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By Ching Lee Assistant Editor Ag Alert
Reprinted with permission from the California Farm Bureau Federation
Legal challenges by grocers, restaurants and retailers have temporarily blocked enforcement of part of a new California law that bans the sale of whole pork meat from pigs housed in spaces that fail to meet the law’s minimum requirements.
The business groups sued the state because the California Department of Food and Agriculture is more than two years late finalizing regulations for Proposition 12. The measure was approved by California voters in 2018 and sets minimum spacing requirements for breeding pigs, egg-laying hens and veal calves.
The Jan. 21 ruling focuses on regulations for intrastate pork sales, which took effect Jan. 1. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James Arguelles agreed to delay enforcement for pork retailers, including grocers, until 180 days after final regulations are enacted. The business groups had asked for 28 months.
The court decision does not, however, change Proposition 12 requirements for pork producers, which must give breeding pigs at least 24 square feet of floor space.
CDFA said in a statement that the “narrow” ruling applies only to grocers and other retailers and not to producers providing pork products to California, and that “producers and suppliers remain subject to enforcement if they violate the square-footage requirement that went into effect Jan. 1.”
The ruling also does not apply to sales of shell eggs, liquid eggs and veal in California, the department said. Earlier phases of the law dealing with spacing for veal calves and egg layers went into effect in 2020.
CDFA spokesman Steve Lyle said the department and the Attorney General’s Office are evaluating the ruling to determine next steps.
“CDFA continues its work to develop implementing regulations for Proposition 12, moving as quickly as possible while ensuring full consideration is given to extensive comments submitted by stakeholders during a recent public comment period,” he said. “In the meantime, CDFA continues with outreach and education efforts to support compliance by pork producers.”
California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said the organization agrees with the court ruling and that it will continue to engage in the regulatory process to ensure producers’ voices are heard.
“Allowing restaurants, retailers and ultimately, consumers time to adapt to the proposed regulations just makes sense,” he said. “This process has been delayed by many factors, including COVID, and the regulatory process should not be rushed.”
The law is controversial because not only does it set production standards for pigs raised in California, it also prohibits the sale of uncooked pork from other states that do not comply with Proposition 12 housing requirements.
Some 87% of pork sold in California comes from pigs born and raised outside the state, according to the hearing record.
The U.S. pork industry is highly integrated, people in the business say. Breeding pigs and their offspring are frequently raised on more than one farm, changing hands from farmers to processors to distributors before the meat is ready for sale. Because there is currently no system in place that traces pork sold in California to a particular pig raised outside the state, groups in the California suit say it would be difficult, if not impossible, to comply with Proposition 12.
The state argues that pork sellers and suppliers have had time to create their own interstate tracking system since the law was passed in late 2018.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the organization is pleased with the California court decision, which he said recognized the state “rushed implementation of Proposition 12 without clear rules on how it will be enforced.”
“Besides putting unfair pressure on retailers, it takes away farmers’ flexibility to ensure hogs are raised in a safe environment,” Duvall said. “Small farms across the country will be forced to make expensive and unnecessary changes to their operations, which will lead to more consolidation and higher food prices for all of America’s families.”
AFBF and the National Pork Producers Council last year petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the constitutionality of Proposition 12, which they contend violates the Commerce Clause by regulating how other states comply with the law.
“The laws of one state should not set the rules for an entire nation,” Duvall said.
Some grocery chains and pork suppliers have said they were prepared to comply with Proposition 12. Even so, groups in the California suit, including Los Angeles County-based meat processor Kruse and Sons Inc., contend they should not be exposed to the threat of criminal and civil sanctions when the state still lacks final regulations.
CDFA has said it does not expect to adopt final regulations until April or July. The state was supposed to finalize regulations in September 2019 on production facility registration, certification, verification audits, border-station inspection and penalties for violations, including an appeal process. However, the department did not publish its revised proposed regulations until Dec. 3 last year.
The proposed regulations would require pork distributors to register with CDFA to engage in commercial sales in California. The rules would also enable the agency to accredit third-party certifiers.


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Greys products are stocked by all good angling stores worldwide.
Congratulations to Ed Betteridge who has banked a new PB common at 45.10lb with a fish known as the Goldfish. The fish is currently at its heaviest weight and is...
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Darren Belton's top ten tips for early spring fishing...Kit - It's a great time to check your kit. If you have been angling all winter then your kit will have taken...

