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Plans for first city centre bowling alley get thumbs up
Plans for Liverpool city centre’s first bowling alley have been approved.
Acting on behalf of D2 Investments, HOW Planning has secured approval for the redevelopment of a former warehouse on Duke Street.
D2 Investments is planning a major refurbishment project with plans to create a boutique bowling alley alongside restaurants and bars in the building, which previously housed an indoor car park.
The project has the potential to create job opportunities for approximately 45 people.
Located in Liverpool’s World Heritage Site and the Duke Street conservation area the site is designated as a mixed-use area for creative and cultural uses including residential, employment, community, leisure and retail.
The surrounding area is characterised by a range of different uses including bars and clubs, restaurants, and the new bowling alley will complement, and be in keeping with, the other existing units in the area.
Rachel May, planner at HOW Planning, said: “This is a great result as not only does it pave the way for Liverpool’s first city centre bowling alley, but it has also been specifically designed to ensure connectivity with future development.
“The area has already been identified as a creative hub, which will include new leisure, commercial and retail uses and this decision demonstrates the council’s commitment to encouraging investment in the area.”


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The economy is seen rebounding to a growth of between 4.7 and 6.9 percent in 2021 from barely a percentage growth this year, offering hope to millions of households which were plunged into poverty by the devastating shocks of Covid-19 containment measures.
Economists at the Treasury, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group have forecast economic activity to recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic that brought key sectors such as tourism and education to their knees.
The World Bank Group, which estimates the economy contracted by 1.0 to 1.5 percent in 2020, sees uninterrupted resumption of schools from January lifting gross domestic output to a growth of 6.9 percent in 2021.
World Bank economists have taken a more optimistic year-on-year growth outlook on Kenya than their counterparts at the IMF who in October forecast the economy to pick up from an estimated 1.0 percent to 4.7 percent growth in 2021.
The Treasury, which in November downgraded growth outlook for 2020 to 0.6 from 2.5 percent, sees economic outlook expanding 6.4 percent in 2021.
“The growth outlook will be supported by stable macroeconomic environment, ongoing investments in strategic priorities of the government under the ‘Big Four’ agenda, turn around in trade as economies recover from Covid-19 pandemic and expected favourable weather that will support agricultural output,” Treasury secretary Ukur Yatani says 2021 outlook.
Travel restrictions and shutdown of hotels as well as closure of schools in March pushed the economy into a trough in the April-June 2020, with GDP — a measure of economic output — shrinking 5.7 percent.
The World Bank estimates that an additional two million persons in Kenya were rendered poor by the pandemic.

domain: news


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IN THE NEWS
Locally Made Hydrating Solution to be Sold by Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie
The Post & Courier
An extra-hydrating drink developed by a local doctor will soon be sold in several supermarkets across the country.
BANa, the drink developed by local physician Benjamin Yoo of HealthFirst Rapid Care in North Charleston, was recently picked up by Jacksonville, Florida-based Bi-Lo Holdings.
The drink will be sold in all 828 of the company's stores, including Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie and Harveys.


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Adobe has identified a zero-day exploit in the latest version of Flash Player 10.2 for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. Using the the security hole, an attacker can potentially run malicious code and even take control of an affected system. While the vulnerability and potential damage to a system are significant, common sense will help users avoid the issue in most cases. The malicious code that takes advantage of this exploit is typically delivered as a Flash file embedded in a Microsoft Word document attached to an email. Most users in this day and age know to avoid such files. Adobe is currently working on a fix for the security hole, though the company has not stated when the fix might become available. More →
It’s been a long time coming, but Flash Player 10.1 has finally been released. For Windows users with relatively new rigs this means that you’ll be able to put less of a strain on your system when watching streaming videos thanks to hardware acceleration for H.264 video. Sadly the Mac-specific version released today still lacks this feature, but it will be made available just as soon as Adobe is finished polishing up the “Gala” edition of Flash Player 10.1. More →
Apparently during his speech to Execute Club, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha talked about more than video calling in future devices. According to ConceivablyTech, Jha also said that before the year’s end his company plans on launching an Android superphone powered by a 2GHz processor. While this alone is more than enough to whet our appetites, Jha wasn’t too keen on saying more. So it’s a good thing then that a different Motorola exec was willing to talk under the condition of anonymity. According to the mysterious one, the handset Jha was talking about will feature an NVIDIA Tegra GPU, camera with “more than 5 megapixels” and HD video recording, HD display, 720p out, Flash 10.1 and gyroscope. This might sound like a bit of a fanboy’s fantasy phone, but we’re willing to keep the faith. How about you?
[Via Know Your Cell] More →


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So this is what’s up: A New York Times source has confirmed that Frank has an exclusive deal lined up with Apple Music, Boys Don’t Cry is going to be dropping on Friday PLUS the release is expected to include a video and a printed publication that will be distributed at Apple stores.
Now something that had people sweating was this elusive live stream yesterday on the albums website ( http://boysdontcry.co/ )
Fans were scrambling to find out what it all means, the empty studio warehouse and very suggestive Apple Logo sitting in the corner.
White noise, occasional classical music bursts, sneaker squeaks and other ambient sounds were giving nothing away (apart from dangerously chill vibes). And then we find out the following: ‘Lost’ music video director Francis Soriano has claimed the stream is actually a looped video he made.
Congratulations, we played ourselves.
Never the less, we have our date, we have some sort of confirmation, and we have an eerily amazing live stream with the occasional power tool (https://soundcloud.com/
abcdefg_1234567/frank-oceans- livestream) and most of all we have hope for Friday.
WORDS BY MIRANDA LIDGERWOOD
Categorised in: Blog
This post was written by mistrustdave


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Recent figures released by the EU Intellectual Property Office show the continued popularity of EU Trade Marks (EUTMs) and Registered Community Designs (RCDs) . However, the statistics do suggest a marked shift in the behaviour of UK applicants.
Overall, filings of EUTM and RCD applications remain encouraging. The total number of EUTM applications filed in 2016 represents an increase of 3.7 per cent on the previous year, although applications filed by UK applicants declined for the first time since 2009. Filings in 2016 of 11,643 represent a drop of seven per cent and are the lowest number of EUTM filings from UK applicants since 2013. Nevertheless, this change in filing behaviour does not appear to have filtered through to applicants from other EU Member States, with only French and Polish applicants registering slight declines of 0.5% and 1.1% respectively for 2016. The drop in EU filings by UK applicants may suggest that UK businesses are starting to reconsider their export markets following the June 2016 Brexit referendum.
However, despite the number of RCD applications filed by UK applicants also falling slightly when compared with the previous year, 2016 represents the second highest number of design applications filed by UK applicants since it first became possible to register designs in the EU in 2003. The 2016 figures are just over one per cent down on the record 2015 figures, and remain over 55 per cent above the 2009 figures.
The top 20 most prolific UK filers of RCDs cover a very diverse selection of British companies, including well-known household names, such as Aston Martin and Dyson. Jimmy Choo, the world-famous designer of luxury footwear and accessories, held the top spot for the number of RCD applications filed by a UK applicant. The list of top UK-based EUTM filers for 2016 is equally wide-ranging. However, pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, LRC Products and The Boots Company dominate many of the top positions, confirming that comprehensive EU-wide protection remains a priority for that industry.
No matter what the future brings, Europe is likely to remain a principal market for UK businesses. EUTMs and RCDs provide an affordable and accessible way for UK businesses and designers to protect their efforts in the EU, although going forward companies must also ensure that their rights are adequately and effectively protected in the UK.


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Tampa private equity group expands portfolio
July 21, 2020 - Osceola Capital, a private equity firm in Tampa, said one of its portfolio companies has made an acquisition and rebranded. I&I Sales Group rebranded as Avision Sales Group, after buying Apex Reps. Based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Avision Sales Group provides outsourced sales and marketing services to manufacturers. The acquisition of Apex expands the company's footprint in the Midwest and strengthens its offerings, Patrick Watkins, vice president at Osceola Capital, said in a news release. The rebrand highlights the company's integrated platform, said Ben Moe, Osceola Capital's managing partner.


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On Thursday, Consumer Reports said that Tesla’s Model S luxury electric car had received the highest owner satisfaction score of any other vehicle in its survey and the highest score of any vehicle in a number of years. The Model S garnered a score of 99 out of a possible 100, CNN Money notes.
The Model S was named Motor Trends’ “Car of the Year” for 2013.
Tesla has seen its stock price stumble in recent weeks after reports of three Model S fires in the U.S. and Mexico. No injuries were reported in any of the incidents.
Federal regulators have launched a probe of the vehicle. Tesla insists that its electric cars are less prone to fires compared to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.
Shares of Tesla rose more than 1% in Thursday morning trading.


