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VOX Cinemas, a global giant in the entertainment and movie industry, has unveiled its aggressive expansion plans in the Middle East, with several new locations to open across the region in 2013.
After the opening of a cinema at Fujairah City Centre last month, the company has announced the launch of a new seven-screen venue at Dubai’s Mercato Mall. Mercato is a popular center that attracts several thousands of visitors because of its premium selection of stores and shopping experience. The company will be creating a bespoke and customized VIP cinema so that a comfortable and enhanced cinema experience is enjoyed by the visitors.
Owned by Majid Al Futtaim’s Ventures arm, the company is seeking to benefit from a flurry of summer film blockbusters. VOX will be doubling its presence in the region this year with further openings in Lebanon and Oman later this year. By increasing its footprint across the region, it aims to become the Middle East’s largest cinema operator.
According to Ahmed Galal Ismail, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, “we are delighted for Mercato to be the next step in our expansion plan as VOX Cinemas more than doubles our screen count in 2013. It’s a very exciting time for the Majid Al Futtaim Ventures family and Mercato has been an incredibly supportive partner in helping VOX Cinemas to fulfill this vision.”
The influx of a high number of tourists and visitors to Middle East from all over the world has seen rapid activity in the region’s entertainment industry. VOX has been challenged by its competitor REEL Cinemas, which currently holds a monopoly at Emaar’s The Dubai Mall and Marina Mall. VOX also has screens at Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre and Mirdiff City Centre in the UAE.


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Today is a landmark day for retailing in the UK as Selfridges “The best department store in the world*” launches a “No-noise” experience at its major stores across the the country.
It’s a pretty cool concept, offering a Silence Room where customers can ‘find a moment of peace in a world where we are bombarded by a cacophony of information and stimulation’. Customers will be asked to leave their shoes, mobile phones and anything else that makes a noise at the door.
Interestingly the store also aims to reduce the visual noise and has encouraged some brands to offer ‘de-logoed’ products. Paul Smith and Heinz are already onboard with others expected to join in later.
There will also be meditation sessions, quiet music performances (that’ll be a challenge), art exhibitions and motion sensor window displays. Selfridges will also take its name off the classic yellow shopping bags.
You can see more about the Silence Room and other elements of the event on the Selfridges site.
Personally, I think this is a brilliant concept as it understands what customers are looking for and takes experiential branding to a new level. What do you think?
*Global Department Store Summit, Paris. 2012

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Google Accused of Tracking Safari Usage Without Permission
A Stanford University graduate student has released a report that accuses Google and three other ad networks of side-stepping the privacy settings on Apple's Safari browser to track usage on iPhones and Macs without permission.
Google said the report, which was picked up by the Wall Street Journal, "mischaracterizes" the search giant's efforts. But the company admitted that a glitch accidentally allowed Google cookies "to be set" on Safari and promised a fix.
The other companies named in Jonathan Mayer's report are Vibrant Media, Media Innovation Group, and PointRoll.
"Cookies" are little bits of data collected about your Internet activity. They can be useful - like remembering passwords and settings on sites that you surf to frequently - but there are also concerns about targeted advertising and how much data is really collected. As Mayer noted, popular Web browsers provide the option to block third-party cookies, but Apple's Safari browser is unique in that it blocks third-party cookies by default on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Macs.
According to the Journal, Google "used special computer code that tricks Apple's Safari Web-browsing software into letting them monitor many users."
A Google spokeswoman, however, said "we used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled." She stressed that "these advertising cookies do not collect personal information."
The spokeswoman acknowledged that Safari blocks third-party cookies by default, but said "Safari enables many Web features for its users that rely on third parties and third-party cookies, such as 'Like' buttons." As a result, Google started using this functionality last year for Safari users who were signed in to Google and had opted to see personalized content - like Google's +1 button.
"To enable these features, we created a temporary communication link between Safari browsers and Google's servers, so that we could ascertain whether Safari users were also signed into Google, and had opted for this type of personalization," the Google spokeswoman continued. "But we designed this so that the information passing between the user's Safari browser and Google's servers was anonymous – effectively creating a barrier between their personal information and the web content they browse."
Safari, however, "contained functionality that then enabled other Google advertising cookies to be set on the browser," Google said. "We didn't anticipate that this would happen, and we have now started removing these advertising cookies from Safari browsers."
The search giant insisted that IE, Firefox, and Chrome users were not affected, nor were those who opted out of Internet-based ad targeting.
A spokesman from Vibrant Media said the company is "immediately addressing the issue."
"A prior implementation of our technology provided for a separate web page call from the Safari browser which permitted use of a generic user cookie," he continued. "Vibrant Media does not collect personally identifiable information from any users. We remain supportive of all industry privacy guidelines, requirements and best practices. We are a member of the NAI and DAA and adhere to all applicable compliance policies."
In a blog post, PointRoll said it "conducted a limited test within the Safari browser to determine the effectiveness of our mobile ads," but does not currently use the technique mentioned in Mayer's report.
"The test did not involve the collection, retention or resale of any specific user information," wrote Rob Gatto, PointRoll's CEO. "The limited test ended on February 8, 2012, and we made the decision not to employ this practice further."
Media Innovation Group declined comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Privacy researcher Christopher Soghoian this morning tweeted screen shots of Google's advertising cookie opt-out plugin instructions from Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, they included an "instructions for Safari" section, but any mention of Safari was deleted the next day.
Privacy advocates were quick to criticize the misstep.
"Technological workarounds to evade browser privacy settings are unacceptable," said Justin Brookman, director of consumer privacy at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT). "We are severely disappointed that Google and others choose to place tracking cookies on Safari browsers using invisible form submission. While we take Google's assertion at face value that it was not their intent to track users in this way, we are perplexed how this decision evaded Google's internal design and review process. After a several recent missteps – and two new reboots on privacy-by-design – this should never have happened."
Editor's Note: This story was updated Friday afternoon with further comments.


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A week ago, we were crowing about our seemingly timely move into Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) call options. We neglected to recognize a fifth possibility: that the market would anticipate a less-than-expected guidance reduction, such that when the “expected” reduction was announced, it was a disappointment after all.
The endlessly recursive logic loops that are occasionally indulged (I think the market expects A, but I think it’s more likely to be B, but what if the market really expects B and it turns out to be A?) are probably best avoided altogether.
That said, it doesn’t change our original thesis a bit. We bought January 2007 calls, not June 2006, and there is no reason to pay an extra time premium unless, well, you aren’t sure of the timing. While it looked earlier this week to be fulfilling our expectations quickly, we are still willing to wait it out.
So what was our thesis?
3. It didn’t hurt that expectations appeared to be bottoming (which was the bad call).
Does last night’s report change anything?
According to CNN Money,
Adobe also lowered its full-year 2006 profit and revenue forecasts due to weaker demand for its content-creation products such as Photoshop, as customers wait for new versions that work with new Apple computers.
Like we said, the product cycle is looming. Not underway. Recent history (last five years) the stock has reached its peak valuation when a new product is launched, so the time to buy is usually ahead of that. As Forbes reported yesterday,
While he admitted the second quarter was “challenging,” [Adobe Chief Executive Officer and Director Bruce] Chizen expressed confidence in the company and said he was “excited about the future.” No doubt he was referring to more than just Adobe/Macromedia Creative Suite 3 bundles.
And we are excited about it too. It is the first Creative Suite bundle that will run on the new Intel-based Macs, which are the instrument of choice for many of Adobe’s customers. The availability of Creative Suite could actually spur a massive upgrade cycle for both Adobe and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The valuation has also not changed. In fact, the after-hours selloff has basically just erased some recursive-logical optimism from earlier in the week.
So we’re sticking to our guns.
Disclosure: The author is still long Adobe call options with a $30 strike price and January, 2007 expiration.
ADBE 1-yr chart:


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My old friend and former Joint Committee on Taxation Foreign Team colleague Patrick Driessen, no longer on staff, emails:
“I just congratulated a former JCT attorney for assisting on an inversion. I told him that, notwithstanding what Secretary Lew just said, anybody helping to complete an inversion IS being a real patriot, on the theory that If we only have 10 more inversions this year, then we get something like the Levin bill which is at best a 7874 bandaid. But if we get 25 more inversions this year, people will start looking at formulary and tell the lawyers to find a new sacred cow — other than transfer pricing, and with 50 more inversions this year, we get what I really want, which is to abolish the corporate tax, raise the individual income tax rates at the top, put in a VAT with a demogrant, and tighten the estate and gift tax (including policing the many phony self-glorifying foundations out there). Continue reading “Helping “deserters” is patriotic?”
Oregon marijuana tax revenue would amount to $38.5 million in year 1, says ECONorthwest. The work was paid for by proponents, but I don’t detect bias.
The estimate assumes
— no movement from medical to recreational (because of low taxes, high medical fees).
— 60 percent market share for black/gray market after legalization. If law enforcement steps up, that number should go down over time.
— Big impact of 280E on growers (but that’s unrealistic, since nearly all growers’ expenses are deductible cost of goods sold; 280E hurts retailers much, much more – it hits anyone who does marketing or has a showroom).
— Steady prices during the first two years of legalization (after a minor initial drop). I would think prices would start dropping pronto. But they might spike at first, as they have in CO and WA, though Oregon aims at creating more lead time to get supply ready.
Tax has been called the “Swiss Army Knife of public policy.” In the two states where recreational marijuana is legal, medical marijuana patients don’t pay tax on what they buy. That’s one way of providing relief to sick people. Berkeley, California, is considering another way. The New York Times reports: “marijuana dispensaries will have to set aside 2 percent of their product — which must be of equivalent quality to the marijuana they’re selling at market prices — and give it free to city residents with incomes below $32,000.” Continue reading “Beyond the Swiss Army Knife for medical marijuana”
I can’t understand the figures for sales of recreational marijuana in Colorado in April, the fourth month below: How could 10 percent of marijuana sales be greater than 2.9 percent of all sales? I’ve asked the Department of Revenue for help in understanding what is going on. All figures come from links on http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Revenue-Main/XRM/1251633259746. Continue reading “Confusion over Colorado marijuana taxes”
A quick look at Craigslist for Denver, http://denver.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=free+marijuana, searching for free marijuana, shows (along with free delivery and other non-tax-motivated offers) several deals where the purchaser who buys some non-marijuana item gets a certain amount marijuana free. Does that avoid the 10 percent retail tax on marijuana? I wouldn’t be surprised to see taxpayers take the position that no tax is owed.
In January, recreational marijuana stores in Colorado sold just north of $350,000 worth of stuff that did not bear the 10-percent marijuana tax. The math is explained here. By May, that figure had more than quadrupled, to over $1.4 million. Continue reading “Sales of non-marijuana items in Colorado recreational stores quadruple”
It looks to me like sales of non-marijuana items in recreational stores have risen from 2.5 percent in January to 6.5 percent in May.
Hmm. Does that mean stores are “bundling” normally taxable marijuana with free-of-10%-tax vaporizers or something? For instance, buy an untaxed vaporizer, get your marijuana free as part of the vaporizer price? I have no idea, but there is an incentive to do that — if taxpayers think that works. As an old friend from the Joint Committee staff used to put it, the job of the tax lawyer is to turn This into That.
Folks in Colorado know a lot more than I do.
My mistake: I thought I could figure out the ratio of recreational marijuana sales to medical marijuana sales in Colorado (and gross sales) by comparing sales tax figures. Both bear the same 2.9 percent sales tax, so I took sales taxes reported by recreational businesses and divided by .029 to get total recreational sales. Then I did the same for medical marijuana businesses (which report separately in Colorado).
Not so fast! Professional journalists got this right. It turns out that those sales taxes cover not just marijuana, but everything sold in the stores – pipes, papers, T-shirts, trinkets, you name it. (Thanks to Natriece Bryant of the Colorado Department of Revenue for confirming that treatment.)
It’s easy to calculate sales of recreational marijuana: take the 10-percent retail tax reported by the State, and multiply it by 10 (divide it by .10). (I thought my 2.9 percent method was close enough, and had the advantage of comparing recreational and medical marijuana sales directly.)
Getting it right alerted me to a phenomenon: In January, only 2.5 percent of sales of recreational marijuana stores were accounted for by non-marijuana items (pipes and so on). By May, that figure had risen to 6.5 percent.
Here are the figures: Continue reading “Calculating Colorado marijuana sales”
When Prohibition was repealed, the federal government was deluged with applications to import liquor. Granting quotas to all applicants seemed likely to create a situation where “nobody would have got enough to do business with.”
There are various ways of dealing with excess applicants, like holding a lottery, as Washington state is doing; selling licenses to the high bidder; or, as the Roosevelt Administration did in 1933, considering each application on its merits and deciding yes or no for each application. Here are details, with highlights bolded, stated by the head of the Federal Alcohol Control Administration: Continue reading “Quotas for intoxicant businesses in 1933”
I’m on the record saying the tax structure of the marijuana initiative in Oregon is a step forward.
Kopilak said the initiative reflects the work of not only advocates but also national tax experts, including Pat Oglesby, chief tax counsel on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee from 1988 and 1990.
On Oglesby’s advice, New Approach Oregon opted to tax marijuana by weight early in the production process instead of at the retail end. Washington, by comparison, taxes marijuana at three levels, from producer to processor, processor to retailer and retailer to consumer.
I’m not endorsing the rate or level of tax. I suspect this tax rate, like others, will prove too high at first, too low later.
Sales of both recreational and medical marijuana inched up from April to May in Colorado, I THOUGHT.
|Colorado marijuana sales
Those figures come simply from dividing the sales tax rate (2.9 percent) into officially reported (on highlighted links below) sales taxes received: Continue reading “Colorado recreational and medical marijuana sales rise slowly? UPDATE”
In “Tax Justice: A Christian Response to a New Gilded Age,” the Presbyterian General Assembly recently adopted some recommendations for international tax reform. Here are two key points:
F. International Corporate Tax Avoidance
1. With respect to laws, including “transfer pricing” laws (described more fully in the background section), which today facilitate the movement of income by businesses to tax havens, the church should support work that has been begun to cause nations to change laws so that tax avoidance through income-shifting to tax havens is no longer permitted. This is to affirm the direction of charitable and religious organizations and research institutes seeking tax justice, as well as intergovernmental bodies including the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) and G-20 governments working for greater tax policy coordination. The toleration of today’s porous tax laws by countries around the world reflects a dangerous “race to the bottom” by which countries compete to offer tax favoritism to businesses; the result is to deprive governments, particularly of poor countries that depend especially heavily on revenues from international businesses, of funds needed for urgent social needs. Continue reading “Presbyterians blast tax havens and check the box”
The Tax Code rule giving special treatment to “ministers of the gospel” (Those words are really in the Tax Code) – exempting their housing from income – has found an opponent in the Presbyterian Church. Looking at taxation in the context of social justice, the Church calls for a phase-out:
“6. Particular taxes or exclusions from taxes should treat religious organizations equally with charitable and nonprofit organizations; religious organizations should not be singled out for either penalty or privilege except for the exemption of property essential to the core functions of religion.
“7. Special tax exemptions or burdens for the property and income of ministers or other church employees are inappropriate. They should be phased out over a period long enough to accommodate the reliance of many churches on existing exemptions.”
Revenue from the 15 percent “wholesale” excise tax on recreational marijuana was supposed to run about $2 million every month ($13 million for the first six months, January through June 2014). Instead, for the first four months, under $2 million was collected overall.
I don’t know the underlying assumptions behind that $2 million per month estimate, but four factors – beyond just the error inherent in any estimate – may contribute to the early shortfall: Continue reading “Shortfall in Colorado’s 15 percent marijuana tax”


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TOKYO — Several suppliers sell GPS-based navigation systems for cars. But Mitsubishi Electric Corp. also has a laser mapping device that creates high-definition, 3-D street maps for navigation systems. It also makes the satellites that beam down the GPS coordinates, and the antennas sending and receiving the signals.
Its affiliate, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, builds the rockets that launch those satellites into space.
No range of products better encapsulates Mitsubishi Electric's ambition to be a one-stop shop for integrated, high-tech automotive systems rather than a maker of piecemeal parts.
Its traditional auto business, which accounts for around 13 percent of revenue, still produces alternators, starters and electric power steering. But with the line blurring between cars and electronics, Mitsubishi Electric's new CEO wants to leverage the supplier's strength in everything from semiconductors to communications.
"We have decided to rethink our business models," Takeshi Sugiyama, who took over April 1, said during a February news conference. "To create new growth drivers, we will introduce additional cross-function initiatives."


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Apple presented yesterday at the “One More Thing” event the new generation of Mac, a nine generation that comes to market with Apple’s M1 processors, leaving Intel aside for the first time in the last 15 years and adding fanointings that until now were not available.
Of the three teams that were presented yesterday: MacBook Air, Mac Mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro, the latter two debut compatibility with 6K screens, as we can read in MacRumors. The previous generation of both models it only supported up to 5K output.
Oddly enough, the MacBook Air that Apple renewed earlier this year was already capable of moving 6K displays, a feature that was not available on either the Mac Mini or the MacBook Pro. In this way, Apple is expanding the range of Macs. what offer support for higher resolution displays.
In addition to the MacBook Air 2020 and the new Mac Mini and MacBook Pro with Apple’s M1 processor, within the Mac range we can find other older models that already offered 6K support like the 2018 MacBook Pros, the 2019 iMac and iMac Pro …
Apple’s new M1 processors, according to the company during the presentation, offer a 3x faster CPU performance and up to 5x faster GPU performance. In addition, another of the strengths of this new generation and that was already assumed, is the battery life, which in the Pro model can reach up to 20 hours.
Launch of macOS Big Sur
As planned, at the same presentation event for the new Mac range with Apple Silicon processors, Apple announced that the launch of the final version of macOS Big Sur is scheduled for 12th of November.


