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Apple blew up the promoting market in 2020 when it gave monitoring an opt-in characteristic on iOS. Since then, Google—the world’s greatest advertiser—has been sluggish to roll out its answer for Android and Chrome. The concept that Google has give you known as the “Privateness Sandbox,” which appears like an excellent factor, nevertheless it’s a brand new monitoring system for Android and Chrome. As soon as that’s up and working, solely then does Google say it is going to begin blocking present monitoring strategies like third-party cookies.
The corporate’s newest progress report is that the Privateness Sandbox is coming to Android, in beta. Google says, “The Privateness Sandbox for Android Beta will roll out regularly, beginning with a small share of Android 13 gadgets, and can increase over time. In case your system is chosen for the Beta, you’ll obtain an Android notification letting .”
Privateness Sandbox, on Chrome and Android, tracks customers by curiosity teams moderately than individually, which Google claims is a privateness enchancment. Android will quickly construct an promoting profile of you, and the consumer interface will allow you to block “pursuits” you do not wish to see advertisements for. There’s an off change and an inventory of apps that plug into the brand new monitoring system—presumably something utilizing a brand new construct of the Google Advertisements API.
One other consumer monitoring system on Android isn’t any massive change within the grand scheme of issues as a result of there are already promoting and concentrating on APIs in Google’s OS. Including the Privateness Sandbox monitoring system to Chrome is a far greater change since that is the primary time an advert system has been constructed straight into Google’s browser. Google additionally desires to cripple advert blockers on Chrome someday this yr. Google makes about 80 p.c of its income from promoting, so forcing advertisements into its browser and OS is among the few issues the corporate does that can have an effect on its backside line.
The “Privateness Sandbox” on Chrome has not less than some roundabout argument for enhancing privateness, since Google claims it is going to in the future block third-party monitoring cookies in Chrome as soon as the system rolls out. On Android, the Privateness Sandbox monitoring is as well as to all the standard particular person monitoring strategies; it is not being pitched as an alternative choice to something. The Privateness Sandbox on Android is toothless, and Google has no plans to scale back monitoring on Android. The corporate mentioned final yr that “we plan to help present advertisements platform options for not less than two years, and we intend to supply substantial discover forward of any future adjustments.” So even within the best-case state of affairs, Google has no plans to reply iOS’s 2020 monitoring discount till not less than 2024.
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Lucent Isn't Biting a Big-Enough Bullet
If bad news had a name, it would be Lucent. The beleaguered company is dealing with a flurry of shareholder lawsuits and has restated last year's fourth-quarter revenues from $9.4 billion to $8.7 billion. Its stock has plummeted more than 70% off its highs last spring. As an encore, the company couldn't come close to analyst estimates with its Jan. 24 announcment of a huge loss per share of 30 cents for its first quarter of 2001, ended Dec. 31. The quarterly loss of $1 billion from continuing operations marked the third consecutive decline for the Murray Hill (N.J.) outfit.
To turn Lucent (LU ) around, executives unveiled a $2 billion cost-cutting plan, double the size hinted at a month earlier. As part of the restructuring, the company will eliminate 16,000 jobs and some product lines. It will take a one-time charge of $1.2 billion in the second fiscal quarter to cover severance pay, consolidate facilities, and write down assets.
Will this comeback attempt work? Most analysts don't think so. They fear that cost-cutting won't solve Lucent's fundamental problems. The company needs to focus on delivering hot products to customers in a timely fashion, says Derrick Queen of U.S. Trust, a communications-equipment consultancy.
Moreover, Lucent still lacks a basic plan for future sales growth, says Robertson Stephens senior analyst Paul Silverstein. Already, more nimble competitors such as Ciena and Nortel Networks have stolen market share from Lucent in the key optical-networking sector. In 2000, Lucent failed to capitalize on the fast-growing wireless phone network sector. And at the Jan. 24 earnings conference, Lucent interim-CEO Henry Schacht talked all about the company's restructuring efforts, but he failed to outline Lucent's improvement plan.
Conversely, the conference call raised as many questions for market watchers as it answered. By refusing to share any sales targets, break down revenue by sector, or discuss the health of the company's flagging optical-systems segment, Schacht left many analysts still trying to get a handle on how badly the company's business has deteriorated -- and whether the process is over yet.
Clearly, the problems at Lucent run even deeper than anyone had thought. From September to December, its inventories grew 21.2%, to $6.9 billion. While some blame component shortages for the company having to store up "nuts and bolts" to be prepared for customers' orders, Queen says parts have been more readily available in recent months. That could mean a low volume of orders, he says. Or Lucent might have suffered from poor communication with its customers, which hindered its ability to anticipate demand for specific products. So far, the company has refused to divulge inventory details to analysts.
When Lucent does make sales, it often gets the money only after an unacceptably long wait. That's because some of its customers, especially small telecoms, are in financial trouble, explains Lucent CFO Deborah Hopkins. The company's accounts receivables actually decreased in the first quarter of 2000 compared with the same period of 1999. Though normally a good sign, some speculate that this decline could have resulted from falling sales as small telecoms' purchasing power sagged and competition intensified. And the gap between making a sale and Lucent receiving payment increased 13 days, to 112 days, compared to the same quarter the year before. Other calculation methods show that the quarter's payment lag climbed 28 days.
Schacht is sanguine about the perception. He has pledged to exercise a "more careful approach in the [small-telecom] market." But that pledge could be hard to uphold. Lucent, like many companies in the industry, has financed purchases by small customers to gain crucial market share. And the fallout from small telcos' payment defaults could be far from over.
Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Ching believes Lucent might write off some of its defaulted accounts receivables and redundant inventories as part of the one-time, second-quarter special charge. Company officials say the charge will be used for severance pay and closing product lines. Also, Ching says he wouldn't be surprised if the company decided to do more inventory and accounts receivable write-offs in a later quarter. Trouble is, the slowing economy drags small telcos down, that could further exacerbate Lucent's payment problems.
ON THE HOOK.
For now, Lucent's financing exposure is considerable. As of Dec. 31, the company had $5.7 billion in customer financing. It had also guaranteed $1.8 billion in customer debt. Nortel, a company of comparable size, had customer financing commitments of only $4.1 billion as of Dec. 31. Lucent's financing burden could increase when it completes an imminent $1.6 billion credit deal with Telefónica, the world's leading telecom operator in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries.
Under that financial weight, Lucent would have "the least flexibility" in the wireless-infrastructure industry and lose some opportunities to increase its market share through financing its customers, says Queen. And the latter is something Lucent can't afford. The company has seen its market share deteriorate even in fast-growing markets like optical systems. The company's share in the optical-transport field slipped from 24% in 1999 to 14% last year, according to telecom consultancy RHK.
Competition intensified this year with a push from Ericsson, Nokia, and Nortel. Ciena also came out with a new optical-switching product. Revenues from Lucent's fiber-optic-cable segment grew 50% in the past quarter, but its market position in optical systems continues to weaken, according to analysts.
CUTTING ITS LOSSES.
Despite these concerns, most analysts say the restructuring effort takes tiny steps in the right direction. Schacht hopes to sell two plants and eliminate 10,000 jobs this year and 6,000 more in 2002. The company won't yet pinpoint which unprofitable product lines will be cut. But analysts speculate that they'll come from its ATM (asynchrous transfer mode) switch business and the internetworking products from its acquisition, Ascend Communcations. The measures, which should help Lucent's bottom line, represents a huge cut for a company that had only $3.1 billion in net income from continuing operations in fiscal 2000.
At the earnings conference call, Schacht tried to soothe investors. He said Lucent would cease offering special discounts to move products quickly. Sales, which plunged 26.1% for the first quarter of 2001 compared with the same period in 1999, would pick up in the second fiscal quarter of 2001, he added. So Lucent's financial performance should start to improve in the second half of 2001. And the stock price has essentially held steady around $18.50 since Schacht's call.
Analysts claim -- with a nervous laugh -- that it's unlikely the stock price can slide any further. It has been inching up of late from a 52-week low of $12.19 and closed on Jan. 30 at $18.57. Make no mistake: Lucent still has a deep financial base. While its cash kitty has been severely depleted, Lucent has arranged for a $4.5 billion credit line from J.P. Morgan and Salomon Smith Barney to replace a $2 billion line of credit coming up for renewal in February. Lucent is also expected to raise $8 billion with the initial public offering of its microelectronics subsidiary, Agere Systems, in March. As part of the float, Agere will assume $2.5 billion in Lucent debt.
NO "DYING BEAST."
And the company retains some significant strengths. It's still the third-largest patent holder in the world, and its research arm remains an intellectual powerhouse. Lucent has also generated a few hot new products, including the WaveStar OLS 1.6 T optical system, which is attracting its first buyers. The company hasn't denied rumors of pending contracts with WorldCom and another big international carrier. Gartner analyst John Gonsalves says: "I don't think it's a dying beast."
Still, as the restructuring kicks in, Lucent's second fiscal quarter will likely be another tough one, warns ABN Amro analyst Ken Leon. He says productivity will likely decline because of workers' lay-off concerns. Lehman Brothers analyst Steven Levy believes that the core Lucent divisions (businesses excluding Agere) will become profitable only in June, 2002. That's an awfully long wait, and many investors have basically hung up on the company.
Even Schacht admits: "This is a period of great uncertainty." For a fallen bellwether struggling to regain its footing in a nervous market, that's not a reassuring recipe for quick recovery.
By Olga Kharif in New York
Edited by Alex Salkever

