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2020, it’s safe to say, has been a year.
I’ll leave it to greater minds to handle the more profound (read: grimmer) takes on that conclusion, but suffice it to say, the whole year-ness of 2020 so deeply pervaded the culture we consume, it hit the very foundations of how we consume culture in the first place.
Which is to say, regardless of how much it might have felt like the past few years were already defined by the rise of streaming, 2020 truly was the Year of Streaming. Between a global pandemic that trapped billions of people indoors for months on end, the launch of nearly half a dozen major new studio-centric streaming services, and the movie/theater/live music industries facing an upheaval so massive they had to evolve on an atomic level, the one constant has been the near-total ubiquity of streaming video on demand. There is literally no way to talk about culture in 2020—pop or otherwise—without talking about streaming.
So: Let’s talk about streaming. The ups. The downs. The quicks. The bites. Let’s hit all the trends that defined streaming this year, in the year that streaming defined.
1. Gotta Catch ‘Em All: The New Kids on the Block(+)
It’s basically a TV Twitter right of passage to joke about the looming rubicon across which the cost of keeping up with the Streaming Joneses will end up surpassing the cost of the premium cable fees those streaming subscriptions were meant to replace. Never has the punchline felt as precipitous, though, as it did this past year, which saw the launch of no fewer than five major new streaming services—Disney+ and Apple TV+ last November, Quibi in April, HBO Max in May, and Peacock in July.
Quibi didn’t make it through the year (RIP, LOL), but the other four, they’re straight up thriving. Honestly, if you love TV (which, hi) and have any interest in keeping up with the pop culture zeitgeist, 2020 has made it all but impossible for you to walk away without a subscription to all of them. HBO Max you need, obviously, because like it or not (I do not), that’s where all the cool kids are with the HBO catalogue, Adult Swim, Studio Ghibli, and originals like the buzzy Flight Attendant—and besides, starting at the end of the month, it’s where you’ll need to be to access half the blockbuster films you still can’t go to a theater to see. Disney+ you need because of Baby Yoda and his Space Dad, sure, but also because The Simpsons, Gravity Falls, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift are there, and because you can bundle it with Hulu and ESPN+ (and, in international markets, Star+)—oh, and also because, starting next month, that’s where all that sweet, sweet new Marvel and Star Wars extended universe content will be. Apple TV+ you don’t really need yet, maybe, but if you buy any new Apple product, you get a year of it free, and do you know how many times you can rewatch Ted Lasso in a year? So many! Plus, Dickinson is cooler than enough people realize. As for Peacock, well, maybe its Originals line-up is still materializing (save for The Amber Ruffin Show and Saved by the Bell), but in the meantime, it’s got Parks and Rec and Columbo, and an ad-supported subscription tier that’s absolutely free. (Though be warned, if you’re using Peacock to access The Office, they’ve put Seasons 3-9 behind the subscription paywall. I told you—can’t leave 2020 without all four!)
Niche streamers, in the meantime, aren’t getting any thinner on the ground—every service on our Streaming Subscription Guide bulked up their libraries in 2020, IMDb TV even going so far as to start distributing, with Anthony Horowitz’s slick teen spy series Alex Rider, scripted originals of its own. (A reboot of Leverage is due later in 2021.) January, meanwhile, is set to bring us discovery+, a reality-focused streamer from Discovery that is launching with the largest extant library of any streamer to date, and exclusive access to the entire Planet Earth series.
Sorry, cable—we really should have appreciated you more even after you were the only (expensive) game in town.
2. Second Chances: Weirdos Movin’ on Up (or at Least, Over)
When it was still unclear who might come out on top of the streaming wars (well, who might be able to come out on top, behind Netflix), both Facebook and YouTube made serious moves to compete. As two of the world’s richest tech companies, it wasn’t unreasonable to imagine they might have a chance—Amazon’s Prime Video was carving out a solid enough niche for itself, and it didn’t have either YouTube’s streaming infrastructure or Facebook’s social networking framework behind it. With Facebook Watch bringing in talent like Catherine Zeta-Jones (Queen America), Elizabeth Olsen (Sorry for Your Loss) and the creator of SKAM (Gen Z’s favorite series for five years running), and YouTube Premium giving free rein to creators with just killer vision—Liza Koshy, Shawn Simmons, Lauren LeFranc—“not unreasonable” rapidly got upgraded to “genuinely possible.” Shortly thereafter, DC Comics came in with its own proprietary streamer, DC Universe, and got to work making cool, weird shows that DC’s broadcast home, the CW, would never in a million years dream of giving series pick-ups to.
And then, they all chickened out. Through some combination of low viewership numbers (which the public will never be made privy to) and poor platform synergy (turns out few people understand how to access Facebook Watch, and ever fewer people who already have more free YouTube to watch than they could get to in a thousand lifetimes end up all that interested in paying to watch the kinds of high-budget scripted content they’ve turned on YouTube to avoid?), neither Facebook Watch nor YouTube Premium ended up being the fertile home for original scripted streaming content that either platform had been hoping for. DC Universe might have done better, but with its parent company, WarnerMedia, getting ready to launch HBO Max, keeping the DCU platform running was a losing proposition. Which means, all those really great shows? The ones that got greenlit in a streaming bubble when more mainstream platforms might not have given them the chance? They were clean out of luck.
Clean out of luck, that is, until this year when all of a sudden a ton of these weirdo orphaned scripted series were getting licensed to new streaming homes—some, even, with official promises of renewal. From Facebook Watch, Sacred Lies and Limetown headed over to Peacock. From YouTube Premium, Cobra Kai headed to Netflix and Step Up: High Water headed to STARZ (both with renewals), Dallas & Robo headed to SYFY’s new late-night animation block, TZGZ, and Wayne headed to Prime. In a slightly more lateral move, meanwhile, DC Universe sent Stargirl (renewed) and Swamp Thing (not) to the CW, and Harley Quinn and Doom Patrol (renewed, both) to HBO Max.
As sad as it still is to lose some of the biggest scripted swings these nascent platforms took—YouTube Premium’s Impulse and Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television are particularly tough losses, as is Facebook Watch’s SKAM Austin—seeing cross-platform pick-ups become more than just the rare exception to an unspoken streaming rule is heartening, especially for the weirdo series that will always have audiences, if streamers (or analog networks!) are willing to go out and find them.
And look—it’s a pattern that’s already paying dividends: In 2022, Natasha Allegri’s weirdly wonderful Bee and Puppycat will return for a second season on Netflix, where it’s moving over from its original home on Cartoon Hangover/VRV. How long it might stay there, once Netflix gets its subscription-first algorithm’s claws into, is anyone’s guess. But for now, long live the weirdos!
3. Pivot to Reality
Before Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal made their various bids for Netflix’s streaming crown (or, at the very least, for Prime’s or Hulu’s), both YouTube and Facebook made attempts of their own—YouTube Premium and Facebook Watch. The original series to come out of each of these attempts were, for the most part, great (see the “Weirdos” section above for more), but neither platform was ever really built to thrive in the scripted content game.
It made sense, then, that 2020 saw the streaming arms of both sites pivot hard into the kind of reality-first programming that their respective user bases were already logging on to see—think documentaries (Ball in the Family and Humans of New York on Facebook Watch; RESIST and The Age of A.I. on YouTube Premium), celeb-hosted talk/reality shows (Red Table Talk and Steve on Watch on Facebook Watch; Kevin Hart: What the Fit and David Blaine Ascension on YouTube Premium) and gimmicky competition series (Returning the Favor on Facebook Watch; Sleeping with Friends on YouTube Premium). That said, despite both swimming around in the reality pond, there’s less overlap between the Watch and Premium brands than you might expect. In general, Facebook Watch is home to a lot of celebrity-hosted content—Taraji P. Henson, Marshawn Lynch, Huda Kattan, Courtney Cox, Shaq, and Justin Bieber all have shows that do major numbers, while the Jada Pinkett Smith-hosted Red Table Talk brand has spun off both a related Will Smith series (Bucket List) and a Red Table Talk mini-series featuring the Estefans. YouTube Premium, meanwhile, has made a point this year of meeting the pandemic moment as a social hub for its socially distanced global audience, hosting first a blockbuster virtual commencement for the Class of 2020, then a virtual HBCU Homecoming, and finally (and most recently), The Great Gift Exchange, a winter holiday extravaganza hosted by a world-famous gift-wrap artist (apparently a thing) that doubles as a fundraiser for a series of charities chosen by the participating creators. YouTube has also gone harder into the musical side of things—unsurprising, given its position as the go-to site for music videos—featuring docuseries on everything from KCON to YUNGBLUD to the whole history of Coachella.
Given how popular reality-first networks like Bravo, E! and MTV are, it was only a matter of time before some streaming platform figured out that was a niche waiting to be filled—that Facebook and YouTube, two streaming services built around social networks where the messy lives of real people are a major draw, got there first? That makes all the sense in the world. Their joint pivot deeper into reality in 2020 also presages the arrival of discovery+, which is set to launch in January, and promise to not only comprise exclusive content from HGTV, Food Network and TLC personalities (a preview of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ new content network included), but also a vast-ranging library of true crime, general docuseries and nature programming, besides. Up against what the nascent service is touting as the “largest-ever content library for a new streaming service” to launch with (55k+ individual episodes from Discovery’s whole family of brands), neither Facebook Watch nor YouTube Premium will have a chance to become the Netflix of reality-first programming. But as tangible proof of the kind of streaming’s capacity for more than just bingeable scripted content, they could have done worse.
4. The Foreign Language Explosion: I Am Eating Bread and Crying on the Floor
“I am eating bread and crying on the floor” was voted the “Most 2020 Duolingo Phrase” by Duolingo users. Shows like Viki’s The Goddess of Revenge (Korean), Topic’s Vernon Subutex (French), and Netflix’s Babylon Berlin (German), Élite (Spanish, shown above) and Aggretsuko (Japanese) were just some of the foreign language series helping Duolingo’s users learn (and cry) their way through the year.
