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MG Motor will soon launch a Smart EV in India, and it has been named ‘Comet’. The name derives inspiration from the iconic 1934 British airplane which participated in the England-Australia MacRobertson Air Race.
The ‘Comet’ is a micro EV that comes at a time when driving in congested urban cities is becoming increasingly stressful and needs agile and futuristic solutions amidst skyrocketing fuel costs, sparse parking spaces, and increasing pollution. The ‘Comet’ will provide seamless mobility which is connected, automatic, electric and shared; and help reduce environmental impact, save costs, and offer more convenience and comfort.
Comet will be the smallest car on Indian roads and the three-door four-seater electric vehicle comes in a range of bright new age colours. It is likely to be launched in the middle of 2023. Though prices have not been revealed yet, the introductory price is expected to be in the sub INR 10.0 lac range.
Stay tuned for more.


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In order to stem the health crisis and its economic and social impacts, the Madagascar Multisectoral Emergency Plan (PMDU) set up by the Malagasy Government from 2020, has defined among its priorities with regard to the tourism sector. , namely, among other things, the maintenance of human capital while strengthening their skills, maintaining the activities of tourist companies by supporting recovery projects carried out by the private sector.
In this context and in the management of the crisis and the preparation of the post-COVID recovery of the tourism sector, the Ministry of Tourism has developed a program to ensure that the operators of the entire tourism chain comply with the Covid-19 health protocols. – in order to gain the trust of customers, both national and international. The Ministry of Tourism, the National Tourist Office of Madagascar and the Confederation of Tourism of Madagascar have developed COVID-19 health protocols in 2020 and conducted the first sessions in several regions. In order to ensure that operators comply with health measures, 117 tourist operators (hotelier, restaurateur, travel agent, tour operator or guide) were trained in COVID-19 protocols between February and June 2021 by the Ministry of Tourism. The latter’s mission is in turn to train more than 6,000 workers in the sector in Analamanga, Sainte-Marie, Nosy Be, Antsiranana, Atsimo Andrefana and Anôsy. Training sessions for tourist workers in COVID-19 protocols began in August with the launch in Nosy Be on August 23 and in Antsiranana on August 26. For Analamanga, the official launch took place on August 30 with the objective of training at least 2,500 employees in the Accommodation-Catering (HR) and Travel and Tourist Services (EVPT) sector in the region. The training will be intended for managers, Covid referents and employees. The shared vision is to have a tourism industry meeting global health standards and ready to welcome tourists again.
HT Agency Tours
Luxury Madagascar with the best luxury African safari tours packages. Discover your next perfect destination with HT Agency Tours

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Govt seeking unrestricted access to non-personal data of people from e-commerce companies, says report
Updated : November 28, 2019 12:47 PM IST
According to the report, the government argues that data currently stored by various e-commerce giants and social media sites is a large resource that "can be used for the public good”.
The development is expected to raise concerns within the country’s digital economy.
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A Workington entrepreneur has received a national business award for a number of successes with the HiQ fast fit network.
His company, P & R Autocentres, boasted impressive profit and turnover figures for the year and will also open a fourth HiQ centre in 2011, in a show of strength for his business.
He has invested heavily in new corporate identity at his three centres in 2010 - including a £75,000 refurbishment of his Lancaster outlet.
And despite difficult economic trading conditions and the challenges posed by the Workington floods of 2009, he said that any obstacle could be tackled with some good old fashioned hard work.
"I am so delighted to have won this award. I'd have to put it all down to the excellent team I have around me, and a lot of hard work!
"I don't think there is a secret as such. It is just about giving the best customer service that you possibly can. This then builds a reputation around the area and attracts people to come back here."
HiQ retail director Peter Tye said: "Peter and his P & R business deserves so much credit for all the hard work they have put in.
"The overall winner of this award was determined by the HiQ Leadership Team using an analysis of actual performance, including turnover figures. Peter was the outstanding candidate and we'd like to congratulate him for a great year."
The awards initiative was introduced to support and build the HiQ franchise programme to recognise those who are leading the way within the HiQ network.
As well as receiving award plaques to be displayed in the businesses customer service area, Peter received a congratulatory cheque to invest further in the business.


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Fifth Gear takes the 2007 Audi TT coupe out for a road test. Just a quick refresher, this updated model sports a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder TFSI engine — with FSI direct injection — mated to a 6-speed gearbox, delivering 200hp. It goes from 0 – 62mph in just 6.4 seconds and has a top speed of 150mph. Video clip after the jump.
Unlike the past model, the new one is sportier and more aggressive, says presenter Tom Ford. Ford called the driving experience “genuinely entertaining,” and said it has become more than just a pretty piece of sheet metal


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Middle-earth may be going from film to television with Amazon’s new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but that doesn’t mean the franchise is done with the big screen forever.
The first two episodes of the highly-anticipated series will be screened in theatres at fan events across the world, two days before it makes its streaming debut on Amazon Prime Video.
In the US, Cinemark created a page for the event with a note that tickets will be available on Monday at 9am PT. The event is only available to Cinemark Movie Rewards members — the theatre chain’s two-tiered loyalty program.
Amazon will also screen the series in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Argentina, Colombia, Australia and New Zealand. Reports indicate that the fan event will unfold across roughly 200 locations globally.
The Rings of Power is the centrepiece of a years-long effort by Amazon Studios. The series reportedly carries a production budget of more than US$400 million and was described by Stuart Nash, New Zealand’s minister for economic development and tourism, as “the largest television series ever made.”
The official synopsis for the series reads, “This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 2 September, with new episodes available weekly.


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Boss Zonke, Boss bonke akanandaba, unehaba, KwaMashu naseMlazi… (couldn’t help but invite you to sing along). The late multi award-winning rapper Riky Rick stays shining even in the afterlife.
The talented music and fashion icon is to be honoured posthumously with the The Global Visionary Award at this year’s BET Awards.
The awards recognise and honour champions of culture, including artists, DJs, and music industry professionals who have made ground-breaking efforts to expand the culture of hip-hop on the world stage. Riky Rick is the inaugural recipient of this award.
Speaking to Nounouche in a statement, Riky Rick’s mother Louisa Zondo said the award comes as a heart-warming opportunity to celebrate Rikhado’s life and his deep love for humanity.
“I see the award as a recognition of the positive impact of the music Rikhado shared with us. The award also highlights how Rikhado used arts and culture as an important and effective pathway for people to truly connect with, care for and be seen by each other,” she said.
While Nounouche cover star Bianca Naidoo said as Riky’s family, “we are moved and honoured to receive the BET Global Visionary Award on behalf of our beloved, Riky“.
“This award honours his work and his name. I am so proud that his work is still making a positive impact within the entertainment space and that his legacy continues to inspire young creatives. This award reminds us of his love for his fans and for the culture” she said.
Speaking on behalf of BET, Monde Twala, Senior Vice president and General Manager, Paramount Africa and Peer Lead, BET International said “Riky Rick means so much to so many of us, not just South African hip-hop fans but globally beyond the mic.“
“His impact in changing the South African hip-hop game to be more inclusive, particularly in encouraging young creatives to take control of their destiny and dare to dream bigger, endures as one of his most influential and lasting legacies. His legacy continues to inspire and together with Bianca, we hope to honour Riky by championing a new generation of black creatives while celebrating his life and what he stood for,” he said.
Ricky Rick passed away earlier this year due to mental health struggles, and his death was a great loss to the music and fashion industries.
According to BET this Award aims to honour his life, work, and his lasting impact while raising awareness around mental health issues and shedding light on available coping resources.
Riky Rick was an innovator in many spheres of culture and the world benefited greatly from his intuitive vision.
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Ford has just unveiled their all-new Explorer SUV at an private event held in Detroit, Michigan. This 6th generation version brings a long list of improvements over the one outgoing, of course, but has chiefly modernised the model’s construction platform over its immediate predecessor which was introduced in 2011, insisting that it has been redesigned from the ground up.
On the subject of aesthetics, the new Explorer isn't a far departure, retaining familiar cues and proportions but leaving in touches that reward the more eagle-eyed observer. For example, the entire body is given a more swept back profile while incorporating a new elements that echo the Dearborn automaker’s newest model iterations such as the Focus, F-150, and Expedition.
Built on Ford’s newest modular rear-wheel drive CD6 architecture that already underpins the the more premium Lincoln Navigator, the Explorer is both lighter and more structurally rigid that the version it replaces. Through this, the company says that the 2020 Explorer offers improved fuel efficiency, added refinement, more capable off-road ability and sportier on-road drive as well.
The interior takes inspiration from other large Ford models engineered for the North American market and includes a comprehensive list of new technology features to boot, highlighted by the 10.1-inch portrait-mounted touch screen infotainment and vehicle management interface running the latest version of their proprietary SYNC system, intelligently displaying information in tandem with the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
Apart from that, the all-new Explorer will now come as standard with driver-assist features from the Ford Co-Pilot360 suite, including Reverse Brake Assist and Active Park Assist 2.0 in addition to AEB with pedestrian detection, Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring, Cross-Traffic Alert, and Lane Keep Assist. Add to that the Terrain Management System, now with 7 surface or condition-specific drive modes.
Powering the Explorer are a selection of turbocharged EcoBoost engines, starting with the 2.3-litre four-cylinder unit found the entry-level Mustang and Ford Focus RS. In this application, it has been tuned to produce 223kW and 420Nm. Stepping up to the top-spec Platinum variant also means access to a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, though its exact output has yet to be confirmed.
More details on the 2020 Ford Explorer will be forthcoming during the Detroit Motor Show, which will open its doors in just a few days, and at which Ford is expected to make some big news, one of which is the debut of the Mustang GT500.


