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Cranston, RI-based jeweler and décor merchant Ross-Simons has launched two new titles. Last month it mailed Via, which sells fashion-forward jewelry. And this month it introduced Global Treasures, specializing in jewelry and gifts from around the world.
Via mailed in early March to 1.1 million customers and prospects, primarily women 30-50 years old who have an average annual income of $60,000. This audience is both younger and less affluent than the typical Ross-Simons customer, a 58-year-old woman with an average income of $120,000-$150,000. “We identified a new customer segment that we weren’t capturing,” says Ross-Simons director of merchandising Patricia Ginesky.
Ginesky describes Via as “chic, trendy, stylish, edgy, teetering on a little sexy.” With items such as Italian gold hoop earrings for $275 and multistoned necklaces from $225 to $395, Via moves away from Ross-Simons’s more traditional, conservative offerings of cultured pearl bracelets and rainbow butterfly pins.
Ross-Simons dropped 865,000 copies of its other new title, Global Treasures, this month. It plans to follow up in mid-May with a mailing of 735,000. So far the book is going primarily to customers, says senior marketing director John Buleza. Items range from hammered-silver cuff bracelets from Israel that sell for $127.50 to a pink-tourmaline-and-diamond necklace from India for $2,995. A smattering of non-jewelry items for travelers are also included, such as a $299.95 cashmere travel kit that includes a throw, a pillow cover, socks, and an eye mask.
At the same time it launched the titles, Ross-Simons also killed two others: Gift Book Digest and Fashion Preview.


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- Rudeness of Hong Kong Locals vs. Pinoy Azkals Fans Rooted in Manila Hostage Crisis — Fan
- Philippine Azkals Beat Hong Kong 1 – 0 in International Friendly
- Hong Kong OFW Shares OEC Ordeal in Manila
- Pinoys in HK Seeking Jobs in Canada File Complaints Against Pacific Management
- Philippine Flag Day at Site Where First PHL Flag Was Sewn
- 157 HK-based OFWs Pass Teacher Licensure Exams
- Despite Complainant’s Retraction, POEA Cancels License Of Erring Recruiter Deploying HSWs To Hong Kong
- HK Foreign Domestic Workers to Demand $4,500 Wage
- Pinoy Tourists in HK Deny Using Fake Credit Cards
- All Pro Staffing, ABC Manpower Agency Lose License Over Excessive Fees
Stay for Good, Ex-OFW Business Execs Advise
ONLY sixth sense can help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to succeed in business: common sense.
That’s according to Miguel Bolos Jr., a former OFW who now runs a shopping mall and spa after a quarter of a century of working in Saudi Arabia.
Bolos said that sense applies to the OFW’s decision to come home and stay home in the Philippines.
For Bolos, the doing began a quarter of a century ago when he worked as a financial comptroller in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But that length of being away may have also become the death knell for his marriage.
He brushes the latter aside, saying he has moved on.
The sign that he did so was when he spent time managing businesses such as a three-storey shopping mall in his hometown of Guagua, Pampanga, and a spa in Pasay City since returning to the Philippines in 2005.
“[OFWs should] not make the mistake of being an absentee investor because, in all probability, the business will not prosper,” Bolos said.
If an OFW wants to succeed in business, it’s only “common sense” that he or she stays home for good, he added.
Bolos’s advice comes at a time when a strong peso has weakened the value of remittances amid an upswing in local business.
Exporters, even of electronic products, are even unfazed as a weakening greenback further fueled the Philippine peso to maintain its strength at a two-year high.
In its Business Optimism Index released October, Dun & Bradstreet’s data revealed exports were up more than 33 percent for the third quarter, similar to the pace in the April-June period.
The D&B BOI, which measures optimism of business leaders and owners, revealed six sectors positive of volume of sales, at over 60 percent of the 260 companies polled. Only those in the construction sector were below 50 percent, as a slowdown in public construction is likely a fourth quarter expectation.
A former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia, Teresita Perez-Villanueva, manages the family-run Pervil Cosmetics Philippines that produces facial products. It takes patience while in the country.
However, Catholic church-based Scalabrini Migration Center said that for Filipinos thinking of returning home, the time’s not now.
“Return migration by OFWs is not viable at this point,” the SMC said in its study titled “Realizing Migration and Development in the Philippines.”
“It was not realistic to encourage return migration at this time —or until such time that the local economy can offer alternatives to overseas jobs.”
“[Coming home for good] is a ‘do-or-die‘ situation.”
But former KSA-based nurse Teresita Perez Villanueva said there is no such thing as a “better” time to come home and go into business.
Villanueva, who has been running a cosmetics company since 2002, said risks are always present in business, whether it be in countries like the Philippines or elsewhere.
She cited as example the proliferation of local imitations of her Pervil-brand whitening cream, which angered customers some of who aired their complaints in national television.
Bolos, on the other hand, cited also his problem of lack of tenants after having shelled out P20 million to own a third of the shares of the P60-million One Crowne Plaza in Guagua in 2007.
Villanueva was unfazed with the flak fake products did to her brand and personally invited the TV host and crew to visit her factory in Cabanatuan City.
She also changed her product’s packaging to make it difficult for imitators to copy Pervil.
Bolos, on the other hand, continued to market his space for lease.
Now, the mall has leased all available spaces to mostly local entrepreneurs, including former OFWs.
Still, Bolos said he has yet to generate profit since he continues to pay for monthly debts.
These business-related situations thus become difficult for OFWs to run homeland businesses from abroad, and letting relatives at home handle problems, he added.
Or handle the demand, as Villanueva said what prompted her to quit her job eight years ago and go home.
Different from Bolos, she got the idea to go serious in business when, according to her, a Saudi prince grew a liking to her skin whitening cream and orders swelled.
She said her husband handled the marketing side in the Philippines.
The business growth brought her to a crossroad of whether to come home or not.
THE experiences of Bolos and Villanueva only reveal that OFWs still need sound business advice and training, especially if most of them have limited knowledge in starting or growing a business, according to Nueva Ecija-based rural banker Andres Panganiban, Jr.
“Remember, when they come back,” Panganiban says, “it is for good.”
However, recent studies by the nonprofit Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos (Ercof) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) showed that some Filipinos want to go back to overseas work.
In particular, the studies by Ercof and IOM showed that while many Filipino workers in Malaysia and Italy want to go into business upon their retirement, a visible number surveyed want to continue working overseas “after ‘retiring’.”
This finding is supported by government data, like the Cebu City-headquartered Philippine Cooperative Central Fund Federation (PCF).
Those who mix up profits of their businesses with daily family expenses were among OFWs who availed of loans from a government-bankrolled enterprise loan program of the PCF. But after securing credit, they returned to overseas work.
PCF officials said its Livelihood Development Program for OFWs, with funds coming from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), is trying to find out how to bring down the high number of OFW entrepreneurs with past due loans.
Bolos, however, said returning to overseas work is “not a sensible idea.”
The entrepreneur must be on top of his or her business, doing the daily grind and personally handling the problems associated with running it, he said.
For Villanueva, it takes patience to grow the business.
She said her business began from a makeshift laboratory near her house in Cabanatuan City.
Slowly, she hired workers. Now, Pervil –a combination of the couple’s surnames– is tapping export markets such as the United States, Canada, and some countries in the Middle East.
Dreams of entrepreneurial success, many times aspired by cash-awash OFWs, require a life-changing moment: coming back home to the Philippines, for good, according to Bolos.

domain: news


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“The Zeven core is performance sports apparel, designed specifically for the Indian body type, weather conditions and terrain. Zeven’s quality product offerings at affordable prices have worked exceptionally well for us. We also have a large sports inspired and active lifestyle product range. We will continue to build on this and provide more options for our customers to pick from,” Poojaa Kumar Deepak, leader - marketing, Zeven told Fibre2Fashion in an exclusive interview.
The company recently launched its exclusive brand store in Bangalore and plans to expand its footprint by launching more stores across regions.
Talking about Zeven’s latest cricket-inspired collection – My Cricket Style, Poojaa Kumar said, “The collection is broadly divided into MCS Pro and MCS Youth. The MCS Pro collection represents the professional cricketer, while the youth collection represents the young budding players. The Pro and Youth collections are further available in two variants, Classic and Modern. While the Classic collection draws its inspiration from the tradition and heritage of the game, the Modern collection represents the current trends in the game, contemporary yet aggressive.”
An all new run apparel collection by Zeven is also lined up for launch and the company plans to further strengthen its portfolio in 2017.
When asked about the influence of fast fashion on the company’s collections, she said, “Zeven’s focus is on performance sports apparels and footwear. Fashion changes fast but the requirements of an athlete or sport are not completely governed by it. While fashion would have a lot of influence on the colours and designs, when it comes to technology and performance, it does not necessarily follow fashion trends but innovations.”
As per a report by Allied Market Research, the global sports apparel market is expected to grow to $184 billion by 2020 at a CAGR of 4.3 per cent during the forecast period of 2015- 2020. Aisa-Pacific is also expected to lead revenue generation in the sector by 2020. This along with the a 70 per cent rise in the income level by 2020, an influx of 100 million youth into the workforce and an expected growth in disposable income of India are likely to fuel the market growth for sports apparel industry, according to her.
Zeven’s target is to achieve revenues of Rs 15 to 20 crore in this fiscal and double its business by next year, concluded Poojaa. (KD)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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Elon Musk has been on the crypto hype train over the last few weeks. He’s been publicly showing support on his Twitter page for Doge. This has led to large increases in the value of the coin. While his constant mentioning of the crypto has obviously been a driver of the price increase, the number […]
Search Results for: musk
The host of a popular Youtube channel posts a video committing to a gigantic order of Tesla Model 3’s, if Elon Musk opens up business to another crypto currency. It wasn’t that long ago that Elon Musk announced that Tesla would begin to accept BTC as payment for their popular cars and the crypto world […]
TIME Magazine and WeWork join the digital currency trend by enabling crypto payment options for their services, alongside other industry giants like PayPal, Venmo and Tesla. Could these companies be the influencers cryptocurrency needs to gain worldwide recognition?
Don’t let the opportunity to snag a brand new Tesla Model 3 slip through your fingers. Get in on the action and swing by BitStarz Casino for the keys to your very own dream machine. It’s the Hottest Ticket in Town Celebrating its 7th birthday, BitStarz Casino is turning up the heat! For those of […]
PayPal has announced its Checkout with Crypto service which allows U.S customers to make cryptocurrency purchases from 29 million of PayPal’s global merchants. The adoption of cryptocurrency payment methods is ever-growing, and now PayPal are one of the largest financial service companies to go the crypto route.
Elon Musk has spoken once again and gives the green light to the world to buy their new favorite Tesla and use cryptocurrency as payment. News Breaking Tweet When Elon Musk speaks, the world listens and that’s exactly what happened when Musk sent out his news breaking tweet “You can now buy a Tesla with […]
How far will the crypto community go? BitClout is a social media network where users can buy and sell celebrity NFTs where the value increases and decreases as per the reputation of the celebrity. What’s more, is that these celebrities like Elon Musk, did not have to consent to this commoditization of his image.
Twitter got hacked, and the media wants you to think it was Bitcoin, but your Bitcoin is as safe as houses!
Instead of Bitcoin getting hacked, a centralized database used by Twitter was compromised
By Jakob — Published April 29, 2020 Quickspin is a Swedish game development studio that has offices also in Malta, Kiev, Ukraine and Stockholm, Sweden. Quickspin was founded in 2011 by three (anonymous) guys in Stockholm who decided it was time to start creating the games they like to play themselves according to Quickspin website. […]


