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Mecum Auctions returns to Arizona this month, bringing 1,500 collector automobiles, boats and bikes to State Farm Stadium in Glendale for its fourth year.
A Corvette selection, two yellow Ford GTs and 200 neon indicators are amongst the major sights at the 2022 auction, which will take put March 16-19.
Doors will open up at 8 a.m. daily and the auctions begin at 10 a.m. Can’t make it this year? Really don’t get worried the auction will be broadcast and livestreamed, too.
This is a manual to Mecum Glendale, including ticket charges, showcased vehicles to seem out for and how to observe the car auction on Tv and streaming.
More:Very best things to do in Phoenix in March 2022: Ostrich Festival, Chicago Fest
Mecum Glendale automobile auction ticket selling prices
Purchasing tickets forward of time will preserve you $10. Tickets ordered until finally 11 p.m. March 15 price tag $20 for every day. Admission soon after the party starts off, which include at the door, will be $30.
Kids 12 many years aged and younger get in for cost-free.
Highlighted vehicles at Mecum’s vehicle auction in Arizona
Around 1,500 automobiles and 200 neon signs will cross the auction block this calendar year at Point out Farm Stadium.
Two Ford GTs — a 2006 Ford GT boasting only 232 miles that was owned by NFL Corridor of Famer John Elway and a yellow 2020 Ford GT with black stripes — are among the the highlights of this year’s event. Some thing else to search ahead to is the “Hooked on Vettes” non-public collection of 13 top rated-shelf Corvettes. Other highlighted vehicles involve:
- A inexperienced 1929 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible Coupe.
- A black 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster.
- A black 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Fastback
- A white 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta.
- A silver 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.
- A blue 1996 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster.
How to watch Mecum Auctions on Television, on the net
The 2022 Mecum Auctions in Arizona will be broadcast on MotorTrend Television and stream on MotorTrend+.
Examine with your cable service provider to see irrespective of whether your deal consists of MotorTrend Television set (Channel 246 on DISH, Channel 281 on DirecTV, Channel 77 on Cox, varies on Constitution Spectrum and Channel 1104 on AT&T U-Verse).
MotorTrend+ features a free 7-day demo, and a subscription prices $4.99 every single thirty day period thereafter.
Mecum auction schedule: Television set and streaming
Here’s when you can capture all of the motion on Tv and streaming. All moments are MST.
- Thursday, March 17 (reside): 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on MotorTrend Tv set and MotorTrend+.
- Friday, March 18 (live): 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on MotorTrend+.
- Friday, March 18 (exact same-day delay): 5-11 p.m. on MotorTrend Tv set.
- Saturday, March 19 (live): 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on MotorTrend Television and MotorTrend+.
- Saturday, March 19 (re-air): 5 p.m.-11 p.m. on MotorTrend Tv set.
Mecum Auctions 2022 in Glendale
When: 8 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday, March 16-19.
In which: State Farm Stadium, 1 Cardinals Push, Glendale.
Admission: $20 for every particular person through March 15, $30 at the door and on line after March 15, no cost for small children 12 and younger.
Aspects: 262-236-7705, https://www.mecum.com.
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- THE MAGAZINE
But analysts are warning that despite this largest increase since a 6.2 percent hike in the second quarter of 1998, consumer spending, which is key to stabilizing the soft economy, could slip as confidence erodes and the job market remains weak.
Spending on durable goods spending shot up its highest rate in 15 years, 39.2 percent. Still, there was ample evidence in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the broadest gauge of the economy's health, report that the business sector is still weak.
Business spending on new plants and equipment plunged 13.1 percent, a bigger decrease than the 12.8 percent decline first estimated and the fourth straight quarterly decline.
Meanwhile, government spending grew 10.1 percent in the fourth quarter, up from the 9.2 percent rate first estimated and also the biggest rise since an 11.1 percent gain in the second quarter of 1978.
Still, the U.S. economy grew much faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter of 2001. The GDP expanded at a revised 1.4 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year, seven times the 0.2 percent rate first estimated, the government said.
While consumers and the government spent more in the last three months of 2001, businesses cut back. That business spending, analysts say, is a key ingredient for a strong recovery.
Analysts say enormous depletion of inventories strengthens their conviction that an economic recovery is at hand, as companies will need to step up production to replace the goods that have been flying off store shelves and showroom floors, fueling GDP growth in future quarters.

domain: news


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Most Recent Articles In Fashion Features
Latest Fashion Features Articles
At least at Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., where growth is skyrocketing at a time when other retailers are grappling with a tough economy, merchandise missteps, the consumer blahs and a retail environment that has been universally labeled one of the worst in recent memory. It’s even outpacing competitors in the junior category like Abercrombie & Fitch and Hot Topic thanks to its focus on teen girls and the hot surf, skate and urban categories.
And the company, which operates the PacSun and Demo chains, wants to ride the wave as far as it can. As recently as 1995, the 22-year-old PacSun was a men’s chain with 150 stores. Now, the corporation’s 819 stores nationwide are approaching the $1 billion mark in annual sales.
More than 300 stores are in the planning stages through 2005, which will be a 39 percent increase in doors. PacSun, currently at 635 units, is expected to grow to 825; PacSun Outlet, at 75 units, will add another 10 to 15, and Demo’s 109 could more than double.
Around 83 stores are expected to bow this year alone, and the company expects to expand 30 of its “highly productive” PacSun stores, increasing the average store size to 3,700 square feet.
Within two years, the group expects to have 1,110 stores — not far from Gap brand’s 1,446 units.
“We’re at a critical-mass stage right now,” said chairman and chief executive officer Greg Weaver in an exclusive interview, noting Business Week, Forbes and Fortune have recognized the chain as a hot-growth enterprise. “We’re not a little company doing well. We’re a big company doing well.”
The retailer last month scored a staggering 142 percent jump in first-quarter net income, to $8 million in the first quarter ended May 3 from $3.3 million in the year-ago period — at a time when many other juniors specialty stores posted significant profit drops. Sales for the same quarter increased to $198.3 million from $161.7 million while comparable-store sales increased 13.2 percent. Teen girls’ comps for both PacSun and Demo have been in the double-digit range for the last six quarters.


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Overall revenues for the biometrics market are forecasted to hit US$13.8 million in 2015, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). The majority of revenues in most biometric recognition technologies are still stemming from governmental entities.
However, due to increased consumer acceptance of biometric modalities, consumer and enterprise segments are predicted to catch up with governmental spending in late 2017, thus becoming the dominant portion of the market, says ABI Research. Recent events will no doubt increase governmental spending in 2015 as security measures are intensified in Europe and the U.S., adds the research group.
Government spending on biometrics is increasing worldwide and will continue to do so up until late 2016-early 2017 with growing terrorist threats in European Union (E.U.) and U.S. intensifying this effect. Fingerprint recognition is the most commonly used.
Enterprise demand is cooking up a plethora of wearables and smartphone technologies to implement biometrics into their products and services. Consumer and company spending on biometrics are expected to surpass governmental spending in 2018 exceeding US$8 million in total revenues.
Companies like Apple and Samsung are leading the field in mobile integration of biometric modalities while 3M Cogent, MorphoTrak, and NEC Corporation are leading the biometrics field altogether. North America and Asia-Pacific will drive the field in sales in the following years while countries in the Middle East are expected to have mandatory biometric registration in the coming years.


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NEW DELHI—Hundreds of people showed up at an auditorium in India’s capital on Thursday for a passionate hourslong debate about whether Facebook Inc. and others are undermining freedom of the Internet by offering free services that give people limited access to the Web.
Representatives of India’s cellular-service operators joined net-neutrality activists, startup executives and regular Internet users for an open-house discussion hosted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The session centered on the importance of net neutrality, a principle that holds that the Internet is a public good and all data on it should be treated equally.
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The activist investor is pushing McDonald's to move faster on animal welfare commitments
The World’s First Commercial Octopus Farm Is Set to Open – Despite Objections from Scientists and Activists
Despite expert findings that "high-welfare octopus farming was impossible," one company intends to open a commercial farming operation in Spain next year.
Lawsuits Claim ‘Humane’ and ‘Natural’ Labels on Some Big-Brand Meat Products May Constitute Deceptive Advertising
Complaints say corporations are using the terms to win over increasingly factory farm-wary consumers – without substantially changing how they care for animals or the planet
The Single Origin Food Company makes honey substitutes using ethically-sourced plant-based sweeteners


