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Vivo’s Upcoming Budget Foldables: A Glimpse into the Future of Affordable Folding Phones
Vivo’s latest move in the smartphone industry has certainly caught the attention of tech enthusiasts and mobile aficionados. The company recently made waves by filing trademark listings with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for two intriguing names – the Vivo V Flip and Vivo S Flip. These trademark filings are strong indicators that Vivo is venturing into the realm of clamshell foldable smartphones, and it seems they have their sights set on the budget-conscious consumer.
To put this development into perspective, it’s worth noting that Vivo currently offers two prominent lineups of foldable smartphones: the Vivo X Fold 2 and the vertically folding vivo X Flip. Both of these models are firmly positioned as flagship devices, carrying the torch for Vivo’s X series – a symbol of top-tier quality and performance. However, the recent trademark filings for the V Flip and S Flip suggest a different approach, possibly targeting the mid-range market.
While the specifications and release date for these two intriguing foldables remain shrouded in secrecy, it’s evident that Vivo is gearing up for something significant. As eager as we are to delve into the technical details, it’s simply too early to predict a launch date or the exact features of these smartphones. We’ll have to keep our ears to the ground and await an official teaser campaign for more concrete information.
In a broader context, it’s clear that Vivo isn’t the only player eyeing the budget-friendly foldable smartphone niche. Motorola recently introduced its Razr 40 series, which includes a more affordable foldable model, and rumors about Samsung exploring similar options are swirling in the tech world. Even Honor is rumored to be working on a budget-friendly vertical foldable phone, possibly as an affordable iteration of their Magic V2.
This surge of interest in budget foldables isn’t surprising, as the foldable market continues to mature and foldable screen technology becomes increasingly accessible. These developments hold the promise of making foldable smartphones more accessible to the masses, ushering in a new era of innovative and budget-friendly folding phones. As consumers eagerly anticipate these advancements, it’s clear that the future of smartphones is unfolding before our eyes.


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Dublin, Ireland-based Allergan plc (AGN - Free Report) is engaged in the development, manufacturing, marketing, sale and distribution of branded pharmaceuticals and select over-the-counter products.
Allergan has been actively pursuing deals to expand its portfolio especially its branded products offering. Having completed the acquisition of companies like Durata and Forest, Allergan acquired Botox maker, Allergan Inc., in Mar 2015. With this acquisition, Allergan, which was previously known for its strong presence in the generics market, finds itself in the company of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies across the world based on sales.
In 2017 so far, through the accretive acquisitions of LifeCell and ZELTIQ, Allergan has expanded its medical aesthetics business into regenerative medicine and body sculpting, respectively.
Allergan sold its generics and Anda distribution business to Teva in Aug and Oct 2016, respectively.
Allergan’s earnings performance has been mixed so far, with the company beating expectations in three of the past four quarters and missing on one occasion. The average negative earnings surprise over the last four quarters is 0.27%.
Currently, Allergan has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could definitely change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
Earnings Beat: Allergan’s second-quarter earnings of $4.02 per share were above our consensus estimate of $3.95 per share.
Revenues Beat: Revenues also beat expectations. Revenues came in at $4.01 billion, up 8.8% from the year-ago period, and also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.95 billion by 1%.
2017 Outlook Up: The company raised its previously issued earnings and sales guidance for 2017.
Allergan expects total revenue in the range of $15.85 billion to $16.05 billion compared with $15.8 billion to $16.0 billion previously. Currency headwinds are now not expected to hurt revenues versus a negative impact of approximately $100 million expected previously.
Adjusted earnings are expected in the range of $16.05–$16.45 compared with $15.85–$16.35 per share previously.
Share Price Impact: Shares declined more than 2% in pre-market trading.
Check back later for our full write up on this AGN earnings report later!
More Stock News: Tech Opportunity Worth $386 Billion in 2017
From driverless cars to artificial intelligence, we've seen an unsurpassed growth of high-tech products in recent months. Yesterday's science-fiction is becoming today's reality. Despite all the innovation, there is a single component no tech company can survive without. Demand for this critical device will reach $387 billion this year alone, and it's likely to grow even faster in the future.
Zacks has released a brand-new Special Report to help you take advantage of this exciting investment opportunity. Most importantly, it reveals 4 stocks with massive profit potential. See these stocks now>>

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A P Moller – Maersk (Maersk) has inaugurated two new warehouses in the National Capital Region (NCR). The company already has five warehouses in different parts of the country.
Richard Morgan, Managing Director, Maersk West & Central Asia, said, 'Today, we have inaugurated our sixth and seventh warehousing facility in India this year. Our ambition to support our customers with truly integrated logistics solutions is taking the right shape. Our customers have already utilised around 75% of the capacity of our existing warehouses, showing their faith and trust in our solutions. This also encourages us to keep investing in our warehousing expansion in India.'
The 420,000 sq ft Farrukhnagar Warehouse is connected to the manufacturing hub of North India. With proximity to the Western Direct Freight Corridor (DFC), Farrukhnagar Warehouse will be a facility for retail, FMCG, and eCommerce customers.
Another 100,000 sq ft Maersk Dadri Warehouse, located within the Inland Container Depot (ICD), at the confluence of Western and Eastern DFC, has a railhead connection, proximity to eight national highways, and Jewar Airport coming up within 60 km range, which will be used for the supply chain.


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It seems like everybody wants an iPhone; or, if you’re the Palm Pre, you want to be an iPhone. But the Blackberry line from RIM has a legion of devoted followers (many of them business professionals) who’ve grown attached to the device—and its interface—over the years.
What challenges do switchers face? Katherine Boehret, writing for the Wall Street Journal, uses both devices, and asked several people switching from Blackberry to iPhone to record the advantages and annoyances. In addition to the usual things (Safari is a great mobile browser, but the iPhone battery drains much quicker), the biggest problem seems to be getting used to a new interface:
Some switchers said they wished the iPhone had something like BlackBerry Messenger, the always-on messaging system that works to allow communication between all BlackBerrys.
The iPhone automatically changes its time when you enter a new time zone. BlackBerrys remain set to their home time zone for time stamping all emails with that time—unless you change the time in settings.
RIM prides itself on being able to run multiple applications at once; the iPhone allows this with its own preloaded programs like Mail and Safari, but not with other apps.
One switcher, for example, was frustrated that Pandora, a radio-like app that plays music according to user likes and dislikes, turned off when he opened Mail to read emails while listening to songs.
The conclusion seems to be that the devices have different strengths and weaknesses; the sort of pat answer you’d get from a Smurfs episode. But read the whole article for more observations on moving from being a Crackberry addict to the Cult of Mac.
[Update: Author of source article corrected.]


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(Update adds detail from court documents.)
Buffets Restaurants Holdings Inc.
The filing came in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., the court that oversaw the casual-dining operation's last pass through Chapter 11, which began in 2008. Judge Mary F. Walrath, who presided over the company's first bankruptcy, has scheduled a hearing Thursday where Buffets will debut its new restructuring proposal.
This time, Buffets hopes to spend only about six months in bankruptcy, the company said in a press release.
Restaurants slated for closure account for 16% of the company's stores, which operate under the Buffet, Ryan's and Tahoe Joe's brands.
Buffets said investors that hold 83% of its senior debt have agreed to a restructuring that will eliminate "virtually all" of the company's $245 million in debt in exchange for all the equity in the reorganized company.
An estimated $38 million worth of unsecured trade debt will go unpaid under the proposed Chapter 11 plan, unless suppliers qualify for special treatment as "critical trade" or priority vendors essential to the continued business operation or shielded by special laws, court papers say. Shareholders and general unsecured creditors will get nothing from the company's bankruptcy, not even a vote on the Chapter 11 plan, according to an outline of the proposal filed with the court.
In a release, Buffets Chief Executive Mike Andrews said the restructuring arrangement "will provide the company with resources to invest in its proven reconcepting program." Wednesday's Chapter 11 filing, he said, "marks the beginning of a new era for Buffets."
The equity Buffets will be using to pay its way out of bankruptcy this time around belongs to creditors from the last bankruptcy case: a cleaning service, suppliers of poultry and other goods and utility companies, as well as investors including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group (GS), court documents show.
When Buffets was readying itself to come out of Chapter 11 in early 2009, Andrews said "Buffets Holdings will be stronger and more financially secure when we emerge from bankruptcy. We will have substantially less debt and the right level of resources to operate effectively and make investments that ensure we can continue to deliver the highest quality food, service and value to our guests."
Credit Suisse Group (CS), which led lenders that financed Buffets' 2008 bankruptcy, is leading a syndicate offering $50 million in bankruptcy financing, according to a press release from the Eagan, Minn., company.
Combined with cash from the restaurant operation, the bankruptcy loan is enough to keep operations going while it pushes its "pre-negotiated" Chapter 11 plan through court, the release said. Some 22,800 people were employed at Buffets through Wednesday, court filings say.
The company's 2008 bankruptcy came at the start of a long downturn in the U.S. economy that prompted the budget-conscious consumers who are its target market to turn to cheaper fast-food chains. Recent restaurant casualties of the continued slow economy, such as Friendly Ice Cream Corp., added volatile commodity prices to the list of things to blame for their financial troubles.
In court documents, Buffets also cited the "marked increase in unemployment" as a reason it needed to pare back its debt once again.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor LLP are representing Buffets in the bankruptcy. Moelis Inc. is the company's financial adviser.
(Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review covers news about distressed companies and those under bankruptcy protection.)


