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Results 41 - 60 of 2,652 in Erectile Dysfunction
... a younger man. Any suggestions for what I can do next to prevent this from getting worse? The answer: Erectile dysfunction occurs when a man cannot get or sustain an erection that is firm enough for sexual intercourse. Every now and then, people can ... Comment?
... us protest. And with government-funded Medicare coverage of Viagra, when no one is forcing a man with erectile dysfunction to improve his performance in the bedroom. Broadening access to birth control among low-income women reduces abortion rates. ... Comment?
... the energy waves cause the stones to shatter and they can then be passed naturally out of the body. The erectile dysfunction device - which resembles a mobile phone - uses 10 per cent of the power of kidney stone machines. How the treatment works is ... Comment?
... supplements, more deaths could follow, Cohen said. Doctors should have a low threshold for prescribing erectile dysfunction drugs so that patients do not turn to potentially dangerous supplements, Cohen said. The Food and Drug Administration ... 1 comment
... Theravance receives from Glaxo, a British drugmaker. A box of Viagra, typically used to treat erectile dysfunction, is seen in a pharmacy in Toronto in this Jan. 31, 2008, file photo. Theravance shares climbed $5.62, or 16.1 per cent, to $40.56 in ... Comment?
Last month Attorney General Mike DeWine signed a letter urging the Obama Administration to allow employers to opt out of paying for contraceptive coverage, a move that would effectively restrict access to contraception for women in Ohio . Comment?
... The site, which is powered by CVS/pharmacy (CVS) and accessible through Viagra.com, offers men with erectile dysfunction an opportunity to purchase Viagra online with a valid prescription from a trusted source. CVS Caremark price target raised to ... Comment?
... finds out that Bruce secretly taped his night with Lassie, although only long enough to immortalize his erectile dysfunction. Even worse, Bruce has given the DVD to a movie star (Chris Noth, Sex and the City ) he met in rehab - who also turns out to ... Comment?
A study has found that the majority of men with erectile dysfunction, ED, do not get treatment, according to the American Urological Association. Comment?
... would still be useful but reduce the harms of unnecessary treatment such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction that come from more frequent testing. What are the new AUA recommendations? There are several ways of using the PSA test to ... Comment?
... medical history was positive for vascular insufficiency, peripheral vascular disease, obesity, erectile dysfunction, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He has been a two-pack per day smoker for 30 years. The patient ... Comment?
... of the Prostate), can leave patients with permanent side-effects such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation (dry orgasm)," states the article in The Wall Street Journal. Other minimal invasive procedures can leave ... Comment?
Never mind the commercials with men talking freely to their doctor about their erectile dysfunction, taking a prescription for treatment to the pharmacy and settling in for a romantic evening. Comment?
... of smoking, eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight are important measures to take. For erectile dysfunction, the options of treatment include phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, intracavernosal prostaglandin (injection of medication ... 6 comments
... Internet porn, including escalation to extreme material , withdrawal misery , delayed ejaculation and erectile dysfunction , there's not one behavioral-addiction specialist or urologist among the new journal's dozens of colorful board members. In ... Comment?
Pfizer has begun selling Viagra online in order to counter the trade in fake versions of its erectile dysfunction drug. Comment?
... has the potential to contain undeclared tadalafil. Tadalafil are FDA-Approved drugs used to treat male erectile dysfunction (ED), making the products unapproved new drugs. Risk Statement: These undeclared active ingredients poses a threat to ... Comment?
... detail, starting with Vitaros. As you know, Vitaros is our lead product candidate for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, which utilizes alprostadil and our proprietary permeation enhancer, DDAIP, in a novel, topically applied formulation. ... Comment?
... . Herbal supplements aimed at improving men's sexual abilities often contain the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction pills such as Viagra, according to a new study. Additionally, researchers found that some of these over-the-counter herbal ... Comment?
Staying up-to-date has never been simpler. Sign up for the free GenePool newsletter today! Herbal supplements aimed at improving men's sexual abilities often contain the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction pills such as Viagra, according to a new study. Comment?


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Delhi Police arrested two people for cheating several individuals by offering to sell expensive electronics at low prices through social media. The two suspects are Raghav and Aryan Kumar. A complaint was filed on a Cyber Crime Reporting Portal by Akhilesh Gupta, who was scammed by the cybercriminals. An investigation was conducted, and it was discovered that the suspects made fake promises to customers to sell expensive gadgets at cheaper prices. The police registered a case under section 420 of the IPC and began an investigation.
During the investigation, the police analyzed the Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) and discovered the money trail leading to the scammers in Panipat. Raghav was arrested, and three mobile phones used in the crime were recovered. Aryan was later arrested after a raid in Devi Sarai, Nalanda.
Upon interrogation, it was discovered that Raghav joined a fake SIM group on Telegram where he learned about different modules of scammers. He connected with a person called Clashniks, who taught him about promising to sell expensive gadgets at reduced prices. He created a page on Instagram with the ID gadgets.world and posted videos of customers giving positive reviews, creating fake screenshots of customers chatting with satisfactory services, and gaining fake paid followers on the page from indiansmartpanel.com.
Raghav then provided a WhatsApp account link on the Instagram page that interested individuals were encouraged to contact them on for further details. When victims messaged on WhatsApp, Aryan placed an order on Amazon and sent a screenshot to the customer showing his address and delivery status after the accused received an advance payment of Rs 500. The victims were fooled on the delivery day by fake screenshots of “out for delivery.”

domain: news


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Gay Star News website and brand design
Based near the grand Tower Bridge in London, Gay Star News approached CK Creative to design and build a news based website and branding.
The premise of this exciting venture was to create a web site for LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual) related news that is constantly being updated 24/7 by their reporters in UK, USA & Asia. Gay Star News wanted to stay clear of the stereotypical gay news site design – so no pink and no rainbows!
A clean design shows that readers can flow through the editorial and not be pestered with too much advertising. GSN has been designed with a friendly, approachable design but also looks professional, corporate-appropriate and ‘newsy’.
This website has a jet-pack of powerful system functions, from social media integration and auto-semantic links, to feeding as a Google News resource and serving adverts through an integrated ad-server.
The design of the website has since won praise from GSN’s audience and clients and saw us nominated for a Drupal Bluedrop Award for design. Since then, we have worked closely with GSN helping to push them to an incredible 100,000 unique visitors and 210,000 page impressions per month within just four months.


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A group of specialists will meet at BIT 2018, a seminar organized by Somos New City and DSC, which will be held on April 10.
On April 10th, the BIT2018 seminar will be held in Santiago, Chile, which will bring together different experts on how Blockchain can be key in smarter and more efficient cities that provide solutions to various problems of modernity, such as resource depletion, climate change, infrastructures of inefficient services for the amount of population, etc.
This event, which will be held at Edificio Parque Titanium, in Las Condes, is organized by Somos New City and DSC, two companies with experience in knowledge transfer projects and activities, both in Chile and Germany.
Alejandra Labarca, Director of Somos New City, highlighted the quality of the exhibitors and their vast experience in Blockchain and how this instrument can help in the construction of smart cities. He said:
BIT2018 is not just another event, it is the attempt to bring knowledge to the relevant stakeholders of the emerging community of Blockchain applications in Chile “.
The specialists who will speak
The first speaker of Bit2018 will be Sergey Ivliev, who will deliver his vision about the new social and economic order imposed by Blockchain. Ivliev is co-founder and COO of the Swiss company Lykke Corp. He also heads the Cryptoeconomics & Blockchain System laboratory of Perm State University (Russian Federation), where he has contributed to promote good practices in financial markets and risk management .
For his part, Daniel Novy, from ConsenSys, will present the case of how Blockchain has influenced business in Dubai. Before joining ConsenSys, Daniel founded Basebit, a Bitcoin exchange located in Brazil, where he currently lives. But his career began much earlier, in 2005, when he created MobileBR, the first carioca company to offer a mobile commerce platform.
Meanwhile, Andrea Maytin, an IBM cloud business specialist, will talk about IBM test cases in the logistics and retail industries. Maytin is a computer engineer with a master’s degree in project management, with more than ten years of experience in the industry. He works at IBM as a specialist in digitalization and business automation solutions and Blockchain for Chile.
In turn, José Bravo, founder of Kawin and leader in CryptoChile, together with several collaborators of this organization, will analyze the paradigms that Blockchain is changing in Chile. Bravo is a lawyer, he considers himself an enthusiastic promoter and diffuser of the Blockchain distribution and technology revolution; and he defines himself as a serial entrepreneur, since he has founded companies such as Kawin, Disca and Blobo, all projects in the field of logic and distributed computing currently underway.
For his part, Marco Zúñiga, Executive Director of CHILETEC, will moderate a panel discussion between the speakers and representatives of the Ministry of Economy and the Central Bank of Chile.
Finally, there will be four sessions of parallel dialogues that will review the applications of Blockchain in the cities of the future, specifically in the areas of cryptocurrencies and payment methods, retail, government, real estate and the energy sector.


