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Bookings for The Manufacturing Sustainability Conference at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham on 18th September 2012 are going exceptionally well, with 80% of spaces already filled.
Online PR News – 15-August-2012 – Sheffield – The free to attend conference, which was only officially launched in July will be delivered by EMSc (UK) Ltd, manufacturer of the Star® range of energy saving solutions, in partnership with Made in Sheffield. The Conference will provide a platform to promote innovative British manufacturing as well as to provide the manufacturing sector with comprehensive information relating to sustainability issues and ways to improve energy efficiency.
The event, which is the first in a series, is taking place in Sheffield and will precede MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival, kicking off four days that will celebrate British manufacturing, innovation and sustainability.
Commenting on the conference and the collaboration with MADE, Dr Alex Mardapittas, EMSc (UK) Ltd managing director said: “We are delighted and overwhelmed by the response to the conference. We knew when we planned the event that there is a desire to learn more about sustainability, but we had no idea that the manufacturing sector would be this enthused about finding ways to improve energy efficiency.”
He added: “We are also very excited about collaborating with MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival, which will bring together great British inventors, designers, manufacturers, business owners, budding entrepreneurs and UK policy-makers. Delegates attending this event in addition to the Manufacturing Sustainability Conference can look forward to a valuable and interesting experience.”
A growing number of industry bodies and associations are lending their support to the conference, which will feature various keynote speakers, including Dr Mardapittas and Brian Young, director general of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF). Representatives from environmental consultancy Blue Castle and manufacturing specialists AESSEAL will also be presenting.
In addition, EMSc has announced that it will be launching the latest addition to its innovative range of energy saving solutions at the conference.
With limited spaces remaining for the conference, Dr Mardapittas highlighted the reasons for attending: “The conference will include informative case studies, stimulating debate on the future of manufacturing and an opportunity to learn from a number of leading experts. In addition, attendees can network with like-minded companies, enjoy a champagne reception and tour of one of the country’s most unique attractions, and have an opportunity to win exclusive prizes.”
Bookings for the Manufacturing Sustainability Conference can be made via www.ems-uk.org, by calling 01709 836200, or by emailing email@example.com
For more information on MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org or call 0207 199 2200.


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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued its weekly list of recalls.
Marion Body Works Inc., manufacturers of the Freightliner M2 chassis, announced the recall of its 2018 model because of the lift gate license plate alignment. The recall number is 21V002.
Heartland RVs announced the recall of its 2021 Heartland Mallard because incorrect axle, rims and tires were installed. The recall number is 21V009.

domain: news


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The GSMA has identified several key reasons why it believes the United States market will be the pioneer of 5G over the coming years.
In a new report, the GSMA estimates the U.S. will have 100 million 5G connections by 2023 and 190 million by 2025. Over the entire period, it believes the market will continuously lead the world in the percentage of 5G connections.
Among the main reasons for this dominance is the market size and the high percentage of early adopters. Over half (58%) of the U.S population adopt new smartphone technologies early. Europe is the closest market competitor, with just under half (46%) identified as being quick adopters. Combining the Middle East and North Africa regions brings us the third biggest early adopters with 34 percent.
Less than 15 percent of consumers in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia are early adopters. This will make 5G penetration in these regions difficult.
Each of the four major operators in the U.S market – AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon – contributed their insights to the GSMA’s report.
The report identifies enhanced mobile broadband as being the initial primary driver of 5G adoption. During the later stages, it highlights the IoT and ultra-reliable, low-latency communications gaining scale.
“Innovative and segmented consumer propositions targeting an enhanced mobile/video customer experience could also play a key role in driving 5G consumer adoption,” wrote the GSMA in a blog post. “These include entertainment content delivered through advanced video capabilities, AR/VR devices and applications for gaming and immersive TV, and multi-device subscriptions that include IoT services (e.g. connected cars).”
With the likes of Apple selling devices which stream bandwidth-intensive 4K HDR content, the demand for reliable, quick, and low latency connectivity is set to increase substantially in the coming years. Foxconn is even working on 8K displays with 5G connectivity to stream content.
In terms of revenue, the GSMA expects most profits to come from enterprise customers. Consumers and the government will be smaller drivers.
4G is also expected to remain dominant until around 2025 where it’s overtaken by 5G. Declines are predicted across legacy 2G, 3G, and 4G connections from next year.
You can find the full report here (PDF)
What are your thoughts on the GSMA’s report? Let us know in the comments.
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their use-cases? Attend the co-located IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam and explore the future of enterprise technology.


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Exclusive interview: Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore)
The gates are closed and, as they say in the industry, “it’s all over bar the shouting”. Indeed, there seems to be a lot to shout about after this edition of ITB Asia. We asked Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), ITB Asia’s organiser, to give us her thoughts on the show.
This year’s ITB Asia has been exemplary for numerous reasons. First and foremost, thanks to the expansion of the show to two floors, and the launch of MICE Show Asia, we have spread our wings – taking on new floor space in the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Now in its twelfth year, ITB Asia counted over 1,300 exhibitors and more than 1,250 buyers.
This year’s show attracted ever widening international interest and participation. Over 110 National Tourism Organisations (NTO) and Regional Tourism Organisations (RTO) exhibited this year, including first-time appearances for NTOs from Armenia, Czech Republic, Malta, Russia and the Balkan States – Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and RTOs from Busan, Frankfurt, Los Angeles and more.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS ALWAYS TO FIND A NEAR-PERFECT EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN ALL THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP AN EFFICIENT TRADE SHOW
How did the Inaugural MICE Show Asia go?
It was launched due to the fast- growing demands of the MICE and corporate travel sectors. This MICE- dedicated show really strengthened the MICE component of the show, and attendance was stronger than expected. Attendees were able to get forecasts for the global meeting and events industries in 2020, as well as how digital transformation is impacting the industry.
What were the main things that surprised you this year?
Throughout the show, I was happily surprised to see such a positive atmosphere, and positive industry sentiment, despite recent events that have somewhat rocked the industry. The travel industry remains solid and strong overall, especially here in Asia-Pacific, we continue to see strong growth in international tourism.
What were the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge is always to find a near-perfect equilibrium between all the elements that make up an efficient trade show. That means not only the balance of exhibitors, conferences and other events that make up the show, but also the planning and logistics that ensure it runs as smoothly as possible. The new registration zone and enhancements to security were among the initiatives we introduced this year. Also, ensuring the new exhibition area worked efficiently hand-in-hand with the lower basement area was very important. I congratulate my team who managed to make it work beautifully.
Which speakers stood out from the conferences?
It’s impossible to name everyone, as there were many important speakers and conference sessions that delivered essential ideas and information in different fields. The keynote line-up, Booking.com and IBM effectively addressed the industry’s common challenges such as readying businesses for their next wave of growth; rethinking and reinventing distribution strategies; and how the travel industry can capitalise on the digital revolution to succeed. Then there was Agoda, Expedia, Google, TripAdvisor and Wego, who discussed actions to adapt to the ever-evolving market. On the final day of the show, Booking.com, OYO China, and Tujia led the conversation on maximising opportunities to meet the needs of a new generation of Chinese travellers.
What will be different next year?
A new show! Messe Berlin (Singapore) is launching ITB India 2020 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, India, from 15 to 17 April 2020, with support from the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. The three-day business-to-business travel trade show and convention will focus on the Indian travel market including MICE, corporate, and leisure travel sectors.
New next year here in Singapore will be Travel Tech Asia 2020 – alongside ITB Asia and MICE Show Asia from 21 to 23 October 2020. The inaugural conference will feature leading travel brands and innovative start-ups to attendees from all levels of seniority across a wide range of disciplines and sectors in the travel industry.
Photo: Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore)


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Food delivery giant Swiggy is the fifth startup in India to become a decacorn after it raised $700 million in a round led by Atlanta-based investment company — Invesco.
A decacorn is a startup with a valuation of over $10 billion. The current round, which has valued Swiggy at around $10. 7 billion, witnessed participation from a slew of new investors, including Baron Capital Group, Sumeru Venture, IIFL AMC Late Stage Tech Fund, Kotak and Axis Growth Avenues.
Other decacorns from India are Byju’s (current valuation is $21 billion), Flipkart ($11 billion in 2014-15), Oyo ($10 billion in 2019) and Paytm ($16 billion in 2019).
The development comes close on the heels of the Bengaluru-headquartered startup committing close to $700 million to its quick-commerce grocery business (Instamart), which has seen increased traction due to the pandemic-led shift in consumer habits. It may soon overtake its food delivery service, said people familiar with the company’s operations. “The gross merchandise value our food delivery business achieved in 40 months, took Instamart just 17 months, demonstrating the platform benefits of Swiggy. We will double down on this to build more categories in line with our mission of offering unparalleled convenience to Indian consumers,” said Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and CEO at Swiggy.
With India’s quick-commerce market set to grow to $5 billion by 2025 from $0. 3 billion currently, according to data from RedSeer, the potential has lured a host of companies, including new kid on the block — Zepto, Zomato-backed Blinkit (formerly Grofers), Reliance-backed Dunzo and veterans such as Tata-backed Big Basket, which plans to open 800 brick-and-mortar stores.
This fund-raise will enable Swiggy to accelerate growth on its core platform and grow Instamart, which is set to reach an annualised GMV run rate of $1 billion in the next three quarters, according to the company.
Quick commerce is a new sub-vertical that allows for delivery of small quantities of goods within an hour. Ecommerce companies manage such fast deliveries through a network of dark stores, small warehouses that stock inventory, in close proximity to a consumer’s home.


