Business

SANTA MONICA, CA — Are you wondering about the new stores opening or closing in your neighborhood? What about new menu items at your favorite restaurants, or a recent development from a local startup? Here is a round-up of recent business news on the Westside of L.A. County: Bird Announces 'Helmet Selfie' Safety Incentive ProgramE-scooter riders will be able to snap a selfie wearing their helmet to get incentives such as future ride credits. Sickened Passengers On Norwegian Cruise Ship Hospitalized In LAThe Norwegian Cruise Lines' Norwegian Joy cruise ship docked in San Pedro so passengers could be hospitalized due to an outbreak on the ship Malibu Resident, Akon To Host Music And Arts Festival For CharityAll proceeds from this weekend's two-day festival Akon Lighting LA will go to charity. New Cocktail Lounge 'Canary' Opens In Santa MonicaCanary, a modern cocktail lounge with tropical décor, opened last Friday in Downtown Santa Monica. Oprah's Favorite Things: West … [Read more...] about New Cocktail Lounge | Helmet Selfie: West LA Business News

Western businesses are jockeying for investment opportunities in Iran as the country regains access to the global financial system following the lifting of sanctions at the weekend. Russian investment firm Renaissance Capital has described Iran as “the last remaining sizeable global economy cut off from international capital to reopen”. The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, said on Sunday that 150 companies from 50 countries had recently visited Iran for investment. Local media quoted Abbas Akhondi, the minister for roads and urban development, as saying that Iran had struck a deal with the French company Airbus for the purchase of 114 new planes, estimated to be worth more than $10bn (£7bn). On Monday the German automotive firm Daimler said it had signed letters of understanding with local partners to return its truck business to Iran, six years after sanctions interrupted its activity. Iran has a huge car market and French manufacturers including Peugeot and Renault … [Read more...] about Iran capitalises on sanctions removal with slew of deals with western businesses

Today is ‘Small Business Saturday’ in the UK, a holiday aimed at promoting the success of small businesses by calling for shoppers to steer clear of the big commercials names. The grassroots effort takes place on the first Saturday of December every year, with the intention of raising the profile of local and independent businesses in communities across the UK. The first Small Business Saturday took place on 7 December 2013, and has since continued every year. No doubt encouraging to small business owners, the British Twittershpere is alive with supportive calls for the special day, including from the country’s leading political parties. We’re cutting taxes for small businesses. #SmallBizSatUK #SmallBusinessSaturday pic.twitter.com/GC3JdHgdm9 — Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) 7 December 2019 ​ Labour will#SmallBusinessSaturday #SmallBizSatUK — Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) 7 December 2019 Today is #SmallBusinessSaturday I’ll … [Read more...] about ‘Go Local’: British Twittersphere Mobilises in Support of ‘Small Business Saturday’

Volkswagen has launched its new Corporate Business Centre in Hyderabad, informs the automaker in a release.The carmaker also informs that this is the 20th CBC of the company. In the last one year, the corporate business of Volkswagen has grown rapidly with over 40 per cent contribution to the business, further claims the brand.The CBC will cater to those customers, who are continuously on-the-go. The product offerings by the Volkswagen CBC range from attractive offers on the product portfolio, customized service packages and tailor-made financing options as well.Commenting on this, Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said, “The Corporate Business Center program has seen an overwhelming response over the last year and we are proud that we have delivered our commitment of launching 20 Corporate Business Centres in 2019. The Hyderabad market is of strategic importance to us, especially with the increasing number of corporate penetration in the region."He also said, … [Read more...] about Volkswagen launches 20th Corporate Business Centre in Hyderabad

It was an everyday kind of quarter for HSBC: superficially healthy earnings were undermined by a $1.6bn (£1bn) charge to cover a long list of fines, provisions and compensation bills. By way of variation on a theme, there was news of a possible criminal investigation over tax matters in France. It can all be filed under “legacy issues”, to use the bankers’ jargon, but the message from HSBC’s chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, was unmistakable: the “significant items” line in the profit-and-loss account will remain significant for some time yet. He is now walking away from some of the financial targets he set only in May last year for the 2014-16 period. A cost-to-income ratio of 55%? Try the “high 50s”, suggested Gulliver. HSBC will soon employ 7,000 people in compliance roles, up from 1,700 when he became chief executive in 2010. As for a return on shareholders’ equity of 12-15%, that now looks out of reach in a world where … [Read more...] about Business as usual for HSBC as fines and provisions hit earnings hard

Virtual private networks or VPNs are popping up on everyone's radar these days, from general users to full-on IT security pros. VPNs are a highly mature technology that originated largely with IT professionals looking to provide safe remote access to roaming users as well as securely connect different office sites to one another across the internet. But over the last few years, VPNs have pivoted sharply to become one of the most popular and indispensable tools in every privacy-conscious consumer's surfing toolkit. But does this newfangled version of VPN have what it takes to help businesses, too? How Do VPN Services Work? What's new about VPNs isn't its core tech but merely how it's being packaged for consumption. At its core, every VPN is essentially a tunnel; in fact, they're often described using that word. Simply picture the internet as a cloud and then imagine your particular session of traffic as a long stream of bits worming their way through that cloud to wherever you're web … [Read more...] about 4 Reasons Your Business Should Use a VPN Service