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Glossier will return to brick-and-mortar with three permanent locations scheduled to open this year. The first will launch in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on Aug. 20, followed by a new Los Angeles store in the fall and a London location in the winter.
The retailer made the decision to close all its stores in March 2020 due to the pandemic, including flagships in New York and Los Angeles and a number of pop-ups in cities including Seattle, Boston and London.
While the company is an ecommerce-led retailer (80% of pre-pandemic sales came through digital channels), brick-and-mortar is still an important part of Glossier’s ecosystem. The retailer’s physical locations drew more than 1 million visitors in 2019 with an average conversion rate of 50%. Pop-ups in particular excelled, with an average conversion rate of 60%, with Glossier Seattle reaching more than 70%.
The new Seattle flagship will build on Glosser’s ecommerce expertise with an enhanced “Online Pickup” feature that lets customers shop online and pick up their orders in-store through a separate entrance. The retailer also will scale its fulfillment strategy and have more product in physical stores available for shipment, “ultimately meaning faster and more efficient ways for consumers to receive their product, whether they are located in a nearby city or prefer to test in-person and purchase at home,” said Emily Lewis, Head of Retail Operations at Glossier in an interview with Retail TouchPoints.
“Our goal is always to create incredible experiences — physical, product, offline, and digital — for our customers,” Lewis. “As a digital-first company, we take an omnichannel approach to how those touch points live together, including brick-and-mortar stores, as a way for us to scale our connection with our community locally and globally.”
The permanent location will be just four blocks away from the retailer’s original 2019 Seattle pop-up, but at 6,200 square feet it will have 4X the space, making it one of Glossier’s biggest physical experiences to date. Like all Glossier stores, the Seattle flagship is designed with the local area in mind, celebrating the city’s natural landscapes and technology with “futuristic, yet industrial elements.” The space features rolling moss hills, massive boulders and floral and mushroom details throughout the terrarium-like space.


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Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday, February 5th. The firm currently has $132.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.
According to Zacks, “Avery Dennison's top and bottom line witnessed year-over-year improvement and beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company guided earnings per share range of $5.70-$5.95 for fiscal 2018. The midpoint of the range reflects year-over-year growth of 17%. The company expects organic sales growth of 4% for the fiscal 2018. Roughly half of its sales are now linked to either any or both of its presence in emerging markets and in faster-growing high-value categories such as specialty labels, industrial tapes and Radio-frequency identification (RFID). Above-average growth is projected from both over the longer term. Focus on productivity, acquisitions, aggressive cost control and share repurchases will drive the company's results. Moreover, its consistent execution of strategies continues to enhance competitive advantage while driving profitable growth. Avery Dennison's shares have outperformed the industry over a year's time.”
AVY has been the topic of a number of other reports. KeyCorp reissued a hold rating on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Monday, October 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Avery Dennison in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They set a buy rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on Avery Dennison from $128.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Avery Dennison from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Avery Dennison from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $122.75.
Shares of Avery Dennison (NYSE AVY) opened at $118.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Avery Dennison has a 12 month low of $78.47 and a 12 month high of $123.67. The company has a market capitalization of $10,400.00, a PE ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.20.
Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 42.26% and a net margin of 4.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. equities research analysts predict that Avery Dennison will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.51%.
In other news, Director Peter K. Barker sold 2,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.76, for a total value of $229,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,064,436.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lori J. Bondar sold 10,855 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value of $1,203,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,489.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at about $184,000. Conning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Davidson & Garrard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Univest Corp of Pennsylvania purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. 85.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: This report was originally posted by The Ledger Gazette and is owned by of The Ledger Gazette. If you are viewing this report on another publication, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of U.S. and international trademark and copyright laws. The original version of this report can be accessed at https://ledgergazette.com/2018/02/15/avery-dennison-avy-raised-to-buy-at-zacks-investment-research.html.
Avery Dennison Company Profile
Avery Dennison Corporation (Avery Dennison) is engaged in the production of pressure-sensitive materials and a range of tickets, tags, labels and other converted products. The Company’s segments include Label and Graphic Materials (LGM); Retail Branding and Information Solutions (RBIS), and Industrial and Healthcare Materials (IHM).
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Americans are making more and spending more, according to a June Personal Income and Outlays report (link opens as PDF) released today by the Commerce Department.
After increasing a revised 0.4% in May, personal income edged up $45.4 billion (0.3%) in June, missing analysts' mark by 0.1 percentage points.
For the same period, personal spending increased $59.4 billion (0.5%). In this case, analysts' estimates of 0.4% growth proved slightly too conservative after May's revised 0.2% gain . This uptick in spending was accompanied by a 0.2-point decrease in saving -- Americans saved 4.4% of their personal income in June. In a potential sign of longer-term economic optimism, durable goods spending increased another 0.9% on top of May's 0.6% growth.
Overall inflation hit analysts' 0.4% expectation on the mark. Excluding more volatile food and energy prices, analysts' 0.1% growth estimate came in just below the actual 0.2% increase.
The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Tax hikes and spending cuts will be needed to fully offset the rising cost of living next year, the state budget watchdog has warned.
he government faces a €2 billion bill if it wants to fully link or ‘index’ wages and social protection to inflation this year, which it can afford to do if it taps into a contingency fund created in the budget.
But the Tax Council said ministers would face “tough choices” from 2023 as prices for energy, food and other goods are expected to outpace pay rises.
“We’re not saying the government should necessarily index,” said Sebastian Barnes, chairman of the Tax Council. “He may not choose to do so as well.”
Linking public sector wages, social protection and pensions to inflation – known as indexation – is popular in some European countries.
Public and private wage increases in line with prices in Belgium, which experienced near double-digit inflation in April (9.3 pc), are among the highest in the euro zone.
But Belgium excludes the price of alcohol, tobacco and gasoline from its calculations, which are based on past inflation rates.
Spain, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovenia have automatic indexation of private sector wages, although their calculations differ.
Some adjust wages upward when inflation hits a certain rate, while others target only those earning the minimum wage.
Most of the seven countries – with the exception of Spain and France – also index public sector wages.
But full compensation for higher prices could lead to higher inflation, as people have more to spend.
“Large-scale and sustained spending would increase the risk of contributing to higher second-round increases in prices and wages, potentially destabilizing the economy and public finances,” the council said in its latest budget assessment report. , published today.
Protecting low-income households from rising costs should be the priority, he said.
The Ministry of Finance expects inflation to average 6.2% this year, although it could peak at nearly 9% this summer, according to other forecasts.
There is €2.5 billion left in the government’s €7 billion provident fund this year, which the council says could be spent on supporting Ukrainian refugees or on cost-of-living measures for more vulnerable.
“Fiscal policy cannot permanently protect the economy from falling real incomes,” the report says.
He also warned of splits in the economy as poorer households cut spending to cope with rising prices, while well-paid IT and pharmacy workers continue to earn and to spend.
A decline in overall demand for recreational activities, restaurants and non-essential retail could put additional pressure on sectors already impacted by Covid.
“It is unclear to what extent workers in still-depressed sectors might see demand in these areas pick up, or whether they will need to move to other areas where demand is greater,” the report said.
“In some cases, the same sectors that have seen reduced demand due to containment measures during the pandemic are also likely to face weaker demand due to price pressures during the war in Ukraine.”
At the start of this year, hours worked in administration, support services, accommodation and food were still down 16% from the end of 2019.


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Thursday, 26 Mar 2015
EVGA has announced the GeForce GTX 980 Hybrid, a hybrid cooling solution comprising an AIO water-cooling loop for dedicated GPU cooling and separate cooling for the VRM and memory components by NVIDIA's reference blower-style fan. System builders can now look forward to cooler and quieter systems without any of the hassle of custom water cooling loops!
Before you watch Furious 7 in the theaters, you'll be able to drive the cars. That is if you have an Xbox 360 or Xbox One. Did we mention that it's also free?
The latest firmware update has just hit Sony's Playstation 4. Does it add anything that's worth it?
Wednesday, 25 Mar 2015
With Apple announcing Apple CarPlay availability in Singapore, Pioneer has just unveiled its latest flagship AVH-X8750BT in-car multimedia receiver at the Bangkok Motor Show 2015.
LG has just released the prices for most of its 2015 4K TV models, and the most affordable one costs S$1,899. What about the high-end models? More details after the jump.
OCZ has released the Vector 180 SSD based on the SATA 6Gbps interface. The new drive will offer a brand new 960GB capacity and come with new advanced reliability features such as PFM+. The Vertex 180 is also being released with OCZ's SSD Guru Management Tool, aimed at giving users the ability to fine tune their drive's performance. More details inside!
B & O Play has just launched a set of wireless headphones that have noise-cancelling and a unique touch interface. More details after the jump.
ASUS, MSI and Palit join other add-in card manufacturers in launching the NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X, NVIDIA's latest graphics card based on the Maxwell architecture and featuring a full implementation of the GM200 GPU. Enthusiasts can now look forward to an even wider selection when it comes to the world's fastest single-GPU graphics card. Read on to find out more!
Biostar has revealed the Hi-Fi B85Z5 motherboard. Find out what distinguishing features this Intel B85 chipset-based board has to offer.
With Apple buying Beats Electronics, it was only a matter of time until HP found a new audio partner. Today, HP announced it is teaming up with Bang & Olufsen, the 90-year old Danish company known for its high-end audio products.