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Five years after imposing stricter controls on the sales of Brazilian chicken meat, the European Union has signaled that it has no plans in sight to suspend the measure, despite persistent demands from the Brazilian side.
In Brazil, the complaint is that the EU’s Directorate General of Health (DG Health) is, in practice, linking sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) to deforestation issues, delaying the search for a solution to the problem, which affects millions of dollars in business.
To Valor, the EU said that “this is not correct”. According to a senior European official, “the current measures [of strengthened control over meat] are related to cases of fraud involving authorities and to the results of successive audits that have identified repeated deficiencies that demonstrate the unreliability of the Brazilian certification system.”
The official recalled that the strengthened control — 100% documents and 20% through physical and laboratory inspection (in Brazil and the EU), something unusual — was adopted in 2017 after the operations “Carne Fraca” and “Trapaça” in Brazil, which had negative results in the EC audits in the segments of meat and fish.
The source noted that while the fraud scandals involved officials at the Agriculture Ministry in illegally exporting cargoes to the EU and other countries, the 2017 audits showed “that the deficiencies identified by previous audits had not been corrected, despite the promises made.”
According to the EU, “in these circumstances the protective measures cannot be lifted and the authorization of additional sellers (re-authorizing the pre-listing procedure), additional products (pork, dairy, eggs) or additional production areas (for export) cannot be considered until a follow-up audit shows that corrective measures have been implemented to rectify the deficiencies and prevent fraudulent export practices.”
“For the EU, only a favorable outcome of an audit in Brazil will allow the European Commission to propose to the 27 member states to lift the current control on Brazilian chicken meat.” The commission has included an audit in Brazil in its work program for 2022. However, it has already warned that the feasibility of doing it “will depend on the evolution of the audit backlog caused by the pandemic and the need to ensure the safety of auditors in the current epidemiological situation of Covid-19.”
The strengthened control causes an additional cost that is ultimately discounted from the price of chicken. The EU mentions this “lack of confidence” in the Brazilian sanitary certification system (and despite all the controls), but also has Brazil as the supplier of 20% of all the chicken meat it imports.
Between January and April this year, the block imported 71,700 tonnes of Brazilian chicken meat, 27.8% more than in the same period last year, according to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA).
The finding, both in Brazil and in Europe, is that there has been a deterioration of the dialogue with DG Health of the EU. The situation has worsened since November, when Brazil denounced the EU at the World Trade Organization (WTO) because of “discriminatory sanitary controls for the detection of salmonella in salted chicken and turkey meat with pepper.”
There has been a “gigantic logjam” in bilateral talks ever since, deepening the sanitary mess started under the previous administration. In 2017, soon after the announcement of “Carne Fraca”, the EU sent an audit team to Brazil, with Irish veterinary inspectors, despite all the pressure that European producers were putting in the opposite direction.
The Europeans inspected several businesses and returned with a good impression. A draft of a positive report was ready when “Trapaça” broke out, involving food processing giant BRF and third parties laboratories that controlled the exported chicken meat.
The Irish vets felt betrayed, as they were not informed that this additional Federal Police operation was underway. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture knew, as they were following the Federal Police, but apparently were forbidden to inform them. The Irish inspectors were left with their reputation threatened, since they advocated a return to normal relations with Brazil.
The situation was made worse when the then Minister of Agriculture, Blairo Maggi, did not remove BRF from the list of exporters even after the scandal involving the company. This forced the EU to issue a specific regulation removing all the company’s units, and a few others, from the list of exporters to the European market, which is unusual. Normally, Brussels suggests the blockade and the exporting country itself removes the meat packing plant from the list, which makes it easier to return.
After this, BRF, which has long ensured that there were no wrongdoings in its products, filed a complaint at the EU court disputing the regulation that barred its sales. It failed and was banned from exporting for human consumption, while entering in the radar zone of European surveillance. On top of that, the Europeans don’t even want to schedule meetings to talk about the suspension of the strengthened control.


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iStock via Getty Images
- Things appear to be getting worse, not better, along the global supply chain, which was upended by the coronavirus pandemic over a year ago. That means entire companies and industries are going to have to deal with more extremes for the foreseeable future, making business investment a shaky decision that compounds the original problem. The volatility and uncertainty also destroy demand as prices become too high for consumers. The phenomenon, called the "bullwhip effect," could end up damaging the economy in the short-term, with violent swings in a range of goods. Seeking Alpha discussed the possibility back in May, but it looks like the situation is now in play.
- Warning bells: In an open letter to the United Nations General Assembly, business leaders from the International Chamber of Shipping, IATA and other transport groups (that account for more than $20T of annual global trade) sounded the alarm on the risks of a supply chain meltdown. "We are wit


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Amazon the brand killer?
It’s an intriguing question, and one that raises fears of Amazon’s rise. While the growth of high-quality, low-priced brands on Amazon seems unquestionably good for consumers, the trend does produce economic losers.
The classic worry about Amazon is that it puts local retailers out of business. Now another worry is that by exposing global brands to the harsh reality of low-priced competitors, it may put them out of business, too. Mr. Wingo said global brands across a variety of categories — electronics, apparel, home improvement — regularly approached his company looking for a way to compete with low-priced rivals on Amazon.


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Ecommerce platform Miva has launched a new integration with Affirm to help online merchants increase sales and offer flexible payment options to consumers.
Miva, Inc., a leading ecommerce software and service provider for mid-size and enterprise merchants, and Affirm, a payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, announced today that they have partnered to help online sellers increase sales and accommodate growing consumer demand for flexible payments with a new integration between the Miva platform and Affirm’s pay-over-time solution.
This new partnership and integration brings the powerful Miva ecommerce platform and Affirm’s smart pay-over-time technology together to give merchants the tools they need to increase online sales and reach new customers. Merchants are able to offer consumers monthly and biweekly payments with interest as low as 0% APR. The amount a consumer agrees to upfront never increases as Affirm never charges any late or hidden fees.
“Miva is always looking to partner with solutions providers that make ecommerce better for everyone,” says Brennan Heyde, VP of Product at Miva. “We are inspired by Affirm’s mission to deliver honest financial products that improve lives and look forward to collaborating with them further to bolster the success of our merchant customers.”
Offering Affirm at checkout can drive overall sales, increase average order value, and increase customer repurchase rates.
For more information about Miva, visit: miva.com
For more information about Affirm, visit: info.affirm.com/miva
Affirm’s mission is to deliver honest financial products that improve lives. By building a new kind of payment network — one based on trust, transparency and putting people first — we empower millions of consumers to spend and save responsibly, and give thousands of businesses the tools to fuel growth. Unlike credit cards and other pay-over-time options, we show consumers exactly what they will pay up front, never increase that amount, and never charge any late or hidden fees. Follow Affirm on social media: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter.
About Miva, Inc.
Miva offers a flexible and adaptable ecommerce platform that evolves with businesses and allows them to drive sales, maximize average order value, cut overhead costs, and increase revenue. Miva has been helping businesses realize their ecommerce potential for over 20 years and empowering retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer sellers across all industries to transform their business through ecommerce. Learn more at www.miva.com.
Rates from 0-30% APR. Payment options through Affirm are subject to an eligibility check, may not be available in all states, and are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders . Options depend on your purchase amount, and a down payment may be required. CA residents: Loans by Affirm Loan Services, LLC are made or arranged pursuant to California Finance Lender license 60DBO-111681.Back to Press Center


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DC Universe to expand its online comic book archives, will double book library for members by March end
DC Universe, the digital subscription that allows access to movies, television shows and comic books featuring the DC characters, has announced its first major expansion. The curated comic book material available on the platform, with the selection of comic material set, will double over the next few weeks. Despite this, the subscription fee will remain the same at $7.99 per month or $74.99 for a full year, reports Screen Rant.
Launched in September 2018, DC Universe is one of the few electronic resources that provides all three — on-demand video, original programming and e-book access to its members. As per a press release issue, the online archive is forecast to hold twice as many titles as it currently does by the end of March 2019. The overall volume of archives will double by the end of March and eventually build on the list of long-time fan favorites, including thousands of select DC single issues representing iconic story arcs, from '80s classics to the DC Rebirth and beyond.
Added immediately are issues of the current Action Comics series, the New 52-era Batman series, Batman Incorporated, Flashpoint, Gotham Central, both the 2000 and 2013 Harley Quinn series, Superman: For All Seasons and Wonder Woman. reports Hollywood Reporter.
The news was also put across through DC Universe's official Twitter account:
— DC Universe (@TheDCUniverse) January 29, 2019
The Great Diwali Discount!
Unlock 75% more savings this festive season. Get Moneycontrol Pro for a year for Rs 289 only.
Coupon code: DIWALI. Offer valid till 10th November, 2019 .
Updated Date: Jan 30, 2019 10:33:52 IST


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MARKET PULSE-Apple, Cal-Maine, BPZ, Alon, Lexicon, US Airways
Dec 31 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks on the move on Monday:
S&P, NASDAQ RISE ON LAST DAY OF 2012, APPLE ADVANCES
Wall Street mostly edged higher, with the S&P 500 on track for double-digit gains for the year, as politicians bargained for a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff". The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.07 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.24 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.66 percent.
** APPLE INC, $523.10, up 3 pct (1208 ET)
The company has agreed to withdraw patent claims against a new Samsung phone with a high-end display after Samsung said it was not offering to sell the product in the crucial U.S. market.


