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Date: 20 December, 2018 - Blog
The technological war, launched by the United States vis-à-vis China, is still in its infancy and is bipartisan (Republicans and Democrats).
In August, the US enacted a law banning China from acquiring US technology and being active in the US market based on national security (defense, espionage). In a first step, it mainly targets 5 Chinese companies, Huawei and ZTE in telecom equipment, Hikvision and Dahua Technology in surveillance cameras and Hytera Communications. Substantial and essential Chinese devices in any telecommunication system or critical to the good functioning of telecommunications will be banned from US markets.
The US Administration has blocked the acquisition of Qualcomm by Broadcom (Sino-Singaporean shareholders). This spring, ZTE avoided bankruptcy, with Donald Trump finally resolving to lift the sanctions against ZTE, yet accused of violating the US embargo against Iran and North Korea. In revenge, the Chinese failed the merger between Qualcomm and the Dutch NXP (electronic chips), refusing to validate the merger while Qualcomm has two-thirds of its sales in China.
In early October, Super Micro, a Taiwan-American specialist in sockets, was accused of installing spy chips on its equipment for the benefit of China. 30 US companies have been affected including Apple and Amazon. But recently, an expert report has denied the thesis of hidden Chinese spy chips.
The keystone of this acceleration in technological warfare is 5G.
First, the United States, China, Japan and South Korea, spearheads in the 5G, are in a race for the deployment of the 5G and the next mobile phone standard. The Chinese Huawei and ZTE have big ambitions, but their ban on the US and allies’ markets benefit Nokia and Ericsson. But 5G will also be of immeasurable size compared to 4G. It will not only be about People communication, but a People & Things relationship. The 5G will affect artificial intelligence (China wishing to be the world’s # 1 in 2025), the Internet of Things, connected / autonomous vehicles, Smart Grid, Smart Cities, Smart Homes, etc.
But worries about China did not start with Donald Trump. Huawei has managed to grow thanks to its partnership with British Telecom. In the early 2000s, Huawei was more flexible than Marconi. The English national security services had already worried about such collaboration. Today, with China representing the world’s second largest military spending, behind the United States, the US and allies are thus moving from worry to action: banishment of the Chinese in the 5G for reasons of national security.
Donald Trump has asked all his allies to ban Chinese companies in the development of 5G. Australia and New Zealand followed. Japan and Britain have announced that from now on they will ban Chinese companies in 5G. Telefonica Deutschland won’t work anymore with ZTE.
If Nokia and Ericsson will be among the winners of this war in 5G, the technology sector will suffer from a lack of visibility, because everything is interdependent: the big tech companies work with American and Chinese companies and produce in the States United States and China.
Apple business model: design in the US, production in China and Asian, American and European suppliers
If the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are likely to change their business models, the big losers will certainly be the suppliers who are not all the financial size to face a technological war between the United States and China. This situation has led in recent months to a significant drop in stock prices of OEM suppliers. For example, the share price of AMS AG has lost 70% since July 2018; AMS is supplier for Apple and Huawei. U-Blox has lost 69%.
Apple is in a process of internalization/vertical integration of component manufacturing. The main losers will be Samsung Electronics, Qualcomm, Intel, Dialog Semiconductors, Synaptics, but they have solid backs; what will be for the smaller ones? Apple is the largest customer of AMS, Qorvo, Lumentum and Japan Display. If Apple or other large OEMs have a Plan B, small suppliers don’t.
China may react by banning US technology suppliers who are working with Huawei today. But Huawei is not in a strong position: 33 suppliers out of its 92 core suppliers are American. And if Huawei does not take Google’s Android license or those of Qualcomm, Huawei is unable to manufacture smartphones or produce relay stations for 4G / 5G. If the Chinese decided to go into confrontation, there would be the risk of seeing in the 5G 2 non-interoperable international standards and which would have major consequences in the technology sector. The big losers would be small companies; that’s the message that the stock market has given.
- The technological war between the United States and China reduces visibility on the IT sector.
- OEMs have a plan B, not their suppliers
- 5G will be the major theme in 2019
- Overweight Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola Solutions
- Overweight Microsoft, a defensive stock in IT sector


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The main farming unions for livestock farmers from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland, represented by the UFU, NFUS, NFU Cymru, NFU and IFA has met in Buxton, England to discuss cattle and sheep issues.
UFU beef and lamb chairman Crosby Cleland said: “Beef farmers have come through a long hard winter and spring with very high costs. He said in order to maintain a sustainable supply of high quality beef, retailers and processors must recognise that beef prices need to be above the costs of production, which currently is not the case.”
Commenting on changes to specifications and price grids being imposed on producers by processors across the UK and ROI, Mr Cleland said: “factories cannot act unilaterally in this area and will have to work with farmer representatives. Having met major retailers at Balmoral show, it was clear that prime beef to 36 months is now accepted and we would have to question why processors continue to impose penalties for cattle over 30 months. Tight specification on weight limits is also a growing problem for suckler beef in particular and is eroding any opportunity to make a suitable margin. This also calls into question our existing payment grid and as to whether it truly reflects what is needed to deliver sustainable returns for our positive British and Irish production systems.”
On sheep, UFU hill farming chairman Ian Buchanan said: “Price stability in the market for the next month is crucial as it sets the pattern for the rest of the season, which in turn will be key to incomes for sheep farmers in 2016. He said demand will increase over the next few weeks driven by the retail changeover to spring lamb and also by the Muslin festival of Ramadan which commences on 7th June.”
The UK and Irish farm representatives were strongly supportive of work of the EU Sheep Reflection Group, which was set up by EU Agricultural Commissioner Phil Hogan. Mr Buchanan said: “It is essential that the EU Sheep Reflection Group brings forward a set of strong and practical recommendations for the sheep sector focusing on the key issues of incomes, supports, consumption, promotions, trade and technology. In addition, the really positive public goods and value delivered by the sheep sector to the wider society must be fully recognised.”
On the EU trade negotiations for TTIP and Mercosur, both Mr Buchanan and Mr Cleland welcomed the decision to remove the beef TRQ’s from the offer transmitted to the Mercosur countries by the EU and recognised the positive work of EU Agricultural Commissioner Phil Hogan in defending the beef sector.
They said the EU cannot allow beef imports into the European market which fail to meet EU standards across the key areas of traceability, food safety and animal health controls, animal welfare and environmental standards including carbon footprinting. In addition, they said the EU must not proceed with any further negotiations until they complete and publish a full impact assessment of all the trade deals in the beef sector.

domain: news


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Urethane are giving away a signed pair of Steve Caballero’s Vans
The legendary skate shoe Half Cab, named after Caballero, was originally released in 1992. It was conceived by skaters in the early '90s who would cut the collar off the original Vans Caballero pro model to create a "lighter, better, faster" version of Caballero's signature shoe.
Caballero has more than 45 years of skateboarding under his belt. He was a part of the original Bones Brigade crew and created the Caballerial, a 360-degree ollie air above the coping of a pool or ramp, back in the '80s. Solidifying his icon status, he was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2010.
Vans and Caballero previously worked together on the 30th anniversary of the Half Cab. "The Vans Half Cab shoe collaboration came from co-founder Steve Van Doren when he asked me for a band logo and our favorite colors," Caballero says in an interview with AltPress. "I was like, 'What for, Steve?' He said it was a special gift he wanted to make for the band. Only 70 pairs were made for us to give away to those who have helped support the band this last year. That was one amazing surprise indeed."


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Each set of data was stored in an Amazon S3 bucket, which allows public download of files, UpGuard said.
“These two situations speak to the inherent problem of mass information collection: the data doesn’t naturally go away, and a derelict storage location may or may not be given the attention it requires,” UpGuard said in a statement.
A Facebook spokesperson released the following statement on the matter to CNN Business:
“Facebook's policies prohibit storing Facebook information in a public database. Once alerted to the issue, we worked with Amazon to take down the databases. We are committed to working with the developers on our platform to protect people's data."


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As borders begin to reopen across Southeast Asia, increased flight bookings show how excited travelers are to return to the region.
All countries in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Brunei, have started to remove their travel restrictions and are reopening their borders to international tourists in hopes of rejuvenating the industry that was hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic: tourism. Travelport, a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, today released the below trend data showing how the easing of restrictions has affected the international demand for travel to Southeast Asia.
According to Travelport’s booking data, the top ten destinations in Southeast Asia for international travelers to visit in 2022 are:
- Manila (Philippines)
- Singapore (Singapore)
- Bangkok (Thailand)
- Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
- Jakarta (Indonesia)
- Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
- Hanoi (Vietnam)
- Phuket (Thailand)
- Bali (Indonesia)
- Angeles/Mabalacat (Philippines)
For the first quarter of 2022, international flight bookings to Southeast Asia overall have increased and have showed upward trajectory with the Philippines taking the lead by achieving 42% of its international bookings in the first quarter of 2019 prior COVID-19 pandemic. The Philippines and Thailand were among the earliest countries in Southeast Asia to reopen their borders, and travelers are already clamoring to visit. In the first quarter of 2022, these two countries alone represent over half (51%) of all international flight bookings to the region.
- On 28 January, the Philippines announced its plans to fully reopen to vaccinated travelers on 10 February. Within a week of the announcement, international flight bookings to the country rose by 114%. One month after the announcement on 28 February, the country saw a 294% increase in daily flight bookings.
- Thailand first allowed foreigners to enter the country on February 1 with the introduction of its Test & Go program which required tourists to have a negative PCR test for entry, and a subsequent antigen test on the fifth day of travel. In the 24 hours following that announcement, international flight bookings to Thailand grew by 37%. On March 7, the Thai government further revised the measures, dropping the testing requirements on the fifth day. With that change, international flight bookings grew 128% compared to booking on first announcement.
The top five countries traveling to Southeast Asia are the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. Solo travelers made up 44% of international flight bookings for the first quarter of 2022 to date, by far the largest traveler segment, which may be comprised of returning business travelers, flexible tourists whose bags are packed the moment borders reopen, and Southeast Asian expats who are eager to return home without enduring a once mandatory quarantine.


