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McLaren Shows P1 Prototype Driven by Jenson Button
McLaren P1, which heading towards production, made a brief appearance at the McLaren Technology Centre. And it was driven by 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button!
As a matter of fact, this formed part of the launch event for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2013 Formula 1™ challenger, the MP4-28. In addition, Sergio ‘Checo' Perez, who is the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes official driver came to the event in a stunning orange McLaren 12C Spider.
His team teammate followed him with the camouflaged McLaren P1. The latter debuted as a Concept study at last year's Paris Motor Show which was held in September. Of course, it immediately provoked huge interest and a eager anticipation for its official release.
Since then, the development of the technology beneath the carbon fibre skin of the P1 hasn't stpped. The model is currently a subject of testing and it is expected to be the best driver's car in the world on road and track.


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Could we eventually see Microsoft Flash and Microsoft Photoshop? Believe it or not, Microsoft acquiring Adobe was among the topics discussed in a meeting between the two companies' CEOs—at least according to the New York Times, which was tipped off by "employees and consultants" involved or familiar with the talks.
The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, covered a number of topics, but one of the main thrusts of the discussion was Apple and its control of the mobile phone market and how the two companies could team up in the battle against Apple. A possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft were among the options.
The Times throws in an interesting detail. Quoting "another person with knowledge of the talks," it says Microsoft already approached Adobe about a merger "several years ago," but negotiations never became serious because of fears that antitrust regulators would get in the way. Microsoft gobbling up such a big player in the software industry would probably have raised red flags.
Today, however, the Times reckons Google and Apple make Microsoft look like less of an 800-lb gorilla. University of Chicago law professor Randal C. Picker chimed in to say "the technology landscape [is] drastically different now and . . . an acquisition or partnership of this nature would likely not be halted."
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|Radeon Pro specs hint at a full-fat Polaris 11 GPU in MacBook Pros||21|
|We're giving away our Aimpad R5 review unit||10|
|Apple's latest MacBook Pros ditch the F keys||100|
|In the lab: Gigabyte's GeForce GTX 1050 G1 Gaming graphics card||6|
|Google's Jamboard takes the whiteboard into the cloud||9|
|Transcend hops on the 3D NAND bandwagon with the SSD 230||4|
|Apple puts its AirPods in the oven a little longer||32|
|Microsoft helps hardware companies make VR more affordable||18|
|Intel P3100 M.2 SSD has datacenters in mind||9|

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2022 Nissan Pathfinder Preview: What We Know So Far
The 2022 Nissan Pathfinder has recently been announced and is expected to see a full redesign. Memphis drivers can read on to learn more about the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder redesign, as well as the expected 2022 Pathfinder pricing and release date. We’ll also go over the 2022 vs. 2021 Nissan Pathfinder and what’s changed for the new model year. If, after reading, you have more questions about the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder, contact Wolfchase Nissan in Bartlett. We’ll answer questions you might have about this new Nissan SUV!
When is the Expected 2022 Nissan Pathfinder Release Date?
The 2022 Nissan Pathfinder is expected to be released in Summer of 2021! Keep your eyes peeled for 2022 Pathfinders arriving at our Bartlett Nissan dealership in the near future.
How Much Will the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder Cost?
Nissan has not yet disclosed the price of the next 2022 Nissan Pathfinder. Since this will be a full redesign, we expect it to cost a little more than the 2020 model. However, this new Nissan SUV’s trims will likely remain within a price range that begins in the low $30s and peaks in the upper $40s. Just remember to take pricing info in our 2022 Nissan Pathfinder preview with a grain of salt, and check back for live updates. We’ll have the official pricing as soon as it’s public.
2022 vs. 2021 Nissan Pathfinder: What’s Changed?
First things first, the 2021 Nissan Pathfinder never was. The most recent iteration of the Pathfinder was the 2020 release. Nissan skipped 2021 to prepare for an early release for the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder in the Summer of 2021. So, more accurately: how will the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder redesign differ from the 2020 model? How do the two models compare?
