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The fact that Nike’s once-exclusive Panda Dunks are now widely available is driving some sneakerheads crazy
A 26-year-old M.B.A. student from Provo, Utah, Zack Jones adores sneakers and the pursuit of owning them, particularly the Nike Inc. limited-edition models that can sell out quickly. When he couldn’t get a pair of “Panda” Dunks, a white-and-black leather shoe by Nike, directly from the shoe giant, he paid a reseller $280—2½ times the sticker price—to obtain a pair.
Then Nike did something that fans of sneakers weren’t prepared for. After the initial release, the company repeatedly restocked the Panda Dunk in an attempt to capitalise on the excitement. The sudden proliferation of shoes can be fatal for collectors and die-hards trying to stand out from the crowd.
In October, while visiting Disneyland with his family, he counted 75 individuals sporting Panda Dunks.
“It’s like when Facebook came out. At first it was just younger kids, and then all of a sudden your mom is on Facebook,” he stated when he saw his coveted shoes on everyone. “That’s not as cool anymore.”
The Nike Dunk Low Retro White Black, formerly known as the Panda Dunk, has divided opinion among sneakerheads. They are top sellers for Nike and resellers like StockX LLC, eBay Inc., and Goat Group thanks to the support of their customers.
But other sneakerheads find that prevalence annoying, especially on social media. Anthony Treviso, owner of the sneaker news website SiteSupply, said of the Panda Dunk, “I’m sick of seeing it. “How about you like something more interesting? There’s no creativity.”
The sneakers serve as an excellent example of the major problem with limited-edition products: There must be enough of them to become a mass-market phenomenon while still being scarce enough to appear unique.
Since its release almost 40 years ago, the Nike Dunk basketball sneaker has become one of the brand’s most well-known products. Each year, dozens of varieties, including the Panda, which made its debut in early 2021, receive limited releases.
For Miami-based event producer Norma Moreno, who purchased a pair of the Pandas when they were first released but decided to give them away once they became overly popular, the model’s frequent restocks were too much.
The 32-year-old claimed that the purchases showed how streetwear culture had become more mainstream. She stated, alluding to the Panda Dunk, “No one is showing that off.”
Panda Dunks continue to sell out despite some people believing they have been oversold because the average sneaker buyer still finds them to be cool, according to Alabama-based sneaker content creator David Daniels, also known online as SneakerPhetish. Kids want to look like the celebrities they look up to, therefore they wear them. Mr. Daniels said “The sneakers also have a reasonable price, and resellers are still able to make a profit,” he added. “It’s like the perfect storm.”
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, David Daniels, also known online as SneakerPhetish, describes himself. He is holding the Michigan State Dunk Low from Nike.
U.S. soccer star Alex Morgan, who is currently sponsored by the shoe giant, made an appearance on a GQ video the day before the most recent Panda Dunk restock on Jan. 19, where she discussed her top ten must-haves. Her pair of Panda Dunks were the most popular item.
According to Piper Sandler research analyst Abbie Zvejnieks, the sneaker benefits from Nike’s marketing apparatus, which has fostered the notion among consumers that they must be at a specific location at a specific time in order to succeed. According to Ms. Zvejnieks, who purchased a pair of Panda Dunks in May on a resale website, “you can’t just go to any store and purchase the item.” Customers must enter raffles or virtual lines to purchase Nike’s limited-edition shoes.
According to business records, Nike held over 500,000 pairs of the Panda Dunk in inventory and made approximately 150,000 pairs of them available for purchase during the Panda Dunk’s January refill.
Customers frequently face competition from resellers, many of whom utilise automated algorithms to locate products that are on sale, purchase them in bulk, and then resell them on resale websites for a profit.
According to resellers, despite the numerous restocks, Panda Dunks continuously sell for more than their suggested retail price, according to Cynthia Lee, vice president of merchandising at StockX. The Panda Dunk, according to EBay and Goat, was their best-selling shoe in 2017.
The Panda Dunk is scheduled to be restocked by Nike this month and on subsequent occasions, according to sneaker vendors.
That’s bad news for the sneaker culture, where possessing a unique pair of shoes allows people to stand out. Mr. Daniels, the producer of sneaker material, said, “You can lose that if you start seeing the sneaker everywhere.
Some shoppers only care about getting the footwear, regardless of what others may think. On January 19, Francis Salamanca, a healthcare communications engineer from San Jose, California, attempted to purchase a pair from Nike. He claimed this was his seventh failed try since the summer. Despite stating that he would be willing to pay roughly 30% more than the suggested retail price, the 31-year-old hasn’t been successful in locating a pair in that price range. It just aggravates me so much, he remarked.
Mr. Salamanca laughed off the remarks of a cousin who had made fun of another family member for wanting Panda Dunks at a Christmas Day family gathering, saying there were so many better shoes. Mr. Salamanca said “If he had the opportunity or got lucky with a drop, he would swipe [his credit card] and get those Pandas so quick.”


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A retail favorite is making a major fashion upgrade and its another win for inclusivity. Anthropologie is launching its first-ever plus size line, dubbed "A+nthropologie." It's also known as APlus By Anthropologie, and features sizes 16W to 26W. With this expansion, Anthropologie's complete size range will now be 00P to 26W — and it's about time.
On the landing page of the brand's website, the tagline proudly proclaims: "Inclusively sized. Exclusively ours." The collection is slated to drop on March 15. You can sign up for email alerts right now so you don't miss the launch or any of the essential details leading up to it.
Fashionistas who've wanted to wear Anthropologie clothing, but were unable to due to lack of sizes, are likely stoked. The brand revealed details about APlus in an update posted on its site and via a press release received by Bustle.
"A sense of friendship and belonging lies at the heart of all we do, which is why this month, we're launching APlus By Anthropologie — our first ever plus-size collection," the statement read. "What to expect? Wardrobe heroes with all our quintessential charm and romance, now available in sizes 16W to 26W. There are dresses to dance in, pants to romance in, and skirts to shine in — all designed with careful consideration and love from our in-house team."
The announcement finished with this sentiment: "And because our style is for every(body), we've expanded our petites collection, too. You can explore both online at anthropologie.com. We're here for every chapter of your story — thank you for belonging in ours."
APlus By Anthropologie will arrive with 120 pieces from the core Spring 2019 line, according to the press release. The collection include pieces by in-house labels, such as Maeve, Pilcro and The Letterpress, and Essentials by Anthropologie, as well as by external brands like Cloth & Stone and DL1961.
Glamour reports that APlus prices will start as low as $48 and go as high as $260. The range will be available online, as well as introduced via 10 physical Anthropologie locations in both the U.S. and Canada, according to the press release. The collection will be sold in New York City, Houston, and Toronto outposts.
Anthropologie's decision to expand sizes was based on the desire to reach more people and welcome them in.
"We want to give every woman a wealth of options — and an experience that exceeds her expectations," Anthropologie's Chief Merchandising Officer Anu Narayanan told Glamour.
Judging from the campaign images that have been posted to the APlus By Anthropologie page on the brand's website, the pieces look stylish, wearable, and thoughtful. It's only a select sample of looks, showing off floral dresses, pants, and tops. But what the brand has displayed so far certainly appears to capture the instantly recognizable, charming, and modern x vintage Anthropologie aesthetic.
The APlus By Anthropologie aka A+nthropologie assortment will arrive in just a few short weeks. Here's hoping that even more brands follow Anthropologie into inclusivity.

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Makeup lines around the world are making history with their newest mission to appoint male ambassador's for their brands, and we are LOVING IT!
Covergirl got the ball rolling when they made beauty blogger James Charles their first male spokesperson, and not long after Maybelline joined the fun by appointing Manny Guiterrez as their new mascara ambassador.
Now RIMMEL London has jumped on the bandwagon by hiring beauty blogger Lewys Ball as their newest spokesmodel, and just like the others, his makeup skills are on point.
Many of these beauty bloggers already have an abundant following on Instagram, so not only is it a progressive move by the brand but it's smart too. What better way to advertise?!
Lewys has nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram, and more than 150,000 YouTube subscribers. The brand's campaign will also feature Cara Delevingne, and have already launched a video:
Lewys says in the vid, "Anybody can wear makeup no matter who you are."
Claps all 'round.


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Officers then found the children dead in a third floor room at the Hampton Inn Suites in Santa Ana.
"It was clear that it was an intentional act," he said.
The woman, who crashed her car Saturday outside a Home Nike Shoes Redskins
No weapon had been recovered from the scene, Bertagna said.
It was not clear why the woman, whose car has a Georgia license plate, was in Orange County Nike Shoes Maroon
Hotel guests were stunned at the discovery at the quiet inn on a sunny weekend in Southern California.
"Last night, it was mainly trying to figure out who these people were and dealing with the scene itself," he said.
or what links she had to the area.
Police obtained a search warrant late Saturday for the hotel room where the children were found.
"My goodness, if there's two children involved that's just horrendous to say the least," Mike Ramey, who was staying at the hotel with his fiance, told KABC TV. "As a parent, it's just a heartbreaker."
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) An Arizona woman who was arrested on suspicion of killing her son and daughter and then crashing her car into an electrical box in an apparent suicide attempt had a propane tank in her vehicle and tried to choke herself with a rope or belt as rescuers approached, a police spokesman said Sunday.
42 year old woman from Scottsdale was released from a hospital into police custody on Saturday night.
The Nike Shoes Zero
The woman's name, the ages of the children and their cause of death were being withheld Sunday because the father lives in another state and has not yet been notified, Bertagna said.
Depot in Costa Mesa, told officers they could find her children in a hotel in the nearby city of Santa Ana, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
Police in nearby Costa Mesa were called to a parking lot Saturday where the woman had crashed her gray Nike White Shoes Honda Accord into protective poles surrounding an electrical box, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Tim Starn said.
Arizona mom suspected of killing 2 kids in California
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TJX breach was twice as big as admitted, banks say
World's biggest credit card heist now estimated at 94 million accounts
The world's largest credit card heist may be bigger than we thought. Much bigger.
According to court documents filed by a group of banks, more than 94 million accounts fell into the hands of criminals as a result of a massive security breach suffered by TJX, the Massachusetts-based retailer.
That's more than double what TJX fessed up to in March, when it estimated some 45.7 million card numbers were stolen during a 17-month span in which criminals had almost unfettered access to the company's back-end systems. Going by the smaller estimate, TJX still presided over the largest data security SNAFU in history. But credit card issuers are accusing TJX of employing fuzzy math in an attempt to contain the damage.
"Unlike other limited data breaches where 'pastime hackers' may have accessed data with no intention to commit fraud, in this case it is beyond doubt that there is an extremely high risk that the compromised data will be used for illegal purposes," read the document, filed Tuesday in US District Court in Boston. "Faced with overwhelming exposure to losses it created, TJX continues to downplay the seriousness of the situation."
TJX officials didn't return a call requesting comment for this story.
The new figures may mean TJX will have to pay more than previously estimated to clean up the mess. According to the document, Visa has incurred fraud losses of $68m to $83m resulting from the theft of 65 million accounts. That calculates to a cost of $1.04 to $1.28 per card. Applying the same rate to the 29 million MasterCard numbers lost, the total fraud losses alone could top more than $120m.
Research firms have estimated the total loss from the breach could reach $1bn once settlements, once legal settlements and lost sales are tallied. But that figure was at least partly based on the belief that fewer than 46 million accounts were intercepted.
TJX has taken serious flack for allowing the breach to happen. Last month, Canada's privacy commissioner criticized the company for collecting too much data and using inadequate means of protecting it. According to the commissioner's report, TJX believes intruders gained access through company Wi-Fi networks that employed Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) as the sole means of securing the system.
Security pros have long known the encryption protocol can be cracked through brute force attacks, sometimes in a matter of minutes.
So far, there have been no arrests directly associated with the breach. However, six people detained in Florida after using credit card information stolen from TJX later pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges.
US law enforcement officials have also taken a keen interest in a Ukrainian man arrested for selling stolen credit card numbers in online forums. Many of the stolen accounts belonged to customers whose credentials were siphoned out of TJX's rather porous network.
The plaintiff's filings came in a legal tussle over whether the bank's lawsuit should qualify as a class action. TJX is arguing the banks don't qualify as a class, an outcome that would significantly increase the costs of pursuing the case. ®


