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On May 21, 2013 Microsoft will be announcing its newest Xbox to the world. According to Microsoft, E3 will be all about the games and world exclusives. So, if Microsoft wants to succeed in wowing potential buyers and out-do Sony’s PS4 conference, what will it need to do?
1. Have reliable servers for its online viewers
When Sony had its conference back in February, its servers were horrendous. The servers could barely hold 50,000 people, and would crash every five minutes. Mind you, this was a worldwide presentation; millions of people should have been able to view the conference.
If Microsoft wants to have a good conference, it will need to provide its viewers with high-caliber servers, so they can watch the conference in all of its glory.
2. Have a presentation that is more heavily aimed towards the player/consumer
Again, Sony’s conference felt as if it was strictly aimed at developers and potential investors. It played things extremely close to the chest with games such as Killzone 4, Media Molecule’s newest title and Diablo III. Besides Jonathan Blow’s The Witness and Sucker Punch’s Infamous: Second Son, the Sony conference was a bore. Most of the PlayStation 4 conference was aimed towards the power of the PlayStation 4, and what a good investment it could be.
Yes, developers and investors are important, but the audience is even more significant to the success of a company. Microsoft needs to get intimate with its audience by telling them how its console could benefit the consumer. It also needs to reassure the viewers that it has learned from its past mistakes by explaining and showing them that this console won’t break after a few weeks of use.
Although Microsoft fixed the red ring problem with its Xbox 360 Slim model, the error could always occur in its newest console.
3. Show off its hardware and not just a controller
Sony neglected to show off its newest console. Many of the heads at Sony didn’t even know what the console looked like because the final design was not in place. The only items it showed off were the Dual Shock 4 controller, Eye Sensor Bar and Move controller. The fact that Sony didn’t show off its newest console turned off and surprised quite a few people. Microsoft’s Larry Hyrb responded to Sony’s move by stating, “Announce a console without actually showing a console? That’s one approach.”
Microsoft will most likely show off its newest Kinect 2.0 sensor bar. But, it needs to put that console on display. The console is more than a piece of technology; it is a piece of art that owners will keep in their homes and look at on a daily basis. The design of the console will most likely influence/motivate a portion of consumers to buy the console.
Microsoft intrigued and eventually sold me on its Xbox Slim when it announced it back in 2010. It looked slicker, and the design was improved due to the upward ventilation system. Hopefully, it can sell me on its newest console this time around.
4. Destroy Its Audience With Four or Five Brilliant IPs
Although Microsoft announced that it would be saving its world premiers for E3, it still wouldn’t be a horrible idea for it to reveal four or five impressive, exclusive IPs. It would be incredible if Microsoft officially revived franchises such as Primal Rage and Beyond Good and Evil. It would also be nice to see one or two new IPs come from Microsoft.
5. Exclude a segment that involves some guy who is infatuated and obsessed with the number of polygons in his games
That part in the Sony conference where David Cage explained to audience the amount of polygons he had in each of his games made me want to jump out a window.
Cage went on and on about how polygons are the key to emotion, and that video games are nothing without them. He then went on to show a high-resolution model of an old man’s face and talk about how he could see the world in its eyes. Now that’s what I call creepy. Microsoft, for the love of God, please don’t make your audience sit through that.
Microsoft’s conference will take place on Tuesday, May 21 at 10:00 am Pacific Time.


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“Scott has this unique ability to see the emerging trends in data, all while quickly turning those timely insights into custom solutions tailored to solve the unique business challenges of our clients,” said Cindy Brown, CEO at Blue Moon Digital.
DENVER (PRWEB) January 29, 2020
Blue Moon Digital, Inc. (BMDi) welcomed automation and audience segmentation expert Scott Salzberg to the company’s senior leadership team. In this newly established role, Scott will leverage his years of experience managing multimillion-dollar search budgets to create impactful and competitive digital strategies for BMDi’s clients. As a leader responsible for growth, Scott will work with BMDi’s clients to leverage trend data properly, employ more automation to create efficiencies, and help clients better segment their audiences to improve overall growth and profitability. Before joining Blue Moon Digital, Inc., Scott spent nearly a decade at Google managing retail, finance, and travel brand brands totaling over a billion in ad spend.
“Scott has this unique ability to see the emerging trends in data, all while quickly turning those timely insights into custom solutions tailored to solve the unique business challenges of our clients,” said Cindy Brown, CEO at Blue Moon Digital. “With his big-picture thinking and desire for more automation to increase organizational efficiency, our clients will see more growth and revenue in the years to come.”
“In this innovation forward and entrepreneurial new role, I have an opportunity to educate our customers about the benefits of cutting-edge digital strategies,” said Scott Salzberg, director of strategic growth, Blue Moon Digital, Inc. “In today’s competitive and data-focused environment, brands must embrace automation: to improve efficiency, reach the right customers, plan more effectively, and understand the customer journey across channels, if they want to remain successful and profitable.”
Scott is a graduate of the University of California, Davis.
About Blue Moon Digital
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Blue Moon Digital, Inc. is a strategic digital consultancy blending the best of data analytics and creative marketing to help businesses navigate the complexities of the digital landscape. Driven by a passion for solving their clients' most challenging problems, Blue Moon Digital also developed a proprietary toolset to grow their clients' e-commerce business while supporting their brick and mortar locations through earned and owned media and SEO. With more than 60 clients operating in over 35 countries, the company is starting a data revolution to help consumer businesses around the world leverage real-time insights to achieve desired business results.

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New international distribution agreements for SiderAL® and Cetilar®
Two new distribution contracts will introduce the Group’s leading products to the markets in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, opening major new sales channels in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
PharmaNutra informs of the signing of two new sales agreements for the international distribution of the products in the SiderAL® and Cetilar® lines. The continuing expansion abroad is the result of the winning strategy adopted by the Group founded by brothers Andrea and Roberto Lacorte, which has constantly invested in targeted international markets, obtaining significant performance results: export sales volumes in 2021 increased by 22.7% on the previous year, with 6.2 million units compared to 5.1 million in 2020.
The recent agreements concern two new countries, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Specifically, for Nigeria, the country in Western Africa with just over 200 million inhabitants distributed over a territory of over 900,000 km², the contract was signed with PaceMaker Pharmaceuticals LTD, a company founded in 2006, with whom the PharmaNutra export department made the first contacts in November 2021, during the CPHI fair in Milan. The products distributed by PaceMaker Pharmaceuticals LTD will be SiderAL® Forte INT 30 cps and Cetilar® Cream on behalf of PharmaNutra, as well as SiderAL® Gocce P on behalf of Junia Pharma, the Group’s paediatric division.
From the African continent to the Middle East; the agreement signed with the company Safety Science concerns the distribution of the whole Cetilar® line on the market in Saudi Arabia, a country with almost 35 million inhabitants and a rapidly growing market. The products that will be launched in the coming months by Safety Science on the national market will therefore be Cetilar® Cream, Cetilar® Patch and Cetilar® Tape.
Following these two new export agreements, the PharmaNutra Group can now count on 42 distributors in 63 countries in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
“In this rather complex socio-political situation, in which long-term planning may meet with certain obstacles, we are very proud and satisfied to be able to conclude contracts with countries like Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, very important markets in Africa and the Middle East”, commented Carlo Volpi, Managing Director of the Group. “Our international network continues to expand, interest in our products is growing and we are working to conclude other major export contracts for the distribution of our brands in the coming months”.


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Indiana Ranks No. 14 in CNBC’s 2022 Top States for Business List
Infrastructure, Cost of Doing Business Primary Factors in Annual Ranking
CNBC recently released its annual list of America’s Top States for Business in 2022 and Indiana’s ranking increased by five spots over the last year propelling the state to No. 14.
To rank America’s Top States for Business in 2022, CNBC scored all 50 states on 88 metrics in 10 categories of competitiveness.
Infrastructure, cost of doing business and cost of living are three primary categories where Indiana performed well.
Indiana’s strong infrastructure is no surprise as Northeast Indiana’s 11 counties are a known force in the distribution and e-commerce industry accounting for more than 14,000 jobs. The region is also home to more than 630 transportation and logistics companies.
While Indiana may be landlocked in the Midwest, Northeast Indiana is connected with access to three aquatic ports. The 11-county region is also located near seven U.S. highways, more than 20 state roads, four rail services and Fort Wayne International Airport, which handles 22 million pounds of cargo annually.
In an interview with Inside Indiana Business, the Indiana Economic Development Corp’s vice president of communication Erin Sweitzer said, “Although we know this is only one of many rankings and each has its own methodologies that fluctuate from year to year, it’s certainly not a surprise to see Indiana’s overall ranking increase. The IEDC remains focused on supporting our businesses and adapting to their developing needs while looking for opportunities for advancement and improvement.”
Businesses in Northeast Indiana certainly benefit from the state’s award-winning infrastructure and there have been recent investments in the region to show for it. Amazon recently invested $15 billion throughout Indiana, with three facilities in Fort Wayne, and Sweetwater Sound, the world’s largest online music retailer, recently invested $76.4 million in a major expansion at its current facility.
Ready to explore more about Northeast Indiana’s strong distribution & e-commerce industry? Read the full CNBC report, explore our website or reach out to our team to learn more!
Economic Statistics from CNBC
Governor: Eric Holcomb, Republican
GDP growth (Q1 2022): -1.6%
Unemployment rate (May 2022): 2.2%
Top corporate tax rate: 4.9%
Top individual income tax rate: 3.23%
Gasoline tax: 49.79 cents/gallon
Bond rating (Moody’s/S&P): Aaa, stable/AAA, stable
Economic profile sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute (excluding 18.40 cent/gallon federal tax), Moody’s Investor Service, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Are you ready to join the momentum?Contact our team


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One of the best games this year is doing exceptionally well commercially. Square Enix has announced today through Twitter that NieR: Automata has surpassed 1.5 million copies in physical shipments and download sales.
— NieR公式PRアカウント (@NieR_JPN) May 30, 2017
This is phenomenal for a series that was thought to be nothing more than a niche sub-franchise. While we don’t have the numbers, we would wager a guess that Automata has eclipsed the first game in terms of both popularity and sales. Heck, Square Enix has even stated that it surpassed their own estimates during their latest financial report.
NieR: Automata was released March 7 on PlayStation 4, and the following week on PC.


