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Internet radio company Pandora Media, Inc. (P) said Tuesday after the markets closed that its third quarter net profit more than tripled from last year, helped by a strong growth in mobile revenue.
The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue.
"This quarter exceeded our expectations as we monetized mobile at record levels and grew total mobile revenue 112%," said Joe Kennedy, Chairman & CEO of Pandora.
However, the company forecast fourth quarter results below analysts' current consensus estimates and cut its full year outlook.
Pandora shares are currently losing 19.05% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $9.45, up 49 cents or 5.47%. the shares trade in a 52-week range of $7.08 to $15.25.
For the third quarter ended October 31, 2012, the Oakland, California-based company reported net income of $2.1 million or $0.01 per share, compared to $638,000 or break-even per share for the year-ago quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted net income for the third quarter was $9.1 million or $0.05 per share, compared to $3.3 million or $0.02 per share in the prior year quarter.
On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.01 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Total revenue for the third quarter rose 60% to $120.01 million from $75.01 million in the same quarter last year. Twenty-three analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $117.00 million for the third quarter.
Advertising revenue for the quarter jumped 61% year-over-year to $106.3 million, while subscription and other revenue surged 52% to $13.7 million.
Third quarter total mobile revenue jumped 112% year-over-year to $73.9 million.
Total listener hours grew 67% to 3.56 billion in the third quarter from 2.12 billion in the third quarter of last year. The growth rate is slower than in the previous two quarters.
The number of active users grew 47% year-over-year to reach 59.2 million at the end of the third quarter.
There were reports earlier this year that Apple Inc. (AAPL) is planning to develop a music streaming service that will rival Pandora. The move is said to be part of Apple's efforts to expand its dominant presence in digital music.
Looking forward to the fourth quarter, Pandora forecast revenue of $120 million to $123 million and an adjusted loss of $0.06 to $0.09 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.02 per share on revenue of $130.27 million for the fourth quarter.
For fiscal 2013, the company now forecasts revenue of $422 million to $425 million and an adjusted loss of $0.09 to $0.12 per share. Previously, the company forecast revenue of $425 million to $432 million and an adjusted loss of $0.04 to $0.08 per share.
Analysts currently expect the company to report a loss of $0.06 per share on revenue of $429.15 million for the fiscal year 2013.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: email@example.com


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Domestic solar cell and module manufacturing is way behind the country’s demand for the equipment, going by data collated by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in January end. Under the National Solar Mission, the government targets achieving an indigenous manufacturing capacity of 4-5 GW by 2020.
India’s import of solar cells and modules is more than 35 times its export, as per a recent study by Mercom Capital Group. Till December 2016-end, the country’s installed solar cell manufacturing capacity stood at 2,953 MW, including the 1200MW Mundra project by Adani Group. Further, the operational capacity of solar cell manufacturing is 1,448.05 MW in December-end, marginally higher than the 1,123.05 MW in June-end last year.
As far as solar module manufacturing capacity is concerned, MNRE’s data pegs the installed capacity at 8,113 MW while operational capacity is 5,286.55 MW as on December-end. This has grown from 5,848 MW of installed capacity and 4,307.55 MW of installed capacity in June 2016-end. Here too, 1,200 MW, a major chunk of the growth is attributed to the uncommissioned Adani project.
A majority of solar power projects in India will continue to prefer cheaper cells and modules from China. India imported solar equipment worth $2.17 billion (Rs 14,630 crore) in the 10 months between April 2016 and January 2017, its exports were just $60.3 million (Rs 404 crore).
Indian solar modules comprise of only 5% of the domestic installations. Britain is the biggest importer of Indian solar modules, accounting for 31% of India’s solar exports ($18.84 million), followed by Italy and Belgium. India’s primary export markets include those which have anti-dumping laws against the Chinese manufacturers.
Chinese modules are generally priced 20% lower than India-made modules making it difficult for Indian module manufacturers to compete with them. The further fall in the solar module prices has also been fuelling the recent free fall in the competitive biddings.
Analysts say that with a slowdown in the Chinese market, the prices are expected to fall further by 20% over next year.
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“What’s that thing on your phone?”
That’s a question becoming more common on campus since Bling, a new payment method that uses a proximity chip stuck onto users’ cell phones, expanded into Palo Alto and began its push among Stanford students at the beginning of the school year.
Bling tags are meant to function as more efficient and safe debit cards. To complete a transaction, a user touches a Bling tag, which he or she sticks on the back of a cell phone, to a pad provided by a retailer. The tag eliminates PIN numbers and signatures, and is about one-eighth the size of a credit or debit card. The tap withdraws funds from a user’s PayPal account, which can be connected online.
“It’s about adding a small amount of convenience,” said Bling user Drew Padley ’10.
The convenience also extends to retailers. Fraiche employee Annalisa Likens said she has seen Bling drive consumers to the Stanford campus Fraiche location because they want to pay with the tag. She uses the payment method herself.
Setting up a tag involves entering a mobile phone number upon completing the first transaction, and after setup, every purchase instantly sends a text message alert to the linked phone, an added feature for bookkeeping and security.
Several Bling users said a big selling point of the tag was the incorporation with a cell phone. “Someday I’ll really want something and only have my phone,” said Evan McDonald ’11.
Other users said that a cell phone is much more difficult to lose than a credit card or wallet.
Some retailers offer a program Bling Nation spokesman Matthew Murphy described as a “digital punch card,” wherein the text alerts offer incentive programs for frequent shoppers at a given venue. For example, Stanford CoHo offers 10 percent off every seventh purchase made with a Bling tag.
One concern students voiced about the Bling tags is the seemingly easy theft of such small objects, especially because Bling tags are identical aside from a nearly invisible number indented near the bottom. However, Murphy believes that Bling Nation’s security features offset this problem.
“There is no information stored on a Bling tag whatsoever,” Murphy said, comparing Bling tags with debit cards. “You also realize you lose your cell phone before you realize you lose your wallet.”
Murphy said the company is expanding from Palo Alto to San Jose, with a particular focus on expanding at Stanford.
Although some students admitted they only accepted the Bling tag because of the $10 incentive, those who adopted it as their primary method of payment have largely been pleased.
“I use [the Bling tag] every place that has it,” Likens said. “It’s a lot easier, because I’m pretty forgetful and forget money.”
“It’s definitely a trendy way to pay,” said Bryan Yoo ’10.


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ams OSRAM is developing a new chip manufacturing facility in Kulim, Malaysia. By increasing its manufacturing capacity, the company is supporting the semiconductor industry’s efforts to mitigate pressure on the global chip supply chain, as well as meeting increasing demand for more advanced, energy-efficient chips for state-of-the-art mobility, computing, and connectivity applications.
This increase in semiconductor production capacity must also take into account another customer requirement: sustainability. Customers increasingly want the products they buy to be both sustainable and sustainably produced. Eventually, the goal must be to eliminate CO2 emissions completely from the manufacturing process. Our customers set great store by their ‘green’ reputation, and the concern over sustainability extends to the products they buy: this means they should be manufactured as energy- and resource-efficiently as possible, under fair working conditions and with respect for human rights.
Of course, all industrial and manufacturing activity inherently has an impact on the environment, and on resources. ams OSRAM has set itself ambitious targets to keep its impact as low as possible, for example by applying strict regulations to suppliers and contracted companies, and through a commitment to achieving CO2-neutral production by 2030.
The new 8-inch Kulim manufacturing facility is an important element of ams OSRAM’s sustainability program. It will be the first fully automated 8-inch wafer fab for optical semiconductors in the world. Using the latest technologies and processes for high-volume semiconductor fabrication, it will mainly produce advanced LEDs and microLEDs. Alongside other elements of our technology portfolio, these optical products help to address global challenges such as climate change and the pressure on resources and urbanization, as well as helping customers to improve quality of life in domains such as health, safety, and mobility.


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in this issue
Chemical Week Magazine :: Business & Finance :: United States/Americas
Specialty earnings mostly solid on steady sales
May 20, 2013 | CW Staff
Late-reporting specialty chemical companies mostly report solid earnings, since the US construction rebound lifted Valspar’s results and IFF benefitted from low raw materials costs and an improved sales mix. Chemtura, however, was hit by weak demand for flame retardants and electronic chemicals, with adjusted earnings down year-on-year (YOY) as the company posted a net loss due to environmental expenses. Valspar reports adjusted net income for the fiscal second quarter, ended 26 April, of $83 million, up 3.8% YOY, from $80 million. Adjusted earnings totaled...
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In an effort to improve the credibility and accuracy of YouTube Music Charts and 24-hour record debut, the company has announced changes to its policy, which will now only consider organic views while ranking artists.
Views garnered via paid ads will not be counted when YouTube is ranking artists. According to the company, these steps are being taken as “YouTube Charts have become an indispensable source for the industry”, and they would like to “provide more transparency”.
Concerning 24-hour record debut, YouTube will be implementing the same policy and in the future videos with the highest organic views within 24-hours of its public release will be eligible for the record debut. These changes will not affect the existing 24-hour record debuts on the platform.
Organic sources include views from search results, shared direct links, embeds on other sites, YouTube’s homepage, watch next and trending tabs.
“We are no longer counting paid advertising views on YouTube in the YouTube Music Charts calculation. Artists will now be ranked based on view counts from organic plays,” YouTube announced. “Video advertising is an effective way to reach specific audiences with a song debut, but paid advertising views on YouTube will no longer be considered when looking at a 24-hour record debut.”
You can learn more about how songs and artists are ranked for YouTube Music Charts here and how are video views counted here.
Earlier today, Google One was updated with a feature that allows Android users to create automatic backups of their data.
On Thursday, Google announced updates to its search ranking guidelines that are now aimed at identifying and showcasing original reporting at the top of the search results and ensure that it stays there longer. Google Photos app was also updated with a new feature called Memories, which archives user’s old images in a stories-like format that’s used by Snapchat, multiple Facebook-owned properties as well as YouTube.
Also read: YouTube Premium: Price, features and everything else you need to know