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In the last article, I talked about UAE’s five most favourite sedans from Asian manufacturers. This time, we’re moving up north to find out which European sedans have a great fan base in the Middle East. Here they are, in no particular order.
With nearly a week left for the year to end, we at CarPrices are finally unleashing our retrospective articles compiling the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the impressive and the disappointments, so on and so forth. This year has particularly been huge for electric cars as well as their hyper-car iterations. […]
It might have been a rough month for the Corvette aficionados as the mid-engined C8 iterations have lately been grabbing the headline for all the wrong reasons. After news of the C8 Corvette not making it to the Detroit Auto Show next month, recent reports now suggest that the car will be delayed by at […]
Despite there being a global image of the UAE being full of cars like the Cadillac Escalade, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Ford F-150, And exotic hypercars, the fact is that all sorts of cars ply the roads of this country. You can find everything here from a humble hatchback to a fire-breathing hypercar with a 16-cylinder motor. […]
Cadillac debuted the all-new 2019 Cadillac XT4 in the Middle East for the first time. The compact SUV will kick off the brand’s product offensive in the region 2020 onwards.


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Shkreli, the former chief executive officer of
New York Attorney General
Shkreli is already serving a seven-year sentence for securities fraud committed while running two hedge funds, though the same drug -- Daraprim -- is at the center of both cases.
Vyera, then known as Turing Pharmaceuticals, was launched by Shkreli in 2015. That’s when he acquired Daraprim, a once-affordable anti-infective used to treat a sometimes-deadly parasitic infection, from the only existing supplier. Shkreli then raised the price from $17.50 to $750 per tablet.
Cote found that Shkreli made illegal agreements with generic drug makers to delay introduction of cheaper versions of the drug after he jacked up the price.
“Shkreli does not dispute that it was his intention to impede generic pharmaceutical companies from launching competitive products that would threaten the price of Daraprim,” the judge wrote. “The plaintiffs have shown that the restraints Vyera implemented succeeded in doing just that.”
Last month, Vyera and another former chief executive officer,
(Updates with detail from the litigation)
To contact the reporters on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Jim Silver, Anthony Lin
© 2022 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.


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Cameroon exported a total of 13,381 tons of banana in April this year, the lowest volume since the year began, the fruit’s association (Assobacam) said. In detail and compared to the same period last year, PHP, local subsidiary of French Compagnie fruitière de Marseille and market leader, shipped 12,427 tons over, up 424 tons while Boh Plantations shipped 954 tons, up 82 tons from 872 tons.
But overall volume in April 2019 is 6,500 tons down compared to 17,638 tons exported in April 2019; a drastic decrease caused by non-activity since September 2018 of State-owned CDC which has suspended shipments due to the crisis in the Anglophone regions where the company owns plantations.
The company estimates turnaround financing needs at XAF29 billion. With 22,000 employees, this agro-industrial unit is the country's second largest employer, after the public administration.


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When Walmart Canada introduced free shipping on all online purchases last year, it was a clear message to its rivals that it was gearing up for a fight. Craig Patterson, an analyst who runs the online news magazine Retail Insider, said the move by one of the world’s largest retailers was bold, setting a new standard in going the extra mile for consumer dollars. “This means war. It’s a declaration of war, no question,” he said from Vancouver. For the last few years, a battle has been waging among retailers trying to set themselves apart, as entrants such as U.S. giants Target and Nordstrom arrive to compete for the same customers.
What this comes down to is building trust with the customer. Walmart knows that if they offer free shipping, they are coming out punching. When someone like Walmart does it, there is going to be scramble from other retailers to see how they can compete either by adding extra value, better customer service.
Craig Patterson, Retail Insider magazine
While a behemoth retailer like Walmart may be able to absorb the costs of shipping, it would be a challenging task for smaller retailers to be able to offer the same without raising prices, Patterson said. Retailers have long struggled with free shipping in Canada, given the size of the country and the cost of shipping quickly to remote areas. The compromise, it seems, is to offer free shipping on minimum purchases, which can offset some of those costs. Simon Rodrigue, vice-president and general manager of Walmart.ca, said Walmart’s ability to offer free shipping to 97 per cent of the country, and even free next-day shipping to most big cities, has helped it lure customers who either didn’t know they could purchase online the same items found in the store, or were reluctant to try shopping on the website. Rodrigue says Walmart wanted to offer a seamless transition between online and in-store shopping by eliminating any minimum purchase requirement.
It’s not about an e-commerce channel, or about a store channel anymore,” said Simon Rodrigue, vice-president and general manager of Walmart.ca. “It’s really about the customer in the middle. If they want to buy online, if they want to buy on the phone, if they want to buy in store, we want to make sure we’re servicing them.”
Simon Rodrigue, vice-president and general manager of Walmart.ca


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Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Journelle has just laid out its plans for a U.S. expansion, which includes opening six more stores by the end of 2014. About half of those will be local, as founder and CEO Claire Chambers explains: "We are looking to grow the number of stores in New York City, Long Island and even the tristate area." [WWD]


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Netflix users will now be able to watch funny and short videos, swipe a video up vertically to watch another one, react as well as share these videos which will be sourced from Netflix’s vast catalog. The streaming giant has introduced a vertical video format feature for its iPhone app called Fast Laughs which will be available in select countries. Patrick Flemming, director of innovation production at Netflix on Wednesday announced the Fast laughs feature in a blog post. He noted that fast laughs will give a full-screen feed of funny clips from Netflix’s comedy catalog including films, series, sitcoms and stand-up shows.
The catalog includes Murder Mystery, Big Mouth, The Crew and stand up from comedians Ali Wong, Jerry Seinfeld and Kevin Hart among others. Netflix has also noted that it will not just be its originals but also clips from its entire catalog that will be featured on fast laughs.
The vertical video format got immensely popular with TikTok and was followed by Instagram Reels and YouTube’s short videos. "Fast Laughs lets you add series, films and stand-up specials to your list, or start viewing them immediately. You can also share the clips individually on Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter - so your friends can get in on the fun too," Fleming explained in the blog.
He also noted some of the clips may not be appropriate for all audiences. However, Netflix has parental controls, which when enabled do not show any age-inappropriate content. As of now Fast laughs is only available in select countries and for iPhone users. The streaming giant notes that it is testing the feature for Android users as well.
Fast Laughs can be accessed from the Netflix app by going to the bottom navigation menu. According to TechCrunch, the Fast Laughs tap stands out prominently and is placed next to “coming soon”. The feature will also have engagement or reaction buttons that will let users react to the clip with a laughing or crying emoji. Users can also share funny clips through iMessage or other social media apps, like WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter. The feature will also enable users to watch a show immediately or save it for later by adding it to "My List."
Last month Netflix rolled out a feature that will auto-download shows and movies for users based on their viewing history and what they watch. The feature named "Downloads for You" is currently available for Android users globally and only on mobile. However, users can cast the downloaded shows on a nearby TV.


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Samsung plans to build two new manufacturing plants in the United States and South Korea. The company will spend about $45 billion on new factories.
Last January, there were reports that Samsung was planning to build a new factory in the UNITED States. According to the latest information, the company will announce investment plans for the United States and South Korea (Pyeongtaek) next month. Samsung will reportedly spend $44.74 billion on new manufacturing facilities to build in those countries.
In particular, investments in the construction of the second facility in the United States are estimated to be $17 billion. The factory can be installed at one of the locations in Texas, Arizona, or New York. Also, possible options include the city of Austin, where the company’s first factory is located.
Construction of the new Samsung factory planned to be built in the UNITED States will begin this year. The company will install all the plant’s main equipment in 2022 and start production in 2023. Last October, the South Korean giant applied to buy 258 acres of land near its facility in Austin. As for the factory to be built in South Korea, there is not much information yet.


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With the Streak now out the door, Dell is gearing up to release additional Android-powered slates—including a seven-inch device due "within the next few weeks." At least, that's what Dell Greater China President Amit Midha told the Wall Street Journal earlier today.
Midha also confirmed one detail about the seven-inch slate: it'll be based on Google's Android platform. Of course, Michael Dell actually briefly demonstrated the device at Oracle World last week, and he let slip that the product had "all [his] normal Android apps." Too bad the prototype didn't seem very cooperative when Dell tried to scroll through a presentation.
There's more. Midha told the Journal that a 10-inch Dell slate will be out within six months to a year, too, alongside "additional" three-inch and four-inch products—although I'd expect those to be aimed more at the smart phone market, considering their size. The Dell Streak straddles the line between slate and phone as it is. Some of these upcoming devices will run Android, but Midha said some will also run Microsoft software, and Dell is "still considering" the use of Google's Chrome OS. (Thanks to Engadget for the link.)
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With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to rock the global economy, private equity exits have largely come to a halt since mid-March, according to a report from McKinsey & Co.
“The results of the pandemic have been startling,” it noted. “With a couple of exceptions—such as structured transactions and deals signed before the crisis—traditional PE exits have slowed significantly since mid-March of this year. Announced PE exits dropped almost 70 percent globally in May 2020 versus May 2019.”
Deal execution is difficult in the current economic context because of challenges conducting face-to-face due diligence or visits to production facilities, the report said. Valuations are also plagued with uncertainty.
Further, private equity firms, just like most other businesses, are suddenly preoccupied with dealing with more pressing health, human and business concerns, causing them to deprioritize potential exits, the report noted. As well, companies which seemed like attractive destinations for investment before the virus are revealing hidden weaknesses in the new recessionary environment.
Estimates about when exits might return to normal ranged widely among the private equity sponsors, investment bankers and chief executive officers that McKinsey & Co. interviewed from March to May. The majority guessed somewhere between six and 12 months, with fewer suggesting it would be more than 18.
In the current environment, sponsors are spending far more time on preparing for exits than they normally would, the report said, noting this was surprising. “Our 2019 survey of 30 US-based private equity firms found that, on average, mid- and senior-level deal professionals spend only three to five per cent of their time actively preparing for exit.”
The report outlined how private equity players can make the most of exit preparations amid the pandemic, such as identifying and investing in areas of growth and refocusing on value creation. “Creating more value is an integral part of the holding-period playbook, but the crisis is giving companies a chance to pursue such efforts more deeply than they did before.”
Another method is for sponsors to adopt more resilient business models. “As we mentioned, the recession has revealed material weaknesses in some business models, such as those of specialty retailers that mistakenly saw themselves as essential to consumers and of retailers that lack bargaining power with suppliers,” the report said. “After solving their immediate liquidity issues, forward-thinking sponsors are making the hard choices now to pivot to a stronger and more resilient business model.”
Companies can also take this opportunity to reinvigorate current strategies.”The impact of COVID-19 on companies will differ greatly, both in direction (a positive or negative impact on performance) and the degree of change (small or drastic) required to adapt to the next normal. Smart companies and their sponsors— probably in touch with their investment bankers— should invest the time to understand which strategies can help create value and then begin planning accordingly.”