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When 32-year-old Ganesh Ram attended an ‘Innovators Identification’ camp organised by Vellore Institute of Technology’s (VIT) Technology Business Incubator (TBI) in 2008, he had presented fresh ideas in the mobile sector that got him selected for a three-month advanced business coaching programme. This course eventually led to the inception of Vellore-based Mobile Veda, a company that deals with mobile publishing. Though Ram had earlier worked in the web solutions domain under eMahatva Technologie Pvt. Ltd. (eMahatva), with Mobile Veda, he and co-founder Saravanan Nagarajan shifted their focus from web services to developing products. With initial funding of Rs. 4.2 lakh on loan from VIT, the young team is able to utilise the university’s resources, especially its students who often help in its project development and some of whom have been employed by the company. Besides the loan from VIT and the founders’ seed money of Rs. 4 lakh, the company was also supported by grants from the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India for Rs. 4.5 lakh for one of its projects.
“One of the first projects we did was in 2008 to publish a Tamil book about Periyar on our website Fublish, for users to download.”
The team consists of about nine members with Ram overseeing administration and sales, while Nagarajan, who joined full time in 2009, looks into technology development. Ram soon hopes to shift base to Chennai, where a separate team of six works on product development and support. “One of the first projects we did was in 2008 to publish a Tamil book about Periyar on our website Fublish, for users to download,” says Ram. The website now has over 16,000 registered users with 300+ books and has seen about 60,000 downloads. According to Ram, the Thirukkural has been downloaded more than one lakh times. Most Java-enabled phones can download these books once the users register on the site and applications are also made available for various smart devices. Many of these classic books are copyright-free content available publicly which Mobile Veda chooses to publish that customers can download for a fee. Others like the yet-to-be published crime novels of Tamil writer Rajesh Kumar are done in agreement with the authors.
Founders: Ganesh Ram and Saravanan Nagarajan
Year founded: 2008
USP: Mobile publishing
Post its inception, it was not long before Mobile Veda ventured into publishing in other languages with the help of its mobile content packaging system platform and currently publishes books in eight languages including Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada and Telugu. Seed was another venture that brought out the publication of 1,000 English and Tamil books, which also helped the company bag Tamil Nadu’s best software award of 2008 and a grant of one lakh rupees. “For a reasonable fee, users can get these books either onto a memory card or on a CD. We are also revamping it currently to add more categories like short stories, children’s books etc. and make the process simpler,” says Ram. In 2011, Ram won the Young Publishing Entrepreneur award given by British Council and will be participating in the London Book Fair next year. The company is also looking to tie-up with publishers in other local languages to get its books published on the mobile platform. It also partners with smaller publishers to digitise their content or licences its technology to them, as in the case of a Tamil weekly magazine, Ananda Vikatan.
CellNool is an ambitious project of making Seed available to a million people, as Ram says. To make this happen, the company is hoping to attract angel investors in the near future. “We are looking to hire more experienced people in this domain and have a dedicated sales team. We are hoping, in the next six months, a complete structure falls into place to move forward.” The company also plans to publish academic books in the near future.
The digital domain has never daunted Pradeep Chopra (34) and Kapil Nakra (34), founders of Digital Vidya that imparts training on digital marketing. “Since establishing the company in January 2010, the challenge of convincing professionals about the need for digital marketing has reduced,” says Chopra, chief-executive officer, Digital Vidya. The company has differentiated itself from other competitors by being among the first to hold workshops on social media marketing (SMM). With over 70 workshops involving more than 1,200 participants in India and Singapore, Digital Vidya’s corporate client list spans various industries.
“It is a case-study based workshop with hands-on training for two days that is usually attended by about 30 people. We basically guide them through various steps about the importance of SMM and leveraging various social media tools from creating, strategising to measuring the return on investment.”
Prior to Digital Vidya, Chopra and Nakra, batch mates at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, co-founded Whizlabs, an information technology education company and later OMLogic Consulting, a digital marketing company, and helped both these companies to leverage the digital medium in establishing their brands. Having seen the role digital media, especially social media, plays in a brand’s development, they decided to impart the same knowledge to others. A year later, they were joined by their college-mate Manas Garg, who takes care of the technology division from Bengaluru. With seed funding of Rs. 5 lakh, the founders relied on their network to setup the first workshop, but soon word of mouth helped set the process in motion. Digital Vidya holds both public and customised corporate workshops every month in New Delhi and Mumbai and once every quarter in Singapore. Though Chopra and Nakra are the principal trainers, the company is also internally training its team of 20 employees besides occasionally bringing in outside trainers. “It is a case-study based workshop with hands-on training for two days that is usually attended by about 30 people. We basically guide them through various steps about the importance of SMM and leveraging various social media tools from creating, strategising to measuring the return on investment,” adds Chopra.
