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Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), one of the world’s leading hospitality design firm, is celebrating 50 years as a global leader shaping the look, style and brand identity of luxury hotels around the world.
First conceptualized in Santa Monica in 1965 as a way to bring individuality to hospitality projects, founder Howard Hirsch aimed to create an element of sophistication not found in other hotels at the time. Michael Bedner joined the company in 1967 and expanded the company internationally and broadened the firm’s scope to include resorts, casinos, spas and restaurants.
HBA has since grown into 22 offices around the world with more than 1,500 designers.
“I am honoured to be celebrating HBA’s 50th anniversary this year and to usher in the next 50 years of designing the future,” said HBA Co-CEO Rene René Gross Kærskov.
“As the leaders in the industry, we are a global firm that continues to remain local; we listen to our clients’ needs and work accordingly, ensuring that we are always years ahead of the desires of discerning travellers. It has solidified our success thus far and will continue to be our model as we grow the firm.”
HBA Co-CEO Ian Carr added: “Hirsch and Bedner created the world’s leading hospitality firm and we work hard to maintain and exceed that reputation every single day.
“It is our duty to continue to build and leave HBA stronger than it was when it started and to carry on its core principles left by the founders – a focus on vibrancy, creativity, ingenuity, fun and entrepreneurship – we are an entrepreneurial cauldron at HBA, it’s what makes us the best at what we do.”
In honour of the anniversary, HBA announced the creation of the HBA ‘Design the Future’ scholarship fund. The aim of this scholarship fund is to create a continual financial resource for bright young talent to further their design-related education and nurture the next generation of designers.
An initial $50,000 donation – $1,000 for each year in business – will be placed into this fund by HBA International
Future events, fundraisers and donations will maintain the fund. HBA will donate $25,000 of the initial HBA Design the Future Scholarship Fund directly to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
The donation will be awarded as a tuition scholarship to deserving students.


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A first look at Innovation Lab companies coming to NRF 2022: Retail’s Big Show
How ‘circular commerce’ helps retailers protect their brands
Retail Gets Real 228: Trove CEO Andy Ruben on resale’s dual promise of profitability and sustainability.
Sustainability: Taking steps, living by example
NRF 2022: IKEA U.S. CEO Javier Quiñones on committing to people and the planet.
Leveraging technology to expand the retail experience
NRF 2022: IBM CEO Arvind Krishna on AI, supply chain and digital transformation.

domain: news


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A new B&M is set to open in Hull city centre next month.
Locals will be able to pick up everything from toys, groceries, health and beauty products as well as all the seasonal items they need in time for Christmas.
B&M’s new store manager says it is “good news” for people in Hull.
To get the Hull Live headlines every day, simply pop your email address into the sign-up box just beneath the picture at the top of this article.
Store manager Robert said: “We’re feeling really positive about the creation of more jobs for local people and we hope customers are going to be delighted with their new store which is the first to be opened within a shopping centre and also good news for the city to have a new anchor store that people love.
Prospect Centre manager Maria Kamper says it is “just what the city centre needed”.
“We are all really excited to get the doors open and welcome shoppers in,” she said.
“This is just what the city centre needed a large well-known brand to compliment other retailers and bring footfall into the city centre.
“We wish B&M a successful future within the centre.”


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The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has implored the authorities to find a solution to the rapidly deteriorating exchange rate situation.
The apex organisation for Industry in Zimbabwe, the strong rebound in economic activity is now threatened by the unfolding instability in the currency market.
In a statement CZI said this instability has been primarily driven by the unrelenting increase in money supply, the arbitrage windows that policy seems to continue to create, increasing imports on the back of decreasing export competitiveness bulk payments for agriculture produce and to contractors.
“The pressure on the forex market has been made worse by long delays in settlement at the auction.
“This instability in the currency has prompted an aggressive administrative response from the authorities that, if continued, will send the economy into a hyperinflationary tailspin destroying all the gains of the previous twelve months,” read the statement.
The CZI also highlighted country still lacks a transparent formal foreign exchange market that responds smoothly to supply and demand for foreign exchange.
This has resulted in an increasing parallel market premium that is becoming a growing problem.
“In our initial engagements with the Reserve Bank we proffered and they indicated that they would implementing an action plan that, will result in the restoration of stability,” authored the CZI.
“The key elements of the plan are: auction only available foreign exchange and settle bids within two weeks at an absolute maximum, implement the standard rules of a Dutch auction meaning that higher bidders are allocated in full,” CZI said.
This will allow supply and demand to play its full role at the auction and make it a true price discovery mechanism and further tightening of monetary policy.
“These factors are the main drivers of the widening parallel market premium and with this widening premium arbitrage, distortions and inflation pressures are entrenching.
“This has also increased preference for the USD among economic agents making the ZWL$ vulnerable and the inflation environment precarious,” read the statement.
The report also stated that the parallel market premium is a cost of getting foreign currency from the alternative informal market, in the absence of a formal spot market.
“It is also an indicator of the possible erosion of value of foreign currency by simply trading on the official market.
“Trading on the parallel market is risky as it is illegal, but given the absence of an alternative formal spot market, it is often seen as worthwhile and sometimes necessary to undertake the activity,” read the statement.
Government has recorded an increase of farmers who have subscribed for this year’s Climate…


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E-commerce offers brands increased opportunities post Covid-19, Group M report
WPP’s media investment arm GroupM, has unveiled its latest white paper on what ‘life after lockdown’ portends for brands across Southeast Asia.
Impact of COVID-19 on business performance will be short lived, CMOs reveal
Even as many companies continue cutting back on marketing budgets as a result of Corona virus, 73 per cent of Chief Marketing Officers expect the pandemic’s negative impact to be short lived.
Dutch companies push for sustainability in Covid-19 recovery, climate agreements
Dutch businesses under a coalition have committed to champion sustainability as a key driver in the COVID-19 recovery plans at both national and European Union (EU) level.
World population deepens bond with tech amid Covid-19, Dentsu Aegis Network survey
About one third of the world population believe tech has enabled them to connect with friends, family and the world around them during lockdown.
Online media consumption declines as lockdowns lift, Mindshare tracker
WPP’s agency Mindshare has released the fourth ‘New Normal’ COVID-19 tracker that polled 1,000 persons in each market across 10 global markets.
Multinationals extend ad spend squeeze amid COVID-19, WFA tracker
Large multinationals world over could scale back on spending as the impacts of coronavirus continue to take a toll on businesses, the latest World Federation of Advertisers, WFA, Covid-19 Response Tracker shows.
Corona crisis redefines digital marketing mixes, Gartner
As the novel corona virus pandemic continues to disrupt how businesses operate, brands are innovating by going digital in what now presents an opportunity for marketing leaders.
Consumer behaviour differ across markets during Covid-19, Mindshare
WPP media agency Mindshare, has released the latest ‘New Normal’ COVID-19 tracker, its third so far that has been monitoring consumer behaviours in the wake of coronavirus crisis.
Apple and Google partner on Bluetooth-based contact tracing
Tech giants Google and Apple have announced a new partnership focusing on the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus.
Coca-Cola commits $100 million to COVID-19 relief efforts
The Coca-Cola Company has pledged over $100 million in support for COVID-19 relief efforts in communities across the world.
Coca Cola channels marketing spend to support Covid-19 relief efforts
The Coca-Cola Company is channeling its marketing resources into relief efforts as the world grapples with the corona virus crisis.
Covid-19 affects millenials household income more, barometer
Millenials and Generation Z are feeling the impacts of the coronavirus more severely than any other generation as their household incomes become depressed according to the latest Covid-19 Barometer.
VICE captures hopes and fears of youth amid Covid-19 in new report
Up to 87 per cent of Millenials and Gen Z have invested in limiting the spread of Covid-19 a new report by global independent youth media company Vice Media Group posits.
Netflix, Netherlands Film Fund launch kitty for affected productions
Netflix has announced it will invest one million euros in Netherlands to bolster a new relief fund targeting film and TV productions struggling in the wake of coronavirus crisis.
SpotX in Video PSAs partnership with media owners on tackling Covid-19
Global video advertising platform SpotX has partnered with its media owner partners worldwide in tackling the corona virus crisis.
Philips unveils portal for digital exchange of patient data
Philips has launched an online portal that allows Dutch hospitals to seamlessly share Cobid-19 patient data among themselves as efforts to keep the pandemic at bay escalates.
Publicis Groupe announces strong action amid coronavirus crisis
French advertising firm Publicis Groupe has posted a 17 per cent growth in net revenue for the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year.
[Column] Penny Whitelaw: Fashion ecommerce opportunities amid Covid-19
We are living in unprecedented times. The widespread outbreak of coronavirus has created uncertainty across industries, fashion retail being particularly vulnerable.
KLM, Philips partner on special air bridge between Amsterdam and China
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has partnered with Royal Philips and the Dutch government to create a special cargo air bridge between the Netherlands and China
Uber for Business expands Eats platform to more markets
Uber for Business has announced the expansion of its Uber Eats product to more than 20 countries in 2020 with initial launches in United Kingdom, Canada, France and Brazil.
Heineken announces measures to tackle Corona virus crisis
Heineken has announced a raft of measures it has been implementing since the outbreak of Covid-19 to cushion and support employees and the communities in which it operates.
Eighty per cent of multinationals defer campaigns amid Covid-19, WFA
Four out of every five marketers in major multinationals are postponing planned campaigns due to the Coronavirus crisis.
WPP unveils cost reduction plan to tackle corona crisis
The world’s largest advertising company WPP has suspended its £950 million share buyback plan, cancelled dividends and frozen any 2020 new hires and salary increments in a raft of cost reduction measures.
Global ad market to record single digit growth amid COVID-19, Magna
Slower sales and profits coupled with a lull in business activities occasioned by the coronavirus crisis are set to take a toll on global advertising.
Cola-Cola stops advertising to focus on COVID-19
Soft drinks multinational Coca Cola has announced that it is suspending all advertisements for its brands effective April.