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Latest Norton AntiVirus Stories
MEDINA, Ohio, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Central Command, Inc., a leading provider of antivirus, antispyware and antithreat solutions for schools, businesses and enterprises, announced today that schools across America are quickly switching to Vexira Antivirus and saving thousands of dollars and increasing Internet protection for students, faculty and staff.
MEDINA, Ohio, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Antivirus and security company Thirtyseven4, LLC warns today of the increasing danger of performing online searches for hot news topics.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- RSA Conference-- Sunbelt Software, a leading provider of Windows security software, today announced an upgrade to its award-winning VIPREÂ® Antivirus + Antispyware product.
MEDINA, Ohio, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Antivirus and security firm Thirtyseven4, LLC announced today the availability of its' flagship product line, Thirtyseven4 Antivirus, a five-in-one protection suite that includes antivirus, antispyware, antimalware, antirootkit and data theft protection.
GLENDALE, Calif., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Cloud Antivirus, the industry's first and most comprehensive free cloud anti-virus service that protects consumers PCs against the latest malware, spyware, rootkits and viruses, today emerged from beta after six months of user testing.
-- Panda Cloud Antivirus introduces radically new protection model with lightweight thin-client agent and real-time scanning-from-the-cloud -- Community-based protection system automatically classifies new malware in under six minutes with 50 percent less impact on PC performance GLENDALE, Calif., April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Security, a leading provider of IT security solutions, today announced the global beta release of Panda Cloud Antivirus, the industry's first and only free...
Computer hackers have breached the previously pristine territory of Macintosh computers, a U.S.
Apple is encouraging all Mac users to purchase anti-virus software in order to protect their products while browsing the Web.
By Izwan Ismail SYMANTEC has rolled out Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton AntiVirus 2009, which are aimed at addressing the changing online threat landscape.
By Anonymous Low-cost, easy-to-deploy software defeats spam at Penn State University. Universities and colleges often face a more challenging IT and network security challenge than typical corporate networks.
- Growing in low tufty patches.


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Survey finds 74% of consumers want to select their energy supplier
The Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA) last week released its national scientific poll that indicates three out of four voters want options and choice when selecting their energy suppliers. The results were released in conjunction with National Energy Shopping Day.
“National Energy Shopping Day was created to educate consumers, regulators, and legislators on the benefits of retail choice,” said Tracy McCormick, executive director of RESA.
The survey was conducted by Ragnar Research Partners. Interviews included 1,000 Likely Voters (LVs) nationwide. Quotas on age, gender, ethnicity, education and region were used to ensure a representative distribution. The study’s margin of error is ±3%.
The survey found that 76% find importance in choice when deciding on consumer products such as cell phone or ISP plans and that 74% of voters agree that consumers should shop for energy suppliers in the same way.
Additionally, 58% of voters want energy to be a competitive marketplace and let competition drive down costs, although 49% believe investors should bear the cost to expand energy infrastructure.
Those who are less satisfied with their energy supplier want increased competition, while those who are more satisfied are more willing to bear the cost of infrastructure expansion. 70% of voters are more likely to support competition among energy suppliers if it leads to an increase in low-cost, green energy options.
Highlight of poll findings can be seen in the figure:
Similar to choosing an Internet or telephone service provider, consumers in some states can choose an electricity and natural gas supplier for their home or business. This choice is a significant change over traditional utility service, in which an energy consumer has no choice but to purchase from a monopoly utility service provider offering few or no options in terms of energy management tools, renewable energy and efficiency, and pricing.
All consumers must be afforded the right to shop for competitively priced energy products and services, just as they do for other services.
“It is clear that the majority of Americans want the right to choose their electric providers and suppliers,” said President of RESA, Matt White. “With only 14 states offering consumers a right to choose (or 28%), while three-quarters of Americans want a choice, clearly there is a disconnect.”
For competition to be effective, all consumers must be afforded the right to shop for competitively priced energy products and services, just as they do for other services, according to RESA. Voters are ready for energy options in the marketplace and want more players in the game, such as green energy suppliers, to reduce costs.
- ^ Renewable Energy World Content Team (www.renewableenergyworld.com)
- ^ View all posts by Renewable Energy World Content Team (www.renewableenergyworld.com)


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Snap continues to grow its user base with the release of innovative product features, but those features have come with a steep monetary cost. In its latest earnings call, Snap disclosed that it lost $241 million this past quarter on $561 million in revenue, compared to only $192 million in Q4 of 2018 on $390 million in revenue. It did manage to grow its daily active user base by 8 million this quarter, to reach 218 million. However, it’s asking for investors’ patience while it works on making its way to annual profitability, although Snap highlighted that it achieved adjusted EBITDA profitability this quarter.
In prepared remarks, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said he’s confident in the company’s “long-term growth and profitability,” particularly as the company invests in “supporting real friendships on Snapchat,” expanding globally, augmented reality, and more content. He also points out that he believes the platform is “still extremely under-monetized” and that the company has a “large volume of high-quality advertising inventory” available, which could suggest that the sales team either isn’t effectively selling Snapchat as a valuable marketing opportunity, or that advertisers don’t see the worth when they have other social media platforms as options for ads. Spiegel says the team is investing in ad technology that’s more effective in targeting ads to specific users.
Generally, Snap has introduced neat product features, far ahead of other social networking platforms. It’s given users the ability to 3D paint on their selfies; is creating content based on users’ Bitmoji characters; and is still building its gaming features. The company is also working on ad products, like one it initially launched with Coca-Cola and McDonald’s that allows users to scan either of their logos for an AR experience. Instagram gives advertisers fewer and less flashy ways to reach people, but its scale makes up for that, giving them access to up to a billion users. Snapchat needs to scale if it wants its product features to make money.


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(AP) - The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly increased for a second straight month in February, raising concerns that the economy's one standout performer could be starting to flag.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the deficit between what the U.S. imports and what it sells abroad rose 5.7 percent to $63.2 billion (€39.81 billion) in February, the highest level since November.
Imports of goods and services shot up 3.1 percent to an all-time high of $213.7 billion (€134.61 billion), reflecting a big surge in imports of foreign cars. Exports also set a record, rising by 2 percent to $151.4 billion (€95.37 billion), reflecting strong gains in the sale of American-made heavy machinery, computers and farm goods.
Critics claimed that the sharp rise in the trade deficit showed the continued failure of President George W. Bush's policies emphasizing negotiating free trade agreements as a way to promote U.S. jobs by boosting exports.
With businesses cutting 80,000 jobs last month, the most in five years, and the country likely in a recession, the debate over trade is expected to intensify in this election year. Republicans contend Bush's policies reflect the reality of the new global economy, while Democrats argue that Bush has contributed to the loss of more than 3 million manufacturing jobs since he took office.
"Wages are falling and the middle class is shrinking because of trade deficits," James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said Thursday at the end of a three-day convoy across Pennsylvania aimed at highlighting the failings of Bush's trade policies.
Trade is shaping up as a key issue in the presidential campaign and in the fight for control of Congress. In an early showdown, the Democratic-led House voted 224-195 on Thursday to reject Bush's effort to force Congress to vote within the next 90 legislative days on a free trade agreement with Colombia.
The administration charged that Democrats were forsaking a key South American ally while Democrats said Colombia needed to do more to halt the violence against union organizers before they would consider the trade pact. The vote also calls into question pending free trade deals with South Korea and Panama.
In other economic news, the number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week after having hit the highest level in more than two years in the previous week. The Labor Department said applications for jobless benefits totaled 357,000 last week, down by 53,000 from the previous week. Economists said the wide swings reflected in part the trouble the government is having in seasonally adjusting the figures.
Meanwhile, U.S. retailers reported mixed results in March. Wal-Mart and Costco Wholesale Corp. were among the best performers. Other retailers said their sales suffered from the weak economy and an early Easter that dampened clothing sales.
On Wall Street, investors were encouraged by the big drop in weekly applications for jobless benefits and the better-than-expected performance for some big retailers. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 54.72 points to close at 12,581.98.
For the first two months of this year, the trade deficit is running at an annual rate of $727.6 billion (€458.33 billion). Last year, the deficit declined to $708.5 billion for the entire year, fueled by a boom in exports. It marked the first decline in the trade deficit after five straight years of records.
With the economy battered by a prolonged slump in housing and a severe credit crunch, trade has been one of the few sources of strength. However, analysts said based on the rising deficit in the first two months, trade will likely provide less of a boost in the first three months of this year, making it more likely that the overall gross domestic product turned negative.
Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist for Global Insight, said he expected GDP would decline at an annual rate of 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent in the first quarter. The classic definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of declining GDP.
Bethune said the big jump in auto imports in February may be reflecting a move by American consumers toward more fuel-efficient foreign cars, which would be another blow for struggling U.S. automakers.
Many analysts believe the two-month jump in the deficit will be reversed in coming months because they think a recession in the United States will cut into demand for foreign goods as well as U.S.-made products.
For April, the politically sensitive deficit with China dropped by 9.6 percent to $18.4 billion (€11.59 billion), the lowest imbalance in a year. The improvement reflected big declines in imports of computers, cell phones and other telecommunications equipment as well as clothing. Even with the decline, the U.S. deficit with China remained the largest with any country. The next highest deficit was an imbalance of $6.9 billion (€4.35 billion) with Japan.
America's foreign oil bill fell 5.7 percent to $37.7 billion (€23.75 billion) in February, marking the first monthly decline in a year. It occurred even though the average price for imported crude oil hit a record of $84.76 (€53.39) in February. With crude oil prices hitting new records above $110 (€69.29) per barrel, analysts believe the petroleum bill will resume rising in coming months.
The deficit with the European Union rose to $6.9 billion (€4.35 billion) in February, up 13.5 percent from January, even though U.S. exports to Europe hit an all-time high, reflecting the fact that a decline in the dollar to record lows against the euro has boosted the price competitiveness of American products.


