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Palm (s palm) is the Jack Bauer of the mobile industry. Its story is one of high-tension drama in which it lurches from one crisis to another, saving itself from the jaws of despair only to face some new and more daunting threat, all while the clock ominously ticks away. But Palm’s current management is cunning, and we’ve learned never to write it off as finished.
The latest grim plot twist came last week when Palm reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings. Smartphones sold to consumers fell 4 percent from a year ago, before Palm even debuted the Pre. A costly ad campaign sank gross margins to 25.6 percent from 27.9 percent a quarter earlier. And the number of apps for sale in the Palm store now totals a mere 800, the company said, compared with 16,000 in the Android Market (s goog) and more than 100,000 in Apple’s (s aapl) App Store.
Now that Palm is once again backed into a corner, it’s tempting to sit back and wait for its dramatic recovery. But this corner is a particularly dark one because the company’s best-laid plans and its promising webOS software, backed by the biggest marketing spend in years, aren’t translating into big sales. How will Palm extract itself from this predicament?
For starters, it needs to fix two problems: Its failure to connect with consumers, and its failure to connect with developers.
First, consumers. Hitching Palm’s star to Sprint (s s) may have been an expedient first step, but the longer the Pre and the Pixi fail to find a home on a bigger carrier, the harder it will be for Palm to catch up. Palm itself admits that sales through Sprint have been “lower-than-expected.” That’s CFO-speak for “unacceptable.”
Jonathan Rubinstein, Palm’s CEO, said in the earnings call he’s “very, very excited about our future opportunities with a variety of carriers.” That could mean anything, but it led some analysts to believe a deal with Verizon is around the corner. While that would provide a huge boost for Palm’s future, Verizon has been something of a tease. Last May, Verizon’s CEO said his company would sell the Pre “in six months” – a deadline that has come and gone. Later, a January 2010 date was floated, but in the meantime Verizon has grown enamored with Android phones.
Even if Palm did partner with Verizon, it’s got to stop wasting its money on ads that aren’t working. The early iPhone ads got the hearts of consumer fetishists racing. Android ads responded with a geeky appeal. And the Palm Pre? That blonde ghoul haunts my nightmares, and I can’t wait for her to go back to the Hieronymus Bosch painting she came from. The Pixi ads are more agreeable, but fail to convey the cost and feature advantages of the phone.
The competition is just as intense when it comes to getting the attention of developers. As Om has pointed out, “[B]uilding and supporting an application for different platforms is as tough as climbing a straight wall of rock.” Palm’s 7-percent share of the smartphone market ranks it far down the list of mobile platforms with which developers want to work. And with apps increasingly a deciding factor for consumers buying smartphones, 800 is not enough.
But working with developers is an area where Palm can improve quickly. On Friday, it introduced Project Ares, a beta development tool that runs entirely in a browser. Rubinstein says Palm will announce a “full developer program” at CES next month, and enhancements to webOS will follow. The platform’s edge over rivals, such as multitasking and pinch-to-zoom, haven’t been enough to spur sales, and they will be matched soon enough. So Palm also needs to keep raising the bar with new improvements.
It’s not just a question of doing enough, however, but of doing it fast enough. Rubinstein says Palm is in the early stage of the race. OK, but let the other guys build up a big enough lead and you may never catch up, no matter how hard you run.
Image courtesy of Fox.


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The launching ceremony of the Lao language version of the book "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" is held in Vientiane, Laos, on Nov. 9, 2017. "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" is a book outlining the full political ideas of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the top leadership. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)
VIENTIANE, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Lao language version of Chinese President Xi Jinping's book on governance has been officially launched Thursday in Lao capital Vientiane.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, Guo Weimin, deputy director of the State Council Information Office of China, said the publication of the book's Lao version is of great significance on the occasion of the successful conclusion of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the upcoming visit by General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping to Laos.
The Lao version of the book "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" will help Lao people learn more about Chinese development concept, development path as well as domestic and foreign policies, he said, adding that this also helps promote the exchange of experiences in governance between the two parties and two countries.
According to Guo, the book, together with its newly published second volume, features the rich contents of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and offers an important window for the international community to fully, objectively and rationally understand contemporary China.
At the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Laos Wang Wentian said the publication of Lao language version of the book will strengthen mutual trust and respect between the two parties and the two countries, enhance understanding of Lao people about China, promote people-to- people connectivity, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, constantly consolidate the traditional friendship, and further build a solid foundation for the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Laos.
For his part, Kikeo Khaikhamphithoune, member of Secretariat of the Central Committee of Lao People's Revolutionary Party and Head of the Party's Commission for Propaganda and Training, said the publication of the book is a valuable gift for the Lao party and people on the occasion of the upcoming visit of Xi Jinping to Laos.
The Lao language versions of Xi Jinping's report at the 19th CPC National Congress and his book on governance are of practical significance for the Lao side to study and learn from China's theory and experience, said Kikeo.
The book "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" collects 79 speeches, talks, interviews, notes and letters of the Chinese leader between November 2012 and June 2014. Since its first launch in September 2014, the book has been translated into 24 languages, 27 versions and over 6.6 million books have been published worldwide.

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One of the perks of a smartwatch is that if you don’t like the current face of the watch you’re wearing, it’s not that hard to find a new face that you can download. There are even certain smartwatches that let users customize their watch faces to their own liking. However, it seems that there are some who aren’t too pleased with some of the designs Samsung has chosen for its smartwatch.
In a report from Reuters, it seems that Swatch is accusing Samsung of infringing on their trademark when it comes to some of the company’s watch faces used in its smartwatches. The Swiss watchmaker alleges that Samsung’s watch faces “bear identical or virtually identical marks” to the trademarks that they own, which includes brands such as Longines, Omega, Swatch, and Tissot.
According to the company, “This unabashed copying of the Trademarks can have only one purpose – to trade off the fame, reputation, and goodwill of the Swatch Group Companies’ products and marks built painstakingly over decades.” Samsung has yet to officially respond to the lawsuit or issue a comment.
That being said, this isn’t the first time that a company has been sued for using the watch designs of another company. Several years ago, Apple had been accused of ripping off the Swiss Federal Railways’ clock design, a mistake which cost the company $21 million.


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[SAN FRANCISCO] Beer drinkers sued to block Anheuser-Busch InBev's US$110 billion SABMiller takeover, saying the deal would force them to pay more for lower quality.
The acquisition by the world's largest brewer of the second biggest would create a monopoly in the beer market in violation of US antitrust law, the beer drinkers contend.
Brewers of mass-market beer are trying to cut production and distribution costs as they lose sales to smaller independent brands in Europe and North America. Carlsberg A/S, the world's fourth-largest brewer, announced this month that it would eliminate 2,000 jobs.
The AB InBev lawsuit by San Francisco lawyer Joseph Alioto on behalf of 23 consumers was filed ON Tuesday in federal court in Oregon. The drinkers, who said they have bought products made by either or both companies, as well as craft beers, seek to permanently bar the sale.
AB InBev believes the lawsuit claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against them, said John Blood, vice president of legal and corporate affairs.
"The US beer market has never been more competitive, with strong growth from craft brewers, and nothing in this transaction will change that fact," Blood said in a statement.
SABMiller representatives didn't immediately respond to phone and e-mail messages after regular business hours Wednesday.
AB InBev's beers include Budweiser, Michelob and Rolling Rock. SABMiller's beers include Fosters, Miller and Grolsch. The two companies control about half the industry's profit.
Alioto in June 2013 lost a bid to block AB InBev's US$20 billion acquisition of Grupo Modelo SAB over similar claims. Before that, Alioto sued unsuccessfully in an effort to stop InBev's 2008 acquisition of Anheuser Busch Cos.
In October, AB InBev announced plans to sell bonds worth as much as $55 billion to finance the takeover, setting a record for debt issuance to fund a corporate acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter.
AB InBev has reached a US$12 billion side deal to sell SABMiller's stake in a joint venture with Molson Coors Brewing in an attempt to resolve antitrust concerns in the US.


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Galaxy S4 Active in warranty exchange and Xperia Z issues
We have seen handset manufacturers this year providing smartphones that have a little more protection to them such as offering water proofing, but it seems all is not well as the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is at the centre of a warranty exchange while the Sony Xperia Z is reportedly having issues.
At the end of last month we heard how the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active isn’t as waterproof as the company would like you to think, after an AT&T employee told of problems with the device after using the handsets Aqua camera feature.
Now according to Phone Arena sources are claiming that AT&T and Samsung will be offering a one time exchange on the Galaxy S4 Active if the device has been damaged by water, and will be swapped of another example of the handset.
The handset has an IP rating of 67 that is supposed to allow it to be submerged in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes, but a rubber USB door was being blamed for letting water to enter the device. Handsets need to be purchased directly from the carrier while those that purchased the handset from the other retailers will be advised to take it back there.
Meanwhile the Sony Xperia Z that is also got an IP rating that will allow it to be submerged into water is also been having some issues, as the Xperia Blog is reporting that a number of users have become concerned about the rear glass panel.
The panel has seemingly lifted slightly which has raised concerns that the device may have lost its resistance to water, and while many users haven’t reported any problems some have reported that the water resistant indicators on the ports have turned red.
This problem has been happening in either hot weather or if the handset has been put under a heavy load such as gaming when the device heats up. There is a thought that the heating up of the handset is causing the glue that secures the rear panel in place is melting, and is affecting the top left hand side near to where the processor sits.
Users have reported that Sony repair centres are turning them away as they have no way of telling how any water damage has been caused, and this has led to some to try and melt the glue themselves and putting the rear cover back in place with a clamp before waiting for the glue to cool down.
Others have put extra glue around the edge around the edges for a temporary solution to the problem, but with both handsets it’s not something you would expect to happen following the manufacturers claims.
Have you had any problems with your Galaxy S4 Active or Sony Xperia Z?


