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2021-09-02 Source: Xinhua News Agency
Address by Xi Jinping at the 2021 China International Trade in Services Fair Global Service Trade Summit
(September 2, 2021)
President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping
On the evening of September 2, President Xi Jinping delivered a video speech at the 2021 China International Service Trade Fair Global Service Trade Summit.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Jingwen
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 2. President Xi Jinping delivered a video speech at the 2021 China International Trade in Services Global Service Trade Summit on the evening of the 2nd.
Xi Jinping pointed out that service trade is an important part of international trade and an important field of international economic and trade cooperation, and plays an important role in building a new development pattern. China is willing to work with all parties to adhere to open cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results, and share development opportunities for trade in services, so as to promote the recovery and growth of the world economy.
Xi Jinping emphasized that China will increase the level of openness, promote the implementation of the cross-border service trade negative list nationwide, explore the construction of a national service trade innovation development demonstration zone; expand cooperation space, and increase support for the development of the “Belt and Road” national service industry. Share the achievements of China’s technological development with the world; strengthen the construction of rules in the service sector, support Beijing and other places in the implementation of international high-level free trade agreement rules, and build a digital trade demonstration zone; continue to support the innovation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises, deepen the reform of the new third board, and establish The Beijing Stock Exchange will create a main position for service-innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
Xi Jinping pointed out that let us join hands in fighting the epidemic, overcoming the difficulties, and persisting in using the “golden key” of peace, development, cooperation, and win-win to solve the current problems facing the world economy, international trade and investment, and create a better future!
The 2021 China International Trade in Services Fair will be held in Beijing from September 2nd to 7th, with the theme “Digital Opens the Future, Service Promotes Development”.
Full text: Xi Jinping’s speech at the 2021 China International Service Trade Fair Global Service Trade Summit
Article selected from: Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China
Fujian Quanzhiu Zhongtai IMP. AND EXP. CO., LTD. » Address by Xi Jinping at the 2021 China International Trade in Services Fair Global Service Trade Summit


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Last year, 5K and half-marathon.
Many runners preparing for this year's event–scheduled for April 7–will likely stop by the Running Zone, an athletic shoe store on Elk Grove Boulevard near the Automall.
Mimi Veiga, one of the shop's co-owners since 2008, said it's beneficial for runners to have a professional assist them with picking out a pair of shoes.
"A lot of people don't know if they're flat-footed or high-arched… and that's what we're trained to do," Veiga said.
She said the correct shoes–which can help support the way a runner's feet move and keep them level–can prevent injury.
Veiga said the correct shoes are helpful even if a runner is just starting out.
"A running shoe should support your foot whether you're running a mile, a 5K or a half-marathon," she said.
And don't forget about socks. Veiga said cotton socks can hold in moisture and creature blisters.
What are your favorite running shoes? Are you preparing for the Running of the Elk? Tell us in the comments section below.

domain: news


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Time to catch up with Santa Claus! Does that ring bell?Then be at Hyatt and you won’t miss him. You might catch him snooping around Hyatt’s lobby lounge where the celebration will be hosted. He might be there hunting for goodies, special ones, prepared by the Hyatt hotel’s expert pastry chefs.
The pastry team has come up with a novel idea to celebrate the occasion and termed it ‘Christmas Goodies’. The ‘goodies’ includes traditional items like stollen, plum cake, plum pudding, mince pies, cookies and chocolates.
With Chef de Cuisine Anil Gubhaju receiving special training at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai in preparing the Christmas delicacies, it is possible that Santa might not be able to resist temptations and hold himself away from Hyatt’s lounge for long.
So, look around and you will definitely find good old Santa eyeing the cookies or sniffing around the stollen or prowling by the delicious strawberry
tarts and mince pies.
“Hyatt has been hosting events on the similar lines since past six years. But this time we have made some changes,” says the Executive Chef Vikram Ganpule. “While earlier it used to be five to six days function, this year the celebration will last for a month.”
And to keep the month long
festive air afresh the Chef and his team have come up with a meticulous celebration plan.
“I am pretty up beat about the outcome of the training I received at the Grand Hyatt on the new ways the traditional items are prepared. We have made sincere effort to bring a whole new taste to the traditional Christmas treats,” says Chef de Cuisine Anil Gubhaju, the man behind the Christmas Goodies concept.
For example, Anil says, he has used 12 different types of nuts in Christmas plum pudding which gives an all new flavor to this Christmas staple. “The nuts are macerated in gin, vodka, rum and whiskey together with the spices for a month and are then baked into mouthwatering delicacies,” adds Vikram, the executive chef.
Apart from the delicacies offered by Hyatt’s pastry team, the Hyatt Café and Rox Bar will serve dinner with a typical Christmas menu, but one that promises enhanced taste and flavor. “Our focus will be on using traditional herbs and spices from our garden grown following truly organic methods. Even the vegetables we’ll use will be mostly from the garden,” says the executive chef.
“The Café is serving a sumptuous traditional and contemporary buffet spread with turkey, roasts, kebabs, curries, Asian selection, a grand dessert displayed with xmas pudding, stollen, xmas cake, home made ice creams and more,” says Vikram. “Rox Bar, on the other hand, will serve a gourmet five course set menu blending a mix of traditional and contemporary selection like turkey, handmade pasta and desserts.”
The diners can enjoy the food while listening to the mellifluous strains of carol singers. “We have carol singers on 23rd and 24th of December in the lobby and then in the restaurants,” Vikram says.
“The Christmas celebration on 23rd and 24th at the lobby lounge will be followed by buffets in the Café and Rox on 31st (New Year’s eve) and a barbeque brunch at the poolside on January 1st,” he says.
“A barbeque brunch by the poolside the following day will let the revelers relax and relish side by side,” says Vikram. A perfect way to rejuvenate exhausted spirits of the merrymakers after a long night’s celebration.
But you won’t find Santa on the poolside. He would be off in his sleigh, as in the myth, with sack full of goodies to distribute among children. Of course, knowing Santa, you might not see him at all, but you know he’ll be there in spirit, at the very least.
So before he takes off with all the goodies, better be on time if you want to try the specially made Christmas Goodies.


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TVS Motor Company makes country's best two wheelers - be it in the scooter,...
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Today, the Which? consumer rights organisation released the results from its study of how people are excluded from financial services as a result of banks changing their rules to mandate that customers use new technology. The research particularly focuses on banks now requiring that customers register a mobile phone number and be able to receive security codes in SMS messages while doing online banking or shopping. Not only does this change result in digital exclusion – customers without mobile phones or good network coverage will struggle to make payments – but as I discuss in this post, it’s also bad for security.
SMS-based security codes are being introduced to help banks meet their September 2019 deadline to comply with the Strong Customer Authentication requirements of the EU Payment Services Directive 2. These rules state that before making a payment from a customer’s account, the bank must independently verify that the customer really intended to make this payment. UK banks almost universally have decided to meet their obligation by sending a security code in an SMS message to the customer’s mobile phone and asking the customer to type this code into their web browser.
The problem that Which? identified is that some customers don’t have mobile phones, some that do have mobile phones don’t trust their bank with the number, and even those who are willing to share their mobile phone number with the bank might not have network coverage when they need to make a payment. A survey of Which? members found that nearly 1 in 5 said they would struggle to receive the security code they need to perform online banking transactions or online card payments. Remote locations have poorer network coverage than average and it is these areas that are likely to be disproportionately affected by the ongoing bank branch closure programmes.
The aspect of this scenario that I’m particularly interested in is why banks chose SMS messages as a security technology in the first place, rather than say sending out dedicated authentication devices to their customers or making a smartphone app. SMS has the advantage that customers don’t need to install an app or have the inconvenience of having to carry around an extra authentication device. The bank also saves the cost of setting up new infrastructure, other than hooking up their payment systems to the phone network. However, SMS has disadvantages – not only does it exclude customers in areas of poor network coverage, but it also effectively outsources security from the bank to the phone networks.