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Expats develop taste for organic dairy
Updated: 2013-07-03 05:44
By Wang Zhuoqiong (China Daily)
Every four or six weeks, the Beijing-based rabbi Shimon Freundlich and his team buy 1,000 liters of fresh organic milk for members of the Jewish community in major cities across China.
Freundlich favors Green Yard, a small Chinese dairy brand barely known by most locals.
The "top notch" hygiene standards in Green Yard's dairy farm convinced him, he said.
Before Green Yard's first batch of kosher milk, Freundlich, who supervised production, invited a European dairy expert to examine the machinery and procedures at the Green Yard plant. The conclusion the expert reached was that the plant takes more extensive hygienic measures in its production process than some European dairy plants.
"They take their work very seriously. They're not trying to get away with the minimum standards but rather the maximum," Freundlich said.
The rabbi's trust in the brand reflects the growing popularity of Green Yard among expats in Beijing. So it's ironic that many Chinese don't like their products only because Green Yard is a domestic brand, said Hou Xuejun, general manager at Beijing Green Yard Ecological Agricultural Development Co Ltd.
Located in Yanqing county, Beijing, the Green Yard dairy farm is believed to be the first in the country to use certified organic fodder and organic raw material, as well as having certified production and processing lines.
The farm is home to 700 cows, with only 200 cows available for milking. The cows are played music and are fed organic feed mixed with traditional Chinese medicine.
Because of its limited daily production capacity, which is only 3 tons, the farm can only supply dairy products to 4,000 to 5,000 households.
The company provides fresh organic milk for 3,000 households every day. The milk is mostly sold through high-end local retailers in areas with foreign communities and through shopping websites such as Yihaodian.com and JD.com.
Green Yard's products usually cost two or three times more than other non-organic fresh milk brands.
Hou said that the cost of remaining organic throughout the production process is much higher than in the United States, for example, because the availability of suitable organic land in China is very limited.
The major problems in China for organic milk brands are milk sources and manufacturing bases, said Song Liang, a dairy industry analyst at the Distribution Productivity Promotion Center of China Commerce.
Song added that the manufacturing process and the raw material sources are very important factors for companies.
"Like in wine production, the location of the manufacturing bases for organic milk is very important," Song said.
He added that the quality of the products depends a lot on the manufacturing location.
Organic dairy products still have a small market share in China, Song said, with most of them being organic formula milk and organic milk.
Hefty retail prices, difficulties in obtaining certifications and lack of awareness among local shoppers have held back the development of the country's organic dairy industry, he said.
However, despite the current lackluster demand, the market has huge growth potential, supported by the demand from affluent consumers for high-end food.
Established dairy producers such as China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd and Yili Industrial Group are eyeing the organic sector to expand their high-end range of products.
Yao Tongshan, chairman of Inner Mongolia Shengmu Technology Ltd, said that the market for organic dairy products in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to increase about 20.2 percent annually in the coming years.
He added that his company's organic milk business is expected to reach sales of nearly 1.4 billion yuan ($226.45 million) this year, with the retail network expanding to 260 cities across the country.
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A startup commercializing an innovative PET depolymerization technology has inked its first deal with a major brand owner.
Loop Industries, which uses a heatless, pressureless technology to break down recovered PET into its component monomers, has signed a deal with PepsiCo. A publicly traded company, Loop was required to report the signing of the agreement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Loop’s technology is capable of breaking down mixed and contaminated streams of PET into purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). Those chemicals can then be used to then make new PET, including for food and drink packaging.
According to an 8-K document filed with the SEC on March 29, Loop signed a deal with an affiliate of PepsiCo on Feb. 28. On that day, the companies also agreed to a “statement of work” through which Loop will manage a mail-back recycling program for certain PepsiCo products. Loop will provide mailing materials, and it will process returned items. PepsiCo will pay Loop for mailing materials and shipping costs, and it will pay a management fee, according to the filing.
Details of the program, including which types of products will be recycled by Loop, were not yet available. The 8-K filing notes that a copy of the agreement will be filed as an exhibit to Loop’s annual 10-K filing with the SEC.
Last year, Loop raised million of dollars from investors to scale-up its technology. It currently has a 6,000-square-foot pilot facility in Montreal, Canada, capable of producing 2.5 metric tons per day of PTA and MEG. It is working to build a full-scale production facility capable of handing 3,000 metric tons per year of PET. That facility is scheduled to come on-line this fall.


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Alex Job Racing orders first two new Porsche 911 GT3 R cars for North America
Job cements relationship with Porsche, and wins TUDOR Championship race today.
DETROIT, Michigan -- Alex Job Racing began in Job's two-car garage at home, when Porsche wasn't selling customer cars. That was in 1988 -- the hobby turned into a business in 1990 when he started racing full-time, and he and his wife Holly moved into their first commercial warehouse in 1991.
Since then, almost always affiliated with Porsche, Job and his crew have won twice in their class in Le Mans, 10 times at Sebring, twice at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, and multiple season championships.
And the team won today, in the No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America with drivers Mario Farnbacher and Ian James in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classix TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race at Belle Isle in Detroit.
So it was appropriate that the team announced at Detroit that it would buy the first two new Porsche GT3 cars for North American competition.
The car was introduced to much fanfare and media acclaim on May 15 during the famed 24-hour race at Germany’s Nürburgring circuit, and soon the first two orders came to Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) via longtime Porsche preparer Alex Job Racing. Job placed the orders on behalf of WeatherTech Racing and Team Seattle, while announcing their plans to return to the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship for 2016 – the first to do so.
As for the current 911 GT America cars, Job said they would be likely sold to club racers.
WeatherTech-owner David MacNeil has signed his name for one of the racer cars for use in 2016. The familiar white and black WeatherTech livery on the No. 22 AJR entry of Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen will race in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class. Team Seattle owner Gabe Newell, who also uses the Florida-based racing team to prepare his No. 23 GTD class entry for drivers Ian James (Phoenix, Arizona) and Mario Farnbacher (Germany), has laid claim to another 911 GT3 R slated for delivery to these shores.
According to Porsche: Based on the Porsche 911 GT3 RS production sports car, the purpose-built 911 GT3 R develops more than 500 horsepower. Special attention has been paid to lightweight design, better aerodynamic efficiency, reducing consumption, improving handling and further optimizing safety as well as lowering service and spare parts costs with the car.
Adopted from its production sibling, the 911 GT3 R features the distinctive double-bubble roof and the lengthened wheelbase, when compared to the previous generation 911 road-going car. This helps balancing weight distribution and helps create predictable handling particularly in fast corners in comparison to the preceding GT3 R. By applying systematic lightweight solutions for the body, add-on parts, and suspension, the engineers significantly optimized the center of gravity position of the GT3 R compared to the earlier model. The lightweight body design of the 911 GT3 RS production sports car featuring intelligent aluminum-steel composite construction has proven to be the ideal basis for the race car. The roof, front cover and fairing, wheel arches, doors, side and tail sections as well as the rear cover are made of particularly light carbon-fiber composite material (CFRP). All windows – and for the first time even the windshield – consist of polycarbonate.
Powering the new 911 GT3 R is a cutting-edge four-liter flat-six unit which is mainly identical to the high-performance production engine of the road-legal 911 GT3 RS. Direct Fuel Injection as well as variable valve timing technology ensure the optimized use of fuel. Moreover, the normally aspirated engine offers significantly better drivability and a broader usable rev range. Power from the rear engine is transferred to the 12.2-inch rear wheels via a Porsche sequential six-speed constant-mesh gearbox. As in the GT road-going models of the 911, the driver changes gears via shift paddles conveniently positioned on the steering wheel.
Price is $495,000
The new Porsche 911 GT3 R, priced at $495,000 plus transport, import and tax, is expected to make its worldwide racing debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 30-31 in the GTD class. In North America, the car is also eligible to compete in the Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) GT and GT Amateur (GTA) classes as well as the newly announced Sprint-X GT Championship for next race season. TUDOR teams can expect delivery late this calendar year while PWC operations will see their first cars early in 2016.
Said Jens Walther, President/CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America: “Alex Job Racing has been a true leader in North American motorsports with Porsche. Now, with the latest Porsche 911 GT3 R slated to come here to race in 2016, he is set to continue in that position. It is little surprise that longtime Porsche-stalwarts David MacNeil and Gabe Newell have ordered the first Porsche 911 GT3 R for North America in conjunction with Alex. This is a very exciting time for Porsche and racing and it is good to chart the future with people that have so strongly helped define your past.”
Said Scott Atherton, IMSA President: "Alex Job Racing has been a Porsche stalwart for many years, so it’s only fitting that this is the first team to announce plans to field a pair of the breathtaking new Porsche 911 GT3 Rs in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Both the WeatherTech and Team Seattle programs have established themselves as world class over the years, and we expect that will continue for many more years. On behalf of IMSA, I extend my congratulations to Jens Walther, Alex Job, David MacNeil, Gabe Newell and all involved in this fantastic project."
Said Alex Job, Team Principal, Alex Job Racing: “We have been with Porsche for over 26 years and we are ready to go into the next phase of sport car racing together. David MacNeil and Gabe Newell agreed that the new Porsche was the way to go for the future. This early commitment will give us an opportunity to get familiar with the new car and begin our testing program in early fall.”
Said David MacNeil, WeatherTech: “The new 911 GT3 R is the evolution of the platform that we have been anticipating. Porsche is committed to keeping the brand at the head of the pack in sports car racing in the U.S. and we are proud to be able to be one of the team’s that is at the forefront of the cars development for competition.”
Said Gabe Newell, Team Seattle: “I went to the Nürburgring for the reveal of the car three weeks ago. There is a lot of buzz around the car and everyone associated with the development of the 911 GT3 R had nothing but positive things to say. I was most impressed with the driving impressions from the engineering team on how the car is friendly to drive as well as the advancement in power with the 4.0-liter flat-six engine. We are looking forward to debuting the new 911 in competition at Daytona in 2016.”
Cameron, Curran take first win in Action Express Prototype
Fourth straight Detroit victory for Corvette DP
About this article
|Location||The Raceway on Belle Isle|
|Teams||Alex Job Racing|
|Author||Steven Cole Smith|


