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- A lot of car-buyers can't afford a new electric vehicle, but are curious about used ones.
- Today's pricey electric vehicles will one day enter the used vehicle market.
- That could play a role in the used EV market — and tax credits might not help yet.
The average cost of a new EV hit $61,448 in December, according to Kelley Blue Book — well over the $49,507 paid, on average, for a new internal-combustion engine vehicle. That's a problem for the automakers in the ever-urgent race for greater EV adoption.
Prices are coming down, but it will take time and isn't a guarantee. Much of that depends on forces outside of automakers' control, like dynamics within the battery supply chain.
A lot of would-be EV buyers are becoming more interested in the used market as a way to drive a cleaner car without such a hefty price tag.
Surveys from firm Recurrent found that just over 50% of EV shoppers in 2021 were instead interested in purchasing a used EV; a year later, that number was closer to 80%.
At first glance, today's product pipeline might not paint a good picture for the future of the used EV market. About 77% of all EV sales in the fourth-quarter commanded luxury prices, according to consultancy Anderson Economic Group. The F-150 Lightning, for instance, starts at almost $56,000. The GMC Hummer pickup will cost you about $100,000. The Cadillac Lyriq starts at nearly $63,000. Rivian's R1T has a starting cost of $73,000.
Lessons learned from the used gas-car market
If you look at the internal-combustion engine world, luxury vehicles account for about 17% of the market share, Kristin Dziczek, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago policy advisor, said at the firm's recent auto insights symposium in Detroit.
Prioritizing these and more profitable vehicles over market share has consequences for the future used market.
"If what we've produced in the last couple of years has been a rich mix, when that goes into the used market, that keeps used prices elevated as well," Dziczek said.
The question is how the EV market will react to similar dynamics.
Electric car prices creeping downward
Consumers are seeing new EV prices start to creep down; December's number was down from the month before, in part driven by anticipation of stipulations in the Inflation Reduction Act making GM and Tesla eligible for crucial federal EV tax credits again.
Overall declines for used vehicle prices also generally apply to used EVs. The average price of a used EV, about $32,750 in December, is down about 14.4% since a peak of $38,500 last July, according to Recurrent's index of popular used EV models.
As new EV prices drop, so might their used counterparts.
"Effectively, when you bring down the new alternative, what you would imagine is that used prices for Model 3s and Bolts would come down quickly as well," said Recurrent's CEO Scott Case. "The huge Tesla price drops in new Tesla pricing that just happened last week out of the blue pretty much have a direct dollar-for-dollar impact on used Tesla prices."
What's more, "Any impact on automakers deciding to prioritize high-end EVs would not be felt for a while in the used market," Case said.
Don't count on the used EV tax credit, yet
Still, used EVs remain more expensive than used gas-cars (the average listing price for the latter was $27,143 in December, per Cox Automotive). The used EV tax credit introduced in last summer's Inflation Reduction Act could be an answer in the near-term.
Taxpayers are eligible for an up to $4,000 credit or 30% of the vehicle price, so long as the vehicle is at least two years old, under $25,000, and sold by a licensed dealership, according to the Zero Emission Transportation Association. (The taxpayer also has to meet income caps).
But a majority of used EVs don't yet comply with those criteria.
"It's looking like less than a million of these vehicles will be eligible for this tax credit this year on account of being over $25,000 when you buy them," David Gohlke, energy and environmental analyst at Argonne National Laboratory, said at the Fed symposium.
Dealers are starting to feel incentivized to drop used EVs priced close to the cap to just below it.


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Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism and Amadeus Extend Partnership to Deliver Data-Driven Media Campaigns
Amadeus | October 20, 2022
Travel demand is increasing rapidly after two years of limited opportunities due to the pandemic. Today, people are dreaming big and want to build experiential journeys that inspire lifelong memories. Before the world knew of COVID-19, destination management organizations (DMOs) such as Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) were seeking opportunities to create awareness for its city and capture the attention of travelers. With this in mind, DET has renewed its digital media partnership with Amadeus to continue to leverage the power of Amadeus’ business intelligence solutions and media services on its travel advertising platfo...
As the first news aggregate for the hotel industry, Hotel-Online is the industry’s must-read daily news source for everything hotel curated for busy professionals. Sign up today for industry news delivered to your inbox.

domain: news


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Based on the Cold War-era Wassenaar Arrangement, including more than 40 nations, the latest U.S. regulations ban exports of Nvidia and AMD GPUs destined for supercomputers in China, as well as sales of chipmaking tools and design software. Brett Simpson (Source: Arete Research) For now, the U.S. export rules have probably stymied the advancement of China’s chip industry, Brett Simpson, senior analyst at Arete Research, told EE Times.
https://i0.wp.com/mtgelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/shutterstock_178707863.jpg?fit=1000%2C751&ssl=1 751 1000 admin https://mtgelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MTG-logo-for-site-300x100-1.png admin2022-10-24 13:00:592022-10-24 13:21:15U.S. Chip Sanctions ‘Put Temporary Checkmate on China’
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FORD AUSTRALIA has confirmed that the recently-revealed US-developed direct-injection ‘Coyote’ 5.0 litre V8 will be fitted to the Falcon range, taking over from the current 5.4 litre Boss engines.
Euro 4 emissions compliance requirements spell the end of the Boss range from July this year. To counter, Ford unveiled the new engine as part of the Mustang line-up late last year... Read more inside The Motor Report
Updated: Remember that lawsuit a while back about how the Honda Civic hybrid doesn't get the mileage... read more
Is Toyota's days as reigning champion in hybrid fuel economy? Well, Ford's giving it a shot. ... read more
Most car sites focus on the vehicles and their various traits. Service,
though, is also an importan... read more
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Though the electric car vehicle segment continues to charge up with car buyers, there have been a fe... read more


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Last month, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger announced that they would be unveiling the details of Disney+, their upcoming Netflix-competitor to investors on April 11th. At the same time we learned, that the service will include the entire Disney library which previously was in the Disney Vault. This means that classics like Snow White, The Lion King, Little Mermaid, and newer films like Frozen and Moana will all be made available on the streaming service.
Disney’s OTT service is expected to launch later this year, with original movies and shows including a $100 million, 10 episodes live-action Star Wars TV series from Iron Man director John Favreau. They have already announced television series based on High School Musical and a Thor spin-off called Loki.
Just yesterday, they announced that the service will include a televisions series called Monsters at Work with Billy Crystal and John Goodman returning to their roles of Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. The series picks up six months after the original movie and will be released in 2020.
They will also be making films exclusively available for the service like live action remakes of Lady and the Tramp and The Sword in the Stone, the Anna Kendrick Christmas comedy Noelle, and Timmy Failure, based on the best-selling books.


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Indo-German innovation pavilion on Agro Tech India
At this year´s Agro Tech India, taking place in Chandigarh, northern India, from the 4th–7th November, the topic of post-harvest loss reduction is to be presented through the initiative “Fasal Ki Raksha, Bhavishya Ki Suraksha” (Protection of Crops, Protection of Future). Its objective is to display innovations focused on mechanisation, digitisation and the use of local post-harvest methods.
At the Indo-German Innovation Pavilion 15 start-ups and a comprehensive conference programme can be visited at Agro Tech trade fair, both in presence and online via AgriIndia.Net.
The initiative has been launched by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The event focuses on strengthening the Indian agriculture and food processing sector through innovative solutions, dialogue and partnerships to tackle post-harvest loss in tomatoes, onions, potatoes and apples. This event has been strategically structured to provide its participants and visitors a new and enhanced business opportunity by interacting not only with international and domestic participants and buyers, but also with senior government officials.
The event will be held in person at the Parade Ground, Chandigarh, India and will feature conferences and sessions around the theme "Digital Transformation for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security".
Post-harvest loss conference in Abidjan, Côte d´Ivoire
A similar event will be held in Côte d´Ivoire in December 2022. This event is to centre on how to maintain good quality and significantly reduce the post-harvest losses (PHL) of highly perishable crops. The spotlight will be put on the cassava, vegetable, and mango value chains during a two-day hybrid conference in Abidjan, Côte d´Ivoire (December 7th and 8th 2022).
The two-day PHL conference with elements of an exhibition, funded by the German federal government, is to be carried out by DLG International GmbH on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The participants of the conference will be high-level representatives from the farming community, government institutions and the private sector as well as research organisations.
Around 16 selected start-ups will participate in this conference and present themselves. As part of the event, a start-up competition is to select six start-ups with the best innovations to reduce post-harvest losses. The selection of a shortlist will be carried out by an independent expert jury from GIZ, an Ivorian Start-Up Incubator and the World Food Programme. The expert audience at the conference are to be involved and have the task of choosing the three start-ups that best meet the criteria.
The winners will be awarded in a ceremony and gain high attention by regional media and participants of the conference. Media presence and a press conference are supporting the reach of the event. Additional workshops and discussion rounds will furthermore promote an active exchange among visitors of the conference and renowned experts. Specially produced films on the three value chains are to highlight problems and provide practical suggestions for solutions. At the conference, there will also be a foyer exhibition where all start-ups present themselves to high-level delegates. A get-together in a casual atmosphere is intended to promote networking among start-up companies, the farming community and important multipliers for innovations.
A digital platform constitutes the second component of the project. It serves to prepare and follow up the trade fair appearance, bringing together different actors in the sector, allowing them to participate virtually in the conference and to establish new partnerships. The compiled extensive knowledge about PHL will be disseminated online beyond the events and will thus be made accessible to the public over the long term.
DLG International GmbH is organising the event in cooperation with GIZ, commissioned by the BMZ.
More information on Agro Tech India:
All sessions on this year´s Agro Tech India will also be live-streamed at www.AgriIndia.Net