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“People want to buy the most car they can that impresses their friends,” consultant Greg Anderson says. “It’s just not fashionable to drive a car that’s seen as environmentally friendly.”
Chinese policy makers appear to be favoring hybrid vehicles with subsidies.
BEIJING – With the dust now settled from last month’s handover of power in Beijing, policymakers responsible for China’s auto sector seem to be favoring hybrids as a step toward expanding green-vehicle use.
The initial stage of the push to promote so-called new-energy vehicles, and with them a differentiated technology standard that China can export, now is widely acknowledged to have failed, at least regarding promoting sales of battery-electric vehicles.
Axel Krieger, analyst at management consultancy McKinsey’s office in Beijing, tells WardsAuto: “The frustration is that the policy is unclear, there are hardly any EVs to buy, the infrastructure is not there and there are disparate local solutions for local OEMs.”
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) shows only 12,791 new-energy vehicles were sold in China last year, the vast majority to government projects.
A little more than half were passenger vehicles (public buses accounting for most of the remainder), and these were spread across a range of domestic suppliers, with’s QQ3 electric vehicle the top performer with 3,129 deliveries.
Industry sales primarily were EVs, but including a handful of hybrid-electric, plug-in hybrid-electric, solar, fuel cell, natural-gas hybrid and liquefied-petroleum-gas-fueled vehicles.
This is far from the government’s interim target of having 500,000 green vehicles on the roads by the end of 2015, let alone its projection for 5 million by 2020.
These frustrations were voiced by Beijing Automotive Group Chairman Xu Heyi, who told a press conference in mid-March that government sales accounted for almost all his state-owned company’s 2012 sales of 1,000 alternatively powered vehicles.
This is because of an underdeveloped recharging infrastructure: Beijing has just 47 EV charging stations, compared with 67 in Geely’s headquarters city of Hangzhou.
And while Industry Minister Miao Wei last month affirmed the government’s intention to continue encouraging green-vehicle sales though consumer and producer financial support for another three years, more flexibility is planned, including more subsidies for hybrids.
Notably, a new tier system will base subsidies not on vehicle type but on its energy-saving potential. One plan stipulates offering RMB3,000 ($483) per kilowatt-hour capacity of an auto battery, which can cover hybrids as well as EVs.
A 3-year trial program that expired in December provided a subsidy of RMB60,000 ($9,500) for the purchase of EVs and RMB50,000 ($8,060) for plug-in hybrids. Hybrid electrics were eligible to receive just RMB3,000, but the new subsidy framework removes the restrictive focus on EVs, to which the domestic industry so far has failed to respond.
“A shift is now taking place whereby the government is moving towards encouraging hybrid vehicles as a stepping stone to increasing the number of cleaner vehicles,” IHS Automotive analyst Namrita Chow says.
Industry-watchers say the central government’s promotion of hybrids could favor foreign auto makers and joint ventures, given their superior quality, reliability and warranty protection.
“I think global players likewill benefit the most,” says Boni Sa, IHS Automotive’s China light-vehicle production manager. “Even if the government subsidizes hybrid vehicles in China, the hybrid cars will still be more expensive than the conventional models for both global and domestic” brands.
The FAW-JV is developing a hybrid version of the Corolla, Sales Manager Zhang Sijun says, and will increase investment in other hybrid models going forward. A China spokesman confirms new-energy vehicles will be the focus of a forthcoming JV brand under the German auto maker’s existing arrangement with Auto.
Another potential weakness in the revamped green-vehicle policy is the ability of local and city governments to have different policies, which might discourage the development of vehicles that are salable elsewhere in China or abroad.
Even as industry minister Miao was announcing the central government’s new subsidy program, officials in Tianjin, Shenzhen and Guangzhou were issuing details of their own, unrelated policies to stimulate local investment, prompting Yesheng Ji, deputy secretary-general of CAAM, to warn against such local protectionism.
“The pilot allows for multiple solutions to coexist. Different companies and local governments have different approaches – there’s no consistency,” says Bill Russo, a Booz & Co. senior advisor who cites BYD’s partnership with multinational ABB Group to develop charging infrastructure in Shenzhen as an example.
Wang Binggang, chief consultant to the Chinese government’s push to promote new-energy vehicles under the 11th Five-Year plan, wants the new subsidies extended throughout the green-vehicle chain, from auto makers to charging stations and upstream parts-replacement facilities.
Whether the new program adopts this kind of structured approach, even offering electricity tax concessions to users of EV charging stations, will go a long way toward determining its success, he says.
“The difficulty with reform in China is that the local regions can do a lot of stuff out of sight,” says Greg Anderson, principal at Pacific Rim Advisors. “They have been hammering on about auto industry consolidation, but that has not happened. There are new firms springing up all the time, because local governments are incentivized by economic growth.
“That’s how the (Chinese Communist) Party is built, and until those political and structural issues are taken care of, there is little chance of progress.”
Yet, Anderson also offers a note of cautious optimism. “(Premier) Li Keqiang is a trained economist – he gets this. There’s been a change at the top, there is the possibility of change, but we don’t know how effective it will be for years,” he tells WardsAuto.
Russo expects immediate progress in green-vehicle sales to public-transportation operators, including taxis. This could lead to more government vehicles going electric, although issues including public sanitation and postal service must be addressed before top officials abandon their premium black-tinted-window Audis.
Indeed, Anderson suggests: “People want to buy the most car they can that impresses their friends. It’s just not fashionable to drive a car that’s seen as environmentally friendly.”


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Software dispute in Europe escalates / Consortium leads charge against Microsoft practices
Published 4:00 am, Thursday, February 23, 2006
Microsoft Corp., the favorite target of many Silicon Valley heavyweights, came under attack again Wednesday in Europe from a consortium that includes Oracle Corp., IBM and Sun Microsystems.
In this latest legal action, the European Committee for Interoperability Systems, or ECIS, accused Microsoft once again of abusing its dominance.
The committee asked the European Commission, which regulates antitrust issues for the European Union, to investigate Microsoft's business practices regarding its Office suite of software, including Word and Excel.
The Redmond, Wash., tech giant, which has already faced sanctions in the United States and Europe for misusing its monopoly power, countered that its competitors are simply complaining about its superior products.
"ECIS is a front for IBM and a few other competitors who constantly seek to use the regulatory process to their business advantage," a Microsoft spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "When faced with innovation, they choose litigation."
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Microsoft said it had not been contacted by regulators and intended to comply with any requests.
A Sun spokeswoman said that the company is "supportive of the efforts" of the ECIS complaint but that it would not change Sun's new partnership with its frequent rival, Microsoft.
"This has nothing to do with that. We still have an ongoing relationship," the spokeswoman said.
Oracle declined to comment.
The committee, which was founded in 1989 and consists of nine tech firms, including Nokia, RealNetworks and Red Hat, said the new complaint includes charges of bundling and non-disclosure, similar to practices the European Commission declared illegal in a 2004 ruling. In that case, the commission ordered Microsoft to make a version of Windows without its media player. It fined Microsoft $600 million and ordered it to share information with competitors.
The committee said the European Commission needs to "rapidly and broadly" enforce its decisions.
Microsoft's rivals continue to look to Europe to crack down on the tech giant, which supplies the operating system on 90 percent of PCs sold today.
"Europe was much more receptive to remedies against Microsoft for certain things," said Howard Shelanski, director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and a professor at UC Berkeley's law school.
"The plaintiffs are thinking Europe might be a more hospitable forum."
That's not to say the Bush administration has been lax in enforcing antitrust law, Shelanski said, citing its "gutsy" yet unsuccessful opposition to the Oracle-PeopleSoft merger.
Instead, he said, it's just a difference in the law. "There are very different histories and different precedents for the two continents' antitrust laws," Shelanski said. "Europe has always been willing to be more regulatory," he said.


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Farm equipment maker Art's Way Manufacturing will invest $1.4 million to purchase and expand a factory and warehouse in West Union, Iowa, that is expected to create 40 jobs.
The company, which makes of niche agricultural machinery and equipment, says it plans to purchase a 190,000 square foot facility in West Union. A grant and loan of $65,000 from Iowa Economic Development Board will help offset expenses associated with building repairs and machinery and equipment. Art's Way is also eligible to receive $158,000 for job training. The Board provides incentives that range from loans to tax credits to growing companies like Art's Way Manufacturing.
J. Ward McConnell, Jr., Executive Chairman of the Board, said, "We are very pleased to receive this grant from The Iowa Economic Development Board as it reinforces the strength, importance and industry leadership of Art's Way Manufacturing. Our entire team has worked extremely hard to demonstrate to the Iowa Economic Development Board that we are worthy of this funding. Our plans for this facility will be a combination of warehouse for finished products and production of some of our ag lines. The addition of this facility will allow us to gain valuable production space and will certainly allow us to accommodate any future acquisition. The $1.4 million warehouse and factory expansion will create approximately 40 new jobs. We are doing final due diligence but expect to close on the facility around April 30, 2010."About Art's Way Manufacturing, Inc.
Art's Way manufactures and distributes farm machinery niche products including animal feed processing equipment, sugar beet defoliators and harvesters, land maintenance equipment, crop shredding equipment, plows, hay and forage equipment, manure spreaders and top and bottom drive augers. After market, service parts are also an important part of the Company's business. We have two wholly owned subsidiaries. Art's Way Vessels Inc. manufactures pressurized tanks and vessels; Art's Way Scientific Inc. manufactures modular animal confinement buildings and modular laboratories.