text: The Khelo India winter games have given a huge boost to the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir. J&K topped the medals tally after bagging 11 Gold medals, 18 Silver and 5 Bronze medals in the second edition of Khelo India Winter National Games, which concluded on Tuesday in famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Hoteliers in Kashmir have already thanked the government for organising the event and said the same will help in promotion of tourism in Kashmir. The hoteliers have expressed gratitude to the Government for organizing such events in Gulmarg. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Khelo India International Games Festival signifies that J&K was “touching new heights in peace and development”. Addressing over 600 participants including international players through virtual mode at Gulmarg, the Prime Minister Modi said that every Indian was keenly looking at the festival. He said that the participation of national and international players in the Khelo India International Games Festival Gulmarg raises the moral and self-confidence of every participant. Last week, the J&K LG Manoj Sinha, paid a visit to Dal Lake, where he met several tourists who came from different parts of the country. During his interaction with the tourists, the Lieutenant Governor enquired about the experiences of their visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He asked them to the goodwill ambassadors for J&K and carry the message to their respective areas that J&K is an ideal and safe tourist destination. While assuring the tourists a safe and pleasant visit to the UT, the Lt Governor observed that the Tourism department, local community, and other stakeholders are collectively providing a tourist friendly environment to facilitate the visit of the tourists coming to J&K. From eco-tourism to winter sports, from pilgrimage to adventure tourism, J&K offers a host of attractions to tourists to experience the scenic beauty, warm hospitality, rich culture and heritage of J&K and make their visit to the UT a memorable one, added the Lt Governor. He advised the tourists to also explore the unexplored beautiful tourist places of the UT. The tourists, while sharing their experiences, said that they feel very much delighted to visit Kashmir. They also said Jammu and Kashmir is a safe place for all kinds of tourism activities and is really a paradise on earth. The recent step taken by the J&K government to revive tourism sector in J&K have been extremely helpful is reviving to some extent the sector that saw huge slump after August 2019. As COVID followed the lockdown, it further dented the sector to the extent that hardly anyone was visiting Kashmir, which otherwise is probably the best tourist destination in India. However, with the recent steps one feels confident that 2021 is going to be a much better year and the valley will see more and more arrivals, which will help uplift the ailing sector. Several stakeholders whose livelihoods are directly or indirectly related to tourism are hoping for a bumper season, and are praying for peaceful times ahead.


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The recent surge in inflation may have a long-lasting impact on the younger generation, causing them to fear rising prices, according to new research. Young people in the UK, who are experiencing double-digit price growth for the first time, are more likely to expect high inflation to continue in the future, analysis of Bank of England (BOE) data by Bloomberg has found. This could pose a challenge for policymakers, who are attempting to achieve a 2% inflation target by discouraging workers from demanding higher wages.
“Inflation expectations have gone up a lot among young people,” stated Michael Saunders, senior adviser at Oxford Economics and former Bank of England rate-setter. He added, “It’s reasonable to expect there will be some scarring on inflation expectations. The young, who thought that high inflation would mean 2% or 3%, might now have a much wider range of expectations of where inflation could be.”
Historically, younger generations have had lower inflation expectations compared to older age groups who remember the periods of high inflation in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the analysis of UK data reveals that inflation expectations among those aged 16 to 24 in Generation Z have increased more than any other age group since the pandemic and the war in Ukraine triggered a surge in prices.
Similar evidence from Europe suggests that the impact of high inflation can be passed down through the generations, while research focused on the US Federal Reserve indicates that even central bankers are influenced by their experience of inflation.
This research highlights the importance of understanding how inflation expectations are shaped and how a significant period of higher prices can alter people’s thinking. Inflation expectations play a significant role in determining wage demands and price setting by companies. Therefore, policymakers face the challenge of keeping these expectations anchored around the 2% target.
Economists refer to this phenomenon as the “experience effect”, where individuals who have lived through volatile and high price growth in the past are more deeply affected by those memories than those who have only learned about it from history books. Ulrike Malmendier, a professor of economics at the University of California in Berkeley, conducted research showing that dramatic economic experiences, such as high inflation and spikes in unemployment, have a lasting impact on individuals’ beliefs for years to come.
More detail via The Straits Times here… ( Image via The Straits Times )


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PacTel's Earnings Dropping / Profits to fall by 10% in 1995
Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, May 16, 1995
For Pacific Telesis, a funny thing happened on the way to building the "information super-hypeway": The company got tripped up in a revenue squeeze in its core phone business.
That old-fashioned problem, which is growing, was hammered home again yesterday as PacTel said this year's earnings could drop by about 10 percent -- which would be the sharpest decline in years.
The utility blamed the revenue squeeze on new competition in the local toll call market, which began on January 1. In essence, the company's phone calling volumes are lower than expected and are not offsetting price cuts on many local toll calls -- typically those greater than 12 miles but within California. PacTel's chief subsidiary, Pacific Bell, has lost about a 5 percent market share to the likes of AT&T, MCI, Sprint and other long-distance carriers.
Its growth in telephone access lines also slowed. Pac Bell blamed recent bad weather.
The competitive threat could get worse: Next month, the California Public Utilities Commission is expected to rule that cable television companies, among others, can provide local phone service as early as next year, further eroding PacTel's market share. As a result, Standard & Poor's has put the company's debt on a credit watch.
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In a conference call with analysts, the company said it was accelerating a previously announced plan to cut 10,000 jobs between 1994 and 1997 to help offset the revenue decline. It doesn't plan any further job cuts, however.
For now, PacTel said its dividend -- at $2.18 per share annually -- was not in jeopardy of being cut. It also said the revenue decline would not affect its plans to build a broadband network for video programming and interactive services, or expand into the wireless communications business.
PacTel's would-be competitors suggested it was not coincidental that the company's announcement yesterday came while the commission was considering further phone competition. PacTel countered that it merely was trying to lay out the consequences of the rule changes for investors and Wall Street analysts.
PacTel's long-term plans to increase revenues have yet to come on line. But the company disclosed yesterday that it hopes to receive a regulatory decision by the end of the month on whether it can expand into video services; approval has been expected since February.
It also is seeking permission to enter the long-distance telephone business.
In the meantime, "We're taking every prudent step possible to minimize the earnings decline," said PacTel chief executive Phil Quigley. "But the combination of new competition and outmoded regulation makes that very difficult."
Sympathy for PacTel's predicament was not unanimous, however. "Welcome to the world of competition," said Spencer Kaitz, president of the California Cable Television Association. The cable TV industry, including such companies as Tele-Communications Inc., has taken financial hits as its business has become more competitive, he noted.


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It will be easy for N.C. State fans to find beer at Carter-Finley Stadium this college football season.
N.C. State announced its preliminary plans Monday for beer sales at home games this season. There will be between 40 and 50 “points of sale” on the concourse, according to the release sent out by the school.
The beer stations will be set up in the four corners of the stadium and will be separate from the existing concession stands.
The beer will be sold in cans and plastic bottles but not on draft. The specific details of what will be sold, and range of prices for the different variety of beers, was not included in the release. There will be hard seltzer sold this season but not wine.
“We have one of the great game day environments in college football, our fans fill the stands each year and this is another way to enhance the experience for a segment of our audience at Carter-Finley Stadium,” N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan said in a statement released by the school. “That said, we want to make sure we do this responsibly, with fan safety and an enjoyable fan experience in mind. This is something that can continue to evolve but we have taken what we feel are the appropriate measures to implement this for the upcoming season.”
The state legislature approved the sale of alcohol at public university athletic events earlier this summer. N.C. State had previously made the decision to sell beer this season at a July Board of Trustees meeting.
UNC announced Monday that it will sell beer and wine at home games at Kenan Stadium this fall. The university said it is still considering serving alcohol at other sporting events and venues this year, The News & Observer reported. At UNC, beer and wine will be sold 90 minutes before kickoff and will stop at the beginning of the third quarter.
At NC State, beer sales also will start when the general stadium gates open 90 minutes prior to kickoff but will stop at the end of the third quarter.
N.C. State opens the season on Aug. 31 at noon against East Carolina. UNC’s first home game is Sept. 7 against Miami.
Among the other details in the N.C. State release:
▪ Fans will need to show legal identification proving they are 21 years of age or older each time they purchase a beer. Anyone appearing younger than 30 will be subject to ID check and will be required to wear a wristband.
▪ Per state law, customers will be sold one beer per person per ID per purchase.
▪ No beer container may be brought in or out of the stadium, including empty containers.
▪ The sale of beer at Carter-Finley Stadium does not impact the existing stadium re-entry policy (pass-outs), which will remain in place.
Staff writer Kate Murphy contributed to this story.


