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DENMARK: Carlsberg wants more growth in SE Europe
Carlsberg has moved to restructure its operations in south-east Europe in a bid to drive efficiency and further boost sales in the region.
The Danish brewing giant said today (6 February) that it has set up Carlsberg South East Europe, a unit charged with generating best practice in the areas of production, procurement and logistics in three countries - Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria.
The business will be based in the Serbian capital of Belgrade and will be run by Isaac Sheps. He will add the positions of CEO of Carlsberg South East Europe and CEO of Carlsberg Croatia to his role as chief executive of Carlsberg Serbia.
"The businesses are all doing well but there is room for further improvement in sharing good practice and good competencies," a Carlsberg spokesman said from Copenhagen.
The spokesman said Carlsberg's local teams would continue to handle the brewer's commercial activities in each market.
"We've seen that a central HQ can take care of back-stage functions but local people know how to treat their customers. We always let people facing the customers make their own decisions."
Carlsberg owns an 80% stake in each of its businesses in Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia. Denmark's Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries, a body that helps Danish firms to develop in emerging markets, owns the remaining 20% stake.
Carlsberg is the second-largest brewer in Serbia and next year plans to spend EUR20m (US$26.4m) on expansion at its brewery in Celarevo, 120km north-west of Belgrade.
Carlsberg controls 19% of Serbia's beer market, where total market sales last year hit 1.1m hectolitres, up from 570,000hl a year earlier.
The brewer controls around 13% of the Croatian beer market. It owns an 80% stake in its local arm, Carlsberg Croatia, based in the town of Koprivnica.
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Carlsberg has denied reports that it will lose momentum in the run-up to finding a replacement CEO for the brewery....
Carlsberg is launching a summer promotion in the UK for its flavoured beer Edge....
Carlsberg's interest in Vin & Sprit should be seen as a way for the company to diversify out of beer and improve its "critical mass in drinks distribution," according to a research note by Dresdner Kl...
Carlsberg has shown an interest in Vin & Sprit, the makers of Absolut vodka, after the Swedish government sanctioned the sale of the wine and spirits company....
Poor weather and the lack of football has hit Scottish & Newcastle's first half in the UK, but the brewer still expects to hit full-year expectations across the group....
Carlsberg stays silent over speculation it plans to bid for Scottish & Newcastle....
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Microsoft has started rolling out a new home screen to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S users, which allows for quicker access to certain functions.
Among other things, they have added a quick menu at the top of the interface on the new home screen, where users can quickly access their game library, Xbox store, Game Pass, search function, and console settings. Additionally, there is now more space to display recently opened games and apps, as well as the ability to create a section for favorite games and favorite apps (see image below).
Microsoft has begun giving some Xbox users access to the new home screen on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Within a few weeks, it will be available to everyone, as Microsoft stated in a blog post.

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The Belgian professional trade fair organization ‘Horeca Expo’ awarded the Pionneer Award and the Innovation Award to Ardo’s avocado’s halves for being the most Innovative product within the Food Category.
Ardo and Dujardin Foodsare pleased to report that the merger of Ardo and Dujardin Foods has been approved by the competition authorities in all of the countries where we are active. No restrictions or conditions have been placed on the merger.
Ardo and Dujardin Foods are pleased to report the signing of a Merger Agreement. The two Belgian frozen food companies, started independently by two brothers 40 years ago, are preparing to come together as one firm, subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities. As part of the transaction, NPM Capital, a private equity firm which held a minority stake in Dujardin Foods is selling its stake. In the new Group 100% of the shares will be owned by the Haspeslagh families.
Ardo’s delicious fresh-frozen vegetables and fruit can count on extensive interest in Russia too. Several Russian food journalists and bloggers came along to Anuga to try our latest products and recipes. They were impressed by the taste and quality of the Ardo range. Prominent food magazine Food Services devoted an article to our products!
At the beginning of last year, our Czech brand Mochov won the ‘customer’s choice’ award in its own country for the ‘Polabanka’ (Julienne mix) and ‘Mochavanka’ (Brunoise mix) vegetable mixes. To put this in the spotlight, a communication campaign directed at consumers was launched in mid-October. A combination of billboards, posters, store decorations, advertisements, promotions and product tastings highlighted the typical aspects of these products, namely the Brunoise or Julienne cuts and their uses. The campaign was given extra support by the fully renovated website www.ardomochov.cz, which offered a fresh look at the range and all of its innovations.


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Chip industry growth slows
Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, April 3, 1996
National Semiconductor Corp. said Tuesday it was reducing its worldwide work force by approximately 400 people, primarily at its Santa Clara headquarters.
The cuts amount to 2 percent of the company's 21,000 worldwide work force, but 9 percent of the 4,200 factory and administrative jobs at the Santa Clara operation.
National said the layoffs plus related equipment write-offs would result in a one-time expense of $20 million to $25 million in the current quarter. The charge is equivalent to 11 to 13 cents in after-tax earnings per share.
"The current slowdown in new orders, caused by excess inventories in end-user markets, especially the personal computer market, has made it necessary to reduce costs in order to match slower than expected revenue growth," the company said in a statement.
National's was the second chip industry layoff in recent weeks.
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On March 19, Cirrus Logic Inc. said it would cut 455 jobs, about 13 percent of the company's work force, which is centered at its Fremont headquarters.
With both companies attributing the reductions, at least in part, to a slowdown in the growth of personal computer sales, the question is whether these moves are precursors to a Silicon Valley trend.
"This is the second (layoff), so there is likely to be a third, fourth and fifth," said Dan Klesken, semiconductor analyst for Robertson Stephens & Co. in The City. "But I don't think this is likely to be a widespread bloodletting."
Klesken said the problem was that the semiconductor industry had grown about 30 to 40 percent in dollar terms in recent years, and must now adjust to growth at a 10 percent rate. But some companies will still outperform that average, Klesken said, mentioning companies such as S3 and C-Cube, which have specialties in graphics.
Dan Hutcheson of VLSI Research in San Jose predicted the slump in the chip industry might lead to slightly broader layoffs.
"We're at the beginning of a real slowdown," he said.
"We've seen it in the beginning of a curtailment of capital spending, and we're likely to see more layoffs next."
In the case of National Semi, Hutcheson said, the company has also been steadily moving jobs away from Santa Clara and toward plants elsewhere. National has factories in Maine, Utah and Texas, as well as Scotland, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Three executive vice presidents and chief operating officers, Richard M. Beyer, Ellen Hancock and Kirk P. Pond, have been directing National since former chief executive Gil Amelio left the company earlier this year to become chairman of Apple Computer Inc.<


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Loblaw Companies Ltd. has partnered with Toronto-based healthtech startup League to develop and launch the grocery giant’s new health-focused app, which is intended to provide Canadians access to care and resources.
The partnership follows shortly after Loblaw Companies partnered with Maple.
The new offering, called the PC Health app, will give users free access to registered nurses and dietitians who can provide advice and support as well as receive rewards for completing customized health goals. The app is currently available in the Atlantic provinces, and the companies plan to roll out the app nationally in the coming weeks. Update: As of November 23, Loblaw has also launched the app in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta.
Loblaw’s partnership with League comes two years after League’s $62 million financing round in 2018. That round received participation from Wittington Ventures, the subsidiary of a holding company owned by the prominent Weston family, which also owns and operates Loblaws. Wittington also participated in an undisclosed follow-on investment in League in September 2019.
“This new personalized “front door” creates a true omnichannel and loyalty experience designed to reach and engage users on their personal health journey,” said Michael Serbinis, founder and CEO of League. “Thousands of people already use League every day to manage their health and get support, we’re thrilled to now be able to help thousands more.”
Founded in 2014, League offers a data-driven platform designed to provide a single access hub for employees to engage with their health, lifestyle and benefit programs.
The new PC Health App features what Loblaw called “care navigators,” who will help guide each user’s health journey, provide access to consultations with registered nurses and dietitians, and offers health programs to help users develop healthy habits. Users also have the ability to earn PC Optimum rewards for reaching health program milestones along the way.
Over the last six months, Loblaw has increased its involvement with Canadian healthtech startups, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, Loblaw Companies took a minority stake in Maple through a $75 million investment, six months after its subsidiary Shoppers Drug Mart began working with the startup.
Through that partnership, Maple and Shoppers made virtual care available in more than 160 Shoppers Drug Mart locations in British Columbia and have also jointly facilitated nearly 20,000 virtual care visits during the pandemic.
“We exist to help Canadians live their lives as well as they can. We know that access to care and understanding how to best navigate the healthcare system are two of the biggest challenges facing many of our customers,” said Jeff Leger, president of Shoppers Drug Mart. “The PC Health app combines the power of our robust healthcare network, extensive professional care services and our world-class loyalty program into a healthcare solution for Canadians, right at their fingertips.”
UPDATE 23/11/2020: This article has been update to denote the additional provinces Loblaw’s app is available in.
Image source Loblaw Companies Ltd. via CNW Group.


