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Video By AppleInsider Staff Thursday, November 29, 2018, 10:31 am PT (01:31 pm ET) Now that the new iPad Pro is available, Apple's 2018 iPad lineup consists of four models: the 2018 iPad Pro, the 2017 10.5-inch iPad Pro, the 2018 9.7-inch iPad and the iPad Mini 4. AppleInsider examines all of the options and explains what is worth looking out for when buying a new tablet. Externals, Smart Connectors, and Security Right off the bat, I want to take the iPad Mini 4 off the list for a few reasons. It's the only current iPad that doesn't support the Apple Pencil, it's powered by a processor that came out in 2014, and it's more expensive than the iPad, so I personally wouldn't buy it. Don't just take my word for it, as a poll on our YouTube from roughly a week ago revealed that out of almost 10,000 people, only 3 percent thought that the iPad Mini 4 was the better choice. A considerable 63 percent of them thought that the 2018 iPad Pro was the best choice, despite being the most … [Read more...] about Which one of Apple’s 2018 iPad or iPad Pro models should you buy?
Iphone 7 antutu
Let’s get it out of the way. You’ll probably want to buy the Mate 20 Pro. It’s sexy, it’s powerful, it’s one of the best phones you can get right now. The real question is if you should pay no less than 1,050 euros (~$1,205) for the privilege of owning it. Or should you “settle” for one of the many great alternatives and save some money in the process? It’s not an easy question — we’ll spend this in-depth Huawei Mate 20 Pro review trying to answer it. Buckle up! About our Huawei Mate 20 Pro review I wrote this review after spending around ten days with a Mate 20 Pro review unit supplied by Huawei. The phone (model LYA-L29) was the Twilight dual-SIM version, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It ran EMUI 9.0 out of the box, with the October 2018 security patch and build number C432E10R1P16. I used it mostly on my home Wi-Fi network, as well as Orange Romania’s 4G+ network. Technically, the software on the review … [Read more...] about Huawei Mate 20 Pro review: The phone for power users
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is an all-out flagship not just because of its design, big battery and impressive new triple camera system, it's also the first Android phone to have the newest generation of mobile chips.We're talking about the new 7 nanometer chip technology that Huawei has been working on for years to bring us its crown jewel, the new Kirin 980 system chip on the Mate 20 Pro. In comparison, all other Android Snapdragon 845 flagship phones currently are still based on the older, 10nm technology. And speaking of the competition, it was actually Apple who was the first to bring a 7nm chip in a real-world device with its iPhone XS series.So what should you know about the new Kirin 980 chip inside the Mate 20 Pro? It has a curious architecture with two big cores, two middle cores and four LITTLE cores, or a total of eight CPU cores. You have two big A76 cores clocked at up to 2.6GHz, two middle A76 cores running at up to 1.92GHz, and four A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. There's a new … [Read more...] about Huawei Mate 20 Pro Performance Benchmarks: Kirin 980 inside, Android’s first 7nm chip
Soon after the launch of the new iPhone XS series, Apple had slashed the prices of the 2017-series iPhone X and other older iPhone models. Now, e-commerce firm Patym, as part of ongoing Dussehra festive sale offer, has further reduced the prices of the iconic anniversary Apple mobile in India.The original Apple iPhone X (base model), which costs Rs 88,944 can now be bought for less than Rs 48,000 on Paytm Mall. The company is offering Rs 20,000 cash back voucher—" MOBFESTIVE22K", which the customer has to type in this code while buying the iPhone X. Once done, the cash amount will be transferred to the buyer's Paytm Wallet.Furthermore, ICICI cardholders can also claim an additional 10 percent (around Rs 2,500) discount and this will be put into user's account in 90 days. For select locations, Paytm is offering exchange deal up to Rs 18,000 provided the old mobile is in a good working condition.It can be noted that this offer is also valid on the 256GB model, but only until stocks … [Read more...] about Apple mobile available at lowest price?
Video By AppleInsider Staff Friday, October 12, 2018, 08:03 am PT (11:03 am ET) Despite promising class-leading performance from the Galaxy Note 9 in August, Samsung's flagship phablet failed to beat out the then nine-month-old iPhone X with A11 Bionic processor. Let's see how the Note 9 fares against a current Apple handset: the iPhone XS Max. The iPhone XS Max is Apple's latest and greatest smartphone, boasting an all-new in-house designed A12 Bionic processor built on a 7-nanometer process. With six cores — two high-performance cores and four efficiency cores — the A12 runs at a clock speed of 2.49GHZ, slightly faster than 2.39GHz on the A11 Bionic. The A12 in the iPhone XS and XS Max also integrates a new four-core GPU, up from three cores on the iPhone X. The Note 9 is packing the same Qualcomm 845 processor that powers the Galaxy S9. It's an eight-core CPU that consists of four performance cores and four efficiency cores running at up to 2.8Ghz. Both Note 9 … [Read more...] about Watch: iPhone XS Max’s A12 Bionic smokes Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9


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Datamars has acquired the farm equipment distribution business of Bentley in the Czech and Slovak markets as of January 2020.
Existing customers of Bentley farm equipment in the region will now be served by Datamars Czech, a newly established branch of Datamars’ existing Slovakian business.
As a result of this new partnership, Datamars is pleased to be able to offer customers more direct contact with the manufacturer of their products as well as a faster response to demand and quicker delivery, thanks to the local Slovakian base.
Datamars are global leaders in delivering integrated product solutions in livestock management, animal health delivery, pet identification and reunification and textile identification. In line with its strong livestock focus, the company recently acquired the assets of the Zeetags and Tru-Test companies, which both have long established relationships with Bentley, having been distributed by the Bentley team for more than 20 years through Central and Eastern Europe.
Datamars manufactures livestock ear tags for the European, Middle East and African markets at its factory in Nitra, Slovakia, which also serves as a local distribution warehouse for Datamars, Tru-Test and Speedrite products. Datamars Czech has been established as a new branch within the existing Datamars Slovakia business.
As all members of the Bentley Czech farm division sales team have joined Datamars Czech, we look forward to continuing our existing relationships and supporting customers and their businesses.
We believe this change builds on the success of Bentley Czech over the last 30 years and enables a deeper commitment to the Central and Eastern Europe markets and the ability to deliver even greater value to our customers.
Bentley Czech retains its laboratory supply companies in Central and Eastern Europe and its commitments to its customers in those markets.

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BRITISH products and services are selling better to Americans both in Britain and the US since the terrorist attacks of September 11, according to a report out yesterday. Americans feel a sense of solidarity towards Britain as a result of the joint war on terrorism and they are buying British goods far more than before.
The survey for Walpole, an organ-isation that champions British excellence at home and abroad, showed British companies experienced an increase in sales of between 10pc and 80pc in December 2001 and January 2002 compared to the previous year.
Stuart Gates, managing director of Fortnum & Mason, said in the report, "The store is definitely up on sales to Americans from this time last year. This can be attributed to the warm feeling of Americans towards a British institution like ourselves."


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AT&T are selling Nokia Purity Headphones by Monster for just $99. The wired headsets comes packed with in-line media controls to manipulate music playback, with comfortable fitting being featured as a highlighted selling point.
Note that these Purity Headphones are not the new Pro ones that were demonstrated earlier this year - this model is wired with no NFC or Bluetooth connectivity. It's good to see Windows Phones listed as compatible devices too.
If you're all set with a Lumia 920 pre-order, be sure to check out this deal to pick up some quality headphones for Xbox Music.


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Perkbox, a UK perks and benefits scheme, has surpassed its £1.5 million target on Seedrs and is currently overfunding by 270 per cent with more than £4 million raised through 230 investors in just four days.
Murray joins VC firm Draper Esprit which leads the round with a £2.5 million investment, alongside Zoopla’s Alex Chesterman.
The start-up, which launched in January 2015, already has over 300,000 paying members including British Gas, BUPA and Deliveroo and has generated more than £14 million in revenues since launch.
WeSwap, a peer-to-peer travel money platform, has so far raised £1.8 million from over 2,200 individual investors including Ascot Capital and is overfunding by 185 per cent.
In the past 12 months the disruptive start-up has grown by 204 per cent, welcoming over 200,000 new users to the WeSwap community. WeSwap exchanges currency directly between real people, so users receive the fairest rate by cutting out the middleman.
Murray says. ‘I’m continuing to grow my portfolio through Seedrs and I have tried to choose companies from different sectors as much as possible.
‘I was interested in Perkbox as I employ a number of people through my own sports management company, the 77 Group, as well as a number of independent contractors like physios, coaches and trainers. I’m sure they’ll all be wanting to hear lots more about Perkbox!’
He adds, ‘WeSwap was interesting to me because I travel so much around the world – I thought this was a really clever idea and could immediately see the gap in the market for this business to work.’
Saurav Chopra, CEO and co-founder of Perkbox is delighted with the investment from the tennis star and hopes that his influence and reputation can be transferred to her own business dynamic.
She says, ‘Andy Murray has previously emphasised how important it is for him to back up businesses who hold the same dedication, hunger and professional standards as he does, and we’re thrilled that he sees these very same values manifest in the people here that power the Perkbox brand.’
Jared Jesner, CEO and co-founder of WeSwap says, ‘We are delighted and overwhelmed to have exceeded our funding target with more than £1.8 million invested into our campaign on Seedrs so far. Having a tennis hero like Andy Murray invest in the campaign as part of the crowd has truly been the icing on the cake.’
CEO and co-founder of Seedrs Jeff Lynn, thinks that Murray is a great example of an investor who understands the importance of building a strong portfolio.
Lynn adds, ‘It’s great to see how active Andy has become in early-stage investment and his recent investments on Seedrs into Perkbox and WeSwap reaffirm this. ‘


