text:
Where Chinese e-commerce embarrasses U.S. rivals
It’s becoming clearer by the day that China is beating the U.S. in the one aspect of e-commerce that basically sets the tone for the whole experience: fast delivery.
“The U.S. is a tremendous innovator, but in e-commerce it’s really racing to catch up,” Haoyu Shen, CEO of JD Mall, said in an email a day before JD.com (JD) released figures from its June 18 anniversary sale—JD’s answer to the attention Alibaba gets for its November Singles’ Day sale—during which it processed 15 million orders, a 100% increase from the previous year. “In the U.S. people can’t believe that we offer same-day delivery—free—for orders made before 11 a.m. in basically every major Chinese city,” Shen explained. (Free comes with a minimum order of $13.)
Same-day delivery isn’t novel in China anymore. Alibaba’s logistics arm that partners with couriers ships to 34 cities for next-day delivery and said this year it expects that number to hit 50. But JD.com, Alibaba’s (BABA) rival and the closest equivalent China has to Amazon.com (AMZN), with dozens of warehouses scattered around the country and a direct sales model that wards off fake goods, started same-day delivery five years ago and last year counted 43 cities. It says it has expanded since.
A direct comparison of China’s same-day credentials to U.S. companies’ is a little unfair. Alibaba, Jd.com, and others enjoy the advantage of cheap labor that is the backbone of China’s advantage. By one estimate there are 35,000 delivery companies fighting for packages, cutting profit margins to almost zero but making deliveries to far flung-places in China’s interior, otherwise uneconomical, suddenly appealing if only for a few pennies in profit.
But that’s not the whole story.
JD, for one, doesn’t benefit from those 35,000 delivery competitors because it has spent hundreds of millions to build up its own delivery network which last counted 48,000 workers, 140 warehouses, and 3,500 delivery and pickup stations.
That doesn’t come cheap, even in a country with cheap labor. Expenses related to delivery increased 97% in the first quarter to $400 million, driven by JD’s expansion into smaller cities and building out its so-called “last mile” delivery business for third parties.
Alibaba’s logistics affiliate, by contrast, works with couriers, which saves the company money but gives it much less control over the delivery process, making Alibaba more vulnerable to fraud.
In the past four quarters, JD has posted losses of $115 million, $73 million, $27 million, and $94 million. The delivery build-out isn’t directly responsible, but it could become a big drag on the bottom line in the future, even if JD has the money from its May 2014 IPO which raised $1.8 billion.
The company declined to say in its latest outlook when it would make a profit, but a forecast of another quarter of revenue growth over 50% has persuaded the market to look past the short-term losses: JD’s stock has risen 53% this year and 77% since its IPO last summer—to a future in which even residents in China small cities can depend on same-day delivery for an item that already includes the delivery cost in its price.
Every story about Apple selling same-day delivery for $19, Amazon offering nominally free same-day delivery (if your order is $35 or more, and if you pay $99 a year for prime), and Uber piloting a same-day program only now with retailers like Neiman Marcus, reinforces the appearance that the U.S. isn’t leading the charge on delivery—it’s catching up.
Correction: Post updated to reflect that Alibaba’s delivery option is next-day, not same-day.


text:
Lewiston business to shut down publishing operations
Up to 75 jobs could be affected
"The Farmers Almanac" will still make forecasts about upcoming seasons, but shall no longer be printed in Lewiston.
Geiger Brothers, the almanac's publisher, will phase out of the manufacturing end of its business, said Peter Geiger, executive vice president of Geiger Brothers. Its office will remain in Lewiston, but printing will no longer be done on site.
The plant has around 75 full-time employees who were informed about the decision on Tuesday, Geiger said. Geiger Brothers is a family-owned business and has been around for 135 years with around 400 employees.
The end of the printing and binding part of Geiger Brothers could mean the loss of up to 75 jobs, Geiger said.
The company plans to sell off its manufacturing operations to other businesses, Geiger said. It will no longer print calendars, pocket diaries and planners by the spring.
"It's a phasing-out process is what it's really going to be," he said.
Geiger Brothers will continue to produce new editions of its almanac.
"'The Farmers' Almanac' will still exist. It's just that someone else will do the manufacturing of it going forward," he said.
Geiger's primary business is promotional products and has manufacturing done in other locations. Products can include any items with logos on them, Geiger said.
Overall demand for calendars and other planners has dropped as consumers have relied more on computers and handheld devices.
"It's the end of an era," he said.
Geiger Brothers came to Lewiston in 1955.

domain: news


text:
TESCO has produced plans for a new store in Milngavie that are just TWO SQUARE METRES smaller than its previous proposals - which were thrown out for being too big.
The supermarket giant has been accused of ‘insulting’ the town with the move, which has been greeted with astonishment by opponents.
Tesco’s slogan is Every Little Helps - but on this occasion, protesters say they have taken this to extremes and have given far too little ground.
The company has responded by claiming it IS taking people’s concerns into consideration - to the extent that it has proposed cutting back the new store’s overall ‘footprint’ - if not its scale or total floorspace - by 200 square metres compared to the original plan.
The multinational had submitted plans for a revamped Gavin’s Mill store with a gross floor area of 10,221 square metres in 2008.
However, amid claims that a ‘monster’ new store would dominate the town and drain the life from Milngavie Precinct, East Dunbartonshire Council (EDC) booted the scheme into touch - as did the Scottish Government at a subsequent inquiry.
Now Tesco, which has faced customer calls for a boycott because of its stance, has come back with its new proposals - for a store of 10,219 square metres, a downsizing of less than two square metres, or less than one hundredth of a per cent.
The supermarket chain will submit its new plans to EDC for approval over the next few months - and unveiled them to protest group We Like Milngavie (WLM) this week.
WLM chair Robin Brown said: “Tesco has not taken the opportunity to listen to local community groups and hundreds of local residents whose objection was to the inappropriate size of the proposed new store.
“Instead Tesco is finalising revised proposals for a second planning application to be submitted later this year or early next year, for a store of 10,219 square metres, a reduction of two square metres - less than one hundreth of a per cent, which is not even a sop to the concerns of local residents.
“So far, Tesco and its team has not listened to the community, the councillors, the local MP, the local MSPs and even its own customers.
“The overwhelming view of the people of Milngavie is that the proposed store is too large for the needs of the area and inappropriate for the constrained site and the village setting, adjacent to a listed building and beside a conservation area.
“Tesco has stated that any new store must be double the size of the existing store to justify the investment – but it has not provided evidence of this.
“Its key aim appears to be to compete with Asda, which it could have done by expanding and upgrading the existing store with possible extensions to the east making better use of their loading bay area, or by adding a mezzanine floor.”
Get your Herald today for full story


text:
Climate change, a global pandemic and war — there’s a lot to grapple with at the moment, and now we’re all being told that prices of everyday goods are rising as well.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.5% in March compared to last year — levels not seen since 1982. Oil prices may have dropped in the early days of the pandemic, but they have since soared with increased demand, hitting a seven-year high. The war in Ukraine has further impacted prices.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.


text:
Ally Bank Ranked Best in Class in Back-to-Back Reports on Customer Experience
OREANDA-NEWS. October 09, 2015. For the second time this year, Ally Bank, the direct banking subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY), has been ranked Best In Class among all 299 brands covered in Forrester's Q3 2015 US CX Index™. Ally Bank made the top 15 list for customer experience among all brands in Forrester's Q3 2015 US CX Index issued this month, as well as its Q1 2015 US CX Index issued in April.
Rankings for the Q3 2015 CX Index were based on consumers' opinions of their experiences with the brands in a survey conducted in April and May 2015. Ally is Best-In-Class with a CX score of 79 and is among the top five best performing banks.
"We are very pleased that Ally Bank ranked as one of the 15 highest-scoring brands two times in a row in Forrester's CX Index U.S. survey," said Diane Morais, chief executive officer and president of Ally Bank. "What is really significant about this report is that it found only 15 percent of brands deliver 'good' customer experiences. We are proud to be among the top-ranked brands, and we are committed to continuing to make focusing on our customers a strategic approach at Ally."
On all 3 E's of customer experience quality (Effectiveness, Ease and Emotion) Ally meets or exceeds nearly every score compared to the direct and traditional banking industry averages, and nearly three out of four Ally customers indicate a high likelihood for recommending the bank to others. According to Forrester, the best brands in the CX Index deliver on average 24 positive customer experiences for every negative experience, while the average for the 299 companies in the Index was 7.1.
The rankings in Forrester's proprietary Q3 2015 CX Index survey are based on responses from 45,320 respondents in the US.


text:
The second attempt at hosting the Wakefield Market was as successful as the first go around as 11 vendors and several stores welcomed customers from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on July 21.
The event was held on Main Street for the first time to allow for social distancing between the vendors who set up everything from corn, to iron work, to cosmetic items...the list of products available was extensive.
Many stores also offered in-store specials to attract buyers.
“I thought the Market went great,” said event coordinator and Wakefield Economic Director, Megan Weaver. “It was great to see families out supporting our vendors and downtown businesses.”
Weaver and company offered “bingo” cards to customers that were to be stamped by the various businesses and vendors when the buyers presented them.
“We offered $50 in Wakefield Dollars in a random drawing,” she said. “To be eligible, the cardholders had to have his-her card completed.”
Rylie Ekberg was the winner of the drawing.
The Senior Center had its first “outing” of function since the COVID-19 pandemic hit last spring by holding a bake sale.
“Our bake sale went fantastic,” Senior Center Manager, Sherry Oswald said. “We had four tables full of baked goods and had very little left over.”
The fudge from the bake sale was reportedly “to die for”.
“We just really want to thank everyone who donated goods for the sale,” Oswald said. “And we especially want to thank all of the people who supported our sale - it was heartwarming and very successful.”
Weaver is already making plans for the next Market, scheduled for this fall.
“We’re shooting for September 2 for the next Market,” Weaver said. “And we’ll leave it on Main Street like this one - it was convenient for everyone and went over very, very well.”