In its first ever ”Year in Language” Global Report, language learning app Duolingo makes a convincing anecdotal case for the influence that foreign language streaming content might have had on its globally homebound 2020 user base. Pointing to the 30 million new users that signed up for Duolingo in the weeks immediately following the World Health Organization’s pandemic announcement alone (a 67% increase over the same period in 2019, in trends reflected across the industry worldwide), the report suggests that just as billions of people around the world were finding themselves with more time than ever to stay home and binge whatever their streamer of choice had to offer, a significant percentage of those billions were coincidentally inspired to pick up a new language.
The validity of this suggestions seems to be born out by the top-line item in Netflix’s own “What We Watched 2020” report, which notes that, at least in the U.S., viewership numbers for foreign language titles increased over 50% in 2020 (compared to the same Jan-Nov period in 2019), with the numbers for anime more than doubling, and those for K-Dramas nearly tripling. Global trends, meanwhile, also squared up, non-English Netflix Originals like Money Heist (Spanish), #Alive (Korean) and Ragnarok (Norwegian) hitting end-of-the-year Top 10s in almost 100 countries at the same time as Duolingo’s list of second-most-popular languages—a category which reads, at least to this writer, as the languages people were more likely to be picking up for fun, non-academic reasons—absolutely exploded (16 discrete languages hitting the second-most-popular mark in 2020, compared to just 9 in 2016).
Netflix isn’t the only streaming platform to have made an effort to bolster its foreign language brand in 2020, either. Anglo-centric streamers like Acorn TV and Sundance NOW have spent the year adding blockbuster foreign language titles like Wisting (Norwegian), The Bureau (French), Deutschland 89 (German) and Rebecca Martinson (Swedish) to their ranks, while even smaller platforms like Kanopy Kids, Tubi and artsy newbie Topic have stocked their digital shelves with offerings from even further afield (Brazil, Russia, Senegal). Similarly, at the same time as Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Turkish and Chinese have taken the lead as Duolingo’s five fastest growing languages, streaming interest in Asian television (and film!) has exploded across the board: for Netflix, just see above, but also note Sony’s recent acquisition of anime-centric streamer Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion, and the vibrant global fan community over at Asian drama hub Viki, where passionate K-, J-, C- and T-drama fans regularly gather to “break down language barriers” by crowdsourcing subtitles for the streamer’s entire library of Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese content, a project that covers more than 200 languages. Further proof this is a trend that transcends borders: per The Economic Times, K-dramas have seen aggressive growth in India during the pandemic, viewership numbers on Viki increasing 46% between March and September at the same time as the number of India-based Korean language learners spiked 256% on Duolingo. 256%!
All this isn’t to say that foreign language television hadn’t been available before 2020—Netflix has been developing non-English Originals nearly as long as it’s been in the Originals game, and Crunchyroll existed years before that—but 2020 still felt like something of a watershed. Not only has the rise of streaming made foreign language series more accessible to average TV audiences the world over than they’ve been in the history of the medium, the ubiquity of foreign titles across streaming platforms—in the middle of a global pandemic, in the middle of a language learning app boom—has made them popular. No more are subtitles necessarily barriers to a series’ entry into the zeitgeist; these days, a Spanish-language teen thriller like Élite is just as likely to become a part of the pop culture conversation as is something as thoroughly Hollywood as Riverdale, while hyper-fervent fandoms are just as likely to form around K-dramas like The King: Eternal Monarch and Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) as they are around English-language favorites like Anne with an E or Lucifer. Incredible.
5. Chaos on the Fringe: Allthestreams.fm
Way back in March, literally days before the NBA became the first American institution to make the pandemic real by shutting its season fully down, internet chaos machine MSCHF dropped its most ambitiously mundane project to date: allthestreams.fm. A pirated livestream of six subscription streaming services—Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, HBO Now, Prime Video and (for some reason) Showtime—broadcast to a single skeuomorphic “TV” screen from a handful of VPN-shielded computers and airing literally whatever struck each account owner’s fancy at any given moment in time—Daria, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, The Mandalorian, Monk—allthestreams.fm represents a 2020 streaming trend mostly insofar as it touched upon a core truth that binged-out streaming audiences would start realizing more and more as the year went on: Sometimes, you just want someone else to decide what’s on your TV.
As Paste’s very own TV Editor Allison Keene noted late last month when reviewing Netflix’s recently introduced “Play Something” button, as rewarding as it can be to sit down and consciously consume really excellent content you’ve explicitly chosen to watch, all that curation can be exhausting. Sometimes, you don’t want to curate. Sometimes, “it’s [just] nice to not be in total control, to see a sea of content and—instead of diving in to a specific point—just float languidly in the surf.” In a blog on Medium a few weeks later, culture writer Carvell Wallace made much the same point, meditating on the beauty in live television to let you just… not choose. “It gets exhausting choosing one thing from among all the things there are,” he writes. “It’s just nice to sometimes take a break. It’s just sometimes nice to only be responsible for a simple binary choice: stay or go?”
Daria or Aladdin? On or off? Streaming, as a whole, still hasn’t come up with a way to let us so cleanly not choose (sorry, “Play Something” button), but for two beautiful days, back in what already feels like the Before Times, that’s exactly what allthestreams.fm gave us, and it was beautiful.
6. Harsh Truths: Fans Need Not Apply
For all that it really was heartening to see so many worthwhile streaming shows get a shot at finding new life on other streamers (or even on regular old terrestrial TV) in 2020, this year also walloped us with a tidal wave of surprise cancellations/unrenewals. While many of those decisions flowed directly from the ongoing pandemic—the unrenewals of enormous ensemble series like The Society and GLOW, especially—they nevertheless all end up feeding into a pattern that’s been building steam for years: Streaming is making television shorter.
I’m not talking in terms of episode length (unfortunately, though there has been some improvement on that front in recent years), but in terms of how many episodes any given show will ultimately be given to tell its story. Gone are the 22-episode seasons enjoyed by broadcast procedurals and sitcoms alike throughout the last many decades. Gone, too, are the 5-, 6-, 7-, 15-season series runs that gave tentpole series like The Office, Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy the runway to both set up slow-burn arcs with big long-run pay-offs, and to be weird just because they could. Hate to say it, but on a streaming platform, the return on investment for extended series runs just isn’t there even in the best of times—and 2020, sorry to break it to any reader who’s been living under a COVID-free rock, hasn’t been the best of times.
The Ringer’s Alison Herman went into deeper detail on this trend earlier this year (and Business Insider has the numbers), but the long and short of it is: With the subscription streaming model incentivizing the accrual of new subscribers over the maintenance of existing ones, there’s little value in renewing most series for more than two or three seasons, regardless of how passionate a show’s fans are, or how glowing its critical reception. A fourth season of Anne with an E, no matter how ecstatic it would make that show’s existing fanbase (and this magazine’s TV editor), could hardly be expected to bring in enough new subscriptions to justify the cost of production. A brand new teen series, though—maybe one from Mindy Kaling, featuring an unknown comedic wunderkind as its lead—now that just might.
Whether or not Netflix’s statistical preference to cancel its original scripted series after two or three seasons will hold when it comes to 2020’s new major players, it’s hard to say—Disney+ has such an ambitious slate in place, between Marvel and Star Wars, that it will be ages before we’ll get enough data to know what their longterm plans are with any of them, while Peacock and HBO Max each have enough exclusive content from their respective studio vaults (not to mention HBO Max’s 2021 movie release plans) that it’s unlikely either of their new subscriber numbers will be guided by original scripted content anytime soon. Apple TV+ is new enough to the content scene on all fronts, meanwhile, that it will want to spend a long time building a foundation before it starts making the kinds of decisions that might be called “a pattern.” As a massive fan of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Saved by the Bell *and* Ted Lasso, the likelihood that Disney+, Peacock and Apple TV+ will end up giving fans plenty of each is exciting, but it’s not set in stone—as exceptional as each is, that doesn’t change the fact that the streaming subscription model just doesn’t incentivize anything but churn.
7. A Cautionary Tale: The Rise and Fall of Quibi
On the one hand, the less said about Quibi, the better. A nearly $2 billion boondoggle that lasted literally half as long as I, personally, owned the domain whatisquibi.com (this is one thousand percent true), Quibi was, , a bafflingly out-of-touch solution to a problem no one had. “Quick bite” videos, optimized for mobile-first consumption, surrounded top to bottom with ads? Genuinely nothing could have made it clearer that Quibi masterminds Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman weren’t hanging around YouTube in the 2010s than their full-throated insistence that they were pioneering a narrative art form Nothing Much to Do, Carmilla and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries had perfected more than half a dozen years ago. More insulting still? The sheer lucre involved in the venture—$1.75 billion raised by the end of its second round of investment funding (“roughly the same as the gross domestic product of Belize, give or take $100 million,” TechCrunch). After years of watching venture capitalism just gut independent and local journalism, to see that much cash just…disappear…into the black hole of such an inherently flawed nü-media scheme? Deeply frustrating.
On the other hand, in a year that was shaped by disaster piled on top of disaster, watching Quibi trip over its own golden-armed hubris and just absolutely eat it was objectively—and believe that I’m saying this with my whole chest—hilarious. Every day that ended up being a Quibi day made being Terminally Online in 2020 bearable, just really fun jokes coming in hot and fast. So, okay, here at the end of the year, let’s give Quibi its streaming due—
Quibi is dead. Short live Quibi.
Alexis Gunderson is a TV critic and audiobibliophile. She can be found @AlexisKG.
For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.


