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Help is available for small business owners in the Hazleton area, and the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce wanted to let downtown businesses know.
So, representatives from the chamber, CAN DO and the Wilkes University Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which serves Luzerne and Carbon counties, took a walking tour to visit several businesses in downtown Hazleton on Thursday.
“A lot of our business owners were not aware of the fact of some of the services that are available,” said Chamber President Mary Malone.
Dorothy Lane, director of the SBDC, said the visits are being made as part of the Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance (PREP) program, which is designed to encourage regional coordination among entities involved in economic development efforts — like the Chamber, CAN DO and the state’s 16 SBDCs.
Part of the PREP program is the Engage program, in which economic development professionals visit small business owners.
“It gives us an opportunity to get away from our desks and come out and meet some new people in the community we haven’t worked with before and tell them about our services,” Lane said. “We help businesses get their start, but we also work with businesses which have been in existence with any issues they may have — if you’re looking to expand, if you’re having some sort of human resource problem, if you’re looking for interns, if you’re having an inventory issue — we can work with you to help you resolve your problem. We’re here to hear about any issues that are difficult for you.”
Jocelyn Sterenchock, director of entrepreneurial services for CAN DO Inc., the area’s economic development organization, said CAN DO also administers state financing programs.
“We’re all working together to better the community,” Sterenchock said. “We’re hearing people don’t know about the financing. CAN DO has services for community members. We’re more than just an industrial park ownership. There’s so much we can do for small businesses in the community.”
Mark Minnig, CAN DO’s economic development specialist, said he is ready to help with business financing.
“If you get to the point you want to expand, or open up a second location, we have financing programs that can save you a lot of money,” Minnig said. “We work with traditional financing to save companies money over the life of a loan for real estate, machinery and equipment with low interest rates.”
Lane said she knew of one common problem.
“For instance, I know businesses in other towns we visited that workforce is a problem,” she said. “It’s tough finding good, reliable people.”
One source of workers is interns, and Sterenchock cited a way to get them.
“Every summer, the (Pennsylvania) CareerLink has an amazing program called SLIP (State Local Internship Program),” she said. “The CareerLink actually offers to reimburse the employer for eight weeks of full-time work. It’s a way to work with your local college and universities, engage young talent and really do it at no risk to you or your business. You put them on the payroll for those eight weeks, then you submit the payroll notices to the CareerLink and you get reimbursed for it.”
Small businesses have an opportunity to do business on the internet, but they may not have the manpower for it — but they can, from the young people eligible for the SLIP program.
“Maybe you could use somebody to work on a marketing plan, rework a web site or do social media planning,” she said. “The program is open to people ages 18-26, so even students after college that are not in school anymore, but are looking for a resumé builder, can get some exposure as well. You might get experienced graduates. You express what you need to the CareerLink, and the CareerLink pairs you with somebody. Even if you don’t have the need for it (interns), you can be introspective and see if there is something you can use young talent for.”
The new LaunchBox in downtown Hazleton is stirring the interest of young people to become entrepreneurs, Sterenchock said.
Malone said Lucy Singer, from the SBDC, visits the chamber once a month. But those visits may happen more often because of the activity, Malone said.
Contact the writer: email@example.com 570-501-3585


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Last fall we learned that Coca-Cola was planning to launch paper bottles for its drinks in the near future, and now that vision is becoming a reality in a European country.
The Coca-Cola Company has ambitious future plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. It wants to do this in a very interesting way, through new bottles. Reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere is already a standard among global companies. Unfortunately, it is not enough to take better care of the environment. That’s why Coca-Cola decided to go a step further and use its customers to make itself more ecological and give us the satisfaction that we are doing something important for Mother Nature.
Last fall, engineers from Coca-Cola and the Danish company Paboco designed and created a new eco-friendly bottle in which carbonated beverages will soon be sold. The first prototype consists of 30 percent paper because it uses a layer of bio-based PEF. Ultimately, however, it is to be as much as 100 percent. It will not be easy to create such packaging, but engineers are not losing hope.
The Coca-Cola Company is proud to announce that the first European tests of paper bottles for its beverages will soon appear in Hungary. The project will be implemented as part of the World Without Waste initiative. The production of the bottles will be handled by Paboco (The Paper Bottle Company) established by ALPLA, a plastic packaging manufacturer, which will cooperate with BillerudKorsnäs, a Swedish paper manufacturer.
“Our goal is to create a paper bottle that can be recycled just like any other type of paper. This prototype is the first step towards achieving this great goal. The paper bottle offers completely new possibilities and we are convinced that it will play a huge role in the future. – said Stijn Franssen innovation manager in packaging research and development at Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola’s ultimate goal is to completely eliminate plastic in its bottles. There is still a long way to go, but despite this fact, the company intends to increase the recycling of its cans and bottles over the next 10 years. The plan is to recycle as much packaging as is produced at one time. It should also be noted that the first prototype of a paper bottle can already be fully recycled.
Will this eco-friendly solution catch on? In fact, it will depend on the price of the drink in such a bottle and its taste. Let’s not deceive ourselves that taste is the most important thing, and advertised products without sugar, in fact, taste different from those sweetened with real sugar, although their producers try to convince us that it is different. The same will happen in the case of bio-packaging, such as a paper bottle, in which the drink will taste different.

domain: news


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Diverse companies – from startups to multinational corporations – continue to relocate and expand existing operations in the Charleston region.
Sea Pac LLC
October 12, 2015
Transloading, warehousing, packaging and logistics of plastic resins
Sea Pac is building a 1.5 million-square-foot facility on 100+ acres. Plans call for creating 50 new jobs with a goal of expanding to more than 200 employees by 2020. The company chose the Charleston region for its "tremendous global connectivity, which features access to the nation's most productive port," according to company officials.
Volvo Car USA
May 12, 2015
The Swedish automaker, Volvo Cars, has announced it will locate its first North American manufacturing plant in the Charleston region. The new operation will be located near the intersection of Interstates 26 & 95, and will manufacture latest-generation Volvo models for sale in the United States and for export to global markets through the Port of Charleston. The new $500 million Volvo plant is expected to create 2,000 new jobs over the next decade and up to 4,000 jobs by 2030.
February 24, 2015
Telephone answering and outsourced reception services
Moneypenny looks after telephone calls for businesses of all shapes and sizes - from sole proprietors right up to multinational corporations. For larger companies, Moneypenny can either support an existing reception team or provide a fully outsourced switchboard function. Based in Wrexham, UK, Charleston, USA and Auckland, New Zealand, Moneypenny has over 400 staff, a figure that is growing at a rapid rate. The company was founded by a brother and sister team in 2000 and now handles over 9 million calls a year for over 7,000 businesses. Moneypenny is proud to have won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and has been in The Sunday Times ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ three times.


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Production Issues May Be Plaguing The Galaxy S5 CameraBy cheatmaster 08:38 Mon, 19 Jul 2021 Comments
A new, home-brewed ISOCELL sensor is at the heart of the Samsung Galaxy S5 camera, but it turns out there's a new, complicated lens system too. Perhaps too complicated – ETNews is reporting that Samsung sees only 20-30% of the desired yield on the lenses.
The recent lens is made up of six plastic elements, while the 13MP capturing camera on the Galaxy S4 had five elements. This means one more lens has to fit into roughly the same thickness. The lenses were made thinner so they could fit, but thin lenses are more prone to fatal defects.
Defects on individual lens aside, aligning six elements properly is also causing headaches. The Korean publication says that mass production of the Samsung Galaxy S5 cannot start due to these issues. The original plan was to start making the lens last month, but the low yield is pushing back the schedule.
This isn't the first issue to hit Galaxy S5 production, a fire in a PCB factory earlier this month was rumored to reduce manufacturing capacity, only for Samsung to deny any possible shortages later.
The launch of Samsung's recent flagship is set for April 11 and pre-orders are already in effect in some regions.
Source | Via
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Unilever denies Bestfoods talks
Unilever has denied it was in fresh talks with US food giant Bestfoods after reports the Anglo-Dutch group had indicated it might raise its $17bn (£11.3bn) bid for the Knorr soup, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Skippy peanut butter business.
But a spokesman did not rule out that there may have been informal 'conversations'. The Wall Street Journal said detergents group Unilever had raised its bid to at least $70 a share in an effort to win an agreed deal. Its shares fell 5 1/4p to 434 1/4p.
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To The Editor: On Thursday, March 26 the Kallet Civic Center came alive with lights, music and “fabulous fashion for every age,” to benefit the Oneida Healthcare Center. Nearly 300 enthusiastic attendees came to cheer on their family members, friends and neighbors, proving this year’s event to be a huge success and most rewarding experience. The fashion show committee would like to express their gratitude to all of our sponsors, models, participating stores, volunteers, vendors and local businesses for their support. We could not have done any of it without you! Out most sincere thanks.
Benefit fashion show huge success
Start the conversation


