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Written By Varsha Bansal
Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon.com Inc. India in Amazon’s largest market outside of the US. (Mint)
Bengaluru: Amazon.com Inc.’s retreat from China will allow the e-commerce giant to free up resources to sharpen its focus on India, its largest market outside of the US. The Seattle-based company will shut down its Chinese marketplace business, while shifting its focus to offer mainland consumers overseas products rather than goods from local sellers, says a Bloomberg report.
Amazon’s decision to shut its Chinese marketplace business after struggling to compete with local rivals such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and JD.com also underscores the growing importance of India, which has become Amazon’s most important international market in the past few years.
Amazon stands a better chance of succeeding in India as the e-commerce sector in the country is already dominated by two US companies—Amazon India and Walmart Inc.-owned Flipkart—which, between them, are estimated to account for more than 80% of e-commerce market revenues./p>
“Over the decades, China’s government has strategically enabled Chinese companies to build unassailable dominant positions in the domestic market,” said Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of consulting firm Third Eyesight. “This applies to the most basic manufacturing and the most advanced technology companies.”
Walmart acquired 77% of Flipkart last year.
The Arkansas, US-based retailer is now focusing more on the Indian e-commerce market that is expected to reach $200 billion in revenue by 2027, according to Morgan Stanley’s estimates.
Earlier this week, Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon visited the Flipkart office to discuss the strategy of maintaining its lead over Amazon in India.
However, some analysts say Amazon’s retreat from China does not necessarily mean an increased focus on India.
“Amazon has been in the process of winding down in China for a while now—they were not investing any resources in that country,” said an analyst aware of the matter. “So, this move does not mean it will shift resources from China to India.”
The company has, however, made several capital infusions into its Indian entity over the years. In December, Amazon India received ₹2,200 crore from its US parent entity, which was the fourth tranche of capital infusion. In 2016, founder and chief executive officer Jeff Bezos committed $5 billion to the India business.


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According to the Home Business Experts at Cutting Edge Media, there’s a secret that most direct sellers don’t know: November and December are the best months to advertise your home business opportunity.
“Time with family and extra income are the main reasons people start a home business,” says Josh Binkley, a Print Media Consultant at Cutting Edge Media, “and people are really focused on those things over the holidays–so they’re already in the home-business mindset. That makes November and December the best months to advertise.”
In addition to hitting your target market at exactly the right time, Binkley explains that other advertisers often take a break during the holidays and some opportunity magazines don’t offer Nov.-Dec. issues. That means your opportunity has a better chance of getting noticed by hundreds of excited home-business prospects, especially when it’s in a CEM publication.
“Because your leads start coming in November and December, you can start marketing to them before the New Year,” says Binkley. “That’s significant because a lot of people make the commitment to start a business with a New Year’s Resolution. So basically you’ve got the jump on everyone else if you get your leads in December.”
With the holiday season fast approaching, Binkley and his associates at Cutting Edge Media are busy filling advertising slots in three of their direct mail home-business magazines: the November and December issues of Home Business Connection and the December/January issues of True Wealth and Your Home Biz.
Screenshot from Cutting Edge Media.
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Debt buyer Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. on Monday reported net income of $1.5 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $3.1 million for the year-ago quarter.
Cash collections rose 2 percent to $89.2 million, spurred by $5.8 million, or 14.8 percent, growth in the company’s legal collections. Revenues in the quarter fell 3.4 percent to $54.7 million, compared to a year ago.
In the third quarter, Warren, Mich.-based Asset Acceptance said it invested $23.9 million to purchase charged-off consumer debt portfolios with a face value of $766.2 million. In the third quarter of 2011 the company invested $38.3 million to purchase debt portfolios with a face value of $1.3 billion.
Adjusted Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) was $42.5 million, a 1.8 percent increase from $41.7 million in the third quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA was adversely impacted by the increased investment in legal costs compared to last year.
Rion Needs, president and CEO at Asset Acceptance, said the company is not content with the results for the third quarter but continues to work on measures aimed at helping the company grow, including various restructuring efforts and investments in the legal collections channel. As part of that expansion, the company will add to its India collection channel and reallocate the inventory from the Tempe collections office.
Asset Acceptance last month said it is expanding its legal collections operations in Riverview, Fla. and closing its Tempe, Ariz. collections call center. The company also launched Recovery Services, a fee for service legal collections business, and is transitioning its Florida call center collections staff to the legal collections channel. These reallocations are expected to boost "profitability by optimizing channel mix and inventory returns," according to company officials.
"Our investments in [the legal channel] are beginning to pay dividends as evidenced by the continued momentum in this business, specifically the sequential growth rate in this channel during the quarter," according to Needs. "In addition, we maintained a focus on further streamlining our business operations by reducing our cost and geographic footprint."
Earlier this month, Rufus "Bud" Reitzel, Asset Acceptance's founder, longtime leader and a debt-buying industry pioneer, passed away.


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Boost for economic recovery as most Omicron restrictions withdrawn
The Scottish Government has confirmed that all but one of the measures put in place immediately after Christmas to stem the spread of Omicron will cease from 24th January. The exception is the guidance to work from home, but it has said that may change from 1st February. In a further boost, it has confirmed it will not be extending the vaccine passport scheme to more settings or events.
The announcement is timely as the latest Quarterly Economic Indicator from the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, covering the last quarter of 2021, reveals that covid restrictions continue to cast a shadow over business confidence and investment plans, and this is exacerbated by the rising cost of doing business, which is also dragging on growth, with increasing cost pressures for raw materials and goods driving down profitability. Surging inflationary pressures are a major concern for businesses, with rising costs of fuel, raw materials, and the removal of the VAT reduction for hospitality and tourism, increasing pressure on them.
Commenting on the Scottish Government’s announcement and the latest SCC QEI, Alan Mitchell, Chief Executive of Fife Chamber of Commerce, said: “These are worrying times for many businesses, whose ability to fully recover from the impacts of covid restrictions and Brexit is still at risk, with all the adverse implications that has for living standards and future Government tax receipts and spending.
“Many of the pressures that businesses are confronting, including raw material shortages driving supply chain inflation, are global in nature and cannot be ‘solved’ independently by the UK or Scottish governments. But that doesn’t leave those governments as helpless bystanders to what is happening. They can mitigate the pressures on business. One very simple solution is to have an unambiguous and accelerated timeline for removing all remaining Covid restrictions and removing for good the threat of further partial shutdowns of vital parts of our economy. We must have a unified 4-nation strategy to live with Covid, rather than under it. There has always seemed to be a greater willingness on the part of the UK Government to take this approach, with a much more cautious approach from the Scottish Government. But now more than ever all the UK nations need to move at the same speed.
“Other ways our governments can help business, includes the policy of not imposing additional taxes or other costs on companies when they are facing countless other cost pressures. Whether it is raising Employer National Insurance Contributions or introducing Workplace Parking Levies or city centre Low Emission Zones charges, they will hurt businesses who are very vulnerable. Nor should business cashflow, investment funding or profitability be put at risk by the imposition of more business charges or taxes to pay for tax cuts or other measures to protect households from the rise in the cost of living that they are facing too. ‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’ is never a good idea. The mutual, long-term wellbeing of ‘Peter’ and ‘Paul’ depends on us having strong businesses that drive a dynamic and successful economy.”
Current Scottish Government Covid Financial Support Packages for Business
- Covid-19 Cancellation Fund for Creative Freelancers
- Omicron top up funding for events businesses
- Covid-19 Business Support And Continuity Tourism Fund
- Hospitality: December 2021 and January 2022 Business Support Top Up
- Hospitality & Leisure: January 2022 Business Support Top Up
- Night Club Closure Fund
- Taxi and Private Hire Driver and Operator Support Fund
The financial support for Close Contact Services is still to be confirmed by the Scottish Government – despite being promised weeks ago.


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Ericsson-Xiaomi battle heading for settlement, court allows 100k Redmi Note handsets to be sent back
There is no denying the fact that these handsets would have been a huge loss for the Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. For around a year as many as 100,000 units of Redmi Note handsets were rotting in Flipkart warehouses as its sale was banned in the country.
Now the company got some respite as Delhi High Court has said that Xiaomi can ship these handsets back to Hong Kong.
The handset was banned in the country following a Delhi High Court order on Ericssonâ€™s plea alleging patent violation by the Chinese mobile phone maker. The relief for the company came from a vacation bench of Justice Mukta Gupta who allowed the Chinese company to return more than 100,000 handsets to their point of origin in Hong Kong.
The relief came when the Swedish telecom company Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson agreed to the arrangement. The court directed Xiaomi to maintain an inventory of the handsets, currently lying unused with e-commerce site Flipkart through which the Chinese company sells its phones under an exclusive arrangement.
Now the company may be able to sell them in other markets. While talking about the development, Advocate Ajit Warrier said its phones like Redmi Note 3G, which run on a Mediatek processor, have been prohibited from sale in India by the high court. He said the company was only allowed by the court to sell its Qualcomm chipset-based phones and thus, the other variety are lying unused with Flipkart. The court on December 16 last year had permitted Xiaomi to sell its Qualcomm chipset-based devices as a â€˜pro temâ€™ (temporary) measure till the issue of patent infringement was heard and decided by a single-judge bench of the high court.


