text:
Austin, TX– Pepsi and Samsung are among the brands promoting physical marketing displays with digital twists at South by Southwest Interactive. They include an interactive phone booth, a mock robot, the latest in digital TV advertising capabilities, and skee ball. Here’s a slide show highlighting the SXSWi activations at the Austin Convention Center:
Header bidding is a programmatic technique that allows publishers to offer their inventory through multiple ad exchanges before they serve up ads from their ad server.
Here are some examples of campaigns of local and small businesses that are rocking social media.
Instagram marketing is becoming more interesting with the introduction of its own tools, but we may still feel the need to use further platforms for more detailed insights, management, curation, monitoring.
Few digital terms are as dirty as clickbait. It's the scourge of the web, and Facebook recently announced a News Feed update aimed at reducing the prevalence of clickbait headlines on its service.


text:
Messe Frankfurt, an international trade show firm, announced its speaker lineup and seminar industry topics for the winter edition of Texworld USA in 2018. The event will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York from Jan. 22 to 24 and is colocated with Apparel Sourcing USA.And this year, Texworld USA will debut its “Explore the Floor” series, which features intimate tours led by seasoned industry expert — tour leaders will introduce attendees to exhibitors that best fit their business needs. Tours will be led by Arthur Friedman, senior editor of Sourcing Journal; Jeff Wilson, senior business development manager of NSF International, and Deberah Johnson, executive director of Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator.The firm said its speaker lineup and educational series for winter 2018 will home in on industry topics such as sustainability and spring 2019 color and fabric trends. Highlights from its "Seminar Series" include Supply Chain Traceability & Transparency and the Importance of a Circular Economy for the Future of Fashion. Its "Textile Talks" series will feature Sustainability and Transparency in Apparel with Megan Meiklejohn of Eileen Fisher and the BF+DA’s Tek Tiles Project led by Johnson, among other topics. StartUp Fashion and Lenzing Fibers organized discussions at the event.Its trend showcase was created by Texworld USA’s art directors, Louis Gerin and Gregory Lamaud, who will together present ‘Gourou de la Mode,” the Infinite spring 2019 trends as part of the event’s “Explore the Floor” series.Jennifer Bacon, show director of Messe Frankfurt North America, said, “Lenzing Fibers continues to organize a compelling lineup of educational opportunities season after season. Attendees can look forward to topics that will keep them on the cusp of what is happening in our ever evolving industry — our seminars and Textile Talks are perfect for anyone no matter their level in the business.”For More Textile News From WWD, See:
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews
@prada is introducing a new project at its men’s fall 2018 show this Sunday: “Prada Invites.” The fashion house invited four celebrated creative minds – @ronanaerwanbouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, @herzogdemeuron and @rem.koolhaas – to each create a unique item with its iconic nylon material. The designs will be unveiled on the runway show, which will take place at the company’s warehouse in Viale Ortles 25. #wwdfashion #mfwm (📷: @martinocarrera)
@kering_official is spinning off its stake in puma in an effort to focus on its luxury brands, the brand operator announced yesterday. “We are proud to have supported the turnaround of Puma, which now has unrivaled capabilities to take full advantage of the specific dynamics of its global markets and is poised to achieve substantial growth,” said François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chief executive officer and chairman. Artémis will become a “long-term strategic shareholder” of Puma with a 29 percent stake. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
The fashion world mourns for celebrated street style photographer, Nabile Quenum, who died at age 32 in Paris.
Quenum, creator of the fashion blog “J’ai Perdu Ma Veste,” was a fashion week fixture, and regularly shot for New York magazine’s The Cut, among other outlets, and brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moncler and Adidas. He was also actively involved in the #NoFreePhotos initiative, which kicked off in the fall. Read more about Quenum in @kbsmoke's story on WWD.com. #wwdnews
@verwanggang and @maisonladuree have teamed up on a dessert collab called Vera Wang Pour Ladurée. The collection, which launched this week, features a specialty macaroon, as well as a wedding cake inspired by one of the designer’s gowns. “I could not imagine a more delicate or sophisticated creation to grace any couple’s celebration,” said Wang. #wwdfashion

domain: news


text:
Cyber attackers aren’t just targeting national health systems, credit card companies or email providers anymore – these attacks are affecting businesses of every size, and the frequency and losses have been growing exponentially in recent years. As businesses continue to rely on the internet and electronic data, the size and scope of cyber-attacks continues to grow and along the way; millions of email logins have been compromised, company trade secrets have been exposed, and countless consumer data has been made vulnerable.
The threat from cyber piracy is very real and ever evolving and changing. As attackers change their strategies, insurance evolves to provide your business the protection it needs. We are prepared to answer your questions about cyber insurance and provide your business with the coverage it needs to protect itself against any breach that may occur.


text:
455 While the most prominent news of Google come from the evolution of the process Android P development , there…
While the most prominent news of Google come from the evolution of the process Android P development , there is also room for the next smartphones of the search engine, Pixel 3 . On these, not only a possible mid-range model has gained prominence, but the Google Pixel 3 XL screen has captured the interest since it could integrate notch or notch on top. This would be corroborated by the latest Photos filtered from a Pixel 3 XL prototype.
As we have already indicated, Android P ; version that has already been confirmed as Android 9 since the launch of Android P Dev Preview 3 , is the highlight to date. However, as the launch of the OTA update official, leaks increase around the Google smartphones that would launch Android P. natively. These models are the hypothetical Google Pixel 3 Y Google Pixel 3 XL .
From Google Pixel 3 an evolution of the Google Pixel 2 , without too many changes at the aesthetic level. However, the clues offered by the latest leaks place the Google Pixel 3 XL as the model that will vary most notably the design of the Google Pixel 2 XL .
To show a button given that we already have among us what would be the first real photos of a prototype of Google Pixel 3 XL. They appeared in the XDA forums and subsequently they have been verified and ratified by Android Police through its sources.
The photo does not leave many doubts and it would be confirmed that the Google Pixel 3 XL screen finally it would debut during the third quarter of this year with the already popular notch or notch on the top that in its day the Essential Phone and iPhone X were coming out.
From the rest of the design of the Google Pixel 3 XL no big changes appear. The case is again made of aluminum, so this would mean that, once again, the Google Pixel would stay without wireless charging system .
As far as the forms are concerned, the Google Pixel 3 XL, at least in the prototype shown in the photos, does not show great changes in the forms, so a continuation model is expected. However, it does show a change in the front, in addition to the screen with notch, and that would be the introduction of a system of two stereo speakers .


text:
Hawaii’s first Urban Outfitters store, which is scheduled to open on Black Friday at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa, will employ 100 people, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia-based eclectic lifestyle retailer said Monday.
The two-story, 13,000-square-foot location at the Pualeilani Atrium Shops is expected to reflect elements unique to Hawaii, including a storefront made out of Koa wood, the company said.
Urban Outfitters is currently hiring for all positions, including a store manager, department managers, team leaders and sales associates.
The company, which was founded in 1970 and has more than 400 locations around the world, is known for catering to the “hipster” culture.
Meanwhile, another Urban Outfitters brand, the high-end women’s fashion brand Anthropologie, may open its first Hawaii store at Ala Moana Center, multiple sources tell PBN.
Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie join a growing list of national retailers finally making it to Hawaii.


text:
A month into 2011 sales figures and housing prices in Regina and area are showing positive signs for the year. Sales were the second highest seen in January in the past ten years, and prices set a new high for the month.
See the full media release
- housing sales up 17% from the 183 sales a year ago
- the average price in January of 2011 was $260,133, up 8% over the average price of $240,274 a year ago
- a new record for total sales dollar volume reached in January of $55.9 million a 27% increase over the previous high of $44M set a year ago.
- 981 active listings in the market (570 in Regina) in January, and 404 new homes listed on MLS®, up 17% (or 59 listings) over January 2010.
- in January 2011 homes were in the market an average of 43 days and selling at an average of 96.9% of the asking price.
Gord Archibald, ARR Executive Officer says the results are encouraging:"Provided the economy performs well, we are anticipating another good year for the Regina and area market in 2011."


text:
Google and YouTube are battling it out to be the second most visited site on the internet. December 2015 monthly desktop visits outstripped the search giant’s by 5.3%. But neither came close to beating Facebook.
INNOVATION | Networking in the ‘Girls’ Lounge’
I have to admit when I first read the title of NY Times article, Networking in the ‘Girls’ Lounge’, I was a bit taken aback.
With so much conversation around persistent pay gaps, the necessity for women to “Lean In,” and the lack of female representation on corporate boards, I wasn't quite sure how a Girls Lounge fit the current landscape.
However, nothing convinces better than great data...
- 5,000 Girls Lounge attendees so far
- $3M raised from partners like Visa, NYT and Google
- Supporters across academia and the corporate sector (Wharton, McKinsey)
- Presence at 10 major events in 2016, including WEF in Davos and SXSW
“I’ve always been told to hold back my feminine characteristics, that there’s no room for that in the boardroom,” Ms. Zalis said. “I totally disagree. A woman who tries to be a man is a waste of a woman.”
So congrats to Shelley Zalis, Girls' Lounge founder...because when it comes to the advancement of corporate women, she is unabashedly delighted to "pour on the pink."
Q&A: What creative ways are you using to network with peers?
Article: Networking in the ‘Girls’ Lounge’ via @NYTimes
Tags: #leadership #entrepreneurship #women #gender #networking #career
YouTube fans may cry "Foul!" as make-up and beauty gurus transition off platform and offer pay-as-you-go beauty tutorials. But is paying for YouTube really a new phenomenon?
Google Inc.’s YouTube, which has signed up partners for a new paid video service, may find out by early next year whether its own Internet stars really are as valuable as those in Hollywood via @business (Bloomberg Business)
Not sure what to make of programmatic? 10 key stats for 2015 that help size the industry, explore the advertiser-publisher ecosystem and confirm the +31% cost-per-click premium publishers can achieve when using PMPs.