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Business and consumer surveys
The economic climate and the consumer confidence indicators recover in April
- April 2012
26 April 2012
The economic climate indicator slightly increased in March and April, after registering the minimum of the series in February, suspending the strong downward path started observed since October 2010. In the reference month, the confidence indicators recovered in Manufacturing Industry, in Trade and in Services, while diminishing again in Construction and Public Works.
The Consumer confidence indicator increased between February and April, opposing the negative movement observed since the end of 2009.


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Numbers have been steady throughout the period since the global financial crisis and we've seen growth month on month, particularly in the Youth sector, as an increasing number of young Germans have chosen to travel since the school leaving age was reduced. We are also seeing growth in the 30-40 year old segment, which has always been very strong in areas such as campervans and long-stay business.
Growth has also continued from the German market across the winter months. While numbers are small for this traditionally summer-focussed market they reflect the efforts that have gone into the trade beginning to treat New Zealand as a year-round destination.
The overall German economy remains steady, thanks to the continued robustness of the domestic economy. A period of marked economic weakness is, at present, unlikely. In fact, development of the economy in Germany is remarkably resilient.
Industry is benefitting from renewed investment activity, which is expected to continue thanks to strong domestic and foreign demand for German products.
The economic recovery is also having an increasingly positive impact on the labour market. Unemployment is continuing its downward trend and a more buoyant job market will help to ensure that consumer spending also grows over the year.
(Data source: Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology).
|Exchange Rate vs NZD:||EUR1 = NZD 1.40062 (April 2015)|
|Expected GDP Growth:||+1.8% (2015 est.)|
Airlines and operators continue to report strong interest and enquiries for travel to New Zealand, though the exchange rate is negatively impacting on this. The Euro declining against the New Zealand dollar creates a real issue for pricing and makes New Zealand relatively more expensive than other long-haul destinations. The same situation equally applies to Australia.


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The Sodexo Live! division of catering and facilities management provider Sodexo has further bolstered its tennis portfolio by agreeing a multi-year deal to become a strategic hospitality partner of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The new relationship will seek to elevate the food, beverage and guest experience at the facility, highlighted by new hospitality offerings for fans and players alike at the annual BNP Paribas Open, the world’s largest combined ATP and WTA two-week professional tennis tournament which is regarded as one of the sport’s leading events outside of the four grand slams.
Located in the heart of the Coachella Valley, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden is a year-round destination featuring 29 world-class tennis courts, including the 16,100-seat Stadium 1, the second largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world.
Sodexo Live! has decades of expertise operating hospitality for global tennis events including the French Open, while also being responsible for premium hospitality package sales for the Australian Open.
In July 2022, Sodexo Live! signed a new agreement with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) to serve as the exclusive marketing partner for the hospitality programmes of the French Open and Paris Masters tournaments.
“We are committed to offering a world-class hospitality experience to all fans and players who visit Tennis Paradise, and our partnership with Sodexo Live! will focus on developing new premium experiences, a first-rate culinary program and fan-focused service,” said Philippe Dore, chief marketing officer at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and BNP Paribas Open.
“Fans planning their trip to Tennis Paradise this spring should be excited about the variety of new luxury offerings coming to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden thanks to this new partnership.”
The Sodexo Live! team will implement a refreshed strategy around the player and fan hospitality experience at the BNP Paribas Open that intends to maximise efficiency and excellence of service, showcase area cuisine and beverages, and highlight nutrition and sustainability.
“In just over two decades, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden has become a beacon for world-class tennis,” said Belinda Oakley, CEO of Sodexo Live! North America. “We’re honoured to build a hospitality program at this iconic venue, and excited to provide magical moments year after year.”
The next edition of the BNP Paribas Open is scheduled for March 4-17.


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Gree Pushing Mobile Games Global
Forbes filed this post titled: Japan-based Gree is the $5 billion mobile and social gaming company you’ve never heard of: http://bit.ly/m3x9gw
The company’s games are widely popular in Japan and now the company is expanding globally, particularly in the U.S. and China. Gree in April acquired OpenFeint, one of the largest mobile gaming platforms in the U.S. for $104 million and now is planning to launch its first U.S. game this summer.
I recently met with Gree founder and Chief Executive Yoshikazu Tanaka, a 34-year old billionaire, while he was visiting the OpenFeint offices in Burlingame, Calif.
The upshot is Gree has seen strong growth. Net income increased 54% in its quarter ending in March to JPY4.7 billion ($58.1 million today). Revenue jumped 77% to JPY16.4 billion ($202.6 million today). The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion and the stock is up 75.8% year to date on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. See the full article here.


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Rethinking foot traffic
Urban planners tend to applaud when pedestrians replace cars (something NYC is now considering for Times Square.) But officials in Boston are now considering the ...
Urban planners tend to applaud when pedestrians replace cars (something NYC is now considering for Times Square.)
But officials in Boston are now considering the opposite course of action: They want to take the troubled Downtown Crossing pedestrian shopping mall and turn it back into a street.
Exhibit 1 for the argument that cars on the street will bring pedestrians back is Chicago's State Street. From the Boston Globe:
The historic downtown shopping destination, once anchored by classic department stores like Marshall Field and Goldblatt's, was dirty, dangerous, and down on its knees. The city had blocked off traffic on the street, turning it into a pedestrian mall in hopes of competing with suburban malls.
But instead of enlivening the street, the mall isolated it from the rest of downtown. Businesses closed, shoppers fled, pigeons and trash proliferated, and the street emptied into a wasteland at night. Like their counterparts in Boston, Chicago officials dispatched fruit vendors, hoping they would bring back shoppers. They didn't.
Under mounting pressure from business owners, the city made a fateful decision in 1996. Like hundreds of cities across the country, it decided to rip up its pedestrian mall and reconnect State Street to downtown.These days, State Street is at the heart of a downtown renaissance.
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There are various prospects as well as drifts in online betting in Vietnam that have taken the nation’s gaming business to the subsequent stage. Firstly, since the pandemic outbreak, there has been a re-ignition of welfare in Vietnam’s currently burgeoning online gambling business. Besides, the increasing popularity has continued to attract high growing duties as well as growing incomes in the country. Secondly, the mobile phone games established by far-off gambling hulks govern Vietnam’s bazaar. But then again, the changes occur in subdivisions such as locally-modified unpremeditated games. Additionally, external stakeholders tend to pilot and conform to Vietnamese rules to get the needed certificate for the merchandise they require in the betting industry. Furthermore, this process is as very imperative when it comes to launching such dealings in Vietnam. In general, most states across the globe ordered their residents to remain at home to reduce the coronavirus disease pandemic’s spread. As a result, the electronic games and betting sectors have taken advantage of the same. This situation is also similar in Vietnam. Nevertheless, before the outbreak of COVID-19, it was predicted that gambling was likely to rise exponentially in advanced areas and rapidly developing nations, including Vietnam.
The Summary of Evolving Drifts
According to the study done by both Google as well as Niko Partners, they oversee Vietnam’s electronic games industry will get to about twenty-eight percent yearly growing proportion. Besides, incomes generated from online sports in Vietnam are projected to attain over ten million dollars by the end of the year. For that reason, this will hit sixteen percent growth from last year. Various influences contribute to encouraging the fascinating and developing market for the Vietnamese gambling business. For instance, the increasing number of smartphones in Vietnam is too high, with over fifty percent of the inhabitants using them to bet online at casino trực tuyến việt nam uy tín 188loto. Also, there is fast internet exposure in the country having 4G nets. For that reason, Vietnamese people can go on with online gambling more efficiently. Additionally, in Vietnam, more than three million gamblers have about 66.7 percent aged between eighteen to thirty years. Moreover, over half of the Vietnamese gamblers are aged below twenty-five, meaning that the youths are vital drivers of the developing betting sector.
Subdivisions in Vietnam’s Gambling Sector
- Electronic games. This is a modest stage of betting in Vietnam that incorporates expert gamers who take part in play-offs. Besides, they contribute to struggles for an important amount of income as rewards. Like other traditional games, this sector incorporates multiple competitive players with huge devotee stations.
- Mobile sports. This is the latest leading kind of Vietnamese online betting contributing over fifty percent of the sector’s incomes.
- Online gaming. In Vietnam, gambling den sports like blackjack and roulette are played, thus enhancing Vietnamese people to enjoy real cash.


