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The US Food and Drug Administration confirmed that PFAS chemicals have made their way into the US food supply. On Monday, the FDA publicly acknowledged the initial findings of the agency's investigation into how the "forever chemicals" have been detected in the foods we eat.
PFAS is a family of nearly 5,000 synthetic chemicals that are extremely persistent in the environment and in our bodies. PFAS is short for perfluoroalky and polyfluoroalkyl substances and includes chemicals known as PFOS, PFOA and GenX, sometimes called forever chemicals. These chemicals all share signature elemental bonds of fluorine and carbon, which are extremely strong and difficult to break down in the environment or in our bodies.
These chemicals can easily migrate into the air, dust, food, soil and water and can accumulate in the body. They've been linked to adverse health impacts including liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression and cancer.
In the body, PFAS chemicals primarily settle into the blood, kidney and liver. A study from 2007 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that PFAS chemicals could be detected in the blood of 98% of the US population.
FDA reveals PFAS findings
PFAS chemicals have been used by various industries because of their ability to repel oil and water. They've been manufactured since the 1940s and can be found in non-stick products, stains, paints, cleaning products, food packaging and firefighting foams.
The results of the FDA investigation were initially presented by the agency at the 29th annual European meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Helsinki last month. Images of the FDA's presentation at the meeting were first obtained by the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund and published by the Environmental Working Group . The agency confirmed that the images were produced by the FDA.
The findings are now being presented on a newly updated FDA website about PFAS that is to be released this week. The FDA provided CNN with an advance copy of the website text.
"...due to potential health concerns related to these chemicals, the FDA is working to better understand the potential dietary exposure to PFAS" the website will say.
The FDA tested a dairy farm near a US Air Force Base where firefighting foams containing PFAS have been used. According to the FDA, area water samples tested 35 times greater than the current US Environmental Protection Agency health advisory of 70 parts per trillion.
The researchers analyzed 13 samples from the dairy farm, including water, animal feed and five actual milk samples. All 13 samples had detectable levels of PFAS that were of similar chemical structure as what was used in firefighting foams. The FDA said the samples were "determined to be a human health concern and all milk from the farm was discarded."
The FDA noted that even after the cows are no longer exposed to the PFAS contaminated water or feed, the accumulated chemicals can remain in the cow. Just 30 days of eating and drinking contaminated food and water would require 1.5 years for a cow to rid their system of the chemicals.
The FDA also analyzed produce samples from farms close to a PFAS manufacturing plant. The produce was sold at local farmer's markets. According to the FDA, area water wells are known to be contaminated with the PFAS known as GenX. Of the 20 produce samples tested, 16 were leafy greens such as lettuce, cabbage, kale and collard greens. Among those, 15 showed detectable levels of PFAS. According to the FDA, "samples were determined not likely to be a human health concern."
The agency also tested 91 samples of foods collected as part of the FDA's 2017 Total Diet Study. The study is an ongoing FDA program that monitors about 800 contaminants and nutrients that are in the average US diet. As part of this program, the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition buys, prepares and analyzes about 280 different foods and beverages from across the country four times a year.
According to the website provided to CNN, 10 of 91 foods tested had detectable levels of PFAS, but at levels not considered to be of human health concern.
Agencies' PFAS response
PFOS was voluntarily phased out of production in the United States by 3M, its main manufacturer, starting in 2000. In 2006, PFOA began to be phased out as well. PFOA and PFOS are no longer manufactured or imported in the United States, but similar replacement chemicals like GenX remain.
In April of this year, the EPA announced a new PFAS plan, which included setting a maximum containment level for PFOS and PFOA.
The FDA said it's committed to better understanding the role of PFAS in food. The website notes it established an internal working group this year to evaluate this issue and are working with state partners to establish more local testing laboratories.


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While the developer admits that 1080p at 60fps was what they were targeting and it apparently seemed possible using the PC development systems that they were using to develop the game. In the end despite not being able to meet the 1080p rendering target, they are satisfied with the results at 720p at 30fps. The game looks good and runs well with the amount of action on the screen according to the developers.
Published in Gaming
720p & 30fps for Dead Rising 3
by David Stellmack on08 November 2013
Latest launch title to not render at 1080p
What seems to be a reoccurring theme these days for the Xbox One, yet another launch title will be using upconversion to get it to 1080p. Capcom Vancouver has confirmed that they have locked Dead Rising 3 at 720p at 30fps.

domain: news


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Employment News weekly to be published as E-Paper
Employment News weekly, the Job Road map of every youth aspiring for government or public sector jobs in India will be available soon online as E-Paper.
This news was released by this Government owned Weekly News Paper in its website (Go to Employment News Weekly Website). The e-version (English and Hindi) will be available online from 11th August, 2012, ( issue No. 19) in the official website (http://www.employmentnews.gov.in)
The e-version will be available to all existing & new subscribers free of cost. The e-version will become accessible every Saturday.


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With Presidents Day, Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras over, and just six weeks left in the first quarter of 2021, many investors are looking past earnings season to next quarter and the rest of 2021 s they start to reset portfolios. Many investors still are very nervous, especially given the massive rally since the start of the year that has pushed all of the major indexes and the Russell 2000 to all-time highs. Yet, the overall take is one of slow but steady going forward, given the incredible run in the equity markets and the potential for a growing economy due to the COVID-19 vaccine being distributed nationally and another round of stimulus payments in the queue.
In a series of new reports, Goldman Sachs raised and reiterated the price targets on stocks of some companies that delivered the goods in a big way during earnings season. Given the levels of the price targets, all still look to have some very solid upside potential. Here we spotlight three momentum tech stocks rated Buy in which the analysts have hiked the price targets significantly higher on two and reiterated one on another. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.
This off-the-radar stock has been rising for almost a year and shows no signs of letting up. Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT) develops, designs and markets digital printing solutions for the fashion, apparel and home decor segments of the printed textile industry worldwide. The company’s solutions include digital printing systems, ink and other consumables, associated software, and value-added services.
Its products and services include direct-to-garment printing systems from smaller industrial operators to mass producers; NeoPigment ink and other consumables; QuickP designer software; and maintenance and support and professional services. The company serves decorators, online businesses, brand owners and contract printers.
Kornit Digital posted blowout results, and the Goldman Sachs analysts said this:
Kornit reported another strong quarter with broad-based demand outperformance as the company continues to see tailwinds from the shift to digital printing and e-commerce. We are upgrading our rating to a Buy as numbers materially outpace our forecasts. The company also announced new 3D textile printing applications for embroidery, high-density printing, and vinyl heat transfer effects, potentially increasing the TAM by 25% – 30%. While we had originally believed that current growth might be unsustainable as we exit COVID we are increasingly convinced that COVID has actually accelerated adoption of personalized fashion enabling technology.
Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $135 from $83. The much lower Wall Street consensus target is $81.29, and shares were last seen trading on Wednesday at $116.85 apiece. That was up almost 20% on the day.
This company came public as a direct listing and struggled out of the gate, but the stock seems to be taking off now. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations.
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Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, has delivered a self-congratulatory oration on the sales figures of Android smartphones and his wide-eyed wonder at the Information Age
Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, has delivered a self-congratulatory oration on the sales figures of Android smart phones and his wide-eyed wonder at the Information Age.
Speaking at this week's Techonomy conference, Schmidt bragged unashamedly that 200,000 Android smart phones are being sold each day -- twice as many as two months ago, according to Engadget. Though these figures have not been verified by any independent analysts, indications of Android sales overtaking closest rivals iPhone and BlackBerry make it more than feasible.
Schmidt's statistics-fest didn't stop there, however. He went on to claim that, because of user-generated content, we now create as much information every two days as we did from the dawn of civilisation up to 2003, TechCrunch reports.
He didn't explain precisely what he meant by information, nor what measures he used to come to such a specific date, or even exactly when he considers the dawn of civilisation to have been, but he confidently asserted it was "something like five exabytes of data".
Android is definitely on the up, but BlackBerry's new 6 OS and Torch 9800 may disturb the balance once more. Pride comes before a fall, Eric.


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Mattress sale to aid Dolgeville flood victims
DOLGEVILLE — Mattress Express and Auskerada Place will team up for a fundraiser to benefit victims of the Halloween flood.
Mattress Express will be at Auskerada Place, 78 S. Main St., Dolgeville, Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 5, 6, 7 and 8, to offer mattresses and accessories at discounted prices.
A portion of every sale will be donated directly to the flood victims.
Hours are from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.


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Beyond Meat’s forecast disappoints Wall StreetReuters 02/25/2022
Beyond Meat expects to generate sales between $560 million and $620 million this year. That falls short of the $637.3 million expected by analysts. The company is coming off a 2021 in which plant-based meat category sales fell 0.4 percent. “We experienced intense increased competition during the period when the size of the prize did not expand,” said Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat CEO.


