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In addition to higher demands on roads, this could spell trouble for older car parks whose maintenance is less than perfect, according to some UK experts cited by The Telegraph and Jalopnik. According to them, they can simply fall.
“I don’t want to be too alarmist, but there is certainly the potential for some older car parks in poor condition to collapse,” says Chris Whapples, structural engineer and car park consultant.
EU countries have approved rules to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2035
Together with the head of the buildings section of the British Parking Association, Russell Simmons, he wants to propose a change in the rules for the construction of new car parks so that the load limit is now 3 kN/m2 instead of the previous 2.5 kilonewtons.
It was Simmons who presented the results of an inspection of parking garages across Great Britain, which say that many of them cannot handle the higher weight of electric cars. It goes without saying that all cars in Britain won’t magically become electric in 2035, but major problems like the collapse of a car park need to be avoided.
According to Simmons, one of the preventive measures could be the introduction of a weight limit for vehicles entering some parking lots. “We have height restrictions in some car parks, so why not weight,” he says. For bridges in poor condition, the weight of entering vehicles is often restricted in the Czech Republic as well.
Europe’s vehicle fleet will change to Cuba, says Iveca boss
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Search Results for 'Cannabis'
156 results found.
The ongoing saga for the proper implementation of medicinal cannabis continued on Thursday last with a public meeting in the Radisson Blu Hotel.
Cannabis is being used as a “medical treatment” in some circumstances, while others smoke it for recreational purposes the same way some people “like a glass of wine in the evening”, meaning it is time the drug was decriminalised.
Cannabis is being used as a "medical treatment" in some circumstances, while others smoke it for recreational purposes the same way some people "like a glass of wine in the evening", meaning it is time the drug was decriminalised.
Cannabinoids, particularly CBD, (now stocked by The Urban Pup) have the potential to treat a wide range of your pet’s ailments in an entirely natural, non-toxic way. CBD oil as a medical treatment is not yet scientifically established, but current research shows CBD oil to be an effective treatment for many common domestic pet ailments by helping to treat the underlying problem if related to ECS.
Councillor Michael O’Brien has reiterated his call for cannabis-based medical treatments to be made available in Ireland.
In the aftermath of a Bill legalising cannabis for medicinal purposes passing its first stage in Dáil Éireann, a public meeting to discuss medicinal cannabis will take place in Galway this week.
Cannabis herb with an estimated value of €42,000 has been seized by Gardaí just outside Mullingar.

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MARKET REPORT: Pub troubles brewing as rising drinks prices and drizzly weather send Greene King slumping 16%
Fewer drinkers spent their summer afternoons down the pub this year due to the rising price of booze and drizzly weather, according to Greene King.
The brewer and pub operator, which owns brands such as Hungry Horse and Flaming Grill, fell 15.7 per cent, or 103.5p, to 555.5p yesterday after revealing that its trading has declined since a downturn in the weather in July.
The Suffolk-based business, founded in 1799, said it expects weak consumer confidence, increasing costs, and growing competition to hamper its figures going forward.
Greene King said it was able to offset some of the decline by cutting costs by £45m so far this year, and is strengthening its customer offering by improving food quality across its pubs.
Slipping down: Greened King, which owns brands such as Hungry Horse and Flaming Grill, fell 15.7%
But with the likes of Fuller, Smith & Turner and Revolution Bars also complaining of a tough trading environment in recent months, Deutsche Bank said Greene King should be cashing in on the weakness of its peers.
'We believe Greene King is relatively better positioned than its peers, given the strong balance sheet and cash flow,' the broker said in a 'buy' note.
Regardless, Greene King's decline sent shockwaves across the UK pub and bar sector, with brewer Marston's falling 8.5 per cent, or 9.7p, to 103.8p and Wetherspoon tumbling 5.7 per cent, or 59.5p, to 992.5p.
Caution among UK consumers also led double glazing firm Safestyle to issue a profit warning, wiping £5.9million off its market value and sending shares to their lowest level in more than two years.
STOCK WATCH - EMPYREAN ENERGY
The remarkable rise of oil and gas group Empyrean Energy continued as it announced a major gas discovery in California.
The AIM-darling reported that the operator of its Dempsey well has encountered a potential sandstone reservoir holding high levels of gas.
Empyrean is exploring the area to calculate the true extent of the discovery.
Shares in the explorer rose 40.7 per cent, or 6.25p, to 21.62p, and are up an incredible 761.5 per cent this year.
In July, the company warned that uncertain market conditions and weak consumer confidence would lead 2017 profits to be broadly in line with those generated in 2016.
But yesterday, the group said orders have declined even further, with installations across the UK glazing industry as a whole falling 18 per cent in June and July compared to 2016 as homeowners continue to rein in spending.
In something of a catch-22, Safestyle said efforts to increase order numbers in response to weak trading have led to a jump in operating costs, which is in turn expected to result in a further decline in full-year profits. Shares fell 29.9 per cent, or 70.5p, to 165p.
Disquiet in the consumer sector did little to assuage the fears of investors, who were already turning bearish on mining stocks as a result of a decline in copper prices. The FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent, or 19.38 points, to 7377.6.
Liberum said the devastation being caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the US could prove to be a massive boon for tool rental firm Ashtead, which is highly active in the country.
In a 'buy' note, the broker said Ashtead is likely to see its profits boosted by both the short-term clear-up efforts and the longer term rebuilding that will undoubtedly be required after the devastation.
'We would note that Ashtead's US subsidiary Sunbelt is extremely well positioned to benefit from this incremental demand with 84 stores in Texas and 58 in Florida,' it said. Shares rose 0.7 per cent, or 11p, to 1695p.
Indian online fashion retailer Koovs was forced to put out an announcement saying all was all right after its shares mysteriously fell by 10.5 per cent, or 3.75p, to 32p in afternoon trading.
As well as saying it knew of no reason for the decline, Koovs highlighted that it has now received £8.9million of the £15million funding it requires for 2018, and is now in discussions with another lender to secure the remaining cash.
The fall came just a day after Koovs reported that losses had widened to £19.3million in the year ended March as a result of India's decision to remove certain bank notes from circulation.
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Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) opened its books for the fiscal year of 2013. The pharmaceutical giant had a solid end to the year and while the guidance for earnings in 2014 is a bit soft, the long term prospects for the pharmaceutical giant remain rock solid.
Fourth Quarter Headlines
On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson announced fourth quarter revenues of $18.36 billion. This is up 4.5% on the year before, despite adverse currency movements which shaved off 1.8% of total sales. Revenues came in comfortably ahead of consensus estimates at $17.95 billion.
The firm reported 37.1% earnings growth, with earnings coming in at $3.52 billion. Earnings rose from $0.91 to $1.23 per diluted share, coming in at $3.52 billion. On an adjusted basis, earnings came in at $1.24 per share. This is up five cents compared to last year, and is four cents ahead of consensus estimates.
Looking Into The Numbers
US sales rose by 7.4% to $8.01 billion on an annual basis. Reported international growth was 2.4%, but sales rose by 5.6% excluding currency movements.
The consumer business reported 2.8% headline growth with revenues coming in at $3.75 billion. Growth was the strongest at the pharmaceutical business which reported 11.8% growth to $7.30 billion as medical devices and diagnostic revenues fell by a percent to $7.31 billion.
The company made huge gross margin expansion with cost of goods sold falling by 170 basis points to 32.5% of total revenues. These gains were offset by a 160 basis point increase for in-process research and development expenses. As a result of other expenses, which totaled $868 million, operating earnings fell by 11% to $2.75 billion.
The only reason why net earnings rose was the result of a $769 million tax benefit, instead of a typical provision.
Johnson & Johnson continues to focus on its portfolio management, announcing that it has received a binding offer for the Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics business. Johnson & Johnson was not a market leader within the segment, and it therefore decided to put the business for sale.
For a sum of $4.15 billion the business will be acquired by The Carlyle Group if Johnson & Johnson accepts the offer. The acceptance period will end on the end of March of 2014, and when approved the deal could be closed in the middle of the year.
Note that the reported deal tag hardly makes a dent in Johnson & Johnson's operations, making up just 1.5% of the market capitalization.
2013 Review And Looking Ahead
Full year revenues for 2013 came in at $71.3 billion which was up by 6.1% compared to the year before. Excluding currency movements growth was 7.7%. Adjusting for the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, reported top-line growth was 5.2%.
Reported earnings came in at $13.8 billion, while adjusted earnings totaled $15.9 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $5.52 per share, up by 8.2%. For 2014, the company sees earnings of $5.75 to $5.85 per share, implying earnings are set to rise between 4 and 6%. Analysts were looking for earning of $5.86 per share for the current calendar year.
Implications Going Forwards
Johnson & Johnson did not provide a balance sheet yet, but the company ended the third quarter with a net cash position of roughly $10 billion. With access to $25 billion in cash and equivalents, on top of which come the proceeds from the sale of the Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics business, the firm has great financial resources available.
After focusing on the integration of Synthes the business is poised for growth, possibly fueled by merger and acquisition action in the new year, or higher buybacks. This is especially true as top line growth might be under pressure.
The earnings outlook for 2014 is a bit cautious as one of the latest blockbusters Xarelto has failed to get approval from the FDA to expand approval for patients with chest pains or mild heart attacks.
Takeaway For Investors
After backing out the net cash position of the business, Johnson & Johnson trades at roughly 15-16 times adjusted earnings for 2014. Note that these are adjusted earnings, while GAAP earnings are structurally lower. As such, shares trade around 19 times GAAP earnings which is not cheap.
Yet the firm's strategy, diversification and track record is unmatched. Notably the pharmaceutical business, driven by immunology and oncology sales have performed really well. Combined with a focus on R&D, new product and drug introductions and growth, the firm has a strong track record. Add to that the $0.66 quarterly dividend, and investors receive a cool 2.8% dividend yield on top of that. This is even as shares have already risen by 30% over the past year.
Despite the slight shortfall in the 2014 earnings guidance, the company remains a cornerstone in any growth and dividend oriented investment portfolio.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.