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Status: 07.12.2023, 20:15 PM
By: Anni Gebhard
In 2023, many consumers were already saving money: especially in the energy sector. Many things will become more expensive again in 2024 - echo24.de sums up the price increases.
There is no end to it – as was the case last year, consumers will have to prepare for price increases in 2024. The areas where CO2 is emitted are particularly hard hit. But restaurant visits and insurance are also becoming more expensive - echo24.de sums up what will be more expensive in 2024.
Everything to do with cars: Fuel costs and electric cars will become more expensive in 2024
According to experts, consumers will lose around three cents more at the pump in the coming year. The reason for this is the increase in the CO2 tax from 30 to 40 euros per ton. Fuel will therefore become more expensive again and could thus even permanently crack the two-euro mark from 2024.
If you are planning to buy an electric car now so that you are not dependent on petrol prices, you should do the math again. After all, new electric cars will also become more expensive in 2024. That's because the federal subsidy (also known as the "environmental premium") for electric mobility will be reduced from January 1. In addition to the price, many other things change for drivers at the turn of the year, such as the driver's license or the equipment of new cars.
Heating will be more expensive again in 2024: CO2 tax also has an impact on electricity prices
As with driving, the increase in the CO₂ tax does not go unnoticed in the energy sector. For example, heating with fossil energy is to become more expensive in 2024. Furthermore, the government's electricity price brake expires at the end of the year and will not be extended until spring 2024 as planned.
Motor vehicle and health insurance: insurance premiums will also increase from 2024
Another price increase that motorists will face: As every year, the German Insurance Association (GDV) will adjust the new type classes for motor insurance in 2024. For 7.4 million drivers, car insurance will become more expensive.
Customer goes to Edeka and Aldi one after the other and then chooses "rip-off of the day"
Millions of motorists will pay more insurance from 2024 – these models are affected
Customer orders new tablet from Amazon on Black Friday: When she opens box, the blow hits her
Restaurant bill for 121.40 Deutschmarks from 2.1.1988 – discoverer finds a phenomenon "easy to read"
Ice scraping on the car: Home remedy frees icy windows in seconds
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
However, it is not only in the motor vehicle sector that insurance premiums are rising – health insurance companies are also raising their prices. The additional contribution that individual health insurance funds can charge will rise to a record high of 1.7 percent.
Changes in gastronomy: Why restaurant visits will be more expensive in 2024
In 2024, the VAT rate in the catering industry will be raised again to the usual 19 percent. After it was lowered to seven percent during the Corona and energy crisis, eating out is now becoming more expensive again. The German Hotel and Catering Association (DEHOGA) even fears that the additional costs will have to be passed on one-to-one to consumers. So, in 2024, restaurant visits could become a luxury for some.
Garbage disposal more expensive from next year – the garbage fee will also increase in 2024
With a "general increase in costs" - this is how many municipalities now justify the increase in garbage fees from 2024. Among others, the district of Heilbronn is also increasing its waste fee. For a four-person household, 170 euros are now due annually.
Because of government regulations: holidays will also be more expensive in 2024
Anyone who wants to recover from the burdensome price increases under the palm trees will be disappointed. After all, holidays will also be more expensive in 2024. At the turn of the year, it was already clear to holidaymakers that they would now have to dig deeper into their pockets. Now, flights and hotels will cost more even on the 2024 trip. This is mainly due to government regulations for the industry.


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- Former Ahold USA CEO James McCann has joined last-mile company Deliv as an investor and member of its board of directors, according to a press release.
- McCann is an investor and advisor to several grocery tech startups, including Jyve, Flashfood and Takeoff Technologies, according to his LinkedIn page. He left his post at Ahold USA in 2016 following its merger with Delhaize. He has also worked in top-level positions at Carrefour in France and Tesco in Hungary.
- Based in Menlo Park, California, Deliv is a crowdsourced logistics platform that enables retailers to offer same day delivery and returns. It currently operates in 35 markets throughout 1,400 cities.
Bringing McCann onboard indicates a desire on the part of Deliv to expand its grocery service. The company ended its partnership with Walmart back in February, but that seemed to reflect operational difficulties rather than waning interest in the channel. Around the same time, Deliv launched a delivery partnership with Peapod.
McCann's history with Ahold Delhaize could promote the expansion of that tie-up. And his industry expertise and connections can no doubt help Deliv make inroads with other retailers. McCann also has a taste for investing in tech, which means he’s spent ample time exploring emerging innovations and vetting the ones that have promise.
Deliv has a few competitors offering ready-made logistics solutions. Shipt recently garnered the ranking of best online grocery delivery service from Consumer Reports and has made some notable key new-hires of its own, recently appointing a former Target exec as its new CEO earlier this year. Instacart, the leading end-to-end platform, continues to expand its pickup service, which is now available in more than 30 states with 25 retail partners.
As a dedicated last-mile firm, Deliv doesn't offer end-to-end service like Shipt and Instacart. But it can partner with other third-party firms, as it did with Jyve, the in-store merchandising company, last October. Under that arrangement, Jyve handles the in-store picking and packing, while Deliv handles the logistics. McCann is an investor and advisor in Jyve.
E-commerce fulfillment companies are racing into online grocery, which has grown slowly but is picking up pace. Research by IRI shows consumers are becoming more comfortable ordering boxes of cereal and fresh produce online. In the next few years, Nielsen estimates grocery e-commerce could become a $100 billion business.
A number of other retailers have made tech-focused hires, including Kroger’s recent promotion of several executives aimed at boosting its tech-driven Restock Kroger program. H-E-B strengthened its digital operations team with a new hire in August, while BJ’s hired a Lonely Planet exec for its new digital commerce role.


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In case you haven’t heard, tomorrow is the big reveal for Microsoft’s next generation console, where we’ll finally see what is going to combat the PS4. WhileSony showed off a bunch of different exclusives for the PlayStation 4 during their big unveiling back in February, Microsoft’s (currently) headlining title is Call of Duty: Ghosts, something that is going to appear on PS3 and PS4 anyway.
Not content to let Activision have all the attention on the next Xbox, it looks like EA is going to have a big presence at the event tomorrow, where they already confirmed that FIFA is going next-gen. Looking at other EA franchises, the EA Sports UFC Facebook page posted this picture, promoting the first news coming tomorrow and hinting at a next-gen reveal:
And if that wasn’t enough, the Battlefield Facebook page teased that “big announcements are coming soon.” While this is a little less specific date-wise than the UFC one, a next-gen release would definitely be “big” and confirm original reports. Considering the new Frostbite engine is made for next-gen and BF is the engine’s flagship, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Provided all three of these EA games do get their next-gen debut tomorrow at the Xbox event, don’t be surprised to hear about some sort of DLC exclusivity.
If there’s any sort of news that directly affects PlayStation revealed tomorrow at the unveiling, we’ll be sure to let you know. Expect third party reveals, exclusivity deals and possibly even a price.


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Maxcom and Pierer to invest in new e-bike plant in Plovdiv
Bulgarian bicycle manufacturer Maxcom and Austrian motorcycle producer Pierer Group have signed a contract to jointly invest over EUR 30.7 million in the construction of a plant for electric bikes, according to Bulgaria's economy ministry.
The plant will spread on 13.1 ha in Trakia Economic Zone near Bulgaria's city of Plovdiv and open 1,000 new jobs in the region.
The commissioning of the plant is planned for the second half of 2023. The facility will have an annual production capacity of 350,000 pieces.


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Baidu the leading Chinese search engine seems to be determined to enter the smartphone market. The company was said to release a new mobile operating system Baidu Yun next week with a hardware vendor to jointly announce a device based on the OS.
Rumors said that the partner is ZTE (a leading Chinese telecom equipment provider), although Wang Jin, vice-president of Baidu only revealed that they are working with a “global manufacturer”.
Earlier last year, Baidu released a mobile operating system called Baidu Yi, which is modeled on Google’s Android system and later cooperated with Dell’s mobile devices.
According to the performances in the Street, Baidu seems to be faced with a bearish trend. The future growth seems to depend on its attempt to grow business in the mobile space. While facing stiff competition from several well-established companies each specializing in different product and services, it is still uncertain a simple smartphone offering will help the company to increase the market share.
The piece was written by Charlie Sheng, a nerd born in the 90s with interests in tech, innovation and art.


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- Tesla’s Q1/2023 financial results show the company installed 67 MW new solar
- Deployments were down 33% on quarterly basis but increased 40% annually
- Management blamed volatile weather and supply chain challenges among other factors for this slow pace of installations
Automotive giant Tesla has blamed volatile weather, supply chain challenges and ‘other factors’ for its solar deployments going down 33% quarterly to 67 MW in Q1/2023, even though the company reported 40% annual improvement.
The company had earlier reported 48 MW solar installations in Q1/2022, and 100 MW in Q4/2022 (see 2022 Gets Tesla ‘Highest’ Annual PV Deployment, Since 2017).
In terms of energy storage, deployments increased by 360% annually in the reporting quarter to 3.9 GWh which is its highest to date thanks to ongoing Megafactory ramp of the 40 GWh fab in Lathrop, California. Tesla is also adding a new 40 GWh Megafactory in China’s Shanghai.
Of Tesla’s total Q1/2023 revenues of $18.87 billion, energy generation and storage contributed $1.53 billion, up from $1.31 billion in the previous quarter.
In March 2023, Wood Mackenzie said Tesla is likely to have installed close to 3,000 Solar Roofs across the US since 2016 when these were first launched, representing a total capacity of 30 MW DC. It means the company missed its goal of 1,000 installations per week as announced in 2020 after it aimed to manufacture 1,000 Solar Roofs per week by late 2019.
Wood Mackenzie’s report Five Years In: Tesla Solar Roof deployments miss expectations, finds that Tesla was able to install only 21 Solar Roofs per week on an average with the largest quarter being Q1/2022 when it deployed 32 systems. In comparison, Tesla’s direct competitor with a similar roofing product, GAF Energy is ‘better positioned to achieve widespread adoption’, according to the report.
“As the residential solar industry continues to grow, solar roofing solutions will play an important role in offering customers flexibility and alternatives to conventional modules. The future potential of Tesla’s Solar Roof will rely on the company’s ability to simplify and streamline installations and tap into a broader customer base,” stated Wood Mackenzie Research Analyst and Lead Author of the report, Max Issokson.