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PR In Canada is the #1 source for news about the Canadian communications and public relations industry. Each week PR In Canada gives you a wrap up of the stories that our readers found the most interesting the week prior.
- Harvey’s – did not let the global pandemic stop the brand from engaging with current and future customers with its latest campaign; and take some to to show their appreciation to the frontline workers
- With more consumers stuck at home, people are becoming increasingly more conscious, and The Whole Living Kitchen is gearing up with their Healthy Crunch who recently hired a new public relations agency as their AOR
- DoorDash smells the opportunity for growth, the food delivery service is aiming to raise its awareness among Canadians over the coming months
- Another big win for Pomp & Circumstance, while some agencies have experience challenges this team continues to grow an recently won the business of Hagerty


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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch has held, for the second week, the top spot in the Japanese wholesale and retail sales chart, selling 86,313 during that time. The additional sales have pushed the initial week’s sales of 280,229 to 366.542 cumulatively.
Week on week this is a fall of 69 percent in sales for Nintendo’s latest Mario racer, however the sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition are in fact coming close to those of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The latest Zelda game came in at fourth position in the same charts which netted it a further 16,505 sales. Cumulatively The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold 393,726, showing that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition has sold extremely well to actually catch up.
In second position was Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X, which has sold 30,840 over the last week. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia however fell to number five, a drop 41 percent week on week. Monster Hunter: XX flew past Fire Emblem and reached number three in the charts, thanks to a seven percent rise in sales week on week.
There have been no new entries to the chart which has allowed 1-2 Switch a sales increase of 0.5 percent. Mario Sports Superstars saw a much larger sales increase of 43 percent, moving it to number seven from number 10 the week previous. This move pushed Dark Souls 3: The Fire Fades Edition down to number 8.
Pokemon Sun and Moon managed to make it back into the sales chart and sell 5,964 more copies, which as pushed the cumulative sales for the games to 3.75 million.
Hardware wholesale and retail charts still see the Nintendo Switch selling best, with 47,353 more units sold over the last week, though the Playstation 4 still remains the second most popular console. The full sales chart is below:


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It has been reported that approximately two-thirds of companies in the U.S. are affected by fraud, losing an estimated 1.2% of revenue each year to such activity.  Indirect costs associated with fraud, such as reputational damage and costs associated with investigation and remediation of the fraudulent acts, may also be substantial. When and where implemented, an internal whistleblower hotline is a critical component of a company’s anti-fraud program, as tips are consistently the most common method of detecting fraud.  Consequently, it is essential that companies consider implementing, if they have not already done so, effective whistleblower hotlines.  To the extent hotlines are currently in place, companies need to evaluate them to ensure that the hotlines are operating as intended and are effective in preventing and identifying unethical or potentially unlawful activity, including corporate fraud, securities violations and employment discrimination or harassment. This evaluation should be a key element of every company’s assessment of its compliance and ethics program.
Weekend reading for Wall Street: Leo Strine, chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, has some advice on how M&A bankers can keep their clients – and themselves – out of legal trouble.
In a speech Friday to a group of Delaware corporate lawyers, Mr. Strine outlined ways to “reduce the target zone for plaintiffs’ lawyers,” who today sue over nearly every corporate transaction and have increasingly put financial advisers in their crosshairs.
Mr. Strine stressed that bankers should be held accountable for their advice. Directors are typically M&A newbies and lean on unbiased advisers to vet bidders, set pricing expectations and eventually agree to a deal.
“When a board hires a financial advisor, they are hiring just that: a financial advisor. They are not hiring someone to deliver a caveat-laden, liability-disclaiming two-page fairness opinion,” he wrote.
Still, even well-run sales processes can needlessly give fodder to plaintiffs’ lawyers to sue, he said.
For example, bankers often tweak financial metrics over the course of a months-long sales process. But “sanitized” boardroom minutes often fail to document these changes, Mr. Strine said, leaving directors and advisers at a loss when later asked by a plaintiffs’ lawyer.
Mr. Strine’s solution? Redline board documents to show any revisions and explain why they were made.
Similarly, undisclosed conflicts of interest can imply that bankers’ advice was tainted. Conflicts don’t bar banks from working on a deal, but should be made clear to the boards that hire them, Mr. Strine said.
His comments come as bankers are increasingly coming under scrutiny for their M&A advice. Earlier this month, another Delaware judge ordered RBC Capital Markets LLC to pay $76 million to shareholders of a company it advised in a 2011 buyout. The judge ruled that RBC’s desire for fees on both sides of the transaction – advising the company and lending to the winning bidder – colored its advice and ultimately shortchanged investors.
RBC has maintained it acted properly.
Mr. Strine didn’t skimp on his trademark oratorical flair. Beyonce and Jay-Z make an appearance, as did HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones” and a pair of NBA players. (Stressing the need for boards to retain top-tier advisers, he said: “You don’t guard Dwight Howard with Nate Robinson,” referring to the 6-foot-11 center for the NBA’s Houston Rockets and the 5-foot-9 Denver Nuggets guard.)
Elsewhere, he notes the tendency of M&A deals to resemble “stylized interactive theatre” – and not even good theatre, but rather “the opaque, high-falutin style of a jejune drama student in a Master of Fine Arts program.” (He seems to prefer “the blunt, earthy style of an Arthur Miller.”)
Good weekend reading, indeed.
Talk about a snapback rally.
In this week’s installment of MoneyBeat Week, our Friday podcast, the crew takes a look at this week’s big rebound and what it means for markets in the weeks ahead.
After a sharp selloff earlier this month, the major indexes stormed back with vengeance. The S&P 500 rose 4.1% this week, its biggest gain since January 2013. The Nasdaq Composite added 5.3%, its best weekly performance since December 2011.
In addition, Reebok received an offer from a surprise bidder. We give the latest on that situation and what it means for parent company Adidas and the rest of the retail landscape.
For all that and more, grab a set of headphones and take a listen to MoneyBeat Week. Or catch us on iTunes along with other Journal podcasts in the WSJ What’s News section.
Shire PLC, the Dublin-based pharmaceutical company whose $54 billion merger with AbbVie Inc. got called off earlier this month, says it’s looking at potential acquisitions of all sizes–particularly after it receives a “welcome addition to the bank account” via a $1.6 billion breakup fee from AbbVie on Monday.
On a conference call with analysts Friday, Shire Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov said the company had continued to track potential large targets after the AbbVie deal was announced–even though it would have been difficult to actually pursue them–and thus ”did not miss a beat.”
Even without the breakup fee, Mr. Ornskov pointed out that Shire completed a $4.5 billion acquisition in January of ViroPharma Inc. The deal, he said, speaks to the company’s ability to integrate and fund large deals.
Analysts at Citigroup Inc. estimate that Shire could finance deals worth up to $13 billion.
For now, executives said that Shire is actively looking at acquisition targets that complement with the company’s existing product portfolio of rare-disease drugs or would lead them into areas adjacent to their portfolio. Mr. Ornskov said Shire would be judicious about where it spends its money.
Analysts say Shire still remains an attractive takeover target. The company’s business of selling drugs to treat rare diseases could make the company attractive to a number of large drug makers, they say.
In an interview with CNBC Friday afternoon, Mr. Ornskov said that right now Shire is “focused on being someone on the acquiring track.”
Shire’s Nasdaq-listed shares rose more than 5% on the back of better-than-expected earnings and guidance Friday. They’re still up roughly 38% in 2014, despite falling more than 30% when AbbVie’s board recommended against the deal.
– Hester Plumridge contributed to this post.
KLA-Tencor dramatically ramped up its cash return to shareholders – and may have upped the ante against rivals in the process.
The maker of semiconductor manufacturing tools announced a “leveraged recapitalization” plan late Thursday that includes a special $16.50 per share dividend and an additional $250 million on its existing buyback. Part of this will be financed with about $2.5 billion in debt. The company explained the move as a vote of confidence in its business prospects, though some are worried by its growing debt load. Fitch downgraded its credit rating to BBB-, even as the stock jumped.
This may pressure others in the sector to dip into their wallets. Credit Suisse named “cash rich” companies Teradyne and Lam Research as candidates that could return more of their bounty, as the industry becomes less cyclical. KLA’s move also suggests less potential for big M&A activity in the group. Applied Materials is still working to finish its merger with Tokyo Electron , and Lam already picked up rival Novellus back in 2012.
For its part, KLA-Tencor seems to have decided to bet big on itself.
Welcome to BitBeat, your daily dose of crypto-current events, written by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey.
Bitcoin Latest Price: $356.67/ down 0.23% (via CoinDesk)Crossing Our Desk:
–At the heart of Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne’s plan for a decentralized cryptocurrency-based stock exchange is the promise of doing away with a centralized system for settlement and clearing that he has campaigned against for a decade.
For now, though, U.S. securities regulations will force Overstock’s so-named Medici exchange to adopt key aspects of that centralized system — most importantly, a clearing house.
Still, the team from cryptocurrency startup Counterparty that’s been tasked with building the exchange, in which trades of “cryptosecurities” will be embedded into bitcoin’s universal “blockchain” ledger, say it will nonetheless produce a far more transparent system than that of traditional stock exchanges. Speaking in a conference call with BitBeat, they also claimed that Medici would prevent “naked short-selling,” a commonly used strategy for betting against shares that was the target of a long-running, quixotic and at times wacky campaign by Mr. Byrne.
For now, the exchange will fall short of what Counterparty cofounder Evan Wagner described as the “Holy Grail” of direct peer-to-peer share exchanges. Still, he said, the project offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate the blockchain’s capacity to make individual trades fully traceable, which he said could make pricing fairer and prevent fraud. Ultimately, their goal is to show regulators that it offers a path toward a fully decentralized system for stock transfers.
“There are big things we can do from day one with regards to transparency,” said Robby Dermody, another of Counterparty’s cofounders.
In the long run, Mr. Demody said, peer-to-peer share trading over Medici would incur just 20% of the costs carried by the current, centralized system run by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the entity owned by Wall Street banks and brokerages that manages clearing for most securities in U.S. capital markets.
Overstock.com communications director Judd Bagley, who also participated in the interview, contrasted the traceable transactions that Medici will employ at the outset to that of the DTCC, which at the end of each day nets out multiple individual payments and security transfers to and from each brokerage into single end-of-day settlements. Without that netting, Mr. Bagley argued, investors can’t engage in naked short-selling because each sale or short sale will correspond with the actual delivery of a security. Mr. Bagley has had a central role in coordinating Mr Byrne’s anti-naked short-selling campaign over the years.
Whereas in traditional short-selling investors first borrow or at least arrange to borrow shares before selling them, all with the goal of buying them back at a profit after they’ve fallen in price, a naked short sale occurs without the investor making those arrangements in advance. In both cases, the investor posts the proceeds of the sale as collateral with their broker until the securities are delivered to the buyer at the time of settlement. Naked short-selling is legal so long as the investor fully intends to seek out and borrow the shares after selling them.
Mr. Byrne and others contend that the occurrence of failed settlements in naked short-sale transactions – cases where borrowed shares aren’t delivered – makes the DTCC complicit in a conspiracy among hedge funds to unfairly drive down the stock of certain companies and obtain outsized profits. The Overstock CEO laid out his argument in a 2008 Forbes Op-ed in 2008. Critics of Mr. Byrne say nearly all such failures are the result of technical difficulties and the DTCC is usually able to resolve them shortly after the settlement period.
His controversial claims, in which he has at times cited particular journalists and an unnamed “Sith Lord” hedge-fund manager as parties to the alleged conspiracy, seems to be a key motivator of Mr. Byrne’s bid to build the cryptosecurity exchange. The DTCC declined to comment for this article.Contacts: firstname.lastname@example.org, @paulvigna / email@example.com, @mikejcasey
Trading houses Trafigura AG and Noble Americas Corp. have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum to resolve a legal dispute over a gasoline trade gone wrong.
Trafigura sued Noble in New York federal court in July, claiming it breached a contract to accept a delivery of 25,000 barrels of gasoline last October. Trafigura said it was forced to sell the gas to a third party at a loss, and that it suffered additional losses on gasoline hedge positions related to the trade. Trafigura says it lost over $500,000 in total from the trade.
Under the terms of the deal, Trafigura was sending Noble six batches of gasoline totaling 150,000 barrels up the Colonial Pipeline that runs from Houston to New Jersey. But Noble refused one of the shipments amid a grade designation change by the pipeline company.
The case offers a rare glimpse at the operations of commodity trading houses, which are normally highly secretive.
Noble, whose main U.S. office is in Stamford, Conn., negotiated the trade with Trafigura’s Houston office. But after the delivery dispute, Noble called Trafigura’s office in Montevideo, Uruguay, and said the firm needed to sell it a futures position to make good on old deal. The Uruguay office, unaware of the background, sold the futures contract to Noble, on which Trafigura then sustained even more losses.
For its part, Noble denied the allegations.
Both companies declined to comment.
After seven years of M&A famine, Wall Street firms that make their business advising companies on deals are enjoying the feast.
Global deal volume reached $2.8 trillion in the first nine months of the year, a 34% year-on-year rise and the highest level since 2007, when volume in the first nine months totaled $3.6 trillion. This surge in deal making has helped boost the third-quarter earnings of independent advisory firms across Wall Street.
Greenhill & Co. reported third quarter revenue more than doubled Thursday to $92 million from $44.6 million during the same period a year earlier. The firm’s chief executive, Scott Bok, said he expects revenues to grow further as more announced deals cross the finish line. Advisory fees at Greenhill represent the vast majority of firm’s total revenue.
Lazard Ltd. yesterday morning reported record third quarter revenues of $583 million, helped by a 37% year-on-year rise in M&A and other advisory revenues to $241.2 million. Its asset management business also posted record revenues.
Chief Executive Ken Jacobs highlighted a U.S.-led global economic recovery and an uptick in cross-border activity as factors that contributed to the firm’s third quarter performance.
Susquehanna analysts wrote that Lazard “is setting up for a fantastic overall year with strength in both segments.”
Evercore Partners Inc., meanwhile, reported the best third quarter in its history earlier this week, helped by a strong increase in investment banking revenues to $198.5 million, up from $161.3 million in the third quarter of last year.
Few expected the good times to end quickly.
Greenhill’s Mr. Bok said on a call with analysts Thursday that despite the firm’s strong earnings, the volume of completed M&A deals globally had not yet picked up meaningfully from pre-crisis levels. But the outlook for announced deals looks strong and that bodes well for Greenhill’s future revenue outlook, he said.
Mr. Bok highlighted the consumer retail, health-care and industrials as sectors where M&A activity has been strong, adding that strategic deals are also “firmly back on the agenda”.
As for the recent spate of volatility that has afflicted the market, the CEOs of these firms aren’t worried yet.
“I certainly don’t think one week or 10 days of volatility is changing the way any company is looking at a deal,” Greenhill’s Mr. Bok said.
Private equity is getting its own fight club. Well sort of. Unlike in the film, you will be able to talk about the existence of the club and there won’t actually be any bare knuckle boxing competitions.
A new group, who are tentatively calling themselves the Private Equity Combat Sports group, or ‘PECS’, is launching next month in London, with the aim of teaching buyout execs a kick-ass form of self-defense developed by the Israeli special forces.
(This item also appears in Private Equity News, a U.K.-based trade publication owned by Dow Jones & Co.)
If you haven’t come across Krav Maga take a look at this wince-inducing video. It’s a fast paced and slightly extreme type of hand-to-hand combat.
“It’s about the learning and the fitness rather than beating other people up!” says Duncan Easterbrook, a finance director at new buyout firm GHO Capital Partners who is behind the new venture.
He says the 90-minute class will happen weekly at a gym he co-owns in Vauxhall from early November and is aimed at private equity executives as well as industry lawyers, accountants and placement agents.
Easterbrook says he hopes it will be a useful way for those in the industry to network as well as get fit.
“The two things just came together and I thought a good thing would be to bring people from the industry together to train and learn. Personally I can’t explain how great it’s been from a learning and a fitness perspective,” he says.
Mr. Nader, the five-time presidential candidate who earlier this year opened a new front in his corporate-reform crusade, sent a letter to Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook on Thursday, imploring the iPhone maker to reduce its spending on corporate buybacks and spend some of that money on improving wages.
“Tolerating poverty wages is not the price we pay for affordable phones,” Mr. Nader wrote in the letter. “Rather, poverty wages and harmful conditions are a consequence of tolerating outrageous stock buybacks. You had a choice for the $130 billion: living wages for workers or stock buybacks for millionaires? You chose buybacks. Here’s a challenge for the present and future use of surplus profits: why not let the customers decide?”
Mr. Nader’s letter stands in direct opposition to a position staked out by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who earlier this month said the market was undervaluing Apple and that the company should extract more value for shareholders by buying back more stock.
Mr. Nader said there are “many alternate ways” Apple could spend its profits, including spending that money on “dignified working conditions and living wages, instead of unproductively using their surplus to buy stocks back from the wealthy.”
Earlier this year, WSJ reported that Mr. Nader, the longtime consumer advocate, was putting together a shareholder-activism group. As part of that effort, the 80-year-old planned to pledge 1% of his financial net worth, or roughly $50,000, in each of the next three years if a group of 15 to 20 others will join him to raise a total of about $10 million.
An Apple spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
For more than a decade, Wall Street gave Amazon.com Inc.'s spending spree a pass. The company regularly reported quarterly loss after quarterly loss, yet strong revenue growth gave investors confidence the online retail giant was on the right path.
It doesn’t seem to be getting a pass any more.
Amazon late Thursday reported its largest quarterly loss in 14 years amid a surge in spending on new-product development, music and video licensing, and more. Even amid a 20% jump in revenue, Amazon reported a $437 million third-quarter loss, its biggest loss in 14 years.
Shares sank more than 7% on Friday and recently traded around $290, its lowest level of the year. The stock, which is down more than 25% this year, has now suffered sizable drops after each of its past four quarterly reports.
Analysts say investors are growing impatient and want to see the payoff from all the spending.
“We believe Amazon is shifting to the status of a ‘show me’ story as each time a margin inflection point seems to be in reach, it disappears,” B Riley analyst Scott Tilghman wrote on Friday.
“It is unclear how long the current investment cycle is going to continue, and the company has not shown any interest in driving even the tiniest amount of leverage off its sizable revenue base,” Colin Gillis, technology analyst at BGC Partners, wrote to clients on Friday.
Part of the quarterly loss was driven by a $170 million charge the company took on its Amazon Fire smartphone, which analysts say is selling poorly.
And the online retailer unveiled a cautious outlook for the current quarter, arguably its most important due to the holiday season.
Mr. Gillis has a hold rating and a 12-month price target of $340 on Amazon. “While there are certainly risks to Amazon’s forward success, and the company has not shown an ability to be meaningfully profitable, Amazon has shown an ability to robustly attract consumers into its ecosystem,” he said.
Other analysts aren’t so optimistic about the stock’s next move.
“While recent announcements have given us increased visibility into Amazon’s revenue growth, we are not convinced that the company will share sufficient details about future spending to allow us to accurately model profit growth, and it may take time before [earnings per share] grows sufficiently to justify its share price,” Michael Pachter, an analyst st Wedbush Securities, wrote to clients.More In Amazon
Benchmark Research said momentum is “likely to remain against the stock in the short-term,” although the firm maintains a $350 price target as it sees Amazon’s investment spending continuing at a more moderate pace in 2015.
For its part, Amazon acknowledges it needs to change. On a conference call with reporters, Amazon CFO Tom Szutak struck a more cautious tone with reporters than he has in the past.
“We do have a lot of opportunities in front of us,” he said. “We ertainly have been in several years now of what I will call an investment mode, but we know that we have to be very selective about which opportunities we pursue.”
–Greg Bensinger contributed to this report.
Another inversion deal is off the table.
Cutrale-Safra succeeded Friday in its effort to convince Chiquita Brands International Inc.’s shareholders to reject the company’s acquisition of Fyffes PLC. The Brazilian firm returned Thursday with an 11th hour takeover bid for Chiquita that — at $14.50 per share — was slightly higher than its previous bid and enough to sway Chiquita’s shareholders.
Chiquita shareholders voted Friday morning on the Fyffes transaction, and Chiquita cited the vote as a reason to call off the deal without disclosing the results.
That makes the Chiquita-Fyffes deal the latest tax inversion to fall apart in the weeks since the U.S. Treasury proposed revisions to their rules on inversions. Chiquita repeatedly said that the Fyffes deal was not struck with taxes in mind, but it had planned to take Fyffes’ Irish headquarters.
While inversions were seen as a key driver of M&A activity this year, Dealogic data shows only nine inversion deals valued at roughly $140 billion had been announced in 2014, and several of those have been called off in the past several weeks.
AbbVie Inc. and Shire PLC cited the Treasury’s new rules when they called off their $54 billion merger earlier this month. So did Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which ended plans for a $2.7 billion merger with the Italian parent company of drug maker Cosmo Technologies Ltd. Auxilium also shelved its inversion deal with QLT Inc. and instead agreed to be bought by Endo International PLC.
Chiquita said it’s entering into discussions with Cutrale-Safra and would update the market if the deal is agreed upon.
If Cutrale-Safra ultimately succeeds in purchasing Chiquita, the U.S. could still lose a bulk of the company’s tax revenues. The bidders’ firms are both located in Brazil, and while the company has not commented on whether it would move Chiquita’s headquarters post-deal, it’s possible that it could relocate to Brazil.
Critics of the U.S. tax system have said that without broader changes to the U.S. tax code, a crackdown on tax inversions would lead instead to U.S. companies becoming targets of non-U.S. companies.
Shares of Chiquita are up 3% Friday, after rising roughly 8% Thursday when Cutrale-Sufra submitted its higher bid.
“While we are convinced [Fyffes] would have been a strong merger partner, we will now go forward as competitors.,” said Chiquita Chief Executive and President Edward Lonergan.
Meanwhile, if Chiquita enters into a deal with Cutrale-Safra or another partner in the next nine months, Fyffes will have the right to a termination fee worth 3.5% of the value of Chiquita’s shares the day before the agreement.
–Dana Mttiolo and Razak Musah Baba contributed to this article.
Although fundamental trends at U.S. banks seem “almost petrified,” an analyst at Oppenheimer saw at least one bright spot in the third quarter: a pickup in banks’ revenue from lending and investing.
So-called “net interest income” climbed 3.2% in the third quarter from a year ago–even though loan growth was up just 0.3% at the banks covered by Oppenheimer.
The results aren’t all equal however. While net interest income and loan growth at the big banks seem to be moving in the same direction, at regionals they are moving in opposite directions, Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski said.
Big banks in the third quarter logged net interest income growth of 2.4% and loan growth of 1.7%. Regionals, by contrast, reported a net interest income decline of 2.9% despite much higher loan growth of 4.9%.
“Something is clearly amiss with the regionals,” said Mr. Kotowksi in an interview.
Part of the discrepancy could be explained by higher revenue at the big banks from fixed income, currencies and commodities trading. Big banks across the board reported higher revenue in the third quarter than a year earlier. Regional banks don’t have big trading arms.
“Regionals are simpler, but it is not necessarily the better business model,” says Mr. Kotowski.
He notes that while regional banks’ bread and butter lending products like auto loans, home mortgages and home equity have to compete heavily on pricing. By contrast, big banks dominate the credit card business, where there is more customer loyalty and better pricing.