text:
Wetpaint CEO Ben Elowitz on the Future of Digital Media
One of the great truisms of being a successful technology company is that just when you reach the top of the heap, if you sit down, you’ll slide off.
And that’s why, in a month where we’ve just seen HP disassemble itself, I have to hand it to Google: It really and truly is pulling out all the stops in order to be relevant as the social / mobile Web takes hold.
Faster than digital predecessors who have championed a technology generation and then found themselves in peril, Google seems to be reconciled to the fact that, as my Chief Operating Officer Rob Grady would say, “What got them here, won’t get them there.”
In this case, the victory of desktop search is already proving to be hollow as we approach a change in technology generations.
I’ve been reading Steven Levy’s “In The Plex” over the last couple of weeks, and what’s most remarkable to me about this love letter to Google is the genuinely revolutionary orientation and nature of the company. Indeed, Googlers are happy to set aside convention in order to reinvent.
It’s a high-risk attitude, but hopefully it can generate high rewards in a time of change.
In recent months, Google has tried to reassert its revolutionary culture and transform itself, in order to avoid the stale fate that has befallen Microsoft and so many other technology behemoths that just couldn’t flow gracefully into the future.
I’ve tried to add analytical context and dimension to this sad syndrome in three recently published articles in Fortune:
My sense is that Google must confront formidable challenges; and yet, it’s way too early to run Google down, or write it off.
Judgment Day on the desperately wanna-be social Google+ still awaits Larry Page and his executive team. And Android, Google’s mobile platform that so wants to be as cool as Apple’s iPhone, has increased its share of the smartphone market – from 17 percent to 43 percent – over the past year.
Which leads us to Google’s recent $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
This deal was expensive. And visionary. And, more than anything, it reflects Google’s fierce — and creative — spirit toward its competitors.
There are arguments about whether the Motorola transaction was offensive, to help Google drastically accelerate its Android bet; or defensive, to amass patents that will enable Google to block the competition and defend its own advantages.
But, more than anything, the deal demonstrates the most remarkable gene sequence in the Google DNA: Google recognizes how things change; and it stops at nothing — even multi-billion-dollar acquisitions — so it can be a huge part of what’s new.
With smartphones overtaking PC’s, Google, a desktop search company, clearly recognizes the danger it faces, and absolutely wants to move on to the next big thing.
But the central question as Google tries to innovate for the impending five-year cycle is whether the company can see the next visible technology horizon, which extends decades out, and whether it can adapt the rest of its DNA to meet the market.
Unfortunately, I’m just not certain that Page & Co.’s vision extends that far.
But time will tell.
Since Google’s early rise, this question has consumed hordes of those watching it: Is Google a technology company or a media company? Paradoxically, Google has continuously defied the dichotomy, seeming to succeed in media precisely by maintaining that it is solely a technology company.
Can Google (GOOG) keep defying (or denying) reality?
Today’s Web is very different than yesterday. When Google was born, the basic technologies of devices, browsers, protocols, sites and apps were still in development. Now the Web is much more meaningful and mature: it links real people to the other people and things they care about in a socially connected environment. The question is, where and how does Google fit in to this new digital eco-system?
It’s important to note that Google’s world view is dominated by a utilitarian ethos, as though its product is mere software created just to provide the quickest route from point A to point B, or, in the case of search, from Q to A. For Google’s flagship, search, this made for a perfect match with an ideal user experience. It also provided a competitive advantage over other products, which forced people to enter simple questions into complicated experiences. In this way, Google became an accidental media company, answering queries with utilitarian search results and basic classified ads.
But the DNA that has made Google successful in search has made it more difficult for the company to excel in the next, more social, phase of digital media. Digital publishing isn’t a service or function; it’s all about immersing people in rich and rewarding experiences that make them want to linger and then keep coming back for more. The social Web values human connection and experience, not just functionality or speed. And that difference has led to Google’s multiple false starts — Buzz, Wave and Orkut — as well as its current attempt, Google+.
The sad truth about Google is that at its core, in culture and technology, the company’s history is one of pathetic indifference to audience experiences; instead, it’s wed to the almighty algorithm.
That’s why I chuckled a bit after reading a recent the back and forth between TechCrunch and Monday Note. First, TechCrunch reported on the $50 million raised by Flipboard — the hot iPad application that searches RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook or Flickr and aggregates the results in a neat customized book-like layout. Why, asked TechCrunch, would an iPad application start-up need $50 million?
Well, said Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, because maybe Google will launch an attack. Monday Note responded by putting Google’s Flipboard threat in a very rational perspective. Google, explained Monday Note, doesn’t really have the creative culture or experiential mind-set to develop its own version of Flipboard. The reasons?
I agree wholeheartedly with Monday Note, which also called Flipboard “THE product any big media company or, better, any group of media companies, should have invented.”
It’s regrettable, but based on its history at least, Google doesn’t seem destined to become one of those media companies anytime soon. And the reason is that the very nature of media — building a relationship with audiences by providing them with experiences worth returning for — is that experiences need to be valued based on more than function alone.
As anyone knows from a wonderful dinner at a great restaurant, atmosphere matters. But in search, utility has been the name of the game, and Google’s success here seems to be leading it into a posture and position that is more and more protective of its home field – and more wedded than ever to its utilitarian approach. The more Google tries to support its search empire, the more it will fail in the rest of its media efforts .
On the other hand, if Google wants to succeed in a new era of personalized media, it needs to start by recognizing the human element, beyond the algorithm. It’s no coincidence that the competitors that are rapidly building market value today — like Apple (AAPL), Facebook, Twitter, and even Flipboard — are doing so with tremendous attention to the human factor. As the Web turns more social, Google needs to abandon its historical disregard for the human touch.
With Google+, it appears that Google is showing the first signs of doing so. Its Circles interface, and its approach to Hangouts, indicate that Larry Page and Vic Gundotra are beginning the change in priority. Its proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility, which manufacturers hardware for consumers, adds another set of similar questions. But it remains to be seen whether the change will metastasize: can Google change its company’s DNA to value the human above the machine?
After all, in this increasingly social Web, the connections that Google needs to make are not between question and answer, but between people and their desires. And that has been the formula that has always worked in media.
From early on, Google seemed determined to be more than a search company. And one of the most admirable traits of Google’s structure has been its decentralization: The company’s deliberate decision to forego synergies to give product groups the freedom of independent thought and action has created tremendous product variation and innovation. Distinct product groups and a culture that prized fresh original thinking created great products like Gmail, Google Apps, and Google Maps; and all of these products delighted users even as they initially passed up the value of synergies that big companies often tout.
And yet, it seems that those at the Googleplex are increasingly giving in to the temptation to integrate new product development into a “synergistic,” if monstrous, whole. Integrating new products into existing ones, the story goes, should give a new product a boost with a built-in user base and in-product feature merchandising, not to mention enhanced “strategic” and “platform” value, which basically translates to customer lock-in.
I understand the attraction of this. And it makes sense in principle. But the trend is concerning, because it sacrifices the essence of Google’s (GOOG) greatness: its focus on the simplest possible product to meet user needs. Instead, products are increasingly being morphed into tack-on feature sets of bigger products.
But the downside here is that the influence of the core product consistently invades – even where it shouldn’t – and this overwhelms what could be a terrific new stand-alone product. As a result, great now too often becomes good at Google. And, if this new-product dilution and diminution continues, it will be increasingly difficult for the company to successfully innovate and take advantage of the burgeoning social Web.
One classic example: instead of solving a real need for all the Web’s users, Google Buzz was, as MG Siegler noted at TechCrunch, “shoved in everyone’s face by way of its somewhat unnatural home in Gmail.” My mother has taught me to put people with advanced degrees on pedestals, so I can’t help but be stunned that legions of Googly Ph.D.’s missed this by integrating Buzz into Gmail. It’s pathetic, but true: Google forgot that most connected people aren’t even on Gmail. And, obviously, the value of the network is far lower when most people aren’t on it. So, instead of being a great social product with a clear use case, Google Buzz became a controversial feature with ambiguous purpose that was added on as an appendage to Gmail.
With the launch of the Google+ Project, these questions of product integration, synergy, and installed-base leverage are more crucial than ever.
Google+ will not succeed on the back of Google’s search product alone. No matter how many users it may garner, it will turn out like the other stillborn features in Google’s search, e.g. Buzz and SearchWikis. Already, it would be easy to consider Google’s first new social product launch a success, based on the 20 million or more reported users who have signed up for it. But nearly all of those users have joined on the basis of their existing relationship with Google, rather than for the sake of any life-altering content from their friend networks.
And, while leveraging its existing business and user base in search may sound like a smart corporate strategy, the results of such migration will be limited. The battle for the social Web is being waged for a prize of exploding consumer attention online. Adding line extensions to users’ search experience will neither defend Google from Facebook’s coming attack, nor offensively capture new and emerging opportunities for Google. So, the “leverage-and-enhance-the-core-product” strategy is an easy reach to execute, and offers appealing initial momentum, but it is short-sighted.
We’ve all seen this pattern before; and I’ve lived it as part of the Microsoft (MSFT) world here in my home of Seattle for the last decade. No matter what part of the company they work in, my friends at Microsoft know their paycheck comes every week, thanks to product sales of Windows and Office. And no matter what product they work in, whether it’s set-top boxes or mobile phones, their objectives are overwhelmed by the need to sell more copies of Windows and Office. Meetings at Microsoft have become famous for having a dozen-plus attendees – all in order to maximize integration with, you guessed it, Windows and Office. Rather than being marketed independently, great products like Office Web Apps and Windows Live SkyDrive seem destined to become mere shadows of their moneymaking core brands, victims of what Matt Rosoff recently referred to as the “strategy tax.”
As Google matures, is it becoming more and more like its original nemesis? Ironically, it’s Microsoft’s focus on synergy that has left such huge room for entrants like Google and Apple to come in and dominate sectors including apps, music and devices. Microsoft’s failure syndrome was especially perplexing because it clearly had the talent and experience to build these categories better and faster – if it had been willing to obsolete itself.
If Google doesn’t give itself back the freedom to compete with the reality of the outside world, it will quickly find itself a self-imposed victim of the Microsoft Syndrome. It may ride its own large, but strategically dead-ending, business for a long time; but it could also find itself missing out on the huge next wave of the Internet — social.
The required response from Google is not just a set of adjunct products that build on search. Instead, this is exactly the time that Google needs broad, far-reaching, and decentralized creativity to solve real people’s still-latent needs via the emerging social Web. Google needs to make sure its Google+ Project is a complete stand-alone product that – like Google Apps, Google Search, Gmail, and Google Maps before it – can compete on the open Web and break new ground. Facebook has outsize traction in the social sphere, but it’s not too late for Google, as long as the company quickly takes action to avoid falling into the trap that has caught its first major rival.