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New vehicles sales in July inched ahead in Australia by 0.4 per cent compared with the same month a year ago, but backlogs in supply are still crimping overall sales in a market where the Toyota HiLux ute is a clear No. 1 with buyers.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said on Wednesday that new vehicle supply chains remained unpredictable and demand would outstrip supply for the forseeable future.
It comes as Rich Lister Nick Politis – the biggest shareholder in ASX-listed car dealership group Eagers Automotive – kept up a steady buying spree in the company, which has now extended to 15 consecutive business days.
Mr Politis lodged another notice on Wednesday, saying he had acquired a further parcel of 10,000 shares at $12.5659 each.
He has spent almost $2 million since July 13 topping up his stake in the group, which runs 200 showrooms in Australasia and has a market share in new vehicles of about 10 per cent.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said while small rise in total sales to 84,461 vehicles was positive, the logjams in the global vehicle manufacturing sector still meant lengthy waiting times.
“Once again Australia is following the global trend of demand for new vehicles exceeding supply,” he said.
The NSW market was up 10.9 per cent in July compared with a year earlier, while South Australian sales were up 13.3 per cent. But all other states and territories suffered a decline in sales.
Victoria was down 5.8 per cent, Western Australia 9 per cent, Queensland recorded a decline of 1.1 per cent, and Tasmania 13.2 per cent.
Sydney and Melbourne were headed into extended COVID-19 lockdowns in July last year.
The Toyota HiLux ute was again the biggest selling vehicle in Australia in July, with 6441 vehicles bought. This was more than double the next model, the Ford Ranger ute, which recorded 2934 sales.
Toyota’s RAV4 was in third spot, with 2437, followed by the Mazda CX-5 SUV at 2346, and Hyundai’s Tucson SUV at 2186.
Toyota was the clear market leader, with 23.2 per cent in July, with Mazda a distant second with 9.3 per cent.
Mr Politis holds a 27.3 per cent stake in Eagers Automotive and was ranked No. 51 on The Australian Financial Review Rich List in 2022 with an estimated wealth of $2.23 billion.
He also has extensive private interests in the vehicle industry.
Eagers Automotive last month acquired his privately owned dealerships in the ACT for $193 million.
The ACT dealerships and 10 properties being acquired make up more than 30 per cent of the total number of new vehicles sold in the ACT each year, and generate $450 million in sales annually.
In February, Eagers Automotive signed a five-year agreement to be the exclusive retailer in Australia for fast-growing Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD.
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Updated from 9:52 a.m. ET to include Carl Icahn comment
NEW YORK (
TheStreet) -- Tech sector heavyweights such as
Apple(AAPL - Get Report),
Google(GOOG - Get Report) and
Microsoft(MSFT - Get Report) continue to grow their cash stockpiles, even as activists
successfully press for higher payouts of dividends and share repurchases.
Still, as tech blue chips institute dividends that more closely resemble the payouts of staid
Dow Jones Industrial Average heavyweights like
Exxon Mobil(XOM), bank accounts may be closing in on an inflection point. Cash held at tech firms continues to grow in proportion to other sectors, but the rate of acceleration continues to slow.
Debt levels and dividend payouts, led by Apple, are on the rise after the company committed to returning most of its quarterly free cash flow to investors in the most recent quarter. Microsoft, meanwhile, is doubling down on a cash burning investment in the consumer smartphone market and Google appears poised to become the next cash-rich tech sector titan to pay out a dividend, albeit in a few years' time.
For now, cash continues to roll into Silicon Valley and especially at Apple.
The tech sector's $515 billion cash stockpile now represents 56% of the funds held at the top-50 cash-rich corporations in the U.S. and has grown in 2013 amid record payouts from the likes of Apple, according to
Moody's. Even as Apple instituted a record
$18.8 billion cash return in its most recent quarter, the iPhone and iPad maker continues to see its bank account grow in proportion to the rest of corporate America.
Apple now accounts for 9.9% of non-financial corporate cash, according to Moody's, up from year-end 2012 levels of 9.5% when the company had a far less aggressive dividend and share buyback policy. If Apple's earnings hold up as the company pushes out new smartphones and works to grow in Asia, investors such as Carl Icahn of
Icahn Enterprises and David Einhorn of
Greenlight Capital could press for even bigger payouts.
On Monday, Icahn met with Apple CEO Tim Cook after the billionaire activist tweeted that he planned to discuss the magnitude of the firm's share buyback plan in August. While nothing conclusive came from the meeting, Icahn took to
Twitter to say he pushed hard for a $150 billion share buyback and will continue to discuss the proposal in coming weeks.
"Had a cordial dinner with Tim last night. We pushed hard for a 150 billion buyback. We decided to continue dialogue in about three weeks," Icahn wrote in a Tuesday tweet.
In April, Apple
said it would increase its quarterly dividend to $3.05 a share as part of a plan to return $100 billion in cash to investors by the
end of 2015.
The company then launched a record
$17 billion debt offering to finance buybacks and dividend increases, in a move that was applauded by investors such as Einhorn.
While Apple has instituted a radical change to its capital allocation policy since the end of 2012, Moody's underlying data indicates the company continues to the most prominent cash generator in corporate America.
Apple shares were rising less than 1% in early Tuesday trading to $480.73. Year-to-date shares have fallen nearly 10% excluding dividend payments.
-- Written by Antoine Gara in New YorkFollow @AntoineGara


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Happy Birthday to us and all that. Today Ducati News Today turns 3 years young. Just like a toddler we are getting more comfortable on our feet but there is still a long way to go. We have some big plans for 2012 mostly related to the fact that the opportunity to return to New Zealand as a base of operations has given us more time on our hands than planned to work on the site!
2011 was another year of growth for us with traffic essentially doubling and our community on Facebook and Twitter growing ever stronger. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for being a reader of the site. Running this site has been a great source of happiness. We’ve learnt a lot and shared plenty too. As is customary now on our anniversary, let us share again the very first post, a review of Mark’s Ducati Monster S4RS.
About Ducati News Today
Ducati News Today is a Web site solely dedicated to the beautiful Italian machines that have been likened to the Ferrari of motorcycles. Our vision is to create and curate the best Ducati content on the web. The site has over 1,000 articles and shares Ducati news, reviews and follows the company’s racing exploits the world over from MotoGP to the British Superbike Championship. We have over 100,000 visits from around 165 countries each month with the USA, Australia, UK, Germany and Canada making up the top 5. We have over 4,000 Facebook fans and more than 7,000 Twitter followers.
No related posts.
FG_AUTHORS: Mark Morrison


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If you run a local retail business like a toy store, book store or even a shoe store, then a new study indicates that you need to start getting online.
The study by market research firm The Leading Edge shows that almost one third of the 1500 online shoppers surveyed said the main reason they shopped from overseas websites was to buy goods not available locally. While 19% said they shopped offshore because it was cheaper and a similar number said they shopped internationally for a greater choice of products.
Paypal commissioned the research to determine the biggest areas of growth and opportunity for retailers.
“Our research paints a positive picture for domestic retailers,” said PayPal managing director Frerk-Malte Feller. Now local businesses just need to get their online strategy right, so they can begin competing with international rivals.
One of the biggest threats to online retailers is shopper trust. Only one third of those surveyed believe it is safe to shop online domestically and even less actually shop from Australian website (23%).
While they stats might look daunting, they actually pose a great opportunity for retailers to get their business online. The first place to start is with your website. If you don’t have one, build one ASAP. If you do have one, then it might be time to give it an overhaul. I recently wrote an article title ‘Website Design 101 for 2011” which will help. But the most important things to consider are:
- Keep the layout simple and easy to navigate
- Have a validation certification (such as TRUSTe) for e-commerce sites
- Include all your delivery options, costs and time-frames
Recent Forrester research shows Australians are projected to spend $26.86 billion online this year, up from $24.02 billion in 2009. So there is definitely an opportunity for local business to have a slice of the “online revenue pie” in 2011.


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Appway, a provider of business process automation software focused on customer onboarding and customer lifecycle management for financial institutions, announced a $37 million minority investment from growth equity firm Summit Partners.
Appway plans to use the new funds to further expand its product portfolio and accelerate international growth. Additionally, the company will continue to invest in its software, leveraging cloud economics and flexibility to support real-time innovation for its customers and partners.
Appway software is designed to support the digital transformation of customer-focused organizations across the financial services industry. The software helps businesses automate and adapt complex customer-centric workflows across touchpoints and channels by assembling and configuring reusable components.
In a high-touch industry where customer service is a key competitive differentiator, Appway’s customers have reduced their client onboarding time by 90% and have driven meaningful and measurable uplift in customer lifetime value across the full client spectrum, from individual accounts to households and complex business structures.
The company’s clients include Credit Suisse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, LGT, LPL Financial, and Deutsche Bank.
“Over the past decade, financial institutions have had to adapt core business processes to comply with increasingly rigorous regulations and oversight related to customer identity verification (e.g., KYC), onboarding, risk and compliance,” said Steffan Peyer, a Principal at Summit Partners. “We believe that Appway has developed a versatile and scalable platform, helping its customers to onboard clients faster, automate regulatory compliance processes and reduce costs.”
As part of the investment, Steffan Peyer will join the Appway board of directors.
Image Credit; Appway