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ONE TEAM OF ECOMEDICS has done what it can. Ben Bernanke's Federal Reserve Board monetary policy gurus dropped its short-term interest rate another 0.25 percent last week, to 2.0 percent, and told its patient, the U.S. economy, not to look for still another shot in the arm. We might do more for a few patients, since the banks in our care seem to be suffering from a reduced ability to function normally, but that is about it.
The other team has finally begun to distribute part of the $170 billion of medication it prescribed some months ago. The first doses were deposited last week in the bank accounts of the 7.7 million taxpayers who have direct deposit arrangements; paper checks will begin to arrive this week in the mailboxes of the 130 million Americans eligible for this Christmas-in-May-June-July. Individuals will receive up to $600, and couples filing joint tax returns up to $1,200, with families getting an additional $300 per child. Individuals earning more than $75,000 per year, and couples with incomes above $150,000, will get less.
Economists demonstrated the precision of their forecasting tools by providing a range of estimates of the impact of the stimulus package. Some say that recipients will save the money, or use it to pay down overdue credit card debt, and to pay for almost-$4 gasoline, leaving little to spend on new purchases. And, they add, much of what is spent will have little impact on the U.S. economy: it will go to buy stuff made in China and other countries that have come to dominate the American market.
Other economists are more optimistic. The National Retail Federation expects consumers to pump $42.9 billion into shops, boosting retail sales by a significant 1.5 percent. Retailers are ready to help consumers spend their windfall. Sears and Kmart, among others, will add 10 percent to the value of checks that are converted into gift cards. Wal-Mart, which took in 25 percent of the 2001 rebate, will cash checks at its 3,500 stores with no charge for the service. Because rebates are aimed at lower-income households, discounters expect to be the principal beneficiaries if consumers do indeed part with a significant portion of their stimulus checks.
That's not what the nation's charities want to see happen. Many are urging Americans to use at least part of their rebate checks to make life better for the less fortunate. They reckon that 5 percent of the people receiving checks will donate a portion to charities, with the potential take coming to $5.2 billion. Charities are promising to spend every cent they get, stimulating the economy.
If the doctors at the Fed and the White House don't revive the patient, Congress is concocting still another treatment. Details are still being worked on, but when they are agreed between the House and the Senate, and a reluctant White House signs on, billions will be headed towards the mortgage markets to help troubled homeowners, and towards home builders to help get them through what is one of the toughest periods they have ever faced.
All of these ministrations will have one of three effects. They will enable the patient to avoid sinking into real sickness and maintain its current weakened condition, dragging along from quarter-to-quarter in subpar health until its in-build body mechanisms restore it to complete health. That's what seems to be going on now: latest figures show that the economy might well be holding its own, and the jobs market might not be weakening very much, as employers outside the financial and housing sectors struggle to avoid laying off valuable employees.
Or these remedies will have no effect, and the patient will become really ill: the economy will lapse into recession. That is what most Americans seem to be expecting. Consumer confidence is down, and almost three-out-of-four Americans think the country is on the wrong track. They have no confidence in the president's management of the economy, see no end to high gasoline prices, downward pressures on the value of their homes, and rising health care costs.
There is another alternative. All of this medicine might just restore the economy to health. It is being administered at just when boosts of this sort have their greatest effect--when things are getting a bit better.
The banks have begun to shore up their balance sheets. In April they took advantage of improved investor sentiment to sell $303 billion of bonds, the third-highest month of all time. They had already raised some $40 billion in new capital in recent months, and sold off $160 billion of the $250 billion of highly leveraged loans made in connection with buy-out deals. These funds didn't come cheaply, but they did come.


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Famed French maker of luxury red-soled shoes, Christian Louboutin, is about to launch Christian Louboutin Beaute. It’s being produced by New York-based beauty company Batallure Beauty, and will hit shelves in late 2013, so you’ll have to hang on to your soles for a while, waiting for it.
It will be sold all over the world and Louboutin has been telling various media outlets he was influenced by the bust of Nefertiti at the Neues Museum in Berlin. It’s hard to believe there’s something missing in the world of designer makeup — Dolce & Gabbana did the highest pigmented red lipstick imaginable when they launched their beauty brand last year. But leave it to Louboutin to reinvent in some way. No one thought anybody would ever outsell Manolo Blahnik.
No doubt, there will be a scent to go along with the makeup — or several. What does red smell like? The scent of a new pair of Christian Louboutin shoes is always delicious — and leather is now a note in many famous perfumes. Finally, a Louboutin that can be worn by anybody.
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Single-use plastic ban: Industry still waiting for 'definition'
Currently the industry provides employment to around 1 crore people directly and 10 crore indirectly, Plastindia Foundation president Jigish Doshi said.
"We all are eagerly waiting for the definition of single-use plastic. The definition will outline the thickness of the polythene carry bags, whether it is less than 50 microns. We are hopeful that the 'definition' on single use plastic will be soon out clearing all confusion," Plastindia Foundation president Jigish Doshi told here on the sidelines of the launch of the 11th edition of PLASTINDIA.
Plastindia Foundation is the apex body of major associations, organisations and institutions connected with plastics in the country.
He said, in the meantime if the ban is implemented without the government coming out with the 'difinition', the industry will definitely have some impact on the industry and about 5 lakh people directly employed and 50 lakh will lose their livelihood.
Currently the industry provides employment to around 1 crore people directly and 10 crore indirectly, he said.
Further, the industry will also lose Rs 30,000-40,000 crore revenue, he added.
He said, it should be a gradual process and 6 months to one-year time should be given to both the industry and the consumers so that an alternative could be found for the goods banned.
The total industry size is around Rs 4 lakh crore and the total consumption is about 17,770 billion tonne, he said.
Meanwhile, Kashi Nath Jha, joint secretary of Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Chemicals and Ferilisers Ministry said the government has constituted a committee to bring clarity on the issue of single use plastic, which directly impacts multiple industries including consumers goods and pharmaceuticals.
"My department has already constituted a committee and they have submitted the draft report. We are waiting for comments from other stakeholders," he said without giving a timeline as to when the definitions will be out.
The 11th edition of PLASTINDIA will be held in 2021 in New Delhi from February 4 to 8.
PLASTINDIA 2021 is expecting over 2000 exhibitors from over 45 countries, including India, to showcase latest innovation and technology in plastic packaging, manufacturing.


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Verint has bought Israeli mobile device tracking solutions developer UTX.
Verint Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNT) has completed the acquisition of Israeli mobile device tracking solutions developer UTX Technologies Ltd. for $82.9 million in cash, and up to $1.5 million in milestone payments. The acquisition was financed from cash in hand.
In a conference call, Verint CEO Dan Bodner said, “We acquired UTX because we see many growth opportunities for this company. We expect its business to contribute $10 million to our revenue this year and to double to $20 million next year.” He added that the previous acquisition of Kana Software would contribute $150 million to Verint’s revenue in 2014, and that without the acquisitions, Verint would have single-digit organic sales growth this year.
Verint also reported flat results for its 2013 fiscal year, which ended in January 2014. Net profit was unchanged at $58.8 million ($0.99) per share on $907.3 million revenue, down slightly from $910 million revenue in 2013. The company forecasts 19-24% revenue growth to $1.08-1.13 billion revenue in fiscal year 2014 and earnings per share of $3.20-3.40.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com


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• Rate of growth doubles in three months; up from 7.1% YoY in April to 14.1% in July
• Auto Trader expects Q2 will be the highest quarter ever for used car transactions
• Auto Trader revises 2021 forecast in line with record demand, predicting 8 million used car sales
Friday 6th August 2021, London – According to the latest results from the Auto Trader Retail Price Index, which is based on daily pricing analysis of circa 900,000 vehicles, the average price of a used car in July was £14,781. At a huge 14.1%, it marks the 16th consecutive month of used car price growth on a year-on-year (YoY) and like-for-like basis. Such is the current strength of the used car market the rate of price growth has doubled in just three months, rocketing from a comparatively conservative 7.1% in April.
This steep trajectory has been fuelled by the massive levels of consumer demand in the market, which is reflected in the increased traffic to Auto Trader. In July, there were 67.5 million cross platform visits, representing a 29% increase on the same period in 2019, whilst consumers spent 10.2 million hours researching their next car on the marketplace, which is a 22% increase.
Another testament to the underlying levels of demand in the market is the increased speed in which retailers are selling cars. Last month, it took an average of just 24 days for new stock to leave forecourts, five days faster than in July 2019.
8 million used cars expected to sell in 2021 as demand fuels record Q2 sales performance
As a result of the huge demand in the market, according to Auto Trader’s proxy sales data[i], many retailers are reporting record used car sales performance, and based on what it is observing on its marketplace, Auto Trader anticipates Q2 2021 will be the highest quarter ever for used car transactions. With robust demand levels expected to continue, Auto Trader has revised its forecast for the year, predicting a market total of circa 8 million used car sales in 2021.
Commenting on the results, Auto Trader’s director of data and insight, Richard Walker, said: “For the rate of price growth to double in just three months is really quite incredible and is testament to the exceptional levels of consumer demand in the market. Based on what we’re seeing more broadly, such as the strong levels of disposable income and savings, as well as improving consumer confidence and low interest rates, we have every reason to believe that these levels have the potential to remain for much, if not all, of 2021.What’s more, we have barely begun to scratch the surface in reclaiming the 1.4 million ‘lost’ transactions in 2020 as a result of closed physical showrooms. It’s for these reasons we feel very comfortable in revising our forecast for this year at much higher rate than some commentators have suggested, to circa 8 million used transactions.”
Fewer retailers adjusting prices in response to market health
Reflecting the strength of the market, Auto Trader continues to see fewer retailers adjusting prices on fewer vehicles. An average of 2,116 retailers made daily price adjustments in July, which is circa 441 fewer than the same period in 2019. What’s more, an average of 10,577 vehicles were repriced every day last week, which is a massive 35% fewer when compared to 2019. The data also suggests retailers were making significantly smaller reductions to sticker prices, averaging at just -£97, compared to the average reduction of -£339 made in 2019.
Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), said: “Sustained consumer confidence across most vehicle types is greatly encouraging for franchised dealers as it is reflective of an increasingly healthy economy. Whilst we are seeing some headwinds in relation to new and used car supply, as a consequence of semi-conductor shortages and factory closures, NFDA members still remain cautiously optimistic in their outlook for the remainder of the year.”
Ice prices heat up, but premium EVs in need of charge
The massive price growth recorded at a macro level was evident on a more granular basis too. In fact, like-for-like prices for both used petrol and diesel cars recorded record levels in July, increasing 9.6% YoY (£13,409) and 16.2% (£15,052) respectively.
Like-for-like prices for both used volume[ii] and used premium [iii] electric vehicles (EV) recorded price growth last month, but at a more conservative level compared to their ICE counterparts. Volume prices rose slightly from 9.2% YoY in June to 9.6% (£23,303) in July, while premium marques increased from -7% to -6.3% (£45,204). The reason for this disparity is due to supply and demand: YoY demand continues to outstrip levels of supply in the EV volume market (107.2% vs 65% respectively) leading to positive price growth. Conversely, YoY supply continues to outstrip demand in the premium market (184.7% vs 105.4%), which is leading to the negative pricing.


