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Egyptian Fintech Startup Zeal Secures $4 Million to Fund Expansion to New Markets
The Egyptian fintech startup has revealed that it recently raised $4 million in funding via a round led by venture capital firms Raed Ventures and Cur8 Capital. CEO said the firm’s capital raise is expected to help Zeal accelerate its journey “towards utilizing AI to revolutionize retail customer engagement on a global scale.”
Enterprise Investment Scheme Tax Relief Advanced Assurance
Egyptian fintech startup Zeal has secured $4 million in funding to help the firm enter the European, Middle Eastern, and African markets. The funding round was led by two venture capital firms, Raed Ventures and Cur8 Capital, with the participation of several angel investors.
According to a Techpoint Africa report, Zeal’s latest capital raise announcement came less than a year after the fintech startup received an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax relief advanced assurance. The United Kingdom’s tax authority HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) uses this to determine if a company qualifies for the tax benefits associated with the schemes.
Omar Ebeid, the CEO of the customer loyalty fintech startup, suggested that the capital raised will also be used to enhance Zeal’s connection with customers.
“This investment will accelerate our journey towards utilizing AI to revolutionize retail customer engagement on a global scale. We are committed to broadening our impact, with a focus on connecting billions of customers with millions of retailers,” the CEO said.
Meanwhile, Wael Nafee from Raed Ventures said there is a belief that Zeal’s “holistic product” will eventually become an important solution for the world’s payment service providers and POS [point of sale] machines.
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Bleu Garten food truck park opens in Midtown Oklahoma City
It's the first of its kind in the area
Midtown Oklahoma City's first and only food truck park will be opening its doors Thursday.
The venue, Bleu Garten, holds up to six different food trucks daily. It also has a giant Jenga board and a fully-stocked bar.
The food truck park is prepared for all kinds of crazy Oklahoma weather, with misters, heaters and covered seating.
The park is located at Northwest 10th and Harvey. To find a list of daily food trucks at Bleu Garten, visit http://www.bleugarten.com

domain: news


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Huawei Consumer Business Group, India, announced today that the world’s first and only chipset made exclusively for wearables, Kirin A1 is coming to India within the first few days of next month.
The wearable market of India is exploding thanks to Smart Bands from companies like Xiaomi and Honor. Huawei is also a well-known brand in India, especially for smartphones. But now they are going to follow the tide and make a new range of products. Last month, Huawei also announced that its flagship 5G Chipset, Kirin 990 series will soon be available in India.
Kirin A1 Chipset
Kirin A1 comes with an advanced Bluetooth processing unit, a powerful audio processing unit, an ultra-low-power application processor and an independent power management unit. Also, they can fit all of these in 4.3mm x 4.4mm. Kirin A1 is also the first chipset to support both BT 5.1 & BLE 5.1. The second one is meant to work in lower power consumption.
Relying on this technology Huawei is trying to deliver the best wearable experience for its consumers. Tornado Pan, Country Manager of Huawei Consumer Business Group, India, said: “The Kirin A1 is a very powerful chipset and is anticipated to bring in a paradigm shift in India’s wearable market.”
Kirin A1 Chipset – Under the Hood
The HUAWEI Kirin A1 chip’s ultra-energy efficient Cortex-M7 processor has achieved a maximum energy consumption rate of 10uA/MHz without hindering the performance, which is far below of the industry standard which is 30uA/MHz. The processor has a maximum frequency of 200MHz.
Also, most of the time the data wearables present are a bit off. But Huawei is trying to fix this issue with the combination of the Cortex-M7’s powerful multi-sensors, as well as from the capacitive sensor, optical heart rate sensor, and additional sensors such as accelerometer sensor and six-axis sensor.
It is a matter of time to see the new Kirin A1 chipset in wearables from Huawei, and hopefully from other manufacturers. Also, Huawei is going to use their home-grown operating system HarmonyOS on these Smart Bands or Smart Watches.


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The city of Regina is supporting the relaxation of rules of marijuana.
At Monday’s council meeting, council, for the most part, voted in favour of two amendments to a proposed cannabis retail bylaw, which would see the permission of marijuana sales at shops in the Warehouse District and the downtown core.
The only vote against both proposed amendments came from Councillor Bob Hawkins.
Mayor Michael Fougere noted he believes that once this bylaw is passed, it will offer more clarity on this matter.
“As I said in my comments, this is leveling the playing field,” he said. “Giving equal opportunity across the city. That’s as clear as can be.”
The bylaw will come back before council at the next meeting in July. For it to be passed, it will need a unanimous vote from all city councillors.


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Mahindra has finally launched the Scorpio-N in India at a starting price of Rs. 11.99 Lakh (Ex-Showroom). While Mahindra said that it will announce the pricing of the automatic and 4×4 variants on July 21, 2022, Mahindra announced the entire pricing of the 4×2 manual variants of the SUV.
Mahindra has said that the buyers will get an “add-to-cart” option for the new Scorpio N from 5 July, while the actual bookings will start on 30 July at 11am. As for deliveries, buyers will likely get to drive the new Scorpio N will during the festive season.
This is expected to lure buyers looking for a D-segment SUV and by the looks of it, Mahindra has gone the distance to not only make the new Scorpio-N feel and look bigger than the classic Scorpio, but also has fitted it to the brim with features.
The Mahindra Scorpio-N tops out at Rs. 19.49 Lakh (Ex-Showroom). Mahindra also said that these are the introductory prices for the SUV, and will only be applicable for the first 25,000 bookings. The Scorpio remains an iconic nameplate in the SUV segment and the latest iteration aims to keep things as authentic as possible with a rugged stance, butch proportions and an all-new design language.
The new Mahindra Scorpio-N will co-exist with the current generation Scorpio, which will be rebranded to Scorpio Classic.
Mahindra will offer the Scorpio-N in both petrol and diesel variants with both manual and automatic transmission options. Four wheel drive variants will be restricted only to the diesel powertrain but will be available with both manual and automatic transmission options. Mahindra Scorpio-N diesel gets a 2.2-litre turbocharged engine with 175bhp of max power and 400Nm of peak torque while the petrol variant gets a 2.0-litre turbocharged motor producing 203bhp and 380Nm.


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 16, 2019
Media Contact: Daisy Vieyra
SACRAMENTO–Today, the California Senate Appropriations Committee refused to advance SB 561, a bill that would allow Californians to hold tech companies accountable for privacy violations. SB 561 is authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, at the request of Attorney General Becerra, and supported by consumer and privacy advocates.
“The legislature just put Big Tech before Californians by killing the only remaining pro-consumer privacy bill, refusing even to let it even move forward to a vote,” said Chris Conley, Policy Attorney with ACLU of California. “Without SB 561, Californians won’t have a meaningful way to hold tech companies accountable if they break that law and misuse our personal information. What we’re seeing is a clear and unprecedented takeover of the legislature by tech industry interests.”
SB 561 would have allowed individuals to enforce privacy rights when tech companies violate laws protecting individual privacy. It also would have removed the “get out of jail free” card that leaves companies immune to any consequences if they “fix” any violation within 30 days – after the damage to consumers has already been done.
“Without the ability to effectively enforce the law, the CCPA that was touted as a major privacy victory last year rings hollow,” Conley said.
This year dozens of bills aim to revise the California Consumer Privacy Act. SB 561 was the only remaining bill that would strengthen consumer privacy after the Assembly Privacy Committee killed AB 1760, the Privacy for All Act, last month.
Tech companies and other industry interests have supported dozens of bills that would weaken the CCPA and which are opposed by the ACLU of California, including the following anti-privacy and pro-tech industry bills:
- AB 25, authored by Assemblymember Chau
- AB 846, authored by Assemblymember Burke/li>
- AB 873, authored by Assemblymember Irwin
- AB 981, authored by Assemblymember Daly
- AB 1416, authored by Assemblymember Cooley
- AB 1564, authored by Assemblymember Berman
- SB 753, authored by Senator Stern


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SavATree named Carmine Schiavone to succeed Daniel van Starrenburg, the company’s long-serving CEO. van Starrenburg will continue with SavATree as Executive Chairman, overseeing the company’s strategic direction and acquisitions program.
“We are very excited to have someone of Carmine’s caliber join SavATree,” said Mr. van Starrenburg. “Under Carmine’s leadership, SavATree will continue to deliver exceptional service for our customers, while I will focus on growing the SavATree family through strategic acquisitions.”
Schiavone spent four years in senior leadership positions at Johnson Controls, most recently as general manager and vice president of fire protection slutions and services. Prior to Johnson Controls, Schiavone spent 16 years at Tyco, where he took on increasing responsibility as vice president, general manager, and acting chief operating officer across various business units. Schiavone holds the Six Sigma Green Belt certification and Lean certification, making him ideally suited for SavATree, a Lean company.
“SavATree stands out as an exceptionally well-run firm, with people and processes more often seen in Fortune 500 companies,” said Schiavone. “I am excited to join a rapidly growing organization with an ongoing commitment to customer service excellence.”