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Millions of Americans are vacationing around the world this summer — and more than a few of those trips were made possible by the Postal Service.
USPS accepts millions of passport applications each year, making passports an important part of the organization’s efforts to grow revenue.
Post Offices accepted more than 6.8 million passport applications during fiscal 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017-Sept. 30, 2018), generating $204.6 million in revenue. This is up from 6.5 million passport applications that generated $164.9 million in revenue one year earlier.
The increase is driven by a spike in travel, the result of rising incomes and fierce competition in the travel industry that is making international trips more affordable. According to federal data, 93 million Americans traveled outside the United States last year, up 46 percent from a decade earlier.
“Our customers know they can rely on us for prompt, efficient passport services. It’s a job we take seriously,” said Kevin McAdams, the Postal Service’s delivery and retail operations vice president.
To remain competitive in the passports business, USPS is focused on offering affordable rates and convenient services.
For example, first-time applicants pay between $65 and $175 for most passport services with USPS, while other providers charge as much as $494 for comparable services.
To further serve passport customers, the Postal Service has introduced the Retail Customer Appointment Scheduler, a tool that allows travelers to go online to schedule first-time passport application appointments at participating Post Offices.
Additionally, Post Offices across the nation organize weekend passport fairs each year to serve customers who are unable to schedule appointments during regular work hours.
The fairs allow USPS to build customer loyalty, according to Florence, SC, Postmaster Letha Anderson, whose office hosted a fair this spring.
“I often hear my employees express how much they enjoy meeting the families who attend the fairs,” Anderson said. “Customers are excited to talk to us about their travel plans, and we are just as excited to hear about their plans.”


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If you happen to be a hoodie connoisseur, chances are you’re familiar with American Giant–the three-year-old startup that specializes in this quintessentially American garment.
American Giant hooded sweatshirts don’t stand out for being particularly trendy; they come in a range of solid colors and simple designs. But they have garnered a fierce and loyal following, particularly in the tech community, where the hoodie is the closest thing entrepreneurs and coders have to a uniform. Farhad Manjoo, writing in Slate, once described American Giant’s version as the greatest hoodie ever made.
Part of the brand’s attraction is its commitment to maintaining high-quality standards while keeping prices reasonable. Men’s hoodies cost between $59 and $89, which puts them on par with sweatshirts from stores like J.Crew and Banana Republic. But in contrast with its competitors, American Giant guarantees that every aspect of their garments–from the cotton to the stitching–is made in the U.S. Most of its production takes place in three factories in North Carolina; it does not have any brick and mortar stores, but sells all products from its website in an effort to keep costs low.
“We’re trying to bring phenomenal quality and artisanal craftsmanship to a mass audience,” says Bayard Winthrop, American Giant’s founder and CEO. “We want to bring these clothes to consumers in St. Louis as well as in Brooklyn.”
But to keep quality high, large quantities of American Giant clothes get chucked aside because of small manufacturing defects. Garments get thrown into what is known as a “B-stock” pile when there are issues with stitching, small tears, or oil stains from sewing machines. These kinds of defects are common throughout the clothing industry. “It’s the dirty underbelly of the apparel industry,” Winthrop says. “This tends to be compounded in overseas manufacturing where there is less oversight over what is happening at the factory.”
In high-end brands, these clothes are often discarded altogether while lower-end brands simply pass these defects on to the consumer. American Giant, for its part, has been donating clothes with minor defects to charities such as the Special Olympics.
However, eight months ago, there was a growing sentiment among American Giant workers that these garments were worth saving and giving back to consumers.
So today, the company is launching Salvage, a line of hoodies that have been plucked out of the B-stock pile then carefully repaired, washed extensively so that they are significantly softer than the classic hoodie, and finally silk-screened with “American Made” on them. Winthrop believes that the repair work and the heavy-duty washing works particularly well on the hoodie–American Giant’s bread and butter–because it is a heavy, substantial garment; the same treatment would not work with, say, a T-shirt.
The new line is currently only available in men’s sizes and in navy and phantom grey colors, but the company is hoping to introduce a women’s Salvage line soon. (The hoodies cost $89, which is the same price as the classic version, but requires considerably more work and personalization to create.)
“The customer is getting a unique garment that has a lot of hand repair work on it,” Winthrop says. “But this is also in service of driving efficiency in manufacturing and helping to liberate a lot of high-quality product.”
While this limited-edition collection is a savvy way for American Giant to make money from previously unusable stock, Winthrop is also keen to use the Salvage collection to draw attention to the waste involved in clothing manufacturing and develop innovative ways to make the process more efficient.
“The apparel industry as a whole is broken because waste has become an accepted part of the business,” Winthrop says. “This comes when brands have to drive very high product margins because they know that they are going to throw away a lot of product. This Salvage line is about intentionally having that conversation.”


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vivo x70 pro x70 pro+ price in india leaked: Big blow to Vivo! Vivo X70 Pro and Vivo X70 Pro+ price leaked in India before launch know specifications
Vivo will introduce new smartphones of its Vivo X70 series in India on 30 September. The report has revealed that Vivo X70 Pro and Vivo X70 Pro + smartphones will be launched in India. But the standard Vivo X70 variant will not be brought to India. Tipster Sudhanshu Ambhor has revealed the price of in Vivo X70 Pro and Pro+.
Now the water will come! MarQ M3 Smart smartphone of Flipkart brand has arrived, the price is less than 7 thousand rupees
Vivo X70 Pro, X70 Pro+: Expected Price
Tipster has revealed that Vivo X70 Pro will be launched in 8 GB RAM and 128 GB inbuilt storage variant and 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant. The price of these two variants will be Rs 46,990 and Rs 54,990 respectively.
Realme GT Neo2 smartphone to enter India next month, it has 12GB RAM
Vivo X70 Pro + will be brought in a single 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant and will cost Rs 69,990. Tipster says that these prices are not yet confirmed as they have been traced to a new source.
Vivo X70 Pro, X70 Pro+: Specifications
Vivo X70 Pro has a 6.56 inch AMOLED FullHD + 120Hz display. This phone has Dimension 1200 chipset. To give power to the phone, there is a 4450mAh battery which supports 44W fast charging. The phone has a quad rear camera setup with 50 megapixel primary camera. The handset has 8 megapixel periscope, 12 megapixel telephoto and 12 megapixel ultra-wide camera.
Vivo X70 Pro has a 6.78-inch AMOLED FullHD + display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The phone has Snapdragon 870 processor. The phone has a 4500mAh battery which supports 55W fast charging. 50W wireless charging is available in the phone. The handset has 50 megapixel primary, 8 megapixel periscope zoom, 12 megapixel telephoto and 48 megapixel ultrawide camera sensor.
Vivo X70 Pro and X70 Pro + have a 32-megapixel front camera. Both the phones have an in-screen fingerprint scanner. The handset will get Funtouch OS 12 which is based on Android 11AS.
#vivo #x70 #pro #x70 #pro #price #india #leaked #Big #blow #Vivo #Vivo #X70 #Pro #Vivo #X70 #Pro #price #leaked #India #launch #specifications


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New Pork Processing Rules
A federal lawsuit was filed recently over recent changes to how safety inspections are handled at pork processing plants.
It follows a separate federal suit filed last fall.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture revised how inspections are handled at slaughterhouses by essentially handing most of those duties over to the companies themselves.
Ryan Talbott with the Center for Food Safety, one of the plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit, says shifting that responsibility opens the door to food-borne illnesses.
"It's safe to say that once you have the slaughter plant employees, who have no mandatory minimum training or education requirements, taking on the roles of trained federal inspectors -- this is a recipe for disaster," he states.
The USDA says the changes are intended to modernize the pork processing system. Many in the pork industry also support the changes, saying they will bring more efficiencies.
Last fall, several labor unions filed a federal lawsuit over provisions that remove maximum line speeds when bringing hogs to slaughter. That suit contends the changes compromise worker safety, as well as food safety.
Talbott says his group believes the changes affect consumers in a big way.
"The government's expecting several dozen pork slaughter plants to adopt these rules, which is probably going to cover more than 90% of pork that's sold in commerce," he states. "So, the effects are going to be felt nationally."
The latest suit asks the court to dismiss the new rules. A hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for later this month.


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Bridgestone, the world’s largest tire and rubber company, announced its first-ever appearance at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV… As part of its interactive showcase, the company will spotlight many mobility solutions that enable an autonomous future with a focus on extended mobility, improved safety, and increased efficiency.
Some of the mobility solutions that Bridgestone will show at CES include:
Bridgestone Airless Tires for Extended Mobility
– Bridgestone is building on nearly 90 years of leadership in product innovation to develop tires that enable safe, uninterrupted mobility. Onsite at CES, Bridgestone will showcase its portfolio of advanced air-free tires, including concepts for personal mobility and commercial fleet applications. The company’s CES showcase will demonstrate how airless tires from Bridgestone combine a tire’s tread and wheel into one durable, high-strength structure.
This design eliminates the need for tires to be filled and maintained with air and permanently erases the dangers and downtime associated with a flat tire. Bridgestone also will showcase an airless, elastic tire and wheel solution for a lunar rover currently being developed for an international space exploration mission.
Proactive Smart Tire Technology for Improved Safety
– Today’s mobility technology is unaware of what is happening in a tire and on the road surface, which is a barrier to fully autonomous driving. Using its proprietary knowledge, tire sensors, and powerful simulation capabilities, Bridgestone is addressing this need by building a next-generation digital twin of the tire.
At CES, Bridgestone will demonstrate how its digital twin and connected tire technology generate specific, actionable predictions that can enhance the precision of vehicle safety systems.
Webfleet Solutions for Increased Efficiency
– The Webfleet Solutions platform from Bridgestone uses data and analytics to move millions of vehicles as efficiently as possible. At CES, consumers will be able to view a simulation of the platform in motion to see how telematics power a connected vehicle ecosystem, transforming the way business can be done around the world by advancing safety and improving cost efficiency.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas runs from Jan. 7-10, 2020.