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A translated report this morning from China Times (via Macotakara) appears to claim the iPhone 5S will be the first device from Apple to include fingerprint sensor and NFC technology. According to the report, Taiwanese company Chipbond will provide the integrated touch display driver and other components necessary to implement the technology on the next-generation iPhone. While details of the translated report remain sketchy, it seems to suggest that Apple will use the fingerprint tech that it acquired in its AuthenTec purchase as a security feature for NFC payments:
The the iPhone 5S outgoing will support NFC and fingerprint recognition, fingerprint is more security than passwords, fingerprints can not be copied and will not be stolen, most secure mobile payment device allows Apple iPhone 5S.
Several analysts have predicted that Apple’s iPhone 5S upgrade would include fingerprint technology, especially after the company picked up patents and employees from AuthenTec. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo re-affirmed his earlier claims regarding Apple’s 2013 iPhone roadmap earlier this month and said Apple would include a fingerprint sensor beneath the iPhone 5S’s home button.
We have discussed on several times that Apple could bring fingerprint technology to future iOS devices following its purchase of AuthenTec in July. While including major new hardware features like fingerprint technology and NFC may seem like a bit of a stretch for an “S” upgrade, it could be the stand-out feature Apple needs (as we’ve argued before).
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Tomorrow Alba Vineyards will release a highly anticipated wine, according to a press release from the Milford winery. Despite challenging weather in 2008, including a July heat spike, drought, frost and August rains, Alba says the new crop is an excellent one “that will shine for years to come.”
The 2007 Estate Pinot Noir shows a delicate medium color and very expressive aromas consisting of sweet black cherries, earth and hints of spice. Only 270 cases were made, so this wine will go fast; it is ready to drink now through 2016.
For more information, call Alba Vineyard, 908-995-7800, e-mail AlbaVineyard@enter.net or visit the winery at 269 Route 627, Milford Sunday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.


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Liberum chops target prices after retail updates
Liberum cut its target prices for several UK retail stocks on Friday following the release of Christmas trading updates this week.
The broker said Joules and Ted Baker were the standout performers in the sector.
"Next provides a glimpse that a diverse offering resonates well but keeping a close eye on proposition is crucial," it said, adding that the traditional retailers are much more mixed, with Card Factory, Halfords, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer all disappointing on 'Super Thursday'.
Liberum chopped its price target on sell-rated M&S to 225p from 250p, noting that both clothing and home are structurally challenged, with no catalyst visible.
"The group has hired some impressive no-executive directors and a highly regarded chairman but lack of news flow on the strategic direction leads us to expect continued negative LFLs in both divisions for the foreseeable future," it said.
The broker cut Card Factory's price target to 175p from 195p following its third-quarter update, which showed a continuation of tough trading.
"Concerns around market saturation and the cannibalisation of Card's existing store sales as the roll-out continues are likely to resurface as investors and analysts look for reasons as to why LFLs have slowed," it said.
Liberum rates Card Factory at 'hold'.
It halved its price target for hold-rated Debenhams to 5p, pointing out that the festive period brought little relief from ongoing pressures.
"UK LFL growth at -6.2% was weaker than we had expected, and the volatile, promotional market meant the group had to respond, bringing further margin pressure," it said, adding that earnings visibility over the medium-term remains very low.
The price target for buy-rated B&M European Value Retail was cut to 450p from 475p. It said the shares offer exposure to a self-funded roll-out and an integrated, high growth, cash generative business at an attractive valuation versus historic levels. However, there are risks, one of which is the fact that LFLs are tending lower than the broker expected.
Finally, Liberum reduced its price target on buy-rated Halfords to 325p from 380p as it said the material downgrades to FY19-20 profit guidance were disappointing.
"Both the weather impacts and a weaker consumer environment held back LFLs, which we believe offset some early underlying progress from the strategic initiatives. However, the current valuation is cheap and a dividend yield of more than 8% is attractive compensation, in our view, while waiting for FY21E when sustainable profit growth should resume."


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* S Korea: Trade war could be ‘prolonged and spread’
* China cuts its forecast for soybean imports
* Chinese currency dips; stocks rebound
* Survey of US business in China finds most oppose tariffs
* HK, S.Korea and Japan most vulnerable to US-Sino trade war: OCBC
The US-China trade war could harm South Korean exports of high-tech components, Seoul warned on Thursday, while Beijing cut its forecast for soybean imports and the Chinese currency fell as worries about fallout from the simmering conflict grew.
On Wednesday, Beijing warned it would hit back after the Trump administration raised the stakes in their trade dispute, threatening 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, a swift escalation after an earlier round of tariffs took effect only on Friday.
While Chinese shares regained heavy losses from the previous session, with the Shanghai Composite index rising 2.2 percent, the yuan fell against the dollar following the central bank's weakest daily fixing in nearly a year and after Washington's fresh tariff threats knocked the currency lower.
China had yet to say how it will respond after the fresh round of US tariffs would bring to $250 billion the total of Chinese goods facing added duties, once the latest list of duties take effect after a two-month comment period.
China only imported about $130 billion of US goods last year, meaning that to retaliate it will have to increase the size of the tariffs it imposes or resort to what it calls ‘qualitative’ measures, which US businesses fear could mean reprisals against their China operations.
A survey released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai found that most US businesses operating in China oppose the use of tariffs in retaliation for the challenges they face, from an uneven playing field to poor protection of intellectual property rights.
The tariffs initiated by US President Donald Trump have also drawn criticism from lawmakers in his own Republican Party, as well as from US trade groups worried about higher costs for businesses and consumers.
On Thursday, Beijing cut its forecast for imports of soybeans - the most-valuable crop it buys from the United States - after it imposed a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on an array of agricultural goods, which could inflict pain in Trump-supporting states such as Iowa, Kansas and Texas.
China warned that higher prices due to trade conflicts with the United States would curb demand as farmers switch to alternatives for animal feed.
SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN VULNERABLE
Concerns about the knock-on effect of the trade war spread on Thursday, with South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, warning that components and materials - ‘intermediate goods’ - used in home appliances, computers and communications devices could be caught in the crossfire.
South Korea's trade ministry said the trade war could be ‘prolonged and spread,’ adding that it would prepare responses and scenarios to cope with the economic impact of the trade row.
Its finance minister also warned that the dispute would present ‘serious downward risks’ to South Korea's export-reliant economy if the impact spread globally.
‘While the trade conflict between the US and China has had a limited impact so far, we can't rule out the possibility of a slowdown in the Chinese economy and a contraction in world trade should conflict grow and spread into the global market,’ Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at a government meeting.
OCBC Bank in Singapore estimated that in a scenario where US tariffs apply to $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, South Korea's GDP growth could be reduced by 0.3 percentage point while Japan's growth could be cut by 0.2 percentage point.
‘China's closest neighbors, namely Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, are most vulnerable to a US-Sino trade war because they export mostly intermediate goods to China,’ OCBC said in a note.
South Korea's central bank on Thursday downgraded its growth outlook for this year to 2.9 percent, from 3.0 percent, after an export boom ground to a halt in June in the face of escalating US-China trade tensions.
Major auto producing countries such as South Korea are also bracing for steep US tariffs on autos and auto parts, as Trump has ordered a national security probe into the sector, which is expected to be completed this month.Last updated: July 12 2018 11:13 AM
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Samsung Q90R QLED 4K TV review
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Sat, June 25, 2022
Published: Jan 26, 2022
The government should not control the price of goods but encourage the utilisation of market forces to allow imports of goods in short supply in a bid to ease inflation, former Commerce minister Narongchai Akrasanee said.
Published: Jan 21, 2022
Thailand’s export growth in December soared by 24.2 per cent year on year, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Friday
Published: Nov 02, 2021
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit met Chinese Ambassador Han Zhiqiang on Monday to discuss the expansion of bilateral trade and investment.
Published: Nov 01, 2021
Thailand ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on October 28, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Monday, adding that the pact should come into force by January.
Published: Aug 23, 2019
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Luxanavisit told palm-oil farmers in Surat Thani on Friday he would propose to the Cabinet on August 27 a price guarantee of Bt4 per kilogram for 18 per cent of the oil they produce.
Published: Oct 01, 2018
THAILAND intends to increase exports to Asean markets by 20 per cent this year, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said yesterday.
Copyright Ⓒ 2022 Nationthailand - All rights reserved.


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Naruto manga-ka Masashi Kishimoto has announced plans to launch a new, original series in 2018, according to Anime News Network. The as-yet-untitled series is scheduled to debut in the 50th anniversary issue of Weekly Shonen Jump. That seminal anthology launched August 1, 1968 in Japan, so a 50th anniversary edition would be expected for August 2018.
News of Kishimoto's new series was announced during a Boruto panel at the recent Jump Festa convention, with art from the series also shown. Kishimoto had previously expressed interest in doing a science fiction manga after Naruto.