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Conway, AR — Snap-on Equipment officially dedicated its new Jack D. Michaels Training Center at a ceremony May 8 in honor of Snap-on Incorporated’s Board Chairman and past CEO and President, Jack D. Michaels. The day celebrated Michaels’ contribution to the productivity and innovation that have long been a part of Snap-on Incorporated’s corporate identity.
The official dedication was followed by a tour of the new facility, lunch and product demonstrations showcasing the latest innovative technology from Snap-on Equipment.
The new center offers training on automotive service equipment, customer service and effective sales strategies. Classes are available to direct sales agents, distributors and end-users of Snap-on Equipment products worldwide. The state-of-the-art facility includes classrooms equipped with the latest computer technology, an expansive service training area and an engineering lab.
The center operates 42 weeks a year with classes accommodating up to 20 trainees.
GearWrench Signs On as Hand Tool Sponsor of ‘Chop Cut Rebuild’
Baltimore — GearWrench announced its sponsorship of Speed TV’s “Chop Cut Rebuild,” the popular reality series that chronicles the restoration and customization of classic automobiles. During the show’s fifth season, experts and volunteers will rebuild a 1970 Plymouth Cuda and the world’s first crate-built 1953 Chevy pick-up truck.
As the official hand tool sponsor, GearWrench will provide tools to be used during the projects. The Chevy pick-up truck will be built by a team of volunteers at Classic Industries, and the Cuda relic will be restored by veteran builders at PG Custom Cars in Huntington Beach, CA.
The new season of “Chop Cut Rebuild” premiers this summer on Speed TV.
Makita Accelerates Racing Partnerships
La Mirada, CA — Makita U.S.A., Inc. has become the Official Power Tool Sponsor of Championship Off Road Racing (CORR). Makita has also become a sponsor of longtime CORR Series racers Team LeDuc, creating Rockstar Makita Team LeDuc Racing. Both sponsorships are an extension of the brand’s growing presence in live race events. The 2008 CORR season includes eight events at tracks in Los Angeles/Pomona, San Diego/Chula Vista and Las Vegas/Primm. The 2008 CORR races are scheduled to be broadcast on the NBC and SPEED networks.
In the second sponsorship, Makita has joined Rockstar Energy Drink and LeDuc Racing to form Rockstar Makita Team LeDuc Racing. The new Rockstar Makita Team LeDuc Racing will consist of drivers Curt and Kyle LeDuc in the Pro-4 class, Todd LeDuc in the Pro-2 class, and Brian Deegan in the Pro-LITE class. The family race team has been a fixture in CORR with 16 wins and 11 championships in the CORR Pro-4 class.
ETI Announces 2008-’09 Officers, New Directors
Rochester, MI — ETI congratulates the new 2008-’09 Officers and Board Members on their election to office beginning May 1, 2008:
Officers (one-year term): President – Dave Schaar (SPX Service Solutions);
Vice President, Programs – Randy Gard (Chief Automotive Technologies);
Vice President, Marketing – Steve Gill (ALLDATA);
Secretary/Treasurer – Mike Cable (Hickok);
and Immediate Past President – John Wiedemann (JS Products).
Directors: Ben Johnson (Delphi), Dan Brass (JS Products), Neil Davis (Snap-on Diagnostics), Richard Amador (Innova Electronics Corp.), Garret Miller (SPX Service Solutions), Sylvain Julien (Celette North America), Don Vanderheyden (Hennessy Industries) and Alan Tecmire (ETAS).
Bionic Wrench Receives Universal Design Award
Chicago — LoggerHead Tools has received an IF (International Forum Design GmbH) Universal Design Award for its Bionic Wrench product line, a new class of adjustable ergonomic wrenches, with a patented, mechanically efficient mechanism that distributes force equally around a nut or bolt. This is the only product manufactured in America to receive a 2008 IF Universal Design Award.
Since its launch in May 2005, LoggerHead has received 12 other international new product design awards for the Bionic Wrench and its other inventive product lines. The Universal Design Award is the first competition to focus on the principles of universal design exclusively, striving beyond the traditional attributes of form and function normally associated with award-winning product design.
The award winners were dominated by Asian and European companies, but the three U.S. companies that received awards were: Apple, Inc., Cupertino, CA; OXO International, New York, NY; and LoggerHead Tools, Chicago, IL with the Bionic Wrench being the only awarded product to be both designed and manufactured in the United States.
Dan Brown, designer and inventor of the Bionic Wrench, commented, “I am honored to receive this award. I believe the principles of universal and sustainable design are the foundation of future products. I am proud that we can continue to maintain our growth strategy as an American-made product in this hyper-competitive marketplace.”
Lincoln Electric Supports Welding Society in Campaign to Relieve Welder Shortage
Miami — The American Welding Society (AWS) announced that The Lincoln Electric Company will donate $300,000 to the AWS Foundation to help relieve a nationwide shortage of welders. In association with this donation, Lincoln and the AWS Foundation will collaborate on new marketing initiatives to promote welding careers and help bolster the ranks of welders.
Lincoln will donate the funds over a two-year period beginning this year. In addition, this donation will support the AWS Foundation’s Welder Workforce Development Program.
In other AWS news, the society has published it first-ever aluminum welding Q & A resource guide. Welding Aluminum – Questions and Answers includes a comprehensive listing of frequently asked questions and answers, general information and guidelines, and feature articles on welding aluminum.
The guide contains 192 pages, and includes 10 reference tables and 77 figures. The price is $124. A reduced rate of $93 is available to AWS individual members.
AWS publications may be purchased by calling toll-free 888-WELDING (888-935-3464); elsewhere, call 305-824-1177, fax to 305-826-6195, or order online at www.awspubs.com. A catalog listing all AWS standards and other documents is available for download from the AWS website, www.aws.org/catalogs.
YELLOW JACKET Announces RoHS-Compliant Refrigerant
Bloomington, MN — Ritchie Engineering Company, Inc. announced that its 230-volt automotive refrigerant management systems are now RoHS and SAE J2788 compliant.
RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) is a European Directive requiring that electrical and electronic equipment sold in Europe after 2006 must comply with the strict directive regulations limiting presence of mercury, cadmium, haxavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, or lead, including lead solders to certain levels. RoHS regulations have been adopted by many countries in addition to the European Union, including China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Canada.
“It was important to us as a global company to comply with the RoHS directive,” said Brian Flynn, Ritchie Engineering executive vice president. “We understand the global environmental impact of these banned substances and plan to do everything we can to limit our impact on the environment.”


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In print since 1792, the iconic publication has a lot to say about the staying power of the printed piece.
“Print,” says The Old Farmer’s Almanac publisher Sherin Pierce, “has been the most essential element in keeping this product alive.”
Those insightful words were spoken in a recent conversation Pierce had with Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni commemorating the 225th anniversary of the publication.
When asked what keeps the print edition going strong after more than two centuries, Pierce is clear: “The simple answer is the incredible love and affection that people have for the Old Farmer’s Almanac and that love started in its print form,” she notes. “Of course, that’s how the Almanac began back in 1792 and it developed a reputation of being credible and trustworthy, and something that people welcomed into their families and homes.”
They’ve been not just welcomed, but saved and often passed down through the generations, and aside from a few basics like Arm & Hammer baking soda and Baker’s Cocoa (both early advertisers in the Almanac) not many products have had this kind of longevity in the American marketing landscape.
It’s not entirely surprising then that the recent refresh of the design commemorating the 225th edition has been subtle rather than drastic.
“If it isn’t broken, you don’t fix it, so we enhanced it rather than a complete redesign,” Pierce explains. “It’s such a recognizable cover and you don’t want to do anything to damage that, but you want to, again, enhance certain elements that may have faded a bit over the past decades.”
And while the brand’s social media presence has been burgeoning (they boast 1.4 million Facebook followers), the primary essence of the publication is – and likely always will be – print. Like the famous “hole” in the cover that just can’t be replicated online, some things are better in print.
“See, that’s why when people said that print was dead, we always knew that for the Almanac to survive, we had to have print. We just had to. People need that and they want to see it,” Pierce notes.
Happy birthday to a true American original!