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BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,9TH JUNE,2022-TikTok, a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese company ByteDance has unveiled two new practical tools aimed at assisting the user to feel more in control while on the App .According to the statement released by the founder on Thursday, the two tools are:
- screen time breaks that will prompt people to take a break after a certain amount of uninterrupted screen time, which can be custom set;
- a screen time dashboard to give our community oversight on how much time they are spending on TikTok.
- A new digital well-being guide on our Safety Centre to encourage our community to reflect more holistically about how they spend their time online – whether on TikTok or elsewhere.
Tiktok hosts a variety of short-form user videos, from genres like pranks, stunts, tricks, jokes, dance, and entertainment with durations from 15 seconds to ten minutes.


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Signage is displayed exterior a Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. restaurant in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, July 20, 2020. Chipotle is scheduled to launch earnings figures on July 22.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Check out the businesses making headlines in noon buying and selling.
Chipotle Mexican Grill– Shares of Chipotle surged more than 14.7% after the restaurant chain reported quarterly earnings Tuesday after the bell. Profits improved largely because of value hikes to offset inflation, and the corporate stated one other enhance is coming in August. UBS on Wednesday reiterated Chipotle as a purchase following the outcomes.
Alphabet — The Google guardian jumped 7.7% after displaying sturdy year-over-year search income progress within the latest quarter. Despite a miss on the highest and backside strains, outcomes had been higher than feared.
Microsoft — The Windows and Xbox maker climbed more than 6.7% after issuing a rosy revenue forecast for the yr forward. However, Microsoft reported quarterly outcomes that missed analysts’ expectations on each its high and backside strains. Microsoft turned within the slowest income progress since 2020, at 12% year-over-year, within the second quarter.
Shopify — Shopify superior 11.7% though the e-commerce platform posted disappointing earnings and issued weak ahead steering. It stated inflation and rising rates of interest will damage client spending, reiterating what it stated on Tuesday when it introduced layoffs.
Enphase Energy — The photo voltaic tools inventory rocketed almost 18% increased after posting sturdy outcomes for the latest quarter. Enphase stated sturdy progress in Europe amid surging pure fuel costs helped outcomes.
PayPal — PayPal shares rallied 12.2% on the again of a report from the Wall Street Journal that activist investor Elliott Management took a stake within the firm.
Teva Pharmaceutical — The Israel-based pharmaceutical firm’s inventory soared 21.1% after it reached a tentative settlement to pay more than $4 billion for its alleged function within the opioid disaster.
Spotify — Shares added 12.2% after the music streaming service reported a 14% enhance in premium subscribers in its most up-to-date earnings report. Spotify reported a worse-than-expected quarterly loss, however exceeded analysts’ income estimates.
Garmin – Shares of the digital gadget firm dropped more than 8% after second-quarter gross sales declined to $1.24 billion. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had been anticipating $1.34 billion. The firm pointed to a powerful greenback and provide chain points as causes for the weak point. Garmin’s adjusted earnings per share got here in at $1.44, or 4 cents higher than estimates.
Hilton – The resort inventory rose virtually 7.5% after beating estimates on the highest and backside strains for the second quarter. Hilton reported $1.29 in adjusted earnings per share on $2.24 billion of income. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had been anticipating $1.04 in earnings per share on $2.08 billion of income. Hilton stated its income per-available-room was forward 54% in contrast with the identical quarter final yr. The resort chain additionally raised its full-year earnings steering.
— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Jesse Pound, Sarah Min, Carmen Reinicke and Yun Li contributed reporting.


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The Outlook.com Android app was previously updated back in November last year. Today Microsoft has announced a new update for this app, which brings an overhaul for the entire user interface as well as new features. Microsoft says that the overall response to Outlook.com has been very positive, but their Android app was quite behind. They say they’re very excited to take this large step forward, which will give Android users the same look and feel of the e-mail service as they’ve seen on Windows 8 as well as on the web.
Apart from bringing the UI at par with other platforms, the updated Outlook.com Android app comes with a host of new features that greatly enhance user experience. These include filters for unread and flagged mail, threading of conversations and the ability to mark email messages as junk. The updated Outlook.com app can be grabbed right now from Google Play Store. It will be supported by any device running Android firmware version 2.2 or higher. Initial user reviews on the Play Store indicate that the new UI is being appreciated a lot.


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Pinto Ranch Hosts Kickin’ It To Cancer Weekend at NorthPark Center
Pinto Ranch kicks off fall with two Western Weekends dedicated to highlighting cowboy boots and western fashions at their Dallas store located in NorthPark Center, starting Oct. 5.
The events come just in time to prepare Dallas for the Cattle Barron’s Ball with two Saturday’s filled with exclusive trunk shows and vendor appearances.
What’s going to be happening at the event:
- An informal fashion show at Pinto Ranch showcasing Christina Greene’s jewelry and high fashion western boot vendor Old Gringo’s latest merchandise with a DJ and live music.
- Bishop Cider and Uncommon Wine will be providing drinks
- Special Guest Bill Hook will give a live performance.
- Pinto Ranch will be selling custom “Kickin’ It To Cancer,” which $5 of every shirt sold will be donated to the American Cancer Society.
- Old Gringo and Pinto Ranch will be holding a boot giveaway and giving a boot jack with the purchase of any Old Gringo boots, while supplies last.


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Rihanna celebrated the launch of her first Fenty fragrance, Fenty Eau de Parfum, on Tuesday morning, and within hours the spritz had sold out. Rihanna posted pics in bed with a bowl of caviar served on a ..
Gabrielle Union-Wade posted on instagram on a date night with husband Dwyane Wade. Gabriellewore a deep yellow Carolina Herrera dress with delicate hoop earrings, styled by Thomas Christos. The mid..
Rita Ora appeared as a coach on The Voice Australia wearing Marc Jacobs Winter 2020 Sequined Jersey Turtleneck Dress (Sold Out) with Aquazzura Tequila Plateau 120mm Crystal Sandals ($1,495.00 ..
Katy Perry attends the LuisaViaRoma for Unicef event at La Certosa di San Giacomo on July 31, 2021 in Capri, Italy. She wore a Pierre Cardin dresss. ..
Fashion Sizzler Lady Gaga was seen wearing Valentino FW21 Couture out in New York Styled by: @sandraamador.xx and @tomeerebout 📸@allysanthiago ..


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Apple Posts First Quarterly Revenue Drop in 13 Years
It was an unprecedented run that lasted more than a decade, but in a call with reporters late Tuesday evening, Apple reported its first quarterly revenue decline for the first time since 2003.
Let’s just pause and think about that for a moment. Thirteen straight years, roughly 52 straight quarters, of sales growth. That historic run was driven by the company’s introduction and continued improvement of a number of gadgets that have come to define who they are. The iPhone (introduced in 2007), the iPad (2010), and the Apple Watch (2015) feel like they’ve been around for an eternity now. And—until this second quarter of 2016—none of them had experienced a time in which their creator and keeper saw sales lag.
Talking numbers, the company still had a quarter that most other tech companies would drool over, posting $50.6 billion in sales. But that figure was 13 percent lower than the $58 billion in sales during the same quarter last year. The main culprit in the decline was softening iPhone sales. Apple sold 16 percent fewer iPhones in the most recent quarter that ended in March, compared to last year.


