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Posted by Dale Buss on October 31, 2012 05:13 PM
Ford's fall from grace with Consumer Reports has been breathtaking. The brand finished in second-to-last place, 27th of 28, in the magazine's closely watched, newly released automotive-reliability ratings — just three years after the bible of product quality praised Ford as the only domestic automaker with "world-class reliabilty."
Stunningly, Ford still apparently hasn't corrected its huge problems — real and perceived — with its MyFord Touch system, which continues to confuse some customers even a year and a half after Ford publicly acknowledged the usability problems with what is essentially Sync 2.0.
"They've put out some updates to try to address some of those problems for both the transmissions and the infotainment controls, but it doesn't seem to be enough," Jake Fisher, director of testing for Consumer Reports, commented on the most and least reliable rankings to the Detroit Free Press.Continue reading...
Posted by Abe Sauer on August 31, 2012 05:26 PM
Box office hit The Avengers contained a respectable amount of product placement.
Now, Acura is seeing its product placement in the superhero film expanded as deleted scenes are added back into the film for its DVD release. Could this form of retroactive product placement become a common Hollywood practice? Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on August 13, 2012 03:22 PM
Japan's automakers are moving more and more of their "crown jewels" to the U.S. market, which promises to continue to transform the brands both home and abroad into more of a "Made in America" proposition than anyone would have imagined just a few years ago.
Honda plans to give the lead to its North American operations for a growing number of global vehicle-development projects of the type which traditionally were executed in Japan. Company executives hope the moves would help Honda fend off competitive challenges in the North American market and also hedge against a strong yen.
The U.S. R&D team, most of it located in Raymond, Ohio, already stands at about 2,000 people, and Honda could add to that for engineering and development work on the new-generation Acura NSX sports car, the next-generation Civic and other models, said Erik Berkman, the new president of Honda R&D Americas, according to Automotive News.
"As an organization, our U.S. facilities and the skill level of our engineers have achieved full citizenship in R&D," Berkman said. Honda already has been gearing up a huge shift of auto production to the United States from Japan because of the stubbornly strong yen, which makes U.S. manufacturing less expensive.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on July 23, 2012 02:38 PM
Mazda may be zigging with its decision to bet heavily on making more of its vehicles in Japan and exporting them in the nation's classic Japan Inc. way. But all of its Japanese rivals are zagging — and sinking unprecedented amounts into building up their manufacturing presence in North America, as the lofty yen gives them little choice but to do so for currency hedging.
The little automaker has declared that 90 percent of the output of its new CX-5 crossover, in Japan, will be aimed for export and that it can make a profit on sales to the U.S. even if the yen continues to appreciate against the dollar.Continue reading...
Posted by Abe Sauer on June 25, 2012 07:07 PM
For a series of Batman movies that takes itself so seriously, it's a surprise to see it right there so prominent as one of only five menu items on the official The Dark Knight Rises website: "Imported From Gotham City."
The Dark Knight Rises has a number of other official partners. There is Nokia (remember them?) and No Fear (remember them?) and Mountain Dew, which features at the core of its tie-in "Sad Batman." But none of these brands even get a mention on the film's official website, let alone being featured on the site navigation.
It seems that the heavyweight "Imported from Detroit" campaign, which debuted with Eminem at the 2011 Super Bowl and was reborn with Clint Eastwood at the 2012 Super Bowl, is now so ingrained in the American psyche that it's worth lampooning. But the first rule of auto product placement is "be serious." Be so, so serious.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on June 5, 2012 02:02 PM
For the members of Generation Y who (hope they) have stable jobs and incomes and are (reasonably) confident about their financial future, Acura has a message: The brand has a car for you, the new "gateway" model ILX.
The Honda-owned luxury brand is debuting the all-new compact luxury sedan at a starting price of $25,900 with the expectation (and new messaging) that young Americans in their early thirties, with their act together and decent prospects, are going to gravitate to what Acura calls a true luxury car at an attainable entry-level price point.
"This car was specifically designed for these people because of what they've gone through," Mike Accavitti, Acura's U.S. CMO, told brandchannel.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on June 4, 2012 05:33 PM
Auto-industry observers didn't have to wait long to find out what Johan de Nysschen was going to do after announcing on Friday that he was leaving the helm of Audi of America for another job, following a stellar six years of advancing the cause of the German premium brand in the U.S. market.
Today, Nissan announced that De Nysschen will become SVP of the Infiniti luxury brand worldwide. The 52-year-old De Nysschen will assume the post on July 1st and will be based at Infiniti's new global headquarters in Hong Kong.
"We have exciting and ambitious plans for improving the Infiniti brand including introducing new models in all markets where premium customer demand exists," stated De Nysschen's new boss, Nissan EVP Andy Palmer. The choice of De Nysschen to head the Infiniti brand is a savvy move.
Nissan's luxury marque has been faring OK over the last few years and got through the supply disruptions of last year in better shape than Toyota's Lexus or Honda's Acura brands. Infiniti introduced the new JX seven-passenger SUV this year, which has gotten off to a solid start, and Inifniti sales overall in the U.S. market are about 7 percent above a year earlier.Continue reading...
in the spotlight
Posted by Dale Buss on June 4, 2012 04:13 PM
It's the third year in a row that brand executives have worried about the "c" word — as in "confidence." Consumer confidence, to be exact.
In the wake of last week's tough U.S. jobs numbers for May, there's more discussion among brands whether the economy this year will follow the pattern of the last couple of years: a first-quarter strengthening followed by relative anemia in the following months.
Only this year, while the American economic recovery has at least seemed on track, brands are more worried about negative influences from abroad.
"The headwinds we face on both the top and bottom lines, such as austerity measures in Europe, higher commodity costs in the U.S., and slowing growth in Asia, do remain," Don Thompson, new CEO of McDonald's, told securities analysts last week, according to Nation's Restaurant News. "I'm confident in our ability to navigate these near-term headwinds, because we've faced these situations before."
Thompson told the analysts that McDonald's long-running Plan to Win best practices platform, established by his predecessor as CEO, Jim Skinner, will be up to the challenge of any softening in consumer confidence, using local innovations scaled across the company's entire global system, for instance.Continue reading...


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If you are a regular viewer of movies recent and old, you may be interested to learn that Sky has started an internet TV war by launching its very own film service, called ‘Now TV’, for a very modest £15 a month or £3.49 per film. The new Sky service sees it pitching against companies such as LoveFilm and the ever popular NetFlix and will soon be available to watch on PC’s and Macs as well as iPads, some Android smartphones and Lord Sugar’s latest media package – YouView.
Customers who sign up to the Sky service will pay £15 a month and for this they can expect to get access to more than 600 films streamed to their houses or, if on a mobile phone equipped with the internet, to their handset, wherever they are. The initial launch will see access to Sky Movies and some 11 channels being available from Tuesday of next week. However, this is just the start as Sky plans to increase its content by adding Sky Sports including Premier League, cricket, rugby and golf before the end of the year, as well as channels including Sky1, Sky Arts and Sky Atlantic.
It is thought that Sky want to target households who are reluctant to sign up to costly subscription charges and are aiming to entice the 13 million UK customers who do not currently have a media package. Although Sky has more than 10m pay-TV customers, new customers are simply not signing up. Sky Managing Director of Sales & Marketing, Stephen van Rooyen says, “We are targeting the 13m non-pay TV households out there with a no commitment, no contract way of delivering Sky content they want in a dip in and dip out way. The whole idea is to have something ‘not Sky’, it is purposely designed to attract new customers.”
The new Sky service is currently only available to watch on standard TV’s but Sky intends to roll out the availability of Now TV rapidly to other devices including iPhone, iPad, Microsoft Xbox and Roku, and it is thought that the Sky is also in discussions to bring it to PlayStation 3. This is a much cheaper way to watch movies as currently the least expensive Sky movie package is around £37.50 per month. LoveFilm offer subscriptions packages with a monthly fee starting from around £4.99 and NetFlix start from about £7 a month. However, Sky has always offered a great amount of films and have access to the latest block busters before their rivals. As van Rooyen adds, “The most important thing to look at is what the service is, the quality of what we are delivering, we don’t want to replicate what LoveFilm and Netflix have done. We offer around 75% of the top 100 box office movies, and have rights to offer films a year before rivals – the value is in the premium quality we have.”
Sky have decided against a major advertising campaign at present, instead they will focus on a more substantial one later on in the year, after the London Olympics and when more content is available on more devices. This is because presently ‘the nation is distracted’. For more information visit Now TV.

domain: news


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Flying Cars, Jet Packs, and the Very Speedy Future of Personal Transit
Conjuring some serious sci-fi images, the Martin JetPack achieves what so may of us dreamed about as kids: Instant liftoff. Glenn Martin, founder of Martin Aircraft, which is based in New Zealand, began working on the jet pack about four years ago. The device has two side-mounted fans, powered by a 200-horsepower engine and can lift a human up to 8,000 feet at a speed of 63 mph. The company was making about $750,000 in revenue, mostly from commercial and military contracts, when Inc. profiled Martin Aircraft last year. "Fiction had an idea of what this looks like," Martin told Inc. "We produce something that works."