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The 2023 World Vape Show Dubai Middle East (World Vape Show DUBAI 2023) has started, the door has been officially opened, and it will last for three days (June 21-23)!
After some on-site experience, before 12:00 noon local time, the entrance of the Dubai exhibition was already full of audience. Described in the words of CVIC on-site staff as “lively, much more lively than Birmingham, UK”
As an international e-cigarette exhibition, the popularity of the Middle East is no less than that of Europe. At the same time, based on factors such as visa-free travel in most countries in the Middle East and China, and many Chinese e-cigarette companies wanting to explore the Middle East market, it is reported that many e-cigarette owners from Shenzhen Baoan and Dongguan Changan have come to Dubai to participate in this exhibition…
It is reported that the scale of this Dubai exhibition is equivalent to 3.5 Premier League stadiums, with more than 1,000 brands and products. It can be said that it is an electronic cigarette expo that many manufacturers and brand owners in the electronic cigarette industry do not want to miss.
There were also many merchants who came, and the on-site CVIC staff described it as “very shocking”. And there are distributors from all over the world, including exhibitors. For example, in addition to the Middle East, there are also distributors from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and even Indonesia.
The exhibition in Dubai coincides with the summer of the year. At present, in Dubai, the temperature is high, but it still cannot stop the gathering of all kinds of e-cigarettes such as e-cigarette manufacturers, brand owners, and distributors from all over the world.
The popularity and enthusiasm of Dubai is high, which makes people feel the high enthusiasm for e-cigarettes in the Middle East.
Before 12:00 noon, the entrance was already full of visitors who came to watch the exhibition.
The lafi brand exhibited in Dubai for the first time, and it received a large number of enthusiastic visits from customers. The crystal diamond style and crystal clear appearance attracted the favor of a large number of channel vape business customers. Fine e-cigarette appearance mold Technology, exclusive suction and atomization technology, and pure taste make electronic cigarette lovers linger
With its rich taste, pure taste, and charming fruity aroma, lafi has left many customers with endless aftertaste, and presented a large number of vape samples to customers to go back and continue to taste.
LAFI VAPE service young stylish elegant, Lafi tasteful life;Always look for the heart of e-cigarette users，search within themselves，pursuit of new tastes


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Another day, another development in the ongoing feud between Facebook and AdBlock Plus, one of the leading ad-blocking companies.
Just days ago, Facebook announced that they would be cracking down on clickbait and links with misleading titles, changing their post-sharing algorithm to give articles with titles that suggest clickbait a lower priority in newsfeeds. In addition to this, Facebook revealed that they would be blocking ad-blocking software on desktop.
The battle between ad-blockers and anti-ad-blockers is a long and convoluted one, centred on two main arguments. Ad-blockers and their supporters insist that the internet is almost impossible to enjoy without ad-blocking technology, and that aggressive advertising contributed to the demise of social media platforms such as MySpace.
Anti-ad-blockers counter that ad-blocking is damaging to businesses, and that many ad-blocking companies will take money in exchange for showing ads that were previously blocked – thus reducing the funding for free online services that are enjoyed worldwide; Facebook among them.
In response, AdBlock Plus said that their user community have already found a way around this, creating a new filter list and enabling AdBlock Plus to continue blocking adverts on Facebook. Before long, Facebook had retaliated with a new blockade, but the chase continues as the user community of AdBlock Plus continues to fight back, bringing out filters to combat every circumvention.
As mobile ad-blocking becomes a new headache for publishers and marketing technology companies, it was estimated in May this year that 22% of mobile users, that’s 419 million people, are using mobile ad blockers. The largest market for mobile ad-blocking technology is currently in Asia. However, as Europe and the US become increasingly tired of clickbait, slow loading times and irrelevant advertising, which are cited as popular reasons for investing in ad-block technology, will it be long before mobile ad-blockers become mainstream in our markets too?
Facebook isn’t currently blocking ad-block software on mobile platforms, but with 84% of their advertising revenue coming from mobile devices, and with ad-blocking user communities upping the ante, one can’t help but think it won’t be far from their minds.