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The U.K. government will postpone the implementation of new rules on wine imports from the European Union in both orderly and disorderly Brexit scenarios, the Financial Times reported.
The new certification requirements covering additional laboratory tests and forms would be waived for nine months in case of a disorderly Brexit, the FT reported, citing a recent government notice to the wine industry.
In case of a smooth Brexit, the rules would not be applicable during the transition period, which runs until December 2020 in U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's revised deal, which is yet to be approved by U.K. lawmakers, the FT added.
The rules will reportedly cost the wine industry up to £70 million every year.
The future certification requirements would be similar to the ones applicable to wine imports from countries outside the EU, such as the U.S. or Australia, according to the news article.

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Ross returns to Alameda Towne Centre
Management at Alameda Towne Centre have confirmed long-held rumors that a Ross Dress For Less will be returning to the shopping center. The 30,187-square-foot store is tentatively slated to open this fall in the former Safeway building.
“Ross is famous for the terrific values it offers customers every day on first-quality, in-season, name brand and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions for the entire family. We are very pleased to welcome Ross to the Centre,” Michael Corbitt, retail portfolio manager for Harsch Investment Properties, was quoted as saying in a press release.
An Orchard Supply Hardware store had been planned for the site. Ross’s original tenure at the center ended when the store closed in January 2006.
In addition to Ross, the center will over the next few months be home to a Pagano’s Hardware Store, Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers, Sophistry Skin Care, and Fruits & Chocolates, a dessert shop, the release said.
“We have had a good amount of tenant prospect activity recently and with Ross and the other newly signed tenants in place we will be at approximately 90 percent occupied with several other additional deals in negotiations,” Corbitt said.


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Used automobiles are often neglected within the fanfare accorded to cutting-edge electrical automobiles and gussied-up pickup vans. Now they’re abruptly the trade’s hottest commodity.
Customers are snapping up used automobiles as second or third automobiles to allow them to keep away from trains, buses or Ubers through the coronavirus pandemic. Others are shopping for used reasonably than new to economize in an unsure economic system, not understanding once they or their partner would possibly lose a job. Demand for older automobiles has additionally been fed by a roughly two-month halt in manufacturing of latest automobiles this spring.
Throughout the nation, the costs of used automobiles have shot up. The rise defies the standard knowledge that automobiles are depreciating property that lose an enormous chunk of their worth the second they go away the dealership. In July alone, the typical worth of used automobiles jumped greater than 16 p.c, in accordance with Edmunds.com.
In June, the latest month for which information is out there, franchised automotive sellers bought 1.2 million used automobiles and vans, in accordance with Edmunds, up 22 p.c from a yr earlier. It was the very best month-to-month whole since no less than 2007.
The growth has turned the enterprise of promoting automobiles the wrong way up. As a result of used automobiles don’t come from factories in Detroit, sellers are having to work as laborious to purchase automobiles as they sometimes do to promote them, they are saying, together with working advertisements and chilly calling folks to ask if they might be curious about promoting their previous automotive. That’s how robust demand for used automobiles has turn out to be within the pandemic.
“Used automobiles are alleged to depreciate, however I’d lookup the guide worth of a automotive on the lot and see it was greater than originally of the month,” stated Adam Silverleib, president of Silko Honda in Raynham, Mass. “I’ve by no means seen that earlier than.”
Mr. Silverleib just lately bought a 2017 Honda Pilot with 22,000 miles to Suzanne Cray and her husband. The household had gotten by with only one automotive. However Ms. Cray, a nurse who works at Tufts Medical Middle in Boston, stated the household had determined it wanted one other to make sure that nobody needed to journey with Uber or on public transportation.
“We used to take Uber to eating places, particularly if we had been going out with mates and didn’t wish to drink and drive,” stated Ms. Cray, who has handled sufferers with the coronavirus. “We don’t do this any extra. We take our automotive as a substitute.”
The growth is of a bit with different sudden traits in a recession that has left thousands and thousands of individuals unemployed and has devastated airways, eating places, resorts and small companies. Regardless of that ache, the pandemic has been a boon to previous standbys of the economic system, resembling canned and processed meals and suburban dwelling gross sales, that had fallen out of favor in recent times.
The auto trade’s equal of the three-bedroom ranch with the charming yard patio is a low-mileage automotive or S.U.V. — so much cheaper than the newer model however simply nearly as good at taking the household to a socially distanced picnic after months of isolation.
The rising need to personal a automotive has caught many individuals abruptly and unnerved others who’re anxious about what it’d say about the way forward for cities and transportation. Mayor Invoice de Blasio, who will get round in an S.U.V., just lately implored New Yorkers, lots of whom don’t personal automobiles, to not purchase a automotive, saying they symbolize “the previous.”
These fears is likely to be overdone. Shopping for a used automotive doesn’t enhance the variety of automobiles on the highway, in fact. And gross sales of latest automobiles usually are not taking off. If something, a part of the sudden mania for used automobiles stems from the yearslong rise within the worth of latest automobiles and vans. On common, new automobiles now promote for about $38,000, greater than many customers can afford or are prepared to pay.
As well as, many Individuals understand they don’t have to fret that they’re shopping for a rattle lure that’s continuously within the store. Automobiles and vans of current classic are higher made than these from a few many years in the past, and positively in contrast with the automobiles Ralph Nader inveighed towards in his 1965 guide, “Unsafe at Any Pace.”
Take Susan Sutherland, a tech employee in Bradley Seaside on the Jersey Shore, who prefers shopping for new automobiles however just lately bought a 2016 Nissan Rogue as a result of the price of new automobiles put her off. “I paid $42,000 for the primary home I purchased,” she stated. “I couldn’t think about paying virtually that for a automotive.”
Earlier than the coronavirus, Ms. Sutherland commonly rode trains to New York Metropolis, Washington and past to see her son’s heavy-metal band, Tooth Grinder. However after a troublesome battle with the coronavirus that included two stays within the hospital, she determined to commerce in her 2008 Mitsubishi sport utility automobile for a more moderen automotive she might depend on for longer journeys.
She paid $13,500 for the Rogue, which is loaded with heated seats and different frills. “I find it irresistible,” she stated. “I’m actually comfortable.”
Different customers have gravitated towards used automobiles as a result of there nonetheless aren’t that many new automobiles to select from. Though automakers have restarted their crops after halting manufacturing for about 60 days from late March to mid-Might, they haven’t made up for the misplaced time.
Within the first seven months of the yr, automakers produced 6.6 million automobiles and lightweight vans in North America, in accordance with Automotive Information. These had been three million fewer than they made in the identical interval in 2019.
Early within the pandemic, when many individuals averted leaving dwelling for all however essentially the most urgent wants, carmakers supplied no-interest loans for so long as 84 months to lure consumers. With new-car inventories low, such beneficiant incentives have principally disappeared.
However folks with a automotive to promote nonetheless have some leverage. The robust demand for used automobiles has lifted trade-in values, a boon for some automotive consumers. Ms. Sutherland was shocked to get $2,000 for her Mitsubishi, which had 245,000 miles on it.
In July, Edmunds discovered that the typical trade-in worth rose virtually $2,000, to simply over $14,000.
AutoNation, a series of 325 dealerships throughout the South and West, has begun shopping for automobiles from anybody who brings a automobile into one among its shops — whether or not that proprietor is looking for a brand new one or not — and sellers are lower checks on the spot. It acquired greater than 3,500 used automobiles in July, up from about 2,000 that it sometimes buys in a month, stated Marc Cannon, an govt vice chairman on the firm.
Simply north of Chicago, in Antioch, Sick., Mark Scarpelli has workers at his household’s Chevrolet, Kia and Chrysler dealerships trying to find used automobiles on the market. “We run advertisements on the net, on Fb, on Instagram,” he stated.
Enterprise is so brisk that low-mileage used automobiles don’t keep on vendor heaps for lengthy. Mr. Silverleib, the Honda vendor in Massachusetts, stated automobiles just like the Pilot he bought to Ms. Cray would possibly final mere hours.
“They’re gone earlier than we get to take photos of them,” he stated. “They by no means even seem on the web site.”
This banner yr for the used automotive will — inevitably — finish. Automakers will make amends for manufacturing, vendor heaps will swell with new automobiles once more, and attractive gross sales incentives will return, stated Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst at Edmunds. However demand for used automobiles might keep brisk if the pandemic worsens within the fall and the economic system weakens additional even when the availability of latest automobiles improves.
“It gained’t final without end,” Ms. Caldwell stated. “However for now it’s a good time to commerce in a used automotive.”
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Go to http://www.stemtech.com to learn more about the company and its products, published clinical studies and patents.
About Stemtech International:
Founded in 2005 by President & CEO Ray C. Carter, Jr., and Chief Science Officer Christian Drapeau, Stemtech began as a company with a single patented product, StemEnhance®, a unique formula of concentrated blue-green algae, aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA). In the years since, Stemtech has developed products for both humans and animals that enhance the natural renewal system of the body.
Drapeau, a botanical researcher and pioneer in stem cell science, has demonstrated that adult stem cells function as the natural renewal system of the body. Stemtech's products enhance the work of the body's stem cells by supporting the release of more stem cells, helping to circulate them in the blood and migrate them into tissues, where they can perform their daily function of renewal for optimal health.
Under the guidance of Carter, a leader in the direct sales industry and talented business strategist who heads a very experienced executive team, Stemtech supports a robust network of independent distributors meeting a worldwide demand that encourages global expansion. The company has open markets in more than twenty countries on six continents. For further information visit: http://www.stemtech.com