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As the hectic holiday season kicks off and busy lifestyles become even busier, what’s the role of snacking to keep your energy up and your body weight down?
First, who do you think has a healthier diet – people who snack once a day or those who snack two to three times a day? You may be surprised to learn that consumers with the healthiest diets snack twice as often as those with less healthy diets, according to the NPD Group, a marketing research company known for keeping its finger on the pulse of America’s eating habits.
Latest Trends Point Towards More
Healthy Foods in Between Meals
Kathy Ross, a research analyst for NPD, said the results of the company’s “Snacking in America” survey, which collected data for two years, were a bit of a surprise.
“The health aspect as an offshoot is something we did not anticipate,” she said. “People were not replacing meals with snacks, and they were making healthy choices such as more fruit, yogurt, granola bars, nuts and seeds.”
Bottled water saw the biggest increase as the beverage paired with snacks.
The survey identified “healthy snackers” as those who were in weight-loss programs, had healthy weights, and whose food intake met the description of a healthy diet. More women and consumers over age 50 fell into this group. By the way, the NPD survey found that women snack 70 times more than men over the year.
“Snacking is more often a hallmark that goes hand in hand with healthy habits,” Ross said.
Those who reported eating only one snack per day fell into the least healthy group, and most often chose a late-night snack of chips, ice cream or cookies. But Ross said there’s less of this impulsive “raid the fridge at midnight” behavior going on. “Late-night snacking is the only snack occasion going down,” she said, “and we’re seeing more healthy planned snacks.”
Some wise choices
A ‘snack occasion’ is defined as the food eaten between the major three meals, and it’s interesting to note that some folks are even eating a “before breakfast snack,” which might be the coffee you grab on your way to dine out for breakfast.
Fresh fruit is the most popular snack eaten between breakfast and lunch, according to the NPD survey, and 85 percent of households reported having fresh fruit on hand at home.
Ideally, a snack should total about 150 calories if you’re consuming a daily diet of 2,000 to 2,200 calories. It should be like a mini-meal with a balance of protein, whole grains and fruit or vegetables. That means it could be a carton of yogurt with granola on top with some berries, or a savory snack of whole-grain crackers, reduced-fat cheese and a small apple. If you’re grabbing a granola bar, enjoy it with a glass of fat-free milk for more nutrients and added protein to keep you feeling fuller longer.
If you’re out and about holiday shopping, steer clear of temptation in the food court. Snacking on a handful of nuts (1 ounce) will provide you with the energy you need to get to your next meal along with some protein and heart-healthy fats for under 200 calories.
Carolyn O’Neil, MS, RD is a best-selling author and television personality. As a journalist with expertise in nutrition and weight control, she served as executive producer, anchor and senior correspondent for CNN.
Her weekly newspaper column, “Healthy Eating Out,” in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a steady stream of nutrition advice. In addition, she works as the lifestyles editor for Flavors Magazine, a quarterly magazine on food, wine and culture. She co-authored the best-selling book “The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous!” As a respected authority in her field, Carolyn has collaborated on national nutrition campaigns with the food industry and served as the national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. For more information, please visit http://www.carolynoneil.com.
This article was originally published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Reprinted with permission.
The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.


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Home Tags Truckers
The protest was documented on the Facebook page "Black Smoke Matters," which featured live videos streamed by participating truck drivers.
A group of 26,000 truckers wants to strike against the biggest issues plaguing America’s trucking industry by shutting down the nation’s h...
A truck-driver strike could be powerful in overhauling a slew of issues afflicting truckers. But not everyone wants to close the nation's highways.
The federal government just confirmed what America’s 1.8 million truck drivers have been saying for years: The truck-driver shortage doesn’...
"People want this job, but they can't do it and support their family."
19,000 truck drivers just scored up to $100 million from one of America’s biggest trucking companies — and it’s the latest federal-c...
Truck drivers have been fighting in the nation's courts to receive a minimum wage and other labor benefits.
Truck drivers wait an average of 2.5 hours at warehouses without getting paid — here are the 20 cities where truckers wait the longest
Truckers lose $1.3 billion annually waiting at warehouses for loads.
A truck driver protest that was supposed to rock Indianapolis had fewer than 80 trucks — and it’s a worrying sign for the vulnerable group...
Truck drivers hate the ELD mandate, which came into effect in December 2017. But protests against them haven't quite taken off.
America’s truck drivers have to ace this test before taking control of a 26,000-pound vehicle on the road — see if you can pass it
Can you pass the exam that America's truckers all take?
Practically every store you interact with wouldn't function if truckers were to stop working.
Uber Freight is helping combat a $1.3 billion problem that the trucking industry has ignored for years
Truck drivers lose $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion in pay every year because of detention.
A federal judge in Arkansas just reaffirmed that truck drivers need to be paid for every hour they spend in their trucks while they’re not sleep...
Truckers are usually paid per mile, not per hour. But some class-action suits seek to change that.


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As the international aviation community work towards a responsible and more importantly, sustainable recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is continuing record growth across the air cargo sector.
In the US, potential significant government investment looks to encourage expansion, more airlines are adding more freight routes and new initiatives in biometrics will provide a much-needed positive boost for industry professionals. We take a closer look at some of the best news to come out of the US air cargo industry during this first quarter of the recovery period.
Air cargo outperforms pre-pandemic levels
Since March 2021, IATA has released global air cargo market data that shows the sector outperforming pre-COVID-19 levels. During March this year, air cargo demand was at its highest since 1990 and April 2021 showed a 12% increase on April 2019â€™s figures.
It is worth noting that IATA has set â€˜pre-pandemicâ€™ as April 2019, due to the distortion of figures during 2020 under the impact of COVID-19.
â€œAir cargo continues to be the good news story for the air transport sector. Demand is up by 12 percent on pre-crisis levels and yields are solid. Some regions are outperforming the global trend, most notable carriers in North America, the Middle East and Africa. Strong air cargo performance, however, is not universal. The recovery for carriers in the Latin American region, for example, is stalled.â€ said Willie Walsh, IATAâ€™s Director-General.
North Americaâ€™s carriers lead the way in strength of performance, according to IATA, but most other regions are also supporting growth. Latin America appears to be the only region where growth contribution has stalled. There are, however, still global capacity issues, which are beginning to be addressed across the US.
Philadelphia Airport cargo facility expansion plan could create 28,000 jobs
Already, Philadelphia Airport (PHL) has plans in the pipeline to expand its air cargo facilities. In a project that could create 28,000 jobs, PHL is aiming for a 136-acre expansion which will increase the cargo facility from 600,000 to 1.4 million sq. ft.
Approval has also been granted for over 5 million sq. ft. of additional taxiway and apron to accommodate the extra capacity it will need.
Amazon Air cargo facility at sixth-largest cargo airport CVG
Amazon Air, established just five years ago, announced earlier this year its plans to complete a new facility at Cincinnati/North Kentucky Airport (CVG). The facility, scheduled to be ready for use later this year will house a 798,000 sq. ft. sorting center, a multi-level parking zone and room to park and maneuver 20 Amazon Air aircraft.
The mile-long air cargo facility is to be the home of the Amazon Air national air transport network, which operates hundreds of daily flights to 35 US cities.
Online shopping increases contribute significantly to global cargo demand
With the unprecedented increase of online shopping on a global scale during the health crisis, air cargo demand has been higher than ever. Industry analysts and eCommerce professionals believe that many of these trends may be here to stay, as consumers â€˜fall out of the habitâ€™ of going out to shops and the high street.
While the initial focus at the beginning of 2020 was firmly on the delivery of essential PPE, pharma and hygiene products, demand has increased dramatically for other items. Shipping lines are still in consistent high demand too, but air cargo transportation is taking off in terms of timescale, where faster delivery is becoming a higher priority for businesses and consumers.
Smart airport solutions streamline air cargo and ground handling
There is growing interest and higher uptake in smart airport solutions since the start of the pandemic. According to many industry professionals, this has been heavily influenced by social distancing and reduced staffing levels on the ground.
Smart and biometric solutions to manage passengers and cargo have been gaining traction in recent pre-pandemic years due to the accelerating demand of the time. The ability to streamline routine processes and meet compliance has long been a priority in tasks such as:
- Baggage handling and tracking
- Cargo handling, tracking and weight and balance
- Security (passenger and facility)
- Passenger processing
Today, these technologies are smoothing and accelerating freight and ground handling operations for teams of all sizes. They are enabling faster turnaround, which is, in turn, reducing operational costs and facilitating a wider change across the industry.
With significant investments on the horizon for US airports infrastructure, major expansion plans and no sign of air cargo demand slowing, there has never been a better time for the air freight sector to harness the opportunities. Smart airport technologies can deliver the changes needed to future-proof facilities and facilitate a better way of operating.


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State Secretary warns business of scam letter
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Secretary of State is warning business owners of a scam involving a letter that appears to come from the state.
The state said the letter looks like it is from the Business Services Division.
But the state warns the letter is a scam.
The letter asks for a $125 payment for record keeping and processing company minutes. It also includes a "return by" date.
The state said that more than 100 businesses fell victim to a similar scam in 2008.


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Illustration by Robyn Flannigan for Leafly
What’s New in Prince Edward Island
Cannabists in Prince Edward Island can look forward to a new wave of products hitting the market as the one year anniversary of national legalization regulates edibles, extracts, and topicals.
In this round-up we’ll feature brands, strains, products, and accessories that are newly available across the province.
Check back often to see what’s new. Find Cannabis Products Near You


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Dixons Carphone units dial up mixed fortunes
Pre-tax profits at the Irish division of Currys PC World - part of the Dixons Carphone group - soared to €6.5m in its last financial year as the retailer benefited from a stronger economy and a boost from its pre-Christmas 'Black Friday' sales event.
Accounts just filed for the business show that the profit in the 12 months to the end of April last year compared to a pre-exceptional loss of almost €1.5m the previous financial year. Revenue at Currys PC World rose to €168.3m in the last financial year, compared to €158.4m in the previous 12 months.
But the picture at the Carphone Warehouse business in Ireland was bleaker, show accounts just filed for it at the Companies Registration Office.
Revenue at the unit declined to €104.5m in the last financial year from €110.9m in the previous period. It made a pre-tax loss of €1.86m, although the figure was better than the €3.5m loss it notched up in the previous financial year, when it also had a €2.1m exceptional gain. In the financial year that ended last April, it recorded negative exceptional items totalling €3.5m.
Carphone Warehouse Ireland had accumulated losses of just under €56m at the end of April last year. Currys PC World had accumulated losses of €18.8m, according to its accounts.
"These results show that the sustained remodelling of the business and disciplined approach continues to improve profitability and create a successful Irish-managed business," said Dixons Carphone Ireland in a statement.
The Irish arm's managing director is Mark Delaney.
The group added that it has continued to see "strong growth" in the current financial year that ends next month.