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Workers at McDonald’s have been among the most vocal in complaining that they weren’t being adequately protected from COVID-19.
On Wednesday, a Cook County judge agreed with them.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Eve Reilly ordered several Chicago McDonald’s restaurants to adopt new safety measures for social distancing, training and masks, granting a partial win to workers who sued the fast food giant for allegedly failing to adequately protect them from COVID-19.
In issuing the preliminary injunction, Reilly said the restaurants were not enforcing their mask policies or training employees about social distancing in a way that is consistent with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order, creating a public nuisance. The injunction comes as the city and state move to phase four of reopening on Friday.
The order was in response to a lawsuit seeking class-action status that was filed by five employees of four local McDonald’s, and four of their live-in relatives, against Chicago-based McDonald’s and three franchisees. The suit alleges that inadequate safety protocols endangered the public and sought injunctive relief to require the chain to provide better training and equipment.
The judge denied claims that McDonald’s was negligent and said the company had taken many measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including putting up plexiglass in the drive-thru and counters, taking employee temperatures and providing masks and gloves.
But she highlighted two “serious failures” in the company’s processes, including training managers that people can be closer than six feet apart as long as it’s not for more than 10 minutes, which she said is inconsistent with the state’s guidelines and “potentially hazardous” in combination with a failure to consistently enforce the proper wearing of masks.
“The current McDonald’s environment leads employees, including managers, to believe they can take off their masks and stand within 6 feet of each other as long as they do not do so in excess of 10 minutes,” Reilly wrote. “This increases the health risk for the employees, their families, and the public as a whole and conflicts with the Governor’s Executive Order on social distancing potentially undoing any good it has done as we fight this incredibly contagious disease.”
Reilly ordered the injunction against DAK4, a franchisee that operates a McDonald’s at 10320 S. Kedzie Ave.; and McDonald’s Restaurants of Illinois, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company that operates restaurants at 2438 W. Cermak Rd. and 3867 S. Archer Ave.
McDonald’s, in a statement, said it was pleased the judge found that strong measures were already in place.
“These measures are part of the 50 processes we have enhanced during the pandemic to keep restaurant employees and customers safe,” the company said. “We have also issued a 59-page guide outlining national minimum restaurant standards, including adhering to social distancing guidelines for customers and crew, conducting wellness and temperature checks, requiring protective barriers, face masks and gloves, increasing the frequency of handwashing and providing contactless purchasing options to customers.”


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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Lilly Ajarova, the Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) has told delegates to the ongoing 2020 Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) that Uganda is full of abundant tourism opportunities characterised by the richest tourism attractions portfolio, best value for money for investors and tourists alike and therefore healthy returns on investment.
“We have the richest and most diverse range of human, natural, cultural, religious and historical attractions complemented by a warm tropical climate, warm people, great accommodations and great food,” she said, adding that Uganda has the “highest concentration of attractions over a smaller geographical area.”
What she put in words for the 200 tourism business leaders from over 20 countries and 4 continents, The Independent Publications Limited has photographed and produced a book ‘Experience Uganda’ that went on sale at the Tourism Expo at Speke Resort Munyonyo.
Andrew M. Mwenda, the managing director for The Independent Publications Limited, the publishers of the Weekly Magazine (The Independent) handed over a copy of ‘Experience Uganda’ a special book showing Uganda’s diverse tourist attractions to Gen. Moses Ali.
“This book ‘Experience Uganda’ has it all. Our hotels, our wild animals, our beautiful flowers, our lakes and rivers, our valleys, our anthills, our beautiful people, everything is in this book,” Mwenda said as he handed a book to Gen Moses Ali.
The Expo was officially opened by Moses Ali, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament, on behalf of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Ali urged participants to read the book so as to understand more about Uganda’s tourism sector. The book costs $50. The Independent Publications Limited is one of the many companies showcasing their work at POATE.
This is the 5th POATE organized by Uganda Tourism Board in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism.
The event, which is taking place on the shores of Lake Victoria, has attracted over 57 international hosted buyers, 140 domestic and regional tourism operators as well as international and domestic media.
The expo, is running under the theme, ‘Promoting Intra-Africa Travel’ in a bid to raise awareness about the untapped potential presented by emerging African travel markets.
Key figures on Uganda tourism
✳Forex earnings from tourism have grown by 22% over the last 5 years from $1.31 billion to $1.6 billion an average growth of 4% per year
✳The tourism sector in 2018, contributed Shs 8.3trillion worth of GDP- equivalent of 7.7% of Uganda’s GDP
✳ Tourism created 670,000 jobs in 2018 (6.7% of total employment)- 90% of these jobs in hospitality sector which employs 58% females &77% youths (18-30 years)
✳The 2019 World Economic Forum, Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ranked Uganda No.1 most price competitive destination in East Africa, 39th of 140 worldwide.


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Well done, 343 Industries, well done. It seems like all the effort put into Halo 5: Guardians has paid off, as Microsoft is reporting an impressive sales revenue of more than $400 million just one week after launch in what it claims to be the "biggest Halo launch in history."
Halo 5 was launched globally on October 27, and the number is for global sales of "games and hardware". According to Microsoft, the game has pushed the lifetime value of the whole franchise to $5 billion. To put it into perspective, 343 Industries' previous new Halo entry, Halo 4, made around $330 million in the first week.
Apart from financial statistics, Halo 5 also manage to grab some impressive player stats, including the highest week one attach rate among Microsoft's first-party games on Xbox One, 21 million hours of total gameplay to date, 12 million of which is in the campaign mode. 7 million multiplayer matches have been played, with more than 45 million REQ packs acquired.
Microsoft pulls no stop in flaunting the popularity of Halo 5 both with players and critics, citing reviews from The Verge and Metacritic, as well as the game's overall attractiveness on media channels, having been streamed for 3 millions of hours on Twitch, and even claiming a Guinness World Record for most watched video game launch broadcast with "Halo 5: Live."
A mention was also given to the next Halo World Championship which will begin in December this year and extend into March 2016. The competition features professional players as young as 13 years old, and spans continents including the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand. The current prize pool is now $1.5 million and increasing.
Halo 5: Guardians seems to have been a huge success for Microsoft, the Xbox One, and 343 Industries, and we have little to say but to congratulate the developers (who must be popping champagne bottles by now) on doing a great job, and hope the momentum will continue with even more great Xbox exclusives from Microsoft.
As a quick reminder, the next Xbox exclusive, Rise of the Tomb Raider, which looks set to be another phenomenal experience, is right around the corner coming out on November 10, so Xbox users will be busy for yet a while longer.


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Marimekko upbeat as sales rise and international business grows
Design company Marimekko saw its net sales and earnings improving in the first three months of the year as it made a modest operating profit, despite a tough retail market in its native Finland.
The company’s net sales rose as much as 7% to €24.1 million in Q1 and international sales were up a pleasing 14%, reaching 51% of the total compared to 47% this time last year. The figures were boosted by improving wholesale turnover in Finland (due to non-recurring promotional deliveries), as well as higher wholesale and royalties in the Asia-Pacific region.
But, as mentioned, retail sales were challenging and declined in Finland, although this was due to calendar effects as it shifted the timing of its annual spring sales promotion.
What did all that mean for profit? Well, it was certainly good (if not spectacular) news. Ebitda rose to €1.9 million from €1.7 million. Operating profit rose to €1.2 million from the €0.9 million of a year earlier comparable operating profit was €1.2 million, up slightly from €1.1 million a year ago.
But while higher sales provided a boost to the bottom line, a decline in the relative sales margin, caused by lower-margin wholesale accounting for a larger share of total turnover, kept profit low.
For the full year, the company expects its net sales and comparable operating profit to be “at the same level as or higher than in the previous year,” which doesn’t tell us much but does, at least, point to an improving situation
CEO Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko said the current year has “started in style,” citing the worldwide launch of two limited-edition collaboration collections, one with Uniqlo and the other with beauty brand Clinique.
“Partnerships of this kind are particularly valuable for us as they enable us to raise our international profile and to reach new target groups,” she said. “The exceptionally broad international visibility conferred by these brand collaborations was complemented by the positive reception we received at Paris Fashion Week in March.”
As well as collaborations, the company is focused on targeting new customers and reaching out to the expanding market in Asia to accelerate growth, while also ramping up its online efforts.
“In the past few years, we have focused in particular on improving our profitability and our international competitiveness. In the current strategy period 2018–2022, we are continuing our long-term work and seeking markedly stronger growth than before” the CEO said. “Expanding the customer base, enhancing operational efficiency and utilising the new opportunities afforded by digitisation play a central role in this work.
“The key drivers of our growth are e-commerce, partner-led retail in Asia, and boosting sales per square metre in Marimekko stores. It is gratifying that in the first quarter of 2018, we are already able to report positive news about the trend in our international sales, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.”
But the uncertain backdrop out there means she remains cautious for the future.
“Uncertainty in the global economy is forecast to continue, partly because of the unpredictability of the political situation,” the company said. “Consumer demand forecasts vary among Marimekko’s different market areas.”
However, its domestic market, Finland, is expected to grow this year while second biggest market Asia-Pacific should expand too. The brand has major growth potential in the area as Japan is its only really developed market there and other countries in the region remain under-exploited for now. Japan is still seeing rising demand as it opens new stores, and Marimekko expects the wider region to continue expanding over the longer term.
In 2018, the main thrust of its global expansion remains opening retailer-owned Marimekko stores. The aim is to open around 10-15 new brand stores and shop-in-shops while continuing the “enhancement” of the operations of Marimekko stores opened in recent years.
Copyright © 2022 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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But, Prime members didn’t always have to pay for Fresh deliveries on orders above $35. Amazon started charging delivery fees for Fresh grocery orders that are under $150 earlier this year in January, removing a perk that gave Prime members free delivery on orders over $35. Amazon then revised this decision in October and slashed the threshold for free grocery deliveries from $150 to $100.
As for Whole Foods orders, Amazon implemented a $9.95 fee on delivery orders back in September 2021. The were previously offered at no extra change.
With this new subscription offering, Prime members would no longer have to pay any of these fees if their delivery order is above $35. Amazon likely hopes that the membership would encourage people to place more orders without worrying about the fees associated with each delivery.
The launch comes a month after Amazon announced that customers across the United States will no longer need to have a Prime membership to order groceries from Amazon Fresh for delivery or free pickup. At the time, Amazon said a similar option would soon be available to Whole Foods shoppers. The change makes Amazon more competitive against companies like Instacart, Walmart and DoorDash.
Amazon operates dozens of Fresh grocery stores across the United States and expanded its push into the grocery space by acquiring Whole Foods in 2017. However, its grocery business has declined, likely due to competition. A report from The Information published last year revealed that Fresh stores were running empty and that store openings had slowed.


