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The new tech bubble: Irrational exuberance has returned to the internet world.
May 12th 2011 |
from the print edition, Economist
Some time after the dotcom boom turned into a spectacular bust in 2000,
bumper stickers began appearing in Silicon Valley imploring: “Please God,
just one more bubble.” That wish has now been granted. Compared with the
rest of America, Silicon Valley feels like a boomtown. Corporate chefs are in
demand again, office rents are soaring and the pay being offered to talented
folk in fashionable fields like data science is reaching Hollywood levels.
And no wonder, given the prices now being put on web companies.
Read the full article in the Economist
Far be it for me to take issue with the Economist as the article was mostly accurate in terms of facts delivered. I live here and went through the first so-called "bubble". Without rehashing the gory details of the first bubble, let me just point out that all the derisive, mockers of online pet store, grocery delivery, and auto sales need only look at Amazon.com, Safeway.com and Cars.com. I buy pet supplies, hair products, lawn furniture and massages online now. The Economist's focus in on shareholder and investor's ROI. They miss the far broader view.
That there was an economic collapse in 2000-2001 in the tech sector is not disputed but how much of it was caused, egged on and goaded by Wall Street greed and the Fed policies that, by the way, enabled this last crash as well. Were those tech companies too soon to IPO? Yes. Were they overvalued by Goldman Sachs. Definitely. Are the dot.com companies to blame. Not even for 40% of what happened.
Did Silicon Valley suffer for it, yes? But, Wall Street didn't in that giant IPO ponzi scheme unless you were one of the last ones in or didn't sell soon enough. Over 400,000 jobs were lost here and less than half have been recouped. In addition, 3000+ companies went under (source linksv.com). What was lost? Talent, jobs, productivity, new products and markets but not the will to keep on growing businesses out of nothing but an idea.
What's different this time? Linkedin, Groupon, Facebook are all profitable. Linkedin's share price at $45 was in line with its profits and growth rate. Is Wall Street's cultivation of it's institutional investors and the day traders antics to run the stock price up 100%, based on pure greed? Yes. Is that Linkedin's fault? No. Will Linkedin's share price be back down to the original offering level? Yes, because that's where it logically belongs.
Is there a bubble? On Wall Street, in Private Equity companies, and with the new Angel investors, yes, but not in Silicon Valley. Company leaders are taking their time to bring companies public or do an M&A. Linkedin was founded in 2003 or end of 2002. It just went public after 8+ years not 8 months.
Here people are working hard to make a living and a profit building new products and services using and creating new technologies. What does this have to do with the rest of the economy and the world? Silicon Valley has replicated itself worldwide. There is job creation here based on bio-tech, nano-tech, clean-tech, software, Internet, alternative energy technologies, and consumer electronics. This is not going away but rather it is growing and expanding.
Yes, it's nice to have it shovel ready but tomorrow bandwidth rules economic structures not more car lanes.
The true story is that job creation, and business opportunities can be replicated world-wide and it is happening. The Economist just doesn't have the full perspective nor does it understand the ramifications beyond the point of view of the investment community.
Word of advice? Don't buy the stock, rather, look for the job and business opportunities. Build a Groupon leveraged business like all those little E-Bay businesses. Uncover ways to make money for yourself not Wall Street and welcome this new boom for all it's worth.
Licensed by CC-by-SA


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Kia has brought its latest innovation at the 2010 Paris auto show in the form of an electric car called “POP“, which aims to take small cars to the next step and integrate them into a trend that only a few years ago had been considered science fiction.
Featuring an organic transparent LED display, the KIA POP surprises through its innovative shapes, pleasant to look at and though not strikingly UFO-like.
The small three-seater is still a concept, though, but the lightweight chassis allows a 50 horsepower electric motor to propel it through any city’s crowded streets and even to host the third friend in the back (remember, it only has 3 meters of total length and 1.74 meters width).
Most of the car’s controls are accessed through the touchscreen and the autonomy is of about 160 kilometers with the energy stored in its small lithium polymer gel batteries, which are much smaller and lighter than their classic counterparts.
The KIA POP is a lightweight, innovative design that I’ve seen at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and I’d be happy if the company really took it seriously enough so we can see it on the streets during the next couple of years at a convenient price.

domain: news


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Social media spend by marketers set to skyrocket
Social media spending as a percentage of marketing budgets will more than double over the next five years, according to a survey of almost 500 chief marketing officers in the US, which also found integration of social remains a key issue.
Social media: spending by marketers expected to soar in the next five years
Chief marketing officers say they are currently spending 8.4% of their budgets on social media and expect that to increase by more than 40% over the next year to 11.5%, and in the next five years, it will reach 21.6% the survey found.
The biggest increase is set to come among big consumer goods firms such as Procter & Gamble and the Coca-Cola Company, which expect the most dramatic increase in social media spend, rising from 9.6% to 24.6%.
Christine Moorman, director of The CMO Survey and a professor of business administration at Duke University, said this showed that companies were searching for novel ways to interact with their customers that would drive the growth of their companies.
She said: "Unfortunately, marketers are behind the curve with their current levels of social media expenditure, given the amount of time customers spend engaged with one another and with companies online. The good news is that marketers are seeing the imperative to rectify this through increased investment in social media marketing in the upcoming years."Follow @gordonmacmillan
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Hot Poop will be offer a healthy dose of music for those suffering from "vinyl fever" this weekend.
In honor of the fourth annual national Record Store Day, the downtown Walla Walla music store -- Washington's oldest independent record store -- will present a free daylong live concert series featuring Northwest musical groups Saturday.
The store, owned by "principal poop" Jim McGuinn at 210 E. Main St., will join hundreds of independent music stores in their own celebrations of music, art and culture. Limited-edition vinyl albums and seven-inch 45s of music from Ray LaMontagne, Mumford & Sons, the White Stripes, AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen, Flogging Molly and more will be offered for sale, according to an announcement from Hot Poop.
Live music will be performed by Soul Status, Rubberneck, The Paces, Anna Okada Burgess, Table of Contents, Johnny No Land Band, DJ Jackstr, A Suicide Alibi, Take Back and Jumping Fountains. McGuinn is calling the parking lot performance behind the store as the "Presley Methodist Of The Assumed Paradise Parking Lot Barbecue Boogie Revival." Free Pepsi products and chips will be served. Backstage Bistro will sell its barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, too.
According to the announcement, the event reflects that record stores are "back in black." No, that doesn't necessarily mean their profit margins have turned around. It means the black vinyl once thought to be extinct is back on shelves and helping to restore a future for the industry.
Hot Poop operates 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 525-9080.
Downtown retailer Walla Walla Clothing Co. will host a Spring Fling sale event this weekend.
The event marks the celebratory shedding of winter layers with 10 percent off spring dresses, shoes and body slimmers, said owner Teresa Morasch.
The common thread throughout the sale, running Friday and Saturday at the store at 103 E. Main St., is fun and flirty outfits for spring events from weddings to graduations to lunch on the town.
Store hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 525-4783 or visit www.wallawallaclothing.com .
The first shipment of lumber was set to arrive today at Henry's Ace Hardware in Milton-Freewater.
Plans had been in the works for the Oregon hardware store to expand its offerings with lumber for several months.
Store owners Doug and Linda Henry had broached the expansion last October when they announced plans to move their store into the former Dollar Store building at 175 S. Main St.
"There's no place to buy lumber in town right now," Doug Henry said at the time. "We currently have just a few sticks of lumber, but if you want 10 two-by-fours you have to drive into Walla Walla."
An area on the west side of the building had been prepared and fenced off to accommodate the lumber products.
Strictly Business is a local business column. Vicki Hillhouse can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or 526-8321.