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A vegan fish and chip shop is one of five restaurants in Brighton, East Sussex, taking part in a carbon labelling trial with food delivery platform Just Eat.
For the next 12 weeks, No Catch will display a ‘traffic light’ carbon rating from A (Very Low carbon impact) to E (Very High carbon impact) next to main meals.
The ratings have been developed with My Emissions, a provider of food carbon calculations and labelling, and take into account the farming, production, transport and packaging of the dishes.
For example, its £11 vegan cod and chips carries an A-rating and is said to be 78.2% lower in emissions than a traditional cod fish and chips meal. This, claims Just Eat, saves the same emissions as one person travelling on the train between Brighton and London.
The takeaway has also received insights and tips on how it can reduce its carbon footprint, including making informed decisions about the ingredients it uses.
Just Eat estimates that 80% of the wider marketplace carbon footprint is generated by food and food production. The trial aims to address this by helping consumers better understand the environmental impact of their food choices and by supporting restaurant partners in offering more sustainable options.
The scheme is believed to be the first of its kind for a UK food delivery platform.
Andrew Crumpton, owner at No Catch, said: “We’ve been exploring ways to reduce our carbon footprint, particularly as we’re seeing more and more customers take an interest in the environmental impact of the food choices they make. We’re excited to be taking part in this trial with Just Eat and look forward to seeing how our customers respond.”
Jaz Rabadia , head of responsible business and sustainability at Just Eat Takeaway.com, says: “We are committed to building a more sustainable future for the food delivery industry. This trial, with the support of our restaurant partners, aims to empower and educate our consumers on the impact food choices can have on our planet.”
Smoque Burger, Brewdog, Fat Pizza and Fat Burgers and Desserts are also taking part in the Brighton-based trial. Read more about the carbon labelling trial at: https://www.just-eat.co.uk/explore/sustainability/introducing-carbon-labelling/


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Dauntless Coming to Consoles and Mobile in 2019
Phoenix Labs announced yesterday during The Game Awards that Dauntless will make its way to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices in 2019.
Cross-platforms support will be offered, and when somebody logs into their One Dauntless account, they will be able to retain all of their customization, progression, and purchased items across all supported platforms.
You can view a new trailer below:
Dauntless — Console Announce | PlayStation 4 & Xbox One
According to Jesse Houston, co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Labs:
Hugecalf Studios and Curve Digital have released a new trailer that takes a look at the summer-themed content coming to When Ski Lifts Go Wrong
Bandai Namco announced today that the Ni no Kuni II DLC “The Lair of the Lost Lord” will come out for the PlayStation 4 and PC on December 13


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Nespresso has opened two new permanent boutiques in London. These are the latest in the brand’s expansion plans to bring the Nespresso boutique concept nearer to more people in the nation’s capital. The first boutique is located on the ground floor of One New Change Shopping Centre in Cheapside, and the second in Cardinal Place, Victoria.
The new permanent boutiques will bring the Nespresso experience to coffee-loving shoppers, immersing them in a luxurious and beautifully designed space. A team of highly trained coffee specialists guide customers through the Nespresso range of stylish machines and accessories, allowing visitors to sample the high quality coffees at the dedicated tasting bar, ensuring each and every customer finds a blend to suit their tastes while expanding their own coffee expertise. As with other stores in the portfolio, Nespresso Members can return their used capsules to the boutique for them to be recycled.
Joining the two new permanent boutiques in London are two pop-ups; one at Watford Intu shopping centre on Lower Mall that opened on Wednesday 15 November. The other will be located in Kings Cross St Pancras Station, opening late November. These four new openings will take the total number of Nespresso boutiques to almost 40 by the end of 2017 – a significant increase from the nine boutiques the brand had in the UK and Ireland two years ago.
'We’re excited to launch our new permanent boutiques and pop ups in London, inviting shoppers to taste our coffees while trialling our machines and accessories. Our retail expansion continues to be a priority and we want to bring the Nespresso experience as close to as many people as possible, expanding coffee knowledge and providing the opportunity to learn from our coffee specialists,' says Francisco Nogueira, managing director of Nespresso UK & Ireland.


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More than 47.2% of Americans across the country are unemployed, which equates to essentially just under half of the adult population due to the effect of pandemics on the economy. Companies have had to downsize in an attempt to stay afloat in the midst of the crisis, but there doesn’t seem to be an end to the chaos near with unpredictable buyer behavior and trends fluctuating daily.
Looking back, it’s never too early to start preparing for your business’s COVID-19 recovery. Eventually, everything will go away, and the companies that have created strategies to sustain themselves after the aftermath of the pandemic will likely help them survive or potentially recover from any losses. This article will delve into the actions that brands can take to start strategizing for the future.
How will you work to adapt your business to COVID-19?
Having your own business despite its size, you will need to assess how you are going to handle the current crisis and the effects to come. Trends continually change, consumer shopping habits fluctuate, and online shopping is on the rise as in-person stores decrease sales.
This is the time when your business will need to prioritize and understand the changing industry landscape and embrace new strategies, as well as improve business efficiency to keep an ecommerce business running. Being able to plan for the future of your business during COVID-19 accordingly and being open to rapid changes in business model will not only help increase revenue and sustainability, but will create safe functionality for everyone. employees and workers.
Post-pandemic business strategy
Businesses will need to realize that with the changing environment for e-commerce, business strategies will also need to readjust and evolve. During and after this crisis, your brand needs to be used to being able to quickly change marketing and business plans and not stress how trends and behaviors are changing. Below is a list of examples of approaches businesses can take to work alongside the future impacts of the virus:
Develop a strategy around COVID-19: The best thing you can do for your business during the pandemic is to just embrace it. Adapting your business to COVID-19 and long after will show consumers your brand’s morals and values in the face of the crisis. Ironically, the worst thing you can do during and after this event is to « fight » against it, by not mentioning and avoiding the pandemic whether by emailing your employees, posting content there from the your brand’s website or social media platforms, or even the products and services you offer to consumers. Your business must strategize around the current events of the pandemic to maintain loyalty and trust between your business, your employees, and your customers.
Learn from the past: Make sure history doesn’t repeat itself and your business learns from the effects of COVID, by implementing safety precautions and working to boost worker morale. If and when people are allowed to return to the office at full capacity, your business should have everything from hand sanitizer stations set up, handwashing reminders, desks and social distancing seats, to none. name a few. Eventually, a more flexible schedule for employees and options to work from home a few times a week will also create a more mentally healthy and safe environment for all workers.
Evolution of customer behavior: The pandemic has radically and rapidly changed people’s lives in just a matter of months. However, it has also affected consumer behavior. Day in and day out, things are still changing when it comes to the virus, which means businesses need to be aware that customer habits are likely to be unpredictable and will continue to evolve. In response to these changes, your business will need to be able to react quickly and evolve with consumer behavior as they occur. Agility is now essential.
Provident: Although consumer behavior is unpredictable, it is possible to predict more people in the future, or at least in the coming months, still working remotely and staying at home. Your business should strategize around this factor and address what customers may need or want during these times. For example, exercise equipment company Peloton continues to bring its machines to consumers, while the brand has also brought more virtual workout videos to its audience as gyms remain closed or only allow 10 % capacity. This strategy has led Peloton’s turnover to increase by 66% even with the crisis in place.
Experience: With the unpredictability that Covid-19 brings, one post-pandemic business strategy your business can adopt is to experiment and adapt new models and solutions. Through trial and error, your brand can learn from these experiences to better shape itself as trends and behaviors change once the crisis is over.
Businesses should be prepared to put their employees and consumers first during this time. Times are unpredictable for all sectors, which means having the ability to adjust and restructure quickly, experiment with plans and strategize around the pandemic, will in turn help. in the future of e-commerce businesses and the long-term global economy.


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Flint, MI—Flint’s professional basketball team is set to host a “Hip-Hop Xmas” toy giveaway at Comma Bookstore this Saturday, Dec. 17 from noon to 3 p.m.
Flint United owner and president Kevin Mays said the hip-hop themed giveaway “just felt right” as a “feel-good, musically rich” holiday event.
“Some of our favorite holiday classics come from RUN DMC, Mariah Carey, Boys II Men, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, Destiny’s Child, even Snoop Dogg,” he told Flint Beat. The event will feature a DJ set by Afrobotk and performances by Flint-native and vocalist, Laia, and hip-hop artist Zip.
Mays said he chose Comma Bookstore for the giveaway location as “they continue to lead our city in all things culturally-infused from their book selection to the art on the walls.”
The giveaway includes toys for all ages, Mays said, and thanks to partners McDonald’s and Liquid Bidding, there are enough gifts for at least the first 100 kids who attend on Saturday.
“In all, we just wanted to do something that felt good to us,” Mays said. “There’s so many great events in the city around this time of the year and Flint United just wanted to be a part of the fun.”
The giveaway will also feature a coffee and hot chocolate bar from Rootless Coffee, which Mays promised will include marshmallows, extra chocolate pieces and peppermint sticks because “who doesn’t like warm treats?”
Comma Bookstore is located at 132 W. Second St. in downtown Flint, Mich., and Mays welcomed the whole community to stop by during Saturday’s toy giveaway.
“We hope everyone comes and enjoys each other’s company,” Mays said. “And, how can I forget, Santa will be there too!”


