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With the ever-increasing number of internet users, private and sensitive information being sent online has increased enormously over the years.
With a theme once again of “Together for a better internet”, this year’s Safer Internet Day – which takes place this week – calls upon all stakeholders to join together to make the internet a safer and better place for all.
The team at IT Security Briefing spoke to several industry experts to find out more about the day and what it means for the wider industry…
Simon Marchand, Chief Fraud Prevention Officer at Nuance Communications
“Safer Internet Day acts as a reminder to businesses and consumers alike that cyber security solutions and fraud prevention tools are key in order to make the internet a safer and better place for all. In fact, with the current, necessary shift towards remote working and online education – it has never been more important to look to experienced security and fraud solutions providers that demonstrate a strong track record of protection against cyber threats to security.
“The sad truth is that cybercriminals and fraudsters don’t stop their crimes because of a pandemic. In fact, they often seize the immense change that comes with an event like this to ramp up their activity, targeting the most vulnerable and least protected – in order to manipulate their data and steal their personal information.
“Whilst there is not and never will be one single silver bullet for fighting fraud, biometrics is a proven, effective authentication factor and fraud tool. By layering it into a data protection strategy, individuals and businesses are able to identify whether a person really is who they say they are.
“With voice biometrics able to leverage more than 1000 unique speech characteristics- from pronunciation to size and shape of your nasal passage- and behavioural biometrics measuring minute details- such as how a person holds their phone or even how they pause once they finish a task- systems that incorporate them are considerably less susceptible to hacking.
“When it comes to fraud, prevention is always better than a cure. In today’s landscape consumers are more aware than ever of the importance to protect their own information, and they will hold accountable the organisations that don’t do enough to protect the information they share with them. Without question, businesses need to be one step ahead and education around the most effective security solutions- like biometrics- is key.”
Lucas Szymanowski, Director of Information Security and GRC at Wrike
“The ongoing pandemic has acted as a catalyst, driving an online trend that was already well underway. As the majority of our interactions now take place in a digital format, this year’s Safer Internet Day serves as a stark reminder that it has never been more important to ensure that we all remain protected when online.
“With teams now dispersed and the internet playing a more important role in our lives than ever before, security will be top of mind for many businesses. Whilst investing in effective security tools and technologies is important, so too is investing in the people that use them every day. If employees aren’t engaged, a business is leaving the doors open to attackers.
“In fact, employee apathy is one of the biggest security liabilities to any organisation. Disengaged employees are more susceptible to outside manipulation, more likely to leave systems vulnerable due to negligence, and at greater risk for leaking sensitive company information. Yes, business leaders need to spend time boosting cyber security awareness and training employees about online dangers, highlighting both potential risk to the business and individuals. But when it comes to protecting a business from threats, the focus should be on driving adoption of security initiatives and increasing employee engagement. By improving engagement, employees will be more vigilant about attacks and think twice about data theft. Focusing on engagement also applies to IT teams. An engaged IT team will take the time to educate employees and collaborate with departmental leaders to ensure everyone is aware of the dangers and knows how to protect themselves. Ensuring your workforce is engaged will be especially important when you’re working with remote teams.”
Keith Glancey, Systems Engineering Manager at Infoblox
“The last year has been a serious turning point for internet usage and safety. The ongoing pandemic has meant that the majority of our interactions are now taking place in a digital format and it’s never been more important for businesses to protect both themselves and their customers online.
“Our recent Q4 Cyberthreat Intelligence Report found that email remains the top threat vector, with phishing and social engineering attacks more common than ever. Despite trainings and warnings, users continue to open suspicious emails, both in their business and personal accounts, putting sensitive corporate information at risk.
“Safer Internet Day promotes awareness around the threat landscape and effective ways to protect both businesses and consumers. All organisations – regardless of industry – need to consider how they can optimise their security posture. With solutions such as DDI (DNS, DHCP and IPAM), companies can use a technology they already use for device connectivity to gain insight into network activities, and fortify their security posture.”
Petter Nylander, CEO at Besedo
“Over the last year everyone has relied on the internet so much more for their day to day lives – including school children using it for learning and education.
“Unfortunately, an inevitable but unwanted side effect of growth in online activity and users is growth in harmful content. Malicious users and false information cause real, preventable damage.
“The need to prevent harm online is not new. The urgency added by the uptick in more vulnerable users, including children, is new. Now that they have had time to understand the challenges, we should expect online businesses to renew their efforts to be more forceful and proactive about minimising harm.
“The truth is that too much slips through the net of tech companies’ moderation efforts, and whatever they are doing isn’t enough. Educating users on how they can take additional care is important, but the platforms they use need to support them with an AI-based first line of defense and specialist human operators to accurately moderate harmful content.
“The big picture is that online businesses won’t survive if they can’t demonstrate user safety: after a year of growth, we hope that this year’s Safer Internet Day will spur them towards prioritising users’ needs over company revenue.”
Gus Tomlinson, General Manager at GBG:
“The past year has accelerated our reliance on the internet and online services – for example, during 2020 47% of consumers have opened a new online shopping account, while a third opened a new bank account. But with this shift towards digital, a whole new market opened up for fraudsters. GBG’s recent State of Digital Identity 2020 report found that not only is identity fraud already affecting one in five consumers, the ‘trust gap’ it creates poses a risk to industries which will depend on digital trust if they are to thrive in 2021 and beyond. A third of consumers are more worried about fraud, as a result of COVID-19 – most prominently banking (36%).
“As a result, establishing trust digitally and promoting online safety has never been more important, and this responsibility lies with both companies and consumers. For consumers to adjust to our digital-first new normal, and for businesses to truly prosper online and overcome the challenges of last year, we must keep pushing on the technology and education required to make those online interactions safe, fraud-free and frictionless.”
Ramsés Gallego, International Chief Technology Officer, Cybersecurity, Micro Focus
“Privacy is a fundamental human right and should be treated as a pillar for any society. Unfortunately, the Internet is being weaponised by malicious actors to violate this privacy, having the power to modify people’s mind-sets and, in turn, how they behave.
“This Safer Internet Day, however, it’s important to recognise that we have a unique opportunity to get the Internet right. Working together, individuals, governments and organisations across all industries can create a more trusting environment, enabling people to securely and safely engage with information and services online.
“Technology has a large role to play here. With the help of unsupervised machine learning tools, for example, we can implement processes and procedures to address the spread of misinformation via fake news and videos – reducing the window of exposure to lies and manipulation. Crucially, we must keep in mind that trust needs to be earned and everything we do should be undertaken ethically and lawfully.
“Through global collaboration we can put in place the correct infrastructure and legislation to ensure the next generation is able to interact with an Internet built on safe and reliable foundations.”
Rodney Joffe, SVP and Fellow, Neustar
“This Safer Internet Day represents a key opportunity to raise awareness around the spread of misinformation. While this issue is by no means new, a combination of factors – including the Covid-19 pandemic and the polarised political situation in the US – have created a tougher environment for “real” news to be trusted online.
“The fake news, misinformation and disinformation resulting from the political campaigns of the previous US administration have led to the rise in the online influence of – mostly far right – conspiracy theorist ranks such as Q-Anon, whose actions have led to mass uncertainty and anxiety worldwide. In the early stages of the pandemic, we also saw cybercriminals quickly exploit the global crisis by registering fake domains relating to the virus. A lot of these websites were designed to look like those of organisations or bodies providing vital services and information related to the virus. Quite apart from the immediate danger of low-quality, or actively misleading, information on its reader’s health and wellbeing, these domains erode trust in precisely the official sources which are best placed to counter that bad information.
“Curbing the spread of false information and shutting down fake domains requires global collaboration between tech giants, organisations and the cybersecurity community. Alongside this, more needs to be done to educate consumers on how to spot fake news and websites, which involves encouraging browsers to pay close attention to the URL of a link before they click on it – no matter where, or who, the link came from.
“We must demand vigilance of ourselves and others to mitigate the worst of misinformation. While this is an ongoing problem, the last year has been a lesson in the importance of keeping trust alive on the Internet.”