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SPARTANBURG, SC (WSPA) – You can celebrate the 4th with a free treat before the fireworks at Wendy’s.
You can get a free Frosty at locations in Greenville, Spartanburg, Asheville and Anderson.
The deal is for July 4th only during regular business hours.
More stories you may like on 7News
A Facebook post showing officers helping a man with his tie has gone viral.
A relative says the baby born of a Michigan woman who chose to forgo chemotherapy to give birth to the child has died.
Police in Buckeye, Arizona are defending an officer’s actions after a confrontation with a teen with autism two months ago.
Amazon says it is reviewing its website after a British TV report said that the online retailer recommended purchasing ingredients together …
Two Amur leopard cubs can now be seen by the public at the Greenville Zoo more than four months after their births.


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This comprehensive guide begins at Alfava Metraxis and ends at Doctor Who Magazine wins the ACE Press Award 0 Following its record breaking ABC figure earlier this year, Doctor Who Magazine had cause for further celebration at the 2014 ACE Press Awards held https://www.levitradosageus24.com/ viagra bedeutung online apotheke at the Museum of London. This may take a second or two.
Midwest Rejects AirTran's Merger OfferDecember 14, 2006 By: Jennifer Merritt Travel Agent
Midwest Air's board on Wednesday declined AirTran Holding's proposed merger, stating that the plan would not be in the best interests of the company, its stakeholders, employees or customers. "While it is the fiduciary obligation of the board of directors to review credible offers, the board unanimously concluded that Midwest's business plan as a stand-alone company would support a considerably better return to our shareholders than AirTran's offer," Timothy E. Hoeksema, chairman and CEO of Midwest Air, said in a statement. Hoeksema elaborated that the carrier expects growth of more than 10 percent and higher profitability over the next three years.


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Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Melania Trump is a complicated woman. No single image captures the political tension surrounding her appearance better than the February cover of Vanity Fair México. The photo, originally shot for GQ, shows the First Lady dressed in a stark white ensemble with a white manicure. She is twirling a fork in a spool of diamonds, which she is about to eat as if the string of jewels were spaghetti.
That cover photo spread across Twitter on the same day Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a meeting with President Trump over the proposed border wall. Outraged Twitter users called the magazine cover “insensitive in the face of Mexico’s rampant poverty” and a banner of the First Lady’s “total submission” to misogyny. Opulence with a posed smile, this new FLOTUS is already set to be one of the world’s most controversial style influencers.
Meanwhile, many American women are smitten with the former fashion model and skincare and jewelry mogul-turned FLOTUS. “She’s going to be one of the classiest first ladies of our time,” GOP Girl blogger Sean Bianca said in a phone interview. “I love the way she does that heavy black eyeliner. I’m definitely doing mine a little darker now than I did before. I think Melania will have something to do with Americans wanting to look their best. Every woman needs makeup.”
Trump already has a trademark look: muted pink lips, smoky eyes, smooth, straight hair, and perpetually tanned skin. And FLOTUS is fully aware that her visibility translates to market influence. As part of her ongoing lawsuit against the Daily Mail for claiming she once worked as an escort, Trump’s lawyer said her role in the White House would provide a “unique, once in a lifetime opportunity” to sell fashion. The suit noted damaging her “brand” curtails her ability to endorse “apparel accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skincare and fragrance” products.
However, conversations about Trump and style rarely discuss her alone. They often pivot around comparisons to women who previously held the same role. The Vanity Fair México profile asked if she is the “new Jackie Kennedy” (as did this very website, pre-election), a comparison Americans are equally obsessed with since she wore a vintage-inspired Ralph Lauren outfit to the inauguration. “The United States hasn’t had anyone since Jackie Onassis with the same fashion sense and the same elegance as Melania,” Sean said. “I personally never thought Michelle Obama was a style icon... As far as style goes, I don’t think they are even in the same league. Melania has a style and an elegance about her.”
When Americans talk about Trump, they are often indirectly talking about race, class, and feminism. “The conversation we’re having about Melania is actually a response to Hillary and Michelle,” said Treva Lindsey, professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Ohio State University. “It’s thinly-veiled racism and sexism. It’s also about restoring what we are used to in the White House, that being a white man and his white wife. It’s part of this idea of not only white political power, but also white cultural power.”
As conservative writer Ilana Mercer blogged back in October: "in her serene, gracious, and beautiful manners and bearing—Mrs. Trump exemplifies a European woman's good breeding."
Today, white supremacist social media accounts and forums like Stormfront are flushed with chatter praising the beautiful FLOTUS. “Melania is is a pure White; a beautiful Lady from fine stock,” wrote Stormfront user Rip59. “It's about time to be PROUD of a magnificent First Lady.” Memes and articles that laud Trump’s sex appeal over Obama’s are commonplace on social media.
Melania herself has never openly courted white nationalist fanfare. But she has defended Donald Trump’s obsession with Barack Obama’s birth certificate and dismissed anti-Semitic attacks against journalists. “I don’t control my fans,” she famously said in an interview with DuJour.
Admirers like Sean don’t believe Trump supports racism. Even so, it’s impossible to miss the nostalgia for traditional femininity in the public discourse about FLOTUS.
“With Melania, there’s a lot of talk of ‘classic beauty’ and other terms that suggest a type of European beauty that is still prized,” Lindsey said. “It’s one thing to proclaim her as a beauty icon. It’s another thing to use that as a way to negate, erase, or demonize someone like Michelle Obama.”
The title “First Lady” is itself seeped in the language of feminine propriety and respectability. Yet it’s Trump’s same association with wealth, luxury, and sex appeal that creates such a stark contrast between her and Kennedy.
“Jackie’s style was much more subtle, low key. To me, Melania’s style is almost Russian. It’s Eastern European,” said Pamela Keogh, author of Jackie Style. “I would say Melania is closer to Nancy Reagan or Pat Nixon. Melania’s style is rich, rich. Very expensive. Where as Jackie’s style was realistic and approachable. Melania is beautiful and she looks amazing, but in an inaccesible way.”
Kennedy famously wore more costume jewelry than diamonds. Her most iconic accessory was a faux pearl necklace. There couldn’t be a greater divide between her and Trump’s spoonful of diamond pasta. “Jackie was deeply involved with bringing American culture to the average American,” Keogh added.
However, there are several traits that Kennedy and Trump do share, aside from their penchant for pink lipstick. Both prioritize motherhood and wifely duties over career aspirations and generally distrust the media, an approach Keogh called “minimum information with maximum politeness.” Trump’s own voice has been largely absent from the flurry of media coverage about her appearance. So far, her hair stylist and makeup artist have given more personal interviews than she has. On the other hand, Trump’s absence from the conversation is not necessarily a sign of subservience. Only time will tell what kind of FLOTUS she will be.
“It’s not necessarily on her to be the one challenging this at all times,” Lindsey added. “I hope her platform on bullying will include the ways we talk to young people about beauty... don’t narrowly put us into just being pretty.”


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Mercedes May Raise Stake in Aston Martin to 20%
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz unit is further opening its tech candy store to British luxury car maker Aston Martin.
The deal will give the iconic British company access to Mercedes select hybrid and electric powertrains and a range of other components and electronics.
Parts for Equity
Mercedes will supply as much as $374 million in components over three years. The goods will be paid for in the form of new Aston Martin shares that could raise Mercedes’ existing 2.6% stake in the British company to a maximum of 20%.
Mercedes emphasizes that the agreement involves no cash transfers. The German company adds that it has no interest in raising its holding beyond 20%.
The in-kind deal expands a partnership launched in 2013 by a similar arrangement. That’s when Mercedes agreed to begin swapping AMG V-8 engines and various electrical components for 5% equity of the British company. (Subsequent financial moves by Aston Martin, including an initial public offering two years ago, diluted Mercedes’ stake to the current 2.6%.)
What It Means
Like other niche carmakers, Aston Martin can’t afford to go it alone in developing such features as electrified powertrains, connectivity and autonomous driving.
Deals like this one are a cost-effective way for the 107-year-old carmaker—which has been in and out of bankruptcy seven times—to stay in the game.
The little car that could still can. And this time as a car that not only gets great fuel economy, but which has ride and handling that makes it more than an econo-box (and its styling is anything but boxy).
Once the playground of exotic car makers, the definition of a niche vehicle has expanded to include image vehicles for mainstream OEMs, and specialist models produced on high-volume platforms.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors Co. over claimed flaws in the company’s 8-speed automatic transmission used in 2015-2019 model rear-drive vehicles.