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Mastercard and Maestro PIN Bypass: a Test Made by Swiss Researchers
A Vulnerability That Would Have Allowed Hackers to Perform Transactions on the Users’ Behalf.
Last updated on August 30, 2021
A Mastercard and Maestro PIN bypass strategy was discovered by Swiss scientists, who used a technique they discovered last year related to Visa cards to test the Mastercard and Maestro ones too. They published a paper on this topic in February 2021 that has been introduced this month at the USENIX security conference.
The vulnerability was related to Mastercard and Maestro contactless cards and would have allowed cybercriminals to exploit it by bypassing PIN verification, because they could have purchased high-priced products using the contactless function of the cards, so skipping the need to introduce the PIN. The vulnerability is however patched now by Mastercard (that owns Maestro too), but further details on how an attack would have worked were revealed.
General Steps on How This Type of Attack Works
This attack makes part of the Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) scenarios, a topic that my colleague Elena has recently addressed in a well-documented article.
A hacker would need a stolen card, two smartphones that run Android, and an Android application that targets the transaction fields and tempers them. The whole idea is that the hacker will position himself between the card that is stolen and the POS (Point-of-Sale) terminal that will be used to perform the transaction, hence the man-in-the-middle nomenclature.
More exactly, the cybercriminal will install the application on both smartphones. A smartphone will work as a PoS emulator, the other as a card emulator. The smartphone that works as a PoS emulator will make the card start the transaction and the second smartphone is the tool through which the cybercriminal will make a real PoS receive changed transaction info from the stolen card. This way, it would have seemed that a client just performed a transaction using his mobile app.
Mastercard and Maestro PIN Bypass: the Researchers’ Discovery
As per theRecord.’s details, with the technique described above, researchers from ETH Zurich university, Department of Computer Science managed last year, in 2020, to discover a flaw related to contactless Visa cards where they could skip the PIN input phase. They published a paper back then, named “The EMV Standard: Break, Fix, Verify“. Visa Credit, Visa Debit, Visa Electron, and V Pay cards were part of the researchers’ test, allowing them to perform 200 Swiss francs transactions. Therefore, making use of the same tactic now, they discovered a Mastercard and Maestro PIN bypass flaw.
While when they tested the Visa cards back in 2020 the method was to transmit to the PoS terminal that the PIN and the user’s identity had already been checked in order to determine it to skip requiring the code and perform thus a contactless transaction, this time they used the Maestro card to perform the transaction posing as a Visa one, by altering its Application Identifier (AID).
When the kernel for Visa was activated, it reached out to the corresponding bank to check the card. Then, the payment could be finalized without the need for the PIN, following the last year’s methods regarding VISA cards. This way, researchers could engage in transactions worth up to 400 Swiss francs.
Both companies were warned about this issue and Mastercard provided patches this year for the issue, but Visa did not share any input as it is known at the present moment. The experts have also mentioned that they will not make public the Android application that can be used to engage in these kinds of transactions.
A demonstration of a Mastercard and Maestro PIN bypass is available on YouTube and it only shows how fast such an attack could take place:
Hi! My name is Andra and I am a passionate writer interested in a variety of topics. I am curious about the cybersecurity world and what I want to achieve through what I write is to keep you curious too!


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China Takes the Crown
After 110-plus years, China has supplanted the U.S. as the world’s top manufacturer of goods, according to a study by IHS Global Insight.
According to the study, China produced 19.8 percent of the goods consumed worldwide last year, inching ahead of the U.S., which produced 19.4 percent of the goods.
“This marks a fundamental shift in the global division of labor [involving goods production] which is unlikely to be reversed in the near future,” Nicholas Crafts of Warwick University told The Financial Times.
China previously held the title in 1850, before ceding the top spot to Britain, it is believed. Around the beginning of the 20th Century, America took over the top spot and held it since last year.
China has been buoyed by a plethora of cheap labor, mercantilist trade practices and failed trade policies on the part of the U.S.
America’s trade policies have put American workers in direct competition with Chinese workers. They are paid just a fraction of the cost of American workers.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Chinese government works actively to game the system, gaining a competitive advantage through whatever means necessary.
“This shows the need for the U.S. to compete in the future not on the basis of commodity manufacturing but on innovation and new kinds of services that are driven by production industries,” Deborah Wince-Smith, chief executive of the Council on Competitiveness, told The Financial Times.
China’s rise has been fast and disconcerting for those who care about America’s place in the world. For years, America’s position as the world’s foremost economic power allowed it to lead. Now, that position could be up for grabs, and China is looking to take hold.
Since the 1970s, American politicians of both parties have neglected the nation’s manufacturing sector in favor of expanded free trade in a rush to be at the forefront of the globalization movement. But, free trade has been anything but beneficial to American manufacturers, and the problems have only accelerated in the past two decades, right along with the pace of globalization.
American good-producers were already struggling to keep up with their low-cost foreign competitors before the North American Free Trade Agreement and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, but soon after the situation grew exponentially worse.
Wince-Smith said the U.S. “should be worried” about these recent developments.


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At just over 398 meters (435 yards) long, the Benjamin Franklin one of the largest vessels on the globe! It can carry 18,000 containers fully loaded! It is so large the Los Angeles Port had to be modified.
Freight Farms, a company conceived via a 2013 Kickstarter campaign is changing the agriculture world. They transform used 40 foot shipping containers into fully functional farms they call the “Leafy Green Machine”. The foot print is smaller and more efficient than conventional farmland. Each Shipping Container is fully outfitted with vertical hydroponics, a patented LED […]


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From the category of "what took so long" comes the Night Cable -- a 10-foot-long cord that just might end cable frustration forever.
Profits tumbled a stunning 74 percent in Samsung's mobile business in the third quarter, and tough times may continue. Here's what Samsung can do to turn things around.
The most important things to know when shopping for a new laptop, hybrid, or Windows tablet.
Andy Rubin leaves Google and its ambitious robotics projects behind to return to another of his passions: building successful startups.
Chinese company Apus has released its pared-down Android launcher to massive international success. But it's doing it without focusing on the Chinese market. We sat down with founder Li Tao to find out why.
The World Wide Web Consortium finishes an update to this seminal Internet technology, but with two organizations in charge of the same Web standard, charting the Web's future is a mess.
Apple's tablet lineup has expanded from six configurations to more than 50 in four years. Has the product lineup become too complex?
The smartphone, built by Motorola Mobility, will feature a battery that can last up to 48 hours and a Turbo Charger that can provide 8 hours of use on a 15-minute charge.
Best Buy's new Connected Home departments will aim to help you find that new gadget you've been eyeing lickety-split.
CEO John Chen says the company is committed to earning back your business with its next phone -- the BlackBerry Classic.


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- News tagged "youtube"
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
Broadcaster BT Sport has just announced that it will stream the finals of the Champions League and Europa League on YouTube for free.
Tuesday, 19 Apr 2016
YouTube just introduced support for live 360-degree video streaming and spatial audio. It is also releasing an API to allow manufacturers to integrate support for live 360-degree video in their cameras, which should allow even amateur content creators to take advantage of the feature.
Thursday, 7 Jan 2016
At CES, LG Electronics announced several key partnerships with premier technology companies and content providers to offer consumers more high-quality 4K HDR content.
Monday, 21 Dec 2015
The Nielsen Company has just revealed its list of top smartphone apps installed on U.S. smartphones in 2015.
Friday, 6 Nov 2015
Time to grab the popcorn and dust off that Google Cardboard you've got stashed away; Youtube's just added VR videos to the site.
Monday, 26 Oct 2015
YouTube Red isn't an exercise in corporate tyranny or a mercenary attempt to squeeze more money from users. Find out why here.
Friday, 23 Oct 2015
The moment is here at last. Now you can watch YouTube without ads, at least if you subscribe to YouTube Red.
Monday, 19 Oct 2015
YouTube Gaming has extended live streaming support to Android devices, and mobile gamers will now be able to stream their gameplay, complete with voice commentary, to audiences everywhere.
Thursday, 15 Oct 2015
NVIDIA has just made some major announcements with regards to its GeForce Experience client, allowing users to broadcast their gaming sessions at higher resolutions and also stream games via GameStream in 4K.
Monday, 28 Sep 2015
YouTube could be launching an ad-free subscription service as soon as next month, and may be bundling it with its Music Key subscription service as well.


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We’re delighted to announce that the next edition of Festival No.6 will take place on 6th-9th September 2018. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Portmeirion.
If you haven’t done so already, sign up for exclusive access to 2018 tickets, which will be on sale this Thursday. You’ll be emailed a hidden link to benefit from the lowest ticket price, before tickets go on general sale later in the year.
Be seeing you in 2018…


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It’s a phrase not usually associated with private equity, but it actually rings true for one China-based firm, Lunar Capital Management, where the theme is: keep things small.
The Shanghai-based Lunar has around $250 million in assets under management and is thinking about raising for a new fund to invest in Chinese companies, next year, said founding partner Derek Sulger. Rather than aim for the stars, Lunar will likely keep the fund at a more modest amount – around $200 million – the same size of its current second fund, he said.
“It makes you a better investor when there are capital constraints…in private equity, the scarcer the capital the more dear the deals,” he said, adding Lunar often co-invests in transactions alongside its limited partners, allowing the firm to target deals that may require heftier sums of funding.
Lunar typically invests $25 million to $100 million per deal, focused on consumer-related companies, and its second $200 million fund is just under half invested, Mr. Sulger said. Its existing limited partners largely hail from Europe and the U.S., and are primarily fund of funds, university endowments and family offices, he said, declining to provide names.
Lunar’s portfolio companies include Yeehoo Apparel, a baby clothing company, in which the firm invested around $100 million for a 60% majority stake, as well as the healthy beverage business Joysun, which the firm owns a 55% share having invested around $40 million. Exits include Beihai Perfuming Garden, a tropical fruit processor, which was sold via a trade sale.
The firm aims for a base case internal rate of return of 20%, he said.
With its focus on consumer companies, Mr. Sulger said Lunar is unfazed by the possibility of growth slowing in China. He noted that a slowdown is actually “beneficial” for private equity, moving away from being “cowboy-ish” market to a more mature market where there is more control of money, and a focus on investing in businesses with longevity and good brand awareness.
Lunar also sees investment opportunities from companies focused more on central and western China, in cities like Chengdu in the Sichuan province. Mr. Sulger said that within the next decade, China will see a growing middle class emerge from these areas.
“In the last decade, we saw a growing upper middle class emerge from cities like Beijing and Shanghai, which is why you see so many luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton [there]. However we also saw the poor become less poor, and they, in the next decade, will become the middle class.”


