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AOL is beefing up its ad tech capabilities further with the acquisition of video ad network and exchange operator Adap.tv. The move follows AOL’s recent attempts to reposition itself in the market at as a leading ad tech provider and a challenger to Google’s “stack” of ad buying and selling technologies.
According to the company’s earnings, which it also released today, third-party network revenue was one of the fastest growing areas of AOL’s business last year. Overall ad revenue rose 6.9 percent, but network revenue growth outpaced it at 8.9 percent. AOL hopes the addition of Adap.tv will add to that growth.
AOL has doubled down on ad tech in the past few months. It hired former Razorfish CEO Bob Lord to head up its Networks division, which houses its ad tech assets, in July.
CEO Tim Armstrong also told reporters a couple of weeks ago that the company has been investing heavily in its technology products, and that acquisitions were likely. He also said the company plans to start selling access to its programmatic buying tools in something akin to an TV upfront.
It remains to be seen if marketers will ever buy services from it in that manner, but it’s clear that AOL now wants to be seen as a major ad technology contender. It’s an area in which it’s historically failed to impress despite some high profile acquisitions.
More to follow.
Dentsu’s new Web3 readiness tool shines light on the tech’s potential to complement AI
Dentsu's Innovation Initiative is launching a web3 readiness index next month — at a time when the industry is obsessed with AI. Could the two technologies actually make a good pair?
Digiday+ Research deep dive: Publishers large and small put their resources into first-party data
Eighty-two percent of publishers overall say they're already using first-party data to prepare for the end of the third-party cookie, and nearly half are requiring users to register and integrating first-party data segments into DSPs – indicating that first-party data is the clear path forward for publishers heading into the post-cookie world.
Media Briefing: Why publishers hope chatbots will be the latest retention tool
Publishers hope the chatbots they are developing will be the latest retention tool to keep readers onsite and to get them to consume more content.
SponsoredHow enterprise-grade CDPs are enhancing data processes and improving customer experiences
Produced in partnership with Marketecture The following article highlights an interview between Martin Kihn, Salesforce’s senior vice president of Marketing Cloud, and Ari Paparo, founder and CEO of Marketecture Media. Register to watch more of the discussion and learn how brands are making the most of enterprise-grade CDP technologies. As brands expand across channels and […]
How programmatic advertising will evolve this year on the heels of audio growth and privacy changes
Comscore’s programmatic division Proximic released a State of Programmatic study highlighting the growth of audio and podcasting, other digital advertising channels and challenges around third-party data.
Why podcasters are selling subscriptions through third-party vendors
Many podcasters are turning to third party platforms like Supporting Cast and Supercast to launch or grow their subscription businesses beyond Spotify or Apple.


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Questlove is continuing his foray in the food world with “Questlove’s Cheesesteak™.” The Grammy Award-winning musician is introducing a vegetarian approach to his hometown’s cheesesteak, reimagining the famed dish’s beefsteak with Impossible™ plant-based meat.
First tested at the annual Roots Picnic festival in 2018, the Cheesesteak was exclusive to the band’s VIP area mainly comprised of friends and family. “…no one believed me when I told them the “meat” was not beef, but plant-based. My team and I saw an opportunity to roll out the product on a much larger level,” Questlove explained.
The sandwich will debut March 28 at Citizens Bank Park for The Phillies’ opening day and will be sold at all 81 home games. By summer, interested foodies can grab a bite at 40 Live Nation owned and operated venues across the United States.
In case you missed it, you can check out the lineup for Roots Picnic 2019.
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Ok yall, this was a year in the making so keeping this a secret was SUPER DIFFICULT!! I’m launching Questlove’s Cheesesteak! As a non vegan/vegetarian i still fell in love with @impossiblefoods for several years and as a Philadelphian….well—-i gotta know #CheeseSteaks right? We developed (and perfected!) a recipe using Impossible™ plant-based meat that we hope will offer a delicious and sustainable alternative for all cheesesteak eaters. Even better news for sports fans who never have food catering to those who are vegan/vegetarian we are debuting this cheesesteak THIS Spring at Citizens Bank Park during ALL @Phillies home games AND CONCERTS at the ballpark and in 40 @livenation venues ACROSS THE COUNTRY, and more soon! #Philly #Nationwide #QuestlovesCheesesteak #QuestLovesFood #AmorosoRolls @questlovesfood

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New Lidl could open by early 2019
- Credit: Archant
A new budget supermarket on the outskirts of Norwich, first touted two years ago, could open by the end of the year.
German chain Lidl has lodged a licensing application for a new store in Sprowston, which will sit less than 100m away from an existing Tesco Extra.
Plans for the store were originally announced by the chain in July 2016, proposing a new 27,000sq/ft store on land north of Blue Boar Lane.
However, plans lodged to Broadland District Council the following month set out an 18,000 sq ft store, including 120 parking spaces and 12 cycle stands. Vehicle access was proposed off an existing access point from the roundabout at Blue Boar Lane.
When the plans were unveiled, it was claimed the new store would create up to 40 jobs for the area, with the store also set to include an in-store bakery.
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The store's latest planning application to Broadland District Council - for its advertising signage - was approved in January.
The licensing application - if successful - would allow to store to sell alcohol, along with its non-licensable goods when it eventually opens.
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A spokesman for Lidl UK said the building work of the new store was already under way and it could open by early next year.
They said: 'Construction of our new store began earlier this year and we are due to open by the start of 2019.'
The store will be the latest in a number of new locations for the chain arriving in Norfolk.
Earlier this year, Lidl opened a new store on Aylsham Road in Mile Cross, after closing a branch 400m away - on Copenhagen Way off the same road.
It also recently opened a new £4.5m branch in the West Norfolk village of Heacham, while plans have also been approved for a new store in Common Lane North, Beccles.
The proposal for the Sprowston store was described in July 2016 as 'a multi-million pound investment' by the company, which will have opening hours of 7am until 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am until 4pm on Sundays.


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Trinnov Audio unveils its revolutionary WaveForming™ technology, poised to redefine the audio landscape. In a recent interview with Tom Garrett, a Sales Manager of…
Cape Town based carpooling platform Jumpin Rides has raised R1.8-million from undisclosed local and international angel investors.
The investment deal had however been concluded already in May — the startup’s co-founder Pauline du Paty (pictured above) revealed in an email to Ventureburn yesterday (26 July). Jumpin Rides claims it currently has more than 10 000 users on its platform.
“Our objective is to bring the startup to the next level by investing these funds into integrating new functionalities, launching mobile apps, marketing, and starting to look at other African markets,” said Paty. She added that her vision is to expand the startup’s service to the rest of Africa.
Jumpin Rides was launched in 2016 and claims to have more than 10 000 users on its platform
It’s not the first time that Jumpin Rides has scored investment. When Du Paty launched the startup in 2016 with Antoine Paillusseau and Romain Diaz, Jumpin Rides raised an undisclosed amount from Cape Town-based accelerator Far Ventures.
Paty’s startup — which is targeting both long and short distance commuters in Cape Town and Johannesburg — aims to connect drivers who have empty seats in their cars with passengers who are willing to contribute towards petrol costs. The pre-revenue startup makes money from charging an undisclosed booking fee to users.
She said Jumpin Rides formation was inspired by the success of French ride-sharing company BlaBlaCar — which has has more than 60 million users in 22 countries.
Now she says, she want to “change the rules of mobility” in South Africa by making travel easier, safer and more affordable. “We want to bring a valuable change to South Africans daily lives”.
However she adds that the biggest challenge the startup faces is to educate and convince people to consider car pooling as an alternative that will “change their way of life”.
“It’s a new concept in South Africa and we need to convince people that we are offering them an alternative way of transport n South Africa.
“We are part of the sharing economy and being part of it would be a way to live new experiences. I think that’s what people are looking for. And the perfect picture for us, would be to integrate carpooling into all African mentalities,” she explained.
The startup ensures the safety of its riders through a verification process which checks user profiles enabling both drivers and riders to know who they are travelling with.
Featured image: Jumpin Rides co-founder and managing director Pauline du Paty (Supplied)


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Clutter Raising Between $200 Million And $250 Million From Softbank : TechCrunch
|image : Clutter|
According to a TechCrunch report, Clutter, a storage-on-demand service that lets users get their possessions packed up, taken away, stored and returned at the click of an app, is raising between $200 million and $250 million in a round led by Softbank. It says term sheets for the investment are out but are not yet finalised as investors go through due diligence.
Clutter, which operates in the Bay Area, Seattle, Southern California, New York and Chicago, has raised $96 million in funding according to Crunchbase. Investors in the company include Alphabet’s GV, Atomico, Sequoia Capital, Fifth Wall, Bracked Capital, Wonder Ventures and Four Rivers Group. It last raised $64 million in 2017 at a $240 million valuation according to Pitchbook.
|Clutter co-founders Ari Mir (left) and Brian Thomas
image : Clutter
An investment like this could be used to aid expansion into more regions, likely urban areas where people live in smaller spaces with less storage options and plausibly have more disposable income to pay for their stuff to be kept somewhere else.
People who use Clutter not only get their items stored but are able to access an online inventory provided by Clutter where they can select the item they would like returned and have them delivered to their doorsteps. But Clutter isn’t the only one in this industry, estimated to be worth some $40 billion on an annual basis.
|image : Clutter|
Other companies like Livible, Box Butler, SpareFoot, Boxful, Cubiq and MakeSpace offer similar services to persons in several locations across the U.S. If this reported investment for Clutter goes through, it’ll count as an addition to Softbank’s huge bets, which include Paytm, Uber, Coupang, WeWork, Light, Zume, Compass, Tokopedia and ParkJockey.