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Key Market Data
|09/21/2018||09/28/2018||One Week Change||YTD||One Year|
|S&P 500 Index||2,929.67||2,913.98||-0.54%||+10.56%||+18.34%|
|MSCI EAFE Index||1,994.06||1,973.60||-1.03%||-0.99%||+3.81%|
|Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index||2,010.28||2,013.67||+0.17%||-1.60%||-1.22%|
|10-year Treasury Note Rate||3.064%||3.062%||-0.2 basis points||+65.6 basis points||+75.3 basis points|
- Consumer spending was up 0.3 percent in August from July; personal income also advanced 0.3 percent.
- The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index hit an 18-year high of 138.4 in September.
- Brent crude ended the week at $82.72 a barrel, its highest close since November 2014.
Despite rising interest rates, higher gas prices, and, oh yes, a trade war or two, the United States economy is, in the words of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, experiencing a “particularly bright moment.” And that “moment” was reflected by the stock market’s major indexes during the third quarter as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted record highs and advanced, respectively, 9.6 percent, 7.7 percent and 7.4 percent. In fact, as anyone with a diversified portfolio can attest, the fear of rising interest rates and trade wars has taken a toll on emerging and developed markets, and U.S. stocks are all but alone in having performed in the black so far this year. That economic strength has also impacted U.S. Treasuries and, despite the Fed having raised its rate last week, the yield on the 10-year remained over 3 percent.
The Fed starts to normalize
The Fed met last week and, as expected, raised its interest rate for the third time this year while indicating that it was likely to do so again in December – and three times in 2019. The Fed increased its rate to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent, the first time it has been above 2 percent since 2008. At his post-meeting press conference, Powell said that, historically speaking, “these rates remain low,” adding, “The gradual return to normal is helping to sustain this strong economy for the longer-run benefit of all Americans.” Powell also said he wasn’t concerned about rising inflation but did say he was hearing “a rising chorus of concerns from businesses all over the country” about the trade war. President Donald Trump, who has complained about the Fed’s rate hikes, said he was “unhappy” and added, “They are raising them because we are doing so well.”
GDP and earnings
As for the economy, the government’s third estimate for second-quarter growth was unchanged at 4.2 percent. Though a slowdown is expected for the third quarter, the Atlanta Fed’s current forecast is 3.8 percent, above the post-recession average (though down from 4.4 percent on Sept. 19). In addition, FactSet is estimating that third-quarter earnings growth for the S&P 500 will be 19 percent year over year, down from the second-quarter’s 25 percent but still strong by recent standards.
Trade wars – and trade treaties
Trade remained center stage last week, beginning on Monday when the latest round of tariffs from China and the U.S. went into effect; as of now, there’s no sign that the two sides are going to meet and negotiate. In addition, the White House warned the European Union not to trade with Iran once sanctions kick in next month. Appearing at the United Nations, President Trump accused China of intellectual property theft and trying to influence the upcoming midterms, and called Iran a “corrupt dictatorship.” Major progress was made on the trade front, however, as Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said they would work on a new trade agreement. The U.S. also announced that it had completed its revised trade pact with South Korea. And yesterday, facing a U.S.-imposed deadline of midnight, the U.S. and Canada reached an agreement to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after 13 months of negotiations.
Keeping the government running, extending tax cuts
The president signed a bill to keep the government running through Dec. 7 and thus avoided the drama of a shutdown before the midterm elections; funding ran out when the fiscal year ended yesterday. And the House passed legislation to extend last year’s tax cuts for individuals; the corporate tax cuts are permanent, but the individual tax cuts are due to expire in 2025. The Senate has indicated it will not address the issue until after the midterm elections.
Musk and Sky TV
It was a busy week for Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it was moving to bar him from serving as an executive for any public company for three years because of his Aug. 7 tweet that hinted that his company was going private. Musk was reportedly thinking of taking the SEC to court, but on Saturday the two sides reached an agreement whereby he will step down as chairman for three years but keep his post as CEO. Tesla and Musk will each pay a $20 million fine and the SEC will appoint two independent directors to Tesla’s board. In the wake of the SEC’s announcement, Tesla’s stock plummeted 13.9 percent on Friday. Fox sold its 39 percent stake in Sky TV to Comcast for $15 billion after Fox lost the bidding war to control the company. Because that bidding war drove the price up, the value of Fox’s Sky stock more than doubled. Disney, which signed off on the sale to Comcast, will save as much as $30 billion on its recent bid of $71 billion to acquire most of Fox’s assets.
The price of oil keeps climbing
The week before last the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia announced they weren’t going to increase production in the near-term and Brent crude rose to close the quarter at $82.72, its highest level in almost four years. So far this year, Brent is up 24 percent and U.S. crude has jumped 21 percent. In other news, consumer spending advanced 0.3 percent in August from July, the slowest pace in six months. Personal income also rose 0.3 percent in August. The Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index rose 0.1 percent from July and was up 2.3 percent over the past year. The Core PCE price, which excludes food and energy, was flat in August but up 2 percent from a year earlier. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 6 percent in July from a year earlier. New home sales climbed 3.5 percent in August from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000; sales were up 12.7 percent from a year earlier. The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales fell 1.8 percent in August from July, mainly because of low inventories. Pending home sales were off 2.5 percent from August 2017. The Conference Board’s Consumer Sentiment Index hit 138.4 in August, its highest level since 2000, and the University of Michigan’s’ final reading for consumer sentiment in September was 100.1, only the third time it has hit triple figures since 2004. Lastly, first-time jobless claims were up 12,000 to 214,000 for the week ending Sept. 22; the four-week moving average climbed 250 to 206,250.
A look ahead
This week’s updates will include the latest on construction spending, the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing Indexes, vehicle sales, consumer comfort, the trade balance, orders for durable goods and, on Friday, the jobless rate for September, forecast to fall from 3.9 percent to 3.8 percent.


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The 30 major Korean business groups have invested 29.19 trillion won (US$26.63 billion) combined for the past five years in M&As with 203 companies.
Industry experts and investment banks point out that their M&A deals have been rather small in scale and focused on domestic companies. Intel is estimated to have spent no less than 8 trillion won (US$7.3 billion) at the least on M&As between 2012 and 2014, equivalent to nine to 10 times Samsung Electronics’ M&A investment for the same period.
The Korean groups’ M&A performance is easily eclipsed by those of Chinese and Japanese companies, too. In the first quarter of this year, Japanese corporations set a new high in overseas M&A contract amounts. Chinese enterprises signed M&A deals worth US$164.1 billion in 2013, slightly less than 400 percent of the amount recorded by Korea during the period.
Korean companies have sufficient resources for more M&As, though. The internal reserves of the 10 major groups reach 530 trillion won (US$484 billion), including 200 trillion won (US$183 billion) in Samsung and over 100 trillion won (US$91 billion) in Hyundai Motor. Rumor has it that the Samsung Group is working on a large-scale international M&A in the non-memory semiconductor sector, and similar ones are being discussed by its financial subsidiaries such as Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. It is also said that Korean financial holding companies are looking to acquire local financial firms in Southeast Asia, with their cash piling up due to the current low interest rates.


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Hexo shares under pressure after unlicensed pot disclosure
Biden still opposes cannabis legalization on federal level, unsure if pot is a “gateway drug”
Cannabis legalization in the U.S. is emerging as a policy issue for the upcoming Democratic presidential primary after former vice-president Joe Biden said over the weekend that more work needs to be done to determine whether marijuana is a “gateway drug” or not. Biden’s opposition to cannabis legalization falls in stark contrast to many other Democratic presidential hopefuls who have advocated for further liberalization of the drug. Biden said he supports allowing states to determine their own cannabis policies, rescheduling the drug to allow for further research and remains opposes to legalization on the federal level. "It's a debate. Before I legalize it nationally, I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it," Biden was reported to have said during a town hall in Las Vegas.
Less than two weeks until Michigan’s recreational pot market launches
Michigan’s recreational cannabis market is ready for launch with about a dozen stores to be open in the U.S. state this December, according to MJBizDaily. The state is expected to see sales hit between US$1.4 billion to US$1.7 billion once the recreational market can mature, the website reports. However, finding a legal pot store open will be relatively difficult as nearly 80 per cent of the state’s municipalities have either opted out of having a cannabis dispensary within its jurisdiction or banned recreational pot entirely. The state’s recreational cannabis sales were expected to start in mid-2020 but regulators recently allowed Michigan’s existing medical marijuana dispensaries to allocate half of their inventory for adult-use sales on Dec. 1.
Acreage Holdings enters New Jersey market with Compassionate Care Foundation acquisition
Acreage Holdings is buying a New Jersey-based cannabis company called the Compassionate Care Foundation, the company said in a statement on Monday. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. In its statement announcing the deal, Acreage said the CCF operates one of New Jersey’s largest indoor growing facilities, specifically to grow high-quality dried flower products, and has the “operate three retail dispensaries” in the U.S. state. Eight Capital said in a morning report to clients on Monday that one of the CCF’s dispensaries in New Jersey recorded sales of US$4.9 million in 2018, and US$3.5 million in 2017.
Sunniva shares plunge after president, director announce departures
Shares of Vancouver-based cannabis company Sunniva sank more than 40 per cent on Monday after it announced two executive departures on Monday, leading with the resignation of Kevin Wilkerson as president and well as its head of its U.S. subsidiary “for personal reasons.” Wilkerson was promoted to his roles back in July amid Sunniva’s strategic shift to focus more on its Californian operations after originally joining the company’s management team as chief operating officer back in Dec. 2018. Sunniva said it hasn’t yet announced a replacement for Wilkerson at this time. Additionally, Sunniva said Michael Barker, one of its directors, stepped down from his role on Nov. 15.
-- The amount of company value shed by Canopy Growth, still the largest pot company in the world, since April when its market capitalization reached $21 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Cannabis Canada is BNN Bloomberg’s in-depth series exploring the stunning formation of the entirely new – and controversial – Canadian recreational marijuana industry. Read more from the special series here and subscribe to our Cannabis Canada newsletter to have the latest marijuana news delivered directly to your inbox every day.