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But these figures just report the average across all retail categories from motor vehicles to health products.
The other big data error these guys discovered was in reporting what physical retail stores themselves are doing online.
If you looked at the Census data, you’d think physical retailers were just sitting out the online revolution. It turns out Census missed a massive amount of online activity by the online divisions of physical retailers themselves, which of course, all physical retailers are doing now – and some more than others.
In some retail sectors, like general merchandise (think Walmart, Kohl’s, Target), clothing (think Macy’s, Nordstrom, Gap and all of those specialty retailers), home furnishings (think Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel), building materials (think Home Depot, Lowe’s) and electronics and appliance stores (think Best Buy and Fry’s) the undercounting of online retail sales is orders of magnitude off – in the hundreds of percent.
For general merchandise, a conservative estimate is that the real amount of online sales by physical retailers is 23 times higher than what the Census reports. For electronic and appliance stores, the real amount of online sales by physical retailers is almost 14 times more.
BUT DON’T WE SORT OF ALREADY KNOW THIS?
So, you might ask, why does any of this matter? Everyone already knows that eCommerce is cutting into physical retail sales – what’s the big newsflash? Does it really matter that the Census was off by a third?
That depends on whether you’re the CEO of a massive physical retailer who might have wanted to know six years ago (or more) that not only was the growth of eCommerce accelerating – which was well-known – but that the base upon which it was growing was a third larger than she thought.
Maybe she might have wanted to know that so that she could have reprioritized her digital initiatives – and moved them closer to the top of the list.
You see, if she’s looking at the Census numbers for her peers, and knows her own numbers, she’s probably thinking one of two things: she’s doing better than anyone else so there’s no real hurry to do more, and everyone’s in the same place so there’s no real threat. Both conclusions would be wrong, now with the benefit of 20/20 data hindsight.
Maybe she might have embraced mobile wallets and cloud-based point of sale solutions a few years earlier. Who knows, maybe we would be a whole lot further down the mobile/digital wallet field by now.
Maybe she would have adjusted her merchandising and pricing and loyalty strategies to get consumers tied closer to her store using the digital shopping media that her consumers clearly preferred and were using more often than she thought.
Maybe she would have known a little earlier where Amazon was cleaning her clock and had the time adjust her strategy.
And then there’s the Board.
My guess is that many CEOs of physical retailers, probably echoing what their management consultants and execs were feeding them in their perfectly crafted and formatted decks, have been telling their boards and investors not to worry. “Online is just a drop in the bucket.” “People love shopping in physical stores.” “We’ve got plenty of time to adjust to online; after all, 94 percent of physical retail still happens in physical stores!”
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
And that brings us to retail’s “Kodak Moment.”
INSIDE RETAIL’S BIG DATA MISTAKE
Yes, I’m sure you’re curious about how in the world this could have happened and what makes the MPD team feel confident about the missing Census data. The authors are releasing the technical details of their work in a couple of days — geeks who want to know the details, stay tuned at PYMNTS.com. But if you can’t wait, here’s my best non-economist summary of what they did and the crux of the error at a high level.
The Census Bureau appears to count sales from pure-play etailers just fine. But that’s not the issue, nor the problem.
There are three contributors to the bad data problem at Census.
First, things get hairy — and wrong — when it gets down to counting online sales from physical retailers, which is now just about everyone.
Omnichannel is in full swing as most retailers, even some of the luxury brand holdouts, recognize the importance of having a synergistic online and physical retail presence.
As I mentioned, the Census Bureau relies on data that retailers report to them. MPD examined physical retailers at the 3-digit NAICS Industry code (using the most recent complete data set, which was for 2013). That resulted in the discovery of the undercounting error. Walmart’s more than $6 billion for 2013 was just a tad more than the $88 million reported by Census for general merchandisers, which is where Walmart should have been. A bit more digging and some emails with the Census Bureau pretty much nailed the fact that Walmart.com was missing.
Now, according to Evans, the Census can’t actually say anyone is missing or they’d get their heads handed to them. But everything his team looked at, and the feedback from the Census, made it pretty clear Walmart.com wasn’t anywhere in the Census online data. When they finished their digging and added in other missing physical retailers they found that the Census had missed about $62 billion in online sales in the U.S. in 2013.
The second source of retail’s big data mistake is that the Census isn’t capturing sales of big groups of nontraditional retailers like manufacturers who sell online, like Apple or Nike, in the retail numbers it reports.
I know, hard to believe.
But that turned out to be a big deal, too. That segment alone – retailers like Under Armour, Ralph Lauren, Apple, Kate Spade, Lululemon and many others — accounted for roughly $22 billion in 2013, and a projected $25 billion and $29 billion in 2014 and 2015. Yet all are completely missing in how the Census tabulates things.
There’s a third contributor to retail’s big data problem.
Most researchers, data analysts, and media who rely on the Census data use the average online sales as a percent of total retail sales across all retailers. That’s where the “online is still very tiny” conclusion has come from.
A lot of times the “average” isn’t a very good number to base decisions on. The average annual temperature in Boston is 58.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Last Saturday afternoon, when the Patriots won the AFC East Championship Title here, it was 37 degrees Fahrenheit. So, a fan in the stands dressing for 58.7 degrees would have been pretty cold (happy, but still cold). Generally, dressing for 58.7 degrees is a bad idea in Boston since it’s hardly ever 58.7 degrees. It can be a lot colder, like Saturday’s 37 and last year’s sub-zero temps, and a lot hotter, like over 100 degrees.
Further, reporting an average physical/online break fails to show the impact of online sales growth by retail category – which is important for understanding what sectors will feel the online hit most acutely, and how soon that impact will be felt.
The bottom line? When the Census reports that 94 percent of all retail sales still happen in brick and mortar locations, everyone feels better. When that number is really 89.7 percent now, the storyline turns sour. And for retailers sitting in a category that is a lot lower than the “average,” it’s downright scary.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Now before you start sending hate mail to the Census Bureau, please don’t blame them.
These folks are understaffed and under-resourced, and can only report based on what they’re given. They also operate big, inflexible government databases that can’t account for the differences and nuances of our changing retail environment. Part of it is they are stuck using outdated NAICS codes that are based on treaties the U.S. has signed with other countries. Let’s not go there right now either.
It’s pretty shocking, though, that a government entity tasked with reporting such important information for the largest economy in the world, now some 20 years after the birth of the Internet and eCommerce, isn’t given the resources to do it properly.
But thank goodness we spent $856,000 last year to find out that it takes 3 months to teach a mountain lion to run on a treadmill.
Of course, as the blurring of the online and offline worlds accelerates, accounting for online and physical retail sales will only get harder and hairier. Buy online and pick up in-store may be great for retailers and a sign that omnicommerce is in full swing, but Census Data isn’t set up to count those sales correctly.
And retail will just keep feeling better that physical retail is still such a large part of the retail economy. Yet retailers know instinctively that they must embrace digital and step up their online and omnicommerce games since that’s where the consumer is taking them.
They’re also starting to internalize the hit they take when they don’t.
Our Checkout Conversion Index – a collaboration with BlueSnap – shows that most merchants today fail the most basic of all online tests: how easy it is for consumers to check out on their sites.
When we benchmarked 650 sites in the U.S. – representing about 75 percent of U.S. eCommerce sales – we found that there was so much friction across the board, that most retailers were putting as much as 36 percent of their sales at risk. Of course, those sales aren’t lost forever, but simply lost to merchants who can’t convert those shoppers to buyers to those who can.
Like Amazon, for example.
SOLVING RETAIL’S BIG DATA PROBLEM
Now that we’ve discovered this mistake, we’re going to share what we know on a regular basis. Coming soon, we’ll be publishing the “Whole Scoop And Nothing But The Scoop On Online/Offline Retail Sales Tracker” so that you have monthly updates on what’s really going on at the intersection of online and offline retail.
We’re doing to give you averages, of course, but the more valuable data by three-digit NAICS code.
What you do with that data, is your call.
Consider it our contribution to turning retail’s “Kodak Moment” into a picture truly worth framing. And a memory worth remembering – for all of the right reasons.
RELATED ITEMS:2016 RETAIL, BRICKS-AND-MORTAR, ECOMMERCE, KAREN WEBSTER, KAREN’S COMMENTARY, MAIN FEATURE, RETAIL, RETAIL SALES, WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW


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A long-running dispute between the European Commission and Apple over the use of its payment technology may soon come to an end. Commission officially Apple announced plans to open Near Field Communications (NFC) technology is used for tap-and-go payments to third-party mobile wallet providers. rumors about Apple’s proposal appeared first In December 2023.
Commission In 2020, an investigation into Apple began it eliminates competition from Apple Pay by potentially limiting rival mobile wallet manufacturers’ access to the necessary technology. He announced two years later Accusations against Apple It could leave Apple with a huge legal bill if proven to have violated European Union antitrust laws.
Apple’s proposal compromises previous claims that third parties could negatively impact security. If approved, Apple will, among other things, allow third parties to access NFC-enabled APIs — at no charge or use Apple Pay or wallet required. This change will include access to technology that keeps payment information secure. Apple will apply this to all developers and iOS users registered in the European Economic Area (EEA). However, people outside the EEA can still use third-party apps. Apple also claims that it will appeal to an independent reviewer in disputed cases where the company denies access to NFC. All proposed changes and previous press releases related to the work are available here.
As expected, the European Commission was in no hurry to accept Apple’s proposed commitments. Instead, he drafted them and solicited feedback from Apple’s competitors (and any other interested entities) on whether the proposed changes were acceptable.


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When Essence magazine hired the Australian-born Ellianna Placas as its fashion director in 2010, the title was almost immediately met with criticism from subscribers and former employees. As the first white fashion director of the lifestyle magazine targeting African-American women, Ms. Placas found herself embroiled in controversy. During the September 2010 fashion shows in New York, a group staged a silent protest against the hire.
In some corners, Ms. Placas’s position at the magazine seemed to counter Essence Communications’ mission to be a powerful voice for black women. Many said she couldn’t adequately perform her duties because she lacked an authentic understanding of the black female experience. Angela Burt-Murray, then the editor in chief, released a statement defending Ms. Placas’s hiring before Constance White stepped in as the head of the magazine in March 2011.
Ms. Placas has now left the magazine, said Dana Baxter, an Essence spokeswoman. Requests for comment from Ms. White and Ms. Placas were not answered.
This is not the first time the publication has come under fire over race-related issues. Michael Bullerdick, its former managing editor, was transferred to another division in April after Journal-isms, a blog on the black news and opinion site, TheRoot.com, published posts from his Facebook page calling Al Sharpton an “MSNBC Race Pimp.”
A new fashion director has not been announced.