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Livingstone Etse Satekla better known by his stage name Stonebwoy has penned a deal to become the brand ambassador for the energy drink brand Big Boss.
Stonebwoy was unveiled today at an event announcing the partnership between the boss of Burniton Music group and the manufacturer of Big Boss energy drink, Bel Group.
Stonebwoy who is a big figure in the Ghanaian music and media space is expected to help boost the brand awareness of Big Boss energy drink and the company as a whole.
Stonebwoy released a song last week titled Big Boss and gave signs of the impending partnership in a Facebook live video he did last week.
SEE VIDEO FROM THE EVENT BELOW


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A new study by the University of Aarhus in Denmark sheds light on the controversial idea of ”food addiction,” indicating that it may exist similarly to other addictions seeking pleasure. Instead of using laboratory rats, the study used pigs that received sugar water to determine the effects that sugar had on their brain. The brains of the animals took less than two weeks to undergo changes related to the opioid and dopamine systems.
Food addiction is the idea that one can become addicted to eating food, particularly bad food, of the type that tends to send it in a spiral to the field of obesity and chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Self-proclaimed addicts to food they report that they cannot resist the call of food, sometimes they do everything possible to acquire their favorite snacks. Sugary products tend to be particularly attractive to some food addicts who may report that they drink large amounts of soda or eat sugary products daily.
Despite these reports, many health experts have been skeptical about whether food addiction is real. Researchers at the University of Aarhus set out to determine this by studying the brains of pigs that received two liters of sugar water to drink every day for 12 days.
The pigs underwent brain scans at the beginning of the experiment, as well as after the first day of sugar intake and again after day 12 had ended. When looking at the data, the study found that sugar had a “clear” influence on the brain’s reward system, one described as similar to the effects that addictive drugs have on the brain.
One of the main authors of the study, Michael Winterdahl, of the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Aarhus, explained that the effects of sugar on the brain’s opioid system were apparent after the first day of consumption. In addition to its potentially addictive nature, refined sugar is a known health risk, which increases the chances of developing certain types of cancer and type 2 diabetes, among other things.


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It?s been confirmed this morning that the controversial PC title Postal 2 has been given a BBFC 18 rating. It?s what Whiptail Interactive?s Chris Warrender, publisher of the game in the UK, was expecting, and, as reported earlier this week, the game goes on sale from April 17.
We?ve been fortunate enough to get our hands on an advance copy of the game, and, well, what can we tell you? Let?s just say that Postal 2 lives up to the hyperbole and it thoroughly deserves its 18 rating. And - sick little bunnies that we are ? we?re enjoying every minute!


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Apparently the latest issue of Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate came out yesterday with Parker’s reviews for the 2010 barrel samples and in-bottle tastings of 2008s. I say apparently because it is behind the eRobertParker.com paywall and there’s nary a mention of it on wine discussion boards. (Pin. Drop.) But Parker has given the general comment that 2010 ranks as one of “the three greatest Bordeaux vintages I have tasted in my career” alongside 2009 and 2005. The Liv-Ex blog provides his top scored wines. It will be interesting (at least in a detached, voyeuristic way) to see how some chateaux will price their 2010 wines in the event they received lower scores than in 2009 (and the weak dollar won’t exactly drive prices lower here in the US).
Liv-Ex also remarks on his downgrades of the 2008s:
Following the en primeur tastings two years ago, the general feeling amongst the trade and the critics was that the 2008 vintage was solid, if unspectacular. Against this backdrop then, it’s no surprise that the release of Parker’s generous ’08 scores met with a sizeable dose of cynicism. A couple of years on and it seems that Parker’s enthusaism for the vintage has dwindled significantly.


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Beauty influencers Diana Veras, Ushshi Rahman and Kelly Augustine got together as a part of the Bustle's Beauty IRL series in collab with Coty Inc. at STORY, which discussed how real people are experiencing beauty and how the beauty industry is changing to be more authentic. Just like the name suggest, these are real woman talking about their experiences in the real world.
One scroll through Veras' Instagram page, and you'll see almost every hairstyle possible. She wears slicked back buns, her hair free and natural, and even covered up in wigs. You'd never guess that her pulling back her hair in public was a major moment for her.
That's why these panels matter.
While the Bustle IRL event covered everything from self confidence to the future of the beauty industry, it was no surprise that talk started with Instagram — something 400 million people use every day, according to Media Kix.
The women discussed their personal social media use, from whether they edit their photos to why they post what they do. The social media site is a way to connect with the world and express ourselves. But the bigger message came when talking about how Instagram has the possibility to change the entire beauty world.
"I think it was more powerful for me to realize that people on it have the power to actually change the companies and what they feature," Rahman says in the panel. "What we put out and what we ask for is what companies respond to."
Take for example, L'Oreal UK firing their first transgender model, DJ and trans activist Munroe Bergdorf, after her Facebook rant deemed by some as "racist". The makeup brands's action caused a ton of backlash on social media for what Rahman refers to as "a completely fair deconstruction of white supremacy." Bergdorf was soon after picked up by Illamasqua, a British makeup company that champions self-expression — something Rahman supports.
When asked what the one thing that the beauty industry should be doing, the response was unanimous — look at real people. Something that brands like Glossier and Milk Makeup has already started doing. Of course, there are still tons of different beauty companies that are sticking with celebrity-centered ads as well.
"Seeing Lupita and Issa Rae... Issa Rae is like, my icon! And she's not what you would consider, like, the standard of beauty. And no one ever speaks about her in a way where they're like 'Wow, this girl is beautiful.' So to see her as a representative for a beauty brand, I'm like, 'OK! You guys are seeing what I'm seeing!' Every week I watch Insecure and I'm like, dang she's so pretty! And no one talks about it! So to see her as a Covergirl I was like OK we are actually getting somewhere," Augustine says.
Along with that, less photoshop was also on the list, which the fashion world has already started to take notice of. A new French Photoshop law requires any photo that has been altered in any way will have to be labelled "photographie retouchée," or "retouched photograph," according to NPR.
Getty Images will also no longer accept images where bodies have been photoshopped. On top of that, LVMH and Kering have joined together to curb the abuse of models as well.
Of course, it couldn't be a diversity panel without touching on the recent Fenty Beauty launch. Or, as I like to call it, the makeup launch heard 'round the world. The brand launched with a whopping 40 different shades of color-inclusive foundation. It's wasn't just that the brand did it though, it was how they did it, according to the panel.
"It was so natural in the way [Rihanna] just included everyone," Augustine says. "She doesn't take it to seriously."
Augustine says that while some brands like to push their inclusive products to the forefront, Fenty Beauty made it natural. They just launched great products, instead of branding themselves as an inclusive brand. As the women on the panel put it, they set the bar for the beauty world.
Panels like this are important to not only the future of the beauty world, but to bring makeup fans closer together. We are all on a different road to self-love and acceptance. To hear other women talk about their journeys and encourage others to focus on theirs will make the beauty world a better place.
What we see is not always what we get. What we comment doesn't always get viewed. What we wish for isn't always a reality. But eventually it will be. If we are silent about the things that matter to us the most, we'll never know what the beauty industry could be.
UPDATE: This post has been updated. The previous version included a misrepresentation of Rahman's views.