Founders: Pradeep Chopra, Kapil Nakra, Manas Garg
Place: New Delhi
Year founded: 2010
USP: Digital marketing with specialisation on social media marketing
According to Chopra, the biggest fear most professionals have of social media is the rippling negative effect. “But having a presence in this medium makes sure you can take steps to rectify anything negative, than to be completely in the dark about it. Plus, SMM is about building relationships with customers, it cannot be seen as a promotional campaign,” he states. The company’s tangent business, dvBytes is an extension of Digital Vidya that offers consultation services to companies in executing digital marketing. “By serving real customers, we bring in practical knowledge to these workshops, along with our 11 years of experience in this domain,” says Chopra. And Chopra feels a company can benefit by having an in-house digital marketing team. “There are quite a few companies that already have internal teams, but this medium is so fast-paced that it requires one to be constantly updated, including us.”
Digital Vidya has become profitable over a year even as it has expanded its team and services arm. “We are not looking at any further funding. We are in talks with a few advertising agencies to partner with them and hope to expand our workshops to more cities,” concludes Chopra.


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Sony once again highlighted the PlayStation VR Spotlight announcements, this time revealing six new VR titles coming to PSVR in 2021.
Sony is once again putting the spotlight on PlayStation VR by surprise by announcing six new titles launching for the device sometime this year. One of those games included the recent presentation of DOOM 3: VR Edition for PSVR, which will be released later this month on March 29.
The new game reveals come at an interesting time for the platform. In particular, the latest major PSVR releases were released last year: Marvel’s Iron Man VR, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, Y Star Wars: Squads. Each one is a licensed game, and only Marvel’s Iron Man VR It was built from the ground up with Sony headphones in mind. None of this means that the hardware manufacturer has abandoned its virtual reality companies, far from it, in fact. Rather, the company’s actions denote its commitment to duplicating the technology, as evidenced by recent news that a next-gen PlayStation VR headset is well advanced in development.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
In a PlayStation VR Spotlight post for the PlayStation BlogSony unveiled six new PSVR titles coming to the device this year. As mentioned above, the upcoming March 29th release for DOOM 3: VR Edition counts as one of those surprise announcements. Arizona sun Developer Vertigo Games revealed After the fall, a cooperative first-person shooter game that will put players in the role of “Slightly overpowered 80s action hero. “Apart from a”Coming soon“Notice, release details are scant. However, fans can sign up for the team After the fall newsletter for a chance to participate in an upcoming multiplayer beta. Spy game inspired by James Bond I hope you die returns to PSVR later this year with Hope You Die 2: The Spy and the Liar. Once again, fans can look forward to diving deep into IEYTD’s world of espionage, which will be completed with a series of new twists and turns.
Developer Ramen VR’s New Project Is Inspired By JRPG Zenith, an MMORPG created for virtual reality. In this vibrant open world, players can expect to scale everything, as well as dive into a deep combat system. Fractured launches on PSVR this summer; Developer nDreams intends to push gamers into a fast-paced action adventure with run-and-cover shootouts, skiing, climbing, and free running. Finally, survival game Song in the smoke counts as the sixth title to come out of Sony’s PSVR Spotlight. In Song in the smoke, players will have no choice but to scavenge and hunt to survive the beautiful but deadly landscape that surrounds them.
This year could be quite important for PSVR. In a degree, Hitman 3 It started with PSVR support, although the six newly announced titles seem to really give device owners another reason to plug it back in.
Sony released PlayStation VR in October 2016, and since then it has made a huge impact on the market as the best-selling VR unit. By January 2020, the device had moved an impressive five million units, according to information from the hardware manufacturer.
Next: PlayStation VR Dev Working On PS5 Exclusive With Multiplayer, Job Offers Suggest
Source: PlayStation Blog
Wii U receives first firmware update in three years


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The UK’s favourite soap, Coronation Street, is offering advertisers
new ways to harness its brand and helping to turn mobile phones into a
Following an exclusive deal between the makers of Coronation Street,
Granada Media Group, and phone retailer DX Communications, soap fans can
get an earful of the latest Coronation Street gossip with the launch of
the first media-linked mobile phone.
The deal allows owners of a special Coronation Street-branded Motorola
phone to connect to a Coronation Street hotline, which alerts them to
future developments on the Street.
Different messages can be received, along with weekly pre-recorded
updates on plots and scheduling changes.
The tie-up, which will initially run for six months, is the first in a
series of initiatives by Granada Media Group’s airtime sales house,
Laser Sales, to open up the Coronation Street name to advertisers by
more ambient means. It also coincides with the launch of the Coronation
Street fan club, which is being promoted in The Sun this week, together
with details of the new Coronation Street phone.
