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UAE: An active startup hub
Startup and operational costs for a tech business in UAE is very high compared to elsewhere in the world, according to a new entrepreneurial survey.
The "Tech Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in the UAE Study", which was launched at Khalifa Innovation Center in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday showed that business setup and first-year operating costs for tech startups in the UAE are some of the highest globally, although the low tax nature of the ecosystem means that ongoing costs are lower than in other places.
The new study commissioned by Google and focused on the UAE's tech entrepreneurial ecosystem also found out that the UAE ecosystem is remarkably active and highly resourced, yet the early-stage nature of the regulatory framework means that some gains will only be achieved over time.
The study also showed that the market potential of tech startups is shaped by their ability to go cross-border to other Gulf and non-Gulf Mena countries, given diverse cross-border requirements and the small market size of the UAE.
The study, which involved desktop research that served to develop the structure of the tech entrepreneurship ecosystem and identity current initiatives that are in place to cultivate it, had been complimented by insights from interviews of 19 stakeholders (representing different components of the ecosystem), spanning public and private as well as institutional and individual perspectives.
Selim Edde, head of Public Policy and Government Relations at Google in Mena said at the launch of the Tech Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in the UAE Study: "Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of UAE's economy. The country has progressed in this journey, however, there are still key challenges entrepreneurs face including high operation costs, complex setup requirements and limited cross-border linkages."
He added: "Through this research, we recommended key improvement areas in policies and regulations that better enhance the tech entrepreneurship ecosystem in the UAE, from reduction in setup costs to digital policies that support sustainable operation growth for new businesses, as well as encouraging youth to become entrepreneurs without the fear of failure. We look forward to seeing positive impact in the near future."
According to the study, current UAE startups are mainly in E-commerce, marketplaces and infrastructure/software as a service (69 per cent of total startups). The survey said most UAE startups (52 percent) are B2C ventures, and 93 percent of all startups are located in Dubai.
Emirati Entrepreneur, Al Reem Al Ammari, founder of Baaqah.com said: "As a young entrepreneur, among the major challenges facing startup entrepreneurs understanding what exactly you need to do to run a business. As a fresh entrepreneur, there are basic things you need to learn by yourself including, business operations, accounts, the logistic, etc.. since you might not have learnt these in school."
She noted that although the government has put in place initiatives to support Emirati startups, for example the Mohammed bin Zayed Grants in Abu Dhabi, which covers all license fees for startup business for UAE nationals some years, some banks have not been supportive to startups.
Al Ammari advised young Emiratis wanting to become entrepreneurs to always venture into something they are passionate about, not to fear failing and to always keep going.
"Given the high salaries for Emiratis working in most of the government departments, having the passion for entrepreneurship and self employment is something that can make someone moving," she said.


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The race track is Stuart's favourite innovation onboard Norwegian Bliss
This article was first published in the Autumn/Winter 2018 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
2018 was a successful year for Norwegian Cruise Line. The launch of new cruise ship Norwegian Bliss was an achievement in itself, but behind the scenes has also been a hive of activity. Norwegian has formed new technology partnerships, begun constructing a new terminal in Miami and construction work has started on its next new ship, Norwegian Encore, which will be delivered by Germany’s Meyer Werft’s shipyard in the final quarter of 2019. The company also has impressive expansion plans underway in the 2020s when it will welcome six Leonardo-class ships between 2022 and 2027.
President and CEO Andy Stuart is rightly proud of the new multi-record-breaking Norwegian Bliss. “After we took delivery on 19 April 2018, Norwegian Bliss made history everywhere she went,” he says. “Following two successful debuts in New York and Miami, she was the largest cruise ship to cross the Panama Canal. After that historic moment, she made her way to California, where she became the largest ship to cruise out of the Port of Los Angeles. Finally, Norwegian Bliss arrived in her summer home, becoming the largest vessel ever christened in Seattle.”
Enthused with the success of his company and the fact the cruise industry is achieving unprecedented growth, Stuart is confident about the future. “The cruise industry is booming – there is consistent growth which means more opportunity,” he says. “There is also a lot of consumer interest in cruising. As an industry, we are working to keep up with trends and, as a company, our mission is to innovate with purpose.”
Stuart is confident that Norwegian’s investment to enlarge its fleet by the six Leonardo-class ships in the next decade will help it to meet demand. “These 140,000gt ships will each accommodate approximately 3,300 guests,” he says. “The new ships will build upon the highly successful offering of freedom and flexibility found on our most recent Breakaway-Plus Class ships and will feature a host of pioneering designs that will continue our legacy of introducing meaningful innovation to the cruise industry.”
But first, Norwegian’s new Breakaway-Plus class ship, Norwegian Encore, will make her debut in Miami in November 2019. The newbuild will be approximately 167,800gt and will add 4,000 staterooms to the cruise line’s already impressive inventory of guest accommodation.
“Norwegian Encore will be our newest ship to sail the Eastern Caribbean,” says Stuart. “For her inaugural season, Norwegian Encore will depart from Miami every Sunday on seven-day voyages, offering guests an opportunity to take in the vibrant culture and historic sites of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as the colourful snorkelling off St. Thomas and the picturesque beaches of Tortola.”
Norwegian Encore’s debut will coincide with the opening of Norwegian’s new terminal at PortMiami will further boost the line’s position in the US cruise industry, providing it with a means to welcome passengers with high-end hospitality. “Norwegian has been sailing from Miami for over 50 years, longer than any other cruise line, so building our new terminal at PortMiami was a natural fit,” says Stuart. “The new terminal will be the new ‘pearl’ of Miami, redefining the landscape of the city’s skyline. Innovative lighting, inviting indoor and outdoor waiting areas and other guest-centric elements will enhance the overall guest experience.”
At nearly 166,500 square feet, the facility will easily accommodate ships carrying up to 5,000 passengers and feature various new technologies to support more efficient embarkation and disembarkation, as well as expedited security screening and luggage check-in. “A dedicated lounge and service area will facilitate a warm and welcoming sense of arrival for large groups and charters, and a new parking garage and valet parking area with direct access to the terminal and lounge will provide true integration” says Stuart.
Norwegian is also focusing on using digital technologies to create industry-leading experiences onboard its ships. In May 2018, the company partnered with DeCurtis Corporation to develop a new technology platform project called Cruise Freedom. “Cruise Freedom will enhance the guest experience from the moment guests book their vacation with Norwegian and throughout their cruise,” comments Stuart. “The platform will allow both tech-proficient and less tech-savvy guests to navigate their experience seamlessly.”
Following the successful launch of the new Norwegian app, Norwegian expected to show off phase two of Cruise Freedom on Norwegian Encore when she debuts. “Innovation has always been at the core of Norwegian’s philosophy and with technology ever-advancing, we too are tasked with reaching the forefront of technological advancements,” says Stuart.
Continuing with its focus on technology, Norwegian has joined a growing number of cruise companies that are working to meet passenger expectations for more environmentally friendly and greener cruising. Norwegian takes its environmental responsibility seriously and its Stewardship Report in 2017 points towards increased progress in sustainable sourcing, minimising landfill waste, investing in emerging technologies and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In July 2018, Norwegian took its Sail and Sustain environmental programme a step further. “Norwegian committed to eliminating plastic drinking straws across its 26-ship fleet and private island destinations Great Stirrup Cay and Harvest Caye by August 2018,” says Stuart. “We also joined Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Alliance to help in preventing plastic waste entering the ocean.”
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A group of real photos of new BMW 5 Series was also exposed on Internet a few days ago, and this spy photo also shows rear of new car, which is clearly different from products for sale. The new car will also be officially unveiled on May 24 and is expected to be officially launched in the fall.
According to spy photos, this time rear of new car will also undergo obvious changes, such as headlights also adopting a new style that looks more slender, and interior also continues family's horizontal light bar. make new car visually wider. In addition, we can also find that BMW family's classic Huo angular design has also been continued, and semi-hidden door handle design has been adopted.
However, judging by real images, there are still clear differences from previously exposed visualizations.
At same time, this spy photo also shows double grille of BMW 5 Series, and China Net has also reserved space for radar system.
I guess everyone is familiar with BMW spy photos, but it's a pity that new car's secrecy work is well underway and we still haven't been able to see its true appearance.
Also referring to previous renders, new car will also adopt a new design language, iconic double grille + double crescent headlight design, I believe this can still give new car a strong driving feel.
As for interior, new car will also feature new styling such as a huge dual screen, a new sports steering wheel and latest iDrive 8 system.
In terms of power, new car will also offer petrol, plug-in hybrid and all-electric models at same time. Regarding products currently sold in BMW family, 2.0T/3.0T+8AT version is expected to be implemented in future. The sports version is expected to have various versions such as 530e, 545e and 550e; purely electric version is expected to release several versions such as i5 eDrive40, i5 xDrive40, i5 M50, etc., but detailed power parameters are not officially available at moment.
Write to end
It is not difficult to discover that biggest competitor of new generation BMW 5 Series in future is still Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and earlier new generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class has completed its world premiere. Judging by strength of product shown by current with look of a new car, it is also quite capable.
And it doesn't stop there. According to latest data, current Mercedes-Benz E-Class sold a total of 40,261 units in first quarter of 2023, ranking first in list of high-end sedans. while BMW 5 series is 35,728 units, ranking fourth, so for BMW 5 series, if you do not show enough sincerity this time, I think it will still be difficult to shake status of king of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.