text:
French crop farmers benefit from market
Farmers in France have earned 12% more in 2007 thanks to rising agricultural
prices on the world market, including cereals, according to forecasts published
by the French Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the Ministry, the average agricultural income per farmer has
increased by 12% (excluding inflation) in 2007, following a gain of 16.1% in
2006 and a decrease of 9.7% in 2005, thanks mainly the rise in agricultural
Crop farmers benefited most from increased market prices. Income
for grain and oilseed farmers almost doubled (+98%) in 2007.
because the increased costs for animal feed, beef producers have lost 23% of
their income, while sheep farmers saw their income drop by 28% and reach the
lowest level since 1990. Dairy farmers faced a 4% decrease in
To receive more animal feed news, subscribe
To comment, login here
Or register to be able to comment.


text:
Letting the Fox Guard the Henhouse -- Literally
by Randy Rabinowitz, 4/6/2012
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) made the front page of The New York Times this week for its proposal to change the way chickens and other poultry are inspected in processing plants before they are sent to supermarkets and butcher shops all across the country. In January, the agency published a controversial new proposal that would shift responsibility for inspections away from agency inspectors and allow employees of the slaughtering plants to judge their own handiwork. We’re not the only ones who think asking chicken producers to police themselves might be a bad idea.
Currently, federal inspectors pull chickens and other poultry that look contaminated or diseased from the production line to ensure they don’t enter the food chain. If this responsibility shifts to employees in a plant, the employees would face pressure to get as many chickens and turkeys as possible through production and shipped out to the public. We already have regular salmonella outbreaks. This seems like a recipe for more.
Industry has been clamoring for this type of self-regulation for quite some time, and Cass Sunstein, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), cited this proposed change as an example of a rule that would produce benefits and save industry lots of money. So what are the “benefits”?
All of the benefits of this proposal come from saving the poultry industry and FSIS money. Under the new system, there will be fewer visual inspections of poultry, so FSIS will employ fewer inspectors. FSIS estimates that it will save between $85 million and $95 million over the next three years, and the poultry companies estimate that they will save about $250 million. This is because when inspectors aren’t examining each poultry carcass, the poultry processors can speed up the production line.
But where are the health and safety benefits to Americans? Historically, this type of industry self-regulation always results in more profits for business and less protection for consumers. Indeed, it was the failure of industry self-regulation generally that prompted Congress to adopt many of the health, safety, and consumer protections that Americans value and have come to rely on. Although the FSIS report proposing the rule claims it will produce modest benefits, FSIS admits there is a “small possibility” that the revised inspection procedures will increase the incidence of foodborne illness.
We do know that the change is likely to reduce the safety of workers in the poultry plants – who already work in cold, difficult environments. The current inspection system permits line speeds of up to 91 chickens per minute. If the proposal is adopted, line speeds could be increased to 175 chickens per minute. Poultry workers already suffer an alarming rate of injuries and illnesses – due to the sharp tools used on the line, dangerous machinery, and the repetitive nature of their jobs. These risks multiply as the production line speeds up, and we can expect more fingers lost and more cuts and other accidents. The cost-benefit analysis of the proposed rule change did not take these costs into account.
The proposed rule will also impose significant costs on federal poultry inspectors (another cost not included in the cost-benefit analysis). The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) estimates that 1,000 FSIS inspectors will lose their jobs under the proposal. These are good, middle-class jobs; when these families lose a breadwinner, the communities in which they live also feel the loss of their income and buying power.
The mission of FSIS is to ensure the safety of the American food supply. OIRA needs to more realistically assess whether this rule would jeopardize consumer health, and when assessing the costs and benefits of production changes, it needs to include the potential costs to the American workers involved in processing poultry (both plant workers and inspectors).
Over 172 million chickens were sold in the U.S. in 2010. The next time people get sick from tainted chicken, the public is going to ask how and why the bad birds entered the food chain. Touting the cost savings and consequent increase in profits for poultry producers is unlikely to impress families hit with expensive medical bills from food poisoning.


text:
Business News›vegas mall
Malls, brands at loggerheads over rent hikes
While discussions have started, industry insiders said large retailers are opposing the move given the number of stores they operate. Malls typically sign nine year agreements with the retailers with a rental hike of 15% every three year. But by increasing the rent 5% each year, retailers will have to shell out about 17% in lease cost in three years.
Cobblers & dry-cleaners available: Malls now charm you with taking the burden of weekly chores
Mall operators rope in tailors, cobblers, offer pet grooming and car washing, to enable visitors spend more time while these tasks are taken care of.
Retailers and malls work out new sales plan amid delay in winter
Categories like soft drinks and ice-cream, which generally see a slump in demand during the winter season, have escalated production cycles, while retailers of winter apparel have cut down on inventory stocks and shopping malls plan to advance their winter end-of-season sales amid a significant fall in the number of peak winter days, industry insiders said.
Mall operators don't have room for brands with poor sales
Listed retailers are expected to post strong double-digit sales growth in the quarter ended June, the first disruption-free quarter for the retail sector after two years of Covid-19 impact in the base quarter.
Retail sales slow down in June as consumers tighten purse strings
Headwinds of inflation on consumer spending are still a worry and may impact the upcoming festive fervour, Retailers Association of India (RAI) has said.
Shopping at malls still popular on weekdays
Over the past two years, many people utilised the time they saved on commuting to and from office for shopping during weekdays. And the trend has accelerated over the past two months, retailers and mall operators said.
World's third largest fashion brand Uniqlo plans to open smaller-sized stores in IndiaOne of the sources said sales at some of the Uniqlo stores do not justify the large areas the stores occupy. "So, they are adopting a hub-and-spoke strategy of one large flagship store in a city with others being smaller stores," said a person familiar with the development, talking about Uniqlo's expansion plans.
Malls reopen: After two-month lockdown, fear of virus keeps footfalls at 5-10% of pre-Covid levels“We had a very tepid response over the weekend,” said Dhruv Bogra, CEO of Australia-based Forever New fashion retailer whose half of the four-dozen stores were open on the weekend. “Footfalls were very low – about 5-10% of the pre-Covid levels. I was in a south Delhi mall and there were barely any people.”
Covid impact: Online focused brands buying plush stores as mall rentals fall"A host of players are open to exploring offline retail, an evident reduction in the cost of rentals in offline spaces such as malls has allowed relatively smaller players to make their presence felt," Nippun Aneja of Purplle.com, an online beauty and personal care brand.
Top malls still struggling to match pre-Covid salesMall developers expect consumption to improve through this calendar year, with relaxations in night curfew and operating hours, rollout of Covid-19 vaccination drive, and gradual rollback of density norms in malls.
Shopping centres extend rental concessions till March as brands strive to recover salesFashion retailers were among the hardest hit last year as malls remained shut for months and then the stores saw low footfalls as consumers stayed away from crowded areas for fear of catching the deadly virus.
Malls open doors to omni-channel retailing to stay relevantMalls have come a long way in barely years after squabbling with fashion brands over maintaining parity of products and prices in physical stores and on ecommerce sites.
Prominent malls to become facilitators of omni-channel retailing“All the eight new malls that we are building will have dedicated captive fulfilment centres,” said Suresh Singaravelu, executive director for retail, hospitality and business expansion at the Prestige Group.
Mall operators hope to end a tough year on a high, but worry about another Covid waveA survey of 205 retail clients highlighted that another wave of infection is a major concern for retailers as 72 per cent of the respondents. Other concerns were loss of sales, slow pace of sales recovery and supply chain disruption.
Food courts in malls are getting a digital makeoverFood tech startup HungerBox said that requests to manage food courts in malls and cafeteria in tech parks have increased as malls look to outsource the job.
Realty hot spot series: Tech parks, malls, hospitals main draws of this popular Bengaluru localityProperties in Bannerghatta main road are priced between Rs 3,200 per sq ft and Rs 7,700 per sq ft. A 2-BHK (1150 sq ft) costs an average of Rs 58 lakh and a 3-BHK (2,660 sq ft) costs approximately Rs 1.71 crore.
Malls up the ante in bid to increase footfall curtailed by COVID-19, look at new strategiesFootfall in most malls had doubled since the reopening on June 8, with many of them reporting up to 60% of the footfalls compared to pre-Covid levels and the mall operators said they expect to reach 80% level by November courtesy the festive season, but there will be no live events unlike previous occasions to keep masses entertained.
Malls expect surge in footfalls in the upcoming festive season, anticipate increased demandAccording to a survey by Retailers Association of India (RAI), there were signs of marginal recovery as retailers continued to signal a contraction of 52% in August on a Y-o-Y comparison. The survey said large retailers are performing marginally better than medium-sized retailers.
Malls reports 30% footfall, shorter stay time of customersIn a webinar by the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI), mall operators said over 400 malls that are operational at the moment and safety norms and steps being taken by the malls are making it the safest place.
Malls display summer collection: PPEs & masksMalls in Gurgaon and Faridabad, in Haryana, didn’t reopen on Monday. Noida in Uttar Pradesh had allowed malls to reopen but big ones such as Mall of India, Great India Place and Logix say they plan to resume only later this week. Mumbai malls remain shut as infections rise. Most malls compulsorily checked body temperature and put in place sanitary measures for people and their belongings.
Shopping malls ready for re-opening on Monday; focus on contactless shopping, physical distancingThere are around 100 big and small shopping malls in the national capital, the source of around Rs 500 crore in revenue for the Delhi government, according to Brijesh Goyal, the convenor of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) trader's wing.
RIL retail arms hand exit notice to Nexus MallsThe ongoing tussle between malls and retailers about rentals during the lockdown period has now pitted India’s largest retailer by revenue and number of stores against a private equity (PE) giant.
Covid-19 impact: Restaurants also want share of the relief pie“We aren’t trying to profiteer at the expense of landlords. As longstanding business partners, we are hopeful that landlords will extend their support in these times of unprecedented crisis,” NRAI president Anurag Katriar said.
Covid-19 outbreak: Malls, restaurants continue to battle lonelinessConsumption fell 15-25% over last two weeks, with people cutting back on eating out and shopping.
Other than renovation and innovation, how shopping malls can have a longer shelf lifeFrom roping in retailers such as Decathlon to re-configuring brands malls are forging deals to survive and some have even repositioned themselves to turn profitable.
Golf-U.S. PGA Tour Latest Safeway Open leaderboardGOLF-PGA/SCORES=2:Golf-U.S. PGA Tour Latest Safeway Open leaderboard
Macau bets big on India, eyes growth in tourist arrivalsMacau a travel guide book, as one of the top 10 best travel regions of 2015, has all the ingredients that anybody would want for a good holiday, he added.
Alfred Taubman, pioneer of indoor malls, diesTaubman, who also turned Sotheby's auction house into a global power of art sales, died on Friday at the age of 91.
Burger fetches over Rs 4 lakh in UAETo spread awareness about the importance of early detection to fight breast cancer, Pink Caravan organised 'Pink Bite' charity auction to raise funds.Load More
BACK TO TOP


