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Private equity deal worth more than US$8 billion establishes the ‘new’ chipmaker
By Andy Willliams, Contributing Editor
The best one-line description of the recent announcement about the sale of Philips Semiconductors to a private investment group? Business as usual. Everything that has come out of the sale announcement so far has indicated that the only thing different is the name, NXP, which, according to the company’s marketers, is a play off “Next Experience.”
Probably the two most-asked questions about the new venture … ‘What is the new company’s business strategy?’ and ‘What will happen to the management team?’ NXP issued a one-page “frequently asked questions” document to answer both.
The company “will continue its current business renewal strategy, which has been underway for 18 months and has contributed to sustained profitability and cost savings … This involves building leadership in the five markets on which the company focuses: Automotive, Identification, Home, Mobile and Personal, and Multimarket Semiconductors.”
As to the management team, the current one “will stay in place, led by CEO Frans van Houten. As part of the formal legal process, a board of management will also be established at NXP.” Jayson Otke, Philips’ senior press officer, said final closure on the deal should take place sometime in the fourth quarter of 2006. Mr. van Houten was a member of the Board of Royal Philips Electronics and CEO of Philips’ Semiconductors business. His new title will be president and CEO of NXP.
“It’s a pretty good signal when they keep the entire management team in place and have them run the day-to-day business, drawing on their expertise” that little in the way of operations will change, said Mr. Otke.
The US$8 billion deal forms NXP
For those who may have missed the original announcement, Royal Philips Electronics earlier this year said it was selling an 80.1% stake in its semiconductor unit to a private equity group for 6.4 billion euros (about $8.2 billion U.S.). Equity group members include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Silver Lake Partners and AlpInvest Partners.
- Founded in 1976, KKR is one of the world’s largest private equity firms. According to company information, the firm’s investment strategy is to acquire industry-leading companies and work with management to grow and improve them, thereby increasing shareholder value. Its investors include corporate and public pension plans, financial institutions, insurance companies, and university endowments. KKR has offices in New York, California, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
- California-based Silver Lake Partners, another private equity firm, focuses solely on investments in technology companies.
- Equity investment company AlpInvest Partners, with offices in Amsterdam and New York, deals with investment products, including pension funds.
Philips sharpens focus on consumer electronics, away from chips
Philips decided to get out of most of its semiconductor business to concentrate its portfolio “on steady growth, market systems, household appliances and lighting,” said Mr. Otke, leaving Philips mostly with healthcare and lifestyle/consumer electronic products.
Philips has “spent three billion euros in acquiring companies in household and lighting and we want to continue to reshape the company and continue to expand in this area” as well as in the health care fields and “high margin businesses,” he said.
“Philips understands that to compete in the semiconductor business, you need to have scale. In December we announced we were setting up a separate legal structure for the semiconductor business, to look at different ownership structures for semiconductors,” Mr. Otke added. “While there is a need to be in a leadership position and the need for scale, it was hard to focus on a cyclical business like semiconductors.”
So in June, Philips indicated, “that by the end of the year our aim was to have a minority stake in our semiconductor business. We also indicated which routes we preferred to take to meet that goal, either via an IPO or sale to an investor group,” he said.
“Clearly in semiconductor activity for certain technologies, such as RFID and NFC (near field communication technology co-developed by Philips), it would make sense to invest further in areas such as these,” he added.
NXP leadership poised to “shape the future of the semiconductor industry”
Mr. van Houten, in a speech recently at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) consumer electronics show in Berlin, likened the sale to controlling “our own destiny” as the new company starts “to shape the future of the semiconductor industry. Put simply, we’re enabling the next generation of consumer entertainment products,” he said, referring to the company’s new name.
A center dedicated to emerging technologies has been established within NXP and has attracted some 600 scientists from Philips Research and Applied Technologies. NXP will remain headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
“NXP already has number one market share in areas such as TV chips, contactless identification for e-passports, RFID for electronic ticketing in public transport, car radio digital signal processors and key mobile phone system solutions,” said Mr. van Houten. “We want to be a leader in everything we do.”
Visit NXP on the web at www.nxp.com.
Explore more developments dealing with the implementation of Near Field Communications, a short-range wireless technology that promises to revolutionize contactless identification, payment, access, and more. Click to visit NFCNews.


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Retailers plunged into gloom by scale of global slowdown in consumer spending
Dire sales figures from Currys and B&Q follow collapse of Woolworths
Friday 28 November 2008
The owner of the do-it-yourself chain B&Q and the electricals chain Currys piled further gloom on the retail sector yesterday as it recorded its first half-year loss in two decades and became the latest retailer to scrap its dividend.
DSGi said it wanted to preserve cash given the "recessionary environment". The pan-European group reported dire sales at Currys and PC World for the 24 weeks to 18 October amid "tough and volatile" trading conditions.
Kingfisher, which runs B&Q and the British outlets of the trade outfit Screwfix, said it would close its fledgling British Trade Depot chain and warned of plummeting underlying sales here and in China. It is the latest bad news for the retail sector, which saw Woolworths and MFI, the furniture chain, collapse into administration on Wednesday. Retailers are facing arguably the worst Christmas trading period in 30 years.
John Browett, the chief executive of DSGi, said the company was not planning to purchase Woolworths stores and there was "very little overlap" between the two retailers' product ranges. His forecast for Christmas on the British high street was downbeat.
"It is going to be very tough. Trading into that is going to be very volatile and we are going to see a lot of panicky actions on the high streets in terms of people being very worried."
He predicted more consumers would shift their spending to the post-Christmas sales, as had been the pattern during previous recessions. "We are expecting to see a pretty ropey Christmas but for us it is the two weeks after Christmas that are critical."
DSGi said that given the recessionary conditions, the outlook for peak trading and 2009 was "uncertain".
"We are prioritising cash generation as well as tightly managing stock, money margins and costs," Mr Browett said.
For the 24 weeks to 18 October, DSGi posted an underlying pre-tax loss of £29.8m compared with a profit for the same period last year of £52.4m.
DSGi's Britain and Ireland electricals division, which includes the out-of-town Currys stores and the high street Currys.digital stores, posted underlying sales were down 7 per cent for the 24-week period.
The company's British computing division, which includes PC World, said like-for-like sales had dropped 11 per cent over the same period.
Mr Browett said that the company's sales were being hit "across Europe". Hungary and Spain were the two worst performers with underlying sales down about 25 per cent.
On a brighter note, sales at DSGi's new format stores were exceeding the 15 per cent sales uplift target, compared to the performance of existing stores. DSGi has rolled out new format stores to 40 PC World, seven Currys and four Currys.digital stores.
Mr Browett said that the decision by credit insurers to scale back the insurance cover provided to DSGi's suppliers had not, so far, had any impact on its ability to get stock to the shelves.
At the half-year, DSGi had net debt of £149.5m, compared to cash of £101.3m at the same time last year.
For the 13 weeks ended 1 November, Kingfisher's group retail sales flatlined at £2.6bn and its retail profit fell 4 per cent to £176m, but this was ahead of expectations.
Ian Cheshire, the group chief executive of Kingfisher, said it had taken the decision to close its nine Trade Depot outlets in Britain to enable the company to achieve "higher and faster returns" from trade sales at its flagship B&Q chain and Screwfix, its trade-tool chain that boasts 130 stores.
In Britain, B&Q's total sales declined by 7.8 per cent to £887m and like-for-likes fell by 8.7 per cent.
Given the collapse of MFI and the troubles at other do-it-yourself chains, Mr Cheshire expected there to be an additional 5 per cent of capacity in the home improvement market over the next 12 months.
Mr Cheshire said: "We are very sad for those guys, but we have been predicting the failure of MFI for some time."
B&Q planned to recruit MFI staff, such as key show room sales staff, but it had no plans to acquire the furniture retailer's stores.
In China, Kingfisher revealed it had suffered an £18m loss and that underlying sales had dropped 32.2 per cent over the 13 weeks to 1 November as sales of new apartments nosedived.
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- 3 The 'Black Museum': After 150 years, public set to see exhibits from police’s grisly crime museum
- 4 Sir Winston Churchill’s family begged him not to convert to Islam, letter reveals
President of Argentina adopts Jewish godson to 'stop him turning into a werewolf'
The 'Black Museum': After 150 years, public set to see exhibits from police’s grisly crime museum
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Syrian teenager Usaid Barho reveals how he escaped from Isis using a suicide vest
Sir Winston Churchill’s family begged him not to convert to Islam, letter reveals
Millions of Britons struggling to feed themselves and facing malnourishment
British actor Idris Elba cannot star as James Bond because he is black, says shock jock Rush Limbaugh
Ukip member gets into Christmas spirit with Union Flag plea to Santa 'for our country back'
Germany anti-Islam protests: 17,000 march on Dresden against 'Islamification of the West'
Nigel Farage: Ukip leader named 'Briton of the year' by The Times
Douglas Carswell tells Ukip to stop blaming foreigners as youth poll shows Nigel Farage is even less popular than Nick Clegg
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Now in its eighth year, Roadkill Nights will take place on August 12th, 2023, in downtown Pontiac, Michigan, at the corner of Woodward Avenue and West Pike Street. This family-friendly celebration of horsepower promises a day of adrenaline-filled fun, culminating in a spectacular performance by Ice Cube.
The festivities will kick off at 10 a.m. EDT with a wide array of activities to entertain and thrill attendees of all ages. The “Direct Connection Grudge Race” marquee event will showcase a street-legal drag racing competition where participants will unleash the power of their muscle cars. Enthusiasts can also revel in a classic and modern muscle car cruise-in, exhilarating Dodge HELLCAT Thrill Rides, and experience the all-new Dodge Hornet drive. For those seeking an authentic drag racing experience, Dodge Demon drag race simulators will be available.
Dodge fans can explore various Dodge vehicle displays, including the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee Concept. Additionally, there will be product displays, Direct Connection performance parts, RC car demonstrations, and a lively vendor midway. Guests can indulge in a variety of culinary delights from food trucks, and beer gardens will be available for relaxation and socializing.
Throughout the day, visitors will have the opportunity to meet celebrities from the automotive and entertainment industries who will make special appearances to share their passion for cars and engage with fans.
A highlight of the event will be the performance by Ice Cube. Taking the main stage at 7:30 p.m. EDT, he will power up the crowd with his electrifying stage presence and hit songs, creating an unforgettable experience for the tens of thousands of gearheads in the Metro Detroit area.
For those unable to attend in person, all drag racing events will be available for live stream viewing starting at 11 a.m. EDT on various platforms, including the MoparInsiders.com homepage.
Tickets for Roadkill Nights are available now on the official website at https://www.motortrend.com/roadkillnights-2023/. The event promises an exciting and action-packed day for automotive enthusiasts and families alike.