text:
GENTECH archive 8.96-97
Sweden oil mill moves away from GE soy
- To: email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org
- Subject: Sweden oil mill moves away from GE soy
- From: "PETER MORRIS" <PETER.MORRIS@ams.greenpeace.org>
- Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 14:37:45 +0100
- Organization: Greenpeace
- Priority: normal
A rough translation of Greenpeace Sweden press release:
After more than a week of blockading by Greenpeace in an ongoing action
against the Swedish vegetable oil manufacturer Karlshamns AB, the company
yesterday told Greenpeace that they will not import any more genetically
engineered soy oil until earliest after summer. The company says that they
have secured shipments of the 1995 harvest until April, and after that expects
to buy oil originating from Brazil. Brazilian farmers have not used
manipulated soy beans yet.
- What just a couple of days ago was impossible has now suddenly
become possible, says Mats Abrahamsson, Campaign Director for
Greenpeace Sweden. This shows that not even big companies like
Karlshamns AB, can force products on the consumers that no-one wants.
We congratulate Karlshamns AB for their decision.
The pressure on Karlshamns AB has grown lately when more and more food
processors have converted from soy oil to other products. There has
also been some pressure from their next door neighbor Carlshamns
Dairy, who clearly has rejected genetically manipulated products, but
who still have seen their sales go down because people confuse the two
companies with each other.
- We will keep an eye on Karlshamns AB also in the future, says Mats
Abrahamsson. If necessary we will come back after the summer.
Soy beans is used, besides for oil, also in the form of soy meal, soy
lecithin and as animal fodder. In these uses it has been possible to
use earlier harvests, but many food processors are worried what will
happen when there is no more natural soy. Around the corner,
manipulated rape-seed, corn and other crops are waiting.
- What has happened in Karlshamn give us much greater hope to be able
to stop genetically manipulated products also in the future, says Mats
Abrahamsson. This sends a clear signal to the producers that the
market wants unmanipulated products.
For more information, please contact:
Mats Abrahamsson, Campaign Director, +46 701 30 00 00


text:
Do you like food and fun? Subscribe to the Food, Drink & Fun in Fresno newsletter here.
From independent mom-and-pops to big chains, the Fresno area has seen its fair share of closures lately.
New restaurants and stores are still gearing up to open here, some in the empty spaces the closures left behind.
Much of this churn of openings and closings is normal. Some store closures are a continuation of the “retail apocalypse” that has big chain brick and mortar retailers suffering and closing stores as they compete with online shopping and face other challenges. Other companies are simply tired brands that are past their prime and not bringing in money like they once used to.
Here’s who’s saying goodbye to the Fresno area and the new stores and restaurants that are planning to open here.
The store at Fashion Fair that sold jewelry and accessories organized by color has closed. Its last day was June 22.
Charming Charlie is one of several mall-based stores burdened with tumbling sales for a variety of reasons. The chain filed for bankruptcy in 2017, survived it, and emerged last spring with 100 fewer stores.
The Fresno closure came after that round of closures, however.
An Instagram post by the Fresno store thanked customers for their loyalty and directed them to shop online or at stores in Modesto and Bakersfield.
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, 7675 N. Blackstone Ave. near Red Robin, has closed. The restaurant has been emptied out, its signs that say “no lard” and “no msg” now preside over an empty dining room.
When contacted about why the location closed, Baja Fresh customer service representative Leah Fine emailed a statement that said, in part, “The decision to close a store is that of an individual franchisee, who is an independent business owner.”
It went on to say that they “hope to someday open new locations around the area” and that the Baja Fresh at Sierra Vista Mall is still open.
Hooters in Fresno is gone. The restaurant known for its chicken wings and its tank tops (and what’s underneath) has been closed since an eviction notice was posted on the door back in April.
There has been a smattering of closures of Hooters nationwide, though there are still hundreds of restaurants operating worldwide. The company has both franchise locations owned by local people and corporate-owned locations.
It’s not clear exactly why the Fresno location didn’t make it.
It’s worth nothing, however, that Fresno just gained another business famous for its scantily clad servers – the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery.
Now the Pita Pit at Willow and Herndon avenues is also closed, though the company still has a handful of restaurants open throughout California.
However, a new restaurant is already gearing up to open in the old space: Taqueria Yarelis. Keep reading to find out more about that restaurant.
Scarab Glass Works
After decades in business, Scarab Glass Works announced it is closing its store on Divisadero Street in a brick building in downtown Fresno.
The store sold supplies for artists and people working in the glass industry and restored stained glass. It also hosted classes in making stained glass and other topics.
A playfully worded message on its Facebook page said, in part, “Scarab Glass Works was the last of the great glasssiosaurs and is soon to become extinct. … We’d like to thank all of the great people that we’ve come in contact with over the past 43 years, we’ve been most fortunate to have had an excellent and friendly clientele. With almost zero bad checks, and giving the heave ho to a mere 3 unruly miscreants, its been a most enjoyable ride!”
This chain of Christian stores is closing all its 170 stores nationwide, and the one in Fresno is gone. It is now an online-only business.
At 5336 N. Blackstone Ave., in the same shopping center as GW School Supply, the store sold Christian supplies. That included things like Bibles, baby and wedding gifts, Christian music, Christian games and church supplies like communion cups.
LifeWay moved to the spot in 2015, after leaving River Park and changing its name from Berean Christian Store to LifeWay.
Fresno has a Dressbarn near Target in River Park and Clovis has a store at the Clovis Crossings Shopping Center at Herndon and Clovis avenues. The stores sell women’s clothing.
The company announced back in May that it planned to close all its locations.
“The Dressbarn chain has not been operating at an acceptable level of profitability in today’s retail environment,” Dressbarn chief financial officer Steven Taylor said in a news release.
Just when the local stores will close, however, is still up in the air. The company recently released a list of stores that will close in June and July, though none in the central San Joaquin Valley are on it.
Dressbarn is part of the Ascena Retail Group, which also owns Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, Cacique, Catherines and Justice.
Though we’ve said goodbye to lots of stores and restaurants, there’s always new ones coming in. If you’re a regular reader of my column, you may remember the recent story about 12 restaurant openings, the arrival of Tilted Kilt and the openings of salad bar restaurants Jugo Salad & Juice Bar and Fresh Bite.
But plenty more places are in the pipeline. Some will open soon. Some are a ways off and haven’t started construction yet.
Here’s what Fresno and Clovis have to look forward to:
Always a favorite in this town, coffee shop drive-thru Dutch Bros. Coffee (which is pronounced “bros,” not brothers) has several locations in the works.
One is at the southeast corner of Herndon and Brawley avenues in Fresno. A lease for a Dutch Bros. location was reported to The Fresno Bee’s leases section back in March. A tiny sign on the corner indicates Dutch Bros. is coming, along with other stores.
This is the same corner that’s home to the Tractor Supply Co.
Don’t get too excited yet, though. Construction hasn’t started and it’s not clear when it will.
Plans for another Dutch Bros. are also in the works at the southwest corner of Herndon and Fowler avenues, next to Vons.
Ramen vs. Pho
Fresno loves its pho, and ramen is starting to take off here, too.
One restaurant named Ramen vs. Pho plans to put both the noodle soups in one place. The restaurant isn’t open yet, though it is shooting for a midsummer opening at 3747 W. Shaw Ave., near Brawley Avenue.
Pho is the Vietnamese soup usually made with beef broth that is very popular in Fresno. Ramen, often made with pork, has its roots in Japan.
Says Ramen vs. Pho’s website: “If you haven’t tried both, how can you know what you love in your bowl!?!”
Follow the restaurant on Instagram to stay updated.
You may remember this little Mexican restaurant in Fresno from the video of its giant burrito that went viral. Back in 2016, the internet was captivated with the Anaconda, a burrito that’s about 3 feet long and weighs more than most newborn babies. The restaurant, at Fresno Street and Belmont Avenue, got 1,000 orders for it in three days.
Now Taqueria Yarelis is opening a second location, this one at the southwest corner of Herndon and Willow avenues, in the former Pita Pit space.
There’s plenty of work yet to be done and the restaurant hasn’t set an opening date yet.
Wonders Ice Cream
Southeast Fresno is getting a rolled ice cream place. A lease for Wonders Ice Cream was finalized back in May for 6127 E. Kings Canyon Road, according to Retail California, which submitted the information to The Bee’s leases section. That’s in the same building as Poke Bowl Express.
Wonders is based in Saint Paul, Minn. Like other rolled ice cream places around Fresno and Clovis, Wonders starts with liquid ingredients and makes the ice cream on an “ice grill,” a metal slab that’s cooled to minus-20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Its flavors range from favorites like chocolate and Oreo to Vietnamese coffee, avocado and Thai tea.
The company did not return a message seeking comment about when the shop would open.
Brothers Ramen and Japanese Eatery
A ramen and Japanese food restaurant is in the works for 132 W. Nees Ave., at Blackstone Avenue.
Details are slim, but the restaurant has hired a chef from Tokyo and hopes to open this summer.
Ono Hawaiian BBQ
Remember the Del Taco that opened on East Kings Canyon Road, next to a Steak ’n Shake near Walmart?
Both those restaurants closed, but a new restaurant is planning to take over the former Del Taco space. Ono Hawaiian BBQ has signed a lease for the former Del Taco spot, according to Retail California and Coldwell Banker Commercial, which reported the lease to The Bee’s leases section.
It will be the second Ono Hawaiian BBQ restaurant to open in Fresno. The first is at Park Crossing in north Fresno, in the same shopping center as the new Trader Joe’s near Fresno Street. An opening date has not been set yet.
The even-lower-cost sibling of Ross Stores, called dd’s DISCOUNTS, is opening a store Saturday. The store will carry clothing for men, women and children, along with household items and shoes.
The store is at 3675 W Shaw Ave., in the former Old Navy near Brawley Avenue, between Kohl’s and Foodsco.
It is dd’s DISCOUNTS 100th store in California.
Bethany Clough: (559) 441-6431, @BethanyClough


