text:
|Bid||8.21 x 3200|
|Ask||8.24 x 1100|
|Day's Range||8.21 - 8.51|
|52 Week Range||7.01 - 11.88|
|Beta (5Y Monthly)||N/A|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||N/A|
|Earnings Date||Nov 26, 2019|
|Forward Dividend & Yield||N/A (N/A)|
|1y Target Est||68.88|
DouYu International Holdings Limited ("DouYu" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: DOYU), a leading game-centric live streaming platform in China and a pioneer in the eSports value chain, today announced that its board of directors has authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to US$100 million of its ordinary shares in the form of American depositary shares during a period of up to 12 months commencing on December 20, 2019, subject to the relevant rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and the Company's insider trading policy.
Although the masses and most of the financial media blame hedge funds for their exorbitant fee structure and disappointing performance, these investors have proved to have great stock picking abilities over the years (that's why their assets under management continue to swell). We believe hedge fund sentiment should serve as a crucial tool of an […]
With the first-quarter round of 13F filings behind us it is time to take a look at the stocks in which some of the best money managers in the world preferred to invest or sell heading into the second quarter. One of these stocks was Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD). Below we will compare BYD against similarly […]
WUHAN, China , Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DouYu International Holdings Limited ("DouYu" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: DOYU), a leading game-centric live streaming platform in China ...
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese startup Kuaishou is considering a U.S. initial public offering to bankroll its expansion in short videos and fend off competition from TikTok-owner ByteDance Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.The company, backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., plans to list next year, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. One person said Kuaishou also weighed the option of going public this year. The video startup is raising more than $1 billion at a $25 billion valuation in a pre-IPO round mostly from Tencent, one of the people said.Kuaishou is an important part of Chinese social media giant Tencent’s strategy to compete against ByteDance, now the world’s most valuable startup. Tencent has devoted a lot of resources toward building a library of short and mini video offerings -- key to retaining user attention and boosting advertising revenue -- but has yet to catch its rival.“Tencent’s biggest enemy is ByteDance right now,” said David Dai, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Bernstein. “Tencent hasn’t been very successful in short videos in the past, so resorting to investing in other companies instead is its best option.”U.S.-listed shares of some of Kuaishou’s competitors fell. Momo Inc. fell 2.8%, the most in more than a week, while DouYu International Holdings Ltd. fell 1.9%, the most in about a month. Both under-performed the Nasdaq, which rose 0.3%.Read more: Tencent Tumbles After China’s Slowdown, ByteDance Hit Ad SalesTencent President Martin Lau said during an August earnings call that short and mini videos would be a key vertical for expansion.Kuaishou or “fast hand” first established its popularity among users in China’s smaller cities and rural areas, with people streaming slices of everyday life from harvesting corn to slurping noodles. It’s also been luring users in bigger cities and expanding its content to include everything from people playing video games to teenagers lip-syncing songs.Kuaishou was seeking funds in January last year at a valuation of $17 billion. The eight-year-old company, which was valued at $3 billion in January 2015 by CB Insights, also counts Sequoia and Morningside Group Holdings as backers. It had 110 million daily active users as of December 2017, according to its website. Annie He, a spokeswoman for Kuaishou didn’t respond to requests for comment. Tencent declined to comment in an emailed statement.“Kuaishou is the only one that can still counter ByteDance now,” Dai said.(Updates with shares from the fifth paragraph and adds chart.)To contact the reporters on this story: Crystal Tse in Hong Kong at firstname.lastname@example.org;Lulu Yilun Chen in Hong Kong at email@example.comTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at firstname.lastname@example.org, ;Fion Li at email@example.com, Colum Murphy, Edwin ChanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Consider this strategy for the recently public esports name DouYu, the largest live-streaming, game-centric platform for esports on mobile devices and other computers.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2019 / DouYu International Holdings Ltd - ADR (NASDAQ: DOYU ) will be discussing their earnings results in their 2019 Second Quarter Earnings to be held on August ...
WUHAN, China , Aug. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DouYu International Holdings Limited ("DouYu" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: DOYU), a leading game-centric live streaming platform in China ...
WUHAN, China , Aug. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DouYu International Holdings Limited ("DouYu" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: DOYU), a leading game-centric live streaming platform in China and ...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- DouYu International Holdings Ltd. may have just hit the limit of foreign investor enthusiasm for China's burgeoning competitive video-gaming business.The eSports live-streaming provider has slumped since listing on Nasdaq in a $775 million initial public offering that was completed on July 16. DouYu finished unchanged on its trading debut after late buying erased a loss of 4.3%. Since then, the bears have reigned, with the stock down 8.7% from its IPO price as of Friday’s close.The negative sentiment is out of step with recent U.S. listings of Chinese companies. Of the 16 stocks from the nation that started trading on American exchanges so far this year, the median first-day gain is 16.6%, compared with 2.3% for all of 2018. Of the total, 63% rose on their debut versus 68% last year. The data indicate the U.S.-China trade war has had little impact on investor appetite in the IPO market.There were early signs of trouble for DouYu. The company delayed its plans to list in the U.S. in May amid the trade tensions. After spotting some blue sky between the clouds, DouYu and its bankers made another attempt this month and were able to get the transaction done – but only by pricing the shares at the bottom of the range. Competitive video-gaming is hot in China, with all the ingredients for further growth. Promotion of the industry has become government policy, as my colleague Shuli Ren noted last week. In days of yore, the chance to be part of a booming new Chinese business would be catnip to most investors. So DouYu didn’t appear to be a tough sell.The limp response shows that investors are getting more discerning. Huya Inc., one of DouYu’s closest competitors, listed 15 months ago and climbed 34% on its first day. The stock almost tripled in the first month of trading.While the businesses of DouYu and Huya are similar, their financials aren’t. When Huya listed in May last year it had just turned an operating profit for the first quarter. The company posted an operating margin of 3.3% on revenue of 843 million yuan ($123 million).DouYu is almost twice as big as Huya was then, at 1.49 billion yuan in revenue for the first three months of 2018. But its operating margin was minus-3.3%, a sign that this business may not have economies of scale. While sales more than doubled from a year earlier and the operating loss margin narrowed drastically, it seems some investors weren’t willing to wait around for profits to appear.They may also have been burned by Huya. The 2018 first-quarter profit looks to have been a fluke, with subsequent periods barely achieving even half the operating margin of that pre-IPO level. The stock’s mammoth early gains have mostly been wiped out, though Huya still trades 81% above its offer price.Also likely weighing on sentiment for DouYu is the decision by one founder and one early investor to cash out in the IPO, instead of waiting for a lockup period to expire, as is often the case. Stock sold by Co-CEO Zhang Wenming and Aodong Investments, a fund owned by angel investor Cai Dongqing, amounted to about one-third of all shares offered in the IPO. This kind of signalling doesn’t inspire confidence when you’re trying to tell investors that your unprofitable business will soon be a moneymaker.China’s eSports industry isn’t just a fad. As U.S. investors are learning, though, all games have winners and losers. To contact the author of this story: Tim Culpan at firstname.lastname@example.orgTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew Brooker at email@example.comThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tim Culpan is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. He previously covered technology for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese video-game live-streaming platform DouYu International Holdings Ltd. ended flat in its trading debut after its $775 million U.S. initial public offering.Shares of the company, backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., closed their first day of trading Wednesday at $11.50, the same price as when they were sold in its IPO on Tuesday.DouYu, which delayed its listing amid market jitters in May, sold 44.9 million American depository shares and its investors sold another 22.5 million. The shares, which which had been priced at the bottom of the marketed range, opened down 4.2% and never rose more than 0.4% on Wednesday.The offering, which valued DouYu at $3.73 billion, was the biggest cross-border listing from China since Tencent Music Entertainment Group raised $1.07 billion in its U.S. IPO in December.DouYu, one of China’s top two video-game live-streaming platforms, initially planned to start its IPO roadshow in May but postponed it following President Donald Trump’s threat to boost tariffs on China, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The Wuhan-based company had filed for its IPO on April 22, almost a year after its biggest competitor, Huya Inc., went public in the U.S.DouYu had net income of $2.7 million on revenue of $222 million in the first quarter, according to its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That compared with a loss of about $23 million on revenue of $97 million during the same period last year.Existing investors that sold shares in the IPO included Aodong Investments and Co-Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Zhang Wenming, according to the company’s filings.Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and CMB International Capital Ltd. led the offering. The shares are trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol DOYU.(Updates with closing share price in second paragraph)\--With assistance from Crystal Tse.To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Hytha in San Francisco at firstname.lastname@example.org;Yueqi Yang in New York at email@example.comTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Polina Noskova at firstname.lastname@example.org, ;Liana Baker at email@example.com, Michael Hytha, Matthew MonksFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
China-based DouYu International failed to excite investors with its initial public offering that priced at the low end of its range. The livestreaming service raised $775 million in the IPO.
NEW YORK/HONG KONG, July 16 (Reuters) - DouYu International Holdings Ltd, China's largest live-streaming platform, on Tuesday said it sold $775 million in stock at a $3.73 billion valuation after pricing its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) at the bottom of an indicative range. DouYu, which is backed by Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, sold American depositary shares (ADS) at $11.5 each, compared with a previously stated target of $11.50 to $14.00, the firm said in a statement. The IPO was also a test of U.S. investor demand for Chinese stocks after Anheuser Busch InBev NV called off the Hong Kong listing of its Asia-Pacific brewing business due to weak orders from U.S. "long only" fund managers.
WUHAN, China , July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DouYu International Holdings Limited ("DouYu" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: DOYU), a leading game-centric live streaming platform in China ...
The DouYu IPO, a spinoff of China internet giant Tencent Holdings, is scheduled to price shares for its initial public offering late Tuesday and trade Wednesday, raising about $859 million.