text: Local cement manufacturer Cimerwa has registered an after tax profit of Rwf1.9 billion for the financial year ended September 2020, the firm’s financial reports show. The firm’s revenue for the year grew to Rwf63 billion, which was a growth of about 1.5 per cent in comparison to the previous financial year. While the year has been turbulent for most operators, Cimerwa’s performance was buoyed by demand in cement for over 20,000 classrooms during the brief closure of schools to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. The project saw Cimerwa supply over 80,000 tonnes of cement. During the financial year concluded in September 2020, the firm produced and sold 421,000 tonnes of cement. While this is an improvement in comparison to the previous year, it is still below the 600,000 tonnes annually production capacity of the firm. The improved performance of the firm earned Rwanda Revenue Authority Rwf6.7 billion in tax receipts. The performance saw the firm foot a bill of about Rwf42 billion across the various suppliers with over 80 per cent going to domestic suppliers. The firm imports inputs such as coal from neighbouring Tanzania. “There has been an increased demand by a number of large infrastructure projects in projects such as the classroom project, Kigali Road Network expansion, real estate projects among others. There has been a lot of drive to achieve the urbanization targets which has driven up demand for cement and consequently better performance for us,” John Bugunya the Chief Financial Officer of the firm said. The firm had two temporary interruptions in production this year, during a maintenance exercise and during the lockdown. Cimerwa’s monopoly as the only local cement producer ended this year with the debut of Prime Cement Ltd which put up a $40-million factory in Musanze District in the Northern Province. The new firm, like Cimerwa has an installed capacity of about 600,000 tonnes annually but is yet to reach full production capacity. However, even with the entrance of a second firm, Rwanda’s cement demand is yet to be met locally as current demand is estimated at 800,000 tonnes per annum and is expected to grow by about 10 per cent year on year. That means that there is unlikely to be competition between the two firms in the short term. In the last three quarters towards September 2020, officials say that Cimerwa has been producing at about 80 per cent capacity. To further address market gaps, the firm still has to address challenges in supply to clients which experts say have seen some retailers and wholesalers hoard cement as well as inflation of prices. On this, Albert Sigei, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer said that they are working closely with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to curb hoarding and speculation. “One of the other things that is critical is balancing supply and demand, there was a bit of an issue with that given the Covid-19 disruptions. Over the last few years, things have improved and prices have stabilized with the maintenance of supply,” Sigei said. In August, the firm was listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange by introduction with 344,575,560 shares or 49 per cent will be available for trading. Each share costs Rwf120 and an investor can buy a minimum of 100 shares. So far, Sigei said that 205,000 shares have been sold largely to local retail investors. Sigei however said that there has been interest among institutional investors who have been awaiting to review the annual performance to decide on investment.


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Details about ray tracing effects in RPG from CD Projekt RED spoke to Nvidia blog. With ray tracing enabled, four main effects will work in the game.
Diffuse lighting – makes light from the moon and sun, and surfaces like billboards and signs more realistic.
Reflections – works on all surfaces and at distances up to several kilometers.
Diffuse Shading – calculates the illumination of each individual point on surfaces.
Shadows are more convincing shadows that appear based on the brightness and movement of light sources, including indirect ones.
The company also confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will support DLSS 2.0 anti-aliasing technology, which increases fps and enhances the picture using AI algorithms.
The game will also be available on GeForce NOW on the day of its release scheduled for November 19th. Nvidia promises that the RPG will run in the “cloud” at 1080p and 60 frames per second.


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HOUSTON (ICIS)--US July sales of new light vehicles fell from June, marking the third straight month of decreases as the industry continues to deal with supply chain issues and a global shortage of semiconductors.
North American automakers have had to adjust production schedules because of the chip shortage, which arose from a surge in demand as economies began to reopen from coronavirus lockdowns.
According to seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), sales fell by 3% from the previous month.
Year on year, sales were 0.3% lower than in July 2020.
However, a more accurate comparison is to July of 2019, which was before the coronavirus pandemic arrived and led to mitigation efforts that shut down global economies.
Sales are down by more than 13% from July 2019 - seasonally adjusted - and are down by 7.8% on an unadjusted basis.
Patrick Manzi, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), said that tight inventories on dealer lots limited sales.
Industry-wide, inventory levels at the end of July are likely to come in below 1.3m units, down from 1.4m at the end of June, Manzi said.
“Earlier in the year, inventory constraints meant consumers might have had to settle for a different colour or trim,” Manzi said. “But with inventory levels at record lows, many in-market consumers have had to settle for a completely different model or place an order for their desired vehicle.”
Major US automakers are anticipating a surge in production in the second half of the year as the global shortage of semiconductors begins to ease.
Executives from Ford Motor Co and General Motors (GM) said during second quarter earnings calls recently that while production is expected to improve in the second half due to improved supply of microchips, the industry is still likely to face headwinds from the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
But Manzi cautioned that additional production adjustments could be forthcoming from automakers, which is likely to keep inventory levels in August similar to July.
Despite growing concerns surrounding rising infections of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, Manzi sees demand remaining strong through the rest of the year.
“Despite production limitations from the chip shortage, new-vehicle demand remains strong among both retail and fleet customers,” Manzi said. “Our total 2021 forecast for new light vehicles is 16.5m units.”
Thumbnail image shows automobiles. Image by Slavek Ruta/Shutterstock
The automotive industry is a major global consumer of petrochemicals which contributes more than a third of the raw material costs of an average vehicle, and production disruptions could severely weigh on demand.
The automotive sector drives demand for chemicals such as polypropylene (PP), along with nylon, polystyrene (PS), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyurethanes and methyl methacrylate (MMA)/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).


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Frying, baking, and serving their way into the hearts of folks across the North Country. Jean's Beans in Watertown has been a pinnacle of good home-cooking since 1953. And now it's celebration time. 60th anniversary style.
"It's very important to us, because it's a family business. And we want to continue it. It's really a Watertown tradition," said Jane Bowman, owner.
What started as a business mostly around their original baked beans, now specializes in so much more. With everything from salads, to wings, and don't forget the doughnuts. Homemade comfort food is their claim to fame.
But the most famous of course is the haddock. Fried to a golden crisp. A customer favorite.
"It's really well-cooked, and the breading is great. And I got to admit, it's probably better than any fish-fry I've ever been to," said Brandon Doherty, customer.
The best in the business. And all thanks to the family who started it all.
"This is a picture of Neil and me when we first started in 1953. When we first opened the business. And I'm very proud of it," said Hilda Fuller, husband of man who started business.
Fuller's grandkids also work at Jean's Beans. They say after college they had very different plans for the future. But now say they couldn't be happier working together at the family business.
"I'm proud. You know, my grandfather started it, my mom owns it, Mark and I work here, and I'm hoping someday my son will work here," said Heather Bowman.
Good food, a big menu, lots of customers, and a happy family. Proud to be doing what they love and still going strong after sixty years.
Friday, December 9, 2016, Watertown, NY