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CVS to Close 900 Stores Starting in Spring of 2022, and New Jersey Could Be Affected
CVS has over 100 stores in New Jersey. But, with the drug store giant announcing the planned closing of 900 stores nationwide, we can't help but wonder how many locations here could be affected.
Just this week, we reported on the sudden closing of CVS on the White Horse Pike in Absecon. The move left pharmacy customers scrambling to move their prescriptions to a nearby Walgreens with little time to spare.
Now, the COVID-19 pandemic's ripple affect seems to have hit CVS. CVS Health announced today it plans to focus on the brand's digital platforms, including online prescriptions, curbside pickup, and telehealth, reports CNBC.
What that means for consumers is less brick and mortar stores. Starting in Spring 2022, CVS will beginning shutting doors on 900 locations across the U.S.
In a press statement, CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch tried to reassure faithful customers, saying, “Our retail stores are fundamental to our strategy and who we are as a company. We remain focused on the competitive advantage provided by our presence in thousands of communities across the country, which complements our rapidly expanding digital presence.”
While we don't yet know what, if any, New Jersey CVS stores could be affected by the downsizing, we know the brand will take a three-pronged approach to the stores that stay open:
- Some will continue operation as a traditional store with food, self-care items, and a pharmacy.
- Others will be known as HealthHub stores offering a wider variety of medical items and healthcare services (such as mental health screenings).
- The third will offer primary care services, like testing for minor illnesses.
While that all sounds promising, we can't help but keep coming back to the notion that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs due to CVS' new business model, some of those employees could be right here in New Jersey. We'll keep you posted.


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FFS Beauty launches inclusive campaign
Hair removal box subscription service FFS Beauty has just launched a campaign featuring women from all walks of life.
FFS Beauty handpicked 20 women from all walks of life for its latest #effortlessbeauty campaign - celebrating the female form in all its glory.
FFS Beauty said on their website: 'Our #effortlessbeauty campaign is made to encourage all women to embrace their natural beauty. It’s important to us that we represent all women and show that beauty should be effortless – that’s why we handpicked 20 everyday women to celebrate the female form in all it's glory.'
Each woman in the campaign is named on the website, alongside a brief background summary and their own quote about confidence and self love.
The subscription service beauty box, which specialises in hair removal, has now reached a record 100k subscribers. You can shop their subscriptions here.


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New Delhi, November 21, 2022 : Matter, a technology start-up, today unveiled India’s first geared electric motorbike. The vehicle will be manufactured from its facility in Ahmedabad and will be available across major cities in India.
Founder and Group CEO, Mohal Lalbhai, said – “This is a huge milestone in the journey with Arun, Prasad, Saran, and the 300 innovators at Matter. With many firsts, I am proud to say that this motorbike will be leading us into the future that we all have dreamt about. Our vision has motivated us to challenge the status quo, remain persistent and resilient towards the goal, and walk a difficult path with agility. Today we accelerate India’s journey to electrification as India rides on motorbikes.”


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VFX veteran leads 75-artist team, using state-of-the-art virtual production technology, to tell the story of an android’s battle against a gang of robots.
Tagged With: Magi
VIZ Media’s Neon Alley anime service celebrates one year anniversary with debut of “Catch Up” feature for Xbox and PS3, and an exciting fall season on October 18th; Ranma ½, Magi, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Gurren Lagann and the Lucha Libre-style Chikara.
In a very well-attended panel at SIGGRAPH on Wednesday, former ILM artists Rob Coleman (STAR WARS: EPISODES I, II, III), Jamy Wheeler (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, STAR WARS: EPISODES II, III), John Helms (ERAGON, STAR WARS: EPISODE III) and Tim Naylor (TRANSFORMERS, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST) regaled an attentive audience with the story of their creation of Lightstream Animation Studio, which they started from scratch after leaving the Lucas fold.
Cookie Jar Ent. has licensed MAGI NATION to Kids WB! on The CW in the U.S., Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) and Radio-Canada. MAGI NATION is Cookie Jars newest original series from its rapidly growing action-adventure brand Coliseum.


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Drug Price Impact of UK-US Trade Deal Comes Under Scrutiny
House of Lords Examines Effects Of FTA On UK Industry And NHS
A month after the UK and the US began talks on a future free trade agreement, a new House of Lords committee says that an FTA involves risks as well as benefits, and has stakeholders to give their views on the likely impact of a deal in areas like drug pricing and the NHS.
You may also be interested in...
UK proposals for limited cooperation with the EU in medicines regulation, including the recognition of certificates and inspections, are one glimmer of light in an otherwise uncertain post-Brexit regulatory scenario for the UK. But time pressures and political spats over the future relationship could throw the whole enterprise into doubt.
Brexit and the NHS are likely to be key issues as political parties in the UK prepare to campaign ahead of the general election in December.
Following a consultation last year, Medsafe has set new fee levels that take account of both cost-recovery principles and a 4.2% increase in the consumer price index.


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Throughout the recent crisis you might have heard some of my Shoosmiths partners talk about #nowinnersnolosers, usually in the context of the landlord and tenant discussion over non-payment of rents. Sadly this crisis will result in losers as we hear daily news of new CVAs.
This article in The Times today reflects what we are hearing more and more: that the warehousing and logistics market continues its strong performance and will lead the real estate resurgence. Is this sector one that is going to emerge stronger from COVID? Most certainly yes.
The trend in rising unemployment figures is being bucked in geographic hotspots where there are logistics warehouse communities. Conversely, areas exposed to retail shopping centres are sadly showing increasingly high unemployment figures. DPD is also in the news as it seeks to recruit more drivers to fulfil the exponential growth in deliveries.
Global logistics firm Prologis has come out in the last few days to declare that the pandemic “has accelerated the retail revolution”. As established online retailers rush to shore up their e-commerce fulfilment and supply chains, this will impact on the availability of warehousing stock. It has also been reported in the FT that warehouse property group Segro is seeking to raise £650m to fund expansion in the UK and continental Europe as a rise in online shopping and stockpiling has pushed up demand for space. Pre COVID-19, the market was already hot as EU manufacturers with “just in time” supply chains took space in anticipation of a “no deal Brexit”.
The heat in the logistics market, as a result of the shift online generally plus the effects of COVID, will no doubt provide further challenge to those bricks and mortar retail outlets without an established online presence.
Rising demand for storage space from online retailers resulting from the Covid-19 crisis.


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Cairo-based AK Comics has established a Los Angeles area office to promote in the U.S. market its line of Middle East-themed superhero comic books, animated series based on the comic titles and extensive licensing program surrounding the companys array of brands.
Jordan L. Udko will head the office in Santa Monica, California, as vp business development for AK Comics. Udko was a distribution account exec Paramount Pictures.
Profiled by media across around the world, AK Comics has quickly built a vast global fan base and the companys website (www.akcomics.com) has received more than two million visitors to date.
Aya, Jalila, Rakan and Zein are among the superheroes who comprise the AK Comics universe that includes a princess of darkness, a time-traveling pharaoh and an ancient Arabian swordsman. Published in both Arabic and English, the comics are the brainchild of Ayman Kandeel, an Egyptian economics professor at Cairo University, as well as founder of AK Comics. Kandeel grew up devouring comicbooks from the U.S. and elsewhere, but found that there was little he could relate to personally as a child growing up in Egypt.
Managing editor Marwan Nashar, who is headquartered in Cairo, will also maintain an office in the companys new location in Santa Monica. The new branch has already successfully established distribution of its comic titles with the industrys leading wholesalers. The first AK Comics titles will be released first quarter of 2006.
The mission of AK Comics is to fill the cultural and social gap that was created over the years between the west and east, by providing essentially needed role models in our case, Middle Eastern superheroes, said Ukjo. Ultimately, we are presenting to the entire world a strong and optimistic vision for a futuristic Middle East, void of war, violence and turmoil. Through our products be it comic book publications, animated series or otherwise those heroes are predestined to become global ambassadors, spreading peace and good will, creating a more optimistic and positive image of the world's most turbulent and misunderstood region, he amplified.