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Dogecoin price prediction in 2019 Will the price of Dogecoin increase significantly? Probably, it's all because of the popularity of Dogecoin. The currency has a reasonable chance of showing a price of more than $0.05 per Dogecoin
DogeCoin Union： is dogecoin gonna die
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted a Meme-based tweet to promote Dogecoin (DOGE) again. This is the second time that Musk has implicitly supported Dogecoin after Musk posted his "favorite coin" on Twitter in the summer of 2019. (Bitcoinist)
For example, even Dogecoin (DOGE) is more effective than ETCs when compared.
Network, 0.035 Dash, 8.221 Decent, 47.75 District 0x Network, 6000 DogeCoin, 11 EDGs.
Coinbase Wallet announced that it will support Dogecoin from next week, allowing users to store and transfer dog coins in Coinbase wallets. Coinbase Wallet also supports the Dog Coin Test Network, making it easy for developers to develop and test activities.
GoCoin, an international payment platform, today announced plans to support Dogecoin. The move means that businesses using the platform will soon be able to accept dog money payments, which GoCoin already supports for Bitcoin and Litecoin. "We've looked closely at all the latest altcoins and chosen Dogecoin as a viable currency, largely because of the power of its society," said Steve Bollegaard, goCoin's founder and CEO. By integrating dogecoin into our platform, GoCoin is one step closer to getting merchants to accept any digital currency, increasing sales and expanding the ability of new customers. "We look forward to being able to dogecoin in real time and in the next few weeks," he added.
The Fire Coin Global Station announced the opening of Dogecoin (DOGE) recharge operations today at 9:00 pm, the DOGE/USDT, DOGE/BTC, DOGE/ETH transactions, and the simultaneous opening of Dogecoin (DOGE) withdrawals.
whimsical, alternatives. Dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency. It’s pretty
OKEx online DOGE, open DOGE/USDK, DOGE/USDT trading pairs.
The German, head of the official development team for dog coins, is responsible for the development and maintenance of Dogecoin Core, MultiDoge and Dogecoin Android Wallet.
Different blockchains use different encryption algorithms. Bitcoin blockchain uses the SHA256 algorithm, which generates a hash value of 32 bytes. Both Dogecoin and Litecoin use the Scrypt algorithm, a faster, lighter encryption algorithm.
Restaurants in Maryland accept e-money dogecoin, MyFoxDC reported. Iron Rail Restaurant in Mount Savage, Maryland, officially accepts Dogecoin. Owner Terry Ii says the use of dogecoin has benefited restaurants, including the need not to pay for credit cards. Cumberland Times.
Good! Dogecoin just seized the opportunity. Many people use Dogecoin as a tip system for online forms because it is cheaper and faster than Bitcoin.
Litecoin is a point-to-point-based online currency inspired by Bitcoin and technically implemented in the same way. What makes it different from Bitcoin is that consumer-grade hardware can also efficiently "mine" to provide faster transaction confirmation (an average of 2.5 minutes). Dogecoin, also known as Dog Coin/Dog Coin, was born on December 8, 2013, based on the Scrypt algorithm. Dogecoin is the second largest virtual currency in the world after Bitcoin.
Westend is like a test network, and it can get a free pass through the faucet; it's like the Kokan test network in Ethereum.


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In the 20th meeting of the present Trinamul Congress-run board of Asansol Municipal Corporation (AMC) it has been passed that each councillor of the total 106 wards
Fuel prices in the country remained unchanged on Wednesday as oil marketing companies decided to go on a pause mode and analyse the global developments on oil prices before effecting a revision.
Accordingly, pump price of petrol and diesel remained at Rs 90.40 a litre and Rs 80.73 a litre respectively in Delhi.
The price of the two auto fuels had fallen by 16 paise and 14 paise per litre respectively last week on Thursday after a 15-day break when OMCs kept its prices static.
Across the country as well the petrol and diesel price remained unchanged on Wednesday but its retail levels varied depending on the level of local levies on respective states.
Premium petrol, however, continues to remain over Rs 100 a litre in Mumbai and several other cities across the country.
The OMCs went on price cut for the first time this year on two consecutive days — March 24 and 25 after keeping oil prices steady for the past 24 days. It again reduced the price on March 30. Thereafter, fuel prices have remained unchanged for the past 15 days before falling again on April 15.
Earlier, petrol and diesel prices increased 26 times in 2021 with the two auto fuels increasing by Rs 7.46 and Rs 7.60 per litre respectively so far this year.
With global crude price around $ 66 a barrel mark, OMCs may have to revise fuel prices upwards again if there is any further firming up. OMCs benchmark retail fuel prices to a 15-day rolling average of global refined products` prices and dollar exchange rate.


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New enrollments of international students from India expanded 32% in 2019 from a year earlier and it’s the fastest growing major market for Australian services. India has overtaken China as the largest source of net migration to Australia, and its diaspora is the third largest Down Under, just behind China and the U.K.
Indo-Australian relations have deepened in the last few years. Now the duo looks to strengthen ties economically, and strategically. A growing pragmatism is visible between the two nations. It seems quite inevitable that the two will partner up to deal with the neighborhood bully.
India’s fast-growing population is set to overtake China’s in 2027 — suggests ongoing opportunities for Australia to diversify a trade portfolio that currently makes it the developed world’s most China-dependent economy. The need to switch things up has accelerated as ties sank to their lowest ebb in 30 years after Canberra’s calls for an international inquiry into Covid-19’s origins was taken by Beijing as a political attack, with China imposing barriers on barley, beef and wine from Down Under.
Australia seeks to strengthen ties with India in strategic sectors. India and Australia signed a deal to get access to each other’s military bases during a virtual summit in June. India–Australia strategic partnership has grown quite rapidly over the last few years. The trade ministers of Japan, India and Australia recently agreed to work toward achieving supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We can sell India education, health care, and there’s potential in science and technology,” mentioned Ian Hall, a professor of worldwide relations at Griffith University in Queensland. “It’s much more the consumer market of India’s growing middle class than goods.”
Former Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson said Delhi wants to send lots of people to Australia on work visas and doesn’t want to reduce tariffs. Australia and India began negotiations on a free trade deal in 2011 but the two countries have not settled an FTA yet.
“India is highly concerned about its trade deficit,” said Lai-Ha Chan, a political scientist at the University of Technology in Sydney, who notes that after signing free trade agreements with South Korea and Japan, India’s trade deficit with those nations ballooned. “It would be very worried about Australian farm products, like dairy, harming Indian farmers.”
“It’s entirely possible China, once it gets all three mineral provinces in a row — Guinea, Brazil and Australia — will play one off against the other to get a better price,” he said. “If you’re China, you’d say ‘where’s our vulnerability? Iron ore. So let’s diversify, let’s fix that.’ They may never need to activate it, but it’s there, it’s available.”


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Facebook has just launched a Relevance Score aimed at helping brands understand how their ads are performing.
Keep it real
Facebook announced the news in a blog post.
"On Facebook, we try to show people the ads that are most pertinent to them. That’s why we’ve always used relevance as a factor in determining how we deliver ads.
"Taking relevance into account helps ensure that people see ads that matter to them, leading to a better experience for people and businesses alike," Facebook explained.
The Relevance Score will appear as a new metric in Facebook's ad reporting tool.
Ads will be allocated a score between one and 10, with 10 being the highest score.
The Relevance Score is calculated on the positive and negative feedback Facebook predicts the ad will receive from its target audience.
Positive interactions include comments and Likes. Negative feedback covers hiding and reporting of ads.
The more positive responses, the higher the score. And as users react with the ad, the Relevance Score is updated.
Tweak and save
The update will help brands looking to connect with users in the increasingly crowded News Feed. It's also good news for users after more relevant content.
Relevance Scores for ads are rolling out this week.
To find out more visit facebook.com.


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October 30th 2018
NetRescue Partners with Bicom Systems – Gaining the Alliance it Needs to Grow
Another Customer Rescued from Insufficient Support
Atlanta, Georgia (30 October 2018): Bicom Systems is excited to announce their new partnership with Arif Hamirani, founder of NetRescue. NetRescue is an IT company that initially partnered with 3CX back in the 2000s. However, issues quickly arose and he began looking for a partner that would support the growth of his business. That is how this partnership began.
NetRescue provides a variety of services from networking to camera systems and, for the past 10 years, has offered Telephony System Installations. Arif’s first encounter with the Bicom Systems team was at a trade show in Atlanta where he was desperately seeking a new hosted vendor. Working with 3CX caused growth to stall and Arif recalls feeling that he had only two choices – in his words “follow the trend into the Cloud or continue losing customers and projects.”
In his efforts to “follow the trend into the Cloud”, his current system was not working for him. When Arif reached out for support, his previous vendor denied it.
Arif was under the impression that Bicom Systems was too advanced for his business at that point; however, after speaking with members of the Bicom Systems team he realized it was not a matter of where his company was presently, but what he wanted for the future. Understanding that Bicom Systems offers partnerships to ensure growth for its partner companies enticed the switch that NetRescue needed.
Although it is still early on, Arif has found many benefits since converting to Bicom Systems. Not only did Bicom Systems fit into Arif’s budget, but he also enjoys:
In summary, this is another example of how Bicom Systems can help your company grow successfully with an upstanding partnership.
If you are interested in reading more details on Arif’s transitioning experience, read his case study.
About Bicom Systems: Bicom Systems is the only unified communications provider with all of the pieces to start and grow a telephony company. Since 2003, Bicom Systems has deployed flexible, reliable, and scalable New Generation Communication Systems to SMBs, enterprises, and governments worldwide by unifying the most advanced of latest technologies. They offer seven highly-featured products integrated seamlessly to boost sales, growth, and profit. For more information, please visit our website or contact us at email@example.com today.
About NetRescue: For the past decade, NetRescue has been allowing businesses to focus on running their business. NetRescue delivers voice, data, security, network, pos and wireless solutions to their customers in the service and commercial industries. The company provides tools that help grow businesses and provides support from start to finish. NetRescue is in the process of moving their customers over to their new Cloud Platform, hosted by Bicom Systems using PBXware. For more information on NetRescue visit their website here.