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Payments technology will soon be integrated into jewelry, refrigerators or the sensor-rich doorway of an Amazon Go store.
Your cell phone can be your wallet, but most people are still too worried about hackers to switch from paying with cards and cash.
Plus: Facebook is considering more discreet notifications rather than tags.
The adoption of mobile payment systems is nearly universal -- except on Main Street.
Despite the company's optimism, others aren't so sure.
In many ways, Android Pay is the evolution of Google Wallet.

domain: news


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Plymouth cruise ship visits soar by more than 40 per cent
Plymouth is expected to welcome 10,000 cruise ship passengers this year.
Known for centuries as a magnet for seafarers, adventurers and explorers, the city’s rich heritage is proving ever more popular as a port of call for today’s international cruise liners, with bookings up 40 per cent from 2023.
Among the 14 vessels already confirmed this year are several making their first call to Plymouth plus several expedition vessels.
They include the first visit by Ambassador Cruise Line with their ships Ambition and Ambience, and expedition vessels such as Seabourn Venture, Exploris One, Star Legend, and Le Dumont D’urville.
The port will also welcome luxury cruise liners including Silver Dawn, Silver Spirit, Sirena and Seabourn Sojourn along with visits by German operator Phoenix Reisen with Artania, Amadea, and Amera.
The first liner arrives in April and bookings continue monthly until October with cruise lines from the USA, Germany and France represented along with UK ships.
More visits are in the pipeline for 2024 and inquiries are coming in for next year and 2026.
Amanda Lumley, Destination Plymouth’s chief executive said: “Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City has been working hard to cement our reputation as a must-see port of call and a great many people are busy behind the scenes to make these cruise visits a huge success.
“We recently hosted a two-day familiarisation visit by some cruise industry representatives, including cruise line executives, cruise media and a cruise line ship management representative, to showcase some of the top attractions we have to offer.”
She added: “The Cruise Plymouth Partnership pulled out all of the stops to ensure our cruise industry guests’ visit was memorable.
“We’re also delighted to say the city has already achieved a reputation within the industry as one of the most welcoming ports for cruise ship visits. One passenger from Saga Cruises’ Spirit of Discovery said that, having been on over 50 cruises around the world, the welcome provided in Plymouth was ‘one of the best’ they had seen.”
The Cruise Plymouth Partnership was created in 2021 with a shared vision to increase the number of cruise ships visiting Plymouth.


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Fine Art Auctions & Guntram von Habsburg Foundation Present a Night of Street Art
South Florida’s premier auction house, Fine Art Auctions Miami (FAAM), will hold its third annual Urban & Street Art Auction at SPACEBY3 in Wynwood over President’s Day Weekend (Feb. 12 – 16). FAAM will unveil works by Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Banksy, Faile, Phase2, and KAWS, among others. Works will be on display throughout the weekend and will end with a live auction on Monday, February 16. Fine Art Auctions Miami Last year’s Exhibit and Auction brought in over $1.3 million*, including the sale of Banksy’s controversial Kissing Coppers. “Home to some of the world’s greatest street art, Wynwood is an inviting arena for
Items Signed By Lincoln, Jefferson, Einstein And More Of History’s Brightest Stars Will Be Auctioned March 3rd By University Archives
The full catalog showing all 408 lots is up for bidding and viewing now at University...
Morphy’s to auction stellar Bob and Judy Brady antique mechanical bank collection at Feb. 27 no-reserve live gallery event
One of America’s finest, Brady collection includes exquisite examples of Shoot the Chute, blue-base Mikado, Dentist,...


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San Jose welcomed its first Bass Pro Shops last week with a grand opening that drew thousands of shoppers from around the Bay Area to the busy intersection of Almaden Expressway and Cherry Avenue in Almaden.
The 110,000-square-foot store is the chain’s fourth location in California and houses an archery range, 12,000-gallon freshwater aquarium, bowling center and restaurant.
Some neighbors said they’re happy to see the store open because it will provide more jobs and boost the local economy, but they’re also concerned that the big attractions will generate even bigger traffic. Several other major businesses are already nearby, including Costco, Whole Foods and Walmart.
“We’re happy to have that kind of business coming in because it does help the tax base,” said Marilyn Rodgers, president of the VEP Community Association. “We like to have the uniqueness of the type of business, but we are concerned about traffic. That’s the bottom line.”
She said it helped some that the city required Arcadia Development Co. to install an extra lane on the off-ramp from northbound Highway 85 and traffic signals.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Rodgers said. “Traffic wasn’t as bad as I worried about.”
Despite the improvements, Rodgers said the intersection’s notorious reputation for traffic could still deter shoppers during the upcoming holiday season.
“It’s helped but it hasn’t taken care of the original problem, which is there was a horrendous amount of traffic before the shopping center,” Rodgers said. “With the holidays coming up, everyone’s talking about how they’re going to avoid it.”
Bass Pro Shops general manager Darin Mekkers said the store has been working with fire, police and city officials to keep traffic flowing. The road improvements not only have improved traffic but also benefit the store, Mekkers said.
“These improvements definitely are helping the flow of traffic, and we’re committed to minimizing any additional impact that we can,” Mekkers said. “It’s in our best interest, if the customers are going to come see us, that it’s not a hassle.”
Other neighborhood organizations such as the Almaden Valley Community Association said the development was a foregone conclusion. Bob Strain, the association’s planning and zoning chairman, said that opposing or supporting Bass Pro Shops by now is pointless and he wishes it success for the benefit of the city.
“I am concerned that their stores elsewhere have drawn huge numbers of visitors, and that relates to traffic,” Strain said in an email. “On the other hand, Bass Pro brings a type of store that is not represented in the San Francisco Bay Area, and their sales tax revenues will help offset San Jose’s structural deficit.”
The opening of Bass Pro Shops so far has generated nearly 400 full- and part-time jobs, according to Mekkers. He said the company does not publicly share sales information.
Julia Baum can be reached at email@example.com.


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“The introduction of Apple Pay – and the coming of its rival, CurrentC – has retail CIOs looking, again, at how customers pay,” Jen A. Miller reports for CIO. “Apple pushes Pay as one way to stop security breaches. That’s because a retailer doesn’t store credit card information. Instead, Apple stores that data, and gives retailers a ‘token’ that stands in for payment.”
“‘The credit card isn’t transmitted during the transaction, and the retailer will not have the credit card number in [its] systems,’ says Jim Maholic, author of Business Cases that Mean Business and vice president in Hitachi Consulting. That way, even if the retailer is hacked, the customer’s information isn’t put at risk. ‘As a CIO, I [would] feel better if I have more customers using Apple Pay, because I haven’t exposed their numbers to risk,'” Miller reports. “‘There’s a certain number of affluent customers who use the iPhone 6 [and iPhone 6 Plus],’ says Maholic. If one store offers Apple Pay and the other doesn’t, those well-heeled customers are more likely to walk in the Apple Pay door. ‘Now that I’ve got that customer, it’s harder for somebody to steal that customer.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Apple Pay consumers can now use their Barclays, Navy Federal and USAA MasterCard – November 10, 2014
Apple Pay now available for U.S. Bank customers – November 10, 2014
Apple Pay wallet killer is already making an impact at Whole Foods – November 8, 2014


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Watches and Wonders 2023 shows off the latest trends
Watches and Wonders Geneva 2023, the highly-anticipated annual event for watch enthusiasts and luxury watchmakers, arrived to unveil the latest…
LVMH Watch Week
The first big brand fair of the year kicked off in the second week of January in Singapore – LVMH…
TAG Heuer adds a wellness app to its luxury connected watch
The Swiss luxury watchmaker extends its TAG Heuer Connected digital universe with a new app for an active and healthy…
Naomi Osaka – A new brand ambassador for Tag Heuer
The Swiss luxury watch brand has announced the signing of Naomi Osaka as a brand ambassador. Osaka is not only…
Cara Delevingne joins TAG family
English model Cara Delevingne is the latest celebrity to be named as a TAG Heuer ambassador.
TAG Heuer takes on marathons
As part of its new strategic direction, TAG Heuer is entering the world of sports marathons as a partner and…
TAG turns electric
TAG Heuer has joined forces with the world's first-ever electric car open championship, the FIA Formula E Championship.
Tag Heuer partners with Dempsey
More than 40 years after Steve McQueen starred in the race classic Le Mans with a Heuer Monaco chronograph on…
Ronaldo signs up with TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer has signed up football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to a long-term partnership as a brand ambassador.
Tag opens flagship in Brisbane
TAG Heuer has opened a flagship store in Brisbane's MacArthur Central shopping complex.
Tag takes top prize in Geneva
The TAG Heuer Mikrogirder has won this yea's Aiguille d'Or - the top prize at this year's Grand Prix de…
Jenny Berich discovers that celebrities are the best sales people for many watch and jewellery brands.


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Lex Autoloease is using mobile service specialist SEV Group Ltd to provide mobile SMR to fleets of light commercial vehicles. SEV’s 130 mobile engineers are now supporting some of Lex Autolease’s corporate customers with fleets in excess of 500, including construction contractors and equipment rental companies.
Andrea Pendlebury of Lex Autolease specialist commercial vehicles consultancy team said: “Using expert mobile service engineers, nationwide, gives our customers complete confidence that their vehicles will experience minimum downtime.
“SEV has a proven track record for efficient mobile service and our customers are very happy with their performance.”
As part of its contract, SEV has stationed an engineer in-house at the Lex Autolease Heathside Park office in Cheadle, Stockport.
Jon Pinnington, head of sales at SEV Group Ltd, said: “It is rare for Lex Autolease to base a supplier at its own premises, but it is working very well. By being integrated into the team, the SEV engineer at Cheadle is able to respond quicker to their customers’ needs, helping Lex Autolease meet and exceed its own high standards of service.”