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Amazon.com said its 'Dash' button, which allows customers to place orders instantly, will now be effectively free.» Read More
Secretary-General of Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, Angel Gurría, talks on the CNBC Conversation.
Hillary Clinton's speech is intended, in part, to wed the "growth" and "fairness" wings of the Democratic Party, Politico's Ben White says.
Three-D printing could make life a lot easier and affordable for some, Autodesk's Andreas Bastian says.
A power outage at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Friday is causing delays of up to three hours for some arriving planes.
Amazon's surprisingly strong earnings report sent its stock zooming Friday, but analyst Gene Munster warned that investors shouldn't be complacent.
One of the world’s favorite sneakers, Converse’s Chuck Taylor All Star, is getting an unexpected revamp; its first since its debut 98 years ago.
The European Commission said on Friday it had approved Finnish telecom equipment group Nokia's planned purchase of Alcatel-Lucent.
The meltdown in Chinese stocks last month will not dent the growth story in the world's second-biggest economy, the boss of AIA Group said.
A gunman killed two and wounded nine after opening fire during a screening of the movie "Trainwreck" in Lafayette, Louisiana, police said. NBC reports.
Federal court officers are seeking a unprecedented sentence of life in prison for a peanut company executive convicted of selling salmonella-tainted food. The Associated Press reports.
The age of smartwatches has largely been seen as a time bomb for traditional watchmakers, but for Philip Stein, it's a blessing.
Elevation Partners' co-founder Roger McNamee says Bill De Blasio could be in trouble for taking on Uber, and here's why.
Donald Trump's lead in the GOP race reveals a lot, such as the fact that America has HAD IT with politicians, says Carol Roth.
"They’ve bought back a lot of stock incorrectly. They’re in all the wrong markets," CNBC's Jim Cramer says about Caterpillar.
European regulators have filed formal antitrust charges against six major U.S. movie studios and Sky over contracts between the companies.
Consumer goods maker Unilever posted a higher-than-expected rise in sales for the first half of the year.
Brewer SABMiller reported a rise in quarterly sales, helped by higher demand for beverages in Latin America and Africa.
ABB said its net profit fell 8 percent in the second quarter due to a drop in demand for the Swiss company's oil and gas products.
The CEO of agricultural chemicals group Syngenta ruled out further negotiations of a merger with rival Monsanto, describing their attempted takeover offer as "woefully short."
The US should build on what Starbucks is starting with its youth job-creation effort, says former Medtronic CEO Bill George.


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January 30, 2020 – Oslo, Norway -- The latest XSI® Public Indices report from Xeneta reveals that the long-term contracted market has experienced a third consecutive month of increases, equating to an 8% overall year-on-year rise. However, despite the slight positive market developments, concerns remain over the carriers’ abilities to recover the costs of compliance with the new IMO 2020 low-sulphur fuel regulations.
The XSI®, which provides unique market intelligence based on real-time crowd-sourced shipping data, has tracked a difficult 18 months for the industry, with an overall trend of declining rates prevailing since summer 2018. However, based on the 160 million data points utilised by the report, that pattern has reversed only a small amount, with December’s 0.9% rise being consolidated by a 2.2% increase over the course of January.
A development that, according to Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund, isn’t what the market expected given the hype of IMO 2020 all last year. There’s inconsistency across the board, he notes.
The XSI® breaks down rates fluctuations by region, illustrating detailed developments of trends across key trading corridors. In Europe the import benchmark showed progress, rising by 2.4% against last month (up 9.2% year-on-year), while the export figure showed a marginal increase of 0.3%. The Far East import index rose by a healthy 4.9% and is now up 10% against the all-time low recorded in October 2019. Exports also moved in the right direction with an equally impressive jump of 4.5% against last month.
The US import index recorded a rare fall, by 2.1%, but is still up a huge 22.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile the export figure surged by an impressive 5.5%, the largest month-on-month increase since July 2019, leaving the benchmark up 16.7% year-on-year.
Nothing to write home about
Of key importance, explains the Xeneta CEO, is the reaction to the IMO 2020 low sulphur fuel regulations.
“The small increases are nothing to write home about. We have been tracking the effects of the new regulation in our data. Like market commentators have so far suggested, our rate data also does not show IMO 2020 having had any significant impact in the rate levels so far. The carriers are yet to find the right formula for recouping the cost of more expensive fuel,” he says. “They face real difficulties on commoditized routes, where pricing is critical to achieve market share, and the slight rises we see are mainly because of basic supply and demand, nothing more.
Indeed, in the Far East to Europe corridor, the long-term market ticked up, but in line with the levels seen in 2019 and 2018, which had no IMO 2020 regulations. If we look at the short-term market, we do indeed see a spike, which suggests that at this point smaller volume players seem to be the ones picking up a big portion of the new fuel costs.
The trans-Pacific is entering its negotiation period, and this is where it can get interesting for the industry. We would expect to see carriers take off the gloves and bullishly attempt to reclaim the new regulation costs during the Q2 contract period, if indeed fuel regulations have a true impact on long-term market rates. It remains to be seen and it’s more important than ever to stay informed - not listen to rumors - but check the facts.”
Capacity adjustments are being worked on by carriers – e.g. 2M has already announced five void sailings in March – rather than any cost recovery measures. It’ll be interesting to see how this issue develops and what impact we’ll see when the key players release their next round of financial results.
Elsewhere, the news appears brighter regarding relations between the US and China, where a new trade deal (whereby, amongst other measures, China will increase US imports while the US will reduce some key tariffs) suggests relations could be thawing. However, as Berglund points out, the deal only relates to tariffs on USD 120billion worth of goods, with higher tariffs remaining on a further USD 360billion.
The advantage of insight
He notes: “It’s far too early to say with any certainty which way the market will move in the next few months, just as it’s also remiss to suggest that three months of increases in the XSI® means we have a new long-term rates development trend in place. We do not.
“Because of that all stakeholders in the ocean freight value chain must keep up to speed with the market to get the best value for their own businesses. Knowledge is power in contract negotiations, so make sure you have the insight to gain the advantage you need.”
Xeneta’s XSI® Public Indices is based on crowd-sourced rates data from leading global shippers. Companies participating in the platform include names such as Electrolux, Continental, Unilever, Lenovo, Nestle, L’Oréal, and Thyssenkrupp, amongst others.
To get the full XSI® Public Indices report, please visit: https://www.xeneta.com/xsi-public-indices
Xeneta is the leading ocean freight rate benchmarking and market intelligence platform transforming the shipping and logistics industry. Xeneta’s powerful reporting and analytics platform provides liner-shipping stakeholders the data they need to understand current and historical market behaviour – reporting live on market average and low/high movements for both short and long-term contracts. Xeneta’s data is comprised of over 160 million contracted container rates and covers over 160,000 global trade routes. Xeneta is a privately held company with headquarters in Oslo, Norway and regional offices in New York and Hamburg. To learn more, please visit www.xeneta.com.


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Inspired set for Turkish launch following licence approval
The supplier has signed a contract with Sisal Şans, a joint venture between Italy’s Sisal and Şans Digital, a subsidiary of local conglomerate Dermirören Holding. The partners secured a ten-year contract to operate the country’s national lottery Milli Piyango on behalf of the Turkish Wealth Fund Management in August last year.
The games will now be rolled out on Misili, a sports betting brand licensed to offer sports betting in the market by Spor Toto Teşkilat Başkanlığı, using V-Play Plug & Play, an end-to-end online and mobile virtual sportsbook solution. This has already been deployed for partners such as DraftKings and social operator Chumba Casino’s FendOff Sports.
“We have worked with Sisal for many years in Italy, supplying our video lottery terminals, virtuals and mobile products,” Inspired president and chief operating officer Brooks Pierce said. “We are thrilled to partner with their Turkish joint venture, Sisal Sans, to offer our virtuals products in Turkey.
“Our virtuals have proven popular in the UK, Italy and Greece and we see Turkey as an opportunity to showcase our new Plug & Play solution and the strength of our overall Virtuals offerings.”
Selim Ergun, chief executive of Sisal Şans, said the joint venture would look to maximise revenue for the lottery by innovating in terms of product.
“Inspired’s virtual sports speak to that innovation, offering fast-paced action, ultra- realistic player simulations and a tremendous breadth of bet types, and we are excited to be the first certified website to offer virtuals in Turkey,” Ergun said.
“We are looking forward to working with the Inspired team to bring a continual stream of betting content to our customer base, especially given the limited live sports now available.”
The deal follows Misili’s agreement with IMG Arena, the sports data arm of media giant IMG, which was announced earlier today (13 October). That saw Misili agree to integrate streaming across a number of sports, allowing customers to watch live action after placing bets.