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Do Newspapers Make Money?
On Sunday, April 8, 2018, what’s left of the editorial team at The Denver Post made waves in the blogosphere by accusing the historic newspaper’s’ owner hedge fund Alden Global Capital, of “vulture capitalism.”
Alden has been stripping “The Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire” of resources to finance other investments; such as a scheme to create a new drug store chain from the remains of Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) and Fred’s Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED), The Post’s editors alleged. In their plea, the editors made the interesting assertion that The Post was still generating enough cash to finance a hedge fund’s operations.
That raises the possibility that newspapers are a value investment as defined by the great Benjamin Graham. Newspapers meet some of Graham’s classic criteria in today’s world, they are not sexy, most observers write them off as doomed; even though a lot of people still read them, and newspaper stocks are cheap. Shares in The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) were trading at $22.70 on 13 April 2018.
The Value Case for Newspapers
There is a stronger value investment case for newspapers than you might think. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BERK.B) owns dozens of them.
There are also serious doubts about the conventional wisdom that digital advertising is the best means of reaching customers. Last year, Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG) cut its digital advertising spending by $200 million because that medium simply was not working, Ad Age reported. The money was reinvested in other areas such as television, e-commerce, and audio (radio).
P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc S. Pritchard claimed this action increased the company’s reach by 10% but provided no verification. Proctor & Gamble’s actions hint that a large infusion of new advertising revenue might be heading towards old media like newspapers.
The reach of such old media might be greater than you think around 11% of Americans; or 35.93 million people, do not use the internet, the Pew Research Center calculated in March 2018. Intriguingly, the number of internet shunners has not decreased in three years which indicates, there might be a segment of the population resistant to digital media.
The challenge for newspapers then might be convincing advertisers that they still work rather than reaching an audience. A greater dilemma will be proving the value of that audience. After all, advertisers are likely to say, “what is the point in marketing to some old guy in a small town that has nothing but Social Security to live on?”
Can Newspapers Still Make Money?
The challenge newspapers will face is proving that their reach extends beyond the old and low-income individuals. One way to check such assertions is to investigate newspapers finances?
If one looks at The New York Times, the answer is no. The grey lady which is one of the healthier papers reported a net income loss of -$56.81 million, but an operating income of $22.68 million in 4th Quarter 2017.
Intriguingly, The Times’ revenues did increase by 10.12% in 2017, rising from $439.6 million on Christmas Day 2016 to $484.12 million on New Year’s Eve 2017. The times also reported a gross profit of $321.16 million.
The Times is still losing a lot of money from its operations; it reported a “free cash flow” of -$98.10 million, a financing cash flow of -$6.28 million, and operating cash flow of $61.18 million for 4th Quarter 2017. Despite that, The Times hand nearly a half billion ($491.50 million to be exact) in cash and short-term investments on January 31, 2017.
These figures from Stockrow indicate that newspapers can still generate a lot of cash. Based on the data from The Times it might still be possible for a newspaper like The Denver Post to generate quite a bit of cash. The Post is a regional paper with a strong reputation that might be leveraged into some digital cash.
How Newspapers Might Make Money
There are two ways that newspapers like The Times and The Post might make a lot of money in today’s world.
The first is from traditional sources like advertising and subscriptions which can generate some cash. Some advertising; like classifieds, is basically dead, so it should be abandoned. Yet other advertising including display ads and inserts is still very viable.
A smart strategy for The Denver Post would be to make a strong push on display and insert advertising. Potential advertisers to target include car dealers, politicians (the 11% not online still vote as Donald J. Trump proved in 2016), retailers, and companies that market products to senior citizens. The healthcare industry would be a great business to target here, and so would banks.
Subscriptions are more problematic because they are based on questionable circulation figures. An interesting idea for The Denver Post would be to launch a free paper edition. The free edition would serve as a delivery mechanism for advertisements.
Can The Oil of the 21st Century save Newspapers?
The second stream of revenue is digital from visitors to the paper’s website and data about those visitors. A fascinating idea might be to give readers free access to news or other content in exchange for selling the rights to market some of their personal data.
“You might have heard of the term that personal data is the oil of 21st Century,” Dr. Christian Lange said at the Gibraltar International FinTech Forum 2018 in February. “The reason for this is companies all around the world need that personal data. They really need it and today data brokers are making big money with our personal data.”
Lange is the co-CEO and co-founder of Opiria, a blockchain-based company that harvests personal data from users using apps. Opiria plans to pay for personal data using its PDATA ERC20 Token cryptocurrency, and market it to large companies like Mercedes Benz (Daimler A.G.), P&G, General Motors, and Volkswagen. An intriguing possibility would be to use something like PDATA to monetize newspaper readers’ data.
Why Newspapers Might still have value
Personal data might not be that valuable to individuals, but what about the data of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of readers of a newspaper like The Denver Post?
The personal data of readers of a newspaper with a global footprint like The New York Times, The Guardian, or The Washington Post might be extremely valuable. Those readers are likely to be affluent, articulate, highly-educated, professionals, and possibly influencers or opinion leaders, exactly the sort of customers advertisers want.
This might be the real reason Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post and owns part of The Business Insider. It might also be why Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim owns a piece of The New York Times. They want the personal data.
Whether a regional newspaper; especially one that’s been mismanaged and looted by vulture capitalists for decades like The Denver Post has, can yield the kind of high-quality personal data that might generate cash is anybody’s guess. Something like PDATA would be a good mechanism for ascertaining the Post readers’ data’s value.
It might be too late in Denver, but such data mining would be worth a shot. After all The Post has nothing left to lose, everything else was looted long ago.
The only thing that will save newspapers is new and growing streams of revenues. Unless management stops cannibalizing papers and starts actively seeking those streams of revenues many newspapers will share the fate of The Denver Post.


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Signed items tend to go for a large chunk of money, depending on the person who signed it. When it comes to Steve Jobs-related materials, numbers tend to skyrocket.
That is indeed the case with the latest item to go up for auction, as noted today by MacRumors. This time around it was an employment questionnaire, which was signed by the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs. The questionnaire was auctioned off last week, and it went for an impressive $174,757 when it was all said and done.
The auction house initially suggested that the signed questionnaire would go for around $50,000, but the final total more than triples that estimate.
As for the questionnaire itself, that was filled out in 1973. At the time Jobs had just left Reeds College, after he spent a year and a half auditing classes, and, before that, six months actually attending courses. On the paper, Jobs lists “English lit” as his major, and Reeds College is the place of learning.
Jobs, on his own behalf, put down things like “design” and “tech”, along with “calculator” and “computer” as his skills at the time. Jobs also said he had special abilities including “Tech or Design Engineer” and “electronics”.
It wouldn’t be long after Jobs filled out this questionnaire that he would take a position with Atari. Then, after that, the rest is history, with Apple starting in Southern California and, eventually, becoming one of the most recognizable companies on the planet.
It should not surprise anyone that a signed item from Steve Jobs, especially one so early in his life, would fetch so much money. Tripling initial estimates, though, is pretty impressive all around.[via MacRumors]


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Mercedes Benz’s C-Class range rolls off new East London assembly line
Production of new range is said to have created 600 new jobs at the East London plant and another 2000 at suppliers
German carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s latest R10bn investment in its SA subsidiary has created about 2,600 new jobs, Jorg Burzer, the group’s board member for production and supply chain management, said on Thursday.
Production of the latest C-Class car range began on Thursday at Mercedes-Benz SA’s (MBSA) East London assembly plant. The first vehicles are due to roll off the assembly line over the weekend...


