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Graas acquires Shoptimize, SELLinALL following US$40M Series A funding round
Singapore-headquartered Graas today announced that it had raised US$40 million in a Series A funding round led by Galaxy (Kejora-led SPV), Performa (multi-billion European Asset Manager-led SPV), Integra Partners, Yuj Ventures (Xander Group) and AJ Capital.
According to a press statement, some Southeast Asia (SEA) and India’s “best-known angel investors and industry leaders” across deep tech, retail, adtech and private equity have also participated in the round.
In addition to the funding round, the company also announced that it had acquired Indian D2C and data specialist Shoptimize and SEA marketplace specialist SELLinALL. Following the acquisition, the founders of both companies have joined the board of Graas and will continue to be a part of the combined entity.
The funding will also support the expansion into SEA and India.
Graas was founded by serial entrepreneurs and martech veterans Prem Bhatia and Ashwin Puri.
Its proprietary platform integrates previously siloed e-commerce data to reduce operational complexity and enable real-time decision-making. The AI engine helps predict trends and deliver actionable recommendations that span marketplace storefronts, social and conversational commerce, performance marketing, inventory management, warehousing and last mile logistics.
Graas said that it already serves over 250 customers today, and its AI predictive engine processes over 45 million data points every month across more than four million stock-keeping units (SKUs).
The company is run by over 350 employees across 11 offices in seven countries.
“While India and SEA are the fastest growing regions for e-commerce in the world with US$200 billion in GMV, they still account for less than 10 per cent of all retail in the region. There is significant headroom to grow, however, brands are finding it increasingly difficult to manage profitability. Given the increase in number of marketplaces, revenue shares with various platforms, advertising and customer acquisition costs (CAC) and fluctuating warehouse and last mile costs, margins are under threat. Doing business has become more complex and Graas is here to offer the solution,” said Prem Bhatia, Co-Founder & CEO of Graas.
“Graas’ vision is to demolish data silos, increase brands’ speed to market and create a streamlined, informed approach to marketing, inventory and content management – all in one dashboard. Our plugand-play algorithmic solution gives brands the equivalent of an in-house data scientist. As a result, we are already seeing exponential increases in our clients’ growth via our solution and that’s why we have defined a new category for Graas: ‘Growth-as-a-Service’,” added Bhatia.
Graas acquires Shoptimize, SELLinALL following US$40M Series A funding round. Congratulations to the entire team. I wish you great success in this endeavour.Shishir Gupta, Founder and CEO, StartupLanes
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Apple eyeing music / Jobs talking to record giant
Apple Computer Inc. and Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs are reportedly in talks to jump into the troubled music business with a bid to buy the Universal Music Group, the world's biggest record company, for as much as $6 billion.
Apple shares fell 8 percent Friday after reports of a proposed deal that would combine the Cupertino firm, which has about 3 percent of the desktop computer market, and UMG, the leading label of an industry suffering from a three-year slide in CD sales.
Some analysts said that under Jobs, an Apple-Universal Music combination could be a trendsetter that leads the recording industry out of the wilderness and into a new age of Internet music distribution.
Analysts speculate that Jobs believes the acquisition of Universal Music would complement Apple's long-range digital entertainment hub strategy. Apple is also widely rumored to be working on developing a new paid music service that would tie in Apple's innovative iPod portable music player and iTunes music software.
"With Steve Jobs running Universal, Universal will set the pace," said analyst Phil Leigh, vice president of equity research at Raymond James & Associates. "He sees clearly the future of online distribution and knows more about how that should be done better than anybody."
Representatives for both Apple and Universal Music declined to comment on newspaper and wire service reports published Friday that Apple is in secret talks with UMG parent Vivendi Universal to buy the record label for $5 billion to $6 billion.
"It's a rumor, and we don't comment on rumors," Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton said.
Financially struggling French conglomerate Vivendi Universal has said it will sell some of its assets, including all or parts of an entertainment group that includes movies, television, theme parks and music.
Vivendi Universal spokeswoman Anita Larsen wouldn't comment on the Apple rumors, but said the firm is "open to a number of different scenarios, based on what is in the best interest of shareholders."
Shareholders of both companies reacted nervously to the news. Apple shares closed at $13.20 per share, down $1.17, on the Nasdaq stock market, while Vivendi shares closed at $13.86, down 4 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Apple would not be setting a precedent by owning a record company. Sony Corp., which makes computers and consumer electronics, also owns Sony Music.
But Apple's quest to dive into a business that includes top-name artists like Nelly, Eminem and Cher may be another sign of an impending transformation of the recording industry, especially in the post-Napster era.
There are questions about whether the traditional record label business model "is even viable going forward," said Richard Gay, a partner in the media and entertainment practice of Booz Allen Hamilton.
Universal Music is the largest of the big five record labels, with about 30 percent of the market. However, CD sales were down 10 percent in the United States in 2002, the third consecutive year of declining sales, the International record industry group said this week. Worldwide record sales fell 7 percent.
An Apple-UMG deal is far from completion and faces numerous hurdles. But analyst Ryan Jones said such an alliance could help energize the fledgling online music subscription industry, which only has about 200,000 subscribers to services like Pressplay, MusicNet, MusicNow and Rhapsody.
Meanwhile, the alliance could also help Apple sell more computers and iPods,
said Jones, a senior analyst with research firm Yankee Group.
"Apple is struggling to grow its market share based on traditional computer applications, and the music industry is trying to find the right potion for online entertainment," said Jones, who does not own stock in Apple or Vivendi.
"If Apple is able to net out 400,000 new users either on the PC side or the online music side, it's a big deal for both segments of the industry," he said.
"I think they can do it."

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Five years after the issue of breakage — whether or not to share unrecouped advances and liquidated equity stakes from digital services gained through licensing their catalog — became a big issue in the music business, all three majors are now on board with unequivocally saying they will take care of their artists.
But whether Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group will share any funds from, say, the shares they own from Spotify when the streaming service goes public is an up-to-now-unanswered question.
If Sony sells shares of Spotify, the company tells Billboard it will share some of the proceeds with its indie labels, although how that process would unfold is still being worked out. Meanwhile, the other two majors are tap dancing around the issue, with the Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group declining to comment.
The question came up again Tuesday (March 6) when the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) trade group said it was starting a new initiative to add signatories to its 2014 Fair Digital Deals Declaration, whereby independent label signatories promise to treat their artists fairly in agreements with third parties relating to the digital exploitation of their music.
In a statement WIN said, “All three major labels have committed to sharing revenues from the sales of Spotify shares with the artists directly signed to their companies but WIN has further called on Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music and Universal Music Group to give the independent labels distributed by them, and therefore those artists they represent, their corresponding share of any payout received.”
But the independent artist community signed to labels distributed by the majors have “expressed growing concern about their share of these revenues following the forthcoming listing,” according to WIN.
With Spotify planning to be a publicly-traded stock maybe as soon as late March through a listing on the New York Stock Exchange that will allow current shareholders to sell stocks publicly, instead of privately which had been going on over the years, it looks like the three major labels could experience a windfall if they decide to sell their shares and if the price hold their current perceived value.
Because this is not a formal initial public offering, it is not being underwritten by investment banks who insure a smooth offering and use mechanisms to insure against rapid pricing fluctuations, its unclear how many of the nearly 177 million shares will be offered on the opening day of the listing.
Unlike in traditional IPOs — and leaving aside Tencent’s 7.5 percent stake, which they have agreed not to trade for the three years beginning Dec. 17, 2017 — none of the other shares in Spotify are locked up. That means that all Spotify owners could try and sell all of their shares, if they so choose — admittedly an unlikely scenario — as soon as the listing occurs. As it stands now, shares are trading privately at about $125 a share, and has traded as high as $132.50 a share this year, according to Spotify’s F-1 filing with the SEC. But if too many shares were offered at the opening bell, pricing could fall; or if not enough owners choose to sell their Spotify stock, prices could inflate and potentially create even bigger windfalls for Spotify stockholders that choose to hold on.
With both WMG and UMG believed to have stakes in Spotify in the 5 percent range, while Sony has a 5.7 percent stake, they stand to collectively make more than $3 billion if they choose to sell and if the pricing remains stable and retains its current value. (It is unclear how Sony got a larger share — is it because they are better negotiators than the other two majors or has the company been privately buying shares and adding to its stake?)
With 5.7 percent, Sony’s stake currently is worth $1.27 billion while if the others do own 5 percent each, that would come out to $1.106 billion each so combined thats $3.39 billion in total. Some wonder why the indies are working themselves up into a lather. “Spotify is not public yet and we haven’t sold any shares,” says one major label insider. “There is no windfall so its premature to speculate on how the allocation of funds would work.”
Some indie owners have long maintained they are entitled to their market share extrapolated against whatever monies the majors are getting.
Of the 20.5 percent market share that the Warner Music Group finished with in 2017 in the U.S., its labels owned 16.56 percent and the indie labels distributed by WEA and the Alternative Distribution Alliances had 3.94 percent share, Billboard estimates. That means by some indie labels owners and their trade group’s reckoning — if those market shares were extrapolated and held true for the globe — the indie labels are entitled to 19.2 percent (that’s what the indies’ 3.94 percent comprises of WMG’s 20.5 percent) of the $1.106 billion from possible Spotify trades, or $212.6 million to be divided among those labels by market share.
Meanwhile, Sony’s distributed releases had 27 percent market share, of which 5.76 percent, Billboard estimates, was distributed by the major’s distribution operation or its The Orchard operation which distributes a few thousand indie labels, and as such are entitled to 21.33 percent of Sony’s possible $1.27 billion from Spotify stock trades, equalling $344.1 million.
And, lastly, UMG had 36.67 percent market share, of which its major distribution operation and its Caroline, Capitol Christian Music Group and its minority owned INgrooves distributed 11.05 percent, Billboard further estimates. As such, those combined entities are entitled (under the way some indies think) to 30.1 percent of UMG’s $1.106 billion from possible stock trades, totaling $333.3 million.
(In the U.S., indie labels comprising another 15.78% in market share are completely unaffiliated with the majors and wouldn’t have a case for claiming any Spotify payout.)
Collectively that means the majors could potentially share $890 million with the indie labels, if they were so inclined, and which indie labels — or at least those that have signed the Fair Digital Deals Declaration — say they would then in turn share with their artists.
In the past indie label executives have argued that the majors have misled services by claiming the distributed indie labels market share in order to get bigger advances, or in Spotify’s case, a bigger slice of equity, which is why some indie labels and their artists say they feel entitled to some of the potential Spotify windfall..
That’s probably why what it says is in response to artists’ concerns, WIN said it is re-affirming commitments made under The Fair Digital Deals Declaration, which shows it has adopted a clear stance that amplifies its continuing adherence to fairness and transparency.
“The Fair Digital Deals Declaration is a voluntary initiative launched in 2014 and is a clear statement of those labels’ commitment to their artists,” WIN CEO Alison Wenham said in a statement. “With the forthcoming Spotify listing, which will value the company at an estimated $19 billion, they have the perfect opportunity to reiterate their position and more labels are expected to sign up over the coming weeks. We are fully focused on ensuring a sustainable economic relationship between the independent recorded music industry and the artists it represents.”
But if indie labels think the majors should share monies from sold shares with the indie labels they distribute, say some sources in the major camp, they’re missing one thing: When Spotify negotiated the majors’ shares, it was the major-owned catalogs packed with superstar artists and classic catalog titles that the streaming service wanted and the indie labels were seen as a convenience bonus, in the form of one-stop deal making. Thus, some major label executives feel they don’t have to share anything with the indie labels and if they decide to do so its only because its good business sense to treat your distributed labels fairly — but that doesn’t mean they should get their market share worth of windfall Spotify dollars.
Also, despite the above percentages estimated by Billboard, many indie label actually cut their own deals with Spotify or are a part of Merlin, the licensing collective that negotiates with digital services on behalf of labels. Merlin actually claims about a 10 percent market share while indie labels using Merlin for digital deals or which have cut their own direct deals with large services like Spotify may only use the major-owned distribution company for physical product and some smaller digital services. As such, these indie labels should have no claim on any Spotify money from the majors, these major label sources have argued in the past.
Finally, some sources suggest that some indie labels are so strong and their owners so savvy that they already have negotiated a piece of the breakage pie, should their major label disturber begin to liquidate their Spotify holdings. In this case, depending on the deal they struck, those indies can already plan on their own windfall of sorts.