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South Africa newsroom
Discover Accenture press releases and find out the latest news and the most relevant information about the company.
Accenture and its partner organisations host the Voices of Change virtual event that aims to encourage men and women to play leading roles on gender parity in the workplace amid Covid-19. Read more.
South African executives discuss how their businesses are preparing for and are positioned to deal with disruption. Read more.
As digital disruption and transformation take hold across industry sectors and economies, speed-to-market pressure is growing. Read more.
Pixel Entropy continues to develop ground-breaking applications that change the way our people engage with the world. Read more.
Accenture has been ranked the #1 Employer in Professional Services and #3 overall in South Africa at the Top Employer Awards 2019. Read more.
Financial institutions hold an ace and enjoy a significant trust advantage over potential competitors. Read more.
Accenture South Africa has again achieved Level 1 B-BBEE status. Read more.
Accenture and CodeX co-develops a skills development programme to equip South African youth for the fourth industrial revolution economy. Read more.
New research surveyed more than 8,300 organizations to reveal the relationship between technology adoption and business growth. Read more.
Traditional retailers in South Africa are encouraged to rethink their business models to survive. Read more.
The latest Accenture research shows that by upskilling more women in South Africa could unlock R319 billion into its GDP. Read more.
Most refiners cite digital as having a positive impact but resistance to digital adoption is a barrier to wider deployment. Read more.
Voices of Change aims to encourage men and women to play leading roles on gender parity in the workplace. Read more.
The business landscape is changing and It’s an opportunity for workforce empowerment, but can South African companies rise to meet the challenge. Read more.
South Africa has emerged as a global destination of choice for Business Process Services. Read more.
Empowering employees to innovate could raise global GDP US$8 trillion. Read more.
Successful businesses will take advantage of new set of technologies but prioritise trust, responsibility, privacy and security. Read more.
Report reveals digital technology's decade-long value creation potential in SA. Read more.
Accenture South Africa regains Level 1 B-BBEE status due to empowerment strategy, development and preferential procurement programmes. Read more.
Thriving future systems will be "boundaryless, adaptable, and radically human. Read more.
Fjord Trends 2019 examines seven ideas expected to shape the next generation of experience. Read more.
SA Rugby Union selects Accenture to champion their digital acceleration ambitions as the official digital partner to SARU and the Springboks. Read more.
Accenture Africa has launched its new 2019 brand campaign to unlock African abundance for all. Read more.
The Top Employers Institute has recognised Accenture South Africa as the country’s top employer in professional services for 2018. Read more.
Accenture launches a new decentralised internship programme to discover new talent and empower learners where job opportunities are limited. Read more.
How to mitigate the new and evolving risks of cyber failure in South African distribution systems. Read more.
The adoption of smart solutions enables utilities to manage water resources more efficiently and mitigate against unforeseen events. Read more.


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The Deposit Return Scheme for bottles and cans is a ‘huge irritant to the public’, according to former minister Willie O’Dea. The Fianna Fáil TD said millions of euro had already gone unclaimed in the first 40 days of the can and bottle recycling scheme.
He said: ‘This backs up what I’m hearing from constituents – this scheme is a huge irritant to the public.
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‘Millions of bottles and cans not returned. Seems to be just an extra tax on people who were already recycling. Another great initiative of the Greens!’
However, the head of Re-turn, the company running the scheme, insisted it was working well, was more efficient than green bin recycling and was ‘about to go gangbusters’ in the summer.
Under the scheme, a 15c deposit is added to the price of bottles and cans between 150ml and 500ml, with 25c added to containers of 500ml to three litres.
Shoppers are charged the deposit in the price at the till and can be refunded through reversevending machines or over the counter in participating shops.
The scheme has been hailed by the Green Party as it will ‘boost recycling rates, greatly reduce litter and improve the environment’.
However, it has attracted criticism from customers and smaller shops, which complain that the roll-out and information about the scheme has been poor.
In the first 40 days of the scheme, €1.2million worth of deposits were returned to customers in the form of vouchers issued by reverse-vending machines. However, that is only a fraction of the amount the scheme is believed to have taken in over that time.
It means shoppers are either holding on to their empty containers until they have enough to return in bulk or are continuing to dispose of them via recycling or waste bins.
On Wednesday, Re-turn chief Ciarán Foley said: ‘We’ve made a brilliant start – we’re up to a million [bottles or cans] a day now. We only did two million in the whole of February. This is a low time in the market in terms of these drinks – it’s about to go gangbusters in the summer.’
Re-turn said engagement with the scheme to date has been ‘positive’ with 15.8 million containers returned.
Mr Foley told Newstalk: ‘This is called a separate collection scheme because we need to get as much of the one product back to one place as possible.
‘Currently we achieve about an 80% recycle quality rate through the green bin. We can get that to 98% by having all of the same product in one place.
‘That means we can recycle up to seven times the same bottle, but really importantly, if we can get enough product in one place that means we can build a recycling centre on the island of Ireland. Currently most of the recycling goes abroad.’
He acknowledged that some products were still being sold that did not have the Re-turn symbol, and were therefore rejected by the machines.
However, he said by the end of May, every bottle or can should have the correct logo on it.
He said the company is now working on solutions for music festivals and other events.
It has been 55 days since the scheme started on February 1, but the latest figures available cover the period to March 12.
In the 40 days to that date, Return took back almost seven million containers – 3.4 million plastic bottles and 3.6 million cans.
Re-turn has said it is likely that shoppers would build up a collection of empties before returning them and may also amass vouchers before redeeming them.
A company spokesman said: ‘The scheme and its return metrics are going to evolve rapidly, and trends will be difficult to establish within the first year.’
Neither retailers nor Re-turn can retain unclaimed deposits indefinitely, so they will eventually go into recycling initiatives.
Ireland currently recycles about 60% of plastic drinks bottles. Under EU regulations, Ireland has to recycle 77% of plastic bottles by the end of 2025 and this will rise to 90% in 2030.


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BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) finally bowed to NTP’s demands, striking a $612.5 million licensing deal with the Virginia-based patent holders.
NTP had sued RIM for patent infringement, and threatened to close the BlackBerry network if RIM did not settle. Judge James Spencer, of the Eastern District of Virginia, held the final hearing on 24 February.
Based in Canada, RIM argued that US patent law should not apply to the case and that the BlackBerry device was too valuable to the US economy to be shut down. RIM has around 3 million customers in the US.
NTP co-founder Don Stout said in a statement: “We believe that the settlement is in the best interests of all parties, including the US Government and all other BlackBerry users in the United States.”
Judge Spencer first banned the BlackBerry service in 2003 but subsequent appeals by RIM froze the injunction.
A $450 million settlement fell through last summer, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed the case back to the Eastern District Court of Virginia in October.
Stout is a partner at IP-boutique Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus and led NTP’s legal team of Wiley Rein & Fielding and Hunton & Williams.
RIM’s defence team consisted of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, Howrey, McGuire-Woods, McKenna Long & Aldridge, Shaw Pittman Potts & Trowbridge, and Williams Mullen.
Lawyers for RIM and NTP did not return calls before going to press.
In February RIM fought off a similar case in the UK and Germany against
Luxembourg-based Inpro, whose patent was invalidated by the Courts.