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Dołączył: 13 Lip 2018
|Wysłany: Sro Sie 01, 2018 01:27 Temat postu: What’s causing that itchy
|SEOUL Authentic James Reimer Jersey , June 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports increased for the seventh consecutive month on solid demand for chips and solid state drive (SSD), a government report showed Thursday.
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The overseas shipments kept a growth trend for seven months in a row, posting the double-digit increase for five months through May.
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Imports jumped 18.2 percent to 39 billion dollars, sending the May trade surplus to 6 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for 64 months in a row.
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Steel exports soared more than 30 percent for two months through May on the back of robust demand and high product prices.
Oil product exports rose for seven straight months amid expensive crude oil, while shipments of petrochemicals posted the double-digit expansion for five months in a row.
Shipments of general machinery, automobiles and ships all gained ground, showing signs of global recovery.
Exports of telecommunication devices Authentic Aaron Ekblad Jersey , including smartphone, posted the double-digit decline for the fifth straight month as local manufacturers increased production in overseas factories.
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Shipments to Japan also maintained the growth trend for seven months in a row, but those to the United States, South Korea's No. 2 trading partner, fell 1.9 percent on weak demand for smartphones Authentic Roberto Luongo Jersey , cars and auto parts.
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Shipments to India also logged a double-digit expansion, and those to the European Union jumped more than 20 percent last month.
Chinese Premier Li holds talks with German Chancellor Merkel in Berlin
Hong Kong's 20th return anniversary to be celebrated on July 1
Kenya launches flagship standard gauge railway set to transform nation
International Children's Day celebrated across China
Cheongsam show held at Sanshuiwan scenic spot in Taizhou City
In pics: Amboseli National Park in Kenya
In pics: outdoor cultural performance given by Ulanmuqi in N China
Water park attracts many citizens in SW China's Chongqing
MUMBAI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are foreign exchange rates of the Indian rupee with major international currencies as was released by the RBI Wednesday:
U.S. dollar 64.36371
Japanese yen 57.7600100
British pound 87.02621
Premier Li hopes for Singapore support in high-speed railway
World leaders attend general debate of UN General Assembly
7.1-magnitude quake kills at least 47 in central Mexico
China's C919 jumbo jet receives new orders
China to build cross-provincial national park for giant panda
Aerial view of paddy fields in SW China's Guizhou
Special snacks displayed during 14th China-ASEAN Expo
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Q: Will an effort to level the playing field in tobacco taxes end up saving Native American lives?
A: Oklahoma officials are pushing to raise taxes on tribal tobacco sales to a level that could reduce or wipe out the competitive price advantage tribal smoke shops have enjoyed for decades.
The effort, if successful, also could make smoking less attractive for Native Americans, who have high rates of smoking and smoking-related illnesses
Gov. Mary Fallin’s office, however, said the main goal in its negotiations with tribes over new tobacco compacts is not to improve health outcomes, but to make tobacco taxes more consistent in the state.
In recent months, Fallin’s office has been negotiating the compacts with nearly all of Oklahoma’s 32 federally recognized American Indian tribes. So far, five tribes have agreed to new deals: the Kaw, Cheyenne and Arapaho, Otoe Missouria, Apache and Fort Sill Apache tribes. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s compact is not expiring.
Agreements with the other tribes were to expire on June 30, but the state has granted a three-month extension to 22 tribes with which it is negotiating, said Fallin’s General Counsel Steve Mullins. A handful of tribes are not in negotiations.
Because tribes are sovereign entities and cannot be taxed, they remit a payment in lieu of taxes to the state via wholesalers.
There are five different tax rates among tribal retailers. Smoke shops within 20 miles of the border with Kansas or Missouri charge either 6 or 26 cents per pack; those outside the 20 miles charge 43 cents, 51.5 cents or $1.03 per-pack. Non-tribal retailers charge $1.03 per pack.
The state wants to gradually set all tribal taxes at $1.03. That would mean no retail store in Oklahoma has a tax advantage. In return, the state would rebate to the tribes half of the taxes charged at retail outlets on their lands.
“Basically, at the end of five years, in Oklahoma almost every tribe will be at that rate,” Mullins said. “They will buy a (tobacco) stamp for $1.03, but we will refund one half that amount of money. All cigarettes sold in Oklahoma will be sold at $1.03.”
The Kaw’s compact, for example, phases out its lower “border rates” of about 26 cents per pack, raising the rate to $1.03, the same one for nontribal retailers. In return, the Kaw tribe will be refunded 51.5 cents per-pack by the state.
A tribe could provide some of that refund to a licensed smoke shop as a subsidy to help the outlet undercut nontribal retail prices, but it’s unclear at this point if tribes are willing to give up some or all of the revenue, Mullins said. Customers could see changes in prices about a month after compacts are signed, he added.
Tribal leaders supported extending the compacts rather than renegotiating them, but the Fallin administration pressed for new compacts.
“What the governor said was we’re not going to just rubber-stamp and renew the tobacco compacts up for expiration,” said Alex Weintz, Fallin’s spokesman. “But absolutely we want to sit down with every tribe interested in doing so to negotiate new compacts.”
Mullins said he expected the state to reach an agreement with most of the 22 tribes in negotiations by the end of the three-month extension period.
Tribal officials say they hope to allow smoke shops to keep up with tobacco retailers across the state line.
“Our main focus is to keep the market competitive for tribal smoke shops,” said Sara Hill, assistant attorney general for the Cherokee Nation. “The object is not to provide cheaper-priced cigarettes to anyone.”
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief George Tiger attributed the state’s push for higher tobacco tax rates partly to years of opposition from nontribal retailers.
“We’ve certainly enjoyed some years where we had a definite advantage,” Tiger said. “Now that gap is closing and I have to think it’s because of some of the bigger corporations who sell cigarettes and, of course, some of the retail associations in Oklahoma.”
Tobacco sales at some shops have declined in recent years.
Whether higher taxes at smoke shops will lead to less smoking among tribal members remains to be seen. But health experts credit higher taxes for helping decrease smoking nationally.
Studies show Oklahoma has one of the highest tobacco use rates in the nation. Smoking is especially high among Native Americans, although it’s been declining.
A report released last year by the U.S. Surgeon General found that Oklahoma had the seventh highest smoking rate in the nation from 2006 to 2010 among children aged 12 to 17 and adults aged 18 to 25. Among adults 26 and over, Oklahoma has the fourth highest rate. Close to half of American Indian adolescents and young adults in the nation smoke, the report said.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported that in 2011, Native American adults had the highest smoking rates of all ethnic groups, at about 34 percent. They also had the highest rates of lung cancer, with 605 new cases per 100,000 population in 2009.
Raising tobacco tax rates is one of the surest ways to decrease commercial tobacco use, said Sally Carter, tribal liaison for the state department of health.
“It’s really considered a gold-standard in tobacco prevention,” Carter said.
Tribes have taken some steps to lower smoking rates among members.
In recent years, the Cherokee Nation, which has licensed vendors who sell tobacco, has banned smoking on much of its tribal property, said Randy Gibson, program liaison for the Cherokee Nation’s Healthy Nation initiative. It also has banned “thirdhand smoke,” such as smoke odor on clothing, from its child-care program.
The tribe’s anti-smoking efforts have paid off, Gibson said. Health officials have seen a drop in lung cancer rates among tribal members over the last three years.
Still, “a lot more needs to be done because the rate for native versus non-native is still very high,” he said.
Carter said the health department has partnered with numerous tribes to help prevent or stop smoking, using media campaigns and referrals from doctors to a tobacco helpline (1-800-QUIT NOW), which is available to all state residents.
While ceremonial use of tobacco is an important tradition for a number of Indian tribes in the state, tribal and state health officials say there is a distinction between ceremonial use and addiction to “commercial” tobacco.