Caroline Hughes, commercial director at Laser Sales, said: ’We’re trying
to cross-fertilise partnership opportunities and seeking to provide
advertisers with ways of getting close to the programme brand without
bombarding consumers with commercial messages.’
An initial 5000 phones have been produced and Granada expects up to
80,000 people to sign up to the fan club.
Laser Sales is keen to attract further advertisers and said it will be
talking to DX Communications about link-ups with other successful
Other deals have included product placement in the latest Coronation
Street video, Viva Las Vegas, by companies such as Avis Rent A Car and
Motorola. Avis has since linked up with the Coronation Street fan club
to offer fans discounted holiday breaks.


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Following a busy few months, SiGMA caught up with the Malta Gaming Authority‘s executive chairman, Joseph Cuschieri, to find out more about the developing landscape of gaming regulation and the authority’s position.
At the end of February, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) hosted a conference entitled “The Developing Landscape of Gaming Regulation. What Next?” with an emphasis on the key drivers of the future of gambling. Could you share some outcomes of the conference with us? How does the regulatory body see the future of online gaming?
Traditionally, not many regulators are usually present at these kind of events so, in this respect, the conference we organised was one of a kind in that the MGA welcomed no less than 24 fellow regulators which created the perfect opportunity for them to interact and exchange views with the several operators who also attended this event. Following a number of panels discussing regulatory issues, several workshops were held during the afternoon session dealing with various current topics affecting this constantlyevolving industry. The workshop format enabled inclusive and informal discussions among the various stakeholders which may now be taken to higher levels. A number of action points for the attention of regulators were identified. These discussions reflected the will of the various regulators to get a better understanding of the operations in the industry. While from a legal perspective, it is clear that almost all European regulators have adopted separated national regimes, it is also evident that anincreasing number of them are interested in learning more about the industry and implementing controls that are practical and relevant to it.
It seems like the MGA is looking into the possibility of regulating the use of cryptocurrencies in gaming. Recently, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat himself made bold remarks in favour of Europe leading the way in bitcoin: where are we? And is the MGA working closely with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) on this front?
The MGA is fully cognizant of the fact that the rise of cryptocurrencies is inevitable. Conscious of the need to remain at the forefront of innovation, the Authority has commissioned a study with the involvement of other local stakeholders, including the MFSA, to ensure that all the relevant factors are taken into consideration in devising the manner in which best to cater for the use of cryptocurrencies in gaming. Thus, so far the key risks presented thereby have been identified. The Authority is committed to permitting its licensees to introduce the use of cryptocurrencies in the immediate future once the above-mentioned study is concluded. The outcomes of this study are expected to assist the MGA in devising a commensurate framework which incorporates the necessary safeguards to ensure that the introduction of cryptocurrencies in the local gaming ecosystem does not prejudice primary regulatory objectives, such as the protection of players, the prevention of crime, and the reputation of the Maltese jurisdiction.
During the first semester of 2016, the gaming industry contributed 12% of the total economic value added generated in the Maltese economy with employment in the gaming industry rising by 31% year on year. Do you anticipate Fantasy Sports playing a significant role in sustaining this growth?
Fantasy Sports has been gathering significant interest over the past few years. However, it still remains to be seen whether the American phenomenon will be able to catch on in Europe. Suffice it to say that our recent initiatives in this sector have generated numerous queries and substantial interest.
The Skill Games Regulations came into force last January. Undoubtedly, this was a big step for the industry. What was the reason behind introducing this new set of Regulations?
This new framework has given us the ability to apply the right controls on new, emergent games in accordance with the risks they pose to consumers. After research into these evolving products, the MGA found that while the proliferation of certain online skill games offered for money may require regulatory intervention, the risks being presented were different to those being presented, for example, by online casinos. Different products present different risks to consumers and the creation of a framework that is more specific to skill games will allow us to look at these emerging games with a different lens.
How do you see the future of the Fantasy Sports niche in Malta and how do you think it will change in the light of the new Regulations? A set of criteria make Fantasy Sports a skill-based game, not a game of chance.
Now that we have designed a framework, that includes specific technical requirements for Fantasy Sports operators, I believe that more operators will be looking at Malta as their jurisdiction of primary establishment in view of the legal certainty now in place and a robust, consumer-centric framework. This framework will consolidate and increase Malta’s profile as a highly reputable jurisdiction when it comes to the regulation of gaming, with the licence itself being the golden standard of quality.
Some Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) are more skill-based than others because their modes of assessment is more complex. Are there a number of criteria that a DFS needs to fulfill in order to qualify as a skill-based game?