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Wine-Shipping Bill Clears NJ Legislature
New Jerseyans could have wine shipped to their homes from small out-of-state wineries and Garden State growers could ship their product directly to customers under legislation that has cleared the state Legislature.
The Assembly and state Senate both voted late Monday night to advance a bill that revises the law governing direct wine sales.
Proponents say the bill is good for customers and New Jersey-based wineries. But opponents claim direct shipping will hurt retail liquor stores and distributors.
The Assembly passed the bill by a 51-18-4 vote, while the Senate approved it 24-9.
It now heads to Gov. Chris Christie for his consideration.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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According to data from Lumina Intelligence’s Menu Tracker, presented at the MCA Pub Conference, premium beer brands are becoming more prominent on operator menus across UK pub and bar drinks menus.
Operators target more premium beer bottles/cans
Data collected in May 2022 shows that Brewdog accounts for 19% of all 330ml beer bottles or cans on the menus of 20 largest pub and bar brands in the UK – an increase of 1ppt versus February 2022, Heineken accounts for 7% – an increase of 5ppts and Amstel accounts for 3% – an increase of 1ppt.
All three of these brands are more expensive than the average price of beer on menus – Brewdog is +12.5% more, Heineken +2.6% and Amstel +5.0%.
Whiskey growing in presence
As well as premium beer brands, operators are turning to spirits to drive higher spend. In April 2022, gin was the most prominent spirit to feature on pub menus – accounting for 37% of all spirits on menus. Whiskey is the next highest and has grown its share since February – accounting for 17% of all spirits on a pub/bar menu. Operators are expanding their ranges of these more premium drinks, with the average price of whiskey on drinks menus +1% more expensive than total spirits.
Customisable dishes drive efficiencies
Pub operators are not just turning to drinks in order to drive spend and premiumise. Operators are introducing new customisable dishes in order to increase price points on menus whilst also managing staff shortages and boosting consumer satisfaction.
Between February and May 2022, 56% of new main dishes on pub menus were tagged as customisable, and these dishes were 5% more expensive than the average main course.
The price differences are even more prominent across other courses:
Across all courses, 39% of all new dishes added to pub and bar menus between February and May 2022 have been customisable and command a +25% higher price point than the average dish.
Speaking at the MCA Pub Conference, Senior Insight Manager at Lumina Intelligence, Katie Prowse, said:
“Like all hospitality channels, pubs and bars are facing into rising costs and greater scrutiny from consumers. Operators are using tactics to mitigate these challenges and encourage consumers to trade up to more premium products. Increasing availability of more premium beers and spirits is one way to drive spend, as well as through customisable dishes that encourage consumers to trade-up. Customisation is an important tool for operators as it allows for consumer choice and taps into trends for experience and personalisation. Operators can achieve this through allowing consumers to choose sides to go with dishes or more premium sauces/toppings, which can help ease kitchen pressures through having a more streamlined menu, as well boost spend through more premium options.”
Find out more about Lumina Intelligence’s Menu Tracker here.


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Net Savvy Teens Filtered by Parents
Posted on March 17, 2005
While teens are generally much more net savvy then their parents. However, they are increasingly filtered by their parents who want to restrict their kids from adult-oriented websites. 54% of parents now use internet filters or monitoring software on their teenage children according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project study. That a jump of 65% since 2000. The filters tend to be used by parents who themselves are frequent users of the internet and who have middle-school-age children. Parents who have older children and who are less tech-savvy are less likely to use filters. Big majorities of both teens and parents believe that teens do things on the internet that their parents would not approve of. 81% of parents of online teens say that teens aren’t careful enough when giving out information about themselves online and 79% of online teens agree with this. 65% of all parents and 64% of all teens say that teens do things online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about.


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Bola Tinubu: 5 Companies the President-Elect Can Build to Boost Nigeria’s Economy
As Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Tinubu prepares to take office, his new administration can do a lot to help boost Nigeria’s economy. One of the strategies that has been argued over time by experts and economic analysts is the promotion of entrepreneurship and creation of new businesses.
However, the establishment of companies in the key sectors of the economy can go a long way in creating jobs, growth drive, and fostering a more diversified and resilient economy.
In this article, we will explore five potential companies that Tinubu can build to help stimulate economic growth and create jobs in Nigeria. These companies range from renewable energy to agriculture which could have a significant impact on Nigeria’s economic future.
Agricultural Processing Company
Tinubu can boost the Nigerian economy by building companies that deal with agricultural processing.
Agriculture has long been an important part of Nigeria’s economy, not only in terms of food production, but also in terms of its economic impact and contribution to the workforce. It is an essential sector for economic growth and development in Nigeria, providing employment opportunities for millions of people and contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
However, despite the abundant agricultural resources in the country, Nigeria has struggled to fully harness the potential of the sector due to a lack of infrastructure and processing facilities.
Agriculture processing companies can play a significant role in boosting the Nigerian economy by providing processing services for agricultural products. By investing in processing facilities and technology, agriculture processing companies can create job opportunities, boost local economies, and increase foreign exchange earnings through exports. These companies can also enhance the Nigerian agricultural sector by improving the quality and standard of processed agricultural products.
Also, Tinubu can encourage and support the growth of agriculture processing companies in the country towards a more robust and diversified economy. This can be achieved through targeted policies and incentives that can attract investments into the sector and create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Renewable Energy Manufacturing Company
Tinubu’s focus should also be to build renewable energy manufacturing companies to improve energy access for its citizens.
As a developing country, Nigeria has a significant opportunity to leverage renewable energy to boost its economy. Investing in renewable energy companies can play a vital role in boosting the Nigerian economy by providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy solutions. These companies can create jobs in the renewable energy sector, increase energy access for households and businesses, and reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Renewable energy can help Nigeria not only meet its energy needs, but also power sustainable economic growth.
In addition, by investing in renewable energy companies, Tinubu can help the country unlock new economic opportunities in the energy sector, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the health and well-being of its citizens.
Also, it is important that Tinubu encourage and support the growth of renewable energy companies in the country through targeted policies and incentives to attract foreign and local investors.
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company
Tinubu can build companies that deal in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals as a way to improve the health of Nigerians.
The pharmaceutical industry plays a crucial role in boosting the economy of Nigeria. The incoming president can invest in building pharmaceutical companies that would focus on research and development of new drugs, which would not only improve the health of Nigerians but also create jobs and contribute to economic growth.
Also, building local manufacturing facilities and sourcing raw materials locally, can promote domestic production and reduce the country’s reliance on imported drugs.
However, to actualize the building of pharmaceutical companies in the country, Tinubu can give room for a supportive policy environment, public-private partnerships, and collaborations between academia, industry, and government.
Textile Manufacturing Company
Tinubu can boost Nigeria’s economy by establishing textile manufacturing companies. Nigeria’s textile industry has long been a critical player in the nation’s economy, providing employment to millions of people and contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
However, over the years, the sector has faced numerous challenges, including high production costs, inadequate infrastructure, and stiff competition from cheap imports.
To boost the economy and reinvigorate the textile industry, Tinubu can invest in building companies that explore a range of measures, such as investing in modern machinery, enhancing supply chain management, and leveraging digital technologies. By doing so, they can increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve the quality of their products, thereby boosting demand and creating more jobs.
Tinubu can also give room for the implementation of suitable and favourable regulations that can attract foreign and local investors and entrepreneurs to Nigeria, thus eliminating unemployment and boosting its economy.
Automotive Manufacturing Company
Tinubu’s investment in the Automotive sector of the economy through building of automotive manufacturing can boost the country’s economy.
According to the 2022 Automotive Export Manual, South Africa’s generated a growth of nearly 10% in automotive exports. This increase in export volume has had a significant impact on the country’s economy, as the export value increased. The automotive industry has the potential to boost the Nigerian economy by creating jobs, increasing local production, and reducing dependence on imports.
To boost the automotive industry in Nigeria, Tinubu can create a conducive environment for investment, including providing incentives for local production and reducing import tariffs on automotive components. There’s a lot of revenue that the government can make from this alone as well as the creation of employment opportunities and development of local supply chains.
Also, automakers can contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy by partnering with local suppliers, training and developing local talent. Tinubu can focus on the implementation of right policies and investing in the building of several automotive companies, to make the industry become a major contributor to the country’s economy through, creation of jobs, increasing productivity, and reducing dependence on imports.
WhatsApp’s Latest Feature Allows Accounts Send One-Way Updates to Followers via Channels
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, says WhatsApp has recently introduced a new feature call…


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In a surprise reveal at EA Play, which kicks off E3 here in Los Angeles, the company showed off a new EA Original title in the works from Hazelight, the studio that made Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It’s called A Way Out and features two men, Vincent and Leo, attempting to escape prison. However, escaping the compound is only the beginning. You’ll have to continue to evade law enforcement as you take care of some personal business.
The game will feature co-op gameplay, but the developers stated that it’s best experienced in split-screen rather than online. You will have to work together to distract enemies, run away from from cops, and even rob convenience stores. The game is scheduled to come out in early 2018.