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CLEARWATER, Fla., April 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ:TECD) today announced its participation in the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) Investor Conference on Thursday, May 5, 2016. Bob Dutkowsky, CEO, is scheduled to present during a session titled “Digital-Era Drivers and High Fliers” beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Live and recorded audio webcasts of Mr. Dutkowsky’s presentation will be available on the Investor Relations page of Tech Data’s website at www.techdata.com/investor.
About Tech Data
Tech Data Corporation is one of the world’s largest wholesale distributors of technology products, services and solutions. Its advanced logistics capabilities and value added services enable 105,000 resellers to efficiently and cost effectively support the diverse technology needs of end users in more than 100 countries. Tech Data generated $26.4 billion in net sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2016. It is ranked No. 107 on the Fortune 500® and one of Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies.” To learn more, visit www.techdata.com, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
CONTACTS: Arleen Quinones, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications 727-532-8866 (firstname.lastname@example.org)
Source:Tech Data Corp.

domain: news


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China’s Car Makers Optimistic for 2009
In a roundup of strategies for 2009, the April edition of China Automotive Review, available only by subscription, noted the aggressive plans of the local assemblers compared to their more conservative, foreign-invested rivals.
Here are some of the highlights:
- BYD plans to double unit sales this year to 400,000 by launching five new models. Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s 43-year-old founder and chairman, was interviewed on CNN’s Talk Asia by Andrew Stevens this week. Pioneering the development of electric cars, Wang said that his target is to be the world’s leading carmaker by 2025. If the company’s 2009 goal of 400,000 units is achieved, it will be among the top three local car makers in China.
- Chery is forecasting sales to increase by 17.7 percent to 419,000 cars. 15 new models on three platforms will be introduced and the company plans to improve both quality and service.
- Geely, which is now churning out London taxicabs in Shanghai for export, will launch four “B-segment” models and will start producing SUVs, MPVs, and mid- to-high-end passenger cars as it seeks to upgrade its image. Geely plans to increase sales by 25 percent to 290,000 units in 2009.
- If Chang’an is successful in achieving an impressive 30 percent increase in sales to 500,000 units in 2009, it will establish a clear leadership position as China’s largest local car maker.
- SAIC Roewe/MG plans to increase sales by 70 percent to 60,000 units.
By way of contrast, FAW-VW is targeting a 10 percent increase; FAW-Toyota, 8 percent; Shanghai-GM, 7 percent; SAIC-GM-Wuling, 10 percent; Beijing-Honda, 20 percent and Dongfeng-Nissan, 10 percent.
Make no mistake about it; the global auto industry is now in a major transition, with the industry’s center of gravity shifting to China. If the local carmakers achieve their aggressive plans for 2009, their march to ultimate dominance of the China market will have begun.


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Decline in tractor sales continues in November. As per industry pundits and company, Sales of tractor is expected to increase in coming months. Both Mahindra & Mahindra and Escorts saw a sharp decline in its tractor sales in November.
Mahindra Group reported a 19 percent decline at 20,414 units in the domestic market in November 2019. The company sold 25,159 units in November 2018, as claimed by M&M.
M&M‘s Exports declined by 22 percent at 618 units this November as compared to 790 units in November 2018.
Commenting on the Mahindra Group’s performance, Rajesh Jejurikar, President - Farm Equipment Sector, M&M said, “We have sold 20,414 tractors in the domestic market during November 2019. With Government support on Agri and rural sector and healthy reservoir levels due to the above-normal monsoon, we expect a good Rabi output in the coming months. This will generate positive sentiment and drive growth, going forward. In the export market, we have sold 618 tractors.”
M&M’s total tractor sales (Domestic + Exports) during November 2019 stood at 21,032 units, down 19 percent, as against 25,949 units for the same period last year.
Not only Mahindra escorts to saw a sharp decline in tractor sales this November.
Escorts has registered 7,642 units of total tractor sales in November 2019, down 4.5 percent compared to 8,005 units in the same month last year.
Domestic tractor sales of the company declined to 7,379 units in November, a drop of 3.4 percent compared with 7,641 units sold in last year November.
Escorts company export was down to 263 units last month, a YoY drop of 27.7 percent from the same month in 2018 when it sold 364 units of tractors.
Cumulatively, the company sold 59,324 units of tractors in the Indian market during the April-November period this financial year, down 8.7 percent compared with the same duration in FY19.
इस बार सामान्य से बेहतर रहेगा मानसून- स्काईमेट
कोरोना के बीच किसानों के लिए अच्छी खबर है। इस साल 1 जून से शुरू होने वाला मानसून यानी बारिश सामान्य...
ITL Commences Delivery of Solis Hybrid 5015 - 1st Hybrid tractor with Fully Advanced Japanese Hybrid Technology at Rs. 7.21 Lakhs
New Delhi: Taking yet another giant leap in introducing state-of-the-art technologies in the tractor...
स्वराज के टॉप 12 ट्रैक्टर मॉडल, 2021
भारत के सबसे पसंदीदा ट्रैक्टर ब्रांडों में शामिल स्वराज एक बड़ी एचपी श्रेणी में ट्रैक्टर बनाता है, ज...


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Two Israelis in their mid-30s were charged with running a website that linked to dark Web drug bazaars and took kickbacks totaling $15 million for their promotion of illegal services, according to charges unsealed in the U.S. yesterday. According to what Forbes found on the accused, they are self-proclaimed serial entrepreneurs in the cannabis, coffee and poker games.
Tal Prihar, 37, a resident of Brazil, and Michael Phan, 34, from Israel, were indicted on Wednesday, and the DeepDotWeb site they are accused of running was shut down. The site provided not only guides on how to access markets but direct links to some of the most infamous drug sites, like AlphaBay and Dream Market. Run on both the public Web used by everyday people and the anonymizing Tor network, DeepDotWeb was also a vast source of news on dark Web services.
As for how Prihar and Phan allegedly made their millions, every time someone followed a link from DeepDotWeb onto a drug market and made a purchase, the accused would receive a referral payment, according to the DOJ. It's the illicit version of the business model pioneered by companies like Amazon that have hugely successful referral programs.
In what was alleged to have been one of their more successful partnerships, the DeepDotWeb pair were taking vast sums by linking to AlphaBay. The DOJ alleged 23.6% of all orders completed on AlphaBay were completed by an account created through a DeepDotWeb referral. That meant DeepDotWeb received a referral fee for 23.6 percent of all orders made on AlphaBay, according to the government. AlphaBay and a handful of other sites linked on DeepDotWeb sold more than just drugs. They also pushed guns, hacking tools like ransomware and other contraband. And when the police found the pair's wallet, they claimed to have discovered 40,000 deposits, the value of which equated to approximately $15,489,415, according to the indictment.
Prihar was arrested in Paris and Phan in Israel on May 6. (Forbes could not find any counsel listed for the duo at the time of publication, but will update if their lawyers make a statement.)
"This is the single most significant law enforcement disruption of the Darknet to date," said U.S. attorney Scott Brady. "While there have been successful prosecutions of various Darknet marketplaces, this prosecution is the first to attack the infrastructure supporting the Darknet itself."
Who are the DeepDotWeb founders?
But who are Prihar and Phan? Clues in the indictment led to public profiles of the pair, who claim to have set up myriad online businesses in the cannabis and internet marketing trades.
According to the U.S. charges, Prihar and Phan used a handful of shell companies to hide their financial dealings, prosecutors claimed. Forbes found a LinkedIn page for a Tal Prihar that listed a number of the shell businesses named in the indictment, including Brazil-based Biztech, M&T Marketing and Tal Advanced Tech. His LinkedIn says he was also the chief technology officer at two medicinal cannabis businesses.
A Facebook profile for Tal Advanced Tech remains online, though it has made no posts since 2014. The mission statement, translated from the Hebrew, is "See traffic, conversions and money." The banner image is of two animals—characters from the American comic Spy v Spy—dressed in suits, each holding a bomb behind their backs.
The same email address linked on that Facebook site was used to register two domains ostensibly about cannabis: cannabisa.com and canngrow.com
There's a LinkedIn page for a Michael Phan, too, which lists him as the owner of M&T Marketing, which he describes as "the most advanced SEO company in Israel." He also names himself as the owner of Melabes Corporation, claiming it runs "one of the largest cannabis farms in Santa Barbara, California," at 25 acres. And Phan said he was the owner of the Israeli Poker Academy. A Web domain for for that academy was registered by a Michael Phan.
The most recent Facebook post from Phan (where he’s again listed as owner of M&T Marketing) contained a video from a Jazz Coffee Factory. Phan’s LinkedIn lists him as the owner of Jazz Coffee Trade Ltd.
Forbes tried calling the various numbers listed for the coffee company, apparently based in the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion, but none of them worked. The Google Maps image of the business' address is of a shuttered facade.
Forbes also attempted to contact Phan and Prihar over LinkedIn, as well as email addresses linked to websites they'd set up, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Neither mention DeepDotWeb. According to the government's account, Prihar was said to be the administrator, registering the website and maintaining control over it, while Phan was allegedly led day-to-day maintenance of DeepDotWeb. The website was registered back in October 2013.
In his bio, Prihar describes himself as an "experienced chief technology officer with a demonstrated history of working in the internet industry. Strong entrepreneurship professional." If the U.S. charges are right, that last statement could certainly be applied to both the accused.