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These results were actually worse than a ballot taken in September 2019, when a smaller percentage blamed e-cigarettes and more blamed THC. more restrictive policies, including raising the age limit to buy to 21 and outright bans on legally sold vaping products such as flavored e-cigarettes. Sometimes, officers would even directly cite these illnesses as one purpose for the bans, despite there clearly being no connection to the vast majority of instances. E-cigarettes haven’t been in the marketplace long enough for scientists to determine what long-term use will do to the physique. Plus, e-cigarettes usually contain a variety of chemical compounds that are being inhaled into your lungs.
Every Little Thing You Should Know About Vaping
The surge in using digital cigarettes was tied to a sport-altering product, Juul, a cartridge device launched in 2017 in a slew of engaging flavors. And now, benefiting from a loophole in laws, a disposable product referred to as Puff Bar, which comes in greater than 20 flavors, has replaced Juul because the vape of choice amongst young people.
- Iqos has taken off in Japan, where 3 million folks frequently use them.
- Recent exhausting-received victories embrace smoking bans in public spaces and plain packaging with extreme health warnings.
- Smoking there was declining by 2% a 12 months before Iqos arrived, and is now dropping by 10% per year, for which Philip Morris International claims the credit score.
- Despite podsmall.com their efforts, there are nonetheless over 1 billion people who smoke on the earth.
- variety of well being professionals and teachers have dedicated their careers to exposing lies in regards to the safety of tobacco products and stopping the promotion of cigarettes around the world.
While kids will not be smoking cigarettes, they are vaping in document numbers. And whatever the technique, they’re nonetheless inhaling nicotine and creating addictions. This actuality has created an intense debate about the safety of e-cigarettes and whether or not they’re actually a secure alternative to conventional smoking.
Tricks To Protect Your Self From Unhealthy Air
At this level, it is unimaginable to know what those chemicals will do to your physique as a result of e-cigarettes haven’t been out lengthy sufficient to undergo any in depth studies. Still, many researchers are involved that the chemicals people are inhaling after they vape may produce situations like “popcorn lung,” which is a kind of lung disease caused by the chemical diacetyl. Diacetyl, is a flavor-enhancing chemical that was initially used to improve the flavour of microwave popcorn until it was shown to cause popcorn lung in the factory staff. There is a fierce debate concerning the dangers and attainable advantages of vaping.
It has also lead the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on companies that seem to market to a younger clientele, specifically with the sale of flavored vaping products. Although vaping was originally introduced as a substitute for smoking for adults, the Centers for Disease Control reviews that teenagers within the United States are more doubtless than adults to vape or use e-cigarettes. In fact, in 2018 greater than three.6 million middle and highschool children within the U.S. had vaped within the last thirty days. Meanwhile, solely about 2.7% of adults in 2017 had been current e-cigarette customers.
In addition to nicotine, a number of the chemical substances, just like the carcinogen formaldehyde, are created when the nicotine-wealthy liquid in some vaping gadgets is heated to high temperatures. The tobacco and vaping industries target younger folks so you’ll turn out to be lifetime customers hooked on their products.
Some consider that vaping might assist hundreds of thousands of adults give up tobacco cigarettes, while advocates argue that vaping normalizes the behavior and lures youngsters into smoking. But those two arguments aside, there may be mounting proof that vaping negatively impacts your well being. Interestingly, the CDC states that teen cigarette smoking has dropped to a historic low with just under eleven% of teens smoking. However, using e-cigarettes went as much as 24% in 2015, which represents a dramatic improve in vaping. This enhance in vaping has advocates involved that all the work done to cut back smoking amongst teens may be undone with vaping.
As an educator, you can play an energetic function in fighting the teen vaping epidemic. FDA analysis suggests that when academics talk concerning the health penalties of e-cigarettes and colleges enforce anti-vaping policies, college students could also be much less more likely to vape. Use these sources to start an honest conversation along with your class and assist to change social norms at your college. that two-thirds of Americans at least partly blamed e-cigarettes for the current vaping-related deaths caused by lung injury, whereas only 28 % accurately pointed the finger at tainted THC products.


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BMW revealed earlier this week that it is to set up a new sub-brand specifically for electric and hybrid cars. But are these new awkward eco names really necessary?
Two new models will launch under the ‘i’ banner in 2013. There’s the i3, an all-electric lightweight city car, and the i8, a larger hybrid.
Generally, I’m excited by this news. There’s no doubt that BMW is one of the more eco-focused and forward-thinking car brands out there – it’s Efficient Dynamics technology is genuinely impressive and a real leader in terms of cutting CO2 – and it certainly has the clout to encourage big changes in the way we get around.
Green brands are unnecessary
But one thing that bugs me about car firms ‘going green’ is that they seem to feel the need for a new logo and sub-brand at every opportunity. As a car nut I’m happy to learn the exact difference between a standard model and the so-called ‘green’ version – but I’m not sure everyone is.
There will be plenty more announcements like BMW’s at next week’s Geneva Motor Show – but cynics would say that green brands are chiefly intended to give carmakers some good publicity and dealers another selling tool.
Pretty much every carmaker has an eco-focused range nowadays, whether it be Efficient Dynamics, BlueMotion, BlueEFFICIENCY, DRIVe, Econetic, EcoFlex, Ecomotive, GreenLine or Ecodynamics (points to the first commenter who can match those names to their respective car brands without cheating).
But I cannot help thinking that these will become a little redundant in the future – after all, if every manufacturer aspires to cut emissions across its range, then today’s BlueMotion could equate to tomorrow’s GTI in terms of eco-friendliness.
What’s in a name? Confusion!
Seat, one of the better brands at lowering CO2 emissions, is already suffering from naming confusion in my opinion. Pretty much all of its cars now get the Ecomotive badge as they’ve been tinkered to maximise efficiency. This means that the really low-CO2 models now get the new E Ecomotive logo.
The same goes for Skoda’s GreenLine ‘II’ models. (Damn, I’ve given a few answers away to my own quiz there).
The cars are very impressive, but the awkward names just don’t seem very useful to me – just confusing. Do you think a green-branded car encourage you to buy or put you off?


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Indebted VARs linked to former Sun distributor Nexpress Group, which went into administration in December, could still be left out of pocket, despite several offers for a complete purchase of the company assets, CRN has learned.
Administrator Vantis has appointed property consultancy firm King Sturge to find buyers for more than £500,000 worth of computer equipment, such as servers and mainframes, and it said over £20,000 worth of kit was sold in the opening days of its administration.
Earlier this month Bob Bailey, joint administrator and partner at Vantis, told CRN the chances of creditors getting their money or stock back were extremely low (CRN, 9 January). He also said that since then there has been interest in Nexpress’ complete assets.
“People are interested in all aspects of the company. However, the majority of interest is in the stock, and in the next four to six weeks we expect all of it to be sold.
“It’s hard to say how long a sale of the business would take, but if after 10 to 14 days no-one has come forward then it’s unlikely they will,” he said.
Gary Harper, senior associate at King Sturge, said: “If we are able to conclude complete asset sale negotiations then things will complete very quickly, if not we’ll break it up piece-by-piece over about eight weeks.
Infrastructure provider says international sales now make up 51 per cent of its revenue
Suzanne Chappell of TMS plans sailing venture after selling Oxfordshire-based TMS to acquisitive Chess
Withdrawal of credit insurance by some providers a 'reflection' of current challenge facing IT sector, according to MD Steve Soper
SMART's UK managing director joins Lenovo to boost SMB business


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Open Enrollment for the New York State of Health Marketplace begins this Sunday, November 1, 2015 and runs through January 31, 2016. During Open Enrollment, consumers can switch plans or enroll for the first time.
New this year is the Essential Plan, a low or no cost health insurance option available to those who are over the income limit for Medicaid but still struggling with healthcare costs, despite subsidies. Depending on income, Essential Plan premiums range from $0 to $20 per month.
Consumers enrolled in Qualified Health Plans will renew their coverage between November 16, 2015 and December 15, 2016. At renewal, consumers will have the opportunity to compare plan options for 2016 coverage.
Applications and renewals can be completed online at https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/ or by calling 1-855-355-5777


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GM India snippets
It may have entered bankruptcy protection in the US, but General Motors still has ambitious plans for India. The auto major plans to develop a small car at a possible price tag of under Rs 2 lakh—its cheapest globally. Nick Reilly, GM group V-P said that the company was looking at developing a car from India that would be positioned below the ‘Spark’ mini-car. “I would say we are studying that... and (we) do think there is an opportunity for something below the current mini- car offering Spark,’’ Reilly said. However, it would “not be a Tata Nano equivalent’’, he added. While there is no independent confirmation, it is believed the company is targeting a price tag below Rs 2 lakh for this car and apart from India, it could well be positioned in similar foreign markets like Latin America, eastern Europe, Africa and even possibly China. Asked whether India would be the lead market for the research and development of the new car, he said “Yes, it is.’’ Karl Slym, president of GM’s Indian arm, confirmed that any new car positioned below the Spark (costing Rs 2.66 lakh ex-showroom) would be the cheapest car for GM globally. As it works its way out of bankruptcy in the US, GM has reiterated that markets like India and China would be key to its revival, especially when numbers remain depressed in the home market. Reilly also said small cars would be the key to growth in the future and GM would focus more on their development. The news of the parent going bankrupt had impacted GM’s sales in India while also making it difficult for the company to raise money from financial institutions to fund its expansion plans. “It hasn’t been easy in India to raise the money. Frankly, we have found difficulties from Indian financial institutions, but we have not given up... Majority of the fund remains to be raised. It might take us little longer, but the opening of the plant is largely on schedule. It may be delayed by a month or two,’’ he said.
Labels: GM India China Small Car