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Can Houphouet's jeweller put the shine back on Ivorian diamonds?
Transactysglasol's brand new permit to mine diamonds in the north of Ivory Coast on a semi-industrial and industrial scale (AMI 405), the first awarded since the 1970s, marks the first step towards the arduous revival of the sector. [...]
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If you have an Office 365 commercial account, you can use it to sign-in to Windows 10 instead of using a Microsoft account.
Recent Windows 10 Stories
Like them or not, we can at least agree that the new Windows 10 icons are the most superficial design change that Microsoft could possibly make.
Microsoft is rolling out a new update to Windows 10 for Insiders today, and it comes with the company's new set of icons designed with its Fluent Design system.
Adobe is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its flagship Photoshop application by adding new features on desktop and iPad.
It is perhaps not coincidental that the coming Windows 10X user experience mimics that provided by Office via multiple entry-points.
With its MWC plans thwarted by the Coronavirus outbreak, Microsoft will now host a Mixed Reality Dev Days event just before Build 2020 in May.
The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) isn’t particularly well-suited to traditional productivity applications.
Microsoft is introducing support for RCS Messaging on the Your Phone app exclusively for Samsung's Galaxy S20 devices, but there are a couple of limitations.
Microsoft announced that the preview version of Windows Terminal has been upgraded to version 0.9, adding several useful new features.
Sometime in the next month or so, Microsoft will finally begin rolling out Windows 10 version 2004. Here’s what to expect.
Microsoft is releasing a new build of Windows 10 to Insiders in the First Ring, and it's also introducing a new design for the Calendar app in preview today.
Mehedi has updated his Twitter client, Tweeten, to version 5, adding native support for Windows 10 on ARM and several new features.
Windows 10 version 2004 isn’t yet available to the public, but Microsoft has issued a cumulative update to the Slow ring.
Microsoft reveals new Win32 container in Windows 10X, says OS updates will take less than 90 second restarts.
Today, Microsoft will finally explain how developers can target dual-screen experiences and give us our first real peek at Windows 10X.
In a market full of incredibly high-quality options, the Dragonfly nonetheless manages to stand out. It is a nearly perfect portable PC.
Microsoft is releasing version 80 of the new Edge browser to the public, which brings native support for ARM64 devices like the Surface Pro X.
If you care at all about Windows, this is a great move, as Microsoft is finally dealing with two of its biggest mistakes of the past few years.
I decided to port .NETpad from Visual Basic to C# in order to get up to speed on the latter language as quickly as possible.
So, we need to discuss this week’s news about the end of ad-based UWP app monetization through the Microsoft Store.
For much of the past year, I’ve been researching and working with Microsoft’s previous-generation developer technologies.
The FSF is petitioning Microsoft to open-source Windows 7. Yeah, it sounds like a crazy idea. Until you really think about it.
But its usage is dwarfed by that of Windows 10 version 1903, which is now in use on over half of all Windows 10 PCs.
Here’s a useful new feature from Microsoft Word that can be added quickly and easily to .NETpad: Word count.
Microprocessor giant Intel reported today that it earned a net income of $21 billion on a record $72 billion in revenues in 2019.
Here are a few minor changes and fixes to .NETpad related to the status bar, word wrap, and app publishing.
In the wake of reports of major issues with the USB-C ports on many of its ThinkPad PCs, Lenovo has issued a set of fixes.


text: Who has seen the Lionel Polar Express set due to be released in time for the 2012 holiday season? Some forumites say they saw Lionel displaying it at York last month. For those who saw it -- is it headed by a diesel loco or a stem loco? If steam, how similar is that loco to the original Polar Express loc. I'm talking about the new Polar Express rtr freight set - not the Polar Railroad set.


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Paying for your shopping using cash or cards could be a thing of the past in just five years, according to a new report by online payments service PayPal.
Instead, making payments via your mobile phone will be commonplace by 2016.
This is the view of major UK retailers and business interviewed as part of PayPal’s research into future payment methods.
By 2016, UK mobile retail sales will hit £2.5 billion as around 14 million adults will regularly shop via their mobiles, the Money: The Digital Tipping Point report says.
The digital wallet
PayPal says that in the future a whole range of devices - including PCs, mobile phones, tablets and games consoles - will be used to make in-store and online retail payments.
Carl Scheible, managing director of PayPal UK said: “2016 will mark the real start of money’s digital switchover in the UK.
“We’re not saying cash will disappear entirely, but we’ll increasingly use our phones and other devices rather than our wallets to pay in-store as well as online.
“The lines between the online world and high street will soon disappear altogether.
“Children born today will become the UK’s first cashless generation. It will be completely natural for them to pay by mobile."
PayPal’s report also reveals shoppers can look forward to being able to carry digital loyalty cards, promotional offers and receipts on their phones - keeping everything in one place creating a virtual shopping hub.
Some retailers are already ahead of the game when it comes to smartphone payments.
In June this year restaurant chain Pizza Express launched an iPhone app that allows diners to pay their bill on their phone via PayPal.
And in the New Year high-street chain Starbucks will launch a free smartphone app that will allow customers to pay for their coffee with one touch using their iPhone or iPod.
From 5 January 2012, customers who have a registered Starbucks Card will be able to link the app to their card balance and make payments for their in-store purchases by scanning their unique barcode at the till.
Brian Waring of Starbucks UK and Ireland: “Customers want to be served quickly, but fewer want to use cash. We wanted to find a way for them to pay in the quickest way possible.
“We have created our own custom-built mobile payment technology rather than waiting for the near-field communication technology which is currently not widely available.”
Will cash go the same way as cheques?
Cash will make up less than half of all transactions in just five years’ time, says technology expert Stuart Miles of gadget news and reviews website Pocket-lint.com.
“We are seeing a trend where retail customers want to be served quickly, but fewer want to use cash. Mobile payment technology enables this and for that reason is set to be the future of shopping.”
What do you think? Can you see yourself paying for goods by mobile phone in the near future? Or are you doing so already? Leave your views on the comments board below.


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Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukhlal Mandavia said the government is attempting to provide 700 medicines in Jan Aushadi Stores and a total of 20 truck loads of medicines are being supplied to such stores per day for providing medicines at cheaper rates to the poor.
He said Jan Aushadhi stores are opened with an aim of providing quality and affordable medicines to the poor.
Mandavia, while replying to questions, said the government has fixed trade margins of 42 medicines relating to cancer and other diseases, which has helped bring down their price by 90 per cent.
"A total of 526 formulations are now available at 90 per cent less rates than the market, after the government has taken this initiative of fixing trade margins," the minister said.
Asked about any checks on pharma producers selling such medicines at higher rates, the minister said, the National Pharma Pricing Authority has been set up by the government and is looking into whether anyone is selling medicines at higher prices.
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- DoT Initiates Process to Auction more 5G Spectrum
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has commenced an exercise to unlock and sell an additional 5,500 MHz of 5G spectrum, worth over ₹35,000 crore. This comes close on the heels of the government netting a record ₹1.5 lakh crore from the recently concluded auctions.NSE Tracks Insider Trading Rules Compliance
A move is on to scrutinise whether large and actively traded companies are falling in line with the rules to curb insider trading, one of the scourges of the Indian stock market.Higher Cost Pressure Mars Q1 Show for India Inc
High raw material prices hurt the profitability of Indian companies in the fiscal first quarter, although passing on part of the cost burden helped boost their revenue growth.
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Nokia Mobile has now launched almost its whole 2023 feature phones catalogue in India, with the only exception being the Nokia 106 (2023). After releasing the new Nokia 110 series, both 2G and 4G variants, last month, the company announced the Nokia 150 (2023) and Nokia 130 Music in the country this Thursday. The latter now has its third name as it was first launched in China last month as the Nokia 125 (2023), followed by its silent addition into the international portfolio as the Nokia 130 (2023).
Both Nokia 150 (2023) and Nokia 130 Music are 2G phones that run on the S30+ operating system and come with a 2.4-inch display, wireless FM radio, a 3.5 mm audio port, a rear LED flash, and IP52-rated dust and water splash resistance. With 4 MB of RAM and 4 MB of internal storage, the devices can store 2000 contacts and 500 SMS messages. There’s microSD card support of up to 32 GB to use the built-in MP3 player and voice recorder.
The phones also have a 1450 mAh removable battery with more than 30 days of standby, 30 hours of music playback, or 20 hours of talk time on a single charge. Interestingly, with a more than 42% increase in battery capacity compared to the Nokia 125 (2020), the company has been able to shrink the Nokia 130 Music’s size height and depth-wise by 1 mm with an increase of 0.1 mm in width.
The polycarbonate back has nano texture on the new Nokia 150 and laser tooling texture on the Nokia 130 Music accompanying a larger loudspeaker area. Given its premium design, the Nokia 150 (2023) has a metallic navigation key area and a 0.3 MP rear camera. The micro USB 2.0 port in the 2020 versions of the Nokia 125 and Nokia 150 has come down to micro USB 1.1 in the new versions. Also, the Bluetooth support is not there anymore.
Nokia 130 Music, which is already available in offline stores, is coming with earphones in the box and a 1-year replacement guarantee. The company did not reveal the online availability dates but did reveal the pricing. While the Nokia 150 (2023) in Black, Cyan, and Red colours will cost ₹2699, the Nokia 130 Music in Dark Blue and Purple colours will cost ₹1849, and in Light Gold colour will cost ₹1949.
With all the feature phones out of sight for now, the company must be planning to launch two 5G phones in India. Apart from Nokia XR21, which was certified back in April, the Nokia G42 5G has been green-lit by BIS. The device (TA-1581) was first registered on BIS on the 3rd of July with Guangdong Enok as the manufacturer and was supposed to continue HMD Global’s streak of importing 5G smartphones from China.
Now, it seems that the company has changed its plans, as Nokia G42 5G is all set to become the first 5G smartphone by the brand to be manufactured in India. On the 9th of August, the device (TA-1581 and TA-1586) was again registered on BIS with a Noida-based manufacturer named Padget (Dixon). A similar thing happened in the case of the Nokia T10 after its launch in India.
During the global launch of the Nokia G42 5G, Wion by Zee Media reported that the Indian launch would happen by September. Pricing details are not known as of now.
Thanks to singhnsk for letting us know that TA-1586 belongs to G42.