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Last year, after a series of elegant but rather tame looks, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shook the fashion world with her purple lips for the final red carpet appearance at Cannes. The fashion fraternity was divided between whether to applaud the actress for choosing such an unusual look, or to lambaste her for it, because let’s face it, it wasn’t exactly flattering.
But guess what, it’s back! Though, the shade is different, and it definitely looks much much better. The former Miss World’s make-up artist Charlotte Willer shared a series of pictures on Instagram of Bachchan with a stunning turquoise eye-liner (which she’s sported previously with the off-shoulder black number from Ashi Studio) and those purple lips… and going by these photos, we’re expecting more drama.
Check out the photos here.
Though Bachchan has been choosing the very popular shades of red and marsala for most of her appearances at Cannes this year, both the Devdas actress and her make-up artist Willer did experiment with an orange shade on Day 3, when they complemented the black Ashi Studio gown with a pop of bright orange lip shade, fierce winged eyeliner and eye shadow in turquoise.
And if you need a refresher on Bachchan’s look from last year, then here she is — wearing that stunning Rami Kadi floral gown, but it was the lilac lip colour that stole show, and unfortunately not in a good way. Much like Priyanka Chopra’s Ralph Lauren trench coat dress this year at the Met Gala, it was Bachchan’s lilac lips that became a Twitter sensation and meme-spiration.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines


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HANOVER TOWNSHIP -- Hundreds of job openings are coming to Luzerne County.
An online pet supply company plans to open its largest fulfillment center in Hanover Township.
Chewy.com plans to open an 800,000 square-foot fulfillment center outside Wilkes-Barre and hire about 600 people to run it.
Officials and people who live in the area are calling this a much-needed economic boost.
This formerly mine-scarred land in Hanover Township is getting a new purpose.
Chewy.com is in the process of opening a massive fulfillment center on this property in the Hanover Industrial Estates and hiring hundreds of workers to fill online orders.
"The area itself can use the jobs and it's always good to have someone investing their money and their products to our region," said township manager Sam Guesto.
The online pet food retailer is based in Florida but has chosen to open its largest fulfillment center in the country in the Wilkes-Barre area.
Hanover Township manager Sam Guesto reached out to the company personally to find out why.
"They directly told me that this area's labor market was attractive to them."
There is no shortage of people who need a job here and no shortage of people happy those jobs are coming to the area.
"I think any new job is great, any new business to the area," said Sharon Gayeski.
"We have enough people, we have enough talent here. We have enough education here. We have everything an industry needs," said Edward Janoski.
People like Janoski hope this is a sign that this area can boom again.
"Everything goes in ebbs and flow, I think. I was in Pittsburgh a few months ago, and it's changed so much and it's all because they got more jobs."
The facility is expected to open soon by spring of 2017.
The company is already taking application for some of the 600 new jobs at their website.


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2018 ASPA Chef of the Year Tenney Flynn Talks New Cookbook and More
September 10, 2019
Chef Tenney Flynn, ASPA’s 2018 Chef of the Year, recently conducted an interview with Gambit, a publication that serves to showcase the best and most topical news coming out of New Orleans, to discuss the release of his first cookbook, along with the importance of sustainability, and new ventures in serving seafood. Head chef and co-owner of the popular New Orleans restaurant GW Fins, Flynn is one of the city’s most acclaimed chefs and one of the most esteemed cooks in all of the South. The cookbook itself features a variety of recipes cultivated from Flynn’s many years at GW Fins and beyond, resulting in a multitude of both fan-favorites and new recipes that Flynn promises are presented with enough simplicity and specificity that anyone can cook them.
“This is meant to be a technique book for the home cook. It’s not really a chef-y coffee table book,” said Flynn, expressing his desire to present a work that was more accessible than overly technical, all without sacrificing the delicious quality and taste of his famous recipes. In the interview, Flynn also emphasizes the importance of supporting sustainable fishing.
“One sentence: Buy American. Don’t buy imported fish. There’s no reason to,” said Flynn, hard and fast.
Read the full interview on Gambit.
Wild American Shrimp® Announces Chef of the Year Winners 2022
November 3, 2022, BILOXI, Mississippi – Wild American Shrimp®, the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA)’s marketing program for wild-caught Gulf and South Atlantic Shrimp, has announced...Read More November 2022
ASPA Member Feature: Dominick’s Seafood, Inc.
Dominick’s Seafood, founded in 1992 by Dominick Ficarino, is just the latest venture in four generations of shrimp and seafood processing in the Ficarino family....Read More October 2022
Buy Local. Buy Wild American Shrimp.
From the United States’ highest mountains to the beaches on all of our coasts, buying local means buying American. The COVID-19 pandemic left Americans wondering...Read More October 2022


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Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has said the developer is working with retailers on honoring pre-orders taken for Duke Nukem Forever over the past decade.
Speaking with VG247 at a press event in London today, Pitchford told Keza Macdonald the studio doesn't want to let down the people who preordered Duke Nukem Forever, so Gearbox has started a dialogue with retailers on how best to sort this all out.
"There are a lot of people who pre-ordered the game," said Pitchford. "We’ve been starting to talk with retailers because we didn’t take them directly, and 3D Realms didn’t take them, it was all retailers going ‘I’m going to take this guy’s money.’
"We’ve started to engage them, saying 'Hey, you’ve got customers who you made a promise to, and any bad feeling they have will reflect on us, so can we work together to do something for those people?'
"I don’t know what we can do yet, but something should be done for the people who pre-ordered."
It's awesome when a developer has the customers back, isn't it?
Hopefully, those who pre-ordered either saved their receipts, or traded the credit in towards another game. If not, Gearbox has you covered, providing you saved the proof of purchase, obviously.
Duke Nukem Forever is out next year on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.


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EDITOR'S NOTE: President Barack Obama should dispel myths concerning U.S.-China relationships and push for fast changes in the latter's economic policies, Steven Dunaway argues. Dunaway is adjunct senior fellow for international economics at the Council of Foreign Relations. For his full expert brief, please visit the council's Web site. A few excerpts:
Many myths surround the economic relationship between the United States and China. Four, in particular, stand out, and it is important to identify them as myths to avoid misunderstandings that could adversely influence policy decisions. The fact that China has become the largest foreign holder of U.S. government securities is taken as indicating that the United States is heavily dependent on China to finance its budget deficits. Similarly, since China is a major source for U.S. imports, U.S. consumers are seen as dependent on cheap Chinese goods. In addition, the Chinese authorities have emphasized that they strongly resist external pressures to try to influence policy decisions and that economic instability in China is bad, with adverse implications for the rest of the world.
Myth No. 1: Washington has limited leverage because China is the main "banker" for the United States.
China holds a large amount of U.S. government securities. Of China's $2.3 trillion in official reserves, it is estimated that 70 percent is held in U.S. dollar assets. China is a big customer for U.S. debt, but it is not America's banker. Nor is the United States dependent on China to finance its budget deficits. If China elects not to buy U.S. Treasuries, there are other willing public and private sector buyers, as indicated by the strong demand for these securities worldwide. Although the U.S. government might have to pay higher interest rates as an incentive to get other investors to buy Treasuries in the event that the Chinese reduce their demand, the increase in interest rates would likely be small.
Myth No. 2: The United States is heavily dependent on cheap Chinese goods.
This is not really true. Only roughly 15 percent of U.S. imports come from China. Moreover, all of the basic types of manufactured consumer goods that China exports to the United States (clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, small appliances, etc.) can be imported from other countries or could be produced domestically. The prices for goods that could substitute for products from China would be higher, but the difference in costs would be relatively small. Competition among producers has become fiercer, and as a result cost differentials between goods from China and other suppliers are narrowing.
Myth No. 3: External pressure on China for policy changes is counterproductive.
The Chinese authorities stress that in the face of external pressure, they tend to strongly resist economic policy changes. The Chinese have in particular used this argument to try to fend off pressures for appreciation of the exchange rate. While no country wants to appear to be weak and susceptible to external pressure, the truth is that, if there is no pressure, there is less incentive to change policy. This is especially true in China, where the authorities are wedded to the status quo because of past success and inclined to make only gradual changes to economic policies. Recent developments in China's exchange rate illustrate this point. In the absence of external pressure since August 2008, China has reverted to fixing its exchange rate relative to the U.S. dollar.
Myth No. 4: Instability is bad for China.
Chinese authorities also have suggested that instability in China is bad for the rest of the world because of adverse effects on China's growth rate. But instability (or the fear of instability) has played a big role in initiating economic policy changes in China.
Without a hard push from the United States on a bilateral and multilateral basis, changes in China's policies are likely to be delayed, and that is not in the best interest of the United States and the rest of the world. It also is not in the best interest of China, because without a shift away from heavy dependence on investment and exports to drive growth toward greater reliance on consumption, China will not be able to sustain rapid economic growth and development. Getting China to fully realize this and to act more quickly than the authorities are inclined to do is a considerable task for the United States and other major economies.


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BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- China has taken center stage at the on-going Argentina's largest expos: Presentes-Exhibition of Decoration, Lighting, Furniture, Gifts and Household Items.
The 2016 spring edition of the show, which takes place twice a year, features the latest trends in furniture, decorative items, lighting, kitchenware, linens, gifts and Christmas decor.
Presentes, which opened Wednesday and runs through Saturday at La Rural, the largest exposition venue in Buenos Aires, serves to exclusively showcase the leading wholesalers in the market for home goods.
China has "the participants with the largest scope, those who take up the most square meters, those with the most experience," Gustavo Koroyan, director of the show's executive committee, told Xinhua.
Argentinian importers generally travel to China twice a year to find out about the latest products and innovations in home goods, said Koroyan.
"The relationship is very direct, because many companies supply themselves with products from China," he said.
Argentina's home segment relies on China "not just for gift and bazaar items," said Koroyan, adding the pavilion displaying furniture, lighting and decorations includes "imported goods, generally from China."
Argentina's trade with China "is very good, it benefits growth and the finances of companies. Today both importers and national manufacturers rely on imports," he said.
"Trade with China is very fluid ... and allows each company to develop through the years," said Koroyan. "This sector depends on China's economy when it prepares products, innovations and trends."
Presentes, now in its 15th year, holds its fall show in March and its spring show in August. This edition was sponsored in part by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
This edition features more than 400 participating manufacturers or importers at the city's 30,000-square-meter exposition center.
Argentina and China established diplomatic ties in 1972, and have since entered into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
A leading producer and exporter of agricultural products, Argentina is looking to boost its value-added exports of high-tech goods to China, in a bid to diversify its economy.
China, in turn, has helped Buenos Aires strengthen strategic industries, such as railroads, hydraulic engineering and nuclear energy, while Argentina's advanced technology in the area of agriculture has helped China improve its food security.