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I told you last week that Fiat Chrysler’s design leaders Ralph Gilles and Mark Trostle wanted to see your sketch for a radical next generation Ram 1500. According to Ram, “They want to see your wickedest and most outrageous designs for a Ram truck.” It was called the 24-hour Drive for Design Sketch Battle. Some of the designs are quite futuristic.
It started as part of annual Drive for Design contest that exists for high school students but expanded much further. They made it a world-wide sketch battle. They received more than 200 entries. Now, they have posted the winners on the FCA Facebook page. See what you think of the 10 artists’ views of the Ram 1500’s future.
Ralph Gilles Leads All Fiat Chrysler Design
Ralph Gilles who is the head of design for FCA overall is brilliant. Gilles is credited with designing the Chrysler 300 sedan that re-energized the Chrysler brand. Gilles also led the team that designed the Dodge Viper. He is well-known in the industry for encouraging young designers and keeping an open mind on what vehicles should look like in the future. The automakers typically are looking several years down the road as they prepare designs for future vehicles.
The Ram 1500 has won more awards than most other vehicles in history. It had a major design overhaul before the 2019 debut. The new Rams are often praised for their improved interiors, as well as innovative storage. The Ram 1500 has even won awards as a luxury vehicle because of its upgraded leather and real wood-trimmed interiors.
Mark Trostle Leads Ram Design
Mark Trostle is now the head of Ram and Mopar design. He knows that vehicles like the Ram 1500 are the new family vehicles. The trucks have to be functional for work and for families. In an earlier interview, Trostle said that the Ram is more than just for towing and work, it has become a lifestyle vehicle.
New vehicles rarely look like their design sketches. However, the vehicles often include major characteristics captured in the sketches, like dramatic fender flares, or sweeping body curves.
Drive for Design Student Contest
High school students can also still enter the official Drive for Design contest that runs through April. The students are asked to design the next-generation Ram truck. The students are asked to consider what the Ram truck will mean for the future of transportation. Ram wants to see how students envision that type of vehicle in the future. The top three finishers in the Drive for Design contest win a trip to FCA’s design studio and a scholarship to the world-famous College for Creative Studies Precollege Summer Experience Transportation Design program. Students are encouraged to enter the contest by visiting FCADriveforDesign.com
Follow Mary Conway at @maryconwaymedia and send her car news tips for future stories.


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Surgeon General states it accounts for almost $290 billion a year in both medical care and lost productivity.Other national chains such as Target have stopped stocking cigarettes in the past for business reasons, but CVS is the first company to do so for health reasons and is also the largest chain to make the decision. It won stop people from buying cigarettes, but if other pharmacies also go this way, it could be a big deal. Previously, she was a business reporter for MIT’s Technology Review and an environmental reporter at ClimateWireInnovation in your inbox Sign up for the daily newsletterNewsNewsSnapchat built a TikTok competitor and it already has 100 million usersNewsClover Health under fire from Hindenburg, the research firm that took down NikolaNewsPeople with lower credit scores and limited savings are spending their stimulus checks differentlyWork LifeWork LifeHow to do your best work when you have a difficult bossWork LifeCOVID 19 has made reskilling workers more urgent than everWork LifeHow leaders can use emotional intelligence to connect with all employee types.
It may be too early to say that the eyewear startup is at the tip of an online to offline retail wave about to sweep through e commerce not really sure I see that happening yet but it is also far from being counterintuitive. Create a strong, hip brand online, generate brand recognition and revenue, get a foothold on the market, and then move offline. It seems like a familiar playbook, even if it isn credits: Collin Hughes].
Against Brighton and Hove Albion, it was as if this Liverpool team collective minds were cramped and that is a far alarming issue to address for the great German motivator. In fact, this may pose to be one of the biggest challenges of his career, carrying a hint of deja vu. It is not the first time that odds are heavily against him..
Councilor Hamilton appears to be just a voice for city administration. If he is really concerned about the well being of the kids in the McKellar ward he will put a motion forward for a rebuild of Dease Pool and lobby the Mayor and his fellow councillors at the ongoing budget deliberations to support him as Councillor Mark Bentz previously did. I know councillor Andrew Foulds will second the motion as he was the only councillor to vote against the closure of Dease Pool.
America celebrates the ideal of individuality, enabling each of us to pursue our own passions and motivations, and the summation of those individual pursuits creates the fabric of our diverse communities as a whole. There is truth in that, but the best metaphor I heard lately for a community is to think of it as an aspen grove. Aspens are beautiful trees, and a grove appears to be a collection of individual trees rising on their own into the sky.


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NBA honors Magic for top local promotion
The Orlando Magic has won the NBA’s inaugural award for best local team promotion.
|Tijuana Flats, a restaurant chain shown in advertising on the Amway Center ribbon boards, says a food giveaway took its Magic sponsorship to a new level.
Teams submitted what they considered their best local sponsorship promotions, and a panel of league executives narrowed the list to the top six. Those six efforts were from San Antonio, New Orleans, Sacramento, New York and the Magic, who had two sponsor activations among the top six.
The finalists presented their promotions at the league’s sponsorship meeting.
The Magic won the award based on its local deal with the Tijuana Flats restaurant chain, combining a free food giveaway activation promoted on all of the team’s assets that also featured strong data collection. The promotion allowed the Magic to track specific incremental sales for the company along with other buying habits of fans.
“What made it stand out for us was the multiple platforms we used to bring relevancy to the activation,” said Chip Bowers, senior vice president of corporate marketing and partnerships for the Magic. “We were able to tie it into all of our social media and create consistency across the brand.”
The team did not disclose how much business the promotion provided the restaurant over the course of the seasonlong effort. The company has been a team sponsor for two years.
“Our guests were already fans of the Magic, and this activation brought it to a whole new level,” said Brian Wheeler, chief executive officer and founder of Tijuana Flats.
While the NBA recognizes teams in a number of sales categories, including new full-season-ticket sales and total full-season-ticket sales during their annual marketing meeting in January, this year marks the first time the league has recognized individual teams for specific sponsorship activation.
The strategy is to increase shared sponsorship strategies among NBA teams while creating a sense of competition to help develop the most effective local promotions.
“Activation is so critical and our teams do so many programs that it is worth sharing and we wanted to do a peer award,” said Chris Granger, executive vice president of the NBA’s team marketing and business operations division.
The NBA also brought in William Ury, a negotiating expert and author of “Getting to Yes,” to speak to the estimated 100 top team sponsorship executives during the two-day meeting.