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France's capital is more than home to baguettes, brie, and the 35-hour work week. It's also a major driver of the global economy, with more rapidly growing private businesses than any other city in Europe on the inaugural Inc. 5000 Europe list.
While Paris isn't traditionally known as a great place to start up--founders often cite plenty of government red tape, high taxes, as well as a cultural aversion to risk-taking--the city has recently evolved to become a major tech hub, according to recent research from The Paris Tech Guide: In 2013 alone, roughly $1 billion was invested in early-stage ventures.
Inc. crunched the numbers, tabulating annual revenue between fiscal years 2010 and 2013, to determine the fastest-growing private business in the City of Lights.
10. Finaveo & Associes
This agency wants to help out fellow entrepreneurs by minimizing the hassle when it comes to picking an insurance plan. Co-founded by Franck Fourriere, Axel Rason, Alexandre Peschet, and Pascal Vieville in 2009, Finaveo & Associes brought in more than $4 million in annual revenue in 2013, nabbing No. 293 on the 2015 Inc. 5000 Europe list.
9. SIA Holding
Nestled in the city's charming Montmartre neighborhood, SIA Holding is a financial services startup which has grown by more than 1,000 percent since its founding in 2010. Helmed by Matthieu Courtecuisse, SIA Holding reeled in more than $55 million in annual revenue in 2013.
8. Cinemas a la Demande
Operated through its parent company, Metropolitan FilmExport, Cinemas a la Demande distributes movies online. The company has experienced rapid growth since it launched in 2010: The distributor brought in more than $5.5 million in 2013 alone, up from $412,433 in 2010. At the helm of Metropolitan FilmExport are brothers--and film-industry juggernauts--Victor and Samuel Hadida, who began introducing classic (and cult) American films to France as early as 1978.
7. Place des Leads
At just five years old, the French marketing agency Place des Leads nabs No. 212 on the Inc. 5000 Europe list, having grown its annual revenue by more than 1,200 percent between fiscal years 2010 and 2013, when it brought in more than $3.8 million. The company has 25 total employees, and is headed up by CEO Ralph Ruimy.
6. Delifresh Ile de France
Founded in 2008, Delifresh is a freight transportation company. Headed up by founder Lionel Plessy, this Parisian business brought in $5.5 million in revenue in 2013, representing a 1,300 percent uptick from 2010. It ranks No. 203 on the Inc. 5000 Europe list.
5. Immobiliere Ile de France
With just nine total employees at the time of application, this French startup helps people find (and sell) prime real estate in northern France. With CEO Gilles Champseix at the helm, Immobiliere Ile de France grew its annual revenue by nearly 1,400 percent between fiscal years 2010 and 2013. That's a dramatic upsurge, given that it was founded back in 1993.
4. Prosolia France
Prosolia owns, operates, and installs photovoltaic power plants out of its headquarters in Spain. But its French branch--Prosolia France SAS--is experiencing breakneck growth. Founded in 2008, Prosolia is on a mission to provide renewable energy sources to consumers (both individuals and large corporations). Prosolia France brought in more than $9.5 million in annual revenue in 2013, representing a three-year growth rate of more than 1,422 percent.
3. Hacor Services
Ranking No. 128 on the Inc. 500 Europe list, Hacor Services helps people find jobs--and it's been demonstrably successful at it. The company reeled in more than $4.4 million in 2013 alone, an uptick of more than 1,500 percent from 2010.
2. W5 Consulting
This consulting company caters to a variety of businesses, including giants like Starbucks and Visa. Founded in 2003, it grew its annual revenue by more than 2,096 percent between fiscal years 2010 and 2013, when it brought in $15 million. It clocks in at No. 54 on the Inc. 5000 Europe list, and it's also the second-fastest-growing private business in Paris.
The fastest-growing private company in Paris is the mobile advertising agency MobPartner. Founded in 2009, Mobpartner has since expanded to locations in San Francisco, Beijing, and London. With CEO Djamel Agaoua at the helm, MobPartner brought in more than $16.6 million in annual revenue in 2013, representing a three-year growth rate of more than 2,213 percent.


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When auto-parts maker Continental AG in September announced a wide-scale restructuring that would see multiple plant closures and affect up to 20,000 jobs, a reference in the same news release of "a huge growth opportunity" in the industry looked at odds with its message.
The juxtaposition shows the unnerving crossroads the automotive-parts industry has reached as it contemplates a decline in internal combustion engines, or ICEs. In their place, it is gearing up to make components and software for the sector's electric-powered, connected and increasingly autonomous future that will be fewer in number but, crucially, higher in added value. Parts-makers could increase revenues by 30% in the next decade through the high-tech sensors, processors and software, alongside their mainstay mechanical and electronic wares, according to Deloitte.
Therein lies the reason why these companies, or the larger ones among them at least, expect to flourish despite the painful decisions this transformation will force them to make.
"We believe that manufacturers, through more and more stringent regulations, will be forced by 2030 to equip more than 40% of their vehicle fleet with electric powertrains," Elmar Degenhart, CEO of Continental, said at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
"Together with the necessity of connecting, integrating the systems, the cars to the cloud, this will be a dynamic process over the next 10 years. Those will be the growth drivers of the industry and this will change cars dramatically."
Getting there, however, means hefty investments at a time of slowing new car sales. U.K.-based consultancy LMC Automotive forecasts a 3.7% global decline in vehicle sales to 77.2 million in 2019. It could be a long wait for meaningful financial returns on some new technologies as the deployment of autonomous driving systems is widely thought to be at least a decade away.
From alternators to algorithms
This sector's behind-the-scenes research and development is also of great importance to its carmaker clients, accounting for more than a third of the total annual auto industry R&D spend of €54 billion in Europe alone. Their labs were the birthplace of advances including anti-lock brakes, electronic stability assistance, and tubeless and treaded tires.
Auto-parts makers' focus on innovation is already intensifying as they face increasing competition from technology companies. These companies, enticed by an increasingly electric and autonomous future, are rapidly entering the automotive space. Data from the European Patent Office shows that technology and telecoms companies jointly filed about 50% more patents related to self-driving cars than the automotive sector from 2010 to 2017. Meanwhile, the collective research investment by the likes of General Motors Co.'s Cruise, Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo and Uber Technologies Inc. was more than $80 billion by 2017, according to research by policy organization the Brookings Institution.
While dipping into a shrinking pool of increasingly coveted talent from the IT sphere, both Continental and Bosch are cultivating skills in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in-house through online learning platforms. Between them, their automotive divisions rely on global teams of almost 400,000 people.
"Our understanding is that most of the auto-parts suppliers are investing substantially into software engineers and developing their own products for the auto industry," Matthias Heck, a Moody's auto-parts sector analyst, said in an interview.
"Companies have to be fit for the future and address the trends in the automotive industry — electrification, autonomous driving and improving environmental standards. There are a lot of trends in the industry that require a lot of innovation. Parts suppliers are quite well positioned to benefit from these trends," Heck said.
A survey of more than 300 senior automotive industry executives published in October by injection-moulding specialist Protolabs found that 7 in 10 respondents said pressures to innovate were more intense now than ever. Roughly half of the respondents also believed that within the next three years, a new entrant to the automotive field will disrupt the market with a new kind of vehicle and that at least one established car manufacturer was likely to go out of business.
Research & Divestment
This fundamental shift comes at a time of great strain for the auto-parts industry. The median EBIT margin for the largest suppliers fell from 7.3% in 2016 to 6.1% in 2018, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, a stark reflection of the increasingly challenging operating environment.
Schaeffler AG is a case in point. The German company has seen its profit margin sink from 12.3% at 2016-end to a forecast 7% to 8% for 2019. In response, the company in March announced 900 job cuts as part of a two-year strategy dubbed RACE, or Regroup Automotive for higher margin and Capital Efficiency. Matthias Zink, CEO of Schaeffler's automotive OEM division, described the plan on a call with analysts as "way more than a pure restructuring program." It will see the company reduce the number of low-margin products in its portfolio in favor of higher-margin goods, consolidate five European factories, and prioritize R&D spend on e-mobility and autonomous driving.
"We want to further reduce the large extent to which we rely on the internal combustion engine while — being an innovative technology partner to our customers — utilizing the opportunities offered by the fields of hybridization and electrification much more extensively," Zink said in a release.
Evidence of this shift can also be seen in the company's M&A strategy. In November 2018, it agreed to acquire Elmotec Statomat Holding, a manufacturer of machinery for the production of electric motors. This followed a deal announced in August 2018 for Paravan, a chassis mechatronics business that aims to develop road-safe vehicles for those with physical disabilities that operate with electric controls rather than steering wheels.
"We said we want to strive as well for a reasonable value-add on the e-mobility side. And this is why we acquired this Elmotec thing," Zink told analysts.
For the many thousands of small, independent parts-makers that constitute the rump of the industry, its rapid transformation could prove more lethal than lucrative. Small-parts companies are typically highly specialized, rely on a small number of larger suppliers and carmakers, have narrower profit margins, and lack the financial firepower to evolve away from products that electrified and autonomous cars will doom to obsolescence.
Consultancies predict a wave of consolidation among producers of engine-related parts as this market enters a "harvesting" phase that sustains returns in a declining market by tapering investment on innovation and merging with others to maintain scale.
"The economics of these kinds of components are quite fragile," said Christoph Sturmer, a Germany-based global lead analyst at PwC Autofacts. "All of their production is highly automated. They need 90% to 95% utilization of factories; otherwise, they start to burn money."
The internal combustion engine is still far from breathing its last gasp, however. While some nations have scheduled outright bans on sales of new engine-powered cars within the next 20 years, developing countries lacking power grid infrastructure look set to rely on the technology for several more decades, analysts say. By 2025, Deloitte forecasts the market for ICEs at $234 billion, down 6% from $250 billion in 2018. It is significant, but not quite a body blow to the century-and-a-half-old technology.
Some large component makers have taken the step of carving out their powertrain manufacturing operations. Aptiv PLC's 2017 spinout of Delphi Technologies PLC is among the most notable, while Continental has separated and rebranded its powertrain division, now known as Vitesco Technologies, with a view to a potential IPO. The companies say these separated units will also take the lead with their electrification-related products giving them a forward-looking role.
"Up until now, the industry has considered itself a hardware supplier. Now we are talking about transformation and not just technology substitutes of ICE to EV, but we are looking at transformation and different business models," said Sturmer. "R&D is a lot more profitable than stamping parts and shipping them. ... They are trying to go where the money is and that is in new technologies."