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Smurfit Kappa has been recognized in two categories at the pEstrella del Sur Awards in Argentina.
03 Dec 2018
24 Oct 2018
KushCo Hold, the parent company of innovative cannabis industry firms such as Kush Supply Co., Kush Energy, The Hybrid Creative, and Koleto Packaging Solutions, has joined the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), a membership-based collaborative that is considered the leading voice on sustainable packaging solutions.
15 Oct 2018
ProAmpac, a provider of flexible packaging solutions, is set to unveil ProActive Sustainability, a brand mark the company will use to identify products that reinforce its commitment to environmental stewardship and the responsible use of resources.
21 Sep 2018
Speciality papers manufacturer Sappi said that it will exhibit sustainable paper-based packaging solutions at FachPack event, scheduled for 25 to 27 September 2018 in Nuremberg, Germany.


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It’s designed to look sleek, colorful, classy and very much like a USB.
Most adults are oblivious that the teen next to them isn’t carrying a tech accessory but a pod filled with 20 cigarettes/about 200 puffs worth of nicotine! (The equivalent of 2 packs of cigarettes.)
But here’s where it all gets crazier.
Juuling is advertised by manufacturers as the cheaper and safer alternative to smoking a traditional cigarette but ConsumerSafety.org stresses that juuling, in reality, is just as addictive and unsafe with its own share of highly addictive chemicals and the danger of device malfunctions with an exploding battery. (Read these lawsuits filed against Juul)
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, one Juul pod contains 40 mg of nicotine, that’s “double the concentration of nicotine found in other e-cigarettes.”
Just look at this infographic to learn the adverse effects juuling has on a person who uses these e-cigarettes on a frequent basis:
What’s worse is manufacturers aren’t targeting their ads to the legal market of adults alone, but to minors between the ages of 12 to 17 years too. What should be terrifying research for parents with older children is that the National Youth Tobacco Society has recorded 1.5 million more students are now smoking e-cigarettes in 2018 than the previous year.
Juul has even likened their vape devices to “the iPhone of e-cigarettes,” making them seem like a trendy, fashionable, must-get for teens. Also, because of their sleek design, older youth are now sneaking their Juul devices onto school/college campuses and puffing on the same, in bathrooms, between classes.
Originally Juul was started by two smokers as a product to help them to quit their traditional cigarette addiction, sadly young adults and youth have jumped onto vaping as a recreational e-cigarette habit that over time becomes incredibly addictive and detrimental to health.
As a parent, if you have older children or know friends/family who do, or even if you know middle school/high school/college teachers/administration, would you share this article with them?
Many don’t realize e-cigarettes are regularly used by students even while on campus. A 2017 report from the CDC found that 3 out of every 100 middle school students and 12 out of every 100 high school students reported using electronic cigarettes. Those figures aren’t even an exaggeration, but the plain truth.
Make this a big deal!
Pin the infographic to your boards, share it on social media and lets rally up an awareness on just how unsafe juuling is.


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90%-plus US firms make profits in China: Report
Updated: 2013-10-10 23:55
By MICHAEL BARRIS in New York (China Daily)
More than 90 percent of survey respondents reported that their China operations are profitable, the highest percentage reported since the United States China Business Council began surveying its members, said a report released on Thursday by the Washington-based nonprofit organization.
USCBC said that while slowing economic growth, rising costs and "persistent operating challenges" continue to "moderate corporate optimism toward the China market", companies are "not pessimistic".
Still, the report said, fewer companies in this year's survey said that their profit margins in China are better than that of their global rates and fewer companies reported double-digit revenue increases compared with previous years.
While a growing number of companies place China as one of the top five global market priorities, the number of companies that cited China as the top priority declined, according to the survey. Just over half of survey respondents said they plan to commit more resources to China in the next year, down from 67 percent in the 2012 survey, the USCBC said.
The USCBC, which represents 220 US companies selling goods and services in China, surveys its member companies each year to gauge the business climate in China. The report said that as China's economy has slowed in the past year, "many companies face business and market access issues in a market that for the past five years has been a rare bright spot in a difficult global downturn".
Although it remains a magnet for foreign investment, China's rising labor costs, crowded marketplace and "challenging" business-approval processes are bumping the country down the priority list for US investors, it said.
The report — which comes a week after a free trade zone in Shanghai went into operation, ostensibly allowing foreign investment into a wider range of industries — urged China to follow what it called the US practice of equal treatment for both homegrown companies and US-incorporated foreign companies.
USCBC said problems with licensing "occur at the central, provincial and local levels and affect almost every aspect of doing business in China".
Meanwhile, US and Chinese regulators hold divergent views on investment and market access restrictions which "continue to be a priority concern for US companies operating in China", according to the survey.
The report said China's value for US investors would be even larger without market barriers.
Despite an economic slowdown tied to the nation's embrace of domestic consumption and movement away from investment and exports, China attracted $8.38 billion of foreign direct investment in August, up 0.62 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said last month. The figure was below the previous month's growth rate. In the first eight months of this year, China attracted $79.8 billion of FDI, up 6.4 percent from the same period in 2012, but below the economy's overall growth rate.
Analysts said China still offers advantages to investors despite the issues identified in the report, but one analyst called the survey "biased from an American point of view".
Ann Lee, the author of the book What the US Can Learn from China, said corporate discrimination abounds in the US but the perpetrators are "just more discreet about it", for instance, in "awarding government contracts that are not even open to bidding".
China's slip in optimism, she said, "may be nothing more than American companies becoming less naive about doing business in China rather than an actual deterioration in the business environment in the nation; if foreign companies don't like the rising labor costs in China, then they can move their operations elsewhere".
Lee predicted that market barriers in China will "likely decrease" over time. "Today they need them to protect their infant industries that are not yet competitive," she said.
Sophii Weng, an economist with Standard Chartered Bank, said that despite China's rising labor costs, it will remain a "target market for many US companies, thanks to its massive population of middle-level skilled workers as well as a large supply network that very few competitors can match".
"Red tape has been a particular barrier for foreign investors" in China, Weng said. If it were to streamline its administrative processes, "US companies might be more inclined to invest" there, she said.


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For quite some time now, Android developers have been waiting for the arrival of an in-app payment and billing system. Originally, Google said this was coming last year, but it was delayed by Christmas — or something. A few weeks later, Google showed off how it would work, but noted that it wouldn’t be available until this spring. Well, it’s finally just about here.
As is noted on the Android Developers blog today, Google has just opened up testing of the In-App Billing system. Writes Google:
In preparation for the launch, we are opening up Android Market for upload and end-to-end testing of your apps that use In-app Billing. You can now upload your apps to the Developer Console, create a catalog of in-app products, and set prices for them. You can then set up accounts to test in-app purchases. During these test transactions, the In-app Billing service interacts with your app exactly as it will for actual users and live transactions.
This will be followed by a full launch at some point next week, Google says without giving a specific day.
To get you started, we’ve updated the developer documentation with information about how to set up product lists and test your in-app products. Also, it is absolutely essential that you review the security guidelines to make sure your billing implementation is secure.
Let the virtual goods fun begin!


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In its latest deal to invest in Amazon, AOL is opening the door to a future buyout of the internet retailer.
Under terms of an agreement to invest $100m in Amazon.com, AOL is allowed to make a friendly bid to acquire the Seattle-based online retailer if it so desires, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the agreement prevents AOL from making a bid to acquire management control or ownership of Amazon over the next two years, it contains a clause that would permit a friendly bid to move forward.
The clause prohibits AOL from going ahead with an acquisition or making a public announcement of its acquisition plans without the approval of Amazon.com's board of directors.
AOL has invested the $100 million as part of an expanded marketing pact between the online retailer and the ISP. The two companies plan to jointly develop online shopping services that will be rolled out in time for the year-end shopping season in 2002, according to a statement.
In addition, AOL and Amazon.com will collaborate on the development of other e-commerce initiatives, including customer authentication and wallet services.
In return, Amazon.com will promote AOL as its exclusive ISP partner and will make AOL software available for download from the Amazon.com. The online retailer will also offer AOL service subscriptions alongside products and services from AOL's parent company, AOL Time Warner, on its website.


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More Posts on cannabis industry
Report: Global Cannabis Market to Surpass $42 Billion by 2024
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Marijuana Growers Look Back on a Year That Saw a Pandemic, Wildfires, Extreme Weather and More
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks put in an upbeat performance Thursday with most bellwether issues closing with gains in advance of the latest quarterly earnings report from Adobe Systems Inc.
Adobe ADBE, -6.74% shares rose 51 cents to close at $41.81 ahead of the publishing-software company's fiscal fourth-quarter results. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call estimate Adobe will earn 33 cents a share on $670 million in revenue, up from 30 cents a share on revenue of $510 million a year ago.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD, -4.89% shares surged $2.54, or more than 12%, to close at $22.71 after the No. 2 computer chipmaker held its analyst day meeting in New York. AMD officials said the company should expect to see better-than-expected cost savings from its recent purchase of ATI Technologies, and that the company's shipment rates should grow faster than the overall chip market in 2007.
Oracle Corp. ORCL, -1.84% broke even to close at $18.02 ahead of the business-software company's fiscal second-quarter results, scheduled to be released on Dec. 18.
Other gains came from bellwethers Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Sun Microsystems Inc., Microsoft Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Intel Corp.