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LUKE’s (not his real name) sleep and concentration patterns have gone haywire but the thought of not wanting to be left out keeps his fascination for computer games alive.
The 19-year-old student succumbed to peer pressure and became addicted to computer games and social media feeds. He would spend up to 10 hours or more a day playing games and interacting online.
He also spends a lot of money on ‘A-Cash’, an online credit system, to buy additional items to enhance his gameplay experience. Similarly, others have been known to waste thousands of ringgit on it.
Are Luke and other teenagers and young adults like him Internet addicts?
According to Psychiatric Consultant Dr Muhammad Muhsin Ahmad Zahari, they are are displaying the classic symptoms of cyber addiction.
“We can identify Internet addicts by analysing their usage pattern. Excessive usage (more than four hours of non-essential use), disruption of social functions and behavioural change are all symptoms of debilitating compulsive behaviour,” Dr Muhsin tellsThe Rakyat Post.
The non-essential (not related to work or studies) Internet use can be sub-typed into computer games, social media, cybersex and pornography and compulsive information seeking.
“Just like chemical addicts, digital addicts will display withdrawal symptoms such as anger, irritability and distress when their access to the digital world is limited or revoked.”
The Internet World Statistics reveal that Malaysia is among the top 10 Internet countries representing 1.6% of Internet users in Asia, with a 60.7% Internet penetration rate as of 2012.
“Malaysia has high chances of developing a segment of society that are Internet addicts in the near future,” says Dr Muhsin, who is deputy chief coordinator at University of Malaya Centre for Addiction Sciences.
Although no formal study has been done on Internet addiction here, it cannot fall far from China and Thailand’s scores, he adds.
Studies show more than 13% of Chinese and 20% of Thai adolescents who use the Internet are obsessed with it.
“Our children and teenagers are now more exposed to the Internet and social media. We can estimate that 15 to 20% of children and teenagers may already be hooked.”
Dr Muhsin says Malaysia should brace itself for this phenomenon.
He proposes the training of certified health professionals specialising in addiction therapy and the establishment of dedicated behavioural addiction treatment centres.


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Blow To Bitcoin As CEO Warns Crypto Winter Could Turn 'Nuclear'
Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market has been suffering through a year-long bear market that was branded "crypto winter" late last year for its debilitating effect on the industry. The bitcoin price has been falling steadily since it hit an all-time high of almost $20,000 in December 2017, dropping by some 80% over the last 13 months and dragging the wider market down with it. "If we break below $3,000 for bitcoin, crypto winter will become crypto nuclear winter," Vinny Lingham, the CEO of digital identity software company Civic, said via Twitter. The crypto winter has caused many bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain startups to slash jobs or shut down already and a further turn for the worse could spell disaster for the burgeoning bitcoin sector.


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Another day, another legal win by a member of the anti-Android axis.
Just a day after Apple notched a legal victory against HTC, a maker of smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system, the United States International Trade Commission issued a preliminary ruling finding that Motorola Mobility Holdings was violating a Microsoft patent with its mobile products. The ruling by an ITC judge still needs to be reviewed by a six-member commission, which can chose to reverse the judge’s preliminary decision.
Motorola portrayed the ruling as a victory for the company, since the judge tossed out six of seven patents that Microsoft had accused Motorola of violating in its original complaint with the ITC. But Motorola could still face an injunction — called an “exclusion order,” in the lingo of the ITC — that would force it to make changes to its smartphones and tablets so it no longer infringes on Microsoft’s patent.
The question is how big a headache those changes, if they’re necessary, will be. The Microsoft patent that Motorola was found to have violated is related to the scheduling of meetings from mobile devices, in which other participants are invited to attend and their electronic calendars are synchronized to reflect the meeting. It could be a big annoyance for its users if Motorola was forced to strip that scheduling feature out of its smartphones.
Motorola could also come up with a technical workaround that would satisfy the ITC’s final ruling — a tweak to its products, short of stripping the scheduling feature out. In a statement, Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility, said the commission “may provide clarity on the definition” of the Microsoft patent that “will help us avoid infringement of this patent in the U.S. market.” The company also said it was still pursuing patent infringement cases of its own against Microsoft in various jurisdictions.
Microsoft’s lawsuit against Motorola could ultimately become a lawsuit against Google directly, if Google’s proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola, now undergoing regulatory review, is completed.
In a statement, David Howard, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft, said the company was pleased by the ruling and hinted that Motorola should reach a patent licensing deal with Microsoft, as others have. “As Samsung, HTC, Acer and other companies have recognized, respecting others’ intellectual property through licensing is the right path forward,” Mr. Howard said.
On Monday, HTC said it had a workaround of its own that would allow it to comply with an ITC ruling in the Apple case. The commission found that HTC was infringing on an Apple patent that detects things like phone numbers in e-mail and text messages so that users can automatically dial the number with a single tap.
So far, no ruling in a smartphone patent case has prompted product changes so major that they threaten to seriously undermine a product’s appeal. But with so many more legal decisions to come between Android device makers and the companies battling them, there is still plenty of time for that.


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Taiwan notebook Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) account for more than 90% of global notebook production and Digitimes is there to provide daily...
The early success Google's Android platform has achieved in the handset market has caused system makers, software developers and semiconductor players...
Windows 10 and Intel's Skylake processors are expected to have limited affect on boosting consumer demand for PC in the second half of 2015
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If you want to learn how to reverse engineer or exploit embedded systems and mobile devices, we can show you!
The problem wasn’t specific to Axis, which seems to have reacted far more quickly than competitors to quash the bug. Rather, the vulnerability resides in open-source, third-party computer code that has been used in countless products and technologies (including a great many security cameras), meaning it may be some time before most vulnerable vendors ship out a fix — and even longer before users install it.
Still, there are almost certainly dozens of other companies that use the vulnerable gSOAP code library and haven’t (or won’t) issue updates to fix this flaw, says Stephen Ridley, chief technology officer and founder of Senrio — the security company that discovered and reported the bug. What’s more, because the vulnerable code is embedded within device firmware (the built-in software that powers hardware), there is no easy way for end users to tell if the firmware is affected without word one way or the other from the device maker.
Read the full article


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On this day 19 years ago, the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game was released in North America and in Europe. To celebrate the little blue dude’s birthday, Sega has slashed the prices of all of their iPhone and iPad games for a limited time, even the titles that aren’t Sonic-related. Check out the entire list below.
- Sonic the Hedgehog ($5.99 -> $3.99)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($5.99 -> $3.99)
- Super Monkey Ball ($4.99 -> $2.99)
- Super Monkey Ball 2 ($5.99 -> $3.99)
- Streets of Rage ($2.99 -> $.99)
- Golden Axe ($2.99 -> $.99)
- Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition ($7.99 -> $4.99)
All sale prices are valid through Wednesday, June 30th.
Don’t forget to check out EA’s $.99 sale while there is still time, and Gameloft’s $.99 sale to celebrate the launch of iPhone 4. After this week, that shiny new iDevice should be plump full of brand new games!


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Gathering customer information in a CDP is about understanding your customers better and delivering more tailored experiences, but getting that information where it needs to be to make that happen has proven challenging.
Perhaps Twilio Segment, the CDP Twilio bought in 2020 for $3.2 billion, can help with some new features designed to make it easier to make use of that data by making it more portable and introducing reverse ETL (extract, transform, load) to get the data where it needs to be.
The company is calling this new approach Segment Unify, which Kevin Niparko, VP of Twilio Segment, says involves building these customer records from myriad data sources, the ability to store that record in the data warehouse of choice and, finally, using reverse ETL to move the data to wherever it’s needed.
“We're launching Segment Unify, which is really the next generation of our customer data platform. There are sort of two marquee features here. The first is around identity resolution and profiles. So this is helping build that golden customer record across all of the digital signals,” Niparko told TechCrunch.
“We then provide portability around that with profile sync so we can load that directly into a data warehouse like Snowflake, BigQuery or Redshift, where data scientists and data engineers can incorporate that into their models and analytics and business intelligence. We're also providing reverse ETL capabilities, which you can think of as a syncing back out of the data warehouse into all of the tools in that marketing and analytics stack, regardless of the vendor,” he said.
Niparko says that this flexibility without vendor lock-in is a big differentiator for his platform. “This gives data scientists and analysts the ability to take the insights that they're uncovering in the data warehouse, and then sync them into a marketing automation tool, like Customer.io, sync that into other tools like Amplitude or Mixpanel to help the entire organization leverage that same singular insight around the golden customer profile,” he said.
He says this can enable customers to get closer to the idea of true personalization. “Ultimately, we do see the world moving towards a one-to-one engagement model. I think that's going to require, one, that this foundation be in place with portable customer records, and then layering in AI that can reason about all of these different signals and then deliver that singular message that's right for that customer at that stage of their journey.”
While the company is officially announcing the product today, it has customers like CrossFit, MongoDB and Sanofi working with it already.