text:
Micromax announced its return to the India market with its “In” range of smartphones. Co-founder of the home-grown company, Rahul Sharma, shared the news on Twitter via a short video.
The company went out of business after Chinese smartphones took over the industry by reducing smartphones prices. It was the inability of the Indian brand to adapt to a dynamic market, which made it difficult for Micromax to fight competition, and eventually, it shut shop.
However, following the Atmanirbhar Bharat call given by PM Narendra Modi the company decided to launch a range of smartphones and has made significant changes in its business strategy.
"We will only come out with performance-oriented products. You won't see phones worth Rs 3000, Rs 5000 from Micromax anymore," Sharma shared in the video.
The company is expected to launch phones next month -- both online and offline -- priced between Rs 7,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000.
The company has invested around Rs 500 crore on expanding local manufacturing and research and development.
Sharma added that the company’s internal fund accumulation has been good and it plans to raise money at the right time. "The new PLI scheme balances out foreign and Indian players. The support of 6 percent is big, and with the government support, we will be able to fight Chinese brands fiercely on the pricing front," he added.
India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), the apex industry body for mobile and electronics said that Micromax had committed investments worth Rs 11,000 crore under the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI).
The association had announced in August that major global players like Samsung Wistron, Pegatron, Hon Hai, and Foxconn and Indian companies like Micromax, Lava, Dixon, Sojo, among other players had applied for benefits under the PLI scheme.
Under the National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2019, the government introduced the PLI scheme intending to position India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM).
Micromax is expected to venture into other products such as air conditioners.


text:
- Second-quarter profit of 562.7 billion yen vs. forecast of 772.2 billion yen
- Cut FY production target to 9.2 million from 9.7 million
- It’s unclear when the chip shortage will end – exec
- Results ‘very unremarkable’ given positives – analyst
- Shares closed down 1.9%, Nikkei up 0.3%
TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) on Tuesday reported a 25% drop in quarterly profit, missing expectations and cut its annual output target as the Japanese company struggles with soaring material costs Combat ongoing semiconductor shortages.
The world’s largest automaker by sales also warned that it remains difficult to predict the future after a fourth straight quarter of profit declines, underscoring the strength of the business headwinds it faces.
Toyota has outperformed most automakers at managing its supply chain during the coronavirus pandemic, but it fell victim to a chronic chip shortage this year, repeatedly cutting monthly production targets.
“We’ve come out of the worst stage, but … it’s not necessarily a situation where we have ample supplies,” said Kazunari Kumakura, head of Toyota’s purchasing group. “It’s not known when the chip shortage will be resolved.”
Operating profit fell to 562.7 billion yen ($3.79 billion) in the three months to September, well below the 772.2 billion yen average expected by 12 analysts in Refinitiv. Toyota posted a profit of 749.9 billion yen in the same period last year, compared with 578.6 billion yen in the first quarter.
Kumakura said the global shortage of automotive chips continues as chipmakers have prioritized supplies of electronics such as smartphones and computers, while natural disasters, COVID lockdowns and factory disruptions have slowed the recovery in automotive chip supplies.
He also said supplies of older semiconductors, which currently attract little capital investment, will remain tight.
Amid the pessimism, Toyota shares closed down 1.9%, while the Nikkei (.N225) averaged 0.3% gain.
Some analysts were less than pleased with the performance, saying positive factors other than chip shortages should provide a boost.
“The yen weakened in the second quarter, the trading volume in the second quarter was much higher than the first quarter, and the (COVID) lockdown in China did not affect (the trading volume in the second quarter),” said Koji Endo, an analyst at SBI Securities.
“Given those points… the absolute profit in the second quarter has to be higher than the first. It’s pretty unremarkable.”
Production rebounded 30% in the quarter, but the company warned last week that shortages of semiconductors and other components would continue to limit output in coming months.
Toyota said it now expects to produce 9.2 million vehicles this fiscal year, down from an earlier forecast of 9.7 million but still up from about 8.6 million in the previous fiscal year.
Reuters reported last month that Toyota had told a number of suppliers that it was setting a global target of 9.5 million vehicles for the current fiscal year, and hinted that forecasts could be lowered depending on the availability of magnetic steel sheets.
The yen’s influence weakens
The yen has fallen about 30 percent against the dollar this year, but the benefits of a weaker yen — making overseas sales more valuable — have been offset by soaring input costs.
Toyota said the weak yen boosted profits by 565 billion yen in the first half of the fiscal year, but was outstripped by a 765 billion yen increase in material costs, while the cheap local currency further pushed up import costs.
Toyota maintained its conservative profit outlook, sticking to its full-year operating forecast for the fiscal year ended March 31 at 2.4 trillion yen, well below analysts’ average forecast of 3.0 trillion yen.
By contrast, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) raised its revenue and profit margin guidance last month to reflect higher foreign exchange rates.
Toyota, once favored by environmentalists for its hybrid gasoline-electric models, has also come under scrutiny from green investors and activists for its slow push into pure electric vehicles (EVs).
Just a year after its $38 billion electric vehicle plan was launched, Toyota is already considering restarting it to better compete in a market that is growing faster than it expected, Reuters reported last month.
Toyota had to recall its first mass-produced all-electric car earlier this year, which went on sale just two months later, and halted production due to safety concerns. It restarted taking rental orders for the domestic market last month.
Toyota reiterated on Tuesday that battery-powered electric vehicles are a powerful weapon for decarbonization, but there are multiple options for getting there.
(1 USD = 148.3100 yen)
Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell
Our Standard: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


text:
Joe Danger 2: The Movie has been available on Xbox Live Arcade for a few weeks now, and it's a mighty awesome game. Capitalizing on the platforming/racing combination of its predecessor and giving fans more of what they loved, Hello Games has delivered a sequel that's worthy of gamers' attention.
The game has yet to launch on the PlayStation Network, but Sean Murray, the developer's managing director, wants PlayStation 3 owners to know that Joe Danger 2 is en route to the PlayStation Network. Though an exact launch date hasn't been announced, Murray says the game will be released "in the very near future."
To thank PlayStation 3 gamers for their patience, Hello Games will be adding 10 hours worth of bonus content not seen in the Xbox Live Arcade version. "We’re putting the finishing touches to this at the moment, and I don’t want to give too much away, but I think fans of the original will really love what we’ve done," explained Murray.
To be honest, the idea of 10 hours worth of additional stuff to do in Joe Danger 2 is very exciting. That said, like so many other individuals, I already own the game on Xbox Live Arcade, so I'm wondering if Hello Games will eventually release the bonus goodies on that version. Unless this is the content that was left out of the PlayStation Network edition of the original Joe Danger, I imagine a lot of Xbox 360 owners getting upset by this.
In any case, it's great to see Joe Danger 2 getting some love on multiple platforms. Watch out for this one on the PlayStation Network soon.
For a bunch of indie game and burrito talk, follow @thesanchezdavid on Twitter.


text:
From 21st April, Google will make a major change to its search algorithm which will favour mobile-friendly websites in its search rankings when viewed from a smartphone or tablet. When a mobile user uses Google to search, the algorithm will push sites that feature large text, easy-to-click links, and resizable content further up in the ranking.
With the recent boom in smartphone and tablet sales, mobile devices account for approximately 60% of online traffic. Google announced the move back in February, giving website owners plenty of notice to make the appropriate changes so they don’t get penalised under the new system.
However, Itai Sadan, CEO of website building company Duda, is worried that smaller sites will still miss out. Sadan told Business Insider, “Come April 21, a lot of small businesses are going to be really surprised that the number of visitors to their websites has dropped significantly. This is going to affect millions of sites on the web.”
“Google has always been about relevancy, and content is king,” he added. “But that’s changing. Yes, they’re saying content is still extremely important, but user experience is just as important. It’s not sufficient to have all the right content — if people come to your site and the content is there but it’s not readable, that’s not good.”
It’s not just small businesses that will be affected, though. Marketing specialist Somo has revealed that major sites, such as American Apparel, The Daily Mail, and Ryanair will suffer ranking drops unless they implement the appropriate changes by tomorrow.
Thank you Business Insider for providing us with this information.