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Google Wallet and Google Offers are unveiled today at an event in Manhattan.
Erica OggFormer Staff writer, CNET News
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur.
The company says it plans to bring all parts of the retail experience together to make "tomorrow's best shopping experience," said Google Vice President of Commerce for Stephanie Tilenius.
The services will combine coupons and discounts and payments at the time people buy things through their phone.
Together the services will work like this: Coupons for items you buy regularly will pop up on your phone, or an item that the store you're shopping at is out of will pop up on the phone and let you buy that item online. When you go to a store's cashier, you can wave your phone over a terminal, which will charge your card. Meanwhile your loyalty points with that merchant will be added to your phone. Eventually receipts will be delivered to your phone.
The first phone that will be able to do this is the Android-based Nexus S, which has an NFC chip made by NXP inside. It can make payments via MasterCard's PayPass system. The system uses NFC, or near-field communication, technology. NFC is a chip technology that, when placed in two different devices, lets small amounts of data be sent over very short distances between them. This can include data such as credit card information, train ticket info, and a coupon bar code. All future Android phones will contain NFC chips, Google said today.
Google Wallet won't be out until this summer officially, but in the meantime there will be some local trials in San Francisco and New York City before expanding to more cities. The first participating retailers will be Macy's, Subway, Walgreens, Toys "R" Us, Bloomingdale's, Guess, and Noah's Bagels. For the payments service, Google is partnering with Sprint, MasterCard, Citi, and FirstData.
Google Wallet will support multiple cards, Citi and Mastercard, and a prepaid card funded from any credit card. More card brands will be coming, according to Telenius. Google says loading a card on a phone will be more secure than a physical wallet thanks to a smartphone's password and encryption on the phone.
Google also introduced Google Offers, a daily deals service that will be delivered to customers in an e-mail or to a phone. Like the payment system, to redeem these coupons a customer can show the cashier at a store or tap their phone to pay. Google Offers will begin trials in San Francisco and New York this summer.
American Eagle is one of the first retailers that will support Google Offers.
Eventually boarding passes, tickets, and more will come to the Google Wallet.
These are "the first steps," Tilenius stressed. "This vision will take a while to come to fruition."


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Intel seeks €593M from Commission after court victory
Earlier decision creates massive financial risk for EU regulators when they lose challenges to antitrust fines.
What’s wrong with the GDPR?
Intel decision spells trouble for Vestager’s Google campaign
Intel wins appeal against €1.06 billion EU antitrust fine
Italy fines Amazon €1.13B for abusing market dominance
EU fines banks €344M over ‘Sterling Lads’ foreign-exchange cartel
Poland hits Gazprom with the world’s largest competition fine
Alitalia: Too Italian to fail
Airline’s hallowed status has turned into a drag on the nation.
EU privacy enforcer hits make-or-break moment
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is under pressure to act soon.
Amazon keeps French warehouses closed until May 18
Amazon says it is continuing to consult with Work Councils and insists its fulfillment centers are safe.
Boris Johnson: No end to UK lockdown but go to work if you can
UK prime minister’s plan to ‘modify’ lockdown is a bid to keep all sides happy.
Boris Johnson sets out ‘careful’ withdrawal plan from UK lockdown
‘This is not the time simply to end the lockdown,’ the prime minister tells Britain.
EU top court orders Poland to immediately suspend a disciplinary panel for judges
The response from Warsaw is angry, but Poland is obliged to comply.
Lockdown rules baffle Europeans
From dinosaurs taking the rubbish out to people walking crabs, quarantine has certainly been weird.
Commission tells carriers to hand over mobile data in coronavirus fight
Thierry Breton held a conference call with telecoms executives to ask for greater access to people’s anonymized information.
Boris Johnson announces coronavirus lockdown in UK
Brits will only be allowed to leave their homes for very limited reasons, including food shopping, exercise once a day and essential work.
French authority hits Apple with €1.1 billion antitrust fine
The fine is the largest-ever imposed by France’s antitrust regulator.
French set to slap antitrust fine against Apple from Monday
France’s Autorité de la Concurrence is set to fine U.S. tech phone maker Apple as soon as Monday for including illegal restrictions in its contracts with wholesalers, …
5 people defining platform liability
These Europeans will be shaping the debate on the responsibilities of platforms like Facebook, Google and Twitter.
Google battles EU ruling as enforcers shift focus to data
Search giant’s court appeal comes as antitrust enforcers have shifted their focus to how Big Tech monopolizes data.
UK backs new regulatory powers to rein in Big Tech
Under proposals to combat online harms, companies could be fined and employees could face criminal charges if they fail to combat online illegal content.
EU fines Qualcomm €242M for attempting to force rival out of the market
Chipmaker ‘prevented competition and innovation,’ antitrust chief Vestager says.
Brussels fines Mastercard €570M for blocking cross-border competition
The Commission’s investigation goes back to 2013.
Vestager: ‘I do work with tax and I am a woman’
Record fine against Google has nothing to do with ‘personal feelings,’ says EU competition chief.
Brussels takes aim at Europe’s dirty trucks
Two years after hitting the industry with billions in cartel fines, emissions standards aim to accelerate clean drive.
Publish your ad on POLITICO.eu Jobs and reach thousands of viewers every month.


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Video game behemoth Nintendo has reported its financial results for the last twelve months. When the fiscal year ended on March 31st 2014, the numbers showed the company had posted a loss of 46.4 billion Yen (approximately $457 million). Plus, Nintendo’s contribution to the new-gen market, the Wii U, sold only 2.72 million units over the past year; just under the revised estimates of 2.8 million predicted back in January 2014.
In a statement, Nintendo attributed the recent financial lull to poor sales of the Wii U:
The Wii U hardware still has a negative impact on Nintendo’s profits owing mainly to its markdown in the United States and Europe…and unit sales of software, which has high profit margins, did not grow sufficiently.
Worldwide sales of the console currently stand at 6.17 million units overall, a huge difference to the 9 million the big N was looking to have sold hitherto. For comparison, Sony’s PlayStation 4 sold more than 7 million units in the much shorter time of six months.
On top of this, the 3DS also experienced a drop in sales, having shifted 12.24 million consoles despite the company assuring investors an estimated 18 million units would be sold. However, software for the 3DS saw a slight improvement with more than 67.9 million games sold against the 66 million Nintendo originally predicted. Despite besting the forecast, it more than likely won’t be enough to show financial improvements.
Currently, Nintendo is not showing signs of optimism, with only 3.6 million Wii U consoles expected to be sold over the next 12 months. All may not be lost, though. With the release of Mario Kart 8 at the end of May and Super Smash Bros later in the year, can the company’s ever-popular plumber be enough to help the company through the next financial year?


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Carmella loves wine and has often posted “It’s wine o’clock” memes. Now she is getting involved in the business in a lucrative way.
Mella’s wine brand Capo Cagna is now available in an actual brick and mortar location for the first time. This is a big step for the Princess Of Staten Island’s wine venture.
She has already sold the wine online and seen success. Now her wine has debuted in-store. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that this store is in Pittsburgh where Carmella and Corey Graves live, but the location wasn’t revealed.
Carmella realizes that WWE doesn’t last forever. She is building her own brand which might also be why she recently switched up her social media profiles.


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SME-targeted enterprise travel scheduling platformhas topped up the $160 million in fairness and debt it lifted last with an supplemental $115 million — closing out the spherical at $275 million.
TravelPerk explained its business is now staying valued at $1.3 billion — indicating it is reached coveted “unicorn” status.
In overall, it has raised $409 million given that getting established back again in 2015.
The business declined to disclose a valuation when it took in the before slice of fairness and financial debt very last year, so the Barcelona-dependent startup is sounding additional confident going into 2022 as opposed to spring 2021.
That explained, it is not very clear how substantially of the $115 million tranche is equity versus credit card debt — a spokeswoman for the startup declined to supply a break down or a distinct solution when we requested, indicating only: “This spherical is a mix of equity and debt funding.”
Update: TravelPerk has now verified that the $115 million portion of the Series D is in truth “100% equity”, though the D round as a full contained a debt blend via the previously closing.
The ultimate tranche of the D spherical was led by U.S. VC agency Basic Catalyst, a new investor in the company, along with present backer Kinnevik.
A further investor in this slice of the Series D, Gillian Tans, ex-chairwoman and CEO of Scheduling.com — who is investing in a personalized potential — is signing up for the board of administrators together with Joel Cutler, an early investor in Stripe, Airbnb and Kayak.
Commenting in a assertion, Tans said: “I have been performing in the vacation field for many several years, and TravelPerk is the 1 business that under no circumstances ceases to surprise me. It has solidified its leadership situation around the very last two decades in difficult situations for the vacation field, rising more robust than ever. They are impressive and have been in a position to anticipate and handle their customers’ transforming wants via key acquisitions, new market place entries, and products types. I’m honored to be joining as an investor and the Board of Directors at TravelPerk and to enable the firm attain a world wide leadership placement.”
Common Catalyst MD Joel Cutler included in one more supporting statement: “Hybrid and remote doing work is without doubt here to stay but a Zoom get in touch with will never be capable to replicate the benefits of in-person, confront-to-confront conversation. We have no question that organization travel will keep on to mature and prosper in the several years in advance, with TravelPerk as the distinct chief in the room, and we’re thrilled to be taking part in this funding spherical.”
It is certainly been a difficult few of a long time for the travel sector frequently — and for operate outings in particular — presented the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to scores of conference cancelations and accelerated instruments and tech all-around digital conferences, which give a very low-friction, very low-value alternative to organization vacation for physical conferences.
In particular person business situations did start out to decide up yet again past yr — with big tech conferences this kind of as the GSMA’s Cellular Environment Congress, World-wide-web Summit and CES (before this calendar year) taking area in some potential — but it’s typically been with vastly lowered attendance as opposed to pre-pandemic many years.
Streaming carries on to be a well known preference for workers and companies to avoid the hazard and stress associated with pandemic-era business vacation.
Despite clear demand from customers-aspect challenges for organization journey, TravelPerk has ongoing to present a bullish front during this time period — running a no layoffs policy and splashing out on a selection of acquisitions aimed at tooling up for COVID-19-brought on alterations to how men and women are travelling for do the job.
It has also managed to tap buyers to keep on backing its platform as it reconfigures its characteristic mix to help altering small business vacation wants.
TravelPerk said the Sequence D will be used to double down on product improvement — with a target on creating instruments for an period of hybrid functioning. Albeit, its aim is on hoping to develop the portion of physically co-located functioning which is heading on.
A modern function, included to TravelPerk’s system in November, is an functions organizing tool aimed at nudging customers to plan and reserve in-man or woman get togethers, such as for an offsite, a party or a conference of new starters. “TravelPerk Activities enables remote and hybrid teams to hook up in true life,” operates its marketing and advertising spiel for the tool.
“As time goes by, it is obvious that there won’t be a substitution for the human contact. We are looking at facts on our platform and we are emotion it ourselves,” argues CEO Avi Meir in a assertion. “While some systems are targeted on digital interactions, TravelPerk is making the technology that will help us get collectively in serious lifestyle.”
The startup is also ploughing income into establishing what it costs as “sustainable” vacation remedies.
TravelPerk acquired a U.K.-based mostly corporate obligation consultancy, termed Susterra, to beef up its capacity to offer you resources for consumers to compute a travel-linked carbon footprint.
It was now providing carbon offsetting to try to grease bookings in spite of the existential problem posed by weather modify — which will involve massive, swift worldwide reductions in carbon emissions if humanity is to stay away from environmental disaster, therefore presenting an clear obstacle to vacation sector progress.
However, TravelPerk is performing the opposite of talking down its expansion prospective customers.
It explained increasing in the U.S. is an additional emphasis for the Series D — a sector that became its greatestwhen it acquired U.S.-based mostly rival NexTravel.
It also ideas to use the funding to double down on progress in its other large sector: Europe.
Due to the fact 2019 (so pre-pandemic), TravelPerk claimed its business enterprise has developed 4x in phrases of annualised revenue. It also claimed it has doubled its client acquisition charge — albeit a substantial chunk of the latest onboarding is very likely to have come from acquisitions about this period.
As effectively as acquiring U.S.-based mostly NexTravel at the begin of last 12 months, it also picked up the U.K.’s Click on Vacation, at the time the greatest business journey platform in the nation.