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"Remember, only 40 percent of 3M's business is in the United States, and that means its industrial and electronics and graphics divisions won't be kept down by sluggish growth here," Cramer said. "More important, when you look at the broad portfolio and the many countries their products are sold in, you're not only going to see organic growth, but even currency-aided growth as the U.S. dollar is not that strong."
The "Mad Money" host expects no different from the likes of Honeywell and United Technologies, both of which also have widespread product portfolios and over 40 percent exposure to the weak U.S. dollar.
Cramer sees these as part of a larger cohort of stocks that will benefit from a weaker dollar, like that of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company that has long had currency headwinds.
"Same goes for IBM, which I think is trying frantically to put in a bottom here, with its new businesses trying so hard to outrun the old ones. IBM's been savaged by Warren Buffett, but perhaps he soured on it right at the cusp of the turn," Cramer said. "Now it's clear that these stocks, with the exception of IBM, have already put on some serious points."
Finally, Cramer thinks the weak dollar tailwind could be a boon to one unexpected, non-industrial company, Procter & Gamble, for two reasons.
"One is that almost no company has spent as much time as these guys explaining why it's been hit so hard by currencies all over the globe, and some they can't even hedge," the "Mad Money" host said. "Second, now GE's Jeff Immelt has been replaced by [John] Flannery, I believe that Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund, which agitated and militated against Immelt when they didn't make the numbers, will turn their attention to Procter & Gamble."
Like with General Electric, Cramer expects Trian, Peltz's noted activist fund, to issue a white paper to Procter & Gamble's management recommending certain cost cuts.
Also like GE, Cramer expects shares of Procter & Gamble to pop once the company announced it will move forward with the cuts.
"Time to get involved yourself with a great American company that gives you so many ways to win, especially with Peltz in there fighting for you," Cramer said.
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Downtown parking problems a ‘false narrative’
Parking in downtown Sioux Falls might not be the headache people think it is, according to a nifty little map from the head of a local advocacy group.
Made by urban designer Joe Batcheller, the map places an outline of the Empire Mall and its sprawling parking lot over downtown. A red line indicates how far people are willing to hoof-it when they park at the mall.
“I think that excuse, that you have to walk so far downtown to get to where you’re going,” Batcheller said. “I think that’s a false narrative.”
Batcheller heads Downtown Sioux Falls Inc., a private group that advocates for downtown businesses. He made the map with Google Maps and Adobe, matching elevations so the outline of the mall would be consistent with downtown.
“I was really just kind of messing around doing it,” Batcheller said.
His handiwork appeared online as part of a Facebook post from local artist Zach DeBoer, who lamented a perceived lack of parking downtown. City officials are planning to spend millions of dollars on mixed-use parking ramp downtown.
Here’s DeBoer’s original post:


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With England through to the next stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, travel and expense technology company Traveldoo has found that business travellers expect very little impact on their plans in the wake of the tournament.
Of 100 business travellers, a resounding 80 per cent had no plans of cancelling or postponing work trips during the World Cup and none of them planned to take time off work to watch the football.
If anything, the respondents – all from the UK and France – found the World Cup to be a business opportunity. More than half (53 per cent) said they would watch games with their colleagues and 50 per cent would use the event as a way to network with clients and prospects.
Furthermore, frequent travellers to Russia reported minimal impact on trips, claiming they were unaware of any changes or amendments to policy during the World Cup – despite the fact that restaurant and hotel prices have skyrocketed by as much as 15 times during the course of the tournament.
However, 70 per cent said they believe the World Cup will have some sort of impact on their company’s business.
It has been widely reported that incidents of employees “pulling sickies” have increased in the wake of warm weather and important tournament matches, so the question now is whether businesses will lose out on key meetings if England progresses past the quarter finals.


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Dow back in the red for the year
Another down day on Wall Street as mixed inflation report, overseas selloff spook investors; oil, gold tumble.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The Dow Jones industrial average sank into the red for the year Tuesday as concerns about rising inflation and slowing economic growth overshadowed tumbling commodity prices and some rosy corporate news.
The 30-share Dow (down 86.44 to 10,706.14, Charts) tumbled 0.8 percent, its seventh loss in the last eight sessions, leaving the world's most widely watched stock market gauge off 936 points, or 8 percent, from its May high, and down 0.1 percent for the year.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index (down 12.71 to 1,223.69, Charts) sank just over 1 percent, leaving it down 2 percent in 2006.
The Nasdaq composite (down 18.85 to 2,072.47, Charts) slid 0.9 percent, the tech-laden index's eighth straight decline, putting it down 6 percent year-to-date and 12.6 percent below its April high, constituting what on Wall Street is known as a "correction."
A correction is a drop of more than 10 percent while a 20 percent decline is widely seen as a bear market.
All three indexes zigzagged throughout the session.
Elsewhere, gold tumbled below $600 and oil sank under $70 - events that would normally encourage stock investors. Treasury bonds and the dollar advanced.
Traders will now focus on Wednesday's long awaited inflation gauge: the Consumer Price Index.
They'll hope it will come in tame, easing fears that rising prices and interest rates will hurt economic growth, and corporate profits.
"It going to be very important," said Todd Clark, director of stock trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners in San Francisco, adding that any rally on a mild number "may be short and quick."
Despite the drop in oil and gold, inflation fears and the likelihood of at least one more Federal Reserve rate hike are still spooking investors, said John Lonski, chief economist for Moody's.
"There's still reason to worry until we have more convincing evidence of peaking of inflation risks that will allow the Fed to halt its current series of rate hikes," he said.
The Fed is set to meet later this month, with many investors now expecting another quarter-point rise in its key short-term rate target, which would be the 17th straight increase by the central bank.
Reading the tea leaves
In economic news, the Producer Price Index, a measure of prices paid at the wholesale level, rose 0.2 percent in May after a 0.9 percent rise in April.
But the so-called core PPI, which strips out often volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3 percent, following a 0.1 percent gain in April. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent in the more closely watched core reading. (Full story).
And sales at U.S. retail stores rose 0.1 percent in May, as expected, as strong gasoline sales outweighed declines in car, furniture and building material sales, government data showed Tuesday, after a 0.5 percent rise in April. (Full story)
The combination of a higher core PPI reading and sluggish retail sales was cause for concern for some investors.
"We're bracing for an increase in inflation and slower economic growth," said Clark at Nollenberger Capital Partners. "That's bad for equities."
But another said the steep decline in commodity markets and stocks overseas was partly from inexperienced investors who were chasing risky investments getting spooked by inflation - and bailing.
"The fundamentals are not as bad as the market is acting," said Jim Awad, Chairman of Awad Asset Management. "We're building towards an important buying time in the next few weeks."
Investors were hoping for a weak PPI report that might signal an end to the Fed's interest rate hiking campaign, although Tuesday's PPI number probably won't push the Fed in that direction. (More on inflation).
A number of Fed officials have said in recent days that they're concerned about inflation, and uncertainty over how the Fed will raise rates has fed the global market sell-off.
Major markets tumbled in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei posting its biggest one-day decline in two years. Rate hike fears also battered major European markets, which closed at their lowest in 6-1/2 months.
U.S. light crude for July delivery settled down $1.80 at $68.56 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for August delivery tumbled below $44.30 to $567 an ounce.
Treasury prices rose, lowering the 10-year yield to about 4.96 percent.
The dollar rallied further against the yen and the euro on expectations that U.S. rates have further to rise.
On the move
In corporate news, investment bank Goldman Sachs (down $5.75 to $139.25, Research) reported earnings more than doubled, topping forecasts, but the stock sank nearly 4 percent as investors feared that the industry may not be able to sustain its recent performance.
Luxembourg-based Tenaris (up $1.03 to $32.53, Research) agreed to acquire Maverick Tube (up $16.99 to $62.65, Research), a fellow maker of tube products for the energy industry, for $2.4 billion, about a 42 percent premium for Maverick. Maverick's shares were up almost 38 percent in early afternoon trade.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners beat advancers by a margin of just over two to one on volume of 2.3 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, losers topped winners by a margin of two to one as 2.54 billion shares changed hands.


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It has taken years to get CETA in place, and it still doesn't work as intended.
All in the family.
Elephants fighting via www.shutterstock.com
In 1872, free traders split with the young Republican Party, ran a third-party candidate against Ulysses S. Grant and sparked 100 years of GOP protectionism. Is history repeating itself?
China must boost its productivity to compete with TPP members.
China Daily Information Group/Reuters
To create a resilient domestic economy, certain features of the “old” economy may still be required in China.
The anti-TPP movement got a boost from Trump.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is one of President Obama's biggest accomplishments of his second term. Can it survive the anti-trade tide in the race to replace him?
Could protectionism make America great again? Trump thinks so.
A President Trump or Sanders would be likely to pursue protectionist trade policies such as higher tariffs. History suggests such policies could lead to a trade war, with painful consequences.
Indonesia must carefully consider the cost and benefits of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy is eyeing to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, already signed by a dozen countries, including Australia.
Does it say ‘free trade’s no good’?
The leading Republican candidate may seem out of step with his party's platform when he lambasts free trade, but in fact the GOP has promoted protectionism for most of its history.
TPP still faces a long slog before it takes effect.
Countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership signed the deal earlier this month, but changes can still be made to improve the mechanism that allows investors to sue states.
It went woozy in the middle but it ended ok.
The key events that made the business community laugh, cheer and despair in 2015.
APEC leaders in Manila this week.
Opposition against Investor-State Dispute Settlement clauses seems likely to fall away as Asian economies flock to the TPP.
These Vietnamese tea farmers are set to benefit from the deal. Others might not be so lucky.
Nguyen Huy Kham/Reuters
The Trans-Pacific Partnership has been described by its backers as a boon for development. But with no concrete commitments, nor any mention of climate, it is really at odds with the UN development agenda.
China didn’t get a seat at the TPP table (even in Beijing).
Some say the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership was designed specifically to exclude or even encircle China. So do its leaders mind being on the outs?
Whatever the terms agreed by the 12 trade ministers who signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the text is unlikely to include the word ‘democracy’.
Why has the United States, the great engine of democratisation, advanced a pact that is silent on a defining theme of its foreign policy?
Unions have campaigned hard against temporary labour provisions in the China Australia free trade agreement.
The Australian government has powers it could use to patch the problems around temporary labour provisions in the China-Australia trade agreement.
Japan agreed to lower tariffs on beef as a part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Japan's decision to lower or eliminate tariffs on rice, pork and beef may end up giving the prime minister a headache as he tries to get the trade accord through Parliament.
About 98% of US exporters are small businesses.
Cargo ship via www.shutterstock.com
The signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership belies the fact that the US's share of trade in the region has been declining for some time.
The exclusion of China from the TPP comes from the dominance of protectionist interests, such as the US agricultural sector.
If the Trans-Pacific Partnership was really about economic growth, it would include China, rather than deliberately locking it out.
Australia needs agreements like the TPP to counter protectionism.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership may not be a done deal, but Australia cannot avoid the realities of the cut-throat business of international capital, trade and investment.
Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb says the TPP is ‘the biggest global trade deal in 20 years’.
Erik S. Lesser/EPA/AAP
There's still some way to go before the 12 countries involved can celebrate.
Representatives of the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) member countries at a press conference in Atlanta, after a deal was reached.
EPA/Erik S. Lesser
Before the last round of negotiations, only a handful of issues remained in the way of concluding the TPP. A potential deal-breaker for Australia was intellectual property protections for biologics.