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Roger Federer is undoubtedly the best tennis player of all time. He has won millions of hearts with his persona and his playing technique. His popularity has made him a top choice for advertisers. According to a recent report, ‘Federer’s endorsement earnings are the highest in the world at more than $50 million a year’.
What is interesting is that there aren’t many brands that Roger endorses. At present, he is only sponsored by 11 big names. Here is a list of them all.
The Swiss multiple Grand Slam Winner has been endorsing Rolex since years now. After breaking Pete Sampras’ all-time Grand Slam record, Roger said, “When I was finally able to lift the trophy, I was wearing my Rolex on my wrist.”
Also Read: 9 BRANDS THAT SPONSOR RAFAEL NADAL
Federer became the brand ambassador of Mercedes-Benz in 2010. His contract allowed him to receive a new car every six months.
3. Credit Suisse
In November 2009, Credit Suisse signed a 10-year deal with Roger Federer. The brand promised to make a “significant annual contribution” to the Roger Federer Foundation, the charity which was founded by the tennis star to help disadvantaged children in Africa.
4. Jura Elektroapparate
Jura Elektroapparate AG is a Swiss developer and distributor of home appliances. Roger represents the brand both in Switzerland and internationally.
5. Moet and Chandon
In November 2012, Moët & Chandon, the Champagne brand, chose Roger Federer as its brand ambassador.
Barilla is a recent addition to Roger’s bag of brands. A couple of months back, in 2017, the brand roped in Roger Federer as its main face.
In 2009, Lindt first signed Roger Federer as its brand ambassador. In November 2017, the brand further extended the contract with him.
Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer which ensures that Roger uses the best tennis rackets in the world. In fact, Roger also designed a racket with Wilson’s team. According to a post on the company’s website, ‘Roger worked tirelessly with Wilson designers across the globe to breathe new life into the iconic Pro Staff. Every detail was pored over to create a racket that wants to be held and provides an edge for players bold enough to pick one up.’
In 2008, Nike signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with the legendary Roger Federer.
Roger has been a NetJets customer since 2004. According to the brand’s website, Roger says, ‘NetJets is definitely part of the winning formula for me on the tennis tour.’
Sunrise is Switzerland’s largest private telecommunications operator. In 2014, Roger Federer was roped in as Sunrise’s brand ambassador.


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"Snow Towcustom awareness wristbandsn" responds to complaintsChildren"s Birthday Party Venues In North Central Massachusetts In order to get the most out of custom magnets, it is very best to get the opinion of a professional magnet designer. This info can be attained by reading on the web sources this kind of as this one your reading now or a myriad of other sources. Earlier in the day the group attended a meet and greet for Pupil City in which the principles have been after, once more restated for absolutely everyone to hear. The most crucial guidelines to Pupil City are no fraternizing with any spring breakers with Student City tyvek wristbands and absolutely no public intoxication even if they are not functioning. They are to signify Student City at all times.
Dahailin Forestry Bureau"s tourism department published a series of investigative results and penalty decisions Thursday after several days of investigation in China"s Snow Town, a popular attraction in Northeast China"s Heilongjiang province.
The investigation came in response to a complaint from a tourist in a WeChat post soon after it circulated online Friday.
The tourist, whose identity is unknown, said she booked a triple room for two nights at a low price, but when the family arrived, they found the hotel had other plans.
After refusing to change to another room where conditions were much worse, the family was asked to leave on the second day.
According to the tourism department, the manager of Zhaojiadayuan guesthouse was punished for arbitrarily overcharging customers and treating them in a rude manner.
Besides being fined 59,360 yuan ($9,135), the manager has been blacklisted as one of the dishonest guesthouses, which will be looped on the LED screen in the scenic area.
Now the guesthouse has been closed and the house owner has decided stop renting it to the manager.
However, inspectors from the administration denied the tourist"s complaint about finding a bowl of instant noodles at the tourist center priced at 60 yuan, about 12 times the normal price.
"The number 60 refers to its commodity code," said the administration in the announcement. "After scanning the QR code, the customer can see the price is 10 yuan."
"In order to stabilize the price of dining in the town, we have launched various family-style cafeterias, where each tourist can enjoy breakfast at the price of just 20 yuan, and lunch and supper at 38 yuan," said Sun Qingke, the director of the town"s administration committee. "A hotpot buffet is only 78 yuan for per customer."
Because the tourist didn"t provide the license plate number of the tour bus, the inspectors couldn"t verify that the conductor in the bus recommended attractions to the tourists without permission.
The administration asked the company involved not to arrange any conductors on the tour buses and to strengthen measures to avoid similar problems.
"In addition, tourists can buy tickets on the internet and any ticket booths distributed throughout the town," according to the administration. "It was concocted by the conductor that tourists couldn"t buy tickets without the help of a tour guide."
After investigating the admission fees of the tourist items in the attraction named Xuelang Valley, which was also pointed out among the problems of overcharging in the post, the administration announced that the attraction was leased to a private company and the prices had applied for administrative approval and record-keeping in the price control department.
"We have offered our apologies to the tourists," said Li Shi, deputy director of Dahailin Forestry Bureau"s tourism department. "We will deal with the existing problems seriously and strengthen measures to regulate tourism in the town."
Contact the writers at [email protected]


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Shipments of Japanese digital cameras for the year fell by more than 30%
Japanese standards Association display systems Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has published the latest data on the supply of digital cameras from local producers on the world market.
In 2016, shipments of Japanese digital cameras decreased by 31.7%, amounting to of 24.19 million units.
If we talk about a simple camera for casual users, 36.5 percent were sold in Europe, 25,1% in the United States, 17.9% — in Asia, 17.8 percent in Japan and 2.7% in other countries.
Speaking of SLR cameras, it is necessary to highlight the victory in the Asian region, whose residents bought 31.8% of the corresponding Japanese products last year. Europe took second place, although in this category the gap from the USA was minimal (28.6 per cent against 28.3 per cent).
Mirrorless camera also enjoyed the greatest popularity in Asia (35.4 per cent), in Europe it sold 17.6% of the total produced quantity in Japan — 11.8%, the United States is 10.8%.
Speaking about digital cameras, it is worth remembering about the departure of Samsung from the market.


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Today Walmart will no longer sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 21.
Walmart first announced the policy change in May, July 1. The change applies to tobacco products, such as cigarettes, as well as e-cigarettes and affects all Walmart, Neighborhood Market and Sam's Clubs.
"Even a single sale to a minor is one for many, and we take seriously our responsibility in this regard," said John Scudder, Walmart's overall compliance and ethics officer.
Previously, the age group for buying tobacco at Walmart 1
Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, also eliminates the sale of fruit and dessert-colored electronic cigarettes. Opponents of the smoking equipment said that fruit and sweet flavors are aimed at young people.


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-- Manitoba is pressing hard to become the center of
the shipping universe, but the necessary steps to
build one, unfortunately, do not read like a
Unlike Kevin Costner and his baseball diamond carved out of an Iowa cornfield in the 1980s movie Field of Dreams, the "if you build it, they will come" rule does not apply to the creation of an inland port.
There are several medium-sized cities in Canada vying to become the next great shipping hub, including Edmonton and Regina. But perhaps the furthest along in their plans is Winnipeg.
In September 2008, the Manitoba government introduced the CentrePort Canada Act web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/c044e.php in an effort to support private-sector investment and growth of the inland port vision in Winnipeg.
The inland port needs private sector investment to continue putting the infrastructure in place, but it's established infrastructure that will partly lure the private sector to Manitoba's capital city.
"To say we're not an inland port now is not accurate; to say we have some gaps and spaces to fill would be accurate," notes Greg Dandewich, chairman of North American Inland Port Network & vice-president and director Economic Development, Destination Winnipeg.
"It's not a 5-year project; it's a 50-year project," he adds. "We have to advance it in a way to meet future challenges."
By Any Means Necessary:
In Europe, inland ports litter the continent and according to Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue there's probably not enough business to go around.
"In North America it's the opposite and they don't make themselves visible enough," explains Rodrigue, associate professor of global studies and geography at Hofstra University.
Stateside there are about 19 inland ports and although they all try to bring the same concept to their regions, no two are really the same. "There's not one solution that fits all," notes Dandewich. "You can't look at one in Texas or Kansas City and say, 'we're going to do that.'"
There are a number of factors however, working in Winnipeg's favor and many are homegrown.
The land put aside for CentrePort's development spans 20,000 acres and sits adjacent to a 24-hour airport. Both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway maintain extensive marshalling yards with major service facilities, including intermodal terminals where trailers and containers are transferred between road and rail; and the province has more than 1000 for-hire trucking companies that operate either interprovincially or internationally.
Another positive for CentrePort is a global shift in container usage. Basically, it's become the common means to get goods from Point A to Point B. Even traditional bulk goods like coffee are making the shift to containers -- to the tune of about 99 percent.
One glitch in the plan however, is the unwillingness of maritime shippers to send containers deep into the continent. Not only is it expensive to ship an empty container back, it's been historically difficult to get them back in a timely manner.
But there are solutions and mainly because there's not a lot of excess storage space (better known as land) at the coastal ports. There is the option of utilizing RFID tracking to monitor container moves, or create a burgeoning manufacturing market to fill the return loads.
As Dr. Rodrigue points out, an inland port needs efficient repositioning, cargo rotation, and an export market to truly be efficient.
There's also the option of offering cheap storage rates, something the coastal ports can't afford to do. One thing Rodrigue is certain of however, is that involvement from maritime shippers will be a big key in any inland port's success.
"You could provide ample dwell time here," he says. "Right now there is too much storage at the gateways. Do you want to talk to a Maritime shipping company who needs space inland?
"Infrastructure can be built anywhere, you have to have value-added service from the community."
-- (The entire article can be read in the upcoming May issue of Today's Trucking)