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Inside the world's sexiest plane, Victoria's Secret models including Kendall Jenner flew from New York to Paris for their annual show.
Kendall, Bella Hadid and many more of the 'Angels' boarded the flight, some documenting the fun they had on Instagram.
All the models looked thrilled to have hopped aboard, heading to Victoria's Secret Paris 2016 donning matching light pink shirts on Monday.
And event was an extra special one for the models.
The fashion show, which will debut the Victoria's Secret and Pink collections, took place on November 30.
And celebrating its 20th anniversary, the sexiest TV event in the world promises to be just as exciting as ever.
Those not fortunate enough to be in this City of Love for the big event will have to wait until it's aired on December 5.
Meanwhile, UK viewers can watch the show exclusively on 4Music on Monday 12th December at 8pm.
As ever, it's not all about the models - and some of the biggest stars in music are among the crowd.
Lady Gaga, to name one, was spotted out and about in the French capital wearing a number of interesting outfits.
Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian may not have been in France to see their little sister Kendall strut her stuff, but they were quick to repost pictures of her at the lingerie spectacular.
“Well someone got their first pair of wings!!!! congrats Kenny!!! Victoria's Secret fashion show ,” Khloe proudly captioned a video of her sister Kendall walking down the runway.
Kourtney shared a picture of Kendall in a monochrome underwear set, writing:“My angel.#VSfashionshow”


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Ticketmaster blames bots, demand for ticket issues
As local Taylor Swift fans recover from the whiplash of vying for tickets to her Nashville concerts, Ticketmaster is seeking to explain the debacle that provoked consumer outrage and legal scrutiny for the company last week.
Driving the news: Ticketmaster canceled the public on-sale for Swift's shows in Nashville and other venues across the country after a week of technical glitches.
- In a lengthy statement Friday, Ticketmaster attributed the problems to a "staggering number of bot attacks" as well as "unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests."
- Tennessee Attorney General John Skrmetti says he has opened an inquiry into Ticketmaster after the ticket fiasco. Attorneys general representing states across the country then followed his lead.
Be smart: Bots are the term for specialized computer software that helps ticket scalpers fraudulently buy tickets for resale.
- Tennessee has a state law on the books to combat the use of bot software.
- Ticketmaster says it used a "verified fan" system to make sure real humans (not bots) were trying to buy tickets, and that its efforts to fight bots led to fewer Swift concert tickets landing on secondary markets. Critics have questioned Ticketmaster's ties to the secondary market.
The latest: U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn played a leading role in passing bipartisan legislation in 2016 to ban the use of bots nationwide.
Zoom out: If scalpers using bots helped clog the ticket-buying process for Swift's concerts, it could add yet another legal dimension to a situation that put Ticketmaster in the crosshairs.
Yes, but: Anti-bot laws have proven extremely difficult to enforce. There aren't any known prosecutions under Tennessee's law.
- The Federal Trade Commission brought its first-ever case under the 2016 law last year, identifying three ticket-scalping companies and pursuing millions of dollars in penalties for the use of bots.
The other side: In its corporate response last week, Ticketmaster and Live Nation dismissed the concerns raised by Skrmetti and others about a monopoly.
- The company argued it is abiding by the federal rules in place to prevent anti-competitive practices from hurting consumers.
- Less than 5% of tickets were sold or posted for resale on secondary markets, Ticketmaster says. By comparison, between 20% and 30% are resold for concerts that don't use the verified fan system, the company says.
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So Scarlett Johansson has parted ways with Oxfam. The actress, who has served as an ambassador for the humanitarian group for eight years, quit yesterday over a “fundamental difference of opinion” (read: PR disaster waiting to happen). Johansson has recently signed as brand ambassador for the drinks-fizzinator (possibly not a real word) manufacturer Sodastream. It seems Oxfam’s support for marginalised Palestinians sits badly with Sodastream maintaining a factory in the occupied West Bank.
This is the PR meltdown that never happened; thanks to careful stewardship (and, one imagines, a lot of hair-pulling and arse-kissing behind the scenes), everyone has emerged positively reeking of roses. Painting the split as a “difference of opinion” was a genius move. It allowed Johansson to highlight her belief in “building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbours working alongside each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits and equal rights”, rather than any belief in receiving lots of cash for sponsorship deals. Similarly, it provided Oxfam with a platform to highlight its views on the perceived injustices happening in that part of the world. Sodastream, meanwhile, got pictures of Johansson sucking seductively on a drinking straw on virtually every news site known to man.
All PR pixies concerned are to be applauded, for ’tis not always thus. In 2012, skincare brand Nivea dropped Rihanna as its brand ambassador because new CEO Stefan Heidenreich decided that gyrating about in lingerie on a brand-sponsored tour didn’t quite square with the beauty company’s family image. Coming at a time when Ri-Ri was constantly making headlines for partying too hard, it didn’t look great for her, but it perhaps looked worse for the brand, who temporarily appeared stuffy and churlish. A 2011 survey by Ipsos Mori found that 23% of Americans and 19% of Britons said that Tiger Woods’s well-chronicled misdemeanours made them consider boycotting products he had endorsed.
Spare a thought, too, for the poor celebrities; it’s not only brands who can find their image damaged by dodgy dealing on the other side of the partnership. The Kardashian sisters found themselves lowered in the public estimation (if such a thing were possible) after they endorsed the ‘Kardashian Kard’, a prepaid card aimed at young adults. Backed by Mastercard, the Kard’s huge fees led Former Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to declare: “Keeping up with the Kardashians is impossible using these cards.” The sisters terminated the deal in 2010.
Oxfam and Johannson’s well-judged parting of ways carries a lesson for brands operating in the Now Economy. In an age where fans can be mobilised in huge numbers and at frightening speeds, hypocrisy just won’t wash anymore, and both sides did well to separate amicably before pro-Palestine activists’ Twitter campaigning got too ugly. We at Borkowski wish Oxfam all the luck in the world when searching for a more suitable partner; we reckon Justin Bieber might have a few free spaces soon.


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Fiat Group today said it plans to expand its network to 125 dealerships across the country by the end of this year, as the Italian auto major aims to capture 5% market share of the country's automobile market in next three years.
"We will have about 125 partners by end of this calendar year (2013) but the facilities active will be 100 and we will be covering 70% of the market," Fiat Group Automobiles India, Head (Sales & Network) Ravi Bhatia told reporters here today on the sidelines of opening its exclusive dealership here.
At present, Fiat Group has 54 outlets across the country.
"Our focus is on building network across the country, building brand and bringing out innovative products for Indian market," said Fiat Chrysler (India) President and MD Nagesh Basavanhalli here when asked how would the company strengthen its position in the Indian market which is already dominated by major automobile brands.
"Fiat India is aggressively focusing on increasing its footprint in India and this (opening of dealership) launch is in continuation of rapid expansion strategy," Basavanhalli said.
The company, which has ended its distribution arrangement with Tatas on April 1 this year, is aiming to capture 5% market share of country's automobile market in next three years on the back of new launches and dealership expansion.
"We currently have less than one% market share...But we have plans to raise it to 5% in next three years," Bhatia said.
Fiat's sale went down from approximately 16,000 units in 2011 to 6,000 units in 2012.
The company has plans to roll out nine variants including models in hatchback, sedan and jeep segments in next three to four years for the Indian market.
Currently, Fiat is selling the Linea and Punto models, manufactured by the Tata-Fiat joint venture.
Fiat Group Automobiles India, a fully owned subsidiary of Fiat Group Automobiles SpA, Italy, was incorporated in March 2012.


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Marketing TV: Facebook 101
Singapore - As more brands are creating their presence on Facebook, Grady Burnett, vice president of global sales and operations at Facebook, tells Marketing how brands can have a better following on the social media platform.
Burnett shares how brands, including US-based company Squishable, have used Facebook to connect and interact with their customers to understand their demands.
"Businesses are building connections and really ramping their business growth through those connections," he said.
"They are find people who are really passionate about their company, and with that, they're finding ways to engage that community, connect with more of them and help those people influence new customers."
See full interview here.
Follow @MarketingEds on Twitter for breaking news throughout the day.
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EcoFlow has opened its first showroom in Africa, at the Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Cape Town.
The EcoFlow showroom, covering an area of approximately 100 square meters, officially opened its doors to the public on 22 July, with free entry and no prior appointment required.
Visitors could explore EcoFlow’s energy product ecosystem, covering everything from energy generation and storage to consumption, including its flagship Delta 2 and River 2 series portable power stations, Power Kits and Smart Home Panel solutions for home energy backup, as well as a range of eco-friendly products, such as solar panels, smart generators and battery-powered smart devices.
“We are excited to bring our industry-leading products to South Africa and provide users with reliable energy sources and sustainable energy solutions,” says Joy Wu, Head of LAMEA&APAC at EcoFlow. “The showroom serves as a dedicated platform for users to experience our energy solutions firsthand.”


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Vivo has caught us by surprise. It is not on the list of major smartphone brands that will showcase a new device at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. But just now, the company itself has teased a handset called Vivo APEX.
Vivo APEX teaser video
The teaser refers to the APEX as a full-view mobile, and it seems that it might just be the truly bezel-less smartphone we’ve been waiting for. Or at least THISCLOSE to it. Could it be the one that was leaked in photos two weeks ago?
We hope so, because the device in the picture sure looks promising. If you look at it closely, there is an app icon there that’s named Half-screen. So it’s likely that you can press your finger anywhere on the lower half of the display — and not just on a small area at the bottom of the screen — to perform functions such as unlocking the phone.
Let’s just say it’s an enhanced version of the in-display fingerprint-scanning technology on the Vivo X20 Plus UD, which was first revealed at CES in Las Vegas. Is that what the Chinese manufacturer means by one of the captions it’s using? You know, “This is how we are going to unlock the future.”
Sure, the teaser also says that the Vivo APEX is a concept smartphone. But take note that the Xiaomi Mi MIX was also a concept product, and it turned out to be the one that paved the way for more handsets with slim bezels.
So will the APEX be unveiled at MWC 2018, which will kick off on February 26? Vivo is an exhibitor at the mobile industry-focused trade show, so the answer might be a resounding yes.
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SAN FRANCISCO — New regulations proposed Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would be a major win for plaintiffs lawyers in their on-going fight against arbitration.
During a Denver hearing, the CFPB announced its intention to prohibit financial institutions, including banks, credit card companies and lenders, from forcing class actions into arbitration. Implementation is a long way off—the proposal is preliminary and the CFPB is soliciting recommendations from the business community before drafting a final version. But the news has heartened consumer plaintiffs attorneys who have seen their business dwindle as more companies use arbitration clauses to pre-empt class actions.
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By Steve Baltimore / December 21st, 2014
Bandai Namco Games America has announced that J-Stars Victory VS+ is coming to North America in the Summer of 2015. Here is what they had to say about it in their Tumblr post.
Yes. You can get excited. It’s official. The 2v2 brawler that features an insane roster filled with Shonen Jump’s manga stars, J-Stars Victory VS+, is coming to the Americas and will be hitting PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, AND for the first time ever, PlayStation 4. Also, with the first release outside of Japan, J-Stars will have an additional “Arcade Mode” coming with it’s Western debut.
You can also check out a teaser trailer below:
animeBandai NamcoBandai Namco GamesBANDAI NAMCO Games AmericafighterJ-Stars Victory VS