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Forex Daily Outlook January 20 2012
We summarize this week Existing Home Sales in the US and Retail Sales in the UK are the major events this day. Here is an outlook on the market-movers awaiting us.
In the US, Existing Home Sales, Monthly indicator to value the sold buildings on the past month, 4.65M is forecasted, 0.23M less than on the previous report.
In Canada, Consumer Price Index (CPI); main inflation gauge that rate the monthly consumer’s price change for services and goods, is due to reduce from 0.1% on the last month down to-0.1%now. And similar decrease we see in the Core CPI (not included food and energy) from 0.1% on December down to -0.2% this time.
More in Canada, Wholesale Sales, important consumer spending indicator that value the wholesale level of sales over the last month, rise is predicted from 0.9% on December up to 1.2% on this report.
For more on USD/CAD, read the Canadian dollar forecast.
In Europe, German Producer Price Index (PPI); value the manufacturer’s price change of goods, is due to remain 0.1% similar to December.
For more on the Euro, read the Euro to dollar forecast.
In Great Britain, Retail Sales, primary consumer spending indicator to value the total inflation-adjusted retail level, rise is predicted from -0.4% on the last month up to 0.6% now.
Read more about the Pound in the GBP/USD forecast.
In Australia, Import Prices, value the price change in the importers goods, is due to rise up to 0.6%.
For more on the Aussie, read the AUD/USD forecast.
That’s it for today.
For more events later in the week, check out the Live Forex Calendar
Get the 5 most predictable currency pairs


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OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor announced on Monday that two multistate settlements have been reached with Experian concerning data breaches in 2012 and 2015 that compromised personal information of millions of consumers nationwide.
Experian is a credit reporting company that serves more than 1 billion people.
The coalition of states obtained a separate settlement with T-Mobile in connection with the 2015 Experian breach, O’Connor said. That breach affected more than 15 million people who submitted credit applications with T-Mobile.
Under the settlements, the companies have agreed to improve their data security practices and to pay the states a combined amount of more than $16 million. Oklahoma will receive a total of $219,888.28.
“We trust sensitive personal information to these companies,” O’Connor said. “They have to protect our privacy and be accountable for breaches.”
In September 2015, Experian, one of the big-three credit reporting bureaus, reported it had experienced a data breach in which an unauthorized actor gained access to part of its network storing personal information on behalf of its client, T-Mobile.


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After a wonderful 2022, highlighted by the exploits of Baaeed, Shadwell have announced they are to add three new trainers, all based in Newmarket to their roster for 2023. After their superstar’s exploits, Sheikha Hissa is seemingly keen to expand, at least her training roster, by sending four yearlings each to George Boughey, Kevin Philippart de Foy and Harry Eustace.
The 30yo Boughey won his first Classic with Cachet in the 1000 Guineas in May and is already on 125 winners for the year, 40 ahead of his tally for 2021. Philippart de Foy, 31, has also had a stellar year with 52 winners on the board, 22 more than last year, while Eustace, 34, who succeeded father James at Park Lodge Stables last year, has 22 winners to his name in 2022, including a breakthrough success at Royal Ascot with Latin Lover.
Many of the yearlings have been recent withdrawals from sales at Tattersalls, either from the October Yearling Sale or December Yearling Sale, which was at Park Paddocks on Monday.
Boughey said: “It was as good a phone call as you can get and it will be a real honour to have the Shadwell silks running for us next year. It’s hugely exciting for everyone at Saffron House Stables and it’s a compliment to the last few years' work.
“It’s also an exciting time for Shadwell and Sheikha Hissa, in terms of their involvement going forward. They had a big dispersal but are now reinvesting and have been buying some quality bloodstock for next year.” Philippart de Foy said: “We're delighted to get the support of Sheikha Hissa and Shadwell.
It’s a great operation and it’s fantastic to see them taking on new young trainers after the great year they've had. "I’m very thankful to the whole operation for giving us this support, which will take us to the next level.”
Eustace said: “It was a real shock and very exciting but at the same time quite humbling. Shadwell have taken on some good trainers before us and to have made it among their mix is a real credit to everyone at home. This is massive for an operation like us.”


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No buyer found for Pumpkin Patch; stores will close
No buyer has been found for Pumpkin Patch and the childrenswear business will be wound up.
Receiver KordaMentha, appointed on October 26, says it could not attract a potential buyer and it is no longer viable to trade the business.
KordaMentha partner Brendon Gibson says, without a serious expression of interest received, there is no choice but to sell all stock and wind down the business.
“Our focus since Pumpkin Patch entered receivership in October was to sell the business as a going concern. Unfortunately, while the brand is attractive, the business itself ultimately drew no interest at the conclusion of the sale process.”
The receivers will sell off all stock and begin to wind down the business, he says.
“This decision has not been made lightly and we acknowledge it will come as a blow to staff.”
Sixty-three jobs will be lost at the head office this week. These staff will receive holiday pay and outstanding wages.
All stock will go on sale from this weekend, and gift vouchers will be honoured until all stock is gone.
“It is too early to say when individual stores will close,” Mr Gibson says. “Our current intention is for all stores to remain trading until the end of the year with some continuing on into January as stock diminishes. The liquidation process will likely take until the end of February to complete.”
He says there has been interest in the Pumpkin Patch brand and receivers will try to get the best value for that.
Pumpkin Patch breached banking covenants on working capital at the start of 2016, and a new agreement was signed with banker ANZ on September 22.
As a condition of this agreement, Pumpkin Patch had to come up with options to address capital constraints – but these talks fell through.
It owes $46 million to ANZ, which tipped it into receivership in a bid to claw back some cash.
Pumpkin Patch’s loss widened 71% to $15.5 million in the year to July 31, as revenue dropped 11% to $212.4 million, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, amortisation and depreciation fell 71% to $3.4 million.
Earnings suffered after a loss of international wholesale accounts and related northern hemisphere online channels.
The 26-year-old retailer listed in 2004 and enjoyed years of success before competitive pressures got the better of it amid uncertain global economics. It endured a rough few years after its ambitious overseas expansion misfired, leaving a huge debt burden.
The shares have been in a trading halt since October 21, and last traded at 6c, valuing the retailer at $10.1 million.


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According to a recent report, Apple are working on a new secret project for Apple Maps, as they have posted a new job listed for a Maps Web user interface designer, although the project is rumored to have a broader scope than just maps.
Design, develop, and maintain complex front-end code for a new secret project
Document and build unit tests for your code.
Work with operations, QA, and product management to maximize product effectiveness
It could be possible that Apple are working on a web based amps application, similar to Google Maps, and it may come with integration for iCloud and other Apple products.
Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals
Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A man charged with almost three dozen shoplifting cases and stealing more than $20,000 worth of merchandise, pled guilty Friday. In those shoplifting incidents he used a gun.
Marvin Alderete and his wife, Ashley Roybal, were arrested in July 2022. Alderete and his wife were put on the police’s radar after Walmart stores noticed the same couple stealing items from stores as far south as Los Lunas to northern Rio Rancho.
Story continues below:
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- New Mexico: How much of the high Rio Grande flows does New Mexico get to keep?
- Community: New Mexico getting a new State Police chief
Alderete stole roughly $20,000 worth of merchandise from about 28 stores, which were mostly Walmart’s. At the time, Alderete faced more than two dozen charges that included shoplifting and aggravated assault. Alderete is accused of pointing a gun at an employee of a store. In another case, he is accused of beating up a store employee.
On Friday, he pled guilty to 9 counts of robbery which is a third-degree felony. He could now face 5-12 years in prison as part of the plea agreement
No sentencing date has been set. Alderete plead guilty to a different shoplifting case earlier this year and was given one year in jail.
Part of the terms included said Alderete will not be able to step foot into Walmart stores in the future. In these robbery counts, the court could classify them as a violent offense.
Online court records state Ashley Roybal is going to change her plea to a shoplifting case in Sandoval County on April 24.