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Today AT&T withdrew it’s bid to purchase T-Mobile deciding instead to take a $4 billion charge off. I expect T-Mobile to
eventually fade away into the Bavarian sunset unless it finds a way to build out a true 4G network and remain competitive
with AT&T and Verizon. While opponents to the transaction begin their holiday season on a high note, next year may not be that grand for T-Mobile’s new subscribers.
I expect rates to go up as a result of the Obama Administration’s preference for populism as opposed to good old fashioned
economics. Obviously the Justice Department does not read the U.S. Department of Labor’s jobs report. Some 315,000 people left the labor force in November. Unemployment for Blacks and Hispanics exceed the national average. These are the same consumers that subscribe to T-Mobile’s services. As the economy continues to flat line, more consumers seeking to offset long term unemployment by reducing household bills will gravitate to T-Mobile’s offerings.
The problem is that given T-Mobile’s smaller network, it will have to increase prices or curtail its services in order to meet the increasing demand. Just as prices are going up and quality of services are falling, a credit constrained parent, Duetsche Telekom, may decide to pull out of the U.S. market. Don’t know if the Justice Department knows this, but things aren’t so hot in Europe right now.
Should the Europeans decide to shore up their central banks with more capital, we may see rates climbing in Europe which will make getting financing even tougher for Deutsche Telekom.
For all its talk about global competitiveness, the Obama Admonistration appears to have dropped the ball on understanding
the meaning and impact of a global economy.


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Glass 'sculpture' complex given the all clear
Plans for a $100 million sculptural glass complex for Christchurch's Triangle Centre site have been given the go-ahead.
The design is for three office and retail buildings four and five storeys high, built on base isolators. They will be linked by an atrium, escalators and underground car parking. The design received resource consent at a hearing of commissioners from the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and Ngai Tahu.
"I'm very happy, we are nearly there," said owner Michael Ogilvie-Lee, of OLT Properties.
The mostly cleared City Mall site is bordered by Cashel, High and Colombo streets and includes the Hallensteins-Unlimited School land Ogilvie-Lee bought to complete the block.
He was now working on settling agreements with office tenants, who are understood to be a bank, a law firm and an accountancy practice.
Shop tenants will be found when construction begins.
Construction could start as early as June or July and be finished by autumn 2015. The complex has been designed by architects Warren and Mahoney to look like a sculpture.
The panel hearing to consider a design from Leighs Construction for a hotly contested City Mall site has been postponed while changes are made.
Leighs has designed a complex of buildings for the site, for which plans by two other developers have already been approved.
None of the contenders for the site have control of the land, which is between Cashel and Lichfield streets near the Bridge of Remembrance and is in the hands of more than a dozen small owners.
Under earthquake rebuild laws, Outline Development Plans for central Christchurch's core retail zone must cover at least 7500 square metres and meet the approval of the commissioners.
An exception has been made for the smaller Triangle Centre site.


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If you didn’t hear the news, Android got a slick new Instagram app this morning that has brought salvation to millions of smartphone users across the globe. Finally, we can all take pretty ugly pictures of nature and cats and food and post them with the loving assurance that they are viewable to 80% of of the world’s smartphone users. Horray! Instagram is finally a really awesome global party!
Well stop right there with the happiness, because a lot of iPhone users are pissed that Instagram came out with an Android app. Twitter has been flooded all day with elitest iPhone owners bemoaning the flood of “ghetto” “poor” Android toting riff raff smashing into their beautiful walled zen garden. The sheer abundance of snooty pretentiousness is enough to give a sensible person a lethal dose of dysentery.
Here’s some of the most ridiculous anti-Android Instagram posts we’ve seen so far:
Can’t we all get along? Can’t these silly iPhone owners stop mixing their vanity with class warfare by equating Android ownership with poverty? Can’t we all just Instagram photos of our meals using whatever smartphone we want and say, “holy cow Mike, that guacamole sure does look delectable”?
[photo via Clint Hardison]


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By Dave Hall/Star Business Reporter
Workers at Electro-Motive Canada in London have overwhelmingly ratified a severance package, three weeks after the company abruptly shut the plant throwing more than 670 workers out of their jobs.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Unionized workers represented by CAW Local 27 voted 95 per cent in favour of a package Thursday which will pay them three weeks severance for each year of seniority.
The agreement also includes a lump sum payment of $1,500 and retraining opportunities.
Under existing labour laws, workers with more than five years seniority are eligible for two weeks pay for every year of service.
Local 27 president Tim Carrie said that two-thirds of the 465 unionized employees had about seven years seniority and the remainder between 18 and 20 years.
Between the company’s unionized workforce and its management and non-union positions, about 670 jobs have been lost.
The two sides began negotiating a closure agreement 10 days ago after Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of U.S.-based heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., which owns Electro-Motive, announced it was closing the London plant, which assembles locomotives, and moving the work to Muncie, Ind.


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Bentonville technology firm Stonehenge Technology Labs now offers complimentary demonstrations for its subscription-based Stopwatch artificial intelligence and machine learning software product.
Stonehenge launched four years ago as the technology and data science arm of an e-commerce intelligence firm.
Stopwatch, a B2B SaaS (software as a service) platform, provides consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies with all real-time data across multiple channels in one place, allowing for real-time decision-making in their business relationships with retailers.
“Despite the availability of large, complex, and very expensive platforms, companies still struggle to synergize real-time sales and ship data beyond a single online selling platform,” said Meagan Bowman, Stonehenge founder and CEO. “And even if they can do so, it has been impossible to do it in a way that is both easily visualized and delivered in real-time using platform-agnostic decision science.
“Delivering that capability has been the mission of Stonehenge Technology Labs. Today we can deliver that capability, and we are pleased to make a live demo available to illustrate just how simple this level of total visibility can be.”
Bowman said some of Stonehenge’s customers include Blue Buffalo Co., Conair, Cumberland Packaging Corp., Energizer, Funko Inc., GSK and KAO USA Inc.
Bowman said Stonehenge’s net dollar retention (NDR), a SaaS metric that measures a company’s recurring revenue, is up 335% year-over-year. She said Walmart Luminate, the retailer’s new data monetization business, has been a “boost” to the bottom line.
She touted the company’s growth despite having no sales team. All 17 Stonehenge employees are engineers.
Stonehenge is VC-backed, so Bowman declined to disclose additional financial details. The company announced a $2 million seed funding in August 2021. IrishAngels led the round with participation from other coastal investors including Bread and Butter Ventures, Gaingels, Angeles Investors, Bonfire Ventures and Red Tail Venture Capital. Stonehenge has also received investment from the Arkansas Venture Capital Development Fund (AVCDF) of the Arkansas Venture Capital Investment Trust (AVCIT). That’s the state’s fund that invests in Arkansas-based companies.
Stonehenge’s new demo program is also part of a new advertising campaign at Northwest Arkansas National Airport. The company is running video ads at five locations featuring its engineering teams.
Bowman was named Innovator of the Year in emerging tech trends at the Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit in 2021. She is also a Fast Company executive board member and a member of the invitation-only Forbes Technology Council.


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All the virus restrictions in place in Qld
Greater Brisbane residents will be freed from the grip of the snap three-day lockdown come 12pm on Thursday, but a number of tough restrictions will remain in place.
More than 2.5 million people had only been allowed to leave their house for four key reasons since 5pm on Monday until Thursday at midday.
In its place, for the next two weeks, all Queenslanders will be required to carry a mask when they leave their home.
Masks will be mandatory in indoor spaces such as shopping centres and supermarkets, indoor workplaces and public transport.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said anyone attending food or beverage establishments should be seated, and no dancing was permitted.
Gatherings at private residences across the state will be restricted to 30.
"In terms of outdoor events, there are a lot of big events planned over Easter. They can still proceed if they have a COVID-safe plan in place, but if you are outdoors and you cannot socially distance, put a mask on," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"Easter Mass can go ahead. It will be one-per-two-square metres, so most churches have that in place."
The state's chief health officer said aged care facilities, disability care facilities, hospitals and prisons would remain locked down for the next 14 days.
"Only end-of-life visitors (will be permitted)," she said.
"I know this is very, very difficult over this Easter period. Hopefully when we get all of those sites vaccinated in the future, we won't have to do that again. But at the moment, we need to protect our most vulnerable."
Where you have to wear a face mask:
Until April 15, all Queenslanders must carry a face mask with them at all times when they leave home and must wear a mask in the following settings:
- Shopping centres, supermarkets, retail outlets and indoor markets
- Hospitals and aged care facilities
- Hospitality venues such as restaurants and cafes, but not required while eating or drinking
- Churches and places of worship
- Indoor recreational facilities and gyms, except if doing strenuous exercise
- Indoor workplaces where you can't socially distance
- Public transport, taxis and rideshare, and waiting places or queues for this transport
- Drivers of a bus, taxi or rideshare
- When in an airport or during a commercial flight
- It is also strongly recommended you wear a mask when outdoors if you are unable to stay more than 1.5m distance from other people
Originally published as All the virus restrictions in place in Qld


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The most up-to-date operating system Android 13Increasing security measures for smartphone users with Googleis renaming Android security. “Protected by Android” (Protected by Android) model, the software giant shared a short video about the change.
What is Google’s ‘Android Protected’ brand?
Satisfying innovations are coming from Google for Android users, who have recently begun to care less about data privacy. Rebranding Android security measures with a new feature called “Protected by Android”, Google has announced in its latest video. how you keep your users safe took it.
In the new 50-second video shared by Google, “Verified by Play Protect” and “Protected by Android” came to the fore. This also supports the new privacy measures that the software giant introduced with Android 13.
The video actually doesn’t have any informative details about Google’s technologies. It seems like Google wanted to show the tools it protects Android users in a single video. So what do these tools do?
Let’s start with “Verified by Play Protect” first. Google, which examines almost every application in the Play Store within the scope of Play Protect and detects viruses in the application, thus exposes malicious and harmful applications.
Also in the video, usersuninterrupted securityIt was noted that it was protected with ”. Monthly security updates Emphasizing the importance of it, Google says that if you keep your Android device up to date, you will be safe.
It seems interesting that Google combines the privacy measures it offers in the mobile world with the name ‘Protected by Android’. In fact, this proves the company’s investments in security.
What do you think of the new Android security measures? You can share your views with us in the comments section.