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How to determine if your car is included in the recall.
Japanese auto manufacturers are recalling 3.4 million vehicles worldwide. "The airbag for the front passenger seat may not inflate correctly because of a manufacturing defect in the propellant used in the airbag inflator," Reuters reported Thursday. Some non-Japanese automakers were also supplied the faulty air bag device by Takata, the world's second largest supplier of air bags and seat belts, according to Reuters. Honda "Honda announced a voluntary recall about 1.1 million cars – 680,000 in North America -- to replace the passenger front airbag inflator," the company said in a press release Thursday. The recall effects: Owners of these vehicles will be notified of the recall by mail beginning in late May, or may determine if their …
Dangerous law would make smart phone uses criminals.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Editor's Note: The following was submitted as a Letter to the Editor by Andrew Flusche, Attorney at Law. It is unedited. Delegate Cline pre-filed a texting while driving bill on December 4 that repeals the current Virginia ban against texting while driving. Cline’s bill replaces that narrowly tailored law with a dangerously broad addition to Virginia’s thirteen different types of reckless driving. The bill, HB 1360, would make it a class 1 misdemeanor for anyone caught “driving a motor vehicle on any highway in the Commonwealth while simultaneously using a handheld personal communications device for any purpose other than verbal communication.” The proposed bill dramatically broadens the prohibited acts and punishments for offenders. The …


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A few months ago Ford unveiled the updated 2019 Ford Fusion before it announced that it would be killing it off in a few years. Even with Ford deciding to keep the Fusion until at least 2020, it might have a harder time selling it, since the 2019 Fusion is getting quite a price hike.
According to Cars Direct, the 2019 Ford Fusion is up to $6,190 more expensive than the 2018 model. To simply the Fusion lineup, Ford has decided to reduce the number of trim options and bundle more equipment than before, which means that the base prices are going up.
The 2019 Ford Fusion S starts at $23,735, which is $645 more than the 2018 Fusion S. The Fusion SE’s price rises $650 and now starts at $25,015. As you move up the range the pricing jumps even higher. The 2019 Fusion Titanium is priced at $35,235, a whopping $3,870 price increase. The top 2019 Fusion Sport gets the largest increase of $6,190 and now starts at $40,910.
If you’re looking at the hybrid or plug-in hybrid Fusion models, they too are getting a price increase. The Fusion Hybrid SE starts at $28,450, which is $1,235 more expensive. The base Fusion Hybrid S has also been discontinued. The Fusion Energi Plug-in now starts at $37,490, which equates to $2,215 increase.
One of the reasons for the price increase is that all 2019 Fusion models now come standard with Co-Pilot360, which includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot information system, lane keeping system, rear backup camera and auto high-beam lighting.
Higher trim levels also received more equipment, which is why the price has jumped so much. For example the 2019 Fusion Titanium now comes standard with a moonroof, adaptive cruise control, navigation and 19-inch wheels. If you were to add all those options to a 2018 Fusion Titanium, the price would be close to $37,000, compared to only $35,235 for the 2019 model.
Source: Cars Direct


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Seven has historically been high on the picks of people’s “lucky numbers.” Maybe that’s going to work out well for Yahoo!7.
In a recent interview, Yahoo!7 digital joint venture CEO Ed Harrison made it clear the New Year is poised to start on an optimistic notes.
Harrison, however, went beyond hinting to nail down some thoughts on his 2015 growth strategy. At the top of the go-go list? Native advertising, digital magazines along with social platform Tumblr, and the recently announced “News Digest” rollout could be integral to future growth.
“Where a lot of our new interesting revenues are coming from native or so-called ‘in-feed ads,’” the exec was quoted by Mumbrella. “To be clear, there are multiple definitions of native, but we play in that high end bespoke content form of native.”
According to Mumbrella, “Yahoo!7 soft launched its native advertising push a couple of months ago and already has 95 clients using its native products, with 135 campaigns running on the site.”
Is native advertising just the trend of the moment?
“Everyone is a little bit over it (native), but it is important to understand where we sit on native because it is going to be a very real part of the business,” the CEO opined. “If you look over at the native market in the US they already have a market worth in the order of $250 million. That is the scale of the business and that is from a standing start a year to 18 months ago.”
What else is coming? Expansion into the digital magazine space.
“We are looking at bringing digital magazines to Australia,” said Harrison. “When we talk magazines we are not talking magazines brands but magazine verticals. The examples at the moment are food, beauty, tech – those two in particular make an enormous amount of sense – but also style, DIY, music, etc.”
U.S. parent company Yahoo owns 50 per cent of Yahoo!7 and has enjoyed success with its new digital magazine push in 2014.
“On the question of how it will use Tumblr, Harrison was a little more reluctant to share details,” noted Christensen, but Harrison painted a broad strokes picture.
“We are still forming plans around that understanding how it has played out in the U.S. and the UK,” he said. “What we do know is a huge number of the world’s top brands are now using Tumblr – they have a Tumblr and they are now spending on Tumblr.”
Mumbrella’s original interview story with Harrison is available here.


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People's new iPhones are 'falling apart'
Apple is investigating reports of its new iPhone bursting open, days after the flagship device went on sale. Pictures on social media showed an £800 iPhone 8 Plus handset that appeared to have split alongside the side. One owner said the device's casing cracked open as it was charging, according to Taiwanese media. The phone had reportedly been in use for five days and was being charged with an official cable and power adapter.


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All the news from the annual Google I/O event, including the latest on Android.
Apple has pushed out a minor update to its iOS software, version 4.3.1, although it's all about bug fixes. There is also new speculation about what may be in the next major release, iOS 5.
Less than two weeks after iOS 4.3.1 gets released, the latest in a long series of tools for users to gain a higher degree of control over their iOS devices begins making the rounds.
Demoed in a YouTube video, the untethered jailbreak works on the latest version of iOS, though devices with A5 chips or higher apparently are out of the running for now.
Apple only pushed out iOS 4.3 for its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch a couple of weeks ago, but there's already a minor update on the way with bug fixes, apparently.
Apple is reportedly set to release an update to its iOS mobile operating system within the next two weeks to address minor bug fixes and jailbreaking vulnerabilities.
Speed tests show that Apple's older iPhone gets a performance bump from the updated OS, though it still ran faster with iOS 6.
Get to know the new features in iOS 7.1, including improvements to Siri, the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and even HDR.
The technology landscape has changed drastically since Google made its market debut 10 years ago. Google's IPO and its co-founders had a big hand in that evolution.
The new iPad Mini somehow shrinks down the iPad Air into an even more compact package, sacrificing nearly nothing. It's more expensive than before, but it's also the perfect smaller tablet.
The video-streaming subscription service builds on the success of the Chromecast feature, which essentially turns mobile devices into remote controls.


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A recent Johannesburg High Court ruling has put an end to banks taking money without their
The High Court ruled that it was unlawful for the bank to take a client’s money without their consent. The NCR was pleased with the High Court’s ruling. This was according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NCR, Nomsa Motshegare.
“The NCR welcomes this judgment as it protects consumers from financial difficulties caused by the arbitrary transfer of funds from their accounts by banks.”
The NCR launched a court bid in 2016 after receiving many complaints from consumers. This was according to the Investigations and Enforcement
“Consumers, in these instances are left with no monies for their ordinary day to day living expenses or other debt obligations, ultimately leaving already over-indebted consumers in a far worse situation.”
Standard Bank spokesperson, Ross Linstrom, said that the bank opposes the bid.
“Our interpretation is that the common law rule of set-off can be applied because section 124 of the National Credit Act does not replace or amend this rule.”
The common law set-off was used to cancel out a debt between two individuals.
Motshegare stated that banks should always gain the consumer’s permission before transferring money out of the consumer’s account.
“Banks should obtain permission from consumers before transferring funds from consumers’ accounts to pay amounts due under credit agreements.”


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Tesla Motors has a "staggering" ability to ramp up production that will enable it to defend its position for several years, the automaker's biggest bull said Tuesday.
After a Tesla factory tour, Stifel Nicolaus auto analyst James Albertine raised his price target for the company to $400 per share, he told CNBC's "Fast Money Halftime Report." That's the automaker's highest Wall Street target.
"My argument is that Tesla's really carved a niche... and the competition is years away," he said. "We think they can defend themselves for the better part of at least two or three years."
After Albertine released his upgrade Tesla stock jumped over 4 percent: Shares of the company were trading above $281 Tuesday afternoon.
Including Albertine's $400 target, the average price target for Tesla is $259.62, according to data from FactSet.
—By CNBC's Everett Rosenfeld


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Mumbai: The Reserve Bank is planning to impose a fee on paper cheque payments to encourage customers to switch to electronic mode for transferring funds.
The charge on payments made through paper-based cheques should be borne by the customers, a study group of the central bank suggested in a report on “Migration of paper-based funds movement to electronic funds transfers”.
RBI posted the report on its website on 20 April for public comments, which would accepted till 15 May.
The report also suggested that customers should not be allowed to pay credit card dues and mobile bills through cheques instead they be asked to compulsorily pay bills for online transactions through electronic mode.
Suggesting that electronic fund transfers should be made cheaper than paper mode payments, the report said: “To begin with, ECS-based transactions should be made free for three years” and legal protection be made available to such transfers.
The report also recommended that government should be encouraged to migrate to electronic-based receipts and payments within three years and the progress should be reviewed every six months by the RBI.
To improve transactions at the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, the group suggested that necessary technical framework should be put in place in consultation with SEBI to encourage transactions through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS).
It further recommended that RBI may form a working group of all stakeholders to facilitate migration to electronic transactions.
Referring to high value transactions, the group recommended that transfers exceeding Rs 10 crore should be settled through the RTGS system, while others through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system.
It further suggested that RBI should make it mandatory for all banks to undertake inter-bank transactions through RTGS within six months.