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20 January 2014 | Richard Newman
The labour market is going through a fundamental shift as the UK economy begins to pick up. Many businesses are adapting their workforce in order to keep up with the demand for flexibility within the workplace.
As budgets remain tight, organisations are seeing the attraction of moving to a more contingent workforce. As a result, temporary job placements in the UK are rising 7 per cent year-on-year.
The myths surrounding temporary labour are slowly fading. Gone are the days when temporary workers merely stacked shelves and worked in warehouses. In reality, a significant increase has been seen in the number of white collar temporary roles available, including many at board level, as both employers and workers are choosing the flexibility that comes with temporary working.
For the employer, having the ability to scale the workforce up or down according to business requirements brings huge benefits. Temporary workers can help businesses plug short-term staffing gaps, like those caused by seasonal work or by special projects, without the need to commit to offering permanent positions.
To stay ahead of the curve, businesses need to think of the sourcing of non-permanent staff as part of the supply chain process, being cost-effective and robust in their approach. To buy effectively, a business must first audit what its needs are and from there measure where the temporary positions need to be. To recruit temporary workers around the businesses needs, it’s important to get the process right.
Without a streamlined process in place, the risk to the business is that it ends up working with hundreds of suppliers across the UK, perhaps even internationally, to fulfil its staffing needs. This takes time and hours of administration to control, which could be better used elsewhere in the business.
As always with procurement it pays to do your homework, so implementing a process and technology that will simplify your supply chain is only beneficial. It will allow you to have total visibility and control into the procurement of your labour staff, without all of the administration that comes with it.
☛ Richard Newman is sales and marketing director at de Poel


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Image source: Getty Images
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock has experienced a significant decline over the last nine months or so. As a result, it’s now back at pre-pandemic levels.
I already own some Amazon shares in my portfolio. Is now the time for me to buy more? Let’s discuss.
The stock is still expensive
In the short term, I’m not expecting to see a huge rebound in Amazon’s share price. Even after the big share price fall, the stock is still expensive (the P/E ratio using 2023’s earnings forecast is over 50).
And with central banks raising interest rates, and investors focusing heavily on valuations, it’s not a great environment for expensive growth stocks right now.
Meanwhile, Amazon is dealing with a number of challenges at present including slower growth, weaker consumer spending, higher costs, and warehouse overcapacity. These are all impacting sentiment towards the stock.
Having said all that, the fact that the stock is back at pre-pandemic levels piques my interest. Because this is a company that has enormous potential in the long run, in my view.
The online shopping leader
I believe there’s plenty of growth to come from the company’s online shopping division. According to Precedence Research, the global business-to-consumer e-commerce market is set to grow by around 8% between now and 2030. This market growth should provide strong tailwinds for Amazon.
And it has several competitive advantages in this space. Not only does it have a strong brand (it’s the third biggest brand in the world, according to Kantar BrandZ) but it also has over 200m Prime members (way more than before the pandemic). These members tend to buy more on the website to justify the annual fee.
Cloud computing dominance
I also see plenty of growth potential in the company’s cloud computing division. According to Grand View Research, this market is set to grow by around 16% per year between now and 2030.
Here, Amazon is the largest player in the industry with a market share of over 30%. This market dominance is also a competitive advantage. Last quarter, cloud revenues were up 27.5%.
Momentum in digital advertising
Digital advertising is another market that looks set to propel Amazon’s revenues higher. Here, it’s the third-largest player behind Google and Facebook.
And what stands out to me is that its digital advertising sales have been rising in 2022 while those of its peers have slumped. In Q3, Amazon’s advertising sales rose 25% year on year to $9.6bn.
Other growth drivers
Looking beyond these three industries, I also see growth potential in the following markets:
- Artificial intelligence – Amazon is the world’s top AI company in 2022, according to AI Magazine.
- Self-driving cars – In 2020, Amazon paid $1.2bn for autonomous driving company Zoox.
- Digital healthcare – Amazon recently launched Amazon Clinicwhich provides users with access to third-party health providers.
Putting this all together, Amazon’s future looks exciting, to my mind.
Should I buy now?
Given that the stock is currently back at pre-pandemic levels (and around 50% off its highs), I think it is a good time to buy more Amazon stock for my portfolio. I’m not expecting huge returns in the short term. However, in the long run, I think buying now will pay off.


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Updated: 04-Aug-17 09:38 ET
|Updated: 04-Aug-17 09:38 ET
- The trade balance report for June showed a narrowing in the trade deficit to $43.6 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$44.9 bln) from an upwardly revised $46.4 billion (from -$46.5 bln) in May.
- The narrowing deficit was the result of exports being $2.4 billion more than May exports and imports being $0.4 billion less than May imports.
- Capital goods, except automotive (+$0.8 bln), led the export increase while industrial supplies and materials (-$1.06 billion), pressured by a $1.41 billion decrease in crude oil imports, drove the import decline.
- The deficit with Mexico decreased $1.2 billion to $5.5 billion in June while the deficit with China increased $1.2 billion to $31.3 billion in June
- The key takeaway from the report is that it should factor favorably in the revision to Q2 GDP.


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SAP Malaysia’s commitment to sustainable social outcomes through data and analytics
Although there is now greater awareness of Big Data and Data and Analytics in business, SAP Malaysia believes that greater emphasis should be placed on how these areas could also drive sustainable social outcomes, especially amongst today’s digital generation.
“SAP believes that social, environmental, and economic activities and performance are interrelated,” said SAP Malaysia managing director Terrence Yong.
“When customers use SAP solutions to become more transparent, improve energy efficiency, protect workers from accidents, or address risks in their supply chain; they turn sustainability into concrete actions that benefit workers, communities, the environment, and people throughout the world.
“Our efforts focus on creating a sustainable future for SAP, our customers, and society,” said Yong.
SAP’s sustainability commitment is based on the belief that social, environmental, and economic activities and performance are interrelated – each creating tangible impacts on the others. “Our efforts focus on creating a sustainable future for SAP, our customers, and society,” said Yong.
“From the corporate perspective, SAP is committed to making local enterprises more sustainable,” added Yong, citing the case of Cenviro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional, which is digitising its operations with the aim of becoming a regional champion in delivering environmental solutions.
Cenviro is deploying multiple SAP solutions to facilitate business process simplification and improve decision making. The first phase includes an industry specific utilities solution called “SAP Suite on S/4 HANA with IS-U for Waste Management” which incorporates best practices for waste management within an integrated system.
“SAP S/4HANA is the digital core that integrates technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, real-time analytics, mobile, business networks, third-party systems, and more,” said Yong.
The name “Cenviro” denotes “Clean Environment” and is held out to be the flagship of Khazanah’s investment in sustainable development.
On this the unveiling of Budget 2018 this Friday, SAP Malaysia is looking forward to more policies that would further catalyse the country’s Digital Economy. As it stands, the Digital Economy already contributes more than 18% of Malaysia’s GDP currently.
“The Government’s ICT initiatives, particularly in the areas of eCommerce, talent development and rakyat programmes such as eRezeki and eUsahawan have proven to be great successes for Malaysia,” said Yong, who is looking forward to continuation of such initiatives.
“The establishment of the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) is also visionary and encourages local companies to market their products beyond Malaysian shores. Hopefully, Budget 2018 will have additional components to help DFTZ grow more rapidly before maturing with a holistic ecosystem,” he added.
SAP has been in Malaysia for the past 25 years. Globally, the company is at the forefront of 25 various industries, so much so that it’s a widely held belief that “the world’s best-run businesses run SAP”.


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From Petfood Industry:
Online pet food sales may be eclipsing brick-and-mortar stores in many markets around the world, noted Euromonitor analyst Damien Shore in his blog. Blue Buffalo, for example, reported a small decline in pet superstores sales during 2016’s third quarter, while internet pet food sales increased dramatically.
In the massive North American pet food market, Euromonitor data tracked online pet food sales as they doubled between 2011 and 2016 to 3 percent, or nearly US$1 billion, of the total US$31 billion market.
Asian internet pet food sales
Online pet food sales built a strong presence in China’s growing pet food market, at 31.7 percent of total sales in 2016, up from just 3.2 percent in 2011, Shore wrote. One reason for this is that Chinese consumers may shop the internet to find international brands of pet foods that they can’t find locally, since China lacks the brick-and-mortar pet superstores of the US and UK. China now ranks as the top country for online pet food sales by percentage, beating out South Korea.
India may soon follow the same pattern as China, he wrote. Although online pet food sales in India are tiny so far, internet commerce is becoming more popular and more middle-class Indians are owning dogs. Those two factors provide the potential for strong growth in internet pet food sales.
An overview of some of the trends that might make headlines during the coming year: The challenge posed to pet superstores by internet retailing, internet retailing in India, the prioritisation of the needs of pets at home, and the possible impact of politics on international trade.
In their results for the third quarter of 2016, a number of North American pet food manufacturers highlighted the fact that while sales of their products via pet superstores had been weak during Q3, this had been more than compensated for rising online sales. For example, Blue Buffalo saw sales via this channel decline by “low single digits” in annualised terms during the quarter, while its online sales exhibited strong growth.


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Hospitality, Media & Leisure Blog
- Blog: ALTIUS BlogsOnline payment authentication requirements further strengthened from 22 September 2020Posted on September 11, 2020 by As part of the second European Payment Services Directive (i.e. Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market) (PSD2), which entered into force in 2019 and replaced the Payment Services Directive (PSD), new rules have been developed to provide additional protection for customers when making electronic payments. One of the key new elements introduced by PSD2 is ‘strong customer authentication’, which should further increase consumer confidence in marketplaces and webshops.
- Blog: Data Security Law BlogRansomware Attacks During COVID-19Posted on September 2, 2020 by Andrew M. Willinger, Michael F. BuchananAs we previously described and as reflected in the rapidly increasing number of cyber-attacks since its start, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a shift in working practices that hackers and other bad actors are using to their advantage. Recent studies show a 273% percent rise in large-scale data breaches in the first quarter of 2020, [...]