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The GammaRebels accelerator started by early-stage V.C. firm hardGAMMA has found a new partner in the form of Google for Entrepreneurs. They will offer a program for startups both from Poland and outside which will be housed in new offices in Kraków.
Through GammaRebels, usually a 3-month long program, hardGAMMA Ventures invests up to €12,000 ($15,000) in exchange for a 10% stake in the participating tech startups.
The first edition of GammaRebels started in August 2011. For this year, two dedicated editions in Kraków are planned, although the dates haven’t been set in stone yet.
Google will help GammaRebels get set up in Poland’s second-largest city, and also commit to providing hands-on training and mentorship to help entrepreneurs in the program leverage the Web and Google products.


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Scientists find acne cure in breast milk, coconut oil
London: In what`s being claimed as a key
breakthrough, scientists have found a cure for acne -- breast
milk and coconut oil.
An international team, led by California University,
has discovered that a key ingredient found in both breast milk
and coconut oil -- lauric acidlauric acid -- has acne-fighting
properties, the `Daily Express` reported.
Now, the scientists hope to begin the trial of a new
face cream, whose base is formed from lauric acidlauric acid,
on humans soon.
And, according to the scientists, the new treatment
will have absolutely no side effects because it comes from
natural products unlike current treatments which can cause
redness and burning.
"It`s a good feeling to know I have a chance to
develop a drug that could help people with acne which afflicts
more than 85 per cent of teenagers," the British newspaper
quoted lead scientist Dissaya Pornpattananangkul as saying.
She has also created a sophisticated delivery system
that keeps lauric acid active until it is applied to the skin
and can target the acne, based on "nanoparticle bombs" --
microscopically small chemicals in the cream.
Professor Liangfang Zhang, who helped with research,
said: "Precisely controlled nanoscale delivery of drugs could
significantly improve treatment of skin bacterial infections."


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In an effort to appeal to female travelers, Diageo GTME has created a new premium Baileys liqueur in a varient that combines cognac with fine spirit and cream from Baileys.
Presented in a lovely blue bottle designed to attract female travelers, the new Baileys XC is exclusive to travel retail and will be first available through Gebr. Heinemann, where it will be exclusive until May 31.
Baileys XC will then be launched across all key travel retail markets from June 2016.
Pop-up retail experiences, retail furniture and display units, featuring feminine Parisienne styling will be rolled out across key airports as part of the launch activity.
The name of the new Baileys is derived from the ‘Exceptional Cream’ liqueur showcased in this luxury blend, says the company.
“We are thrilled to bring our customers, and shoppers alike, this beautiful new travel retail exclusive from Baileys. We know that a huge opportunity exists within travel retail – and that is to further capture the attention of female shoppers within the spirits category. We also know that Baileys consistently performs well with our female shoppers and therefore the launch of Baileys XC comes at a perfect time for the brand. Baileys XC is a liqueur of the highest quality, and its exclusivity to the channel confirms the importance of travel retail in the premium spirits market,” says Peter Fairbrother, Global Marketing Director of Diageo GTME.
The bottle features an intricate holographic label and will retail at $22.50 (RRSP) for a 50cl bottle.


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King of the links Tiger Woods has wedged his way onto the front of the American Express Card but only in Canada – for now.
The new Tiger card features a photo of the dean of duffers driving the ball and offers a litany of incentives for golf fanatics who hold the high-priced plastic.
However, the specialized card has sent the trademark AmEx Roman Centurion to the showers. The centurion has been emblazoned on the American Express credit card as a symbol of its stature since 1958.
“The image of the centurion has not gone off our product. The American Express Tiger Woods card is a specialized card,” insisted American Express Canada vice-president David Barnes.
Woods has been a spokesman for American Express since he won his first Master’s title in 1997. But this is the first time he’s lent his name directly to an AmEx product.
Barnes said the card offers a wide range of features that appeal to Tiger Woods fans and other links lovers. Among the incentives club Tiger members will receive are bonus points when Woods wins a major title and discounts on clothing and equipment.
“Canada was chosen because there is a higher percentage of golfers here – 5.2 million in a nation of 35 million – which is the highest in the world,” Barnes said. “And Tiger is an international figure who transcends the sport.”
Barnes insisted the legendary centurion won’t be replaced like another broken tee.
“But he might have to brush up on his short game,” he laughed.
An AmEx spokeswoman wouldn’t comment on the possibility the special card may become available in the U.S. But Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, hinted it may be just around the dogleg.
“Canada is kind of a test stage. We’ve been in discussions with American Express and we think there’s a good chance of bringing it to the States,” Steinberg said.


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(skip this header)
Tuesday May 21, 2013 10:18 AM PT
12:47 pm, Tuesday, February 26, 2013 -- HOME & GARDEN White Elephant Preview Sale draws bargain hunters for items they didn't even know they needed
[...] there are 35 of them.
The Oakland Museum of California fills a giant warehouse full of what many people would call junk and what other, more enlightened people, would call junk,...
Read Full Story
Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle
He says Caltrans should test all the at-risk parts.
From Zuckerberg's $7M Palo Alto pad to Jeff Bezos' $24.5M Beverly Hills home.
Part I: We look at celebrities from film, TV and sports who attended local colleges.
© 2013 Hearst Communications Inc.


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ATLANTA -- Forty-five thousand Georgians know what truck driver Steve Winn is going through, because they're in the same situation.
Winn applied to have Georgia Natural Gas rather than SCANA supply natural gas to his home. After getting a cheerful welcome, he was puzzled as to why Georgia Natural Gas never took over his account.
"They told me that SCANA had blocked it," Winn said. Georgia Natural Gas' representative "told me SCANA could do what it wanted to."
In the two years since Georgia's natural-gas market has been open to competition, the dozen companies in the market here have apparently cooperated when it comes to one type of customer -- those labeled as owing money.
Legal experts say that cooperation may violate a 111-year-old federal law and leaves the firms vulnerable to a class-action lawsuit that could cost them millions of dollars.
While no such litigation has been filed and, for the moment at least, no agencies plan any action against the cooperating companies, the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs is about to begin an inquiry.
Meanwhile, representatives of the companies defend the practice of blocking the transfers of customers who are in arrears. They say it actually saves conscientious ratepayers money they would otherwise have to pay to make up for losses on uncollectable debts.
"The plain fact is the only leverage a utility has is the ability to disconnect a customer for not paying a bill," said Robert Remar, lobbyist for Georgia Natural Gas. "It is just not realistic to expect marketers to file thousands of lawsuits in small-claims courts across the state."
Called request off for non pay, or RONP, the procedure involves one gas company notifying Atlanta Gas Light Co.-- which operates the actual gas distribution system -- to place a block on a delinquent customer. In theory, customers may transfer to a second supplier but not to a third.
Winn insists, however, that his accounts were fully paid and he had never gotten his "one free switch."
In any case, no government action has specifically sanctioned collusion to block transfers of non-paying customers. And without such official blessing, experts say, the companies have no exemption from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which Congress passed in 1890 to prevent competitors from cooperating to limit consumer choices.
Homeowner Dorothy Smith put her view of the practice bluntly in a complaint filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission last month.
"If SCANA can force gas customers to pay arbitrary connection fees and deposits as conditions of service, and can force AGL (Atlanta Gas Light) to block customers' accounts to prevent switching to another gas provider, then rather than a free, unregulated market, we have collusion wherein strong-arm tactics can be used to force consumers to pay more for the goods and services than what competitive prices would suggest," she writes.
Smith's was one of 1,000 complaints filed with the commission on RONPs and thousands more about billing errors. Atlanta Gas Light reports that 45,000 customers are blocked from changing suppliers in a period when the commission estimates the difference in the average household's monthly bill is $145 between the most expensive marketer and the lowest.
The commission voted 3-2 last week to temporarily prohibit RONPs because of concerns that well-meaning customers might have found themselves overwhelmed by sharply rising gas prices. Customers were being prevented from switching to a lower-priced marketer that could have saved them enough money to get out of debt, argued proponents of the emergency moratorium.
Commission staff only learned of the frequency of RONPs when one marketer placed blocks on 50,000 of its former customers in a single day, said Tom Bond, the commission's director of utilities. Though those blocks have since been removed, they prompted his office to recommend the temporary halt. But he is not pursuing any actions against the 12 marketers or Atlanta Gas Light.
Neither is the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs.
"We are looking into it," said Kristy Holley, consumer utility counsel in the office. "It's really too soon to say what we would do."
Private consumer watchdog groups haven't addressed the issue either, their leaders say, because they have been swamped with complaints on other aspects of deregulation.
Still, the practice is illegal, said Jim Ponsoldt, anti-trust professor at the University of Georgia School of Law and a former Justice Department staffer.
"People go to jail for doing this," he said. "Even if the motive is logical, private companies are not allowed privately to restrain trade in order to achieve some non-competitive purpose."
Emory University Law School Professor Tom Arthur agrees.
"At first blush it does sound like it is a restraint of trade," he said.
Each cites different cases in which courts have ruled against competitors that agreed between themselves to limit consumer choices.
Sharing customer credit information is common and acceptable in many industries. What makes RONPs different, Ponsoldt and Arthur say, is the cooperation between supposed competitors to refuse to take a customer at the request of another company.
Many of the customer complaints to the commission were like the one Dorothy Smith filed, about consumers whose company went bankrupt. Without the customers' doing anything, a new company charging higher rates took over their accounts, creating bookkeeping confusion in the transition.
State regulators vote to allow changing gas companies even if balance owed (Jan. 11, 2001)
State regulators vote to allow changing gas companies even if balance owed (Dec. 1, 2000)
Proposal would shift some natural-gas base charges to winter months (Sep. 15, 2000)


