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Music streaming services have skyrocketed in recent years, but challenges still remain when it comes to artist compensation.
(Bloomberg) -- First there was the financial crisis of 2008. Then years of negative interest rates. Now, banks face what one financial regulator calls the "real game changer."Jesper Berg, the head of the Financial Supervisory Authority in Denmark, says the next big threat for banks is the rapid spread of big tech into financial services. The competitive tool is personal data and the playing field is far from even, he says."The banks are constrained in what they can do with data, even using data across business lines, not to mention sharing it," Berg said in an interview in Copenhagen.The concern is that banks need to comply with strict regulatory requirements to protect client data. But their industry is being infiltrated by competitors that aren't necessarily subject to the same rules. Berg suggests that political intervention might be the way forward, if banks are to have a fighting chance."The biggest issue that needs to be decided at a high level of politics is, do we somehow make rules in relation to sharing and use of data similar, or do we keep a difference?" Berg said. "We need to think about whether, and when, we set rules that are different for different types of companies, where the activity is basically the same."Berg oversees a financial industry that has dealt with negative interest rates longer than any other, after Denmark's central bank first went below zero in 2012. That's weakened the finance sector, potentially putting it on the back foot as it tries to strengthen its defenses against new competitors. Lars Rohde, the governor of the Danish central bank, has warned that banks will need to rethink their entire business model to adapt to the new world.The BehemothsBecause of the vast pools of information they collect, tech giants like Google, Amazon and Alibaba already enjoy a competitive advantage over banks, Berg says.According to a February report by the global Financial Stability Board, the proprietary consumer data that big tech extracts from social media, combined with the industry's access to cheap funding, mean it "could achieve scale very quickly in financial services."Part of the ascent of tech companies within financial services has to do with PSD2, a European directive designed to open up the payments industry to competition. In practical terms, it means banks need to pass on their data for free to non-banks, provided customers agree."You could say that we've gone to the extreme with PSD2," Berg said. "Not only can banks not use the data fully internally, but they cannot sell it. They have to give it away."ChinaThe FSB's February report makes the point that reducing entry barriers for big tech might ultimately hurt competition in financial services. As an example, the FSB highlights China, where just two big tech firms account for over 90% of the mobile payments market."Big data lives off selling information about you and me, so that other companies can target us more specifically," Berg said. "The potential real game changer is big data, depending on what they choose to do." That's because "they know more about us than anyone else."Tech companies that offer loans or take deposits will need to apply for licenses and abide by the same rules as banks, Berg said. But the requirements are far murkier for those that decide to operate as a platform for other financial service providers, and that puts banks at a competitive disadvantage."The link to customers would essentially be with big tech," Berg said."And everyone knows that whoever has the link to the customers" ends up being able to "cream the profit," he said.To contact the reporter on this story: Frances Schwartzkopff in Copenhagen at email@example.com contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at firstname.lastname@example.com more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Google, Alibaba and other "Big Tech" companies could be forced to share data on financial services customers with banks and financial technology firms to prevent unfair competition. As Facebook's plan for its Libra "stablecoin" faces scrutiny, a global body of regulators from the world's main financial centres said that Big Tech's growing tentacles raised questions for financial stability, competition and data privacy. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) called in a report released on Sunday for "vigilant monitoring" of Big Tech's shift into financial services, which it said could crimp the ability of banks to generate capital through retained profits.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- At this time last year, everyone was waiting for Santa Claus and his rally — and he never showed up. Instead, there was a brutal stock market sell-off. A year later, we have a surprise visitor: Goldilocks.The cliche has it that a Goldilocks economy is neither too hot (to push up rates and inflation) nor too cold (to push down share prices and employment). It is an irritating way to describe ideal conditions for markets and the economy. For the decade since the financial crisis, it has seemed absurd to suggest the U.S. economy is in any such fairy tale. The Federal Reserve saw a risk of over-heating and spent 2018 tightening monetary policy, only to be forced by the horrified market reaction into executing a U-turn in 2019.As the year comes to an end, Goldilocks is back. The unemployment rate, at 3.5%, is as low as it has been in half a century, while core inflation, at 2.4%, remains comfortably within the target range of between 1% and 3% — which it has occupied for a quarter of a century.If we use President Jimmy Carter's old concept of the Misery Index, adding the core inflation and unemployment rates, we find misery is close to its lows of the last 50 years:There's also something distinctly Goldilocksy about market views of the Fed. After two years of persistent bets that the U.S. central bank would be forced to cut far further than it wanted, fed funds futures are now implicitly pricing only one more quarter-point reduction from the current level, and see any additional cuts as unlikely until 2020 is half over. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has already said that he thinks monetary policy is in a good place and that he sees little reason to move it; approaching the last rate-setting meeting of the year in a few day's time, it appears the market at last cautiously agrees with him.Many believe that the Powell Fed has listened to good advice, and thus thwarted an incipient recession. That helps to explain why the S&P 500 Index is now up more than 25% for the year, and within a whisker of its all-time high set in November, amid low volatility. But the very strength of that sense of relief now opens the risk that the economy moves in short order toward running too hot.It is very unusual for the Fed to cut rates three times in quick succession when the economic backdrop otherwise looks this strong. The only comparison that comes close is 1998, when the central bank under Alan Greenspan cut the fed funds rate by 75 basis points in the wake of the market disruption caused by the meltdown of the Long-Term Capital Management hedge fund. That fueled one of the most dramatic stock market rallies in history, which ended with the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000, and a recession.In retrospect, those rate cuts appear to have been a mistake. Will history come to view this year's U-turn toward cheaper money in the same way?The LTCM debacle, which followed Russia's debt default and the Asian crisis, was a special and very different case. Corporate credit markets ground to an almost total halt, in a dry run for the credit crisis that would follow a decade later. The Fed felt obliged (rightly or wrongly) to act to stop a financial accident, and in the process provided the money for a stock market mania.Markets have at no point this year looked anything as extreme as they did during the LTCM crisis. But there is a critical similarity: As in 1998, we saw a sudden summer resurgence of recession fears. Google searches for the word "recession" in the U.S. spiked in August to levels unseen since the country was last in recession: There were reasons for the fear. The trade war intensified during the summer; the European Union's manufacturing sector fell into recession; long-term bond yields went negative in much of the world; and the U.S. Treasury yield curve inverted in what is usually a sure-fire indicator of an imminent slump. This was enough to "create a recession in the minds of most," as Leuthold Group's chief investment strategist Jim Paulsen put it. Hence the unambiguously strong employment data for November — published at the end of a week which had also revealed plenty of data suggesting a recovery in global manufacturing — feels almost like exiting a recession to many investors. The reality is, as in 1998, the U.S. economy has remained strong throughout. The 1998 analogy cuts both ways. The economic recovery carried on for a while, and late 1998 proved to be a great time to buy stocks. The problem was that this soon turned into an economic over-heating, prompting the Fed to begin a series of rate hikes in May 1999. And of course anyone who bought stocks needed to be prepared to sell them quickly. Even though economic misery is near all-time lows, then, we will probably soon start questioning whether the Fed cut rates too much. And while the conditions seem good for a Goldilocks boom in share prices, the Fed has cut at a point when stocks already looked very expensive (in another echo of 1998). Just as in 2000 (also a presidential election year), we can expect questions about asset-price bubbles in 2020. To contact the author of this story: John Authers at email@example.com contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at email@example.com column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.John Authers is a senior editor for markets. Before Bloomberg, he spent 29 years with the Financial Times, where he was head of the Lex Column and chief markets commentator. He is the author of "The Fearful Rise of Markets" and other books.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders are taking a victory lap after Amazon.com Inc. and other technology giants leased millions of square feet of office space in New York City -- without the billions of dollars in government support that Amazon tried to negotiate earlier this year.Amazon signed a lease on Friday for 335,000 square feet in the Hudson Yards neighborhood, enough space for more than 1,500 workers. The largest U.S. e-commerce company said it wasn't getting tax benefits or other incentives.A few weeks earlier, Facebook Inc. leased more than 1.5 million square feet in the city, and the social-networking giant is looking for 700,000 more square feet, according to the Wall Street Journal. Google is also in the midst of a major expansion in the city, adding thousands of employees in coming years.The moves suggest that New York's deep pool of talented workers is still attracting tech companies even after Amazon abandoned a much larger expansion in the area following fierce public criticism of almost $3 billion in tax breaks and subsidies promised to the company.https://t.co/AC64pG0nZI pic.twitter.com/xzCepkX4AV— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 6, 2019 Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, was a vocal critic of Amazon's doomed HQ2 deal, and she tweeted that the company's recent lease proved she was right.Sanders, who has slammed Amazon for warehouse working conditions and the company's low federal tax rate, weighed in this weekend, too.Their comments were pilloried by some on Twitter, who said that 1,500 Amazon jobs are a fraction of the company's earlier plan to bring about 25,000 workers to the area.Ocasio-Cortez responded by arguing that Amazon's larger jobs pledge was longer-term and would have cost the city more.To contact the reporter on this story: Alistair Barr in San Francisco at email@example.com contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at email@example.com, Virginia Van Natta, James LuddenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Less than a year after Amazon.com Inc. walked away from a planned headquarters in New York, the e-commerce giant has announced a significant expansion in midtown Manhattan.The company signed a lease for 335,000 square feet in the Hudson Yards neighborhood on the west side. The new office will accommodate more than 1,500 workers and is slated to open in 2021, according to an e-mailed statement."As we shared earlier this year, we plan to continue to hire and grow organically across our 18 Tech Hubs, including New York City," the Seattle-based company said.Amazon abandoned plans in February to build an additional headquarters in New York's Long Island City neighborhood following fierce public criticism of tax breaks promised to the company, and concerns about the impact on housing costs and transportation. The move sent shock waves through New York's real estate community, which worried that the city was becoming inhospitable to business.But recent months have shown that companies are still attracted to New York and its deep pool of talented workers. Facebook Inc. announced that it was leasing more than 1.5 million square feet at Hudson Yards last month. And Google is also in the midst of a major expansion in the city.Amazon said it is not receiving tax benefits or other incentives for its new office, which will be located in SL Green Realty Corp.'s building on 10th Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets. The outpost will be roughly the same size as the company's other corporate offices in New York, where it currently has more than 3,500 employees in its tech hub.Dow Jones reported the lease earlier on Friday.To contact the reporter on this story: Noah Buhayar in Seattle at email@example.com contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Giammona at email@example.com, Linus Chua, Stanley JamesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Peloton Interactive Inc. has been pilloried online and punished on the stock market following the release of a holiday ad for its stationary exercise bike that was deemed culturally insensitive. But the backlash could be a good thing for the company in the long run.The commercial, which features a woman documenting a year in her life with the Peloton bike her male partner gave her, struck some viewers as out of touch -- suggesting the already thin "Grace from Boston" was undergoing a strenuous workout in order to lose weight for the guy. The video, released about a month ago, went viral on social media, eliciting a scathing parody by comedian Eva Victor and prompting Peloton to close comments on the official YouTube video.As the internet buzz seemed to hit a peak earlier this week, Peloton's stock fell 9%. But some experts say the increased attention could end up boosting sales. The shares were up 3.7% on Friday in New York."They might benefit more because people are looking it up and learning more about it," Laura Ries, president of advertising consultancy firm Ries & Ries, said. It's still a short-term bump for a company that has historically been largely successful with marketing, with a total member base of 1.6 million people including more than 560,000 who have one of the proprietary bikes or treadmills plus a fitness subscription, according to Peloton's most recent quarterly report. The official Peloton ad on the company's YouTube channel has been seen by more than 3.6 million people.The controversy comes at a crucial time for the New York-based company, which is new to market scrutiny after listing shares in September, as it seeks to capitalize on the all-important holiday sales season and expand in new markets like the U.K. and Germany. The shares had gained 27% since its initial public offering before the wave of internet commentary dragged it down on Tuesday. The company is also facing increased competition in the booming at-home fitness market, especially among workout apps. Nike Inc., Aaptiv Inc. and apps like Kayla Itsines's Sweat with Kayla have all gained followings for exercise programs available on a user's phone.Peloton has been punished by Wall Street for its focus on growth over profitability. The company sells a stationary bike starting at about $2,000 and a treadmill that costs about $4,000, in addition to a basic "connected fitness" subscription plan at $39 a month for those pieces of hardware, and the separate digital apps that don't require equipment. Its loss narrowed in the three months ended Sept. 30 to $49.8 million.The stock surged almost 10% last Friday after the company was reportedly seeing strong demand on Black Friday. And earlier this month, Peloton lowered the price of its digital subscription app to $12.99 a month from $19.49 in conjunction with the launch of new apps for Amazon's Fire TV and the Apple Watch, a move that could entice new users. JMP Securities analysts raised their price target on the stock after the subscription reduction, saying it "broadens Peloton's reach, improves conversion, and reduces purchase friction." Ronald Josey, a JMP analyst, said there are "a lot of good things going on" at the company and that people will continue to buy the bike and other products despite the controversy.According to the most recent earnings report, Peloton expects its user base to grow to 680,000 or more by the end of its second quarter thanks to holiday sales and New Year's resolutions.Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing a the NYU Stern School of Business, said the commercial itself is tone deaf and borderline offensive. But "in this attention-driven economy, anything that gets attention is arguably a positive," he said in an interview. "It's bringing Peloton into the social discourse on very regular basis, which is what ads are supposed to do." If Peloton had to do it again, Galloway said, "I'd argue they probably would."(Updates shares in third paragraph. A previous version of the story corrected a company error in the subscription price.)To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at email@example.com contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at email@example.com, Molly Schuetz, Anne VanderMeyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
BP goes all-in on AWS, which highlights the efficiency and reliability of Amazon's (AMZN) cloud services offerings.
Tech giants like Alphabet, Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Apple are foraying into the healthcare industry to capitalize on its prospects.
Yahoo Finance takes a look back at some of the biggest corporate busts of the last decade.
A slew of advanced data breaches is expected to increase the demand for cloud security offerings in the coming years. The prospects are prompting cloud service providers to up the ante in this space.
Alibaba (BABA)-backed AutoX applies for testing its self-driving vehicles, without in-car driver backup, thereby stirring competition in the autonomous-vehicle tech space.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Social-media companies insist they're making progress in fighting the manipulation of their platforms. But two researchers, working on an extremely modest budget, have just shown that their defenses are routinely bypassed by an entire manipulation industry, largely based in Russia.In a report for NATO's Strategic Communications Center of Excellence, Sebastian Bay and Rolf Fredheim described an experiment they ran between May and August. In the first two months, during and just after the European Parliament election campaign, they hired 11 Russian and five European "manipulation service providers," who they found simply by searching the web. The companies then delivered 3,530 comments, 25,750 likes, 20,000 views and 5,100 followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube — all fake.Given how serious the social-media platforms claim to be about purging inauthentic activity, the experiment's success rate was stunning. Four weeks after they were posted, a vast majority of the fake engagements were still live; even reporting them to the platforms didn't get most removed.The study reveals a major weakness in the way the social-media giants report their anti-fraud efforts. Facebook has a lot to say about how much content it removes, for instance, but that's like the mayor of a town reporting that 50% of its roads are now pothole-free: You never know which 50%. The important metric is how much manipulative content gets through. Bay and Fredheim found that, once professionals get involved, most of their work sticks, to the extent that they often deliver more engagements than promised for the money. Defenses only work on the most basic level. The pros are always a step ahead.NATO, of course, is mostly interested in political manipulation, and the researchers found that some of the same accounts that helped carry out their study "had been used to buy engagement on 721 political pages and 52 government pages, including the official accounts of two presidents, the official page of a European political party, and a number of junior and local politicians in Europe and the United States."An important question is whether such efforts actually work. One recent paper tried to determine what effect the Russian troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency has had on U.S. political attitudes. The IRA, whose employees and owner were indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into meddling in the 2016 election, used some of the same techniques as the NATO Stratcom researchers. But, the paper said, their fake accounts were effectively preaching to the converted. Even for users who directly interacted with the IRA accounts, the researchers found "no substantial effects" on their political opinions, engagement with politics or attitudes toward members of the opposing party.This doesn't mean social-network manipulation is ineffective for political purposes; much more research would be needed to draw any sweeping conclusions. What's clear now, though, is that the manipulation industry isn't primarily geared toward political uses. Bay and Fredheim found that "more than 90% of purchased engagements on social media are used for commercial purposes." Even though it's Russian-based, this industry isn't about evil Kremlin masterminds trying to turn technology against American democracy. Rather, it's about talented Russian engineers, stuck in the wrong country for launching grand commercial ventures like Facebook or YouTube, trying to make money by milking the existing platforms.What that usually amounts to is helping online "influencers" cheat advertisers. The abysmally low removal rates for fake video views in the Stratcom experiment show the platforms aren't fighting such abuses hard enough. They don't have to: They're still essentially black boxes from an advertising client's point of view. As a result, perhaps billions of dollars (estimates vary wildly) are lost to such fraud each year.Platforms have spent enough time trying, and failing, to prove that self-regulation can work for them. Governments should act to protect not so much voters as advertisers from the manipulation industry, penalizing social-media companies for their inability to prevent fraud and demanding more transparency. Now, as Bay and Fredheim wrote, "data is becoming scarcer and our opportunities to research this field is constantly shrinking. This effectively transfers the ability to understand what is happening on the platforms to social media companies. Independent and well-resourced oversight is needed."Policy makers need to realize that the platform-manipulation industry doesn't thrive because it's a Kremlin weapon. Political weaponization is only a side effect of a parasitic industry built on the flaws of the social-media business model. It's the model that needs to be regulated.To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at email@example.com contact the editor responsible for this story: Timothy Lavin at firstname.lastname@example.com column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Peak globalization is one of 10 investing themes Bank of America-Merrill Lynch has highlighted for the next decade. Shifting demographics and automation are two other stories with investment implications.
(Bloomberg) -- As protests jolt Hong Kong business, organizations from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to universities are adapting by going digital, switching to video-conferencing app Zoom to conduct online investor briefings and virtual lectures.Zoom Video Communications Inc. joins a number of internet services that have taken off since the unrest began over the summer, from mobile messenger Telegram to work-at-home apps. In a financial hub that thrives on face-to-face deal-making and power lunches, Zoom helps fill a void created by transport disruptions and concerns about personal safety.Hong Kong's business community leans on the app's features, which include slide-sharing and support for up to 1,000 call participants, to carry on cross-border communications and with mainland China, where WhatsApp, Telegram and Google alternatives are banned. There's a local version of Zoom that's compatible, which is why the app's downloads in Hong Kong soared 460% in November, after an escalation in protest violence first triggered a spike in September, according to researcher Sensor Tower.Read more: Zoom's Eric Yuan, the CEO Who Made Videoconferencing Bearable"As schools continue to be in lock-down mode, we've had to move our lectures online to minimize disruption," said Cheung Siu Wai, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, adding Skype has been another option.Now valued at $19 billion, Zoom's shares have almost doubled since listing on the Nasdaq this year. It's unclear how the spike in downloads may translate into revenue growth for Zoom, founded by Chinese emigrant Eric Yuan, who now resides in California.The company has various pricing tiers and recently added HSBC to a roster of paying clients that includes Uber Technologies Inc. and Zendesk Inc., underpinning 85% growth in revenue to $167 million in the October quarter. Representatives for the company, which is backed by investors including Salesforce.com Inc., Tiger Global and Qualcomm Inc., declined to comment on how the Hong Kong protests have affected its business."With the periodic traffic disruptions, our colleagues have no choice but to use video-conferencing apps," said Derek Chan, co-founder of Master Concept, a Hong Kong-based cloud service provider.To contact the reporters on this story: Carol Zhong in Hong Kong at email@example.com;Lulu Yilun Chen in Hong Kong at firstname.lastname@example.com contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at email@example.com, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg Markets) -- They flew in from across the U.S.—venture capitalists and entrepreneurs—to discuss a new way to sell stock to the public and keep more money for themselves. The venue, appropriately, was a landmark hotel nicknamed "The Bonanza Inn."Not invited: the bankers who've long dominated initial public offerings.For much of that September day at San Francisco's Palace Hotel, investors behind many of Silicon Valley's biggest unicorns took turns railing against Wall Street. Some fumed over the hefty fees bankers collect for ushering companies onto the stock market. Many criticized IPOs for being priced too low—shortchanging the company owners—so banks could deliver quick profits for big money managers.Such complaints have been around for decades, but now there might be a solution. In 2018 a technique called a direct listing proved that technology can glide a company onto a stock market as smoothly as an expensive fleet of Wall Street underwriters.Two of the dominant U.S. IPO underwriters, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, are helping to develop the direct listing system in a bet that they can keep a place for themselves in the process. But the San Francisco gathering made it clear that much of Silicon Valley wants to limit the involvement of banks.What a 'Direct Listing' Is, and Why Banks Are Nervous: QuickTakeInstead, the Valley crowd is giving a bigger role to Citadel Securities, a Chicago-based firm with little stake in the existing IPO underwriting market, for its market-making technology.Bringing privately held, capital-hungry companies to the exchange for a public offering of stock is one of Wall Street's oldest and proudest functions. Bankers advise startups on how much they can raise and when to go to market. Once conditions are ripe, the companies embark on a roadshow to drum up investor interest and price the new stock. On the big day, a syndicate of banks—sometimes numbering in the dozens—buys up blocks of stock to parcel out to money manager clients. The typical 7% fee on the money raised in a U.S. IPO has withstood competition for the deals, though some of the most high-profile debuts get discounts. Last year, global IPO fees surpassed $7 billion, with the top three banks each bringing in more than $500 million, according to data compiled by Freeman & Co.Companies have tried alternatives. In 2004, Google Inc. (now Alphabet Inc.) famously opted for a so-called Dutch auction, in which investors submit bids and the final price is the highest at which the entire offering can be sold. Low demand forced the company to cut the offering in half and sell at the bottom of the price range it had sought. But the stock popped on the first day, and then the shares kept climbing. There's been debate ever since over whether Google could have gotten more money with a traditional IPO.A direct listing moves a company's stock onto the public market, allowing venture capitalists and employees to cash out, without raising new capital. It does away with the order-building phase, relying on software to match private shares and public demand on the fly. The risk is that supply and demand fall out of whack, leading to violent price swings or even a trading halt, potentially inflicting major damage. Bankers try to keep that from happening by gauging investor interest.In 2018, Stockholm-based music-streaming company Spotify Technology SA became the first high-profile startup to go public through the technique. Its stock swooned as much as 11% from the opening price of $165.90 and remains below that level today. The company paid about $35 million to Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Allen & Co. By contrast, if Spotify had raised $2.4 billion in a traditional IPO—selling about 10% of the company—it would have paid $75 million even at a discounted 3% fee. For its part of the process, Citadel Securities was paid by the stock exchange.Slack Technologies Inc. followed in 2019. On an overcast morning in June, as a jazz band played in front of the New York Stock Exchange's massive columns, startups across the country watched to see if the technology would succeed in matching a supply of closely held shares with a flood of investor bids in real time. Everything hummed.The opening stock price valued Slack at more than double its latest private funding round valuation. (It has since fallen, on a depressed outlook for company revenue.) Trading volume at the open was the third-highest for any debut in the U.S., the New York Stock Exchange said. Slack, which paid advisers $22 million, probably reduced its costs by about a third compared with a typical IPO, according to bankers involved in the deal, who said they immediately started talking to other companies interested in direct listings.When venture capitalist John O'Farrell lingered on the trading floor, it wasn't to see the bankers. Instead, he waited next to a booth occupied by Citadel Securities, the market-maker majority owned by billionaire hedge fund investor Ken Griffin, to introduce himself to a pair of low-key executives steeped in the deal's wiring. It was their computers that had handled the deluge—and $1 billion of their firm's own money facilitated 1 out of every 5 trades. Citadel Securities wouldn't say if it earned profits on those trades.O'Farrell was clearly impressed. His firm, Andreessen Horowitz, an early investor in Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., among others, wields immense clout in deciding how Silicon Valley stock offerings are carried out. If an era of direct listings is commencing, the starting point may be that afternoon he spent with Joseph Mecane, Citadel Securities' head of execution services, and Peter Giacchi, head of floor trading, on the floor of the NYSE."Everything we design in the first couple of days is about smooth performance," Mecane would say later at a Citadel Securities office near the stock exchange. "We feel like we have our brand and reputation on the line with this business."Mecane, the former head of electronic equities trading at Barclays Plc, jumped to Citadel Securities in 2017 and has been busy building a team to ensure smooth trading in the more than 1,400 listed entities for which the firm serves as designated market maker. Citadel Securities aims to expand that client set by helping more companies go public. In that sense, the listing business is just an entry point for potential future revenue. Citadel Securities says its goal is to work with banks on listings and not to compete with them.Mecane's counterpart on the trading floor is Giacchi, who's been making markets for more than 20 years, watching machines replace the functions of hundreds of people. Direct listings put the emphasis on traders and their role in price discovery, a development Giacchi welcomes."It's given the floor a renewed sense of value," he says. Now, helped by technology, there is "the ability to process information quickly and reinvent yourself on the floor."Just a few months after O'Farrell's trip to the trading floor, his firm would help lead the charge in San Francisco to tell the other attendees about the promise of direct listings.In June, famed venture capitalist Bill Gurley at Benchmark Capital encouraged his more than 400,000 Twitter followers to call Citadel Securities and Morgan Stanley and pursue their own direct listings. "Other banks want to position direct listings as 'exceptional' or 'rare,' " Gurley wrote.Five more companies may pursue direct listings in 2020, according to Morgan Stanley.Still, it may yet take years for IPOs to give way entirely to direct listings, says M.G. Siegler, a partner at Google Ventures, another major backer of startups. But "I'm not writing it off that it could be the majority of listings moving forward."Basak covers Wall Street for Bloomberg News, television, and radio in New York.To contact the author of this story: Sonali Basak in New York at email@example.com contact the editor responsible for this story: Christine Harper at firstname.lastname@example.com, David ScheerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son unveiled a $184 million initiative Friday to accelerate artificial intelligence research in Japan, enlisting Alibaba's Jack Ma to expound on his goal of commercializing the technology.Son's company announced a partnership with the University of Tokyo that includes spending 20 billion yen ($184 million) over 10 years by mobile arm SoftBank Corp. to establish the Beyond AI Institute. He roped in the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder for an on-campus chat, during which the two billionaires discussed their vision for the future of technology.The institute will support 150 researchers from various disciplines and focus on transitioning AI research from the academic to the commercial using joint ventures between universities and companies. Health-care, city and social infrastructure and manufacturing will be the primary areas of focus, SoftBank Corp. said in a statement. That dovetails with its own goals: in November, SoftBank and Korea's Naver Corp. said they plan to merge Yahoo Japan and Line Corp. into an internet giant under SoftBank's control, to combine resources on AI and challenge leaders from Google to Tencent Holdings Ltd.Read more: SoftBank to Create Japan Internet Giant to Battle Global RivalsSon has long advocated AI as the most revolutionary new field of technological development. The Beyond AI Institute marks an investment in accelerating that research on his home turf, where he has previously bemoaned the relative under-performance of Japan's startup scene. At the same time, he'll be eager to put behind him a tough 2019 thanks to the calamitous implosion at WeWork and the shrinking values of Uber Technologies Inc. and Slack Technologies Inc.Offering a reminder of his most fruitful investment, Son hosted a talk with Ma, whose online retail empire has been the crown jewel in SoftBank's investment portfolio. The two exchanged compliments and advocated passion, optimism and world-changing visions as essential to successful entrepreneurship."In the past 20 years, we've been friends, partners and like soulmates in changing people's lives," said Son. Ma, in turn, said: "He probably has the biggest guts in the world when doing investment."In a rare expression of contrition, Son recently said "there was a problem with my own judgment" after the WeWork debacle. He has imposed greater financial discipline on startups since then. On Friday, he said his enthusiasm for grand projects was undimmed. "My passion and dream is more than 100 times bigger than what I am right now. I am still only at the first step to my 100 steps."To contact the reporters on this story: Vlad Savov in Tokyo at email@example.com;Takahiko Hyuga in Tokyo at firstname.lastname@example.com contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at firstname.lastname@example.com, Vlad Savov, Peter ElstromFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
The Communications Workers of America union filed a federal labour charge against Alphabet Inc's Google on Thursday, accusing the company of unlawfully firing four employees to deter workers from engaging in union activities. The complaint, seen by Reuters, will trigger a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) investigation into whether Google violated the four individuals' right to collectively raise concerns about working conditions. Google fired the four named employees "to discourage and chill employees from engaging in protected concerted and union activities," the filing states.
The Communications Workers of America union filed a federal labor charge against Alphabet Inc's Google on Thursday, accusing the company of unlawfully firing four employees to deter workers from engaging in union activities. The complaint, seen by Reuters, will trigger a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) investigation into whether Google violated the four individuals' right to collectively raise concerns about working conditions. Google fired the four named employees "to discourage and chill employees from engaging in protected concerted and union activities," the filing states.
(Bloomberg) -- More than 100,000 trips have been taken in robotaxis operated by Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Alphabet Inc. Now the service is expanding to iPhone users.On the first anniversary of its pilot program in Chandler, Arizona, Waymo said it will begin offering an iOS app for its robot ride-hailing service for iPhones. It also revealed new details of the pioneering robotaxi service, which has been slow to offer fully autonomous service without human "safety drivers" behind the wheel to take over in an emergency.Waymo, which began a decade ago as Google's self-driving car project, said its service has 1,500 monthly users and has tripled the number of weekly rides since January. Since late summer, Waymo has ramped up a "rider only" option without human safety drivers to a test group of a few hundred commuters. While those people weren't always charged initially, they are now paying rates that are competitive with Uber and Lyft ride-hailing services, according to a Waymo spokeswoman.Most Waymo rides occur in the late afternoon and evening, with commuters using the service for everything from getting to work to having a "date night," Dan Chu, the company's chief product officer, wrote in a blog post.The service is expanding and will add more riders who will join a wait list by using the new iOS app. The service has been available on Android phones since the spring.Still, John Krafcik, Waymo's chief executive officer, told reporters in October he is unsure when commercial robotaxis will take off. General Motors Co. has delayed the rollout of its service and Ford Motor Co.'s CEO has said the industry overestimated the arrival of self-driving cars."It's an extremely challenging thing to do," Krafcik told reporters at a dinner in Detroit. "I do share your sense of uncertainty, even in my role. I don't know precisely when everything is going to be ready, but I know I am supremely confident that it will be."(Updates with comment from company spokeswoman in third paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Southfield, Michigan at email@example.com contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at email@example.com, Alistair BarrFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Peloton (PTON) was down over 9% at one point in Tuesday's trading after it faced scrutiny over its new holiday commercial.
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Thursday, June 14, 2007
Ukrops and its Future
Yesterday I was out and about and tuned into to Mac's show on WRVA 1140 and listened in on what I determined was a prediction for Ukrops demise. The contention is that Ukrops will not survive given the change in consumer patterns and the change in Richmond demographics. You see way back it was Richmonders shopping at Ukrops who for the most part grew up here. Now with the growth rates in population in the area continuing to rise and for the most part from outside the region, Ukrops is an unknown. It is not a national player on the grocery landscape and upon arrival most lean towards a familiar "brand" mentality. As new residents assimilate into our consciousness they learn more and more about the charm of Ukrops.
Charm. Thats pretty much a luxury these days. Ever gone into a Walmart, ever? Then you can easily see a "big box" with little charm. Talk about a nightmare. However, in the end thats what Ukrops is facing going forward. Big box retailers want a slice of the pie in terms of the grocery segment and they are a big force. Target is expanding its grocery square footage, Walmart is moving towards more Supercenter formats and replacing its old smaller units and then you have the grocers in Kroger and Food Lion. Kroger has done the best at re-creating itself. Its high end feel stores like Rt. 60 in Midlothian are leaps and bounds ahead of its first stores it opened in the Richmond area. But again, in the end we have to look at how we have gotten here.
Remember, Safeway was here, Farm Fresh was here, Welcome, Inc. ( which I think was a Krogeresque experiment in late 80's) A&P was even here way back and all of these are a distant memory. All the while Ukrops has endured and continued to build its local style brand.
The contention that Ukrops will not survive is a bit pre-mature. It is true that its market share has been decreasing but on a store by store comparison has it really?. The company still generates more sales per store than any traditonal grocer: (they did close one store)
Ukrops : 22m per unit
Kroger: 20 million per unit
Food Lion: 11 million per unit
(overall sales by number of stores)
A traditional Target does about 12 million in total sales and a Walmart can do over 30, which includes all of its catagories and services.
A closer look at determining whether a company is facing demise is how much it is costing them to generate the revenues they are producing. Obviously, Walmart is a winner here thanks to China. Sorry thats another story! But Ukrops is generating increasing sales in areas where others are not thanks to area facilities like the bakery operation in the West End as well as the grills on site that are producing high quality food at reasonable pricing if compared to eating out in restaurants. Mind you this was a play that Ukrops moved into with great criticism by the industry because it was a new, untradtional thing. Ukrops was as we say in technology a "first-mover" in Richmond to do this and it has paid off. Kroger is spending huge sums of money to compete in the area and they are close behind Ukrops in sales , but have already put their stores in the high end corners of the market often by nearby Ukrop stores and are now looking for the secondary areas which will not generate the same level of sales.
One thing that I think Mac touched on during his show was to the point. When you consider the current state of tax policy, wages, cost of living increases in the area that does not play toward Ukrops favor. Ukrops has traditonally been known to be a little more expensive, though my wife insists that not actually true depending upon what you are shopping for, and lets face it when life is good and theres gas in the tank with no worries and money in your wallet you go for service. Edge Ukrops. However, as taxs go up, gas prices climb, people worry about property tax issues (if your elderly being able to actually pay them going forward) you think less service and more value. People will force themselves into the stores like Walmart that they adhore because of the value that they may get and fact is have to get in order to maintain their quality of life. I agree with Mac on his point about tax policy issues in that government is forcing the hand of homeowners, especially the elderly and retired on limited income, to make choices that seem completely unfair. Its a huge dilemma.
In the end, I am not concerned about the future of Ukrops. They are a model for private business in how you grow, slow and steady. I am not worried that they closed a store or may close another because thats simply is a part of managing your business. Kroger has closed plenty nationwide as it has grown and takes a market approach to each of its areas. Another aspect you have to consider is how much land Ukrops may own across the area that they have not developed yet. You can bet the Krogers and the Food Lions are heavy into leasing in the centers they are in while Ukrops has the edge in the market and contacts to get in on some of the better real estate transactions. All of that goes to the health and financial stability of a company.
Now, I took some heat yesterday and got some emails about my call for a Wegmans or Whole Foods at Watkins Centre on Rt 60/Rt288. My point was simply for that development to bring in something new as a draw. If that were to happen, that would create a pickle for Ukrops in the Midlothian area and Kroger could take a hit at its Rt 60 unit as well. I have not heard too much from the Ukrops on the Watkins Centre publically, but you would think that such a project would have a direct impact on its Sycamore Square unit. So stay tuned they may have some plans we are all unaware of. Also keep in mind that both Wegmans and Whole Foods ARE more expensive than anything here but they back it up with great quality and selection. Ukrops continues to evolve within their industry and I see no reason why they will not survive in the market as it stands today.
If their sales per unit growth or sales per square foot began to decline over the course of the next few years then that would be a major concern for the grocer. That said however, they have what virtually every company seeks ; Brand Recognition.
7 comments:
- Bill Garnett said...
You failed to mention that Ukrops' "Christian friendly" approach means their stores are closed on Sunday and that they don't sell beer or wine.
Local religious Southern Baptist demographics help Ukrops in this regard.
The industry trend has been towards longer open hours – Wal-Marts are open 24/7. Ukrops has a large capital investment sitting unused, and fresh food sitting, over their Sunday closings. We have gone from Blue Laws to 24/7 in a generation – the trend may not bode well for Ukrops in its current model.
- June 14, 2007 at 4:47:00 PM AST
J. Scott**
I agree with the other comment to an extent. Except that what is discounted is Ukrops is doing more sales per square foot and STILL is closed on Sunday and does not sell beer/wine.
Some of the competition out there is indeed open ten more hours a day during the week and then open virtually 35 hours more on the weekends and still do not do the business Ukrops does.
The arguement could be made that its pricing though. It may be customer (ie at Ukrops we are "guests" not cuntomers) counts is maybe the better number which of course are probably not released by Ukrops.
Blue laws should not frighten anyone. Northerns still have them in Jersey and places in New York and further north and they are coming here in droves. Most people get that. The beer is probably a different story.
Don't discount the stores focus on Quality. There are always many people in there Sunday nights working as the product is brought in for the new week. Their focus on inventory control is the best in the region hands down and the loss numbers are some of the lowest in the industry. Your local Walmart deals with alot of theft issues in addition to loss of product under normal conditions.
- June 14, 2007 at 6:05:00 PM AST
I saw in the paper concerning this and I have to admit I have shopped at Ukrops for over twenty years now, but also shop at Target, Walmart, and Kroger. I think like most people theres not one place that gets all right. I think you will get alot of people using all, well maybe not Food Lion, for different things. I will say though that going to Ukrops with kids is a heck of alot easier than any of the others and Walmart is the worst.
Weird thing is people all have the same thing to say about how bad Walmart is but everybody still goes there.
- June 14, 2007 at 9:35:00 PM AST
UKRAPS is like the VA Tech football team,overrated!!!
- June 19, 2009 at 7:46:00 AM AST
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i can already write this post with relief because i finished the project. well... nearly (hey, isn't that how you got a tower of 'to-do's in the first place?). true, but i could actually call it done as-is if i want. and i reserve the right to do so, should i be called to it. here it is, in all its undone glory:
i know you can tell from my clever styling exactly what this is meant to be. you've seen this type of toy everywhere, and nowadays more often than not they are knitted or crocheted. felted or straight up made from felt! play food! mine is crocheted, and i intend to felt it. i may or may not alter the design and make more of the same type.
i've already used this yarn (lamb's pride) for another felted toy (show-and-tell teaser: this one could also be considered play food, but it's not eaten by most people) and it still shows crocheted stitches pretty clearly. i did try knitting a little green pear with a pretty leftover bit of heathery green, but for some reason the shaping was eluding me and i frogged it (another unfinished project done!).
here's another pic of it all sewn up. i stuffed it with leftover wool bits. i've got a bag going of yarns ends and cut up sweater scraps that i've been using for stuffing. it especially rocks for these felted things since it felts too! and you know it took me all of one minute to finish it, right? after i tracked down scissors, needle, and stuffing. (did i mention we just moved? i swear things will soon be more organized).
i would really love to make this type of toy out of recycled materials as well. i think it could be done with sweaters. not that i'm about to embark upon that at this moment. that is another contributing factor to the mountain. so many ideas!
i'm off to install a basket near the washer in which i can place items that need felting. i was wanting to have such a spot in our last place, to encourage my felting prowess, and it is just the thing to inspire me now. the final step in completing this sweetheart. and if you check back, i promise to upload a picture of the felted version down here.
oh yeah, and while i'm at it, i'll wash a diaper load too. then i'll really be on my way to hot water washing felting goodness.
*update* here it is all felted up!:
and thanks to this post, i figured out that i went one whole week between diaper loads! huzzah!!!


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GRAYSON COUNTY, TX - The Grayson County Sheriff's Office is investigating an early morning shooting at Stinky's Scrap Metal off 1417 in Sherman.
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Lt. Wheeler says Stinky's Scrap Metal has been broken into in the past, so employees have been showing up periodically to check on the business.
Investigators have been at the scene all day working to identify the second intruder.


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Author: admin
Post Date: 2010-09-22 16:00:31
Found in: Health & Wellness
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Nationally renowned and board certified plastic surgeons Peter Butler, M.D. and Jocelyn Leveque, M.D. specialize in all areas of cosmetic surgery for the face and body. Non-surgical treatments such as Fractional Skin Resurfacing, Botox, Juvederm and more are available. Complete wellness and skin care services are offered at The Skin Care Center at Gulf Coast Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Scott McMartin
Medical Center Clinic, Dermatology and Laser Center, 8333 N. Davis Highway, 474-8386
The Dermatology and Laser Center provides treatment of both benign and malignant skin conditions, including broken blood vessels, spider veins of the legs and tattoos. Services for wrinkle reduction and hair removal are also offered. Other cosmetic procedures offered include glycolic and salicylic acid peels, sclerotherapy of spider veins and cosmetic consultations. The Skin Care Center offers high-end dermatology products, including MD Forte, Obagi, SkinCeuticals, Kinerase, and Jane Iredale cosmetics.
The Skin Care Center, Gulf Coast Plastic Surgery
543-A Fontaine St., 476-3223, gulfcoastplasticsurgery.com
Complete wellness and skin care services are offered at The Skin Care Center. Non-surgical treatments such as Fractional Skin Resurfacing, Botox, Juvederm and more are available. The center also offers facials and peels, body treatments, make up and other physician supervised treatments.
Dr. Kevin Welch
Pensacola Office:
Medical Center Clinic, Dermatology and Laser Center
8333 N. Davis Highway, 474-8386
Gulf Breeze Office:
2874 Gulf Breeze Parkway, 916-9969
Dr. Kevin Welch offers everything from skin creams to advanced laser and rejuvenation procedures. Popular treatments and services at the Dermatology and Laser Center include Thermage, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), Photofacials, laser hair removal, Microdermabrasion and Silk Peels. The Skin Care Center offers high-end dermatology products, including Obagi products, Kinerase, Jane Iredale cosmetics, Tilley Hats and more. Services are also available at the Skin Care Center in Gulf Breeze.
by admin | Sep 22, 2010 | Health & Wellness
Author: admin
Post Date: 2010-09-22 16:00:31
Found in: Health & Wellness
Tags: day spas, fitness, Health, running,


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The Oglethorpe women's basketball team lost their final game of the Country Inn and Suites Holiday Tournament Saturday afternoon, falling to Anderson (Ind.), 60-51.
The Lady Petrels led for much of the game, only to see the visiting Lady Ravens overtake them in the final five minutes and take the victory. Oglethorpe started the game on a 17-3 run and held that 14-point lead with 10:52 remaining in the first half. However, Anderson mounted an 18-5 run of their own to cut the Lady Petrel lead to one, 22-21, with six seconds remaining in the half. Oglethorpe got two late free throws to go back ahead by three, though, and they led at halftime by three points, 24-21.
In the second half, Oglethorpe quickly pushed the lead back out to nine points with an 8-0 run, dating back to the last two points of the first half. Over the next 15 minutes, though, Anderson slowly worked their way back into the game. They tied the game, 45-45, with 5:17 remaining, and actually took a five-point lead, 50-45, with 3:44 left in the game. The Lady Petrels mounted a five-point rally to re-even things at 50-50 with 2:12 remaining. However, the Lady Ravens went on a 10-1 run to close the game and complete the nine-point victory.
Freshman guard Kalin Williams finished with her first career double-double, pouring in a game-high 15 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. Senior center Sarah Giles scored 12 points on the day, as well.
Both teams shot under 30 percent for the game, and Oglethorpe shot just 15 percent from three-point range. The Lady Ravens outrebounded the Lady Petrels 49-37. Anderson outscored Oglethorpe 23-7 off the bench.
The loss drops the Lady Petrels to 2-7 on the season. They will next be in action next weekend, when they travel to Montgomery, Ala., for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. They will play Transylvania Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern, then will take on host-team Huntingdon for the second time this season on Saturday.


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Dear Em,
Well I got rid of the Mess Sergeant's job, and Im out again on the brick yard. The boys are sure getting sick of this stuff and are all longing for the rattlers to start for home.
I wonder how the table looks
at home
I wonder if they miss me while
I roam
I wonder how it feels, to sit
down to three square meals
While we are here just starving
all along
I can see the steaks and
chickens coming in.
I can see the fried potatoes
thick and thin.
I can hear my mother say
Boys what will you have today
I wonder how the table
looks at home.
This is one of many that are sung every night before taps. These cards are all dirty but I can't help it. We don't know any more about when we will go home now, that we ever did.
Dear Lena,
Im out here in the brick yards, (as I told Em,) dirty and sweaty, but feeling fine other wise. I wish you would try and make it right with all the folks I should be writing to, and say that I am pretty busy latly. We were out this morning drilling in the hills, and beleive me I was all in once, after climbing a hill with 210 rounds of amunition, rifle, round about, boyonet, wire cutters and a canteen of water. When I first came down here I didnt know it would be possible to climbe some of the hills we are climbing with the stuff we have to wear. I was in town yesterday and I weighed 150 lbs. being a gain of 10 pounds. I bet I pulled 5 lbs. off this morning.
Dear Pa.
It is just night fall and I am going to use up what little light there is left to say. My men and I are out here just across the Rio Grande River, opposite a town called Smeltertown. It gets its name from the largest smeltering plant in the country. When they dump the hot refuse out over the bank, it lights up every thing for almost a mile around. It looks like a river of fire as this stuff is cast off of the trains that they have for this work. Then up the road (or river) aways there is a large cement plant running all the time. We go to sleep by the noise of these machines.
© Copyright 2008 by Richard Landers, All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without permission.


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Stemming from centuries of Jesuit commitment to educate the whole person, Xavier has a rich history, including a Jesuit heritage. As Jesuit schools have educated society's leaders for over 450 years, Xavier's Jesuit Catholic tradition of academic excellence inspires students to think and communicate effectively, to foster a love of lifelong learning, to serve others, and to find God in all things.
Click here to learn more about the Center for Mission and Identity.


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Today, every business is a digital business. The world is changing around us, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are driving a significant part of this metamorphosis.
Mobile devices have taken the market and enable us to be permanently connected, anytime and anywhere. The percentage of the population connected to the Internet will continue to grow rapidly. The integration of digital technologies into companies and organizations across the country will have an impact on productivity, growth and profitability. The right combination of the different elements of a business with new digital technologies allows value to be created through the replacing of physical resources with digital ones, decision-making in real time, more extensive and accurate leverage of information, and use of flexible and easily scalable platforms. This provides companies with big opportunities to increase their efficiency and agility within their industries. Accenture's study "Digital Mexico: the Path to High Performance," shows that 97% of corporate decision-makers surveyed believe that digital technologies should play an important role in their business strategy, and that 74% of employees in Mexico believe that the companies they work for should make better use of digital technologies within no more than three years. Companies should, among other things, aim to:
Learn and develop new and more robust information analysis and intelligence generation capabilities.
Define business processes and establish means which enable continuous collaboration between employees, suppliers, agents and customers.
Integrate digital technology so that functions that support the business can be made more efficient.
Reimagine their customer management model and move away from transactions and towards individual relationships.
Use mechanisms and systems that allow for real-time decision-making.
Within this transformation of business based on the use of digital technologies, where does the corner store stand? Do small stores need to transform digitally too? What should they do, and how? If they didn't, what impact would it have?
The Differentiating Element
Corner stores base their value proposition on convenience for customers or proximity to them, as well as being able to forge much more personal and intimate connections with them than can be achieved by other types of establishments. As such, owners of small stores and storekeepers establish themselves as part of the community and know most of their customers by name. Because of this personal connection, storekeepers remember their customers' past purchases and preferences, which allows them to make highly appreciated recommendations, succeeding in differentiating themselves from the competition and maintaining their most important customers' loyalty.
In the last few years, many retail chains have exploited the convenience proposition by developing formats for meeting customers' need for staples, and have managed to expand their presence by successfully and rapidly multiplying the number of points of sale that use these formats. Similarly, for some years now large supermarket chains have been developing smaller store formats which they can operate profitably in areas where a larger store would not survive. This has created a direct threat to small stores, since value propositions based on the concept of convenience have multiplied and customers are finding different options near their home or workplace where they can not only obtain goods, but also access certain services, such as phone top-up, cash withdrawal or payment of a number of bills. There will be small stores that are under less pressure due to the type of market they serve or the products they offer, but the tendency is to compete directly with chains.
The next step for the major supermarket chains is to recover a more personal knowledge of their customers and gain a stronger bond with them through shopping experiences tailored to their needs and preferences. To this end, they are developing new capabilities such as multi-channel and analytics, leveraging digital technology and the rapid increase in the use of technology by shoppers in all their daily activities. This represents an additional threat to small stores and grocery stores, as their added value in relation to greater proximity and knowledge of their customers could gradually be replicated, totally or in part, by the large supermarket chains or convenience stores, with the added benefit of being able to recognize customers in any of their branches, and not only the one they visit regularly. How should corner stores respond to this new threat, which will begin to take hold in the next few years, particularly in the segment of young consumers, who are so strongly connected with new information technologies? It's a big challenge. Overall, some small stores will be under less pressure due to the type of market and geography they serve, or the type of products they offer. However, the trend is clear, and it is envisaged that more and more small stores will have to compete closely and directly with large retail chains.
The way in which small stores must respond and compete is by improving point-of-sale management, expanding services, developing their links with their customers and their knowledge of them, forming collaborative alliances among themselves and looking for greater support from suppliers of goods. In these five concepts, technology plays a very relevant role, leading us to conclude that small stores should begin to increase their level of digitalization, just as large companies are doing. In order to achieve this, they will likely have to depend on the support of their suppliers a great deal. When it comes to point-of-sale management, they should consider incorporating systems that help them log sales and control inventories, incorporating the use of barcode readers, systems that support the management of offers and promotions for cross-selling and/or administration of loyalty programs. They should have point-of-sale terminals, which can now be created by adapting a smartphone with a reader device, for receiving credit cards, debit cards and food coupons. Similarly, they should have access to the Internet in order to increase connectivity and communication with their suppliers and customers. Small stores should offer new services such as home delivery of orders placed by phone or online, or the option to collect an order placed through these channels in-store, strengthening the concept of convenience. Developing an app that customers can download on their cell phone, and thus maintaining a closer relationship with them, is not that complex. As different small stores manage to join together, it will be easier for them to offer such services. Today, every business is a digital business. As small stores manage to adopt new digital technologies in the right way, they will withstand the threats posed by large retail chains.
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Win a pair of Nikita customised headphones
That's right, Nikita are giving away some very rare and limited availability headphones. You simply just have to say what Nikita means to you to be in with a chance to win a pair. More than a stylish pair of ear muffs these headphones can blast out your favourite tunes wherever you are and they'll be instantly recognizable with the illustration print on them, by collaborative artist Ghica Popa. So far there have been hundreds of comments and some pretty lovely things said. In all there are 15 pairs available to win; we're just over half way through the competition to win a pair a day, so there's just a handful left to be won. Click the link and write what you think –
Winners will be announced daily and a follow up made so we see your photo – we want to see you rocking the headphones! All pictures received will be added to the Nikita Blog on the website.


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Here's my attempt to teach "how to sketch hair", step by step. Since there are oh so many hair styles I thought it better to share a few of my techniques for drawing certain hair styles/types. Lets get started!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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May 22nd declared International Day for Biological DiversityMay 21, 2013
KARACHI: May 22nd has been declared the International Day for Biological Diversity to highlight why we need to stop the biodiversity loss if we were to sustain life on Earth.
The theme for the year 2013 is Water and Biodiversity, which has been chosen to coincide with the United Nations designation of this year as the International Year of Water Cooperation. The theme brings to the fore how water management is vital for the conservation of biodiversity.
Providing and sustaining water for the needs of people around the world is already a major challenge for sustainable development in both the developed and developing countries. The ecosystems of our world, particularly forests and wetlands, ensure that clean water is available to the animal and plant kingdoms. Wetlands can help reduce risks of flooding, while restoring soils can reduce erosion and pollution, and help increase water availability for the crops. Protected areas can assist in providing water for the cities. These are, but a few examples of how ecosystem management can help us solve water related problems.
"Flow of water in the rivers is essential to maintain the flora and fauna along the banks of the rivers and delta, therefore IUCN made a strong recommendation to the government for releasing a minimum of 35 million acre feet of water downstream Kotri barrage", says Tahir Qureshi, Marine Coastal Expert, IUCN Pakistan.
Pakistan is a country rich in biodiversity, home to more than 1,250 species of plants and animals, however, deforestation, soil erosion, salinity and water logging have become major threats to the biodiversity in Pakistan, which has a number of the world's rarest animals and plants, but these are now in danger from habitat loss and overuse, coupled with rising population. This has put immense pressure on the country's natural resource base.
"Since humans are the custodians of the earth therefore it is their prime responsibility to use the natural resources equitably for a sustainable future. All species on the earth depend on each other, so by conserving biodiversity we conserve life on earth", says, Mr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, Country Representative, IUCN Pakistan.
Biodiversity Conservation has been the core priority area for IUCN since its inception in 1948. Globally, IUCN has developed key expertise under its Species and the Marine and Polar programmes. The most notable work of IUCN is the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, which is widely recognized as the most comprehensive and objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. IUCN Pakistan, since commencement of its operations in Pakistan, has successfully implemented numerous biodiversity and water related initiatives.
IUCN supports the Government of Pakistan in meeting its obligations as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity CBD, which is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. The convention recognizes that there is more to biological diversity than plants, animals, micro organisms and their ecosystems – it is about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air and water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live. For instance, 40% of our medicinal drugs come from wild plants.
IUCN has also joined hands with UNESCO and Balochistan Forest and Wildlife Department to get 111,852 hectares designated as Pakistan's second Man and Biosphere MAB reserve to enable scientific study and robust governance. Once designated, this area will be one of the 610 MAB sites in the world.
Expanding its work to the coast of Sindh, IUCN through the Sindh Coastal Community Development Project has also been involved in training the communities to plant mangroves, monitoring mangrove plantation and assessing the environmental impacts of aquaculture activities undertaken by the Sindh Fisheries Department. In the north, IUCN's biodiversity conservation work includes, developing the Murree Biodiversity Park, spanning over 17.4 hectares.
However, if we look at the bigger picture, this is just a small drop in the ocean. Pakistan is at a great risk of losing its rich biological heritage; already 37 species of mammals are threatened, along with 25 species of birds, while 500 species of plants have become rare. The need of the hour is to link development frameworks with ecosystem restoration, and biodiversity conservation with livelihood opportunities, and to be able to demonstrate this relationship from policy-to-practice levels.


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Former hospital chief executive wanted on child rape charges in the US denied bail by court
A 47-year-old man wanted in America on charges including child rape and sexual assault has been refused bail by a High Court judge in London.
Tobias Bowen left New York after being charged in 2010 and granted bail. He headed for Liberia, where he became chief executive of the Redemption Hospital, a large public hospital.
Detectives working with the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force tracked his travels, and he was taken into custody at Heathrow Airport when he visited Britain in April this year.
Bowen, who has a family home in the UK, is now facing legal moves to extradite him back to the US for trial.
The Dutch citizen's lawyers asked Mr Justice Nicol, sitting at London's High Court, to allow him bail pending the extradition proceedings.
They said it could take months to deal with the US extradition request and the alleged risk of him disappearing because of the seriousness of the accusations against him could be dealt with by appropriate bail conditions.
The judge described the circumstances surrounding the case as still "somewhat cloudy".
But he refused the bail application, saying there was a risk of failure to surrender and "the proposed bail package put forward doesn't allay my concerns as to risk".
Online Editors


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Hamamatsu, Japan, October 31, 2010 – An inspired Brazil hammered the Netherlands in a surprisingly one-sided match (25-19, 25-18, 25-14) on the third day of first-round action in Pool B of the 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship at the Hamamatsu Arena on Sunday.Both teams had played five-set thrillers on Saturday, but Brazil seemed much fresher and on top of their game, with snappy attacks and better defence than in their previous matches. The Dutch could not sustain any attacking momentum, and their ace spiker Manon Flier missed serves and spikes after her record-setting performance against Italy a day earlier.
FIVB Women's World Championship Japan 2010 official page
Brazil came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, with Fabiola's crushing spike taking them to a 10-5 lead. The Netherlands searched in vain for weaknesses in Brazil's defensive rotation, but even Flier was at a loss and the Dutch fell behind 14-7 after Fabiana put away an easy spike. With his team appearing flat after their brilliant effort on Saturday, Dutch coach Avital Selinger called a timeout at 18-7. But Brazil merely continued with their stunning display, which was punctuated by a backcourt missile from Sheilla. Flier's right-wing spike at 22-10 sparked something of a rally from the Dutch, and Maret Grothues' serve caught the line to make it 22-14. Some more close calls gave the Netherlands a glimmer of hope but they finally conceded the first set at 25-19.Brazil's excellence continued in the second set and they took a 4-1 lead. Jaqueline dived to retrieve Flier's deadly backcourt spike, and she then stonewalled another at close quarters to give her team a 7-4 lead. Brazil's cross-court spikes continued to find holes in the Dutch defence and they stretched their lead to 12-7. Flier then missed a wide spike and the Dutch couldn't handle Natalia's deep spike, as Brazil seemed the fresher of the two teams. Brazil maintained five and six-point leads, Sassa's slicing serve catching the Dutch sleeping. Flier's diving effort out of bounds woke her team up, and her serving took them to 22-17, but Brazil won 25-18 for a commanding two-set advantage.In the third set Fabiana's excellent play led Brazil to an early 3-1 lead. Chaine Staelens then served very long, giving Brazil a 7-3 lead, and Brazil's block gave them an imposing 11-3 lead. With fans in the large crowd pounding their drums and chanting "Bra-zil, Bra-zil", everything seemed to be going the way of the South Americans. Flier even fell backwards and flailed a spike into the net. Flier and young setter Laura Djikema then mis-communicated on an attack, giving Brazil a 15-6 lead, and although the Dutch didn't give up, with four players chasing a ball out of bounds at one stage, Brazil ran out comfortable enough winners.After a one-day break, the Netherlands will play Kenya on Tuesday, while Brazil will face Puerto Rico.