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In 2020, the Financial Market Supervision in Austria (FMA) introduced its regulatory sandbox to make Austria an even more attractive location for fintechs. Businesses can test innovative models and ideas that are still under development and see whether they are viable from a regulatory standpoint.
The initiatives taken by the Austrian regulator show a willingness to boost Open Banking technology to the forefront of innovation.
If stats are anything to go by, Austria has a promising OB future laying ahead. According to the latest Digital Economy and Society Index, the country scores high in the number of internet users connecting to e-government services (81% compared to an EU average of 64%) and in open data readiness (90% compared to the EU average of 78%).


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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Feb. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A vital business principal Moonshot at NACET teaches its entrepreneurs and innovators is the importance of "scaling," the skill of growing a business profitably, often by either providing more products and services or expanding a market position.
Moonshot is practicing what it preaches by actively pursuing opportunities outside of its northern Arizona home – often at the request of communities who have seen Moonshot's success and want to build their own entrepreneurial hubs.
"After 17 years, Moonshot at NACET has learned a thing or two about creating and igniting the entrepreneurial spirit within cities, municipalities and rural areas," said Moonshot at NACET President & CEO Scott Hathcock. "Other communities took notice and we started getting calls from economic development directors seeking guidance in creating entrepreneur ecosystems."
The series of programs and services, under the umbrella name Launch Pad, includes "Storytelling Workshops" to help startups craft narratives that secure customers and investors. Moonshot is also organizing "Pioneer Pitch" events in these communities, where entrepreneurs compete for scholarships and cash prizes similar to the television show, Shark Tank.
Moonshot will host its local Pioneer Pitch in Flagstaff later this month, and then hold similar events in Lewis County, Wash. and Henderson, NV later this year.
An additional program creating a workforce development model will also be rolled out locally in 2019 and will be made available to outside communities as well.
Moonshot and its startup clients recently completed a very successful year. During 2018, the program saw occupancy rates in its incubator and accelerator facilities increase to almost 80 percent. Four of its companies "graduated" from the program and moved to off-campus business sites. Startups supported by Moonshot generated more than 200 full-time jobs and secured $4 million in grants and capital funding.
Perhaps Moonshot's biggest coup was a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to make Flagstaff the first U.S. city to offer the AWS "CloudStart" program to startup businesses.
For more information about Moonshot at NACET and the Launch Pad programs, visit moonshotaz.com.
SOURCE Moonshot at NACET


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Singapore’s “Straits Times” September 20 article, original title: “Stay in” China’s strategy in the soybean trade war At an agricultural export conference in Kansas City, An executive from China’s largest soybean squeeze company is listening to an expert explaining why China will still rely on us soybeans to feed its vast herd of pigs. When it came time for the Chinese executive to speak, he told international soybean traders here that what they had just heard was wrong. He then outlined six strategies China would adopt that would allow it to slash soybean use and use alternative sources of supply almost without any economic pain.
“Many foreign businessmen and politicians have underestimated the determination of the Chinese people to support the government in this trade war,” he said. The comments are in line with growing confidence within the Chinese soybean industry and government that the world’s largest pork producer is able to shake off its dependence on US soybean exports — a prospect that will not only hit US farmers hard but will completely remap the course of global soybean trade.
A big reduction in soybean meal content in pig feed, one of the six strategies widely used, could wipe out Chinese demand for US soybeans, according to calculations by Reuters. Reducing the soybean content in pig feed from the usual 20 per cent to 12 per cent would be equivalent to a 27m tonnes reduction in annual demand, or about 82 per cent of China’s total imports of US soybeans last year. Experts say this alone will enable China’s pig farms to cut nearly half their soybean use without damaging pig growth. Chinese and US industry experts say the soy content in the feed provided by Chinese pig farms has long exceeded the normal amount required for pigs to stay strong.
Large Chinese farmers have recently adopted new standards, but the country’s pork industry remains dominated by small pig farms and lacks a strong incentive to invest money and time to overhaul the formula. Now the trade war is accelerating China’s push to slash the proportion of soybean meal in feed. Agricultural experts say trade tensions between China and the United States will surely promote the application of such expertise on a wider scale.
The statements by Chinese businessmen at the meeting highlighted a philosophy that is now widely accepted by the Chinese government and state-owned agricultural companies and marked a shift since the start of the US-China trade war. As recently as April, Chinese feed producers and some agricultural experts were worried that domestic industries would suffer more than their biggest trading partners.
As a result of the trade war, Nongmeizi of South Dakota, USA, plans to reduce soybean cultivation next spring. “This makes me very nervous” because China has always been the main buyer of American soybeans. Zhanmusi·yadangsi, the former president of the American Soybean Association, who opened the Chinese market for American soybeans, now fears that this lucrative economic and trade relationship may collapse. “The partnership that has been cultivated for so long can be lost overnight. When you start to become an unreliable supplier, the Chinese will look elsewhere. “


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Lost Ark Articles
Lost Ark, the Korean MMOARPG from Smilegate and Amazon, was supposed to be launching this fall, finally bringing the much anticipated title to the West. However, in an announcement made via Twitter today, the teams have made the decision to delay the launch of Lost Ark into early 2022.
While Lost Ark is free-to-play, this doesn't mean Amazon and Smilegate won't want players to crack open their wallets and consume. As a result, the developers broke down the different Founder's Packs players can grab for the upcoming MMOARPG when it hits Western shores in the Fall.
On August 19th Amazon announced an exclusive publishing agreement with Smilegate RPG. No details were given about the specific title Smilegate would be developing for Amazon, but recent rumblings have speculated Lost Ark would be the title headed to North America.
From today through June 6th, Mail.ru will be running a demo version of Lost Ark in preparation for launch in Russia, presumably later this summer. The full game will not be available during the demo period, but it should give players a good taste of gameplay.
Many fans in the west remain disappointed that no news has come out about the possible release of Lost Ark. Simultaneously, however, Korean players have been enjoying the Smilegate MMO for over a month since its release in March. With the game's release, developers are peering into the game's future and have posted a brief roadmap of content coming in the future.
Now that the Korean version of Lost Ark has launched, Smilegate has announced a new class, the Lance Master. This new female melee class can alternate between two stances, Ambush for AoE attacks and Intensive for high damage attacks. Lance Masters can also charge their attacks using a new 3-section meter to further empower their combat abilities.
The West doesn't even have a version of Lost Ark for players yet, but rumors are beginning to swirl in Korea that a mobile version of the game may already be in the works. According to media outlets, Smilegate is looking for developers with knowledge of Unreal Engine 4 (the PC version is built on Unreal Engine 3) to fill jobs in animation, scenario and combat animation and client development. Smilegate has waved away the rumors stating this is a "normal recruitment drive".
Earlier this week, we found that the FAQ for the Russian version of Lost Ark seemed to indicate that the game would not be region-locked when it launched. However, the FAQ has since been updated with a somewhat ambiguous statement that "the localizer reserves the right to impose regional restrictions on the basis of an agreement with the developer". Mail.ru further said that it has the right to publish Lost Ark to Russian-speaking nations in the CiS region.