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Match Group Aims For $466M IPO
The owner of Tinder, Match.com and OkCupid hopes to raise as much as $466.2 million in an initial public offering, which would put the value of the dating site company at around $3 billion.
Match Group disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that it will price its IPO of about 33.3 million shares between $12 and $14 per share. The underwriters will have a 30-day option to buy an additional 5 million shares.
The online matchmaker will list on Nasdaq under the symbol “MTCH.” Parent company IAC/InterActiveCorp, controlled by billionaire Barry Diller, has been snapping up online dating sites as the industry grows in popularity.


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Airtel Africa has announced a partnership with Facebook that will see the launch in Africa of Free Basics, a set of basic websites and services intended to introduce users to the internet and demonstrate how it can add value to their lives. The websites provide free health-, education- and finance-related information to people in developing countries. In the first phase, Free Basics will be launched by Airtel Nigeria, DRC, Gabon and Niger, followed by other Airtel Africa markets. Customers with an Airtel mobile connection will be able to access all the services that form part of Free Basics without extra charges for data or rental. Airtel Africa has been working with Facebook since 2014 to enhance accessibility to the internet in an affordable manner through the launch of Free Basics in Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, Seychelles and Rwanda.
Free Basics is part of Facebook’s Internet.org initiative, aimed at bringing internet access to underserved developing areas. Both Facebook and its MNO partners, such as Airtel, have a strong interest in increasing internet use, which generates revenue in a variety of ways. Free access for populations that currently use the internet very little or not at all and are not aware of its advantages is a loss leader that will very likely yield a substantial dividend in future. The other half of the equation is growing affluence in African markets served by Airtel; in the coming years, people who have been introduced to the internet via Free Basics will spend their increasing disposable income on paid data services.


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Austin gas prices drop another 2 cents
Gasoline prices in Austin fell another two cents this week, according to AustinGasPrices.com.
The price-tracking website's Dec. 3 report on gas prices found that the average price for one gallon of gas this week is $3.15 per gallon, or two pennies less than last week.
Prices are down by 14.8 cents over the past month, per AustinGasPrices.com.
The current price is 24 cents lower than the national average of $3.39.
Meanwhile, the website has lowered its forecast for Christmas gas prices to average between $3.25 and $3.35 per gallon, Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan said in the report.
GasBuddy.com operates AustinGasPrices.com and more than 250 similar websites that track gas prices in the United States and Canada. GasBuddy tracks price changes at 830 retail outlets in Austin.
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FILE PHOTO: Logo of Swiss drugmaker Novartis is seen at its branch in Schweizerhalle near Basel, Switzerland, March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis aims to become a big player in supplying insulin to diabetics, signing a deal with China’s Gan & Lee covering versions of three blockbuster brands just as the U.S. government is seeking to slash insulin costs.
Novartis said on Wednesday its Sandoz generics unit is targeting Sanofi’s Lantus (glargine), with about $6 billion in annual sales, Novo Nordisk’s NovoLog (aspart) with about $3.2 billion, and Eli Lilly’s Humalog (lispro), whose sales are some $2.9 billion.
Sandoz will handle commercializing biosimilar, or near-copy, versions of these medicines in Europe, the United States, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Gan & Lee will develop and manufacture them, with help from Sandoz.
Gan & Lee, founded in 1998, focuses on insulin production and describes itself China’s leading diabetes company. It already makes versions of Lantus and Humalog, according to its website.
Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely


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House prices continue to increase across Canada
It says a combination of consumer confidence, moderately low interest rates and improved affordability led to greater sales in the first quarter.
It says the highest average price appreciation was in standard condos, which rose 16.3% to $230,146 year-over-year.
Detached bungalow prices rose 14.9% to an average $316,993 and standard two-storey properties increased 11.8% in price to $378,148.
Fuelled by the energy sector, Alberta’s economy continued to show extremely high price appreciation and that spilled over into Saskatchewan. Year-over-year condo prices rose 72.1% in Edmonton, 38.9% in Calgary and 42.9% in Saskatoon.
It says more moderate increases were noted in the central and eastern regions of the country.
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TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday promised C$1 billion ($763 million) in assistance over 10 years for the automotive industry if he retains power in an Oct. 19 election.
He made the pledge a day after agreeing to a new Pacific trade pact that critics say will hurt the Canadian auto industry. Polls show Harper may well lose his majority in the House of Commons and could even be turned out of office.
Harper vowed to extend the life of an existing C$100 million a year automotive innovation fund by 10 years once it expired in March 2018. The program is designed to help research projects become commercially viable by supporting product development.
The Conservatives, he added, would expand the fund to support the construction costs of assembly plants, and would offer non-repayable grants for new plants and investments in existing facilities.
“If automakers are prepared to make firm commitments to new and modernized plants in Canada for the long-term, our Government is prepared to partner with them,” he said.
Harper was speaking in Whitby, Ontario. The province is the heartland of Canada’s auto industry and also accounts for 36 percent of the seats in the House of Commons.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership deal agreed on Monday would give Japan’s automakers a freer hand to buy parts from Asia for vehicles sold in the United States. The Unifor union, which represents auto workers in Canada, has said the change will put jobs at risk.
Auto firms currently building vehicles in Canada include Ford Motor Co, General Motors C, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co Ltd.
Reporting by Davd Ljunggren and Randall Palmer in Ottawa and Allison Martell in Toronto, Editing by W Simon


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As we’ve seen over the last year, TV viewing options have increased and consumers are diversifying. This is a sophisticated response from those who are serious about their media consumption and use the abundance of information provided on the web to find the right way to connect with content and engage with it whenever they want. A great example is the committed basketball fan who might watch an NBA playoff game live (or part of it), but then goes through G League highlights and fan platforms to discover the next Giannis Antetokounmpo. High-volume multi-platform viewers are a class that marketers seek to understand because getting to know them better means finding out more about the transitioning media landscape. Projecting how new behaviors will develop over time isn’t as crucial as determining how consumers act now and where to find them.
Samsung Ads has attempted to tackle the current hybrid behavior by identifying this emerging group: the Total TV Watcher. The numbers are helpful in grasping the importance of connecting with this significant portion of the viewing audience. While 68 percent of households use a streaming service, 70 percent use cable or satellite. Since this means that many households have both, there is a lot of connecting the dots involved, and the stakes are high in connecting with the most frequent watchers that use multiple formats. According to research by Samsung Ads and data from Samsung smart TVs, the Total TV Watcher views 15 percent more TV per day than traditional TV watchers who just use cable or satellite. And when compared to video content watchers of the future, the so-called “cord-cutters” who don’t have any cable or satellite, well, this same Total TV Watcher watches 26 percent more TV content on average than them.
Motivations aren’t the aim of this research, but it appears that cost isn’t necessarily a major concern in every case, while availability of content is clearly a factor for these consumers. Tom Fochetta, Vice President of Samsung Ads, recently shared some further insights with me.
“Thirty-four percent of Total TV Watchers are more likely to stream for content they can’t get anywhere else, and 29 percent less likely to stream because it’s cheaper,” Fochetta told me. “What this reinforces is that the definition of TV is changing. Consumers are curating their own media mix, accessing the content they want, when they want it, on the devices of their choice.”
The data from smart TV owners shows that 38 percent are Total TV Watchers, viewing nearly six and a half hours of content per day.
“Total TV Watchers reinforce the power of television,” Fochetta explained. “For advertisers looking to reach households that spend more – both online and offline – than the average American household, have higher incomes, and contain households with Gen Z and Millennials, advanced TV strategies become increasingly more important and Total TV Watchers become a critical audience.”
He added, “Because TV is so fragmented between traditional streaming services, buying a random set of OTT and MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) does not enable advertisers to control reach and frequency, or understand what advertising is making an impact. Therefore, advanced TV strategies built on a foundation of broad reach – representing large populations without modeling – and deep insights into viewer behavior and exposure become extremely critical.”
In terms of the actually devices and hardware that is used, 85 percent of streaming is now done through smart TV built-in functionality. According to Samsung’s findings, smart TV owners are 60 percent less likely to use an external streaming device
The Total TV Watcher, when compared with average American households, tends to spend more, both online and offline. They are 56 percent more likely to earn $175K-plus annually, and 70 percent more likely to be in the top 20 percent in spending online. However, they are also 50 percent more likely to be in the top 20 percent of offline spend. They are 65 percent more likely to have a “young adult” (age 19 to 25, who isn’t the head of household) living in their home.
“We are at a unique moment in time where nearly as many people that watch TV via cable/satellite also watch via streaming platforms,” said Fochetta. “While we do believe the scales will shift and consumers will eventually favor streaming services, right now it’s important that advertisers take a holistic approach to connecting with consumers throughout their entire TV experience.”
Instead of a transitional group of consumers making the best out of a fragmented system for the short term, Fochetta sees this trend gaining momentum.
“We believe Total TV Watchers are on their way to becoming the norm,” he stated. “The ubiquity of connected TVs is breaking down barriers to entry when it comes to OTT.”