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Shares of premium coffee vendor BRC (BRCC 1.44%) are climbing 8.1% at 11:09 a.m. ET Thursday after the firm, which possesses the Black Rifle Coffee brand name, reported second-quarter revenues that missed Wall Street’s top- and also bottom-line estimates.
BRC claimed sales jumped 27% to $66 million contrasted to assumptions of $70.9 million, as well as while losses of $0.22 per share were far worse than the $0.04 loss that experts forecast, it was significantly much better than the $1.49 loss taped a year earlier.
BRC went public in February via a reverse merging with a special objective procurement firm, or SPAC, and also started trading at $12 a share. It rapidly developed momentum and shot as high as $34 prior to starting a long, constant slide throughout the summer season. Today the brcc stock price sets you back a little over $9, a 73% dump in value.
Black Rifle Coffee is best called a veteran-owned firm that strongly supports professionals, law enforcement, as well as first -responders. It has actually created conflict on both sides of the political aisle by being a gun-themed service, and due to the fact that it has distanced itself from several prominent traditional personalities.
BRC, though, keeps it’s simply concentrated on making great coffee while sustaining professionals and also others.
Company has been growing for BRC. Income is up 31% year to date and also, as kept in mind, losses have actually considerably tightened from in 2014.
However as a result of the current inflationary atmosphere, BRC no more anticipates to be in the black on an adjusted EBITDA basis for the back fifty percent of 2022. Yet the coffee stock did increase its full-year revenue assistance to $320 million from $315 million.
Analyst Sees 90% Upside On BRC As Emphasis Shifts To Mass-Market Distribution
Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth stated a Buy ranking on the shares of BRC Inc
The analyst believes more concentrate on mass market circulation will likely boost sales development and also visibility for its brand and products.
BRCC’s change in its distribution method will certainly increase near-term sales and also brand recognition with reduced capital expense, claimed the expert.
Feinseth added that the company’s Q2 incomes suggest development driven by solid product need.
BRC’s solid social networks following as well as passionate customer/fan base will certainly continue to drive accelerating growth as well as brand involvement, the expert noted.
Price Action: BRCC shares are trading greater by 1.84% at $9.95 on the last check Tuesday.


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Mobile usage and commerce are growing rapidly across APAC. Smartphone use increased 70% regionally in 2020 and 86% in China. More strikingly still, 63% of APAC consumers say they most commonly shop within mobile apps, and 35% say digital wallets are their primary payment method.
In addition, APAC consumers are disproportionately young, priming them to adopt next-generation e-commerce channels and formats that are catching on more slowly in developed economies. Consider live selling, which is when brands sell products directly via livestream on social apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Alibaba’s Taobao. China is leading the world in live selling, a practice that grew 100% there last year


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The announcements just seem to keep coming and get more exciting. Just a couple days ago, Honda Malaysia made the declaration we’ve all been waiting for – the new FK8 Civic Type are will be coming to Malaysia with bookings to open in Oct.
This follows after the overwhelming responses from the Frankfurt Motor Show on the unveiling of the super cute Honda Urban EV concept where a road-going model will due for production before the end of the decade.
And now, Honda has just announced that it will be unveiling an all-new sports car to go with the new, lap time breaking Civic Type R and thrilling hybrid NSX. The electric sports car, will be on showcase at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show at the end of the month.
Not a single hint or description has been released although, if recent reports are true, it should be built on the same EV platform for the upcoming Urban EV that caught our attention with its petite but perky figure with a front grille and tailgate that can display battery charging status, driving advises and even interactive messages.
The Honda Sports EV Concept will feature a striking silhouette, friendly front end and supple body designs. Combining EV performance and AI technology in a compact shell, it is said to be developed with an aim to deliver a feeling of joy and provoke an emotional connection with the car and road.


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India was hardly on Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos's mind when he conceived the business in 1994. But, the founder of Amazon (it was initially incorporated as Cadabra), today a e-retailer behemoth, saw one of his early orders was from halfway across the world: India.
It has been nearly about 20 years since Bezos quit a well-paying Wall Street job to hatch Amazon, but his managers said Wednesday that is was "Day 1" for the company. The first day for the $61-billion dollar e-tailer in India. Amazon
announced June 5 that it had opened its Amazon Marketplace - technically speaking Amazon Sellers Services, where sellers can put up their goods - and third-party retailers could sell books, movies and TV shows on the platform. The marketplace makes about 40 per cent of Amazon's revenues globally and, on Wednesday, Amazon said it is starting with a modest 100 retailers in India.
The company might have entered India late because of an unfavourable regulatory environment, but the intent is clear from the first day.
"The goal for us is how do we build the largest book store in India," says Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon.com. "We will build Earth's biggest selection in India."
Next in line are cameras and mobile phones, which are categories that Amazon believes are ripe for the taking.
Amazon's entry in India, albeit not as a retailer but as a platform for third-party retailers, is a threat to India's bigger e-tailer. Until now Flipkart, also the largest online bookseller in India, has had a free run.
With Amazon, is its leadership position at stake?
"Yes, because it operates in the space of e-commerce
, but Amazon has a much wider bouquet of offerings," says Sanchit Vir Gogia, Founder & Group CEO, Greyhound Knowledge Group, an IT research and advisory firm.
Amazon has three pillars it is basing its strategy on, according to Amit Agarwal, Vice President and Country Manager, Amazon India: a vast selection, low prices, and fast delivery to customers.
Exactly the strategy that Flipkart, or for that matter, any successful online retailer, employs.
The other part of the strategy is to build a highly customer centric model. For example, the book 'The Secret of the Nagas' by Amish Tripathi, has 18 buying options, each by a different seller, on the right-hand top corner of the webpage. A buyer can come and chose the seller, and chose the best deal.
The website on the first day of launch has seven million book titles, Agarwal said, and about a million and a half books indexed.
However, not to be confused, Amazon's offering will be different from that of Flipkart. The Indian e-tailer buys books from publishers and has its own inventory. Amazon is a platform, where retailers, shop owners or publishers can sell their titles - at times with help from an Amazon warehouse and logistics managed by the Bezos company.
There is a cost.
To sell on the Amazon Marketplace: the seller will have to bear a monthly subscription fee of Rs 499, currently set free for a year's promotion; a transaction fee of 12 per cent of the item value (set at a promotional 5 per cent); and a closing fee of Rs 10 on every sale.
Flipkart's biggest worry won't be the business model, but the deep pockets Amazon comes with. "Flipkart is venture capital funded so how far will they go to compete with Amazon," asks Gogia.
The Indian e-tailer, started by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, has so far raised over $180 million. Sachin, the company's CEO, earlier this year said it expected to raise another round of funding before an IPO two-three years from now
Flipkart, which had estimated revenues of around Rs 2,000 crore in 2012/13, is yet not profitable. Sachin has said in the past that his company can easily be make net profits but Flipkart is focused on growing marketshare
Similar to Amazon's strategy, which broke even only in 2001. Still, what will be worrying for the Bansals, who launched the Flipkart version of a marketplace in April 2013
, is that Amazon has deep pockets: in 2012 alone, it generated $2.25 billion of cash and invested $3.6 billion.
On Wednesday, Amazon said it was focused on the "long-term" in India and is not bothered about early profitability. "We price the offering to reach scale, not at our current cost structure," said Agarwal but did not define long term. "Until we reach that scale we won't make money on those offerings," he added, indicating his employer was focused on market share in India, like Flipkart.
In India, Amazon has been present through Junglee.com, a site that tells consumers where the best deals are available for some 20 million products. Junglee, the name of a shopping comparison and discovery company that Amazon acquired from three Indian-born founders
Agarwal said Junglee does not charge any retailer it lists on the site and the idea was to enable discovery of best shopping options - both online and offline - in India. Amazon India, in fact, will be one of the websites that will be present on the Junglee platform. "They are complimentary vision, and not contradictory and we are investing in both," says Agarwal. "Junglee is a free service to allow sellers to advertise… not to monetise."
Amazon has already announced its intent to run to the top. Flipkart, which has monthly revenues at about the size of Amazon when it went public in 1997, will be ready for the fight, for sure.


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Bayer to acquire Merck & Co. Inc. consumer care business for $14.2B
Companies also announce a strategic collaboration in cardiovascular disease
LEVERKUSEN—Bayer has announced that it will acquire Merck & Co., Inc.’s consumer care business for $14.2 billion, a purchase price that includes a payment associated with sales of Claritin and Afrin in certain countries where the drugs are still prescription-only and represents a 2013 pro-forma EBITDA multiple of 21x. Bayer expects significant cost synergies from the acquisition and consequent integration of Merck’s consumer care business, with revenue synergies to the tune of approximately $400 million by 2017. The transaction is forecast to yield an immediate positive contribution of 2 percent to core earnings per share in the first year after closing, and is expected to close in the second half of this year.
“With this transaction, we are acquiring leading product brands that will make Bayer the OTC leader in North America and Latin America and also move us into top global positions in key OTC product categories,” Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Bayer HealthCare, said in a press release. “The strong Bayer brand will help to further leverage the already successful product brands worldwide. We expect particularly strong growth in key countries outside the U.S. where our superior commercial presence will drive sales of the combined business.”
Merck & Co.’s consumer care business consists primarily of products in the cold, allergy, dermatology, foot health, gastrointestinal and sinus and flu categories, with leading brands such as Claritin, Dr. Scholl’s, Coppertone and MiraLAX. The business employs some 2,250 people, and the merged business will be headquartered at Bayer’s Whippany, N.J. site.
“This acquisition marks a major milestone on our path towards global leadership in the attractive non-prescription medicines business,” Bayer CEO Dr. Marijn Dekkers commented in a statement. “At the same time, we are leveraging our capabilities in the cardiovascular therapeutic area.”
“We are adding significant scope and earnings power to a business that is already delivering strong margins and stable cash flows,” he added.
Bayer and Merck have also inked a strategic pharma collaboration in cardiovascular diseases with a focus on sGC modulation. The companies will share costs and profits from the sGC modulators equally, moving forward with a joint development and commercialization strategy. The collaboration includes Adempas, which has already been approved for the treatment of certain classifications of pulmonary hypertension and is being developed in additional life-cycle indications, and vericiguat, an investigational compound currently under development in a pair of Phase 2b studies in worsening chronic heart failure. sGC modulators currently in early stages of research and development may also be included later.
Per the terms of the agreement, Merck will pay Bayer up to $2.1 billion, consisting of an upfront payment of $1 billion and sales milestone payment of up to $1.1 billion tied to future collective sales of certain collaboration compounds, including Adempas.
Bayer will be in charge of commercialization of Adempas in the Americas while Merck oversees commercialization outside those countries. Bayer will lead commercialization of vericiguat and other potential sGC modulators outside of the Americas while Merck handles commercialization within the Americas. Both companies will have an option to co-promote Adempas and follow-on sGC modulators in each other’s territories.
SOURCE: Bayer press release


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VoIP Over Wi-Fi: When Will We See Hybrid Phones? II
Following up on last week’s post about the evolving mobile device environment, GigaOm reports (found via Digg) that a German company has developed an application that lets iPhone users access Skype.
This is an interesting development and well in line with the forecasted benefits outlined in last week’s post. A sequence of events should follow that will continue to raise the bar in mobile device functionality and flexibility for consumers – including, importantly, mobile local search. It’s about time.