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Sony’s CFO, Masaru Kato, today confirmed the development of Sony’s next generation home console that will most likely be named the PlayStation 4.
The announcement came during a conference call to investors whereby Masaru Kato was asked to explain a recent increase in Research & Development (R&D) costs. He explained “For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life, but this is a platform business, so for the future platform – when we’ll be introducing what product I cannot discuss that – but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there.”
We currently know nothing about the actual console but a 2012 reveal and a 2013 release is likely. Analysts are predicting that the console will use a new and improved version of the cell processor that is found in the PS3 as well as a Blu-Ray drive.
The PlayStation 3 has currently sold around 50 million consoles worldwide and has the second largest active install base with the Nintendo Wii being the first.
Nintendo have already announced their next generation console, codenamed Project Cafe, and will be detailing and showing the console for the first time at E3 in June. Project Cafe will be launching worldwide in 2012.
Microsoft are yet to mention anything about their next generation console but it is expected that they too are currently developing it and are likely to release it around the same time as the PlayStation 4.


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Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Capital LP has been an outspoken activist investor of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) since building a 1% stake in the internet giant in the third quarter of last year, with ownership of 7.72 million shares. This week they got one of their big wishes, as Yahoo announced they would spinoff their remaining 15% stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) into a separate business entity dubbed SpinCo, which will be classified as an investment company.
The move is a boon for shareholders like Starboard, extracting the maximum possible value from what was Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s most valuable remaining asset. As opposed to Yahoo’s earlier sale of 140 million Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) shares in September, which netted them $9.4 billion but cost them (and essentially shareholders) a tax bill of $3 billion in the process, the move to spinoff the remaining shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant results in a tax-free transaction for shareholders.
Unsurprisingly, investors were tickled pink by the news, sending Yahoo’s stock soaring shortly after the announcement, though disappointing earnings results from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) the next day put a damper on the good vibes, sending Yahoo’s stock tumbling.
Still, the development was great news for investors, who feared that Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer could make a similar sale or trade of the remaining stock as she did in September, and use the proceeds to make another large acquisition. Investors have put pressure on her to curb her acquisition spree, which has done little to improve the company’s fortunes. Yahoo missed their revenue expectations for the fourth quarter with $1.18 billion in revenue, down from $1.20 billion a year ago.
There are now a number of possibilities open for investors like Starboard to encourage Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) to take. One such option which Starboard has already put forth is for Yahoo to merge with AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL), a move which could supplement Yahoo’s ailing mobile video business.
Another possibility could be a sale of Yahoo itself to another company, a move that has long rumored with Yahoo essentially trading at zero or even negative value. The latest figures have Yahoo’s core business (minus its still-owned Alibaba shares) currently trading at -$6.30 per share, though it’s expected Yahoo will have a market cap of between $6 billion to $10 billion after the SpinCo spinoff is complete.


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The bitter divisiveness and partisan disputes about truthfulness that have come to characterize today’s political environment are also affecting other aspects of American life, including attitudes about brands and core values, according to new research about the expanding divisions in the U.S. from McCann Truth Central. And there is hardly any form of cultural expression—whether songs, TV shows or ad campaigns—that isn’t being closely parsed for political meaning.
The Truth About America study found, as expected, that there is broad distrust of politicians. About 70 percent of Americans say that politicians today are less truthful today compared to those 20 years ago—but more surprising is that 42 percent of Americans also say that brands and companies are less truthful today than they were 20 years ago.
“America’s increasingly pervasive polarization is creating a new kind of challenge for brand marketers. They have to decide how much to align with values favored or opposed by one constituency or another,” said Steve Zaroff, chief strategy officer of McCann North America, in a news release. “But what we found in our Truth Central study is that there are also areas of common ground with regard to positively viewed values and institutions.”
The study, unveiled at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) recent Transformation conference in Los Angeles, is the second released jointly by the McCann Worldgroup intelligence unit and the 4A’s as an exploration of American trends influencing advertising, the last being “The Truth About Advertising” in 2013.
“To be effective, advertising needs to be in tune culturally with the mood and trends of the country. This research shows how critical it is for advertisers to get out and speak to consumers; data is not enough on its own,” said Nancy Hill, president and CEO of the 4A’s, in the release. “While there is a divide—which we are all aware of—there are also shared viewpoints that can be uncovered and leveraged to reach target audiences.”
The sharp divide between conservatives and liberals runs across all categories in which they were asked about nationhood and cultural identity with regard to values, institutions, brands, foreign countries, American symbols, or news sources. But the study identified the American “glue” as well as the “gaps.”
- For example, when asked about the “most trusted U.S. institution,” NASA emerged as the common-ground answer, while conservatives favored the U.S. Army and liberals the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- If a brand was going to be in charge of the U.S., which would get the vote? Amazon was the common-ground answer, while conservatives otherwise favored Walmart, and liberals answered Google.
- What’s most American? Baseball as well as burgers, fries and soda was the shared answer, while conservatives named bald eagles and liberals jazz and blues music.
- Which country besides America has the best political system? Canada is the glue, while conservatives named the U.K. and liberals Sweden.
McCann Truth Central, a global intelligence unit, is dedicated to unearthing the macro-level truths that drive people’s attitudes and behaviors about life, brands and marketing. The “Truth About America” study was based on an online quantitative survey of 1,000 nationally representative adult Americans aged 18 and over.
Source: PR Newswire; edited by Richard Carufel


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Wales Golf Update 3rd July 2020
The Welsh Government has today (3rd July) confirmed that Local Travel restrictions in Wales will be lifted from the 6th of July.
There has been no change in the number of households that can socially mix outdoors, therefore golf in the current forms remains. However, this is being discussed by the Welsh Government tomorrow, any changes will be announced in the next Welsh Government update.
We would like to remind you that Wales Golf and sports sector continue to work closely with the Welsh Government.
This week, it was also announced that the hospitality industry could start preparing for a phased re-opening from the 13th of July, under Welsh Government Guidelines. This is subject to the Welsh Government review on the 9th of July.
Phase 1 will allow outdoor spaces owned by the business to open for food and beverage services, subject to their license agreement. The re-opening of indoor spaces will be considered by the Welsh Government at a later date. As soon as we receive further guidance on the re-opening of the hospitality industry, we will provide further Welsh Government Guidance.
To help the industry prepare, the new UK Government ‘We’re Good To Go” is the official UK accreditation scheme, showcasing that a business has followed Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines. Find out more about the ‘We’re Good To Go’ scheme here.
Further information on today’s Welsh Government update can be found here


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Willkommen to the G-Beauty Boom!
The skincare and beauty worlds have seen the rise of K-Beauty (Korean beauty), J-Beauty (Japanese beauty), Scandi-beauty (Scandinavian beauty) over the past few years, but now there’s a new player to the international beauty scene.
G-Beauty, a.k.a. German beauty, is enrapturing consumers with a “less is more” attitude that focuses on clean, efficacious beauty care – done simply.
Last year, natural G-Beauty skincare brands grew 13% in the United States last year, compared with 11% for all natural skincare brands, according to market research firm Spins and Nielsen, and experts predict G-Beauty to become “the next big thing in skincare.”
With a focus on its “clean and simple” claim, an innovative approach to science-based skincare, and a unique incorporation of German and European-sourced natural ingredients into both new and long-loved products, G-Beauty is ready to shake up the skincare world.
Clean and green
Rather than being defined by skincare routines, like the fabled 10-step K-Beauty routine, or specific products, like facial essences from Japan, German beauty is most defined by its reputation for being “clean.” Or, more simply put, German beauty is defined by what it is not: non-toxic, non-inflammatory, and non-irritating.
While there is no set definition of clean beauty, many consider clean skincare and cosmetic products to be those formulated without a long list of ever-changing ingredients commonly found in many personal care products. And due to European cosmetic regulation standards, many G-Beauty skincare products often meet the ever-changing “clean” claim for consumers.
“Generally, a ‘Made In Germany’ sticker is a sign that a product is clean, natural and low in toxins. Beauty editors know to go German when they want something classic, functional and powerful,” according to international beauty publication Glamour UK.
German beauty brands also spotlight their “cleanliness” with minimal logos, branding, and packaging. For consumers and G-manufacturers alike, these simple labels serve to highlight the transparency of a company and reinforce the idea of the simplicity and safety of the ingredients inside a bottle or jar.
While the clean beauty movement continues to explode this year, expect G-Beauty products to rise along with the clean, green tide.
Innovation and history collide
German skincare, cosmetic, and personal care products are also trending right now thanks to German brands’innovative use of cutting-edge science to create efficacious skin care products. As beauty insider website Allure recently explained about the recent appeal of G-Beauty: “it’s “the German orderliness and attention to detail is what lends itself so well to the skin-care business.”
Trending German skincare brands like Dr. Barbara Sturm (a celebrity facialist who popularized the “blood facial”), The Royal Fern, and Augustinus Bader, are all hailed by beauty retailers, publications, and skincare-savvy consumers alike for utilizing the latest technology and research to offer consumers superior skincare results.
“German beauty is known for science-backed, clean formulas that deliver highly effective results,” said Marla Beck, the co-founder and chief executive of Bluemercury, according to The New York Times.
Additionally, German beauty brands also have history on their side. In addition to being long-heralded for utilizing the latest engineering and science to create effective products, Germany has a long and storied history of wellness that many consumers find appealing.
“For a very long time, countries like France and Italy were considered to be skin care meccas, but, more recently, the German market has developed a reputable practice in skin care with its spa treatments. German spa towns have become the go-to destinations for wellness. People travel from all-over to experience these specified treatments and that’s a big reason why the skin care care is one step ahead—it’s because the products have trustworthy and clean formulas. From sourcing the ingredients to product production, the entire process typically takes place in Germany, which offers a transparency of quality to the consumer,” said Timm Golueke, the dermatologist behind the cult-y German skincare line Royal Fern, in an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle.
Natural Germanic goodness
Finally, G-Beauty products are “going to be huge” this year thanks to their long-time incorporation of natural and organic ingredients into product formulations. As more and more consumers seek out cosmetic products that are “good enough to eat,” the appeal of powerful German natural ingredients cannot be overstated.
“Customers now look for the Made in Germany stamp on skin-care products the same way we look for the organic sticker on our tomatoes,” said Cassandra Grey, founder of Violet Grey, a luxury beauty retailer, in an interview with The New York Times.
Additionally, large German brands often prominently feature ingredients from biodynamic farms or heritage farms in Europe where specific product lines ingredients are sourced. This sort of exacting ingredient selection is also highly appealing to eco-conscious consumers.
Some of the most popular German-sourced natural ingredients include:
- Polygonum bistorta root and wild rose, found in Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Glow Drops
- Flowers like wild pansy, chamomile, calendula, found in Weleda Skin Food
- Cucumber extract, found in Royal Fern’s Phytoactive Cleansing Balm
The rise of G-Beauty
The rise of the German beauty boom this year will be driven by a focus on clean products, an attractive blend of history and innovative science, and the appeal of natural, European-sourced ingredients.
For the natural-leaning consumer, German skincare and beauty products are set to become the next must-have products in their shopping carts and bathroom vanities. For the industry? Prepare to say “hallo” to the G-beauty boom.