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Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. says its net profit surged 44 per cent in its latest quarter despite a big drop in fuel sales at its convenience stores because of COVID-19.
The Quebec-based retailer that operates the Circle K brand says it earned US$771.1-million or 70 cents a diluted share in its first quarter, up from US$538.8-million or 48 cents a share a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings attributable to shareholders came in at 71 cent a share, up from 40 cents a share forecast by analysts, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
Revenues for the three months ended July 19 decreased 31.4 per cent to US$9.71-billion, compared with US$14.2-billion a year earlier and below forecasts of US$10.55-billion.
The retailer said its in-store sales benefited from shoppers buying more, while fuel sales were hurt by lower demand and prices, partly offset by strong fuel margins.
Same-store fuel volume decreased 21.2 per cent in the United States, 25.6 per cent in Canada and 12.4 per cent in Europe.
“We delivered another solid quarter in the face of a challenging and unprecedented macroeconomic environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” chief financial officer Claude Tessier stated.
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This compares to exports value ₹19,597 crore in April 2019 and ₹22,151 crore in May of the identical yr.
“Last month’s (May) numbers would have been better had the airports not shut or the local manufacturing units and supply lines not been disrupted due to rising Covid-19 cases,” stated Colin Shah, chairman of the GJEPC.
“But the situation is better now; the whole world is open. US and Chinese markets are doing well, and Europe and Gulf countries are catching up. We did see a rise in demand from Western markets during Valentine’s Day and Mothers’ Day. We hope to do better than what we did in 2019,” Shah added.
Apart from jewelry manufacturing, India is the most important hub for sprucing ‘roughs’ (tough diamonds) into positive diamonds.
In April and May this yr, Indian diamantaires imported tough diamonds value ₹21,853 crore.
In May alone, the trade procured roughs value ₹9,214 crore in opposition to ₹6,978 crore in May 2019.
“We will be more stable in the coming months, and the industry will do well across domestic and export markets,” stated Richa Singh, managing director (India), Natural Diamond Council (NDC), a physique representing high miners.
“E-commerce has taken major
forward in this period, and the use of websites and social media for research and first point of discovery has increased. There will be greater use of digital interface in B2B export,” she added.
According to NDC, India is probably the most most popular nation for sourcing gems and jewelry.
The nation exported $18.66 billion value of minimize and polished diamonds in FY20 — it contributed almost 64% of the entire gems and jewelry exports.
The United States accounts for almost one-fourth of the nation’s whole gems and jewelry exports, whereas some European international locations, Japan and China are the opposite massive patrons.
The restoration in exports is a optimistic signal for the trade as it’s grappling with a major decline in home demand.
According to trade sources, retail gross sales have dropped by 60% to 80% for the reason that onset of the pandemic final yr.
The trade booked meagre gross sales between September and February final fiscal yr, when Covid-19 instances have been down throughout the nation.
“There were no sales in April and May due to lockdowns across states,” stated Joy Alukkas, CMD of Joy Alukkas Jewellery, a big Indian retailer.


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Consumers need to be given better quality information about diesel cars including from the Government and inconsistencies in Government policy needed to be removed to repair damage done to the new car market.
That’s the opinion of Glenn Sturley, chairman of the Vehicle Remarking Association, who said, “The messages about diesel that the Government has given out in the last year or so are, at best, confusing, as is their policy itself in key areas such as Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax. To some extent, it is no surprise that consumer perceptions are muddled.
“The fact is that the quite extreme decline in the new diesel car market that we are seeing is very much a preventable one – but the industry needs help to get the positive messages required across to potential new car buyers.
“Those messages are simple – new diesel cars remain a good environmental choice and there is no reason at all to expect a collapse in their values. With the right level of commitment, there is no reason that they cannot be successfully communicated.”


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The gold business is expanding into the African continent, and Nigeria takes the lead.
What are the new opportunities that the country is seizing?
In the search of new regions that could take advantage of the benefits of the gold business, Nigeria stands among Africa's first countries in working with Global InterGold.
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Now is the time to organize business seminars, webinars, and conferences. The Nigerian market has a huge potential.
We are a big team – let's work together to bring more prosperity to Nigeria!


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When 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid owner Heather Peters took Honda to Small Claims Court for what she said was misleading and unachievable gas mileage claims, the world looked on with interest. Not everyone thought Peters would win. But when she did -- to the tune of nearly $10,000 in damages -- attorneys general in California and four other states were asked to decide if they should let planned class action lawsuits against Honda continue as proposed. Now the attorneys general for California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington have agreed to let the class-action proceeding go ahead. Unlike...
Honda Civic Hybrid Gas-Mileage Case: What Factors Are At Play?
At the start of January, we told you about the owner of a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid who was taking the Japanese automaker to the small claims court. Heather Peters, alongside other owners who are filing similar class-action lawsuits against Honda, all claim that their Honda Civic Hybrids cannot...Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Honda Civic Hybrid Gas Mileage Case Heads To Small Claims Court
When you buy a new car, you’ll probably use manufacturers’ own gas mileage estimates alongside the official Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy database to help you choose which car will be best for you. Any of these gas mileage figures -- whether official or not -- can...Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield


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iPhone 14 Pro will have an even LARGER camera bump…here’s why
The rumor: Apple’s new camera system on iPhone 14 Pro will have some big consequences, according to Ming-Chi Kuo (72.5% accurate).
- “The main reason for the larger and more prominent rear-camera bump of the 14 Pro/Pro Max is upgrading the wide camera to 48MP,” Kuo says
- This significantly higher megapixel system apparently means that multiple elements of the new camera system are increasing in size…contrary to what the initial renders of iPhone 14 depicted.
Sam’s take: I can’t believe I actually thought, even for a second, that we would get a flush camera on an iPhone again. To be fair, I’m okay with the camera bump increasing if that means we’ll get some even crazier images and videos from iPhone 14…but it is getting to the point where it’s comical. How much further can you push a camera bump on a phone considering the iPhone 13 Pro is already pretty ridiculous?


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Jan Stanzeski and her husband, Chester, developed an interest in cheese a few years ago during a visit to a cheese shop in Austin. Several years later they opened their own shop in the form of Stanzeski’s Cheese, Wine & Charcuterie.
Jan, a former teacher, said she and her husband loved artisan cheese and began to sign up for cheese certification and study courses across the U.S. in hopes of learning enough to open a business of their own. The couple lived in Houston at the time but decided to move to Georgetown to open shop.
“We felt like Georgetown had the perfection combination of demographics and location for what we wanted to do,” Jan said. “Georgetown [is] one of the fastest-growing towns in the country, and folks here enjoy great, unique foods and culinary experiences. It seemed like a perfect fit.”
Georgetown did not have anything like Stanzeski’s, she said, but residents embraced the new business.
“Georgetown has been extremely welcoming and enthusiastic,” Jan said.
Stanzeski’s does not make cheeses in-house but brings in varieties from all over the world. One of its best-selling cheeses is a Roquefort blue cheese, as well as a Fromager d'Affinois, a soft-ripened double-cream cheese from France that is coated in French herbs and garlic.
Texas cheeses are also popular with customers, Jan said. The shop has about 50 types of cheese for sale at any given time.
With the shop’s focus on artisan, hand-crafted and small-batch cheese—unlike most products found in grocery stores—the selection process can be overwhelming for some customers, Jan said. Staff input and tasting samples can help, she added.
Erika Bongort, a credentialed cheese professional and chef who works at the shop, said she and the Stanzeskis are “geeky” when it comes to the cheese they sell.
“There’s a lot of history. Every one of those cheeses in that case has a story, whether it’s a maker, an animal or the country it’s from,” Bongort said. “It’s not just a cheese on a shelf—it’s a story.”
Back to class with cheese and wine
In May the Stanzeskis were able to expand their business when a hair salon next door to their shop closed. The expansion will allow the Stanzeskis to offer cheese classes at their shop, something they had wanted to offer since before they opened their business.
Signups for classes, which will cover the basics of cheese and its various styles, will start in August, Jan Stanzeski said. Once the shop receives its on-premise license, which is expected to occur in the fall, the Stanzeskis will begin selling tickets for “pair and pour” wine classes.
Stanzeski’s Cheese, Wine & Charcuterie
103 N. Austin Ave., Ste. 310, Georgetown
Hours: Tue.-Fri. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.
A previous version of this story referred to Roquefort cheese as a soft-ripened double-cream cheese. Roquefort cheese is a type of blue cheese, and the story has been corrected to reflect this.


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“Disrupt or be disrupted.”
That’s the message Jim Whitehurst, Red Hat’s President and CEO, delivered to the opening keynote crowd at the 2015 Red Hat Summit in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center. Whitehurst discussed the fundamental changes in our economy, how organizations need to rethink the very foundations of how they operate in the Information Age, and what Red Hat is doing to lead the way.
“There’s rock, paper, scissors—and then there’s information.” — Andrew Birmingham
Whitehurst began by putting today into context. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, we made value by getting bigger and bigger—because scaling factories reduced costs—and that’s been the dominant model of how companies operate for a century. The auto industry, with Henry Ford at the helm, is the defining example. The Model T and the assembly line were built for efficiency, and companies patterned their organizational and management models after his success. Make things. Now make things faster and cheaper.
But now, Whitehurst described, we’re built around information. “Value is moving from the owners of physical assets to the people who can build, augment, and combine information,” he said.
To drive this point home, Whitehurst pulled from TechCrunch’s Tom Goodwin. Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no cars. Facebook, the world’s largest media platform, creates no content. Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodations provider, owns no real estate. (See where this is going?) We’ve moved from a system built for efficiency to a system built for innovation. In this new economy and model, which companies are going to win? Who’s going to lose?
“The car is becoming the ultimate technology product and we are becoming more of an information company.” — Mark Fields, CEO, Ford
Whitehurst said that the average car now has 10 million lines of code—more than a Boeing 787—so if automobile companies just focus on cars now, then they’re relegated to a mere hardware provider. And that’s not enough, because the company itself has to change its process, mindset, and culture. He pointed to Starbucks as an excellent example of a company that gets it. Now, its one of the largest food companies in the world because “They recognized early on that the coffee shop wasn’t just about coffee—it’s about the customer experience,” he said. But how is coffee a high-tech product? Because Starbucks is experimenting with technologies that fundamentally understand not just what its customers want, but what they might want in the future, from automated, intelligent brewing machines and mobile payments to wireless charging and iBeacon sensors.
Most companies think failure is bad, but Whitehurst stressed that experimentation and small failures are part of the process. Citing a PWC survey, Whitehurst told the crowd that over the next 3 years, 61% of CEOs plan to compete in industries they’re not in today. Value chains are colliding, and companies need to develop the systemic ability to be agile or they’re going to get left behind.
“Big companies fail. Big companies fall away now, because you can no longer just rest on your assets.”
So what does 21st century innovation look like? How do you build an organization that’s truly equipped for change? DevOps, or rather, the characteristics of DevOps, are extensible beyond coding. Drawing on open source as a model, Whitehurst identified 4 primary ways that companies can thrive today by being:
- Decentralized. Ideas are going to bubble up, so capturing them requires a flexible structure.
- Open and collaborative. The Ubers and Airbnbs of the world have to work with new partners and in a very different, collaborative way.
- Modular and face-paced. When you open up and let others get involved, experimentation happens, and the “release early release often” mentality carries over
- User-driven. Openness encourages co-creation of users, and open source has gone from commoditizing software to leading innovation because technically advanced users are close to the problems they need to solve.
But why don’t we see this change happening faster, Whitehurst asked? “Simply put: It’s hard. Hard to cede control, hard to accept failure, hard to change culture. But it’s vital, because cultures that are built for efficiency aren’t built for agility,” he said. He cited examples of innovative companies that are getting this right, like Ford, GE, and Walmart—notably, none of which are strictly in IT.
“It’s not about the license; it’s about the participation.”
Whitehurst wrapped up his keynote by talking about what we’re all trying to accomplish at Red Hat Summit 2015 and what Red Hat is doing beyond this week. There will be a lot of talk about products, to be sure, because “It starts with delivering stable versions of community and enterprise editions. But our value proposition goes beyond the product. We’re opinionated. We’re out front shaping the direction of technologies not based on what we want to sell to our customers, but based on how we can solve the problems our customers are facing,” he said.
As open source is becoming more popular and mainstream, he continued, a lot of people and companies are jumping on board. But he cautioned to beware of the “Potemkin villages of open source,” or efforts that are just posing as open source. Because, as he said, “We believe, passionately, that the power of open source is in the power of participation. And no single organization can predict the future of technology—but a coalition of us can build it.”
Event: Red Hat Summit 2015 Date: Tue, June 23, 2015 Type: Keynote Title: Disrupt or be disrupted Speaker: Jim Whitehurst, CEO and President, Red Hat