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There was a brief period in 2005 where Samsung
leaped ahead of Motorola
for the number two spot in global mobile handset sales, and the South Korean company may be poised to do it again in the second quarter of this year, which ends at the conclusion of June. Considering Motorola had 22 percent global market share in 2006 and Samsung had 11.4 percent, the shift in 2007 would be quite significant. With all of Motorola's problems shipping units and keeping up with the advanced handsets from Finland's Nokia and South Korea's LG and Samsung (among others), 2007 may not be very kind to Motorola. Would the RAZR 2
and other devices in the Moto pipeline be enough to stave off a permanent dethroning?


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You can call Amazon a lot of things, but you have to admit that they’re ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to their shipping department. A few days ago, Amazon released their first-quarter earnings, along with an announcement for plans for one-day shipping for Prime members. If that’s not happening fast enough for you, don’t worry, Amazon also offers an option where they deliver your packages to newer GM and Volvo cars. Today Ford announced that they’re also making cars eligible for the Amazon delivery.
Patience might be a virtue, but it’s hard to be patient after making an online purchase. Online retail stores know that, which is why Amazon is repeatedly rolling out with a faster way for their customers to receive their packages. Last year the retail giant started delivering packages to newer GM and Volvo vehicles, this year Ford is joining the ranks of cars that can accept your delivery for you.
Today Ford announced that select few of their Ford 2017 and newer models have FordPass Connect, their Lincoln 2018 and newer models also are built with Lincoln Connect. Something that Amazon Prime members can access in the Amazon Key app that will allow drivers to unlock their car door after linking your FordPass or Lincoln Way account to Prime.
Currently, this option is only available in 50 U.S. cities  and requires you to park within two blocks of the address that the package was to be delivered to, in a publicly accessible area. Throughout the delivery process, you’ll be receiving notifications on your phone, along with an alert just before your package arrives. If you decide not to have your package delivered to your car at the last minute, you can always block the delivery, and the package will be delivered to its original address.
- ^Ford Amzon Key in Delivery Service http://www.campaign.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2019/04/30/ford-amazon-key-in-car-delivery-service.html (go back ↩)
- ^“Amazon.com Help: Supported Cities and Surrounding Areas.” 30 Apr. 2019, www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_keypola_md1_w?nodeId=G2PWSDLNHATJKCWK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-14&pf_rd_r=ZKDSZG36YPZ68Q7DBEM0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=0c8f7e27-57b3-4e3f-8a6e-515a1c660fa5&pf_rd_i=17051031011. (go back ↩)


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The number of UK sectors reporting output growth rose to pre-pandemic levels for the first time during April, according to the latest Bank of Scotland UK Recovery Tracker.
The output of all of the 14 UK sectors monitored increased in April, up from 11 in March, and for the first time since August 2018.
The tracker includes indices compiled from responses to IHS Markit's UK manufacturing, services and construction PMI survey panels, covering more than 1,500 private sector companies.
Manufacturers of technology equipment (67.7) and metals and mining products (66.3) recorded the strongest output growth for the second month in a row during April.
A reading above 50 signals output is rising, while a reading below 50 indicates output is contracting.
Technology manufacturers - which includes producers of specialist parts in smart devices, motor vehicles, computers and industrial machinery - continued to benefit from high international demand for components.
Manufacturers of metals and mining products benefited from global raw materials shortages and surging commodity prices.
Industrial services (60.3) - which include providers of commercial and professional services - was the best-performing UK services sector during April.
Firms in the sector, alongside software services (54.4) providers, cited a steep rebound in corporate spending on projects that had been delayed during lockdown and strong demand for business services in support of new investment initiatives.
Meanwhile, the output of UK tourism and recreation (51.9) businesses rose for the first time since August 2020, following the reopening of outdoor dining at pubs and restaurants.
Hospitality businesses also cited a spike in forward bookings in anticipation of lockdown measures easing further.
Similarly, the property (53.6) sector also returned to growth during April as firms benefited from offices reopening and favourable conditions in the residential market.
Automotive manufacturers (50.1) reported a rise in output in comparison to March (46.4), but the increase was marginal and took the sector only slightly above the 50 mark that signals growth.
It was the worst performing sector monitored by the tracker during April, as firms continued to struggle with semiconductor shortages and some overseas customers choosing to buy from EU suppliers post-Brexit.
Turning to the tracker’s measure of expected output, for 13 of the 14 UK sectors monitored, readings for anticipated output growth over the next 12 months were higher than their global peers, as the UK’s progress out of lockdown and vaccination programme continued to outpace other countries.
Only property was behind the global index by this measure, largely due to offices in the US services sector reopening at a faster pace than the UK.
Firms’ positive outlook came as inflation caused UK businesses, during April, to experience the sharpest rise in input costs since February 2017.
In response, firms in every sector monitored - apart from tourism and recreation - increased their prices.
Chemicals producers recorded the highest increase in prices due to surging demand for raw materials from the global manufacturing industry.
Jeavon Lolay, head of economics and market insight at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The UK’s recovery seems to have moved into the fast lane.
“It’s no surprise that business optimism for the year ahead is strongest in consumer services on hopes that the re-opening of the economy will lead to a sharp rebound in demand.
“However, it will also be very interesting to see how UK manufacturers address ongoing supply chain strains as concerns about inflation continue to build.”
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Anyone with a new mobile app, website, hardware or tech creation is itching to post their product on Product Hunt and see those upvotes rolling in. We at Launch Academy understand how important it is to not only ship new products but showcase them to peers to get feedback and support. Our quarterly Product Hunt Meetup allows for both.
Last night’s meetup, sponsored by our partners at Aingel.ai, brought 8 awesome demos ranging from cybersecurity protection to health and wellness apps. Below is a full list of all the demo companies who came out to showcase what they’re working on.
ClickSitter’s founders, a husband-wife duo, are currently members of Launch Academy’s Maple Program. The company originally launched in Brazil where their app was recently voted the best app for parents by Apple Brazil! ClickSitter’s app makes it simple for parents and certified, local babysitters to connect, easing the stress of finding childcare.
Read more at original post: https://medium.com/the-orbit/product-hunt-meetup-vancouver-fdcf626a02c2


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London - The third cycle of the Global Change Award, an innovation challenge initiated by the H&M Foundation in 2015, has officially opened its public voting round. An expert international panel, consisting of industry experts, sustainability specialists and circular leaders, has selected 5 winning innovations for the Global Change Award 2018, and now it is up to the public to decide how the 1 million euro grant should be divided.
As the fashion industry works to shift from a linear model to a circular model, reducing and reusing the number of textiles produced it vital to accelerating positive change. Imagine being able to buy and use a jacket made from the leftover harvests of flaxseeds, sugar cane and pineapples, or wearing a t-shirt made of mushroom roots - one that you could decompose in your own backyard when its completely worn out. Or imagine wearing a dress that also nourishes and protects your skin while you wear it? These are just a few of the 5 winning ideas from the third edition of the Global Change Award. The online vote offers the public a unique chance to help influence the fashion industry and contribute to a more sustainable future. With over 2,600 entries from 151 countries for the Global Change Award 2018, it is clear that innovations to help change the future of fashion in abundance.
"Moving towards a circular fashion industry is of immense importance. Even though it’s challenging, it also opens great opportunities and makes clear business sense"
Crop-A-Porter: Making bio-textiles from food harvest leftovers
The waste from food crops is often seen as a pretty useless byproduct of harvesting - it is either burnt or left to rot, releasing polluting carbon dioxide and methane gas into the atmosphere. However, Crop-A-Porters aims to take this waste and turn it into a valuable resource for the fashion industry, generating an additional avenue of income for farmers. Crop-A-Porter takes the harvest remains from crops such as oil-seed flax, hemp, sugarcane, bananas and pineapple and turns it into a useful bio-fiber using a low-cost, closed-loop technology, which can then be used to make sustainable textiles for the fashion industry.
Algae Apparel: Using algae to make bio-fiber and eco-friendly dye
Algae Apparel aims to solve the fashion industry's issues with growing natural fibers, like cotton, and textile dyeing in one go by using algae. A renewable and degradable aquatic organism, algae can be turned into bio-fiber and earth-friendly dye using new innovative technology. In addition to being sustainable, clothes made from algae release anti-oxidants, vitamins, and other nutrients into the wearer's skin.
Smart Stitch: a dissolvable thread to make recycling easier
Smart Stitch is a thread which dissolves at a high temperature, making garment recycling complications, such as the removal of zippers and buttons a breeze. This help cut down the time and manual assistance needed to remove details from garments while recycling garments. In addition, Smart Stitch can also be used for regular seams in garments, making it easier to disassemble any garment so the fabric can be used over and over again.
The Regenerator: Separating cotton and polyester blends
The Regenerator is a circular technology that uses an environmentally friendly chemical to separate and regenerate cotton and polyester textile blends into new and fully useable textile fibers. This innovation is set to accelerate the recycling of fabrics, as mixed materials, like cotton and polyester blends, are widely used. By un-mixing mixed fibers to create new fibers, the Regenerator will help make new fibers for the fashion industry.
Fungi Fashion: Clothes made from decomposable mushroom roots
Mycelium, also known as mushroom roots, is a natural resource which can be used to make decomposable fashion. This innovation combines mycelium with 3D technology to produce custom-made clothing, without having to cut and sew, solving the fashion industry's shortage of resources and waste. Once consumers have worn their fungi garment out, they can bury it in the ground and it will naturally decompose. "Until now, fashion has been fun, but from now on fashion can also be fungi!"
“We are at a historic point where we have to make radical changes to our industry”
“How we manage and consume resources will be crucial for the lives of present and future generations. All industries need to re-think, innovate and challenge status quo," said Karl-Johan Persson, Board member H&M Foundation and CEO H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB in a statement. "Creative innovations are key to make this shift, and I congratulate the Global Change Awards winners who all have the power to help reinvent the fashion industry, enabling products and resources to be cycled instead of just having one single life."
The public can cast their vote on how the grant should be spl it online at globalchangeaward.com from March 12 to March 16, before the winners are given their grants during the Grand Award Ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on March 20. The teams behind the winning innovations will also be revealed on the same day. In addition to winning a grant, the winners will also be given access to a one-year innovation accelerator provided by the H&M Foundation in collaboration with Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Through the accelerator, the winners will travel to Stockholm, New York, and Shanghai providing a toolbox of skills, networks and exposure to help them leverage their innovations and grant.
“This year’s Global Change Award winners are about disrupting business-as-usual to help transition us to a low-carbon and circular economy," added Vikram Widge, Head, Climate Finance & Policy, IFC, World Bank Group and member of the Global Change Award expert panel. "Whether it is fibers from organic waste or algae, or new approaches to recycling, the winners showcase potentially transformative approaches from sourcing to end-of-use management."
Photos : Courtesy of the H&M Foundation