2022 vs. 2021 Pathfinder Similarities
- The 2020 Nissan Pathfinder 284-hp 3.5-liter engine remains for 2022.
- They also share the same suspension.
- Both models are expected to have identical cabin dimensions.
2022 vs. 2021 Pathfinder Differences
- The 2022 Pathfinder will feature a new all-wheel drive system.
- Nissan is also introducing a new transmission for 2022.
- A new electric steering rack will allow you to better adapt your Pathfinder’s handling to the roads ahead.
- Cargo space has been increased from 16 cubic feet to 16.6 cubic feet.
- The 2022 Nissan Pathfinder is undergoing an exterior design overhaul.
- All seats can now be upgraded to captain’s chairs.
- Nissan has added additional storage cubbies around the cabin to optimize cargo space.
Test Drive a New Pathfinder SUV in Bartlett
The Nissan Pathfinder skipped 2021 in anticipation of an early release date in 2022. If you’re interested in test-driving the 2020 Nissan Pathfinder in Bartlett while you wait for the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder, call Wolfchase Nissan at 800-721-9255. We can also answer any outstanding questions you have about our 2022 Nissan Pathfinder preview, whether they be related to the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder release date, pricing, or redesign highlights. Be sure to also explore our Nissan research guides for more information about the Nissan powertrain warranty and more!
Recent News From Wolfchase Nissan
The new Nissan Murano would look fantastic in any Arlington driveway. But can it handle towing your jet ski or ATV? How much can aNissan Murano tow? The 2021 Nissan Murano towing capacity is an impressive 1500 pounds. Let’s talk about that in more detail, as well as discuss the Nissan Murano horsepower and other…
The 2021 Nissan Altima interior seamlessly blends high-tech luxury with everyday practicality, along with plenty of style for the road ahead. Not only does the smart design maximize space within this midsize sedan, but Nissan also equipped the 2021 Altima with all of the upscale comforts and conveniences that make your drive better than…
The all-new, next-generation 2022 Nissan Frontier is finally here, and it doesn’t hold anything back! The classic design gets a futuristic upgrade and top-tier technology that is sure to liven your Memphis drives. Follow along with Wolfchase Nissan to see what’s changed between the 2022 vs. 2021 Nissan Frontier, and explore the other exciting features…


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There's a jar in the GrassRoots smoke shop on Rapid City's north side collecting tips for a purpose.
"We're going to rent a bus and a driver and go all the way to Pierre," Sharon Neva, the shop's owner, said Thursday.
The farm bill awaiting President Trump's signature aims to legalizes industrial hemp and its offshoot products across the country — but not necessarily in South Dakota. With that in mind, local merchants who previously sold cannabidiol (CBD) oils and lotions, especially the hemp-extracted kind with cures reported for aches and pains to anxiety and seizures, want to be heard at the legislative session in January.
"They (legislators) can look us in the eye and tell us they don't care," said Neva, who believes the Legislature needs to overturn parts of a 2017 law that criminalized CBD by making it a schedule 4 illegal substance, the same as narcotics.
Leonard Vandermate, the owner of the Hemporium Boutique, was among those who sold CBD oils in Rapid City until law enforcement from the county and state told him to remove the products from the shelves of his store, which opened in 2017. Since then, he's felt the sting of the state's law.
"It's been deadly slow," he said last week. "We've been hanging on by a thread just trying to fight this thing."
How CBD — oils with very low to no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels derived from the seeds of marijuana and its non-psychoactive sibling hemp — have gone from "miracle drug" legalized for sale in several states, while still technically illegal at the federal level — to a narcotic in South Dakota is a long and winding road of state and federal lawmaking.
The 2014 Farm Bill's Section 7606 allowed universities to perform research on industrial hemp, which created an opening for manufacturers. Then, a small section in the 2016 federal Omnibus Bill went a step further and allowed hemp to cross state lines.
Vandermate started an online company in 2015, and sold CBD oil — which users can apply in lotion form to aches or take orally to reduce anxiousness — at a tent at the 2016 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
"The police van was sitting right there," he said. "The cops would come on in, check us out, and they were completely fine with it."