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Digital marketing agency Liqvd Asia has bagged the integrated social media and conversational marketing mandate of Nippon India Mutual Fund in a multi-agency pitch.
The agency will design the strategy, implement and manage the entire digital universe for Nippon India Mutual Fund, which includes social media management, digital creative design, influencer management and overall brand awareness.
Sandeep Walunj, CMO, Nippon India Mutual Fund, said, “The mutual fund industry is witnessing unprecedented growth. With a rising number of new investors increasingly taking control over their investments, there has been a marked shift in investors' behaviour in recent years. Digital has disrupted the way financial services companies communicate with customers; in the context of changing market dynamics, we wanted a strategic firm to help power our social media strategy. We are pleased to join hands with Liqvd Asia. Their expertise in financial services and broad knowledge across industries will help our brand grow and achieve desired communication goals.”
Arnab Mitra, Managing Director, Liqvd Asia, said, "These are exciting times to be in the BFSI space. Markets are at historic highs, and the growth of mutual funds, especially in the pandemic time, is very encouraging. The Liqvd Asia team is geared up for the Nippon India MF mandate. I believe the synergy that both LA and Nippon India MF bring to the table will bring about a quantum change in how integrated digital marketing is carried out for the category itself."
Nippon India Mutual fund (NIMF), the erstwhile Reliance Mutual Fund, is a leading mutual fund with average assets under management (AAUM) of Rs 2,40,364.38 crore and 113.66 lakh folios (as of June 30, 2021). NIMF offers investors a well-rounded portfolio of products to meet the varying investment goals and has a presence in 300 cities (as of March 31, 2019) across the country.


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Opens the door to low cost, ultra-thin and flexible displays
Nanosys and DIC today announced a breakthrough in inkjet-printed Quantum Dot colour conversion devices for LCD and emissive displays which they claim will pave the way to the $12.6 billion anticipated market for low cost, ultra-thin and flexible displays.
Hostile bid begins
Chipmaker Broadcom will take its first formal step on Monday toward a hostile bid to take over Qualcomm and will unveiling nominees who Qualcomm shareholders can vote on to replace the US semiconductor company’s board of directors.
Users pay for Apple’s spat
Apple users are having to pay in terms of performance if they are stuck with an iPhone X with an Intel modem.
Named him too
Gaming outfit Epic is trying to sue a 14 year old boy for cheating in its games and while the outfit is right to be hard on cheats, it might have bitten off more than it can chew in this case.
Peasants fed up with being told to eat gateau
It seems that French peasants are revolting at the way that the fruity cargo cult - Apple - is being allowed to avoid paying tax while they are being told to eat cake.
It is not just open sourcers who hate Intel's chip
One of Intel's key high-profile suppliers, Dell-EMC, is to purge the Intel Management Engine from its machines.
We don’t need no humans
In a sign that eventually machines will outclass humanity, Google’s AI has managed to create an AI that is better than anything a human designed.
Great product wrecked by Russian links
Arguably one of the best antivirus products has been effectively hamstrung in the US because it is claimed it has close ties to Russian spooks. Now Britain’s cybersecurity agency has warned government departments not to use Kaspersky Lab products amid concerns about Russian snooping.
Labour Court decides he knew what he was doing
A 60 year old electrician from Perth was rather cross when his firm handed out PDAs.


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Lithium-ion batteries have led to a revolution in consumer and industrial electronics that has paved the way for a wireless future with fewer carbon emissions. Recycling could potentially be a big business, one that grows along with the electric vehicle fleet. Experts say that by 2040 there will be 500 million electric passenger vehicles on the road worldwide (almost a third of the predicted passenger fleet). By then, the value of the raw materials in end-of-life lithium-ion batteries will have grown from about $0.3 billion in 2020 to $1.1 billion by 2025 and nearly $24 billion by 2040.
In light of these growing challenges and opportunities, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) aims to make the recycling of lithium-ion batteries easier, more efficient, and potentially greener. Encouraging results of these efforts recently appeared in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling.
Recycling can strengthen the supply chain for battery manufacturers by reducing the need to depend on potentially unreliable sources for new materials. That’s why the research was funded by the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute. One goal of the institute is to diversify the supply of critical energy materials, partly through reuse and recycling.
Today, only an estimated 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled. That is, to a degree, because the process is partly manual, involves high temperature and caustic chemicals, and is inefficient, according to Tedd Lister, an INL staff scientist and paper co-author.
The new process is electrochemical, Lister said. So, instead of heat, the energy comes from electricity, which powers the reactions that leach the cobalt, lithium, manganese and other materials out of the batteries. The researchers demonstrated the approach in a cell that measures a few inches on the side, small enough to be picked up.
The scientists started with shredded lithium-ion batteries, with material supplied by Retriev Technologies of Lancaster, Ohio. A battery recycling and management company, Retriev also participated in the research, as did Solvay, a Brussels-based company that supplied the chemicals used for metals separation.
See the full story at Idaho Falls Magazine LINK


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The Love Island stars have revealed they are teaming up to launch their very own fashion line.
Taking to Twitter, Alex wrote: "Exciting things to come from myself and my boy
@terrywalsh88 clothing line."
And Terry responded by tweeting: "@ab_bowen07 buzzin mate."
But despite no further details being released, fans are already excited about the collaboration.
So we caught up with Terry to find out exactly what the gorgeous duo have in store for us.
Speaking exclusively to Ok! Online Terry confirmed the collaboration, he said: "Alex and I are going to be launching our own clothing line soon.
"It's going to be our own designs and we will be modelling it.
"It won't happen over night but we're hoping to have it ready to launch for the New Year. Very very exciting."
Terry also revealed that the boys – who are still dating Olivia Buckland and Emma-Jane Woodhams from the show – have been discussing plans ever since meeting each other on Love Island.
He told us exclusively: "We have similar styles and I think as a duo it will be effective, as we have the same look but have opposite hair colours and skin tone."
He added: "We both made this decision whilst on Love Island, as we both love our fashion."
[Instagram]And it seems that planning is well underway, as Terry and Alex are due to meet up later today.
We're guessing that the new collection will feature lots of grey and khaki, as well as skinny jeans and oversized sweatshirts, just how Terry and Alex like it.
Watch this space!