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RBS-backed fintech calls in administrators
Student-focused UK digital banking startup Loot has gone in to administration after a sale to the Royal Bank of Scotland fell through.
RBS owned a 25 per cent stake in the fintech through subsidiary Natwest’s digital bank Bo, which is currently under development and invested a total of £5m in the startup.
However, a deal to buy the whole of the company fell through.
Other investors included Speedinvest, Global Founders Capital, and Portage.
Loot and RBS have declined to comment on the business now being placed into administration, but citing sources, news outlet TechCrunch reported that the company’s 60-odd employees were told the news today.
Launched in 2014, with more than 175,000 sign-ups, customers get a prepaid debit card and personal insights into spending patterns, allowing them to set daily or weekly budgets.
The digital banking start-up had not secured a full banking licence but was able to operate through a partnership with Wirecard, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, under an electronic money licence.
In January, Bo revealed that it had topped up a previously undisclosed £3 million investment in Loot with another £2 million.
Yet just months later Loot has run out of cash and hopes that RBS would save the business by buying it have evaporated.


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President Donald Trump plans to impose a new set of measures that should protect domestic automakers. On Wednesday, Mr. President met with Wilbur Ross, who is Commerce Secretary and suggest him to conduct an investigation that should result in higher tariffs on imported vehicles and car parts.
An investigation, similar to the one Trump is proposing now, was launched last year in a different sector. The results were a 25% higher tariff on imported steel, and 10% higher on imported aluminum. As a consequence, the US is renegotiating taxes with countries that export these materials, and these tariffs are suspended for now, until talks are completed.
In a statement released yesterday, Donald Trump repeated that domestic car-industry is “critical to our strength as a nation.” According to a law from the 1960s, the president has the authority to impose tariffs and various other protective measures in industries that are crucial for national security.
POTUS hinted at the incoming changes in one of his tweets by saying: “There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers. After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!”
The investigation that resulted in steel and aluminum tariffs lasted more than a year, so the changes in auto-industry are still at least months away. Also, there is a possibility that Trump is using taxes as leverage in the discussions with Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union regarding the new trade agreements. During his campaign and reign as president, he frequently stated that the US has lower tariffs on imported vehicles than any other world country.
There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers. After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018
While these changes might be welcomed by some, the situation in auto-industry is different from that in steel and aluminum sectors. While the latter one was infected by foreign competition, the car industry has been faring quite well in comparison to outside competitors. During the 2017 General Motors was the best selling brand in the US, while Ford held position No3. Unlike in steel/aluminum industry, foreign carmakers such as Honda and Toyota have their factories on the US ground.


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Amazon’s smart Echo speaker is spurring company hiring and a growing presence — in Cambridge, Mass.
Amazon has announced on LinkedIn that it’s holding an “Amazon Echo Software Engineering Interview Event” in the city abutting Boston on May 14, for “roles (that) span the gamut of distributed systems, speech/voice recognition, and big data.” And if that weren’t clear enough, ideal qualifications state that, “experience with Machine Learning Technologies, Speech – ASR and NLU are a plus.”
In addition, Echo staff presence in Amazon’s two-year-old Kendall Square offices appears to be on the rise.
The Boston Business Journal reports that one source has told it that an entire floor in the Kendall Square building is “dedicated to teams working on the Echo.” Earlier reports indicate that Amazon has enough room for 800 employees on its six leased floors in the building at 101 Main Street after expanding its footprint a year ago. Cambridge is a popular hub for tech companies, due to its proximity to MIT and Harvard.
Amazon Echo — a voice-activated, voice-response intelligent WiFi device that doubles as a tall Bluetooth speaker — has been rapidly adding features and customers. Since its introduction last November, new functionality has been coming fast and furious: sports scores, real-time traffic routing, smart home controls, streaming music service control, and light pop culture banter. It even functions as a decent radio program guest.
However, Amazon is still throttling delivery of the Echo by continuing to make it available by invitation only (which can be requested). The Echo’s price remains $199, though Amazon Prime members receive a $50 discount to $149 (up from a one-time low price of $99 in a long-time deal that ended early this month).


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SPINNINGFIELDS will welcome the healthy Far Eastern-inspired restaurant’s first ever Northern store in January 2016.
Opening just in time for the “New Year New Me” resolution that is made every single year by hundreds, wholesome food brand Itsu will bring its ‘Eat Beautiful’ menu to Hardman Square – in the former Samsi site – on Wednesday, January 27.
With over 50 stores and two restaurants in the South East of England, the popular food chain has set its sights on one of Manchester’s most popular districts ahead of plans to capitalise on the growing trend towards Japanese cuisine following in the footsteps of Wagamamas and Yo Sushi and attain the nationwide presence of its cousin Pret.
The brainchild of Pret a Manger’s early developer, Itsu was founded in 1997, after Julian Metcalfe saw ‘hundreds of skilled people prepare thousands of boxes…always fresh, always delicious, always beautiful, each day’ in the department stores of Japan.
The Spinningfields branch will open with a new hot food menu – ‘miso with benefits.’ The range will include ‘lucky duck,’ ‘chicken rice,’ and ‘dumplings melt’ along with ‘detox miso’ and ‘miso soup.’
Keen to revolutionise fast food Itsu are targeting health-concious Northeners by offering speedy meals that are to be ‘protein packed, low carb’ and fairly guilt free.
Said Takhamt, director of development, said: “Manchester felt like a natural progression for us when deciding our next location.
“The city’s food and drink scene has truly exploded in recent years, offering better quality and more diversity than ever before and we are looking forward to becoming part of that mix.”
By Emma Pearce


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SMEs have ample opportunity to get on the radars of smartphone-addicted Brits.
A new Google Our Mobile Planet study has revealed that 78 per cent of Brits take their smartphone with them wherever they go, while a huge 97 per cent use the devices when at home. Some 85 per cent check their phones when out and about, while 64 per cent use them when shopping.
While email is still the most popular activity (62 per cent), social networking sites (56 per cent) and search engines (53 per cent) enjoy a similar percentage, meaning small businesses cannot afford not to have a strong content marketing strategy.
Having an engaging Facebook, Google+ and Twitter presence in combination with well-written and relevant landing pages, websites, blogs and articles will increase the likelihood of a SME making itself known to smartphone users.
Just under half of smartphone-owning Brits search on their devices every day – so the potential for small businesses to draw in mobile internet users from search engines is huge.
These are some of the SEO rules SMEs should follow:
• Quality, relevant and engaging content is a must if search engines are to favour a page. This means no keyword stuffing, hiding copy below-the-fold and uploading duplicate content.
• Avoid gateway pages. This is where internet users click through to a keyword-heavy page they believe to be relevant, only to be automatically directed to target content that is of no use.
• Have brand pages on the major social networking sites that listen to followers, quickly answer all customer feedback and complaints and offer unique content and exclusives.
The Google survey noted 51 per cent of smartphone users access social media sites every day, with 80 per cent of total owners logging on to the likes of Facebook. Bing and Google are two of the search engines that increasingly favour social in their results, so small businesses need to get networking savvy – and fast.
For advice on how to include social media in a content marketing strategy, see below:


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Online Extra: Stars That Fell from Grace
It's hard for even Corporate America's best-run companies to deliver torrid performance numbers year after year. That's why the BusinessWeek 50 list, now in its ninth year, has always seen plenty of turnover. This year, a full 60% of the top 50 companies are new -- a turnover rate in line with previous editions of the list.
Below, we look at five renowned outfits that have made a habit of appearing on the BusinessWeek 50 list -- but not this year.
GENERAL ELECTRIC. Although it made our list three times -- in '98, '99, and '00 -- General Electric (GE ) hasn't appeared since. In those brighter days, its stock enjoyed a hefty premium under the final days of Jack Welch, with shares hovering above $60 before he stepped down in September, 2001.
But the drop in its stock price (GE was recently trading near $35) isn't just about Welch's departure. GE benefited from an unprecedented build-up in demand for power turbines during the late 1990s, making GE Power Systems one of its strongest businesses. That bubble burst around the time that Jeffrey Immelt came to office, leading to tough times in that industry.
GE is also hurt in the BusinessWeek 50 measurement by its debt-to-capital ratio: at 77.1, it ranks No. 458 among S&P 500 companies and may reflect the high proportion of financial businesses in GE's portfolio. Immelt has spent a lot of time shifting the portfolio toward higher-growth businesses such as biotechnology, spending more than $60 billion on new acquisitions while committing to sell about $15 billion worth of assets.
MBNA. The credit-card giant turned consumers' ever-growing lust for more debt into huge profits, fat margins, and outsize revenue gains in the late '90s and early part of this decade. That performance -- thanks in part to its thousands of affiliate programs, with universities and professional associations, for example -- has landed MBNA (KRB ) on the BusinessWeek 50 list six times since 1997, most recently in 2004.
But even in 2005, when it became the first bank to issue American Express (AXP ) cards, MBNA's sales growth was less than expected, and the stock slumped. With the market saturated, credit-card growth has finally leveled off. That's bad news for MBNA, which is the only so-called "monoline" left -- credit cards are all MBNA has.
New Chief Executive Bruce Hammonds is out to fix that. He's undertaking the first-ever major restructuring in an effort to cut costs and diversify internationally, while also getting into new businesses such as home-equity loans.
HOME DEPOT. It has been a roller-coaster ride for Home Depot (HD ) in recent years. After Chief Executive Robert Nardelli took over in late 2000, the tough task of righting the unwieldy home-improvement retailer caused its stock to tumble in early 2003 and same-store sales comparisons to decline. Still, the Atlanta-based chain made the BusinessWeek 50 three of the last five years ('00, '02, and '04) and five times in all.
Now, Nardelli has Home Depot back on track. A combination of international expansion, a move into urban markets, and an increased emphasis on installation services helped boost sales 13% last year, to $73 billion. Profits climbed 16%. But that wasn't enough to regain a spot in this year's BusinessWeek 50, in large part because the three-year total return to shareholders was down by 18%, ranking it at No. 420 among the S&P 500 in that category. On the stock-price front, Home Depot still has some repair work to do.
PFIZER. The world's largest drug company was a BusinessWeek 50 mainstay, appearing five times in the first eight iterations of the list. Pfizer's (PFE ) formula of developing blockbuster drugs and backing them with massive advertising campaigns served it well then but has hit a wall in the past year as the new product pipeline has come up dry.
Sales of megahits such as Viagra have slowed as rafts of competitors entered the market. Then there was the news linking widely prescribed Cox-2 inhibitors, including Pfizer's $3.3 billion Celebrex and $1.3 billion Bextra, to cardiovascular problems.
Chief Executive Henry "Hank" McKinnell has braced employees for changes at the drugmaker, including cost-cutting measures, while maintaining that the outfit's size gives it an inherent advantage over industry rivals all scrambling to produce the next big drug.
INTEL. When the BusinessWeek 50 list debuted in 1997, the Santa Clara (Calif.) chipmaking king was at the very top. After the bubble, like most other technology companies, Intel (INTC ) tumbled. But it has been steadily recovering since 2001, even popping up on last year's BusinessWeek 50 -- its fifth inclusion.
Intel missed the cut in 2005, dropping from No. 37 in '04 to No. 55 this year, as it struggled with factory snafus and execution missteps. Those woes were reflected in Intel stock returns, down by 17.2% for the 12 months ended Feb. 28. But its execs have been taking action, reorganizing divisions, and rolling out new chips. Profits rose 33% last year, to $7.5 billion, on 13% higher sales, of $34.2 billion. And first-quarter results should show further improvement.
By Brian Hindo in New York
Edited by Patricia O'Connell


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STUTTGART, AR - Vice President Cheney stopped by a Stuttgart hunting supply store yesterday to pick up supplies while hunting in the heart of Arkansas' duck country.
Television footage showed Cheney looking over a box of rounds as other shoppers walked past the vice president in Mack's Prarie Wings. Store employees say it was Cheney's third visit to the store in Stuttgart, a rural town that bills itself as the "duck capital of the world."
Cheney told Little Rock television station KATV that he's been on Mack's mailing list and wanted to stopy by. He ended up buying a pair of suspenders and some ammunition.
Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney's office, says the vice president arrived yesterday in Arkansas. Mitchell says Cheney hunted yesterday and today before flying back to Washington tonight.
In 2006, Cheney peppered attorney Harry Whittington with birdshot while quail hunting in Texas. The vice president was criticized for not immediately going public with the incident.


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Payment Services Directive 2 Explained
Call it bad timing, but no sooner had the European Union delivered the first Payment Service Directive (PSD), to provide a legal foundation for the introduction of SEPA, that’s the Single Euro Payments Area, which effectively created a single market for payments across the European Union, covering credit transfers, direct debits and cards, when the payments industry entered possibly its most “disruptive” period ever.
Courtesy of the technological breakthroughs that democratised innovation and levelled the playing field when it comes to collecting and disseminating huge volumes of data, the emergence of Fintech “disruptors”, particularly within the payments industry, changed nearly everything and created a host of “new players” within the industry who began to threaten the hegemony of the so-called “big banks”.
Hence, in 2013, the EU decided that a new raft of legislation was required, as most of the new players’ activities fell outside the scope of PSD 1 which meant that they could not be regulated at EU level.
Welcome to PDS2!
PDS2 essentially means that emerging Fintech players can now be registered, licensed and regulated at EU level, which will inevitably increase competition and the knock-on effect of that is good news for consumers – cheaper services, and more choice.
New players will have access to the XS2A payments account, using APIs, and with the permission of consumers, making it easier for them to provide payments services across the same channels as the big banks, as well as providing oversight of all their different payment accounts.
With the expansion of XS2A, however, comes increased security risks, namely fraud, money laundering, and the protection of consumer data, and that is where Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) comes into play.
SCA requires that payments providers must use 2 or more of 3 independent elements – knowledge, that’s PIN code or password, Possession, a card or something only the user possesses, and Inherence, i.e. a fingerprint, or voice recognition.
For remote transactions, a fourth element, likely to be a unique authentication code, can also be used.
SCA must be applied each time a user makes a payment, unless the payment is below a certain threshold or if the beneficiary is already known to the payments provider.
PDS2 affects everybody within the payments industry, from Credit Institutions, i.e. banks, to Payment Institutions, Third Party Payments Providers with a more limited scope of services i.e. the Fintech disruptors, Payment Service Users (customers), Account Servicing Payment Service Providers, Account Information Service Providers, and Payment Initiation Service Providers.
The PDS2 proposal was first outlined back in 2013, approved by European Parliament and the EU council in late 2015, published (in the official journal of the EU) in December 2015, and became official on the 12th January 2016.
The final draft is anticipated to be published by the European Commission before the summer of 2017, whilst the European Banking Authority (EBA) finalises requirements such as guidelines required to properly implement PSD2.
The deadline to transpose PSD2 in member states is the 13th January 2018, and the RTS on SCA will enter into force towards the end of the same year.
If all that sounds like something of a headache for firms then this handy infographic, created by the European Payments Council (EPC) will doubtless help clear things up a little.
Although the regulations may seem complex and onerous, it is good news for Fintech startups, not least because the big banks will have to significantly invest in revamping legacy systems and controls that startup companies do not have to worry about.
In fact, the likelihood is that banks will look to outside help when it comes to revamping their systems and even their services – which might explain why corporate Fintech accelerators are so prevalent today.
In a nutshell, PDS2 will promote innovation in the payments space because it allows new players access to the likes of XS2A, providing a direct connection between retailers and banks, enabled by APIs.
It will also introduce the requirement for 2 factor authentication when making payments, and grant the unconditional right of refund for direct debits under the SEPA CORE scheme, as well as a ban on surcharging, excess charges for using payment cards, and providing heightened consumer protection against fraud.
The disruptors that best understand, respond to and implement the new regulations will gain the most. It will not be easy for anyone, but it will, ultimately, benefit consumers, and ensure that another large step towards the digitalisation of nearly all cross border or domestic payments – bad news for the Western Unions and Ria’s of this world.
That is, at least, until Brexit et al creates the requirement for PDS3!
Infographic by European Payments Council


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April 10, 2013
Multi-car collision happens Tuesday
Democrat photo / Paula Earls
A multi-car collision in the eastbound lane of Business 50 just after 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, temporarily blocked traffic at the intersection of 50 with Country Club Drive and Gerhart Road. According to the California Police report the first vehicle was stopped to make a left turn onto Country Club Drive. Two cars were stopped behind when a fourth car failed to stop, crashed into the third car in line causing a chain reaction of collisions. A fifth car failed to stop, struck the fourth car creating a second round of chain reaction collisions. A 2003 Honda and 2000 Ford were towed from the scene. A 2000 Hyundi, 2008 Ford and 2012 Kia were driven from the scene. All were reported to have been wearing seat belts. No injuries were reported.
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Some models feature Google Play for Android phones, Google is going to stop. Some older versions of the Android smartphones are being used to play next year, Google announced the service to stop.
Google officials Android gingerbread (Android .3) and the honeycomb version of the service will not support Google Play.
Currently, about 1 percent to 3 percent of the world’s gingerbread Android product is being used.
In this regard, Google said it fixed about six years old. This version of the app for Android app now does not. As a result of the new initiatives to improve the app will create a new Android platform. Source: Gadgets Now


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The Coles store has a trolley with a seat designed for children with a disability, which took two years of research to design.
QHDC Australia manufactured the trolleys, which can carry a child weighing up to 70kg.
Coles operations and supply chain director Andy Coleman said the trolley allowed parents or carers to put their shopping in the trolley while having their child seated safely.
�Pushing a wheelchair while also carrying a large shopping basket or pushing a shopping trolley at the same time is an impossible task,� he said.
�This is the most significant roll-out of additional needs trolley by a supermarket in Australia and we hope it will make a real difference to parents or carers in Butler who have children with a disability.�
Australian Network on Disability deputy chief executive Jason Barker said it was a good initiative.
�Shopping is a task that many of us take for granted � this initiative means families supporting a young person with additional needs will be able to get out and about and do the shopping more easily,� he said.
The trolley, based on a US trolley known as �Caroline�s Cart�, has padding on the sides, a harness and additional support in its structure.