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Regulators in the UK, US and Europe have opened investigations into eBay following the massive customer data breach.
In the UK information commissioner Christopher Graham has said that the watchdog is liaising with European data authorities to pursue possible legal action against eBay over its data breach.
Graham told BBC Radio 5 Live that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is investigating the data theft that compromised up to 233 million eBay accounts.
"We're certainly looking at the situation," Graham said. "We have to work with colleagues in Luxembourg where eBay is based for European purposes. We were in touch with the Luxembourg data protection authority yesterday."
Usernames, encrypted passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses and dates of birth were all stolen when one of eBay's databases was compromised by hackers.
The online auction site has claimed that there is no evidence that any financial data was stolen, however security experts have warned that the data lost could be sufficient for criminals to impersonate an individual when dealing with financial organisations.
The New York attorney general has already called for eBay to provide free credit monitoring for all customers affected, while three US states are currently conducting a joint probe into eBay's response to the cyberattack.
Florida, Illinois and Connecticut are investigating the security practices of eBay and the circumstances that led to the breach.
A spokesperson for eBay confirmed that the e-commerce site had been in contact with various government agencies.
"We have relationships with and proactively contacted a number of state, federal, and international regulators and law enforcement agencies," the spokesperson said. "We are fully cooperating with them on all aspects of this incident."


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The company said the deal for the acquisition would be completed in the second quarter of 2016 pending approval from competition authorities in the three EU states.
Lukoil said: “The decision to sell the retail network in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland was taken as part of the program to optimize LUKOIL’s retail asset structure in Europe.”
The chains of filling stations in Lithuania and Latvia will be managed by two companies run by Lukoil Baltija’s current management team in the two countries.
“UAB Luktarna and AS VIADA Baltija will assume the operation of the retail networks in Lithuania and Latvia, respectively. The networks in Lithuania and Latvia will continue to operate under the “LUKOIL” brand for a period of up to five years under a trademark license agreement. During 2016, AMIC Energy will decide on the potential rebranding of the Polish filling stations to the “AMIC Energy” brand, already successfully introduced in Ukraine,” said AMIC Energy in a statement.
“In the long term, AMIC Energy intends to use its “AMIC Energy” brand in all of its acquisitions,” it said.
Just before Christmas, Lukoil president Vagit Alekperov announced that Lukoil would start to withdraw from Lithuania and Latvia because of anti-Russian sentiment in the two countries.
However, at the time analysts rejected that explanation, saying the reason why Lukoil decided to withdraw from Lithuania and Latvia was linked to the company‘s move to performance optimization and a switch on the wholesale oil market.
The company has already exited the Estonian market, selling its chain of petrol stations to Estonian company Olerex.
AMIC Energy managing director Günter Maier said “this acquisition is a further significant step to build up AMIC Energy’s fuel retail business in Central and Eastern Europe”.
He said the strategic partnership with VIADA and Luktarna created a competitive operating platform in the Baltic markets and brought in valuable local expertise and a strong management team.


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Although East Africa has been experiencing impressive economic growth for nearly a decade, it has not enabled the creation of enough decent jobs for the region’s rapidly growing population.
That’s according to a new study by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), which estimates that more than eight million new jobs are needed annually to meet the demand.
The study has been presented to government officials and experts meeting this week in Asmara, Eritrea, which is where Priscilla Lecomte caught up with Kato Kimbugwe, a trade specialist with UNECA.
He began by explaining how some East African countries have already established special economic zones aimed at attracting investors, meeting the jobs challenge and tackling poverty. ...Click for original article


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Unstoppable Domains Partners With Binance.US and Polygon To Onboard Millions
Unstoppable Domains, a leading provider of blockchain-based domain names, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Binance US and Polygon that could revolutionize the way companies accept payments in the cryptocurrency space.
Unstoppable Domains, a leading provider of blockchain-based domain names, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Binance US and Polygon that could revolutionize the way companies accept payments in the cryptocurrency space. The partnership will enable businesses to accept crypto payments directly to their domain name, making it easier than ever for companies to onboard themselves into the crypto industry.
Through this partnership, domains that end in ".binanceus" will be able to receive payments in every cryptocurrency listed on the Binance US exchange. This means that companies will be able to accept payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and more, all directly through their domain name. In addition, Unstoppable Domains will integrate with Polygon, allowing users to seamlessly pay for goods and services using Polygon's fast and affordable blockchain.
This is a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry, as it makes it much simpler and more accessible for businesses to accept crypto payments. Currently, there are several hurdles that companies must overcome in order to accept payments in cryptocurrency, including navigating complex wallets, managing multiple currencies, and dealing with the volatility of the market. By offering a streamlined solution that allows businesses to accept payments through their domain name, Unstoppable Domains, Binance US, and Polygon are making it easier than ever for companies to enter the crypto space.
This partnership also highlights the growing importance of blockchain-based domain names. Unstoppable Domains has been at the forefront of this movement, offering domain names that are stored on the Ethereum blockchain and can be used to receive cryptocurrency payments. By partnering with major players like Binance US and Polygon, Unstoppable Domains is positioning itself as a key player in the development of the decentralized web.
Overall, the Unstoppable Domains, Binance US, and Polygon partnership is a significant step forward for the cryptocurrency industry. By offering a simple and accessible solution for businesses to accept crypto payments, this partnership could pave the way for broader adoption of blockchain technology and the development of a more decentralized web.


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Bitcoin sees price surge following Elon Musk endorsement
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At 6.59am GMT on Tuesday morning the flagship crypto dramatically surpassed $48,000 (£34,800) on the cryptocurrency markets. This historic high was perceived as a direct result of investors piling-in to take advantage of an almost-inevitable Elon Musk price spike.
However, the bitcoin price preceded to dip suddenly, before swiftly rallying again after midday.
All the stars may be aligning for bitcoin as mainstream adoption happens in real-time
Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino
CoinDesk.com data indicates bitcoin is trading at $46,852 (£33,963) at 5.15pm GMT, on Tuesday, February 9.
Paolo Ardoino CTO of Bitfinex, believes Tesla – and indeed Elon Musk’s involvement – may represent a real tipping point for both bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole.
He said: “As bitcoin moves closer to $50,000, more corporations appear poised to embrace the world’s biggest cryptocurrency and add it to their balance sheets.
“All the stars may be aligning for bitcoin as mainstream adoption happens in real-time.
“Meanwhile, attention is turning towards who will be next to jump on the bitcoin train as the space evolves at a breakneck pace.”
In a statement yesterday, Tesla revealed the pioneering electric car maker would soon begin accepting payments in Bitcoin.
And on top of this, the now-world’s richest man Elon Musk added how Tesla had made a heavy investment of its own in bitcoin.
Tesla revealed in its public filing the company would soon begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for its products.
Tesla said: ”The prevalence of such assets is a relatively recent trend, and their long-term adoption by investors, consumers and businesses is unpredictable.
“Moreover, their lack of a physical form, their reliance on technology for their creation, existence and transactional validation and their decentralisation may subject their integrity to the threat of malicious attacks and technological obsolescence.”
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a research note, many may have been caught off guard by the news, spite much speculation.
He wrote: “While many on the Street have discussed the prospects of this move for Tesla, this morning’s news formalises the strategy of Musk and Tesla diving into the deep end of the pool of bitcoin and crypto.”
As Bitcoin’s price reached a new record this morning, Industry insiders are now predicting bitcoin’s price may hit $50,000 in the coming days.
Bitcoin sparks EU panic as Lagarde’s attack exposes ‘misunderstanding’ [REPORT]
Bitcoin ‘in uncharted territory’ as ‘price volatility will continue’ [INSIGHT]
Elon Musk: Why has Tesla bought up bitcoin? [EXPLAINED]
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AVATrade said in a statement: “The crypto digital king recorded another all-time high today.
“It seems like the bull rally is in full swing now, and nothing is going to stop the bitcoin price from touching the $50,000 price level.”
eToro cryptoasset analyst Simon Peters added: “With this kind of endorsement from a multi-billion dollar company, it’s likely the price will hit $50,000 by the end of the week.”
However, Mr Ardoino believes significant price volatility in cryptoassets, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places consumers at a high risk of losses.
He said: “Always do your own research and never trade with resources you are not prepared to lose entirely.
“Rather than succumb to FOMO, those new to the space should take the time to educate themselves about this amazing technology rather than seeking to speculate on it.”
Tesla’s $1.5bn investment came as Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey also doubled-down on his scepticism about bitcoin and other digital currencies.
He told a committee of MPs yesterday bitcoin has “no intrinsic value at all”.
Mr Bailey said: “I’ve said a number of times, ‘Only buy bitcoin if you’re prepared to lose all your money.’
“It doesn’t mean you will lose all your money, it doesn’t mean the value will go to nothing, but it has no intrinsic value … People may want it, they may want to collect it, but it doesn’t have any intrinsic value at all.”
Source: Read Full Article


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A slowdown in production typically takes place in the period around the Chinese Lunar New Year (CNY) with shipping lines blanking sailings to balance supply with demand.
Yet, despite a market faced with stagnated demand growth and declining freight rates, carriers have not acted to reduce additional capacity during CNY 2023.
Sea-Intelligence data shows the opposite is taking place.
When comparing 2023 with both 2019 and the average capacity growth rate of 2015-2019, there is an increase in deployed capacity.
“Asia-North America West Coast is seeing capacity growth of 35%-38%, Asia-North America East Coast of a staggering 57%-59%, and Asia-North Europe of 28%-42%.
Asia-Mediterranean is the only trade lane that is closer to the pre-pandemic levels,” said Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.
Sea-Intelligence warns the capacity reductions may not come quickly enough, setting the stage for even more price competition as volumes decline during and after the Chinese New Year.
“Despite falling demand, deployed capacity during CNY 2023 is slated to be higher than the deployed capacity in 2021, where demand was absolutely surging.
If demand continues to be sluggish, or outright contracts, given these capacity levels, freight rates will continue to tumble,” said Murphy.
“With the shipping lines sitting on piles of cash, further helped by a highly profitable Q3, we might end up in a situation where there is another price war, reminiscent of the one we saw in 2015-2016,” he warned.