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The bear market that the crypto ecosystem has been experiencing for many months seems to persist. But major cryptocurrencies have shown remarkable progress in recent days. Is this a brief respite or a lasting trend?
The cryptocurrency markets recover at the beginning of the year
Whether 2022 should be known going forward as a particularly tough year for cryptocurrencies, it is unknown what 2023 will bring. So far, the year has started off quite well price-wise, with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH ) and their companions show uninterrupted growth in recent days.
King Bitcoin in particular has shown remarkable form since January 1, with successive rallying which fetched over $18,300 :
The price of BTC has been on the rise since the beginning of the year
The price of bitcoin has picked up +6% during the night just ended. The biggest cryptocurrency hasn’t hit this price point since early November, when the FTX affair sent the entire cryptocurrency market plummeting. While BTC has yet to reach the $20,000 promised land, this rally is still notable – the last time it had such a succession of days in the green was in July 2021.
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Ether follows, the other altcoins too
Other cryptocurrencies are also not left out. Ether (ETH) is up 11% for the week, and is above $1,400 this morning. Yesterday evening she also took a big leap, gaining +7% in just a few hours:
Ether (ETH) is also offering a nice twist tonight
Other altcoins are also showing similar increases. Over the week, Binance’s BNB is up 9.9%, Ripple’s XRP is up 7% and Cardano’s ADA has seen a substantial breakthrough, at +21M. In total, the capitalization of cryptocurrencies
While this breath of fresh air in the cryptocurrency markets is welcome, it may not yet bode well for a lasting uptick. Analysts seem divided on this issue. Bloomberg believes that BTC will be able to hold up during a recession. But institutional investors remain pessimisticand it is they who often set the tone.
However, this remarkable turnaround in cryptocurrency prices brings a breath of optimism to the markets. A feeling they hadn’t had much since the fall of FTX and the weeks afterward.
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April 29th After market close
- Revenue $17.82 billion
- EPS $1.18
Facebook is both benefiting and being battered by coronavirus. On the one hand Facebook is expected to report a surge in engagement levels on many of its services. Usually an increase in active users goes hand in hand with a rise in advertising revenue.
In Q4 Facebook revenue increased 25% yoy. Even before the coronavirus outbreak Facebook had said that they expected a deceleration in Q1 yoy revenue growth to around 20% -24%. This is now out of date and analysts’ expectations are for revenue growth of 16.9%.
However, it is worth considering that Snap, which reported earlier this week and whose dominant revenue stream is also advertising reported better results than expected. A 44% jump in revenue was well received by the market and sent the stocks soaring 27% and Facebook piggy backed the rally 6% higher. That said, on the earnings call Snap confirmed that “many advertising budgets declined due to covid-19”, which suggests that the jump in revenue was a owing to a strong start to the year. Which doesn’t necessarily bode well for Facebook.
Given that lock down only kicked off in the last few weeks of March, the biggest hit to ad spend is likely to come in Q2. Meaning forward guidance will be key. Analysts have predicted that Facebook’s revenue could rise just 5.8% next year as company’s struggle to recover from the Covid-19 crisis. Will Facebook be more optimistic? Or will they decline to comment given the lack of visibility?
After touching 52 week low on March 18th $137.1, stock has gained 30% in less than a month. The trend is clearly bullish with the path of least resistance pointing higher.
Immediate resistance can be seen at 184.60 (yesterday’s high) followed by 196.00 (high on 3rd March)
Immediate support can be seen at 180.50 (trend line) prior to 168.38 (low 21st April).


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Pomerdoge sees Trader influx as Axie Infinity and Floki Price Suffer Sharp Drop
Axie Infinity (AXS) and Floki (FLOKI), two major giants in the crypto space, have experienced significant drops. This has prompted many to focus on a new Pomerdoge (POMD) project.
Axie Infinity (AXS) Drops Out of Top 50
Despite being the leading metaverse project, the Axie Infinity token has experienced a dramatic fall lately. According to CoinMarketCap, Axie Infinity game has dropped out of the top 50 crypto market rankings.
At the height of the Metaverse boom in 2021, the Axie Infinity marketplace boasted a staggering market capitalization of $9.6 billion. However, its valuation has plummeted by over 94%, dwindling to a mere $612 million by September 11, 2023.
Recent reports have shown that over 99% of all Axie Infinity addresses are in losses. Meanwhile, Axie Infinity is trading at $4.35, a steep decline from its ATH at $165. As a result of these setbacks, users are swiftly abandoning the play-to-earn (P2E) gaming platform in favour of more promising alternatives like Pomerdoge.
Can Floki (FLOKI) Recover From Its Bearish Trajectory?
The Floki Inu ecosystem, a comprehensive web3 venture encompassing defi, NFTs, and the Metaverse, has seen commendable growth in early 2023. However, Floki’s price is on a downward slide despite this growth, breaking through multiple demand thresholds.
According to CoinMarketCap, the Floki Inu price soared 25% on September 8th, recording an intra-day high of $0.0000199. However, its price has dropped today, September 11th, to $0.00001667 despite an increase in the Floki Inu burn.
Meanwhile, Floki still has over 12 of its proposed 18 updates to undergo this year. FLOKI locker is its next update and also the first major upgrade of this year. As a result, analysts are forecasting a price surge to $0.0000687 by the end of 2023.
Pomerdoge (POMD) Sells Out 50% of Tokens
Pomerdoge’s successful presale has attracted several bullish adherents from across the crypto sphere. The token has sold over 268 million tokens and raised over $3.7 million in funding. As a result, market experts anticipate a potential 3,500% rally for $POMD, Pomerdoge’s native token, in the coming weeks.
Pomerdoge is a play-to-earn game that combines meme coin economics with the Pomergame. This will offer over 3 billion global video gamers a platform to network and earn. Players can sell items in the Pomerplace as they earn rewards and prizes.
Additionally, the protocol will launch a collection of 7,777 unique NFTs in September. However, their function remains undisclosed but has generated high bullish sentiment. The NFT will be priced at 0.2 ETH each.
Furthermore, the NFT collection will have three tiers: Legendary (300), Rare (977), and Common (6500). Currently, Pomerdoge’s has over 50% of the tokens sold out. Currently, Pomerdoge is trading at $0.014, with analysts predicting a price surge to $0.0165 by the end of September.
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Arizona Shop Creates Program to Benefit Teachers, Local Restaurants
April 8, 2021—BRAKEmax Car Care Centers, an Arizona-based repair company, has established a $24,000 program to benefit Tucson educators and employees while generating revenue for local restaurants, the company announced in a press release.
The program will provide gift cards to local restaurants for teachers, employees and administrators.
“Given the unprecedented impact that the pandemic has had on our community, we felt it was essential to show support for our school system as well as local Tucson businesses,” Jeffry Gardner, vice president of marketing for BRAKEmax parent GB Auto Service, Inc., said in a statement. “At this crucial time, it is imperative that we let our community know how invested we are in their ability to succeed despite the challenges they have encountered over the past 12 months.”


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Domestic third-party payment firms face stricter rules
All Chinese online payment transactions handled by non-bank payment institutions had to go through the Online Settlement Platform for Non-Bank Payment Institutions, as of Saturday, a move intended to better regulate the domestic online payment market, experts said on Sunday.
The platform is an online clearinghouse established by the central bank in 2017.
Third-party payment providers including Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's TenPay, which operates the payment service for WeChat, are all involved.
"As the first of its kind in the world, the platform is a pioneering step by Chinese regulators to supervise the country's fast-growing online payment market, the largest in the world," Li Chao, an analyst at Beijing consultancy iResearch, told the Global Times.
Li said that through the platform, the People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, is now able to track and monitor all capital flows of these third-party payment providers, thus preventing money-laundering, bribery, tax evasion and other irregularities in the industry.
Li added that due to these providers' direct payment connections with banks, regulators could not previously get access to such information.
The move is in line with China's goal of strengthening regulations and supervision of third-party payment companies, a process that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year.
According to a report from the Economic Daily, the PBC has fined more than 25 payment agencies as of June 5 this year due to irregularities, and the bank is also accelerating the pace of management of customer deposits of these third-party payment agencies.
On Friday, the PBC announced to gradually increase the proportion of customer deposits submitted by third-party payment firms at a monthly basis, and would reach a total hand over by January 14 in 2019 from the current average 50 percentage, "which will further prevent some platforms from using the deposits on speculation activities," Li said.
Li said that small and medium third-party payment providers would benefit from the unified platform, which would make it easier to get access to banks that they could not reach before.
"It seems that all third-party payment firms, no matter small or big, are on a level playing field now," Li said, adding that regulations will continue to get stricter.