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Originally slated for a 19th December release Nike have decided to let us open our Christmas presents early and given us the Air Jordan 11 Retro “72-10” a week early.
Taking one of the most iconic Air Jordan models and featuring it in patent leather for the first time in an athletic shoe, this newest version of the Air Jordan 11 Retro pays tribute to the historical 1995/1996 season. That season culminated in a record breaking 72-10 regular season record, an MVP award and another championship ring. The 72-10 record is commemorated by a tag inside the tongue that reads : “72-10 QUALITY INSPIRED BY THE GREATEST SEASON LED BY THE GREATEST PLAYER EVER.” whereas the premium tumbled leather pairs with Microfiber suede while the tumbled patent leather rand around the shoe features an iridescent sheen. Red and Black adorn the carbon fiber shank plate which is surrounded by a clear outsole. To use a well worn phrase these simply are a must cop for any Jordan fans and will look as good off-court as they would on.
Nike Air Jordan 11 Retro “72-10”
Black/Gym Red-White Anthracite
Launch: Saturday 12th December 08:00GMT


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Groupon Inc. GRPN +2.56% Groupon Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq $10.40 +0.26 +2.56% Dec. 12, 2013 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 21.89M AFTER HOURS $10.35 -0.05 -0.48% Dec. 12, 2013 7:57 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 131,706 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap $6.77 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee $214,456 11/13/13 In Snubbing Facebook, Snapchat... 11/08/13 Twitter IPO: Comparing it to I... 11/07/13 Groupon Fesses Up: It Will Eli... More quote details and news » Chief Executive Andrew Mason said Wednesday he remains the best person to steer the daily deals site out of its recent slump, despite reports that the board at the company he founded may start searching for a new boss.
The CEO acknowledged there have been "bumps in the road" and said that with the stock down 80% from its initial public offering, it is the board's responsibility to ponder if he is fit to lead the company.
A classic boardroom battle is brewing between Groupon's board and current CEO Andrew Mason. Tricia Duryee joins digits to discuss. Photo: Getty Images.
However, "if I ever thought I wasn't the right guy for the job, I'd be the first person to fire myself," Mr. Mason said at Business Insider's Ignition 2012 conference in New York.
The comments come as the company's board is prepared to discuss a possible search to replace him as CEO at its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing a person briefed on the matter.
Some directors apparently are frustrated with Groupon's sinking stock price, which went public last year at $20.
Shares of Groupon ticked up 2% Wednesday to $4.04.
Groupon, founded in 2008, offers discounted online coupons for local merchants. The company has experienced several setbacks since going public, including accounting issues, the departure of several senior executives and a slowdown in sales. Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Mr. Mason faces growing pressure to reassure shareholders skeptical of the company's growth potential.
In the third quarter, the company posted a loss of $2.98 million and slowing revenue growth amid weakness in its European business. Groupon has tried to reinvent itself by rolling out new products, including software for local businesses, an electronic payments system and the direct sales of goods.
Direct sales of merchandise like television and jewelry is becoming a bigger part of the company's top line, jumping to 26% of revenue in the third quarter from 3% in the first quarter, but isn't as profitable as the company's core business and faces competition from bigger, more established companies like Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.25% Amazon.com Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq $381.25 -0.94 -0.25% Dec. 12, 2013 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2.10M AFTER HOURS $381.25 0.00 0.00% Dec. 12, 2013 7:51 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 28,643 P/E Ratio 1361.61 Market Cap $174.94 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee $793,371 12/11/13 Barnes & Noble Chairman Books ... 12/11/13 Amazon Brings Grocery Delivery... 12/11/13 Amazon grocery-delivery servic... More quote details and news » and eBay Inc. EBAY 0.00% eBay Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq $51.37 0.00 0.00% Dec. 12, 2013 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 8.05M AFTER HOURS $51.39 +0.02 +0.04% Dec. 12, 2013 6:33 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 72,749 P/E Ratio 24.23 Market Cap $66.50 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee $491,936 12/12/13 On Road to IPO, Shopify Raises... 12/04/13 B-Schools Vie for Startup Crow... 12/02/13 HEARD ON THE STREET: Resetting... More quote details and news »
Mr. Mason said Wednesday that Groupon will still press ahead with its goods-selling business, as well as a payment service for local vendors.
At the same time, he said Groupon doesn't intend to be a competitor with Amazon, which sells a seemingly endless catalog of products for customers to browse. Groupon intends to narrow an array of dozens of televisions, for instance, down to a single TV deal users will want.
"We're about curation," Mr. Mason told a nearly packed room of journalists and observers gathered at the two-day conference focused on the future of content and commerce in digital media. "It's about shocking people into buying something that they didn't intend to buy."
Mr. Mason pointed to the online service's marketing philosophy—summed up as "not being boring"—as a key to its success, though he joked he wished Groupon "were more boring in our life as a public company."
The chief executive also played down media reports of board pressure as overhyped while acknowledging it is the board's job to pressure him.
"I care far more about the success of the business than I do about my role with the company," he said.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at firstname.lastname@example.org


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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to permanently extend a law that bans state and local taxes on Internet access.
The following statement should be attributed to Jonathan Spalter, Chair of Mobile Future:
“Wireless broadband is powering Internet commerce for millions of American consumers and businesses, and with the explosion of leading-edge mobile platforms, users appropriately expect a reasonable and permanent tax process for Internet access. The passage of a permanent extension of the moratorium on taxing Internet access by the House sends a clear message about the significant role the digital economy plays in fueling the U.S. innovation economy. With wireless users already paying far more than their fair share in taxes, we urge the Senate to help bring certainty to consumers by passing legislation that keeps access to the Internet free from discriminatory and unfair taxes.”
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Home » Digital Element Wins 2018 MarTech Breakthrough Award for Best Geolocation Platform
Digital Element Wins 2018 MarTech Breakthrough Award for Best Geolocation Platform
NetAcuity is recognized as the industry’s leading, most accurate and trusted IP geolocation solution
Atlanta – August 22, 2018 – Digital Element, the global geolocation data and services provider, today announced its NetAcuity® IP Geolocation platform was honored as the winner of a 2018 MarTech Breakthrough Award in the Best Geolocation Platform category.
Digital Element’s NetAcuity Solution Suite delivers the most accurate data in the industry. The solution’s global accuracy is more than 99.9 percent at the country level and is up to 97+ percent accurate at a city level. As for coverage, NetAcuity provides coverage for 99.9999 percent of the Internet and collects more than one million points-of-view daily. This type of accuracy and coverage is unmatched in the geolocation space.
“The MarTech Breakthrough Award is yet another validation of our ongoing commitment to delivering the most accurate and reliable IP geolocation data possible,” said Rob Friedman, co-founder and executive vice president at Digital Element. “With a global brand reputation for accuracy, rock-solid trust of the marketing community at large, and leading ad networks, brands, publishers, social media sites, retailers and more making up our client list, Digital Element remains unmatched going on almost two decades.”
Honoring the best companies, technologies, products and services in the field of marketing, advertising and sales technology, the MarTech Breakthrough Awards are part of the Tech Breakthrough Awards organization, which recognizes the industry leaders in today’s hottest categories of technology. Judges were senior-level marketing, ad and sales professionals who have personally worked within the MarTech space, including journalists, analysts and technology executives with experience in a range of positions.
Judging was based on how best a product, service or company was able to break through what has become a crowded MarTech market.
About Digital Element
Since 1999, Digital Element has been providing global geolocation data and services that bring anytime, anywhere relevance and context to online initiatives—from desktops to mobile devices. The company’s patented technology has been certified and accredited to deliver real-time access to accurate and reliable location intelligence without invading Internet users’ privacy. For nearly two decades, many of the world’s largest websites, brands, security companies, ad networks, social media platforms and mobile publishers have trusted Digital Element’s technology to target advertising, localize content, enhance analytics, and manage content rights as well as detect and prevent fraud.
Visit www.digitalelement.com for more information on how to bring the power of location to the online world. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @DigitalElement then like us on Facebook. Headquartered in Atlanta and London, Digital Element is a division of Digital Envoy Inc.
We would love to learn more about your specific use case. Please contact one of our experts to discuss how we can best address your unique needs.