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The collaboration and cooperation of the public sector and the private sector will strengthen the position of the State of Qatar as a hub for business, trade and investment in the Middle East.
The latest legal reforms including, but not limited to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law No. 12 of 2020 was designed to bolster the private sector’s competitiveness and to promote and support the role in the development of the country’s economy. The new laws aim to enhance the infrastructure and to improve the (business) ecosystem in the State of Qatar in line with Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 and the National Development Strategies.
The issuance of the PPP Law is considered as a critical step in providing a legislative framework for regulating the private sector's contribution to the implementation of major development projects.
The PPP Law is part of the latest legal reforms which will enable the launch of large-scale investment and development projects in a number of sectors including health, education, sports and tourism.
The key stakeholders like the Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry (QCCI) and Qatar Development Bank (QDB) recognize the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the economic development of a country.
They have time and again shown the interest in promoting and supporting start-ups, scale-ups, small businesses (SMBs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Representatives of the QCCI have affirmed the positive stance on SMEs in interviews when they said that they will continue to coordinate and cooperate with the associations and bodies that support SMEs. SMEs hold an important place in the development of the country and consequently, the creation of jobs and sustained high standards of living of the people.
There are many initiatives in favor of the private sector under way such as the launch of new digital services including the issuance of certificates of origin and the attestation of documents.
Business Start Up Qatar collaborates and cooperates with the key stakeholders to improve the ease of doing business in the country.
Please click on the link to learn more about latest developments in the State of Qatar as well as the initiatives of Business Start Up Qatar.
The Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA) revealed that Qatar attracted 71% of all Middle East investment in the second quarter of this year.Read more
Qatar is seeing an increase in social entrepreneurs dedicated to developing solutions to community based problems.
At a recent event, representatives of key stakeholders in the community of Qatari businessmen...Read more
Qatar Energy Renewable Solutions recently awarded a gigantic solar energy power plant contract to South Korea’s Samsung C&T.
The QAR 2.3 billion (USD 630 million) Engineering, Procurement and Construction...Read more
In keeping with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030, Qatar has revealed its ambition to build a sustainable food supply chain. This project is also inspired by the government’s goal...Read more
Qatar Chamber(QC) has successfully launched its revised labour re-employment platform targeting the private sector.
The digital platform is administered in collaboration and cooperation with the [Ministry...Read more
Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) data indicates the non-energy private sectors rapid growth according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey.
The rates of expansion in total activity, new...Read more
The State of Qatar`s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent 97% of registered private sector companies and contribute 16% to non-oil gross domestic product (GDP).
“The Report: Qatar 2022”...Read more
Qatar`s real economic growth rate has grown by 2.5% based on constant prices according to figures released by the Planning & Statistics Authority (PSA).
The real economic growth rate is based on preliminary...Read more


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The new budget from the City Council of Cincinnati includes $100,000 in funding for Co-op Cincy, a nonprofit union cooperative incubator and NCBA CLUSA member. This is the first time the co-op received direct financial support from the city.
Half of that money will go to co-op’s loan fund, enabling it to help new and existing worker-owned businesses access financing. The other half will fund Co-op Cincy’s technical assistance program, enabling worker-owned businesses to develop a solid foundation and grow. This money will directly help build community wealth and preserve family-sustaining jobs in Cincinnati.
In addition to awarding Co-op Cincy $100,000 in funding, the City Council designated Queen Mother’s Market (QMM) as a priority for surplus spending. QMM is working to start a Black- and women-led co-op grocery store in Walnut Hills, a food desert. You can donate to support their grocery store here.
Big thanks to all the City Council members for their support, and special thanks to Council Member Greg Landsman and Vice-Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney for their advocacy efforts.
Interested in donating to Co-op Cincy’s loan fund and technical assistance program? Donate here.


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- Người liên hệ: Mr. Abner Yao
- Xem chi tiết liên lạc
Broom - nhà sản xuất, nhà máy, nhà cung cấp từ Trung Quốc
Face brush era, cloud technology from the face recognition technology in China Construction Bank debut double debut
The 2nd "CCB Cup" China Internet + Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition ended on October 18, 2016. During this period, Wang Zuji, Governor of China Construction Bank, accompanied...
Biometrics technology matures: "Brush your face to eat" is no longer a dream
"Brush face eating" "Brush face social" "Brush face pass" in the near future or become a "new normal" of people's lives. At the just concluded 2017 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Iris...
Brush face coming? Samsung Galaxy S8 mobile payment will use facial recognition technology
March 17 reported that people familiar with the matter said that Samsung Electronics will deploy facial recognition technology for mobile payments within a few months after the release of the new...
Facial recognition technology under the "brush face" the world is coming?
Recently, Beijing Tiantan Park's high-tech facial recognition toilet paper machine hot on the Internet, aiming at the use of an objection to the voices endorse. But without regard to the moral...


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This week, food-tech companies are making major strides in replicating meat, milk, and seafood without the need to slaughter animals.
Spanish company Better Balance is spreading its vegan reach to Boston (on the menu at Saus) and Mexico (as part of a co-branding deal with vegan steak maker Chunk Foods).
Plus, Oreos just dropped a galactic limited-edition cookie that’s made even more fun with popping candies. And Oatly just made its oat milk desserts available at 95-year-old ice cream chain Carvel. Read on for more.
Vegan tech news
Every week, it becomes more apparent that the foods we love—be it cheese, milk, meat, or seafood—do not need to come from farmed animals.
This month, food-tech startup Imagindairy achieved a major milestone by obtaining FDA approval to introduce animal-free dairy proteins to the US market. These innovative dairy proteins are made using precision fermentation and not only mimic the taste, texture, and nutritional value of traditional cow’s dairy proteins but also come with added benefits such as being cholesterol-free, lactose-free, and hormone-free.
The company, backed by notable investors, is poised to offer consumers in the US a sustainable and ethically produced alternative in various dairy products such as milk, cream cheese, ice cream, and yogurt.
Biotech company Pureture (formerly Armored Fresh) has found a partner in South Korean dairy company Namyang, which plans to use its yeast-based animal-free milk proteins to develop next-gen dairy products. As part of this collaboration, Namyang will incorporate Pureture’s innovation includes non-GMO plant-based casein that matches the functionality and digestibility of animal-derived milk, allowing for the creation of dairy-free products with a similar taste, texture, and functionality to traditional dairy.
In meat tech news, startup Aleph Farms just got regulatory approval from Israel’s Ministry of Health to sell its cultivated beef to the public, marking the world’s first approval for cultivated beef. Aleph Farms will introduce its first product, a premium Angus-style thin steak called the “Petit Steak,” in select restaurants and later to a broader audience. The company’s unique approach involves cultivating meat from non-modified cells without fetal bovine.
Seafood is getting a food-tech makeover, too. Steakholder Foods just expanded its 3D-printing capabilities with the world’s first plant-based, 3D-printed shrimp. These shrimp are designed to mimic the texture and flavor of conventional shrimps and were precision-printed on Steakholder Foods’ proprietary printer using shrimp-flavored ink. This development comes on the heels of Steakholder unveiling its 3D-printed plant-based eel.
“By unveiling a second new species of plant-based, 3D-printed seafood this month, we expect to position Steakholder Foods to sell and deliver its first DropJet printer in 2024, offering partners and customers a unique opportunity to benefit from the expanding global seafood market, while making the right kind of impact on the environment,” Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Foods, said in a statement.
Another food-tech startup, Forsea Foods, is also working to replicate traditional Japanese freshwater eel using cell-cultured technology. This month, the startup unveiled its prototype of unagi, offering a similar tender texture and richly savory flavor as traditional wild eel.
Forsea collaborated with executive chef Katsumi Kusumoto of Toyoko’s SAIDO restaurant to create popular Japanese dishes like unagi kabayaki and unagi nigiri. Forsea’s approach involves using organoid technology to create 3D microtissues composed of fat and muscle, providing a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to traditional eel farming. The startup plans to launch its product commercially in 2025.
Vegan food news
Disney parks have been working on expanding their plant-based options for several years. This year, the brand is stepping into new ways to embrace plant-based with a new partnership with Franklin Farms, a US-based producer of plant-based meals and burgers.
The collaboration puts Mickey Mouse-branded packaging on Franklin Farms’ range of plant-based products, including Classic Veggie Burger, Barbeque Veggie Burger, Cuban Style Black Bean and Plantain Balls, Moroccan Style Falafel Balls, and Teriyaki and Lemon Pepper Tofu Bites—all of which feature the Disney Check symbol, signifying compliance with Disney’s Nutrition Guidelines.
Targeting a diverse consumer base, these plant-based options are now available at retailers in the Northeastern US, such as Acme, Morton Williams, and Star.
If you haven’t heard yet, Oatly’s oat milk frozen desserts are officially available at Carvel, a well-known ice cream shop renowned for its soft serve and character cakes. This collaboration brings Oatly’s innovative vegan desserts to nearly 300 Carvel locations spanning across 18 states in the United States.
Some of the delectable menu items now available at participating Carvel shops include Oatly Strawberry Soft Serve, Oatly Cookies & Cream Scooped, Oatly Chocolate Peanut Butter Scooped, Flying Saucer Sandwiches made with Oatly, and Frozen Dessert Cakes featuring Oatly.
“We are thrilled to bring Oatly products to Carvel,” Jim Salerno, Chief Brand Officer at Carvel, said in a statement. “As The Original Soft Serve, we want to ensure guests enjoy the classic flavors and nostalgia of Carvel while we continue to innovate and expand to new guests.”
In addition, select Carvel locations will offer tempting options such as Oatly Chocolate, Mint, and Cold Brew Soft Serve.
“Oatly is the latest way we are breaking through to bring our guests a new offering we know there is a lot of excitement behind,” Salerno said.
The partnership between Oatly and Carvel comes after the ice cream company released an oat milk-based version of its popular ice cream cakes in 2022.
Our favorite accidentally vegan cookies are getting galactic this winter with the launch of special edition Space Dunk Oreos which come stuffed with two layers of pink and blue, gelatin-free marshmallow flavored crème and popping candy for extra fun. The shapes on these Oreo cookies speak to the space theme with rockets, shooting stars, astronauts, and more.
“These space-inspired Oreo cookies will make a great addition to your space-themed parties, space birthday celebrations, as stellar sweet treats during movie night or for simply enjoying as home or office snacks,” the company describes the cookie.
Need something to dunk your space Oreos into? There’s a new vegan milk for that from Pecana. The Texas-based company just introduced PecanMilk, a new nut milk created by third-generation pecan farmer Kortney Chase.
“Having grown up harvesting pecans, homemade pecan milk is a nostalgic beverage for me and my family,” Chase said in a statement.
“The quality and taste are incredibly important to me, which is why we spent years creating the perfect, scalable formulation that uses only whole ingredients and doesn’t sacrifice flavor,” Chase said.
Available in flavors such as Unsweetened and Vanilla, you can find PecanMilk on the company website and Amazon.
Vegan restaurant news
If you find yourself craving a hot dog in Boston this winter, local eatery Saus—known for its scratch-made fries, sauces, and comfort foods—teamed up with Better Balance to introduce the Better Dog, one of Better Balance’s newest products, to Saus’ menu offerings.
The Better Dog is a classic hot dog alternative that has received acclaim since its launch in Spain, becoming the country’s top-selling product in the hot dog and sausage category in just five months. Saus now stands among the first restaurants in both Boston and the Northeastern region to offer the Better Dog. The chain also incorporates other Better Balance products, such as Better Shreds and Better Sour Cream.
“Once we tasted the Better Dog, we knew we had found a winner,” Tanya Walker, Co-Owner of Saus, said in a statement. “It’s a product that really satisfies the craving for a classic hot dog, and it holds up to all the toppings we throw on it.”
“And don’t even get us started on the Better Shreds, which we used to create a vegan, crab cake burger—truly delicious and versatile products,” Walker said.
In addition to Saus, Better Balance just partnered with Chunk Foods—makers of vegan steaks that have been hitting menus across the country. For this partnership, Better Balance and Chunk will offer co-branded, whole-cut vegan meat products to the foodservice sector in Mexico.
“It’s an honor to embark on this exciting journey with Better Balance, known for its commitment to delivering high-quality products,” Amos Golan, Founder and CEO of Chunk Foods, said in a statement.
“Together with Better Balance, we are elevating the plant-based category with innovative, delicious products that cater to the vibrant tastes and lifestyles of Mexico,” Golan said.
It feels like January just came and went but February brings with it a few exciting holidays, including Mardi Gras. The best way to celebrate? We’re thinking a vegan king cake from Cinnaholic might be in order.
While Cinnaholic is known for its customizable vegan cinnamon rolls, this time of year inspired the company to create the Mardi Gras classic, which serves eight to 10 people. Of course, it comes with a hidden baby and whoever finds it, will be crowned vegan king for a day.