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German auto giant Volkswagen said Thursday it expects a massive cost-cutting programme to begin bearing fruit this year.
The programme “has gotten off to a very good start,” chief executive Martin Winterkorn told the group’s annual earnings news conference.
So far, “we have identified opportunities for improvement that represent about half of our 5.0-billion-euro target. We expect a benefit of well over 1.0 billion euros in our result for the current year,” Winterkorn said.
Last year was “another successful year” for Europe’s biggest car maker, the group said.
Deliveries grew by 4.2 percent last year to over 10.1 million vehicles, sales revenue increased by 2.8 percent to 202.5 billion euros and operating profit rose by 1.0 billion euros to a record 12.7 billion euros.
VW also made a “promising start to 2015,” Winterkorn said.
In the first two months, worldwide deliveries were up 1.6 percent at 1.5 million vehicles.
“We expect deliveries to increase moderately in full-year 2015 despite the persistently challenging market environment,” said Winterkorn.
The difficult market environment, fierce competition, interest rate and exchange rate volatility, and fluctuations in raw materials prices all posed challenges, he said.
“Depending on economic conditions, Volkswagen expects 2015 sales revenue to increase by up to 4.0 percent above the prior-year figure.”
In terms of operating profit, Volkswagen anticipated an operating return on sales of between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent in 2015 “in light of the challenging economic environment,” he continued.
“We are being deliberately rather more cautious,” Winterkorn said.
“Our stated goal for fiscal year 2015 is to achieve further growth both in terms of volumes and in our sales revenue and operating profit.”


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CASE expands its dealer network in Southeast Asia with the appointment of Sunway Enterprise in Malaysia. The new partnership will bring for the first time a full range of CASE models to the market.
CASE Construction Equipment, a brand of CNH Industrial, has appointed Sunway Enterprise (1988) Sdn Bhd (Sunway Enterprise) as its authorized full-line dealer in Malaysia.
The announcement was made yesterday at an official ceremony held at Sunway’s new premises in Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Key representatives from Sunway and CASE were present at the inaugural event where the new full-line offering was unveiled for the first time in Malaysia.
With the new appointment, CASE will expand from its previous offering of backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders to a full line of 39 products in the Malaysian market. It includes an extensive range of hydraulic crawler excavators as well as telescopic handlers, motor graders, vibratory compactors, wheel loaders and dozers. More than 200 participants viewed first hand, one model of each product line on display at the ceremony.
“CASE is a strong brand with a 174-year history dating back to 1842 and is present in Malaysia since the 1970s,” said Alvin Lim, CNH Industrial Construction Equipment SEA Business Director. “This partnership brings to our customers the benefits of having the outstanding sales and service support of Sunway Enterprise. They are market leader as a premium dealer of construction equipment in the country with presence in more than 10 locations throughout Peninsular and East Malaysia. With Sunway, we are now able to offer our full range of construction machinery.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dato’ Chew, President of Sunway Group, said, “With the CASE franchise and its full range of products, Sunway Enterprise will be transformed into a full-fledged heavy equipment distributor in Malaysia and in the region. We also aim to expand our parts and services dealership network to support the vast number of CASE machines in the country.”
“We intend to complement the quality and performance that CASE has built into their products through our first-class after-sales service. This way we will able to maximise machine uptime and optimise owning and operating costs for our customers,” he added.


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Starbucks is taking reservations for the first time ever at its largest location — the newly opened Chicago Reserve Roastery — in partnership with the Tock reservation system from restaurant executive, Nick Kokonas. Kokonas announced on Twitter that reservations were open for the limited-time Starbucks experiences (including a coffee and dessert tasting for two for $60 per person, and $175 tickets to a New Year’s Eve party at the Roastery) on Monday.
The Chicago Roastery Revealed experience for two — which includes a guided tour, bag of coffee, private coffee tasting, dessert pairing, and two glasses of prosecco — sold out all 42 two-hour timeslots over the course of six days in December almost immediately. As of the time of publication, there are still tickets available for the Italian Riviera New Year’s Eve party at the Arriviamo Bar. The $175 price tag includes light bites and an open bar of cocktails, beer and wine, with music by a DJ.
Starbucks has not officially announced the limited-time events and would not divulge information on whether more tickets would be released, or if these events would be available at other Starbucks Reserve Roasteries in the future.
“The Chicago Roastery reservations on Tock are special experiences being presented this month to guests looking to explore and celebrate at the Roastery,” a Starbucks spokesperson said. “These events are only available at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago and there are still tickets available to the Italian Riviera NYE at Arriviamo Bar celebration.”
As of right now, there are no tickets being offered at the Chicago Starbucks Reserve Roastery past New Year’s Eve, and Starbucks has confirmed that there are no future events confirmed at this time.
Contact Joanna Fantozzi at [email protected]
Follow her on Twitter: @JoannaFantozzi


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BERLIN Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Audi luxury division increased sales by 13.9 percent in October to 123,600 vehicles on demand from all major car markets.
Ten-month sales gained 12.9 percent to 1.22 million cars and sport-utility vehicles, Audi said on Wednesday, citing increases of 31.2 percent to 332,959 in China and 18.1 percent to 112,402 in the United States. (Reporting By Andreas Cremer)
Trending On Reuters
India is considering setting up an independent panel to help state-owned banks negotiate settlements with big businesses on bad loans, in order to shield bankers from a populist backlash they say is hobbling efforts to clean up their balance sheets. Full Article