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Halloween isn’t for another two weeks, but the tricks came early this year as investors were reminded that stocks can fall in price. So what caused last week’s sharp correction? You could blame rising interest rates, but they have been rising steadily for two years now. You could blame the trade wars but they began to bubble in the spring and then boil in the summer. Maybe Italy, but that was also a summer event. Brexit was a 2016 event, but we are getting closer to that deadline. Saudi Arabia was a surprise given their importance in the global oil trade, yes, they will definitely get some of the blame. But, if I had to point fingers, I would look to a decreasing corporate earnings outlook.
Earnings estimates going into the third quarter reporting season are very high. Over the last few weeks, we have had some warnings and guidance disappointments come out of the auto sector (F, BMW, DLPH), the materials sector (PPG), the luxury goods sector (LVMH), the industrial sector (FDX, FAST, FLR, CTAS), the semi sector (IPGP) and the consumer sector (CAG, CCL, GIS). On Friday we were given the early read from the big banks (JPM, C, WFC and PNC) and the results seemed to hit on 83% of their cylinders, but it just wasn’t good enough given where we are in the economic cycle. The next big move in the U.S. economy is not higher, it is lower. So companies need to be crushing it right now for investors to reward their share prices. As one looks through the early earnings releases or pre-announcements, you will find increasing difficulty in hitting the top line and rising margin pressures due to rising wages, raw material costs, and transportation costs. PPG, the world’s largest coatings company, gave up fighting the cost pressures last week and just decided to raise prices 10% across the board. So, guess what their auto and housing customers are going to do with their prices?
The stock market is a pretty efficient discounting machine. Right now, it sees growing evidence that corporate earnings will slow due to slowing global GDP, combined with rising cost pressures. As market interest rates rise due to rising inflation, Fed tightening and significant incoming supply ($1.5 trillion in Treasury debt in 2019), the hurdle rate for owning assets is also rising. Last night, Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy. This is probably something that should have occurred five years ago but with interest rates near zero percent, some investors thought it was worth giving this retailer a 2nd, 3rd and 4th chance. But now, in an era of 2.85% two-year, risk-free rates, Sears could no longer find anyone to give it cheap money for a 5th chance. While it will be a good thing to clean out the market and get rid of these zombie companies and put capital to more productive uses, it will be painful in the near term to watch companies go out of business while the ripples impact other companies and individuals.
So, in February the market sent us the first big warning to reduce risk as initial rising labor and input costs sent interest rates soaring higher. Then in June, the trade wars ramped up and impacted the auto and industrial stocks sending investors another warning. Now, corporate margin fears are taking center stage due to rising costs and the trade wars which is hitting stock prices and interest rates hard. For investors with a risk appetite, the foreseeable future doesn’t look like a treat anymore. I would not be looking to take much risk right now. If you want some long exposure, match it up with some short exposure. Keep an eye on the U.S. dollar to see if future weakness will provide you with an opportunity to make returns in overseas stocks and bonds. Enjoy your commodity positions which should also win if the dollar falls. And consider your treats the piles of cash that a well hedged portfolio will provide. When was the last time you made near 3% owning a risk-free asset? Now off to the Sears bankruptcy sale as I just heard that they are closing my store. Of course, I haven’t been there in 10+ years, but I am certain they would still have white sheets for sale for my Halloween costume.
When the head of the largest hedge fund speaks, you listen…
Bob Prince, co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater, believes the recent market turmoil was triggered by investors realising that this year’s strong economic growth and robust corporate earnings were likely peaking, as interest rates rise and the boost from tax cuts fades. “A lot of optimism about future earnings growth has been baked into equity valuations. But we are at a potential inflection point where the economy is moving from hot to mediocre,” Mr Prince said in an interview. Mr Prince, who manages Bridgewater’s $160bn of assets alongside founder Ray Dalio and co-CIO Greg Jensen, said: “We are now approaching the stage where monetary tightening could produce, perhaps not a big downturn, but more pressure.”…
Most bourses regained their footing on Friday, and US Treasury yields have fallen from the seven-year highs they touched at the peak of the bond rout. But Mr Prince cautioned that more turbulence was likely, given how major central banks, led by the Fed, were turning the screws on monetary policy. “This week could fade into history and we won’t remember it, but we are clearly shifting from an era of monetary easing to monetary tightening,” he said. “If that [a growth inflection point] is what is happening, then this won’t be a one-week event.”
Remember when Bernanke and Yellen use to bail out the market on big pullbacks?
After years of seemingly unquestioned central bank support — including the so-called “Fed Put” — stock and bond markets are transitioning away from a world where liquidity injections underpin asset prices and moving toward a greater role for fundamentals. Almost by definition, this is a volatile process: Think of a plane changing engines while flying at a high altitude. Turbulence is to be expected.
I watched the craziest episode of Black Mirror this week…
Good food for thought from the WSJ Editorial Board…
The question that no one can answer with certainty is whether the correction in asset prices will be longer and deeper because the Fed’s financial repression was so extended. Some of our friends think it is irrelevant and that higher corporate earnings and faster growth will carry stocks to new heights, give or take the occasional adjustment. We hope they’re right.But an honest assessment has to be that no one knows. We have never seen the kind of central bank experiment that Mr. Bernanke began and that Europe and Japan followed. It’s certainly possible that as long bond rates rise, capital will flow out of certain risk assets and back to a more normal pattern of investment allocation and risk.
No one knows, too, how much such a reversal will affect the real economy. Growth and overall economic confidence are strong enough now that even a major stock correction may not get in the way. Then again, if the “wealth effect” of rising 401(k)s and stock prices contributed to consumer confidence on the way up, perhaps it will subtract on the way down.
If the leadership themes that got us here are over, then it will take a while for new themes to develop. I’d stay away from those assets sharply breaking their 200-day moving averages.
Doug Ramsey, chief investment officer of the Leuthold Group, thinks the Sept. 20 high for the S&P 500 of 2930.75 may well mark the peak for the year, and perhaps even for the historic run that began in March 2009.
For confirmation of that, he’s looking for a breakdown in the leadership themes that have defined this bull market: growth stocks over value; U.S. assets over foreign assets; financial assets over real assets; and the relative strength in momentum stocks, which, as Ben Levisohn writes in the Trader column, has already begun to break down. If those other three “paw prints” of the bear are sighted, the beast’s return will be confirmed, Ramsey concludes.
Now the question is, does it lead by 9, 12 or 18 months?
Back to corporate margins, Goldman is concerned…
Mounting inflationary pressures on record-high net profit margins have also led to investor concerns. Rising US labor costs represents a key margin risk. Our economists’ Wage Survey Leading Indicator currently stands at 3.3%, the highest level this cycle. Additionally, our political economist believes there is a 60% chance that the US will impose tariffs on most or all of the $267 billion of Chinese imports that have not been previously targeted with tariffs (see US Daily, Sep. 20). In such a scenario, our estimate of 2019 S&P 500 EPS, currently $170, could fall as low as $159, eliminating all expected earnings growth next year. This estimate conservatively assumes no substitution to other suppliers, no pass-through of costs to consumers, no boost to domestic revenues, and no change in economic activity.
The PPG earnings pre-release scared the market silly on Tuesday…
Cuts Q3 $1.41-1.45 v $1.59e; Rev ~$3.8B v $3.87Be, attributed to softening demand in China, weaker automotive sales, and rising costs
Guides Q4 $1.03-1.13 v $1.35e
“In the third quarter, we continued to experience significant raw material and elevating logistics cost inflation, including the effects from higher epoxy resin and increasing oil prices,” said Michael McGarry, PPG chairman and chief executive officer.
“These inflationary impacts increased during the quarter and, as a result, we experienced the highest level of cost inflation since the cycle began two years ago.”
“Also, during the quarter, we saw overall demand in China soften, and we experienced weaker automotive refinish sales as several of our U.S. and European customers are carrying high inventory levels due to lower end-use market demand,” McGarry added.
“Finally, the impact from weakening foreign currencies, primarily in emerging regions, has resulted in a year-over-year decrease in income of about $15 million. This lower demand, coupled with the currency effects, was impactful to our year-over-year earnings and is expected to continue for the balance of the year.”
“We expect sales volume growth of about 2 percent, excluding the unfavorable impact from the previously announced customer assortment changes in the U.S. architectural coatings business. In addition, we expect higher selling prices sequentially versus the second quarter.”
“We are anticipating continued raw material cost inflation in the fourth quarter, but at a more modest year-over-year rate given the inflation spike that occurred in the fourth quarter 2017. Improving our segment operating margins remains a priority, and we expect margins to be comparable versus the fourth quarter 2017 in aggregate. We currently expect fourth quarter earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $1.03 to $1.13, with the wide range primarily due to finalizing our full year tax rate. We remain committed to earnings-accretive cash deployment and expect to deploy approximately $1 billion on either acquisitions or share repurchases during the fourth quarter.”
Double-digit inflation at the household level…
The U.S. Postal Service proposed raising the price of a first-class stamp by 10% to 55 cents and increasing rates on a popular option used by Amazon.com Inc. and other shippers by more than 12% as the agency seeks to shore up its finances.
The increase on first-class stamps would be the largest on a percentage basis in more than three decades.
Ford is doing all it can to manage the global supply chain disruptions from the trade wars…
Unfortunately, that now means job cuts to try and stay profitable.
Jim Hackett, Ford’s CEO, is working to engineer a $25.5 billion restructuring of the automaker, hoping to cut costs and remain competitive, the Wall Street Journal reports. But auto sales are down, and one reason is the trade tariffs that Trump has imposed on metals and other goods. According to Bloomberg, Hackett has said they have already cost the company $1 billion in profit and could do “more damage” if the disputes aren’t resolved quickly.
Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker by sales, is making aggressive job cuts as part of that reorganization, NBC News reported. While the company hasn’t said how many jobs will be lost, a report from Morgan Stanley estimates “a global headcount reduction of approximately 12 percent,” or 24,000 of Ford’s 202,000 workers worldwide.”
While reports have indicated that the job cuts are likely to come early next year, The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday that Ford has temporarily halted production of transit vans in Claycomo, Mo. The move is intended to prevent a build-up in Ford’s inventories of the vans, but it will leave 2,000 workers idle between Oct. 22 and Nov. 4.
Last week’s trade balance data shows you how supply chains are being disrupted…
This spike in U.S. trade with China is being caused by U.S. customers buying aggressively in the advance of the trade tariffs. This is an inefficient use of capital and will cause margins and cash flows to be negatively impacted.
And now the trade wars are messing with Texas…
U.S. oil exports to China have slowed to a trickle amid the trade spatbetween Washington and Beijing, in an abrupt reversal that is upending global crude trade flows and forcing American producers to find new buyers.
China was the biggest buyer of U.S. crude oil in the first half of this year. But in August, U.S. crude exports to China, the world’s largest oil importer, fell to zero, according to tanker tracking data surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. In September, only 30,000 barrels a day of U.S. oil went to China, down from an average of over 350,000 barrels in the year up till July.
Gary Cohn was one of the few in the White House who understood global trade…
Now the rest of America is learning how it works. For many, it will be a painful lesson.
Kent International Inc., a bicycle company, opened a factory in Manning, S.C., in 2014 to start assembling some of the bicycles it sells to Walmart Inc. and other retailers. It currently employs about 167 people.
Kent planned to expand the facility next year by importing steel tubes cut in China for painting and welding. It planned to hire another 30 to 40 workers at the plant, which assembles about 300,000 of the roughly 3 million bicycles the company sells world-wide each year.
“When we started getting wind of tariffs and were confident cut tubes would be subject to the tariffs, we stopped,” said Arnold Kamler, majority owner of the company and its chief executive for more than 30 years. Instead, he is traveling to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Taiwan to find new suppliers for Chinese products hit by tariffs.
“We are not bringing jobs back to America with this thing,” Mr. Kamler said. “We are bringing jobs to different countries in Southeast Asia.”
Companies hit by the tariffs aren’t simply raising prices to offset the added costs. Some business owners say they are delaying plans to expand their U.S. footprint, looking at dropping product lines or shifting production offshore.
“Overall, manufacturing in the short-term in the U.S. is worse off because of the tariffs,” said Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, a nonprofit that helps manufacturers make decisions about relocating production.
The St. Louis Fed just dug into the root cause of the U.S. trade deficit and they are not a fan of a trade war with China…
There are three likely outcomes from an extended trade conflict with China: (1) Chinese imports will become more expensive; (2) U.S. trade deficits will shift to other countries with similar comparative advantages in producing labor-intensive goods; and (3) U.S. exports to China will become more expensive as a result of China’s retaliation. None of the above is likely to increase U.S. exports and reduce its trade deficits.
Most important, a trade war with China cannot stop declining American manufacturing employment if it is driven mainly by rapid technology progress, such as automation, robots and artificial intelligence. Instead, it may significantly reduce American consumers’ welfare and cause the U.S. to lose its leadership in free trade and globalization.
The U.S. has a long, successful history of promoting public education that has allowed workers to remain skilled and adaptable to a changing world. Therefore, the U.S. may need to more effectively promote education and job training programs that will allow Americans to better compete in a rapidly changing global environment. This policy will not necessarily increase manufacturing employment per se but would train workers for highly skilled manufacturing and services, which are the future of the economy.
In its semiannual outlook released this week, the International Monetary Fund said the U.S. economy is already operating above its normal capacity, and the fiscal boost coming from lower taxes and increased spending “could lead to an inflation surprise,” triggering rapid rate increases, global financial turmoil, and a stronger dollar, all bad for global growth. It says Mr. Trump’s higher tariffs, in particular on Chinese imports, and resulting retaliation, could further hurt growth. J.P. Morgan estimates tariffs could temporarily boost inflation 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points next year.
One pessimistic scenario is that the threat of inflation from tight labor markets, higher oil prices and tariffs will spur the Fed to raise interest rates above neutral into restrictive territory, just as the stimulus from tax cuts fades around 2020.
Much depends on how much room the Fed thinks the economy has to run. Optimistic analysts think it has a lot. The expansion since 2009 has been long in part because the postcrisis environment has discouraged the sorts of risk-taking and imbalances that bring on a recession, such as heavy private sector borrowing.
Plenty more earnings releases this week to evaluate…
There is little good news in the housing sector…
No reason to buy housing stocks until the second derivative of inventory turns negative. It could take months or years.
Here is a chart of the Homebuilder ETF along with it’s new cliff diving partner, the Regional Bank ETF…
@361Capital: If you think the market is out of the woods, then here are 2 charts to make you sleep with one eye open this weekend… $ITB $KRE
If not for QE and ZIRP, Sears would have disappeared years ago. So the good thing about higher rates is the zombie companies will be finally laid to rest and future capital can be put to more productive uses.
My Sears won’t make it to Christmas. These retailers will benefit…
I know that I am not the only Global Macro player to find this chart attractive…
Now, if the White House would stop with the Trade Wars, we might really see what upside there is in commodity prices.
If you are long tobacco stocks or bonds, you might want to study up on vaping…
The FDA should chill out and take a lesson from the more relaxed attitudes to vaping in countries such as Germany and the UK. Tobacco causes cancer, lung problems and heart disease, killing 480,000 Americans a year, and nicotine is the addictive alkaloid in tobacco. But these two facts do not prove that nicotine is a dangerous drug that needs to be treated as an equal menace.
Worse than a category error, this would be stupid. Getting a nicotine habit is a waste of money, and puffing from what looks like a USB drive may lead others to question your sanity. But it is nothing like as dangerous as smoking — the best estimates are that ecigarettes convey about 0.5 per cent of the cancer risk and 5 per cent of the overall health risk of cigarettes.
Health campaigners ought to welcome vaping, rather than confusing smokers with grim warnings that make it sound as if ecigarettes are not much better than the real thing. The reason why shares of tobacco companies such as Philip Morris International, the world’s largest, have fallen sharply is that smokers in developed economies are increasingly giving up, partly thanks to the arrival of satisfying substitutes.
Teenagers really should not vape, since there is some medical evidence that nicotine affects their brain development (although the same can be said of caffeine, and Nespresso pods do not carry health warnings). But the risk is not so high that it justifies encouraging adults to keep smoking in order to cut off the supply of Juuls and other vaping devices to school students.
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A couple weeks ago the Air Jordan 8 “Playoffs” was featured in our “Sneaker Talk” column, and it looks like Jordan Brand was listening as they will be returning the classic colorway. Next year 2013, Jordan Brand will be celebrating their 20th anniversary of Michael Jordan’s first Three-Peat, and to do so we will be seeing many classic returns of the journey that MJ wore. Much like the “Aqua” Air Jordan 8, the “Playoffs” Air Jordan 8 will be hitting retailers this Summer 2013. Stay tuned to Sneaker Bar for more info on this developing story.
*These are not the 2013 model*