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Looking to grab a tablet for your child this holiday season?
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One thing that this hot British summer has shown us is the pull that successful partnerships have on our society. The big – and literal - winners of Love Island (the finale was watched by a record 4.1m viewers) were faithful Dani & Jack, who’d been a couple since the beginning of the 8-week run.
Even more prominently, Harry and Meghan’s nuptials inside St. George’s chapel pulled 18 million Brits in front of the TV. The UK is clearly feeling ready for commitment. Long-term relationships aren’t only for royals and happy couples. Companies are also benefitting from commitment – established relationships between equal partners can bring stability, efficiency and long-term success to all those involved. And the media industry is no different, with brands and agencies looking to find the yin to their yang.
An over-the-top (OTT) advertising platform which combines preferred access to Hearst-owned programming, with delivery partners such as Roku, has just come to fruition.
Recognizing the demand in the OTT marketplace for consistently premium content and transparency, Hearst Anyscreen is designed to enable brands to tap into the growth of Connected TV viewing.
A provider of programmatic marketing software for marketing and media professionals has unveiled what it is promoting as “a unified planning and buying solution for agencies and brands investing across linear, connected and addressable TV.”
Introducing TotalTV from dataxu, which includes a unified planner for TV that creates efficient buying plans designed to reach de-duplicated strategic audiences among more than 120 million households, whether viewers are watching linear TV or streaming through any OTT device.
Expect to hear a lot about addressable advertising over the next year. The latest player to offer targeting on the living room TV is Hearst Television, which today launched Hearst Anyscreen. By tapping into this private marketplace advertisers can reach Hearst viewers on a variety of connected devices including Roku, Android TV, Apple TV, DirecTV Now, Google Chromecast, Sling TV, Sony Crackle, PlayStation Vue, Xbox, and a handful of other connected TV operating systems.
Hearst Television Inc. is launching an over-the-top (OTT) advertising marketplace. The marketplace includes programming owned by the company and in partnership with companies already affiliated with Hearst, such as Roku.
Data from DataXu will offer audience insights.
“Today’s advertisers want the quality and scale of TV with the 1:1 reach and analytics of digital media. That’s what we’ve collaborated to deliver through Hearst Anyscreen,” said Mike Baker, co-founder and CEO, dataxu, in a statement.
The advertising technology firm Dataxu has launched a unified planning and buying solution for marketers called TotalTV For Advertisers.
It’s called TotalTV because it brings together linear TV, connected TV and addressable TV into one platform.
The company claims that TotalTV can “reach de-duplicated strategic audiences among more than 120 million households.”
Markers can reach all the digital screens they need in one shot. That’s the promise of TotalTV for Advertisers, a unified planning tool announced today by marketing software provider dataxu. The solution combines linear, connected, and addressable TV. Reaching a network of 120 million households, it lets marketers enhance their campaigns by serving video a deduplicated pool of online video viewers.
Media and marketing software company dataxu introduced Total TV for Advertisers, which enables agencies and brand to create efficient buying plans across linear, connected and addressable TV.
Total TV for Advertisers helps campaigns reach audiences that are de-duplicated, whether viewers are watching linear TV or streaming programming.
Tell us about your role and journey into technology. What galvanized you to be a part of dataxu?
I’ve been lucky to have a number of successful marketing tech positions over the course of my career, including at CMGI (Internet investment company), Engage Technologies (data profiling), Enpocket (mobile marketing), Nexage (mobile programmatic) and now dataxu. I met my co-founders when they were pitching for angel capital; I liked the fact that they came out of the labs at MIT as trained scientists, and thought that it would be cool to bring real data science to marketing. I invested money and, more importantly, my time!
With television advertising targeting slowly catching up to that of digital media, “We think the revolution is just starting,” says Sandro Catanzaro, dataxu’s Chief Innovation Officer & Co-Founder.
What started with “very humble web ads” about a decade ago has progressed to the point where “where we can show ads on TV that are fully addressed, and one by one, and you can sequence the story,” Catanzaro says in this interview with Beet.TV. “And you can link those exposures to consumer conversions.
An integration between dataxu and Sorensen Media is designed to reduce the time needed to activate and measure addressable television campaigns so that addressable starts to mimic the speed at which over-the-top TV has taken root. “This is going to be an explosion, a dramatic change in the market,” says Sandro Catanzaro, dataxu’s Chief Innovation Officer & Co-Founder.
Sandro Catanzaro, founder and Chief Innovation Officer of DataXu, describes himself as a serial entrepreneur. He was one of the co-inventers of Dataxu’s real-time optimization algorithm, based on research he did at MIT. Here’s an overview of his company, the world of advanced and addressable television and the data work being done in the industry.
Already, the AI ecosystem has grown crowded, especially as it relates to managing programmatic spend. Via its Open AI for Ads platform, dataxu partners with Oracle and PlacedIQ to dynamically inform bidding models and add scale and efficiency to first-party data by layering real-time optimization onto prospecting line items.
Read more here.
The acquisition of AppNexus by ATT will either reduce dependence on the Facebook Google duopoly and or create in effect a triply, according to various APAC industry insiders.
Jame Sampson, APAC VP & GM at dataxu, weighs in. "While AppNexus provides AT&T with some missing plumbing required to build its advertising business upon, AT&T still needs to tie together all of their siloed consumer data for planning, media-execution and analytics purposes."
As Apple reportedly weighs another ad network bid, some industry figures are skeptical of the company’s chances.
Mike Baker, CEO at dataxu states, "When you operate a robust advertising business you almost by definition have to cede a little bit of control over the user experience." Hear more of what Mike Baker has to say in this Adweek article.


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Today eBay has unveiled its new image and sets out plans to redesign the way we use and interact with the site.
The first thing you will notice is that the logo has changed, it looks alot cleaner, more modern but the changes go much further and much deeper, ebay is evolving and embracing the new media world.
Over the coming days and weeks ebay will be rolling out its new “feed” system for the front page, it is a personalised feed of differnt items listed on the marketplace based around your past buying and search history.
This is a “Pinterest Style” photo feed that gives a simplified view of what’s available but using an advanced way of choosing what you see. I can see this being a very powerful way to engage with the buyer as after some customizing it will show you exactly the type of thing you are interested straight away as soon as you arrive at the site.
The president of ebay Devin Wenig said in a press release on eBay:
“The changes we’re making reflect the new eBay and our evolution as a marketplace that connects the world to the things they need and love”
I predict we will see an overall rise in sales once things settle down and everyone gets used to the new way of shopping on the site. This new feed is rolling out on ebay.com right now and internationally over the next few days and weeks.
So what do you think of the new changes? Do you like the look of the new logo? Have you tried the new feed?
Are ebay moving in the right direction with this new approach or are they losing sight of what once made ebay great?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.


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The console actually appeared as sold out not long after going up for preorder at most retailers, but some had shown it as available for order off an on over the following day or so. And a special version of the 1TB Xbox One S was unveiled too - a console bundle that will get Minecraft fans a-frothing. During an interview with Xbox exec Mike Ybarra at Gamescom, Eurogamer was assured the stand would be sold separately.
Vehicle hits eclipse watchers, killing woman
The two women were on their lunch break and watching the eclipse when the incident occurred, police said. They say a 41-year-old woman of Wooton was airlifted to the University of Kentucky Hospital.
To recap, the Project Scorpio Edition is a sort of tribute to dedicated fans who closely followed the development of the Xbox One X, which carried the Project Scorpio code name ahead of its reveal. This is the first console release of the game. They only need to trade it in when Xbox One X starts shipping (November 7th). The bundle will cost $399.99 and will be available on October 3.
For starters, Microsoft specifically quoted that the Xbox One X will be the platform with the most exclusives around but not a single title announced at the conference is worthy of a hype. Last but not least, Xbox One X is capable of doing anything that the older console is able to do.
Those with the 4K logo mean will have a better output of 2160p, but 4K support will have checker boarding and native and dynamic resolution.
The Gold Edition unlocks on March 13 and comes with the season pass, the Legendary Motors Pack, and the Motorsports Deluxe Pack. There are several different versions, each with a variety of vehicles and a three day head start beginning March 13th.
European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi , who will attend, may reiterate concerns about the strength of the euro. There was some support for sterling today as the British government further clarified its position on Brexit.
The council ultimately voted unanimously in favor of expediting the removal and relocation of both the Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson monuments in the city, Charlottesville City Clerk Paige Rice said.
Four passengers suffering from serious injuries were transported to University of Pennsylvania Trauma Center & Lankenau Hospital. First responders on location at the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby following a train crash in a Philadelphia suburb.
Tensions have flared between the United States and North Korea after Pyongyang made advances in its missile testing. North Korea has described Australia's involvement in war games between the US and South Korea as a "suicidal act".
A recent eMarketer report revealed that Facebook use among people ages 12 to 17 will fall 3.4 percent from a year ago . EMarketer predicted Snapchat's U.S. userbase would grow 25.8%, and its United Kingdom base by 20.2% in 2017.
Although she censored most of the details on the script's title page, there were clues to it being a script for " The Flash ". She'll first appear in the fifth episode of the season, " Girl's Night Out ", the show's mini-crossover with Arrow .
The Pakistan board is also now in talks with their West Indies counterpart for a short Twenty20 trip a month later. The statement further added that the tour will be subject to the ICC World XI team's visit to Pakistan.
This reflected new methodology introduced in the current financial year that smooths out corporation tax revenues over the year. But this will probably prove to be just a temporary blip, rather than the start of a more sustained improvement, Gregory noted.
Google also seems to have two new versions of its existing devices in the fray - the Chromebook Pixel and the Google Home Mini. Following that coding, it is revealed that users will be able to hear your notifications and reply to notifications verbally.
Did you enjoy the story of Horizon Zero Dawn? We love Aloy, we love Machines, we love everything about Horizon: Zero Dawn . Patch 1.32 also makes a slew of bug and progression fixes that can be found in more detail in the full patch notes .
US Suspends Russian Non-Immigrant Visa Applications
However, it insisted that it would be able to maintain adequate staffing "to carry out essential elements of our mission". While condemning the visa move, Mr Lavrov said Russia would not retaliate against Americans requesting Russian visas.
This new Shenmue 3 trailer shows a very wistful Ryo Hazuki
There are publisher logos, locations, water effects and characters - actual parts of a video game which have been made. Created for modern platforms (PC and PlayStation 4) and built in Unreal 4, it will continue the legacy of Shenmue .
Verizon is Now Throttling Video on All Unlimited Plans
Even with a laptop connected to your mobile hotspot, you'll never be able to reach video speeds higher than 10Mbps. For reference, the current unlimited data plan allows you to stream in "HD" quality, which translates as 720p.