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AT&T CEO Says Carriers Can No Longer Foot the Bill for High-End, Subsidized Smartphones
December 11, 2013 10:55 AM
comment(s) - last by
He said carriers need to stop focusing on luring in new subscribers and instead set their sights on getting existing customers to use more of the network
AT&T's CEO recently said that carriers could no longer afford to
pay subsidized prices
for subscribers' new smartphone hardware.
According to a new report from
, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told an investor conference in New York City on Tuesday that subsidies for high-end smartphones must end.
More specifically, Stephenson sees smartphone market penetration at 75 percent in the U.S., and it's expected to climb to 90 percent "soon." This kind of growth, he said, means that carriers need to stop focusing on luring in new subscribers and instead set their sights on getting existing customers to use more of the network.
"When you're growing the business initially, you have to do aggressive device subsidies to get people on the network," said Stephenson. "But as you approach 90 percent penetration, you move into maintenance mode. That means more device upgrades. And the model has to change. You can't afford to subsidize devices like that."
Before Apple's iPhone launched in 2007, wireless carriers placed their focus on bringing new subscribers in to the network. Once the iPhone was released, it was made exclusive to AT&T initially, where the carrier offered unlimited data plans through its 3G network as a way of drawing in data-hungry customers who wanted the new iDevice.
In 2010, AT&T was the first carrier to eliminate the unlimited data model and move to tiered plans instead.
Randall Stephenson [SOURCE: phonearena.com]
But the goals have changed for AT&T. Now that the iPhone and other smartphones have flooded the market, it wants to move away from subsidized pricing as a way of building customer growth and instead help customers make better use of its network.
One of the ways it has done this is through its Next plan. This allows customers to purchase a new handset with no money down and pay a monthly fee for 20 months as part of their wireless bill. After one year, the handset can be traded in for an upgrade to newer hardware. From there, a new 20-month cycle starts based on the price of the device.
"If you are a customer and you don't need to upgrade your device, you can get unlimited talk and text and access to the data network for $45 all-in," said Stephenson. "You can use your own device or finance it. I think this will be very powerful. It's where we see the market going."
AT&T also recently
reduced off-contract prices
and changed its base costs for each data tier.
Stephenson added that AT&T will be looking more toward the lower end of the market now that capacity problems have been addressed for the high end (thanks to LTE). Part of the low-end strategy is utilizing its latest purchase of Leap Wireless, a prepaid carrier that AT&T purchased for $1.2 billion back in July of this year.
"You will see us go very aggressively in the prepaid market," said Stephenson.
It seems like AT&T has been watching T-Mobile's latest "UnCarrier" moves. T-Mobile eliminated contracts for reduced cell phone plans in March and was the first to introduce an
early phone upgrade program
in July. Then, in October, it started offering a free unlimited
international text and data plan
More recently, T-Mobile announced Tuesday that it would be dropping down payments for Apple's new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C handsets, as well as certain iPad models. It's a limited holiday offer, though.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: Thank you, T-Mobile for bring the United States to the light
12/14/2013 10:37:10 AM
Ever heard of corporate America? The a-holes who exploit and abuse every system that they can get their hands in name of the "free market" but also among the very first to cry foul when the same thing they preach so much doesn't go in their favor.
Aww, look at how hard his life would be if he didn't earned that extra 8 digits by getting rid of phone subsidies to the entitled lazy Americans. Would somebody think of the poor CEOs please?
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The logo of the broker scam Billion Forex (www.billionforex.com) reminds of the beverage brand Red Bull and this could be intentional. Currently, there are no warnings against the scam by a financial market regulator but FinTelegram already has whistleblower information and complaints. The scam is operated by BillionTraders Services OÜ, Estonia, and Billion Traders Ltd, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They claim to be part of FCA-regulated Billion Key Ltd. TEXCENT and crypto payment processors such as BitPanda, Coinmama, or Coinbase are integrated as payment providers.
The scam is operated by BillionTraders Services OÜ, registered in Estonia, and Billion Traders Ltd, registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Cypriot Christos Varnavas is registered as a director of the Estonian company. According to its website, the scam is part of the network of Billion Key Limited, registered in the UK and regulated by the UK FCA. The company changed its name to Paywiser Limited with effect from 7 October 2020 and is controlled by the Hong Kong Chinese Him Shun Sam Ho.
In fact, Billion Key Limited aka Paywiser is registered with the FCA under reference number 901086, but the brand and/or Domin “Billion Forex” is not approved by the FCA.
That said, we can conclude that the bold claim that Billion Forex would be part of the FCA-regulated Paywiser is either a false statement or that operating Billion Forex under the FCA license umbrella of Paywiser is a violation of regulatory requirements.
Deposits to the scam are processed via TEXCENT and its BIILZ platform. TEXCENT – sounds a bit like the Chinese FinTech giant “TenCent” – is an Asian FinTech company and payment processor and operates the payment platform BIILZ (www.biilz.com) via its European entity Texcent UK Ltd registered in the Companies House with Company No 11108806. Both of the company’s directors – Sumedha Goel and Svetlana Umarova – are residents of the United Arab Emirates.


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The financial crisis and its aftermath may have slowed down the pace of globalisation, but the four corners of the earth continue to be increasingly well connected. International trade has recovered slowly since 2009 and was up 2.9% last year according to the World Trade Organisation.
One of the companies hoping to take advantage of this trend is Swansea-based Wolfestone, a translating firm that was founded back in 2006 and now counts the likes of NATO, Coca-Cola and IBM among its list of recent clients. The firm is the creation of Polish entrepreneur Anna Bastek, who moved to sunny South Wales in 2004 to work as a marketing manager for a small electronics company. After watching the company grow, she decided to strike out alone.
'I was thinking about starting my own business because my boss wouldn’t give me unpaid holiday,' she tells MT. 'I got the travel bug and had very limited flexibility in that job. I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny and be my own boss and have flexibility.'


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THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The fiscal 2022 second quarter for Conn’s Inc., a specialty retailer of furniture and mattresses, home appliances, consumer electronics, home office products and a consumer credit provider, continues its positive momentum with total revenues up 14% and income up 80.3% year-over-year.
For the quarter ended July 31, revenues reached $418.4 million, with same store sales up 16.4% for the period over 2020 and up 3.2% over 2019 levels.
E-commerce sales increased 210.9% to a quarterly record of $17.3 million, and lease-to-own sales were up 70.3% to $41.6 million.
“Strong second quarter retail and credit results exceeded our expectations and demonstrate that our growth strategies are taking hold. Second quarter same store sales increased 16.4%, and total retail sales are up 24% over the prior year period,” said CEO Chandra Holt in an earnings release, adding, “In fact, earnings per diluted share of $2.74 for the first six months of the year are higher than any annual earnings in Conn’s 131-year history.”
Holt noted that the company is increasing its fiscal year 2022 same store sales expectation from high single-digit growth to mid-teens growth.
Conn’s opened three Conn’s HomePlus showrooms during the quarter, all in Florida, bringing the total number of showrooms to 155 in 15 states. During fiscal 2022, it plans to open 11 to 13 new showrooms, including the nine opened in the first half.


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Future Imperfect: 10 new problems that technology will create and charities will have to deal with
The post can now be read on our new Giving Though blog.
A recent announcement by US President Donald Trump has caused a great deal of concern in the non-profit sector and once again brought the issue of charities getting involved in […]
Truth Decay: Philanthropy and the battle against misinformation and ‘fake news’
Two issues that seem set to be big topics of debate in 2017 are the impact of automation on the future of work and the question of whether some form […]
The huge consumer tech expo CES 2017 is currently taking place in Las Vegas. This has prompted the usual annual raft of articles identifying the main tech trends that can […]
The idea of augmented or virtual reality has been around for a long time (we can think back to the visual information overlay in the Terminator movies, or the virtual […]
This week is #iwill week, which sees organisations and individuals across the country joining forces to celebrate and promote youth social action, as well as committing to take action to try to give more young people opportunities to participate in the future.
That was the question put to an audience and panel this morning at an event hosted in central London by New Philanthropy Capital. I think it’s fair to say […]
This post can now be read on our new Giving Thought blog.


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Motorola DROID set to take over Times Square
It has been noted that in conjunction with the DROID launch Verizon will be creating a first of its kind interactive experience.
The interactive experience will take place in New York City and it has been named DROID does Times Square.
The experience is said to let people control two of Times Square’s largest digital billboards, only using voice commands we have a sneaky peek at what it will look like, what do you think ? Looks exciting doesn’t it. Source – boygeniusreport.com


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São Bernardo, Brazil - Volkswagen’s Brazilian division has released fresh teaser images and new information on the company’s forthcoming compact SUV that’s set to be revealed in full on October 25.
Meanwhile VWSA has confirmed to us that the T-Cross is set to be launched in South Africa during the second half of 2019.
Like most modern VWs, the T-Cross will be based on the company’s MQB architecture, although its closest relative is essentially the Polo. It’ll go up against compact SUVs such as the Hyundai Creta and Honda HR-V.
However, the exact size of the T-Cross you purchase will depend on what part of the planet you live on. Brazil, China and other emerging markets will receive a larger version, with a largest-in-class wheelbase of 2651mm - a whole 88mm more than the European version. Boot volume is variable between 373 and 420 litres, says VW Brazil.
We’re currently awaiting confirmation on which version of the T-Cross will come to South Africa.


