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IMS recently participated in a Path to Purchase Institute community gathering webinar that explored how merchandising, marketing and technology have all evolved quickly over the COVID-19 pandemic to meet today’s rapidly changing consumers’ needs. One of the panelists, Nick Fearnley, is IMS’ SVP of Merchandising Technology and a founding member of the Path to Purchase Institute’s SM2 Commission to Standardize the Measurement of Shopper Marketing. He asserts, “Technology investments are essential in building the retail ecosystem of the future. Data helps brands truly understand customer behaviors and engagement.”
Other panelists in this provocative session included Art Sebastian, VP-Digital Experience, Casey’s General Store Inc., Jalal Hamad, Retail Strategy and In-Store Transformation Leader, The Home Depot and Joel Warady, President and Strategic Advisor, Catalina Crunch.
The Pandemic Accelerated a Trend
As the digital and physical retail worlds converged, how customers found and shopped for products was already evolving. According to the panel, COVID-19 sped up the momentum. Ultimately now, the consumer is in control. They want the products they want, when and where they want them.
A whopping 86% of consumers expect retailers to change to accommodate their needs and wants. What’s more, brand loyalty is waning, and 56% of consumers will try new brands if they are fulfilling a need. This is especially prevalent in our current shopping environment, where convenience and service may take precedence over brand loyalty. If a consumer has a less-than-satisfactory shopping experience, they will quickly move on.
In light of that fact, retailers are looking more holistically at the entire browsing and shopping experience. Data, digital merchandising, building exteriors, and post-sale follow-up are all top-of-mind for today’s retailer.
“The days of a retailer being a building with metal shelves are long over,” says Warady.
Effective Retail Programs Will Involve Both Consumers and Brands, Powered by Data
Another key trend that will impact the store of the future is the desire of consumers to have personalized and curated experiences. They now expect the stores they shop to understand their buying patterns and make recommendations for products and services that meet their needs. Although shoppers are concerned about data privacy, they are willing to give up information to make their lives better and more convenient.
Localization and transparency are also critically important to the retail shopper of tomorrow. They want the brands with which they spend money to be part of their communities and be honest and responsive in service delivery.
Tomorrow’s retailers must also stay on top of buying patterns. For instance, Hamal noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, 75% of shoppers invested in home improvements. The curbside pickup experience has also evolved and is as important — if not more important — than in-store shopping. In fact, the panelists believe that they are not mutually exclusive. Today, many buyers will combine different shopping modes, and data is now available to spot those patterns and deliver shopping experiences to consumers that meet their needs and preferences.
Safety has become more important to today’s shoppers, and smart retailers have responded quickly and adroitly. One panelist talked about how vendors came together with store management to rapidly install 600 square feet of acrylic partitions in stores. The pandemic has given rise to many collaborations and support between organizations just like this.
Collaborative Technology Informs Better Decisions
Fearnley stressed the importance of the “platform ecosystem” and the use of digital data in retail decision-making. Retailers must be comfortable sharing consumer data to help create a more robust picture of consumers’ needs, wants and shopping habits.
The path to purchase is a complex one today. The consumer is ultimately in control and is selecting what they need but has multiple options regarding where and how to buy it. Understanding behavior patterns and providing convenience and service that connects with customers is the best way to capture the sale.
Creating highly personalized in-store experiences can be extremely powerful, according to Fearnley. For example, merchandising kiosks — which capture data at the point of sale, make recommendations and close the loop by feeding behavior and purchase information back into a consumer database — fulfill customer needs and provide retailers with more in-depth insights for future action.
The people who work in your stores are also critical. As technology becomes more prevalent, the remaining humans also play a role in delivering a best-in-class experience.
The panelists believe strongly that only by looking at all the ways consumers shop can retailers delight and serve them — today and tomorrow. Curbside pickup, BOPIS and digital shopping are all here to stay, and the data that retailers capture through every transaction is invaluable.
Working with forward-thinking marketing and merchandising experts will enable retailers to better understand and capture their wallet share — long after the pandemic is over. Let IMS help you plan YOUR store of the future.
Article Author: Stephanie Islas
Stephanie is a Digital Marketing Associate at IMS. She specializes in building creative marketing content and raising brand awareness. Her areas of expertise include social media management, digital marketing strategy, client relations, execution and promotions.


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One of the novelties of the 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 is its system of active steering of the rear wheels, which help the front contour curves. The adoption of this solution in a production car in assembler and is unprecedented in this video, we can see it working first.
The American Honda has released new information about the line in the 2014 Civic Si sedan and coupe versions. The coupe will have a unique design, with new bumpers, rear spoiler and alloy wheels of 18 inches.
Opel announced on Monday (17) that its new engine 1.0 turbo three-cylinder with direct injection model will debut in 2014 Adam compact. The presentation will take place at the next Geneva Motor Show, with opening scheduled for March 6.

domain: news


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If your invoice processes begin with manual data entry, you stand to gain efficiency and control by turning on the new Invoice Capture Service, available directly inside of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. We’ve seen complete AP automation
No matter how you look at it, companies can no longer afford to suffer such high volumes of insider threats on an annual basis.
The banking industry as well as the high-tech industry is continuing to experiment with the art of the possible, particularly around the digital-physical blur of payments and redesigned business processes. After more than 65 years of…
Computer scientists in Singapore and Germany have collaborated to create a resistive RAM chip that not only stores data but can act as a computer processor.
The Eureka Park area at the CES trade show offered startups a chance to show what they can do. We interview six hopeful entrepreneurs about their products.
What are tech pros’ spending, hiring and strategic priorities for 2017? Read what 196 qualified IT executives had to say in this exclusive report.
2016 saw the increasing popularity of Multi Model databases such as OrientDB. As the market shifts towards this data model some are still skeptical that a single system can have an efficient approach to handling data. But…
Artificial intelligence should enhance human workers, not replace them, at least according to the CEOs of IBM and Microsoft.
Chinese search giant Baidu has named former Microsoft business group head Qi Lu as its COO and group president.
Intel says using IoT technologies in the retail sector would result in a more personalized and efficient experience for both customers and stores.
Professionally written-malware is rarely unsubtle. Long, slow and stealthy attacks are generally the rule—but a rogue malware author has decided to break that rule by going fast and loud.


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Its not everyday that one of the big 2 graphics card manufacturers releases their next generation of GPUs. As always there has been a ton of speculation surrounding what the new AMD Hawaii graphics cards would look like regarding their specs, and of course, how well they will perform against NVIDIA’s 700-series and its super expensive but heavy hitting Titan.
Well you have come to the right place as AMD's next-generation GPU14 product showcase is here at 20:00 UK time, live from Hawaii...
If you want to see how the comparisons have shaped up so far, based on our early reports, then you can check out our: comparison AMD Radeon R9 290X Vs Nvidia GeForce Titan
And no, we're not in Hawaii, unfortunately, but AMD sure is, as it gears up for the big reveal of its new flagship card, which we expect to be the Radeon R9 290X.
The entire R-200 series is expected to be formally announced today, including the AMD R-240, R-250, R-260, R-270, R-280, and the R-290.
Over the last couple of weeks we've been bringing you the latest rumours on AMD's new line of Hawaii-based GPUs, including the suspecting naming pattern, as well as leaked benchmarks for AMD's top of the line R9 290X GPU. Today at last though, we are going to get the concrete details; juicy specs and pricing information.
Nvidia, AMDs rivals, have been getting in to bed with the giant game publisher, Ubisoft lately, and so its no big surprise that we are hearing rumours regarding some form of product tie between AMD and EA's Battlefield 4 which is due for imminent release. This may possibly take the form of bundling a copy of BF4 with the top Radeon R9 cards when they launch.
Time is ticking down in the red corner, as AMD finishes its preparations to launch its new graphics card series, ending a two-year long wait for fans of the chip manufacturer.
Check out the livestream below from 3PM EST for the full AMD GPU14 Showcase!