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Graco Children’s Products is one of the most well known names in its industry, providing Americans from Texas to California with products for their child. Unfortunately, the company has found itself in the middle of a recall involving 1.9 million car seats. This is part of the largest seat recall that the U.S. has ever experienced.
The recall, announced earlier this week, brings an end to a showdown between the company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Earlier in this year, Graco recalled 4.2 million toddler seats because the harness buckles have the potential to stick. However, the company would not add its infant seats to the recall list at the time.
After many months of communicating with the NHTSA, sharing research and data, the company finally decided to move forward with the recall, bringing the total number of seats to 6.1 million. Graco noted that the recall “is in the best interest of consumers and underscores our shared commitment to child passenger safety.”
The models covered by the most recent recall include the Aprica A30, SnugRide 35, SnugRide Click Connect 40, SnugRide 30, SnugRide 35, SnugRide Classic Connect, and the SnugRide.
There are a lot of dangerous products on the market, and in some cases, such as this one, the manufacturer resists issuing a recall. Although Graco said there have not been any injuries as a result of the defect, this does not mean that the NHTSA is wrong with its assumption that it could lead to trouble in the event of an emergency. If that were to happen, the victims’ parents may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor, “Graco buckle recall: Find out if your car seat is among 1.9 million recalled,” July 2, 2014


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In a major move, ClearTax, an Income Tax Returns e-filing website, has announced the appointment of Prasanth Nair, Aakash Bapna and Jai Santosh as a part of its technology vertical. Prasanth will occupy the position of Vice President – Engineering at ClearTax and will head the product and technology group in the company. Both Jai and Aakash join the ClearTax team as senior software engineers. All three veterans have joined the company from Flipkart, where they were integrally involved in building and scaling the company’s tech-based product.
Speaking on the announcement, Archit Gupta, CEO & founder, ClearTax, said, “Having established ourselves as the fin-tech solution of choice for millions of users across the country, we are now looking to grow and increase the scale of our services. The appointment of three veteran professionals in Prasanth, Aakash and Jai will bring in critical domain-specific expertise to our team and help propel us to the next phase of our growth journey.”
Prasanth holds over 16 years of in-depth technical proficiency in large scale distributed application development, algorithms, information extraction/retrieval, data mining, classification, mobile apps, UX and web scalability. He has been associated with Flipkart, Yahoo!, Travelocity and Amazon during his career, and holds vital experience of building and scaling early stage technology teams at start-ups as well as larger organisations. Before joining ClearTax, Prasanth was associated with Flipkart as its Director of Engineering and was instrumental in scaling out the fulfilment platform at the company.
Speaking on his appointment, Prasanth said, “Having been associated with e-commerce during its inception in India, I was looking for exciting opportunities in other emerging sectors to satiate my need to tackle new challenges. Joining the leadership team at ClearTax, which is one of the most promising start-ups in the country at present, and being involved in the emerging fintech industry is incentive enough.”
An early Flipkart tech expert, Aakash was involved with the company for four vital years during its consolidation. He was instrumental in building and scaling Flipkart’s front-end systems and teams from scratch. Aakash has also donned the entrepreneurial hat with his own venture pecfly, a consumer-to-consumer marketplace before joining the tech team at ClearTax.
Explaining his decision to join ClearTax, Aakash said, “Given the number of tax, compliance and day-to-day challenges of running a business, I have been deeply impressed by ClearTax’s mission of helping businesses and individuals manage their finances. I eagerly look forward to this association, and will look to utilise my technological expertise to drive the company’s continued growth and success.”
Jai, too, has been deeply involved with software engineering and tech development over the years. Before joining ClearTax, he has been associated in developing software-based solutions for Yahoo!, Flipkart and Odinix Inc. He was a core part of the tech team at Flipkart and spearheaded the team which built Flipkart Lite. Jai was also the architect of the front-end platforms for both Flipkart web and native apps, and was responsible for building several web stacks during his time at Yahoo!
“Given its focus on technology as a solution enabler, ClearTax is solving a real problem for the Indian consumer by making the process of filing taxes and financial savings simpler and more efficient. I am proud to be associated with the company, and am confident that my tenure here will prove mutually beneficial for both parties involved,” commented Jai.
ClearTax’s latest move underlines its push to strengthen its operations by bringing in experienced professionals with an industry-relevant skill set. The announcement also highlights the rapid recent growth witnessed by the fintech space, and marks ClearTax as one of the most promising ventures to operate in the industry.


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Churchill Downs Inc. closed 2011 with record revenue and earnings for the fourth quarter and for the year, according to results released after the market closed Monday.
For the quarter, the Louisville-based racetrack and casino company reported revenue of $149.3 million, up 9 percent over the same quarter in 2010, for profits of $7.6 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of almost $1.9 million in 2010. For the quarter, earnings were 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of 26 cents for fourth quarter 2010.
For the year, Churchilll reported record revenue of $696.9 million, up 19 percent over 2010, and annual earnings per share of $3.55, up 182 percent over 2010. Churchill reported annual profits of $64.4 million for 2011, compared to $16.4 million in 2010.
The growth was largely from the company's gambling and online wagering segments, including TwinSpires.com.
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For the fourth quarter, net revenue from gambling operations, including the Harlow's Casino in Mississippi and the Calder Casino in Florida, outpaced revenue from racing, excluding online operations, which surged as well.
For the three months that ended Dec. 31, Churchill reported $51.9 million in revenue from racing, down 13 percent; $52.2 million in revenue from gaming, up 37 percent; and $40 million in online revenue, up 18 percent.
For the year, racing revenue still held the lead, with $298.3 million in revenue, down 3 percent; gaming revenue topped $212.6 million, up 49 percent, while online revenue rose 36 percent to $165.4 million.
"All of us are CDI are proud of the company's performance in 2011," said Robert L. Evans, chairman and CEO, citing the record results as well as a $137.5 million reduction in long-term debt; a 20 percent increase in the annual dividend to shareholders; and a 20.1 percent increase in stock price.
Those "reflect the strategy we have developed and executed over the last several years. As we look toward 2012, we hope to put in place the growth drivers that will enable the company to continue its success in the future," Evans said.
According to Churchill, the company's growth in net revenue in 2011 was due principally to continued expansions of the company's gambling and online businesses, including the effects of the 2010 acquisitions of Youbet.com and Harlow's Casino Resort & Hotel, even though Harlow's was closed for 25 days in May due to flooding on the Mississippi River.
The casino at Calder increased revenues by $17.6 million due to a new marketing strategy, Churchill said.
Racing operations continued to slide, despite increased profitability of Kentucky Derby and Oaks Week, Churchill said. Churchill also received $19.3 million from the Illinois Horse Racing Equity Trust Fund, set up to give racetracks revenue from Illinois casinos.
Churchill executives will discuss the earnings reports in a conference call with market analysts Tuesday. Investors can listen to a webcast at 9 a.m.


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Electronic casino table game supplier Spintec d.o.o. is to “renew” an exclusive distribution deal for Southeast Asia with gaming technology consultancy and distributor Asia Pioneer Entertainment Ltd (APE).
“Asia Pacific is one of the most important regions for us, and we are thrilled to be cooperating with a partner that recognises our advantages and is able to translate them into a strong market presence,” said Spintec’s chief executive, Goran Miskulin, as cited in a Wednesday release issued by the two sides.
Herman Ng Man Ho, CEO at Macau-based APE, was quoted as saying of the renewed partnership: “As the largest electronic table game distributor in Asia, it is our company policy to work with the best producers in every segment, and Spintec is definitely a part of the electronic table game elite.”
Spintec’s game products encompass roulette (pictured), sic bo, craps, baccarat, and blackjack.
Collaboration between the two started more than 10 years ago, according to the Wednesday update. The announced three-year exclusive distribution agreement covers a “large part” of Southeast Asia, said the statement.
Asia-wide, APE is exclusive distributor for Slovenia-based Spintec’s products not only in Macau, but also in Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia, while “also remaining their trusted partner in Vietnam and Cambodia,” said the update.
Among other things, Spintec products are said to be “fully compliant” with all the regulations in Macau, including the city’s Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Technical Standards version 2.0. As a consequence, Spintec and APE “are confident” that the equipment brand’s “presence in this highly-demanding market will continue to flourish,” said Wednesday’s announcement.
“Spintec products are of extremely high quality and have been hugely popular in Macau, not least because of the excellent services provided by APE,” said the joint statement.
Feb 20, 2024Cambodia is likely to receive more visitors from mainland China this year as direct-flight capacity grows, which might aid recovery of the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of that nation’s casino...
Full-2023 gross gaming revenue reported by Cambodia-based casino operator NagaCorp


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Revised tech upgradation fund scheme for textiles soon
The government will soon launch the revised Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) to accelerate textile and jute production and support export oriented units. The scheme, first launched in 1999, is aimed at accelerating investments in the textiles sector through 5% interest reimbursement. It also focuses on quality, branding and exports of textile products at a faster scale. Speaking at the Annual Conference of State Textiles Ministers 2015 on Wednesday, S K Panda, Chief Secretary of Ministry of Textilse, said, “The Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) is in the final stage of revision and it will be notified soon. Unfortunately, level of technology in our domestic market is very low; so when our product goes to the international market, we are not able to get a competitive price.” “TUFS is being revised to support employment generating and export oriented segments to meet challenges in global market,” Ministry of Textiles said in a tweet. As part of the strategy to encourage domestic textile industry, the government has taken additional measures in the last one year to promote production as well as exports and generate employment in the sector. Since September 2014, the government has set up a number of textile parks, apparel and garment making centres in the north eastern states. “In view of the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission to increase state share of central taxes from 32% to 42%, states should make more provisions for schemes which have been transferred to them,” said Panda. Highlighting the endeavors taken to support the textile industry, Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said the government has intensified its focus on improving governance and service delivery to the common man in the textile sector. “We have requested states to provide necessary assistance to the textile sector as this would help the central and state governments to work collectively in meeting the industry goals. “By saying that together, we can make Indian textile industry the best in the world and help the sector better serve the common man of the nation,” Gangwar said. State ministers who were present during the conference suggested several measures including the setting up of more NIFT campuses, promotion of handlooms and handicrafts, textile processing, textile parks, sericulture and mega cluster.
November 05, 2015 | 3:45pm IST.