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Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) will on Friday hold a one-day sensitization
seminar on the take-off of Inland Dry Port in Kaduna State.
seminar which will be under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and in
collaboration with the Inland Container Nigeria will come under the theme ‘’
The Emergence of Inland Dry Port in Promoting International Trade and Enhancement
of Hinterland Shipping.’’
seminar is expected to prepare stakeholders towards the successful take-off of
the Inland Dry Port in Kaduna.
Host at the occasion while the Executive Governor of Kaduna State is the
Special Guest of Honour.
the Dry Port in the state and its environs and widen the shippers’ horizon on
effective utilization of the dry port facility for import and export business.
would be recalled that the Federal Executive Council in 2016 granted approval
for the establishment of six (6) ICDs/CFSs across the country in the following
locations, Isiala-Ngwa (Aba), Erunmu (Ibadan), Zawachiki (Kano), Heipang (Jos)
and CFS in Funtua (Katsina and Jauri Maiduguri).
as the Ports Economic Regulator has given the Council further impetus to ensure
the realization of the projects to boost operations in the industry.


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Issues in the Arizona retail market played a major role in Class A motorhome manufacturer Rexhall Industries Inc. reporting lower earnings for the second quarter and first half of this year.
California-based Rexhall earned $132,000 during the three months ended June 30, a 63% decline from the year-earlier period.
During the first half of this year, Rexhall earned $251,000, an 81% decline from the $1.3 million the company earned during the first half of 2000.
Meanwhile, Rexhall’s second quarter sales revenue increased 20% to $18 million and its sales during the first half of this year climbed 2% to $36.7 million.
Rexhall’s share of the retail market for Class A’s increased this year to 2.4% from 2.1% a year-ago, added Michael Bourne, COO.
Difficulties in the Arizona market trace back to the bankruptcy last year of Rexhall’s biggest dealer in that state, RV Supercenter.
The bankruptcy of the multi-location RV Supercenter group led Rexhall to form a subsidiary to own and operate the Price One, formerly RV 101, dealership in Mesa, Ariz.
The Rexhall-owned dealership “started up too big, too quickly, and with the poor season (last year) wound up with too much inventory and overhead,” said Bill Rex, CEO.
However, Rex added, “We have made significant cost reductions in the last few months,” and Rexhall has hired a new general manager for its company-owned dealership.