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Marisa DeFranco is in for Dan
Tension Mounts at Southern Border. Thursday, hundreds of Central American migrants protested at the southern border, screaming for President Trump to let them in the country. President Trump said, "If we find that it gets to a level where we are going to lose control or where people are going to start getting hurt, we will close entry into the country for a period of time until we can get it under control. The whole border. I mean the whole border." The president also added, "Mexico will not be able to sell their cars into the United States." Marisa discusses the southern border and takes your calls!
Black Friday Madness! With today being Black Friday, Marisa wants to know if you partook in the biggest shopping day of the year? Did you rush to the stores to shop today? Have you gone in the past? How do you feel about Black Friday? Call the show and join the discussion!
Call 617-254-1030 to join the conversation.


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“I know you’ve all been eagerly await for word on releasing timing,” a Kojima Productions spokesperson said during the broadcast. “I think we should be able to announce that soon, so look forward to that. It’s only a little longer.”
As far as upcoming events go, The Phantom Pain will be at the Taipei Game Show on January 31 with “new information.”
In terms of development, The Phantom Pain is currently just before the bug check phase, as the team is currently adjusting some of the game’s newly introduced elements.
Additionally, if you watch the video below from 27:50, you’ll see a bit of new footage showing added hiding spots (like a simple porta potty) and voice adjustments.
Thanks, Game Spark.


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We’re all familiar with the FedEx delivery nightmare that is being experienced across the country, where the USPS is refusing to deliver food and drink to millions of people, which is costing the economy billions of dollars.
Now, the Food Delivery Association (FDAAA) is looking to bring a solution to the problem by opening up the delivery service to consumers.
The organization said that it will provide consumers with the ability to use Fedex to deliver their groceries directly to their doorstep, allowing them to order from the company directly from their home.
Fedex has been the primary delivery method for millions of Americans over the years, as it has become more affordable and more convenient.
The company currently delivers food, beverages, and household goods to about 20 million homes in the US.
But, the USPS has faced increasing competition from other delivery services, such as Uber and Deliveroo, which have expanded their reach.
FedEX has also faced a number of lawsuits, including one brought by a group of residents in the state of Georgia who sued the USPS for $1.8 billion.
In the wake of that lawsuit, FedEx began testing a new delivery method known as Fedex Express, which it said would help to eliminate the cost of shipping.
FedEx Express is designed to be delivered in three to five business days, but the FDAAA has been working on a more streamlined delivery service that could begin with the delivery of the company’s new delivery service.
It said that its service will not only be more efficient, but also more environmentally friendly.
FedXExpress customers who have been able to get through to their local Fedex customer service line will be able to order food directly from the FedEx app, which can then be delivered to their door.
FedExpress is still a ways off, but its founder and CEO Mike Hirsch told Business Insider that he expects the company to begin shipping food to the US this year.
The FDAAA is not alone in its efforts to open up delivery services to consumers, with Amazon now offering a FedEx Express delivery option for its customers.


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Zombie Kid FCBD Front Cover
Gold Digger #235
Store Additions--May 20, 2016
A.P. Titles on Diamond Ship List for Mar. 22, 2006
Antarctic Press Staff
According to Diamond Comics'
shipping list for the week
, A.P. books scheduled to arrive in stores the week of March 22 are:
New Alice in Wonderland
Twilight X: War
The store will be updated accordingly.
Copyright 1987-2005 Antarctic Press.


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Anomaly Six, a secretive government contractor, claims to monitor the movements of billions of phones around the world and unmask spies with the press of a button.
Privacy-focused browser Brave has announced a new feature that bypasses pages rendered with Google's AMP framework and automatically redirects users to the original website.
John Oliver discusses how much data brokers know about us, what they’re doing with our personal information, and one….unusual way to change privacy laws.
Security hole in dating app Bumble exposed user location data
CVS blamed an unnamed third-party for disclosure of the information and says no personal data was made public, despite email addresses appearing in the unsecured database.
Sky Bet, the most popular one in Britain, compiled extensive records about a user, tracking him in ways he never imagined.
Federal agencies already buy tons of user data; one vendor is now being sued.
So, you think that what happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone? Well, think again.
It turns out Tim Cook blames Mark Zuckerberg for undermining democracy too.
The popular video sharing app was sued a record $5.7 million by the FTC for violating U.S. children’s privacy law in 2019.
Facebook has a data addiction—it can’t help itself. The social media giant’s entire business model is built around collecting, processing and then monetizing our personal information.
The government wants to break up the world’s biggest social network. Internal company emails show why.
A Google researcher found flaws in Apple's AWDL protocol that would have allowed for a complete device takeover.


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Whisky is a passion to explore. From the history of the spirit to the evolution of the industry, the story of whisky helps fuel that passion. Often, it’s easy to forget that whisky is also a global multibillion dollar industry. The stories of whisky — from news and new releases to in-depth inquires and what goes on behind the label — blend together to help us appreciate the spirit of whisky.
May 10, 2016 – Production has resumed at Longmorn Distillery near Elgin after firefighters from Speyside and Aberdeenshire spent several hours cleaning up a hazardous materials accident Monday. The distillery was evacuated around lunchtime after a chemical spill involving nitrous acid in Longmorn’s chemical storage room, according to an Elgin fire official quoted in The Press & Journal. Firefighters told the paper that the leak was detected by the plant’s computerized system, which halted production immediately. The distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, which confirmed that no workers were injured in the accident.
In a statement provided to WhiskyCast by Chivas Brothers, a spokeswoman acknowledged the accident, but did not specify whether a cause has been determined. “Chivas Brothers employees, our contractors and the emergency services on site all worked effectively to contain the spillage,” she said.
The chemical can be used for cleaning tanks and distillery plumbing, though the company has not confirmed whether it was being used for that purpose at Longmorn. Nitrous acid fumes can cause respiratory damage if inhaled, and skin contact with the acid itself can cause severe burns. Firefighters used hazardous materials response suits and breathing apparatus to neutralize the spill.
Editor’s note: While Chivas Brothers has not officially confirmed the chemical that was involved in the spill, it is now believed that nitric acid was involved instead of nitrous acid as originally reported. Nitric acid is less dangerous than nitrous acid, and is more commonly used in distillery cleaning systems.
Links: Chivas Brothers


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Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc, announced on Tuesday that the electric carmaker will welcome dogecoin as payment for items on a trial basis, propelling the meme-based cryptocurrency up 24%. According to Musk’s tweet,
Tesla will make certain items available for purchase using Doge and see how it works.
Dogecoin, a prominent cryptocurrency amongst retail investors, soared to $0.20 following the tweet. Musk’s tweets about cryptocurrencies, notably one in which he referred to it as the “people’s crypto,” have enabled the meme coin to surge 5,859 percent in the last year, as per coinmarketcap statistics.
Dogecoin Price Chart – Source: CoinMarketCap
Musk didn’t really explain what goods might be purchased using dogecoin, which ranges in price from $50 to $1,900.
Tesla offers clothes, ‘Giga Texas’ belt buckles, and small replicas of its automobiles, as well as bizarre limited-edition things like the ‘Cyberwhistle,’ which is based on the company’s much-anticipated Cybertruck. It just released a quad bike for youngsters called the ‘Cyberquad,’ which is designed after the truck.
Musk, a fan of cryptocurrencies, has frequently praised dogecoin and stated that it is superior for transactions, most notably in a chat with Time magazine, which named him “Person of the Year” for 2021 on Monday.
In a Twitter survey in May, Musk asked people if they wished Tesla to embrace dogecoin. Throughout a guest appearance on the comedic skit Television program “Saturday Night Live” in May, he referred to dogecoin as a “hustle.”
Musk, who now has over 66 million Twitter followers, has indeed been heavily involved in this year’s retail trading craze, posting about cryptocurrencies and actively pushing their values up.