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DENTON, Texas – UNT Athletics and its exclusive multimedia rightsholder, LEARFIELD’s Mean Green Sports Properties, announced today a multi-year broadcast relationship with iHeartMedia Dallas.
The new agreement provides comprehensive radio coverage for Mean Green football fans across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex through the 2025-26 athletic season. Starting in August, fans will be able to hear North Texas game broadcasts on 97.1 The Freak, iHeartMedia Dallas’ newest local, personality-driven, lifestyle talk-radio station.
“We are excited to announce this agreement with The Freak to bring UNT Football to fans all across the Metroplex this fall,” UNT Vice President and Director of Athletics Jared Mosley said. “We believe The Freak’s unique brand and growing fanbase is a perfect fit for UNT’s trajectory as we move into the American Athletic Conference. We are committed to growing the reach of our brand, and we look forward to a long partnership.”
Football broadcasts are led by a familiar voice in North Texas alumnus and two-time Emmy-award winner, Dave Barnett, who handles play-by-play. Barnett enters his ninth year as the “Voice of the Mean Green” and is joined by color analyst Hank Dickenson, who is in his 28th year as a member of the UNT broadcast team.
“The Freak is the newest and most unique media outlet to serve the Dallas/Fort Worth market. It’s the perfect home for Mean Green football and we proudly welcome them to iHeart Dallas,” said Paul Corvino, Region President iHeartMedia Dallas.
Mean Green men’s basketball coverage will continue to be heard on KHYI 95.3 FM in the Denton area. Live football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball game broadcasts and athletics content is also available worldwide through The Varsity Network online and on The Varsity Network app.
iHeartMedia is the leading media outlet in the Dallas market with multiple platforms, including its broadcast stations; live events; data; and its digital businesses and platforms, including mobile, social and its own iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service – with 3 billion app downloads and more than 160 million registered users.
To view the release online, click here.
About iHeartMedia, Inc.
iHeartMedia Dallas owns and operates 106.1 KISS FM, STAR 102.1, 102.9 NOW, Lone Star 92.5, Talk Radio 1190 AM, Dallas’ BIN, 97.1 The Freak, and is part of iHeartMedia. iHeartMedia, Inc. [Nasdaq: IHRT] is the leading audio media company in America, reaching over 90% of Americans every month. iHeart’s broadcast radio assets alone have more consumer reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet; twice the reach of the next largest broadcast radio company; and over four times the ad-enabled reach of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the largest podcast publisher according to Podtrac, with more downloads than the next two podcast publishers combined and has the number one social footprint among audio players, with seven times more followers than the next audio media brand, and the only fully integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms, products and services. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
About UNT Athletics
With more than 350 student-athletes, North Texas Athletics is located in Denton, Texas, and is a member of the American Athletics Conference. The Mean Green’s mission statement is Building Champions and Preparing Leaders through the pursuit of perfection in academics, athletics, and life. UNT Athletics has won 140 conference championships all-time, and in 2023 earned the basketball program’s first-ever National Invitation Tournament championship in Las Vegas. UNT Football has made six bowl appearances in the last seven seasons.
About Mean Green Sports Properties
Mean Green Sports Properties is the locally based LEARFIELD team which solely represents the University of North Texas. In complete collaboration with the university, this team is committed to extending the affinity of the Mean Green brand to businesses and corporations of all sizes looking to align with the undeniably loyal and passionate collegiate fan base. As North Texas Athletics’ exclusive multimedia rightsholder, Mean Green Sports Properties manages all aspects of the rights relationship, providing corporate partners both traditional and new media opportunities with the university in which to bolster their own brand and garner maximum exposure through such inventory as venue signage; event sponsorships and promotion; corporate hospitality; radio and television; digital engagement and visibility via the official athletics website.


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The biggest of the biggest sneakerheads failed to keep up with the Nike‘s Dunk silhouette’s multitude of releases. When compared to the Dunk Low and the Dunk High, the spigot of new styles have been gushing at full force over the course of summer 2021, and one of the most recent makeups to emerge is a new take on the Dunk Low embellished with gold, orange and yellow accents.
This Dunk Low is still to receive an official colourway name but it’s been dubbed “Varsity Salmon” by sneaker leaker Teddyssole, who was, in fact, the first-ever to reveal it. Looking at the construction, we find white leather toeboxes, quarters and collars with accents of orange leather mudguards, eyestays, heels and collar flaps.
This pair of hues resemble the Dunk Low “Syracuse,” but what differentiates the unofficially-dubbed “Varsity Salmon” from its predecessor is its metallic gold Swooshes and yellow outsoles. Details like the white nylon tongues with orange Nike Sportswear tags, orange laces, white midsoles and orange leather heel tabs with white Nike hits complete the look.
No official release date for this unnamed Dunk Low has been registered yet but one can expect them to release this Fall, priced at $100 USD.
For further updates
At a time when the sneaker game is rapidly gaining popularity, and more and more resellers and collectors are becoming a part of this ecosystem, The lack of a proper Authentication system and resale forums have caused inconvenience to a lot of enthusiasts; but not…
As we step into 2022, the past year hasn’t exactly been a cakewalk. The virus continues its presence with habitual lockdowns and strict norms all over the country. Despite this, the sneaker culture slowly but surely experienced a good number of new collaborations, album releases,…


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We all know Samsung had an amazing year in 2011 in terms of phone sales — especially smartphones. According to some recent reports from Korea Economics Daily those awesome sales numbers should be the same or better in 2012. They’ve projected a 15% increase slating Samsung to sell over 374 million phones in 2012.
That hug eye-popping number of 374 million includes 150+ by smartphones alone and that can only get bigger as time goes on. With Android growing at an increasingly rapid rate and Windows Phone doing its thing (whatever that is) Samsung should continue to grow. The Galaxy S was the best selling smartphone to date during its time and the Galaxy S II has continued right where the original left off.
Samsung was projected around 300 million for 2011 — a number they easily surpassed so we could also see them pass this new prediction for the upcoming year. Add in sales of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the upcoming and sure to be a huge success Galaxy S III we only see a bright future for Samsung — especially in the world of Android.


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First 3D-printed gun fired
News: the world's first 3D-printed plastic gun has been successfully fired in Texas, USA.
The handgun, named The Liberator, was assembled from separate printed components made from ABS plastic, with the exception of a metal nail used as a firing pin.
The makers of the gun, who belong to Austin-based libertarian activist group Defense Distributed, now plan to publish the blueprints for the gun on the group's Pirate Bay-style file-sharing site Defcad.
A video published online initially showed the gun being fired remotely by pulling a string attached to its trigger.
The BBC later filmed the gun being fired by Cody Wilson, Defense Distributed's 25-year-old leader, who said that gun control laws had become outdated in the face of new technology.
"I'm seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much have whatever you want. It's not up to the political players any more," he said.
The successful test firing came after a year of development by Defense Distributed, which a few months ago launched Defcad to host 3D printing blueprints for illicit items including weapons, drugs and medical equipment.
In other 3D printing news this week, US office supplies retailer Staples is to become the first major US chain to sell 3D printers, with the $1300 Cube 3D Printer arriving in its stores by the end of June.
Last year designer Ronen Kadushin, a pioneer of the open design movement that calls for designs to be shared freely without copyright, warned that advances in 3D printing could allow people to "print ammunition for an army".
In our earlier report on Defense Distributed, the founder of collaborative design practice Superflux, Anab Jain, suggested that democratised access to blueprints is "about making sure there is a possibility to debate these things instead of just becoming passive consumers and saying, ‘tomorrow I can order a 3D-printed gun if I want’."
We report on the rise of 3D-printed weaponry in our recently launched print-on-demand publication Print Shift, which also looks at how the technology is being adapted to architecture, design, food, fashion and other fields.
Read more about 3D printing on Dezeen, including the race to 3D-print a house and a proposal for a moon base that would be 3D-printed by spider robots using lunar dust.
Photographs are by Defense Distributed.


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California Cyber Security Firm Trellix Opens New Data Center in India
MILPITAS, CA (IANS)- California-based cyber security company Trellix on May 19 announced the opening of a new data center in Mumbai to help customers meet their data residency and compliance requirements.
The company provides hardware, software, and services to investigate cybersecurity attacks, protect against malicious software, and analyze IT security risks.
The launch of the new data center will provide access to a scalable cloud-native architecture, the company said.
“The new data center will help us to cater to the stringent compliance needs of our customers, especially in the banking, finance, and government sectors,” said Rahul Arora, Managing Director, India, and South Asia, Trellix.
The company said that the telemetry used for threat detection and response in Trellix threat analytics solutions can now be logged and stored in the new data center for customers who have a mandate to store their sensitive data within the country.
“We already have a significant presence in India, with one of our largest research and development centers in Bengaluru powering our global solutions and we will continue to invest in our presence,” Arora added.
The new data center will provide direct, high-performance access to Trellix’s EDR, EPP, and local management allowing direct and faster access to the Trellix platform.
Trellix said its data center will augment the ability to detect emerging threats faster.
The company has more than 40,000 business and government customers globally.