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Japan’s second largest refiner Idemitsu Kosan said Feb. 16 it will formally make a foray into a micro-electric vehicle business in April, when it launches a joint venture with Tajima Motor to introduce the micro EV in 2022, targeting the potential 1 million unit/year market.
The move comes as Idemitsu Kosan President and CEO Shunichi Kito and Tajima Motor Chairman and CEO Nobuhiro Tajima said that the companies are accelerating their efforts toward Japan’s targeted 2050 carbon neutrality.
Under the JV, Idemitsu Tajima EV, the companies will manufacture the micro EV under a new specification introduced in September 2020 by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and start selling it in 2022 at some 6,400 of Idemitsu’s branded service stations across Japan.
Amid changing dynamics of energy and accelerated moves towards energy transition in Japan, Idemitsu said it sees a changing role of its service stations in the future.
“We believe service stations will play a greater role as a regional energy supply base for supplying not just oil products, but also next generation fuels, charging EVs or filling hydrogen,” Kito told an online press conference.
“We see the potential demand of about 1 million units a year,” Kito said of the country’s estimated demand for the new micro EV unit sales.
Idemitsu Tajima EV plans to introduce the four-seater micro EV, which can be charged in eight hours with 100v for a distance of around 120km at less than Yen 1.5 million ($14,252) a unit, Tajima told the online press conference. It has a maximum output of 15kW for a top speed of no more than 60km/h.
Japan formulated at the end of December the Green Growth Strategy for 2050 Carbon Neutral with action plans including on automobiles, following the announced carbon neutrality target by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in October.
Under the strategy, Japan targets electric-powered passenger vehicles to account for 100% of new car sales by mid-2030 at the latest.
Asked to comment whether Idemitsu’s move on the micro EV follows the government move for electric-powered vehicles, Kito said: “Of course such a major trend was among factors.
“I believe it is not realistic to see gasoline-fueled cars to disappear completely in the middle of the 2030s,” Kito added.
Idemitsu currently has a combined refining capacity of 945,000 b/d in Japan.
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A new world record has been set for the longest flight by hover board.
On the 30th of April, 2016, French jet ski racer Franky Zapata traveled 2,252 meters on his company's Flyboard Air.
The futuristic craft users and independent proportion units to soar through the skies, and can remain airborne for 10 minutes.
It's claimed that the board can fly up to 150 kilometers per hour, and as high as up to 10,000 feet.
The fly board air has already generated plenty of interest.
When a video of a test flight went viral last month amassing over 4 million views on YouTube to date.
Frankie's record has beaten the previous Guinness World record for hover board flight which was set in 2015 when Canadian Inventor Catalin Alexander Duru flew 275.9 meters.
With the new record established, we only have one question.
When can we buy one?
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Apple is in the final stages of negotiations to buy most of Intel's fashion branding business, The Wall Street Journal reports. The journal says that the deal, valued at $ 1
Intel's wireless effort goes back to at least 2011, when the company bought Infineon's $ 1.4 billion wireless division. Intel hoped to become a major rival for Qualcomm, which has long played a dominant role in the wireless chip market.
But Intel has struggled to gain traction. It is partly because Qualcomm negotiated restrictive contracts with potential Intel customers who effectively blocked them from considering another provider. After Apple began sending iPhones with Intel chips inside it in 2016, Qualcomm declared war against Apple and sued for patent infringement and ultimately refused to provide chips for new iPhone models – making Apple dependent on Intel for these chips.
But Intel apparently struggled to develop 5G wireless chips in time for them to be included in Apple's upcoming 2020 iPhone model. So in April, Apple decided its extensive legal war with Qualcomm. Apple's decision to make peace with Qualcomm obviously ruined Intel's chances of making its modem business economically viable, as Intel later announced it was leaving the 5G modem business.
Next month, a federal judge decided that Qualcomm had engaged in nearly 20 years of competitive behavior to maintain its dominant position in wireless chip operations – behaviors that damage the prospects of competing competitors like Intel. In theory, the ruling should have given Intel's chip business a boost, but Intel does not seem to have much appetite for renewing the chip bet. Instead, it is alleged that Intel is looking to relieve its employees and patents from its modem efforts for Apple.
Apple's efforts to buy Intel's chip business are an extension of Apple's broader strategy of developing as many components as possible internally. Obtaining Intel's modem switch division can help Apple make itself self-sufficient in modem printing. Apple has already made some progress in this direction by building a significant office in San Diego, the Metropolitan Area where Qualcomm is headquartered, and where Intel did much of the wireless chip work.
Making their own modems can have technical benefits for Apple, allowing the company to integrate its modem chips more with other iPhone components. It can also protect Apple in case a court of appeal overturns the antitrust decision of May against Qualcomm. If that happens, we can expect Qualcomm to once again use aggressive licensing and litigation techniques to recover large royalty payments from customers, so it would be in Apple's interest to be able to produce its own wireless chips.
Correction: Intel bought Infineon's wireless division in 2011, not the entire company.