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eSports is a billion-dollar market that has been gaining ground in the past years. And the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed greatly to its growth as people around the world staying at home choose it as alternative competitive entertainment made more exciting with the chance to win real money through its many betting platforms.
The massive increase in eSports gamers and users have necessitated companies to look for new technology that can meet the demands of the industry. And this is where eSports on blockchain comes in, as it allows firms to deliver next-generation products and services through its many capabilities. However, not all blockchains have the qualities that can meet the needs of large industries such as eSports. FYX Gaming, an innovative eSports infrastructure and technology provider popular for its combat game Cryptofights, learned this the hard way.
“When I looked at the scaling roadmap of Ethereum, it became clear that we were never going to be able to have a million players playing on Kronoverse. Instead, everyone is having to develop layer-two technologies and is only submitting the results to the Ethereum blockchain. With Bitcoin SV (BSV), we wouldn’t have to do that,” FYX Gaming CEO Adam Kling said about their decision to move from Ethereum to the Bitcoin SV blockchain.
So what makes the Bitcoin SV blockchain the perfect fit for eSports?
An Infinitely Scalable Network
The reason why FYX moved after originally choosing Ethereum is primarily because the Bitcoin SV blockchain is infinitely scalable, as evidenced by its most recent record-breaking 16.4 million transactions in one block. Simply put, the Bitcoin SV blockchain can easily handle the big data being generated by eSports on a daily basis. It also provides micropayments, an essential to eSports as it deals with various amounts of real-world money. As the network continues to scale, nanotransactions will be available soon through the Teranode project.
A Stable Protocol
Just like the Internet protocol, which opened up a new era of technology and made it possible for everything to be online, the Bitcoin SV blockchain also has a set-in-stone protocol which is more stable than ever. In the future, everything will be on-chain. With this kind of rock-solid foundation, developers need not worry about adjusting their back-end systems to adjust to a protocol that changes every now and then, which is both time-consuming and costly. Companies like FYX can focus on creating more cutting-edge products to meet the market’s demands.
An Immutable and Public Distributed Data Ledger
When it comes to eSports, it is important for game integrity to be preserved. All in-game actions are immutably and chronologically recorded on the Bitcoin SV blockchain, which is both public and distributed. This means that users can view and verify transactions, as well as spot game cheaters.
“We don’t want to be in the arms race of trying to detect everyone, but we want to open up the data so that the community can actually look for these cheaters…. Now, we’re going to create an audit trail of every move they make inside the game, so you know who they are and everything that they’ve done. So if they ever mess up and start cheating, it’s going to be permanently logged,” Kling explained during last year’s CoinGeek conference.
These are just three of the many reasons as to why the Bitcoin SV blockchain is the future of rapidly growing industries, such as eSports.


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Step in the Right Direction?
Late last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a bid to create a new regulatory and licensing regime for Payment System Banks (PSBs) in Nigeria issued the Guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of PSBs in Nigeria (the ‘Regulation’).
This post seeks to underscore the need for a Regulation like the instant one, to always strike a balance, between the protection of the interests of consumers, while promoting innovation, growth and financial inclusion. It should be noted, however, this post does not attempt to pass ‘full judgement’ on the age-long fight for regulation preference or supremacy among champions of performance-based or goal-setting regulation or even self-regulation over prescriptive regulation.
For starters, the Regulation attempts to accord with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) which seeks to reduce the percentage of Nigerians that are excluded from financial services from 46.3% in 2010 to 20% by 2020. While the intention behind the NFIS is quite laudable, it remains to be seen whether the seemly lofty goals of the NFIS will be achieved by 2020.
The Regulation came just after the CBN had reiterated the need to secure payment systems and curb fraudulent activities in the financial sector, while having in place, regulations that protect online, mobile and payment services in Nigeria. The Regulation can arguably be attributed to the efforts of selected stakeholders in the industry, to develop efficient and reliable electronic payment systems in Nigeria.
While a read of the rationale for the Regulation is likely to leave one with the impression that the Regulation was made with the intention of protecting the financial system in Nigeria and in particular, protecting users of online, mobile and payment services, FinTech enthusiasts could argue that the Regulation hardly takes care of the interests of both existing and potentials FinTech operating as PSBs. The position of the FinTech enthusiasts is better appreciated when one looks at the financial requirement for grant of the PSB License.
Requirement for the PSB License: How Onerous?
Apart from the licensing, Prudential Regulation, Risk Management and Corporate Governance requirements imposed in the Regulations, the financial requirement for grant of the PSB License has been great source of concern to FinTech companies. This is because for a PSB license to be given by the CBN, the applicant company is expected to demonstrate the ability or show through credible evidence and compelling documentation, that it can meet the minimum capital requirement of Five Billion Naira (approximately $13.9 Million).
For FinTech enthusiasts, the approximately 13.9 Million United States Dollars Minimum Capital Requirement may come off as being on the high side, capable of stifling growth, kill innovation, militate against the actualization of the 20% exclusion rate by 2020 and by effect, the actualization of the financial inclusion contemplated under the NFIS.
Towards Effective Regulation: Finding the Balance Regulation and Innovation
The foregoing in mind, there is a need to strike a balance between innovation and regulation of innovation. No doubt, the emergence of FinTech in our financial system accentuates some known risks within the financial system. Taking into consideration the fact that the banking industry lost about N12.30 billion to various frauds in the banking system between 2014 and 2017, it is very expedient for financial sector regulators, and in this particular instance, the CBN, to come up with innovative ways of securing electronic transactions, while ensuring that such regulation does not stifle growth, kill creativity and murder ingenuity.
FinTech companies have facilitated the expansion of electronic payments. They have also helped in providing financial services to previously unreached groups. The important role they play in the actualization of financial inclusion our society must be given the rightful mention and very much deserving of commendation. Hence, it augurs well that FinTech companies should not be inhibited through onerous regulations that discourage innovation and stifle growth.
Given how closer our world is now, more than ever, susceptible to changing times with respect to disruptive innovation and impacts of the emerging technology, particularly, in the financial services sector or industry, it becomes pertinent for the CBN to ensure that a balance is reached in enacting regulations that cater for the interests of FinTech companies offering financial services, including payment services on one hand, and protection of consumers on the other hand, with a view to ensuring the development of a secure, competitive and innovative environment for electronic payments. This point even becomes more crucial should the CBN be wholeheartedly committed to the realization of the financial inclusion strategy and cash-less policy.
Conclusively, suffice to say that the CBN will do well to strike a balance between having in place, a regulation that encourages the growth of innovations, while harmonising payment operations in Nigeria. This is because adopting dynamic policies and regulations for payment systems that are targeted at maintaining a delicate balance amongst all the industry players, FinTech companies and consumers as well as the general public, will ultimately bring about a friendly and blossoming environment, where innovation, growth and safe transactions can be guaranteed.
Keywords: Financial Technology, Financial Regulation, Technological Innovations, Corporate Finance, Commercial Law
*This publication does not constitute legal advice. Whilst reasonable steps were taken to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this publication, the author and/or Primus Grace LP does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage that may arise from reliance on information contained in this publication.


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ERLIN (Reuters) - Germany and France said they would sign a contract with Airbus and Dassault Aviation to start work on a next-generation fighter jet in early 2019, with next steps on a joint tank program due by the end of 2018. French President Emma...Read More
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German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday launched in India 'SUV GLE' that will be produced locally with starting price of Rs 58.90 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) to enhance its position in the market here.T...Read More
The Indian women's cricket team lost to England in the ICC World T20 semi-final by eight wickets. While the loss squashed India's chances of lifting their maiden World T20 title, the omission of veter...Read More
German camera-maker Leica Camera AG on Friday announced a new compact camera in its D-Lux series in India that is priced at nearly Rs 1 lakh."Leica D-Lux 7" with automatic exposure mode, manual setting options and a range of video functions would be ...Read More....
CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday announced a sweeping reorientation toward privacy, explaining in a lengthy essay posted to his account that he would spend the coming years focusing Facebook's distinct apps - WhatsA...Read More
The Lion King has been scheduled to release in 2019, but its first teaser trailer is out, and boy it gave me goosebumps! The track, 'Circle of Life' got me circling in a pool of nostalgia. It has brought back memories of me a...Read More


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PITTSBURGH - Cash is becoming obsolete but not all plastics are created equal.
Some swipes have an added security risk.
“If somebody steals your information, your credit card company will protect you. Debit cards, not as much,” said consumer expert and Duquesne University marketing professor Audrey Guskey.
Because of that added risk, Guskey recommends four places you should avoid using your debit cards, including gas stations.
“There are different devices that someone who's pumping gas across from you can get that information,” she warned.
Criminals use devices known as skimmers.
They can be attached to gas pumps and you’d never know.
Last year, a group of men were caught stealing $2-million using skimmers at gas pumps throughout the South.
Next on the list: restaurants.
Guskey said waitstaff can take your card of out of your sight and then “it's very easy for them to copy your card and gather all of the information.”
She also recommends using cash for small purchases at stores instead of your card.
And at number four, stick to a credit card when shopping online.
Some banks even offer virtual credit cards which you use once and throw away.
“With a debit card, if people are getting your information, they can literally go to an ATM machine and take the money out immediately,” she said.
If your debit card number is stolen, time is not on your side.
According to the electronic fund transfer act, you could still be responsible for up to $500 taken from your account, and that’s if you report it within two days.
If you wait longer, and you could lose all of the money withdrawn from your account.