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Today (Wednesday 29 May), on National Biscuit Day, Honeywell Biscuit Co., artisan biscuit bakers based in Welford, Northamptonshire, has announced a new partnership with the international development charity Farm Africa. The company will donate 2% of the purchase price of each of its products to support Farm Africa’s work helping farmers in eastern Africa grow more, sell more and sell for more.
The artisan company uses traditional baking methods to combine the ingredients and test new recipes. Each biscuit is hand cut using specially selected cookie cutters from their collection of over 2000 shapes, and is then iced by an expert team.
The all-female company chose to support Farm Africa due to the charity’s pioneering work empowering female entrepreneurs living in rural communities to run thriving businesses. In sub-Saharan Africa, 80% of agricultural production is by smallholder farmers. And the female share of the agricultural labour force is the highest in the world.
But life for women in rural Africa isn’t easy. Women don’t have the same rights as men, and often have to juggle domestic duties and agricultural work – sowing, weeding and harvesting crops, but also making food for their families and collecting firewood and water.
It can be much harder for women to yield the same results on their farms as men do, as they often have more limited access to land, agricultural extension services and technologies. Farm Africa works to help women overcome the obstacles holding them back from succeeding as agricultural entrepreneurs.
Charlotte Senior, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Farm Africa commented: “At Farm Africa we’re passionate about empowering women in rural communities. Women’s empowerment has benefits for the whole family. An investment in women is also an investment in the next generation. When women prosper, they tend to invest more in their children’s educations and giving their children more nutritious food and keeping them healthy.”
Rebecca Honeywell-Ward, Founder of Honeywell Biscuit Co. commented: “Farm Africa is a perfect fit with our values – helping families grow their own food in a sustainable way, and enabling them to start small businesses selling their produce as well.”


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LEAK: WB Games Montréal Are Creating A Brand New Superman Game
For those who aren’t aware, WB Games Montréal are a ‘studio with dual expertise, developing DC Comics-focused AAA games that revolve and celebrate the legendary brands of WBIE’. Over the years, the studio has been responsible for creating many titles such as, Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Their next upcoming title is another Batman based game, called Gotham Knights. Gotham Knights was originally planned to be released this year, however was delayed until 2022. Despite the delay of the title, WB Games Montréal have already begun advertising job listings for their next project, which they call a ‘new IP, AAA title’. Although it is not confirmed, many people believe that this project is a new Superman game.
According to several reports, there have been a few Superman games cancelled over the years, including one from WB Games Montréal and another from Rocksteady too. As a matter of fact, the last Superman game to be released was actually created by EA, all the way back in 2006 and so I think it is fair to say a modern Superman game is way overdue. Due to the fact that there have reportedly been several Superman games cancelled and we haven’t had one since 2006 lead many to believe that one is on the way soon.
However, the main reason people believe a Superman game is coming next, is a leak from Warner Brothers insider, James Sigfield (@Jsig212James). He has been known to correctly leak previous Warner Brother titles, including Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad. His latest leak, seen below, clearly indicates that WB Games Montréal’s upcoming ‘new IP, AAA title’ is a Superman game.
Since, James Sigfield has also been tweeting out several GIFs of Superman animations, teasing further that the next game will be based on Superman. James also goes on to state in another tweet that we should not expect to see any official confirmation in the near future, and the release is likely to be in 2024.
So there we have it, it seems that we are finally going to be getting a brand new, modern Superman game. Here at Gaming Broadband, we can safely say that we are more than excited for this project and we are sure that you are too.


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hide.me VPN is thrilled to announce that we will be 255 to the Moon! A conference all about the future of blockchain, crypto, and much more.
Get the utmost privacy and security with the Volla Phone X23 and hide.me VPN! A rugged smartphone built to last that doesn’t compromise.
Say olá to our brand-new Portugal server! Now you can connect to Lisbon with industry-leading encryption and cutting-edge features.
We are happy to reveal that Argentina has joined our extensive server network! You can connect to Buenos Aires if you are a Premium member today!
It is time to share the data from our 2022 Annual Transparency report where we show the number of requests we received over the year.
We are proud to announce that hide.me VPN has acquired a well-known Croatia-based eSports team known as Valiance! Winners of the 2022 edition of the EBL!
Due to a new law in India regarding data retention and VPNs, hide.me VPN has had to cease operating servers within India for the foreseeable future.
2TB of encrypted Internxt cloud storage is back! Find out how you can get it with a hide.me VPN subscription!
We’re happy to share that the VTI is expanding its Trust Principles, with help from hide.me VPN, in the hope of improving the VPN industry for everyone.
hide.me VPN is collaborating with Volla again to bring you the Volla Phone 22. A modern smartphone focussing on security, privacy, performance, and sustainability.
Introducing hide.me VPN’s next NFT collaboration with Kanaria – The Guy Fawkes Cloak! Complete the Guy Fawkes look with this newest NFT!
hide.me VPN is proud to announce a brand-new fleet of 10G servers for select popular locations. And to top it off, we have brand-new streaming locations!
We wanted our 2FA implementation to be perfect and easy-to-use, and we are confident it now is. We are proud to announce that hide.me VPN now supports 2FA!


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For providers looking to move to a new electronic health system, IT support is growing as a key factor in choosing a new vendor, according to a Black Book survey.
While price and features remain important to providers, 82 percent of those surveyed called vendor tech support "a leading competitive differentiator" this year. That support can be through the vendor itself or outsourcing, though 61 percent of hospital workers said they want direct support, and 79 percent that use third-party outsourced tech support are unhappy with quality of the services.
Black Book surveyed about 2,000 users at 252 U.S. hospitals in the final quarter of 2015 for the report, according to an announcement.
With 16 percent of respondents working at hospitals noting that they outsource at least half of their tech support needs, and 35 percent saying that they will increase IT support outsourcing by the end of the year, it's no surprise that such services are important when choosing an EHR vendor. In fact, outsourcing for healthcare technology will grow in the next four years, and is set to reach $68.3 billion by 2020, according a recent report from Everest Group.
In addition, poor tech support from third parties can negatively impact how users see a vendor's brand and products, according to the report.
The number of providers who changed their electronic health record systems jumped four-fold from 2013 to 2014, according to statistics from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released in September.
Smaller providers also struggle the most when lacking proper technical support, the report found. A study, published in Health Affairs in 2013, found that small physician groups who want to use EHRs to improve patient care will need technical support to meet that goal.
The EHR vendors that had the best technical support, according to the survey, included Cerner, Allscripts, MEDITECH and McKesson. These companies had "level 4 support," which includes analytics, business intelligence and advanced services.
"Enterprise tech support is a highly complex and niche area in healthcare, where specialists can make a big difference in client loyalty by catering from Level 1 to Level 4 product support to ensure all the provider's business goals are aligned with technology readiness," Doug Brown, managing partner of Black Book, said in the announcement.
Black Book also noted trends in IT support, some of which include: services offered when it comes to support within the cloud, ability to live video chat the troubleshoot issues, and use of social media for support communication, among others.
To learn more:
- here's the announcement


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RC Gallegos, owner of RC’s NYC Pizza & Pasta has been handed the pizza peel to join the United States Pizza Team and compete in the World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy in April.
Since 2000, the U.S. Pizza Team has competed every year in the World Pizza Championships in Italy. This will be RC’s first time competing in this international event, which will be held from April 9-11.