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- Consumer price figures tomorrow could provide fresh hopes for Sterling
- Brexit unlikely to happen until 2019
Tomorrow’s release of consumer price figures for the UK could surprise markets, given the positive trend in retail sales. Whilst Brexit has been a major concern for businesses, it’s becoming clearer that the UK will not divorce from the EU for some time.
And this message will begin to impact economic releases going forward, there is still plenty of time for business to continue as normal before Brexit needs to be considered. I am therefore expecting Sterling to rebound from some of its recent losses by the end of the year.
Recent economic data not evident of a recession
Whilst the recent releases have trended negative, the initial shock of Brexit and concerns surrounding the ramifications have been widespread yet nothing is likely to change for at least 2 years. As this message becomes clearer I am expecting the dust to settle and the economy to recover before Article 50 is subject to invocation.
With this in mind, pay more attention to future releases for the month of August through to October, this will give us a much clearer picture as to what impact the vote has had on the economy. July’s figures are therefore likely to be bias towards the initial shock, and I would therefore remain skeptical regarding further downfalls in Sterling’s value.
Is now a good time to sell Australian Dollars for Sterling
The Aussie Dollar is nearing a 3 high against Sterling, and I am expecting GBPAUD exchange rates to move closer to the 1.75 in the weeks ahead. Economic releases for the UK will continue to show a mixed outlook but trend more positively as Article 50 continues to be put on hold until next year. This period of stability could last for some time for the UK, until an official withdrawing elapses.
Therefore if you are holding on to Aussie Dollars, making a transfer during this window of opportunity could be something to consider.


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When it comes to product strategy, Campbell Soup has gone through more twists and turns over the last several years than one of the noodles in its classic Chicken Noodle Soup.
The world’s leading maker of soup has come up with heartier flavors and lighter flavors, chunkier textures, new ingredients, heart-healthy blends — you name it. The company also has infamously tacked back and forth about sodium reduction in its soups, firset embracing the idea as a major new platform and then, recently, trimming back its salt-cutting ambitions in the interests of taste.
Once again, Campbell is stirring the pot, this time under new CEO Denise Morrison, who presented her strategy to analysts in New York this week that the Campbell Soup Company has a few things cooking to jump-start growth.
Her new approach “requires moving from a high dependence on line extensions to more disruptive innovation, new and differentiated products, packaging and category segments that create new pathways for growth.”[more]
“Consumers today crave novelty, bolder flavors and foods that help them feel alive, engaged and connected,” she added. “No company is connected to consumers’ lives quite like Campbell, and we are well positioned to respond to the opportunities that the changing consumer landscape will present over the next decade.”
What exactly does that mean? In part, it means more than 50 new soup and simple-meal products this year, up from 27 last year. The new entries will range from a microwaveable pouch of Coconut Curry with Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms soup to Gourmet Bisques, boxes of soup in meal-starter sizes in flavors such as Thai Tomato Coconut.
All of that may help, but the problem for Campbell may actually be … soup. Just as younger consumers increasingly have moved away from, say, sugared soft drinks over the years, there seems to be a generational lack of appreciation of soup, especially pre-packaged soup, among Millennials. That is one reason Campbell’s soup sales have gone cold in recent years even though the Great Recession had raised hopes of higher soup purchases by American households, as a value proposition.
While the company operates other CPG brands — including Pepperidge Farm, Prego, Royco, Swanson, V8, Arnott’s, Erasco, Touch of Taste, Liebig, Lacroix, and Pace — Morrison reiterated that Campbell remains committed to soup, particularly in a can.
“When we talk about our U.S. soup strategy,” she told the conference,” we talk about, first, celebrate the can, then expand soup beyond the can.”


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The wine market is booming in China, and basketball pro-turned entrepreneur Yao Ming has latched onto the craze, launching his own eponymous California wine label made exclusively for the Chinese market.
The first 5,000-case run from Yao Family Wines will be distributed by French beverage giant Pernod Ricard SA and aimed at high-end consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the WSJ:
The wine, made from cabernet sauvignon grapes harvested in 2009 from California's Napa Valley, is priced at 1,775 yuan (US$289) a bottle. (The price includes a 27% import duty and a 17% sales tax.) A second wine, called Yao Family Reserve, will be released later this year, and its small 500-case production will be even pricier.
While Yao's company doesn't currently own any California vineyards, it plans to purchase land as part of its long-term business plan.
Yao, who now lives in Shanghai after an 9-year career with the Houston Rockets, credits fellow basketball player Dikembe Mutombo, a 7-foot-2-inch Congolese player, with introducing him to wine.
Yao's also the owner of a wine bar and restaurant in Houston.


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Bumble, a preschool live-action series from New Zealand’s state-owned enterprise TVNZ is seeking off-island broadcasters and licensing for the bee character and his friends. The series first launched in New Zealand in August 1999 and is now at the 260-ep threshold; Bumble marks the first preschool series in New Zealand with that kind of volume.
Toys will be skewed to mass market, says Kerry Atwill, licensing manager at TVNZ Enterprises, since The Warehouse, a Kiwi-based toy chain, has a large market presence for kids’ products especially in the areas of music, videos and toys. However, plush will initially be aimed at specialty stores.
Current New Zealand-based licensees include Random House, which is coming out with new activity, board and story books in June, Antics Marketing for plush toys, also hitting stores in June, FW Cave for bags, umbrellas, dinnerware and plasticware for July, EMI Music for a CD and cassette which was released in April, TVNZ for a second video this month featuring sing-a-longs and Hallmark Cards for greeting cards, also for this month.
Atwill says TVNZ is currently working on an international strategy for Bumble. Because the show contains segments covering traditional Maori cultural aspects, it will be reversioned for the international market, changing cultural interstitials to generic ones.


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Rotary-electric powertrain is said to enable a classic sports coupé shape
The concept – previewed digitally a few months ago and presented as the centrepiece of a celebration of the MX-5 on Mazda’s Tokyo show stand – uses a rotary powertrain developed from that of the recently launched MX-30 R-EV crossover.
The Iconic SP uses a twin-rotor rotary engine (the MX-30’s is a single rotor) as a generator to charge a 17.8kWh battery on the move, rather than as an alternative means of driving the wheels itself.
Mazda claims the Iconic SP concept has 370bhp at its disposal – close to double that of the most powerful version of today's MX-5.
Tipping the scales at 1450kg – roughly on a par with the four-cylinder Lotus Emira, which produces 360bhp – the concept should be, theoretically, significantly faster than any road-going Mazda so far.
Mazda says a rotary range-extender powertrain makes sense for an electric sports car because it can be configured in a variety of layouts for optimum weight distribution and packaging. Here, for example, the tightly packaged petrol engine is housed in the middle of the car, which promotes a low centre of gravity while allowing for a long, probing front bonnet and cab-rear silhouette.
The two-seater concept measures 4180mm long, 1850mm wide and 1150mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2590mm, which makes it closer in size to the Alpine A110 than the MX-5.
The combination of the proportions, size, powertrain and packaging is what makes this “concept a demonstration to ourselves that what technologies we can put in a compact sports car” in the future, Mazda’s chief financial officer, Jeff Guyton, told Autocar. “We have packaging feasibility for things we’re talking about.
Guyton added: “By itself, the concept is not intended to be the next MX-5 or something else, although if the responses are great, that’s a nice indication that there could be some market for this.”
Mazda has given no indication of when an electrified MX-5 would make production, but now that the current car has been safeguarded against impending safety legislation, it can be expected to remain on sale until at least 2026.
The Iconic SP makes it clear that Mazda intends the MX-5 to live on in its future electrified line-up and the aim of this concept is as inspiration for a future MX-5, not a reborn RX, even though, like past RX sports cars, it uses a rotary engine.
Guyton said that while “there are technical solutions we have to make, especially with the emissions for the rotary, and with challenges left, including the battery packaging, some of the fundamentals are there.” He added: “This was a demonstration of ‘we want to put these pieces together, can we do it, make it compact and make it a sports car?’ We can.”
The packaging of the rotary “unlocks the concept’s unique proportions”, said Guyton, pointing out that it is based on a “unique” architecture for Mazda. While the concept is a hard-top coupé, it can be made into a convertible and that has been factored into its creation, said Guyton.
Mazda has long been vocal about the potential for combustion engines to survive into the future, running on synthetic fuels or hydrogen, rather than petrol or diesel, as a means of ensuring their carbon neutrality.
Mazda envisions that the Iconic SP's rotary engine would be able to run on "a variety of fuels, including hydrogen", and adds that "if the battery is charged with electricity derived from renewable energy, it is possible to drive in a virtually carbon-neutral state".
Guyton said that as a car maker selling in more than 130 countries, Mazda not only has a duty to produce decarbonised models but also to do so in a way that suited a majority of its markets – ie far from all markets are ready to go battery-electric – and it believes the Iconic SP’s powertrain solution delivers on that.
The cockpit give clues as to just how important handling is for this electric reimagining of the MX-5. The digital driver display hosts a g-meter and, intriguingly, a map of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit – hinting that the Vision SP has been conceived with rapid lap times and driver engagement as a prevailing focus.
There are shift paddles behind the steering wheel too for adjusting the brake regeneration and a touchscreen that looks to host controls for the active aerodynamic elements, suspension settings and launch control. Other visible features include a 360deg camera and an ultrasound sensor in the front grille, presumably for adaptive cruise control.
The cabin is trimmed in a blend of microsuede and Mazda's plant-based bio-fabric material in a nod to the firm's ambitious pledge to be completely carbon neutral by 2050.
Recently appointed Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro, revealing the concept in Tokyo, said: "We love the MX-5, and the world loves the MX-5. We are determined in the age of electrification to keep the joy of driving which the MX-5 represents alive and the Mazda Iconic SP, with its dual rotary power generator-EV powertrain is our dream solution – a dream we will work hard to launch.
“Mazda will always deliver vehicles that remind people that cars are pure joy and an indispensable part of their lives.”
He was named as Mazda's new CEO in March of this year, at the same time as the company announced a massive £8.7 billion electrification initiative, under which it will introduce new hybrid and pure-electric models by 2027, before working to electrify all of its cars from 2028.
Additional reporting by Felix Page


