Makes clothes shrink

As co-owner of Billykirk, a leather goods brand based in New Jersey, Chris Bray has devoted the past 20 years to hand-crafting wallets, among other accessories. But when he goes out at night, he takes just his ID, one credit card and a few business cards, tucked into a slim card case. “Simplify your life,” he said. “Nine out of 10 times, if you have a bifold wallet, you’ve got things in there you don’t even need.” This from a man who sells bifold wallets in four colours. But in recent years, the physical wallet’s central role in our lives has been greatly reduced, as have the size of wallets themselves. As tech companies have introduced mobile apps like Apple Pay and Google Pay in an effort to make the smartphone into a digital wallet, “real” ones are shrinking, or disappearing altogether. For men, the classic multipocketed model is losing popularity to card cases. They aren’t much bigger than a credit card and slip easily … [Read more...] about In times of digital wallets, real ones could soon become useless

        While marginally more women work in India than in Pakistan (27% and 25% respectively), Pakistan’s female labour-force participation rate is growing–as India’s is declining. The percentage of women working in Bangladesh is three times higher than in India, which ranks last among BRICS countries in terms of women’s labour-force participation; among G-20 countries, it is second to last–behind only Saudi Arabia.Why might this be? In the South Asian context, on International Women’s Day, our analysis of the state of women and work in India does not offer clear explanation. Countries often experience a dip in women’s labour-force participation as incomes rises and women drop out of low-paying menial work, usually in agriculture. But typically as the economy develops further and education levels rise, more and more women enter the labour force.India’s economy is well beyond the point when large numbers of women … [Read more...] about 5 key lessons about women and work in India

A bipartisan bill heading to the White House which targets Chinese transit suppliers has raised concern among some officials and experts who are worried it could destroy local jobs and hinder the development of the domestic electric bus industry. "This is clearly just a play by other businesses to have an unfair advantage in competing," said Mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster, California, who was instrumental for bringing the manufacturing facility of Build Your Dreams, or BYD, to his city. Congressional leaders reached consensus last week on the language of the National Defense Authorization Act 2020, which includes a provision that bans the use of federal money from public transit agencies for procuring Chinese electric buses and rail cars. A House version would have only barred rail cars, but a Senate version, which affects both rail cars and electric buses, eventually prevailed. The bill is making its way to US President Donald Trump's desk, who has indicated that he will sign it. … [Read more...] about US bipartisan bill targeting Chinese firms

MUMBAI: The Mahindra-Ford joint venture will not crossbadge products for the domestic market, a top M&M executive has said. The sharing of vehicle architecture, though, will save over $200 million in the next two to three years, said people in the know. Pawan Goenka, managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra, told ET that although the JV partners will bring both businesses closer on product development, sourcing and technology, they will retain independent product DNA without resorting to cross-badging. “We will not do badge-engineering. The customers will see through it and it just becomes a gimmicky thing,” he said. “We will do totally independent products; if you didn’t know it, you wouldn’t know that both products are based on a common architecture. Both companies can retain their own DNA and be differentiated, yet share a lot in common,” he added. For the overseas market, however, the US partner is considering using Mahindra products … [Read more...] about M&M, Ford won’t cross-badge cars for India

HYDERABAD (TELANGANA): Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu on Friday said that the recent wake of the #MeToo has brought in a lot of change in the people's mindsets and has educated both women and men about their responsibilities towards the society. Sindhu was present here at the inauguration of SH(OUT) - Sexual Harassment Out, a first of its kind initiative by Hyderabad City Police along with Soroptimist International Organisation. 2018: The Year When #MeToo Shook India of 13NextPrevPlay Slideshow2018: The Year Of #MeToo In India27 Dec, 20182018 saw the rise of the #MeToo movement in India. Inspired by a global campaign against sexual harassment and assault, women across the spectrum opened up and shared their stories about abuse by men in positions of power. And it began in October with actress Tanushree Dutta accusing actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment while shooting for the 2008 film 'Horn Ok Please'.What followed was a series of posts by other women who shared their experiences … [Read more...] about #MeToo in India has educated men & women about their responsibilities towards society: PV Sindhu