But then came Senate Bill 95 in the 2017 South Dakota Legislature. Proponents saw SB 95 a way to catch up with the rest of the country in legalizing some cannabis-derived medication. Critics called it a monopoly takeover.
"South Dakota has a tradition of being a petri dish for these big companies that come in and want to test legislation on us," said Pat Cromwell, of Rapid City, who promoted a change to SB 95 when she ran unsuccessfully for the state senate last fall. "What happened here was 'Big Pharma' came in and wrote themselves into the backdoor to be the only drug company able to lay claim to CBD products."
Sioux Falls Sen. Blake Curd, a Republican, authored SB 95, which sought to legalize a hemp-based version of CBD for medicinal purposes. Curd testified before a Senate committee about the lack of hallucinatory effects of CBD oils, especially those derived from hemp.
"You're more likely to drown in hemp than get high from it," Curd said.
The legislation cut CBD out of the criminal definition of marijuana. However, an early amendment sought and received by GW Pharmaceuticals, a British company that also goes by the name Greenwich Biosciences and had two lobbyists in Pierre, stipulated that only CBD with FDA approval should be decriminalized.
At the time, GW's product, Epidiolex, a medication that treats seizures in children, was proceeding through FDA trials. The amendment passed 4-3. The final text version of SB 95 as it passed into the House categorized CBD that did not receive FDA approval a schedule 4 of illegal substance. Suddenly, several distributors across the state, including Vandermate and Neva, were set to face a class 4 felony, or 10 years in prison or a fine of $20,000 for selling CBD.
While other states paved and widened roads for hemp-derived products and supplements, South Dakota put up a one-lane tollway. When Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed the bill into law on March 27, he essentially legalized one product — Epidiolex — that wouldn't be sold in South Dakota pharmacies and shops for another year and made criminal the possession and sale of many hemp-derived, low-THC-containing products already on store shelves.
In April 2017, Neva removed CBD products — what she calls 65 percent of her business — from the inventory of her Rapid City store.
"It really hit us," she said. "Hopefully, CBD will be legal again, and we can start carrying it again. I had one gal in here crying, saying, 'my father has stage 4 cancer and before he started taking CBD he was just in bed, he was ready to die. Now, he's up again enjoying life.
In the year-and-a-half since, users of CBD have drifted to other products or places, Neva said. Those interviewed by the Journal said they've sought products online, through the mail, or by traveling to Colorado or Montana.
There's a risk, however. A Nebraska couple selling CBD products faced prosecution in Nebraska, which is one of the three states, along with South Dakota and Idaho, that doesn't allow CBD without FDA approval or a doctor's prescription.
Some are willing to take a chance, though.
Myrriha Roush suffers from hip dysplasia. At times, she could barely walk, arriving to work at her job in the Black Hills only to be sent home by supervisors. Then, she started taking the gummy bear form of CBD after it was offered by a friend. The results astonished her.
"It worked," Roush said. "For the first time in a long time, I could run without pain, without having to swing my leg to the side."
Roush has since matriculated to a $40-a-bottle version that is derived from marijuana. Although her product, she said, still has under 0.3 THC content (not enough to derive any euphoric feeling), marijuana-derived CBD would not be legal in South Dakota even with a repeal of SB 95's FDA-stipulating amendment. Still, Roush believes such a move would be a good start.
"Some of my friends do have good results with the hemp stuff," she said. "One gets help with her seizures. So, it wouldn't help me out too much, but for my friends, it definitely would."
The state's attorney general's office, said in an email to the Journal that CBD oils — even the hemp-derived variety — will not be legal without FDA approval even after President Trump signs the $867 billion 2018 Farm Bill, which recently passed the U.S. Senate and House.
Given the doctrine of preemption would in theory suggest a federal legalization of hemp would overrule a state drug scheduling, some expect relief to be sought in the courts.