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New Delhi - State-run power generator NTPC will not acquire stressed assets, but is open to operating projects owned by others as a business proposition, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on August 8.
"NTPC is not taking over any stressed assets. If the banks take over any stressed assets and they run a due process, everybody will be free to participate in that, including the PSU (public sector undertaking) companies," Goyal said at an event on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) organised by the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO).
Responding to a question on NTPC operating stressed assets taken over by banks, the minister said: "That's a suport they provide to anybody in the public or private sector. If any body wants to approach NTPC and is willing to pay NTPC, it's a service that they provide and anybody can avail it. It's a revenue model for NTPC."
In this connection, he said that the government's recent announcement on stake divestment in PSUs through the Bharat 22 exchange traded fund (ETF) is a "win-win" proposition for the generating giant.
"Shareholding of government in NTPC has been moved to exchange-traded fund Bharat-22. It is a wonderful move. It will help the government garner resources while keeping the public sector character of company intact. It is a win-win situation."
He also said the world is moving towards electric vehicles and the government is working on a road map to take India towards all electric cars.
"Only electric car by 2030...existing cars may take a little longer to replace. But the government is working on a framework to see what we can do on promoting electric vehicle. Niti Aayog is currently tasked with preparing futuristic vision for electric vehicles," Goyal said.
He also said that although hybrid cars had reduced fuel consumption a little bit, India will promote electric vehicles because it is the future.
"It (hybrid cars) reduced fuel consumption a little bit but the future is all electric cars. I had also recommended to the finance minister that it is not advisable for an intermediate technology which reduces the fuel consumption by a little bit but otherwise that is not the future, the future is all electric cars," he said.
"The world is moving towards electric vehicles and the country would promote electric vehicles," he added.


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Although the Trump Administration is moving to “gut” the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA), or as we all know as “Obamacare,” there is one provision of the measure that has seemed to slip through the cracks. On May 7, a controversial provision went into effect that requires food service businesses with 20 or more locations to list nutritional information for food items on all signs and printed menus.
The measure will not only be ruinously expensive, both in dollar amounts to make the change and the man hours to do it, but it is highly unlikely to change consumer behavior for the better. Supporters of the Obamacare provision claim that consumers will have more information about what they’re eating, leading to people making healthier choices, and reducing the obesity rates in the U.S.
Congress actually had many chances to amend the rule within Obamacare, make it more business-friendly, and reduce the 14.5 million hours the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estimated it would take to comply with the mandate. Despite bipartisan support for the changes, Congress failed to act.
The Foundation for Economic Education reports that the average pizza shop will incur around $5,000 in annual costs per shop. Most consumers, those who order online or place an order over the phone, would never even see the calorie and nutritional information charts. Furthermore, the long lists of options and nutrition data may not help reveal the total nutritional content of their order, considering the math would have to be done by the consumer, adding up extra cheese, sauce, meats, and different types of crust.
Though, technology has given rise to quicker and easier solutions to problems. Many restaurants, including Domino’s Pizza, have found tech-forward ways of letting consumers know what’s in their food.
For example, Domino’s has a “Cal-o-meter,” an online widget which tallies the nutritional content of an individual order of pizza, based on size and toppings. Easy, cheap, and satisfactory, right? No, online tools do not satisfy the Obamacare provision.
Restaurants and food service businesses must have a list of nutrition content for all menu items posted at the physical location. This also includes buffets, delis, sandwich stands, and lunch counters in grocery stores – many of which have regularly-rotating choices. According to the report, the Food Marketing Institute, a trade organization, estimates of complying with the law will cost grocery stores up to $1 billion in the first year the Obamacare provision is implemented.
Congress’s inability to effectively and sensibly govern is concerning enough. However, what is even more disconcerting is the fact that no one who supported the Obamacare provision, when it was buried deep within the bowels of the ACA, considered how the measure might work in real life. Research into similar efforts across the country have indicated that instead of helping people eat fewer calories, the measure could actually have the opposite effect – a backfire in consumer behavior.
New York City and Philadelphia have implemented similar measures with posting menu items and the nutritional information thereof. Studies conducted on the endeavors found that nutritional disclosure has no appreciable changes on consumer behavior.
One study commissioned by New York City found that the effect varied by chain. In some restaurants, consumers did order lower-calorie meals when presented with nutritional information. However, in some shops, like the Subway restaurant chain, the nutritional information labeling actually correlated with consumers increasing the calorie content in their meals – some speculate as an effort to maximize their dollar-to-calorie spending.
The move to provide more information to customers is commendable. However, this is just another example of how government intervention ruins the problem which it was trying to alleviate.
Not to mention, failure to comply with the law could land shop owners in prison for a year and with a fine of up to $100,000.


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Looks like the FeedRoom is working on a relaunch, this time in software. They were really a pioneer in customized video streaming back in 2007 and 2008. I remember when they got the Reuters news streaming deal that was supposed to be all the validation the VC investors needed to push the company towards IPO. But that never happened. After $70 million in funding the company sold to some digital agency that I can’t remember the name of. FeedRoom was basically dissolved as a brand. So I can’t imagine what a relaunch would look like in terms of investment. I doubt it’s the same founders as the first version.
Video editing, publishing and effects software is a much larger market now than it was 10, or even 5 years ago. However video streaming is so commoditizated to the point of demoralizing any prospective entrepreneurs in that space. I’m always up for trying a new video editing platform. Looks like they choose the right in terms of having a product versus a service.


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Drinks giant Diageo has created a poster campaign based on an unhappy ape character, in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) and Lothian Buses, both of which offer free public transport on New Year’s Eve.
The company will also be funding street pastors to patrol the streets around London’s Trafalgar Square and sponsoring TfL’s Safer Travel At Night (STAN) campaign, which aims to provide information and access to safe means of transport.
Attention grabbing gorilla
Mark Baird, Head of Industry Affairs & Alcohol Policy at Diageo, said: “We hope that ‘Grumpy Gorilla’ will grab people’s attention this Christmas and remind people that they will have a much better time if they drink sensibly. We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year.”
The posters will be supported with activity on social media sites, using the hashtag #thinkhowyoudrink, which links to Diageo’s ongoing responsible drinking campaign of the same name that launched in July.
Mark Reddick, executive creative director at TMW, the agency which designed the campaign said: "Responsible drinking is a serious subject and our challenge was to communicate this message in a way that would really resonate with our target audience.
"We decided to introduce an element of humour to the campaign, which we hope will grab young adults’ attention and encourage them to drink responsibly."


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“Nationally, gasoline averages $3.70 a gallon -- up 30 cents since mid-July and is now higher than year-ago levels in 39 states. Prices are likely to continue climbing through August, with little relief until after Labor Day,” USA Today reports.
Gas jumped 9 percent this month, pushing the national average to $3.67 a gallon, thereby beating 2011’s $3.51 a gallon record. And it doesn’t look like it's going to let up. In fact, even after demand dies down with the end of summer, 2012 will still most likely be the most expensive year on record, according to Brian Milne of energy tracker Telvent DTN.
“The run-up comes at a time when prices typically have peaked for the year, and just weeks after decreasing demand and slowing worldwide economic growth pushed prices well off 2012 highs. The trend had prompted some industry experts to forecast $3 a gallon gasoline by autumn. Now, Milne expects a top at about $3.90 before dropping in September [emphasis added],” USA Today reports.
Of course, drivers in the Midwest are already paying that much and the cost in California has jumped considerably after a fire broke out at a Northern California Chevron refinery last week.
"The $4 threshold is when you see sticker shock and marked changes in consumer behavior and spending patterns," says Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, who warns rising gas prices will stymie consumer spending.
"When prices come down, that really revives disposable income. The longer we see these highs, the more impact you'll see on consumer spending,” he adds.
However, AAA spokesman Michael Green is confident people will travel despite the rising costs.
"Whenever prices rise, it has a major effect on what people spend and save," he says. "People are still going to take extended trips, but they might decrease what they spend on souvenirs or cut back on that expensive dinner."
Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter
All photos Associated Press.


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The Broadway reopening is one of the most anticipated events post the pandemic. Today, apart from the famous Central Park, Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State building - New York Broadway continues to be one of the most iconic representations of the vibrant city, hosting numerous performances across theaters, bringing its rich culture back to life! The origins of Broadway Theatre can be traced back to 1750 when the first theater company was launched by Thomas Kean and Walter Murray. It has come a long way since as the highest level of commercial live theater, where people travel from different parts of the world to experience the onstage magic and celebrate outstanding performances together. Read on to know about the Broadway reopening in 2021.
Broadway Reopening Date - September 2021
Broadway League has announced the new reopening date of Broadway theatre as September 2021. Since the initial shutdown on 12th March 2020, the Broadway League has declared numerous reopening dates following the pandemic — none of which have actually taken place. The dates declared so far are as follows: 12th April 2020, 29th April 2020, 1st June 2020, 7th June 2020, 6th Setepmber 2020 and 30th May 2021.
However, the recent statement announced by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, confirming the Broadway reopening in September 2021, gives Broadway League a strong sense of optimism and hope to resume Broadway productions this fall, at the beginning of September.
Broadway Reopening - What's at stake when resuming post-pandemic?
To begin with, there is no doubt that strict safety guidelines will be introduced in order to prevent the spread of infections inside the theater, or at least until the staff and patrons are vaccinated and taking all necessary precautions.
It is, however, going to be a challenge to make this happen. If a Broadway theater decides to open during the pandemic, at least 80% of the audience seats need to be occupied in order to create a financial balance. Another stumbling block would be to come up with an effective way to manage social distancing protocol within the tight quarters as it would not be sufficient to only provide masks and hand sanitizers. With this, there is also a chance that prices of the tickets may increase in order to make up for the depleted audience.
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What to expect when Broadway reopens
Broadway League has been working closely with State and City officials in creating a safe space to restart the Broadway industry to welcome audiences and bring the workforce back to its routine. If the Broadway reopening is to take place as predicted in September 2021, it is very likely that only the smaller Broadway shows would begin functioning and the opening of bigger shows would be further postponed, after seeing the response for the first few performances.
Moreover, new Broadway shows are expected to choose dates that go even further into the future along with The Music Man and MJ: The Musical both confirming that their opening dates will be after September 2021 once all other Broadway shows have begun. One of the main reasons is the difficulty in getting a new show setup together during the ongoing crisis, which adds on more complexity amidst this challenging time.
More details about Broadway reopening will be declared in the coming weeks.
Broadway Reopening FAQs
The Broadway is expected to reopen in September 2021.
Due to the possible capacity limitations, it is highly recommended that to book your tickets well in advance to avoid getting disappointed.
It is expected that Broadway will take up strict safety measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This includes:
- Implementing daily capacity restrictions
- Making it mandatory to book tickets online
- The need to wear face masks throughout your visit
- Social distancing to be followed at all times
- Introducing hydroalcoholic gel dispensers for guests to avail
No, there is no specific dress code. You can wear both formals and casuals. It is a good idea to carry a smart jacket or a light shawl in case you find the air-conditioning too cold.
Duration of Broadway shows varies but typically it is about 2.5-3 hours with a 20 minute interval.
Many theatres do offer coat check. However, storing luggage, shopping bags or strollers is generally not accepted. Please contact the theatre before you arrive for more information.