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Readers are increasingly ready for audiobooks. The Association of American Publishers called audiobooks the “the fastest growing format” in their 2018 StatShot Report. But the current economics of producing an audiobook can be punishing for indie authors. ALLi Partner Member Tim McConnehey from Izzard Ink, predicts a continued boom in audiobook popularity, and some welcome changes in the way Audible conducts its business.
The Economics of Audiobooks
Audiobooks, especially when done right, require a significant investment. With a top-quality narrator, it can cost as much as $600 or more PFH (per finished hour) for narration, editing, and quality checking. For a ten-hour book, that totals $6,000. With such high cost, indie authors often don’t see a return on our audiobook investment for at least a year.
To confidently spend this kind of money on an audiobook, indie authors need not only a higher level of royalties, but more consistency in terms of pricing and what to expect. As technology makes it increasingly possible to compete in the audiobook market, they’ll be able to use this leverage to bring change.
But it’s the structure of the current system, dominated by retailer Audible and its production arm ACX, that makes earning back an audiobook investment so challenging and unpredictable. According to IBIS world, Audible controls over one third of the audiobook market, compared to just 5.1 percent for Penguin Random House and 3.9 percent for HarperCollins.
Planning is made even tougher for indie authors by Audible’s lack of clarity over how much money authors can actually expect to see. While authors may hear they’ll earn a 40 percent royalty on each book sold, this is misleading for a few reasons. Chiefly, authors need to understand that this is 40 percent of what’s left after the retailer takes their share. Let’s use Izzard’s book, The Naked Communist, as an example.
The Naked Communist book retails for $24.95. Right from the top, the retailer gets $6.08, or about 24.37 percent. After that, $13.48 goes to ACX, or about 54.3 percent. Only $5.39, or 21.6 percent, goes back to the author. And in some cases, it can be even less than that. For many, it might come as a shock that the aggregator (ACX) makes more money than the author and retailer combined, even though they’re contributing much less to the process.
ACX also offers different returns based on how each book was sold. In our example, “a la carte” sales on Amazon or iTunes would return $9.98 to the author, Audible sales to non-members would return $6.98, and sales to Audible members would return just $5.19. And there’s no way to predict what proportion of these will make up your overall sales.
Without an exclusive agreement with ACX that prevents you from selling your book elsewhere, you’ll make even less— $3.37 in our Naked Communist example.
Moreover, authors don’t decide the price of their book through ACX, which means that while you’re planning your investment and making choices about how much to spend, it’s impossible to really calculate what kind of return you can expect. By leveraging their nearly exclusive control over the industry and distribution channels, they’re effectively fixing prices.
The Future of Audiobook Price-Fixing
This current situation is the byproduct of the control that the largest players hold over the industry. But it’s not sustainable in the long-run. Advocacy groups are likely to push back on these retailers. The government may even need to get involved in stopping what amounts to audiobook price-fixing, with authors unable to set the price of a book they’ve invested thousands of dollars in producing. It may take external pressure to break up this monopoly.
But luckily, with the industry growing as audiobook housing and distribution get cheaper, competition is already poised to force these big players to change.
These competitors are already bringing authors more control over their product and revenue. Findaway Voices not only offers discounts and allows authors to set prices, but authors will also see a higher percentage of royalties from many retailers.
While ACX will only sell your book through Amazon, Audible, and Apple, Findaway offers books at those retailers as well as dozens more, including Google, Scribd, Audiobooks.com, Walmart, Nook, and many others. With competition like this, it won’t be long before ACX is forced to offer their authors more, allowing those authors to invest more in their audiobooks.
Similar disagreements between publishers and retailers have shaped the eBook industry in recent years. In response to Amazon setting eBook prices below what they paid to the publisher, allowing them to gain 90 percent of the eBook market share by 2009, publishers threatened to stop providing eBooks unless Amazon would accept a new pricing structure. They ultimately won out, and allowed publishers to set the retail price for eBooks and earn a commission on the final sale.
Particularly with an industry that is both rapidly growing and increasingly accessible thanks to technology, authors and publishers will have power to negotiate for equitable terms. The future of audiobooks is promising, both for authors and for listeners in search of high-quality.
But with high quality and a great performance increasingly necessary to compete, the future of audiobooks will need to bring changes that make a return on this investment within the reach of more authors. It’s important be able to confidently invest in producing your audiobook.
The current economics of producing an audiobook is an uphill battle, especially for indie authors. How much of this is due to “price-fixing” by Audible? with @izzardink #indieauthor #selfpublishing #IARTG #ASMRG #writingcommunity Click To Tweet
Tim McConnehey is the founder and owner of Izzard Ink Publishing where “self-publishing does not mean publishing by yourself.” As a collaborative publisher, Tim and the Izzard Ink team have helped authors sell hundreds of thousands of books around the world, including partnering with local publishers on four continents.
Tim is the author of 10 Secrets to a Bestseller: An Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing and the accompanying workbook.
OVER TO YOU
What do you think of the concept of audiobook price-fixing? And where do you think the audiobook industry is heading?
If you enjoyed this post, you might like these from the ALLi archive:


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Move over Promoted Tweets, Twitter has launched a new format called Conversational Ads to drive more earned media and consumer engagement for advertisers.
According to Twitter’s press release, conversational ads will make it easier for consumers to engage with and then spread a brand’s campaign message.
For many years, marketers have successfully increased their brand engagement using Promoted Tweets with compelling images or videos and campaign hashtags that drive Retweets, likes, and follows. Conversational ads take this a step further by including call to action buttons with customisable hashtags that encourage consumer engagement.
When a call to action button is tapped, the Tweet composer opens with a pre-populated brand message accompanied by the creative and hashtag buttons. The consumer can then personalize the Tweet and share it with his or her followers.
As a thank you, the consumer then receives a message from the brand for having engaged with the Tweet.
Finally, the new Tweet appears to the consumer’s followers in their timelines, and it includes the brand’s original photo or video. Each shared Tweet is powerful because it drives earned media for the brand at no extra cost, resulting in higher ROI.
Samsung Electronics Canada partnered with Twitter to beta test the innovative conversational video ad unit. The company’s CMO Mark Childs said: “As one of the first global brands to use Twitter’s new conversational ad unit, we’re excited by the opportunity to initiate more meaningful conversation. To stay ahead of the curve, it’s important to continuously evolve our social media engagement strategies to help our fans get closer to the Samsung Canada brand.”
Conversational ads are currently available in beta for select advertisers in all markets.
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Domain’s chief marketing officer (CMO), Rebecca Darley, said that without Tealium’s customer data platform (CDP), her business would not have been able to achieve the personalised marketing success that has made it one of the leaders in data-driven marketing in Australia. Speaking at an exclusive breakfast event hosted by B&T at Sydney’s swish harbourside restaurant, […]
Man of Many in partnership with NBC Universal, stages an atmosphere of elegance for Sydney premiere of ‘Argylle’ film. Independent lifestyle publication digital publication, Man of Many, has shown its innovative approach to event management in the premiere of ‘Argylle’ at Hoyts Cinema in Sydney’s entertainment quatre. Over 400 guests were included in the films […]


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LEGO BrickHeadz 41625 Minnie Mouse has been found at a Canadian Toys R Us store, with 41624 Mickey Mouse also surfacing.
Two of the most iconic Disney characters of all time are getting the LEGO BrickHeadz treatment, being released soon as part of the expansive line of buildable figures. 41625 Minnie Mouse is already being sold in a branch of Toys R Us Canada, with Brickset reporting the find as well as the discovey of 41624 Mickey Mouse on eBay.
Mickey uses a printed piece to capture his classic shorts, whilst Minnie has numerous printed pieces in order to replicate her eyelashes, bow and polka dot dress.
The sets are expected to launch on August 1, and are expected to cost £9.99 each.


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Dillard’s stores across Tampa Bay will not hold their annual New Year’s Day clearance sale this year, to the dismay of shoppers.
The sale, which usually occurs Jan. 1 and is the store’s biggest discount event of the year, allows customers to take an additional 50 percent off clearance items.
But the New Year’s Day deal is not taking place in 2022, according to a tweet from the Dillard’s official Twitter account.
A spokesperson at the Dillard’s at International Plaza in Tampa confirmed the news saying, “We pride ourselves on giving great customer service, and on that day we are unable to do so based off of the amount of people who are shopping. We’ve decided that we would prefer to give great service.”
The widely popular sale typically inspires shoppers to arrive early — and occasionally leads a few eager customers to camp outside ahead of the store’s opening — each Jan. 1.
The spokesperson noted that the decision was a top-down, company-wide directive.