"What’s going to happen is this will be a lawsuit," said Eric Schlimgen, a Rapid City attorney who has researched and written about the state's marijuana laws. "Some store that has the resources to stock this and bring a lawsuit could challenge the law in light of the new farm bill, or it could be financed by one of the companies that makes the product."
State Sen. Susan Wismer, of Britton, said Wednesday she intends to bring legislation to Pierre that will seek to pull back the FDA requirement from CBD products.
"It's always been shot down because it's not been legal at the federal level," she said. "And we had no interest in passing legislation that was going to make us in violation of federal law, but now that hurdle appears to be gone."
But any change could still face steep opposition. In part, as Cromwell noted, a stigma remains against CBD oils, even those made from hemp.
"You wonder, 'will I be labeled another person pushing for marijuana? A pothead over 60?'" Cromwell asked. "There's a general sense that this is coming all across the country, but we'll probably be last because that's just how we like to roll in this state."
A spokeswoman for Gov.-Elect Kristi Noem's incoming administration said the new governor would likely not be interested in touching the CBD stipulation as currently written in the law.
"Governor-elect Noem maintains that substances derived from cannabis should go through the proper FDA approval process, as other medications are required to do," Noem's Press Secretary Kristin Wileman said via email.
At Vandermate's shop, he's rounding up people for his new political organization — CBD4SD. After multiple surgeries, he found relief from CBD and says many others have, too.
"From adults who live in chronic pain our options are really limited," he said. "We either live with chronic pain and our quality of life is reduced to being hermits in our household, or we break the law to risk having CBD oil in our possession."
Back in the GrassRoots shop in Rapid City, Neva is trying to plan for a future whichever way the road leads. After pulling CBD from her shelves, she started carrying kratom, a plant from southeast Asia long used for its medicinal value.
"It's a great alternative," Neva said. "Some people, it's not for them, but there's a market for it. I had a vet in here — who has anxiety, PTSD — who'd been buying kratom online, but he was relieved to have a place locally to shop. You know, it's just a plant, whereas we'd apparently rather send people toward opioids. It doesn't make any sense."
Contact Christopher Vondracek at Christopher.Vondracek@rapidcityjournal.com.


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The line "[evokes] the spirit of idyllic days playing racquet sports," and has everything you need to go "from the tennis court to the boardroom," according to the press release.
A special immersive activation for the line at Neiman Marcus NorthPark in Dallas includes a mini tennis court alongside the boutique, and will run through May 8. The "Summer Set" collection, which includes handbags, women's shoes and ready-to-wear men's and women's pieces will be available online and in 14 stores.
“The relationships we have with our brand partners result in the creation of these unique activations that make life extraordinary for our customers. We saw tremendous success with the Balmain x Barbie collection last year and are excited to celebrate this new expression of their brand," Lana Todorovich, the chief merchandising officer of Neiman Marcus, said.
"Ever since Pierre Balmain’s first visit to Dallas—way back in 1947—Neiman Marcus and the house of Balmain have enjoyed a very special relationship. That' why I was so happy to create this summer collection that combines our shared passions for French heritage and Parisian savoir-faire with modern spins on classic summer-sport silhouettes," Olivier Rousteing, Balmain's creative director, said.


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FRACTIEBERICHT - EUROPESE GROENEN
Greens back dairy farmers' protests
Commenting on today's protests in Brussels by European dairy farmers, Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, vice-chair of the European Parliament's agricultural committee, said:
"Milk prices have fallen over 30% in the last year and Greens support European dairy farmers who are protesting against price dumping in Brussels today. Milk production in Europe must be driven by quality and consumer needs, which implies some supply management. Scrapping milk quotas with no alternative system would be a huge mistake - Greens voted against the proposal in Parliament and call on EU agriculture ministers to prevent it from happening.
"The milk market is dominated by a handful of big chains that are free to dictate prices. We need binding competition legislation to prohibit discounters from selling milk below production cost. Farmers must however take their share of the responsibility by managing their milk production wisely and fighting for an equal footing on the milk market, which will result in fair prices in the long-term.