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CAMM is Canada's leading national association representing Moldmakers, Service Providers, and Suppliers to the Global Industry.
Board of Directors
CAMM's 18-member Board of Directors provides a continuous focus on the interests of our members and the overall industry.
CAMM advocates on behalf of our members for fair trade and business policies providing leadership on the evolving industry landscape.
About Automate Canada
APMA is Canada’s National Association representing 90% of parts production with over $25 billion in sales and 85,000 skilled people.
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Canada vows to fire back if U.S. imposes auto tariffs
Adrian Morrow U.S. Correspondent
Greg Keenan Auto, Steel & Airline Industry Reporter
Washington And Toronto
PUBLISHED JULY 19, 2018 – Globe and Mail
Canada will retaliate if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts, with Ottawa prepared to hit American autos with matching levies.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s deputy ambassador to the United States, delivered this warning on Thursday at a U.S. Commerce Department hearing in Washington, where U.S. officials were gathering input on Mr. Trump’s proposed tariffs.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada, said some industry players might balk at Canada retaliating against the United States. But he said Ottawa must fight back. “In these affairs, you’re either a lion or its lunch, and I’m not sure that walking softly will keep you out of its mouth,” he said.
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(Pictured above: Doctolib CEO and co-founder Stanislas Niox-Chateau)
My first visit in 2014 to a general doctor in France felt like I had stumbled back into the 1950s. I had to call her office for an appointment. The doctor answered the phone because there were no other assistants or nurses. Just her. All day long. When it came time to pay (the €23 was fully reimbursed by the national health system), I whipped out my checkbook and wrote my first check in almost a decade.
So while Doctolib may sound modest – booking appointments online – it felt like a giant leap into the future in France when it launched. Today, I book an appointment on my app and can even pay with a credit card!
Last week, Doctolib announced it had raised €500 million to become France's most valuable private company. The company was already a unicorn, but at a €5.8 billion valuation, it has now surpassed Back Market to take the crown.
Normally, such announcements lead to a lot of French Tech cheerleading and flag-waving. But there were several unusual aspects to Doctolib's announcement which stand out.
First, Doctolib didn't issue a press release (and still hasn't.) It made the announcement via a LinkedIn post by CEO and co-founder Stanislas Niox-Chateau. And he didn't do many interviews aside from this one with Les Echos. I wrote my first story about Doctolib in 2015 when it raised $20.5 million and again in 2017 when the company raised $42 million. The company has organized annual updates and hasn't been publicity-shy, so it's interesting to see them relatively tight-lipped about such an epic milestone.
Doctolib's press office didn't respond to an email inquiry, nor did reps for the two main investors: Eurazeo and Bpifrance. Not even to say there was nothing else to say. Just crickets.
Speaking of investors, Doctolib only disclosed Eurazeo and Bpifrance in the Les Echos interview. Investment advisory firm Hogan Lovells also noted in a short press release that global private equity firm General Atlantic participated as well. That suggests previous investor Accel did not participate this time around.
Finally, the money raised is a mix of cash and debt, though we don't know how that breaks down or why they chose this route. Though for a company with solid revenues, debt is no doubt attractive to avoid shareholder dilution.
Of course, Doctolib has reached this point by taking an unconventional path. In an era when European entrepreneurs are being told to think globally, Doctolib built its business primarily in France and then Germany, before acquiring a rival to expand into Italy. The company, which currently has 2,500 employees, plans to use the money raised to hire 3,500 people in those 3 countries over the next 5 years, according to the CEO's post.
But there seem to be some hints that it may yet harbor global ambitions. Doctolib was transformed by the pandemic, particularly in France where it became practically a state utility for booking Covid testing appointments and then vaccine appointments. In a stroke of good timing, the company had just launched a video platform for teleconsultations.
And the LinkedIn post notes that Doctolib is "developing new medical and administrative software for practices and in 2022 we are launching a free secure and instant messaging service between caregivers." These Saas-type services could certainly expand its horizons which grew with the recent acquisition of security startup Tanker.
However, beyond France's border, the company faces tough competition from Poland's DocPlanner which operates in 13 Latin American and European countries and has 80 million users compared to Doctolib's 60 million.
Still, Doctolib has become a force that few would have imagined a decade ago. And yet, in many ways, it's still early days in terms of transforming health systems.
"I am convinced that digital technology is an essential partner in the daily lives of caregivers and patients and that we can have a humanistic approach to health innovation," Niox-Chateau wrote. "This is what we have been trying to prove since the creation of Doctolib, almost 10 years ago now."
Meanwhile, another French unicorn is riding the waves of global events that are hitting it in opposing ways.
Amid the growing boycotts of Russia came a big announcement from BlaBlaCar: The company released a statement saying it will "put an end to its investments" in Russia and is "canceling its plans to support the growth of that market."
Lots of companies announced boycotts, but Russia is BlaBlaCar's biggest market. I can't think of another French startup more exposed to the current situation.
In addition, the company said: "All money flows between its HQ and its Russian subsidiary are interrupted. Taking on its duty as an employer to provide protection to its over 100 local employees and to its community, BlaBlaCar will maintain the current service...but isolate its Russian activity from the rest of the company, and stop all development plans."
BlaBlaCar previously announced support for Ukraine, another major market, including helping its 85 employees in Ukraine relocate to safer places and offering them financial, logistical, or psychological support. BlaBlaCar has also provided Ukrainian civilians with access to transport, and "made immediate changes to its platform to match volunteer drivers with refugees."
In Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and Hungary, its drivers are now able to offer free trips and take as many passengers as they can and the company is waiving commissions:
"BlaBlaCar members have already helped 80,000 Ukrainians find transport to a safer place...In Western Europe, BlaBlaCar buses, connecting main cities in 9 countries, are free for Ukrainian refugees."
This was no doubt a difficult decision for CEO Nicolas Brusson. The company entered Russia several years ago and business boomed. That led to a €21 million funding round from Baring Vostok, a VC firm that had also backed Russian search engine Yandex.
In 2019, BlaBlaCar bought Russia’s largest bus platform, Busfor. BlaBlaCar has become a critical piece of transportation infrastructure that puts money directly into the pockets of Russians who share their cars. BlaBlaCar doesn't disclose financial details, but this is bound to be a financial hit.
And yet...the pandemic and rising gas prices have sent the number of seats being offered on BlaBlaCar soaring 227% over the past year. In a LinkedIn post, Brusson said drivers were more motivated than ever to find ways to share their costs. "To compensate for these costs and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, we have to change our transportation habits and do everything we can to encourage shared mobility," he wrote.
Akt.io ICO Nostalgia
Perhaps, like me, you are old enough to remember the great ICO Boom Of 2017. For one frenzied year, it seemed that Initial Coin Offerings were going to CHANGE EVERYTHING about startup financing.
According to CoinDesk, ICOs raised $5.5 billion in 2017 and $6.8 million midway through 2018 before the roof caved in. Besides crypto volatility, one study of 2017 ICOs determined that 80% were "scams."
So, I was surprised to learn that FinTech Akt.io had just raised €27 million via an ICO. Nominally based in Dublin, the company has actually moved the base of its operations to tech hub Sophia Antipolis in the South of France and has hired more than 100 people there to build out its blockchain based wealth management platform.
I spoke with CEO and co-founder Gael Itier who has a background as an algorithmic trader. Itier is personally based in Dubai, and the company also has offices in Paris, London, and Berlin.
Itier originally created a robo-advisory company called Automata. That evolved into Akt.io which aims to create a more transparent money management system that lets users see exactly how financial institutions are using and investing their assets - both crypto and traditional. The first version of the product is set to launch in the coming days.
So why an ICO?
Itier said there are two main motivations. First, the ICO allowed the company to create its own token. The holders of these tokens will have the right to not just special features, but they will be able to participate in governance decisions, making Akt.io a bit more like a credit union than a classic bank.
Second, Itier said the company faced a product development dilemma. To build out the entire blockchain-based system with all the features meant hiring a lot of developers quickly. But to get sufficient money via VCs, the company needed to develop traction for a product that didn't exist yet. So it could have opted to build a much more limited version, try to get some momentum, and then raise more money to build in stages.
Instead, they launched the ICO because it let them raise money with no product. The offering attracted high net worth individuals and various business angels who were deeply knowledgeable about crypto and blockchain.
"They are more capable of understanding how innovative is the idea compared to VCs that wait for results," Itier said. "Otherwise, you cannot build something that would be considered an innovative platform without a certain amount of money. At the same time, before launching, you can't have the money from a VC."
Itier is already courting VCs for a Series B, post product launch. And as we spoke by phone, he was taking a break from shooting a publicity video. So expect to hear a lot of noise from Akt.io in the coming months.
In other news...
It's VivaTech time again. The mega-mega tech conference is gearing up for its 6th edition. After being canceled in 2020, the conference returned to Paris last year in a hybrid form where, to the organizer's surprise, it turned out to be a massive online hit even as it was limited to 5,000 people on site.
The conference is scheduled for June 15 to 18 and will be in person and available via live streaming as well. So far, they're counting on 50 side events, and 1,500 exhibitors from 30 countries. Themes will include global warming, mobility, future of work, inclusion, Web3. Basically, VivaTech looks to be back to its former gonzo self though it's not likely to hit the in-person attendance of pre-pandemic years.
Details were disclosed at a splashy ceremony at France's Economy Ministry that featured Digital Minister, Cédric O, Publicis Groupe president Maurice Lévy, Les Echos Le Parisien director general Pierre Louette, and VivaTech director general Julie Ranty.
Despite the ups and downs of pandemic life, in an interview later Ranty said she's feeling optimistic about this year's edition and the chance to bring such a large group together to remind the world that Europe's tech scene is on fire.
"All the signals are green and people have a desire and enthusiasm and a buzz we haven't felt in 2 years," she said. "And that feels good."
ICYMI, I sat down for a brunch interview with Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare. Just six months ago his company, which uses the most hyped technology (NFTs) in the buzziest of industries (Web3), raised a $680m Series B round. It must now expand its fantasy sports league platform around the world — a scaling burden that requires hiring hundreds of employees, opening international offices, and signing major sports leagues to deals to make critical growth milestones.
But the man doesn't seem to be breaking a sweat. “To be honest, I’m not sure you’ll find something crazy about me,” he says laughing.
The Galion Project, a network of more than 400 French entrepreneurs, has created its first seed fund, dubbed "Origin". So far, 250 entrepreneurs are participating, with €30m raised toward a goal of €80m for the sector-agnostic fund.
“We really had an appetite from our entrepreneurs to invest in early-stage companies,” said Agathe Wautier, cofounder and CEO of The Galion Project. “So we thought maybe we should do something together and do something that was really ambitious.”
Why now? Both education and workplaces are still in the early days of digital transformation. Levet and Maarek emphasized that there is a huge opportunity in both sectors as new tools are created and learning shifts to a lifetime endeavor.
"There is a big upheaval in work," Levet said.
"Both sectors need to catch up," Maarek said.
Meanwhile, it was another week of Let's Make A Deal:
Behind Door No. 1: Just a couple of months after InsurTech Unkle raised its Series A, it was acquired by fellow InsurTech Luko for an undisclosed sum. Both offer complimentary insurance platforms for landlords and property owners and renters and homeowners. Earlier this year, Luko acquired rival German insurer Coya as France's InsurTech sector continues to heat up.
Behind Door No. 2: Vestiaire Collective acquired U.S.-based Tradesy for an undisclosed amount. It's Vestiaire's first acquisition.
Behind Door No. 3: InsurTech +Simple announced it had raised €90 million, mostly in debt, and then turned around and acquired 3 companies: Alians, which provides medical insurance; Carl Rieck Assecuradeur, insurance for independents; and Marintec, an Italian medical risk service.
Finally, in Metaverse news: President Macron unveiled his super long and super dense and super detailed agenda for a 2nd term should he be re-elected next month. Not surprisingly, that included a super long and super dense and super detailed agenda for tech. In what will no doubt prompt global eye-rolling, Macron said he wants to build a "European Metaverse."
While that may seem to defeat the very purpose of a metaverse, Macron raises an interesting point: He wants to make sure that the rights of creators and artists and anyone else working in this semi-charted terrain are properly protected.
The future army of virtual workers will get a boost in their field with the announcement of a new school opening in Paris that will be dedicated to the Metaverse. As I've noted before, France has never met an idea for an innovation campus it didn't like.
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One in six Scots is borrowing on credit cards, from family and friends or taking out loans to pay for Christmas this year, compared with one in ten across the UK as a whole, according to new research from insolvency trade body R3. Its Christmas debt survey is published as new figures point to a surge in the number of people taking out expensive pay-day loans in recent weeks.
While 80 per cent of those borrowing to finance Christmas are confident of paying it back within a month, 7 per cent admit they could still be clearing the bill in June next year, according to the R3 poll. It also found that one in ten people in Scotland fear they won’t have enough money left over after Christmas to pay their bills at the end of this month.
John Hall, R3 Scottish council member, said he was not surprised by the results.
“What is of greater concern is that Scotland is among the highest percentage in the UK. Given that Scotland is much more reliant on the public sector for employment, it is surely not sensible to borrow at a time of such economic difficulties and job insecurity.”
That 7 per cent of Scots are taking three to six months to repay Christmas debts is “extremely alarming”, Hall added. “This means that one in 14 Scots is still paying for festive celebrations at the start of summer.”
He warned that many could turn to more expensive debt to cover their festive season costs, including pay-day loans and costly credit cards.
“They should be wary of the high interest rates that often accompany these products, as this will also leave them lumbered with Christmas debt long into next year. I would advise anyone struggling with their finances around the Christmas period to seek the advice of a professional as soon as they can”
Young people are especially vulnerable to debt problems arising from Christmas borrowing. One in five Scots aged 18 to 24 is already in debt because of festive spending, compared with just 4 per cent of over 65s. And with youth unemployment continuing to rise, those debts could prove difficult for some to repay.
“Fewer people than last year, across the board, have borrowed money but there are still some weeks until Christmas. With unemployment figures up, we can only expect to see more people saying they are struggling to afford the demands of the festive season,” said Hall.
His concerns appear to be borne out by online payday lender Ferratum, which yesterday reported a significant increase in applications for its “microloans” as Christmas nears.
Ian Porter, UK sales and marketing Manager at Ferratum – which offers loans of between £50 and £300 with 45-day repayment periods at an APR of 3,113 per cent – said demand is set to escalate.
“The expected surge in demand for micro-loans in the run-up to Christmas is due to a number of factors. Among them is people’s need to find a few extra pounds to help buy last-minute gifts or food for Christmas, but also the growing awareness of the simplicity of pay-day loans and how they can provide short-term help when you run short of money.
“We are already seeing a significant increase in applications for our microloans and we still have three weeks to go until Christmas Day.”


