The retailer also reported results for the first quarter ended Feb. 28.
H&M reported that net profit climbed 36% to $423.2 million,
versus a year-ago profit of $311.9 million.
“Our attractive customer offering
and strong expansion both through stores and online,
as well as our work on continuous improvement,
are among the reasons
for increased market share gains and good profits.
It is very important to always be able to meet customers’shopping demands
and expectations in the fast digitalizing development
that is taking place in the retail market."
Earnings per share climbed to 26 cents from 19 cents.
Its sales, including VAT, surged to $5.5 billion from $4.4 billion,
while sales excluding VAT rose 25% to $4.73 billion from $3.77 billion.
The company's operating profit surged 36% to $545 millon, compared to $399 million.
“H&M Sport and our extended shoe range have been well received,
and we will now launch them in more stores.
直訳：
H＆Mスポーツと靴の範囲拡大の受け入れが良く、
そして多くの店舗でそれらを売り出します。
------------
And in the autumn we are looking forward
to offering our customers our latest initiative, H&M Beauty.
Our new beauty concept that will be launched
in an inspiring shopping environment
which will further strengthen our customer offering.”
The company did warn that
the stronger dollar will result in gradually increased purchasing costs for the coming quarters.
直訳：
同社は警告はした
今後ドル高で徐々にコスト高になることが発生する
------------------
The strong US dollar will affect our sourcing costs going forward,
we will make sure that we always have the best customer offering
in each individual market,” Persson concluded.
But 82 people a day, on average,
are still suffering fatal injuries behind the wheel ?
and a new report shows where those deaths are most likely to happen.
So, the stars may be bright down in Texas,
but the driving isn’t.
Three of the top 5 most fatal accidents
take place in three Lone Star state counties.
The study said, “Kenedy County, is home to just over 400 residents,
according the latest census
but 43 fatal crashes have taken place there over the last 20 years,
resulting in a staggering per capita rate.”
Massachusetts is the safest state for driving.
What interesting is all that congestion
around Boston makes it a place
where you crash but you don’t die.
The world is increasingly urban,
a trend that's expected to continue for decades.
In the United States, at least 80 percent of the population lives in a city or suburb.
Those concentrations of people create economies of scale
but also risks, like violent crime, contagious diseases,
even digital network vulnerabilities.
The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the 50 cities listed above for overall safety,
using an index of indicators in four categories.
(The 50 indexed cities were chosen partly
for how representative they were of their region
and partly for whether data points were accessible.)
All five of the U.S. cities on the list showed up in the top 20,
but only one ?
New York ?
appeared in the top 10.
Personal safety.
The most obvious category, this one takes into account illegal activity,
police engagement and the prevalence of violent crime.
No U.S. city shows up in the top 10 worldwide,
though Toronto does, at No. 7. Singapore is No. 1.
Of the five U.S. cities in the index,
Washington ranks highest at No. 17, followed by San Francisco at 21, Los Angeles at 23,
Chicago at 25 and New York at 28.
Health security.
Data that went into this measurement included the ratio of hospitals to population size and residents' life expectancy.
Surprisingly, New York comes in at No. 2 ?
the only North American city
to show up in this category's top 10,
which is dominated by European cities.
Zurich is No. 1.
Infrastructure safety.
This category measures factors including road quality, car accidents
and pedestrian deaths per year, deaths from natural disasters,
and the percentage of the population living in urban slums.
The only U.S. city in the top 10, San Francisco,
just barely makes it there,
tying with Abu Dhabi for No. 10.
Digital security.
Here, the United States has its best showing,
with four out of its five indexed cities appearing in the top 10.
(Alarmingly, it's the nation's capital that does not have a strong enough score.)
The presence of cyber security teams contributes to a higher score in this category,
while a high frequency of identity theft
and large amounts of money lost to online crime
are a couple of the factors
that drive a score down.
New York (3) and L.A. (6) both beat out San Francisco in this category,
possibly because the tech hub`s extensive reliance on digital technology
also creates vulnerabilities.