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“Ms. Patti’s gonna have to move that pie to the side!” Franklin told Detroit’s Channel 4 this week when she announced she coming in the beginning stages of releasing her own line of grocery items.
You may remember that LaBelle made national headlines over the holiday season after Walmart couldn’t keep her Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato Pie, priced at just $3.49, on its shelves. The pies literally sold one per second for 72 hours straight before completely selling out, leading to a public outcry for “More pies! More pies!” and requiring WalMart to rush order an additional two million pounds — yes, two million pounds — of sweet potatoes to meet the demand.
Now, Franklin hopes to do the same. She just announced she’ll be releasing her own brand of Aretha Franklin chili, gumbo and baked chicken, plus a few desserts.
No word yet where or when exactly the products will be released, but we can already feel our cholesterol rising.


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The charity is hoping to raise £500,000 through the new microsite http://www.christmasappeal.org.uk ChristmasAppeal.org.uk. It features a 'tree-o-meter' to show where the level of donations stand, and a list of what the Salvation Army can do with the donations. For example, £18 will cover two nights' bed and breakfast in a Salvation Army shelter; while £100 will cover the Christmas heating bill for a Salvation Army centre.
The media has been planned by Trinity Communications, and retained online agency Harvest Digital handled the buying, including display, search and affiliate.
Harvest has also produced the online creative for the campaign, including display advertising, rich media such as video MPUs, email creative and the microsite.
The online media combines homepage placements and demographic targeting on Yahoo!, behavioural and contextual advertising on Blue Lithium, search engine marketing on Google, Yahoo! and MSN Live, and UTarget subsites.
Mike Teasdale, planning director at Harvest Digital said: "We have booked a range of media targeted to appeal to women, a very active online audience, such as video pre-rolls before soaps on ITV.com with messages detailing how the funds will be used, as our experience show this works very effectively for The Salvation Army. The new creative will engage the audience and the microsite will convert them to donors."
Donors will receive a follow up email to keep them informed of the progress of the Christmas appeal. The microsite also features a send to a friend option to encourage visitors to recruit other donors and the advertising will also feature on the homepage of www.TheSalvationArmy.org.uk.


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I’ve played with a bunch of different news readers for my iPad, and while most of them seem to get the job done, I’ve only come across a couple which really take advantage of the iPad’s native capabilities.
Rate Rush put together this handy chart comparing Reddit and Digg. Between the two, who would win in a fight? I no longer use either on a regular basis, but some people swear by these social news sites.
I am not a big fan of buying used games. Anytime I can get the same thing new for only a few bucks more, I go new. I know some folks – like my mom – will do anything to save a buck so my kids come home with used games from Grandma all the time.
The big news this weekend (and last week and this week for that matter) was the launch of the iPad. The device landed in stores and on doorsteps on Saturday to hoards of geeks jumping up and down with glee.
Softpedia‘s Filip Truta stumbled upon a gold mine of Apple Tablet info, the gold mine being Jason Calacanis’ Twitter posts about the overhyped gadget. Calacanis – co-founder of Weblogs, a network of blogs that includes the famous tech blog engadget – admitted to the world that he is one of the beta testers of the Apple Tablet; he says his unit was given to him 10 days ago.
ZOE fans rejoice! In an entry at Kojima Productions’ blog (translated from Japanese) last Saturday (Oct. 17), Kojima revealed that 2003’s Zone of the Enders The 2nd Runner (released in JAPAN as ANUBIS:Zone of the Enders) will not be the last installment in the beloved series.
Don’t fret if that title doesn’t make any sense. This bacon-scented soap celebrating reddit’s admittedly adorable mascot doesn’t make any sense, either, except that, well, the alien is cute, and bacon is delicious. But with those truisms out of the way, there’s no explaining the bacon reddit soap.
Joystiq asked Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations, if Sony would ever bring Trophies – the equivalent of Xbox 360’s Achievements – to the PSP. Upon hearing the question, Lempel fell on his knees and screamed, “Daaaamn youuu Salazaaaaaar!”
Sorry for the lack of posts over the last 24 hours or so. Not only have I been traveling, my hosting provider decided to blow up our server infrastructure overnight, which kept Technabob offline for about 10 hours.
Now that the year is almost done, I thought it might be nice to reflect on the biggest stories of the year in case you missed any of them. There are some really great tidbits in here, so be sure to check them out if you haven’t already done so.
For those of you out there who aren’t big fans of electronic paper devices like the Amazon Kindle and Sony’s e-Reader, just be thankful that we didn’t end up in an alternative universe where this was the way you’d receive your daily newspaper.
This has gotta be the best hack I’ve seen in a while…
Scott Walker’s DigitalBox Newspaper Machine automatically displays the day’s latest news on an LCD screen that’s installed in the front of an old newspaper vending machine.
One of the great things about all of the current-gen gaming consoles is the ability to add new content and features through online downloads. Nintendo today released the News Channel on the Nintendo Wii.
The News Channel features live feeds from the Associated Press.
The folks at GoNintendo are reporting that someone at Sports Illustrated Kids jumped the gun and published the Nintendo Wii’s launch date. The article also accurately reflects the PS3’s launch date of November 17th (which has been officially announced.)


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According to a news release, Lock n’ Pop has been featured in the 2008-09 Wal-Mart Sustainability Forums and won the 2008 Packaging Association of Canada Sustainable Raw Material Silver award.
Gargiulo uses Lock n’ Pop to prevent tomato damage
03/04/2009 12:00:00 AM
- Fourth prison term ordered in Adams Produce fraud
- UPDATED: Watson stepping down from National Mango Board
- Sysco the distributor, not the source, in Subway outbreak
- CORRECTED: Export security program could trip exporters
- Vidalia onion grower, state official both claim victory in court
- Test checkers' produce I.D.


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Officially, Ferrari’s supercar successor to the Enzo (internal name, F150) will debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, scheduled to begin on March 7. Prior to its official unveiling, a few selected Ferrari aficionados (likely current Enzo owners) will have an opportunity to see the F150 in person. That’s according to Italian site 0-100, which also tells us that the F150’s styling shares more than a passing resemblance to the 1963 Ferrari 250 LM. Based on the teaser images we’ve seen to date, we can certainly see the family lineage, especially at the rear. Both...
Ferrari Changes F1 Car Name To 'F150th Italia' After Ford Suit
Whether it's simple legal necessity, hold-over angst from the 1960s duel between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, or corporate jockeying between Ford and Ferrari's corporate parent, Fiat, which now owns a chunk of Chrysler, the fight over the F-150/F150 name may have come to a resolution: Ferrari...Nelson Ireson
Ferrari Reveals F150 Race Car For 2011 F1 Series
Ferrari is the first major team to unveil its new race car for the 2011 Formula 1 series, which kicks off with the Bahrain GP this March. The latest race car, dubbed the Ferrari F150, was unveiled today at the automaker’s headquarters in Maranello, though it’s development is still...Viknesh Vijayenthiran


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A recent majority staff report summarizing the findings of a yearlong House Antitrust Subcommittee investigation into competition in digital markets is filled with analytical errors that highlight larger problems with the report’s basic framing and policy conclusions.
September 28, 2018
The collection of large amounts of data alone does not present a threat to competition and shifts in competition policy that would treat it as such would negatively impact data-driven innovation.
August 20, 2018
Unfortunately, as the economy has become more innovation-based, there has been considerably less focus on how regulatory agencies can both protect consumers from harm and avoid undermining incentives for innovation.
July 23, 2018
There’s no magic bullet to ensure firms will respond to environmental regulation by innovating. But a literature review shows certain conditions that will raise that likelihood, pointing the way to some important rules of thumb for policymakers.
July 11, 2018
Data protection regulations are often falsely described as means to increase consumer trust, and therefore technology adoption and use. Policymakers should be wary of those making this claim without evidence.
June 18, 2018
Despite assertions by President Trump that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is charging too little for package delivery, the evidence shows that package delivery is not subsidized and, in fact, that package revenue is playing a key role in shoring up shaky USPS finances.
June 15, 2018
As Nick Wallace writes for EUobserver, over-regulating artificial intelligence now risks the EU’s chance for global influence over the technology's future.
May 22, 2018
Rules that use market tools to fix problems are more likely to encourage innovation than command-and-control, technology-specific rules. So is regulation that gives companies clear long-term and achievable goals.
May 4, 2018
As Rob Atkinson and Mike Lind write for the New Republic, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt weren't the anti-corporate crusaders that they're portrayed as by populists today.
April 6, 2018
As ITIF President Rob Atkinson and Michael Lind write for the Wall Street Journal, showering privileges on firms because of their size is bad economics and bad policy.
March 29, 2018
In commentary for Fortune Magazine, ITIF President Rob Atkinson and Michael Lind write that America’s own antitrust policies perversely encourage the loss of technological leadership to rival nations.