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For 200,000 Texans, traveling between Dallas, Austin and Houston for work is just another part of the weekly grind. Vonlane’s luxury bus service has launched to make that experience more productive and comfortable, and airlines have adjusted rates and schedules to meet the upward demands for the intracity commuter.
But a new Austin startup recently launched to combine productivity, comfort, and style by offering rides between the major Texas cities in one of the hottest automobile lines on the road: Tesla.
“We’re creating a platform that shows there’s a sustainable, savvy and luxurious way to travel between cities while increasing productivity,” said Eliott Lee, ElecTrip co-founder.
We’re creating a platform that shows there’s a sustainable, savvy and luxurious way to travel between cities.”
Co-founder and CEO Mandeep Patel first launched the company in 2018 after interning with BP out of Houston. His colleagues had expressed liability and safety concerns involving their frequent two-to-three-hour drives to visit refineries within the state.
Realizing there was a market for a “no-compromise” method of travel between Texas cities, Patel threw down his life savings for a down payment on a Tesla Model X and lined up background-certified drivers to begin offering rides for clients.
Lee, a fellow engineering classmate of Patel’s at the University of Texas, joined a few months later, and now ElecTrip has three full-time employees, a fleet of six Teslas and a growing network of professional drivers throughout Texas who fulfill ride requests.
While other Austin startups like Hitch offer rides between Houston and Austin for $25 a seat each way, ElecTrip’s fees run slightly higher at $250 for the entire car, one way to Houston. The cost from Austin to Dallas is $399.
If it sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. But that’s the cost of luxury, baby.
“People love it,” said Lee. “Most people haven’t gotten the chance to ride in a Model X or any Tesla yet. If you’re familiar with the luxury bus service Vonlane, we’re like that, but even more private.”
The in-ride experience includes Wi-Fi, refreshments, snacks, personal pickup and dropoff locations, and being dropped off by a professional driver in a Tesla Model X with falcon wing doors.
Well, most of the time. ElecTrip’s fleet includes Model 3 and Model S vehicles to account for the variations in range between cities.
Ultimately, our main goal is to increase electric vehicle adoption.”
“We have a system in place where we are able to plan out the requested routes so that, no matter what, the Teslas have at least a 15 percent charge remaining when the ride is complete,” said Lee.
The rides are open to anyone, but Lee said ElecTrip is specifically targeting corporations, engineering firms and law firms that need safe, secure rides with Wi-Fi capabilities, and rides to places that some might consider the middle of nowhere.
Over the course of the next year, ElecTrip plans on scaling its operations and improving its platform to make it more streamlined and mobile friendly.
“We want to tap into the huge Texas commuting market,” said Lee. “Right now, there are over 200,000 people traveling for work between Austin, Dallas and Houston every week. If we can capture just a percentage of that, and really establish ourselves in that corner, that’d be great. And ultimately, our main goal is to increase electric vehicle adoption.”


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On Monday, MCOA introduced that Northern Lights Distribution (NLD), a subsidiary of Pure Plant Extract of California (NPE), had signed a letter of intent with Alpha Non-public Fairness & Capital LLC to type a three way partnership known as Magnolia Extracts LLC.
In April, MCOA acquired 20 % possession curiosity of NPE and signed a three way partnership settlement to type a brand new cannabis supply firm beneath the identify Viva Buds.
NLD has entered into the partnership and can present $1.5 million in funding towards the prices of constructing out a brand new manufacturing facility.
“As our portfolio of authorized cannabis and industrial hemp investments and joint ventures characterize a good portion of our development technique,” says MCOA CEO Don Steinberg. “We consider this step represents a robust transfer ahead in establishing our foothold out there.”
Steinberg says that the transfer will permit the corporate to advance to the following stage of their plan with NPE, securing entry to greater than 18,000 sq. toes of constructing house.
“We’re assured this three way partnership will serve very helpful for us in addition to our associate, NLD,” says Steinberg.
Additional particulars on the letter of intent might be discovered on the U.S. Securities and Change Fee web site.


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The Co-operative Food is to stage a property event in Edinburgh as part of a wider plan to add 100 new stores in 2014.
The event, being held on October 9, is open to property agents, developers and landlords.
The Co-operative Food said it has plans to acquire 100 new stores during 2014 to add to its existing portfolio of 2,800 outlets.
Plans for expansion include high street and local community locations.
Acquisitions manager, Ian Mason, said: “With ambitious plans for 2014, The Co-operative Food is forging ahead with its acquisitions programme to expand its estate, and we are specifically looking for new locations throughout Scotland.
“We are actively searching for new opportunities to grow the business and this is a great chance to meet and work with agents, landlords and developers to identify the right properties in the right locations and in the heart of local communities.”
The event will be held at Living Room, 113 - 115 George Street on Thursday, October 9.


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US vinyl sales hit record high amid Black Friday sales
Vinyl’s extended comeback hit record highs in the US this month. During the week of November 27 to December 3, vinyl sales increased by 56 percent to a hearty 1.25 million units amid Black Friday sales. Not only is that the largest sales rate documented since Nielsen Music began tracking sales data in 1991, this is only the second time in history vinyl sales have ever broken 1 million units in a one-week period.
Though chains such as Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble certainly aided the push of vinyl sales for the holidays, independent stores’ physical sales accounted for an impressive 542,000 units, approximately 43 percent of the total count. Top album sellers include Harry Styles’ Fine Line, the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Billie Eilish’s When We Fall Asleep Where Do We Go?
If anything, Black Friday 2020 certainly solidified vinyl’s position in the market against other physical formats. Regardless of how much technology improves, it seems fans find something tangibly special in those discs and record players that can’t be recreated.