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Sony Xperia 1 VI: Sony, a renowned tech giant, is gearing up to unleash the Xperia 1 VI, the next superstar in its smartphone lineup. Sony Xperia 1 VI set to debut early next year, this latest addition to the “One” series is shrouded in mystery, yet tantalising details have begun to emerge.
As the dawn of a new year approaches, Sony is gearing up to unveil its latest masterpiece, the Xperia 1 VI. This highly anticipated smartphone promises to push the boundaries of innovation and redefine user experience. Stay tuned for an exciting journey into the future of mobile technology.
Get ready for a visual feast with the Xperia 1 VI, carrying forward the legacy of its predecessor’s exceptional 6.5-inch OLED display. If Sony maintains its reputation, this display promises to be nothing short of extraordinary.
Beneath the surface, expect a power-packed performance that builds upon the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage found in the Xperia 1 V. Brace yourself for an upgrade that will take your smartphone experience to new heights.
Rumours are buzzing about an enhanced telephoto sensor with an incredible 6x zoom camera. Add to that Sony’s Clear Image Zoom technology, and you’re looking at a game-changer in smartphone photography.
In an eco-conscious move, whispers suggest that the Xperia 1 VI may embrace sustainable packaging with recycled materials, aligning with our collective commitment to a greener future.
Mark your calendar for the Xperia 1 VI’s early 2024 debut at MWC. While exact pricing remains under wraps, expect Sony’s flagship strategy to deliver value. In India, it could be yours from Rs 79,888.
In summary, the Sony Xperia 1 VI is shrouded in anticipation and excitement. From its breathtaking display and enhanced performance to revolutionary camera capabilities and eco-friendly packaging, it’s poised to redefine the smartphone landscape. Stay tuned for more details as Sony continues its legacy of pushing boundaries in the world of smartphones.
Written By: Sanjay Singh


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Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, will not be attending the E3 2015 this June. A Nintendo representative has confirmed this and added that Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario and Zelda, and other Nintendo developers will be attending the event.
According to the representative:
“Nintendo’s focus for E3 this year will be showcasing the many games we have coming for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Mr. Miyamoto and other members of our development team will be in Los Angeles to explain these games and the unique experiences that each offers.
Mr. Iwata’s focus in this period will be on other areas of our business that require his presence in Japan. While he remains in Japan, Mr. Miyamoto and our developers will lead the effort at E3 focusing on our games. Mr. Iwata will be in constant contact with the team in Los Angeles and will be monitoring the reaction to our product offerings from our partners at the show and by consumers publicly.”
So while Mr. Iwata will not be present in this year’s E3, he will still be watching the event all the way from Japan to make sure Nintendo’s showcase goes through smoothly.


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Renowned Analyst Predicts the Launch of a Foldable iPad by Apple in 2024
Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has recently taken to Twitter to share his insights on Apple’s future plans. He states that he is “positive” that the tech giant will be launching a new, foldable iPad with an all-new design and a carbon fiber kickstand next year. According to his sources in the supply chain, Kuo is confident in this proclamation, which is rare for an analyst who often err on the side of caution.
Despite the lack of detail from Kuo, there are already rumors that Apple is working on an iPad that is larger than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, potentially as big as 16 inches. However, it is not clear how the company will market the device or how compact it will be when folded.


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June is prime time for fishing in South Florida, as the weather turns favorable for trips to the Bahamas and easily caught dolphins are abundant and hungry. But at Capt. Harry’s Fishing Supply, the local catch is only half the story.
In addition to a retail store near Miami’s Little River district, the company operates a catalog and Internet business. From a second-floor warehouse filled with closely spaced floor-to-ceiling shelves, pickers fill orders from nearly every U.S. state and 120 countries.
Since the early 1980s, Capt. Harry’s has relied on overseas sales to balance the ups and downs of the domestic market. “This is our business plan,” said company president Carl Liederman. “We drive our business through our international exports.”
That strategy helped Capt. Harry’s increase sales by 24 percent last year, while fishing-supply sales in general rose about 5 percent, said consultant Rob Southwick.
“Marine fishing went way down when the economy took a dive,” said Southwick, who heads Southwick Associates, a fish and wildlife research firm in Fernandina Beach. “It looks like they’re doing better than the average,” he said.
The company’s international focus was born in the early 1980s when visitors from Latin America flooded downtown Miami to go shopping. About 40 percent of the foot traffic in 1982 was from foreign customers. So the store created a small catalog. “Everyone who came into the store walked out with a Capt. Harry’s catalog,” Liederman said.
Soon after, the store began getting mail orders from tourists who took the catalog home. When Latin shoppers migrated away from downtown in the 1990s, there was already a comfortable base of business coming in from overseas.
Capt. Harry’s reaches out to global markets with its 148-page catalog and through attendance at overseas trade shows, advertising in foreign fishing publications and its command of complex international shipping rules.
A random check of seven outbound orders on a recent weekday found one shipment headed for Connecticut. The other destinations: Antigua, Australia, the Marshall Islands, France, Slovakia and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
This year, Liederman and Harry Vernon III, vice president and the son of the company’s founder, are debating the firm’s Internet strategy. Although e-retailing is more cost-efficient, many in the shop’s prime age demographic of 40 to 55 prefer to browse the catalog first and then place their order online, rather than click through the site.
Sometime in June, the company will bring website operations in-house, which will allow for faster price and selection changes. Eventually, Liederman expects everyone to use the Web for remote shopping.
Although Latin America and the Caribbean are currently prime catalog territories, Capt. Harry’s also gets orders worth tens of thousands of dollars from Japan and wealthy buyers in the Middle East. Its shipment to Guantánamo Bay is going to the military Base Exchange, where it holds a license to export fishing gear.
The top international market varies from year to year, sometimes because of currency fluctuations. Overall, the business has revenue of between $5 million and $10 million, Liederman said, with about half coming from foreign sales.
Florida is also an important source of revenue. More fishing gear is sold in Florida than in any other state, accounting for $4.4 billion annually, according to a 2008 report based on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data.
Capt. Harry’s trolls for local anglers with an 8,000-square-foot sales floor packed with rods, reels, sinkers and lures in every color imaginable. The store stocks 20,000 items, including at least a thousand lures and teasers designed to tempt fish onto an angler’s line. The biggest is nearly two feet long and the smallest less than an inch. There are scented lures, mirrored lures, lures with holographic features and ones designed to move like a frightened fish.
“As far as saltwater fishing tackle, they’ve probably got the biggest selection,” said Jimbo Thomas, captain of the 42-foot Thomas Flyer charter fishing boat at the Miamarina. “A lot of hard-to-find stuff, they have.”
The vast assortment lets customers choose the lure they think will work, said Jeffrey Liederman, who is Carl’s son and works in the business.
“There’s so much personal preference,” he said. “We’re here to try to meet everyone’s need as opposed to what we think.”
But many anglers go to Capt. Harry’s specifically for the advice provided by Jeffrey Liederman and Vernon.
“They have a plethora of knowledge of the best way to do things, all of the information you need to give you a little more edge in fishing,” said Bouncer Smith, a well-known charter captain working out of the Miami Beach Marina. “They are on the cutting edge of networking with the different fishermen as to what’s working.”
Capt. Harry’s was started on the Miami River in 1970 to serve commercial hook-and-line boats, a vanishing species in South Florida. More than a few customers say they came to buy equipment from founder Harry Vernon II when he was one of the only big tackle shops around.
“He was instrumental in buying my first rod and reel,” said Pam Marmin, a Miami Shores tournament champion who has fished for 25 years.
Harry Vernon III remembers life at the store on Southwest Sixth Street as a simpler time. He grew up in the business, but by the 1990s, Capt. Harry’s was being pressed by big-box sports stores that had deeper inventories and more marketing muscle. So, like other independents, it honed the expertise of its staff into a competitive asset.
Fishing for fans
The company’s 30 employees have all gone on fishing excursions, even those who just handle Internet or phone orders. That helps them respond more knowledgably to customer questions, Liederman says.
In addition, Vernon is a frequent guest on cable-TV fishing shows, which enhances the store’s reputation among fishing fanatics.
By 2005, growth at the Northwest 11th Street store had plateaued and customers started to grouse about the shabby surroundings. So Vernon and Liederman began searching for a new location. To boost local traffic, they wanted a high visibility spot on a major roadway. They found one along Interstate 95 at a site leased to a XXX-rated video store.
They bought the property and hired architect Les Beilinson to create a concept that would attract attention. The result was a striking installation of 46 leaping blue marlin fastened to a metal mesh screen on the side of the building.
“We felt we needed to make a statement,” said Liederman, who notes that the building at 85th Street is exposed to 257,000 cars daily, according to Florida Department of Transportation estimates.
The store opened in 2008 and motorists still venture in simply to learn what the marlin display is all about. Sales have grown every year since the opening, except for 2009 when they were flat, Liederman said.
Demand this year started strong but has softened a little in the second quarter, perhaps hurt by rising fuel costs. But overall there’s reason for optimism, said industry researcher Rob Southwick. Recreational boat sales rose in 2011 for the first time in five years. “That growth translates into more boating-supply sales,” he said.


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The award looks at the most attractive and successful cartons which have entered the market across Europe and the winners will attend a gala evening on September 18, in Sorrento, Italy.
Point of Sale
“Cartons can do so much more than other packaging: they have a positive appeal at the Point of Sale, they are perfect brand messengers and are unbeatable in terms of sustainability,” said Andreas Blaschke, president, ECMA (European Carton Makers Association).
“The award gives all partners in the packaging supply chain the opportunity to demonstrate their skills to a wider audience as well as presenting the creative opportunities offered by carton packaging.”
Invitation for entries are now online in eight categories and five languages (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish) at www.procartonecmaaward.com. Deadline for submissions is June 6, 2014.
The awards represents all partners of the supply chain – cartonboard and carton industry, as well as designers, brand owners and the retail trade.
Winners last year included: Twinkle Box an isotherm packaging for the Diamond Collection of Moët & Chandon by Van Genechten Angoulêm; Griesson De Beukelaer’s ChocOlé, a cylindrical, resealable container chocolate sticks; Barry Callebaut’s Nut Box and Danone and carton manufacturer Remmert Dekker for its Party Packaging Lovely Cookies.
Award winner roadshow
The 2013 judging panel saw Satkar Gidda from SiebertHead; Wilfried Duivenvoorden from Unilever; Anne Harding from Marks&Spencer and Stan Akkermans from Mars.
As part of their prize, companies get to showcase their designs on the www.procarton.comand www.ecma.org websites and a roadshow with the cartons of the winners at trade shows, congresses and events across Europe
The award-winning 2013 packaging is currently on tour throughout Europe. So far it has taken in Moscow, Cologne, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Birmingham and Zurich, Warsaw will be added this month and Interpack Düsseldorf (May 8-14) on the Pro Carton stand (9J13).