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The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against NVIDIA has put the prospects of its $40 billion bid to buy Arm and assume a more central role in the semiconductor industry in jeopardy, industry analysts said.
The FTC said that it was suing to block the deal because it would give NVIDIA unlawful control over Arm technology that hundreds of firms count on to develop chips. The agency alleged it would lead to higher prices, less choice, and reduced innovation, and hobble rivals in markets where NVIDIA competes with Arm-based chips, such as data processing units (DPUs) and Arm CPUs for cloud data centers.
The complaint is part of an escalating global regulatory battle that has also exposed tensions between NVIDIA and rivals such as Qualcomm that are opposed to the deal, which would upend the semiconductor industry.
Industry analysts have warned for months that the deal would likely fall apart after backlash from NVIDIA rivals and Arm partners. But the FTC’s action makes it even more unlikely than it already was, they said.
Said Lil Read, technology analyst at research firm GlobalData: “The NVIDIA-Arm deal is on its last legs.”
“Stake in the Heart”
The Santa Clara, California-based company is not accepting defeat in the proposed deal and said it would work to prove to the FTC that it would boost competition, not hurt it, and promote innovation, not stifle it.
"As we move into this next step in the FTC process, we will continue to work to demonstrate that this transaction will benefit the industry and promote competition,” NVIDIA said in a statement last week.
Previously, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has said he anticipated the deal to close by early 2022.
Sravan Kundojjala, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said it would likely take much longer than that for the regulatory process to play out around the world. He said that NVIDIA faces a regulatory gauntlet in the UK and EU, adding months of delays that could derail the deal. There is also uncertainty in China, where officials also have the power to block the takeover, he said.
The FTC plans to present its case against the deal at a trial scheduled to begin in August 2022, but it is unclear how long it could take to get a verdict for or against the deal.
“I thought it was a long-shot deal before,” said Jack Gold, founder, and principal analyst at J. Gold Associates. “But I think the FTC is the stake in the heart of the deal—because this could go on for years.”
Arm sells licenses a vast library of intellectual property that underpins the global smartphone ecosystem. Every major semiconductor firm in the world buys chip blueprints from Arm, including Apple and Samsung. For NVIDIA, the deal would transform it into one of the more formidable rivals to Intel, as companies continue to adapt Arm’s technology for data centers and personal computers such as Apple’s Macs.
An arm is often dubbed the “Switzerland” of the chip industry because it sells licenses to its blueprints to hundreds of customers while competing with none of them, selling to any company willing to pay a fee.
And so, Gold said, the prospect of a single company taking control of the instruction set architecture (ISA) at the heart of tens of billions of chips was bound to be unpopular with NVIDIA rivals and Arm partners.
A Global Backlash
The US is the latest jurisdiction to aim for the deal announced in late 2020. The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, launched a full investigation into the deal’s consequences in October.
Margrethe Vestager, head of the commission’s competition arm, said: "Our analysis shows the acquisition of Arm by Nvidia could lead to restricted or degraded access to Arm's IP, with distortive effects in many markets where semiconductors are used.”
The UK, where Arm is headquartered, is also examining the deal more closely. Last month, the UK ordered the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to conduct a six-month investigation of the merger over its concerns it could hamper competition in the chip sector. Arm is one of the UK’s most important intellectual property assets, and industry experts said it is very unlikely the country wants it to fall into American hands.
The proposed deal must also be approved by China, where regulators are still assessing the pros and cons of a combination between Arm and one of its licensees. The final verdict is complicated by ongoing trade battles and political tensions between the US and China. Arm has also struggled to resolve a spat with Allen Wu, the former CEO of Arm China, which is throwing more instability into the process.
The FTC said it was cooperating with regulators in other regions, including in Japan and South Korea.
NVIDIA has been battling to fend off regulators since announcing its bid to buy Arm. But attempting to get the green light from government officials often with different priorities has been a challenge for the firm.
“The FTC won’t let it be—nor will the UK CMA or the EU regulator,” Read said. “It’s likely that even if the deal managed to clear those hurdles, Chinese regulators would throw another wrench in the works. Tying the acquisition up for another two years is not in anyone’s interest now—not NVIDIA's, and certainly not Arm’s.”
With or Without Arm
NVIDIA, the largest US semiconductor vendor by market value at about $800 billion, has said the concerns are unfounded, and that it wants to preserve Arm’s neutral status now and into the future. NVIDIA said that Arm’s independence turned it into a juggernaut of the industry, and it would be detrimental to get rid of it. The firm plans to keep any information shared with Arm confidential so it cannot be used inappropriately.
If the takeover falls apart, SoftBank and Arm will also get to keep a $1.25 billion breakup fee from NVIDIA.
The company has also promised to put more money into Arm’s research and development and expand Arm’s offerings to transform it into a more formidable rival in markets dominated by Intel’s X86 architecture like data centers and personal computers.
But the deal falling apart would not hurt its fortunes as a standalone company, analysts said. NVIDIA has been buoyed by booming demand for graphics processors used in gaming and artificial intelligence chips it sells for the data center market. The FTC complaint noted that NVIDIA is already “one of the world’s largest and most valuable computing companies.”
The company can also likely pursue its ambitions in Arm-based CPUs for cloud data centers and other areas by licensing Arm’s technology like everyone else, experts said.
“We think Nvidia will be OK with or without Arm,” said Kundojjala.


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It was 1840 – the year Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, the world’s first postage stamp was issued and the Chimney Sweep Act was approved.
At the same time, James Laing set up a watch and clock-making design and repair business in a small shop up a stair in Glasgow, with the backing of the Duke of Hamilton.
The firm made watches for the Admiralty in the late 1800s before going wholesale and evolving into the exclusive design and retail outfit it is today.
Laing the Jeweller has spent generations helping people celebrate personal landmarks, and now the Edinburgh-based firm is preparing to mark its own special milestone – 175 years of business.
Speaking at the flagship store in Frederick Street, James’ great-great-great grandson Michael Laing OBE, the firm’s chairman and chief executive, said: “It makes you stop and think about the history and the connection with the past. It’s something that makes you very different as a retailer.”
He said it gives staff a “real kick” to see how much thought goes in to choosing the “perfect” gift, adding: “The great thing is people come to jewellers because of lovely moments in their lives. An engagement ring, a second ring, 21st and 18th presents, buying a gift of love.”
Being Scotland’s oldest family jeweller and clocking up nearly two centuries of business has not been without its challenges.
The social and retail landscape is constantly changing, and Laing, which moved to Edinburgh in 1978, tries to keep ahead of the curve.
The firm employs fluent Mandarin speakers to cater for the large number of customers from the Far East who come in during visits to the Capital, while the online market is given as much attention as the in-store personal touch.
With such an opulent range of items in its main Frederick Street store and the watch gallery a few doors down, Laing has also been a target for robberies.
Just a fortnight ago, the main store was raided by a lone armed robber, who made off with around a dozen Rolex watches.
A man has since been charged and the team at Laing has been overwhelmed by support in the wake of the incident.
“We’ve had over 1000 e-mails, letters, phone calls. The Dome bar asked us to come round with our team to have a drink on the house, just to get together as a team. It was as if some people felt the pain and shock,” said Mr Laing, whose son Richard is a director in the business.
“I spoke to the team afterwards and said this is unprecedented in my business experience.”
Despite the traumatic experience, Mr Laing remains confident in the store’s security measures and the police.
“As technology develops, we develop,” he said. “It’s terribly discreet because we don’t want to impact on the retail experience. We train a bit like airline pilots, always expecting a crash, just so people react correctly.
“In the three [armed robberies on city jewellers] in the last 24 months, there have been arrests in every case. We look like soft targets, but actually the security is unseen.”
Mr Laing hopes that his ancestors James Laing and his brother William would be proud of how the business has developed. The firm now employs 70 people, spanning its two stores on Frederick Street and units in Hampshire and Cardiff.
“One thing was absolutely clear – they adapted to the times,” he said. “In the 1930s we went retail and wholesale, and now we’re retailers and manufacturers. I think they would say, ‘that’s great, that little thing we started, up a stair in Glasgow, that became the business it is today’.”
Design is something the jeweller takes great pride in – with 102 unique pieces of jewellery having been created in-house within the last year, and the store is the exclusive Capital stockist of jewel and watch brands including Cartier and Breitling.
For the 175th anniversary, Mr Laing revealed the team was making an “exceptional piece”, but any further details are being kept strictly under wraps until later this year.
He said: “It will be a historical piece but a very today design. It’s going to be a fabulous six-figure piece.”
Mr Laing, a designer by trade, designed the baton for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986 and was among the baton bearers in the Capital during the Glasgow 2014 relay.
He said the experience was among his career highlights, which also include designing an iconic necklace for Sir Jackie Stewart’s wife Helen to mark the racing star’s retirement.
The former chairman of the Scottish Assay Office was also the brains behind the Silver of the Stars charity collection, a celebration of Scottish silversmithing which has since been exhibited around the world.
And in 2000, a charity concert he organised with Jose Carreras at the Usher Hall in aid of Leukaemia Research raised half a million pounds.
Despite many professional and personal achievements, the team is certainly not resting on its laurels – and Mr Laing admits that the 200th anniversary is “already in the mind’s eye”.
His grandchildren are very young – his first grandson was only born earlier this month – so only time will tell whether anyone from the seventh generation will take an interest in the business.
Mr Laing says that constant advances in technology make the idea of reaching the 200-year mark even more exciting.
He added: “What’s really exciting is having this paradox between being very long established and being very young thinkers. There’s no hint of complacency. We know that the only reason we’ve survived for 175 years is because we’ve adapted.”


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HCL Tech pips Wipro to be number 3 IT firm
Clocks fastest pace of revenue growth among top five in FY19
HCL Tech’s revenue grew 11.8 per cent to $8.63 billion in the just-concluded financial year as businesses from clients as well as from acquisitions increased. Wipro, which has been undergoing restructuring of underperforming businesses for several years, had reported revenue of $8.12 billion during the same period for its IT services business.
HCL Posts $364-m Profit in Q4
The Shiv Nadar-promoted HCL Tech said it expects revenues to grow 14-16 per cent in constant currency (CC) terms this financial year, which will help it touch the $10-billion revenue mark. Its organic business is expected to contribute 7-9 percentage points to revenue growth, while acquisitions — which include the software products it bought from IBM — may contribute about 7 percentage points.
For the fourth quarter, HCL Tech reported a profit of $364 million, up 10 basis points from the third quarter. Revenue grew 3.5 per cent to $2.28 billion. On CC terms, it grew 3.3 per cent.
“We see a lot of opportunities in the market. So, we continue to invest in our Mode 2 services — which is on digital growth, Internet of Things and cyber security,” HCL Technologies CEO C Vijayakumar told ET. “So, these investments and whatever we did in the past have helped us create a strong organic growth momentum.”
Brokerages were penciling in healthy sequential growth in revenues, but were also baking in a marginal fall in margins, ET reported on Wednesday.
“Revenue growth guidance for FY20 (14-16 per cent) is broadly in line with expectations,” said Kuldeep Koul, lead analyst, IT services, ICICI Securities, after the results announcement. “However, there is a disappointment as far as margins and profitability is concerned for both Q4FY19 and guidance.”
HCL Tech also forecast a lower operating margin of 18.5-19.5 per cent this year versus 19.5 per cent last year. “They have actually brought down their FY20 margin guidance by 100 basis points despite integration of IBM,” Koul said.
In December, HCL Tech said it would buy eight software products from IBM for $1.78 billion, making an aggressive foray into proprietary products. The deal, to be concluded this June, is the biggest till date by any Indian IT company.
The margin guidance indicates that the company faces numerous cost pressures including wage inflation on skills shortage and low availability of skilled talent in the United States, analysts said. “Thus, driving up onsite wage and delivery costs, possibly higher visa costs and consistent investments to be made in the business,” said Harit Shah, an analyst with Reliance Securities. The company is, however, on investment mode to capture more business, Vijayakumar said. “We want to continue our investment strategy to continue to deliver very strong organic growth as well as really become a very strong player on the digital transformation agenda…,” he said.
The comments over higher growth come at a time when rival Cognizant cut its 2019 revenue forecast on execution challenges and lower demand in its healthcare and banking business. Cognizant expects to grow 3.9-4.9 per cent in CC terms, down from its earlier forecast 7-9 per cent growth for the year.
HCL Tech won 17 deals in the fourth quarter, a mix of core and next generation services. These deals were led by verticals such as retail and consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, public services and financial services, it said. Total employee count stood at 137,965 at the end of March. The company added 5,637 people in the fourth quarter.
Apparao VV, the company’s chief human resources officer, said 67 per cent of its workforce was local. “We are not dependent on visas overly. We want to diversify our skill base geographically.” The company declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 per equity share for the year.
On Thursday, HCL’s shares closed at Rs 1,132.10 on BSE.


