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5G technology is heating up the competition among nations to be the first to fully roll-out a viable commercial version of the next generati
NASA scientists have confirmed, for the first time, the existence of water above the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 moons.
Smart subscribers may head to Smart Stores nationwide to submit their application during the limited pre-order period.
Hundreds of apps available through the Google Play Store and Galaxy Store have been updated to deliver a seamless, foldable experience.
Google said that its research team has achieved a big breakthrough in quantum computing, claiming it attained “quantum supremacy”.
Israeli researchers have produced female monosex crayfish for biological pest control, without their environmentally harmful reproduction.
HP recently revealed a breakthrough in seamless, low-cost efficiency printing with the launch of the HP Neverstop Laser.
Starting from February 2020, APC will roll out new cybersecurity courses under the academy curriculum to students across all disciplines.
AAP Members will soon enjoy exclusive rewards through Seaoil VIP Club cards.
The Israeli hi-tech company Electreon Wireless reported Sunday that it has installed a full system of electric road and successfully completed road charging of Renault Zoe electric vehicle while driving.
TNT KaTropa players spend a Saturday morning with kids to teach them the fundamentals of basketball.


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The Internet broke when the news that the man behind the success of the Marvel movie franchise, Kevin Feige, was being given the keys to the rest of the Marvel kingdom this week.
Actually, the Internet didn’t break, as I imagine none of you were too concerned about this revelation, however, the news does mean some massive changes in the Marvel comic book line, and I imagine there are more than a few players in the comic industry wondering where this will lead.
First of all Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada has been moved sideways through the company, and despite what Marvel says, all signs point to a decline in sales and profit for the comic arm of the industry giant, and Feige must look like the man to return them to an era of massive sales and profitability.
All you need to do is check the performance of some of Marvel’s top tier comics to see that the company must be hugely disappointed with the sales figures on classic characters such as Spider-Man and Captain America. Imagine the boardroom conversations, with films such as Endgame breaking box office records, and yet the comics selling a fraction of what they used to before the movie franchise existed. It almost makes no sense.
Quesada will still be around in a creative capacity, but Feige, who is also in control of the TV shows, will be working closely with the team behind the comics. The obvious conclusion to make is that Feige will be trying to bring the same velocity to the comics as he has with the movies. Perhaps we will see a closer relationship between all the properties, which means fans that enjoy the Avengers films will be able to buy the Avengers comics and recognize the characters that they love. Confusion of the properties not synchronizing could be a factor in the downturn of comic sales, with fans not recognizing the comic book counterparts on the printed page.
Whatever happens, it seems a safe bet to say that such a change has been made for reasons that only Marvel fully understand, and the result of the change may not be obvious to the general comic book reader for a long time to come, however, personally I feel that with the decline in print continuing, the underperformance of the comics and a fanbase that often has a divided opinion, change was always going to be inevitable. Whether that’s for the better or worse will remain to be seen.
To be continued, true believers.

domain: news


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These firms are likely to further consolidate their business with more incentives for digital transactions.
"In the last 12 months, we saw over 3 times growth. Before demonetisation, we were processing monthly transactions of Rs 3,000 crore, which now stands at Rs 6,800 crore across all our verticals," Atom Technologies Managing Director and CEO Dewang Neralla said.
The major contributor to this growth was online payments business, he indicated.
"Our focus has been largely on the education, travel ticketing financial services, C2G payments and cable and wireless industries and we have seen all round growth both in terms of enrolments as well as transactions.
"Payment processing volumes have grown three times to what they were since demonetisation and we still continue to see a healthy growth of around 20 per cent on a month on month basis in transactions in our online payment gateway," he said.
The company is targeting to bring into fold over 10 lakh merchants over the next few months, it said.
Globally, this is seen as an exciting time for fintech, especially payment processing.
According to the Payments Council of India, the growth rate of the digital payments industry, which was earlier in the range of 20-50 per cent, has accelerated post demonetisation to 40-70 per cent.
"However, demonetisation is just one of the milestones towards our country's cashless journey and not the final destination. It conveyed a strong psychological message to our countrymen that cash is not welcome and digitisation of cash is inevitable. This also resulted in doubling of the number of PoS machines in just one year...," Payments Council of India Chairman Navin Surya pointed out.
However, he said, for further accelerating this growth momentum and moving towards a less cash economy, both the government and regulators need to continue efforts.
"...seamless access to payments network and other critical payments infrastructure like UPI and RTGS, among others ...will make sure that incentives continue to grow for digital transactions. These critical steps can drive our current industry growth of 10 per cent transactions to 50 per cent in the next 5 years," he added.
According to Bhavik Vasa - Chief Growth Officer, EbixCash, post-demonetisation, the rhetoric has now changed from bank versus non-bank or wallet versus bank, with the industry witnessing an increased mind share for its digital and cashless journey.
"At Ebix ItzCash we now have more than 2 lakh retail touch points across the country, our ability to be an omni-channel player, has helped us clock a growth of 35-40 per cent across sectors," Vasa said.
Most digital players in the industry have made multi-fold investments in the sector in the last one year in infra, brand, marketing, creating awareness.
Ebix Inc CEO Robin Raina has further committed USD 200 million fund for investments and growth in India.
- Front Page
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- Go First Seeks DGCA Nod to Restart Ops with 22 Aircraft
Wadia Group-owned airline Go First has sought approval to restart flights with 22 planes for the next five months. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had asked for a resumption plan last week after meeting the Go First management.Titan Plan to Buy Out CaratLane Hits Valuation Hurdle
Differences have emerged between the Tata Group and the founders of CaratLane over the valuation of the residual stake held by the founders, leading to a months-long deadlock, said people aware of the matter. India’s largest omni-channel jewellery brand is majority owned by Tata Group company Titan.Baring, Blackstone, 3 Others in Fray to Acquire Indira IVF
Baring PE Asia EQT, Blackstone, Bain Capital, Advent International and TPG Capital have submitted non-binding bids to acquire a majority stake in India’s largest fertility clinic chain, Indira IVF, said people with knowledge of the matter. The deal is expected to value the chain at ₹8,000-10,000 crore ($1-1.2 billion).
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Hello and welcome back to Equity, a startup business podcast where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.
If you own stuff, I’m sorry to report that you’re probably poorer today than you were on Friday, and even less rich than the Friday before. Things are selling out and we had to talk about it:
- Stocks have fallen and cryptos are totally hammered. It’s a bad time to own stocks, but worse when you invest in digital assets. Bitcoin, Ether and Solana take a hit as the stock market withers. I guess this means all our 401k contributions will be cheaper in February? Small wins, but still.
- Swiggy raised a huge round for a just huge price, which is good for the business, but leaves us questioning. OfficeSpace raised $150 million, which caught our eye, and the recent Spectrum Labs seems to make sense.
- And to finish we asked is the party over? This piece by MG Siegler was in our brains as we chewed on the situation. The dissonance between the public and private markets feels like a high point, and we’re not sure how quickly their diverging speeds can hold the tension.
Regardless of how the sale affects you, we hope you have a great week and stay warm. cuddly toys!


text: Right now an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic – everything from plastic bottles and bags to microbeads – end up in our oceans each year. That’s a truck load of rubbish every minute. This plastic is polluting every part of our planet, from Cornwall to Cape Town. Our oceans are slowly turning into a plastic soup and the effects on ocean life are chilling. Big pieces of plastic are choking and entangling turtles and seabirds and tiny pieces are clogging the stomachs of creatures who mistake it for food, from tiny zooplankton to whales. Plastic is now entering every level of the ocean food chain and even ending up in the seafood on our plates.


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Computer Weekly - 1 December 2020: How retailers are using technology to survive
In this week’s Computer Weekly, with high-street retailers struggling to survive through the pandemic, we look at how they are using tech to keep stores relevant. Everyone is focusing on flash storage, but good-old hard disk drives are still an essential part of the IT toolkit. And we examine the latest developments in the ongoing Post Office Horizon IT scandal. Read the issue now.