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A recent HMRC tribunal has seen the Court of Appeal side with HMRC’s Upper Tribunal in relation to an organic farming business that had continued to incur annual losses.
For around 17 years, the farm business didn’t show a profit, despite increases in land farmed and changes to the running of the business. The case centred on whether a “competent farmer” (not that the actual farmer was incompetent) would have no reasonable expectation of profit for the farm either.
Normally, up to a 5 year loss would be allowable before a farm would be expected to make a profit, however, in exceptional circumstances, longer periods of losses may be allowable, such as the creation of a fruit farm whereby getting a good level of fruit production can take quite a few years, and a “competent farmer” would have similar results.
This case highlights the need to consider the farming approach if prolonged losses are expected to be incurred and these losses are to be offset against other income each year, known as “sideways loss relief”.


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Sonic is breaking ground in the burger industry with a nationwide drop of their new Signature Slingers, a unique burger patty that utilizes mushrooms to improve health and give a massive flavor boost.
Photo courtesy of Sonic
Sonic Signature Slingers utilize a "blended" burger patty. This mixture of ground beef, seasoning, and mushrooms has become popular in the culinary world. Sonic is capitalizing on the blended burger trend with their Slingers, which can help to reduce the sodium content in the patties as well as boost the flavor.
This is based off of a taste study conducted by the University of California, Davis and the Culinary Institute of America, who found that blends of ground beef and mushroom tasted just as good or better than traditional patties. That comes with a drop in fat, sodium, and caloric content, making the Slingers healthier than a regular cheeseburger. For comparison, the Sonic Signature Slingers, which contain 25% mushroom, start at under 350 calories, significantly less than the 595 in their normal cheeseburgers.
Sonic did test the Slingers last August, and it appears to have gone well, as the new patties will drop in stores nationwide starting March 5th. They'll cost $1.99 each, much lower than the $3.89 of a regular cheeseburger.
The blended burger patties give Sonic and the Signature Slingers a new role in the fast food industry. The chain is now leading the charge amongst major QSRs when it comes to healthy innovation thanks to this burger, which lowers cost and calories while retaining flavor. It also helps reduce overall meat consumption, so it pushes the chain to become a little more environmentally conscious.
The fact that Sonic can do all this and keep their burgers full of flavor is groundbreaking, and should serve as inspiration for other chains to hop on the blended burger or meat alternative hype trains.


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SAN FRANCISCO – Chipmaker Broadcom Ltd is impending a understanding to acquire network rigging builder Brocade Communications Systems Inc in a understanding that could be announced after this week, people informed with a matter pronounced on Tuesday.
The understanding would be a latest in a call of semiconductor converging unconditional a industry. Run by Chief Executive Hock Tan, a association before famous as Avago is one of a chip sector’s many inclusive acquirers, carrying finished a $37 billion takeover this year and changing a name to Broadcom.
If a U.S.-and-Singapore-based association succeeds in shopping Brocade, it would keep Brocade’s twine channel and storage business, that has roughly $1.5 billion in annual revenue, while it would aim to deprive a networking business, a sources said, seeking not to be named since a matter is private.
Broadcom and Brocade declined to comment. While a companies are in modernized discussions, no understanding is final and talks could still tumble apart, a people cautioned.
A large partial of Brocade’s IP networking business that Broadcom would demeanour to deprive was acquired as partial of Brocade’s $1.5 billion partnership of Ruckus Wireless progressing this year. This section generated $209 million in product income in a third quarter.
A understanding for Brocade, whose marketplace capitalization has risen to $4.5 billion on partnership talk, would come a week after a semiconductor’s industry’s largest-ever tie-up when smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm Inc concluded to buy NXP Semiconductors NV for about $38 billion.
Shares of Brocade sealed 6 percent aloft during $11.24, while Broadcom shares sealed 0.9 percent reduce during $168.80 on Tuesday.
Brocade would be a latest serve to a sprawling association famous as Broadcom, now a third-largest U.S. semiconductor builder by revenue, behind Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc, with a marketplace capitalization of $66.4 billion.
Last year, when Broadcom was called Avago, it done a pull into twine and adapters with a partnership of Emulex. By adding Brocade’s high-margin twine unit, it would serve bulk adult a capabilities to assistance business with a backbones of their information centers.
Morningstar researcher Brian Colello pronounced in a investigate note on Tuesday his biggest regard about a intensity understanding would be Broadcom carrying to contest with some of a pivotal business such as Cisco Systems Inc. By disposing of Brocade’s networking business, it could assistance lessen this issue.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that Brocade was impending a understanding to be sole and that Broadcom was among intensity buyers.
(Editing by Andrew Hay and Matthew Lewis)


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Fremont auto supply plant expands, celebrates GM honor
FREMONT - ABC Inoac Exterior Systems celebrated the grand opening of a 28,000-square-foot addition to its Fremont plant Wednesday, as economic development leaders, county officials and employees lauded the company's expansion.
As part of the celebration, plant manager Bruce Boyce accepted a 2017 GM Supplier of the Year award from General Motors representative Theo Mosley.
"You don't get to be supplier of the year unless you execute the business," Boyce said in accepting the award.
ABC Inoac employees received jackets to commemorate the GM award.
Mosley said GM used 13 different metrics to determine which facilities received the annual award.
The ABC Inoac Fremont addition, which was built by Anstead Construction, will be used to make spoilers and back finishers for cars and trucks.
Boyce said the company has six state-of-the-art injection molding machines and will add a seventh in the new addition.
He said the company has 493 employees.
Construction on the addition began in April 2017 and was completed in recent weeks.
"We'll start filling it in with equipment in the next two weeks," Boyce said, adding that it will produce spoilers and back finishers for the Chevy Silverado and Tahoe Yukon.
Beth Hannam, Sandusky County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director, said the $2 million expansion project would result in 25 new full-time positions at the company.
Hannam said ABC Inoac received an Enterprise Zone Tax Abatement, which is a 75 percent abatement off new, real property for 10 years.
She said ABC Inoac had been creative in recent years in being able to fill their open positions.
"Obviously, they've been able to do it in a way where quality hasn't suffered," Hannam said.
Sandusky County Commissioner Scott Miller said the expansion means more jobs and economic security for the community.
Miller said he didn't realize how many exterior car pieces were produced at the plant.
Boyce said the plant ships more than 35,000 spoilers and finishers per week.
"I couldn't be more pleased with how they're doing here," Miller said.
The ABC Inoac plant in Fremont was originally constructed in 1940. The companies' joint venture was formed in 2012.
Boyce said the plant also has seven machines used for blow molding.
He said the Chevy Silverado is designed to save fuel mileage through its rear spoiler, with the exterior item designed to deflect wind off the cab.