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Chinese tourists spent $230 billion abroad in 2015 with this figure rising to over $250 billion in 2016. Last year over 150 million Chinese ‘middle class’ tourists travelled abroad. This market is growing year on year and shows no signs of slowing down. The rise in independent Chinese travellers is a key trend that emerged at the start of 2015. The Chinese stereotypically are known to travel in large, loud and organized tour groups but this appears to be changing. Independent Chinese Travellers Now we see the growth of independent travellers, not using the large Chinese travel agencies but...Read More
Author: Benji Lamb
Social e-commerce in China is in vogue as we witness this interesting marriage of social media and e-retail developing this year. Once again the Chinese tech arena is innovating and serving as a blue print for how social media influencers can facilitate sales. Let’s explore this trend further. $174 000 worth of designer bags sold in 12 minutes.. A fashion blogger and influencer known as ‘Mr Bags’ sold $174 000 worth of designer bags and accessories via his social media account. This proved that a huge and impressionable following can be tapped into via influencers such as this, it...Read More
The well documented Mobile Biking APP revolution in China is a wonderful example of Chinese ingenuity, innovation and the growing start-up culture. Mobike and Ofo are two largest players backed by Chinese heavy weights Tencent (the firm behind WeChat) and Didi (the largest taxi hailing app who recently acquired Uber in China) respectively. Bikes are now everywhere in the large urban areas of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shenzhen. Users simply scan a QR code to access the bike and scan to end the journey, they can leave the bike wherever they finish the ride, no stations are...Read More
British clothing and apparel is growing in popularity in China, particularly amongst the now often referred to market segment; ‘millenials’, that is Children born after 1990. The Chinese market now boasts over 350 million middle class consumers, the largest number in the world and British fashion is proving to be a strong beneficiary. The UK Apparel and accessories industry is growing with 340,000 direct jobs created across 80 000 companies. The success of British Apparel in China is linked to its success back home. The industry now adds $11.5bn to the UK economy annually. In-fact the UK is now...Read More
The giant super market chain Carrefour is investing millions of dollars into its reputation in China with the largest online ‘branding campaign’ the country has ever seen. The highly successful super market know a thing or two about international branding, founded in France in 1959, they now operate in 34 different countries and have cited China as the most important market for global growth, this is because of the increasingly affluent and sizeable middle class consumer population. The campaign revolves around the slogan; ‘there is a trust.. we call it Carrefour’ alongside two different video’s promoting food safety...Read More
Marketing to China is a website by Gentlemen Marketing Agency designed to provide fresh insights and a deeper understanding of the Chinese market.
China is a rapidly growing consumer market with more companies throughout the world looking for ways to develop their marketing, branding and communication that is relevant to Chinese consumers.
The aim of this website is to inform readers about the market and provide insightful analysis.
Marketing to China would like to explain Chinese Business and Marketing to the rest of the world. Please feel free to comment and share our articles !
Gentlemen Marketing Agency
We are a Digital Marketing Agency based in Shanghai. We are dedicated to helping our clients grow in the Chinese market by implementing the most effective digital strategy to offer return on investment. Our customers choose us because of our; efficiency, pragmatic approach and innovative solutions adapted to the market. For more information see :
Our blog is written by Benji (British), Olivier (French) and Philip (Chinese) with additional contributions from our team of experts on the Chinese market.
We are passionate about marketing in the aptly named ‘mysterious orient’. We come from different backgrounds and have different cultural views which make us the ideal international team to develop your interests in China.


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Honda is set to join the few other manufacturers ready to unveil new electric vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show, which start October 29. Nissan and Mitsubishi already announced their intentions to debut new EV models and now Honda is ready to introduce a new plug-in hybrid according the a report from AutoNews.
Honda’s electric offering has been seriously lacking with its most important contribution to the EV market being an Accord plug-in with 13 miles of range on all-electric, and although the company seems to still prefer hydrogen as an alternative zero emission fuel, the company is showing continued investment in electric drivetrains. The new plug-in is believed to achieve “at least three times” the 13-miles electric range of the Accord. At ~40 miles, the car would deliver less range than the new 2016 Volt, which achieves 53 miles, but could be an alternative for the many markets where the Volt is not available. Honda also says that it will allow for “extended EV-mode driving on highways.”
Engineers working on the vehicle said that it will be equipped with a 130-kilowatt motor and an improved lithium-ion battery pack.The company has also been working on a modified CR-Z with 4 electric motors. They built the car to compete at the Pikes Peak Race, but after satisfying results at the race, the project’s chief engineer Yutaka Horiuchi said Honda is now considering a possible production version of the vehicle or the platform.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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SAN JOSE, USA – As the trial between Apple and Samsung continues, Samsung was able to breach the rules of the trial once more, while in the same time it is trying to issue a rebuttal to Apple’s request for sanctions, and to render obsolete the patents of Apple based on designs seen in science-fiction movies. At the same time, Apple is revealing more and more details about their prototypes of the iPhone.
It seems that Samsung’s lawyers are not trying very hard to comply with the rules of the patent trial with Apple, as they managed to breach them once more. This time they showed to the witnesses the courtroom prior to testimony, which was forbidden by the judge. The incident happened when there were no proceedings in the courtroom, but one of the lawyers of the firm representing the company managed to gain access to the Ceremonial Courtroom in which the trial is held and to show it to five witnesses and several in-house lawyers of Samsung.
Meanwhile, Samsung made attempts to issue a motion to strike an earlier Apple request, which asked the court to hand down sanctions against the South Korean company for providing excluded case evidence to the media. Samsung also tried to render obsolete the design patents held by Apple with arguments that the design is based on the 60s’ science fiction movies 2001: A Space Odyssey and Tomorrow People. Judge Lucy Koh issued an order on Thursday denying this motion.
On the other side a former employee of Apple in his testimony revealed earlier plots of the company to launch its first iPhone with contoured screens, while concerns over consumer comfort put the dagger in the plans for an iPhone Mini. The contoured screen idea was eventually abandoned owing to cost issues at the time.


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ATM 2014 opens with updated Tourism Vision 2020
DUBAI- Dubai’s goal of doubling the 10 million visitors welcomed in 2012 to 20 million by 2020 is the collective responsibility of all industry stakeholders, was the message shared at the launch session of the ATM 2014 seminar series, which opened today at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre.
The opportunities, challenges and early successes of the government initiative, one year on from its official launch, were addressed by four top tourism industry leaders at a session entitled ‘Delivering the Tourism Vision for 2020 and how Dubai is marketed to the world’.
Leading the panel discussion was Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO & Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM), who was joined by Ghaith al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai; Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates; and Neil Jones, Chief Sales & Marketing Office MEA, Marriott International.
Opening the session, Almarri said: “Dubai’s position in the world, with what we have to offer, is very promising. The Expo 2020 win offers a clear message that Dubai is seen as a tourism and business hub for the region. We’re very proud to have won the right to host the event, but Dubai won’t stop;it will continue evolving up to, and beyond, 2020.”
DTCM has spent the last 12 months working closely with its partners in the tourism industry to implement the first phases of the detailed strategy, with Al Marri reporting that government departments and private sector companies have fully embraced the vision as the emirate fast tracks regulatory changes to facilitate further sector development in the remaining half of the decade.
Since ATM 2013, the Dubai government has already announced plans to create a fully integrated e-Permit and e-Ticketing system and shared details of an exciting incentivisation initiative that will enable hotel owners to bring forward construction timelines for three and four-star properties, with eligible developments granted a concession on the standard 10% Municipality Fee levied on the room rate for each night of occupancy.
At the start of 2014, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and UAE Vice President and Prime Minister issued a series of directives designed to enhance and streamline hotel investment and development in the emirate, supported by ongoing infrastructure expansion. At the same time, the newly established DTCM affiliate, the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) will focus on the international marketing and promotion of Dubai’s tourism and commerce credentials to a growing global audience.
Following the recent news that Dubai International Airport pipped London’s Heathrow as the busiest airport globally for international passengers in Q1 2014, and with the successful phase one launch of the emirate’s second international hub, Al Maktoum International, the role of Emirates and flydubai in bringing the world to Dubai was a key discussion point.
Commenting on the role of the emirate’s airline in driving inbound passenger numbers, Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai, said: “Dubai’s vision is why we’ve been so successful. We set out to maintain the standard expected of Dubai, which sets us apart from typical low cost airlines because we’re innovative in introducing distinctive value added services.
“We now fly to 75 destinations, 48 not already served from Dubai and these are aligned to meet Dubai Expo 2020’s growth plans.”
“The challenge for 2020 is to meet the demand in services while developing the brand and have the best airlift in the world, and continue to accelerate in terms of quality,” added Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates.
The city has been named as a top destination to visit during 2014 by both the New York Times and the Trip Advisor Traveller’s Choice Awards, and the need to attract a broad visitor base, and position Dubai as a destination for budget as well as luxury travellers, was also addressed by the panelists.
“Dubai is a fantastic attractive city for tourists and business travellers and we believe Marriott can have 10,000 rooms in the city in 2020, up from 3,000 now. This is a unique destination with architecture and a rich cultural history, but we need help with partners such as airlines and cruise lines to build demand; but we’re bullish for the future,” said Neil Jones, Chief Sales & Marketing Office MEA, Marriott International.
The 21st edition of Arabian Travel Market 2014 takes place at Dubai International Exhibition and runs through to Thursday 8 May.