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Volkswagen recalls 10,100 New Beetles
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG's New Beetle, lauded in
crash tests and prized by consumers, was
tarnished Friday by a recall for an electrical problem.
Volkswagen of America Inc. said it was recalling all of the 10,100 New
Beetles sold in the United States and Canada
because certain wires could be damaged from rubbing against the battery
tray in the front of the car near the engine.
The wire "chafing" could cause the car's air conditioning compressor or
fuel pump to malfunction, or result in a wiring fire in
the engine compartment. If the fuel pump malfunctions, the vehicle will
stall without warning, Volkswagen said.
VW said it had received no reports of accidents or injuries related to
the wiring problem, and no fuel pump failures or stalled
vehicle incidents had been reported. However, the automaker said it was
aware of three air conditioner compressors
malfunctioning due to the wire chafing.
The recall affects all 1998 New Beetles sold since the car went on sale
in the United States and Canada in March. About
8,500 of the affected cars were sold in the United States, and about
1,600 were sold in Canada.
The car had triggered a consumer nostalgia craze even before its
introduction, and there have been widespread reports of
speculators buying up the cars and reselling them for thousands of
dollars more than their sticker prices. The car sells for
about $18,000 fully equipped.


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York-based PureClarity uses AI to analyse customer behaviour and deliver personalised customer experiences through product recommendations, personalised marketing campaigns, and more, helping retailers to boost online revenue. The startup has just secured €850k in investment from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Fund Managers and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
The investment is the second within the past year from NPIF, and brings the total amount raised by PureClarity to €1.5 million. The funding will allow the company to enhance its product, speed up implementation times and step up its marketing campaigns, creating eight new jobs.
“We are extremely excited to receive the next round of funding,” said Paul Gibson. “Our advanced e-commerce personalisation solution is developing at a fast rate, and our clients are experiencing fantastic results with increased online revenue of 26%. This investment reflects not only the confidence in our company growth but also the unique service we are providing within the Artificial Intelligence field. Our plans to advance our AI platform and extend our marketing reach globally will help facilitate and expedite this success.”
Launched in 2017, the PureClarity platform was developed by a five-strong team of IT and digital marketing specialists led by CEO Dr Paul Gibson. It is now used by organisations including the Royal British Legion, Norwich City Football Club and bike accessories supplier Zyro Fisher.
“We have great confidence in the management team of this innovative business which has identified a niche in the ecommerce market,” said Emma Cross, Investment Executive with Mercia Fund Managers. “This latest round of funding will enable them to extend their market exposure and scale up the operation both nationally and internationally.”


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More people, over time, are learning about cryptocurrencies and are being persuaded they are efficient means for settling debts.
However, the average merchant still does not accept them. The reasons range from the unclear legal position of cryptocurrencies, their price volatility to a lack of clear understanding of how exactly they work.
This has, however, turned out to be an opportunity for some. Several financial service providers now issue a debit card to bridge consumers who want to spend cryptocurrencies and merchants who still trust only government-issued currencies.
The debit card is loaded using crypto but pays merchants in the fiat currencies they are comfortable accepting, such as the US dollar. The issuers of the crypto cards are basically exchanges that convert between crypto and fiat currencies like the US dollar.
The most used crypto debit cards list includes ClubSwan, Bitpay, and Crypto.com.
These cards are supported by mainstream payment processors, in particular Mastercard, Visa, and Unionpay. That creates the possibility of using crypto to shop in millions of stores around the world.
Demand for Crypto Debit Cards
The demand for crypto debit cards is growing, especially as more people want to avoid inflation in fiat currencies, even as merchants remain hesitant to accept cryptocurrencies and some regulators ban their use.
It is, however, not easy to find data on the number of crypto debit cards that have been shipped over time, as the companies that issue them don’t usually publish such information. It is, however, possible to get data about the searches done online, and that can suggest volumes.
Someone looking for a crypto debit card is likely to query Google. The search engine keeps this information and makes it available through several tools. One of such tools is Google Trends.
Focusing on the search phrases ‘crypto debit cards’ and ‘best crypto debit cards,’ I managed to glean interesting data from Google Trends. For this article, I decided to observe data going back five years.
According to Google Trends, the first searches for ‘crypto debit cards’ happened in December 2008. That is hard to explain because Bitcoin was only launched a year later.
The more meaningful searches for ‘crypto debit cards’ and ‘best crypto debit cards’ began in July 2016. The volume for the two search phrases has had a general upward trend.
If you look at the graph and compare it with the one for Bitcoin price in the same time frame, you will notice that they mirror each other. As the price of Bitcoin goes up, so does the search for crypto debit cards.
For example, when the Bitcoin price hit a new all-time high of $20,000 in December 2017, the number of searches for the phrase crypto debit cards also reached a new high. The search volume dipped the following year as the price of Bitcoin descended to below $4000.
Countries with top searches
The data for search phrases ‘crypto debit cards’ and ‘best crypto debit cards’ seem to tell different stories. According to Google Trends, the phrase ‘crypto debit cards’ is searched extensively in more regions than ‘best crypto debit cards.’ While 16 countries are listed for the former, only the United States and the United Kingdom register for the latter.
Of course, countries that don’t speak English are excluded from this data.
Based on the search volume data on Google Trends, the following are the top ten countries with the highest demand for crypto debit cards:
Top Countries offering Cryptocurrency Debit Cards
Other studies have shown that Nigerians are heavily involved with crypto even though the Central Bank of Nigeria has banned crypto.
In March 2021, Statista published a study indicating that “Nigerians were the most likely to say they used or owned cryptocurrency.” Three months later, UsefulTulips.org ranked the country top in Africa based on trading activities on peer-to-peer exchanges.
Nigeria scores 100 for the search phrase ‘crypto debit cards,’ the highest score possible on Google Trends. It, however, does not rank at all for ‘best crypto debit cards.’
2. United Arab Emirates
The UAE has a generally positive approach to cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The country has hosted several high-profile international conferences on digital currencies, blockchain, and decentralized ledger technology (DLT).
It has been reported that authorities are setting aside a special zone for digital asset companies at the Dubai World Trade Centre (WTC).
The UAE scores 64 on Google Trends for the phrase ‘crypto debit cards.’ It, too, does not register for ‘best crypto debit cards.’
Singapore is home to several international crypto brands. The list includes crypto debit card issuing companies crypto.com and Paycent. The city-state has in the past been named as the world’s top crypto country.
However, not all crypto businesses have found Singapore accommodating. In December 2021, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, shut down its operations on the island as the regulators’ requirements were too stringent.
Singapore scores 57 on Google Trends for ‘crypto debit card.’
Canada has generally embraced cryptocurrencies. Besides a relatively accommodative regulatory environment, the country is slowly incorporating crypto into its systems.
For example, in October 2021, North Vancouver became the first city in the world to use energy generated from Bitcoin mining to heat buildings.
The North American country scores 47 on the Google Trend for ‘crypto debit card.’
Canada is also home to Blockstream, founded by some of the most active Bitcoin core developers.
5. United States
The US is home to several major crypto debit card issuing companies. The list includes BlockFi, Uphold, BitPay, and Coinbase.
Besides ‘crypto debit cards,’ the country also registers for the search phrase ‘best crypto debit card on Google Trend. It scores 44 for ‘crypto debit card’ and 100 for ‘best crypto debit card.’
6. United Kingdom
The UK is home to many global crypto debit card brands, including ClubSwan, Cryptopay, Wirex, Revolut, Monolith, and Uquid.
It scores 33 on Google Trends for ‘crypto debit cards.’ It also registers for the search phrase ‘best crypto debit card’ and scores 48 for it. The UK is the only other country that ranks for the latter phrase.
It is the only European country in this top 10 list.
7. Hong Kong
Hong Kong is technically part of the People’s Republic of China. It is its special administrative region. However, its approach to crypto is different from that of mainland China.
While China banned crypto in totality in late 2021, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a discussion paper in January 2022 to guide its regulation on blockchain assets.
Hong Kong is the headquarter of several blockchain startups. The most known of these is Input Output ( IOHK), which built Cardano.
Hong Kong scores 33 for the phrase ‘crypto debit card.’
8. New Zealand
New Zealand has a fast-growing crypto community. Most crypto debit cards are shipped to the island. It also has local crypto exchanges such as Swyfxt, Easy Crypto NZ, and Independent Reserve.
New Zealand has a score of 30 on Google Trends for ‘crypto debit card.’
9. South Africa
South Africa has often been ranked behind Nigeria in terms of crypto trading activity. However, unlike Nigeria, the country’s regulators have shown an interest in regulating the space instead of banning the use of cryptocurrencies.
South Africa scores 29 for ‘crypto debit card’ on the Google Trend.
In many aspects, Australia is similar to New Zealand, its neighbor, including an active crypto community and a relatively accommodative regulatory environment.
Besides many international crypto debit cards shipped to the country, Australians can also apply for the native Coinjar debit card.
Australia scores 26 ‘crypto debit card’ on Google Trend.