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Remain MPs are using every weapon in their armoury to prevent a no-deal Brexit as the clock ticks down to the Oct 31 deadline. But Boris Johnson will do whatever he can to stop his hands being tied in talks with the EU.
How exactly a no-deal Brexit will affect the UK is unknown, but supplies of medication, house prices, easy travel to Europe and international student arrivals could all be impacted in the instance of crashing out of Europe without an agreement.
Medication may prove to be scarce
If there is no deal increased customs controls at ports could disrupt the supply of drugs and the chemical compounds needed to produce them. Almost 75 per cent of medicines come from, or via, the EU….
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Sustainability meets style at Authentic Beauty Concept’s first-ever Virtual Gathering!
Hosted by education manager Megan Nevins, the event was live-streamed on Monday, February 7, 2022, and featured a range of segments that focused on styling, sustainability and wellness.
It kicked off with a yoga and breathing session, with poses to help promote flexibility and balance that stylists can practice in between their appointments or after a long day of working on clients’ hair.
Toronto-based Authentic Beauty Concept ambassador Miranda Furtado (@miranda.lovesinthehair) led an interactive session with three look-and-learns: Effortless waves, romantic up-do and a messy bun, each demonstrated on a model with a different hair texture. Furtado shared her top tips, must-have products and techniques to achieve each style.
Authentic Beauty Concept’s international team also discussed the brand’s sustainability commitment, including their goal to be fully switched to 80 per cent post-consumer plastic by the end of 2022.
There was also a sensorial segment led by Marta Senselier, who explained the importance of scents for stylists to create a brand image and build their business. She says when salons have a pleasant scent, clients are much more likely to stay longer, come back and share their experience with others.
The event ends on a “sweet” note with a fun and easy baking recipe for vegan dark chocolate tahini cookies.
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MENA startup culture shows signs of early Silicon Valley
The MENA region is a beacon of largely unchartered technological territory with its potential often stunted by lagging institutional resistance and slow adaptation to change.
But just as Silicon Valley took decades to become the stronghold of global entrepreneurship, the MENA ecosystem is growing over time - albeit a rate much faster than the Valley - and peaking international interest.
“The startups in the region are multinational. They are not only Arabs, they are people who believe in the region and live in the region,” said Fadi Ghandour, chairman and CEO of Wamda Capital, during a talk at Techwadi’s Annual Forum in San Francisco on Saturday.
Opportunity across several sectors in the Middle East including fintech, travel tech and media, is massive, said Ghandour, noting that by 2020 every single Arab will have a smartphone and be online.
“Come to the region, invest in it, believe in it. We are investing in it, I don’t know why you shouldn’t,” he said.
Wamda Capital was voted VC Fund of the Year at Techwadi’s forum. Alaa Alsallal, founder and CEO of Jamalon, the Amman-based online book retailer was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year. Dr. Ossama Hassanein, long-time entrepreneur, mentor, and venture capitalist, won Techwadi’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Careem was voted Startup of the Year.
In addition to the opportunity and growing number of startups in the Middle East, part of the region’s success is in its US-based companies founded by MENA entrepreneurs.
Many expats found opportunity and success in Silicon Valley and have been a part of the fabric of the ecosystem as much as any other immigrant group. Some, like Hind Hobeika, founder of Instabeat, recently left Lebanon in order to scale her business in California, while others like Louay Eldada, CEO and founder of Quanergy, immigrated decades ago, only to flourish with the mentorship and backing of US entrepreneurs.
Yemeni American Mokhtar Alkhanshali, the Port of Mokha founder who sought the perfect cup of coffee in his native Yemen, is selling his coffee at a steeping cost of $16 a cup - perhaps the most expensive drip coffee in the San Francisco area.


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Fishkind Economic Conversations page block
11/15/2016 - 3:49pm in Fishkind Commentaries
90.7’s Economic commentator Hank Fishkind says Florida’s economy could benefit from a Trump administration…depending how quickly he pushes through his immigration and trade policies.
11/01/2016 - 3:30pm in Fishkind Commentaries
Economic analyst Hank Fishkind says if he mentions the phrase “gross domestic product” to people who aren’t in his line of work, he can sometimes see their eyes glaze over. But GDP matters, he says, and you may be surprised just how much – especially in the Sunshine State, and even more acutely here in central Florida.


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Dubai: Flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched a new campaign offering discounts on more than 170,000 tickets from Singapore to 71 destinations to boost passenger numbers.
The discounts are applicable for eligible flights for travel between January and September 2024 on Business, Premium Economy, and Economy classes. Online sales will open on November 3 and continue until November 16.
The campaign is being launched as part of the upcoming ‘Time to Fly’ travel fair, which takes place from November 3 to 5. The fair will feature exclusive deals on 200,000 one-way tickets from Scoot, SIA’s low-cost subsidiary.
Lee Lik Hsin, Chief Commercial Officer of Singapore Airlines, said, “Our biggest Time to Fly travel fair offers customers attractive discounts on 170,000 round-trip SIA tickets and 200,000 one-way Scoot tickets from Singapore to around the world.” Hsin said both airlines are preparing to return to pre-pandemic level operations.
During the summer months, SIA ramped up services to destinations across its network and restored its Airbus A380 services to Frankfurt. The airline also deployed its wide body Airbus A350-900 medium-haul services to Cairns and Male and reinstated direct services between Singapore and Barcelona.
“The airline increased its flight frequencies to pre-pandemic levels across multiple points and exceeding them in some,” said JoAnn Tan, Senior Vice President of Marketing Planning at Singapore Airlines.
Destinations that exceeded pre-pandemic flight frequency levels include Ahmedabad, Beijing and Shanghai, Copenhagen, Da Nang (Vietnam), Darwin, Melbourne, Perth (Australia), and Dubai. The Singapore Airlines Group, which includes Singapore Airlines and Scoot, carried 2.9 million passengers in September, a 36 per cent increase from last year and 93 per cent of the 3.1 million passengers in September 2019.
The airline is also offering passengers a chance to win giveaways and a pair of Business Class round-trip tickets to Denpasar Bali (Indonesia), Male (the Maldives), Osaka (Japan), and Phuket (Thailand) during the three-day Time to Fly fair.


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Nokia and France Télévisions show how 5G can enhance viewers' video experiences with 8K Ultra High Definition streaming
Successful pilot showcases the world's first 8K Ultra High Definition TV program streaming on 5G, paving the way to the future of television
Nokia to detail the opportunities 5G will present for the media industry at IBC 2018
13 September, 2018
Amsterdam, Netherlands - Nokia and France Télévisions, the French National Public TV broadcaster, are to showcase the results of a proof-of-concept demonstration of the world's first 8K Ultra High Definition (UHD) TV streaming in real conditions over 5G at IBC 2018.
Nokia and France Télévisions' 'Innovation and Prospective department' conducted the tests by transmitting a program recorded in 8K over a 5G wireless network at the Nokia Paris-Saclay Campus in France in July. The 5G network leveraged the Nokia AirScale radio access and AirFrame data center solution with the Velocix Content Delivery Network, which enables the delivery of high-volumes of video traffic in a cost-effective way, for an enhanced live or on-demand video experience.
Bell Labs Consulting forecasts that, by 2025, video content will comprise approximately 70 percent of all mobile traffic. The Nokia and France Télévisions demonstration showed the ability of 5G to offer a speed equivalent to fiber, with unmatched quality of service to support the future broadcast of 8K content on any compatible device, including 8K televisions.
At IBC 2018, Nokia and France Télévisions will present the tests and discuss the findings. Nokia will also demonstrate the new service opportunities that 5G will open up for the media industry beyond pure connectivity. As an example, the company will show how 5G will allow TV editorial staff to offer flexible and ultra high-quality live television transmission to field reporters without the need for costly broadcasting trucks.
Bernard Fontaine, Head of Technical Innovations at France Télévisions said, "The growth in the use of digital devices and the incredible quality increase of equipment are contributing to the increased consumption of our media content. This evolution will require a rethinking of the value chain of actors and technologies that contribute to the future needs of wireless transmission modes. Whether usage targets fixed TV or mobile devices, 5G will be part of the process of convergence and transformation of future technical, regulatory and economic models to ensure a very high level of quality in TV services, including public service ones, over the long term. Our demo with Nokia clearly shows that we are ready for the changes that will sweep our industry with the advent of 5G in the next decade."
Marc Rouanne, president of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said, "5G is coming faster than anyone anticipated and we are ready for it. 5G will create new opportunities beyond pure connectivity. Nokia is delivering an end-to-end 5G Future X solution that will provide the flexibility, capacity, speeds and latency for TV broadcasters and telecom operators to support ultra high quality live reporting and 8K high definition content delivered to consumers' mobile devices and televisions."
Taking place between September 13-18, 2018 in Amsterdam, IBC2018 is the world's most influential media, entertainment and technology show. This year's event includes 1,700 exhibitors and 400+ speakers who will address an audience strength of close to 60,000 delegates. The Nokia booth will be in Hall 15 at IBC 2018.
Technology used for the demo:
Webpage: Nokia IP Video
Webpage: Nokia Unleashing the potential of 5G
Webpage: Nokia 5G Future X
Web Page: Nokia 5G Services
Web Page: Plan your 5G transformation journey
Web Page: Start building commercial 5G networks today
Web Page: 5G Possibilities
We create the technology to connect the world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing.
We adhere to the highest ethical business standards as we create technology with social purpose, quality and integrity. Nokia is enabling the infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things to transform the human experience. nokia.com.
Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org