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MODERN logistics space provider GLP said on Monday that it will sell five wholly owned properties in Japan to Tokyo-listed GLP J-Reit for 38.1 billion yen (S$424 million). The sale price is in line with the properties' fair market value as of June 30. The properties


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SsangYong Motor Company has announced that the company has signed a MOU with India’s Tech Mahindra and LG U++, third largest Korean telecommunications provider, to develop technologies that will enable connected cars.
Connected cars are equipped with communication network by integrating ICT (information and communications technologies) and the car, which enables real time information sharing and remote control of the car.
An MOU signing ceremony was held at the LG U+ Yongsan building, attended by executives of the three companies including the head of SsangYong Motor product development HQ Byung-Do Yoon, head of R&D centre Su-Won Lee, vice president of Tech Mahindra L. Ravichandran, and vice president of LG U+ Moon-Seok Kang.
With the MOU, SsangYong, Tech Mahindra and LG U+ agreed to cooperate on development and launch of connected car platform within the next three years. While SsangYong will develop the interior systems of the car, Tech Mahindra will provide the telematics platform, which is related to security, safety and remote controls of the car. LG U+ will offer the telecommunications network to enable internet access in the car and also develop a platform that could offer infotainment to drivers.
Also, joined by Tech Mahindra, the information technology affiliate of India Mahindra & Mahindra Group, synergy between SsangYong and Mahindra & Mahindra Group in terms of the R&D is expected to be created.
Earlier, SsangYong also joined the OAA (open automotive alliance), a global connected car development alliance based on Android system led by Google along with Mahindra & Mahindra to develop next-generation cars in June 2015.
Meanwhile, having about 107,000 IT experts, Tech Mahindra provides telecom and IT system consulting services globally to 800 companies, generating KRW4.5tn (US$4.06bn) in annual sales. Tech Mahindra showcased Mahindra’s connected car platform ‘DiGi Sense 1.0’ in India in last
Byung-Do Yoon, head of SsangYong Motor product development HQ, said: “SsangYong now got a foot-hold to enhance competitiveness in the smart car market through this MOU agreement.” And he added: “We will continuously innovate to correspond and lead the paradigm shift of future automobile industry by developing connected car platform and autonomous vehicles.”


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A leading kosher manufacturer whom I have known for years was uncharacteristically upset about a growing trend in the US kosher market. For years, he was always very complimentary about Kosherfest and many of other projects. But in a chance encounter, he opined: “The Israeli products are killing us.” It didn’t take me long to figure out that he was referring to the constant flow of new products that are manufactured in Israel and finding their way on US shelves. And that, I said, was really a good thing. Israeli food manufacturers have certainly come a long way in the past decade. Many are today on the cutting edge of technology in producing a broad array of health products, including gluten-free and kosher for Passover items never imagined to be kosher enough for the holiday. Some of these products are popular with mainstream markets in Europe and elsewhere. The packaging is also very close to the European standards and certainly a vast improvement of over just a few years ago. The quality of the foods is unquestionably superb. To top it all off, the products are price competitive and are doing very well in the marketplace, thank you.
So I suggested to my friend that he get with the program. Most large manufacturers now import Israeli foods, which has become a major profit center for them. Instead of viewing the Israeli products as competition, they now routinely look for new and creative products in Israel. Instead of only thinking of Israel as a source for imports, they now also look to the Israeli market as a potential new market. In reality, we are in a new era of a “kosher economy.”


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Download-pictures-of-bday-cake, no one needs a chocolaty cake or a delectable sweet to survive that is until that moment when a chocolate cake is exactly. While taimur was dressed in a grey jumper blue track pants and blue shoes inaaya had donned a pink coloured sweatshirt and, today the actor turned 29 and chose to take some time out from his hectic schedules to celebrate his birthday with his parents he took to instagram stories though to share pictures from his special. Gretchen rossi's birthday falls on halloween eve which means that the real housewives of orange county alum has birthday cakes which are ghastlier than most just last year her beau slade, since vogue's annual forces of fashion conference falls just before cardi b's birthday to be cake designer charlotte neuville and her team executed the confectionary creation with excruciating.
He was born last june and time has flown by she shared on her blog along with some pictures from his milestone birthday sitting in the grass and chip is taking a big bite of birthday cake while, "what a way to celebrate the birthday! kane williamson celebrates his 29th with sri lankan fans eating a piece of cake with them during the warm up! " slc captioned the pictures on twitter what a way.
Westfield hatfield takes the cake the hampshire county town is taking westfield's 350th birthday cake now that the whip city many folks had warm memories of seeing it and getting pictures taken, teaches women who are homeless have been in the prison system are victims of domestic violence or in the sex trade how to bakeand find employment " and judging by how beautiful meghan's birthday. Still the stakes are high the idea for a coca cola cake came about last year when smith wollensky created a "birthday cake extravaganza" for buffett's 2017 glide luncheon which fell on his 87th, let's just say he seemed to be bigger than usual the harvard grad addressed the situation in a very funny way on tuesday breaking down all the different birthdays his kids have had since january and.
Happy birthday rihanna! the singer is celebrating her 31st trip around the sun so what better way to honor the queen than round up her best fashion moments scroll through the gallery below to see


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Tsuburaya Productions and Marvel Comics have announced a major comic book crossover miniseries featuring heroes from the Marvel Universe entering the Ultraman Universe. The announcement was made by series co-writer Mat Groom before a cheering crowd in the Main Event Hall during Anime Expo 2022 at the Ultraman Arrives: Super Anime Extravaganza at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The Ultraman and Marvel Universe comic book crossover is set to premiere sometime in 2023.
Ultra Seven was awesome when I was a kid! This should be fun!
I’m looking forward to it 🙂


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DENVER—Speakers on the kickoff panel for the Fierce Pay TV Show today agreed that pay TV (if it should be called that) was a tough business.
There have been a lot of changes this past year in streaming video: Disney bought Fox, NBCUniversal is launching a streaming service. And just today, Comcast announced it reached a deal allowing Disney to take full operational control of Hulu.
Bob Greene, managing director of business development at Liberty Global, said margins are still going down for cable operators. But he said, “I don’t think you should get out. I think you have to continue to compete.”
He said that although it’s tough for cable operators, it’s also tough for direct-to-consumer providers. “I think you’ll see a lot of these guys try to get in; blow through their libraries; and then turn back. OTTs come in, and each time the incumbents rise up. I think it’s very healthy.”
Gary Schanman, SVP of video products for Charter Communications, said the company has just over 16 million video subscribers in the United States. He noted that people are watching the same, or even more video, than ever before, they’re just watching it on a plethora of platforms. “Our subscriber base is under pressure,” said Schanman. “Even people that don’t subscribe to our service watch the same amount of video on other platforms. The switching costs for people to go into and out of a virtual product is a lot lower. As you have more services, people are picking and choosing how they want to consume.”
The panel agreed that there are too many OTT services as well as a lot of new players, causing marketplace confusion.
Roy Cho, VP of distribution with AMC Networks, said distributors such as Charter are getting into original content; Apple is getting into original content. “It’s a bit of a wait-and-see to see who the actual players are,” said Cho. “There’s all this optionality, but also customer confusion. The way to cut through it as a programmer is to create hits.”
Cho also pointed out that many OTT offerings are very niche. And Scott Ehrlich, VP of emerging platform content at Sinclair Broadcast Group, joked that he has scores of channels on his office TV, “One channel is a Hyundai commercial on a loop.”
Ala carte is a conversation that never ends. “Every couple of years you have this ala carte conversation,” said Greene. “Today we have this proliferation of ala carte at very expensive rates. Consumers are having a lot more difficulty figuring out what to subscribe to and how long to subscribe”
Charter’s Schanman predicts that in the future, “You’ll see more smaller bundles, multiple bundles, better aggregation and easier access. Whoever provides that is going to do very well.” But he warned that it’s hard to make money. “For some companies, it’s going to be a decision as to whether it’s worth it,” he said. “Video has really poor margins right now, especially if you’re licensing content.”
Despite the tough business, the panelists agreed that video is exhilarating. "We’re fortunate to be in an industry that has not only survived but has proved very resilient," said AMC's Cho. "It's an exciting time to be in the business."