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GameStop's digital business continues to shine brightly for the specialty retailer. The company today reported sales and earnings for the second quarter ended July 28, revealing digital receipts surged 27 percent during the period to $134 million.
GameStop's "other" category (of which its digital business belongs), saw sales rise 40.6 percent during the quarter to $330.8 million. Mobile sales, composed of tablet and preowned iDevice products, came in at $29 million, and are on track to reach the company's forecast of $150-$200 million for the fiscal year.
As for its preowned business, GameStop said this sector outperformed its new product business, but decreased 11.2 percent to $562.2 million.
In all, GameStop's global sales for the period hit $1.55 billion, down 11.1 percent from the $1.74 billion tallied this time last year. The company attributed the downturn to a dearth of new game releases causing sales of new software and hardware to "decline sharply."
Profits for the period also fell, coming in at $21 million, a 32 percent decrease from the $30.9 million hauled during the same period last year.


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Android apps are no longer free downloads and if you’ve bought an Android phone, tablet, or PC you’ll be able to download and install them on your Android device in the near future.
Google has announced that they will be offering the latest versions of some of the most popular Android apps for free download.
These new apps will include Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Gmail, Viber, and more.
The new features will also come with Google Play Services, which will let you make your Android phone’s phone and tablet into an internet-connected smart home.
This means that you’ll have access to Google’s popular apps like Google Photos, Google Play Movies, Google Search, Google Calendar, and much more, including Google Voice, Gmail and Google Drive.
The features that Google is releasing to make these apps available to users for free are pretty impressive.
There are a number of other features that you won’t be able access in the new Google Play Store that Google hasn’t yet announced, but they’re going to be much better than what we have now.
For instance, Google Voice will be available in the Play Store and you’ll also be able add your own voice to these apps.
The most important part of these new features is that Google will be providing free versions of apps that aren’t available for purchase.
This isn’t the first time that Google has done this and we have seen it before.
When Google first announced the new Play Store feature, they didn’t provide any details about the new features that would let users download and upgrade their apps.
Instead, they simply said that these features were coming to the Play store and that people who bought an app on the Play site could download and try it out.
This is exactly what you’d expect from Google.
These apps will come with the Play Services API that lets you make them into a home-connected internet-enabled smart home and they’ll also include Google Play Music, Google Maps, Google Hangouts, Google Contacts, Google Drive, Google Talk, and Google Calendar.
You can also get your Android smartphone to connect to your Google Home and you can use Google Voice to make your phone and tablets into an integrated Google Assistant assistant.
It seems that Google doesn’t think that these apps are worth the download.
Android users who want to try out the new version of Facebook Messenger might want to wait a few weeks before they can download the new feature.
The Android 8 update will come out soon, and the new Android 8.1 update will also arrive in the coming weeks.


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“Many people - particularly younger workers - see skilled labor careers as menial and low-paying,” says Steve Lamb, marketing spokesperson for the Mechanical Contractors Association local affiliates and executive vice president of MCA Chicago. “We're working harder to promote apprenticeship programs, which have launched thousands of promising careers.”
The program includes a CD and a comic-book style informational guide featuring four every-day characters - Supervisor Woman, Service Tech Dude, Pipe Fitter Chick and Contractor Man - as they enter the pipefitting industry.
“The 'Tomorrow Team' comic book shows that there is science in a career in the piping industry, and it can be fun and very rewarding,” says Lamb.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average construction worker is 47 years old. A recent study by the Construction Industry Institute reports that the industry will need to attract 240,000 workers each year to replace those leaving the workforce or retiring - all while still allowing for industry growth.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Are you a fan of "Shark Tank"? Save the date for Wednesday, Nov. 14. That's when 10 local entrepreneurs who live or own businesses in the city of Cleveland will compete at JumpStart Inc.'s third annual Core City: Cleveland Pitch Competition, during Global Entrepreneurship Week.
All competitors will get four minutes to make their case for the chance to win $2,500.
The list includes the Prelude2Cinema media company.
"We will be pitching our new social network 'BlockCityP2C," says founder Alex Michaels. "Our network will use Blockchain technology to verify all users are real people and create a home online for conversations and a sales portal for artists and start up businesses" A
All competitors have been chosen. Register here to attend to watch: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/watch-our-2018-core-city-cleveland-pitch-competition-tickets-50177695839?aff=CoreCityPage
The free event will be held at 5:30 p.m. at JumpStart Inc., 6701 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland.


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August 24, 2021
Catch of the Day
Carnegie Mellon alumna is reinventing seafood — one shrimp at a time
By Kristy Locklin
Michelle Wolf didn’t grow up anywhere near a coast, but seafood — or, more specifically, a plant-based shrimp substitute — is her life.
The Pittsburgh native, a 2014 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering with a degree in materials science and engineering, is co-founder of New Wave Foods.
Based in San Francisco, the startup is making big waves in the market — and the $9 billion-dollar shrimping industry. The vegan, kosher and environmentally friendly shrimp alternative the company produces is being used by foodservice companies throughout the country.
While the ocean seems like a never-ending seafood buffet, that is not the case, Michelle says. Because shrimp is a popular menu item — Americans consume 1.4 billion pounds annually — there are many unsavory practices that value money over mangroves and high volume over human rights.
Ninety percent of U.S. shrimp is imported, primarily from Southeast Asia, where areas of tropical vegetation that stabilize shorelines are being removed and replaced with shrimp farms. These facilities are treated with antibiotics and pesticides, during the five years they are operational, before the entire process starts again further down the coast.
“We want to empower people to make better choices that can ultimately impact our broader environment and human health,” Michelle says.
New Wave Shrimp is made from sustainably ocean-farmed seaweed and mung beans, a clean source of plant protein. It has the taste and texture (the hardest component to perfect) of the small, ocean dwellers, providing a tasty alternative that’s devoid of shellfish or soy allergens.
For five years, the company worked with The Culinary Institute of America and Certified Master Chef Brad Barnes to come up with a recipe that would provide the same initial snap as ocean shrimp when you bite into it. They discovered that mung beans and sunflower oil provide the suitable mouthfeel. It has a shelf life similar to ocean shrimp; a year frozen and five days once thawed.
“We want to empower people to make better choices that can ultimately impact our broader environment and human health.”
In April, New Wave began national distribution of its shrimp through Dot Foods, a North American foodservice industry redistributor. Seventy percent of seafood is eaten outside of the home — people are nervous about cooking it correctly and the smell can be off-putting — but New Wave is looking into making retail bags of alternative shrimp available to the public.
Michelle and her team also are working on a breaded shrimp, lobster and scallop varieties as well as shrimp dumplings and burgers.
By diving head-first into food engineering at CMU, Michelle was following in her father’s footsteps. He was a lab supervisor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and she has fond memories of going to work with him.
“I knew I wanted to go Carnegie Mellon because I loved the people I was meeting,” she remembers.
She started out on the pre-med track, but changed course and set sail for a career in biomaterials in the hopes of creating a products that could be better for human health and the environment.
“Shrimp farming is the poster child for issues in our seafood industry,” Michelle says. “I was a shrimp eater before. Then I learned this information, and now it’s not so appetizing.”
Michelle is working to change that.