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Sales of the Stadia controller are no more, following an earlier report that Google is shutting down Stadia for good at the start of next year. As a silver lining, anyone who made purchases of Stadia hardware through the Google Store is going to get a refund. So, at least that’s something. And taking that into consideration, it makes perfect sense why Google would stop the sales of the Stadia controller through its Google Store online shop.
Google would just have to turn around and refund those anyway. So why sell them? The controller has also been out of stock at retailers like Best Buy for a little while now. But all of that aside, this sheds light on another issue with the controller. Wireless connectivity for non-Google platforms.
With Google halting Stadia controller sales, will it ever get Bluetooth support?
In a brilliant method of connectivity, Google’s Stadia controller connected to devices like the Chromecast Ultra through the use of communication between the streaming device and the controller being on the same WiFi network. The controller also had Bluetooth hardware inside, but it was only ever used for pairing the controller to devices. Not for wireless play.
Now the question remains if Google will add this feature before the eventual closing of its cloud gaming service next year. This is a feature people have been asking for since, the launch of Stadia really. And now seems like the perfect time for Google to do subscribers a solid and work that feature in.
It’s the least the company could do so that the controllers are able to continue serving players who like to use it. Sure, you can use the Stadia controller with other gaming platforms through USB. But what it really needs is Bluetooth connectivity support so people can use it wirelessly too. Though given Google has stopped selling it, we don’t see that happening.
In addition to stopping sales of all Stadia hardware on the Google Store, the Stadia Store has also already halted sales of games. Again, not surprising. Given the announcement about the service’s shutdown and Google would just end up having to refund any of those purchases.


text: Dr Martens announced they are planning to considerably augment the manufacturing in the United Kingdom within spring 2020. According to such plans, the brand will produce 165,000 pairs of shoes and boots a year in the manufacturing plant based in Wollaston, Northamptonshire, where they currently make around 70,000 pairs. The company is going to invest 2 million pounds, and will also create a Centre for Visitors, to drive them around in a company tour and show them the factory inaugurated in 1901. Kenny Wilson, Dr Martens chief executive officer, pointed out: “This investment proves to confirm, once again, our consistent commitment to Northampton alongside our support to the heritage of Dr Martens brand. We are very proud of our history and we are proud of Northampton: this town played a relevant and meaningful role in the business development of our brand, that is why we want people to come here and see it personally. Our current investment also highlights the successful performance of our product line made in England”.


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1 Min Read
LAGOS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank will sell $500 million on a 60-day forward contract to help boost dollar liquidity on the interbank market, traders said on Tuesday, a day after it effectively devalued the naira for retail currency transactions.
The central bank said the special intervention will be via a "wholesale bid" whereby commercial lenders will apply for a particular dollar amount as opposed to submitting individual customer demand.
Lenders will then allocate the U.S. currency to their customers, the central bank said in a mail to commercial banks, asking them to maintain the bid spread of 0.50 naira. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Catherine Evans)


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Palm Beach International Airport's sundry shops want to sell "Save the Gulf" T-shirts to raise money for the massive oil spill cleanup.
Money from the shirts, which include an image of a pelican with the words "Save the Gulf" and "Save the Earth" on them, would be donated to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation.
The Paradies Shops, the Atlanta-based company that operates PBIA's retail and concession stores, asked airport officials last week for permission to sell the shirts. The company wants the county to exclude money raised from the shirts from its rent payments, which are based on the shops' revenues when they exceed a minimum fee.
Palm Beach County commissioners are expected to consider the request at their regular meeting Tuesday. Commissioners will also discuss the county's response plan, if oil from the spill washes ashore here.
Paradies officials could not be reached for comment Monday, but PBIA managers said the company plans to sell the shirts in its stores in other airports, as well. Paradies operates more than 500 stores in over 70 airports and hotels in the United States and Canada.
Laura Beebe, PBIA's Deputy Director of Airports Business Affairs, said the shirts send a "positive message."
Airport managers aren't concerned that the shirts could leave a bad impression for tourists, she said. "It is not really different then raising money for Hurricane Katrina."


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There is some good news for cinema goers and foodies in Swindon as Regent Circus has announced car parking fees will reduce for daytime visitors.
Daytime visitors to the Regent Circus car park, entered via Victoria Road or Edmund Street will now pay just £2.00 to park for four hours between the hours of 6am and 6pm at Regent Circus which is home to Cineworld and restaurants Ask, Coal, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Nando’s and Prezzo.
The new parking tariff created especially for daytime visitors parking at Regent Circus means a saving of over 50% for those staying for up to four hours. The previous cost was £4.80.
Steve Bizley, Centre Manager at Regent Circus said: “There is a fantastic, modern car park in a prime town centre location here at Regent Circus but we were aware that the daytime costs were not in line with the rest of Swindon. We are really pleased the car park now offers this fantastic rate of £2.00 for four hours. There were already great value rates after 6pm but this will be very welcome news for daytime visitors.”
Steve continued: “Regent Circus is also the official sponsor of The Wyvern Theatre’s pantomime Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs this year so we hope the new rate will be of great benefit to people visiting matinee performances.”
The new rates bring car parking at Regent Circus into line with daytime rates across Swindon and gives visitors the opportunity to make full use of the facilities at Regent Circus including plenty of time to see a film and relax at a restaurant.
Regent Circus offers 450 secure car parking spaces in a prime town centre location.


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With its new digital campaign, #unowhoyouare, UNO is recognizing four unique player personalities: Victory Dancers, Dodgy Dealers, Sore Losers and Make Your Own Rules. The social-first campaign targeted at Gen Z and Millennial consumers is taking off across social media platforms—on TikTok the hashtag promises to be particularly popular.
#unowhoyouare is all about celebrating the many different ways to play and customize the card game experience, especially at a time when people are turning to low-tech games and entertainment at home. In the campaign, there's a mix of real people and influencers, who share their genuine reactions during gameplay. Young users will recognize TikTok creators like OTB, Fleur, Kyran, Lily Rose and Arron Crascall, among others.


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Pret A Manger will invest £10m to support its staff with the cost of living crisis, bringing pay above inflation.
The outlet will give its workers a salary boost from 1 December to the tune of five per cent.
This comes after the coffee chain invested £9.2m in April this year, with 6,500 of its staff to receive a pay boost and benefits package worth more than £11.55 an hour.
Baristas at the company will become among the highest paid in the industry, able to earn up to 13.75 an hour. More than 8,600 of its shop staff will have an average baseline pay top up of 13 per cent this year, which is above inflation.
The move comes as the UK faces surging energy and food costs, with sky-high inflation and rising interest rates putting pressure on people’s finance.
“Our people have always been at the heart of our business”, said Guy Meakin, the Interim Managing Director at Pret A Manger UK & Ireland.
“With the rising cost of living putting increased pressure on our people, we wanted to do more to support them, and to say thank you for continuing to go above and beyond for our customers.
“We aspire to always be a top employer, with all our employees earning well above the National Minimum Wage irrespective of age.
“We hope this further investment alongside staff discounts and free food and drink while working, will go some way in helping our Teams through the winter months and beyond.”


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For years, it has been a massive challenge, and the mere idea of seeing a typical PC RTS game running on consoles would provoke laughter among fans and nightmares for developers. However, in recent years, we have witnessed more and more "unthinkable on consoles" games being released on Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo machines without compromising the original work.
Publisher Limited Run Games and developer Rightstick Studios have announced DoubleShake, a new 2.5D platformer that will be released sometime in 2024 for PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. The project initially started as a Kickstarter campaign.
From the moment it hit the market, Betrayer stood out as a unique game within its genre. Positioned as a first-person survival shooter with an interesting story that transported us to 1604 Virginia, plagued with ghosts, monsters, and other strange creatures, it was eventually removed from Steam in 2021 without many details.
Activision has shown little concern about the state of the older Call of Duty installments. The multiplayer aspect of many titles released by the company in the first half of the 2010s or earlier has faced numerous issues. Players have reported cheating, insecurity, and even errors that made finding a match literally impossible.
Limited Run Games has announced a new collaboration with Square Enix to release Gex Trilogy on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). As the name suggests, it is a compilation that will include the first Gex game, Gex: Enter the Gecko, and Gex 3: Deep Covert Gecko.
Baldur's Gate 3 is like a kind of onion: it is composed of overlapping layers. The complexity is such that the variables seem endless, as they trace paths that fork in different directions, shaping the world and events that unfold on the Sword Coast.
Assassin's Creed Mirage will mark a return to the roots of the franchise in many aspects, and one of them is the progression system. It will leave behind the level-ups and experience increases that we've seen in Assassin's Creed Origins, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, to return to something more traditional.
PS VR2 is the new testing ground for Vertical Robot, accustomed to delivering immersive experiences. Red Matter 2 arrives on the new generation of the PlayStation device as a true showcase of the system. Despite its initial release on the Meta Quest 2, the team takes advantage of the capabilities of this new hardware to deliver a display of expertise.
EA SPORTS FC 24 kicks off its promotional campaign as part of its big reveal to the public. Electronic Arts releases the first trailer for the game, an emotive short that directly appeals to nostalgic football fans. Legends of the past and today's stars come together in a video that sets the stage for what's to come.
"Do you remember the frenzy caused by Counter-Strike during the early 2000s? At that time, the popular video game had become an obsession for people of all ages and continued to thrive until the end of the decade.