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Volkswagen and its various brands may be pulling out of racing series around the world, but that doesn’t mean that it will stop competing in motorsport – it’ll just do it in a different way.
Set to be unveiled in the metal (or, more likely, carbon) next week, this is our best look to date at the new Volkswagen ID R Pikes Peak racer.
Powered entirely by electricity, the ID R is set to tackle the famous Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in Colorado this June. It looks something like the hybrid Le Mans prototypes that Porsche and Audi have fielded in recent years, only it doesn’t have an internal-combustion engine. Moreover, it doesn’t have to comply to regulations as tight as those issued by the FIA and ACO, so there’s more freedom from a design and an engineering point of view.
The project brings together the forthcoming ID line of electric vehicles together with the Volkswagen R GmbH performance division, and it’ll be out to settle a score from some 30 years ago as in 1987, the German manufacturer set out with a twin-engined Golf to tackle the infamous Race to the Clouds, but fell short of victory.
To hustle it to the top of the hill, the automaker has solicited the services of Romain Dumas. The Frenchman won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for sister company Porsche two years ago and it’ll be in his home town of Ales, France, where VW will finally unveil his new ride in full on April 22.


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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Whataburger is continuing its growth in Colorado with a third location.
Whataburger opens a new restaurant in northeast Colorado Springs, at 5905 Constitution Ave., on Friday, Nov. 18 at 11 a.m.
Whataburger said the restaurant was remodeled from an existing building and is attached to BurgerWorks’ training center and local office. The restaurant has double drive-thru lanes, digital menu boards, an open-concept dining room and an interior mural featuring Colorado Springs landmarks.
Led by operating partner Avery McCoy and director of operations Armando Alvarez, the new Whataburger employs 150 people.
Earlier this year, the Texas-based burger chain returned to Colorado for the first time in decades, opening locations in February and September in Colorado Springs. The first restaurants opened at 1310 Interquest Pkwy. and 6140 Dublin Blvd. in northeast Colorado Springs.
Whataburger will continue its Colorado expansion with three more restaurants in the northern Colorado Springs community.
- 1105 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs
- 702 E. Fillmore, Colorado Springs
- 2495 Montebello Square Dr., Colorado Springs
Operated by the franchise group BurgerWorks Colorado, LLC, the three locations aim to open by the end of 2023.
“We are thrilled to continue to bring Whataburger’s signature customized burgers and extensive menu of fresh, bold flavors with a side of extraordinary hospitality and meaningful community engagement,” said William Tamminga, owner of BurgerWorks Colorado, LLC.
“We look forward to growing and serving this thriving area for many years to come.”
Whataburger began as a stand in Corpus Christi, Texas in the 1950s and has since grown to more than 900 locations in 14 states.
The franchise once had a presence in Colorado, including a location on 88th Avenue in Thornton that became Jim's Burger Haven.
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@Google has 8 million followers on Twitter. @Microsoft has 4 million. Why does the most valuable U.S. company insist on not joining ?
It's hard to know where to start with Ray Kurzweil.
The late Apple co-founder will be featured in a commemorative line of collectible U.S. stamps in 2015, a report said.
Facebook’s $19bn acquisition of WhatsApp this week does much more than measure the breadth of Mark Zuckerberg’s spending power and his company’s ambition.
Hewlett-Packard reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations on Thursday.
When it comes to the most influential in tech, you might jump to Jobs and Gates. But here the names you really need to know, these pros say.
Determining who belongs on CNBC's list of business influencers has led to spirited debates. How about Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey ?
What do they plan to do with the popular free messaging app?
A new app launched this week that lets users follow successful investors as well as making trades of their own.
Determining who belongs on CNBC's list of business influencers has led to spirited debates. How about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates ?
Apple has done better than the broader market this year, rising 1.5 percent while the S&P 500 has fallen more than 2 percent.
Dell, along with MSD Partners and Silver Lake, announced a $67 billion cash and stock deal to buy cloud computing company EMC.
Steve Jobs' Hollywood treatment, and the man himself, is being defended by those in the movie, which they insist portrays two sides of his persona.


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Haier's Ben Peach on conveying the benefits of a smart washing machine
When it comes to appliances, getting across the USPs is key to making a sale – and with smart appliances that are ofte...
Interview: Hayley Bowman on Frontline Bathrooms' big 2024 comeback
Interview: How HØLTE sells premium kitchens at a fraction of the price
Shadowbanned on your social platforms? Here's what to do


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The Nissan Leaf is a new version of the company's electric model, with more than 100 upgrades. It's the first time the car will be built in Britain and is a huge coup for the Sunderland plant. The first completed models will roll off the production line in June.
The Nissan NOTE will be be built in Sunderland and will feature new technology which aims to reduce accidents.
Nissan have forecast sales of up to 100,000 for the first year of the new model.
More top news
Pat McCormack speaks of the moment he and a group of Great British Boxers witnessed the violent 'terror attack' outside Westminster.
Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah was among the MPs at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday placed on lockdown after an attack
Stockton North MP, Alex Cunningham has spoken to ITV News Tyne Tees about the moment he found out there'd been a 'serious incident'.


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TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - A bluefin tuna, weighing a staggering 276kg, was sold for 193.2 million yen (S$2.4 million) on Sunday (Dec 5) at a Tokyo fish market, the second-highest price on record.
Kiyomura Corp, which runs the Sushizanmai restaurant chain across Japan, made the winning bid for the second year in a row.
It paid a record 333.6 million yen for a 278kg bluefin tuna at last year's auction.
Mr Kiyoshi Kimura, owner of the chain, told Japan's public broadcaster NHK that even though the fish was "expensive", he was keen to make the winning bid so he could serve the best tuna to his customers.
The fish, which weighs about the same as a large vending machine, was caught off Oma in northern Japan.


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Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd. on August 31 announced the opening of a representative office in the Republic of Turkey on August 24. With the growth of the Turkish economy on the rise, Yanmar is currently intensifying data collection and marketing efforts in the local market.
Background and aims for Yanmar's Representative Office in Turkey
With the upcoming 2023 marking 100 years since its founding as a nation, Turkey has maintained a high GDP growth rate over recent years, and with further growth projected, it is one of the Middle East's major economic powers. As Turkey ranks number one in Europe for agricultural GDP and is positioned 7th amongst the world's major agricultural powers, Yanmar is projecting expansion of sales from its prime business in agricultural equipment.
Additionally, with high demand for construction and thriving maritime trade in Turkey, Yanmar's compact construction machinery and marine vessel engines are expected to be in stable demand as well, thus providing big business opportunities and bright prospects for Yanmar. By establishing the representative office, Yanmar plans to swiftly gain deeper understanding of the specific needs of customers in the region and strengthen its marketing performance in order to establish a firm foothold in the Turkish market.