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Isetan Takes Over Japan Food Town Premises Due To Non-Payment Under Tenancy Agreement
Japanese food lovers, it’s time to mourn. Japan Food Town, on Isetan Wisma Atria’s 4th floor, has ceased operations.
According to the The Business Times, Isetan Singapore issued a notice to quit to Japan Food Town Development on 31 Jan, due to non-payment of certain sums under the tenancy agreement for its lease.
Isetan’s Japan Food Town in Wisma Atria
The tenancy has since been terminated and Isetan exercised its right of re-entry to the premises last Saturday (29 Feb).
Multiple restaurants in Japan Food Town affected
The roughly 1,860m² food enclave opened in 2016, offering a variety of budget-friendly Japanese options. It boasted a seating capacity for 628 diners, with the prices of its offerings starting from as little as $10.
Sadly, foodies will no longer be able to enjoy its authentic and affordable delicacies now.
The entrance of Japan Food Street now blocked by shutters
Instead of a food court-style layout, the area was broken up into individual restaurants.
According to its website, the closure has affected the following 11 restaurants:
- Bar Nippon
- Hokkaido Izakaya
- Inaniwa Yosuke
- Nabe Seizan
- Nana’s Green Tea
- Osaka Kitchen
- Rang Mang Shokudo
- Shabu Shabu Gyu Jin
- Tempura Tsukiji Tenka
- Yakiniku Heijoen
From udon to donburi, sashimi to shabu shabu, Japanese food lovers will definitely miss gathering here to satisfy their cravings.
Continue to support local businesses
Worse still, the Covid-19 outbreak has hit local businesses hard, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently mentioned.
Perhaps Japan Food Street was just another unlucky victim of the virus.
We should, while staying vigilant, continue to support local businesses during these uncertain times so that we can preserve our favourite hangouts and eateries.
Featured image adapted from HungryGoWhere.
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Here are all of the posts tagged ‘US’.
Social networks are making people more likely to complain online
LexisNexis last week announced the results of a survey that should make brand managers / online marketers / customer service departments take notice:
- Just over half polled said that if they are unhappy with something they have bought or used they will complain about it online
- 60% of people have chosen not to buy or use a product or service after reading negative comments about them online
- 67% of complainants made online were ignored, leaving customers to act as detractors online
The lesson is that companies who fail to monitor their brand online are missing an important opportunity to turn unhappy customers around, or gain new ones if negative comments aren’t addressed.
PR community split over paying bloggers in PRWeek poll
A straw poll run on PR Week about whether it is acceptable to pay bloggers for favourable coverage divided the PR community last week. 57 per cent agreed that it was unethical to pay blogger, but “a significant minority (43 per cent) believed that it was acceptable for bloggers to accept such payments”. A surprising finding indeed, and Robin was quoted in the article responding:
The results of the PRWeek poll only show the naivety towards social media in the PR industry; they haven’t got their heads round it and aren’t set up for it.
ITV.com on social media and engagement
This interview with ITV’s social media manager Ben Ayers makes for an interesting read, as he discusses key platforms used by ITV to get closer to fans (notably Facebook and Twitter) and his views on future growth areas for social media in general. Listening to the opinions of fans and feeding this back into production is a core element of ITV’s online activity, as is working with a wide variety of stakeholders (web editors, operations teams, show producers) in order to maintain their social media presences.
The Battle of Big Thinking
Last week was Campaign and APG’s Battle of Big Thinking at the British Library, an annual event where leading strategists compete for the coveted ‘biggest thinker’ prize. We Are Social’s very own Sandrine Plasseraud was up against Jeremy Ettinghausen, digital publisher at Penguin and VCCP’s Amelia Torrode. In case you missed it, Gordon Macmillan, Haymarket’s social media & international editor, captured it all in his ‘live blog’ of the day.
Study: Inc. 500 CEOs Aggressively Use Social Media for Business
The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth conducted a study for the third year in a row, about the usage of social media among Inc. 500 companies. Respondents were asked about their usage and familiarity with six types of social media tools (blogging, podcasting, online video, social networking, message boards, and wikis) and according to the study, social media usage has definitely grown in the last year:
- 91% of companies (compared to 77% in 2008) reported that they use at least one social media tool
Some other interesting finds:
- 44 percent of companies without a company blog say they plan to start one
- 34 percent of companies reported that they were using social media to communicate with vendors and suppliers
The key takeaway is that smaller organizations are innovating with social media marketing strategies, as there is more room to “for innovation because it requires less processes to adopt”.
LinkedIn hits 3 million members in the UK
Professional social networking site LinkedIn reached an important milestone last week, when it announced they’ve racked up 3 million members in the UK on the company’s blog.
We’ve watched the British professional community take to the site with the sort of industrious enthusiasm that typifies the way business is done in this country.
On that note, perhaps this is a good time to mention our LinkedIn group?
Twitter Declared Most Popular English Word of 2009
And last but not least, the Global Language Monitor, which tracks language trends, declared Twitter this year’s Most Popular Word in English… Enough said.
“Corporate communications have radically changed” says Andy Sernovitz, chief executive of the Blog Council, an organisation for heads of social media at big companies. “It’s no longer just companies talking to the press, and customer service talking to customers. All these other people showed up in the -middle. They may not be press and they may not be customers, but suddenly their collective voice is bigger than the traditional channels.”
The essence of social media is conversation. Rather than a one-way stream of information, where companies make announcements to the press and customers, social media enables a great deal of interaction, where companies are in constant dialogue with the public. “We’ve seen a shift from doing things the old way to now having conversations with our customers,” says Jeanette Gibson, director of new media for Cisco Systems.
The above comes from an article in today’s FT, about as mainstream a business publication as you can get, a sign that perhaps Europe is beginning to hear the siren call of the changes that social media is bringing to business. Again, Twitter is on the agenda:
Companies are using Twitter to douse public relations fires before they erupt. Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford Motors, used Twitter to appease users who were angry after the carmaker sued an enthusiast website that was selling unauthorised Ford merchandise. When fans of the enthusiast site posted angry messages, Mr Monty “tweeted back” to explain the company’s position.
Bonin Bough, who was appointed director of social media for PepsiCo last year, also used Twitter to defuse a brewing crisis after the company released a series of advertisements depicting a cartoon calorie character committing suicide.
We’d not disagree with this – in fact we’ve been pioneering this approach on behalf of Skype since last year (and Scott Monty is a friend of the family, so to speak), but the focus should be on the overall conversation, of which Twitter is yet just a small part – forums and blogs are likely to remain the most significant venues for some appreciable time (this will vary, of course, depending on the sector you’re in – for example, if you’re Sony BMG, MySpace won’t have lost its significance just yet).
However, Melissa Bounoua’s article in Forbes earlier in the week makes a valid point:
Most European companies haven’t even heard of Twitter, and some might think it’s a time waster. A spokeswoman for energy firm Total says that Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie has no idea what Twitter is. British Telecom says it doesn’t have a Twitter account and doesn’t plan to open one. Nestle’s communications manager says using Twitter “just never came up within the group strategy.” In general, experts say Europeans don’t latch on to new social networking technologies as quickly as Americans.
I’d swap ‘Europeans’ with ‘European companies’ – as far as the general population is concerned, Europe is ahead of the US – with a higher proportion of the UK population using social networking and Twitter than the US (and the rest of Europe broadly comparable) and all of Europe but Germany and Austria way ahead in terms of blog readership.
However, despite the FT’s urging, her analysis is sadly correct when it comes to European companies. We are here to help…
Following on from our recent compendium of social media traffic growth, Robin Goad has posted Hitwise’s latest stats about Twitter’s phenomenal growth in the UK:
Twitter was one of the fastest growing websites in the UK last year, and it shows no signs of slowing down. If anything, the service is even more popular than our numbers imply, as we are only measuring traffic to the main Twitter website. If the people accessing their Twitter accounts via mobile phones and third party were included, the numbers would be even higher. Many people seem to find Twitter addictive: the average amount of time that people spend on Twitter.com has more than trebled from less than 10 minutes a year ago to half an hour now.
Twitter receives the largest amount of its traffic from the USA, but its penetration is greater in the UK market. For the week ending 17/10/09 twitter.com ranked as the 291st most visited website in the UK, accounting for 0.024% of all Internet visits; while in the USA it ranked 350th, picking up 0.020% of all Internet visits.
Twitter is still most popular with younger users in urban areas, but its appeal is broadening as it grows. The fastest growing age group of users is 35-44 year olds, who now account for 17.3% of UK visitors to twitter.com.
Twitter is becoming an important source of Internet traffic for many sites, and the amount of traffic it sends to other websites has increased 30-fold over the last 12 months.
This follows on from yesterday’s US Hitwise data from Heather Dougherty, pointing out that Twitter is now more popular than Digg.com:
We’ve been experimenting using Twitter as part of our campaigns for a while now, and also helped Stephen Fry get going on Twitter, but although these figures are heading in the right direction, Twitter is still far from mainstream and you need to think carefully about what impact any commercial use of Twitter is likely to achieve before investing any significant resources in it.
While we’re on the subject, you could find out why people use Twitter, see Chris’ commentary on why the British tabloids are so hostile towards Twitter or even follow me on Twitter.
According to researcher eMarketer, [US] online ad spending will climb 8.9 percent next year, from $23.6 billion to $25.7 billion.
Old school methods like display ads and microsites will come under pressure. Social media looks set to remain on the top of advertisers’ agendas, as they look to apply the lessons of their early missteps in the area while adding real measurement to what have been experimental forays to date. As the Internet becomes more social, there will likewise be an acceleration of a move from purely technical implementations to using the Web’s emerging social infrastructure to connect on a more human level.
Combined with the phenomenal growth in people’s usage of social media and the impact this has on their purchase decisions, this makes us even more confident that the help and advice that we’re able to offer brands means that we’re in the right place at the right time…
I can’t believe it’s already Christmas, but here it is so as we’re wrapping up for a few days, we thought we’d take the opportunity to wish you all an amazing Xmas… And so here is Robin and I in a little ‘Christmassy’ video:
The app we used for the message is actually something we’ve been busy over the last few days helping Skype launch in time for Christmas, with a small influencer campaign covering the US, UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
If, like me, you still haven’t had the time to send some real Christmas cards to your friends and family, why not send them your wishes via a Skype video card.
Happy Christmas everyone!