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ENN's editors summarize the most compelling environmental and sustainable economy themes of the week. In the news May 9 - 13: The financial impact of global warming, a new manmade island project in the works, backpackers rally to clean up in the wake of the tsunami, and schools address lunchtime waste.
Top Ten Stories of the Week
Sustainable Economy News Roundup
EarthNews Radio Review
ENN Commentary: The Power of Fair Trade
Photo: The entrance to the Yosemite Valley
at Yosemite National Park, Â©pdphoto.org
The Week's Top Ten, by Carrie Schluter
In the news this week: The financial impact of global warming, a new manmade island project in the works, backpackers rally to clean up in the wake of the tsunami, and schools address lunchtime waste.
1. According to the EPA, there's less toxic pollution in the air this year than in 2003. Thanks in part to efforts by metal mining companies and chemical makers, the positive news is tempered by the fact that levels of highly toxic chemicals, like PCBs and dioxin, are actually on the rise.
>> EPA Says Toxic Pollution Levels Fall Six Percent
2. News of the environmental impact of global warming is ubiquitous, but what about the cost of in real dollars and cents? More than 300 participants met at a daylong summit this week to explore ways to mitigate the financial implications of climate change.
>> Climate Change is 'All about Our Money,' Big Investors Say
3. A federal appeals court sided with the American Chemistry Council in a ruling handed down on Tuesday that the EPA can no longer regulate the use of methyl ethyl ketone, a common ingredient in plastics and paints. Animal studies show that MEK is an eye irritant that might cause fetal malformations.
>> Court Tells EPA to Stop Tracking Releases of Widely Used Chemical Solvent
4. The same fun-loving demographic that enjoyed the beauty and laid-back atmosphere of Thailand's Phi Phi Don is rallying to rebuild it in the wake of December's tsunami. Scores of 20-somethings have joined in loosely organized relief effort -- focused mainly on clean-up -- that's causing some controversy.
>> Backpackers Flock to Rebuild Thai Party Island
5. In other island news, an official, noting exorbitant energy costs in the U.S. Virgin Islands, points to the ready availability of the sun as an alternative power source. Alberto Bruno-Vega, chief of the territory's power authority, said, "It may sound crazy to tell customers to shop somewhere else, but we need to switch away from fuel oil."
>> U.S. Virgin Islands Should Use Caribbean Sun, Switch to Solar Energy, Says Official
6. In China, local authorities have been warned to penalize polluters, or else. The State Environmental Protection Agency this week identified dozens of major polluters in nine industries, and has taken an uncharacteristically aggressive position on regulation at the local level.
>> China's Environmental Agency Warns Local Officials against Shielding Polluters
7. One is shaped like a palm tree, a string of them resemble pearls... and now plans are in the works for another manmade island in the Persian Gulf -- in the shape of a seahorse. Ironically, real seahorses, along with coral, dolphins, shrimp, and other marine life, could suffer from the massive land reclamation and development project
>> Bahrain Adds Sea Horse-Shaped Island to Odd Collection of Manmade Gulf Archipelago
8. Across the country, school lunchtime generates tons of trash, with each student producing an average of 45 to 90 pounds of garbage per year. Increasingly, schools are working to raise the level of consciousness among students, teachers, and parents alike, about ways to minimize waste.
>> In School Cafeterias, Trash Piling High Despite Recycling Efforts
9. In Britain, wild plants are in jeopardy. A new study identifies 345 plant species native to Britain that face the threat of extinction. Possible causes identified by botanists include increased use of herbicides in agriculture and over grazing.
>> Report Says British Flora Faces Extinction
10. ENN's own Paul Geary launched a new series this week that offers an interesting overview of ENN reader opinions. Each Thursday, Paul will highlight comments drawn from ENN's forums, and sum up some of the week's compelling poll results. This week in The Forum Report: auto emissions, global warming, and recycling.
>> ENN Forum Review: Our Readers Speak
Sustainable Economy News Roundup, by Paul Geary
This week in Sustainable Economy on ENN, we told you about a summit being held for institutional investors about climate change. Institutional investors are those who manage money for pension funds, mutual funds, and other large investment companies.
These people have a great deal of influence over the markets, and they want to know how climate change is going to affect the portfolios they manage. This is not important just for the hyper-wealthy: If you have a 401k or a pension, or any money in a mutual fund, this pertains to your savings as well: U.S. & European Investors Tackle Climate Change.
The event itself was "climate neutral." That's explained in this article: U.N. Headquarters Hosts 'Climate Neutral' Event. If you want to learn more about the financial aspects of socially responsible investing, we ran this informative story this week: Socially Responsible Investing: FTSE4Good Index Series.Meanwhile, the search for renewable energy continues unabated. We told you about efforts in three of the most intriguing possibilities for a non-fossil-fuel future:
We featured large companies taking initiative to improve the environment:
And smaller ones:
Unfortunately there are still challenges to overcome, and we told you about a few of the less positive developments in the sustainable economy arena:
Be sure to check ENN's Sustainable Economy section regularly for the latest news about the business, economics, and the environment.
EarthNews Radio Review, by Paul Geary
This week EarthNews Radio brought us a cautionary note about the precarious existence of one of the Earth's most beautiful animals: the cheetah. Jerry Kay talked to Dr. Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund:
Jerry interviewed several businesspeople who are creating organic and natural products to bring to consumers, advocating for natural products, and teaching consumers how to tell organic products from those that falsely claim to be.
Sometimes, you have to be careful about products labeled "organic":
The false organic products make things more difficult for companies that put in real effort to bring you organic and natural products. Selling organic and natural products requires extra effort:
One company in Canada sells hemp-based natural products, and one global organization wants to clear up some of the misunderstandings about hemp:
EarthNews Radio also brought you two interesting interviews from the scientists at California Academy of Sciences:
Listen to EarthNews Radio regularly to hear Jerry Kay's interviews with scientists, activists, and environmentalists. Be sure to visit EarthNews Radio's home here at ENN; you can find it at www.enn.com/enn_radio_main.html.
The Power of Fair Trade -- An ENN Commentary
by Hunter Jackson
A few days ago I was talking to a friend about shoes. I'd recently read that Nike owns Converse, which shocked my friend, an oblivious Converse-wearer. She had thought that by buying Converses she was withdrawing her support of the big shoemakers who are notorious for utilizing sweatshop labor. Our conversation turned to how these days it seems everything for sale comes from somewhere problematic, so much so, in fact, that sometimes it feels like you either have to buy nothing or just ignore ethics altogether.
But that's not true. Though market-led 'free' trade encourages companies like Nike to contract production to sweatshops in Asia to minimize costs and maximize profits, there are practical alternatives. As concerns about the effects of such practices spread, conscientious consumers are increasingly turning to Fair Trade.
Fair Trade is a departure from the standard 'free' trade of the past that is driven by profit alone. In contrast, Fair Trade focuses on establishing a sustainable, balanced relationship between buyer and seller and guarantees a living wage to participating farmers and artisans.
Take coffee, the most common Fair Trade good. Wholesale buyers of non-Fair Trade coffee want the cheapest beans they can find, regardless of how the coffee beans are grown. Because global competition has driven prices down in recent years, sometimes farmers have to sell their coffee for less money than they spend to produce it, driving them deeper into poverty. Fair Trade growers, on the other hand, are guaranteed a minimum price for their coffee as long as they meet certain production standards and can receive three-to-five times as much money for their labor. According to Transfair USA, an internationally recognized Fair Trade certifier, in the past five years small farmers have made an additional $34 million by selling Fair Trade coffee.
By compensating producers for operating responsibly, Fair Trade helps preserve small scale, sustainable farming methods. Seller cooperatives and associations put individual producers in contact with organizations that market and sell the goods to North American and European audiences. Fair Trade items--such as handicrafts, furniture, clothes, jewelry, coffee, tea, and chocolate--can be found on the Internet or in specialty shops, like Global Exchange's Online Store or Fair Trade stores in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Portland.
Fair Trade is more than just talk. By buying Fair Trade goods, consumers are actively supporting both an alternative, just system of exchange as well as the well-being of individuals involved in the growing and making of Fair Trade goods. And the results are real.
Tex Dworkin, the manager of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store, recently returned from a month-long buying trip to Vietnam and Thailand where she met with local artisans and organizations that work with to get their goods from sometimes remote villages to the global market. "The lives of these people are greatly improved by the profits of the sale of these [Fair Trade] items," she said. "That's what it comes down to--their lives were a lot different before we started buying from them. That's the truth."
Getting a product into a Fair Trade store or website can drastically affect a town or village. According to Dworkin, entire communities in Guatemala are supported by the work of weavers' cooperatives. In Peru, all of one village's income comes from the sale of their handmade Incan chess sets in Global Exchange's stores. "If someone buys 500 of something, that could be an entire village that's changed forever," she said.
The best part is that Fair Trade is growing rapidly. According to the 2003 Report on Fair Trade Trends, total sales went up by 44% from 2001 to 2002. Increasingly consumers in the Global North concerned about where their food and crafts come from are willing to pay a little more for Fair Trade goods so they will know where their money is going. In doing so, they are putting money right in the hands of small-scale producers rather than large unethical corporations.
This Saturday, May 14th, is World Fair Trade Day. In sixty countries and hundreds of cities there will be events, rallies, seminars, fashion shows, and sales to help promote Fair Trade as a socially, economically, and environmentally responsible alternative to conventional 'free' trade. It will be a chance for people to learn about the power we, as consumers, have to positively affect the lives of people who make the things we buy.
And mixed in with the food, shawls, paper, and jewelry that will be on display and for sale this weekend are even No Sweat Sneakers--the only 100% union made sneakers in the world, guaranteed sweatshop-free, proving there really are alternatives to Nike.
Hunter Jackson is a San Francisco-based freelance journalist and volunteer with Global Exchange.