text:
Malaysian-born Amber Leong started Circadian Optics after nearly dying from the lack of sunlight exposure in the US and has gone on to start three more businesses.
A video that showed a Malaysian woman Amber Leong securing RM3.3 million (US$800,00) and an additional US$50,000 payout for her family on Shark Tank for her business venture has resurfaced again and received admiration from netizens.
While this happened back in 2019, her achievement is still seen as a big deal now. She continues to inspire many people with dreams as she was the first Malaysian entrepreneur to be featured on the reality show where contestants pitch their business ideas to “sharks” (the investors) on the show.
Leong sought investors for her company, Circadian Optics, which makes light therapy lamps that help regulate the body’s circadian rhythm. Her unique selling point was her lamps were designed to be stylish so her products stood apart from the popular therapy lamps in the market at the time.
Leong discovered the benefits of light therapy lamps after she nearly died from toxic shock syndrome due to the lack of sunlight exposure. She was working long hours in Minnesota, a place that already had limited sunlight.
Her story and product caught the eyes of two sharks – Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner – who agreed to a 20:80 deal.
@iamzarl I wanna invest in people that see a field of wishes 💪🏻 #amberleong #sharktank #believe #americandream #barbaracorcoran #kevinoleary #lorigreiner #markcuban #mrwonderful #malaysia #malaysiatiktok #singapore #singaporetiktok #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #fypage #foryou #foryoupage #foryourpage #xyzbca ♬ original sound – ShaZ – Zarl
Where is Amber Leong now?
Circadian Optics was acquired in 2021 by Thrasio, a company specializing in the acquisition of Amazon businesses. Based on Leong’s LinkedIn profile, she is no longer involved in the company as of December 2021.
Circadian Optics is reportedly still doing well in sales although its Facebook and Instagram pages have not been active since 2021. Customers are now redirected to the company’s Amazon page from its official website.
In 2022, Leong co-founded G-Works Venture Studio, an internal venture studio of General Mills, a global food company. The company focuses on solving big consumer problems related to food using deep market research and agile experimentation.
Based on her Instagram bio, Leong seemed to have jumped back into the lighting business for home decor. She founded Nocturne, a company which makes solar-powered and weatherproof outdoor lamps with Bluetooth speakers in 2022.
She is also the co-founder of Bask Lamp, a company which makes rechargeable and cordless elevated portable lanterns.
Leong, who now runs three businesses, surely lived up to her mantra to “choose creativity over certainty.”
Four years ago, she wrote on Linkedin that she was rejected before on Shark Tank but she tried again. She said she was never afraid of failure but she was terrified of regrets.


text:
Wednesday, September 5, 2018 - 00:00 by sch
SCH pulled out all the stops to ensure that the visit to Southampton of Azamara Club Cruises’ new ship for her official christening ceremony was a success.
Having handled the Azamara Pursuit on two previous visits to Southampton earlier this summer, SCH was on hand to ensure a smooth disembark for hundreds of passengers as they left the ship after a voyage to Iceland via ports in the UK and Ireland.
Then came the preparations for a spectacular christening ceremony in Southampton before the ship, which can accommodate over 700, made a short Channel cruise for specially invited guests.
Once Azamara Pursuit returned to port, SCH swung into action to get the ship ready for her final UK-based voyage of the season with baggage and stores needing to be loaded before she sailed from Southampton for a cruise to the Iberian Peninsula.
With a hectic three days of moves within the port and a short cruise before the wide range of preparations needed for her departure for Western Europe, it was a case of three days of intense activity for the SCH teams.
Cruise Operations Manager Paulo Oliveira explained: “It was a demanding series of operations but a great opportunity for Azamara to highlight the qualities of their new ship and we were delighted to support Azamara Pursuit for this special call in Southampton .”


text:
Royal Bank of Scotland swung to a third-quarter loss on Friday, hit by costs related to past misconduct and restructuring, casting fresh doubts on when the government might begin to recoup more of its 2008 emergency investment.
Veteran employees of Barclays' investment bank must have been pawing the ground like old warhorses at the smell of cordite. Profits jumped �530m to �885m in the third quarter.
Shop Direct's underlying pre-tax profit soared by 43.6% to �150.4m in the 53 weeks to 30 June, driven by a strong performance at lifestyle site Very and growth in mobile transactions across the group.
Amazon.com Inc. posted its lowest quarterly profit in a year as it invested heavily to meet consumer demand for more orders delivered faster.
The significant challenges for universities arising from the vote to leave the European Union have already been well documented and debated.


text:
SOUTH AFRICAN TRADE MINISTER LEAVES FOR AGOA FORUM IN WASHINGTON D.C.
PRETORIA– South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies left here Sunday night for Washington DC to attend the 17th Forum of the United States Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) taking place in the US capital on july 11 and 12.
The AGOA is a US law enacted in May 2000 to enable qualified sub-Saharan African countries to have duty-free access for their exports to the US. The Act was extended on in June 2015 by a further 10 years to 2025.
The AGOA Forum is an annual meeting held on an alternating basis between sub-Saharan Africa and the United States with the 16th Forum hosted by Togo in August last year.
The theme for this year’s Forum is Forging New Strategies for US-Africa Trade and Investment. The forum will focus on the implementation of AGOA, as well as strategies for deepening the US-sub-Saharan Africa trade and investment relationship.
The AGOA is a unilateral US trade preference programme which provides duty-free quota-free treatment for more than 6,400 tariff lines from 40 AGOA-eligible sub-Sahara African countries, including South Africa. into the US market.
South Africa is the largest non-oil AGOA-beneficiary country, exporting products such as automobiles and auto parts, agricultural products, chemicals, steel and aluminium products, among others.
Davies says this year’s forum provides an important platform to discuss how to preserve the AGOA preferences as well as how the programme can support regional integration efforts in the continent, especially the regional value chains in light of the recent signature of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Davies notes that the AGOA has resulted in a relatively balanced, growing, diversified and mutually beneficial trade relationship between South Africa and the United States.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK


text:
Google's Gemini GenAI apps will collect user conversations for review and annotation to improve its models, raising concerns about privacy and data retention policies.
AI powered chatbots can help deal with customer queries more efficiently, but sometimes it can all go wrong.
Microsoft is catching flak for pushing Bing search – isn’t it about time these kinds of pop-ups were stopped?
The dark web is apparently full of discussions whether AI-powered chatbots are useful or not.
Microsoft has found another use for AI – supercharging its Bing search engine.
Love-GPT helps hackers create authentic personas on dating sites, making fraud that much easier.
Microsoft’s Bing chatbot might be considerably upgraded with plug-ins which are now back in testing.
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox
Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.


text:
Jones Bootmaker sold to shoe retailer Pavers, saving 389 jobs
It is the second time the company has changed hands in the past year.
Shoe retailer Pavers has confirmed it will buy Jones Bootmaker in a move that will save hundreds of jobs at the high street chain after it faced “adverse retail conditions”.
It is the second time the company has changed hands in the past year, having been bought by private equity investor Endless last spring for £11 million.
“Despite substantial investment and best efforts, the recent adverse retail conditions have meant that the Jones business could not be turned around and needed to be part of a larger group,” Endless said in a statement.
York-based retailer Pavers has struck a deal to buy 42 of the 47 stores from Endless, as well as the brand and website, saving 389 jobs.
The deal excludes the head office where about 50 jobs will be lost.
Despite substantial investment and best efforts, the recent adverse retail conditions have meant that the Jones business could not be turned around and needed to be part of a larger group Statement from Endless
A further 36 jobs will be lost from the five stores not being transferred into Pavers’ ownership.
Pavers managing director Stuart Paver said he was happy to be able to secure the future of hundreds of employees.
“The Jones stores and people are a huge asset to Pavers and we look forward to developing the business, and the people, over the decades to come.
“Pavers is an independent family business, as Jones used to be, and we want to re-establish these traditional family values, returning the focus at Jones to exceptional product and friendly customer service – hallmarks of what we try so hard to achieve at Pavers.
“Our plan is to grow and develop the Jones Bootmaker brand and product as a distinct offering separate from the existing Pavers retail business.
“We believe the Jones brand has an exciting future and are eager to invest in this.”
The deal comes after former private equity owner Alteri filed a notice to appoint administrators for the retailer last March.
The 161-year-old British shoe brand was sold to Endless through another pre-pack administration, where the firm is placed in administration but the assets are sold immediately to a new owner.
Pre-pack deals are controversial as they often see buyers ditch unprofitable stores and avoid taking on much of the debt.
Sam Woodward of EY – which was appointed as the administrator of Jones Bootmaker on February 26 before selling the business and assets to Pavers – said: “The pressures on high street retailers and the challenging trading conditions of recent years have been well covered in the media.
“This deal will ensure that Jones Bootmaker, a brand that has built a strong and well-recognised high street and online presence over many years, can continue to evolve and prosper.
“Most importantly it means that 389 jobs have been secured and that the vast majority of stores within the estate will remain open.”