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Hirameki International is popular in its native Japan — it’s one of many companies that publishes “visual novels,” — a sort of modern-day alternative to “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. The company is having a tough time finding an American audience, however, primarily because of retailer resistance.
The company, which set up shop in the dealer room at last weekend’s Anime Boston 2007 convention — has a line of visual novels it sells for Mac and PC as part of its “AnimePlay” line. Hirameki has found a niche catering towards fans of Japanese animation (anime) and graphic novels (manga), but a lack of familiarity with the genre and risk aversion has stopped retailers from carrying the software in stores, said Aldo Donnaloia, the company’s sales manager.
Visual novels feature rich color graphics and soundtracks with some of Japan’s best-known voice actors speaking character dialogue. They aren’t as interactive as games, but they’re not totally passive like e-books or movies, either. Visual novels often provide users with decision-making capabilities that will affect the story’s outcome. The pacing is slower than a game or a movie, but offers a rewarding payoff for enthusiasts who like the unique experience.
When visual novels are prepared for American audiences, the original Japanese language track and all the original story is maintained, but a subtitle track may be included so English speakers can understand what’s going on, which may turn off some casual users who don’t want to have to read.
Sometimes visual novels are equated with “dating sims,” a genre of largely erotic interactive entertainment where the goal is to disrobe a woman or to have sex, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Hirameki, for example, markets products safe for teens and others. In 2006, the company began offering Mac-compatible titles as well, first with a gothic horror novel called “Animamundi: Dark Alchemist” and more recently with “Yo-Jin-Bo,” a story set in feudal Japan. Both titles leverage Adobe Flash to achieve cross-platform compatibility.
Donnaloia told Macworld that despite the genre’s huge success in Japan, traditional software retailers in the United States have been very reluctant to give shelf space to Hirameki’s titles, to see if American retail consumers are interested in trying something new.
“They look at the titles and they see that they’re not games, and they don’t understand,” said Donnaloia.
As visual novels, Hirameki hoped that its software might appeal to bookstores and libraries as an alternative to traditional printed content. But it’s been a tough sell there, as well. Librarians and book buyers don’t quite get it, either, Donnaloia said.
“I’ve been up and down each coast and everywhere else,” he added, exasperated.
So for now, Hirameki is left to sell its visual novels directly through its appearances at anime conventions and through select retailers that specialize in reaching out to anime and manga enthusiasts.
But the past few years have seen explosive growth both for anime and manga in the United States. Once a cult phenomenon restricted to conventions and a few select mail-order media outlets, anime is now popular enough to merit significant shelf space at major national retailers like Best Buy. Both Borders and Barnes and Noble feature healthy manga sections in their brick and mortar retail locations.
U.S. anime publisher Funimation recently lauded the iTunes Store’s ability to attract new consumers to anime — some of its best-known titles have been available for purchase and download since February. The company spoke at the same convention where Hirameki made an appearance — an annual gathering of anime enthusiasts in Boston, Mass. that has seen an almost tenfold increase in attendance in the past five years.
So Donnaloia hopes it’s only a matter of time before American consumers — and retailers — catch up with their Japanese counterparts and take up visual novels the same way they’ve embraced Japanese video games, monster movies and other Japanese cultural elements that have made their way into the American mainstream.


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A bug's life
A fresh breed of consumer robots is putting a new spin on AI technology, and, coming cheap as chips, promises to give more sophisticated rival robo-pets a run for their money.
This creepy quartet of bugs are out to give the approach to artificial intelligence embraced in rival robo darlings such as AIBO a run for its money. And with a retail price equivalent to only one thirty-seventh of those pricier electro-pets, it’s a run to be reckoned with.
While the traditional approach to AI relies on processors and complex programming to function as a brain and thus respond to the environment, B.I.O Bugs, on the other hand, rely on much simpler — and cheaper — computing technology.
Whilst they do contain several basic chips, they are modelled upon the breed of robots that use relatively uncomplicated elctronics circuitry to create “nervous networks”.
It is then left to these networks to develop and produce emergent, life-like behaviours. Rather like an ultra-simplified version of Steve Grand’s orang-utan baby, Lucy.
Mark Tilden, bug designer and roboticist/physicist at federal labs in New Mexico, explained his ‘brainless’ approach: “Ninety-nine percent of creatures on this planet do very well without any brain at all. I’ve tapped into how they do that.”
For robots that come cheap as chips, the bugs get up to some impressive mischief. “They’re wired to learn,” explained toy expert Chris Byrne. “You can put them in a box, and it can be stymied, then learn to climb out and it will remember the next time.”
Each of the four bug species, Predator, Acceleraider, Destroyer and Stomper, has its own special talent, and they have a penchant for fighting.
A hand controller is included so the master can impose his or her authority, but the bugs will just as happily crawl about on their own, exploring and learning. But be warned! If you ignore the bug it will give out a death scream, and if you play too rough, it plays back rougher.


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Brazilian steak house chain Fogo de Chão Inc. fogo said Tuesday it has reached an agreement to be acquired by private-equity firm Rhone Capital units in an all-cash deal valued at $560 million. Under terms of the deal, Fogo de Chão shareholders will receive $15.75 a share in cash, equal to a 25.5% premium over its closing share price on Friday. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The news comes after the company's board conducted a review of its strategic options; the company went public in 2015. Fogo operates as a churrascaria, offering fire-roasted, high-quality meats that are prepared and served Brazilian style by gaucho chefs. Shares were halted for the news, but have fallen 13% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.03% has gained 16%.
Fogo de Chão to be acquired by Rhone Capital in cash deal valued at $560 million


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The manufacturer of a popular brand of almond milk has announced a recall for what some would say sacrilegious act: Somehow, cow's milk got into their almond milk.
The recall affects nearly 150,000 half-gallon cartons of Almond Breeze almond milk shipped to wholesalers in 28 states, according to the Food and Drug Administration. That is less than 1 percent of all the refrigerated almond milk shipped by HP Hood in the past month.
HP Hood is a national dairy company based in Lynnfield, Mass. Among its brands are Lactaid and Crowley. But the company also handles the production of Almond Breeze, the brand of Blue Diamond Growers, a California almond cooperative.
This revelation could be more than enough to sour fans' perception of the Almond Breeze brand, whose carton features almonds plopping into a sea of pure white liquid.
Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.


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With rumors of an "iPad mini" coming later this year, Apple could further solidify its leadership position by competing more closely on price with some of the recent high-profile Android entrants such as Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's a huge miss blah blah blah they are on the edge of ruin blah blah blah Tim Cook has destroyed the company blah blah blah Amazon will destroy the iPad blah blah blah 40%+ in profit per sale is irrelevant blah blah blah Jelly Bean.
He told the audience that for the millions of consumers who have yet to regain power due to Hurricane Sandy, Apple is releasing a new "paperweight" with the mini tablet. Due to the storm, Kimmel said customers in New York
iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 will drop off Apple's production line in March, just five months after the launch of iPad 4 and iPad mini. That's according to a n…
BrYan's Blah Blah Blahg. This is BrYan's home for ramblings and news. Someone I know just bought an iPad Mini 256GB from Hong Kong for $150. . My CV: here and here. Simple template. Powered by Blogger.
Mockup of current iPad, iPad 5, and iPad mini. Kuo predicts that Apple will adopt the same GF2 touch technology used in the iPad mini, enabling Apple to design a thinner display for the new full-size iPad. In addition, more
Nowhereelse.fr shares [Google translation] a new photo of what it believes may be a flex cable component for the "iPad mini", housing Blah blah double down on secrecy blah blah. Blah, Steve would never have allowed this blah blah. Rating: 15 Votes. Avatar · Stuipdboy1000. 40 months ago. Blah blah double Why is it related to the number of pins? USB doesn't have 9 pins and you can have digital audio as well as power and other stuff too. USB3 has 9 pins.
Or when the Mac is plugged into AC, it can charge both too. The PC's USB port never had enough power to charge the iPad atleast. iPad mini – is almost as light as Kindle. I do miss ePaper, but the small size is now enough
More like a free iPad mini… Long story short I picked up my online order from the store, didn't pay much attention as always. When I get home I discover that the iPad camera connection kit I ordered was replaced with an iPad mini! How nice of them! Contacted Best Buy and no one seemed to care so I called corporate who put me on hold, contacted the store and blah blah blah. I'm going to return the iPad mini atmy Return to Top. Powered by WordPress.com VIP
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Chrysler Group LLC announced it is recalling about 266,000 Jeep Liberty SUVs worldwide over rust concerns in rear suspension components.
Chrysler said it is recalling 209,724 Liberty models made between 2004 and 2005 in U.S. states that use road salt because excessive corrosion can cause the rear lower control arms in the suspension system to crack. The recall also includes about 24,000 vehicles in Canada and 32,000 in the rest of the world, Chrysler spokesman Vince Muniga said.
That could raise the risk of a crash, Chrysler said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the 2002-05 Jeep Liberty over corrosion issues in April and upgraded its probe to an engineering analysis in September, focusing its investigation on 2004-05 models in states that use road salt during the winter.
NHTSA says 21 states — including Michigan — are part of the “salt belt.”
Chrysler said it’s aware of 83 reports of fractures from rust in the vehicles but said it is not aware of any crashes or injuries.
Chrysler will notify owners by next month and replace the rear lower control arms. The models being recalled were built between July 2004 and July 2005.
News Source: Detroit News


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Our new-look website has gone down well with readers.
That’s the overwhelming message from our online survey completed by more than 140 people so far.
The poll shows 81 per cent of you like the new design and 70 per cent think overall it is an improvement on the old site.
www.chichester.co.uk launched a new design and navigation two weeks ago, including new features such as a larger carousel, more stories and Twitter feed on the home page and links to our new what’s on service WOW247.
Editor Colin Channon said: “I want to thank all the readers who took the time to feed back what they thought of the new site either in the survey, in comments, on Twitter or by email.
“We are excited by it and it seems our readers are too. We know there is a lot more to do and we will be working to improve the site on a continuing basis.”
The Johnston Press digital product team has already taken on board early feedback and have worked to reduce page load times and fix some minor bugs.
One reader said: “I found the site much more appealing to look at, so easy to navigate and I’ll definitely visit the site more often now. Well done to all concerned!”
While another said: “Quite an attractive and bright website. Best to continue as it is for now, and await more customer feedback before ‘tweaking’ it.”
Some readers said they were reserving judgement on the new site until they got used to it.
The site has already seen major growth in traffic to different areas of the site, such as the what’s on service and daily deals, while 91 per cent of survey respondents said they felt confident where to go on the site to search for a job, find local houses for sale or read local family announcements.
And 87 per cent of readers said the new website made better use of video and pictures.
The next steps are to prioritise enhancements identified by reader research. The site launch will act as a blueprint for the roll-out of the new site design and structure across the 205 websites operated by the Observer’s parent group Johnston Press.
Click here to give your feedback on the site.


