity to meet and interact with women in business under the Twumve Twumve forum.
Twumve Twumve, loosely translated ‘you hear us, we hear you’, is organised by the Kigali hub of the Global Shapers – convening monthly to foster dialogue between youth, and Rwandan leaders on issues about Rwandan history, government policies and more current issues such as youth unemployment .
Speaking at the event were three remarkable business women who have inspiring stories of starting small and growing into significant brands in the Rwandan market. SPRING’s Linda Mukangoga, co-founder of Haute Baso, was one of them.
Haute Baso works with young women in Rwanda to design and produce high quality African inspired apparel and accessories. Its vision is to showcase today’s Rwanda, and translate a passion for art and design into a vehicle for positive change – highlighting local and regional artisans, while promoting job creation.
Linda discussed how she teamed up with Partner Candy Basomingera 13 months ago to start Haute Baso. The two women had $1500 as start-up capital, significant knowledge of the industry and a clear vision of what they wanted to build.
Linda attributes their success as a brand to the people who have inspired and supported them. She said:
“The SPRING Accelerator program has certainly exceeded our expectations. When we first signed up, we thought we would mostly benefit from the investment. As a startup that was gaining market recognition, financing our growth was a key need. However, the experience with SPRING has been so much more. We have had a large team of experts working with us to improve our business model. We have redirected our focus to producing better quality products rather than our initial plan to grow in the size of production. We have hands-on support on a day-to-day basis moving us in the right direction. It’s an opportunity I wish for more young entrepreneurs to get.”
To find out more about Haute Baso, visit www.hautebaso.com.


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There have been some wild comments thrown around recently, and we’re pleased to say that at least one of them may be correct. Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola’s Mobile Devices Division, has stated that Motorola plan on bringing to market a 2Ghz Android smartphone this year. This has come right from the horse’s mouth, so we’re inclined to believe that the Droid designers will do their best to make sure this happens. A 2Ghz Android phone will make it the fastest yet, by a mile.
Some other rumors that are floating around at the moment include whispers that this new device will also push NVIDIA Tegra graphics. Oh, as well as Flash 10.1. Did we forget a gyroscope and HD video recording and output too? Those might be there as well. These ideas come from a different Moto exec so we’re less inclined to put our faith into all of them. We would love to be proven wrong, however.
[Via Know Your Cell]