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Ukrainian Hackers Used Quizzes To Access Private Facebook Data, Company SaysUkrainian hackers used seemingly innocuous online quizzes and surveys to gain access to private Facebook user data, the social media company says.
T-Mobile Says Hackers May Have Personal Data Of 2 Million CustomersWireless carrier T-Mobile announced on Thursday that the personal information of 2 million customers may have been breached.
iPhone Secret Code Revealed In 'Biggest Leak In History'The source code for a core component of the iPhone’s operating system was posted to the software development platform GitHub; drawing a quick response from the tech giant.
'Starwars' And 'Password' Among Worst Passwords Of 2017, Study SaysThe company gave the dubious honor of 2017's worst password to "123456," which retained its top spot as the worst option for the second year in a row.
Equifax Reportedly Hacked Again, This Time With Fake Pop UpsAn independent security analyst claims that the company's website was compromised for several hours on October 11
Hackers Have Successfully Hidden Malware In Popular PC Cleanup ToolSecurity experts say the Trojan horse-style attack hackers launched affected over two million CCleaner customers who downloaded the product in August.
Hackers Targeting Cameras To Steal Data, Extort VictimsYour home computer is no longer the first thing hackers go for.
Hackers Take Control Of Indiana County's WebsiteTwo hackers have taken credit for invading the website of a western Pennsylvania county and posting a profanity-laden message on its homepage.
Chrysler Issues Recall To Prevent Hacking Of Its Car SoftwareFiat Chrysler moved quickly to recall 1.4 million vehicles equipped with certain Internet and radio software that can be hacked by outsiders.
Controversial Website For People Looking To Have Affairs HackedA website embroiled in controversy from its beginning has been hacked, and its 37 million users may have good reason to be a bit nervous.
Feds Say They Have Shut Down 'Darkode' Malware MarketplaceThe Justice Department says it has shut down an online marketplace where cybercriminals bought and sold hacked databases, malicious software and other products that could steal information from computer systems.
New Credit Cards With Chips Are Not Fool-ProofThe new credit card with a chip is a response to all those credit card breaches at stores like Target, Kmart, Staples, and Home Depot.


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This is the web version of CEO Daily. To get it delivered to your inbox, sign up here.
A couple of stories on companies thriving during the pandemic for your consideration.
First, Clorox. COVID has been good to the company, as consumers scrambled for its disinfectant products. The famed wipes get snatched off shelves as quickly as they are put down, and I haven’t been able to find a bottle of my wife’s favorite Clorox/Tilex spray in six months. Sales in the quarter ended June 30 rose 22% from the previous year, and annual revenue hit $6.7 billion, up 8%. The company’s share price is up 42% since the first of the year. And the pollsters at Morning Consult put it at number six on their “Most Loved Brands” list, right after Netflix and before Amazon Prime.
How do you turn that pandemic-powered popularity into a perpetually better business? That’s the challenge that faces new CEO Linda Rendle. Fortune’s Phil Wahba does a deep dive into her challenge, available this morning here.
And second, Keurig Dr. Pepper. As the hot and cold drink businesses converge, this upstart is giving Coke and Pepsi a run for their money. In the 20-week period ended July 21, KDP grabbed 34.1% of the $1.4 billion increase in revenue for carbonated beverages, making it best-in-class at navigating the pandemic. And its ubiquitous coffee pods went through the roof. (We used more than a half dozen a day at my house while sheltering in place.)
KDP CEO Bob Gamgort told Fortune’s Shawn Tully that he hopes to thrive by embracing—rather than dreading—uncertainty. “Our rivals are rolling over and hoping the status quo returns,” he said. “It’s not returning.” You can read Tully’s piece here.
More news below.
Ireland and the Czech Republic have become the first—and probably not the last—European countries to go back into national lockdown. The Irish government is being open about the fact that 150,000 people will likely lose their jobs as a result. The pandemic's second wave is hitting Europe hard, with 20 countries reporting record case numbers yesterday. Fortune
The International Monetary Fund had been expecting Asia's pandemic-related economic contraction this year to be around 1.6%, but now it's updated that figure to a likely 2.2%. The IMF notes particularly sharp contractions in India, the Philippines and Malaysia—its forecast holds that India's economy will be decimated in the year ending March 31, 2021, with a contraction of 10.3%. CNBC
The IAG-owned airlines BA, Iberia and Vueling were going to run 40% of last year's schedule in the last quarter of this year, but the second wave of the pandemic hit bookings hard, so the carriers will now fly just 30% of last year's schedule in the quarter. IAG has also revealed losses of over €1 billion ($1.2 billion) last quarter. Financial Times
Big news in the cryptocurrency world: PayPal, one of the biggest beasts, will soon support virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. As Fortune's David Z. Morris explains: "PayPal’s cryptocurrency service, at least at first, will be effectively limited to purchasing currencies through a third party, Paxos Crypto Brokerage, which will actually hold the private cryptographic keys controlling the crypto tokens." Fortune
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
We hardly knew you. "Our failure was not for lack of trying," said founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman to the smartphone-focused streaming service's unlucky employees and investors, as they announced its closure, a mere six months after launching. The duo decided to pull the plug now, so as to give investors as much of their capital back as possible, rather than dragging out the inevitable. Wall Street Journal
The U.K. is allowing a controversial COVID-19 vaccine trial to go ahead, where healthy young volunteers will be deliberately infected with the coronavirus. Many bioethicists have strong reservations about conducting these "challenge trials", though, especially where the relevant disease has no proven cure. In this case, the researchers say they will use Gilead's remdesivir as the "rescue drug"—but remdesivir does not have any significant impact on COVID-19 mortality. Fortune
If you're enjoying the market gyrations that are accompanying the deeply uncertain U.S. stimulus talks, you're going to love what comes next. As Fortune's Anne Sraders writes: "Market observers and strategists have been counseling clients on what a contested election might do to equities, and many dread what kind of volatility we’d see in the event of a dragged-out election decision. Some investors are also planning ahead, buying options and futures on a bet things will be volatile after Nov. 3." Fortune
NASA has some exciting news to share about the Moon. It will announce "an exciting new discovery" on Monday, and whatever it is, it's something that "contributes to NASA’s efforts to learn about the Moon in support of deep space exploration." While on the subject of NASA, the agency has released some sweet footage of its OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft tagging the surface of asteroid Bennu, and it's also awarded the contract for lunar 4G (yes, really) to Finland's Nokia. Independent
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.

domain: news


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Last week, several publications celebrated a new study that highlights the impacts of climate change on cocoa, stating global warming might make chocolate taste better. Good news, chocolate-lovers, wrote one outlet, “climate change may have a silver lining’.
Sadly, it’s not true.
Wiebke Niether, the lead researcher of the study (published in the Journal of Agriculture And Food Chemistry) stresses, “We did not … show that climate change may offer opportunities to produce chocolate with a better taste”
Instead, what they found was evidence that climate change impacts the production of fat and minerals in cacao (the pod-shaped fruit whose seeds become cocoa and chocolate) that, in turn, influence both nutritional value and flavor.
Amazon link to purchase Simran Sethi’s Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of the Foods We Love.


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4Gamer.net has gotten their hands on some screenshots for Koei Tecmo’s upcoming game for Nintendo Switch, Fire Emblem Warriors. We have provided some of them for you to take a gander at below.
You can check out the full article and the rest of the images at 4Gamer.net via this link.
Source: 4Gamer.netTags: August Feature, Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem Warriors, Gaming, intelligent systems, Koei Tecmo, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, videogames
This post was written by Mike Scorpio