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The Durst Organization and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today announced The Stagwell Group LLC signed a 13-year lease for 83,955 square feet on the 62nd and 63rd floors of One World Trade Center.
One World Trade Center is currently 75 percent leased, and 160,000 s/f has been signed at the property in the first half of 2017.
“We are pleased to welcome The Stagwell Group to One World Trade Center,” said Jonathan (Jody) Durst, President of The Durst Organization. “Stagwell is rapidly expanding its portfolio of companies, and we are thrilled they have chosen One World Trade Center as the location to integrate its disparate offices into one location.”
“We are excited to be able to make an amazing new space for digital creatives and will be bringing together a great group of portfolio companies to foster synergies in a dynamic new workspace. We could find no better place for this new concept than One World Trade Center,” said Mark J. Penn, the President and Managing Partner of The Stagwell Group.
The Stagwell Group was represented by Managing Director Michael Berg, Managing Director Howard Hersch and Associate Doug Kauffman of JLL. The Landlord was represented by Tara Stacom and her team at Cushman & Wakefield and Senior Managing Director Eric Engelhardt of The Durst Organization.
“Stagwell joins a growing and vibrant community of creative companies at One World Trade Center,” said Eric Engelhardt of The Durst Organization. “More than 15 TAMI companies, from tech start-ups to fashion icons make One World Trade Center an epicenter of innovation and inspiration in Lower Manhattan.”
The Stagwell Group LLC is a registered investment advisory company formed by Mark Penn who serves as President and Managing Partner of Stagwell Media LLC, a private equity fund. The Stagwell Group portfolio includes public opinion research leader Harris Insights & Analytics, global marketing firm PMX Agency, creative digital firm Code and Theory, strategic communications firm SKDKnickerbocker and entertainment research firm National Research Group (NRG). Stagwell Group has also made a strategic investment in public relations firm Finn Partners and created communications agency Wye Communications. The fund previously announced it has raised $250 million in capital and may leverage that to make up to $750 million in acquisitions.
One World Trade Center recently opened One World Commons, located on the 64th floor and powered by Convene, to serve as a corporate and social hub, a “third-space.” It is purpose-designed for workers to get away from the traditional office, but also fosters workplace creativity, collaboration, learning & development. The floor features: conference and event rooms with state-of-the-art technology, common areas and lounges including a café with a barista bar operated by For Five Coffee Roasters and Grab-a-Go food station and a complimentary multimedia parlor with pool, ping-pong and shuffle board.


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The price of the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM lens is rumored to be around $1,398. According to latest rumors, the upcoming Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM lens will be priced at 1600€ in the EU. This is a little cheaper than the FE 35mm f/1.4 GM lens (1700€ in the EU, $1,398 in the US).
We have already shared the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens images. So stay tuned for the official announcement on April 20.
Here are the latest Sony Lenses:
Also join the Sony Camera Users Facebook Group to share your Sony photography


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BVI, Airbnb Sign Agreement
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is the latest destination to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbnb, joining a growing list of Caribbean countries involved in the home sharing movement, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Cuba, Curacao, Grenada, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Sharon Flax Brutus, the BVI's director of tourism, said that the country "is pleased to be a formal part of the Airbnb network. We think Airbnb properties present a fabulous opportunity for home share guests to be able to experience authentic British Virgin Islands' culture and lifestyle."
More than 100 hosts in the BVI are participating, with accommodations ranging from $90 a night for a one-bedroom cottage in Tortola up to $700 a night for a five-bedroom villa in Virgin Gorda, depending upon the time of year.
"Airbnb is proud to partner with the BVI Tourist Board to diversify the local tourism product through home sharing," said Carlos Munoz, Airbnb's campaign manager of public policy and communications for the Caribbean and Central America.
"This partnership will help to strengthen tourism development, one of the nation's largest economic sectors, and generate economic opportunity throughout the islands," he said.
In the Caribbean and the Yucatan Peninsula, Airbnb hosts earned more than $266 million in 2017, more than double the previous period, and attracted nearly two million guest arrivals during the first eight months of the year.
Airbnb said that it would continue to collaborate with governments in the region to support healthy tourism growth through destination marketing and inclusive, sustainable tourism initiatives.
Source: Travel Weekly


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Of all the items to go on sale during Black Friday, perhaps none are more anticipated — or greeted with as much fervor — as TVs.
I finally found a Trump supporter – this morning when I went to buy coffee. Here's our brief chat.
The local post office could help those in poor neighborhoods and rural communities — who often rely on costly payday loans and check cashing services — more easily complete everyday banking tasks while sending packages and buying stamps.
In the 1990s, an unemployment rate below 6 percent would be a sure sign of rising interest rates. Today, the calculus has changed.
Kohl's announced Monday that it would employ about the same number of temporary workers in the United States for the holiday shopping season as it did last year, as it and other clothing retailers report disappointing sales.
I'm not sure the next level is all that great, especially compared to what I have now. Here's why.
Deciding to merge your money isn’t just moving cash around. It also means choosing to trust your partner completely with your finances.
Donald Trump poses as a working-class populist, but about his new economic plan would be a gusher for the wealthy. And almost nothing will trickle down to anyone else.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina and the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico found that one year after a 2014 junk food tax, purchases of taxed foods fell 5.1 percent.
The scoring system will help illuminate how tax changes affect the overall economy and the federal budget.
The Model S not only depreciates less than other electric cars, but even holds its value better than comparable internal-combustion cars, according to research firm Autolist.
The Caribbean region includes seven of the world’s 36 water-stressed countries in the world. A UN report found that the region is expected to see an increase in the intensity and frequency of droughts due to climate change.
We’d keep it to 35 words if we could, but student loans aren’t that simple.
A new campaign features 17 big ideas on ending poverty, fighting injustice and hunger, and taking on climate change by the year 2030.
Recycling reduces waste, preserves resources, and leaves planet Earth an overall nicer place to live — but it can also save you money in the long run.
Do you have a paid-off iPhone 6 or 6s? Then you may be eligible to receive the iPhone 7 for free.
In terms of difficulty, selling your home and buying another at the same time is the gymnastics balance beam of homeownership.
The all-electric Chevy Bolt offers the highest rated range of any electric car that doesn't have a Tesla badge on it, at the super low starting price of $37,500.


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If you haven’t been running Windows 8 lately you likely missed the news that Microsoft’s suite of casual games were removed from the Microsoft Store on December 14th, 2020. However, if you already had Solitaire, Mahjong, Minesweeper, or one of their other casual titles installed you’ll be able to continue playing (and earning Achievements) until the service is retired on April 5th, 2021.
The move is similar to one that Microsoft announced in 2019 regarding their casual games on Windows XP, ME, and Win7 operating systems, and heads up the expiration of Windows 8 itself in 2023. The announcement follows but subsequent FAQ posts confirm that you can carry your progress and unlocks over to Windows 10 as long as you connect the Windows 8 versions with a Microsoft account before April 5th.
After careful consideration, Microsoft Casual Games Studio has made the difficult decision to no longer support our game experiences on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. It is with deep regret that we are unable to dedicate the necessary resources to continue providing these beloved games on this platform. In preparation for the transition, there are several ways you can continue playing your favorite Microsoft Casual Games without interruption.
We hope you will continue to enjoy all the games you love! (click here)
– Microsoft Solitaire Collection
– Microsoft Mahjong
– Microsoft Sudoku
– Microsoft Ultimate Word Games
– Microsoft Minesweeper
– Microsoft Jigsaw
– Microsoft Treasure Hunt
The transition from the Windows 8 platform began on December 14, 2020, when Microsoft Casual Games became no longer available to download from the Windows 8 Microsoft Store. You will, however, be able to continue playing and earning in-game achievements without change until April 5, 2021 when the game services will officially expire from Windows 8/8.1
We have enjoyed being part of your daily choice of games and hope you will continue to play with us on Windows 10, MSN Games, iOS, and Android. If you have questions, or further inquiries about this announcement, please visit our Customer Support FAQs here.
Also shutting down on April 5th is Microsoft Bingo which was removed from the Microsoft Store on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Windows 10 on September 22nd, 2020. In-game purchases ended on October 5th and only those who had the game downloaded before September 22nd can continue playing it until April 5th. I’ve added the deadline to the Watch List calendar. Thanks to Wakayama_PT for submitting the news to the site and TrueAchievements.com for their reporting.


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LinkedIn is taking its professional social networking site mobile. The company Monday is launching a beta version of a new site that will allow users to look up profiles of other users and keep up to date with their network from mobile devices.
The new LinkedIn Mobile offering is available to any user with an Internet-enabled mobile device. While the company initially sent out invitations to specific users to participate in the beta, Brandon Duncan, LinkedIn's director of engineering, noted that any user can now test the site.
The company also launched a customized beta version of the mobile product for iPhone users.
The impetus behind creating a mobile version of LinkedIn has been the 100,000 users who are accessing the original site from a mobile device each month, Duncan said.
Initial features available on the mobile version will allow users to search and view profiles and invite new connections into their networks without having to know the e-mail addresses of invitees. Such capabilities will help users identify people they are meeting for the first time, by having access to their photos and profiles, Duncan added.
Eliminating the requirement that a mobile user know an e-mail address to send an invitation will help users to more quickly expand their networks, he said.
'[Now] unless you get a person's business card or you happen to remember their e-mail address, you're going to have to remember to go back later and invite that person to your network," Duncan noted.
The mobile version will also let users get and act on updates from people in their network. For example, if a user gets a notice about a new job posting, he can immediately forward that posting to someone who may be a good fit for the job, Duncan noted.
Future versions of LinkedIn Mobile will be optimized for BlackBerries, Treos and other popular devices. LinkedIn also plans to provide mobile access to its LinkedIn Experts and Answers, which would allow users to track down an expert while traveling. For example, a user visiting Tokyo on business could find an attorney recommended by other users to help with a specific type of contract or find a certain kind of restaurant when traveling to another locale.
Also, within the next few weeks, the mobile version will add one-to-one messaging capabilities to allow users to send a message from a mobile device to another LinkedIn user's e-mail address -- even if the user doesn't know the address, Duncan said. Eventually, the company would like to support SMS messaging, he added.
The beta will be available in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese, with additional languages to follow, according to LinkedIn.