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Fitness aficionados and franchisees alike are drawn to 24-hour health club WORKOUT ANYTIME. The gym’s simple business model has led to success in the U.S.’s booming fitness industry. With over a hundred successful locations all over the U.S., WORKOUT ANYTIME now has their eyes set on Milwaukee going into 2017.
“Milwaukee’s proximity to Chicago makes it an incredibly desirable market for franchisees who are looking to own locations in multiple markets,” says WORKOUT ANYTIME vice president of development Randy Trotter. “Also, there is absolutely no competition for a ‘value priced’ model like WORKOUT ANYTIME. We’ve proven that when given the option, people choose us over them. We have clean facilities that are open 24 hours a day. The future of the fitness industry will be the high quality options but for an affordable price.”
WORKOUT ANYTIME is looking for entrepreneurs who want to start their own business, whether they’re interested in active or semi-absentee ownership. Prospective franchisees need $150,000 liquid capital and a $500,000 net worth in order to qualify to open a club. Most WORKOUT ANYTIME franchisees own multiple clubs, are typically professionals with management skills and come from a variety of backgrounds. The concept has attracted restaurant franchisees especially, who prefer the simplicity of the WORKOUT ANYTIME model, its minimal inventory and need for very few employees.
Area developer Mike Mufarreh has leveraged Chicago’s booming fitness industry by opening four WORKOUT ANYTIME health clubs in the Windy City. Mufarreh knew he wanted an in-demand concept that had the potential for large returns and came with minimal risk.
“WORKOUT ANYTIME is successful because it gives consumers exactly what they want, state of the art equipment and convenience for an affordable price,” says Mufarreh. “It’s been amazing to see how quickly the brand has grown in just three years. To me, that just goes to show that these guys really know what they’re doing.”
The brand’s simple business model allowed him to open his gyms in just three year, all while still working a full-time job. As a direct result of Chicago’s demand for affordable, quality gyms, three of Mufarreh’s gyms are in the brand’s top 15 performing locations.
In the process of opening two additional Chicago locations, Muffareh is also considering the potential opportunity of expanding into Milwaukee.
“I honestly can’t open these gyms fast enough,” says Mufarreh. “The Chicago and Milwaukee markets are completely underserved, so there’s plenty of opportunities for me in the Midwest. With Milwaukee being so close, of course I’m considering it.”
New WORKOUT ANYTIME franchisees Rosa and Hector Manute opened their first location in Mundelein, Illinois about five months ago, and are also strongly considering the possibility of opening more locations throughout Wisconsin.
“We’re only about a half hour from the border, so it just makes sense for us to expand there,” says Rosa.
Rosa added that their experience opening their first location has been a positive one, and it’s inspiring them to pursue multi-unit ownership. The Manutes hope to eventually open three to five locations in Illinois and Wisconsin.
“We just can’t say enough good things about WORKOUT ANYTIME. Corporate and our area developer have been a tremendous help from the beginning. We’re already happy with the amount of members we have and are excited to start considering more long-term goals,” Rosa said.


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Investors may want to lookout for transport and logistics counters as well as cyclical stocks such as banking and oil and gas (O&G) during the prolonged lockdown period which look set to compromise earnings prospects amid heightened political risk.
As all economic sectors are expected to be fully opened only by December, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Loui Low said stocks related to courier services would benefit investors given that consumers are still not able to do physical shopping activities.
“Given the lockdown, I think it would be best for investors to go towards transport and logistic companies, and plastic-related firms because during this period plastic usage will increase due to online shopping services that require packaging of items.
“The same structure also applies to transport and logistic companies where shops would have to use courier services to deliver the online orders,” he told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) recently.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim picked cyclical stocks such as banking, consumer and O&G for investors to lean towards during the lockdown.
“This is as the economy gears up for a recovery provided that business activities ramp up post-lockdown somewhere in the fourth quarter of the year,” he told TMR.
Crude oil price has risen above US$73 (RM303) a barrel last week on expectation of improving demand amid controlled supply.
Fitch Ratings, however, warned asset quality visibility for banks in the region will remain clouded into 2022 as loan relief schemes have been extended and this is likely to keep credit costs high in the near term.
The firm added normalisation of credit costs may take longer in markets, where relief has been extensive, but economic outlooks remain under pressure such as in Malaysia and Thailand.
Fitch expects non-performing loan (NPL) ratios to peak only after 2021 when relief measures expire, but many banks have booked higher credit provisions in 2020 before the rise in NPLs.
Adam said the extension of full-scale lockdown to extend beyond June 28 will see the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) trade below 1,600 points as corporate earnings may likely be impacted due to restricted working capacity.
Although Bursa Malaysia anticipated retail participation to drive trading on the stock market this year despite high volatility in the marketplace, both analysts had mixed reviews on the growth of retail participation this time around.
Low said unlike the first Movement Control Order (MCO 1.0) last year, the stay at home order under the current lockdown would not contribute to higher market participation from retailers mainly because they have made investments during MCO 1.0.
“Retail participation will continue to stay sideways because I do not see a lot of new funds coming in since we have the lockdown imposed. Bear in mind that this lockdown is not as strict as MCO 1.0 because more people are actually working,” he said.
He added the investments made by retail investors during MCO 1.0 last year also would be a hindrance for them to pursue more trading in the coming weeks or quarters because not many of them recorded profits during the period.
“Mainly between 50% and 70% of retailers that participated have burnt their money down the road and only a handful of them survived,” added Low.
Low expects the average daily trading value to hover below RM4.5 billion for the rest of the year and will be correlated to the vaccination rate, the number of daily infections and political developments in the country.
The heightened trading activity among retailers during MCO 1.0 was also driven by value investing after the market had corrected sharply following the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic. That is not the case with this recent MCO with valuation now more reflective of the stock fundamentals.
Adam noted retail investors’ share of overall value in the local bourse has remained above 30% since April last year, coinciding with the start of MCO 1.0 implemented in March.
Retail participation may inch higher this month due to the full scale lockdown given that its overall value stood at 38.2% in May.
“Aside from that, the FBM Small Cap Index has gained by more than 2% since June 1, 2021, signalling the increased activity of retail investors,” he added.
Read full article at The Malaysian Reserve


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The warehouses, according to the minister, have the capacity to store up to 1,000 metric tonnes (MT) of food items aimed at ensuring food security in the country.
The minister disclosed this during an interview with an Accra based radio station, Peace FM, monitored by the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday.
Dr Akoto said the warehouses were ready to be handed over and would be distributed to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Ghana Stock Exchange, private sector organisations and the sector Ministry for efficient operation.
According to the minister, many farmers, over time, complained of incurring huge debts because they were unable to sell their produce on time, while there were no warehouses to store the produce until they got buyers.
But the minister reiterated that the completed warehouses would enable farmers store enough food, reduce post-harvest loses, improve farmer incomes and increase good marketing.
The minister also refuted claims that there were food shortage in the country, stating that the food situations in the regions were enough evidence, however, food being relatively expensive was as a result of some external factors.
He said the increase in food prices was not because of government policies, but external factors such as increment of imported chemicals and other external factors beyond their control.
“Because of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Programme, there are abundant of food in the country. We’re in the harvest season of maize and when you go to the savanna regions and the transitional zones such as Techiman and others, maize are in abundance, which indicates that the PFJ has really come to rescue the country from hunger,” he added.
Dr Akoto explained that the PFJ initiative had five implementation modules, starting with the PFJ itself, which promotes food security via crops, namely: maize, rice, sorghum, soybean, and vegetable crops (onion, tomato, pepper, etc.) which has since been expanded to include groundnut, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, cassava, cowpea, plantain and Orange Flesh Sweet Potato.
The second module, he said, focused on expanding the cash crops, known as the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD), while the Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ) sought to address the meat deficit in the country through the rearing of animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, fowls and guinea fowls.
The minister said the Greenhouse Villages Technology was one that focused on ensuring that there was sufficient vegetables for both local and international markets while the Agricultural Mechanisation Service Centres (AMSECs) aimed at mechanising agriculture through the use of hand-held implements and modernising agriculture.
He said however, because some of these modules were long-term, some Ghanaians did not see the impact of the PJF initiative, which actually was yielding results.