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Miuccia Prada once famously said, "Fashion is instant language." So, what might our American politicians be saying with the recent news regarding the dress code on the Senate floor? Senator Chuck Schumer, a democrat of New York and the majority leader, has made a sartorial change in the Senate that has thunderous implications. For the first time in centuries, American lawmakers are no longer required to don suits and ties while conducting business on the Senate floor.
"There has been an informal dress code that was enforced," Senator Schumer said in a statement according to the New York Times. "Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit."
To make it clear: the way members of Congress dress is not more important than how they vote, and they are not elected into office because of their wardrobes, but rather because of their campaign promises. But, there is something to be said about dressing for the job.
This change in dress code could be a response to a trickling trend: Senator John Fetterman, the six-foot-eight Democrat from Pennsylvania, was recently seen wearing his signature Carhartt sweatshirts and baggy shorts to work events. Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, was seen exiting the Senate chamber wearing gray athletic attire from Under Armour after a vote last year. Barack Obama was known to ditch the tie during his presidency, while a borderline vulgar red baseball cap was often worn by Donald Trump.
Outside of politics, American fashion designers ushered athleisure into the international market, making sneakers, hoodies, and cargo pants marketed and priced to be as luxurious as silk shirts and tailored suit jackets. The Kardashians, arbiters of great cultural influence arguably in the same way as the British Royal family is for the UK, made biker shorts and wearing baseball caps inside fashionable. Suits and ties, once the staple of American attire, have seen a tremendous decline in sales. (Kanter Worldpanel reported that spending on men's suits collapsed from $569M a year in 2017 to $194M in 2020, albeit Covid-19 surely influenced this statistic.) Only recently, perhaps ushered by a cultural pendulum swing away from the overly casualness of dress that has ruled the past decade, have suit sales seen a slight comeback.
But, what does it mean when one of the greatest democratic institutions in the world goes casual? What does it say when personalized attire becomes more important than getting the job done?
Dressing to one's preference day-to-day is hardly a negative. But doing so in a government setting draws attention to oneself rather than keeping the focus on the occasion and mission. (This is also why many schools require a dress code.) Capitol Hill is not a place to make a fashion statement and when clothing in the Senate chamber teeters on casual, what does it imply as decisions about international relations, taxes, and abortion are being made? Do these issues not call for better sartorial decisions? Casual clothing suggests a casual affair, and these topics are simply the opposite of that. Naysayers who think that clothing and lawmaking (or working) do not correlate are simply ignoring a longstanding truth: clothes have always been a form of non-verbal communication. One's appearance offers an immediate impression to another, and signals respect, personality, and attitude long before words are spoken. "One of my clients is in congress," an art dealer tells T&C. "And, he wouldn't be caught dead in a hoodie."
Despite the ongoing American casualness, rules of dress are not archaic; they are simply a sign of respect for oneself and others. Think of dress codes outside of the political sphere. For opening nights at the opera or theater performances, black tie is often encouraged in a way to honor the performers and production. Cocktail attire is appropriate for gallery openings as a nod to the artists. Even weddings, which vary in dress code requirements, follow the lead of the bride and groom, and those who choose otherwise commit a massive social faux pas. Even at high-end restaurants, the staff is dressed in beautiful blazers and slacks as a sign of respect to the chef, institution, and guests. On the more casual side, a costume is required for a costume party.
Now, these instances of ceremony have the opportunity for personalization, be it with a brooch or particular shoes, or something else. But, the major difference between the aforementioned events and those that happen within the Senate chamber is simple: professional work. The Senate is meant to play as a team (wishful thinking?) and a distraction may occur if a member of that team pulls a Ted Cruz or John Fetterman. Serious matters call for serious clothing, and garments that fall under "casual" should have no place in dictating an outcome that impacts millions of people. "Not only is it a sign of respect for others, but most importantly, yourself," Ralph Fitzgerald, the head suitmaker at Fitzgerald Bespoke located in Manhattan's Chrysler building, says. "It creates such an unspoken confidence."
Captains of all industries will argue that confidence is essential to decision making. The changing aesthetics of fashion are surely welcomed, but there are instances where formality should not be sacrificed for personal preference. A place where laws are made is certainly one of them.
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Blog: Happy birthday Bacardi
Olly Wehring | 7 February 2012
Bacardi celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding last weekend, with a big old knees-up in Miami. As you can see below, lots of incredibly good-looking people were invited. But, don't bother looking for me: I couldn't make it (nor was I invited).
And, get this: Luis Fortuño, the governer of Puerto Rico - where Bacardi produces its namesake rum brand - has declared 4 February 'Bacardi Day', in acknowledgement of the role the company plays in the island’s economy.
You've got to admit, that's pretty cool.
This weekend sees yet another “International Day” for a drinks category. Lucky us. Anyway, ahead of Sunday’s International Cachaça Day, here’s a wealth of information on Brazil’s national spirit, cour...
In yet one more sign that The Coca-Cola Co is losing its lustre, the soft drinks maker has, for the first time, fallen out of the top ten of a 'world's biggest brands' ranking....
What a week for stats! Yesterday, the Beverage Marketing Corporation released figures to show the bottled water market had more than doubled over the past 15 years in the US....
The Euro 2016 football tournament is almost upon us....
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- The UK Referendum - just-drinks Live Blog
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- Global Scotch whisky insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
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Colloquially and affectionately referred to as “fashion’s biggest night out,” the Met Gala 2018 is a pinnacle of iconic style. A fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the event welcomes celebrity stars, young creatives, and industry paragons alike. And the excitement doesn’t stop there—the gala also signifies the highly anticipated grand opening of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibition: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination opening on May 10, 2018.
This year’s exhibition, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, is the museum’s largest and most ambitious effort yet, spanning 25 galleries and 60,000 square feet (including at the Met Cloisters, where elements from French monasteries have been rebuilt), with an organizing principle that the show’s chief curator, Andrew Bolton, said was “intended to evoke both the concept and the experience of a religious pilgrimage.” Entrants to the gala on last Monday scaled the fashion industry’s most iconic red carpet, and from there began a journey that wound through the Byzantine and medieval art galleries (where designs by the likes of Christian Lacroix, John Galliano, Versace, and Thierry Mugler sat in conversation with the museum’s religious artworks), passing under a balcony filled with mannequins wearing choral robes designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga, and into the Anna Wintour Costume Center, to find the culmination of years of negotiations: gleaming treasures on loan from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which have never been seen outside the Vatican, awaiting fashion’s finest pilgrims.
Photographed by Corey Tenold


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Apple Events channel now available on Apple TV for WWDC keynote streamWith only a few hours to go before Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference Keynote, where the company is expected to unveil iOS 8 and OS X 10.10, the "Apple Events" channel for streaming the presentation is now available on Apple TV.
As it has done for previous product unveilings, Apple has made the channel available to all owners of the second- and third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later. Once the presentation begins at 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern, users will be able to stream the proceedings live to their HDTV.
Those without an Apple TV will also be able to stream the WWDC 2014 keynote from Apple's website on a Mac using Safari 4 or later, or an iOS device with iOS 4.2 or later.
AppleInsider will also be in attendance, providing live coverage of the keynote as it happens. WWDC runs through Friday, and news from the conference will come throughout the week.
Today's show is expected to be developer centric, focusing on Apple's platforms rather than new hardware. Banners that have been hung at San Francisco's Moscone West have unsurprisingly revealed that new versions of iOS and OS X will be unveiled.
On Topic: General
- Apple's customer service suffers in Q2, study says
- September iPhone event marks return of live stream for Windows users
- Apple researching wireless earphones with bone conduction noise cancelling tech
- Apple supposedly confirmed to hold Sept. 9 iPhone event at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
- Apple's Jony Ive, Jimmy Iovine to join tech and entertainment luminaries at Vanity Fair event


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Gamescom 2010, Cologne
Kelly MacDonald reports from Europe’s largest video games trade fair, where the hottest new titles are test-driven
Gamescom is one of the only remaining trade shows that allows members of the public to play forthcoming titles from all the major publishers. In 2009, more than 245,000 gamers attended, and this year’s event in Cologne’s enormous Messe exhibition grounds looks to be even bigger. Players from around the world have heeded the call to “celebrate the games” and swarm the show floor, with queues for the most popular titles meaning an hour-long wait.
The show kicks off every year with conferences from the platform holders, and though this year was rather light on announcements, it certainly wasn’t on spectacle. Gearing up for the launch of Kinect, the full motion-control camera for Xbox 360 that utilises the player’s body as controller, Microsoft hosted a full play day to show off its forthcoming titles and finally confirmed a European launch date for Kinect of 10 November.
Read the whole story here.