text:
The Telegraph used header bidding to increase programmatic revenue by 70 percent
Header bidding may have its drawbacks, but for now it’s driving big revenue gains for publishers. The Telegraph began using header bidding for all its inventory nine months ago and claims programmatic revenues are now 70 percent higher than what they were this time last year as a direct result.
The British newspaper is on a mission to get all its digital inventory into a unified auction, where direct-sold campaigns can compete with programmatic, across display, native, and in time, video. It has vetted partners that can bring quality demand to its wrapper and a month ago signed up Criteo’s new client-side header-bidding product, Direct Bidder.
The goal: Bring as much quality (and unique) demand to its auction as possible, and in time, introduce a server-side solution that can fit alongside in a hybrid model. “We’re keen to try server-side, and we’ll test that as soon as it’s fully available. Last year was the story of everyone moving to header bidding; this year it’ll be getting the right mix of client- and server-side solutions,” said Paul de la Nougerede, director of programmatic at The Telegraph.
Header bidding is still dogged by page-latency concerns, with publishers fearing that piling on more demand partners will slow page loads. The Telegraph has obsessed over this, closely watching how long it takes different partners to respond, and creating custom metrics that monitor ad rendering and page loads as each partner is brought in. “We’re in pretty good control of [latency],” said de la Nougerede. If page loads begin to drag at any time, the publisher will push hard into server-side, he added.
Header bidding became popular as a workaround to the standard waterfall approach led by Google and as a way of granting publishers stricter control and visibility of their bid trains. Criteo is pitching its new product as one that gives publishers direct sight of every bid Criteo passes through the header. That differs from the typical supply-side platform, which usually just shows the winning bid. “It’s important for publishers to understand the bid landscape. With SSPs, publishers can only see a handful of the bids,” said Marc Grabowski, Criteo’s executive vice president of global supply and business development.
“Having more control is definitely one of the drivers for us, though we haven’t 100 percent cracked it yet. We’re on that journey,” de la Nougerede said. The control it has gained so far is helping open routes to new commercial opportunities in programmatic.
Understanding who is losing bids is becoming just as important as who wins for publishers. Publishers want to see whether an advertiser is repeatedly bidding on its inventory and narrowly losing the bid. The aim is to be able to approach that advertiser with smart commercial packages informed by data the publisher can pull from its wrapper.
“Rather than it just being: Here is our inventory; take what you want, it’s more about how we do we use that data to power the direct side. Those direct partnerships are still very important in a programmatic world,” said de la Nougerede.
In time, The Telegraph wants to overlay its own data-management platform onto the bid landscape to spotlight the touch points different brands are interested in, so it can match the audiences to those that the DSPs are bidding on. “We’ll be able to see client X is bidding high on a particular segment. We can then go to that client and suggest a client marketplace for them,” he added.
Any more than six demand partners can seriously affect latency, so that means publishers are getting more choosy about who integrates. The tech vendors with the most unique, quality demand will win out. Criteo, which has 15,000 advertisers running through its platform, is among them, according to de la Nougerede.
Since The Telegraph began using the Criteo product a month ago, revenue generated for the publisher via the vendor has doubled, he said. Criteo has rigorously tested the product with 250 publishers since last October and found that their average programmatic revenues have risen from 20 to 40 percent, depending on the size of the publisher.
‘We’re netting out with higher revenue’: Publishers reaping the benefits of Snapchat’s strong second half
With CPMs up as much as 20% year over year in the fourth quarter, many Discover publishers are bullish on the upstart platform for next year.
How Cosmo is building brand affinity with younger audiences through its focus on commerce
Cosmopolitan's focus on e-commerce through a line of branded wines and its own shopping holiday has led to a 254% increase in product sales.
‘Go to market faster’: The Washington Post’s Arc goes outside the tent for payment and data integrations
Subscriber revenue has become more of a priority to the Washington Post's Arc clients since it launched its subscription tools last year.
SponsoredPublishers will lead the charge as cookie-less advertising becomes the norm
Steve Wing, managing director, EMEA, Magnite As the advertising industry moves closer to a cookieless world — one in which browserless environments including connected TV (CTV) and mobile in-app are an increasingly large part of ad budgets — publishers will have an increasingly important role in developing the future of identity. Segment creation and identity […]
‘Profitability in the back half of next year’: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti (and Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan) on their big merger
A special Digiday podcast episode features Interviews with BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti and Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan.
‘People have had permission to experiment’: Pandemic expedites rethink on 9-to-5 work structures
Starting out as a short-term fix to weather the coronavirus storm, employers are seeing work hours outside the traditional 9-to-5 week as a new normal.


text:
Texas stands to lose up to $1.5 billion a year in tax revenue — and could be forced to refund another $6 billion to businesses — unless the state wins its appeal of a recent court decision, Comptroller Glenn Hegar is officially warning top officials.
In April, the 3rd Court of Appeals sided with the parent company of AMC movie theaters and issued a ruling widening the definition of "tangible personal property" under the state's tax code, allowing the chain to lower its tax burden.
If the broader definition stands and is used by all Texas businesses, that translates to an estimated loss of $1.5 billion in franchise tax revenue, Hegar said in a letter addressed to Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus last week. Since the ruling applies to taxes collected over the past four years, it could mean up to $6 billion in tax refunds, the comptroller added.
The state is asking the appeals court to reconsider its decision, and will appeal to the Texas Supreme Court if that fails, Hegar's letter said.
The case hinges on a definition of “tangible personal property” that under state law includes “personal property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt or touched, or that is perceptible to the senses in any other manner.”
AMC argued that movies fit under the “perceptible to the senses” definition, meaning it should be able to use its costs for theater space to offset revenue when calculating taxes.
Hegar argues in the letter that this ruling opens up the possibility for other businesses to claim their products and services are “perceptible to the senses" and lower their tax burdens.


text:
With an aim to offer better pre-order exclusives to consumers in the future, GameStop is looking at getting involved earlier in a game's development to help secure better pre-order exclusives, the company confirmed to GamesBeat.
"We are working with our [development] partners to build in a longer lead time," GameStop public-relations spokesperson Jackie Smith told GamesBeat. "And we are working with them to get both physical and digital exclusives for our customers."
GameStop was unable to clarify if the strategy will lead to physical or digital exclusives as it is in its early stages, adding that having knowledge of a game in-development could give the company "more leverage to negotiate better exclusives."
News of the GameStop's intentions were first revealed when analyst Colin Sebastian from investment company R.W. Baird spoke to the retailer about finding new ways to offer consumers better content when they pre-order games.
"[GamesStop] indicated that software publishers are more enthusiastic about partnering with it," Sebastian wrote in a note to investors. "For example, by offering exclusive content on each major game release, and longer term, future models may include GameStop offering exclusive gameplay."
He told GamesBeat that the GameSpot was "getting involved at the time of game development where there could be some content exclusive to [the retailer] included in the game."
The retailer recently announced the "GameStop Technology Institute," a partnership with IBM and the retail studies department of Texas A&M's business school, to develop new consumer experiences. For instance, via an optional GameStop app installed on smartphones devices, sales staff will know the person's name, purchase history and platforms of choice and make buying suggestions based on that data. This will include suggestions on upcoming titles in the same genre or downloadable content for a game already purchased.


text:
Boron-doped N-type Diamond Semiconductors?
Wired is running this story on the new synthetic diamond industry. While the jewelry industry is concerned, what this means to the semiconductor industry is the next step in computing. The idea is Moore's law tells us processors get hotter and hotter as they go faster. At some point silicon chips will liquify. Hi quanity low cost synthetic diamonds resolve this issue. While the charm of the Wired read touches on the seemingly fictional cloak and dagger elements of the diamond industry, what is important is the fact that the US is failing to invest.


text:
PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL.O received the first conditional license of its kind from the State Department of Financial Services in New York today. It will allow its 346 million users to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal accounts.
In the statement, the company confirms that PayPal customers will use bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, and litecoin starting in early 2021 to shop at the 26 million merchants on their network.
PayPal Pushing For Global Crypto Adoption
PayPal hopes the service will promote the use of virtual coins worldwide and prepare its network for a new digital currency that central banks and companies can develop, said President and CEO Dan Shulman in an interview.
He stated that they are working with the central bank and thinking about all digital currency forms and how PayPal can play a role.
In the coming weeks, US account holders will be able to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrency in their PayPal wallets. The company also plans to expand to Venmo and several countries in the first half of 2021.
Major fintech companies such as mobile payment provider Square Inc SQ.N and stock trading company Robinhood Markets Inc, are already allowing consumers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. However, the introduction of PayPal is extraordinary, given its broad reach.
Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company has 346 million active accounts worldwide and processed $ 222 billion in the second quarter.
Cryptocurrencies are usually volatile, making them attractive to speculators but less appealing to traders and buyers. Transactions are slower and more expensive than other retail payment systems.
PayPal cryptocurrency payments’ processing is through fiat currencies such as the US dollar, meaning merchants will not accept payments in virtual coins, the company said.
The Rise of CBDCs
A study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from January 2020 showed that 80% of the world’s central banks are involved in CBDC-related research. Facebook Inc FB.O led digital currency adoption by launching Libra in 2019. PayPal was a founding member but dropped out a few months later.
An analysis shows that China, Sweden, the Bahamas, the East Caribbean monetary union, and the Marshall Islands are frontrunners in the CBDC space. At present, China is the most active jurisdiction for CBDC development. China is still testing its digital Yuan, but the results have been positive so far.
PayPal has partnered with Paxos, a New York-based company, to provide cryptocurrency trading and custody services. In response, Charles Cascarilla, CEO of Paxo, stated that Paxos is excited to partner with PayPal to enter the cryptocurrency market. PayPal’s Paxos selection reflects New York’s status as the gold standard for regulating cryptocurrency.


text:
Aug 4, 2011 - Brands in China are flocking to use Sina Weibo for social marketing but is sentiment analysis a good indicator to measure success? Comments
Apr 13, 2011 - Facebook may team up with Baidu, China's largest search engine, to launch a social network in the country, according to news reports. Comments
The holidays are just around the corner. Download this whitepaper to find out how to create successful holiday email campaigns that drive engagement and revenue.
Big data holds a lot of promise for marketers, but are marketers ready to make the most of it to drive better business decisions and improve ROI? This study looks at the hidden challenges modern marketers face when trying to put big data to use.
December 2, 2015
1pm ET/ 10am PT
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
5pm HKT / 5am ET


text:
Most Recent Articles In Fashion ScoopsMost Recent Articles In Fashion Scoops
- Natalie Joos in Collaboration With Kipling
- Independent Handbag Designer Awards Returning in June
- Work Begins on Galleria Restoration in Milan
OFF CALENDAR: The Felipe Oliveira Baptista women’s fall 2014 ready-to-wear show, formerly set for Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m. has been canceled, according to an industry source.
A spokesman for the fashion brand could not be reached for comment.
The source said the move was made so Baptista could focus on Lacoste, where he is artistic director, but that it did not signal an end of his eponymous brand.