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2.5million gifts have been traded in online since Christmas Day - and tens of thousands of copies of Adele's 25 and Frozen are sold
- Adele's 25 is the most traded-in CD on Musicmagpie
- iPhone 6s was the most sold phone
- Over 10,000 tech items have been traded since Christmas
Only two days after Christmas Day and over 2.5 million gifts have been traded on a popular website that enables people to sell their unwanted presents of CDs, DVDs, games and tech items.
Musicmagpie reported that Adele's third studio album, 25, proved to be the most traded CD with 32,158 copies traded-in.
Disney's Frozen was the most-traded DVD with as many as 25,840 sold. Last year's released Apple iPhone 6s was the most sold smartphone, while Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was the most traded game.
Record breaking: Adele's album 25 was the most traded CD. Apple's iPhone 6s was the most sold smartphone
Over 10,000 tech items were also sold across the two days, worth over £650,000, providing a cash boost to UK consumers following the excesses of the festive period.
Marketing director at musicMagpie, Liam Howley, explained the high figures. 'The Christmas period is always our busiest time of the year, and this is especially true of the last two days.'
'We had our busiest trade-in days of the month so far as thousands of customers came to us to sell the items that they no longer needed'.
He said there are benefits to trading unwanting gifts, 'trade-ins were at a record high, as customers looked to make money by selling these unwanted items to either recoup the money spent on Christmas presents, or simply to get rid of the clutter whilst making some quick cash'.
Howley believes today's 'upgrade' culture is another reason behind the high figures.
'People now realise that there is no point hanging on to old phones or tech, people are replacing mobile phones, tablets and consoles more often,' he said.
Let it go: Frozen was the most traded DVD. Call of Duty topped the most traded games chart
Trading in: 2.5million presents have already been traded on Musicmagpie since Christmas
'We've seen a sharp increase in the number of iPhone 6 and 6s models being sold since the iPhone 7 was released and that has continued over the Christmas period.'
The report highlights the rise of recommerce websites, which allow people to sell unwanted items to making a little extra cash and declutter the home.
Since it's launch in 2007, items worth £120million have been sold on Musicmagpie.
Online marketplace Ebay is estimating Brits will have received 115 million gifts that are not right for them this Christmas - worth £2.2 billion.
The site has seen over 3,000 listings of unwanted gifts since Christmas Day, with fragrance and toiletries topping the list.
It says the best day to sell unwanted gifts is on the second working day after December 25 - this Thursday 28th - which it has named "Boxing Up Day".
Research among 13,500 people across Europe by finance firm ING International showed that one in 10 could not remember what they received last year.
They found that one in seven people has received a Christmas present they did not want or could not use, a study has revealed.
Boxing Up Day: the best day to sell unwanted gifts is on the second working day after Christmas Day
The report estimates that millions of unwanted gifts were being given out, worth billions of pounds.
Many of those receiving an unwanted gift passed it on to someone else or sold it - while a few actually returned it.
A senior economist at ING, Ian Bright, said: 'Gift-giving is a fun and traditional part of Christmas celebrations in many countries, and presents are usually appreciated, but even unwanted gifts seem to have their uses.'
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Drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson’s new conditions on 340B-purchased drugs when hospitals use contract pharmacies apparently apply also to hospitals’ non-340B-purchased “own use” drugs, the group Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access has told its members.
J&J has not responded to a request for comment on RWC-340B’s interpretation of its policy
A 1936 federal antitrust law, the Robinson-Patman Act, outlaws some forms of price discrimination. In a March 23 email alert to members, RWC-340B observed that a 1938 law, the Non-Profit Institutions Act, lets drug manufacturers offer preferential pricing on drugs without violating the Robinson-Patman Act “as long as the purchaser is a non-profit institution, like a non-profit hospital, and the discounted drugs are limited to the institution’s ‘own use.’”
Many nonprofit hospitals take advantage of the “own use” exemption to federal price discrimination laws to charge employees, retirees, and their dependents less for drugs than they do other patients.
“The Federal Trade Commission has clarified that non-profit hospitals are allowed to establish contract pharmacy arrangements for non-340B ‘own use’ drugs if the use is a part of and promotes the hospital’s intended institutional operation,” RWC-340B continued.
“J&J apparently intends to apply its 340B contract pharmacy restrictions to contract pharmacy arrangements involving non-340B ‘own use’ drugs. We are not aware of any other manufacturer that has taken that step,” RWC-340B said.
J&J announced its 340B contract pharmacy policy on March 21. It is the 16th drug company to adopt such a policy.


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Gatheredtable, a Seattle startup backed by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz that aims to make meal planning less stressful, said its software has been acquired by diet and weight loss company Medifast.
Gatheredtable would not disclose terms of the deal but said the company is pleased with the outcome. Gatheredtable will continue to exist as a company and is working on additional licensing deals with companies in the grocery, cookware and kitchen appliance sectors.
Customers enter specific personal details about family size, food preferences and other information and then Gatheredtable comes back with recipes that can be shifted around and customized. The company also offers a smart grocery list feature and grocery delivery services.
Medifast says it is a doctor-developed weight loss solution that offers a variety of diet plans. Acquiring Gatheredtable’s software makes sense as it beefs up Medifast’s technology options and makes it easier for its customers to plan healthy meals.
The deal comes amid a proliferation of companies looking to use technology and logistics to simplify meal-planning, mostly through sending customers ingredients and recipes together. The most well known is the meal kit company Blue Apron, which has had a rough time since going public last year. Amazon jumped into meal kits last year as well, offering its own service for delivery and selling kits at its Amazon Go store.
Grocery delivery has also become a popular service. Amazon has been doing it for years through AmazonFresh. Major retailers like Kroger, Walmart and Target all offer their own delivery services as well.


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Broadcasting to Kenya’s Growing Online Population
When I was growing up, I thought I only knew two things about Kenya. First, they are known for their talented group of distance runners. Second, they had a pretty strong dodgeball team on Nintendo’s “Super Dodgeball.” Aside from these two facts, I didn’t know much else.
Looking back, I think the reason why I don’t know much about Kenya is that I don’t know any Kenyans. Thanks to the internet, that’s likely about to change. According to the global market research firm Synovate, more than 2 million Kenyans are now on Facebook. That makes 79 percent of the country’s internet population. To put that in context, about 66 percent of the internet population in the US is on Facebook.
Synovate’s other findings were just as startling.
- One quarter of Kenyan internet users do not have email addresses.
- Daily and weekly internet usage in Kenya have both doubled in the last two years whereas monthly usage grew by over 80% in the same period.
With this report, and the fact that another 18 million Kenyans have cell phones, it’s no surprise that Moses Kemibaro, founder of the East African digital strategy agency DotSavvy, feels that Kenya is entering a golden age for digital marketing. With all these Kenyans finding their way onto social networks, it feels like it is just a matter of time until I connect with some and learn more about their culture and society.
While Kenyan’s flock to the internet, and to Facebook in particular, who is taking advantage?
It isn’t too surprising that the answer is a major content creator. NTV, as one of Kenya’s few national television channels, is arguably making the biggest impact online by sharing its content and giving its audience a forum to discuss current events.
NTV has nearly 75,000 fans on Facebook. The interesting thing about this is that the majority of their content and discussion topics on Facebook are centered around current events. Considering that, according Facebaker.com, 77 percent of Kenyans on Facebook are aged between 18 and 34, I would guess that they aren’t necessarily catering to the largest segment of the Facebook audience. However, they still have a fairly active Fan page, and 75,000 fans is an audience to be proud of, particularly given the low level of internet penetration in Kenya.
YouTube is where NTV really shines. Since joining in 2007, the NTV YouTube channel has had more than 48 million views (I’m also happy to see that Boston Legal is still doing well there. Good for you, Shatner). Again, most of their content there is related to current events.
I think the point for NTV is that while good content is definitely the key to keeping and maintaining an audience online, content that will lead to debate or discussion will encourage user buy-in and enhance participation. In a country like Kenya that is undergoing its fair share of political turmoil, politics and other national issues are sure to get people talking. As a major television station, NTV already had an audience, albeit a relatively new one, they just had to find a way to keep them engaged when they aren’t in front of the TV. This is important because, according to another of Synovate’s findings, Kenyans spend the same amount of time on the internet as in front of the television (70 minutes). NTV had to embrace social networking, and use it as another channel for their content, or they likely would have lost out.
Considering the recent dramatic growth of Kenyan internet use, developing a strong presence online was a smart move, and I’m sure its a move they’re glad they made.


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It’s a pre-holiday week and a busy one following a busy one last week. So time for blogging is limited and, besides, all you readers have presents to wrap.
But there is one subject to ruminate on just a little bit that came up repeatedly during last week’s business. Constance Sayre of Market Partners and I are doing a joint exploration of ebook royalty rates for a presentation at the Digital Book World conference in January. We created a survey to allow agents to tell us anonymously what kind of deals they were striking and we got about 130 responses.
(Market Partners’ newsletter, Publishing Trends, has a report in their current issue, released today, on what the agents said and the full data will be released for our attendees at Digital Book World on January 26.) We decided to balance our presentation by giving publishers an opportunity to give their side of the story, also anonymously (except, since we interviewed them, we know who they are. The agents, having responded online and in privacy, can’t be tied back to their answers. Connie and I are good at keeping confidences.)
We spoke to seven CEOs last week, a couple of whom were joined by colleagues who actually do the contract negotiating. What they told us about ebook contracts is what we’ll talk about at Digital Book World.
But just about all of them made an ancillary point and that’s our subject today. The point they made is that the main task ahead of them in the next few years is to completely reinvent book marketing. There was clear acknowledgment across the board of something that has concerned us for some time: that inevitably declining retail shelf space means a commensurate decline in critical merchandising capability.
Changes are definitely occurring. The big publishers are undeniably SEO-conscious, investing real effort thinking about what search terms apply to each book they publish. They’re all experimenting with Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites as well. Various community-building tools, including the very ambitious Copia platform that launched a few weeks ago and the John Ingram-funded start-up Rethink Books and its new Social Book capability, are now being tried out. The established ebook vendors, notably Kobo and Kindle (on my radar screen; I’m sure Nook and Google too), are building social capabilities into their platforms. And the established book discussion networks like Goodreads and LibraryThing are continuing to add participants, books, metadata, and conversation that constitute raw material for marketing the next book from any publisher.


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Send Wal-Mart Back To School
by Tony Palmeri
August 10, 2005
At a late morning press conference held at Oshkosh North High School, four speakers called on members of the community to sign on to WakeupWalmart.com's pledge not to buy their back to school supplies at Wal-Mart this year. 2004 Democratic Party candidate for the 54th state assembly district Gordon Hintz, president of the WEAC Fox Valley Retiree's chapter Ken Flood, Oshkosh Education Association President Len Herricks and I all focused on some part of Wal-Mart's failing report card:
In my remarks, I emphasized that Wal-Mart in Wisconsin is the chief corporate abuser of the state's Badger Care program. As of April, 809 Wal-Mart employees and 443 employee dependents were enrolled in the Badger Care program, costing the state $2.7 million per year. It's unconscionable that a company profiting off cheap labor is a health care moocher.
I also made the point that refusing to buy back to school supplies from Wal-Mart is a simple yet powerful way that citizen consumers can demand accountability from the company.
The press conference was part of a coordinated nationwide launch held in 34 cities and 24 states. The "Send Wal-Mart Back to School" campaign is the most coordinated action against Wal-Mart in recent history.