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Electric vehicles – the race for transformation
26 February 2021
In 2020, hybrid electric vehicles made up 11.9% of total passenger car sales across the EU (5.7% in 2019). Electrically-chargeable vehicles accounted for 10.5% of all new car registrations, compared to a 3.0% in 2019. While the European market was cut by approx. 24% of its passenger car sales due to the COVID pandemic, sales of hybrid and electric vehicles exceeded diesel sales in Europe for the first time with more than 900.000 vehicles sold. Germany, Italy and France have seen their sales of electric vehicle explode. According to Xerfi, a consulting firm, this is just the beginning. In France, for example, sales of electric and plug-in hybrids are expected to increase by 30% per year on average to represent 25% of the total market in 2025.
Car manufacturers race to transform their business to meet CO2 emission targets set by governments across the world. The UK government already announced to ban sales of new cars and vans powered by petrol and diesel from 2030. The Norwegian government, determined to take the lead, will interdict the sales by 2025. Car manufacturer Ford is planning all its cars sold in Europe to be electric by 2030. They would invest $1bn converting a vehicle assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, to become its first electric vehicle facility in Europe. The first all-electric cars would start rolling off the production line in 2023.
ACEA’s Director General, Eric-Mark Huitema says in yesterday’s press release that the CO2 targets can only be reached if a dedicated network of charging points right across the EU is deployed. The upcoming revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID) must be used by the European Commission to force member states to deploy one million public charging points across the EU by 2024, and to triple that number to three million by 2029. Likewise, some one thousand public hydrogen stations should be made available for cars and vans before 2030.
CECRA has always spoken out like the European Commission during the high level working groups (Cars 21, Cars 2020 and Gear 2030) in favour of technological neutrality. It is necessary to move forward towards zero CO2 emissions by 2050 but with the necessary transition that this represents and by being open to all technologies, whether electric or hydrogen engines.
CECRA also represents all repairers who have a major role to play in keeping millions of cars on European roads in good condition, as it contributes to better road safety as well as to the environment. For this reason, CECRA is part of several alliances with other European associations. It has recently jointed the ‘European Clean Hydrogen Alliance’.
CECRA welcomes two new members
3 February 2021
ARAN’s new President, Rodrigo Ferreira da Silva, said “our board agreed to apply for a membership within CECRA and as President I welcome this decision as it is very significant, with an ever more challenging future for our sector, only together we grow stronger”.
CEO, Head of Brussels Office of FinMobility, Pasi Moisio said “we are willing and committed to join and strengthen the cooperation between CECRA and FinMobility. FinMobility has several pillars of mobility advocacy (passenger and freight transport, logistics, taxi sector, automotive, infrastructure, driving schools). I am sure that CECRA will also benefit from this teamwork”.
ARAN’s mission is to promote, defend and support the interests of the activities within the automotive sector. It fosters the spirit of solidarity and mutual support among its members, as well as their development. ARAN develops skills and promote activities that boost the interests and the professional development of its members.
FinMobility is a leading voice in the EU for the Finnish employers’ and business organisations in the mobility sector. FinMobility represents 13.500 companies employing 100.000 people. FinMobility cooperates widely and transparently with the EU-institutions, Brussels-based representatives of transport and mobility sectors, business organisations and authorities of the EU member states. We also participate in the activities of our members’ umbrella organisations in the EU
EU passenger car market contracted by 23.7%
2020 worst year on record
19 January 2021
Today, ACEA published its registration figures for the full year 2020.
The EU passenger car market contracted by 23.7% to 9.9 million units as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 saw the biggest yearly drop in car demand since records began, with new-car registrations falling by 3 million units compared to 2019. All 27 EU markets recorded double-digit declines throughout 2020.
Among the region’s biggest car markets, Spain posted the sharpest drop (-32.3%), followed closely by Italy (-27.9%) and France (-25.5%), while full-year losses were significant but less pronounced in Germany (-19.1%).
This drop in sales has a huge impact on the entire automotive value chain and in particular on automotive dealers and repairers represented by CECRA.
CECRA’s European Car Dealers Chairman Peter Daeninck said “These figures are to be taken into account during manufacturers’ sales target negotiations with their authorised network”.
CECRA and ACEA jointly ask the European Commission to provide written assurances to Member States in the issue of end-of-series provisions for vehicles in stock
17 November 2020
Due to the interruptions in sales of automotive vehicles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, CECRA, ACEA and the automotive industry associations urge the European Commission to intervene regarding the postponement of the application dates of several EU pollutant emission and safety standards, as well as flexibilities on the so-called end of series (EoS) provisions for vehicles in stock that manufacturers and dealers were not able to sell before the entry into force of the Euro 6d-TEMP.
Through the European Commission’s guidance during the first lockdown last summer, many Members States introduced flexibilities at national level taking away a significant pressure on automotive importers and sales outlets to meet the end-of-series provisions set in the type-approval framework Regulation EU 2018/858.
CECRA and ACEA see a need for Member States put in place additional end-of-series flexibilities. These flexibilities are essential as the second lockdown-measures will even worsening the situation. Automotive dealerships in several EU countries have to close their sales departments again and are unable to sell their vehicles. As a result, dealers are cumulating a stock of unsold vehicles that meet the current emission standards but not the new Euro 6d ISC‐FCM standards that will enter into force on 1 January 2021.
12 November 2020
On the 10th of November, EC Commissioners Schmit and Breton officially launched the Pact for Skills (P4S). One of the four selected European skill partnerships is the automotive ecosystem. CECRA together with ACEA (European Automotive Manufacturer’s Association), CLEPA (European Association of Automotive Suppliers), ETRMA (European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association), IndustriALL and CEEMET (both social partners) are, amongst others, member of the Pact.
The P4S sets up large-scale partnerships in strategic industrial ecosystems as skills are central to recover from the coronavirus crisis as well as for mastering the digital and green transitions. Businesses, large and small, need skilled people to innovate and grow. Only by joining the forces it is possible to make substantial progress in meeting the challenges to overcome mismatches and shortages in skills. The Pact for Skills promotes joint action to maximise the impact of investing in improving existing skills (upskilling) and training in new skills (reskilling). It calls on industry, employers, social partners, chambers of commerce, public authorities, education and training providers and employment agencies to work together and make a clear commitment to invest in training. The ambition in the field of automotive is to upskill 5% of the workforce each year, which would result in around 700,000 people being upskilled throughout the entire ecosystem.
For more information:
You can hear the recording here
Summary of The Pact for Skills –Skills Partnership for the Automotive Ecosystem
In view of the European Commission’s initiative “Pact for skills”, to be launched on November 10th, CECRA in co-operation with ACEA, CLEPA, ETRMA and many other partners have elaborated a joint proposal for a recovery strategy to deliver and implement a sectorial up & reskilling framework for the automotive value chain
15 October 2020
The automotive ecosystem is facing an unprecedented disruption due to the impact of the covid pandemic as well as the EU goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. It is of crucial importance that this transformation is done in a socially responsible way.
CECRA was associated in the recent roundtable discussion with European Commissioners Nicolas Schmit (Jobs and Social Rights) and Thierry Breton (Internal Market) on 23 September.
Today, CECRA, together with a broad coalition is now jointly calling on the Commission to set up the Pact as a public-private partnership to help the automotive ecosystem cope with the major structural changes ahead.
4 September 2020
Market registrations show in important decrease
17 June 2020
Joint position paper on COVID-19 (focused on the aftermarket) signed by CECRA together with 6 other EU associations. The position paper can be found here.
17 June 2020
CECRA, ACEA and CLEPA sent a letter to the heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states, calling for urgent support for the automotive sector in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The letter can be found here.
8 June 2020
IIn Austria, the Vienna Cartel Court handed down a very interesting decision on May 12, 2020, at first instance, in a dispute between the Peugeot Büchl dealer and the general importer of Peugeot vehicles in Austria.
26 May 2020
IndustriAll Europe, Ceemet, ACEA, CLEPA, CECRA and ETRMA, the European business organisations and the trade unions for the sector call on the European Commission for a industrial recovery plan.
5 May 2020
Europe's four auto sector associations publish 25-point action plan for successful restart
26 March 2020
European vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, tyre manufacturers, dealers and repairers wrote a joint letter to the European Commission on the COVID-19 crisis
12 March 2020
Odometer manipulation is widespread across the EU and has tremendous consequences for the consumer. CECRA is strongly committed in fighting against such harmful practice.
11 March 2020
It is time for all the stakeholder to build together the intelligent mobility of tomorrow in terms of data access, security and energy. This is essential for Europe and the future of the sector.
04 March 2020
CECRA has been contacted by the contractor chosen by the European Commission as the sole representative of European dealers and repairers to help in the renewal process of the Automotive Block Exemption 461/2010.
24 January 2020
After the Brussels Motor Show, CECRA underlines that the Green Deal will only work if policy makers and the entire automotive sector work hand in hand
27 November 2019
On 26/11/19, a meeting between CECRA's ECD Division and a DG COMP delegation took place in Brussels. The aim of the meeting was to explain the renewal process of the General Block Exemption Regulation 330/2010 and Automotive Block Exemption 461/2010 that respectively expire in May 2022 and May 2023. Both DG COMP and CECRA are working in close collaboration in order to ensure that the automotive sector is taken into account in the new legislative framework regarding competition and the consumer welfare.
22 November 2019
On 19/11/19, a meeting of CECRAs IR division took place in London. Many points concerning the future of Independent Repairers where discussed.
Today, a large number of associations of the automotive sector and mobility services operators, insurers, consumers and SME representatives, with among them CECRA, reaffirmed their call for a legislative solution, ensuring effective remote access to in-vehicle data and functional resources which will guarantee competition, innovation, and free consumer choice.
CECRA organized its Annual Dinner Event at The Hotel in Brussels with great success. Almost all of the federation’s national associations and European dealer councils attended, as the event provides the opportunity to bring together its members once per year and exchange views on the current state of affairs in the sector, as well as to discuss and express their ideas as regards the present and future challenges for cars, vans and trucks dealers and repairers.
1 April 2019
Today, a large number of associations, representing the car dealers’ interest throughout the world (CECRA – EU; NADA – US; CADA – China; CADA – Canada; FADA – India; FENEBRAVE – Brazil; ROAD – Russia) gathered in Geneva - on the occasion of the kick-off ceremony of the 89th International Motor Show - to discuss the various issues arising from access to data, both from dealers and from the vehicles they sell, the unprecedented opportunities stemming from connected-car technology, and the role that car dealers will play in the future.
14 December 2018
After the success of the first edition last year, the adventure of the European Startup Prize for mobility will continue in 2019, co-founded by BCG and Via ID, with the participation of several other stakeholders among which CECRA, Groupe ADP, RATP, GRDF, Europcar Mobility Group, Grimaldi Studio, and with the support of Karima Delli, President of the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament.
Today, 22 November 2018, the TRAN Committee (Transport and Tourism) of the European Parliament has adopted a draft own-initiative report on Autonomous driving in European transport which calls on the European Commission to introduce a robust legislative framework ensuring the removal of any obstacle to the use of in-vehicle data before January 2020.
21 November 2019
The European Council for Motor Trades and Repairs (CECRA) organized - together with AFCAR, an alliance of several European associations representing automotive industry and mobility services operators as well as motorist consumers - a policy event in presence of representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament, to discuss access to vehicles, their data and driver interaction functions.
A coalition of 7 organisations welcome today’s vote in the European Parliament calling on the European Commission to take decisive action against odometer fraud throughout the European Union. This is a significant step towards restoring consumer trust in the used car market. Read more.


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Visitors to Leicester's Spinney Hill Park will soon be able to enjoy a coffee and a homemade cake during their trip, as a new independent coffee shop is due to open soon. Krem is launching in the building at the centre of the park, which was previously occupied by Mediterranean restaurant Thyme.
As well as coffee and cakes - made on-site in the new catering kitchen - artisan ice cream will be on offer at Krem, which is being launched by a keen baker who grew up in the area. Toasties and paninis are also due to be on the menu, and local ingredients such as milk and eggs will be used where possible.
The owner has been working on the refurbishment of the building since the start of September and hopes it will be ready to open in the next couple of months. Customers can expect to find a warm welcome and simple, stylish surroundings with lots of greenery and wooden panels, which aim to bring the outside in - in keeping with its park setting.
The owner, who has previously worked in education, says opening a restaurant or coffee shop is something she has always wanted to do. So, when the park premises became available, she decided to seize the opportunity.
She told LeicestershireLive: "It's been a dream of mine since my eldest child was born, more than 20 years ago, to open my own place. I decided to take the risk because I don't want to be 80 years old and look back and think 'what if?'
"The plan is to create a coffee shop to serve the needs of park users and local residents, as well as attracting people from further afield. People enjoy visiting coffee shops with friends and family, and doing things that make people happy is something I enjoy."
Krem will be open seven days a week. Opening hours will initially be 8.30am until 4pm, but according to the owner, may be altered to meet customer demand.