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Sprint and Samsung Mobile have officially announced the upcoming launch of latest Sprint 4G smartphone – Google Nexus S 4G (made by Samsung), which features a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 4-inch Super AMOLED Contour display, 5-megapixel camera, NFC (Near Field Communications) technology, Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, Google Voice integration, 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot and 16GB iNAND flash memory, running on lightning-fast Sprint’s 4G network.
Previously we mentioned about the iPhone 5 potentially designed with 4-inch display screen, now there seems to be more confirmation on the actual prototype as the timeline for release is getting closer. According to reliable source from Foxconn, the largest manufacturer that had produced previous iPhone models and will continue manufacturing iPhone 5, the actual size of iPhone 5 will be pretty much similar as […]
UUID (Universally Unique IDentifier) is an identifier standard standardized by Open Software Foundation (OSF) for Distributed Computing Environment (DCE). UUID is normally used in software construction to enable distributed systems to uniquely identify information without significant central coordination. Meanwhile IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is unique identifier used to identify GSM, WCDMA, and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones.
Hidden inside iOS 4.3 is a multitouch “Multitasking Gestures” gestures feature which is rumored to replace the Home button on iDevices such as iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The “Multitasking Gestures” allows user to use four to five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen, swipe up to reveal multitasking bar, or swipe left and right between apps.
Verizon Wireless has announced the exact availability and pricing details for the highly-anticipated HTC Thunderbolt Android 2.2-powered 4G LTE smartphone, which the mobile carrier claims as the first smartphone running on Verizon Wireless’ high-speed 4G LTE network, featuring 4G LTE optimized applications including EA’s Rock Band, Gameloft’s Let’s Golf, Bitbop and Tunewiki.
Samsung Mobile and T-Mobile USA have officially introduced the new T-Mobile Sidekick 4G by Samsung Android-based smartphone, which able to deliver lightning-fast download speeds of up to 21 Mbps by taking advantage of nations’s largest 4G HSPA + network, featuring Sidekick Group Text and Cloud Text for a redefined messaging experience, based on Google Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system.
Over time, iPhone may have accumulated many junks, useless apps, messy settings or configurations, and may have slow down significantly or slower compared to brand new phone. Most Apple fans will probably upgrade to new generation of iPhone when new model is available, or getting a new replacement or refurbished iPhone, or has decided to restore iPhone back to original factory default condition.
In order to encourage more users in exploring the latest and new features contained in iOS 4.3, Apple is now release “iPad User Guide For iOS 4.3 Software” digital e-book in PDF format. This book is aimed to users who has interested to learn about iPad features, how to use the controls and application, how to configure setting and etc.
The world’s leading provider of smartphones, Samsung has introduced its new powerful and stylish Samsung Galaxy Pro, which the corporation claims as its first Samsung Galaxy devices that supports full QWERTY keyboard to enhance users experiences. The new Samsung Galaxy Pro is combining a new innovative, crisp 2.8-inch touch-screen display, and is powered by an 800MHz chip, TouchWiz 4.0 UI, 3.0 megapixel camera, lightning-fast HSDPA connectivity, and […]
Not to be left out of Android smartphone market, NEC has unveiled its new Android smartphone which is named as NEC Medias N-04C. The new NEC smartphone is the world’s thinnest Android smartphone with only 7.7mm thick. The power of the smartphone is booted up by 800MHz processor and runs on Android 2.2 Froyo operating systems. To prevent from scratches and damage, the display of […]
The world’s leading provider of smartphones, HTC has introduced its new powerful and stylish HTC Merge, which the corporation claims as its first Android-powered CDMA world phone that supports international roaming, combining 3.8″ touchscreen display, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5MP camera, Android 2.2 Froyo and HTC Sense into a single mobile device.
In addition to LG Optimus 3D, Sharp has officially announced its new sleek, elegant smartphone, named as Sharp Lynx SH-03C, which company claims as the first glasses-free 3D smartphone running on Google Android 2.1 OS, combining a new innovative, 3.8″ ASV LCD display, lightning-fast HSPA+ connectivity, 9.6 megapixel camera with auto-focus allows users to capture pictures in 3D, and 720p HD videos recording to enhance 3D experiences.


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Markets & Finance
Regulator bans milk hawking as shortage persistsTuesday January 29 2013
The Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) has banned hawking of raw milk in a directive that could tilt the ground in favour of licensed processors currently battling for market share with informal traders.
Milk processors recently raised retail prices citing a shortage which has forced them to increase payment to farmers to lure them from diverting their supplies to hawkers who are said to offer better prices.
In a letter seen by the Business Daily, KDB attributes the ban on milk hawking to quality and safety concerns as well as the need to protect investors who have spent money on setting up processing plants and distribution systems.
“The continued sale and/or hawking of raw milk by organised dairy groups and milk traders to households and institutions such as hotels, hospitals, and schools has become a deterrent to the orderly development of the dairy industry and poses considerable risks to consumer safety,” read the notice signed by KDB managing director Machira Gichohi.
“This is therefore to direct all the milk dealers engaged in the sale and/or hawking of raw milk to stop the practice forthwith,” added Mr Gichohi.
He said that the board would only allow the sale of pasteurised and properly packaged or dispensed milk through approved premises.
The directive has, however, met opposition from milk traders with some arguing that it is contrary to the free market philosophy.
“The issue has come up because there is a shortage and we are aggressive. This is going to entrench monopolistic practices,” said John Wachira, the Dairy Traders Association national secretary.
He said that farmers were getting good prices from processors because of competition created by the informal sector.
He was supported by the Kenya Dairy Producers Association which pointed out that hawkers rescue farmers during high production seasons when the processors turn their backs on them.
“In the ‘90s when Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) was not functioning, it is the hawkers who saved the farmers by buying their milk, and the same hawkers play the same role when the country is faced with a milk glut,” said Peter Lelei, the vice chairman of the association.
Major milk processors have expressed concern over competition from hawkers, saying that nearly half of the milk produced by farmers finds its way to the informal market.
“We are sharing the raw milk on 50-50 basis, a thing that has greatly affected our supplies,” said Zedekiah Bundotich, the director of Buzeki Dairies.
Mr Bundotich claimed that nothing had been done to enforce laws that bar hawking of raw milk, which is not only a threat to the processors’ income but also poses a health hazard to people who consume the milk given that it is often not handled hygienically.
Brookside Dairy said that although hawking had eaten into their market share, the wider milk catchment area for the firm had given it an upper hand over informal traders.
KDB has threatened to take legal action against those flouting the directive, including closing down their premises.
Fredrick Muhorela, a dairy farmer in Trans-Nzoia County, said that he sold his milk to hawkers because of the relatively higher prices offered compared to processors.
“I would rather hawk my milk at Sh50 per litre than sell the same to processors at a lower price,” said Mr Muhorela.
Milk hawkers offer dairy farmers Sh50 per litre as opposed to processors who buy the commodity at less than Sh40. Leading milk processors also delay payments by a one month, as opposed to hawkers who pay on the spot.


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TomTom Expands Voice Recognition in New GPS Device
Navigation solutions provider TomTom yesterday unveiled the GO 740 LIVE, a connected portable navigation device that includes, among other enhancements, improved voice recognition.
Activated by tapping a single on-screen icon, drivers can direct the GO 740 LIVE with more than 130 voice commands. They can plan an entire route, adjust volume or screen brightness, or even make a phone call with their compatible cell phone by simply using their voice.
Features of the new device include:
- Real-time traffic information, including traffic speed and incident reports, updated every two to five minutes. Traffic delays can be heard audibly on the device as well as displayed on the screen.
- TomTom Fuel Price Service, a service that allows users to locate pricing information, and is refreshed up to six times a day from 120,000 gas stations across the U.S.
- TomTom Weather, offering five-day weather reports in the local area, or for a chosen destination. Users can plan their trips according to road conditions.
- TomTom Buddies, allowing drivers to link their TomTom devices to those of their friends so they can locate each other on the map, share favorite locations, and exchange and share location information and text messages.
- TomTom Map Share, a community-based map improvement technology that allows drivers to make specified improvements to their maps instantly on their devices. Leveraging its base of 25 million users to date, TomTom has received more than 5 million map improvements thus far.
- Local Search powered by Google, allowing drivers to automatically access countless points of interest and more than 11 million businesses. This feature turns search results into a destination with the press of a button. Results show the location name, a user-generated rating (if available) and phone number, so drivers can call ahead to book a restaurant or hotel of their choice, for example.


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Industry rumours are today suggesting that Electronic Arts has bought social games specialist Playfish for $250 million.
Both company's are remaining quiet on the matter, but a report by Inside Social Games suggests the deal was sealed a number of week's ago, with an official announcement expected this month.
Playfish specialises in games for Facebook, with users growing from 35 million to 60 million in the past twelve months on the social network. It also has games on MySpace, Google, Bebo, iPhone and more. The report suggests Playfish "could be on track to make as much as $75 million this year."
Another social games company, Zynga, has also been linked to Electronic Arts, and it's believed the makers of Mafia Wars and Cafe World has an asking price of $1 billion and plans to go public as early as March next year.