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2019 changes to the VS pump rebate from a Southern California utilities service cause a stir in the pool industry
By Michelle L. Cramer
Southern California Edison made significant changes to its rebate program for utility customers who upgrade their pools from a one or two speed pump to a variable-speed pump. Previously, the $200 rebate was offered as long as proof of purchase was provided. But as of this year, the rebate is only available if the pump is purchased from a retail location or online retail store, leaving out a large portion of pool service and repair professionals who work from their truck.
To clarify, SCE sent the following in email:
The main 2019 changes to the program are that SCE will no longer offer $100 incentives to pool contractors and authorized/certified pool contractors can no longer offer point-of-sale discounts to SCE customers unless they sign up for the Point of Sale Promotion by meeting the following requirements:
- Operates one or more physical retail store locations in the SCE service territory
- Sells qualified products to retail customers in SCE service territory
- Agrees to meet SCE’s data tracking and reporting requirements
- Provides SCE with all of the following documents: addresses of each retail location offering point-of-sale discount, a completed and signed Allocation Form (Exhibit A), a completed tax document CA590 Form, a completed tax document W-9 and a signed and accepted 2019 PLA HEER Program Master Contract
- Agrees to allow SCE inspectors to conduct random inspections and secret shopper verifications at your retail locations
So far, 84 approved retail locations were provided by the SCE website, 78 of which are Leslie’s Pool Supply retail locations. The California Pool and Spa Association expressed concern at the onset of these changes, stating, “Many installers have previously participated in the program as the SCE website has a ‘marketplace’ link that allows consumers to shop for variable-speed pumps. In addition, many of the VSP manufacturers are downsizing their warranties on pumps purchased over the internet. This is another problem for the industry in CA, and a disservice to the consumers of the 2019 program.”
Bob Nichols, owner of Precision Pools in San Dimas, California, and member of the IPSSA Government Relations Committee says that, upon learning of the SCE rebate changes in late February, the committee sent an email to the director of SCE expressing concerns. SCE responded quickly with an invitation for IPSSA to form a delegation of stakeholders to meet.
At the March 5 meeting, manufacturer representatives from Hayward, Pentair and Zodiac were present, as well as a PoolCorp and CPSA representatives (pictured).
“For the most part, SCE was not fully aware as to how the swimming pool retail business is organized,” Nichols says. “The delegation worked hard to outline how product moves from manufacturer to consumer. We felt confident that SCE now understands just how important the truck and toolbox retailer is to the success of multispeed pump installation.”
There was some discussion regarding the SCE’s website marketplace and Nichols says the delegation came away from the table with little expectation that this platform will change. “But there may be some improvements that will assist the SCE certified installer in participating in the rebate program,” he says. Incidentally, he adds, the marketplace platform is on all California investor-owned utilities websites.
In a statement provided to PoolPro, Jennifer Hatfield, director of government affairs for the APSP, says:
“APSP supports the good work Cal Edison and other utilities are doing when it comes to rebate programs for VS pool pumps, both in California and across the country. We also support our industry members who are working with other trade groups to try to address the concern that Cal Edison has restricted who can provide a rebate. It is our belief that allowing pool professionals (both service and builders), as well as retail stores, to offer the rebate to consumers will ensure a greater number of California citizens obtain these energy efficient pumps ‑— providing both the consumer savings on their utility bill and the state with less demand on the grid. APSP and its members have worked cooperatively with utilities in California and other states on common goals and are happy to assist on this issue moving forward.”
Of note is the new policy from Zodiac Pool Systems, launched Jan. 1, which no longer allows Jandy Pro Series products to be sold online and refrains from providing warranty coverage for these products if purchased online. The move toward this policy was in an effort to protect trade professionals, but the new SCE rebate requirements contradict the changes in Zodiac’s policy.
“Our commitment to pool service professionals is steadfast,” says Michelle Kenyon, senior vice president of marketing and customer experience at Zodiac. “We’re dedicated to ensuring their success despite SCE’s decision to make the changes they did. In order to offset the impact SCE’s new policy has had already, and will have if it persists, we’re offering our own $200 rebate program for pool professionals in Southern California.”
The IPSSA committee is still waiting to hear SCE’s final decision regarding suggested changes to its VS pump rebate program.
“On a personal note, this was the first time that all bodies of the industry have combined their efforts since the 2009 IPSSA Energy Conference,” Nichols says. “I am hopeful that, at some point, there can be a delegation of manufacturing, distribution, retail and service that can come together from time to time and discuss industry issues on a level playing field. Honestly, discussing the state of the industry as a group working to inform, teach, protect and improve our chosen field can only be to everyone’s benefit.”


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NEW DELHI: Industrial output fell for the third time in four months in June as weak manufacturing sector output weighed heavy, prompting economists to say that the central bank may ease interest rates to support growth.
Data released by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday showed industrial output fell 1.8% in June compared to 9.5% growth in the same month a year earlier. In May 2012, the sector rose 2.5% and in April it fell 0.9%. Highlighting the growing concern, the sector posted a 0.1% decline in production during April-June compared to a 6.9% growth in the first quarter of last financial year. The poor show by the industrial sector is expected to adversely impact the first quarter economic performance with services too impacted by the global economic slowdown. During January-March 2012, the economy grew 5.3%, the slowest pace of expansion in nine years.
The manufacturing sector, which accounts for nearly 76% of the index of industrial production (IIP), declined 3.2% in June compared to an 11.1% expansion in the same year-ago period. The mining sector rose a paltry 0.6% in June compared to a decline of 1.4% in the same year-ago month.
The electricity sector rose 8.8% compared to a growth of 8.0% in June 2011. The consumer durables sector was a bright spot, rising 9.1% in June compared to 1.6% growth in June 2011 while the consumer goods sector grew 3.5% compared to 3.1% expansion in the same year-ago period.
The capital goods sector, which is seen as a barometer for industrial activity, continued to show sharp volatility. The sector fell 27.9% in June compared to a hefty rise of 38.7% last year. Economists have raised doubts about the quality of data, which they say makes it difficult to predict trends. The government has promised to rework the data collection structure and methodology but so far the progress has been limited.
Finance minister P Chidambaram said the June IIP data was disappointing and called for focusing on the critical sectors, removing bottlenecks and giving a fillip to production.
Economists say the deficient monsoon rains may also impact growth. Several economists have revised downwards their growth estimates for 2012-13 and have hinted at the possibility of a sub 6% expansion. Some economists said the Reserve Bank of India may consider easing rates to support sliding growth.
"While inflation management may remain the RBI's priority, we feel that policy focus ahead would have to turn a lot more balanced between inflation and growth. Markedly sub-par growth, softening in core inflation, near-zero fiscal spending headroom, and only hesitant government policy initiatives to revive the economy will eventually lead to sizeable monetary accommodation in coming months, in our view," Barclays Capital said in a note.
"The recent media-bytes from the new finance minister indicate his preference for somewhat softer interest rates. We feel that such preference of the finance minister can potentially influence government initiatives and the RBI policy trajectory in the coming months. In sum, the next round of rate cuts could come earlier than current market expectations," it added. Industry groups called for urgent action from the RBI and the government to revive growth. "The IIP data for June clearly points to a deepening industrial slowdown which could have a long-lasting effect on the economy," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general of Confederation of Indian Industry.
"The situation calls for urgent policy measures both by RBI as well as the government to salvage industry from further decline in industrial output. Any further decline in GDP growth will have a deleterious effect on employment and on consumer demand," he added.


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REDDING, Calif. — High Times dispensaries are hosting the "Cannabis Cup" this weekend which is one of the largest cannabis competitions in the state.
Want to be a part of a state-wide competition? Well, you have the opportunity to be one of the almost 2,000 judges for this year’s Cannabis Cup.
The Redding location’s Manager Jeffery Simon said the general public can pick up their bags this Saturday.
“They’re all loaded,” Simon said. “They all should hit their cannabis limits, at least pretty close, so they’re pretty loaded. Definitely worth it.”
There are 12 different Cannabis Cup Kits that you can choose from, including everything from flowers, to edibles and even vapes. There will be 1,954 judging kits across the state at 34 different dispensaries. Each kit corresponds to one of 17 different categories including best gummy, flower, and pre-roll. Judges will have 60 days to sample products included in the kit and vote on aesthetic, aroma, taste, and effect.
“Great products to test out things you’ve never had before for whatever issues you have from pain, sleep, just about everything you can try,” Simon said. “Pick whatever bag you want. It’s that simple. Inside the bag, there will be a little card. You’ll fill it out online. They’ll send you and you enter your information. It’s really simple.”
There are 26,984 units of product total in the combined kits, with 150 product entries in total. All cannabis in the competition is grown in California.
“What’s going to stand out to you that’s going to be the gold,” KRCR’s Mason Carroll asked.
“Me personally I look for best taste, best high you know top-shelf cultivators is a good one in there and River Valley is also in there as well,” Simon said. “It just depends on your preference. Some people like a more stinky more sweet weed, it all depends on you.”
Regardless if you use for recreation, medical, or your first time, Simon said there is a bag for you.
“I feel like a lot of people are going for either sleep or pain release so this is a way if they’re scared to try it,” Simon said. “They don’t really want to get high but they want to try something that’s going to be fast like smoking. So it’s a great way to try it.”
If you’re interested in participating you can pick up your bag at their stores in Redding or Shasta Lake while supplies last starting Saturday for the general public. Loyalty members can pick up starting Friday.
Anyone 21 and older, or over 18 with a medical card, who purchases a kit and registers may judge. Kits run a retail value of roughly $60-200.
To report errors or issues with this article please email the editorial team.


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Thread: M1 finally confirmed?
06-03-2010, 12:03 PM #1
M1 finally confirmed?
Was there any doubt? Now, to just get them to not use the M1 moniker...
In an interview with German webzine "Auto-News", BMW M GmbH's Managing Director Dr. Kay Segler for the first time officially acknowledged the Bavarian automaker's plans to introduce an M-variant of the 1-Series Coupe.
Segler did not give out any specific details on the sports coupe, but he did say that it will not carry the M1 badge as this name is reserved for the original model, adding that the M-prepped 1-Series Coupe will go on sale in relatively small number of copies in the second quarter of 2011.
It remains to be seen what kind of powerplant will motivate the M variant of the 1 coupe, though most bets are on an upgraded version of the 135i's 3.0-liter turbocharged straight six.
While he went on record to confirm the new M car, Segler has yet to reveal the chosen name of this enthusiast M model. Furthermore, Segler mentioned that the M1 badging will not be used for this new car, and that the designation M1 should remain attached to the original M1 supercar produced in 30 years ago.
The German magazine goes on by mentioning the name 135i M, a label that we have suggested before as well. Based on these information, we continue to believe that the top two choices remain the 1M and the aforementioned 135i M.
06-03-2010, 01:34 PM #2Chrome Space Bar Issue: http://www.boostaddict.com/showthrea...338#post738338


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THE big games firms are about to reveal a ton of new hits.
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have been beavering away behind the scenes on dozens of secret titles to go on sale at Christmas and beyond.
And they'll reveal all at the annual E3 games event in Los Angeles on June 10.
Here's our predictions for what surprises you can expect from the top three this summer...
Xbox are promising to be "all about the games" this year after 2013's flop E3 stage show.
With the Xbox One trailing behind the PS4 by several million sales already, bosses will be pulling out all the stops.
Expect numerous exclusive games only for their platform. There's talk of fan favourite third-person shooter Gears of War getting a "next-gen" reboot.
Also Halo 4, teased last year, will almost certainly see a full reveal for the first time.
We'll see a lot more of new IPs Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break, including gameplay footage. Both have been in relative hiding since last year's big announcements.
And a new Fable will probably be shown off. Xbox chiefs will also continue to push the upcoming telly service and exclusive show's being made for their consoles.
More details, including actor reveals, for Steven Spielberg's live-action Halo show are a shoe-in.
But it will be all about the games this summer. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has vowed to beat Sony's E3 reveals with a strong stable of titles first and foremost.
He said: "Definitely in to win. "We need to do more, that’s 100% of my focus."
He added: "Bringing more than hype, bringing games."
One outside bet would be a confirmation of robot shooter Titanfall 2 after the first game wowed fans earlier this year on Xbox One.
PlayStation is currently ruling the "next-gen" roost.
The PS4 is well outselling the rival Xbox One with 7million machines in homes globally and counting.
But fans have been complaining of a lack of hit titles. Exclusives like Infamous: Second Son, Killzone Shadow Fall and Knack are all decent.
But they've failed to wow the faithful. So the pressure is on Sony to offer up new, PS4-only games that will actually excite.
“Some of the things that we are preparing for E3 are very, very exciting,”Shuhei Yoshida, PlayStation Worldwide Studios boss
Expect a full-reveal of blockbuster Uncharted 4. The game has already been announced but the odds are that PlayStation bosses will want to show off the shiny graphics of the new installment in their hit action series.
It'll look stunning. And, based on past Uncharted games, developer Naughty Dog will be keen to prove its still the no.1 hitmaker in gaming.
Sony will also likely spend time properly showing off the Virtual Reality headset its working on.
Bosses will want to prove the device more than just a fad.
Time will also be spent pushing the upcoming Playstation Now game streaming service coming to tellies.
You'll be able to stream older PS3 games direct from a server onto your TV without the need for a console at all.
PlayStation Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, who oversees all game development at Sony, has teased the E3 briefing in June will be one you won't want to miss.
"Some of the things that we are preparing for E3 are very, very exciting," Yoshida said.
The struggling games firm needs to pull some serious surprises out of the bag if it's to rescue its Wii U console.
Fans are desperately hoping for a new Zelda adventure game.
Nintendo tend to launch fresh Zelda titles late-on in their console's life cycle.
But while the Wii U is only a couple of years old, the lack of games to play has almost killed the machine off already.
The only unplayed card left in the Japanese company's stable is Zelda. HD rehash of old Zelda title Wind Waker has gone down a storm among die-hard fans.
So a brand new, flashy looking adventure would give the Wii U some much needed headlines to compete against the booming Playstation and Xbox rivals.
There will also be a huge push on upcoming fighting game Super Smash Bros and family-favourite driving game Mario Kart 8.
Both are garnering huge buzz among critics and industry insiders. Also expect to see a push on the incoming raft of indie titles promised for the Wii U.
Damon Baker, Nintendo’s senior manager of licensing marketing, recently said the firm was pushing to introduce dozens of new independently made titles on the system to boost interest.
He said: "I think you will continue to see an emphasis or a priority in showcasing and display indie content."
Nintendo will detail their new titles in a digital broadcast again this year like 2013, avoiding a big spectacle live show.


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A major wireless retailer said Research In Motion Ltd.'s new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone has sold better since its launch than more popular devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 and Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S3 devices in Canada.
In a statement released on Monday, Burnaby, B.C.-based Glentel Inc., said the new Z10 model was "the leading smartphone" sold within its 330 Canadian Wirelesswave and Wave sans Fils retail stores since the device's launch on Feb. 5.
RIM's new BlackBerry, of course, is much newer than its best-selling Galaxy S3 and iPhone rivals – which have sold tens of millions since their respective launches – and is one of the only major devices to have launched since the holiday season ended. Since then, there has been a drought of high-end smartphone releases.
Glentel did not respond to a request for additional comment and did not immediately make available any actual sales numbers.
Since RIM's global launches began rolling out in late January, actual data on sales have been in short supply. Until RIM reports its fourth quarter financial results on March 28 – an analysis that will include sales from early December until March 2 – observers are left with little more than vague figures from RIM and its partners, analyst "channel checks" with retail stores and wireless carriers, and other non-definitive numbers.
RIM has said the full touchscreen Z10 device had a more successful launch out of the gate than any previous BlackBerry, which many had expected given the long wait since the latest BlackBerry 7 devices were launched in August, 2011. A delay to availability in the U.S. led to many analysts cutting sales forecasts, but anecdotal accounts – including the release on Monday of Glentel's statement and reports of lineups in the U.K. – provide some evidence that RIM's Z10 has had at least some sales momentum.


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Nearly half of payments made to creative industry companies were late last year, leaving the industry over a billion pounds out of pocket at any given time, new figures reveal.
MarketInvoice research shows 48% of invoices to creative industries were paid late in 2018, totalling £1.1bn.
A typical invoice worth £38,137 was being settled 13 days beyond payment terms, the data shows, with one in seven companies taking more than 14 days to pay on time.
However, the frequency of late payments was lower last year than in previous years and has fluctuated significantly in recent years. In 2017, 64% of payments were late, compared with 54% in 2016, 66% in 2015 and 55% in 2014.
The creative industries, which provide film, TV and design services as well as advertising and publishing, are typically populated by many smaller companies that are more vulnerable to stoppages in cash flow.
WPP, meanwhile, warned its agencies earlier this month that they needed to improve cash collection from clients after the company’s balance sheet showed £17m worth of bad debt in the UK.
Ad industry insiders have told Campaign that agencies are having to be more vigilant about chasing late payments as high street retailers are having difficulty getting credit insurance amid tough trading conditions.
The terms of an invoice normally dictate a long payment period that can be up to 120 days, leaving agencies with a cash flow gap in the interim.
Caroline Norbury, chief executive of Creative England, said: "We know that lengthy payment delays can cause talented, profitable businesses to fold.
"Small, ambitious creative businesses make big upfront investments to deliver major projects for clients but often don’t have the financial reserves to cover long cash flow gaps. That’s a waste of talent and lost GVA [gross value added] for UK plc."


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Sony (NYSE:SNE) traded up over 6 percent for the second day in a row on Friday. The Tokyo-based electronics company spiked close to 6.3 percent higher on Thursday following news that it would hang on to its profit-making Sony Pictures division. On Friday, the stock is on the move after announcing that it will sell its Manhattan headquarters for $1.1 billion.
Sony will net about $770 million from the deal after costs, and will continue to lease space in the building for at least three years in order to house its music and movie divisions. Reports indicate that Sony is selling the property for as much as four times more than it paid, a huge win for new CEO Kazuo Hirai.
Hirai has the monumental task of turning the electronics giant around after years of earnings, revenue, and stock-price decreases. Sony has been unable to compete with many Chinese and Korean electronic firms on a cost basis. Koninklijke Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG), a European-based competitor, has seen its stock price climb nearly 50 percent year on year, where Sony’s is off over 30 percent. Other competitors like Panasonic (NYSE:PC) have also suffered, but not as much.
It’s clearly not all bad news for Sony, though. The stock’s most-recent gains come after a generally positive December, and some observers see upside on the back of Japan’s new round of stimulus spending…


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McCrory, Childress to discuss entrepreneurship at HPU
- Staff Triad Business Journal
Gov. Pat McCrory and NASCAR legend Richard Childress will be among the participants at a roundtable discussion of entrepreneurship at High Point University scheduled for March 20, according to an announcement.
Childress is the CEO of Richard Childress Racing and also founded Childress Vineyards in Lexington in 2003. Also scheduled to be on the panel are Robert Maricich, CEO of International Market Centers; Rachel Weeks, founder and CEO of apparel manufacturer School House; and Bryan Young, CEO of digital media agency BEC.
The roundtable will be moderated by HPU President Nido Qubein. A limited number of complimentary tickets to the event at the Hayworth Fine Arts Center are available by emailing email@example.com.
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Since a few days there is a new website called smallandroidphone.comdoing the rounds on Hacker News and Reddit.
The site was created by pebble founder Eric Migicovsky, and he’s pitching for a great little Android phone.
It’s a story we’ve heard countless times: many people like small and powerful Android phones, but there aren’t many options. Apple released a small iPhone two years ago, but multiple reports suggest there will be no iPhone 14 mini.
So what does Migicovsky want? Simple: an uncompromising Android phone with a screen of less than 6 inches.
Ideally, it should be the size of an iPhone mini with a great camera and flagship processor. He is willing to pay a premium price of $700-$800 for something that fits the bill.
Ideally, he wants to convince Google – or another phone maker – to make such a phone for lovers of compact phones.
But he has a different pitch: if no company makes it, and he gets 50,000 supporters on the website, then he will start a new company to make a compact phone.
“I have a very specific set of skills and industry connections that I have acquired over a long career in the hardware industry. I’ll be using them in our shared quest to get the perfect little Android phone. If no one else builds one and enough people sign up… I may be forced to make it myself.”
So what are the challenges?
Being a phone company that focuses solely on small phones is going to be tough. Earlier this year I wrote about how, despite the fact that people on the Internet occasionally ask for a compact phone, the sales figures don’t paint a positive picture.
When I spoke to research firm Counterpoint at the time, it said the market for such devices has declined from 81% of the entire market in 2018 to just under 10% in 2021.
Analysts suggest this is due to battery-intensive technology like 5G chips, which makes larger, higher-capacity phones more attractive. Since many people use their handsets as their primary computing device (think things like entertainment and gaming), phones with more real estate are also in demand.
So creating a substantial public appetite for compact phones will be a problem for the company. If you manufacture devices in smaller quantities, ordering parts for fabrication and repair becomes costly, especially if they are high-quality components.
Another challenge would be deciding on the time between iterations. If you don’t sell millions of devices, you may not be able to release a new model every year.
A rough search on GSMArena phone finder for Android phones with a screen under 6 inches, a release date of 2021 or later and a price of $400+ only yields me three results: the Sony Xperia 10 IV, the Asus Zenfone 8, and the Cat S62.
Only one of them, the Asus Zenfone 8, can qualify as a compact flagship. I used the phone last year and I loved it. But I’m not sure if Asus will release a sequel.
Migicovsky mentioned in his blog post that Apple has sold more than 10 million iPhone mini devices, which is a good figure for a small business, but not significant for Apple. But if you’re a trillion dollar business, you can experiment with device sizes and get away with it without a scratch.
For a new company focusing on small phones, this may not be the case.
Despite this, being a boutique phone company is not impossible. Europe-based Fairphone sells a few thousand units each year – with durability and device longevity as premium features – and makes a profit. In addition, it does not launch a new model every year.
So there is a way for miniature handsets to thrive.
The compact phone world needs a sleeper hit
Companies are unlikely to bet on a compact flagship-style Android phone.
In fact, major phone manufacturers will only be interested in releasing a premium phone of this size if a mid- or low-range model is successful.
Hell, analyst data suggests the iPhone SE dominates the small smartphone market at 24%, mostly because it’s a cheap iPhone, and not a small a.
Despite people in the media and online comment sections being loud about their desire for compact, flagship handsets, there seems to be a gap between this hunger and actual sales figures.
Really, companies will have to prove that there is a market for small phones – and one way to attract customers would be to make a cheap model.
In the Android world, the Google Pixel 4a was a great example: it had a 5.81-inch screen, a great camera and a price under $400. It’s sad that Google was bad at global distribution and marketing, otherwise this device could have set the world on fire.
What we need are a few companies that make compact phones with some marquee features and a pocket-friendly price. If successful, it could fuel the revival of small phones. I wish we could see that day soon.


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Renault has come up with a followup for the Twin’Z hatchback concept revealed earlier this year. This yet unnamed concept car, which seems to be one step closer to production than the Z, will make its debut at the 2013 Monaco F1 Grand Prix.
After that it will be sent to various car shows and motorsport events such as Goodwood festival of speed for dynamic demonstrations. That gives us a clue that this mysterious concept is a hot hatchback of some sort. Making hot hatches has always been Renault’s forte.
The teaser pictures also reveals some interesting details in the car’s design, which is done entirely in-house under the leadership of Laurens van den Acker, such as a Fiat 500-like profile and twin LED fog lights. The word is that this car previews the next generation Twingo.
“This concept car was designed and developed entirely by Renault Design as an expression of the brand’s passion and an illustration of how different takes on the same city car are possible,” says Renault.


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Earlier this month, Google announced a new initiative involving news media: Google News Showcase, in which it is investing US$1 billion payable to its publishing partners in licensing fees. News Showcase will start in Brazil and Germany, later expanding to nearly 200 media partners in those countries and Argentina, Canada, and the UK. The original announcement included Australia, a decision reversed earlier this week.
We spoke to news executives and industry experts about what all this does — and doesn’t — mean.
Mixed reviews from news publishers
The recently announced Google News Showcase is:
- Set to have a three-year life span with a financial commitment that extends beyond that period.
- Made up of story panels that will appear initially in Google News on Android and soon after on Apple iOS.
- Different from other Google news projects “because it leans on the editorial choices individual publishers make about which stories to show readers and how to present them.”
- Set to launch with a select group of news publishers in Germany and Brazil (originally Australia, but that part has been pulled), later expanding to a total of about 200 publishers in those countries as well as Argentina, Canada, and the UK. Google expects to engage additional publications over time in other countries, including India, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
As the Nieman Report points out: “One thing connects them all: In each of the six [now five] countries announced, Google is or has been a target of antitrust efforts or other attempts to rein in its market power.”
Industry reactions to the announcement were mixed, given, as Lorna White, INMA blogger and digital associate director at the UK’s MediaCom, called it, the “very delicate balance” if the situation. As another media executive told us, “I’m wary, but interested,” noting Google’s approach has been more collaborative and proactive than Facebook’s.
“News publishers do heavily rely on the amplification and distribution from Google/Facebook,” White said, describing the balance. “Legislating or charging is going to impact all — and probably news brands harder, as they are reliant on visitor numbers being pushed through from these platforms.” Based on what has happened in the UK, where all paid media carries a 2% sales tax, White believes Google, with its powerful position, just passes the legislated costs along to advertisers.
Mark Challinor, UK-based INMA executive producer and blogger, had this take: “Media has taken Google’s money via the Digital News Initiative (DNI) and may be seeing this new venture as just another way to extract much needed revenue. However in doing so, like any relationships with the Big Tech companies, you have to go into those relationships with eyes open.”
Even now, another media executive told us, the Google Showcase initiative doesn’t recognise that news content on Google’s main platform is what it should be paying for — not for new products it creates off to the side.
In Germany, a number of publishers have agreed in negotiations with Google to license their content in the Showcase programme. Most of them don't see the negotiations as dogmatic as in Australia and have cooperated with Google on an operative level in the past while fighting them strategically with Leistungsschutzrecht (or ancillary copyright law).
Meanwhile in the United States, many publishers we spoke to are keenly interested in how the antitrust push for royalties plays out in Australia and the subsequent long-hoped for similar plan in the United States. One executive has been watching and respectfully joining in any support for payment from Google while simultaneously respecting the relationship and Google’s contributions to the news industry. Ultimately, this media company is not planning their budgets around legislatively mandated payments from Google.
For others, Google is continuing to follow its playbook: responding late in the game when facing the threat of legislation or regulation by announcing a deal and repeating a script about its support for journalism. One person we spoke to cautioned legislators around the world to keep the pressure up, be aware of Google’s tactics, and continue to pursue structural regulation that will force genuine and fair negotiations between publishers and platforms. Releasing the pressure will allow Google to escape the kind of rules that every business in the world — except tech companies — has to play by.
What happened to Australia?
Following Google’s October 1 announcement came a seemingly sudden decision to drop Australia from the launch “because of regulatory complications,” as reported last week by Reuters, which called the delay a “snag” in Google’s efforts to “show it could work with media companies as governments worldwide, led by Australia, look to new laws to make the firm pay for content on its search engine.”
“As we work to understand the impacts of the news media bargaining code on partnerships and products, we have put this project on pause for now,” Mel Silva, vice president for Google Australia and New Zealand, told Reuters.
The ACCC’s chair, Rod Sims, replied that he was aware of “voluntary commercial arrangements offered by the large platforms,” but said: “We note that the timing of these offers appears to coincide with increased government scrutiny both in Australia and overseas. The (ACCC’s) objective is commercial, not one-sided outcomes.”
Industry insiders we spoke to showed no surprise Google dropped Australia from the launch, given the friction. Google is trying to argue that by pursuing regulation, Australia is making it impossible to strike the same deal it has with other publishers in other jurisdictions. Google, we were told, has had more than two decades to materially support publishers by paying for content — and has never done so unless it is facing a direct threat. There is nothing to keep Google from striking a deal with Australian publishers if they choose.
Pros and cons of US$1 billion dollars spread around the world
A billion dollars sounds like a lot of money until you realise that it’s a billion dollars spread over three years and across the entire planet, as Nieman observed: “Newspapers alone are a US$94 billion annual business worldwide.”
Then there are all the other publishers who will be cashing in. For example, despite having selected what Neiman called “the big brands” — like Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Zeit in Germany or Folha de S. Paolo, Estadão, and UOL in Brazil — in Canada, it was not The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, or the major Postmedia regional dailies. Instead, it was Narcity Media (owner of a blog about Montreal) and Sault Ste. Marie’s Village Media (owner of 16 hyperlocal sites in Ontario). So you can begin to see that, as Nieman said, “it doesn’t change the industry’s fundamental math.”
The perceived generosity of the amount also shrinks when you understand that projected revenues for Google in the same three-year period are US$632 billion. The payout to publishers would be about 0.15% of that.
Nieman also points out that the arrangement is completely on Google’s terms:
- Google picks which publishers get money and how much they get. The arrangement is not “an obligation owed equally to everyone who publishers anything on the Internet …”
- The money will not be used to pay for use by Google Search but rather a partnership built around a “small new side product.” In other words, Nieman says: “They want to make sure the deal isn’t: ‘We’re giving publishers back some of the money they think we steal from them every day.’ It’s, ‘Let’s partner on something new.’”
- And Google no doubt hopes it will “lower the heat” on the drive for government regulation and reduce press discontent.
The PR value extracted from the arrangement, in other words, exceeds any foregone revenue, as Nieman’s analysis shows:
- Google stands to make zero dollars from Google News Showcase because it’s part of Google News, which doesn’t generate revenue.
- It is unlikely to be a big hit and “drive a gazillion people to Google News every day.” Instead, this module is buried screens deep.
- Google doesn’t have to pay publishers US$1 billion. It could easily tweak existing algorithms to make all of the promised features, including publisher curation, happen.
“Google is saying it’s purely a business deal when it comes to the Google News Showcase (GNS),” Challinor said. “Google says it doesn’t make money from news, and, it would appear, it is not planning to charge for GNS nor sell ads on it. So what business opportunity is it for them? Why invest US$1 billion for no revenue back?”
The question publishers need to ask themselves, he said, is whether this business deal is of more value to Google than it is to them.
“Google is and has been under huge pressure from global governments, regulatory bodies (and of course, the media) over being accountable and regulated. And the notion that ‘we are just a tech company, not a media company’ line is wearing thin for many media houses. For Google, shrinking that environmental pressure is important.”


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In recent years, there has been a rise in cases that stem from abnormal use of consumer products. The question is, what constitutes abnormal use? One of the best cases to look it to see how complex this issue can be are any of the ones involving energy drinks along with the precedent setting case Coca Cola won about their advertising.
When Coke was challenged they came out the winner
A consumer case was brought against the Coca Cola bottling company claiming that their advertising was misleading and during the case even a DUI attorney San Diego was needed to be brought in at one point to help resolve it. It presented Coke products, most notably their Vitamin Water as a health product. When consumers relied on it for health benefits they did not experience any. Coca Cola’s defense was that you would have to be delusional as a consumer to believe that any product they made was healthy. Relying on Vitamin Water as a part of your health regimen implied abnormal use by the consumer. The courts agreed. That case also bears looking at for the intricacies on the ruling and how they apply to misleading advertising.
Slightly different, but very much the same
Along come popular energy drinks that promise to deliver an energy boost. Most of them do this through the addition of high levels of caffeine. Some consumers who have consumed copious amounts of the drinks have experienced heart attacks, palpitations and other cardiac related issues. Consumers repeatedly file suits against the companies saying that there is not adequate warning on the labels of the potential effects of too much consumption. Companies argue back that the products are advertised as a quick energy boost, not a way to sustain energy and that drinking more than one constitutes abnormal use. According to Brian Musell Attorney, so far the courts have ruled in the companies favor.
What is abnormal use?
Abnormal use is defined as use beyond the intended use of the product by the manufacturer, it does not account for the implied use suggested by clever marketing. It is assumed that the consumer will use fair judgment and common sense in the use of the product along the guidelines stated on the label – not the advertising – for the product.


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陕西11选5HID Global's Biometric Identification Solutions now Covers Police Forces & Military Officials Globally
HID Global, the Texas-based manufacturer of secure identity products and the worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions has announced the...
Monday, 03 August 2020, 22:16 IST
The most reliable cloud-based observability platform, New Relic (NYSE:NEWR) has delivered strategic updates to New Relic One
Friday, 31 July 2020, 17:50 IST
NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP), the leader in cloud data services, today held its sixth demo day for the NetApp Excellerator, the company's flagship startup。。。
Saturday, 25 July 2020, 01:36 IST
A research team led by Princeton University has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based system that can detect in real time foreign trolls
Thursday, 23 July 2020, 21:04 IST
陕西11选5To make it easier for users to shop within its app, Instagram is rolling out a new feature called Shop, along with launching Facebook Pay on its platform for purchases and donations.


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Google Patents Secure Rolling Box To Receive Packages From Drones
Google is one patent closer to making drone delivery a reality. via GeekWire
Despite plenty of skepticism surrounding drone delivery, Google continues to press on with its own version, called Project Wing.
The company has received a patent for a wheel-mounted “delivery receptacle” that will work with an “unmanned aerial delivery device,” or drone, according to a copy of the patent. The delivery receptacle will communicate with the aerial device through the use of infrared so it can locate and navigate to the receptacle.
Once the drone flies in and drops a package into the receptacle, the receptacle can move on its own power to a “secure location, such as a garage,” the patent said (Is this enough like The Jetsons for you?). Amazon is of course working on its own drone-powered delivery system.


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US-imposed technology and market access bans are weighing heavily on Huawei, with its two main business units shrinking in 2021.
Total revenue plummeted 29% to 636.8 billion yuan (US$99.9 billion), with the core carrier equipment business down 7% and the enterprise unit up just 2%, the Chinese vendor revealed Monday.
The biggest impact is being felt by the once high-flying device unit, which lost almost half its revenue following the disposal of its Honor handset business and the evaporation of market share after being denied access to leading-edge chips.
Thanks to the sale of Honor and its x86 server business, however, net profit spiked 76% to 114 billion yuan ($17.8 billion).
The privately held company didn't reveal the amount received from the sale of the assets, but reported an additional 60.1 billion yuan ($9.4 billion) from extraordinary income.
Huawei's full-year numbers showed some gains from internal belt-tightening, including a 12% rise in gross margin. Yet even though it managed to carve 9 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), or 3%, out of operating expenses, total costs as a proportion of revenue ballooned from 29% to 39%.
CFO Meng Wanzhou told journalists Huawei had increased some prices and had reaped the benefit of tighter management of its supply chain.
The company enjoyed growth in its wearables business, where the number of users of its watches and fitness bands had topped 100 million, and in cloud services.
'Fight for survival'
Rotating chairman Guo Ping said Huawei would "continue our fight for survival" in 2022.
He said despite the sharp fall in topline revenue, the company had maintained its spending on R&D, up 0.5% to 143 billion yuan ($22.4 billion).
"In the future our ability to survive and thrive depends on ongoing heavy investment in R&D," he said.
Guo said Huawei aimed "to reshape" three areas of the ICT industry – fundamental science, system architecture and software.
"Because some materials and processes are withheld from us, we have to use alternative means to achieve the same functionality on a given product."
He cited as an example the use of multicore architecture to improve performance and extract more life out of existing chips.
"When we're not able to access very advanced processes we hope through these alternative means we are able to maintain competitiveness of our products," he said.
Guo said the company was not planning to build its own chip manufacturing fabs, but he expected to "see more companies participate in this market."
- Ukraine has made Huawei even more toxic for European telcos
- Arm has awkwardly become a lifeline for the Huawei cloud
- Huawei H1 down 29% as handset business plunges
— Robert Clark, contributing editor, special to Light Reading


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Today, Deep Silver released a new trailer to commemorate the upcoming release of the upcoming Agents of Mayhem, and showcases the 12 different agents of which you’ll control. The open-world third-person action game will be available tomorrow for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The super villainous organization known as LEGION, led by a man called the Morningstar, made itself known with a simultaneous global attack. Using teleportation technology and dark matter-fuelled weapons, LEGION appeared around the world in the blink of an eye. Devastating armies. Stealing resources. Crippling economies. Gripping everyone in fear.
In an effort to reclaim the world from LEGION, the Ultor Corporation forms a new anti-terrorist initiative, MAYHEM, and enlists former LEGION Minister Persephone Brimstone to lead the fight against her former cohorts. Now possessing LEGION’s prized teleportation technology, Persephone and her Agents of Mayhem head to Seoul, fighting from the rooftops to the very underbelly of the city to stop LEGION —by any means necessary.
Check out the trailer above, which will go into gameplay mechanics as well as some of the characters that are featured in the game. Stay tuned for our review of the game, and catch more news here on Gaming Trend.


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TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – As restaurants begin to open across Northeast Mississippi, some are finding it tough to get deliveries of produce and other items.
Fairpark Grill opened for the first time since Sunday afternoon. The restaurant didn’t make any employees come in, but only those who felt they could get to the restaurant and back home safely.
Also, getting some supplies has been a challenge, especially from companies that are not located in the area.
“It’s been a little bit difficult, but we have worked well with our provider, as well as our local produce provider, and been able to really, kind of get behind it, we’re expecting our delivery to come tomorrow, but of course that depends on whether or not the trucks can make it here or not, safely,” said Cody Parker, general manager for Fairpark Grill.
Parker says the Grill at Fairpark will likely close early this evening but should return to normal hours Saturday.


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Solutions Driven has been awarded a Regional Selective Assistance grant to support significant growth in 2016, as it looks to target new international markets and create jobs.
The company is aiming to create around 20 new jobs in the next two years, adding to its current headcount of 45 at its Glasgow office.
Gavin Speirs, CEO of Solutions Driven, said the business had experienced significant growth in recent years, despite the downturn in sectors such as oil and gas, one of its key industries.
He said: “Hiring and recruitment trends can be cyclical and even counter-cyclical in the case of the oil and gas sector.
“We are using our experience in a range of sectors and applying them to different geographies across the world.
“By continually investing in our people and our business, we have experienced strong growth as we expand the services we provide, the technology we use and the markets in which we operate.
“The support we’ve been able to access from Scottish Enterprise will be another catalyst for our international growth and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for our business and our customers.”
In the past year the firm has secured more than 200 appointments for a range of international clients including a business development director for an electronics company expanding into Scandinavia, and a vice president of product management for an automotive product manufacturer in the US. It has also worked with a number of leading Scottish manufacturers.
The company is currently in the process of moving to its new premises.
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The HTC Vive got us all excited for virtual reality gaming, but apparently the headset will launch with a hefty price tag to match its 'high end' status.
The virtual reality space is rapidly increasing, with the HTC Vive being the latest addition to the headset lineup. However it could also be the most expensive of them all.
In a recent interview with MCV, HTC Connected Products Marketing Executive Director Jeff Gattis said Vive's premium stance in the market could result in a higher price tag.
"We want to deliver the most premium VR experience the world has seen. That's not marketing speak, but more about where Vive is positioned in the market. This is at the high end," Gattis said.
"Starting with the premium experience, even if it has a slightly higher price point, is the right thing to do from a strategic point of view," he continued.
"The price can always come down as the market grows. We know there is some pent up demand there, so there's not so much price sensitivity early on.
Well, the current Oculus Rift development kit costs $350 while the final consumer edition will be around $400 (about £270).
Meanwhile Sony hasn't announced pricing for Project Morpheus just yet, but it's expected to be relatively pricey as well.
Samsung is currently selling its Gear VR Innovator Edition for £169, making it the cheapest headset. Although, it's worth noting that you need a pricey Galaxy smartphone to use it.
With so much hardware to make it work, HTC and Valve's Vive headset might end up being the priciest, we'll have to wait and see.


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The One Club for Creativity has announced three more inductees into its Creative Hall of Fame—and they are names everyone will recognize. Michael Jordan, Phil Knight and Spike Lee will be inducted as a team of collaborators in a ceremony scheduled for October 27.
Based on a legacy of game-changing creative work, basketball legend Jordan, Nike co-founder Knight and Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will be inducted as a team of collaborators, the three coming together to create some of the most famous ad work in history—with the Nike Air Jordan work with Lee as Mars Blackmon.
The trio created work that transcended the ad industry to become part of pop culture and changed the way the world thinks about athletic footwear.
“Michael Jordan, Phil Knight and Spike Lee are responsible for a body of highly engaging, entertaining and impactful advertising—and revolutionized the athletic footwear industry,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club in a statement. “They are richly deserving of this induction as collaborators into the Creative Hall of Fame—and continue to inspire the next generation of creative professionals.”
The Creative Hall of Fame began with the induction of Leo Burnett in 1961. The One Club previously announced its other 2022 inductees last month and they included Carol H. Williams, Ron and Pippa Seichrist, the co-founders of the Miami Ad School, and Joe Duffy of Duffy & Partners.
The black-tie Creative Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which is a fundraising gala to support The One Club’s many global DEI programs, will take place on October 27 at Tisch Skylights at The Shed, Hudson Yards in New York.
Inductees are nominated and voted on by The One Club One Club board of directors and current Creative Hall of Fame members.


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Demand Destruction of Another Kind
Metals markets traded sideways-to-lower on Friday, as gold continued to exhibit continuing dollar-strength related moderation and was not able to maintain the $960 value zone. The greenback added a few more ticks in value, rising to 72.15 and, so did crude oil, which climbed very little, getting closer to the $130.00 mark. Geopolitics showed signs of significant cooling from last week's heated rhetoric. In the latest developments, Iran welcomed the presence of U.S. officials at tomorrow's talks in Geneva. The Bush administration, taking a page from the playbook of Mr. Obama, decided that hurling warnings towards Iran is probably less wise than trying to open a communications channel and ascertaining if there is room for possible solutions to the nuclear program bugaboo.
Silver dropped a more substantial 41 cents, trading at $18.13 while platinum and palladium continued to show further losses as well, with the former declining $28 to $1838 and the latter falling $8 to $413 per ounce. Noble metals values remain under pressure as the apparent postponement of the would-be diesel revival in the USA has been put on the back-burner due to sky-high diesel fuel prices. When additionally considering the latest N. American auto sales trends, platinum and palladium have been thus far unable to capitalize on the continuing supply issues in South Africa and have fallen to near 11 week lows. Gold did not finish the week with too bad of a loss vis a vis last week, considering the growing degree of volatility we saw during most of the sessions. The again, the $1K mark we were promised early in the week from various apocalypse-following quarters did not materialize either. Perhaps we need larger-scale events to accomplish that goal.
Today's focus story and food for weekend thought takes us back to one of the gold market's sine qua non pillars of demand: India. While investment and safe-haven demand have required almost all of gold's recent headlines to be printed in bold, extra-large fonts, the underlying drought in Indian demand should have analysts up at night, wondering who will absorb the metal that the sub-continental buyers are evidently unwilling to consume at current prices. As we normally come to this discussion table from an almost purely fundamentals-oriented angle, we must once again ring the alarm bell to the complacent bulls who believe that India simply does not matter any more, and that ETFs and such will take every ounce of gold that is now being, and will be dug up from the ground. The Hindu Business Line brings us the gory details of this unfolding story:
Is gold losing glitter?
Suresh P. Iyengar
Mumbai/Chennai, July 17 Gold doesn’t seem to be glittering for Indian consumers anymore, if one is to go by the import figures during the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Imports of the yellow metal halved to 101 tonnes in the first quarter of the current fiscal against 193 tonnes during the same period a year ago and soaring prices have been blamed for the trend.
In fact, imports fell to nearly one-third at 24 tonnes in June against 66 tonnes brought into the country during the same period last year. The fall was only a continuation of a trend that has been witnessed since the beginning of this year.
In the first half of this year, imports dropped 65 per cent to 132 tonnes against 374 tonnes during the same period a year ago.
Mr. Suresh Hundia, President, Bombay Bullion Association, says apart from steep rise in prices, volatility has hampered the demand.
The demand in the first quarter of the calendar year from the jewellery and investment segments was at 71 tonnes and 31 tonnes respectively, half of what it was during the same period last year, according to World Gold Council data.
According to major retailers in Chennai, the gold jewellery hub of Tamil Nadu, there has been a significant drop in the precious metal’s offtake. The drop in demand is around 25-30 per cent in the South and over 50 per cent in the North. Traditionally, South accounts for over 40 per cent of the country’s overall gold consumption.
"This 25-30 per cent drop in demand translates into big quantum of gold. However, in value terms we see a healthy growth," says Mr. Princeson Jose, Managing Director of Prince Jewellery, which plans to expand its retail horizon by stepping into other cities in the South.
Jewellers, by and large, attribute the drop in demand to volatility in the price. However, major players say there is a growing demand for fashion jewellery driven by higher value-addition, workmanship and add-ons such as gems and stones. While this trend results in reduced gold consumption, it increases the value of the jewellery per se.
"In the last three days alone, we have witnessed a drop of 65 per cent in gold consumption," says Mr. Anantha Padmanabhan, Managing Director, NAC Jewellers. He says currently, recycled gold accounts for over 40 per cent of the turnover.
Echoing his views, Mr. Syed Ahamed, Chairman, LKS Gold House, says 80 per cent of the people trade their old jewellery for new ones, while the rest 20 per cent prefer to take away cash.
A fall in Indian demand does not mean lower gold prices, but it does mean a good amount of gold will have to be absorbed by the investment component of the market to maintain current price levels. Of the total global gold production of 3,500 tonnes a year, jewellery accounts for 2,200 tonnes, industrial units require 500 tonnes, while investment demand such as ETF and paper gold accounts for the rest.
On an average, about 800 tonnes of gold are imported every year (including for investment), accounting for 20 per cent of the total world gold consumption. Mr. M. Madan, Manager, Bullion Department, Auro Gold, says the investors have shifted focus from gold to fixed deposits as banks were offering higher interest.
From the life-time high of $1,030 an ounce in June, gold prices have corrected to the present $958 level. In India, the weakening dollar has pushed gold prices to a high of Rs 13,625 for 10 gm on Wednesday.
Though the steep rise in prices has capped jewellery demand, investments through ETF and gold futures trading are picking up.
"Rise in inflation has led to a spurt in most essential commodities prices. So it is but natural that people are losing interest in gold," said a Mumbai-based jeweller.Bullion dealers said gold retailers have almost stopped buying in the market due to low demand. Mr. Harish Galipalli, head of research, Karvy Commodities, said gold has given 14 per cent return this year against a negative return of 42 per cent by Nifty and Sensex."
The jury remains in another room while its deliberations as to how the growing gap will be filled continue.
Look for weekend developments on the geopolitical front, and any legislative/regulatory developments from Capitol Hill as we start the new week. Tests of $945 or lower should now not be ruled out.
Kitco Bullion Dealers Montreal
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.


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Without any fanfare or discussion, Sony seems to be pulling the plug on selling its A-mount DSLR cameras. The cameras in question—the a99 II, the a77 II, and the a68 models—are no longer listed on Sony’s website.
Even third-party retailers are listing the cameras as “no longer available.” The change was first noticed by SonyAlpha Rumors, though Sony has yet to make a statement and confirm this. There is no exact knowledge on the specific date these cameras were phased out or when Sony apparently made this decision, only that they are no longer available.
Given Sony’s fairly recent shift of focus from DSLRs (Sony uses the term DSLT, actually, for fixed translucent mirrors) to mirrorless cameras, the change does make sense. In fact, the last new DSLR Sony announced was the A99 II, announced back in 2016, though it did release an adapter in September 2020 that would allow E-mount users to use A-mount lenses.
The Sony a77 II debuted in 2014 with a whopping 79 autofocus points (including 15 that were cross-type). Sony’s a68 was released in 2015 and had 4D focus. Lastly, the a99 II came in 2016 with a glorious backside-illuminated full-frame 42.4MP Exmor R CMOS sensor and a “gapless on chip” design, which surprised everyone as it came out an entire year after reports abounded that Sony would not be making any more A-mount models.


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WB chills out at Mervyn’s with Frosty promo
While it’s true this Christmas can’t come soon enough for retailers, who’ve been experiencing slower than average sales for most of this year, apparel chain Mervyn’s is making sure that its shoppers will be in a jolly spending mood when they enter its stores.
The Hayward, California-based chain has inked an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. for the in-store use of the Frosty the Snowman icon on various products and in holiday promotions. For the campaign, which runs from November to December, Mervyn’s will carry exclusive Frosty clothing, watches, plush toys, tree ornaments, throw pillows, rugs and musical books.
In support of the campaign, Mervyn’s will offer free bobblehead Frosty figures to the first 700 customers the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving. In mid-December, the company will also give a free video of a WB-produced Frosty cartoon (based on the classic Golden Books character) to customers who purchase US$50 worth of merchandise, as well as a Frosty premium to customers who use the Mervyn’s credit card to buy products from the stores.
TRU adds new marketing team
Hoping to enhance its position as the largest global toy chain, Toys ‘R’ Us has created a new corporate brand marketing team to seek out new licensing and marketing opportunities across its key brands.
‘When we’re sitting down with a movie studio, let’s say, we’ll now be able to speak on behalf of all the Toys ‘R’ Us operating divisions in all 27 of the countries where we operate,’ says Warren Kornblum, TRU’s executive VP of worldwide marketing and brand management. The new division will serve as a resource for the licensing and marketing personnel in each of the company’s key divisions–Toys ‘R’ Us, Babies ‘R’ Us, Kids ‘R’ Us and Toysrus.com–and where applicable, will work in tandem with them to sign deals.
Though the company has been more active recently in signing corporate-wide deals, such as its exclusive licensing agreement with Universal for E.T., Kornblum feels that a larger marketing team can build on that success. To that end, he has promoted Michael Tabakin, formerly director of licensing, sales promotion and partnership marketing, to director of marketing and licensing. Tabakin will focus on securing licensing deals on behalf of all ‘R’ Us brands.
Additionally, David Kuhnlein, formerly VP of marketing at Shoe Carnival, has joined as director of business initiatives and will be responsible for identifying new business opps for Toys ‘R’ Us. These may include finding new channels in which to sell toys, a goal exemplified by the company’s recent test of a TRU-branded toy area in a Giant Supermarket store.
A third director, who will focus on strategic alliances and sponsorships, will also be added to the team, though at press time TRU had yet to fill the position.


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The huge Jabba the Hutt barge replica Hasbro showed off at Toy Fair this year will soon become a real item making its way to backers' homes. That's because the toymaker's first HasLab project, a program that takes a leaf out of Indiegogo's and Kickst…
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Fortnite [Free] is a game that needs absolutely no introduction at this point. Celebrities are playing it, it has taken over Twitch, and the fervor surrounding getting mobile invite codes so you can play the game on your iOS device is absolutely off the charts. We met with the guys from Epic at GDC, and they hooked us up with over 50 Fortnite mobile invite codes. We’ll be giving them away today on our Discord server in the #fortnite_codes channel at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific).
Using Discord [Free] is super simple, and you can either use the mobile app, or go to the Discord site to either use the web client or download the desktop version. Once you’re all set, you can either click this link or use the widget below to join:
All we ask is that if you’re going to hang around and snag a code from the giveaway that you play the game, stick around, and share the three codes you’ll get to invite other people in our Discord server. It’d be really awesome to keep the chain rolling as with these 50 invites people will have 150 invites to give away, then from those people will have 450 invites to give away, and so on. If folks stick around and be cool members of the TouchArcade community, there’s no reason why everyone who wants one can’t eventually have an invite inside of a couple days if everyone is paying it forward!
If you want to get ahead of the game, register for an Epic games account (you’ll need this to claim invite codes), get Discord set up, be in the channel, and download Fortnite. The code giveaway will begin today at 7:00 PM Eastern, 4:00 PM Pacific.
In the latest sign of mounting frustration with U.S. tech companies, the European Commission today proposed sweeping new taxes that would target large tech companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Though the EC plan is tough, it faces an uncertain future, as it must be approved by all 28 member states. But if it goes into effect, tech compan…Read More
Apple – VentureBeat
We know that Apple’s facial recognition and 3D imaging technology, TrueDepth, is at least two-and-a-half years ahead of its closest competition. And while Samsung recently tried its hand at mimicking the TrueDepth and Animoji experience on its next-generation Galaxy S9 flagships, the South Korean company ultimately failed to create a product that even comes close. Now, […]
Facebook’s stock plummeted Monday after the social media company revealed that it had shared user data with a political analysis firm. By noon Pacific Time, Facebook’s stock had tumbled nearly 7.5 percent. That presents a market capitalization loss of over $ 43 billion for the firm. The controversy began when The New York Times and several publications […]
When you get deep enough into Reddit, you inevitably stumble across something you didn’t know existed — or could exist. Case in point: r/shoplifting, an active subreddit where Redditors talk about exactly what the name suggests. At over 80,000 subscribers, it’s a relatively large community, and they aren’t shy about their intentions. The subreddit’s raison d’être is to talk about stealing stuff, ways of stealing stuff, and places to go where you may most easily steal stuff. They’re very careful to specify that they aren’t ‘fessing up to anything … until they do, naturally. Here are Reddit’s content policy, regarding “unwelcome…
This story continues at The Next Web
On Monday morning, live from the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and media festival in Austin, Texas, Apple’s Senior VP of Internet software and services, Eddy Cue, announced that his company has inked a deal to acquire the popular digital magazine subscription service, Texture. While the financial and logistical terms of the agreement have […]
We’re hearing from a number of sources that Giphy, the big platform for hosting GIFs that also runs a GIF keyboard, held talks to raise a huge new financing round — though it’s not clear if it ever crossed the finish line. Read More
Mobile – TechCrunch
eBay is offering a new Pre-Daylight Savings coupon that will take 20 percent off basically anything on its online storefront. The coupon is valid on pretty much anything being sold on eBay, with a few exceptions including gift cards, coins or paper money, real estate and other coupons. To take advantage of the coupon, users […]