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MYSTIC, Conn. (WTNH) — A new boating store is opening up in Mystic.
The grand opening of West Marine is on Sunday. The new store is located across the street from the Mystic Aquarium at 9 Maritime Drive. The store is 13,000 square feet, nearly 50% larger than the store at the previous location. West Marine is the world’s largest water-life outfitter.
The store will be open from 8a.m. to 7p.m. Monday-Saturday and 9a.m to 6p.m on Sunday.
The store is designed to cater to both locals and tourists who love spending time on or around the water. Mystic Store Manager Travis Chamberland says he’s excited about the new store’s larger size and more convenient location. “I can’t wait for our customers to see our new store, and the broader selection of products we are carrying,” says Chamberland. “It’s a beautiful building that encompasses the nautical lifestyle of the community, with thousands of items including boats, boat parts, apparel and waterlife accessories.”
The new West Marine Mystic store includes:
- A dedicated engine parts counter with more than 1,000 skus of engine and steering-related replacement parts from brands such as Sierra, Quicksilver, Champion and Seastar
- Fishing gear tailored to local waters
- Hundreds of lifestyle accessories, including waterproof Bluetooth speakers, floating phone cases, multitools, sun protection, water bottles and drink wear
- Apparel such as Helly Hansen, Guy Harvey and O’Neil
- Kayaks and paddleboards, plus a broad range of paddling accessories
- 5,300 square feet of core boating products
- 3,000 square feet of apparel, footwear and clothing accessories


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LAST UPDATED : Nov 19, 2018, 10:03 AM IST
- In a first, Asia generates over half of patents filed in 2018
Asia-based innovators filed over 50% of all international patent applications for the first time in 2018. India filed a total of 2,013 international patent applications, registering the highest growth of 27% among the top 15 countries. India & China are the only 2 middle-income countries among the top 15 origins of Patent Cooperation Treaty applications.
- Samsung seems 'inspired' by Huawei Mate X's design
A new Samsung patent has been posted online, indicating that it could be working on a new foldable smartphone with an outward folding design, same as what we saw with the Huawei Mate X. The patent also includes diagrams showing how the fold will work.
- 120 startups get patents under expedited examination process: DPIIT Secy
Under the expedited examination facility, 1,021 applications were received and 351 patents were granted by the Indian IP office. The time for the first examination of trademarks applications has been reduced to about one month from 13 months earlier. Since 2016, as many as 120 start-ups have been granted patents under the expedited examination process for applications.
- Centac commences UG medical, dental, Ayurvedic, veterinary admissions
The Centralized admission committee (Centac) has invited applications for admissions into undergraduate medical (MBBS), dental (BDS), Ayurvedic medicine (BAMS) and veterinary science (BVSc) courses from June 4 (5pm) to June 16 for the academic year 2019-20.
- Dept of pharma ignores health ministry concerns, removes price cap on patented, rare disease drugs
The move - likely to increase prices of a range of imported essential medicines including for cancer and other critical diseases - has stirred opposition in several quarters including within government. Senior officials in the health ministry and Niti Aayog expressed reservations over the notification
- Samsung is reportedly working on a ‘rollable’ phone
Samsung’s biggest launch for this year was its first ever foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold. But unfortunately, it was not able to reach the shelves on time and is still on hold as the review units started showing issues with the screen. But while that device is keeping many users waiting, the company has filed a new patent that shows the company’s ‘rollable’ phone.


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Nothing, it seemed. But today, a search on the Urban Outfitters site for “Navajo” returns no results.
Same products, different names. For the Navajo, Sasha Houston Brown, and others who made their feelings known, the simple Printed Hipster Panty might also be called the Righteous Undergarment of Cultural Victory.
The war isn’t over (indeed, Sasha objected to the products themselves, not just their names), but a battle has been won.
Urban Outfitters pulls ‘Navajo’ name from products on website in wake of criticism
The Navajo Nation Department of Justice said Wednesday the changes were “positive” and “more consistent with the corporation’s responsibilities than previously demonstrated.”
“If the company has also ceased using the Navajo name in conjunction with its merchandise in its retail stores and print-media advertising, these are encouraging steps by the company towards amicably resolving this matter,” the department said in a release.
The tribe holds at least 10 trademarks on the Navajo name that cover clothing, footwear, online retail sales, household products and textiles, and said it was intent on protecting those trademarks.
But the war's not over yet:
Urban Outfitters still selling ‘Navajo’ clothing despite criticism
Critics have said the line of Navajo clothing and accessories were disrespectful and offensive–and that Urban Outfitters are profiting inappropriately from the name of the tribe.
A Navajo-branded hip flask has been a particular target for anger, as the reservation has a serious problem with alcoholism. A line of women’s knickers has also been criticised as inappropriate for a Navajo culture which preaches modesty.
Urban Outfitters has removed the Navajo name from its US website, with the items in question now simply marked as “printed”. However, the name is still in use on its UK online store, which also services Ireland.
For more on Urban Outfitters, see Jezebel Surveys "Navajo" Fashions and Why Protest Urban Outfitters?


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"This is a transformative thing. Every app has a community of users that has never been able to socialize around the app, until now," says Daniel R. Odio, CEO of AppMakr. "This social layer is baked into every one of our apps, allowing communities to engage with each other and with the app's core content. They can comment inside the app to each other. They can like, share, and comment on in-app content such as blog posts, images, and video…. It's as if we're turning the lights on in a room full of people who have never been able to communicate before."
Capitalizing on the trend toward wireless, AppMakr just made its app-creation offering available for Android and Windows phones--a smart move considering analyst firm IDC's prediction that mobile-content consumers will purchase more than 25 billion apps in 2011.
Up until now, application creation has been free, and that will continue to be the case, Odio says. But AppMakr will be monetizing its model come year's end. What will happen is this: App creators can opt to pay or be paid for the usage of their apps. In "pay" mode, the app creator runs its own ads in the application and pays a fee based on the number of people who use it. In "be paid" mode, AppMakr runs its ads in the app and the creator gets paid a percentage of AppMakr's profits.
Today, AppMakr has just under 100,000 users, and Odio says using it to develop a mobile app is as easy as using Gmail. AppMakr customers run the gamut, from small, local companies to well-known operations such as Newsweek, but 90% of the company's customers are SMBs.
A couple of examples of how businesses are using AppMakr: Red Heart, a company that makes yarn, has an app that lets users browse its products, search through patterns, find local retailers, access Facebook and Twitter feeds, and view YouTube videos. Romano's Hotel, a pub in New South Wales, has an app that provides patrons with entertainment info, promos, photo galleries, and live video.
Do you run a business and feel as if you're missing out on the mobile revolution? The social networking one? If so, you might want to take a look at the latest iteration of AppMakr.


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Cosmas Maduka, franchise owner of the BMW brand of cars in Nigeria, talked about it when he make enquiries about his brand of local rice which grew wings from market stalls even as his company kept producing more. To his chagrin he found something about the fate of his rice. They were being disposed in the manner described above.
Nigeria is about the biggest producer of rice in the continent. For a fact, virtually every state is a producer. For emphasis, Edo state is one, given that it has Agrotech in Ugboha, producing a brand of rice that is as good as they come. Alongside other stone free brands from Illushi, rice consumers in the state shouldn’t have had any reason to be in much of a dire in terms of finding enough to consume. But no, we have no need for such rice unless it is foreign. So what happened to Agrotech rice.
Like Mafuka, every state in Nigeria is into full scale mass production of rice. Put together, the country can feed its population if it comes to the worst. But like Mudaka’s rice, other brands are hardly found in the market. Instead, there are sundry types of foreign rice brands with price tags that are out of the reach of over 80% of the country’s vaunted over 200 million people tag. Unknown to many, what they consume as foreign rice are indeed local alternatives unscrupulously relabelled foreign and sold as such by compatriots. Ironically, those behind the deals are the same who shout most, “where are the Nigerian rice?” in any case, it goes a long way to proving that a people always get what they deserve, all the time.
Nigeria is about the 3rd biggest producer of garri. Not much of it is exported and so does not go through all the rigours foreign rice goes through-no tax or the like. Yet, garri today is almost as expensive as rice. While a module or small rubber measure of the product, which sold for N700 last year now goes for between N1,200 and and N1, 400, same measure of rice goes for N1,500 As to the why, your guess is as good as mine. We are simply killing ourselves just so we can blame someone else.


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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently banned five companies and their owners for allegedly operating work-from-home business opportunity scam.
According to the FTC, Gregory Anderson and Garret Robbins and their companies including Giraffe Marketing Group LLC, Cloud Click, L.L.C., Elevate Consulting International LLC, Cove Solutions LLC, and Lake View Holdings LLC engaged in deceptive business practices.
In its complaint, the Commission alleged that the defendants’ scammed consumers by encouraging them to join their work-from-home” business opportunity program and pay upfront fee of $97. They promised consumers that joining the program will allow them to make significant amount of income from home by posting advertising links on websites. After paying the fee, consumers realized that they were victims of a scam because the program did not provide them with advertising links to make money.
The FTC found that Anderson, Robbins, and their companies lured consumers through advertisements in spam e-mails. The defendants hired affiliate marketing networks to send spam e-mails promoting their work-from-home business opportunity scam to consumers nationwide. They marketed their fraudulent program under different names including Online Cash Commission, Excel cash Flow, and Cash From Home.