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Presented by eBay
With help from Leah Nylen, Rebecca Rainey, Laura Kayali and Bjarke Smith-Meyer
Editor’s Note: Morning Tech is a free version of POLITICO Pro Technology's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories.Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
— An Epic clash: New filings in the antitrust fight between the Fortnite maker and Apple offer clues on their arguments for next month’s trial. Where are they butting heads?
— How to sue Facebook: A lawsuit from civil rights group Muslim Advocates could expose a new area of liability for Facebook.
— Digital tax push: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is taking a scalpel to President Joe Biden’s tax proposal — and Silicon Valley is watching.
OH YEAH! IT’S FRIDAY; WELCOME TO MORNING TECH. Alex and Emily here for their swan song. Emily will be flying solo starting Monday (a terrifying prospect, according to a source familiar with Emily’s thinking), while Alex delves into her new privacy beat.
Got a news tip? Write us at [email protected] and [email protected]. An event for our calendar? Send details to [email protected]. Anything else? Team info below. And don't forget: Add @MorningTech and @PoliticoPro on Twitter.
SNEAK PEEK OF THE EPIC-APPLE ANTITRUST TRIAL — Fortnite maker Epic Games and Apple set out their arguments for next month’s antitrust trial in court documents filed early Thursday. A couple of key battlegrounds worth watching: How do most users play Fortnite, and how dependent are users on Apple for in-game purchases?
— Jog your memory on the case: What was the catalyst for all this drama? The feud started when Epic, whose Fortnite game can be downloaded from Apple and Google’s app stores, introduced its own, alternate payment method to sidestep the giants taking their usual 30 percent cut. Apple and Google responded by blocking Fortnite downloads through their respective app stores, alleging that Epic was violating their rules.
And now for Thursday’s filings:
— Where Apple and Epic agree: Both sides agree that between 2018 and 2020, Apple iOS users spent $700 million buying Fortnite’s in-game currency (called “V-Bucks”). Apple’s take of that would be $210 million, and the remaining $490 million would go to Epic.
— Where they disagree: Epic said that about 70 million people — some 64 percent of Fortnite’s iOS users — played the game exclusively on their iPhone or iPad, where they spent $500 million on purchases.
Apple, though, said Fortnite players often play the game on more than one device (“multi-homing”), and that Fortnite is, in fact, more popular on Nintendo’s Playstation, Microsoft’s Xbox and PC computers than on iOS. In a survey Apple conducted for the litigation, 61 percent of iPhone users said they also owned a gaming console or hand-held device. Among iOS Fortnite players, 94 percent said they regularly play games on other devices, according to Apple.
— They also don’t see eye-to-eye on in-app payments: Epic argues that Apple has illegally tied its in-app payment system, which takes that 30 percent commission, to app distribution via the App Store. Apple, though, says that its payment mechanism should be viewed simply as one of many that can be used for game transactions. Fortnite players can and do buy in-game currency on other platforms that can be transferred or used in the iOS version, Apple said. (Epic says that V-Bucks bought in-game on Nintendo’s Playstation or Switch don’t transfer to other platforms, though any items purchased with V-Bucks do move when users switch devices.)
— What’s next: The trial begins May 3.
NEW CIVIL RIGHTS CASE AGAINST FACEBOOK — Muslim Advocates, one of the most influential civil rights groups in the country, is taking a new approach to suing Facebook over hate speech: claiming it’s violating consumer protection laws.
Obviously, it’s hard to sue Facebook, especially over the content on its platform (shout out to the First Amendment, Section 230, etc.). But Muslim Advocates is trying to put those unbearable hours of Mark Zuckerberg congressional testimony to good use, claiming that he misled consumers when he testified in 2018 that Facebook takes down harmful speech that could cause real-world violence. Considering the enormous amount of evidence that Facebook does not always take down posts that lead to real-world harm, especially against Muslim Americans, that testimony could amount to a violation of D.C.’s wide-ranging consumer protection law. (Facebook says it does not allow hate speech and works closely with experts and nonprofits to protect against anti-Muslim rhetoric.)
“Business lies are illegal in America,” Gupta Wessler PLLC’s Peter Romer-Friedman, the co-counsel leading the case, told MT. Facebook may not be liable for the user-generated content on its platform, but it’s certainly liable for its public statements. Interestingly, the aim of the lawsuit isn’t necessarily to force Facebook to take down more hate speech — it’s just to get the company to fess up when it doesn’t.
— Why the case matters: If it goes to discovery, the lawsuit could unearth communications among top Facebook executives, including Sheryl Sandberg and Zuckerberg. (There’s some healthy skepticism about if it could get to that level.) And if Muslim Advocates wins, the case could establish important precedent that opens up Facebook to a whole new world of hate speech-focused consumer protection lawsuits across the U.S.
— Fun fact: This approach to suing Facebook over civil rights violations was endorsed by Kristen Clarke, Biden’s pick to lead the DOJ civil rights division.
EYEBALLS WATCHING EMOJI: ALABAMA’S AMAZON UNION TALLY — The union trying to organize the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., was trailing by more than a two-to-one margin with about half of the vote counted on Thursday before the talliers called it a day. We could know the results of the closely watched union election by the end of today. But, likely not. (And POLITICO’s Morning Shift team expects the decision will ultimately be resolved not by a vote but via litigation.) The labor board plans to resume counting the votes this morning at 8:30 a.m. CT.
WASHINGTON WIDENS DIGITAL TAX PUSH — Biden’s pitch to overhaul the global tax system, a closely watched issue in Silicon Valley, will be a top talker today at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
— What he’s pushing for: Biden wants the world’s largest 100 companies — those with revenue of at least $20 billion — to pay into countries’ coffers wherever they sell their goods or services, according to proposals sent to more than 130 governments involved in the ongoing tax talks. Washington’s pitch aims to redirect years of fraught negotiations that have focused on finding ways for countries to hike taxes on Big Tech companies like Facebook and Google.
More on that agenda here from our colleagues Aaron Lorenzo in the U.S., and Bjarke Smith-Meyer and Mark Scott in Europe. House Republicans said Thursday they were concerned about the Biden team's handling of the tax negotiations and called for a Treasury Department briefing on the matter.
— What to watch at the OECD: International tax experts are convening online for the OECD’s Task Force on the Digital Economy and will get a chance to comment on the proposal, obtained by POLITICO. If accepted, the U.S. proposal would replace an OECD proposal to tax multinational companies through a complex system of financially separating their digital services and consumer-facing business.
— Clock’s a-tickin’: EU tax officials in Brussels met the proposal with apprehension. They’re unsure whether the OECD will be able to iron out the U.S. proposal and find the consensus it needs by the end of June to present a political agreement among more than 130 countries. Luxembourg is one notable exception: Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna told Bloomberg that the Biden administration’s proposals “go in the right direction, and in the best interests of both Europe and the United States.”
Steve Case, CEO and chair of Revolution, has joined TechNet’s executive council. ... Acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Keabetswe Modimoeng, chair of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, that is intended to facilitate conversations on best practices around 5G, broadband security and other telecom issues.
Sidestepping Apple: “Procter & Gamble participated in testing an advertising technique being developed in China to gather iPhone data for targeted ads, a step intended to give companies a way around Apple’s new privacy tools,” WSJ reports.
U.S. tightens grip on China: “The Commerce Department on Thursday announced trade restrictions with seven Chinese supercomputing companies and research centers that it said were engaged in ‘destabilizing military modernization efforts’ or in programs to build weapons of mass destruction,” POLITICO Pro reports.
In profile: Room Rater, via The Guardian. The Twitter account, one of our favorites, has spent the past year of remote work grading our Zoom backgrounds.
Online hate: Roughly half of U.S. Asian adults have experienced more online harassment during the pandemic, according to Morning Consult.
Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Bob King ([email protected], @bkingdc), Heidi Vogt ([email protected], @HeidiVogt), John Hendel ([email protected], @JohnHendel), Cristiano Lima ([email protected], @viaCristiano), Alexandra S. Levine ([email protected], @Ali_Lev), Leah Nylen ([email protected], @leah_nylen), and Emily Birnbaum ([email protected], @birnbaum_e). Got an event for our calendar? Send details to [email protected]. And don't forget: Add @MorningTech and @PoliticoPro on Twitter.


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Inventory Market Forecast for the Week Forward: Impartial
- The Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 will look to recuperate from final week’s turbulence
- Inflationary fears have pressured danger urge for food throughout asset lessons and merchants will look to the upcoming Fed minutes for additional perception
- Inventory Market Seasonality: Should you sell in May and Go Away?
Inventory Market Forecast for the Week Forward
The Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 endured appreciable volatility final week because the three indices declined roughly -1.1%, -2.3% and -1.4% respectively. White-hot inflation knowledge was largely in charge for the preliminary wave of promoting as traders reassessed the Fed’s coverage path given new financial readings. Because the week progressed, disappointing retail gross sales and client confidence knowledge helped to appease hawkish fears and the indices have been in a position to shut the week off the lows.
That being stated, the elemental forces that have been driving value motion final week will doubtless persist into the weeks forward as market members try to gauge exactly when the Fed will look to shift its coverage path. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly acknowledged any change can be communicated nicely prematurely which has led traders to suspect latest hawkish remarks from some Fed officers could possibly be the beginning of that communication. Crucially, there was no official assertion and the commentary was solely barely hawkish.
Nasdaq 100 to Dow Jones Ratio – Progress to Worth Rotation Visualized
Nonetheless, the priority has put traders on edge and sectors of the market which are notably uncovered to extra hawkish coverage – particularly these with lofty valuation metrics – have been firmly on the backfoot final week consequently. The phenomenon is simply one other leg of the continuing reflation commerce that has seen traders exit development in favor of worth which has led the Dow to outperform the Nasdaq. Threat urge for food was additionally curtailed elsewhere as traders shrink back from in style development trades like Cathie Wooden’s ARKK fund.
The fund noticed its unbridled steam of inflows gradual in mid-February, solely to see outflows outpace demand since mid-March. ARKK captured the curiosity of many traders trying to speculate on the following era of know-how and development shares however the reflation commerce has labored to noticeably stem the passion. Evidently, concern round inflation and the next impact on the Fed’s coverage appears to be the driving drive of value motion within the inventory market.
With that in thoughts, merchants will look to the upcoming Fed minutes within the week forward for additional perception. Whereas shares closed off their lows final week, there may be little to recommend the market has seen the final of volatility derived from this theme and traders needs to be cautious consequently. Within the meantime, comply with @PeterHanksFXon Twitter for updates and evaluation.
–Written by Peter Hanks, Strategist for DailyFX.com


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GLH is to launch Thistle Express, a new budget brand which it claims will offer the fastest free Wi-Fi in the sector.
The first Thistle Express will open in London in 2016, with a further 10 hotels expected to open across the UK over the next five years.
Mike DeNoma, chief executive of GLH, described the new brand as one that caterers for the modern traveller. "You can no longer divide the market into travellers who only stay in economy hotels versus those who stick to four- or five-star luxury," he said.
"Research told us that fast, free Wi-Fi is not just a luxury for luxury hotel guests, but an expectation for economy hotel guests too. It's about offering guests what they want, at that moment in time, for that specific stay."
Thistle Express is the fourth brand - introduced by GLH since the company was rebranded from Guoman in June 2013 - alongside Clermont (luxury), Amba (four star) and Every (limited-service four star). They join the established Thistle brand.
While the rebranding of the Royal Horseguards hotel in London to the first Clermont hotel is yet to happen, Amba got off the ground with the launch of the Amba hotel Charing Cross (a former Guoman hotel) in December 2014. The first Every hotel opened in London in February 2015 after being retagged from the former Thistle Piccadilly property.
The growth of Thistle Express will be via the creation of new build properties and conversion of non-hotel and hotel buildings. However, they will not be converted from any existing Thistle hotels.