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The TSA’s new rules on batteries are going to get plenty of press, and my thoughts will be hardly original.
Suffice to say that it took me awhile to figure them out, I can’t imagine how this will translate to the median traveler … and to TSA screeners who will be forced to understand the difference between lithium metal, lithium ion, and NiMH batteries and calculate watt hours of unlabeled batteries.
Short version, you can no longer pack spare batteries in your checked bags. And you can only carry on two spare batteries (how will screeners know if you limit any single item going through an x-ray machine to two batteries?). And those spare batteries are limited by a formula that requires more chemistry than I remember from college, but the TSA assures that cell phone and laptop batteries for the most part will be unaffected.
To make matters worse, these new rules were announced today to go into effect on January 1. Holiday travel day, with folks already on the road who will be returning home with whatever spare batteries they’ve already packed. One of a handful of amateur days and the TSA will eb trying out new rules on an unsuspecting and unaware public.
And, oh yeah, I’m traveling on New Year’s Day. That’ll be fun.
Meanwhile in an unrelated development, the comically and cosmically inept Italian government has made a reasonable smart move in choosing to negotiate a sale of money-losing flag carrier Alitalia to Air France. Today, at least, Italian aviation policy moves were better than American ones.


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Brooklyn civil court judge Noach Dear says that U.S. credit card companies are filing lawsuits and improperly collecting debt from consumers 90 percent of the time, reports the New York Times.
Judge Dear said that credit card companies often file lawsuits that rely on inaccurate documents and incomplete records. Many also sue cardholders for more money than is owed.
Judge Dear told the New York Times: “I would say that roughly 90 percent of the credit card lawsuits are flawed and can’t prove the person owes the debt."
Credit card companies have come under fire for “robo-signing” documents without properly checking them. Additionally, credit card companies often try to collect money from people who have already paid their bills.
In 95 percent of lawsuits, the credit card companies win because the the borrowers do not show up in court, even though the credit card lawsuits sometimes include falsified credit card statements.
Taryn Gregory, a former JPMorgan Chase employee, admitted that nearly 23,000 accounts had incorrect balances.
Tom Pahl, assistant director for the Federal Trade Commission’s division of financial practices, told the New York Times: “Our concerns center on the fact that debt collection lawsuits are a pure volume business. The documentation is very bare bones.”


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Upgrading of infrastructure is driving IT expenditure
Worldwide expenditure on information technology is set to increase by 4.5% in the coming year. The introduction of Industry 4.0 solutions in companies, in particular, is fueling this growth.26 Jan 2018 Kai Tubessing
According to its report on the trend in total global expenditure on IT-related products, services and associated software, the market research company Gartner is expecting a year-on-year increase of 4.5% in 2018, which equates to a total volume of around 3.7 trillion US dollars. In particular, the investments of companies in the areas of big data, the Internet of things (IoT), machine learning, digital business models and blockchain technology are leading to growth, the report reveals. This is evident from, among other things, the disproportionate growth in expenditure on special business software of 9.5%.
According to Gartner, additional market volume of around 2.9 trillion US dollars will be created by 2021 in the area of technologies based on artificial intelligence alone. A Teradata survey shows that 80% of all companies are already investing in AI-based solutions now, while around 30% are planning to intensify their work in this area.
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Jun. 24—Frederick vape shops removed Juul products from shelves Thursday after federal health officials ordered an electronic cigarette maker to halt sales and distribution, citing public health concerns.
Juul is a brand of e-cigarette that dispenses nicotine in vapor form and comes in different flavors, sold in pods.
On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered Juul Labs Inc. to stop selling and distributing all vaping devices and pods it markets in the U.S. The ban took effect Thursday, FDA spokesperson Cherie Duvall-Jones wrote in an email.
After the FDA's announcement, local business owners began to pull Juul products from shelves.
Hamza Mahmood, who owns Smokers Paradise on McCain Drive, estimated that Juul products made up about 20% of his sales, but he did not seem particularly worried about the ban. He planned to remove Juul supplies from shelves Thursday.
"We're not really stressed about it," he said.
His store offers a variety of products that he can recommend as a substitute for Juul. And in recent years, he said, Juul's popularity waned, since Maryland added a 60% tax to it.
"Juul's slowly dying off," Mahmood said.
Failure to remove Juul products already on the U.S. market risks "enforcement action," the FDA said in a news release. Consequences could include civil money penalties, seizure or injunction, Duvall-Jones wrote. The FDA will be "closely monitoring" to ensure compliance by Juul, distributors and retailers, according to Duvall-Jones.
The ban does not restrict consumers who possess or use Juul products, according to the FDA.
E-cigarettes and similar products have played a "disproportionate role in the rise in youth vaping," according to the FDA's release. The agency said there was "insufficient and conflicting data" regarding potentially harmful chemicals leaching from the Juul pods.
In a statement posted online, Joe Murillo, the chief regulatory officer for Juul Labs, said: "We respectfully disagree with the FDA's findings and decision and continue to believe we have provided sufficient information and data based on high-quality research to address all issues raised by the agency.
"In our applications, which we submitted over two years ago, we believe that we appropriately characterized the toxicological profile of Juul products, including comparisons to combustible cigarettes and other vapor products, and believe this data, along with the totality of the evidence, meets the statutory standard of being 'appropriate for the protection of the public health.'"
The Associated Press reported that companies must show that their e-cigarettes benefit public health to stay on the market.
"In practice, that means proving that adult smokers who use them are likely to quit or reduce their smoking, while teens are unlikely to get hooked on them," the AP reported.
"We intend to seek a stay and are exploring all of our options under the FDA's regulations and the law, including appealing the decision and engaging with our regulator. We remain committed to doing all in our power to continue serving the millions of American adult smokers who have successfully used our products to transition away from combustible cigarettes, which remain available on market shelves nationwide," Murillo's statement said.
Frederick businesses were not taking chances and followed the FDA's order.
"As soon as we heard there's a ban, we pulled them off," said Samantha Bush, who works at Smoke 10 in Frederick.
Before the ban, Bush said, she averaged about five Juul product sales a day as a full-time employee. She could not speak to specifics on how the ban could affect business but said, "It's gonna take a toll."
Sierra Shade, a manager at The Great Green Goat in Frederick, said Juul sales dipped when the maker stopped selling certain flavors a few years ago. Now, more customers buy disposables, she said. Shade said the store also took Juul products off shelves Thursday.
"Hopefully, it doesn't take too much profit away," she said.


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HSBC snaps up RBS banking assets in India
Global bank HSBC agreed on Friday to buy the Indian commercial and retail banking assets of British state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland, expanding its base in the emerging nation.
"HSBC ... has agreed to acquire The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc's retail and commercial banking businesses in India," the group said in an official statement.
The banking giant said it will pay RBS the net asset value of the businesses when the deal closes in the first half of next year, plus an additional 95 million dollars.
"The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to complete in the first half of 2011," HSBC added.
The RBS Indian divisions have a gross asset value of 1.8 billion dollars, as at 31 March 2010.
"This transaction is an important addition to our existing network and testament to our ambition to expand our footprint in India," said HSBC's India boss Naina Lal Kidwai.
"India is home to about 1.15 billion people, representing 17 percent of the world's population.
"We see tremendous growth potential in this country, both in helping domestic and international companies capture opportunities in India's growing trade and investment flows with the world and in meeting the financial needs of its rising affluent consumer market."
© 2010 AFP


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Customers looking to make an international money transfer will be able to find the service in BP fuel outlets, thanks to a new agreement with Western Union.
This year the C&I Expo is joined by refrigeration solutions specialist Koologik. The family-owned company imports and installs high-quality, specialised
Cash use is in decline while tap-and-go payments are increasingly becoming the chosen payment method for customers, a survey from the Reserve Bank has revealed
Cigarette smokers who use e-cigarettes are more likely to quit and succeed in the attempt, according to a recent US study.
A former 7-Eleven operator has been fined $168,000 for the underpayment of workers and falsifying records.
Teenage robbers as young as 14 were charged yesterday after robbing a 7-Eleven store in Marsden, Queensland.
Petrol prices across Sydney have begun to fall and are expected to fall below a $1 per litre according to NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury
Two brothers from Emerald Beach in the NSW North Coast are making plans to revitalise an old convenience stor
Despite wellness and healthy eating being the driving force of most publications and the media, championed by celebrities and their affiliated diets, Australians are eating more chocolate than ever before.