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Day 10 saw the red carpet rolled out for world leaders, as well as the launch of a new clean tech innovation initiative and an ambitious shipping emissions action plan
As day 10 of COP23 rolled along yesterday so did the red carpet, with the UN Secretary General and numerous world leaders arriving in Bonn to lend their voices to the low carbon cause. Macron motivates...
How will the global pledge to 'protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems' shape the global economy?
A photographer by trade, IKEA's Hege Sæbjørnsen explains why a desire to make a positive social and environmental impact prompted a career change
Any watering down of the Carbon Price Support mechanism would deal a grave blow to UK decarbonisation efforts, warns Sandbag's Phil McDonald
VIDEO: Grow Bristol delivers fresh leafy greens grown in a shipping container to city shops and restaurants by bike


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Kris Jenner revealed she is “excited about the future” after the sale of 51 percent of her youngest daughter Kylie Jenner’s company Kylie Cosmetics to Coty. The transaction reportedly netted the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star a cool $600 million.
Kris was interviewed for CNBC’s Squawk Box where she revealed that the sale was a big day for both the cosmetics brand and her family. She was “proud” of how Kylie has grown her eponymous brand over the past four years through hard work and her vision for the line of products. This includes moving into a global market, something shaking hands with Coty would allow on a bigger scale than Kylie would ever be able to do on her own.
“It’s a moment to just look forward and be excited about the future. I think the goal is to just keep building Kylie’s existing beauty business into a global powerhouse brand. That’s the vision,” said the mother of the Kardashian clan, which includes Kylie and Kendall Jenner as well as Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Robert Kardashian, reported People Magazine.
“We decided to partner with Coty because they share the same vision as we do in building this into a huge thing. We dream big and this is something we’re so excited about,” Kris continued, speaking about the sale of the business that Kylie grew from a company that began selling lip kits online into a business conglomerate that also includes Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin.
Kylie owned 100 percent of Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin prior to the Coty deal. She will continue to be an integral part of the business moving forward, venturing into new products that will continue to bear her name.
“This is Kylie’s baby and dream. She is so proud of what she built and wants to go into many categories and she hasn’t scratched the surface yet,” Kris explained of her daughter’s plans for the future, per People.
The 22-year-old reality star will continue to helm product development and communications for the brand.
Kris also told the CNBC hosts that while there are no plans for any other members of her family to be a part of the Coty merger at the moment, she did state that the future is open wide for any possibilities when it comes to the Kardashian and Jenner beauty brands. These also include KKW beauty and Skims, the businesses that belong to Kim Kardashian West.
Jenner was named the world’s youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes Magazine in March 2019.
The family will also continue to film their reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians for the foreseeable future, which continues to widen their reach as they are viewed working on their respective businesses while on camera.
The clan is currently taping Season 19 of the series, and there are no plans for the family to stop production at this time. The E! series is currently seen in 200 countries around the world.


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First for UK as axe-throwing launches in Norwich
- Credit: Archant
A new fun game opens in an 11,500sqft venue in Norwich’s Castle Quarter called Boom: Battle Bar.
Following the government’s easing of restrictions, the new game on Level Two is opening on Thursday which combines ‘axe’ throwing, nine-hole ‘crazier’ golf, boules, darts, ping-pong, shuffleboard and pool.
David Moore, owner of the new venture, said: “We are so excited to launch our amazing new concept at Castle Quarter in Norwich. This is the first Boom: Battle Bar to be opened in the UK and starts our UK roll out. We have worked extremely hard to get ready and welcome our first customers safely.
“Boom: Battle Bar combines fantastic social activities with games and technology in an awesome bar environment. It is a great place to meet up and try so many new things. We’re confident it will be the new go-to place for fun seekers in Norwich.”
Robert Bradley, centre manager at Castle Quarter, said: “This is another great addition to the leisure offering at Castle Quarter.
“Boom: Battle Bar really will be an alternative attraction: we can’t wait for it open this week. We are also immensely proud that Castle Quarter is the location for the very first Boom: Battle Bar.”


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Varta, the German company specializing in the production of batteries for large storage systems of solar energy, intends to switch to mass production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. In order to compete successfully in this sector in the Asian market, Varta began to cooperate with the Fraunhofer Research Institute. Germany has a government program of 1 billion euros aimed at supporting domestic companies planning to produce batteries for electric vehicles. The second objective of this program is to protect jobs in connection with the transition from the production of internal combustion engines. Varta is currently the only mass producer of batteries in Germany.
German retailers' arms in the air as stores close12.02.2020
Hyundai considers expansion with another electric auto startup28.12.2019
Turkish electric car project seen at an investment of $3.7 billion02.12.2019
Japan government plans to produce $92 billion stimulus package to incite economic growth


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U.S. stock futures are higher Friday ahead of the consumer sentiment report; Dell misses bottom-line estimates; Yahoo! reportedly in talks with Tumblr; Facebook's IPO hits one-year anniversary.
Dell posts a profit miss but revenue tops forecasts.
Stock futures are flat; Cisco's earnings and revenue top forecasts; Wal-Mart's profit misses Wall Street estimates; Novartis eyes Actavis.
U.S. stock futures are flat ahead of a bevy of economic reports; Boeing restarts 787 deliveries; Cisco and Macy's to report earnings.
Networking giant Cisco reports earnings on Wednesday.
U.S. stock futures point to a lower Wall Street open; Sony says its entertainment businesses aren't for sale; the BlackBerry Live event kicks off Tuesday.
U.S. stock futures point lower ahead of a retail sales report; Elan and Theravance in a $1 billion royalty agreement; Post Holdings and Take-Two report earnings.
Elan and Theravance enter a $1 billion royalty agreement.
U.S. stock futures point higher; the dollar trades above 100 yen; Carl Icahn and Southeastern propose alternative deal for Dell; Priceline issues weak guidance.
Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management propose an alternative offer to a $24.4 billion deal to buy out Dell's public stockholders, a report says.


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Motorola said Wednesday that it will split its troubled handset business off into a separate entity next year, as the company seeks to placate frustrated investors.
In 2009, Motorola will split itself into two businesses, one called Mobile Devices, and the other named Broadband & Mobility Solutions, the company said.
The latter unit will include the company's set-top and modems business as well as enterprise mobility products. The former will include the company's consumer handset business, which really hasn't had much success since the Razr phones were launched in 2003 and peaked during 2004 through 2006.
In January, Motorola shocked the industry by considering a spinoff or sale of its handset business. Wednesday, Motorola chief executive Greg Brown said that the decision represented the best solution its management team and strategic advisors could come up with. "Each company would benefit from improved flexibility, a capital structure more tailored to its individual business needs, and increased management focus," Brown said.
"We also expect this action to enhance the pace of recovery in mobile devices, to pave the way for its return as a leader in the industry, to accelerate our efforts to attract a new leader, and to return shareholder value," Brown added.
Brown and other Motorola executives declined to offer specifics on the deal, including the valuation Motorola would place on the handset business, how it would be funded, and how Motorola would assign stock to shareholders of the company. "It's all still real preliminary, and kind of confusing as to what they're actually doing," said James Brehm, a senior consultant with Frost & Sullivan.
Brown speculated that Motorola may simply be placing the handset business up for sale or for a possible partnership, as Ericsson did to eventually form a partnership with Sony. UBS analyst Maynard Um this week cut his estimate of Motorola's handset sales to 130.2 million units for the year, from 145.6 million, Reuters reported. "It's the only thing I could think of, that it's shopping it around to fend off Carl Icahn," Brehm added.
Icahn sued Motorola last week, seeking to gain internal documents related to the operation of the handset business. Motorola is engaged in a proxy battle with Icahn, who owns a 6.3 percent stake, and has proposed a slate of four directors to the board, including Keith Meister, chief executive of Icahn Enterprises and manager of Icahn's $8 billion fund, according to Reuters.
If Motorola were to sell its handset business or find a partner for a joint venture, a likely candidate would be an Asian vendor with just a small U.S. market share, such as NEC, Brehm said.
The handset business: heading down...and out?
And the value might be declining. The number of phones Motorola sold during the fourth quarter of 2007 were over a third less than the company sold during the fourth quarter of 2006: 40.9 million, down 37.7 percent from the 65.7 million sold during the fourth quarter of 2006, according to researcher iSuppli.
Motorola's market share declined to 12.1 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 12.7 percent in the third quarter and from 22.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006, iSuppli said. Nokia continued its dominance over the industry with a 39.5 percent market share, just about two points less than the combined market share of the remaining top five handset vendors.
One bone of contention may also be the Motorola iDEN push-to-talk business, which could hand the equipment to the enterprise business and the handsets to the handsets group. Brown declined to comment on the fate of iDEN.
"Then again, 2009's a long time, and iDEN could go away before then," Brehm said.
Brown said that conversations with customers had revealed that Motorola still has a strong brand presence, and that they wished to see the handset business survive for competitive reasons.
The fact that the spinoff will occur in 2009 was questioned by one analyst during Wednesday's conference call, who asked what, if anything, would have changed in the handset business by the time the spinoff was scheduled to occur.
"The timing of today was the result of the management and the board and the strategic advisors that this was the best course of action," Brown said. " Given the timing made sense and the reasons were compelling, we did it accordingly."
Brown also offered no additional details on the search for a chief executive to lead the handset business; in his current role, Brown serves as the chief executive of the handset business as well as the chief executive of Motorola. The new CEO will ideally be someone with experience in the consumer electronics field, and someone who can bring or attract his own management team to help the business along, Brown said. Marc Rothman, the former controller of Motorola, was named chief financial officer of the handset business earlier this year.
Brown said that the spinoff would "clarify" the position that the new CEO would have to fill. "As it relates to the CEO search, it enables us pick a world class CEO Clearly, we have said a lot more work needs to be done" in terms of developing competitive products, Brown added.