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‘Bud-Miller’ $104 billion merger is brewing again
HONG KONG — The “Bud-Miller” beer merger just might happen after all.
Anheuser-Busch InBev — the world’s largest brewer — has submitted a revised proposal to take over SABMiller, its chief rival, in efforts to create a “super brewery.”
The new proposal would see AB InBev acquire SABMiller for £42.15 ($64.34) per share in cash, according to a stock exchange filing. That would value SABMiller at £68.2 billion ($104 billion), or 44% higher than SABMiller’s closing share price of £29.34 in mid-September, before takeover buzz began circulating.
AB InBev is clearly pulling out all the stops — two other initial proposals at £40 ($61.07) and £38 ($58) per share were rejected by SABMiller, according to the filing.
“AB InBev is disappointed that the board of SABMiller has rejected both of these prior approaches without any meaningful engagement,” the company said.
SABMiller, on the other hand, seems unimpressed with the third offer, saying in a statement that AB InBev “is very substantially undervaluing SABMiller.”
“AB InBev needs SABMiller but has made opportunistic and highly conditional proposals, elements of which have been deliberately designed to be unattractive to many of our shareholders,” said Jan du Plessis, chairman of SABMiller. “SABMiller is the crown jewel of the global brewing industry.”
The company confirmed its board would still meet to formally consider the proposal.
Shares of both firms shot up last month when SABMiller, owner of the Miller Lite, Peroni and Strongbow brands, announced that AB InBev was interested in making a bid.
If the deal goes through, it would be the biggest merger in brewing history, and could rank among the top 10 takeovers of all time, according to Dealogic and EY.
The combination would create a “super brewery” with nine of the world’s top 20 beers by volume, and annual sales of $55 billion.
As younger drinkers turn in ever greater numbers to independent breweries, the global market leaders have been trying to defend their market share.
AB InBev has swallowed Seattle’s Elysian Brewing, Oregon’s 10 Barrel Brewing and Chicago-based Goose Island in the last year or two.
SAB Miller has also tapped into the craft beer scene, buying one of the UK’s most successful independents, London’s Meantime Brewing Company, in May.
SABMiller shares were up 3% in early London trading. Shares of AB InBev were up about 4%.
By Sophia Yan
— Ivana Kottasova contributed to this report


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Readout of Justice Department Officials' Trip to Ghana and Togo to Advance West Africa Consumer Fraud Initiative
The Department of Justice announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered an injunction against Foo Yuan Food Products Company Inc. (Foo Yuan) of Long Island City, New York, its owner and president Hsing Chuang, and its secretary Susan Chuang. The injunction permanently enjoins the defendants from preparing, processing, and distributing food products without first taking required remedial action designed to protect consumers from adulterated fish and fishery products.
The injunction stems from a complaint the Department filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Aug. 20, 2018, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The complaint alleged that the defendants prepare, pack, hold and distribute refrigerated and frozen ready-to-eat fish balls, fried fish cakes and fried fish balls. According to the complaint, the defendants failed to adequately control the risk of Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono.) growth and toxin formation in susceptible fish and fishery products.
“The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing federal laws designed to ensure food safety,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice works together with the FDA to ensure that Americans are protected from potentially unsafe food.”
“The defendants’ failure to respond to the serious allegations in the government’s civil complaint was in keeping with their failure to follow FDA regulations in place to protect the public from adulterated fish products,” said U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue for the Eastern District of New York. “The injunction ensures they are out of business until they can comply with all applicable laws and regulations.”
The District Court’s order permanently enjoins defendants from preparing, processing, and distributing food products without first taking required remedial action set forth in the District Court’s order. The measures include, among other things, retaining an independent expert to assist with remedial efforts, including development and implementation of a Listeria Monitoring Program. In addition, defendants’ expert must conduct hazard analyses and develop a written Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan for each type of fish or fishery product prepared, processed, or distributed by defendants to effectively control food safety hazards.
FDA inspected Foo Yuan’s facility in 2014, 2016 and from December 2017 to January 2018. According to the complaint, at each inspection, FDA documented significant deficiencies. For example, as alleged in the complaint, during the most recent inspection, FDA observed a failure to maintain the cleanliness of food contact sources, and a failure to ensure that all persons working in direct contact with food, food contact surfaces and food-packing materials conform to hygienic practices to protect against food contamination.
The complaint noted that, following the October 2014 inspection, the FDA issued a warning letter notifying Foo Yuan and Hsing Chuang that they were in violation of seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point and current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations, causing their products to be adulterated under the law.
The complaint alleged that defendants violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by causing adulterated food to be introduced into interstate commerce or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce. It also alleged that the defendants further violated the law by causing food to become adulterated while it was being held for sale after the shipment of one or more of its components in interstate commerce. The defendants did not file a response to the complaint.
“Taking steps to keep potentially unsafe food out of the U.S. food supply is at the heart of the FDA’s mission to protect public health,” said Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Melinda K. Plaisier. “When a company does not follow good manufacturing practices and fails to come into compliance, the FDA will take action to protect the health and safety of Americans.”
The government is represented by the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Castiglione of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, with assistance from Associate General Counsel for Enforcement Tara Boland of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel’s Food and Drug Division.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny.


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NJ HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY RANKS 8TH IN NATION
Contact: Lynne Richmond
(TRENTON) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today announced that the state’s horticulture industry ranks eighth in the nation for gross sales of horticulture crops, with $347.6 million in sales in 2009.
“New Jersey’s horticulture industry is the largest sector of our state’s agriculture and features some of the most dynamic and innovative people in the nation,” said Secretary Fisher. “Seeding, packing and other processes were developed by our growers and are used throughout the United States.”
Fisher attended the release of the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) release of the 2009 Census of Horticulture in Washington, D.C. in December. It found that New Jersey has 623 horticulture operations growing nursery stock, annual bedding and garden plants, potted herbaceous perennial plants, sod, sprigs and plugs, cut flowers, potted flowering plants, propagative materials, transplants for commercial vegetable and strawberry production, cut Christmas trees, foliage plants and food crops under protection.
Since the 1998 Census of Horticulture, New Jersey’s sales of horticulture crops increased by 44 percent.
Categories where sales increased from the previous Census included nursery stock, such as shrubs and trees; potted herbaceous perennial plants, such as hostas, day lilies and chrysanthemums; cut flowers; annual bedding and garden plants; transplants for commercial vegetable production; and propagative materials.
Nursery stock makes up 43 percent of the sales of all horticulture specialties in the state. Horticulture, in total, accounts for 38 percent of sales in New Jersey’s $1 billion agriculture industry.
New Jersey ranked in sales behind California, Florida, Oregon, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio, but ahead of 9th and 10th -ranked New York and Pennsylvania.
The Census sampling included operations that produced and sold $10,000 or more of horticulture specialty products during 2009. The Census was conducted to measure the horticulture industry’s economic benefit to the nation and identify trends in the industry. The next Census will be conducted in 10 years.


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There are so many things going on surrounding Dieselgate that it can be hard to keep up.
Volkswagen to fire four executives
Automotive News says that following the sudden resignation of VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, other top execs at the company are about to be turfed. Michael Horn, head honcho for Volkswagen’s U.S. operations will apparently get the boot on Friday. His replacement is said to be Winfried Vahland who is currently the chief exec at Skoda, which VW owns.
AN quotes a variety of publications who say that three other top brass will be forced out. Ulrich Hackenberg, head of Audi R & D will be joined by Porsche engine boss Wolfgang Hatz at the job line following a board meeting tomorrow. VW brand guy Heinz-Jakob Neusser is also said to be on the way out.
Wintercorn could receive $60 Million severance
Former VW CEO Martin Wintercorn had stocked up a $32 million pension according to Bloomberg, but that may grow to as much as $60 Million due to a contract clause that says his departure could deliver up to two years of severance. Last year, Winterkorn brought home $16.6 Million Euros. It all comes down to how the company’s board classifies Wintercorn’s departure.
Allow your company to succumb to one of the biggest scandals of all time. Jump ship. Get a $60 Million payout. Sounds about right.
Other manufacturers now being investigated
The European Union has asked all 28 member countries to undertake their own diesel testing programs to learn just how many vehicles are on the road with emissions test defeating programs on board. These roadside tests are not being limited to Volkswagen products.
In fact, a German roadside test found a BMW X3 that was emitting 11 times the legally allowed limit of contaminants. BMW denies they have done anything to manipulate tests and the testers aren’t pointing any fingers. Yet.


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Volatility as an asset class
Seagate Technology (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) are advancing after a Brean Murray analyst wrote that sales of hard disk drives appear to be trending in-line with expectations, while stronger than expected sales of more profitable devices could cause both companies to report better than expected results for their quarters ending in March. STX is recently up $1.05 to $25.78 with overall option implied volatility of 35 is below its 26-week average of 41. WDC is recently up $1.54 to $48.82 with overall option implied volatility of 36 is near its 26-week average of 38.
DuPont (DD) is recently down 32c to $48.30 and Monsanto (MON) is recently up $3.92 to $103.34 after announcing a series of technology licensing agreements that will expand the range of seed products they can offer farmers. DD overall option implied volatility is at 17, below its 26-week average of 19. MON overall option implied volatility of 23 is near its 26-week average of 24.
CBOE S&P 500 2% OTM BuyWrite Index (BXY) is recently up 6 to 1271.50, above its 10-day MA of 1266.69, above its 50-day moving average of 1237.13. www.cboe.com/BXY
Active options at CBOE: AAPL NFLX LVS C DELL HPQ BAC STX AMRN BBRY
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is recently down .71 to 13.03. VIX April 16 and 19 calls are active on total option volume of 306K contacts at the CBOE.
S&P 100 Options (OEX) is recently up $3.88 to $701.78 on domestic economic data, including better than expected reports on home prices and durable goods orders.


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Yeah all we need now is a confirmed release date instead of the November expected time frame,i think at the PAX expo the dates will be confirmed.
There was a news feed on a site the other day that Toys R Us said the playstation 4 will ship November 13th,this was later retracted as they said it was just a number and date for there stock reference or something.
Personally i think the Playstation 4 will ship around the end of October as there are many games out within that 2 week period like Battlefield 4 and the new Cod Ghosts [not interested] also Watchdogs is due way before November 13th and these games are a must on next generation consoles.
there is little point buying Battlefield 4 on a 360 or Playstation 3 come October if you plan on upgrading and the consoles are yet to ship.
Makes no sense releasing the new games then having to wait weeks for the new consoles.
I do hope the new Smurfs Game gets ported over to the Playstation 4 so it will keep Jaxx happy