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Ledger, a manufacturer of cold wallets, is facing criticism for its latest firmware upgrade. The upgrade includes a subscription-based feature called “Recover,” which has drawn criticism for allowing the company to access users’ seed phrases, which goes against the purpose of a hardware wallet. The feature is included in the 2.2.1 firmware update.
The KYC has become a major point of criticism
Criticism is being directed at the feature for mandating KYC registration, which is contrary to the privacy values held by many in the crypto community. As part of the registration process, users must provide a government-issued ID photograph. The requirement for identity verification is only applicable to users in the EU, the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. and is currently limited to Ledger Nano X devices.
Numerous users have expressed their dissatisfaction and annoyance with the update on online forums such as Reddit. In response Ledger clarified that the device only sends encrypted fragments of users’ seed phrases to other companies if they opt to use the recovery service. Users are still free to backup their seed phrases themselves. Despite this explanation, many remain concerned that the device has the potential to leak data to the internet and are not appeased.
Data breaching in 2020
The most notable critique aimed at the wallet manufacturer pertains to data breaches. In December 2020, 270,000 Ledger owners’ physical addresses were stolen following another security breach in July 2020. The information was shared on a forum by the hacker, who used it to target victims in an extortion campaign. The company’s CEO expressed regret over the incident and assured users that there was no link between the data and the funds in their wallets.
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2024 Ford Ranger Raptor, Changes, Hybrid – Mandatory emission targets are undoubtedly a downer on the good old days when the only serious issue was gas mileage. It didn’t matter whether you drove a diesel or a petrol car to meet those targets. Due to the current political climate, electric vehicles appear to be the way of the future. With legislation mandating the use of hybrid or electric cars, it is no longer a question of whether a vehicle will have battery power or not; instead, it is a question of when a vehicle will have battery power. A hybrid-powered version of the Ford Ranger will be available by 2024 for the next-generation model.
Reports from Australia’s Drive magazine claim that briefings with engineers in the lead-up to the unveiling of the 2024 Ford Ranger provided some hints about electrification, the chassis design, and its ability to adapt to whatever requirements may arise throughout the new generation Ranger’s lifespan. One engineer working on the new Ford Ranger indicated that the platform’s potential to support electrification is “enabled.” Still, he would not go into further detail about this. 2024 ford ranger
“Certainly, we’ve spoken with consumers worldwide. There are two major motivations for electrification,” said Ian Foston, worldwide lead engineer for the new P703 Ford Ranger (hybrid technology). One method is to reach out to customers who have frequently had ownership experiences with electric vehicles of various types. They also want to know when pickup trucks equipped with this technology will be available. As well as that, there are legal regulations that have been implemented in several different markets around the world. So it’s evident that (hybrid and electric cars) have a bright future in every market, with trucks being one of them.” 2024 ford ranger
While the Ford Ranger hybrid may use the 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine in conjunction with a hybrid drivetrain, the only way to know for sure is to wait until the Ranger hybrid is officially unveiled.
We believe Ford will stick with the same turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine as the current Ranger, despite the possibility of a change in engine configuration. During our testing, we discovered that this engine gives more than enough power to move the mid-size truck about, and we do not expect that to change with the new model. Ford has stated that it will offer a turbodiesel V-6 in other areas. Still, we do not believe it will be available in North America. The Ranger is available with multiple transmissions, including a six-speed manual and a 10-speed automatic. Still, we think Ford will stay with the 10-speed automatic as standard equipment on Rangers in the United States. 2024 ford ranger
On the inside, the Ranger’s cabin is given a contemporary makeover thanks to an optional digital gauge display, textured dashboard trim, and air vents with honeycomb patterns. The truck’s many controls and buttons have been digitized. They are now part of the infotainment system, which has replaced most of them. Several interior storage solutions have been incorporated into the new Ranger’s interior design, including a hidden higher glovebox in the dashboard, larger door pocket cubbies, and storage underneath the truck’s rear seat.
A massive 10.1-inch infotainment display is standard across the Ranger lineup for 2023, and buyers interested in technology can choose an even larger 12.1-inch vertically oriented screen. On either platform, Ford’s latest Sync 4 interface is available for use, providing access to the Ranger’s many features and controls, such as the ability to activate a new zone-lighting feature, which turns on lights on the outside of these truck to illuminate a Jobsite or provide illumination while setting up camp in the dark. Aside from the expected inclusion of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, we anticipate adding optional features such as in-dash navigation, a B&O Play sound system, and SiriusXM satellite radio to the lineup. 2024 ford ranger
Customers in the US and Canada will be intrigued by the timing, which will see the P703N Ford Ranger introduced in 2023 as a 2024 model. The Ford Bronco and the Ford Ranger are expected to roll out of the Michigan Assembly Plant shortly, and hybridization of both the Bronco and the Ranger has long been predicted. Because they are based on these same platform, it is expected that the Ford Ranger will launch in North America with a hybrid engine similar to that of the Ford Maverick and that the Ford Bronco will receive an electrified powertrain makeover to complement the new truck. 2024 ford ranger


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A COMPANY convicted of large scale lamb substitution at a Mid North Coast abattoir has been added to the NSW Food Authority's "name and shame" register.
Tolsat Pty Ltd, trading as Eversons Food Processors, was convicted and fined $66,000 on December 19 last year in the NSW Chief Industrial Magistrates Court on a total of 66 charges
Thirty-three of the offences - which occurred between October 2007 and January 2008 - related to false description (section 18(2)) and the balance to a failure to comply with the Meat Food Safety Scheme (section 104) of the Food Act 2003.
A spokesperson for the NSW Food Authority said the prosecution was the first of its kind.
It followed a State-wide audit of lamb identification procedures in 2008 in conjunction with complaints from industry and a Federal Senate inquiry into meat marketing at that time.
NSW Food Authority chief executive Polly Bennett said a NSW Food Authority inspector had noticed problems with the dentition checks the abattoir was conducting when it classified carcases as lamb during an audit of Tolsat's operations.
"At a follow-up investigation, officers found discrepancies in the abattoir livestock and slaughter records and it appeared that older lambs had been processed and supplied to its customers as lamb."
She said the outcome of the case sent a strong message about lamb substitution.
"Consumers rightly expect meat labels to be correct and not a substituted product," Ms Bennett said.
"Meat substitution laws are in place in NSW for a reason - flouting them also puts other businesses at a disadvantage for doing the right thing.
"Lamb is a premium commodity and one of the most recognised brands in Australia; consumers have a right to get what they pay for."
The Land was unable to contact Tolsat Pty Ltd, which according to the NSW Food Authority website no longer operates the abattoir, for comment.


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The Nintendo Switch has only been on the market for 10 months, but is already the fastest selling Nintendo console in U.S. history. The console has already sold 4.8 million units in the United States, outpacing other popular Nintendo systems like the Wii and Nintendo 64. It seems the system will surpass the Wii U sometime in 2018 in total units sold worldwide. There are plenty of games releasing on the Switch this year, giving the console some potential steam for further sales. In fact just last week Nintendo’s current president commented that the company has a goal of reaching 20 million Switch units sold by the end of 2018. What are your thoughts, have you purchased a Switch yet?
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 4, 2018


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Eleague is an esports brand that Turner Broadcasting runs. It’s hosted tournaments for popular competitive games like Rocket League, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Street Fighter V, and Overwatch. Eleague usually airs on TBS, a Turner station.
The Nintendo 2019 World Championships, however, will debut on CBS starting on August 25 at 1 p.m. Eastern. Following episodes will run on September 7 at 2 p.m. and September 14 at 1:30 p.m..
The first Nintendo World Championships took place in 1990. Nintendo brought the concept back in 2015 and 2017, but this will be the first time that the tournament will air on TV. It will feature popular Switch competitive games Splatoon 2, Super Mario Maker 2, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Nintendo’s efforts in the esports scenes have been cautious, and it usually runs its endeavors alone. But the company has worked with Eleague before, running the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Invitational 2018 together last November.


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December 4, 2015
Chief Executive Officer
300 Renaissance Centre
Detroit, MI 48265,
Re: GM adding same safety technology to all vehicles made and sold anywhere per UN Car Safety Regulations
Dear Ms. Barra:
We write as American consumer organizations with a history of working on auto safety. We wish to reference the recent letter you received from Consumers International, which is attached here.
We were surprised and disappointed to learn from our consumer colleagues in Latin America of the poor performance of General Motors’ (GM) in auto safety tests conducted by the New Car Assessment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (Latin NCAP). These results are directly related to GM’s failure to provide the same safety technologies on cars sold in Latin America as the company provides as standard equipment in cars sold in the US market. We are specifically referring to basic safety features, such as airbags, but also newer life-saving technologies like electronic stability control and pre-tensioned seat belts, all of which are fitted as standard on GM vehicles in the US.
Indeed, the Chevrolet Aveo received a zero rating in Latin NCAP’s most recent independent crash test results, and was described as representing a “high risk of life threatening injury” in Latin America. In addition, the Chevrolet brand has shown the poorest performance of all the major global car manufacturers tested by Latin NCAP since 2010. The basic model of the Aveo available to consumers in Latin American countries – such as Mexico (where the car is both manufactured and the top-selling model)- lacks even basic safety features, such as airbags, putting occupants at great risk. We find that information shocking.
As American consumers, we appreciate the enhanced protections these technologies provide in saving lives and preventing injuries in the US. But we find it hard to fathom that GM would not provide all consumers – no matter where they live around the world – with these same protective technologies.
Auto safety cannot only be for citizens living in wealthy countries; yet GM’s practice of providing some consumers with the best safety technologies, while not even providing airbags to others, strikes us as a morally indefensible decision. Ms. Barra, GM is not alone in this practice, but in your capacity as CEO you have stated your commitment to auto safety technologies and doing right by consumers, and we think this is an issue that deserves your attention.
Just last month, on the occasion of the 2nd Global High Level Conference on Road Safety, governments from around the world adopted a declaration for all new motor vehicles to meet minimum safety regulations:
“Promote the adoption of policies and measures to implement United Nations vehicle safety regulations or equivalent national standards to ensure that all new motor vehicles meet applicable minimum regulations for occupant and other road users protection, with seat belts, air bags and active safety systems such as anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) fitted as standard.”
At this propitious time, we are calling on each of the world’s largest car manufacturers to commit to comply with the UN Vehicle Safety regulations for all new cars, regardless of where they are sold.
This is particularly relevant to General Motors, as Latin NCAP has ranked it 8th out of 11 leading car manufacturers in Latin America, in terms of safety, and is the worst performing of any global manufacturer.
This disparity in access to safety technologies has real consequences, with an unacceptable burden of road crash deaths and injuries highlighted by the World Health Organization and referenced by Consumers International in its letter.
The WHO has reported that:
- 1.3 million people died and 50 million people were injured on roads in 2013. Unsafe cars are a major contributor to this statistic. 50% of those affected were vehicle occupants. This disparity in access to safety technologies has real consequences, and contributes to unacceptable burden of road crash deaths and injuries highlighted by the World Health Organization and referenced by Consumers International in its letter.
- Road traffic deaths are now the 9th biggest killer globally, and are predicted to become the 7th biggest killer worldwide by 2030 unless urgent action is taken.
The top ten car manufacturers accounted for 78% of all cars produced in 2013. It is clear that manufacturers like GM have an essential role to play in reducing traffic fatalities and injuries.
The US is today one of the world leaders in providing consumers access to state-of-the-art safety equipment on all of our cars. As CEO, you can demonstrate to all consumers concern for their safety and play a leading role in ensuring all vehicles comply with these safety standards regardless of where they are sold. Applying these regulations voluntarily will help increase trust and confidence worldwide in the safety of your cars, and most importantly, save many thousands of lives.
Thank you for your attention to our concerns. We would be happy to discuss further with you or your staff.
Director, Federal Policy and Washington Office at Consumers Union
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
National Consumers League