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Rare Chinese vase discovered in Kendal fetches £110,000
A rare Chinese vase "forgotten" for years in a living room in Cumbria has sold at auction for more than £100,000.
The 18th Century Famille Rose Chillong bottle vase, thought to have graced a Chinese imperial palace, was discovered at a Bonhams valuation day in Kendal.
The unnamed owner said the vase was "plonked" on top of some furniture and she took it along at the last minute.
Bonhams senior valuer Chris Jarrey said they were "bowled over" when the vase was unwrapped from the owner's towel.
He said: "She had a bag full of items, of which this [the vase] was the last item she brought out expecting it to be the least interesting.
"She had a box of quite nice silver spoons and one or two other bits and pieces, and then she just pulled this out, it was wrapped up in an old towel and she could see the expression on our faces."
Mr Jarrey said the vases were "highly desirable" as they were produced for Chinese emperors.
Bearing the six-character seal mark of the great Emperor Qianlong, the vase was expected to fetch £50,000-80,000.
It sold for £110,500 at Bonhams Fine Chinese Art sale on Thursday.
The buyer's identity has not been revealed.


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IntaForensics are very happy to announce to our clients that our research and development has enabled us to recover substantial amounts of additional data from Windows Phone 8 handsets than the mainstream commercial forensics tools support. Our mobile phone technical team have pioneered the new technique on a number of recent criminal investigations.
Previously, digital forensic examiners relied solely on standard industry tools such as XRY from Microsystemation and UFED Touch Ultimate from Cellebrite. These tools will only extract media files and contacts from these handsets.
IntaForensics development team mobile phone leader Alex Golding comments that “Our new techniques allows us to recover live and deleted contacts, Calls, SMS Messages, e-Mails, internet history in addition to the information from third party application data such as WhatsApp, Skype, SnapChat. Our applied research will enable us to pioneer more techniques for Windows and other mobile phone operating systems.”
The technique allows for a full physical extraction to be taken from Windows Phone 8 handsets such as the Nokia Lumia (e.g. Nokia Lumia 520 or Lumia 620). It is then possible to decode live and deleted data from this physical image – it also allows for the PIN number to be bypassed. This is often required in criminal investigations where suspects are typically not prepared to provide their PIN number.
This breakthrough has gained increasing importance, as Windows Phone 8 is a growing operating system – according to Forbes this system now has 11.4% market share and is growing. IntaForensics has certainly experienced an increase in the number of Windows Phone 8 handsets being submitted for analysis.


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YouTube is premiering more than full length movie deals this week: the most popular video site on the web has also announced a new advertising program in Sponsored Videos.
In what seems like “duh” step, YouTube announced today that they’ll now be serving CPC sponsored video ads alongside their video search results, targeted by keywords. Already live, here’s an example SERP:
And if you’re like me, you’re echoing these comments, as reported by CNET:
As one reporter asked YouTube executives: “Wasn’t this a no-brainer?”
It’s not as easy as it looks, according to Matthew Liu, a YouTube product manager.
“You’re absolutely right,” Liu told reporters. “In hindsight, it is a natural transition for YouTube to make. We’ve been working on this for months. The key was, we wanted to make sure we got it right. There are a lot of intricacies involved. YouTube is a video discovery platform. We’ve been integrating with Google AdWords for some time, and now we’re at a place where it can be win and win.”
Search Engine Land offers some details on the program: Sponsored Videos must be hosted on YouTube and be available outside the Sponsored Video as well. As such, these videos are subject to the same user reviews and comments as all other videos. The Sponsored Videos can be single videos or entire channels.
This new ad push may come just in time—some film studio execs think YouTube’s ad-based movie deals will never be as profitable as paid models like iTunes.
As we ask with every YouTube story:
are you my mother? is this finally the right way to monetize YouTube?
UPDATE: the official announcement.


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The launching of the new iPad is today and Apple is definitely hoping to bump the count in millions within 24 hours. With so many new iPad tablets expected to fly off the shelves, a lot of users would be on the look for such apps which can truly bring out the Retina graphics. And so, in anticipation of this, Apple has posted an all new iTunes section online with a number of Retina-ready apps.
The Retina display of Apple’s new iPad has a 2048 x 1536 resolution. The regular apps from iTunes would of course work on this display but they won’t look very nice. So, users will obviously be hunting for such apps which can scale neatly over the ultra-high pixel resolution and bring out the clarity of this screen.
To satiate these very-soon-would-be demands from new iPad users, Apple has loaded a new iTunes section with apps which will do a marvellous job on a Retina display. Currently, there are about 24 apps in the section which include ‘Skitch’, ‘Tweetbot’, Sky Gamblers and others. Although this may sound like a humble start, we can rest assured that a lot of developers would be flocking to Apple to submit their apps for the high-res Retina display and that the number count will bump within days.
Twitter for iOS App has also been promptly updated solely to feature high-resolution graphics for the Retina display of the new iPad. If you are among the lucky ones to grab a new iPad today, you may want to check it out here.
Oh and remember, the launch at Apple Stores starts at 8 a.m. in the morning, so be sure to be there early in the day if you want to have better chances of getting the new tablet.