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(Huffington Post) The mystery surrounding a video that appears to show a young woman talking on a cell phone in 1938 may be solved. The explanation, if true, is sure to disappoint many conspiracy theorists.
The black-and-white footage shows a group of young people, possibly factory workers, walking out of a building. A brunette in a light-colored dress smiles into the camera, her hand pressed to her ear. She is holding what looks to be a large portable phone.
The Daily Mail reports that the clip surfaced online about a year ago and kicked off speculation about a time traveler caught on camera. Recently, a YouTube commenter who goes by the handle Planetcheck claimed to know the woman in the footage.
Advertisement - story continues below


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Despite concerns over a labour shortage, the Tsawwassen Mills outlet shopping mall opened its doors today.
Shoppers have been lining up since 1:30 a.m. but the mall’s GM Mark Fenwick says the stores have been working to fill those positions to meet them.
“We held two job fairs to assist the retailers and of course they have their own methods of recruiting, whether it’s online or individual job fairs they’ve adapted quite well.”
The mall has announced it will be providing an employee shuttle service from Scott Road Station in Surrey to the mall in an effort to help employees get to the location.
Service began on September 29, fees are $2 each way or a monthly pass is available for $40.
Of the 200 stores, 180 are opening today.
— steve darling (@stevedarling) October 5, 2016
The mall is one of the largest in the country at 1.2 million square feet. It is located near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.
Traffic control people are on the scene to help keep things moving.


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Honda joined Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in pooling its fleet with Tesla Inc.’s to comply with emissions standards for passenger cars in Europe this year.
Honda was newly added as of last week to a European Commission filing in which manufacturers declare their intent to jointly meet greenhouse-gas emissions standards.
Honda's entry into the other two companies’ pooled fleet won’t change the conditions of a three-year agreement reached with Tesla in 2019, a Fiat Chrysler spokesman said.
It’s unclear how much money Honda is paying to join a pool populated by Tesla’s all-electric fleet. Selling regulatory credits to other carmakers has been a boon to the Model 3 maker, bringing in almost $1.2 billion of revenue this year.
Tougher European Union rules took effect this year that force manufacturers to reduce the average emissions of their cars sold in the region to 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer, or face hefty fines. As a result, companies have been introducing new plug-in hybrid and fully electric models, and those that are at risk of falling short of compliance have paired up with peers that are better positioned.
Last week, Volvo Cars said it will overachieve in meeting the regulations and allow Ford Motor to pool with its fleet for an undisclosed sum.
Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley told analysts during an Oct. 28 earnings call that the company was locked into an agreement to pay Tesla through next year for its help meeting emissions standards.
Underwhelming sales of Honda e electric cars probably contributed to the carmaker needing help to achieve compliance in Europe, Matthias Schmidt, an independent auto analyst in Berlin, wrote in a blog post.
Tesla is likely to mount a big fourth-quarter sales push helped in part by exports to Europe from its plant in China, he said, allowing the company to assist both Fiat Chrysler and Honda.
A Honda spokesperson said that pooling with Tesla and Fiat Chrysler is an additional measure to comply beyond launching the e and hybrid versions of its CR-V and Jazz models.


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Faucets try to get traffic from users by offering free bitcoin as an incentive. Some faucets also make money by mining altcoins in the background, using the user’s CPU. In February 2013, the bitcoin-based payment processor Coinbase reported selling US$1 million worth of bitcoins in a single month at over $22 per bitcoin.
First introduced in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin has held the crypto market’s number one spot according to market capitalization. Bitcoin paved the way for many existing altcoins in the market and marked a pivotal moment for digital payment solutions. The percent change in trading volume for this asset compared to 7 days ago. That can be hard to believe, with so many crypto exchanges dedicated to buying and selling BTC nowadays.
Square Plans to Make a Bitcoin Hardware Wallet – July 9, 2021
As an asset class, Bitcoin continues to evolve along with the factors that influence its prices. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree from Bridgewater State University and helps develop content strategies for financial brands. John Edwards is a licensed attorney with experience in commodities and investments.
First I chose randomly a list of 500 days from Bitcoin’s historical price and calculated what were the returns of those days for 25 simulations.
You can see that from those 25 simulated equity curves, there are some that have really impressive performance even though random. pic.twitter.com/ar0w5B96hO
— pedma (@pedma7) February 17, 2023
The owner of the New York Stock Exchange launched its long-delayed market for Bitcoin futures. ICE Futures U.S., one of the world’s largest commodities markets, offer Bakkt Daily and Monthly Bitcoin Futures, the first physically delivered crypto-currency futures contracts ever traded on a federally regulated exchange. The municipality of Zermatt, Switzerland — home to the iconic Matterhorn — is now the second location in Switzerland where taxpayers are officially allowed to pay their taxes in Bitcoin . In order to unlock the new tax payment option, the authorities of the Zermatt have partnered with Switzerland’s major crypto financial services company Bitcoin Suisse. Specifically, local taxpayers will be able to pay their taxes in Bitcoin via a point-of-sale tool installed in the Zermatt town hall or an online payment portal.
The prospect of less liquidity in the market threw risky assets such as high-growth stocks for a loop, and cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin followed along, starting in early November. After months of consolidating from its rise earlier in the year, Bitcoin reached new heights in November 2013. Priced at $213 entering the month, Bitcoin doubled to nearly $435 just 12 days later.
Miners receive BTC for solving cryptographic puzzles, and transactions are recorded in blocks that get added to the blockchain. Bitcoin’s all-time high and low prices are driven by its supply and demand dynamics. High demand and limited supply lead to price increases, while low demand and excess supply lead to price drops. Bitcoin reached an all-time high price of $69,044 in November 2021. The all-time low price of Bitcoin was $67.81, which was recorded on Jul 06, 2013.
For example, today 12 March 2023, the price of Bitcoin on Binance is ₹ , with a daily change of 1.28%, while on WazirX, the price is ₹ 18,00,501 and a daily change of 0.47%. Please also note that data relating to the above-mentioned cryptocurrency presented here are based on third party sources. They are presented to you on an “as is” basis and for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind. Links provided to third-party sites are also not under Binance’s control. Binance is not responsible for the reliability and accuracy of such third-party sites and their contents. Bitcoin mining is the process where miners contribute the processing power of their hardware rigs to solve cryptographic puzzles from each transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain.
He https://www.beaxy.com/ that he would sell the service for the missing amount, aiming to use funds from the sale to refund his customers. At other times, bitcoin exchanges have shut down, taking their clients’ bitcoins with them. A Wired study published April 2013 showed that 45 percent of bitcoin exchanges end up closing.
CME Group announced that it plans to introduce trading in bitcoin futures by the end of the year, only a month after dismissing such a plan. Chief Executive Officer Terrence Duffy cited increased client demand as a key reason for the change of mind. As a result, the Bitcoin price hit a high of $6,600.84 just hours after breaking through the $6,400 barrier, and a minute after moving past the $6,500 mark, according to data from CoinDesk. Its market capitalization, or the total value of bitcoin in circulation, hit $110 billion. To celebrate Bitcoin’s 10 year anniversary, long-time Bitcoin advocate and successful investor Trace Mayer proposed that the community start an annual tradition of a crypto bank run on exchanges – to be known as Proof-of-Keys.
Owners of BitMEX, a Leading Bitcoin Exchange, Face Criminal Charges – October 1, 2020
The historical price of bitcoin commercial appeared to be a success—perhaps too much of one. Shortly after it aired, people tweeted that the company’s site and app had crashed. As official currency after El Salvador took the same step in 2021. Lawmakers in the CAR’s parliament voted unanimously to pass a bill legalizing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is considered legal tender alongside the regional Central African CFA franc.
However, according to a leaked internal Bitstamp report on the incident, the damage to the company’s reputation and customer confidence far exceeded its monetary Bitcoin loss. Upon discovery of the breach, Bitstamp immediately shutdown the exchange’s operations for 8 days as it audited its systems and rebuilt its trading platform. Unknown hackers were able to steal 18,866 bitcoins from Bitstamp’s operational hot wallet, worth roughly $5.2 million dollars.
That’s because there weren’t exchanges in the same way GMT that there are today. However, data became available in July 2010 XLM and continues up until the present. Bitcoin famously has a maximum of 21 million coins that can ever be created. In the face of this fixed supply, an ever-increasing demand can send the cryptocurrency soaring.
Federal agents have seized millions of dollars worth of bitcoin that terrorist organizations were using to carry out their violent campaigns according to the US Department of Justice. In post on GitHub, the individual described the loss of more than 1,400 bitcoin (worth around $16.2 million) as a result of «foolishly» installing an old version of the lightweight wallet. The Department of Justice brought criminal charges against the owners and executive for violating rules under the Bank Secrecy Act that require financial institutions to maintain anti-money laundering controls. Through partially-owned subsidiary New York Digital Investment Group , Stone Ridge Holdings Group has accumulated 10,000 bitcoin, valued at approximately $115 million at the time of the news reported by Forbes. On this date, Bitcoin reached a new all time high above $20k, bypassing 2017’s record price.
There is no physical BTC token so you can think of bitcoin as digital money. Bitcoin transactions are fully transparent and can’t be censored. It’s a financial system backed by thousands of computers, known as ‘nodes’, around the world, instead of a single central bank or government, i.e. hence the term ‘decentralization’. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday denied for the second time in a month a request to bring to market a first-of-its-kind product tracking bitcoin, the digital currency.
What Is the Current Price of Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is available for immediate purchase at Kriptomat. The current price is 20585.40 EUR.
This widget shows the number of times this symbol reached a new low price for specific periods, from the past 5-Days to the past 20-Years. This widget shows the number of times this symbol reached a new high price for specific periods, from the past 5-Days to the past 20-Years. Unique to Barchart.com, data tables contain an option that allows you to see more data for the symbol without leaving the page. Click the «+» icon in the first column to view more data for the selected symbol. Scroll through widgets of the different content available for the symbol.
Firstly, it would encourage Bitcoin users to exercise the monetary sovereignty made possible by the protocol – the hope being that those not knowing how to securely store Bitcoin would learn. The second part of Proof-of-Keys supposedly serves to test the trustworthiness of the exchanges. If every single user requested every single coin on the same day, would the exchange be able to pay them all? If it turned out they could not then the platform in question would be not only guilty of deceiving its users but also guilty of artificially inflated the total supply of the currency.
- Late in 2021, the Federal Reserve announced that it would begin to taper its bond purchases, slowly draining liquidity from financial markets.
- In addition, My Barchart members see the last two years’ of data, where Barchart Premier members will see corporate actions going back to January 1, 2000.
- The exchange aims to be fully compliant with US law with a policy to first «ask for permission, not forgiveness».
US Securities and Exchange Commission reiterated that many online trading platforms for digital assets should register with the agency as exchanges. SEC statement boosted concern that tightening regulation may limit trading. Bakkt, a cryptocurrency exchange and liquidity provider created by the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company ICE has raised $182.5 million from a group of high profile investors and venture capital firms. The tradition, according to Trace, would serve two main purposes.
In July 2013, a project began in Kenya linking bitcoin with M-Pesa, a popular mobile payments system, in an experiment designed to spur innovative payments in Africa. During the same month the Foreign Exchange Administration and Policy Department in Thailand stated that bitcoin lacks any legal framework and would therefore be illegal, which effectively banned trading on bitcoin exchanges in the country. This appetite for electricity has drawn widespread criticism from celebrities such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk to government bodies such as China’s State Council and the U.S.
What Is Bitcoin’s All-Time High Price?
Bitcoin reached an all-time high price of $67,566.83 on Nov. 8, 2021.
It is the crypto market standard, benchmarking billions of dollars in registered financial products and pricing hundreds of millions in daily over-the-counter transactions. Built for replicability and reliability, in continuous operation since 2014, the XBX is relied upon by asset allocators, asset managers, market participants and exchanges. The XBX is the flagship in a portfolio of single- and multi-asset indices offered by CoinDesk. Historical cryptocurrency charts can be found in all the different formats, including line charts, candlestick charts and bar charts.
Over the course of historical price of bitcoin‘s history, it has undergone rapid growth to become a significant store of value both on- and offline. From the mid-2010s, some businesses began accepting bitcoin in addition to traditional currencies. Adoption by investors is another clear contributor to Bitcoin value. In 2020 and 2021, companies like MicroStrategy, Square, and Tesla made headlines by executing large Bitcoin purchases.