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The nursery children are getting very excited preparing for Christmas. We took part in the annual Christmas Tableau and we all sang beautifully.
In our Welsh lessons with Mrs Burleton we have been making Christmas cards and learning lots of new Welsh words; Baby Jesus – Baban Iesu, Mary – Mair, Joseph- Josef, manger- preseb, Shepherd – Bugeiliaid.
We have also made Gingerbread men and chocolate brownie Christmas trees in cooking.
1 December 2017
General News | Nursery & Infants News


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The increasing importance of sustainability in the automotive industry is demonstrated by current trends like carbon-neutral manufacturing and zero-emissions vehicles. These trends are driven not only by the implementation of stricter emissions regulations or even quotas but also by increased societal awareness of environmental and sustainability issues and a rise in consumer interest in environmentally friendly vehicles. Additionally, many people no longer view cars as a status symbol. For many consumers, sharing is a better option than owning—not just for environmental ones.
The automotive industry in the UAE is already ahead of the game with its examination of EVs, autonomous, and other alternatives. Sustainable practices and alternatives are the future. The UAE has been heavily promoting electric vehicles in the nation by lowering their prices and other fees in line with its goals to lower carbon emissions.
The UAE introduced the Energy Strategy 2050, which is regarded as the nation’s first unified supply-and-demand-driven energy strategy. The strategy aims to save Dh700 billion by 2050 and increase the share of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25% to 50%. It also aims to reduce the carbon footprint of power generation by 70%. Additionally, it aims to improve corporate and individual consumption efficiency by 40%.
The environment benefits from electric vehicles because they don’t emit any pollutants and run on an electric motor. The nation is thought to possess the greatest number of EV charging stations in the entire world. These actions are consistent with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 plan, which aims to make the UAE the first country in the region to have no emissions by that year. Approximately 300 green EV charging stations have been installed in Dubai itself as part of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s EV Green Charger initiative, to help and promote the switch to these vehicles.
The automotive industry has a number of participants who are committed to bringing about long-term change. One of them is Gargash Auto which is the UAE’s first-ever workshop that runs on solar power and is currently located in Al Quoz.
Gargash Auto installed solar panels spanning an area of 865 square meters in the last quarter of 2019 after which they have produced 452 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy and replaced over 1054 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to the greenhouses gases produced by 232 cars in one year, until today.
By 2025, Gargash Auto aims to have completely carbon-neutral operations. By balancing emissions through solar panels to achieve a net-zero footprint and by completely going paperless in their business operations, they are on track to become carbon neutral.
The general manager of Gargash Auto, Amir Pervaiz, stated, “This proves that it is possible to act ethically for both the company and the environment. Though we have just begun, we are excited to increase our impact as we work towards the more ambitious goal of becoming completely carbon neutral by 2050.
The automotive sector is currently making strides in areas like zero-emission vehicles and carbon-neutral manufacturing, which highlight the growing significance of sustainability. To have a more significant impact on sustainability, businesses in the aftersales automotive sector must also support the manufacturers’ sustainable practices.


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Networking vendor Nokia seems to have concluded silicon design isn’t as much of an in-house strength as it had hoped.
What a difference two years makes. At the start of 2018 Nokia was crowing about its unique processor skills, as manifested in its shiny new ReefShark chipset, and what a differentiator they would turn out to be. By the middle of last year, however, Nokia was forced to admit that things weren’t going according to plan, thanks largely to some strategic missteps concerning 5G.
One of the miscalculations seems to have been going big big on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chips. These seemed like a good idea because, as the name implies, they could be reconfigured and optimised by the customer after purchase and installation, thus giving service providers the kind of flexibility they need for the 5G era. But all this agility comes at a price, which it looks like not everyone was prepared to pay.
So this week saw a couple of announcements from Nokia concerning partnerships with chip specialists. The first was with Marvell, which Nokia is now working with on a bunch of 5G chips, including improvements to its ReefShark ones. The minutiae of the partnership are not revealed, but Marvell’s thing is chips based on Arm’s microarchitecture, which are ubiquitous in the mobile world because they’re relatively power efficient.
Relative to Intel, that is, which has an almost comical history of trying and failing to introduce its significantly hotter and more power hungry x86 architecture-based chips into the mobile space. So it came as a bit of a surprise to see that Nokia is also enlisting Intel’s help with its silicon efforts. Then again, some of that collaboration is on the server side, where Intel and x86 remain preeminent, so that’s understandable, but we’re told Intel is getting involved in ReefShark too.
There was lots of talk about ‘custom silicon solutions’, which could mean more of a collaboration on the manufacturing side. That would make sense as Intel is apparently a Nokia chip manufacturing partner and its recent missteps have been a contributing factor to Nokia’s challenges. But they are also collaborating on chip design, with the Atom (yes, that brand still exists) P5900 processor cropping up in some Nokia gear.
Of the Marvell partnership, Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “This important announcement highlights our continued commitment to expanding the variety and utilization of ReefShark chipsets in our portfolio. This ensures that our 5G solutions are equipped to deliver best-in-class performance to our customers. As service providers continue to evolve their 5G plans and support growing traffic and new vertical services, the infrastructure and components must evolve rapidly. Adopting the latest advancements in silicon technology is a critical step to better serve our customers’ needs.”
Of Intel Uitto said: “This partnership highlights our continued commitment to ensuring our 5G portfolio is underpinned by best-in-class technology. 5G networks need to support billions of devices and machines, and this massive increase in volume and scale means that existing infrastructure and components must evolve rapidly, adopting technologies and techniques to enable to deploy 5G networks quickly.”
All this seems to amount to a move away from the FPGA strategy and the Intel announcement refers specifically to ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits). That’s probably the right decision, but it still represents a significant strategic climb-down by Nokia. Having spent years boasting about its in-house silicon competence, it’s now having to call in help externally to get its chip strategy back on track.


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Banking with blockchain has been saved
Stories of our impact
Banking with blockchain
Creating a contactless blockchain smartcard with Metro Bank
It’s not often you can claim that what you’re doing is at the forefront of game-changing technology, but our blockchain solutions are attracting attention from across the financial services industry. Blockchain, an advanced, secure, scalable and efficient new technology, promises radical change across a host of industry sectors - not least banking1. Find out how we worked with Metro Bank and SETL to create a contactless payment card that settles transactions instantly and, for the first time, processes fiat currency2 transactions on blockchain.
A Smart way of doing business
We’d been making headway with blockchain for a while, most notably in the development of our Smart Identity platform. Smart ID is a universal ‘digital profile’ powered by blockchain tech. It allows users to create and control all aspects of their online identity within a structured and accessible environment. Those with a Smart ID will have a certified digital account containing all the information and credentials they need for trusted digital interaction.
After developing the solution, our Blockchain team spotted an opportunity to take it out of the lab and into the real world. We’d already been talking to SETL - an initiative to deploy a multi-asset, multi-currency institutional payment and settlements infrastructure based on blockchain technology - and together we approached Metro Bank to create a pilot for contactless payment cards.
In November, we produced a card for a group of 100 people, each loaded with a small amount of money. The group – who had each set up their Deloitte Smart ID – were asked to test the card by performing a series of simple retail transactions (such as buying drinks and snacks) in a controlled but live environment. The payments were processed and settled almost instantly, with both the customer and the merchant’s bank balances being updated in real time. This gave both parties great clarity: the customer can keep an eye on their finances, and the merchant can use the revenue instantly if they want to - all while avoiding traditional payment processor fees.
Blockchain has the potential to transform the financial services industry, dramatically reducing complexity, lowering costs and increasing transparency. As the technology matures, we anticipate increased use of next-generation identity, compliance, payment and settlement platforms due both to the efficiency and edge they can offer today, and the exciting new possibilities digital assets and smart contracts will offer tomorrow.
The success of the interaction between our Smart ID product and SETL’s transaction-processing technology has generated wide interest in the financial services community and beyond. With blockchain technology developing at pace, we are now focused on developing Smart ID for wider adoption.
1 Despite its apparent complexity, a blockchain is really just another type of database for recording transactions – one that’s copied to (and at the same time verified by) all of the computers in a participating network so that events once recorded can be trusted by all, and without the need for an intermediary in charge of data processing.
2 Fiat money is currency that a government has declared to be legal tender.


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Among people who love jokes, it's enough to yell "His brother was worse"—as some guy will at the funeral for a fellow everyone hated. So that's the U. S. dollar. It's in horrendous shape after six years of quantitative easing and interest rates asymptotic to zero. But all the other currencies are worse.
That's the main reason 2015 will be the biggest year for corporate mergers and acquisitions in history. It is the abundance of currency (which can be cash, debt, or stock) that drives M&A activity. The underlying operational bases for such transactions (like accessing new markets, acquiring assets on the cheap, creating operating efficiencies) are usually secondary. In other words, deals don't happen because the dealmakers have ideas; they happen because the dealmakers have the currency to make them happen.
In 2014, M&A activity surged 47 percent over 2013. In December 2014, KPMG surveyed 735 U. S. companies on the outlook for mergers and acquisitions. Even after near-record activity in 2014, 82 percent of those surveyed were planning at least one acquisition for 2015. Nearly two thirds predicted the single-biggest driver for 2015 deals would be financial rather than operational.
Abundant currency takes many forms: It can be the growing cash reserves. Or the strength of the dollar. Or continued low interest rates. Or it could be a strong stock price, affording buyers the luxury of acquiring competitors' assets at a favorable rate.
If you can identify the targets, you are virtually guaranteed to make your portfolio's whole year.
Right now all those things are plentiful for several big players in energy, consumer products, health care, technology, financial services, and industrial manufacturing. In the two megadeals that got things rolling early this year, the merger of Heinz and Kraft and Shell's acquisition of BG, the catalyst was a buildup of corporate cash and competitors with strong stock in out-of-favor industries. And those same factors point to the next wave of deals, along, inevitably, with this: Most of these large companies are led by men (nearly exclusively). When their competitors complete deals and they don't, they feel like littler men.
If you can identify the targets of the acquirers, you are virtually guaranteed the kind of pop that can make your portfolio's whole year. And the most recent big deals offer insight into which companies might be next.
In March, H. J. Heinz and Kraft Foods announced they were merging to create the Kraft Heinz Company, a consumer food giant with $28 billion in revenue. Although Kraft gets first billing in the new name, Heinz is the acquirer. The press release announcing the deal contained the standard operating justifications, even mentioning old-school "significant synergy opportunities." In reality, the transaction combines a bunch of big-name food brands, but there is nothing particularly compelling about the combination. Rather, Heinz's owners have cash in abundance that they need to put to work. Stock prices in the food-processing industry have lagged the S&P 500 over the last couple years, growing about 12 percent compared with 29 percent for the S&P. So Heinz could strengthen its position without adding debt or cutting its dividend.
If you're looking for copycats, look to Nestlé as a possible acquirer of Mondelez. That deal isn't particularly compelling either, but it's there for the taking. Mondelez (with brands like Oreo, Triscuit, and Trident) has endured sluggish sales in recent years, as all its junk categories (cookies, chocolate, gum, candy, coffee, and powdered beverages) are out of vogue.
If Heinz-Kraft demonstrates how to use currency in a position of strength, Shell-BG shows how to use it in a position of weakness. Thanks to declining prices, energy companies have been taking a beating. Royal Dutch Shell, the world's third-largest energy company, has had an awful time, watching its stock drop 25 percent in the nine months prior to announcing the deal. BG Group was doing even worse, losing 30 percent of its value during that time. BG has enviable energy reserves (especially of natural gas) and Shell doesn't. The greater plunge in BG's price turned Shell's stock, relatively, into premium currency for acquiring those reserves.
If Shell's shell-shocked stock makes this a buyer's market, then ExxonMobil and Chevron, which have suffered a smaller decline, must be looking at similar moves. My favorite candidate for takeover is London-based Tullow Oil. Its stock has fallen 50 percent since last summer. Tullow has energy reserves in 22 countries, including established operations throughout Africa. Halcon Resources is another good target, having run up like crazy in the "Great North Dakota Rush" but recently losing two thirds of its stock price.
This is just the low-hanging fruit. In tech, a target that would have been unthinkable a few years ago is Cisco. Given the closing of megadeals at ridiculous valuations—WhatsApp being gobbled up by Facebook for $19 billion—Cisco, the company that basically made the Internet, would certainly listen to offers.
That's the thing about these waves of M&A—the bankers who propose these deals prey on the insecurities of executives who are reading about competitors' antics and dying to get in on the action. The deals are happening, and the bankers don't have to be the only ones to benefit.
Originally published in the June 2015 issue.