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Spyware operator slapped with $4M fine
A federal court has ordered a man who was at the center of the nation's first "spyware" case to give up $4 million in ill-gotten gains.
Sanford Wallace was accused by the Federal Trade Commission of running an operation that infected computers with software that caused flurries of pop-up ads. It then tried to sell consumers cures called "Spy Wiper" and "Spy Deleter" for $30.
At CIO Today.
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Global advertising group Omnicom is closely watching cash flow and costs as the coronavirus pandemic puts at risk its revenue base.
In an update to the market, the company says it is controlling discretionary costs, its cash position and liquidity to mitigate the effect of COVID-19.
Omnicom, like the rest of the advertising industry, is finding it hard to make firm forecasts. The coronavirus crisis is unprecedented.
“We are unable at this time to predict the impact of COVID-19 on our operations and liquidity, and depending on the magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, such impact may be material,” says CEO John Wren.
He expects a fall in cash flow from operations as a result of the impact of COVID-19.
Omnicom has a $US2.5 billion credit facility which expires in 2025. It also has cash and short-term investments of $US4.3 billion.
The company has been making gains in a challenging advertising market. in February it posted posted full-year organic growth of 2.8% to $US14.95 billion, ahead of analyst expectations and at the upper end of management forecasts.
Wren says the company has been closely monitoring the pandemic and its impact on staff, clients and operations.
The majority of staff around the world are working remotely. The big holding companies were quick to get their staff working from home to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.
“Our teams have pivoted quickly to develop insights and creative ideas that can assist our clients and their customers in this new environment,” he says.
“While it is too early to predict the full impact of the pandemic on our business, we are confident that Omnicom has the expertise and resources necessary to weather this difficult period."
However, government actions, such as travel restrictions, limitations on public gatherings and mandatory business closures, pose a risk.
“Clients may reduce their demand for our services and could result in a reduction in our revenue, which would adversely affect our operations,” he says.
“We have a diversified portfolio of businesses, geographies and clients, some of which will be impacted more significantly than others.”
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MILAN – Nestlé reported on Thursday that sales in the first nine months rose, boosted by improvements in North America and positive growth in all categories, notably coffee.
The Swiss company confirmed full-year guidance for 2018, with organic sales growth expected to be around 3%; underlying trading operating profit margin improvement in line with 2020 target.
Sales in the nine months ended Sept. 30 were 66.4 billion Swiss francs ($66.9 billion) compared with CHF65.1 billion for the period last year. The company said its previous-year figures have been restated to reflect changes in its reporting.
Organic growth for the period was 2.8%, reaching 2.9% in the third quarter, and reported growth was 2.0%, Nestle said.
Further progress was made in positioning the portfolio towards attractive high-growth categories. Nestlé acquired the global perpetual license of Starbucks consumer packaged goods and foodservice products.
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Man yelled for help for 90 minutes before managing to text a friend after getting caught in wheat auger.
New Zealand wine companies are ratcheting up their use of an Australian government rebate.
Two new research projects promising to produce healthier food and boost exports have been granted funding.
Yachts arriving in Northland from overseas will face greater biosecurity scrutiny to keep out a devastating pest.
Eat your onions, because they contain many health-giving compounds.
Canterbury's arable farmers are scanning the horizon for more mild weather to get crops in the ground this spring after a wet autumn sowing.
Seed growers are fed up with continued delays limiting them from growing hemp for the 2014/15 season and developing a vibrant industry.
A Hawke's Bay grape grower has won the Champion Wine of the Show at this year's Romeo Bragato Wine Awards.
Tony Parlato knows a bit about growing potatoes. He has been in the business for almost 20 years.
Award-winning organic berry and icecream company has just taken another major step in its export strategy.
Viticulturists, winemakers, and marketers from all over the world will soon arrive in Blenheim.
Young woman seriously injured after getting her hair tangled at vegetable processing plant.
A bumper harvest and new business opportunities help push up first-half profit of the kiwifruit company.
A limited carry-over of feed grain from last harvest is keeping up domestic demand and prices.
Kiwifruit and avocado specialist Patrick Malley was named Young Grower of the Year last night.
Kiwi-grown Rockits are officially the tiniest apple in the world.
Taiwan is one of New Zealand's leading apple markets.
Farmers will be hoping for favourable conditions in coming weeks to get a backlog of crops in the ground.
Government report on the health of NZ's honey bees contains mistakes, National Beekeepers' Association says.
The third generation of Gordon Sue's family is tilling the soil and growing vegetables in Horowhenua.
Bees are worth $5.1 billion to the New Zealand economy each year, but all is not well with them.
Farmer and entrepreneur Roger Beattie has a new eco-farming idea for kelp seaweed.
Within 30 years, Nautilus Estate has grown from an ambitious idea to a world-renowned premium wine brand.
Business is booming at Marlborough wineries, with several expanding to meet increased demand.
NZ can claim another victory over Australians - British wine drinkers prefer our vino to theirs.
Some Canterbury farmers are facing big losses after bad weather ruined their seed crops.
Fewer people are drinking beer and farmers are getting a hangover.
Farmers growing a variety of cannabis could take Southland's economy to new highs.
New study finds the presence of neonicatinoid residues in many fruit, vegetables and pollen in the US and NZ.
Maize silage is the cheapest option for dairy farmers to add extra feed to cows, a supplier says.
Four cropping farmers were so smitten with the precision of a soil sampling machine that they brought it back with them from the US.
Sugar beet touted as the new wonder fuel by grower who is now harvesting sugar beet for the dairy market.
Scales Corporation plans to sell shares to the public in the hopes of raising up to $187 million.
Taranaki Daily News
The avocado industry has been given a boost with the signing of a partnership deal between the Avocado Industry Council and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Olive grower credits work colleagues at Telecom for instilling the necessary marketing nous to make business a success.
Kiwifruit volumes are bouncing back after the devastating Psa disease which wreaked havoc on orchards following its arrival in 2010.
A tour of some of market gardens has given movers and shakers more insight into the importance of vegetable crops to Horowhenua.
Earnscleugh fruit grower Wayne McIntosh is passionate about growing top quality fruit and marketing it for the greatest possible return.
Horticulturists are puzzled at the survival skills of an ancient apple tree.
The apple marketer will issue a prospectus mid-month with a listing expected in late July.
In a landmark court decision, a judge has ruled against a West Australian organic farmer who was suing his neighbour for allegedly contaminating his farm with genetically modified canola.
Grain yields have grown by 108,000 tonnes since 2008, which would be worth an extra $43 million today.
Frustrated grain growers are resigned to missing out on planting autumn sown crops because of boggy conditions.
Growers and orchardists would struggle to keep to the nutrient limits set for the Tukitiki River, HortNZ says.
Psa disease is still a problem but a gold variety offers hope.
This year's apple harvest is likely to be down slightly from last year's super crop, with a rising portion going to Asian markets.
Listed wine company Foley Family Wines has made a formal takeover offer for Martinborough Vineyard.
Soaring Asian demand for sweet red apples produced a year of bounty for Scales Corporation.
New Zealand onions and apples are proving a hit with overseas consumers.
A Marlborough winery that capped its fruit intake has made the heartbreaking decision to drop excess fruit to the ground.


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In the latest edition of Texas Monthly, I discuss the long, slow decline of Radio Shack and take a look at the retailer’s grim prospects for the future. Radio Shack is one of those iconic stores that played a big role in many childhoods, including my own. My brother was a Radio Shack regular, between building kit electronics and looking for components for various science fair projects.
If it wasn’t the stores that you spent time in, then it’s likely you had some experience with the company’s early personal computers, the TRS-80 or the first laptop, the Model 100. Those glory days, however, are long gone.
During the Super Bowl last February, RadioShack ran an ad in which a mob of eighties pop-culture icons, including Erik Estrada, Hulk Hogan, and the California Raisins, looted one of its stores to the pounding beat of Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend.” The tagline: “It’s time for a new RadioShack.”
Actually, it’s way past time for a new RadioShack. A month after the big game, the company reported a $400 million loss for the year. Sales had tumbled 15 percent from 2011, the last time the company made a profit. This year, sales for the first six months dropped another 18 percent. In September, RadioShack warned investors that if it couldn’t restructure its debt, it might have to file for bankruptcy. Even some of its lenders seem to think its demise is inevitable. Earlier this year, RadioShack said it would close 1,100 of its 4,400 stores to save money. Lenders blocked the deal, presumably to force the company into bankruptcy. As secured creditors, they would gain control of RadioShack and could shed whatever assets and employees they wanted.
In short, we shouldn’t expect to see a funny RadioShack ad during this season’s Super Bowl. The company may be in bankruptcy by then—if not liquidation.