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A couple of days ago, I mentioned that Reboant Rise of the Nuhort VR has its Steam Page up, along with some new screenshots. It turns out that the page has recently been updated, and now it suggest that the game is coming somewhere later this month.
This action shooter … Read the rest
HTC announced back in late July at ChinaJoy, a brand new upcoming shooter VR game with the title “Reboant Rise of the Nuhort“. Developed by a development studio Shanghai DarkLord Networking Technology Corp LTD, HTC said that Viveport will be a platform that will play host to … Read the rest
Earlier today at ChinaJoy, HTC announces a brand new major title that will be debuting on Viveport Arcade in Chinese language by the end of this year, follow by release elsewhere. I have covered the game briefly here.
Some new details about the game has emerged over the day, … Read the rest


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Top industry bodies representing the Tatas, Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart and others have opposed some of the proposed clauses in the earlier draft. Some of the key provisions have also not found favour with the finance and corporate affairs ministries, and the government's public policy think tank, Niti Aayog.
Department Of Consumer Affairs
The government said the portal is now operational in 15 states and UTs. "The Department of Consumer Affairs is now proactively following up with the states to launch e-filing portal at their ends."
Centre has asked State govts to sensitize companies, hotels & restaurants to disseminate info that service charges are discretionary/voluntary not mandatory.


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Hearst and Rodale Inc have announced that Hearst has agreed to acquire the magazine and book businesses of Rodale, a global health and wellness content company based in New York and Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
The announcement was made by Hearst President and CEO Steven R. Swartz, Rodale CEO Maria Rodale and Hearst Magazines President David Carey. The transaction is expected to close in early 2018, following receipt of necessary government approvals. Terms were not disclosed.
With 93 editions in 64 countries, Rodale publishes the largest, most established health and wellness lifestyle brands, including Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, Rodale’s Organic Life, Runner’s World and Bicycling, while Rodale Books is known for conversation-changing titles including former vice president Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s “Onward” and Dave Asprey’s “The Bulletproof Diet”. The division’s highly successful series include “Thug Kitchen”, “Wheat Belly” and “The South Beach Diet”.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Rodale’s multiplatform content business will be managed by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst with more than 300 editions and websites around the world, including 20 titles in the U.S.
In Australia, ACP and now Bauer Media have been longtime partners of Hearst. Rodale has been linked with Pacific Magazines for many years, which publishes Women’s Health and Men’s Health under licence from Rodale.


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Entanet: Entanet produces eBook to help partners seek out and win more high-value IP VPN business
Leading channel-focused wholesale communications provider, Entanet, is encouraging its partners to seek out more business around IP VPNs by producing an eBook to help resellers understand their advantages and benefits to end-user customers.
The company has seen a sharp rise in the number of opportunities brought by partners who have been actively selling virtual private network connections over the past 12 months and wants to encourage more resellers to seek out potential VPN adopters.
Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing at Entanet, says: “Over the past year we’ve helped hungry partners increase their pipeline of high value IP VPN business by 50 percent. We’ve been guiding them on how to identify opportunities, scope requirements and sell solutions effectively. That approach is working and we think more partners could benefit. The demand is clearly there – it’s just that many customers don’t know about the benefits of IP VPNs.”
Farnden says that by getting a good understanding of the business benefits, resellers can approach customers with confidence and build good relationships. “If they can help the customer see the positive impact an IP VPN can deliver, resellers can add genuine value and create good long-term relationships with ‘sticky’ customers that will provide a strong base for the future of their own business and support their growth plans.”
To help resellers get started and introduce its IP VPN services, Entanet has produced an easy-to-read eBook – ‘An insight into IP VPNs’ – that highlights the advantages and benefits of the solution and will help resellers to gain the level of understanding and confidence they need to talk customers through the options.
To find out more and download the eBook, resellers can visit www.enta.net/insight-into-ipvpns.
— ENDS —
Entanet is a leading wholesale voice and data communications provider and operates via a network of wholesale and resale channel partners. It was founded in 1996 by Taiwanese ‘Comms Business channel entrepreneur of the year’ winner Jason Tsai and employs over 80 staff at its offices in Telford, Shropshire. Entanet is part of Entagroup (www.entagroup.com), a broad-based IT and communications group with annual sales in excess of $200million.
Entanet offers an extensive portfolio of connectivity services, including wholesale and packaged broadband, leased lines, EFM, IP VPNs, hosting and co-location, VoIP and traditional telecoms. The company operates its own fully-resilient nationwide next generation network which enables it and its partners to provide up to 10Gbps capacity to customers right across the UK. In addition, it has further connectivity into Amsterdam and Frankfurt and over 900 peering relationships across Europe.
The quality of Entanet’s services and its commitment to partners has been widely recognised. The company was recently named Best Channel ISP in the 2013 Comms National Awards and as the winner in the 2013 ISPA Awards for Best Business Fixed Broadband. In the Comms National Awards 2012 it was awarded Best Channel Wholesale Service Provider. It also received the ISPA award for Best Internet Telephony in 2011 and was short-listed in the Specialist Services Vendor of the Year in the CRN Channel Awards – an accolade it has won twice in recent years. The company has also been listed on a number of occasions in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA and other listings of fast-growing, privately-held UK companies.
For more information contact:
Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing
Entanet International Ltd
Tel: 0333 101 0000


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POINT OF PURCHASE Increasingly, brands and social platforms alike are becoming aware of UGC's influence and are devising
Share-Worthy Packaging In recent years, consumers' expectations have risen far beyond exemplary goods, with 40% of consumers
For the young and young at heart, Halloween conjures an extra sense of magic. Dressing up, planning themed parties and collecting
With 43% of millennials valuing authentic images over branded stock photography, consumers aren't the only people shying
What happens when 12 million people are provided with an almost unlimited variety of immersive virtual environments where they can explore, create, and learn with their friends?
Check out some of our favorite photos, shot in all corners of the globe.
User generated content (UGC) can be a brand's best friend. Or it can fall flat on its face. The difference lies in finding a genuine fit between content and partner that resonates with and compels the target demographic.
Three years old, now Storyful is at "a very interesting stage in our business", Clinch adds: "It's created a lot of interest
Recently I was asked what young creative types should study in order to be successful in today's digital-centric world. My answer: Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
CANNES - The "Entertainment Experience," a film project lead by Dutch-born Hollywood actor Paul Verhoeven, consisting of
Our readers didn't slow down their weekend fun in the run-up to Thanksgiving! You took gelato-making classes, ran the Philadelphia
What a weekend! HuffPost Women readers attended the Marine Corps birthday ball, went biking in the Everglades, celebrated
Our readers had a busy first weekend of November! You guys caught up with old friends, celebrated your kids' achievements
Seems like it was a pretty eventful Halloweekend. In addition to dressing up, going out and contending with pre-Hurricane
Marketers today face an incredible challenge -- cutting through the clutter to capture the attention of the most highly fragmented audience in history.
(Video) Dublin's 'Storyful,' Curating Crowd-Sourced News from Damascus to Aurora for The New York Times, Bloomberg, YouTube and others
Last month in London at our journalism summit, we spoke the Mark Little, Storyful founder and CEO, about his company and
The "smart metadata" gathered using the Behavio technology could potentially provide journalists with a game-changing amount of new information about the conditions under which a certain image was captured.
MTV was a hit, garnering viewers and legions of fans for the fledgling music television channel. The only problem, MTV founders
As WebTV and other broadband technologies become more common -- the National Broadband Plan and Net Neutrality become that
Rather than waste time trying to silence the websites that host consumer reviews, or the consumers themselves, local businesses would be better served to channel their energy towards maximizing the value of this new medium.