First of all, the framework doesn’t only address Daily Fantasy Sports, but also addresses weekly or season-long fantasy games. The law itself lists the criteria against which the MGA needs to carry out an assessment. We look at the specifications of the game itself, how points are generated and assigned to players and any other game features. If we remain unconvinced that it is a skill-based game, we will ask the operator to present proof – the onus to prove that it is indeed a skill-based game rests with the operator.
The MGA has amended the Remote Gaming Regulations to strengthen consumer protection and promote administrative simplification. What were the most important changes you implemented? What did they mean for operators and players?
We are always trying to make things easier for operators who must be compliant with an increasing range of different laws. The industry has evolved significantly over the last few years and this has shifted the focus on empowering consumers, putting them at the centre of all regulation and ensuring they have the right tools to manage their participation in an evolving sector. The most recent changes to the law were instigated by these considerations and shall also serve as a basis for further change which is yet to come with the regulatory overhaul we are proposing to government this year. Having been in the regulation game for over ten years now, the MGA is cognizant of the shortcomings that must be addressed in order to keep Malta on the regulatory forefront, forever innovating and growing the sector while ensuring the pillars of gaming regulation are not jeopardised.
We know that the MGA continued working with the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) on the implementation of the new 4th Anti Money Laundering Directive (AMLD), set to come into force this year. Could you shed some light on this cooperation and its results?
We can report very positive progress with regard to cooperation with the FIAU in recent months. All operators in the gaming industry will become ‘obliged entities’ under the new 4th AMLD and we have been working hard, together with the FIAU, to implement the Directive and publish clear guidelines on how the various sectors of the industry ought to assume their new obligations. Following informal consultation with the industry and a risk assessment, the MGA is now discussing particular aspects of the proposed implementation with the FIAU. Once a draft document is agreed to between the two entities, the industry will be consulted once again. The MGA, supported by the FIAU, is committed to implementing the new directive in a way which safeguards the industry from money laundering and the funding of terrorism while ensuring that the controls imposed are commensurate with the exigencies of the industry.
The Malta Gaming Authority participated in SiGMA16 and you took part in the Regulatory Conference. How did you find last year’s edition?
I believe SiGMA16 was a great event! A number of high profile speakers and industry experts participated, and the topics tackled during the different discussion panels were very relevant and engaging. The presence of top industry stakeholders continued to increase in this last edition, leading to some excellent networking opportunities for those who attended. All this makes SiGMA a truly international gaming EXPO, placing Malta, once again, on the ‘Must Do’ list of the yearly gaming calendar events.
This article was published first on SiGMA Magazine.
|Relive the highlights from our last show and stay tuned for this year’s SiGMA. Watch out for what we’re branding as the ‘iGaming Village’ this year.
||Are you an operator looking for top affiliates? Are you a top affiliate looking for a nice treat with like-minded affiliates playing at the same level?


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The plant will be located in St. Thomas, with production set to begin in 2027
The Volkswagen Group and its battery company PowerCo is to establish a gigafactory for cell manufacturing in Ontario, Canada.
The plant, which will be located in St. Thomas, will produce sustainable unified cells, with the start of production planned for 2027.
Oliver Blume, CEO Volkswagen Group: “With the decisions for cell production in Canada and a Scout site in South Carolina we’re fast-forwarding the execution of our North American strategy.”
Scout Motors, an independent US company backed by Volkswagen Group, recently announced that it is establishing its first manufacturing plant near Columbia.
The plant will build next-generation trucks and rugged SUVs harkening back to its vehicles produced from 1960 to 1980, with production projected to begin by the end of 2026.
Thomas Schmall, board member for technology of Volkswagen AG and chairman of the Supervisory Board of PowerCo, said: “Our gigafactory in Canada sends a strong message: PowerCo is on track to become a global battery player.
“With the expansion to North America, we will enter a key market for e-mobility and battery cell production, driving forward our global battery strategy at full speed.”
This will be PowerCo’s first cell factory in North America and the third group-owned plant worldwide, after Salzgitter and Valencia.
In a recent interview with Automotive Logistics, Matthias Braun, head of battery cell logistics at PowerCo, explained how the Salzgitter plant will serve as a blueprint for battery cell operations for other locations.
“Our operations in Salzgitter will set a benchmark for everything that we do elsewhere, and so it is a great opportunity and responsibility to ensure that our logistics and supply chain operations help us to have a smooth ramp up and are also future oriented,” he said.
More details on the St. Thomas gigafactory will be revealed in the near future.
The Volkswagen Group says it is “driving forward the introduction of the broadest portfolio of full-electric vehicles in the United States”, with its brands set to introduce more than 25 new BEV models through to 2030.