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The tech industry in a post-Brexit UK needs to punch above its weight
28 May 2017
With Article 50 having been triggered, we are entering an uncertain time in regards to how the UK economy will fare. And despite reports of growth towards the end of last year, the future is still very much uncharted, and it is not yet known how we will come through this huge political and economic shift.
Business confidence has since wavered and the pound has been unable to gain momentum since the referendum. So what does this mean for the digital world?
As one of the fastest-growing sectors in the UK economy, now, more than ever, businesses need to invest in their digital strategies to secure their future workforce and trading capabilities.
It is estimated that a huge 41 per cent of digital tech jobs exist outside the digital industry itself, demonstrating the need for continued investment and development in this area.
And as we move away from Europe and closer to “Global Britain”, the UK tech industry must match digital leaders such as the United States and Japan to remain competitive and economically stable.
Shaz Memon is creative director at Digimax


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The BMW supervisory board wants to elect on Thursday at the US plant Spartanburg a new BMW CEO. The job is well endowed with around five million euros a year, but it’s also a bone job. The former BMW boss Harald Krüger has thrown the towel after four years. As a successor wanted and probably already found a strong leadership team player and engineer from the house.
The upheaval of the auto industry represents a gigantic challenge
“I am sure that the company and the employees strive for a mutually agreed solution,” says the Munich IG Metall boss Horst Lischka, who co-decided on Thursday as a member of the BMW Supervisory Board. “The upheaval in the auto industry, the challenges are so gigantic that this should be done in a coordinated and well-publicized process, which we have spent enough time in the past few weeks.”
New competitors make competition more difficult
About The Author


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Realme has launched a Snapdragon variant of its C15 model and announced it for the Indian market today. The phone consists of the same specifications as the HD+ display, quad-rear cameras, and massive battery, but only varies in the processor by equipping a Snapdragon 460. Here’s more about it;
Realme C15 Qualcomm Snapdragon variant announced
Realme’s budget segment has been strong since its inception. The Chinese OEM has been sufficing most of its phones with MediaTek’s processors to reduce the cost and show things that necessary to those segment buyers. While these are battery, cameras and display, users in recent times have upgraded to demand more quality parts within like the processor.
Thus, to satisfy their thirst, Realme has come up with a new variant of its existing model – Realme C15. The phone bears a 6.5″ HD+ display with 720 × 1600p resolution. With a dewdrop notch style, it runs on Android 10 based Realme UI 1.0. While this handset was launched with an Helio G35 SoC in July this year, the maker has now launched a Snapdragon variant of this.
Also Read: Realme Watch S arriving on November 2
Thus, the newly announced handset comes with a Snapdragon 460 SoC, with upto 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM. Regarding cameras, it has a quad-rear setup of 13-megapixel, (f/2.2) as the primary sensor, followed by an 8-megapixel (f/2.3) as an ultra-wide lens with 119˚ coverage, a 2-megapixel (f/2.4) as B/W lens and a 2-megapixel (f/2.4) as a macro lens.
Upfront, there’s an 8-megapixel (f/2.0) lens for selfies. With all required connectivities, it has a massive battery of 6000mAh with 18W fast charging support.
Realme C15 Pricing and Availability
With Power Silver and Power Blue colour variants, it’s priced at Rs.9,999 for the 3 GB RAM + 32 GB variant and Rs.10,990 for the 4 GB RAM + 64 GB variant. But, as a launch offer, it will come for Rs 9,499 and Rs 10,499 for the same 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB variants. Sales of this handset will be live from today onwards via Flipkart and Realme Indian website.
More to read:


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“Really? I love that song too. I’d let you hear more, but the band only put out three songs. Sorry.”While singles are a great alternative to buying an entire album if you only know of a few songs, Warner Music Group’s decision to create an “e-label” and rely entirely on digital downloads is a misguided step.
Edgar Bronfman, chairman and CEO of Warner music, said artists would release music on this “e-label” in clusters of three songs over a period of months according to a news.com article published Aug. 22.
Though this idea is a marketing strategy aimed at jumping on the popularity of music-download services such as Napster and iTunes, dropping the CD format in its entirety is not the solution to slumping CD sales.
While $31 million in digital music sales countered a worldwide $30 million CD sales decline according to a New York Times article published June 14, Bronfman’s hopes to increase revenues with an “e-label” are already in effect.
Music fans can currently buy singles and whatever few songs they fancy by an artist online without ever giving a second thought to what else the musical act has to offer. The variety of options and purchasing methods available allow customers to pick and choose as they see fit. This information is useful to the record industry in finding which bands have strong marketing potential and can be a viable investment in the long run.
It is those artists and groups who keep the music industry afloat. Usher, U2 and Eminem have all been heralded by publications such as Rolling Stone as the reason record industry sales have perked up since 2004. You might notice that bands such as The Shout Out Louds are not exactly a gold mine, regardless of how solid its album is.
Bronfman continues, saying that bands under the “e-label” can enjoy a “supportive, low-risk environment.”
This comes across to me as a good way to make a quick buck.
One-hit wonders are known for only a few, if that, good songs. Bands who are signed to a label for a grand total of three songs in a “supportive” environment aren’t exactly supported.
This could possibly make it even easier for labels to toss bands aside after cashing in on what they had to offer, not having to worry about multi-album contracts.
Digital music is a wonderful thing, so is being able to put it on my computer and iPod. However, it’s hard to share music with friends when they either have to be with you near your computer or digital music player. Making a CD of your downloaded music is almost impossible due to copy-protection files most digital downloads have embedded within.
CDs themselves still serve a purpose.
Music aficionados enjoy being able to have physical copies of what they purchase, to look at the album art and CD cover as they see fit. While some services offer downloads in pdf formats, it’s just not the same.
Furthermore, while digital music players such as iPods are popular, they have yet to become commonplace. The lack of a CD format available to customers not only causes a loss of your sales market, but can be compared to labels only selling CDs when cassette tape players were still the most widely-used format.
With P2P networks a hot issue, online music services aim to increase legal downloads to combat music piracy.
Research from NPD Group INC. found that legal services such as iTunes were as popular, if not more so, than some file-sharing, tying the service with LimeWire for second.
A study from Harvard Business School found that P2P had a “negligible” effect on CD sales, which concurs with NPD Group Inc’s research.
While I understand the technology shift that is taking place around the country and most of the world, jumping head first into the digital age is not the approach Warner Music Group should take. It limits the choices those who enjoy music have available to them. Once that happens, no one wins.
Ryan Claunch is a junior news-editorial journalism major from Abilene.


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people in the news
Carlite Gains New SBU Director and New Instructor
Carlite by Visteon of Livonia, Mich., has appointed Roy Drake director for its small business unit. Drake has 21 years experience with both Ford and Visteon Glass and most recently ran the company’s plant in Dearborn, Mich. In addition, he has held positions in a number of areas, including sales, marketing and business development, business planning and engineering planning. Along with his duties as SBU director for Carlite, Drake will continue to hold his position of business unit director for the commercial glass segment at Visteon.
In other news at the company, Carlite has a new instructor at its Auto Glass Technicians’ School, Helmut Klassen. As manager of quality and technical services for the company, Klassen will take over the school’s classes for the new year. Previously, he served as the trim area manager at Wayne Stamping and Assembly, and has held various positions with Ford and Visteon for the past 16 years.
“I look forward to building on what’s already here,” Klassen said. “I will be reviewing the curriculum and making suggestions and improvement, but Al Girard, Len Stolk, Ron Hymore and Bob Pierce have built an excellent foundation. I have big shoes to fill.”
Equalizer Promotes Voytek
Equalizer Inc. of Round Rock, Texas, has named Diana Voytek director of sales and marketing for its North American division. Voytek began her career with Equalizer in 1995 and has served the company for the past three years as director of customer service. She will have a variety of sales and marketing responsibilities, including administrative representation, public relations and advertising coordination, enhanced customer relationship development and a new distributor network support program.
Visteon Gains New VP and Global Director
The Visteon Corp. of Dearborn, Mich., has appointed Ruth E. Bruch to the position of vice president and chief information officer for the company.
“Ruth is a great asset to Visteon,” said president and chief operating officer Michael Johnston. “She will be reporting directly to me and charged with restructuring the Enterprise Resource Program.”
The company also recently named Gordon V. Cole global director of public affairs. His duties will include enhancing the reputation of the company and supervising major press events and major activities, according to a press release issued by the company.
© Copyright Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.


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In an article written for Inc.com, the article writer talks about how Papa John’s current CEO is doing a good thing by apologizing on behalf of the company. He writes that once the new CEO and President, Steve Ritchie, wrote a letter on behalf of the company for mistakes made and that they would do what they can to rectify the problem. The author of the article would then go on to discuss why the letter sent by the company itself made some mistakes that Steve Ritchie’s letter mostly avoided.
The article starts by mentioning the company’s problems before Steve Ritchie Papa John’s and how the CEO arose to apologize on behalf of everyone. The letter sent by Mr. Ritchie clearly stated how Papa John’s had failed its customers and how sorry he was that events played out like this. The letter then goes on to mention how the company is made up of over 100,000 individuals working together to provide a better experience for everyone and that they do a tremendous amount of work for the community.
Steve Ritchie’s letter goes on to talk about what actions they will take to rectify the situation. Such actions include things like bringing in outside experts to assess and advise while listening to customer feedback on how to improve their service. He mentions leading this effort at self-improvement and he thanked Papa John’s customer base for their loyalty to them over the years.
The author of the article then goes on to discuss how the letter provided by the company itself failed to bring a sense of compassion to people and that it didn’t even provide an apology for mistakes made. He goes in depth in discussing how Steve Ritchie’s letter had a sense of true regret to it. The writer wraps up the article by talking about how the CEO Steve Ritchie dropped the ball in his initial letter and his attempts to write a better one. He believes that the efforts made were a good one and that everyone should see it as a good first step at damage control for the company.
See full details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_John’s_Pizza


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Nichia, a Japan-based LED maker, plans to launch LED backlighting for larger-sized applications such as 10" monitors and 5-8" car GPS (global positioning system) displays soon, according to the Japan-based Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun.
More here at DigiTimes.
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Snoop Dogg stars in SodaStream's Christmas ad
SodaStream, the leading sparkling water brand, has today revealed its new 2020 holiday campaign featuring hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg, which encourages people to enjoy ‘the small, meaningful things’ this festive season.
The global campaign is SodaStream’s largest to date and the entertainment legend stars in a video which embraces the magic of the festive season, directed by SNL Digital Shorts director Jake Szymanski. It reminds people how important it is to celebrate the small things in life, this year more than ever, whilst also encouraging them to reduce the amount of single-use plastic they use.
The campaign carries these important messages in SodaStream’s classic light-hearted fashion, with superstar Snoop Dogg showing how he will be celebrating the holidays by replacing big plans with staying at home and enjoying the small, meaningful things.
As always, SodaStream also delivers its environmental message when Snoop is joined by an animated sea turtle, calling on people to make the small change to switch from buying single-use plastic water bottles to reusable ones. Just one reusable SodaStream bottle can save thousands of single-use plastic bottles from being used, proving how one small change can help to make a big impact on the planet.
“At SodaStream we always encourage people to make a positive change. This year we really went all in to deliver a campaign everyone can relate to, a campaign on what’s important” commented SodaStream Global CMO Karin Schifter Maor. “SodaStream is the ultimate small change to reduce single-use plastic waste, and Snoop Dogg is a great partner to help widely spread this message in a fun way.”
“I love my Sodastream so it was natural for me to partner up with them for this campaign. They make a great product and a big difference in the world. I am happy to help spread the love!“ said Snoop Dogg.


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In what's becoming a sadly regular occurrence, gaming company Electronic Arts has announced a new round of layoffs. The company confirmed in a statement that it was laying off employees in an unknown number of locations, saying that the move was part of "hard but essential changes" for the company's future. Though it declined to state how many people were cut, sources have told Kotaku that the layoffs affect up to 10 percent of the workforce. EA listed around 9,000 employees in its last financial statement. Game Informer has also reported that EA is considering shutting down its Partners program, which has helped publish Crysis, Bulletstorm, and other non-EA games.
EA was voted the "worst company in America" after an extremely rocky SimCity launch, prompting COO Peter Moore to apologize and say that the company would "do better." Before the vote, CEO John Riccitiello also announced that he would be stepping down, possibly because EA had missed its financial guidance and internal goals for the quarter. But these layoffs have been going on for much longer than the current publicity problems. In 2012, BioWare suffered multiple rounds of cuts, and its San Francisco office was shut down in 2013. PopCap, which makes Plants vs. Zombies, also had its Dublin studio closed last year, with about 100 people laid off. The past few months have also seen EA's offices in San Francisco and Montreal hit with layoffs, including a round earlier this April.
With each round, EA has emphasized that it's cutting people in order to streamline its operation or move to a new generation of devices, but some of its projects also clearly haven't paid off. Earlier this month, it shut down The Sims Social and other Facebook games, bluntly saying that it had seen user activity drop off sharply. Unlike the layoffs, the Partners shutdown hasn't been confirmed by EA, but a source at Kotaku has echoed it — and given how quickly EA has been shuttering studios, it's well within the realm of possibility.
Update: Polygon's sources have given a better idea of the scope of the layoffs, saying that "hundreds" of people were affected across virtually all parts of the company. Two sources have said that the Partners program is being shut down, and employees from both PopCap Vancouver and Quicklime Games — which worked on Need for Speed — have tweeted that their studios were shut down.
Update 2: Kotaku obtained a leaked memo from EA CEO Larry Probst, which confirms a "streamlining" of the organization, but doesn't comment specifically on affected employees, studios, or the EA Partners group. However, it does suggest that studios have indeed been closed: "This process has led to some difficult decisions about the number of people and locations needed to achieve our goals." Read the whole memo below.
FROM LARRY PROBST
As we begin the new fiscal year, I want to provide you with a brief update on some important changes to our organization. As Executive Chairman, my focus is to ensure EA is delivering high quality games and services to our consumers, while helping the executive team develop a FY14 operating plan that drives growth, rationalizes headcount and controls costs.
In recent weeks, the executive team has been tasked with evaluating every area of our business to establish a clear set of priorities, and a more efficient organizational structure. This process has led to some difficult decisions about the number of people and locations needed to achieve our goals.
The workforce reductions which we communicated in the last two weeks represent the majority of our planned personnel actions. We are extremely grateful for the contributions made by each of these individuals – they will be missed by their colleagues and friends at EA.
We are also taking action to streamline our organization, including changes in two key areas:
· Core marketing functions have been consolidated under our COO, Peter Moore. The combined group will bring together our Label marketing teams, Global Acquisition Marketing and Marketing Analytics into one multi-talented team under Todd Sitrin’s leadership. The development and marketing teams will continue to work as cohesive units, driving clear and consistent messaging and consumer engagement for each of our franchises.
· Origin will move into Frank Gibeau’s Labels organization. Andrew Wilson will take on the leadership of Origin, working with CJ Prober and the team to create more value and an enhanced entertainment experience for our consumers.
Change is sometimes difficult, but essential. The adjustments we are making will put us in the best position to build great games and services, deliver them more efficiently to consumers, and demonstrate to players around the world why they should spend their time with us.
EA is a great company, with talented and hard-working teams, a strong portfolio of products and an extremely bright future.
Thank you all for your dedication and commitment to our long term success!


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Study: 2010 Tablet Shipments Forecast at 11 Million21 Jul, 2010 By: Billy Gil
On the strength of Apple’s iPad and other major tablets, ABI Research has boosted its projection for tablet computer shipments in 2010 to 11 million.
“Our forecast of 11 million media tablet shipments in 2010 is based both on the broader availability of the iPad and on the delayed introduction of competing products,” said ABI Research principal analyst Jeff Orr. “Assuming that competing tablets from other vendors do arrive in the second half of the year as expected, we believe that the iPad will account for a significant portion — but not all — of the projected 11 million units. To capitalize on the usual fourth-quarter sales boom, other tablets need to reach retailers’ shelves by early September.”
However, its long-term tablet-shipment forecasts remain unchanged. Orr said tablets won’t be a “mass market” item before 2013.


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Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood has said the implementation on the much-awaited revised China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement Phase 2 (FTA-II) would start from December 2019, under which China will immediately eliminate tariffs on 313 most priority tariff lines of Pakistan’s export interest.
He was talking about the early operationalisation of the revised agreement during a press conference on Tuesday.
The minister said various provisions of the revised FTA would be implemented according to the agreed timeline i.e. 5 years, 10 years and 15 years.
The implementation phases have already been agreed on by the two countries.
Talking about the benefits of the revised FTA, especially for Pakistan, he said that implementation of the second phase shall significantly increase Pakistan’s exports to China and help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan was already availing the $1 billion export facility from China (announced earlier to increase the existing trade volume between the two countries).
“Although the trade gap is still high, the duty-free export of selected items under the $1 billion facility helped Pakistan a great deal,” he said.
In reply to a query, Dawood said that China had concerns about delay in operationalization of Gwadar Port. However, he added, all reservations of China regarding Gwadar have been addressed.


text: No matter how quickly Hong Kong authorities reacted to mainland media claims that tourists had been sold fake goods, the damage had been done. Since the allegations were aired by China Central Television on April 1, there has been a noticeable fall in visitor numbers from across the border - although the trend does not appear to be reflected in figures for arrivals on the first day of the 'golden week' holiday. Our officials and the tourism industry have been doing and saying what is necessary. Investigations have been launched, the government intends to tighten rules, talks have been held with mainland authorities and more self-regulation has been promised by tour and trading groups. As the holiday began, customs officers seized HK$2.5 million in counterfeit products in tourist areas and 35 people were arrested. Such efforts to repair our tainted image are essential. Just as important, though, is ensuring that the rhetoric of the past month is backed up by continued action. This is not a one-sided issue. No matter what the destination, common sense is a shopping prerequisite. Terms and conditions of sale and if necessary, proof of authenticity, should always be asked for when buying expensive items. One positive impact of the controversy has been increased awareness among mainland visitors of the need to take care when they shop. Tourism is a major component of Hong Kong's economy and shopping is a key reason for people to come here. The perception among mainland visitors that they can be confident that what they buy here is genuine has taken a knock with the CCTV claims and some tourists have opted to spend their holiday elsewhere. Convincing such people that otherwise is the case will clearly take more than words and raids on unscrupulous traders. The process of restoring lost confidence is well under way. Promises of better self-regulation through such steps as tightening the rules for tour-approved shops and extending the shopping refund period must be properly enacted. The government has to ensure that its regulations are strong and being followed. Effective action is the only way to restore what has been lost.