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By Melony Roy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Comcast is taking live-streaming from a smart phone up a level by releasing its own app that lets users send videos to an even bigger screen: the TV.READ MORE: Thousands Protest Outside Philadelphia City Hall After Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade
Comcast VP of communications Patti Loyack says “Some moments just demand a bigger screen, so think about folks huddling around a smart phone but now you can have that lean back experience and see it on the biggest screen you have in your home.”
Xfinity Share allows Comcast users to share important life events such as weddings or birthday parties from their smart phones to a TV, allowing friends and family to be “there,” even when they can’t be physically present.
Loyack says Xfinity Share encompasses three key things, “The ability to live stream, the ability to share a video or photo from your camera roll, or the ability to record and share so if you don’t want to live stream at that point in time you just want to record it and share it later you can do that as well,” she says.
To stream Share to a TV, users must download the app, select “Stream Live” and indicate where they want the content sent either to the home TV, another DVR user, or to a mobile device.READ MORE: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Allowing States To Ban Abortion
“If a friend of family member is at home its a simple notification that pops in the right corner of the TV and you simply use the info button on the remote to join the call and then you’re in that experience,” Loyack says.
The Xfinity Share app is available now on iOS and Android, but it’s currently limited to Comcast customers who are paying for the company’s X1 Triple Play package.
Live- streaming apps Periscope and Meerkat have come under fire for piracy and copyright infringement but the Comcast product is much more targeted.
Loyak says “It’s really that one to one experience. It’s not like you’re broadcasting to a mass audience.”MORE NEWS: Roe v. Wade Overturned: Officials In Philadelphia Region React To Supreme Court Ruling Allowing States To Ban Abortion
Eventually, Share hopes to add some additional features like sharing to multiple people (up to five), the capacity to store videos in the Xfinity cloud and the ability to stop, pause, and rewind.


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Bristol printing firms to merge
Two printing firms in Bristol are to merge.
Contract negotiations could ensure the merger between two print businesses in Bristol is completed smoothly.
Bristol Business News reports that Burleigh Press and Portishead Press are to join together, creating a new enterprise called BurleighPortishead.
It will operate from Burleigh's current headquarters - a 10,000 sq ft purpose-built structure at Harbourmead.
Together, the two organisations have 153 years of experience, as well as cutting-edge technology and digital expertise.
Portishead also uses green electricity company Ecotricity to power its equipment and utilises vegetable oil based inks for environmentally-friendly four-colour printing tasks.
Burleigh managing director Greg Corrigan told the publication: "This is a really exciting development for both companies and represents the creation of the first of a new generation of multi-media communication businesses in this region."
Existing directors will form the new board of the combined enterprise, while all 18 members of staff will be retained.
The new company is expected to provide additional services to its wider client base, while expanding its direct mail, digital print and design divisions.
Posted by Ken Hayes
Source: Bristol Business News, April 19th


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The World’s Biggest Bitcoin Investors
According to a website tracking global transactions of the cryptocurrency, there are 10 Bitcoin billionaires in the current moment. That number also includes government agencies, such as the FBI.
The price of Bitcoin, the most famous cryptocurrency, has rocketed from less than $2,000 six months ago to more than $16,000, making many people very rich in the process.
Bitcoin tracking website Bitfino reports, there are 10 “digital wallets” holding more than $1bn worth of Bitcoin. It doesn’t show the location of those wallets in the world or the owners of wallets.
The website informs, that the 10 richest Bitcoin owners collectively hold $13.5bn worth of the cryptocurrency.
There has been much speculation surrounding the identities of the world’s richest Bitcoin investors.
The twin brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who claimed that Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea of social network from them, are considered to become billionaires by buying $11m worth of Bitcoin in 2013 and retaining ownership throughout its meteoric rise.
The pair hold an estimated 100,000 units of the cryptocurrency. At the current price of $16,832 their 100,000 holding would be worth $1.68bn.
There is an anonymous figure, who is likely to have been fabulously enriched by Bitcoin, known as “Satoshi Nakamoto”. He published the original white paper laying out what the currency would look like in 2008. Last year the Silicon Valley magazine Wired pointed ,that he owned one million Bitcoins, which would now be worth almost $16.7 billion.
Also likely to be among the biggest holders of the digital currency in the world is the FBI. Again according to Wired, the American Government owns at least 144,000 Bitcoins seized from operators of the Silk Road. At today’s valuation this haul would be worth $2.4bn. Both of these fortunes are thought to be spread across several different wallets.
Mainstream private investors as well as high net worth individuals show rising interest to include Bitcoin in their portfolios. This caused many investment funds, which list their shares on stock markets or issue units direct to investors, to buy up the currency.
One of the most famous of such funds is Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust, with shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It currently owns $1.5bn Bitcoin on behalf of shareholders, but at $1.9bn, is trading at a 26pc premium.


text: (CIANEWS) - A total of 92% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing high inflation, 86% the energy crisis and 70% are affected by the impact of the war in Ukraine. This is according to a survey conducted by IPSOS for the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Sole Traders of the Czech Republic (AMSP) and Česká spořitelna (CS). Two thirds (63%) are facing a shortage of raw materials and other inputs. A total of 84% of enterprises state that the production of a high value-added end product is important for the sustainability (competitiveness) of the company. 15% of SMEs have a formally documented strategy for digitisation, automation or robotics.


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TikTok, the short-form video platform, has taken the UK by storm during lockdown. So what better time for the brand to produce its first linear TV ad, made in 26 days and entirely in isolation?
Speaking over Zoom with dog Tequila on her lap (also seen in the video above), Jana Ulaite, head of brand and partner marketing at TikTok, said: "TV felt like a natural channel for us to test in this environment, but we definitely wanted to portray the actual content that's happening on the platform."
"A little brighter inside" mixes big-name stars, such as Tilly and Gordon Ramsay, Little Mix and Tinie Tempah, with well-established creators, including Grandadjoe and Sherice Banton.
The spot highlights the appeal of the app – not just to Generation Z but the entire family – as a destination for entertainment and collaborative creation.
"People talk about the relief that TikTok brought to them during these difficult times and we wanted to capture that. It has been really humbling to see that people from all ages, backgrounds and different walks of life are coming to [the platform] to share and create content," Ulaite said.
The entire ad was created by Social.Lab during lockdown, meaning content was filmed using smartphones via Zoom or Apple’s FaceTime.
Ulaite added that while future marketing plans are not set in stone yet, TikTok will continue to feature creators in its advertising and that, despite some technical challenges, it had been "an incredibly positive experience".


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Blasting booths are a major investment and we felt sharing these twenty five tips in seven key areas would be a perfect education for those lacking the experience or time required to make these assessments.
Columbus, Ohio (PRWEB) May 01, 2013
Blast-One International is proud to announce the release of its blast booth special report, “25 Critical components to assess before spending a dime on a blast room.” The 18 page report reveals component guidelines and suggestions on what to do to make your existing or new blasting operation safe, productive, and profitable. The 25 tips add up to a system that is 10% - 50% more efficient than what many companies may currently be using.
"Sand blasting booths are a major investment and we felt sharing these tips which span seven key areas would be a comprehensive education for those lacking the experience or time required to make these assessments," said Tom Chellberg, Senior Technical Manager.
The blast booth report is a must have for any company interested in the acquisition of blast room or who currently operate their own blasting booth. The report is complementary to industry related companies and can be downloaded from the Blast-One website at https://www.blast-one.com/products/engineered-systems/blast-rooms/.
Blast-One International has been a leading provider of equipment to the Corrosion Control and Protective Coatings Industry for over 35 years. Their focus is on heavy industrial sand blasting. With locations in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and The United Kingdom, Blast-One strives to provide excellent advice and the fastest service and order fulfillment to its clients, worldwide.


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TPG-backed Par Pharmaceutical to Be Acquired by Endo in $8B Deal
May 19, 2015
Par Pharmaceutical, purchased by TPG for $1.9 billion in 2012, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Endo (NASDAQ: ENDP) in a transaction valued at $8.05 billion, including debt. Founded in 1978, Par develops generic drugs, as well as proprietary pharmaceuticals, with more than 80 products available and nearly 120 awaiting regulatory approval. The purchase price will consist of about 18 million shares of Endo equity and a $6.5 billion cash consideration to Par shareholders. Endo, which expects to implement a permanent capital structure to finance the transaction prior to its close, has secured fully committed financing from Deutsche Bank and Barclays to fund the cash consideration. The deal is anticipated to close in 2H.


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If your favorite way to unwind at the end of the week (or, let’s face it, day) is a glass of red wine, there’s some new evidence that suggests it really is helping to improve your mood. But don’t go pouring another glass just yet…
Researchers used mice to test the impact resveratrol—a plant compound found in the skin and seeds of berries and grapes—has on the brain. The university has been testing it for several years after discovering it blocks a certain enzyme in the brain that spurs depression and anxiety, effectively lowering stress and boosting mood.
In the study, led by the University of Buffalo, researchers gave mice 10mg of resveratrol (via capsules) to counteract the effects of the enzyme phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4). The mice did not get wine-drunk for this experiment, as there’s not enough resveratrol in red wine for the compound’s depression-diminishing properties to kick in. So while you’ve seen headlines touting a glass of red wine’s ability to ease depression and anxiety, that’s not quite true. Yes, the resveratrol inhibited PDE4, but it’s not exactly the cure-all wine enthusiasts might have hoped for.
Of all the foods known to have significant levels of resveratrol, red wine has some of the lowest (white wine has even lower). To get your recommended therapeutic amount of resveratrol in a day—just 1 gram, the study says—via wine, you would have to drink hundreds if not thousands of liters. To be clear, that would kill you. Even cutting out the middleman and going straight to the source (i.e. red grapes), would mean eating about 1,700 pounds of grapes.
And while capsules are the best way to get resveratrol into the body, don’t run to the supermarket to pick up supplements. Until more tests are performed with the compound, not much is known about its effects on humans (remember, this study was done on mice). However, resveratrol could have a bright pharmacological future in treating depression, says Ying Xu, M.D., co-author of the study and research associate professor at the University of Buffalo.
In the meantime, try these 20 science-backed ways to reduce stress.
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!