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The news cycle has continued its frenetic pace in the last few days, with multiple exchange announcements, XRP community updates, and a new website for XRP Ledger documentation, organized specifically around community-sourced contributions.
And Ripple finally revealed a new business partnership that had been fueling a large amount of speculation on social media prior to its official announcement. Their latest news built on the first half of 2019, which saw a wide variety of new investments, continued energetic growth of RippleNet, and a steady stream of new customer announcements.
The big news was, of course, the MoneyGram partnership, announced formally by Ripple on June 17th:
Ripple's formal announcement, communicated via an Insights article, indicated that they had entered into a two-year relationship with MoneyGram, and that Ripple would help MoneyGram upgrade its cross-border payment flows. In addition, the article indicated that MoneyGram would also use Ripple's xRapid solution, whereby XRP can be used to settle international payment flows for selected corridors:
"The partnership with Ripple will focus on the xRapid product, a solution for on-demand liquidity, which reduces reliance on pre-funding by enabling money to be sent from one currency and instantly settled in the destination currency.
It leverages XRP, the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, as a real-time bridge between the sending and receiving currencies.
XRP remains the most efficient digital asset for settlement with transaction fees at just fractions of a penny, compared to other digital asset fees of about $30 per transaction. Similarly, the average transaction time for XRP is two to three seconds with other top digital assets ranging from 15 minutes to an hour."
The CEO of MoneyGram, Alex Holmes, was quoted in the official announcement:
"Through Ripple’s xRapid product, we will have the ability to instantly settle funds from US dollars to destination currencies on a 24/7 basis, which has the potential to revolutionize our operations and dramatically streamline our global liquidity management."
The article also revealed some interesting specifics of the deal, including a financing arrangement whereby MoneyGram can draw up to $50 million dollars in funding in return for ceding Ripple a portion of company equity.
In a follow-up article, Fortune magazine indicated that the deal allows Ripple to purchase between 8% and 10% of MoneyGram for approximately $30 million dollars, which translates to $4.10 cents per share. Another $20 million on top of that will be made available by Ripple over the course of the subsequent two years.
Some members of the XRP Community were of the opinion that Ripple may have actually been pursuing the purchase of MoneyGram; and while I don't comment on rumors very much, I remember thinking that it was 'highly unlikely' that Ripple would directly purchase a money transmitter.
Because Ripple's core business is not to actually compete as a payment processor. Its mission - and it's led by a CEO who's very hallmark is laser focus - is to build the 'plumbing' of international payments. So the fact that Ripple didn't purchase MoneyGram is no surprise to me; however, we must now analyze what this deal means for the entire market, and for Ripple.
Essentially, I'm reading this latest news as 'Ripple investing in the overall remittance market,' not 'Ripple wanting to compete against other remittance operators with MoneyGram.'
The reason I say that is because of the nature of the partnership and its associated goals; it's a limited-time partnership (2 years), and its focus is centered on the upgrade of MoneyGram's cross-border payment processing.
Some people may point at Ripple's potential ownership rights in MoneyGram as proof that it's more than that, but from my perspective, Ripple is more interested in seeing the entire industry adopt its solutions, rather than on backing one specific competitor in that industry. My guess is that Ripple will continue to help all remittance companies willing to join RippleNet and opt-in to using xRapid.
My Take on the MoneyGram Deal
Although I'm still analyzing it from various perspectives, it looks like Ripple has signaled that they are now choosing to take a more active role in counter-acting inertia in the banking and remittance industry. Making a direct deal with MoneyGram charts a path forward using digital assets, and solidifies xRapid's position as a centerpiece of Ripple's solution for real-time settlement.
It's also fascinating to think about from the perspective of the adopting organization.
For new startups like SendFriend, there is very little legacy architecture holding them back from adopting RippleNet's solutions - xRapid included - that can directly enable real-time settlement for cross-border payments. But for older organizations that have to deal with a large legacy technology stack, such as MoneyGram or Western Union, the integration of payment flows using new software might require some additional problem-solving that Ripple can help with.
This latest deal with MoneyGram shows that Ripple is ready to expand its services by playing a much more active role in assisting with large-scale integrations that may involve legacy architectures.
I'd also like to see Ripple chart a path for enabling third parties to install its software; other large software providers have opted for this scaling technique for software adoption, and it might make sense for some of Ripple's solutions. A licensing or certification / partner path might be advantageous for all parties concerned.
But I'm drifting off-topic: For now, it's time to celebrate an incredible business partnership between Ripple, the most cutting-edge Silicon Valley payments company, and MoneyGram, the world's second-largest payment processor!
Kudos to the entire Ripple team on this significant milestone.
The Commerce International Merchant Bankers Group (CIMB Group) is a large international bank headquartered in Malaysia; it has tens of thousands of international employees, with branches in 18 countries. 1
It's the fifth-largest bank in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); this geographic collection of countries handles remittances measured at over $100 billion dollars. 2
Last November, Ripple announced that CIMB had joined RippleNet, and wrote about it as well in a Ripple Insights article. CIMB announced that Ripple technology had already been deployed to enhance their proprietary remittance product, called 'SpeedSend.' 3
On June 11th, CIMB published a new video that highlighted SpeedSend, indicating that it 'runs on Ripple:'
As more remittance processors join RippleNet, the entire network grows stronger and more liquid, with banks and other stakeholders forming new relationships with each other. No doubt CIMB's foray into real-time settlement has been noted by business partners and competitors alike; and the 'runs on Ripple' will probably become a common footnote for multiple remittance applications in the future.
International Day of Family Remittances
June 16th was the International Day of Family Remittances, and Ripple released the first episode in a new video series collectively titled "Pay Forward:"
The video profiled a migrant worker named Joyce de Guzman, who works as a waitress in the UAE, and regularly sends money home to the Philippines.
The video talked briefly about the long hours she works, and provided some introductory statistics about how many people worldwide (800 million) are supported by remittance payments. It then delved into her own specific experience in having to use traditional wire services to send her daughters money, and ended with the message "Ripple can help you help customers like Joyce."
It was a concise and powerful demonstration of what remittance payments really mean on a human level, and was produced by Reinhard Cate, Ripple's Head of Content who is also responsible for a variety of other Ripple productions, including the 'Ripple Drop' series of videos.
Hopefully we see more of these 'Pay Forward' videos; this one was a high-impact reminder of how real-time settlement can help many families worldwide.
The largest organization that champions usage of XRP is Ripple.
Due to that status, they have taken on the responsibility of hosting the majority of corporate-produced developer reference material about the XRP Ledger; the content and its publishing platform have undergone multiple iterations, and the latest one was announced on June 14th via a new blog entry on Ripple's 'XRP Ledger Blog:'
In prior weeks, the company has added new content to the site, including some interactive tools that help new developers get up to speed much faster.
With this latest update, the changes are far more profound. The site has an entirely new domain and location: https://xrpl.org/ The blog also indicated:
"As the XRP Ledger community continues to grow and as the network becomes further decentralized, it makes sense to have a website that is openly built and maintained by the community, not just by one institution.
All pages in the documentation, use cases, and even developer tools have an "Edit" button you can use to propose corrections, improvements, and additions to the source for the website on GitHub.
Like the XRP Ledger, anyone can contribute to the evolution of xrpl.org by submitting comments, suggestions and/or pull-requests with changes on GitHub.
A team of reviewers from the XRP community will evaluate each request for accuracy, quality and style and approve changes as deemed reasonably appropriate.
With everyone's cooperation, xrpl.org will always host the best community-generated technical content related to the XRP Ledger."
This change is very different from how the site was maintained in the past, and is one more indication of how Ripple is continuing along its decentralization path. In addition to the decentralization of the XRP network itself, the governance of the cryptocurrency's core documentation is also being decentralized.
This development is a fantastic milestone for the XRP Community, and reflects the need to 'clear the path' as XRP continues to be adopted by more financial institutions and remittance processors. My guess is that the amount of community-sourced development will only increase in the near future, and having a site that can include collaborative improvements is a step forward.
"... organize corporate, business and public events, conferences and congresses, and also brand and dialogue spaces ...
... As an event and communication partner, we design and implement experiences and platforms that are aimed at specific target groups and bring together people, brands and markets. We work in specialist teams that we assemble to suit individual assignments. We are your sparring partner for all disciplines of live communication."
The company is based in Switzerland. 5
On June 13th, the company formally announced on their website that they would be accepting XRP as a form of payment. 6
As part of its formal announcement, the company spent some time talking about the important impact that blockchain technology will make, and the specific reasons they chose XRP, as well as the factors that drove their decision:
"... by committing to blockchain technology at an early stage, we can ensure prompt compatibility with new business models and markets.
... We want to become part of the crypto-economy at an early stage and acquire experience in this area. As a purchaser of international services, we will at some point be confronted with these payment options in any case.
... our acceptance of XRP is about much more than embracing a new payment method: It represents our entry into the blockchain economy."
Standing Ovation has chosen to accept XRP as a form of direct payment, and I'm guessing that it will eventually smooth operations in its own business; not having to worry about multiple currencies and instead providing a liquid digital asset as a form of payment is a positive development. It's not clear to me if their decision includes both their own vendor payments and their customer's payments, but regardless, it's a high-profile development that will remind business customers of how digital assets are transforming daily life.
Paralect and goLance
Paralect is a company that specializes in building messaging software that can be used in a variety of industries and contexts; the team lists a variety of their clients on their formal website, and one of them is a company called goLance. 7
On June 12th, Paralect indicated that they'd 'worked with goLance since 2014' and had: 8
"... developed a solution to add the Ripple Network to the long list of goLance payment integrations.
This will allow fast and secure cross-border payment solutions via digital asset."
It's not certain exactly what's meant by this statement; perhaps it has to do with a RippleNet integration and hence, xRapid, and perhaps it has to do more with providing a cryptocurrency 'cash-out' option in XRP.
Some XRP fans noted that goLance lists 'Ripple' as one of the companies that they work with on their official website, in the page that focuses on payments.
Secalot and Bithomp
Bithomp has consistently maintained and continued to upgrade its site with additional capabilities.
Long known as one of the most popular XRP Ledger explorers available, Bithomp also contains a wide variety of other helpful tools and applications for XRP owners. The team has recently added price alerts, a nickname service, and now they've integrated some of their functions with a hardware wallet login:
The two hardware wallets that Bithomp supports are the Ledger, and Secalot.
When a user opts to login using their hardware wallet, they are able to submit signed transactions through the Bithomp user interface, as depicted in the video. This is an option used by various online wallet services, and is a convenient feature for those looking to communicate signed transactions to the XRP Ledger.
Note: I do not personally endorse any wallet.
Bgogo is a new exchange that is partially financed by its own exchange token, the 'BGG.' The whitepaper indicates that the site itself is 'registered in the Cayman Islands,' while some XRP fans found documentation on LinkedIn that indicates a headquarters in California. 9 10
On June 16th, Bgogo announced that they'd be adding three pairings for XRP starting two days later on June 18th:
Three trading pairs for XRP were included in the announcement, but only the BTC and USDT pairing were called out specifically with implementation dates.
New exchanges are always welcome news, and Bgogo adds to the numbers that support XRP pairings.
Thanks to Leonidas Hadjiloizou for finding information about Bgogo's platform update.
The exchange's platform is advertised as being 'Next Generation AI-powered,' and the site gives some hint where its machine learning algorithms are used. OceanEx includes a mobile application available on iOS and Android. 15
On June 16th, OceanEx formally announced that they'd be adding support for two new XRP pairings: XRP-VET and XRP-USDT. VET is the crypto-currency 'VeChain,' and with this listing, is paired with XRP on a total of three exchanges.
Developments are Moving Fast
Like the digital asset XRP, news about the Internet of Value's continued progress is moving fast.
There is a need, that, though invisible, can be felt as we look around the world at the current state of remittance processing. New technology companies are springing up, working with Ripple to bring about real-time settlement of cross-border payments. And now, the second-largest remittance processor in the world is also implementing xRapid, Ripple's solution that utilizes XRP for settlement.
Customers' expectations are increasing, and without exception, it seems, every major international leadership organization has recognized that real-time payments represent inevitable progress.
To stay current on the news affecting XRP - and the entire Internet of Value, subscribe to my blog here on the XRP Community Blog, and on Coil. And make sure to support other content-creators in the XRP Community as well!
Sources and Credits:
Cover Art: Thank you to Eugene Zhyvchik