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Thu, Mar. 19, 3:24 PM
- Today's notable tech gainers include NFC reader vendor On Track (OTIV +10.6%), Chinese real estate site owner Leju (LEJU +12.9%), mobile accessory vendor Zagg (ZAGG +5.4%), online furniture giant Wayfair (W +6.3%), and LED/chip/storage equipment maker Veeco (VECO +4.6%). The Nasdaq is up 0.2%.
- Notable decliners include mobile IP licensing firm Unwired Planet (UPIP -11.8%), flash storage array vendor Violin Memory (VMEM -7.1%), Chinese CDN owner ChinaCache (CCIH -6%), Chinese data center owner 21Vianet (VNET -4%), telecom equipment vendor Adtran (ADTN -4.6%), and VoIP/unified communications hardware vendor ShoreTel (SHOR -4.9%).
- On Track might be benefiting from Apple Pay enthusiasm. Leju is more than making up the 7% drop it saw yesterday after posting mixed Q4 results, guiding for 21%-25% 2015 growth, and declaring a special dividend. Veeco, which has had accounting issues in the past, disclosed today it had replaced Ernst & Young as its auditor with KPMG.
- Wayfair is now up 31% since its big March 4 Q4 beat. Zagg is up 46% since its iPhone 6-driven Feb. 24 Q4 beat.
- ChinaCache announced this morning its Q4 report will arrive on March 26. 21Vianet has gradually moved lower since posting mixed Q4 results last week. Violin is reversing the big gains seen last week following multiple insider buys.
- Previously covered: Yelp, Envivio, Novatel, Digital Turbine, Sungy Mobile, SuperCom, healthcare tech, Solar3D, China Mobile, Red Hat
Mon, Feb. 23, 3:59 PM
- James Matthews, Adtran's (ADTN -3.7%) CFO since 2001, is retiring "in order to spend time with his family," effective March 16. Matthews, 57, will also step down from the board following Adtran's May 13 annual meeting. (8-K)
- Global operations SVP Michael Foliano has been named the telecom equipment vendor's interim CFO. Adtran insists "there is no disagreement with the Company" by Matthews "with respect to any matter."
Thu, Feb. 12, 11:03 AM
- Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) beat FQ2 estimates on the back of 8% Y/Y product growth (aided by favorable comps), offered in-line guidance (better than feared, given forex pressures), and reported a 5% increase in product orders. Enterprise, SMB, and public sector orders respectively rose 10%, 8%, and 7%, and service provider orders dropping 1% (compares with a 10% FQ1 service provider drop).
- Cisco still isn't modeling a rebound in service provider or emerging markets demand for several quarters, and forecasts global service provider capex will be down by a mid-single digit % in 2015. But it's more optimistic about enterprise, public sector, U.S., and EMEA demand.
- Telecom and networking equipment vendors, many of whom have been hit hard by capex pressures, are rallying following Cisco's numbers, as are a couple of component/chip suppliers. The Nasdaq is up 0.7%.
- Notable gainers include Alcatel-Lucent (ALU +4.7%), Aruba (ARUN +3.4%), Ruckus (RKUS +5.1%), Sonus (SONS +3.4%), Extreme Networks (EXTR +3.4%), Brocade (BRCD +1.9%), Adtran (ADTN +3%), Infoblox (BLOX +2.7%), Finisar (FNSR +2.1%), Cavium (CAVM +2%), Ixia (XXIA +1.9%), and Mavenir (MVNR +3.4%).
- Cisco's 18% Y/Y wireless product sales growth appears to be going over well with Aruba and Ruckus investors, and its 11% switching growth with Extreme and Brocade investors.
Wed, Jan. 21, 11:48 AM
- Adtran (ADTN -1.9%) has guided on its Q4 CC (webcast) for Q1 revenue to be up slightly Q/Q. With Q4 revenue totaling $144M and the Q1 consensus at $145.6M, that's a roughly in-line forecast.
- Like many telecom equipment firms heavily exposed to U.S. wireline capex, Q4 was a rough quarter for Adtran. Carrier Systems revenue fell 8% Y/Y to $100.3M; Business Networking revenue fell 9% to $37.3M; and Loop Access revenue fell 31% to $6.3M. The company says it "[continues] to see positive trends" as 2015 gets underway.
- Q4 results, PR
Wed, Jan. 21, 6:39 AM
Wed, Jan. 21, 5:40 AM
Mon, Jan. 19, 5:35 PM
Dec. 9, 2014, 1:52 PM
- Verizon CFO Fran Shammo has promised his company will continue growing wireless capex (albeit while cutting wireline capex) to keep up with data traffic growth. Small cells and smart antennas were mentioned as areas of interest.
- The remarks have been well-received by investors in telecom equipment and component/chip vendors, many of whom have been hit hard by soft North American and (to an extent) European spending. The Nasdaq is up 0.3%.
- Gainers: JDSU +3.6%. FNSR +3.1%. CYNI +10.1%. INFN +2.8%. CIEN +1.9%. AMCC +3.7%. PMCS +3.7%. ZHNE +3%. OCLR +5.4%. AFOP +2.8%. ADTN +2.5%. UBNT +2.2%. XXIA +1.7%. CALX +3.5%. EZCH +2.9%. SONS +2.4%. Sonus is also benefiting from a bullish Wedbush coverage launch.
- The group was pummeled in November after AT&T set a 2015 capex budget of $18B, down from 2014's $21B.
Nov. 20, 2014, 1:38 PM
- Optical networking hardware vendors and their component suppliers are turning in a good day. The gains come a day after component vendor Oplink announced it's being acquired by Koch Industries for $445M, and will be managed by connector maker Molex (a Koch subsidiary).
- RBC thinks Koch's entrance into the slumping component industry could trigger further consolidation. "Current fab utilization rates remain low ... with optical component vendors unable to charge a premium for their innovation. Gross margins are currently weighed by competitive pressures with optical component makers willing to cut pricing to account for high fixed costs."
- The firm believes Finisar (FNSR +1%) could be a buyer, and JDS Uniphase (JDSU +1.5%) and Oclaro (OCLR +7.1%) sellers. JDS, set to spin off its component unit, is facing activist pressure to put the business on sale.
- Meanwhile, Ciena (CIEN +2.8%) announced this morning it's partnering with Avaya to offer an enterprise solution that pairs its optical networking and integrated optical/Ethernet gear with Avaya's Ethernet switches. Like peers, Ciena is trying to lower its dependence on pressured carrier capex budgets.
- Other gainers: AFOP +3.7%. NPTN +3.3%. ADTN +2.7%. INFN +1.9%.
Nov. 13, 2014, 3:28 PM
- Though Cisco is higher after beating FQ1 estimates and issuing soft FQ2 guidance, many telecom equipment and component/chip names are going in the opposite direction.
- At issue: Cisco reported a 10% Y/Y drop in service provider orders (-18% in the U.S.), while stating on its CC (transcript) it "saw dramatically reduced spend at several large U.S. service providers." The networking giant also suggested demand will remain weak during the next couple of quarters.
- The remarks came just a few days after AT&T set a 2015 capex budget of $18B (down from 2014's $21B), prompting a Monday selloff in equipment vendors and their suppliers.
- Today's decliners: ALU -3.8%. CIEN -2.8%. JDSU -3.1%. FNSR -3.7%. JNPR -1.7%. INFN -3.8%. RKUS -3.4%. ZHNE -3.2%. AMCC -4.1%. CALX -2.7%. CYNI -1.8%. ADTN -3.5%. ALLT -2.4%. FN -1.9%.
Nov. 10, 2014, 9:51 AM
- Declaring its Project VIP network expansion effort ahead of schedule, AT&T has set a 2015 capex budget of $18B, down from 2014's $21B and below a prior forecast of $20B. The figure is equal to only 13% of AT&T's 2015 revenue consensus.
- Telecom equipment and optical component makers, many of whom have already felt the effects of AT&T's subdued 2014 wireline capex, are off in early trading. CSCO -1.4%. ALU -4.8%. CIEN -6.6%. ADTN -7.8%. JNPR -2.5%. RKUS -2.1%. SONS -2.9%. FNSR -2.9%. JDSU -1.1%. RKUS -2.1%. XXIA -2%. FFIV -1.6%. ERIC -1.7%.
- Cisco delivers its FQ1 report on Wednesday. The networking giant reported an 11% Y/Y FQ4 drop in service provider orders, thanks to both weak demand and share loss.
Oct. 24, 2014, 12:32 PM
- Though Ericsson (ERIC -3%) beat Q3 estimates, the mobile infrastructure giant stated North American business activity "slowed down during the quarter as operators currently focus on cash flow optimization." It added North American spending patterns make it tough to judge near-term demand.
- Ericsson's North American sales fell 3% Y/Y to $1.93B, partly offsetting strong growth in China, India (+56%), the Middle East (+38%), and other emerging markets. Top-line figures were boosted some by M&A.
- AT&T and Verizon have been taking cautious approaches to capex, and Sprint (though investing heavily in 4G following the SoftBank deal) has been looking to cut costs under new CEO Marcelo Claure. The U.S. and Japan have been ahead of many other developed markets in ramping 4G coverage.
- Juniper (JNPR -6.3%) offered light Q4 guidance two weeks after delivering a Q3 warning, and reported its service provider sales were down 6% Y/Y due to soft demand from Asia-Pac, EMEA, and (especially) U.S. carriers.
- When the world's #2 carrier router vendor was asked on the CC (transcript) about 2015 sales, CEO Shaygan Keradpir admitted Juniper has poor near-term visibility, and that a rebound could take time. "Because we think these cycles typically take 2 to 4 quarters ... our planning assumption is that growth will return in the second half of 2015."
- Nokia and Infinera recently offered more positive numbers/commentary. Bulls have argued strong data/video traffic growth will lift capex. Bears have argued soft (if not negative) carrier revenue growth will continue pressuring spending.
- Decliners: ALU -1.6%. JDSU -2%. INFN -3.1%. CIEN -2.5%. CALX -2.5%. FNSR -1.8%. ADTN -1.5%. The Nasdaq is up 0.4%.
Oct. 15, 2014, 4:07 PM
- In an encouraging sign for beaten-down telecom equipment and chip/component stocks, Adtran (ADTN +5.7%) managed to rally even though it guided on its Q3 CC (transcript) for a low-to-mid teens Q/Q revenue drop. Consensus (doesn't appear to have fully accounted for Adtran's Q3 warning) was for revenue to drop 2% to $154.9M in Q4.
- Adtran attributed much of its Q3 weakness to "a decline in Europe as a large project there had a seasonal slowdown." Enterprise softness also took a toll.
- The company "[expects] to see an upturn in this business" in 2015, but European sales are expected to remain soft in Q4. Other equipment vendors, such as Juniper (JNPR +2%) and Ciena (CIEN +2.7%), have provided weak guidance blamed on U.S. wireline capex; AT&T is generally seen as a big culprit.
- In addition to Juniper and Ciena, many other industry names have closed with healthy gains. PKT +6.3%. INFN +3.4%. ZHNE +6.7%. ALLT +5.2%. AFOP +4.5%. AMCC +12.5%. CYNI +4%. CALX +3.3%. FNSR +3.1%. UBNT +4.2%. OPLK +3.4%. RKUS +3.3%.
Oct. 14, 2014, 10:12 PM
Oct. 14, 2014, 9:56 PM
Oct. 8, 2014, 10:10 AM
- Goldman has upgraded broadband/access telecom equipment vendors Adtran (ADTN +2%) and Calix (CALX +2.4%) to Buy.
- The firm likes Adtran's valuation in the wake of last week's warning, and forecasts share gains and continued healthy demand from Deutsche Telekom. It likes Calix's last-mile fiber wins and exposure to CenturyLink's broadband buildout.
- Adtran reports on Oct. 15, and Calix on Oct. 29.
ADTN vs. ETF Alternatives
Other News & PR


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Couples planning to get married have a lot of decisions to make. What will they wear? What kind of cake do they want? Where will they go on their honeymoon?
Aiken's Premier Wedding Expo can help them answer those questions and any others they might have. The Aiken Standard, All-Star Tents and Events, Global Spectrum and WJBF-TV are the sponsors of the event's sixth edition. It will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the USC Aiken Convocation Center on Robert M. Bell Parkway.
“We're going to have a one-stop shop for all your wedding needs,” said Cathy Shaw, who is director of sponsorship sales for the Convocation Center, and the Wedding Expo's coordinator.
The Expo will have more than 30 vendors offering information about travel, photographers and flowers. In addition, there will be a fashion show featuring wedding dresses, mother of the bride gowns and bridesmaid gowns from David's Bridal of Augusta.
“We'll also have some stuff that a lot of people might not think about,” Shaw said. “Wells Fargo will be here if you need money to plan your wedding or buy a house. There will be representatives of apartment complexes because people who get married will be moving in together.”
New this year is a contest called Diamond Dash & Dig. The prize, donated by Floyd & Green, is a diamond engagement ring that is worth more than $7,000, according to Shaw.
Beginning Thursday, clues for the Dash & Dig will appear in print editions of the Aiken Standard, and they also will be posted on the Aiken Standard, Wedding Expo and WJBF's Facebook pages.
There will be no fewer than nine clues, and each will describe a business. Couples must identify and visit each business to collect a plastic diamond-shaped case. The more cases they collect, the more entries they will have in a drawing that will determine the two couples who will compete to find the diamond ring by digging into a large cake on the day of the Wedding Expo.
Tickets for the Wedding Expo are $10 each. They can be purchased by calling 1-877-428-4849 or by visiting www.georgialinatix.com. Tickets also are available at the Convocation Center box office.
“The Expo is going to be a great event,” Shaw said. “You'll be able to see some of the best vendors in the Aiken area.”