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DICKINSON, N.D. (KXNET) — Dickinson has a new smoothie shop, located at the Saint Joe’s Plaza.
The new shop makes smoothies from fresh fruits and vegetables. The shop also sells fresh pastries, oats, wraps, and salads.
The owner, Dessire Hernandez, says they try to promote fresh ingredients and a healthy lifestyle.
“A lot of people like to have meetings here,” said Hernandez. ” A lot of people like to bring their families after school, have a smoothie and play a game with them. And you know create memories.”


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Via EUREC Members, ZSW
Growth continues to pick up steam / German manufacturers in the top 10
The number of electric cars worldwide had risen to 5.6 million in early 2019, up 64 percent from previous year. This is the second year running to see such accelerated growth. China and the USA, the biggest markets, are propelling this steep growth. China remains the undisputed global leader with a total of 2.6 million e-cars. It is followed by the USA with 1.1 million e-cars. Just short of 142,000 electric vehicles are now rolling on Germany’s roads. The new figures are sourced from a recent survey conducted by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-WÃ¼rttemberg (ZSW). According to its scientists, Tesla accounts for the largest number of newly registered vehicles, nearly 234,000, followed by the Chinese brands BYD and BAIC.
The most successful German manufacturer was BMW, taking sixth place with close to 87,000 electric cars, followed by VW in ninth place.
These and many other facts and figures on electric vehicles are available here
It was a record-setting year for first-time registrations with more than 2.2 million registered worldwide in 2018, a remarkable 75 percent increase. This growth spurt also carried over from the previous year.
Top-ranked China doubles its fleet, USA at no. 2
Electric mobility is developing very dynamically in many countries, and particularly so in China. It is the leader in terms of both the total vehicle count and new registrations with 2,610,000 e-cars motoring on the country’s roads. The fleet practically doubled last year with 1,256,000 new registrations. The USA is once again in second place with 1,102,450 e-cars, including the 361,310 cars newly registered in 2018. Norway took third place with 86,340 new registrations in 2018, bringing its total to 298,210 electric automobiles. Every other new passenger car – or more accurately, 51 percent – in Norway is electrically powered, a figure unrivalled anywhere in the world. By comparison, the share of electric cars in all new registrations is around five percent in China, and just two in the USA.
The baseline – vehicles recharged with electrical power
ZSW’s scientists counted only those passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with battery-powered electric drives, range extenders and plug-in hybrids; that is, all vehicles that are charged with electrical power. They did not count full and mild hybrids and vehicles equipped with fuel cell technology. There so few of the latter on the road that reliable statistics have yet to be available. This assessment is based on data from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, government agencies and NGOs abroad, and other sources.


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Advancements in technology take many different forms in the present. We've come a long way in finding alternatives to the old traditional ways of doing things. In recent decades the focus has been on manufacturing products in a manner that is sustainable, green, and in the better interest of the environment. Many of the major high-end brands are coming around and using new sustainable technologies. New ways of using plants to achieve this end have resulted in useful technologies that enhance our way of life and leave a smaller carbon footprint. Here are five plant-based technologies that you didn't even know existed.
1. Plant-based leather substitute
According to Tech Crunch, vegans have something new to celebrate. The shoe-making company Allbirds is enhancing its supply chain with an investment of $2 million in Natural Fiber Welding, a company that has developed a vegan leather replacement. The new fabric is set to be delivered sometime in late 2021. The new sustainable leather material made by Natural Fiber Welding is a plant-based leather that is sustainable, made of tough cotton fiber through a new processing technology that converts the cotton into a material that is much like leather in appearance and feel. It is rumored that the materials will b used to create a variety of clothing items as well as accessories that were once made of leather. This is just one startup that is moving toward the development of new plant-based fabrics of all types. Natural Fiber Welding asserts that the reduction in its carbon footprint is 40 percent over traditional man-made fabrics with 17 times less carbon created in the manufacturing process vs synthetic leather made out of plastic materials.
2. Plant-based milk
Oatley is a company that is credited with the development of milk for human consumption that is made of oats. The company was founded in 1985 by Rickard Oste with its headquarters in Sweden. The international plant-based milk producer is expecting an IPO to take the company from private to publicly traded. Plant-based milk technology is a healthy alternative that provides sustainable milk production without the byproducts and methane gasses generated by Dairy cattle. This is a good example of how advances in food sciences are creating a healthier nutritional source that is produced by more environmentally friendly and sustainable production methods
3. Plant-based seafood
Hooked is a new tech startup in the seafood industry that was established by Emil Wastson and Tom Johansson in Stockholm, Sweden. The company specializes in seafood products that are plant-based and contain no meat. The first to come off the line were shredded vegan salmon and tuna, high in Omega-3 fatty acids and protein. The products were introduced to the market in the latter part of 2020. This is a technology that relies on plants to create alternative seafood substitutes with no meat and is approved for those who observe a vegan diet and lifestyle. It's a sustainable practice that leaves a small carbon footprint.
4. Alternative meat substitutes
Meet Jack is a startup that was founded by Marjolein Pleune and Kaline Van Halder with its headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The new technology that Meet Jack uses for their production of alternative Dutch meatballs, burgers, croquettes and more comes from the use of young jackfruit. The fruit is used in the production of a variety of vegan whole-food meat alternative products. Minimal processing of the products is necessary. This is a highly sustainable means of producing meat substitutes with similar texture and superior nutritional value. The company has secured partnerships with restaurant caterers. Meet Jack is a company to keep your eye on. It's off to a healthy start and we expect it to continue to expand and improve the current technology used in the plant-based meat industry.
5. Plant-based sugar-free desserts
Zveetz is a smart food company that specializes in the development of sugar-free desserts that are created from plant-based technology. The startup was founded in 2018 by Christain Krause and Vishal Kawatra with its headquarters in Berlin, Germany. Zveetz is changing the food industry with its use of plant-based processing that enhances the health and nutrition of dessert products by eliminating sugar and employing a range of different more healthy ingredients. Their specialty is producing vegan mousse desserts that are made of stevia for sweetening, coconut peanuts, vanilla, and cold brew.
Plant-based technology is changing the available options that we have for food and clothing in ways that are more environmentally responsible, and better for our health all the way around. Plants are now being used to make imitation leather fabrics out of a tough strain of cotton. This cuts down our reliance on cattle and other animals, which also reduces the canon footprint we leave behind by moving away from traditional manufacturing methods. It's also more sustainable. There are also plant-based technologies that are used in the creation of milk products. This is good news for those who have allergies to dairy products or who prefer to live a vegan lifestyle. Plant-based technology is also used in the creation of meat products such as beef replacement, chicken substitutes, and more. Zveetz offers an all-natural vegan-friendly line of plant-based mousse desserts. This is just the beginning of this new niche in the tech sector that has started a new revolution in clothing and textiles including shoes and other accessories. In the food industry, plant-based technology is being used to develop new sustainable food sources that offer alternatives to the use of animals for the production of healthy and nutritious consumables including foods, beverages, and some dessert items. The technology is still in its infancy and we have a lot to learn about the possibilities for plant-based technology. We're entering a new and exciting era where the world around us is drastically changing. This new technology is one that investors are keeping an eye on as the likelihood of growth in the sector is positive.
Written by Lily Wordsmith
Read more posts by Lily Wordsmith