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I MMA C U L ATA MA G A Z I N E * F A L L 2 0 1 3
Pictured recently at the Philadelphia Collection 2013 are (L to R): Colleen Mortez, associate faculty; Alicia
Scalessa ’15; Taylor Benigni ’15; Chris Baeza, director of Fashion Merchandising at IU; Jon Fillion ’17;
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Kim Ent ’13; Franshesca Janvier ’17; Annaliese Kambouroglos ’17;
Shannon Garland ’17; Alayya Arrison ’17; Lauren Monreale ’17; Mary Duffy ’17.
Nicole Cashman, president and chief executive officer of the national public relations firm
Cashman & Associates, was recently a special guest speaker for students in Immaculata’s “Intro-
duction to the Fashion Industry” course.
For the past two years, IU’s Fashion Merchandising students have partnered with Cashman &
Associates by volunteering during the annual Philadelphia Collection fashion event.
Impressed by Cashman’s expertise in the fashion industry as well as her support of higher edu-
cation, Chris Baeza, director of IU’s Fashion Merchandising program, invited Cashman to speak
at the University. Attracting industry experts to speak on campus provides students with valuable
insights into the corporate world. Approximately 30 IU students attended the presentation along
with adjunct faculty who learned about Cashman’s varied background in the fashion industry and
details on how she started her own public relations company.
“Nicole spoke from the heart...she encouraged the students by saying, ‘Each challenge is an
opportunity to grow and dust yourself off and move forward,’ ” commented Baeza.
Cashman is a Philadelphia native and graduate of Drexel University’s Design, Merchandis-
ing and Marketing program. She is the former director of public relations and special events for
Strawbridge’s stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
THE PHILADELPH A
C LLECTION 2 13
For the second consecutive
year, Immaculata University’s
Fashion Merchandising faculty
and students participated in
The Philadelphia Collection, an
annual event that promotes the
city and all aspects of its robust
fashion community, including its
impressive “collection” of retail-
ers, designers, design schools and
With over 75 fashion and
style events throughout Phila-
delphia, IU’s students gained
first-hand experience as event
volunteers and had the oppor-
tunity to network with industry
Continued on page 78
NICOLE CASHMAN GUEST LECTURES AT IU
Nicole Cashman, president and CEO
of Cashman & Associates


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Lug, a growing brand of bags and accessories popularized by Oprah, opened its first store Friday in BWI Marshall Airport.
Lug has leased a 1,290-square-foot retail space in Concourse D at the airport.
The brand was founded in 2005 by Ami and Jason Richter, who wanted to refresh drab travel bags with “fun, functional and colorful” designs. Its bags attracted the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who highlighted them in the “O List” in O, The Oprah Magazine.
Lug subsequently partnered with QVC, the television shopping channel, to offer the products for sale.
“We are flying high with excitement over our first-ever retail store — and by design, it is in an airport, where we can personally interact with individuals and families to help them travel with style and function to destinations around the world,” Jason Richter said in a statement.
The store features touch-screen kiosks offering consumers an interactive experience to see and feel bags in different colors and prints.


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April 20 update below. This post was originally published on April 17, 2020.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is a savvy, well-connected analyst. But I think he was wrong this week when he said, “Nothing that you’re going to be seeing next week is going to be particularly innovative, in my humble opinion.” Here’s why I think differently.
iPad Pro with miniLED screen technology
This, I’d say, is going to be a real game-changer. Although there have been changes to the displays on the iPad since the tablet first launched in 2010, this is the first move away from IPS LCD to a whole new screen tech.
April 20 update: In what is likely to be about the last rumor before all is finally revealed today, a new source has sent a series of photos to MacRumors which seem to confirm that the new iPad Pro tablets will look similar to the current models except in for thickness and camera panels.
It looks like the iPad Pro 11in will have identical dimensions, but the 12.9in is getting a little fatter. To be honest, you aren’t going to notice it—it’ll be 6.4mm thick instead of the 5.9mm thickness of the current model and indeed the next 11in iPad Pro. This is likely down to the new miniLED display that’s predicted for the new model. Full details below.
Just half a millimeter, then, which means it’s thicker than the current iPad Air (6.1mm). I’d be surprised if this means that current accessories like the Magic Keyboard no longer fit in terms of thickness, but there’s another consideration for cases and accessories that cover the rear of the tablet: the camera unit.
The same photos claim to show a camera bump which is slightly bigger, 27.67 x 27.67mm, larger than the current 27 x 27mm panel. Again, this is just a fraction of a millimeter, so I’d expect the current Magic Keyboard to work just fine… assuming Apple has placed the cameras in the exact same position.
My guess is it will, because the Magic Keyboard isn’t cheap, costing $349 for the larger iPad Pro, so Apple may want to encourage upgrades to the new iPad Pro by letting existing owners know they don’t need to spring for a new keyboard on top of everything else.
That may not be the case for the 11in model. The camera bump on this model is currently 26.7 x 26.7mm, so fractionally smaller than the current 12.9in Pro has. But it looks like the new one will measure rather less, just 25.3 x 25.3mm.
Again, assuming there’s no change in terms of the placement, the current accessories should work fine, they’ll just have a slightly bigger gap around the cameras.
There’s one more change predicted—the distance the cameras protrude from the case. Since the latest rumor is based on cases, it’s impossible to tell this. But previous indications are that on the 12.9in model, the camera lenses will poke out less. Well, this makes sense as there’s an extra half-millimeter of space to play with, assuming the rumors are correct.
Well, there’s really not much more waiting before we find out everything.
April 19 update: The latest report from Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, seen by MacRumors, suggests there may be a sting in the tail for iPad Pro customers. And it’s the price. According to Ives, the pricing will be a little higher than it is at the moment. The Pro tablets will have “modest price increases”. Whatever that means. Currently, an iPad Pro with 11in display costs $799 and up, while the 12.9in Pro costs from $999.
It’s interesting that Ives think both models will have price increases. After all, it looks like the 12.9in model will have the big upgrade of a new screen technology, so a price increase might seem easily justified. However, unless Apple has a trick up its sleeve, the 11in tablet’s upgrades will focus on just one change of hardware, the processor.
There’s another wrinkle. Last October, Apple removed the charger from its entire iPhone range. Though the iPad Air released in September, along with all other iPads, still comes with a charging plug and cable, will this be the time Apple decides to drop the plug in favor of just the cable? If so, well, the price increase looks a little steeper.
Ives had more to say. He confirmed what other analysts have suggested, that a new iPad mini is coming, and he said that it will have “consistent pricing”.
But he also went on to say there would be a new entry-level iPad, too. Really? It’s only six months since the last new iPad. Only once has Apple refreshed any of its tablets in less than a year, when it added a Lightning connector and new processor to the iPad fourth-generation model. That was in late 2012, the same year as the third-gen iPad. Apple got a lot of criticism for updating so soon after a previous iteration.
So, personally, I’d be surprised if there was an entry-level iPad this week. However, if there is, there’s some good news: Ives says that won’t be going up in price.
Now, back to why miniLED is plenty innovative...
The benefits of miniLED are numerous. The tiny LEDs of the technology use tiny LEDs which offer individual light instead of the wash of backlight found on LCD.
This means deep, punchy black shades and extremely good contrast levels. Ideal, for instance, for HDR.
It’s a major change and, to my mind, completely innovative to put miniLED into a tablet.
There’s another reason it’s innovative
That’s down to the Apple road map. Of course, it’s secret but we know there is one. Just as the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5S was a surprise and a standalone new feature, what Apple knew, but we didn't, was that it was there as the curtain raiser to Apple Pay.
So, the introduction of miniLED on the top-flight iPad is likely only the first step. We can definitely expect miniLED Mac laptops and, further down the road, iPhones. Even though that’s doubtless some time off, the fact that Apple is bringing miniLED to the iPad Pro surely indicates the iPhone engineers are waiting for their turn.
And that would be a big, innovative change.
Although it’s possible that such a change could happen in time for this Fall’s iPhone, it seems more likely to me that it will be a couple of years away at least. But you never know.
A super-fast A14 chip
Gurman is slightly undercutting his own narrative when he says there’s nothing innovative, given his previous enthusiasm for the processor in the iPad Pro models. And the processor will be in the 11in as well as the 12.9in tablet.
This will be a version of the A14 chip found in the latest iPad Air and iPhone 12 series. It’ll be even faster than the A14, for sure, and one analyst says the processor will be on par with the M1 chip in the latest Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. That analyst—you’re way ahead of me—was Mark Gurman.
A tablet with a chip as powerful as a MacBook Pro is something of an innovation, surely?
How about AirTags?
I get that AirTags, assuming the much-anticipated tracking devices actually appear on Tuesday, aren’t the first of their kind. Tile and Chipolo, for instance, already make them.
But a little disc that clues into the Apple Find My network sounds like it could help you find it better than rival devices. What’s that? You can find Chipolo through Find My, you say?
True, but that’s only because Apple just opened up the network. And we still don’t know for sure exactly how AirTags will work, but I’m betting the seamless integration between Find My and AirTags will ensure there are unique benefits other products won’t have.
Gurman did say that his opinion would change if the iMac was launched next Tuesday.
To be clear, I think the chance of the iMac making an appearance is very slim, almost nil, in fact.
But I could be wrong and if it does turn up, it’ll certainly be exciting. The prospect of a new-design iMac, perhaps in a bunch of delightful colors, will get the hearts of those watching the keynote beating that bit faster.
But, even without, I think Tuesday is going to be a great event, with plenty of new products that will turn heads. This is Apple, after all.