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JIIA Strategic Comments (2022-07)
Papers in the "JIIA Strategic Commentary Series" are prepared mainly by JIIA research fellows to provide commentary and policy-oriented analyses on significant international affairs issues in a readily comprehensible and timely manner.
Immediately after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the US government announced that it, along with allies and partners, would implement broad economic sanctions and stringent export controls1. Export controls by the US and other governments on Russia and Belarus (hereinafter referred to as "the Export Controls on Russia") were implemented exceptionally promptly and on a historically large scale. International alignments for the Export Controls on Russia coordinate the design and implementation of export controls in individual countries and drive the direction of future export controls. Considering the above, this paper examines international alignments for the Export Controls on Russia and their implications.
Large Scale and Prompt Development
The Export Controls on Russia imposed by the US and other governments are of a scale and speed rarely seen in history. On February 24, the day Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the US government announced that unprecedented export control measures would cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports, restrict Russia's access to vital technological inputs, atrophy its industrial base, and undercut Russia's strategic ambitions to exert influence on the world stage2.
On the same day, the US Department of Commerce targeted Russia's defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, effectively banning exports of such items as semiconductors, computers, telecommunications devices, information security equipment, lasers and sensors to these sectors3. The US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has stated that the BIS's aim is to restrict Russia's access to items that can support the country's defense industrial bases, military and intelligence services. "With these export controls, we, together with our allies and partners, are technologically isolating Russia and degrading its military capabilities," said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Thea D. Rozman Kendler. In addition, the Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rules for export control to Russia were strengthened, and 49 Russian military end-user entities were added to the Entity List (EL), making them subject to strict export control. The bolstering of the FDP rules requires the approval of the US Department of Commerce when exporting to Russia items that directly incorporate certain US-made technologies and software, or when exporting items that incorporate US-made technologies and software to the Russian entities listed on the EL4. These rule enhancements are based on the measures implemented by the US government in 2020 to control exports to Huawei, but Japan and other countries that jointly coordinating with the US on the Export Controls on Russia are exempt from these FDP rules. The US Department of Commerce has subsequently strengthened the Export Controls on Russia by gradually adding more than 200 entities to the EL, adding luxury goods to controlled items, and subjecting all items on its Commercial Control List (CCL) to export controls5. The scope of sanctions imposed on Russia by the US government's export controls has become extensive.
The governments of Japan and countries in Europe and elsewhere are implementing large-scale the Export Controls on Russia together with the US government. For example, the Japanese government has repeatedly and promptly implemented large-scale export control measures in line with the governments of these countries. On February 23, the Japanese government had announced import and export restrictions on "the Donetsk People's Republic" and "the Luhansk People's Republic" (both self-proclaimed), and following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Kishida announced on the 24th that Japan would work together with the G7 and other members of the international community6.Following this, on the 25th, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) restricted exports to Russia of items listed under the multilateral export control regimes, general-purpose goods such as integrated circuits thought to help enhance Russia's military capabilities, and items related to petroleum refining. Furthermore, on March 16, a restriction on exports of luxury goods to Russia was announced (and enforced from April 5). The Japanese government also restricts exports to certain entities related to Russia. By March 25, the Japanese government had designated 130 entities subject to the Export Controls on Russia, marking the first time that Japan has attempted to designate specific entities subject to export controls. The Japanese government's export controls to date have focused on end-use. In this way, the governments of Japan and the US have kept in step regarding the Export Controls on Russia.
The same can be said of the European Union (EU). The EU is also deploying the Export Controls on Russia in tandem with the US and other countries. In this regard, Denis Redonnet, Deputy Director General for Trade and Chief Trade Enforcement Officer (CTEO) of the European Commission, said, "As a result of the implementation of the sanctions package we have created a sort of autonomous regime of export controls at EU level not just on export control of dual-use items but also on a range of emerging technologies and advanced technologies." He also stressed the speed with which the EU had worked out a new export control framework for Russia in a matter of weeks7. The EU, in tandem with the United States and other countries, has responded promptly and extensively.
In this way, the governments of Japan, the United States, Europe, and other countries cooperated on the Export Controls on Russia and deepened their cooperation in designing their measures and sharing information. When the US Commerce Department launched the Export Controls on Russia on February 24, it revealed that the measures reflected important cooperation among the US, EU, Japan, Australia, UK, Canada, and New Zealand8. At this point, thirty-three countries were already in step with each other in the Export Controls on Russia - the Five Eyes countries, the 27 member countries of the EU, and Japan - and international alignment for the Export Control had begun beyond the G7.
Subsequently, the number of countries that joined in the international cooperation on the Export Controls on Russia increased. Although the South Korean government did not implement sanctions against Russia when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, President Moon Jae-in announced on February 24, 2022 his intention to go along with the sanctions against Russia9. On the 28th the South Korean government decided to restrict exports to Russia of listed items under the multilateral export control regimes and announced that it would start considering semiconductors and other items that the US had designated as controlled items10. Furthermore, on April 8, the US government announced that Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein would be taking new steps in cooperation with the Export Controls on Russia11. Exceptions to the US FDP rules apply to these thirty-seven countries that are in tandem with the US.
As of this writing, then, thirty-eight countries are in step with the Export Controls on Russia. In just a month and a half, a de facto international export control framework was formed beyond the G7. In terms of the number of participating countries, more countries have already joined this framework than the thirty-five countries that are members of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The US government refers to this framework as the "Global Export Controls Coalition"12, and T.D.R. Kendler said that the governments participating in the Global Export Controls Coalition are coordinating export licensing policies and sharing information13.
Effectiveness of the Export Controls on Russia
When considering the effectiveness of international export controls, it is necessary to examine two aspects. One is the problem-solving aspect. In general, the effectiveness of an international institution is evaluated by the degree to which it has succeeded in solving the problems that led to its establishment14. Given that on February 24, the US Department of Commerce announced it would impose strict export controls severely restricting Russia's access to technologies and other items needed to sustain its aggressive military capabilities15, a criterion of effectiveness would be the extent to which these export controls undermine Russia's military capability base, the objective of the Export Controls on Russia.
In this regard, the US government and the EU seem confident that the Export Controls on Russia have been effective to some extent. According to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Russia's high-tech imports have been cut by more than half due to export controls implemented by the US and its allies. Russia is facing difficulties in finding parts for tanks, satellites and rocket-launching systems due to export controls, and is also short of semiconductors for night-vision goggles and avionics16. On March 30, Ms. Kendler stated that "Unlike financial sanctions, our export control measures were never expected to have immediate effects" but "as compared to the same time period last year, US exports to Russia of items subject to new licensing requirements have decreased by 99% by value. 17" She then noted a report by the Ukrainian government that Russia's two major tank plants had halted work due to lack of foreign components and that Baikal Electronics, a Russian fabless semiconductor company, had been cut off from the integrated circuits needed to support its domestic communications equipment - including surveillance, industrial controls, servers, and more18. Matthew Borman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, also said "Russian manufacturing facilities - including those that are involved in manufacturing military vehicles - have had to shut down production because they are not able to get the components, particularly semiconductors, that they need for their products," and "in terms of the impact, I think you've already seen some, and continuing." Mr. Borman also indicated that the reason for the effectiveness of the Export Controls on Russia was due to cooperation with allies and partners as well as self-regulation by private companies19.
In addition, the EU seems to be seeing some effects from the Export Controls on Russia. European Commission CTEO Redonnet pointed out that, based on customs data, EU exports to Russia had fallen by about 70% compared to before Russia's invasion of Ukraine20.
Furthermore, as Deputy Assistant Secretary Bowman pointed out, the effectiveness of export controls on Russia has been enhanced by self-regulation undertaken by multinational companies21. In the semiconductor industry, for example, vertically integrated chip maker Intel said it suspended all exports to Russia and Belarus in March and all operations in Russia in April22. In the field of integrated circuit design, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia have also reportedly halted exports to Russia23. The cloud industry is also seeing some self-regulation by private companies. In March, Microsoft, Amazon and Google, which had established dominant positions in Russia's domestic cloud market, announced that they had stopped offering their cloud services in Russia24. The actions taken by these semiconductor and cloud companies will have serious medium- to long-term consequences for Russian companies and government agencies that rely heavily on foreign semiconductor designs and foreign cloud services.
When considering the effectiveness of cooperation in international export controls, the implementation and administration of export controls by members are also taken into account. In this case, the question is whether export controls are implemented stringently or with laxity25. As for the Export Controls on Russia, backfilling issues that compensate for these measures have proven challenging, and there are certainly some who question the effectiveness of the Export Controls on Russia in this sense. For example, Nazak Nikakhtar, former Assistant Secretary of State for Industry Analysis at the US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA), has raised doubts about the possibility of the US Department of Commerce conducting end-use checks in Russia, saying that the effectiveness of export controls on Russia depends on whether exports to Russia comply with export control rules. She has also pointed out that the lack of identification of violations may not be due to the absence of violations, but rather to the failure to track violations. In particular, she took a negative view of China's compliance with international export controls toward Russia26. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility (especially if sanctions are imposed for a long period of time) that some enterprises will seek opportunities to start or continue business with Russia by circumventing the Export Controls on Russia by the US government and others. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Borman, however, said on March 29 that no compliance issues had been found in Asia and that Russia would not be able to find workarounds in trying to procure chips from European countries, Japan, and South Korea27. Regarding the Commerce Department's end-use checks in Russia, it was also reported that some Commerce Department officials believe they are still working28.
In fact, as of this writing, no clear backfilling has been found that would compensate for the Export Controls on Russia by the governments concerned. For example, the Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper under the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, reported that Chinese companies are hesitant to supply semiconductors to Russia, even though the country is increasingly seeking semiconductors. The cautious stance of Chinese companies reportedly stems from the threat of US sanctions to payments29. Some in the Commerce Department think Chinese companies that want to secure access to US technologies are complying with US regulations30. Also suggestive, although not directly related to export controls, are reports that Chinese banks have restricted purchases of Russian items and loans to Russia. This suggests that Chinese companies are complying with US sanctions in order not to be designated targets of US sanctions31. In addition, some Chinese companies that continue to do business with Russian companies were reportedly stopped from doing business by European companies32. It is undeniable that the decision of European companies to stop doing business with Russian companies will affect the decision of Chinese companies. Considering these circumstances, it is conceivable that Chinese companies may compare the Western and the Russian markets and choose the Western market over the Russian one33. Even if the Chinese government were to take concrete measures against the US-led Export Controls on Russia, Chinese companies would not necessarily be in step with the authorities.
This situation suggests that the "Global Export Controls Coalition," as the US government calls it, may be functioning as a de facto international export control system. The US Commerce Department has described the Global Export Controls Coalition as a "global coalition of nations that are cooperating in our stand against Russian aggression, and Belarusian complicity, through their implementation of similarly stringent export controls34." At the time of this writing, thirty-eight countries are said to be members of the Global Export Controls Coalition, and it is believed that the Export Controls on Russia are in fact being administered and implemented beyond the membership of the Global Export Controls Coalition. Thus, the effectiveness of export controls by the Global Export Controls Coalition has been maintained, in terms of both constraints on Russia's military capabilities and administration and implementation of export controls.
International Alignment for the Export Controls on Russia
The rapid deployment of the large-scale and effective Export Controls on Russia was due to the successful coordination of export controls by various governments. According to US Assistant Secretary of Commerce Kendler, governments had extensive international dialogue on the design, coordination, and execution of export control measures. Kendler said that the day-to-day work and engagement between the Commerce Department's BIS and its counterparts have been effective and that the US is closer to its allies than it has been in decades in terms of export controls. She said, "my Treasury colleagues and I traveled to London, Brussels, Paris and Berlin to bring this coalition together" and "[while] we were not able to travel to other destinations, thanks to the use of technology, we held extensive dialogues with Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well35."
In particular, the US-EU Trade Technology Council (TTC) played significant roles in the coordination between the US and EU on the Export Controls on Russia. The US-EU TTC was launched in June 2021 by the US government and the EU, and its inaugural meeting was held in Pittsburgh in September. It is a platform for cooperation between the US and the EU in areas such as technology, digital issues, and supply chains. At this first meeting, the US-EU TTC stated that the objectives were "to coordinate approaches to key global technology, economic, and trade issues, and to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations, basing policies on shared democratic values36." The US-EU TTC has 10 working groups that focus on technical standards, investment screening, export controls, and so on. Working Group 7 on export controls was initially tasked to engage in technical consultations on legislative and regulatory developments and exchange information on risk assessments and licensing good practices, as well as on compliance and enforcement approaches, promote convergent control approaches on sensitive dual-use technologies, and perform joint industry outreach on dual-use export controls37.
It is said that the US-EU TTC played greater roles than originally expected in controlling exports to Russia. According to Assistant Commerce Secretary Kendler, the US EU-TTC was launched with two objectives: "to coordinate approaches to key global technology, economic, and trade issues; and to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations based on shared democratic values." However, "[t]his crisis has brought partner countries' export controls authorities closer than ever38." Kendler visited European countries as mentioned above, and "Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Matt Borman spent the following week in Brussels building on our work and bringing us to final common ground," she revealed39.
The EU has also expressed its view that the US-EU TTC has played more important roles than initially expected in US-European cooperation on the Export Controls on Russia. European Commission CTEO Redonnet said he believed the situation in Russia and Ukraine had greatly accelerated EU-US cooperation. Referring to the US-EU TTC after Russia invaded Ukraine, he stated, "[f]rankly, we have leapfrogged compared to what we were planning to do less than six months ago40." The US-EU TTC has become a tool for cooperation that the US and EU did not previously have. European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking at the European Parliament on the US-EU TTC, said good progress had been made "on work on export controls, specifically towards Russia," and added "[i]n response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the TTC has already facilitated alignment with the US on export restrictions for dual-use items and technologies to Russia and Belarus." He declared, "I believe that the coordinated transatlantic response to Russia's aggression would not have been as fast and smooth without the trust and good cooperation already built by the TTC," and then attributed the basic posture of coordination between the US and EU on the Export Controls on Russia to the US-EU TTC41. Stavros Lambrinidis, the EU's ambassador to the United States, was more specific in this regard, saying, "every player that is important in this field could simply pick up the phone, have the conversation and make it, done." He revealed that dialogue and coordination based on the US-EU TTC had contributed to the prompt implementation of export controls on Russia. According to him, sanctions were carefully coordinated from the political to the technical level. One example was that, when the EU banned Airbus from exporting planes and spare parts to Russia, the US government imposed similar measures on Boeing42. Mr. Redonnet also said that, when considering sanctions against Russia, the European Commission ran several simulations, including the impact of a full embargo, and considered Russia's dependence on G7 countries when identifying the items to be subject to export controls43. It is not hard to imagine that the results of these analyses were shared between the US and Europe to design actual export control measures. It seems that the US-EU TTC played a key role in the rapid and smooth implementation of this unprecedented large-scale export control cooperation across the Atlantic. Unlike the case of strengthening export controls on Huawei in 2020, which brought about the extraterritorial application of export control measures by the US government, the US-EU TTC enabled the US and Europe to cooperate in export controls on Russia. This was also important to avoid unnecessary tensions between the US and the EU, Redonnet said44.
On the other hand, the Indo-Pacific region does not have a sufficient institutional framework to coordinate the Export Controls on Russia. To be sure, Japan and the US have a framework to support export control coordination. On April 8, 2022, a sub-ministerial-level meeting of the Japan-US Commercial and Industrial Partnership (JUCIP) was held at which export controls, as well as semiconductors and the digital economy, were discussed45. In November 2021, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda and US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo agreed to establish JUCIP with the aim of promoting cooperation with like-minded countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific region, on strengthening the industrial competitiveness of Japan and the US and on strengthening supply chains46. In addition, Japan, the US and Europe have held trilateral meetings of trade ministers that provide a basis for promoting international cooperation. However, they have not extended this framework of Japan, the US and Europe to include countries from the Indo-Pacific region. It is also unclear whether these forums have working groups or other bodies dedicated to export control. The absence of an institutionalized platform for coordinating export controls among Japan, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Korea may be the reason it is difficult for the region to demonstrate strong leadership in international export control cooperation or to launch its own initiatives.
As described above, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Japan, the US, European countries, Australia and other governments have implemented the large-scale Export Controls on Russia. The effective and prompt deployment of the Export Controls on Russia was underpinned by the coordination of export controls among multiple governments. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Borman expressed his gratitude for the partnership with governments and companies in the Asia-Pacific region and stated that he hoped to continue to expand the "coalition" imposing the Export Controls on Russia47. It can be seen there that he is looking at the export control framework in the context of relations with China. "As much as the Russia crisis has occupied us these last couple of months, we have not diverted from our other national security priorities, and the modernization of China's military is the national security priority for us," Kendler said48. Below I would like to explore the issues and implications for the Asia-Pacific region rather than simply summarizing this paper.
The first issue concerns Taiwan and Singapore. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan and Singapore have taken a stance to align themselves to the export controls by the US and other countries. On February 25, Su Tseng-chang, the premier of Taiwan, announced that the Taiwanese authorities would be joining in the economic sanctions against Russia49. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), the largest semiconductor manufacturing company in the world, announced its intention to comply with the Export Controls on Russia50. "TSMC's exit from the Russia market has cut off the Moscow Center of SPARC Technologies' access to Elbrus chips, which are widely used in Russian intelligence and military systems," Kendler said51. TSMC also builds the latest Baikal microprocessor, widely used in many Russian-made computers and servers52. It is significant that Taiwan and TSMC are in tandem with the Export Controls on Russia.
The Singapore government in early March also announced details of sanctions against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. These measures included a ban on the export and re-export of electronics and other products to Russia53. Although Singapore, a transit point for international trade, is not a member of the existing multilateral export control regimes (Australia Group [AG], Missile Technology Control Regime [MTCR], Nuclear Suppliers Group [NSG], Wassenaar Arrangement [WA]), it is an important country for multilateral export control because it places the items covered by these regimes on its export control list. It is important for enhancing the effectiveness of export controls to include Taiwan (and TSMC), which dominates the pre-processes in the semiconductor value chain, and Singapore, which is a logistics hub. However, when the US government referred to "the Global Export Controls Coalition," it did not mention Taiwan or Singapore as members. Washington has also not explicitly said that it would treat Taiwan and Singapore as exempt from the FDP rules. Dealing with Taiwan and Singapore within the framework of international export controls will be a critical issue.
The second is the treatment of India. As is well known, the Indian government has taken a passive stance toward sanctions against Russia, including its abstention on the February 25 UN Security Council resolution, and has shown no signs of supporting the Export Controls on Russia by Japan, the United States and Europe. Therefore, European Commission CTEO Redonnet was cautious about the possibility of extending cooperation at the US-EU TTC beyond the transatlantic effort. It is not easy to get countries such as India and China to join hands, he said54. The Indian government's stance on sanctions against Russia, including export controls, may have an impact on India's economic security policy. In some cases, this could cast a dark shadow over the path of foreign support for India's semiconductor industry. There is a possibility that Japan, the US, Europe, Taiwan and others may be reluctant to support the development of the Indian semiconductor industry by judging that the development of the Indian semiconductor industry will eventually contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of Russia's military capabilities. India, a member of the Quad consisting of Japan, the US, Australia and India, will have to make a difficult decision between continuing cooperation with Russia and fostering domestic semiconductors.
However, there are signs that India is gradually reducing its dependence on Russia. For example, some in the US believe that India will ultimately choose the US over Russia. Derek Chollet, Counselor of the US Department of State, said he did not expect Russia to be a reliable partner for India for the foreseeable future because "[with regard to] the export control against Russia... Russia's inability to import key technologies to be able to make certain products, including some of its military hardware, are going to mean that it's going to have a hard time even getting the capability to replace or to produce this kind of material. So, any way you look at it in terms of actual capability, in terms of the difficulty of doing business with Russia, in terms of the reputation costs associated, Russia is just a far less attractive partner55." The India-EU TTC, agreed on April 25 by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could be a touchstone for India's future economic security policy. According to a press release, "[t]his strategic coordination mechanism will allow both partners to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security, and thus deepen cooperation in these fields between the EU and India," and "[e]stablishing the EU-India Trade and Technology Council is a key step towards a strengthened strategic partnership for the benefit of all peoples in the EU and India56." Certainly, it is unclear whether the India-EU TTC will contribute to the coordination of export control policies at a level comparable to that of the US-EU TTC. However, the India-EU TTC could be seen as an attempt to institutionalize cooperation between India and the EU in the areas of trade, technology and security, and to reduce India's relative dependence on Russia.
The third concerns plurilateral measures. In this case, plurilateral measures are measures based on a framework of countries sharing common interests and values. In June 2021, the Japanese government announced that it would "[a]im for the early realization of a new security trade control framework that complements the existing international export control regimes57." In March 2022, the US Department of Commerce announced in its strategic plan for fiscal 2022-26 that it would "expand plurilateral and bilateral cooperation with allies and like-minded countries specific to export control policy and information sharing58." As mentioned earlier, several plurilateral frameworks served to enhance international cooperation on the Export Controls on Russia. The first is what the US calls "the Global Export Controls Coalition." Initially, thirty-three countries - the Five Eyes countries, 27 EU countries, and Japan - were members of the Coalition. Since then, countries such as South Korea and Switzerland have joined and, as of this writing, thirty-eight countries have joined the Global Export Controls Coalition. The US-EU TTC also made a significant contribution to the coordination of export controls across the Atlantic.
Such plurilateral frameworks for the Export Controls on Russia may develop into a framework that goes beyond export controls toward Russia and Belarus. In this case, the list of controlled items, the list of controlled entities, the adjustment of licensing policies, and the exchange of information will be conducted based on the experience of the Export Controls on Russia. The know-how and experience gained by the US-EU TTC during this crisis may be appropriated, and the number of participating members may increase or decrease. Nazak Nikakhtar, a former US Commerce Department official, said the success of international cooperation in such areas as export controls on Russia could serve as a model for future export controls on China59. In this regard, Assistant Secretary Kendler said "we share a purpose beyond that of responding to Putin's war" and "[we] are looking to build on the relationships that have developed in the last weeks60." In fact, there seems to be a movement to further develop export controls in the US-EU TTC, which was advanced in response to the Ukraine crisis. Speaking in the European Parliament on March 22, European Commission Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis said: "On export controls, we continue to push in Working Group 7 for more coherence in our policies, and for information exchanges, including on critical technologies61." Commerce Secretary Raimondo also highlighted the US-EU TTC Working Group on Export Control Cooperation when he met with European Commission Executive Vice-President Charles Dombrovskis on April 2162.
There are also those who expect the Biden administration's "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)" to play a role. Although the details remain unclear as of this writing, IPEF is an Asia-Pacific trade and economic initiative announced by President Biden in October 2021. For example, Yeo Han-koo, South Korea's Minister for Trade, proposed that the US-EU TTC be used as a reference point for export control cooperation by IPEF members63. The argument is that the IPEF should deal with export controls based on the model of the US-EU TTC. There are US companies as well advocating that the IPEF deal with export controls. For example, Intel pointed out that export controls in the IPEF would ensure the protection of international security and support for a level playing field globally, and noted that "[t]he IPEF presents an opportunity for the countries to work together to coordinate export control policy" in public comments to the US Department of Commerce64. In addition, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), and other organizations have also made recommendations to the US Department of Commerce regarding issues and points to consider in handling export controls in IPEF65. The key to these discussions was that the IPEF's handling of export controls would enable the implementation of export controls in a multifaceted manner, which would be expected to have a security effect and avoid unilateral US regulation. This reflects US industry's desire to avoid being put at a disadvantage in the international business arena.
Considering the above, multiple export control platforms could be developed that would give rise to an institutional complex of export controls. In addition to the Global Export Controls Coalition, the US-EU TTC, the India-EU TTC, and the IPEF, the "Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative" announced last December also merits attention. These plurilateral measures could have their own respective purposes. Governments may find themselves forum-shopping across multiple export control platforms. The relationship with existing multilateral export control regimes (NSG, AG, MTCR, WA) may also be questioned.
At this point, it is difficult to say with any confidence what form the international cooperation on export control will take in the future. However, there is no doubt that the large-scale Export Controls on Russia that were promptly developed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine had a significant impact on the international alignment of export controls, which in turn will affect not only international and national security but also the state of the international economy, including the restructuring of supply chains. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the development of various frameworks for international alignment in export control.
(This is an English translation of the original Japanese version published on April 27, 2022)
* After this original Japanese version was published, the 2nd meeting of the US-EU TTC was held in Paris on May 16 and IPEF was launched in Tokyo on May 24.


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Multiple news reports have been urging consumers to avoid ignoring the Takata air bag-related recalls many automakers have been launching.
Unfortunately for many drivers who are not aware of auto recalls, they often end up getting injured in crashes caused by equipment failure simply because they were never personally alerted. Consumers who own used or older cars often get recall announcements a bit too late. That’s why following the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s reports is so important.
The Takata air bag recalls that have been haunting so many Americans continue to spread.
The latest companies to have expanded their Takata air bag recalls include Volkswagen, BMW, and Daimler. Now, General Motors has joined the group.
According to a series of news reports, the NHTSA along with General Motors reported that a recall impacting Saab and Saturn vehicles tied to Takata air bags has been launched.
The recalled vehicles come with Takata PSDI-5 front driver-side air bag inflators that could explode with too much force. If that’s the case, the inflators may rupture, and the several metal parts may fly into the air, hitting a passenger or the driver. Depending on how the impact incident takes place, the victim may experience serious or even deadly injuries.
So far, at least 10 deaths have been linked to the Takata air bag issue. Over one hundred of injuries have also been linked to the defective air bag inflator. Recently, BMW, Volkswagen, and Daimler launched recalls associated with Takata air bag inflators that could explode. Now GM has added about 200,000 vehicles to the list of cars fitted with potentially defective and deadly air bag inflators, which already contains 5 million units.
The recalled vehicles listed under GM’s latest recall include the 2003 through 2011 Saab 9-3, the 2010 and 2011 Saab 9-5, and the 2008 and 2009 Saturn Astras.
Consumers should be contacted by the company about this recall, but if you have one of the recalled vehicles and you would like to know what you should do to have this issue addressed, contact the manufacturer immediately to learn more about how you should proceed to have this issue addressed.
Many automakers have been struggling to produce enough remedies for the impacted vehicles. Until all units are fixed, drivers are traveling on vehicles that could expose major injury risks.
For more on this particular recall and how to have this issue addressed immediately, follow this link for the full report.


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lg and google mobile phones
Google focus on mobile phone software development and lg mobile phone first to push Andrews 7.0LG has announced earlier this year, the sale of the G5 mobile phone will be upgraded to the Andrews 7.0 version. The upgrade will first start in the Korean region, after a few weeks time will gradually in North America, Asia and other regions on the phone to push.
September release of the V20 model is following the V10 after the LG flagship machine, the initial operating system is Andrews 7.0. Which also became the first version 7.0 operating system on the phone with. Google even give up their own mobile phone brand Nexus of the first opportunity to honor the Google focus on the development of software systems promise, but also shows the intensity of competition in mobile hardware, the real profit margins are limited.


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KVD Vegan Beauty’s name is *not* a reference to original founder Kat Von D, according to a confusing statement
Update, January 30th, 2020, 11:12 a.m. ET: Our matte lipsticked mouths fell open when we heard that Kat Von D was leaving her namesake brand, Kat Von D Beauty. And now, the brand’s parent company, Kendo (which also oversees Fenty Beauty), is giving additional information about where the makeup line will go now—including what its new name means.
On January 16th, we reported that Kat Von D Beauty would henceforth be called “KVD Vegan Beauty.” Of course, it seems natural to reference the original founder, muse, and namesake. However, Kendo is making it clear that “KVD” does not stand for “Kat Von D.” Say what?
"The KVD in our new name KVD Vegan Beauty stands for our ethos and new manifesto! It does NOT stand for a person's initials. We believe in Kindness, Vegan Beauty + Discovery (and Doing good). Check out our manifesto."
So, the name is “Kindness, Vegan Beauty + Discovery (and Doing good) Vegan Beauty.” Officially. It makes sense that the brand is moving on from its founder as it already said that she would not be involved “in any capacity.” However, the initials are still in the Kat Von D tattoo-reminiscent font. So, maybe it’s more referential that Kendo wants to admit.
But moving on from that, frankly, odd statement, Kendo is spilling about what we can expect from the existing, iconic makeup products. The new brand will keep the “amazing, award-winning formulas” 100% the same. Phew!
Original post, January 16th, 2020: Beauty lovers, you’re about to see a major change in the Sephora aisles. After 12 years at the helm, Kat Von D announced that she’s leaving her eponymous makeup brand and has sold her remaining shares to Kendo, the brand’s parent company. In an official press release, Refinery29 reports, Kendo confirmed that Von D “will no longer be involved with the brand ‘in any capacity,’” and the brand will be renamed KVD Vegan Beauty. Kat Von D Beauty has already updated its website to reflect the shift in ownership.
The tattooist-turned-entrepreneur took to her Instagram to announce the news to her followers. She wrote that “this past year has been one of great change for me,” and ultimately decided to step away from her makeup brand to focus on new projects, including her vegan shoe line, her forthcoming album, and an international tour. She’s also prioritizing her son, Leafar, to whom she gave birth in November 2018.
“As much as I wish I could balance all of this, on top of continuing my makeup line, it has become clear to me that I just can’t do everything at the maximum capacity, she wrote. “It's hard to admit this, since I’ve always said “You can do everything and anything. But I don’t think admitting one's limits is a bad thing.
During her tenure as Kat Von D Beauty’s leader, Von D turned her company into one of Sephora’s most successful brands—a win for both women entrepreneurs and for vegan and cruelty-free beauty.
Kat Von D wasn’t just extremely involved in creating and promoting her makeup products; the entire brand identity was inspired by her personal style. According to LVMH’s website, a “Sephora beauty authority” approached Von D about creating a makeup line after she saw beauty lovers imitating Von D’s iconic red lip and winged eyeliner. Her now-iconic Studded Kiss Creme lipstick (which our editors adore) was designed to mimic the tattoo artist’s favorite studded cuff bracelet. Von D has always been both a savvy entrepreneur and ultimately her own brand’s number-one muse.
But Von D has also drawn her fair share of controversy, most notably allegations that she’s anti-Semitic and an anti-vaxxer. She released a YouTube video denying those allegations, but a wave of Von D’s former fans boycotted her products in response.
In her announcement, Von D only expressed gratitude for her fans, without whom, she says, “I just couldn’t have done any of this.”
“I'd like to thank my beloved fans+followers who supported my vision to create a brand that stood for compassion, true artistry, and challenged modern ideals of beauty—most of which I never could relate to," she wrote. "I was able to create a makeup line that made outsiders like me feel like we have a place in this 'beauty' world, and gave myself and others the tools to express ourselves in our own unique way, whether it was embraced by the majority or not.
As KVD Vegan Beauty, the brand will continue Von D’s commitment to producing vegan, cruelty-free, high-performing beauty products. It’ll keep manufacturing Kat Von D’s existing range—including cult-favorites Tattoo Liner and Lock-It Tattoo Foundation—and, starting this year, it will also develop and release brand-new products. We’ll be keeping tabs on KVD Vegan Beauty’s growth and evolution.


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Going into 2020, perhaps the biggest question in the European market was whether automakers would meet their CO2 emissions targets under a new corporate average of 95 grams per km. A miss could mean millions or even billions of euros in fines imposed by the European Union.
So far, only Volkswagen Group has said that it fell short, although Jaguar Land Rover has set aside money for fines, and Ford is said to be at risk, too. It will probably be a while before we know the complete list of winners and losers.
But among the brands and groups that are expected to have hit their targets, there is an unlikely contender for top honors (outside of EV-only Tesla and probably Smart): DS.
The upscale brand created by PSA Group in 2014 says its 2020 fleet emissions were just 82.6 g/km.
“It’s huge,” DS product director Marion David said about DS being more than 10 g/km below the fleet average.
DS only sells two models and both are offered with electrified powertrains, which were in high demand last year.
The DS 3 small SUV is available in a full-electric version, which David said accounted for 25 percent of all orders in 2020 (19,311 total were sold in Europe, according to JATO Dynamics). The electric version also qualifies for emissions supercredits under EU regulations, magnifying the impact of those sales.
The DS 7 compact SUV has a plug-in hybrid option, which also qualified for supercredits, and one-third of buyers took that option, David said. There were 24,038 DS 7s sold last year, according to JATO.
All told, DS sold about 12,000 full-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles last year, out of more than 43,000 total sales.
The brand’s electrified sales easily outpaced those of Europe overall, where about 10 percent of all vehicles were either full-electric or plug-in hybrid variants.