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Cross-Border JV Could Re-Define Marijuana Sector
Canada-based cannabis company Cronos Group Inc. (CRON) and MM Enterprises USA LLC said Monday that they have formed a cross-border joint venture to cater to Canadian consumers. The move comes as Canada plans to legalize adult use of cannabis by the end of this year.
MM Enterprises USA, LLC is a U.S. cannabis company with facilities in California, Nevada, and New York. The company anticipates going public in Canada in the second quarter of this year.
Cronos Group is a Canadian licensed producer and distributor of medical cannabis that also has a footprint in Germany, Israel, and Australia. The company recently became the first pure-play cannabis company traded on a major U.S. stock exchange, the Nasdaq.
The joint venture, called MedMen Canada Inc., will be a 50/50 partnership between the two companies. It will develop branded products and open stores across Canada.
MedMen Canada will be focused on a branded national retail chain, branded products, and research and development activities. It will have access to Cronos’ 350,000 plus square feet of production facilities and future expansions, while leveraging MedMen’s retail brand recognition.
Cronos operates two wholly-owned Canadian Licensed Producers under Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations: Peace Naturals Project Inc. and Original BC Ltd.
Canada legalized medical cannabis in 2013 and has some of the largest cannabis companies in the world. The federal government has announced plans to legalize adult use later this year, which would make Canada the first G7 country to federally legalize adult use.
In January, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB.TO) and CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. (CMED.TO) ended a protracted takeover battle with a friendly $1.1 billion merger between the two marijuana giants, but smaller rival NewStrike was not part of the deal. CanniMed walked away from NewStrike as part of its agreement with Aurora.
by RTT Staff Writer
Source: Read Full Article


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ShortList is celebrating its 400th issue this week – proof that chaps will still pick up a consumer print title when it is a street-savvy, modern read and, crucially, free. The special issue features photo-shoots and interviews with male "icons" including Sir Michael Caine and Thierry Henry. With a £25 million-a-year turnover, its parent company, Shortlist Media, has shown that print does have a future.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday marketing mania
Any sane person can see that Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (the Monday nearest the start of December) are just ruses that have been dreamt up by the marketing department to drive sales. But who cares if it’s chiefly about retailers getting rid of unwanted stock and banking cash early before Christmas? Think of all those ad agencies and media buyers that are being kept in gainful employment as clients ramp up their promotional activity.
Media veterans investing in quality TV drama
Luke Johnson (pictured), Roger Parry and Chris Wright are the founders of the TV production company Chrysalis Vision, which has raised up to £350,000 via a crowdfunding site to develop high-quality TV dramas. The Chrysalis chief executive, Mick Pilsworth, was behind ITV’s Midsomer Murders, so knows how big-budget dramas can win big audiences and advertisers. The founding trio have put in £300,000 of their own cash and Ten Alps is providing £250,000.
And one thing we don't...
FT’s pension cuts
The Financial Times has spent years writing about companies dumping final-salary pension schemes, so reporters shouldn’t be surprised that its new Japanese owner, Nikkei, wants to shut their scheme. Almost 92 per cent of National Union of Journalists staff have voted to strike but postponed action after winning concessions for a year. If hacks want someone to blame, maybe it should be Pearson, whose main criterion for selling the FT appeared to be finding the highest bidder. After paying £844 million, no wonder Nikkei wants cuts.


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EGYPT – Egypt’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has achieved growth of 5.6 percent during the first half of the 2019/2020 fiscal year, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Saeed has revealed.
The minister revealed his country’s impressive economic performance during a ministerial meeting that was convened by the Prime Minister to discuss economic and social issues affecting the country.
The industrial sector came in second with a contribution of 12.6 percent, while the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors contributed 12 percent to the country’s overall growth.
Saeed said that workers in the wholesale and trade sectors increased by 358,000 while those in the industry sector increased by 426,000.
He also noted that annual inflation rates declined to 6.8 percent in January 2020, while monthly rates declined to 0.8 percent while those in the food and beverage sector reduced inflation rates by 2.1 percent in January 2020, compared to December 2019.
Saeed also noted that the value of foreign exchange sources amounted to US$ 21.9 billion during the first quarter of the 2019/2020 fiscal year, with export earnings representing the largest share of foreign currency at 32 percent, followed by remittances at 31 percent.
The value of imports, meanwhile, decreased by 4.2 percent, from $US 16.6 billion during the first quarter of 2018/2019 fiscal year to US$15.9 billion during the first quarter of 2019/2020 fiscal year.
The trade balance however, improved after the deficit decreased from $US 9.8 billion during the first quarter of 2018/2019 fiscal year to $US8.8 billion during the first quarter of 2019/2020.
The tough economic reform program also included measures to loosen capital controls, end energy subsidies, reform public enterprises and overhaul monetary policy, and initially caused inflation to spike to 33 percent.
In November 2019, however, the measures started bearing fruits with inflation in the country reaching its lowest level in years.


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NEW DELHI: Some 86% of marketing professionals and advertisers in India predict social media will be an important part of their long-term strategies, but two-thirds argue that "most marketers only have a cursory understanding" of the medium, a survey from exchange4media and Blogworks says.
The poll of 267 marketers and business leaders found that 58% of respondents think social media will have a "huge impact" over the next two years, with 38% saying it will have "some impact," and just 2% opting for "very little impact".
Just under half of those questioned spend less than 5% of their total budget on social media initiatives, compared with 15% diverting over 20% of their outlay into this channel.
A total of 21% said social media and blogs have a "huge impact" on business and marketing, compared with 69% arguing these devices exert "some impact", and 8% opting for "very little" or "no" impact.
In all, 79.2% also felt that these portals were most effective in terms of connecting with consumers and the media, while 65% saw them as a means of engaging employees and "influencers".
Social media was also thought to help generate "buzz" and word-of-mouth by 89.4% of those polled, with 66% asserting that it helped the process of generating consumer insight.
A further 62% suggested that many Web 2.0 properties drive engagement, but just 35% reported that the primary result of using the medium was an upturn in sales.
However, 67% of the panel agreed social media can have "some impact" on revenue levels, with 18% saying it had a "huge impact", and just 12% arguing it had minimal or no role to play.
Using sites like Orkut and Facebook was the most popular activity, with a 44% participation rate, while 38% of participants had uploaded photos or video to the web, 35% had a company blog, and 28% had used mobile marketing.
Some 45% of advertisers and marketers measured the success of social media campaigns in terms of an improvement in brand awareness, with upturns in user-generated content, search engine rankings and positive feedback also used to gauge positive results.
Over half of contributors also predicted that social media spending would increase even if the Indian advertising market slowed down, while just 9% forecast a decrease should this occur.
Data sourced from Blogworks; additional content by WARC staff


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Apple had their annual Worldwide Developer Conference keynote on June 6, 2022, and while many things were shared, one went…
The mobile game starring everyone’s favorite doctor will be ending service on October 31.
The app that launched with Splatoon 2 back in 2017 will have one of its features retired.
The Pokémon Company has announced that the upcoming MOBA spin-off for the Pokémon series will finally fully launch in July.
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Dragon Quest series, Square Enix held a livestream to talk about what is in the future of the ever-popular RPG series with series creator, Yuji Hori.
Nintendo and Niantic, together again? Read on for all the details on their latest collaboration, this time featuring Pikmin!
To celebrate Pokémon Day and the 25th anniversary of the series, the Pokémon Company aired a Pokémon Presents to reveal the future of the series.
The Switch version of the 2020 phenomenon may have sold over 3 million in its first month.
On the heels of Animal Crossing: New Horizons receiving an update, it seems Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will not be outdone.
Within the recent Nintendo investor meeting, it was revealed that Animal Crossing: New Horizons reached 26 million sales, allowing the series to reach 60 million sales worldwide.
While it was rumored and even predicted on our last podcast, Nintendo fans still woke up surprised this morning to see a Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct this morning sitting on their YouTube subscriptions page along with several announcements that were not included in the original rumors.
Mario Kart Tour launched on September 25, 2019, to mixed reactions and reviews. Many people liked the free-to-play nature of it, but others felt it was missing some key components, namely a real multiplayer mode. After some beta testing, that grayed-out option will become live on March 8, 2020, at 8:00 pm Pacific Time.
Click to find out more!
Mario Kart Tour has a release date!
Check out the new game releases, sales, and demos available starting today and throughout this week!
You can now download Dr. Mario World for free on your iOS or Android device.