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The Amazon Fire TV may not be the only streaming TV with voice search. Several reports have long suggested that Apple is gearing up to release a brand new TV with new features, including possibly access to some sort of cable TV content following an agreement with Comcast. Today, however, new details surfaced suggesting that Apple is also working to integrate its Siri voice assistant into Apple TV.
A developer named Pierre Blazquez recently noticed that there’s tidbit of code inside iOS 7.1 and iOS 7.1.1 , the latter of which was just released to the public yesterday, that references the number ‘3,’ an identifier that Apple typically uses for its Apple TV product, 9to5Mac explained. That wouldn’t typically be a big deal, except the identifier for Apple TV was spotted by Blazque inside of Siri resources for iOS 7.1. That suggests that Apple is working to build the support in for its set-top box, too — otherwise there’s really no need to reference Apple TV inside the Siri code.
Siri could be used for anything once it’s built into Apple TV. The most obvious seems to be for searching across Apple TV apps, navigating to stations (if a deal with Comcast is indeed sealed), querying the Web for weather information, searching for music and more. Unfortunately, there’s still no information on when the new Apple TV box may hit the market.
Here’s a look at the code posted by Blazquez:


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One specific line from Mark Zuckerberg’s big Facebook post may be spooking investors (FB)
Friday, 12 January 2018 · *Facebook made a huge change on Thursday, altering how the service's news feed works.*
· *The news feed — the main page of Facebook — now prioritizes posts from people you know that spark engagement and conversation over posts from brands and publications.*
· *Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he expects the change...
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants you to know that he’s not just the guy running a social network that knows way too much about you and has an unbridled misinformation problem.
He’s also a guy with a life outside of the machine! Since 2009, Zuckerberg has set out “to learn something new”...
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg celebrates his birthday today. He is 34. Zuckerberg, who became the youngest billionaire in the world at the age of 23 in the year... DNA - Front PageAlso reported by •Reuters India
European lawmakers were left frustrated when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified on Tuesday. The format of the hearing meant the 34-year-old executive could dodge questions and frame his response.. Source: Wochit Tech -
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg apologized to European Union lawmakers on Tuesday for a massive data leak, in his latest attempt to draw a line under a scandal that has rocked the world’s biggest.. Source: News Video Online -
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg apologized to European Union lawmakers on Tuesday for a massive data leak, in his latest attempt to draw a line under a scandal that has rocked the world’s biggest.. Source: Reuters Studio -
Amazon is a "silent assassin" that has the potential to one day be a threat to Facebook. That's what ex-Facebook and Google exec Richard Wooldridge says, anyway. The Airobiotics COO says Amazon excels.. Source: Wochit Tech -
Facebook says it has investigated thousands of apps and suspended about 200 of them as a part of an investigation into apps that have accessed extensive amounts of user data. The announcement came in a.. Source: Wochit -
Mark Zuckerberg took the stage this week at Facebook’s F8 developer conference. He discussed the future of Facebook, Instagram, and also a new surprising feature. Facebook is going to get into the.. Source: Wochit -
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new video chatting feature coming to Instagram.
The feature will allow Instagram's 200 million users to video chat one on one or with multiple people. A new.. Source: Wochit -
WhatsApp Co-Founder to Leave Company After Reported Disagreements with Facebook Jan Koum, who co-founded WhatsApp and served as the company’s CEO, announced that he is stepping down in a Facebook.. Source: Wibbitz Top Stories -


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Instagram launched this week the possibility that companies can sell directly in the application, allowing users to make payments by credit or debit card without leaving the application.
“The test phase is open only for profiles of companies in the United States.”
Until now, Instagram allowed to include data of the product for sale, but the transaction was made outside the application, in the website or online store of the company. Now this changes and Instagram becomes a real online store in which to sell the products.
The possibility of selling directly on Instagram has been, for the moment, limited to some large companies with which the application has launched the pilot program. However, now Instagram opens the possibility for any company to request the possibility of selling their products and that customers can pay without leaving the app. Yes, any company in the United States.
Instagram has enabled a web form through which any company can request to be part of this program, which is in the testing phase. In the questionnaire, the company requests more information from companies about what their business is and what products they want to sell.
First, request the user name of the company profile on Instagram (this is necessary, it is not allowed on non-company profiles), an email address and some information on how the company currently has its catalog connected to the app
However, the limitation comes when Instagram asks if the company has an ID to pay taxes in the United States, an essential requirement at the moment. This means that only companies in that country can apply to be part of the beta sales program through Instagram allowing direct purchase.


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The US meat industry has been crippled by COVID-19, but that's unlikely to happen here/
A series of coronavirus outbreaks has crippled the United States' meat supply chain, but industry leaders in Australia say the same situation is unlikely to unfold here.
- The US meat industry has been badly disrupted by coronavirus outbreaks at processing facilities
- Australia's industry is less concentrated and better set up to deal with outbreaks
- While retail meat sales in the US have fallen during the pandemic, sales have risen in Australia
In the US, a number of major meat processing plants have had to shut down, leading to shortages of some products on one side of the supply chain and animals being euthanased instead of processed on the other.
In Australia, a COVID-19 cluster at the Cedar Meats facility in Melbourne's west has seen case numbers in Victoria spike over the past few days.
But key differences between the Australian and US industries mean coronavirus is unlikely to cause the same issues here.
What's going on in the States?
By last Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 4,900 out of an estimated 500,000 meat processing workers had tested positive for COVID-19.
Twenty people had died.
In the same report, the CDC said workers had tested positive in 115 facilities across 19 states.
Tyson Foods, which has closed three of its six facilities, recently told investors pork processing had dropped by 50 per cent.
A Smithfield Foods plant in South Dakota, which was the epicentre for one of the largest outbreaks of coronavirus in the US, has just started to reopen.
The reason these shutdowns have such a huge effect in the United States is because the meat processing industry is highly concentrated.
"Just two firms control over 40 per cent of the market in beef and pork, and nearly 40 per cent of the market in chicken," Michigan State University Professor Phil Howard said.
"The top four meat processing firms control nearly 80 per cent of the market in beef."
Decades of mergers and takeovers have created vertically integrated, highly efficient meat production systems that have not stood up well to the disruption caused by coronavirus.
In the US, milk is being dumped, vegetable crops are being ploughed in, and animals are being euthanased at the same time as long lines form at foodbanks.
"These companies have supply chains that are 'just-in-time' — so if there's a bottleneck they completely fall apart," Dr Howard said.
"Meanwhile the foodbanks are a way for the big food companies to offload excess product, and the US Government pays them for that, but the system was never designed to get food to everyone who is hungry."
Why that won't happen here
Australia's meat processing industry is far less concentrated than in the US.
Market research firm IBIS World reports that in 2019–20 "the industry's four largest players accounted for over 40 per cent of industry revenue", while the remining share was made up of minor players.
Regardless, part of the reason meatworks in the US have become coronavirus hotspots has been due to the close proximity of workers during shifts and, as the CDC noted, the fact that many of those workers share transport to and from the plant.
Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive Patrick Hutchinson said countries like Australia and New Zealand had adopted stricter control measures in the community and hygiene measures in meatworks.
"Three months ago all processing facilities doubled their hygiene and screening procedures, moved to allow essential workers on site, and 90 per cent of them had early plans to deal with an outbreak," Mr Hutchinson said.
"So with all of those things in place through the industry, coupled with what was happening in the community and the geographical spread of processing facilities, it ensured that we could maintain the supply chain.
"What we've seen over the past 12 weeks is a 33 per cent increase in meat purchases."
While some supermarkets had to ration supplies, Mr Hutchinson said 70 per cent of Australian butchers had introduced online shopping and delivery.
Will Australia run out of meat?
No, but it is unlikely to get cheaper.
We started the year with the smallest cattle herd since the early 1990s and the smallest sheep flock since 1904.
In 2019 Australians were already paying record retail prices for beef and lamb, according to the Red Meat Advisory Council.
Because of the drought, producers were sending livestock off to market in droves, which would usually send prices south, but high export demand meant prices stayed firm, breaking saleyard records right up until March.
But rainfall this year means that, instead of sending livestock to market, producers will instead choose to rebuild those numbers, which makes big price drops unlikely.Loading...Ask us your coronavirus questions


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After almost 35 years processing credit union credit card transactions, Town North Bank has sold off its last stake in card processing.
LAS VEGAS -- In Australia, credit unions are taxed, volunteers are paid, and the loss of interchange income three years ago is still a sore subject.
As Congress contemplates whether to pass a law regulating debit card interchange, a majority of economists and government officials attending a meeting on the subject agreed that there is no economic basis for the proposed regulatory change.
The $3.1 billion United Nations Federal Credit Union has become the first financial institution in the United States to issue chip and PIN credit cards.
World Council of Credit Unions has been invited to comment on a G-20 proposal to increase financial services access to the world's poor.
Although it was not ready to name the 12 members of its "Next Steps" corporate working group at press time, CUNA officials did say it will include several members of its corporate credit union task force, as well as some new selections.
The language in the Senate regulatory restructuring bill defining remittances is so broad that it could cause credit unions to stop offering electronic transfer programs.
Services and solutions that push the envelope of what members expect and what credit unions can deliver can sometimes blur the lines between managing technology and member service.
Don't look now, but criminals are moving beyond the ATM and unwary retailer when trying to steal your members' card numbers and raid their accounts.