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January 7, 2016
Amazon made a bold move to compete against the UK’s high-street furniture and electrical retailers by introducing a new program for its UK shoppers. Its customers can now opt to take out a loan on Amazon for purchases worth £400 and more.
The US giant, led by founder Jeff Bezos, will offer shoppers the option of paying for their purchase over as many as four years. Customers are charged a rate of 16.9% on the loans, which can be taken out on multiple items as long as the total is £400 or more. Customers would not need to pay a deposit, which means that the first payment was their opening monthly installment.
Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance will be in charge of the retailer's loan services. Hitachi also offers interest-free credit on furniture for John Lewis.
Clients receive the pay monthly option at the checkout page on Amazon's website under a comprehensive list of payment methods. Buyers may apply for a credit, which determines if they are eligible for the loan or not.
In a statement, Amazon said to the Guardian, The new Amazon Pay Monthly program provides our customers with further payment options to suit their needs when shopping on our website, and it is easy, convenient and offers competitive rates and flexible terms.
The UK is believed to be the first country to receive Amazon Pay Monthly, which will only apply to goods sold and dispatched by Amazon itself, though shoppers in the US can buy on credit using an Amazon store card.
Gerald Grimes, the Managing Director of Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance, said, Our new trial with Amazon is all about giving people the fastest and most seamless experience when it comes to point-of-sale credit.
It means you can go straight from choosing a new dishwasher or fridge to accessing finance options through Hitachi Capital to pay monthly, all while staying on the Amazon website. This means no visible break in the customer journey.
Amazon is famous for its ‘1-Click’ service, allowing you to place an order literally at the click of a button with pre-stored payment details and delivery addresses. This is part of boosting that customer experience and could signal huge changes for the online retail industry.
Amazon has implemented a series of customer-care initiatives to upgrade its customer experience.
The American online giant now offers a one-hour delivery service in some areas. Earlier this week, Amazon's UK boss Christopher North said that he plans to expand the firm's pantry service which sells 4,000 brands including Branston, Coca-Cola, Heinz and Kellogg's.
The group’s Pantry service—which was launched in Britain in November—will be beefed up in 2016, adding new product lines, according to Christopher North.
In the UK, the service only offers items like canned and bottled products; in America, it is testing a fuller service selling fruit, vegetables and meat, called AmazonFresh.
Amazon recently announced that more than 23 million items were ordered worldwide from sellers on Amazon on Cyber Monday, a more than 40% increase year-over-year.
In 2015, Amazon came up with a lot of payment programs. Amazon has been trying really hard to compete with eBay and now, with the new PayPal. There has also been some recent success for the company in this space: the Login and Pay with Amazon feature seems to be gaining traction. Recently, Amazon announced the launch of the Login and Pay with Amazon feature in mobile apps as well.
It is clear that the retail giant is here to stay and will not accept failures.


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dotCMS 5.0 was launched in August 2018, with the official press release stating that it gives, “marketing and business teams more autonomy to create digital experiences”. This revamped version of dotCMS includes a sizeable list of new capabilities which were explained in a blog post detailing dotCMS 5.0:
- Drag-and-Drop Page & Layout Editor - Layouts are now tied to the page itself, making it easy to make changes to the layout without having to leave the page editor.
- Drag-and-Drop Workflow Builder - Building on the "Four Eyes" approval feature from dotCMS 4.3, the dotCMS 5.0 workflow builder allows for multiple workflow schemes per content type.
- Drag-and-Drop Content Type Builder - Users can now drag and drop from a list of fields to build out content types. Adding rows, columns, and changing the order of fields makes it easier to build out new content types, especially forms.
- Enhanced Container Support - dotCMS now has full containerization capabilities. We consider this to be a huge improvement to the usability of the platform, containers can be used multiple times on the same page, leading to the decrease in the number of templates and the overall ease of management of templates, layouts and containers.
- A New Reporting Module - integrates with Google Analytics to allow businesses to gain insight into their website right from the dotCMS Dashboard. This visualization of your web properties can be customized to show what insights are most important to your business.
- ElasticSearch 6.1 Support - Empower your website or application with powerful ElasticSearch technology.
Via the official press release, dotCMS CTO Will Ezell remarked that the dotCMS team had made a company-wide decision to "make dotCMS the most user-friendly system in the marketplace... Marketing and business users spend a majority of their time in our authoring environment, which is why we decided to do a complete refresh of our Edit Mode. With a cleaner UI, new drag and drop features, and an added reporting module, dotCMS 5.0 follows our ‘NoCode’ philosophy, offering editors the autonomy they need to create without heavy reliance on IT,” Ezell explained.
You can learn more about dotCMS 5.0 and upgrade via the dotCMS website.
Nuxeo Fast Track 10.2
Nuxeo have announced the release of Fast Track 10.2, which includes several new features and updates to the core Nuxeo Platform.
This latest release comes with enhanced capabilities for annotations where users can annotate office documents, PDFs, images, videos, and AutoCAD documents for both review/validation and for media enrichment. The latest release also features a new Adobe Creative Cloud connector to leverage the full capabilities of Adobe CC 2018.
Other notable updates and enhancements in Nuxeo 10.2 include:
- Federation Blob Provider - The latest version of Nuxeo can now enable users to manage binary content “in place”. This means users can now manage content which is stored in an external ECM or EFSS system. In addition, the Nuxeo content federation has been extended to allow users to scale, search, manage workflows, and manage permissions without having to endure forced migrations.
- Metadata Comparisons - Nuxeo’s Web UI has been updated to now offer the functionality of comparing metadata value right across multiple documents.
- Identify Similar Content - 10.2 now supports “More Like This” type queries. This enables users to perform intelligent searches and produce search results that match any given content including images, documents, and other business objects.
- Bulk Actions Framework - Users can streamline bulk operation thanks to the Bulk Actions Framework feature that has been built on a Kafta-based streaming infrastructure. The new framework allows users to execute multiple custom actions at scale.
- Avro - Nuxeo Stream can now send Asynchronous Processing Messages in Kafta via Avro. Avro is a standardized process of allowing modern systems to communicate with each other. This enables any service to consume Nuxeo calls and messages in a standardized manner.
You can learn more about what’s new with Nuxeo via their website.
Enonic XP 6.15 Released
Enonic XP 6.15 is now available. The latest release comes with a brand new HTML editor, CKEditor, which is fully backward compatible and replaces the previous TinyMCE editor. Other notable features in the new release include:
- Drag and drop capability
- Double-click editing
- Improved issues workflow
- New keyboard shortcuts for previewing and publishing content
- Updated duplicate content functionality.
More details about the release can be found in their release notes.
Enonic XP have also announced that this will be their last major version before the upcoming release of Enonic XP 7.0.
Liferay Announces Two New Courses for Liferay University
Following the unveiling of Liferay University last month, Liferay has announced two new courses on Liferay Analytics Cloud and Search, respectively. Just like all the courses on Liferay University, these new courses are completely free. An announcement about the two new courses contains further information
Liferay have also announced their first GA release of Liferay Project SDK Installer, a fully-fledged Liferay Developer Studio installer which installs Liferay workspace, blade, and Developer Studio. It also comes pre-bundled with the latest Liferay DXP server. Further information about the Installer can be found on their press release.
Furthermore, registration for Liferay’s annual conference, Liferay Symposium North America, is now open. The event will be held on October 8-10 in New Orleans, LA and will feature training sessions and presentations from a host of speakers, including Liferay CEO Bryan Cheung and Dr. Vijay Gurbaxani, Founder and Director of Center of Digital Transformation.
DNN 9.2.1 Released
DNN have officially launched version 9.2.1 DNN have also stated that all future releases will now be 100 percent community driven, starting with the 9.2.2 release which is expected to be launched in early September.
In other DNN-related news, the DNN Extension Verification Service (EVS) is now available as an open source solution, and the newest cohort of MVPs have been unveiled.
Also, the DNN Summit 2019 has been announced and is due to take place in Denver, CO on February 19-23, 2018. Those who would like to speak at the event can submit their application via the event speaker registration page.
Magnolia and Siteimprove Developing New Plugin
Magnolia and Siteimprove are currently working on a new plugin. This new plugin will allow Magnolia CMS users to integrate the Siteimprove tool into the interface to improve SEO, web analytics, and content quality. See Magnolia’s news story for further details.
In addition, info.nl have also released a new content synchronization module for Magnolia which enables users to easily export content to a testing environment within the Magnolia CMS platform. See their blog post for further details.
Finally, Magnolia will showcase its latest capabilities for personalization and engagement optimization at DMEXCO on September 12-13 in Cologne, Germany. You can learn more and get tickets via the Magnolia at DMEXCO web page.
Tiki Wiki Announced Release Newest Groupware
The latest versions of Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware were released last month, including version 18.2, 15.7LTS and 12.14 Security. Further details can be found on their release notes.
Tiki have also announced that the developments for Tiki Wiki 19.0 is currently ongoing and is expected to be released in October 2018. Tiki have also provided further documentation which explains the planned features and improvements of the upcoming release.
And finally, TikiFest is taking place in Montreal on September 7-12 2018. More details about the event can be found on the TikiFest events page.
BloomReach Release BloomReach Experience 12.5, Hire New CMO, CFO
BloomReach unveiled BloomReach Experience version 12.5, which introduces a range of usability improvements across multiple features. This new version also does away with "double rebuilds for any out-of-the-box Essentials plugins." The latest version also improves the integration between Personalization and Relevance targeting, allowing marketers to, "use a single cookie for both."
You can learn more in the full release notes for BloomReach version 12.5.
In other news, BloomReach announced two new additions to its executive team: CMO David Hurwitz and CFO Dave Pomeroy. The official press release for the new hires gives further details.