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Autonomous driving, electronic cars, digital integration – the future of mobility is exciting. Some of the leading mobility companies in the world just showcased their upcoming innovations at the German IAA, which was held in Munich for the first time this year. And not only the big players introduced their innovations, there was also a variety of start-ups presenting interesting solutions for the mobility sector. Tranzer had many interesting conversations about industry developments and here we give you a quick recap of most important topics discussed.
Full focus on E-Mobility
Petrol engines are part of the past and E-Mobility is clearly the way to go; that was the bottom line of this year’s IAA Mobility Exhibition. According to companies like Audi, BMW, or Hyundai, the main focus in future mobility will be on environmentally friendly transportation. A clear sign in this direction was given by the city of Munich with their so called ‘Blue Lane‘, which led from the IAA to the city centre, and was only accessible by electric powered cars.
For e-mobility to really take over, strong infrastructure is needed so owners of such cars can charge them at any place and time. Several companies, like Mercedes Benz, are willing to participate in the creation of such infrastructure since it’s key in having customers change from a traditional combustion engine to electric alternatives.
Volkswagen introduced a home charging solution for e-cars along with their electric ID product-line, which will feature options to connect your personal device to the car in an innovative way.
The Korean car manufacturer Hyundai announced to only sell electric cars worldwide by 2040 (in Europe by 2035) in order to achieve carbon neutrality for the whole company by 2045. The company is also planning to make parts of their electric cars reusable which would benefit the environmental aspect even more.
Autonomous driving brings the living room into your car
Those who no longer have to drive themselves can sit back and relax, watch a film or even play games in the car while not having to focus on traffic. All of this will be possible in the near future.
The “Grandsphere” concept car by Audi doesn’t even need a steering wheel anymore and thus turns the car truly into an autonomous entertainment platform.
Another self-driving car, the so called “Robotaxi” was introduced by Mobileye who are planning to create an autonomous transport solution for anyone who has a smartphone. By downloading their app “moovit” you will be able to order yourself such a Robotaxi in a matter of minutes.
Hyundai also built an autonomous vehicle, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, in cooperation with Motional, a company which develops solutions for autonomous cars. In order to bring the experience to customers, Motional is working with the US transportation service Lyft who are planning to transport people in self-driving cars by early 2023.
Sustainable solutions for individual inner-city transport
Since space gets rarer and rarer in the big cities, another exciting project was published by a start-up called City Transformer from Israel who invented a foldable car for one to two persons. It’s perfectly suited for inner city transport since it only uses about a third of the usual space required to park a car, and of course – it’s electric too.
Also, the “Microlino”, another small electric vehicle for up to two people, made by a Swiss start-up was showcased at the IAA and is likely to compete for inner city transportation too.
For the first time in IAA history, bikes were part of the exhibition. Even though they were kept a little offside, it’s another step in the direction of low-emission city transport.
All in all, the industry is moving towards electromobility and sustainable solutions in the mobility sector and one can be excited for the next big things to come.
Sustainable, fast and comfortable mobility through Tranzer
This is very much in line with Tranzer’s vision to enrich any app or service with a plethora of mobility services.
Imagine a world where your car’s nav sat does not send you into the next time-consuming traffic jam before you circle the block 5 times searching for a parking spot.
Instead, when you enter your car in your garage, it directly tells you that the city centre is really crowded and routes you to a parking lot on the outskirts instead. You agree to take public transit for moving inside the city, and your car’s infotainment system chooses the right ticket for you so you can download it directly into the connected app automatically.
Tranzer makes this possible for any automotive platform. With our mobility offer throughout Europe, seamless mobility – in and out of the car- is possible for any driver.
If you are interested in connecting to our platform then please get in touch with us at email@example.com or on LinkedIn.


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Better Collective has recently finalized the acquisition of Playmaker Capital, a Toronto-based digital sports media group. This marks the second-largest acquisition for Better Collective so far. The deal involved the purchase of all Playmaker Capital’s issued shares at a rate of CAD 0.70 per share, with payment made in both cash and Better Collective shares.
Following the completion of the acquisition, Playmaker Capital’s common shares will be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange, and the company will seek to cease its status as a reporting issuer. Additionally, Better Collective’s board has made the decision to increase the company’s share capital, resulting in the issuance of a total of 1,755,429 new ordinary shares.
The financial consolidation of Playmaker Capital into Better Collective’s financial reports will take effect as of February 6. This has also prompted Better Collective to update its 2027 long-term financial targets, with a focus on achieving a revenue CAGR of +20% and maintaining a net debt to EBITDA ratio below 3x.
The acquisition of Playmaker Capital has bolstered Better Collective’s confidence in reaching its revenue CAGR target, leading to an update of the company’s EBITDA margin guidance from 30-40% to 35-40%. Furthermore, Better Collective’s co-founder and CEO, Jesper Søgaard, expressed excitement about the completed deal and the prospect of integrating Playmaker Capital into the Better Collective group.
Jesper Søgaard commented that the acquisition is a crucial step toward Better Collective’s vision of becoming the premier digital sports media group. He also looks forward to realizing the potential synergies between the two entities. Similarly, Jordan Gnat, co-founder and CEO of Playmaker Capital, expressed gratitude for the confidence that Better Collective has shown in their company and looks forward to the future collaboration.
With the addition of Playmaker Capital, Better Collective’s strong financial results and the company’s bullish outlook, the acquisition is thought to further strengthen its position in the digital sports media landscape.


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ATLANTA, Aug. 4, 2021 -- Today, STORD, the pioneer of the Cloud Supply Chain and a leader in end-to-end logistics services and technology, announced the launch of a new warehouse and innovation center in Atlanta. The 386,000 square foot facility will integrate state-of-the-art robotics and automation technology, provide additional capacity for warehousing and fulfillment services in a top five market, and bring hundreds of new jobs to the Atlanta area over the next two years. Additionally, STORD will use the facility to test new technologies and processes with the goal of sharing supply chain innovations across its national network of hundreds of warehouse partners.
"STORD is on a mission to democratize the commerce supply chain by giving growing businesses access to Prime-like end-to-end logistics capabilities," said Sean Henry, CEO and co-founder of STORD. "This warehouse and innovation center will improve the physical supply chain experience for our customers while also creating best practices to further optimize the hundreds of warehouses within our partner network. This means continuous improvement, greater efficiency, and ultimately even greater service for all of STORD's stakeholders."
The new fulfillment center comes after STORD grew revenues by more than 300 percent during the last year, driven by demand for its supply chain services and technology. Global e-commerce will surpass $5 trillion in 2021, while B2B online commerce is expected to reach $20.9 trillion by 2027. Increasingly, companies, like Schneider Electric and Dollar General, are turning to STORD to deliver a Prime-like logistics experience to their customers. In March, STORD announced $65 million in Series C financing led by Bond Ventures, bringing the total funding raised to more than $125 million.
STORD and its top warehouse partners will form the Warehousing and Fulfillment Innovation Coalition to ensure regular sharing of best practices and drive continuous innovation across the company's partner ecosystem. The group will meet on a quarterly basis to share and disseminate new ideas and insights.
"Our goal is to ensure that whether a customer's inventory is in STORD's facility or one of our partner facilities, the customer receives uniform, high-standard, and efficient fulfillment services across the entire STORD network," said Henry.
The space will be fully operational starting September 1. From day one, STORD will leverage both technology and robotics to automate and streamline fulfillment. STORD will partner with Locus Robotics, whose autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) help warehouses to double fulfillment productivity. STORD and Locus plan to use the new Atlanta space to refine STORD's capabilities and functionality with an eye on rolling out similar bots to partner warehouses in the coming quarters.
"We are excited to partner with STORD to deploy our powerful and efficient multi-bot solution to support their warehouse operations," said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. "Locus is proud to be a valued technology resource that is helping STORD realize their strategic vision of digital transformation to meet today's exploding fulfillment challenges."
Due to the high degree of complexity and opportunity for innovation, STORD will focus on high volume and velocity B2C fulfillment. However, STORD's new facility is uniquely equipped to support businesses of all types and product categories including B2B and Omnichannel shippers.
STORD is actively hiring for several positions for the new facility and expects to create hundreds of new jobs, specific to the operations of the facility, within the Atlanta area in the next two years. STORD will also use a portion of the warehouse for additional office space for its growing team as they transition back to in-person work. In 2020 STORD more than doubled its headcount and is on pace to do the same in 2021.


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In honor of Father’s Day this Sunday, Heineken is celebrating dads and their corny but endearing brand of dad humor.
Heineken, with the help of Wieden + Kennedy, is asking people to tweet their favorite dad-style jokes @Heineken_US using the hashtag #dadjokes. You know, those cheesy one-liners and puns that you kind of just have to pity-laugh at. Heinken will pick its favorite jokes and turn them into meme-style image macros by pairing the user-submitted jokes with vintage dad images. Heineken will also create and share some of its own dad jokes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Along with retweeting the user-submitted jokes, Heineken will also collect them all on a dedicated #dadjokes Tumblr, which will go live this weekend.
Dorky dads, cheesy family photos and throwback dad pics (remember the Dads Are the Original Hipsters Tumblr?) have all been popular Web trends at one time or another, so Heineken is definitely touching on something that is in tune with popular Web culture. Usually brands’ attempts to get involved in a holiday via social media means really lame, cheesy tweets, but this campaign uses cheesiness intentionally in a way that makes sense for Father’s Day. See some of Heineken’s cheesy #dadjokes below.
More in Marketing
TikTok has officially launched its new e-commerce platform, TikTok Shop, earlier this month on August 1. Using the new e-commerce platform, brands and creators can sell products directly on the platform, potentially creating new revenue streams, and tap into the short-form video platform’s growing popularity.
‘The influencer industry can be really vile’: Confessions of an influencer marketer on the industry’s unfair hiring practices
While the influencer industry might sound exciting and like it’s full of opportunities, one marketer can vouch for the horrific scenarios that still take place behind the scenes.
After a tumultuous 12 months, marketers are getting a clear picture of how they really did during a time of true uncertainty. And, as it turns out, it wasn’t all that bad.
Ad position: web_bfu