text:
Chrysler adds diesel engine to light-duty Ram
Chrysler is adding a diesel engine to its lineup of light-duty Ram pickups. The company is promising the best fuel economy of any full-size pickup in the nation.
Bob Hegbloom, director of the Ram brand, said Friday the 3-liter, 6-cylinder diesel Ram 1500 would get better mileage than the 25 mpg that the current gas-powered V-6 gets on the highway. The company will release exact mileage figures at a later date. The 6-cylinder Ram is tops in the industry for highway mileage.
Chrysler said the new turbocharged diesel makes 240 horsepower and has 420 foot-pounds of torque, giving people the power of a gas-powered V-8 and the fuel economy of a smaller gas engine. Chrysler said the 2014 Ram will be the only light-duty diesel pickup on the market.
It’s the same diesel engine sold in the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV, which gets 30 mpg on the highway. But Hegbloom said the heavier pickup won’t get 30 mpg.
The diesel will cost $2,850 more than a Ram with Chrysler’s Hemi V-8 engine and 8-speed transmission. Hegbloom said the diesel will pay for itself in gas savings in less than three years for the typical owner.


text:
Equifax Canada’s patron use agents are revelation callers that usually Canadians who have had exchange in a United States are expected to be influenced by a large penetrate announced final week.
The credit monitoring company’s call centre staff contend that Canadians who have Equifax accounts in a U.S. could be during risk of carrying their information compromised, such as those who have lived, worked or practical for credit south of a border.
The Canadian Press done mixed calls as consumers to Equifax Canada’s patron use line and were told that consumers whose credit files were not checked outward of Canada are doubtful to be partial of any breach.
Equifax Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- EquifaxÂ breach provokes disappointment for Canadians
- EquifaxÂ says 143 million U.S. consumers might have been influenced in cyberattack
Equifax pronounced final Thursday a confidence crack occurred over a summer that compromised a private information of adult to 143 million Americans, along with an undisclosed series of Canadians. But a association has been tight-lipped about serve details, including how many Canadians might have been exposed.
Equifax Canada’s website says that “only a singular series of Canadians might have been affected” and “the crack is contained.”
“We are operative night and day to consider what happened,” a credit monitoring association says on a Canadian website.
Canadian and American credit files contingency be kept apart due to differences in a several laws within a U.S. and Canada, according to a Equifax Canada website.
However, American companies can lift Canadians’ files in Canada with consumers’ permission, according to credit risk consultant Mike Morley.
“Let’s contend you’re a Canadian requesting for a debt in a U.S. for your cottage… They will make a preference formed on your Canadian credit information,” Morley said.
That would beget a U.S. credit record for a consumer, he said.
Morley combined that Canadians who live and work south of a limit would have their credit story pulled in Canada in several situations, including when requesting for a credit card, or even by a intensity employer or landlord.
No assistance from U.S. watchdog
Equifax has set adult a dedicated website, equifaxsecurity2017.com, and call centre to assistance consumers establish if their information has been compromised.
However, Canada’s remoteness watchdog says a website won’t assistance Canadians since it uses U.S. amicable confidence numbers.
Instead, a remoteness commissioner suggests that Canadians call Equifax during 1-866-828-5961 (English service) or 1-877-323-2598 (French service).
At slightest dual due category movement lawsuits have been started on interest of Canadians who might have been influenced by a hack.
Class movement suits coming
Tony Merchant, a owner of Merchant Law Group, says he has filed due category actions on interest of plaintiffs in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. The 4 plaintiffs checked their files on Equifax’s American website â€” that asks for final names and U.S. amicable confidence numbers â€” and were told their information might have been divulged, he added.
Merchant’s law firm, that has offices in Edmonton and Calgary, has seen some-more than 700 Canadians pointer adult to be partial of a category action.
A mouthpiece for a Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, that is a executive group in Canada, that collects marker burglary complaints and other associated matters, has not perceived any complaints in tie with a Equifax hack.


text:
Slightly more than half of all seniors who are not in an assisted living situation reported having issues with incontinence, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After a five-year contraction in employer healthcare spending growth, medical inflation in the United States is projected to rise to 6.8% in 2015, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute.
America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are developing 435 innovative new medicines to target 15 leading chronic conditions affecting the Medicare population, according to a new report released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America last week.
The Food and Drug Administration has published a draft guidance document for prescription drug supply chain stakeholders as part of the agency’s implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has reported.
Novo Nordisk on Thursday announced the launch of Levemir FlexTouch (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection), a prefilled insulin delivery mechanism, providing a new way for diabetics to administer their insulin.


text:
Ripple works with Korean Startup is Samsung too?
Home News Ripple works with Korean Startup – is Samsung too?
Marcel Knobloch –
Ripple is an American Startup that payment solutions for businesses worldwide. Here, the speed is to be optimized and costs reduced. One of the newest members of RippleNet is a young company from South Korea, which also offers payment services.
The Fintech Startup Sentbe is RippleNet beige and expanding the network of banks and financial services, the use of cross-border products of Ripple. According to his own description Sentbe is “a financial technology Startup based in South Korea, the power through the use of innovative technologies, cross-border money transfer Person-to-Person easier, faster, and cheaper. Sentbe is licensed as a financial institution in South Korea, and seeks to create financial opportunities and equal opportunities, by the inertia of the traditional finances will be disturbed“.
The Fintech Startup revealed the partnership on its website. In addition, Sentbe was recently for the first visual agents and business partners of MoneyGram in South Korea. Moneygram has been a Partner of Ripple and tests xRapid in practice, hardworking. The CEO of Sentbe, Alex Choi, States that the company is constantly looking for new partners and innovations in the industry, because otherwise, valuable potential could be given away (freely translated):
Innovations which simplify the money transfer process, the top priority for us and there is no more accurate time than now to start this step with MoneyGram. We are now in an even better Position to satisfy the demand for tech-savvy solutions in this area, and look forward to the change this brings for the diverse Community in which we operate.
According to a press report from Pulse, has been completed in the South Korean Startup also has a partnership with Samsung to use Samsung Pay in more than 17 countries. In the Ripple Community is currently hotly debated in the payment solution, if xCurrent, or xRapid, and he wants to use Sentbe actually in practice, and will. To date, however, there is still no official opinion or confirmation for the above-mentioned software solutions. Sentbe has amassed, according to a press release from Moneygram transactions worth several billion Korean Won and is one of the largest money transfer companies in South Korea.
The price of XRP shows, meanwhile, undeterred by this news, and shows a similar movement as the Rest of the crypto market. The price of XRP has fallen within the last 24 hours, with almost 4% to 0,3175 USD.
Featured Image: Immersion Imagery | Shutterstock


text:
PORTLAND, Ore. (CBS.MW) - Electro Scientific Industries reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results late Tuesday along with sales that nearly doubled, reflecting growing demand in the electronics industry.
The company (ESIO), which makes products used in electronics manufacturing, posted a fourth-quarter profit of $17.2 million, or 61 cents per pro forma share, compared to $2.9 million, or 15 cents per pro forma share in the year-ago period.
Eight analysts surveyed by First Call expected Electro Scientific to report a per-share profit of 56 cents, on average.
The results for the fiscal year 2000 reflect a “growth in demand accross the entire electronics industry” as well as growth in ESI’s market share, Donald VanLuvanee, the Portland, Ore.-based company’s chief executive said in a statement with the earnings, which came after the market closed.
Total sales for the quarter ended June 3, 2000 were $108.9 million, up from $57.3 million in the quarter ended May 31, 1999 as backlog rose to $169 million from $23 million, the company said.
Ahead of the news on Tuesday, shares of the company closed up 9/16 at 47 5/8.