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NRG Energy, of Princeton, yesterday rolled out its plans to build the nation’s first privately funded, plug-in vehicle-charging network in the city of Houston. The system will consist of charging stations in the garages of owners of electric vehicles and 50 stations in and around the metropolitan area.
The project is a trial run for the type of network that could be deployed in New Jersey.
The $10 million investment by NRG, small by energy industry standards, may give consumers a hint as to what the new vehicle infrastructure looks like and a grasp of the convenience and costs associated with switching from a gas-powered car to one relying on the electric power grid.
NRG’s chief executive officer David Crane said it’s a “money-winning proposition” for drivers, with the company offering consumers a three-tiered pricing plan featuring unlimited miles ranging from $49 to $89 per month.
Houston and surrounding Harris County were chosen for the launch because of the unique nature of a fully unregulated electricity market in Texas and the fact that it has a high percentage of people who park their vehicles in garages, Crane said.
Eventually, NRG plans to expand the pilot to other Texas cities and other locations. Earlier this year, NJ Spotlight reported the Princeton company and Newark-based Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) had held preliminary talks with the Christie administration about building the infrastructure for plug-in vehicles in New Jersey.
In rolling out its system in Houston, NRG has negotiated partnerships with a wide array of interests: auto companies, retailers, power suppliers and the broader business community to make convenient charging a reality. In time, NRG hopes to install up to 150 charging stations at retail outlets, malls and stores. If that’s done, drivers would be five miles within a charging station no matter where they are in Harris County, Crane said.
Charging at Home
Home installations of charging stations could cost up to $2,500. The unit can deliver up to 25 miles per charging hour, allowing owners to charge their cars overnight when power demand is lightest. Owners also will be able to charge vehicles at a series of charging stations, open 24 hours, seven days a week. Fast-charging options will allow drivers to add 30 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes.”It’s all about convenience,” Crane said.
Auto manufacturers are not scheduled to begin rolling out electric vehicles to the public until the end of this year, so Crane thinks no more than 1,000 cars will be using the NRG network in its first year. Electric vehicles also should not put a strain on the electric power grid for at least a decade, he said.
Responding to a question from a reporter, Crane said the company expects to make money on the venture. “We believe we will make money and that includes the electricity [we sell customers].”
Analysts were not so certain. “I don’t think it’s going to be a big profit-driver,” said Paul Patterson, an energy analyst with Glenrock Associates, based in New York City. “Only time will tell how much the electric car will take hold.”
NRG is a diversified power supplier, owning nuclear, coal and other conventional power plants. In recent years, it has bought wind developers, invested in a huge solar project in the California desert and, earlier this fall, purchased Green Mountain Energy, an energy retailer that sells electricity to consumers from wind and other renewable sources. A subsidiary, NRG Bluewater Wind, is also seeking to build a wind farm off the New Jersey coast.
Crane argued the shift to electric vehicles will be driven by the younger generation, and by people who are upset with the “staggering transfer of wealth from America” to oil-producing nations.
In discussing the future of electric vehicles, Crane compared NRG to Whole Foods, which has about a 12 percent market share of organic food sales. “They define the space,” he said, implying the Princeton energy would like to do the same with plug-in vehicles.
Challenges, however, remain, particularly in states that have not deregulated their electric industry, Crane said, although they are not insurmountable. For instance, he said there is not much logic in having the electric-vehicle infrastructure as part of the rate-based utility system. NRG and other independent suppliers do not believe the cost of developing charging stations and the electricity they use should be included in the conventional utility rate base in regulated states.


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Amazon is making its biggest push into the healthcare industry yet with the launch today of Amazon Pharmacy: a new service offering home delivery for prescription medication.
Customers can sign up to the new store by creating a ”secure pharmacy profile,” with the option of adding information about their health insurance, any outstanding medical issues like allergies, and any regular prescriptions. The store will offer a range of “generic and brand-name drugs,” reports CNBC, including “commonly prescribed drugs like insulin, triamcinolone steroid creams, metformin for controlling blood sugar, and sumatriptan for migraines.” Notably, the pharmacy will not sell Schedule II medications, which includes many common opioids like Oxycontin.
Amazon Pharmacy will also sell medication to people without insurance
As usual for Amazon, Prime members will get a number of advantages over regular customers. These perks include free, two-day delivery on orders and discounts on medication. Amazon claims Prime members will be able to save “up to 80 percent off generic and 40 percent off brand name medications when paying without insurance.” Prime members will also be able to save on medication bought in person from over 50,000 pharmacies across the US, including Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens.
Amazon Pharmacy will be available in 45 states this weeks, reports CNBC. States currently not covered include Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and Minnesota, though Amazon plans to expand to those areas in the future. Amazon says it accepts “most” insurance plans, and will give customers the option of speaking to a pharmacist for advice.
The launch of Amazon Pharmacy is a significant move from Amazon, but far from unexpected. The company has been steadily building up its position in the healthcare market for years now, with signs pointing to a launch into pharmaceutical services.
In 2018 it bought pharmaceutical delivery startup PillPack for just under $1 billion. The company later rebranded the service as PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy, and CNBC reports that PillPack’s infrastructure (including its fulfillment centers and relationships with healthcare providers) were used to create Amazon Pharmacy. Amazon says PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy will continue as a “distinct service,” aimed at customers “managing multiple daily medications for chronic conditions.”
According to Healthcare Weekly, the pharmacy industry is worth $312 billion in the US, with annual growth rates of 3 percent driven primarily by the rise of online stores and home delivery. Given Amazon’s prowess in logistics and its network of warehouses and drivers, entering this space seems logical. And at a time when more people are staying at home because of the pandemic, the prospect of delivering medication is even more attractive.
In a press statement, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of North American Consumer, Doug Herrington, suggested that this dynamic would work in the company’s favor. “As more and more people look to complete everyday errands from home, pharmacy is an important and needed addition to the Amazon online store,” said Herrington.


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* Q4 EPS $0.40 in line with est.
* Sales $988.5 mln beats est. $946.6 mln
* Sees FY EPS $1.74-$1.83 vs est. $1.81
* FY sales view $4.35-$4.45 bln vs est $4.14 bln
Sept 8 United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI.O) posted higher-than-expected sales for the fourth consecutive quarter, helped by sales from new business wins and its Canadian acquisition, and gave a full-year revenue outlook well above analysts' expectations.
Net sales rose 15.8 percent to $988.5 million in the quarter ended July 31, while analysts on average had expected revenue of $946.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. [ID:nASA00PQC]
Despite the big beat on sales, a slight fall in gross margins meant the company could only meet the market's quarterly profit expectations.
United Natural, which distributes more than 60,000 products to about 23,000 locations in the United States and Canada, recorded sales of $22.1 million related to its acquisition of the Canadian food distribution assets of a unit of SunOpta Inc (SOY.TO).
For the fourth quarter ended July 31, net income was $17.6 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with $15.5 million, or 36 cents a share, a year ago.
Shares of the Dayville, Connecticut-based company closed at $35.39 Tuesday on Nasdaq. They have risen 8 percent since the company reported strong third-quarter resutls in early June. (Reporting by Mihir Dalal in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)
GM says ISS advises against Greenlight share plan, board nominees
May 27 General Motors Co said on Saturday that proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that shareholders vote against a slate of directors proposed by hedge fund Greenlight Capital and reject the hedge fund's plan to divide GM shares into two classes.
Fairfax Financial to sell 12.2 pct of Indian insurer ICICI Lombard
MUMBAI, May 27 Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings plans to sell a 12.2 percent stake in its Indian joint venture insurer ICICI Lombard in a deal that will value the company at 203 billion rupees ($3.15 billion), the Indian company said on Saturday.


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The Big Questions
As the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show took place in Shanghai, China on November 20, Ashley Graham, 30, seemingly called the brand out for not including her – or any other plus-size models – among the winged beauties parading down the runway.
Yep, Ash – who revealed in June that she’d love to be in the show – ’grammed a pic of herself walking for rival lingerie label Addition Elle, with VS’S trademark angel wings photoshopped onto her back! The shade!
Of course, it’s not like VS – who only stock up to US size 16 – haven’t used curvy girls before, with bootylicious babe Tyra Banks, 43, walking in the show nine times.
And while current Angel Elsa Hosk, 29, has said, “I think the whole world is more open to plus-size [models] and I am sure at some point [Victoria’s Secret] will be ready for it”, it’s clear that, for now, they’re in no rush to budge on the bods they cater for...


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PayPal Skips Bitcoin While ‘Clearly Working on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency’
PAYPAL DOESN’T WANT TO MISS OUT ON BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTO REVOLUTION
According to John Rainey, PayPal’s chief financial officer, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology could be disruptive and the financial services firm doesn’t want to miss out:
We have teams clearly working on blockchain and cryptocurrency as well, and we want to take part in that in whatever form that takes in the future — I just think it’s a little early on right now [on bitcoin].
PayPal’s CFO is not alone in the company’s top management ranks with regards to Bitcoin skepticism. The firm’s CEO, Dan Schulman, earlier this year took a swipe at bitcoin saying ‘we’re not seeing many retailers at all accept any of the cryptocurrencies’.
However, he acknowledged that the underlying technology of bitcoin is ‘interesting’. Last year Schulman had noted that the reason retailers were averse to accepting bitcoin was because of its volatility.
BITCOIN TRANSACTIONS MAY BE SLOWER, BUT STILL CHEAPER THAN PAYPAL
According to Amsterdam Stock Exchange trader who goes by Crypto Michael, bitcoin is up to 80 times cheaper than PayPal. This is especially when making cross-border payments of large amounts.
Despite PayPal’s C-suite being crypto skeptic, one of the members of the company’s board begs to differ. Last month PayPal director Wences Casares said that bitcoin’s chances of succeeding exceed 50 percent, as earlier reported by CCN.
According to Casares, if the cryptocurrency succeeds it could shoot to over $1 million in ‘7 to 10 years’. Casares is also the CEO of bitcoin wallet firm Xapo.
USING BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
As PayPal’s CFO noted, the financial services firm is pursuing blockchain projects. Just last month, the payments firm invested in a blockchain technology startup known as Cambridge Blockchain, according to Forbes. The startup focuses on empowering individuals to decentralize the storage of their online digital identities without requiring intermediaries.
This article originally appeared on ccn.com To read the full article, click here.
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But Tinder’s positive pricing in addition has triggered blowback just for what skeptics called the service’s ageist methods
“I’m perhaps probably maybe not eager enough to keep utilizing Tinder now it considers me personally a dried up older hag,” penned Dani Burlison, a 41-year-old single mother, in Wired that I’m sure. “The youthful ‘uns might have they.”
The organization defended how to use raya the rates structure as geared towards accommodating younger “budget-constrained” daters, but experts posses in fact questioned just how many singles pays around see an online complement. In a note to customers, morgan stanley analysts mentioned the honeymoon years for tinder’s “casual dating” wouldn’t last for lengthy march.
“There include restrictions your percentage of individual those that may be effective Tinder consumers ”
EHarmony has never but shied definately not its reputation as an overbearing matchmaker, slow but thorough, with lasting passions in mind. Just this past year, the organization rolling completely a live-matchmaker option, eH+, that pricing $5,000, in addition to the company has aimed at online online those sites moving its algorithm to several more person arenas, with contemplating the right work. Continue reading “But Tinder’s Plus cost in addition has led to blowback just for what skeptics known as service’s ageist methods”