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Cream City Swirl, 2663 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., opened on Sunday, April 20 – which was Easter – and owner Susan Nolan says it has been a whirlwind of excitement ever since.
Last summer, Nolan took over the space, which was formerly a salon called Hair Arkitekts, after a couple of years of researching the concept.
Cream City Swirl offers weigh-and-pay yogurt, gelato, made-to-order crepes and Stone Creek Coffee.
Nolan, with the help of other professionals, completely remodeled the space which feels modern and spacious yet cozy.
One wall features custom-designed wallpaper with words such as "swirl," "Bay View," "muy bueno" and "indulge" and the ceiling is adorned with 16 vintage-looking mirrors. The pleasing periwinkle-painted chairs actually made me crave sweets. (Good job, Susan.)
There’s also a fireplace and, later this spring, there will be a patio.
Cream City features four frozen yogurt machines with three flavors each – the middle machine offers a swirl of flavors. Nolan uses a different yogurt company than most of the yogurt spots in Milwaukee: Honey Hill Farms based in Arkansas.
"I was looking for very high end ingredients," she says.
There are 18 cold toppings and 10 dry toppings to choose from, including fruit, nuts and candy. The yogurt is sold by weight and costs 47 cents per ounce.
Nolan says she enjoys seeing the different combinations people choose for their yogurt toppings – particularly kids.
"Sometimes, with kids you want to ask, 'Where's the yogurt?’" she says.
Cream City Swirl offers the locally-made La Coppa gelato in five different flavors. "The raspberry flavor is over half raspberries," says Nolan. "It’s all very natural."
The made-to-order crepes are available with golden, chocolate or gluten-free batter. Customers can build their own or pick one from the menu such as the KK Classic that’s topped with lemon, butter and sugar and costs $4.50.
The Vanguard will soon open next door and Nolan says the beer-cocktail-sausage-poutine-and-sandwich shop is going to be a great fit for a neighbor.
Someday, Nolan says she plans to offer hot chocolate, more coffee drinks and, possibly, sandwiches.
"We’re taking baby steps for now, she says. "Big, big baby steps."
Nolan has lived in Bay View for 28 years and has two teenaged daughters, one of whom works at the shop. Nolan worked as a professional art teacher for years, but after being laid off, decided to try a completely new career path.
"I felt I needed to reinvent myself and try something I always wanted to do," she says. "And what I’m finding so far is that this is a really happy place."
Cream City Swirl is open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturdays. The hours may expand this summer.
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Smilegate, Korea-based maker of hardcore online games such as Crossfire, this morning announced a $112 million buyout of 20 percent of social gaming company Sundaytoz (123420:KOSDAQ). That makes Smilegate the largest stake holder in Sundaytoz, developer of the hugely popular Anipang.
Smilegate is one of the most successful players in the Korean online gaming industry. For the last last two consecutive years Smilegate has been the proud owner and developer of the world’s highest grossing online game – yes, Crossfire – with revenues of over US$1 billion in 2012 and 2013.
SundayToz got a huge boost in the summer of 2012 when the Korean messaging app KakaoTalk launched its social gaming integration. That propelled Anipang to the top of the gaming charts in South Korea. The developer’s latest game is the sequel, Alipang 2.
The investment has been made to combine the casual mobile game line-up of Sundaytoz with the global know-how of Smilegate, presumably with the aim of bringing Korea’s most successful mobile games to an international audience.
The deal creates an interesting intersection of online and mobile gaming. At a time when PC gaming is waning, this strategy will strengthen Smilegate, and it shows that gaming heavyweights need to expand their capabilities and embrace mobile in the fast-changing gaming world.
Smilegate was founded in 2002, while SundayToz started up in 2009.


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“Fan Apps” Now Spreading on the Android Market
We’re seeing more and more scams on the Android Market. Last week, we wrote about a developer that uses popular app names to trick users into downloading fake ones. Before that, we saw a fake Temple Run app making the rounds on the Android Market. This time, we saw 37 more apps that share a similar behavior as the previously reported ones. These are “fan apps,” which means that these aren’t the real game created by the original developer.
I noticed something odd just by looking at the fan apps’ web page. The developer’s website leads to dead links such as a.com site and a misspelled Google domain (it was spelled googel.com).
Another thing I noticed was that all the listed apps have the same screenshot. Once installed, the app forces the user to share it on Facebook (if installed) and give it a rating on the Android Market. It also aggressively displays ads as notifications and creates shortcuts on the infected device’s home screen.
The bigger problem, however, lies in the fact that the apps send sensitive information to particular remote servers. The information that gets sent out includes its OS version, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), and phone number, to name a few. Once any of these apps are run, the aforementioned information are immediately sent to the servers.
There is an option to stop the advertisements. However, users are likely to miss and ignore it since it’s hidden in the app’s description page on the site.
Never Shun the Opt-out Option
We took the initiative and reported these apps to Google a few days ago. They responded positively and took them off the Android Market.
However, the apps being taken off the Android Market does not eliminate this threat entirely. Cybercriminals can still choose to upload them to other sites such as third-party app stores, forums, and others. Nonetheless, regardless of where cybercriminals upload them, Trend Micro will still detect them as ANDROIDOS_FAKEAPP.SM.
Quite obviously, this trend of apps being equipped with aggressive advertising methods — especially those related to search monetization — will be seen for quite a while. Thus, users are advised to be extra careful when installing apps. To read more about this, users may refer to our previous blog entry Search Monetization as a New Threat to the Mobile Platform.
Trend Micro already protects against this threat. However, user education is still valuable in protecting your mobile devices from such attacks. Users may read more about mobile threats and tips on how to protect their mobile devices thru our Mobile Threat Information Hub.
Post from: TrendLabs | Malware Blog – by Trend Micro


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Xbox Game Pass es rentable, according to Phil Spencer, and accounts for roughly “10 to 15 percent” of Microsoft’s gaming revenue. Nevertheless, growth is slowing and price increases are possible.
In a Wall Street Journal Live segment, picked up by journalist Tom Warren, Spencer shed more light on the subscription service, saying that it is currently profitable. Nevertheless, Game Pass could be reaching a user saturation point.
“We’re seeing incredible growth on PC…on console I’ve seen the growth slow down, mainly because at some point you’ve reached everyone on console who wants to subscribe,” Spencer said.
Phil Spencer confirms at WSJ Live that Xbox Game Pass is profitable for Microsoft. It’s around 15% of gaming revenues for Microsoft
“I think it will stay in that 10-15% of our overall revenue, and it’s profitable for us.”
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 26, 2022
spencer too hinted at possible price increases, either on Xbox Game Pass or on the consoles themselves. While Sony has recently raised PS5 prices in many territories, Xbox has refrained from following suit.
“I think at some point we’re going to have to raise prices on certain things, but going into this Christmas we thought it was important to keep prices down,” Spencer said. “We have maintained the price of our console, we have maintained the price of the games… and our subscription. I don’t think we can always do it. I do think that at some point we will have to raise some prices on certain things…”
Spencer’s remarks were part of a wide-ranging discussion, with topics such as the future of Call of Duty and the Metaverse. It comes on the heels of Microsoft’s recent earnings report, in which Xbox posted strong sales despite supply chain issues. Xbox has refused to reveal figures for subscriptions or revenue for the service, but some media outlets have reported that it could be as high as $3 billion.
All of this comes against the backdrop of Xbox’s current attempt to push its deal with Activision Blizzard through various regulatory bodies around the world, most notably the UK Competition and Markets Authority. If it goes ahead, it is expected to do so sometime in 2023.


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The new second-generation Nissan Leaf is proving to be a fast seller at Courtesy Garage Ltd weeks after the government introduced a cost-cutting policy on electric vehicles (EVs).
During the launch of the vehicle at the Wildey dealership, St Michael yesterday, Regional Product Manager, Vehicle Sales, Samuel Gaston said the majority of vehicles the company has recently imported have sold.
“The interest has been huge since the announcement last month… I did a check yesterday (Wednesday) and 95% of what we have on the ground is booked to go,” he said .
Last month, the company, in a press release, announced that it had received a shipment of about ten vehicles with 60 more on the way.
During the financial statement and budget proposals on Monday March 14, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that from April 1, an excise tax and value added tax holiday on electric vehicles would come into effect. for 24 months. (SB)
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Consumers may be scrambling for last minute holiday gifts, but our attention is already focused on the new year.
Read This Article
This could have been the year that the Toyota Camry took a chance.
For a car that costs a mere $24,000, the rich sure love to flock to the Toyota Prius.
While the average person doesn’t stay awake at night wishing the United States would get the same vehicles offered in Europe, auto enthusiasts have many sleepless nights because of this, and not just because of the crazy exotics.