text:
Don't have an account? Register now!
Where small retailers have a strategic advantage
An online retail expert reveals which new trends and services can help smaller players.
Jun 14 2018, 3:11AM
BigCommerce improves mobile shopping performance
The ecommerce platform has made it easy for retailers to take advantage of accelerated mobile pages.
Apr 4 2018, 10:27PM
Seven apps to help your business become agile
Access and share data quickly, and become more agile in strategic ways, with these business tools.
Mar 30 2018, 11:22AM
Instagram shopping comes to Australia
Local etailers can now sell their products via the popular social network.
Mar 21 2018, 7:18PM
Stripe to drop Bitcoin payments
The payment processing company was the first of its peers to support the cryptocurrency, but that’s about to end.
Jan 25 2018, 12:26PM
Visa’s security roadmap for credit cards and beyond
The financial giant explains how it plans to protect online transactions, contactless payments and more.
Jan 23 2018, 8:21AM
Sendle now offers international shipping
The courier aggregator has started making low-cost international shipments ahead of schedule for Sydney customers.
Nov 2 2017, 1:08PM
Government launches inquiry into online retail
You can have your say on the effects that global competitors have on Australian retailers and the economy in general.
Nov 1 2017, 5:17PM
What the banks' Beem payment app means for business
Three of the Big Four banks are working on a new mobile app that will enable customers to make instant payments.
Oct 31 2017, 7:17PM
Sydney startup launches Bitcoin ATM
BitPOS aims to provide more opportunities for businesses to buy and sell the cryptocurrency.
Oct 17 2017, 7:05AM
Sendle to offer savings on international deliveries
The ecommerce-ready courier aggregator has announced a deal with DHL to offer deliveries to more than 220 countries.
Sep 20 2017, 7:27PM
Braintree Direct adds Apple Pay and Android Pay support
PayPal’s end-to-end payments service expands its Australian checkout options.
Sep 1 2017, 3:06PM
Make sure your card surcharges aren't 'excessive'
New rules start today for all Australian businesses that apply a surcharge to card payments.
Sep 1 2017, 11:25AM
Sendle now integrates with Shopify
Integration between the two services makes it easier – and potentially cheaper – to manage deliveries for online sales.
Aug 16 2017, 3:06PM
Stripe reconciliation now automated in Xero
New integration between the payments service and cloud accounting system makes reconciliation a one-click task.
Aug 2 2017, 9:17AM
Sage One now connects with PayPal
The cloud accounting system can now automatically import transactions from the payment service.
Jul 14 2017, 8:03AM
Aussie payments startup attracts $1m investment
Inamo has gained the attention of a credit card giant and now received a $1 million capital injection.
May 29 2017, 10:56AM
Xero makes it easier to accept BPAY
The cloud accounting provider has added BPAY to the payment options on its online invoices.
May 26 2017, 9:15AM
Square takes payments via web dashboard
The commerce solution provider adds the ability to take payments via a computer.
Feb 22 2017, 2:22PM
Square adds ecommerce and POS options
You can now use Square to accept payments on your website or when using third-party point-of-sale software.
Jan 20 2017, 3:48PM
Most popular tech stories
What is agile methodology? How it actually works
Carbon offsetting: What is it and why should small businesses care?
How to empower women to take up IT careers and stay in them
How to stand out in the Inbox: BIMI Explained
Under ransomware DDoS attack? Four tips to help your business navigate
Westpac replaces branch phone systems with iPhones, Teams Calling
Australia Post nears end of massive telco transformation
Westpac loses its group head of data and advanced analytics
NBN Co to charge free fibre recipients that don't stick with higher speed plans
Accenture wins contract for passenger declarations platform
Former Vocus chairman, M2 Group founder Vaughan Bowen taken to court over alleged insider trading
Former AWS ANZ, APJ boss Paul Migliorini joins Versent as CEO
Tech Data takes first step in local rebrand
Telstra Purple to combine telco, edge, cybersecurity and AI into integrated service
Vocus' Charlotte Schraa to run channel program in expanded role
How barcode tech can improve healthcare accuracy
Final extension of deadline for 2021 IoT Awards entries
Deadline extended for 2021 Australian IoT Awards entries
NBN Co reveals future foray into smart buildings
‘Australia-first’ agtech research centre in Melbourne
Don't have an account? Register now!
Forgot your password?


text:
Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) $12.4 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility was premised, in part, on giving Android licensees protection from patent litigation via the shield of Motorola's more than 17,000 patents--but so far that has not worked out that well for Google or its licensees.
For example, just last week U.S. Judge James Robart in Seattle ruled that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) only has to pay Motorola $1.8 million a year for access to Motorola's patents for Microsoft's Xbox. Motorola had been asking for as much as $4 billion a year.
The decision is the latest in a string that have put both Google and its Android licensees under pressure on the patent front. Last week Microsoft got Chinese vendor ZTE to agree to license Microsoft's worldwide patent portfolio for ZTE phones, tablets, computers and other devices running Google's Android and Chrome OS platforms. ZTE is the world's No. 4 handset and smartphone vendor, according to IDC. The announcement came days after Microsoft got Hon Hai, parent of electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn, to agree to a similar license. More than 20 companies have signed such agreements with Microsoft.
Microsoft said last week that "80 percent of Android smartphones sold in the U.S. and a majority of those sold worldwide are covered under agreements with Microsoft," according to a blog post from Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's deputy general counsel. Motorola has not signed such a licensing agreement.
"We have worked for multiple years to reach an amicable solution with the few global companies who have yet to take a license, but so far they have been unwilling to address these issues in a fair manner," Gutierrez wrote. "We'd prefer to consider these companies licensing partners and remain hopeful they can join the rest of the industry in the near future.
Google last year said it valued at $5.5 billion Motorola's "patents and developed technology," according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "It wasn't an irrational decision at the time but they've gotten nothing but heartbreak for that money," Rodney Sweetland, a patent lawyer with Duane Morris, told Bloomberg. "Should they have bought? Not at that price."
"We acquired Motorola to level the playing field in patent attacks against Android and draw on Motorola's long history of innovation," Google spokesman Matt Kallman told Bloomberg. "In just under a year they've accomplished a lot, with impressive velocity and execution. We're excited about Motorola's future."
Google executives have lately talked about Motorola less in the context of patents than in the innovative new mobile products it is working on. Earlier this month Google CEO Larry Page again hinted at the company's upcoming Motorola phone products, noting the gadgets likely will feature improved battery life and tougher screens. Page's comments were an expansion of previous statements he and other Google executives have made in recent months.
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article
- see this AllThingsD article
Google promises Motorola phone advancements, trumpets Google Glass
Google's Schmidt calls Motorola's upcoming products 'phones +'
Microsoft gets Foxconn parent Hon Hai to license its patents for Android
Android dominance targeted in Microsoft, Nokia antitrust complaint
Google: Motorola's patents worth $5.5B


text:
When PayPal co-founder Elon Musk launched a new company building mass-market electric cars, he was clever in picking the name Tesla Motors. Tesla was an 18th-century inventor and engineer who was obsessed with the properties electricity. He was a brilliant man who was under-appreciated in his own time, and using his name to sell electric-powered cars is a fitting tribute.
Taking a page from Elon Musk’s playbook, another upstart car company has adopted the moniker of a famous inventor. Meet the Motion supercar from Kepler Motors!
Every year in January, the world’s consumer electronics companies congregat in Las Vegas at the International CES Show to show off their latest and greatest products. Everything from digital cameras and tablet computers to washing machines and televisions are on display.
In past years, car manufacturers occupied a small part of the show to demonstrate the latest in-vehicle technologies. For 2014, automotive companies reserved 140,000 square feet of floor space for their booths – a 20% increase compared to 2013!
Here are some of the top automotive headlines from CES 2014:
Audi Introduces Self-Driving Car
Audi was at CES 2014 demonstrating a self-driving car, which uses a combination of RADAR, LASER, and imaging technologies to be aware of its surroundings. Last year, the car’s entire hatch was filled with computers to process this information. This year, it’s been shrunk down to a computer in the trunk no bigger than an iPad. Audi calls their new technology “piloted driving,” and it looked very close to production-ready on this A7 sedan.
Going to the Arizona International Auto Show with my friends has become an annual tradition. This show travels to over a dozen major US cities and always comes to Phoenix for Thanksgiving weekend.
Last year we did something a little bit different. Instead of walking the floor and looking at all of the new models, we stayed outside and went on a bunch of test drives instead. That was so much fun that we did the same thing again!
This year, I drove 7 different vehicles in one day. I tried to pick some cars that were different from my usual go-fast machines. Here are my impressions of the cars I drove this year:
2014 Kia Sorento SUV
I drove the Optima Limited with the 2.0 Turbo last year and was thoroughly impressed with it. Rather than take it for a lap of Phoenix three years in a row, I picked something completely different: a V6 crossover SUV. One thing I really liked was the panoramic glass roof. It had excellent visibility, especially for the rear passengers.


text:
Mobility Channel, New Arrival January 28, 2015 , by admin No Comments 1 lava-Iris-X1-Mini LAVA International has announced the launch of LAVA Iris X1 Grand and Iris X1 mini, enhanced offerings of its long-running LAVA Iris X1 launched earlier in ... VAR India, 4 days ago
Affordable Lava Iris X1 Grand and Mini launched, Here's a comparison of the two - Daily Bhaskar, 4 days ago
1 images for "lava mobiles"
As the demand for mobile phones soars in India, few handset makers see a brighter 2015 than home-grown Lava International. The company aims to more than double its revenue by March to $1 billion, or about Rs 6,300 crore, from Rs 2,909 crore in the ...Business Standard India, 3 weeks ago LAVA Launches Iris Alfa, A Stylish 5 ... EFYTimes.com, 1 week ago Lava Rolls Out Five-Inch Iris Alfa for Rs.6,500 New Indian Express, 1 week ago Xiaomi launches flagship mobile device Mi 4 at Rs 19,999 Moneycontrol.com, 3 days ago
More from: VAR India, VAR India...and 14 other sources
Samsung has been facing competition from local mobile handset makers like Micromax, Lava and Karbonn but it has maintained its lead in smartphones. When it first set up shop in India in 1995, Samsung Electronics was a consumer electronics giant that gave local manufacturers a run for their money in televisions and refrigerators. Two decades later, Samsung has become a mobile handset company that also has presence in consumer electronics. In the financial year ended March, 69 per ...Rediff.com, 2 months ago Smartphone maker Maxx Mobilink to start local manufacturing of handsets India Brand Equity Foundation, 1 week ago
NEW DELHI: Home-bred mobile maker Lava Tuesday expanded its 'iris Fuel' series of high power battery smartphones with the launch of Iris Fuel 60 and priced it at Rs 8,888. The device comes equipped with 4000 mAh battery that offers up to 32 hours ...Economic Times, 1 month ago Lava Launches New Smartphone For Rs 8,888 Silicon India, 1 month ago Lava Iris Fuel 60 review: Budget phone with big battery Times of India, 1 month ago Lava Iris Fuel 60 launched in India for 8,888 India Today, 1 month ago
NEW DELHI: Xolo, the sub brand of mobile vendor Lava, will roll out an Android 5.0 Lollipop software update for its budget smartphone, Xolo One, starting January 16, as the company prepares to make a further dent in the sales of Android One ...Economic Times, 2 weeks ago Xolo One to Recieve Android 5.0 Lollipop Update from 16 Jan International Business Times India, 2 weeks ago
Indian smartphone vendor Lava International is in talks to acquire Nokia's Chennai handset factory. Lava and Nokia have signed a nondisclosure agreement, people familiar with the talks told The Economic Times. "Lava's manufacturing team has already ...Telecompaper, 2 months ago Lava in talks to buy Nokia's Chennai plant: Sources Times of India, 2 months ago Lava may raise Nokia's Chennai plant from dead Economic Times, 2 months ago Noida-based Lava may buy Nokia's Chennai plant Business Today India, 2 months ago
NEW DELHI: Xolo, a brand owned by mobile-phone vendor Lava, expects to triple revenue to $1 billion by the end of 2016 as it seeks to widen market share by introducing more devices with an enhanced proprietary user interface that will enable ...Economic Times, 1 month ago Xolo Expects To Triple Revenue to USD 1 Billion by 2016-End Communications Today, 1 month ago
oint task force, which will include industry representatives from Samsung, Microsoft Devices and Lava, to rejuvenate nation's mobile phone manufacturing ecosystem with a view to achieve production of 500 million units of mobile handsets by 2019. Industry body ...Business Standard, 1 month ago Government sets up joint task force to boost mobile manufacturing Jagran Post, 1 month ago Government Establishes Joint Task Force To Foster Mobile Phone Manufacturing In India EFYTimes.com, 1 month ago Task force set up to boost mobile manufacturing IndiaPost, 1 month ago
More from: , Deepika Global...and 5 other sources
Funded by Google and Indiegogo, a San Francisco nonprofit turns old buses into much-needed shower facilities for those living on the streets. A homeless man begs for money in the financial district of San Francisco. Lava Mae, a shower service ...Christian Science Monitor, 1 month ago VIDEO: Mobile showers for the homeless BBC, 2 months ago Mobile showers for the homeless BBC, 2 months ago
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government yesterday secured investment deals valued at Rs 5,000 crore with companies like Samsung, Spice Mobiles, Lava and cellular associations for setting up mobile manufacturing units in the state. "We want to make ...Economic Times, 4 days ago Mobile phone firms to invest Rs 3,000 cr in UP Financial Express, 5 days ago
on your WebpageAdd Widget >Get your members hooked!