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The Samsung Galaxy S8 Active will be Sammy's first phone to support T-Mobile's new 600MHz Band?
A version of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active with Band 71 support has been certified by the FCC
A new version of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active (SM-G892U) has been certified by the FCC. This is the rugged version of the Samsung Galaxy S8, better able to withstand "the active" lifestyle. Traditionally, the Active has been an AT&T exclusive, although this year it was announced that the device would be available from other carriers.
T-Mobile has yet to announce that the Galaxy S8 Active is on the way, but considering that the FCC certification shows that the new version of the Galaxy S8 Active is compatible with Bands 66 and 71 (the latter being a T-Mobile exclusive in the states), it seems a sure thing to say that the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active will be the first Samsung branded handset offered by T-Mobile, compatible with the 600MHz spectrum that the carrier spent so much money for.
Besides the T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S8 Active, which was first rumored last month, an unlocked model could eventually hit the U.S. The Wi-Fi Alliance certified such a version of the phone last month.
source: FCC via Phonescoop


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QTS Realty Trust (NYSE: QTS) has doubled its custom data center agreement to support its rapid growth, the company said.
The hyperscale cloud provider selected QTS in early 2016 to provide more than 20,000 square feet and four megawatts of power. The new agreement dramatically increases the company´s usage to a total of 40,000 square feet and eight megawatts of power at the LEED Gold certified QTS Dallas-Fort Worth mega data center. The rapid pace of expansion was driven by the fast growing use of cloud services, coupled with QTS´ ability to quickly scale to its clients´ needs.
The customer joins a growing list of large public and private cloud providers choosing QTS for its scalable world-class facilities, security and compliance capabilities, and industry-leading customer service. This customer win comes after QTS´ recent announcement of Virtustream, an enterprise-class cloud provider and EMC Federation company, as a new customer and partner.
QTS Realty Trust provices secure, compliant data center solutions, hybrid cloud and fully managed services. QTS owns, operates or manages 24 data centers and supports more than 1,000 customers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.


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The import bashing continues Add New Topic
Home › Forums › Gossip, Rumors and Industry Buzz › The import bashing continues
- This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by WillieeArmellini.
- May 8, 2017 at 2:33 pm #16151WillieeArmelliniKeymaster
Here is another example of Local vs imports with a expected but not welcomed comment about pesticides and cheap labor. Why must they bring down the whole industry just to promote their message. Local flowers are great and you should buy all you can. But bashing the imports is stupid in my opinion
Whidbey’s flower industry part of a growing movement
KYLE JENSENWed Apr 26th, 2017 8:00amBUSINESS
For flower farmers on South Whidbey, spring brings the bloom and another year of exponential growth.
That is, if they’re capable of keeping up with the ever-increasing demand.
The flower farming industry is currently booming as the industry undergoes a shift in the way the colorful gifts are bought and grown. For years, the industry has been dominated by products grown in South America that are later shipped to the states. However, consumers are increasingly looking to buy local, seasonal and sustainably-grown flowers.
And according to former Seattle Times garden columnist and Langley resident Valerie Easton, Skagit Valley and Whidbey Island are front runners in the growing movement.
“Whidbey Island and Skagit Valley are the center of an exciting movement towards seasonal, locally-grown flowers,” Easton said. “We no longer want to buy imported, pesticide-drenched flowers picked by underpaid laborers in Ecuador or Colombia.”
The flower farmers on South Whidbey generally agree with that statement. The shift toward sustainable flowers can largely be credited to the founding of the Seattle Wholesale Grower’s Market, a co-op formed by farmers from Skagit Valley to Willamette Valley, Ore., who specifically wanted to sell their home-grown flowers. The co-op’s formation in 2011 ignited a consumer demand for seasonal flowers, and the Puget Sound area’s farmers have been trying to keep up to satisfy customers ever since. The trend then headed south, and continues to move east.
According to the market’s secretary and Langley’s Sonshine Farm co-owner Pam Uhlig, the co-op sold $1.6 million worth of flowers in 2016, despite housing only 13 growers. She says the market is aiming to sell $2.5 million in 2017, and six new growers have been added in order to reach that goal.
A number of South Whidbey’s flower farmers occasionally sell to the market. While Skagit Valley has been home to numerous flower farmers even before the seasonal trend began, Whidbey Island has become an attractive location to grow due to the cheaper property values and the high demand on the island.
“I think we’re seeing the beginning of the wave of local ‘slow flowers,’” Flying Bear Farm co-owner Melissa Brown said. “Even the aesthetic consumers are looking for is changing. The trend is going toward flowers that are more fragile, ephemeral and don’t ship well, like dahlias.”
Brown says her farm experienced “probably triple growth” this past year as she began to sell her pedals to weddings. Flying Bear Farm has since doubled its garden space for 2017, in anticipation of even more growth. Sonshine Farm’s growth mirrors that of Brown’s operation. Uhlig says the farm has most likely grown 300 percent in the past three years, and she’s anticipating 50 percent growth in 2017. A large part of that growth comes from the Seattle-based co-op; about 90 percent of the farm’s product is sold there.
She says she would aim for more growth, but have to be realistic considering the farm’s small work force. Sonshine Farm is composed of Uhlig and her daughter, Kelly Uhlig.
“The Seattle Wholesale Grower’s Market has grown in leaps and bounds, and we’ve struggled to keep up with the growth,” Kelly Uhlig said. “We would like to grow more, but we’d need to hire more workers to help my daughter and me.”
Flower farmers say the rising demand for local and seasonal flowers coincides with the slow food movement, which calls for consumers to support their local food providers not only for health reasons, but to support their local economies. Easton says consumers are more conscious about what is in their food, produce and flowers, and hesitate to put chemically-drenched pedals next to the food on their dinner tables. Uhlig said that many flower farmers are also on board with the industry shift, since the pesticides eventually affect the farmers.
The growing trend has made flower farming a viable primary source of income. Sonshine Farm transitioned to focusing on flowers about five years ago, and remains financially stable. Flying Bear Farm also exclusively grows flowers, and the owners have seen significant growth. But for the farmers and Uhlig, perhaps the most rewarding facet of the trend is the relationship with customers.
“The connection between farmer and consumer continues to grow closer and it’s very gratifying,” Uhlig said. “It’s extremely rewarding to watch the product you’ve nurtured from a seed go into the market, sell and make its way to being planted at places such as Safeco Field.”
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These are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell.Market Insiderread more
"Whether it's this year or next year, the odds of another economic downturn are high — and growing," Warren wrote.Politicsread more
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Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on MondayInvestingread more
Shares of GWW fell more than 3 percent to $202.05 Tuesday afternoon after Amazon Business announced an upgrade to their shipping services for business customers. The new Business Prime Shipping service offers free two-day shipping to multi-user business accounts in Germany and the United States, a feature Amazon says will simplify procurement.
Business Prime Shipping directly competes with at least two Grainger operations, including the Japanese e-commerce unit MonotaRO Co and the British distributor Cromwell. Taken together, the two companies account for 11 percent of Grainger's total sales, according to a research note from RBC Capital Markets.
"Given parent Amazon's deep pockets and apparent margin insensitivity, we continue to believe that Grainger will be drawn into further price competition, putting more pressure on its gross margin," the analysts wrote. "We reiterate our high-conviction Underperform rating on GWW shares."
Grainger shares have been struggling this year. The company is down more than 12 percent year to date, despite a boost earlier this month when the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.
Joseph Micucci, a representative for Grainger, issued the following statement to CNBC:
The majority of Grainger's U.S. customers do not pay freight, as freight costs are embedded in our contracts. Grainger also offers freight advantaged programs, such as Red Pass Plus, which include free freight with a flat annual fee for non-contract customers. Zoro customers do not pay freight on orders above $50. Grainger has a history of providing competitive freight options for next day service.
— With reporting by Morgan Brennan.


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Beyonce looked red hot in a photo she posted on Instagram on April 28, just one day after she posted a bare-faced pic. Do you like the glam or natural Bey better?
Beyonce, 32, runs the world and rules any beauty look she wears. Whether it’s a sparkly headband and bold red lips or a completely stripped-down, no makeup look, she continues to look amazing. Vote on your fave look below!
Beyonce’s Red Lipstick On Instagram — Better Than No Makeup Look?
Beyonce’s glam photo, which she posted on April 28, showed off her wavy, textured hair. She wore a pretty gold headband to tame her curls.
She had very minimal face makeup on, but her lips stood out with a bold, red color, especially against that hot red bathing suit she was wearing!
The day before, on April 27, she posted a low-key selfie on a boat, with her super curly hair blowing in the wind. Bey frequently posts photos without makeup — we love that she is so down-to-earth about beauty!
She is always stunning — it doesn’t matter if she is wearing a full face of makeup or nothing at all!
Beyonce & Jay Z Announce Tour
Beyonce and husband Jay Z announced on April 28 that they will be touring together in a show called “On The Run.” It kicks off in Miami on June 25 and, as of April 28, runs through August 5, with the last show being held in San Francisco, Calif.
Can you say show of the summer? We can’t wait to get our tickets!
Which beauty look do you like best on Beyonce, HollywoodLifers?
— Dory Larrabee-Zayas


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Lisbon based festival Nova Batida has just announced it’s second wave of artists including Jungle, Haai, Hunee, and Ezra Collective.
The new-line up comes alongside a unique wellness and fitness programme, which features Fat Buddha yoga and pilates classes, as well as world-class surfing also on offer.
Nova Batida had its first edition last year and is a fine way to experience Lisbon arts and culture, with the added bonus of an excellent soundtrack.
The full line-up includes the likes of Four Tet, Floating Points, Friendly Fires, Octavian, Slowthai, Jon Hopkins and many more.
The long weekend takes place across two of Lisbon’s most creative venues, LX Factory, and Village Underground Lisboa, that will be joined together for the first time.
As the end of summer nears, it’s the ideal time to visit the city everyone’s calling the next Berlin and whose temperature never seems to stray far from the twenties!