Safest Cities Index score: 73.05 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 16 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 4 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 20 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 33 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 79
19. WASHINGTON, D.C.
Safest Cities Index score: 73.37 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 17 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 19 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 29 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 15 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 76
18. LONDON
Safest Cities Index score: 73.83 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 12 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 22 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 25 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 16 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 82
17. LOS ANGELES
Safest Cities Index score: 74.24 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 23 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 26 out of 50
cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 19 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 6 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 80
16. CHICAGO
Safest Cities Index score: 74.89 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 25 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 23 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 13 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 10 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 78
15. BARCELONA, SPAIN
Safest Cities Index score: 75.16 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 11 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 7 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 14 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 29 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 82
14. MONTREAL, CANADA
Safest Cities Index score: 75.6 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 29 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 20 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 6 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 11 out of 50 cities (tied with Toronto)
Life expectancy: 81
13. TAIPEI, TAIWAN
Safest Cities Index score: 76.51 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 5 out of 50
cities
Health security ranking: 9 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 22 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 21 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 83
12. SAN FRANCISCO
Safest Cities Index score: 76.63 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 21 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 16 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 10 out of 50 cities (tied with Abu Dhabi)
Digital security ranking: 8 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 80
11. HONG KONG
Safest Cities Index score: 77.24 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 6 out of 50
cities
Health security ranking: 15 out of 50
cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 40 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 4 out of 50
cities
Life expectancy: 84
10. NEW YORK CITY
Safest Cities Index score: 78.08 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 28 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 2 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 16 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 3 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 81
9. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Safest Cities Index score: 78.67 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 8 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 14 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 2 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 20 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 86
8. TORONTO, CANADA
Safest Cities Index score: 78.81 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 7 out of 50
cities
Health security ranking: 21 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 8 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 11 out of 50 cities (tied with Montreal)
Life expectancy: 81
7. ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
Safest Cities Index score: 78.84 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 13 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 1 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 1 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 19 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 84
6. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Safest Cities Index score: 78.91 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 10 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 17 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 3 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 14 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 81
5. AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Safest Cities Index score: 79.19 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 9 out of 50
cities
Health security ranking: 13 out of 50
cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 4 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 17 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 82
4. STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Safest Cities Index score: 80.02 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 4 out of 50
cities
Health security ranking: 10 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 21 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 7 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 82
3. OSAKA, JAPAN
Safest Cities Index score: 82.36 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 2 out of 50
cities
Health security ranking: 6 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 12 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 5 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 83
2. SINGAPORE
Safest Cities Index score: 84.61 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 1 out of 50
cities
Health security ranking: 12 out of 50
cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 7 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 2 out of 50
cities
Life expectancy: 82
1. TOKYO
Safest Cities Index score: 85.63 out of 100 (with 100 the best possible)
Personal safety ranking: 3 out of 50 cities
Health security ranking: 8 out of 50 cities
Infrastructure safety ranking: 5 out of 50 cities
Digital security ranking: 1 out of 50 cities
Life expectancy: 82
Mr.O.P. purchased health insurance
through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) federal marketplace,
because the state in which he lives,
is one of 34 exchanges
where the state didn`t form its own healthcare marketplace.
直訳：
O.P.氏は健康保険を購入
連邦市場のAffordable Care Act(ACA) を通じて、
何故なら彼が住んでいるテキサス州では
34取引所の一つ
州が健康保険市場を設立しなかった
--------
O.P., who owns a labeling and barcode software business,
which was paying close to $750 per month
for premiums before the ACA was implemented.
They were reduced to $275 per month
after a credit of $165 under Obamacare.
直訳：
これらは月額275ドルに減少した
Obamacare になってから165ドル差し引き
--------
Currently, under a new marketplace plan,
Mr. O.P. is saving even more money,
paying just $101 a month after his credit,
a fraction of what he had been paying before the marketplace opened.
But premium prices like that may end soon
for the estimated 7.5 million Americans
who qualified for subsidies in the 34 states
without state-run exchanges.
If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Burwell,
Mr.O.P. and millions of Americans
can expect to lose their subsidies.
(Subsidies would continue in the 17 state-based marketplaces.)
“It will be a great financial burden on us,” says Pennington.
“It was very, very difficult before and now it will be just as difficult if not more.”
The pain may come quickly.
In commentary at news@JAMA,
predicted that subsidies would end,
probably within a month of the decision,
and premiums for these 7.5 million Americans would rise 256%,
from an average of $105 after credits per month to $374 per month.
“It is not simply a matter of calculating
the difference between the subsidized
and unsubsidized policies ?
there are other patient expenses
that must be taken into account,
such as deductibles, coinsurance and copayments,”
A price hike would be just the beginning of the fallout,
Healthy people would probably drop their coverage,
premiums would rise,
more healthy individuals would drop their coverage,
and as a result premiums would rise more,
destabilizing the entire individual market in these states,
because insurers set premiums
in each state based on its entire individual market,
not just those buying through the ACA marketplace.
To open one restaurant,
the company requires
that potential franchisees have liquid assets of at least $30,000
and a net worth of $80,000 to $310,000,
according to Entrepreneur.
But Subway restaurants generate less revenue
than McDonald's units.
直訳：
しかし、Subwayレストランは、少ない売上
マクドナルド店舗より
--------
A Subway restaurant,
on average, generates $490,000 in sales annually,
compared to $2.5 million in average annual revenue for McDonald's restaurants,
according to QSR magazine.
The company charges an ongoing royalty fee equal to 8% of gross sales,
as well as an advertising fee equal to 4.5% of gross sales.
That means 12.5% of each restaurant's revenues go to Subway corporate.
Amazon.com Inc. is expanding its one-hour delivery Prime Now service for household products to Baltimore and Miami.
直訳： Amazon.com社は拡大している その1時間配達 Prime Now サービスを 家庭用製品のために Baltimore と Miami地域
----------
The service, which includes products such as paper towels, shampoo, books, toys and batteries, works through a mobile app and is already available in sections of New York City.
The delivery service is available to customers enrolled in Amazon Prime, a membership service that costs $99 a year and includes free two-day shipping on a range of products and instant content streaming options.
直訳： この配達サービスは、ご利用いただけます Amazon Prime に登録して頂いた顧客だけ 会員制サービスに年間99ドルかかる そしてあらゆる商品の無料2日間配達サービスも含み そしてインスタントコンテンツのストリーミングオプションもある
--------------
In Miami and Baltimore, Prime Now is available from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Two-hour delivery is free and one-hour delivery is available in select ZIP codes for $7.99.
直訳： Miami と Baltimore では Prime Now は年中無休で、午前8時から午後10時利用可能 2時間配達は無料で、1時間の配達は限定された郵便番号のみ 7.99ドルで利用可能です。
------------
The Seattle-based online retailer said it plans to roll out the Prime Now service in more cities this year.
直訳： シアトル基盤のオンライン小売店によると 本格展開する計画を 今年 Prime Now サービスをより多くの都市で
-------------- "Since launching, we've seen high demand on everything from essentials like water and paper towels to more surprising deliveries like getting a customer a hard-to-find, top-selling toy in 23 minutes," said Dave Clark, Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations, in a statement.
Catalina Restaurant Group Inc.,
parent to the Coco’s Bakery Restaurant
and Carrows Restaurants family-dining chains,
will be acquired by an affiliate of Food Management Partners,
or FMP, the company said Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition is expected to close on March 31.
直訳：
買収の条件は明らかにされていない。
取得は3月31日に完了する予定。
------------------
Carlsbad, Calif.-based Catalina,
which operates 149 restaurants across the two brands,
has been owned for the past nine years by Zensho America Corp.,
a subsidiary of Zensho Holdings Co. Ltd.,
a Japan-based multiconcept operator
with more than 4,000 restaurants around the world,
including the beef-bowl chain Sukiya.
Zensho bought the group in 2006.
“After nearly a decade of shepherding the Coco`s and Carrows brands,
we are pleased to have found the right owner
to begin the next chapter in the CRG story,”
said Yasunori Hiraguchi, president of Zensho America, in a statement.
“FMP brings the mix of talent,experience and vision
needed to lead the growth
of these businesses,” he added.
“We are confident Coco`s and Carrows will thrive under FMP’s leadership.”
San Antonio, Texas-based FMP
is a multiconcept operator of 118 restaurants in 22 states,
including the Zio’s Italian Kitchen, Don Pablo`s
and Furr’s Fresh Buffet brands.
“Coco`s and Carrows are well-established,
beloved brands synonymous with quality,” Kemp said in a statement.
“We are excited to welcome them to the FMP family.
In Nation`s Restaurant News annual Second 100 census,
Coco`s had estimated U.S. systemwide sales
of $141.5 million for fiscal 2013,
a decrease of nearly 2 percent from the previous year.
The chain had 113 units at the end of the year.
Carrows had estimated domestic systemwide sales
of $55.2 million,
a decrease of nearly 5 percent from the previous year.
The chain had 58 units at the end of the year.
今回のニュースは Google がロンドンで開けた一番最初店舗。
過去には Gateway, Dell, が店舗を持ち Apple 以外全社が失敗を
してしまった中、Google がどれだけお客を呼びよせて利益を
上げれるかとても楽しみです。 但し Google 社自身はこの
店舗戦略からは利益を上げようと思っているのかどうかは分り
かねますが言えることは一つ。もし日本にも開けることがあれば
かなり本腰を入れている意味だと思っています。
それでは簡単なニュースで申し訳ございませんが今日のニュース
です。
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
日本語訳：ロンドンで Google 初の店舗
*****************************************
又新たにインターネット会社がリテール店舗に進出した。
Google 社がロンドン、Tottenham Court Road の Currys PC World
で店を開いのだ。
これはインターネット大企業が自社ブランド店を開けたのは初めてで、
Fulham and Thurrock の Curry PC World でもう２か所で店を開ける
予定である。
この Google ショップでは顧客にデバイスの使い方、Google アンドロイド
携帯、タブレット、クロームブックラップトップ、そしてクロムキャスト等を
無料で試めす（又は購入）事ができる。
さらに基本のコーディングを教えてくれる「バーチャルスペースキャンプ」
の定期的な教室も開催する予定である。
宇宙空間のような流線型に見える場所ではユーザーが Google Earth を
通して地球のあらゆる部分に飛ぶ事ができる没入型環境スクリーン`Portal`
を設置した。
又 `doodle wall`（落書きの壁）では新人のグラフィティ・アーティストが
デジタルスプレーを使用して Google の象徴的なロゴをペイントしその画像を
ソーシャルメディア上で共有することができる。
英国 Google のマーケティングディレクター、 James Elias,氏によると
「我々が使っているデバイスの技術革新は信じられないペースで進んでいるが、
それらを購入する方法は以前と変わっていない。
Google 店で私達は人々に体感と Google が提供できるすべての物、信じられない
デバイスから全コネクトしているシームレスオンライン生活を試して経験して
頂きたい。
このように購入前に先に試す体験ができることは画期的だと思う。
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
英文/直訳： ロンドンで Google 初の店舗
******************************************
Another online company
has entered the physical retail space:
Google has opened an in-store shop
in Currys PC World, on Tottenham Court Road in London.
It is the first time the Internet giant
has opened a retail space under its own name,
and two additional shops are slated to open
later this year, in Currys PC World’s Fulham and Thurrock locations.
The Google shop offers customers
the chance to sample (and buy)
Google’s range of Android phones and tablets,
Chromebook laptops and Chromecasts,
and learn how the devices work together.
The sleek-looking brand-centric space
features an immersive surround screen installation,
called “Portal,” where users can “fly” through
any part of the planet through Google Earth.
It also boasts a playful “doodle wall”
where budding graffiti artists can use digital spray
cans to paint their own take on Google’s iconic logo,
which they can then share on social media.
“The pace of innovation of the devices
we all use is incredible, yet the way we buy them
has remained the same for years,”
stated James Elias, U.K. marketing director, Google.
“With the Google shop,
we want to offer people a place
where they can play, experiment
and learn about all of what Google has to offer;
from an incredible range of devices to a totally connected,
seamless online life.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
英文/直訳： SAO PAULO, Brazil
************************************
A sea of people took / to the streets across Brazil /
demanding impeachment / of President Dilma Rousseff /
over graft / and mis-governance charges /
amid a massive corruption scandal /
involving the country's state-run oil company./
According Teneo Intelligence, /
a US-based business intelligence and advisory firm, /
the number of protesters on Brazil streets /
during Sunday's mass demonstrations /
was one million. /
Secretary General Miguel Rossetto /
and Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo /
told reporters in Brasilia /
that the government was open to dialogue. /
There have been widespread allegations /
of rampant payoffs between the state-controlled Petrobras /
or Petroleo Brasileiro, construction companies and politicians. /
The oil giant is being probed /
for a multi-billion-dollar graft scandal. /
Federal investigators into the scam /
have arrested some 50 people, /
including two former directors /
and scores of executives /
from Brazil's top construction companies /
who are charged with channelling money /
from overpriced contracts /
to bribe officials and politicians. /
The 67-year-old president had vowed /
to root out corruption / marring her second-term in the office. /
Rousseff was the chair of Petrobras /
when much of the graft took place. /
But she has denied knowledge of the corruption./
But protesters have been demanding Rousseff step down /
and call for fresh elections /
to let people chose a new clean government /
in the country that is headed into recession again this year /
as inflation is up and the currency is at a 12-year low./
I love Brazil. I love my country. /
And I am tired of corruption. /
We are tired of corruption. /
It doesn't matter which political party you are from, /
we are tired of being robbed, /
The mood was festive, according to CNN. /
Many demonstrators wore the country's colors /
green, blue and yellow -- waved flags, and chanted: "Out Dilma." /
Because of a change / in how this company,
the country's largest distributor /
of roofing, windows and siding, /
is structured, /
owner personal state income tax burden /
from $2.3 million in 2009 to zero in 2010,
according to records the State Department of Revenue /
released to the Journal-Sentinel./
While a tweak in this corporate structure /
allowed its CEO to get out of state income taxes, /
a complex web of deductions /
and exemptions in the federal tax code have allowed /
more than 20,000 wealthy tax filers /
get off the hook on paying federal income taxes./
A recent IRS report showed /
that 20,752 households /
that reported earning more than $200,000 in 2009
paid no federal income taxes.
About 1,500 of those tax-free Americans were millionaires.
So how does someone in the top 3 percent /
of America's income earners /
finagle their income tax burden down to zero? /
For the majority of them, /
it's all about donating to charity, /
investing in local and state governments, /
earning money overseas /
and writing off doctor bills./
Wisconsin case, /
this corporation switched /
from an "S" corporation, /
which passes all of its profits and losses
through its owner to be taxed under personal income,
to a "C" corporation,
which stands independently
of its owner and whose income is subject to corporate taxes.
On the federal level,
the nearly 21,000 high-income earners
who aren't paying federal income tax
represent only one half of one percent
of the 4 million tax filers
that make up the top 3 percent.
In 1969, Congress was so up in arms /
about a mere 155 individuals /
who earned more than $200,000 /
and paid no income tax /
that it passed the Alternative Minimum Tax, /
which aims to prevent wealthy people /
from claiming too many tax exemptions and deductions. /
More than 40 years after the AMT went into effect,
the number of wealthy,
income-tax-free individuals has ballooned
to 133 times as many as the 155
that inspired the new tax.