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Two years ago, investors were very excited about the future prospects of Jack in the Box . At the 2012 Value Investing Conference, analyst Ryan Fusaro argued that Jack in the Box's Qdoba burrito brand could help the stock jump to $57 by 2015 -- at the time, it was trading at $27.50. Today, Jack in the Box is trading near $61, and Fusaro's dream has largely come true.
However, the company is still chasing the kind of success that Chipotle Mexican Grill has had. Chipotle increased comparable sales by 17.3% in its latest quarter, while Qdoba hit just 7.5% in its quarter. Qdoba is still streamlining, though, and there may be more growth ahead for the brand as it continues to focus on its stronger markets.
Qdoba shuts stores, opens stores
In Jack in the Box's most recently reported quarter, the business closed down 62 Qdoba locations. Those were part of the brand's realignment, wherein it exited weaker markets in order to load up on winners. Along with openings in the quarter, the company ended the period with 632 Qdoba locations (up from 592 a year earlier). Compare that to the 1,681 locations Chipotle is managing, and it's clear Qdoba is still the up-and-comer.
Qdoba believes it can achieve Chipotle's scale, as well. The long-term plan is to operate 2,000 locations across America. In 2012, analyst Fusaro predicted the brand would be operating around 1,000 locations in 2015. That now looks optimistic, as Jack in the Box is only planning to open 60 in the next fiscal year, putting the grand total closer to 700.
That's good news for investors, though, as Qdoba and Jack in the Box have been able to push their success beyond Fusaro's prediction with even fewer resources. The smaller footprint also means Qdoba can make changes in its product line and operations more quickly than it could if it were larger.
The value of expertise
Much of Chipotle's high valuation -- it currently trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 60 -- comes from the business's high operating margin. Chipotle has a winning combination of a strong brand and efficient operations. The company's restaurant-level operating margin was 27.3% last quarter, while Qdoba's was 20.6%.
That's more good news for Qdoba fans, as the company has some room to potentially grow into a stronger margin. While this quarter the brand took a hit from commodity costs, it saw less impact from discounting. That bodes well for the future as it reflects higher demand for the brand.
If Qdoba had hit Chipotle's operating margin, it would have earned an additional $5.7 million last quarter, representing an additional $3.7 million in after-tax earnings. Jack in the Box is theoretically sitting on an additional 15% increase in its quarterly earnings per share, if it can get its operations as tight as Chipotle's.
The bottom line
That doesn't mean the company will ever be able to do that. It may be that a 20.6% margin is as good as Qdoba can ever achieve, and that it only ever builds 1,000 or even 1,500 locations. Even so, the business is currently trading at a P/E of 29.2, making it significantly cheaper than Chipotle.
If Qdoba can unlock some of the potential in its income statement, it has a chance to seriously reward investors over the next few years. That doesn't even account for the other changes Jack in the Box can make to its name-brand operations, or the possibility that it could spin Qdoba off at some point. All of the upside makes it hard to ignore Jack in the Box, even if Chipotle is still sitting on the fast-casual throne.
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The article Look Out, Chipotle! Qdoba Is Coming originally appeared on Fool.com.
Andrew Marder has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2014 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .


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TheTourAttraction.com aims to provide the latest global travel and free travel news, travel and visa policies, and flight information. We hope to provide insights into tourism market, technology and development trends with everyone by providing the latest relevant information. Despite the raging COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, we always firmly believe that mankind will overcome the disease and the tourism market will definitely recover. TheTourAttraction.com look forward to your attention and support, and witness the development of the global tourism industry with us. Looking forward to the information TheTourAttraction.com provide can help you. We will continue to follow up and obtain the latest data, and look forward to your attention and support.
The following is the [Travel News]: US-China routes get first “circuit breaker”; Indians question three-test rule | Daily Brief from [ChinaTravelNews] recommended by TheTourAttraction.com:
Hotel linen supply IoT platform Tuxiaoer raises nearly $4 million; Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong drop by over 90% for 9 consecutive months.
Hotel linen supply IoT platform Tuxiaoer raises nearly $4 million
>> Tuxiaoer, an Internet of Things technology company specialized in hotel linen supply, has raised RMB 25 million (USD 3.8 million) in its recent financing round led by Qihong Investment and Gongchuang Investment in Shenzhen. The company will use the proceeds to fully expand its linen IoT lines and go further by upgrading the IoT system, implanting RFID chips and growing its market share.
Kyoto is empty of Chinese tourists, and Japanese netizens would like to keep it that way
>> Alibaba’s travel platform Fliggy joined forces with the West Japan Railway Company to “bring popular tourist attractions in Kyoto online to Chinese netizens”. The former imperial capital was chosen because of its existing popularity with travelers from the Middle Kingdom. But many Japanese netizens complained that Kyoto had already been suffering from overtourism before the pandemic. The absence of tourists is a chance to assess the situation and implement more sustainable tourism management.
China’s top diplomat to visit Japan next week, focus on travel resumption
>> Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi plans to visit Japan next week for meetings with senior Japanese officials during which they are likely to focus on ways to resume reciprocal business travel, Japanese government sources said Wednesday. The two sides had hoped to restart travel as early as mid-November but have not been able to because of a resurgence of coronavirus infections in Japan.
Indians question necessity of China’s three-test coronavirus travel rule
>> China requires travelers from India to have three Covid-19 tests before boarding a plane. While the approach reflects China’s strict control mentality to detect every case, in India getting all tests done in three days could be a challenge, experts say. Under the protocol that started on November 7, passengers in India must take their first nucleic acid test up to three days before boarding China-bound flights, followed by a second nucleic acid test and an IgM antibody test up to 36 hours before boarding. India has almost hit 9 million Covid-19 cases and China seeks to ensure no new outbreaks are imported by travelers.
US-China routes see first “circuit breaker” due to 10 imported virus cases
>> Air China’s flights from Los Angeles to Tianjin will be suspended for four weeks starting from November 23, marking the first “circuit breaker” on the US-China air routes. The Chinese flag carrier reported 10 COVID-19 positive cases on the CA988 flight on November 9.
Air France flight to Shanghai is suspended
>> Air France’s flight from Paris to Shanghai has been suspended by China’s civil aviation regulator for a week from November 23. Flight AF198 was suspended after six passengers on a flight from Paris tested positive for COVID-19 on November 6, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Wednesday.
“All eyes” on Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble as Asian countries prepare for more
>> Eric Gnock Fah, co-founder and COO of bookings platform Klook, told CNBC that all eyes are now on the highly-anticipated Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble. If successful, he’s optimistic that there will be more of such travel bubbles in the region. Travelers from Singapore proved particularly restless, he noted, with travel searches from the tiny city-state up 8-10 times versus 3-5 times in Hong Kong.
Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong drop by over 90% for 9 consecutive months
>> The Hong Kong Tourism Board has announced that visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in October dropped by 99.8% year on year to 7,817, making October the ninth month to witness a decline of over 90 percent since February due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


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As a specialty retailer laser-focused on climbing gear, Boulder store Rock and Resole has avoided the inventory overhang issue affecting the broader outdoor industry.
By providing hard-to-find gear and keeping orders tight, the retailer and cobbler saw steady growth and isn’t sitting on a pile of unsold product.
The winter period saw a slight increase in sales over the same period the year prior, according to Keiko Tanaka, general manager of Rock and Resole.
While sales numbers aren’t 30% higher year-over-year like they were in 2021, the store is doing slightly better than last year.
Sales in 2023 are up about 5% year-over-year, according to Tanaka.
While other big retailers are worried about how to offload excess product and are heavily discounting items across several segments, Tanaka’s main concern is turning over items such as climbing shoes from companies that consistently put out new shoes or update previous models before the store has moved through its inventory of current styles.
“That’s one of the hardest things to keep up with as a smaller retailer,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of space.”
Sally Gilman and Colby Rickard own the retail store that started in 2015. The cobbling shop upstairs was originally founded in 1989 by Eric Pauwels.
The 1,500-square-foot, niche store stocks general climbing gear, in addition to equipment such as crack gloves and ice climbing gear.
“We don’t sell any other outdoor equipment here, so we can really focus on climbing,” Tanaka said.
Shoe Ordering Still a Struggle
Tanaka has been trying to anticipate four to six months in advance if a shoe is going to change so she can manage her floor space accordingly.
Precise ordering remains a challenge, even after the pandemic has ended.
“We still see the struggles of not being able to get sizes and equipment that we need because it’s on backorder for months at a time,” Tanaka said.
Rock and Resole carries over a dozen brands of shoes and more than 80 models.
Popular shoes recently have been Tenaya’s Indalo, La Sportiva’s Katana and TC Pro. “Those are tried and true shoes that are always popular,” Tanaka said.
Scarpa’s Instinct sells well, which is why you see a handful of different models within that one line, according to Tanaka.
She also expects Scarpa’s Generator, which is replacing the Maestro, to perform strongly.
Other notable mentions include Mad Rock’s Drone and Shark, Evolv’s Yosemite Bum, Five Ten’s Grandstone, and Butora’s Acro and Altura.
Drawing Traffic to Rock and Resole
Shoes are a major category for the company not only because of the retail store, but because of the resole business.
Tanaka said it brings in foot traffic and helps customer awareness that the business also has a specialty store.
About two-thirds of the resole customers ship in their shoes, and another one-third bring them in.
Rock and Resole is the authorized resole company for several brands, including La Sportiva and Scarpa.
Another trend that’s adding to the store’s customer base: The rising popularity of indoor climbing gyms.
That doesn’t necessarily translate to sales of some of the more advanced equipment, but it does lead to customers looking for a beginner setup of shoes, a harness, a chalk bag, and a belay device.
The staff first directs new climbers to find a comfortable shoe, so they use their feet and don’t rely too much on their hands when on the wall.
A good price range for an entry-level shoe is $100-$140, Tanaka said.
Aside from climbing shoes, the store carries a few approach shoes that appeal to people in the Boulder area who want to climb features such as the Flatirons.
After a climber is outfitted with the basics, other items that are selling well for the store are:
- Rocky Talkie two-way radios, which can be used all year and for other sports such as skiing or mountain biking.
- Totem and Black Diamond cams for trad climbing.
- Chalk bags with designs on them that appeal to a climber’s personality.
- Harnesses, including lightweight alpine style and big wall harnesses, for aid climbing.
- Niche items such as aid climbing gear including pitons, ladder-style aiders and the Petzl Connect Adjust.
With these products, Tanaka estimates about half of the sales come from Rock and Resole’s online store, because “people can’t find them anywhere,” she said.
The Ice Coop, an indoor dry-tooling gym for ice climbing training, is next door, and those climbers often shop at Rock and Resole for their gear.
“Having the equipment that those climbers need to do those things is huge for our business,” Tanaka said.
Bart Schaneman can be reached at email@example.com.