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One in Five UK Companies Started by Ethnic Minorities
Almost a fifth of new business directors in the UK in the past three years have come from an ethnic minority group, research by the Made Simple Group has found.
The online business service provider’s survey of 110,000 company formations since January 2009 found that people describing themselves as Indian made up the largest single ethnic group (3,335 directors) of directors of new businesses.
They were followed by Pakistani (1,858), Chinese (1,750) and Nigerian (1,617). However, Chinese directors made up the highest proportion per head of UK population, with an estimated 1 in 68 Chinese people in the UK now a business director.
Howard Graham, chief executive of the Made Simple Group, said the survey of new businesses registered with Companies House between January 2009 and September 2011 presented “a fascinating picture of the people starting business in the UK”.
The research also found that:
Chinese make up the highest number of directors of new UK companies living overseas, followed by French, Germans and Italians most new business directors are aged between 21 and 40, with the youngest being 16 and the oldest 94 during the period surveyed the number of women becoming directors of new businesses has risen very slightly from 23.79 per cent to 24.86 per cent more than half of new business directors are based in London, the East of England and the South East, with south London and Guildford being the UK’s start-up hubs
Dawn Whiteley, chief executive of the National Enterprise Network, noted that the profile of new business owners using enterprise agencies differed from that of the research. “Based on our members’ activities last year, 43 per cent of their clients were women and 25 per cent ethnic minorities,” she said.
Ellie Kerr, who runs the North-West based support network Women in Business, also said she felt the research did not offer an accurate picture of female entrepreneurship in the UK, which was changing as a result of the economic downturn and the growth of online business.
“There’s been a definite increase in women starting businesses in the last 12 months,” she said. “We’ve been finding many cases in the past two years of husbands losing their jobs and taking on childcare and women building up small businesses to keep money coming in.
“We’re also finding more women taking redundancy and using the money to follow their passion,” Kerr added. “But most of these women are below the VAT threshold and are sole traders, so they wouldn’t appear in these results.”