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Gunpowder & Sky, a global studio housed under The Chernin Group’s over-the-top holding company, Otter Media, is partnering with and investing in Shareability, a video marketing company that helps videos travel far and wide on the Internet. In fact, many of the viral videos you’ve seen circulating over the last few years could very well have been amp’d by Shareability, which has established a track record of producing short-form videos and seeding them in a targeted way to kickstart virality.
Shareability, the industry term not the company, has become a coveted metric for brands and publishers competing for viewership and looking for ways to ensure content travels across platforms and devices. As if wielding a magic wand, Shareability, the company, has systematically replicated the production and distribution of content that does exactly that — and what it’s distributing aren’t hokey viral videos, but content that is actually quite good. And to date the company remarks that it has been responsible for over 500 million organic views for companies like Pepsi, Sony, ESPN, Pizza Hut, Freshpet, Happy Socks and SodaStream.
As part of the deal, which was formally announced today, Gunpowder & Sky and Shareability have forged a distribution pact and will likely team on co-productions as G&S rolls out its own video programming from existing and recently-announced partners, including Seattle-based “Cut,” Supergravity Realm Pictures and Adaptive Studios. The investment it’s made in Shareability will also enable expansion and development of social video tech, original short and long-form programming and its own flagship brands. This is the first investment Shareability has taken. According to the announcement, it’s likely that the social video agency will also continue to incubate and launch its own verticals, similar to the collaboration the company launched in 2015 with Christiano Rinaldo, called ROC.
Co-Founder and President of G&S Floris Bauer added, “Combined with the unique ability to market their videos across platforms, Shareability is poised to quickly expand into original and longer form programming, and we are excited to have them join the G&S network of best in class digital video creators.”
In this way, Shareability is on trend with the verticalization of content production and distribution, especially as big media companies look to double down on digital. In the second half of last year, international media company Red Arrow tapped former Fremantle execs Gayle Gilman and Jason Ziemianski to launch Ripple, a digital video brand incubator. NBCUniversal has also launched a big niche vertical Seeso, and digital video and celebrity/influencer agency EQAL built an entire business creating multi-platform brands around influencers. EQAL was acquired by Everyday Health in 2012.
“We’re constantly monitoring and analyzing the type of content that the Internet wants, and then we work backwards toward creating big, crazy, shareable ideas,” said Tim Staples (pictured, left), Shareability’s co-founder and CEO. “This partnership with Gunpowder gives us the rocket fuel to find out just how crazy we can be.”


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With rumors strongly suggesting Apple’s iPad 2 is on its way to launch in this summer, the price of first iPad version is likely to come down, according to sources.
Though it is not officially confirmed by Apple, it is being expected that owing to intense competition from its rivals like Samsung and Motorola’s Xoom, Apple would certainly reduce the price of its iPad. The prices are expected to come down as low as $199.
Besides, it is also to be noted that Apple’s iPad 2 is rumored to be launched somewhere around March or April. This could also be one of the reasons for price reduction.
According to unofficial reports, some of the well-known online selling firms including BestBuy and Amazon are set to drop the iPad prices. Whether it is rumor or fact, it is quite logical to guess that the company would try to push the sales of its earlier versions along with its new versions.
“iPad 2 is expected to be released in the Spring so retailers like Best Buy and Amazon should be busy clearing space, both physical and virtual to sell the device. I would expect iPads to drop down to $299 or maybe even $199 for a refurbished model. This probably won’t happen until Apple starts taking pre-sale orders of the iPad 2,” a source quoted.


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Wi-Fi iPhones coming to China Monday
China Unicom, Apple's exclusive carrier in the world's largest cellphone market, announced Friday that it will begin selling iPhones equipped with Wi-Fi receivers on Monday.
This could be the breakthrough both companies have been waiting for. China Unicom, the country's second-largest cellphone company with some 315 million subscribers, began selling iPhones in Oct. 2008, but government restrictions prevented it from marketing the high-speed Wi-Fi version sold in the rest of the world.
Those restrictions have since been lifted, and the 8GB iPhone 3GS that Apple released in the U.S. in June will become available to Chinese customers next week.
Neither Apple (AAPL) nor China Unicom (CHU) have issued sales figures for the iPhone in China, but news reports suggest that they have been overwhelmed by the country's black and gray markets, which have been selling both imported and knock-off Wi-Fi iPhones for more than three years.


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As is tradition, Apple is pulling the cover off of a new Apple Watch at its September event. Rumors suggested that the Apple Watch Series 8 would be a mostly iterative update to last year's model, and that appears to be the case so far: It looks essentially identical to the Series 7.
The first main new feature is a temperature sensor that Apple is tying to women's health. It'll use readings to give an estimate on when you may be ovulating. It's meant to be used overnight, sampling your wrist temperature every five seconds so you can see nightly shifts from your baseline temperature. This will work for everyone, but for people that ovulate it'll help indicate where they are in their cycle. You'll also get notifications on potential deviations from your norm.
There's also a new safety feature called Crash Detection. Much as current watches can detect when you fall, the Series 8 can detect car crashes thanks to two new accelerometers. It works in concert with the other sensors already included in the Apple Watch to detect four different types of crashes, including rollovers, front impact, back impact and side impact.
Apple says that the Series 8 has the same 18-hour battery life, but there's a new low power mode that can give you up to 36 hours on a full charge. It keeps a lot of the core features like activity tracking and fall detection while also turning off things like the always-on display. Anyone who knows they'll be away from a charger for a long time should appreciate this feature, and it's coming to older Watch models as well, from Series 4 onward.
Apple Watch Series 8 comes in four aluminum colors (silver, a black-ish midnight, a gold-ish starlight, and red), as well as three stainless steel finishes — looks like the titanium models are going to be saved for the Apple Watch Pro, which we'll probably hear about momentarily. The GPS-only model starts at $399, while the cellular models start at $499. All will be available on September 16th.
Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.


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NAMAKKAL: The National
Egg Coordination Committee (NECC
) on Thursday reduced the wholesale price of an egg from Rs 4.65 to Rs 4.26 following a fall in demand in Tamil Nadu and Kerala due to starting of Sabarimala season and falling consumption over high price in the retail markets. The new price was fixed during a meeting of the price fixation committee of the organisation in Namakkal
The wholesale price of an egg touched an all-time high of Rs 5.16 in mid-November, when a piece of egg was sold for more than Rs 7 in markets.
According to sources, eggs are piling up in poultry farms in Namakkal district as the production has crossed more than three crore eggs a day. “Due to price hike and Sabarimala season, nearly 45 lakh eggs were being stagnated a day in the poultry farms across the district,” said K S Palanisamy, a poultry farmer. Price increase in wholesale market had reflected adversely in the retail market, he added.
The price started increasing in November with increase in demand from North India. “Besides, many poultry farmers had sold egg-laying birds to the meat industry resulting in a major drop in egg production in the zone,” said P V Senthil, an egg exporter. He said about 20% of birds were sold for meat.
Falling sale in southern states resulted in the stagnation of produce. “The NECC had no option but to reduce the wholesale price of egg in a bid to clear piled up eggs since the second week of November,” said an industrial insider.
“The committee usually reduces the wholesale price to boost sales in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh
and Karnataka during Sabarimala season. We are trying our best to push egg sales in these states,” the source said. “Also poultry farmers were requesting reduction in egg price
,” he added.


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Cambridge-based entrepreneur Andrew Nowell was crowned ‘Internet of Things Founder of the Year’ at the inaugural BMW i UK Tech Founder Awards, coming out on top above the likes of TechSixtyFour, JCC Bowers and Limbic AI.
Cambridge entrepreneur crowned as Founder of the Year
The awards, held last week at Bloomsbury Big Top in London, celebrate and champion the outstanding entrepreneurial journeys of those who create, disrupt and innovate within the UK’s rapidly changing tech landscape.
Nowell created PitPat in 2014 following years working in a leading engineering consultancy within the wearables and smart home markets. He saw PitPat as the opportunity to combine his two biggest passions - dogs and technology - and PitPat is now the bestselling dog activity monitor in the UK.
Of his win, Nowell comments: “I’m honoured to have been recognised alongside so many inspirational entrepreneurs within the tech scene. When we launched our first prototype in 2016 we didn’t know what the future held for us, but since then our product has helped to keep thousands of dogs happy and healthy. Our PitPat Pack together have achieved a staggering 1 billion minutes of activity.”
While 50% of all start-ups are estimated to fail within the first two years of inception, the UK has continued to lead the way for funding activity in the European technology sector, according to figures revealed by Stripe, Tech.eu and Techstars last month.
Nowell continues: “We’re exceptionally proud to manufacture our product here in the UK and support local jobs. This award win and the success of PitPat as a product is proof that entrepreneurs can succeed in what is a very challenging market.”
Francesca James, founder of the BMW i UK Tech Founder Awards added: “As a first year Awards programme, we have been blown away by both the number and quality of applications from across a broad spectrum of niches. It is always an achievement in itself to be named a finalist in any Awards, perhaps more so within the thriving tech space. But special congratulations go to our winners.”
Winners were revealed in 13 other categories across the ceremony, hosted by The Gadget Show’s Georgie Barrat, from a range of tech industries, including AgTech, HealthTech and FinTech.
Image: Andrew Nowell (PitPat Founder), Georgie Barrat (The Gadget Show, hosted the awards), Michael Bateman (PitPat advisor) at Founder Awards
About Andrew Nowell MA MEng MIET
Andy studied Electrical and Information Engineering at Christ’s College Cambridge and has won numerous design awards for his inventions including The Duke of York Award for Electronics, The Alcatel Lucent Award for Innovation and The Siemens Medal.
He gained a deep understanding of the wearables and smart home markets whilst working at a leading engineering consultancy for four years, designing and managing new products for some of the worlds’ largest brands.
Andy always aspired to set up his own company and the perfect opportunity came along with PitPat, allowing him to combine two passions - dogs and technology.
After founding PitPat, Andrew starred on Dragon’s Den in 2016, where he turned down two offers of investment from Nick Jenkins and Deborah Meaden. Following the show, the company has raised over £2m of investment, including investments from FTSE 100 insurer RSA and a global food manufacturer.
PitPat is the must-have product to ensure your dog’s wellbeing. The bestselling dog activity monitor gives your dog a tailored exercise goal, shows you what they’ve been up to while you’ve been apart and the total distance they’ve covered - all through the easy-to-use app. The app’s latest update allows dog owners to keep a history of their dog’s weight, identify unexpected changes and work towards an ideal weight.
We’re PitPat and we’re connecting dogs to the internet. Yes really, we’re not barking mad. We’re using the latest technology to help owners and pet care brands keep dogs happy and healthy. And they love it!
If you want to create high quality solutions and help grow a fantastic and collaborative team, we want to talk to you.