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Ubisoft Toronto's former managing director Jade Raymond has joined EA as the head of a new development studio called 'Motive Studios'.
Based in Montreal, Canada, Motive will help collaborate with BioWare on next year's Mass Effect: Andromeda and Amy Hennig's Star Wars title currently in development at Visceral Games.
In addition to opening Motive, Raymond says that she will also "oversee the Visceral studio in California", although it's unclear whether this means she has officially taken on the role of studio head.
"I'm a huge fan of the games that have come out of Visceral and I feel honoured to be working with such a talented team led by studio GM Scott Probst," she said. "I've also known Amy [Hennig] for years and have admired her work on the Uncharted games! I'm thrilled that the first big project that we will work on in Montreal will have Amy as Creative Director. An opportunity to work with her and the Visceral team, and to play in the Star Wars universe, is once-in-a-lifetime stuff."
Prior to joining Ubisoft Toronto Raymond served as producer on the publisher's Assassin's Creed series. She left the firm in October 2014.
"I cannot think of a more exciting time to be a part of EA than right now," Raymond adds. "In the first conversations I had with [EA Games EVP] Patrick Söderlund, we talked about the games we love and the opportunities we saw for the future. We talked about how EA wants to deliver more innovative experiences and more of what players are asking for. It's energizing to see EA today bringing more passion than ever to the games they make, and passion to getting it right for players."


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On March 20th, 2020, which was a Friday, Bandcamp decided to waive their revenue share from all sold music in order to support independent musicians that are being tremendously affected by the global Covid-19 virus.
The result: fans bought 4.3 million dollars worth of music which is 15 times the normal Friday. This global initiative helped artists around the world to pay their rent, pay their medical bills and so much more. This was a unique and incredible feat.
But the virus and the crisis is still going strong and so Bandcamp has decided to up their game and waive their revenue share on three upcoming dates: the first Friday of the next three months, May 1st, June 5th and July 3rd.
If you want to support independent musicians around the world during these peculiar and difficult times then checking out awesome music on Bandcamp on the before mentioned dates is a great start.
Many people around the world are being affected by the so called Covid-19 virus these days. Many people are experiencing curfews which limits them from doing their normal work. Independent musicians are experiencing these limitations during these strange times like every one else.
Bandcamp, a music service operation that we here at Shouts think very highly of, are playing their part this Friday and cutting all their revenue shares from music sales.
“To raise even more awareness around the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere, we’re waiving our revenue share on sales this Friday, March 20 (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists’ pockets.“
– Ethan Diamond, Co-Founder and CEO of Bandcamp
So while stuck inside your house why not check out all the amazing music there is on Bandcamp, support independent artists that make this world a bit more beautiful, and use the lockdown to breakdown.
On a recent single Canadian singer Esthero finds a rather unique way to protest the oppressive and frankly cowardly business model that is Spotify. According to this article Spotify management believes that music “should be universally accessible with a seamless experience based on streaming audio”. I for one have more than once tried to download Spotify on my phone and always given up because of the ridiculous poser-trying-to-hard-sounding ads.
There is the artist. There is the audience. There is sometimes the capitalist born middle man. Esthero is tries to point this out and uses her voice in a risky way to do so.
It is well known how badly Spotify and many other streaming services pay the creators for streamed or bought music. That is excluding though, a handful of services like Bandcamp, for example, who don’t charge a penny for streaming but instead make their money from revenue share on sales.
Check out Esthero’s song below to hear her unique way of protesting this faulted and outdated system:


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The Carnivals just keep on coming! Episode #101 is now online at Martin’s Mobile Technology Page. News from all over the world this week, as well as a link to a very interesting post by Judy Breck about an impending cell phone initiative in New York City schools, called the “Million” program.
What are you waiting for! Go check it all out.
Image Credit: Carnival of the Mobilists, Logo: http://www.mobili.st/images/cotm-button.jpg


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Ubisoft’s Rayman Jungle Run can now be played on all platforms that support Windows 8 and Windows RT. The game is a port of Rayman Jungle Run that came out earlier on iOS and Android smartphone, and has racked up more than 1,500,000 downloads.
St.George Bank has launched a new smartphone application for Windows Phone 7 smartphones.
Microsoft is preparing for the launch of its new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system and Marketplace app store by releasing the final version of the Windows Phone Developer Tools on 17 September.
HTC has launched its latest Windows Mobile smartphone in Australia, the HD2. Boasting one of the largest screens on a smartphone (4.3in), the HTC HD2 is the first Windows Mobile phone to feature a capacitive display and a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU.
Microsoft planned to announce on Tuesday that it will start accepting applications for its Windows Marketplace for Mobile on July 27 and confirmed that not all existing applications will be available at the store.
Contrary to an earlier report, Microsoft Corp. said that purchasers of applications from its upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile e-store won't be allowed to share their wares with friends and family.
In a potentially market-changing move, Microsoft Corp. plans to let customers of its upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile run purchased apps on as many as five Windows Mobile phones at the same time.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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The speed at which regulation is being introduced can make it very difficult to keep up with. New laws and legislation are constantly and rapidly emerging across the world. This compilation of regulation reports demonstrates the volume of legislation that has already been adopted, or is currently under consideration. These laws span a vast number of countries and a variety of industries. The search function enables you to filter the results and view the legislative frameworks that may effect you, either now or in the future.
ONGOING: In January 2019, reportedly, President Rodrigo Duterte gave his backing to a new piece of legislation that proposes new taxes on Alcohol and Tobacco, with alcohol taxation to be set at P40 per liter. As of January 2019, the legislation is still awaiting procedural consent.
ONGOING: On 4th October 2018 the government announced plans to introduce an increase in tax on alcohol by an average 2.5 percent from 2019.
ONGOING: A new excise duty for alcoholic beverages and tobacco took effect on 4th June 2018. The Minister of Finance said that the new excise duties will be ‘spread’ from 2018 to 2020 to moderate the impact of the price increases. He is also seeking to introduce VAT rises on certain select products, with carbonated drinks being highlighted as a potential option.
ONGOING: In October 2018, it was reported that the Government believes that it will collect up to $2.5m a year from a 2% tax imposed on drinks, including beer, spirits and local liquor. Following regulatory updates it is reported these funds will be channeled into a new HIV and AIDS trust fund.
ONGOING: In May 2017 accounced intention to tax sugary and sweetened drinks.  A 19 October 2018 study praised the regulatory efforts taken by Ecuador to tackle the over-consumption of sugary, sweetened beverages.
ONGOING: Government are in the process of considering a nationwide ‘fat tax’ on junk food.
ONGOING: The Indian state of Gujarat, as a result of the decision in Kerala, is now also considering implementing its own taxation.
ONGOING: As of December 2018, Ministry of Health is considering measures to restrict citizens’ intake of sugar, by considering the introduction of a sugar tax.
ONGOING: As of 1st January 2018, legislation has introduced a tax on non-alcoholic beverages (carbonated and noncarbonated drinks, 100% juice drinks and sweetened milk drinks).