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Centara Hotels & Resorts, along with Nakheel, recently cemented a joint venture with a construction contract worth 2.63 billion to build a 601-room beachfront resort at Dubai’s Deira Islands. Centara Deira Islands Beach Resort Dubai, Centara’s first in the UAE, is scheduled to open in 2020.
The joint venture between Centara Hotels & Resorts and Nakheel is expected to significantly boost the emirate’s four-star accommodation – the fastest-growing segment in 2017 with a 10 per cent growth rate last year – in line with the increasing popularity of Dubai as a tourism hotspot.
Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO, Centara Hotels and Resorts, said, “This is Centara’s first hotel in Dubai and the UAE, which signifies our presence in a major gateway city in the Middle East. This signing ceremony marks a profound milestone of expansion for Centara as we continue to extend our upscale resort portfolio internationally. With the expertise from a regional leader in development like Nakheel and Centara’s record of delivering and inspiring extraordinary guest experiences, Centara Deira Islands Beach Resort Dubai will represent a oneof-a-kind resort that will give our guests fond moments for years to come. We look forward to opening Centara Deira Islands Beach Resort Dubai in 2020.”
Led by Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairman, Nakheel, the contract was signed in Dubai. Talking about the company’s contribution to Dubai tourism, Lootah said, “Nakheel continues to play a pivotal role in shaping and diversifying Dubai’s tourism offering with a AED 27 billion hospitality and retail expansion that supports our government’s vision. The joint venture with Centara underlines our commitment to working with trusted international brands.” Located at a prime beachfront spot at Nakheel’s Deira Islands waterfront city, Centara Deira Islands Beach Resort Dubai will be managed by Centara, whose growing portfolio already includes over 12,000 keys across 60 hotels and resorts in Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Middle East.
The family-centric resort will feature a waterpark, multiple restaurants including indoor, alfresco and rooftop options, kids’ clubs, spa and diverse family entertainment options. The 601 sea-view and city-facing rooms will cover a range of categories from standard and deluxe rooms to expansive duplexes and suites.


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Cottonsoft’s new EarthSmart 360˚ Recyclable Paper Pack
is the creation of a full 360˚ circular product.
5 December 2019
It took months of intensive development to create this recyclable paper packaging that would survive the transportation, merchandising and stocking process. However, the company knew how important this product would be for consumers because of the growing trend in sustainable living.
Read more: Supermarket News article
Cottonsoft’s new EarthSmart 360˚ Recyclable Paper Pack is the creation of a full 360˚ circular product....
The country’s leading packaging member-based organisation is eager to work with Government to bring an end to plastic waste in New Zealand....
Smart recycling and rubbish bins are being introduced in Gisborne as part of a national campaign to reduce litter....


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“World of Warcraft” is a very unique product in the gaming industry, and it’s proof that sometimes games can get really huge and stay that way for an unexpectedly long time. It’s been one of the most popular games in existence for about a decade now, and while its popularity has gone down a bit lately, it’s still going strong and plenty of people are following it actively.
According to the company, this expansion has been in the works for a very long time, as the studio had already planned it around three years ago. “Legion”, the new expansion pack, has been on the table for all this time and Blizzard were just waiting for the right moment to introduce it. At the same time, they’ve been experimenting with some of the game’s features through their work on other expansions, and at one point they had to make the decision between working on “Warlords of Draenor” or “Legion”, and the choice was obvious for many of their developers.
Currently, the expansion for “World of Warcraft” is one of the most widely anticipated games in the entire industry, and many people are waiting for Blizzard to give more information on it. The company is as cryptic as they normally are though, and we don’t expect them to speak up about the release of the expansion before they’re fully ready to bring it out on the market.
With so many changes coming to the gameplay, even some old-time players who have been away from the franchise for a while now are likely going to come back and check out the new additions. Blizzard know how to keep their fan base interested, and they have been handling that very successfully throughout the years, so we expect that the new “Legion” is going to have an even more impressive impact on their fans than anything they’ve released for that game before.


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McDonalds on the Hume Highway in Yass was closed this afternoon.
A sign hung on the door apologising to customers for any inconvenience and said the fast food outlet in Yass was "closed today".
A spokeswoman from McDonalds Head Office said the store was closed for routine cleaning but was now open.
Licensee Steve Leddin answered the phone at McDonalds in Yass but did not want to make a comment.
Mr Leddin's two other stores in Gundagai and Tumut were operating as normal.
School holidays are typically busy for the restaurant chain and customers were disappointed to be turned away this afternoon.
WORLD FAMOUS: Referred to by one website as the most famous McDonald’s sign in the world.


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POLICE have stopped thousands of pounds of cannabis from hitting the streets of Birmingham after smashing two drugs factories in the city.
In one raid, in Chester Road, Sutton Coldfield, officers seized £20,000 of drugs growing in three rooms and £10,000 of high-tech growing lights and cooling equipment.
Another cannabis factory in Neville Road, Erdington, was also shut down by officers, following a tip-off.
A further £15,000 worth of drugs were recovered. Sgt Dave Jagger, from Sutton Coldfield police’s local priority team, said: “Intelligence suggests that the majority of drugs entering local communities are produced locally.
“By seizing these drugs and the equipment used to grow them, we have broken down a chain of drugs being grown and then potentially sold and used within our communities.”


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- News tagged "mobile phone"
Friday, 6 Jan 2012
Tablets and smartphones have benefited from Corning's tough and resilient Gorilla Glass displays. It's no surprise that the company will be showcasing an improved version, dubbed Gorilla Glass 2, at CES 2012.
The white Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be making an appearance in UK in early February according to UK retailers, Clove and MobileFun.
Similar to NVIDIA's Tegra Zone, Qualcomm's Snapdragon GameCommand gathers games that are optimized for the company's Snapdragon processors. The app will be unveiled at CES 2012 on 10th January with a concurrent launch on the Android Market.
Research in Motion will be showcasing its upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system at Mobile World Congress 2012. It is unclear whether the company will demonstrate the capabilities of the platform on a device.
Thursday, 5 Jan 2012
A report from app analytical firm Distimo revealed Google's Android Market now has over 400,000 apps available, as it inches closer to the 500,000 active apps in Apple's App Store.
Samsung adds another member to the Galaxy series with its announcement of the Galaxy M Style smartphone. Primarily aimed at the mass market, the Samsung Galaxy M Style ships with a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz single-core processor and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
Wednesday, 4 Jan 2012
Preloaded with Android 4.0, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be available in Singapore from February 2012, priced at S$948 before contract. The Korean company also announced the availability of its mid-range Samsung Galaxy W Android smartphone, sometime in Jan 2012.
The week of December 25th through 31st, saw more iOS and Android device activations compared to any other week of the year, according to Flurry Analytics.
Sony Ericsson will be announcing a new smartphone next week during Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012. The device is likely to be the Sony Ericsson Arc HD (codenamed Nozomi).
Friday, 30 Dec 2011
The Samsung Galaxy S and 7-inch Galaxy Tab may be getting an "Android Value Pack" after being left out of the Android 4.0 update.