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VISA and MasterCard Deem Buying Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency as a “High Risk” Asset
Cryptocurrencies Are Now A “High Risk” Asset According To MasterCard And VISA
The financial services giants MasterCard and VISA are reportedly branding cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in a “high-risk” category.
Sources with close knowledge of the matter confirmed to Finance Magnates that card providers MasterCard and VISA are proceeding with their actions against forex, binary, cryptos and ICOs.
Back in April, MasterCard classified the crypto industry as high risk. The move effectively meant that chargebacks could be executed up to 540 days after the date of the transaction. Now Visa supported the same idea and announced that starting December 2018, all the payments to the above companies are considered high risk.
EU-regulated brokers are suffering due to significant changes to their operations stemming from the new regulatory framework. Meanwhile, offshore and unregulated companies are now facing a challenge from the new policies implemented by VISA and MasterCard. The operations of some companies are set to get affected materially. That said, the eternal cat and mouse game between regulators and businesses is set to continue.
The changes are expected to primarily impact brokers and companies from unregulated or loosely regulated jurisdictions. In addition, certain brokers and exchanges have already stopped accepting credit card deposits. Moreover, payment processors suspend their alliance with some clients until a viable solution is established.
In May this year, Broker Complaint Registry said that Mastercard informed its payment processors regarding these changes via an email. The trader community added: “According to the letter any high-risk business that operates without a license in their given jurisdiction will fall into a new category.
Notably, CEO of MasterCard Ajay Banga is known to dislike the concept of cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, he condemned the industry, calling the crypto projects “junk”. He stated: “I think cryptocurrency is junk. The idea of an anonymized currency produced by people who have to mine it, the value of which can fluctuate wildly – that to me is not the way that any medium of exchange deserves to be considered as a medium of exchange”.
VISA also had ceased supporting crypto debit cards via a partnership with debit card provider WaveCrest in January of this year, with affected cards including products from CryptoPay, Bitwala, TenX, Wirex, and others.


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Let’s talk crypto, Metaverse, NFTs, CeDeFi, and Stocks, and focus on multi-chain as the future of blockchain technology. Let us all WIN!
WM Motor is reportedly planning to file for a listing on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market in early 2021.
The electric vehicle industry has taken a huge lift off during the pandemic, with several of China’s EV companies taking the center stage in the global market. Through its official website, WM Motor announced that it has raised capital through different investors to further its course.
The company wrote that it “completed a D round of financing of 10 billion yuan , which is the largest single round of financing in the history of new automakers . Mainly used for smart technology research and development, brand building, digital marketing and channel expansion”.
The five-year-old company is pushing into a market with existing competitors including Tesla that has largely dominated the industry. At home, the company will be rivaling with Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ: LI), Xpeng Motors Inc (NYSE: XPEV) and Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), all have completed initial public offerings in the U.S.
However, there are many existing opportunities as the electric vehicle industry is not fully mature and there is a huge demand for electric vehicles. Furthermore the more competitors the better it will be for the market at large.
Due to the competition, EV prices will possibly go down. The competition will also accelerate the electric vehicle adoption globally, which can reduce the environmental deterioration.
WM Motor and China EV Industry
China has fostered the electric vehicle industry by formulating policies that support the EV companies.
The company noted that the latest round of fundraising was led by the investment arm of the Shanghai government and SAIC Motor, which is one of the largest Chinese state-owned car companies.
Notably, the company said it will recruit 3,000 top engineers globally in the next three to five years to build an ecosystem that connects drivers, vehicles and the external environment, as well as adapting to the needs of Chinese customers and road conditions. The funds will also be spent on expanding its store network, branding and marketing.
“The completion of the funding round reflects the confidence of investors on the prospect of China’s smart new energy vehicle industry,” WM Motor’s founder and CEO Freeman Shen said, adding that many are strategic investors committed to long-term development of the company.
In July, the Chinese EV upstart delivered its 30,000th EX5 SUV vehicle, which comes at about $22,000 with state subsidy and features the likes of in-car video streaming and air purification. The company claimed that parents of young children account for nearly 70% of its customers.
EV maker WM Motor is reportedly planning to file for a listing on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market in early 2021, with investment bank China Securities Co., Ltd (CSC) as its underwriter.
Notably, the company recently revealed its plans in September to launch a new model in 2021 with Level 4 parking capabilities.
For more business news follow the link.


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Lillard treats kids to toy bonanza
As if Damian Lillard hasn’t done enough around Portland lately (what with the game-winning shots and the Blazers tearing it up and all that), he’s now apparently become a bit of a Kris Kringle type.
Lillard took members of the Portland Boys and Girls Club on a surprise shopping spree at Toys ‘R Us last night. The generosity earned attention from the Deadspin website, not exactly known for gushing over athletes’ off-the-court activities.
Lillard hit two game-winning shots earlier this week. www.blazersedge.com He also won the league’s Kia Community Assist Award for the month of March. The honor goes to players who exhibit prowess in terms of community work, ongoing advocacy and charitable effort.
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Melt sees huge surge in traffic from regular e-mail marketing
A carefully planned email marketing campaign has re-kindled the success of a luxury candle firm and set its sales alight.
After commissioning 21Digital to run a series of e-marketing campaigns, the firm has seen a marked increase in sales and visitors to its website.
The campaign involved sending beautifully designed emails each month with special offers included on each one.
Cheryl Hook, owner of Melt Candles, says the campaign has had a huge impact on increasing Melt’s brand awareness and has attracted a new following to their range of scented candles.
Cheryl said: “It’s worked unbelievably well for us. What’s so great about e-mail marketing is that it’s a quick, efficient, effective way to keep in touch with customers.
“It allows us to unobtrusively reach them with news of special offers or new lines – and generates good business for us.”
According to Cheryl, the website generates 61% of the turnover that the firm’s retail outlets does and this is growing year-on-year.
“Our database has grown organically which means that our e-newsletters are reaching potential customers who are loyal to our brand and eager to snap up good offers,” she explained.
“E-mail newsletters also perform much better than traditional advertising. Spending several hundred pounds on an advert does not generate the same level of business as sending an e-newsletter and you are appealing to customers who prefer to shop in a more modern, time efficient way.
“By the end of last year, Melt Candles’ business grew over 22% on the previous year and has grown a further 14% so far this year – with their busy period still to come.”
Regular e-mail marketing can work really well for any company if planned in the right way.