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Faraday's Future's plans for a massive Las Vegas plant for the FF 91 have been put on hold amid a cash crunch, Bloomberg reports. The planned $1 billion facility for what was billed as the world's fastest electric car barely began construction last year before coming to a halt as Faraday sought more cash to keep the venture going.
Instead, the aspiring electric automaker indicated this week it will seek an existing plant site for the 1,050-hp electric car, whose working prototype was first shown this year.
"We are in the process of identifying a manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options," Faraday said in a emailed statement to Bloomberg.
Earlier this year Faraday whittled down its lineup plans from seven models to two, while still planning to launch production at the unbuilt Las Vegas site with a planned capacity of 10,000 vehicles annually in 2019. The company's plans faced plenty of skepticism even before the current funding problems; one Faraday exec cited the expected price tag of a production FF 91 to be in the neighborhood of $300,000.


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Heed this Dennis Bell
- Friday Free Software Directory IRC meetup: September 13 — by wtheaker — last modified Sep 11, 2013 02:02 PM
- Free Software Foundation statement on new iPhone models from Apple — by wtheaker — last modified Sep 10, 2013 06:13 PM
- The Free Software Foundation encourages users to avoid all Apple products, in the interest of their own freedom and the freedom of those around them.
- Celebrate GNU's big "three-o" — by libby — last modified Sep 07, 2013 12:12 AM
- 30 years ago, Richard Stallman published the announcement that would launch the free software movement.
- GNU system, free software celebrate 30 years — by wtheaker — last modified Sep 06, 2013 02:56 PM
- BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Friday, September 6, 2013 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the GNU operating system. The celebratory activities will include a 30th anniversary hackathon at MIT in Cambridge, MA, satellite events around the world, and ways for people to celebrate online.
- Friday Free Software Directory IRC meetup: September 6 — by wtheaker — last modified Sep 04, 2013 06:21 PM
- GNU Spotlight with Karl Berry: 15 new GNU releases! — by wtheaker — last modified Sep 03, 2013 06:08 PM
- 15 new GNU releases this month (as of August 26, 2013):


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- Employees in companies with 9 members of staff or less are most likely to ‘love’ their jobs
- They are also most likely to take personal pride from the companies’ achievements, and to stay there long term
Bigger isn’t always better in business, according to the British workforce, as new research has revealed start-up employees are the most likely to love their jobs.
Almost 1 in 3 (31%) of workers in businesses containing a maximum of nine members of staff said they “love” their jobs – according to a new survey of 1,220 workers, commissioned by the One4all Spotlight Awards, a free to enter awards scheme that rewards exceptional staff in the UK workforce.
Companies with the largest workforces – more than 500 members of staff – were the least likely to love their jobs, with just 15% claiming this is the case.
Workers in microbusinesses – those with 9 or fewer employees – were also the most likely to say they plan to stay with their current employer for the rest of their working lives, with 18% saying they feel this way.
They were also the most likely to take a sense of personal pride in their company’s achievements (23%).
Declan Byrne, UK managing director at One4all Rewards, said:
“Clearly, many people find working in a small business incredibly rewarding – often these workers in these kinds of businesses will anecdotally say they find they have a greater sense of autonomy and more varied roles – and as such, they will go the extra mile for their employer’s. But it’s especially interesting to see the level of loyalty they feel towards the company they work for, too.
“In small businesses, finding the budget to provide tangible rewards for deserving staff can be difficult, which is why we have created the Spotlight Awards – to provide small businesses with a completely free way of nominating their star employees to receive both industry-wide recognition and a tangible token of their gratitude.”
The One4all Spotlight Awards is a free to enter awards scheme that recognises the best employees in 20 different categories, including Employee of the Year awards across 14 industries, with customer service, professional services, high street retail and property & construction being just some of the sectors recognised.
Category winners will each receive a trophy and £100 One4all Gift Card, which can be spent in more than 50,000 stores nationwide.
There will also be a special event for winners, where the overall Employee of the Year, who will receive a £300 One4all Gift Card, will be announced.


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British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has been reprimanded for promoting an unlicensed drug to treat the disputed condition of restless leg syndrome (RLS), The Times of London reported.
GSK ran ads in UK doctors’ magazines between September 2004 and November 2005 raising awareness of RLS – a previously unrecognized ailment also called Ekbom’s syndrome – and referred patients to a Web site of the Ekbom Support Group.
Some doctors claim the condition, characterized by cramps, pins and needles and an irresistible urge to move one’s legs, has been invented or exaggerated to help sell the GSK drug ropinirole, marketed in the UK as Adartrel. Ropinirole is sold in the US under the brand name Requip and was originally developed to treat Parkinson’s disease.
Britain’s Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, set up by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, ruled GSK broke the authority’s rules by promoting an unlicensed drug.
“GSK was, in effect, directing patients to a Web site that contained misleading messages about the safety of ropinirole which might indirectly encourage patients to ask their doctors to prescribe it,” the authority said.
A spokesman for GSK said: “There are strict rules in the pharmaceutical industry code of practice that govern the provision of information on an unlicensed condition and GSK takes these very seriously.”