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Playstation has announced the news everyone’s been waiting for. A reveal event for the PS5 is on the way. Playstation has announced a venue, time and date for the unveiling of the next-gen console. The wait will soon be over, and for players all around the world, it’s been a long one.
The online reveal of Playstation’s fifth console will begin March 18, at 9 A.M. PT/ 12 P.M. ET/ 4 P.M. GMT. This announcement will be going live on the Playstation Blog, so for many, it will not want to be missed. Playstation architect Mark Cerny will provide “a deep dive into PS5’s system architecture and how it will shape the future of games.”, as noted on Twitter.
Despite all we know currently know about the PS5, there’s equally as much that we don’t know. Tomorrow’s event from PlayStation looks to rectify this and answer the burning questions. From the PS5’s specs and price to the console’s upcoming games, there’s plenty to wonder.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s next console, the Xbox Series X serves as Playstation’s biggest competition. They are both set for a Holiday release this year, so it’ll all be heading down to the wire when they do.
Back in January, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, has revealed far more is to come for the PS5. Sony recently revealed the PS5 Logo, as seen above. It’s clear it wasn’t the reveal everybody expected.
Regardless, Jim Ryan affirmed during an interview with Business Insider Japan, (translated by Gematsu), that the biggest changes to the next-gen console are still to come. The CEO cited improvements previously announced, from its 3D audio, haptic feedback in its controllers, as well as the solid-state drive.
There was even hope for the PS5 to include backward compatibility.
Jim Ryan explained: “There are still more unique elements for PlayStation 5 to come that separate it from previous consoles,”
He further added: “The ‘bigger differences’ have yet to be announced.”


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The Apple users are facing a tough time while assessing popular applications of Facebook, Dropbox and others on their iPhones and iPad tablets as a latest software update by the company is causing the devices to crash more frequently, according to a report.
According to a report by an analytics firm Crittercism Inc, the Apple’s iOS 8 operating system (OS) is causing apps to crash about 3.3 percent of the time and 67 percent more than 2013 version of the OS.
Crittercism Inc. works with a big range of tech companies including EBay, Yahoo Inc and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
The high rate of crashes is barring the Apple users from assessing their favourite application. Apple customers in large numbers are filing their complaints to the company’s App Store, causing huge embarrassment for the tech giant which has recently received enough criticism over a cyber attack on its iCloud storage system leading to leak of many nude pictures of the celebs on the social networking forums.
Expressing his angst, one of the Apple users wrote: “Facebook’s app constantly freezes and crashes giving a bad experience.”
The file-storage service Dropbox has put out the updates to its app in order to fix the crashing problem it was having with iOS 8.
According to Crittercism.com, the reports of crashes are higher in the older iPhones.
Andrew Levy, Apple’s chief executive officer, said that the company’s latest software includes over 4,000 new functions and changes to which several developers are struggling to adapt. Levy also said that another probable problem causing the maximum crashes may be new coding language for programmers as they “get up to speed”.
“It just goes to show how hard it is to test everything before it’s sent out into the wild,” Levy said while adding, “As Apple has done with previous software releases, this time also it will make fixes to its iOS 8 software in the weeks and months ahead.”
When contacted Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller over the issue, she declined to comment.


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Publishers need to become ‘audience architects’ so they can protect publisher influence and margins against a data-savvy demand-side, says a new report from Videoplaza and IHS Digest. However, the report also found that the solution isn’t necessarily an adversarial one and that and that data-driven advertising also opens up new opportunities for cooperation between buyers and sellers.
The research looks at how data-driven advertising will have transformed the European publisher landscape by 2017:
- Video advertising will reach a predicted spend of €2.5B – one of the fastest growing categories of online advertising;
- There will be 1.1B devices which will equate to 2.5 devices per person and 3 times as many video capable devices as TVs;
- 32.5% of all online video advertising will be programmatically traded.
While the study found that most publisher data strategies are still in their infancy, European publishers have been responding in some novel ways:
1. Adding demand-side capabilities and audience extension
Some publishers, most notably The Guardian, have taken on demand-side capabilities. In October, the digital media company announced the launch of its home-grown trading desk, Response+. By working with advertisers as an agency would, The Guardian is able to improve its audience data and work closer with advertisers to package audiences more effectively. Specifically, the Guardian offers to plan advertising campaigns and targeting on its own web properties, but also buys them off-site.
2. Publishers are Forming Alliances
In some markets, publishers are forming cooperatives. For instance, in France publishers have gathered in alliances like La Place Media and Audience Square, who are now also expanding into video. In such alliances, publishers can pool data, define common metrics and bundle inventory to work together in novel ways.
3. Introduction of Media IDs
In an increasingly cookieless, multi-screen world, personal log-in data is becoming increasingly important to track consumers across devices. Global players like Google, Microsoft and Facebook have long understood the importance of such data, publishers have lagged behind, although there some interesting and innovative solutions emerging.
For example, in Germany, broadcasters attempted to connect fragmented audiences by tracking user viewing habits through HbbTV (a connected TV standard) across all channels, not just their own. And in neighbouring Belgium, ten media companies (seven publishers and three broadcasters) founded a joint initiative called Media ID at the beginning of 2013, which allowed users to have a unique identification for the use of all the online and mobile services of the ten companies included in the initiative.


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One of the biggest trends noticed on the international retail platform is the increasing use of technology and multi-media to give retail a multi-pronged approach to increase sales. From times when retail was only restricted to brick-n-mortar stores for generating footfalls, business today has become multi-channel allowing the consumer to purchase when and where he wants to, which includes e-commerce, m-commerce (mobile), f-commerce (facebook), s-commerce (social) and v-commerce (video-enabled). According to reports almost 82 per cent of retailers now operate an online catalogue, which includes the biggest names in international retail ranging from high fashion brands like Burberry, Banana Republic, Gucci, Armani, Chanel; fast fashion brands such as Zara, Mango, Forever 21, New Look, Next, H&M and supermarkets like Sainsbury, Tesco, Walmart and Target.
What started with the pickup of internet as a part of a layman’s life has seen more and more consumers turning to e-retailing, which from showing small positive growth at the beginning of the year has now developed into one of the most profitable and unavoidable ways of generating sales in the fashion apparel industry. Projections claim that US online retail will grow at a 10 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next three years to reach nearly $ 249 billion by 2014, while online retail within the largest European Union nations in Western Europe will grow at an 11 per cent CAGR over the same period, hitting 114 billion by 2014. According to latest figures, in the UK, shoppers spent more than £ 5 billion online in the first quarter of 2011, representing a 14 per cent jump on the same time in 2010. Showing a similar growth even the Russian e-commerce market has reached 315 billion rubles ($ 10 billion) in 2011, an increase of nearly 30 per cent from 2010, while e-commerce spending in China is estimated to reach 2 trillion yuan (US $ 315 billion) by 2015, a 320 per cent increase from 476 billion yuan (US $ 75 billion) in 2010.
Hardcore e-retailers have seen continuous growth. Asos, which targets web-savvy 16 to 34-year-old women looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities but at a fraction of the price, continued to benefit from the migration of spending from the high street to the internet. The online fashion retailer reported a 15 per cent increase in UK retail sales to £ 44.6 million in the three months to June 30 2011. Asos’s international business performed strongly, helping group retail sales to rise 69 per cent to £ 104.2 million in the three months to June 30. International sales jumped 160 per cent to £ 59.6 million, driven by last year’s launch of United States, French and German websites and now make up 57 per cent of the sales mix. Nick Robertson, the Chief Executive said: “The new financial year has started well and we remain positive in our outlook for 2012, with progress to date in line with expectations.”
Other exclusive online fashion stores that started small but are becoming more and more popular with the growth of e-commerce are Net-A-Porter.com, hautelook.com, zappos.com and gilt.com which are continuing to expand. The most recent example is of gilt.com based in the US, launching the first of its kind, standalone luxury retail site for men named, PARK & BOND in August 2011, and shipping solely to US customers since its launch in 2007, recently the company has also begun to ship to more than 90 additional countries making its operations global attracting international customers.
To tap the expanding online fashion market, even big e-commerce players such as Amazon and e-Bay are restructuring their operations. E-Bay which did not have a strong fashion presence before, launched its first fashion outlet, a virtual US outlet mall that lets brands and designers connect directly with e-Bay customers with deals direct from more than 200 brands, including Neiman Marcus’ Last Call, BCBG, and Timberland. This digital channel is built to help brands and designers sell their inventory when they lack the physical space to do so.
Today, exceeding all expectations e-commerce is undoubtedly one of the pillars to building a modern brand and a significant monetization tool for consumer web products. While overall global apparel retail is growing some 3 per cent a year, the share sold on internet is growing much more rapidly. Projections estimate online clothing share to be around 35 per cent by 2018.
Mid 2011, sitting on the laptop to shop, also became cliché, as the youth market started shopping through their mobile phones and tablets. With smart phones and other digital gadgets such as i-pad becoming a norm, from e-applications to mobile applications, brands as big as Ralph Lauren, Armani, Calvin Klein, Burberry and Dior led this segment, finding creative ways to increase footfalls on each and every medium. Developing a whole shopping experience, what brands today are trying to do is to develop the element of fun and surprise in every transaction that a customer makes, which is proving to be the real formula of success for multi channel retail.
[bleft]The new Gap iPad app features exclusive content from Gap designers which is completely integrated with mobile shopping, with all items tagged for instant purchase or sharing with friends. Users can also find the nearest Gap brick-n-mortar store with the app’s geo-locater, to make the purchase in person. [/bleft]
M-commerce itself is proving to be the fastest-growing vehicle across all channels for both generating sales to mobile advertising, with an estimated 44 billion mobile app downloads projected by 2016, through which customers can now easily scroll through the latest collections of almost every possible fashion brand around the globe through their cell phones. An added advantage to the sudden push of e-retail has been also catered by the increased use of social media sites like facebook and YouTube. According to industry reports facts like – 850 million plus people on Facebook, a massive boom in solutions to promote awareness with processes like e-mail marketing and mass mailing, and a drastic reduction in the cost of implementing solutions related to technology are altogether triggering this massive growth by making technology more user-friendly for people of all ages.
The most current and famous example of the same is of British design house Burberry which is continuing to flaunt its Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign through digital and print advertisements that display unique outfits from their line. One can also not ignore the fact that today nearly all brands even remotely associated with fashion have their own Facebook page and blogs, for personalized interactions with the masses, only to increase and develop a brand loyalty for the future.
According to the latest eCustomer Service Index (eCSI) results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG 12 per cent of social media users have been encouraged to make a purchase from a Facebook store after seeing something on the site. The results mark an incredible 8.8 per cent growth in f-Commerce in just four months as more and more retailers import their website functionality into the social networking site. The study also found that a staggering 25 per cent of online consumers now log onto Facebook more than once a day, representing a considerable proportion of all shoppers and a massive opportunity for retailers.
Amid all this, physical stores remain to be an integral part of the retail sales mix, and smartly connecting the two a further emerging trend that will reach its peak in 2012 is the concept of ‘click and collect’ where physical stores are used by shoppers as a collection and return point for online purchases. Big retailers like Tesco, New Look, Sainsbury and Ted Baker have started this service to relieve their customers from waiting for the deliveries. Visa Versa, Asos and e-Bay both online retailers are foraying into brick-n-mortar store for easy pick-up of purchases.
India with its flexibility in order sizes has been a popular manufacturing base for catalogue companies and the same is now true for online sales. For vendors the shift is not so impacting, as the only real difference is the packaging part as all other sourcing processes/steps remain the same. So while in an ordinary program for a retailer packaging is done in blister packs with a combination of all sizes or colours in the case of solids, that part of the order which is for online shopping is finished as ‘each pack’ meaning as individual packaging ready for direct delivery to customers who order online… Working with online retailers is certainly an opportunity not to be missed in the years ahead.