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FedEx Corp. Q2 bottom line came in at $757 million
The company said its bottom line came in at $757 million, or $2.80 per share. This was higher than $729 million, or $2.58 per share, in last year's second quarter.
The company said revenue for the quarter rose 19.2% to $14.9 billion. This was up from $12.5 billion last year.
FedEx Corporation earnings at a glance:
- Earnings (Q2): $757 million vs. $729 million last year
- Earnings Growth (Y-o-Y): 3.8%
- EPS (Q2): $2.80 vs. $2.58 last year
- EPS Growth (Y-o-Y): 8.5%
- Revenue (Q2): $14.9 billion vs. $12.5 billion last year
- Revenue Change (Y-o-Y): 19.2%
Full year EPS guidance: $10.95 to $11.45. ■


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South Africa’s trade data update – the May 2020 data reveals the effect of eased lockdown restrictions
Since the beginning of May 2020 South Africa gradually started to ease lockdown restrictions with a consequent increase in trade reflected in pdf South Africa’s trade data for May (589 KB) which was released by the South African Revenue Services (SARS) on 30 June 2020. However, while exports show signs of improvements imports have remained relatively constant throughout the lockdown period, which is at significantly lower levels than imports in May 2019. Consequently, South Africa has a trade surplus for May 2020 after a significant trade deficit for April 2020.
In comparison with May 2019, imports for May 2020 are 22 per cent lower, mainly due to a decline in imports from Europe, US, India, Nigeria and Eswatini. Respective imports from China, Brazil, Netherlands, Mozambique and Finland for May 2020 are 12 per cent, 5 per cent, 18 per cent, 13 per cent and 91 per cent higher than imports for May 2019. Imports from these countries are either personal protection equipment (PPE) and medical equipment (China and Netherlands (animal vaccines)) or food products including chicken (Brazil and Netherlands), rice (Brazil), oats and wheat (Finland), soybean and seed oils (Netherlands), and bananas, cashews and macadamia nuts from Mozambique.
Imports from some countries have shown a steady increase during the lockdown period; while total imports for May 2020 are 9 per cent lower than imports for March 2020, imports from countries including China, Japan, Spain, Brazil and South Korea for May exceed imports from these countries prior to March 2020. The increase in imports from China and South Korea is mainly due to imports of PPE and diagnostic reagents and equipment. The increase in imports from Brazil is food products, from Spain wind-powered generating sets and Japan original motor vehicle component parts. Since April China has surpassed Germany as the main supplying country due to imports of significant quantities of PPE and equipment with medical applications.
Imports from other African countries also started to recover during May with imports from neighbouring countries Eswatini (sugar), Mozambique (coal and nuts), Namibia (live animals, zinc, diamonds and fish), Botswana (diamonds and ignition wire sets), Lesotho (wool, trout and bread flour) and Zimbabwe (tobacco, coke of coal, tea and nuts) increasing. There has also been a surge in imports from some countries which saw imports decline to almost zero during April. These include Cameroon (imports of technical specified rubber, PPE and wood), Ivory Coast (cocoa paste and technical specified rubber), Seychelles (parts for helicopters) and Zambia (copper, manganese, cotton and animal feed).
Between March and April 2020 South Africa’s world exports more than halved, but at the end of May exports were almost back up at March 2020 levels. However, exports for May 2020 are still eight per cent lower than exports for May 2019. Most of South Africa’s traditional export products (semi-manufactured gold, coal, iron ores and other ores and concentrates) recovered; most of these exports fell by more than half between March and April. Exports to most trade partners recovered to March 2020 levels although there are some exceptions, mainly due to a significant decline in exports of motor vehicles.
Exports to Germany have remained at a third of exports in March 2020 and half the exports in May 2019 due to a decline in exports of coins and vehicles.
Exports to both India and Australia remained at half the exports to each country in comparison with exports in both March 2020 and May 2019. Exports of coal, manganese ores, chemical wood pulp and engines to India, and vehicles and vehicle parts to Australia declined.
Exports to Botswana is half the exports for both March 2020 and May 2019 due to a decline in exports of fuel (mainly petrol) and electrical energy.
Intra-Africa exports for May are double that of April; mainly electrical energy, coal, maize, ores and concentrates and double-cab vehicles. The increase in exports is mainly due to exports of vehicles, steel structures, cigarettes, medicines and laboratory reagents. Exports are also mainly to neighbouring countries (Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia).
The data shows the significant impact of the strict lockdowns on South Africa’s industries and their inability to export. On the one side most of South Africa’s production activities were halted, but with lockdowns in most countries demand for traditional products reduced significantly at the end of March into April. As countries started to lift strict lockdown restrictions exports of traditional products to traditional trade partners have mostly resumed and recovered to pre-March 2020 levels. Although the value of imports has remained relevantly stable between March and May, the composition of imports is showing some longer-term changes with medical equipment and PPE now accounting for seven of the top ten import products.
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Daimler Truck is going full speed ahead to win the race to zero emissions with the all-electric light-duty truck, FUSO eCanter.
The company recently announced that global customer deliveries have now surpassed the 300 vehicle mark from small series production.
Customers in sixteen countries and cities such as New York, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and even Auckland trust in the reliable urban delivery truck. More deliveries are set to follow successively.
A further milestone reached by the global eCanter fleet is that the distance travelled in daily customer operations now exceeds a combined 4 million kilometers driven locally emission free – equivalent to around 100 circumventions of planet earth or a little over five trips to the moon and back.
The FUSO eCanter provides a 100 kilometer range with a single charge, making the 7,49t vehicle perfectly suited for zero-emission and quiet inner-city distribution.
As of November 2021, more than 40 vehicles were so far delivered in the United States, approximately 75 trucks in Japan and another 190+ FUSO eCanter in Europe.
Earlier in 2021, the all-electric light-duty truck was introduced to Australia and New Zealand, expanding the vehicles success story and adding two more major FUSO markets to the roster.
With the launch of the eCanter in 2017, FUSO has claimed its stake as a pioneer and leader in electric trucks.
In line with the sustainability strategy of Daimler Truck, FUSO leads the commercial vehicle industry into the future. Daimler Truck aims to have all new vehicles in the Triad (Europe, North America, and Japan) “tank-to-wheel” CO2-neutral by 2039.
The eCanter thereby plays a significant role toward achieving carbon neutral transportation.
The eCanter is the series-produced all-electric truck developed by MFTBC as a solution to urban environmental issues such as noise, exhaust gas and CO2 emissions.
The eCanter, which falls under the 7.5-ton gross vehicle weight class, ensures a range of about 100 kilometers per charge.
The electric drive system carries a motor (maximum output: 135 kW; maximum torque: 390 Nm) and six high-voltage (370 V, 13.5 kWh) lithium-ion battery packs.
With quick-charging stations, the vehicle only takes up to approximately 1.5 hours to fully recharge.


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Topped by a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that sold for £708,750 ($921,985), Silverstone Auctions reports its recent collector car auction at the Reis Race Retro show at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, England, produced £4.6 million ($5.98 million) in sales.
The two-day sale began with an offering of race cars. Silverstone said 70 percent of those competition cars went to new owners, and for a total of £1.5 million as the British auction house opened its 2020 sales calendar.
Among the auction highlights were a pair of Jaguar F-Type SVR GT4 race cars produced for the Invictus Games Foundation selling for £213,750 ($278,060), proceeds benefiting injured military personnel.
A 2007 Subaru WRC that Colin McRae drove to the World Rally Championship brought £189,000 ($245,863). One of only 49 1973 Porsche 911 2.8 RSR built for the FIA GT class sold for £101,250 ($131,713).
A 1965 Jaguar E-type Series 1 upgraded by specialist Eagle sold for £233,438 ($303,6701). A 1992 Lancia Hyena Zagato, the 9th of only 20 built, sold for £168,750 ($219,521). A one-off 1967 Ford Mustang GT fastback 347 brought £92,250 ($120,005), and the 1987 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth (chassis 003) went for £78,750 ($102,443).