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Sheep and beef production expected to increase in 2016
Sheepmeat and beef production are both predicted to experience a year-on-year rise in 2016, according to Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).
Published in HCC’s Market Bulletin, it was revealed that sheepmeat production was forecast to increase by 4% for the year.
Meanwhile, British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) data has suggested that calf registrations during 2015 were 3% higher than the previous year.
According to HCC, conditions over the past two years have been favourable for the lamb crop and while prospects for 2016 look reasonable, weather conditions during lambing season will have an impact. As a result, the lamb crop for 2016 is forecast to increase 1% on the previous year to 17.3 million head.
Meanwhile, cattle slaughterings in the UK for the year are predicted to increase 2% on the previous year to 1.96m head. Heavier prime cattle carcase weights were observed through 2015. HCC predicted that this would continue for the coming year as a result of low cereal prices and high feed availability. Beef and veal production is also expected to increase 2% on the previous year, to 902,000 tonnes (t).
Sheepmeat exports are looking to increase in line with production, due to favourable conditions. The expectation that sterling will remain weaker than the euro, compared to exchange rates in the latter part of 2015, will contribute to this.
Import volumes are forecast to be up on the previous year, with increased Irish beef production experiencing high demand throughout the year and the strength of the sterling against the euro making it competitively priced.
This will result in beef imports to the UK increasing 2% to 435,000t, with exports increasing 2% to 136,000t.
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27 October, 2016, 8:30
Next steps for tackling obesity: prevention, sugar consumption a
01 - 03 November, 2016
China Foodtech 2017
07 November, 2016
Butcher’s Shop of the Year
01 December, 2016, 8:30 - 13:30
Policy priorities for the UK food, drink and farming industry


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Technomic found that 86 percent of New York City restaurant-goers were surprised by the calorie count information now listed on menus or menu boards, with 90 percent of them claiming that the calorie count was higher than expected. As a consequence, 82 percent say that calorie disclosure is affecting what they order and 60 percent say it is affecting where they visit. The researchers also found evidence that suggests a high level of consumer support for mandated disclosure of fat and sodium content in restaurant foods.
“Consumers find the calorie information on menus to be helpful,” says Bob Goldin, Executive Vice President. He adds that consumers want restaurants to offer more low-calorie options. Kathy Gaynor, Technomic’s study director, notes “consumers want the restaurant industry to respond more aggressively to nutritional concerns and are in favor of all levels of government playing a more active role in regulating restaurant menus.”


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Alberto Spinelli will join the company as Executive Director of Marketing and Communications on Jan. 1, 2020 (news posted on December 20 2019).
Create an alert
to follow the executive moves at Lenovo EMEA.
Mellanox Technologies and Nvidia have merged (posted on Apr 23, 2020).
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has announced the acquisition of Cray (posted on May 24, 2019).
Nvidia has announced the acquisition of Mellanox Technologies (posted on Mar 12, 2019).
Lenovo EMEA has 14 subsidiaries including Lenovo Benelux, Lenovo Denmark and Lenovo Egypt. Lenovo EMEA has 452 competitors including Cisco (United States (USA)), Dell Technologies (United States (USA)) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (United States (USA)). Lenovo EMEA is owned by Lenovo.
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A city-based business has secured export deals worth more than R100million, following a Western Cape Government trade mission earlier this year.
Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities, on 27 September 2017 announced that GoMetro, which focuses on technology solutions to the public transport sector, had secured R100million in export deals with a range of firms in the United Kingdom.
In May, Minister Winde led a trade mission to the United Kingdom, one of the Western Cape’s biggest trading partners, to further boost tourism, trade and investment between the two regions. Ten companies joined the mission. Wesgro set up more than 100 meetings during the visit.
Baptiste Boittiaux, Head of Marketing at GoMetro, said: “We are expected to create R100million in business in the UK over the next 5 years. Our goal is to implement flexible mobility in the region through our Platform. We’ll be working closely with private organizations as well as the public sector, including municipalities and universities, in order to craft mobility solutions according to their needs and requirements. We are building a strong presence in the region to position GoMetro as the mobility expert to go to.”
Minister Winde said the agreements further strengthened the Western Cape’s trade relationship with the UK.
Earlier this month UK International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox travelled to South Africa to boost bilateral trade. He announced an additional £1.75 billion in funding for UK companies exporting to South Africa, as well as South African buyers of UK goods and services. Dr Fox met with National Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies during his visit. As a result of Minister Winde’s trade mission to the UK, Dr Fox also met with Minister Winde to further discuss increasing trade, investment and tourism between the Western Cape and the UK.
Minister Winde said: “In 2016, the Western Cape exported goods to the United Kingdom worth $628 million and the United Kingdom is the Western Cape’s second largest export destination.
“During our trade mission, we had several discussions with key organisations on boosting trade, investment and tourism between our regions. It was clear there are mutually beneficial opportunities for South African and UK businesses, and we committed to working together to further grow bilateral trade. GoMetro is one of the first successes we’ve seen following the trade mission, and I wish them well in their future endeavours. I am aware that other companies on the mission are also in talks with UK businesses, and I am looking forward to sharing more success stories for our economy.”
Wesgro CEO Tim Harris, said: “As Cape Town and the Western Cape’s official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency, Wesgro has been on a mission to remind British businesses that the Cape is a safe, secure trade and investment destination that can provide a stable base for them to grow new markets in South Africa and the rest of Africa. Our research ahead of this trip identified the UK as a market with strong demand for products and services that improve productivity, including ICT software and services that lower costs and improve business efficiencies, and GoMetro’s tremendous success during this trade mission confirmed its accuracy. We have even more missions planned over the next year and encourage Cape companies in need of export insights and support to contact us.”
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Cannabis Risk Analysis: Prices Are Halving Every Three Years But This Could Be to SA’s Advantage
A risk assessment of the cannabis industry has warned that internationally and locally, prices of all forms of cannabis are dropping rapidly, with a “halving happening every three years”.
27 April 2023 at 12:00:00
The risk analysis report, included as an annex in the Western Cape’s cannabis master plan, the CanPlan warns that “Risks exist of global overproduction leading to a glut in cannabis and related products that could collapse markets”.
However, it says this could be positive for South Africa and the Western Cape: “Changing global production patterns could provide opportunities for local producers as there is a renewed focus on Africa and the global south. This could also put further downward pressure on pricing as Cannabis and hemp is grown in areas with lower production costs and favorable currencies.”
The report says “The EU overall is a key market for medical Cannabis, but with quite high barriers to entry (EU GMP is required and new pharmaceutical products will need to be registered for marketing within the EU which can be very expensive). In addition, each EU country can have specific market entry channels and requirements. For example, Germany, which is currently the largest import market for medical Cannabis, requires product to be pesticide free and generally needs to be irradiated to reduce microbial levels. In some cases, exporters have found a “work-around” by completing final stage processing, irradiation and packaging within the EU, but it is expected that this mechanism could be removed in time".
As a result, pricing is highly volatile and there are cases of overproduction, collapse and consolidation: Whilst numerous companies are investing on the assumption of these regulatory changes taking place, the actual import market growth has been slower than expected for many markets. The installed capacity for medical Cannabis, along with confirmed investments, already far exceeds the current formal market.
Medical Cannabis pricing is on a downward trajectory because of the oversupply trend and shift to lower cost locations.
There are resulting consolidations and disinvestments e.g. Canopy Growth (largest Cannabis company in the world by balance sheet for a long time) invested CanadianS$28m in Lesotho, but has since withdrawn to focus on home market/regional markets of Canada and US.
After the Farm Bill made hemp growing legal in the US, many small farmers invested and started producing. Production boomed initially, prices dropped, and many farmers had their fingers burned.
READ Western Cape CanPlan's Practical Way Forward
Justice Dept Admits No Rational Evidence Behind Plant Limits in Cannabis Bill as State Lawyers Come Under Fire in Parliament
The Justice Department took flak in Parliament this week during stakeholder input into the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill where it became evident that state law-makers are clueless as to what Government's intended vision for cannabis is. They remain conceptually and technically completely out of their depth - and lazy to boot as they have not bothered to bring any rational evidence to back up what is truly a pathetic legislative interpretation of the 2018 Constitutional Court ruling legalizing the private consumption of cannabis.
SA to Lift Hemp THC Limit to 2% But Cultivar Restrictions Remain a “Lethal Impediment” to the Industry
Government has made no official announcement about the "significant spike" in raising acceptable THC levels in hemp. It signalled its intentions in a clause in the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill which will be welcomed by stakeholders. However, cultivar restriction could self-sabotage all the good intentions.
Cannabis in South Africa: The People’s Plant
We are a civil society organisation with the interests of the existing Cannabis industry and the Human Rights of ALL citizens at heart.
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As the epidemic continues, a source of money for those on the fringes of the economy remains open
As financial institutions, Oregon’s pawn shops have also changed their business models to stay open. This means that more money goes out of their business than it goes in.
Flynn Case, owner of All That Glitters Jewelry & Loans. (Amanda Loman / journalist Salem)
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When people without a credit card need money to fix a car or for drugs, diapers or groceries, some go to the Flynn Case store.
Case owns the pawnshop All That Glitters Jewelry & Loans at 1191 Lancaster Dr. NE For more than three decades as a pawnshop, Case has bought and sold televisions, Playstations, guitars and other value.
While many retailers have closed following the COVID-19 outbreak, pawn shops like Case are open and there are about a dozen in Marion and Polk counties. He said that while most people have jobs or have an ATM card, a large segment struggles to get credit.
“You have 10% of the population that is not creditworthy,” he said. “We are their financial institution.
Now, a state ordinance that requires companies to implement social distancing measures has shaken up the way Case does business. He decided to stay open.
“It would save me money to be closed,” he said. “But I’m over 30 years old taking care of my clients, right? And without my clients, we are bankrupt.
Customers now enter from the back where an employee in blue medical gloves lets in only a few at a time. A jewelry box is now empty, items are safely stored for the time being as Case has suspended sales. Above the jewelry case is a bottle of hand sanitizer.
He said he had decided to stop the sale of televisions, guitars, swords and other items that line the walls, sold by their owners or returned by people who did not collect them. Case did this to limit the number of people inside.
But he said his business still lends and will buy items from customers. As he spoke, a man pushed a plastic air purifier up to the counter.
“We’ve chosen at this point to shut down (sales) and make sure our customers can get that short-term cash to pick up their prescriptions and get their food from the grocery store or diapers or whatever,” a- he declared. .
While other states have enacted broader business closures, Oregon has only closed specific businesses that require close contact, such as hairdressers or massage therapists. Other businesses are allowed to remain open if they can limit personal contact.
In Oregon, pawn shops are regulated by the state’s Financial Regulation Division, which is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. Beth Anundi, president of the Oregon Pawnbrokers Association, said pawn shops are providing financial service to people who do not have bank accounts and are even more essential during the outbreak.
She said many pawn shops have reduced their activities to lending and purchasing items from customers. They also limited the number of people allowed inside stores and cut staff, she said.
When Gov. Kate Brown was considering making it mandatory to shut down businesses to stop the spread of the virus, she said her association was in contact with the governor’s office to make sure pawn shops could stay open.
Anundi, co-owner of Capital Pawn & Couture in Salem, said his clients are grateful.
Case said he had customers who came in six or eight times a year to pledge the same item to make ends meet. He said he had clients who only get paid once a month and apply for a loan to do so until payday. Although he got some unusual items like a prototype heart stimulation monitor or 200-year-old guns, most people bring in items like Xboxes, sets of drills, and lots of jewelry.
He said 80% of his business is loans and the average loan is $ 200. He charges 3% per month on each loan. He runs his business on volume, typically holding 10,000 items as collateral.
Normally it has 10 employees, but workers with health issues can stay at home, Case said. Although the outbreak has created cash flow problems for the store, he remains optimistic.
Case said his company has applied for the Paycheck Protection Program, which is part of the federal relief program that gives employers forgivable loans to keep employees on the payroll. The package also expanded unemployment benefits and people also receive tax refunds. With more people with cash in their pockets, he expects customers to return to redeem their valuables.
“I hope when all of this happens we will see a recovery in business,” he said.
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Slams commercial: Elizabeth Warren Commie Dictator
Published: November 13, 2015
Slams commercial: Elizabeth Warren Commie Dictator, Warren’s face is plastered on a giant red banner in the background, alongside that of CFPB director Richard Cordray. The ad’s narrator warns that the CFBP was “designed to interfere with your personal financial decisions” and because of it, “those who need help the most are denied”.
Following a Republican presidential primary debate ad that targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and herself, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has called on supporters to fight back against what she called a “bold and shameless” attack.
Warren stood up for the agency in a series of tweets promoting the CFPB, telling her followers the bureau “has forced the big financial companies to return more than $11B to people they cheated”. Its mission is to investigate financial institutions and other companies that offer what it perceives to be predatory credit cards, mortgages, student loans, and other financial products. Elizabeth Warren, who helped launch the government-sponsored consumer watchdog agency.
“So… Can we talk about that ad that just ran during the #GOPDebate where I look like a Commie dictator?”
AAN President Mike Shields, however, contended that it’s time to spur a national discussion about major regulations issued through what he called “the unaccountable CFPB”.
The CFPB was created to protect consumers from financial industry practices that could saddle them with debts they cannot pay and that make it hard for borrowers to know what they are agreeing to.
An ad paid for by the American Action Network that reportedly ran during last night’s GOP debate is making waves this morning.
Please feel free to send if you have any questions regarding this post , you can contact on