text:
“Index Fairs 2017 provided an exclusive platform for the interiors and design industry in India. It is the only b2b platform for the interiors and design industry in India, bringing together architects, designers, builders and suppliers in a respected and dynamic platform. Index has also drawn significant attention from buyers and international sourcing delegates from across the globe and we expect the Indian industry to benefit from this increased international presence at the Expo. We are proud to have organized 28 successful editions of the expo and are hoping for even a bigger success from this one,” said L A Khan, Managing Director, Index Fairs at the launch of Index Fairs 2017 at BEC in Mumbai yesterday.
The show which is being held from June 8 to June 11, is India's leading international interiors, architecture and design event. The B2B event is exclusively dedicated to the trade as well as business in the interior and architectural industry of India.
The show is seeing a participation of over 200 companies promoting over 2500 brands including country presence from Turkey, China, Korea, Taiwan and Italy. The fair aims to connect manufacturers and traders dealing in furniture and fittings, OEM white goods, lighting and a complete range of materials, kitchen, office and hardware for contract use, with architects, interior designers, and builders, project managers and consultants, procurement heads across the hospitality, corporate and govt sectors.
Index Fairs 2017 is receiving an immense support from the industry as well as various professional associations such as All India Hardware Association (AIHA), Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum (HPMF), The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI-CREDAI), and the national associations of Interior Designers and Architects (IIID).
“Several factors including demonetisation have affected the business in a big way. We have witnessed a decrease of 15% in this show this year,” said Khan.
The event is also conducting various informative presentations on innovative and cutting-edge products to a commanding audience of 200 exclusively invited architects, designers, builders & developers, corporate & hospitality procurement professionals from across the country. Index Fairs is showcasing its trademark line up of design-led and commercial companies with a striking range of furniture, accessories and lighting.


text:
African-American Millennials have a large and growing spending power; total African-American spend is projected to reach $1.4 trillion this year, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, a 275% increase since 1990.
And yet, it’s not enough for marketers to speak to just Millennials or African-Americans when looking to connect with this influential group. Instead, marketers must reach African-American Millennials in customized ways that speak to them directly.
In recognition of Black History Month, we’re calling attention to seven noteworthy stats from our parent company Viant’s past research paper The Marketer’s Guide to African-American Millennials. With insights like the below, marketers can reach African-American Millennials with the personalized messaging they have come to expect and build brand affinity.
1. African-American Millennials make up 26% of the total African-American population and 14% of all Millennials – and they have a growing spending power as they hit their late 20s and 30s.
2. Like most Millennials, African-American Millennials are big fans of online retailer Amazon. They visit Amazon nearly as often as they visit Target, JCPenney and Kohl’s combined.
3. The global color cosmetics industry is worth an estimated $48.3 billion, and African-American Millennials are heavy buyers. They are 24% more likely to be higher spenders on cosmetics and toiletries than other Millennials, and spend an average of $111.82 per quarter at cosmetics retailer Sephora.
4. African-American Millennials support TV shows and networks that feature celebrities who share their ethnic background. As such, they are 230% more likely to watch Power, 74% more likely to watch Empire and 40% more likely to watch Blackish than other Millennials.
5. When African-American Millennials stream OTT content, Hulu is the provider of choice. They’re 13% more likely to subscribe to Hulu Plus than other Millennials
6. Salty snacks are a favorite of African-American Millennials, who are 46% more likely than other Millennials to graze on them. They’re 78% more likely to buy Ruffles and 75% more likely to buy Cheetos.
7. Despite overall decreases in the number of Millennials on the road, driving has actually increased in the last decade for African-American Millennials who earn less than $50,000 per year. Most African-American Millennials (64%) fit that qualification, and they’re 57% more likely to drive a Cadillac than other Millennials.


text:
Apple Maps has been updated to display COVID-19 vaccination locations, making it that much easier to set up an appointment.
As the US rolls out COVID-19 vaccines, one of the biggest challenges is finding a location and setting up an appointment. Some have relied on their local pharmacy, or used websites such as those provided by local governments.
Apple is making it a bit easier, integrating vaccination locations in Apple Maps.
Apple today updated Apple Maps with COVID-19 vaccination locations from VaccineFinder, a free, online service developed by Boston Children’s Hospital that provides the latest vaccine availability for those eligible at providers and pharmacies throughout the US. Users can find nearby COVID-19 vaccination locations from the Search bar in Apple Maps by selecting COVID-19 Vaccines in the Find Nearby menu or by asking Siri, “Where can I get a COVID vaccination?”
The placecard will include operating hours, phone number, address and a link to the provider’s website. Although the data is being provided via VaccineFinder, providers and businesses can also submit their information directly to Apple.
Along with the data provided by VaccineFinder, healthcare providers, labs, or other businesses can submit information on COVID-19 testing or vaccination locations on the Apple Business Register page. Once validated, Apple may display information about the testing or vaccination locations to people using Apple services such as Apple Maps.
Apple’s move is good news for Mac and iOS users, removing one more hurdle to people accessing the vaccine.


text:
Despite the economic downturn, the average price of timeshare products held steady this year thanks to developers expanding their interval buying options, according to a new study.
“In the face of an overall tighter credit environment, several of the larger timeshare developers intentionally reduced the scope of their sales operations and focused efforts more on the efficiencies found in selling to existing owners, referrals and rentals,” said Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association. “Our industry continues to adapt to the changing environment and is responsive to those who love the product.”
One example cited in the 2010 “State of the Timeshare Industry: United States Study” is that most timeshare developers now offer a rental program as a way to test the product.
Renters occupy 10 percent of timeshare stays annually, or 8.4 million nights rented each year, of the total 79.7 percent total occupancy. By comparison, U.S. hotel occupancy was at 54.7 percent last year, according to Smith Travel Research.
Other report highlights show that 62 percent of new timeshare sales come from new owners, while 38 percent of timeshare sales are from those who already own a timeshare with that developer.
The report was conducted by Ernst & Young and commissioned by the American Resort Development Association International Foundation.
Washington, D.C.-based American Resort Development Association represents the vacation ownership and resort development industries.


text:
A brand new loyalty card scheme has been launched at The Plowright Theatre in a bid to reward loyal customers.
Customers could also win tickets or cups of coffee as part of a special scratchcard competition, which will run for the rest of the year at the Laneham Street venue in Scunthorpe.
The Star Café Bar is open between 11.30am and 2pm every weekday and serves a variety of lunches – from soups to sandwiches as well as jacket potatoes and a variety of hot drinks.
But with North Lincolnshire Magistrates' Court closing at the end of last year, theatre staff are hoping the new marketing initiatives will encourage new customers to visit the venue at lunchtimes.
Customers who purchase coffee will be rewarded with their 10th cup for free if they purchase nine, while anyone who spends over £6 in any transaction at lunchtime will receive a scratchcard which could win them a hot drink or even a ticket to see a show at the venue.
A spokesman for The Plowright Theatre said: “The Star Café Bar was always a favourite with staff from the courtroom next door but since that has closed, we are hoping to attract people who may not have tried our food and drinks.
"We have introduced a coffee loyalty scheme which will reward our regulars, while anyone who spends £6 or more will receive a scratchcard which could win them tickets to a show here at the theatre.”
The offer will run for the rest of the year and is only available during the theatre’s lunchtime service.


text:
In March of 2020, salesperson Hank Failing was stunned by what he saw in Portland’s music stores. Just like toilet paper and hand sanitizer, guitars and amps were in short supply.
“Shops couldn’t keep enough inventory in stock,” says Failing, who’s worked in Oregon music stores for nearly 25 years.
It seemed counterintuitive. The city’s economy, as a whole, was in a terrible state. But Failing says many musicians who were stuck in their homes decided to upgrade their equipment. Others took up learning an instrument for the very first time.
Meeting customers where they’re at
Business was booming, but, like millions of Americans, Failing soon found himself unemployed. He left the music retail workforce due to health concerns at home.
“Our situation is different just because my wife has had a double lung transplant,” Failing says. “She’s one of those people that’s going to be in a really bad place if she gets COVID.”
But the emergence of vaccines changed his mind about working in a storefront.
In January, Failing opened his own used instrument shop — Hank’s Music Exchange. Two months in, business is exceeding his expectations, but it isn’t exactly back to normal.
“Eighty-five to 90% of all of our business starts on Instagram right now,” Failing says of the increase he’s seen in online window shopping from customers still hesitant to browse inventory in-person.
“That sounds a little nuts, but Instagram is so easy to show people stuff.”
Amid concert hesitancy, venues continue to struggle
Hank Failing’s story is a microcosm of the uneven recovery of Portland’s music economy.
According to MusicPortland, a nonprofit advocacy group, the overwhelming majority of the city’s more than 800 music businesses are small and independent. While some — particularly manufacturers and retailers — have flourished during the pandemic, those that rely on public gatherings continue to struggle.
“Obviously venues suffered deeply and the musicians just catastrophically,” says Meara McLaughlin, MusicPortland’s executive director.
McLaughlin says concert attendance hesitancy remained a big disruptor in February, with most of the state’s music venues operating at nearly half capacity. Concerts are typically underwritten by food and alcohol sales. She says smaller crowds and an increase in no-shows at the box office have blunted once-reliable revenue streams for music venues.
“They’re not making [income from] the other things that [pay] for their staff and everything else,” says McLaughlin. “It is a hard, thankless job.”
MusicPortland aims to help. The group recently proposed a 7-point plan it believes will ensure the survival of Portland’s music scene.
The group’s statewide sister organization, MusicOregon, helped craft legislation that would recognize Oregon’s commercial music industry as an emerging economic sector. The Oregon Legislature did not pass House Bill 4048 during its 2022 session, but the bill’s provisions were repackaged and passed inside a larger budget bill, HB 5202, which currently awaits the governor’s signature.
McLaughlin believes that could usher in regulatory reform and tax incentives for music businesses. But right now, those potential developments seem out of reach for Portland’s beleaguered live music venues.
“We had two PPP loans and two grants and that’s really the only reason why we’re still here,” says Ezra Holbrook, co-owner of Alberta Street Pub located in Northeast Portland.
In recent months, business at the pub and 100-person capacity music hall has stabilized.
“We’re in the break even to maybe even making-a-little-money-possibly territory,” he says.
But the financial and emotional toll of the pandemic has left him perilously close to burnout.
“I’ve come this far but I don’t know how much further I can go,” says Holbrook.
A boost from new small business owners
There is some good news on the horizon. Nationwide, small business ownership has rebounded to pre-COVID numbers. Women and people of color make up a large portion of those new entrepreneurs.
Portlander Niki Way will join the ownership group at Alberta Street Pub as a managing partner later this month. Way, who is a Filipino-American, says the economic turmoil of the past two years has also created opportunities for people like her who are willing to take calculated risks. She’s funding her stake in the pub with capital raised from selling a home she purchased and renovated in 2017.
“I definitely know that this is a huge gamble,” says Way, a veteran bar manager who’s worked in the service industry for over a decade. “I still believe that the live music venue is still going to be a viable place in the future. The community needs a place like this.”
Alberta Street Pub’s Holbrook welcomes his new partner’s enthusiasm. He says first-time business investors like Niki Way at Alberta Street Pub and Hank Failing at Hank’s Music Exchange are bringing much-needed energy, financial resources and new ideas to Portland’s slowly rebounding local music economy.
“Small businesses — that’s what gives a community character. If only the deep pockets survive, you end up with a town full of Red Robins,” says Holbrook.
“People like Hank and Niki are saving our asses. And frankly — helping save the town’s ass.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct information about legislative proposals to support music businesses. Although Oregon House Bill 4048 did not pass during the 2022 session, the bill’s provisions were recently repackaged and passed inside a larger budget bill, HB 5202, which currently awaits the governor’s signature.