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‘We can’t force them’ - Will customers be turned away without a face mask in Thetford?
- Credit: Copyright: Archant 2020
As face masks are being enforced in shops across Norfolk this week, it is up to businesses to make sure everyone is sticking to the rules. EDP reporter EMILY THOMSON spoke with three Thetford shops about how they will enforce it.
From Friday, shoppers who are not wearing a mask are at risk of being turned away or even handed a fine.
But as we all get used to the new rules, how lenient will businesses be?
Thetford Garden Centre said they will work with customers to ensure everyone is wearing a mask when they enter the store.
General manager, Julian Chittock, said: “We aren’t looking to turn customers.
“Our aim is to enable everyone to come into the centre with a face mask on.
“We will initially provide masks for the first day or two for people who have forgotten and we have masks for sale.
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“But generally, our customers are really good and supportive of what we are doing and since Boris’s announcement there has been a notable increase in people wearing face coverings already.
“Since being able to open, we have taken the safety of our staff and customers very seriously and we have followed all of the guidelines.”
Edinburgh Woollen Mill in Thetford’s town centre has said it hopes customers will follow the new rules but they can’t force them.
Thetford supervisor, Joanna Alves, said: “The information we have got from head office is that we cannot force any customer to wear a mask.
“We are lucky with our customers because they don’t mind using sanitiser and a lot of them already come with a mask on so, I think we will be okay.
“Every store is exactly the same. But we definitely won’t be sending anyone away.”
And Nick Day, supervisor at Time2Vape, also in Thetford Town Centre, said they will be providing masks for anyone who doesn’t have one.
Mr Day said: “We will be offering free masks for anyone who wishes to shop.
“We have an abundance of them and if any customers comes in the shop without one, we will just politely ask them to take a mask out of the pack.”


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Privacy and consumer advocates have a response to the policy tweaks announced by Facebook yesterday: Nice try, Zuckerberg. But not nearly good enough.
Such was the collective disposition during a 30-minute teleconference attended by nine organizations and a mix of major general circulation and business publications on Thursday afternoon. The advocates characterized Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s newest privacy-related announcements as nothing more than strategically preemptive moves to distract the FTC and Congress from taking a hard line on data issues. They complained about too many default settings remaining opt-in instead of being changed to opt-out – particularly the Instant Personalization program.
The same critics did concede that the privacy control simplifications were a step in the right direction. But they say that Facebook’s real intent has little to do with privacy concerns and a lot to do with the monetization of user data. And they pointed to the similarities between what’s happened in the last month to the way the Beacon controversy unfolded as a material reason for such skepticism.
Here are a handful of their more interesting comments:
John Simpson, privacy advocate with Consumer Watchdog:
“I think this whole process shows a…mindset that Facebook follows and Google follows. And that’s that you push the envelope as far as you can. You grab whatever data you can. And then if there’s push-back, you then change back and do something else. It’s an operating mode of, ’Never ask permission – you can always ask for forgiveness.’ If they were sincere about privacy, the default mode for everything would be the minimal amount of sharing and if you wish to share more, you opt in to doing that. I don’t think we have any reason now to trust the company based on their past record.”
Jeff Chester, co-founder of the Center for Digital Democracy:
“It took this unprecedented cross-Atlantic pressure – policy pressure – to get Facebook to change. These were positive changes that were made under the duress. They are simpler controls, but much more is needed…What Facebook has done is consciously create an architecture to encourage the transmission of user data so that it can be mined for advertising purposes without the user understanding the process.”
Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of Privacy Journal:
Chip Pitts, president of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and a professor at Stanford Law School:
“We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that despite the procedural improvements made as a result of Facebook’s new approach to privacy, the substance does remain largely unchanged in terms of the default settings. Until the users’ control over their own information is truly fully realized – and that’s what is at issue here in an ongoing basis – there are still substantial questions about the deceptiveness to Facebook’s approach to these issues.”
Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse:
“Certainly, Facebook has taken a step in the right direction in terms of simplifying things. However, we do regard the changes as largely superficial… We are particularly troubled by the default settings and by the largely opt-out approach. We view much of what has been done as a preemptive strike against regulation by the Federal Trade Commission.”
Follow Christopher Heine on Twitter at @ChrisClickZ.
A class action lawsuit against an internet-connected pleasure device highlights the potential pitfalls a growing number of companies will face as they embrace ... read more
Google sparked a small firestorm last week as reports surfaced that its intelligent assistant device Google Home delivered an unsolicited advertisement to unsuspecting owners.
According to Internet Retailer's newly released The Best Digital Marketers in E-Commerce report, Target is the most effective marketer in online retail. So why is it struggling overall?
The rise of YouTube and digital video generally has a lot to do with the rise of the internet and the abundance of digital video content. But YouTube's ascendency is also the result of Google's savvy use of algorithms.


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If it ain't broke: Gap scraps new logo after Facebook backlash
After twenty years of the iconic logo, international retailer Gap made the mistake of introducing a new one earlier this month to help boost flailing sales figures.
But as thousands of shoppers flooded social networking sites attacking the new design, the retail store has now been forced to ditch it.
Part of a modernisation campaign - including the launch of an online store last month - Gap's new design was meant to be 'a modern, sexy cool' new approach to fashion.
Revamp: Gap's new logo, left, temporarily replaced the twenty-year old iconic design
But the move sparked outrage on sites including Facebook, with Conde Nast lifestyle magazine Vanity Fair branding the marketing strategy 'infantile'.
Marka Hansen, president of Gap, said: 'All of the comments say over and over that they are passionate about our blue box logo and want it back. So we've decided to do that.'
A Twitter account opposing the change gathered 5,000 followers and more than 2,000 comments were posted on Facebook.
Under fire: Thousands of posts since appeared on Twitter and Facebook attacking the new design, pictured here on Gap's website, calling it 'bland', ugly' and 'an utter failure'
A 'make your own Gap logo' spoof website was even set up after the company called on customers to send in designs.
Mark Chouke, editor of Marketing Week, told the Daily Mirror: ' Gap stands for out, vitality and edge but this looks like the logo of an IT firm'
The San-Francisco based retailer's Twitter page last week explained 'It's time for a change' but also called on customers to submit ideas.
Gap's Twitter page said: ' Thanks for the logo buzz! After 20 yrs, it’s time for a change. We like the new one, but want to see your ideas. '
International: The chain operates nearly 300 stores in Europe and Asia and is the 84th most-valuable brand in the world
Gap's logo is twenty years old. The company was started in 1969.
The chain operates nearly 300 stores in Europe and Asia and is the 84th most-valuable brand in the world, according to Interbrand's 2010 study.
The group values the brand at nearly $4 billion despite a 2 per cent drop in sales last month.
Perhaps it's time Gap revist the theory that if it ain't broke, don't fix it - and think of alternative ways to boost figures.
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Retail TouchPoints recently interviewed Kobie VP of Business Development and Marketing, Bram Hechtkopf, for “Trend Watch: Crowdsourcing and Loyalty Programs Converge,” an article that looks at how loyalty programs and crowdsourcing are coming together. Bram argues that “as brands continue to integrate loyalty with social, which is really where crowdsourcing and its community-based aspects come into play, brands will start to get some powerful feedback.” Bram discusses how crowdsourced loyalty could be great for small to medium-sized companies, giving an example of a small-town ice cream business in Maine. Read the full article featuring Bram and other marketing thought leaders here.
Bram also notes that “you can define crowdsourced loyalty however you’d like,” a reminder that it is an emerging but still-early trend. Adi Gaskell, a commentator on social business and innovation, discussed crowdsourcing in a blog post last year, and specifically My Starbucks Idea. Adi points out that Starbucks, which has one of the best loyalty programs, only implements 1 out of every 200 crowdsourced ideas. “Contrast that to crowdsourcing ideas from within the business,” Adi writes. “At a low tech level, car manufacturer Toyota regularly implements thousands of employee suggestions each year, and they can do so because those employees typically know the business inside out. …It’s smartsourcing rather than crowdsourcing.
How can big brands make crowdsourcing a “smarter” loyalty tactic? Bram points out the potential for smaller brands, but could better loyalty technology, like our Alchemy® platform, make consumer crowdsourcing “smarter”?
Stay tuned as we’ll be sharing more on Alchemy updates in the very near future. Or email us at email@example.com to receive more information.