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U.S. stock indexes rose Tuesday after the U.S. Commerce Department said durable goods orders were up in February.
New orders for goods expected to last at least three years rose 5.7 percent from January, the fifth rise in orders in the past six months.
A closely watched monthly index of U.S. home prices, the S&P-Case/Shiller report, also gave stocks a boost. The 20-city Composite Index released Tuesday indicated prices rose 8.1 percent in January from 12 months prior.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 93.73 points, or 0.65 percent, to 14,541.48. The Nasdaq added 15.22 points, or 0.47 percent, to 3,250.52. The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 8.49 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,560.18.
Ten-year U.S. treasury bonds fell 4/32 to yield 1.936 percent.
Against the dollar, the euro was at $1.2858 from Monday's $1.2853. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at 94.25 yen from 94.41 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.6 percent, 74.84 points, to 12,471.62.
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Chip shortages cost GM the US vehicle sales crown it’s held since 1931
Posted On January 4, 2022
General Motors is no longer the top seller of vehicles in the US as reported Tuesday by CNBC. The Detroit powerhouse lost the crown to Toyota, which reportedly sold about 114,000 more vehicles than GM in 2021.
GM reported Tuesday that total sales were down almost 13 percent last year due to semiconductor shortages. Vehicle and technology companies worldwide have been faced with production difficulties due to chip shortages, and GM has had to cut features from some vehicles, such as wireless chargers and HD radios, due to supply issues.


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The digital news and entertainment outlet Buzzfeed has announced job cuts across its commercial and editorial operations after missing revenue targets.
Around 20 roles would be made redundant in the publisher's London office, out of a global reduction of 100, equivalent to 6pc.
Staff were told this afternoon that after rapid international expansion, Buzzfeed with retrench and seek to bring in new commercial staff with wider experience.
In London the cuts to editorial will mean job losses in Buzz, the division responsible for the light-hearted list articles that originally popularised Buzzfeed, and in its more serious News unit. An internal memo said it will instead concentrate on "content for global audiences" while maintaining "core" UK coverage in politics, media, social justice and investigations.
Buzzfeed, which has been backed by $500m of investment from venture capitalists and the media companies including Comcast, has been forced to shift its business after failing to meet growth expectations. Hopes of a stock market float next year have been dashed as digital advertising market has become tougher, with Google and Facebook increasingly dominant.
The company recently announced that it will begin selling digital advertising on its website and apps, in a departure from its focus on selling only advertorial slots, which bring in more money from brands but are slow and expensive to create.
Jonah Peretti, Buzzfeed's chief executive, said: "We are well positioned because we will continue to innovate and manage our operations with the focus required to succeed in a tough marketplace."
The publisher's British arm last year doubled turnover to £20.5m but reported a loss of £3.5m.


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Sun Hung Kai Properties Wings II flats priced cheaper than planned
Li Ka-shing says home prices will remain stable in 2013, falling or rising at most by 10 per cent
Sun Hung Kai Properties yesterday priced the first 50 flats at The Wings II project at HK$10,688 per square foot, about a third lower than it originally intended, and also cheaper than the inaugural 50 flats the project's first phase sold in 2011.
The launch came as the city's richest man and property tycoon Li Ka-shing said home prices this year would remain largely stable, dropping or rising at the most by 10 per cent.
SHKP had previously said its target price tag for flats at The Wings II in Tseung Kwan O was HK$15,000 per square foot on gross floor area basis.
The final price of HK$10,688 represents a 15.8 per cent drop from the average price of HK$12,698 per square foot for the first 50 flats at the development's first phase sold in late 2011.
The Wings II is the second large residential project to announce a price list after the government imposed tightening measures such as the special stamp duty of 15 per cent on non-local and corporate buyers in October.
"Compared with the original target price of HK$15,000 per square foot, this price is much more attractive. Though secondary homes in the neighbourhood are priced around HK$7,000 to HK$8,000 per square foot, I think this price is okay and not too high," said Patrick Wong Chi-leung, a property analyst at BNP Paribas Securities (Asia).
"The developer's sales strategy is to launch prices lower than what it first announces. But following the buyer's stamp duty, developers now need to rely on local buyers so they can't be too aggressive when setting the price," he said, adding that phase I flats were pricier because they had a better sea view.
SHKP described the latest offer as a "super happy price". It said the 50 units, mainly four-bedroom flats sized about 1,200 sq ft, would attract buyers who wanted to trade up.
The most expensive flat, with a gross floor area of 1,250 sq ft, costs nearly HK$18.3 million. The cheapest flats, at 1,200 sq ft, sell for more than HK$12 million.
"[We're] very confident about sales and expect the price to rise by more than 10 per cent for the next batch of flats," it said, adding sales would start next week.
Li Ka-shing, meanwhile, said he did not foresee too much fluctuation in the property market this year. "Prices should stay at the same level, and may fall a bit, just a bit … I think prices may go up, or down, by 10 per cent. There won't be any rapid price surges or declines," he said.
Last month his Cheung Kong launched One West Kowloon in Lai Chi Kok, which also offered large three- and four-bedroom units with prices around HK$11 million. Agents said sales were slow in the wake of the new curbs to rein in property prices.


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The worldwide PC shipments jumped for the first time in six years.
Q2 2018 appeared to be an interesting quarter for the worldwide PC market and Apple as one of the players in this market. According to Gartner’s preliminary calculations about the sales, the overall computer shipments increased for the first time in six years. There were 62,095 million shipments in the quarter, compared with 61,254 million in Q2 2017, which is a 1.4 percent increase year-over-year.
During Q2 2018, Apple shipped 4,395 million Macs, which is a 3 percent increase over the previous year. The worldwide PC market stopped its growth 6 years ago, so these numbers are pretty positive for a possible return to growth. Seeing the numbers in the US reveals us that HP sold most computers in the quarter, and the tech giant has a massive 29.3% market share. Dell and Lenovo follow, with shares of 28.6 and 14.9 percent respectively. Apple has a 12.7% share in the US, while worldwide, the company has just 7.1%.
Apple just refreshed its MacBook pro line, introducing new 13 and 15-inch models. In addition, the company sells iMacs, Mac Mini and other MacBooks. All these lines should be receiving a hardware refresh later in 2018.


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Chief operating officer Carlos Tavares said the Douai plant will spearhead Renault’s drive to reconquer market share in this segment.
“It’s an enormous challenge,” he said.
Tavares also said the company was spending 230 million euros to relocate production of its Trafic van from Barcelona, Spain, to a French plant at Sandouville.
Renault and other European carmakers are bracing for a tough year in 2012, with the European market where Renault sells the bulk of its cars expected to contract by 3.0 percent compared with 2011.
But Carlos Ghosn, the head of Renault’s alliance with Japanese carmaker Nissan, said Tuesday the firms would achieve another sales record this year after a 10 percent jump in global sales to 8.03 million vehicles in 2011.
With a host of fresh products and demand set to grow in all markets except Europe, both the Japanese and French carmakers should continue to expand sales beyond the records set in 2011, he said.
Nissan, Japan’s second-biggest automaker, is 44.3-percent owned by Renault.