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Chaos Heroes Online – Hero Reveal Teaser #2
More champions revealed, including Alkaras, Shapina, and Gurr.
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Robeco Global FinTech Equities celebrates first year with outperformance
Robeco’s FinTech strategy* has seen strong performance in its first year of existence. The fund*, which was launched in November 2017, has seen solid performance in its first year, delivering 14,76%, gross of fees, compared to the return of 4,28% on the reference index (MSCI All Country World Index (Net Return)). This translates into an outperformance of 10,49%. Robeco was one of the first asset managers to launch an actively managed fund that invests only in listed fintech companies, and is available to wholesale/retail investors.
Robeco’s FinTech strategy has also attracted significant interest and clients entrusted the strategy with over EUR 671 million in assets in its first year. The strategy invests in listed stocks in developed and emerging countries across the world which truly and clearly benefit from the increasing digitization of the financial sector. The investment process is research-driven, and applies fundamental, sustainability and quantitative research.
Patrick Lemmens and Jeroen van Oerle, Portfolio Managers of Robeco Global FinTech Equities, said: “FinTech is a powerful growth trend, which will also be around ten years from now and beyond. We’re proud of the performance that we’ve been able to achieve for our clients, and we continue to see a couple of structural trends in the FinTech space with a lot of potential. For example, we believe that online payments will become mainstream around the world, FinTech will help to strongly improve financial inclusion and all companies that compete in financial services businesses will need to make serious investments in technology such as cybersecurity and core systems. We’re looking forward to taking advantage of these trends, to make sure that we keep adding value for our clients.”
* Robeco Global FinTech Equities D EUR, figures as at end of November


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Tobacco advocates are pushing for lenient oversight ahead of expected regulations that could treat cigars and other tobacco products like cigarettes.
In January, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicated that sometime in April it would propose a rule to increase its oversight beyond cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Agency spokesperson Jenny Haliski said the new rule "would be to expand our jurisdiction over different categories or products."
On March 19, administration officials from the FDA and the White House met with representatives from the Cigar Association of America and lobbyists who have pushed for tobacco issues.
A PowerPoint presentation used at the meeting makes a case for different standards of regulation for cigars and cigarettes. One slide reads "The cigar industry is between 4% and 7% of the cigarette industry. More cigarettes are sold in about 2 weeks than cigars are sold in a full year."
Haynes, who has participated in listening sessions with the FDA, said that the agency has been "very receptive" to concerns from the industry.
In a March editorial for Smokeshop Magazine, Cigar Association of America President Craig Williamson blamed "anti-cigar forces" for "working to force regulation of cigars by the Food and Drug Administration ... in the same manner as cigarettes."
"The imposition of FDA regulation would severely hamper cigar makers’ development of new blends and could ban events where cigar makers offer samples," Williamson added
The battle lines have already been drawn in Congress. Forty-two members of the House of Representatives have signed onto a bill that would seek to shield "traditional and premium cigars" from regulation by the agency.
Meanwhile, some Senate Democrats have proposed a bill that would tax all tobacco products at the same rate as cigarettes.
The FDA has had authority over tobacco production and distribution since the 2009 signing of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and hand-rolled tobacco are currently under the FDA's purview. Other forms, such as cigars, pipe tobacco and e-cigarettes, are candidates for new oversight.


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Time: 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Place: Hilton Garden Inn Troy
Higgins closed 600 music stores
Trans World CEO trimmed work force, prices to compete with iTunes
Send this to a friend
Robert Higgins leads a retail chain whose primary merchandise—DVDs and CDs— seems to be on the same path toward extinction as video tapes and 8-tracks.
The digital revolution has shaken Higgins’ company, Trans World Entertainment Corp., in ways he could not have imagined when he opened his first record store 40 years ago.
Much has changed since the iPod was released a decade ago. Today, music isn’t even the biggest selling category at Trans World’s 390 stores, most of which are called FYE (For Your Entertainment).
Sales of movies on DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and electronics such as iPod accessories, accounted for 54 percent of the $193 million in sales during the fiscal fourth quarter.
By comparison, CD music sales represented 30 percent of revenue, and the difference between movie and music sales could increase as digital downloading continues to grow.
Higgins, 70, understands the challenges.
He has made big changes over the past five years.
He closed more than 600 stores, shut down a distribution plant in California, and slashed the price of most CDs to $9.99 to better compete with Apple’s iTunes.
He runs a much leaner company now compared to the early 2000s, when sales regularly topped $1 billion and store count fluctuated between 800 and 1,000.
At it peak, there were 10,300 full- and part-time employees, including 550 to 600 at the corporate headquarters and distribution plant in Albany.
Total employment today is less than half that total. There are 4,500 full- and part-time workers, including about 450 in Albany.
Sales in fiscal 2011 totaled $543 million, a 17 percent drop from the previous year.
DeMasi covers real estate, construction, retail and hospitality.
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Confirming last week’s advance goods data which saw the biggest trade deficit on record in December, moments ago the BEA reported that the U.S. trade deficit soared to a 10-year high of $621 billion in 2018, jumping by $68.8 billion, or 12.5 percent in the year, and crushing Trump’s pledges to reduce it, as tax cuts boosted domestic demand for imports while the strong dollar and retaliatory tariffs weighed on exports.
The data release was originally delayed a month by the partial government shutdown. January figures are due March 27.
Worse, for goods only, the deficit with the world surged to a record $891.3 billion in 2018 from $807.5 billion the prior year, as merchandise deficits with Mexico and the European Union also hit records. Offsetting the record good deficit was the surplus in services which kept rising, and also hit a a record – in the other direction – rising to a $270.2 billion surplus in 2018.
The reason for the massive jump in the deficit is that while exports increased $148.9 billion or 6.3% as shipments of goods including crude oil, petroleum products and aircraft engines increased. However, imports increased even more, some 7.5%, or $217.7 billion, on purchases of items from pharmaceuticals to computers, along with services such as travel.
On a monthly basis, the December deficit soared from $50.3 billion to $59.8 billion, also a 10-year high and far worse than the consensus estimate of $57.9 billion.
How did the deficit soar so much in one month? Simple: less exports, more imports, as exports fell 1.9% from the prior month, the biggest decline since early 2016, to $205.1 billion, on lower shipments of civilian aircraft, petroleum products and corn.
- December exports were $205.1 billion, $3.9 billion less than November exports. December imports were $264.9 billion, $5.5 billion more than November imports.
- As a result, the December increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $9.0 billion to $81.5 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.5 billion to $21.8 billion.
Also worth noting: the December goods deficit hit an all time high.
Ironically, the biggest culprit was China, as the deficit with Beijing – the target of Trump’s trade war – hit a record $419.2 billion in 2018, following the previously noted plunge in Chinese imports from the US.
Ironically, as Bloomberg notes, while Trump has repeatedly cited the deficit as evidence of the failure of his predecessors’ trade policies, the gap has surged by $119 billion during his two years as president. Even if he completes an accord to end the tariff war with China, substantially shrinking the deficit may prove tough as cooling global growth weighs on exports while domestic demand keeps driving shipments from abroad.
Some more records:
- The December goods deficit ($80.4 billion) was the highest on record.
- The December non-petroleum deficit ($79.1 billion) was the highest on record.
- December exports of foods, feeds, and beverages ($9.6 billion) were the lowest since 2010 ($9.3 billion).
- December imports of foods, feeds, and beverages ($12.6 billion) were the highest on record.
- December imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($32.1 billion) were the highest on record.
- December non-petroleum imports ($200.2 billion) were the highest on record.
And so Trump is trapped: if he concedes the trade war to China just to keep his precious stock market higher, the deficit will continue rising; if on the other hand, Trump pushes for a hard line on trade, the S&P – which has now priced in the end of the trade war – will tumble. The ball is now in Trump’s court which option to choose.
… and the oldest index is telling us that moving things from A to B is slowing down again


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nike cortez blue and red
Secret shopping bag make you feel glamorous Certain brands have personalities that nike air force 1 can actually change the way some people feel about themselves, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Using brands with appealing personalities can rub off on the way consumers see themselves, even if the brand is used for only a short time." The researchers conducted four studies that revealed two types of consumers. In the first study, they asked female shoppers in a local mall to carry a shopping bag for an hour during their shopping trip. Shoppers were allowed to use either a Victoria's Secret shopping bag or a plain pink shopping bag. After an hour, shoppers were asked to rate themselves nike hyperdunk on a list of personality traits, including traits associated with the Victoria's Secret brand. Shoppers who carried the Victoria's Secret bag perceived themselves as more feminine, glamorous, and good looking than shoppers who carried the plain shopping bag. The researchers discovered the participants had different beliefs about their personalities. "They believe their personal qualities are fixed and cannot be improved by their own efforts at self improvement. Therefore, they look for ways to signal their positive qualities through other means, such as brands." People who were not affected by carrying the Victoria's Secret bag believed that their personal qualities were more flexible and could change for the better by their efforts to improve themselves. In one nike qvida dance boots study, this was the case even after some participants were led to believe they did poorly on a math test.


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The Spirit class ship, Carnival Miracle will be delivering some much-needed Hurricane relief supplies after Hurricane Odile hit cruise destinations in the Mexican Riviera region back in September.
Carnival Miracle will be one of the first cruise ships to sail to Cabo San Lucas since the large Hurricane devastated the popular cruise destination. The ship will deliver supplies to the local people on October 6th 2014. The supplies will include several pallets of bottled water, canned food, cereal, diapers, paper products and personal items. It will also be the first cruise of a new season for the Carnival ship.
“We have been in close contact with officials in Cabo San Lucas and have sent our own teams there to evaluate the recovery process,” said Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines. “The residents, along with local, state and federal authorities, have worked extremely hard to ready the destination to receive visitors and revitalize the economic contribution that tourism brings to the area. At the same time, local residents are still in need of relief supplies and it is extremely gratifying to be resuming our Mexican Riviera cruise program while doing some good for the local community,” Cahill added.
Carnival Miracle’s new year-round Mexican Riviera program will encompass three different week-long itineraries, including a new three-port, seven-day cruise featuring Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.
Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez, federal under minister of tourism for Mexico, stated, “Our tourism destinations are ready to receive visitors. Tourism is an important part of the local economy and we are grateful for everyone’s contribution to the recovery of Los Cabos. The destination is ready for cruise passengers and the majority of restaurants, shops and tours are ready to be enjoyed.”
Carnival Miracle’s year-round schedule from Long Beach also includes two other itinerary options. The first is a seven-day, two-port itinerary that features a stop in Cabo San Lucas, along with a two-day overnight stay in Puerto Vallarta. The second alternate itinerary includes a visit to Puerto Vallarta, along with a two-day call at Cabo San Lucas.