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Ooredoo Maldives and Housing Development Corporation (HDC) have signed an agreement for the construction and development of Ooredoo headquarters in Hulhumale. Ooredoo is expected to become the first to setup its headquarters in Hulhumale, from among major corporations operating in the Maldives and among multi-national companies.
The new headquarters aims to create an employee-friendly environment. To ensure an employee friendly space, the building has been designed to include a cafe, fitness centre, and an on-site day care center for working parents.
Full details are available from the link below:
Source URL: Google News


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1/16/2014 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Phone: (479) 575-4151
Location: John Q. Hammons Center
Address: 3201 Pinnacle Hills Parkway, Rogers, AR 72758
The University of Arkansas will host a panel of economic forecasters for its 20th annual Business Forecast Luncheon on Thursday, Jan. 16.
The event, coordinated by the Center for Business and Economic Research in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers.
Registration information is available here.
The event will be moderated by Donnie Smith, CEO of Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, the world's largest meat processor. Others on the panel are:
- Richard Yamarone, a Bloomberg economist who will deliver the domestic business forecast.
- Yi Wen, an assistance vice president in the research department of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, who will deliver the global economic forecast.
- Kathy Deck, the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research, who will deliver the Arkansas business forecast.
- Alice Walton Sells Her 1,400-Acre Texas Ranch
- Gary Heathcott Responds to Arkansas Business Cover Story
- Report: County Commission in Kansas Rescinds $500M Pledge for Tyson Foods Plant
- Arlington Hotel Names Alan Sims General Manager 4 days ago
- UA System Names Two Finalists for UAMS Chancellor 3 days ago
- IberiaBank to Pay $11.7M to Settle False Claims Act Case 3 days ago
- Tracing Path to Big Buys by Simmons Bank 1 week ago
- Robust US Hiring Underscores Economy's Growing Momentum 3 days ago


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Last Friday, Google's (GOOG) retail blog published -- and then unpublished -- what seemed like positive stats for : Paid clicks increasing from 9% to 39% year-over-year for queries like "department stores" and "comparison shopping." (The point of that post: To encourage retailers to keep advertising during the holiday season.)
Google has since re-published the stats, but has added new qualifications. They're not actually Cyber Monday stats, but a "a sample of advertisers in various retail verticals" during Thanksgiving week, ranging from the Tuesday before it through Cyber Monday. Google also adds a disclaimer in light gray text: "Note: this is a sample of retailers only and should not be viewed as indicative of our financial performance during this period."
So, what to make of the stats, now that they're even more vague? It still seems like good news that parts of Google's business -- the ones they choose to tell us about -- measured by paid clicks, are growing up to 39%. (Actual revenue growth could be more or less, depending on ad pricing.)
But as UBS analyst Ben Schachter notes today, it's still tricky to put this data into context. He expects the correction to "raise some eyebrows among investors."
Especially as other reports suggest the search market is "soft" in Q4.


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Law360 (October 8, 2020, 10:17 PM EDT) -- Becton Dickinson & Co. says it's owed more than $6 million because BioMedomics Inc. developed a COVID-19 antibody test that failed to get U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance, according to a suit filed Thursday.
In a complaint filed in North Carolina federal court, medical technology company BD alleged that it inked a deal requiring BioMedomics to make and sell units of a test meant to detect COVID-19 antibodies.
BD alleges in its complaint that if the product at issue couldn't be sold in the U.S., BioMedomics agreed it would pay BD back for what it paid for the product. But after the product failed to get the FDA's emergency use authorization, BioMedomics refused to refund BD's money, the company claims.
"However, as of the date of this filing, BioMedomics has not obtained the required EUA for the sale and distribution of the product from the FDA," BD alleges. "Consequently, the product is nonconforming and unsalable."
In March, BD entered into the deal at issue — called a term sheet for exclusive distribution agreement — that required BioMedomics to sell units of the product at issue, according to the suit.
The agreement also required that BioMedomics would be the one in charge of making sure the product met legal and regulatory requirements, according to the complaint.
"Under the term sheet, if the product were not permitted to be sold in the United States due to applicable laws and regulations, BioMedomics was to provide a refund to BD for the full amount paid for the product," the medical technology company alleges.
But the FDA in early May said that the product had to get an emergency use authorization before it could go to market, BD says.
Even though "BioMedomics submitted an EUA application to the FDA," the product was recalled in June by BioMedomics, according to the complaint. In July, the FDA said that the product didn't meet its emergency use authorization requirements, the suit says.
"As a result of BioMedomics' inability to ensure that the product continued to be permitted to be sold pursuant to applicable laws and regulations in the United States, BD sent a notice on Aug. 14, 2020 stating that it did not intend to continue its relationship with BioMedomics and demanded a full repayment of its prepayment for the product, which repayment was expressly required under the term sheet," BD said. "By letter dated Sept. 4, 2020, BioMedomics refused to refund BD's prepayment for the product and has thereafter continued such refusal."
The suit is seeking $6.125 million and additional lost profits and interest.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Becton Dickinson & Co. is represented by Mark A. Stafford and Chelsea K. Barnes of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.
Counsel information for BioMedomics was not immediately available.
The case is Becton Dickinson & Co. v. BioMedomics Inc., case number 5:20-cv-00536, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
--Editing by Nicole Bleier.
For a reprint of this article, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Forbes has named Rihanna the world’s richest woman musician.
Born Robin Rihanna Fenty, the 31-year-old’s fortune has grown to a whopping $600 million. Thanks, in part, to her music and numerous business endeavors. The Barbados native, co-owns her Savage X Fenty lingerie line with Los Angeles online fashion firm TechStyle Fashion Group. She also co-owns her makeup line, Fenty Beauty, with French-owned luxury good business LVMH.
The company made $100 million in sales in its first few weeks and has remained popular since, making $570 million in revenue last year, according to Forbes. It was also lauded for releasing 40 shades of foundation to be more available and representative for all skin tones and types.
Rihanna’s new status tops singers, Celine Dion ($450 million), Madonna ($570 million) and Beyoncé ($400 million).
By BSM Team
Feature photo credit: Getty Images


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Senator Mike Braun (IN) is teaming up with a long-time critic of the dietary supplement industry, Dick Durbin (IL) to mimic pharmaceutical industry regulations by requiring pre-market approval for dietary supplements.
Their bill creates new regulatory barriers giving the FDA new authority to prevent health and wellness products from reaching millions of consumers.
We wouldn't have reached out if this wasn't important. The longer you wait to join the millions of health and wellness advocates who oppose pre-market approval, the more challenging our fight against big government overreach becomes.
We need ALL health and wellness advocates who support the dietary supplement industry to stand with us against this radical proposal.
Let Congress know you oppose pre-market approval for dietary supplements.
Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Natural Products Association


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Leader in direct marketing automation to celebrate by sending gifts to customers, prospects and partners around the world
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sendoso, the leader in direct marketing automation, today announced the kickoff of the 5th Annual National Sending Day, an official Sendoso holiday designed to help build authentic relationships by creating meaningful moments. To celebrate the holiday, Sendoso is delivering experiences to businesses around the world to demonstrate how to deliver unique, personal experiences to build connections and pay it forward.
Established in 2018, National Sending Day was created to show businesses how to stand out and engage prospects at strategic points throughout the customer journey and create that personal, human connection. Whether it’s starting new conversations with potential buyers or rewarding the most loyal customers and employees, National Sending Day is a reminder to let those customers know you care by sending direct mail, personalized gifts, experiences, and branded swag to develop a rapport that goes beyond phone calls or emails and elicits authenticity.
This year, Sendoso will be celebrating National Sending Day with its ‘Spring Forward’ program, and by sending customers, partners, advisors, and prospects a Sunflower grow kit. This symbolic gesture reminds customers to apply the same attention and care to their businesses as they would a flower in order to grow their business and bloom into success.
“We believe that National Sending Day is not just a day to send packages, but a day to send love, appreciation, and gratitude to those who matter most. It’s a day to connect with each other, even from afar, and to make someone’s day a little brighter,” said Braydan Young, Co-Founder of Sendoso. “We are honored to share this special day and to help facilitate meaningful connections between people all around the world.”
“Sendoso is revolutionizing the direct marketing space by helping go-to-market teams generate and convert leads into customers, and increasing ROI by delivering personalized experiences,” said Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder and CEO of GTM Partners. “Personalized gifts are the most effective way for revenue-generating teams to stand out with new ways to engage customers and prospects at strategic points throughout their journey.”
To learn more about Sendoso and National Sending Day, please visit www.sendoso.com.
Sendoso is the global leader in Direct Marketing Automation, creating, curating and delivering automated, meaningful experiences for customers of all sizes. The trusted partner of Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies worldwide, Sendoso helps customers generate new pipelines, utilize account-based efforts, boost customer retention and increase upsell and cross sell.
Sendoso has locations across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and has had more than 800 customers leverage its proven automated solution to deliver nearly four million sends worldwide. Learn more at sendoso.com.


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CLIVE, Iowa — U.S. pork exports are down about 10% since the outbreak of the hybrid flu virus commonly known as swine flu, according to estimates from the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and recent bans in 11 U.S. export markets could cost the pork industry almost three-quarters of a billion dollars this year. However, the majority of U.S. consumers seem to have gotten the message that the virus is not transmitted through the consumption of pork, according to a recent poll conducted by the ...
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NEW SHOWS ANNOUNCED!
Published : 21/Jul/2015
Before a new season announcement later in the year, we are delighted to be able to announce four fantastic brand new shows that are about to go on sale at the Grand Theatre! On Friday 16 October we welcome the first winner of Britain's Got Talent, PAUL POTTS live in concert.
Back due to popular demand, Strictly sensation BRENDAN COLE will return in 2016 with a brand new production of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER on Friday 29 January.
J.B. Priestly's classic thriller AN INSPECTOR CALLS will play from Tuesday 2 - Saturday 6 February and West End star Jodie Prenger will star in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black's TELL ME ON A SUNDAY on Thursday 2 June.
All of these shows will be on sale to Friends of the Grand at 10am on Monday 27 July and general on sale from 10am on Friday 31 July.