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MassRoots is only available in the 23 states with laws permitting the medical use of marijuana. It comes with a mandatory geolocation check to block users from unauthorized territories.
Cupertino's change of heart came after the developers of MassRoots and other advocacy groups petitioned the tech giant to move into the 21st century and stop barring drug-themed apps.
"We'd like to thank the App Store for embracing the cannabis community and continuing to set an example as a socially progressive institution," MassRoots said in a blog post. "We are excited to begin a new chapter with Apple in which we can work together to affect meaningful societal change."
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing marijuana in some formmostly for medicinal purposes. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska are the only ones to allow recreational smoking.
"A tremendous amount of responsibility has just been placed on MassRoots; we have a duty to show the world that cannabis consumption can be done in a safe and responsible manner in compliance with state laws and federal enforcement guidelines," the blog said.
And the company takes that task very seriously, promising to implement additional features "to strengthen our compliance even beyond what is currently required."
MassRoots founder Isaac Dietrich told MacRumors that his team is already working on a "hard geofence" for its website and Android app, which is expected to go live today.
Meanwhile, if your mobile game includes guns, that's fine. Just don't feature them in the promotional material you submit to Apple.
According to Pocket Gamer, Apple has been more actively cracking down on apps that include guns in the screen shots people can peruse before downloading an app. But as developer Marco Arment pointed out, this shouldn't be a huge surprise to developers, since Apple's rules have long stated that app icons, screenshots, and previews must be appropriate for those ages 4 and up.
Regardless of the topic of your app, it can now be much bigger. Cupertino has increased the size limit of an app package from 2GB to 4GB.
For more, see Marijuana Production: The Next Great Energy Hog?
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(PALMDALE, Calif.) — Detectives are seeking the public’s help in locating two exotic birds that were snatched from a pet store in Southern California last month. Cleo, a citron-crested cockatoo, and Yoda, a Goffin’s cockatoo, were stolen on the night of Jan. 25 from High Country Feed & Pets in Palmdale, about 65 miles north of Los Angeles, according to a bulletin from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Palmdale Station.Surveillance cameras captured the moment the thieves broke into the store hours after it had closed and took the feathered pair from their cages.The parrots retail for about $2,000 each, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC-TV.In a recent post on its Facebook page, the pet store announced that it’s offering a cash reward to anyone who helps bring Cleo and Yoda back safely. There are concerns the birds may be injured.ABC News has reached out to the store owner for comment.Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to contact Palmdale Sheriff’s Station detectives at 661-272-2456. People can also submit anonymous tips to crimestoppers.com or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS.Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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Philips Appoints Bruno Biasiotta as CEO and President of Philips Lighting North America
Solid State Lighting Design LED Lighting News - Press Releases - As issued by company
July 12, 2012... Building efficiency expert with a proven track record in solutions sales and services to head up key business for company
Somerset, New Jersey USA –– In keeping with the company’s move toward a more integrated solutions approach to lighting, Philips has appointed Bruno Biasiotta, a building efficiency leader with more than 20 years of experience, to head the company’s North American lighting operations. In his new role, Mr. Biasiotta will be responsible for driving market share for Philips’ lighting businesses in North America, including Lamps, Consumer Luminaires and Professional Luminaires.
“Intelligent lighting solutions are an integral part of today’s high performance buildings and with Bruno’s proven track record and strength in leading diverse field organizations and business units, he has the right skills sets to further drive our solutions-based market approach,” said Eric Rondolat, global CEO of Philips’ Lighting. “Bruno will play a pivotal role in ensuring that we partner closely with our customers and deliver the right solutions.”
Mr. Biasiotta joins Philips from Johnson Controls where he held several leadership positions, most recently as vice president and general manager of building efficiency. In that role, he was responsible for field operations of the company’s Energy Solutions business which included Energy Efficiency, Renewable Technologies, Demand Response, Solar, and Lighting Services. During his tenure, Mr. Biasiotta drove and implemented new strategic platforms around vertical markets, channel segmentation and lines of business, and effectively realigned the businesses to capture sustainable, profitable growth.
“Philips has an impressive history of innovation and sustainability, and one that continues to push the boundaries of what is possible with LED lighting technologies,” said Bruno Biasiotta, CEO and president of Philips Lighting North America. “In an era of building automation, where customers understand the value of upgrading to more energy-efficient solutions, Philips is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the opportunities this presents.”
Mr. Biasiotta will be taking over the role from Zia Eftekhar, who announced his retirement last month, and who will continue with the company as Chairman until the end of the year. Mr. Biasiotta holds a degree in business from Cleveland State University, has dual U.S. and Italian citizenships, and sits on various professional boards.
For further press information, please contact:
Philips Lighting North America
Tel: 978 – 659-7467
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity.” Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 122,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 22.6 billion in 2011, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
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Chaparral Australia is planning a secret release of a brand new model at the Sydney Boat Show in August. The world release will be the second time Chaparral have launched a new model outside of the U.S in its 49 year history. The first time was also in Sydney in 2011 with the spectacular launch of the 225 Sport Cabin to media and public acclaim.
Whilst the details of the new boat are being carefully held, our spies believe it may be a new model in the popular H2o entry level range which has been a best seller both here in Australia and the U.S. since its release 18 months ago . Comprising the 18 and 19 Sport and Ski/Fish bow rider models, the H2o’s introduced in 2012 was the first time Chaparral have competed in the competitive entry level market. Designed to capture first boat buyers and offer an opportunity to own Chaparral quality from day one in their boating careers, H2o has been a phenomenon in Australia.
We believe that the secret boat will be a bigger family model also with Sport and Ski/Fish layouts on offer.
Scott O’Hare from Chaparral Australia said; “Of course I cannot give you any details, it’s a secret! but, I will say that we are honoured to have been chosen for this world release and can tell you that it is a brand new boat from the hull up.”
In usual Chaparral style it is packed full of innovative features, performs beautifully in rough water and is built salt water tough” he said. “We know that the family buyers will love the boat and love the price as well!”
Chaparral has a solid reputation worldwide for quality, innovation and performance; they have over 30 sports boat models in the range from 18 to 42 feet and offer a complete dealer network across Australia. Blakes Marine in Windsor are the N.S.W dealer representing Chaparral at the show.
For more information on the Chaparral range go to www.chaparralaustralia.com.au or contact Chaparral Australia on (03) 9397-6977


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It has been the worst of times for the music industry. New technology has rendered existing business models, which enriched executives and gave top-selling artists lavish lifestyles, all but obsolete.
Apple's iPod popularised Mp3 players, digital music lowered costs for consumers and subsequent sales of CDs collapsed. Album sales in the UK, the world's third largest market, which accounts for nearly 10% of the global market, have fallen for six consecutive years.
Last year total music sales rose for the first time since 2003, boosted by download sales, according to industry body the BPI. But sales are unlikely ever to fully recover. Total global revenues for all music – including digital downloads – fell by 25% from $38.6bn (£25bn) in 1999 to $27.5bn in 2008, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
But at the same time as recorded music is suffering, the live music scene is flourishing – with new and established acts beginning to depend on touring to generate a far greater proportion of income. For the most part, going on the road is now less about promoting a new CD or single than simply making ends meet.
Extra revenue stream
In the UK, where the summer festival scene is well-established and there are more events than elsewhere in the western world, the last decade saw a boom in live music. Ticket sales grew by 9.4% between 2008 and 2009 according to a report, Adding up the UK Music Industry 2009, published earlier this year by PRS for Music, which collects royalties for artists.
That rate of growth is slowing but it could be given a fillip by plans to film more concerts in 3D, replicating the live experience for new audiences. The advent of 3D could perhaps mark the moment when a modern technology acts as a boon to the music industry – rather than a break on sales.
After successful experiments with screening live sport in 3D, there are bold plans to do the same for concerts, with hopes of creating an extra revenue stream similar to that which benefited the film and TV industries when sales of DVDs began to take off in the 1990s.
The Black Eyed Peas recently announced plans for a 3D film that will be directed by Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron and is scheduled for release next year. It will be produced in conjunction with 3eality Digital, a US production company founded by Sandford "Sandy" Climan, a former Hollywood agent who represented Robert de Niro and Robert Redford, amongst others.
Climan claims that "the music guys are very excited about it and the artists even more so". The company persuaded U2 to feature in the first concerts to be recorded in 3D. The resulting U2 3D was shot on the Latin American leg of the band's 2006 Vertigo tour and premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. It was shown in 600 American cinemas and made $20m in its first year.
But while BSkyB is launching its first 3D channel next month, 3D concerts seem unlikely to transform the economics of the industry unless the experience is compelling enough to persuade consumers to embrace a pay-per-view model.
For a start the music and the atmosphere are major factors at a concert compared to its televised equivalent, and many of those who are lucky enough to attend simply want to be able to say: "I was there".
But there is another reason the music industry is eager to embrace 3D; it gives it a better chance of winning a battle against piracy which costs it dear, as 3D is almost impossible to replicate and prohibitively expensive to reproduce.
While it remains to be seen if music lovers will find the aesthetics of 3D appealing, the industry will be hoping they do – if only so it can retain a grip on revenues that digital music had started to loosen.
The U2 movie was enhanced for 3D after filming in post-production – as the Black Eyed Peas film will be – and Climan believes there is huge money to be made from filming concerts in 3D and screening them in realtime in cinemas.
Simulcasting a live concert to cinemas around the world may lure fans who want to watch their favourite artists but cannot afford a ticket to the gig itself.
Many acts sell out even the biggest venues in hours, leaving thousands of fans disappointed but allowing cinemas to potentially act as "spill-over" venues. The only losers would be the touts and secondary ticketing companies who make money from the grey market, another positive spin off of the revolution.
Sony Pictures has created a new label called Hot Ticket to exploit a growing demand for concert films (its logo is "if you can't be there, be here") and is currently planning some big-budget 3D films (see box, below). All are currently pre-recorded but the assumption is live 3D broadcast of concerts isn't far off.
Climan argues that a 3D concert can eclipse the real event. "At a concert you can only see the band if you're in the front row," he points out. "There are live two dimensional simulcasts," says Climan, "but watching a concert in 2D is a very flat, very unstimulating experience. It is a poor substitute for being there. Watching in 3D is an entirely different experience."
Scaling up: Bringing music to life
U2 pioneered filmed 3D performances with their 1998 movie U2 3D and there are now a series of similar performances in the production pipeline.
Justin Bieber, the Canadian teen star, performed at New York's Madison Square Garden this month and was filmed for a 3D movie, although it is a biopic rather than a straightforward filmed concert.
Sony Pictures has set up an experimental subsidiary, called Hot Ticket, to produce live shows and has released a 3D film of country singer Kenny Chesney this summer.
Black Eyed Peas will release a 3D tour documentary directed by James Cameron in cinemas in 2011, and a recent sell-out Toronto performance by Kylie Minogue was also shot – under the direction of Marcus Viner – in 3D by Nineteen Fifteen, a UK production company which specialises in live events and which has pioneered the new production techniques across all platforms.
It also filmed Vampire Weekend performing in Turin last month for a 3D concert to be shown on MTV, the channel's first foray into the medium.
For the technology to take off it may need to evolve so that glasses are no longer necessary to see the on-screen world as it appears in real life, however. The entertainment industry is working on it, but that is still some years away.
Filming in 3D is labour intensive and expensive – it requires more cameras to capture artists from every angle. But as costs come down over time, we can reasonably expect more and more music videos to be shot in 3D.