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MONTREAL — On January 25, the world was introduced to Atchoum, the latest internet cat sensation — and he’s going viral.
Atchoum, which is French for “Atchoo,” is a nine-month-old Persian cat who lives in the city of Repetigny, an off-island suburb of Montreal, Que.
It’s not even been a month, but thanks to the unbelievably cute photos shared by his owner Nathalie online, Atchoum has nearly 18,000 likes on his Facebook page and nearly 17,000 followers on Instagram.
What makes this cat so special?’
Atchoum has a condition called hypertrichosis, sometimes called the “werewolf syndrome” in humans, which means he has an abnormal amount of hair growth all over the body, in particular on his face and around his paws.
And you thought you had a bad hair day? But Atchoum’s resemblance to an adorable Shih Tzu or fuzzy Ewok, coupled with a very expressive personality, has resulted in a lot of internet love.
After being featured in Le Journal de Montreal, Mashable, Bored Panda and People magazine, Atchoum’s star is set to take off.
What’s it like being Atchoum?
Wondering what it was like to be the next internet sensation, Global News reached out to the furry feline to discover a little more about his life.
“I am lucky because my owner is a groomer who works in a veterinary hospital,” the cat said via Facebook message.
“So I am always well coiffed, as my abundant hair requires a lot of care.”
As for the freezing cold weather in Canada, the cat said he was unperturbed by winter snowstorms.
“I live in the comfort of my home,” he said. “My only experience with snow is what I see through the window.”
What does a cat do all day, locked up inside the house?
“In my spare time, I play CatPlayground on the iPad and run after my little giraffe, with whom I have a love/hate relationship,” said Atchoum.
Judging by the hilarious and sweet photos posted by his owner, Atchoum keeps himself very busy indeed.


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As the swine industry gets the first glimpse of pork's new branding position, "Pork. Be Inspired." we talk with those who have walked this talk for the past year or more. John Greene, Director of Strategic Marketing for the National Pork Board joins us to review the science behind the words you see.
One of the more effective tactics of those who oppose modern animal production has been to threaten the global brand of final processors and retailers in order to gain negotiating power in attempts to change production methods. By raising an ethical argument to modern production they have buttressed their assertions against the counter argument from science.
This is a very efficient approach since once their notions are accepted by major retailers like Wal-Mart, forcing change down the chain is greatly facilitated.


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If everything counts in large amounts, Costco
The stock has surrendered roughly 40% of its value after peaking three years ago, and back in October the company closed out fiscal 2003 with an earnings drop. The shares that proved to be Wall Street darlings through the 1990s have a had a rough go on this side of the millennium, though it bears noting that the stock has actually risen slightly over the past year.
The market's markdown since its all-time high has been more a matter of valuation than that of faulty fundamentals. After all, Costco continues to expand and same-store-sales are generally buoyant.
Three years ago, I argued that Costco wasn't worth 40 times earnings -- as it was trading at the time. "Realize that a quality, maturing company is worth a realistic multiple as it enters the golden years," I wrote. "Realistic is not what Costco is fetching right now."
However, today's multiple of just 21 times this year's earnings is clearly more reasonable. It's not only that rivals BJ's Wholesale Club
Besides, it could be worse. Costco could be Kroger
So, while Costco may not be exactly ripened at this point, at least it's not selling past its expiration date.
Tom Gardner recommended Costco in the May 2002 issue of Motley Fool Stock Advisor .
Where will Costco go from here? Is it overvalued, undervalued, or just right at today's prices? All this and more -- in the Costco discussion board. Only on Fool.com.


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It looks like the sales are going to not only be incredible for tech again this Black Friday, but the savings are already available in some stores. In fact, as much as two weeks before Black Friday, some stores are already making their lowered prices available. Best Buy, Costco and Walmart currently have huge discounts on Windows 10 personal computers and Mac PCs, according to a Tech Times report on Monday morning – two Mondays before Thanksgiving!
A Best Buy ad has been published to indicate some of the tech items it is offering at a reduced price for this holiday shopping season It is suggested that shoppers act quickly as the supply of its offerings are likely of a limited supply. The items published as being reduced-priced in its already-release Black Friday advertisement may be delivered between now and Black Friday. Some of the tech brands being offered are Lenovo, HP, Asus, and Apple.
Costco also has a Black Friday ad that early shoppers who are looking for a tech deal will be interested in knowing about. The Costco ad reveals that it, too, is discounting some major brand tech items for Black Friday this year. Their early-leaked ad reveals that HP, Dell and Asus are on sale at huge discounts.
Walmart, once again, is offering many tech items on sale. Their Walmart’s Pre-Black Friday ads indicate that they are giving discounts on some of their HP products once again. Of note, their HP 15.6” laptop with 4GB memory, 500 GB hard drive and an Intel Celeron processor is listed at $199. The HP 17.3” laptop is listed for sale at $299. According to Al.com, Walmart has many more items including Nintendo Wii U Super Mario Maker Console Deluxe Set, PlayStation 4 Disney Infinity 3.0 Limited Edition Star Wars 500 GB Console Bundle, Straight Talk Apple iPhone 5S 4G LTE: 16 GB prepaid smartphone, iPod Touch Pads, Xbox and more.
Not to be outdone, Amazon is getting in on the pre-Black Friday sales this year as well. The Amazon ad already reveaks a limited time offer on Fire HD 10. Fire HD 10, 10.1” HD display, Wi-Fi, 16GB is said to be their largest display and thinnest tablet. It is priced from $199.99 with free shipping. Online, there are additional options one can make before checking out at the cart. As one can see, the big retailers want to get the holiday sales way before Thanksgiving and Black Friday and way, way before Christmas this year. Now is a great time to shop for tech items. For those who want to wait until the end of next week to do their holiday shopping on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, remember that some stores will not follow the recent trend of opening on Thanksgiving, according to the Huffington Post.


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Poor Bed Bath and Beyond, out there trying to compete with the likes of Target, Walmart and Ikea.
True, their brand has been around for almost 50 years. And Bed Bath and Beyond did more than $12 billion in revenue last year.
Plus, their most loyal customers love their coupons, collecting them and splurging -- stacking coupons that are good for $5 off or $10 off or 20 percent to gain big discounts. (There's also been an open secret that Bed Bath and Beyond would usually even accept expired coupons.)
But the brand is struggling. As some of Bed Bath and Beyond's biggest investors put it earlier this year, the company has "lost touch with modern retail."
They say Bed Bath and Beyond stores are cluttered, with confusing pricing. They rely too much on deep discounts and coupons. They say management has demonstrated an "inability to deliver ... a viable omnichannel strategy."
One big investor called Bed Bath and Beyond's performance "horrendous," and said it's to blame for an $8 billion drop in value.
Meanwhile, those bigger competitors like Walmart, Target and Ikea are leaping forward, deep into 21st century technology. And they're not only bigger -- they're way more efficient.
Here's some recent data. (These are rough numbers, in part because they're not all on the same fiscal year, but should be pretty accurate):
- Walmart: Nearly $518 billion in annual revenue, with 4,769 stores and 2.2 million employees. That works out to about $109 million in revenue per store, and $235,454 per employee.
- Target: About $77 billion in annual revenue with just under 1,900 stores and 360,000 employees. That puts them at about $40.5 million per store, and $213,888 per employee.
- Ikea: Roughly $44 billion, with 423 stores worldwide and about 208,000 employees. That works out to about $104 million per store, and $211,538 per employee.
- Bed Bath and Beyond: About $12 billion, with 1,500 stores and 65,000 employees. That works out to just $8 million per store, and about $185,000 per employee.
The investors look longingly at some of the things those big competitors are doing -- including the more seamless way they've blurred the line between brick and mortar retail and digital. More data points:
- Walmart just revealed it's doubled its customers' average order size, by letting them order online and pickup at the curb.
- Target looks like it's completely turned around its digital operation, even (more recently) taking over the website for Toys R Us.
- Ikea is experimenting with stores of the future -- urban locations, new layouts, assembly and delivery options.
Suddenly, paper coupons don't seem so cool.
After the investor revolt earlier this year, Bed Bath and Beyond turned over part of its board, removing even your co-founders and the company's chief executive officer. They brought in an outsider to serve as interim CEO.
And they wondered: Where can we get someone who can lead this company in the same direction that say, Target, seems to be going?
This week, they announced the answer: They poached the chief merchandising officer from Target, Mark Tritton, to become the new CEO of Bed, Bath and Beyond.
"We are thrilled to announce a President and CEO with one of the most impressive resumes in the business," Bed Bath and Beyond's chairman said, adding: "As an integral contributor to Target's impressive transformation, we will benefit from his vision, leadership, and creativity to successfully transform our business."
It's Day 1 at Bed Bath and Beyond, so it's impossible to say how this will turn out. But it's surprising, and seems like a smart lesson for any business. (For what it's worth, Wall Street liked it; the company's stock jumped 20 percent in one day after the announcement).
If your competitors are killing you, and you can't figure out a way to keep up, maybe don't try to reinvent the wheel.
Instead, do what takes to hire away the competition. And have the confidence try putting the wheel in their hands.