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From Zulily’s huge exit to massive VC financings to startups ranging from Warby Parker to Quirky, 2013 has been quite an active year for venture activity in the Internet eCommerce sector. Earlier this fall, Upfront Ventures investor Greg Bettinelli commented on the continued appeal of eCommerce tech to startups and the investors backing them:
“Why bother” building a company in/around eCommerce? That is the easiest question – the answer is…in the US alone online sales will grow about 15% increase this year and over the next four years will grow from ~$260 billion to this year to ~$370 billion in 2017. It is very early and many new companies will play large roles in the future of ecommerce and at the same time those playing leading roles now will play even larger roles in the future.”
With eCommerce venture capital financing going strong and some ecommerce IPO candidates in the mix for 2014, we wanted to highlight a few of the most active venture investors in the Internet eCommerce space this year as well as some of the largest venture-backed financings and exits using the interactive “Rankings” feature on CB Insights. The data below:
Continue reading “The Year in eCommerce VC: The Most Active Investors, Largest Deals and Top Exits of 2013” »
The market for cloud computing infrastructure-as-a-service is heating up. Ranging from Amazon Web Services and Verizon Terremark to a host of smaller startups, IaaS providers aim to deliver hosted, on-demand, scalable infrastructure resources (server, storage, and network infrastructure) to facilitate computing, storage and connectivity.
In our earlier research, we looked into deal activity trends around platform-as-a-service (PaaS) startups in the cloud computing industry. And while the PaaS ecosystem is seeing a decline in venture funding amid growing M&A consolidation, deal activity to the cloud computing category known as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) has seen a steady increase. PaaS offerings differ from those of IaaS in a significant way. Whereas PaaS companies give control of both underlying infrastructure resources and the application development platform to the customer, IaaS vendors manage only the underlying infrastructure level.
IaaS adoption is growing as enterprises increasingly turn to a cloud-based IT model to reduce their cost and time expenditures. The sector’s fast-growing demand and increasing competitive market dynamics (as evident by the number of new players entering the market and shift in market concentration) is gaining interest from venture investors.
Continue reading “Venture Capital Deal Activity to Competitive Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) Market Grows 50%” »
At the moment, Andreessen Horowitz is among the most prolific venture capital investors in the tech ecosystem. Just in the past eight days, the venture firm has announced six deals covering everything from bitcoin to crowdfunding to digital health. And the bets have often been on the larger side in terms of dollars invested. In what is the largest bitcoin deal to-date, the firm led a $25M Series B deal to Coinbase then followed it up with an even bigger bet on virtual reality, leading a $75M investment into Oculus VR.
With rumors that Andreessen Horowitz’s fourth fund may be around the corner, we wanted to take a look at the size of the firm’s deals by stage over the past few years and how they compared to those of a couple other mega venture funds. The data, in full, below.
Continue reading “Among Mega Venture Funds, Andreessen Horowitz Writes Larger Checks” »
When Groupon went public in 2011, excitement was abound that the “unicorn” exit would be the beginning of a startup and venture capital renaissance in Illinois and even the larger midwest. Alas, that did not happen but that doesn’t mean there is not growing activity in the area. Specifically, we wanted to analyze the early stage investors who are actively investing in midwest companies and assess them based on their ability to get their portfolio companies follow-on financing.
Continue reading “The Top Early-Stage Venture Capital Investors in Midwest Tech Startups by Follow-on Investment Rates” »
Last week we shared some high level insights we have gleaned from the data on over 1 million apps in the Apple iTunes App Store that we actively track. This week, we wanted to share how we analyze the data at an application level to help our customers discover emerging apps and publishers.
To achieve our goal of surfacing the most interesting apps and publishers, we have developed various algorithms that analyze the App Store data continuously and alert us when an app, for example, shows significant upward or downward momentum in its ranking. For example, one of the algorithms looks at the historical mean rank of an app within its primary genre and alerts us when the rank falls out of the range of a few standard deviations of this mean. To understand the rationale behind the algorithm, we need to understand the dynamics of the rankings. The following graph shows the distribution density of absolute daily changes in rank for all apps on the App Store.
Continue reading “Identifying the Hottest Startups in the iTunes App Store Using Mobile Data Analytics” »
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is among the most venerated venture capital firms on Sand Hill Road, celebrated for early bets on Amazon, Google and EA among others. But is KPCB now on the ropes? Sarah Lacy and Michael Carney of Pando Daily stirred the pot last week, writing that noted venture partner John Doerr has taken it upon himself to resurrect the firm that once ruled Silicon Valley. From Lacy’s post:
“Kleiner put some wins on the board in 2013, but none were of the headline-grabbing, firm-making variety. To be clear: Kleiner is doing fine, particularly compared to most venture firms. It’s just not doing Kleiner-good.”
Given the recent buzz over the state of the union at KPCB, we wanted to analyze some high-level trends and data around Kleiner’s recent tech investments, including a breakdown of when the firm tends to first invest and its current Tech IPO Pipeline portfolio.
Continue reading “Is Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Getting Its Mojo Back?” »
With massive financing and secondary market rounds becoming more frequent, so have billion dollar plus valuations. In fact, there are 26 U.S.-based private companies in the Tech IPO Pipeline that have raised a financing round at a valuation of $1 billion or more. It’s a figure sure to spark bubble chatter especially given that there have only been 45 billion dollar “unicorn” tech exits since 2004 through October 2013.
In other words, in the almost 10 years from 2014 till date, there have been 45 billion dollar exits and right now, there are 26 U.S.-based companies with valuations over $1 billion. Of course, things may not be frothy and “this time is different” might hold, but we wanted to dive into the numbers a bit to understand how today’s situation compares to the past.
While the biggest checks by venture capital investors have moved decidedly toward the enterprise and the exits are also increasingly enterprise, the billion dollar club of today is largely consumer tech companies. Of the 26 firms, 14 are companies building products used by everyday consumers including Pinterest, Uber, and Snapchat. The full list of tech IPO pipeline companies in the billion dollar valuation club is below.
Continue reading “There Are Too Many Private Billion-Dollar Consumer Tech Companies” »
Earlier this year, we remarked that Q3 2013 was the largest quarter ever in U.S. venture capital financing to the Mobile & Telecom sector. With massive financings to mobile-first companies including Uber, Flipboard and Snapchat to name a few and seed-stage activity heating up, there was no shortage of interest by VCs to invest in technologies and platforms across the mobile ecosystem this year. Bubba Murarka, a managing partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson and former Facebook mobile product manager, captured some of the investor excitement and interest in mobile, writing in AllThingsD that
“Mobile is the single-biggest secular technology platform shift of our time. It’s so big, it bears repeating, and for entrepreneurs (and investors like me), presents edge-of-our-seats opportunities waiting to be unlocked.”
Given the outgrowth of mobile interest and investments in 2013, we wanted to highlight a few of the most active venture investors on the mobile front this year as well as some of the largest venture-backed financings and exits. The data below:
Continue reading “The Year in Mobile VC: The Most Active Venture Capital Investors, Largest Financings and Top Exits of 2013” »
We currently track over 1 million apps in the Apple iTunes App Store across 23 primary genres in 155 countries. We will soon be integrating mobile app data, metrics and analytics into CB Insights to help you discover emerging apps and publishers and understand mobile trends. We’ll be peeling back the curtain on this data over time, but we wanted to kick off things by sharing some interesting insights we have gleaned from the data we have collected so far. As we collect more longitudinal data on mobile apps, we will revisit some of our hypotheses below to see if they hold. Note: The analysis below only considers the US market.
Continue reading “Understanding Mobile App Stickiness” »
As the year quickly comes to an end, we wanted to take a look at a few of the top venture-backed tech exits of 2013 as measured by “value creation”. Specifically, we examined the top 15 IPO or M&A exits with a disclosed exit valuation at or over $100M based on their valuation (real or rumored) at time of exit and compared to the amount of financing they’d received prior to exit.
Analyzing value creation or capital efficiency is helpful in understanding Selection Aptitude in our LP-focused Investor Mosaic models. Selection Aptitude measures the ability of investors to source and ultimately select high quality investments and then shepherd them to favorable outcomes.
Below are some high-level trends and data observed among the top 15 U.S.-based tech exits calculated by value creation including the sectors they operate in and their geographies. While the typical 2014 Tech IPO Pipeline company has raised over $100 million in financing, the list below are companies who were judicious in raising financing raising average of $33 million prior to exit.
Continue reading “The Most Capital Efficient Venture Capital-Backed Tech Exits of 2013” »


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UK's Home Improvers Set To Spend £509 Million As Brexit Fails To Dampen Confidence
Nearly six in ten (59%) of the UK’s homeowners are planning to carry out home improvements worth £509 million¹ over the next six months – contradicting recent reports of weakened consumer confidence – according to new research by leading roof window manufacturer VELUX®.
The VELUX® 2017 Home Improvement survey, released to coincide with Home Improvement Month in April, shows that the number of property owners planning home improvement projects has increased by 12 per cent on this time last year.
Contrary to many recent reports suggesting a weakening of consumer confidence in the shadow of Brexit, the UK’s home improvers are willing to invest to create their dream home, with a planned average spend of £4,870 over the next six months. One in six home improvers (16%) are planning to spend over £10,000 on their proposed projects.
According to the findings, the rationale for home improvement is more emotional than rational. Over a third of home owners (34%) who are planning to improve their property over the next six months are doing so because they love their home and the area they live in and don’t want to move. By comparison, a quarter (26%) are improving their home to add value to the property.
This ‘home sweet home’ philosophy is also front of mind for a quarter of home improvers (24%), whose main reason for home improvement is one of self-satisfaction, simply to make them feel good about themselves.
As a key reason for home improvement, it is only marginally behind adding value.
The main focus of home improvement plans is cosmetic with 71 per cent planning to paint and decorate. However, a quarter (26%) are investing in flooring and lighting, followed by a new kitchen or bathroom (24%) and replacement windows (13%). In London, where space is at more of a premium than elsewhere in the UK, 14 per cent of home improvers are planning an extension compared to just one percent of home improvers in Wales and Scotland.
Despite widespread reports of weakened consumer and business confidence, our comprehensive research underlines a clear intention from homeowners to continue investing in their homes.
What’s perhaps more interesting is that homeowners are spending out of a personal preference of creating their dream homes, just as much as those who are spending to invest in the future value of their property.
Whether it’s by creating an extra room, converting a loft, building an extension or replacing a kitchen or bathroom, it appears that home owners up and down the county are realising the potential of their homes and choosing to improve or to add to the space they have, instead of moving to a different property.
UK based interior design blogger and stylist, Hege Morris of Hege in France, said: “The internet has helped to inspire millions of people to realise the potential of their house and have the courage to create their own dream homes.
“Many homeowners now look beyond the functional use of their home to create spaces which mean more to them. For some, this means creating a personal sanctuary where they can escape from the rigours of everyday life, manage a home-run business or pursue a hobby.
“For others, particularly those with families, we’re seeing the continued growth of large, light and bright, open living spaces, where they can spend more quality time together.”
About the VELUX Group
For more than 75 years, the VELUX Group has created better living environments for people around the world; making the most of daylight and fresh air through the roof. Our product programme includes roof windows and modular skylights, decorative blinds, sun screening products and roller shutters, as well as installation and smart home solutions. These products help to ensure a healthy and sustainable indoor climate, for work and learning, for play and pleasure. We work globally – with sales and manufacturing operations in more than 40 countries and around 9,500 employees worldwide. The VELUX Group is owned by VKR Holding A/S, a limited company wholly owned by non-profit, charitable foundations (THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS) and family. In 2016, VKR Holding had total revenue of EUR 2.4 billion, and THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS donated EUR 155 million in charitable grants. For more information, visit www.velux.com.


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Developer Forest City has released a list of additional retailers that have signed on at Ballston Quarter, its ambitious 850,000-square-foot total redevelopment of the Ballston Common Mall, and many are local to the Washington region.
The developer behind the planned transformation of Ballston Common Mall into Ballston Quarter is going heavy on “experiential” offerings, including cooking classes, live-action entertainment escape rooms, bowling, bocce, karaoke and an indoor play-and-learning center for young families. See photos.
Dr. Ruth has been added to the agenda of the Beacon 50+ Expo, to be held on the third level of Ballston Common Mall from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26. The 86-year-old will be talking about and autographing her latest book.
As some local malls struggle to maintain business, others flourish. But is this sustainable? And what is the future of retail in the D.C. area?
Agape Bears, a fixture of the Ballston Common Mall, is closing on
Sunday. The beloved teddy bear shop has donated bears to police and fire
departments as well as victims of natural disasters.
Arlington County police say a man dropped what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail weapon from the top floor of the Ballston Common Mall food court around noon Thursday.
Arlington County Police are looking for a man who
sexually assaulted a woman in a mall parking
Recreating the District in video game form was no small task. Here's how the developers did it.