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Windows Phone 8 is coming to European carriers this weekend, coming to the rest of the world in November, with devices from Lumia, HTC and Samsung including the 920, 8X and Ativ S hitting online stores and retail shelves. The mobile OS has been anticipated for a while now, but this is the first we’ve heard of a specific street date, so now you know when you can actually get your hands on Microsoft’s latest hotness.
Verizon will be getting the 8X and 822 by Thanksgiving. AT&T will get the Lumia 820, 920 and HTC 8X by November, and T-Mobile is getting the Lumia 810 and 8X by November 14. Sprint appears not to have gotten on the Windows Phone 8 launch train. The Lumia 920 goes on sale at Rogers in Canada, tomorrow
Europe gets the big advance, however, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on stage at the event that all the phones he showed off today (the HTC 8X, Ativ S, Lumia 920) would be available to purchase in European countries beginning well ahead of U.S. launches this weekend. And the Lumia 920 goes on sale at Rogers in Canada, starting tomorrow. That means U.S. users will have at least a couple weeks to read over first impressions and reviews before decided to “go all in” on Windows Phone 8, as Ballmer is fond of saying.


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Update, 8/30/18: Sabatino’s is in its soft opening, serving pizza and specials 12-9 p.m. daily (except Mondays for now). 973-327-9977, Email- email@example.com.
It’s for real!
Ahead of its to-be-announced grand opening, Sabatino’s at 513 Valley Street in Maplewood previewed its menu with pizza only in a soft opening this weekend. The best news? The reviews are all raves.
The restaurant will specialize in pizza and Italian food.
Earlier this year, owner Sabatino Perrotta, Jr. reported, “We aren’t doing anything half-way,” noting that he had ordered a high end Marsal pizza oven, and was gutting the space to create the kitchen he needs to make fine Italian food.
Perrotta gradulated from Columbia High School in Maplewood in 2010. He learned his craft at the Culinary Institute of America and while living in Italy. “I love the culinary aspect of Italian food,” he said, “but I also appreciate a good, fast slice of pizza.” A Sunday brunch including menu items such as grilled avocado toast and eggs benedict is currently planned for Sundays.
More information will be available as the restaurant gets closer to opening. You can follow Sabatino’s progress on Instagram at: SabatinosPizzaGram.
This story will be updated with more information on the grand opening. In the meantime, more soft opening hours are scheduled for Sunday, August 12:
Reporting by Adrianna Donat.


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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSAV) – Earlier this week, Gov. Henry McMaster announced the creation of accelerateSC, a special team responsible for moving South Carolina’s economy forward during the COVID-19 crisis.
On Thursday, the governor led the group’s first meeting, made up of business owners, local government officials along with industry leaders in manufacturing, healthcare and education.
“This is a time that we have never experienced before,” McMaster said at the meeting’s start.
The economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, with a 50% decrease in revenue in the tourism industry alone.
“You see what happened to hotel occupancy it’s down to 20-30%,” explained South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Director Duane Parrish. “Obviously that is not sustainable over a period of time.”
Plus, more than 300,000 people have filed for unemployment.
“We were at 3% unemployment so we have been hurt very dramatically,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “Our entire auto sector is idle.”
Each industry expressed challenges at Thursday’s meeting.
For hospitality, it’s defining the new normal for dine-in restaurants and entertainment venues. In the manufacturing industry, there’s a focus on preventing an outbreak in a plant.
“I don’t know how we can test 4,000 people walking into a BMW plant…and how do you do it?” Hitt asked.
The accelerateSC team will continue to discuss and develop recommendations for the governor as he continues to reopen the state.
“We want to do the best we can in this advice, this forum, to keep us going to keep us alert and take us back to where we were before this came along and beyond,” McMaster said.
The subgroups of the team will begin meeting independently next week.


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Bethesda’s VP of marketing spoke recently about their plans for the console version of The Elder Scrolls: Legends. They want the strategy card game to have full cross-play on every system, a statement which puts pressure on Sony.
Rockstar just released their first gameplay video for Red Dead Redemption 2. Surely, the level of immersion and detail in the game will delight players for hours. In this six-minute video, Rockstar gives future players an inside glimpse of the rich storytelling and in-depth experiences to come in their soon-to-be-released console game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
In anticipation of the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games will release a gameplay trailer on August 9th (aka tomorrow). Its open-world Western-themed action-adventure game has a release date of October 26, 2018, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Dead Cells is a new roguelike Castlevania-esque game that has just released today, and we can honestly say it’s pretty darn good. From the humor invoked through the main headless Prisoner character, to the procedurally generated rooms it’s certainly a fun 2D platformer that brings the new with the old styles.
Most of the time, people have little reason to pay close attention to menu music in sports games. However, Madden NFL 19 gave us extra reason to focus on it when some omitted lyrics lead to unfortunate implications regarding a controversial American football player.
Stardew Valley, the highly acclaimed farming game from Chucklefish, has released their big multiplayer update for computers. Now up to four friends can hang together on the same farm and enjoy some relaxing farming together.
Codemasters Cheshire was hit with major layoffs after less-than-stellar sales of the driving game OnRush. These severe layoffs include a big chunk of senior staff, including Paul “Rushy” Rustchynsky, the face of the studio itself.
The Call of Cthulhu video game will begin to spread madness starting on their October 30th release! This game was inspired by the tabletop version of Call of Cthulhu by the company Chaosism.
Update 1.2.3 for Destiny 2 is coming next Tuesday, July 23rd. With this update comes bounties for the Heroic Strike Playlist. Be prepared though, some changes are being made to how bounties are grabbed. The playability for Heroic Strikes are getting some changes too.
No Man’s Sky – Next is an upcoming update to Hello Games’ evolving universe. This free update will be coming July 24th and is coming with brand new features and upgrades!
Back in April, Warner Bros. announced that they would remove microtransactions from Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. Yesterday, a major patch was rolled out that made their removal official.


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The after effects of the worldwide economic and financial downturn have altered the business landscape and have challenged longstanding assumptions about successful operating structures. There is a need to establish a new "normal" for the automotive industry and the reality is that the game has changed, according to the report "Global Automotive Perspectives" by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
New approaches to everything automotive companies do from reporting to their stakeholders and the investment community to making decisions on tax and legal structures in a changed global market are essential.
Richard Hanna, global auto leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP recently said, "During the last decade, the underlying competitive landscape has changed dramatically because of the emergence of new markets and new industry players as well as fundamental changes in the economic environments of the mature markets. The global recession has challenged the core operating models responsible for delivering the business strategy of many companies.
In addition to the traditional disclosures on results of operations, cash flows and financial position, users of financial statements want insight into management strategy for dealing with changing industry, extended liquidity information, and transparent discussion of risks and the company's outlook. Establishing a regular information flow between companies and the investment community develops a climate of confidence, creating a virtuous circle of transparency and credibility."
The report highlights three key themes:
• Robust and transparent reporting on financial results and outlook
• The golden rule of transfer pricing and how companies can help themselves
• Simplifying the business model


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Today, Sony released its Q1 2020 financial results for the three months ending on June 30, 2020 . Despite the logistical and distribution woes thrown up by the pandemic, the PlayStation brand has recorded one of its best quarters on record , thanks in part to record game sales.
Hardware sales have declined in line with the normal end of generation estimates, totaling 1.9 million units in Q1 2020, compared to 3.2 million for the same period last year.
The figure brings the cumulative sell-through of PS4 units to a lifetime total of 112.3 million, trumping even the PS2, which sold 106.02 million units by this period in its life-cycle.
The shift towards digital software continued with a physical/digital sales split of 23.7 million and 67.3 million compared to 20.2 million and 22.7 million in Q1 2019.
Q1 2020 recorded the highest proportion of digital software sales on record – a 74% digital download ratio. Of the 91 million games sold last quarter, 18.5 million were first-party Sony titles spearheaded by The Last of Us Part II (4.0 million copies in the first three days).
PlayStation Plus subscriptions reached a record of just shy of 45 million, and active PlayStation Network users hit 113 million.
While hardware revenue dropped to $524 million, game software sales surged to $4.07 billion – PlayStation’s best Q1 performance ever.
Watch: How Sony Won this Console Generation with the PS4
The Game and Network Services Segment, which comprises PlayStation, drew in $5.63 billion, the best segment within the company.
Looking to the future, Sony forecasts that the launch of the PS5 later this year will up Game and Network Services sales to $23.36 billion while operating income will reach $2.24 billion, notably due to costs involved in launch a new console.
Sales are expected to increase significantly year-on-year mainly due to an expected significant increase in sales of game software and hardware as a result of the launch of PS5. Operating income is expected to be essentially flat year-on-year primarily due to the above-mentioned expected significant increase in game software sales and PS Plus sales, substantially offset by an expected increase in selling, general and administrative expenses related to the introduction of PS5 and an expected increase in the cost of sales ratio for hardware.’
Sony forecasts a significant increase in hardware sales due to the PS5 launch in line with reports that it has doubled its initial 2020 production order from 5-6 million to 10 million units.


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Under the title "Enhancing and Protecting Brand Value in the Global Market Place" the third conference of the Center for Transnational IP, Media and Technology Law and Policy (Bucerius IP Center) was held on Thursday, October 2, 2014 in the Moot Court of Bucerius Law School.
The presentations of the eleven renowned speakers from academia and especially from practice addressed modern challenges for trademark law, as well as new opportunities for law implementation and enforcement. Globally, trademark law has in principle failed to keep up with technological developments in the recent past. Nevertheless, things in this area are changing. An example of this is the current situation in China. Traditionally China has tolerated the counterfeit industry as an engine of economic development however substantial changes have been brought into practice with the third revision of their trademark laws which have significantly increased trademark protection.
Online trading however remains an exciting challenge, especially on platforms such as eBay who are seen to be more likely to take action against counterfeit products than in other digital and analogue worlds. This is because they are seen as self-contained microcosms and can therefore introduce and enforce their own rules. Other focal points of the conference were potentially lethal counterfeit food and automobile parts as well as unconventional brands. The presentations were divided into three thematic blocks, each of which was followed by a panel discussion with audience participation. The Bucerius IP Center would like to thank its founding partners DLA Piper for their generous support.