In addition to its ramped-up assembly of the all-electric ID.4 compact SUV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Volkswagen also has plans to upgrade the plants in Puebla and Silao, Mexico, for the assembly of BEVs and potentially for BEV components such as electric motors in the second half of the decade.


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When was the last time you walked into your local bank branch? I have banked with HSBC in the UK for two decades and can count the number of times I physically visited a branch. My banking needs back then were simple: a debit and credit card plus a rarely used cheque book. Today, I need additional products such as a mortgage and I’ll be damned if I must speak to a chatbot or wait on the phone until the cows come home. The customer service has deteriorated to the point where I am starting to think it is time to cut my losses and find another bank. But what is the alternative?
During the nine-year period I spent working in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as a corporate banker (ironically for HSBC’s main rival), the number of bank branches in the UK reduced from 11,355 in 2012 to 8,525 in October 2021. A similar trend is being seen in many parts of the world. What is driving this shift away from brick-and-mortar banking and what are the implications for the banks themselves?
The pursuit of profits
Banks argue that the main driver for branch rationalisation is the indisputable fact that the demand for branch services has been in decline for decades and was only accelerated by the pandemic. The automation of simple banking products like credit cards and personal loans has also reduced the need for face time. The rise of digital banking and the corresponding decrease in cash usage has been mainly driven by the tech savvy Millennials and Gen Z. The whole retail sector has been impacted by the shift to digital and the death of the high street is nigh as stores are closing at a faster rate than bank branches.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is concerned about the impact that bank closures will have on financial inclusion. Branches are the primary banking method for the elderly, rural communities, and small businesses, for whom cash remains an important part of day-to-day transactions. The tension between financial and societal impact is coming to the fore with branch closures. Customers view banks as a utility – there to provide a service when needed like electricity, water, and internet connectivity.
Banks see themselves as answerable only to shareholders and the pursuit of profits is of paramount importance. However, banks such as NatWest are developing services to compensate for the lack of branch footprint such as video banking, mobile vans (think ice cream truck but with cash) which allow customers to deposit or withdraw cash; community bankers who meet clients in local shared spaces such as libraries; and postal cash delivery services.
How sound are the assumptions?
Banks have assumed that Millennials and Gen Z are using digital banking to keep their savings in low interest-bearing bank accounts. Instead, these younger generations are the main purchasers of crypto currencies (94% market share) and are fuelling the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) trade. Their savings are not staying within the traditional banking system.
The neglected elderly, rural communities and small businesses will likely switch to other providers such as the Post Office, which provides limited services such as cash deposits and withdrawals but cannot give loans. Cooperative banks, which were originally established to serve rural communities, are in a unique position to increase market share as seen in countries like India where they performed strongly during the pandemic. Across the world, local and state-owned banks are now able to compete in the space long held by big international banks who are reducing their footprint.
What’s next for banks?
The ability to collect customer deposits was unique to retail banking and the digital banking age has lowered the barriers to entry, allowing new players to swim in the same pool. Banks that will thrive are the ones who consistently deliver superior customer service to retain customers (think American Express). Banks will also need to deliver efficient transaction banking services to win corporate deposits such as from the Post Offices and Cooperative banks, which are not as cheap as retail deposits.
Analysts will start looking for earning warnings such as increasing loan-to-deposit ratios, signalling a drop in retail deposits; decreasing net interest margins, as banks rely more on corporate deposits; and an increase in bank funding costs. This will be passed on to consumers and have an impact at the macro level.
Will the branch closures strategy pay off in the long run? I think banks are giving away the keys to the castle and pursuing short-term profitability at the expense of the long-term. Only time will tell.


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0631 GMT January 29, 2020
The deal between Iran Khodro and Mercedes-Benz Trucks includes creating a joint company that provides sales and after-sale services in the Islamic Republic.
According to the report, a second deal would be also signed next month to create a joint venture in Iran for production of heavy vehicles including Actros trucks.
French PSA – the maker of Peugeots and Citroens – and rival Renault have pushed hard into Iran since its 2015 deal with world powers that saw international sanctions lifted in return for modification on Tehran’s nuclear activities.
PSA has signed production deals worth €700 million ($768 million), while Renault has announced a new plant investment to increase its production capacity to 350,000 vehicles a year.
Daimler also plans to return as a shareholder in the former engine joint venture Iranian Diesel Engine Manufacturing Co. (IDEM) based in Tabriz to build diesel engines. The German company has said it intended to buy 30 percent of shares which it had sold in IDEM.
The company has a long track record in Iran with a business dating back to the 1950s, where it sold up to 10,000 vehicles a year.
There is a high pent-up demand in the Iranian truck market, where the country is estimated to replace 56,000 commercial vehicles over the next three to five years.