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The extension of rules may discourage some Indian refiners, mainly private companies, from buying Russian fuels for re-exports to countries including those in Europe that have stopped purchases of refined products from Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has already become the top supplier of crude to India, accounting for 28% of India's crude imports, up from less than 1% in 2021. India's imports of Russian refined products have also risen to record levels in recent months, though mostly limited to fuel oil. They may soon expand to petrol and diesel.
India has been a net exporter of refined products for years and has shifted its exports away from Southeast Asia since the middle of last year towards the western markets, where realisations were better. Russian oil makes up nearly a quarter of crude processed in India now. This has triggered criticism in the western press that Indian refiners were defeating the purpose of sanctions by supplying products processed from Russian crude to the US and Europe.
India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, imposed a windfall tax on refined fuel exports last year and mandated that companies sell the equivalent of 50% of their gasoline exports and 30% of their diesel exports domestically in the current fiscal year to March 31.
However, effective March 4, the government slashed the windfall profit tax on the export of diesel to its lowest of Rs 0.50 per litre and nil on jet fuel (ATF) while the levy on domestically produced crude oil was marginally increased. The export levy on diesel and ATF is the lowest since the tax was introduced in July last year.
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- PM Calls for Aligned Vision of Developed India by ’47
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underlined the need for evolving a common vision between the Centre and states to achieve the goal of a developed India by 2047 and asked states to take financially prudent decisions so as not to burden future generations.Women Applicants for Foreign Edu Go from Trickle to Tide
Indian women are going places – queueing up in droves to pursue higher education in foreign destinations such the US, UK and other parts of Europe, not just in the metros but in smaller towns as well.India Tops China Alternatives List
India is the top destination being explored by multinational corporations as an alternative to China, according to a survey of 100 CEOs who primarily represent foreign B2B-focused firms.
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Google play store tax 3 Percent of apps not paying Money
Google play Store tax 3 Percent apps not paying
Google of US tech giant Alphabet Inc on Monday tried to criticize that it selectively enforced its 30% cell application retailer tax. Saying that, within one year,over Google Play Store tax 3% of apps selling digital items would be included without following the rules.
The change follows lawsuits by Fortnite online game maker Epic Play last month. Which accused Apple and Google of anticompetitive conduct. Applications sold at tech dealers ‘tech dealers’ shops need to use their payment systems. So he can get a successful sales share. Which the builder describes as a tax.
The corporation company is defending the allegations. Your store will be a booming business in the form of successful sales of Google’s search ads and Apple’s iPhone flattened.
Google declared, 3% of developers with applications on the Play Store sold digital goods during the past 12 months, and adjusted about 97% to their duty system coverage.
Dating application creator Match is among other corporations that have publicly stated that they do not pay Google’s 30% fee. Which decreases to 15% in later years. If it is for a subscription service. Antitrust regulators are considering the issue in several nations, including South Korea.
While many media had recently complained to some government officials about their recent strict enforcement of Google. Apps and Google said that the application and Google said that this amount covers the security and marketing benefits present in their apps shops.
The new application should use Google’s fund software tool for sale by 20 January.
While the current application has time till 30 September 2021. Google shared that, because of this Kovid-19 epidemic, applications could get additional time to promote physical goods and digital products. Apple said last week that it had a similar hypothetical supply extending to December 31.


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Today Bloober Team released a new trailer of the upcoming third-person psychological horror game The Medium.
Does this run at 60 fps now or is it still at 30 fps because 30 fps isnt good enough anymore
it dose look interesting does it have a release date?
Seems to be slated for the end of the year maybe late November early December with a PS5 release coming around a year after the XSX release.
There is no PS5 release coming
Developers of the game Bloober Team have said that they are looking into a PS5 release but Microsoft bought timed exclusivity for the game.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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The editors of National Review Online (NRO) have written two separate editorials opposing the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act, which NRO says on March 22, 2013 is "a sales tax for Internet transactions." They begin their editorial sayiing. "The founding battle cry of the United States of America was “No taxation without representation!” Senator Mike Enzi (R., Wyo.) and Senator Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) propose to challenge that with the misnamed Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013.
More recently, they penned a second editorial, on April 25, 2013, which begins:
"State and local governments are engaged in an unseemly gold rush, pushing for a new Internet sales-tax regime that would empower them to wring revenues from businesses and individuals far outside their jurisdictions. They seek to overturn the foundational American presumption against taxation without representation, and they do so abetted by parasitical business interests that seek to use the tax code to hobble their more nimble online competitors. When the taxman and the National Retail Federation are on the same side of an issue, there is mischief afoot." (emphasis added)
The NRO editors suggest a "sensible solution," writing:
"The sensible solution is to treat online retailers exactly like any other business: Subject to collecting and remitting sales taxes for the jurisdiction in which they are physically present. To the extent that there is any role for the federal government in this issue, it would be in establishing rules (if necessary) for determining who has jurisdiction over sales involving retailers with multiple physical locations. But we would remind Senator Enzi — and any House Republican thinking of backing this bill — that it is the role of the federal government to enable interstate commerce, not to facilitate an unholy alliance between big business and big government. There was a time when Republicans were clear on that."
It shouldn't surprise taxpayers to learn that taxpayer dollars are being used to lobby against taxpayer interests. In the May 1, 2013 newsletter, County Connections, of the Virginia Association of Counties, Virginia's counties are urged to "reach out to Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine and urge them to support the Marketplace Fairness Act and vote for final passage on May 6." The VACo newsletter also provide links to both a policy brief and a press release by another lobbying outfit paid for with taxpayer dollars, the National Association of Counties (NACo).
The policy brief, especially, provides much of the background, which goes back to a 1967 Supreme Court decision.
In a "vote alert on April 22, 2013," the National Taxpayers Union urged "all Senators to vote "NO" on S.743, the "Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) of 2013." NTU wrote, in part:
"Widely opposed by limited-government organizations, this deeply flawed legislation, which opens the door for destructive extraterritorial state tax collection schemes, would inflict a great deal of harm upon taxpayers as well as small businesses.
"NTU has stridently opposed MFA on a number of grounds. The bill would hinder tax competition among the states, and may even encourage governments to “round up” their levels. The Supreme Court’s Quill ruling has prevented state tax collectors from aggressively reaching across their borders, but MFA would overturn this important protection against abuse of power. The bill’s attempt to carve out a sales-tax only exception to this ruling likely won’t survive long, and the way would be paved for state administrators to gain authority over other taxes. Finally, S. 743 gives wide latitude to define taxable “nexus,” including its controversial extension to online advertising affiliates. Even states not participating in MFA’s framework would have new powers."
A search at the NTU website shows there is considerable reading about the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act. Especially interesting are two posts at their blog, Government Bytes. In one post on March 22, 2013, Doug Kellogg identifies all the conservative groups that oppose the MFA. In a second post on April 30, 2013, Manzanita McMahon provides an "impressive slate of opinion pieces" that explain why the MFA is "terrible."
At the Tax Foundation's Tax Policy Blog, Joe Henchman has numerous contributions to understanding the MFA. In an April 26, 2013, post, he writes about "what's in" the MFA. Earlier on April 23, he provided a "run down" of his Congressional testimony.
The Heritage Foundation's blog, The Foundry, also has numerous post about the MFA -- including here, here, here, and here. And that's since mid-April. And here, Elliot Gaiser provides a video and 10 reasons for opposing the MFA.
Are there still question about the MFA legislation? In a letter to one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist listed 16. The first of them:
"What measures protect businesses from tax audits, court proceedings and penalties like tax liens imposed on a business by state departments of revenue where the business has no physical presence? How will businessmen and women be protected over time from politicians in a different state that they cannot vote for or against? Is there a danger of establishing taxation without representation?"
In a full-page letter to your scribe dated April 30, 2013, from Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Sen. Kaine says there is not much to worry about, saying the legislation "would simply allow states to collect tax on purchases made online if they so choose."
Among the articles concerning the MFA include:
"Do you do at least some of your shopping online? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is “yes.” This leads to my next question: Would you like to pay more for the items you buy?
"I’m guessing the answer is “no.” But if Congress passes the Marketplace Fairness Act, you can expect to see your totals rise when you go to checkout with your online shopping cart."
- Forbes: Michael Greve, chairman of the board of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and professor at George Mason University, explains the arguments against the MFA. He also points out:
"The debate long predates the Internet – we had the same debate over catalogue sales. Good, bad and idiotic arguments on both sides have been rehearsed time and again. But the Senate’s impending consideration of the Marketplace Fairness Act provides occasion for a few reminders."
- FrontPage Magazine: Mark Hendrickson writes the Internet sales tax is nothing more than "another assaul on the Constitution." Here is a part of his explaination:
"The reason so many senators favor the Marketplace Fairness Act is simple: State governments are desperate for revenue to fund their ever-escalating expenditures, and their allies in the U.S. Senate are trying to help them collect it. Internet sales in the US totaled $226 billion last year, and a revenue stream that large easily becomes a tempting target for big spenders.
"Proponents of the tax focus on “fairness.” They claim that out-of-state online vendors enjoy a competitive advantage against local brick-and-mortar companies that must pay sales tax to their state governments, and that this inequitable situation must be corrected. This is economically ignorant. The whole point of economic competition is that some businesses have competitive advantages over others. This gives consumers choices and they end up buying from the businesses that give the most value for the least money."
- Pajamas Media: Rodrigo Sermeno provides a balanced story, but says the MFA "would allow states to force Internet retailers to collect taxes from their customers."
- Yahoo! Finance: Reports on a press release from the Alliance for Main Street Fairness (AMSF), which highlights "eBay's hypocrisy regarding the Marketplace Fairness Act, which is scheduled for a final vote in the U.S. Senate on Monday, May 6." For the record, Amazon supports the legislation while eBay opposes it, in case you didn't notice from the press release.
If you oppose the "misnamed" Marketplace Fairness Act, and want to petition Congress, you can do so by signing a Grassfire.com online petition here.
Arlington County taxpayers may want to ask their two U.S. senators and U.S. representative whether they, too, consider the above to be valid cases of waste and abuse in the federal government. You can contact them at:
- Senator Mark Warner (D) - write to him or call (202) 224-2023
- Senator Tim Kaine (D) -- write to him or call (202) 224-4024
- Representative Jim Moran (D) -- write to him or call (202) 225-4376
And tell them ACTA sent you! Remind your elected representatives how NRO concluded the first editorial cited above, i.e., "taxation without representation is anathema to all Americans — except, apparently, some of those serving in Congress (including Republicans who should know better), and those businesses that would benefit financially from violating this fundamental principle. It is a bad policy from both the economic and moral points of view. "
UPDATE (5/5/13) In a op-ed, posted today at RealClearPolitics.com, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) explains why he opposes the Internet tax bill," including:
"Basic tenets of economics dictate that when you tax something, you get less of it. That’s why it’s incomprehensible that the U.S. Senate is moving to raise taxes on one of the brightest sectors of our struggling economy.
"The Internet is a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurial freedom that should be protected and nourished. It has allowed new businesses to compete in the national marketplace in ways that would have been impossible 15 years ago, and it empowers consumer choice. But tax-hungry politicians view the Internet as yet another source of revenue to bail out their big-spending governments.
< . . . >
Senators who vote for it are voting to impose audits, compliance costs, lost wages, and inefficiency on small businesses in every state. And they are potentially crippling an engine of new job creation at a time of economic struggle. This bill will not create jobs; it will not create new opportunities; and it will not create the economic growth our country needs and our people deserve.
< . . . >
"Naturally, state and local governments are salivating at the prospect of getting a purported $23 billion in new revenue from the private economy. Especially when the out-of-state consumers paying those taxes and the out-of-state businesses owners who collect them can’t vote them out of office."