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Both president trump and china are doubling down on their threats of imposing new and potentially damaging tariffs but china on friday gave an indication it is now willing to help the us reduce its trade deficit, which may be a victory for trump's get-tough policy responding to china's vow to impose. President trump says the trade deficit that the us runs with other nations must be slashed for the well-being of the country but analysts say the deficit provides other benefits to the economy. The us trade deficit rose 16% in february to hit nearly a 10-year high, underscoring the seemingly near impossible task of the trump administration to dramatically reduce the gap as the president has vowed. Us trade deficit historical data, charts, stats and more us trade deficit is at a current level of 4896b, down from 5774b last month and up from 4473b one year ago this is a change of -1522% from last month and 945% from one year ago. Mr chairman and members of the senate finance committee: thank you for allowing me to testify on the causes and consequences of the us trade deficit the economic turmoil in east asia has thrust america's trade deficit back into the news perhaps no aspect of american trade is talked about more and understood. Claim: the us is suffering from a trade imbalance, with a trade deficit of $800bn ( £579bn) in 2017 reality check verdict: the president is incorrect about the us trade deficit - it was $566bn (£410bn) in 2017 economists generally agree that neither trade deficits nor surpluses are necessarily 'good' or 'bad. 2018 : us trade in goods with vietnam note: all figures are in millions of us dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified details may not equal totals due to rounding table reflects only those months for which there was trade. I am so glad you asked this important question the size of the us trade deficit, and its implications for this country's future, has been a hotly debated topic among academics and policymakers for quite some time to take a stab at helping you think about this complicated issue, let me begin with some definitions what is a.
The us trade deficit increased to a near 9-1/2-year high in february, with both imports and exports rising to record highs in a sign of strong domestic and global demand. America's growing trade deficit is one of president trump's main arguments for imposing tariffs on china and yet most economists would agree instead with th. The us last year racked up an annual trade deficit in goods and services with all international trading partners of $5684 billion, a 126 percent jump from the prior year, according to updated numbers the commerce department released on wednesday that was the widest the annual gap has been since. 5 days ago the us trade deficit narrowed to usd 49 billion in march of 2018 from a slightly upwardly revised usd 577 billion in the previous month which was the highest since october 2008 figures came better than market expectations of a usd 50 billion gap as exports reached a record high boosted by sales of.
America's growing trade deficit is one of president trump's main arguments for imposing tariffs on china and yet most economists would agree instead with the doctrine of trade deficits and its benefits for consumers economics correspondent paul solman reports. 5 days ago washington—the us trade gap narrowed sharply in march, partly reversing a widening in the deficit that followed hurricane-related disruptions late last summer the international-trade deficit in goods and services shrank 152% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted $4896 billion in march, the.
5 days ago record exports trimmed the us trade deficit in march for the first time in seven months the commerce department says the trade gap slid to $49 billion, down from $577 billion in february and lowest since september. 5 days ago monthly deficit three-month moving average 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 march 2016 march 2017 march 2018 billion $ goods and services trade deficit seasonally adjusted 0 us bureau of economic analysis us census bureau 0 us international trade in goods and services.
4 days ago members of president donald trump's administration demanded that china reduce its trade deficit with the us by $200 billion in less than two years the demand comes as trade tensions between the two countries continue to rise chinese officials said the demands were unfair and that big differences. President donald trump has frequently criticized america's trade deficit with china, and in recent weeks he has threatened to impose tariffs on chinese products as a means of reducing that imbalance trump's emphasis on beijing is hardly surprising: the united states runs a far larger merchandise trade. American companies are doing much more in china than the us trade deficit suggests it's their greatest weakness the deficit, the difference between what the us imports from china and what it exports there, widened to $375 billion last year it sounds like a lot president donald trump and others take it.
Figures from the us commerce department show that the us has a trade surplus , not a deficit, as president trump claimed wednesday and thursday. 3 days ago trade deadlines are piling up like the us trade deficit, keeping nerves on edge about the simmering risks of an all-out trade war a top-level delegation of trump administration officials is meeting chinese government representatives in beijing to try to iron out some differences, but early signs aren't. In 2017, the total us trade deficit was $566 billion it imported $2895 trillion of goods and services while exporting $2329 trillion the deficit is higher than in 2013 when it was $478 billion one reason is because the dollar strengthened 28 percent between 2014 and 2016 a strong dollar makes imports.
As president trump prepares to roll out new tariffs this week, it is worth asking what tariffs do — more specifically, whether they will do what trump wants: decrease the trade deficit useful in this exercise is the latest from joseph gagnon, a senior fellow at the peterson institute of international economics. Economies which have savings surpluses, such as japan and germany, typically run trade surpluses china, a high-growth economy, has tended to run trade surpluses a higher savings rate generally corresponds to a trade surplus correspondingly, the us with its lower savings rate has tended to run high trade deficits,. Washington (afp) - the us trade deficit widened in february (2018) for the sixth straight month, hitting a fresh nine-and-a-half-year record even though us exports were at an all-time high, official data showed on thursday (april 5) the broadening gap comes as president donald trump pursues an. 4 days ago the trump administration has presented china with a list of hardline trade demands, including requiring beijing to cut their bilateral trade deficit by $200bn, in a clear sign the white house intends to escalate its brinkmanship despite rising international fears of a trade war the demands, produced as part of.


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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is calling for more information from general insurers on Big Data, which may lead to a market study or adjustment of policy or guidance.
On Tuesday, the financial regulator issued “calls for inputs” focusing on three areas: consumer outcomes; competition; and feedback on FCA’s current regulatory framework as it relates to Big Data.
“Big Data is having an ever-growing social and commercial impact, and has the potential to transform practices and products across financial services,” said Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition, FCA, in a statement. “We are starting our work on Big Data by seeking to better understand how insurance firms are using data, and how this may evolve in the future.”
Big Data remains a major part of the financial sector but the spotlight has shifted to insurers who can use information collected about consumers to calculate insurance rates. Social media can also help insurers verify critical information about a customer’s claim such as if two people are connected prior to an accident.
A Financial Times article points out that consumers are increasingly concerned about how their information is being used when they sign up to websites. According to a report by the Association of British Insurers in 2013, about 71 percent of consumers would be dissatisfied if their insurers were pricing their products based on information collected from social media.
In many cases, prior to launching a full study, FCA begins by requesting, “calls for inputs”. Data collected are then used to determine next steps for the industry. Based on the results of the study, FCA can prohibit certain products or require that more structure should be added to business lines.


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The Germany-based BMW automaker is soon to launch a new version of the BMW i3 electric car. This will be announced by next year that will be a longer range and revamped design variant.
The changes for the new BMW i3 electric car
The news was confirmed by the local weekly Welt am Sonntag with the company’s citations. The front of the car shall be reworked while the rear of the new BMW i3 electric car will also be changed. The car will be equipped with a new battery for an increased range too. This will be over the present 300km limit and an increase by 50%. BMW has made many significant investments earlier but it just gave them lacklustre sales. There were only 25,000 i3s delivered which is why it is questioning the acceleration of the i3 variant. However, the variant is also brought as a hope to increase sales as the battery is increase.
What the output will be is yet to be found out because there are no comments available by BMW on this stance.


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We are looking for an experienced, keen and motivated junior designer. Come and join us!
We’re celebrating! This week Red Stone is 20 years old.
We’ll soon be sending out Christmas gifts to everyone we’ve worked with in 2015. We’ve commissioned promising artists and artisans every year to create these small seasonal gifts. We like making new things.
Another big event for UKTV, this time at Phillips Gallery in Berkeley Square.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has launched a refreshed brand identity designed by Red Stone.
RT @alzheimerssoc: .@ITV and @Channel4 are uniting for a special broadcast of our new TV ad tomorrow at 8.55pm #UnitedAgainstDementia https…24 Apr 2017 19:45


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Last month, Chevrolet turned heads in the auto upholstery industry when it announced that the interior of the 2014 Corvette Stingray would be so finely trimmed that it would honor our craft.
Well, after months of teasing, the Corvette has finally been unveiled. Let’s take a look inside to see if Chevy lived up to the hype.
According to a press release issued by General Motors, the Corvette’s cabin features “real carbon fiber, aluminum and hand-wrapped leather materials, two new seat choices – each featuring a lightweight magnesium frame for exceptional support – and dual eight-inch configurable driver/infotainment screens”.
Taking a look at the photos below, it’s obvious that Chevy has gone to great lengths to spruce up the interior. The new Corvette’s materials seem richer, more supple and better crafted. Meanwhile, its seats look gorgeous, functional and supportive all at once. I especially love the combination of leather and carbon fiber.
Of course, some folks will argue that the Corvette’s interior is still far from luxury. And they’d be correct.
But the Corvette was never meant to be a luxury sports car. Its engineers have always favored function over form. That’s what makes it such an appealing sports car.
To properly judge the Corvette’s interior, you need to compare it to the Dodge Vipers of the World, not Bimmers or Benzes. In that regard, I think that the 2014 Corvette’s interior is a winner.
But the question remains – does it do our craft justice? You be the judge!
What do you think? Let’s have a round-table discussion. Share your thoughts on the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette’s interior in the comments section below.
[photos via Autoblog]