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Faced with underperforming bagel restaurants, national chain Einstein Bros.Bagels is closing 39 of its estimated 600 stores located in 40 states. JAB Holding Co. bought ENRGI in September and is following a pattern of shutting down poorly performing stores as it did with another acquisition of Peet’s and Caribou Coffee restaurants.
Raising Concern Over Humane Treatment Of Animals
More restaurants and chefs are raising concern over the humane treatment of animals that may end up on the plates of customers in their establishments, FSR Magazine reports. The issue is gaining enough momentum that is also fueling the local farm-to-table markets across the country. “This is everybody’s issue,” Jason Gronlund, vice president of culinary for Smokey Bones, a 65-unit casual-dining chain based in Orlando, told FSR. “Just because we have to feed the population doesn’t mean we can take shortcuts in the care of animals.”
The Tax Man Cometh…
Before April 15 arrives, you may want to talk to your tax advisor about any incentives you can peruse to lower your tax burden, The National Restaurant Association is advising. Here are a few tips to get you started:
* Depreciation deductions allow you to deduct half of the value of some new equipment up front, while the remainder can be taken over several years. If you purchased new dining-room furniture this past year, for example, you can write off half its cost and the remainder over a five-year period.
* If your business financed less than $2 million in new equipment in 2014, you qualify for up to $500,000 in deductions. Known as Section 179 Expensing, it applies to most business equipment, including business vehicles, computers, etc.
* Parking lot needs repair? Your restaurant needs a new roof? Or the interior needs refreshing? Now you can depreciate some of those cost under Section 162 of the tax code.
* Enhanced charitable deductions for food, including the cost of storing and shipping donated food.
* 15-Year Depreciation Schedule allows you to depreciate costs you encounter for remodeling, for example, over a shorter period than the 39-year schedule.
* Review your accounting methods. By doing so you may discover opportunities to accelerate deductions, defer revenue recognition, and identify risk areas.
Asian Eateries Dominated By Private Owners
Although there are more than 64,000 Asian restaurants in the U.S., making that food sector the third most popular in the country, the sector is dominated by mom and pop owners, Restaurant Smartbrief reports. The Asian restaurant sector includes Indian, Chinese, and Korean establishments that average roughly $25 billion a year in sales. Despite their success, only 6% of Asian restaurants are run as chains… at least for the moment.
Survival Tips From The Pros
One of the benefits of working for The Poughkeepsie Journal is the fact that it is the hometown paper for The Culinary Institute of America. That said, Bill Guilfoyle, associate professor of business management
at CIA, has some pointers for restauranteurs, new and old. Consider the following things restaurants must do to survive:
• Find a great location
• Establish a niche and theme
• Create a detailed business plan
• Connect with customers on social media
• Save money for the first year
Things restaurants should avoid at all costs:
• Rely entirely on food for profit
• Neglect employees
• Raise menu prices to make ends meet
It’s Lobster Season Everybody
It may not feel like it around most of the country, but spring is almost here… and so is the peak season for lobsters, Nation’s Restaurant News reports. Most of you will offer lobster in its traditional forms, but some chefs around the country are experimenting. How about lobster, egg, and caviar, for example? Or perhaps Maine Lobster Bolognese, which has diced lobster atop a haystack of house-made linguini and coral butter? Even a Lobster Bloody Mary came out of Firefly in Studio City, CA, headed by executive chef Paul Shoemaker. Executive chef Michael Hung of Faith & Flower in Los Angeles marring lobster with clams casino. Similarly, chef and partner Dave Pasternack and chef de cuisine and partner Christian Goerner of Barchetta in New York City recently added to their menu a Spiny Lobster Crudo, made with raw lobster dressed with olive oil, sliced green almonds, and lemon. Whatever the recipe, be bold, and be creative. Your customers will thank you.
Edible Coffee Cups
KFC is introducing edible coffee cups, USA Today reports. Called the Scoff-ee Cup, “the cup is made
of a wafer-thin cookie wrapped in sugar paper and lined with white chocolate that won't melt into hot beverages,” the paper says. The edible coffee cups are currently being tested in Great Britain. Who knows … Next up may be a pretzel-flavored, edible beer mug!
According to new research by the NPD Group, desserts in the U.S. are on life support. Once a staple of American dining at home and in restaurants, dessert, it seems, is headed off into history. Why? The new findings show that only 12% of Americans bother with dessert. That is down 50% from 30 years ago, NPD Group says. By age group, the future of desserts seems even bleaker with 90% of people under 34 passing up on that proverbial slice of American pie.
Family Restaurants Gain In Popularity
From IHOP to Denny’s, family dining joints are enjoying a renaissance, The Washington Post reports. Sales were up 3% in 2014 primarily because the family fare is inexpensive and popular, so everyone can get want they want without breaking the bank. Cracker Barrel, which has 80% of its restaurants, located right off the interstates, reports sales were up 8% the past three months. It credits cheaper gas for allowing more family travel. The Black Bear Diner chain, which also caters to working class Americans, says business is up thanks to cheaper gas, which is like giving working people a raise.


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Nicklasson was founded in 1946 by Henry Nicklasson and the business has since expanded under current owners Brad Wieland and Mitch More. More will join BSN SPORTS along with the majority of the company’s sales and support teams.
More states, “Supporting multiple generations of athletes and coaches since Nicklasson’s founding has been a truly memorable and impactful experience. However, we are proud of this opportunity to continue our journey with BSN SPORTS and provide more products and services than ever before with the backing of a national company in BSN SPORTS. Our team sees incredible potential to continue deepening relationships within our local communities and leveraging the enhanced resources now available to our team.”
Through the acquisition, Nicklasson’s second storefront in Edina, Minnesota will transition into a regional sales office — which BSN SPORTS says will expand its nationwide network of locally based sales and service teams.
Terry Babilla, BSN SPORTS president, says, “Nicklasson’s longevity and success in supporting the growing regional youth, school, and association athletic needs over the last 75 years is a testament to their commitment to doing right by their customers. This prioritization of customer service aligns seamlessly with our core principles at BSN SPORTS, and we welcome Mitch and our new teammates into the BSN SPORTS family. We look forward to this opportunity to enrich the experiences of local coaches, athletes, and families.”
According to the company, under the BSN SPORTS umbrella, current customers can expect continued team service, an expanded brand selection, and more product offerings.
Babilla concludes, “In announcing our third acquisition of this year, we are eager to continue building momentum in expanding BSN SPORTS’ service capabilities across the country. Welcoming individuals to our team that share our passion for supporting coaches and the impact they make in the lives of their athletes will remain a key priority.”


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Barbie has been through hundreds of transformations in her 60-year history, from doctor to President to flight attendant, but her newest look takes her where no doll has gone before.
To mark the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's hit "Space Oddity" Barbie has been made over to look like Ziggy Stardust, with a new outfit and special haircut.
Barbie traded in her traditional blonde locks for Bowie's red mullet haircut and is wearing a metallic jumpsuit fit for a rock star or space explorer.
Mattel often releases limited edition dolls to honor icons. Last year the company released dolls with wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs.


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By Adrian Schunk
ORANGE TOWNSHIP, IONIA COUNTY — Amanda Teachworth and Julie Stephenson, both members of Michigan Farm Bureau’s (MFB) state Promotion and Education Committee, recently attended a national-level consumer engagement conference. More than 40 Farm Bureau members from across the nation attended American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Target: Food Consumer Engagement Training, May 1-2 in Washington, D.C.
Aimed at equipping Farm Bureau members with skills for impacting consumers, the conference offered attendees training specific to consumer engagement and in-person agricultural literacy training.
Teachworth said the conference helped her understand the importance of challenging conversations and appreciating consumers’ perspective.
“We’re in the same boat as they are, really,” Teachworth said. “Agriculturalists care about our families—about our children—it’s just the knowledge gap that separates us.”
One concept for helping close that gap was presented as the “Pillars of Literacy.”
“When you talk to a room full of people, everyone is going to have their own background and focal point,” Teachworth said. “You have to learn how to connect with each of them differently, instead of assuming what they want to hear.”
The concept was illustrated through a consumer-panel discussion revealing their vastly different food interests and everyday purchasing choices, giving valuable insights into consumer purchasing motives.
Other topics included science and technology, current media trends and effective volunteer recruitment.
“With a lot of media outlets giving false information, we have to be the boots on the ground letting people know where their food comes from,” Teachworth said. “The more voices we have helping with that, the more effective Michigan Farm Bureau and Michigan agriculture will be.”
PS: If bridging the knowledge gap between farmers and consumers sounds like your cup of tea, consider getting involved in your county Farm Bureau’s Promotion and Education program!
Adrian Schunk is studying communications at Michigan State University, and interning with MFB’s Center for Education and Leadership Development.


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19 Jul 2018
WE'RE HIRING - KEEN TO JOIN A DYNAMIC TEAM?
10 Jul 2018
A BUFF BARLEY FOR ACIDIC WA SOILS
06 Jun 2018
SOUTHERN NOODLE WHEAT TRIALS SHOW PROMISE
INTERGRAIN is on the cusp of releasing two new varieties tailored to keep WA growers in the Noodle wheat-growing game and stop them from swapping to Hard varieties.
InterGrain senior wheat breeder Dan Mullan said the Arrino and Calingiri replacement lines were so close to the breeding finish line that they would be released in time for commercial production next year.
According to Mr Mullan, the newly perfected Arrino-type IGW6042 is a line that Japanese millers are particularly excited about thanks to its quality performance in noodle-making trials and testing.
He said it performed better than the Noodle variety Fortune, which in recent times has grown in popularity alongside the slow demise of Calingiri plantings in WA and it would keep WA’s international Noodle wheat market competitive in terms of demand.
He said the variety displayed improvements in all leaf diseases over Arrino and could be grown in traditional Udon Noodle wheat-growing locations in the central to northern regions of WA’s Wheatbelt.
“It’s an earlier-maturing line and has the same maturation time frame as Arrino,” Mr Mullan said.
“The variety will also provide substantial benefits to the WA grower because it does have a five to 10 per cent yield advantage over Arrino.
“We’ve been waiting for a while to achieve such a substantial yield jump to re-excite uptake in Noodle-growing in WA.”
He said IGW6046 – a Calingiri type – would provide the answer to the Calingiri replacement problem the industry has battled with for a number of years.
He said it too displayed an improved quality over Calingiri but not quite to the same levels as Fortune and IGW6042.
“It has the same maturity timeframe (if not a touch earlier) than Calingiri and also displays a five to 10pc yield advantage over Calingiri,” Mr Mullan said.
“Calingiri has been grown more broadly than Arrino in the past but it maintains its popularity due to its environmental flexibility.”
He said InterGrain was waiting to receive one final data entry this week before being given the official go-ahead to make the variety available for growers to sow in 2015.
The news coincided with last week’s visit by Japan’s First Lady Akie Abe, to the South Perth-based Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC).
The wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe keenly reconfirmed industry ties in a bid to sure-up Noodle wheat supplies, when she dropped by the laboratories to taste-test udon noodles made from WA flour and carry out talks with Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) director general Rob Delane and AEGIC chairman Terry Enright about ensuring WA growers continued to grow Noodle varieties for export to Japan.
In recent years growers in some parts of the WA Wheatbelt have favoured Hard wheat varieties which perform better agronomically in their paddocks.
AEGIC strategic market analyst Peter Elliott said that way of thinking aligned itself with an emerging concern in Japan that WA growers might gradually shift away from planting Noodle wheats to favour more recently released Hard wheats which could impact on the stable supply of WA Noodle wheat exported to Japan in the near future.
He said for many growers there was an emerging agronomic gap between newly released Hard wheats and Calingiri – the main Noodle wheat currently grown.
But he also stressed that the industry wasn’t facing an imminent disaster, rather that it needed to work together to ensure that the WA Noodle wheat supply model is fit for purpose and beneficial for growers and customers alike.
“At present supply disruptions for Noodle wheat are driven primarily by seasonal conditions,” he said. “But with the gradual shift in area planted away from Noodle wheat, it leaves industry with less margin for error if drought does emerge.”
Mr Elliott also said the Japanese Government and industry have been working with local stakeholders, including traders and industry bodies like the Grain Industry Association of WA and AEGIC, with the goal of ensuring the continued success of the long-term and stable Noodle export business.
Story Courtesy of Bobbie Hinkley, Farm Weekly 17th July 2014