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The team behind the Binance Trust Wallet official cryptocurrency repository, made a serious statement – now that the wallet will allow users to make purchases using credit and debit cards.
Interesting in the section: Description of the Binance exchange platform, the algorithm for creating an account
This is due to a new partnership with the Simplex, Israeli payment processing firm, which will also provide technology for Trust Wallet users with the same functionality.
Victor Radchenko, founder of Trust Wallet: "We want to expand access to crypto and decentralized applications for all users. (...) Adding credit card payments is one of the steps to further implementing cryptocurrency and realizing our broader vision in promoting freedom of money, we will continue to integrate more blockchains and functions into the Trust."
Interesting in the section: Trezor hardware wallet. Advantages and disadvantages
Binance Trust Wallet declared the possibility of buying with credit and debit cards. Trust Wallet has not yet indicated which cards will be compatible with this new system. The company was first acquired by Binance in July 2018 and expanded the range of supported tokens, including XRP, BCH, LTC, ETH and BTC.
Editor: Yuliya Soroka


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San Francisco, May 28 As the tech giant Apple is preparing for the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2022, it has now updated the Apple Developer app with information about the 2022 event.
The Apple Developer app has details on session videos, Digital Lounges, labs, coding challenges, and more for WWDC 2022, allowing developers to sign up to participate directly within the app, reports AppleInsider.
Developers can watch WWDC content together over FaceTime using the SharePlay function that has been added to the Apple Developer app, the report said.
Apple said that there are several enhancements, including improved search, keyboard shortcuts for iPadOS, and more.
The developers will be able to explore all that WWDC22 has to offer, including session videos, Digital Lounges, 1-on-1 labs, Coding and Design Challenges, and more.
“We have also fixed bugs and added various other enhancements. We have rebuilt our search to be more extensive and to support quoted phrases. And, also added more keyboard shortcuts for iPadOS,” the company was quoted as saying.
The Apple Developer app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. It is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Recently, Apple had announced to kick off its flagship annual developer conference WWDC 2022 from June 6.


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Dockworkers have finally resolved a nine-month labor dispute, allowing West Coast ports to get back to business as usual. But it’s not exactly business as usual, with a backlog from vessels waiting offshore that could take up to two months to clear.
At the Union’s dispatch hall in Wilmington, California, nearly 1,500 jobs were posted for Saturday’s night shift, in comparison to the standard 800 to 1,000, according to the local union’s vice president.
Said Jon Slangerup, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, “They’ve turned the firehose on. [The union and the Pacific Maritime Association] are committed to digging out of this as quickly as possible.”
The new, five-year contract was reached on Friday following the imposition by U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez of a deadline for a deal. The expedited deal averted a potential shutdown of 29 ports that could have cost the United States economy up to $1.9 billion per day. West Coast ports, which account for 43.5 percent of United States trade, have been operating on reduced capacity since October due to the labor dispute.
With the huge backlog now on their shoulders, there’s an urgent need to get things back to normal. Said Adolph Negrete, a dockworker of 29 years at the Los Angeles port, “There’s all kinds of work to get to all these ships out there. I will be able to work six or seven days in a row if I want to.”
Shipping freight rates started climbing
Prior to the settlement, the strike had begun to push up shipping freight rates, with delays in taking on and offloading new cargo making container ships unavailable for new orders.
Several dozen container ships waited off the West Coast ports of San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, many of them having waited over a week to enter the port to take on new cargoes or unload, creating a backlog.
According to a leading broker, “The strike is affecting a lot of vessels. There’s a lot of delays and this is pushing up panamax (container) rates as fewer ships are available for new orders.”
With the cargo delays spreading throughout the United States’ economy, President Obama dispatched Labor Secretary Tom Perez to California to attempt to help broker an agreement between the dockworkers and shipping companies.
More about the dispute
The negotiations between the West Coast ports and the Union began upon the expiration of the contract for 20,000 port workers back in July. The Pacific Maritime Association accused the International Longshore Workers Union of creating a work slowdown, turning shipping containers into garbage cans and harbors into parking lots.
The repercussions were already being felt nationwide before the settlement was reached. Auto workers, for example, were running out of tasks. Last week, Honda stated that it would “stop or reduce production on multiple days” at six facilities over the next week because of “parts shortages.” Said Spokesperson, Mark Morrison, the company is running out of parts and transmissions. Similarly, Subaru and Toyota said that they would need to modify their operations as well.
And it’s not just the auto industry; furniture manufacturers were also losing business. In fact, any company whose products didn’t make it through the ports was having trouble finding independent transporters to take their goods on the next leg of their trip, according to Marianne Rowden, President and CEO of the American Association of Exporters and Importers.
The North American Meat Institute expressed that its industry was losing approximately $85 million each week while the meat and poultry sat in freezers awaiting transport overseas. In the dairy industry, the situation was “pretty dire” according to Alan Levitt of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
Said Levitt, “In some cases (producers are) re-routing shipments through Gulf and East Coast ports, but that’s costly and adds to the delivery time. There are no good alternatives.”
The settlement is tentative and is still awaiting approval from dockworkers along the West Coast. Management and the Union will not yet release details of the agreement until it is presented to members.


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Amazon Prime Day sale brings Diwali early for Indians, says India head
- In an interview with Business Insider,
Amazon India’s Head of Prime Akshay Sahisays the sale is intended to be a ‘big celebration’ like an Indian festival.
Prime Day saleon July 15 -16 is a global event where the e-tailer offers discounts and deals.
- Prime is in its third edition in India, although it’s a fifth for them, globally.
In India, the e-retail giant faced one challenge – how to make prime day different from the otherwise discount-laden Indian market.
“India is such a sales heavy, deals heavy market. Every one of our competitors has sale events which is further complemented by offline sale events,” Akshay Sahi, Amazon Prime India head, told Business Insider.
AdvertisementSo, they intended to turn Prime Day into a festival, make it a celebration. In doing so, the deals that they bring on-board are critical.
“Prime members shop a lot more and the appeal of a Prime-only event is very high with sellers as well. So, we offer the lowest prices of the year, even better than the Diwali sale. We want to create the best celebration for prime members, we look at it this way – can we bring Diwali a little early for prime members,” said Sahi.
From 30 new launches in its first edition to 200 in the second and now, 1000 new product launches in the third, Sahi said that Prime in India has come a long way.
“This year, we have 1000 product launches, out of which more than 500 are from small and medium sized businesses. From Amazon’s launchpad for startups, we have 75 products being launched by startups,” said Sahi.
Amazon Prime’s another top offer is the prime video vertical, which is also a part of the prime day sale. They have 14 new titles releasing, which include seven from regional languages.
Amazon also came up with Virtual Reality Experience zones in nine cities, to provide its consumers a sense of ‘touch-and-feel’. And, it all seems to be working in Amazon’s favour.
Advertisement“We had the largest number of prime members join the program in the month leading up to prime day in 2018. That gave us a lot of confidence that we are on the right path,” said Sahi.
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Suzuki has overtaken BMW to become the most profitable car company in the world. Suzuki gained a margin of 11.8 per cent in profits in the third quarter. This is 0.4 per cent higher than BMW during the same time period.
BMW, back in 2016 also lost the title of the world's largest seller of luxury cars to Mercedes-Benz.
India is the biggest market for Suzuki. Maruti Suzuki controls 51 per cent of the market share in India. This translates to Maruti selling more cars in India than what Suzuki sells globally. Also, according to previous reports, every second car sold in India is a Maruti.
According to various reports, BMW lost its profitability mainly due to two reasons: diesel scandal and loss from trade tariffs between Germany and the USA. Although the diesel scandal did impact BMW, they did not face any major recalls such as Volkswagen or Daimler.
However, even after these losses, BMW continued to be more profitable than any other company for over a year, until the last quarter. Suzuki, on the other hand, has been recording year-on-year profits of 68 per cent. This surge is due to the increasing demand for their cars in India.
Suzuki's annual operating profits increased to USD 3.3 million in May 2018. Although, both Suzuki and BMW did record a drop in annual sales of 4.8 and 2.8 per cent, respectively.
Thoughts On Suzuki Becoming The Most-Profitable Car Company
Suzuki is now planning to further grow its sales in India. Maruti Suzuki is working on producing a total of two million cars annually in India, by 2020. This number is further expected to grow to five million by the year 2030.
Suzuki's recent agreement with Toyota India will also help the company increase sales even further.
Currently, Suzuki operates three plants in India, two of which are under Maruti Suzuki. While Maruti operates the two plants in Haryana, their plant in Gujarat comes under Suzuki directly.
Source: Handelsblatt Global