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Specsavers Romford are backing local boy Kem Cetinay for victory in ITV's Dancing on Ice this year, after he paid a visit to the store.
Kem, who won TV show Love Island before pulling on his ice skates, visited the South Street store before attending Specsavers Spectacle Wearer of the Year last year to pick up some fashionable glasses to wear on the night.
Good luck Kem
Bhavi Mistry, store director in Romford, said: ‘We all loved meeting Kem. And he was really delighted to see the great range of designer glasses for men that we have in store – and at the speed of our service.
‘While he cannot wear his glasses on the ice for obvious reasons, we hope he is still enjoying them off the ice. And we would like to wish him luck in the competition.'
Great range of designer glasses
Bhavi added: ‘We have a huge range of designer glasses in store for men, including styles from big names like Karl Lagerfeld, Superdry, French Connection and Converse.
'So why not follow Kem’s lead and come and see us to check them out.’


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Coda opens first 'showroom' (but there isn't a car yet)
Monday 12 September 2011
Beleaguered electric vehicle startup Coda has followed the example of Nissan and Renault, launching its first 'EV experience center."
The new store, in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center in Los Angeles County, is designed to give consumers a look at the benefits of all-electric power in a familiar environment.
Shoppers at the center will be able to hang out at an 'electric vehicle bar' showcasing the benefits of EVs and examine a full-scale replica of the Coda Sedan and the technology behind it, including the battery and propulsion system.
A counter for users to book test-drives will also be provided as part of the eco-friendly, 80 square-meter store, with parking spaces for six Coda vehicles and dedicated EV charging points.
Opening a store is a familiarization strategy also employed by Nissan, which opened its first 'experience' center for the electric Leaf in London last year, and Renault/Better Place, which operate a similar facility in Copenhagen ahead of the launch of the Fluence Z.E.
The obvious difference, however, is in the size of the brands - Coda is something of a minnow compared to its competitors and has repeatedly delayed the introduction of its first model, with a series of high-profile management departures just days ahead of the planned unveiling late last year.
Now, it looks like Coda may be prepping its four-door, five passenger model for a launch late this year, potentially at the LA Auto Show (November 18-22) - although it's probably not worth betting on it.
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£23m Birmingham cycle scheme is attacked by Tory councillor for not catering to the elderly
Salmond accused of laughing off national debt with ‘what are they going to do: invade?’ joke
- 1 British tourists 'murdered' in Thailand: Pair's bloodied bodies found naked on Koh Tao beach
- 2 Vivienne Westwood says 'Yes' to Scottish Independence by declaring: 'I hate England'
- 3 Welcome to Cameroon, where drinking Baileys can lead to imprisonment
- 4 Lego breaks out of the toy box and heads for the gallery
- 5 Vogue under fire for 'Big Booty' article
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Want to be in the loop?
MOF PROPOSES VAT REDUCTION TO 8% TO BOOST ECONOMY
The Ministry of Finance has recently put forward a proposal to the government to bring down value-added tax (VAT) from 10 per cent to 8 per cent for a number of goods and services to boost the economy.
According to the ministry's tax department, the government is to consider two options regarding VAT reduction.
The first one is slashing 2 per cent off the current 10 per cent VAT on a number of goods and services.
The second one is also slashing 2 per cent off the current 10 per cent VAT but excludes goods and services that were already under the effect of a previous VAT reduction as part of a government's policy to boost economic recovery after COVID-19.
Businesses have been long asking for additional support from the government to help speed up economic recovery and to cope with recent difficulties.
The HCM City Food and Foodstuff Association (FFA) said businesses have been struggling since the end of last year with rising interest rates, poor liquidity, increased risk in the bond and stock markets and higher input and logistics prices.
In addition, orders for export have been on the decrease. According to the FFA, VAT reduction was among one of the most effective policies in supporting businesses and urged the government to extend the policy.
Similarly, the Vietnam Beverage Association (VBA) asked the government to extend the policy at least until the end of this year, saying while there has been some improvement in recent months it will take a long time for the beverage industry to fully recover after the pandemic.
The European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) said VAT reduction has played a key part in speeding up economic recovery, and has been a boon to businesses and consumers alike.
The chamber said it has helped with the government's efforts in keeping inflation in check, boosting consumption and encouraging businesses to invest in expanding their operations. Consumers have also benefited from the lower VAT, which is in line with the government's policy to aid the population post-pandemic.
When Christina Bao, Co-Head of Sales & Marketing at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), came to Việt Nam for a conference, Việt Nam News reporter Ly Ly Cao took the opportunity to speak to her about solutions to enhance the country’s stock market and how Hong Kong can support Việt Nam in the upgrading process.
On September 22, Vietnam Report unveiled its annual list of the Top 10 Credible Retail Companies for 2023. The rankings, reflected an industry grappling with significant challenges of considerable interest to investors and stakeholders.
Speaking at a forum late last week, Nguyễn Văn Đính, chairman of the Việt Nam Real Estate Brokers Association, said the market would continue to struggle with limited access to capital, legal bottlenecks and companies’ inability to redeem bonds.
Ha Nam - Industrial parks in the northern province of Ha Nam have attracted 24 new projects so far this year, including 15 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth 176 million USD, according to Head of the Ha Nam Industrial Parks Management Board Tran Van Kien.
At LOTTE HOTEL SAIGON, the serene urban oasis swimming pool and the verdant LOTTE Park garden with its murmuring waterfall offer a peaceful and pleasant spot away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Get ready for the most exciting celebration of the year as The Reverie Saigon presents "Oktoberfest at The Long @ Times Square". It's time to mark your calendars and immerse yourself in the festive atmosphere of this iconic German tradition. This event promises good times, delectable food, and unforgettable moments that will keep you coming back for more.


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A shoe that talks and a wristband that connects to a personal trainer: Welcome to the brave new world of wearable technology from India.
Socialism is in his heart, but Infosys billionaire Narayana Murthy says on May Day that "capitalism is the way forward."
Sparked a revolution in business-process services for Western multinationals and showed Indian IT companies could compete with the best in the world.
Some of Tuesday's midday movers:
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat-to-lower open on Tuesday, as investors awaited results from a number of industry heavyweights.
Infosys reported a 25 percent increase in quarterly net profit as it added new clients including Chinese-owned Swedish automaker Volvo.
Like thunderstorms cooling an overheated landscape, more selling could rumble through the stock market in the coming week.
Internships are one way to get a job. But some companies are better than others at hiring their interns for full-time positions, says a new survey.
Take a look at some of Thursday's midday movers: Amazon, Herbalife, Facebook & more.
Retailers need to do a lot more to defend themselves against future cyberattacks, according to security experts and IT service providers.
Some of Friday's midday movers:
Demand for Twitter has lifted the likely offer price to $27, but advisors caution against the stock, citing IPO risks and social media competition.
If American companies really don't have enough qualified workers, would they still import them despite the higher cost?
Take a look at some of Wednesday's midday movers:
India's second-largest IT services exporter has agreed to pay $34 million in a civil settlement with U.S. authorities investigating its use of visas.
India's Infosys said it was in the process of reaching a settlement with the U.S. over the company's alleged misuse of temporary business visas.
Ankur Rudra, Vice-President of Ambit Capital tells CNBC's Cash Flow that Wipro's rally is short-lived and advises investors to short the stock.
Retail banks care becoming increasingly concerned about being left behind by trends in social networking and mobile computing, according to a survey of the industry.
S.D. Shibulal, CEO of Infosys, comments on the lawsuit in the U.S., the group's growth prospect as the U.S. is gaining momentum and Europe is showing "signs of early improvements".
Infosys posted quarterly profit that missed analyst estimates on a charge related to visa, but raised its fiscal year revenue guidance.


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The enterprise mobility market is led by iOS and Android, but Windows is making a strong push.
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[An IRIB report about Iran, Qatar, and Turkey signing economic contracts and agreements.]
Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade: In recent Qatar’s international exhibition, a considerable number of important Iranian companies took part. This participation resulted in drafting agreements and contracts between important Iranian companies and Qatari companies. These relationships will continue, and we hope to exponentially increase our economic transactions which have grown 120% in past several months, increasing it to a higher level.
Qatari Minister of Trade and Economy: Recently, the amount of economic transactions between Iran and Qatar has had a significant growth, and there has been an increase in export of Iranian foods and construction materials to Qatar. Also, Iran has a significant role in transiting other countries’ goods including Turkey and Azerbaijan to Qatar by land. In these meetings, we emphasized on increasing economic transactions and also removing existing obstacles in expanding these relations.
Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade: We had two important days. We achieved fruitful results in the meeting of the joint commission, especially by signing documents regarding technical and engineering cooperation between the two countries.
Turkish Economic Minister: We must adopt such a method of free trade among ourselves that it becomes a model for other countries.