According to Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade plan, about 200,000 commercial vehicles will be replaced in the coming years.


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“We’ve turned the corner on artificial intelligence,” says Justin Chase, Intouch EVP of innovation. Smart devices make it easier for consumers to get the information they need and the products they want, and for businesses to gather data about their audiences.
One area where AI is currently making the biggest splash for consumers is in voice-responsive smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple Homepod and Sonos One. Recipes, news updates, trivia quizzes, music, even exercise and meditation guidance … all this and so much more is accessible via these smart assistants.
There’s a place for pharma, too, so Intouch created Ruby, an AI bot built specifically for the healthcare industry. To learn more about Ruby and how it can work for brands, check out the video.


text: It's all about impulse control. We, as a society, almost certainly know more about the foods we eat than ever before. We've always been aware that greasy, fattening and salty treats are "bad" for us. Now, we know what makes them that way. In recent years, fast-food chains have been forced to become more transparent. So, too, have other chain restaurants across the country. Click through the gallery above to see the calorie counts for some of the most common fast-food menu items. MORE:\u00a0Now that we're getting Shake Shack, here are the fast food chains the Bay Area still needs There are also a other food items on the list that contain more than double those that come off the drive-thru line. --- Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | email@example.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.


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DejaVu: Vehicle Production StoppedBy Alejandro Enríquez | Thu, 03/18/2021 - 17:36
Just a year after lockdowns, production plants entered a new shutdown period due to chip shortages. The circumstance has been influencing the sector since the beginning of the year. Honda and Toyota are the most recent OEMs to cut production.
In other matters, Volkswagen celebrates 13 million vehicles manufactured at its Puebla production plant. Meanwhile, Foxconn is considering Mexico as an alternative for its first EV plant.
In this week's featured interviews, we introduce the head of Automotive Marketplace at Mercado Libre, Jorge Dávila. Also, the CEO of Alian Plastics explains how smart manufacturing capabilities have made the company a diversified Tier 2 plastics supplier.
Additionally, we are honored to introduce our series of analyses as part of Mexico Automotive Review’s first digital edition.
Ready? This is the Week in Automotive!
Toyota Motor and Honda Motor announced new production halts in North America due to supply chain issues. Toyota will cut production in Kentucky, West Virginia and Mexico, while Honda will halt production at most US and Canadian plants. The latter company had previously announced production cuts in Mexico.
Digital channels are the new normal. As the pandemic accelerated e-commerce, materializing the leap that was expected to take years, the automotive industry embraced the challenge of digital sales through diverse strategies, from partnerships with large e-commerce players and banks to extensive training programs focused on the online sales channel. Take a look at one of our analysis for Mexico Automotive Review first edition 2021
Mercado Libre: Transparency, Immediacy Key Elements of Digital Sales
Eighty percent of people do research in digital marketplaces before purchasing a vehicle. Mercado Libre's Head of the Automotive Marketplace Jorge Dávila shares key focus areas for automakers to consider when embracing digital channels.
Alian Plastics: Smart Manufacturing to Attract New Customers
Felipe Villarreal, CEO of Alian Plastics, shares his experience on the role smart manufacturing has played in the development of a successful Tier 2 company now working with Audi, BMW and Tesla, among others.
Bocar: Anticipating Customer Needs to Sustain Growth
Learn about the legacy of one of the most successful Mexican suppliers in the market with more than 60 years of experience in aluminum high pressure die casting and semi-permanent mold components.
DiDi just signed a collaboration agreement with the Ministry of Security of the State of Mexico to connect with the state’s Control, Command, Communication, Computing and Quality Center (C5) within the framework of the company’s initiative “DiDi Mujer,” which was designed to offer better protection for women who use this platform.
Volkswagen México has set a new production record at its Puebla plant, which recently welcomed Taos, the German brand's new model. “The talent, commitment and passion of our team have made it possible for Volkswagen Mexico to maintain its growth trajectory with the production of 13 million cars,” said Steffen Reiche, President of Volkswagen México.
Foxconn will decide this year between Mexico and Wisconsin to set up its first electric vehicle plant, President of Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn's flagship unit, Young Liu, said during a press conference on Tuesday. Liu said the availability and affordability of skilled labor and engineering talent will be among the decisive factors.
The company announced plans to build half of a dozen battery cell plants in Europe while expanding charging infrastructure for electric vehicles globally, accelerating efforts to overtake Tesla and speed up mass adoption of battery-powered cars.


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When Amazon.com (AMZN -1.90%) CEO Jeff Bezos announced he would purchase The Washington Post last August, many puzzled over the decision longer than a Saturday crossword. Who buys a newspaper in this day and age (except Warren Buffett)? What does Bezos know about newspapers? Will The Washington Post just turn into a Kindle-accessible e-newspaper?