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Bruin Sports Capital has agreed to acquire sports marketing agency Two Circles. No financial terms were disclosed. As a result of the transaction, WPP will continue to retain a minority stake in Two Circles.
NEW YORK & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bruin Sports Capital (Bruin) today announced a deal with WPP to acquire Two Circles, the award-winning consumer data analytics, sports marketing, and technology practice. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed and subject to regulatory approval. WPP will continue to hold a minority stake in the company.
Two Circles’ sophisticated, proprietary data-management platforms aggregate and analyze massive volumes of consumer data to inform new business development strategies and state-of-the-art marketing programs. Annually, Two Circles processes tens of billions of data points on global sports fans – more than any other sports organization. Its roster of clients includes the NFL, Premier League, UEFA, Formula 1, and Wimbledon and a global portfolio of leagues, teams, tournaments, and federations.
George Pyne, Founder, and CEO of Bruin Sports Capital, said: “As we look to the future of the sports economy, everything we do will trace back to how well we can leverage consumer data intelligence to spur growth. Two Circles has been way ahead of the industry on this and has developed a new breed of agency that serves every business unit of a sports organization. We are excited to have them formally join Bruin and look forward to working even more closely with their great team.”
Founded in 2011, Two Circles is a two-time BT Sport Agency of the Year (2014, 2017) and was named by the Sunday Times in 2018 as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. The agency has grown to 180 employees in four offices – New York, Los Angeles, London, and Bern – who work with clients on four continents, including the top five sports properties by annual global revenue. This year Two Circles played a fundamental role in record attendances for a host of global events (including the ICC Cricket World Cup and Open Championship), record sponsorship rights growth, and subscription and consumption growth for leading D2C media businesses.
Gareth Balch, Two Circles Co-Founder, and CEO said: “The sports industry is moving from a B2B model to a direct-to-consumer model where growth will be centered around a direct relationship between sports and fans. Over the last eight years, we believe we have built proven models that can take sports properties on this journey. With Bruin’s backing, experience, and relationships in global sport, we have the perfect platform to enter the next phase of commercial growth – both for our clients and as an agency.”
Two Circles’ specialties include ticketing, premium hospitality, sponsorship, stadium redevelopment, and subscriptions. WPP’s continued investment in Two Circles will allow the agency’s clients to continue to have unrivaled access to WPP, its global network, and its brand clients.
The news follows Bruin’s recent partnership with CVC Capital Partners and The Jordan Company, whereby the firms committed an initial $600M to Bruin to build high-performing, next-generation sports and entertainment enterprises.
Two Circles has been affiliated with Bruin, since 2017, serving as the marketing arm for OverTier, a venture created by Bruin to operate NFL Game Pass, the league’s premium subscription service. OverTier initially operated NFL Game Pass throughout Europe. The relationship expanded to 181 countries worldwide, in large part due to the marketing results of Two Circles.
About Two Circles: Two Circles is a sports marketing agency that uses data to help over 100 of the world’s leading sports organizations grow direct relationships with sports and fans to drive business growth. Two Circles’ technology-driven, service-led offering helps its clients improve customer experience, increase revenue, and enhance their partner proposition. Current clients include the NFL, Premier League, UEFA, Formula 1, and Wimbledon. Two Circles has twice been named Agency of the Year at the BT Sport Industry Awards.
About Bruin Sports Capital: Bruin (www.bruinsportscapital.com) was founded in 2015 by George Pyne, and today, Bruin companies operate across five continents and engage billions of consumers. They include Deltatre, the industry leader in media technology products and services, premium hospitality company On Location Experiences, a joint venture with the NFL; Engine Shop, a sports and entertainment experiential marketing agency; Soulsight, an award-winning brand strategy, and design agency, and OverTier. Bruin partners include CVC Capital Partners, The Jordan Company, Rock Ventures, NNS Chaired by Nassef Sawiris, and several others for a combined investment of nearly $1 billion. Bruin’s portfolio of best-in-class tech, live events, marketing, and brand strategy companies includes 1700 people operating out of 37 offices worldwide.


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‘The View’ co-host Meghan McCain: Goya boycott is ‘weird and callous’
Meghan McCain pushes back on a boycott supported by comedian John Leguizamo and model Chrissy Teigen
People are calling for a boycott of Goya Foods products for the chief executive’s support of President Donald Trump and it’s drawn the ire of Meghan McCain, co-host of “The View” on ABC.
Goya CEO Bob Unanue during a recent visit to the White House praised Trump, Fox News reports, and Trump detractors have called for a boycott of the company.
McCain, the daughter of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, wrote in a Friday morning tweet that it “seems weird & callous.” She noted that thousands of people work for the New Jersey-based food manufacturer and shouldn’t have to suffer because of what their CEO says.
Goya is a family-run Latin food giant.
“It seems weird and callous to boycott a company who supplies food to the masses and employs 4,000 people during a pandemic,” McClain posted. “No matter what your politics, who wants more people out of work?
“Almost every CEO, boss, & person I interact with and consume products from disagrees with me,” she added.
Among the celebrity endorsements for a boycott of Goya are actor and comedian John Leguizamo and model Chrissy Teigen, who stated that boycotting Goya, in fact, would not affect its workers.
“The next step republicans will do (mark my words, they did this with my equinox tweets as well) is say you aren’t supporting the workers if you boycott,” Teigen posted on Twitter.
“You ARE. They should never feel they have to work for someone who agrees Mexicans are ‘vile’ ‘rapists,'” she said in a tweet.
Teigen, color commentator for “Lip Sync Battle” on Paramount Network, also stated that she would do all she could to financially support farmers who may get hit due to a Goya boycott.
“Support the workers by empowering them to be stronger than this absolute bastard,” Teigen said of Unanue. “I will personally do what I can to financially ensure these farms can carry on without them.”
As reported by Fox News, Unanue attended a White House press conference with the President on Thursday where he said “we’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder.”
This statement inspired public outrage by those who are now vowing not to patronize Goya and give money to a Trump supporter.
Those supporting the boycott are posting under the hashtag #Goyaway
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text: Workers assemble control system of instrument panel at a passenger car workshop of Ningde base of SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd in Ningde, East China's Fujian province, Sept 15, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua] China's economy will sharply rise in 2021, as strict lockdown measures prove effective in the country, the Sputnik reported on Monday. The Sputnik, citing BBC, pointed out that China's economy had "almost normalized", with growth set to continue despite COVID-19 cases in a few provinces. China's National Bureau of Statistics announced a series of data on Monday including that its economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2020, annual GDP came in at 101.6 trillion yuan ($15.66 trillion), GDP growth in the fourth quarter was 6.5 percent year-on-year, and industrial output expanded by 7.3 percent in December. "The trend rate of growth for China will be 5.7 percent annually from 2021-25 and 4.5 percent annually from 2026-30 and 3.9 percent annually from 2031-35," said the Sputnik, citing the United Kingdom's Centre for Economics and Business Research.


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Holiday shopping is in full swing. Would-be thieves are working overtime this year, too. For one thing, immense consumer demand is straining supply lines. At the same time, production bottlenecks are slowing the manufacturing of many electronics. This situation has created a perfect storm for scammers to steal from unsuspecting victims.
The Federal Trade Commission recently released a report that shows just how popular old-school phishing scams are. From January 1 through October 15 of this year, nearly 60,000 people have fallen victim to online shopping scams. Over 19,000 of these scams started with victims falling for phishing emails.
A phishing scam is a straightforward attempt to steal a user’s password or credit card information. Most victims of these scams come across them in the form of fraudulent emails. The emails can be hard to detect, but they usually promise huge holiday savings or exclusive access to hard-to-find goods.
A new variant of these scams is also making the rounds. In this version, scammers pose as Amazon or a similar online retailer and claim that they’ve found a problem with your recent order. If you’re tired or stressed already, you might not think through what you’re reading, and you could accidentally give the scammers your order number and personal information under the guise of verifying your purchase.
The next thing you know, you could be facing down fraud alerts on your credit card. This is why you should always stay vigilant when you’re checking your emails and shopping online!
Some scam emails direct would-be victims to fake versions of existing sites. You might think the link you followed to a restock of PlayStation 5 consoles has placed you on Best Buy’s website, but it could be an elaborate scam. Check the URL and make sure you’re really on Best Buy’s site. If the URL seems unusually long or doesn’t even have the site’s name in it, you could be looking at a fake.
Some scams are even more direct than phishing attempts. Some online thieves charge you for a purchase they don’t intend to send out. Sketchy online sites and unscrupulous eBay and Amazon sellers might choose to keep your payment without sending the item for which you paid.
If you’re the victim of an online scam, contact law enforcement and your bank right away. The sooner you seek help, the better your chances of reversing the damage before it becomes permanent.