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We are incredibly happy and thankful to announce that we’re closing the fundraising campaign for rebuilding the offices. We received two donations since our last update which enabled FREDAfrica to purchase the remaining equipment. The team has been collecting all equipments from the stores (you’ll notice Travis sitting in one of the new chairs in the pics!) and now we are waiting for the technician to connect the computers correctly.
THANK YOU to everyone that helped us get this far. Every dollar given will have a huge impact on communities in Uganda through the work of FREDAfrica.
“We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in our hands to make a difference.”
“We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.”


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Immersion Corporation and StrikerVR announced that the two companies will collaborate to bring new and imaginative haptic experiences to StrikerVR’s VR and gaming peripherals. The devices in development by StrikerVR will be built on StrikerVR’s advanced haptic peripherals and platform, complemented with Immersion’s HD haptic and kinesthetic technologies.
StrikerVR’s newest controller will bring novel peripheral designs to the rapidly growing consumer VR market-creating sensations for players that mimic a wide range of virtual object and letting users experience everything from the power of a floor-shaking speaker; to the crack of a baseball bat; to the pull of a fishing line. The collaboration enables StrikerVR to expand the haptic capabilities in its devices to incorporate the latest force feedback technology launched in the gaming space developed by Immersion.
“New advanced force feedback and high-definition vibrotactile haptic products launched in the market are inspiring the gaming industry to deliver new experiences with touch feedback technology. Gaming experiences today are defined by sight, sound and touch,” said John Griffin, VP of Products and Marketing at Immersion. “StrikerVR is thinking ahead and building a product that will excite users with its advanced features. We’re looking forward to working with them to expand the use of touch feedback on their platform and change how people experience haptics.”
“Haptics is an important part of making the gaming and VR experience as realistic as possible,” said Martin Holly, VP, and Founder of StrikerVR. “The more that we can do with the sense of touch and haptics, the better the experience. Touch brings it all together and creates a sense of presence. We’ve worked with haptics in our product for VR attractions, and we’re thrilled to be taking this next step with Immersion to bring even more interactivity and presence to new experiences for consumers.”
The collaboration between the two companies is the result of a multi-year license agreement that covers StrikerVR’s use of Immersion’s advanced haptic technologies in its next peripheral products.
Striker VR entered the enterprise VR market in 2017 with the Arena Infinity, a best-in-class VR peripheral that delivers extreme haptics and fully integrated tracking for the high-end Optitrack system, and which is still in operation with many of the leading VR LBE facilities worldwide. Learn more at www.strikervr.com.


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Tesla has received support from United States President Donald Trump, who recently stated that California should allow Tesla to reopen its Fremont factory, the company’s main vehicle production facility that manufactures the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y.
The President tweeted the message just in the morning on May 12, stating that the electric automaker’s operations can resume “fast and safely.”
Trump joins his Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, in supporting Tesla by pushing California to allow the automaker to reopen its main production facility. In a recent interview, Mnuchin expressed his support for Musk’s efforts in reopening Tesla’s Fremont facility.
California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW. It can be done Fast & Safely!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2020
CEO Elon Musk has been involved in ongoing conflict since Friday, May 8, after Alameda County Health Officials refused to give Tesla its approval to resume operations at the Fremont facility.
On Thursday, May 7, California Governor Gavin Newsom indicated that more businesses would be permitted to resume operations on May 8. These included manufacturing and automotive companies, two categories that describe Tesla’s Fremont operation perfectly.
Musk and Tesla’s Head of Human Resources, Valerie Capers Workman, both sent emails to Fremont employees on Thursday evening. The emails indicated that Tesla would attempt to reopen the Fremont plant on Friday evening with a plan to resume “limited operations” by allowing 30% of regular employees to come in for work.
However, Alameda County halted Tesla’s plan, which ended in a lawsuit from Tesla and threats from Musk. The CEO indicated that the company would be moving its headquarters and future projects outside of California, a state it has called home since its establishment in 2003.
Tesla has received various invitations from other U.S. states to open its production facilities. These include Texas, whose governor has welcomed the electric car maker with open arms. The County Judge at Hidalgo also invited Tesla to the Lone Star State.
Tesla reopened Fremont earlier this week without the County’s approval. Musk stated he would join his workers on the production lines to help where he could. Fully recognizing the risk that he was taking, Musk noted that “If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”
The Fremont facility produces all of Tesla’s currently available models. The plant has been closed since March 23 due to the COVID-19 virus.


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Samsung, battling to hold on to its lead in the smartphone market, needs to win back consumers from Apple with its next big thing. But will the new Galaxy S6 be big enough?
That's just plain wrong, because putting any small speaker down there forfeits a major share of its sound quality.
On March 9, Apple is widely expected to let us know exactly when its much-anticipated Watch line will ship and how much all the new models will cost. But what other new products might Apple unveil?
There's a catch, but it's not what you think: This phone can be yours without any kind of contract.
Xiaomi launches the Yi Action Camera with a spec sheet to match GoPro's entry-level camera and two-digit price tag.
The world's most valuable company joins Wall Street's pre-eminent stock index, a key metric of the nation's economic performance.
Finally, an easy way to lower your monthly cable bill. Plus: free stuff!
That's the best deal to date for Google's unlimited-music service. What happens after three months? Let June worry about that.
The inventive individual behind Keurig's wildly successful K-Cup wishes he never had a hand in bringing coffee pods to the world.
The consumer electronics titan shows an aggressive streak -- and makes a few cracks at Apple's expense -- as it seeks to regain its dominance in the smartphone industry.


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HotelierMiddleEast.com is at the event and will bring you pictures and footage of the opening.
Bosses at Emaar decided to move the opening to allow Giorgio Armani and a host of VIPs and celebrities to attend the event.
The hotel’s media launch was due on Wednesday morning, followed by a major launch party on Wednesday night. The party was due to have included a special fashion show.
A collaboration between famed Italian designer Giorgio Armani and Emaar Properties, the 160-room hotel was initially scheduled to open last year.
The opening of the Armani Hotel in Dubai is due to be followed by the launch of the Armani Hotel Milano.
Other properties underway include the first Armani Resort, planned for Marrakech, and the first Armani Residences villas, for Marassi in Egypt.
Further Armani hotels, resorts and residences will open subsequently in key international destinations such as New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and London.