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Karachi, August 19, 2019: Realme powered by Oppo, the fastest growing smartphone brand in Pakistan, Bags the award for ‘Most Popular brand’ at second Annual Daraz Summit. This Award by
Talking on the occasion, Harvey He, Marketing Director – realme Pakistan, said “This award is in tune with our snappy young customers who get a trendy and fast partner that suits their lifestyle in realme. Daraz has seen new sale records with each price drop with the entire stock being sold out in minutes or even seconds at instances. We built our ‘Dare to Leap’ concept based on this mission. We hope to provide young consumers with more surprising products within the same price range, and exceed their expectations, whether in design, performance, or quality.”
Since its entry into the Pakistani market less than 8 months ago, realme powered by Oppo has already launched 5 products across different price segments from premium flagships to trendy mid-rangers, all designed particularly for the youth. They are also gearing up for the launch of their next products in the classic realme series in the coming months. realme is proving it has planned an even steeper growth trajectory than its parent company through a targeted focus on the youth.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gannett Co. GCI, +0.00% said late Tuesday it has agreed to sell $1 billion of unsecured senior convertible notes due 2037 in an underwritten public offering. The notes have an initial conversion rate of 10.9 shares of Gannett common stock per $1,000 of the convertible notes, resulting in an initial conversion price of $92.14 per share. The McLean, Va.-based media company expects the offering to close June 29.
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Thumbzup cuts through payment palaver
Thumbzup, the local tech start-up behind Absa's mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solution, the Absa Payment Pebble, has started piloting a new locally-developed payment device with the bank.
Stafford Masie, CEO and founder of thumbzup, this morning took the wraps off the Payment Blade, which he describes as a powerful payments acceptance solution that augments the Payment Pebble, and a world first.
The Payment Blade negates the need for a smartphone, explains Masie. "It is a device that envelops the Payment Pebble, based on phone technology. It reworks smartphone components into a solution that acts as a communications device for Pebble. What the Kindle did for reading, the Blade will do for payments."
Instead of connecting via a SIM supplied by a specific service provider, says Masie, the Payment Blade is bundled with an access point name so that it connects automatically. "Kind of like Amazon did with 'Whispernet' for its 3G Kindle. This means the device just boots up and connects, removing the complexity and the need for training."
The Payment Blade runs on a purpose-made version of the Android operating system, which enables the rendering of third-party apps onto the device, says Masie. The device will ship with software development kits with an application programming interface.
Thumbzup developed the Blade to fill a number of gaps in the market, says Masie. "It has become evident there is an opportunity to deliver a low-cost combination of payment device and dedicated host platform into the market to create a better experience for both merchants and customers."
He says the device is expected to cost from between R70 and R80 per month when it launches "early in the new year". The Payment Pebble currently costs R50 per month.
The Payment Blade comprises the dedicated host appliance (with a four-inch touch-screen) and a Payment Pebble device which it hosts embedded in an integrated package. Although it is integrated, however, the Pebble device can be removed for use on a different host, or for replacement with another Pebble device.
There are two versions of the Blade - the Payment Blade Foundation and the higher-end Payment Blade Enterprise. The latter, explains Masie, includes a 5MP camera, barcode scanner and the ability to make phone calls. "The Blade Enterprise includes a back-end service with which merchants can create a white list of numbers the device can call. Beyond that, the device has no value as an actual phone."
The Foundation version is expected to cost under R80 per month, while the Enterprise should come in at below the R100 per month mark - excluding voice and additional data options. "Other smartphone payment solutions require that the device is plugged into your expensive device, using connectivity on top of that.
"We have found that more than 65% of smartphone owners who took up the Payment Pebble had never accessed their phone's app store before needing to do so for the payment solution. So people have these beautiful devices, but they don't know how to use them. The Blade takes the need for literacy away."
Masie says the company is "absolutely" eyeing international markets, noting the US - which is in the final stages of converting to EMV standards - is a "no-brainer" market for the Payment Blade.


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Last I checked, signs of impending apocalypse have yet to include high street bookmakers’ signs flapping in the wind. However, if you were to listen to many on the retail high street, the four horsemen are bearing down on retail operators – and at least one of them is riding a FOBT, writes Richard Thorp, Business Development Director for FSB.
First, the gritty reality: there can be no debate that over-the-counter betting has a problem. Fixed odds betting terminals had been driving the majority share of revenue within the retailers.
But now, following the UK government’s decision earlier this year to slash the maximum bet on FOBTs from £100 to £2, these machines can no longer sustain retail outlets’ viability by taking the edge off clear consumer trends.
The pattern for customers moving online, of course, is part of a deeper commercial tide that is only rolling one way. And the high street entry point is becoming more and more unappealing for operators, established or otherwise.
Only last week House of Fraser cited “greedy landlords” in its own battle to keep its outlets alive. And while neither Mike Ashley nor bookmakers typically cut sympathetic figures, the current spate of shop closures is costing thousands of jobs.
Consider a variety of business rates, the cost of streaming pictures to screens on a range of sports and you’re several grand down before you even open your doors. Simply put, it just doesn’t add up without taking a huge trading risk.
These barriers to entry are more roadblock than speed bump for most. The affiliate argument, whereby operators use their stores to redirect traffic online, seems to carry less and less weight while staff are progressively unskilled in betting knowledge and their robotic equivalents, the copycat self-service betting terminals, have all the handling and UX performance of a clapped-out Reliant Robin.
Would it help if we got out and pushed? Well, in a perfect storm of too many suppliers in the market and shops shutting left, right and centre, it’s a question of knowing where to put your shoulder to the wheel. Ultimately, the challenge is to create a beneficial experience for people to walk through the betting shop doorway. Or in other words, to fashion a product you couldn’t get anywhere else.
Ireland is something of a retail success story, in that many shops remain integral parts of the community, helped by educated staff who are encouraged to interact with their customers and understand their needs. There are no FOBTs in the Republic of Ireland, of course, so there’s no palpable sense of loss there, nor a negative stereotype that betting outlets are becoming the domain of the uncouth youth, lining up to hammer a terminal.
Regardless, it naturally takes a whole lot more than a friendly chat with a shop manager over tea and biscuits to reboot a franchise. The first 50 years of betting shops served their purpose, but things started to go awry from 1995 – 2000, when their collective failure to evolve with the either technology or the cultural zeitgeist left them looking like anachronisms living on borrowed time.
Accordingly, just over a decade ago, I became involved with a remodel of the betting shop environment, launching Better Bet across the South East of England with a view to improving the customer experience. In a triumph for bad timing, we fell short. I’d even previously grappled with the launch of the SSBT prototype at Blue Square’s lone betting shop on the Edgware Road in 2004!
But the online movement was so powerful and shop hardware simply wasn’t in a place where it could respond by linking up – especially to advances in mobile, which were even instructing grey-pound punters. That future, however, has now finally arrived. And since joining FSB, our development team of traders and engineers has worked tirelessly to reinvigorate this arena with a provable omnichannel solution.
Indeed, FSB’s new fleet of state-of-the-art SSBTs, which operate off a fully functional sleek-screen interface, now provide the sought-after product for customers who want to enjoy the traditional benefits of betting shop anonymity, allied to the wider sports offering available to online sports-betting punters.
We have designed a digital interface within a retail environment with all the attractions that that acquire, engage and retain the end user. With assured settlement and return-to-player payouts, money also seamlessly redirects within betting shops, combating money-laundering concerns.
The imperative to continue improving existing products and develop new technologies aimed at digitising the retail space is part of our modus operandi. A one-size-fits-all approach becomes untenable when a linked-up, customisable approach is now on hand to create the proverbial one-stop shop. Indeed, FSB’s core backend powers digital and retail simultaneously – across sportsbook and casino – providing management efficiency for operators and a unified experience for customers.
In fact, retail operators have been flocking to our toolkit this year, since our next-generation SSBTs uniquely manage the display of content in-venue via one intuitive screen, connecting through to EPOS terminals, and a single wallet / account. Thereby building this bridge to the ultimate digital customer experience.
Make no mistake, then, betting shops can begin to regain their status as engaging congregation points for the community, helping address footfall concerns across our nation’s embattled high streets. People regularly go to mall and food-halls for communal experiences.
If the dials are set correctly, retail outlets can serve a similar purpose, leveraging the bonding power of sport, and adding a dash of excitement with responsible betting for those so inclined. After all, the land-based casino model still works well for bringing everyone together. If only betting shops were able to sell alcohol!
Needless to relate, government both local and national will have telling things to say on such legislative matters, alongside the aforementioned issues around sky-high rents. In all likelihood, Philip Hammond’s autumn budget isn’t going to deliver a silver bullet in November.
Yet this is not the time to mourn the death of the FOBT and its ripple effect in the retail world. Instead, we should embrace the transformative tools now at our disposal and usher in a golden era for the betting shop, even if that means there are fewer of them nationwide.
On the surface, would you walk into an amusement arcade which only had four identical amusements? For all their controversial appeal, FOBTs have essentially been turning high street betting shops into disengaged mini-casinos, when these venues should and do have so much more to offer.
It’s always worth remembering that we’re in the entertainment business here. And when it stops being fun, people generally look elsewhere. So I feel certain that there’s still life in the old shop yet, as long as the aforementioned innovation and renovation arrive. In short, diversify or die. It’s not a new axiom. But it is a reliable one.
At the very least it would make a welcome break from the current retail demand for a Starbucks or a Gap on every high street. Forget the four horsemen, that really would be a sure sign of Armageddon for me!
FSB will be at Stand Q14 throughout Betting on Sports. FSB’s new 8,000 sq ft Shoreditch offices now include a product-development floor which features a fully functional betting shop, complete with FSB’s latest self-service betting terminals. Contact Richard to arrange an appointment or request a brochure.