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Profit at Postie Plus Group has slipped despite a slight increase in sales, after tough trading conditions took a bite out of margins.
The the listed retail group, which owns the Postie Plus and Baby City chains, made $415,000 in the year to August, a decrease of 32.5% on the previous year.
The latest result included a one-off deferred tax payment of $157,000.
Sales rose by 3% to $113 million, but chief executive Ron Boskell says he had expected a better result.
However, Mr Boskell says he's confident about the coming year.
Postie Plus is not paying a dividend. Shares were unchanged at 32 cents on Friday.


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We have recently heard that the new generation of Nokia Lumias (520, 602 and 720) would be getting the Bluetooth 4.0 update as part of the Nokia Amber update, and we have seen Nokia’s Bluetooth 4.0 driver passing through the Bluetooth SIG.
Now the Verge claims, from “sources familiar with Nokia’s plans” that the update will in fact be coming to Nokia’s full Windows Phone 8 range, including the older Nokia Lumia 820 and 920 handsets.
The news should reassure the mass of 920 users who have been hoping to use their handset with accessories like the Fitbit when software for those gadgets become available.
Presumably with the update will also soon be coming to Nokia’s latest greatest handset also, as the Nokia Lumia 1020 still ships with only Bluetooth 3.0 support.
Via The Verge.com


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Despite a ban on selling popcorn, the majority of Quebec cinemas will reopen their theaters at the start of Spring Break next Friday.
It was the Association of Movie Theater Owners of Quebec (APCQ) that made this announcement late Friday afternoon. join NewspaperAPCQ Co-Chair, Eric Bouchard, determined that of the hundreds of cinemas spread across the province, more than sixty roles have already made the decision to open on February 26.
Vincent Jozo, who is not part of APCQ, reiterated on his part Friday that he would not open his rooms if he could not operate the food counters in his complexes. As for the Cineplex, the country’s largest theater chain, no decision was made yesterday.
“We realize that with the ban on the sale of foodstuffs in our cinemas, the coming weeks will be difficult financially, but we are happy to reopen our doors, and we are happy that the government listened to us,” Eric Bouchard said Friday.
I think that when the government allowed cinemas without dining tables to reopen, the real implications of such a decision were not measured. But they later realized that without selling food, we would have a huge deficit. They showed us their goodwill, so we said to ourselves: We will reopen our cinemas and we’ll talk to each other later. “
Cinemas that will open on February 26 will not receive specific financial compensation for the food ban. Instead, they will be eligible for the Provincial Enterprise Assistance Program at Maximum Alert (AERAM), which will allow them to continue to receive loan waivers of up to $ 15,000 per month. This program is designed for businesses that have shut down due to the pandemic, but cinemas will be able to continue accessing it as long as their dining franchises remain closed.
The Legault government caused an uproar last Tuesday when it announced that all cinemas in the county could reopen their theaters to moviegoers starting February 26th, but they will not have the right to operate their food counters for now. Some theater operators, including Vincent Jozo, were vehemently against the move, arguing that they would have to work at a loss if they couldn’t sell popcorn and other goodies. According to APCQ, the sale of foodstuffs accounts for between 50% and 80% of cinema revenue.
“Total creator. Evil zombie fan. Food evangelist. Alcohol practitioner. Web aficionado. Passionate beer advocate.”


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A community scheme to help home-owners in the Alyth area buy their heating oil collectively is producing savings of up to 10% or more for many participants.
The Alyth Heating-oil Buying Club was set up up by Alyth Development Trust late last year in partnership with Johnston Oils, a reputable supplier of heating oil and commercial and agricultural fuel across Scotland and northern England.
The Club enables individual consumers to join together and buy their heating oil in bulk, reducing their fuel costs and also helping the environment by allowing Johnston Oils to plan more efficient delivery routes.
More than 40 consumers have now joined the Club and after six months of operation figures show that most members are saving between 5% and 10% on their fuel-oil bills, with some who usually buy in smaller quantities saving even more.
Club members get a monthly email prompting to check whether they need to order a top-up. Ordering is done online during the nominated “buying-week” each month (although members can order by telephone if preferred).
The advantage of collective buying in this way means that customers requiring smaller quantities can buy at bulk prices normally only available on large orders. It also means they can top-up their tanks and not have to let them run down to get a larger-delivery discount, so there’s less risk of running out during cold weather.
Customers also feed back information on prices so that all members can be confident they are getting a good price without having to spend lots of time shopping around.
Johnston Oils already manages around 180 similar community heating oil clubs across their area, helping thousands of households save money.
For further information and to join in the scheme, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Singles Day Finds Its Omnichannel MatchNitin Sumangali |
It’s hard to find the nuances and understatements when one retail company takes in $14 billion in one day. However, for Singles Day, Alibaba and China, one fact seems to have been overlooked. While Singles Day is a testament to eCommerce power and potential, Singles Day was not just eCommerce. It was omnichannel.
First. Let’s get to those numbers. The Nov. 11 holiday took in $1 billion in its first eight minutes. By comparison Black Friday 2014 hit $1.5 billion for the whole day according to comScore. The estimates were for about $10 billion in sales for Singles Day, but the preliminary returns are in and they’re even more impressive.
The company has said the total value of goods bought during the Singles Day festival was $14.3 billion dollars. Two big numbers (aside from the very big $14.3 billion) jump out from this announcement, though. First, this sales figures is up 60 percent from 2014. More impressive however, is that 68 percent of the total value of transactions came through orders from mobile devices. This means that even big ticket items are being purchased through mobile phones and tablets, as consumers are not seeing a difference between ordering via a PC and ordering from a mobile device. Global Insights’ Omnishopper study talks about a number of these related themes and how they’re impacting shopping behavior in China and other key global markets.
Another interesting twist this year came from the offline area, which syncs with our recent report. Our key findings reported that 80 percent of global respondents (and 90 percent in China) use technology at some point during the shopping process. It also indicated that consumers are still warm to in-store shopping as they seek immediate gratification and social experience. Alibaba executives went on the record to stress their desire to take Singles Day offline this year.
Alibaba induced more than 180,000 storefronts to participate this year, representing more than 1,000 retail brands. In Beijing alone, more than 8,000 stores will take part in the festival. Even U.S. brands such as Macy’s took part via Alibaba’s Tmall store.
Alibaba is also helping retail partners maximize the after-sale. For example, it is setting up Tmall service stations in more than 1,600 Suning stores (the Chinese version of Best Buy) to manage service issues including returns and exchanges.
It’s not yet known how much of this year’s Singles Day take was online or offline. Here’s a new way to look at it, though. What if the channel didn’t matter? Alibaba has made it numbers and scaled its growth by creating a new business model and proving that a marketplace would entice consumers. Now it is essentially saying “eCommerce is limiting.” Growth will be achieved by marketing to the consumer, not the channel. Even if there’s $15 billion on the table.


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SWEDEN: Axfood upbeat 2014 outlook boosts shares
Willy's owner Axfood has posted positive increases for 2013
Share prices in Axfood shot up by 7% today (4 February) as the Swedish retailer posted a 12% rise in fourth-quarter profits - and said it expected its 2014 earnings to be higher than 2013.
Profit stood at SEK257m (US$39.4m) compared with SEK229m for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Net sales were also up 3.2% at SEK9.56bn. Like-for-like sales increased 1.5%.
CEO said Anders Stralman said the growth in sales and earnings once again confirmed Axfood had "chosen the right strategy with ever-more appealing customer offerings high efficiency and good cost control".
Net sales for 2013 as a whole totalled SEK37.56bn during the year, an increase of 3.3%.
Operating profit for the year was up 8.5% at 1.3m and profit after tax was up 10.2% at SEK993m on a year prior.
For 2014, Axfood said it it had a "goal" of seeing its annual earnings "exceed the level of profit in 2013."
Click here for the full results.
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Adobe released their Flash Player 10.2 for download today, just as promised earlier. Adobe Flash Player 10.2 is now available for Motorola XOOM and other Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablets.
Motorola XOOM was launched without the Flash Player 10.2, but users can now realize the full potential of the tablet with the latest and the greatest Flash Player on their tablets.
Adobe Flash Player 10.2 is now available for download! Adobe promised to release Flash plyaer 10.2 on March 18.
You will be prompted for an update on your phone from the Android Market, or you can manually update it on your phone.
Adobe has announced that the Flash Player 10.2 for Android will be available for download for Android 2.2, Android 2.3 and Android 3.0 from March 18th. Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) users will have to first get the Android 3.0.1 software update to install the Flash Player 10.2 Beta app.
Along with the preview SDK, Google also announced the upcoming features that we’ll be seeing in the Android 3.0 platform. It introduces many new and exciting features for both, users and developers.
Here is a glimpse of some of the new features and technologies that are being offered in the latest Android 3.0 Preview SDK.
Google has released the first preview SDK for Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is the next major release of the Android platform and is optimized for tablet devices. They’re offering a Preview SDK so you can get a head-start developing applications for it or simply optimize your existing application for upcoming tablets.
New UI, redesigned keyboard, visual multitasking, new and updated apps etc. are all part of the new Honeycomb experience on tablets and will eventually make its way to mobile phones as well.
Android 3.0 (Honeycom) for tablets was unveiled today by Google with the official announcement of Motorola Xoom – the first Honeycomb-based tablet.
It was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas today. Google also released a preview video of Android 3.0 Honeycomb.