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Retro gaming fans get more chances to order Analogue's Pocket this year. The portable console that can play Game Boy, Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color and Atari Lynx games from original cartridges first went up for pre—order last year and was sold out within a few minutes. The company delayed its release to May 2021 due to the “unfortunate global state of affairs and supply chain challenges," but it has published a new announcement assuring interested buyers that it's selling more units in the future.
At the moment, Pocket's status on Analogue's website is still "Out of Stock," with the option to get a notification when it becomes available. Analogue's announcement makes it clear that it truly will be available for purchase again, and that status isn't permanent. Pocket isn't a limited edition device, it wrote, and "[m]ore Pockets will be available for purchase in 2021." Also, the company is taking steps to prevent bots and scalpers from snapping up units and selling them at inflated prices.
To start with, it vows to implement robust bot protection on its store. All orders placed by bots, which typically happens when a product first goes up for pre-order or sale, will be canceled. Further, the company will monitor websites like eBay for listings that resell pre-orders and will report them to the e-commerce platforms directly. It will also cancel all pre-orders listed for resale. While Analogue didn't say when Pocket will be available for purchase again exactly, it's encouraging interested buyers to sign up for a notification for now.


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First negative inflation figure since 1960
Tuesday 21 April 2009
The UK experienced its first period of deflation in almost 50 years in March, official figures revealed today.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation fell to minus 0.4 per cent last month, down from 0 per cent in February, the first negative reading since March 1960.
The official Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure also fell, from 3.2 per cent in February to 2.9 per cent.
Today's inflation figures were broadly in line with expectations and will reignite fears of a period of deflation for the UK as the effects of recession take hold of the economy.
While CPI remains above the Government's two per cent target, negative RPI could have unwanted consequences for many households because it is used as a benchmark for private sector wage settlements.
It is also used as the basis for annual rises in State pension payments and other benefits, as well as annuity payments for private pensions and rates for index-linked savings.
RPI was pushed lower than the official measure because, unlike CPI, it includes housing costs and mortgage payments.
Its fall was attributed to the effects of deep interest rate cuts, which filtered through to lower mortgage payments, and plummeting house prices.
Last month's fall reflects February's cut in the cost of borrowing to 1 per cent.
The Bank of England has since slashed interest rates further, to a record low of 0.5 per cent.
The ONS said the largest downward pressure on CPI was a drop in household gas bills.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage costs were also lower, as fruit, vegetables and bread prices all fell compared with a year ago.
Transport costs also played a part in pulling inflation down, mainly because of lower air fares on European routes compared with last March. The ONS said this was because the Easter school holidays, which tend to attract higher flight prices, fell in March last year, but April this year.
Fuel also rose more slowly than a year ago, when it had just begun to climb to the peaks experienced last summer.
Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, said the figures suggested that retailers were pushing prices back up to widen their margins.
He added: "This has certainly caused inflation to fall more slowly than we had anticipated, but there are good reasons not to get too worried.
"For a start, energy prices should fall a fair bit further over the coming months as already announced cuts in gas and electricity prices feed through.
"And second, we suspect that the weakness of retail spending and activity in general will bear down strongly on core inflation in time."
Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said CPI had been prevented from falling faster as the weakness in the pound caused retailers to raise prices to offset higher import costs.
He said this meant the official inflation measure was unlikely to turn sharply negative this year, although "a brief period of mild deflation is still possible".
But Mr Archer said the decline in RPI would "deepen significantly".
"Given that many pay awards are still linked to retail price inflation, the decline in March will maintain the downward pressure on wages already coming from soaring unemployment and companies' deteriorating profitability," he said.
"As a result, many workers are likely to see wage freezes or even pay cuts."
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: "Deflationary pressures could make the recession worse in the short term, despite quantitative easing and the huge budget deficit posing inflationary pressures over the medium term.
"The Chancellor must address both these conflicting risks in his Budget. He must support business and administer targeted fiscal stimulus for the year ahead.
"But he also has to present a credible medium-term plan for restoring the public finances back to health."
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The extreme heat engulfing parts of China is a painfully apt metaphor for the economic temperature in Beijing.
The headlines of recent days can smack of cooling. Case in point: Asia’s biggest economy grew just 0.4% in the April-June quarter from a year ago. It was below forecasts of 1% and a world away from the 5.5% 2022 target.
But it’s the overheating risks emanating from China’s debt markets that are dominating investors’ attention. Some of the most extreme heat is being felt by China Evergrande Group and other property developers facing a mutiny among homeowners.
The problem: many Chinese took out huge mortgages for properties that remain unfinished. Homebuyers are either refusing to make payments or threatening to. This bubble has a number of economists worried China is giving off strong Lehman Brothers vibes as growth grinds to a halt.
Minxin Pei, China expert at Claremont McKenna College notes that confidence in the stability of mainland banks has been “badly shaken” by the failure of several small banks in Henan Province in April.
Since 2008-2009, when the Lehman crisis rocked the global financial system, China has been on a debt binge to support growth. Lots of it was issued by local governments far away from the real seat of power in Beijing. “Many have wondered how long the party could go on,” Pei explains.
Diana Choyleva at Enodo Economics points to another warning sign that things are amiss the globe’s biggest trading nation: mass bank protests in the city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, in recent months in response to accounts being frozen.
This pushback by “bank depositors demanding their life savings back and condemning government corruption is another manifestation of the huge challenges Beijing faces at present,” Choyleva says. “In China, whose citizens have no chance to express views through the ballot box, domestic bank runs can signal falling confidence in the system Xi tops.”
Clearly, investors betting on Japan-like reckoning in China haven’t made money these last 13-14 years. Time and time again, Communist Party leaders managed to steer China away from the rocks. Beijing did so by pushing China’s debt-to-GDP ratio to the verge of 265%.
Short-sellers who stepped forward to bet against Chinese government debt or the yuan over the last dozen years ended up closing those trades. Here, think hedge fund manager Kyle Bass, founder of Dallas-based Hayman Capital.
But China’s debt challenge is now colliding with two big threats, one from abroad and one homemade.
The first is a global inflation surge forcing the Federal Reserve to make its biggest tightening moves since the early 1990s. The second is President Xi Jinping’s “zero-Covid” lockdowns, which are backfiring—and fast.
For China, any gross domestic product reading under 4% arguably puts the economy in recession territory. Not only is a new Covid-19 wave weighing on China’s outlook, but so is a diminishing returns dynamic that could reduce the power of fresh Chinese stimulus.
More than a decade of generating growth with massive infrastructure projects, many funded at the local government level, has left China with fewer productive projects to order up. Over time, the economic payoff weakens, increasing the costs to broader society.
As Xinquan Chen, economist at Goldman Sachs puts it: “Funds are less of a constraint for infrastructure investment this year, while the bottlenecks lie mainly with project pipelines and government incentives.”
And then there’s Charlene Chu, an economist well known for spotlighting China’s bubble troubles when she was with Fitch Ratings. Now with Autonomous Research, Chu has two big worries about Xi’s economy.
The immediate one is another cycle of Evergrande-like defaults as growth flatlines. The People’s Bank of China could surely try to open the monetary floodgates to avoid contagion. At some point, questions about which companies are too big to fail will pivot to whether they’re too big to save.
The longer-term problem is how debt becomes an intensifying headwind for China’s $17 trillion economy. In a recent appearance on the One Decision Podcast, Chu said “we continue to be in a climate where the Chinese government is growing credit at very, very rapid rates. And longer term, this does have a cost.”
Even if China doesn’t crash anytime soon, Chu says, the debt burden “does start to squeeze overall economic growth. The more you saddle households and businesses with debt the more each dollar or RMB of revenue or income they get from wages is going to repay debt. And that’s not going to consume goods, it’s not going to new capital expenditure to drive growth and business.”
China, Chu notes, “is in a situation now where the debt bubble continues to grow and it is I think one of the structural issues that is weighing on Chinese growth.” She adds that it’s “one of the reasons why we think we are entering an area here where we are going to be looking at low to mid-single-digit growth in China at best as the country really starts to slow down from this.”
Many bearish short-sellers will attest that Xi’s government is skilled at confounding the naysayers. Yet his financial rescue team really has its work cut out as Lehman comparisons make the rounds in investment circles.
How Saskatchewan's economy is being boosted by summer events – CTV News Regina
As summer events draw crowds of people together again, Saskatchewan’s economy is feeling the benefit.
This year’s Queen City Exhibition (QCX) broke all previous attendance records with 278,306 people walking through the gates.
The Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) said the fair carried a $12.8 million economic impact.
“Any time you bring new dollars to our community such as the ride operators, the food operators and folks from rural Saskatchewan or western Canada that come to join, that drives hotel nights, restaurant nights and bar nights which has a significant impact on our visitor economy,” Tim Reid, the CEO and president of REAL, said.
Reid said organizers focused on a few things to make this year’s fair a bigger success, including investing in higher quality entertainment. The Jason Derulo concert drew the largest crowd ever for a Queen City Ex show.
“We saw airport numbers go up because people were flying in to watch Jason Derulo. We saw travel numbers go up because people were coming here for the rodeo,” Reid said.
“When we do events that draw a market beyond Regina, that means that it helps our economy.”
During the same weekend as the Queen City Ex, the Regina Folk Festival was taking place in Victoria Park.
Final attendance numbers aren’t calculated yet but Amber Goodwyn, the festival’s artistic director, said the turn out was “amazing.”
“People came out. People really missed this festival for three years,” Goodwyn said. “The festival this year was on par with previous festivals.”
Goodwyn said the festival provides a boost to a number of sectors of the local economy.
“We’ve got hundreds of volunteers, stage technicians, crews, suppliers, restaurants, all the companies that build the infrastructure,” she explained.
“It’s really important, especially for the entertainment industry aspect who were on pause for essentially three years. People are just so happy to get back to work.”
PROVINCIAL TOURISM RAMPING UP
According to Tourism Saskatchewan, the province is rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re continuing to come back from 2020 especially, but last year we saw a small recovery and this year we’re seeing even stronger growth,” Jonathan Potts, the CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan, said.
“Some parts of the industry are seeing really strong numbers, even stronger than pre-pandemic. Others are still trying to catch up to where they were before.”
Hotel occupancy is one area where things are climbing.