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Retailers need to make the visibility of magazines a greater priority or risk losing sales, industry experts have warned.
The call follows research commissioned by the Professional Publishers Association, which showed an average of 46% of people buy magazines on impulse. The research also showed that magazine buyers on the whole were more valuable to retailers, spending 34% more in-store on other products than non-magazine readers.
Richard Lamb, chairman at Lucid Group, which provides commercial and operational support for a number of buying groups including Costcutter, Bestway and Londis, said: “Unlike publishers and wholesalers, which have the freedom to play around with cover prices, subscriptions and advertising to cover increasing costs in a declining market, retailers can only simply sell more magazines.
“Therefore they need to understand that visibility and how magazines are displayed are crucial to impulse sales – particularly within certain categories including women’s, children’s and puzzles, which tend to attract more impulse purchases.”
Making magazines more visible by keeping them at the front of shops was highlighted as a key opportunity for retailers, particularly at a time where supermarkets are reducing ranges and moving them away from shop entrances.
Paul Sadler, head of retail sales development at Frontline told RN he was seeing range and space either reducing or being reviewed across a large proportion of retail estate, from both independents and multiples.
Mr Lamb added: “In reality you’re not going to drag people through your store to get to newspapers and magazines at the back. If supermarkets are not doing as good a job as they were and reducing magazine space and making them harder to find, then there is definitely an opportunity for independent retailers to pick up their lost sales.”
While impulse sales were revealed to play a key role in magazine purchases, the research also showed that an average of 11% of shoppers would go elsewhere if their chosen magazine was not stocked. But this figure rose to 16% for convenience stores and 15% for high street news, showing these outlets were the most likely to lose sales from not stocking the right magazines.


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November 4th, 2009Retailers preparing for Christmas
Destin — With Halloween over, retailers are gearing up for their busiest time of the year with the fast approaching holiday season.
With the national economy just beginning a slow recovery, many retailers are hoping for a strong Christmas season to push them into the black.
“Everyone is feeling very positive about this year,” said Traci Stokes, marketing director for Silver Sands Factory Stores in Miramar Beach. “I feel like going into the holiday season, the stores feel more positive this year than they did this time last year. We’ve had a good year to date.
“Overall, I think in this area, consumer confidence remains more positive than in most areas and stores are actually looking forward to a good Christmas season,” Stokes added.
She said many retailers at Silver Sands were expecting business to slow down this year and reduced their staffs and merchandise orders accordingly. However, business was stronger than expected the stores ramped up their hiring and orders.
Many stores already have started searching for seasonal employees.
Silver Sands has brought back its Shop for a Job promotion. Shop for a Job is similar to a job fair in that applicants can go to the outlet mall’s services kiosk near the Michael Kors store and fill out one profile sheet that can be taken to as many stores as they want rather than filling out multiple job applications.
Read complete article.
Looking for more information on wholesalers and products? Check out our directory of useful links.
- Hermit Crab Vendor
- Ghigo Press
- Green Tea Hawaii
- Brissys Jewelry
- Smoke Smart
- Raw Vaporizer
View the full directory


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Arkane Lyon’s Deathloop has been delayed till Sept. 14, the studio introduced Thursday. The sport was initially slated for launch on May 21, following its first delay.
Deathloop sport director Dinga Bakaba and artwork director Sebastien Mitton spoke to followers in a video published on Twitter. “We’ve made the decision to delay the launch of Deathloop to September 14, 2021,” Arkane Lyon mentioned in a written statement posted on Twitter. “We’re committed to quality and preserving our team’s ambitions for Deathloop while ensuring the health and safety of everyone at Arkane. We’ll be using this extra time to accomplish our goal: create a fun, stylish, and mind-bending player experience.”
Deathloop initially debuted throughout writer Bethesda Softworks’ E3 presentation in 2019, and on the time, it was scheduled for launch in 2020. In August, Arkane introduced that it had pushed again Deathloop to 2021, citing pandemic-associated challenges — like working from dwelling — as the explanation for the delay. The May 21 launch date was introduced in November earlier than being pushed again as we speak.
Arkane is way from the one studio experiencing delays associated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plenty of studios have delayed their video games, too: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Hogwarts Legacy have been pushed to 2022. Amazon MMO New World was delayed once more, this time till Aug. 31. And Gran Turismo 7 was delayed till 2022, amongst others. More delays are anticipated for video games meant to be launched in 2021; A 2020 survey polled 2,500 builders about working from dwelling, and a 3rd of them mentioned they’d seen delays due to the pandemic.
When it’s launched on Sept. 14, Deathloop will probably be a timed console unique on PlayStation 5, regardless of Microsoft’s current acquisition of Bethesda. The sport can even be launched concurrently on Windows PC.


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Motels are having a moment. It’s a coronavirus thing
Motels are having a moment. It’s a coronavirus thing
After many years of being looked down on, motels are getting new respect in the era of social distancing.
Guests at open-corridor inns may come and go without passing through crowded lobbies, packed elevators or enclosed hallways where viruses may linger.
“In outdoor corridors, people feel safe,” said Mike Riverside of the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. “People can go directly to their rooms” and potentially reduce exposure to the coronavirus.
Outdoor-facing, low-rise motels and hotels also stand to benefit from being typically reached by car, unlike big resorts and urban hotels that rely on air travel to deliver most guests. With many still apprehensive about flying, drive-to destinations are widely expected to be the first beneficiaries of the gradual return of pleasure jaunts away from home.
“There is pent-up demand for leisure travel and nobody is too excited to share an elevator,” said Patrick Scholes, an analyst who follows the lodging and leisure industries for investment bank SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. “For the moment, it definitely does give you an advantage” to have outdoor corridors in your hotel.
Inns where every guest’s front door opens to the elements loom large in the collective memories of Americans, but they are for the most part relics of the 20th century car culture that gave middle-class people the chance to explore their country. At the beginning of auto travel, overnight options were mostly limited to proper city-style hotels or camping near the side of the road.
Soon bare-bones “cabin camps” made up of individual shacks sprang up around rural gas stations. Many were so primitive that mattresses and sheets cost extra.
By the 1930s, according to Smithsonian Magazine, a classier alternative emerged known as cottage courts, made up of tiny cookie-cutter cottages built around a public lawn. Gas stations and restaurants began to appear nearby, and the freedom of the road gained a romantic allure.
The golden era came in the years after World War II when the country was prosperous and President Eisenhower’s interstate highway system had yet to be completed. Motel, a portmanteau of “motor” and “hotel,” became the common term for the inns appearing along Route 66 and other undulating roads that passed through the centers of town after town.
By the 1960s, interstate highways became the preferred venue for car travel, and the motel boom winked out. Open-corridor hotels and motels came to be viewed by guests as less safe than competitors with lobbies and indoor halls.
“Non-guests could also drive their cars right up to the rooms,” Scholes said.
In recent decades, open corridors have also fallen out of favor with hotel investors and developers, hospitality consultant Alan Reay said.
“The exterior-corridor motel has been the stepchild of the hotel business,” he said. “You can’t buy them or sell them.”
Open-corridor properties are no longer being built and existing ones are not being replaced, said another hotel consultant, Stanley Turkel.
“Of the 50,000 hotels in the U.S. today, very few of them have exterior corridors,” he said. “Only a handful of those are left.”
But with the coronavirus laying waste to the hospitality industry because most business and leisure travel is on hold, such inns are getting second looks.
“It’s still too early to tell, but there are some signs that the exterior-corridor properties are doing a little bit better,” said Los Angeles hotelier Brian Ahir, president of Haley Hospitality Enterprises and owner of 10 indoor and outdoor hotels between San Diego and California’s central coast.
When the state locked down for the pandemic in the spring, occupancy dropped in his properties from nearly 80% to about 50%, he said, with travel-dependent properties in Solvang and San Luis Obispo taking the biggest hits.
His outdoor-corridor properties, including a 102-room motel in Lancaster, are doing better, perhaps because they serve as short-term housing for many guests on a budget.
“It’s too early to say which way this is going to go,” he said, but he may upgrade his outdoor properties to make them more appealing to affluent travelers who want to observe social distancing safety measures. “There’s a possibility going forward.”
One idea might be to rethink the traditional motel room layout, where “the only natural light came in off the parking lot,” said hotel architect Michael Strohmer, a principal at HKS.
“What if a developer was looking to reinvent the roadside hotel,” he said, by putting the bathroom in front, as it is found in most indoor hotel rooms because it’s next to the windowless hall.
“You could bring the bathroom forward and put views and natural light on the bed side,” he said. The fronts of open-corridor rooms typically have small windows because the door and air conditioning units take up space.
Build on that with upmarket finishes such as plank floors, decorative tiles and plush fixtures in the bathrooms, Strohmer suggested, and give guests the sense that the hotel has a “happening” swimming pool and bar.
“It’s Instagrammable,” he said. “Get your product into social media.”
Such investment would require reversal of existing industry norms, but Strohmer says travelers’ tastes have shifted with the pandemic in ways that could last a long time.
“People may be reluctant to get packed into airports and planes,” he said. “You’re starting to see the value of road travel again and the nostalgia of a simpler life in the past. Going back to Route 66 and driving to Arizona as a family vacation rather than flying to Hawaii might be more interesting to some people.”