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Microsoft has been having quite a time picking brand names that stand up to trademark suits. We all remember the issue over the term "Metro" for the new universal interface across Windows 8, Windows Phone and Xbox. Previously all of the interface concepts were referred to as Metro, until Metro AG, the world's 5th largest retailer, contacted them and demanded they pick a new name. unfortunately they have had no luck accomplishing that, having used the terms Modern UI and now simply Windows Store style.
This week, Microsoft has lost another brand name to not being legally prepared, this time one that matters: SkyDrive. For those who do not know, SkyDrive is a cloud storage solution from Microsoft that is heavily integrated into their current product offerings, with even closer integration in upcoming products. Windows 8.1, codenamed Blue, is set to have SkyDrive as its default storage location. Windows Phone automatically uploads photos to the service's Photos section. Xbox One will allow cloud storage of games and save data to SkyDrive as well.
All of that is almost correct, as Microsoft will now have to change the name of the service from SkyDrive. A trademark suit with BSkyB, or British Sky Broadcasting, was lost, with Microsoft having to let go of the brand which infringed on the 'Sky' mark. The mark in question is for a former cloud storage service, Sky Store & Share, which BSkyB shuttered in 2011, when they initially filed the trademark suit.
Luckily for Microsoft, BSkyB has allowed Microsoft a reasonable period of time to transition off of the mark. If Microsoft is unable to make a deal out of court for a licensing program for the name, which they have not mentioned being interested in, this loss will cost Microsoft dearly.
As Microsoft has been marketing SkyDrive as the center of a technological wheel that includes all of Microsoft's technologies, like Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox, Internet Explorer, Outlook and Office, there will be a tremendous amount of branding changes to be done. All of these applications and platforms will need to have logos, marketing material and naming updated to reflect whatever the new name of the service is.
In addition, there will be a lot of development cost involved. All of these apps will have new API endpoints that will need to be developed and implemented. All existing SkyDrive shares will need to be rerouted to the new domain. Plus, there are non-Microsoft apps that rely on SkyDrive heavily that will also need to be rewritten at the cost of developers unrelated to Microsoft.
This last issue is the one that might cost Microsoft the most. At a time when Microsoft is trying to court new development on its platforms, costing those developers money because of a bad decision on Microsoft's part will not help in winning hearts and minds.
Luckily, SkyDrive as a brand name is still relatively unknown. Unless you use Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8, you might have never interacted with the brand at all. If this was going to happen, this would be the time to have it happen. Hopefully, whatever the new brand name is, it will not have the same over-reaching, bland descriptive branding that Microsoft has been known for.
Could DirecTV and the NFL's happy relationship finally come to a disastrous end? It can if the two don't come to an agreement on the price that it will cost DirecTV for NFL Sunday Ticket.
During the earnings conference call for the second quarter, DirecTV CEO Michael White spoke about the current negotiations with the NFL. Their contract with the league ends after the 2014 season, so the satellite company still has a small amount of time left.
We're always in a dialogue with the NFL about how things are going and how we can continue to improve and build the franchise, and we've had those discussions as well this year. We continue to have very constructive discussions with the NFL. I continue to be optimistic that we're great partners together and that Sunday Ticket will stay with us for the long haul.
It's all about the price that the NFL would like to increase the deal to. As it stands, DirecTV shells out just over $1 billion for the Sunday Ticket package each year, giving them exclusive rights over the subscription, not counting the Web access. That's quite a lot of money, but it secures DirecTV as the only provider of this content. The company's CFO Patrick Doyle seems to agree with his statements back in March that DirecTV won't pay an exponentially higher price for the package.
For us, there's a point where we're certainly willing to renew and at some increase that's reasonable, that we can absorb and continue to pass on to the customer. I think, obviously, if it goes above that, we would certainly either think about not carrying it or go nonexclusive.
DirecTV has had exclusive access to broadcast Sunday Ticket since its inception back in 1994. However the NFL is putting pressure on upping the price of its media deals across the board. CBS, NBC, FOX and ESPN, altogether, have averaged a price increase of just over 75 percent for their renegotiated contracts, so if you carry that over to DirecTV, that send the current $1 billion price tag to $1.75 billion. Is that a hike that the satellite company would be willing to pay? If not, I'm sure any cable company would be quick to swoop in and try to work out a short-term deal immediately. However, with the amount of added incentives that DirecTV offers, like watching on your tablet, computer and even adding your fantasy football team into the Sunday Ticket interface itself, I think it would take a lot more work than what it's worth for cable providers, especially considering some of them balked for years at even introducing the NFL RedZone channel. It's also possible that DirecTV would consider signing a non-exclusive deal if it meant a sharp discount in price.
In contrast, Aereo is currently
expanding their reach. By only having to pay $8 a month with no contract commitment, if Aereo is in your favorite team's market, that's a far better price to pay for five months than the $300 sticker shock that is Sunday Ticket - or having to sign a one- or two-year agreement with DirecTV.
Could Aereo be damaging DirecTV's value of Sunday Ticket to the point where they could no longer justify paying the price tag? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
It's a brand new week here in Cyberland, which means it's time for another company to be acquired by Yahoo. In what seems to be the
ongoing trend as of late, Yahoo has been snatching up startups left and right, all while revamping their own projects, closing non-profitable ones and spending billions on established brands. Last week, it was Admovate and this week, it's Rockmelt, the startup social browser.
On their blog, Rockmelt posted:
We're excited to tell you that Rockmelt has been acquired by Yahoo!. Yahoo! and Rockmelt share a common goal: To help people discover the best content from around the web. In our short four and a half years at Rockmelt, we've learned a lot about how you like to browse the web, discover content, and share the great stuff you've found. You've been right by our sides as we've celebrated successes, endured failures, and invented new ways of doing things. You've taught us a ton. And we plan to put everything we've learned to work at Yahoo!.... Your kept items will be exported as bookmarks and the feeds you follow as an OPML file. The Rockmelt apps and web product will be shutdown on August 31, 2013.
Founded in 2009, the company was able to gain almost $40 million in investment funds from different companies around the country. The shutdown of Rockmelt's app and products are to be expected, as Yahoo has been doing that with nearly every other company they've brought into their portfolio over the past year.
It should also be pointed out that this wasn't Yahoo's only pick-up this week, either. The web giant purchased
Lexity, an e-commerce business, but the terms of that deal were not disclosed. For Rockmelt, AllThingsD is reporting that Yahoo almost doubled the social browser's investment money, with a check in the ballpark of $60-$70 million.
Will Yahoo keep up this trend of buying up groups that will hopefully boost their relevancy moving forward? Or will they eventually run out of companies to buy and/or cash to spend?
Ever since the announcement of
NVIDIA's SHIELD at the International CES, gamers have anticipated putting their hands on the device and playing on-the-go in a new way. Unfortunately, five weeks ago NVIDIA said there was mechanical issues that prevented the launch of the product last month. Regardless of the actual reasons behind the delay, the good news is that the SHIELD is now available.
At the $299 price point, the NVIDIA SHIELD hit shelves this week at GameStop, Micro Center and Canada Computers and is also available through Newegg and NVIDIA's websites and is the company's first attempt at a gaming device. Slightly reminiscent of Sony's PSP, here's what NVIDIA says makes their handheld stand out in the crowd:
Take on the latest console-quality Android games with true HD 720p graphics, booming stereo sound, and the precise, familiar performance of a console-grade game controller. And stream your PC games over Wi-Fi to play anywhere in the house. With always-on access to Google Play and NVIDIA TegraZone libraries, SHIELD is great gaming, where and when you want it. Google Play is music, books, magazines, movies, TV shows, and apps, available anywhere you go.
SHIELD puts a complete multimedia theater in the palm of your hands. Get lost in the hottest movies, your favorite music, or the latest e-book with a stunning 5" retinal-quality multi-touch display and custom tuned bass reflex audio. Watch Hulu. Surf the web. Check email. Even update your Facebook status. SHIELD makes it easy to stay connected to everything you love.
What kills is for me, sadly, is the fact that it's all about Android, just like the rest of the mobile gaming startups we're seeing as of late. Considering that, it really doesn't appeal to anyone with a higher-end tablet that one might already own. Also, the SHIELD has had mostly positive reviews from several different types of users and sites, but many have said there's no real reason to switch from a Vita or 3DS, should a consumer already have one of those as well.
Did you already pick up your SHIELD? Do you have any reservations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Sony's pursuit to push the envelope of disc capacity has not stopped at just the Blu-ray disc, and this doesn't include the Sony store mailing you CDs in five to seven business days. Sony and Panasonic have joined forces to work on designing the next level of optical disc, which could hold, at minimum, 300GB of data. Even with streaming becoming a popular commodity in this age, many people still use high-capacity discs to archive their favorite moments, documents and other important materials. Along with that, several areas in this country, and other countries as a whole, have capped or limited bandwidth and speeds, which could hamper a user's streaming experience.
In their press release this week, the two companies said they look forward to launching this no later than holiday season of 2015.
Optical discs have excellent properties to protect them against the environment, such as dust-resistance and water-resistance, and can also withstand changes in temperature and humidity when stored. They also allow inter-generational compatibility between different formats, ensuring that data can continue to be read even as formats evolve. This makes them a robust medium for long-term storage of content. Both companies have previously developed products based on the Blu-ray Disk format, leveraging the strengths of optical discs. However, both Sony and Panasonic recognized that optical discs will need to accommodate much larger volumes of storage in years to come given the expected future growth in the archive market, and responded by formulating this agreement.
Interestingly, the two companies have done separate work on developing future disc tech. Panasonic has recently created a system which can read many 100GB optical discs all at once and Sony has already changed the quality of home movies with the introduction of their Blu-ray disc and player several years ago.
Sony and Panasonic both cited that this next solution may not necessarily be for consumers, but rather for businesses and professionals. Video production companies and data centers could benefit from larger disc capacities, as transferring insanely large amounts of data over the Internet may not always be a viable option.
Several things have happened recently with Zynga. First, the company has undergone a massive restructuring, including several rounds of
layoffs and full-on studio closures by the foresight of COO David Ko. Then, the once-reigning social gaming champion was dethroned by new gaming mogul, King. And just last week, Don Mattrick left Microsoft to take over as CEO of Zynga, in hopes to change things around for the better. Many wondered what and how Mattrick would return Zynga back to its glory and the good news is that, this week, the Don laid out his 90-day plan in a statement and in an interview.
Mattrick has really come to the company to take charge, and here's how he says he will do it:
So here's what I'm focused on in the next 90 days. (I want to get) under the hood to evaluate every aspect of our business; conduct top-to-bottom business reviews and work with our leaders to calibrate against the market opportunity and to go after it with a real sense of urgency.
Obviously a lot of that needs some clarification as to what exactly it means. Mattrick continued,
I'll spend time heads-down with our team and focus on improving our product quality; how we're deploying people at all levels of the company, and I'm also going to use the next 90 days to assess and reset our product pipeline. Zynga's still a young company, and we have the capability to break some bad habits and get back to some good fundamentals. And while my approach in the first few weeks is to listen and learn, when it becomes clear what change is necessary, I'll move quickly and decisively to do what's in the best long-term interests of our players, employees, and our shareholders.
In his 90-day plan, Mattrick also decided that Zynga will no longer be involved with online gambling here in the US. And, even though investors have spoken with their dollars, causing Zynga to fall 14 percent in the stock market, the former Microsoft exec remained true to his quick-and-decisive mantra. He added that online gambling would not allow Zynga games to be social and accessible to everyone, and with $1.5 billion in cash and investments, Mattrick said he will be using the funds to bring Zynga back up to the 6 million paying monthly users it had just over a year ago. Currently the company only has 2 million of that type of customer, certainly a sharp downturn in just four quarters. Active users are also down to 187 million, compared to the 306 million that Zynga had playing their games last year, and the 253 million that were playing just a quarter ago.
Can Mattrick be the one to save the company? Depending on how responsible he was for the Microsoft PR debacle, I'm not sure. As time progresses, more signs point to Ballmer being the man behind not allowing the public relations team to speak to the press and fans as to the reasoning behind the decisions of the new Xbox One, so perhaps Mattrick has simply waiting for an opportunity to take his own reigns and shine. If anyone can bring Zynga back from the brink of a potential disaster, it probably is going to be Don.