text:
The International Securities Market – Open For Business
March 15, 2016 marked another milestone for the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. (BSE) as it officially launched its International Securities Market (ISM). At a breakfast meeting held at the Hilton Barbados, the Honorable Donville Inniss M.P. – Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development delivered the feature address pledging his support and that of his Ministry for the ISM. Read the full story here.
Are you interested in investing in Barbados?
Get started with our FREE Shares 101 GuideDownload Now


text:
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi on Friday said there is no political hand behind the agitation call given by traders but vowed that the government would not compromise on enforcement of its condition regarding the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) numbers.
The top tax chief addressed a hurriedly called news conference a day before the traders would observe a shutter-down strike in major cities against the government’s decision to link sales of goods by manufacturers to seeking CNIC numbers.
He also clarified that the government has not imposed any tax on sale of wheat flour and any increase in prices is because of reasons that have nothing to do with the FBR.
Govt empowers FBR to go after offshore accounts
“The government would not back out from two issues of CNIC condition and withdrawal of zero-rating facility for five-export oriented sectors that are agitated by traders and industrialists,” he said.
“The traders’ bodies have political affiliations but I do not see any political hand behind the agitation call by them,” Zaidi said while responding to a question. “There is no central leadership of traders, which is hampering effective negotiations with them,” he added.
He said due to introduction of fixed sales tax regime, the small-sized traders should not be worried about the CNIC condition. Only those persons can collect 17% sales tax who are registered with the FBR and these are only 47,000 people, he added.
The CNIC is the key documentation measure of imposing a condition whereby businesses need to obtain CNIC from buyers purchasing goods worth more than Rs50,000. It has been criticised by the industry at large. “The CNIC issue has been blown out of proportion to frustrate the government’s efforts to broaden the sales tax net,” said Shabbar Zaidi.
He said only 47,000 registered manufacturers would be affected by the CNIC condition and the FBR has not yet begun the process of bringing the nearly 300,000 remaining industrial consumers in sales tax system.
“Total number of industrial electricity connections is 341,000 whereas there are only 47,000 sales tax registered persons. There are more than 3.1 million commercial electricity connections, while more than 90 per cent of them are outside the tax system,” he said.
In a letter to prime minister, Shabbar Zaidi had acknowledged that the tax burden on manufacturing sector is enormous that he wants to lessen it by bringing more people in the net. Zaidi said some businessmen want to take other benefits by exploiting the CNIC condition
What is at stake for FBR
An analysis of 35 sectors by the FBR from July 2014 to March 2019 revealed that about 40% of the total sales of these sectors were to the unregistered persons, which was causing evasion of both the income tax and the sales tax.
Out of 35 sectors, more than half of the sales of 17 sectors were to the unregistered persons.
These sectors are sugar, beverages, automotive, ghee, electric goods, cement, food processing, leather products, iron and steel, plastic products, fertilizers, poultry and animal feed, paints, glass, fruit juices, cosmetics, soaps, ceramics and agriculture goods.
The FBR estimated the total sales of 35 sectors at Rs12.6 trillion and Rs5 trillion or 39.4% were to the unregistered sectors during this period. The sugar sector sales were estimated at Rs713 billion and Rs521 billion or 73% were to the unregistered persons. The gas distribution sector sales have been estimated at Rs1.8 trillion and Rs496 billion or 28% were to the unregistered entities.
Another major source of revenue leakage was the sector of beverages and aerated water. The sector’s total sales amounted to Rs803 billion and Rs438 billion or 54.5% were to the unregistered persons.
The automotive sector’s total sales were Rs571 billion and Rs405 billion or 71% were to the unregistered persons. The ghee manufacturers sold Rs458 billion worth of production and Rs352 billion or 77% were to the unregistered persons.
The electric manufactures sold Rs327 billion or 47.5% of their production to unregistered dealers. The sector’s total sales amounted to Rs690 billion. The food processing sector had Rs303 billion sales and Rs228 billion or three-fourth were to the unregistered persons, according to the FBR.
The fertilizer and pesticides manufacturers sold 79% of their production to unregistered persons amounting Rs108 billion. The poultry and animal feed sold Rs85 billion worth of production to unregistered sector that was 90% of its total sales.
The cosmetics’ total production was Rs14.2 billion and Rs12 billion or 85% was to the unregistered persons. The FBR wanted to capture this 40% untapped sales through the CNIC but the manufacturers were not cooperating.
Online sales tax system not yet working
The Member Inland Revenue Hamid Attiq Sarwar had told the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that if manufacturers did not want to tell about those unregistered persons who purchased goods from them then they should not complain about the tax burden.
“The government’s hands are tied and it is not in a position to offer any concession on tax rates to five export oriented sectors or relax the CNIC condition because of the IMF programme,” he said.
Also, the FBR on Friday also transferred 503 customs officers occupying ranks of inspector, appraiser and chief appraiser who were serving on major stations.
The government has already transferred 3,150 officials of Inland revenue service of FBR.
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ


text:
Lexus will unveil a “daring” new concept vehicle at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show later this month, potentially previewing a future grand tourer.
Very little has been confirmed so far. In fact, the company has simply released this teaser image showing a typically sharp headlight and front grille arrangement.
Lexus says the concept will showcase the company’s vision of “progressive luxury”, suggesting it might be the new LS large flagship sedan which is expected to appear soon anyway.
Although it is just a concept, it seems to feature quite advanced LED headlights, which, again, could suggest a high-end vehicle as opposed to a small sports car or something along the same lines.
The Lexus CT 200h, the company’s smallest and least expensive model, has been around now in virtually the same form since 2011. Maybe the concept will indeed preview a new entry model?
Of course, the other possibility is a new ‘SC’ grand touring sports car which has been rumoured and reported for some time now. We’ll have to wait and see. All of the action starts on October 28.


text:
RightsFlow, a company that manages licensing and payments for record labels, musicians, and online music services has raised $1.5 million in a first round of funding.
New York City-based RightsFlow says its technology helps companies and artists manage the complex issues around copyright. Launched in 2007, the company claims to have more than 1,500 clients, including Muzak (the company whose name has become synonymous with elevator music) as well as music startup imeem. In addition to improving existing services, RightsFlow says it will use the money to build a site where fans and artists can easily license songs from publishers — if you want to record a cover version, you could just visit the site, search for the song, and then pay the licensing fee.
The round comes from Originate Ventures. Competitors include RoyaltyShare, which is backed by Hollywood talent agency William Morris, and Music Reports.
Come see the most promising new technologies unveiled for the first very time at DEMOfall 09 this September 21-23 in San Diego. VentureBeat readers may register to attend the conference at a special 20% discount off our regular rate. Register now at: http://www.demo.com/f9vb2


text:
Apr 19, 2017 5:21AM EDTpublished: Apr 19, 2017 5:21AM EDT
Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
helloPay is the payment subsidiary of e-commerce firm Lazada Group, which is majority-owned by Alibaba after a $1 billion deal in 2016, and will be re-branded as Alipay in relevant markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, Ant said in a statement on Wednesday.
The re-branded service will remain independent of Alipay’s existing app, which has 450 million users in China and is the country’s most popular mobile payment app. Ant did not disclose financial terms of the helloPay deal.
In recent months Ant Financial has invested in a string of payment firms in Asia, but helloPay represents the firm’s first foray into re-branding an acquisition under the Alipay name.
It comes as Ant is trying to boost brand recognition in several markets where helloPay operates.
Last week Ant announced a tie-up with Indonesia’s Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek)
This week, Ant also entered a hefty second bid for U.S. transfer service MoneyGram International Inc
Together with recent investments in Asia, MoneyGram is a lynchpin asset in Ant’s ambition to grow its payments infrastructure beyond China, which would also clear the path for Alibaba to target new markets with its e-commerce empire.
Alibaba holds approximately two-thirds of Lazada, according to figures released on the 2016 deal. It has an option to buy the remaining stakes from Lazada shareholders 12-18 months after the deal closes.
helloPay, which was launched in 2014 by Lazada as a payments service for its e-commerce platform, will operate under the Alipay brand from April 19, the Ant statement said.
(Reporting by Catherine Cadell; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.
- Euronet Worldwide Inc
- Updated April 18 4:00 PM EDT. Delayed by at least 15 minutes.