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Financial level is actually a significantly controversial theme most recently based on the latest Eurozone uncertainty. The European Central Standard bank (ECB) has enumerated major financial indicators member countries will take a look at to improve global financial harmony.Full text of Karl Marx’s Doctoral Thesis on the Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature. Among the main signs encompass credit debt thresholds about the gross domestic supplement (GDP), united states government costs, joblessness charge, generation quantities and price of pubic goods with the taxpayers. Ancient greek has drastically been restricted by rigorous guidelines spearheaded via the global financial obstruct inside an endeavor to tame the catastrophe. Advanced economic experts are convinced the crisis is solvable if both sides, Greece and Eurozone, agree with the chief monetary targets in the carrier and permanent. Economic balance implies an balance circumstances relating to global financial signs or symptoms that include rising cost of living, exchange costs, the total amount of money and unemployment stages within an economy. The essay evaluates important economical indicators for helpful economic equilibrium.
Steadiness of fee Forming financial systems are reliant on imports as a type of modern technology relocate. Furthermore, luxury products are shipped in for instance passenger cars, as well as other way of life items have in a negative way affected within the harmony of charge. The gap somewhere between exports and imports interplay cause an equilibrium of transaction. South Korea and China have started as export-concentrated economies commanding vast market sectors of overseas swap with multinationals doing work throughout the world. Manufacturers just like Samsung conglomerate and Huawei have prolonged in foreign countries to bring up new and much better leads in expanding areas just like Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana. Nevertheless, forming economies facial skin negative net export expenses, in accordance with the savings’ reliance on imports. Plans have already been proposed to reduce in size the import payment that include increased income tax regimes for imports; favorable ailments for suppliers with development facial lines in establishing country and transfer replacement. Kenya encounters a debt in swap with China because of the latter’s sizeable economic situation biking on improved need for things in Kenya (Ng’eno 2000, 300). Having said that, current economic experts admit producing nations must execute a mix of coverages to further improve favourable relation to buy and sell. Larger taxes on imports, income tax discounts for companies, liberalization within the economic situation, repair of the exchange estimates spreads to maximize interplay of the market elements. Nonetheless, diplomatic relations and monetary disables greatly reduce particular countries’ chance to put into play this type of policy. So, mutual relationships and setup of recent economics ought to enable countries an financial steadiness to obtain a state’s financial system.
Inflation The cost of living pertains to amount increment of services and goods gradually which affects the acquiring strength of capital. Philip’s process indicates that there have to are present a tradeoff between unemployment and inflation for any financial system to productively use its resources. Each are inversely pertinent, and an increase in just one will cause a decrease in a different (Huang 2005, 1460). For this reason, modern-day business economics claims that for any economic situation to operate at filled jobs some kind of rising prices needs to be helped. IMF has modeled an market model that procedures a country’s capability to settle outstanding debts, upgrading a prudential lending to nations around the world. Inflation is an indicator of this communications regarding revenue offer and money desire according to the adjustments in price tags of goods and services. Consequently, economists believe that some sort of inflation is able to the specific rate. Kenya just recently presented an rising cost of living rates distributed admissible in the long run because the area aims to enhance economical growing at two times digits on a yearly basis. On the other hand, a newly released document revealed that despite mediation by using economic insurance coverage to control external rising prices elements for example reinvigorating of big currencies and the booming transfer expenses. In spite of this, current records out of the IMF specify a close focused conversation among monetary and fiscal coverage ought to support raise a attractive rising prices level.
Conclusively, current economics has used an important job in the present financial degrees of personal countries around the world. The interplay in between inflation interest rates along with favourable stability of installments has significantly strengthened establishing nations escalating cheaply. So, economic experts derive equitable and worthwhile fiscal development tiers from modern day economics to boost economical harmony.


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Just how cheap do you expect a revised version of the Sony PS3 to go for in the market? Well, if we are talking about the upcoming super slim PS3 that is also known by its model number, CECH-4000, then rumor has it that it will retail for just $150 a pop – but that relatively low, low price would mean cutting corners somewhere, and it would be the amount of onboard storage that will be affected this time around, where it will come with just 16GB of storage space.
That is certainly not much at all in this day and age, especially when you consider the amount of data required in modern day games (Blu-ray sized here). It will still take some time before the 16GB PS3 is released though, and do not expect it to be announced at the Gamescom event which is happening next month since Sony’s current model inventory is still way too high in terms of stock count to flood the market with yet another piece of hardware.
Still, this rumored model will most probably be a direct competitor to the 4GB Xbox 360 from Microsoft. I guess there really is a market for consoles on the low end spec after all.


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China’s second-tier cities have a lot to offer Australian businesses looking to expand into the East, writes Tim Harcourt.
In the first series of The Airport Economist we went to the mega metropolis of Shanghai to see first-hand the Chinese economic miracle. We found out about the economic success of the ‘first tier’ cities with the political capital, Beijing, the commercial capital of Shanghai and Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta in the south.
In fact, the Chinese economic miracle was started in the Pearl River Delta when Deng Xiaoping decided to modernize. Shenzhen was developed as a special economic zone and joined forces with the energetic Cantonese in Guangzhou to develop a market economy. Then zones around Shanghai and Beijing developed to form the first tier of modern China urbanization. Since then the Chinese Government has developed the “One Belt One Road” (OBOR) model to open up western China to develop transport links to the rest of Asia and Europe.
This has led to opportunities for the second-tier cities as the first tier can’t absorb the huge number of rural migrants flocking to the first-tier cities. In some ways the Chinese Government is recreating the famous Silk road that enabled its traders to dominate global trade for centuries.
Places like Qingdao, Jinan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, and Wuhan all have an important role to play in developing Chinese industry and pulling more Chinese workers and their families – particularly in rural parts – out of poverty. It is in these cities that China wants to take another great leap forward in economic progress.
But what is a second-tier city? The first tier is the ‘big 4’ of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The first tier only represents 9 per cent of the Chinese population despite their economic power. The second-tier cities are over 3 million people in population and $2,000 GDP per capita. There are 60 second-tier cities including all provincial capitals and main coastal cities like Qingdao which we visit in The Airport Economist series.
Chongquin business district
So, what do second-tier cities do? Some are the heartland of manufacturing as China now produces 80 per cent of the world’s air conditioners, 70 per cent of its mobile phones and 60 per cent of its shoes. But some have multiple functions. So, a city like Chongqing can have a massive car industry and sell laptops and LCD screens, Xian can have a massive aviation industry and Chengdu can host half of the world’s Fortune 500 companies including an Australian business-like Rheem.
And in Qingdao a city can be a major industrial port, the home of Tsingtao brewery, Haier whitegoods, Hisense electronics and even, Epiphone, a massive guitar factory.
But what are these second-tier cities like to do business in? Is it easier or harder than Shanghai or Shenzhen? What about resources and language? Are they the first step to a first-tier city or an alternative market in their own right?
Well, the cities are not as international as Shanghai or Beijing, but increasingly state and regional governments have helped exporters get a start in second-tier cities. For instance, in The Airport Economist, we looked at the example of Shandong and the South Australian Government which have a 30-year-old special sister state relationship. This helped SA companies like Australian Medical Travel (AMT) and CMV wines get a start in Qingdao in Shandong province. In fact, CMV Wines actually produced Shearer’s Hill wine purely for the Shandong province.
So in conclusion, there’s plenty of opportunities for businesses to look north, west and south in the second and third tier cities of China as well as to the bright lights of Shanghai. Just make sure you do your homework and take advantage of any existing government relationships like the one between South Australia and Shandong province, that has been successfully helping exporters for over 30 years.
Tim’s tips for doing business in China’s 2nd tier cities
- English is not spoken here like it is in Beijing or Shanghai – so you’ll need translation
- Second tier cities are alternative markets in their own right – not just stepping stones to the “big four” cities.
- The Government badge still matters so discover your home state’s sister provincial relationship – like Shandong and South Australia – and get to know people in the local administration.
- Take advantage of major events – government trade missions, industry trade shows, and festivals – to meet key decision makers.
- Get to learn a few cultural icons and local history – like knowing about Confucius here in his birthplace in Shandong province.
Check out www.theairporteconomist.com for further details and special offers. The Airport Economist airs on Sky News Business, Friday at 630pm and Sundays at 7pm. If you miss the show you can catch up on The Airport Economist China second-tier cities episode on the show’s website: www.theairporteconomist.com


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Those subsidies have included income tax breaks, tax-free construction bonds, and below-cost loans with lenient repayment terms.
The U.S. is sponsoring a cheap ride for carbon polluters instead of investing in new energy technologies.
The greatest price we pay might be the health and environmental effects of emitting millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change cites estimates of the social costs of carbon and notes that the impacts of climate change are very likely to impose net annual costs that will increase as global temperatures increase.
0002000006660000052C660,Some companies are working the future cost of carbon emissions into their business decisions, Predicting that businesses may soon be charged for the emissions, Google, the search-engine company based in Mountain View, Calif., is already adding that ‘cost’ onto the price ft pays for a kilowatt of energy That allows the company to calculate what it believes will be the actual price of energy down the road and make decisions accordingly.
On the assumption that the total costs of fossil fuels will be higher in the future, Google says it is building data centers in areas with abundant renewable energy capacity.
What’s needed, and when?
The responsibility for reducing oil consumption shouldn’t rest solely with corporations or consumers. We need a national energy policy that accounts for the environmental costs. Countries such as Germany and Japan are far ahead of the U.S. in the production of a new energy infrastructure. Importing those solutions will prove to be a lot more expensive for the U.S. than developing our own successful incentives for innovation.
In this country, because of subsidies, it’s hardly surprising that traditional sources of energy are less expensive than renewable ones. Redirecting resources to alternative energies will lower their costs.
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is calling for strong federal and state leadership to encourage consumers and corporations to use energy more efficiently, develop smarter products, and make those products effective and affordable choices for consumers and for the health of the environment.
Mount Davis land owner


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The Verge recently posted an expose on Amazon’s “non-compete” contracts it has its employees sign. These non-compete agreements force temp workers & laid off workers to agree not to work for any competitor who sells similar products as Amazon. Given the scope of products sold on Amazon, these agreements severely restrict where they can work.
“Noncompetes can also depress workers’ wages. Traditionally, a key strategy to keep employees from defecting to a competitor has been simply to offer competitive wages, but a company that uses non-compete agreements can feel less pressure to pay well.”