text:
Bidstack (BIDS) stock jumps 32% after $30m Azerion deal
11:48, 17 December 2021
Stock in Bidstack were up 32.34% on Friday morning after the London-based advertising agency published a trading update and announced a deal with digital entertainment platform Azerion.
Bidstack said it had signed a multiple format advertising agreement with Azerion, which is based in the Netherlands, which includes exclusivity for one of the publisher’s biggest sporting franchises.
It also said in the update, released on Friday, that it had secured a revenue stream of a guaranteed minimum of $30m (£22.5m, €26.5m) advertising spend over two years, commencing 1 March 2022, as a result of the deal.
“The board is pleased with the company’s progress, which has prioritised improving the quality of revenues and gross margin alongside strategic investments in key talent and operations,” said Bidstack.
“The company has chosen not to pursue some low margin revenue opportunities and instead has invested in building the foundation for future high-quality, higher margin growth areas. The directors believe that this was the appropriate, long-term approach, as evidenced by the recent agreements with Azerion and one of the world’s leading AAA gaming companies.”
Bidstack added tha following the announcement and subject to audit, the board expected full-year gross margins to improve significantly to in excess of 30% (FY20: 13%).
“As a result, gross and net profits are both expected to be broadly in line with market expectations. Due to delays in completing certain agreements and certain deferrals of ad campaigns, we anticipate revenues for FY21 to be below current market expectations. However, revenue for the year will be significantly higher than last year (FY20: £1.7m),” it said.
The company also noted that year-end cash is expected to be in line with market expectations at approximately £7m.
James Draper, Bidstack’s CEO, commented: “In the second half of 2021, as the in-game market has started to mature, we have focused on delivering advertising campaigns that have an accretive impact on gross margins.
“Since our fundraise in July 2021, establishing a pathway towards profitability has been a key focus, which comprises a balance between investing for growth and strategic cost control. We have been pleased with the run of network deals across our portfolio, where blended margins have been healthy and have helped drive operational leverage.
“With our network now growing, through the tremendous work of our publisher acquisition team, our portfolio is now diversified sufficiently to attract a broader range of advertising verticals.”
Read more: Gold prices rebound after Fed accelerates tapering pace


text:
Rick Springfield was arrested in Malibu on May 1st for alledgely driving his modified 1963 Corvette Coupe while intoxicated. He blew a .10 which is over the legal limit. When the deputy told him that his $200,000 Corvette would be towed away, he apparently yelled at the deputy “if you tow my car I’ll f**king kill you and your family.”
Fifty years ago this month, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into outer space. When he returned to Earth, GM presented him with a brand new 1962 Corvette and the connection of Corvettes and Astronauts became the stuff of legends.
I’m not sure if there is something in the water or if the moon is out of alignment, but there seems to be a recent rash of people getting trapped in Corvettes whose battery has died. We already told you of the one of guy who called 911 after getting locked in his Corvette ZR1, but here is another frustrated gentleman whose calls for help to his friends result in this hilarious video being posted on youtube.
Article contributed by Steve Burns
Get those DVR’s programmed to catch this week’s episode of My Classic Car featuring Dennis Gage. This week the certified car nut travels to McKinney, Texas to check out (and of course drive) a cool C3 and a fantastic C2 Restomod.
I’m not buying it. The latest round of rumors of a C7 mid-engined Corvette come from the same English car site that pushed the same story a year ago. This time, they took a quote from GM’s North American President Mark Reuss who said the next generation Corvette would be “completely different”. Reuss made the statement at the Corvette Assembly Plant last week where he announced the company would be investing $131 million to upgrade the plant.
As one of the commenter’s on their own site said, there’s no meat in this sandwich. Following the same logic, I could say ithe C7 is going to be made out of metal. After all, that’s “completely different” than the C6. Or how about a hybrid? See, I can speculate like that too!
Join me on twitter tonight at 9pm EST under the #motorama hash tag to discuss.
Photo Credit: conceptsalad.com
The 1961 Corvette continued its design evolution with the model year becoming the first C1 without the distinctive teeth grill as well as the first year to feature dual tail lights. However, my Black Book says nothing about a LEER camper option which makes me think this could be an aftermarket modification. The ad just hit Craigslist last night but you’ll find the description to be incredibly terse for someone trying to sell a classic Corvette.
XP-122, better known as the 1953 Corvette concept that was part of GM’s historic ’53 Motorama, returned to the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel last Saturday to take part in a presentation with GM Global Vice President of Design Ed Welburn. Welburn spoke to the company’s international sales executives as General Motors looks to expand its sales efforts outside the USA.
For the last 23 years, the Saint Bernard Catholic Church in Southern Indiana has offered a classic Corvette raffle to raise funds for the Parish. The annual raffle has become an important funraiser for the church who uses the proceeds to help fund the school and daycare programs at their Rockport, Indiana location. This year’s raffle is a red 1965 Corvette Convertible and tickets are on sale now for $30 each or 4 for $100 with only 10,000 tickets offered.
Corvette owners are known for customizing their rides and for many that starts with their license plate. Vanity plates are a way for Corvette owners to express themselves and their show pride in their car although some owners have a sense of humor. While at the National Corvette Museum’s C5/C6 Bash, we encountered some many Corvettes sporting a custom vanity plates so we thought we’d share our favorites with you.


text:
Paris Saint-Germain Soccer Club is Releasing Japan Tour 2022 NFTs
The French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are offering three unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that may be used as tickets for scheduled friendly matches in Japan later this month.
On the team's official website, there are just three limited-edition NFTs available till Wednesday. The NFTs cost 180.36 ETH, or more than $205K at the current exchange rate, and they provide entry to a VIP party and area where the owner may take pictures with PSG players. Additionally, there will be collectible NFTs commemorating the journey made from the tour's videos, messages, and images.
The three fortunate fans who acquire the NFTs will receive special benefits in celebration of the club's first trip to Japan since 1995.
On July 20th, the J1 League's inaugural game will take place against Kawasaki Frontale. The lucky spectators shouldn't be disappointed. Neymar Junior, Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos, Kylian Mbappé, Marco Veratti, and the greatest soccer player of all time, Lionel Messi, are just a few of the superstars that make up the dominant French soccer club.
Also, this isn't the first PSG's foray into adopting Web3 and NFT technologies. To commemorate its tenth league triumph, the team unveiled an NFT collection with Taiwanese music artist Jay Chou in June, and earlier this year, Argentine icon Messi announced he'd accept part of his transfer deal to SPG in cryptocurrency fan tokens. Notwithstanding, and earlier this year, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club has submitted a series of trademark applications to register its name in favor of offering a variety of services, including software, memorabilia, and goods that are tied to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).


text:
Published on January 18th, 2013 | by John I.0
Facebook adds free calling service for the iPhone
Facebook has come up with a calling service, absolutely free of cost exclusively for subscribers using the iPhone Facebook Messenger app. To use this function on Facebook Messenger iOS app, the user is required to tap the “i” button that can be found on the top right corner and press “Free Call” thereafter. The person being called will be notified by a pop up saying “John is calling”, for example as if it is a normal phone call.
To users who do not have a full functionality, the app will inform about the unavailability of the feature by a message that reads “You don’t have permission to chat with this person”.
On being requested by the PC Mag, an online computer magazine, Facebook did not immediately make a comment on this new service, but according to Verge, Facebook users of the USA can make free calls to all those with an iPhone over a Wi-Fi or data connection. This feature will hugely benefit those wanting to save cellphone talk time or those who have a shady network at their homes or offices.
Facebook incorporated the video calling feature of Skype directly into it two and a half years ago in 2011 and since then both the players have been in collaboration. It is quite probable that its unavailability on mobile was deliberate to allow Facebook to launch such a feature on its own.
The Verge stated that this move of Facebook can make it one of the largest users of VoIP among communities all over the world since the user bases of the current leaders in VoIP like Skype and Vonage is much less as compared to Facebook, which is probably the most popular social network. Currently, the Facebook Messenger app is available free of cost in the Apple App store.