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Mobile wallet benefits workers as Jaipur Rugs partners with telecom giant to pay home-based artisans
A rugs company has partnered with Vodafone to facilitate payments to about 8,000 artisans in remote areas of the state through the telecom giant's mobile wallet service.
The partnership between Jaipur Rugs and the telco will benefit 8,000 home-based artisans who work for the company.
"Most of them are based in rural and remote areas of the state and do not have access to the basic financial services so we entered in partnership with Vodafone to facilitate payments to artisans in Rajasthan," Jaipur Rugs Founder Nand Kishore Chaudhary said.
According to PTI, the company has around 40,000 artisans across six state and the facility has been started from Rajasthan first.
Business Head- Rajasthan Circle of Vodafone India, Amit Bedi, said that the money transfer service will facilitate on timely payment to artisans and enable them to encash wages from their nearest agent through mobile wallet service M-Pesa.
Initially, around 200 artisans of the 8000 artisans associated with the company in Rajasthan have been covered with the money transfer service and payment to rest of the artisans will be facilitated in coming days.
Image Credit : Shutterstock
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The mood of the meeting was far from sentimental. De Beers announced that earnings had fallen by a quarter and announced that it may have to cut the final dividend and defer the purchase of 25 per cent of production from the major producers. The news hit the stock exchange like a thunderbolt - De Beers had tried to talk up the market and predicted that diamond sales, in the doldrums for 18 months, would pick up. Not only did De Beers seem in trouble but it had got wrong the one answer it is believed to be infallible on: the state of the diamond world. De Beers' shares lost a third of their value, taking with them much of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The gentlemen of De Beers are supposed to be infallible because they set the question. Indeed they invented it - a huge complicated glass bead game with thousands of players, lives and livelihoods dependent on it. Billions are spent on mines from the Namibian desert to the Siberian permafrost. They produce industrial diamonds, but the huge profits are in gemstones. Millions of hours are spent examining piles of rough diamonds, dividing them and subdividing them into 7,350 categories. Cutting and polishing is an art involving years of apprenticeship and skill. Then the stones are re-sorted into another 5,000 categories. Dealers, cutters, polishers, jewellers - the price of a diamond increases nearly 10-fold between leaving De Beers' vaults in Charterhouse Street and arriving in the shop window. The industry depends upon a regular supply at a steady price, and that De Beers provides. The diamond world is like a family, sometimes at war but always close. De Beers is the head, indeed the fount, and no one in the diamond business wants its demise.
The diamond world is like a huge edifice based on a faith that diamonds are forever, that they are rare, that they are - and always will be - valuable. Diamonds are forever is double-edged. It also implies 'don't resell them'. Apart from antique jewellery, second- hand diamonds are worth about 20 per cent of new diamonds. The public has to keep buying new diamonds and in the inner sanctum at the De Beers headquarters in Charterhouse Street in London the mantra runs: 'Nobody needs one, everybody wants one.' Gem diamonds are as useful as a shattered windscreen. De Beers' crusade is to keep them desirable or, as a New York dealer put it: 'The diamond market is sustained by the erection.'
Diamonds do not follow market forces. When demand drops, De Beers limits the supply. One of the articles of the diamond creed is that the price does not drop - technically it has not fallen since 1931. In good times, De Beers makes huge windfall profits from its stockpile. In bad times it uses those profits to sustain the stockpile. Under US law, De Beers is a cartel and illegal. The company cannot operate there, but in Britain the government and its agencies turn a blind eye. Diamonds are excluded from the published monthly trade figures. No one complains. Which? has never done an investigation. There is no consumer lobby because most people buy only one diamond and rarely know which of the 5,000 categories they are buying.
There has been a sharp decline in diamond sales recently. The closures in the Ratners chain are only part of a worldwide collapse. That is the recession. Nicky Oppenheimer, the grandson of Ernest, the founder, points out: 'We're going through a very difficult period but we have an extremely strong balance sheet which is designed simply for the sort of circumstances we're in now.'
But there are now two extra threats to the whole diamond edifice - Angola and Russia. The size of the Angolan threat was laid out in a sorting room in Charterhouse Street earlier this year. Along one wall, eight glistening pools of diamonds had been laid out like eight upturned bags of sugar. One pile had large stones in it, like sugar lumps. Along another wall were four smaller piles. The longer line - worth about pounds 20m - was four months' worth of smuggled Angolan diamonds. The shorter line was all Angola's legally mined diamonds. De Beers says it is only buying half the smuggled Angolan production.
De Beers buys the smuggled stones in Antwerp - the marketplace for the 20 per cent of world diamond production which is not bought by De Beers at source. De Beers' office there intervenes in the rough market and buys to keep the price up. It is a vital link in the system. Paul Hunter, the cheerful young chain-smoking buyer, spends between pounds 2m and pounds 3m a week on Angolan diamonds. In the worst week, he spent nearly pounds 25m. The Angolan diamonds are brought to his office by African or Lebanese dealers who commute from Luanda or Kinshasa to Antwerp.
In Angola, traders take lorryloads of clothes, videos, radios, refrigerators and cars to swap for diamonds in Lunda Norte in the north-east. It is empty bush, but the prospectors took advantage of the ceasefire in Angola and moved in last year. What started as a few small pits near the Cuango river has exploded into a diamond rush, a huge, organised operation involving tens of thousands of diggers. I flew over one of the biggest operations recently - the helicopter pilot said it was too dangerous to land and pointed to a bullet hole in the perspex. 'Keep waving to them. If you see anyone go for a gun, just shout,' he said.
We chugged down the Cuango river at tree- top level and then suddenly the thick green bush turned into a moonscape. On a wide bend in the river about 2,000 men were working in chain gangs, quarrying out a crater the size of a cathedral. Others were carrying the pale yellow gravel down to the river in gunny sacks to be washed. The diggers were in shorts and shirts or bare-backed, and they stopped digging and waved, some angrily. Among them we saw about 20 soldiers in Unita uniforms carrying guns. Under the peace agreement they should not have been out of the ceasefire collection points. The implication is that Unita is organising or 'protecting' the illegal diggings. We swooped over a huge settlement of grass tents. In amongst them were trucks and new four-wheel-drive vehicles. Some diggers ran off as the helicopter approached. It seemed strange that these people, as poor as any in Africa and simply digging in an almost uninhabited corner of their own country, should be threatening a worldwide financial empire.
The other threat to De Beers is longer-term and less controllable. Russia started producing diamonds in the 1950s and is now the biggest single producer in terms of value. At first Moscow sold to De Beers and kept in the cartel. In 1963, anti-apartheid legislation prevented the Soviet Union from dealing with a South African company. So De Beers set up a company called City West East Ltd to buy Russia's diamonds. It operated in London but City West East was never registered at Companies House.
Although the Russians kept in the De Beers' system, they did not quite play their game. The treasury in the old Soviet Union stockpiled the best diamonds and cut and polished others. They also sold a representative 5 per cent of their diamonds by tender to Antwerp dealers. This 'window on the market' told them if De Beers was paying them a just price, so they could leak other stones on to the market when the price was right. De Beers gritted its teeth but never missed the annual dinner given by the Commercial Section of the Soviet Embassy in London.
Almost all Russia's diamonds come from the north-east Siberian province of Yakutia. In 1990, De Beers signed a five-year deal with the Soviet Union under which De Beers lent dollars 1bn ( pounds 584m) a year over five years in exchange for the Soviet Union's diamond production and the stockpile. During the break- up of the Soviet Union, Yakutia fought successfully to be allowed to market 20 per cent of the diamonds independently. This week, Russia and Yakutia agreed to form a joint company to mine and sort the diamonds, but relations are still strained between them. De Beers directors hurried back and forth to Moscow to persuade everyone to stay with the De Beers' system. The reorganisation of Russia's diamond industry is causing deep anxiety in Charterhouse Street. Who is De Beers to deal with - and trust?
Many Russians question why they had to sell the 'national treasure' to a Western monopoly. There is popular pressure to increase the amount cut and polished in Russia to sell direct to the market. This year it will cut and sell about dollars 700m worth - about 40 per cent of production by value. And De Beers has discovered to its discomfiture that there is still a huge stockpile of diamonds in the Russian treasury. De Beers still does not know how big it is or what the Russians intend to do with it. It could be dollars 1.5bn worth. If that suddenly came on to the market, it would break De Beers. But the Russians know that if they did that, diamonds would be worthless.
In their desperate search for foreign exchange, however, the Russians have started to sell more polished diamonds on to the Japanese market. Their rough diamonds are also leaking out. These stones were those retained for cutting and polishing in Russia but, in the general economic confusion following the collapse of the rouble, the cutting factories - and the Russian mafia - found they could buy them cheap for roubles and sell them to Antwerp dealers for dollars.
Political chaos is likely to cause more stones to leak on to the market, but it will reduce production - this year it is expected to decline by 20 per cent. But the Russians have long experience and knowledge of the diamond world. They retain their window on the market and their stockpile, and they might try to take over the leadership of the cartel from De Beers and call the tune - and the price. Meanwhile, they will probably continue to leak diamonds on to the market, further draining De Beers' resources.
The De Beers system may be under greater pressure than at any time in the past 60 years, but it is unlikely to snap. Nicky Oppenheimer, the deputy chairman, admitted the company is borrowing money, and some estimate its cash reserves are down to zero.
Ironically, the danger time for De Beers will come when the diamond market improves. By imposing the 25 per cent quota, De Beers presents the producers with three options. They either lay off workers and close mines, they stockpile, or they sell on to the open market and allow the price to drop. Most countries will stockpile. If and when the good times come again, De Beers will want to buy those stockpiles. The temptation for the producers - even those contracted to De Beers - will be to make large, quick profits by selling off their stockpiles directly to a thirsty market. The last time there was a stockpile outside De Beers' control it was accumulated by Botswana during the early 1980s slump. Botswana sold it to De Beers in exchange for two seats on the board and a 5 per cent share in the company. Is this the model for the future?
If the producers sell direct to the market, De Beers will be denied the windfall profit it makes from the stockpile accumulated in bad times. Without that profit, De Beers will be even less able to buy up all the production during the next recession. That is when the other producers will move in and take their pound of flesh. The family-run cartel will become a co-operative of national producers.
(Photograph omitted)Reuse content


