Auto dealers mulling infra, manpower rationalisation: FADA

Dealers moving to low-rent areas to sustain business: FADA

Auto dealer body FADA on Thursday said dealers were looking for rationalisation of their assets as well as manpower, especially in bigger cities, to tide over challenging business environment.

FADA said the stress was more on dealerships in bigger cities due to the prevailing situation, compared with outlets in smaller towns and rural areas.

“Dealers are looking at moving to smaller places with relatively low rent and also looking at rationalisation of manpower… to carry forward in these challenges times,” FADA President Vinkesh Gulati told reporters.

To keep the sector alive, FADA is also talking to auto companies to keep inventory in check during the festive season this year in order to avoid overstocking at dealer-end as witnessed in the last two years, he added.

“We are speaking to SIAM and auto companies to keep inventory in check during this festive season as we don’t want to [face the] same situation of overstocking as we did in the last two years,” Mr. Gulati said.

Kia Motors and Toyota Kirloskar Motor had met expectations of dealers better than others in the passenger vehicle segment during the lockdown, FADA said.

In the July-August period, FADA had conducted a survey in association with PremonAsia, on support given by original equipment manufacturers to their dealers for COVID-19. “Even before the pandemic hit us… we were already de-growing for 15-odd months. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 outbreak has been a significant blow to… auto dealers,” Mr. Gulati said.

Tom Brady at Mile High: More lows than highs for arguably best-ever NFL quarterback – The Denver Post

2001: Broncos 30-21

2003: Patriots 30-26

2005: Broncos 28-20

2005 playoffs: Broncos 27-13

2009: Broncos 20-17

2011: Patriots 41-23

2013 playoffs: Broncos 26-16

2015: Broncos 30-24

2015 playoffs: Broncos 20-18

2016: Patriots 16-3

2017: Patriots 41-16

Amazon’s New Ring Security Camera Will Fly Around Your Home

Amazon.com Inc. has built a camera on a small drone designed to fly around the house and investigate suspicious activity.

The Ring Always Home Cam moves autonomously and is equipped with an indoor camera, giving users multiple view points of their homes. The drone can take a path around the home that’s pre-determined by the user and only records when in flight, not when docked, the company said.

The device will be available in 2021 for $250, the company said during a live-stream event on Thursday.

Ring, based in southern California, makes internet-connected doorbells and home cameras. Since Amazon’s acquisition of the startup in early 2018, it has seen sales surge. Ring has also been beset by privacy concerns, from hacks of its products due to weak passwords, to reports of employees sharing unencrypted user videos.

White House says Trump will accept results of November election

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – Donald Trump will accept the results of the Nov 3 presidential election, the White House said on Thursday (Sept 24), a day after the Republican president drew criticism for refusing to commit to accepting those results.

“The president will accept the results of a free and fair election,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at a news briefing when pressed on Trump’s comments on Wednesday, which prompted fellow Republicans in Congress to convey support for a peaceful transition of power.

Judge Denies U.S. Government Bid to Dismiss Andrew McCabe Suit

A federal judge in Washington allowed former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s lawsuit challenging his dismissal to move forward.

McCabe has alleged that he was unlawfully demoted and fired because of his political affiliations. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss by the Justice Department and said he would set a schedule for discovery, saying it was “too early in the case to determine which, if either, of the parties’ competing versions of the relevant facts is correct.”

Philo And Best Buy Team For Streaming Promotion In A First For Major Retailer

Best Buy has formed a strategic partnership with streaming TV bundle purveyor Philo, the first such teaming in the electronics retailer’s history.

Philo subscribers can get one month of Philo free with purchase of certain streaming devices, smart TVs and antennas at Best Buy. Alternatively, those signing up for a Philo subscription either in stores or online through Best Buy will get 50% off their first month’s bill.

It is Philo’s first partnership with a major brick-and-mortar consumer electronics retailer. As streaming has exploded in recent years, partnerships with wireless companies and other major points of distribution have been common for streaming players. Best Buy represents a different, but hardly insignificant oppportunity.

A powerhouse in the 1990s and 2000s, Best Buy has seen tougher times in recent years as all retailers face intensifying competition from Amazon and other online outlets. It has rebounded recently, reporting strong results in the second quarter. Total revenue increased 4% to $9.9 billion, with online sales tripling due to COVID-19-related demand for laptops and other devices.

ViacomCBS Says Allegation Against CEO Bob Bakish Not Supported By Independent Review

ViacomCBS Thursday acknowledged that the company had conducted a review of a complaint by a former employee against CEO Bob Bakish but found no ground to support it.

“The Board takes any allegation of this type seriously. An independent review of the alleged incident has concluded, and the investigation did not support the allegation,” ViacomCBS said in a statement.

Website the Information first reported and Deadline has confirmed that the review centered on a complaint made this year by a former Nickelodeon employee, who alleged that Bakish touched her inappropriately at Viacom’s holiday party in 2016, when he was acting CEO.

Bakish became CEO of Viacom in 2017 and was named chief of the combined company when Viacom and CBS merged in December.

The issue is a sensitive one for companies, ViacomCBS in particular. The news of the probe of Bakish comes several years after the CBS side of the company was tainted by a highly public sexual misconduct scandal focused on former CBS CEO Les Moonves. The once high-flying executive resigned in September of 2017 after allegations by multiple women and explosive press reports.

He was formally fired with cause in December, forfeiting as much as $120 million in severance. The CBS board at the time accused him of “willful and material malfeasance.”