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The class action lawsuit filed by Rosen Law Firm has demanded a jury trial and accused Infosys of making false and misleading statements, besides failing to make appropriate disclosures
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the creation of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, a Silicon Valley-based national securities exchange promoting what it says is a unique approach to governance and voting rights
Cognizant & Embraer among a dozen firms rapped by SEC since 2016 for alleged corrupt practices in India units.
Walmart attributed 77% of Flipkart's $24.1 billion in assets to intangibles and goodwill
Sebi should halt any takeover attempt by L&T until the firm is able to clear allegations that it was a conduit in a multi-million bribery scam
Software exporter withheld payments to firm, which hired consultant to pay bribe; Cognizant's ex-prez and former executive VP, who okayed 'plan', only ones to be charged
The US regulator said Friday that two former Cognizant executives were charged for their roles in facilitating payments of millions of dollars in bribe to an Indian government official.
Elon Musk has been directly involved in almost every detail of its product development and technology strategy, and is credited as the driving force behind the loss-making company's ability to raise capital.
Such a deal, if it went ahead, would be one of the biggest go-private deals on record with a price tag of about $72 billion for Tesla, based on $420 per share.
Nexus has about $1.2 billion in assets under management and its previous fund raising was $450 million in mid-2015.
SEC suspended the company stock, which had a market cap of $2.1 billion, after it found that the company illegally sold a large block of restricted Longfin shares when the stock price was high
Under an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Theranos founder & CEO Elizabeth Holmes is barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years.
Qualcomm, the largest maker of chips used in smartphones, said revenue in its CDMA technology business from modem sales for iPhones may continue to decline
Infosys has been involved in a bruising battle over corporate governance with its iconic founder NR Narayana Murthy who has publicly castigated the company for falling standards.
The complainant, who claims to be an employee, said he or she is willing to talk to regulators and reveal all information.“But, I want to be protected as a whistleblower,“ the email stated.
Cognizant is the latest US company to fall foul of the US law for payments in India, after Wal-Mart faced similar troubles last year.
SoftBank Group Corp is being examined by United States' The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations about former president & COO Nikesh Arora’s activities before his exit last week


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The average sales-weighted fuel economy of new vehicles sold continues to drop.
According to University of Michigan researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, the average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in September was 25.2 mpg, marking a 0.1-mpg decrease compared to August. The decline is likely due to the increased proportion of light trucks among the vehicles sold, said the researchers. Overall, average fuel economy is down 0.6 mpg from the peak reached in August 2014, but is still up 5.1 mpg from October 2007, when Sivak and Schoettle first started monitoring the data.
The sales-weighted fuel economy is calculated from the monthly sales of individual models of light-duty vehicles, which includes cars, SUVs, vans and pickup trucks, and the combined city/highway fuel economy ratings published in the EPA Fuel Economy Guide. For 2016, average fuel economy was highest in May when it reached 25.5 mpg. It has been declining since.


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PAUL Bakery highlights Raspberry Macaron as a way to raise awareness about breast cancer for the entire month of October.
PT Map Boga Adiperkasa Tbk (MBA) – through its seven brands – to supports Lovepink, a community of breast cancer survivors and warriors, in raising awareness about breast cancer. Through this initiative, MBA will contribute to Lovepink’s goal of providing free ultrasounds to underprivileged women in Indonesia by making donation from the sales of their highlighted products. This October, particularly at PAUL, the Raspberry Macaron will be devoted to breast cancer awareness month.
This October, particularly at PAUL, the Raspberry Macaron will be devoted to breast cancer awareness month.
“MBA has consistently shown a concern for the environment. We may support this in a variety of ways. This October, we particularly emphasize on breast cancer. We are aware that breast cancer continues to be a concern for women, and we want to contribute to the movement that motivates women to pay more attention to their bodies in general and to breast cancer in particular. Lovepink, who is actively committed in raising awareness about breast cancer, is the ideal partner for us. We hope that with our support, we can considerably improve the awareness about this matter,” said Vasilis John Vasiliou, Leader of PT Map Boga Adiperkasa Tbk.
Each of the mentioned brand have prepared a menu, in support of promoting breast cancer awareness.
“Lovepink theme this year is Rising Up Together, both a celebration of life and a reminder that everyone is here to help one another by creating a compassionate and empowering community. And this is how partnering with MBA makes us feel—as we make a commitment to support one another, which is greatly appreciated. With the MBA’s participation, we may gradually but surely achieve our dream of providing free ultrasounds to 10,000 underprivileged women in Indonesia,” said Samantha Barbara, Leader of Lovepink.
Purveyor of high-quality F&B, MBA is home to the world’s most iconic F&B brands in Indonesia.
Globally, PAUL Bakery has shown tremendous support in breast cancer awareness month worldwide, and this year, and PAUL Indonesia is adopting it as well. PAUL specifically highlights the Raspberry Macaron limited-edition Macaron box sleeve, specially designed for Pink October month.
MBA to supports Lovepink, a community of breast cancer survivors and warriors, in raising awareness about breast cancer
PAUL is the first brand to initiate the program, and soon after Cold Stone, Genki Sushi, Godiva, Krispy Kreme, Pizza Marzano, and Subway have also jumped on board. Each of the mentioned brand have prepared a menu, in support of promoting breast cancer awareness. The campaign will run in every store from October 1 to October 31, 2022.


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Dealflo selected by major European retailer
One of Europe’s biggest high street retailers is working with Dealflo to offer instant, automated online financing to their customers. Currently processing over 500,000 credit transactions annually, only a limited number of signed paper agreements were being returned. Rather than ask customers to print, sign and then send a paper consumer credit agreement, they will now be able to complete the process electronically in a matter of seconds.
- Decreased risk of customers reneging on credit agreements
- Retailer more able to sell wholesale debt and to realise its maximum value
How does Dealflo help retailers create enforceable consumer credit agreements?


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OPPO R5 was unveiled by the company on October 30 priced at USD 499 along with the OPPO N3. The world’s slimmest smartphone at 4.85mm will go on sale in India this December priced around Rs 30,000. We call a device having 5.5-inch display or above, a phablet, so the Vivo X5Max is the slimmest phablet in the world at 4.75mm which was launched in China on December 10 priced at USD 485.
The OPPO R5 features a 5.2-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD AMOLED display which has 423 PPI. The smartphone is powered by 1.5 GHz Octa-core Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) processor with Adreno 405 GPU. It has 2 GB of RAM and comes with 16 GB of internal memory which cannot be expanded via microSD card. OPPO R5 runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat with the latest Color OS 2.0 custom skin on top of it. The phone is just 4.85 mm thick, which makes it slimmest smartphone in the world surpassing the Gionee S5.1, which was recently crowned as the slimmest smartphone in Guinness Book of World Records. The phone only weighs 155 grams.
OPPO R5 is also the world’s first smartphone that uses phase-change material, which keeps it at a constant cool temperature while maintaining superior functionality. The R5’s patented heat dissipation technology “Cool Element” protects its octa-core CPU, which in turn prolongs the life of the phone. Just 4.85 mm thickness comes at the cost of removal of 3.5 mm audio jack. You need to use the headset supplied in the box or use bluetooth headset.
The OPPO R5 houses a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash. It has a Sony IMX214 sensor with f2.0 aperture. With the latest PI 2.0 Flash Shot technology, the OPPO R5 will let you take shots with an imperceptible focus time. It has a maximum focus time of 0.18 seconds and also delivers 50-megapixel high-definition images. On the front, it comes with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for your selfies and video calling.
The OPPO R5 is built with first-grade steel and has been designed with a beautiful micro-arc frame to make the entire device smooth and strong. The OPPO R5 includes Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC and 4G LTE/3G as connectivity options. The R5 houses a 2,000 mAh Li-polymer battery under the hood which uses OPPO’s proprietary VOOC mini rapid charging system. With this technology, a 30 minute charge the smartphone to 75% of its capacity. The company has made the VOOC mini much smaller than previous generation which will be easier to carry.
The OPPO R5 will be available in silver colour variant priced around Rs 30,000 in India in a couple of weeks from now. The Vivo X5Max would be launching in India tomorrow which will also be priced around Rs 30,000. It is going to be the battle of the slimmest devices in India with Gionee Elife S5.1 already joining in the fun as well. Slim is going to be the new trend now.


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Twitter has launched an HTML5 app for the iPad that will be rolling out in the next week or so.
Mashable has a photograph of the app showing a two-column display.
HTML5 apps, such as the one launched by the Financial Times in June, are web-based and hosted on a URL rather than available for download from Apple’s iTunes.
We’ve launched our HTML5 version of twitter.com for iPad. It will be rolling out to device owners over the next week or so.
— Twitter Mobile (@twittermobile) August 2, 2011
There’s more on web apps v native apps at this link.


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JDM stays in fast lane after €6.9m profit
The owners of Joe Duffy Motors (JDM), the country’s biggest car group, shared a €4m dividend last year, bringing their payout from the business to €13.3m since 2012.
The group made the payment as turnover rose to €294m last year. It made €6.9m pre-tax profit, after accounting for a €2m exceptional charge for assets written off when it moved out of leasehold premises to a new location.
Shareholders in JDM include chief executive Gavin Hydes and accountants Pearse Farrell and Greg Sparks. Hydes is the “ultimate controlling party” of the group, according to its accounts.
JDM put €35m into new facilities last year, including Porsche, Volkswagen and BMW outlets in Dublin. It opened an Audi premises in Limerick and “invested substantially” in electric car infrastructure.


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Google is preparing to release Android Oreo Go it had promised at its Google I/O event this May. The lightweight version of the search giant's latest operating system will be officially made available to developers and manufacturers as a part of the Android 8.1 Oreo on Wednesday, December 6.
Android Oreo Go is a build of Android Oreo OS specially developed for cheap and low-end smartphones that have only 512MB or 1GB of memory. It will come as a pleasant surprice to the entry-level handset owners as they can soon taste Android Oreo without wasting their phone storage space much.
Google has optimised the new version and enhanced preinstalled Google apps to take up 50 percent less space, making sure that low-end smartphone users get more space for music, apps, photos and other activities. It has also enhanced the firmware for speed and reliability on entry-level devices, making apps on handsets running Android Oreo Go faster by 15 percent.
The search giant has said in a blog post that "devices running Android Oreo (Go edition) also come with Google's data saver features turned on by default," which means "Data Saver in Chrome saves the average user more than 600MB of data per year."
Android Oreo Go will bring several Google apps, including Google Go, Google Assistant Go, YouTube Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go, Gboard, Google Play, Chrome, and the new Files Go app by Google with simpler interfaces and toned down version like low resolution videos on YouTube. It also allows users to download content when there is Wi-Fi and view it later.
But when can entry-level smartphone users expect rollout of Android Oreo Go?
The lightweight version of Android Oreo will be first made available to developers and manufacturers. There is no word on when it will come to eligible handsets (public release) but it should happen soon, perhaps in the next few months.
Google has said in its blog post that its "partners will soon be able to ship this new release on their entry-level devices around the world. We can't wait for our partners' devices to hit shelves in the coming months."