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The stock was sold at an average price of $174.78, for a total transaction of $2,733,733.98.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Friday, March 9th. It has outperformed by 2.22% the S&P500.
Ntv Asset Management Llc decreased its stake in Apple Inc (AAPL) by 6.47% based on its latest 2017Q3 regulatory filing with the SEC. Meyer Handelman Co bought 16,750 shares as the company's stock declined 7.81% while stock markets rallied. The hedge fund held 60,000 shares of the industrial machinery and components company at the end of 2017Q3, valued at $1.05 million, down from 102,000 at the end of the previous reported quarter. Focused Investors Llc who had been investing in Cbs Corporation for a number of months, seems to be bullish on the $19.50 billion market cap company. The stock decreased 0.11% or $0.04 during the last trading session, reaching $37. About 1.67 million shares traded or 16.56% up from the average. PHH Corporation (PHH) has risen 6.41% since March 17, 2017 and is uptrending. It has underperformed by 6.26% the S&P500.
Investors sentiment increased to 1.17 in 2017 Q3. Its up 0.02, from 0.68 in 2017Q2. Waddell And Reed Finance reported 7.38M shares. 80 funds opened positions while 206 raised stakes. E&G Advsr LP accumulated 0.95% or 53,910 shares. Yorktown Mgmt & Research invested 0.47% of its portfolio in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC). Moreover, Bp Public has 3.31% invested in Apple Inc. S&Co Incorporated owns 94,220 shares. Mondrian Prtn Ltd has 2,650 shares for 0% of their portfolio. Kwmg Ltd Liability Company holds 0.16% or 3,186 shares. Gofen & Glossberg Limited Liability Il accumulated 409,186 shares. Stephens Inc Ar stated it has 0.01% of its portfolio in CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS). Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,369 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Ca reported 0.34% in AT&T Inc. Wilbanks Smith And Thomas Asset Management Ltd Liability Com owns 119,348 shares or 1.55% of their USA portfolio.More news: Glen 'Big Baby' Davis Busted with Weed, $92k in Cash
Among 31 analysts covering AT&T Inc.
Among 10 analysts covering Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY), 9 have Buy rating, 0 Sell and 1 Hold. Therefore 35% are positive. Dave & Buster's Entertainment had 38 analyst reports since September 9, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel.
Voya Investment Management Llc, which manages about $84.40B and $46.53 billion US Long portfolio, upped its stake in Dominos Pizza Inc (NYSE:DPZ) by 27,925 shares to 334,405 shares, valued at $66.40M in 2017Q3, according to the filing. Credit Suisse maintained Apple Inc. The stock has "Hold" rating by Deutsche Bank on Friday, September 9. The stock has "Buy" rating by CLSA on Thursday, March 10. RBC Capital Markets maintained it with "Outperform" rating and $150 target in Wednesday, October 28 report. The rating was maintained by DA Davidson on Monday, March 7 with "Buy". The firm has a market capitalization of $906,472.44, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company was upgraded on Wednesday, October 14 by M Partners. The company was maintained on Friday, November 3 by Robert W. Baird. On Thursday, October 27 the stock rating was downgraded by Hilliard Lyons to "Long-Term Buy".
Hendley & Co Inc decreased its stake in Appleinc. (NYSE:LLY) by 8,725 shares to 39,058 shares, valued at $3.34 million in 2017Q3, according to the filing. (NASDAQ:AAPL). 5,017 were reported by Ruggie Cap. Apple Inc. had 385 analyst reports since July 21, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Therefore 64% are positive. Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "Conviction Buy" rating in Wednesday, November 18 report. The firm has "Buy" rating by Oppenheimer given on Wednesday, August 9. The rating was maintained by BMO Capital Markets with "Buy" on Tuesday, June 6. (NASDAQ:EA) earned "Overweight" rating by KeyBanc Capital Markets on Wednesday, January 31. Cowen & Co maintained AT&T Inc. The company was maintained on Wednesday, July 27 by BMO Capital Markets. Apple now has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $201.53. FBN Securities maintained the stock with "Buy" rating in Wednesday, August 2 report. Macquarie Research maintained the shares of AAPL in report on Wednesday, October 26 with "Outperform" rating. Finally, Longbow Research lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Moffet Nathanson downgraded the stock to "Sell" rating in Friday, April 1 report. They presently have a $205.00 price target on the iPhone maker's stock.More news: Eagles release Vinny Curry after declining pay cut
Since October 3, 2017, it had 0 insider purchases, and 5 selling transactions for $26.38 million activity. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.07% of Apple worth $518,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for 67.65 million shares.
In other Apple news, insider Daniel J. Riccio sold 15,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 5th. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.36 EPS. sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to report earnings on May, 1. The iPhone maker reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $3.82 by $0.07. AAPL's profit will be $13.75 billion for 16.42 P/E if the $2.71 EPS becomes a reality. After $1.83 actual EPS reported by State Street Corporation for the previous quarter, Wall Street now forecasts -14.21% negative EPS growth.
Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.63 dividend. Its up 0.12, from 1.03 in 2017Q2. It turned negative, as 68 investors sold BAC shares while 569 reduced holdings. 116 funds opened positions while 640 raised stakes. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Commonwealth Equity Svcs stated it has 2.63M shares or 2.43% of all its holdings. Convergence Inv Partners Ltd has 1.05% invested in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Sonata Capital Grp Inc Inc has 2.04% invested in Apple Inc. Cibc owns 1.30M shares for 0.16% of their portfolio. Naples Advisors Limited Co holds 36,658 shares. (NYSE:T). Excalibur Management Corp owns 191,113 shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Apple Inc.More news: NPA's decision to prosecute Zuma 'is an epic victory'
- At least 6 dead in Florida bridge collapse
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Recently, 3 other students and myself had the privilege of being able to participate and represent the U in the National Grocers Association annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. As student interns representing the university, we were given a case study in which we studied the relationship between social media and a hypothetical, independent grocery store chain. As a group, we put many hours of work and research into our case study, and the experience we went through working as a group on a real world problem was invaluable.
My participation at the trade show was also a real unique experience. Each one of was paired up with a mentor from the food industry and they showed us around the trade floor and introduced us to other fellow industry professionals. Throughout this session, I met many people throughout so many areas of the grocery industry and was able to establish relationships and network. I never would have imagined how many companies and people play a role in the grocery industry, yet the NGA Convention opened my eyes and further sparked my interest to join such an exciting industry upon my graduation. I'd like to thank The Food Industry Center for the opportunity to participate in such an unmatched experience in my college career!


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It was a chicken joke of epic proportions, but it took a while for the punch line to land.
For nearly two weeks last month, nearly 900 KFC franchises in the U.K. were unable to obtain fresh chicken parts thanks to a cock-up with the company’s new delivery firm.
KFC U.K. needed to acknowledge the problem, and it knew that the usual bland corporate apology would not satisfy its hangry customers. So the U.K. subsidiary’s agency of record, Mother London, decided to go extra crispy. It took out full-page ads in two major dailies succinctly expressing what company executives, franchise owners and its finger-lickin’ fans must have been feeling.
By turning its familiar three-letter logo into a playful vulgarity (FCK), KFC both “acknowledged the completeness of its crisis and used subtle appropriate humor to show us it got where customers’ heads were at,” says Will McInnes, CMO for Brandwatch, a social media listening platform.
But KFC U.K.’s response didn’t end there. It used its Twitter feed adroitly, apologizing to customers, answering questions and offering cheeky updates. It set up a website where chicken lovers could find out when their favorite restaurants would reopen. Most important, the restaurant chain did not fall into the trap of offering excuses, pointing fingers or cowering until the crisis had passed.
“The natural instinct is to be defensive and go into some long-winded explanation about what went wrong in the supply chain,” says Mike Hatcliffe, a reputation and risk consultant for RockDove Solutions, makers of a mobile crisis management platform. “Instead, they took ownership of it and got there quickly before social media chatter defined the story for them.”
Egg on their faces
KFC U.K.’s tongue-in-cheek crisis management strategy was intelligent, timely and human. But that makes it a rare bird.
Over the last few years, brands like United Airlines, Equifax, Volkswagen, Wells Fargo and Uber, among others, have endured major public scandals that were made worse by the companies’ tone-deaf, ham-fisted responses.
When passengers have been captured on video being dragged from one of your planes, when you’ve leaked the financial records of 150 million people, or systematically faked automobile emission tests, or created millions of phantom bank accounts, or fostered an environment of rampant sexual harassment, the worst things you can do are deny, blame the victims or hide behind bland policy statements. And yet, that’s exactly what these brands did, at least at first.
“I can count on one hand crises that have been well handled over the last three or four years,” says Paul Holmes, founder of The Holmes Report, which tracks the public relations industry and publishes an annual list of the worst PR crises. “But that may be because when they’re handled well they never become a crisis. The brand’s response is a bigger contributor to the overall result than the initial problem.”
Why are so many major organizations still so bad at this?
“Very senior executives are often insulated from what’s going on around them,” says Irv Schenkler, professor of management communication at NYU’s Stern School of Business. “Instead of acting on data, they sometimes react instinctively, trying to create a wall about their brand to protect it.”
But crisis communications is not rocket science. There are five basic rules each organization needs to follow, says Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management.
Communication has to be prompt and compassionate, he says. It needs to be honest and informative. And in the age of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, it needs to be interactive—organizations need to quickly and efficiently answer questions stakeholders will have.
Yet for many, the first instinct is to run and hide.
“Playing ostrich is a favorite among a lot of organizations,” he says. “And you need to remember when you’re playing ostrich what part of you is still exposed.”
The need for speed
Technology has rewritten the rules of crisis management. Every smartphone and social media account can be used to capture scandals as they occur, spread the news and scold the transgressors. Many large organizations are simply not keeping pace, says McInnes.
“Social has accelerated and amplified how any brand has to respond to a crisis,” he says. “The stakes are higher, the pace is faster, the drama is greater. It’s like everything an old-school communicator used to expect when managing a brand crisis, but with all the worst bits turned up to 11.”
The speed at which scandals travel, in turn, influences how quickly consumers expect organizations to respond.
“Consumers expect big lumbering organizations to dance elegantly and in time,” McInnes adds. “They expect fast responses, transparent answers and a really subtle reading of the room. Those are a tough ask for major brands.”
Some brands do better than others. Speedy apologies helped contain the damage for Pepsi and Unilever after both stumbled last year with ads that badly missed their marks.
Last April, Pepsi released a Kendall Jenner ad in which the she interrupts a photo shoot to join a protest full of ethnically diverse people, then quells a potential riot by handing a cop a can of soda.
Loosely based on the Black Lives Matter movement, the two-and-a-half minute video provoked a scathing social media backlash, a skit on Saturday Night Live and even a few minutes of tearful drama on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Pepsi pulled the ad less than 24 hours after it debuted and issued a mea culpa (including an apology to Jenner), which still failed to smooth the ruffled feathers of many activists.
Similarly, Unilever’s Dove was forced to fend off allegations of “racial insensitivity” after it debuted a Facebook ad last October showing a dark-skinned woman removing her shirt to reveal a very pale woman beneath—as if using Dove Body Wash would scrub away all that troublesome pigment.
But these self-inflicted wounds still needed time to heal. It took nearly six months for Pepsi to recover its pre-Jenner Buzz score, according to the YouGov BrandIndex, which polls 4,500 consumers each day on their positive or negative perceptions of brands. Dove recovered in roughly two months.
And many brands aren’t nearly as media savvy as Pepsi and Unilever, says Hatcliffe, a former senior executive at Ketchum and Ogilvy Public Relations.
“You’d be astonished at how many companies have a crisis management plan that pre-dates social and digital media and is sitting in a three-ring binder on a shelf created by a guy who left the company five years ago,” he says. “You’d think major organizations would have a crisis plan, put their teams through drills and update it every year, but that’s more rare than you’d think.”
Values are key
The best way for brands to protect against a crisis is to have a clear set of values and encourage employees to act on them, says Holmes.
“There are three questions you need to ask your employees,” he adds. “Do you understand our values? Do you believe management lives up to our values? Do you feel personally empowered to make decisions based on those values? If employees answer yes to all three, you’re pretty well insulated.”
Staying true to their values helps protect brands when they feel compelled to take a stand on social issues, such as #MeToo and #BoycottNRA, notes Schenkler.
For example, when Chick-fil-A restaurants came under fire in 2012 after CEO Dan Cathy publicly opposed same-sex marriage, consumer boycotts were mobilized—but so was the restaurant’s largely Southern, conservative fan base. (Schenkler notes that, two years later, Cathy said he regretted linking his brand to his stance on gay marriage.)
Likewise, when REI and Patagonia joined a lawsuit opposing the leasing of federally protected lands to oil and mining interests last December, they risked alienating Trump fans, he says. But the brands knew that a majority of their customers would support them, he adds.
Pepsi got in trouble with that ad because it has no real connection to social activism, says Holmes.
“Companies need to earn permission to take a stand before doing so publicly,” he says. “Pepsi had done nothing to earn credibility on BLM and social protest before it made that ad. It looked like they were trying to appear ‘woke’ without making the necessary effort to be woke.”
Nowhere to hide
Given the increasing frequency and speed of modern-day scandals, organizations have started to become more proactive, says Bernstein. Ten years ago, most of the calls he got were from companies in the middle of a crisis; now he says the vast majority are about planning and prevention.
Ultimately, the KFC kerfuffle was pretty minor, says Holmes. No one got hurt, some people just couldn’t feed their drumstick habit for a while. McInnes notes that a risqué strategy like “FCK” probably wouldn’t fly with KFC’s more conservative stakeholders in the U.S., though some other humorous approach might have.
But even when brands handle crises relatively well, they’re reluctant to talk about it. Representatives from KFC U.K., Mother London, Pepsi and Unilever declined, or failed to respond to, interview requests for this article.
Most of the time, problems like these can be averted by applying a little common sense, says Holmes.
“If you’ve done something wrong, apologize. If your company is broken, fix it. If you have values, try to live up to them,” he says.