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Apollo: 30% Increase in Exports to Europe Planned
At present Apollo Tyres exports 50,000 Apollo branded tyres a month to Europe from its factory in Vadodara, India, yet company ‘sources’ claim this quantity will increase markedly in the coming months. According to Indian financial journal the Hindu Business Line, sources expect a 30 per cent increase in the monthly shipment of tyres to Europe, with 65,000 units a month arriving here by March- April 2011.
“There is encouraging customer feedback for our (Apollo branded) tyres in Europe,” said Apollo Tyres chairman Onkar S. Kanwar. “We will give a big push to our marketing initiative once supply constraints are stabilised.” Marketing plans include a new campaign strategy; Apollo has appointed French advertising and communications firm Publicis Groupe to handle this, and the resulting campaign is expected to be rolled out at the end of winter. In the meantime a “soft launch” has been held for the two Apollo cold weather products sold in Europe, the Hawkz Winter and the Acelere Winter.
Supplying sufficient quantities of tyres to the European market has been an issue for the Indian manufacturer to deal with since the Apollo brand’s launch here in June, and the Hindu Business Line reports the reaching of full operational capacity at the company’s Chennai plant during the next fiscal year will help towards this. The Chennai factory will supply tyres to the Indian market, which the financial journal notes will free the Vadodara facility to direct “most” of its 18,000 tyres per day towards Europe – a quantity far beyond the 65,000 tyres per month stated by company sources. The completion of expansion work at the Apollo Vredestein plant in the Netherlands will also provide extra capacity for the European market.


text: With the expectation of launching "the world's first affordable, mass-market fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)" as early as 2017, Daimler, Ford, and Nissan on Jan. 28 announced an agreement to work together in that cause. Specifically the automakers will collaborate on a common fuel-cell stack and related propulsion technologies, with the aim of reducing development time and costs. Each company will invest equally towards the project. Together, the automakers have more than 60 years of experience developing FCEVs. Their FCEV demonstrators have logged more than 10 million km (6.2 million mi) globally in real-world customer testing. The common powertrains ultimately will be used in highly differentiated, separately branded FCEVs. According to the companies the collaboration, which follows a similar recent announcement by BMW and Toyota, "sends a clear signal to suppliers, policymakers, and the industry to encourage further development of hydrogen refueling stations and other infrastructure necessary to allow the vehicles to be mass-marketed."


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Smartphone shoppers in India are the first ones able to purchase the new Nokia X handset.
Offered as of Monday at a price of 8,599 rupees ($141), the new Android-based smartphone targets the midrange market, according to the Economic Times. That range typically sees phones sell for between 7,000 and 15,000 rupees, and encompasses the best-selling mobile phones in India.
"Our primary strategy on smartphones is Lumia and the Nokia X will be a feeder platform into the Lumia," Nokia India managing director P. Balaji told the Economic Times. "We see the opportunity for Nokia X in the affordable smartphone category where most consumers want the apps from Android."
Though outfitted with Android, the Nokia X does not come with any of the usual Google apps, such as the Google Play store, Google Search, or Google Maps. Instead, the phone sports the Nokia Store where users can download Bing, Here Maps, and other sofware as well as access third-party app stores.
The Nokia X+ and XL editions are expected to reach India within the next two months, according to ET. Those two models top the Nokia X with more features and as such will be more expensive. But they'll still ring in at under 12,000 rupees, keeping them in the midrange, affordable smartphone category.


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As an idea, food trucks, or any kind of truck just wheeling around town dispensing services, is a really agreeable thing. There’s something about the marriage of mobility and commerce, no matter what the service, that appeals.
Even better is when that mobility serves a kind of commerce devoted to a yet better kind of mobility.
Recently, CTV News reported the story of a former bike messenger who, some years ago, opened up a mobile bike shop, an enterprise he embarked upon after exploring the idea of sustainable, small-scale, and mobile businesses. Joe Nunn — whose “bike truck,” if you will, is called Joe’s Garage — doesn’t just offer bike repairs from his familiar-looking vehicle, but through various “community tools,” the knowledge for commuting cyclists to do the job themselves.
Having spent a while, CTV News reported, with shop very visibly established on the Bow River bikeway has been a huge boost for cycling in Calgary, riders say. Marcus Michel, a cyclist described by the CBC as among the ranks of the city’s bike couriers, said, “Having Joe on the pathway has been a total lifesaver. Most of the stores don’t open until 10, and our problems with our bikes don’t always happen when the stores are open.”
For Nunn’s bike truck to be there during the winter, Michel added, would be even better. The courier seemed skeptical of that likelihood, though. “It would be nice if he was out here in the winter, too,” Michel said, “but I don’t think his vehicle is insulated for that kind of weather.”
Nunn’s business model certainly reflects the reality of the bike seasons in what, at times, can feel like one of the coldest cities in Canada. A big part of using a mobile model for his services, he explained, was that it allows him to operate with minimal associated costs — something vital, he said, to the seasonal nature of what he does. “In most of Canada, the nature of the bike season, at least the bike repair season, is five to seven months,” he said.
Recently, Calgary has seen growth in available bike infrastructure. A result, having even further knock-on effects, has been a surge in a civic interest in cycling itself, with more and more riders taking to the streets — something being seen increasingly in recent years. With that pattern developing, Nunn expects there will be more room in the industry for mobile bike shops like his, he told the CTV.


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KURSK gets a gameplay trailer
Gameplay trailer hits for KURSK
We`ve had a new trailer reveal today, and it comes in the form of a new gameplay video for Kursk. The game, which is being described as a documentary-adventure game, is being developed by Jujubee.
“KURSK is the first ever documentary-adventure game. It will focus on the tragedy of the Russian atomic submarine K-141 Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea in August 2000. The game’s plot will be largely based on facts, making the player a witness to dramatic events that shook the world at the time.”
We don’t have much information yet regarding the game, but I`ll be looking forward to seeing some more of this in the future.


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Closed down op-shop's legacy lives on
AFTER the cost of renting saw opportunity shop Rags to Riches close last year, the hard work and legacy of volunteers will continue through the work of Pete's Place.
Linked to the St Vincent de Paul Society's Making a Difference, Rags to Riches first opened in Little St in 2016.
Volunteers at the op shop offered food to the homeless from Mondays to Fridays, but around a year after opening the store was forced to close.
With $3000 still left in the bank account, Making a Difference committee member Keryn Mitchell said the team decided to hand it over to newly opened Pete's Place.
The St Vincent de Paul Society's Pete's Place provides free shower, bathroom and laundry facilities for the homeless.
"Unfortunately we had to close the shop because of the high rents and we didn't have any other support network,” Ms Mitchell said.
"It is a shame because we did have a handful of volunteers who worked hard to keep it going.
"We donated the leftover money to Pete's Place, and Dave Tilson who runs Pete's Place is putting the funds towards buying an urn for tea and coffee to be provided.
"We have also donated the leftover clothes and items from the store to various charities around Coffs.”


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When you think of Italy, you think of rolling hills covered with olive trees, endless bottles of wine, steaming dishes of pasta and warm brick oven pizza. Well as essentially Italian as pizza is, apparently young Italians find no appeal in taking up a career making pizza.
Recent statistics out of Italy show that even though almost 50% of young Italians are unemployed, there are over 6,000 openings in restaurants searching for a pizza maker. No pizza in Italy? Say it ain’t so!
What’s the problem? Some say that being a pizza maker has lost its cultural appeal as newer fields like technology become more glamourous. Combine that with lower wages, longer days and the manual labor and it’s hard to find young people who want to take the job.
What’s the plan to keep pizza on the menu? The EU has stepped in by paying students to learn a new trade, spanning from making pizza to carpentry. So if you’re worried about not finding pizza on your next trip to Italy, fear not. They’re working on it!
- On April 14, 2015


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The U.S. real estate market continues to slow. Rising costs are causing issues for both buyers and sellers. The good thing? Buyers have more to choose from as the inventory is rising, according to Karen Kage, the CEO of Realcomp. She says one Michigan area is holding up.
“What really stands out to us this month is the city of Detroit itself is still going really strong,” Kage said. “Sales are down about 5%, but the sale prices are up about 3%.”
Sales are down about 16% from last year and prices have continued to rise up more than 4%. In southwest Michigan in August, sales were down from the same month the year before. The average selling price rose 16% from that in August 2021.