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WeWork to go IPO in September [Techcrunch]
Co-working space unicorn WeWork speeds up its plans to go public as it is expected to unveil is S-1 filing next month just ahead of a September initial public offering.
Earlier this year, the company that goes by the name The We Company is already valued at
US$47 billion. According to Techcrunch, the company is now in the process of meeting with Wall Street banks to secure an asset-backed loan upwards of US$6 billion in what could be an effort to downsize its upcoming stock offering.
WeWork has raised a total of US$8.4 billion in a combination of debt and equity funding since it was founded in 2011. Its IPO is poised to become the second-largest offering of the year.
Following rebranding, Gojek adds Garibaldi Thohir as commissioner [DealStreetAsia]
After announcing rebranding two days ago, Gojek announced the appointment of energy sector tycoon Garibaldi Thohir as its commissioner. Garibaldi Thohir is the president director of coal mining giant Adaro Energy.
Garibaldi Thohir acquired Adaro with a consortium of Indonesian businessmen in 2015 from Australia’s company New Hope. He occupied the 16th position on Forbes Indonesia rich list in 2018.
He established a motorcycle financing company Wahana Ottomitra Multiartha (WOM Finance) in 1997 and also owns a stake in Hutchison 3 Indonesia, a telecom services company.
He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1988 and received an MBA from Northrop University, California, in 1989. Garibaldi Thohir recently invested an undisclosed sum for a majority stake in Muslim app Umma, founded by Northstar Group’s Indra Wiralaksmana.
India-based employee benefits startup Zeta raises Series C investment valued at US$300M [Press Release]
Zeta, cloud-based credit, debit, and prepaid products issuance platform for the employee benefits based in India, announced that it has raised a Series C funding from Sodexo Benefits and Rewards (BRS), at a valuation of US$300 million.
Zeta said that it will use the fund to expand its cloud banking platform and digital payments solutions in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Zeta was established in 2015, and currently has products such as a full-stack cloud-native neo-banking platform for issuance of credit, debit and prepaid products that enable legacy banks and new-age fintech institutions to launch retail and corporate fintech products, as well as an enterprise solution for corporates such as automated cafeteria, employee gifting, & R&R.
Until now, Zeta has been funded by co-founders Bhavin Turakhia and Ramki Gaddipati. With this investment Sodexo will have a minority stake in the company.
Indonesian salestech Pomona completes US$3M funding from Vynn Capital [e27]
Pomona, an Indonesia-based omnichannel marketing and sales-tech startup, announced the completion of US$3 million in “Series A-2” funding round led by Vynn Capital. Joining the round are Ventech China and Amand Ventures, as well as existing investors Stellar Kapital and Central Capital Ventura.
Pomona said that it will use the funding to introduce new services, accelerate product development, and hire new staff. New products will include tools for companies to improve supplier and retailer relationship management and improve business transparency.
Pomona was co-founded in May 2016 by Benz Budiman (CEO) and Ari Suwendi (CTO) with a focus on providing digital marketing and sales services for global consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. Pomona leverages consumer cashback options to facilitate brand-consumer engagement and promote sales conversion. The approach allows customers to receive money back on qualified and promotional goods by uploading a proof of purchase photo into its app.


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Koita, the home-grown company has announced the expansion of its product range with the launch of a new colour-free strawberry milk. Packed full of nutrients, the strawberry milk contains all of the flavour without any of the harmful food colouring. Despite embarking on a worldwide search that began in 2013, Koita has been unable to find a cow that
Adding to their product range, Koita has launched a new line of hormone free Italian cooking creams in the region. The local brand, which is known for its fresh quality and taste, has launched a new range of cooking creams, free from preservatives and made from hormone-free Italian cow’s milk. The cream contains 23% fat
Mustafa Koita established Koita in 2013 with the objective of bringing premium and organic food products to consumers in the Middle East. This year marks Koita’s third appearance at Gulfood and the company looks forward to showcasing its three ranges of Koita Milk including organic, lactose-free and non-GMO soy varieties. Why are you attending Gulfood
Since launching in its domestic market back in May 2015, Koita is now distributing its premium organic milk beyond the UAE to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
For decades we have been told of the virtues of milk in human growth and development, but with increasing allergies and health awareness, a pint of the white stuff comes in a myriad of different forms, as Catering News ME discovered in a recent study of the dairy marketplace


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A postcode lottery in energy prices means that consumers in some parts of the UK pay almost 30 per cent more than those in others, research showed today.
People in Yorkshire and Humberside pay 28 per cent more for gas and electricity than consumers in the south-east of England, according to price comparison website Fairinvestment.co.uk.
The discrepancies can lead to some consumers paying £300 extra a year.
The average monthly spend on energy bills is as high as £1,416 per couple in Yorkshire and Humberside, but as low as £1,104 in the south-east.
John Corboy of Fairinvestment said: “It seems unfair that the same product should cost more or less depending on your postcode, especially when prices are already shooting up.”
“It is surprising that…


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According to UDN, Samsung hopes to use the opportunity of 3nm GAA chip shipments to increase 4nm production capacity and restore lost customers. The amount of this investment is 5 trillion won (about 3.766 billion US dollars / 25.858 billion yuan), trying to grab orders from Qualcomm and other manufacturers from TSMC.
Samsung aims to increase its wafer production to 20,000 wafers per month by the fourth quarter of this year, which has already caused considerable losses due to yield issues, such as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen1 and the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen2. They all insist on using TSMC’s process. It is rumored that Samsung intends to offer more favorable prices to snatch future orders and increase market share, but given the past experience of Gaotong and the positive results after switching to TSMC, such an approach may not be effective.
Google seems to be still sticking to Samsung’s side, and the next-generation Tensor SoC will use Samsung’s 4nm process. However, Google’s order scale is significantly smaller than that of Qualcomm, so it can’t bring much advantage to Samsung. Some research institutes said that Samsung’s advanced process production capacity is seriously behind TSMC, only one-fifth of the other party’s. Although Samsung has announced large-scale investment plans to catch up with TSMC in terms of technology and production capacity, it will still be out of reach for at least the next few years.


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Which countries have already moved fast to negotiate FTAs with Asean?
The US and China have been already moved fast to negotiate FTAs with ASEAN. These countries have negotiated fast because of a common market and production base.
Which countries have FTA with Asean?
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a comprehensive free trade agreement being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN Member States and ASEAN’s free trade agreement (FTA) partners viz. Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.
Which countries have the most trade agreements?
After its exit from the EU, the UK still has 35 trade agreements to its name, the highest after the EU countries. Next up were Iceland and Switzerland with 32 agreements, Norway with 31 and Liechtenstein and Chile with 30 trade deals.
Which countries have ratified Rcep?
On March 22, 2021, China approved the ratification of the RCEP agreement. On April 9, 2021, Singapore ratified the RCEP agreement and deposited its instrument of ratification with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, making it the first RCEP participating country to complete the official ratification process.
What five countries are a part of Rcep and are not in Asean?
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP /ˈɑːrsɛp/ AR-sep) is a free trade agreement between the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
What are the alternative Centres of power?
ASEAN was established in 1967 by five countries of this region — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand — by signing the Bangkok Declaration. The objectives of ASEAN were primarily to accelerate economic growth and through that ‘social progress and cultural development’.
When did India leave Asean?
and the final agreement was on 13 August 2009. The free trade area came into effect on 1 January 2010. India hosted the latest ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi on 26 January 2018. In the financial year 2017–18, Indo-ASEAN bilateral trade grew by almost 14% to reach US$81.3 billion.
What is Asean +6?
For the “ASEAN + 6” is a grouping of 16 countries comprising the 10 ASEAN member countries are Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
When did India join Asean?
India became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992. Mutual interest led ASEAN to invite India to become its full dialogue partner during the fifth ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in 1995. India also became a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1996.
What country has the most free trade?
What country has the most trade?
Year-to-Date Total Trade
|—||Total, All Countries||1,786.1|
|—||Total, Top 15 Countries||1,344.5|
Which country has free trade?
Iceland, China-Iceland Free Trade Agreement (2014) Switzerland, China-Switzerland free trade agreement (2014) Australia, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (2015) South Korea, China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (2015)
Why is Rcep not good for India?
The economic reasons listed, the single largest reason for India’s reluctance to join the RCEP was China. … India feared the agreement would become a free trade deal with China through the back door, even through other countries, which is one of the reasons New Delhi is currently reviewing a number of FTAs in the region.
Is Australia part of Rcep?
five RCEP countries (Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea) are members of the Group of 20 (G20), the international forum for global economic cooperation among the world’s 20 largest economies.
Why did India pull out of Rcep?
According to a TOI report, India pulled out of the China-backed trade agreement as negotiations failed to address its core concerns. These were threats of circumvention of rules of origin due to tariff differential, inclusion of fair agreement to address the issues of trade deficits and opening of services.