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Arjan van Deelen and Nathalie Pitzalis work together at the independent digital agency, Fosby, which is based in the Netherlands. One of their largest clients is spare parts retailer FixPart, which recently achieved unprecedented international growth. Here's how they did it:
Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of their environmental impact on the world. A recent Kantar study shows that the number of shoppers highly focused on taking actions to reduce waste has been growing year on year (YOY) since 2019.1
One clear way consumers can do that is by fixing broken items rather than replacing them. That’s why Dutch spare parts and accessory retailer, FixPart, wants to make it as easy as possible for people around the world to access their wide-ranging catalogue.
“In Europe, the average household has about 15 appliances,” says Bryan Thijssen, Search Engine Advertising (SEA) specialist at FixPart. “When items break, people are often tempted to replace them as it can be challenging to find and buy the right spare parts. We want to change that.”
As FixPart’s long-standing agency partner, we’re helping them achieve that goal with an automation strategy aimed at accelerating their international growth.
A market-by-market approach
By 2025, FixPart wants to be the biggest spare parts retailer in Europe. The goal is to launch in as many countries as possible in that time, so it’s never a question of where we’re going so much as how we’re going to do it.
As part of our collaboration with Google’s international growth agency team, the first thing we do before entering a new market is to use tools and resources, including Market Finder, for market prioritisation and local insights.
We look into FixPart’s competitors for each market, what the local demand is for their products, and key demographics, such as internet population and standard of living. This contextual information is crucial in helping us shape our individual go-to-market plans. For example, a higher standard of living might mean people are more inclined to replace broken appliances.
But at the same time, the growing trend of conscious consumerism could make people more mindful of things like electronic waste, meaning discarded electrical or electronic devices. These are things we need to take into account as they directly influence demand.
One of the first markets FixPart moved into was France, where a 23% YOY increase in Google Search interest around appliance repair2 indicated a clear trend of people increasingly choosing to repair their broken home appliances. In fact, electric home appliances are the items most frequently repaired in France.3
Combined with the fact that, on average, 50% of home appliances in French households break down within the first five years,4 this revealed a great potential demand for FixPart.
We also established that the ad competitiveness in France was lower than in other markets, such as Germany and the United States, making it a cheaper market to enter.
Payment and delivery options: Different expectations in different countries
Once we have a good initial impression of a market, we look at the global business solutions available for that particular country. This type of knowledge helps us get the operations up and running much more quickly.
We learnt, for example, that 70% of the German population prefers to pay via bank transfer and 20% uses ‘buy now, pay later’. In the Netherlands, these numbers are much lower — 40% and 8% respectively.5
Knowing that Germans prefer to pay by bank transfer, FixPart added this payment option to their website and highlighted the functionality in all their dynamic Search Ads. Translation: Bank transfer possible.
We also found out that if delivery is free, German consumers are happy to wait for up to 3-4 business days for their order. If it isn’t, they expect their order to be delivered at least one day earlier. Knowing that before we launched meant we could meet customer expectations from the very start.
Accelerating international growth with automation
When the groundwork is done and we’ve gathered enough insights, the final step is setting our ad campaigns live. During this phase we really reap the rewards of our comprehensive market research as it allows us to easily allocate budget, select ad groups, and ad copy based on local findings.
Example of a FixPart Search ad in France, which responds to the global trend of conscious consumerism. Translation: Repair your device and do something for the environment and your wallet.
Once the ads are live, we monitor performance – predominantly conversions, return on ad spend (ROAS) and cost per acquisition (CPA) – in Google Ads and make changes if needed. During this phase we really learn how local audiences respond to our brand and what products we should be focusing on.
As Smart Shopping allows us to run one, fully automated ad campaign across markets, we can cover a wider range of products without losing oversight or having to spend time making manual adjustments. This means we can launch new campaigns quickly and let the algorithm do the work, which has made it possible for FixPart to grow at a much faster rate.
As a result, FixPart was able to launch in seven new markets in the space of just six months — driving 4.3X overall conversions and 3X overall revenue year over year. None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for our collaboration with Google’s international growth team and FixPart’s progressive attitude towards expanding their business.
“We hope that making our products available across Europe will encourage more consumers to recycle and give fixing their broken items a try,” says Thijssen. “Having that end goal in mind really keeps us ambitious. Our global growth journey isn’t nearly over yet.”


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Toyo Names Nick Manning as UK Marketing Manager
Toyo Tyre UK Ltd has announced that (as of 3 September) Nick Manning has been appointed as Marketing Manager for the UK. Manning joined Toyo from respected wholesaler Group Tyre. Prior to serving there as director of purchasing for two years, he was General Sales Manager at Continental Car Dealer Business Unit. In fact, Manning progressed through a series of positions at Continental over an impressive 18 years including pricing, strategy and marketing before leaving for Group.


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A change in fish shopping habits at Tesco has led to a sharp rise in demand by consumers for more unusual types of fish.
The increase is a result of a scheme by Tesco, which has seen staff on its 650 fish counters across the UK being trained to help shoppers discover alternative varieties of great tasting fish, as well as offer helpful advice on recipes and serving tips.
In the last year, Tesco has seen a significant increase in demand for the following dinner table fish:
- Grey mullet – up by nearly 600%
- Megrim – up by more than 400%
- Mackerel – up by nearly 200%
- Monkfish tail – up by more than 50%
- Swordfish steak – up by nearly 50%
- Ray wing – up by more than 40%
- Whole crab – up by nearly 25%
In recent months, Tesco has introduced Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fish to all fish counters across 28 different types of chilled prepacked fish.
Interest in trying lesser known fish species has also been driven by the popularity of TV cooking programmes such as Saturday Kitchen, Masterchef as well as through the work of food campaigners like Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
- Deep down, Tesco are still one of the best…
- Really puts Cod n’ Chips in perspective…


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Could AOL’s Project Devil Be the Future of Display Advertising?
Project Devil is a new form of display advertising that relies on online-magazine style content in order to promote a product. The ad is designed to occupy the entire right sidebar of a webpage, with every inch devoted to only one sponsor.
JCPenney’s devil ad has a slideshow of winter fashions, over a fashion video and below that is a widget showing their Facebook fan page feed. Olay features an ad with roll-over information and Lexus offers downloadable high-def images of their featured cars.
AOL began rolling out the ads last month, placing them on their moviefone.com and StyleList.com websites. AOL says they’ll roll out the ads on eight more sites by November partnering with Cheerios, Macy’s, Pillsbury Crescents, Sprint, and Suave Professionals. According to an article in ClickZ, this is the next step in rolling out devil ads across the web, including sites not owned by AOL.
The upside of a devil ad is that it reduces page clutter and keeps the focus on one, tightly-targeted client. Devil ads can be designed to look like the pages they’re featured on so visitors may click a video not even realizing that it’s an advertisement.
Magazines has been printing advertorials like these for years now, so why not bring the concept to the web? Well, a couple of reasons. The biggest downside to AOL’s devil ads is that financially, they’re limited to the big brands. And since the ad takes up the entire sidebar the number of advertisers serviced is greatly reduced.
The domino effect of less ads, means less clicks per page, but AOL’s Dirk Freytag says he’s not worried.
“He said although the inventory volume has decreased, ad revenue has remained the same. The company expects its ad revenue to grow as the Devil promos are disseminated across its sites.”
It’s too early to tell if these new devil ads are a success, but they have everything going for them. Interactivity, video, and social media integration, all in one, non-invasive package. And as brands become more savvy about creating ads that look like content, it won’t be long before we would be able to tell one from the other — not without a second look.
What do you think of Project Devil? Could it be the future of display marketing?