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The Dubai Chamber and Google have collaborated to launch ‘Business Online Presence’, a digital solution that has been designed to help business establishments operating within the UAE in managing their online reputation and presence, attract new clients and maximize visibility.
This solution was launched during a webinar that was conducted by Google and the Chamber. The event was attended by several members of the business community, including representatives from many business councils and groups.
The members of the Chamber now can access the solution’s dashboard to build and verify profiles of their businesses across different locations on Google Maps as well as Google Search. These online business profiles feature important details such as address, opening and closing hours, contact details, and photos, etc. Business establishments can also post promotional packages and other offers during special occasions and seasons.
This tool can also generate a score for each and every business entity with regards to its reputation management and online readiness. Members of the Chamber, can use the aforementioned dashboard to access timely insights such as store visits, engage with clients through online reviews, and identify operational and other issues/ challenges a lot faster. This program also helps businesses in learning new digital skills that are essential for growing and maintaining an online presence.
Hamad Buamim, president of the Dubai Chamber, said that the dashboard is a reliable and versatile business tool that can help businesses in seamlessly managing their online reputation, activities and presence. This platform has been designed to help local businesses in attracting new customers that are actively looking for specific products and services.
He further added that this initiative also supports the Dubai Chamber’s efforts to accelerate the digital transformation of businesses operating within Dubai, expand the digital economy of the emirate as well as increase its economic and financial competitiveness on a global level.
Lino Cattaruzzi, Google’s MD in the Mena region, said that COVID-19 has made it clear the importance of digital tools and solutions in enhancing business entity’s ability to navigate through difficult times – with a particular impact in specific business sectors such as tourism and retail. For this reason, we are happy to offer SMEs operating in Dubai with a tangible solution that will help them in growing and managing their online presence.
This solution is the product of the Dubai Chamber’s long and successful partnership with Google which has helped thousands of business establishments in the UAE with regards to establishing their online presence. This partnership also comes under ‘Grow Stronger with Google’ program, initiative launched by Google to help in the economic recovery of businesses in the Mena region through programs, tools, and grants. The chamber with the help of Google, aims to continue helping SMEs operating in the UAE.


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Home > News > Key developments likely to affect health facility cleaning
April 8th, 2005
Key developments likely to affect health facility cleaning
The professional cleaning industry is seeing the beginning of an evolutionary process that will revolutionize every aspect of facility housekeeping. Driven by advances in technology, societal trends, demographics, economics, environmental awareness, consumer activism and easier access to information, these changes will greatly affect hospital environmental services and housekeeping departments over the next several years.
(Here are some of the trends) Nanotechnology: Although this is a new field of microscience that hasn't had much impact in the cleaning industry, nanotechnology holds tremendous potential for improving the cleaning efficiency of surface coatings and chemicals to the point where they may truly become self-cleaning.
(Ed.'s note: nanotechnology is not a new field of "microscience," rather a unique field that takes advantage of the physics of the small.)
A novel method for identifying the body’s ‘noisiest’ networks November 19th, 2014
Researchers discern the shapes of high-order Brownian motions November 17th, 2014
VDMA Electronics Production Equipment: Growth track for 2014 and 2015 confirmed: Business climate survey shows robust industry sector November 14th, 2014
Open Materials Development Will Be Key for HP's Success in 3D Printing: HP can make a big splash in 3D printing, but it needs to shore up technology claims and avoid the temptation of the razor/razor blade business model in order to flourish November 11th, 2014
Nanoparticles Prove Effective in Removing Phosphor from Calcareous Soil December 10th, 2014
Detecting gases wirelessly and cheaply: New sensor can transmit information on hazardous chemicals or food spoilage to a smartphone December 8th, 2014
Nanocatalysts Can Reduce Pollution Caused by Diesel Engines December 4th, 2014
Green meets nano: Scientists at TU Darmstadt create multifunctional nanotubes using nontoxic materials December 3rd, 2014


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Kansas City’s best-known home brewer is making the leap. Michael Crane is at the head of a new group that intends to open the Crane Brewing Company in Raytown in 2015.
“We’re going to focus on farmhouse ales, sours and saisons,” Crane says. “We’ll do all those beers with different fruits and wine grapes.”
If he was looking for validation of the concept, Parkville’s Microbrew Festival provided it at the end of April. The team from Crane Brewing tapped out in just under two hours, pouring 50 gallons of their beer.
“I was overwhelmed with the response,” Crane says. “I’ve put so much effort into brewing and experimenting. The response was amazing.”
Crane had been happily engaged in the furniture manufacturing business for the past 20 years, designing custom products for retail stores and closets. But a shift in his business — a large client made the decision to outsource manufacturing to China — and the response to a profile last October in The Kansas City Star about his homebrewing efforts, made him look at his hobby in a new light.
“A couple of years earlier, I was taking a tour of Tallgrass and [founder] Jeff Gill was talking about time when he was trying to find some Citra hops, but none were available,” Crane says. “So, he called John McDonald at Boulevard and John said to come pick up whatever you need. I just thought, ‘what other industry is like that?'”
For the new venture, Crane’s partnership group includes biologist Christopher Myers and brewer Steve Hood, who currently works at the Boulevard Brewing Company.
“I’ll be the namesake of the brewery, but with the help of everyone, we’re going to make this a reality,” Crane says.
The brewery will be located in a Raytown building that Crane owns. He is in talks with Raytown officials to broaden the language for light industrial zoning to allow for a microbrewery to open in the city limits. Crane currently rents out approximately half of the 18,000 square feet to the Kansas City Closet Company (6513 Railroad Street). They’re looking for a new space with a showroom. After they move out, he’ll begin construction on the brewery.
Crane Brewing Company will have a 15-barrel brewhouse with a horizontal line of tanks and 120 wine barrels for aging sours. As a homebrewer Crane hasn’t been afraid to experiment — harvesting his own yeast and fermenting beer solely by adding fresh picked blueberries. He’s worked with Muscat wine grapes, black currants and kumquats. And in beer circles, he’s known for his pink-hued brews made with beets.
“I did a beet Berliner Weisse named Magenta. It was insanely popular. People that don’t like beets like it. People that don’t like beer like it,” Crane says.
That same curiosity will drive the brewery. Crane is currently working on a collaboration with Hugo Tea, adding Tyler Beckett’s True-Jasmine to a saison.
The Crane Brewing Company will be pouring beer at this weekend’s Hopfest and the Westport Beer Festival. When the brewery comes online in 2015, Crane expects their brews to be in 750ml bottles and distributed locally in kegs.
“We’ll just continue to perfect our beers and fine tune our focus,” Crane says.


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The share price of Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd. (02007.HK) surged on Tuesday afternoon after the company announced it has surpassed its full-year sales goal three months ahead of schedule. By the end of September, contract turnover this year has reached 64.7 billion yuan (US$10.56 billion), 2.7 billion yuan above the annual target.
It is worth noting that Country Garden’s contract sales between January and August was only 51.92 billion yuan. That suggests that in the month of September alone, the residential property developer chalked up a whopping revenue of 12.78 billion yuan.
Country Garden’s red-hot sales growth was due mainly to the launch of several projects in September, which coincided with surging demand after the central government hinted it would not introduce more restrictions to the property market.
According to the Guangzhou-based company, its projects remain sought-after during the week-long National Day holiday. It is almost certain that 2013 will be a bumper year for the developer as there is still ample time for it to boost profit margin further.
As rising tide lifts all boats in the market, don’t be surprised if other players active in southern China such as Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. (02777.HK) and Yuexiu Property Co. Ltd. (00123.HK) report their own good news soon.
Following the stock gain on Tuesday, Country Garden is priced at double its net asset value. By comparison, the P/B ratio for Guangzhou R&F Properties is just 1.3 times while that for Yuexiu Property is 0.67 times.
– Contact the writer at [email protected]


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Audio Militia's co-founder and executive producer Nick Argyros shares how their 2017 Loeries success proves it's time to disrupt the production industry and create content beyond the expected music and audio...
According to the Global Communications Report, 64% of public relations professionals surveyed predict that in five years the average consumer will not be able to distinguish between news stories (earned media) and promotional content (paid media)...
CHICAGO, US / JOHANNESBURG, SA: IGA has announced that it will continue to advance its global presence by partnering with Johannesburg-based Unitrade Management Services (UMS) to bring the IGA brand back to South Africa. IGA originally moved into South Africa in 2002, but there have been no IGA stores in the country since 2008.
Youth marketing specialist, Student Brands, is proud to announce that they have joined the Fore Good Group. Fore Good is a leading brand builder and distributor in the FMCG sector offering suppliers comprehensive solutions - from importation rights to merchandising and marketing.
Many people believe that the word 'brand' relates simply to the visual identity of a particular company, product or organisation - in other words the organisation's name, logo and general look and feel.
Samsung offers a VIP Purchase Programme (VPP) that claims to provide professional organisations with access to what the company says is an exclusive e-commerce portal that has the latest products available for purchase.
MPULL, a cloud-based marketing software solution incorporating operation and resource management and lead nurturing, began development of its end-to-end solution, which having been in its beta phase for over two years now, is now being used by South African brands.
As part of Continental Outdoor's new Gautrain Station activations, over 1,600 passengers who passed through the Piazza at the Sandton Gautrain Station late last year were treated to a quick pick-me-up coffee in a red Nescafé Mug.
e.tv wishes to correct any impressions created by certain statements of the Department of Communications in the wake of the South Gauteng court decision on the matter of set-top-box (STB) control for DTT.
human.kind has just wrapped up a punishing two months of re-pitching on several of our long-term accounts. This was not expected. The truth is, we were blindsided. In retrospect though, we probably had it coming. If you've read my previous rants, you'll know what I'm getting at. Be that as it may, being the incumbent agency is a weird trip and I'm going to share it with you.
How are P&G and Unilever differentiated? Does the Coca-Cola Company want to be known for obesity or health? Will supermarket brands be strengthened or weakened by their supply chains? The perfect storm of social media, continuing social unrest, concerns over the economy and environment will batter brands that are not resilient and adaptive, while shaking established ad agencies to their foundations.
It seems we are at a point where technology advances so quickly, it is almost unsettling. Of course, it is a matter of perception but, for what it is worth, my subjective experience over the past five years has been one where a disturbingly high number of 'impossibles' have suddenly become 'possible'.
Belatedly, sales - long the corporate stepchild - is emerging not only as a topic worthy of academic and executive attention but also as the business function where substantive improvement is not only doable but also capable of delivering extremely attractive improvements in shareholder returns.
Mobile and email marketing is still a relatively young industry in South Africa, even with companies like GraphicMail having operated here for more than a decade. The industry has, however, in recent years picked up the pace, as is evident in Alexa.com's website rankings.
Content 2013, SA's first comprehensive content marketing conference, has just announced their stellar line-up of speakers. And as promised, they will be sharing uniquely crafted presentations that address very specific aspects of the content marketing industry.
Vicki Steenkamp is the latest exciting addition to The SpaceStation team. As the new channel manager for the Food24, Women24 and Channel24 platforms, Vicki's extensive publishing and ad sales skill set promises a continuation of the performance of these top-ranking online platforms.
The UCT Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB), in association with growth equity fund manager, Knife Capital, is launching a new executive education programme to promote the development of early-stage, high growth entrepreneurial activity in South Africa.
The Eastern Cape film industry is currently being showcased in a thirteen-part series on BayTV (DStv channel 260), entitled Film@Bay, at 8pm on Saturdays, with repeat broadcasts at 10.30am on Sundays and 4pm on Mondays.
Grapevine is looking forward to another exciting and challenging year ahead with existing and new clients. The advances in technology that are revolutionising the communication industry are continually setting Grapevine new goals to embrace, so as to offer their clients' optimum exposure.
Legal & Tax, a provider of affordable legal cover and tax services, has just launched its 25,000 reasons to 'Like' your school Facebook competition, which will result in a Gauteng school being awarded R25,000.
Primedia Unlimited's TLC has announced the launch of its salon media advertising and communication platform within hair and beauty salons. Current advertising platforms include mirror decals, indoor lightboxes and the ability to activate within the salon. The next phase of the business is the rollout of digital screens in these environments that will further improve the flexibility of the environment and platform.
Student Brands strives to be the leading online student portal in Southern Africa, as well as globally. The company endeavours to provide students with the necessary resources, support and opportunities to excel in the competitive business world.
Good Hope FM's new brand ad, shot by Slim from Egg Films, comes with one, unmistakable message: if you don't have Good Hope FM, you have no hope. The deliciously tongue-in-cheek spot makes a great meal of a simple truth: Capetonians live in one of South Africa's greatest cities; and boy do they know it.
As commercial crime continues to rise, syndicates target vulnerable businesses and applicants manipulate CVs and references - which is why increasing numbers of employers are using polygraph testing to screen job applicants.
If you can't write well - if you can't get your point across in a clear, concise and organised way - you have no choice but to spray and pray. Write with bad grammar, bad spelling and bad punctuation and no one is going to take you seriously.
Improvements in the way SMS is billed for, efficient spam deterrents, evolving technology capabilities and better handling of subscriptions services lay the foundation for another exciting year for SMS as a business communication channel.
Looking back at the internal communication landscape in South Africa over the past year, and the trends that we are implementing in dozens of companies across Africa, here are some of the highlights of what can be expected in this specialised discipline in 2013.
In reviewing the past few years from an events perspective, I'm tempted to ask: "Where did all the fun go?" As both the South African and the international events industries have grown, developed, matured and become increasingly competitive - all within the context of the global economic crisis - I might be forgiven for thinking that the game plan has changed.


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Hainan governor: Free trade port boosts Hainan-ASEAN ties
Development of Hainan Free Trade Port and the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement will create broader space for exchanges and cooperation between Hainan and the local governments of ASEAN countries, Feng Fei, Governor of Hainan Province, said at a sideline meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 on April 19.
The China-ASEAN Governors and Mayors Dialogue is held at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 on April 19.
"We are striving to turn Hainan FTP, the only free trade port with Chinese characteristics, into an intersection of domestic and international dual circulation, connecting with the superlarge domestic market while attracting high-caliber talent and high-quality resources from the outside world," said Feng at the China-ASEAN Governors and Mayors Dialogue, launched in 2015 by Hainan Provincial Government to promote regional cooperation.
He made four proposals that highlight fostering a mechanism for closer exchanges and collaboration to boost friendly relations between Hainan and ASEAN cities and economic zones such as industrial parks, harbors and airport terminals.
He welcomed ASEAN countries to set up consulates and commercial tourism representative offices in Hainan and called for the promotion of visa-free exchanges between Hainan and ASEAN to ensure the free flow of people, logistics and capital; increasing maritime and air routes between cities on both sides; building a demonstration area for interconnection; and making good use of the RCEP agreement and Hainan FTP policies to realize deep integration of the industrial chains, the supply chains and value chains on both sides.
Feng Fei, Governor of Hainan Province, attends and delivers a speech at the China-ASEAN Governors and Mayors Dialogue on April 19.
The Hainan governor also welcomed ASEAN enterprises to invest in Hainan, which is establishing a modern industrial system that focuses on tourism, modern service industry, high-tech industry and tropical high-efficiency agriculture. He said Hainan is actively cultivating strategic emerging industries -- digital economy, new materials and modern biomedicine, and future economies that include agriculture as well as the seed industry, deep sea economy and aerospace industry.
He added that construction of the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone and Lingshui Li'an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone is gaining new momentum and there are solid opportunities for cooperation in terms of international medical services, education and talent training.
"Over the past 30 years since the two sides established dialogue relations, political mutual trust between China and ASEAN has been significantly enhanced, cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, and people-to-people exchanges have become increasingly active, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the dialogue countries," said Lin Songtian, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, who attended the dialogue online.
He said the signing of RCEP has opened up new prospects and will inject new momentum into regional cooperation and development.
Economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN went up against the trend in 2021, with the total bilateral trade volume exceeding 684 billion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent, according to official statistics. For the first time, China and ASEAN became each other's largest trading partners.
Copyright 2021 Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2021 Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province.
All rights reserved.


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Edit: It’s been confirmed that the update is only for the UK version. The US version will be released on schedule.
It looks like Injustice: Gods Among Us for Wii U will be launching on April 26th instead of the April 19th release date for other version of the game. CVG originally reported that Warner Bros. Interactive decided to delay the Wii U version of the game, but no reason has been given for the delay. It’s worth noting that a season pass for DLC has already been announced for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, but not for the Wii U.
We’ll keep you up to date if any more information is released concerning the delay.
- Mario 30th anniversary Hot Wheels on the way
- Check out this crazy Splatoon domino set up
- New music coming to Splatoon on August 6
- Dragon Quest is skipping the Wii U entirely


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The RV Industry Association has recently released the total shipment figures for January 2019 and, for the most part, sales are down except in one telling area.
Total RV shipments for the month of January were down 39.8%, with 25,540 wholesale shipments, a decrease from the 42,441 units shipped in January 2018.
The biggest loser, shipment-wise, was the towable RV category. This includes conventional travel trailers, where shipments totaled 21,623 units, a decrease of (-41.0%) compared to last January’s total of 36,622 units.Motorhomes finished the month of January with 3,917 units, down (-32.7%) compared to the January 2018 total of 5,819 units.
One interesting area showing growth was park model RVs. There were 330 shipments of park models to retailers in January,h up 12.6% compared to last January. Could this be a sign of more people deciding to live the RV Life?


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Texas federal judge doubles jury award for toy company case against As-Seen-On-TV giant Telebrands.
Online PR News – 04-April-2019 – Washington, DC – Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, a leading corporate and intellectual property law firm with offices across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and China, announced a significant victory in a high-profile patent lawsuit. Recently, a Texas federal judge doubled a jury award to $24.5 million and added $4.75 million in attorneys' fees and expenses for a toy company that won a case against Telebrands Corporation. In doing so, the judge found that Telebrands infringed two patents on a water balloon device. The judge also found that Telebrands' intentional copying of the patented product and obstructionist tactics throughout the litigation rendered the case "exceptional."
Inventor Josh Malone of Tinnus Enterprises invented a unique toy that he called "Bunch O Balloons," which allows someone to fill as many as 100 water balloons in approximately 60 seconds. After introducing his invention on Kickstarter.com, Bunch O Balloons went viral online, raised nearly $1 million in funding, and received mountains of praise from the national media, including Time, People, Sports Illustrated, the Today Show, and Good Morning America.
Bunch O Balloons is protected by numerous U.S. patents, and is produced by toy manufacturer ZURU pursuant to a license with Tinnus. Before ZURU could bring a commercial version of the toy to market, Telebrands copied the product and released an "As Seen on TV" infomercial-style ad campaign blitzing the U.S. consumer market. Telebrands called its product "Balloon Bonanza."
In 2015, Tinnus and ZURU, who are represented by Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, sued Telebrands, claiming that Telebrands' Balloon Bonanza product infringed their patent. In that lawsuit, Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig won a preliminary injunction for the plaintiffs that prohibited Telebrands from selling Balloon Bonanza.
In response, Telebrands released a new product called "Battle Balloons" that made only minor changes from Telebrands' previous Balloon Bonanza product. As a result, Tinnus and ZURU filed a second lawsuit against Telebrands in 2016, alleging that Battle Balloons also infringed their patents.
Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig also represents Tinnus and ZURU in that case. In this second lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that Telebrands deliberately copied Bunch O Balloons to produce Battle Balloons. Both products attach to a hose and fill multiple water balloons at once by channeling the water into the balloons. Tinnus' and ZURU's Bunch O Balloons product has repeatedly been the number one selling toy in the United States. Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig obtained a preliminary injunction against Battle Balloons and defended the preliminary injunction before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Despite Telebrands' scorched-earth litigation tactics that the Texas court would ultimately find to be improper, Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig ultimately prevailed at a jury trial on the merits in November 2017. At that trial, the jury found that the plaintiffs' patents were valid, that Telebrands wilfully infringed the patents when it sold Battle Balloons, and that plaintiffs ZURU and Tinnus deserved $10.25 million in lost profits and $2 million in royalties. The trial team led by Tom Dunlap included partners Cortland Putbrese and Brian Koide and attorneys Eric Olavson and K.C. Harrison.
Recently, U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, the judge who presided over the trial, issued a 64-page opinion in which he added to the plaintiffs' trial victory by doubling the jury award to $24.5 million. Judge Schroeder also awarded plaintiffs $4.75 million in attorney fees and expenses, and denied Telebrands' motions for a new trial. It appears this is the most this judge has ever enhanced a jury verdict award in a patent infringement case.
In reaching this decision, Judge Schroeder criticized Telebrands' conduct in the case. "After Balloon Bonanza was enjoined, Telebrands only made superficial changes to the product's housing and renamed it Battle Balloons," Judge Schroeder wrote. "In reality, Battle Balloons was functionally identical to Balloon Bonanza." The court also noted several instances of litigation misconduct by Telebrands, including the filing of an emergency motion that a magistrate judge found was not an emergency and the filing of several other non-meritorious motions. The court concluded that Telebrands' "excessive motions practice demonstrated an intent to delay and obstruct this action." The judge also noted that Telebrands further failed to timely comply with discovery requests and attempted to reargue issues that were already decided by the court.
Despite these tactics, Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig persevered, obtaining a final judgment of approximately $30 million for Tinnus and ZURU. "We are extremely pleased with the outcome. The court's decision to double the underlying verdict is a testament to the well-planned and executed multi-day jury trial by the DBL patent litigation team," noted partner Tom Dunlap.
Retailers Bed Bath & Beyond, Fry's Electronics, The Kroger Company, Sears Holding Corp., and Walgreen Co. were also named in the suit, and they are responsible for paying a small portion of the damages, according to court records.
The patents at issue are U.S. Patent Nos. 9,242,749 and 9,315,282.
DUNLAP BENNETT & LUDWIG PLLC
Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig is a leading comprehensive legal advisor to national and global businesses with 16 offices nationwide, as well as Toronto, London, and China. The firm was founded by U.S. Army veterans and has over 70 attorneys licensed to practice in over 40 states. Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig has been recognized as one of the top intellectual property law firms by IP Watchdog. For more info visit: http://www.DBLLawyers.com.


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Tamales Liliana’s, an East Los Angeles institution, churns out some 250,000 tamales every Christmas season, proprietors say.
On Christmas Eve, the store opened at 2 a.m., and by midday, a long line stretched along the parking lot of the Cesar Chavez Avenue operation, one of two locations operated by Liliana’s.
Extra pressure cookers were brought in just for Christmas Eve.
Customers were waiting for the six tamale varieties sold at Liliana’s, where workers were packed in the kitchen.
What brings the customers in droves?
“Well, besides our tamales are very delicious, I think it’s because we have a variety of tamales,” Diana Vera said.
Liliana’s was slated to be open Christmas Day, and more information, including the menu, is on the company’s website.
KTLA’s Christina Pascucci contributed to this report.


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By Adeniyi Adewoyin
DMW music star Mayorkun and L.A.X have joined forces to create and record a brand song for rising mobile phone brand, OPPO.
The mobile phone brand recently announced the partnership with the music stars for the launch of its new product, OPPO Reno5F.
The unveiling of Mayorkun and L.A.X for the brand song sees the two music stars following the footsteps of their music mentors, Davido and Wizkid.
Read Also: MAYORKUN: Davido’s best gamble in four years
Speaking on the unveil, Public Relations Manager, OPPO Mobile Nigeria, Joseph Adeola expressed his delight,
“We decided to collaborate with Mayorkun and L.A.X. on the Reno5 F Song because of their amazing ability to relate with their audiences. With their unique talents, L.A.X and Mayorkun are without a doubt, some of the biggest stars in Nigeria’s Music Industry today. With the OPPO Reno5 F song featuring both artists, I believe we have reaffirmed the brand’s position as the leading smartphone brand for the aspirational and talented Nigerian who believes they can take on the world”.
L.A.X and Mayorkun are said to be exploring the new amapiano sound to create the brand song for the smartphone operator.


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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cesar Trejo broke his Chipotle habit after the chain’s string of food safety lapses last year. This week, a free food offer lured him back, along with the urging of three friends who had returned without getting sick.
"I saw all the news. I thought, 'I have to wait'," said Trejo, 32. He used to eat at Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG.N outlet near his job in downtown Los Angeles two to three times a week, until highly publicized reports linking the burrito seller to E. coli, salmonella and norovirus outbreaks scared him off.
And wait he did. Monday marked the first time in three months that Trejo had set foot in Chipotle. He paid for a drink and used a coupon to get a free steak burrito bowl at the restaurant, which was relatively quiet during the lunch rush.
Free food is the backbone of Chipotle’s strategy to lure back Trejo and other “top loyal” customers, who dine at the chain at least 25 times a year and account for up to 20 percent of its sales.
ITG Investment Research analyst Joe Fersedi said free food coupon redemptions appeared to spike in the second week of February. That was when credit card transactions under $4, which would be the cost of a free entree with a paid drink or chips, briefly topped 10 percent before returning to their historical level of around 2 percent in late February, said Fersedi.
“We have to wait to see if management turns on the ‘promotion spigot’ again,” following last week’s brief closure of a Massachusetts restaurant due to sick employees, Fersedi said.
Chipotle has not said how many burritos it has given away and one analyst said its “unprecedented” food giveaways are training diners to wait for more freebies.
“Discounting and couponing is a drug. Consumers get addicted to it and it’s all they want,” said Howard Penney, who covers Chipotle for Hedgeye Risk Management.
Chipotle on Tuesday said February sales at established restaurants fell a steeper-than-expected 26 percent following a 36 percent drop in January. [L3N16N55Y]
Those sales were down more than 27 percent in March due to the closure of its restaurant in the Boston suburb of Billerica, Chipotle said in a regulatory filing.
Give a loyal customer a free burrito that does not make her sick and she’ll come back again and tell friends to do the same, said Tushar Parashar, marketing strategist at Vivaldi Partners Group.
“People who are seriously loyal are easy to win over,” Parashar said. Casual customers concerned about a brand’s health and hygiene are not so easy. “A free burrito is not enough to get you to come back,” Parashar said.
“Chipotle needs months and months of clean bills of health before they put this in their rear view mirror,” said Ashley McCown, president of Solomon McCown & Co, a crisis communications expert.
Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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The results, while not entirely surprising, occur in the context of a continuing tug-of-war between advertisers and magazines over audience metrics. The key measurements used for magazine audience are demographic and audience figures from the likes of Mediamark Research, and circulation data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Roiling the waters this year are several concerns that have been raised over how magazines report circulation data to ABC, which crystallized around Gruner & Jahr USA Publishing's YM. The teen title overstated its 2001 newsstand sales by almost 200,000 copies, but that fact did not come to light until early this year, when the ABC audit of that data was released.
But Karen Jacobs, exec VP-director of print investment, made it clear that Starcom, which now touts a service it calls the Positioning Impact Evaluator, or P.I.E., tool as an outgrowth of its study, says that the numbers are but one small piece of the pie.
"At the end of the day, exposure is not really what we're after," says Ms. Jacobs. "Exposure needs to move toward engagement."
Her distinctions matter. The survey found 81% of respondents said they did not flip by ads-but reactions to individual ads in what the study termed "average positions" drew reader-recall figures that ranged from 7% to 71.4%. Quantifying such recall greatly increases the bang for advertising buck, but is a far less cut-and-dried matter than tallying up copies sold.
Some findings of the study confirm long-held industry truisms. Four-color ads boasted better recall than black-and-white ads; print campaigns that ran for more than a year had recall scores boosted 10%; reader recall swelled if print buys were supported by other media; and what Starcom's Richard Fielding, VP-director of insights and analytics, says is "an involved or engaged reader" resulted in significantly higher recall scores-a boon to titles in the African-American category, from which that finding was derived.
But some conventional wisdom of the media community is called into question by some findings. For one, "front-of-the-book [placement] is always better-ain't necessarily so," says Jacobs. "There are times when you want to have the adjacency to relevant editorial instead. A significant number of people told us they never read the letters to the editor"-almost invariably an opening section of a magazine.
Another: "Clutter isn't always bad," Jacobs says, who reported some findings indicate an imposing thicket of ads could lead to more remembered messages.
On a more whimsical note: Ads that depicted landscapes instead of people were better recalled. The full impact of this delightfully oddball outcome was lessened somewhat by Fielding, who postulated that perhaps this reflected nothing more than the fact that more ads depict faces than landscapes. Another finding, likely to annoy creatives, is that logos were better remembered owing to how large they appeared in the ad. And all-text ads, or ones with one predominant graphic in the copy, boasted higher recall scores.
The study polled 7,835 readers of 15 magazines, in categories including African-American, business, entertainment, epicurean, parenting, sports, weeklies, and women's titles. (Starcom executives refused to identify any magazines used in the survey.) Participants were shown ads that ran in those magazines via Web TV and then asked a series of questions to determine how well they'd been recalled.
The study, conducted by Knowledge Networks-which ran a reader involvement study backed by a consortium of eight consumer magazines earlier this year aimed to come up with a metric to measure reader involvement. Unlike that study, Starcom's effort is aimed at facilitating more efficient print buys, and not necessarily quantifying magazine ad effectiveness in a wider media universe. Magazines may find that more useful, given the massive upfront TV scored this year while an ad turnaround for magazines remains maddeningly elusive.
Nevertheless, Jacobs, who mentioned the study during a presentation to the ANA Print Forum this June, tied the findings into a sort of theory of everything about the future for magazines. "Magazine buying will focus on connection," she says, "and then magazine currencies will change."


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Is Facebook going to charge users for its service from 2011 onwards? Do we all have to subscribe to the Facebook money plan in order to use this service further? These are some of the Facebook charging in 2011 rumors. Facebook…Charged service…New Subscriptions…These are some terms that we all are hearing since last few days. The Facebook charging in 2011 rumors are actually spreading even today like fire over the World Wide Web to inform users about the drastic step to be taken by this social networking giant. However, the good news is that Facebook itself has announced that it will take ‘no charges’ and that the service will remain free. There is no plan of charging the customers at any cost.
The Spread of Facebook Charging in 2011 eRumor
This time the rumor for Facebook sparked via several group messages and feeds on Facebook pages as well as via emails, which stated that this social networking giant will now be charging its members. The fees might go up to £$14.99 per month. Further, most of us came across a new price grid for members, which was as follows:
“Facebook have introduced their price grid for $6.99 for silver member services per month, $9.99 for gold member services per month, and $3.99 for bronze member services per month. However, one can get rid of these services by copying and pasting this message before midnight. When you will sign in the next day morning, a prompt for payment info will appear.”
Further, even the news channels such as The Weekly World News have revealed of Facebook charging users.
Proving the Rumor as False
Although Facebook has not officially reacted to the rumor, we know that the home page still mentions of its free service. You can find this out by visiting the home page after logging out. The Facebook charging in 2011 rumors sparked after this famous site made a few modifications. So, it might be due to these changes that the rumors got the sustenance to spread. However, an official Facebook page of the September month revealed that Facebook has plans to charge its users and that the service will always remain free. Moreover, Facebook does not get benefit for charging a subscription fee. This is because it generates most of its revenue from the ads viewed by over 800 million active users.
Let me tell you that this is not for the first that people have been surprised by the rumors that convey the message of charging users for using an online service. In the past, some famous money charging rumors were for ICQ as the first instant messenger, Yahoo, MySpace, and MSN. In their cases, the rumors were spread on a weekly basis to shock people about the service getting charged in near future. And now, such rumors have hit Facebook. And I am sure that this one regarding the Facebook is not going to be the last one. SO, what next? Google+? Well, this time do not believe it at all!
Category: Tech News


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Apparently, promising tumblr users that they can access “adult” content is a really effective way to steal their login info. In a phishing scam that seems to be out of control, hackers have currently compromised thousands of tumblr accounts. It began with a few hacked pages, which claim that users need to “revalidate” their credentials in order to see “adult” content.
The login page looked legit (and was a tumblr.com address), so people fell for it. As more accounts became compromised, more of the fake login pages were seen, prompting an epidemic that’s currently sweeping the world of tumblr.
Now, the more important question — why exactly would someone go to all the trouble of stealing thousands of tumblr accounts? There’s not much personal data to be found, apart from your email and affinity for photos of hipster jeans. The most convincing hypothesis so far is that tumblr users might be using the same email/password combination for other sites, which could give hackers access to more sensitive personal data.


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Pro-Line Corp. recently received a $5 million investment–with access to an additional $15 million-from Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc., a leading international private equity firm with offices in the U.S. and abroad.
Comer Cottrell, founder and CEO of the $68 million Dallas-based cosmetics and haircare manufacturer (No. 29 on the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100 list), says he began seeking potential investors a little than a ago to increase the company’s sales nationally and internationally in order to seek acquisition opportunities. But to do that, a cash infusion was needed. "There have been quite a few acquisitions in our industry in recent months, and it appears that today bigger is better," says Cottrell.
Patricof (which manages funds valued at approximately $3.4 billion worldwide), was linked to Pro-Line with the assistance of NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, the BE 100s company’s investment advisor on the deal.
Cottrell says he selected Patricof from the 12 investment banking companies that expressed interest in his company when NationsBanc Montgomery began presenting the firm’s portfolio. Patricof, he says, is familiar with expanding companies and was already investing in similar types of growing businesses, including a vitamin company and a chain of stores that would be a source of distribution.
What really sold the Pro-Line president on Patricof, however, was the fact that the multibillion-dollar investment firm wasn’t interested in controlling his business; his management team could stay in place. This was key, given the flurry of acquisitions by majority-owned firms that have, of late, taken total dominance in the black haircare industry.
"We were only looking to work with an investment company in order to strengthen our position in the market and hopefully acquire some of the companies that are being sold," says Cottrell. "We want to ensure that there’s still black ownership in an industry that started out all black."
Pro-Line’s first acquisition attempt was to take over the New York-based African Pride. According to Cottrell, his company offered $50 million cash, which was $8 million the offer on the table. However, at the last minute, Revlon came in with a bid of $51 million and offered to keep the employees in place. Though it was a loss, Cottrell concedes that it was a good deal for African Pride because it gave them the opportunity to sell their company for $1 million more and keep their jobs.
David Landau, a principal at Patricof who spearheaded the transaction, says that his company has been proactively looking to invest in the growth of ethnic markets in the U.S. and internationally.
"Much of what we do is to support companies as they grow rapidly domestically, internationally and/or through acquisitions," says Landau. "Pro-Line has significant opportunities in each of these areas, so it was an excellent fit both strategically in terms of our companies and also our personal chemistry."
sales. David Landau says Patricof is targeting minority firms for investment
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Newly unredacted sections of Epic’s antitrust complaint against Google reveal new details on the lengths to which Google went to undermine third-party app stores on the Android platform. According to the new text, starting in 2019, Google ran a “Premier Device Program” that gave Android phone makers a greater share of search revenue than they would normally receive. In exchange, the OEMs agreed to ship their devices without any third-party app stores preinstalled. Specifically, they followed a rule that prohibited “apps with APK install privileges” without Google’s approval, leaving the Play Store as the only built-in digital marketplace for software.
As noted by Leah Nylen, products that qualified as a Premier Device would receive a 12 percent share of Google search revenue compared to the 8 percent they’d normally earn. Google sweetened the deal further for companies like LG and Motorola, offering them between 3 and 6 percent of what customers spent in the Google Play Store on their devices.
“Google’s Premier Device Program was not publicly known, and was not known to Epic, before Google recently began producing relevant documents in this litigation,” Epic’s lawyers wrote in the complaint. “Google has sought to conceal its most restrictive anticompetitive conduct by, among other things, including in the agreements themselves a provision restricting signatories from making ‘any public statement regarding [the] Agreement without the other party’s prior written approval.’”
The complaint goes on to paint the Premier Devices Program as a resounding success that has only further solidified the Play Store’s dominance.
By May 2020, many of the world’s largest and most popular Android OEMs had agreed to Google Play exclusivity for most of their new Android devices. Motorola and LG both committed nearly all (98 percent and 95 percent) of their devices to the Premier program. The giant Chinese conglomerate BBK — which manufactures and sells a range of Android devices under its Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus brands, among others, had designated around 70 percent of its new devices as “Premier.”
Here’s where Epic goes into detail on the Premier Device Program:
Other companies like Sony (50 percent) and Xiaomi (40 percent) weren’t as committed to the program. Still, Epic argues in its complaint that the program effectively tilted the scales against third-party stores on Android.
Another newly public section of the complaint shows how rare it is for people to venture outside the Play Store’s walls. Epic says that an internal Google report from 2017 found that “app installations through channels other than Google Play (including direct downloads and competing app stores) amounted to a mere 4.4 percent of Android app downloads in the United States.”


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Insights into Editorial: What is Consumer Expenditure Survey
Recently, the government announced that in view of “data quality issues” the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had decided not to release the results of the all-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) during 2017-2018.
It asserted that any findings from the survey that had been referred to in media reports were essentially “draft in nature”.
It also noted that these reports had concluded that the results had been withheld due to the ‘adverse’ findings in the survey which showed consumer spending was falling.
It also said it was “separately examining the feasibility of conducting the next Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) in 2020-2021 and 2021-22 after incorporating all data quality refinements in the survey process”.
What is Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)?
The CES is traditionally a quinquennial (recurring every five years) survey conducted by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) that is designed to collect information on the consumption spending patterns of households across the country, both urban and rural.
The data gathered in this exercise reveals the average expenditure on goods (food and non-food) and services and helps generate estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) as well as the distribution of households and persons over the MPCE classes.
Need and Necessity of Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES):
- The estimates of monthly per capita consumption spending are vital in gauging the demand dynamics of the economy as well as for understanding the shifting priorities in terms of baskets of goods and services, and in assessing living standards and growth trends across multiple strata.
- From helping policymakers spot and address possible structural anomalies that may cause demand to shift in a particular manner in a specific socio-economic or regional cohort of the population.
- To providing pointers to producers of goods and providers of services, the CES is an invaluable analytical as well as forecasting tool.
- It is, in fact, used by the government in rebasing the GDP and other macro-economic indicators.
Previous 2011 Survey:
The survey showed that average urban MPCE (at Rs 2,630) was about 84% higher than average rural MPCE (Rs 1,430) for the country as a whole.
Food accounted for about 53% of the value of the average rural Indian household’s consumption during 2011-12, in the case of urban households it accounted for only 42.6% of the average consumption budget.
Average protein intake per capita per day was seen to rise steadily with MPCE levels in rural India from 43 g for the bottom 5% of population ranked by MPCE to 91 g for the top 5%, and in urban India from 44 g for the bottom 5% to about 87 g for the top 5%.
Education accounted for 3.5% of the rural household’s average spending, an urban household spent almost 7% of its monthly consumption budget on it.
What the government said:
- Results of the survey show significant divergence in consumption pattern and with administrative data sources.
- Survey lacks ability to capture consumption of social services by households, especially on health and education.
- The ministry will examine the feasibility of conducting the next consumer expenditure survey in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Following better Macroeconomic statistics as the IMF guidelines:
As a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), India is obliged to follow good practices in four areas in disseminating macroeconomic statistics to the public.
These comprise the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of data; public access to those data; data integrity; and data quality.
With the IMF’s ‘Annual Observance Report’ for 2018 already having flagged concerns about India’s delays in releasing economic data, the country risks falling afoul of its SDDS obligations.
The results of the survey were examined and it was noted that there was a significant increase in the divergence in not only the levels in the consumption pattern but also the direction of the change when compared to the other administrative data sources like the actual production of goods and services
With the Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics also having separately recommended that 2017-18 would not be used as an appropriate year for rebasing of the GDP series, the very credibility of GDP data going forward could come under greater scrutiny.
The ministry said a committee examined the survey report and noted these “discrepancies” and came out with recommendations, including a refinement in the survey methodology and improving the data quality on a “concurrent basis.”
The recommendations of the committee are being examined for implementation in future surveys.


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The Russian agriculture sector is one of the fastest growing in the world. From 2000 to 2008, Russia's agricultural imports grew from $7 billion (6.4 billion euros) to $33 billion (30 billion euros), making it the second largest agricultural importer among emerging markets, after China.
To help Russia reduce the need for imports, Monsanto has partnered with local farmers and a local seed toller (seed processor) to boost local production of Dekalb-brand hybrid maize. In fact, local production of high-performance Dekalb maize is expected to triple this year. Last year, Monsanto harvested 192 metric tonnes of hybrid maize on 50 hectares. This year the company will grow Dekalb maize on 150 hectares.
All the Dekalb seeds produced and sold in Russia are strictly traditional seeds (i.e. not genetically modified).
Monsanto has also set up two Dekalb innovation centres in the region to introduce farmers to Dekalb maize varieties and related technologies.
"This is another important step for the company showing the seriousness of our interest in the development of our business in Russia," said Roman Rut, Monsanto's Russian Business Lead.
The Voronezh region is known as the Central Black Earth Region. It is famous for its good soil quality.


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This is an interesting comparison to judge the runaway executive salaries in this country. It turns out that Walmart CEO Michael Duke’s $35 million annual salary constitutes an hourly wage equal to the annual salary of the average Walmart employee.
New Walmart employees are paid $8.75 an hour — a gross salary of $13,650 a year. Thus, over a single lunch, Duke makes the yearly salary of one of his workers.
Walmart director of community affairs Steven Restivo sees nothing wrong with such a hefty salary: “I don’t think Mike Duke needs, as the CEO of a Fortune 1 company, needs me to defend his compensation package.”
The Institute for Policy Studies recently released a report stating that CEOs in the country’s top 500 companies make, on average, 319 times more than the average American worker. That is up from 30 to 1 in the 1970s.
This is a video of one of The Duke’s employee picnics:
83 thoughts on “Walmart CEO Makes Average Workers Annual Salary Every Hour”
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It’s difficult to find educated people in this particular topic, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
I’m curious as to how you figured up how much he makes per hour? He is on salary so with that being said, you would have to know how many hours “puts into” his job. I can assure you it’s a lot!In addition 8.75 is not the avg. rate of a Walmart employee.
Get the facts right before spouting off.
There is not a man walking around alive that actually “earns” thirty or forty million dollars a year in a salaried job. The owner or large stockholder I can understand, but not a salaried job. OK, so Wal-Mart is big–really big. The salary of the President of the United States is $400,000 per year. Convincing me that being president of Wal-Mart is worth 50 times more than the President of the United States is going to be quite a sell.
Downtrodden started at $8.10/hour. Good luck finding another job paying that. Also they forgot to factor in, holiday pay, health and dental insurance, quarterly bonuses, 15% company match when you purchase stocks, 401k that they match dollar for dollar and you’re 100% vested from day one, paid vacations, paid sick days, paid personal days. Screw you for making me defend Walmart, but if you’re working $8 an hour jobs, good luck finding one that offers ANY benefits. Go see what Mcdonald’s will offer, bet you’re lucky if you get a free meal, and uniforms don’t count as a benefit no matter how many times they say it.
Comments are closed.


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In only eight years, the IGC Chicago show has become the world’s largest garden center trade show, and Black Gold will be there with plenty of exciting new gardening products to promote. The event will be held at Navy Pier’s 210,000 square feet along Lake Michigan from August 19th to the 21st.
It’s the best show on the planet to learn what’s hot in gardening. The IGC Chicago event has over 700 exhibitors and vendors along with loads of exciting educational opportunities. This year’s highlights include keynote speakers Martha Stewart, retail expert Corey Bordine, family business expert Henry Hutcheson and a concert with Eddie Money.
Black Gold and Sun Gro Horticulture will be at Booth #1129.


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Whirlpool Left Appliance Data, User Emails Exposed Online
from the internet-of-very-broken-things dept
Another day, another shining example of why connecting everything from your Barbie dolls to tea kettles to the internet was a bad idea. This week it’s Whirlpool that’s under fire after a researcher discovered that the company had failed to secure a database containing 28 million records collected from the company’s “smart” appliances. The database contained user email addresses, model names and numbers, unique appliance identifiers, and data collected from routine analysis of the appliances’ condition, including how often the appliance is used, when its off or on, and whether it had any issues.
Needless to say this is just the latest example of security researchers doing companies’ jobs for them after they connected their products to the internet, then failed to adequately secure the data gleaned from them. For its part, Whirlpool told the researcher that they managed to secure the information within a few days of being alerted earlier this month:
“Our company was recently made aware of a potential security concern with respect to one of its databases. The database was immediately taken offline and secured. Our investigation showed that 48,000 emails were publicly available ? but no confidential information was exposed. We are in the process of reaching out to impacted consumers. Our company appreciated this notification so the issue could be quickly addressed.”
Granted these kinds of issues occur at least once a week at this point, highlighting how companies were so excited to connect everything to the internet, they never stopped to ask if it was really necessary. A new study by hardware security company nCipher drives that point home, highlighting how the majority of IT professionals are terrified of the security nightmare we’ve created in the internet of broken things era:
“Sixty-eight percent of these professionals worried that hackers will simply alter the function of an IoT device. Fifty-four percent are concerned that IoT devices will come under the remote control of people with nefarious purposes or merely cruel senses of humor.”
As security experts have long noted, there’s no market solution to this problem because neither the hardware vendors nor the consumers actually care, given the privacy and security shortcomings (usually) only harm other people. The consumer doesn’t care, often because they’re never informed that this data is bouncing around the internet unsecured. The vendors don’t care, because they’re already on to marketing the next product and don’t want to retroactively improve and secure their products. And government is, well, busy right now trying to chew gum and walk at the same time.
That’s what makes efforts to educate consumers by including privacy features and security practices as part of product reviews so important. It’s at least a fleeting attempt to generate some form of organic punishment for companies who treat security and privacy as a distant afterthought.


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A Montreal-based startup called Mighty Cast is working on an electronic bracelet to which modular charms can add new functionality. It hopes to start selling it for about $50 later this year.
The Nex Band will be a chunky-looking wristband containing basic electronic components—a microcontroller, a vibration motor, a low-energy Bluetooth radio, and a battery that will last two to four days, depending on how much you use it. The wristband will be sold with a single working mod that can do things like alert you to new text messages, incoming phone calls, or social-network updates.
Additional mods, which the company says will cost $7 to $10, will range in functionality, with some containing additional hardware for things like gesture recognition and activity tracking. Others could be more whimsical—for example, letting users add new powers and characters in mobile games.
The computerized bracelet shows how far companies are willing to stretch to differentiate themselves in the nascent market for wearable gadgets, where form and function are still hotly debated. It also offers a peek at where some wearable devices—and, more generally, consumer electronics—may head as companies experiment with ways to let consumers control the look and functionality of the technology they carry and wear. Customization is becoming easier as electronic components get smaller and cheaper, and some big companies are experimenting with modular devices. Google, for example, is building a modular smartphone through an effort called Project Ara.
The Nex Band might also assess the interest of a younger audience. Adelman says the device will be aimed initially at the tween and teen markets, with features that let users send secret messages to friends by way of blinking LEDs. Each mod will contain, at a minimum, a unique identification number and a multicolored LED. When you snap a mod onto the band, the band will read that ID number and relay it to a remote server via an app on your smartphone to get instructions about how many people have owned it, how far it has traveled, and what its functions are.
Mighty Cast has built prototypes and hopes to offer the Nex Band to developers starting in June, and to consumers late this year. The band will be cheaper than wrist-worn activity trackers such as the Fitbit, Nike’s Fuelband, or Jawbone’s Up, and it will be compatible with the iPhone and Android smartphones. “It gives power to consumers to customize their wearable both on the inside and the outside for a fraction of the cost,” says Adam Adelman, Mighty Cast’s cofounder and CEO.
Adelman showed me a demonstration during an interview over Skype. He held up a circuit board with all the components that will be shoved into the band, and plugged a mod into it, triggering a congratulatory notification in an app on his iPhone screen and changing the graphics in a game on his phone from 2-D to 3-D.
Sabine Seymour, director of the Fashionable Technology Lab at the Parsons school of design, is skeptical that people will want Mighty Cast’s modular technology, at least in its current form. The market for bracelet-like wearable gadgets seems oversaturated already, she says. But Adelman hopes to extend the technology beyond just the wristband to other items like action figures, accessories, or a fridge and its contents. “We’ve got one suggestion that would be really neat, for a wine rack,” he says.
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1X2 Network joins forces with Gameiom
22 May 2018
(PRESS RELEASE) -- Cutting-edge game developer 1X2 Network has integrated its full suite of slots, table and virtual games with popular content aggregator Gameiom, making its titles available to operators in Gibraltar and beyond.
Operators with access to the Gameiom platform will now be able to offer games to their players from 1X2 Network’s in-house studios 1X2gaming, Iron Dog Studio and Leap Gaming.
This includes popular slots games such as, Rainbow Wilds
, Blood Queen
and Neon Jungle
, innovative table games including Roulette Diamond, as well as a portfolio of virtual sports titles.
Kevin Reid, Chief Commercial Officer at 1X2 Network, said, “This is a great partnership for us to have signed as it allows us to offer games from all of our studios to operators in Gibraltar, such as 888, BetVictor and Coral.
“We are very proud of the games we develop across our three dedicated studios, and believe they will be hugely popular with operators based in Gibraltar as they have been in other regulated jurisdictions.”
Gary Hardy, Managing Director at Gameiom, said, "We are committed to offering our operator partners top-quality content from the most innovative and creative developers in the world, and 1X2 Network certainly fits the bill. Through our propitiatory owned agnostic technology platform we have been able to integrate the fantastic 1X2 content in a record time and we are delighted to be adding such a well-respected name to our rapidly expanding stellar list of providers.”


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Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTR) has been upgraded to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ by analysts at Barclays, who following their survey of the UK gambling market highlighted the company’s Sky Bet division as the “leading UK betting brand” as the industry recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.
In a Tuesday note, the bank’s analysts also upped their target price for the Paddy Power owner to 13,000p from 10,500p, highlighting the firm’s high valuation and “attractive core” business while its US operations served as a “quality compounder”.
READ: Flutter Entertainment expects small full-year loss in US but encouraged by post-lockdown trading
The bank also highlighted that its survey had shown that in addition to Sky Bet, Flutter’s Paddy Power brand was also rated as the third most preferred online betting brand in the UK.
“We consider online strength to be a key driver of medium-term online staking growth from new and existing customers, particularly in a [coronavirus] world and our survey indicates that Flutter brands are best-placed to benefit”, the bank said.
Analysts said while the company has seen “strong online trading” and its US joint venture offered upside, an ongoing investigation by HMRC into its former Turkish business was “an overhang” for the group’s prospects.
Meanwhile, peer William Hill PLC (LON:WMH) was reiterated at ‘overweight’ with a target price of 240p as Barclays said the company’s upside from its US ventures trumped regulation risks and that the risk-reward “remains favourable”.
Shares in Flutter were down 1% at 11,195p in late-morning trading, while GVC fell 4.4% to 791p and William Hill was flat at 180.9p.


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The bacon industry has been living high on the hog, but a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) may just dampen enthusiasm for the salty slices.
WHO researchers concluded, based on a large meta-analysis of previously published research, that processed meats such as bacon cause cancer.
A person who eats 1.8 ounces of processed meat — smoked, salted, fermented, or otherwise — per day raises their risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent, the study said.
But bacon won’t face the heat alone. Hot dogs, ham, sausages, corned beef, beef jerky, and canned meat are all considered processed meats.
Diets high in processed meats lead to nearly 35,000 cancer deaths per year, according to estimates by the Global Burden of Disease project, cited by WHO.
The WHO’s recommendations on unprocessed red meat — including beef, pork, goat, lamb, and horse — were milder. With only limited evidence, WHO concluded that red meats are “likely carcinogens.”
In plain English, that means they probably cause cancer. Barbecuing and pan-frying meat may increase the risks, but more research is needed, WHO researchers said.
The research linked red meat most closely to colorectal cancer. There is also data suggesting a connection between red meat and pancreatic, prostate, and stomach cancers.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer started looking into meat last year after it was flagged as a high priority question about cancer risk.
While the cancer risk from eating meat is relatively small — compared to that from smoking, for example — the WHO says it is significant for global public health “because many people worldwide eat meat and meat consumption is increasing in low- and middle-income countries.”
If further research proves that red meat isn’t just associated with a bump in the risk of cancer, but actually causes it, that would make red meat responsible for 50,000 cancer deaths per year.
Red Meat Already Targeted
Many nutritional guidelines already advise limiting red meat consumption. Until now, these recommendations were generally focused on reducing the risk of other diseases, including heart disease.
The American Cancer Society discouraged red meat and processed meats in its 2012 guidelines.
But don’t swear off the beef just yet, says The National Cattleman’s Beef Association.
“There are a constellation of factors that are associated with the probability of getting cancer, which include age, genetics, socioeconomic characteristics, obesity, lack of physical activity, where you grew up, alcohol consumption, smoking, and even your profession,” said Dominik Alexander, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., an epidemiologist who has worked with the Beef Association. “Because red meat is consumed in the context of hundreds of other foods and is correlated with other behavioral factors, it is not valid to conclude red meat is an independent cause of cancer.”


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Existing barcodes are mainly used for product tracking. Specialists from the University of Bradford and Sofmat Ltd decided to expand the scope of their application. With the help of the new generation barcode they have developed, it will be possible to identify counterfeit products.
It is worth making a reservation right away: the new barcode has become three-dimensional and differs markedly from its predecessor. However, the essence of the new technology is simple: microscopic depressions are applied to the manufactured product. Each of them can be made to the desired depth with a step of 0.4 microns. The range of possible positions corresponds to a letter or number from 0 to 9.
For example, a manufactured prototype tablet with a coded tablet contains four “pins”, which makes it possible to create up to 1.7 million different combinations.
It will be possible to read a 3D barcode only with the help of an interferometer or a special laser scanner, which is currently under development. After processing, the received information is sent to a tablet or smartphone.
According to the creators of the anti-counterfeit barcode, it will be very difficult for cybercriminals to forge it, since this will require very sophisticated special equipment.


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Marc Jacobs has made a statement with his latest ad. The photo is a waist-down shot of two models with long legs — and one has the skin condition vitiligo.
In today’s really rather excellent news of the day, 28 International brands have pledged their commitment to addressing gender inequality in the workplace. GAP, Stella McCartney, L'Oréal and Amazon are among the businesses vowing to redress the gender imbalance within their workforces.
A new ad for Ellen DeGeneres' GapKids x ED collaboration has many Twitter users up in arms, saying the way the models are posed has a racist subtext. Below is the ad, featuring a pic of four girls from Le Petit Cirque. @GapKids proving girls can do anything... unless she's Black.


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Two Massachusetts studios that were bought out by larger game companies outside of the Bay State are touting their new games, one that was released Tuesday and other that will debut in the fall.
The spotlight has been on Irrational Games, a Quincy, Mass. studio that first delayed another one of its highly anticipated sequels to its 2007 hit, “BioShock,” before rolling it out Monday.
Together, Irrational Games and TwoK Games studio - the publishing label of parent company Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (Nasdaq:TTWO) - rolled out “BioShock Infinite,” making it available for Windows PC, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation3 computer entertainment system. The first BioShock sequel wasn’t as successful as the original game, and some gamers pointed to the fact it was developed at a California office run by Take-Two, and not here in Quincy. So far, however, the game has received rave reviews from Game Informer, Eurogamer and USA today.
Ken Levine, co-founder of Irrational Games, said the studio has been looking forward to getting “Infinite” on store shelves.
“We believe ‘Infinite’ is very much a BioShock experience, but at the same time something very fresh that both fans of the original and newcomers to the series will be able to enjoy,” he said in a statement.
Turbine, which was acquired by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Enterntainment in a deal reportedly valued at $160 million, late Monday said its new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game would debut in the fall. Developed by the studio behind “The Lord of the Rings” Online game, the MOBA game titled “Infinite Crisis” is a free-to-play game for the PC.
“The Turbine team is very excited to reveal Infinite Crisis to the world and extend the MOBA genre with new features,” said Turbine Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel, in a statement. “We are utilizing years of experience in the online game space to deliver innovations to the MOBA genre with a game that features fast-paced action, a major story arc, destructible environments, catastrophic events and a deep roster of iconic DC Comics characters.”


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A dog or cat food company’s online presence has progressed from an innovative sales and promotion platform to a necessity for success selling cat and dog food in the US. Recently, Petfood Industry reported that US online sales of dog food and cat food have doubled since 2010, according to Clavis Insight Index’s “US Pet Food Report.”
Pet food consumers don’t just buy online, they research pet foods as well. More than 40 percent of pet food sales are “digitally influenced,” according to 2015 Euromonitor data cited by the Clavis report. That means many pet food buyers who didn’t actually purchase online still were informed by information found online.
A pet food company’s online presence may be a key to sales, noted the Clavis report, especially for smaller companies struggling to get noticed in a crowded market dominated by two pet food titans, Mars Petcare and Nestlé Purina PetCare.
In 2012, Petfood Industry covered the basics of how to develop an online presence by cultivating brand advocates. Brand advocates can serve the traditional role of product recommendation, and they can also defend a pet food company against negative online messages from comments, blogs and social media.
Tim Wall covers the dog, cat and other pet food industries as senior reporter for WATT Global Media. He hold a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a bachelor's degree in biology. Wall served in the Peace Corps in Honduras from 2005 to 2007. His work has appeared in Scientific American, Discovery News, Honduras Weekly and other outlets. Contact Wall via https://www.wattglobalmedia.com/contact-us/
By Lindsay Beaton
Giving back is a significant part of the pet food industry, and companies focused on philanthropy want to make connections, not just donations.
By Ann Reus


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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were booming in Indian during 2017 and then in the beginning of the next year, ie. March 2018 the Reserve Bank of India prohibited banks from processing transactions relating to cryptocurrency in India. All the cryptocurrency trading platform’s were given a certain time to carry all the transactions and later they were not allowed to carry any transactions related to cryptocurrency after the stipulated time.
While the Supreme Court struck down the RBI ban early in the year, cryptocurrency regulation is still prohibitory, besides being difficult to comprehend. Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in India, and while exchanges are legal, the government has made it very difficult for them to operate. Once again in the year 2021 cryptocurrency has come into limelight after Tesla’s announcement of buying Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion and that it may even accept the cryptocurrency as the payment option to boost the usage of cryptocurrency. The price of Bitcoin has also boosted as well the Indian transactions has also surged to the greatest extent.
Darshan Bathija, CEO of Vauld, said the volume of transactions on its platform has doubled. “Compared to the day before, our trading volume doubled. We saw a 60% spike in new users, and 20% in returning users. We have seen a $10-million transaction volume in the last 24 hours, as compared to our daily average of $4-5 million. Rupee deposits have doubled from Rs 16 crore per day to Rs 30 crore today.”
Unocoin’s CEO and co-founder Sathvik Vishwanath said, “We saw over 4,000 new registrations (depositors) to trade on our platform since morning, which is much higher than the 500-600 per day. The value of rupee deposit stood at Rs 4.5 crore within the first few hours of trade today and is expected to reach Rs 10 crore — which is equal to the trade value of 3-4 days. Every rupee that comes in ends up in Bitcoin purchase.”
Dr. Sunil Patel, Professor, Unitedworld School of Business (UWSB)
Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.
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AR or VR? GlobalData says one will offer far greater opportunities
FYI, this story is more than a year old
Virtual reality (VR) is often touted as one of the most important technologies of the near future and constantly features in headlines as a ‘game changer’.
GlobalData however, says while VR may be interesting for consumers, it is a niche brand of technology that has very limited applications for the wider business community.
Technology analyst at GlobalData, Josh Hewer says it’s actually VR’s sibling, augmented reality (AR), that offers greater opportunities for businesses and consequently the technology that is more worthy of investment.
“VR is the total emersion within a virtual space that can often be sold as a form of escapism. However, the future will not be about escaping reality, but rather augmenting the existing space within the digital world,” says Hewer.
“Unlike VR, AR does not retreat into a purely digitally-created world – instead it overlaps the real world with data and images visible through actual human sight.”
Hewer says the AR’s role outside of consumer devices will encompass more dynamic tasks such as proof of concepts for architects, or enhanced awareness for drone operators. Another example is the potential to provide operational visual displays of unit history – rather than storing massive amounts of paperwork on computers.
“AR could be the game changer for businesses. It is impossible to sell a digital space completely removed from reality of the workplace,” says Hewer.
“AR has a tangible benefit versus the more abstract concept of VR, offering companies a more pragmatic digital solution.”
GlobalData’s research shows the markets have reflected the success of fusing traditional operations with smart capabilities, aka the Internet of Things (IoT). The data and analytics company’s annual survey of more than 1,000 IoT project managers revealed that 80 percent of these deployments are bought exclusively by IT specialists and technology-focused consumers.
“In 2016 Pokémon Go dominated headlines in specialist and mainstream press. Downloaded over 650 million times, it is the poster child of AR. It will be the companies able to replicate Pokemon’s success that will succeed in the race to combine the virtual world with the one we are used to,” Hewer concludes.