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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Aditya Birla's new e-commerce venture Abof along with homegrown e-commerce companies Myntra and Snapdeal, besides brick-and-mortar retailer Future Group are all in separate buyout talks with Rocket Internet-incubated fashion e-commerce venture Jabong.
The company has held talks with at least three possible suitors, but none of the negotiations have reached the final stages. However, a deal is expected to materialise within six months.
According to another report by Mint, the negotiations are led by Swedish investment firm Kinnevik's chief executive Lorenzo Grabau. It further said Kinnevik is seeking a valuation of $100-150 million for Jabong in cash and stock, but the deal could be closed at a much lower valuation of $50-75 million.
Kinnevik holds a large stake in Jabong's parent company Global Fashion Group.
Rocket Internet declined to comment on the development while the spokesperson of Abof said the company had no comment to make at this point of time. Emails sent to Jabong, Myntra, Future Group and Snapdeal for more details remained unanswered till the time of filing this report.
VCCircle had previously reported that Jabong was in talks with Amazon for a potential deal worth $1.1-1.2 billion, which could become the biggest acquisition in the history of the Indian e-commerce space. However, the deal was later called off.
Separate media reports had suggested that the company also held talks with Paytm in the past.
Jabong, that hit a speed bump in the second half of 2015, had entered the new year with a marked improvement in performance while simultaneously cutting down operating loss.
The firm posted its best transaction volumes, net revenue and gross merchandise value (GMV) since October-December 2014 (the firm stated that its growth in Indian currency terms was higher still at 21.8%). Operating loss, too, was the lowest in almost two years.
It broke even at a gross profit level and attributed it to 'improving intake margins and an increase in the de-risked business, including consignment, partly offsetting continued high levels of discounts'.
Jabong, which competes with Flipkart-owned Myntra among others, has been focusing on mending its leaking boat. Its EBITDA or operating loss (adjusted for share-based compensation) had been shrinking from Q3 and declined further in the three months ended March 31, 2016.
Jabong saw a change in management at the fag end of last year with former Benetton India head Sanjeev Mohanty taking over as CEO in December. Indeed, Mohanty had claimed early this year that Jabong registered the highest-ever month-on-month growth of nearly 35% per cent in net revenue for January, which marked its best performing month since its inception in 2011.
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22 November 2001
Grain 2001: New grain service
By FARMERS WEEKLY staff
A NEW marketing service has been launched to fill a gap in ADAS chain of advice.
ADASgrain, formed in collaboration with independent grain broker Jeremy Cole, allows grain growers to guarantee a minimum price up to 18 months in advance.
It mirrors ADAS Directs input supply service at the other end of the production season, says Nottinghamshire-based advisor Andy Wells.
We already help growers with buying and improving husbandry, but we also wanted to help them improve their marketing.
The latest service is underpinned by minimum price contracts and options.
These can provide stability for budgeting in an increasingly volatile market, says Mr Cole.
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As a manufacturer of natural herbal beauty products for improving skin health, including unique formulations for anti-aging treatment, Herbally Radiant is delighted to note the consistently rising trend of maintaining natural looks. The trend was noticeable when the 23011 survey by Kline and Co predicted likely global sales of natural products to reach $ 23 billion – a rise by 15%.
The trend in 2012 continued to reflect rising global trend for organic personal care products, and US emerged as the largest market for these, followed by Japan and Germany. Consumer’s concern about health and safety, and valuation of “green” attributes were the predominant factors. Consumer’s assessment of “green” attributes as determining factor in their lifestyle greatly impacted on their purchasing decisions.
US research firm Transparency Market Research has now forecast that the market for personal care and cosmetics in US is likely to reach % 15 billion by 2015. It also highlights consumers’ concern for potentially harmful ingredients in creams and cosmetics, and stimulating the demand for natural and organic beauty products.
Following the cue, Estee Lauder acquired Rodin Olio Lusso which was making luxury skin care oils from natural ingredients. HSN has now joined M-61 skincare line engaged in manufacture of products without parabens and sulfates and free from certain fragrances and dyes. Other beauty brands have also joined the “natural’ band wagon since then.
Besides the beauty considerations, it is the concern of public health as well which is pushing for the wider acceptance of natural organic products. The mainstream consumers continue looking more and more at ecologically sourced and conceptually natural products, and Herbally Radiant is confident that this trend will arrest growing problems like skin allergies, skin cancer and other disorders, and will serve the interests of consumers and industry.


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You have probably heard of the “sharp” dealers at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra who would sell bars of soap and other items to unwitting phone buyers.
A Canadian man of Ghanaian origin has been arrested for defrauding two clients by selling packaged rice to them as an iPhone.
Andrew Boateng Gyimah was arrested in Toronto, Canada after police received reports of his scam from two individuals. According to Canadian authorities, Andrew met up with one of his victims in an area of Islington Avenue after the victim had seen an advert he put online.
Then he gave the victim a box in which he said contained the iPhone 6. However, when the victim opened the box, all he found was grains of rice.
Another person came forward earlier this to report that he had fallen victim to the same trick by Andrew Gyimah.
Andrew is now facing two counts of fraud under $5,000, two counts of false pretence under $5,000, and two counts of breaching a court order. Apple’s iphones are highly sought after by many millennials and could set you back by about 550 dollars which is about 2,200 cedis.


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COLOGNE — What’s the best way to deliver commercial viewing experiences to viewers in the interactive TV age? The new platform opportunity is considerable, but could be squandered by overly aggressive or jarring messaging.
“Not a lot of people are really thinking about the viewing experience,” Innovid CTO Tal Chalozin tells Beet.TV in this video interview. “When you turned on the television, it just worked.
“With the internet coming to television, we want to make sure that it will still be stunning.”
That’s the theory, but what’s the practice? It boils down to discovering ways to engage consumers in brand offers in ways that respect the powers of each channel – and the linkages between them.
“Connected TV allows a viewer to indicate he or she is interested and would like to learn more about the brand,” Chalozin adds. “I can very easily press a remote button and say, ‘Yes, I’m interested in the offer you have – text it to my phone and I would like to save it to my Apple Wallet’.”
New York-headquartered Innovid helps companies make ad creative for over-the-top devices, secure delivery and measure the advertising.
Its current projects include developing “marketing middleware for the OTT space”, integrating in to marketing automation systems and striking social network partnerships for video delivery. This summer, the company tapped John Piccone to be its chief growth officer.
This interview was taped at DMEXCO ’16. It is part of a video series of industry leaders. The series is sponsored by Videology. For more Beet.TV coverage of DMEXCO, please visit this page.


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It’s the news that the home and giftware industry has been waiting for! After a live judging event at Spring Fair, the judges’ votes have been counted, and The Giftware Association (GA) is delighted to reveal which six products are the official finalists in each category for the Gift of the Year 2023 awards. View the finalists here.
The winners and highly commended products will be announced at The Gift Awards, to be held at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on May 11.
The GA said: ‘The live judging event, held at Spring Fair for the second year running, was a resounding success with it being held for four days for the first time – allowing judges to come and go when they had completed their time at Spring Fair. We saw more than 60 judges, which is a record for any of our live judging days. It also attracted non-judges to the area who were on the lookout for products that were featured in the shortlist, with a lot of trade contacts shared and interest in all the shortlisted products.’
GA PR & marketing manager Chris Workman commented: “It was great to be back at Spring Fair to live judge again and for longer, allowing more judges to complete their in-person judging which we know is so important.
“What we learned from this year was that the area also attracted a great deal of attention from non-judges who were looking for great products, so we hope that businesses who were exhibiting got traffic from our stand, as well as those non-exhibitors still getting interest and follow ups. Being able to hold the judging during Spring Fair – the most important exhibition in the gift industry’s calendar – makes perfect sense for the future and, speaking to judges on the day, we found that this was a great time for them to buy and meet the companies behind the products.”
In addition, Gift of the Year finalists are in with a chance of winning the coveted Judges’ Choice award, presented in previous years to Gingko, Go La La and Willsow.
GA CEO Sarah Ward said: “We are delighted that Gift of the Year 2023 has been so well supported by the whole gift community – from Hyve Group’s commitment as headline sponsor to our strong roster of category sponsors – in addition to the widespread engagement from the suppliers who entered, and the great care and attention to detail from our enthusiastic judges. I can’t wait for everyone to celebrate together at The Gift Awards on May 11!”
Once again, The Gift of the Year awards will be announcing the People’s Choice award, which is judged by the general public, enabling everyone to vote for their favourite product across all of the categories, so there is still an opportunity for a shortlisted company to get through to become the People’s Choice winner.
To view the GOTY finalists, click
To find out more about The Gift Awards and book tickets, click