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Thursday December 23, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Showing thoughtful leadership and producing a nice gesture ahead of the Christmas holiday break, businesses hard-impacted by the latest public health orders were given a life raft today.
British Columbia businesses that were mandated to temporarily shut down through public health orders because of surging COVID-19 cases will be eligible to receive a new one-time relief grant of up to $10,000.
The announcement was made at 10 am this morning by Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.
The COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant will supplement federal support programs and provide funding to help affected businesses alleviate some financial pressures and help with expenses including rent, employee wages, insurance, maintenance and utilities.
Long grind of the pandemic:
“We’re all exhausted by COVID-19, but unfortunately COVID-19 is not done with us,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. “As we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, we are coming together to ensure those hardest hit businesses will receive much-needed support.”
“The COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant will directly help businesses through these difficult times. I encourage everyone in B.C. to support impacted local businesses, including businesses that have been forced to close by buying gift cards and memberships for future use,” said Kahlon.
The grant was fast-tracked by the Province following new restrictions announced by the provincial health officer on Dec. 21, 2021, and will cost an estimated $10 million.
Who can apply:
Businesses ordered fully closed include:
* gyms, fitness and adult dance centres
* bars, lounges and nightclubs
* event venues that can no longer hold events
Relief grants of between $1,000 and $10,000 will be provided to eligible businesses based on their number of employees, following the similar formula to the previous Circuit Breaker Relief Grant that supported businesses in the spring of 2021.
Applications open January 2022:
Applications for the grant will begin in January 2022. More information on how to apply will be made available over the next few weeks, with the application process open until the end of February 2022.
Business advisors will be able to support and direct applicants through a dedicated call centre that will be set up in early January by the Province and Small Business BC. Businesses will also be able to email questions to: firstname.lastname@example.org
The provincial COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant program is in addition to the federal government’s expansion of its Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit and the Local Lockdown Program for workers and employers across the country who are affected by new capacity restrictions and closures.
Business relief grant eligibility criteria, pay structure
To be eligible for the COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant, a business is required to:
* confirm it has been fully closed by the provincial health officer’s recent orders;
* new applicants will need to provide direct-deposit information (not needed if business was approved for the Circuit Breaker Business Relief or the Small- and Medium-Sized Business Recovery grants);
* confirm that it is registered as a B.C. business before Nov. 1, 2021;
* confirm that the business is following all public health orders and guidelines;
* produce a business validation document, such as a municipal business licence, liquor licence, notice of assessment or lease agreement; and
* confirm majority ownership and operations and payment of taxes in B.C.
For more information on the business relief grant, including the application process and eligibility and timeline, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/business-relief
Eligible applicants closed as a result of the provincial health officer orders will receive funding based on number of staff. The breakdown is as follows:
* Businesses with no employees or contracted staff: $1,000
* One to four employees or contracted staff: $2,000
* Five to 99 employees or contracted staff: $5,000
* 100 or more employees or contracted staff: $10,000.
===== LINKS (government):
For details about the new federal measures, visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/12/government-temporarily-expands-access-to-lockdown-program-and-worker-lockdown-benefit.html
For more information on the business relief grant, including the application process and eligibility, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/business-relief
For more information on StrongerBC, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/


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April 10, 2007
Alexander County fruit grower is Small Farmer of the Year
Visit N.C. A&T State University's ag e-dispatch to learn more about Small Farms Week and the innovations in agriculture that helped Alexander County fruit grower Gary Morrell win the 2007 Dudley Small Farmer of the Year award. The School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Web page also has links to the Small Farmer of the Year video and slideshow.
Posted by Natalie at April 10, 2007 11:32 AM


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When it comes to B2B payments’ late payment problem, the root of the matter can often be traced to a lack of negotiating power between small suppliers and large corporate buyers.
With so many carriers in the ground freight and logistics market operating as small businesses, or even as single-person enterprises, it’s no surprise that late payments can place a major cash-flow constraint on truckers. Bibby Financial Services‘ Global Business Monitor 2017 report found that small businesses in the sector often wait at least 45 days to get paid, with 41 percent citing invoice collection as their biggest challenge.
Amid these cash-flow pressures, separate data from Broughton Capital found that more trucking companies in the U.S. went bust in the first half of 2019 than in the entirety of 2018.
Invoice factoring is a common strategy for carriers in a market operating with tight margins and delayed invoice payments. However, frustrations with the financing tool can weigh heavily, as truckers are forced to finance their unpaid invoices, thus settling to less than what they should be paid from their shipping and logistics clients.
According to logistics platform dexFreight‘s President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Handoush in a recent PYMNTS interview, the struggle for small and large companies in B2B relationships to obtain a level playing field is “a problem all throughout the world, in terms of small businesses not being able to stay as competitive as larger entities.”
That’s especially true, he noted, as larger corporates have fewer barriers to access affordable financing. With margins tight and company closures an imminent threat, factoring is often a crucial avenue for small trucking firms to remain afloat.
“Payment incentives are misaligned between stakeholders,” he said of the industry’s cash-flow challenge. “Shippers want to hold onto their cash flow as [long] as possible, but carriers need to be paid quickly. Factoring is a solution to this misalignment.”
Despite the importance of factoring in the market, Handoush emphasized that the industry is in need of a more affordable way for truckers to address that misalignment.
Blockchain Mitigates Risk
With a new factoring solution having completed its pilot testing, dexFreight is turning to blockchain and smart contract technology in an effort to lower the cost of invoice financing. According to Handoush, it is blockchain’s ability to provide security and assurance to trading partners, brokers and financiers that allows for more favorable factoring rates for truckers.
Using blockchain, invoices can be tokenized and turned into smart contracts, meaning information cannot be duplicated or altered. This mitigates a range of risks, both for trading partners and their financiers. For instance, it mitigates the risk of duplicate invoice payments — a problem for manual invoice processing and accounts payable practices across a range of industries, Handoush said.
“From a risk assessment standpoint, it gives [the invoices] more credibility, and [financiers] are able to evaluate [them] with much more confidence,” he explained.
Less risk means lower rates. According to dexFreight, blockchain and invoice tokenization has led to factoring rates under 1 percent.
There are other opportunities for blockchain technology to address friction in the logistics and freight market, he noted.
For instance, similar smart contract technology has the potential to mitigate risk, and enhance the insurance policy underwriting process, with blockchain able to present secure, verified data pertaining to company reputation, shipment milestones and other key performance indicators. Furthermore, dexFreight is exploring blockchain to establish a data marketplace, allowing shippers, brokers and trucking companies to “lease” data to each other without compromising its integrity or security, opening up avenues for these industry players to monetize the data they already have, Handoush explained.
The company isn’t the first to explore the use of blockchain and smart contracts for factoring purposes. Indeed, blockchain continues to be a popular target for innovators across a range of financing and payment use cases. However, it’s no guarantee that the technology will become the industry staple that many proponents of the tool expect it to be.
What’s important about blockchain in this use case, noted Handoush, is not the nitty-gritty of how it works. Businesses simply want to know that it will provide fast, secure and affordable invoice financing.
“It’s like you and I going on an airplane. We don’t need to understand all of the aerodynamics and components of the airlines, but we trust the process to get from A to B,” he said. “It’s no different here. … As long as more of their money hits their pocket at a lower rate than they’ve seen before, they don’t need to understand the actual mechanics of the back end, of what’s actually occurring.”


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US Gasoline futures traded above $2.5 per gallon, the highest since September 2014, as traders weighed a larger-than-expected drop in gasoline stockpiles and prospects of booming demand. EIA figures showed inventories shrank by 5.368 million barrels, easily beating forecasts of a 1.267 million barrel draw, as demand surged to its highest since 2007. Meanwhile, the POTUS warned gasoline prices will stay elevated into 2022 due to OPEC+ output policies. Elsewhere, gasoline sales in the world’s third-largest oil consumer India, reached 1.05 million tonnes in October, a 2% monthly increase and up 8.3% from the same month in 2019.
Historically, Gasoline reached an all time high of 3.63 in July of 2008. Gasoline - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on October of 2021.
Gasoline is expected to trade at 2.55 USD/GAL by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 2.75 in 12 months time.