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China criticised India's decision to ban Chinese apps and cited its own openness in accepting Tagore, Yoga and Indian movies. It also said that India’s action was sacrificing the rights and interests of the Indian users while damaging those of Chinese companies.
On September 2, India banned 118 more mobile apps with Chinese links, including the Tencent's popular game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), citing data privacy concerns and a threat to national security, taking the total count of Chinese-linked mobile apps banned by New Delhi to 224.
India's move came amid fresh border tensions with China in eastern Ladakh.
Following this, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Hua Chunying said, "By banning these hi-tech, easy-to-use and popular apps, the Indian side is sacrificing first and foremost the rights and interests of the Indian users, and damaging those of Chinese companies. Therefore, no one gains from such an action."
She noted that both India and China are close neighbours and proud of their civilisations. “The start of our exchange and mutual learning can date back to 1,000 years ago. The great Indian poet Tagore is very popular in China,” said Chunying.
She said Tagore’s poems are popular in China, and then quoted a line from one of his poems: “We read the world wrong, and say that it deceives us”.
Yoga and Indian movies like "Dangal" are also very popular in China, she said. "However, it never crossed our mind that India is trying to infiltrate or pose any threat to our country," she said in an updated statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.
She said the intermingling of different cultures is conducive to promoting people's mutual understanding and friendship.
"So, we hope that India will attach importance to the two peoples' friendship and long-term interests and work to promote bilateral exchange and cooperation in various fields," the spokesperson said.
She also noted that the US State Department on the same day cited New Delhi's ban and called on other countries to join India to join the Clean Network programme.
"I wonder if there's connection or coordination between India and the US on this issue," she claimed. "But India, as a country proudly possessing an ancient civilisation, is wise enough to have known about Dirtbox, PRISM, Irritant Horn, Muscular and Undersea Cable Tapping. It knows fully well whether the US is clean or dirty when it comes to US policies and practices.
(With inputs from PTI)