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In the News this Week...
brought to you by News Editor, Roger Bray
Heading to the Big Apple this summer?over 8 years ago
Heading to the Big Apple this summer? Lookout for some tasty lunch and dinner deals. New York's Summer Restaurant Week will take place from July 11 – 24. It'll be the 20th anniversary of what is claimed to be the first such event anywhere. Prix fixe lunches at participating eateries have been frozen for the 12th Consecutive year at $24.07 (approx. £14.50) for lunch and $35 (approx. £21) for dinner (excluding drinks, taxes and gratuities). The deals will be available on weekdays and at some restaurants on Sundays – but not on Saturdays. Restaurants taking part will be listed before then event at www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek. The link will also allow you to make reservations.
Experience the very best of the USA & Canada with North America Travel Service & Tauck World Discovery
You'll need a good head for heights to enjoy...over 8 years ago
You'll need a good head for heights to enjoy the latest attraction in the Swiss mountain resort of Leukerbad. A spectacular new viewing platform, scheduled to be open this summer, juts out ten metres from a cliff and has an open grid floor, allowing views straight down to the valley floor 250 metres below. The platform is an extension of the sun terrace at the Wildstrubel restaurant next to the Gemmi cable car station.
May one have an iPad?over 8 years ago
According to newspaper reports in The Sun and Daily Telegraph, the Queen, who is 85, has asked for an iPad after seeing her grand children use theirs. http://bit.ly/Queenipad
The Telegraph reports "A ‘royal insider’ apparently told The Sun: “The Queen hadn’t seen anything like the iPad before. She was very impressed.” Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the report. The Queen has had a mobile phone for almost a decade, having been bought one by her son, the Duke of York. Previously she had banned her staff from using mobile phones on duty but she it is understood that she uses her mobile to keep in touch from her estates, though never in public.
In 2007, the Queen upgraded to a BlackBerry and got her own email address. Last year, while touring the headquarters of Research In Motion, the Canadian firm that makes the BlackBerry, the Queen was given a white BlackBerry Bold. If the Queen has ordered an iPad, it won’t even be her first Apple product. She is said to have bought a silver iPod mini in 2005 – again at the suggestion of Prince Andrew – she was given an iPod by Barack Obama, when the American president visited Buckingham Palace in 2009. The iPod was loaded with photos and videos from the Queen’s 2007 trip to America".
Travel bridges the generation gap in 2011over 8 years ago
According to escorted touring specialist, Journeys of Distinction, 2011 is the year of the 60+ gap year with more older travellers taking more exotic and longer travels than ever before, a marked change from 2000 when a much younger gap year generation were travelling the world between school and university.
The survey of 1000 regular travellers was undertaken to establish how social attitudes and attitudes towards travel have changed in the last 10 years.
Journeys of Distinction MD Karen Gee says “There’s a marked trend that older people are the new gap year generation, those aged 60+ are travelling more often and further afield than ever before. We also discovered that of there is a much greater concern about the environment and the effects of travel, as well as a far greater interest in taking part and experiencing local life”
“It’s clear we are becoming increasingly adventurous in our choice of destinations as we get older, people are inspired by their grandchildren taking time off to see the world and now many older people are now taking the time to explore and take their own gap year.
Plymouth Airport will close at the end of this yearover 8 years ago
Plymouth Airport will close at the end of this year, and the city will lose its air links with UK, Irish and Channel Islands destinations. The airport has been losing money for some and its owner, the Sutton Harbour Group, “has concluded there is no realistic prospect of trade improving in the near future”. Air Southwest currently operates from Plymouth to destinations including Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, Jersey and Guernsey.
Low cost airline Jet2 has launched flights between Edinburgh and Budapestover 8 years ago
Low cost airline Jet2 has launched flights between Edinburgh and Budapest. It operates three round trips a week to the Hungarian capital in summer – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. In winter it will drop the Tuesday service. Jet2, whose headquarters are at Leeds Bradford Airport, also flies to Budapest from Manchester.
Ready, set, go! Harley Davidson and bike enthusiasts from around the world...over 8 years ago
Ready, set, go! Harley Davidson and bike enthusiasts from around the world will be coming together for the first time in Rockford, Illinois. The inaugural ‘Ride the Rumble to Rockford’ is expected to draw up to two thousand Harley enthusiasts with an impressive line up over four days.
Starting on 9 June, 2011, the event will open with ‘Get Tilted at the Kilt’ pre-opening party. Join in with an evening of Irish fun and foolery, along with the girls from Tilted Kilt, and performances from McNulty Irish Dancers and the City of Rockford Bagpipe and Drum Band.
The event hosted by the Harley Owners Group (HOG), will take to the road on a guided ride along the beautiful Rock River that runs through Rockford and McHenry County. Bikers can also explore the town of Rockford on a self guided ride in search of five special Harley Sock Monkeys, “hidden” in plain sight, on this 80 mile ride, and make sure to get all the answers to the clues correct to be entered into the prize draw.
The fun doesn’t stop there – there is a huge range of entertainment available throughout the rally including a Biker Jam event at Kegel’s Harley Davidson; live entertainment from some of Rockford’s local musicians; bike events and bike displays. Along with the world’s largest HOG Friday night Fish Fry, an American take on traditional British fish and chips, and all topped off with a closing ceremony and of course an all night party.
For more information visit www.ilstatehogrally.com
Experience the very best of the USA & Canada with North America Travel Service & Tauck World Discovery
Last minute travel bargains?over 8 years ago
May looks like bring a month of price cuts, according to travel industry insiders. Word is that the extra Bank Holiday, which has enabled people to enjoy substantial breaks without taking too many days off work, has scooped up customers who might otherwise have waited until the schools went back. Couple this with the fact that unease about the economy in general and jobs in particular is making holidays hard to sell and next month looks likely to produce a bumper crop of discounted packages.
Star Clippers, whose passengers get the chance to journey under sail.over 8 years ago
Star Clippers, whose passengers get the chance to journey under sail, is launching a cruise aimed at beginner or budding artists. On board the 170-passenger Star Flyer for the 7-night voyage from Cannes on September 24 will be Suffolk-born Richard Nichols who specialises in seascapes and coastal scenes. He will run workshops in techniques from sketching to painting with watercolours. Passengers will be provided wih the necessary equipment. The ship calls at Corsica, Elba, Portofino and the Hyeres islands, winding up in Monaco, and the cruise costs £1469 (singles pay £1659). www.thecruiseline.co.uk
Read our Star Review about Star Clippers by Steve Newman
Lovers of the impressive wines produced in Portugal's Alentejo.over 8 years ago
Lovers of the impressive wines produced in Portugal's Alentejo will be surprised to learn that the region has been barely touched by tourism from Britain. The numbers visiting are a tiny fraction of those going to the Algarve. New flights there, scheduled for take off in May, could give the area a boost.. As well as a long Atlantic coastline, the Alentejo's attractions include the city of Evora, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Buckingham librarian wins our £4000 AmaWaterway river cruise competition.almost 9 years ago
Librarian Louise Hammond from Buckingham, was stunned to receive a phone call from one of our team telling her she had won a luxury river cruise for two in the March prize draw.
The competition was run in conjunction with luxury river cruise operator AmaWaterways and the first prize, won by Louise, is a 7 night fully inclusive cruise holiday along the Rhine, taking in a visit to the Koblenz horticultural festival.
Louise said: “I am still in shock from winning this holiday! What a wonderful prize, a luxury Rhine River cruise including the Koblenz flower show. My partner Andrew was delighted when I phoned him to say I have won this holiday. It is certainly worth entering a review on the Silver Travel Advisor website, with such excellent prizes on offer and I’ll certainly be writing up this cruise holiday as it’s a real chance of a lifetime”.
Granny and Grandad can go freealmost 9 years ago
Granny and Grandad can go free with families booking a Canvas Holidays package this summer although not if the kids have started school. The deal is only valid for trips starting on or before June 30 – or after September 2. Provided there have to be two adults in your party paying the full price, two other adults can join them with no extra charge. For example, says the operator, a week starting on June 3 at Camping les Deux Fontaines in Brittany, costs £417 per family. That includes accommodation for four adults and two children in a Select Plus mobile home (3 bedrooms, 2 shower rooms and 2 toilets) and midweek Dover – Calais ferry crossings. (www.canvasholidays.co.uk).
Low cost airline bmibaby is to axe flights from Manchester and Cardiff.almost 9 years ago
Low cost airline bmibaby is to axe flights from Manchester and Cardiff at the end of the coming summer. But on the positive side it has announced it will fly to seven new destinations from Belfast City Airport. It plans summer services in 2012 to Malaga, Alicante, Palma, Faro and Ibiza, new year round flights to Amsterdam. Meanwhile this winter it will fly from Belfast City to Geneva. The airline has also announced it will launch services from East Midlands Airport to Toulouse and Chambery for winter 2011. Managing directo Julian Carr says: “In the current economic climate it is essential for bmibaby to focus on airports where the airline already has a strong market presence and where there are strong growth opportunities for the bmibaby business” BMI and its regional arm will continue to operate to a range of destinations from Manchester.
FREE holidays with the NBFAalmost 9 years ago
The National Benevolent Fund for the Aged (NBFA) provides free holidays for older people who are living on a low income. Each holiday is for four nights, five days accommodation at a UK resort. The holiday includes coach travel from a local pick up point to the holiday destination, bed, breakfast, a three course evening meal, nightly entertainment and daily excursions. The next break away is from the 9th – 13th May 2011. The coach is picking up from Staines, Woking, Crawley and Reigate and is going to the holiday destination of The South Downs (Bracklesham Bay)! Anyone able to make their way to one of these pick up points are more than welcome to go on the break away, please call for an application form as soon as possible as limited places are available. To qualify for a FREE break away with NBFA you need to be; over 60 years old, living on a low income, able to get off and on a coach and look after yourself. Please contact the NBFA office 0207 828 0200 for further information.
Airlines flying to and within the US will soon have to refund baggage fees.almost 9 years ago
Airlines flying to and within the US will soon have to refund baggage fees if luggage is lost. The regulation is part of a package, due to come into force later this year, which will also force carriers to up compensation to passengers who are bumped off flights because of overbooking. But “lost” means just that. You won't get your money back if your luggage is merely delayed. In that case, the Department of Transportation in Washington has decided, you'll still have to demand compensation from the airline. It says: “We have decided against requiring carriers to reimburse passengers for any fee charged to transport a bag that is not timely delivered. Arguably, as is the case with transporting passengers themselves, while delay in receiving baggage may be inconvenient, once the carrier delivers a bag the service has been performed. Consumers may, of course, seek reimbursement for damages caused by delay in the
delivery of their baggage by filing a claim with the airline or, if dissatisfied with the airline's resolution of the matter, with an appropriate civil court.” Most passengers no face charges for taking more than their free allowance of checked bags. And some low cost airlines offer no free allowance at all.
World's Largest Fresh Produce Market Opens To Public In Parisalmost 9 years ago
Journey through the belly of Paris! The tradesmen’s market of Rungis is opening its doors to the public for guided tours for the first time in its history.
Fish, meat, fruit, vegetables and flowers are delivered on a daily basis by over 26,000 vehicles to the market site at Rungis which is spread over 232 hectares.
The market provides over half the fresh seafood consumed in the French capital, 45% of Paris’ fruit and vegetables, 35% of its meat and 50% of the flowers that adorn Parisian homes and businesses.
Usually closed to the public, tourists now have the opportunity to take a guided tour of the market on the second Friday of each month. Strictly for morning people, the pickup from Paris is at 5am! The visit ends at 8.30am with a traditional market breakfast.
Prices: €75 per person including transport to and from Paris city centre, guided tour, and breakfast.
More information: www.visiterungis.com
Hotel prices have rocketed in some cities over the past yearalmost 9 years ago
Hotel prices have rocketed in some cities over the past year, says reservations system operator HRS. Rates in Rio de Janeiro, Sydney and Cape Town jumped by 68%, 26.86% and 25.51% respectively between the first quarter of 2010 and the same period this year, Rates in Buenos Aires were up 20.16% and New York prices rose by 14.97%. Those in Zurich increased by 17.59%, Moscow by 15.37% and Stockholm by 13.59%. Two caveats when reading these figures: first, the economic climate was much chillier a year ago, depressing rates, And second, the rates are calculated in Euros, whose value against some of these cities' domestic currencies has fallen. This skews some of the figures a bit – but not by very much. On the bright side, rates in Prague , Copenhagen, Rome and Milan, changed hardly at all, while those in Barcelona and Budapest even fell slightly.
"Feel part of the vivid in-room installations"almost 9 years ago
“Feel part of the vivid in-room installations” is the promise made to guests at a new hotel opening on June 1 in the centre of Athens. Don't be confused but that’s what it's called – New Hotel. It's been created by Greek Cypriot art collector Dakis Joannou, owner of the Yes!hotel group, with the help of Brazilian designers Humberto and Fernando Campana, who have exhibited at New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Design Museum in London. They have turned fittings such as chairs and doors from the old Olympic Palace hotel, which the building formerly housed, into art works. The hotel is 200 metres from Syntagma (Constitution) Square. Prices start at €180 (about £160) – www.yeshotels.gr.
For European citybreaks, we recommend Kirker Holidays
Why does it take so long for cabin crew to reach you with the drinks?almost 9 years ago
Why does it take so long for cabin crew to reach you with the drinks? A speedier solution could be at hand. Two German companies, SkyMax and Air-Eltec Luftfahrtelektrik have come up with an automated trolley which can produce any of 30 hot or cold drinks at the push of a button. No more groping around for the right can or pouring hot tea from a jug. Called Sky-Tender, it looks like a no brainer. But, of course, we can't vouch for the quality of the coffee.
Tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show (May 24-28)almost 9 years ago
Tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show (May 24 – 28) are included in two packages on offer from tour operator Superbreak (www.superbreak.com). A night's b&b on May 27 and entrance to she show next day costs £138 at the Lancaster Gate Hotel and £162 at the Malmaison