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Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, a men's clothing store with locations in the Pittsburgh region, said it will open as many as 50 new stores a year in a more aggressive expansion plan.
The 106-year-old clothing store has more than 550 stores nationwide, including in Market Square, Ross Park Mall, The Mall at Robinson, Monroeville Mall and Mount Lebanon.
Jos. A Bank (Nasdaq: JOSB) said Wednesday it has seen success with its store rollouts in recent years, leading it to think that it can grow to as many as 800 stores over the next several years. That total would include 100 factory outlets.
"This is an increase from the company's prior assessment from several years ago, which indicated the growth potential was between 650 and 675 total stores," Jos. A. Bank said in a prepared statement.
There are plans for between 45 and 50 new store openings in 2012 and 2013, although the locations of the new stores have not been disclosed.
The Baltimore Business Journal reported that Jos. A. Bank had net income of $23.2 million, 83 cents a share, in its quarter ended July 28, compared to net income of $20.6 million, 74 cents a share, during the same period a year ago.
Paul J. Gough covers energy for the Pittsburgh Business Times. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org or 412-208-3827. You can also follow him on Twitter.


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Legislation / Legal
OFT: The OFT is calling for the legal profession's complaint handling procedures to be further simplified after it published research recently showing that only 13% of dissatisfied customers goes on to make a formal complaint.
The low level of complaints was found to be largely due to uncertainty about how or where to complain and scepticism about whether complaining is worth the effort. The research also shows that around 1 in 7 of the 3m people using the UK's legal profession each year are dissatisfied with the service they receive.
ICO: The entertainment company Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited has received a monetary penalty of £250,000 from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) following a serious breach of the Data Protection Act.
The penalty comes after the Sony PlayStation Network Platform was hacked in April 2011, compromising the personal information of millions of customers, including their names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth & account passwords. Customers’ payment card details were also at risk.


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PITTSBURGH — The day after the Super Bowl is hard for many people who stay up late watching the game with friends and family.
Getting back to work on Feb. 6 won’t be so hard for Kraft Heinz employees because they get the day off, the company announced.
Heinz broke the good news to their employees in their “Smunday” campaign video. The video asks Americans to get behind the idea to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a holiday.
Heinz has created a petition online to make “Smunday” a national holiday.
In its YouTube announcement, the brand said the country loses on average $1 billion as productivity declines the Monday after the Super Bowl.
The company also says if it gets 100,000 signatures on its petition, it will send it to Congress.AlertMe


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Audi sales chief Ralph Weyler wants to bring the number of showrooms to 3000 worldwide by 2011 at the latest from a current level of 2700, he told German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
“We need this density in order to achieve our targeted sales of 1.5 million vehicles (annually),” he said in an interview with the magazine that hits stands on Wednesday.
This would bring the number of Audi showrooms on par with rival BMW, which has no plans at present to increase its number of sales points past 3000.
Porsche sales chief Klaus Berning wants to improve the group’s international footprint by filling the white spaces on the map with new showrooms.
“We want to continuously expand our current network of 650 dealers to more than 700 in the coming 10 years, mainly in growth markets like China, India and Russia,” he was quoted as saying.
Source: Stuff, picture by Autoblog


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During the PlayStation 5 reveal presentation, we got to see our first look at just how 2K Sports is utilizing the next-gen capabilities to improve the next iteration of the NBA 2K series.
However, like with every version of NBA 2K, it won’t just be appearing on the PS5 but will be releasing across each of the modern gaming platforms.
That doesn’t just lock it to PS5 or Xbox Series X, because as 2K has done in the past, there will be versions of the newest entry hitting PS4 and Xbox One to keep that playerbase alive for a little bit longer. Of course, that does mean that those versions will lose out on key features that rely on next-gen tech and will perform at a lower level, but that has always been the case with cross-generation releases.
Unlike Madden, which has had some varied release dates in the past, 2K has a pretty solid window nailed down for when it releases all of its NBA 2K games.
NBA 2K18 released on Sept. 15, 2K19 on Sept. 7, and the most recent release, 2K20 on Sept. 6. In keeping with that pattern, 2K21 should launch on Sept. 11 this year, with potential delays pushing it back due to COVID-19 impacting development also on the table.
As for consoles, you can expect the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC versions of 2K20 to run incredibly well with all of the new techs, providing some insane improvements to the game. 2K is already promising two-second load times on the next-gen consoles, so that should make for a much smoother experience.
However, the game should also be released for PS4 and Xbox One, though it is unclear in what state those versions will be released. Previously, 2K has cut out game modes and other content to enable the game to run on last-gen machines, so on top of performance decreasing, there might be some missing features too.
We will also have to wait and see if the Nintendo Switch will get a downgraded version of the game sometime around launch too, but for now, we can at least look forward to some improvements on the next-gen versions of the franchise.


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Omega has revealed on-set photos of George Clooney taken for the brand’s new Speedmaster campaign.
Ahead of the October 2015 release of “Spectre,” the 24th Bond movie, Omega has unveiled a new watch dedicated to the secret agent.
According to a new report, Omega, Cartier and Rolex are in high demand among Chinese watch fans.
Here’s your first look at a great looking new piece from Omega, the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean GMT. A perfect addition to the Planet Ocean lineup.
The OMEGA Constellation Sedna is the first watch to be crafted in 18K Sedna™ gold.
Omega commemorates the anniversary of the Apollo XVII mission with a new Speedmaster limited edition.


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Toyota offered 18 Starlets for sale over the Net in April, selling seven during the six-week period.
"We went in with very broad objectives to see what would happen. We were very surprised that we sold any," said Ms Jo-Anne Donovan, Toyota's relationship marketing specialist.
All seven buyers had previous experience of shopping online, and most were already in the market for a Starlet and had visited a dealer.
Four of the sales were made outside normal shopping hours, one of them at 1.50 am.
Toyota is talking through the results with its dealers. It provides many of its dealers with a standard Website, and may add e-commerce capability.
Meanwhile, Jaguar Australia plans to start online sales of pre-owned cars in August.
The Website will run in conjunction with the Jaguar Assured Program, which requires used Jaguars to pass a quality test. Jaguar hopes the Internet will connect a car buyer in Brisbane, for example, with a late model that fits their requirements on sale in Victoria.
A Jaguar spokesperson said it would not sell new models online because it "did not want to detract from our own dealer network".
FOOTNOTE: Drive.com has enabled sales of a wide variety of vehicles over the Net since March 1. A spokesman for the site said being independent from dealers and manufacturers was an important factor in the success of sales through the site.


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Dell now offers three Ultra HD monitors for your consideration. We tested the 32-inch UP3214Q last month. Today, we’re looking at the 24-inch UP2414Q. Despite its smaller size, this is still a $1000+ display....
AOC and GeChic recently introduced a pair of portable, USB-powered displays. GeChic’s On-Lap 1502I boasts a 1920x1080 resolution and 10-point multi-touch. AOC’s E1659FWU delivers simplicity and a low price....
Display on the Community
Solved by - APRIL 18r7-260x video card only display up to 24.75 inches
Solved by - APRIL 16Need some advises for my current build
Solved by - APRIL 15I can't get my LG monitor to display 1080p
Google Glass is now running on KitKat.
This guide will give you some basic steps on how to troubleshoot the No Boot / No Display issue, which is one of...
LG's G2 was first announced in early August, 2013, so the company is busy working on the next generation of its flagship phone. LG has confirmed to Engadget that the G3 will feature a quad HD display with a...
Rumor has it that VESA has accepted AMD's proposal to implement FreeSync.
Google will open up some spots on the Explorer program next week.
These monitors promise enhanced visual comfort.
HP launched two new DreamColor displays, one of which is quite affordable.
Club3D gives you more options to connect multiple monitors to a single DisplayPort 1.2 connector.
This monitor has a refresh rate of 144 Hz.
He responds to a musician's blog.
We take a look at the new development kit.
Better start saving those pennies.
Oculus VR has a new chief architect.
Oculus VR's first-generation development kit is almost sold out.
Pretty much everyone will be able to afford Oculus Rift.
This tablet provides the sensation of smooth and rough using vibrations.
Here's a new monitor with two HDMI ports for multitasking.
Can Google Glass cause a headache?
Google has a list of Do's and Don'ts regarding wearing Glass.
ViewSonic has a new touch panel with an interesting stand.
Manufacturer Small PC has revealed its latest waterproof marine LCD touchscreen display.