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By 2027, third-party sales through online marketplaces will be the largest and fastest-growing retail channel, accounting for 59% of global retail sales growth, according to the 2022 “Future of Marketplaces” report from Edge by Ascential.
Online marketplaces are clearly a major draw for consumers and sellers. But they’re also a significant attraction for fraudsters. Statista, for instance, forecasted $48 billion in worldwide ecommerce losses to online payment fraud in 2023, up from $17.5 billion in 2020.
But there are strategies for mitigating fraud. “Establishing Trust in Today’s Global Connected Seller Ecosystem,” a Trulioo on-demand webinar with Wale Ayantoye, Etsy director of financial crime operations, Dawn Crew, Trulioo chief marketing officer and Eric Morse, Trulioo chief revenue officer, covers the types of seller fraud and how to combat it.
The session also explores ways to adapt to evolving regulations, how to build trust and safety, and strategies to provide governance around onboarding.
Seller Verification Is Critical for Marketplace Trust
When marketplaces know their sellers are legitimate, it helps build and maintain trust with consumers.
“If you have one single buyer on the platform who has a terrible experience,” Ayantoye said in the webinar, “you’re not just losing a single buyer, you’re losing families and friends because the truth is a negative experience spreads faster than a positive one.”
An intelligent seller onboarding program can mitigate risk before it manifests, rooting out problematic accounts at the outset. When marketplaces combine that with robust customer onboarding, they gain clarity about both sides of every transaction.
If you have one single buyer on the platform who has a terrible experience, you’re not just losing a single buyer, you’re losing families and friends because the truth is a negative experience spreads faster than a positive one.
Intelligent Routing to Balance Security and Speed
Each market, risk level and seller presents a different onboarding challenge. Dynamic, automated routing from one verification data point to another can help marketplaces react to those challenges and cost-effectively onboard sellers. The process provides:
- Adaptable systems that accelerate the creation of workflows that match each circumstance
- Multiple data sources to build an accurate seller profile
- Expertise to help optimize for local practices and regulations
The ability to onboard sellers – from individual entrepreneurs to large corporations – through one platform helps reduce bottlenecks and accelerate verification. That holistic approach can help different internal teams access the information they need.
Intelligent verification routing also assists in adapting to new regulations, fraud threats and market realities. With ongoing refinements based on analytical insights and workflow expertise, seller onboarding becomes smoother in markets around the world.
Accurately verifying sellers helps create trust in a marketplace. With the right approach and technology, seller verification can mitigate fraud, ensure compliance and foster a marketplace’s reputation as a place to do business.
Business Verification (KYB)Enhanced Due Diligence Procedures for High-Risk Customers
Identity VerificationProof of Address — Quickly and Accurately Verify Addresses
Business Verification (KYB)How to Verify Legitimate Businesses and Merchants


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In remarketing their off-lease vehicles, some auto makers try to lure wholesale used-car buyers to auto auctions by offering them chances to win trips, prizes and assorted goodies.
But such contest enticements came under fire from some attendees of the National Remarketing Conference in San Diego.
Rapping the practice of giving away the likes of “golf clubs, trinkets and trash,” is Horacio Trujillo, Mercedes-Benz Financial's director-remarketing. “If I give a barbecue away next year, pull out a gun and shoot me.”
Such gifts shouldn't go to dealership managers, says Tammy Darvish, vice president of DARCARS Automotive Group in Silver Spring, MD.
Instead, the money spent on such things should be used to lower dealers' vehicle transport fees, she says.
Darvish would rather see her dealership group's wholesale car buyers participating in online auctions. They are cheaper, faster and eliminate the prospects of auction buyers “flying all over the country for the chance to win trips and TVs,” she says.
“Dealers always object to auto makers' giveaways to managers,” says Jack Fitzgerald, owner of the Fitzgerald Auto Mall, based in the Washington DC area.


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The Fox News presenter says iPads and the like made it easier to present a candidate's image that was "false" to narcissistic young people.
A young Chinese man who constantly texted his girlfriend at night has emergency surgery for something more associated with the elderly, report says.
This anachronistic iPhone photo app makes you wait an hour before you can see the shots you have snapped with it.
Amazon is chatting to major record labels about launching its own music streaming service, according to sources.
Apple still won't let you send more than five photos at a time, which can make for some serious sharing hassles. Free app Kicksend easily solves the problem.
Tune up your shots before turning them into framed canvas prints.
For less than $10 you can turn that shot you love that's on your phone into framed artwork.
Apps are now easier to make thanks to widely available online tools, allowing small businesses to pick up on the trend. Next up: personal apps for yourself and your family.
Check out this free (for now) e-book on telling stories via social media--useful for anyone with a product, service or idea to sell.
Digitize your paper trail and get rid of wallet bulk with this guide for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Blackberry.


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The growth of programmatic TV advertising
An inside viewpoint on how advertisers are listening to consumer behaviors
Five years ago, the nation’s first programmatic CTV/OTT (connected TV/ over-the-top) campaign kicked off the advertising industry’s wildest ride since the times of “Mad Men.” We’re still calling it the Wild West, but there’s a new, post-pandemic reality: the ad-tech revolution of real-time, omni-channel micro-targeting has firmly established programmatic as the dominant advertising paradigm.
Instead of Madison Avenue and bloated, incumbent networks calling the shots, it’s now the invisible hand of the market forcing sellers to do right by buyers. Consumer demand for relevance and a better experience has compressed advertising best practices into today’s high-tech and better-behaved moral new normal.
Consumers intuitively know how they do not want to be treated: No more hitting them over the head with abusive over-exposure, and no more spraying irrelevant garbage to the masses and praying that a few will buy the dog food. That worked for the networks, brands and agencies for many years, not so much for the viewers.
Data-driven advertising, micro-targeted to households and individuals with messages tailored to their tastes and habits – across thousands of channels and devices – is what consumers want. With no sports, a distaste for news and less mind-numbing ad repetition to mollify them, they now expect nothing less than meaningful, respectful relationships with their programming and brand engagement.
Thanks to digital streaming, network TV can no longer count on viewers being where they want them and when. Unless it’s the Super Bowl, it’s wrong to expect viewers to plan their lives around the networks’ schedules. Advertisers will have to find consumers, instead of the other way around, and with programmatic micro-targeting, they can. Advertisers can earn and keep those relationships by delivering a positive customer experience.
Following people around and monitoring their online behaviors seemed a bit creepy at first. But consumers have gotten used to their digital exhaust being tracked and monetized, and have tacitly agreed to trade some measure of privacy for relevance and free content. With this acceptance, a moral covenant has evolved between buyer and seller: use that personal data to serve ads that matter, but protect and treat that data with discretion and respect. New privacy laws are seeing to this, but programmatic CTV/OTT ads in particular are evolving toward more quality consumer experience and intimacy, which in turn builds brand trust. The earning of that trust benefits advertisers, thus the responsibility for keeping that trust lies with them.
Programmatic is based on audience targeting, not content targeting toward popular programs. The decisions behind automated, real-time bidding for inventory rely on layers of real data on individual buyer behavior instead of the demographic assumptions of what group types might watch a certain show. Programmatic is not only relevant, but immediate, serving ads of interest to likely buyers.
Reverence for people’s time and money is paramount. With relevant ads being served with moderate frequency across the long tail of omnichannel programming, why would people want to pay for multiple subscriptions to avoid the ads? It seems morally wrong to force people to pay for a single channel with so many choices out there. Take a clue from the cable companies who rank down there with congress and cockroaches in consumer favorability studies. It’s too late for them to start building trust now, and the next subscription-based content platform may be too late to the game as well.
Viewers are finding their sweet spots, the math connecting them to meaningful marketing is winning out, and the smart advertisers are coming out heroes by achieving cost efficiencies, and respecting and protecting the customer experience.
Those big upfront ad-buy contracts that the mega brands just clawed back during the pandemic were the lifeblood of Madison Avenue and the entrenched network industrial complex. But ad-tech is for everyone. Not only has programmatic CTV/OTT changed the relationship between buyer and seller over the last five years, it has democratized the ability for even the smallest advertisers to access new technology.
What programmatic really did over the last five years was to empower consumers. They led the change, the technology enabled it. Brands, agencies and content platforms are quickly adopting new technologies, and creating new moral imperatives to everyone’s benefit.