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Nayya, an AI startup powered by laws4life natural language processing and AI, has just raised $11M in a series A round of funding. The company says it has over 120 million claims stories and 3 billion consumer data points to draw from. It is only available in English and currently operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Nayya raises $11M in series A round of funding
Nayya, a leading insurance benefits management platform, has raised $11M in series A funding. This new funding will allow the company to expand its product and attract new talent. The funds will also be used for product research and development. Felicis Ventures led the investment, with support from existing early investors, including Guardian Life, the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States. Other investors include Unum Business Ventures, a Fortune 500 company that covers 39 million Americans.
Nayya’s product leverages billions of consumer data points from across the healthcare and insurance industries to recommend the best benefits for an individual’s needs buxic. To achieve this, the company partners with major carriers and benefits administrators, including Selerix, to provide a single, consolidated source of consumer data. It also has alliances with 10 of the largest brokerage firms in the country and Acrisure’s leading voluntary benefits division. These partnerships enable Nayya to reach millions of consumers.
The new funding comes at a time when the lawyersmagazine Zika virus has made voluntary benefits more attractive to employees. This has led to a spike in health savings account (HSA) participation – over 80% of employees are now enrolled in them and the average contribution is more than $1,400. In addition to General Catalyst, other investors in the round included Social Leverage, Guardian Life, and Cameron Ventures. This means that the total funding raised by Nayya is now $14 million.
It is powered by AI and natural language processing
Nayya’s AI-powered chatbot platform is a powerful new tool that enables businesses to automate customer service operations. It uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to understand customer queries in real-time. With this technology, businesses can offer better customer service while saving money on labour costs.
A key cornerstone publiclawtoday of modern AI, Natural Language Processing has been instrumental in building chatbots, speech recognition, and sentiment analysis applications. By analyzing user preferences, Natural Language Processing can help AI applications understand what they are trying to say. Inventor Jason Flaks helped develop conversational technology that is at the core of Microsoft’s Hololens and Kinect.
While most new AI companies start out focusing on a specific task, many of the best companies are building applications that tackle a broad range of challenges. For example, some startups are using AI to help detect cancer. Others have partnered with medical institutions to develop therapeutic drugs that respond to a patient’s symptoms.
It is only available in English
Nayya AI is an AI-powered customer service platform that automates customer support operations. It is currently in beta and plans to launch a full version later this year. It is similar to startups such as Helpr, which utilizes chatbots for customer support.
Nayya AI Has Raised a Series A Round of Funding
AI startup Nayya has raised a series A round of lawyerdesk funding. Its customer service platform is powered by artificial intelligence and natural language processing. It currently provides customer support for English-speaking customers, but plans to expand to other languages in the future. The company has raised over $11m to date.
Nayya’s customer service platform is powered by AI and natural language processing
Nayya’s customer service platform uses AI and natural language processing to automate customer service operations. It provides businesses with a virtual agent that understands customer queries in real time and learns from interactions. This technology enables businesses to scale their customer support operations without hiring additional agents.
NLP is a powerful tool for e-commerce businesses. Its capability to analyze massive data sets in seconds saves time and money. Previously, manual data analysis could take days and even cost thousands of dollars. Using the right technology and data can help businesses automate customer service and make their business more efficient.
AI and natural language processing enable a company to understand the sentiment of employees across multiple channels. Nayya leverages data from over three billion external consumer data points and more than six thousand networks to make personalized recommendations. It can also track a customer’s sentiment across all touchpoints and give immediate insight. It also enables companies to automate time-consuming tasks such as compliance management.
Its platform is only available in English
Although the Nayya AI platform is currently only available in English, the company is working to add more languages in the future. This means that users in some countries are unable to use the platform on their mobile devices. However, despite its limitations, Nayya is an excellent solution for businesses that want to automate customer service. It bestlawyers360 uses artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing to understand customer queries and respond in real time.
Nayya AI is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that automates customer support operations through chatbots. It is still in the beta stage but plans to launch its commercial platform later this year. It has raised $11 million in seed funding from Felicis Ventures and Wiggers VentureBeat, and the team behind it is strong.
It competes with wiggers venturebeat
Nayya is a startup that uses AI to collect data about employees and their lifestyles, and then uses that data to build an AI platform that can help customers make better decisions. The startup has raised 11 million dollars and is aiming to use that data to save common people in the United States a lot of money.
Nayya’s AI-powered customer service platform is an interesting technology that could revolutionize the customer service industry . The startup is still developing the software but plans to launch a beta version later this year. Companies like Helper and KAI offer similar platforms for automated customer support.


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Business in the eastern city of Zomba was interrupted on Tuesday, around 4:00pm when information reached the people that sugar, a commodity that is slowly becoming scarce on the market, was being sold d at Shoprite Supermarket.
People sneaked through their offices before knocking time, in order to have a chance of buying sugar which was sold at K214.00 so as to save some money which could be used to buy other necessities since vendors are selling the same at the range of K450 t0 K500 a packet.
The shortage of sugar has hit the country and prices have skyrocketed as traders are taking advantage to make exorbitant profits.
Scores queued to buy sugar and caused traffic congestion in the city since the Shoprite is along the road and just opposite to the exit gate of the bus depot.
At first people were allowed to buy up to five packets but shop authorities later allowed only two packets.
Police came to instil order on the queuing consumers.
However, such events are never short of drama. People burst into laughter when they saw a man shaking his head after bribing someone with K200 for short cut entry to the queue only to be allowed to buy two packets.
Most of the traders talked to expressed disappointment with Illovo Sugar Company over the shortage of the commodity on the market.
They wondered why the company could not meet the demand of sugar on the local market.
A check in most shops in the city centre revealed that the retailers did not have the commodity apart from Shoprite.
Illovo’s spokesperson Irene Phalula said the shortage is due to the control of the supply by the company “until the start of the new sugar milling season in April.”
Phalula said Illovo is controlling the distribution of sugar by limiting supplies; prioritising key customers in whom it has confidence will sell into the domestic market.
Meanwhile, Limphasa Sugar Corporation plans to invest $40-million to kick-start sugar cane production in the northern lakeshore district of Nkhata Bay in 2013, according to company’s spokesperson, Kirit Thakrar.
The company, which has a 600 ha plant-ation at the site, is set to become Malawi’s second-biggest sugar producer after Illovo Sugar group, which owns the Nchalo and Dwangwa sugar cane plantations and sugar factories in the country.Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :


text: Last week, Uber Freight announced that it is acquiring Transplace (disclosure: Transplace is an Adelante SCM client). As the companies state in the press release, this acquisition "will create one of the leading logistics technology platforms, with one of the largest and most comprehensive managed transportation and logistics networks in the world [emphasis ours]." When selecting a transportation service provider, how important are the size/scope of their logistics networks and technology platforms . . .


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The pharmaceutical industry is a strategic industry that strategically contributes to India’s growth story. Globally, India ranks third in terms of pharmaceutical production by volume and is the third major product in terms of exports.
Despite being a significant contributor to the country’s exports, the sector was excluded from the RoDTEP scheme notified by the General Directorate of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on 17and August 2021. The scheme, which replaced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), covered 8,555 products, with rates ranging from 0.3% to 4.3%. According to general estimates, it is observed that APIs and formulants are generally subject to significant taxes ranging from 2.47% to 6.34% and 2.74% to 5.46%, respectively, of the value FOB, according to different kinds of products.
While the sector eagerly awaited the announcement of RoDTEP tariffs for the sector or the allocation of the necessary funds in the current budget, no such announcement was made. Lately, the sector has witnessed a significant erosion of sales prices in developed economies and a simultaneous increase in domestic tax costs embedded in the price of the manufactured product. This ultimately hampered the overall exports of the pharmaceutical industry. At this difficult juncture, the extension of export incentives such as the RoDTEP is critical to the industry for sustainability and competitiveness in the global market.
While the budget has no major announcements on the RoDTEP front, one bright spot for the sector is that, in a historic move to boost exports, the budget has proposed replacing the Economic Zones Act 2005 (SEZ law) by new legislation which allows States to join in the development of companies and clusters. At the same time, reforms are also proposed in the customs administration of the SEZs with the aim of making them fully computerized. This stems from the requirements to ensure the ease of doing business by SEZ units.
Since 2005, the government has given formal approval under the SEZ Act to 425 SEZs and authorization in principle to 35 SEZs. However, from the 30and September 2021, only 268 of them were operational across the country. While SEZ exports have grown year-on-year (YoY), with the pharmaceutical industry being a major contributor, many exporters have opted out of the SEZ program in recent years. The need to modify the regime arises from the fact that many units in the SEZ have suspended their operations for various reasons such as the phasing out of tax benefits, onerous compliances/conditions such as Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) requirements against newer regimes like manufacturing. and Other Operation in Warehouse Regulation (“MOOWR”) under the Customs Act 1962. The new regime is expected to potentially ease the conditions for the use of benefits and pave the way for smoother compliance procedures . While we have to wait for the fine print of the legislation to comment further on the pros and cons of the new regime, it could significantly rekindle the interest of the pharmaceutical sector in setting up units in the SEZ and increase much-needed business agility. in the SEZs.
In addition, in order to revive the manufacturing sector, hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposal to postpone the deadline for starting a new manufacturing unit from 31st 2023 to March 31st March 2024 is a welcome decision. In the wake of the ongoing COVID pandemic, pharmaceutical companies have faced various challenges such as supply chain disruptions, labor issues, etc. Companies may therefore not be able to meet the deadline of 31st March 2023 to commence manufacture in order to qualify for the preferential tax treatment of 15% under Section 115BAB of the Income Tax Act 1961. The extension of the deadline will be a crucial factor in facilitating the establishment of new manufacturing units.
This budget has once again focused on streamlining tariff rates and exemptions on various products, including medical devices and medicines for which there is sufficient national capacity. Exemption from customs duties on specified goods used for research and development (R&D) purposes in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector will be phased out by 31st March 2023. In addition, the basic customs duties on products such as artificial kidneys and disposable sterilized dialyzers and the raw materials used for the manufacture of these, X-ray machines, have been increased. Removing the exemption is certainly a step towards increasing domestic manufacturing and achieving the goal of “made in India” and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Overall, while the budget includes some measures to spur growth, the benefits expected by industry, such as reduced GST rates on health insurance, expanded scope of products covered by the Product Linked Incentives (PLI) program and a generous push for drug research are said to have gone a long way in fueling innovation and growth in the sector.