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Consumer Wins Case Against ITC for Missing Biscuit
A seemingly trivial incident involving a missing biscuit has cost Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) major ITC a staggering Rs 1 lakh. The incident unfolded when a Chennai-based resident, P Dillibabu, purchased a packet of ITC’s popular Sunfeast Marie Light biscuits in December 2021.
The Missing Biscuit Mystery
What initially appeared as a minor inconvenience turned into a legal battle when Dillibabu discovered that the packet, which was supposed to contain 16 biscuits, only held 15. Puzzled and dissatisfied with the situation, Dillibabu took matters into his own hands and reached out to both the local store and ITC for an explanation.
However, despite his efforts, he received no satisfactory response, as reported by the Times of India. Frustrated with the lack of accountability, Dillibabu decided to file a formal complaint with a consumer court.
“Each biscuit costs 75 paise,”
Dillibabu noted in his complaint, highlighting the economic impact of the missing biscuit. He further elaborated that ITC, a colossal producer of biscuits, manufactures a staggering 50 lakh packets per day.
Based on these staggering numbers, he argued that the company was potentially cheating consumers out of a substantial Rs 29 lakh every single day.
The Legal Battle
ITC, in its defense, contended that biscuits were sold based on weight, not the number of biscuits in a packet. They pointed out that the net weight mentioned on each Sunfeast Marie Light packet was 76 grams, in compliance with legal standards.
However, the consumer court’s investigation unveiled a critical discrepancy – each packet containing 15 biscuits weighed only 74 grams. This observation shattered ITC’s argument, as it failed to meet the declared weight standards.
ITC further attempted to justify the discrepancy by referencing the Legal Metrology Rules of 2011, which allowed for a maximum weight discrepancy of 4.5 grams in pre-packaged goods. However, the court swiftly rejected this explanation, asserting that such exemptions applied only to volatile products and were not applicable to biscuits, as they did not lose weight over time.
Victory for the Consumer
In the end, the consumer court ruled in favor of Dillibabu, ordering ITC to pay him Rs 1 lakh as compensation for adopting unfair trade practices. This judgment underscores the importance of adhering to established standards and providing consumers with accurate information regarding the contents of packaged goods.
This case serves as a stark reminder to businesses in the FMCG sector and beyond that transparency and compliance with legal standards are of paramount importance. The consequences of failing to do so can be both financially and reputational.
While the missing biscuit may seem inconsequential, it highlights the significance of consumer rights and fair trade practices. ITC’s costly lesson in this case serves as a cautionary tale for all companies, emphasizing the need for transparency, adherence to standards, and prompt resolution of consumer complaints.


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Ben Jatlow, vice president and general manager of High’s of Baltimore, named board chairman of the convenience store industry’s only group focused exclusively on young and next generation executives.
As the convenience store and petroleum industry continues to evolve, training the next generation leaders of tomorrow is more important than ever before. To help young executives have a group that is solely focused on exchanging personal experiences with peers in their age group, the National Advisory Group (NAG) is proud to announce that it has relaunched the Young Executives Organization (YEO).
We are also pleased to report that Ben Jatlow, vice president and general manager of High’s of Baltimore, has agreed to a two-year term as board chairman.
The YEO five-member Board of Directors includes:
* Chairman, Ben Jatlow, Vice President and General Manager, High’s of Baltimore
* Jeff Jones, Vice President/General Manager, C.N. Brown Co.
* Katie Wagner, Vice President, Arrow Marts/Yellow Goose Markets
* Jared Sturtevant, Director of Marketing, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes
* Ashley Englefield, Director of Marketing, Englefield Oil Co.
“Membership in YEO provides young convenience store and petroleum industry executives with an opportunity to network with other NAG members and influential industry leaders,” said John Lofstock, NAG Executive Director and Vice President of The Convenience Store Decisions Group. “It also gives young executives a platform to express their ideas, leadership abilities and vision for the future of convenience retailing.”
NAG’s YEO has a long history in the convenience store petroleum industry. Many current industry leaders have spent time learning the industry as members of YEO and now a new generation of future industry leaders will have the same opportunity.
“As convenience retailers we are fortunate to be part of a very active and close-knit industry,” Jatlow said. “Until now, one missing link has been a group dedicated to next generation leaders. I’m honored to serve as board chairman to lead the YEO resurgence and revive an organization that claims influential industry leaders like Louis Sheetz and Hank Armour in its legacy.”
YEO’s mission is to cultivate young talent in the convenience store and petroleum industry through implementation of education and networking. YEO accomplishes this mission by leveraging the experience of NAG members to help foster superior leadership skills.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to be part of the revitalization of the YEO. It will be a great place for young professionals to foster a network that will facilitate a support system for their specific challenges and vision for the future of the industry,” said board member Katie Wagner, vice president of Arrow Marts/Yellow Goose Markets.
Recognizing Young Leaders
YEO members are industry leaders who are 40 years of age or younger. Members are entrepreneurs leading top businesses and actively pursuing a higher level of professionalism in the convenience store and petroleum marketing industry.
“YEO membership provides the ideal opportunity to become actively involved in developing real-time solutions for convenience store and petroleum marketers,” said Mary Banmiller, director of operations for Warrenton Oil and the current NAG Board Chairman. “By participating, YEO members are afforded networking opportunities with prominent and accomplished industry leaders.”
Additionally, participation in YEO creates a forum to:
* Tap in to the networking power of other top young executives.
* Exchange personal experiences with industry peers.
* Share original content and ideas with NAG members and Convenience Store Decisions magazine.
* Shine a quarterly spotlight on a YEO member and his/her company.
* Receive instant feedback on new ideas and potential retail solutions.
Membership in YEO is open to all NAG-member company employees under the age of 40 at no cost. If you are not a NAG Member, join NAG now at www.nagconvenience.com.


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Illinois House bill would force Chicago grocers, gas stations to hire armed guards
A state lawmaker wants to force select Chicago businesses to hire full-time, armed security guards.
Illinois state lawmakers are pondering a bill that would force Chicago grocery stores, gas stations, banks and pawn shops to hire their own armed security guards to cover all hours they are open to the public.
State Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, introduced the “Armed Security Protection Act.” It only applies to municipalities with more than 2 million residents, which in Illinois would exclusively mean Chicago.
What the bill doesn’t mention is the higher costs for businesses, which get passed on to customers. Grocery stores are defined as “a business engaged in the sale of food, beverages, and other goods usually used in a home,” which appears to include the corner bodega.
Inflation has put financial pressure on grocery stores and shoppers in Illinois. The consumer price index for food has grown more than any major category, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bill also covers gas stations, adding costs when Chicago motorists already pay the nation’s second-highest gas taxes. The average gallon of gas in Chicago costs $4.08 as of Feb. 2, more than 25 cents higher than a month ago.
Jones introduced the same bill in the previous Illinois General Assembly, but it never made it past committee consideration. The newest version would be implemented in July 2024 if passed, but as of Jan. 31 was assigned to the Rules Committee where bills are often sent to die.


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It’s been a long and strenuous 14 months for Quebecers who endured arguably the strictest COVID-19 guidelines from across the entire continent. Tuesday night’s press conference featured Premier François Legault detailing the province’s reopening plan from the pandemic.
A lot was covered over the 25-minute press conference, including the curfew being lifted, potentially getting rid of face masks, and the reopening of bars, restaurants, and other venues.
In case you’re still confused about what’s reopening (and when), here is a quick summary of Quebec’s two-month plan.
- See also:
Keep in mind, all dates are “flexible” and could change at any moment if case counts start to spike, according to the government.
These changes are taking place across “the majority of Quebec,” said Legault, which includes Laval and Montreal.
Reopening May 28
- Curfew lifted
- Restaurant outdoor terraces
- Outdoor gatherings permitted on private property (maximum eight people from three addresses)
- Travel ban between regions lifted
- 250 people max capacity at “large indoor venues”
- 2,500 people max capacity at large outdoor venues
Reopening by June 11
- Bar outdoor terraces
- Outdoor sports and recreation permitted in groups of no more than 25
Reopening by June 25
- Day and sleepover camps reopen
- Outdoor public activities and events allowed
- Fully vaccinated people can remove face masks at indoor private gatherings, easing of physical distancing measures in indoor private residences
End of August “or later”
- “Progressive relief” including removing face masks at all indoor public places (for people with two doses of the vaccine)
- Additional relief for sports, recreation, and gatherings
- Increased person limit at indoor and outdoor venues
- End of colour levels
Pour tous les détails concernant le déconfinement des prochaines semaines et des prochains mois 👇 pic.twitter.com/iDpLz4ZBeI
— François Legault (@francoislegault) May 19, 2021


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President Trump has a good reason to smile about. The entire market is on pace for a 4.1% annual growth rate. This is a phenomenal growth rate for the largest economy in the world. Purchase of goods has jumped 5.9% mostly because of and increase in auto sales, while services increased by 3.1%. On top of that, exports were increased by 13.3% and spending by state and local government rose by 1.4%.
However, economists are debating weather the amazing US growth rate will sustain itself in the next quarter. Q2 didn’t manifest the tax reductions Trump initiated, the trade war Trump is having with China and Europe could force the export and import rates to drop and lower the growth rate.
Why we should be concerned
Increase in private consumption isn’t always a good sign for growth because private consumption wouldn’t remain so high without an increase in investment or in taxes. As government spending is also on the rise the tax burden will increase on the citizens. However, with the latest tax reform, that won’t happen anytime soon. Therefore, the national debt will increase and the interest rates will on that debt will rise. Perhaps this regime won’t face the consequences of the increase in national debt, but the people of America will
Import and export were on the rise, but the with the speculations revolving over the trade war, I doubt that they will increase in the next quarter. In economics 101, I was taught that a relative advantage is what markets should build upon. With the US increasing taxes on imports, it’s quiet certain that private consumption will decrease since prices will be higher for certain products. On the contrary, counter taxes will limit export and that would hurt a lot of people’s jobs and there will be less money to spend so private consumption will decrease once again.
In a way, you can’t fight globalization, it happens all over the world. We are more connected than ever and the boundaries between countries seem less and less relevant. So why did Trump initiate the Trade Wars? He stated that its about creating jobs in the US. I believe it doesn’t make sense since the US will lose it’s relative advantage over other countries. What made the US the biggest economy in the world was pioneering the globalization process, this world trend is already bigger than the US and if the US will go against it, their export will plummet.
Trump is excited about the US growth rates, and he should be. The only question is, if the economical direction he’s taking will maintain the growth rate or will damage the economy. Only time will tell if Q2 results are artificial or an indication for a massive growth spurt.