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I really enjoyed this article. The news that smartphones have surpassed basic feature phones in the market is a solid proof point that the time to develop strategies for customer self-service on smart devices was yesterday. Those companies that don’t have plans to connect with customers on these devices are standing still in a fast-moving mobile world. Connected consumers with these powerful devices at their fingertips demand the ability to intuitively communicate with brands via apps or mobile web for customer support issues, billing inquiries, order processing and more. The brands who don’t implement comprehensive mobile self-service strategy will experience customer churn and loss of revenue. Those that are implementing these strategies will see new revenue growth, improved customer loyalty and accelerated acquisition of new customers.
CEO, SpeechCycle, Inc.
The concept of "smart phone" is a moving target. Five years from now, your current phone will look decidedly dumb.
Now that there are more smartphones, customers should start getting phones to support 4G data rates. Only a few percent of cell phones customers have are using 4G now. The delay is caused by lack of infrastructure equipment and less power hungry 4G radios.
Hmmm... not surprising? I mean, if you look at our patent database, it shows a sharp increase in mobile patents being issued. Coincidence? I think not. http://bit.ly/wHDNr3
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EU Clears Landmark Trade Agreement with JapanEU | April 20, 2018, Friday // 10:36| views
Cheaper Japanese cars and European cheese are on the way as the EU’s trade agreement after the European Commission announced on April 18 that it had cleared the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement with Tokyo, New Europe reports.
The two sides have agreed on the final details of the agreement, according to EU Trade Commission Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who appeared outwardly pleased that the bloc managed to negotiate its largest-ever trade agreement with the world’s third-largest economy.
“Japan is one of the largest economies in the world. Together, the EU and Japan have 600 million people and one third of the world’s gross domestic product. This agreement is extremely important for both sides,” said Malmström. ”It will be cheaper to trade Japanese products…for European companies, it will be easier to export to the Japanese market because custom fees will no longer apply.”
EU Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen pointed to the benefits the agreement will grant to Finnish consumers and businesses as Japanese cars will be cheaper in the long term, while the Finnish forest industry can get a boost by being allowed into the lucrative Japanese market.
“For the forest industry, it is now easier to export wood products to Japan,” Katainen said from the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, where this month’s plenary is taking place.
The agreement will eliminate or sharply reduce duties on agricultural products in which the EU has a major export interest by ensuring duty-free trade with processed pork meat – the EU’s main agricultural export to Japan – and almost duty-free trade for fresh pork meat exports.
Tariffs on beef will be cut from 38.5% to 9% over 15 years for a significant volume of beef products. The tariffs on wine (presently at 15%) will be scrapped from day one, as will tariffs for other alcoholic drinks.
Europe’s highly profitable cheese exporting industry, which is already the top seller of cheese products on the Japanese market, will see the crippling duties on many hard cheeses such as Gouda and Cheddar (which currently are at 29.8%) eliminated and a duty-free quota will be established for fresh cheeses such as Mozzarella.
The EU-Japan agreement will also scrap today’s customs duties for processed agricultural products such as pasta, chocolates, cocoa powder, candies, confectionary, biscuits, starch derivatives, prepared tomatoes, and tomato sauce. There will also be significant quotas for EU exports – either duty-free or with reduced duties – for malt, potato starch, skimmed milk powder, butter, and whey.
The EU-Japan agreement also recognises the special status and offers protection on the Japanese market to more than 200 Geographical Indications (GIs) products. These products will be given the same level of protection in Japan as they currently have in Europe.
According to the Commission, the EU-Japan agreement can come into force at the end of the year as the political will exists from both parties. “If there are no complications and if the Japanese Parliament also gives the green light, the agreement can come into force at the end of the year or at the beginning of next year,” said Malmstrom.
Now the agreement text is complete and must be approved by EU countries and the European Parliament. The time, however, the EU-Japan agreement will not have to be endorsed by national parliaments, on a bid to avoid obstacles that were met during the EU-Canada CETA agreement ratification, when the Walloon Parliament in Belgium raised objections at the very last minute, causing great delays to the overall process.
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Amid the hoopla over the electronic trading platform eNAM for agri products, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and touted as a "big game changer", commodity watchers and experts say the mechanism has inherent limitations and conflicts are bound to arise between states and the central government.
"The basic purpose of eNAM is to ensure transparency in buying and selling of agri - commodities. But this may not happen anytime soon, " Binu Alex, Editorial Director of Commodity Online, told IANS here.
"Most importantly the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) remains a state subject. So conflicts are bound to happen. First, the government should have centralised APMCs and put a cabinet rank minister to cater to commerce part of agriculture, " Alex added.
Others are, however, more optimistic than Ahmedabad - based longtime commodity watcher Alex, and say the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) launched on Thursday will benefit farmers immensely.
"This is a big game changer certainly. We are glad eight states have the mandis and some more have already amended their APMC Acts and are ready to come on board. eNAM will actually be an answer to price volatility farmers often face, " says B. Basavraj of Karnataka Pradesh Gram Growers Association.
The union agriculture ministry says eNAM is an online platform but should not be mistaken as a parallel marketing structure.
"It is a tool to create a national network of physical mandis which can be accessed online, " explained Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
eNAM will leverage the physical infrastructure of mandis through an online trading portal, enabling buyers situated even outside the state to participate in trading at the local level.
The mechanism proposes to integrate 585 regulated wholesale markets or APMCs under one electronic platform by 2018.
It will allow farmers to sell their produce to highest bidders.
It will initially aim at integrating 21 mandis in eight states - Uttar Pradesh (six), Gujarat (three), Telangana (five), Rajasthan (one), Madhya Pradesh (one), Haryana (two), Jharkhand (one) and Himachal Pradesh (two).
According to Nikhil Prasad, a commodity trader at Delhi's Azadpur mandi "more than anything else the biggest challenge will be to bring in uniformity and rationalisation in taxes as agriculture and the marketing thereof is a state subject. "
He adds, "Essentially the farmers cannot do away with the procurement agents whom the government wants to cut off from the ecosystem by having a transparent system. "
In some states, he argues even APMC is only a "political platform of powerful and connected traders".
"These traders own large tracts of land themselves. This nexus needs to be knocked off, " he says.
Officials in the agriculture ministry say they are aware of some of the challenges, and one issue that needs to be tackled is about the middle - men.
"The government initiative will end the middlemen role and bring transparency in pricing. The government is keen that we should put a benchmark price across the country, " a senior official told IANS, declining to be named.
Market watchers tend to endorse this.
"You don't need to teach the farmers to sell their produce. They just need information which they are severely short of, " says Alex.
Officials explain that the response so far is very encouraging as 17 states and union territories have included the provision of single point levy of market fee in their APMC Acts, and 15 other states have made provision of single unified licence to validate trading.
"Things may take sometime, but it will happen, " the official said.
Krish Iyer, President & CEO Walmart India, finds the eNAM initiative forward looking and says his company "will continue to strengthen our direct farm programme to complement government vision to make a difference to the lives of farmers".
But there are other challenges too, says Krishnendu Pal, another trader in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
"I welcome the eNam platform. But there are a few questions. When a farmer sells his produce through e - market platform will the government give guarantee to sell his produce at the price he wants, and in case there are no buyers what happens to his produce, " he asks. Those questions need to be answered.
(Nirendra Dev can be contacted at nirendra. n@ians. in)


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Madeline Kizer of Wallingford hosts clothing swaps to promote second-hand shopping, aiming to raise awareness of fast fashion’s impact on the environment.
A documentary on the fashion industry sparked Kizer’s interest to learn more about fast fashion. So, she decided to do her own research.
Fast fashion is based on a low-cost, high-volume business model that has come under fire in recent years for its impact on the environment and workers in the supply chain, Quartz Magazine reports. The mass production of clothing contributes water pollution and emits large quantities of greenhouse gases, and according to a Vogue Magazine report “20% of global water waste is caused by the fashion industry.”
According to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, “The textiles system
operates in an almost completely linear way: large amounts of non-renewable
resources are extracted to produce clothes that are often used for only a
short time, after which the materials are mostly sent to landfill or incinerated,” under-utilizing recycling. And, many of the industry workers are women, age 18-24, who are exploited working long hours, making low wages, reports re/make.
Kizer, 20, was introduced to buying second-hand clothing at an early age. Like other teenagers, she found herself buying fashion online.
As she learned more about the fashion industry, she stopped shopping at retail stores during her senior year of high school.
“You can make so much change, just by shopping second-hand. I have so much fun doing it,” she said of her decision. “Once I started learning more about the fashion industry and its impact on the environment and people, I just didn’t want to support it anymore.”
After graduating high school, Kizer was accepted to the University of Connecticut as a marketing major. The following summer, she participated in UConn’s entrepreneurial program for female students. During the program, each member had to identify a problem in society and solve the issue with a business.
At the time, she was an intern for Raine Magazine, a fashion publication, and did research on clothing swaps in the United Kingdom. Inspired by the success of their clothing swaps, she wanted to replicate them.
In July 2021, she used HUBCAP, a nonprofit rental facility in Wallingford, for her first clothing swap. People from the community brought in five to ten gently used items. They were first examined for any stains or rips. The approved clothes were displayed around the room.
A customer can then pick up as many items of clothing they were approved for. There is no money exchange at the clothing swaps, besides a small admission fee. Kizer donated proceeds to charities that support eco-friendliness such as Planet Aid and Remake.
Kizer continued clothing swap events for the UConn community. She held multiple outdoor swapping events on-campus to promote second-hand shopping for college students. She believes that the 18 to 24-year-old demographic are the main consumers for fast fashion.
“That’s why I think fast fashion is so popular because it gives everyone the opportunity to purchase really cheap items. To fit in to that desired or wanted look. I hope that in the future there will be more of a sense of identity with clothing. Trends are always going to be here, I don’t see those really disappearing in any way,” said Kizer on teenagers’ need to buy trendy clothing.
Kizer has learned to upcycle, which is to sew or alter a piece of clothing for a one-of-a-kind look. After adding or removing fabric, she resells the new item to customers through her Instagram account, Kizer Kollection.
Along with upcycling and clothing swaps, she also hosts tag sales featuring clothes, shoes and jewelry. Her most recent event was a three-day tag sale with clothes from petite to plus size. Customers stopped by brose items and could try on clothes in her portable changing station.
Zorayda Cocchi of Wallingford was one of those customers. She expressed her love for clothing swaps and buying second-hand.
“The clothing swaps give a sense of community,” Cocchi said. “It’s a sense of social engagement, it’s a sense of community. It’s good for the environment. It has so many benefits.”
Cocchi wishes that all women would go to clothing swaps instead of shopping from fast fashion brands. She became familiar with clothing swaps from local fundraising events in the community.
For the rest of the summer, Kizer and two classmates are finalizing UConn Swap Shop, an on-campus thrift store. Students will have the opportunity to swap clothing, each item having a designated point value. Kizer recalled being a freshman without a car on-campus and wanting to thrift in her free time. She hopes that the thrift store will teach students the importance of shopping second-hand.
Kizer’s account on Instagram can be found @KizerKollection or online at https://kizerskollection.com/
Colleen Lucey, a junior at the University of Connecticut, writes about the most pressing health, wellness and safety issues affecting people ages 18-40. To reach her, email firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Number 13 might be unlucky for some – but at Spacebase, we’ve always believed in making our own luck.
We’re thrilled to have been placed 13th on Deloitte’s list of the fastest-growing startups in Germany! Over the past 4 years, we clocked up an impressive growth rate of 1833.71%.
The Technology Fast 50 Awards recognise exceptional growth rates and technological innovation across different industries. Results were announced at a glittering ceremony in Hamburg’s Museum für Hamburger Geschichte, and brought together some of the most exciting startups and entrepreneurs from all over the country.
We’re grateful to all our hardworking team members, past and present – to our space providers, for their dedication to offering unique and inspiring spaces – and, of course, to all those of you who have rented a meeting or event location with us. Having our efforts recognised by Deloitte, one of the biggest professional services network in the world, is a special honour.
“Spacebase will keep working to make our technology even more personalised, efficient and convenient for our users,” says our CEO and co-founder Julian. “So our platform offers the best service out there.”
While we celebrate the past and enjoy the present’s successes, we like to focus on the future. Our journey as a company continues – and we’re dreaming of even bigger and better things for tomorrow.
For more information about the award and what it means for Spacebase, check out our official press release:
Stay in the loop! For more tips, industry news and exclusive offers from Spacebase, you can subscribe to the Spacebase newsletter here.