text:
Samsung recently launched a spate of Galaxy A-series phones in India, and with the debut of the Galaxy M53 5G on April 22, the company now wants to focus on its Galaxy M series. To recall, the phone was just released in the United States as a variant of the Galaxy A73 5G, although with minor modifications. Here’s what to anticipate.
Galaxy M53 5G Coming to India Later This Week
Samsung announced the launch date of the Galaxy M53 5G in India via a tweet. The launch will take place at 12 p.m. on April 22. Mukul Sharma, a leaker, had already revealed it.
The phone will be available for purchase through Amazon India, which has launched a microsite for it, divulging a few information in the process. The Galaxy M53 5G will have a Super AMOLED+ display and 108MP cameras, as well as a “segment only auto data switching capability,” as we already know. It will most likely cost less than Rs 30,000.
The Galaxy M53 5G will have a 6.7-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a punch-hole in the middle, according to the specs sheet. A MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC will power the tablet, which will have 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It’s unclear whether the phone will be available in multiple RAM+storage configurations in India.
A 108MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor will be available on the smartphone’s back. There will also be a 32MP selfie camera onboard. Photo Remaster, Object Remover, and effects for video calling will be added as well.
A 5,000mAh battery with 25W fast charging, Android 12-based One UI 4.0, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and more are among the other features. However, exact pricing and availability data are still unknown, and we’ll have to wait until the April 22 debut, which is just around the horizon, to find out everything we need to know. So stay tuned for more details, and let us know how much you think the Galaxy M53 will cost in India in the comments section below.


text:
A new tool is available to small business owners to market their events and promote their content. Localist, an interactive online calendaring platform, recently launched its ‘Localist Simple’ plan geared toward entrepreneurs with limited marketing resources that need an affordable and easy-to-use tool to promote their brand. Localist provides small businesses with a branded online calendar that integrates easily into their current websites to publish and promote their events.
Localist Simple deeply integrates with social media to help build communities around events and make them more interactive. It also keeps each event as an individual web page so that search engines are able to easily find the events and create visibility. Localist also has a news letter feature built in and a widget builder to put your events on other web pages
With Localist Simple, small business owners who don’t have a marketing team or only employ a small one, “We designed Localist Simple to meet the needs of small businesses that do not have a large marketing team but want a quick and easy way to display their events attractively and concisely,” said Mykel Nahorniak, CEO and co-founder of Localist, in a statement. “This new plan will provide streamlined event management, enhanced SEO and increased brand awareness to SMBs, including restaurants and bars, retail shops, artists and performers, local councils, meet-ups, law firms, independent realtors and insurance brokers, and more.”
Localist Simple lets entrepreneurs easily publish and promote events with features such as unlimited events, custom domain, custom color schemes, responsive design, widgets and email support, at a cost of $19 a month. The plan will focus on SMBs such as restaurants and bars, retail shops, artists and performers, local councils, meet-ups, law firms, independent realtors and insurance brokers, and more.The product is designed with small businesses that host at least one event a week in mind.
In a recent survey of Localist customers, 42% chose minimizing overhead as the top benefit of using the platform. Additionally, 44% listed audience submissions as the most useful feature, enabling calendar administrators to save time thanks to content being added by the community. Localist’s intuitive, cloud-based calendar takes the confusion out of managing events, turning event content into a powerful marketing driver that saves time, boosts attendance and increases overall brand awareness and SEO, added Nahorniak.
According to company reports, Localist has powered more than one million events and saved customers an average of 8,000 hours of work per year over other calendar software. It has shown to raise awareness and increase web traffic and event attendance by up to 70%.


text:
Logistics planning in Queensland requires policy certainty
Thursday, 14 May 2015
Canberra, ACT, Australia
The Moving Freight Strategy includes actions to get more freight onto rail.
Australian Logistics Council MD Michael Kilgariff says Queensland's burgeoning freight task underlines the need for long-term stability on the issue of freight planning.
"Queensland's freight task is expected to climb from 871 million T to around 1,700 million T in 20 years."
He says the ALC is seeking long-term policy certainty in Queensland to support business confidence and to facilitate investment in logistics facilities and infrastructure.
"In particular, ALC seeks support for the Inland Rail project and the retention of the Queensland Moving Freight Strategy.
"Freight planning needs to be both long-term and strategic to provide industry with the surety it needs to make business decisions with confidence," he adds.
"All too often, we see new governments drastically alter, rework or, in some cases, rip up perfectly good plans and strategies, which erodes business confidence and leads to delays in investment.
"The Moving Freight Strategy includes actions to get more freight onto rail, improved freight data collection and an acknowledgement of the importance of land preservation for key freight corridors.
"While we appreciate the new government has its own policy agenda that it will seek to implement, by and large, the logistics industry is looking for the general continuation of the state's freight strategy.
"For example, industry seeks certainty on inland rail, which is the smart solution to our nation's freight challenges.
"It will provide much needed jobs and it will help meet Queensland's freight task in the future.
"The logistics industry is keen for the Queensland government to provide a strong affirmation of its support for this nation-building project," he says.


text:
For the past several months, we all have had some trying times to face and try to rise above and overcome. Many businesses have had to make hard decisions as to the immediate and long-term futures of their company’s. This holds for food service or beverage distributors two-fold. Certainly, falling within those classifications, our neighbors and friends at the Oak City Brewing Company have tried to implement methods to appease their loyal customers and keep their business afloat during the time of the pandemic.
Suddenly Everything Changed…
For just a moment think back. It is the second week of this past March. For Oak City Brewing Company, they are preparing for one of the biggest events of their year. St. Patrick’s Day approaches and that weekend was to be the “Shamrock Shuck” event. Then as the worries and uncertainty mounted, they opted to cancel their signature event as the early stages of what would become unchartered territory for not just the owners at Oak City Brewing Company, but for the entire United States as a whole.
Within a week of the Oak City Brewing Company’s in-house decision to cancel their huge event on account of wanting to be sure their customers were safe; government regulations would be issued. As we all are now aware, these regulations almost four months later are in some form being applied to how businesses are being run.
A Look Back at the History of Oak City Brewing Company
Longtime friends, Blake Cone and Matt Keeler often imagined and even discussed one day opening their own brewery. These initial talks, while at the time not over the top serious, would eventually lead to what is now Oak City Brewing Company. As these talks between longtime pals over a few beers became more serious the two began developing a business plan.
As part of their “stepping it up” in regard to making their dream a reality a location was necessary. After carefully going over their options, looking at prospective budgets, and even brewing initially out of their own garages, the pair settled on a location. That location was the beautiful downtown Knightdale spot that the brewery now calls home.
With much dedication and hard work, not to mention a huge level of risk, Cone and Keeler would quit their jobs in early 2015. This was to put all focus on their dream. That focus and dedication paid off in full on January 2, 2016, when the doors were open for business at Oak City Brewing Company.
Oak City Brewing Company Adds to the Traditions of Knightdale
Since their 2016 opening, Oak City Brewing Company has not only taken part in the town of Knightdale’s traditions, but they created several new ones of their own.
Oak City Brewing Company “Shamrock Shuck“
As we mention above, the Oak City Brewing Company created an annual St. Patrick’s Day themed event, the “Shamrock Shuck.” Held annually on the nearest weekend to the Irish holiday, this has become a favorite among local residents. Featuring authentic Irish music, food trucks, an oyster roast, and of course beer, the Shamrock Shuck would have seen its fifth annual event this past March if not for the pandemic.
“Makers Market” Christmas Shopping Event
Taking full advantage of their great location, adjacent to Knightdale Station Park at 616 North First Avenue, this has become Knightdale holiday tradition. The “Maker’s Market” takes place late each November. It also features the obligatory live music, food trucks, and beer synonymous with Oak City Brewing Company. However, this holiday event truly shows the company’s community spirit. In addition to the items listed above, the Makers Market also brings out 40 local vendors and allows residents to get a jump start on Christmas shopping. Not only do the attendees get a fun day to enjoy shopping, but with all vending coming from the local area, they also support the area business community in doing so.
Oak and Smoke Festival
Yet another great fall-time tradition from Oak City Brewing Company began in 20162. This is the Oak and Smoke Festival, which takes place in October. This is a huge BBQ competition that allows backyard “smokers” and pros alike to have their delicious work sampled and judged. Likewise, this Oak City Brewing Company “fall classic” features live music and their own great brews, too. Food trucks again come out in full force for this event. Likewise, at the Oak and Smoke, though, the company rents tent space to the competitors and attendees, making for a unique atmosphere for the October festival.
Moving Past a Pandemic: What Now for Oak City?
The crew at Oak City has been hard at work since the very beginning of the recent pandemic. They continue to try and appease their public and have since March when restrictions began.
Oak City has kept a constant schedule of food trucks on location. This has been despite their own profits seeing a dip, for the regular customer. The trucks continue their “curbside service” in accordance with the regulations laid out initially on March 17.
Then, finally after much brainstorming, on May 10, the brewery made Oak City brews available once again. Customers were taught to pre-order the brews of their choice online and then pick them up curbside. Each order was made available a business day after the order..
Finally, Oak City was able to re-open in a limited capacity on May 31. With the space to spread tables out they have done all they can to get their product to their customers. Given the down time, your support in ordering from them helps now as much as ever.