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A second Magic Kingdom restaurant got mobile ordering this week, making it that much easier to skip the line for food at the typically-busy theme park.
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café was added to Disney's mobile ordering lineup on Tuesday, joining MK's Tomorrowland Terrace, which was introduced to the program July 11.
The service, where guests can skip the line and order their food, drinks and desserts from the comfort of their cell phone, was first introduced at Satu'li Canteen, an eatery inside the new Pandora -- The World of Avatar.
Since launching in May, the service quickly expanded to include Pizzafari, Flame Tree Barbecue and Restaurantosaurus, all located in Animal Kingdom, and D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs.
Users order food and drinks through the My Disney Experience app on their phone and pay online with a stored credit card.
Disney has plans to continue expanding the technology around Walt Disney World Resort.
The inside scoop of Orlando news from the folks living it everyday.


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Reagan Demands Progress by Allies to End Trade Curbs
President Reagan criticized the trade policies of unnamed allies Saturday, warning that the United States will seek an end to “intolerable” curbs on sales of farm goods and other products when a 92-nation trade meeting opens Monday.
In a radio talk addressing one of his party’s sorest political spots, Reagan demanded tangible progress from allies on freer trade when a meeting of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade convenes in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
He several times blamed allies for adding to the nation’s projected $175-billion annual trade deficit, saying Americans are “some of the hardest hit” by foreign farm-export subsidies, “victimized” by foreign thefts of patents, and injured by foreigners who “cordon off” exports of American services such as telecommunications.
Reagan repeated, however, that he rejects demands to retaliate by raising similar trade barriers in the United States. Legislation to place quotas and tariffs on a range of foreign goods has been pushed in Congress for almost two years by members of both political parties.
Advocates Opening Markets
“The answer to our trade balance problem is not to close our markets, cut imports or collapse trade,” the President said. “Millions of American jobs are tied to imports. The way to a better life is to open markets now closed, improve trading conditions and to expand our exports.”
Agriculture Secretary Richard E. Lyng, Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige and Trade Representative Clayton K. Yeutter will be “fighting hard” to ease foreign trade barriers at the Uruguay talks, Reagan said.
The so-called GATT talks were advocated primarily by the United States, which hopes most to lower trade barriers in areas where Americans are most competitive, including agricultural goods and business services. Some experts also say the talks will allow the White House to score political points for its pro-trade efforts before November’s congressional elections, aiding Republican candidates who are being harassed by Democrats over the U.S. trade problems.
The Democrats, in their broadcast response to Reagan’s address, said Saturday that the President’s refusal to crack down harder on foreign trade practices has forced American manufacturers to move factories abroad, leaving low-paying jobs in their wake.
“We’re losing our decent-paying jobs in manufacturing, oil and gas production and in heavy industry,” Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said. “The new jobs are for people serving Big Macs.”
Import Record Expected
For the first time in history, Bingaman noted, United States imports in 1986 are expected to total twice the value of its exports.
In laying out a tough American stance for the GATT talks, Reagan hit hardest at foreign farm subsidies, a “mutually destructive” practice in which nations artificially lower the price of their farmers’ exported goods and sometimes raise tariffs to discourage imports as well. The United States has been especially critical of European Economic Community nations for subsidizing farm exports in competition with American goods.
“Friendly nations trying to help domestic producers are undermining the well-being of farmers all over the world,” Reagan said in his speech. “And American farmers are some of the hardest hit. The situation is intolerable, and we expect to have it corrected.”
While many experts agree that stiff trade barriers injure some American industries, the Reagan Administration’s own record on subsidies and restrictions is less than pure.
The United States last month signed a new agreement limiting 53 nations’ textile imports in an effort to fend off harsher trade curbs demanded by domestic manufacturers and their congressional representatives. Turkey grudgingly reached a separate agreement in July to limit its textile exports to the United States.
Sugar Dumped on Market
Last year, the Administration lent American sugar farmers the equivalent of 17.72 cents per pound of sugar to finance the planting of their crops. After farmers defaulted on the loans, the government has dumped almost 300,000 tons of the sugar on the world market at prices as low as 3 cents a pound.
Caribbean sugar-producing nations warned in August that the plummeting price of the product, as well as growing barriers to sugar imports in the United States, are having a “devastating” impact on their economies.
The United States outraged its Australian allies last month when it agreed to sell wheat to the Soviet Union at federally subsidized prices that not only undercut wheat prices in America, but those of Australian farmers as well.
Trade barriers and subsidies erected by a number of allies are often “more flagrant” than those erected in the United States, said William R. Cline, an expert at the Institute for International Economics in Washington.
But the array of American trade restrictions imposed in recent months in areas such as farming and textiles--industries vital to less developed nations--"make it pretty unlikely” that trading partners will lower their barriers without American concessions, Cline said.


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Spooky season is just around the corner and The Outlet Shoppes at El Paso is ready to lead the way as Halloween Headquarters for the entire Paso del Norte region.
Halloween festivities started early with the opening of The Asylum, a haunted attraction created by Los Angeles-based designer and producer Danny Vasquez.
“We’ve brought a brand new experience to El Paso,” said Vasquez. “It’s not your normal Halloween haunted house, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen in El Paso.”
Vasquez’s work has been sought after by high-profile celebrities such as The Kardashians, George Lopez, Paris Hilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears and many others.
An 8,000 square foot space has been transformed into a spooky chasm where attendees will be “involuntarily committed” to The Asylum, which has been overtaken by serial killers, creepy clowns, the deranged and undead lurking around every corner.
Mall officials add that Spirit Halloween store also opened their doors for shoppers this week. Visitors will find a wide assortment of costumes, accessories, and decorations to get fully kitted out for Halloween parties.
Shoppers will also be able to participate in one of those parties at The Outlet Shoppes at El Paso – the Halloween costume contest will be held on Saturday, October 23 and participants will be able to win a variety of prizes.
The Asylum: A Haunting in El Paso | Open Every Day – 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM


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Group fitness could push-up to a whole new level if a Google Glass trial by Western Australian health insurer HBF proves positive.
The trial, which HBF believes is the first of its kind in Australia, is testing how Google Glass could help deliver a personal trainer experience in a group fitness setting.
Trainers of HBF Fitness, have started using the Glass in a series of in-house trials. The Glass features an app designed specifically for HBF Fitness by HBF’s information technology team.
HBF executive general manager, Health and Wellness Jennifer Solitario said the idea was born from HBF’s desire to become a health partner.
“Providing great health insurance is one thing, but we want to do more. We want to help our members live well and manage their health. HBF Fitness is a great example of this,” Solitario said.
“Now in its third year, our aim was to take peoples’ HBF Fitness experience to the next level by giving them a more tailored workout, while still in a group setting. Google Glass could potentially do this, it’s an exciting concept to be trialling.”
Wearing the Glass, HBF Fitness trainers can:
• View a weather forecast based on their location.
• View participant’s individual health and fitness information and adapt their training accordingly.
• Refer to pre-programmed HBF Fitness session plans and a stopwatch.
• Record and play-back vision.
HBF trainer, Max Tamatoa admitted the Glass would take time to get used to, but its use in a group fitness setting had some encouraging practical benefits.
“We’re always looking for ways to help participants get more from their workouts, so this is an exciting trial to be part of.
“When a participant arrives for a session, we check them in by scanning their unique QR code. This immediately tells me their individual fitness status, including injuries, which allows me to train them at an appropriate intensity,” Tamatoa said.
“And the Glass’s record and play-back feature is really useful for honing technique.”
“Like most tablets or phones, the Glass has an intuitive design which makes moving through
the features quite natural. Like anything new, the more I use the Glass, the more natural it will feel, for me and our participants.”
HBF will continue a test-and-learn approach to its Google Glass trial.
The in-house trial’s success will determine whether the technology is rolled out to all 20 HBF Fitness locations in the future.
Over recent days reports in the UK press have suggested that bosses of the Paris-headquartered Publicis Groupe had sounded out a private equity firm for a part or potential sale. The rumours were first reported on UK media site Campaign last week and have since been embellished further in the media in previous days. The […]
On 31 March, the Sailor Jerry Rolling Stone Australia Awards will be celebrating the achievements of the breadth of Australian musicians from what has been a trying and unpredictable 2020. Today, Rolling Stone Australia has revealed the nominees for the event, paying homage to the year that was in music. The Brag Media, Australia’s number […]
Content discovery and native advertising platform Taboola has announced the beta of ‘Taboola Stories’, a new way for publishers to engage readers through short-form video. Publishers will be able to embed Taboola Stories within their homepages and articles in mobile environments, presenting readers with constantly updated recommendations that, once selected, launch vertical, mobile-friendly stories that […]
The Australian metropolitan commercial radio audience grew by two per cent to nearly 11.1 million listeners in 2020, in a year dominated by COVID-19 which saw the number of people listening at home jump by eight per cent to 6.4 million. Commercial Radio Australia’s annual listening summary, based on an average of the five official […]
Australian congenital heart disease profit-for-purpose charity HeartKids has launched a new brand strategy, identity and logo created by independent brand and design agency Hulsbosch. Leaders in the fight to conquer congenital heart disease, HeartKids aims is to raise awareness of the disease, as well as enhance the conditions’ profile as a health priority to a […]
TotallyAwesome, the Asia Pacific’s most advanced forum for kids and brands to safely interact via the internet, is launching a new service for brands to connect with young audiences. The business has also engaged an eminent Melbourne-based paediatric psychologist to assist with appropriate brand and audience connectivity. The new service, called AwesomeLTV, is an acceleration of TotallyAwesome’s abilities to […]
Nine Entertainment SVOD service Stan has revealed its original series, RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, will be arriving to the platform in 2021. The eight-part, first-ever local adaption of the global hit series will see “the most fabulous” and “fierce” local drag queens compete to be the first ever Down Under Drag Race Superstar, Stan […]
In his first post for 2021, B&T regular Robert Strohfeldt points his magnifying glass at digital media’s hype and argues it’s possibly not cracked up to all it purports to be… In the past few months, I have seen many CVs of young graduates seeking a career in marketing and/or advertising. I could fool myself […]
B2B marketing agency McCorkell has announced that it has been appointed an official Asia-Pacific partner of RainFocus, the next-generation event marketing and management platform. The collaboration will see both companies come together to shake up the end-to-end event service model across APJ. “As the only true integrated event marketing and management platform servicing everything from […]


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The Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report recently released by researchers across UNU, UNITAR, ITU, and ISWA says that we have gone from generating 44.4 million metric tons per year of electronic waste (e-waste) in 2014 to 53.6 million metric tons per year in 2019. Additionally, StEP published a paper titled Future E-waste Scenarios which estimates that we are likely to generate about 111 million metric tons annually by 2050. Currently, around 17.4% of the e-waste is properly recycled, and 8% is estimated to be waste bin disposals.
To work towards building a future free of these staggering numbers of e-waste, Nirav Patel writes in his blog that they can curb this problem by lessening the waste that is generated by technology users. He shares that this can be done “by repairing our products instead of buying new ones and designing products to be longer lived. This requires companies and consumers to both embrace repair, upgradeability, and long software support lifetimes.” With that as his vision, he founded Framework, and together with his team firmly believes that we can try to reduce e-waste on a global level by changing what products we buy and how we buy them.
Modular consumer electronics built to last
Framework builds consumer electronics that will adapt to its consumers’ environment rather than the opposite. Alternatively, for those who have damaged electronic parts, there is room for consumers to breathe and not worry about replacing the entire system.
So, what are they fixing? They are fixing or bridging the gap created by electronic companies that force their consumers to succumb to their for-profit plans. By adding replaceable, repairable, and dependable to their manual, Framework has brought the ball to the customer’s court.
Late retro nostalgia
The idea behind Framework’s laptops is to provide a powerful machine that is customizable. Apart from adding memory and storage to the device, the customer can also customize the ports they want, bezel color, keyboard language, and motherboard.
True to the goals of the company, these products are also repairable. They will include the repair tools in the box, and publish repair guides and videos. The laptops’ frame is made of milled aluminum, enabling repairability and upgradeability without adding bulk. With 15.85mm thickness and 1.3kg weight, the Framework modular laptops are available in 13.5″ display.
Meanwhile, DIY Edition allows Framework’s laptops to be customized from their roots which is very reminiscent of the boom of DIY laptops from the late 90s. From the memory, storage to WiFi, and operating system customization, the configurations are endless.
In terms of their environmental commitments, power to the user approach, and not making touch-me-not devices, Framework has established a league of its own. This gives users much room for imagination, creativity, and freedom to choose how they want their laptops to be while taking a step towards being more environmentally conscious. The laptops cost $999 while DIY Edition starts at $749, both available for pre-order.


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Standard Chartered India has begun issuing a platinum version of its "Manhattan" credit card, a bank official tells CardLine Global. The bank hopes to gain more customers between the ages of 30 and 35 who earn at least 500,000 rupees (US$11,700 or 7,500 euros) annually, says R.L. Prasad, the bank's general manger for credit cards and personal loans. The bank has issued some 250,000 regular Manhattan cards and hopes to issue 100,000 platinum cards by 2009, Prasad says. The platinum cards offer 5% cash-back rewards for purchases made at supermarkets and department stores. Cardholders pay an annual fee of 2,000 rupees. Standard Chartered has issued 1.6 million cards in India, Prasad says.
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Citigroup Data Theft Hits 90,000 Consumers In Japan
CCJ said the compromised information included account numbers, names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, genders and opening account dates. Security information such as personal identification numbers and card security codes were not compromised, according to the statement.
“While the risk...
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Buoyed not only by its growing share in international markets and its high-margin sales of concentrate syrup but also its high-profile advertising in preparation for the Centennial Olympic Games, the Coca-Cola Company reported yesterday that its profits had soared 17 percent during the second quarter.
Net income rose to $1.05 billion, or 42 cents a share, from $898 million, or 35 cents a share, in the corresponding quarter last year, matching the expectations of analysts.
Shares of the world's largest beverage company fell $1.625, to $45.50, on the New York Stock Exchange on a day when the Dow Jones industrial average fell 161 points.
"It was an impressive quarter," said Martin Romm, a securities analyst for CS First Boston. "The benefits of the Olympic sponsorship are kicking in, and this will be a banner year for Coke." Significantly, the company's "three most profitable markets -- the United States, Germany and Japan -- had very solid volume growth of 7.5 percent, 5 percent, and 11 percent, respectively," said Andrew J. Conway, a beverage analyst for Morgan Stanley & Company.
In a statement, Roberto C. Goizueta, Coca-Cola's chairman and chief executive, said that "with this kind of start, we are quite confident about again meeting our long-range target of 7 to 8 percent annual worldwide volume growth." Indeed, Coke's worldwide case volume increased more than 8 percent in the second quarter, on top of 10 percent growth in the corresponding quarter in 1995.Continue reading the main story
And United States case volume grew 7.5 percent last quarter, compared with 6 percent growth in the second quarter of 1995. That was more than twice the growth rate of the rest of the United States soft-drink industry. The company's Coca-Cola Classic and Diet Coke brands benefited from the continuing rollout of their plastic countour packaging, the company said.
In the second quarter, Coke's Sprite was the fastest-growing major soft-drink brand in the United States, up 20 percent in gallon shipments, Mr. Conway said. "That brand provided more than 50 percent of Coca-Cola's incremental volume growth in the second quarter," he said.
Explaining the reason for Sprite's success, Mr. Conway cited the new green plastic "dimple" bottle as well as distribution improvements and a marketing campaign aimed at 15- to 25-year-olds.
Mr. Romm said the company was "focusing on the concentrate business," the high-margin sale of syrup rather than bottles or cans. "There was a very significant increase in gross profit margin, and that reflects a shift in mix toward higher-margin concentrate sales," he said.
In the second quarter, revenues were up only 6 percent, to $5.253 billion from $4.936 billion, a percentage increase smaller than beverage volume growth. Mr. Conway said that the strength of the United States dollar against the Japanese yen and the German mark had had "a real impact" on revenues, "which would have grown in double digits if not for the currency issue," he said. About a quarter of Coca-Cola's revenues came from Germany and Japan alone. Internationally, case volume grew 29 percent in Eastern Europe, 16 percent in France, 5 percent in Germany and 7 percent in Britain. According to the company, Latin American case volume grew 8 percent over all during the second quarter, following a 10 percent increase in the second quarter of 1995. Mr. Romm said that the case-volume growth in Argentina, up 6 percent, and Mexico, up 5 percent, were "surprisingly good, because they were weaker markets throughout 1995."Continue reading the main story


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Joe Danger Infinity, the latest installment Hello Games long-running series, will launch on iOS platforms later this week. The official release date for the game is January 9th 2014, according to Pocket Gamer.
The date is almost exactly a year since the previous installment, simply named Joe Danger, was released on iOS devices (January 10th 2013.) The release also comes within a month of the game being announced. For those unfamiliar with it, the Joe Danger series are side-scrolling racing/platforming games, with Joe Danger 2: The Movie, the most recent console iteration, currently available on Xbox Live, PSN and PC.
Joe Danger Infinity takes a miniature spin on the popular franchise, shrinking the protagonist down to the size of toy for this set of adventures. It features at least 20 vehicles and 25 toys (or characters), and Hello Games have confirmed that they will be releasing extra content for it post-launch. They are the studio behind the enigmatic No Man’s Sky, who recently had some trouble with flooding though, so how this will effect their future endeavors we don’t yet know.
Joe Danger Infinity launches 09/01/2014 for mobile iOS devices, and will cost £1.99 or $2.99 from the Apple App Store.
- This article was updated on:March 8th, 2018


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Woolworths eyes sale of stores to US buyer for just £1
Woolworths could sell its 800 High Street stores for just £1 to a U.S. company that specialises in takeovers of distressed businesses.
Just weeks after arriving as chief executive, Steve Johnson has opened talks with Hilco about a deal that would offload the shops and allow Woolworths to focus on its 2entertain and EUK media and distribution businesses.
A short statement to the stock market today confirmed that tentative talks had been held, but offered little detail. Woolies' beleaguered shares fell 0.46p to 3.35p despite the news.
Talks: New chief executive Steve Johnson wants to get rid of Woolworths stores and focus on media and distribution businesses
Former chief executive Trevor Bish-Jones was ousted after six years to make way for Johnson. Bish-Jones usually claimed a demerger of the company was not possible while the shops' trading performance remained so poor.
Johnson could bank millions if he can pull off a deal. Getting the share price back to 20p triggers a £4.8million bonus.
It is not clear what Hilco would do with the shops. With the economy in recession, all retailers are struggling. Woolworths issued a profit warning in July, and analysts say it may barely break even this year.
It is being squeezed by price competition from both supermarkets and the internet, making it hard to find a workable niche in the market.
Hilco will not want to assume responsibility for Woolworths' £100million pension fund, or its debts. How much of these liabilities it is willing to take on could be key to any deal. Despite Woolworths' troubled position, Hilco could face competition.
Retailers including Iceland boss Malcolm Walker have taken stakes in Woolies in the hope it can be turned around, or value can be extracted in some other way.
Baugur and property tycoon Ardeshir Naghshineh have also invested in the shares. Woolworths has some property interests, but in most cases the stores are on leases rather than freehold.
The company's bankers, already nervous about getting paid, will take a close interest in the terms of any Hilco deal.
Burdale Financial and GMAC lent Woolworths £385million last January, secured against various assets including shares.
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Weed Delivery: Online 🟢
Bod Australia (ASX: BDA) revealed this morning it has experienced “significant growth” in prescriptions for its medicinal cannabis product, with this growth expected to expand further once numerous applications have been granted.
During June and July, Bod filled 220 prescriptions for its 5% CBD MediCabilis product – up substantially from the 55 prescriptions distributed between January and May.
“Bod has witnessed tremendous growth in MediCabilis prescriptions over the past months and we are confident this is only the beginning,” Bod founder and chief executive officer Jo Patterson said.
The company noted that a lot of the growth had been in recent weeks – filling 161 prescriptions in July alone, which represents a 273% increase on June orders.
A large part of the growth has been attributed to repeat prescriptions, which Bod claims is a result of patient and doctor satisfaction with the MediCabilis product.
Bod’s MediCabilis is currently being prescribed to treat several conditions including pain (52%), neurological conditions (31%), stress and anxiety (13%) and gastrointestinal diseases (4%).
In addition to repeat prescriptions, Bod has attributed the rise in demand for its product to several initiatives including doctor education in Australia and a distribution agreement with Burleigh Heads Cannabis and its partner Cannabis Doctors Australia.
Bod anticipates it will experience higher growth in prescriptions and patients in the coming months, with research partner Cannabis Access Clinics to be purchasing MediCabilis for its 12-month trial investigating the effects of the product on post traumatic stress disorder.
Meanwhile, the company has a number of applications awaiting approval under the Therapeutic Goods Administration that will underpin further growth. Additionally, Bod has advanced discussions with potential distributors in Europe to expand its MediCabilis product into international markets.
“The company remains exceptionally well-placed for additional growth in the near term through pending supply agreements for clinical trials and distribution agreements in international markets,” Ms Patterson said.
Investors reacted positively to the news, sending Bod’s share price up almost 19% to $0.665 by late morning trade.
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And so it begins.
We have been reporting on the possibility of Warner Bros. entering the NFC enabled toys-to-life genre of video games for a while now- ever since the very first leak regarding the mysterious ‘Lego Dimensions,’ which will use NFC Lego figures. And now, it appears that the game has officially been announced, and will be launching on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U on September 29.
As reported, the game will see players using little Lego figurines to progress in game via an NFC Portal- Lego Dimensions will see players take on Lord Vortech using various characters, vehicles and weapons such as: LEGO Bad Cop, the DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future, the Ninjago Masters of Spinjitsu, Wonder Woman and more.
A $100 starter pack is already available from leading toy stores and game retailers. The starter pack includes:
The Lego Dimensions video game will also span multiple properties- in addition to DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, the Lego Movie, more are expected to be announced at a later day.
With Warner Bros. throwing the gauntlet, they are now the fourth major entrant in the genre- other major contenders include Activision, who pioneered the concept with their Skylanders franchise, Disney, who are utilizing all the major brands at their disposal with Disney Infinity, Nintendo, who are leveraging their mascot characters to create the wildly successful Amiibos, and now Warner Bros.
We will keep you posted on further developments.


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IN A BAG A woman carries a reusable bag while shopping for vegetables at an open market on Sunday, July 3, 2022. Ban Toxics called on buyers and sellers to move away from single-use plastic bags and opt for eco-friendly alternatives. PHOTO BY MIKE DE JUAN
(UPDATED) The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday that the country’s headline inflation rose to 6.1 percent in June, pushing the peso’s purchasing power down to its lowest level since 2018.
The current rate is the highest in more than three years, or since October 2018, when it stood at 6.9 percent, according to PSA data. It falls within Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ projected range of 5.7 to 6.5 percent per month.
The central bank’s forecast range of average inflation of 2 to 4 percent for 2022 has been exceeded by a 4.4 percent rise in consumer prices this year.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa explained in a virtual press briefing that the reason for the higher inflation rate in June 2022 was the faster rise in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which have an inflation rate of 6 percent and a share of 58.3 percent. growth of general inflation in the country.
He said faster price increases for meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals such as poultry, with an inflation rate of 8.1 percent; and rice, with an inflation rate of 2 percent, was a contributor to food and soft drink inflation.
Transportation was the second commodity group to show higher inflation in June 2022, up 31.7% from the country’s overall inflation growth, Mapa added.
This is the result of the continued rise in fuel costs – 53.9% for gasoline, 92.5% for diesel and 2.7% for jeeps, as well as other types of roadside passenger transport.
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco were the third commodity group to post higher inflation rates in June 2022, Mapa noted, with an inflation rate of 7.8 percent and a 3 percent contribution to headline inflation.
Meanwhile, he added that the inflation rate for the poorest or bottom 30 percent of families increased to 5 percent in June from 4.3 percent a year earlier and was the highest since 5.3 percent in August 2021.
In addition, the purchasing power of the peso fell to 0.87 in June, the lowest level since the 2018 base year, Mapa said.
He said: “In our report, it is only 0.87, which means that in June 2022 our peso is now worth only 87 centavos,” and went on to explain that as inflation rises, the value of the peso as a unit of exchange decreases. purchases of goods and services are declining.


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3M has long had a strong reputation for innovation, and social business is one of the tools the company is applying to keeping that innovation flowing as its research and development efforts are increasingly spread around the globe.
The company’s social business project leaders spoke at Lotusphere this week, having selected IBM Connections as their official enterprise social networking platform. They also acknowledged that some divisions – including the all-important R&D group – have been using competitive products they found to be better or easier to use. Michael Lynch, 3M’s IT manager for the advanced personal and workgroup productivity solution, said he hopes to consolidate on one social platform, “and, based on some of our discussions here, IBM is interested in helping us do that.”
Although it’s best known to consumers for products such as Post-It Notes and Scotch Tape, 3M is a global company that gets most of its revenue from industrial adhesives and products for healthcare. In all of these businesses, inventing new chemical compounds and manufacturing products is key to competitive advantage. Lynch said one of the main reasons 3M has made adopting social software a priority is that R&D efforts are no longer as centralised as they once were near the Minnesota-based company’s offices in the twin cities.
With two-thirds of its business now coming from outside the US and a focus on emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America, management has decided to also move more of its R&D to international locations.
The idea is to put the people developing products closer to the markets they serve. At the same time, R&D personnel around the world often are working on similar problems and need to be able to coordinate their efforts.
In a company full of experts, 3M personnel once worked off the maxim that, “You’re only five phone calls away from finding an answer to your technical question,” Lynch said. That worked well when people were working close to each other and knew each other because they ran into each other in the hallway, he said. Those dynamics broke down when the experts were distributed around the world, he said.
Providing a searchable directory of social profiles in IBM Connections is a better way of addressing that issue anyway, said Jeff Berg, manager of eBusiness architecture and development at 3M. “The old way was based on [informal] networks and who you know, whereas this is a complete list of experts.”
In addition to encouraging employees to tag their own profiles, 3M preloaded a set of expertise tags based on data pulled from its human resources systems, Berg said. Through integration with content management systems, 3M also makes documents such as patent filings searchable – and then correlates them with profile data so you can click through from a patent document to the profile of its author, he said.
To make content easier to find, Berg’s team also invested in creating a library of canonical tags to be used for tagging content and profiles. In combination with a user interface that suggests matching tags as you start to type, this helps prevent the same tags from being entered with multiple spellings, for example.
Lynch cited multiple examples of how social networking has improved collaboration and boosted product development. For example, R&D set a goal of developing 50 product prototypes in six weeks, using online brainstorming.
They actually fell a little short – 45 prototypes rather than 50 – but the experiment was still a success, resulting in seven patents. The R&D team also organised a virtual technology conference, as an alternative to a traditional scientific poster session, and what was planned as a two-week online event over the summer is still going today and generating more ideas.
Sales and marketing personnel who get requests from customers seeking to solve specific problems have used the Connections directory to find experts within the company who can suggest existing products, or products under development, to meet those needs. Sales teams have used social networking to better coordinate their activities and share tips.
Most of these success stories revolve around IBM Connections, but not all. For example, R&D independently selected Socialcast as its system for microblogging-style collaboration, and Sales wound up using the free version of Yammer, “which was outside of anything IT did, or anything that was sanctioned,” Lynch said. Although Yammer’s freemium model requires organisations to become paying customers if they want to assert administrative control, the free version is so far being tolerated because it has in fact improved collaboration across the sales force, he said.
3M was already promoting its implementation of connections when those other social networks snuck in, Lynch said. However, Connections was initially limited to a basic ability to post a status message that would be visible to the entire organisation, whereas some of the competing tools made it easier to organise microblogging conversations around more focused communities of interest, he said. With the next release of IBM Connections, IBM’s social software is gaining innovative features like the ability to include embedded applications in an activity stream, side by side with microblogging comments, and Lynch said he hopes to get everyone on the same platform. (informationweek)