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By Elena Obukhova, founder & CEO at FAS | Fintech Advisory Companies
The historic day when Bitcoin grew to become an official foreign money in El Salvador and official international foreign money for the remainder of the world began with Bitcoin value correction. Correction is rarely a brand new factor for the crypto neighborhood. Nonetheless, this time majority of crypto individuals took it as a private offense and an orchestrated assault on Bitcoin.
Nayib Bukele, a president of El Salvador, mentioned on his Twitter, “El Salvador simply purchased 200 new cash. We now maintain 400 #Bitcoin,” referring to a reduction in the marketplace in his follow-up posts. On Tuesday (eighth), they have been already holding 550 Bitcoins.
The entire international crypto neighborhood was watching El Salvador on this historic day. On the seventh and through the next days, individuals have been going to giant chains like Starbucks, McDonald’s, and totally different native outlets to pay with Bitcoin and put up it on their social media. The Crypto neighborhood was stuffed with pleasure, I might see it from my Twitter.
There have been additionally some opposed actions earlier than and after Bitcoin formally grew to become a authorized tender. Some individuals have been claiming that they are going to be paying for this reform with their taxes. There have been a number of protests taking place within the nation.
Volatility is a relative time period
I at all times say that volatility is a relative time period. Foreign money can’t be unstable if we don’t evaluate it to anything. Think about if all world costs, salaries, and settlements have been in Bitcoin. Would it not be unstable then? Nonetheless, in relation to the worldwide market, buying items from outdoors of the nation, and conducting enterprise in foreign currency, the volatility of the nationwide foreign money may cause a dangerous impact on the companies. Particularly in relation to small companies and micro-merchants.
Till now, Bitcoin is just not the one official foreign money in El Salvador, because the US greenback stays in place as effectively. Bitcoin helps the nation to reduce dependency on the US greenback and to have monumental long-term advantages for the financial system. Nonetheless, having a twin foreign money system brings us again to the volatility dialogue. If all retailers and companies are doing settlements in US greenback, then accepting Bitcoin can include the worth relying on the day and the market circumstances. If all settlements are being completed in Bitcoin, then the companies and micro-merchants could be much less delicate to the worth fluctuations on the every day foundation. Moreover, contemplating the deflationary nature of Bitcoin, they could additionally get pleasure from foreign money appreciation in the long run.
After we discuss revolutionary monetary options within the developed world, it’s by no means the identical as in creating nations. El Salvador, in keeping with Findex 2017 information, had solely 30% of adults with entry to a proper account, making 70% of the inhabitants unbanked. Web penetration forecast (Statista) is ready at 49%, making half of the individuals with out entry to the Web. It’s already a bigger fraction of the inhabitants that may get entry to monetary providers by the crypto market in comparison with individuals with entry to formal monetary merchandise.
El Salvador additionally launched a Chivo (slang for “cool”) app for Bitcoin funds that skilled some tech glitches when individuals tried to log in or pay at cafes/eating places. Like every app launch, there have been individuals who had a unfavorable expertise due to some tech points and folks being extraordinarily excited to make use of the lightning community and pay with Bitcoin in seconds in Starbucks or native cafes.
It’s necessary to know that El Salvador is the nation with one of many lowest income-per-capita in Latin America. The vast majority of individuals didn’t use formal monetary merchandise and remained unbanked. The monetary literacy fee was marked at 21% in 2017 (World Financial institution) in comparison with developed economies which have 37% — 60% of financially literate individuals. For instance, Argentina, the place the crypto adoption fee is likely one of the highest in Latin America, had a 28% monetary literacy fee.
I had been working with monetary merchandise for the underserved inhabitants in South East Asia throughout my time within the UN, and introducing one thing new with out correct schooling and clarification at all times comes with plenty of difficulties. On the similar time, I at all times believed that cryptocurrencies are the remedy for monetary inclusion and underserved inhabitants. Folks in rural areas in Myanmar, for instance, don’t have entry to ATMs. All of the machines are miles away. Think about how tough it’s to get cash from an ATM when it’s a must to stroll miles throughout the wet and hurricane season by the mud. It’s not a every day expertise, and due to this fact a significant a part of the formal financial system turns into the Money Economic system. On the similar time, I noticed that every family has an entry to at the least one telephone that’s linked to the Web. That makes it extraordinarily simple to entry the crypto market with out the need to stroll anyplace.
In my earlier articles, I’ve been discussing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency use instances in Latin America throughout the Money Economic system and out of doors of the general public sector. Folks select Bitcoin over their nationwide currencies for various causes, together with safety towards inflation, gaining access to monetary providers, remittances, loans, and so on. Making Bitcoin a authorized tender solely brings it to the general public sector and together with all this unofficial financial system official.
Going again to the case of El Salvador, for my part, it’s one of the thrilling experiments on the federal government stage that may enhance individuals’s lives and enhance monetary inclusion. The entire crypto neighborhood watching it with pure pleasure. Nayib Bukele introduced the unofficial financial system to the general public sector opening extra alternatives for the unbanked and for the nation’s financial system basically.
Not all nice concepts work in observe, and the key a part of success is at all times execution. The launch day didn’t go as easily as everybody was anticipated, however when did we ever have a clean launch day for one thing? El Salvador’s GDP is $27 Billion, let’s evaluate it to Apple and its $ 2.46 Trillion market cap. Apple’s new merchandise aren’t at all times good, why will we anticipate Chivo to go as clean?
On the finish of the day, essentially the most important puzzles that El Salvador would wish to type out are:
1) Monetary schooling and literacy. It’s essential to elucidate to individuals what Bitcoin really is and the way it may help them with remittances, every day transactions, and gaining access to monetary merchandise.
2) Settlements. I already talked about that utilizing a twin nationwide foreign money system can include a price, not for the federal government and wealthy, however for the poor. Micro-merchants, small distributors, and people shall be uncovered to foreign money fluctuations and can bear the danger of the Bitcoin value taking place when they should do a settlement within the US greenback.
3) Framework for cryptocurrency funds, transfers, settlements, and accounting. It ought to be simple, accessible, and easily working.
The actual historical past is being made right now and it’s thrilling for the entire crypto house. I’ll preserve watching how the scenario shall be evolving and share extra updates and insights later. Additionally planning to go to El Salvador personally within the upcoming months.


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Custom Security transforms itself into a commercial security provider
LACEY, Wash. - When Bob Helstrom founded Custom Security, he built a company focused on the residential market and one that would capitalize on its ties to the Sears security dealer program.
Today, more than 30 years later, Custom Security is a completely different company with a transformation that began about 10 years ago when the free security system offer began hitting the market and the Sears program went away.
What has emerged now is a company whose business is 90 percent commercial.
Ã¢â‚¬Å“The free systems started and the prices started coming down,Ã¢â‚¬Â said Helstrom, Custom SecurityÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s chief executive officer who as part of the Sears program received sales leads, financing and commission based on the installation. Ã¢â‚¬Å“When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re paying someone a commission, not much is left. At that time sales were 90 percent residential and we operated in 17 states.Ã¢â‚¬Â
That transformation is no small feat in the security market where installation companies that successfully reinvent themselves are few and far between.
Ã¢â‚¬Å“There are very few privately owned companies like ours left,Ã¢â‚¬Â said Spud Downie, a 17 year employee of Custom Security and the companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s general manager and vice president . Ã¢â‚¬Å“Many have gone out of business or sold out. Basically, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve got to be flexible or youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re not going to be in business.Ã¢â‚¬Â
That flexibility has meant adding items such as commercial burglar alarms, access control, and fire systems, and becoming a diverse company. Not only does the company install integrated security systems, it also provides wholesale monitoring to more than 80 dealers through a company called Alarm Center it started in 1980. Today the central station monitors 45,000 accounts, 10,000 of which are owned by Custom Security, and is responsible for about 60 percent of the companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s revenues.
Flexibility for Custom Security has also meant trimming down its service area from 17 states, and selling two offices, to become a two-location company with a two-hour service area. The companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only other office is located in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s transformation worked well, and proved timely, said Downie. As it added fire alarm products and service, fire codes became more stringent on items such as installation and inspection, providing the company with yet another market opportunity.
While the companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s security business remains steady, much of its growth today is being achieved through an Internet company. Launched five years ago, ReachOne Internet serves 9,000 customers, including providing dealers with Internet access to their accounts.