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As the city ordeals a new wave of gentrification, industries are shuttering and nothing is replacing them
At the beginning of this decade, one beloved block in San Francisco had a taqueria, a flower shop and a bookstore. Sparky’s diner, a favorite final hangout for night owls, queer teenages and the blackout drunkard, was open round the clock.
Today, this block of Church Street just south of Market has the various kinds of vacated storefronts that would otherwise a shorthand for worsening mill cities , not centers of the tech future. But all those closed browses are emblematic of today’s San Francisco, where even in upscale arenas, the city’s financial thunder can look astonishingly like an economic crisis.
What this represents is a strange, second-wave gentrification, in which an influx of well-heeled occupants represents not Blue Bottle coffee shops and Kinfolk-inspired interior design stores, but emptiness.
The intersection of Church and Market streets is where numerous San Francisco neighborhoods have worked together- from the historic Castro to the nouveau gentry in Hayes Valley and the hipster vortex that is the Mission District. It’s not necessarily picturesque, but it’s long been quirky, lively, easily to be affected by public transit and popular with young inventive natures. In the last decade, splashy apartment complexes have shot up all over the expanse. The neighborhood must have gained hundreds, if not thousands, of new occupants. But the businesses in the area have been dying off.
In 2017, about one in every eight storefronts here was empty, and more industries seem to have leaved since then. The diner was first to go: in 2015 rent suddenly travelled up, the diner’s owner refused to pay, and Sparky’s was no more. Our usual sentiments about gentrification intimate neighborhood standbies get replaced by fancy stores and brunch-centric eateries. Instead, after Sparky’s came … nothing. Elsewhere, very, long-term leases duration out, rents increased, and the old-fashioned neighborhood hangouts disappeared. Aardvark Books, which stood on Church Street for roughly 40 times, until 2018, is now a hollow storefront.
The fancy new developments along the upper strain of Market Street have had a paradoxical aftermath, replenishing the country with parties while depopulating it. The reasons “ve got a lot” to do with the tech economy that’s made San Francisco one of the most expensive metropolis in the world. Developers make their money with luxury accommodations aimed at high-salaried tech craftsmen, while ground floor retail is an architectural and economic afterthought: monstrous seats that any business would have trouble filling with life and justifying financially.
Read more: www.theguardian.com


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The big Disney blockbuster of the season is coming straight to streaming — but it will still cost subscribers.
Walt Disney’s new live-action remake of “Mulan” isn’t getting a typical big theatrical release as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced in August. Instead, it will debut on Disney+ Friday as part of the subscription streaming service’s new Premier Access platform.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch “Mulan” the moment it hits the airwaves.
How can I watch ‘Mulan’?
The Disney+ exclusive has its own landing page and is available for purchase on Sept. 4.
When will ‘Mulan’ be available to stream?
The flick premiered in the wee hours of Sept. 4 — at midnight PST and 3 a.m. EST — meaning many members of its young audience might not have been awake to watch it air live.
How much does it cost?
Subscribers will pay $29.99, a sticker price that comes on top of the streaming service’s subscription price ($6.99 a month or $69.99 a year).
The hefty cost is a permanent purchase, not a rental, but the film requires an active Disney+ membership, according to the Verge. Those who purchase the film and then cancel their membership will lose access to “Mulan,” the Verge reported. Reactivating your Disney+ account, however, should make “Mulan” accessible again.
What is Premier Access?
Premier Access is a movie storage add-on where films purchased for a separate, additional fee to the general subscription will be stored for future rewatching. “Mulan” is Disney’s guinea pig movie for Premier Access, and other big releases may follow if it’s successful.
“We’re looking at ‘Mulan’ as a one-off, as opposed to say there’s some new, business windowing model we’re looking at,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek in the company’s Q3 earnings call, Decider reported.


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“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.” Steve Jobs
From zero-emission flying taxis to the rise of electric vehicles, the car industry is entering a brave new world. Now more than ever, it is there for the taking. Doc Brown’s flying DeLorean has almost landed and how the industry negotiates technology and human intervention, will define its future. But just as savvy innovators and tech geeks make a solar-powered-robot-fisted land grab for its jugular, the industry’s lifeblood remains the same; car dealers.
As the wheels of innovation spin relentlessly around them, these great survivors have steadfastly remained a constant source of comfort; and occasional consternation. They are the gears that drive our industry, but their roles are evolving and they must adapt.
The FCA revealed earlier this year that it was assessing the motor finance industry because it was “concerned that there may be a lack of transparency, potential conflicts of interest and irresponsible lending”. To complicate matters, a major sea change in data protection will enter the UK market in May 2018, when the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force. The industry is under scrutiny and many dealers could be forgiven for thinking they are on borrowed time.
The traditional car-buying experience is being modernised, regulated and moved online. Those days of trudging aimlessly around unfamiliar dealership forecourts, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, will soon be a thing of the past. Time-pressed consumers want transparency and efficiency, executed within a modern retail environment. A more seamless purchasing experience is upon us and new technologies are allowing businesses to play a more proactive and positive role in consumer journeys; before, during and after they have left the forecourt.


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A top cannabis executive recently revealed that several cannabis multistate operators (MSOs) intend to prioritize their wholesale divisions in 2024. Jamie Mendola, the national head of wholesale/purchasing, western region regional manager and chief business development officer at Florida-based multistate operator Ayr Wellness, says that while MSOs focused on wholesale last year, the division will become an even greater priority this year.
Mendola notes that reduced capital will decrease the odds of company growth through mergers and acquisitions or by obtaining more licenses, forcing MSOs to turn their focus to wholesale. He adds that with many vertically integrated cannabis businesses in states such as New York, Massachusetts and Illinois reaching or nearly reaching their total number of retail licenses, wholesale will take higher priority.
The cannabis executive predicted that the “vast majority” of the MSOs in America’s state-level cannabis sector are focusing on organic growth. This growth will likely come from the wholesale division, Mendola said, especially in markets that still haven’t transitioned from medical marijuana to recreational cannabis. However, MSOs will have to overcome challenges such as low cannabis prices to grow their wholesale divisions.
Mendola notes that in Ayr’s case, a double-digit increase in wholesale sales volumes in 2023 was significantly undermined by a double-digit reduction in wholesale prices. Although the company saw notable growth through the end of the year, Mendola says price compression masked a lot of this growth. Limited vertical integration among the newest entrants into the cannabis retail market could help stabilize wholesale cannabis prices as these retailers will need wholesale partners to supply products regularly, Mendola says.
Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) in New York is also hoping the state’s increasing number of retail cannabis retailers leads to positive headwinds for the company’s wholesale division. The company’s CEO Matt Darin said in a recent interview that Curaleaf had already begun selling its cannabis products in the wholesale market, likely in anticipation of the flood of demand expected to come from the retail division.
Unfortunately, this strategy won’t be as effective in mature markets such as Massachusetts where both retail and wholesale divisions are at capacity. MSOs in Massachusetts built massive cultivation facilities when there was easier access to capital and cannabis prices and averaged $3,000 per pound.
Ben Burnstein, a senior associate in charge of corporate development at New York-based cannabis wholesale platform Leaflink, says wholesale prices have now dropped to around $1,400 per pound, partly due to reduced foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores.
Wholesalers can ensure they remain competitive in the increasingly saturated market by building value for their retail partners through varied product offerings, reliability and consistency, Dazed cannabis cofounder Chris Vianello says.
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How TV service operators can stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market that has pronounced pain points when it comes to choosing OTT services. [updated July 2023]
The problem with success is that a good idea can very quickly lead to a crowded market. While there has been a contraction of SVOD subscriptions since the peak of the pandemic, growth is still the order of the day. It is estimated that there will be 1.76bn SVOD subscriptions by 2028, with 24 countries having more than 10 million SVOD subs.
However, while it’s an expanding market it is also a finite one when it comes to costs. In 2021 the average US viewer was paying $47 per month for on-demand services, and while service stacking is increasingly a part of modern media consumption, there are limits to consumer budgets. Indeed, after years of strong growth – doubling between 2019 and 2022, from 3.7 to 7.4 – the average number of TV sources used by viewers has dropped in 2023 to 6.4.
Of course, dropping services is now easier than ever. As services have become increasingly app-based and have no minimum contract terms, signing up and cancellation have both become tasks that can be accomplished in a couple of mouse clicks. And, as a landmark survey from IBM concluded, that is a power they are not afraid to use.
Choosing OTT services: what annoys consumers
IBM’s influential report, The State of Streaming, remains one of the touchstones on analysing consumer behaviour, especially given the interruptions in what we can describe as normal behaviour caused by the years of the pandemic. Subtitled ‘You could be a contender: how streaming services can maintain a competitive edge’ it performed a deep dive on some of the emergent consumer behaviour that the SVOD industry was first witnessing when it was published in 2017. And while some of the data points regarding, for instance, the degree of buffering that was being experienced by consumers in individual markets are perhaps now outdated, the light the report shines on consumer attitudes to the problem is still relevant.
Technical pain points
We know that buffering is one of the key technical pain points that puts off consumers. While the CDNs that dominate the US are generally more reliable than those found elsewhere, no CDN has 100% availability across all regions. Performance varies as a result, especially in the number one technical pain point for consumers: buffering.
IBM's figures showed it being experienced by anything between 58% of customers in one region up to 78% in another. The overall figure was 63%, but as the following table shows it was by no means the only technical problem faced.
Almost half of the consumers polled said they would give up on the video they’re trying to stream due to these problems.
This is a particular issue, of course, when it comes to streaming live content. And with live OTT becoming a significant competitive hotspot in the US market, in particular, it’s even more of a pressing issue.
But globally the figures were even more alarming. While the number of respondents to a global survey experiencing buffering problems was similar at 65%, the figures for delayed video start and video quality problems were much worse, at 62% and 57% respectively.
Content pain points
One of the surprises of the IBM report, especially given the sheer amount that is being spent on original programming by the leading SVOD players, is that consumers still want more content. Almost two-thirds of consumers said that the top change they’d make to their streaming service would be offering more content.
This is despite a counter-finding that recommendation engines are not performing to the best of their abilities yet — which is a problem more of implementation rather than underlying technology. Getting the right content to the right viewer at the right time is one of the pre-requisites of ensuring a content library works at peak efficiency, but 44% of consumers state that recommendations are rarely or never what they want to watch.
The good news there is that more people, 55% are satisfied, but there is still definitely room for improvement.
Easing the pain of choosing OTT services
In an increasingly competitive marketplace smoothing out these pain points is a crucial part of any strategy. And this is a task that is getting progressively harder as well.
Streaming devices and services are setting the bar for user experience comparisons. More OTT companies lead to more consumer exposure to a range of services, and the assumption is that if Service X can do something, then Service Y should be able to do so too. Expectations are dramatically higher as a result. And with even completely different industries also starting to inform consumer choice — for example, the effectiveness of a recommendation engine being bench-marked in consumer perception up against one used by Amazon — the landscape is changing markedly.
Broadcasters, typically national broadcasters, used to set the bar. Now it’s the software and entertainment giants of the major tech companies.
Luckily, there is a 4-point action plan that can help with the pain points in choosing OTT services.
- Adopt a multi-CDN strategy that uses the best CDN in each territory
- Use bullet-proof cloud services that can spin up swiftly to handle demand and processing spikes
- Deploy business analytics to truly understand the effectiveness of the content library and its associated programming strategy
- Use contextual recommendations to mine as many data points as possible and improve recommendation results
SVOD as an industry is in a fairly unique position. Not much more than a decade old, its penetration into the consumer space has been rapid and impressive. However, it now finds itself both a maturing market and one still undergoing high rates of technological change and evolving consumer behavior. The market is by no means yet saturated on a global scale, but it is becoming increasingly competitive. Meeting the expectations of consumers that are exhibiting levels of brand loyalty that can best be described as pragmatic as they are choosing OTT services is a challenge that needs careful thought. But, with the careful use of best-of-breed technologies, the current pain points can be alleviated and any future ones anticipated.
Original article: Ludo Rubin