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The European Commission yesterday launched an anti-dumping probe against Chinese solar panel makers, in the biggest such complaint yet filed in the bloc in terms of import value.
The investigation was opened after industry association EU Pro Sun complained that Chinese solar panels and their key components have been entering the European market at prices below market value.
“In terms of import value affected, this is the most significant anti-dumping complaint the European Commission has received so far: in 2011 [last year], China exported solar panels and their key components worth around 21 billion euros (US$26.5 billion) to the EU,” the commission said in a statement.
China is the world’s biggest solar panel maker with about 65 percent of global production. And about eight out of 10 of the Chinese panels go to the EU.
China said yesterday it “deeply regrets” a EU decision to probe claims that solar panel products were being sold by Chinese firms below cost and warned of problems potential penalties may cause.
China’s Ministry of Commerce quickly issued a statement saying: “The European Commission went ahead to initiate the anti-dumping investigation despite repeated calls by China to solve the trade dispute on photovoltaic products via consultations and cooperation.”
“China expresses deep regret about this,” the statement added.
Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang (沈丹陽) added in the statement that restricting Chinese photovoltaic battery products would harm both sides and “damage the healthy development of the global photovoltaic industry and clean energy.”
Chinese solar companies also voiced concerns over any potential tariffs the investigation might lead to as well as prospects for a trade war between the two economic heavyweights.
“The solar industry is based on a global and complex value chain, and will be therefore substantially and negatively affected by trade protectionism,” said Darren Thompson, managing director of the European arm of Yingli Green Energy (英利綠色能源).
“There would be no winners but rather immeasurable damage and regression from our fundamental goal of making solar a cost-effective energy source available to everyone,” he said in a company statement.
Yingli Green Energy said it would cooperate with the European Commission to prove that there was no basis for the imposition of punitive tariffs.
“A misguided trade war could undermine years of solar industry progress, investment and innovation,” the solar panel company added.
More than 60 percent of China’s US$35.8 billion of solar product exports went to the EU last year, according to Chinese industry figures, while the country imported US$7.5 billion worth of European solar equipment and raw materials.
EU ProSun, a group of more than 20 European solar panel makers, in July called on the European Commission to impose tariffs to punish its Chinese rivals who it suspects received Beijing’s subsidies and “dumped” goods.
The EU, in its Official Journal, said yesterday that if the investigation finds Chinese makers were dumping and caused injury to the EU solar industry, it will decide whether penalties should be imposed.
The probe would take 15 months, but Brussels can impose provisional punitive tariffs on Chinese products within nine months if there is sufficient prima facie evidence of dumping.


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If you feel threatened by debt collectors you would not be alone. A recent survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) found that 1 in 4 consumers feel threatened by debt collectors. This is not surprising to me at all based on my experience in dealing with consumers who are facing debt collection combined with the amount of scams out there who make debt collectors look even worse.
I had the opportunity to talk about the recent survey by the CFPB on 1150AM KKNW on the New Urban Unlimited radio Show with James Gore this past weekend. Below you can hit play on the player and listen to our candid conversation.
The survey reported that 40% of consumers who were contacted asked the debt collector to stop calling them but to no avail. One pro tip is that if you really want a debt collector to stop calling you, you should send them a notice in writing telling them to stop calling you on the phone. Make sure the letter is signed and dated and provides your contact number and address. If the debt collector is a third party debt collector they would be bound by the fair debt collection practices act (FDCPA), and would be forbidden from contacting you by phone once the letter is received. It is important to note that they could still contact you via mail or potentially file a lawsuit against you to collect on the debt.
Debt collection is a multi-billion dollar industry affecting 70 million consumers who have or are contacted about a debt in collection. Banks and other original creditors may collect their own debts, hire third-party debt collectors or hire debt collection law firms who may file a lawsuit. When they fail to collect debts on their own, they often sell these debts to debt buyers. The buyers may try to collect on these debts, or hire third-party debt collectors or debt collection law firms to do so. More than 6,000 debt collection firms are estimated to operate in the United States.
More consumers complain to the CFPB about debt collection than any other financial product or service. To date, the CFPB has taken several steps to improve the debt collection marketplace and study the industry. Since 2011, the Bureau has brought more than 25 debt collection cases against first- and third-party collectors. These cases allege violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or unfair, deceptive, and abusive collection tactics that violate the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. These cases have brought a total of $100 million in civil penalties against debt collectors, more than $300 million in restitution to consumers, and $4 billion in debt relief for consumers.
Here are the highlights of the CFPB survey:
According to the CFPB debt collection survey, about one-third of consumers – or more than 70 million Americans – were contacted by a creditor or debt collector about a debt in the previous 12 months. Consumers are most often contacted about medical and credit card debt and it is assumed that some of these consumers were threatened by debt collectors. The CFPB survey also found that:
- Over one-in-four consumers report threatening contact: Twenty-seven percent of consumers approached about debt said they felt threatened by the conduct of the creditor or collector who most recently contacted them. Debt collectors are generally prohibited from tactics that tend to harass, abuse, or oppress consumers.
- Three-in-four consumers report that debt collectors did not honor a request to cease contact: About 40 percent of consumers contacted about a debt in collection said they asked at least one debt collector or creditor to stop contacting them. Of these consumers, three-in-four said the debt collector did not honor the request to cease contact attempts.
- More than half of consumers report incorrect contact for at least one debt: Fifty-three percent of consumers contacted about a debt in the year prior said at least one collection effort was mistaken in some way. These consumers reported that the creditor or collector sought the incorrect amount, that the debt was not owed, or that the person owing the debt was a family member.
- Over one-third of consumers report being contacted at inconvenient times: Thirty six percent of consumers contacted about a debt in collection said that the creditor or collector who most recently contacted them called between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. Debt collectors generally cannot call at times they know to be inconvenient unless the consumer specifically agrees to it.
- Nearly 40 percent of consumers report that a debt collector attempted contact four or more times per week: Thirty seven percent of consumers contacted about a debt in collection report that the most recent creditor or collector to contact them usually did so four or more times in a week. About 20 percent of consumers approached by debt collectors reported contact attempts by debt collectors usually four to seven times per week. Another 17 percent said a creditor or debt collector tried contacting them eight or more times per week.
- One-in-seven consumers contacted about a debt report being sued: Fifteen percent of consumers contacted about a debt in collection over the prior year report being sued. The share ranges from 6 percent sued among those contacted about a single debt to 35 percent sued among consumers contacted about five or more debts. About 75 percent of those sued do not go to the court hearing, which generally makes them responsible for the debt.
In addition to the debt collection survey, the CFBP also published a white paper which shed light on the debt buying business, including online marketplaces which reveal that several accounts can be purchased for less than $1. The new debt owner has legal rights to seek to collect the full amount of the original debt or to resell debts that are uncollected. Even more alarming is that these accounts contain personal information including social security numbers and put in the wrong hands can do serious damage to a consumer. The report indicates that payday loans and credit card debts are the most likely types of debts to be bought and sold.
If you live in the state of Washington and are dealing with a third party debt collector and need legal assistance, give Symmes Law Group a call at 206-682-7975 to speak to a debt relief attorney and learn about your options moving forward.