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IMF warns of downside risks for Asian economyChristian Fernsby ▼ | October 19, 2019
Asia is expected to grow at 5.0 percent in 2019 and 5.1 percent in 2020, with risks to the projection still skewed downward, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said.
World Changyong Rhee, director of IMF's Asia and Pacific Department
Topics: IMF Asia economy
Noting that the global economy is experiencing a synchronized slowdown amid trade and geopolitical tensions, Rhee said Asia is no exception to the trend and was hit hard by this trend.
"Given how open the Asian region is, how dependent on trade and investment and manufacturing and so forth, it is completely unsurprising that Asia would also experience a very significant slowdown in 2019 and 2020," Jonathan Ostry, deputy director at the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, told Xinhua.
Ostry said trade tensions have not only caused the direct effect of tariffs, but there are also effects on confidence on financial markets, and "these effects take a toll on investment and growth."
In China, growth is expected to decline moderately to 6.1 percent in 2019 and 5.8 percent in 2020, according the IMF's newly-released World Economic Outlook. "This will reflect China's ongoing transition to a more sustainable growth model and the negative impact on ongoing trade tensions," Rhee said.
In Japan, the economy is projected to grow at 0.9 percent in 2019 and to moderate to 0.5 percent in 2020. In India, the economy is expected to grow at 6.1 percent in 2019, picking up to 7.0 percent in 2020.
Despite this slowdown of growth, Asia "remains the most dynamic region" in the world, accounting for more than 70 percent of the global growth this year, Rhee said.
"A main policy priority is to address the cause of policy uncertainty and restore the lines on the multilateral trade system," Rhee said. "Meanwhile, near term policies should support growth where necessary but also safeguard financial and fiscal stability." ■


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The mall was once the heart of suburban American life: families shopped, teenagers hung out and Hollywood set films there. But its attractions have faded and coronavirus has made things even worse.
The mall’s malaise prompted two events this week. Simon Property Group, the biggest US mall operator, was cleared with Brookfield Asset Management to buy the department store chain JCPenney out of bankruptcy for $1.75bn. Meanwhile, investors blocked a capital-raising plan at the European group Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which runs 89 malls in Europe and the US.
The chief culprit for the turmoil is the internet, particularly Amazon, which has eliminated the need to drive to a mall to browse for wares. The way in which retailing has changed was also shown this week by the clothing group VF’s takeover of the streetwear brand Supreme for $2.1bn — more than JCPenney’s valuation, despite the latter’s 800 stores and 118-year history.
The shopping centre is not a lost cause. It could even gain from the pandemic in the long term, if more families take advantage of remote working and move to suburbs. They will not want to spend all their money online and gathering shops in a convenient spot remains a sensible idea.
But malls need to evolve from the two-storey, air-conditioned boxes that border many towns, with department stores such as JCPenney anchoring the ends and food courts in the middle. They must be more enticing, less uniform and smaller; they could even learn from the high streets they replaced.
The classic mall was created by Victor Gruen, an Austrian immigrant to the US, in the postwar move to suburbs unleashed by the car. Living in Los Angeles, with its traffic-laden streets, he imagined “a neighbourhood centre that would be located off a main road” with a single building “of a pleasant and modest design”, as he later recalled in his memoir, Shopping Town.
Gruen’s mall was intended to foster local communities, with a post office, public library and doctor’s offices, as well as shops. His first design was opened in 1954 in Detroit and the second in 1956 — the Southdale mall in Edina, Minnesota. Southdale was inspired by “European galleries and passages, especially the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan”, Gruen wrote.
You could stare at most strip malls for a long time without being reminded of the iron and glass vaulted roof of Milan’s Galleria, which opened in 1877. That is partly Gruen’s fault, for his shapes were less elegant, but his utopian ideal was also degraded as philistine developers dotted them across the US.
Aesthetics are not the suburban mall’s biggest problem. More than half of US retail sales once took place in malls but they peaked in the 1990s, steadily sagging as city centres revived and ecommerce expanded. The foot traffic in Canada’s top 10 malls fell by 22 per cent from 2018 to 2019, before the pandemic.
A quarter of the 1,000-odd remaining US malls now look likely to close in the next three to five years, according to Coresight Research. It is not surprising, given that their business model of department store “anchor tenants” drawing in shoppers to browse other outlets is outdated.
Neiman Marcus, a fixture of upmarket US malls, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, along with JCPenney, emerging in September. “It feels as though the idea of the anchor tenant is an anachronism. Those stores are not anchors any more,” says Joel Bines, global co-head of retail at AlixPartners, the consultancy.
An end to the pandemic would help malls to stabilise, but they also need to recapture some of their former magnetism. They could take a lesson from Supreme, founded in 1994 on Lafayette Street in lower Manhattan as inner cities revived. It built a devoted following from its skateboard origins, with fans lining up outside its 12 stores (six of them in Japan) when it has a “drop” of its new designs.
Unlike the classic mall, a product of postwar plenty, Supreme has played successfully with scarcity and novelty — 45 per cent of its sales are outside the US and more than 60 per cent online. Gruen wanted to build communities of suburban shoppers but Supreme has created one of its own that spans physical and digital worlds.
Supreme is at the rarefied end of retail, a brand more than a merchant. But other store owners also have the strength to entice people away from Amazon and make them go out shopping. Apple has convening power, as do some luxury brands, grocery stores and restaurants.
The old mall is not returning, even if more families move out of cities — it was too big and bland. Some will be torn down and parts of the others converted to distribution centres for online retailers. Something smaller and quirkier is needed, perhaps closer to town, even reachable on foot.
The shopping centre of the future will not be Gruen’s mall — it could be more like a high street or the ornate arcade he once imagined re-creating. But when people are allowed to gather freely again, they will come.