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The Widdowson story has taken another twist with the revelation that, after its latest pre-pack administration, the Leicester-based haulier entered into service agreements with individuals associated with the failed business. Widdowson Logistics was placed into […]
Montgomery Transport founder Harold Montgomery has confirmed the demise of Birds Transport & Logistics, bringing the curtain down on a tough period for the well known Midlands firm.
In April, Leicester-based Widdowson achieved a significant milestone: it became the first third party selected by Waitrose to be the supermarket chain’s official logistics partner in the Midlands. Waitrose has previously nominated carriers only to […]


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Growth in internet commerce causing states to work around the Supreme Court
May 26, 2016, marks the 24-year anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Quill v. North Dakota that precluded states from requiring out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales taxes on in-state sales. Quill does not prevent states from lodging a sales tax. But, it makes collecting such taxes difficult in the absence of a retailer’s meaningful physical presence in a state, known as nexus, because it forces jurisdictions to rely on consumers themselves to calculate and remit the necessary payments. With the relatively recent phenomenon of internet-based commerce and its explosive growth, millions of dollars of tax revenues have simply evaporated for lack of a collection mechanism. In addition, out-of-state sellers enjoy a significant competitive advantage over in-state sellers that are required to collect and remit sales taxes.
Statista reports that the total number of digital shoppers worldwide grew by over 100 million between 2011 and 2012, and in 2016, global business-to-consumer e-commerce sales are expected to reach $1.92 trillion. In the United States, business-to-consumer e-commerce sales jumped from $211 billion in 2006 to $703 billion in 2013. In 2013, InternetRetailer envisioned e-commerce sales in the U.S. reaching $434.2 billion in 2017.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) estimated that in 2012, states lost $23.3 billion in tax revenues, which could have been useful in closing the $527.7 billion budget gap that they faced between fiscal years 2008-2012. Instead, states had to reduce programs to balance their budgets.
States are searching for ways to capture lost tax revenues while remaining within the bounds of legal precedent. To this end, the NCSL has offered model language to assist lawmakers when drafting their own expanded nexus legislation. However, the problem may not be resolved so peacefully. Bloomberg opines that Colorado’s recently resolved case, Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl (Brohl), has set the stage “for a showdown between the states and remote sellers, either before the Supreme Court or in Congress.”
Brohl held that Colorado could require out-of-state sellers to comply with notice and reporting obligations for sales to in-state purchasers that are subject to sales tax, but for which there is no practical collection apparatus. It should be noted that Brohl is compliant with Quill, but allows Colorado to impose more stringent reporting and notification requirements, enabling broader enforcement of its tax laws.
Bloomberg asserts that Brohl “clear[s] the way for states to start adopting rules and other changes that may help them collect sales and use tax on goods that, at the moment, are likely escaping tax completely.” These include the following:
- Expansion of nexus standards such that out-of-state vendors would have a significant enough presence with a state that they would be subject to tax collection rules.
- Altering tax forms to contain a line for reporting taxes due on purchases from out-of-state sellers.
- Otherwise authorizing and encouraging out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax in the absence of requirements to do so, similar to the law at issue in Brohl that requires out-of-state retailers to:
- Notify their customers that they may be subject to Colorado’s use tax.
- Provide an annual purchase summary to customers who bought more than $500.00 that year, and remind them of their obligation to pay taxes on those purchases.
- Send the Colorado Department of Revenue an annual customer information report listing their customers’ names, addresses, and total amounts spent.
At the end of last year, the non-partisan group CQRollCall predicted that Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah would take decisive action in 2016.
Alabama is one state that already has. Its law, effective Jan. 1, 2016, establishes circumstances under which out-of-state sellers that lack an Alabama physical presence, but are making retail sales of tangible personal property into the state, have a substantial economic presence in Alabama for sales and use tax purposes. One of these is a sales threshold of $250,000.
In Louisiana, HB 30 requires a remote dealer to collect sales tax if it has sales of more than $50,000 for the previous 12 months, unless it can show that it will not likely have that amount of sales in the subsequent 12 months. A vendor qualifies as a dealer if it engages in “regular or systematic solicitation of a consumer market…by the distribution of catalogues, periodicals, advertising fliers, or other advertising, or by means of print, radio, or television media….” HB 30’s effective date was March 14, 2016.
Similarly, South Dakota’s SB 106, which Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed on March 29, 2016, sets a sales tax remittance obligation for out-of-state retailers at $100,000 of in-state sales, or, 200 or more separate electronic or delivery transactions.
Ultimately, the author of the Brohl opinion, quoting Quill, implored Congress to step up and resolve the issue once and for all. That body “holds the ‘ultimate power’ and is ‘better qualified to resolve’ the issue of ‘whether, when, and to what extent the States may burden interstate [retailers] with a duty to collect [sales and] use taxes.’”


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Baker Claire Ptak has seen a surge in customers
Business has been booming for London-based Claire Ptak since it was announced she would be making a lemon and elderfl ower cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big day on May 19.
Claire’s Violet Bakery in Hackney, east London, has seen a surge in customers, with its treats selling like hot cakes.
There has been such a run on cakes it did not have enough stock to open its nearby market stall, set up eight years ago.
Claire, originally from California, started the weekly stall in Broadway Market and later expanded into a nearby cafe.
A wedding cake by Violet Bakery in Hackney
A cafe worker said yesterday: “We’re so busy we don’t have enough food to have the market stall on today as well. We’ve just been busier than ever.”
Claire uses only organic ingredients and is said to be chef Jamie Oliver’s favourite cake maker.
She was interviewed by Meghan for the royal bride-to-be’s former lifestyle website, The Tig.
The Meghan effect has worked its magic on other UK companies since the American actor and Prince Harry announced their engagement last year.
The family-run jeans company Hiut Denim in Cardigan, west Wales, has a huge waiting list after Meghan wore its brand on her first official visit.
And handbag sales have soared for Scottish leather accessory firm Strathberry.
For years, the Duchess of Cambridge has been the leading royal style icon, but Meghan is already rivalling the “Kate effect”.
David Haigh, chief executive of business valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance, said: “With the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan this May, I believe her influence will eclipse even Kate’s this year.”


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Rumors surrounding ‘s iPad 3 launch are everywhere. Here are five to pay attention to. It’s looking almost certain that is planning a March launch for its highly anticipated iPad 3. The question on everybody’s mind is whether the third-generation tablet is going to be a revolutionary step for , or a repeat of the iPhone […]
Read more at Forbes.


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With big personality comes big heart, and no one proves that more than the L.O.L. Surprise dolls. Just in time for Earth Day (April 22), these glam girls are showing love to the Blue Planet with new, sustainable packaging.
The spherical packaging central to the L.O.L. brand will be swapping plastic for natural materials like bamboo, wood, and sugar cane. As part of the L.O.L. Surprise Earth Love activation, the new spheres will be entirely compostable, while maintaining the same unboxing experience as the previous models.
By Fall 2022, MGAE plans to transition about 65 percent of their L.O.L. Surprise plastic balls to the sustainable packaging at all retailers. It is estimated that about 45 million L.O.L. Surprise! toys will be produced with sustainable packaging, representing at least three metric tons of plastic eliminated from the toy line in 2022.
To celebrate this milestone, L.O.L. Surprise is introducing two new green queens to its collection of dolls: Earthy B.B. and Grow Grrrl. These new dolls come with gardening accessories and can be found exclusively at Walmart.
Additionally, recycling options for L.O.L. Surprise dolls and packaging continue to be offered by TerraCycle.


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Mumbai: Prices at the Indian Coffee Trade Association auction on Thursday rose on tight supply and rising export demand, traders said on Friday, 29 August.
“Arrivals are thin as growers are left with very little stocks,” said a Bangalore-based trader who did not want to be identified.
In India, arabica harvesting will start in November, while robusta arrivals start in February.
Demand from both domestic and export market is on rise, which is also supporting the prices, said another trader.
Robusta cherry variety received strong support from domestic buyers and prices for PB grade were higher by Rs100-150, at Rs5,100-5,150, he said.
The country’s domestic consumption is likely to increase to 160,000 tonnes by 2017 from 90,000 tonnes in 2007, G.V. Krishna Rau, chairman of the Coffee Board, told Reuters last week.
India’s coffee exports rose 5.7% to 165,279 tonnes as of 27 August, according to the data from Coffee Board.
India produces only 4% of the world’s coffee, but exports 70-80% of its produce, thus domestic prices often mirror international trends.
Total quantity on offer at the auction was 225 tonnes and about 46 tonnes were sold, an auctioneer said.


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According to findings within the recently released U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study, more and more consumers are using their beloved smartphones to search and discover information while comfortably situated within their own homes.
In fact, in-home smartphone use has grown a staggering 66% during the past year when compared to the previous year, per the study – which was compiled by research firm Nielsen based on data derived from an online survey, along with on-device behavioral data from 6,000 American smartphone and tablet users.
The study (which was also developed with the assistance of location-based mobile ad firm xAd and call metrics provider Telmetrics) also revealed that mobile devices now account for as much as 64% of time spent online, and some 42% of mobile users now consider mobile the most important resource in their purchase process.
In fact, only 20% of mobile users now say they knew “exactly” what they are looking for, down from a 34% figure in 2013. That data means that the number of certain searchers declined from one in three to just one in five over the past year.
“Many consumers don’t have a specific location in mind when they do a search,” said Telmetrics President Bill Dinan. “Nor have they decided on the brand or the thing they want to buy. The mobile consumer continues to move up the funnel vs. down the funnel.”
Once they do find what they’re looking for, mobile users convert in strong numbers, with two out of every three making a purchase and 65% wanting to purchase most items in just one day. Offline activity also continues to play a major role in consumers’ purchase process – as 52% of mobile users visit a physical store, and a strong 64% complete their purchase offline.
Proximity and location are also important to these mobile consumers. A full 52% said they desire a location within five miles, and more than 10% of automotive and telecom shoppers expect locations that are within walking distance of where they search. Location lookup, along with price check, ranks among the heaviest purchase-related activities.
In additional research that supplements and confirms many findings from the U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study, the recent GWI Device report from GlobalWebIndex found that the mobile internet audience now exceeds a staggering 994 million people – a figure that represents a 19% growth from 2013.
That same report also found that internet usage via tablet computers surged at a far greater rate – rising some 45% from 2013 to approach the 450 million-user mark in 2014.
In fact, in the fourth quarter of 2013, only 22% of all PC and laptop users did not also use other devices to access the internet and spend time online, per that report.
Let us know your thoughts, insights and experience in the comments section below this post. We’d love to hear about your own smartphone and tablet usage!