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Admiral considers Confused sale
Motor insurance group Admiral confirmed today it was considering the sale of price comparison website Confused.com.
Admiral is reviewing its options regarding the venture, including a sale, after it received a number of approaches from parties interested in buying the business.
Analysts predict Confused.com could be worth around £600m, but it is believed that Admiral's bankers at Merrill Lynch are looking for around £700m.
Confused.com, which is based in Cardiff, launched as a car insurance comparison service in January 2003 and has now branched out into home insurance, loans, credit cards and utility prices.
It helped customers find 1.3 million policies and provided 9 million quotations in 2006. It is expected to achieve earnings of around £30m this year.
A number of parties are believed to be involved in the negotiations, with reports citing US-businessman Barry Diller's InterActiveCorporation as one potential buyer.
InterActiveCorporation owns ticketmaster and Ask.com, while Mr Diller is also chairman of internet travel firm Expedia.com.
The move comes at a time when internet companies have returned to the forefront of takeover interest. Recent deals have included the sale of Friends Reunited to ITV, while price comparison website Simplyswitch was recently snapped up by the owner of This is Money - DMGT - and Uswitch was bought out by US media firm EW Scripps.
Earlier this month personal finance and comparison site Moneysupermarket.com was also reported to be looking at its options regarding a possible stock market flotation or sale worth up to £1bn.
Admiral was set up in 1993 and now employs more than 2,000 people at its offices in Swansea and Cardiff. It brands include Diamond and Elephant.co.uk.
Last year the group banked pre-tax profits £147.3m, including a £23m contribution from Confused.com.
Numis Securities said a sale at £700m would be above its own valuation. Analyst Nick Johnson added: 'A sale at this stage may be a smart move for Admiral given that the online quote comparison industry is likely to become more competitive going forward. "In addition, distancing itself from Confused would enable management to focus all efforts on the core underwriting business during the next upturn in the cycle.'
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Microsoft: Desperately wooing developers with new app features, gifts
- 27 June, 2013 14:20
San Francisco -- Microsoft is desperately courting developers, holding its second Build developer's conference in less than a year and this time giving attendees not one but two free Windows 8 devices to take home to develop apps for.
At Build 2013 today the company unveiled Windows 8.1, showing off new features of the operating system that developers can weave into their applications, as well as other utilities such as Bing Search, hands-free navigation mode and optical scanning of documents with a device's camera.
CEO Steve Ballmer set a tone of urgency for the conference, saying that the company is rolling out upgrades to its products at an accelerated rate in order to meet a faster pace of innovation "as we go from a software company to a company that's building software-powered devices and software-powered services."
This stepped up pace is "the new normal for everything we do," Ballmer told the 6,000 in attendance and estimated 60,000 viewing the opening-day keynote as it was live streamed on the Internet. Even as he spoke Windows 8.1 Preview was ready for download.
Ballmer said Windows 8.1 helps unite the user experience among all Windows devices from phones to tablets to 2-in-1s, to laptops to desktops. He showed off a few phones, including Samsung ATIV Neo and HTC 8XT, both of which will be available through Sprint, an alliance he announced during the keynote.
To applause and cheers he announced that each attendee would receive an Acer Iconia 8.1-inch Winodws 8.1 tablet with Microsoft Office preloaded and that supports a separate Bluetooth keyboard. He called them full Windows 8 devices, but said he wouldn't call them PCs. He said there will be more Windows 8 tablets released in the coming months. Later Windows chief Julie Larson-Green announced to much applause that each attendee would also receive a Surface Pro tablet-laptop combo.
Microsoft gave attendees of last fall's Build conference a free Surface RT tablet.
Beyond giving away computers to entice developers, Microsoft is also tweaking its Windows Store so applications are easier to search on, which should help improve sales. The app-description pages have been redesigned so they can feature more information and pictures and references to other apps created by the same publisher also ways to encourage apps sales.
Ballmer acknowledged that such touch devices were lacking last winter when Windows 8 was released, which didn't show off the operating system to its best advantage because it really is all about touch.
But now the devices are ready and innovative applications incorporating new Windows features are needed to further spark demand. With the Windows Store about to hit an inventory of 100,000 Windows 8 applications sometime in the next month, Ballmer is seeking even more, and used the keynote to highlight new features developers can integrate in their applications.
Microsoft's Bing search engine has been made into a platform for developers to incorporate Web indexing and relevance, optical character recognition, natural user interfaces such as speech and gestures and integration with real-world data such as mapping.
A trip-planning application developed by Microsoft as a demonstration received input from a Windows Phone that was stored in the cloud then accessed from a Surface tablet. The app automatically displayed a range of information about cities entered as possible destinations, including aerial tours of sights of interest narrated by a text-to-speech engine that drew information from the Internet. This exploits a new capability of Windows 8.1, 3D mapping that can be embedded in applications.
The app responded to a spoken question "Who designed this building" with a photo and biography of the architect, also pulled from the Internet.
A separate food application includes recipes and takes advantage of a hands-free mode that lets cooks turn recipe pages with hand gestures rather than having to touch the screen with messy fingers. The camera on the tablet interprets hand motions to navigate the pages back and forth.
Ballmer says the day-two keynote will focus on cloud applications for business and how developers can use extensibility of standard Microsoft Office apps to create apps of their own in what he described as enterprise software as a service.
Tim Greene covers Microsoft and unified communications for Network World and writes the Mostly Microsoft blog. Reach him at firstname.lastname@example.org and follow him on Twitter@Tim_Greene.
Read more about software in Network World's Software section.


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Looking at current affairs in commercial real estate (CRE), you will quickly note a lot of ink is being spilled over retail and its impending death. As a digital marketer and tech enthusiast, I am keenly interested in the conversation surrounding the state of retail. Daily headlines announcing the closure of various retail outlets and a never-ending barrage of articles on the growth of Amazon has probably convinced many that the death knell is indeed ringing for retail.
And it’s not just retail. We are seeing this type of disruption across many industries. Technological disruptions, including automation, are bringing about drastic changes across many industries. Obviously, in some instances, industries will die. Broader reading, however, illuminates us to the probability of significant change in retail rather than outright death. Continue reading Retail…For Whom the Bell Tolls?


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11 EU medtech notified bodies sign up to voluntary code of conduct
This article was originally published in Clinica
A group of 11 European notified bodies – called the NB Plus Group – have signed up to the recently-agreed voluntary code of conduct for medical device notified bodies.
You may also be interested in...
Citing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, EU regulators have extended the deadline for companies to finish nitrosamine-related risk evaluations.
The Australian health care products regulator is inviting feedback on proposed measures to clarify the boundary for software-based products that are captured under the regulatory framework for medical devices.
A draft EU guideline explains how companies can ensure that data from ongoing clinical trials remains relevant for regulatory decision-making despite problems posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.


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Pragmatic Play opens new offices in Malta
Leading online casino games industry provider Pragmatic Play has announced that it has opened brand new offices in Malta, where its headquarters have already been located for many years. The new space, which aspires to creativity, is spread over 950 square meters. According to Julian Jarvis, CEO of Pragmatic Play, the brand new premises have been designed to allow the company’s employees to flourish at the same time, regardless of their role and profession.
Pragmatic Play gets new workspace in the heart of Sliema, Malta
In the heart of Sliema, a very active area of Malta, Pragmatic Play’s new office has been built. Operational since a few days, the new working environment has expanded considerably compared to the previous one.
The new building features indoor and outdoor lounges that can accommodate as many as 75 employees. In addition to numerous meeting rooms, the new facility also features recreation and meditation areas where employees can relax.
According to Pragmatic Play, allowing everyone to take a relaxing break will ensure that the multiple talents of the existing teams continue to flourish. The strategy of the world famous iGaming provider, whose growth is particularly dynamic for the last five years, is to put people at the center of its concerns. ” Recently, we have been offering our employees the opportunity to participate in wellness activities offered by the company, such as personalized sports sessions or yoga classes We have recently started offering our employees the opportunity to participate in company-sponsored wellness activities, such as personalized sports sessions or yoga classes,” says one of the company’s human resources managers.
Pragmatic Play shows its commitment to the small Mediterranean island
The opening of a new state-of-the-art facility in its home country of Malta demonstrates Pragmatic Play’s commitment to the country. The inauguration of the new space, in which the company’s headquarters are now located, was a great success. which has received numerous international awardsis a major step forward. It is part of Pragmatic Play’s global project to contribute to the development of the small archipelago located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
” Strengthening our presence in Malta with new offices is an exciting time for us. We want our employees to thrive in an environment designed to meet their needs. We want them to have a pleasant place to work, one that offers both comfort and well-being “says Julian Jarvis.
And Pragmatic Play’s CEO concludes, ” We are growing at a fantastic pace and our new headquarters in Malta is a testament to our commitment to local decision makers, our employees and contractors. We now have an incredible facility that will allow us to be the best we can be. “.


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Chinese private equity firms Hillhouse Capital Group and CDH Investments have agreed to buy Chinese footwear and apparel company Belle International in a deal valuing the company at HK$53.1 billion ($6.8 billion; €6.2 billion).
Hillhouse and CDH are acquiring the company alongside Belle directors Yu Wu and Sheng Fang, offering HK$ 6.30 per share, which represents a 20 percent premium to the company’s last trading price, the company said in a statement.
The company’s new owners are aiming to revive sales after its footwear segment experienced “unprecedented challenges” because of rapidly growing e-commerce platforms in China. Belle has seen 13 consecutive quarters of negative same store sales growth since the fourth quarter of financial year ended February 2014.
With the investment, Hillhouse and CDH plan to explore and experiment with new retail models, pursue a series of transformative and innovative initiatives, and make significant investments in technology, infrastructure and talent.
Commenting on the deal, Zhang Lei, founder and CEO of Hillhouse, said: “We believe Hillhouse’s long-term capital base combined with our digital and operating experience will be able to help Belle International implement the necessary changes needed to revive its business for the Internet era.
Following the completion of the transaction Hillhouse will hold 56.8 percent of the company, while CDH will hold 12 percent. Meanwhile, other participating management, including Yu and Sheng will own 31.1 percent of Belle.
Hong Kong-listed Belle is a shoe and apparel retailer with more than 20,000 outlets in mainland China and over 100 outlets in Hong Kong and Macau. Its company-owned footwear brands include Belle, Staccato and Joy & Peace, and also distributes international brands such as Bata, CAT, Clarks and Hush Puppies.
Beijing-based CDH previously held stakes in Belle, acquiring the company in September 2005 and took it public two years later.
The firm did not disclose from which fund the current investment was made. CDH is, however, in the process of deploying its latest China mid-market fund, which raised $800 million against a $600 million target in January this year. CDH manages five US dollar-denominated funds and two yuan-denominated funds with total assets under management of over $10 billion.
Hillhouse, also based in Beijing, invests in consumer, TMT, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financials and business services companies across all equity stages. In January this year, the firm invested $250 million in California-based e-commerce company Magento Commerce. The firm manages over $25 billion of assets and is backed by institutional investors including Yale University Endowment, foundations, sovereign wealth funds and family offices, according to PEI data.
Hillhouse also declined to disclose from which fund it structured its investment in Belle.


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Pop Labs Launches CEO of Priceline.com, Jeff Hoffman‘s New Professional Website
Houston, TX (March 30, 2012) - Pop Labs is proud to announce the launch of entrepreneurial powerhouse, Jeff Hoffman’s professional website. Website design, build and launch were all completed in-house by the talented Pop Labs design & production teams.
Jeff Hoffman is a highly successful speaker and entrepreneur who has quite an impressive background. Jeff graduated from Yale University and has acquired a number of awards and honors, including being inducted into the Hall of Fame for Entrepreneurs by the National CEO Council.
As CEO of Priceline.com, Jeff led the company with his expertise in online sales, e-commerce, marketing and overall business strategy. He is currently partner and co-founder of ColorJar, LLC., a company that focuses on strategy consulting and development for startups.
As a professional speaker, Jeff has recently briefed members of Congress regarding competitiveness and job creation through small business. Other recent speaking engagements have included briefing the U.S. State Department on global entrepreneurship and job creation, speaking at the World Innovation Forum in Barcelona, Spain, and delivering a keynote speech about innovation and business trends at the National Entrepreneurship Education Summit in Florida.
With a track record as impressive and robust as Mr. Hoffman’s, creating a website to match was an honor for the Pop Labs team. Pop Labs aims to create visually stimulating, relevant and user-friendly sites for each and every client. To browse through Jeff’s site, please visit www.jeffhoffman.com.
Pop Labs takes pride in being a one-stop shop for online success. We’re not just a ‘design firm’ or ‘search engine marketing company.’ We’re an interactive agency whose most valuable asset is our people. It is because of our staff and management teams that we have grown to be one of the nation’s leading full-service, digital media agencies. It is because of our clients that we continue to have the honor of doing so. About Pop Labs, Inc.
Created in 2004, Pop Labs Inc. is an interactive marketing & branding agency with offices in Houston, San Francisco, and Guatemala. Pop Labs has become recognized as an industry leader across the United States and has a client footprint reaching more than a dozen countries, and every state in the US. The company provides a variety of services including SEO, SEM, Press Release Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Compliance Consulting, Email Services, PPC and Display Ad Management, Convergence Marketing, Brand Consulting, Analytics, Trade Show & Event Marketing, and much more. Pop Labs has won numerous marketing awards, including INC Magazine's prestigious INC 500 / 5,000 award four consecutive years in a row. In 2011 Pop Labs ranked #1,565 on the list of 5,000 fastest growing private US companies. More info here: www.poplabs.com.


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Let me defend Labatt for a moment. The Montreal Gazette should not have published a photo of Luka Magnotta holding a blatantly branded beer bottle—at least not without a little blurring.
As a matter of law, a media outlet—or anyone else—cannot publish a photograph containing a Labatt product or logo without the trademark owner’s permission, and certainly not a photo with a Labatt product being held up by an accused killer whose picture is now recognizable all over the world.
The association and brand impairment is unambiguous when you see the picture. The accused is holding up the beer bottle tilted toward the camera, where the Labatt label is front and centre and unmistakeable. Labatt would be fully within its rights to seek an immediate injunction enjoining further publication of the photo and suing for monetary damages to its brand. I am surprised it has not done so already.
Labatt—and any other company—has the absolute right to protect the unauthorized publication of its trademark brand and image. Beer companies in particular spend millions of dollars in advertising and marketing. A slew of Twitter jokes and a satirical hashtag do not excuse the original impairment. The publication could have been cropped or blurred out without the Labatt product appearing, or another photo could have been used. The fact is the beer, with the bright blue colour and label, made the photo immediately more recognizable and viewed. The Gazette was benefiting from a brand it does not own.


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Samsung earlier this year introduced as many as four variants of its flagship phone, Galaxy S10. While there’s the base Samsung Galaxy S10, the company introduced Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10e and Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. Samsung is now reportedly working on a new iteration of its 2019 flagship phone, dubbed as Galaxy S10 Lite.
While the launch date of Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is still not known, key specifications and features of the phone have already leaked online. According to the latest leak, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite will come with a 4,730mAh battery.
The battery capacity is much higher than Samsung Galaxy S10’s 3,400mAh and Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus’ 4,100mAh. Samsung Galaxy S10 5G comes with 4,500mAh battery whereas Samsung Galaxy S10e has a 3,100mAh battery.
Apart from a bigger battery, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is rumoured come with Qualcomm’s upgraded Snapdragon 855 Plus processor with up to 8GB of RAM. Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is also expected to come with a triple rear camera setup.
According to reports, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite will come with 48-megapixel, 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel sensors. The smartphone is said to come with a 6.7-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED display.No tags for this post.


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Officials take a view of an electric vehicle in Abu Dhabi.
KIZAD, part of AD Ports Group’s Economic Cities and Free Zones, has announced the signing of a lease agreement with NWTN to establish an electric vehicle (EV) assembly facility in Abu Dhabi to serve the growing demand for sustainable transport options.
Founded in 2016, green mobility technology company NWTN has its headquarters in the UAE and aims to produce Smart Passenger Vehicles (SPV) that deploy AI technologies and personalised passenger experiences.
A signing ceremony took place in KIZAD to mark the occasion and showcase NWTN’s innovative range of electronic vehicles.
Under the agreement, NWTN plans to initially operate 25,000-square-metre manufacturing, research, and development, vehicle testing, and logistics facility constructed by KIZAD with an annual capacity of 5,000-10,000 units for the assembly of semi-knocked-down (SKD) electric vehicles. In phase two, NWTN plans to introduce several new electric vehicle models and expand capacity to 50,000 units annually.
Set to be the first assembly facility for electric vehicles in Abu Dhabi, the announcement follows recent regulatory updates by the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) that seek to accelerate the development of electric vehicle infrastructure as part of Abu Dhabi’s Low Emission Vehicle Strategy. The new production facility is also well aligned with UAE Net-Zero by 2050 agenda as it will strengthen industry expertise and increase the availability of low-emission vehicles in UAE.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group, said, “AD Ports Group is committed to driving sustainable manufacturing, and this key strategic partnership in KIZAD will support our wise leadership’s vision to advance industrial competitiveness while protecting the environment.
“Attracting electric vehicle manufacturers to Abu Dhabi will play a significant role in enabling the economic vision of Abu Dhabi and is aligned with the recently announced Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy.”


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Thorntons finds some sweet relief
THERE was sweet news for shareholders in troubled chocolate group Thorntons as it reported an 8% rise in sales in the crucial seven weeks up to 29 December.
The group said like-for-like sales in the 28 weeks ended 12 January were up 4.1% to £102.4m as own-store sales rose 2.1% to £83.7m despite a reduction in the number of Thorntons outlets to 394 from 412. In the same period franchise sales rose 31% to £7m from 181 shops.
Chief executive Peter Burdon said the results were growing evidence that a three-year restructuring programme was paying off.
Interim results are due on 26 February. Thorntons shares rose 1 1/2p to 103 1/2p.
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The trade war is doing real damage to the American economy, and it’s showing up in manufacturing. Factories in a wide range of businesses, from clothing to machinery are suffering declines in exports.
The slowdown in manufacturing — often an early indicator of problems in the wider economy — showed up starkly in a dreadful report released on Tuesday. Factory activity contracted in September for the second straight month; by some measures it was the worst month in a decade. The bad news spooked investors and the Dow fell nearly 350 points, or 1.3%.
President Donald Trump wasted little time finding someone to blame for the gloomy factory activity.
“As I predicted, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve have allowed the Dollar to get so strong, especially relative to ALL other currencies, that our manufacturers are being negatively affected,” Trump tweeted minutes after the report was released.
The president continued to blast his handpicked Fed chief, calling the central bank “pathetic.”
Trump’s blame-the-Fed narrative is not supported by the evidence.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing report did not mention Fed policy. Nor did it cite borrowing costs, Powell or the strong US dollar. None of the business executives who were quoted in the survey blamed those issues.
Many of them are complaining about something else: the US-China trade war.
“The tariffs have caused much confusion in the industry,” one electrical equipment, appliance and components manufacturer said.
A food, beverage and tobacco products executive said: “Chinese tariffs going up are hurting our business. Most of the materials are not made in the US and made only in China.”
Blaming the Fed is ‘completely wrong’
The trade war between the world’s two largest economies is slowing global trade and raising the cost of goods. That, in turn, is sapping demand for manufactured products.
The on-again, off-again nature of the trade battle is also sparking deep uncertainty. Unclear about how long tariffs will last or how high they will go, business owners have dialed back spending and overhauled supply chains. That uncertainty shock is further eroding demand for manufactured goods.
Not surprisingly, economists and market analysts similarly pinned the bulk of the blame on the trade war, and not the Fed.
“We have now tariffed our way into a manufacturing recession in the US and globally,” Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakely Advisory Group, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.
“What is the ultimate cause of all of this? It’s the trade war,” Ethan Harris, head of global economics at Bank of America, told CNN Business. “This whole narrative about the Fed being too slow is completely wrong. The Fed has never moved faster.”
The ISM report provides stark evidence of the trade war’s fallout. Not only did manufacturing activity dip further into contraction territory in September, but it was the weakest month since June 2009, the final month of the Great Recession.
Fifteen manufacturing industries contracted in September, including apparel, leather & allied products, printing and related support activities and wood products. New export orders, a trade-sensitive component of the report, had its weakest reading since March 2009.
That’s not to say there aren’t legitimate gripes over China’s trade policy. Business leaders have long complained about the theft of intellectual property and non-tariff trade barriers they say do real harm to American companies. But the trade war is clearly hurting the economy.
US manufacturers are also getting dinged by the global economic slowdown. Major economies including China, India, South Korea and Germany have stumbled in recent quarters. That global slowdown is being amplified by the trade war.
“It’s all a vicious circle,” said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell.
Strong dollar isn’t helping. But it’s not the main problem
Trump is correct to say that the dollar is strong. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies, hasn’t been this high since the spring of 2017.
But while a strong dollar is great for Americans touring overseas, it makes it harder for US companies to export their goods. Everything from iPhones, tractors and cars get more expensive for foreign buyers. And then multinational companies get dinged when they convert their foreign sales back into dollars.
“The strong dollar is a headwind. But it’s not the end of the world,” said Young.
Trump argued that the Fed deserved the blame for the strong dollar because America has higher interest rates than many other major economies.
But Bank of America’s Harris said it is the trade war, not the Fed, that is causing the dollar’s strength. Nervous about the global economic slowdown and trade policy, investors are dumping foreign currencies in favor of the greenback.
“The Fed is the thing that has really helped cushion the blow of the trade war. They have been preventing the dollar from being even stronger,” said Harris.
The Fed, citing the trade war and global slowdown, lowered interest rates twice this summer — the first such cuts since 2008.
Rate cuts are a blunt tool. Cheaper borrowing costs help interest-sensitive sectors, such as housing and autos. But the cost of capital is already near record lows. A discount on borrowing costs won’t do much to clear up the uncertainty and supply chain havoc wreaked by the trade war.
“The only reasons anyone cares about the Fed is because we can’t get a trade deal. The Fed is an insurance policy,” said Young, of FTSE Russell. “What Wall Street wants is an end to tariffs.”
Can households keep propping up growth?
Recent history shows that the United States can avoid a recession even when the ISM manufacturing index drops into contraction territory. That happened multiple times in the 1990s as well as in 2003, 2012, 2013 and in 2016, according to Bespoke Investment Group. That’s because manufacturing only makes up a small part of the modern economy.
Consumer spending, which drives about two-thirds of the economy, remains solid because unemployment is low, confidence is strong and US stocks are trading near record highs.
The hope is that consumers will continue to prop things up, extending the longest economic expansion in American history.
And it’s still possible that Washington and Beijing, fearing economic trouble, finally reach an agreement to avert another round of tariffs that would damage growth. A trade deal, especially one that rolls back existing tariffs, would boost confidence among CEOs and households.
But some “cracks” are starting to show in consumer spending, according to Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
In a report to clients, she noted that hiring has slowed, personal spending decelerated in September, and consumer confidence in the availability of jobs tumbled.
The risk is that the consumer picture could darken before a trade agreement can be reached.
“If consumers’ confidence seriously falters,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote on Tuesday, “the US could tip into the first recession ever caused directly by the actions of the President, rather than the action of tight monetary policy on an overstretched private sector.”
Or as, Bleakley Advisory Group’s Boockvar put it, “using tariffs as the tool to push back against China was a really dumb idea and history will not look kindly upon the strategy.”
No wonder the White House is shifting the blame on the Fed.


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From the Wall Street Journal
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay $250,000 and make policy changes to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The agency accused Wal-Mart of failing to accommodate, then firing, a long-time pharmacy technician disabled by a gunshot wound.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Maryland, the commission said Glenda D. Allen had worked as a Wal-Mart pharmacy technician since July 1993 and was shot during a robbery at a different employer in 1994. She suffered permanent damage to her spinal cord and other problems and had to use a cane to walk. Despite what the EEOC said was a successful job performance, Wal-Mart declared Ms. Allen incapable of performing her job with or without a reasonable accommodation, denied her a reasonable accommodation, then fired her, the EEOC said.
The company will provide Americans with Disabilities Act training to salaried supervisors and managers of its Abingdon, Md., stores and pharmacies and list all employees there who have complained of such problems.
This is the EEOC's second settlement this year with Wal-Mart about the ADA. In April, it settled a lawsuit about the company's failure to hire a person with cerebral palsy for $300,000 and agreed to make policy changes.


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Just a few days ago, we just reported a couple of new Moto M live images courtesy of our reader Motorola Playhouse. Today, we have also gotten a couple of official promotional pamphlets of the upcoming highly anticipated mid-ranger, giving us some heads up on what to expect from the device.
Although most of its specs sheet had already been revealed via its TENAA listing as well as from the recent AnTuTu benchmark test, but the pamphlets do provide some new details on the device as well. This include its waterproof capability as well as its Quick charge feature for its 3,050mAh power plant.
Just in case you’d missed out on our earlier reports, the Moto M specs as revealed by AnTuTu include a FHD display powered by a Helio P10 SoC, along with a duo of 4GB of RAM as well as 32GB native storage under its memory compartment. Software-wise, it’ll be powered by Android 6.0 out of the box.
Whatever it is, we’re just 4 days before the official unveiling of the Moto M so stay with us for more updates!
Thanks Motorola Playhouse for sharing these with us!


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Costco And Home Depot Are Playgrounds For The Rich
Do you love places like Home Depot, Costco, and Lowes? Sure you do! They're great places to buy wholesale items, home improvement materials or simply to just walk around. But did you know you're not alone in liking these companies? According to a new study, even the rich love shopping at Costco and Home Depot. Maybe we're not so different after all.
RICH PEOPLE PICK COSTCO AND HOME DEPOT OVER NAME BRAND ITEMS
A new study from Minitel shows that even wealthy consumers love the Costco and Home Depot brand items. Thirty-eight percent said they are comparable and in homes where the income is more than $150,000 that percentage rises to forty-four percent. In an age where online shopping is the future, people still love to shop in person.
RICH PEOPLE PREFER TO GO TO COSTCO AND HOME DEPOT
We often think of online shopping as a luxury and a convenience. It still is but it turns out wealthy people like to shop in person. In fact, 63% of Americans went out to places like Home Depot and Costco compared to just 25% shopping online. Market research has a theory on this. Researchers believe that consumers love the feeling of going to big warehouses. To the customers, it feels more like a shopping adventure compared to just sitting at home and ordering wholesale items on the computer.
HOME DEPOT AND COSTCO HELP RICH PEOPLE SAVE MONEY
When you think of frugal bargain hunters, you don't think of people like Warren Buffett. Well, how do you think rich people get so rich? They're interested in good deals too. Hence, that's the appeal to these big warehouse establishments. A large part of the appeal of these places is the "hunting" aspect. People like to find unique items throughout the store and when you find one on sale, a feeling of accomplishment comes on. Currently, places like Amazon are unable to duplicate that experience.


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Google to launch kid-friendly YouTube app
Move intended to create a safer browsing experience for children, Google says
Google is planning to launch a new YouTube app targeted at children, with the intention of providing a safer browsing experience for underage users.
According to online reports, the app, dubbed YouTube Kids, will be rolled out in the United States first, and then be made available in other countries as time goes on.
It will feature parental controls, and will also restrict users in terms of uploading content - only approved users will be able to upload videos, reports said. Parents will even be able to disable the search function, meaning that kids will only be able to view trending videos or saved channels.
According to reports, there will be four main categories for the channels - TV shows, education, exploration and music. Content will be provided by some of YouTube's bigger partners, such as Dreamworks and Jim Henson TV.
On top of this, the app will also limit the amount of time that children can spend watching videos.
Naturally, the app will be free, but reports say that it will not be available on iOS or Windows devices - Google has reportedly opted to make it an Android operating system exclusive. Whether or not that will change as uptake grows is not yet clear.


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Akira Toriyama, the creator of the DragonBall franchise has been officially nominated for an Eisner Award. The San Diego Comic-Con website revealed that Toriyama had been nominated in the “Voters Choice” category for the Eisner Hall of fame awards. Fans of the series have been waiting for this milestone for a long time and now it has finally come to pass.
Here’s a little blurb from the San Diego Comic-Con website showing Toriyama’s official nomination:
Akira Toriyama Achievements
For those of you who might be living under a rock. Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He created the popular Dr. Slump series which earned him the 1981 Shogakukan Manga award. The anime adaptation of the series has sold 30 million copies. Furthermore, He went on to create DragonBall, which became even more popular than its predecessor. So far it has sold more than 350 million copies world-wide. Making it one of the most popular Japanese manga outside of Japan.
The anime adaptations have gained critical acclaim and popularity especially in the west. Toriyama is one of the leading figures who changed the history of manga. Without DragonBall, anime and Japanese manga would not have been where it is today. He has also designed several characters for popular Video game titles such as Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon.
The Eisner Award
The Eisner Awards are prizes given for outstanding achievements in comic books, more focused towards American comic books. The award is named after the influential comic creator Will Eisner also known as “The Spirit”. It has been held as a part of the San Diego Comic-con since its inception back in 1988. There is no denying that the Eisner awards focuses more towards American comics. For this reason it has become a topic of controversy over the last few years. That’s why Toriyamas nomination for the Eisner awards is seen as a timely gesture of goodwill towards the Manga community.
The DragonBall franchise itself has gone through a lot of changes. In a span of few years, it has become a billion-dollar franchise with anime series and video games making worldwide hits on a regular basis. It is also the 30th anniversary of Dragon Ball Z. The series that really gave the franchise its global success. Toriyamas work hasn’t ended yet as his current creation, DBS manga is quickly becoming one of the fans’ favorite.


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LATHAM — Hewitt’s Garden Center is looking for a new home in Latham.
The owner of the land the garden store chain leases at 1129 Troy-Schenectady Road has sold the site to its neighbor to the east, Keeler Motor Car Co. Hewitt's has a bit more than six months to vacate.
“We’re actively looking for a replacement,” said Ryan Cullinan, president of Hewitt’s, on Wednesday. He plans to stay right on or near Route 7 in Latham and has a few potential locations in mind, he said.
“Worst case, I have some backup plans for a temporary location,” Cullinan said. The search is complicated by the shortage of readily developable land in the area. It has been heavily built up since Hewitt’s opened at that location in the early 1980s.
January and February are a slow time for Hewitt’s: It sells some salt and shovels, but the stores are pretty quiet.
However, it has worked hard to build its market during the rest of the year: seeds and young plants in the spring, yard supplies in the summer, pumpkins and cleanup supplies in early autumn, Christmas trees and accessories in late autumn.
Sprinkled along the way are critical weekends, such as Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, when the stores are packed with shoppers.
As such, the August move-out deadline is not ideal.
But it could work out, Cullinan said, if Hewitt’s is able to close the doors on the old store at the close of business one evening and open the doors of a newer, better store the next morning.
He said the owner of 1129 Troy-Schenectady Road gave him sufficient notice before the sale.
“We knew this was coming,” he said. “They’ve been pretty fair about it.”
Cullinan said he doesn’t know what plans Keeler Motor Car Co. has for the site.
The company, which sells new BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Mini vehicles from the site, did not return a call seeking comment for this story.
Hewitt’s operates seven other stores from Glenmont to Queensbury. The original store and the main office are on Route 50 in Glenville.


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Thimble (fka Verifly), an insurtech platform offering short-term liability coverage for small businesses and independent workers, raised $22m in Series A funding.
The round was led by IAC, with participation from existing investors including Slow Ventures, AXA Venture Partners, and Open Ocean.
Led by co-founder and CEO Jay Bregman, Thimble offers by-the-job coverage to fit the dynamic nature of small businesses in the gig economy. Insurance is available for more than 100 different professions including handymen, landscapers, DJs, musicians, beauticians, and dog walkers.
Thimble’s new insurance product has now been approved by regulators in 48 states.
The company has already sold over $100B in aggregate exposure.


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Why is the current protection cycle different from what we have seen before?
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
When Canada’s May Consumer Price Index came out a few days ago – I would say “as expected” – it was much worse than expected and again surpassed inflation forecast by the Bank of Canada. . According to frustrated economists at the National Bank of Canada, CPI inflation is 1.5 percent higher than CPI forecasts, which is higher than any forecast along the way. “Tactically reducing inflation was the biggest secret so far,” wrote May.
“Therefore, if the May CPI report does not place alarm bells in the Board of Trustees [of the Bank of Canada]One has to check for a common heartbeat. ”
Canadian headline CPI rose 7.7 percent in May compared to a year ago, the worst since 1983, according to Statistics Canada.
The BoC has previously raised its policy price by 125 basis points to 1.50 percent. At the last meeting, it included the Hawkish language, which was more than expected and a big walk, such as the 75-point increase in the July meeting. The BoC has also started QT, and its accounting records have been declining since March 2021. But inflation and future falcon language are based on the BoC’s inflation forecasts: “Strategic inflation.” So this cycle of inflation will be exciting.
On a month-on-month basis, CPI jumped a staggering 1.4% since April, not up-to-date; And adjusted by 1.1% per season. As expected, I say.
March, April and May CPI rates, annual, year-over-year, rose 12.5 percent.
The red-hot month-on-month increase came on the board, and not just on items related to a few items. At a meeting on July 13, Bossi gave more than enough reasons to pull the trigger on the 75-point point tower.
“Inflation forecasts are not valued on paper.”
The BOC’s inflation forecast for each of its previous meetings in April 2021 is illustrated in the chart below by the National Bank of Canada’s Financial Markets. The red line is the correct CPI rate for each quarter. BOC estimates start at each meeting based on the current CPI size.
Therefore, at its April 2021 meeting (light blue, starting line below), inflation began to worsen, with the BoC forecasting that CPI will be below 3% by mid-2021 and then lowing to 2% by March 2022. Hahahahaha.
Then at the July 2021 meeting, the BoC forecast that inflation in Q3 2021 would grow by 3.8%, then fall to 3%, hahahaha and fall by 2% in Q3.
The chart above shows how ridiculously far these inflation forecasts are and how big this inflation is and how it has worsened even as commodity prices have started to fall.
“To the BOC viewers who are trying to compare today’s inflation with previous financial stimuli, despair. There is no comparison during the overnight price target period (which began in the mid-1990s). That is why the current cycle of protectionism is different from what we have seen before, said Warren Lovely and Taylor Schill, of the National Bank of Canada.
“While the last two BOC actions may seem brutal, now is the time to tighten the knots,” he said.
“An increase of 75 bp on July 13 will not solve Canada’s inflation problem, labor markets are not as strong as they used to be. On the plus side, vacancies are a clear concern, and Canada’s acute shortage of manpower will not be remedied as soon as healthy population growth begins. [through immigration]. ”
And they added – sprayed with astonishing inflation.
“To sum up, we have uncontrollable inflation. Just as some governments do (or intend to do) sending more money to families is like adding gasoline to the fire.
“Inflation requires an uber-strong BOC response, including a 75 BPP increase over three weeks.
“Special price increases (so far) have not done much to control prices but have turned the housing market down. Consumer psychologists bear the brunt of it, and the risk of decline increases.
“Indeed, in the face of such inflation, ensuring ‘soft landing’ can be like a needle’s eye. We have not completely given up hope, but we should be aware of today’s CPI report, even the most enthusiastic among us.
The federation has ridiculed its inflation forecast in every way and is now on fire for its “temporary” and temporary use. The ECB is surprisingly far from inflation forecasts. And their monetary policy – their refusal to raise prices from the beginning of 2021 and their unwillingness to stop QE and start QT at the same time is driven by this ridiculous inflation. But now you have the note.
It is ironic that big banks in Canada, as well as in the United States and elsewhere, are keeping inflation under control. After that, the economic and financial impact of inflation will be severe.
The stock and bond markets have reacted strongly to this trend, and in Canada, home markets are already “overturned,” and central banks are just beginning to crumble, and in recent decades the central bank has done nothing compared to what is to come. Next, and if the recession is part of the deal to control this escalating inflation, so be it.


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The Malcolm Wiener Lecture in International Political Economy delivered by: The Right Honourable Gor
If the world’s central bank digital currencies (CBDC) quickly replace banknotes, the trillion dollar shadow economy could become even more opaque.
The big problem for governments and central banks is that this process is already happening to some extent – for example, the recent explosive growth the value of the cryptocurrency anticipates its inevitable appearance.
Global monetary institutions from Beijing to Frankfurt have accelerated plans to release legal tender digitally over the past year, in part to keep pace with the explosive growth of private sector cryptocurrencies and online payment systems in recent years. Many projects and concepts, many of which are still being discussed, make it difficult to get a clear picture of what will come in the future..
It is clear that the digital currency transition sounds like the death knell for physical banknotes and coins as we know them – there is still a slow decline in their use, which is catalyzed by social distancing due to the pandemic. And that could be happening soon – China is already testing its versions of the digital yuan, and the European Central Bank expects to see the digital euro within the next four years..
But if the end of the cash era is approaching, then the people or activities most dependent on tangible banknotes that effectively ensure the anonymity of the holders of funds and transactions with them will have to adapt to new conditions or find another way of doing business..
Those who use cash most often – as opposed to electronic money that is redirected between bank accounts within the existing banking system – are employed in the sector that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calls «shadow economy».
For the most part, this ecosystem is designed to avoid taxation, regulation and supervision, and can include everything from households using banknotes to pay cleaners or construction workers to avoid taxes, to organized crime and drug trafficking or even terrorist financing..
The scale of this shadow economy is enormous.
In a working paper published shortly before the crisis COVID-19, IMF economists estimate that the shadow economy in the largest European countries, for example, can reach 20% of gross domestic product (GDP) and up to 35% in some emerging market economies.
For the eurozone alone, this could be more than 2 trillion euros – almost double the 1.2 trillion euro banknotes in circulation and, curiously, still more than the market capitalization of all known cryptocurrencies at $ 1.5 trillion..
Cash certainly won’t disappear overnight, even when the CBDCs are launched. And, probably, not all of the shadow economy will move to the nooks and crannies of the cryptocurrency world. Moreover, the IMF refers to a study according to which the wider use of simple electronic payments significantly reduces the shadow economy..
But assuming that governments are reluctant to encourage underground activity – not least because of the loss of much-needed tax revenues in the coming years – this could have a significant impact on the development of new CBDCs..
Currently in Europe, much attention is paid to the digital euro as a zero-yield deposit directly with the ECB – the direct responsibility for the central bank is exactly the same as in the case of banknotes. Thus, using the digital euro, depositors will be able to avoid risks as opposed to deposits of commercial banks..
To counter this, ECB board member Fabio panetta and ECB Director General for Market Infrastructure and Payments Ulrich bindsale proposed to limit these first-tier deposits to households only and to no more than € 1,000, effectively punishing holdings in excess of this amount and those owned by companies or investors with deeply negative interest rates.
Moreover, Panetta said last week that in the event of a banking crisis, negative tier two rates may need to exceed 2% or 3% to avoid excess commercial bank deposits in CBDC..
But it is unlikely that anyone operating in the shadow economy seeking to avoid taxes and / or law enforcement scrutiny will want to open a visible and traceable central bank account..
This is why some economists believe that CBDCs should only be issued as digital tokens, mimicking banknotes in digital form, but privately in digital wallets, the way cryptocurrencies work now..
However, even as with the main cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC), this movement of tokens from wallet to wallet can be tracked to some extent. And it’s hard to imagine legal tender tokens to be 100% anonymous.
Discussing CBDC’s plans to date, arguing that there is a risk «giant failure», economists Peter bofinger and Thomas haas questioned both the ideas of deposits and tokens, in favor of the unit «store of value», which could integrate private online payment systems like Facebook with its Libra / Diem with legal tender and prevent them from going from permanent to crypto and vice versa.
They also argue that the idea of unlimited and completely anonymous CBDC tokens simply won’t comply with anti-money laundering regulations..
Metlife Investment Management Strategists Alexander villacampa and Jun Jiang believe that while central banks now need CBDCs to fight control of monetary systems by the cryptocurrency world and big tech. For central banks, token is the only logical path.
«Without a CBDC token, central banks could actually push people to use cryptocurrencies, which is unlikely», – experts say.


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British mobile phone and electricals retailer Dixons Carphone has become the victim of a major cyber attack for the second time in three years after discovering unauthorised access to its payment card data. Again, Dixons said there was no evidence that it had resulted in any fraud.
While the breach took place last July, Dixons Carphone only realised that it had occurred in the last week and the notification delay of nearly a year was not a case of the firm covering up the fact, allegedly.
Video: Equifax teaches us what not to do after a data breach.
Dixons Carphone, the firm which runs well-known tech outlets in the United Kingdom including Currys, PC World, and Carphone Warehouse admits that it suffered a data breach in July 2017.More news: Aeon Flux returns to TV as a live-action series
However, it was quick to add that 5.8 million of these cards had chip and PIN protection, and that the data stolen did not include pin codes, card verification values (CVV) or authentication data - making it more hard for the hackers to monetize the breached data.
Access was also gained to non-financial personal data, such as addresses, names and email information. As of now, there are no known cases of any fraudulent use of the compromised data, the company claims.
However around 105,000 of the accessed cards were non-EU issued, and lacked chip-and-PIN, and it says those cards have been compromised.
He said: "We are extremely disappointed and sorry for any upset this may cause". We promptly launched an investigation, engaged leading cyber security experts and added extra security measures to our systems.More news: Wonder Woman 1984 First Look: Steve Trevor Is Alive?!
The ICO said it was liaising with the National Cyber Security Centre, the FCA and other agencies to determine the impact on customers.
"Anyone concerned about fraud or lost data should contact Action Fraud and we recommend that people are vigilant against any suspicious activity on their bank accounts".
The group added it did not believe the personal data accessed had left the group's systems, but was advising those affected on protective steps they should take.More news: De Gea wants public apology from Spain's PM


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Thus, the interoperability of QR codes offers more and better payment alternatives to users and payment to merchants, which add a new, agile and easy-to-use form of payment, without additional commissions and with immediate crediting of the money.
“From MODO we promote the success of all electronic payment methods, and PCT represents an opportunity to expand the use and acceptance of these payment methods and reduce that of cash,” says Rafael Soto, CEO of MODO.
In addition to the new alternative of Payments with Transfer, MODO is already present in almost 500,000 businesses throughout the country, enabled for payment with QR and the use of credit and debit cards, with the great differential of being able to maintain the benefits provided by the Banks such as discounts and promotions.
Payment with MODE can be made from the banking apps as well as through its independent app. Some of the businesses that top the list in collections with MODO are Walmart, Changomas, YPF, Carrefour, Freddo, FarmaPlus, large shopping malls throughout the country, among others.
Together with the banks of the ecosystem, MODO came to the market to provoke a cultural change in the daily use of money with the aim of reducing cash and plastic cards. Working in tune with Argentine banking, it anticipated the demands of users and businesses, providing security, practicality and convenience. Today, the trend is installed and MODO’s value proposition grows exponentially, reaffirming its flagship message: cash is no longer effective.


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Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is set to release its earnings results for the third quarter of 2019 on Thursday after the market closes. The results will be hurt by a fall in data-centric businesses as the chipmaker is struggling in the cloud segment as well as enterprise and government segments.
The company has remained the go-to-processor supplier for most PC manufacturers but was facing misfortune due to the ongoing chip shortage. This has frustrated many PC makers, who turned towards Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) for chips. The CPU shortage is likely to ease by the start of the fourth quarter of 2019.
Intel has been spending substantially greater amounts on marketing and research and development. This is likely to lift the expenses for the company. For maintaining the market position, the company will continue to invest heavily in R&D, new manufacturing facilities, and marketing.
Looking forward in the artificial intelligence and autonomous automotive space, the company began focusing on a string of strategic purchases. For the long term, Intel is tightening the competition string by deciding to sell 5G smartphone modem business to Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
Analysts expect the company’s earnings to drop by 11.40% to $1.24 per share and revenue will decline by 6% to $18.05 billion for the third quarter. The company has surprised investors by beating analysts’ expectations in all of the past four quarters. The majority of the analysts recommended a “buy” rating with an average price target of $53.13.
For the second quarter, Intel reported a 17% drop in earnings due to lower revenue. The results exceeded the company’s expectations as the growth of data and compute-intensive applications are driving customer demand for higher performance products in both PC centric and data-centric businesses.
For the third quarter, the company expects GAAP EPS of $1.16, adjusted earnings of $1.24 per share and revenue of about $18 billion. For the full year 2019, the company lifted revenue outlook by $500 million to $69.5 billion and adjusted earnings guidance by 5 cents to $4.40 per share. The GAAP earnings for the full year is now anticipated to be $4.10 per share, lower than the prior estimate of $4.14 per share.
Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) reported fourth quarter 2022 earnings results today. Net sales increased 5% year-over-year to $4.62 billion. Organic sales growth was 8.5%. Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company was
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) reported fourth quarter 2022 earnings results today. Total revenues and other income were $56.4 billion compared to $48.1 billion in the year-ago period. Net income attributable
American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) reported fourth quarter 2022 earnings results. Consolidated total revenues net of interest expense were $14.2 billion, up 17% from a year ago. Net income was