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Fans of the band Phish will surely be excited about the recently announced news lining out their annual New Year’s Eve residency at the famed Madison Square Garden.
The Press Release:
Phish has announced that they will be celebrating New Year’s Eve this year once again at New York’s Madison Square Garden with a four-night run, December 28 – 31, 2018. At the end of this run, the band will have played 60 shows at the legendary arena since their debut there in December 1994.
An online ticket request period is currently underway at tickets.phish.com and will end October 8 at 10am ET. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, October 12 at noon ET. Travel packages including tickets will go on sale Friday September 28 at Noon ET. Tickets can be purchased via ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 866-858-0008. If tickets are still available, they may be purchased at the venue box office starting Saturday, October 13. Continue reading Phish Announces Their 2018 New Year’s Eve Run @ MSG→
I recently mused how we were starting to see the Fall 2018 tours despite the summer not even being here and with that, let’s get a look at the recent press from the folks behind the scenes of the Jamtastic band Phish.
The Press Release:
Phish has announced plans for a 14-date Fall tour, set to get underway October 16 with a double-header at Albany, NY’s Times Union Center and then concluding with a four-night Halloween run – beginning October 31 – at Las Vegas, NV’s MGM Grand Garden Arena. The tour also includes three-night stands at Hampton, VA’s Hampton Coliseum (October 19-21) and Chicago, IL’s Allstate Arena (October 26-28) as well as two nights at Nashville, TN’s Ascend Amphitheater (October 23-24).
An ticket request period is currently underway at tickets.phish.com through Tuesday, May 29 at 9am ET. All remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, June 1 and continuing through Saturday, June 2. In addition, Phish and CID Entertainment are also offering limited travel packages (which include hotel and tickets) for the Hampton, Chicago, and Las Vegas runs. Travel Packages go on sale Thursday, May 31 at 12pm local time. For complete information, please visit http://phish.com.
The tour announcement precedes Phish’s eagerly awaited summer run, set to get underway July 17 and 18 with a pair of sold out shows at Stateline, NV’s Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys and then continue through the band’s eighth annual Labor Day Weekend residency at Commerce City, CO’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on August 31-September 2. Most dates on the 21-show run are now sold out – for details and ticket availability, please visit phish.com/tours. Continue reading Phish Announce Fall 2018 Tour→
If you’ve been paying close attention to the tour announcements area of the website, you might recall my sharing the news about Phish doing their “Baker’s Dozen” tour in NYC. It was essentially a lengthy residency and you can refer to THIS LINK if you just felt like seeing it despite it having happened already. The other day the band announced their annual New Year’s Eve performances which will take place once more at the famed Madison Square Garden. Check out the cool poster.
12/28/2017: Madison Square Garden, NYC
12/29/2017: Madison Square Garden, NYC
12/30/2017: Madison Square Garden, NYC
12/31/2017: Madison Square Garden, NYC
PiercingMetal Thoughts: Sadly, I didn’t get to ANY of those “Baker’s Dozen” gigs from over the summer despite having some interest in catching at least one. Historically speaking I’ve never caught Phish in concert and with the way that my friends speak about their shows its something that I need to do before they decide to retire. With so many bands calling it a career, you never know when a break is coming or a hiatus or what have you. Okay, so in order to get your tickets you have to go through their system which can be found on THIS LINK. Good luck on getting them because I’ve been told that they sell out almost immediately. If you feel like adding anything more to this narrative please do so in the comments section below since its always nice to hear from you. Until next time.
Keeping up with the massive touring efforts that get announced almost daily if not more so, here is the latest statement by the Jamtastic band Phish who will be doing a summer residency at the famed Madison Square Garden. Check out the bands statement and the dates below. I’ll toss in some thoughts at the close.
The Band Statement:
We’re excited to announce The Baker’s Dozen, a 13-night run at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, beginning Friday, July 21 through Sunday, August 6. The Baker’s Dozen brings the band’s total performances at The Garden to 52 in the years since their December of 1994 venue debut.
Tickets to the The Baker’s Dozen will be available as a 13-show package for the price of 12, or as individual nights. An online ticket request period for individual tickets and Baker’s Dozen packages is available now at http://tickets.phish.com/ through Sunday, February 12 at 11:59 pm ET. Remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning February 17 at Noon ET. As with Phish’s most recent runs at The Garden, all floor tickets will be General Admission. Travel packages are also available (include tickets, hotel, etc.) at http://bit.ly/2kctydq.
Though I cannot say I am all that up on their sound, a lot of my friends are among the diehards and that means you talk about big tour appearances or announcements so here we go. Phish has recently announced the skinny on this years New Year’s Eve shows at the famed Madison Square Garden. Dig in.
The Press Release:
Phish returns to New York at the end of the year to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a four night run at Madison Square Garden, beginning Wednesday, December 28th through Saturday, December 31st. The four shows will bring the band’s total performances at the world famous arena to 39 in the years since their MSG debut in December 1994. As with Phish’s two prior MSG runs, all floor tickets will be general admission.
An online ticket request period is now underway at http://tickets.phish.com, ending Monday, October 10th at 12 noon ET. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, October 14th at 12 noon ET online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 866-858-0008. Any remaining tickets may be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office beginning Saturday, October 15th (Monday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm).
Phish and CID Entertainment are also offering travel packages for the New Year’s Run (which include hotel and tickets). Phish will be donating their proceeds of these travel packages to the WaterWheel Foundation. Travel Packages go on sale Thursday, October 13th at 12noon ET. Full details available at bit.ly/2cY6sVy
PiercingMetal Thoughts: I really have to try and catch this band before they decide they need to take a few years off or that it has been a job well done. I have a couple of live concert CD’s that my friends copied for me. Oh don’t worry they were recorded at the shows much like what used to be done for the Grateful Dead gigs and is applauded by the band. They do have some serious talent and it would be awesome to add them to the context of our concert narratives. What do you fans think of the announcement? Will you be at one, two, three or all four of these shows? Let me know in the comments section.


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TOKYO — Japan's economy grew a slower-than-expected 2.6 percent last quarter as companies wary o
NAGOYA, Japan — Mark Hogan, a former General Motors Co.
TAJIMI, Japan — Toyota is opening a training facility for mechanics complete with a test course
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich.
DETROIT — General Motors' global sales grew almost 4 percent in the first half of the year, enou
CHONGQING, China — Dave Schoch has one of the toughest jobs at Ford Motor Co.: catching the comp
BANGKOK — Japanese megabank Mitsubishi UFJ said it plans to buy a 75 percent stake in Thailand's
DETROIT — Not since before the recession have Americans been buying new cars and trucks at
DETROIT — U.S.
TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp.
TORRANCE, Calif. — Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that its U.S.
YANGON, Myanmar — Japan's government on Sunday extended its first loan to Myanmar in 26
TOKYO — Subaru said Wednesday it is investing $400 million to expand its Indiana factory an
DETROIT — Detroit was king in April, with demand for its big pickups helping to boost U.S.
DETROIT — Nissan is cutting prices on seven of its 18 models in the U.S., hoping its cars and tr


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According to a report by CNET UK, thousands of login credentials for Hotmail, Yahoo, and Google accounts have been stolen and posted online. Since Google accounts also allow access to Blogger, YouTube, Google Docs and Google Talk accounts, the potential data breach is huge as are the possible repercussions. Google is blaming a large scale phishing attack for the breach.
“We recently became aware of an industry-wide phishing scheme through which hackers gained user credentials for Web-based mail accounts including Gmail accounts,” a Google spokesperson told CNET UK. “As soon as we learned of the attack, we forced password resets on the affected accounts. We will continue to force password resets on additional accounts when we become aware of them.”
Microsoft is also aware of the breach and says it is doing everything it can to mitigate any damage. It is blocking accounts it knows to have been compromised and then helping the legit owners reclaim them. It’s not yet known exactly how many accounts have been compromised, exactly how it happened or who is responsible. It’s believed the accounts are probably being collected to send spam, malware, or further phishing accounts.
If you have a Yahoo, Hotmail and/or Google account, change your passwords ASAP. If you find yourself locked out of your account, contact the provider for assistance and be prepared to prove you are the actual account holder. Stay tuned to Gadgetell for more on this developing story.
Read: [CNET UK]


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Sailboat cargo reserves are on the rise, but the shipping industry still has a huge carbon footprint to tackle
Worse things happen at sea, or so the saying goes. And it rings true in the context of emissions: While countries ban gasoline and diesel on land, at sea, ships can still run on heavy fuel oil, a tar-like substance that belches toxic pollution and carbon dioxide.
According to the European Commission, the shipping industry accounts for around two percent of global CO2 emissions, which is more than Germany’s contribution. With the industry so far not bound by the Paris agreement, concerns abound that shipping could be a drag on emissions targets.
However, last week the sector changed course and agreed on new guidelines to make shipping compatible with the UN climate change goals. Critics say the guidelines lack ambition and that, like a cargo ship making a U-turn, the pace of change will be slow.
Some shipping companies are aiming for greener horizons and driving positive change. CalMac, a Scottish ferry company, has two hybrid ferries in operation, but it will be a long time before battery power can send ships across the oceans.
Other companies look to the past for inspiration. New Dawn Traders, a Bristol-based experimental cargo company, transports goods across the Atlantic on sailboats and says demand for its service is booming.
“We have increased approximately 70 percent in sales year over year,” owner Alex Geldenhuys told Positive News. “I feel like in the confinement, people have definitely changed our way of thinking.”
The European Commission says that the shipping industry accounts for about two percent of global CO2 emissions. Image: Ian Taylor
New Dawn Traders has an open database that allows companies to pre-order anything from a bottle or rum to several tons of coffee beans directly from suppliers in Latin America. This, says Geldenhuys, gives small producers access to new external markets.
Yallah Coffee Roasters, based in Falmouth, is one of Geldenhuys customers. During the summer, its owner, Richard Blake, had the rare privilege of seeing a ship sail into the city harbor with a shipment of coffee addressed to him.
The grains were transported aboard De Gallant, a French schooner, which took three months to make the 7,500-nautical-mile journey from Colombia to Cornwall.
In the photo, amid the sea spray, it took De Gallant three months to sail from Colombia to Cornwall. Image: James Bannister
“It’s magical to see the imported cargo arrive on a sailboat to its home port,” said Blake. “This is commerce as it was done hundreds of years ago.”
It was more expensive to ship the coffee on a sailboat than on a freighter, Blake admitted, but not by much. “It costs about 20p-30p more per kilo, and one kilo makes about 50 cups,” he said. That didn’t seem to put off gamblers: Yallah sold out the coffee in a week. “We thought it would take three months [to shift]”Said Blake.
Paying for the beans six months in advance was quite a compromise for a small company like Yallah, Blake admitted, but he’s not intimidated. “Our goal is to continue increasing the amount of coffee that arrives by sailboat,” he said. “I hope that in the not too distant future around 50 percent of our coffee [arrive by sailboat]. “
“It is magical to see the cargo that has imported arriving by sailboat to its port of origin. Image: James Bannister
New Dawn Traders is not the only business taking shipping to its roots. Fair transportation in the Netherlands is another sailboat cargo specialist, while Greyhound Adventures in Sweden it has built a business model based on transporting tourists and cargo through water.
And in Costa Rica, a Canadian sailor named Danielle Doggett is building what is expected to be the world’s largest wind cargo ship of tropical trees that fell in storms.
“In the context of the shipping industry in general, [sailboat cargo] it’s still small, ”Geldenhuys said. “But we are showing that other ways are possible.”