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Traveling to Goa? Taxi services are set to become easier to access as the government is likely to introduce a centralized app to book taxis in the state. The government has discussed the issue of taxi booking services in Goa and said that contributions from taxi associations will also be considered before developing this app. Take a look at everything you need to know about this new taxi app in Goa.
Goa to develop new taxi app
The main objective behind the creation and development of this app is to unite all taxi drivers and operators in one platform. This type of platform will only make it easier to find taxis, especially for tourists and frequent travelers. The Goa government has also assured the people that app-based taxi services will be available in the state very soon. However, private taxi owners are a little worried about the sudden development as it might bring them more competition.
Also read: Goa misses 80,000 tourists due to Russian-Ukrainian war
Achievements of Goa in Tourism
In addition to the taxi service, Goa Tourism was also commended for its achievements and efforts. The mobile application system was also hailed as one of the first states in the country. The state also received the best civic management of a tourist destination in India, the National Tourism Hall of Fame and Devotion to duty, which was awarded to lifeguards from a tourism agency. During the event, the leaders also discussed Goa’s initiative to further improve the state’s tourism system and work towards achieving sustainable tourism.
How do you think the taxi app will help tourists and travelers in the state? Let us know in the comment section below.
Cover Image Courtesy: Unsplash


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Senegal recently officiated the use of blockchain based digital currency known as eCFA. The country is actually the second country to embrace the use
Senegal recently officiated the use of blockchain based digital currency known as eCFA. The country is actually the second country to embrace the use of digital currency, the first being Tunisia, which introduced the e-Dinar to its citizens a while back.
Senegal announced the move last week. The country, which is the most Western point in Africa, previously used the Central African Franc alone, which is abbreviated to CFA Franc. This currency is actually used in 14 countries in the central African region, most of which are former French colonies. These countries have a loose monetary union, much like the Euro is in countries in the northern region of Africa. The Senegal government has further announced that there will be no difference between the digital currency and the paper money that is currently being used in the country.
However, it is important to note that this currency will differ from most other crypto- currencies in one critical aspect. The circulation of most crypto- currencies is independent of the influence of governments or any individual for that matter. One such popular currency is the bitcoin, whose creation and use is regulated by virtually every member of the bitcoin community. This is however not the case with the eCFA. The circulation and flow of this digital currency will be regulated by Senegal’s central bank.
The creation of this currency is a result of the combined effort between the Banque Regionale de Marchs and eCurrency Mint Limited. The latter is a relatively new e- Currency that is based in Dublin. Senegal has now paved the way for other countries that have long been considering the use of block- chained based digital currencies. Such countries include Sweden, Singapore and China. The UK Royal Mint also announced that it would use block chain technology so as to allow people to have an easier time trading gold bullions.
Block chain technology is an ideal currency as it is very transparent and secure. It is especially helpful in situations where transparency is paramount, such as in handling land management records, controlling contaminated food chains and handling disaster relief management funding. The high levels of transparency that block chain technology affords users stems from the fact that every transaction that is carried out using this technology is automatically updated on every community member’s database. As such, manipulating the system for selfish gains is exceedingly difficult, because no transaction ever goes unnoticed by many people.
Senegal and Tunisia have proven that Africa meant what it said when it promised to embrace the use of Finetech, even when most other countries are still hesitant to use this technology. India is also expected to follow suit, given the big financial changes the country has undertaken in the past few years. The demonetization of many of its currencies has seen a huge vacuum get created in India’s economy, although certain companies have benefited a lot from the vacuum. Currently, credit cards and debit cards are riding a wave of popularity in India. But it is still very probable that India will embrace the use of blockchain based e-Currency.


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Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) has raised the price of its locally-assembled automobiles for the 3rd time in this year due to the depreciation of local currency, increasing costs for freight and materials costs.
Effective immediately, the new prices are as follows:
|Variants||Old Price (Rs.)||Revised Price (Rs.)||Increase (Rs.)|
|1.3 Gli M/T||2,899,000||3,039,000||140,000|
|1.3 Gli CVT||3,109,000||3,249,000||140,000|
|1.3 ATIV M/T||3,059,000||3,209,000||150,000|
|1.3 ATIV CVT||3,229,000||3,379,000||150,000|
|1.5 ATIV X M/T||3,289,000||3,449,000||160,000|
|1.5 ATIV X CVT||3,499,000||3,659,000||160,000|
|Altis 1.6 M/T||3,749,000||3,909,000||160,000|
|Altis 1.6 A/T||3,929,000||4,099,000||170,000|
|Altis SE 1.6 A/T||4,309,000||4,509,000||200,000|
|Altis 1.8 CVT||4,299,000||4,499,000||200,000|
|Altis 1.8 Grande CVT Beige Interior||4,649,000||4,859,000||210,000|
|Altis 1.8 Grande CVT Black Interior||4,689,000||4,899,000||210,000|
|Revo G 2.8 M/T||7,659,000||7,989,000||330,000|
|Revo G 2.8 A/T||8,029,000||8,379,000||350,000|
|Revo V 2.8 A/T||8,839,000||9,229,000||390,000|
|Fortuner G A/T||9,499,000||9,959,000||460,000|
|Fortuner V A/T||10,949,000||11,459,000||510,000|
|Fortuner Sigma 4 A/T||11,489,000||12,039,000||550,000|
The automaker has set out the following terms and conditions for the latest increase:
- Customers who place their orders before March 2022 will have to pay the price of the previous year.
- Customers who made orders between March 23 through April 29 and who are looking forward to deliveries by or on June 20th will have to pay the previous price.
- Customers who have made reservations or plan to buy new Toyota vehicles after the price hike will be charged the higher price.
- Prices do not include the cost of transportation.
More Price Hikes Expected
The CEO of Toyota IMC Ali Asghar Jamali has warned that because of global logistics challenges, rising freight costsand the depreciation of local currency, price increases will continue. As per his forecast, Toyota IMC did increase the cost of its cars and this will likely lead other automakers to do the same.


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For plant-based meat companies like Beyond and Impossible, deals with fast-food restaurants are the smoothest path to viability. McDonald’s has been the biggest potential prize in that competition. But on Monday, it put an end to speculation on which company will be lucky enough to produce the future meat for its Happy Meals — meet the McPlant.
On a call with reporters this morning, McDonald’s International President Ian Borden said that the new McPlant fake meat burger would begin rolling out to some locations in 2021 and expand its availability based on demand.
Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have spearheaded a new kind of veggie burger that uses a range of plant-based ingredients and a secretive formulation process to achieve a similar texture to a burger that “bleeds.” Both company’s products have managed to get much more traction in recent years than any run of the mill patty made of chickpeas. In late 2019, Beyond won the chance to test its product at some McDonald’s locations in Canada. It seems the test went so well that McDonald’s decided to cut out the middle man.
“Based on what we learned and an encouraging response, we’re excited to give you a sneak preview of the McPlant — a delicious plant-based burger crafted for McDonald’s, by McDonald’s,” the company wrote in its announcement. “It’s made with a juicy, plant-based patty and served on a warm, sesame seed bun with all the classic toppings.”
According to Bloomberg, Borden said that plant-based chicken and breakfast meat options are also in the cards.
No one has reported on what the McPlant tastes like, but if it’s anything like McDonald’s other products, it’ll be chemically-formulated to make your brain stand at attention and salute.
The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans
It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.