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The twenty-fifth Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique will begin in Turin and four other European cities, recreating the world's first road rally only for vehicles that competed in at least one Monte-Carlo Rally Automobile before 1983. In the elegant setting of Piazza San Carlo, from 25 to 26 January, the public can enjoy living how the notion of sportiness has changed over the years: in fact, both the vintage cars engaging in the race and some current models are on display, including the new Tonale Plug-in Hybrid Q4, the first phase towards the sportiness of the future according to Alfa Romeo.
According to Alfa Romeo's Italian Country Manager Raffaele Russo: "We are happy to participate in this event which takes Turin back to the international stage. Racing is in our blood; it's been a symbol of Italian sporting nobility since 1910. Today, we aim to redefine the notion of Efficient sportsmanship with the new Alfa Romeo Tonale Plug-In Hybrid Q4".
The Alfa Romeo Tonale Plug-In Hybrid Q4, unveiled last November and now available in all Italian dealerships, rounds out the debut of the Tonale range, the model with which the brand entered the world of electricity. This new flagship model looks ahead to where Alfa Romeo sees its idea of sportiness heading. Simply put, it's the most fuel-efficient Alfa Romeo ever (CO2 emissions of up to 26g/km), allowing unrestricted access to city centers, more than 80 km of autonomy in full electric for maximum daily mobility, and more than 600 km of range for tackling extensive extra-urban travels. And with a total of 280 horsepower, you can expect the entire Alfa Romeo experience behind the wheel.
The Alfa Romeo Tonale Plug-In Hybrid Q4 is the perfect SUV for long trips with the whole gang or a few close friends, thanks to its class-leading interior space, high level of comfort, silky-smooth driving, and little carbon footprint. It has the most advanced onboard technology and connectivity of any Alfa Romeo, and class-leading road attributes to boot. The goal is to reimagine what it means to be sporty in the twenty-first century by fusing quality and attention to detail with dynamic traits. With the brand's electrification in mind, the classic Alfa Romeo insignia is reimagined as an elegant electric snake silk-screened on the Tonale Plug-In Hybrid profile, which is further highlighted by the privacy glass.
Because of this, the Tonale Plug-In Hybrid Q4 represents a significant step in Alfa Romeo's "zero to zero" journey toward becoming a zero-emission brand in 2027, when its whole lineup will be fully electric. Alfa Romeo has established itself as the industry leader by accelerating this carbon neutrality transition in five years.
Alfa Romeo ended the last year on the German market with clearly good sales. The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) says that compared to 2021, the number of new registrations...read more
According to Mitsubishi Motors, the new Mitsubishi ASX is finally ready for its debut. Following the outgoing ASX's footsteps, which sold nearly 380,000 vehicles across Europe, this...read more
The Alfa Romeo Tonale reflects the traditional brand's transformation. Alfa Romeo has used Alessandro Volta's revolutionary method, which established the groundwork for electric...read more
Hyundai has just unveiled the all-new KONA, a game-changing electric car with advanced features that are set to spearhead the company's electrification strategy. As one of the...read more
The new Alfa Romeo Tonale now has the option of a turbo diesel engine, joining the hybrid drive's turbo petrol/electric motor configuration. The 1.6-liter engine...read more
The BMW i8 Concept Spyder with eDrive is an open-top two-seater embodying a form of personal mobility with equal sporting and emotional appeal. The intelligent lightweight design and...read more
Kia Niro, the all-new compact crossover, has been named the Women's World Car of the Year 2023 (WWCOTY) by a panel of 63 female motoring journalists from 43 countries across five...read more
The new Citroën C5 Aircross Plug-In Hybrid SUV arrives with an efficient 225 hp petrol engine, a new e-EAT8 automatic transmission and an electric motor that generates up to 55...read more
In the first six months of 2022, the Ford Kuga Plug-In Hybrid had the highest sales volume of any plug-in hybrid model sold across Europe. More than 23,000 Ford Kuga Plug-In...read more
The launch of the new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid represents one further application of Hybrid Synergy Drive® and is Toyota's core technology platform for the future. Hybrid Synergy...read more
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Business News›MMTC official
Coal India set to ease FSA norms for coal import, levy fee
The fuel supply agreements approved by the Union Cabinet in 2013 provide that CIL can import coal to meet its contractual commitments. The company is at present able to meet 100% of the requirements and cannot import coal under the current rules.
ED attaches assets worth over Rs 363 cr of jewellery firm in MMTC fraud case
Forty-five immovable properties of MBS Jewellers Private Limited, MBS Impex Private Limited, Sukesh Gupta, Anurag Gupta, Neetu Gupta, Vandana Gupta and their other group entities have been provisionally attached under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, it said in a statement.
790 tonnes of imported onion reach India; some sent to AP, Delhi: Government official
An approximately 12,000-tonne of onion shipment is expected to arrive by end of December. Retail onion prices are ruling at an average Rs 100 per kg in major cities, but rates are as high as Rs 160 per kg in some parts of the country. Andhra Pradesh and Delhi governments have already placed their demands and have started lifting imported onions.
Private traders place onion import orders; 1,000 tonnes expected by month-end: Govt official
The retail prices of onion had soared to Rs 100/kg a week back in the national capital, but the government's various interventions helped it to cool down. The shipments will come smoothly as the government has liberalised phytosanitary and fumigation norms for import of onion till December-end, the official added.
MMTC, STC plunge up to 20% as government plans to shut operations
The government owns about 90 per cent stake in MMTC and STC.
Government unlikely to move ahead on MMTC-STC mergerAs per the proposal, the merger of the two trading firms would result in synergy of operations, which somewhat overlap.
Govt approves pacts for supply of iron ore to Japan, S Korea through MMTCThe range of quantity of iron ore to be exported would be 3.8 million tonnes per annum to 5.5 million tonnes per annum
STC-MMTC merger would be right step in face of global competition: Ved PrakashPooling of resources between STC and MMTC is very much needed, says the chairman and MD of MMTC
PNB entrusted with safekeeping of Nirav Modi’s seized precious stonesState-run MMTC will assess their value and may later auction the precious stones, in the manner followed in the Winsome Diamonds default case.
MMTC floats bids to import 2,000 tonnes of onionsThe onion imports are aimed at boosting the local availability and curbing prices, which at present are ruling as high as Rs 80 per kg in the national capital.
MMTC to import 2,000 tonnes onion to check prices: Ram Vilas PaswanHe said that his ministry has again written to the commerce ministry to reimpose export floor price of USD 700 per tonne on onion to discourage outbound shipments.
Onion export jumps 56% in Apr-July, but India now importingLast week, the government allowed state-owned agencies like MMTC to import onion from countries like Egypt and China to increase availability and cool retail prices.
Gold traders find another route to offset dutyAnother trade source said that exporters with in-house gold refineries were buying the discounted instruments.
MMTC Venture finds refining at Swiss unit cheaperThe company has diverted four tonnes of dore gold since the last week of July.
GST: Banks may stop gold imports on own accountWorking capital need for banks’ gold consignment business will rise to 13 per cent from 10 per cent
Stricter norms for gold bar sales soonThe sale of bars would be enabled to entities only to manufacture jewellery and not for trading of bullion, said two industry officials.
Fifteen stocks in focus on Tuesday, 14 February 2017Infosys, in its 33 years of existence, has for the first time recorded negative growth in employee hiring this fiscal, said a senior official of the Telangana Government on Monday
67.4 kg seized gold misplaced at IGI this year; Customs told to sell rest urgentlyEarlier, the Customs was allowed to sell the confiscated gold only through the banking behemoth State Bank of India. The guidelines for sale of such gold were revised last in August 2005.
Central Board of Excise and Customs removes 1 per cent excise duty on branded gold coinsArticles of goldsmiths or silversmiths' wares of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal, bearing a brand name will attract 1 per cent excise duty.
Buzz of gold import ban spreads panic among tradersThe WhatsApp user groups suggest the reason behind the move is to curb malpractices among certain members of the gold trade of converting black money to gold at hefty premiums.
MMTC spurts 6% amid tie up on sovereign gold coinsThursday’s gains marked the third day of rise for the stock. The stock had jumped 4.72 per cent on Wednesday.
MMTC to sell sovereign gold coins to NRIsIn the domestic market, MMTC has now access to 383 bank branches through which it can sell these gold coins.
Govt to sell chana through commodity exchange NCDEXPulses prices, which had recently crossed Rs 200 per kg, have declined substantially and now are ruling at an average price of Rs 75-120 per kg.
Government to sell subsidised pulses through post officesAn Inter-ministerial committee, headed by Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande, took the decision at its meeting here today. It was attended by senior officials of ministries of food, consumer affairs, agriculture, commerce and finance.
Jewellery stocks shine on hopes of festive demandOn Monday , Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri surged 14.7% to Rs 87.4, PC Jeweller surged 7% to Rs 519.2 and Gitanjali Gems gained 5% to Rs 87.9. Titan Co gained 2% to Rs 404.
PSU employees may be able to buy more shares of their companies"We have requested the regulator to relax investment ceiling for public sector employees and are hopeful of a favourable response from Sebi," said an official source.
CBI arrests businessman, MMTC official for irregularitiesSukesh Gupta and senior official of MMTC K Ravi Prasad were arrested for alleged irregularities in gold imports and default of payment, worth over Rs 200 crore.Load More
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Brexit? The EU market and workforce is key say Scottish business leaders
Anderson Strathern survey reveals what Scotland plc thinks pre-Brexit.
Edinburgh, Glasgow, 28 March 2019 – Scottish legal firm Anderson Strathern has announced findings of its commissioned independent survey of Scotland’s SMEs and larger corporates – Taking the temperature of Scottish business – pre-Brexit. The law firm is first off the blocks with a bespoke research survey polling over 250 organisations on sentiment around Brexit, with over 100 respondents being businesses with turnover of £25M or higher. Managers were asked questions on areas such as their most important markets, exposure points in the event of Brexit, reliance on EU staff, knowledge on tariffs and barriers to import, Brexit preparedness, stockpiling, and post-Brexit outlook. The survey results also reveal that there are marked differences when it comes to the planning and preparedness around Brexit within Scotland, including between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Bruce Farquhar, Chair at Anderson Strathern, said:
“We commissioned the survey to take the pulse of our business leaders, to really understand how ready Scotland is for Brexit, revealing the challenges and the opportunities. Whilst the research shows that domestic business continues to be the main driver for the Scottish economy, it is clear that the EU market and its workforce will remain a key part of business through Brexit and beyond. Our survey has produced clear evidence that Scottish organisations need time, help and advice in preparing for the path ahead.”
– The Anderson Strathern ‘Scotland plc’ survey revealed a marked distinction in sentiment between larger corporates and SMEs in Scotland
– SMEs have a more pessimistic view of the future impact of Brexit, with 57% considering it a ‘negative’ compared to only 41% of senior managers at larger corporates.
– When it comes to Scottish business outlook on turnover over the longer term (5 years) there is a tendency towards a remain scenario with 57% of total survey respondents indicating this would be the preferred outcome for an increase in turnover.
– A Withdrawal Agreement is currently a close second, with 50% saying they were confident of increased turnover and no-deal Brexit revealed the least confidence with 44% saying they thought turnover would increase over the longer term.
Most important markets
– The survey found that 50% of Scotland’s SMEs and large corporates combined rate the European Union (EU) as their most important market, behind Scotland (86%) and the rest of the UK (57%).
– When asked about business ‘exposure points’ in the event of Brexit, the sample rated EU workforce (54%), pricing and finance (49%), regulatory and compliance concerns (42%), supply chain disruption (41%), export and import red tape (33%), and obtaining goods/services/components from the EU (33%) as their key exposure points in descending order.
Kenneth Russell, Sales & Marketing Director at John G Russell (Transport) Ltd comments:
“Two of our main concerns, when it comes to Brexit, are supply chain disruption and export and import red tape. We’ve also been looking at what happens to our cost base, fuel and drivers wages. While we have less than 2% non UK nationals, the overall UK driver makeup is very different. A current driver shortage in the south and a hard Brexit may result in considerable price impact across the industry.”
Reliance on EU staff
– Of the companies surveyed more than a third (35%) of all respondents indicated that they ‘rely heavily’ on highly-skilled EU staff, while 24% rely heavily on low-skilled EU staff.
– What’s more, 45% of respondents indicated that the future of the EU workforce is a ‘significant’ concern
– Workforce retention is a big issue for our organisations, with 54% of larger firms being much more likely to lose EU nationals from their staff.
– 54% cent of the total surveyed think that they will encounter difficulties when attracting workers from the EU
Murray McCall, Managing Partner, at Anderson Strathern said:
“We know that workforce retention is a big issue for many of our clients and this survey has revealed that it’s the same across corporate Scotland, in fact over a third of our organisations rely heavily on highly-skilled EU staff. Our immigration and employment practice currently spends most of its time focused on Brexit related issues and the largest concern is around transitional arrangements to ensure business as usual.”
Norman Provan, Associate Director, Royal College of Nursing comments:
“In the case of a no-deal Brexit there would be no transition period which would likely cause significant challenges for the health and social care sector. We would also like to see regulatory requirements aligned with the EU to create a level playing field between the remaining member states, the UK and the wider international sphere. This will be especially beneficial for developing a coherent UK workforce strategy.”
– 84% of Scottish companies surveyed said they have either completed a risk assessment for Brexit (47%) or are in the process of doing so (37%).
– Scotland’s SMEs, companies with less than 250 employees, appear less prepared with 26 per cent indicating that they have not started a risk assessment.
– In relation to a ‘no deal Brexit’, larger corporates are better prepared, with 68% having completed plans for this eventuality against 56% at smaller firms.
Neil Amner, Anderson Strathern Director and Brexit Group Lead, said:
“The survey indicates that many Scottish businesses are still in the process of going through a risk assessment, while a worrying number haven’t even started doing so. This is more apparent when we looked at SMEs, with just over a quarter still to start a risk assessment. In fact, more than half of businesses are missing a fully contingency plan. It is clear that larger businesses have the resources to be more prepared, but smaller businesses still need a bit of help in taking a closer look at what could be in store and prepare accordingly.”
Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive, from Glasgow Chambers of Commerce comments:
“The survey confirms British Chambers of Commerce evidence that the majority of small and medium sized businesses have done little to prepare for Brexit. We can largely sympathise with the difficulties so many businesses have in preparing for such an uncertain event as Brexit and we would urge businesses to go through either our own Business Brexit Checklist or the helpful materials available from Scottish Enterprise and from Scottish Brexit business advisers like Anderson Strathern.”
Central Belt divide
– Within Scotland, Glasgow-based businesses said they are more reliant on the EU as a key market than Edinburgh-based companies, at 59% against 48% in the nation’s capital.
– Glasgow businesses also said they are more reliant on an EU workforce than Edinburgh (59% versus 44%).
– 60% of respondents in Edinburgh said they have completed their risk assessments, compared to 44% in Glasgow.
– Half of Glasgow businesses (50%) believe that their revenue will decrease over the next year as a result of Brexit, compared to 31% of Edinburgh-based businesses.
Neil Amner, added:
“As a city, Glasgow has a greater EU workforce than Edinburgh and also appears to be more uncertain of Brexit, whilst being less prepared with a risk assessment. Perhaps this is also an indication of a higher proportion of west coast based businesses waiting for a more solid outcome, whilst battening down the hatches for what’s to come.”
Iain Mitchell, Director of John Mitchell Haulage & Warehousing comments:
“Our focus over the last two years has been on cash generation so that we can weather any storm, should one arise. Like most organisations of our size, we are waiting to hear about whatever deal is done and cast in stone, then we’ll start making and taking decisions.”
– The survey found a fairly even split across the sample in terms of Scottish companies stockpiling goods (32%), companies who aren’t stockpiling ‘but intend to’ (34%) and those who are not stockpiling and ‘don’t intend to do so’ (35%). At the same time, 82% of larger corporates are stockpiling (250 + staff) against companies with less than 250 employees (24%).
Knowledge on tariffs and barriers to imports
– In terms of knowledge around how the tariff regime could change, around a third (32%) of all respondents have ‘no idea’ what tariffs or quotas they are likely to face when exporting products to the EU post-Brexit.
– 39% of respondents said they ‘have some idea’, while 29% stated they are ‘totally aware’ of the potential quotas and tariffs.
– When asked about barriers to import from the EU post-Brexit, 24% of companies said they had ‘no idea’, compared to 27% who said they were completely aware. Awareness levels were highest at larger corporates, with 41% of senior managers there stating they were ‘completely aware’.
– When asked about the potential to fall back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules in the event of a no-deal Brexit, 25% said they were ‘completely aware’ against 22% who said they had ‘no idea’.
– Despite the uncertainty surrounding a no-deal predicting a negative impact on corporate revenue, many Scottish businesses see some opportunities for business growth
– 68% of senior managers in larger organisations thought that Brexit could provide their business with further opportunity
– Overall two thirds (65%) see doors opening for markets such as China and the USA
Neil Amner, Anderson Strathern Director and Brexit Group Lead, said:
“Over time we get to a point, around five years after the UK leaves the EU, whether on a negotiated or a no-deal basis, by which there is almost a 50-50 call about whether or not Brexit is for the better or not.”
1. Censuswide carried out the survey, which comprised 272 business leaders in Scotland including 101 from organisations with either over £25 million in annual revenue or more than 250 employees.
2. Anderson Strathern was the first Scottish legal firm to launch a dedicated Brexit unit in July 2016 within days of the outcome of the EU referendum. The Brexit Group’s services include a Brexit audit for businesses and is supported by an online Brexit Hub which offers insight, analysis and practical advice.