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According to the e-commerce supervision and management regulation released by Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce on its website, from August 1, 2008, profit-making online shops from Beijing should get a business license before starting operation.
However, the regulation also says that nonprofit online shops that aim at selling or exchanging personal use items do not need to register.
For the convenience of customers, the regulation says e-business managers should publicize information such as their company names, business addresses, online shop names, IP addresses and how to contact them.
In addition, e-commerce service suppliers that offer online trade platform are responsible to check the business license of their contracted shops and set up records for the completed deals. These records should be kept for no less than t...
This news article comes via ChinaTechNews.com , who is the copyright owner of this information and news. FintekAsia.com has licensed the rights to this article and any republication or re-distribution in whole or in part of this content is strictly prohibited without the express consent of ChinaTechNews.com


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Child invoiced for not going to a birthday party (read the comments) bw/toddlerbill
Is Amazon really the cheapest place to buy stuff? bw/cheapest
Traffic warden gives ticket to wheelie bin bw/rubbish
Three to buy O2 for LOADSAMONEY? bw/takeover
EE customers to be given £1 million bw/refund
Great Newcastle Brown Ale adverts! bw/superbroon
Who are the worst energy companies? And the best? bw/NRG
Best of the Rest
Wetherspoons slag off EVERYONE. thisismoney/booze
Facebook to go after fake news sites herald/gossipmonger
One million switched banks in 2014 full-timewhistle/switch
Mike Ashley sells Sports Direct stake insidermedia/toon
Google are going into space! telegraph/thegreatunknown
Motorist speeds down motorway with window covered in snow mail/snowjoke
Have a lovely weekend
The decline in prices due to supermarkets being at war with each other and snip-some petrol, helped retail achieve its strongest sales in over a decade
Prices in stores fell 2.2% in December compared to a year earlier, the biggest drop since June 2002.
The data is slightly wonky due to figures from 2013′s Black Friday being added to that December’s figures, whereas in 2014, the Friday was accounted for as part of November’s figures.
But it’s all quite promising, as the ONS said overall sales jumped 5% in the three months to December on the same period last year – the biggest increase since 2004, and was far better than them economists had predicted. The supermarket prices fell 0.9% in December, which reflect the price war, but also the general price of living in late 2014, with multiple discounting across the board.
However it’s not all jolliness for retail, as department stores suffered most from the impact of Black Friday with online sales falling year on year for the first time since records began at the start of 2008, and month-on-month volumes fell by 4.5%, the worst decline since January 1996.
Ian Geddes, UK head of retail at advisory group Deloitte, said: “This was a good Christmas with some strong performances, but it seems the real winner was the consumer. Intense competition and deep discounting both before and after Christmas drove sales but will have hit profits hard.”
“When Black Friday comes next year many retailers will think very carefully about how to maximise the unquestionable customer demand while taking into account how it impacted profitability and trading through the Christmas period.”
Although it’s only January, all the political parties are upping their efforts with a view on the general election in a few short months’ time. Of course, part of the election campaign is to impress upon the electorate how much better any given party is than all the others, so what the coalition needs like a hole in the head is a national thinktank providing economic evidence of how much worse off the average UK household is as a result of the coalition’s changes to taxes and benefits. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, it’s a fairly sizeable £489 a year.
Of course, that is an average figure, and depending on your personal circumstances, you may have lost more than this, or ended up better off. However, the IFS has also identified broad groups who are likely to have been winners or losers under the coalition regime.
It may come as a surprise to a few, but low-income working-age households have been hit hardest, losing the most under the coalition as a percentage of their income. Also losing out are families with children, who fall within the lowest 10% of earners, who lost £1,223 on average. However, the richest 10% of households also lost £5,350 a year.
So where are the Tories and Lib Dems going to get their votes from? Middle and higher-income households of working age have escaped “remarkably unscathed” from the government’s austerity measures. Those falling into this bracket who don’t own children have actually gained financially from the changes, largely due to increases in the threshold for paying income tax, according to the IFS.
Overall, the poorest households lost around 4% of their incomes, followed closely behind by the next poorest tenth, losing around 3.5% of their income. The richest suffered a loss of 2.5%, a percentage that falls to zero for middle-income households.
Pensioners were “relatively unaffected” on average, as the “triple lock” on the state pension, whichmeant they have been relatively better protected against the economic downturn than those employed, was largely offset by a hike in VAT.
The hardest-hit region was greater London, where households lost an average £1,042, followed by south east England, the West Midlands and north west England.
James Browne, a senior research economist at IFS and co-author of the report said: “Whichever way you cut it, low-income households with children and the very richest households have lost out significantly from the changes as a percentage of their incomes.
“Increases in the tax-free personal allowance have played an important role in protecting middle-income working-age households meaning that those without children have actually gained overall.”
Royal Mail’s CEO Moya Greene said she has no option but to push through further cost-cutting, amid predictions that 3,000 more jobs will go across the company.
“The sad demise of City Link demonstrates what we have been saying – the UK parcels market remains highly competitive, with significant over-capacity,”
“These conditions – of too many players chasing traffic – will continue to put pressure on prices for the next couple of years. We firmly believe the long-term prospects for the delivery sector remain positive, underpinned as it is by the continued growth in e-retailing,”
Royal Mail managed to deliver over 120 million parcels during Christmas – some even in time for the big day! – a rise of 4% over last year. Its shares rose by 4% on Thursday after it predicted full-year profits would be in line with expectations.
However, despite the rise in the share price, they’ve still lost more than a quarter of its value since the £3.3bn stock market flotation 18 months ago.
Greene reckoned her postmen and women provided an excellent service over the festive period: “This is because we started to plan for Christmas in April, putting investment behind extra sorting capacity with 10 temporary hubs and training around 19,000 extra people.”
The Royal Mail has shed nearly 50,000 positions in the last decade, and another 3,000 are teetering on the brink in 2015.
A number of energy companies are reducing their prices, and now Npower, after everyone told them that their customer service was beyond woeful, is going to cut their standard gas tariff in the UK by an average of 5.1% from 16th February.
In plain language, you’re going to save around £35 a year if you’re one of their customers.
Thus far, this is the biggest cut announced by a supplier after wholesale prices fell by 20%, which also saw E.On and Scottish Power dropping your bills.
After steady price hikes for years, all of these companies could’ve dropped their prices by greater amounts, but we’ll all have to take what we can get from this absolute shower.
“If there are further falls in wholesale prices, we will keep these under review to see if we can cut further,” prattled Npower chief executive Paul Massara.
Of course you will Npower. We’ve got every faith in you to do the right thing for customers. Either way,
Can’t be bothered cooking stuff from scratch on the weekend, but want something a bit more suave than an order from a takeaway? Don’t fret. We’ve got just the deal for you where your belly will be full and you’ll get a bit drunk as well.
Marks & Spencer are doing their Dine In For Two offer again, where you get a main course, side and dessert for £10… and free wine! The offer is on until the 27th January, so don’t muck about and get on it. Have a look here.
EVEN MORE DEALS!
First Direct lifetime tracker mortgage 65% LTV 1.29% plus base = 1.79%
Kingston 64GB Micro SD Card for £19.99
Gigabyte Radeon R9 285 Windforce 2X OC with 3 free games for £149.99
Return Miami flight with Virgin Atlantic for £385.66
Huawei Ascend Y550 1.2 GHZ Quad Core 4G smartphone – unlocked from EE half-price at £35
Medion Akova laptop for £239
Google Play giftcard £50 - £41.70 with code
Samsung 3D smart TV with a two pairs of 3D glasses for £529
Lenovo tablet 8 16GB for £99.99
FOR ALL THE BARGAINS YOU COULD EVER WANT, GO TO HUKD!
Argos have found themselves in a row. A RACE row about dolls. So they have.
The original click and collect front, have a white doll priced £10 more than their black and Asian offerings.
The white ‘Maria’ doll, made by French company Corolle Calin, is being sold on the Argos website for £34.99, while Asian and black dolls ‘Yang’ and ‘Naima’ are for sale for £24.99.
All the dolls are, like, the same and beautiful inside and of the same dimensions and on the manufacturer’s website all three are sold at the same price of £23.
A mum of three named Lisa O’Reilly from Lincs reckoned: “It’s unacceptable for children to think white is better or more desirable. It’s wrong for our youngsters to grow up thinking non-white skin colours are worth less.”
“There’s enough prejudice in the world already without battling against racist toys.”
Argos blamed it handily on a genuine pricing error and said it was urgently rectifying the problem. Why, even a spokesman chipped in with “[We] can confirm all three dolls will be priced at £24.99″.
So that’s alright then. Nothing like checking these things BEFORE they’re uploaded, eh.
The British government looks set to vote on legislation at the next general election.
Australia have had the move in place since 2012, yet there’s been some disagreement as to whether it has made a blind bit of difference.
Australian smokers have been used to buying their snouts in plain packets for a couple of years now, with its depictions of rotted teeth and mank-lung, and so naturally the antis are saying “Hurrah!” and the tobacco industry are saying “Pffft”.
Figures from Australia’s Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Health show that by just about all measures cigarette smoking has decreased since plain packaging was introduced.
It also says that expenditure on tobacco products fell by more than A$100m (£53m, $80m) between December 2012 and March 2014. The figures for the first quarter of 2014 were the lowest ever recorded.
And there’s research that shows a considerable increase in the number of people calling quit-smoking advice lines. The cigarette companies are starting to see a decrease in sales, with Imperial Tobacco claiming the market has declined by 2-3%. Some suggest that this means smokers are fleeing to hooky suppliers with imported fags made up of barbed wire and sawdust. And with the average price for 20 fags in Australia being £12, who can blame them.
It is fair to say that the decline in smoking rates seems relatively small. But anti-smoking researchers say they were never expecting a huge drop-off, and that the plain packaging ruse was more about deterring new smokers from taking up the habit.
So ultimately, if it’s hardly having much affect in Australia, will it really win people over here?
These NS&I Pensioner bonds are proving more trouble than they’re worth-almost- with yet more reports of people with spare cash being unable to bung it into the new Government-supported market leading savings bond. Now, however, in addition to people not being able to get on to the website or through to the phonelines, it seems NS&I are taking investors’ money more than once, leaving people tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket, and unsure as to whether they have even invested.
The problems seem to stem from the fact that the NS&I website has been creaking under the weight of the increased traffic from wealthy pensioners. When the website crashes, or applications ‘time out’owing to lack of server space, it seems neither the customer nor NS&I are sure whether applications and payments that are in-progress actually go through or not. One investor from Chichester believed her repeated attempts to open one bond with the maximum £10,000 deposit had been unsuccessful. Yet when she checked her bank account, £20,000 had been taken, twice the maximum permitted investment for one bond.
More disturbingly, NS&I told This is Money it was ‘very worried’ as it didn’t know why the second payment had been taken and is now investigating the missing money.
Another case involves a Scottish man who attempted, attempted to deposit the maximum £40,000 into the bonds last week for himself and his wife. Apparently the website crashed a number of times during his attempts to take out the accounts and he was told his bank had refused one of the transactions. However, this proved not to be true, and NS&I has actually taken £60,000 from his account. When challenged, NS&I said it could take up to 21 days to refund the £20,000.
Other investors have complained about £10,000 investments being taken twice, or cash leaving their account, but receiving no confirmation of investment, leaving them unsure as to whether they have invested or not. And if not, where has their money gone, and will they get it back in time to make a genuine investment?
While it perhaps harder to muster sympathy for someone who’s bank will allow an erroneous £20,000 transaction than for someone who doesn’t have enough money to pay their heating bill, it is still appalling that the NS&I website can be so unfit for purpose. Experts have been predicting a rush for these bonds for some months, so if there were any concerns with the website, there was time to make the system more robust in advance.
So have any Bitterwallet readers ventured into Pensioner Bonds? Did your transaction go smoothly?
Remember Bush? No, not the fella who ran America even though, remarkably, he had less braincells than Reagan – the people who used to make tape-eating stereos? Well, they owned wholly by Argos these days and together, they’ve developed , two devices which they say are ‘budget-beating’.
Argos will sell them for just £49.99 and £79.99 and both devices will run on Android, obviously.
The cheaper model is a mobile that has a 4-inch display, 4GB of internal storage and a 5-megapixel camera. It’ll have interchangeable covers too. The more expensive device has a slightly larger 5-inch display and 8GB of internal storage.
Argos mobile phone buyer, Nick Clarke, said “The new Bush smartphone is the answer for technology beginners or digital veterans on a budget. Affordable and easy to use, people can use these phones for both their work and personal life as it holds two SIM cards, making it one of the most flexible smartphones on the market.”
There’ll also be a 4G enabled Alcatel OneTouch Pop 2 device too, selling for £99.95 and SIM-free, which also has a ‘power bank’ back-up for when your battery is running low.
In addition to all that, Bush will be selling tablets as well as mobiles, with one of them having an 8 inch screen and a slightly bigger version with a 10-inch screen. The MyTablets will also run on Android.
Things are heating up in the budget technology stakes!
This comes after news that they are about to split away from their long running association with PayPal.
ebay dropped the news when they were unveiling the fourth quarter earnings report and they bugled in a statement that it wanted to refocus the businesses and ensure it was “set-up to compete and win”.
The online jumble sale also said it has made an agreement with activist investor, Carl Icahn, to give investors a greater say in its PayPal business once it is spun off in the second half of this year, as eBay also announced that it was considering a sale or public offering of its enterprise unit.
They must be doing something right though as the company’s share price went up this morning. How to get ahead in business – sack a load of people and sell off your financial arm.
The fuss-free so-called ‘challenger’ bank has also had nearly half a million people open accounts in the last year. On top of that, it also saw its deposits soar from £1.3bn to £2.9bn, with lending growing to £1.6bn from £754m.
Since the bank’s launch in 2010, it has opened 31 branches across the south east of the UK and now plans another 10 during 2015, including branches in Brighton, Southend and Harrow.
Metro Bank’s appeal is that it would rather focus on service rather than compete with the bigger banks in best buy charts for savings and the like. They also offer existing customers the same deals as new customers, by now kowtowing to cheap deal gimmicks. The bank’s best offering at the moment is a two-year fixed-rate cash Isa paying 1.8%, which creeps into Moneyfacts best buy deals behind the Post Office’s 1.95% rate.
Craig Donaldson, chief executive of Metro Bank, said: “2014 was another great year for Metro Bank. Throughout the year we saw substantial growth in deposits and lending, and the number of personal and business customers joining the banking revolution has continued to increase. As we start a new year, we’re excited to continue innovating and providing a real banking choice to the British people, as well as maintaining our commitment to deliver the best in service and convenience.”
Have you been using an app called WhatsApp Plus? Well, stop that at once! You see, WhatsApp have banned some users from using the app for 24 hours because it is a third party application and it violates the ‘terms of service’.
WhatsApp have asked their users to uninstall WhatsApp+ and install the authorised version of WhatsApp from official website or Google Play if they want to resume normal service. This other app isn’t related to WhatsApp, which means it has code that isn’t supported by the company and, worse still, if you get hacked and your details and photos leak, they won’t be taking any responsibility for it.
So if you’ve been sending photos of your junk to people through this third party app, you’re asking for trouble.
WhatsApp are treating the Plus app as malware and, in their FAQ section, they’ve said: “WhatsApp Plus is an application that was not developed by WhatsApp, nor is it authorised by WhatsApp. The developers of WhatsApp Plus have no relationship to WhatsApp, and we do not support WhatsApp Plus. Please be aware that WhatsApp Plus contains source code which WhatsApp cannot guarantee as safe and that your private information is potentially being passed to 3rd parties without your knowledge or authorization.”
In short – stop using it, alright? Good.