text:
Tyler Perry gave an incredibly moving speech at Sunday night’s BET Awards.
This speech was a culmination of what people love (and hate) about Tyler Perry. His films have opened doors for numerous black actors and actresses who are now household names, like Taraji P. Henson, Tiffany Hadish, and Idris Elba. But his content frustrates many because it reinforces stereotypes of poor, uneducated black folks.
Earlier this month, BET announced plans to launch a new subscription streaming service called BET+. The service will include both original programming from BET and content from Tyler Perry Studios’ catalog. BET+ follows the wave of solo network streaming services monetizing their own content directly with consumers.
While consumers have grown weary of the impending number of subscription streaming services, BET+ has a better case to make than many others. The cable network targets black Americans interested in entertainment and pop culture. It’s a relatively small market, albeit its tremendous influence.
Here’s a screenshot from BET.com.
BET President Scott Mills is bullish on the opportunity:
“African Americans are the leading consumers of streaming services, with higher SVOD adoption rates than other consumers, which is why we’re so excited to launch a premium product for this underserved audience.”
Here’s a follow-up on that same study from the Wall Street Journal:
That research also showed that the most popular shows among African-American viewers on Netflix were those aimed at general audiences, like “The Office” and “Family Guy,” suggesting untapped demand for African-American-focused streaming content, the person said.
This logic is plausible, but it’s flawed. Most content streamed on Netflix can be passively watched, like The Office. As REDEF’s Matthew Ball wrote last month, higher-brow shows like The Crown have a smaller audience than most think. Tyler Perry’s catalog technically fits that low-brow, passive viewership mold, but it’s different. Madea is not consumed by the same segments of black folks that drive the high SVOD numbers.
Perry’s Madea character resonates most with black church-goers. The black folks who religiously watch Tyler Perry movies are not the same black folks who jump on Twitter to live-tweet episodes of Power or complain about the racial politics in Big Little Lies. The strong SVOD numbers from black audiences are driven more by shows like Atlanta and Insecure than ones like Meet the Browns.
Perry succeeds because his niche audience sits outside the standard entertainment machine. But even though his audience is “niche,” an SVOD service is not the best way to reach them. Most of Perry’s audience has yet to “cut the cord” on cable. Until recently, he had trouble getting movie theaters in white neighborhoods to show Madea movies.
That’s not the case with shows like Atlanta and Insecure. Both of those shows—and many other shows with all-black casts— have high nonblack viewership.
For BET+ to succeed, it needs to rely heavily on its own catalog, not just Perry’s. It also needs to think deeper than just releasing content that black people watch. It needs to focus on the type of content that the “black SVOD audience” likes to stream. A lot of it is shows like Power. A lot of that is shows like The Office too. But far less of that is shows like Madea.


text:
Australian retailer Woolworths has announced plans to rollout self-service checkouts at 70 of its stores by June.
“Self Serve Checkouts are a really convenient option for customers and we have had tremendously positive feedback from shoppers who have used them,” said Woolworths general manager of retail operations, Marty Hamnett.
“In all the stores where we have trialled this technology, customers have really embraced it. It is now so popular that approximately 20% of transactions go through the Self Serve Checkouts. Of course they will never fully replace standard or express checkouts, but they are certainly a handy alternative for the busy shopper.”


text:
Don't miss out - once they're gone, they're gone!
Launched this December, the new Dualit Blender is set to become the indispensable kitchen gadget.
Designed with the coffee connoisseur in mind, the new Dualit Coffee System has been created to deliver the ultimate cup of coffee for every occasion.
We are very excited to announce that our 2 Slot NewGen Toaster in stunning Azure Blue has recently won Beautiful Kitchen’s ‘Coolest Kitchen Gadget’ competition!
Achieve bakery precision at home with Dualit’s new Stand Mixer


text:
In light of New Corps launch of their first all digital publication ‘The Daily‘, industry pundits have panned it across the board. Many feel it is too expensive an experiment. After all $30 million to launch an iPad based newspaper seems rather extreme. Once you factor in the a year’s worth overhead costs for journalists and media, the price balloons to over $50 million.
The price of each publication seems to all so be a sticking point. At $1 a week or $49 a year, will internet users accustomed to free news sites and blogs cough up the money for premium content? Rival publications are already referring to digital publication as a gimmick, after a while the allure of a shiny new app with video content will wear off. What then?
To staff The Daily, Rupert Murdoch and Co. have gone out and hired an army of 100 seasoned journalist to crank out timely posts rich with multi-media elements. They’ve invested heavily in iPad app that offers an interactive magazine experience, with rich photos, streaming video, and even Twitter integration. All this for just 14 cents a day. You have to wonder how they plan to turn a profit on the thing.
Advertising is one of the means by which they plan to break even. But you have to wonder how long people will put up with advertising in a paid app. The internet has trained us to accept the freemium business model. Free versions of a product has ads to compensate for the cost, while paid products are ad free.
If we step back for a second and stop viewing ‘The Daily’ as an iPad app and more as a startup newspaper, the $30 million investment starts to make more sense. In comparison to the Flipboard iPad app the raised $10 million dollars in funding to basicall wrap content in pretty skin, News Corps spending looks a little more sensible.
When you look further back at old media mergers and acquisitions by News Corp, The Daily looks cheap in comparison. They paid over $1 billion dollars for the Boston Globe News Paper and $5 billion dollars for The Dow Jones Media empire.
With this early investment in The Daily, News Corp will have full creative control over what is essentially an internet startup for the tablet age. To Rupert Murdoch $30 million is a small price to pay to be at the forefront of digital publishing.
You can follow me here: @KevinMinott


text:
In a move to expand its global reach, Alibaba has launched a Hong Kong and Taiwan version of its group-buying website, Juhuasuan.
Juhuasuan Overseas will feature 12 to 20 new deals each day offering discounts on items such as clothing, housewares, and consumer electronics. The company says purchases will be delivered in as little as two days after the deal ends.
In a few weeks, the Chinese-language website will start offering "lifestyle services" and travel deals tailored for Hong Kong. The deals will include hotel and travel packages for nearby cities of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai.
In the past, Juhuasuan was unable to offer deals to Hong Kong and Taiwan consumers because cross-border shipping was not supported by the mainland China website, according to Alibaba. Now customers in Hong Kong and Taiwan will have access to deals on products and services available across Alibaba-owned Taobao Marketplace.


text:
The Anime Fest @ NYCC event will be held alongside this year’s New York Comic-Con, which takes place at New York’s Javits Center from October 3-6. Fans of the Frame Arms Girl franchise will be treated to something special during the weekend, because Kotobukiya announced plans to screen the Frame Arms Girl: Kyakkyau Fufu na Wonderland anime film at the event on October 5.
There will be a panel featuring Kotobukiya staff and ProjectNuType founder and CEO NuType Tim to go along with the screening, which will be held at the Hudson Mercantile building in New York from 3:00pm to 5:30pm. Fans in attendance can look forward to a compilation of the Frame Arms Girl anime series with new footage.
Crunchyroll streams the Frame Arms Girl series. Here’s the official synopsis:
Ao Gennai mistakenly opens a package that wasn’t meant for her, and, to her surprise, she sees a small robot named Gourai, a Frame Arms Girl who has an evolving personality. Confused as to how this little robot made it into her life, she finds out that she is the first person to activate her. She realizes taking care of Gourai is harder than she thought, especially when competitive fights are involved!


text:
You are here: News.
[18/11/2011] The latest figures released by Beverage Can Makers Europe show can fillings across the region remain in surplus for the year.Debt crisis fails to halt the progress of cans in Europe
[14/11/2011] Rexam Personal Care introduces Panache, a new spray experience that delivers a new level of luxury for makers of prestige perfumes, as well as other personal care products.Rexam: a new, patented spray technology platform for fragrances
[27/10/2011] A hot drink after a long winter walk is good for the soul, warming you from the inside out. And special winter treats now come mixed ready to drink and conveniently packaged.Warming comfort for winter days: drinks specially made for the chilly season
[10/10/2011] Consumer packaging specialist Rexam will construct a new aluminum beverage can manufacturing facility in Mantsala, Finland. Rexam announces construction of aluminum beverage can facility in Finland
[06/10/2011] With over 20 years experience and a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, Tu-Plast is a reliable, flexible and short lead time supplier of tubes.Tu-Plast releases water clear tubes with exceptional clarity
From the industryThere is a change for the better in the USA
Wohlenberg Buchbindesysteme sees growing demand in North America more...
The Green Deal
“Promoting brand values through sustainable packaging“ – was the motto of last year’s Pro Carton Congress in Düsseldorf. Ever greater importance is being attached to sustainability: it is one of the crucial drivers of innovation of all.


text:
365体育平台YOKOHAMA, Japan (Jan. 10, 2019) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO) today announced the driver lineups for Nissan teams in the 2020 Super GT GT500 class.
365体育平台The team principals and drivers are:
Executive Director: Motohiro Matsumura
Car no. 23. Team: NISMO
Team Principle: Yutaka Suzuki
365体育平台 Drivers: Tsugio Matsuda / Ronnie Quintarelli (ITA)
Car no. 3. Team: NDDP Racing with B-Max
Team Principle: Toshikazu Tanaka
Drivers: Kohei Hirate / Katsumasa Chiyo
Car no. 12. Team: Team Impul
Team Principle: Kazuyoshi Hoshino
Drivers: Daiki Sasaki / Kazuki Hiramine
Car no. 24. Team: Kondo Racing
Team Principle: Masahiko Kondo
365体育平台 Drivers: Mitsunori Takaboshi / Jann Mardenborough (GBR)
365体育平台“This year’s driver lineup emphasizes the balanced appointment of individuals selected from our large stable of highly capable Nissan drivers,” said NISMO President and CEO Takao Katagiri. “The combination of drivers was decided through consideration of each individual’s driving style and their suitability to each vehicle. As a result, there have been minor alterations to our driver lineup. At the same time, we’re intensively developing a new 2020-spec Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 in line with the new Class 1 technical regulations that will be shared across Super GT and DTM.
“We’ll be bringing together the strength of all the team principals, drivers, engineers, mechanics, staff and all our employees, including NISMO’s development team, in a concerted effort to retake the championship and live up to the expectations of our fans. This year, Nissan and NISMO will again be engaged in various motorsports activities, with a focus on the two pillars of the Formula E championship and Super GT. We’ll strive to fully engage with our fans through a new season of exciting motorsports.”
Nissan team principals and drivers will participate in a fan event at the Nissan Gallery in Yokohama on Feb. 16. Additional details about the event will be announced at a later date.
365体育平台For a gallery of images from the launch event, please click