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Pundits and forecasters have India and China locked in a race to see which will be the next economic superpower. The money, quite literally, seems to be on China, but in a recent publication, Reimagining India: Unlocking the Potential of Asia’s Next Superpower, the strategic consultancy company McKinsey & Co has created a compelling case for India eclipsing China by 2030.
The book, edited by Clay Chandler and Adil Zainulbhai, unfolds as a collection of 64 essays from 82 contributors representing the views of global giants such as Coca Cola, Google, Reliance Industries, Microsoft, Cisco, Vedanta Resources, Starbucks and IDFC.
Although much of the focus is on corporate India, culture and the humanities also get a look in. Bill Gates, discussing polio eradication, and influential lawyer Zia Mody rub shoulders with five-time World Professional Billiards champion Geet Sethi. Eric Schmidt is in conference with the dean of Harvard Business School Nitin Nohria, while Howard Schultz from Starbucks shares the pages with Viswanathan Anand – India’s first chess grandmaster.
They all bring with them convincing data that includes India’s growing market of 1.2 billion people, half of whom are under 25; an economy capable of generating a GDP of 8.5%; and a middle class of 250 million people who are transcending the country’s infamous caste system.
The topics range from the strengths and weaknesses of India’s political system; competitiveness of Indian firms; Indian foreign policy; and the power of new technologies to transform healthcare, education and competitiveness. There is also space for India’s “softer” industries – the arts, cuisine and India’s prospects for gold at the Olympics. The result is a well-rounded picture of what matters when considering India’s socio-economic future.
Throughout the essays the words potential, innovation and competition come up time and time again. Mukesh Ambani, CEO of Reliance Industries and a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry, explains how India started unleashing its potential. For him, the stripping back of India’s system of tariffs and regulations – known as Licence Raj – in 1991 was crucial. “These sanctions created immense difficulties, they created an artificial scarcity for everything a business needed to succeed. The reforms were compelled by a financial crisis, but nevertheless they were visionary and bold. The performance of Reliance shows an amazing trend when mapped against time. The inflection point was 1991. We grew exponentially, eventually becoming India’s biggest private enterprise, on the basis of the freedom to compete against the best in the world.”
The complexity of India is picked up by Coca Cola’s Muhtar Kent, the son of a diplomat who spent his formative years in India. “If you come to India with some grand, predetermined strategy or master plan, prepare to be distracted, deterred, and even demoralized.” If that sounds daunting, he proceeds with optimism by detailing a plan for success: focus on training and talent recruitment, and source products from within India to deepen ties to the market. Among his stories is that of the 5by20 initiative, “which seeks to bring additional business training, finance opportunities, and mentoring to five million women entrepreneurs across our global value chain by 2020. Indian women make up a significant focus of this program.”
There is no doubt from reading these essays of the passion that this country invokes in those who do business there. As Dominic Barton, the global managing director of McKinsey & Co, says: “India, with its wildly pluralistic society, fractious democratic political system, and boisterous independent media, has the potential to show the world’s other emerging markets that ethnic homogeneity and authoritarianism aren’t the only – or even the best – path to successful economic development.”
Read more Forum:Blog book reviews.
Author: Sheridan Jobbins is a journalist and screenwriter.
Image: A flower seller is seen walking a a seafront in Mumbai REUTERS/Arko Datta.


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Asia’s luxury travel industry and Asia’s luxury travelers — particularly those in China — are at the forefront in social media, according to a new report.
The study was conducted by Brand Karma, in conjunction with International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), and examined millions of online reviews and posts on social media by Asian luxury travelers to determine current trends in consumer behavior.
The findings were encouraging, showing that “Asia is both the present and future of luxury travel, and the epicenter of digital media growth over the next decade,” reports Web in Travel.
The popularity of social networks like WeChat, LINE, WhatsApp, and KakaoTalk is growing rapidly in Asia, and should prove to be lucrative for luxury travel brands. These messaging applications, unlike more traditional social media, allow “immediate access” to the user’s contact list through their mobile device, making it easier to make connections. LINE and WeChat are now allowing companies to manage customer support through their applications, and brands can set up loyalty applications and generate sales through these networks.
Asian hotel groups are also using Facebook to generate more bookings, creating targeted advertising campaigns based on consumer preferences and demographics.
The study also showed that online media platforms like Vine, Instagram, and Pinterest provide useful outlets for luxury accommodations to market their food and beverage (F&B) and spa services, which “comprise a significant portion of a hotel’s revenue in Asia.”
Asian travelers have also become the world’s most prolific online reviewers of luxury accommodations. Travelers from Asia posted 53 percent of all luxury travel reviews written between 2012 and 2014. Most areas in the Asia-Pacific region saw a review increase of just 5 percent, but China showed an incredible 89 percent increase in luxury travel reviews written. Chinese travelers write most frequently about cities in their home country, with Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Sanya, and Hangzhou the most reviewed destinations, and 61 percent of reviews written by Chinese travelers are positive.
Chinese review sites like Ctrip, Dao Dao, and Qunar together comprise 22.2 percent of global luxury hotel reviews, though Trip Advisor remains number one in the world, at 42.8 percent.
image credit: ctrip, brand karma


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With a claimed 180bhp in road-legal form, and well over 200bhp in race trim, this is the machine Ducati’s works riders, Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio, will be using next year in an effort to reclaim the World Superbike championship. And around £20,000 will put one in your garage.
The new Ducati 1098R gets a bored-out 1198cc engine to give it a huge 20bhp power boost over the stock version.
A race-only ECU, which comes with the bike, adds more power and activates a sophisticated traction control system with eight different settings, allowing different amounts of slide to be allowed before the ignition is retarded to cut back the power.
As you’d expect from a range-topping Ducati, the suspension is the latest Ohlins kit. At the back there’s a new TTX shock, the first time the design has been used on a road bike, which offers adjustable rice height as well as damping and preload.
Front suspension uses 43mm upside-down Ohlins forks, with titanium nitride coating and fully adjustable damping. Ohlins also provides an adjustable steering damper.
Brembo Motobloc calipers, while the gold-coloured Marchesini wheels are 1.9kg lighter than those on the standard 1098.
As on the previous “R” model superbikes from Ducati, the fairing is all carbon fibre, and comes with white “number” panels to add a racing look.
Read all the details in MCN, on sale on November 7.


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(Bloomberg) — Just as things seemed to be returning to normal at Rhett Ricart in Columbus, Ohio, auto dealers — after the pandemic’s inventory shortages and runaway price increases — emerged a new obstacle to buyers blocking a deal: falling interest rates on auto loans.
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“They’re making money,” said Ricart, who owns stores that sell models from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., and Nissan Co. “Customers are not shocked by the increased cost of the vehicle, they are shocked that they have to pay 7% or 8%. You are talking about tons of money.”
As the Federal Reserve steadily increased the federal funds rate last year to try to tame inflation, the average interest rate on loans for new cars jumped to 8.95% last month, up from 5.66% a year earlier, according to researcher Cox Automotive. That, with average car prices now approaching $50,000, has pushed auto loan payments to $784 a month on average, up from about $177 a month since March 2020 when the pandemic began.
Dealers now say interest rates are the No. 1 factor keeping their business in business, and inventory shortages and the economy are replacing them as the top problems over the past year, a Cox survey of auto dealers showed. Rising rates are weakening market momentum even as auto sales are expected to rise as much as 7.3% in the first quarter, according to a forecast from JD Power and LMC Automotive.
Many of the largest car companies, including General Motors and Corp. Toyota Motor Corporation will report the results of four US sales on Monday.
“A lot of these things that seemed to be tailwinds at the very beginning of the year are turning into headwinds very quickly,” Jonathan Smoke, Cox’s chief financial officer, told reporters March 27. “Anyone who tells you to have a firm opinion about us. It’s too much, I don’t know what, they’re smoking something.
On top of rising mortgage rates, the banking crisis triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month has further strained credit, making it harder to qualify for a car loan.
Still, automakers remain confident millions of buyers are ready to flood dealer lots as demand picks up after years of supply shortages and pandemic-related factory and showroom shutdowns.
The annual sales rate is expected to rise to 14.4 million in March from 13.5 million a year ago, according to an average of researchers looking at eight markets. Prior to the pandemic, annual US auto sales have topped 17 million for five consecutive years.
“Consumer confidence, or at least consumer behavior, will continue to be soft,” Chris Reynolds, chief executive of Toyota Prius in North America, told reporters. “People still have money in their pockets, and they want to buy cars.”
In fact, consumer confidence fell this month on the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.
“A lot of the demand for so-called inclusion has basically been wiped out because of a lethal combination of prices, interest rates and payments,” Smoke said.
Automakers are trying to offer a higher interest rate cash discount. Ohio dealer Ricart said Ford has made a big difference by offering 1.9% financing for 60-month loans on pickup trucks in its area.
The output of automakers has been swelling for three years as supply chain snags to reduce inventory and caused prices to hit record levels. Now that supply is catching up with demand, companies are giving up some profit in an effort to keep the car affordable.
“At all costs we can’t pass on what we put into our profit,” Jack Hollis, executive vice president of Toyota’s North American unit, told reporters. “How much can he spend, month after month increasing” price?
A shortage of semiconductors that has left the seller empty lots in recent years has been disappearing as inventories have risen 70% from this time last year, according to Cox. Cars now sit on dealer lots for an average of 34 days before being sold. That’s up from 24 days a year ago, data from car tracker Edmunds.com show.
Those favorable factors are still multiplying at rising rates. The average car loan payment was $8,764 in February, up from $5,395 a year earlier, according to Edmunds.
“It’s a tough prospect to sign your name off a $40,000 loan in this area,” Jessica Caldwell, executive director of research at Edmunds, said in an interview. “People look at the moon and go for a walk.”
In Columbus, Ricart sees buyers canceling orders for difficult models that were signed months ago, when financing was cheaper.
“When they ordered them the interest rate was 2% and now it’s 8%,” said Ricart. “They ended up paying a lot more for that vehicle than they thought.”
–With assistance from Gabrielle Coppola.
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