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The new Bing is going to be more social than ever. That's because Microsoft rolled out a revamped version of its Bing search engine that promises to provide better and more relevant search results with a wider array of sources than Google.
Bing re-organized with a stronger focus on task completion rather than information retrieval. It does this using new three0panel design. The webpage has beem overhauled and it features a cleaner UI that reads more easily with less visual gibberish.
Then, Bing included a "Snapshots" panel, an additional, related information to a search query that pops out when you hover over a result, which means if you're looking to eat somewhere, for example in a restaurant around town, Bing will display maps, reviews, images, videos, user reviews and other data related to the restaurant you're looking for.
To make it more social, Bing aggregates social data into its search results, and there's a "Social" pane that displays related results from your Facebook network. In addition to your FB friends, Bing's social pane will also display a list of related "influential" sources from Twitter and Google+.
Microsoft developers plan to add Skype, LinkedIn, and Foursquare.
Bing's already had social partnerships in place, tying up with Facebook about a year and a half ago. The new Bing looks as though it manages to be social without degrading search results. Something Google, arguably, hasn't quite mastered yet.
The new Bing will be rolling out to all users in the coming weeks.


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Do the Oklahoma City Thunder have a new alternate debuting this season?
Kyle Singler is claiming so. The Thunder forward took to Instagram to post an up-close photo of what seems to be an orange jersey with the caption "new jersey alert #thunderup."
See for yourself:
There was speculation in July that the Thunder would be getting an orange alternate jersey, as a grainy image of every team's alternate jerseys this season leaked, and the Thunder's jersey was indeed orange.
Orange is one of the Thunder's secondary colors, so this makes sense. The bigger question for the fans in Oklahoma, of course, is whether those with Oklahoma Sooner allegiances will be turned off by the new orange threads.
(h/t The Daily Oklahoman)


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China’s Equity Markets in 2015
China’s Equity Markets
DAVID LAI: I would like to give you an update about Chinese equity market. China Asia market already ranked number two, right after U.S. market in terms of the total market cap. So, it's getting too important that global investor should pay attention to it. When referring to China market, there are a lot of confusion about it A-shares or N-shares. There are so many different share classes. However, to make it simple, we will just divide them into on-shore and off-shore. The on-shore market is the Asia A-share listing exchange in Shanghai versus the rest of the share class we'll be listing in Hong Kong or U.S. as the off-shore market. The A-Share market right now is five times bigger than the rest of the other market in terms of market cap. And also, there are more than 2,200 share listing agent, which is giving a lot of choices for the investor. In recent months, China A-Share market has a really strong rally. The rate cut happened in November definitely helped lift up the sentiment. But somehow, we also have to remind ourselves that the A-Share market is 99% driven by the domestic money. So how the domestic investor think about the market is very important. Within the 99%, 80% of them are retail investors. So, a lot of people commenting about macro growth and even the economists saying from the western countries may not be 100% relevant to move the market. Currently, the valuation is around 15 times forward multiple. Compared to the historical peak of 42 times and even the average of the last ten years is about 20 times, the current valuation still seems quite decent.
2014 Performance Rally
LAI: The rally has been very strong in the past few months. The rate cut is one of them. But however, you may also think about alternative investment available for the retail investor. People used to invest a lot in the property market and also in the trust product or money-market fund. But somehow, if you think about it, property market at this moment, it's no longer that attractive, given that the property price is weakening. So the urgency to buy another property is getting lower. And for the money market fund and the trust product, the current return is only like 3.5% to less than four percent, compared to their offering of seven to eight percent 18 months ago, is really less attractive. So that's why more fund flow has been flowing into the equity market.
New Economy versus Old Economy
LAI: When analyzing China, a lot of investors have been paying attention to the old economy or traditional sectors. However, there are much more interesting stories happening in the upcoming new sectors. Example, like IT, healthcare, and consumer. Given that the policy shift has been emphasizing the domestic consumption, we think that these new key sectors will be the focus and growing faster in the near future.
State-Owned Enterprise Reform
LAI: State-owned enterprise reform is one of the top agenda among the government officials this year. We understand that a lot of industry, particularly the old economy industry, including financial and energy, is still dominated by the state-owned enterprise or government-owned enterprise. So, most of them will be running quite low efficiency and low profitability, and the government also understands that. So that's why they have been pushing them and encouraging them to do some reform, including asset restructuring or asset spinoff, or even introducing investment scheme to the management of the state-owned enterprise. So in this area, we expect that a lot of old economy industry will be benefited from the SOE reform. And having said that, an investor should also remind himself that a healthy capital market is very important to carry out this kind of reform. So that's why we expect the policy should be still very supportive to the equity market.
LAI: Another new theme is about e-commerce. After the listing of the Ali Baba, I think a lot of U.S. investor is already understand how big the e-commerce market in China is. But however, the story is not finished yet. Let's say online shopping right now accounts for around ten percent of the total retail sales in China. But we think this kind of a level will continue to go up in the next few years' time. And also, a more exciting story is happening right now in the mobile e-commerce space. Given that the penetration of the smartphone in China and also the 4G services officially launch in 2014, we expect that the mobile e-commerce space will be having a very fast growth in the next few years' time.
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The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker and are current as of the video’s posting date. Video commentaries are general in nature and should not be construed as investment advice. Opinions are subject to change with market conditions. All performance information is historical and is not a guarantee of future results. For more information about Van Eck Funds, Market Vectors ETFs or fund performance, visit vaneck.com. Any discussion of specific securities mentioned in the video commentaries is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy these securities. Fund holdings will vary. All indices mentioned are measures of common market sectors and performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Information on holdings, performance and indices can be found at vaneck.com.
Index returns are not Fund returns and do not reflect any management fees or brokerage expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an Index.
Please note that Van Eck Securities Corporation offers investment products that invest in the asset class(es) included in this video. Principal risks of investing in China include, but are not limited to, political and economic instability, inflation, confiscatory taxation, nationalization and expropriation, market volatility, illiquidity, currency fluctuation and devaluation, actions taken by the Chinese government in the markets, less reliable financial information, differences in accounting, auditing, and financial standards and requirements from those applicable to U.S. issuers, and uncertainty of implementation of existing Chinese law.
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Unilever (AMS:UNIA) has been given a €50.00 ($61.73) target price by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 10th. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.61% from the stock’s previous close.
UNIA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Baader Bank set a €54.00 ($66.67) target price on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Barclays set a €50.00 ($61.73) target price on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Deutsche Bank set a €55.00 ($67.90) price target on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 12th. UBS Group set a €51.00 ($62.96) price target on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group set a €46.00 ($56.79) price target on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of €51.97 ($64.16).
Unilever (AMS:UNIA) traded down €0.10 ($0.12) during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching €46.90 ($57.90). 7,576 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,649. The stock has a market cap of $137,030.00 and a P/E ratio of 23.10. Unilever has a 52 week low of €37.33 ($46.09) and a 52 week high of €52.29 ($64.56).
TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “Unilever (UNIA) Given a €50.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.” was originally posted by Dispatch Tribunal and is the property of of Dispatch Tribunal. If you are viewing this article on another site, it was copied illegally and republished in violation of U.S. & international copyright legislation. The original version of this article can be viewed at https://www.dispatchtribunal.com/2018/02/04/jpmorgan-chase-50-00-price-target.html.
Unilever Company Profile
Unilever N.V. is a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. The Company’s segments include Personal Care, which primarily includes sales of skin care and hair care products, deodorants and oral care products; Foods, which primarily includes sales of soups, bouillons, sauces, snacks, mayonnaise, salad dressings, margarines and spreads; Home Care, which primarily includes sales of home care products, such as powders, liquids and capsules, soap bars and a range of cleaning products, and Refreshment, which primarily includes sales of ice cream and tea-based beverages.
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The emergence of Elliott Advisors in Whitbread Plc's shareholder registry reinforces pressure on the British company to consider splitting its Costa Coffee stores from its Premier Inn hotels.
Whitbread shares rose to 8.6 percent in London, the highest since September 2009 and more than when a smaller activist fund, Sachem Head, revealed a stake in December.
Elliott presented Whitbread management with a plan to split the company through a spin-off, the Financial Times reported. on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Some analysts have argued for years that such a measure would generate greater value for shareholders. Whitbread CEO Alison Brittain said in January that the company remains open and committed to reviewing the structure of the company.
Morgan Stanley, Jamie Rollo  (Equal-weight, PT 4,200p)
Activism now likely to become the biggest driver of Whitbread's stock price, with a valuation away from deterioration of the fundamentals of the company. Elliott's spinoff proposal appears to be a "relatively minor risk" compared to a decommissioning plan involving the sale of real estate assets. "Pressure will grow in Whitbread to support his view that now is not the right time to separate."
Stifel, Jeffrey Harwood
(Buy, PT 4,300p)
The current moderate outlook for consumer stocks in the UK and the recent trade difficulties in Costa mean that it is not a fact that a dismembered coast reaches a higher rating than Whitbread currently. "It is possible that Costa will be separated from the rest of the group, particularly if an attractive offer for that business arises."
Bernstein, Richard Clarke
(Deficient, PT 3,250p)
An informed valuation of GBP3 billion for Costa is "stretched" because it puts the asset at 12x Ebitda over the next 12 months, compared to 14x for Starbucks. "We are also more aligned with management's opinion that given the continued softness on the main street of the United Kingdom, China's opportunity has not yet been tested and there have been a number of recent investments in the brand, which is not the opportune moment to sell Costa ".
Numis, Tim Barrett
(Sustain, PT 4,300p)
It is "entirely logical" that the Whitbread Costa businesses and Hotels & Restaurants are split at some point, and the market will probably look through a "Poorly negative earnings momentum" period if there is a realistic potential for a split. "The main difficulty is knowing if Costa could get a premium from a direct sale."