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LAS VEGAS—VidOvation has announced that the company is investing in additional Haivision products for its rental offering to satisfy increasing customer demand for live REMI (Remote Integration) and at-home production solutions.
With the Haivision Pro video transmitter, mobile encoders, and Haivision StreamHub advanced receiver and distribution platform, VidOvation can provide video transport for live sports productions, newsgathering, reality TV, and other live event productions, the companies said.
In addition, VidOvation also offers carrier-agnostic e-SIMs with domestic and global support of 4G LTE and 5G cellular networks.
“VidOvation has almost a decade of experience with the Pro transmitters and StreamHub,” said Jim Jachetta, executive vice president and chief technology officer, VidOvation. “VidOvation originally launched these products to the North American market for Aviwest before the acquisition by Haivision last year. Our customers appreciate the depth of this experience, and that they’re not just getting gear from us, they’re getting 24/7 technical support, the know-how, and professional level consultations on simplifying their live production workflows.”
The Haivision Pro deployed with VidOvation e-SIMs can automatically connect up to eight cellular modems to the best local cellular networks, such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, the companies said.
That means customers no longer need to swap out SIMs for an alternate carrier if a carrier is unavailable in a particular area or region. Instead, the VidOvation e-SIMs automatically switch to the best available cellular network in real time, the company said.
VidOvation provides cellular connectivity in more than 120 countries around the world.
“VidOvation has been providing customers at-home and REMI production capabilities since 2016. The technology took off during the pandemic, and it’s not slowing down,” said Jachetta. “The Haivision solution has enabled multicamera capture of live content at remote locations with management and production from a centralized main studio or control room. It makes perfect sense regarding efficiency, workflow simplicity, and cost savings. Many people adopted these at-home production workflows because, at the time, they had to. Now, it’s their preferred option.”


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Bakkt, the cryptocurrency arm of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), announced on Tuesday that it had launched a new virtual Visa debit card, dubbed ‘Bakkt Card’. According to the announcement, the new product will allow users to spend their Bitcoin (BTC) and cash balances to purchase goods, services online and even pay in physical stores where Apple Pay or Google Pay are accepted.
Bakkt customers who want to apply for the card should do it via the Bakkt App, and once it gets approved, users could use their funds right away from their Bakkt App without having to wait for conversion times or bank transfers from a separate Bitcoin wallet to their banks.
Why Ethereum Needs Layer 2 Solutions More Than EverGo to article >>
“As we continue Bakkt’s journey, our goal first and foremost is to offer more choice for consumers, and the Bakkt Card untethers bitcoin owners from their online-only past into a world with countless options to leverage the digital assets in their day-to-day lives,” Gavin Michael, Bakkt’s CEO, commented on the launch.
Furthermore, he hinted at the possibility of offering selected rewards “very soon,” where customers could leverage their points to arrange payments. “Imagine a bitcoin user who sees a significant gain. Now, instead of selling and waiting to transfer to a bank, they can simply walk into their favorite store, tap their Bakkt Card and buy that new item they’ve been eyeing,” Bakkt’s CEO added. The company clarified that Sutton Bank issues its debit card.
Recent Features Announced
Last week, Finance Magnates reported that Bakkt enabled a feature for its users to send Bitcoin (BTC), gift cards and cash to everyone, even to those who are not using the native app of the firm, Bakkt App. To arrange the new kind of payments, Bakkt App users should choose the ‘Send’ option and then pick Crypto, Gift Card or Cash to send the preferred alternative to any person.


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Not much can keep the Queen City from creating and consuming copious amounts of beer, not even a worldwide pandemic it appears. Over the spring and early summer, three new breweries have opened their doors, spanning from Cincinnati's northern 'burbs to Over-the-Rhine, with a BIPOC-owned brewery opening soon in Walnut Hills.
Northern Row Brewery & Distillery
Located in OTR's historic Brewery District, Northern Row Brewery & Distillery officially welcomed the community into its space on Tuesday, June 2. While the taproom and patio is new to guests, Cincinnatians should be no stranger to their suds — the brewery has been popping up on taps around town over the past year. With 13 taps of their own beers including an oatmeal stout (The Banker), peach fruit beer (The Preacher) and five different IPAs (ex. The Cobbler), the brewery also offers a full bar and cocktail menu — soon to feature their own spirits as well. Chef EJ Monroe has curated an “elevated picnic” menu featuring beanies and weenies, roast beef and cheddar sliders and vegan stuffed peppers. 111 West McMicken Ave., Over-the-Rhine, northernrow.com.
Heading up to the suburbs, MPH Brewery opened its doors in downtown Montgomery on May 21. Cousins Jim Christmann and co-founder and president of Colorado-based Left Hand Brewing Eric Wallace returned to their Cincinnati roots to offer a taste of the wild West in Ohio. MPH Brewing serves over a dozen of their own craft beers, select wines and features seven of Left Hand’s brews as well. Order one of their five signature pizzas or some loaded tots to complete the experience. 7880 Remington Road, Montgomery, mphbrew.com.
Third Eye Brewing
Sharonville's Third Eye Brewing is the newest brewery to hit the Cincinnati beer scene, hosting its grand opening June 17. The creative design of the space goes hand in hand with their unique and playful brews, including Jelly Brain, a milkshake IPA with pineapple and coconut, and Beyond Sight, a brown ale with hazelnut. Chef Steven Vanderpool has designed a menu to match the creativity of the rest of the experience with “a bit of Southern and Cajun flare to spice things up,” says Collins, including a low country shrimp boil and Cajun garlic herb wings. The brewery features a spacious indoor taproom with a vibrant, psychedelic mural by David Jonathan Uy, and a large outdoor patio. 11276 Chester Road, Sharonville, thirdeyebrewingco.com.
Esoteric Brewing Co.
And opening soon in Walnut Hills, BIPOC-owned Esoteric Brewing Co. is in the process of renovating a century-old building on the corner of East McMillan Street and Gilbert Avenue. They plan to offer an elevated beer drinking experience, using locally sourced and -grown ingredients and creating “a sumptuous experience that changes the way you think about beer.” The brewery will be hiring taproom team members this July. Learn more or apply here. 918 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, esotericbrewing.com.
See a full list of recently opened bars, restaurants and breweries here.