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The rising interest in autonomous vehicles in agriculture has companies seeking ways to succeed.
LEAD Comment: Here are a few tips for both cropping
A U.S. Census Bureau finds that women tend to save
New estimates complicate analysis of production trends. New estimates complicate
Our chairman and CEO, Mark Pryor, was honored to be a guest speaker at this week's ICAspire #Innovation, #Sustainability & #Leadership Series. His session on innovation was attended by guests from...
Brands & consumers are focusing on #sustainability & transparency. @trustuscotton is working to provide better data about the American #cotton industry by collecting higher-quality sustainabil...
.@FieldtoMarket has named Scott Herndon as their new President. The Seam is proud to be a Qualified Data Management Partner of the Alliance, & we are excited to see Scott lead the transition to mo...
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Users of Apple’s iCloud for Windows software are reporting issues with the software, including complaints of corrupted videos, as well as images from strangers appearing in their Photo Libraries.
MacRumors reports that it has seen complaints on its forums about the above issues. Some iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro users are running into issues with videos recorded on an iPhone and then synced with iCloud for Windows being unwatchable as the videos are turning black with scan lines.
Other users report seeing photos and videos that are not theirs appearing in their libraries when they attempt to watch these corrupted videos.
From MacRumors reader sleeping_ghost:
iCloud for Windows is corrupting videos recorded from an iPhone 14 pro max resulting in black videos with scan lines. On rare occasions, it is inserting stills into videos from unknown sources, possibly other’s iCloud accounts. I’ve been shown photos of other people’s families I’ve never seen in my life, soccer games, and other random photos. Obviously, this is extremely concerning and does not exactly make me feel safe using iCloud.
It has not been determined if the photos are images from other iCloud users, although it is likely. Windows users report seeing random families, children, and other similar photo content in their libraries.
The issue appears to be on Apple’s end, as deleting the iCloud for Windows app doesn’t appear to fix the issue. Users on Windows 10 and Windows 11 are reporting the issue. We’ll keep you posted if we hear anything more.


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The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced the launch of its Business Mentoring and Support (BMS) Programme, a CSR initiative designed to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Dubai. The programme seeks to support SMEs to navigate new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, by pairing them with large corporations that can offer support and mentorship where needed.
The programme, established by Dubai Chamber’s Centre for Responsible Business, will see SMEs in Dubai paired with large companies offering professional advice and resources tailored to unique needs, helping participants strengthen business skills and competencies. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for large corporates to enhance their CSR impact and contribute to the development of Dubai’s economy.
The Coca-Cola Company will launch the first initiative supported by the Dubai Chamber BMS Programme. As part of Coca Cola’s ‘Open Like Never Before’ initiative, the company will donate 250,000 face masks and $240,000 worth of products to 3,000 restaurants and small stores across the UAE. As part of the initiative, The Coca-Cola Company will advise the retailers with in-store safety communications and social awareness campaigns designed to encourage customers to support local stores.
“Given the unprecedented challenges faced by SMEs in the current business landscape, it was a natural move for Dubai Chamber to create a programme providing these enterprises with valuable support and resources in the key challenge areas, in a way that not only addresses immediate needs but also helps them develop and grow into thriving businesses,” said Dr. Belaid Rettab, senior director, economic research and sustainable business development sector, Dubai Chamber.
Beyond the short-term business benefits, the programme also aims to create a business support ecosystem and platform that builds stronger links between large companies and SMEs in Dubai, while it also offers many far-reaching benefits for participants – such as recognition, training, CSR support, mentorship and business partnerships.
Indian TATA Group’s jewellery brand Tanishq announced the opening of its firstNovember 2, 2020 | By RetailME Bureau
MRF 2020 which will take place at the Conrad Dubai Hotel on November 25, 2020, willOctober 14, 2020 | By RetailME Bureau
Today’s on-demand streaming services are ripe with docu-series and explainer videos on
International food retailer, SPAR has today announced a global partnership to tackle food waste with the
UAE-based concept grocery retail chain, Grandiose has opened a new supermarket within
US-based fast food chain, Nathan’s famous Inc. brings another New York classic,
Dubai-based Union Coop, the leading Consumer Cooperative in the UAE, opened its
UAE homegrown marketplace, Noon.com has announced its Yellow Friday sale from November
UAE-based Al Maya Group officially launched an exclusive range of Woolworths products
Abu Dhabi headquartered LuLu Group has opened its latest hypermarket at Khalifa
elGrocer, the grocery delivery app with ties to some of the major
Jones the Grocer set to open its doors at Dubai’s newly launched
Saudi-based operators of hypermarkets and supermarkets BinDawood Holding Company has completed the
To mark the UAE’s 49th National Day, Expo 2020 Dubai has released a video
Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif and City Centre Deira are
Sharjah-based Arada has revealed a revamped Madar at Aljada, the new family
Global food and beverage company PepsiCo, has officially unveiled limited-edition Pepsi can
Retail Abu Dhabi, the retail platform of the Department of Culture and
UAE-based Union Coop, the largest consumer cooperative, opened its 3rd Mall, the
The UAE cabinet announced this week that the 100% foreign ownership law,
UAE-based Al Futtaim ACE, a home improvement and outdoor brand, announces the opening
‘Data is the new oil/soil’ has been the narrative across all industries
The Middle East Retail Forum 2020 kicked off with its first fireside
India-based Titan Watches is expanding its footprint in the UAE with 10 exclusive
The 13th annual Global Shopper Study, conducted by Zebra Technologies Corporation, has


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Tesla is preparing to launch a new Full Self-Driving monthly subscription based on an update to its mobile app, and it is putting a deadline on the newly reintroduced Enhanced Autopilot package.
Tesla Full self-Driving Stories September 20
Tesla Full self-Driving Stories October 11, 2019
In a series of tweets today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about future plans for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving capability. Notably, three weeks from now on November 1, Tesla will go through with a planned price increase for Full Self Driving software, increasing the price by $1,000.
The software currently costs $6,000 as an option on any Tesla vehicle. This cost will rise to $7,000 at the end of this month.
Tesla Full self-Driving Stories May 22, 2019
Tesla is again changing the pricing of its Full Self-Driving package, which is now the same price whether you order it now or later during your ownership of the vehicle.
The automaker hopes that the structure is simpler, but it still warns that the price may increase. expand full story
Tesla Full self-Driving Stories January 24, 2017
Tesla’s software timeline to fully autonomous driving on its new Autopilot hardware can be somewhat complicated. There’s ‘Enhanced Autopilot’, which in itself offers several different features, and there’s ‘Full Self-Driving Capability’, which despite its name will not enable self-driving for a while, but could still be useful to Tesla drivers very soon.
CEO Elon Musk clarified the timeline last night. expand full story


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Restaurants and coffee shops now allowed to offer dine-in services in Dubai
Shisha and buffets are still prohibited
Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management has announced that restaurants and coffee shops in Dubai are now allowed to resume dine-in operations, with some restrictions.
Buffets and shisha remain prohibited, while as revealed by sister publication Caterer Middle East, dine-in is reduced to 30% of an outlet's capacity, while maintaining two-metres distance between guests and only single-use cutlery can be used.
All diners and staff need to wear masks while in restaurants and coffee shops and they can only operate between 6am and 10pm, but delivery services can be provided outside of these hours.
The decision comes following a one-month ban on dine-in across Dubai because of the coronavirus pandemic, with many restaurants forced to close completely or turn to delivery-only to survive.


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Google shared another industry rumbling release this week with the launch of a free call tracking solution for Adwords users. As with every Google release, there is a lot of excitement and a lot of questions.
With Google now offering a free service that tracks call conversions in Adwords, agencies and advertisers might have less incentive to pay third party call tracking vendors for similar services.
However, given the limitations of Google’s recent expansion of Call Extensions to website call conversions, this feature is unlikely to put call tracking vendors out of business, here’s why.
What Google’s Website Call Conversions Does Well
Google forwarding numbers will be used to track calls coming from users who have first clicked the company’s ad. After setting up conversion tracking on the website using a code snippet, Google will replace the advertiser’s phone number that appears on the site with a Google forwarding number when an ad is clicked. The number shown on the site will be switched out every time someone clicks on an ad enabling calls to be tracked to the initiating ad and keyword.
Website Call Conversions is likely to become a popular new feature for many advertisers for several reasons:
- Conversions are tracked whether a user clicks to call or dials the number from their phone.
- The unique Google forwarding number displays for up to 90 days.
- Phone numbers can be formatted to match the website design.
- Advertisers can assign different values for calls from specific pages on their sites
- These calls can be leveraged in Target CPA and Target ROAS flexible bid strategies.
- Keyword level reporting is provided
- Did we mention it’s free…
Limitations of Google’s Website Call Conversions
The biggest limit to Google’s Website Call Conversions feature for agencies and advertisers is that it only works for AdWords. Most companies that use call tracking use it beyond Google AdWords, tracking calls from a variety of ad publishers, SEO, as well as traditional offline channels like television and radio. This gives the agency and advertiser a complete picture of which marketing efforts are the most driving calls.
No matter how much Google grows and improves their call tracking offering, the fact that it only covers AdWords puts this solution at a disadvantage when compared with other third party call tracking vendors.
This is good news for existing call tracking vendors.
No Call Recording
Generating calls and keeping track of which keywords attracted the most conversions is important, but advertisers want to hear the call to know if they are relevant to their business. This is the only way to truly know whether a call is a valid conversion.
Google’s Website Call Conversions does not share recordings of the phone calls. This is a big part of the services provided by current call tracking vendors. Most marketers and advertisers today know that not all calls are created equal. There are a lot of calls coming through on call tracking networks that are unrelated to any marketing initiative.
For example, let’s say the number Google generates for Pete’s flower shop is a recycled number previously used for Bob’s towing. If someone wrote down the number from Bob’s towing and called at a later date, Pete from the flower shop may receive a call meant for Bob. Add to this calls from spam, robots or wrong numbers and you are getting a bunch of false calls reported as conversions. These false calls will skew call counts and advertisers have no way of knowing this is happening because they cannot listen to the calls being made.
The ability to make call recordings available is crucial to reassuring advertisers of the quality of the service provided.
There are three other limitations regarding Google’s new website call conversions.
- Google’s Website Call Conversions feature is only available where Google forwarding numbers are available. This includes US, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK only.
- In analytics, the complete phone number from calls received will not be shown
- Google Website Call Conversions only support 1 800 numbers and will not work for local numbers.
What this all means
In the end, Google website call conversions use unique call forwarding numbers to provide granular insight into which keywords and campaigns bring in the most traffic. As a free tool, this is very valuable to agencies and advertisers, despite all the current limitations.
Thanks to Google’s call tracking limitations, current call tracking vendors can rest easy for at least another night. The limited scope of Google’s call tracking solution (Adwords only) means that multi publisher and multi channel call tracking will continue to thrive. In fact, call tracking vendors will even work with Google to generate phone numbers, so it seems that Google’s release is more of a friendly pairing than an industry disturbing rival for call tracking providers.