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Advances in Bluetooth Smart Controls
Bluetooth is disrupting the lighting control industry with its Bluetooth mesh networking standard and pushing the boundaries of what the industry thought could be done with lighting.
The technology has the potential to turn the lighting installation into a digital backbone – an ‘Internet of Things’ platform which would allow other technologies, services and tasks.
The seed for the disruption was sown when the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) ratified the Bluetooth mesh networking protocol in 2017, having designed the standard specifically to address the challenging requirements of commercial wireless lighting control.
The move followed three years of research and effectively boosted Bluetooth technology’s reach far beyond the typical range that’s familiar to consumers sharing things like audio files among smartphone, computers, tables, TVs, and other devices.
As it’s a mesh topology, the enabled luminaires don’t need to be in direct radio range as messages are relayed from device to device at the speed of sound. As well as covering large buildings, the technology could cover collections of buildings such as university campuses.
There’s no central point of failure, and robust ‘multi-casting’ of the ultra short messages with a fast data transfer rate means high reliability.
Additionally, earlier this year Bluetooth announced a direction-finding capability.
Bluetooth enabled lights are already widely used to power positioning systems and proximity solutions that increase the value of commercial lighting infrastructures.
Now, the direction finding feature allows devices to determine the direction of a Bluetooth signal, thereby bringing even greater value to those location services by enabling development of wayfinding and asset tracking solutions that achieve centimetre-level accuracy and improving the user experience for common item finding and point-of-interest information solutions.
Potential applications will allow optimizing of warehouse operations, underground parking, security and lighting/HVAC control of buildings.


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Mantic games has announced that they’ll be coming out with two show-exclusive miniatures for The Walking Dead: All Out War based on the characters from Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead series.
From the announcement:
The Lee and Clementine Booster Pack, which also includes a gruesome Walker miniature, will only be available at selected shows and special events. In North America the Lee and Clementine Booster Pack will launch at Adepticon in March, while the UK launch will follow in April at Salute. From then the booster will be available at shows around the world.


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TOKYO-- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Tuesday suspended sales of eight car models in Japan after the country's Transport Ministry said the company overstated fuel-economy figures.
The Transport Ministry has ordered Mitsubishi to correct the numbers, which were off by as much as 8.8%. The company said it would suspend sales of the eight models for two weeks.
In April, Mitsubishi said that it had falsified fuel-economy data for four car models sold in Japan, two of which it had manufactured for Nissan Motor Co. The latest announcement brings the total number of vehicle models withdrawn from the market over misstated fuel-economy figures to 12.
Chief Executive Osamu Masuko blamed lax management oversight for the falsified data. Most car makers have stiffened their regulatory-compliance standards in recent years, but Mitsubishi hasn't, Mr. Masuko said.
Japanese law requires car makers to conduct road tests to gather fuel-economy data, however, in some cases Mitsubishi said it used desktop calculations to arrive at fuel-economy figures in an effort to keep costs down.
Mr. Masuko's statements echoed findings by a third-party panel hired by Mitsubishi to root out the cause of the scandal. The report, released earlier this month, found that lax management oversight created a corporate culture where employees fudged data to hit unrealistic business targets. The report found that while employees raised concerns about potential data falsification in 2011, they were ignored by management.
Mitsubishi said Tuesday it would set aside Yen7 billion ($68.4 million) in addition to the Yen150 billion it already earmarked to compensate owners of the affected models and its partner, Nissan.
Mitsubishi forecast in June its first annual loss in eight years, predicting it would lose $1.38 billion for the financial year ending in March.
Japan's sixth-biggest car maker by sales has gone through some soul-searching after the latest in a string of scandals involving issues related to vehicle quality and recalls. In 2000, the company admitted to hiding information about vehicle defects for decades.
Mitsubishi said that it has been using improper fuel-economy test methods since 1991. In June, the company said it had manipulated fuel-economy data on 20 vehicle models sold in Japan in the past 10 years. That number included the eight models announced on Tuesday.
The company has reached out to Nissan for assistance. In May, Nissan said it would take a controlling 34% stake in Mitsubishi. The deal is contingent on regulatory approval for the merger, and Nissan's own due diligence.
Nissan also sent one of its executives, Mitsuhiko Yamashita, to head Mitsubishi's vehicle-development department.
Nissan declined to comment on Tuesday's announcement, citing its continuing due diligence.


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Google Adds Editing Capabilities to Mobile Spreadsheet
Google has added a number of new features to the mobile version of its Spreadsheet program. The biggest change includes the ability for end users to edit spreadsheets from their mobile phone. Users can also view, sort, and filter spreadsheets on a variety of mobile devices. Some of the devices supported include the HTC G1, the iPhone and iPod touch, and phones running Nokia Symbian S60. Any changes made from these devices are reflected in the spreadsheet next time it is opened from a desktop browser.
Google Releases Docs and Sheets Apps for Android and iOS
Google today made available stand-alone Google Docs and Google Sheets applications for mobile devices running Android and iOS, including smartphones and tablets. Previously, Docs and Sheets were bundled inside the Google Drive application.
Google Calendar, Sheets, Now On Tap Gain New Tools
Google has updated a slew of its mobile apps this week, adding new features to Google Calendar, Sheets, and Now On Tap for Android devices. To start, Google Calendar made it easy to see when you're free when scheduling a new event.
Google Hits Refresh on Docs, Sheets, Slides for Android
Google has updated all three of its Android productivity apps with a focus on notifications. For example, people will now see notifications within their Google Drive Android app whenever someone mentions them in a comment or shares a document with them directly.
Send Places from Google Maps to Your iPhone
Google recently provided an update to its Maps app for iOS that adds the ability to send places from Maps on a desktop to an iPhone. The feature, which has been available to Android phones for several months, requires iPhone owners to enable notifications for Maps.


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US authorities have arrested the head of a Canadian company that allegedly made millions of dollars selling mobile phones optimized for concealing criminal activities, showcasing the growing importance of encrypted communications for crime groups.
Vincent Ramos, the founder of Phantom Security Communications, also known as Phantom Secure, was arrested on March 8 in the US state of Washington on charges that his company operated a secure telephone communications network that knowingly supplied encrypted phones to organized crime groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel.
In a complaint filed in a federal court, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alleged that “Phantom Secure’s networks were specifically designed to prevent law enforcement from intercepting and monitoring communications on the network,” and that the company provided services intended to aid transnational drug trafficking organizations.
The company allegedly sold Blackberry phones that had their cameras, microphones, and standard internet and text messaging removed. Instead, the devices came pre-loaded with encrypted email platforms.
SEE ALSO: Coverage of Cyber Crime
Phatom used servers based in Panama and Hong Kong in the belief that those countries would be less likely to scrutinize the communications or cooperate with foreign law enforcement authorities. The company also used other techniques to mask their customers' digital footprints.
Phantom claimed to be able to remotely wipe any device that fell into the hands of authorities, according to the complaint.
The phones cost between $2,000 and $3,000 each for a six-month period. Many of Phantom’s clients also used encrypted email addresses associated with narco culture, like "[email protected]" and "[email protected]"
InSight Crime Analysis
Encrypted email platforms are not illegal, and there are many legitimate reasons people use encryption to protect their electronic messages. Similarly, it isn’t necessarily illegal to sell a phone installed with encryption technology. But in this case, authorities say Phantom's entire business model revolved around selling encrypted phones to crime groups.
“Authorities are alleging Ramos' business was part of a conspiracy to sell drugs, based on what he said to undercover agents,” journalist Joseph Cox told InSight Crime.
Previously, many criminals used “burner phones,” or cheap, pre-paid cell phones to limit authorities' ability to track their communications. However, crime groups appear to have kept abreast of advances in technology, and are willing to pay for top-of-the-line products like those offered by Phantom.
Indeed, Cox uncovered a number of similar operations distributing specialized phones through a network of resellers who advertise through social media accounts. Many of these accounts feature images associated with drug trafficking like guns, drugs and cash.
Criminals aren’t just buying an encrypted device, Cox said. “They’re buying into the network ... A Phantom Secure device can only communicate with another Phantom Secure device."
SEE ALSO: Coverage of Cyber Crime
This isn’t the first time an encrypted messaging service has come under fire in Latin America for making criminals' messages hard to trace, and other emerging technologies like the dark web have also been known to empower criminal groups operating in the region.
The use of legal technologies for illegal purposes raises tough questions for authorities, who have to balance customers' right to privacy with their mandate to prevent and prosecute illegal activities.
Going after crime groups is nothing new. But "what’s been missing from the debate is the companies that have been selling these devices to criminal groups,” Cox said.


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3D the printer, printing food, will enter the market soon (+ video)
Natural Machines, the young company from Spain, conducts development 3D the printer, printing food. On it it will be possible to create raviolis and pies. Foodini prints even chocolate bars! In the afternoon you can start the press, in the evening already receive a ready dish.
3D the printer of the Natural Machines company can print six edible materials to a descent. The heater which has been built in the device, allows to warm up food while it is printed.
Linett Kuksma who works in the company since the beginning of 2013, argues that in forthcoming it will be possible to get components and to print food for own dinner or a dinner. It becomes ordinary business for the average person. It is planned that in 3D the printer there will be an Internet connection that users could speak, exchange experience and models of printing food.
Emilio Sepulved (the executive director of Natural Machines) called the price on which plan to sell new 3D the printer. The Planirovochny price – 1366 dollars or 1000 euros. The device can be used not only at household level, well and at restaurants, cafe and so forth. Advantage 3D the Foodini printer before usual food will be in speed of "preparation" of dishes.
Shortly about the Natural Machines company. It is created 18 months ago. In staff it is considered 5 employees. Negotiations on the subject of project financing with verchurny firms are carried on. The Natural Machines company became finalists of the 7th award XXI Entrepreneurship Prize of Catalonia.