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|Mingus nearly shuts out Bradshaw Mountain|
|Written by Staci Gasser|
|Thursday, 06 September 2012 00:00|
The Marauders resounding defense dominated the gridiron Friday night, giving Mingus Union a confidence-boosting win.
MUHS football [1-1] took back their victory over the Bradshaw Mountain Bears [1-2] from last year’s loss, beating them 23-7 on Friday, Aug. 31. The Bears’ only touchdown was scored in the last 30 seconds of the game, allowing them to avoid a shutout.
With a young, small Bears offensive line — nine sophomores started on the line Friday night — and an entire new coaching staff combined with the Marauders love of blitzing, Bradshaw Mountain had a tough time taking a stand against Mingus Union’s powerful defense. The Marauders defense prevented the Bears offense from making any big plays until the end of the third quarter and even had two defensive scores.
“They were outstanding,” MUHS Head Coach Bob Young said. “The defense just throttled them until right to the end, so they set the tone to everything.
“They gave us field position, and they gave us the ball. They just looked really good tonight.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Sept. 5, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled a sweeping plan Thursday to tackle climate change, and committed the retail giant to meeting the goals of the Paris climate agreement 10 years ahead of schedule.
Load Error [19659004AllowedandmeasuredReportEmissionRuleImplementationDecarbonisationStrategiesandResearchStrategiesforExcaleWithoutcollapse20%to20%fromamazonupto20%fromamazonupto20%fromamazon] "We want to use our scale and scope to lead," said Bezos at the National Press Club in Washington, DC "One of the things we know about Amazon as a role model for this is that it is a difficult challenge for us because we has deep, large physical infrastructure, so if we can do this, anyone can do it. "
As part of the announcement, Amazon has agreed to buy 1
Bezos said the first electric delivery vans will be on the road by 2021, and he estimates 100,000 vehicles will be deployed by 2024. The move builds on Rivian's $ 700 million investment round in February, led by Amazon. Amazon has invested $ 440 million in Rivian, the announcement states.
Amazon will partner with companies in its supply chain to help them decarbonise and achieve the same goals outlined in the plan. It also plans to meet with other large companies to get them to sign the deal.
Dara O & # 39; Rourke, a senior researcher on Amazon's sustainability team, said the company built a "comprehensive" carbon accounting system to help it extract data from the various businesses.
"Amazon is as complicated as many companies overall," said O & # 39; Rourke. “It forced us to build one of the most sophisticated carbon accounting systems in the world. We had to build a system that had the detailed data, but on an Amazon scale. "
Bezos' plan comes as Amazon faces increasing pressure from employees to meet its environmental impact.
At Amazon's annual shareholders meeting in May, thousands of employees submitted a proposal asking Bezos to develop a comprehensive climate change plan and reduce carbon footprint, although it was eventually rejected. The proposal was built on an employee letter published in April that accused Amazon of donating to climate-lagging lawmakers and urging the company to move from fossil fuels.
In addition, over 1,000 Amazon employees said they plan to leave on Friday as part of the Global Climate Strike, with Google and Microsoft employees also planning to participate. The employee walkout represents the first strike at Amazon's Seattle headquarters in the company's 25-year history, according to Wired.
Asked about employee walkouts, Bezos said that while he doesn't support all Amazon employees' requirements, he said he understands why people are passionate about climate change. Among the specific requirements Bezos said he does not support is to terminate AWS & # 39; cloud contracts with fossil fuel companies.
"The global strike tomorrow, I think it's perfectly understandable," he said. "We don't want this to be the tragedy for the public. We all have to work together on this."
He added that Amazon is keen to look at its campaign contributions to determine if they include "active climate deniers." also intends to focus more lobbying in Washington on political solutions to climate change, Bezos said.
The company has taken previous steps to meet climate change, in February, Amazon announced it would make half of all shipments carbon neutral by 2030 more environmentally friendly packaging, use more renewable energy as wind power, and use electric vans for parcel deliveries.


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Take a look at this article in which AMD throws in the towel on fabrication. Essentially the new CEO says they can't afford it because of diminishing returns, costs and need for a huge base to absorb the costs.
Here's what it says about Intel:
"... but Intel Corp. keeps introducing new fabrication processes every two years and new product families every year proving the financial viability of Moore's law. The world's biggest chipmaker believes that the new process technologies enable it to integrate more functionality into chips while keeping their prices relatively flat. However, Intel is among a few companies who produce so large amounts of chips that it can cover development costs."
So, Intel and a few others. Who are the others? Samsung and TSMC.
But we are hearing a lot of the same language about fabrication coming from TSMC as what AMD is saying. And TSMCs balance sheet is clearly not that of Intel. As a result TSMCs fabrication is slowing and will stop after 20nm until they develop the technology and manufacturing prowess to move to 14nm fabrication.
Which brings us to Samsung. They have larger resources than TSMC but the same problem with slowing fabrication and moving to 14nm.
No one expects Intel to take over the smart phone business next week.
Except for the ARM fanbois who fanaticism in attempting to refute every single point of reference reminds me of the Japanese defending every inch of every island in WWII although they knew the war was lost.