“In 2019, our hotel occupancy in the summer was in the 60-65 per cent range. We’re actually, in many parts of the province, doing better than that right now,” Potts said.
Camping numbers are down slightly from last year, but remain strong, according to Potts.
Meanwhile, summer events have been hit or miss for drawing people in.
“It’s been quite uneven,” Potts said. He added that while Queen City Ex saw a record breaking year, not all events have had the same turn out.
“Some other events, they’ve seen a little softer numbers than they would historically but it’s the first full year back for them so they’re rebuilding and it’s great to see them back and generating revenue again.”
Tourism Saskatchewan said American hunters and anglers are starting to return again, providing a boost in cash flow.
“It’s such an important part of the economy, particularly in places like northern Saskatchewan, so it’s just beneficial for a lot of people to see those American visitors come back because they do spend a lot of money,” Potts said.
Taiwan's Economy Could Take Serious Damage if China Trade Hit Persists – Bloomberg
In an Unequal Economy, the Poor Face Inflation Now and Job Loss Later – The New York Times
For Theresa Clarke, a retiree in New Canaan, Conn., the rising cost of living means not buying Goldfish crackers for her disabled daughter because a carton costs $11.99 at her local Stop & Shop. It means showering at the YMCA to save on her hot water bill. And it means watching her bank account dwindle to $50 because, as someone on a fixed income who never made much money to start with, there aren’t many other places she can trim her spending as prices rise.
“There is nothing to cut back on,” she said.
Jordan Trevino, 28, who recently took a better paying job in advertising in Los Angeles with a $100,000 salary, is economizing in little ways — ordering a cheaper entree when out to dinner, for example. But he is still planning a wedding next year and a honeymoon in Italy.
And David Schoenfeld, who made about $250,000 in retirement income and consulting fees last year and has about $5 million in savings, hasn’t pared back his spending. He has just returned from a vacation in Greece, with his daughter and two of his grandchildren.
“People in our group are not seeing this as a period of sacrifice,” said Mr. Schoenfeld, who lives in Sharon, Mass., and is a member of a group called Responsible Wealth, a network of rich people focused on inequality that pushes for higher taxes, among other stances. “We notice it’s expensive, but it’s kind of like: I don’t really care.”
Higher-income households built up savings and wealth during the early stages of the pandemic as they stayed at home and their stocks, houses and other assets rose in value. Between those stockpiles and solid wage growth, many have been able to keep spending even as costs climb. But data and anecdotes suggest that lower-income households, despite the resilient job market, are struggling more profoundly with inflation.
That divergence poses a challenge for the Federal Reserve, which is hoping that higher interest rates will slow consumer spending and ease pressure on prices across the economy. Already, there are signs that poorer families are cutting back. If richer families don’t pull back as much — if they keep going on vacations, dining out and buying new cars and second homes — many prices could keep rising. The Fed might need to raise interest rates even more to bring inflation under control, and that could cause a sharper slowdown.
In that case, poorer families will almost certainly bear the brunt again, because low-wage workers are often the first to lose hours and jobs. The bifurcated economy, and the policy decisions that stem from it, could become a double whammy for them, inflicting higher costs today and unemployment tomorrow.
“That’s the perfect storm, if unemployment increases,” said Mark Brown, chief executive of West Houston Assistance Ministries, which provides food, rental assistance and other forms of aid to people in need. “So many folks are so very close to the edge.”
America’s poor have spent part of the savings they amassed during coronavirus lockdowns, and their wages are increasingly struggling to keep up with — or falling behind — price increases. Because such a big chunk of their budgets is devoted to food and housing, lower-income families have less room to cut back before they have to stop buying necessities. Some are taking on credit card debt, cutting back on shopping and restaurant meals, putting off replacing their cars or even buying fewer groceries.
But while lower-income families spend more of each dollar they earn, the rich and middle classes have so much more money that they account for a much bigger share of spending in the overall economy: The top two-fifths of the income distribution account for about 60 percent of spending in the economy, the bottom two-fifths about 22 percent. That means the rich can continue to fuel the economy even as the poor pull back, a potential difficulty for policymakers.
The Federal Reserve has been lifting interest rates rapidly since March to try to slow consumer spending and raise the cost of borrowing for companies, which will in turn lead to fewer business expansions, less hiring and slower wage growth. The goal is to slow the economy enough to lower inflation but not so much that it causes a painful recession.
But job growth accelerated unexpectedly in July, with wages climbing rapidly. Consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, has cooled, but Americans continue to open their wallets for vacations, restaurant meals and other services. If solid demand and tight labor market conditions continue, they could help to keep inflation rapid and make it more difficult for the Fed to cool the economy without continuing its string of quick rate increases. That could make widespread layoffs more likely.
“The one, singular worry is the jobs market — if demand is constrained to the point that companies have to start laying off workers, that’s what hits Main Street,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at the job market data provider ADP. “That’s what hits low-income workers.”
Lower-income people are already hurting. Mr. Brown’s organization has seen more requests for help in recent months, he said, as local families fall behind on their bills. The size of the typical request has gone up, too, from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. And he has noticed financial pain creeping up the income spectrum.
Mr. Brown’s observations are backed up by government data: About 12 percent of households reported they were struggling to get enough to eat in early July, up from about 10 percent at the beginning of the year, according to the Census Bureau.
Families can’t easily cut back what they spend on rent, gas or electricity as those prices climb, said Brian Greene, chief executive of the Houston Food Bank, which provides food to Mr. Brown’s organization and other charities across the region. So they cut back on food.
“Food insecurity isn’t about food,” Mr. Greene said. “Food insecurity is about income.”
Many poorer families’ incomes held up relatively well early in the pandemic because government aid — expanded unemployment benefits, stimulus checks and other programs — helped offset lost wages when businesses shut down. Then, as the economy reopened, pay soared for restaurant workers, delivery drivers and other low-wage workers.
But pandemic aid programs have ended and wage growth is slowing in many sectors — average hourly earnings in leisure and hospitality, which rose rapidly last year, actually fell in July from a month earlier for rank-and-file workers. Prices have risen so fast that even unusually quick wage growth has failed to keep up.
The gaping divide between the rich and the poor in this inflationary moment is clear in corporate earnings calls. At Boot Barn, a Western wear retailer, sales of men’s Western boots were down in the first quarter, but sales of higher-priced exotic skin boots picked up. At LVMH, which owns luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany, American revenues have been growing strongly, while at Walmart, customers are pulling back as they struggle to afford basic necessities, particularly food, which has run up sharply in price.
“This is affecting customers’ ability to spend on general merchandise categories and requiring more markdowns to move through the inventory, particularly apparel,” Walmart said in its July 25 guidance.
It’s not just apparel: Consumers across the economy are buying less milk and fewer eggs, as prices for those products rise significantly, according to an analysis of government figures by Michelle Meyer, chief U.S. economist for Mastercard. Yet they are also going out to eat at restaurants more often.
The fissures are clear in the car market. Demand for new cars, which generally sell to higher-income buyers, has remained strong and prices continue to soar amid supply shortages — putting upward pressure on inflation. But used-car demand is ebbing and prices have begun to depreciate again.
“We see bifurcation in many parts of the economy and the auto market,” Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive, said in an interview. “The new vehicle buyer has shown much less price sensitivity.”
Housing is another realm where fates have diverged. Home costs have run up sharply since the pandemic and mortgages are now more expensive, making buying unaffordable for many families. Because would-be buyers can’t afford homes, they are renting, keeping apartments for lease in short supply and pushing rents ever higher. Those soaring rents hit lower-income households especially hard: Roughly six in 10 people in the bottom quarter of earners rent their homes.
By contrast, homeowners have both seen their houses rise in value and often enjoy a built-in inflation hedge, since many refinanced their mortgages and locked in low monthly payments when rates were low in 2020 and 2021.
“The haves are really comfortable right now,” said Nicole Bachaud, an economist from Zillow, also noting that “we’re going to see this gap getting wider between people who are homeowners and people who are probably never going to be homeowners.”
Ms. Clarke, the New Canaan retiree, recently got off the wait list for an affordable apartment for herself and her 24-year-old daughter, who has autism and cannot work. Their new unit has just one bedroom, but it is clean and has new appliances, and at about $1,350 a month, she can squeeze it into her budget.
The lease lasts only a year, however, and Ms. Clarke is worried about finding somewhere to live if it isn’t renewed. Even now, she is barely making ends meet: She lost her car keys recently and had to spend nearly $500 replacing them, wiping out nearly all her small rainy-day fund and leaving her one crisis away from financial disaster.
“When you don’t have money, you’re on a fixed income, you’re constantly thinking, ‘Well, maybe I shouldn’t have bought that,’” she said. “There’s no cushion. There really never was.”
More financially secure families also face headwinds, of course, which could eventually prompt them to slow down spending. The cash savings they built up during the pandemic won’t last forever, and rising prices could prompt many households to pull back their spending.
And swooning stock markets could prompt richer families, who tend to have more money invested, to spend less than they otherwise would. Some economists think that the people in this demographic have mostly kept spending recently — despite their falling economic confidence — because they are eager to take vacations that they had put off earlier in the pandemic.
“Where I’m budgeting, it’s to make room for travel,” said Mr. Trevino of Los Angeles. “I feel like I’ve missed out on that a little bit.”
Economists have speculated that richer consumers’ resilience could fade as autumn approaches and they take stock of their finances amid a slowing economy. But for now, the reality that America’s wealthier consumers have yet to sharply pull back in the face of rising prices may be setting up a tough road ahead for the nation’s poorer ones.
“We really, in a way, haven’t noticed the inflation very much,” Mr. Schoenfeld said. “This economy is very unfair.”
Jason Karaian contributed reporting.
How Saskatchewan's economy is being boosted by summer events – CTV News Regina
Taiwan's Economy Could Take Serious Damage if China Trade Hit Persists – Bloomberg
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News & Commentary Posts: 1 Scott Bils is a partner at the Everest Group and a co-founder of Leverhawk. Previously, he was the founding CEO of Conformity Inc., a venture-backed pioneer in the cloud identity and SaaS management sector. Bils also has held executive marketing and product roles at several early-stage enterprise software and SaaS vendors, including Scalable Software, Troux Technologies and Trilogy. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Business of Going DigitalDigital business isn't about changing code; it's about changing what legacy sales, distribution, customer service, and product groups do in the new digital age. It's about bringing big data analytics, mobile, social, marketing automation, cloud computing, and the app economy together to launch new products and services. We're seeing new titles in this digital revolution, new responsibilities, new business models, and major shifts in technology spending.


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WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) today hailed the passage of H.R. 4571, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004, by the U.S. House of Representatives.
“The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act will help put an end to the abuses of our civil justice system by unscrupulous trial lawyers,” said ILR President Lisa Rickard. “The House has taken an important step toward providing much-needed relief to small business owners and consumers who are footing the bill for America’s legal crisis.”
H.R. 4571 will help curb frivolous litigation by creating a new requirement that would reduce forum shopping by plaintiffs’ attorneys and will strengthen enforcement provisions by making monetary sanctions against attorneys who file frivolous lawsuits mandatory and allowing sanctions for frivolous or harassing conduct during discovery.
Jim Wordsworth, a restaurant owner and member of the U.S. Chamber Small Business Committee, highlighted the importance of the bill to small business owners during a press conference on Capitol Hill. “Small business owners struggle to survive each and every day in the face of frivolous litigation and rising liability costs,” said Wordsworth.
H.R. 4571 passed the House after floor debate by a vote of 229 to 174.
The mission of the Institute for Legal Reform is to make America’s legal system simpler, fairer and faster for everyone. It seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial and educational activities at the national, state and local levels.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.


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We should be happy that business media and industry associations are spending a lot of time and resources to alert the public about the consequences of what is now popularly known as Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIRe). The most recent important event was the Business World’s Industry 4.0 Summit held last September 9, 2019.
Fortunately, Secretary Gregorio Honasan II of the Department of Information and Communication appealed for more moderation and realism in talking about the so-called revolutionary changes in our economy that Industry 4.0 will introduce. He recognized that “the world has changed and will continue to do so in a fast-paced manner.”
Whoa! Before we get carried away, let us listen once again to Secretary Honasan’s words of caution: “Our fellow Filipinos in many areas still cannot tap into the wonders of ICT due to the lack of resources and connectivity, thus slowing down our transformation and leapfrogging to a digital society.” It is Industry 3.0 that will absorb our manpower most as the emerging markets of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) transition from low to middle income status during which the demand for household appliances and similar electronic products grows exponentially. I am impressed with how one of the largest producers of home appliances in the world, Samsung, manufactures most of its parts in Vietnam that is a great deal more open to foreign direct investments than the Philippines. For all practical purposes, Samsung can own land in Vietnam while we are still so finicky about foreign ownership of land in the Philippines.
News Courtesy: https://business.mb.com.ph/