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Chicago in the news. by cantinalaredo. more news » cantina laredo serves authentic mexican dishes in a sophisticated atmosphere. the mexico city style menu includes.
|Cantina Laredo Chimichurri Sauce Recipe|
|Mushrooms, onions and monterey jack cheese on chimichurri sauce is served with rice and vegetables at cantina laredo. — recipe from “crave: stacked, stuffed, cheesy.|
|Restaurant menu, map for cantina laredo located in 85260, scottsdale az, 7361 e poblano pepper wrapped in a carne asada steak and served on a bed of chimichurri sauce.|
For over 25 years in the usa, cantina laredo has established onions and cheese with a home-made chimichurri sauce in your position and learn how to make each recipe.
Wedding has always been an important and integral part of Indian tradition and Kodak, who has been one of the world leader in retail print solutions, has recently launched Kodak Collections....


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Owner’s Manual Service Launch Promises: “The Cure for the Common Car”
With the successful launch of theglovebox.net car owners finally have one stop access to tens of thousands of owner’s manuals and service guides, content once thought to have been lost to the web’s "junk drawer"
Is Your Owner’s Manual an Endangered Species?
(May 14, 2012) – Startup foundry and idea lab, Path Logic Ltd, has launched their newest rocket, website; theglovebox.net is an online archive providing car owners access their car manual’s in digitally optimized and downloadable formats. The Glove Box is the newest, and already by far the largest player in a space that is dominated by websites and services that offer virus and malware laden “free” downloads, inaccurate board/forum posting, bait and switches and worse. theglovebox.net is already making a name for itself by “cleaning up” the industry and providing car owners access to its comprehensive download database, clean, non-ad driven website and safe, accurate downloads.
The new website combines a comprehensive listing of owner’s manuals, supplements, technical guides and a searchable directory of manufacturers. From the looks of it, The Glove Box is already adding tremendous value for existing car owners, car sales professionals and small businesses. “This is a cutting edge, customer service centric idea and the website alone is far superior to anything in the marketplace,” said Michael Chase, founder of The Glove Box, “To be honest, we have actually been scrambling quite a bit, within the first 24-hours of our launch our server shut down because of all the traffic, it was crazy. The next morning I had an email from our ISP asking us if we wanted to open up to advertisers…. I said thank you, but no.” According to Mr. Chase, The Glove Box will soon be offering “digital glovebox’s” where owners can store and access all their digital manuals, both their downloads and their uploads, all in the cloud.
Path Logic Ltd. has been the support behind the launch and success of theglovebox.net. As a foundry, Path Logic Ltd. incubates and brings in early-stage start-ups, talented people and great ideas, then tasks itself with testing, market research, focus groups — whatever it takes to figure out which ideas have legs. The company’s motto is “Ideas To Inc.”.
- Contact Information
- Michael Luchini
- Director of Innovation
- Path Logic Ltd.
- Contact via E-mail
This news content may be integrated into any legitimate news gathering and publishing effort. Linking is permitted.
News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.