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The Anti-Dumping Commission has launched an investigation into reports that the Italian processed tomato industry received $1.2bn in subsidies from EU from 2010 to 2014 which left Australian producers severely disadvantaged.
SPC Ardmona in Goulbourn, a manufacturer of prepared or preserved tomatoes and originally brought the claims to the Commission’s attention, has welcomed the investigation into alleged dumping of canned tomatoes by two Italian tomato exporters La Doria and Feger di Gerardo Ferraioli.
A previous anti-dumping investigation into Italian canned tomatoes found that 103 of the 105 exporters from Italy were illegally dumping products in Australia. These exporters are now paying dumping duties.
The remaining two Italian canned tomatoes exporters are the subject of the current investigation.
“This investigation is about making the two Italian tomato exporters who escaped duties during the first investigation accountable and it is the right and fair thing to do for Australian food manufacturers,” said SPC Managing Director, Peter Kelly.
“Along with the Commission’s recent anti-dumping reforms, this new investigation signals to our international competitors that Australia is not a soft target for dumping goods.”
SPC has for some time been concerned about illegal practices of international competitors and the need for a level playing field.
“SPC has been very firm about pursuing these inquiries and for the last 12 months has been arguing for improvements to the system that put quality Australian produce at a disadvantage versus dumped imports.
“We want to compete with international manufacturers and producers on a level playing field. This type of affirmative action from the Anti-Dumping Commission is exactly what’s needed to help us do that,” said Mr Kelly.


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Hotels around Disney World have been gradually reopening!
Recently, we saw Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and Disney’s BoardWalk Inn fully reopen. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will also fully reopen soon. But we hadn’t heard news about Disney’s Port Orleans Resort…until now.
Disney recently announced that Port Orleans Resort will reopen later this year! In information shared with travel agents, Disney noted that Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside will start welcoming guests on October 14th, 2021, and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter will start welcoming guests on October 28th, 2021.
Guests will be able to book reservations beginning July 8th, 2021. We cannot wait to learn more about these re-openings, including details about what dining locations will be available when the hotels reopen. (Could this mean the return of Mickey-shaped Beignets?! Disney hasn’t made any announcements yet, but we’ll be on the lookout for more details!)
We have a feeling quite a lot of people will be happy to see these hotels open once again! We’ll keep you posted with ALL the details as we learn more, so stay tuned to DFB.
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
Are you a fan of Disney’s Port Orleans Resort? Let us know in the comments!


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Escorted touring company Leger Holidays has announced the acquisition of the assets of former competitor Shearings.
Specialist Leisure Group, owner of the Shearings brand, entered administration after more than one hundred years trading last month, leaving the future of the company in the balance.
The new deal will see Leger acquire the brand, website and customer database of the operator.
Leger Holidays and Shearings formerly competed head-to-head in the escorted coach tours arena, with the former focusing on European tours while the latter was best known for UK coach trips.
Both companies concentrated marketing efforts on the 60-years plus, ‘silver’ demographic.
Leger Holidays chief executive, Ian Henry, said: “I am delighted that Leger Holidays will be bringing the iconic Shearings brand back to life and relaunching it as a stand-alone brand in our escorted tours portfolio.
“We have gone into this deal knowing that the two brands already have many synergies - similar product, customer demographic, experience values, impressive repeat business and customer loyalty and, as such, we already have the business model in place to seamlessly relaunch Shearings.
“Leger Holidays has nearly 40 years’ experience in escorted tours - we are not recklessly helicoptering into unknown territory!”
Leger Holidays will be working with travel agents on the commissionable sale of Shearings’ tours and is also open to talks with Shearings’ former suppliers.
“We are particularly keen to develop Shearings’ popular UK tours portfolio and increase our UK tours market share.
“Post Covid-19 we are predicting an increase in staycations and will be very quickly launching around thirty new UK tours for 2021 and beyond,” added Henry.
“This deal will not only save the Shearings brand but will reinforce Leger Holidays’ position as the UK’s largest coach holiday operator.”


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Boycott Amazon echoes on Twitter for 'hurting' Hindu sentiments
- Amazon is in hot water with Twitter users over hurting
- The hashtag #BoycottAmazon started trending after a user shared a picture of Amazon selling toilet covers with pictures of Hindu gods printed on them.
- Amazon has issued a statement saying that its asking the vendors to take down the items.
What the hell is this Amazon? (@AmazonHelp, @amazon) How many times you will hurt the sentiments of Hindus? Why do… https://t.co/L0kbuU5HI7— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) 1557984049000
Amazon has issued a statement saying that it has asked its vendors to remove the items from the store. And, come the weekend, 33 products quietly disappeared from Amazon's online inventory.
All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. The products in question are being removed from our store.
This isn’t the first time that Amazon’s gotten into trouble for disrespecting Hindu sentiments.
In 2016, the online e-commerce platform was called out for selling doormats with faces of Hindu gods on them. There were over 60 separate doormats being sold and Amazon soon realised that the problem wasn’t limited to the Hindi religion but Christianity and Islamic religions as well with images of Jesus and the Holy Quran featured on floor mats.
The fascination of combining Hindu gods and western toilets isn’t limited to Amazon. In November last year, an Indian-American woman, Ankita Mishra, called out House of Yes — a pub a Bushwick, New York — on her blog for adorning their washrooms with images of Indian gods.
Our Hindu holidays and festivals, our grief and history, will only ever be presented as an accessory to American and European conquests — forever owned and forever used as if there are no consequences.
But the crux of the matter is that items sold on Amazon aren’t sold by Amazon itself. It’s actually third party vendors that are selling the products through the e-commerce site. Considering that it’s happened once before as well, maybe it’s time for Amazon to step up its guidelines and regulations.
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Social commerce is the latest potential disrupter to how, when, and why we shop. For years, ecommerce has consistently won over more and more shoppers from the brick-and-mortar world, with the majority of consumers venturing online to begin their product journey.
A recent Citi Retail Services survey, however, is showing that many are primed to begin utilizing social media to search for and subsequently buy goods for the holidays. More than 60% of respondents said that, this holiday season, they would be open to making a purchase through a social platform. This is good news for Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, all three of which have been expanding their ecommerce capabilities throughout 2015.
For retailers, the social commerce prize is in your following. Of those surveyed, 58% said that they are following retailers on social media, with 40% and 31% of those following stating that they’ve either commented on a retailer’s post or reposted content from a retailer’s feed, respectively. Brands who have invested in building large and loyal social media fans will likely be the first to see the benefit of social commerce acceptance and use.
Of course, not all social platforms are equal in terms of their influence on consumer’s purchasing habits. Facebook leads as the most influential social network, with 35% of those surveyed stating the platform is important “in their decision of what retailer(s) to give their business to,” while an additional 25%, 19%, and 15% said the same for YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter, respectively.
Brands have long maintained presences on social media platforms, with difficulty in the past in regards to tying social following and influence to ROI. This will no longer be the case as social commerce becomes more mainstream.
Just as every retailer has standard operating procedures for in-store operations, there are a few key things retailers need to keep in mind regarding social engagement. Leslie McNamara, Managing Director and Executive Vice President for Citi Retail Services, notes that smart retailers are taking the following steps to ensure they’re competing effectively in the social media space:
- Be where they are: It’s not enough to focus simply on your brick-and-mortar storefront; in today’s connected world, retailers need to be readily accessible everywhere. You want to enable purchasing wherever your consumers are, allowing social commerce to serve as an extension of your product offerings outside of your physical or digital properties.
- Get personal: Social networks are a natural venue to connect with customers in a unique manner. Apart from solely promoting products, wise retailers share non product-related narratives and visuals that convey positive emotion with the brand and encourage customers to share with their networks.
- Realize that time is – more than ever – money: Consumers are increasingly looking for simplicity and immediacy. This new world operates on-the-spot. By ensuring they’re providing an experience that enables immediate gratification, retailers are setting themselves up for success — and repeat business.
The 2015 holiday shopping season will be an interesting one to monitor from a social media perspective. With the transformation of consumer shopping habits toward “always on” engagement, consistent and effective social media strategies will become increasingly essential. And, if retailers can continue to adapt to consumer shopping behaviors and evolve their social media strategies to align with these changes, there’s no limit to the level of engagement they can have with both current and future customers.