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School gardens limited in improving children’s fruit and veg intake
Little evidence exists to suggest that school gardening initiatives alone improve children’s fruit and vegetable intake, research led by an academic at Leeds Metropolitan University has concluded.
Dr Meaghan Christian, a researcher in the Institute for Health & Wellbeing at Leeds Met – which will become Leeds Beckett University on 22 September -undertook two randomised controlled trials of primary school children aged 8-11 from eight London boroughs using the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening, to discover whether school gardening initiatives had any effect on a change in fruit and vegetable intake amongst the participating pupils.
The study, published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Public Health Research concludes that school gardening alone cannot improve fruit and vegetable intake and highlights the need for more sophisticated and accurate tools to evaluate diet in children.
Speaking about the findings, Dr Christian said: “Children’s fruit and vegetable intake in the UK is low and changing that intake can prove challenging. There is a suggestion that gardening in schools might be a vehicle for facilitating additional fruit and vegetable intake.
“For school gardening to improve children’s fruit and vegetable intake however, it needs to be successfully integrated into the school curriculum and environment. The results from this study suggest using a holistic approach and incorporating nutrition education or cooking along with parental involvement would be more likely to achieve higher consumption levels and increase children’s knowledge.”
Findings from the study also showed that eating a family meal together, cutting up fruit and vegetables, and parental modelling of fruit and vegetable intakes were all associated with higher intakes of fruit and vegetables in children.
The research study is the first to use clustered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of a gardening intervention to evaluate the impact of school gardening. A 24-hour food diary [the Child and Diet Evaluation Tool (CADET)] collected information about dietary intake, whilst questionnaires measured children’s knowledge and attitudes towards fruit and vegetables. Changes in fruit and vegetable intake were analysed using a random effects model, based on intention to treat.
Previous research by Dr Christian demonstrated that eating meals together as a family, even if only twice a week, boosts children’s daily fruit and vegetable intake to near the recommended five a day.
The study of primary school-aged children, funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research (NIHR PHR) Programme, also suggested parental consumption of fruit and vegetables and cutting up portions of these foods boosted children’s intake.
Dr Meaghan Christian’s research interest is in dietary assessment and the development of nutrition promoting interventions in primary school-aged children and adolescents.
Image: Dollar Photo Club


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For the first time in its 73-year history, Hannover Messe will hold a two-day digital event next month based around the key theme of industrial transformation.
Industry 5.0, artificial intelligence, 5G, smart energy and logistics 4.0 will be the focus of discussions during Hannover Messe Digital Days, set to take place on 14th-15th July.
“With the Digital Days, we are creating an online platform for the entire Hannover Messe community. We had to cancel the show this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but people still need to learn about the latest technological products and solutions and to talk with experts from all over the world,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Managing Board, Deutsche Messe.
“Tomorrow’s innovations are only possible when different industries and cultures exchange ideas.”
One of the biggest highlights of Hannover Messe Digital Days is the Hermes Award ceremony. For the first time, this internationally coveted technology prize will be awarded digitally. The winner will be announced on 14th July.
Deutsche Messe announced at the end of March it would not be holding Hannover Messe this year.
In a statement, the organiser said comprehensive travel restrictions, bans on group gatherings and a prohibition decree in the Hanover region made it impossible to stage the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology.


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Advantage Conference: the traveller experience
The traveller experience and booking systems were high on the agenda at last weekend’s Advantage Conference, where delegates heard the challenges and successes of a range of corporate travel managers and agencies.
“We want our business travellers to be able to book travel any time, anywhere and on any device,” said Mark Cuschieri, Global Travel Lead at UBS.
“The traveller experience is critical. Our travellers want to self-serve and don’t want to speak to people when it’s unnecessary. We’ve created a real self-serve environment and made a huge investment in technology.
“But we also wanted to keep it simple,” he continued. “We have one single objective – to deliver the right information, at the right time in the hands of the right person so they make the right decision.”
Around 70% of UBS’ travel bookings are now made online, a figure that rises to 90% of all eligible bookings.
“In the future we need to bridge some gaps using technology and ensure we have the best pricing available. The GDS is not enough on its own,” said Cuschieri.
“Multichannel content is important and if that means implementing multiple APIs then we will do that,” he said, adding “the challenges for buyers are the same irrespective of size”.
Douglas O’Neill, CEO of travel and events agency Inntel, agreed the distribution landscape is complex, but said it’s not a new problem.
“We’ve had this content challenge for 32 years since Inntel was started, so it’s interesting to see it spread to air now.
“Clients want to make sure they’re getting everything and we’re taking feeds from all over the place to make sure they do,” said O’Neill.


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41-year ownership comes to a natural end
GLEN ELLEN, California (July 22, 2015) — B.R. Cohn Winery founder Bruce Cohn announced today that his popular namesake winery in the heart of Sonoma Valley in Glen Ellen has been sold to Vintage Wine Estates. No selling price was announced. Cohn and his wife Laurie will continue to live on the Trestle Glen property adjacent to the famed winery property Olive Hill Vineyards which he purchased in 1974.
Bruce Cohn said, “This is a proud moment for our family, and our hard work has paid off.” Cohn added “The new owners have indicated that what got us here; attention to winemaking with consistency vintage to vintage, extraordinary customer service and a terrific visitor experience will remain the same.” Cohn added, “Like a number of folks in the Valley who have sold in recent years, it looks like we are at the end of the era of family owned wineries. It is becoming increasingly difficult to compete and grow family-run businesses in this new environment where bigger entities with more resources are taking over.”
“Vintage Wine Estates is a family-owned wine company and stewardship is a core value. As we build our collection of iconic wineries, vineyards and brands, our goal is to enhance what makes each one unique and offer resources and investment for the future. We are extremely pleased to add this landmark estate to our collection.” commented Pat Roney, president of Vintage Wine Estates.
Bruce Cohn intends to focus his energy on his 46-year management of the Grammy-award winning band, The Doobie Brothers who are more popular than ever. He will also produce his annual B.R. Cohn Charity Events Sonoma Music Festival near downtown Sonoma October 2-4 featuring Chicago, Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, the Doobie Brothers, Gregg Allman and others. Over the year Cohn has raised over six million dollars for various charities in its 29 years of existence.
B.R. Cohn Winery is located at 15000 Sonoma Highway 12 in Glen Ellen. The tasting room is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM. Founded in 1984 by Bruce Cohn, the estate winery is known for its critically acclaimed, world-class, ultra-premium cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir and award winning gourmet estate olive oils, vinegars and gourmet specialty food products. The tasting room is a top destination for visitors and hosts numerous unique experiences throughout the year. Visit www.brcohn.com


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By Mark Kawalya
SafeBoda is on a mission to accelerate the features of the SafeBoda Super App making it an all-inclusive application that Ugandans use for their day-to-day needs. The motorbike ride-hailing firm announced a round of updates to its app that will enable users to make cash transfers from their SafeBoda wallet to other mobile wallets and to bank accounts. These updates come on the heels of the company’s move to officially debut its mobile money payment system four months ago. This marked the firms’ move towards offering mobile financial services, an unforgiving industry that is dominated by highly aggressive telecos.
“We believe that by making it cheaper and more convenient for our customers to move money between their SafeBoda wallets and other mobile money wallets & bank accounts, we will drive adoption and acceptance of cashless payments by informal economies such as mobility and informal merchants,” Christian Wamambe Mayeku, Head of Financial Innovations at SafeBoda, said.
SafeBoda users will be required to update their apps to the most current version SafeBoda app to take advantage of the new services that have been introduced. The App will retain its ability to transfer cash from one SafeBoda wallet to another a feature that has proved popular on the Super App aside from the ride hailing feature.
It is anticipated that SafeBoda will take a more aggressive stance in the fintech industry where only the most robust and innovative companies are able to hold sizeable market share. The firm has the financial muscle from the capital injection it received from the Google Africa Investment in 2021 to hold its forte. The firm will also drive growth in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria by upscaling its transportation driven Super App to offer payment and financial services to a clientele base whose tastes and preferences are ever changing.
Currently the SafeBoda wallet has been optimized to accept money transfers from Equity Bank, KCB, DFCU, Centenary Bank, ABSA bank and Stanbic Bank. For mobile money, users can only transfer cash from their SafeBoda Wallets to Airtel Money accounts. The firm in talks with MTN Mobile Money Uganda to integrate this feature into its Mobile Money platform.


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Kingston today announced it is shipping a 4GB and 8GB Class 10 microSDHC card, joining the previously released 16GB Class 10 card. Kingston will add a 32GB capacity to the family in Q2. The Class 10 cards have a fast minimum data transfer rate of 10MB/s.
“Kingston’s Class 10 microSDHC cards are compatible with many of the latest mobile phones including Android™ smartphones and BlackBerry® devices, hi-def cameras and the increasingly popular tablet PCs,” said Mike Kuppinger, Flash card business manager, Kingston. “The Class 10 speed provides faster data transfer rates and the various capacities help satisfy storage needs for users with both light and heavy memory needs.”
Kingston takes mobility and versatility a step further when it makes these cards part of the Mobility Kit, which includes an SD adapter and a USB card reader. The SD adapter allows users to capture continuous images or videos in digital cameras while the reader provides a simple and fast way to transfer data to a host PC. The Class 10 microSDHC cards will ship as part of the Mobility at the end of March.
In addition to the Class 10 cards, Kingston currently ships the microSDHC card in a Class 4 specification as both a standalone and part of the Mobility in capacities up to 32GB. The cards are backed by a lifetime warranty and 24/7 live technical support. For more information, please visit
Kingston Digital, Inc. ("KDI") is the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Established in 2008, KDI is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, USA. For more information, please visit www.kingston.com or call 800-337-8410.