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New Delhi: After the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued guidelines for preventing unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights with regard to levying of service charges in hotels and restaurants, Additional Secretary in the Government of India (Consumer Affairs) on Wednesday clarified that hotels cannot forcibly collect service charges from customers.
“Charging service charges from customers will now cost the hotel and restaurant owners. If a customer wants to pay a service charge of his own free will, then it is a different matter but hotel owners cannot forcibly collect service charges from customers,” Additional Secretary in the Government of India (Consumer Affairs), Nidhi Khare told ANI.
She also informed that the authorities have launched a helpline number ‘1915’ for the consumers.
“If a customer is a victim of extortion, then the National Consumer Protection Authority has issued a helpline number for such customers for complaints, which will be the helpline number 1915,” she added.
Khare found it surprising and called it double charges on customers.
“Service charge is added to whatever food is served and then GST tax is levied on the total amount which is a double whammy on the customers,” she noted.
The guidelines issued by CCPA on Monday stipulate that hotels or restaurants shall not add service charges automatically or by default to the food bill. No collection of service charge shall be done by any other name. No hotel or restaurant shall force a consumer to pay a service charge and shall clearly inform the consumer that the service charge is voluntary, optional and at the consumer’s discretion.
No restriction on entry or provision of services based on a collection of service charges shall be imposed on consumers. The service charge shall not be collected by adding it along with the food bill and levying GST on the total amount. The guidelines can be accessed by clicking on the link.


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Volkswagen just officially debuted its ID.4 small all-electric crossover. According to the automaker, it will have about 250 miles of range. VW is already offering up a lease deal on the SUV, starting at just $379 per month.
According to CarsDirect, despite the attractive lease incentive, the ID.4 will be much more expensive than many current EVs and over triple the cost of leasing a Chevrolet Bolt. We previously announced that people in some areas can lease a Bolt EV for just $154 per month with only $154 due at signing.
The Volkswagen deal applies to the 2021 ID.4 Pro. As soon as it comes out of the gate, people will be able to lease it for $379 per month with $3,579 due at signing. This is a $10,000-mile per-year lease plan. If you roll the down payment into the monthly payment to get a better idea of the effective cost, it works out to nearly $500 per month before taxes and fees.
CarsDirect says the effective payment for the ID.4 is $48 a month more than the Hyundai Kona Electric ($319 per month with $3,999 down). However, it's also $179 less per month than the Tesla Model Y ($499 per month with $5,694 down). The publication's lease deal speculation for the Ford Mustang Mach-E is right on par with that of the Model Y. Ford hasn't made a lease deal official, but CarsDirect says the lease rate "is equivalent to 2.25% APR with 36 and 48-month lease options."
Regardless of any of this, if you're in the U.S. and planning to take advantage of a Volkswagen ID.4 lease deal, you're going to be waiting a long time. The Pro trim isn't coming until next year. By the time it comes to market on our shores, its value proposition could change based on a number of factors, such as interest rates, regional incentives, the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, and local discounts and markups, etc.
VW says the 2021 ID.4 will be priced like a 2021 Tiguan SEL, but only after applying the $7,500 federal tax credit. Keep in mind, not everyone can take advantage of the tax credit, and often, it's people who make less money who don't have the tax situation to get the credit. If you already get a refund of some sort from the IRS, the credit won't help you. However, if you own you're own business and have to pay a bunch of taxes, then it will be to your benefit.


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US March retail sales go into overdrive
US retail sales went into overdrive in March as Americans started receiving government stimulus checks from mid-month onwards.
According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms retail sales volumes shot 9.8% higher month-on-month to reach $619.1bn.
Economists had penciled-in an increase of 5.2%.
Last month's increase pushed the year-on-year rate of growth to an eye-watering 27.7%.
The biggest increases in sales when compared to February were seen in Sporting Goods and Book stores, where they jumped by 23.5%, in Fashion (18.3%), at Restaurants (13.4%), and in those of building materials (12.1%).
Whatever mobility restrictions might still be in place also proved scant obstacle for Motor Vehicle and Parts dealers, whose sales surged by 15.1%.
With a view to the future, Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "A correction in retail sales after April seems likely, but attention then will switch to spending on non-retail services, which will rocket as the economy reopens fully."


text: In the winter of 2006, Gao Qingrong made her annual Lunar New Year trek home to the family farm, near Chengdu, Sichuan province. She was in for a surprise; her parents had turned a small corner of their farm into an organic experiment. 'I was immediately against this,' she says, squatting down to examine some vegetables. 'I thought it would be too much work.' A few days later, Tian Jun of the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association (Cura) stopped by and gave her a translation of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, a 1962 book detailing the negative effects of pesticides on the environment - and on birds in particular - in the United States. The book sent shockwaves throughout the US five decades ago and is now beginning to have an impact in the mainland. Gao, a 38-year-old who dropped out of high school to look for work in Jiangsu province, says the book was a revelation. 'It was frightening. As soon as I finished reading it, I completely changed my mind,' says Rongrong, as she's known to family and friends. 'From that day on, I have never let my parents use chemicals on our land.' Gao quit her factory job to stay at home and help out. She then convinced her brothers to do the same - a minor reversal in the mass urbanisation of the nation - and the family began transforming its four mu (0.2 hectares) of land into an exclusively organic farm. The Gaos and a handful of like-minded farmers in Anlong village, a 40-minute drive from Chengdu, are now at the forefront of an expanding, albeit still small, trend in China. Hit hard by a string of food scandals in recent years - milk tainted with melamine, pesticide-laden chives, string beans that were found to be toxic, tainted pears and reused cooking oil, to mention a few - mainland consumers are becoming more focused on the quality of the food they eat, creating a market for organic produce - essentially that which is grown using only naturally produced fertilisers and non-chemical means of pest control. 'More and more people in China have high incomes and they're not concerned about the price,' says Jennifer Hao, vice-general manager of Sichuan Xiangzhen Enterprise, a Sino-Japanese joint venture that operates several mainland farms certified to export organic food. 'They feel if the price is high, the food is guaranteed safe.' 'From what I can see over the past three years, people are much more aware of organic food, or at least they've heard of it,' says Yinghui Zhang-Carraro, a self-appointed expert on organic farming in the mainland, who writes a blog on the subject. However, for the time being, she says, the bulk of organic consumers are Chinese who have returned from abroad and are worried about their children's health and expatriates, such as American Janet Zawadowski, an English teacher at Chengdu's Xihua University and one of the Gaos' customers. 'With all the scandals, which everyone knows about, people are beginning to have more trust in organic products, believing they're safer than other products,' says Zhang-Carraro, who grew up on a mainland farm. 'So more and more people are going organic.' Chengdu, which has designs on being a 'garden city', is hoping to be a leader in the field. Local agriculture officials want 200,000 mu of land to be used for organic farming within the next three years, with a target of 600,000 mu within a decade. Liang Yan, deputy inspector of the Chengdu Municipal Agriculture Commission, says that on April 1 the city government instituted a certification system that requires all organic produce to be examined and certified before arriving in markets. Liang says certification is important because 'a growing number of people are willing to buy [organic produce], even if the goods are more expensive'. Furthermore, he says, demand is outstripping production, giving the government a good reason to promote an increase in organic output, especially from large commercial farms. The industry remains fragmented, however, with an estimated 4,000 organic farms across the mainland, most of them small holdings. The large organic farms produce mainly for export. Gao Shengjian, Rongrong's father, says chemical pesticides were not used prior to the 1970s, when the mainland had one of the best systems of organic farming in the world. But when these products were introduced, farmers were impressed. 'Before this, farmers spent a lot of time killing pests,' says Tian, a former environmental journalist who founded Cura in 2003. 'But once they had chemical pesticides they had more time to rest. The production process changed.' Yields improved, too. It got to the point where 'we thought we couldn't grow vegetables without using chemicals', says Rongrong. But the chemicals seeped into the land, the water supply and the food chain, and people began to get sick, she says. 'The pesticides killed the bugs but killed good things as well,' Tian says. 'What started as an environmental problem became a health problem.' In 2005, Cura, which evolved from the Chengdu government's effort to clean the city's waterways, discovered that some 60 per cent of the pollution in the area's rivers was the result of agro-chemicals flowing from upstream, from places such as Anlong village. 'We could not move the farms, it was their land,' Tian says. 'So we had to find a way to deal with the environment.' It was decided that to resolve the problem, farmers needed to be persuaded to return to the old methods of farming. Cura members visited Anlong that year. One of the first families they met were the Gaos, who were already reluctant to use chemicals. Gao Shengjian, who had read about the negative effects of farm chemicals in a magazine while working as a migrant worker years earlier, realised the use of these products had upset the balance of nature. Furthermore, he'd been buying chemical pesticides from an unlicensed vendor and he feared the product was tainted. The problem was he didn't know how to farm without chemicals. Cura arrived with information about organic farming and offers to help farmers get started. '[The Gaos] are a special type of people for whom education turns on a light bulb and then they run with it,' says Zawadowski. Thus began the Gaos' experiment. Instead of pesticides, they began to use natural bug repellants - mint, coriander, basil and lemongrass - and spray crops with tobacco juice and Sichuan peppercorn juice. These herbs have a strong smell, which repels 'bad' bugs but attracts 'good' ones, which devour the former. While these plants are not as effective as chemical pesticides, the concept is especially appealing to the Gaos, who are vegetarians and Buddhists, opposed to killing sentient beings. It's nearly sunset and Rongrong is explaining this point as she walks to a field, balancing one heavy wooden bucket laden with compost on each end of a stick thrown across a shoulder. She bends down to examine a small plant, cracks a leaf with her fingernails and extends her hand, which exudes the sweet smell of mint. After spreading several buckets of compost on the fields, she walks back to the house. 'My parents are really great,' she says suddenly, with a huge smile. 'They were the ones who made the decision to go organic.' Sitting in the courtyard surrounded by his children and grandchildren, Gao Shengjian says, 'When I first began farming, everything was basically organic - and I knew the soil would return to a healthy condition.' His confidence was not shared by neighbouring farmers, though, many of whom were quick to tell the Gaos they would fail. Initially, the family were thinking only of feeding themselves but they later wanted to make other people aware of the importance of organic farming. They travelled to Chengdu several times a week, where they displayed their produce on the pavement. They could not call their vegetables 'organic' because of tough government certification rules - which are expensive to satisfy - and so had to call their vegetables 'healthy' and 'natural'. 'But people didn't believe us,' says Gao Yicheng, Rongrong's older brother, 'so we had to sell at a very low price. 'We believe actions speak louder than words, so we continued to farm organically,' he says, 'and gradually more and more people learned about us.' Farmers dropped by and saw how much conditions at the farm had improved, while city folk came to place orders. With the encouragement of Cura, some 20 Anlong families began to experiment with organic farming in 2007. However, when output dropped by up to two-thirds in the first year, many became discouraged and 11 pulled out. 'Farmers were losing money,' says Rongrong. 'But we asked them, 'What's more important? Money or your health?'' 'It was too difficult,' Tian says. 'There were too many pests and the amount of labour that was required was too much. People just gave up.' After three years, however, the situation began to improve for those who had persevered and yields began to increase. Matthew Hale, a PhD student researching the 'rural reconstruction movement in China' at the University of Washington, in the US, attributes this to the recuperation of soil, the return of birds and good insects and farmers learning to produce more nutritious compost and use it more effectively. In 2007, seven of the organic farming families joined together to form the Healthful Vegetable Delivery Service, which, with the help of Cura, began to supply restaurants in Chengdu that shared a concern about food safety. Word spread from the restaurateurs to consumers and business began to pick up. For the first time since the experiment began, the farmers felt they might be turning a corner. Last year, the Gaos invested in a small truck, in which members of the co-operative take their produce to Chengdu, where the group has about 100 customers, each paying 200 yuan (HK$230) a month for its produce. The farmers initially sold their goods for as little as 50 fen per jin (500 grams). However, it was their customers - mainly upper-middle-class Chinese and a few foreigners - who encouraged them to boost their prices to a uniform five yuan per jin, compared with two yuan per jin for non-organic produce. 'Our customers know how hard we work to grow our vegetables, so don't think they are expensive,' says Rongrong. Nonetheless, it's unlikely the co-operative's produce will ever receive certification. 'It's very difficult for individual farmers to get certification,' Liang says. 'We have a very big rural population and it's very hard to impose regulations on such a large population and to monitor individual producers.' Hao says her firm spends 200,000 yuan a year testing its produce to meet government requirements, a cost that is prohibitive for small farmers. There are cheats at all levels - Hao tells of one farmer working with her company who secretly used pesticides at night. Other farmers were quick to report him, she says - and Zhang-Carraro says the direct-marketing approach of the Anlong co-operative may be the best model available to it. 'If consumers are aware of who is really producing these foods and get to know the people behind it, that matters the most,' she says. 'The Chinese are suspicious about all their products. The trust and confidence is always an issue here. People want organic products but can't trust those from the supermarkets. With small farms you create a bond between the farmer and the consumer.' And although the profits are not there, small farmers benefit in other ways, says Tian. 'They get respect from their customers and friends,' she says. 'Some of these things can't be bought with money. What makes me happiest is seeing them become more confident and happy.' 'Our income is enough for us,' Rongrong says. 'We're self-sufficient.' The Gaos have made friends with many of their customers, some of whom help out on the farm. A guest room is available for visitors who want to spend the night and every three months or so, the Gaos invite more than 100 customers out to the farm for a group lunch. There is talk of opening a weekend kitchen, to encourage more city people to visit and learn about organic farming. The future looks bright - and healthy - for the Gaos and the mainland's other organic pioneers. And the plucky family from Anlong village has earned its success. 'For them to forge ahead with organic farming, with the yield falling and difficulty in turning a profit, was very bold,' Zawadowski says. 'Thank God they made it.'


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It’s no secret that the top dogs of the global tech scene are in a battle for Israeli talent. However, behind the heavily reported battle for human resources, lies another ongoing hunt for talent -- Israeli startups. Many tech giants, such as Intel, Microsoft, and IBM, run various accelerator programs in Israel; as a way to increase their exposure to the next wave of Israeli innovation and discover new talent before their other market leading competitors.
Another big name playing the Israeli tech scene is American chip colossus, NVIDIA, which employs a very unique program for startups. We’ll be revealing data, for the first time, showing that NVIDIA’s acquisition of Mellanox was apparently just the first stage of its Israeli startup plan.
The Mellanox executive who's hunting for startups
NVIDIA's accelerator program -- NVIDIA Inception -- has been able to recruit more than 7,500 startups from 90 different countries over the past 5 years. This figure, on average, means that the program has tapped less than 100 companies in each country. Though, as we said, the Israeli tech ecosystem is just different, and more than 270 startups take part in the program, with a quarter of those companies joining in the last six months alone.
As mentioned, NVIDIA is by no means the only giant in Israel to launch programs for startups: Microsoft has AI for Good (or Microsoft For Startups), Facebook has B2C Bootcamp and Intel of course has Intel Ignite -- alongside the many other acceleration programs on the market. They all want the next big startup to come out of their camp.
To achieve these lofty goals, NVIDIA has appointed Arik Kol to Senior Director of NVIDIA Inception in Israel. Kol previously worked at Mellanox, until NVIDIA acquired the Israeli company for nearly $7 billion.
“Although we are thought of as a hardware company, we have changed our face in the last decade,” notes Kol in a Geektime interview. “(The company) invests heavily in the software side to equip developers with dual software/hardware platforms, so that they will be the ones bringing the edge solutions.” However, the NVIDIA program is not exactly the standard accelerator you are probably familiar with, as it is solely a 'virtual' program. Kol explains that participating startups receive access to NVIDIA trained SDKs and models, in addition to mentorship from business and tech experts, similarly to parallel programs. So on the one hand the program is virtual, but on the other hand, it means that it is also not limited in time, enabling each participating startup access at its own pace.
What’s the catch? Do you take equity?
Kol: “We don’t take equity, limit time of participation, or ask for money. Unlike similar programs, we really try not to limit participating startups. There’s no time limit, we don’t hover over their heads with demands… out of a belief that relevant sectors to us provide different solutions, which allow us to move forward as a technological partner.”
Obviously, you’re not just about philanthropy? What’s NVIDIA’s return on investment?
Kol: “We do not look at the short term and when they [the startups] make us money. This is a broader overview. Startups that use our technologies, when they go into production will increase their use of GPUs in the cloud. They will use solutions like Jetson and Data Centers. We are definitely looking here from a business standpoint, but are not looking how we make a quick buck off of these startups.”
On the other hand, you get access to a plethora of young startups, which you could invest in or acquire.
Kol: “Theoretically, yes, this could lead to investments… but we’re looking at a critical mass of startups with which we would like to collaborate with, and not just acquire.”
Kol explains that the company is not satisfied with the 270 companies already participating in the program, and wants to up the stakes a bit: "We believe that in a relatively short period, we will have 1,000 startups in Israel collaborating with NVIDIA.” He defines the goal as "very worthy and reasonable." Among the companies participating in the program you will also find mature companies such as Zebra Medical, Lightricks and Gong.