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March 27, 2023
Trustpilot secures first court orders banning property firm and dental practice from buying and writing fake reviews
Announcement comes as part of platform’s continued push to protect consumers online
LONDON, UK - MARCH 27, 2022 – Trustpilot today announces it has been successful in securing its two first court orders banning property firm, Euro Resales, and dental practice, The Dental Experts, from buying and submitting fake reviews on its platform.
The leading reviews platform issued legal proceedings against both businesses after they failed to respond to earlier enforcement action - including formal Cease & Desist notices and public Consumer Warnings that Trustpilot had placed on their profiles to warn consumers about their efforts to mislead through the purchase of fake reviews.
Euro Resales has been ordered to pay damages - all of which will be donated to the Citizens Advice Bureau, which works to champion and protect consumer rights - as well as legal costs to Trustpilot. Harley Street-based The Dental Experts has also been issued with a court order banning the business’s owners, and any future businesses they set up, from soliciting fake reviews. The firm, which has since entered insolvency proceedings, has also been ordered to pay damages - which are currently being agreed and, when received, will also be donated to Citizens Advice Bureau.
Trustpilot’s Fraud and Investigations team found evidence to suggest more than 360 fake reviews had been posted by Euro Resales, whereas in the case of The Dental Experts, 1,868 suspected fake reviews have been identified and removed since May 2020, when the business claimed its profile - which is approximately 58 percent of all reviews submitted about the business on Trustpilot.
A public warning was also placed - and remains - on both Euro Resales’ Trustpilot page and The Dental Experts’ Trustpilot page, alerting consumers of the businesses’ abuse of the platform and informing them of the fact Trustpilot has successfully sued them.
Both cases are part of the company’s enforcement strategy announced last year. Trustpilot is issuing legal proceedings against a number of offenders who have not responded to previous warnings from the review platform, seeking court orders to protect consumers by preventing the businesses from continuing to solicit fake reviews, and to recover damages that can be donated to charities protecting consumers online.
Carolyn Jameson, Chief Trust Officer at Trustpilot, said: “Attempts to exploit reviews to mislead consumers is activity that we do not tolerate at Trustpilot. As these cases prove, we are doing everything we can to protect consumers from this, and hold businesses that continuously break our rules to account. We welcome these court orders which we hope will act as a warning to others.
“Millions of consumers rely on Trustpilot to make more informed decisions every day, so it’s crucial they can trust the information they see on our platform. Manipulation of reviews doesn’t just undermine the efforts of those businesses who do seek to improve for their customers - it also has the potential to mislead consumers, leave them shortchanged and even impact their mental health.”
Reviews of Euro Resales on Trustpilot suggest many consumers have been left out of pocket by the business. Anthony Ferdinando, a pensioner from Lincolnshire, is one such customer. After his wife inherited a property in France following her father’s death last year, Anthony and his wife paid Euro Resales £600 in February 2022 to market and sell the property - but quickly after making payment, the business stopped responding, forcing Anthony to find and pay a new estate agent to sell the property.
Anthony said: “We’re pensioners, and this experience with Euro Resales has really left us out of pocket. We’ve lost sleep over it. My wife is really upset; this was her father’s house and we just feel really empty. These people seem to prey on people who trust them and know what they’re doing, when you speak to them they’re so convincing. It’s really damaged our trust in other people but we hope in sharing our story it might help other people avoid being scammed.”
Mohammed Atif Jamil, from Halifax, says he paid The Dental Experts for composite bonding and a crown replacement - only to have four bonds break off completely or crack, and to never have the crown replacement fitted, despite chasing for a year. He was also promised a part refund of £500, which to date he has not received.
Mohammed said: “My experience with The Dental Experts has completely damaged my trust; I feel manipulated by them. Several times I attempted the eight hour round trip down to London only for them to call and cancel at the very last minute - they made so many promises only to let me down. Unfortunately I made the mistake of reading about people’s genuine negative experiences only after I made the deposit, and by then it was too late.”
Student Conni Scott, from Islington, also paid for composite bonding from The Dental Experts, but the treatment left her gums swollen and cut, and she quickly developed ulcers. She said: “I’ve had to pay thousands of additional pounds to fix the damage Dental Experts made to my teeth. Honestly, the harm they’ve caused has made my mental health nosedive. Because I can’t hide my teeth, my self esteem has never been worse - I paid Dental Experts in the hope they would help me gain some confidence but instead they’ve knocked it and me feel a hundred times worse. I was promised a refund but they either ignore me or make excuse after excuse, and I know I’m just one of hundreds of people they’ve treated this way - it’s so sad.”
Lisa Stubbs, who lives in east London, paid £1,649 to The Dental Experts for composite bonding, after seeing their advertising on Instagram. She said: “After exchanging a few messages and sending an image of my teeth over social media, the business confirmed they would be able to help and I made payment. After receiving the payment, things quickly unravelled and the practice cancelled my appointment on three separate occasions.
“When I finally did get to go in, they didn’t even do a full consultation before beginning the procedure and I quickly noticed the quality wasn’t up to standard - over the next few weeks many of the teeth chipped and bonds fell off, and other teeth had discolouration. I raised this with the practice and was given different information each time, they offered me a partial refund only to then deny this and claim they wouldn’t do it. What was meant to be a positive experience escalated into something really negative and it has left me much more cautious and untrusting.
""It is genuinely so reassuring to see Trustpilot taking a stand against fake reviews. So many people affected have complained to various authorities, the police, the CQC, and the GDC etc but have got nowhere, so this really feels like a positive step in the right direction."
The orders against Euro Resales and Dental Experts follows another case won by Trustpilot earlier this year against software provider Elfsight, after it had created and marketed a counterfeit Trustpilot app extension — known as a ‘widget’ — enabling businesses to display inaccurate Trustpilot reviews and ratings, and misrepresent their TrustScore on their own websites. These unauthorised widgets had the potential to mislead and scam vulnerable consumers out of their money.
To find out more and for more information, please visit www.trustpilot.com/trust.


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With HTC and Samsung done announcing new devices, at least for now, we still have a couple more companies who need to show off their plans for 2015; the biggest being LG. Speaking at MWC, LG’s Cho Juno, who heads the company’s mobile business, spoke of the upcoming G4, as well as a new device that will, “stand above the G series.”
Let the hype begin.
Said to be released in the second half of 2015, Juno states that LG aims to claim the number 3 spot in the list of global smartphone market share between OEMs, and that the G4, plus this other new device should solidify that goal.
Further details for the ultra premium device, which is reported to be a 10% premium over the G4, are scarce at the moment. However, the executive spoke of LG’s hard push to produce its own in-house application processor, eliminating the company’s need to outsource silicon from Qualcomm. This same move was made by Samsung in the latest Galaxy devices, if you have not been keeping up on the news.
Speaking on the highly anticipated G4, Juno claims that his company has put in a lot of work to the user experience, so much so that LG will announce UX 4.0 in a separate event ahead of the G4 launch. “We will announce LG UX 4.0 before announcing the LG G4. I think it is simply the best and the issue is how to best fit the new UX system into the G4 smartphone,” Juno told reporters.
As for the hardware, it is reported that LG will move away from plastic shells for the G4, instead optioning for premium metal bodies. According to Korea Times, who spoke with LG, “It will have major overhaul in surface design and deliver significant improvements in user-experience.”
When asked about his opinion on Samsung’s Galaxy S6, Juno stated, “Samsung did a very good job with the Galaxy S6 smartphone. I believe our G4 will also be good. With higher expectations, LG put huge resources into the LG G4.”
Of course, these same hardware and software adjustments are what we heard about Samsung ahead of the Galaxy S6 launch, so if most of it pans out to be true, potential G4 owners could be in for one serious treat.


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Privately held Adap.tv, which helps advertisers buy video-advertising space on thousands of websites, is expanding into Asia by setting up a research and development center in India’s southern city of Hyderabad.
The fast-growing Adap.tv, founded in 2007 by Amir Ashkenazi, is based in San Mateo, Calif. The company, which also has offices in Sydney, New York and London, said its revenue nearly tripled to $100 million in 2012. Its competitors include BrightRoll, Google and other video-ad “marketplaces” that match buyers with sellers. Video ads are generally 15- or 30-second spots that appear before someone watches a video of their choosing.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with Mr. Ashkenazi, who also founded shopping.com and later sold it to eBay Inc., on Adap.tv’s plans and ambitions for the new global R&D center in India.


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Apple is possibly gearing up for a product launch event on March 23
An updated iPad Pro, AirTags, and new AirPods are all expected to be announced.
Apple has a bunch of rumored products in the pipeline, and we could see what the company has been up to thanks to a possible product launch event being held on March 23.
Infamous Apple leaker, Jon Prosser (along with DuanRui), claims Apple is gearing up for a press event on March 23. Typically, the company holds these sorts of events in March to announce a new iPad. And that’s exactly what’s happening. According to Prosser, the company plans to announce a new iPad Pro.
But it doesn’t stop there. Rumor has it the company plans on announcing the launch of AirTags, new AirPods, and an updated version of Apple TV. Naturally, the Tim Cook company hasn’t confirmed any of this, so it’s possible none of this may even be true. But given Prosser’s track record with previous rumors, he’s usually spot on.
- Apple’s long-awaited mixed-reality headset could release in 2022
- iPhone users won’t actually be able to set their favorite music player to default
- For the first time, Spotify podcasts will surpass Apple Podcasts listeners in 2021
- Apple launched a tool to transfer iCloud photos to Google Photos – here’s how to use it