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RUSSIA: Baltika sales on the rise in 2003
Baltika has seen sales in 2003 climb. The Russian brewer announced yesterday that sales for the year rose to 16.17m hectolitres, up from 16.06m hectolitres in 2002.
In 2003, the company increased its sales both in Russia and abroad, to 15.17m and 1m hectolitres, respectively. Last year, Baltika built two breweries, in Samara and Khabarovsk. Simultaneously, production facilities were upgraded and expanded in St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don and Tula, enabling the company to create a geographically-distributed production system.
In the first half of 2004, Baltika plans to complete the restructuring of the Russian distribution system launched in 2003.
Baltika accounts for 18% of beer output in Russia, and is expected to raise this figure to 25% at year-end 2003.
Baltika has written to its shareholders approving the guiding principles for a proposed merger with the Pikra, Vena and Yarpivo brewing companies in Russia....
Baltika has posted an impressive rise in H1 net profit....
Baltika has posted a healthy rise in H1 net profits....
Scottish & Newcastle will "vigorously defend" any accusations of illegal and unethical behaviour in its Russian holdings....
Baltika has begun supplying beer direct to Ireland....
Baltika has failed in a bid to gain sufficient support from minority shareholders for its proposed acquisition of the Pikra brewery for US$67.5m....
Baltic Beverage Holdings plans to begin consolidating its Russian assets with the brewer Pikra, a press report said today....
Baltika Brewery has posted its Q1 figures....
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Britain's trade deficit with the rest of the world widened unexpectedly in January after lower sales of chemicals and other commodities led a drop in exports.
The trade gap in physical goods widened to 7.99 billion pounds ($12 billion), well above the 7 billion pounds forecast by analysts, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The figures were a disappointment given that economists had expected recent weakness in the British pound to boost exports.
The British currency dropped further after the trade report. It was 0.7 percent lower at $1.4957 midmorning in London.
The statistics office said there was no obvious reason for the wider deficit, although some have suggested that the particularly bad weather in January may have disrupted trade flows.
Imports fell 1.6 percent and exports dropped 6.9 percent, the sharpest decline in more than three years.
Officials and economists cautioned against reading too much into one month's data.
"You cannot read too much into any monthly trade figures. The overall long-term export figures are good, with exports rising by 2.6 billion pounds to 60.3 billion pounds in the last quarter," said Mervyn Davies, the minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business.
"The different value in sterling will take some time to feed through to improved export performance and the full benefits will not be seen until demand in our main markets picks up more strongly," he added.
"With sterling persistently weak and not expected to appreciate markedly in the coming months, U.K. exporters should be able to take advantage of the boost to competitiveness and the pick up in the U.S. and Asian economies," said Hetal Mehta, Senior Economic Advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club economic consultancy
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Alexa Chung is the face of Lacoste
TV presenter and fashion darling Alexa Chung named as new face of Lacoste fragrance.
Alexa Chung’s inexorable rise to world domination continues apace. The funky-geeky British style icon, with the doe-eyes and Bambi-legs, has just been signed as the face of the new Lacoste fragrance, which will be launched in January, 2011.
The 25-year-old New York-based TV presenter and model is the first female celebrity to be signed as a Lacose fragrance ‘face’.
A spokesman described her cool personality, innate sense of style and laid-back, streetwise confidence as being a perfect fit with the Lacoste brand.
A darling of the fashion community, Alexa is celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic for her quirky individualism and fearless style spirit.
She recently won the Editor’s Choice category at the UK Elle Style Awards, and was Number One on the Best-Dressed List for 2009 of British Vogue, for whom she is a contributing editor.
Alexa recently fronted her second successful series for MTV, “It’s On With Alexa Chung’, and is currently to be seen on the UK’s E4 Channel, as the presenter of ‘Frock Me’, together with the young British designer, Henry Holland.


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Facebook testing features that let Pages archive and share Stories
A Facebook spokesperson said the company is always looking to bring more Stories features to Pages.
Facebook is testing new ways for Pages to archive and share Stories. Marketing Land first became aware of the new features after social media consultant Matt Navarra Tweeted an image of them on Tuesday.
“We’re always looking to bring more Stories features to Pages on Facebook, like Stories Archive and the ability for people to share a Page’s story. We will continue to learn and iterate as we test more features like these,” said a Facebook spokesperson in an email to Marketing Land.
Why you should care
The new feature allowing Page Stories to be shared by other users could potentially expand the organic reach of a brand’s content beyond its followers.
“As advertisers, News Feed posts and ads have had sharing abilities for years. Now, with Stories in the mix, having this popular new placement will be beneficial to us as our audiences will easily be able to share our content, thus, amplifying reach, visibility, and brand trust,” said Akvile DeFazio, president of the social media advertising agency AKvertise, “When people deem content share-worthy, it eases some of the heavy lifting we do as advertisers.”
With the Stories archive feature, brands will be able access to their Stories after the 24-hour display period ends, an extra bonus that comes with many benefits.
“Archiving this ephemeral content will prolong its shelf life, which will be helpful in keeping historical data, strategizing future posts based on past performance, and will give us the ability to repurpose content as we test it with new audiences.”
The archive feature is listed under the Stories tab in a Page’s Publish Tools menu, and the ability to turn on sharing for Stories is under the “General” tab in the Page settings menu.
More on the news
- Facebook opened Stories to Pages more than a year ago, but the only rolled out Stories ads globally last September.
- In December, Facebook rolled out Stories to Groups globally, giving group admins controls to monitor the content and members contributing to the Stories.
- During Facebook’s earnings call for the second quarter of 2018, COO Sheryl Sandberg said the company would be investing in growing and promoting Stories, and that Facebook was very optimistic about monetizing its Stories content.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


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By Eryk Bagshaw
Three Sydney Hooters restaurants have gone into voluntary administration only months after employees claimed that the Australian franchises of the US restaurant chain were not paying them superannuation.
It is the latest blow for the ailing US-style barbecue diners dubbed "brestaurants" after fires, slushee scandals, legal stoushes and protests about the objectification of women further tarnished the image of the chain in Australia.
On Tuesday the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published notices that five Hooters restaurants in NSW and Queensland had entered voluntary administration.
Deloitte Australia has been appointed to manage the administration of Hooters restaurants in Penrith, Campbelltown, and the flagship Parramatta store in NSW as well as stores on the Gold Coast and in Townsville, according to ASIC.
Restaurant locations and the contact page of the Australian chains have since been taken offline, but a spokeswoman said it was "business as usual."
On Thursday Deloitte announced that it was going to begin marketing the business for sale, with a view to protecting the employment of staff members and ongoing trade with suppliers.
The announcement comes four months after former employees complained that they were owed thousands of dollars in unpaid superannuation.
In February the chain's Penrith manager, Grant Howard, and fellow employee Isabella Picot said that despite providing their details on multiple occasions they had not received any of the $5000 in super they estimated they were owed.
At the time Hooter's Australia marketing director Nicole Schlebusch said she could neither confirm nor deny the allegations due to the absence of relevant details.
In May the chain opened a Townsville franchise despite criticism and protests from the community, shortly after it did a deal with restaurant group Chanticleer Holdings which operates a number of chains throughout the US.
It announced that it was recruiting 60 women with "an all-Australian cheerleader type of look" that were "bubbly and outgoing girls and the life of the party."
The restaurant, which has been operating in Australia since 2006 and has 400 staff members across the country, is synonymous with women delivering chicken wings while wearing tight white T-shirts with "Hooters" emblazoned across their chests.
Hooters said that the north Queensland city was chosen because of its relatively high proportion of university students, military men and mine workers. But opponents lashed out at the proposal for the chain's perceived sexual objectification of women.
"Hooters is a colloquial term for breasts," read the petition to close the restaurant from the group Collective Shout.
More than 6000 people signed the petition against the restaurant's business model based on "flirting, flattery and sex appeal."
The Gold Coast franchise of the chain was also plagued by legal stoushes over slushee machines after the restaurant caught fire in 2011 before opening.
In 2013 the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered Ms Schlebusch to pay more than $6000 to slushee operator Michael Hyde after the machines Ms Schlebusch had hired where "damaged beyond salvage or repair".
The court also ordered Ms Schlebusch to pay more than $650 for missing slushee syrups.
Deloitte Restructuring Services partner Michael Billingsley said it was early days in the restructure process.
"For now, all restaurants in NSW and Queensland are trading normally while we begin investigating the performance of each business and determine next steps," he said.
"We expect to commence marketing the businesses for sale shortly with a view to selling as a going concern to maintain employment for staff and ongoing trading for suppliers."