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I thought that being dragged behind a horse was a very bad thing. I guess I was wrong.
Thrill seekers are competing in Britainâ€™s latest extreme sports craze of â€˜horse boardingâ€™ – where participants are towed behind a horse at 35mph on an off-road skateboard.
Professional stuntman Daniel Fowler-Prime, 31, invented the sport five years ago after he strung a rope between his off-road â€˜mountain boardâ€™ and a horse.
Now he has developed the daredevil stunt into a fully fledged sport and is looking forward to hosting the UKâ€™s first ever horse boarding championships this summer.
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Press ReleaseView printer-friendly version << Back
Since launching Worldstock last year, Overstock.com has purchased more than $1.1 million of products from thousands of artisans in 40 countries. The company calculates that upwards of 2,000 families around the world are currently receiving significant income results from Worldstock. Overstock.com adheres to an audited net-5 percent profit ceiling for their goods, stimulating sales at prices that maximize the artisans' return.
Worldstock is the brainchild of Overstock.com's CEO, Patrick Byrne, who holds a doctorate from Stanford University centered upon issues related to poverty and social justice. He conceived of Worldstock as a global network of disadvantaged artisans plugging into the modern advantages of a 21st century business. Today, Overstock.com provides its expertise, technology and market exposure to artisans, who find a new platform for their own ideas and initiative.
"All of us think of Worldstock somewhat differently than last year when the concept was still new," said Rochelle Beck, president of a global artisan network and a supplier to Worldstock. "We've seen how Overstock has achieved responsible business growth and economic development in parts of the world not easy to find success stories. We're so impressed that we now send Worldstock our best new ideas first and do everything in our power to assure its continued success."
In the past year, Worldstock development expert, Marilyn Garson, has traveled to nine countries, establishing or expanding artisan networks from Chile to Burma to Afghanistan.
"Worldstock turns the usual development relationships on their head," said Garson. "Worldstock puts artisans in the driver's seat. Each group gets the real market information to make their own decisions about growth, and they tell us how they want to capitalize on the opportunities. They power Worldstock, not the other way around."
Due to the overwhelming popularity of Worldstock among Overstock's customers, the Web site has expanded its artisan network into virtually every corner of the world -- from Himalayan herbal bath products to Kashmiri rugs, Mexican glassware, Israeli jewelry, Peruvian leather furniture, African collectibles, Hungarian veil glass and Native American pottery, with new goods in production in Afghanistan.
"In the midst of one of the scariest political and economic times in recent history, Worldstock has achieved a true sense of partnership with all those involved in its commercial venture: its producers, its exporters, its designers, its importers and its customers," said Beck.
Note to Editors:
To request an interview with Rochelle Beck, Patrick Byrne or Marilyn Garson, please contact Leslie Dotson at 415/377-4414 or email@example.com.
Overstock.com delivers the best values for name-brand consumer merchandise. Since launching the site in October 1999, Overstock.com calculates that it has saved consumers more than $100 million off manufacturer suggested retail prices.
Founded on the principles of fair dealing and value investing, Overstock.com is a publicly traded company, headquartered in Salt Lake City and can be found online at www.overstock.com.
Overstock.com and Worldstock are trademarks of Overstock.com Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
Overstock.com, Salt Lake City Leslie A. Dotson, 415/377-4414 firstname.lastname@example.org


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Amazon’s wholesale unit in India reported an incredible raise in turnover of nearly 2,700 times for fiscal year 2016-17, budding as a major contributor to the global retail giant’s overall operations in the country as it adjusted to regulatory restrictions.
The surge in the turnover came after the govt issued guidelines in early 2016 insisting that sales from a single vendor could not exceed 25% of the total gross sales of an online marketplace. Subsequent to this, the retail giant determined to use Amazon Wholesale India as a distributor, especially of smartphones, to a slew of new vendors on its India marketplace while staying within lines drawn by government policy. Selling smartphones, a key category for ecommerce in India, through a few vendors offers the company more control in terms of inventory and logistics.
“Amazon is likely focusing on wholesale for exclusive phone deals since this offers better negotiating power with smartphone brands,” said Satish Meena, senior forecast analyst at Forrester Research.
The unit’s turnover in 2014-15 was Rs 6.6 crore. Amazon Wholesale India’s revenue increased to Rs 7,047 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 2.63 crore in the year prior, show numbers filed with the Registrar of Companies and sourced from Tofler.
Amazon’s annualized gross sales are about $5 billion (about Rs 32,000 crore) from all its businesses in India, as per an analyst. This includes its ecommerce marketplace, grocery delivery, and Prime subscription services.
Amazon registered a 41% growth in revenue to Rs 3,128 crore in 2016-17 via Amazon Seller Services and its main marketplace business in India.
Amazon has not expanded on specific queries, but Amazon Wholesale India exerted with more than 15,000 vendors selling across categories including groceries and electronics. The India marketplace has 160 million products that are being sold by about 250,000 vendors.
According to some industry members through Cloudtail India, Amazon’s largest vendor, Amazon radically reduced sales of smartphones, late last year. This reflected in Cloudtail’s revenue growth dipping to 24% in 2016-17 from about 300% in the year before.
Amazon Wholesale India has also benefitted from frequent capital infusions from its global parent. It has received Rs 115 crore in June last year, followed by Rs 160 crore that September and Rs 100 crore in December 2016. It received another Rs 341 crore in May last year that Amazon was focusing on a new set of vendors in India to reduce its dependency on Cloudtail, which is a joint venture between Amazon and Infosys cofounder Narayan Murthy’s personal investment vehicle Catamaran.
It is also reported how Amazon was focusing on more such JVs to create new vendor entities. In September, Amazon set up a JV with the Ashok Patni Group to make stronger its customer service unit as well as to set up a subsidiary that will be a vendor on Amazon India.
The global giant is also in talks with Dabur’s promoters for another JV.
Amazon recently launched a B2B marketplace for small and medium businesses, called Amazon Business, on the Amazon.in website. It had earlier launched Amazonbusiness.in under Amazon Wholesale as a pilot project two years ago for retailers in Bengaluru and Mangaluru. This was an invite-only model and had consumables as the primary category. Amazonbusiness.in is a wholesale retailer while Amazon Business is a pure marketplace, the company had said.
Checkout Latest IT news at itvoir.com
Jatin Bhatia, From ITvoir News Desk


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Star Disney sells 90% TV ad inventory for IPL 2021
The broadcaster is expected to onboard a few more associate sponsors soon
Broadcaster Star Disney India has sold 90% of its TV ad inventory for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 that will take place from April 9 to May 30. The network has confirmed 14 broadcast sponsors so far.
The list includes Dream11, Just Dial, Byju's and PhonePe as co-presenting sponsors, besides Vi, Mondelez, ITC's Bingo, Kamla Pasand, Parle's Frooti, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), Asian Paints, Amazon Prime, Coca-Cola's Thums-Up, and Groww as associate sponsors.
“Star Disney India has sold 90% of its ad inventory. In the coming days, the broadcaster is expected to add few more associate sponsors. The total associate sponsors will be in the range of 12-14,” said an industry source on condition of anonymity.
An email sent to Star Disney India for official comments is yet to be answered.
As reported earlier, the broadcaster is charging Rs 13.2 lakh per 10 seconds from co-presenting sponsors and Rs 13.6 lakh per 10 seconds from associate sponsors. Spot buyers have to fork out Rs 14.1 to 14.3 lakh for a 10-second spot. As much as 50% of the IPL ad inventory on television will be consumed by sponsors while the remaining half will be utilised by spot buyers.
Star Disney India had earned TV ad revenue of Rs 2800 crore from IPL 2020. The broadcaster is expecting a 16-18% increase in revenue from the tournament in 2021.
"Star made Rs 2800 crore from TV ad revenue in 2020 despite a recessionary economy. With the economy bouncing back, the broadcaster could see a 16-18% growth in ad revenue from IPL 2021," an industry source said, on condition of anonymity.
Also, the broadcaster is attempting to bring down the number of sponsors for IPL. The rationale being that spot buys fetch better rates compared to sponsorship rates. In IPL 2020, the sponsors utilised 52% of the ad inventory which will settle at around 50% for IPL 2021. The broadcast side of the IPL coverage will see around 90-100 brands advertising on the Star India network.
The source also mentioned that the contribution of HD feed to the overall ad revenue is 35-40% since HD viewers are mostly premium homes and are heavy consumers of sports content compared to SD viewers. "Almost 90% of HD homes watch sports content while the number for SD homes is only 50-60%," the source said.
IPL 2021 is expected to have multi-lingual feeds. In 2020, the tournament had English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Marathi language feeds across sports and regional language channels. The possibility of airing matches on Star Disney's kids channels is also being evaluated.
Star Disney India's streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar has also had a good start with 10 sponsors coming on-board. Dream11 is the co-presenting sponsor, Upstox and Vimal Elaichi are the co-powered by sponsors while PhonePe, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), Unacademy, Pharmeasy, Livspace, Swiggy, and Parle Agro have signed on as associate sponsors.
The platform is estimated to have earned ad revenue of Rs 370-380 crore from IPL 2020. The projected ad revenue for Disney+ Hotstar is higher than 2020 since the streaming platform was not able to fully sell its inventory last year, the source said.
The tournament will be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar in five languages – English, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil and will be exclusively available to subscribers of Disney+ Hotstar VIP (Rs 399 for 12 months) and Disney+ Hotstar Premium (Rs 1499 for 12 months).
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RNR Custom Wheels and Tires adds stores
RNR Custom Wheels and Tires had added another store to its franchise network, a location in Charleston, S.C.
The store is the eighth RNR outlet for Rims U.S.A., a Greenville, S.C.-based company. The firm's ninth RNR store is scheduled to open soon in Nashville, Tenn.
In related news, Rent-N-Roll LLC, which owns the RNR brand, has acquired two shops in Jacksonville, Fla.
RNR currently has 67 locations throughout North America.


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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has posted a recall on certain Ford E-Series vans.
Read This Article
Ford is recalling 1.1 million F-150, F-250, and Lincoln Blackwood pickup trucks due to straps holding the gas tank corroding and leading to it falling.
This is just for fun, says Motor Trend.
According to a report released by Consumer Reports, high-back booster seats are safer than a backless booster seat.