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Microsoft collects fees from over half of Chrome and Android manufacturers
Microsoft is collecting millions of dollars in patent licenses from Original Device Manufacturers (ODMs) producing smartphones, tablets and other consumer devices running Android and Chrome.
Following a recent deal with the Taiwanese firm Compal Electronics, the tech giant now has more than half of the worldwide ODMs for Android and ChromeOS devices now paying it patent royalties.
ODMs are manufactures that produce products for other firms to sell under their brand.
Compal Electronics, for instance, is one of the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturers. It produces devices like laptops, TVs and notebooks for leading brands like Dell, Acer, HP and Toshiba, but the licenses it has taken from Microsoft cover a number of devices running the Android and Chrome platforms.
“Together with the license agreements signed in the past few months with Wistron and Quanta Computer, today’s agreement with Compal means more than half of the world’s ODM industry for Android and Chrome devices is now under license to Microsoft’s patent portfolio,” said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft.
With patent battles shaping the development of the industry, Goldman Sachs said last month that it expected Microsoft to earn around $444m in licensing fees from Android manufacturers alone this year, charging between $3 - $6 per device.
Following its strategic partnership with Nokia earlier this year, Microsoft now has the ability to defend around 78,555 patents. “We are proud of the continued success of our licensing program in resolving IP issues surrounding Android and Chrome,” added Gutierrez.
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their use-cases? Attend the co-located IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam and explore the future of enterprise technology.


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Disney, Wal-Mart, ENYCE clothing found in burned Bangladesh factory
The garment factory in Bangladesh where 112 people were killed in a fire over the weekend was used by a host of major U.S. and European retailers, an Associated Press reporter discovered Wednesday.
| DHAKA, Bangladesh
The garment factory in Bangladesh where 112 people were killed in a fire over the weekend was used by a host of major U.S. and European retailers, an Associated Press reporter discovered Wednesday from clothes and account books left amid the blackened tables and melted sewing machines at Tazreen Fashions Ltd.
Wal-Mart had been aware of safety problems at the factory and said it had decided well before the blaze to stop doing business with it. But it said a supplier had continued to use Tazreen without authorization.
Sears, likewise, said its merchandise was being produced there without its approval through a vendor, which has since been fired. The Walt Disney Co. said its records indicate that none of its licensees have been permitted to make Disney-brand products at the factory for at least a year. Combs' Sean Jean Enterprises did not return calls for comment.
Labor activists have long contended that retailers in the West bear a responsibility to make sure the overseas factories that manufacture their products are safe. They seized on the blaze — the deadliest in Bangladesh's nearly 35-year history of exporting clothing — to argue that retailers must insist on more stringent fire standards.
Charles Kernaghan, director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, said nothing will change unless clothing companies protect workers as vigorously as they do their brands.
"The labels are legally protected," he said. "But there are no similar laws to protect rights of the worker."
Bangladesh's fast-growing garment industry — second only to China's in exports — has long provided jobs and revenue for the desperately poor country, while turning out the low-priced products shoppers in the U.S. and other countries have come to enjoy.
But the industry has a ghastly safety record; more than 300 workers have died in garment factory fires in Bangladesh since 2006.
On Wednesday, police arrested three factory officials suspected of locking in the workers who died in Saturday's blaze on the outskirts of Dhaka. Police Chief Habibur Rahman said the three will be questioned. He said the factory owner was not among those arrested.
About 1,400 people worked at the factory, about 70 percent of them women. Survivors said exit doors were locked, and a fire official said the death toll would have been much lower if the eight-story building had had an emergency exit.
The fire broke out on the ground floor, where a factory worker named Nasima said stacks of yarn and clothes blocked part of the stairway. Nasima, who uses only one name, and other workers said that when they tried to flee, managers told them to go back to their work stations.
Thick smoke filled the stairway, and when the lights went out the workers were left in total darkness. Another worker, Mohammad Rajib, said some people used their cellphones to light their way.
"Everyone was screaming for help," Nasima said. "Total chaos, panic and screaming. Everyone was trying to escape and come out. I was pulling the shirt of a man. I fainted and when I woke up I found myself lying on the road outside the factory. I don't know how I survived."
Rajib said the factory conducted a fire drill just three days before the tragedy.
Workers expressed support for the factory owner, Delwar Hossain. Rajib said he is "a gentle man" who heeded workers when they protested for more pay and against rough treatment by some managers.
"He took action and fired some of them," he said. "He did not sack any worker. He told us: 'You are my people. If you survive, I will survive.'"
Most the fire's devastation took place on the second and third floors. Sewing and embroidery machines and tables burned to ashes and ceiling fans melted.
Nightgowns, children's shorts, pants, jackets and sweatshirts were strewn about, piled up in some places, boxed in others. Cartons of kids' hooded sweaters, off-white with red and black print, were marked "Disney Pixar." Among the Disney garments was a gray sweatshirt emblazoned with the image of Lightning McQueen, the star of Pixar's "Cars" movies.
A pair of blue ENYCE shorts was still on a sewing machine. There were also sweaters from the French company Teddy Smith and the Scottish company Edinburgh Woollen Mill.
At least four register books listed such buyers as Wal-Mart, Disney and Sears.
Nike and Apple are among other major corporations that have been criticized over the years for sweatshop conditions in overseas factories that make their products.
Josh Green, chief executive of New York-based Panjiva, which tracks shipments for factories outside the U.S., said some companies are more conscientious than others in selecting factories. Some companies pick a supplier and do little or no investigation, he said, while others analyze factories' past infractions and pay monthly visits.
Still, it's hard to keep track when suppliers subcontract out work, he said.
Moreover, "you have relentless pressure that consumers put on retailers and that retailers put on their suppliers to deliver lower and lower prices," Green said. "And that pressure is a key reason why you see factories cutting corners."
TV reports said about 3,000 garment workers held protests Wednesday over the fire, blocking roads and throwing stones in the third straight day of demonstrations. Police used batons to disperse the protesters.
According to local television, most factories in the area closed because of the protests.


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The Minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu, this Friday in Luanda, that the transport of goods in the country continues to be a challenge for the executive, therefore encourages the entry of actors who can contribute to the needs of transporting products and promote the reduction of road accidents.
The official was speaking last Friday, to the press, at the relaunch of Renault in Angola, by the Caetano group, which thus became the representative of the French brand Renault Trucks, after the two parties signed the contract in January of this year. The deal is valued at €500,000.
The Minister of Transport said that the transport of goods in the country is still a challenge, as “the transport of goods in Angola has a very significant weight, and obviously we need vehicles that are reliable, safe also to promote road accidents on the roads ”.
Meanwhile, he underlined the need for suppliers and their customers to safeguard maintenance. “It’s not just about selling the vehicle, it’s important to take care of it too, and above all to ensure road safety”, concluded Ricardo D’Abreu.
The president of Renault Trucks for Africa, Cyril Barrile, told the press that the partnership, through which Renault Trucks returns to the Angolan market, represents a very important moment as it marks the beginning of the partnership, on the understanding that the introduction of heavy vehicles in a market “It’s much more than the simple sale of normal vehicles, as customers buy them for very specific purposes.
The official also stated that “each sale represents a new partnership with each of the customers who purchase each unit”.
Cyril Barrile also advanced that the brand’s new vehicles are of “excellent quality”, as it is the same as the vehicles that are made for Europe, but adapted to the context of Angolan needs, in terms of robustness, adaptation to weather conditions, among other characteristics that are found in Angola.
Regarding the types of vehicles, the President for the African region divided the target audience for the vehicles now available to the Angolan market into two groups.
The first, advances the official, are new vehicles, the same as those available to customers around the world, while the second group is refurbished trucks adapted for the Angolan market, improving ground clearance and the chassis.
From the point of view of the expansion programme, he referred that, in addition to Angola, Renault is already present in some countries on the continent, especially in Portuguese-speaking countries. According to the official, the brand is already in Mozambique. However, the other PALOP markets are still very small, which is why their presence still requires some consideration. Cape Verde, on the other hand, is among the countries whose size is small and the local tradition is more focused on small trucks, and therefore it is a country that is currently not on the list of priorities for the entry of Renault Trucks vehicles.
The Managing Director of the Caetano group in Angola, Fernando Leite, said that the strategy of the new importer of the French brand’s vehicles is also to invest in the other provinces of the country.
He also said that the company will guarantee support vehicles to meet any occasional needs for assistance on national roads, to prevent them from being stopped, as it understands that the stoppage of a heavy vehicle represents costs for companies.


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B2B payments increased by 15.5% from Q1 2021, with more than 1.4 billion ACH B2B payments made. It’s also a 35.5% increase from Q1 2020,
Banks that retain more of their brokerage activity in-house but outsource functions such as trade execution or clearing to third parties will face bigger hurdles.
As expected, NACHA today increased the dollar limit for same-day ACH transactions from $100,000 to $1 million. The change was executed in collaboration with the Federal Reserve and The Clearing House, the network’s two ACH operators.
As bank customers increasingly turn to electronic payments, the Clearing House today announced that transaction volume on EPN, its ACH network, increased 9.6% in 2021, outpacing the overall 2021 U.S. ACH network volume increase of 8.7%.
Electronic ACH payment transaction volume grew by 8.7% last year, reaching 29.1 billion transactions, according to a report today from NACHA, the electronic payments association.
The American Bankers Association last week urged NACHA not to change rules around financial institutions offering early funds availability due to the lack of statistical evidence, despite anecdotal stories of the practice increasing liabilities.
In response to confusion about when consumers can access the latest round of economic impact payments, the American Bankers Association joined a coalition of nine financial trade groups today in issuing a statement confirming that the Internal Revenue Service chose March 17 for EIP funds to become available.
A total of 26.8 billion payments were made on the ACH Network in 2020—up 8.2% from a year prior—with a record of more than 2 billion new payments added, according to new figures released by NACHA today.
The American Bankers Association on Friday provided feedback to NACHA on its proposed plan to increase the dollar limit for same-day ACH transactions.