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Self-driving vehicles are relentlessly studying mocked-up and real-world driving scenarios to get better and safer.
Minnesota received a federal reprieve for its REAL ID compliance issues after months of worry over its licensing program.
The Tesla Model 3’s only acceptably good headlights are going to keep it from a prestigious top safety award.
A pure-gold 1960s marvel of a classic car with a whopper of a backstory comes up for bid at this week’s Mecum auction in Indianapolis.
Leaders of a massive public-private partnership are angling to make the U.S. friendlier for electric vehicles and their drivers.
Ten state-level programs using drones have been funded by the state department, with anticipated impacts on traffic, health, and farming.
After a state report shows blind Missourians have been driving, officials are trying to roll back a cash benefit program for them.
Autonomous car companies—led by Google’s Waymo—are expected to fundamentally shift the car-buying industry in the coming decades.
Two months after one of its autonomous cars killed an Arizona woman, Uber officials want to begin testing their self-driving technology again.
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Esports and mobile gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) raised $90 million (about ₹61.3 crores) Series C round funding led by SIG and early-stage tech investor RTP Global, along with MDI Ventures and Pegasus Tech Ventures.
MPL’s existing investors Sequoia India, Go-Ventures and Base Partners also participated in the Series C round, a statement said. Times Internet is also an early investor in MPL.
According to the sources, MPL was valued between $350 million to $ 400 million pre-money. With the latest round, MPL’s total funding stands at $130.5 million.
“This capital will be used to further accelerate MPL’s dominant position in the gaming market, expand its product offering, and grow its team. The funding will also be used towards product development with a focus on social functions such as live streaming, and audio and video content features,” the statement said.
Since its founding in September 2018, MPL has added over 70 games on its platform, working with over 28 game developers and studios. Its user base has grown to over six crore users. The company has recorded over 2 billion cash transactions on the app till date.
MPL is currently present in India and Indonesia, with offices in Bengaluru, Jakarta, and Pune, and with a personnel strength of over 300.
“In a short time, MPL has taken the gaming market by storm, with our various offerings and partnerships, which have helped us stand out in the industry. This latest round of funding will enable us to entertain and connect an even larger audience across India and beyond,” Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder and CEO at Mobile Premier League, said.
“Being able to bring quality technology, competitive spirit and enjoyment to people in such an accessible way is what keeps us excited. The online gaming industry is seeing huge and increasing engagement; with this fresh capital injection being proof of MPL’s potential to lead and transform this space,” he added.
“I believe that esports will be inducted by the Olympics way before than cricket does. And the market cap of esports will most probably will exceed those of all physical sports combined in the next 10 years,” he said.
“Gaming has been one of the largest growing entertainment industries in the world, and we believe that mobile games have contributed to the major growth of this industry, especially in Asia. We are excited to provide continuous support with our partners as they strengthen their position both in their home market and in our home market, Indonesia,” Winston Adi, Head of Investments at MDI Ventures, said.
“We invested in MPL at an early stage because we saw the team had the ability to become the dominant platform in the region’s online gaming space. MPL’s growth over the past two years is a testament to the team’s vision and ability to realise this goal. Even in an environment as challenging as the current one, we are impressed with the success and accessibility of the platform concept – giving users a unique variety of experiences and social interaction. MPL’s track record speaks for itself, so we’re excited to support the team as they grow and expand,” said Galina Chifina, managing partner at RTP Global, in a statement.
Eduardo Latache, Partner, Base Partners, said, “The only thing more exciting than watching MPL grow at such a fast pace over the past year is to imagine what they will accomplish with the new capital infusion. We are thrilled to be with MPL right from the start as it becomes a major player in the mobile gaming industry.”


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18 Apr Climbing up the charts!
Posted at 17:16h in News
Wow! Our latest release ”Love is Love” is climber of the week at UK’s LGBTQ Music Chart!
”Love is Love” is created by Rainbow Riots’ founder Petter Wallenberg featuring India’s first openly gay singer Sushant Divgikar and is available on iTunes, Spotify etc worldwide.


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Lululemon set to acquire exercise start-up Mirror For £400m
American exercise start-up firm, Mirror, is set to be sold to Lululemon, a yoga clothing brand, in a deal worth more than £400m ($500m).
Mirror is a leading in-home fitness company, founded by former ballerina Brynn Putnam in New York, which creates an interactive workout platform that features live and on-demand classes.
Mirror will bolster Lululemon’s digital ‘sweatlife’ offerings and bring immersive and personalised in-home solutions to new and existing lululemon customers.
Calvin McDonald, Chief Executive Officer of Lululemon, commented: “In 2019, we detailed our vision to be the experiential brand that ignites a community of people living the sweatlife through sweat, grow and connect. The acquisition of Mirror is an exciting opportunity to build upon that vision, enhance our digital and interactive capabilities, and deepen our roots in the sweatlife. We look forward to learning from and working with Brynn Putnam and the team at Mirror to accelerate the growth of personalized in-home fitness.”
Mirror offers weekly live classes and thousands of on-demand workouts as well as immersive one-on-one personal training. Mirror has seen rapid growth and strong engagement since it launched in 2018 as demand for in-home fitness offerings continue to increase significantly.
Putnam commented: “We are thrilled to officially become a part of the lululemon family. As part of lululemon, MIRROR can further strengthen its position and accelerate its growth by leveraging Lululemon’s deep relationships with its guests, ambassadors and communities, as well as the company’s infrastructure, including its store network and ecommerce channels, to acquire new users.”


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The Institute of Digital Fashion (IoDF) and the Circular Fashion Summit (CFS) by Lablaco is looking to bring inclusivity and diversity to fashion NFTs and the metaverse with a new digital-only VR capsule collection.
The IoDF will be launching avatars and a digital-only inclusive collection at the Circular Fashion Summit 2021 VR by Lablaco, taking place from December 9 to 12 at the virtual Grand Palais Éphémère.
The capsule collection will launch on the new fashion metaverse, Spin by Lablaco through the Oculus store during the summit. It will include inclusive non-binary avatars that amplify and uplift BIPOC and queer narratives, as well as those with disabilities, which the IoDF states are “currently missing from the VR space and digital platforms”.
The IoDF x CFS 0.1 collection will carry a range of gender-fluid and diverse digital garments, from loungewear to the red carpet, from a wool pinstripe suit and statement full-length gown to drop-crotch trousers, puffer jackets and embellished sunglasses, as well as a sheila, a traditional headpiece worn by Muslim women, which can be used to dress your avatar.
IoDF creative director and co-founder, Cattytay said in a statement: “An important part of our work at IoDF is giving marginalised voices a space to be more accurately represented. We are the bridge between the industry, those that are using the tools and the developers of those tools; the software companies.
“With our glo-cal networks of makers and artists we have the ability to collectively change the system, and amplify new messaging to build a more innovative, diverse and inclusive reality.”
Institute of Digital Fashion and the Circular Fashion Summit to introduce inclusivity and diversity to the fashion NFTs and metaverse
Alongside the launch of the digital collection and avatars, the IoDF have released a whitepaper ‘My Self, My Avatar, My Identity,’ investigating inclusivity and diversity within virtual worlds, the impact of misrepresentation on users, and the need for including wider options for gender representation, physical appearance, disabilities and cultural values within the metaverse.
The IoDF then used this research as the foundation of its design making processes for the avatar and clothing to ensure that the collection offered a fairer representation in the new digital arena. This included adding cultural clothing like abayas and thobes, as well as creating avatars that represent the spectrum of skin colours, genders, and disabilities to push for greater accessibility and wider representation.
IoDF chief executive and co-founder, Leanne Elliott Young, added: “This partnership is important to us as it’s a step into re-shaping the industry, the event builds on some of the important narratives that fashion is within now and the discourse is invaluable to the future of our industry.
“We are immensely pleased that because of CFS we can all create a glo-cal conversation, the VR allows for the meetings to pivot into world building experiences.”


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After three years on the market, Series X/S sales are creeping up on the lifetime sales of the original Xbox
Jul 3, 20232:34 PM EDT
At the event, the tech giant revealed sales figures for the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One for the first time in several years. The tech giant typically keeps Xbox sales numbers under wraps, so this information was likely never intended to be widely shared.
Xbox Series X|S console sales are at 21M+ according to Microsoft at BIG Festival in Brazil.
— John Welfare (@Welfare_JBP) June 29, 2023
Based on what was captured, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S have sold over a combined 21 million units since their release in 2020. However, it’s unclear if this is shipped units or sold metrics. Also, Microsoft didn’t offer a breakdown of each consoles’ sales numbers. Instead, it combined the Series X and Series S together.
Microsoft also grouped the Xbox One in with the current-gen consoles, reporting the last-gen system sold over a combined 79 million units. However, we can remove the aforementioned 21 million and assume Xbox One has crossed the 58 million mark, putting it 26 million short of the Xbox 360’s lifetime sales. For context, Sony’s PS4 has sold roughly 117 million units and the PlayStation 5 has sold 38.4 million.
Additionally, Microsoft claims that 48 percent of Xbox Series S players are new to Xbox. This is an impressive figure, especially since the Series S was designed as an entryway for new players to adopt the Xbox ecosystem. At launch, the Series S entered the market for $379 Series S, offering a more cost-efficient alternative to the more robust Series X, which costs $599.
Microsoft recently revealed a Black Xbox Series S with 1TB SSD. Offering nearly double the SSD storage, this new Series S iteration will likely draw more players into the Xbox world, especially with Starfield’s release on the horizon.