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Countless pizzerias pride themselves on fast delivery, but Sargento Foods shook the culinary scene in April with its guarantee of the “World’s Slowest Pizza Delivery.” Sargento teamed up with Big G’s Pizza to make a pie with Sargento’s aged cheese, which would take at least four months before it was ready for consumption. Within minutes of the announcement, a hundred Chicagoans signed on for the offer.
Then the long wait began as everyone waited for several flavors to ripen: Parmesan, Cheddar, Gouda, and Italian cheese. “We’ve been eager the last four months, maybe not as much as our participants, to finally get the pizzas to patient customers so they could get a chance to try the Reserve Series of aged cheese,” said Stuart Manning, representative of Sargento Foods.
Sargento’s Reserve Series’ cheeses take up to 18 months to age well, but the food company wanted to show that its limited series is well worth the wait. “About a quarter of the World’s Slowest Pizza Delivery participants chose the Mac & Aged Cheddar Cheese Pizza with our 18-month aged cheese,” Manning said. “The four-month participants of the Aged Italian Blend Margherita Pizza had their pizzas delivered in August, for which they were relieved, ecstatic and hungry upon receiving.”
Among the offerings were a Margherita Pizza with aged Italian; a Bacon, Apple & Aged Gouda Pizza; a Chicken (aged) Parmesan Pizza; and a Mac & Aged Cheddar Cheese Pizza.
And the deliveries keep coming even six months later.
“We were very excited when Sargento reached out to us to partner and create these custom recipes for the World’s Slowest Pizza Delivery,” said Jaime Gamez, co-owner of Big G’s. “Luckily, I was able to spend some time with the cheese while perfecting the recipes.”
Based on feedback from satisfied customers, Gamez feels they hit the mark in recipe crafting. “I think they were all great, but my pizzeria is actually famous for our Mac N Cheese Pizza,” he said. “So, we were especially excited to provide a special Reserve Series version to customers with the shredded 18-month aged cheddar.”
Gamez said he also incorporated the aged Parmesan into salads and aged cheddar for quesadillas. “So, there’s a lot more you can do with aged cheeses, which I really love,” he said.
So far, he has made 30 pizzas for the Slowest Delivery run, but in his lifetime the personal number is a bit higher. “I’ve definitely made over 100,000 pizzas over the last 20 years,” he said.
Christy and Mark Bauhs of Lincoln Park in Chicago were among the lucky customers who ate the long-awaited aged Italian blend Margherita pizza. They checked on the Italian cheese’s progress every week or two. “The pizza was pretty amazing,” Christy said. “Perfect crust, fresh basil and tasty, tangy cheese! It was a fun and interesting process, but I hate waiting an hour for my pizza, let alone months! But the process definitely gave me a few recipe ideas as we do a lot of homemade pizzas.”
Jalisa Ambrose, co-host of The Black Girl Report Podcast, also enjoyed the same Italian blend Margherita pizza. “I checked once and then honestly forgot about it, which made me that much more excited when I was informed it was going to be delivered,” she said. “I was very excited about it and was surprised by how fresh everything tasted.”
“If pizza is involved, I will wait as long as I need to,” Ambrose said.
The customers who ordered the 18-month aged cheddar pizza will be among the last to receive their pie. The day they get it will be a day to remember, certainly.
Unfortunately for those wanting to join in the waiting game, the World’s Slowest Pizza Delivery was a one-time campaign. But the customers can visit Sargento.com/recipes to make their own aged cheese pizza where they’d only have to wait for the oven’s timer to ring.


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Tesla: How to Leverage Social Media to Build a Top Brand. Northwestern Mutual's Latest Integrated Campaign Celebrates Advisor-Client Relationships. The Organization Behind 'Got Milk?' Debuts a Weekly Web Series. The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), the organization behind the famous “Got Milk?”
Tagline, is getting into the content game. Today, it’s debuting its first weekly web series, “Glass Half Full News.” The kid-centric show has the format of a traditional TV news broadcast, with an anchor and field correspondents, but the content isn’t as much about relaying timely information as it is about exploring a child’s perspective of life in 2020 among amusing jokes and cartons of generic milk. The premiere episode features segments on surviving in the great outdoors—in this case, the backyard—and learning new things while under lockdown, like mom’s real hair color. Glass Half Full News | Episode 1 Volume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→
Skin Tone Ranges on Pinterest Added in 5 More Countries. Pinterest extended the skin tone ranges feature it introduced in January 2019 to five more countries and added new brands to its virtual lipstick augmented reality Try On experience.
Pinterest Skin Tone Range Expansion Volume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ (445) MAGNUM Try Shoot Share. Seeing Success With Coffee Subscriptions, Panera Wants to Be More Like Netflix. A month ago, Panera Bread began offering a free MyPanera+Coffee subscription through Labor Day for anyone who signed up for the service on the fast casual chain’s app.
The promotion, which began June 22 to remind customers about the subscription service, is all part of the bakery’s plan to incorporate a recurring revenue model similar to Netflix, according to chief brand and concept officer Eduardo Luz. The subscription includes unlimited hot and iced coffee as well as hot tea and typically costs $8.99 per month, but that fee was waived this summer. So far, more than 800,000 people have opted into the subscription as of the week ended July 18.
Customer Feedback Inspired Native's New Plastic-Free Paper Packaging for Its Deodorant. Native, a direct-to-consumer personal care brand known for its simple, safe and effective ingredients just added another dimension to its portfolio: sustainable packaging.
Starting with its paper-based deodorant applicator, the brand has committed to offering every one of its soaps, deodorants and toothpastes in sustainable packages by 2023. While there’s certainly a trend toward more environmentally conscious packaging in the consumer packaged goods industry, Native said the impetus to shift to sustainability came from its consumers. In late 2018, customers started voicing concerns about plastic-free packaging to Native. The company’s tracking of those requests on its social channels, customer service calls and surveys found that over the past year, requests for sustainable packaging increased by more than 900%. Last summer, Native hit a tipping point, according to senior marketing manager and head of sustainability, Katie Weltz.
Essity Is Breaking Taboos Around Periods in Its Advertising. Everyone’s familiar with the classic format for a pad or tampon commercial: smiling women clad head-to-toe in white, flying across the screen in bursts of femininity and energy, not slowed down one bit by that pesky menstrual cycle, the color red avoided at all costs.
In the last few years, however, brands have worked to create a more honest portrayal of what it’s like to have a period. That work has won awards, gone viral and proven that breaking taboos in advertising to women is not only good for society but of strategic importance for brands that operate in this space. The feminine care category has an “even greater responsibility” than most to treat women respectfully, especially in the face of a stigma “that it’s contributed to for decades,” said AMV BBDO executive creative director Nadja Lossgott.
Kotex recently celebrated its 100th anniversary by releasing its “She Can” campaign by honoring the women who helped initially found the company: nurses. Essity. Invent a new currency. Encourage a digital detox. Daily Inspiration. Daily Inspiration. Daily Inspiration. Case studies showing how early adopters benefit from new social media platforms. As many of the savvier global brands have found, being an early adopter of a new social media site can be an unprecedented opportunity for branding, visibility and platform building.
In fact, doing so is a key strategy for staying relevant in an ever-changing business and marketing environment. In essence, being early means getting to be a real leader, determining just how companies will use that new space; it also means getting to connect directly with key influencers before the platform gets too crowded with competitors. 9 Successful Digital Marketing Case Studies. Intuit Case Study At Single Grain, we worked with the tax preparation software company Intuit to boost visibility via several common keywords in the industry.
Source: Single Grain case studies At the time, Intuit was adding on the Intuit Website Builder as part of their product portfolio. Based on their research, they found that their customers wanted simple tools for other aspects of their business as well, such as building their website. The challenge for us was helping Intuit build visibility and become known for services outside of the main ones for which they are known. To solve that, we helped Intuit build visibility in organic search results. 3 Success Stories That Will Have You Rethink Email Marketing. Despite the perception of email as a more traditional and antiquated tactic, it remains one of the best digital marketing channels for return on investment.
Marketing subject resources for business studies and business english teachers.


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Robert Downey Jr. Stars in HTC Global Ad Campaign (Video)
The Taiwanese company is reportedly paying the “Iron Man” star $12 million to headline its latest branding push, which hits worldwide markets Thursday.
Taiwanese technology company HTC is bringing in Hollywood’s highest paid actor in an effort to turn around its slipping share of the smartphone market. After unconfirmed reports in June and a video tease late last week, the company has confirmed that Robert Downey Jr. will be headlining its new global ad campaign, "Here's to Change."
According to sources close to the deal cited by Bloomberg, Downey is getting paid approximately $12 million to be the face of HTC for two years. The actor was also given final say over the spots’ creative elements.
The first HTC “Change” TV commercial will air in worldwide markets, including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Russia, China and Australia on Thursday.
HTC released two teasers for the ad last week, showing a suited figure with Downey’s jaunty profile swooping in to HTC headquarters by helicopter and high-fiving an executive waiting on the rooftop. The latest teaser picks up where the first two left off, revealing Downey entering a boardroom full of bickering HTC senior staff, who are told to “Focus up -- subversive thinking has arrived.” Downey then pulls out a file from a locked briefcase and says, “Humongous tinfoil catamaran” -- an apparent riff on the HTC acronym. Later spots will reportedly continue the theme, with Downey speculating what the brand stands for: "Hipster Troll Carwash," "Hold This Cat," and other oddball "creative concepts."
After scoring North America’s second-biggest box office opening ever with $174.3 million, Downey’s Iron Man 3 was the highest grossing Hollywood film in China in the first half of 2013, pulling $160 million. It also set box office records in several markets in Asia and Europe.
HTC is hoping that proven star power can help reverse the brand’s recent fortunes. In the first quarter of 2013, HTC’s revenue fell 22 percent over the same time last year, and profits were down from $247 million to $41.7 million. The company has warned that it might see a loss in the third quarter, as its market share continues to slip while Samsung and Apple remain on top and Chinese brands such as Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi are on the rise.
The crowded and competitive Asian smartphone sector is creating new opportunities for top Hollywood stars to cash in on lucrative endorsement deals. The HTC Downey campaign follows a similar move by Taiwanese technology company Acer, which hired Megan Fox for a series of ads last year, in a similar bid to close the gap between rival electronics powerhouse South Korea and its flagship Samsung.
Downey -- already the world’s highest paid actor according to Forbes, with estimated earnings this past year of $75 million -- signed on in June to reprise his role as Tony Stark in Disney’s forthcoming Avengers 2 and 3. Apart from advertisements, he’ll next be seen in Jon Favreau's Chef and director David Dobkin's drama The Judge -- both due out in 2014.
Watch the HTC teaser ads below:


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This month, Nike SB has released a new Lunarlon edition of the Dunk Mid. The Swoosh goes with dual shades of grey on the new skate drop, which has been comprised of suede. Contrasting black laces and a matching tongue offset the grey pair, as you can pick up your size today through select SB carriers like Premier. Retail is $80.
LIKE COMPLEX SNEAKERS ON FACEBOOK


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The deal will enable the vacation rentals company to become publicly listed
Vacasa, a vacation rental management platform, has agreed to merge with TPG Pace Solutions in a deal that values the former at $4.5bn.
TPG Pace Solutions is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by global alternative asset firm TPG.
The deal with the SPAC will enable Vacasa to become a publicly-traded company.
Based in Portland, Oregon, the company has an end-to-end technology platform, which is said to help property owners optimise their income and care. For guests, the platform provides a professional vacation rental experience in more than 400 destinations.
Through the company’s marketplace, guests can search, discover, and book stays at more than 30,000 vacation homes. The booking can be done using the company’s website, the Vacasa Guest App, and at more than 100 channel partners such as Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.
Vacasa is expected to register nearly $1.6bn gross bookings and revenue of $750m this year from five million nights sold.
Vacasa CEO Matt Roberts said: “The integration of our purpose-built technology with our local, expert service teams brings exceptional care and greater returns to our homeowners, delivers a consistent and reliable experience to our guests, and helps us offer a large supply of professionally managed homes for our distribution partners.
“As more second homeowners share their homes with guests for the first time, and travellers increasingly prefer to stay at vacation rentals, we believe our partnership with TPG Pace Solutions will help accelerate our growth and the enhancement of our technology offerings for homeowners and guests.”
The merger deal will also help the vacation rental management platform with nearly $485m in gross cash proceeds. The capital will be used for funding its future growth plans.
TPG Pace Solutions will contribute up to $285m of the gross proceeds from the cash held in its trust account. The remaining $200m will come through a common equity investment led by top-tier mutual funds, major institutional investors, and TPG as well.
Vacasa’s existing investors alongside founder Eric Breon and management are likely to retain an 88% stake in the enlarged company, post-merger. The investors include Silver Lake, Level Equity, Riverwood Capital, Altos Ventures, NewSpring Capital and Adams Street.
TPG Pace Group non-executive chairman and director Karl Peterson said: “TPG has a long history of supporting high-growth companies, including consumer internet marketplaces, and new economy travel and leisure businesses.
“Leveraging our extensive public market experience, we believe our partnership will further solidify Vacasa as a scaled hospitality brand in vacation rentals. We’re excited to work with Matt and the entire Vacasa team as we transition the company to the public equity marketplace.”
The deal will be subject to approval from TPG Pace Solutions’ shareholders and other customary closing conditions.


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The Digital Transformation of Media Consumption due to Covid-19
It takes on average 66 days to break a habit, and we have been in lockdown for over 50. Our daily routines are rapidly changing and are becoming increasingly digital. Read on to learn how media consumption has shifted towards being more online, even in cases where it is typically offline, and whether consumption will ever return to ‘normal’.
Streaming TV and Film
We are streaming more than ever, with Netflix deciding to slow down the speed of delivery in order to reduce traffic on European networks by up to 25%. Netflix has seen almost 16 million people creating accounts in the first 3 months of 2020, nearly doubling what was achieved in the final three months of 2019. Disney+ also launched in the UK in late March. Since the US launch in November 2019, it gained 50 million paid subscribers by the start of April worldwide, something that wasn’t predicted to happen until 2022.
There has also been a resurgence in radio listenership, with Radiocentre finding that since lockdown, 38% of commercial radio listeners are tuning in for an extra hour and 45 minutes everyday. Not only that, but the way we consume radio has changed, with Global finding that listening through a smart speaker has increased by 11%. Podcast listenership appears to be affected, with an overall decrease in downloads, however, certain categories have seen an increase, such as news podcasts on DAX rising by 10%, whilst Alexa Flash News Briefings have increased by 156%.
But what has happened to other forms of media – those that are typically consumed offline?
There has been a fundamental change for cinema. Some movies that were due to be released have been pushed back, such as the new James Bond, now premiering November 2020, while others are being released digitally to watch online on their original release date. This benefits the streaming industry significantly as films such as ‘Artemis Fowl’ and Pixar’s ‘Onwards’ will be released straight onto Disney+, and ‘The Lovebirds’ will go straight onto Netflix. These films will also be able to be nominated for an Academy Award in 2021 for the first time since the ruling has changed around requiring a cinema release in order to be entered.
Theatres and The Arts
It’s not only cinemas that have had to close during lockdown. Other forms of art and culture, such as theatres and museums, have also been impacted. Resulting in the consumption being moved online towards the ‘virtual experience’.
Searches for ‘virtual tours’ increased from 1,300 searches in February to over 10,000 searches in March when looking at the Google Keyword Planner. Everyone also has the ability to virtually visit over 2,000 museums through ‘Google Arts & Culture’ from the comfort of their own sofas. Many events and shows have also been cancelled and to battle this many have been moved online; the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will now be a ‘virtual event’ which is free for everyone to attend in May, and The National Theatre has been streaming for free on Youtube once a week a new play, bringing the stage to the screen.
There has also been a huge shift towards ‘offline’ fun with jigsaws rising in popularity and regularly selling out on Amazon. In fact US puzzle sales increased by over 370% YoY for Ravensburger, averaging 20 puzzles sold every minute since the start of April.
What does the future of media consumption look like?
Coronavirus has sped up the digital transformation of media consumption, and we are unlikely to go back to the way we were. With the news that England will begin progressing through the phases of easing lockdown over the coming weeks and months, both the landscape and consumption of media will continue to change because of this.
One constant is that it will be increasingly more digital, we will continue to consume media in ways that we previously would never have imagined, such as watching a play, going to a gallery, or attending a film premiere all from your home. Yes, in some cases media will resume offline in the future, such as museums, but they will continue to become increasingly more digital.


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The vast majority of the 107 buyers participating in the online auction were from Asia.
According to Juan Carlos Munguia, president of the Specialty Coffee Association of Nicaragua (ACEN), the outcome of the auction was very good and exceeded the top level reached last year 2011, which was $18.30 a pound.
"In the view of ACEN amid falling prices and demand for coffee on the international market, the outcome of the auction, the last stage of the Cup of Excellence competition, was "excellent", as 25 winning lot from the competition were sold at an average price of $7.50 per pound. The price per quintal of regular coffee has fallen below $150 in recent weeks", reported Laprensa.com.ni
More on this topic
This year the annual competition to choose the best specialty coffee lots to participate in an online auction to international buyers will not take place.
The lack of identification of coffee producers with the event, coupled with a serious rust problem, has motivated the Specialty Coffee Association of Nicaragua to suspend the event this year.
Nicaragua's coffee farmers are preparing for the coffee auction scheduled for June 26, with expectations of earning more than $1,800 per quintal.
The online auction known as the ‘Cup of Excellence’ will be held in Nicaragua on June 26 and the base price of $400 has been set by the franchise Alliance for Coffee Excellence, said the president of the Specialty Coffee Association of Nicaragua, ACEN, Juan Carlos Munguia.
The prices paid in the electronic auction of specialty coffee in Honduras did not reach the levels of previous year.
The highest amount paid went to coffee from the winner farm in the Cup of Excellence contest, Santa Rosita Lempira, which was acquired by companies Time's Club for C-COOP, Kyokuto Fadie, Tashiro Coffee and Tribe, all from Japan as well as Coffee Libre from South Korea.
The highest price went to the coffee farm La Guadalupana, but was well below the $3,565 paid per quintal in 2010.
27 lots of coffee were included In the electronic auction. The second highest price went to a Nicaraguan coffee, San Fernando of Nueva Segovia, produced by the farm Los Congos and sold for $1,030 per quintal.


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Who’s the next generation of industry leaders? WWD looks at executives and designers across a spectrum of disciplines — retail, design, brands, beauty, digital — with the potential to rise to the top of their respective fields.
Hermès is launching a Laundromat pop-up shop in NYC - dubbed Hermèsmatic - where customers can bring their old scarves to be dip-dyed by an expert. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews (📷: @donstahl)


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Lamborghini will soon be presenting it’s first ever hybrid, currently internally called the LB48H, according to reports it will be given the name Unico. Quite why it seems to be given this name are uncertain, as a quick Google search reveals a manga and anime character of a baby unicorn with white fur, a pink mane?! Unlikely we are to see a furry raging bull?! No doubt the name also has another meaning elsewhere.
According to the rumours, the hybrid supercar Lamborghini Unico will be strongly influenced by the Terzo Millenio, which debuted a year ago. Features of the machine will be a lightweight construction and carbon fibre, giving us a preview of what future Lamborghinis will look like.
Power wise the new hybrid will have the 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 tuned to 789 hp currently found in the Aventador, but will now be connected to an electric motor for an additional 49 hp or so, giving a total output of around 838 hp.
This won’t just be another one-off special either, sources claim Lamborghini will build 63 of it’s hybrids, for the su of around £2M, as for when it will be revealed, we could see the Supercar Hybrid make an appearance as early as next March at the Geneva Motor Show.