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Frank Burghardt joins Lloyd’s insurer from Aon
Markel International has strengthened its trade credit division with the appointment of Frank Burghardt.
Burghardt joins from Aon Credit International in Hamburg, where he was a senior trade credit account manager.
His responsibilities included handling multinational companies and promoting business expansion.
Prior to that, he worked as a global trade credit account manager for Atradius Credit Insurance in Cologne. He has also worked in trade credit roles for Gerling.
Markel now has a firm base in Germany following the announcement of a joint venture with Munich-based Anglo Underwriting in 2012 and the formation of Markel International Germany later the same year.
The set-up in Munich gives Markel access to an experienced German underwriting team and to strong distribution channels in Germany and Austria. The intention is to develop a Markel network across the region.
Burghardt will spearhead growth from Munich and build on a growing demand for the specialist solutions and products.
Markel’s trade credit division managing director Ewa Rose said: “We are delighted that Frank has joined our international trade credit team and will be focusing on the many opportunities now emerging in Germany. His experience and skills, supported by our existing German business and infrastructure, will help to establish Markel as a leading trade credit specialist underwriter in Germany.”
Markel Germany’s general representative Frederik Wulff said: “Germany offers a very dynamic and entrepreneurial business environment, so there is a strong need for insurance products that can help to build trust between trading partners and provide protection internationally. Frank’s experience will be invaluable in this context, allowing us to provide more bespoke and innovative solutions in our marketplace.”


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Gran Turismo 7 looks as though it won't be joining the likes of Horizon Forbidden West, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure as games appearing across both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. According to a new trailer that features some footage of the racing game in action, it will be entirely exclusive to PlayStation's next-generation platform when it releases next year.
PlayStation released a new trailer today for the PS5 that highlights a number of games both currently available and set to release for the platform in the future. While this might not seem like a big deal initially, the trailer also specified for every game in question the release window and consoles that the title would appear on. In the case of Gran Turismo 7, notably, PS5 was listed as the only platform on which the game is set to arrive. As such, it seems as though any plans for a release on the PlayStation 4 might now be out of the question.
To some degree, this isn't much of a surprise. PlayStation presently hasn't announced plans to bring Gran Turismo 7 to any platforms other than PS5, but considering how dodgy the publisher has been with its release strategy for other games like the forthcoming God of War sequel, it did leave some lingering questions about the prospect of GT7's release plans. Still, this trailer seems to have now dashed those hopes of seeing it come to both PlayStation consoles.
In addition to this new trailer, it seems as though what we thought was a previous release window for Gran Turismo 7 has also now potentially changed. A video for the game that was released a few weeks back indicated that GT7 would be released in the first half of 2021. Now, that video has been altered to say that the game is simply releasing at an undisclosed window next year. If you were hoping to get your hands on Polyphony Digital's latest entry in the long-running racing franchise, you might now be waiting a bit longer than expected.
So do you like what you're seeing of Gran Turismo 7? Is it going to be a game that sells you on the PS5 if you haven't already purchased the console for yourself? Let me know down in the comments or hit me up over on Twitter @MooreMan12 with your thoughts.


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The number of tourists arriving in Sầm Sơn Beach on the occasion of Reunification Day (April 30) and Labour Day (May 1) have decreased due to concern over COVID-19 pandemic. Photo baothanhhoa.vn
HÀ NỘI — Concerns over COVID-19 forced Nguyễn Thuý Quỳnh from Hà Nội to cancel her family trip to the northern province of Thanh Hóa for the Reunification Day (April 30) and Labour Day (May 1) holiday which lasted four days from April 29 to May 2.
Quỳnh said she had booked a hotel for her family near Sầm Sơn beach two weeks ago but decided to postpone the trip.
“We decided to stay at home on the holiday for my family’s safety,” she told Việt Nam News, adding that her mother is now 74 years old and vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.
Quỳnh was among thousands of Vietnamese tourists who cancelled trips due to worries about new community infections.
Nguyễn Gia Sơn, the owner of a hotel in Thanh Hóa City’s Lê Văn Hưu Street, said 70 per cent of tourists cancelled their bookings.
He said many hotels in the city faced a similar situation.
According to Thanh Hóa Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as many as 374,000 tourists visited the province during the four-day holiday, 22 per cent below what had been expected. Many tours and bookings at tourist sites were cancelled due to concerns about COVID-19. The total revenue from tourism over the weekend was estimated at VNĐ635.8 billion (US$27.5 million), a decline of 32.4 per cent against the same period last year.
Hà Nội also recorded a sharp decrease in the number of domestic tourists during the holiday.
The city's tourism sector had launched efforts to stimulate domestic travel in hopes of a holiday bump.
Many tourist accommodations in Hà Nội slashed their prices and before the holiday, some resorts in suburban areas reported they were almost fully booked.
However, the resurgence of COVID-19 in the community had a severe impact on the industry.
Statistics from Hà Nội’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed between 25-30 per cent of pre-booked rooms were cancelled.
Many tourist sites were forced to halt programmes and festivals which were set to attract a lot of people. The old village of Đường Lâm postponed an exhibition of countryside markets while Bao Son Paradise Park postponed the Ocean Festival.
Other destinations nationwide also witnessed a sharp decrease in tourist numbers.
In Hải Phòng City, the number of tourists who visited Cát Bà Island and Đồ Sơn Beach fell substantially. Domestic tourists to Đồ Sơn Beach reached only 110,000 and 40 per cent of customers cancelled their tours, according to Đồ Sơn District’s People’s Committee.
The committee said most tourist service establishments, local people and tourists basically complied with the Ministry of Health’s guidance on COVID-19 prevention and control.
Đà Nẵng, a tourist hotspot in central Việt Nam, also saw tourism activities face difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of tourists who visited famous sites in the city including Linh Ứng Pagoda and Love Bridge in Đà Nẵng was well below expectations.
Earlier, Đà Nẵng City’s Tourist Department said the total number of visitors to the city was estimated to reach 130,000.
In addition to cancelling tours, a number of hotels in the city faced a situation where many people arrived in Đà Nẵng but changed their plans and checked out earlier than expected.
Trần Văn Tú, the owner of a three-star hotel on Võ Nguyên Giáp Street, said early check-outs due to fear of the disease had hit hard.
"The cancellation of reservations and early check-outs seriously affected our business," he told Lao Động (Labour) newspaper.
Cao Trí Dũng, chairman of Đà Nẵng Tourism Association, said about 20 per cent of tourists cancelled their tours to the city, including large groups.
In addition, local authorities postponed several cultural and sports programmes, including the Đà Nẵng International Fireworks Festival, to ensure safety. – VNS


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German imports unexpectedly fell in April while exports were unchanged, new figures show today.
This propelled the trade surplus of Europe's biggest economy to a fresh monthly record despite weaker demand from emerging markets such as China.
The overall solid trade data, published by the Federal Statistics Office, are likely to stir up a debate about how Germany's relatively strong exports are continuing to fuel global economic imbalances.
The International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development have for years urged Germany to step up public and private investment in infrastructure to reduce its current account surplus.
Close allies such as France and the US have also called for Germany to boost domestic demand.
Berlin has reacted to this by increasing its spending on infrastructure and accommodating and integrating a record influx of refugees.
Analysts said the data suggested that Germany's economic growth pace would slow in the second quarter, pointing out that the trade surplus widened in April because of weaker imports.
Today's data showed that seasonally adjusted imports edged down 0.2% in April on the month while exports were unchanged after rising two consecutive months.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected exports to fall by 0.6% and imports to rise by 1.2%.
The fall in imports widened the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €24 billion from revised €23.7 billion in March which had been the highest monthly value so far.
A breakdown of non-adjusted trade data showed exports to European Union countries soared while demand from countries outside the bloc edged down.
Economists said the trade data were evidence that the German economy was struggling to gain further momentum after its surprisingly strong start to the year.
The German economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter, its strongest quarterly growth rate in two years, helped by higher private consumption and construction investment.
But economists expect the pace to slow in the second quarter.
Data released earlier this week showed industrial output rose slightly more than expected in April while weaker foreign demand drove a bigger-than-expected drop in industrial orders.