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Shortages in Electric-Vehicle Battery Industry Play Havoc With Cell Prices, Executive Says
The ongoing supply squeeze in the electric-vehicle (EV) battery sector is making cell prices less predictable, the head of a major Chinese battery manufacturer has said, raising doubts about the EV industry’s short-term competitiveness with conventional fuel-powered vehicles.
Yang Hongxin, the president of SVolt Energy Technology Co. Ltd., said at an industry forum that only 60% to 80% of orders for high-quality batteries were currently being met amid supply shortfalls that took root last year due to a lack of certain raw materials.
The comments came as the global EV industry battles a twin scarcity of the batteries that power electric cars and the microchips that run their systems. Both issues owe much to production shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic, though the latter is worsened by geopolitical tensions.
Despite the headwinds, some 217,000 new-energy vehicles (NEVs) were sold in China in May, a new record for the month, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), an industry group. In China, NEVs include battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and those with hydrogen fuel cells.
The figure brings the total number of NEVs sold in China so far this year to 950,000, more than three times the amount sold in the equivalent period of 2020, when the Asian nation’s epidemic was at its height, according to CAAM.
SVolt is the former battery arm of Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. (601633.SH), a Chinese automaker listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Its main shareholder is Wei Jianjun, who also holds a controlling stake in Great Wall.
Speaking at the China Auto Blue Book Forum on Saturday, Yang said anticipated reductions in battery prices could be affected by a rise in NEV sales since the second half of last year that has driven surging demand for upstream raw materials. He did not give details on how he expected prices to change.
Yang previously estimated that the price of EV cells would fall to 500 yuan ($78) per kilowatt-hour by 2025, a time when industry insiders expect battery-powered vehicles to be on a par with their gasoline-powered counterparts.
Production squeezes at battery manufacturers are underpinned by shortfalls of certain upstream materials, such as the chemicals used in electrolyte for lithium cells, according to research by China Merchants Securities Co. Ltd.
Chinese EV-makers have been feeling the effects of the shortages for months. In April, Nio Inc., the Asian nation’s nearest challenger to industry leader Tesla Inc., said on a quarterly earnings call that its production capacity had fallen to 7,500 vehicles per month due to the dearth of cells and semiconductors.
A senior executive Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology Co. Ltd. (688005.SH), a Shanghai-listed maker of cathode materials and precursors for lithium batteries, said that company would operate at full capacity to meet orders from downstream clients in the three months through June.
Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (email@example.com) and editor Michael Bellart (firstname.lastname@example.org)
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After months six months of bids and screening, Holden and General Motors have selected a buyer for the Elizabeth manufacturing plant, which has built Holden cars for decades. Holden made the news official today but did not name the purchaser.
The brand stated the manufacturing site will be transformed into “a master-planned, innovative business park, providing employment opportunities for new and established industries such as resources, engineering, logistics, construction, defense and food and beverage.” Renewable energy industries will also be involved in the site’s transformation.
However, Holden will retain a presence at the Elizabeth facility with a “significant portion” of the site slated to become a spare parts operation for Holden vehicles. Other parties are still interested in securing accommodations at the soon-to-be-decommissioned site.
Holden will initiate the decommissioning process soon after manufacturing ends on October 20, 2017, and said the process will extend into 2019. After contracts are finalized, Holden will reveal the buyer of the historic manufacturing site.


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China said it hoped the United States would respect the rulings of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and take practical actions to maintain the multilateral trading system, the country’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) undercut the main justification for US President Donald Trump’s trade war against China, saying that American tariffs on Chinese goods violate international rules.
A panel of three WTO trade experts on Tuesday said the US broke international rules when it imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018. Washington has imposed levies on more than US$550 billion in Chinese exports
A panel of three WTO trade experts on Tuesday said the US broke international rules when it imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018. Washington has imposed levies on more than US$550 billion in Chinese exports.
The panel said in its report “that the United States had not met its burden of demonstrating that the measures are provisionally justified.”
While the ruling bolsters Beijing’s position, Washington can effectively veto the decision by lodging an appeal at any point in the next 60 days. That’s because the Trump administration has already paralyzed the WTO’s appellate body, a tactic that has rendered toothless the world’s foremost arbiter of trade.
The dispute centers on the Trump administration’s use of a 1970s-era US trade law to unilaterally launch its commercial conflict against China in 2018.
China said the tariffs violated the WTO’s most-favored treatment provision because the measures failed to provide the same treatment to all WTO members. China added that the duties broke a key dispute-settlement rule that requires countries to first seek recourse from the WTO before imposing retaliatory measures against another country.
The US claimed its tariffs against China were authorized under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the US president to levy tariffs and other import restrictions whenever a foreign country imposes unfair trade practices that affect US commerce.
ALSO READ: Decoupling not good for China or US
Though the use of Section 301 isn’t unprecedented, the provision largely fell out of favor in the 1990s after the US agreed to first follow the WTO’s dispute settlement process before it triggered any retaliatory trade actions.
While the European Union has so far been spared US levies based on the controversial Section 301, the 27-nation bloc may breathe a sigh of relief over Tuesday’s WTO verdict. That’s because the Trump administration has threatened to use Section 301 to hit European goods with levies in retaliation over the taxation of digital companies in the EU.
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HONG KONG NEWS


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Steve Amster is fighting Encinitas city hall again. In his 30 years as owner of Garden State Bagels, he has won, and lost, several battles over sign ordinances and sheriff’s department traffic enforcement. This time he and five other small restaurant owners are challenging the city’s proposed ban on styrofoam (a.k.a. polystyrene) containers and cups.
Amster appeared with other small restaurant owners at a recent meeting of Encinitas’ Environmental Commission, stating the ban is unneeded and unwelcomed.
“Our customers want their food in containers that keep it fresh and warm,” he told the Reader on October 1st. “Any other alternative containers, like paper, won’t work. Food will get soggy and cold."
Amster said his styrofoam containers cost is about one third less than any alternative. The average cost for Amster’s containers for his lox or pizza bagels is about ten cents. Amster uses thousands of containers and coffee cups a year. “Our customer’s cost will go up,” he said.
Supporters of the ban reportedly stated at the meeting that styrofoam hurts the environment, winding up in the ocean. “So does the oil from the car you drove here in,” Amster says he told the group at the meeting. “Let’s stop driving cars,” Amster suggested.
“We all love the ocean and want to protect it. The solution is more trash cans on the beach,” Amster said. “But that would make the city workers have to work harder,” he sarcastically added.
Amster says he also told the commission that paper cups from Starbucks are harder on the environment. “They are coated in wax and take longer to decompose,” he said.
But the kicker, according to Amster, is that styrofoam is totally recyclable. “It’s used in wall insulation and to make interior molding.”
EDCO, the city’s contracted waste-disposal company, agrees. As of about a month ago, EDCO starting advising its Encinitas customers that it would accept clean styrofoam containers in its residential curbside recycling trashcans. Encinitas becomes the 65th California town to do so. (However there is no cash recycling value for turning in large quantities of polystyrene products.)
Amster believes the current city council makes “radical decisions” without researching issues well enough.
“If they are going to ban styrofoam, I want all styrofoam banned. The supermarkets shouldn’t be able to sell meat and chicken in styrofoam, and UPS and FedEx shouldn’t be able to deliver packages with styrofoam peanuts,” Amster said.
The meat-department manager at a North County Vons store said he knows of no other material his industry can use to sell meat, fish, and chicken, other than in their styrofoam trays.
The city’s Environmental Commission will reconsider the proposed ban at its next meeting on October 8. The city council is scheduled to have the first reading of the regulation at its October 14 meeting. If approved, the ban would go into effect in 2016.
San Diego Coastkeeper reports that there is a bill in the California legislature that will ban styrofoam in the state. So far, only San Luis Obispo has passed such a ordinance. Reportedly, Solana Beach is racing Encinitas to be the first city in San Diego County to ban polystyrene products.
On September 22nd, the New York Supreme Court overturned a New York City ban on styrofoam containers.
(corrected 10/2, 8:35 a.m.)


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German online food takeaway firm Delivery Hero has agreed to buy Middle East food delivery platform Carriage.
The financial details are not disclosed.
This is the latest in a series of Delivery Hero’s technology deals in the region, it said in a statement.
Kuwait-based Carriage, which operates in GCC countries, will strengthen Delivery Hero’s foothold in a region with a significant growth potential, said Niklas Ostberg, CEO of Delivery Hero.
Carriage’s team of founders including chief executive Abdullah Jihad Almutawa was key to the acquisition and would remain on board after the acquisition, the firm said.
Delivery Hero first entered the Middle East in 2015 when it bought regional market leader Talabat from Rocket Internet.
Its move to buy Carriage comes after Dubai’s Emaar Malls announced last week it will buy a 51% stake in e-commerce fashion website Namshi from Global Fashion Group (GFG), a firm set up by Rocket Internet and Sweden’s Kinnevik.
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Delivery Hero operates in 53 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and partners with 300,000 restaurants.
Founded in 2011, it expanded to Australia, Russia and Mexico in the same year.
In 2015, it bought Jordanian company ifood.jo for a value that was not disclosed.
In November 2011, Delivery Hero received its first investment worth €4 million from Holtzbrinck Ventures, Tengelmann Ventures, Kite Ventures and ru-Net.
It later raised several rounds of funding from existing and fresh investors.
Major investors in Delivery Hero include Germany’s Rocket Internet and South African media and e-commerce firm Naspers.
The firm, which is currently valued at $3 billion, competes with Just Eat, GrubHub, Takeaway.com and Deliveroo.
In December 2016, it acquired a major competitor, Foodpanda.