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- Strategy and Management
- 4 min read
Big tech sets up a ‘Kill Zone’ for industry upstarts
Big technology companies aren’t necessarily bad, but they shouldn’t be allowed to close the market off to young and innovative upstarts.
Back in the early days of digital photography, I used a website called Picasa to organize and share my photos. It was like a whole new world opened up to me — suddenly I could get feedback from much more experienced and skilled photographers halfway around the world, discover their work and find visual inspiration.
But by the time I started using it, Google had already acquired the company. During the next few years, the app seemed to stagnate — there were rumors that Google was starving it of resources, and users drifted away. In 2016 Picasa was killed off for good, and anyone who still had photos there had them moved to Google Photos — a site I have never heard of anyone using.
And Picasa’s acquisition, and subsequent decline, was a powerful demonstration of big tech companies’ ability to devour and destroy promising young startups. Similar things have happened to some other companies in the social-media space.
People in the industry are starting to worry about this phenomenon. O’Reilly Media founder Tim O’Reilly talks of big tech companies “eating the ecosystem.” Others are talking about a “kill zone,” where new and innovative upstarts are throttled. For some startup founders, acquisition by a big company is the dream — they’re happy to walk away with a small fortune and move on to the next stage of their careers. But there’s a danger that big companies, being less emotionally invested in the companies they acquire, will leave them to wither on the vine.
And even more importantly, a kill zone can result not from acquisition, but from the threat of overwhelming competition. If founders believe that big companies will copy their innovations cheaply and compete them out of the market, they’ll never spend the time and effort to create those innovations in the first place.
A third way big tech can kill startups is by hiring all the best engineers. Technology ecosystems thrive on talent, and when Google and Facebook and Amazon are offering unbeatable compensation packages with strong job security and plenty of perks and benefits, startups might have to scrounge for the scraps.
Do kill zones really exist? Researchers have been trying to answer that question. Facebook commissioned a study by consultant Oliver Wyman that concluded that venture investment in the technology sector wasn’t lower than in other sectors, which led Wyman to conclude that there was no kill zone.
But economist Ian Hathaway noted that looking at the overall technology industry was too broad. Examining three specific industry categories — internet retail, internet software and social/platform software, corresponding to the industries dominated by Amazon, Google and Facebook, respectively — Hathaway found that initial venture-capital financings have declined by much more in the past few years than in comparable industries. That suggests the kill zone is real.
A recent paper by economists Wen Wen and Feng Zhu reaches a similar conclusion. Observing that Google has tended to follow Apple in deciding which mobile-app markets to enter, they assessed whether the threat of potential entry by Google (as measured by Apple’s actions) deters innovation by startups making apps for Google’s Android platform. They conclude that when the threat of the platform owner’s entry is higher, fewer app makers will be interested in offering a product for that particular niche. A 2014 paper by the same authors found similar results for Amazon and third-party merchants using its platform.
If innovation is being deterred, it’s a bad thing. The U.S. has experienced a decline in the number of high-growth companies since 2000, contributing to a reduction in business dynamism. Nor are the big platform owners necessarily picking up the slack — if the mere threat of their competition is enough to generate a kill zone, they may never end up entering many of the new markets or offering new products. The innovation simply won't happen.
What is to be done? Breaking up big tech companies wouldn’t help, since the power of network effects would simply result in the re-establishment of one dominant platform in each sector. Economist and antitrust consultant Hal Singer suggests that the Federal Trade Commission enforce a nondiscrimination standard on platform companies, forcing them to treat third-party providers the same as their own competing products or services.
That seems like the best place to start. If that’s not enough to negate the kill zones, tax breaks or other policies to help startups compete might be in order. Big technology companies aren’t necessarily bad, but they shouldn’t be allowed to close the market off to young and innovative upstarts.
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When garage sales were trending in Canada in the '70s
Canadians were seizing the opportunity to make quick cash by unloading their 'unused junk'
Today, a hand-scrawled sign advertising a garage sale would be clear enough to explain what was going on.
But four decades ago, the concept seemed to need a bit more explanation — at least to people watching The National.
"With inflation going up and the Canadian dollar going down, people are looking at different ways of making money," George McLean told viewers on Sept. 22, 1979.
"There's a new money-making trend catching on," McLean added, right before reporter Sheldon Turcott began a survey of the garage sale world.
As Turcott went on to explain, the trend saw people looking at what household items they could live without in order to make some quick cash.
Making money from 'unused junk'
"Thousands of people are scouring their attics and basements. They're holding garage and lawn sales," he said. "And these temporary markets are drawing big crowds every weekend."
Among those crowds were "professionals" who arrived early to "scoop up the really good bargains."
The viewers at home got a look at some of the previously owned merchandise available at these sales.
Mix-and-match dishes, random earthenware, and a lamp with a dented shade were among the goods shown on The National.
"Sometimes you wonder why people would buy it," Turcott said, referring to some of the more suspect items being offered for sale.
Turcott pointed out that hosting such a sale was a fair bit of work for the sellers.
"But with the prospect of making a few hundred dollars on unused junk, most say it's worth the trouble," said Turcott.
A passing fad?
The National also took a brief look at how the growing number of garage sales was affecting charity organizations.
Goodwill, for example, had seen a recent drop in its donations, which appeared linked to the trend of seeing people skip the middle step of donating to a thrift store and selling off their old items on their own.
"Unfortunately, for Goodwill, people today seem to be living the old adage about charity beginning at home," Turcott said.
"For that reason, they hope garage sales are only a passing fad."


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Lower TV sales temper JB Hi-Fi profit
Consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi made a A$82 million (NZ$101m) profit for the half-year ended December, but same-store sales declined due to a slowdown in television sales.
In New Zealand sales fell 6 per cent to NZ$117.5m, while gross profit declined 3.4 per cent to NZ$20.1m. Same-store sales in New Zealand slipped 5.6 per cent.
The retailer said the result for New Zealand was affected by the Rugby World Cup, which had delivered a boost to sales in the first half of the previous financial year.
It expected pricing to remain aggressive in consumer electronics in New Zealand throughout the second half of the year.
The 3 per cent increase in net profit year-on-year for the group followed a similar-sized increase in total sales to A$1.8 billion.
Sales at JB Hi-Fi branded stores in New Zealand and Australia rose 3.1 per cent but same-store sales fell off by 3.5 per cent.
Chief executive Terry Smart said the TV category was largely behind the decline.
"The industry has seen TV sales decline over the past few years as the category moves towards a more typical replacement-driven sales market," he said.
But the ASX-listed company was pleased with the overall results, with total sales growing and an improved gross margin resulting in net profit growth.
Gross margin increased to 21.5 per cent for the half, up from 21.2 per cent year-on-year. Earnings before interest and tax (ebit) rose 2.5 per cent to A$123.7m.
In New Zealand gross margin increased to 17.1 per cent, from 16.7 per cent, while ebit rose 18 per cent to $2.6m.
Smart said the retailer had started the 2013 calendar year positively, with year-on-year sales growth of 11.7 per cent in January, and same-store growth of 4.2 per cent.
The company predicts full-year sales will reach A$3.25b and net profit to land between A$108m and A$112m.
That is based on a fall in same-store sales of about 3 per cent in the year and gross margin to remain unchanged at 21.5 per cent.
"In the second half the 2012 financial year, we saw aggressive discounting across the market, which while driving sales, did impact gross margin," Smart said.
"As we cycle this period we anticipate sales growth may be more challenging, but this should be offset by a relatively stable gross margin environment."
JB Hi-Fi has 13 stores in New Zealand, and 163 in Australia.