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Tile has announced new trackers including the all-new Tile Sticker, a new form factor Tile Slim, and upgraded Tile Pro and Tile Mate. The new offering come ahead of the leaked Apple Tag which could launch as early as this month.
“Over the years we’ve seen our customers use Tile for a variety of items,” said CJ Prober, Tile CEO. “From wallets to remote controls, power tools to backpacks, our customers have shown us they want a Tile for everything. We’ve designed our new product line to empower the Tile community to find literally anything.”
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Indian smartphone industry might have hit speed bumps on component supply crunch but the resilient sector is poised to see 190-200 million shipments in 2022 with more 5G devices vying for consumers' attention.
When the pandemic forced people to stay indoors, smartphones became their window to the world, helping them stay connected with friends, Work From Home (WFH) and even learn new recipes. As people embraced hybrid work models, binged on web series and shot innumerable 'Reels' to stay entertained, the demand for smartphones went up significantly even as supply faced issues.
According to Counterpoint Research Analyst Shilpi Jain, the Indian smartphone market has been experiencing a steady growth curve over the last five years, growing continuously to reach 158 million units in 2019.
"The impact of COVID-19 saw the market experiencing a minor dip showcasing its resilience. The market is now set for an accelerated growth period realising the true potential of the Indian market in the coming years crossing the 200 million mark in 2022," she said.
CyberMedia Research (CMR) Analyst – Industry Intelligence Group Anand Priya Singh estimated the smartphone shipments to hover around a similar level of 187-190 million in 2022 with a further uptick in 5G device shipments, growing 129 percent year-on-year from 28 million in 2021 to around 64 million in 2022.
Singh said there has been an 11 percent year-on-year growth in smartphone shipments from 150 million in 2020 to 167-168 million in 2021.
While 5G networks may not be available yet, industry watchers say 5G smartphones are in demand as consumers consider 5G among their top 3 priorities while purchasing smartphones.
Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth said conversations around 5G technology and devices have been buzzing since 2019 and smartphone manufacturers introduced 5G devices in early 2020.
"Given that 5G trials are scheduled for 2022, and spectrum auctions are likely to happen in H2 2022, we expect a higher demand for 5G devices in the upcoming year. Realme aims to be a 5G leader and a democratiser in India, and will therefore equip all smartphones above Rs 15,000 with 5G. We are also working towards bringing this technology to the sub-Rs 10,000 segment," he added.
The global semiconductor shortage did have an impact on the Indian smartphone market during the second half of the year. During the festive season and third quarter, the consumer demand outstripped the supply.
"We believe that the shipments could have been 10-15 percent higher during the third quarter in 2021. The semiconductor shortage will continue to affect the Indian smartphone market in 2022, however, we believe the situation will improve in the second half of the year," Counterpoint's Jain said.
Xiaomi India Chief Business Officer Raghu Reddy noted that over the last two years, the market has been witnessing a price hike of components such as chipsets, batteries and memory chips used by all smartphone manufacturers.
"This, in turn, has impacted the price of smartphones and has led to an inevitable price increase across SKUs (Stock Keeping Units)... While there continues to be a massive gap between demand and supply, we tried to bridge some of it by impressing on our Make in India Initiative," he added.
Prices of electronic components went up by an estimated 20 percent on account of disruption in the global supply chain because of semiconductor shortage and COVID pandemic restricting the movement of goods.
Realme's Sheth elucidated that over the last two years, the smartphone industry has tackled multiple challenges, chipset shortage being one of the most recent ones.
"Q3 2021 witnessed a decline in shipments, and a similar decline is expected in Q4. Supply chain shortages have also led to brands postponing the launch of new products, and have caused a slight increase in smartphone prices for consumers despite brands trying their best to absorb these internally," he added.
Sheth said since the onset of this shortage, Realme has been looking at and working on collaborations with chipset manufacturers who can provide processors to us without compromising performance. Chip shortage is likely to ease in the second quarter of 2022.
While Xiaomi and Samsung took up the top two spots in the smartphone market, Vivo, Realme, and Oppo occupied the next three positions. OnePlus, Samsung, and Apple wooed customers with their premium portfolio.
According to Counterpoint, the retail ASP (Average Selling Price) is estimated to increase 13 percent year-on-year in 2021 as smartphone volumes are transitioning towards higher price segments.
In December, the government approved a Rs 76,000 crore-scheme to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country in a bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production and attract large chip makers.
The move would further India's ambitions to be self-reliant in electronics manufacturing, bring massive investments and result in 35,000 specialised jobs apart from indirect employment for one lakh people.
Other segments like smart TVs and TWS (earbuds) have also witnessed significant growth on the back of the increasing affordability of these products.
Smart TVs hold around 85 percent of the overall TV market and the research firm expects it to further increase.
"As per our forecast, the Indian Smart TV market is expected to grow by 30 percent in 2022. The post-pandemic economic recovery and entry of new players in the market will facilitate this growth," Jain noted.
The New Year promises to be a treat as consumers get access to not only sleeker, stunning and power-packed smartphones but also more IoT (Internet of Things) enabled devices across various price points.
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Lidl reveals details of new store in Shaftesbury
Lidl says it plans to build ‘a sustainable store with 1,261m² sales area’ and facilities on its new site on the former cattle market in Shaftesbury, one that will include ‘an instore bakery, customer toilets and ample parking for both cars and bicycles.’
Speaking after news came that the supermarket chain had completed its purchase of the site, a Lidl spokesman said its plan to build in Shaftesbury is part of its continuing expansion within the UK that will see it open up to 50 new stores a year to add to the 730 it already has.
He said the Christy’s Lane store ‘represents a multi-million pound investment in the local area.’ Lidl UK’s regional head of property James Mitchell commented: ‘We are delighted to be opening a new store in Shaftesbury, which marks another milestone in our ambitious store expansion programme.
‘We’ve seen incredible demand for Lidl stores across the country and look forward to offering our quality products and incredible value to shoppers in and around Shaftesbury. We are firmly committed to helping boost the local economy by creating new jobs and working with local suppliers in the construction of the new store.
‘The team are very much looking forward to confirming a date for our public consultation day when we will outline our plans and get input from those who will directly benefit from the new store.’
• The latest Kantar Worldpanel results have highlighted Lidl as one for the fastest-growing supermarkets in the UK, with 9.4 per cent increase in sales year-on-year and market share of 5.4 per cent.