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Xbox is abandoning the Xbox Live moniker its online services have used for ages, and will instead refer to those spaces as the Xbox network moving forward.
However, Xbox Live as a phrase won't completely leave our vocabularies anytime soon as it is still the name of choice for Xbox's paid online membership Xbox Live Gold.
The change was first spotted by eagle-eyed Xbox owners participating in the Xbox Preview beta program. A recent version of the Xbox dashboard featured text like "upload to the Xbox network" where it previously said "upload to Xbox Live."
According to a statement given to The Verge, the naming shift covers Xbox's online spaces and aims to more clearly define the line between Xbox Live Gold and other online services throughout the platform. Similarly, the Verge reports that Microsoft's services agreement already made the Xbox Live to Xbox network shift back in August, though Microsoft denied any major plans to rebrand at the time.
Rebranding in the interest of clarity has become somewhat of a trend itself over the last year. Electronic Arts consolidated its subscription library naming schemes across platforms as a simple EA Play back in August 2020, and also dropped Origin in favor of EA Desktop. Ubisoft also changed up its services branding just recently by dropping its Uplay and Uplay+ branding in favor of a new Ubisoft Connect platform and a rebranded Ubisoft+ subscription library.


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China bans single-use plastic
China announces bans on non-degradable plastic shopping bags and plastic straws as part of a three-stage five-year plan to ban or restrict production, sales and use of disposable plastic products.
“It is a very reasonable scenario that China will lead the world in banning single-use plastics that have no real societal value, whilst also creating a modern, state-of-the-art recycling industry that competes with the very best in the world,” said John Richardson, Senior Consultant, Asia at the commodity market intelligence provider ICIS. “The implications both for virgin PE polymers demand in China and for the amount of that demand which is met by recycled production are likely to be very significant.”
More about the ban:
China is set to ban or restrict production, sales and use of disposable plastic products via three stages in the next five years, according to an instruction jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
The policy explicitly prohibits the production and sale of products including ultra-thin plastic bags with a thickness of less than 0.025 mm and polyethylene agricultural mulch with a thickness of less than 0.01 mm.
By the end of 2020, the production and sale of disposable foam plastic tableware, disposable plastic cotton swabs, and the production of daily chemical products containing plastic microbeads will also be phased out.
Non-degradable plastic bags: By the end of 2020, non-degradable plastic bags will be forbidden in key cities, and the scope of implementation will be gradually expanded in 2022 and 2025.
Disposable plastic tableware: At the end of 2020, disposable plastic straws will be banned in the catering industry across the country; disposable plastic tableware banned in key cities; and the scope of implementation will be further expanded in 2022.
By 2025, the consumption of disposable plastic tableware in the catering and takeout area of cities above the prefecture level will be reduced by 30%.
Disposable plastic items for hotels: By the end of 2022, star-rated hotels nationwide should no longer actively provide disposable plastic supplies.
By the end of 2025, all hotels and home-stay businesses will have to follow.
Express plastic packaging: By the end of 2022, key provinces and cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and others, will be prohibited from using disposable plastic packaging bags and woven bags for express delivery, and the amount of plastic tape should be reduced.
By the end of 2025, nationwide express delivery outlets will follow.


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Lincoln’s Waterside Shopping Centre held its annual Student Lock-In last Tuesday. Shops such as New Look and Topshop kept their doors open till late showcasing some fantastic student only deals.
H&M and River Island were also popular stores that had discounts of up to 30% available for students. The discounts covered everything, from clothes to shoes, even accessories such as bags and jewellery.
The Student Lock-In is an after-hours shopping event for students, created and run by student marketing company Total Students. It has been held at numerous shopping centres across the country since its first event in 2010. Many popular stores take part and offer special deals for the students of that particular city.
This year’s Lincoln Student Lock – In was a massive success, with large numbers of students flocking to the shopping centre. There was even a small stand of clothes by The Only Way Is Essex star Lydia Bright’s clothing store, Bella Sorella, which proved to be massively popular amongst students.
Laura Callaghan, a second year student at the University, praised the Lock-In, saying: “I think the student lock-in was great, I wish they did it more often!”
“I bought so many clothes for a really reasonable price and Waterside also gave out free Body Shop gift sets to those that spent over forty pounds. I’ll definitely be going to the next one.”
She was not the only student to sing its praises. Harriet Stevenson, also a second year student, said that despite how busy it was and the length of the queues “it was completely worth it for the deals you got”.
If you missed your chance this year, fear not, the Lock-In will be back at the same time next year, with just as many good deals guaranteed.Tweet


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By Oregon Family Farm Association,
More than 63 percent of Oregon’s 37,000 farms earned less than $10,000 in 2020, forcing operators of small farms to work other jobs and seek creative ideas for adding products to sell and tapping into markets for them, according to an article on Axios. New business models require farmers to rely on income outside the farm to cover expenses, provide health care benefits, and save for retirement. With Portland’s 30 farmers markets saturated, farmers employ marketing alternatives, such as selling directly to consumers over the internet.
Disclaimer: Articles featured on Oregon Report are the creation, responsibility and opinion of the authoring individual or organization which is featured at the top of every article.


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ACT Research released its June installment of the ACT Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume OUTLOOK report covering the truckload, intermodal, LTL and last mile sectors.
The near-term freight volume forecasts estimate a short-term pre-ship ahead of the threatened tariffs on the remaining $300+ billion of China imports.
Tim Denoyer, ACT Research’s vice president and senior analyst, commented, “Timing is uncertain, but assuming some talks, there may be enough to temporarily snatch the cycle from the jaws of freight recession in the near-term. But the mid-term freight outlook is hurt by the recent yield curve dynamics, and pre-shipping will eventually result in an inventory overhang.”
This dynamic did not change ACT’s rate forecasts materially, and the ACT Truckload Spot Leading Indicator reached a new cycle low this month. ACT’s Freight Rate Barometer, a measure of supply/demand balance, shows the truckload market has been oversupplied for about six months, and it typically leads truckload contract rates by about six months.
Denoyer added, “Pricing power is rapidly swinging from the service providers back to the shipping community, due to accelerating tractor capacity growth and soft freight demand. Truck orders are down sharply, a potentially auspicious sign, but eyes now turn to June orders for an early look at 2020 demand.”
The ACT Freight Forecast provides quarterly forecasts for the direction of volumes and contract rates through 2020 and annual forecasts through 2021 for the truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal segments of the transportation industry. For the truckload spot market, the report provides forecasts for the next twelve months.
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Sideshow Posts Reveal Video And Pre-Order Date For Legend Of Crystal Lake Figure
Last Halloween our readers were teased by Sideshow Collectibles with news of a brand new Jason Voorhees Premium Format figure from Friday The 13th Part 3. Nothing was known about the figure outside of the fact that it was going to release in 2015, but images were released this past March detailing what fans could expect to see with this new figure. Now, Sideshow has released an awesome video showcasing Jason Voorhees and all of his accessories.
The Legend of Crystal Lake Premium Format™ Figure can now be verified as coming with the harpoon gun seen in Part 3 and the hockey mask can be removed. The Premium Format rendition of Jason from Part 3 sports a cloth shirt and pants with a bloodied machete. The coolest feature is the base which highlights some of the memorable kills in the film. The new Jason Voorhees figure can be pre-ordered starting July 30, 2015 at www.sideshowtoy.com for a hefty price tag of $469.99.
Watch the video below and let us know what you think about this latest Jason figure!


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Surging public interest in ancestry and health -- propelled by heavy marketing -- is resulting in record sales of DNA tests, which entice consumers to spit in a tube or swab their cheeks and ship the sample back to have their genomes analyzed. By the start of 2019, more than 26 million consumers had added their DNA to four leading commercial ancestry and health databases. If the pace continues, it's estimated that the genetic makeup of more than 100 million people could be gathered within 24 months.
For consumers, the tests offer entertainment, clues to ancestry, and a chance of discovering family secrets -- such as siblings you didn’t know about. But the consequences for privacy go well beyond that. As these databases grow, they have made it possible to trace the relationships between nearly all Americans, including those who never purchased a test.
Generally, those who submit their DNA to these databases are at the mercy of user agreements that they have no control over, just like social media accounts. It comes down to the first rule of data: once you hand it over, you lose control of it. You have no idea how the terms of service will change for your DNA sample. Also, just how secure is your DNA data? It was recently reported that DNA testing service Vitagene Inc. left thousands of client health reports exposed online for years, the kind of incident that privacy advocates have warned about as gene testing has become increasingly popular.
More than 3,000 user files remained accessible to the public on Amazon Web Services' cloud computer servers until July 1, 2019 when Vitagene was notified of the issue and shut down external access to the sensitive personal information. The exposed genealogy reports included customers' full names alongside dates of birth and gene-based health information, such as their likelihood of developing certain medical conditions. Vitagene had promised customers that it would protect their identities. Security with DNA-testing companies is becoming an increasing concern.
Two Senate lawmakers introduced a bill last month that would create new privacy regulations protecting consumer health data collected through health tracking apps, fitness wearables, and direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits. The bill, introduced June 14, 2019, would set a new federal standard for biometric consent.
If you've already submitted your DNA to a company and now want it deleted, you can contact the company and ask for the steps on doing that. However, since the United States government requires these companies to retain DNA information in order to comply with quality control guidelines, it’s never really possible to delete it forever.
Keep Reaching For Life's Mileposts,