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There’s no mistaking the dramatic changes taking place in the video content realm. Consumers are avidly seeking out content from a variety of traditional and new content providers, and they’re eagerly tracking it down across mobile, digital and linear channels. In fact, American media consumption recently hit a new milestone in the first quarter of 2016, with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) usage now equal in the U.S. with DVR usage.
While the myriad content offerings is a bounty for consumers, who now spend 70 hours each week with media, content providers are increasingly challenged to break through and make sure their offerings are front and center. Despite the commotion in the space, however, many of the industry’s best-known content providers agree on one thing: The consumer needs to be the primary consideration.
“I’ve been a proponent of a holistic view of content for consumers my whole career,” said Kris Magel, president of Initiative U.S., during a content monetization panel at U.S. Consumer 360 this week in Las Vegas. “And that puts the focus on new technology, new programming and new revenue opportunities. While some have said video has changed more in the past five years than in the past 30, I would argue it’s changed more in the past single year than in the past 30 years.”
As he dove into the panel discussion, Magel outlined how much choice is currently available, then asked how the panelists see their companies’ futures, particularly with regard to competitive advantage. And despite Magel’s probing about perceived overlap among content providers, the panelists from Hulu, CBS, Turner, Google (YouTube) and Facebook each outlined individual strategies that approach content, distribution and advertising quite individually.
“Very simply, we’re television,” said Peter Naylor, senior vice president of ad sales at Hulu. “We are SVOD and OTT, and we’re TV for the whole family. In fact, today, we’re 70% in the living room. That’s a large shift from where we were when we started. Mobile tablet use is 15%. And from a content perspective, we’re focused on offering acquired and licensed last night’s TV programming. That’s our value proposition. Over time, however, original content will be a differentiator.”
Hulu’s position, however, stands apart from those of CBS and Turner, both of which have strongholds in the traditional TV space. For CBS and Turner, the focus is on creating premium long-form content and leveraging that digitally so that consumers have access to it wherever and whenever they want it.
“We have not changed direction,” said Donna Speciale, president for Turner ad sales. “We will always be about premium content. Now, it’s just a matter of how many screens we’re on. Premium seems to be what consumers are craving.”
Mark DeBoise, executive vice president and general manager for CBS Media/CBS Interactive, agreed, emphasizing that CBS’ business centers on long-form content, adding that the living room TV remains the No. 1 screen for video viewing—even though the type of programming on that screen is evolving.
So where do newer providers like YouTube and Facebook fit in? To their credit, they’re focused on differentiating themselves in places traditional providers aren’t. For example, YouTube is focused on nourishing the content generated by its four million creators—and it spends most of its effort looking at mobile. For Facebook, the strategy doesn’t involve creating programming. Rather, the focus is developing a channel for short-burst, real-time content. And both YouTube and Facebook have younger viewers in mind.
“We have a deep relationship with our creators—that’s the point of difference for us,” said Lucas Watson, vice president of global brand solutions and innovations at Google. “We want to deliver high-definition, high-quality video across every screen, and we want to do that for any video that hits on the emotion that our creators bring forth.”
But because the content scenario is evolving and providers are broadening their offerings and footprints, Initiative’s Magel pushed the conversation to the topic of “everyone getting into everyone’s business.”
“YouTube used to be an upload platform,” he said. “Hulu was an acquired content platform. There were ad-free and ad models. Today, things are much different.”
“People chose ads for a reason,” said Hulu’s Naylor. “There is a cost difference, but not all ads are shunned. The screen is the most important factor. So now we have an ad-free option. The majority will chose the ad supported option, but there needs to be two options.”
With regard to options, Turner’s Speciale stressed that the space is really open for anyone, and that means it would behoove Turner to be as many places as possible and supported by ads.
“It’s about thinking about the consumer and addressing what they want,” said Speciale. “It’s not a one-size fits all. There is overlap. We’re all trying to figure out what the consumer experience is and how to get there. So we have to understand where the consumer is going and be there.”
“The experience is changing,” added Facebook’s Smallwood. “You want to make sure the quality and platform is good. The consumer is what we’re all trying to optimize for.”
On the subject of broader content distribution, CBS’ DeBevoise stressed that his network would want its content to be in every package, which sparked a slight air of restlessness across the panel, given that some companies have not shared viewership data and others are still unwilling to share control of ad sales.
“We do distribute a little on Facebook,” said Turner’s Speciale. “We have a partnership for CNN and Facebook Live, but there are very specific guidelines. The video needs to be within 10 minutes because it can’t show up in the SVOD space. So I think Facebook needs to share a little more.”
“We do share some,” said Smallwood. “We share social content data and audience ratings data. Specific data elements are still in the mix. The real issue has been about how can we share the data in a privacy safe way. We’ve also provided more data over the past year than we ever did before.”
CBS’ DeBoise emphasized a different issue: control over ad sales. “We would love for CBS to be in every package. But control over ad sales is the piece that’s missing. We want to be the ones going to the meeting and pitching our stuff. We don’t want another provider selling our content. We have to have mandatory control over our own inventory.”
When all was said and done, however, the panelists agreed that the consumer is in control and that each company needs to find ways to deliver value and options as diverse as their viewers.


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During the first quarter of fiscal 2020, Ulta opened 11 new stores. The company ended the first quarter of fiscal 2020 with 1,264 stores and square footage of 13,294,607, representing a 5.7% increase in square footage compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2019.
“Fiscal 2020 started off well, with good growth in comparable store sales, market share, and our Ultamate Rewards loyalty program through mid-March. However, the rapid escalation of COVID-19 resulted in significant disruption to our operations. For much of the first quarter, Ulta Beauty operated as a digital-only business, and while e-commerce sales exceeded our expectations, it was not enough to fully offset the impact of our store closings,” said Mary Dillon, CEO. “As we have navigated the pandemic, our priority for every decision has been to protect the well-being of our associates and guests, and I am incredibly proud and appreciative of how quickly our teams adjusted to the dynamic environment.”
Given the uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company withdrew its guidance for fiscal 2020 on March 17, 2020 and is not providing an earnings outlook at this time.
With safety continuing to guide the company’s decisions, Ulta has begun to reopen stores. Currently, more than 800 stores offer curbside pickup and more than 330 stores are open to guests. While it is still early, the company says it has seen stronger-than-expected sales in reopened stores.


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Approximately 8 weeks ago, Toronto’s government that is general licensing committee ended up being urging town council to avoid issuing licences to brand brand brand new payday advances shops.
The argument was — but still is — that cash advance stores (think MoneyMart, Cash4You, and money cash) are mostly positioned in a number of the city’s lowest-income neighbourhoods and thus, trap susceptible residents in a cycle of financial obligation by billing exorbitant rates of interest, some since high as 46%.
About 30 days later on, on Oct. 2, town council voted unanimously 20-0 to immediately stop issuing licences to those “predatory” lenders.
It had been an important municipal action toward breaking straight straight straight down regarding the proliferation of those shops — but the one that targeted brick-and-mortar areas just. The thing is a number of these financing clothes additionally live online. And even though going this model of lending behind a pc display screen is extremely convenient for the debtor, it comes down along with its set that is own of.
Less pity, less reason
“The only barrier for many people starting a cash advance workplace is so it’s uncomfortable, ” says Scott Terrio, supervisor of consumer insolvency at Hoyes Michalos & Associates Inc., an authorized insolvency trustee company in Toronto. بیشتر


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Do You Like The Ewing Athletics Focus Retro Sneaker That Will Be Released This Summer?
Last year, Ewing Athletics re-released their classic Ewing Athletics 33 Hi sneaker to the world and it got a great response. Due in part to the fact that Patrick Ewing himself helped promote the sneaker—and due in part to the fact that the New York Knicks had such a successful 2012-13 NBA regular season—the 33 Hi flew off of store shelves. It’s actually still flying off store shelves now, too, as sneakerheads continue to scoop up whatever colorway of the 33 Hi that they can. It was a successful release for Ewing Athletics, to say the least. So, with that in mind, they’re gearing up for another re-release this summer.
The photo that you see above features a teaser photo of the Ewing Athletics Focus retro sneaker that EA is planning on releasing. It’s the same sneaker that Patrick Ewing wore back in 1993, meaning that it is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It was one of the most technologically advanced sneakers on the market back in ’93. And, while technology has taken about 500 steps forward since that time, it’s still a pretty dope sneaker. It features a mostly white upper with hits of royal blue and orange, neoprene inserts, and an ankle strap at the very tippy-top of the sneaker that was put there to help stabilize your foot. We doubt anyone will wear these for playing ball in 2013. But the strap adds a cool dimension to the sneaker and makes it instantly recognizable.
Although Ewing Athletics hasn’t announced a definitive release date for the Ewing Athletics Focus just yet, the sneaker will be released sometime this summer. And, much like the Ewing Athletics 33 Hi, we expect it to be a hot seller, simply because of the nostalgia factor that comes along with it. Check out a photo of Ewing wearing the sneaker back in 1993 below, courtesy of Sole Collector. Are you planning on picking up a pair of these when they hit stores in the summertime?