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by: Tom Regan Updated:
NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Employees of a closet renovation business in north Fulton County contacted Channel 2 Action News to say that they are owed a week's pay following the company’s abrupt closing.
"They really didn't give us any notification of what was going on, so we don't know what is going on with the business yet," Closet Factory employee Kevin Belanger said.
Belanger was among a dozen employees who arrived at the company's assembly and supply office in Roswell on Monday to find a sign on the door stating the business was closed. The employees said when they attempted to contact the couple that owns the business, their phones had been disconnected.
"We found the doors locked, a ‘closed’ sign on the door, and absolutely no reason why. When we tried to contact them, no answer," said employee Dianna Vincente.
Channel 2's Tom Regan accompanied the manager of the Closet Factory showroom when she opened the darkened store space in Johns Creek. She said as a result of the closing, she will have to cancel many installation orders from customers who already paid a 50 percent deposit.
"I had a client who called; she was supposed to be installed today, and she paid $3,500 down," said showroom manager Maggie Horie.
Horie said she may have to cancel orders for hundreds of customers who paid thousands of dollars up front.
"They need to start contacting their credit card companies," said Horie.
The employees provided Regan with phone numbers for the owners of the business. He called the numbers and found they were disconnected. He also sent an email seeking a comment but did not receive a response.


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Chairman and CEO, Verisign
When Jim Bidzos last year returned to the CEO job at the Internet security and domain name company (he was the company's founder and first CEO, serving from April 1995 to December 2001), he inherited a company with flagging sales and slow growth. Under Bidzos' leadership, Verisign ( surged this year, with increased net income, revenue growth, and a steady stock price performance. The company's outlook looks even better as it reaffirmed it will continue running the iconic ".com" domain after a government review of its ownership. --OA )
He's a pro-customer, tightfisted risk-taker who is conditioning Wall Street to embrace his erratic earnings. If you're running a business with high margins - watch out.


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China's government promised sweeping reforms Wednesday to promote sustainable growth in its slowing economy by opening state-dominated industries to private investment, making its banks more market-oriented and encouraging consumer spending.
In his first annual policy speech as China's top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing will encourage competition, ease exchange rate controls and improve access to credit for productive businesses.
Li's pledges were in line with Communist Party plans issued in November that call for promoting market forces and domestic consumption to replace a model based on exports and investment that delivered three decades of explosive growth but has run out of steam.
"We need to make sure the market plays a decisive role," said Li in a nationally televised speech to China's ceremonial legislature. He promised to "break mental shackles and vested interests" — a reference to possible resistance from state companies that might lose subsidies and monopolies.
Entrepreneurs and investors are watching the annual meeting of the National People's Congress for details of how the party will carry out its November pledge. Beijing has issued a flurry of minor changes such as simplifying processes for registering new businesses but has yet to take action on major tasks such as overhauling the state-run banking system.
Despite pledges of reform, the ruling party made clear the limits to possible change in its November plan by declaring that state ownership will remain the core of the economy.
The changes come as the ruling party tries to steer China to cleaner, more energy-efficient growth based on service industries and technology following the past decade's blistering expansion.
Growth last year tumbled to a two-decade low of 7.7 percent, due largely to government curbs imposed to cool a lending and investment boom. It was barely half of 2007's explosive 14.2 percent rate.
Li announced an official growth target of 7.5 percent for this year. That was unchanged from last year's target and in line with growth forecasts by the International Monetary Fund and private sector analysts.
Li promised an array of changes in banking and finance that reform advocates say are essential to making the economy more efficient and productive.
Banks will be given more control over lending and interest rates, the premier said. That would allow profitable companies to compete for credit by paying higher rates, possibly channeling more money to entrepreneurs who generate most of China's new jobs and wealth but are mostly unable to get loans from the state-run system. It also might boost rates paid on savings, putting more money in the pockets of Chinese families and encouraging consumer spending.
The premier also threw the government's support behind the growth of popular new Internet-based banking services, promising to promote their "healthy development."
Services such as one launched by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group have drawn billions of dollars in deposits from small savers by paying higher rates than state banks. Critics see them as a threat to the government-run financial system that supports politically favored companies. A commentator for state television last month called them "financial parasites."
Li promised to open state-controlled industries such as banking, oil, power generation, railways and telecommunications to private investment. He pledged to "level the playing field" for Chinese and foreign companies to promote competition.
The premier gave no details about key issues such as whether private investors would gain any management control in state-run industries. That is in line with China's time-tested reform strategy under which thegovernment experiments with reforms in a single city or province and studies the results before crafting detailed rules for rolling out changes nationwide.
Beijing will make domestic demand "the main engine driving growth," Li said. He promised to promote consumer spending by raising incomes and encourage growth of service industries such as education, tourism and care for the elderly, the premier said.
"We will enhance people's ability to consume," said Li.
In a separate report, the Cabinet planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, promised to experiment with a change sought by business groups to simplify investment — a "negative list" of fields that are off-limits, leaving all others open. That would overturn a system under which investors must wait for each industry or line of business to be declared open to private competition, which companies say fails to keep pace with changes in technology and markets.
The premier also promised to make progress in the ruling party's marathon campaign to reduce excess production capacity in industries including steel, cement and solar panel manufacturing.
That glut has led to price-cutting wars and bankruptcies. But efforts to scrap excess capacity face resistance from politically influential companies and local leaders who want the jobs and tax revenue brought by new factories.


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In a surprising move, two Republican lawmakers have written to the US attorney general to investigate potential anticompetitive behavior by Amazon, as the ecommerce giant pursues allegations that former President Trump interfered with the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract.
JEDI is the massive $10 billion project to migrate the Pentagon’s computing infrastructure to the cloud. It was awarded to Microsoft in 2019, but no work has begun as Amazon has secured an injunction to prevent Microsoft from beginning work on the JEDI project.
Last week, a US Federal Claim Court declined a joint motion by the Department of Defense (DoD) and Microsoft to prevent Amazon from presenting these allegations in the court, leading to further delays and perhaps even cancellation of the entire JEDI project.
Now, Senator Mike Lee and Republican Ken Buck, in letters reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, claim that Amazon might have violated antitrust laws and federal conflict-of-interest laws in its pursuit of the JEDI contract.
Conflict of interest
“We are concerned that Amazon may have attempted to monopolize one or more markets relating to government and/or commercial cloud computing services by improperly influencing the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure procurement process,” contend the lawmakers.
According to WSJ, the lawmakers, in their letter, highlight undisclosed payments between an Amazon consultant and a DoD official.
They also allege that a different DoD official who had previously worked as a consultant for Amazon helped draft the DoD’s cloud acquisition strategy, despite being asked to recuse himself from all Department matters regarding Amazon.
Amazon didn’t immediately respond to WSJ’s requests for comment.