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Help your county businesses and show your support for them with a T-shirt from #SanJuanStrong. Jackalope Trading Company co-owner Melinda Redd spotted a piece from the Wagoner County American-Tribune paper recently. A friend had posted it on Facebook. The story was about a Coweta Oklahoma printing company that made much of its income off printing of church bulletins, flyers for festivals and other gatherings that are on hold during the attempt to plateau Covid-19 numbers. The owner of the Oklahoma company came up with a campaign to sell t-shirts with the logos of local companies on them. He would print the shirts and take half of the $20 cost passing the other half on to the business printed on the shirt.
Mindy took the idea and working with local printer Bear Skins Custom Ink to orchestrate a grass roots stimulus package is putting your money where it will do some good. Bear Skins set a goal of raising $10,000 for local small businesses in the next 30 days.
A quick Q and A with Mindy played out like this:
SJC EDVS: Where does the money go?
Mindy: $10 from every shirt sold goes to that particular business. So when someone buys a Jackalope shirt, the Jackalope gets $10. The other $10 goes to Bear Skins to cover their costs and keep them going a bit as well. So every shirt purchased helps two SJC businesses!
SJC EDVS: And what do they do with it?
Mindy: Right now, it's about supporting local businesses who are struggling. The Jackalope closed our doors to in-person shopping on March 21st, and honestly have only had a few "virtual" sales coming in. This virus has pretty much killed our Spring shopping season, which had just started to pick up. For us, the money will go to monthly bills (that don't go away when we're closed) and if there's any left, maybe we can spend it at a local restaurant or two.
SJC EDVS: Who saw the piece in the Coweta paper and thought this was a good fit for San Juan?
Mindy: That was me. A couple of my life-long friends live in Coweta, and posted the article on Facebook. I read the article, contacted the owner of the print shop, and started talking to friends about the possibility of doing the same fundraiser here. Luckily Bear Skins was all for it and we appreciate all the work they've done to make this happen.
To buy a shirt visit: https://bearskinstshirts.com/san_juan_strong
If you’re a business interested in participating contact Cindy Bayles [email protected] or
Melinda Redd: [email protected]


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Weak pound boosting UK tourism industry
- By NewsOnFloor Staff
- Aug 03, 2019
- 419 views
London, Aug 3 (IANS) The number of tourists visiting the UK has risen due to the weakness of the pound which has resulted in boosting the visitors' spending power, the latest figures show.
The figures revealed by travel data firm ForwardKeys said that summer flight bookings from long-haul markets were also 6 per cent higher than in the same period last year, the BBC reported on Friday.
This week the pound hit a 31-month low against the US dollar amid increasing speculation the UK could leave the European Union (EU) without a deal.
"This summer is likely to see the highest number of Chinese tourists to the UK ever," said ForwardKeys spokesman David Tarsh, adding that the number of Indian visitors was ahead by 20 per cent, with Japan at 10 per cent and the US at 5 per cent.
Sarah Hewin, chief economist for Europe and the Americas at Standard Chartered, said the low pound meant visitors would be feeling wealthier.
"The fall in the value of the pound against China's currency means that Chinese tourists coming to the UK have seen their spending power increase by around 5 per cent in the past three months."
Patricia Yates, a director at the UK's tourism promotion agency Visit Britain, is seeing on the ground, said: "The UK is offering great value for inbound visitors right now which gives us a valuable opportunity including in Europe, where we are already running a campaign to promote travel to the UK during the summer."
But when it comes to European visitors, Visit Britain has said that there was some concern about the impact that the uncertainty of Brexit is having, the BBC reported.
The latest ONS tourism stats showed that visits from Europe to the UK were relatively flat from January to March this year - up just 2 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Source : ians


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Games, entertainment, and dating catapult winners to the top of the ranks and Southeast Asian publishers make gains
SINGAPORE, March 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — App Annie, the mobile data and analytics company helping companies win on mobile, today announced its annual Top Publisher Award winners, recognizing the most innovative and successful publishers around the world. The Top 52 Publishers, as measured by app store revenue estimates in the last calendar year, are from 12 countries.
“We congratulate this distinguished group of mobile publishers from across the world,” said Theodore Krantz, Chief Executive Officer at App Annie. “The three top publishers, Tencent, Netease and Activision Blizzard, retained their leadership positions while seven new brands entered the Top 52 list. We are privileged to work with so many of the top publishers, delivering the analytics that contribute to their continued innovation as they deliver amazing consumer experiences.”
Again this year, publishers from Asia dominate the list. More than half of the top publishers are headquartered in this region, including five of the top ten. The United States had the most top publishers of any country, with seventeen.
Game publishers continue to dominate the ranks as gaming captured 72% of app store spend for the year. Leading social brands, mixi and Line, lead in app store monetization with the success of games and entertainment apps in their portfolios. Subscription revenue is outpacing the overall market’s growth, as demand for entertainment and dating apps soars. IAC and Netflix are top performers in the 2020 Top Publisher Awards, with IAC (Match Group) capturing the top spot among non-game publishers for its first time.
In Southeast Asia, publishers that are driving success are a diverse group from Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. These publishers are leading the mobile transformation journey by disrupting traditional brands as they join the ranks of other more established global players to become homegrown unicorns.
Singapore-based Sea retained its top spot in Southeast Asia by downloads while at the same time entering the global charts by ranking 37th in the Top 52 publishers by consumer spend. The mobile-first market of Vietnam gained an edge over its Southeast Asia peers with four of its publishers—Amanotes, OneSoft, VNG and BACHASoft—in the top 10 ranking by downloads, while Telkomsel Indonesia made it to the Top 10 list list via its range of payment option services, integrated content, as well as gaming in its app.
In India, Reliance Industries maintained a clear lead over others. The conglomerate ventured into the world of start-ups via its Jio-branded apps. Launched in 2016, mobile carrier, Jio, is now India’s leading telecom company with its own app store comprising at least 13 different apps. Gaming and entertainment were at the core of other activities in India while Zomato food delivery service was the only anomaly in the Top 10 list.
Australia’s Top 10 list of apps by downloads saw the three media giants: Nine Entertainment, Telstra and Australian Broadcasting Corporation leading the ranks while Aristocrat, whose portfolio includes mobile games, followed closely behind ranking in the 4th position.
“We are honored to be Southeast Asia’s #1 publisher, and first from our region to rank among the world’s Top 52, building on a strong year of growth for Shopee and Garena,” said Dr. Santitarn Sathirathai, Group Chief Economist at Sea.
“2019 was a year of exponential growth both for our products and our people, and we made good progress towards our vision that ‘Everyone Can Music,'” said Bryan Teo, Chief Operating Officer at Amanotes.
“With so many great games and apps available to consumers, it is a privilege to be among the largest publishers in the world,” said Maya Okui, Executive Officer, Game Business Division at Line. “We will continue to deliver games and LINE apps which are unique to LINE for users around the world, leveraging important partners like App Annie.”
“We are honored to be once again in App Annie’s global Top 52 Publishers list,” said Matt Liu, Senior Global Publishing & Marketing Director of NetEase Games. “Netease Games has always endeavored to provide high-quality interactive entertainment experiences for passionate gamers around the world. While we are operating and managing competitive games such as ‘Knives Out’ and ‘Identity V,’ we will continue to explore overseas operating models of MMO games like ‘LifeAfter’ to bring higher quality content to players around the globe. With the multi-dimensional support from App Annie, NetEase Games will continue to thrive at a new peak.”
For the full list of the Top 52 Publishers, please visit our blog.
Typically, App Annie celebrates its winners with gala events. This year, due to coronavirus concerns, App Annie unveiled a Top Publisher Awards microsite that features top publisher announcements across countries, regions, and industries. It also features videos from App Annie executives and customers, and showcases winners and their tips for success. Visit our Top Publisher Awards site by registering here.
Methodology: The list is comprised of the top 52 mobile publishers by combined iOS and Google Play revenue estimates from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. These rankings do not include revenue earned from in-app advertising, commerce, or payments outside of the app stores.
About App Annie
App Annie is the industry’s most trusted mobile data and analytics platform. App Annie’s mission is to help customers create winning mobile experiences and achieve excellence. Founded in 2010, the company launched the first mobile market data solution. In 2019, App Annie acquired Libring, an advertising monetization and spend offering. Together, these solutions comprise the industry’s most complete mobile performance platform. More than 1,100 enterprise clients and 1 million registered users across all geographies and industries rely on App Annie to drive their mobile business. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with 12 offices worldwide.