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Eating in Peace: Meat-Free Zone & Friends of Animals Forge Alliance
Friends of Animals recently joined with the Meat-Free Zone Campaign, and a symbol of endorsement from Friends of Animals will appear on Meat-Free Zone vegan signs in restaurants throughout New York City. Because we believe a plant-based diet is the most direct and holistic form of animal rights activism, we’re committed to supporting the community of vegan restaurants. To this end, we publish Vegan Restaurant Guides, a source of information for diners in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle — with more to come. And now, restaurants listed in our Vegan Restaurant Guides will be displaying Meat-Free Zone vegan signs with our symbol.
Andy Glick, founder of the Woodstock Animal Rights Movement (WARM), came up with the idea of the Meat-Free Zone about five years ago. Andy was operating the WARM store in Woodstock, which was completely vegan — a Meat-Free Zone in itself. Andy thought it would be appropriate to have a sign up that let customers know that his store did not contain any animal products at all. From there, the idea sprang.
The Meat-Free Zone campaign has been in effect now for about two years. “The signs are meant to be a logo or symbol of a meat-free and cruelty-free lifestyle, very similar in effect to the smoke-free zone campaign,” says Andy. From homes and workplaces to restaurants throughout North America, the idea is spreading. “Our intention,” says Andy, “is to eventually gain acceptance for the Meat-Free Zone as the standard of living rather than the exception.”
The mailing address for Woodstock Animal Rights Movement (WARM) is:
P.O. Box 746
Woodstock,NY 12498 USA


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Google says in a new blog post that it will now allow third-party developers to create custom Tiles for Wear OS. It first introduced Tiles in 2019, widgets that users could glance at and swipe among to get information about weather, calendar notifications, or stats like heart rate. All of the Tiles used to be directly from Google or the device’s manufacturer.
Its Jetpack Tiles library for third-party developers is now in alpha. Google notes in the blog post:
Tiles can be designed for many use cases, like tracking the user’s daily activity progress, quick-starting a workout, starting a recently played song, or sending a message to a favorite contact. While apps can be immersive, Tiles are fast-loading and focus on the user’s immediate needs. If the user would like more information, Tiles can be tapped to open a related app on the watch or phone for a deeper experience.


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Sweet business opens on Route 140
"We looked around and it occurred to us that all the ice cream shops were on the eastern side of town. We thought, it's worth a shot," said resident and co-owner of the shop, Jim French.
French started the business with his 20-year-old daughter Katie, a business and finance major at UMass Dartmouth, in a room next to the Country Café, in a Route 140 building his family owns just before the intersection with Route 62.
"It's a good experience for her. She is learning the craft of running a business. She has shown me that she is certainly capable," said French, who added that Katie keeps the place spotless. "When the place closes at night, it just shines."
The building also houses the café, and the Sagatabscot apple stand that French and his family run.
French said his daughter helped with the entire process of planning and implementing the business. "She is well organized and has a good eye for design," he said.
The shop sells ice cream from Bliss Brothers Dairy of Attleboro, which caters to businesses who want to sell high end, creamy ice cream, said French.
"They are a great company to work with. And oh, is their ice cream good," said French. Bliss Brothers also supplies ice cream to Rota Springs and Pinecroft Dairy.
Residents have already shown their appreciation for the new shop.
"It has been very encouraging. People like the shop, people have said they like having something on the west side of town. The response has been great. We've already got loyal customers who keep coming back. They seem to be enthusiastic about it," said French.
French is curious to see how well the ice cream shop will do in combination with the café and apple stand, which will open the weekend after Labor Day.
And as for French's favorite flavor so far? "I've take a shine to the black raspberry chocolate chip low-fat yogurt," he said. "It's to die for."


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We’re pleased to announce that both of our next year’s events (Wawel Cup 6-10.07 & Wawel Spring Cup 1-3.04) are on the list of the biggest and most important competitions in Poland.
We are happy to cooperate with Polish Orienteering Association, and we look forward to broader partnership in future! Our common goal will be to promote Orienteering in Poland!
We encourage to visit a brand new Polish Orienteering Association website – here.
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When it comes to finding ways to grab consumers’ attention, erecting giant bagels that protrude from the roof of a downtown food sampling display and putting live-action whirlpool bathtubs at the corner of a retailer’s parking lot have placed Toronto company Steel Space productions into a new league of pop-up event marketing.
Steel Space buys old shipping containers that have reached the end of their life cycle and recycles them into giant street installations to combine outdoor, event and experimential marketing for a host of big brands. The 20-year old containers are transformed into branded displays by a team of in-house engineers, graphic designers, furniture fabricators, electricians and plumbers, and are fitted with a hydraulic system so they can be lifted onto flatbeds for transport from location to location. The company’s clients have included Bell, Nintendo, Playstation, Orangina, L’Oréal, Wrigley, Sony and Kia.
A new cross-Canada promotion for Dempster’s that started last week transformed a 20-foot shipping container into a giant toaster, with inflatable half bagels emerging from the top. Dempster’s toasted and distributed over 6,000 bagels to curious onlookers who formed long lines at downtown Toronto’s Dundas Square.
“I think more companies are trying to be involved with their consumers’ lifestyle,” said Rory Amelio, business development manager at Steel Space, which was formed in 2009 by Pierre Mathieu Roy, who had worked in marketing for years at consumer brands such as O’Neill and Crocs.
When you launch packaged bagels that are sold in a grocery store, they are not sold “in the form that consumers sample it,” he said. “It is not toasted yet, it has no butter or jam or cream cheese on it.”
One of the biggest impediments to companies when they launch a new consumer product, whether it be a oatmeal cookie or a line of toilet paper, is to get consumers to try it. Direct mail, grocery store and other venues for sampling can help get those products into the hands of consumers, though the scope and technology of Steel Case’s installations go beyond a typical trade show booth or mobile sampling event. Steel Space’s containers have been used primarily for promotions and sampling, though they have pop-up retail store capabilities as well.
“Brands really want consumers to be able to engage and interact with the brand,” Mr. Amelio said. “They really want people to have an extension to that brand when they leave [the event]. With [a brand] like Bell, it is not as much about sampling as it is about acquainting people with the experience of a suite of products or services.”
Event and experiential marketing are becoming a bigger part of an advertiser’s media mix in an era of media congestion. Consumers are beset with advertising fatigue on multiple technologies and platforms these days, and many are keen to tune out or fast-forward through TV ads. Events promote brands and tend to engender consumer goodwill at the same time, particularly when they give out free samples.
For Maax, a Montreal-based company that makes luxury bath products and fixtures, Steel Space created a mobile showroom that went on the road last May for five months, conducting 175 events at 40 retailers in Canada and wholesalers and distributors in 16 U.S. states. The company applied the marketing budget that would normally go into trade shows and spent it on the promotion, which featured five functional bathtubs in an openair display.
“A slogan that we use for everything is ‘enjoy the experience’ and what Steel Space was able to create for us was a concept where we could bring that to customers,” said Anne Gagnon, director customer service and commercial training at Maax.
“It was all about living the experience and enjoying the experience. Some people have actually gotten into [the bathtubs] in the hotter states, but it is more about really showing [people] what the system does – the quiet pumps, the whirlpool.”
She said the company has seen a spike in inquiries for product information and sales gains in the products shown in varying regions. “It is also just [raising] the whole brand awareness. It is giving people a whole new perspective on Maax. None of our competition is showing up in parking lots the way we are.”
As a result, Maax will take its container all over the U.S. this year, she said. “It was very successful last year. Every [retailer] who saw us last year wants us to come back,” and many additional events have been booked.
In addition to the promotion itself, the scale of Steel Space’s installations also make them a form of outdoor advertising for passers-by.
“We also erect a 10 by 18 billboard on top of [many of the installations],” Mr. Amelio said. “The site where the activation happens is the bull’s eye, but there is a zone around the bull’s eye farther away where people see a lineup and they can see the branding on top as well.”


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About 84 million people pass through the Atlanta airport each year, and another 55,000 work there. But if they want to buy Georgia lottery tickets, they're out of luck.
Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Lottery Corp. hope to change that by opening a lottery kiosk in the main terminal of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Other airport locations could follow.
Lottery officials are in talks with airport General Manager Ben DeCosta, who said he's open to the idea.
"If we can make sure it works for everyone, then sure," DeCosta said. "It does have entertainment value for people."
The governor believes it could "certainly bring millions of dollars into the state for much-needed HOPE scholarships," said Perdue's spokesman, Dan McLagan. "It's an exciting possibility from our point of view."
Financial and other details still have to be worked out. The city-owned airport likely would get a percentage of sales, just as stores do, McLagan said. Typically that's about 7 percent.
Hartsfield-Jackson tried lottery ticket sales at a newsstand and a gift shop several years ago. "It really flopped with the retailers because it was mainly airport employees who were buying the tickets," DeCosta said. The employees typically bought only lottery tickets, taking the place of travelers who would buy more and more profitable items such as bottled water, magazines and candy, he said.
The new plan is for a lottery-only booth in a high-traffic area of the airport's atrium, staffed by lottery employees. The proposed location might have to be shut down during especially busy periods because of long security lines, DeCosta said.
Judging from sales at other large airports, the Georgia Lottery could expect to sell more than $2 million worth of lottery tickets a year at Hartsfield- Jackson.
Miami's airport has one lottery kiosk in its main terminal, with annual sales of $3 million.
Chicago's O'Hare the second-busiest U.S. airport after Atlanta's had $2.4 million in lottery sales from four kiosks last year. That makes it one of the top 100 retailers for the Illinois Lottery.
In exchange, O'Hare gets $1 a year in rent and state troopers patrolling the roads in and out of the airport, said Annette Martinez, spokeswoman for O'Hare.
The Georgia Lottery is one of the nation's most successful lotteries, earning $2.71 billion in the 12 months ending June 30, 2004. From that, it contributed $782 million to education programs.
But sales dropped $4.1 million during the first half of the current budget year, and lawmakers adopted a series of cost-cutting steps that could kick in if the trend continues.
The lottery funds HOPE college scholarships for students with a B average and pre-kindergarten for 4-year- olds.