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OUR homes have unwanted items waiting to be discarded, but often these things can be fixed, refurbished or cleaned up to be another person’s treasure.
Old washing machines, among other electrical products, photo frames and plastic containers are tossed out with the trash and end up in the landfill.
Furthering its environmental campaign, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is stepping up its waste separation project in several neighbourhoods by allocating two dedicated trucks to collect recyclable items from residential properties.
Petaling Jaya mayor Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain and MBPJ Solid Waste Management and Public Cleaning Department director Lee Lih Shyan, will launch the two designated trucks at MBPJ’s 3R Centre in Taman Jaya today.
Mohd Azizi said getting rid of unwanted things might be a hassle and this was where MBPJ’s Solid Waste Management and Public Cleaning Department could help through its free service collecting recyclable items.
“Our aim is to encourage residents not to throw recyclable items together with domestic garbage.
“We want minimal or zero waste. With the two dedicated 10-tonne trucks offering free collection of unwanted items, we see less illegal dumping of bulk waste, longer life span for the landfill and a greener environment.
“Items that are damaged or cannot be repaired will be taken to the council’s 3R Centre in Jalan 10/7, Taman Jaya, to be recycled,” he added.
Mohd Azizi said the dedicated trucks would be painted green and fitted with speakers to announce its impending arrival, so that residents would know to gather their unwanted items and bring them out to the truck.
“Our lorries will be painted with the words ‘Recycle, Reduce, Reuse – Think before you throw’.
“The trucks will ply Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara, Boulevard Residence Condominium in Kayu Ara, Jalan 16/3 in Section 16, Flats Block C, Petaling Utama in PJ South 1, Jalan 11/6 in Section 11 and Block D in 10 Boulevard, a commercial area in Kayu Ara,” he said.
He added that the selected neighbourhoods for the free collection of recyclables were the locations where the single-stream separation programme had been launched in September 2015.
“Since the single-stream recycling programme has done well, we are stepping up the green efforts with the dedicated trucks and expanding it to two streets in SS20 neighbourhood with 60 households in the initial stage. We are taking small steps in this programme as it requires a change in people’s attitude and commitment,” said Mohd Azizi.
Lee said the single-stream separation pilot project had been successful, where one bag a week was still given for free to households and business proprietors to place recyclable items.
“Since September 2015, residents in the four neighbourhoods have become familiar with the whole process of separating recyclables and putting them into one transparent plastic bag, but now we want to have more items and areas included,” he said.
He highlighted that for SS20, the council had distributed yellow plastic containers instead of plastic bags to the people for them to place their recyclable unwanted items, in order to reduce usage of plastic bags.
“We have tried out the collection method for 20 houses in SS20 and it has been going well. The people are keen on this weekly collection,” he added.


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East2, the first blockchain provider to disrupt the global airline loyalty model for both airlines and travellers alike, have recently gone live with their ICO private sale.
Following an investor roadshow that exposed East2’s offering to partners and prospective capital interests across South East Asia and Europe, the business is fielding interest from a number of interested parties and wholly focused on demonstrating their PoC to airline partners that ultimately inspired their platform’s design.
As a blockchain service provider with market leading challenger brand innovation at its core, investor interest has been strong and the group are currently engaged in serious negotiations with VC and equity partners across South East Asia.
CRDZ + East2 in partnership
CRDZ and East2 first came into contact some 12+ months back when their development team identified technological roadblocks associated with pseudo-anonymous platforms such as Ethereum, EOS and NEO.
They discovered these roadblocks would face any commercial blockchain application transferring value — that is maintaining transaction privacy whilst delivering regulatory compliance. In their search for an answer they found the CRDZ protocol.
Following months of discussion across various continents, East2 will be building their service on the CRDZ platform. Thanks to confidential compliance inherent in the CRDZ decentralized compliance protocol, tech shortcomings that had previously roadblocked East2 are no longer of concern.
Adding to the collective pool of experience behind East2, CRDZ founder, John Underwood and CRDZ Application Manager, Scott Darrow are both lending their services in advisory on matters outside of their platform build to further strengthen East2’s offering.
East2 co-founder John Edginton adds, “We are excited to be working with CRDZ as we recognise the importance of having a platform that identifies users in a blockchain marketplace and meets governments requirements for AML compliance. The fact CRDZ manages compliance at the platform level is a big bonus to us in both cost, time and solution integrity. Our solution also requires that we identify users by market segment which is only possible through a fully credentialed platform.”
Unsurprisingly, we at CRDZ are thrilled to be partnered with a talented and complete offering such as East2. There is a lot of work ahead for all parties involved, however, we look forward to further establishing our relationship and developing East2’s go to market offering over coming months.
CRDZ founder, John Underwood adds, “East2 is a particular example of a blockchain service provider, lockstepped with the aim of CRDZ, being the need to ensure transactions are compliant, identified and confidential. Like us, they see the extraordinary value inherent in CRDZ chain level compliance and how this allows their business to focus on building out their application”.
Further updates about our involvement with East2 will come to light as their platform proceeds through early stages of development.
In the meantime, should you wish to learn more about our respective offerings or make contact, visit:


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A majestic building still dominates the skyline of Rochester, N.Y., the word "Kodak" shining brightly from the top. It's the legacy of George Eastman — the founder of the Eastman Kodak Co. — a company that helped Rochester thrive and gave it the nickname "Kodak Town."
In 1976, Kodak sold 90 percent of the film around the world. The company basically invented digital photography, but it couldn't figure out how to make the transition from film quickly enough to out-compete its Asian rivals. Of the 20 best-selling digital cameras in the U.S., not a single one is from Kodak.
Just a few years ago, America's auto industry was on the verge of collapse. When President Obama took office, he had to decide whether to bail out General Motors or let it die. He chose to send them a lifeline, to the tune of $50 billion. In this week's State of the Union speech, President Obama said that decision paid off.
"Today, General Motors is back on top as the world's No. 1 automaker," Obama said.
One morning many years ago, a little boy in Brooklyn named Peter woke up to an amazing sight: fresh snow.
Peter is the hero of the classic children's book by Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day, which turns 50 this year. Peter has a red snowsuit, a stick just right for knocking snow off of trees, and a snowball in his pocket. And, though this is never mentioned in the text, Peter is African-American.
Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 5:56 pm
This week, Stones Throw Records — the storied L.A. indie label that has put out under-the-radar hip-hop, funk and soul since 1996 — announced a new, one-stop way for fans to get its music. For a $10 monthly fee, every new album, EP and single the label releases will come straight to your inbox in the form of high-quality, DRM-free MP3s.


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A new Australian startup is looking to hire for its San Francisco offices and expand its app marketing and development services. So if you have a good idea and about $150,000 to spare, your app may just be the next Box, WhatsApp or Instagram.
Appster was reportedly started with $3,000 in Australia and was able to accumulate more than $10 million in revenue without any investment -- something akin to a fairy tale in Silicon Valley. "Why did you not take any outside funding?" Scott McGrew asked of the startup's founder and co-chief executive Josiah Humphrey on Press: Here.
"You have to look at the landscape," he said. "There wasn't really the notion of VC in Australia."
U.S. & World
Humphrey and his partner Mark McDonald spent the last three years building Appster from the ground up, and apparently learning things along the way.
"I think in a lot of ways were were glad (VC) wasn't available," Humphrey said. "It was more about survival and that was a benefit for us."
Despite the hard-luck story, Humphrey's startup, Appster, basically is all about helping improve app ideas, marketing them and getting them funded. In short, Appster is supposed to act as a company's chief technology officer, and it commands a similar salary.
"So $150K and a good idea could get me an app that could put me on the radar?" McGrew asked.
"Sometimes it's a lot cheaper than that, but that's the ballpark," Humphrey said.


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This facility will help the Indian home textiles company, with clients in Europe, North America and the Middle East, support increased demand for open account payment terms from their overseas buyers. The company anticipates an annual factored volume of $5 million to $8 million by its implementation.
Commenting on the implementation of the factoring facility, John Stillwaggon, senior vice president - Sales of DS-Concept Factoring, said, “Because of our deep understanding of the industry, specifically in India, we have become very creative and flexible when it comes to servicing these fast growing companies that are often under-served by more traditional means of financing.”
“The home textiles sector is an industry which we have served for over 15 years,” he added. (MCJ)
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Over the years, molds inside the home have caused different troubles and dangers inside the home. A single mold could not hurt a fly, but the common problem that most homeowners are experiencing is not just how to eliminate a single organism, but how to eliminate all the molds that had already formed in some places inside the home.
Online PR News – 30-December-2009 – – Over the years, molds inside the home have caused different troubles and dangers inside the home. A single mold could not hurt a fly, but the common problem that most homeowners are experiencing is not just how to eliminate a single organism, but how to eliminate all the molds that had already formed in some places inside the home. Because of this, homeowners were looking for different ways and still searching for the most effective way on how they could eliminate these nasty looking and foul smelling molds inside their houses – before mold removal products were created, people were having difficulties keeping these molds away from their houses.
One option that they have done is by using bleaching solutions. Even though effective, the use of these bleaching solutions is not very advisable. These solutions have some toxic substances that may cause intoxications – which could be harmful to both humans and animals. But right now, the search has to stop; DIY Mold Removal was able to create a complete solution to these problems – the Revolutionary diy mold testing.
Homeowners need something that could help eliminate the formation of molds and keep the home environment safe at the same time. DIY mold removal has different mold and mildew removal products readily available in the market. The company would not stop searching and developing these products until they have reached and have met the above standards. They are not just satisfied with the best, but they are aiming for products that no company could ever beat.
The new launching of the products will be releasing this December of 2009. Customers and soon-to-be customers can take advantage of the exclusive updates and news regarding their new product. The revolutionary DIY mold testing kit includes a tester and a mold remover as well, making it more convenient to homeowners. Since the product is mostly Do It Yourself, people would not be having difficulties using the product, as they could follow the step by step guide provided upon purchase. The guide will explain everything that homeowners should need – from how to conduct a mold test, up to how to completely eradicate molds and prevent these from forming inside the house again.
The website includes all the prevention tips as well. Consumers who want to take advantage of their exclusive newsletter and product update could visit http://www.diymoldremovalproducts.com/ and sign up for free. Homeowners can also browse freely through the site for more DIY mold removal products available.