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Binance has entered into a joint venture agreement in collaboration with billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi’s Gulf Energy Development to set up a crypto exchange in Thailand. See related article: Binance wins Abu Dhabi nod for another MENA outpost Fast facts Once the joint venture is established, it will apply for a digital asset exchange license with […]
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of the Treasury allege North Korea’s Lazarus Group and APT38 were responsible for stealing cryptocurrencies worth about US$620 million off the Ethereum sidechain Ronin. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts The hack was perpetrated by the Democratic People’s […]
Crypto exchanges in India are switching to facilitating user-to-user bank transfers and inward remittances to work around a withdrawal of support from the developer of the country’s ubiquitous UPI payments system, local media report. See related article: Coinbase snafu sets the cat among the crypto pigeons in India Fast facts Indian cryptocurrency exchanges are trying […]
In an exclusive interview with Forkast, the head of government-founded Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) cautioned against packaging NFTs as investment products despite the temptation to profit off the euphoria.
FLUID aims to disrupt the virtual asset market-making industry by lowering fees and latency. Fast facts Blockchain investors GSR, Ghaf Capital, and 21Shares led the round. FLUID aims to tackle a multi-trillion-dollar market problem of illiquidity in virtual assets. The firm wants to enhance liquidity across spot trading, derivatives, futures, synthetics, tokenized assets, and security […]
Welcome to The Daily Forkast – April 13, 2022 – Presented by Megha Chaddah. Coming up on today’s show: Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith gets 63 months in prison. Coinbase snafu sets cat among the crypto pigeons in India. Huawei becomes latest of China’s tech giants to issue NFTs. We’ll have more on those stories […]
Coinbase’s showcasing of support by government-backed National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) set the ball rolling on the cryptocurrency exchange being yanked from the ubiquitous Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Huawei’s cloud computing arm Tuesday airdropped the brand’s first batch of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), making it the latest Chinese tech giant to join the trend. See related article: China’s Xpeng joins the bandwagon in selling NFTs on Alibaba Fast facts See related article: China’s Communist Party wants to regulate NFTs
Meta, formerly Facebook, started a trial program enabling a handful of creators to charge for what they are building for Horizon Worlds, the firm’s metaverse platform. See related article: India’s biggest telecom firm latches onto metaverse Fast facts Meta will work with a handful of creators under a test program that will enable them to […]
Robinhood added four new cryptocurrencies to its platform on Tuesday, including Shiba Inu token (SHIB), a listing the memecoin community has pleaded for since its inception. See related article: What is the real value of joke coins like Dogecoin and SHIB? Fast facts SHIB gained 30% following the news and has slightly retraced its pump […]
The development allows the city to emerge as a top destination for asset managers looking to launch cryptocurrency-themed funds for professional investors. See related article: More traditional investors are eyeing cryptocurrency to diversify their portfolios Fast facts The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed blockchain and virtual assets manager can manage portfolios that may comprise up […]
The fund aims to support and speed up the time-to-market of early-stage projects that have already initiated development.
Trading volumes at India’s major cryptocurrency exchanges slumped to their lowest in years after new taxes kicked in on April 1, according to research by Crebaco. See related article: Coinbase’s India launch hits road bump Fast facts U.S. dollar trading volume dropped by 72% on WazirX, 59% on ZebPay, 52% on CoinDCX and 41% on […]
Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng is selling “digital collectibles” as part of its marketing campaign to mark the 100,000th rollout of a complete vehicle. See related article: Lamborghini’s last all-gas Aventador to be auctioned with NFT Fast facts See related article: China’s Communist Party wants to regulate NFTs
Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands has acquired French racing game studio Eden Games, as Animoca expands its blockchain gaming business. See related article: Animoca Brands halts services to Russians: report Fast facts The acquisition is aimed at developing a series of new blockchain-based racing games, Animoca said. The US$16 million purchase comes after Animoca bought game […]
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) will make its silver screen debut in a film trilogy produced in partnership with Coinbase, the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange announced on Tuesday. See related article: Apes Gone Wild! BAYC ‘selling like crazy’ amid otherwise sluggish NFT market Fast facts The first film in the short animated trilogy entitled “The Degen […]
In India, Mobikwik yanks crypto support. Meanwhile in the cyberspace, a Twitter hack promotes a fake NFT drop.
India’s Ministry of Education was one of the latest victims in a series of hacks against verified Twitter accounts promoting fake Azuki non-fungible token (NFT) airdrops. See related article: Azuki spikes past Bored Apes in daily sales Fast facts India’s University Grant Commission (UGC), which has more than 295,000 followers on Twitter, was hacked on […]
Indian e-wallet service provider MobiKwik withdrew support for crypto exchanges from April 1, local media report. See related article: Coinbase’s India launch hits road bump Fast facts MobiKwik’s withdrawal comes as the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) distanced itself from offering a payments gateway to Coinbase. NPCI developed and operates India’s ubiquitous Unified Payments […]
The world’s largest crypto exchange received an in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate as a virtual assets broker-dealer, bolstering Binance’s presence in the Middle East. See related article: Binance wins crypto license in Dubai days after FTX Fast facts Binance will offer virtual asset investment and trading services across the […]
Terraform Labs (TFL) and the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), the non-profit behind the Terra ecosystem, have acquired US$200 million worth of Avalanche’s AVAX tokens, diversifying its TerraUSD (UST) reserves beyond Bitcoin. See related article: Terra’s US$10 billion Bitcoin Bet Sends LUNA to Record High Fast facts LFG purchased US$100 million worth of AVAX using UST […]
The governing body overseeing India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) said it isn’t aware of any cryptocurrency exchange using the platform, hours after Coinbase said users could use the same to buy and trade cryptocurrencies. See related article: SEC threatens to sue Coinbase over high-yield savings account Fast facts Nasdaq-listed Coinbase launched crypto trading services in […]
Chinese state media calls for stronger regulations of NFTs. Meanwhile, Sky Mavis raises $150M to offset Ronin hack.
News of Sky Mavis raising US$150 million to compensate users following the around US$600 million hack on its Ronin Bridge led to a surge in Axie non-fungible tokens (NFT) sales. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts Binance leads the round along with Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, a16z, Dialectic, […]
Binance.US, headed for an IPO, has been valued at US$4.5 billion following a more than US$200 million fundraise in its seed round. See related article: Binance US on track for IPO Fast facts Investors include RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, Circle Ventures and inclusion-focused companies such as Gaingels and Gold House, Binance.US said […]
Near protocol, a smart-contract enabled layer 1 blockchain, has bagged US$350 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global. See related article: Polkadot is top crypto held by VCs and hedge funds in Q4 2021 Fast facts FTX Ventures, Republic Capital, Hashed, and Dragonfly Capital participated in the funding round led by Tiger Global. […]
South Korea’s Kakao Group acquires SEBC. Meanwhile in India, an MP reveals the government’s plans for the crypto industry,
Lightning Labs raised $70 million in series B funding to build a stablecoin and asset protocol on the Bitcoin network. See related article: Will the growing regulatory heat on stablecoins stifle innovation? Fast facts Investors include Valor, Baillie Gifford, Goldcrest, Kingsway, Stillmark, Brevan Howard, NYDIG, and others. Elizabeth Stark, co-founder and CEO of Lightning Labs, […]
At least 500 Ether looted from the US$600 million Ronin hack has been transferred to Tornado Cash. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts An Ethereum address associated with the hack made two 100 ETH deposits to Tornado Cash on Monday morning Asia time. Over an hour later, the […]
Singapore’s largest lender won’t expand cryptocurrency trading on its exchange to retail investors any time soon due to “regulatory restrictions” in the island state. See related article: How Singapore is reimagining its ‘Asian crypto hub’ image Fast facts CEO Piyush Gupta said that regulatory agencies are “rightfully concerned” about holding back cryptocurrency trading for retail […]
Pioneers take arrows. No one knows it better than Binance. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by volume wants to set the industry standard when it comes to compliance and security as past missteps hold it in good stead.
As the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange battles the onslaught of regulators globally, cofounder Yi He is stepping out of the shadows to help steer the company.
In contrast to the rising crypto market, NFT sales have declined significantly in March, but one industry watcher says there’s no need to panic just yet.
Sky Mavis, the developer of the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity, delayed its highly anticipated Origin upgrade in response to the recent hack worth over US$600 million on its Ronin network. See related article: Top NFT game Axie Infinity generated $1.3B in revenue last year Fast facts The Vietnam-based developer’s new Origin upgrade will now […]
India’s 30% flat levy on all capital gains made on cryptocurrencies kicked in on April 1 in a development likely to stifle the relatively nascent industry in the country. See related article: India’s crypto tax will incur losses for government, says WazirX CEO Fast facts Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been facing investor backlash over […]
The operator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange will become the first-ever official crypto exchange partner for the annual Grammy Awards for musical achievement. See related article: Binance to take $200M stake in Forbes Fast facts Binance will bring various Web 3.0 technology solutions and experiences to the organization’s members, events and initiatives, a press release […]
NFTs accounts banned from WeChat due to “crypto speculation”. Meanwhile, Zilliqa on the rise after Metapolis announcement.
WeChat has blocked more than a dozen accounts belonging to non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces from its social media platform, citing prevention of “crypto speculation.” See related article: China state-backed paper’s NFTs surge in price on second-hand market Fast facts When visited, the banned accounts of the NFT marketplaces displayed a message from WeChat: “No legal […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is voicing concerns over the adoption of cryptocurrencies in India, suggesting it poses significant risks to the country’s financial stability, local media report. See related article: Killing it softly or regulating to innovate? India at the crypto crossroads Fast facts Crypto assets pose significant risks, including to financial stability in […]
Augmented reality (AR) glasses maker Nreal raised US$60 million in its Series C+ led by Alibaba, which joins rival Chinese tech giants Tencent and ByteDance in a race into the metaverse. See related article: Why the metaverse is a trillion dollar opportunity Fast facts See related article: Foxconn’s Taiwan subsidiary receives investment from Google for […]
DLT projects are defined by their network effects, writes Donald Thibeau of HBAR Foundation. Here’s why open networks and community are critical for success.
Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchanges Crypto.com and Bybit have announced that they will be setting up offices in Dubai, as the industry continues its migration towards the United Arab Emirates (UAE). See related article: As Binance shrinks away in Asia, will it put down roots in the Middle East? Fast facts See related article: Ripple launches first […]
The country’s attempt to profit from digital asset gains puts off new investors to the asset class, even as existing ones redeploy funds into traditional assets.
Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets has partnered with Mastercard to allow its customers to make direct debit, prepaid or credit card payments to purchase cryptocurrencies from the platform. See related article: Mastercard partners with Australian exchange for crypto card Fast facts The move is part of a broader trend by payments giants like Mastercard and […]
Binance US is on track for an initial public offering (IPO) in two to three years, with a “couple of hundred million dollars” in funding to be announced in April, Binance US CEO Brian Shroder said at the Binance Blockchain Week on Monday. See related article: Binance US under probe for ties with trading affiliates: […]
Chinese telecom ZTE registers metaverse-related trademarks. Meanwhile, Bollywood star gets chased over NFT taxes.
DAOs promise radically inclusive and rewarding workplaces, writes Parker McCurley of Decent Labs. Here’s how it would work.
Meta, formerly Facebook, has filed eight trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) relating to blockchain, crypto and the social media giant’s metaverse push. See related article: Meta showcases focus on AI, announces new voice assistant program Fast facts One of these applications includes a trademark for cryptocurrency services including exchange […]
Top blockchain and crypto news: Bitcoin buzz in Malaysia. Yuga Labs teases Otherside. Blockchain verdict in China.
Strong sales from leading NFT series may be a sign the market is maturing as investors become more discerning, observers say.
Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs announced on Wednesday Asia time that it has raised US$450 million in a funding round, bringing the Web 3.0 company to a total valuation of US$4 billion. See related article: The future is decentralized: How Web3 can reshape the world Fast facts The funding round was led by […]
Adding to its ambitious roster of sports sponsorships, Crypto.com will be the exclusive cryptocurrency trading platform backing the Qatar World Cup after bagging the deal for an undisclosed amount, the international soccer association announced on Wednesday, Asia time. See related article: Crypto.com discloses details of US$34M hack Fast facts Singapore-based Crypto.com stands to gain massive […]
China’s state-backed Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) has announced the addition of “Zhong Yi Chain,” developed by telecommunications giant China Mobile, to its open permissioned blockchain ecosystem to bolster the growth of home-grown non-fungible tokens (NFTs). See related article: BSN to integrate CasperLabs’ chain to support NFT issuance in China Fast facts The new chain serves […]
In a move that may adversely impact crypto adoption in the country, India’s government said its pending tax law for virtual digital assets will not allow offsetting gains on one crypto with losses from another. See related article: India may impose 28% GST on crypto transactions Fast facts India’s government plans to collect a 30% […]
South Korea prepares for the imposition of FATF travel rule heat up. Meanwhile in Australia, reforms are set to be introduced for the crypto sector.
Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX announced the establishment of an Australian branch on Monday Asia time as part of the company’s global expansion plans. See related article: New crypto regulation — including tax reform — coming to Australia Fast facts FTX Australia will be headquartered in the nation’s financial capital Sydney and will be fully licensed […]
The Indian government is working to determine whether cryptocurrencies can be classified as goods or services, which can impose a different taxation scheme on digital assets, local media reported. See related article: India’s crypto tax will incur losses for government, says WazirX CEO Fast facts Government officials believe crypto trading is similar to gambling and […]
As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine rages on and sanctions continue to mount, Russia-based bank Sberbank obtains a crypto license from the Central Bank of Russia. Meanwhile in China, social media platform Weibo allows its users to mint NFTs of their social media posts.
Weibo, a social media platform known as the Chinese equivalent of Twitter with 249 million daily active users, launched its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace TopHolder on Thursday, allowing users to mint their original posts into NFTs and sell them. See related article: Zuckerberg confirms NFTs coming to Instagram Fast facts Users will need to pass […]
Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Eqonex has appointed Jonathan Farnell, a former head of Binance U.K., as its new CEO and a director on the board. See related article: UK regulator may cancel Eqonex’s registration over Binance, Bifinity ties Fast facts Helen Hai, president of Binance’s payment arm Bifinity, has also been appointed to the board. The […]


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The heatwave of summer 2018 saw two thirds of us plan a British break. But what does the forecast hold for the next 12 months in the travel market?
A combination of the heatwave, the Royal Wedding and the World Cup helped make 2018 a bumper year for British travel. BBC News reported that two thirds of us planned a British break last year.
Unusually hot weather is predicted until 2020
According to new research from the University of Brest in France. But will other factors determine where, when and how we holiday in 2019? The biggest travel trends for the year ahead include everything from eco-conscious travel to play breaks for grown-ups. Experience will be everything.
1. Playful breaks for grown-ups will be big
The latest Booking.com travel trends report claimed playful breaks will be popular with those looking to escape the stresses of adult life. The bookings giant discovered that 42% of travellers plan to visit a destination that makes them “feel like a child again”. It also predicted that features like ball pits and bouncy castles aimed at adults will pop up in more hotels and resorts.
2. Instagram holidays are a thing for Millennials
Two-thirds of 18-34 year-olds choose a holiday destination based on how it will look on their Instagram photos, claims travel agency Expedia. Its #Social_Travel report revealed that one in five Millennials and Gen-Xers spent over an hour documenting their experiences on social media while travelling.
3. Technology is going to make it easier for us to travel
Booking.com also cited AI, VR and speech recognition as innovations that will simplify the way we all travel. Think keyless hotel room access via your phone, personalised travel tips and real-time luggage tracking. Plus apps that control every aspect of your trip, from planning and booking to buying and spending travel money.
4. We’ll book more last minute holidays
Swiss online booking company Trekksoft cited last minute bookings as one of the trends driving the travel industry in 2019. It found that bookings are mostly made just 13 days in advance with weather being a major influence in decision-making. It’s a view echoed by Patricia Yates, the director of Visit Britain. She told BBC News that hot weather acts a “timely reminder” to people who are making a “late call on where to go on holiday”.
5. TV and film tourism will really take off
We live in the golden age of TV. Thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, we have a dizzying selection of high-end TV shows to entertain us. Most of which feature inspiring locations from Scotland to New Zealand. Our viewing preferences are increasingly affecting our choice of holiday destination. The Week cited film and TV tourism as one of its top five travel trends for 2019. It predicts that the forthcoming Helen Mirren film Catherine the Great will 'put Lithuania on the map'. And that the final series of Game of Thrones will inspire plenty of trips to Croatia, Iceland and Northern Ireland.


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Outware Mobile has been working with Telstra media for over 3 years to create the AFL Live Official app for iPhone, iPad, Android phone and Android tablet for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 football season.
This year we are pleased to partner with Telstra and AFL to launch AFL Live for Pebble Smartwatch, the world’s first live sports app for Pebble.
The app is a must-have for footy fans. The simple screen layout makes it easy to see at-a-glance scores and the ‘vibrate on goal’ feature means that you’ll know when all the action has happened when your watch vibrates.
According to a new report from NextMarket Insights, the growing adoption of smartwatch software and wireless technologies by traditional watchmakers, the continued advancement of screen and mobile processor technologies and the strong expansion of smartwatches in the children and health/active lifestyle segments will drive the overall smartwatch market from 15 million watches shipped in 2014 to over 373 million by 2020.
With existing, demonstrable experience developing on platforms like Pebble and Google Glass, Outware Mobile remains on the forefront of innovation in the mobile software development industry.


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Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 370,000 vehicles, ranging from model year 2005 to 2011 Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car sedans in the United States and Canada because of a steering shaft problem, the company has said in a statement. All of the vehicles involved are full-sized sedans.
The 350,000 vehicles included in the U.S. recall are located in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhone Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The remaining 15,000 cars are located in Canada.
Ford has said that dealers will inspect the lower intermediate steering shaft and replace if necessary. They will also secure a lower steering column bearing and replace the upper intermediate steering shaft. The company was not aware of the issue resulting in any accidents or injuries. However, the auto maker indicated that corrosion of the lower intermediate steering shaft could cause “loss of steering.”
The recall is being focused on states where high corrosion is more likely to occur, which mainly consists of states that salt their roads during the winter. Sales of Ford vehicles have improved recently and the auto maker had to add employees and invest millions in a plant outside Detroit, Michigan, to make enough of the mid-sized Ford Fusion sedans to keep up with the demand.
The Fusion is a strong competitor with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. It is the first successful competitor against the foreign vehicles since the Ford Taurus in the mid-1990s. It is a popular vehicle, and the company has been having difficulty meeting demand because many buyers want top of the line options or added features rather than the standard model. With the new line operating, they can meet the demand for the vehicles. The expansion added 1,500 jobs.
In other efforts to improve sales, Ford is redesigning the Mustang for 2014. The Ford F-150 remains at the top for truck sales, so the automaker has gotten back on track in the competitive auto industry.
Ford has seen improved sales and has seen greatly improved profits this year. Ford, which has its headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., was incorporated on June 16, 1903. Stock closed on Friday at $16.19, which was a decrease of 1.88 percent or 31 cents.


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COLUMN: GDPR a CX opportunity
GDPR is not just a privacy constraint. It’s a customer experience opportunity.
With the deadline fast approaching and as the number of cross-industry surveys show, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a burning topic among almost all institutions. The survey findings are sobering at best.
According to a survey conducted by Veritas, 48 per cent of the respondents indicated they do not have mitigation strategies for personal data breach events. Sixty per cent expressed inability to detect and report data breaches within 72 hours. According to Bitkom, the German Federal Association for Information Technology, German companies often lack the basic organizational requirements to ensure data protection. Forty-two per cent of the respondents indicated they do not have procedures and internal processes to handle personal data.
In short, there is a lot of work to be done, both before and after the deadline – 25 May 2018.
GDPR has a tremendous impact on how businesses collect, store, process, secure, and dispose of customer data, including sensitive personal, credit card, and banking information. GDPR directly impacts marketing, sales and customer service operations. However, this also implies opportunities to build deeper trust and loyalty with customers through professional handling of their data.
Proactive customer data management is key to GDPR compliance and ensuring seamless customer experience. Implementing data governance that includes employees managing and consuming customer data was a nice-to-have in the pre-GDPR world.
With GDPR, this is a key requirement. Connecting disparate customer data spread across the enterprise and bringing it together to provide a more holistic view of the customer, empowering customers with dashboards that inform how their data is used, and equipping them with tools that help decide the appropriate use cases to help bolster their confidence and brand loyalty – these are all areas of opportunity for organizations to reinforce their brand image through increased transparency and fairness.


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Since the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini still haven’t launch in China yet, there’s no scalpers waiting outside of the Shenzhen Apple Store Grand Opening. Despite, it still attracted over thousands of people lining up…just for the celebration. Only few hundreds of people in the queue were real Apple fans. The rest of them lined up because they thought there were something special giving out for free, while some were just enjoying the celebration’s atmosphere. We have made a video of this Grand Opening. Check it out after the break.
So, Apple has finally announced the 7.9-inch iPad mini, starting at $329, it has a 1024 x 768 display, is 0.68 lbs, and 7.2mm thick. It will also come in 4G LTE models. Pre-orders start this Friday, the Wi-Fi models ship November 2nd in thirty-four countries. However, China — the world’s largest population — is not getting the iPad mini, no pre-order on October 26, no launch on November 2.
It’s Apple Keynote day, and here’s a trippy Taiwanese animation for you to watch while you’re waiting for Tim Cook or Phil Schiller to stand on stage to announce the iPad mini . The Taiwanese animation company NMA has made a hilarious video of an animated version of the iPad mini, depicting Steve Jobs as Palpatine and using force lightning to destroy the smaller iPad. Watch the animation after the break.
Just a few hours left to see Apple unveiling the small iPad referred to as the iPad mini. The new smaller version of iPad should be a lot easier to carry around for ladies, and expectations are incredibly high for the small tablet, almost at fever pitch. Here’a question, could the iPad mini be a new pocket style tablet that is small enough to fit in your jeans? One more pic after the jump.
Apple’s next event is less than 24 hours away and everyone expects that the “iPad mini” will be revealed to the whole world at the keynote. For the past few weeks, tech fanatics have been leaking details about the long awaited, perpetually rumored iPad mini. Somehow we’re tired of hearing about the fabled iPad mini, and we would like to imagine, how the iPad mini would look like and feel like in our hand. Read on to see how it’s all meant to work in our hands-on video after the break.
Light, portable and convenient, Apple’s iPad is tipped to replace textbooks in classrooms and may eventually take over the domain of the laptop computer. But the posture adopted by users could put them at risk of chronic neck and shoulder pain. When using tablets, user’s neck was bent more compared to when using a desktop or laptop computer, especially when the tablet was placed on the lap. Understandably, such a position is going to cause extra strain on neck and shoulder muscles. The damage caused could take a long time to heal, with the risk to young children particularly disturbing. In China, more young kids are getting neck issues for using the iPad. A seven-year-old boy got cervical pain and serious headache after spending too much time for playing his iPad …
A Chinese manufacturing company has started performing a new iPad mod that lights up the Apple logo on the back of the iPad. Yeah, the new hack allows the iPad’s Apple logo glow. Much like the MacBook’s, the logo will glow once you turn the iPad on. We received the mod from the Chinese firm, and we think it’s a damn cool thing, so we shoot a video for you guys to watch. Check out the video after the break.
According to a survey by the Pew Research Center which released last week, half of U.S. adults now have a mobile connection to the Web through a smartphone or tablet, up sizably from a year ago. The survey of 9,513 U.S. adults, conducted online from June to August 2012, said 22 percent of U.S. adults own a tablet, twice the number from a year earlier. The report has shown that lower-priced, Android-based tablets introduced in late 2011 “brought in a new crop of tablet owners.” In the latest survey, 52 percent of tablet owners said they own an iPad, down from 81 percent a year ago. Also, 48 percent said they own an Android device, and about half of those devices were Kindle Fires. Samsung Galaxy Tab has 8 percent, and the rest, a mix of others. So is that mean the 19 percent ‘mix of others’ are those cheap Android tablet came from China ?
More pictures of the upcoming iPad mini have surfaced online, hinting that Apple’s much-anticipated smaller tablet will at least have 3G wireless connection. Last few days, Russian-language website UkrainianiPhone has posted purported photos of the 7.85-inch tablet that reveals a nano-SIM located on the side of the device case, which means it will likely come in 3G models. Now, new mock-up pictures appeared from Taiwan media, showing a black cellular band that is overlays the top of the back of the mini iPad. This plastic shield is certainly for the 3G modem and we beg it will also support the latest 4G LTE. Just knowing you can have a data connection virtually anywhere makes the smaller iPad instantly more useful as a go-to connected device, compare to the big iPad. This will be an advantage while comparing to the Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. What we have to concern is the battery life and price range. US$399 ? One more picture after the break.
According to a report from iLounge, Apple has made significant changes to its Made For iPad/iPhone/iPod (MFi) policies, tightening control over the manufacturing of Lightning accessories. Only Apple-approved manufacturing facilities will be allowed to produce Lightning connector accessories, even including third-party accessories. Apple hasn’t approved any factories yet, which the sources say will limit the number of Lightning accessories available in the near future. Apple is planning an MFi “seminar”soon, where it will discuss changes to the program and the rules for developing Lightning accessory. The seminar will be held in November in China, which third-party Lightning accessories could be manufactured in time for holiday sale. We are wondering how much money can Apple earn on the new licensing program. Are you willing to buy fxcking expensive accessories for your iPhone 5 and the upcoming iPad mini ?
You Can Buy Fresh Crocodile Meat in China Supermarket
Lenovo First MediaTek-based Smartphone Teased by Kobe Bryant (Video)
Chinese Employees Ordered to Crawl Like Dog in Public to Cope with Stress (Video)
Chinese Scientist Only Interested in Porn and Pirated Movies, Not NASA Secrets


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Tesla Inc. is planning to cut pays and furlough non-essential workers as the shut down of its vehicle production continues amid escalating coronavirus or Covid-19 cases.
As per multiple reports citing an e-mail sent to all employees by North American HR Valerie Capers, the luxury electric car maker is taking certain actions starting April 13, aiming to manage costs.
Tesla noted that there will be temporary pay cut for salaried employees until the end of the second quarter. For U.S. employees, there will be a 30 percent cut in salary for Vice Presidents and above, 20 percent for Directors and above, and 10 percent for everyone else.
For non-U.S. employees, there will be comparable reductions. The specifics of the planned pay cut will be informed by the local leadership team in accordance with local laws and works-councils.
Further, Tesla said it is now keeping minimum critical operations running, and expects to resume normal production at U.S. facilities on May 4. Until then, employees who cannot work at home and have not been assigned to critical work onsite will be furloughed.
Under furlough, they will remain Tesla employee without pay and will retain healthcare benefits. Tesla said these employees will not report to work until the furlough ends and are directed to return by management, which is expected to be May 4.
Tesla also asked these affected employees to apply for unemployment benefits through their respective state agency. For majority, these unemployment benefits are expected to be roughly equivalent to their normal take home pay.
Further, Tesla will assign certain employees to critical functions and they will continue to report onsite.
Tesla in mid-March had announced its plans to temporarily suspend operations at its California and New York factories following health orders that were implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the company reportedly is producing ventilators at its Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York to support the city’s hospitals amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the Gigafactory in Nevada, the company was planning to scale back the workforce by more than 75 percent.
Tesla in early April had reported higher deliveries of about 88,400 vehicles in the first-quarter of 2020, compared to 63,000 vehicles last year. The company produced almost 103,000 vehicles in the quarter, compared to 77,100 vehicles last year.
Source: Read Full Article


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Writing in his blog for INMA, Newsworks content and social media executive Lewis Boulton looks back at some of the stand out ads from November’s sales
After months of speculation and anticipation, one of the most awaited advertising periods in recent times has finally come and gone. With arguably the world’s biggest sporting tournament outside the Olympics coinciding with the festive season and the recent adoption of Black Friday, the so-called “golden quarter” felt particularly shiny this year.
But the excitement for such a rare advertising event has almost certainly been tempered by external events and difficult economic conditions for both households and advertisers. The war in Ukraine and a world still emerging from the pandemic has combined with controversies surrounding World Cup host Qatar’s human rights record to dampen the excitement around Black Friday celebrations.
Fewer Brits were expected to spend money in Black Friday sales this year, so every advertising pound spent counted. Newsworks recent RAMetrics research found that three highly active sectors in the festive promotions could expect to reap better brand effects than the news brand average: large retail brands, apparel, and tech advertisers.
See which stand out ads Lewis chose from these sectors in his INMA blog here.


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First BMW i8 Hybrids delivered to customers – complete with Laser LightsFri, 06 Jun 2014
The first BMW i8s delivered in Germany The new BMW i8 hybrid supercar was finally revealed in production guise at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, and by the time it went in to production the whole of the 2014 run of i8s was sold out. Apart from its innovative plug-in hybrid powertrain, the i8 offers many new technologies, one of which is a set of laser lights which deliver a much brighter main beam than LED and looked set to be the first time such lights have appeared on a production car. But Audi tried to upset BMW’s applecart by revealing the R8 LMX last month, which also came with laser lights, and looked set to arrive with customers before the i8.
Watch the Corvette Z06 live reveal hereTue, 07 Jan 2014
Chevrolet announced it will be video streaming the reveal of its much-anticipated 2015 Corvette Z06 from the Detroit auto show floor, and you can catch the whole event below. The preview starts at 9:30 am on Monday, January 13 and will also include the first official look at the upcoming C7.R Corvette race car. You may recall the spy photos of the Z06 we captured testing earlier this year, and the single teaser image Chevy released of the upcoming hi-po Corvette indicates some of the cosmetic changes.
Mercedes C 63 AMG Edition 507 at Geneva 2013 with more power & bigger specFri, 01 Feb 2013
Mercedes has revealed a final version of the C63 AMG – the C 63 AMG Edition 507 – with more power and bigger specification Debuts at Geneva 2013. Mercedes will have plenty to show visitors to Switzerland next month – including the new CLA – and they’ll also have this morning’s Mercedes news – the Mercedes C 63 AMG Edition 507. The C63 AMG Edition 507 - available as saloon, coupe or estate – looks like a final hurrah for the current C Class AMG (the new C Class will arrive in 2014), and Mercedes has made a decent effort to make the Edition 507 more than just a jump in power.


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If your website still hasn’t migrated to HTTPS, visitors using the Chrome browser will soon begin seeing security warnings that label your page as “Not Secure”. This new feature, arriving in October of 2016 with Chrome Version 62, will be shown based on the browser’s detection of a few different website components that could potentially cause security threats including password fields, payment fields and other text fields the browser believes could be susceptible, even while in Incognito mode.
Google has recently started providing a new feature to users of Google My Business and although your profile may not have it yet, the change is likely on the way. Access to the experimental service has been initially provided through invite only but Google is hoping to expand this feature to more businesses over time. If you currently have access to the service, it will be found in your Google My Business account under “Manage Location”.