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Here are the places you might want to go — or to steer clear of, if your business needs to economise. In the rarified air of premier business locations, these are the places where the money goes, according to a newly-published report from property consultants Cushman & Wakefield.
1. Hong Kong
Always a kingpin in the worldwide business scene, Hong Kong’s bustling Central District is the most expensive place on the globe to maintain a business presence, with an average occupancy cost of $244US (£152UK) per square foot per year. The Asia-Pacific region as a whole saw an increase of 8% in office rents in 2011.
2. London’s West End
Average costs for office rentals in the Big Smoke’s trendiest sector went up 8% to $239US (£149UK) per square foot per year. Once the world leader in expensive office space — it saw a rise of a spectacular 31% in 2010 — it is still a major player in world markets. Most analysts expect sumptuous new office space in the ultra-chic Mayfair and St. James areas to drive prices higher this year.
Tokyo is home to some of the most famous businesses in the world; Sony, Honda, and Nintendo all reside amongst the bustling streets. As you might expect, the place isn’t cheap. Office rentals went up 7% to an average of $197 US (£123 UK) in the Japanese capital last year.
Russia’s financial hub was the biggest riser in Europe, climbing an amazing 41% to $148US (£92 UK) per square foot per year.
The vast Chinese capital also saw a big rise in office rentals over the past year, as did the country’s other giant, Shanghai. Analysts point to low vacancy rates — around 5% in both cities — and expect rental prices to just keep on rising, probably in double digits.
6. New York
Occupancy costs in the Big Apple average $120 US, or £63 UK per square foot per year.
Other players in this high-stakes, international game are the Indian giants, Mumbai and New Delhi, and San Francisco, where an invigorated U. S. tech sector drove rents up by 24% last year.
Worldwide, office space saw a rental increase of 3% last year, which was up from the 1% global increase of 2010.


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The Mailshop invests in paper wrap and appoints Maybury
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Direct mail fulfilment specialist The Mailshop (TMS) has invested £650,000 in new paper wrapping and inkjet machinery and appointed former Sunline Direct Mail chairman Nigel Maybury as its new non-executive chairman.
The Hucknall, Nottingham-based company has confirmed a £500,000 order for a new, bespoke Buhrs 3000 paper wrapping line supplied by Friedheim International.
Due to be delivered to its 2,320sqm premises in early October and in use by early November, the kit will enable the firm to insert up to 14 items of various sizes.
Boasting a shuttle feeder, camera match system, cutter, extraction, rotary feeders and a mailsort system, it will run with a 4in inkjet system for personalisation and will be able to produce up to 15,000 packs per hour.
The Buhrs 3000 will replace the company’s oldest Sitma polywrapping line, which will be placed in storage for the time being, though it will continue to operate five other polywrapping machines including three others from Sitma plus one from Buhrs and one from CMC, all of which feature inline inkjet systems.
“Over the last 24 months we’ve started to do a lot of third-party insert work and we’re under further pressure to take more,” said managing director Tom Carr Jnr.
He added the new line will increase the company’s speed for polywrapping and the other types of wrapping that “the market is changing dramatically towards” but will also enable it “to venture into the paper wrap marketplace and offer the flexibility to our customers”.
Trading since 2008, TMS turns over £9m and employs 60 full-time staff who predominantly serve mail order and catalogue clients.
“I think ours will be a slower move towards paper wrap. It’s not like subscription work, which is under a lot of pressure for paper wrap because the consumer is paying for something,” said Carr.
TMS will also take delivery of two new inkjet systems from Addressing & Mailing Solutions (AMS) over the next few weeks, representing an investment of £150,000.
A Kirk-Rudy UV-based machine will operate at speeds of up to 50,000 items per hour while an X-Jet solvent-based system will run at up to 30,000 items per hour. The company said both devices will enable it to print on virtually any surface as well as TrueType fonts.
“With plastic pressures, we’ve had a significant increase in sustainable naked production – catalogues going out to the mail without anything on them at all,” said Carr.
“We’ve got a 25% increase already in August/September on offline naked catalogue production so this is really just to bolster that side of the business.”
The company also operates three high-speed envelope enclosers, four offline inkjet systems, five high-speed mono Konica Minolta laser printers and two high-speed digital colour Xerox printers.
Maybury joined TMS in the newly created role of non-executive chairman on 1 July and, as a new addition to the company’s board, will work closely with Carr to develop innovative new ideas. He will also take his seat back on the board of the Strategic Mailing Partnership (SMP), working closely with Royal Mail.
“Nigel’s focus will be with Royal Mail because that’s where he has really excelled over a number of years, sitting on the SMP board,” said Carr.
“Royal Mail don’t necessarily see all the things that are going on in the bulk mail order world. People have been mentioning starch wrap as a good swap [for polywrap] but currently Royal Mail don’t offer any form of sustainable discounts the way they would do envelopes or paper wrap.
“So we want to be able to sit in there and – working with the right organisations such as Defra – drive to make sure that we get the right product which is environmentally friendly and recyclable to really help and maintain our industry.”
Finally, the company has also now started offering its clients a standard simple ‘Recycle Me’ logo on all of its polythene stocks that runs along the back of packs along the centre seal and on a 200mm repeat.
It said this logo, which comes at no extra cost to customers, will enable the end user to identify the plastic and its recyclability and green credentials where recycled waste is used.
“We’ve formulated a deal with our extruder to be able to print on the outside of our stock film,” said Carr.
“It’s only a very small percentage increase in cost to us which we’ve absorbed into our business because I think it’s important to be able to allow us to produce wrap that the consumer will be able to identify and recycle correctly.”


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Facebook's (FB) - Get Facebook, Inc. Class A Report long-awaited cryptocurrency is finally here. Details about Libra, the social-media giant's cryptocurrency, were revealed in a white paper that provided a detailed overview of the token's intended use case, target audience, underlying technology and organizational oversight.
- Facebook Is Jim Cramer's Real Money Stock of the Day
- Real Money: Libra: What You Need to Know About Facebook's New Cryptocurrency
- Real Money: Is Facebook's Blockchain Bet the Next Big Thing in Big Tech?
In the weeks leading up to the announcement, there has been no shortage of speculation about the new currency's functionality and its potential impact on the crypto ecosystem, with bitcoin prices rising over the last few days in anticipation of the white paper's release.
With reports that it would be backed by prominent financial platforms such as Visa (V) - Get Visa Inc. Class A Report , MasterCard (MA) - Get Mastercard Inc. (MA) Report , and PayPal (PYPL) - Get PayPal Holdings Inc Report , many wondered if a cryptocurrency with the influence of Facebook and its 2.5 billion users could remake the crypto ecosystem.
In short, can Libra be a bitcoin killer?
The answer, it seems, is probably not.
Building for the Unbanked
Rather than striving to supplant bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, Libra is capitalizing on their technology to target the unbanked. Facebook estimates that 1.7 billion people operate outside of the financial system, and many more are not benefiting from its capabilities. For instance, in developing countries, fees associated with remittances, overdrafts, wire costs and ATM charges are eroding the hard-earned money from their citizens.
Noting many of the flaws in the financial system, Libra strives to make sending and receiving money simpler and more affordable for people around the world.
As Facebook explains in the the white paper explains, "we believe that many more people should have access to financial services and to cheap capital."
However, many of Libra's tenets, including its relatively centralized governing body made up of Facebook and its partners, the Libra Association, is anathema to the core beliefs of the crypto movement, something that differentiates Libra from many of its crypto counterparts.
Of course, a project as ambitious as Libra can't come to fruition without impacting the broad crypto ecosystem. If the digital currency can live up to its goals, it could spur on awareness and acceptability for cryptocurrencies, raising adoption rates across the board.
In the near term, Libra's announcement has had a modest impact on crypto markets.
Bitcoin Prices Remain Steady
After enjoying a resurgence this year, the price of bitcoin remained relatively flat in the hours after Facebook's official announcement. The token has already outpaced the returns of stocks, bonds, gold and oil in 2019, topping $9,000 this month for the first time in more than a year.
The cryptocurrency gained less than $100 in the hours after Libra's announcement, and, at the time of writing, bitcoin were hovering around the $9,000 mark. Across the board, crypto prices were slightly depressed. According to data compiled by CoinMarketCap, the collective crypto market cap lost about $8 billion throughout the day, a modest dip in an otherwise stellar run for cryptocurrencies.
Now, the real work begins. Libra and its accompanying blockchain won't launch until 2020. The platform is based on open sourced code, and developers can build financial products on top of the network. Meanwhile, the company is already fielding questions from legislatures about the legality and regulatory compliance of the platform, something that is sure to keep the company busy for the next several months.
In the meantime, it seems like Libra is unlikely to overtake bitcoin has a replacement. Instead, it's another, albeit more prominent, altcoin that is working to solve modern financial problems with the latest technology.
The author holds stock in investment holding company, Leucadia (Jeffries), and remains a partner in an emerging-technology fund. He holds no positions in cryptocurrencies nor in any companies that invest in them.