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President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of and former provincial of Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday said that inflation is increased by 1 percent to 5.2 pc in June as compared to 4.2 pc in May 2018. Rupee devaluation against USD has drawn a positive impact over exports which have risen by 46 pc in May this year as compared to the May 2017. Exports have reached to $ 21.33 US which is $ 1 Bn higher than that of 2016-17; however increased inflation caused higher cost of doing business equally affecting all people.
The veteran business leader while talking to the business community said that it is vital for the incoming Government to reduce reliance on imports and improve export sector through incentives and look for new international markets for value added products in order to attain economic stability. To restructure the economic system on modern lines, the incoming Government should introduce business friendly policies, realistic exchange rates, and competitive energy prices for export sector.
The former minister said that free trade agreements should also be reviewed and the informal sector should be provided levelled playing field so that it may partake equally in the economic development of the Country. Reduction in cost of doing business will allow new investors to bring more investment in the industrial sector and existing industries will grow and flourish thus increasing incomes will improve the purchasing power of the people.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that to take Pakistan to a distinguished place across globe, Government should immediately address the burning issues including water scarcity, increased cost of doing business, inflation and global warming. Increasing foreign reserves, improving balance of payment, marketing Pakistan’s products in a modern way and reliance on locally manufactured products are some important areas where Government should focus, he added.
He said that growth of trade and industry depends on the situation of education, skills, power and water supply and tariff, ease of business and law & order situation. Business community is ready to work collectively with the Government and elected representative and to provide support in all aspects. Pakistanis should work together to increase dependency on local products; increase in local products consumption will bring prosperity in the Country and growth to the National economy.


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The Rhode Island Small Business Development Center this week announced the creation of a new, full-time position dedicated to Newport County small businesses.
The Newport Area Regional Director will help area small businesses launch, stabilize, and grow, capitalizing on the many strengths of this beautiful and important economic hub at this crucial time. Accomplished business expert Paul Harden, who is also a longtime Newport resident, will pioneer the position, effective immediately. Harden will work with businesses located in Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton, Bristol and Warren.
The Rhode Island Small Business Development Center (RISBDC) provides small business owners in the state with the services and expertise they need to succeed: no-cost expert counseling, relevant training, and access to vital resources. The RISBDC supports businesses at every stage, from start-up through maturity, and continues to support small businesses throughout the COVID crisis.
“It is critical that the business community has a strong resource now more than ever to survive and thrive during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and moving forward into the future,” said Ed Huttenhower, Executive State Director of the RISBDC in a statement. “Paul will provide the type of assistance that will help the small business community accomplish this.”
“Having a skilled and knowledgeable regional director and business advisor who can dedicate all of his time to this area of the state will help many businesses get through these difficult times and prepare for future opportunities,” said Diane Fournaris, Associate State Director of the RISBDC in a statement.
Harden joined the RISBDC in 2018 and quickly established himself as a valuable part of the team. With more than 30 years of experience with economic development in the Ocean State, working in a wide range of companies both in scope and size, he brings a common-sense approach to business problem solving that is especially needed now. Harden has in-depth knowledge about a variety of industries, including the marine industry, and understands the Newport/East Bay market and what it takes for businesses located in this area to be successful. He is Chair of the City of Newport’s Waterfront Commission and is on the Executive Board as Treasurer of the RI Marine Trades Association. Funding for the position comes from the CARES Act.
The RISBDC’s business counselors cover the entire state, with headquarters on the University of Rhode Island campus in Kingston, plus outreach office locations in Providence, Lincoln, Warwick, Middletown, Westerly, and Warren. The RISBDC is currently offering a variety of virtual workshops at no cost to small business owners and entrepreneurs that address current small business needs and issues.


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Tesla wants to sell melted solar panels in a roof. A significant aesthetic benefit for those who want a beautiful home.
Everyone dreams of having a solar panel installed on their roof. But nobody wants to uproot his home by installing such a device. Manufacturers are trying to hide the technology as they can and in this regard, Tesla may have found a solution, explained in a recently unveiled patent . Quite simply, the product designed by the American firm and announced for a little while acts in trompe-l'oeil: from the ground, the sight makes believe that it is about normal tiles whereas, in fact, they really capture the energy of the sun.
To simplify things a little, Tesla has developed a glass with louvers that become opaque when viewed from a closed angle, while remaining transparent from a bird's eye view to bring in sunlight. To achieve this, engineers combine several layers of materials and two types of tiles – solar and non-solar – that absorb or reflect the rays according to the angle. The illusion is perfect and the photovoltaic cells, developed by Panasonic and so unsightly when installed on an apparent panel, are invisible.
" The Solar Roof adds a touch to the architecture of your home, while transforming sunlight into electricity, " says the official website description . Tesla's technology also relies on a specific assembly and efficient installation of tiles. According to his figures, 98% of the efficiency of photovoltaic cells is preserved with its design. You can even choose the design: textured, smooth, tuscan or slate depending on the style of your home. Tesla promises tougher tiles than traditional ones, which is why he can afford to guarantee them for life. Reservations start at 930 euros.


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Your Netflix Subscription Is About To Get More Expensive
Netflix and Chill is about to get a little pricier, with the popular streaming service announcing that they will be raising prices across all subscription tiers in the coming months.
When you look at the amount of original programing that Netflix has been putting out lately (reportedly spending between $12 billion and $13 billion in 2018 alone), you can see that this price hike was inevitable. The last price increase happened back in 2017.
The service’s most popular plan, previously $11 a month for two HD streams, will rise to $13. The cheapest $8 non-HD plan will now be $9 (who the heck doesn’t have HD in 2019?), while the premium option that allowed four streams in 4K will rise from $14 per month to $16.
Sure, a $2 per month price hike doesn’t sound like much, but when you consider the fact that Netflix has 58 million subscribers in the US, that equates to an extra $116 million a month, enough to keep shows like Friends (which it spent $100 million on to retain) and The Office streaming, along with hit movies like Bird Box and others.
Even with a slew of competition (Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, and Apple’s upcoming streaming service) looking to take market share away from Netflix, it’s unlikely that this price hike will affect their subscriber base one bit. And neither does Wall Street, with Netflix shares rising 6.5% for the day on the news.


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Insider Louisville: Business briefing for May 16
Welcome to the May 16 Monday Business Briefing, your private business intelligence digest from Insider Louisville.
A federal judge’s ruling is threatening to cut revenues of Humana and Aetna by billions of dollars -- though a Humana spokesman said the ruling would have no immediate impact.
New Thai restaurateur plans to fill void in Louisville food scene
Pavana Tasanabriboon has spent 20 years running Thai restaurants, first in Florida and then in New Jersey.
After her daughter graduated college and left New Jersey this spring, Tasanabriboon said she didn't want to stay there, and on a visit to see family — relatives own the restaurant 2B Thai in Elizabethtown — she came across the open space at 2206 Frankfort Ave. and decided to take it.
Something's brewing at Butchertown's ButcherBlock development
A coffee shop will take a spot in developer Andy Blieden's ButcherBlock project.
Blieden told members of the Land Development and Transportation Committee, a subcommittee of Louisville Metro's Planning Commission, what businesses would fill six buildings along Main Street near North Wenzel Street — a photography studio, a specialty food shop, a home goods store/interior design business, a Vietnamese restaurant and a doughnut shop.
GLI opens nominations for Inc.credible awards
Since 2000, Greater Louisville Inc. has been honoring small businesses with Inc.credible awards. Local businesses with 100 or fewer employees can nominate themselves for an award in six categories. Or, of course, you can nominate your favorite small business (cough, cough).
Economy Inn passes its first unannounced health inspection in years
Last month, the notorious Economy Inn on Bardstown Road passed its first unannounced regular health department inspection in over a decade, receiving a score of 90 percent.
MOVE Louisville public forums scheduled
Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government will host four public input session to give residents the opportunity to weigh in on its MOVE Louisville plan.
MOVE Louisville is a $1.4 billion, 20-year transportation improvement plan unveiled earlier this year.
Kroger adding online grocery shopping at Louisville stores
Got kids? In a rush? Have trouble getting around?
Kroger is trying to eliminate the need for some customers to enter the grocery store and making the experience more convenient for shoppers by adding its online grocery shopping system called Clicklist at a growing number of stores in Louisville.
Quest Outdoors hosting grand opening for new Shelbyville Road Plaza store
The Louisville outdoor gear store Quest Outdoors is marking the expansion of its Shelbyville Road Plaza store with a grand opening celebration from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m on Saturday, May 21.
Thousands of jobs available at upcoming career fair
Need a job? Papa John's Stadium will be the site of a massive job fair featuring more than 65 companies with over 1,000 available jobs.
Hack for Change IV
It's once again time to use your hacking skills for the civic good. Code for America's National Day of Civic Hacking is on June 4, and once again, Civic Data Alliance is hosting Hack for Change Louisville, where they will celebrate by using their collective big brains and coding skills to develop software using open public data.
Applications now open for summer classes with Etsy Craft Entrepreneur Program
Earlier this year, IL looked into the city's Etsy Craft Entrepreneur Program, which helps people sell their arts and crafts in the online marketplace, and we talked to instructor Jordan Kavuma, who has run a successful Etsy shop, Thistle and Thread Design, for two years.
CLICK HERE for more on these headlines
RE/MAX Advantage opens new regional offices
Real estate company RE/MAX Advantage is opening its new offices next week in Floyds Knobs at 300 LaFollette Station South, Suite 300.


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Some medical marijuana dispensaries feel like they are being "nickle and dimed" by municipalities and state agencies.
Friday is the deadline for dispensaries to obtain a food license through the state health department if they sell edibles.
That license costs $850 in total for the first year and more than $300 annually per location.
Dispensary owners say it's unneccessary.
“We don’t process any of the edibles here on site. It's all prepackaged before it gets here. If we were packaging them ourselves, it would probably be necessary at that point, but it's not,” said Tim Gaulden from Chronic Solution in Norman.
All Norman dispensaries will also have to pay a $100 business fee. Norman officials told News 9 that money would go to administration costs.
One dispensary said it cannot afford the initial costs to have a food license and will pull its edibles from its metro locations.
The owner of Ziggyz thinks lawsuits could be filed over the food fee.
The City of Moore passed an ordinance to charge medical marijuana businesses $1,200. Officials told News 9 the city hasn’t charged anyone yet due to the possible legal limbo of the fee.