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“The unprecedented plastic waste tide plaguing our oceans and shores, can become as limited as our chosen relationship with plastics, which involves a dramatic behavioral change on our part…”
Captions and Photo: © SAF — Coastal Care
UN Environment launched today an unprecedented global campaign to eliminate major sources of marine litter: microplastics in cosmetics and the excessive, wasteful usage of single-use plastic by the year 2022.
Launched at the Economist World Ocean Summit in Bali, the #CleanSeas campaign is urging governments to pass plastic reduction policies; targeting industry to minimize plastic packaging and redesign products; and calling on consumers to change their throwaway habits – before irreversible damage is done to our seas.
Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment, said, “It is past time that we tackle the plastic problem that blights our oceans. Plastic pollution is surfing onto Indonesian beaches, settling onto the ocean floor at the North Pole, and rising through the food chain onto our dinner tables. We’ve stood by too long as the problem has gotten worse. It must stop.”
Throughout the year, the #CleanSeas campaign will be announcing ambitious measures by countries and businesses to eliminate microplastics from personal care products, ban or tax single-use bags, and dramatically reduce other disposable plastic items.
Ten countries have already joined the campaign with far-reaching pledges to turn the plastic tide. Indonesia has committed to slash its marine litter by a massive 70 per cent by 2025; Uruguay will tax single-use plastic bags later this year and Costa Rica will take measures to dramatically reduce single-use plastic through better waste management and education.
Each year, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the oceans, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and tourism, and costing at least $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems. Up to 80 per cent of all litter in our oceans is made of plastic.
According to some estimates, at the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than fish and an estimated 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic.
Media personality Nadya Hutagalung supports #CleanSeas by calling on the cosmetics industry to stop adding microplastics to their products. As many as 51 trillion microplastic particles – 500 times more than stars in our galaxy – litter our seas, seriously threatening marine wildlife.
Singer-songwriter and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Jack Johnson pledged to engage with fans and encourage venues for his 2017 Summer Tour to reduce single-use plastics. Johnson is also promoting a new documentary The Smog of the Sea, which highlights the issue of microplastics permeating the world’s oceans.
“I support the Clean Seas campaign because I believe there are better alternatives to single-use disposable plastics, and that we as consumers can encourage innovation and ask businesses to take responsibility for the environmental impact of the products they produce,” said Jack Johnson.
“We can all start today by making personal commitments to reduce plastic waste by carrying reusable shoppings bags and water bottles, saying no to straws and choosing products without microbeads and plastic packaging. We can also support the efforts of the emerging youth leaders around the world working for healthy and plastic free oceans.”
Globally recognized brands are also joining the fight. DELL Computers unveiled today a commercial-scale supply chain using plastic which has been fished out of the sea near Haiti. The computer giant will use the recovered ocean plastic in its product packaging.
“DELL is committed to putting technology and expertise to work for a plastic-free ocean,” said Dell’s Vice President for Global Operations Piyush Bhargava. “Our new supply chain brings us one step closer to UN Environment’s vision of Clean Seas by proving that recycled ocean plastic can be commercially re used.”
All these actions will be crucial to stemming the tide of marine litter. Today, we are producing twenty times more plastic than in the 1960s. Around one third of all plastic is used for packaging. By 2050 our plastic production will have to grow three to four times to satisfy our demand. A large portion will end up in oceans where it will remain for centuries.
Actor Adrian Grenier, known for his role in hit TV show and film Entourage, and founder of Lonely Whale Foundation has joined the #CleanSeas campaign, asking people to re-think their daily choices.
“Whether we choose to use plastic bags at the grocery store or sip through a plastic straw, our seemingly small daily decisions to use plastics are having a dramatic effect on our oceans,” said Adrian Grenier. “We have the power to effect change.
“Today I take this public pledge to do my part to refuse single use plastics, starting with the plastic straw, and also reaffirm my commitment to work with leaders such as Dell to reduce plastic packaging. If we start with one small change and hold each another accountable, I believe that together we can inspire global action for the health of our oceans.”
To clean up ocean plastics, increase focus on coasts, Science Daily (01-19-2016)
The most efficient way to clean up ocean plastics and avoid harming ecosystems is to place plastic collectors near coasts, according to a new study…
New UN report finds marine debris harming more than 800 species, costing countries millions; United Nations (12-05-2016)
Marine debris is negatively affecting more than 800 animal species and causing serious losses to many countries’ economies, according to a United Nations report launched December 5th, 2016…
People may be breathing in microplastics, health expert warns; Guardian UK (05-10-2016)
People could be breathing in microparticles of plastic, according to a leading environmental health expert, with as yet unknown consequences on health…
More plastic than fish in the sea by 2050, Guardian UK (01-19-2016)
One refuse truck’s-worth of plastic is dumped into the sea every minute, and the situation is getting worse, according to a new report launched at the World Economic Forum today. New plastics will consume 20% of all oil production within 35 years, up from an estimated 5% today…
From oil use to ocean pollution: five facts about the plastics industry, Guardian UK (01-24-2016)
The world of plastics is in drastic need of reform. A new report released at Davos highlights some startling facts about the huge environmental and resource impacts of a fast growing plastics industry…
Biodegradable Plastics Are Not the Answer to Reducing Marine Litter, UN News Center (11-23-2015)
Widespread adoption of products labelled ‘biodegradable’ will not significantly decrease the volume of plastic entering the ocean or the physical and chemical risks that plastics pose to marine environment, concluded a UN report released today…
Plastic Pollution / When The Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide, Coastal Care ©-2009.
For more than 50 years, global production and consumption of plastics have continued to rise. An estimated 300 million tons of plastics were produced in 2015, confirming and upward trend over the past years, according to a new report by the World Economics Forum, released at Davos in January 2016.
Plastic is versatile, lightweight, flexible, moisture resistant, strong, and relatively inexpensive. Those are the attractive qualities that lead us, around the world, to such a voracious appetite and over-consumption of plastic goods. However, durable and very slow to degrade, plastic materials that are used in the production of so many products all, ultimately, become waste with staying power. Our tremendous attraction to plastic, coupled with an undeniable behavioral propensity of increasingly over-consuming, discarding, littering and thus polluting, has become a combination of lethal nature… — © SAF — Coastal Care


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The value of Irish food and drink exports in 2013 reached 10 billion euros (13.6 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time, up 9 percent from the previous year, according to official figures on Wednesday.
The figures, released by Bord Bia, the Irish food board, represents an increase of 40 percent in the last four years with revenues almost 3 billion euros higher than in 2009.
Export values for dairy product and ingredients exceeded 3 billion euros for the first time and strong performances for meat and livestock (3.3 billion euros) and prepared foods (1.65 billion euros) all contributed to the positive outcome.
Bord Bia said Britain remains the largest export destination for Irish food and drink with 42 percent of exports worth an estimated 4.1 billion euros reaching that market in 2013.
Meanwhile, exports of food and drink to other EU markets increased by 11 percent in 2013, reaching 3.2 billion euros with the key markets of Germany, France and the Netherlands all recording double digit growth.
Strong exports to Asia, and to a lesser extent Russia, contributed positively toward an increase of 6 percent in the value of trade to international markets, which exceeded 2.6 billion euros in the period.
Exports to China grew by over 40 percent, with values trebling over the last three years to reach 390 million euros in 2013.
Bord Bia said China's is now Ireland's sixth largest market overall, driven in particular by strong dairy and pork exports, adding that seafood and beverage exports are also growing solidly albeit from a lower base, while eventual access to the beef market will act to further broaden the industry's presence in the world's fastest growing market.
The inclusion of hide exports from the beef industry would bring the market's value overall for the sector to 432 million euros, according to Bord Bia.


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A new report has suggested once again that Apple is working on its first in-house pair of over-ear headphones. Although no name for the headphones has yet leaked, they’re expected to launch at some point in 2019.
Of course, Apple-owned Beats already produces a wide range of over-ear headphones. The difference here is that Apple’s own-branded device would focus more on the premium end of the audio market, according to Bloomberg, and would also carry Apple branding — which has remained absent from Beats headphones ever since the acquisition in 2014.
Related: Apple HomePod
That’s about all the information we have about the headphones at this point, but already we’re pretty excited about what could be in store.
W1 meets HomePod
The reason for this is Apple’s W1 chip, which has already impressed us with its rock-solid wireless connectivity and impressive battery life.
The problem is that so far the chip has been paired with pretty uninteresting headphones. The AirPods have a sleek form-factor but they don’t sound especially great, and Beats headphones prioritise a bassy sound signature over an open, neutral sound.
Meanwhile, Apple has shown that it’s perfectly capable of producing amazing sounding devices in house. For all the valid criticisms you could level at the HomePod, poor sound quality is certainly not one of them.
Related: Best headphones
So if Apple could combine the HomePod’s sound quality with a pair of headphones with the W1 chip built in, we’ll be very excited to hear the results.
Nothing has been confirmed by Apple, but with a 2019 release date rumoured we’ve got our fingers crossed for a reveal at Apple’s traditional September iPhone launch event.
What would you like to see from a pair of over-ear Apple headphones? Let us know @TrustedReviews.


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A Full Term For Clement as Supreme Court Chief Justice Has Been Approved!
The medicinal dispensary House of Dank on Fort Street, close to the border of Lincoln Park, began selling marijuana to adults on Wednesday, marking the beginning of legal recreational sales in Detroit. Dacut, a medicinal Marijuana dispensary on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit’s Eden Gardens area, began selling recreational marijuana a few hours later on the other side of the city.
Crystal Jamo, the general manager of House of Dank, stated, “Going recreational in Detroit is a significant milestone for us.” To put it simply, “Pinch me, is it real?” comes to mind because we’ve been waiting for this moment for so long.
House of Dank’s general counsel, Mike DiLaura, said that after the dispensary received the final approval needed to begin selling recreational marijuana from the state of Michigan late Tuesday afternoon, the company began transporting recreational marijuana products from its distribution center and moving products from the vaults of other House of Dank stores to the Fort Street dispensary.
He predicted an “explosion” of new products “today and all weekend long.” “Sadly, it is what the future holds for the Motor City. Currently, the recreational market in Michigan much outstrips the medicinal market in terms of product diversity.”
Signs announcing the dispensary’s sale of recreational Marijuana went up Wednesday morning. General Manager Brenda Essmyer at DaCut said early Wednesday afternoon that they had begun adding recreational products to the system and that they anticipated making their first recreational transaction within the next few hours.
As the capital of Michigan, the launch of recreational cannabis sales has been eagerly anticipated by both the cannabis industry and its customers ever since the drug was legalized in the state in 2018. Detroit spent months developing an ordinance to welcome these enterprises into the neighborhood, only to have a federal judge declare it “likely unlawful,” prompting the city to draft a new policy that was also challenged in court.
A major legal hurdle was passed at the end of last month, and the city of Detroit has now revealed the successful applicants for its recreational Marijuana licenses, which will be issued in December. Among the initial pool of 33 candidates, House of Dank and DaCut are two of the only ones to meet all the criteria for a recreational dispensary and be granted a license.
Ninety people in Detroit applied for only sixty available recreational marijuana licenses. Assuming the City Council gives the go-ahead, the second application round may begin as early as the end of January. As many as 30 shop licenses, 20 microbusiness licenses, and 20 consumption lounge licenses will be granted by the city in the second round of licensing.


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Young Business Forum
Tracey Fellows addressed a Young Business Forum reception of 150 young executives where she was interviewed by Lisa Creffield, Sky Business News. This Young Business Forum was presented by ANZ and generously hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
As we enter the new low-carbon, post global financial crisis economy, business will be relying even more on innovation to drive sustainability and growth - and technology will probably play the most significant role.
The story of Microsoft from 1975 mirrors the greatest economic developments since the Industrial Revolution, yet what lies ahead will be even more amazing!
As Managing Director, Tracey Fellows is responsible for driving Microsoft’s overall business across the region.
Tracey is responsible for meeting the needs of Microsoft’s government, business and consumer customers including Microsoft’s 14,000 partners and independent software vendors producing leading edge technology solutions.
Young Business Forum Presenting Sponsor
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