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When the world’s third largest sporting event rolls into town with the promise of boosting the UK economy by nearly £1 billion, the interest of businesses across the country is bound to be aroused.
That is the scenario facing businesses in England and Wales later this year, with a report from professional services firm EY claiming that the 2015 Rugby World Cup will generate £2.2 billion and contribute £982 million to GDP when it comes to these shores for the first time since 1999 in September and October.
Most stores with rugby stock will feel some sort of lift but, with the official Rugby World Cup merchandising contract awarded to Elite Sports Properties, Sportfolio given the exclusive apparel licence, Canterbury making the goods and official stores popping up across London, it remains to be seen how much independent retailers will benefit.
Levels of optimism seem to vary from region to region, but in the rugby union heartland of Gloucester, John Hudson, owner of Hudson & Co Sports, says sales have already picked up. And he expects things to gather pace as we near the opening match.
Hudson says: “We have had Rugby World Cup related stock in here since last year and it has been doing very well already. We have got four games in Gloucester, so we are expecting it to have a big impact.
“We will be marketing around the World Cup with advertising and in-store promotions and hopefully using various outlets nearer the time, so there will be more investment in that.”
The four matches at Gloucester Rugby’s Kingsholm Stadium feature Tonga, Georgia, Scotland, Japan, Argentina and USA and Hudson is hoping the influx of foreign visitors will boost sales as they look to pick up a souvenir of their trip to Gloucester.
This World Cup is set to attract far more international visitors than any other, with up to 466,000 people from abroad anticipated, who are expected to generate £869 million in revenue for the UK economy.
A total aggregate attendance of up to 66,000 could be seen at the four fixtures in Gloucester. Around a third of that number are generally thought to be international visitors, based on previous tournaments and estimates. All of that means potential new customers for Hudson & Co Sports, which is just half a mile from Kingsholm and is expecting an uplift in sales of almost a third as a result.
“Because we have got games locally in Gloucester, there has been a lot more interest,” Hudson adds. “The local council are promoting Gloucester as a destination for lots of travelling fans because it is within an hour of Cardiff, takes two hours to get to London by train and is only an hour from Birmingham.
“People may have bought shirts and kit before they left home though, so we are gearing up to sell supporters souvenirs of their trip to Gloucester as well. We usually see a big percentage uplift in sales during World Cups and I think it will probably be at least 20 to 30 per cent.”
With experience of trading during previous Rugby World Cups, both those taking place in the UK and abroad, Hudson says the tournament has grown enormously since the inaugural one in 1987.
“We have been in business for over 100 years and since it started the Rugby World Cup has just got bigger and bigger and that has been reflected in sales as well,” he explains. “Every World Cup has been a bit better than the last for us, but obviously 2003, at the end rather than in the build-up, was a massive one. There has not been anything like this one before in terms of build-up though.
“The Rugby World Cup has learned a lot from the Olympics, especially when it comes to how to market an event like this, and as sports retailers that is something we have got to utilise to help our businesses.”
The countdown to the tournament started early and Hudson says he began thinking about it from a retail perspective as early as June 2013: “As soon as everything was announced, we started talking to people and finding out who was making the clothing. Host city polo shirts, t-shirts and rugby balls have sold well so far. It has taken me by surprise just how early things have started to sell well. The only issue is you have to almost have a crystal ball because most of the items have got to be pre-booked.”
However, other independent retailers aren’t quite as convinced of the benefit they will derive from the tournament.
Despite Sussex having produced the likes of current England stars Joe Marler and Joe Launchbury, Brighton is not considered quite as much of a rugby hotbed as Gloucester and the experience there has been somewhat different.
The American Express Community Stadium is playing host to South Africa vs Japan and Samoa vs USA, but Ken George, owner of Swift Sports in Brighton, says there has been no impact so far and he is not expecting a major boost when the tournament begins, unless England are particularly successful.
He explains: “We have got several clubs around us and we sell a lot of rugby boots and equipment, but we are not expecting a massive boost from the Rugby World Cup. There will always be people who come in to buy a few more England shirts and perhaps those of the other home nations and maybe some South Africa shirts will sell. When we won the World Cup back in 2003, that did give a boost to the sport and to retail, so hopefully if England does well we may feel the benefit.
“We will have some of the nations’ shirts in and be hoping to sell more rugby products, but I don’t know that we will be doing a lot of extra marketing for it. I think independent retailers can benefit in a small way, but we have been open 50 years and it has never been a big boost for us. It certainly isn’t as big as the World Cup in football.”
Gloucester’s economy is predicted to benefit to the tune of £48 million from the tournament, according to a recent economic impact study, and Brighton’s should be boosted by £46 million. How much of that impact will be felt by retailers remains to be seen.
The official Rugby World Cup pop-up shops that have sprung up in the likes of Kingston, the Westfield Shopping Centre, Covent Garden and most recently Oxford Street are likely to do a roaring trade, but there seems to be little concern from independent retailers, provided they aren’t taking sales away from local businesses in other areas of the country.
Jack Clark from Lovell Rugby, the specialist online rugby retailer, says the Rugby World Cup should be big enough for all retailers to benefit from.
“The Lions tour is very big, but the Rugby World Cup is massive for us and it should be especially big this time with it being in the UK,” he says. “Each team has a Rugby World Cup shirt and we will have every one of them in stock, plus we are hoping the merchandise around the World Cup should increase sales.
“As an online retailer specialising in rugby, I don’t think the pop-up shops will have an affect on us. I think the World Cup will be good for retail across the board.”


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Arcimoto finalizes agreement with FreedomRoad Financial
Financing for electric vehicles continues to gain more momentum.
A few days after Bank of America finalized a relationship with Lucid Group, Arcimoto announced on Wednesday that manufacturer has entered into an agreement with FreedomRoad Financial, a loan production office of Evergreen Bank Group, to provide consumers with vehicle financing for Arcimoto’s family of EVs.
“This is a milestone for Arcimoto and our customers, and FreedomRoad Financial’s dealer financing solution will make it easier than ever to own an Arcimoto electric vehicle,” Arcimoto chief experience officer Lynn Yeager said in a news release.
FreedomRoad Financial is one of the largest U.S. national powersports finance companies, providing retail financing to riders on numerous brands.
“We are proud to add Arcimoto as our newest OEM and to help their customers realize their dreams of owning an FUV, one of the most exciting and innovative new EVs on the market today,” FreedomRoad Financial managing director Tom Collins said in the news release.


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The families behind the world's biggest brewery group InBev will be participating in the second funding round of Lazada, Southeast Asia’s largest online warehouse.
Lazada gets 250 million dollars
The two Belgian families, Spoelberch and de Mévius, have already invested in the online warehouse’s previous funding round in June through their investment company Verlinvest. At that time, Lazada secured 100 million dollars (some 77 million euro), but this second round would be worth 250 million dollars.
Belgian Verlinvest is joined by British supermarket giant Tesco, American Access Industries and Swedish Investment AB Kinnevik (the current Zalando owner), but it is unclear how much money each investor paid.
Lazada ispowered by Rocket Internet, a fast-growing group belonging to the German Samwer brothers who have also built up Zalando. It is the third collaboration between the InBev families and the Samwer family, after earlier investments in online boutiques Zalora (Southeast Asia) and The Iconic (Australia).
A playground for investors
Verlinvest is not the only Belgian investor seeking fortune in e-commerce: Sofina is buying stakes in companies like French online shoe seller Spartoo, Spanish private clothing botique Privalia and recently in Flipkart (India’s version of Amazon). Coincidentally, Sofina recently backed out of supermarket Delhaize’s capital.
The moves are not limited to abroad, as moves are also being made in Belgium. Last week, Shopinvest, which owns clothing retailer e5 Mode, has purchased Outlet Avenue, an online outlet store from Brussels.
(translated by Gary Peeters)


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The paper of record takes on yet another trend taking hold with drinkers: health-conscious drinking. Profiling such drinks as gluten-free beer, lemon juice-beer hybrids, and kombucha tea, it appears this is a trend with legs. [New York Times]
Drinks International surveyed 38 of the top 50 bars in the world and then added another 50 bars voted upon by its academy to find out the best-selling and top-trending brands behind the counter. Lots of usual suspects (Bacardi, Tanqueray, Plantation) at the top, but the inclusion of Del Maguey mezcal as the #1 pick made our ears perk up a bit. A very interesting and unexpected selection. [Drinks International]
Kudos to the bourbon wizards at Angel’s Envy, whose latest campaign “Toast The Trees” will donate $10,000 to the Arbor Day Foundation. The donated funds will be used to plant 2,500 white oak trees in the Appalachian Mountains this upcoming spring in areas littered with abandoned mines. Always good to see another company becoming a good steward of the environment. [Angel’s Envy]
With Scotch sales slumping a bit globally, efforts to promote the spirit are starting to shift into a higher gear, especially with Beam Suntory. The Providence Journal talks with Beam reps about getting younger people to try, and like, the peated stuff. [Providence Journal]
In science news: researchers believe that alcohol may actually disrupt sleep instead of improving it, but moderate alcohol consumption can actually reduce the risk of heart failure and potentially aid in reducing alcohol-induced stress.
And finally today, after a few delays, Diageo is ready to introduce a quirky new spirit to market. The gin-sake hybrid Jinzu infused with cherry blossom was the result of a mixologist competition held in 2013, and will retail for about $45 per bottle. [Evening Standard]


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ForgeRock hosts flash mob at RSA to celebrate extraordinary growth in
the identity industry
This high growth market trajectory reflects the growing need for an effective IRM solution as CIOs shift investment from internal identity projects focused on “keeping things out” to massive external identity projects focused on increasing customer engagement and monetizing those opportunities. Identity services must be in place regardless of sector — retail, finance, insurance, healthcare, government, cloud service, education — in order to extend business reach via social, mobile, cloud, and the Internet of Things.
According to networking giant Cisco, an estimated 8.7 billion things were connected to the Internet in 2012, expecting to grow to 50 billion Internet-connected things by 2020. ForgeRock estimates that every Internet-connected thing (PC, tablet, mobile phone, car, refrigerator, TV etc.) will require identity services in order to make real-time user access decisions based on context (location, IP address, familiar device, etc.). As the Internet of Things (IoT) grows, ForgeRock expects an increase in the number of applications serving each device, driving an increase in identity revenue per device — approximately
“Oracle, IBM and CA are the legacy vendors when it comes to identity” said
ForgeRock's surprise flash mob drew attention to the growing significance of Identity with the lead-in message “Nobody puts Identity in a Corner,” playfully referencing the hit classic film “Dirty Dancing.” The group, made up of ForgeRock employees, volunteers, and professional dancers alike, performed on the streets outside the Moscone Center multiple times, dancing to a mashup of music from “Dirty Dancing” and “Men in Black” while RSA attendees gathered to see what was going on.
“ForgeRock’s vision is to transform markets by facilitating increased access to customers and partners though our next-generation IRM platform,” said
ForgeRock, the fastest growing identity relationship management vendor in the world, is building secure relationships across the modern Web. Focused on using online identities to grow revenue, extend reach, and launch new business models, ForgeRock’s Open Identity Stack powers solutions for many of the world’s largest companies and government organizations. Founded in 2010, ForgeRock’s leadership team brings 80 combined years of experience in the software industry and includes open source icons and innovators, with investors from two of the leading global venture capital firms –