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A collection of new celebrity chefs are taking the licensing world by storm with their dynamic personalities and unique product extensions.
The Winterthur Museum has tapped Art Needlepoint for a range of needlepoint designs inspired by the museums' drawings, prints and floor coverings.
Bedding and homewares licensee Character World has appointed Lindsey Bonney as head of supply chain operations for the EMEA region.
The stars of the HGTV series "Property Brothers," twin brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott, are heading to QVC with a new line of backyard décor.
The Walt Disney Company and Swarovski have launched "Cinderella: The Exhibition" in London, showcasing costumes and props from the new movie, Cinderella.
Fashion designer Kenneth Cole has paired with the Geneva Watch Group for a new line of smartwatches that will hit stores in April.
Elmer's Products has teamed with the non-stick coating brand LiquiGlide to develop a range of new adhesive products.
Golf ball brand Volvik has appointed Stan Denenberg as its new director of licensing.
kathy ireland Worldwide has signed a new deal for home cleaning products and is planning a re-launch of the co-branded line of NuGene cosmetics.
LMCA is bringing the Westinghouse Electric Corp. brand to another new category– home water purification.
Nostalgia Home Fashions has unveiled five new bedding collections inspired by the British TV drama "Downton Abbey."
Licensed graphics company Fathead has launched a new premium home décor customization service called Total Coverage.
Tipp Distributors has tapped the Star Candle Company to create a line of scented candles inspired by the Mexican soft drink Jarritos.
Westinghouse Electric Corporation has partnered with Shanghai ICSON to bring Westinghouse-branded small home appliances to mainland China.
Lifestyle brand Extreme is expanding its international presence with two new deals for apparel and electronics in Europe.
Italian fashion brand and retailer Pynkiss Milano is planning a home décor line as well as a range of Abayas featuring Hello Kitty.
SEGA will introduce new characters in Sonic the Hedgehog’s upcoming "Sonic Boom" TV series.
Perry Ellis International has tapped Perfect Fit Industries to develop bedding products under the Perry Ellis Portfolio and Laundry by Shelli Segal brands.
Fitness company Zumba and GoNoodle, a provider of online physical activity breaks, have teamed up for National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.
Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi has released a new craft line of knitting yarns exclusively at North American arts and crafts store Michaels.
Jamba Juice has entered into an exclusive multi-year licensing agreement with Hamilton Beach Brands to create a line of branded blenders and juicing products.
©2015 ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS INC. All rights reserved.


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>> In the past few years, our attention has been on New York Fashion Week and where it will move after the Bryant Park lease runs out in 2010, but new revelations about the future of Los Angeles Fashion Week bring it temporarily to the forefront.
Sources told Los Angeles magazine that the five-year LA Fashion Week partnership between IMG, who also runs NY Fashion Week, and Smashbox Studios in Culver City, where LA Fashion Week is held, will end after the Spring 2009 presentations in October. When asked for comment, an IMG spokesperson merely said: "The focus of IMG and Smashbox continues to be the October shows and we won’t comment further on what is currently only rumor and speculation."
If IMG does pull out, ownership of LA Fashion Week would be up for grabs — Smashbox Studio owners Dean and Davis Factor could go it alone or look for a new partnership. Several options have been suggested, not in the least of which involves moving the shows to Hollywood. But as Racked LA puts it, "The truth is the application of the NY Fashion Week structure on LA has never quite worked. Let's hope this is an opportunity for improvement and finding a platform that works for the city's designers."


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Samsung introduced its three new mid-range smartphones last month including the Galaxy A52, A52 5G, and A72. These devices come with Android 11-based One UI 3.1 out of the box, which is the latest software system to date. Moving on, the company released many new s/w updates, which included new features and improvements.
Now, the South Korean tech giant started sending the latest OTA update to the Galaxy A52 4G smartphones in several markets including Afghanistan, Australia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam and more.
Identified via release number A525FXXU1AUD2, the new Galaxy A52 update installing the April 2021 security patch, which brings fixes for 21 CVEs from Samsung and 30 critical CVEs from Google. Aside from this, the changelog shows a handful of new features.
However, Samsung exclusively bringing Snapchat filters in the stock Camera app of the Galaxy A52 and A72. At the same time, this update log shows some of the Camera features from the Galaxy S21 series such as High-Key mono/Low-Key mono, Backdrop effect in the Portrait photo mode.
In addition, it’s bringing improvements for the Camera picture quality to enhance the snapping experience. Although the Galaxy A52 users had not yet reported any kind of issues with the performance of its touchscreen, the update enhances the stability of the touchscreen.
- Provide new features for a better camera experiences
- Portrait : Adds High-Key mono/Low-Key mono, Backdrop effect.
- Camera picture quality has been improved.
- Call quality has been improved.
- The stability of Touch screen has been improved.
- The security of your device has been improved
How to check for update:
- Go to Settings
- Scroll down to the Software update section
- Then Download and install


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NEW YORK — There was a Holi celebration at the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan on Sunday.
The event included a puppet show for kids, dancing and plenty of traditional Indian food.
People also got to toss signature color powders or shop at the outdoor Indian market on Front Street, which features nearly a dozen Indian-owned businesses.
Holi is the traditional Hindu festival of colors, celebrating unity, love and joy.
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January 30, 2021
Hello and welcome to Pipeline, where unlike the public markets, we cover the low-risk, low-return world of VC investing! This week: why every VC firm has a marketing partner, the power shift from VCs to founders that underlies this and why VC firms may now cut back marketing and other services for founders.
(Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.)
The growth of marketing functions at VC firms over the past decade is a key indicator of the intense competition between VC firms. But beneath that, it's a broader story of the shift in power between startup founders and venture investors that has changed how tech companies are built. With the news of Andreessen Horowitz launching a media property, it's worth looking at how we got here, and what that means going forward.
When Andreessen Horowitz formed in 2009, few VC firms did media outreach and few had an in-house marketing person. That changed when a16z brought on Margit Wennmachers in 2010.
Meanwhile, and this has not been discussed as much, the VC startup market was changing.
VCs were no longer in the position of power, where startups had to trek down to Sand Hill Road and seek money from a room full of partners. Competition to invest in top deals was getting fiercer than ever. Startups now had so many options for funding, they could choose. So VCs had to build their brand.
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, both experienced tech founders, wanted to build something different when they started their firm.
Meanwhile, this power dynamic between founders and investors has continued to push ever more toward founders to this day — with even more capital options for founders — and that probably won't change unless there is a big market downturn. So venture firms are continuing to look for new ways to add value for entrepreneurs, which will drive more future changes in the industry and create more ways for founders to raise funding.
When a16z first jumped into the market, some firms grumbled about the tons of coverage it was getting.
But virtually every venture firm soon followed and hired a marketing partner, as the position became known. They also followed a16z and built out services teams in talent, business development and marketing. Why has marketing become critical for VC firms?
Now, the VC services trend may be changing as some firms start to quietly cut back on offerings for startups, whether through cuts or attrition. GV, for example, cut back last year. Kleiner Perkins hasn't replaced marketing chief Amanda Duckworth, who left last year. Beyond the pandemic, there are theories for why this is happening.
Meanwhile, the news that a16z is launching its own media entity is a continuation of its original strategy. The firm always valued "owned" media, writing blog posts, books and WSJ opinion pieces, and this is another example of that. While there is certainly more tension between the press and VCs/tech companies — the reasons for which require another column — the purported beef between a16z and the press, and the idea that this new media venture is a move to avoid critical press coverage, is overblown, in my humble opinion.
Chinese technology and innovation are shaping our lives and workplaces. We launched Protocol | China to give you the news, analysis and research on the people, power and politics of Chinese tech. We move beyond the day's headlines to tell you what's next at the intersection of technology, policy and business in the world's largest country.
Deena Shakir is a partner at Lux Capital, a venture firm investing in emerging tech that raised $1 billion across two funds in 2019. She was formerly a partner at GV, worked at Google, and while at the State Department helped launch President Obama's first Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2010. Her Lux investments include H1, Shiru, Mos and Neo.tax.
What product or service are you totally, even irrationally, loyal to?
Google Home. One of my pandemic projects has been attempting to fully automate my household — or at the very least, my house. I have timers go off to remind the kids about dinnertime and bedtime, to automatically start my robot vacuum/mop after dinner, to turn on my bedroom lights and start playing NPR when I'm getting out of bed, to water my trees when it's dry out — and skip on rainy days — to turn on the patio lights at dusk. There may be a lot of chaos inside the house, but at least I've got the IoT on lockdown!
What's a secret obsession of yours that most people don't know about?
Fast food. My friends literally had a McNugget display for me at a surprise birthday dinner one year. I know, I know, I invest in health care and alternative proteins and am really into horticulture, don't @ me.
What problem do you want to see a startup solve?
A cure for cancer. And while we seek that moonshot, I will continue to invest in companies improving health outcomes and reducing risk for cancer and other debilitating diseases.
What company or startup sector is the most underrated right now?
Women's health! It shocks me how many investors still think it's a "niche market," despite representing 50% of the population and more than 80% of dollars spent in health care.
I'm digging a lot into fertility these days. There are so many challenges across the IVF journey, from sperm selection to embryo selection to misinformation. Lots of opportunity for innovation, especially the application of AI.
What's the biggest problem in venture and what needs to be done to solve it?
Bias. The "diversity" problem in VC is not a pipeline or talent issue; it is fundamentally about bias. I am passionate about addressing the challenges around biases in VC, and have written about efforts GPs and LPs can take to mitigate them.
Although 2020 was a record-setting year in terms of VC deals, the percentage of dollars going to women-founded companies dropped from the prior year. It doesn't help that the pandemic has had an outsized impact on women and under-represented minorities in general. Women — especially Black and Latinx women — are dropping out of the workforce at unprecedented rates. There is ample data that shows the greater ROI of investing in diverse founding teams and boards; it's better for the macro economy, scientific innovation and individual investors alike. And it starts with addressing the deep-rooted biases.