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By John Manning, International Banker
Despite achieving a laudable position among Europe’s very best performing and most reputable financial institutions, three years ago Belgium’s KBC Group decided that it was time to implement a comprehensive, group-wide digital strategy—one that seeks not only to look to the future but shape it as well. A decisive move indeed, but one that also appears to be paying off handsomely….
“Try it. Experience it.” That’s the way Johan Thijs, the hugely successful chief executive officer of KBC Group, recently described the Digital First transformation that his organisation—and Europe’s premier bank-insurer—is currently undergoing. But behind this succinct motto lies a deeply compelling metamorphosis that seeks to anticipate not only the changing nature of its clients’ needs, but also the kind of digital world that much of the global banking sector has been gradually constructing over the last few years. And judging by the evidence to date, KBC’s own contribution to this brave new world places it firmly at the forefront of the digital-banking revolution.
For a banking giant such as KBC—one that consistently posts profits that are among the verystrongest in the European market, and one that is always highly liquid and well-capitalised—it may not have been the most obvious or pressing decision in the world to embark on such a journey, especially given the clear leadership position it had attained under its prevailing business model. Indeed, the proverb “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” immediately springs to mind; moreover, attempting to convince the Group’s 42,000-strong employee base that their winning business model must be significantly enhanced could not have been the easiest of tasks.
Nevertheless, KBC and Mr Thijs persisted….
In 2017, the Group announced a three-year, €1.5-billion investment programme for innovation and digital transformation. Scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020, the transformation charts KBC’s journey towards a digital-first, customer-centric financial institution, while continuing to retain its unique banking-and-insurance business model.
The evidence of this digital-first approach can’t be witnessed more clearly than through its operations in Ireland. Indeed, having recently made the country one of its six core markets—along with Belgium, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary—the Group decided that KBC Bank Ireland would be the frontrunner of the digital transformation, in terms of introducing new innovations and sharing them with the rest of the Group. A KBC Innovation Hub was built in Dublin for this very purpose, representing the starting point for the introduction and testing of digital solutions for customers in Ireland. Some of these innovations may be adapted and rolled out across KBC’s other markets.
For instance, September 2017 saw KBC Bank Ireland launch its revolutionary new mobile-banking app. Designed for new customers, the app was the first of its kind when launched, enabling bank accounts to be opened, activated and used at any time, within just five minutes. As such, much of the hassle and paperwork traditionally associated with opening a new bank account was effectively eliminated by the app-based solution. And not only that, a welcome gift of €5 awaited every new current-account holder after his or her account had been opened.
The mobile app is just one of a series of cutting-edge innovations that have emerged from KBC Bank Ireland during the last couple of years, many of which are now considered to be market-leading products and services. Last year’s introduction of an app-based instant-replacement service for lost or stolen cards is a prime example, whereby customers can immediately block these cards as well as apply for and receive instant digital-card replacements via the app. And last year, the bank also became the first in Ireland to launch Garmin Pay for its local customers, meaning that KBC is the only bank in the country to offer digital wallets from four of the world’s leading technology companies: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay and now Garmin Pay. Such trailblazing activity clearly indicates KBC’s commitment to adapting banking in direct response to its customers’ preferences for more convenient digital solutions.
But although KBC Ireland has emerged as the de facto leader of the digital journey, the Group’s other core markets are hardly lagging behind. Far from it—solutions are being optimized very carefully in various countries as per customer preferences. Take Belgium, the Group’s home market, as an example. In March 2018, KBC announced that its mobile-banking app KBC Mobile was to become the first operational “multi-banking” app on the Belgian market. This means it is the first app to be officially in compliance with the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) rules that have been in place since January 13, 2018, requiring all European banks to make current accounts and details of these accounts available to authorised third parties—banking and non-banking—at the client’s request.
KBC Mobile, therefore, allows customers to check their balances or make transfers to and from accounts they hold with other banks, either via a direct API (application programming interface) connection between KBC and the other bank, or if API is unavailable, then via a direct link to the other bank’s online application, in accordance with PSD2 regulations. “So that means that we are now the only bank in Belgium which has an app which is fully PSD2-compliant,” Mr Thijs observes. “You don’t have to leave the KBC app if you have several accounts with other banks after downloading our solution.”
Nor have the digital solutions that have been rolled out to date been conceived in some isolated laboratory, away from public scrutiny. On the contrary, many of the products and services have been first tested on those who matter most—the customers themselves—in order to gauge responses and make enhancements as necessary. The recent decision to allow a thousand KBC customers to be the first people in Belgium to trial an innovative solution of making contactless payments with “wearables” aptly illustrates this strategy. Wearables are fashion accessories such as rings, watches and bracelets that have built-in chips that use the same near-field communication (NFC) technology as contactless payment cards. The trial, which ran through December, provided crucial feedback to KBC to aid in future development of this groundbreaking way to make payments.
While the digital journey has undoubtedly taken KBC into unchartered territory with the introduction of such state-of-the-art innovations, the Group has nonetheless solidly relied on a familiar, enduring and successful foundational strategy, one that has served it well throughout the years and has been pivotal in elevating it to the enviable position it holds today as one of Europe’s true financial powerhouses. This strategy continues to focus on maximising customer satisfaction, particularly by seamlessly distributing products and services via a range of channels, as well as consolidating its unique, integrated bank-insurance model within its core countries. But arguably it has been KBC’s long-admired internal culture from which the Digital First strategy has drawn the most strength. The Group’s well-known acronym PEARL—which has been in place since 2012 and stands for Performance, Empowerment, Accountability, Responsiveness and Local Embeddedness—typifies this culture and plays a profoundly crucial role in guiding the digital journey. Mr Thijs stresses just how important adopting the PEARL mindset throughout the entire organisation has been, particularly with regards to:
- Responsiveness: “The translation of responsiveness is you proactively anticipate for the fulfilment of customer needs. So, you have to anticipate customers’ changing behaviour. And PEARL intrinsically says, ‘Adjust your way of thinking, and if need be, adapt or adopt new ways of thinking.’”
- Empowerment: “This means empowerment for all 42,000 people out there who are part of the KBC organisation. It’s not only a personal task, but you are allowed to anticipate that and help us understand what we have to do. So, you are empowered to provide the solution, which is happening big time in our group.”
Indeed, Mr Thijs attributes much of KBC’s recent success in developing a blockchain solution to PEARL. One of the most discussed and highly anticipated technologies of the last few years, blockchain continues to be viewed as a major disruptive force on the global banking sector. And KBC certainly recognises this disruptive potential; in 2017, the bank became one of seven founding members of a blockchain consortium containing some of the world’s most prestigious names in global banking. The lenders joined forces to create a new, groundbreaking blockchain-powered platform that makes domestic and cross-border commerce easier for European companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Initially called Digital Trade Chain (DTC) before re-branding to we.trade, the platform simplifies trade-finance processes for SMEs by addressing the challenges of managing, tracking and securing domestic and international trade transactions. And on July 3, 2018, the first live trades on the we.trade platform were confirmed, marking the first commercially viable, open account trades harnessing blockchain technology.
Developed with the support of IBM (and, in fact, using the IBM Cloud), distributed-ledger technology and smart contracts are just a couple of the cutting-edge innovations being implemented by the platform. And Mr Thijs is keen to highlight the contribution of the PEARL ethos in initially helping to cultivate we.trade. “That solution was developed by one of my employees somewhere in my organization because he was empowered to do so. He just came up and said, ‘I have an idea. I don’t know if it works, but what would happen if we would do this?’ And we started working on this, and it became we.trade, which is now a solution which is used by 24 banks. And that’s PEARL at its best even in a digital environment.”
Along with PEARL, the Group recognises the paramount importance of teamwork across its vast geographical presence. Team-building exercises are heavily encouraged at KBC, especially as a way to ensure that good ideas and experiences can be shared not just within business units or the specific countries in which KBC operates but also across borders and thus seamlessly throughout the entire Group. Indeed, given the often drastic changes that have resulted from digitalisation, having this Group-wide commonality is proving critical to an institution as large and diverse as KBC, and it ensures that it can still remain locally embedded to its customers.
The overarching KBC family name Team Blue has, therefore, been created to represent this spirit of unity, blue being the logo colour under which the Group’s units in all countries operate. According to Mr Thijs, Team Blue gives employees “a feeling of being part of a big family regardless of the brand, regardless of the region and regardless of the culture of the local entity. We are part of Team Blue, which allows to copy things, to distribute things, within the Group. Because it’s built by Team Blue. It doesn’t matter which country it is built in. And that makes it to become quite strong.”
Last year, the KBC chief executive handed Team Blue a specific challenge, precisely as a way to instil a bond among the 42,000-large KBC family. “Aim for the Moon” challenged the team to achieve at least 384,000 kilometres (the distance to the Moon) by organising sports activities (such as walking, swimming and cycling) with staff members, friends and family. By then converting the total kilometres covered into euros, donations were made to various charities. In total, 770,867 kilometres were clocked up, equivalent to the distance to and from the Moon, thus generating more than half a million euros for various good causes. “People are so proud to be part of Team Blue that whatever we do, as long as it’s Team Blue, they’re fine,” Mr Thijs proudly declares.
So, has the transformation been worth it so far?
The evidence strongly suggests so; in fact, there’s little to suggest that it has been anything other than a roaring success. An external assessment by D-Rating, an independent agency that rates digital performance, for instance, was carried out on 15 retail banks in Belgium between June and August of last year. Based on 429 indicators measuring the digitization of banks’ offerings, the efficiency of contact channels and the performance of customer journeys, KBC was ranked as the best-performing traditional bank in Belgium.
As acknowledged by the company itself, “N26, the German neo-bank, is leading the panel, but with a limited product offering today. Very close behind, with a full range of services, KBC/CBC (a Belgian subsidiary of the Group) is dominating the traditional and online banks. KBC/CBC offers a very wide range of features, a large share of products can be acquired fully online, and their journeys are efficient.”
Internally, meanwhile, the numbers strongly justify KBC’s transition towards the digital realm. The number of digital-wallet transactions using Apple Pay, Android Pay or Fitbit Pay and linked to a KBC current account rose by 75 percent year-on-year in 2017. And the value of customers’ transactions also surged by a massive 82 percent year-on-year. Impressive figures, indeed.
And KBC is also enjoying the fruits of previous efforts to cultivate a more entrepreneurial spirit within its walls. Back in 2012, it launched Start it @ KBC, an incubator that fosters bright ideas and encourages budding entrepreneurs to work out their ideas and explore further business opportunities. And in this current digital era, Start it @ KBC has experienced flourishing activity from the thriving fintech sector. “We have 600 people with ideas working there, who’ve established their own companies and who want to make it come from a start-up to a true-life, resilient, viable company,” observes Mr Thijs. “Amongst those, we also see real fintechs.” In turn, this is presenting opportunities for KBC to potentially join forces with exciting start-ups to deliver innovation to its customers. “If it is indeed a solution which can be used as a service for our customers, then definitely we ask to work together.”
Although such evidence provides a glowing appraisal of KBC’s digital endeavours, the Group’s chief executive is under no illusions regarding the challenges that lie ahead. As Mr Thijs recently explained, much of the focus remains on “redesigning” many of the Group’s internal processes as well as the breadth of offerings that are available to customers. And the underlying complexity of the process is being taken out of the equation—if a digital option is feasible, it will seemingly be offered to the customer. Product sales and product development, therefore, are being reimagined as if offerings could be sold only by digital means, which is fundamentally changing the Group’s thought process. “Nowadays, we’re selling mortgages through our, mobile applications and through our website as if it was a simple product. And it’s just how you design it,” Mr Thijs observes. “Complexity is a very difficult-to-grasp word and very difficult-to-grasp meaning, but sometimes our understanding of complexity is something which we have been used to for the last 75 years. But if you reconsider how you have to design a product, then all of a sudden for the customer it starts to become easy.”
Throughout the digital transformation thus far, that dedication towards making it easy for the customer has been abundantly clear. Optimising the client experience is of utmost priority, such that he/she will be able to smoothly experience an offering potentially through a variety of distribution channels. “If you sell it through your bank branches, or through your call centres web banking or mobile apps, then the customer’s delighted,” Mr Thijs explains, “because it’s smooth, it’s easy, it’s fast. It’s easy to understand…. We have a fully integrated distribution model. That means that any way you buy it, you will always have the same experience in terms of delivery to the customer.”
But ultimately, the Group seeks to go beyond providing solutions for traditional banking. “What we are currently doing is just the beginning,” Mr Thijs warns. So, what, exactly, is still to come? “Ultimately, we’ll see where it ends, but perhaps tomorrow we will become part of a platform where everything together is combined. We are integrating a lot of services which are non-traditional banking, and there is no deadline for achieving what we are doing, because I think it’s open-ended.”
And that is perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this whole transformation. Although officially the journey is scheduled to be completed in 2020, KBC’s commitment to achieving the best digital solutions for its customers will remain an ongoing process. “What we have in mind is that all of our processes in our bank branches, in our mobile applications, call centres, websites, that the interactions between those channels should move 100 percent smoothly. We are there for some of our products, but we’re not yet for all.” Mr Thijs sees an entire ecosystem on the horizon as being conceivable, one that is smoother, more integrated and more seamless than ever before.
If such an ecosystem comes to fruition—and given KBC’s stellar track record in recent years, there is little to suggest that it won’t—then exciting times lie ahead for both KBC and its customers.