Finally, some answers can be divined from the paper's latest strategic decision: It will offer free digital subscriptions to subscribers of other papers across the U.S. This means subscribers to The Dallas Morning News, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The Toledo Blade, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will be able to access the Post's digital content.
And while Bezos' future plans are truly only known to him, this could be the first step in a future path turning his newspaper into the Amazon.com of its industry. That is, a formidable force based on long-term thinking and shrewd tactics.
Lessons from Amazon.com
Amazon.com was first an underdog, selling only books versus established giants. However, it was a first-mover in terms of selling through the Internet, and then broadening its market with other products, and then becoming a marketplace through which it didn't even have to sell anything itself, but just allow others to transact through its website.
The Washington Post is in a similar underdog position. According to the Alliance for Audited Media, there are six papers ahead of Bezos' in terms of average circulation:
|Newspaper||Print Circulation||Digital Circulation||Owner|
|Wall Street Journal||1,480,725||898,102||News Corp.|
|New York Times||731,395||1,133,923||The New York Times Company (NYT -2.66%)|
|USA TODAY||1,424,406||249,900||Gannett (GCI)|
|Los Angeles Times||432,873||177,720||Tribune|
|New York Daily News||360,459||155,706||Daily News, LP|
|New York Post||299,950||200,571||News Corp.|
|Washington Post||431,149||42,313||Nash Holdings, LLC|
And, more importantly, the Post is behind in terms of digital circulation -- arguably the future for any news service as readers turn to mobile devices.
But, the Post doesn't have an inherent advantage, like being one of the first e-commerce websites. So, Bezos has to create some.
A strategy of free
How do you quickly build an audience or customer base? Offer things for free! Amazon Prime, while sold with the value of free two-day shipping, includes access to free media on Amazon Instant and the Kindle Owners Lending Library. While butting heads with Netflix would have been a tough slog if sold on its own, by pairing Amazon Instant with a service already deemed valuable, it could shoehorn its way into a customer's life.
So, the Post will employ a similar strategy to bump its digital readers. Users already pay for their local paper, and now they might enjoy and make the Post's potentially more comprehensive national and international online content a part of their routine -- at no extra cost. And, the Financial Times reports that a free digital subscription to the Post could also be added to Amazon Prime, or even digital music service Spotify.
Looking farther into the future, the Post could leverage these relationships with local papers to allow for even more integrated partnerships: Imagine a news source that would provide knowledgeable, local coverage with Pulitzer Prize-winning world news. While this would require separate publications in print form, with digital formats that can blur and combine the sources, it's easily achievable. A reader of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wouldn't have to visit both the Star Tribune's website and the Post's anymore, but just one site where good content would be fairly guaranteed.
And that is very similar to the way in which customers flock to Amazon.com, knowing that someone will likely sell whatever they are looking for, and that it's likely been vetted for quality.
One of Amazon.com's values is customer focus, and while the lines between a reader and a customer are fuzzy, just as they can be between a newspaper and a business, it could be a winning long-term tactic for the future of news.


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Apple supplier Foxconn has stated that it has a plan in place to continue to meet all manufacturing obligations in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in China and that iPhone production should not be affected.
Reuters reports that Apple’s Taiwan-based supplier Foxconn has stated that it plans to meet all manufacturing obligations in China as the country deals with the contagious coronavirus. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said in a statement on Tuesday:
We do not comment on our specific production practices, but we can confirm that we have measures in place to ensure that we can continue to meet all global manufacturing obligations.
Foxconn is closely monitoring the current public health challenge linked to the coronavirus and we are applying all recommended health and hygiene practices to all aspects of our operations in the affected markets. Our facilities in China are following holiday schedules and will continue to do so until all businesses have resumed standard operating hours,
Apple has closed one of its Chinese-based stores and restricted store hours in response to the coronavirus according to CEO Tim Cook. The Apple CEO added that the company was “restricting travel to business-critical travel,” for employees. Cook said in an interview with CNBC that this quarter’s earnings could be affected by the virus, stating:”There’s more uncertainty, it’s a very fluid situation.”
Media reports and stock market analysts have demonstrated concern about Foxconn’s ability to keep production up despite the coronavirus. Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said that Apple could be in trouble if employees across Foxconn and other component manufacturing hubs in China are physically restricted. “If the China outbreak becomes more spread it could negatively impact the supply chain which would be a major investor worry,” he said
Foxconn is based in Taiwan but employs one million workers in communist China across a dozen factories making it the country’s largest private employer.