text:
The Most Intriguing Computers at CES 2017
Computers can be boiled down to three categories: desktops, laptops, and tablets. But from what we're seeing at the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the lines that once separated those devices are increasingly blurred.
Laptops and desktops now come with built-in touch screens, and manufacturers are increasingly including keyboards with tablets. The market is flooded with two-in-one models inspired by the success of the Microsoft Surface and Lenovo Miix lines.
Sachin Pathak, a product marketing representative from Lenovo, says convertible laptop/tablet devices are especially attractive to people who don't want to choose between a portable tablet and a full-sized PC. Accessories such as styluses, pens, and ThinkPad's productivity module, which provides extra battery life and extra ports, are becoming the norm, he added.
The demand for top-of-the-line specs and security features is spawning business features such as fingerprint sensors on mainstream products. Here are some of the most intriguing machines we've seen in Las Vegas.
More From Consumer Reports
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon appears to have everything you’d really want in an Ultrabook. It’s superlight and powerful, and Lenovo claims its battery life is up to 15 hours.
It's also thinner and has shaved off a lot of weight for the new year, without sacrificing performance, according to the specs. (Too bad the rest of us can't say the same.) With the option of a solid-state drive as large as 1TB and built-in 4G LTE, road warriors may want to turn to this 2.5 pound, 14-inch machine.
On the 2017 model, users can log in using Windows Hello or the fingerprint reader next to the keyboard for added security. The computer lacks a payment authorization function like the ones found in cellphones and tablets.
ThinkPad X1 Carbon starts at $1,349 and will be available beginning in February.
Dell’s XPS line of laptops is known for two things: excellent performance and an edge-to-edge display. In fact, one XPS 13 has been named a Consumer Reports Best Buy. Just like the laptops before it, the new Dell XPS two-in-one features a beautiful display with a very thin border.
One noticeable quirk, however, is the placement of the webcam just above the keyboard, which will invariably result in some unflattering images. It remains to be seen whether the new two-in-one's performance will rival that of its laptop predecessors. Dell plans to start shipping the convertible later this month starting at $999.
The Chrome-Clad Futurist
The Samsung Chromebook Pro and the Chromebook Plus represent the latest evolution of Google's other operating system. When the first Chromebook began shipping in 2011, it was touted as forward-looking, but with only a few apps to offer, it left many users feeling restricted. So the Chrome OS is often overlooked in favor of its more widely used sibling, Android. But since the launch of the Play Store on Chromebooks last year, an upgrade was inevitable.
These new machines come with a high-res touch screen, 360-degree hinge, built-in pen, and, completely new to Chromebooks, an accelerometer and gyro sensor that will appeal to gamers. Though identical in almost every way, the Pro and the Plus have notable differences in the processor and graphics chips.
The Chromebook Plus will be available in February starting at $449. It remains to be seen how it stacks up to competitively priced Windows machines. The Chromebook Pro will be available in the spring. The price has yet to be announced.
The Scene-Stealing Accessory
Dell’s Canvas 27 hopes to outshine the Microsoft Surface Studio in the designer and illustrator market. It's a QHD (Quad High Definition) multitouch surface add-on that could replace the traditional mouse and keyboard setup that most of us use.
The 27-inch surface solves a problem that often plagues those who use computers with touch displays: arm strain. Unlike the conventional upright screen, this accessory lies flat on a desk or table, so users don't have to lift their arms up, a configuration a lot like that of the high-end Cintiq tablets from Wacom.
Promising a user interface that “encourages touch interaction,” the Canvas 27 is aimed squarely at creative professionals and touch-screen enthusiasts. It’ll come bundled with a pen and “totems” that can act as a button or dial, highly reminiscent of the Surface Dial (the accessory packaged with the Surface Studio) announced last year.
The Bleeding Edge Concept
Razer spotlighted its "Project Valerie" multi-monitor laptop, whose marquee feature is a trio of 17.3-inch 4K displays. Equipped with an automatic deployment mechanism, the laptop allows the screens to slide out of the side of the main screen and adjust into place seamlessly.
While multi-screen setups are common in desktops and NASA terminals, this may be the first of its kind for a "portable" device. This nearly 12-pound behemoth features a 99-watt-hour battery to support its screens and processor.
Kevin Scarpati, a PR representative at Razer, said this "incredibly badass" laptop's specs are still up in the air, and the company does not yet have a release date, let alone a price, on Project Valerie. And while it's unlikely to ever hit store shelves, like futuristic cars with flight capabilities, it's fun to imagine "What if?"
Copyright © 2005-2017 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission. Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this site.


text:
Delphi sold in $3.6B deal
Delphi sold in $3.6B deal
Transaction with private-equity firm may lift parts-maker out of bankruptcy
david Phillips / Special to The Detroit News
Detroit — While its former parent formally entered bankruptcy proceedings Monday, auto parts manufacturer Delphi Corp. reached a deal to sell the bulk of its assets to a private-equity firm and finally emerge from bankruptcy protection after nearly 4 years.
Parnassus Holdings II LLC, an affiliate of Platinum Equity, will buy a chunk of Delphi’s U.S. and foreign operations for about $3.6 billion, Delphi said Monday.
Under the plan, GM, which spun off Delphi in 1999, will reacquire some of the company’s North American plants, including its global steering business, and factories in Wyoming, Mich.; Lockport and Rochester, N.Y.; and Kokomo, Ind.
Delphi’s remaining "noncore" operations will be sold or discontinued. A final hearing on the plan is scheduled for July 23.
Delphi has been operating under bankruptcy protection since October 2005. "After an extended period of complex and challenging discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, we are confident that these modifications to our confirmed plan of reorganization will provide a resolution that will allow Delphi to emerge from Chapter 11," Delphi President and Chief Executive Rodney O’Neal said in a statement.
In addition, GM has agreed to assume additional retiree pension and health care obligations from Delphi as part of the plan.
While Delphi hopes to emerge from court protection, GM’s bankruptcy poses additional risks for auto parts makers struggling with lower industry output, high commodity prices and debt. Planned production cuts by GM and bankrupt Chrysler LLC will further squeeze cash-strapped suppliers.
GM spent $50 billion on parts and supplies from a network of 11,500 companies last year, and accounts for more than 30 percent of the revenue at more than 600 suppliers, including American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. The automaker plans to slash the number of direct suppliers it uses across North America from 1,400 to 1,100 by the end of 2011.
The collapse of new car and truck demand has forced Visteon Corp., Metaldyne Corp. and other auto parts makers to seek bankruptcy protection this year.
In addition to American Axle, analysts say Lear Corp. and TRW Automotive Holdings Inc. are more vulnerable in the wake of GM’s bankruptcy.
"We expect the Detroit automakers to collectively lose share to foreign brands in 2009," Standard & Poor’s analyst Ephraim Levy said Monday. "The greater a supplier’s exposure to U.S.-based companies, the greater the impact on its performance."
Lower output, pricing pressure from manufacturers and high commodity prices will hamper auto parts manufacturers’ profits in 2009.
"Although some U.S.-based auto parts makers have exited or are progressing toward exiting bankruptcy proceedings, others, especially relatively smaller companies, are under duress and risk entering bankruptcy, in our view, if they do not get support from parts and vehicle manufacturing customers," Levy said.
Lear, a major GM supplier, said Monday it would delay interest payments of about $38 million pending the outcome of talks with lenders. Lear executives said the company prefers to restructure out of bankruptcy.
The federal government is offering up to $5 billion in aid to help struggling automakers, but there are no plans to enhance the program.


text:
Nokia launches GPS service
Helsinki (Finland) – Nokia has launched a GPS service that promises location fixes in less than a minute. Normal GPS fixes usually require a few minutes which can be an eternity when you are late to an important meeting.
Nokia says the service will be available high-end phones including the outrageously expensive N95 super phone which sells for around $900 dollars.
Read more … Reuters.


text:
According to the latest survey conducted by Brand Finance, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has emerged as the most valuable brand in the United Arab Emirates for the second year on the trot, and for the first time, it also features among the ten most valuable oil and gas brands.
Meanwhile, Etisalat has held on to its crown as being the most valuable B2C brand in the Middle East and Africa for the third year in a row.
According to the London-based leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy firm, the state-controlled oil giant’s brand value leaped to $11.39 billion this year, a growth of about 29 percent as compared to last year.
This has resulted in Adnoc emerging as the first UAE brand to surpass $10 billion in value, while also having the distinction of becoming the quickest-expanding brand in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in this year.
The brand valuation and consultancy titan disclosed its Brand Finance Global 500 report at the World Economic Forum in Davos, US, where the chief executive of Brand Finance David Heigh said that the Middle East region is a haven to an increasingly large number of globally renowned brands.
He indicated that since 2007, when Brand Finance conducted its maiden Global 500 survey, these brands have been rapidly rising in their positions, which can be attributed to the astute management that are at the helm of these brands.
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the chief executive of Adnoc Group secured the highest position among MENA region CEOs and state-owned oil firm CEOs for brand stewardship and brand value creation.
Making up 4 percent of the world’s crude oil generation, a large portion of the UAE’s oil output emanates from the facilities belonging to and run by Adnoc in the capital city of Abu Dhabi.


text:
The decision of the Union government to levy 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on packaged food may increase the price of rice by a minimum of Rs 3 to Rs 5 per kg from Monday, Tamil Nadu rice mills association and traders said on Saturday.
Based on the recommendation of the GST Council, the Centre has issued notifications bringing essential commodities including rice and maize under 5% GST slab from July 18. All pre-packed and pre-labelled goods as defined under the Legal Metrology Act will attract the new tax.
Processing of about 25,000 metric tonnes of rice in over 1,000 rice mills in Kanchipuram, Chengelpet, Tiruvallur and Chennai were halted because of the protest on Saturday.D Thulasingam, president, Federation of TN Rice Mill Owners and Paddy Rice Dealers Association, said the 5% GST on rice bags will jack up the cost of rice by Rs 3 to Rs 5 per kg from Monday.
S Rethinavelu, founder and president of AGROFOOD Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said, “At its 47th meeting, the GST Council recommended that pre-packed and pre-labelled retail packs be taxed. But now, the words “retail pack” is missing in the notification issued by the Centre giving scope for different interpretation and even “wholesale packs” will be taxable.”