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Igor Zakharov has been selling secondhand clothing full time for more than a decade. His business, Hodkotom, has made nearly 20,000 transactions collectively on Grailed and eBay since 2016, which works out to selling something every 27 minutes. He has buyers who source clothing on payroll, and he analyzes his sales data to forecast new trends in the vintage market. But a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, life has not been the same for Zakharov. His hometown and province of Zaporizhzhia, which holds Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been occupied by Russian military forces. In September, Zakharov moved himself and his operations to Kyiv because of frequent missile attacks by his office.
“Our office was in a building in the industrial zone,” he says. “While my team worked there for six months, this area was attacked three times by missiles, fortunately no one was injured.”
Chances are, if you’ve consistently shopped for clothing on Grailed in recent years, a piece or two in your closet was likely shipped from Ukraine. According to MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity database, Ukraine was the second largest importer of used clothing globally in 2020—importing $158 million of used clothing that year alone. Such an abundance of secondhand clothing makes reselling clothes to other parts of the world a viable source of income.
“My life has been tightly connected with secondhand clothing all these years,” says Zakharov, 32. “Since childhood my parents most often bought my clothes secondhand. We’ve been a post-Soviet state for over 20 years with a troubled economy and a huge number of corruption schemes. For sure, that entire secondhand [clothing market] then came to us as a humanitarian cargo and was just sold here. This market has since grown very fast thanks to strong demand and a lack of cheap international mass market brands here.” (He used to act as a supplier for boutiques in Russia in the early 2010s, which he said was a fun time, “but as I said, it was over quickly when the war in Donbas began and Crimea was occupied.”)
While it’s unclear exactly how high-end brands end up in countries like Ukraine, Adam Minter, the author of Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale, believes it’s very unlikely that the secondhand clothing in Ukraine is directly being exported from the United States—according to MIT’s database the United States was the world’s largest exporter of used clothing in 2020. Minter believes the used clothing found in Ukraine likely goes through intermediary traders in Canada and Dubai before hitting Eastern Europe. Although Minter has never researched the secondhand clothing market in Ukraine, in other countries where secondhand clothing imports are especially high, such as Ghana and Malaysia, he finds that secondhand clothing also contributes greatly to their economy. In some cases, like with Zakharov, resale money is also funding Ukraine’s war effort. Several of his closest friends are now soldiers, and he donates 10% of his revenue to the military.
“In Accra, [Ghana] the city’s wealthiest city, secondhand shops and apparel are more common than new. This speaks to the level of economic development, and the consumer’s interest in obtaining fashion at a reasonable price,” says Minter. “As Ghana climbs up the economic ladder, it will inevitably buy less secondhand, and more new. This is what has happened in Malaysia over the years. Secondhand remains incredibly important to the consumer economy, especially for low-income consumers.”
The business of flipping secondhand clothing is so popular in Ukraine that there’s even an Instagram page with over 88,000 followers dedicated to bragging about the biggest thrift store finds in the country.
“I have been into street fashion since childhood. Whenever I watched TV shows, movies, music videos, I always paid attention to how cool celebs dress, but there was no opportunity to dress as such because there was no money for it,” says 28-year-old Andrey Boguslavsky, a Ukrainian fashion influencer who frequently posts himself wearing outfits he thrifted to his 19,000 Instagram followers. “As soon as I found out about secondhand stores, where you can find an expensive brand for a penny, plus vintage clothes that you can’t find in a regular store to dress differently from everyone else, I started looking. I’ve been doing this for 10 years now.”
Boguslavsky says that due to the unstable situation within Ukraine, secondhand goods are delivered to thrift stores slowly and may arrive in smaller quantities than before the war. But while the stock of these thrift stores are not as abundant as before, he’s noticed little to no change in the quality and value of the secondhand clothing he finds today. Like thrifting anywhere else in the world, some trips will lead to great finds while others may leave him empty-handed.
Boguslavsky also makes YouTube videos that document his thrift store hauls, swiping through clothing racks, visiting local flea markets, and lining up in front of thrift stores that sell used clothing by weight. In one video, he ends up finding two Stone Island sweatshirts with badges, a vintage Nike vest, a vintage Nike Olympic shirt, and a Stussy T-shirt for 3500грн ($80). Although Boguslavsky thrifts every day and keeps many of the items he thrifts, he estimates that he could resell these items online for $500.
But the competition for that kind of high-margin flip is fierce. In one video Boguslavsky posted in October, he visits a Humana (a Ukrainian thrift store chain like Goodwill) in the eastern Ukrainian city of Odessa. When the doors opened, shoppers can be seen rushing to the clothing racks like Americans mobbing a Best Buy on Black Friday. The profile picture of an Ukrainian thrifting Instagram page dubbed “ЖИРНЫЙ УЛОВ” (which translates into “Fat Catch”) actually references the frenzy to enter these shops within their own profile picture and in the Instagram Reels they post—one Reel even shows a shopper getting his hand sliced open while trying to push himself through a crowd entering a thrift store.
Although Boguslavsky said fashion fell in the background for him during the early days of the war (he had to relocate from his hometown of Kyiv to Odessa due to missile strikes), he eventually felt that he had to move on and keep working. He notes that even the flea markets that he sources items from stay open on weekends. “Surprisingly, these markets work even during shelling, people earn money for bread, so nothing stops them,” he says.
Getting the clothes is one thing, getting them out the country is another. Zakharov, the reseller from Zaporizhzhia, tried to keep his business going after moving to Ukraine’s capital, but attacks from Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones would knock out the city’s power grid for weeks and months at a time. It forced Zakharov to continue selling clothes without any electricity or heating, resorting to generators, power banks, and Starlink satellite Wi-Fi to continue running his resale business online. Eventually he relocated to Barcelona, where he arranges pop-ups with the Barcelona concept store House of Rowdy to raise funds for his country.
Once an international order is placed, it’s often handed off to Ukrposhta, the Ukranian postal service. At the beginning of the war, missile and rocket attacks meant that exporting goods via plane was pretty much out of the question. Instead, Ukrposhta now transports packages via ground transportation to Poland, where they’re then shipped by air. Zakharov feels that his sales have declined compared to last year and believes it may be due to the long shipment times for his orders. Though Boguslavsky’s buyers often express dread when they realize where their purchase is coming from Ukraine—“Almost every one of my customers on Grailed was worried when they found out that I was from Ukraine!” he tells Complex—it’s a minor marvel that the clothes are getting out at all.
Grailed and eBay are the platforms of choice for the sellers Complex interviewed. Boguslavsky preferred Grailed because of the youth-oriented and fashion conscious community it attracts. Zakharov says he prefers eBay for the commitments it has made to sellers based in Ukraine. Since February 2022, eBay has waived all selling fees for Ukrainian sellers, urged users to donate to relief efforts, and protected sellers who ship to and from Ukraine from late shipment penalties, negative feedback, and other penalties. But Zakharov and Boguslavsky both expressed frustration with Grailed for not making similar commitments.
“I have some contacts with top management, but they just ignored me,” Zakharov says. “I did not ask for any cancellation of fees, just for a public declaration of their position and a ban on access for Russians, “At the time, Paypal already closed access to all accounts from Russia and all international delivery services were shut down there.” (Neither Grailed nor eBay were willing to comment on how they plan to support its Ukrainian sellers going forward.)
Regardless, for Zhakarov, business is still going and he hopes for a brighter future. “Like most Ukrainians, we no longer make plans for more than a week. It is very difficult to make long-term plans now, because everything can change in one moment,” he says. “But I really dream of a flourishing Ukraine. Kyiv will become the new cultural capital of Europe, like Berlin or Paris today. There will be a Complex magazine office and on Google Maps you’ll be able to find our own concept store one day.”
Skyba Mykola, a 23-year-old from the Western Ukrainian town Ternopil who’s behind the Grailed account “BeBrave,” says the war has given his shopping habits a larger sense of purpose.
“Since this was my hobby, I accumulated quite a lot of clothes at home, which I did not sell before the war, but only bought, bought and bought,” he says. “At that time, I did not understand how this could help me at the beginning of the war. After all, at first everything was closed, new goods did not arrive, people were not up to clothes.” After fighting broke out, however, “I focused more on finding something cheap, selling it high, and making money because our country now really needs our help,” shares Mykola, who sent Complex a video of himself taking product shots of a vintage Helly Hansen jacket as an air raid siren goes off. “As strange as it may sound, the war made it clear to me that it was necessary to live here and to work harder.”


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PayPal and Coinbase have officially teamed up. This morning, the popular cryptocurrency exchange announced it would now offer PayPal withdrawals to its users in the EU.
Coinbase and PayPal in the EU
Last year, the cryptocurrency exchange announced the support of PayPal in the US and last month it rolled out this feature to its US users. Back in 2016, the popular exchange rolled out its PayPal feature but quickly terminated the service due to technical issues.Not all countries in the EU will have support with Coinbase and PayPal though. Only European countries in the European Free Trade Association will have access to this new feature.Those countries include:
Before the PayPal option became available, these countries only had SEPA and UK Faster pay options before. Coinbase states it seeks to have the safest and easiest transfer preferences. While the service may not be in all European countries just yet, the cryptocurrency exchange announced it is working on expanding its support this year.>> QuadrigaCX Can't Access $190 Million in Crypto After Founder DiesIf you are in the countries that are supported, to set up the feature all you need to do is sign into your Coinbase account and link your PayPal account.
Over the past few months, the cryptocurrency exchange has sought to diversify its cryptocurrency support. In December, the exchange announced it is exploring adding 30 different cryptocurrencies to its platform. Coinbase is far behind the other major cryptocurrency exchanges for the number of tokens it offers clients.Most major exchanges initially offered crypto-to-crypto trades, which boosted the number of tokens it offered on its platform. Only until recently did Coinbase offer crypto-to-crypto transfers. Now, it's looking to boost its portfolio in order to compete with the largest Asian exchanges. With its PayPal expansion, Coinbase is moving in the right direction.Featured Image: Twitter
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The Booksellers Association has joined forces with more than 50 UK retailers to demand changes to the business rates system in a bid to save the high street.
In an open letter, coordinated by the British Retail Consortium, the retailers call on Boris Johnson's new government to put business rates at the heart of his economic policy as "the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit appears to be increasing" putting increasing strain on the retail sector.
Addressed to new Chancellor Sajid Javid, the letter proposes its own economic four-point plan and calls for a freeze in the business rates multiplier; a fix in transitional relief, which currently forces many retailers to pay more than they should; the introduction of an ‘Improvement Relief’ for ratepayers and calls for the government to ensure that the Valuation Office Agency is fully resourced to do its job.
BA m.d. Meryl Halls said: “There is no hiding from the fact that the UK’s high street is under serious threat. With a business rates system gravely in need of reform, we sincerely hope that the new Chancellor will take heed of the retail sector’s united call for urgent change, and will take decisive action to overhaul this outdated system.”
The heads of W H Smith, Boots, John Lewis Partnership, Sainsbury’s, Specsavers and Superdrug also signed the letter that highlights that retailers account for 5% of the economy and pay 25% of all business rates and calls for a wholesale review of business taxes to "create a tax regime fit for the 21st century".
The letter adds: "Elements of the system, which relies on a mishmash of reliefs that do not denote a successful and well-operating tax, are creating a situation where market forces are not being allowed to work properly and are resulting in serious negative distortions in the transformation of this industry. The effect on many high streets and town centres has been dramatic – retail unit vacancy rates have risen to 10.3%, a four-and-a-half-year high, with many of those units having been empty for over two years. Business rates often represent the tipping point between opening a new store or a store’s viability and its closure, with obvious consequences for employment and high street vitality, particularly in the most vulnerable, economically deprived locations."
A long-running bone of contention for the book trade with Amazon coming under fire and trade figures calling for an overhaul of the system, former Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed a two-year tax cut to business rates of one third for all retailers in England with a rateable value of £51,000 or less in October 2018 with the next re-evaluation of rateable values scheduled for 2021.
The BA has long urged the government to "level the playing field" and reform business rates. Halls, John Lewis partnership group property and development director Chris Harris and Boots UK chief executive Sebastian James appeared before the Treasury Select Committee, chaired by MP Nicky Morgan, as part of the Committee’s Consultation on the Impact of Business Rates, in May. Halls warned the current system is "unfit for purpose" and stressed the current rates system does not help regeneration on the High Street.
- 'Level the playing field': BA urges Treasury Select Committee to reform business rates
- The Bookseller calls on trade to back business rates petition
- Budget set to grant temporary business rates relief for high street
- British Retail Consortium warns on new business rate rise
- Waterstones demands business rates reform, as Chancellor mulls online sales tax


text: Pairing a fashion photographer with an origamist may seem like an odd mix, but Giacomo Favilla and Francesca Lombardi have proven that such a collaboration can lead to surreal results. They've joined together for One of Us, a project featuring black and white portraits of people wearing origami masks. The masks themselves come in all shapes and sizes — some more creepy than others — with animals a strong focus; a puma, cat, rabbit, and crocodile are included. Londoners will have an opportunity to see the pictures up close when One of Us is given the exhibition treatment starting November 28th at The Book Club. Other work from the portfolios of Favilla an Lombardi will also be on display as part of the event, which is slated to run through February 16th of next year.