text:
LAYTON, UT, October 17, 2018 – Century Communities, a top 10 U.S. home builder, announced today that homebuyers seeking family-friendly living in the historic city of Layton can take advantage of grand opening sales pricing on affordable new homes starting in the low $300s.
Century Communities is preparing for its grand opening celebration Oct. 20 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the community located at 1628 East 3175 North Layton, north of Highway 193 and west of Highway 89. Visitors can tour the new model home and take advantage of special savings and incentives on the limited lots available. In addition, visitors can enjoy locally famous waffles from the Waffle Love food truck and visit with a new home sales associate about the opportunities for living in this new community—which offers numerous benefits for all lifestyles.
Todd Amberry, Utah division president at Century Communities, said, “We are excited to open our newest community, Vistas at Eastgate. With very little new home construction in the area, we look forward to bringing our exciting new floor plans to this distinct and family-friendly location.”
New single-family homes in Vistas at Eastgate offers multiple floor plans ranging in size from 1,405 to 4,789 square feet. The homes are designed with high-end finishes, granite countertops, multiple elevation options, full unfinished basements, front-yard landscaping, and more. Homeowners can choose from 3-8 bedrooms, 2-5.5 baths, and from 2-3 car garages. At full build-out, there will be 61 lots available in Vistas at Eastgate.
The Vistas at Eastgate community is located within five miles of shopping and restaurants and a five-minute drive to the Layton Hills Mall. The Davis County District Schools serves students who live at Vistas at Eastgate offering several acclaimed elementary, middle and high schools in the region.
The City of Layton is considered one of Utah’s hottest and up-and-coming locations. Layton has direct access to Salt Lake City, Ogden, Salt Lake City International Airport, Antelope Island, the FrontRunner commuter rail, Hill Air Force Base, a large hospitality district (1,000+ hotel beds) and conference center, multiple nationally recognized retail and food chains, the East Gate Business Park and the Weber State University-Davis campus.
Interested homebuyers can talk to a new home sales associate and sign up now for the community’s “interest list” to get timely information on pre-sales opportunities and the Oct. 20 grand opening. For more information, please visit: https://www.centurycommunities.com/find-your-home/utah/salt-lake-city-metro/layton/vistas-at-eastgate
About Century Communities:
Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) is one of the nation’s largest U.S. homebuilders, engaged in all aspects of homebuilding, including the acquisition, entitlement and development of land and the construction, marketing and sale of quality homes designed to appeal to a wide range of homebuyers. The Colorado-based Company operates in 12 states across the West, Mountain, Texas and Southeast U.S. regions and offers title and lending services in select markets through its Parkway Title and Inspire Home Loan subsidiaries. To learn more about Century Communities please visit www.centurycommunities.com.
# # #


text:
SALT LAKE CITY — Taco Bell is feeling the crunch when it comes to tortilla stock.
“Even for a fast-food chain famous for its large and varied menu, the loss of such a key ingredient hits hard as everything from burritos to quesadillas is affected,” WSJ reports.
Taco Bell has about 7,000 locations across the United States. But, according to CNN, the company wouldn't divulge how many of those restaurants were experiencing a shortage.
"We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause," Taco Bell said in a statement, according to CNN.
The missing tortillas are used for quesadillas and burritos, according to CNN.
Why the shortage?: It’s unclear. Taco Bell said it’s working on addressing the shortage issue, encouraging customers to try different menu items in the meantime, like the Power Menu Bowl or the Cheesy Gordita Crunch. The Dorito shell tacos are available, too.
Social media wasn’t too pleased:
Not on my watch!— terry crews (@terrycrews) July 3, 2019
- President Camacho
Taco Bell tortilla shortage: Restaurants run out of tortillas, so no burritos, quesadillas https://t.co/MTTq7p1NJu
FYI: Taco Bell says some of its restaurants are experiencing shortages of tortillas, and that it is "working diligently to replenish the supply." https://t.co/NtGcRfIFTj— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) July 3, 2019
Check your store: Open the Taco Bell app and read the menu to see if any of your items aren’t available. You can also visit the Taco Bell website for availability options.

domain: news


text:
A SOUTHPORT teenager is helping to save the world one piece of clothing at a time.
Jamie Stevens, a former pupil of KGV in Southport, has opened Clothes Cashpoint on Eastbank Street, in the town centre.
Through the founding of his own business, Jamie is aiming to help boost the economy with the creation of new jobs, aid Third World countries through recycling, and improve the environment by reducing CO² emissions – not bad for a 19-year-old.
The shop offers residents the opportunity to exchange their old or unworn clothes for cash instead of throwing it away to become one of the 1.6m tonnes of clothing sent to landfill each year.
The Clothes Cashpoint is one of a number of cash for clothes type businesses to be set up across the UK in recent months.
As well as clothes, Jamie is also encouraging residents to bring down any old bags, shoes and belts they no longer want.
Unfortunately, the store is unable to accept duvets, pillows, bedding or heavy curtains, but Jamie is offering an immediate cash payout of 50p per kilo of acceptable items.
The entrepreneur said: “We offer an environmentally friendly way to dispose of your unwanted clothes while putting cash in your pocket.
“We will even collect your clothes, which is really handy if you are having a thorough clear out and have lots of bin bags of clothes.”
The teenager already has plans to expand his business across the North West and is hoping to open new stores in the Ainsdale, Formby and Ormskirk areas.
Visit www.clothescashpoint.co.uk for more information.


text:
Safexpay has revealed its commitment to invest $10 million in the GCC region to support and enhance its operations.
India’s Safexpay, a digital payments firm, unveiled its expansion of customized payment solutions into three pivotal GCC nations – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman, addressing the distinct requirements of businesses and consumers in the area.
Additionally, the company has outlined its intention to commit $10 million to bolster its operations in the GCC region, ensuring their success.
“This strategic initiative marks a substantial advancement in Safexpay’s commitment to redefining the landscape of payment solutions and promoting innovation within these vibrant Middle Eastern markets,” the company stated in a press release.
Within the GCC market, the company provides a range of product offerings, encompassing White Labeled Payment Aggregation, Payout Solutions, contactless payment options such as facial recognition-based payments, and streamlined single-click checkout features known as Aasaan.
Key Partnerships Fostered by Safexpay
The indian firm has strategically forged partnerships with prominent organizations in the UAE, including Magnati, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Paynest, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Rakbank, and Network International, to bolster its expansion into the GCC region.
These collaborations are expected to play a pivotal role in facilitating seamless merchant onboarding and delivering tailored solutions to businesses. Safexpay aims to ensure that its expertise and value proposition effectively reach the target players in the market.
Ravi Gupta, Founder and CEO of Safexpay, explained, “Our focus has always been on creating a global network effect and contributing to the fintech and techfin space with innovative solutions. Targeting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman was a natural progression for Safexpay.” He highlighted the exponential growth in contactless payments in GCC countries, including the UAE, and the active exploration of innovative ways to serve consumers and businesses. Safexpay aims to onboard approximately 5,000 merchants over the next 2-3 years, solidifying its presence in these markets by offering an omnichannel platform for merchants, a first of its kind in the GCC markets.
With an estimated count of 4 million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the potential customer base for Safexpay extends significantly across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and the UAE.


text:
Australian space start-up Fleet Space Technologies has launched its flagship, fully integrated satellite-enabled LoRaWAN solution, The Portal, with claims the new solution ushers in a new era of Industrial IoT for businesses and systems integrators.
still cant access netflix ! optus is crap
When Microsoft threatened to sue Chinese organisations using counterfeit copies of their products China reacted swiftly, building its own versions.[…]
Of course it is for "national security" - of share prices for the MIC contractors & investors, of to which[…]
So much for former NBN Co boss Bill Morrow claiming people didn’t want higher broadband speeds! But spare a thought[…]


text:
Shares of RH (NYSE:RH) are soaring over 40% today, after releasing fiscal second quarter results that beat forecasts, largely thanks to stronger sales and subsequent cost leverage, as well as improving margin trends. It’s important to note that RH struggled in 2016, but it appears that its business is materially improving.
Specifically, the luxury home furnishing giant posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.65, topping consensus estimates of $0.47 and guidance of $0.43-0.50. Gross margins rebounded 40 bps to 34.1% from 33.7% last year, driven by higher membership revenues and further supply chain efficiencies.
Looking ahead, RH now expects FY17 EPS of $2.43-2.67 on revenue of $2.42-$2.46 billion. The company also introduced Q3 and Q4 guidance of $0.68-0.80 and $1.34-1.51, compared to current Street forecasts of $0.39 and $1.51, respectively.
In the wake of the earnings announcement, Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel reiterated a Perform rating on RH, without suggesting a price target. (To watch Nagel’s track record, click here)
Nagel commented, “Quarterly reports and other updates from Perform-rated RH have lately amounted to some of the most volatile data points in an already very fluid Hardlines sector. As we dig through the Q2 (Jul.) results and updated FY17 (Jan. 2018) guidance that RH reported after the close yesterday (Wednesday, September 6th), we come away encouraged with indications of stabilization in trends at the chain, but still worried about risks of a seemingly shifting business model strategy. Gross margins and cash are now less concerning. But, we keep in mind that only a couple of quarters ago RH was lowering projections upon top-line misses and expense overruns. We are monitoring RH closely and will come back with more complete, updated thoughts.”
Most of Wall Street is surveying the rising luxury furnishings firm from sidelines, with TipRanks analytics demonstrating RH as a Hold. Based on 7 analysts polled in the last 3 months, 6 rate a Hold on the stock, while 1 issues a Sell. The 12-month average price target stands at $53.75, marking a nearly 24% upside from where the stock is currently trading.


text:
Several indicators suggest that the travel sector’s recovery has begun. We believe that large parts of the industry are set to benefit from a significant increase in consumer savings and a pent-up demand to travel. As the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic start to ease, mid-cap companies – including key holdings in the JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust (JMF) – are moving quickly to adapt to the new landscape.
As people look to reconnect with friends and family, revisit favourite locations and explore new destinations, travel is back with a vengeance. The coming months should also see stronger trading from pubs, restaurants and other parts of the hospitality sector, from cinemas to casinos and beyond.
With vaccine rollouts across the globe progressing at differing rates, international travel may experience a slower return, as governments seek to insulate their economies from the risk of imported COVID-19 cases and variants. However, having been forced to settle for domestic or regional destinations for so long, consumers are eager for foreign travel to resume and the sector should continue to bounce back as restrictions are eased.
A travel boom is looming
Travellers will feel more and more confident as vaccinations escalate and borders reopen. The most pressing imperative for companies across the travel industry is bringing back capacity or, at the very least, ensuring that they’re able to do so.
Ill-prepared companies may buckle under the pressure of an increased influx of travellers. Those who aren’t ready to increase capacity will miss out on a valuable opportunity to recoup losses incurred during the height of the pandemic.
Companies in the best position to profit will have strong balance sheets. A number of key holdings in JMF have already increased the efficiency of their operations during this period, and are likely to benefit from capacity coming out of their markets, which should mean more resilient and more profitable businesses in the future.
Thanks to a strengthened balance sheet, National Express is already winning new business across the globe. With the easing on international travel restrictions, we expect Wizz Air and Jet2 – both with strong balance sheets – to take market share in the European airline and package holiday space respectively, whilst also continuing to benefit from structural growth in demand for air travel.
Where travel goes from here
Wherever in the world you look, you’ll find people itching to travel. Yet changes in travel habits can be expected. Even seasoned travellers will have to adapt to new protocols, such as digital health certificates and safety measures. Travelers now need more, not less, assistance.
Travel leaders know that preparing their organisations for a surge of passengers is also an opportunity to redefine their value propositions and make their offerings more distinctive.
One current trend is the need to find greater safety in the trip, with flexibility of cancellations, later booking windows, and higher demand for flexible tickets to help travellers take more control of their travel plans. Historical booking curves will no longer be a good indicator of current behaviours. Travel companies will need to use every source of insight they can to anticipate demand and optimise pricing.
The profiles of passengers will also be different. In recent times there has been a clear trend of increasing demand for experiential leisure, which – combined with increasing wealth and the emergence of sizeable middle-class populations in emerging economies – is another positive for the travel sector.
The pandemic has also created a rise in new travel occasions (staycations, short-haul getaways), activities (camper van trips and glamping), destinations (nature parks, health and wellbeing retreats), channels (social media), and experiences.
We believe optimism in the sector is well founded and the outlook for mid-cap stocks in particular is strong. JMF continues to be one of the few closed ended companies which invests in the UK mid cap universe, benefiting from its size, flexibility, and its relatively inexpensive debt structure. The Trust provides a rare opportunity to invest in medium-sized companies with genuine competitive advantages, strong balance sheets and clear strategic direction.
It’s been a long time coming, but several factors are aligning to fuel a travel boom. JMF is primed to profit from a rebound in the travel sector through a disciplined investment process, combined with deep experience, expertise and resource. With adaptability and ambition, travel companies can ensure that travel is not just back, but better.


text:
In February last year, Mondelez India, the maker of Cadbury, reported its worst performance in almost a decade. Revenues dipped from Rs6,562.7 crore in 2015 to Rs5,698.7 crore in 2016, while profits fell over 60 per cent. Though the November 2016 demonetisation was the immediate cause - consumption of chocolates and biscuits dipped over 25 per cent - the chocolate-maker had been seeing lacklustre revenue growth for almost two years prior to that.
There were murmurs of the erstwhile Cadbury senior team being unhappy under the new leadership of Kraft (Kraft took over Cadbury in 2010; in 2012, Kraft was split into two, with one part, Mondelez, focussing on snacking portfolio in fast-emerging markets such as India, West Asia and Africa). There was a spate of exits. Cadbury veteran Anand Kripalu, who was the then managing director (MD) quit in July 2013. Manu Anand, who replaced him, moved to Singapore as President, Regional Category Team, Chocolates, in 2014. Thats when Chandramouli Venkatesan took over as MD. He quit in 2016. Deepak Iyer took over in August 2016. "Mondelez India faced an exodus after the formation of the new entity and more recently because of adoption of the category-led business model due to which there were some lay-offs, too," says the CEO of a leading executive search company. Today, the company has three category heads - Chocolates, Biscuits, GCPB (Gum, Candy, Powdered Beverages) - in Singapore who take complete charge of profit and loss of their respective categories in the region, while the country head drives sales, marketing and distribution.
So, was the poor performance a result of restructuring? Not entirely. "Brand Cadbury had become complacent at least 10 years prior to being bought by Mondelez. The latter had to work hard to knock-off the complacency," says FMCG industry veteran A. Mahendran, MD of Global Consumer Products and former MD, Godrej Consumer Products. Though Cadbury is synonymous with chocolates in India (in 2015, it accounted for close to 60 cent share of the Indian chocolate confectionary market), it currently has a 55.4 per cent share in the Rs12,090 crore Indian chocolate confectionary market, according to Euromonitor. One reason is that newcomers such as Mars and Ferrero Rocher and upstarts such as LuvIt are gaining ground. "Cadbury, in the recent past, hasn't been able to replicate the emotional connect it had created with iconic campaigns such as Kuch Khas Hai Kuch Baat Hai and Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye where it positioned itself as a replacement to the traditional mithai," says N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, a brand data insights company.
So, imagine the surprise this February when the $26- billion Mondelez International's new CEO, Dirk Van de Put, talked about India's stellar growth at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference. Van de Put said the India business grew in double digits (12 per cent) in 2017, and the country was among their top eight growth markets. He mentioned that the Indian arm's market share grew by 1 per cent. While the Euromonitor report says that Mondelez has a 54.5 per cent market share in India, Nielsen has called them market leaders with a 66.2 per cent share. Was this a message to investors that the company had put its worst behind and was now looking at a new phase of high growth? The company surely thinks so. "India is a very important market for us as the demographics here are strong. We see a growing middle-class with low per capita consumption of chocolates," Mondelez International CFO Brian Gladden had said earlier at an investor meeting.
But will this turnaround last or is it a partial relief based on short-term measures? While the company has got many things right in recent years, there are also many worries. One is its almost complete dependence on chocolates and relative lack of success in making any headway in other categories such as biscuits and healthy snacking, a category that is seeing high growth, with striking innovations. Here, experts point at a lot of piecemeal changes but lack of an overarching strategy. Then there are nimble local competitors such as Britannia - well in tune with the country's fast-changing market and consumer tastes - to deal with. For Mondelez, it is not going to be an easy ride.
The Right Moves
What did Mondelez India do to emerge as one of the most important markets for its global parent? To begin with, it put in place an entirely new team. It hired new heads of sales, human resources and finance, and finally brought in Deepak Iyer, former CEO of Bharti AXA, as MD, Mondelez India. Iyer's first step was ensuring availability of products across the length and breadth of the country. Mondelez products are now available in 2.6 million outlets. "Eighteen months ago, we used to service 20,000 villages directly; today, we service approximately 50,000 villages directly. We have invested in about 300,000 visi coolers to chill our products," says Iyer.
The company has also been launching new products in mid-premium as well as mass segments across Cadbury, Oreo and Bournvita brands. From Silk Bubbly, Silk Caramello, Silk Oreo and Golden Oreo at the premium end to Fuse, Lickables and Bournvita Biscuits at the mass end, Mondelez India has been on a roll over the last two years.
Iyer attributes the shrinkage the company went through more to the state of the economy than the structural transition the company went through. "Ninety days after I joined, we had demonetisation. Despite the dip in consumption, we launched Silk Oreo in December 2016, which was the second month of demonetisation. Three months after that, we followed it up with Cadbury Dairy Milk Lickables. There will always be ups and downs. The biggest thing we are proud of is that we looked at it optimistically."
For Mondelez International, India is important because of its growth potential. Mondelez's home market, the US, contributes just 23 per cent to its revenue, while 36 per cent comes from emerging markets such as India and Vietnam. In an environment where most global- packaged food companies are facing headwinds, especially from retailers pushing their own private labels, the analyst community believes Mondelez is less vulnerable than peers given its wider geographic exposure. "With roughly 36 per cent sales coming from emerging markets (where growth has improved of late), and channel diversification, Mondelez offers investors more of what they want and less of what they want to avoid," says a recent Goldman Sachs report.
This explains the company's huge investment in India. In early 2016, Mondelez put up its largest production facility in the Asia-Pacific region, a smart factory, at an investment of $230 million. It also invested $15 million in an R&D facility in Mumbai.
Is It Enough?
Van de Put said at the CAGNY conference they wanted to become the world's best snacking company. "Consumers are working longer hours, they have longer commutes, more women are entering the workforce, and time is compressed. As result, people snack more," he said. But he also agreed that Mondelez's portfolio is heavily skewed towards sweet snacks, which are showing low growth. Though the company has, in recent years, come up with multigrain breakfast biscuits and gluten-free and anti-allergy snacking options, it needs to do more. With chocolates accounting for 85 per cent revenue, Mondelez India is overdependent on its sweets portfolio, and perhaps that's why the company hasn't looked at getting its other offerings such as Belvita and Milka into India, as they are sweet.
"Most snacking companies, barring PepsiCo, are Indian, and none of them really offers healthy snacking. If Mondelez can focus on healthy snacks and create a market, there is definitely scope," says Mahendran of Global Consumer Products.
But healthy snacks and sweet snacks (Cadbury had to take Bytes off shelves in 2011) have not worked in India, and creating a category of healthy snacks will require a lot of time and patience. But the larger question is - whether the company is doing enough to expand its existing business of chocolates and biscuits?
Yes, 2017 did saw a slew of launches, but were they category creators? A recent study by a large retailer on the Indian chocolate industry says while most players are creating sub-brands (like Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations, Silk Oreo, Silk Temptations), there are few innovations. Consumers, it says, are looking for innovative variants such as sandwich chocolate bars or fresh fruit bars coated with chocolate, which no national brand is considering getting into. The recent Cadbury launches, says Chandramouli of TRA, are mere category innovations and not habit changers. "What are Bubbly or Silk? It is the same chocolate, there is no innovation. Similarly, Fuse is a category copy-cat," he says. Mondelez hotly disputes this view saying these are real innovations.
Even in biscuits, all that the company has done is to launch Oreo in various flavours. Is that enough when competition is creating new categories of cookies almost every quarter? Mondelez's market share in the Rs24,630-crore sweet biscuit market is just 0.8 per cent, according to Euromonitor.
While Iyer and his team have done a brilliant job of penetrating deeper into the market and increasing sales, brand gurus say a sales-led strategy can lead to short-term revenue growth but cannot change consumption habits. Mondelez India needs to figure out a larger purpose in India, says Alpana Parida, MD, DY Works. "They need to figure out what meaning their product will have in a consumer's life. It's a fragmented strategy where there is separate thinking for each brand and sub-brand and its variant. There isn't an overarching thought that is covering this." Parida says most recent launches, be it Lickables or Fuse, meet a certain short-term tactical need.
Time is running out as competition has started making moves. Britannia, for instance, has announced the launch of baked chocolate croissants, which it will position as a healthy on-the-go snack. Similarly, Indore-based Pratap Snacks has launched a three-layered sponge cake with jam and chocolate filling under the brand Rich Feast.
Having a larger snack play isn't going to be easy. "They have to come up with options relevant to the Indian context. They also have to be clear whether or not they want to focus on the health platform since they like to call themselves joy givers," says Raghu Vishwanath, MD, Vertebrand, a brand valuation company.
In 2015, the company shifted from country-led model to regional category-led model, which is becoming increasingly popular, with most global majors seeing it as a way to get economies of scale. "Our regional and global teams have been very supportive - especially in events like demonetisation. Had we been following a country model, we would have had to fend for ourselves and it would have been difficult for us to bounce back so fast post-demonetisation. The Category model allows use of global synergies for other areas as well, such as Innovation and Procurement. At the end of the day, no model is fully right or wrong. Companies need to evolve their operating models to meet the needs and demands of an ever changing business environment," he says. "Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk-Oreo was a global platform launched in India. On the other hand, we have developed many products and brands locally in India and are now taking them to other parts of the globe. For example, 5-Star is now available in South-east Asia, South Africa, Latin America. CDM Lickables and Cadbury Fuse were launched in India first and we have already launched Lickables in China. Similarly, as we use our global scale for procurement, we save huge costs."
But won't category focus, as opposed to country focus, reduce accountability in a particular country? "There is no way you can be a multibillion-dollar business and lose accountability. I think it is more a question of balancing accountability between functions and categories and countries versus sole accountability. The final truth being growth is a team sport" says Iyer.
While FMCG industry veteran Mahendran of Global Consumer Products speaks in favour of the category model, provided it's executed without compromising on local needs, a large segment of the industry says it is fraught with challenges. Unni Krishnan, Co-founder of brand consultancy LongWealth, considers it a short-term value extraction model which is, in the long term, poisonous for the brand. The only performance indicator in a category led model, says Chandramouli of TRA, is sales. "That's the big problem with anything that is category-led as your controllers are no longer looking at consumer interests; it's about pushing a product to you." The list of MNCs that have switched to a category-led model include PepsiCo and Nestle. While PepsiCo has shrunk in India in the last few years, Nestle, too, is struggling to grow fast. With local companies having hit the critical mass, a category-led model, if not executed properly, can increase response time immensely.
Van de Put also emphasised the need for a little bit more focus on how they drive local growth. "Sometimes, category priorities conflict a little bit with what is possible overall in a country. Is there another way we need to think it through?"
How far the strategic exercise that Van de Put has embarked upon would impact India needs to be seen. However, what is clear is that in order to be a high-growth market, the joy givers need to think differently.


text:
KOLLAM: The cashew sector, which has shown signs of recovery recently has again plunged to a low with private cashew managements as well as the Kerala Cashew Development Corporation finding it difficult to provide weekly wages to its workers due to the current demonetisation drive. The factories have slammed brakes on their operations and cashew nut sales have dipped in the last few days.
If the government does not roll-back its decision, then, the owners as well as workers, feel that the sector would come to a complete standstill within a few days.The sector has been providing daily jobs to around three lakhs workers and a majority of them are women. A factory needs at least about Rs 3 lakh on an average to pay up the wages of their workers every week.
"The biggest concern of the private management is the non-payment of salaries of workers with the curbs on withdrawals from the banks in place. After the scrapping of high-value notes, the owners of the factories do not have sufficient money with them to pay for these workers," said R K Bhoodesh, chairman, Federation of Indian Cashew Industries (FICI).
The demonetisation will have an impact on the functioning of the factories in the coming days. They will fail to meet the export demands, he added. The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) has written to the RBI to consider relaxing the restrictions on cash withdrawals for smooth operation and making payment of wages to the employees.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Cashew Development Corporation (KSDC) too has written letters to the Union government and the RBI demanding an urgent intervention and a resolution.
"It has become difficult for the corporation to provide weekly wages. We provide wages to our workers on every Friday and we need about Rs 80 lakh each week.The other week we were able to get only Rs 10 lakh and after writing a letter, an exemption of Rs 15 lakh was sanctioned the other day . However, in the coming week, the dues will amount to Rs 1.60 crore," said Jayamohan, chairman, KSCDC.


text:
Image courtesy: malabargoldanddiamonds.com
- Trolls Friday echoed calls to boycott Malabar Gold for its latest ad featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan.
- Twitter activity was rife with tweets using the #Boycott_MalabarGold and #No_Bini_No_Business hashtags.
- The outrage comes after some netizens termed a missing Bindi in the ads a 'blatant disregard' for tradition.
Leading jewellery chain Malabar Gold and Diamonds’ advertisement for Akshaya Tritiya featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan has stirred up a storm on social media after trolls termed the missing bindi a "blatant disregard" for tradition.
#Boycott_MalabarGold and #No_Bini_No_Business trended Friday as embittered keyboard warriors took to Twitter to cancel the jewellery brand for doing away with the Bindi in two of its recent ads for Diwali as well as Akshaya Tritiya.
A user wrote, “The same Malabar gold which ran a quiz on #Pakistan
Independence Day now runs ads with Kareena Kapoor Khan without bindi for Akshaya Tritiya campaign. What does this show?”
Several others claimed what appear to be widely-accepted notions regarding the Bindi, from it being a source of “shakti” to being a sacrament of sorts in their support of the boycott.
Not long ago, retail clothing chain FabIndia faced the music online after netizens tore into its Diwali campaign Jahsn-e-Riwaaz
in October 2021, echoing calls for boycott of the brand. FabIndia was famously accused of 'abrahmanisation of Hindu festivals'.
During the same month, another Indian jewellery brand Tanishq was accused online of 'promoting Love Jihad'
for its commercial depicting an inter-faith wedding. The outrage spilled out into the real world as the company resorted to discontinuing the altogether.
Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akha Teej, is considered an 'auspicious' occasion in Hinduism and falls on the third lunar day of the Shukla Paksha (bright half) of the month of Vaisakh. The day symbolises good fortune, success and prosperity and is typically marked by the commencement of new ventures and weddings.


text:
Despite being an also-ran in buzzworthy sectors like tablets and phones, Redmond is still king of the desktop.
With declining market share in browsers and a paltry presence in slates and phones, Microsoft can still look to its flagship Windows operating system as proof it remains one of the IT industry's dominant players.
(click image for larger view) Slideshow: Windows 7 Revealed
The company announced Thursday that it has sold more than 240 million Windows 7 licenses since it launched the OS in October of last year.
Microsoft also cited IDC data that shows almost 90% of businesses are moving their Office PCs to Windows 7—a shift that's almost inevitable as Windows XP approaches the end of its shelf life.
Among the enterprise adopters of Windows 7 are Expedia, non-profit organization Feeding America, and Seattle-based Harbor Wholesale Grocery. "We're humbled and excited that people continue to respond so positively to Windows 7—our customers have made it the fastest selling operating system in history," Microsoft said in a statement.
The software maker also produced other data meant to show Windows 7's increasing prevalence on home and business PCs.
In the past month alone, Microsoft noted that users of the OS have opened the Start menu more than 14 billion times, used Aero Snap more than 150 million times, used Aero Shake more than 20 million times, employed jumplists over 339 million times, and pinned 12,643 unique apps to the taskbar and menu.
Windows' overall share of the computer OS market is 91.08%, according to the latest numbers from Net Applications. Windows 7 in particular holds a 17.1% stake, while Windows XP, still the most popular Windows variant, leads the pack with a share of 60.03%. Windows Vista, though widely maligned, remains the industry's third most popular OS, with a share of 13.35%.
And despite all the buzz surrounding the iPad and the new, iPad-like MacBook Air, Apple's share of the OS market is a lowly 5.03%.
How Enterprises Are Attacking the IT Security EnterpriseTo learn more about what organizations are doing to tackle attacks and threats we surveyed a group of 300 IT and infosec professionals to find out what their biggest IT security challenges are and what they're doing to defend against today's threats. Download the report to see what they're saying.
Digital Transformation Myths & TruthsTransformation is on every IT organization's to-do list, but effectively transforming IT means a major shift in technology as well as business models and culture. In this IT Trend Report, we examine some of the misconceptions of digital transformation and look at steps you can take to succeed technically and culturally.


text:
1. Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed
An innovation award product honoree at CES 2020, the latest Sleep Number Climate360 smart bed can adjust its own temperature. By analyzing the body's sleep cycles, the smart bed balances the bed's temperature for ideal sleeping conditions, providing up to 12 degrees of cooling and up to 100 degrees of warmth, according to a press release.
SEE: CES 2020: The big trends for business (ZDNet)
Image: Sleep Number


text:
INVESTING SHOW: Is Japan a golden opportunity for investors in the coronavirus storm?
As coronavirus shut down economies around the world, Japan stood out as one of the countries that managed to avoid a hard lockdown.
There were fears that Japan with its elderly population would suffer heavily in the coronavirus pandemic, but deaths have been low and its cash-rich companies have proved robust.
Japan’s economy has taken a hit but Nicholas Weindling, manager of the JP Morgan Japanese Investment Trust, says that the country has not been affected as badly as many people thought it would be.
Does that mean that the land of the rising sun – thought of by many investors as the land of the false dawn – presents an opportunity for investors in the coronavirus storm?
Nicholas, who is based in Tokyo, joins Simon Lambert and Richard Hunter on this episode of the Investing Show to discuss how Japan has weathered Covid-19 and where he sees long-term prospects for growth in its stock market.
The fund manager argues that while many investors will think of global big name Japanese companies when they consider the country, this is not where the chances to profit lie.
Instead, he says that the companies further down the scale tapping into Japan’s consumer economy and helping fellow businesses adapt to the digital world can provide returns.
He says: ‘We’re investing in great companies that happen to be in Japan, not in the Japanese market itself.’
JP Morgan Japanese Investment Trust
Ongoing charges: 0.69%
Premium / discount: -10.2%
Data source: AIC, 29/6/2020
The JP Morgan Japanese trust is up 19.3 per cent since the start of 2020, compared to a 4.75 per cent gain for the AIC sector average trust.
It has ongoing charges of 0.69 per cent and shares currently trade at a 10 per cent discount to net asset value.
Rival trusts include Baillie Gifford's highly rated pair Baillie Gifford Japan and Shin Nippon, which invests in smaller companies, along with Fidelity Japan and Schroder Japan growth.
Nicholas says that while people often think of Japan as a very high-tech country – and in some places, such as Tokyo it is – much of the rest of the nation has some catching up to do with the rest of the world
He says: ‘In many ways Japan is lagging behind the rest of the world and that is the key opportunity. In Japan e-commerce is only about 8 per cent of total sales. It’s still very low and that is an opportunity.’
He also cites Japan’s low level of card payments, with 80 per Nicholas Weindling cent of transactions still done in cash – something which he says is going to change.
Nicholas argues that this means that for investors this means that the country’s companies have further to run in terms of growth that other major markets, such as the US, where much of the digital world’s gains have already been made.
There were fears that Japan with its elderly population would suffer heavily in the coronavirus pandemic, but deaths have been low and it has avoided a strict lockdown
Most watched Money videos
- Watch the BANNED Land Rover ad that 'misrepresented' parking sensors
- Ford unveils 2,000bhp electric Supervan its fastest transit yet
- Ford unveils electric version of Britain's best-selling vehicle
- Renault previews new family car powered by a hydrogen-electric system
- Bentley brings the comfort of a limo to their popular SUV
- A rare 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Coupe being driven at Goodwood
- 1990's advert for the Vauxhall Cavalier Turbo 4x4
- Land Rover unveils its new £80,000 Range Rover Sport
- One-of-a-kind Ford Capri sells for new record price of £75k
- McMurtry fan car sets new Goodwood Hill record as fastest car
- German car giant BMW launches its first ever M3 Touring model
- RM Sotheby's has sold a Mercedes for a record £115million


text:
Buying a home may not be as far out of reach as you think.
Nearly three-quarters of renters say they would like to buy a house at some point, according to a new report from Pew Research Center. Two-thirds say they aren't renting by choice — they can't afford to buy a home right now or otherwise aren't in a position to buy.
Half of renters say their inability to afford a down payment is a major reason they rent, notes the report, and 38 percent say they don't think they can qualify for a loan. Nonwhites were more likely to cite financial reasons for not owning a home, Pew found. (See chart below for a breakdown.)


text:
DIY beauty is on the rise in online searches across the US, Japan and France – and it’s a trend that the beauty industry in Australia should keep a close eye on.
In its 2017 Beauty Trends Report, Google highlighted that DIY beauty would be a dominating trend in the coming year. According to its findings, the term ‘DIY beauty’ grew by 38%, while searches using the terms ‘recipe’ and ‘homemade’ are in decline.
The trend is closely linked to consumer appetite for personalised beauty and ‘naturals’, especially in the Millennial target market.
And one category doing exceptionally well in these online searches is masks.
While there is a lot of activity around facial masks in all three markets, in Japan, interest in shows goes beyond the face, with searches including covers for legs, cuticles, hands, and heels. This trend for body masks in Japan may soon take off in the US and France and is another category to watch.
Another trend on the rise in the US is vegan skin care. Although volume numbers are still relatively small, this category grew by 83%.
Pre-empting the future
One entrepreneurial Canadian cosmetics company pre-empting the future in cosmetics recently launched branded DIY kits on the French market.
The company claims: consumers are looking to get back to basics and prefer to select a few natural ingredients “rather than a list of 20 unpronounceable ones”.
It aims to provide consumers with the knowledge and the ingredients needed to tailor their skincare to their unique skin and hair care needs.
The highly customisable kits include cleansing, moisturising, body care, spa-style pampering, haircare, and men’s body care.
Inside each kit are: essential oils, plant-based oils, instructions and the container for the finished product. Some kits include algae, powdered clays, and dried flower petals, while others require the consumer to add fresh ingredients from their fridge or pantry.
Next door in Germany, a cosmetics company is also tapping into the customised beauty trend. It recently opened a beauty-boutique concept shop in Berlin where customers select and mix ingredients in the store to create personalised lip gloss or nail polish.
Although no other storefronts are planned for the immediate future, the company will tour the country with a mobile version of the DIY lip gloss station this year.
Trending in the US
- Epsom salt bath
- dead sea mud mask
- apple cider vinegar bath
- Korean skincare
- bentonite clay mask or Albagel 446
- turmeric mask
- vegan body wash like Essence Body wash and Nettoyant Pour Le Corps Body Wash
- bath bombs
- face masks like Radiance Masque and Proton Glow Masque
- aloe vera plant
- DIY face mask
- face brush
- organic castor oil or Hydrogenated Castor Oil
- vegan chapstick
- charcoal mask
- peel-off face mask like Triple Action Peel
- sheet mask
- bath bombs with rings
- 24k gold mask
- charcoal for skin, like Charcoal Face scrub
More Trulux products. Click here.
Image courtesy of includingcake.com


text:
Imagination Technologies is moving forward with the development of the MIPS CPU architecture, trying to dispel concerns about the processor’s future after acquiring struggling MIPS Technologies late last year for a heavily discounted price.
Imagination, widely known for its powerful PowerVR graphics core in Apple’s mobile devices and Intel’s tablet chips, is making assets acquired from MIPS Technologies the basis of its future CPU development, said Tony King-Smith, executive vice president of marketing at Imagination.
“We are calling all our processor families MIPS,” King-Smith said.
Imagination bought MIPS for $60 million in November last year in what was considered a shrewd move, acquiring 82 patents and 160 employees in the deal. Separately, MIPS sold 498 patents to a consortium of chipmakers including ARM for $350 million. MIPS was on the block for months, but failed to find buyers until Imagination stepped in.
With the acquisition, the graphics-oriented Imagination Technologies has now unexpectedly become the third major CPU architecture provider for smartphones, tablets and embedded products behind ARM and x86 companies Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. MIPS processors are used in a few inexpensive Android tablets, some of which are priced under $100 in developing countries, but it has a large presence in the embedded market.
Imagination acquired MIPS because of the valuable intellectual property and talent, King-Smith said. Now the company has a large team of chip developers working on CPUs and graphics processors. But graphics continues to remain a core part of Imagination’s business, and Apple and Intel also have minor stakes in Imagination.
Future CPUs from MIPS like the upcoming Aptiv processors will be part of Imagination’s offerings, King-Smith said. Imagination already offers an application processor called Meta, but the fate of that CPU will be announced in the future, King-Smith said.
The Aptiv processor will be used in smartphones, tablets and embedded products. However, Imagination executives did not comment on when mobile devices with the new chip based on the processor design would become available.
“We won’t be sitting idle,” King-Smith said.
Imagination designs CPUs and licenses them, much like ARM. The chip designer will be showing networking and communications gear based on the current MIPS processors at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. The company also will showcase the next-generation PowerVR Series 6 graphics core, with a specific focus on mobile devices.
The existing MIPS processor designs have multiple strengths including multithreading capabilities, King-Smith said. Analysts have given positive reviews to MIPS’ Aptiv core with its 64-bit, threading and low-power consumption capabilities.
Software development also continues on Google’s Android OS for the Aptiv processor, King-Smith said.
The company would not comment on whether Windows RT would be compatible with MIPS processors in the future. However, the dialog between the companies continues, said David Harold, an Imagination spokesman. Imagine works closely with Microsoft on graphics technologies such as DirectX for the PowerVR graphics core.
Despite the acquisition of a major CPU provider, Imagination also said its PowerVR graphics core will continue to work across a variety of CPU architectures including ARM, MIPS, x86 and PowerPC. The cross-platform support has been key to the success of PowerVR, King-Smith said.
Imagination’s immediate goal is to reassure customers that future MIPS processors are under development, King-Smith said. MIPS has a small mobile presence, but it has been losing market share to Intel and ARM in its mainstay embedded market. Traditionally, MIPS designs have also done well in products like TVs, set-top boxes, networking gear and other products.
“We’re doing everything we can to remedy that,” King-Smith said.
It will be interesting to see how Imagination does with MIPS and its graphics cores, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
“There are significant benefits to developing the CPU and GPU cores together like what ARM is attempting, but Imagination does not see it that way. They believe that both should be developed completely independently,” McGregor said.
This will make both the CPU and GPU cores more portable and compatible with other products, which is a positive for Imagination since the majority of the company’s revenues are tied to the ARM architecture. As an example, Apple combines ARM processors with PowerVR graphics cores on its chips for mobile devices.
Imagination may be looking for a way to convert some of its graphics customers over to MIPS architecture, McGregor said.
“While I think it is possible because every chip vendor is always looking to differentiate, it will not be quick or easy to convert someone from what has become the richest processor ecosystem” of ARM, McGregor said.


text:
The lifetime of an LED light source will not necessarily live up to what the manufacturer writes on the packaging. Lifetimes of 50,000 to 100,000 hours (6-12 years’ lifetime at constant light) is not what the consumer actually gets – even if they are led to believe so.
The development in light sources has undergone a revolution in recent years that has not been seen since the first commercial filament lamps came on the market roughly 125 years ago. The new light technology, the LED light source, has developed rapidly both in terms of quality and price, and is today a very real and often better alternative to more traditional light sources such as filament lamps, fluorescent tubes, energy-saving light bulbs (CFLs), halogen bulbs, and so on. A filament lamp can only turn 5 % of its energy consumption into light, whereas an efficient LED light source can exhibit 10 times or higher efficiency with a light output of over 150 lumens/watts.
In a world where more than 20 % of all electrical energy is used on lighting, LED technology is enjoying large-scale regulatory support in the political system, for example in the EU, and the old filament lamps have long been assigned to the scrapheap – even though consumers hesitate to welcome the new technology.
Read the rest of the article at madebydelta.com


text:
Bitplaza adds Dash as a payment method on its app
Hassan Maishera - Cryptowisser
Bitplaza, a platform that allows people to pay for products using cryptocurrencies, announced on Twitter yesterday that it has now added DASH as a payment option. Starting February 8, Bitplaza users can o check out using Dash payments. DASH joins Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Litecoin as the crypto payment options on the platform.
View full text


text:
Amazon to open fulfillment centre in Delta
Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services (ACFS), today announced plans to locate a new fulfillment centre in Delta, British Columbia, creating more than 100 new full-time jobs. This 200,000 square foot facility is the company’s first on the West Coast.
“We’re pleased that ACFS will grow its presence in Canada with its new fulfillment centre here in Delta, British Columbia,” said Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia. “Our community welcomes the jobs it will bring to the region and the increased service it will provide to Amazon.ca shoppers in the area to be able to receive their packages from a facility on the west coast.”
The Delta facility will be ACFS second fulfillment centre in Canada, bringing its total Canadian footprint to more than 700,000 square feet. ACFS currently has a fulfillment centre located in Mississauga, Ontario.
“We are excited to expand our fulfillment network to British Columbia, bringing new jobs and continued investment to the country while improving the experience of shopping on Amazon.ca for customers,” said Brennan Weber, site leader for ACFS.
ACFS expects to open the centre this fall. It is currently hiring for open positions. Interested applicants can apply by visiting www.amazon.ca/jobs or by calling 866-682-5627 and referencing job code: 908S.


text:
The next few years look promising for Carnival Cruise Line’s ‘green cruising’ initiative that is slowly being introduced to the North American market. In addition to Carnival Horizon – the cruise line’s second Vista-class ship scheduled for delivery in March 2018, Carnival Cruise Line recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the construction of two new cruise ships, the largest in their fleet.
Scheduled for delivery in 2020 and 2022, these two ships — each weighing 180,000 tons with passenger capacity of 5,200 — will offer more spacious stateroom options and will be designed for maximum energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. They will also be the first cruise ships based in North America to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
Construction will commence in Turku, Finland shipyard by Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku. Stay tuned for more details as they emerge. In the meantime, check out Carnival Vista – the cruise line’s first Vista-class ship which set sail for the first time in May 2016.


text:
New Delhi: The Commercial LPG cylinder prices were decreased by Rs 158. The Modi government on August 30 announced that the price of Liquefied petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders for domestic use has been cut by Rs 200 per cylinder for all users across the country.
The government exempted imports of LPG, liquified propane and liquified butane from 15 per cent Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess with effect from September 1, 2023. The 15 per cent agri cess on imports of these goods was imposed in July 2023.
The Finance Ministry in a notification said that imports of LPG, liquified propane and liquified butane have been fully exempted from Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC) effective September 1.
The move comes after Union Minister Anurag Thakur on August 30, 2023 announced that the government has decided to decrease the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders for domestic use by Rs 200 per cylinder for all users.
“This is a gift to crores of my sisters of the country on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. Our Government will always do everything possible that improves people’s quality of life and benefits the poor and middle class,” Anurag Thakur said while announcing the reduction in the price of cooking gas.


text:
- Case registered against company CEO Kunal Behl and COO Rohit Bansal
- The complainant said – Woodlands had ordered belt-wallet, those sent were fake
- The clock order was a few months ago but the delivery was not received, after the complaint received the refund
Jul 26, 2019, 12:24 PM IST
Kota (Rajasthan). Fraud has been registered in Gumanpura police station in Kota against the founder Kunal Behl and Rohit Bansal of e-commerce company Snapdeal. According to complainant Inder Mohan Singh Honey, he had ordered woodland company's belt and wallet (purse) on Snapdeal, but the company sent fake products. News Agency on Thursday reported this information.
Woodland staff confirmed the product being fake
According to the police, Inder Mohan Singh had ordered on July 17. He had paid the money online. When the delivery of delivery was suspected, the quality of the product was investigated in the Woodland showroom, where staff told the two things fake.
In this case an Assistant Sub Inspector has been appointed to investigate Snellbill's CEO Kunal Behl and COO Rohit Bansal. The complainant says that his experience with Snapdeal earlier was not good. A few months ago, the order was not delivered at the time of order and the message was reached that the product has reached. However, after receiving a complaint, the refund was received.


text:
In a major coverage shift, Nigeria has relaxed its stringent stance on cryptocurrency transactions, unveiling complete tips to manage the operations of Digital Belongings Service Suppliers (VASPs) after a two-year ban. The transfer, detailed in a round titled “Tips on Operations of Financial institution Accounts for Digital Belongings Service Suppliers,” signifies a departure from the Central Financial institution of Nigeria’s (CBN) earlier restrictive strategy.
Haruna B. Mustafa, Director of the Monetary Coverage and Regulation Division on the CBN, issued the round, acknowledging the worldwide crucial to manage VASPs, which embody cryptocurrencies and crypto belongings. The shift comes after two years of restrictions imposed in February 2021, citing considerations associated to cash laundering and terrorism financing dangers.
- Easing Restrictions and Regulatory Framework:
The most recent tips mark the top of a ban that witnessed Nigerians defying odds, with crypto transactions within the nation rising by 9 p.c year-over-year to achieve $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, as reported by New York-based blockchain analysis agency Chainalysis in a September report.
The CBN’s acknowledgment of worldwide traits and the need to manage VASPs aligns with the Monetary Motion Activity Power’s 2018 replace to Suggestion 15, urging the regulation of VASPs to stop the misuse of digital belongings for cash laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
- Crypto Panorama in Nigeria:
Nigeria not solely defied the ban but in addition emerged as a crypto hotspot, boasting the best peer-to-peer (P2P) alternate quantity, in accordance with the 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report. A latest examine by KuCoin revealed that 35 p.c of Nigerians aged between 18 and 60 are actively investing or buying and selling in bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies, underscoring the resilience and recognition of digital belongings within the nation.
- Evolution of Regulatory Outlook:
The CBN’s acknowledgment of worldwide regulatory traits indicators a nuanced strategy to the evolving panorama of cryptocurrencies. The popularity of the necessity to steadiness innovation with oversight is clear within the acknowledgment of the Monetary Motion Activity Power’s steering, reflecting a dedication to curbing illicit actions whereas permitting for the accountable growth of the digital asset sector.
As Nigeria charts a brand new course within the regulation of cryptocurrencies, business members and observers are keenly watching the unfolding developments, anticipating a possible catalyst for elevated innovation and participation within the digital economic system.


text:
Bernardo Chua, the guru of the healthy coffee franchise, Organo Gold, launched a new rewards program for preferred customers. According to Chua’s Facebook, the program is a vehicle to acknowledge the appreciation for loyalty and patronage. With Organo Gold being a favorable brand, this new rewards program will certainly help expand an already loyal following.
Benefits of Organo Gold Rewards Program
Customers can share the benefits of Organo Gold products by joining the auto-ship program. With auto-ship, customers have preferred door-to-door shipment, and can take advantage of receiving their products on-time, scheduled each month. Customers then receive a 25 percent discount toward their purchase(s). Exclusive rights including sneak peeks and early access to upcoming sales are just some of the benefits of the Organo Gold preferred program. Preferred service, like support systems and dedicated customer service representatives are other perks of joining this program.
Committed to a healthier lifestyle, founder Bernardo Chua started Organo Gold as a home business in 2008. Chua found early on that he could improve coffee and teas by simply going beyond the basic need for caffeine. Chua began utilizing a tropical Asian medicinal trend of using Ganoderma, a wild-grown mushroom that contains bioactive compounds. These compounds have antioxidant, and antifungal therapeutic benefits. Chua infused the powerful Ganoderma ingredient into coffee and teas to give the drinks a healthier edge, an today’s version of Organo Gold packs a powerful punch.
Winner of the People’s Choice Award, the Napolean Hill Gold Medal Award, and the Seal of Excellence from the Philippines, Organo Gold and Bernardo Chua demonstrates excellance. The company currently operates in 37 countries, making Chua one of the most innovative and successful independent home distributors. “Since founding Organo Gold, there has been a dramatic change in the beverage industry,” and “consumers have become increasingly health conscious which has strengthened the business,” said Bernardo Chua.


text:
Trevor Beattie named as chairman for this year's international Creative Out of Home Awards
Trevor Beattie has been announced as the chairman for this year’s Creative Out of Home Awards.
The founding partner at BMB will join Rik Moore, head of creative strategy at Havas Media, Dino Burbidge, director of technology and innovation at WCRS, and Rosh Singh, director of digital innovation at Kinetic Worldwide, on the judging panel for this year’s awards which have opened internationally for the first time.
Beattie, who has previously served as a guest editor at The Drum, said: “Having spent an inordinate amount of my waking hours recently working as its guest editor, I can safely say I’m a huge fan of The Drum.
“I like the way it speaks, I love its attitude and I’m proud to have my name associated with it. I’ve also been a lifelong fan of what were once called “posters” but must now be deemed “Out Of Home”. You don’t get to Skip Ad with a poster; it’s a street performer. The oldest yet the newest form of advertising out there.”
To mark the new international focus of the Creative Out of Home Awards The Drum has partnered with global association of outdoor advertising bodies, Fepe International, who come on board as a sponsor.
Now in its fifth year, the 2016 Creative Out of Home Awards celebrate the best of out of home advertising across 29 categories including best use of live updates, best use of contactless technology and integrated campaign as well as the Chairman’s Award which will be chosen by Beattie himself.
Entries for the 2016 Creative Out of Home Awards can be made here and will close on 26 August.


text:
Rural Romania is still "less attractive financially" for the banks, on Monday asserted Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, adding that it is high time for at least an ATM to exist in each village or commune.
"Rural Romania is still too little attractive financially for you and I can understand this, but perhaps it is high time that apart from the church, the mayoralty, the school and the socialising place, so to say, there is at least an ATM in each village or commune. I am not asking you for pioneering or volunteering, I'm asking you to think to the huge potential of the rural area that is gathering currently half of Romania's population and, in my opinion, unlimited opportunities," Grindeanu told the participants in the Financial Market Forum.
According to the Premier, the payments and financial transactions through the digital technology are more and more frequent.
"If we look (...) at the evolution of the most developed countries, where such payments are almost exclusively online, we realise that our country, too in rapid steps, is heading to this direction. The advantages of these technologies do not surprise anybody, anymore - way less bureaucracy, shorter time allocated for transactions, cheaper financial-banking products and services for the people, a limitation of the grey economy and the growth (...) of our economy's attractiveness for the foreign investors," also stated Grindeanu.
The Financial Market Forum is organised on Monday in Bucharest by the Romanian Association of Banks (ARB). The event is attended by the National Bank of Romania (BNR)'s governor, Mugur Isarescu.


text:
6 Easy Ways To Facilitate Buy Legal Meds – Buy Legal Meds
By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Bloom News
Published: June 6, 2016
Updated: June 6, 2016 at 11:24 PM
LAKELAND — A able bazaar for alien bargain decree drugs has taken basis in Florida, nourished by earlier Americans and advanced regulators.
About 15 storefront businesses beyond Florida, including six in the Tampa Bay area, affirmation to advice bags of barter anniversary year abode online orders from pharmacies in Canada and across for medicines at prices up to 70 percent off what bodies pay in the U.S. The acumen is added countries adapt chump biologic prices — the U.S. does not — and some cheaper all-encompassing medicines are awash there afore the U.S. bazaar gets them.
Federal authorities say the convenance is actionable and alarming because the U.S. has not advised the assurance of some drugs accustomed for auction in adopted countries or they could be counterfeit. But aback the aboriginal storefront opened in 2002 in Delray Beach, Florida, the government has never answerable shops or their customers, according to operators and advisers who chase the business.
The shops seemed to face a austere approaching 10 years ago aback Medicare began accoutrement decree drugs, sparking expectations that seniors would no best attempt to allow medications.
“We anticipation that would be the end of the business,” said Janelle Quinn, buyer of Discount Med Company in St. Petersburg.
The trade’s hasty adaptation spotlights both seniors’ continuing difficulties with medication expenses, and how far some bodies will go to save money.
Florida’s storefronts are begin in retirement havens, including areas of Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, Melbourne and Miami. Similar operations abide in a few added states, but the Sunshine Accompaniment is anticipation to accept the most.
The best arresting name is Canadian MedStore, which opened its aboriginal breadth in 2003 and now has six in axial Florida. Among them: storefronts in Largo, Tarpon Springs, Zephyrhills and Tampa.
Each one serves several hundred barter a year, about 80 percent of whom are over 65, according to co-owner Bill Hepscher. Best of them accept Medicare advantage for decree drugs, but the allocation they still charge pay, including copays and deductibles, is generally a burden, Hepscher said. In accession to arresting copays and deductibles, beneficiaries’ costs additionally acceleration if they hit the “doughnut hole” advantage gap in best Medicare biologic plans, advertisement them to college away costs for decree drugs until those ability $4,850 annually.
The boilerplate retail amount for 397 broadly acclimated drugs added 81 percent from 2006 through 2013, compared with an 18 percent admission in aggrandizement in the aforementioned period, according to AARP.
That altitude drives the bazaar for outlets like Hepscher’s and Quinn’s. “We are a ability for bodies who can’t allow to pay for their
Buy Legal Meds


text:
Apple has extended a 10 percent discount to all active duty members of the U.S. military, National Guard, Reservists and members of their immediate families. The discount program was offered last month, and is applicable to most products, including iPhones, computers, tablets and accessories.
“At Apple we are deeply grateful to the men and women of our armed forces,” Apple said in a statement. “We’re proud to offer active military and veterans a new dedicated online store with special pricing as an expression of our gratitude for their brave service.”
Eligible customers must be 18 years old and buy their products from the Apple website, and customers who try to get the discount at Apple stores will be directed by a store employee to buy products on the site.
The discount does not apply to iTunes/Apple Music content.


text:
Ben Aris in Berlin -
Ever been in a gypsy cab careening through some emerging European capital, already 15 minutes late for a meeting, when you discover that your phone has run out of money? Upaid thinks there is a market in the hair-wrenching frustration that a lack of proper payment systems in the east causes.
Upaid, an international company headquartered in Paris but with most of its existing business in Brazil, announced Tuesday, October 30 that it has signed up the remaining two big mobile phone providers in Serbia. The firm hopes to use the Balkan country as a test-bed, and then show-case, for a service it hopes to spread throughout all of Central and Eastern Europe.
"We need to find the rocket for this service, like eBay was to PayPal," says Terry Trench, senior vice president of commercial operations at Upaid. "We think that the lack of sophistication in the emerging European markets makes them perfect places for a service like this."
What Upaid does is allow a subscriber to top up their mobile phone bill by simply sending their bank a text message saying how much they would like to pay. Western European economies have poked at mobile payments, known as m-commerce in the jargon, but most have pushed it away as impractical and unable to compete with cash, credit cards or direct debit. But as both of the latter barely exist in emerging Europe and no one has enough to the former, Upaid's service was met with instant success when it first launched in Serbia last October.
The company has already signed up Mobile Telecoms of Serbia (MTS), the country's largest mobile phone operator, and 10 of the leading banks. Now it has signed similar deals with the remaining two leading mobile phone companies and has another four deals with banks in the wings. Together these deals will cover almost all of Serbia's 4.5m mobile phone subscribers and 85% of the bank card-holding population.
The system is very simple. A customer goes into his bank and says he or she would like to register for the service and hands over their phone number. As the bank already knows the customer, security checks are unnecessary. The bank sends the customer a text message with a code and whenever the customer wants to pay, he replies to this message with an "R" in the message the amount they would like to pay. The transaction takes, at most, a few seconds to complete. And, bingo, you can call your party and say you'll be late.
Since its launch, the service has proved extremely popular, mainly because something as simple as paying your phone bill in Serbia is such a pain in the neck. Trench says that 80% of Serbia's mobile phones use pre-paid cards, as opposed to 20% in the west, and the average user has to top up their phone five to six times a month. In other words, the average Serb is running to a kiosk more than once a week to buy a new card for their phone. "Once someone tries our service typically they don't use another method of payment," says Trench.
Upaid's service has been a hit because bank services that are taken for granted in Western Europe have yet to arrive in the east. While debit cards are now widespread, banks still offer "plain vanilla" consumer products that don't extend much beyond ATMs and the ability to use a card in a shop. Credit cards are still a thing of the future, which means banks' customers are forced to do most of their transactions in cash.
Upaid has big hopes for the Serbian experiment. The smallness of the country was one of the things that attracted the company to the Balkan market, where it was easier to persuade a big operator in a small pond to sign up. MTS is the leading provider of mobile phone services with some 35-40% of the market. Having now signed up the other two operators - Mobilkom's VIP and Telenor's Mobi63 - Upaid is able to offer its service to almost all the people using a phone in country of 8.2m people. It has also tapped into the bank sector where the 10 leading banks have 5m customers and have issued 2.2m Visa-branded debit cards. VIP is the most recent addition to the phone market but has taken in 100,000 subscribers in only two months of operation. With a customer base and financial partners already in place, Trench says the phone top-up service is only the tip of the iceberg.
"What we are doing is building a platform for the future of m-commerce. Recharging phones is the only way into the mass market and to get to a national level with very high volume and low margins," says Trench. "Later we will go on to other kinds of payment like utility bills, but these are lower volumes and you need a national reach to make them work. The future of payments is where the customer pushes payments and controls the process, not pulled payments like with direct debit."
Send comments to The Editor
Clare Nuttall in Bucharest - Macedonia’s EU accession progress remains stalled amid the country’s worst political crisis in 14 years, while most countries in the Southeast Europe region have ... more
bne IntelliNews - Erste Group Bank saw the continuing economic recovery across Central and Eastern Europe push its January-September financial results back into net profit of €764.2mn, the ... more
bne IntelliNews - Leaders of EU member states and Southeast European countries on the main ... more


text:
Mill Stream Corp., which does business as Sullivan Harbor Farm of Hancock, ME, recalled the 10 lots of smoked salmon that was marketed as safe to be kept in the refrigerator or freezer. But a review of lab reports showed the fish’s salt content was too low for it to be safely refrigerated, making it susceptible to Clostridiumbotulinum, or botulism.
The salmon was sold between March 6 and Sept. 17 in vacuum-sealed packages as whole salmon side, and in 2-pound, 1-pound, 8-ounce, and 4-ounce packages with lot numbers: 7049, 7050, 7051, 7052, 7054, 7056, 7058, 7060, 7062, and 7066.
The recalled products were sold in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Botulism poisoning may cause general weakness, dizziness, double vision, and trouble speaking or swallowing. Having a hard time breathing, muscle weakness, belly pain, and constipation are also common symptoms. People who have these problems should seek medical help.
No illnesses have been connected to the recalled products.
This is not the first time Mill Stream ran afoul of FDA regulations. The company agreed to shut down its manufacturing in 2016 after the U.S. Justice Department filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of the FDA. The complaint said Mill Stream failed “to plan for and control the presence of bacteria and neurotoxins commonly found in seafood-processing facilities,” according to a Department of Justice news release.
It said Mill Stream’s products were “adulterated in that they have been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby the products may have become contaminated with filth or have been rendered injurious to health.”
The company spent the next 3 years working to gain FDA approval to begin selling smoked fish and other products. It reopened in August 2019, according to a blog post on the Sullivan Harbor Farm website.
“We spent 3 years going through a relicensing ordeal with the FDA, which oversees and licenses all seafood in the US,” the blog post says. “We stuck to our guns with our artisanal approach to curing and smoking. Going forward our customers can expect the same level of quality and tastes from our products while maintaining high foods safety standards.”


text:
Beviale Moscow 2022: the stage is set
It’s that time again, and Beviale Moscow is getting ready to launch. Russia’s first trade fair to cover the entire beverage production chain will take place from 29 to 31 March 2022 in Pavilion 57 at the VDNH Exhibition Centre in Moscow. The organisers have made use of the period since the pandemic-induced special edition of Beviale Moscow in 2021 to fine-tune the concept. To reinforce the integrated approach, there will be a stronger focus on wine and liquid dairy products in 2022. However, beer, soft drinks and beverage packaging will also continue to be key components. “After the successful event in 2021, which had been adapted to suit the circumstances, and based on current feedback from the market, I am confident that we can get back onto our previous growth trajectory with Beviale Moscow,” says project manager Thimo Holst, looking optimistically to spring 2022. More than 50 percent of the exhibition space has already been sold.
The VDNH exhibition complex is one of the most popular public spaces in Moscow. Thanks to its location in the historic part of the city, proximity to the city centre and attractive infrastructure, it also offers the ideal conditions for Beviale Moscow 2022, especially as it will take place in Pavilion 57, which was renovated and modernised in 2015. The organisers took the responsible decision to move the venue again in good time after it became apparent that the City of Moscow might continue to use the Sokolniki venue for a while. “To retain the necessary control over the entire organisation and create planning certainty for us and our customers, we have made what is in my view the best choice for a successful event,” says project manager Thimo Holst about the change of location. “The VDNH venue meets all the criteria for a successful trade fair. Pavilion 57 allows us to substantially increase the exhibition space, the number of exhibitors, and the comfort of the conference area.” More than half of the exhibition space has already been booked, among others by KHS, Pentair and Fermentis.
Spotlight on winemaking and dairy products
Since July 2020, the Russian wine market has been governed by a new law, whose provisions also include stricter regulation of grape cultivation and the processing, organisation and distribution of Russian wine. The intention is to promote high-quality winemaking within the Russian Federation. The result of this law is that there has been an enormous increase in demand for products across the winemaking process chain. Beviale Moscow 2022 is responding to this demand by presenting the new EnoloTec Special Show “Winemaking in Russia”. The topic of wine will also be covered in various tastings, seminars and workshops.
In Russia, milk production and processing are key issues for the beverage industry and will therefore also be covered in the coming round of Beviale Moscow, for example through the special show Dairy Trends. The conference programme will also feature presentations and discussion panels on the topic of liquid dairy products.
High-quality supporting programme: soft drinks, beverage packaging, Craft Drinks Corner
Other items on the agenda, some of which will be familiar from previous years, will also be included at Beviale Moscow 2022, e.g., the NCPack (National Packaging Confederation) conference on “Innovation in Beverage Packaging”, another conference devoted to soft drinks, and the Craft Drinks Corner with tastings and seminars.
For the third time now, Bavarian companies will have the opportunity to present themselves to Russian trade visitors as part of the Bavarian Pavilion. To underpin and promote the strong economic ties between Bavaria and Russia, Beviale Moscow started a collaboration with Bayern International in 2019. The Bavarian export promotion agency remains impressed by the concept and continues to give the event its unequivocal backing.
For more information, please go to: www.beviale-moscow.com/en
Beviale Family: International expertise in the beverage industry
NürnbergMesse Group showcases its expertise in the beverage industry on an international stage: BrauBeviale in Nuremberg is one of the most important capital goods trade fairs for the beverage industry worldwide. In addition, the Beviale Family is active in around 10 countries worldwide with various event formats and marketing collaborations tailored to the respective target markets. The members of the Beviale Family and network partners are established in the key growth markets. The latest addition to the network is the Beviale Summit, a live congress in Nuremberg, while myBeviale.com complements the portfolio as a digital platform for the beverage industry.
Contacts for exhibitors
T 49 911 86 06-86 84
F 49 911 86 06-12 86 84
Messe Frankfurt RUS
T +7 495 649 8775-107
T +7 495 649 87 75-122


text:
Banks to Lawless Phishers: Do Not EnterBy Matt Hines Print
Financial institutions are creating multitiered solutions to protect online banking customers from fraud and phishing.
With criminals stalking their operations and customers, Wells Fargo and SVB Silicon Valley Bank can't afford to fool around with online security.
Just as riflemen rode shotgun on Wells Fargo stagecoaches in the 19th century, today, Wells Fargo and SVB Silicon Valley Bank executives are relying on whatever weapons they can get their hands on to help keep the bad guys at bay.
The most significant trend in the online business world over the last year has been the shift among hackers and other criminals from attacks aimed at disabling corporate infrastructure to threats that specifically look to steal companies' money and customer information.
In mid-October, London's Metropolitan Police Computer Crime Unit announced that the e-mail addresses, credit card numbers and transaction histories of approximately 83,000 U.K. consumers had been found on a PC recovered by law enforcement authorities in the United States. According to London police, the files were stolen from computers at an unnamed U.K. bank using a Trojan horse back-door virus that recorded individuals' passwords.
"Security has always been a cornerstone of what we've done as a business, and that's obviously changed over time and will continue to change as threats evolve, so we continue to work hard to do everything we can to protect customers without getting in the end user's way," said Jim Smith, executive vice president of Wells Fargo's Internet Channel and Products group, in San Francisco.
The benefits of achieving success in defeating today's criminal threats are hard to quantify in dollars and cents, as the return on investment for companies such as Wells Fargo and SVB Silicon Valley Bank are measured by the companies' ability to stave off potential attacks and the number of customers who remain willing to do their business over the Web. If successful in their endeavors to keep users protected and banking online, the companies also hope to keep their brick-and-mortar overhead expenses from rising to pre-Internet levels.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Banks to Lawless Phishers: Do Not Enter
IT Solutions Builder TOP IT RESOURCES TO MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
Which topic are you interested in?
What is your company size?
What is your job title?
What is your job function?
Searching our resource database to find your matches...


text:
Brumby’s busted blaming price rises on carbon tax
Wednesday, July 4, 2012/
Bakery franchise Brumby’s has been caught red-handed attempting to blame price rises on the carbon tax, after a letter sent by the company to franchisees was leaked.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has warned it will be investigating the company over the letter, telling SmartCompany this morning it would be looking into the matter.
According to the correspondence, which is attributed to managing director Deane Priest, Brumby’s tells its franchisees they should start increasing prices as early as June and July, and to “let the Carbon Tax take the blame”.
“After all, your costs will be going up due to it.”
The ACCC said in a statement it will be “making inquiries of Brumby’s”, after spending months warning businesses it would impose fines on any business increasing prices and blaming it on the tax.
“The ACCC would be concerned if any franchisor encouraged or induced its franchisees to make misleading price claims about the impact of the carbon price.”
“The ACCC’s role in respect of carbon pricing is to inform and educate businesses and consumers about their rights and obligations under the Competition and Consumer Act (CCA) and to take enforcement action where required to ensure compliance with the law.”
Climate Change minister Greg Combet has already weighed in on the situation, telling the ABC the government “would Caution Brumby’s to be very careful, because this is exactly the sort of thing the ACCC has been warning about”.
“People can increase their price to the extent that it is justified on the basis of the carbon price impact … but you can’t go around misrepresenting price rises.”
This article first appeared at SmartCompany.
All that glitters is not gold: The upsurge of paid followers and engagement on LinkedIn Sue Parker DARE Group founder
Bin juice bingers: How to avoid the sinister clutches of the procurement department and its cold benchmarking Ian Whitworth Scene Change co-founder
Locked and uploaded: How to take bricks-and-mortar stores digital with video Michael Langdon Levity director
Why retailers have no idea about the future Dean Salakas The Party People chief
There's only one way to attract and retain millennial talent — but it'll cost you a few bricks Lauren Lowe Future Fitouts co-founder
Advice for going green, from one chief executive to another James Chin Moody Sendle co-founder


text:
Although the home market does not go away, industrial SMEs decreased by 5.6% in November compared to the same month last year, According to information from Argentine medium-sized businesses (CAME). It has been in the seventh consecutive months of the industry.
In October last year, measurement results grew by 1.6% and seasonality year-on-year increase of 2.2% compared to the same period of 2017.
The figures correspond to CAME's monthly industrial research, among 300 SMEs. The elephants and leather goods markets suffered the most in November (-18.2%), metal products, machinery and equipment (-14.7%), wood products and furniture (-13.5%), paper, cardboard, printing and printing (-5.8%) and chemical products (-4.2%).
Production of industrial SMEs
"Devaluation has only partly benefited us because we have a lot of costs in dollars and we had to change the sales price several times during the year, "said Lewin, vice chairman of the Argentine machine tools and production engineer (CARMAHE), who could take more if the situation helped. But as Lewin clarifies, getting new customers is a task that takes time.
In October, 50.6 per cent of the consulting industries ended in annual production (53.9% in October) and 41.2% grew (36.7% from the previous month). "Although most companies are still falling, the share of growing companies has improved again," CAME said in his report.
In November, the declined profit was the share of profitable sectors from 32.6% to 36.3% in October. "Combining large companies with a lower percentage without profitability reflects a the strategy is not durable, but necessary, ie reducing prices even to sell at a loss to reach liquidity. But the segment's share of the negative and zero levels remains high in profitability, "was agreed on the consultation of industrialists.
"The payment request was extended a lot, especially those who are paying delays and the number of abandoned checks is enormous, "they added.
For some subsectors in the housing sector, in November, according to the CAME report, one of the worst months of the year. This applies, for example, to the production of countertops for the kitchen and furniture. The same footwear and leather products, sales and production were very low. For example, clothing and food, bankruptcy and possible foreclosures increased this month.
The fact is to be taken into account: according to production orders, only 8.2 percent of businesses expect revamping the economy in the first quarter. Instead, 55% declare themselves in the second half, ie from July. 17.1%, on the other hand, is less optimistic, argues that in 2019 there is no longer activation.


text:
Trade between Russia and India totaled US$9.4bn in 2017 ó a 21% increase on the previous year.
Russia’s exports to India (69%) exceeded more than twice its imports from India (31%).
Russiaís key exports which amounted to $6.5bn in 2017 — a 22% increase on 2016 ó were mineral fuels, oil and oil products, jointly accounting for 23% of the exports and totaling US$1.5bn (more than three times in value terms than in 2016).
Indiaís exports to Russia rose in 2017 by 21% from the previous year to a total US$2.9bn, with pharmaceuticals as the key export whose 19% share was worth US$560m ó a 23% in increase on 2016.
TVEL JSC has shipped to India the final consignment of uranium fuel pellets for BWR reactors and thereby fulfilled the relevant contract with the Department of Atomic En...
Russia was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, laying the groundwork for a strong bilateral and economic relationship between the countries.
Russiaís trade turnover with the African states increased by more than 17% in 2018 to $20.4 bln. A representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS that the majority of...
About the models of business development in another country and professional secrets is told by a practicing expert on work in international markets Anna Trubetskaya


text:
Wayfair Inc. (W) News
Filter W News Items
W News Results
|Loading, please wait...|
W News Highlights
- W's 30 day story count now stands at 35.
- Over the past 29 days, the trend for W's stories per day has been choppy and unclear. It has oscillated between 1 and 14.
- The most mentioned tickers in articles about W are DE, HOUR and ROKU.
Latest W News From Around the Web
Below are the latest news stories about Wayfair Inc that investors may wish to consider to help them evaluate W as an investment opportunity.
Joliet, IL, based Investment company First Midwest Bank Trust Division (Current Portfolio) buys Axsome Therapeutics Inc, PROSHARES TRUST, iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF, ISHARES TRUST, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc, sells Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR, AT&T Inc, Avis Budget Group Inc, Cerus Corp during the 3-months ended 2021Q4, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, First Midwest Bank Trust Division.
Don't fear an expensive-looking market, embrace its largest most-shorted stocks -- the ones that have already done the necessary backtracking.
Investment company Piscataqua Savings Bank (Current Portfolio) buys Materials Select Sector SPDR, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Waste Management Inc, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF, sells LyondellBasell Industries NV, DuPont de Nemours Inc, Eversource Energy, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, Suburban Propane Partners LP during the 3-months ended 2021Q4, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Piscataqua Savings Bank.
Wayfair (W) shares hit a 52-week low on Wednesday after a Wedbush note downgraded the stock and called the online furniture retailer's 2021 results "underwhelming."
Wedbush analysts said it's likely supply chain shortages got the best of online retailer Wayfair.
Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferre breaks down how Microsoft is heading for its longest losing streak since September, Sony's new operating company Sony Mobility is entering the EV space, and how Wayfair continues to sink to a 52-week low.
Wedbush analysts note December challenges for both Wayfair and and Williams-Sonoma in the research group's latest notes
By Sam Boughedda
Through the years, investors will undoubtedly encounter rough periods for their stock holdings -- that's just how it goes, and nobody is exempt from experiencing this. In March 2020, the stock market plummeted due to reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. For long-term investors -- especially those with many years until retirement -- this drop in stock prices represented an ideal buying opportunity.
This past year was a massive year for acquisitions.


text:
Congratulations, South Florida Apple lovers: Your loyalty is being rewarded with a one-of-a-kind store at Aventura Mall.
No, we’re not talking about a fruit stand.
On Aug. 10, a grand opening will be held for what will be the largest Apple store among the nine now in South Florida. It’s designed to cater to the thousands of gadget geeks who already frequent the Northeast Miami-Dade location each year.
Chris Brathwaite, senior director of Apple retail design, said the store’s look was executed with South Florida features in mind. It will feature all-white precast concrete, with enormous steel beams supporting a vaulted ceiling, to create a multi-floor “double-height” space. Part of the store will also be “outside,” if not totally outdoors, as it sits beneath a clear-glass enclosure. Apple does not comment on total square footage.
“It’s consistent with the marine climate and classic mid-century design of the region,” he said.
Other store features:
- An amphitheater that can seat hundreds, featuring leather seating
- “Today at Apple” sessions with “world class artists.” To wit: opening day will kick off with Tainy, the principal producer for Bad Bunny and countless other Latin performers
- Instead of a Genius Bar, there will be a Genius Grove featuring a canopy of 22-foot tall local tropical trees
- An outdoor public garden area with Apple Store’s classic teak tables
The new store also comes with 344 jobs, about 40 more than at the mall’s existing Apple location. All current employees there will move to the new location. Apple declined to comment on starting salaries but said all employees receive full benefits.
The store will be part of Aventura Mall’s expansion wing, which has been open since Dec. 2017. The mall’s unique features and central location in the region made it a prime choice for a showcase store, Brathwaite said.
“Aventura was somewhere we could create a store that blended the lines between living outside, and also benefiting from space of shopping mall,” Brathwaite said.
To read more click here.


text:
This account is pending registration confirmation. Please click on the link within the confirmation email previously sent you to complete registration. Need a new registration confirmation email? Click here
HONG KONG, Feb. 11, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Le Gaga Holdings Limited ("Le Gaga" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:GAGA), one of the largest greenhouse vegetable producers in China as measured by the area of greenhouse coverage and one of the fastest growing major vegetable producers in China, today announced that the Company plans to release its financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2010 before the market opens on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. A copy of the earnings release will be available on the Company's website at
The Company will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on February 22, 2011 (9:00 p.m. Hong Kong Time) to review the Company's financial results and answer questions. You may access the live interactive call via:
+1 866 549 1292 (U.S. Toll Free)
+ 400 681 6949 (China Toll Free)
+852 3005 2050 (International)
Pass Code: 534242#
Please dial-in approximately 10 minutes in advance to facilitate an on-time start.
A replay will be available for two weeks after the call and may be accessed via:
+852 3005 2020
A live and archived webcast of the call will be available on the Company's website at
About Le Gaga Holdings (Nasdaq:GAGA)
Le Gaga is one of the largest greenhouse vegetable producers in China as measured by the area of greenhouse coverage and one of the fastest growing major vegetable producers in China. Through its subsidiary China Linong International Limited, the Company sells and markets over 100 varieties of vegetables to wholesalers, institutional customers and supermarkets in China and Hong Kong with a trusted brand among customers. In particular, the Company supplies vegetables to supermarkets, such as Walmart in China and Wellcome, ParknShop and Vanguard in Hong Kong.


text:
Apple’s long-awaited iPhone launches in the UK today – but it won’t come cheap. The company has signed an exclusive supply contract with the Spanish-owned O2 network[…] Thanks to obeezy for providing this nice story on Digg.
What other users say about this:
g00ee: Anyone find any steeper? I’d be interested to see how some of the streets in SF compare.
Jrr6415sun: So now will people finally believe that Apple is locking the phone for their own greedy profit.. not because some phone company is “making” them do it.


text:
December 16, 2017
Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article about Hikvision and the underlying risks that face the US Government and other organizations when purchasing cameras from them. As quick background, Hikvision is a Chinese company which is 42% owned by the Chinese government and that's where most of the concern comes from. To be clear, there are no known exploits or incidents where Hikvision cameras have been used to spy on other countries or entities.
The recent article was prompted by a vulnerability that the US Department of Homeland Security issued a warning about. This particular vulnerability, that IPVM detailed, exposes a back-door in numerous models of their cameras that can be exploited to gain full access to the camera. With full-access, anyone can view the feeds of those cameras. While these vulnerabilities are almost always unknown to the vendor and accidental, it obviously has brought up concerns among government entities and other organizations with sensitive IP. Some US entities including the General Services Administration (they oversee $66B of procurement for the US government) have removed Hikvision as an approved vendor.
Without even considering potential nefarious activities, the article underscores the importance of camera vendors to use all means possible to ensure the security of their cameras and related hardware. Given our teams' long history of working for cybersecurity companies (Sophos, Cenzic, and Mojave Networks), we have gone to great lengths to ensure the security of our devices which we have previously written about.
Another question that often comes up from our enterprise customers is where our cameras are made. All software design and development (cloud, mobile, camera firmware and QA) occurs in the United States. The hardware is manufactured in Taiwan, but as discussed in this article, we sign all the firmware that goes onto our cameras. This ensures that our firmware alone is running on the cameras, nothing else - eliminating any backdoors.
Cybersecurity is a huge concern for all organizations these days and that's why you'll continue to see numerous updates from us on how we're continually improving our infrastructure to best defend against the latest cybersecurity attacks.
See why school districts, cities, and Fortune 500 companies use Rhombus.Start Trial