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Stripe is laying off 14% of its staff, its co-founders said Thursday, as the fintech startup must start "building differently for leaner times."
The layoffs will bring the online payments company down to about 7,000 employees, according to a memo to staff from co-founders Patrick and John Collison that Stripe also posted publicly.
"We have always taken pride in being a capital efficient business and we think this attribute is important to preserve," the email said. "To adapt ourselves appropriately for the world we’re headed into, we need to reduce our costs."
The company's revenue and payment volume tripled from the start of the pandemic as the "world rotated overnight towards e-commerce," the Collison brothers' memo said. But Stripe made mistakes mistakes leading into 2022, they acknowledged.
"We were much too optimistic about the internet economy’s near-term growth in 2022 and 2023 and underestimated both the likelihood and impact of a broader slowdown," the Collisons wrote. "We grew operating costs too quickly. Buoyed by the success we’re seeing in some of our new product areas, we allowed coordination costs to grow and operational inefficiencies to seep in."
The job cuts will return Stripe to the head count it had in February, and the company is also cutting costs elsewhere. The firm's recruiting division will be "disproportionately affected" by the layoffs since the company plans to hire fewer people, the Collison brothers wrote.
Affected employees will be given a minimum of 14 weeks' severance pay, according to the memo, as well as other assistance such as immigration support for workers in the U.S. as visa holders.


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Have you ever thought about becoming an app developer? If so you’re probably familiar with the following statistic:
“Mobile phone apps are expected to generate $25 billion in worldwide sales in 2013, up 62% from last year.” – Gartner, Inc.
So if you’re serious about learning the finer points of app development, Cult of Mac Deals has an offer right now that will be right up your alley. With this course, you’ll learn how to create fully functioning iOS apps – with no experience required. And you can do it for only $49.99.
If you’re into iOS but don’t know how to turn that passion into revenue, then the latest Cult of Mac Deals offer will be just what the doctor ordered. With The Master iOS Programming Course, you’ll be able to turn your iOS passion into a new lucrative hobby – and for just $47 to boot!
We’re a few weeks away from the start of a new year, which means the time to adopt new habits is fast approaching. Rather than adopt a new habit, some people learn a new skill – and building apps for the iPhone and iPad is very much in fashion these days. This soon-to-end Cult of Mac Deals offer aims to help you build those apps with the most in-depth and comprehensive Xcode course for complete beginners.
And you can get this course for just $79 — but do it before it’s gone for good!
FileMaker pitches its product line as an alternative to native iOS app development.
Last week FileMaker launched a new campaign to encourage businesses to adopt the company’s flagship database product line as an app development platform for the iPhone and iPad. The move is unique and the idea of FileMaker as an enterprise development solution does have its appeal – creating FileMaker apps requires no software development knowledge or experience and it can deliver native performance and functionality that HTML 5 web apps can’t.
It didn’t take long for OS X Mountain Lion to hit the top of the Mac App Store’s paid chart following its release yesterday, which means Apple shifted a heck of a lot of copies on day one. In fact, it sold so many copies that traffic from the Cupertino company’s servers was up to six times higher than normal.
Xcode joins a long list of new software from Apple today.
Apple has updated Xcode this morning to introduce compatibility with OS X Mountain Lion, which was released earlier today, and iOS 5.1. The update also brings support for the new MacBook Pro’s high-resolution Retina display.
iOS app development makes Objective-C one of the most popular programming languages.
According to a recent study, iPhone and iPad app development has a bigger learning than curve than any other mobile platform. It also costs developers more in terms of time and expenses to develop an iOS app than to create an Android, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone app.
Despite those challenges, iOS has boosted the popularity of Objective-C, the programming language used by Apple for both Mac and iOS development – making it the third most popular language with developers.
One of the new features of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion has been the addition of Gatekeeper. By only allowing apps to be installed from the Mac App Store, Mountain Lion’s Gatekeeper feature gives users a new level of security from malicious software.
Some users feel Gatekeeper is a sign that Apple is moving toward a completely closed desktop operating system that will only allow apps from the Mac App Store to be installed. Easing concerns of this draconian controversy, this afternoon Apple announced the Developer ID program that will help third-party developers distribute their apps safely outside of the Mac App Store.
The jailbreak community is full of talented developers and innovative ideas that have kept Apple on its toes for the past several years. The time and effort that goes into creating a quality tweak is often unappreciated by the average jailbreaker.
A free tool called iOSOpenDev was recently released for developers. Those with basic programming knowledge can use Xcode templates for creating jailbreak-style apps and tweaks that can be easily published to Cydia, the jailbreak version of the App Store. While iOSOpenDev is attempting to make it easier for developers to code tweaks, apps and plugins, we sat down with a prominent jailbreak developer to ask if iOSOpenDev is really a good thing for the jailbreak community.


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News relating to hacking is as common as any sports or entertainment news. Hacking instances are something that happen almost every single day. Some of these instances are weird and profound, causing shock and awe while also creating ripples among the cyber security experts.
Now flash forward to March, 2017. The number of iCloud accounts hacked recently runs into the hundreds of millions – 717 million to be precise – more than the population of any country in the world except China and India. This shows the magnitude of the attack.
While previous attacks on companies like LinkedIn and Yahoo have been massive, nothing can match this breach. Yahoo faced a breach of 500 accounts. Leaking of the personal details and the stored data of over 700 million iCloud accounts is something which is unprecedented and incomparable. It seems not many Apple users were spared from this leak. While the company might conflict the actual occurrence of this attack, the attackers who belong to the Turkish Crime Family have taken responsibility for the attacks and have also posted details of some of the users online. This shows that the attackers are not only evil minded, but are also hell bent on causing damage to Apple.
To prove that they have indeed leaked the data from the millions of iCloud accounts, the hackers have posted the details of some of them online, which can be accessed by almost anyone. There is also a subtle link between this hack and the one which was carried out on Yahoo a short while ago. According to the reports of this hacking incident, the attackers who belong to the Turkish Crime Family have claimed that they hacked the iCloud accounts to lend support to the two hackers who were involved in the hacking incident of Yahoo and are currently under trial. The name of the two hackers who were involved in the Yahoo hacking incident are Karim Baratov and Kerem Albayrak. The former is in police custody in Canada, while the latter shuttles between the UK and Istanbul. The hacking group, which is a part of the Turkish Crime Family, consists of 7 members who are of Turkish origin but live in Green Lanes, North London, UK.
In a interview these seven hackers have also claimed that they demanded $100,000 for each of their seven members. The hackers claim that they have a script which can be used to reset every hacked account back to its factory level setting. According to them, their scripts can do a factory reset of 150 accounts per minute for each script; and they have 17 scripts, which can reset 2550 accounts per minute. They also claim to have 250 servers with each running 17 scripts. It puts the number of resets per minute to a massive 637,500. It means that within a few minutes, they can reset all the hacked accounts.
It is still not known whether Apple is aware of this looming threat or if they have patched up the breach, or given to the demands of the hackers. However, what does seem to be the case in all such instances, whether it is iCloud, Yahoo, LinkedIn, or the frequent attacks on government websites and databases around the world, is that such attacks cannot be and should not be taken lightly. Ultimately, more than the company, it is the users that suffer from leaks of their information in the public sphere.
Several of the hackers targeted federal governments and large corporations, proving that no matter how much they spend on security, our information stored with them is always at risk.
And, what has happened with the hacking instances of several large corporations recently, is bound to send shivers down your spine.
One of the companies and its services that have been among the frequent targets of the hackers is none other than Apple and its service, iCloud. Yes, it’s true. The company which claims to be the elitist technology company is also the most vulnerable and susceptible to hackers’ attacks.
Just to refresh your memory, a couple of years ago, in mid-2014, iCloud accounts of several Hollywood celebrities were hacked and their personal data, such as their images, were leaked online. It led to scores of embarrassing situations for these celebs as many of their personal photographs were too personal and intimate to be shared online. They were not ever meant to be in the public domain, and it is precisely what happened with those leaks. There have been several such instances with companies like LinkedIn, Yahoo, Apple and its iCloud service in the last 2 to 3 years.
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