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Bryan Haynes, Agustin Rodriguez and Nicholas Ramos of the Troutman Pepper Tobacco Team will be attending TMA’s 2023 Conference and Annual Meeting. This in-person event will be held in Leesburg, VA from April 17-19, 2023. Hot topics will include discussions surrounding nicotine policies; federal, state, and local enforcement initiatives, FDA submission pathways, FDA tobacco product manufacturing practices, and consumer preferences.
Featured keynote speakers will include FDA’s Dr. Brian King, CTP Director, on April 18th who will host a Q & A session, as well as FDA’s Dr. Todd Cecil, Office of Science, on April 19th. Troutman Pepper Tobacco Team Partner Agustin Rodriguez will also be moderating the panel on enhancements and solutions supporting better pathways to FDA submissions.
We look forward to seeing friends and clients at the conference.


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Mostafa Gorji, a cryptocurrency aficionado, watched with shock as the market crashed on his screens in the second week of May. Cryptocurrency prices had already been trending lower in general, along with the broader economic unrest that had begun in the last weeks of 2021. But when they declined, they had a breakdown that some traders compared to the start of the global financial crisis in late 2007. Many people, according to the COO, are reevaluating their predictions of a bright future. The future in which cryptocurrencies replace traditional money and break the monopoly of banks as a result of the collapse of multiple fiat currencies. The Terra Luna crash, which was a major factor in one of the worst economic catastrophes, has resulted in numerous losses for investors. Luna’s valuation fell from $20 billion to almost nothing in a matter of days. The following leading coins of the market were also impacted: Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, plunged 23% in five days, while bitcoin dropped 17% in the same time frame.
Why did Luna crash?
Mostafa explains, markets sometimes experience a 30% drop. simply testing their supports again. But why did Luna drop so much? The price of the $1-pegged algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD (UST), which was valued at 18 billion dollars at the time, began to fluctuate on May 7 and dropped to 35 cents on May 9. As a result, By May 12, its partner token, LUNA, which was intended to keep the price of UST stable, dropped from $80 to a few cents.”
“Terra’s valuation followed suit with Luna’s fall from nearly $80 at the beginning of the month to a fraction of a cent.”
According to Gorji, “The Terra Luna crash caused the market to become unstable”, and in this catastrophe Retail traders have been impacted the most. This incident left the entire industry in shock and even the most vigilant eyes were not anticipating one of the top 10 crypto projects to go to nothing in just a matter of a few days.
What is the key takeaway of Luna crypto crash?
As explained by Gorji, a $60 billion worth of digital currency was lost in the Luna collapse. This incident demonstrated that algorithmic stablecoins are not as reliable as asset-backed stablecoins, such as Tether or USD Coin (USDC).
How did Terra Luna crash?
Mostafa Gorji explained the primary reason behind Terra Luna crash is the inherent flaw associated with algorithmic stablecoin systems that run on autonomous decentralized platforms.
About $2 billion worth of UST was unstaked from the Anchor Protocol prior to the LUNA disaster, and hundreds of millions of it were subsequently sold.
The COO said, “although the precise motivation for this crime is still unknown, some speculate that it may have been part of an intentional assault on the Terra ecosystem.
Stablecoins undoubtedly are one of the main pillars of the crypto sector. Since the debut of the first stablecoin Tether in 2014, constantly there have been concerns in the crypto community about Tether and other stablecoins losing peg from fiat money. The most well-known stablecoin, Tether, is allegedly backed by dollars’ worth of cash on hand along with other kinds of fixed income securities, according to an audit of Tether. Decentralized algorithmic stablecoins, on the other hand, work to control market prices by preprogramming supply to match asset demand.
Mostafa further explains that, “the entire crypto market was in the midst of a severe downturn. The market capitalization of LUNA dropped below UST at this time. As a result, the UST became de-pegged because its entire value could not be exchanged for LUNA”. All of this transpired in such a brief period of time that the algorithm that kept the price of the stablecoin at $1 failed to continue to do so.
On September 15, the public learned that a South Korean court had issued an arrest warrant for Do Kwon, the creator of Terra. Do Kwon and five other people are currently charged with breaking local market regulations.
What is Luna crypto exactly?
Luna has four separate roles in the Terra network:
1. A means of covering the transaction costs of the Terra network.
2. A mechanism for safeguarding Terra’s stablecoin peg.
3. Terra uses Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) staking to validate network transactions. 4. Voting and submitting to proposals for Terra network improvements as part of platform governance
In 2018, Daniel Shin and Do Kown introduced Terra, a platform powered by Terraform Labs, a South Korean business.
Gorji concludes that algorithmic stablecoins use a relatively new method to tie their value to fiat money and apparently they have failed to endure the test of time because we have not observed their effectiveness in the face of significant market stress.
Even though LUNA is now not a smart investment, investors should still do their research and determine the best course of action. If you wish to invest in Luna or simply buy bitcoin in the UAE, you can trade with Crypto Desk, a company that Mostafa Gorji co-founded.
What is Luna Crash’s Impact On Crypto Market?
We should anticipate additional setbacks on the worldwide market because this incident badly damaged the investor’s confidence in cryptocurrencies.
Is Luna Decentralized?
A network of decentralized stablecoins was supported by the Terra blockchain technology. Its currency, LUNA, also functions as a decentralized reserve.
History of Terra (LUNA)
Do Kwon and Daniel Shin started Terra in 2018, and the company debuted its mainnet the following year. Kwon and Shin created Terra to give consumers the security of fiat money while utilizing blockchain technology to make settlements quicker and less expensive than with conventional payment methods.
How to Buy Terra (LUNA)
Terra Luna is now only available on a relatively small number of exchanges, including Crypto Desk a crypto exchange in Dubai, that allows users to trade Luna and more than 500 other crypto currencies. If you want to invest in Luna or just buy bitcoin in the UAE you can use Crypto Desk services. At Crypto Desk, you can buy USDT with cash as well.


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Remarks by Randal K. Quarles acknowledged cryptocurrencies and applying blockchain to payment systems. Instead of a central bank-created crypto, the Fed Vice Chairman implied he’s looking to private-sector banking to begin leveraging new technologies.
On November 30, 2017, the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles addressed those convened at the 2017 Financial Stability and Fintech Conference.
He noted that the financial industry should differentiate between the digital currency assets growing in popularity among marketgoers, and the blockchain technology supporting those assets. He said, “Those technologies, such as distributed ledgers, may offer useful new ways to store, transfer, and protect data and traditional financial assets.”
During his payment system-themed speech, Quarles acknowledged that new technologies have had a tremendous and positive impact on both living standards and economic growth.
Quarles pointed out that industry incumbents are going beyond initial pilot tests and moving forward with the limited application of blockchain-based platforms in production environments. He said that the “cautious approach” to blockchain technology reflects “the weight of responsibility the financial industry bears for protecting both their customers and their reputations,” and he called for “continued monitoring” to discern how new technology may offer solutions for securing payment systems.
Although Quarles does not perceive cryptocurrency adoption as representative of any immediate disruption, he related that, especially during a crisis, “more serious financial stability issues may result if they achieve wide-scale usage … During times of crisis, the demand for liquidity can increase significantly, including the demand for the central asset used in settling payments.”
Given the perceived lack of a “central” asset underlying the value of cryptocurrencies, Quarles scrutinized their ability to mitigate liquidity and credit risk via contemporary risk management practices. “Without the backing of a central bank asset and institutional support,” said Quarles, “it is not clear how a private digital currency at the center of a large-scale payment system would behave, or whether the payment system would be able to function, in times of stress.”
Bringing up a topic grappled with by central banks in Russia and China, Quarles also touched on the prospect of a centralized cryptocurrency issued by banks, which he described “as a 21st century analogue to paper currency.”
On central bank-issued cryptocurrencies, he warned, “I would urge caution, particularly for countries like the United States with highly developed banking systems and ongoing robust demand for physical cash.”
Quarles elaborated on his concerns:
“As a practical matter, I believe that consideration of a central-bank-issued digital currency to the general public would require extensive reviews and consultations about legal issues, as well as a long list of risk issues, including the potential deployment of unproven technology, money laundering, cybersecurity, and privacy to name a few.”
Quarles also asserted that the development of a globally held central-bank-issued digital currency might result in an increase in cyberattacks. In addition, he suggested that such a cryptocurrency could be used in illicit financing and money laundering.
In the immediate future, Quarles suggests that rather than issuing a US cryptocurrency, “Instead, the near-term alternative is to build on the trusted foundations of the existing payment system and work to improve private-sector payment services. Importantly, this means looking to the banking system, which holds the bulk of the transaction deposits in this country, to improve services.”
It may be true that federally insured financial houses are, as Quarles puts it, “the core of our current payment system.” Still, Quarles holds optimism for integrating new technologies within the financial sector.
“Leveraging our existing banking system does not suggest that there is no room for new or emerging institutions and technologies. Indeed, there are a number of promising avenues that would allow the innovations that appear to be of the greatest interest to households and business–attributes like instant payment capabilities and around-the-clock operations–to be offered using a variety of existing and new technologies without requiring significant tradeoffs in safety and resiliency.”