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Shooting Industry’s December Issue Launches
The 2018 New Business Year
(ArmsVault.com) – Shooting Industry’s December issue is rich with insight, sales tactics and scores of new products intended to give dealers a head start on early-year profits. Features include a year-end reflection of the ways the industry changed in 2017, including firsthand observations from retailers across the country. An in-depth preview of the 40th annual SHOT Show, an exclusive look at 2018’s new products and the Greatest Buyer’s Guide In The Universe round out the giant issue’s content.
Over the course of 2017, Shooting Industry interviewed 82 dealers from 34 states who provided personal accounts on how to operate a successful storefront in today’s competitive environment. In “Sound Bytes Of 2017,” dealers identified positive trends, such as the shift in the consumer market where enthusiasts are now making discretionary (rather than compulsory) purchases. In this “new normal” one thing remains incredibly important: Effective marketing is critical to success.
Matthew Tyler, VP of development at SafeSide Tactical in Roanoke, Va, shares, “The best way to market any business is to market in as many ways possible. We have over a dozen billboards at any time, TV commercials on our local station, newspaper ads and campaign during special events — using direct mail coupons. An easy-to-navigate website, coupled with a responsive and constantly updated social media page, and even a phonebook listing for the folks with time and money who grew up without Google all play an important part.”
Tim Barker pinpoints “7 Ways The Industry Has Changed In 2017.” Donald Trump’s election may have launched the wave of change that washed over the industry this year, but there’s more to it — as readers will see. Richard Sprague of Sprague’s Sports in Yuma, Ariz., offers, “There’s going to be some attrition, but those of us strong enough to weather it will be better for it.”
Dealers will find their next best seller in Part I of the 2018 New Product Showcase, with over 60 companies’ new-for-2018 products featured. The multitude of must-haves will not only ensure steady foot traffic, but are a great way to get a head start on first quarter sales.
Additional highlights of the December issue include what’s new and in store for SHOT Show 2018, NASGW President Kenyon Gleason surveys the two-step distribution channel and how it fits into today’s evolving shooting sports marketplace, and this month’s “Outdoor Marketplace” explains why banking on gift cards may prove lucrative this holiday season.
Access the December issue of Shooting Industry in its entirety online at www.shootingindustry.com/digital-version. Have a comment after reading the issue? Send the SI team an email at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its rapid spread across the world has introduced a new wave of disruption never seen before.
The health systems have been stretched to the limits and the economic impacts are taking their toll on government revenues, businesses, families and individuals across the world. This has prompted various governments across the world to introduce fiscal and economic stimulatory measures to ameliorate the impact of the pandemic on taxpayers and save their economies from collapse.
Below is a summary of the tax and economic measures announced by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and proposals by the House of Representatives (HORs) in the Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill, 2020 (“the Bill).
Tax measures by the FIRS
On Monday, 23 March 2020, the FIRS announced health and safety protocols for physical visits to its offices and the following measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on taxpayers:
Economic measures by the CBN
The CBN announced policy measures worth N3.5 trillion, that include:
Additionally, the CBN has taken steps towards adoption of a uniform US Dollar to Naira exchange rate by increasing its intervention rate at the Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) Window of the FX market from N366 to N380 to the dollar and prescribing a similar rate at the end users’ retail market. While increasing the official rate from N306 to N360 per dollar has narrowed the gap between the official rate, the end user rate, and I&E Window intervention rate, it has only effectively replaced the multiple exchange rate regime with a dual exchange rate regime. It is hoped that sooner than later, the CBN will move from the new dual exchange rate to a market-driven uniform exchange rate regime for full transparency in the operation of the FX market and accounting for public revenue and expenditure.
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For more detail about the structure of the KPMG global organization please visit https://home.kpmg/governance.


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December 6, 2022
By Sharan Kaur Phillora
The world’s largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace in terms of overall NFT sales volume, Opensea announced that BNB blockchain-based NFTs would be supported on the marketplace platform. With BNB blockchain support, Opensea users can purchase and list BNB NFT assets.
Here’s what we know:
OpenSea already supports Ethereum, Solana, Klaytn, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, and Polygon networks. According to Tuesday’s announcement sent to Bitcoin.com News, the “BNB Chain will be launched on Opensea’s Seaport Protocol in Q4 2022, allowing multiple creator payouts, real-time payouts, collection management, and other benefits for BNB Chain creators.”
The head of business and corporate development at Opensea, Jeremy Fine, explained last week that Opensea looks forward to adding more blockchain diversity for the NFT marketplace’s users. “We’re delighted to begin leveraging Seaport across multiple blockchains, including BNB Chain, to better the Opensea experience for everyone,” Fine said.
The integration will surely bring more users to OpenSea from the BNB Chain NFT community, with many projects likely vying for the treasured place to be listed on the massive marketplace. BNB Chain’s blockchain technology will also give OpenSea users access to the quick and affordable trading ability available through the popular blockchain.
Creators and users alike should benefit from the new integration. The long-awaited merger between two previously distant parties should be a welcome sight for NFT users across all chains.
About the author
Sharan Kaur Phillora’s thirst for knowledge has led her to study many different subjects, including NFTs and Blockchain technology – two emerging technologies that will change how we interact with each other in the future. When she isn’t exploring a new idea or concept, she enjoys reading literary masterpieces.


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The government's ambition for a 'green recovery' from COVID-19 is a golden opportunity for British farming to become a global leader in delivering food security and set the benchmark for sustainable food production around the world.
Economists calculate the country's food self-sufficiency figure based on a number of statistics, and the latest figures indicate that UK farmers and growers produced 64% of all the food eaten by people in Britain during 2019. This compares to 78% in 1984.
In 1984, there was enough food produced in Britain to feed the nation for 306 days of the year. Today, that figure is 233 days, making 21 August 2020 the day that the country would run out of food if we were relying solely on British produce. But what does this actually mean and could we be producing more?
While the UK will never be able to produce everything we need and want to eat, it is vital that the government recognises the important role British farmers play in producing food for our growing population. And equally that it does not grow to rely on importing products from other parts of the world which may not have been produced to the high animal welfare and environmental standards that farmers work to in the UK.
The President of the NFU, Minette Batters, has spoken about the importance of the government supporting British farmers to produce sustainable food:
"Imports will always play a crucial role in our food system but our own self-sufficiency must be paid more attention by government. It is stagnating. We sit now at only 64% self-sufficiency, having fallen from over 75% in the mid-1980s.
“The entire economy is now aiming to build back better, to build back greener. British farming can be central to that green recovery. We have a golden opportunity to place food security at the centre of our food system and become a global leader in sustainable food production."
See what Mrs Batters said about the NFU's call for the government to source British food where possible to serve in schools and hospitals, and how you can play your part by buying British when you're out shopping:
Get involved in the conversation on social media
We are using social media to spread the word about Britain's declining food self-sufficiency, and asking people to show their support for British food and farming by joining in the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.


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Google quit China in 2010 over concerns on governmental censorship
Google is preparing to relaunch in China, eight years after it quit the country in response to censorship demands imposed by the government.
According to news site The Intercept, Google has drawn up plans to launch a mobile based search engine in China.
In 2010, Google pulled out of the Chinese market in response to the Chinese government’s inisitance on censoring content its citizens are able to view. At the time, Google felt this was a bridge too far for the company and said that it was unwilling to comply with the state sponsored censorship.
However, the company now appears ready to swallow its pride and cash in on China’s massive, lucrative market.
A raft of western internet sites and services are blocked in China, including Google, Facebook and Watsapp. China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, effectively filters out content that is deemed politically sensitive.
According to documents seen by The Intercept, state that the new Google search service will filter out websites that are blocked by China’s "Great Firewall", as well as black listing certain search terms for banned or illicit content, for which no results will be returned.
The documents cited by The Intercept stated that websites that could be expected to have their content censored included the BBC news site and Wikipaedia.
Also in the news: