By Josh Harvey, freelance writer.

In the last 15 years or so, since the first iPhone debuted all the way back in 2007, it’s not hyperbolic to suggest that smartphones have changed the very fabric of our society. The average teenager probably spends more time on their phone than off it and we all rely on them for business and pleasure, par-ticularly during those long and stressful commutes.

Datalogic, provider of automatic data capture solutions, has launched its Memor 30 and 35 flagship mobile computers. The Memor 30/35 is designed to expedite operations with a superior scanning performance in all environments.

Quadient (Euronext: QDT), a global automation platform powering secure and sustainable business connections, has partnered with Co-op in the UK to deliver further parcel locker growth and added convenience to its communities.

Think Tank, the UK bespoke packaging design agency, is launching new SMART packaging formats designed to help brands elevate their packaging design and boost their commercial reach.

While retailers understand the need to move towards increased first-party data collection and personalised shopper engagement, many remain concerned about building privacy-centric experiences that meet consumers’ growing demands for the responsible use of their data, the latest research from Wunderkind, the AI-driven performance marketing solution, warns.

Bitsight, the cyber risk management solutions provider, has introduced new asset mapping capabilities to help companies better manage vulnerabilities across their extended attack surface.

As AI regulations in the US have evolved to be more supportive of commercial use, retailers and malls are increasingly adopting technologies that were once the domain of law enforcement and federal agencies. This shift is driven by the need for enhanced security and operational efficiency, with many turning to advanced video analytics and facial intelligence.

Quorum Cyber - with offices in Edinburgh, UK, and Tampa, Florida – has acquired Difenda, a Canadian-based, full-stack Microsoft Security Managed Services company. The announcement underscores Quorum Cyber's global momentum and strengthens its position as a leader of Microsoft Security services. 

Endor Labs, the open source software security solutions provider, has released The 2024 Dependency Management Report, which consolidates extensive original and third-party research into the current state of security in the software dependency lifecycle that represents the foundation for all application development.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK are facing significant challenges in today’s digital landscape, with misinformation, fake reviews and inadequate search and engagement tools putting them at a serious disadvantage compared to larger competitors.

Thoughtworks, the global technology consultancy that integrates strategy, design and engineering to drive digital innovation, has started a strategic partnership with UK-based cybersecurity startup Advanced Cyber Defence Systems (ACDS) by providing Thoughtworks DAMO AI-powered application managed services.

Graylog has unveiled significant security advancements to drive smarter, faster and more cost-efficient security operations. The company’s latest capabilities include advanced data routing, asset-based risk scoring and AI-generated investigation reports.

By Arun Rasika Karunakaran, Retail Product Manager & Consultant,Tata Consultancy Services.

Over the last decade, the number of online sales has skyrocketed. The most recent statistics show that 19.4% of normal retail sales around the world were made online. That has led to some retailers thinking that it might be time to shift most of their focus to e-retail and their online storefronts.

As Dyslexia Awareness Week (07-13 October 2024) arrives this week, digital transformation specialists Sherwen Studios are advocating for retailers to reconsider how accessible their website is for users affected by dyslexia.

New data from Demica, the fintech, reveals that the paper packaging sector in key markets across Europe and North America is showing signs of stabilisation.

Forter, the Trust Platform for digital commerce, has released findings from its 2024 Consumer Trust Premium Report, which explores the evolving relationship between consumer shopping habits and brand trust, based on 2,000 survey respondents in the US and UK.

It has recently emerged that consumer habits amongst Gen Z are changing, with many now turning to social media for retail therapy. Weighing in on this growing phenomenon of social media shopping, Nick Drewe, founder of the online discount platform Wethrift, offers his insights:

By Luke Alexander, freelance writer.

In today's digital landscape, social media has become a pivotal tool for eCommerce businesses looking to thrive in a competitive market. With 5.17 billion active users, social media is essential for businesses aiming to grow and sustain their presence.

DHL eCommerce UK has made two new appointments to its management team, drawing on experience from the retail industry to further align DHL’s services to the evolving eCommerce market.

Linnworks, provider of inventory, order and warehouse management solutions for ecommerce retailers, has announced its new integration with Loop, a post-purchase platform designed to optimise returns, exchanges and reverse logistics.

By Jeremy Light, freelance writer.

Businesses are constantly searching for innovative methods to lower costs, increase productivity, and satisfy the ever-increasing demands of their clients in today's fast changing e-commerce environment.

While discounts and sales events have long been associated with holiday shopping, new data from e-commerce provider Visualsoft reveals that consumers are motivated by more than just deep discounts when it comes to their seasonal and gifting purchases.

Russia again owes more than $50 billion to former shareholders of the Yukos oil company after a court of appeal in the Netherlands upheld three international arbitration decisions on the lawsuits of Yukos shareholders that were brought down in 2014 in The Hague. This is the largest compensation in the history of international arbitration. The court thus agreed with the former shareholders that oil company Yukos was illegally nationalized and liquidated, while its assets were transferred to state-owned companies. Following the court decision in The Hague, the company's former shareholders will try to seize Russian property in other countries. It remains unclear, though, how long the complex process will take. The landmark decision to collect $50 billion from Russia was made in 2014  by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The plaintiffs in the case were three offshore companies: Hulley Enterprises Yukos Universal Veteran Petroleum, part of Group Menatep Limited. They owned 70% of Yukos and lost their money during its bankruptcy. Company founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky was not on the list of the plaintiffs. In accordance with the decision, Cyprus-based Hulley Enterprises and Yukos Universal Limited were to receive a compensation of $39.9 billion and $1.85 billion, respectively, while the Yukos Pension Fund Veteran Petroleum Ltd. - 8.2 billion dollars. In 2016, the execution of these decisions was suspended by the first instance of the Dutch court, which satisfied Russia's complaint, but now the plaintiffs will be able to resume their attempts to arrest Russian state property abroad. In turn, the Russian authorities intend to reach the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. Arresting Russian state property abroad worth $50 billion will be quite difficult Russia has the right to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, but proceedings in other countries to enforce the decisions to recover more than $50 billion may resume already now.

Ilgar Hajiyev, a developer of Accord Smart residential complex, accused of numerous crimes, including real estate scam, is facing another criminal case in Russia. Defrauded homebuyers are collecting signatures for a petition in their defense. These people, who paid their money for apartments in the Moscow region, Odintsovo сity district, but never received keys to their new homes, demand Hajiyev should be delivered to Russia to stand trial for fraud. Only 4 apartment buildings out of 12 that should have been commissioned in 2020 are built - with many violations. "Numerous violations were committed during the construction: façades are falling off, walls and decoration of public areas are crumbling, cardboard doors are already broken," the petition reads. The billion worth scam Hajiyev fled overseas with investors' money in January 2019. It was not only clients, but also business partners, whom Hajiyev scammed, including creditors of SDI Group. Apart from Accord Smart housing complex, subsidiaries of SDI Group were also developers of the Pirogovskaya Riviera residential complex in Mytishchi, the Moscow Region. The complex is being finished by another developer. Hajiyev started building the Pirogovskaya Riviera complex together with businessman Isai Zakharyaev, who later left the project, but never received money for his share. The head of SDI Group owes more than one billion rubles to the former partner. Another one billion Hajiyev siphoned off from the project developer Comfort Invest.

With the continuous and rapid evolution of the technological era, digital currencies are gaining popularity daily. They have been gaining traction from the past half-decade. Despite the fluctuations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies' value, more and more people start seeing cryptocurrency as a profitable investment. For instance, if we talk about Bitcoin, one of the most popular types of cryptocurrency, it has taken over the digital currency market. If we further discuss its fame, you'll see that it is being used in some of the biggest business names around the globe, including Microsoft, Overstock, and AT&T, now accept it as a method of payment. Here, you might be thinking, why do people use cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency wallets? What are their pros and cons? Is it worth investing in cryptocurrency wallets in 2020? If you have such questions, get them answered here. But first, let us tell you about the MOST USEFUL cryptocurrency wallets. A lot of wallets are designed solely for the storage of cryptocurrencies. At a time when there was a peak in online currency exchanges and thefts, there was a need to create a wallet that will provide ultimate protection. OWNR Wallet is one of the safest bitcoin wallets to buy crypto in 2020. It helps people in keeping their digital money safe from external threats. Along with security, OWNR Wallet offers a variety of useful features for both holders and traders.

Startups are a lot like infants. They come into the world vulnerable and needy. And it's your job, as the founder, to protect your new business much like a parent would with a helpless baby. Businesses face numerous risks from the start. And in many regards, it's your ability to protect your fledgling business during these early days that makes or breaks your chances of long-term success. In light of this, here are a few practical tips you may find valuable in your pursuit of growth and stability: Form the Right Legal Entity One of the first steps every business owner should take is to form the correct legal entity. This legal entity will provide tax advantages as well as certain asset protections. The most common types of legal entities include:

The US will expand sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. The sanctions will now affect companies that provide services or funding to install equipment on board the vessels that take part in the project. Such a move may permanently halt the construction of the pipeline. The news to expand the sanctions was reported on the website of the US Department of State. Similar restrictions are to be imposed on the participants of the Turkish Stream and other similar projects.The Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline provides for the construction of two sections of the gas pipeline system with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the coast of Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Originally, the construction of the pipeline system was supposed to be completed in 2019. However, the work on the project was suspended after US Congress passed a package of sanctions against the participants of the project. The USA remains opposed to the project, claiming that it makes Europe overly dependent on Russian natural gas and increases political pressure on Ukraine, which transits natural gas further to Europe. Kiev and several countries of the European Union share the same position. "Russia uses its energy export pipelines to create national and regional dependencies on Russian energy supplies, leveraging these dependencies to expand its political, economic, and military influence, weaken European security, and undermine U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. These pipelines also reduce European energy diversification, and hence weaken European energy security," the US State Department said in a statement. Russia, Germany, Austria and a number of other countries, whose companies are involved in the construction, insist that this is nothing but a business project.In late 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Nord Stream-2, having demanded the companies involved in the construction should immediately stop their works on the project. Allseas, a Swiss company, pulled out of the project almost at once.Representatives of Russia's natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, stated that they would be able to complete the construction of Nord Stream-2 independently. For the time being, one needs to finish the construction of the section that is 100 kilometres long. On October 17, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview with RND that the project would be completed.

Bankruptcy isn't a topic that anyone likes to discuss. Creditors, debtors, and government officials all get a little queasy at the thought of bankruptcy, but it exists for a reason. And in many situations, it can provide relief when financial friction is heightened. But bankruptcy isn't the same in every country. Laws, rules, and stigmas differ rather significantly - particularly between Russia and the United States. The what and why of bankruptcy Bankruptcy is one of the primary methods by which control over an asset can be transferred to more capable or efficient owners in the instance of market economies. Ultimately, bankruptcy serves three distinct purposes: To solve collective action problems among creditors as they deal with insolvent debtors. To give individual debtors a chance at a "fresh start" when they're overburdened by debt. To preserve/save the financial distress firms have by reorganizing rather than liquidating. Bankruptcy is basically government-sanctioned relief that allows individuals or businesses to have debts forgiven, granted they meet specific criteria and follow certain guidelines. It plays an important role in keeping the larger economic engine hitting on all cylinders. Without bankruptcy, millions of citizens would find themselves impoverished and unable to financially recover from dire situations.

On Monday, September 20, during a trading day on the Hong Kong stock exchange, the shares of Chinese developer Sinic collapsed by 87 percent. Experts point out that the shares collapsed due to the "domino effect", which was caused by the crisis of China's another developer giant, Evergrande. In 2020, Evergrande owner Hui Ka Yan was among the top three Chinese wealthy men. Today, however, the development company that he owns has found itself on the verge of default. Evergrande's debts are overwhelming and reach an astronomical amount of $302 billion. How did Hui Ka Yan lead his development empire to such a deep crisis? Evergrande is due to pay its investors $83 million on September 23rd. S&P Global believes that the Chinese government refuses to bail out the debt-stricken company. However, Hui Ka Yan is full of optimism. He assured his employees that his company will extricate from the crisis, although he did not specify how.

It's difficult to highlight any positives of the recent pandemic. However, if one exists in the business world, it's the virtual infrastructure that was built on the fly to allow companies to make the shift away from traditional brick and mortar operations. If you've been on the fence about a permanent shift in the virtual direction, this is your time to shine. The benefits of going virtual

Russia's refusal to pay $50 billion to former Yukos shareholders will lead to new investigations.On March 31, the Moscow City Court will consider an appeal, which was filed against the ruling to pay $35 million to former Yukos shareholder Alexey Golubovich by his ex-wife Olga Mirimskaya. Allegedly, she received the money for the sale of Yukos shares 15 years ago, and her ex-husband asked for his share as part of the divorce proceedings that have been ongoing for the last ten years. These are unusual demands as Mirimskaya has never owned shares in the oil company. In addition, Golubovich was not only its shareholder, but also served as the director for strategic planning and corporate finance at OAO NK Yukos and was aware of all information related to the financial dealings of the oil giant. A journalistic investigation conducted by Pravda.Ru showed that Alexey Golubovich likely still works in close collaboration with other ex-owners of Yukos. Alexey Golubovich, a former shareholder of Yukos oil company, and Olga Mirimskaya, the chairwoman of the Board of Directors of BKF Bank, divorced in 2012, but the litigation over the division of their marital property continues to this day. Olga Mirimskaya is the founder of the Russian Product Company. She is also President of BKF Bank. Mirimskaya is charged with giving a bribe — two vehicles worth a total of 3.25 million rubles — to Yury Nosov, an investigator at the Moscow Region Department of the Investigative Committee in 2017. He handled the case, in which she appeared as a victim in connection with the kidnapping of her daughter. Nosov and Mirimskaya were arrested in the bribery case. They plead not guilty, claiming that the case has been initiated under false pretences with malicious intent. "According to the defendant, the case was initiated by Alexey Golubovich, as well as by her former common-law partner Nikolai Smirnov, a co-owner of the Golden Crown payment system, as an act of revenge for the return of her daughter, in order to seize her property," Mirimskaya's lawyer Alexander Chernov said.

Continued. Read Part I of the article here. Alexey Golubovich, Yukos's former director for strategic planning and corporate finance was one of the main witnesses in the case against Yukos. How can one determine the basis of his testimony? Was it a wish to help the Russian justice system or the subtle game of a "double agent"? In order to understand this, one may need to recall a few facts from his business biography. In the first part of our investigation, we talked about Alexey Golubovich's business projects and lawsuits in 2010–2022, in which one could see both the shadows of his former Yukos colleagues (for example, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Yuri Beilin) ​and the non-systemic opposition.

Rising global commodity prices and falling economic growth around the world are the result of the decision by Biden and his European "acolytes" to declare economic war on Russia. The U. S. and the European Union announced tougher sanctions against Russia because of the "Bucha incident" without an international investigation. Nevertheless, as Pravda previously wrote, the "atrocities in Bucha" were most likely staged by the Zelensky regime. The economic war of Western civilization against Russia has in any case been declared and its goal is clear: the complete destruction of Russia, the seizure of its territories and natural resources. Most likely, the total energy blockade of Russia will only intensify, throwing the world financial markets into chaos.

Retail theft in the U.S. is reaching critical levels, costing businesses around $100 billion annually. While shoplifting and various forms of employee theft are rising, a particularly challenging issue is "sweethearting."

Check Point Research (CPR) has released a report revealing that ransomware remains the top cyber threat. RansomHub has quickly emerged as the fastest-growing group, operating through Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS).

With Halloween coinciding with school half-term and the religious festival of Diwali this year, UK shoppers embraced spooky season, delivering a boost to in-store shopper traffic, the latest data from Sensormaic Solutions, the leading retail traffic consulting and analytics group from Johnson Controls, shows.

Shipster, a custom shipping integration platform, and Futura Retail Solutions, an advanced retail and warehouse management software, have announced a strategic partnership to target growing omni-channel retail markets.

By Aviram Ganor, General Manager EMEA, Riskified.

Retailers have plenty to keep them awake at night, whether it’s enticing consumers to shop,  utdoing their competition or – most worrying of all – how to ensure their long-term survival in a rocky economy. Yet the latest insight from the British Retail Consortium offers some hope.

By Gareth Hunt, freelance writer.

One of the world's most important currencies is information. That information could be about anybody and anything and may be used in a million different ways. With this much personal information people put on the internet, it becomes effortless for cyber criminals to get that information and perpetrate identity thefts.

By Jo Bradley, Business Development Manager at Sparck Technologies.

Companies can be schizophrenic about packaging and its costs. On the one hand, product packaging is closely scrutinised – a battleground between buyers seeking to drive costs down and marketers looking for ever greater impact and ‘shelf appeal’.

In recognition of Cyber Security Awareness Month, Uswitch Broadband experts set out to explore how well people are protecting themselves online. The survey uncovered common mistakes that leave people vulnerable to cyber risks, along with actionable tips on how to safeguard personal information.

By Craig McPherson, freelance writer.

Think of this. You've got a serious deadline to cover and are working on it. After one hour of work, you turn back to social media for a "state of relaxation". But guess what? You keep on scrolling your favourite social media platform for hours and end up missing the deadline. Sounds familiar, right?

Online retailers saw a significant increase in online Halloween sales, bolstered by the event (31 Oct) falling during school half-term as well as coinciding with Diwali, according to data from Wunderkind, the AI-driven performance marketing solution.

By Kumar Abhishek,Pixelo Digital.

As retailers gear up for the annual Black Friday rush this month, Supply Chain Managers, Production Planners and Inventory Managers face unique challenges in preparing for one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

By Georgia Leybourne, Chief Marketing Officer, Linnworks.

Success in ecommerce and retail today hinges on consumer convenience. It is fast becoming a powerful tool in the e-commerce industry, transforming the way businesses engage with their customers and increasing sales through social commerce.

With the holiday season fast approaching, retail payroll teams around the world are bracing for the strain of seasonal hiring. The influx of workers means added payroll runs, and yet too few are turning to technology to ease the pressure.

By Umar Butt, CEO of UK and Europe at Aramex.

The pre-loved market is taking the fashion industry by storm. Reminiscent of the continued popularity of charity shops, thrift stores or vintage boutiques, the appetite for second hand clothes has been a constant for centuries, however in recent years a paradigm shift has moved this growing market into the mainstream.

CrowdStrike has agreed to acquire SaaS security solutions provider, Adaptive Shield. With this acquisition, CrowdStrike reports that it will be the only cybersecurity vendor to provide unified, end-to-end protection against identity-based attacks across the entire modern cloud ecosystem – from on-premises

Veracity Trust Network (Veracity) has been awarded the Cybersecurity Co-Innovation and Development Fund (CCDF) CyberCall grant of S$1 million by the Cyber Security Agency Singapore (CSA).

Russia's Vkusno i Tochka (Tasty and That's It) fast food chain, which appeared n the country instead of McDonald's, will have meal combos for children similarly to Happy Meal, the company's press service told RBC. The sets will be called "Kids Combos." The company will remove toys from the sets to replace them with books. The new products will be available at restaurants of the network from December 12 in Novokuznetsk, Novosibirsk, Berdsk, Barnaul, Tomsk, Kemerovo and Krasnoyarsk. Kids Combos will be available throughout Russia starting from January. Kids Combos will include nuggets, cheese snacks, classic burgers, salads, carrot sticks and apple wedges, as well as a drink of choice, a representative of Tasty and That's It said.