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Yulu has introduced Yulu Miracle, an Electric Scooter for Shared and Sustainable Mobility, in Bangalore, India. The company claimed that using this e-scooter, people can navigate city traffic in a fast, efficient, affordable and environmentally-friendly manner. Yulu will be deploying 250 of these electric scooters in the first week of the launch
Ajay Seth, MD – BMRCL,
A dock-less, Lithium battery-powered low speed, silent and light two-wheelers will help commuters ride through traffic congestion with zero pollution and at low cost. Now, Yulu Miracle joins Yulu’s IoT-powered fleet. Yulu Miracle provides keyless use, customers can unlock this vehicle just by scanning a QR code.
Amit Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Yulu, said, “Yulu Miracle replaces big, fuel-guzzling, personal vehicles. It has been purpose built for India with a smaller footprint and runs on Lithium Ion batteries. Introducing Yulu Miracle as a mode for personal transport furthers our ambitious mission to solve the massive problem of traffic congestion while reducing pollution and positively influencing the health of the planet.”


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Inspired by the traditional four Battlefield classes, Specialists will be equipped with their own unique Specialist Trait and Specialty, and will have fully customisable loadouts. Battlefield will release with 10 specialists on day one.
The specialists featured in DICE’s latest trailer include Webster Mackay, who can use a grappling hook, Wikus ‘Caspter’ Van Daele who’s equipped with a recon drone, and Pyotr ‘Boris’ Guskovsky who can deploy a sentry gun.
You can watch the video via the embed below:
The Battlefield 2042 beta release date has been set for September 22, it’s been claimed.
That’s according to information shared by both credible leaker Tom Henderson and GamesBeat journalist Jeff Grubb. Grubb said during a Giant Bomb show (paywall) this week that he had corroborated the date shared by Henderson with his own sources.
Electronic Arts has previously confirmed that Battlefield 2042’s open beta will launch in September, but has yet to give an official date. EA Play members and customers who pre-order any version of the game will receive early access to the open beta.
However, players who choose to pre-order the Battlefield 2042 Gold Edition for $89.99 on PC and $99.99 on consoles, or the Battlefield 2042 Ultimate Edition for $109.99 on PC and $119.99 on consoles, will receive early access to the game beginning on October 15.


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Huntsman announces global TiO2 price hike
Published: Friday, 10 February 2017
Huntsman announcement follows Chemours' push for higher TiO2 prices, expected to be rolled out in US markets from March. Meanwhile lower output in Europe is likely to also drive prices up.
US pigment producer Huntsman Corp. has announced a price
hike for all titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades.
Effective 1 April or as contracts allow, TiO2 prices for
Europe, Africa, Middle East...


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As the year begins and financial resolutions are made, financial wellness becomes top of mind for many. For good reason, since only half of the US population is financially literate, according to the 6th annual survey from the TIAA Institute and Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC). This has remained fairly constant throughout the past six years, which is somewhat alarming, considering the fast pace of real-time payments and the rise of cryptocurrency. Financial institutions (FIs) may want to take note.
While financial literacy levels have been stagnant, the inspiring news is that financial education drives up financial literacy, which in turn positively affects financial wellness. In boosting financial education in their communities, FIs can help enable more responsible and savvy banking customers.
After all, helping consumers better understand the basics of personal finance, such as budgeting, investing, and borrowing, can help them advance their financial goals more wisely. Planning for family trips, saving for that unexpected emergency, and putting money aside for a down payment are important goals that can be reached successfully through financial well-being.
Here are three ways to help increase the financial wellness of customers and members.
1. Educate Early
Educating early in a person’s financial life reaps the greatest results and helps to fill current learning gaps. The TIAA-GFLEC survey found that the younger generations have lower literacy rates—only 42% of Gen Zers and 46% of Millennials were considered financially literate vs. 54% of Boomers. This gives institutions a perfect opportunity to educate early, sowing the seeds of financial wellness to help younger generations make more informed future decisions. In fact, research by the Brookings Institute has found that “teenage financial literacy is positively correlated with asset accumulation and net worth at age 25.” So, influencing the children of customers or members can pay off, both for them and their primary financial institution.
2. Cultivate Trust
After receiving overwhelming support during the pandemic, 73% of consumers report that they trust their financial institutions. Keeping trust levels high has many benefits and creates the right environment for financial education. When consumers put their trust in an organization, they rely on them for relevant and helpful information.
For instance, a customer or member is interested in applying for a credit card online. Trusting their primary financial institution, they browse the options on its website. Easily understanding how to compare credit cards using APR, fees, and rewards helps a less financially-savvy digital visitor make more sound decisions. Plus, they feel that the FI is supporting them with their financial needs and the level of trust keeps growing.
3. Optimize Digital Channels
Over 90% of the US population is using the internet, so FIs have a perfect opportunity to use digital channels to educate consumers financially and build financial well-being. Digital banking portals, mobile apps, websites, and social media channels can all be used to provide valuable financial education content. For instance, videos on interest rate effects, online budgeting calculators, and virtual assistants prepared to answer a variety of banking inquiries provide a rich and accessible way for customers and members to obtain information and learn.
Engaging customers and members with these types of digital tools increases satisfaction too. According to J.D. Power, satisfaction can rise 200 points higher for those actively using these tools vs. those who are not. Ensuring that the right tools provide the right information for digital users will help maximize the satisfaction result.
Financial institutions have a prime opportunity to influence the financial literacy of their communities. Providing valuable information when it is needed not only educates, but also strengthens financial wellness. And having financially fit customers and members is definitely a goal for FIs, not just in the New Year, but throughout every year.
Interested in providing more financial education to increase the financial wellness of your communities? Find out how to use specialized Glia Virtual Assistants to do just that.


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Yesterday, September 28, 2018, Coinbase posted an announcement on their blog that reveals it will allow users to deposit and withdraw British pounds (GBP) to their accounts.
Previously, users were able to buy and sell with their GBP, but they could not deposit it to their Coinbase wallets. The only currencies accepted were USD and EUR. Coinbase first announced it would support GBP deposits and withdrawals in June, and then rolled out support for some users in August.
This development means GBP is available to all UK users. If Coinbase users wanted to deposit fiat into their account, they would have to swap their GBP to EUR (paying a fee), then transfer the EUR to their account. Now, GBP can be deposited directly – with no fees.
As of today, all UK customers now have the ability to deposit and withdraw GBP on Coinbase, Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime. If you’re a customer in the UK and don’t see your GBP wallet, check your account settings and make sure your country is set to UK. https://t.co/FrwTQARgPf
— Coinbase (@coinbase) September 28, 2018
Expanding wallet support to the GBP means that Coinbase users can now store fiat currency on their Coinbase account and buy and sell crypto-assets when they please. This also means that Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime can be used with the GBP.
If a user from the UK does not see the “GBP Wallet,” it is advised to go over to account settings and double-check whether the account is set to the UK, and not another country. Coinbase now has local wallet support for the USD, GBP, and EUR. Users can still buy and sell with other currencies, including cryptocurrencies. Storing fiat on the platform is only available in these three.
The biggest benefit to UK customers is that they can now buy and sell crypto-assets on Coinbase with no fees. A standard buy or sell order on Coinbase costs 1.49%. Now that there are GBP deposits available, UK users can deposit GBP to Coinbase Pro for free.
Coinbase Pro, Coinbase’s advanced user interface, allows users to place limit orders and pay zero fees. Although a bit more complicated, this technique can save users a lot of money. Notably, the cryptocurrency launched earlier this month GBP-based pairs on Coinbase Pro, which according to available data saw over $114 million worth of trades in the last 24-hour period.
Coinbase noted that “domestic GBP payments will take less than 30 minutes to transfer in and out of your account.” It’s now the 4 exchange to accept GBP directly. Others include CoinsBank, Coinroom, and Cryptonex. The San Francisco-based compaany has already recently launched its Coinbase Bundle.


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By Katharine Grayson
Venture capital firm High Alpha has teamed up Twin Cities tech veterans Scott Burns and Chip House to launch Structural, a software startup that aims to give growing businesses insight into their workforce.
Burns is CEO of the company, while House, a former ExactTarget executive, will serve as chief marketing officer. The startup will have operations in St. Paul and Indianapolis, where High Alpha is headquartered.
High Alpha runs a venture capital arm and a “startup studio" that employs engineers, designers and experts who launch companies. Structural was born inside the studio and already has about 10 customers. Scott Dorsey, the former CEO of marketing-technology company ExactTarget and managing partner at High Alpha, has known Burns and House for years and tapped them to expand the venture.
Burns will take the reins after he stepped down from leading St. Paul-based tech company GovDelivery Inc., which Vista Equity Partners bought for $153 million last year.
Structural’s product lets employees create a LinkedIn-like profile to promote their skills and interests. The company's software taps into that data, plus information stored within human-resources applications and other systems, to give businesses a better understanding of their employees’ talents.