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Shipments of smartphones, tablets and other app-enabled devices will overtake PCs shipments in the next 18 months, an event that may signify the end of the PC-centric era, market research firm IDC said.
Samsung Electronics and Google on Monday announced the Nexus S smartphone, which will come with Android 2.3, the latest version of Google's OS, also code-named Gingerbread.
Google's Android continues to grow faster in the U.S. than other top smartphone operating systems, including Research in Motion's BlackBerry OS and Apple's iOS, according to the latest ComScore rankings, which were released Friday.
Nvidia is looking to pack more CPU cores into mobile devices like smartphones and tablets as a way to improve performance while preserving battery life.
Hewlett-Packard on Thursday said it will bring strong multimedia and entertainment applications to WebOS by moving the MediaServer team into its Palm business unit.
Research In Motion (RIM) plans to acquire Swedish company The Astonishing Tribe (TAT), which specializes in developing user interfaces, according to a blog posted on Thursday
Apple iOS and Google Android are the most desired mobile operating systems, with the iPhone especially popular among women and Android phones grabbing more men.
Innovations in mobile computing will continue apace in coming years, but battery power and wireless spectrum could become critical obstacles, according to mobile executives speaking Tuesday evening at a gathering in Silicon Valley.
The developers of a tool that lets Windows Phone 7 users load applications that aren't in the Marketplace have pulled the tool, less than a week after publishing it.
Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry are in a dead heat for U.S. smartphone ownership honors, Nielsen said today.
Apple's iPhone and Google's Android might seem to have all the momentum these days, but RIM's BlackBerry OS is the surprise winner in StatCounter's latest U.S. mobile OS Internet usage numbers.
AirPlay, one of the main feature additions in iOS 4.2, could soon work with third-party apps and Safari, according to a purported Steve Jobs e-mail that a reader sent to the MacRumors blog. The e-mail suggests that in 2011 users will be able to strea...
Windows Phone 7 early adopters won't have to wait long to get some major missing features, according to the latest murmurs.
Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphones have been on sale for more than three weeks in the U.S. and seem to be producing little buzz and only so-so sales.
A recent glitch on Microsoft's download servers for brand new Windows Phone 7 applications has sparked widespread Internet chatter among developers and focused new attention on the best ways to protect smartphone apps from being hacked.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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LivingSocial and Groupon are not just strange words anymore to most consumers. They are the backbone of a new frontier of daily deal websites which sell coupons and discounted gift certificates which are redeemable at local businesses.
In fact, Groupon turned down a $6 billion buyout from Google in lieu of its own IPO, which has yet to occur. In June, Groupon made the filings to go public and will trade under the stock symbol GRPN.
The popularity of these daily deal sites is not limited to free yoga classes and restaurant deals, as the medical community is jumping on board with deals ranging from cheap dental cleanings, to laser eye surgery.
“In the first quarter of 2011, there were more than 2,500 medical, health and dental offers published on daily deal sites in the U.S. — an eight-fold jump over the 300 offered during the same period a year ago, according to Dan Hess, CEO and co-founder of Local Offer Network, a daily deal aggregator. That’s a startling increase, even compared to the rapid growth of the sites themselves, which had a five-fold increase total deal volume over the first quarter. And, says Jack Vonder Heide, president of Technology Briefing Centers, “We’re seeing more of them coming onto the market every week.”
In fact, the smartphone has helped drive the growth of this market, since notifications of daily deals, or “daily deal alerts” are sent to your phone and the actual codes can be redeemed directly off of the device. A quick search of the groupon website for my local area brought up a 50% discount on liposuction and an 83% discount on prescription glasses!
While these deals are appealing to consumers, some medical organizations believe that the wrong message is being conveyed.
“Consumers may pay too much attention to the low prices and not enough to the quality of care or the provider’s track record, says Greg Sterling, a San-Francisco-based Internet analyst with Opus Research. And the “limited-time only” nature of daily deal sites doesn’t encourage measured, thoughtful decision making, adds Malcolm Z. Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “You shouldn’t be doing procedures on a whim,” he says.”
The detraction is related to the fear that patients will seek out treatment from places that give them the best deal regardless of the actual quality of the service. While unscrupulous businesses may try to pull the wool over some unsuspecting consumer’s eyes, for their part, the daily deal sites contend a screening process occurs.
“Maire Griffin, director of communications for Living Social, says the services they offer are minimally invasive and mostly outpatient. “We do everything in our power to connect our members with reputable merchants with the highest ethical standards,” she says. Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler says every merchant goes through “at least eight rounds” of checking before they are placed on the site. Whitney Crisp, director of business development and sales for Sharing Spree, also says the site only uses qualified doctors.”
For further reading: Yahoo Finance.


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TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2021 /CNW/ - Monica Ruffo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Well Told Company, ("Well Told" or the "Company") (TSXV: WLCO), and her team joined David Chelich, Sector Head, Business Development, TMX Group, to celebrate the Company's new listing on TSX Venture Exchange and open the market.
The Well Told Company is a female founded, emerging plant-based wellness company that formulates, develops, distributes and sells a variety of supplements, remedies and other functional wellness products. Founded by serial entrepreneur and award-winning leader Monica Ruffo, it was after undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and deciding to take her health into her own hands that she discovered the lack of transparency and availability of clean, plant-based formulations in the wellness industry. With the mission "Clean wellness for all", Well Told's products are currently available in over 2,000 stores across Canada including several well-known retailers.
For Market Openings: Media may pick up a feed from the TOC (television operations centre) for all market open ceremonies. The feed is named TSX Transmit 1 (SD-SDI) and is produced at the TMX Broadcast Centre and sent live to the TOC. To pick up the feed via the Dejero network, please contact email@example.com. The client feature video will begin playing on the TMX media wall at approximately 9:27 a.m. ET and the markets will open with the sound of a siren at 9:30 a.m. ET
Date: Tuesday October 26, 2021
Time: 9:00am - 9:30am
Place: Virtually Broadcast
SOURCE TSX Venture Exchange
For further information:


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Gymboree current operates 65 Crazy 8 units; management expects to open between 75 and 100 new locations this year, up from the 50 originally planned. The same number of openings for the concept, which offers price points about 30 percent lower than Gymboree's namesake stores, are scheduled for 2011.
The time for expansion is right, CEO Matthew McCauley told the San Francisco Business Times, because of a cost-conscious consumer, lower construction costs and cheaper rents. "It is in our best interest to open as many stores as we can right now," he said.
Besides good timing, Wall Street likes the move because it gives Gymboree a new growth avenue, especially after its namesake chain is close to maxed out with just over 630 stores. "The announcement of Crazy 8 store openings breathes new life into the Gymboree story," said MKM Partners analyst Linda Tsai.
Gymboree's not the only retailer finding this environment suitable for the expansion of a lower-priced concept. Department stores such as Saks (SKS) see their outlet-store chains as primary growth drivers. Dollar stores are growing like crazy. And other specialty apparel chains, like Rue21 (RUE), see room for expansion as well.
Sure, Crazy 8 is not without its obstacles. In the company's recently released annual report, Gymboree acknowledges that it faces competition from Old Navy and discounters such as Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT). But who in low-priced apparel doesn't have to deal with those mega chains?
The age bracket Crazy 8 serves might be the most compelling argument for its expansion. Young children rapidly grow out of their clothing, and parents aren't likely to pass up a strong brand that offers value.
Image by Flickr user loop_oh.


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An owner of the 2014 Toyota Prius C went on Reddit to report about a clicking noise that has been coming out from his Toyota Prius C. According to the owners, he has just bought the Prius C and notice the clicking noise two days later.
Went he brought the car to the dealer, the dealer told him that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. However, the owner did not believe that there was nothing wrong and posted the video on Reddit to see if anybody else knows what the problem here.
Based on the video, it is clear that there is something amiss. Some people are saying that the dealer is trying to avoid getting it fixed because the vehicle has a 1-year coverage.
You can head here to read the full story and maybe see if you know what the clicking noise is all about.


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Back in July of last year, DirecTV was talking about a cloud DVR functionality that the company would be bringing to its streaming service, DirecTV Now, at some point in the future.
Since that time, beta testers have been able to try out the feature, and it looks like that testing period went well for the company, because it has just announced that it is rolling cloud DVR functionality out to the public, along with a few key additions for good measure. That includes a brand new interface, which should help users find new content to watch.
It is worth noting that DirecTV still calls the cloud DVR function a beta test, so things might still be a little rough around the edges. But it is available to DirecTV customers that are using “recent-generation” iOS and tvOS devices, with the feature rolling out to other platforms, including Android, at a later date:
“The new experience is rolling out today on recent-generation iOS/tvOS devices and supported web browsers and will be available for recent-generation Android, Fire TV, and Roku over the coming weeks.”
The new save-for-later functionality isn’t the only change. The interface is getting reworked, so that “your most-watched channels and favorite programs front and center”. Subscribers will be able to watch content, whether streaming or on-demand, while browsing the built-in guide to pick what they want to watch next.
On-demand content is getting a boost, too:
“Depending on your subscription choices, get access to more than 25,000 titles on DIRECTV NOW. Not enough for you? We’ve added more capacity so you can watch even more on-demand entertainment to your heart’s desire. New episodes on select channels will be available on-demand after airing, so you don’t have to worry about setting up a recording prior.”
The new changes, along with the cloud DVR functionality, are rolling out today.
Are you a subscriber to DirecTV Now, or are you using another streaming service like YouTube TV? I haven’t picked one of these yet, mostly because what I watch on TV I can find on Hulu, but DirecTV Now is one service that has my attention.
[via DirecTV Now]


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AKQA launches digital marketing division
By Jacquie Bowser, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Thursday, 02 April 2009 03:00PM
LONDON - AKQA has created a new division that will provide planning and buying services, as well as analytics and search engine optimisation.
The division, called AKQA Media, Search & Analytics, has launched in the UK and US, aiming to provide clients with end-to-end digital marketing.
It is made up of more than 75 employees and will be led by general manager Scott Symonds, who was previously executive media director.
Symonds said: "Clients are constantly confronted with fragmented creative, media and search plans that leak opportunity and ultimately ROI.
"We believe that especially in the interactive space, the more closely all the contributing aspects of a campaign can communicate with one another, the better the end result will be."
Separately, Neil Eatson has been named head of media and search in the UK and will report into Symonds.
Eatson brings 11 years of digital media experience and was previously at Zed Media, working on L'Oréal, BMW and Lloyds TSB.
AKQA has previously launched dedicated business units such as AKQA Mobile, which set up shop in 2006. AKQA Search was launched in 2007 and last year AKQA Film was established to produce online video and creative content.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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