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Liverpool or El Puerto de Liverpool is a large department store chain that sells clothing, cosmetics, and technology, among other items. Its annual revenue in 2021 grew 30.8% to more than 151 billion Mexican pesos (about $7.5 billion), making it smaller than Nordstrom whose total revenue for the 12-month period ending January 29 was $14.8 billion. Experts interviewed by Modern Retail said the department store’s acquisition of Nordstrom shares could be an attempt by Liverpool to gain knowledge from Nordstrom and diversify its business rather than an acquisition.
“They’re definitely one of the big players there when you look at Mexico itself,” said Matteo Ceurvels, senior analyst for Latin America and Spain at Insider Intelligence. He said the company has performed exceptionally well in recent quarters. “They have long been a staple of the Mexican retail ecosystem,” he added.
What is Liverpool?
Founded in the 1840s, El Puerto de Liverpool has expanded its footprint across Mexico. The company currently operates 122 department stores in Liverpool, 169 Suburbia stores, 28 shopping centers and 60 shops selling brands including Gap, Pottery Barn and West Elm. The Suburbia business unit offers items at a more accessible price.
“Despite the pandemic and some of the other issues other department stores and retailers have faced, [Liverpool] has come really strong,” said Brad Jashinsky, chief analyst at Gartner. “I think it speaks to their ability to manage their inventory.”
Jashinsky said that although Liverpool have focused on Mexico for most of their existence, the company has shown some interest in other markets. In 2006, the department store giant launched a initiative which targeted Mexican consumers in the United States who might be interested in purchasing items for their family in their home country through a website or by calling a phone number. This stems from the idea that Mexicans living in the United States often send money home to their families in Mexico.
He also took steps to establish the company as a pan-Latin American retailer. Subsidiary of Liverpool in 2010 took a 30% stake in Regal Forest Holding Co, a consumer durables retailer in Central America.
Nor is the potential Nordstrom takeover the only time Liverpool have been involved with a US-based retailer. In 2016, he bought Walmart’s Mexican clothing unit, Suburbia, for 15.7 billion pesos (equivalent to $853 million at the time). At the time, Suburbia had 117 stores.
“They experimented,” Jashinsky said. “But even though they’re diversified across Mexico, they’re not diversified across markets.”
What does Liverpool want with Nordstrom?
Liverpool have recently dispelled rumors that they will acquire Nordstrom. In a regulatory filing last month, Liverpool said it was trying to diversify its assets and was not planning to acquire Nordstrom.
David Marcotte, senior vice president of global retail at Kantar, said there was a trend among Mexican retailers to diversify their businesses beyond the country. Bodega Latina Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Mexican grocery and department store chain Chedraui, acquired warehouse-style food and supply stores Smart & Final last year for about $620 million last year.
“The current government in Mexico is not very business-friendly, so there are tensions there,” Marcotte said.
When Nordstrom announced the shareholder rights plan, also known as the poison pill, he claimed it “was not adopted in response to any specific takeover bid or other proposal to acquire control of the company”. Marcotte said this was done to avoid a similar situation with Kohlsin which activist investors and other companies have expressed interest in an acquisition.
Because of the poison pill, experts said the Nordstrom acquisition would be too complicated and expensive. However, they agreed that it is unusual for a company to acquire a large number of shares in another retailer. If Liverpool can get a seat on the board, it could allow the retailer to learn more about how Nordstrom approaches the US market and feed that knowledge back into its business. Marcotte said owning a large amount of Nordstorm shares also helps Liverpool build its name value.
Much like Nordstrom, Liverpool’s department stores have a similar demographic of shoppers and its stores have a similar look, experts said.
“If you know both companies, it’s a really good complement,” Marcotte said. “It’s just a matter of where they take the partnership from there. It’s still a little early to see what happens. »
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Update: Windows 9 is now known as Windows 10. Want to know more about when you can get your hands on it? Check out our in-depth Windows 10 release date page
The head of Microsoft France, Alain Crozier, became the first executive to publicly name the successor of Windows 8 as err... Windows 9, just a few days ahead of its official unveiling in an event in San Francisco on September 30.
An archived livestream of his presentation bears witness of that statement where he can be seen (and heard) saying in French: "Last year we had Windows 8. In the next few minutes, the next few days, we'll be releasing Windows 9".
Microsoft however backtracked sending a statement, via Microsoft France's director of marketing and operations division, to ZDNet.fr stating, "We look forward to seeing you in late September, in San Francisco, for the future of Windows, which actually at this stage does not have a name as such."
Whether this is a deliberate attempt by Microsoft to whet our appetite ahead of a month that could/will see yet another Apple launch (with OS X Yosemite and new MacBook laptops expected), is to put it succinctly, unknown.
That said, there has been an uncharacteristically higher than average number of Windows 9-related leaks happening over the last few weeks like the Wi-Fi Sense and Storage Sense which leaves us believe that Microsoft might be onto something.


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Sea of Thieves Gameplay Reveal E3 2016
Sea of Thieves showcases its multiplayer gameplay at Xbox’s E3 2016 presentation.
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Carnival Cruise Line gas become the first cruise line to set sail from the Port of Baltimore since the industry-wide pause in operations last year.
Carnival Pride has set off on a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas, visiting the popular destinations of Nassau, Freeport and the private island of Half Moon Cay.
“We are thrilled to be back in Baltimore, providing our guests with the relaxing vacation they have been so patiently waiting for but also supporting the local economy and offering our crew members an opportunity to support their families back home,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival Cruise Line launched the first year-round cruise program from Baltimore in 2009 and since then has carried well over one million guests, making Carnival the number one cruise operator from the port.
“What a great day for the Port of Baltimore,” said Port of Baltimore executive director William Doyle.
“We have waited a long time to welcome back the Carnival Pride to Charm City.”
In November, a newer ship, Carnival Legend, will replace Carnival Pride in Baltimore when Carnival Pride shifts to departures from Tampa.
At the same time, Carnival Corporation has announced a new initiative making pre-board testing more convenient and accessible for its guests.
The effort will facilitate access to pre-cruise Covid-19 viral testing for guests of Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn at more than 1,500 convenient Quest Diagnostics patient service centres and retail pharmacy testing locations throughout the United States.
All guests with the lines, regardless of vaccination status, must present a negative Covid-19 viral test taken no more than three days before their embarkation, along with additional health and safety requirements.
Beginning today, and in accordance with CDC directives, all vaccinated guests must present a negative Covid-19 viral test taken no more than two days before their embarkation (for example, if a cruise leaves on a Saturday, guests should schedule their tests for the Thursday before embarking).
“Access to testing continues to play an important role in the restart of our guest operations, and working with Quest simplifies the process for our guests by making it easier to access convenient testing options from a trusted national laboratory provider,” said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation.
“These testing protocols are part of our layered approach to safeguarding the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit.”


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Everyone keeps talking about how iPhone games can and will be the next big thing, but the fact of the matter is that there isn’t many “must have” games. That all may change next month when Puzzle Quest hits the app store.
TransGaming told Kotaku that the game is undergoing final approval now. It should be good to go just in time for the holidays, where it will only run you $9.95.
Sure, you’ve already played the sh*t out of this game. But it’s still fun, and definitely a great way to run down your battery. Plus, the game will feature new characters and story lines. Not that any of those were any good in the first place. We just want Bejeweled with skulls, right?


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Drivers Direct Recruitment have been trading since 2002 and have 24 branches across the UK, 3 of which are franchised.
We have enjoyed steady growth year on year and have featured in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 in 2007 and The Recruiter Hot Top 50 in 2009 and 2010 for being one fastest growing privately owned companies in the UK.
June 09 – Mike Geoghegan, John Major and Gethin Roberts pictured above signing first ever franchise agreement with Drivers Direct and celebrating this important milestone.
Thinking about getting your foot on the logistics ladder? You’re not alone. Since early 2020 the focus has been on logistics to keep the country running during the hardest of times. The sector’s resilience over the past 18 months has shown it to be an attractive career choice. The pandemic hasOct13
Logistics, and transport management, are dynamic careers with many roles needing to be filled at the moment. In order to keep the supply chain moving, every part must work in sync with each other, however, not all elements are so straightforward. Luckily, the logistics sector covers a wide range of jobs.Sep15
You’d be forgiven for thinking that, after leaving school, your only option is to go to university in order to find a career you enjoy, or make a decent living. But this simply isn’t the case! Here’s why there’s no reason not to consider a career in logistics in place ofAug9
The impact of the logistics sector on the UK economy is seemingly simple to understand, but its importance is, unfortunately, regularly overlooked. With this being the case, it’s easy to ignore the catastrophic snowball of events that a driver shortage can lead to. Without goods making it to their intendedOct26
Clean Air Zones, also known as CAZs, are areas of controlled traffic imposed by local authorities in an attempt to improve air quality. Most commonly found in city centres, CAZs were first proposed in 2015 but only came into force this year. The UK government’s target of a near “netOct5
This autumn, during the budget review, it is rumoured that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering ending the current freeze on fuel tax, FleetNews reports. This could see fuel duty increase as much as 5p, resulting in a spike in overall costs per litre. It’s thought that this move is being


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India will continue to impose anti-dumping duties on PAs imported from Russia and at the same time remove Japan from the ADD (anti-dumping duties) list.
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies of India (DGTR) recommended to continue the implementation of ADD on January 5. Previous investigations by the bureau showed that “if the existing ADD ceases, dumping and damage may continue or occur again.” South Asian countries previously imported Russian PA The five-year ADD expires in December 2020.
After receiving complaints from Indian domestic producers IG Petrochemicals, Thirumalai Chemicals and SI Group India Ltd., DGTR launched an investigation in December 2020. "Domestic manufacturers will be able to meet India's complete demand for this product," DGTR said in its review report. "The two existing PA producers have already expanded their production capacity, and commercial production will begin soon after the expanded capacity." The two manufacturers refer to Thirumalai Chemicals and IG Petrochemicals.
SI Group produces phthalates and their derivatives. The new ADD is expected to be implemented within three months.
PA is a chemical intermediate for the production of phthalate plasticizers, saturated and unsaturated polyester resins. PA is widely used in the production of paints and varnishes and plasticizers for PVC products. A small amount is used to make rubber products and tires. In addition, it is also used in the light industry, pharmaceutical and electrical industries.