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The right to stream
That is the idea raised by Alex Hutchinson, the creative director of SG&E Montreal Studio (one of the Google Stadia studios), who through a tweet showed his astonishment to discover that many streamers were really offended when their uploaded videos are canceled for musical copyright rights.
The real truth is the streamers should be paying the developers and publishers of the games they stream. They should be buying a license like any real business and paying for the content they use.
– Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) October 22, 2020
Hutchinson assured that streamers should open their eyes, since, according to him, these contents generate income using materials for which they have not paid for them. In short, they protest when they use music without rights, but they still make money making video games for what they have not paid for it. Do you agree?
As expected, the gaming community was quick to jump on top of the creative, ensuring they would have all the right in the world to do what they wanted with a game that they had previously paid for, so it would not make any sense to have to pay this strange rate proposed by Hutchinson.
Idk maybe you’re getting flak because you’re picking this particular battle in a world where C-suite executives make $ 30m / year and devs don’t get royalties so they’d never see any of that streaming money in the first place
– Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 22, 2020
As if that were not enough, some important figures in the industry, such as journalist Jason Schreier, responded with a simple approach, and it is that if that rate were applied, precisely the developers that Hutchinson defends would not see any penny, so that everything would fall back where it always has: to those who earn the most.
Not good publicity for Stadia
The launch of Stadia ended up being pretty decaf. Google’s proposal has not finished convincing the public, and not because of its performance, but rather because of the approach. Paying for each game that we want to play remotely in addition to having to pay a monthly fee to access the service is not a particularly tempting offer having such comprehensive proposals as Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Now, so these types of statements do a disservice service.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Google has wanted to step aside and separate from these statements, since through a statement sent to 9to5Google, the company assures that the opinions of the creative director do not represent the ideals of the company or its affiliates YouTube or Google Stadia.
Obligatory payment goes wrong
This idea of paying to stream is not inevitably reminiscent of the tax applied in UK for linking news from information media to Google News. This caused the closure of the service in UK, since it was a completely harmful measure, not only for the service, but also for the user.
Taking this fact into account, applying a rate to streams would be a measure of the same type, and would affect the freedom of published content, which is basically the success of the freshness and originality that characterize this type of content.


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Study finds being OUTDOORS helps you live longer
Long life expectancy can be achieved through some simple lifestyle changes - regular exercising, limiting alcohol intake, not smoking and eating a healthy diet. But with so many different diet plans to follow, which one is deemed the best? According to medical consultant Dr Sarah Brewer and dietician Juliette Kellow, following a vegan or vegetarian diet could be most beneficial. In their book titled ‘Eat Better Live Longer’ the pair write: “Look at the communities in the world with the longest life expectancies and one of the key things they share is a mainly plant-based diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables.
Look at the communities in the world with the longest life expectancies and one of the key things they share is a mainly plant-based diet
“Skewing your diet towards plants seems to protect against many age-related conditions, including heart disease, cancer, obesity and type 2 diabetes.”
A number of studies have shown diet based mainly on plants are linked to a reduction in mortality - particularly cardiovascular disease.
The duo continue: “You don’t need to be 100 per cent vegetarian to benefit: a 2015 study found that diets comprising 70 per cent plant-based foods cut the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20 per cent, so the priority is to obtain most nutrients from plants.”
Experts agree the health benefits of plant-based diets are twofold.
Dr Brewer and Ms Kellow advise: “First, by eating more plant foods we ‘crowd out’ animal foods and reduce our intake of the nutrients they contain that are linked to poorer health.
“Second, most plant-based foods come with in-built beneficial nutrients, many of which are unique to plants.”
But for those who can’t quite make the leap to veganism or vegetarianism, other diets around the world have also been hailed for boosting life expectancy.
The Mediterranean diet has been hailed in recent years for contributing to better health and quality of life.
Dr Brewer and Ms Kellow say: “Many of the countries bordering the Mediterranean boast long life expectancies.
“Sardinia and the Greek island of Ikaria are known for exceptional longevity, with a high proportion of adults living to 90 or more.
“Here, traditional diets feature lots of ‘good’ fats, fish, whole grains, pulses, and fresh fruit and veg.”
People in the Mediterranean eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils and chickpeas, oily fish and shellfish, nuts, olive oil, and herbs and garlic.
They tend to limit red meat, butter and processed foods and foods high in fat and sugar.
Red wine, eggs and dairy are important, but are limited to small amounts.
Studies have shown a 53 per cent drop in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in those who follow a Mediterranean diet.


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A delegation of 27 Taiwanese food companies has drawn the interests of over 760 buyers and found almost US$12 million in business at the SIAL 2016 international food exhibition in Paris held from the 16th to the 20th of October.
The Taiwan delegation was organized by The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). The 27 delegation members exhibited their latest offers at the Taiwan pavilion, which was also organized by TAITRA.
The highlights of the pavilion included fish and squid products, frozen edamame, dried fruit and vegetable chips, fish floss, and Taiwan teas, as well as the innovative "cell competency" freezing technology for preserving the fresh tastes of fruits and vegetables.
With the rising popularity of Asian cuisine in Europe, the pavilion's diverse showcase drew large numbers of interested buyers from the UK, Poland, Russia, Spain, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Italy as well as Israel, Brazil, the US, Korea, and Japan.
Taiwan's representative office in Paris, the Bureau de Représentation de Taipei en France, also joined SIAL this year. The office held a welcoming reception at the Taiwan pavilion on the second day of the show and draw eager fans of Taiwan's tropical fruit flavored beers. The beverages became an instant hit among the pavilion's visitors.
The SIAL show is Europe’s largest food and beverage trade show and one of the world's top 3 food expos. This year the show was joined by 7,000 companies from 104 countries.


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While many are rejoicing over Pantone’s pick of Radiant Orchid as the color of the year, those of us in the beauty interested are much more keen to learn what the experts are predicting for the “it” hair color of 2014. Luckily for us, lead colorist at the Oscar Blandi Salon, Kyle White has been able to shed some light on what we should be expecting in the coming months.
In White’s expert opinion, he’s predicting 2014’s hot hair color trend to be platinum blonde. We’ve seen this trend take form on some of today’s biggest celebrities, such as Miley Cyrus and Elle Fanning, and have even seen stars like Kim Kardashian forgo her signature dark locks for a lighter look this year. According to White, this is a recurring pattern; we see it in on the runway first, them on the celebs and then as it catches the attention of editors and stories start to be written about it – well then you’ve got yourself a full blown trend.
Aside from the platinum look, White is also predicting that we will be seeing a domination of monochromatic color. Instead of in-between shades and different shades that end up washing us out, we’re going to see strong power colors that demand attention. What’s even more, although we won’t be seeing the end of the beloved ombre trend for good just quite yet, we will be seeing a slight shift. Instead of hard lines and defined light tones all over, we’ll be seeing more subtle gradations of color. Think depth at the roots and lighter tips.
So what do you think about Kyle White’s predictions? Let us know or simply make an appointment with Stylistics Inc. today and make a resolution to own the platinum trend this year!


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Fry’s has consummated its on-again, off-again marriage with CE e-tailer Outpost.com.
Following the $8 million cash-for-stock merger, Outpost.com (formerly Cyberian Outpost) became a wholly owned subsidiary of the closely held 19-store specialty chain and is no longer publicly traded.
The move gives Fry’s its first e-commerce platform, as well as Outpost’s database of some 1.5 million customers.
As part of the merger agreement, Fry’s will also provide Outpost with $13 million in loans. The funds will be used to extricate the e-tailer from an existing buyout agreement with PC Connection, from which it received two lines of credit worth as much as $8 million, and to pay off Cyberian’s secured debt and provide funds for working capital.
Darryl Peck, Outpost.com’s founder, president and CEO, stated, “Fry’s acquisition of Outpost.com proved to be our best opportunity to enhance stockholder value. Outpost.com’s employees and management are excited to join the Fry’s family and extend to the Internet Fry’s philosophy of being the one-stop supplier to the hi-tech professional.”
Privately held Fry’s initially agreed to buy Outpost in July for some $22 million in an effort to establish an e-commerce presence, after taking a 10-percent stake in the company in May. Outpost had already agreed to a stock-for-stock merger with PC Connection, a direct marketer of computer systems and peripherals, that was valued at about $25 million and set to close during the third quarter.
By August, Fry’s did an about-face by withdrawing its bid for Outpost and agreeing to purchase Egghead, following its bankruptcy filing. Meanwhile, PC Connection was believed to have soured on its own acquisition plans for Outpost due to a stipulation of its own that the e-tailer’s net worth be no less than $14 million at the time of closing.
Fry’s was founded in 1985 by brothers John, Randy and Dave Fry. Envisioning their business as a “one-stop shopping environment for high-tech professionals,” they built the operation from a single 20,000-square-foot location to a 19-unit chain with stores in Arizona, California, Oregon and Texas that range from 50,000 to 180,000 square feet and carry 50,000 SKUs. Annual revenue was about $1.1 billion last year, according to TWICE estimates.
It is unclear how the purchase will impact Outpost’s online joint venture with Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, which sells high-end CE through a branded department at www.outpost.com.
- 2019 TWICE Top 100: Watch List - May 23, 2019
- 2019 TWICE Top 100: Consumer-Direct Sales Dominate The Charts - May 22, 2019
- 2019 TWICE Top 100: Best Buy Keeps The CE Crown, But Barely - May 21, 2019