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The CEO of the Asian luxury distributor shares his vision of the region with FashionNetwork.com in a two-part interview. In part one, he talks about the role of distributors and China's influence over the rest of Asia.
Branded-but-price-conscious fashion and beauty is of growing importance in the UK and Findel is reaping the rewards as its Studio operation expands and sees potential for the future too, despite slowing growth.
Nike has opened its newest House of Innovation concept store in New York City. Located on Fifth Avenue, the store is a massive 68,000 square-foot, six-level one-stop-shop for cross-category Nike products.
Uniqlo may get the lion’s share of attention when it comes to Fast Retailing news, but the parent company’s GU chain is also doing interesting things and the brand is about to open a ‘next-generation’ store in Japan.
August Getty, one of the few couturiers who hails from Los Angeles, is on a mission: to bring glamour back to Paris. His house, August Getty Atelier, stages its French couture debut in January at the Ritz Hotel.
Bestseller’s Vila brand continues to see positive publicity from the Talent Awards it staged earlier this year and has launched a party collection that features the work of winners Pia Schulz and Elisabeth van Aalderen.


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PRAGUE — The Czech Republic could face U.S. counter-measures if it introduces a planned 7% digital tax aimed at global internet giants, the U.S. embassy in Prague said on Friday, after the Czech parliament gave initial support to the new tax.
Several European countries are considering such a tax to raise more money from the local businesses of companies such as Google and Facebook, leading the United States to threaten retaliation in support of its tech industry.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Britain has said it will press ahead with its proposed digital tax, while France has put off its plans to wait for broader negotiations within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Czech lower house approved the first reading of the digital tax bill on Wednesday. The bill must pass two more readings and clear the upper house Senate – or a new vote in the lower house in case of a veto – before it becomes law.


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Even when spring arrives, you might want to keep the car windows rolled up. That's because -- cough! cough! -- the average age of a vehicle in this state is 10 years, according to the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers.
A provision added to the huge economic stimulus package moving through the Senate is aimed at spurring new-car sales, which could get some of those gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing jalopies off the road. But there's room to improve it.
The measure, and a similar bill in the House sponsored by New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.), would make sales tax and interest payments on car purchases tax deductible for individuals making up to $150,000 and families earning up to $250,000. That would amount to about $1,500 on the purchase of a $25,000 car, its supporters say.
Separately, Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) has proposed a cash-for-clunkers bill that would give owners of older cars a voucher worth thousands of dollars toward the purchase of new vehicles that get better mileage. The trade-ins would have to go on the scrap heap, never to guzzle and spew again.
Pascrell's proposal doesn't demand that buyers upgrade to more fuel-efficient vehicles. Jim Appleton, executive director of NJ CAR, says adding that requirement would be a bad idea. It would discriminate against tradesmen who need pickup trucks and larger vehicles for work, he says. And any restrictions would reduce the pool of buyers and the impact of the plan. "We need to get people buying cars again," Appleton says.
True enough. But providing tax breaks for gas guzzlers doesn't make sense environmentally, or economically when the nation is trying to break its dependence on foreign oil. Hitching Pascrell's tax break to Feinstein's idea for getting low-mileage, high-pollution cars off the road is the way to go.


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It has also introduced an accumulation period for invoicing which can add up to another 30 days to the process – taking it to as much as 90 days for payments to suppliers to clear.
The Staffordshire-based Bristan Group Ltd has written to its suppliers to make them aware of the changes, and to explain why payment could now take much longer depending on the time of the month invoices are received.
The company – one of the country’s largest suppliers of bathroom fittings and supplies – cites changes at its US parent company, Masco, which it says is standardising payment terms across its entire enterprise.
The Forum this week wrote to inform Bristan it is being added to the Hall of Shame, joining other household names including Dell, Argos, United Biscuits and Carlsberg, all of which have been identified previously as slow payers.
The not-for-profit small business support group used the letter to urge Bristan to sign up to the Government’s Prompt Payment Code, where signatories pledge to pay suppliers on time, give them clear guidance and encourage good practice throughout the supply chain.
“Small businesses continue to suffer from the blight of late payment, which devastates cash flow and forces firms into administration,” said the Forum’s Senior Policy Adviser, Phil McCabe.
“Companies like Bristan have a responsibility to pay promptly – failure to do so can mean the whole supply chain seizes up and threatens the viability of smaller firms who rely on steady cash flow.
“All too often when small suppliers receive a letter like Bristan have sent out, they have no choice but to agree to the new terms however punishing they are, and remain silent. There is little room for bargaining for the fear they will lose business. That fear is even more daunting in the current economic climate.
“In this case Bristan have increased their terms from 30 to 60 days, but depending on when suppliers submit their invoices, it could be more than 90 days before payment is made. To take what is essentially a quarter of a year to pay out money owed is just not acceptable. Unfortunately, Bristan thoroughly deserve their place in our Hall of Shame.”
Research carried out by the Forum has shown late payment remains one of the biggest barriers to business in the UK. Recent research carried out by the Forum earlier this year saw more than half of Forum members (51%) cite late payment as a problem. Data from Bacs suggests small businesses are now owed a staggering £33 billion in outstanding invoice payments – a rise of 10% on last year.
The Late Payment Hall of Shame is part of the Forum’s own campaign to tackle the culture of poor payment in the UK. If you would like to shop a firm which is a slow payer contact 0845 130 1722.
A leading UK producer of bathroom products has been entered in to the Forum of Private Business’s late payment ‘Hall of Shame’ after it increased its payment times from 30 to 60 days.


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Outback Steakhouse has launched lunch nationwide, with a selection of 70 combination meals that start at $6.99, the Tampa-based operator said Monday.
The chain has expanded lunch into 70 percent of its 988 U.S. locations.
“Our customers want fast, high quality, affordable and delicious mid-day meal options, so now Outback restaurants will offer lunch at last,” Outback Steakhouse president Jeff Smith said in a statement. “We’re excited to offer a tremendous variety of bold, fresh lunch options in addition to all of our Outback favorites.”
Outback has gradually increased the number of its restaurants that offer lunch over the years. It started the nationwide rollout now that most units offer the daypart.
The company said lunch could add $1 billion in sales if it can achieve the 10-percent market share it has at dinner.
Outback’s lunch menu includes a full selection of steaks, as well as 70 combos including a Ribeye Melt sandwich, featuring ribeye topped with grilled onions, bacon and Cheddar cheese with garlic aioli. There are also Aussie Tacos with a choice of steak, chicken or fish. Lunch service starts at 11 a.m.
The company also offers online ordering for pickup and curbside to-go orders, as well as click-through seating enabling customers to get on a waiting list before they arrive at the restaurant.
Outback is one of a number of casual-dining chains looking to improve its revenue by boosting lunch business. Last week, Buffalo Wild Wings introduced its B-Dubs Fast Break Lunch program, which has a specific menu and service strategy to get customers in and out in less than 40 minutes.
Such efforts come as casual-dining chains look to reclaim business they lost at lunch to high-growth fast-casual chains like Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill.


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The iPhone 11 vs. the competition: The new midrange
Just because it's not a "Pro" doesn't mean the new iPhone is underpowered.
OnePlus TV may come with eight speakers and Dolby Atmos support
The speakers will deliver 50 watts of power and 'punchy bass.'
5G-friendly OnePlus 7 Pro is now available at Sprint
The first 5G OnePlus in the US will set you back $840.
GlobalFoundries lawsuit threatens sales bans against Apple, NVIDIA
The chip makers claims TSMC violates its patents.
OnePlus TV will run ‘optimized’ Android TV software
Company CEO Pete Lau also promised the device will cost less than the competition.
OnePlus TV arrives in India next month
A US release will follow at a later date.
The Galaxy Note 10+ vs. the competition: The behemoth gets bigger
And say farewell to the headphone jack.
The Galaxy Note 10 vs. the competition: Smaller screen
The display may have shrunk a bit, but it's still a beast of a device.
Sprint's next 5G phone is made by OnePlus
Good for the carrier, not so hot for OnePlus fans.


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Milford Haven Pilots (Pilot Movie 1)
published on 1 August 2020 - 226
Found on YouTube. Created by "Haven Pilots".
Video Milford Pilots during lock down (Pilot Movie 3)
Video Milford pilots 25th May 2020 (Pilot Movie 2)
Article Port of Oakland welcomes biggest ship ever this week
by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 19 April 2020
Coronavirus may be hampering global trade but it hasn't broken the supply chain at the Port of Oakland. The latest evidence: the largest ship ever to call in Oakland arrives this week. The container vessel MSC Anna is scheduled to berth at the Port April 16.
The ship will tie up at Oakland International Container Terminal on the Oakland Estuary. The Port said that the 1,312-foot-long vessel is on special assignment from Geneva-based shipping line MSC. It’s collecting a backlog of empty containers in Southern California before arriving in Oakland. It’s scheduled to spend 24 hours here discharging import containers and loading exports.
Video Sail training ship "Amerigo Vespucci" operated by the Livorno Pilots
Found on YouTube. Created by "FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA PILOTI DEI PORTI".
On Monday 29th June the school ship Amerigo Vespucci left the port of Livorno for the education campaign of the official students of the Naval Academy.
To assist the school ship also the Pilots of the Port of Livorno with the com.te Marino Biancotti.