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Author: Michael Cob
After an argument on twitter’s iOS App, Tim Cook and Elon Musk appear to be on good terms. Musk who previously stated that Cook threatened to suspend Twitter from the app store, said he and Tim Cook had a nice talk at Apple’s head office, and their misunderstanding is resolved.
What Was the Misunderstanding Between Elon Musk and Tim Cook?
Musk, the CEO of Twitter, claimed in a slew of tweets that Apple was undermining his social media site by reducing advertising. He also claimed that Apple had threatened to ban Twitter from its App Store.
Musk also criticized Apple’s 30% fee, which it levies on some developers for the majority of payments received via its App Store. Additionally, Musk charged that Apple was monopolizing the industry and questioned Cook on Twitter about if Apple was against free speech.
On Monday, additional developers joined Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, and Musk in criticizing Apple. Musk received no response from Cook on Twitter. Outside of regular US business hours, Insider emailed Twitter and Apple for comments, but neither company responded right away.
Twitter wouldn’t be subject to Apple’s 30% app store fees. The platformer report issued on Tuesday revealed that the social media site had no plans to make its verified subscription available as an in-app payment. Musk’s proposals to charge users of Twitter $8 monthly for its verification service may be affected by the costs imposed by the tech giant.
According to experts, Apple may find a justification to remove Twitter from the App Store, but it would probably decide against doing so due to antitrust concerns.
How Did the Two Resolve Their Differences?
According to Reuters, the meeting was “constructive” and the two have resolved their differences.
Elon Musk, the founder of Twitter, said he spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook and settled the misunderstanding.
We cleared up the confusion on Twitter possibly being taken off the App Store, along with other things, Musk tweeted. Tim stated unequivocally that Apple never gave the idea any thought.
In addition, Musk tweeted a video of “Apple’s magnificent HQ” in Cupertino, California, along with the comment that he and Cook had a nice talk.
Requests for a response from AFP were unanswered by Apple. Musk started a war of words with the most valuable corporation on earth. The war was about charges and policies of the App Store, claiming Apple had threatened to remove his freshly bought social media site from the market.
Cook was clear that Apple never considered removing Twitter from the App Store,
According to Musk, the misunderstanding between the two technology giants has been resolved. He also mentioned that Cook was clear that Apple never considered removing Twitter from the App Store.
Hopefully, this is true, and the two companies can continue to work together for the betterment of all. After all, they are both in the business of innovation and could learn a lot from each other.
It seems like the misunderstanding between Elon Musk and Tim Cook has been resolved. It’s good to see that the two leaders of such large companies can put their differences aside and work together. We can only hope that this sets a precedent for future collaborations between other companies.


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More consumers are utilizing the internet for researching prescription medication information, a new study finds, with depression remaining the leading condition researched online.
According to data released by research firm comScore Networks, 33 million Internet users visited a prescription medication site in the third quarter in 2006, an increase of 13 percent the same period a year ago. Of those, 2.9 million unique visitors researched depression.
Consumers are increasingly looking to the Internet to become more knowledgeable about medications that have been prescribed by their doctors, or that seem relevant for their symptoms, said Carolina Petrini, vice president of comScore Pharmaceutical Solutions.
Two-thirds of visitors to prescription medication sites reported conducting research for themselves, with 10 percent conducting research for a spouse and 6 percent for a child, the study finds.
Top searches for specific health conditions by the number of unique visitors were: depression, 2.9 million; bipolar disorder, 1.8 million; and insomnia, 1.7 million.
The results come from replies by 411 respondents to a pharmaceutical survey e-mail request.


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Koreans will now be able to pay their road tolls via their cell phone through LG Telecom's new PassON service. Designed to save time and money, users of the service get a discount for paying via cell.
Sounds great, but the new service will be a little tricky to implement considering the company is Korea's smallest mobile service provider. Other cell phone companies don't seem too keen on the new service, however, so maybe this will cause the major switch LG has been waiting for.
Koreans Can Now Pay For Tolls with Cell Phones
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Mona Lisa mosaic made of burnt toast is a labour of loaf
Last week, a renowned New Zealand artist completed a giant rendition of Mona Lisa eating pink ice cream – made entirely of burnt toast – for Hong Kong’s Food Art Festival.
Maurice “Toastman” Bennett, 53, used nothing but a blowtorch to create different colour tones and patterns. His latest work of art, “Sweet Delight Mona Lisa,” is a billboard-size mosaic made of about 6,000 pieces of toast.
Bennett endeavours to attain a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest mosaic made of toast.
His exhibit is open to the public as part of the Food Art Festival held at K-11, Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centre. Bennett worked on this Mona Lisa replica from a studio nestled on the first floor of the mall, which reeked of gas and burnt toast.
He has also created impressive celebrity toast portraits – from Elvis Presley and US President Barack Obama to New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Keys. Bennett’s abstract pieces are reminiscent of pixel art, with a slice of toast for each pixel.
The Toastman’s works of art have been featured on Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
Check out Maurice Bennett‘s website for his toast art and other burnt works.