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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many manufacturers planned for a downturn and reduced demand, with semiconductor factories scaling down in anticipation of a larger-than-realized recession. Earlier this year, there were some signs that the shortage would begin to subside this year, but the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine threatens to exacerbate the issue, according to Gartner.
In 2020, the economy recovered more quickly than anyone anticipated, with workers and consumers continuing to purchase tech to help them work remotely and entertain themselves while at home. Coupled with a faster recovery in the automotive sector where chips are critical, semiconductors for electronics became hard to find. This shortage is impacting a wide range of products, including automotive, computers, displays, smartphones, gaming consoles and many other electronics.
The shortage is ongoing despite planned capacity improvements and new factories, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may wreak further havoc on the semiconductor market, the research firm says in a new report.
According to Gartner, both Russia and Ukraine countries are major producers of material needed to make semiconductors. Ukraine is a large source of inert gasses such as neon which is required for the semiconductor lithography process. Meanwhile, Russia is a large producer of metals, including aluminum, nickel and copper, which are commonly used in all types of electronic equipment.
As countries throw trade sanctions and prohibit trade between certain entities, the result could mean an even larger shortage of raw materials, panic buying or depletion of inventories, and more sanctions or disrupted demand that result in imbalances to supply chains that spill over into planning and capacity management, according to Gartner.
The biggest risk is whether a new wave of panic buying of semiconductors and other technology sets in due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to Gartner.
“It was one of the major reasons for the onset of the ongoing semiconductor shortage, as it overstretched and deteriorated the supply chain further, without bringing any advantages to buyers,” writes Gaurav Gupta, vice president analyst at Gartner.
Devices already in short supply — power management integrated circuits, enterprise-based networking chips, field-programmable gate arrays — would primarily cause business disruptions to the automotive and communication industries, Gupta writes.
Gartner gives organizations three pieces of advice:
- Assess direct inventory levels of impacted materials and diversify supply chain sources outside of the region of conflict. Seek out alternative materials.
- Enhance the visibility of the supply chain, focusing first on teir-1 suppliers. Include distributors, manufacturers and lower tiers, such as wafer supplies.
- Continue to track and comply with sanctions imposed on Russia and allies.
For integrators, this means that certain devices may continue to be in short supply, so communicate early and often with suppliers when you need new technologies.
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Respawn Developing New Single-Player Adventure Set in a Unique Universe - NewsWilliam D'Angelo , posted on 23 July 2021 / 1,271 Views
Respawn Entertainment creative director Mohammad Alavi via Twitter revealed the developer is working on a new single-player adventure. The team working on the game is currently small.
"We're developing a brand new singleplayer adventure from Respawn Entertainment," said Alavi. "We're a small, but ambitious team with a history of dreaming big and making splashes."
Respawn is known for developing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Apex Legends, and Titanfall. They are currently hiring for a lead technical designer, senior technical game designer, senior combat designer, and senior level designer.
"This new singleplayer title is a designer’s dream playground with a freedom to innovate made possible by the unique universe it inhabits," reads the descriptions to the job listings. "Our critically acclaimed, multi-platform games have always established a 'fun comes first' sensibility in a design process that allows creativity and new ideas to shine."
Respawn confirmed earlier this year it was working on a brand-new IP, alongside a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its continued work on the battle royale game, Apex Legends.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at email@example.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.


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Movable Ink, the leading content personalization provider, today unveiled its second annual research report: Audience of One: Getting Personalization Right. As privacy becomes a top priority for both brands and consumers, the report explores how marketers are striving towards more effective data collection, while consumers demand more transparency in return. The survey, which polled 3,000 consumers from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Ireland, identifies trends across key demographics from the consumer perspective, including the types of information consumers will share for a more tailored customer experience.
Movable Ink’s Audience of One report examines what consumers value in marketing communications and the information that’s most useful in their purchasing journey. With three in five consumers sharing that they’re more likely to buy a brand’s products when they’ve created a personalized experience in their communications, the need for personalization is critical to driving long-term customer value.
Key findings from the report include:
- Over two-thirds (68%) of consumers say they are likely to be a loyal customer and purchase more of a brand’s products if they’re engaging and building personal relationships with them
- Over half of consumers are comfortable giving personal information to brands in exchange for a more personalized experience – including consumers’ location as nearly half (44%) of them reported
- Over half (51%) of U.S. consumers reported they would be more likely to trust the brand that sent them personalized communications, which is an increase of 6% from 2021
- 20% of consumers say a lack of transparency around how brands use data is a top concern. Brands must demonstrate clear value in exchange for data
- Misuse of personal information can have dire consequences and may even be a deal-breaker for consumers with 40% saying they would cancel services or not purchase from the company again in response, and three in ten (29%) say they would unsubscribe from emails
“A spotlight on data privacy regulations, tech changes, and consumer preferences has caused a tectonic shift across the marketing industry. However, despite the ever-changing landscape, our latest research reiterates consumers’ calls for more personalized experiences and that they’re willing to exchange data if it means a more tailored brand experience,” said Vivek Sharma, CEO at Movable Ink. “Movable Ink is looking forward to sharing these findings and continuing our mission of helping brands elevate the customer experience to drive deeper relationships.”
To view the full report, please visit here.
The Audience of One 2022: Getting Personalization Right – Balancing Curated Customer Experiences with Privacy Protection report is based on a survey conducted by TEAM LEWIS Research on behalf of Movable Ink. This research sought to uncover what consumers value in branded communications, what information is most useful in their purchasing journey, and the types of information consumers will share for a more tailored customer experience. This research also sought to identify trends across key verticals and demographics from the consumer perspective. The findings detailed in this report are based on data collected in the study, which consisted of 3,000 total responses from consumers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Ireland from April 10, 2022 to April 20, 2022 with a margin of error of +/- 1.7 percentage points.
Tune in to Martech Cube Podcast for visionary Martech Trends, Martech News, and quick updates by business experts and leaders!


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All the goods on Titeist's new T-Series lineup of irons, a launch sped up in part to solve a product supply problem.
Cobra PUMA has added the last piece of the puzzle to its offerings here in Canada: A Custom Fitting Studio.
Lisa O’Hurley's LOHLA Sport apparel company has already gained a good following, especial in Canada.
Targeted for development, it looks like longtime RBC Canadian Open host Glen Abbey will remain a golf course after all.
Unable to host the RBC Canadian Open the last two years, RBC will get huge exposure in September as a worldwide partner of the Ryder Cup.
Kevin Blue, who once represented Canada as an amateur golfer, has come home to help develop the country's next wave of stars.


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2015 F-150 Named Official Vehicle of The 2015 International CES
Last year, the brand-new 2015 Ford Mustang was named the official vehicle of the 2014 International CES, riding the wave of excitement surrounding its December 2013 reveal. A year later, the new Mustang has arrived, and hot on its heels is the brand-new, aluminum-heavy-yet-lightweight 2015 Ford F-150, which will serve as the official vehicle of the 2015 International CES.
“We are honored the 2015 F-150 is the Official Vehicle of CES, proving that the new standard in full-size pickups is not only Built Ford Tough but also smart, with innovative design and technologies that help truck customers do more with their truck,” said Doug Scott, Ford Truck Group marketing manager.
This year’s CES takes place January 6-9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The CES show is put on by the Consumer Electronics Association and specializes in showcasing the latest and hottest technological advancements in a variety of consumer product categories.
With automotive advances always a key feature of the International CES, it only makes sense for this year’s official vehicle to be the smartest F-150 ever built.
“We are excited to have the new F-150 as the Official Vehicle of the 2015 CES,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Electronics Association. “With state-of-the-art technologies, driver-assist features and dramatic improvements in weight savings, the F-150 delivers the type of connectivity, efficiency and performance tech-savvy consumers demand in their vehicles. We look forward to seeing Ford once again at our show.”
Indeed, the 2015 F-150 features a number of segment- and industry-first technologies, including a 360-degree camera with split-view display, available Blind Spot Information System with cross-traffic alert, and the innovative BoxLink™ cargo management system.
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.


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Dealmaking, construction picking up on Speedway’s Main Street
Tom Harton, Indianapolis Business Journal
July 17, 2012
The restaurant Dawson’s on Main last month bought the building on Main Street in Speedway it has leased since 2006, a vote of confidence in the retail strip that the Speedway Redevelopment Commission would like to see repeated as it continues to nurture development there.
The six-block stretch just outside the front door of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway was desolate when the redevelopment commission was formed by the town of Speedway in June 2005.


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In collaboration with the M-Kids Organization Youth Council, Engen has donated free fuel to ensure that food kit distribution continues to reach vulnerable families during the national lockdown in Mauritius. To date, the association has assisted 300 families and delivered 1,500 food packs.
“We are grateful to our government and humbled by the work of the many NGO’s, businesses and individuals who have all pulled together in an effort to combat this outbreak,” said Jean Pierre Payet, Managing Director of Engen in Mauritius.
Engen cares deeply about the communities in which it operates and is a leading marketer of fuels and lubricants in Mauritius and currently operates 33 service stations and 8 Quickshop convenience stores across the island.
Payet confirmed that plans are also underway to provide fuel to aid FoodWise, which consolidates donations received from numerous food distribution channels and redistributes the food to 80 NGOs working in the field.
“This week Engen donated Rs12,000 worth of fuel and we plan to continue our show of support and commitment over the coming weeks,” said Payet. The petroleum company has also prioritized hygiene measure at all forecourts and convenience stores as well as the provision of safety materials, including sanitizers, gloves and masks to all of dedicated Engen forecourt and Quickshop staff.