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Five years ago, Nintendo made an internal change that may not have seemed important at the time, but has since become a major part of the company’s dramatic turnaround. In 2013, Nintendo merged its two game development divisions, which were previously separated by platform. One focused on home consoles like the Wii U, while the other created games for handheld devices like the 3DS. Combining the two was meant to speed up development, and allow Nintendo’s creative teams to better share ideas and technology.
It didn’t help the Wii U much — the console suffered from huge gaps between major releases — but it’s finally paying dividends with the Switch. This new structure has made it possible for Nintendo to release a steady stream of well-received titles over the Switch’s first 16 months of availability. It started with a bang, when the tablet launched alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and has continued through games like Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, this week’s Mario Tennis Aces, and upcoming holiday releases like Pokémon: Let’s Go and Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
At the top of this structure is Shinya Takahashi, general manager of Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning & development division, who oversees all of the company’s software efforts to ensure those huge gaps between games remain a thing of the past. “It’s something that I think about and worry about all the time,” Takahashi told me last week at E3 in Los Angeles.
“It’s something that I think about and worry about all the time.”
The main benefit of the re-organization, according to Takahashi, is that it allows Nintendo to be more flexible and purposeful with how it uses its developers. “We think very carefully about how we can assign people to projects in development,” he explains. “What number we can assign, what we can have them working on. And that’s something that we always think about very closely in regards to how we ensure we have a steady release of high-quality titles.”
With everyone now working under the same umbrella, and in many cases under the same roof at Nintendo’s Kyoto headquarters, this makes it simpler to make adjustments when needed. If a game like Breath of the Wild is taking too long, for instance, Nintendo can more easily pull the necessary developers from another project to make sure that Zelda hits its release date. And sticking to those dates is an important part of the company’s process. “If they don’t have a deadline, they’ll be happy to refine the project forever,” says Takahashi on Nintendo’s creative staff. “If we didn’t have a deadline, we might still be working on Super Mario Bros 3 for the Famicom.”
In addition to keeping track of all of the software at Nintendo, Takahashi also works with the company’s sales and marketing teams, in order to ensure everything follows the right schedule. “Putting all of that together is maybe the biggest part of my job,” he tells me. It’s a lot to keep track of, and it’s part of the reason why Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé once described Takahashi as the company’s “conductor.”
Merging the two software divisions has proved a prescient move given the nature of the Switch, which doubles as both a portable tablet and a home console. And being able to have one device as a primary focus has also made it easier to craft a large volume of games for the Switch. Nintendo still makes 3DS games, of course, but the dual-screened handheld now serves a different purpose than it once did.
“As a platform that is now in its eighth year since launch, I think it has found a very interesting role for us,” Takahashi says of the 3DS. “Which is that it’s accessible to a lower age demographic, and we’re able to focus a lot of software that’s really appealing to that audience on the Nintendo 3DS platform, which means that we can also look for software teams that are very well-suited to creating games of that type.”
The early signs are encouraging. In just 10 months the Switch outsold the Wii U, and it currently sits at nearly 18 million units sold worldwide. This has led to some impressive software sales — Mario Odyssey tops the list with 10.4 million in sales, followed by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at 9.2 million. Perhaps just as importantly, those sales have made the Switch an enticing platform for developers outside of Nintendo. Not only did the Wii U suffer from gaps between major releases, there were also few third-party and indie games to fill in those gaps. That’s changed with the Switch.
The hybrid console is home to an ever-growing library of indie titles, and many of those games are selling better on Nintendo’s platform than elsewhere. The developers of the Metroid-like Steamworld Dig 2 have said that the game sold 10 times more on the Switch compared to PC store Steam, for instance. “Those recommendations, those statements, speak volumes for the overall developer community,” Fils-Aimé says. “This is a platform that you have to be engaged with, that you have to bring your best content to. That’s the key for us.”
This hasn’t translated to major third-party developers and publishers to quite the same degree, but a number of these companies are lending their support to the Switch. Bethesda, in particular, has been a heavy backer of Nintendo’s device, releasing versions of Skyrim, Doom, Fallout Shelter, and soon Wolfenstein II for the platform. And while EA has been more cautious with the Switch, the publisher is following up a portable version of FIFA with an enhanced version for 2018, suggesting that the experience on Nintendo’s platform has been positive.
“That passion has not changed.”
Many of these multiplatform games arrive much later on the Switch than other platforms (something that Fils-Aimé believes will change by next year), though Nintendo says that it works closely with outside developers to ensure that working on the Switch is as seamless as possible. “How do you take a game like FIFA, built on the Frostbite engine, and have it look and play as well on our platform as it does elsewhere? Our technical team is working with their technical teams and development community to bring that to life,” explains Fils-Aimé.
Having all that platform knowledge in one place not only benefits the games Nintendo makes, but also its ability to help outside partners. “All of the systems that we create internally to improve the development environment are things that we’ve been able to share,” Takahashi says. So even though a game like Breath of the Wild takes years to create, the lessons learned during that process may end up benefitting the platform as a whole. “It becomes an investment not just in one title,” he adds.
The process has worked for the Switch so far, and Nintendo has a number of titles lined up for 2019 and beyond, including Metroid Prime 4, a new Yoshi game, and a “core” Pokémon role-playing adventure. For Takahashi, who started at Nintendo in 1989 just as the Super Famicom was set to launch in Japan, the challenge is to keep that momentum going. And based on his experience at the company, he believes Nintendo is in the right frame of mind to pull it off. “There was a wonderful energy around at the time that I still see there today,” Takahashi says. “That passion has not changed.”


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A Horsley man who attempted to fix his mobile phone by prying it open was lucky to escape uninjured after it exploded.
When firefighters received the triple-0 call for help it was reported as 'house alight', with two truckloads of scrambled to the Denham Drive house at 8.52am on Tuesday, October 3.
"He was having problems with his phone and decided to pry it open and he accidentally pried apart the battery," Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Greg Purvis said.
"It put out all this toxic smoke and he threw it out the window."
The following day in Sydney, October 4, a lithium-ion battery in an e-bike exploded in a Sydney hostel, with the moment captured in dramatic CCTV footage.
The incidents prompted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to issue a warning on Thursday that lithium-ion batteries can be highly flammable.
The batteries have caused fires and explosions, leading to property damage and serious injuries. At least one Australian fatality has been reportedly caused by a lithium-ion battery fire.
Lithium-ion batteries are contained in many common household items - including most mobile phones, laptops, tablets, e-scooters, e-bikes and power tools - and they can cause deadly fires, the ACCC warned.
Batteries can overheat or explode if they are used, charged or disposed of incorrectly or if they are damaged, and fires caused by the batteries can be dangerous and difficult to extinguish.
Read more: Apartment block to tower over WIN Stadium
"We are concerned by increasing reports of lithium-ion battery fires resulting in property damage and serious injuries, including burns, chemical exposure and smoke inhalation," ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.
Inspector Purvis said the exploding mobile phone in Horsley did ignite into flames, but no damage was done to the house.
"Do not try to pull apart batteries on your phone because you can short it out and start a fire," he said.
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Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1,4F
|Touch Taiwan 2021
Lextar will showcase a series of i-mini for backlighting. Its LED precision capability keeps Lextar at the leading position in mini LED market.
Lextar shows its latest micro and mini LED display technology by teaming up with heavy-hitter partners in the industry.


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Renowned entrepreneur Wayne Hemmingway MBE will be join by fellow speakers Andrew McMillan, Scott Seaborn and Clare Rayner at the Garden Centre Association's annual conference this month.
Mr Hemmingway, who is the former owner of fashion label Red or Dead, will be closing the conference in Oxfordshire by sharing his business experiences with delegates at the event, which runs from January 23 - 25.
GCA chief executive Gillie Westwood said: "We are thrilled Wayne is joining us to speak at our annual conference. As a leading entrepreneur with experience in urban landscaping, retail and marketing, to name a few, I'm sure his talk will be extremely interesting."
At the height of his fame as a fashion designer, Mr Hemmingway sold Red or Dead and set up Hemmingway Design, which specialised in affordable and social housing design. The company also designs fold-up bikes, sheds and digital radios.
Andrew McMillan will be welcomed back to the conference as one of last year's speakers, and will be narrating on the importance of personality in business. He'll be joined by Clare Rayner, the founder and managing director of Retail Acumen, who will discuss how to improve business turnover for little additional cost.
A presentation by Scott Seaborn will also feature during the event. As head of mobile technologies at Ogilvy Group UK, Mr Seaborn will focus on boosting business through mobile advertising and creativity.
Ms Westwood added: 'We are really pleased to have these three great speakers joining us at the conference and hope lots of people will come along to hear their advice."
More than 300 delegates from the nation's leading garden centres, including independent and chains, are expected to attend the conference.


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For profit education company Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL) said Monday after the markets closed that its third quarter profit fell 37% from last year, hurt mainly by lower enrollment at the University of Phoenix.
However, the company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, came in well above analysts' expectations. At the same time, the company raised its operating earnings outlook for the fiscal year 2012.
Apollo Group shares are currently gaining 7.21% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $32.47, down $1.08 or 3.22%. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $30.93 to $58.29.
Apollo Group is the parent of the University of Phoenix. Degreed Enrollment at the University of Phoenix dropped 13.1% year-over-year to 346,300 in the third quarter. University of Phoenix New Degreed Enrollment fell 8% in the quarter as compared to a year earlier.
For the third quarter ended May 31, 2012, the Phoenix, Arizona-based company reported net income of $134.0 million or $1.13 per share, compared to $212.4 million or $1.51 per share for the year-ago quarter.
Excluding items, earnings for the latest quarter were $142.3 or $1.20 per share.
On average, 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.97 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net revenue for the third quarter fell 8.5% to $1.13 billion from $1.24 billion in the same quarter last year, mainly due to lower enrollment at the University of Phoenix. Sixteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.12 billion for the third quarter.
During the third quarter, the company repurchased about 9.0 million shares of its common stock for $329.0 million. Subsequent to May 31, 2012, the company repurchased about 0.5 million shares at a total cost of $15.0 million, resulting in $48.5 million remaining of the current share repurchase authorization.
For the fiscal year 2012, the company now expects net revenue of $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion, compared to its prior guidance of $4.1 billion to $4.3 billion. Analysts currently expect the company to post revenue of $4.28 billion for the fiscal year 2012.
However, the company raised its fiscal 2012 operating earnings outlook to a range of $700 million to $740 million from its previous outlook of $625 million to $725 million.
by RTT Staff Writer
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