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With a new CEO and CMO on board as of this past spring, long-under-siege Chipotle is implementing its latest campaign designed to underscore the “food with integrity” brand message it launched with 25 years ago.
CEO Brian Niccol — who was credited with turning around Yum Brands’ Taco Bell — has said that he feels that Chipotle had become “invisible” in the marketplace in recent times. And he’s declared that he and new CMO Chris Brandt (also from Taco Bell) are out to turn Chipotle into a “purpose-driven lifestyle brand.”
Investing in new marketing to heighten awareness of Chipotle’s fresh, “clean” ingredients and fresh preparation — attributes prioritized by millennials and younger consumers, in particular — are a key element in Niccol’s overall revitalization plan, which he's dubbed “the big fix.” The plan also includes updating the restaurants’ interiors, extending its hours, adding a snacking “happy hour,” and freshening up its menu (including two new bacon items and a limited-time revival of its chorizo).
Prior to the new executives’ arrival, the fresh/clean ingredients message had been at the center of other recent campaigns.
“Ingredients Reign,” from GSD&M, launched in fall 2016. It featured a stop-action video series showing animated vegetables and other fresh ingredients ruling within a fairy tale-like kingdom.
“As Real As It Gets,” from Venables Bell & Partners — which has been kept on as Chipotle’s lead creative agency under Brandt — launched in April 2017. While multichannel, that campaign was Chipotle’s first to emphasize television. The creative took a semi-surreal, dryly humorous approach to the fresh/clean ingredients message, with comedians and actors in a piano lounge located inside a giant Chipotle taco being interviewed by the voice of Jeffrey Tambor.
Chipotle also ran some new, lightly humorous TV ads stressing fresh ingredients this past spring.
Now, the brand is unveiling a full-blown campaign
called “For Real.” This time, the creative from Venables Bell & Partners stresses that Chipotle uses just 51 fresh ingredients and prepares its food fresh daily, by hand. (There are no
microwaves or freezers in its restaurants, as one ad points out.) There's no humor, but lots of close-ups of fresh ingredients being chopped and prepped.
The campaign will include TV/digital ads (sample below), out-of-home and print. Chipotle is also launching a second Instagram account, @ChipotleForReal, meant to educate followers about each of its 51 ingredients.
"Chipotle has always emphasized food prepared fresh daily in all of our restaurants, and we wanted this campaign to highlight that, reflecting our real principles and 'real' as a way of acting in the world,” stated Brandt. “We like to say that the only ingredient that's hard to pronounce at Chipotle is 'Chipotle.'"
After seeing its sales pummeled by a series of food-borne illness outbreaks starting in 2015, Chipotle began to show significant recovery in this year’s first half: Revenue increased 7.9%, including a 2.9% increase in comparable-store sales. The gains were driven by menu price increases, but traffic declines were also showing signs of slowing.
Chipotle suffered another outbreak in late July, affecting nearly 700 people who had eaten in a Columbus, Ohio Chipotle location. The latest setback hit its third-quarter sales (not yet officially reported), Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan told CNBC. However, as of Sept. 10, the company’s shares were still up more than 66% since January.


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Lexus Debuts LF-Z Electric Concept, Ahead of Full EV/Hybrid Shift by 2025
CNBC reports that Lexus has announced plans to introduce 20 new or re-worked vehicles in either electric vehicle (EV) or hybrid models by 2025, with the company’s new EV direction based on a newly-announced luxury concept car called the LF-Z Electrified.
The Toyota-owned vehicle manufacturer is set to include many of Lexus’s design elements, like its check-mark headlights, and a spindle grill, using newer, more modern interpretations which will align with the EV brand.
While Lexus has yet to unveil the car’s range, horsepower, or torque, the company has said that it expects its EVs to be able to reach a more than 370-mile range by 2025, also achieving 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds.
Lexus has been slower to release EVs than a number of other traditional automakers, though the company plans to offer electrified variants of each of its models by 2025, as it expects the sales ratio of EVs to exceed those of gas cars by then.
For Lexus, electrified simply means battery electric or plug-in hybrid, though Lexus and Toyota declined to comment on how many of each model is expected to come to the US.
A recent JD Power assessment found that Lexus’ cars ranked first in dependability, with Tesla landing the 30th spot out of 33 brands evaluated.


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Epic ports Unreal Engine 3... to Flash
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America’s largest GSM service provider has teamed up with Korea’s largest cell phone manufacturer to bring WCDMA to North America. Samsung Electronics announced yesterday that it will begin supplying its GH-ZX10 clamshell to Cingular Wireless, as the GSM operator prepares to ramp up the first commercial WCDMA service in North America.
WCDMA has already enjoyed some worldwide success, including fairly significant penetration into Europe last year. As such, Samsung hopes that by striking the pan while it’s hot, it can capture an even bigger share in the North American market. Down the road, the Korean handset maker also hopes to introduce HSDPA to North America.
Other than its obvious WCDMA appeal, the Samsung GH-ZX10 is still one feature-packed mobile. The swivelling 1.3 megapixel shooter can also do video – in fact, this handset is capable of real-time video telephony. Having a built-in MP3 player can’t hurt either. And because it’s a quad-band GSM, you can be sure you’ll receive excellent coverage. No word on official launch date or pricing.


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Laborers sort fresh organic blueberries into plastic clamshells for export at Lohas Farms in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada on July 3, 2016. REUTERS/Julie Gordon
July 11, 2018
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by Canada and the United States will trim Canadian exports and imports by 0.6 percent and boost inflation by about 0.1 percentage point, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday.
The tariffs, along with related uncertainty about U.S. trade policy that hangs over Canada’s export-driven economy, will subtract about 2/3 percent from GDP by the end of 2020, the central bank said in its quarterly monetary policy report.
“The size and timing of the effects (of the U.S. tariffs) will depend on multiple factors, including the capacity of Canadian exporters to absorb the tariff costs or to pass them on to their U.S. customers,” the bank said.
The U.S. tariffs on C$16.6 billion of Canadian steel and aluminum imports – about 2.5 percent of total Canadian exports – will cut the level of real Canadian exports by C$3.6 billion, or about 0.6 percent, the bank said.
The 25 percent U.S. steel tariff will reduce exports by about 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, while the 10 percent aluminum tariff will trim Canadian exports by about 0.2 percent, according to estimates by the central bank.
The impact will be felt mostly in the second half of 2018, but could take longer to materialize, it said.
Separately, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on C$16.6 billion of U.S. imports, mainly steel and aluminum but also consumer products, will cut real imports by C$3.9 billion, or about 0.6 percent, starting in the third quarter, the bank estimated.
“They are also likely to have complex effects on other sectors of the Canadian economy, notably through higher costs for users of steel, iron and aluminum, as well as for firms using other items made from these products,” it said.
The two sets of tariffs will temporarily boost CPI inflation by about 0.1 percentage point until the third quarter of 2019.
“Consumers’ purchasing power would be reduced, which would weigh on household spending,” the bank said.
The U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs were imposed on June 1, while Canada’s countermeasures took effect on July 1.
(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins and Dale Smith)


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Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) has lowered its fiscal year sales and warned that they will be impacted on by the falling lumber prices and the ongoing tariff wars between the US and China.
Home Depot cuts its FY2019 sales forecast
On Tuesday the home improvement chain said that it expects 2019 sales growth to increase by around 2.3% down from the previous forecast of 3.3%. The retailer has indicated that same-store sales which are a crucial metric for the company will grow by 4% down from 5% that was forecast in May. The company has said that earning per share for fiscal 2019 will not miss estimates.
In the second quarter, the retailer’s net sales increased by 1.2% to around $30.84 billion but marginally missed consensus estimate of $30.98 billion. Net income in the quarter dropped slightly to around $3.48 billion or $3.17 per share.
Lumber prices deflation and Trade tariffs hurting business
The CEO and Chairman of Home Depot Craig Menear said that they expect the business to continue doing well because of the stable housing market. The company is suffering from declining lumber prices that have forced it to lower the cost of fences, decks, and flooring. Lumber prices have significantly declined by about 16% since February as labor and land shortages have constrained the ability to build new houses thus leading to a supply glut for key building material.
The company has also voiced concerns regarding the impact of Trump’s tariffs on China on its business days after Deere & Co raised similar fears. The company has warned that the proposed 10% tariffs that will be starting on September 1 and December 15 along with the current 25% tariffs could potentially increase the cost of sales by $2 billion which is about 2% of the country’s annual sales.
Carol Tome the CFO of Home Depot indicated that the company plans to negotiate the tariff cost with suppliers which they don’t expect to be that much. Wall Street analysts expect the impact of 10% tariffs on earnings to come from a hit from consumer demand instead of growing expenses.


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The Spoke Word: E-Bikes Coming Into Their Own
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Interesting story from CNN today about the booming market for electric bikes. There were 200,000 of them sold in the U.S. alone last year. We still haven't caught up to Europe, where e-bikes are reportedly the fastest selling category in bike shops, or China, where there are 100 million of them in use. But 200,000 in one year is impossible to ignore.
Based on visits to a few bike manufacturers this summer and the Interbike trade show last month, I can say e-bikes are a constant topic of conversation in the industry. Major brands like Trek, Giant, and Schwinn all have electric lines now, and they're being joined in the U.S. market by new and established e-bike manufacturers like Sanyo and Kalkhoff.
Is there an e-bike in your garage or in your future? Yes, they can look a little clunky sometimes. But they don't have to. The photos below are of a working prototype I saw at a Trek dealer event this summer, styled to look like a pre-1910 Harley Davidson—right down to analogue gauges and a “gas tank” to conceal the battery.