"Greens also demand an immediate halt to export subsidies that lead to milk and other agricultural products being forced on the world market at discount prices. This dumping destroys local production and livelihoods in developing countries and undermines the EU's credibility in tackling the global food crisis."


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February 13, 2023 11:00 AM ET |Source: GreyViews GreyViews
Pune India, Feb. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shiitake Mushroom Market Size By Product Type (Frozen, Fresh, and Dried), By Application (Food and Beverage, Personal Care, Dietary Supplements, and Pharmaceuticals), By Distribution Channel (Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, Specialty Stores, Convenience Stores, and Online Sales Channels), Regions, Segmentation, and forecast till 2030. Ashwagandha Extract
The market has been studied for the below mentioned-segmentation and regional analysis for North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. These are the key regions where the shiitake mushroom market is operating and is predicted to expand soon. The manufacturers and suppliers involved in the shiitake mushroom market are present across various countries in the above-mentioned regions.
Get The Free Sample Report Within 30 Minutes @ https://greyviews.com/reports/shiitake-mushroom-market/587/request-sample
The report provides a detailed understanding of the market segments which have been formed by combining different prospects such as the product type, application, distribution channel, and region. Apart from this, the key driving factors, restraints, potential growth opportunities, and market challenges are also discussed in the below paragraphs.
The significant players operating in the global shiitake mushroom market are Bonduelle SA, Banken Champignons, Modern Mushroom Farms INC., Brewer's Mushrooms, Oyster Island Mushrooms LLC, Monterey Mushrooms, Inc., White Mountain Mushrooms, LLC., Hirano Mushroom LLC, Rain Forest Mushrooms, Rocky Bottom Mushrooms LLC among others. To achieve a substantial market share in the worldwide shiitake mushroom market and strengthen their position, manufacturers are pursuing expansion methods such as current developments, mergers and acquisitions, product innovations, collaborations, and partnerships, joint ventures.
A growing number of drugs are being developed from shiitake mushrooms to treat cardiovascular diseases and to manage weight, due to their low calorie content. Increasing numbers of vegans are also driving the market. In addition, the growing use of shiitake mushrooms in food processing is driving its growth. In the past two decades, lifestyle and diet habits have significantly changed. Urbanization and consumerism drove this change, leading to an increase in the consumption of artificial and synthetic food products, which has increased the incidence of lifestyle diseases, which is booting the demand for shiitake mushroom and hence boosting the market growth. A growing number of applications in processed foods will further cushion the market’s growth rate, as well as emerging applications in the cosmetics industry. Shiitake mushroom cultivation market growth rate will be positively impacted by factors such as high nutritional and medicinal value and cost-effectiveness associated with mushroom cultivation.In recent years, there has been a decrease in shiitake production across region as a result of weather fluctuations and a specific temperature requirement for shiitake cultivation, which has slowed the growth of the market for shiitake mushrooms. Moreover, new opportunities will arise with the growth of functional foods and dietary supplements within the shiitake mushroom market as consumers and manufacturers become more aware of its health benefits.
Scope of Shiitake Mushroom Market Report
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Fresh segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.
The product type segment is frozen, fresh, and dried. The fresh segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period.It is estimated that the fresh segment holds a market share of around 43% in 2021. Fresh shiitake mushrooms have several health benefits and can be widely used in the food processing industry. Among health-conscious people, fresh mushrooms have few preservatives, making them a good choice. Aside from this, fresh mushrooms are less expensive than frozen or processed mushrooms.
Personal care segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.
The application segment is food and beverage, personal care, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals. The personal care segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. A dramatic change in people's lifestyles and nutrition habits has occurred over the past two decades. Urbanisation and consumerism contributed to this trend, leading to a rapid increase in the use of artificial and synthetic foods, leading to an increased incidence of lifestyle diseases. Due to this increased awareness of these issues, people are increasingly turning to functional foods and beverages, which are promoted to provide more than basic nutrition; these products are also claimed to lower the risk of disease as well as provide optimal nutrition.
Hypermarkets & supermarkets segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.
The distribution channel segment is hypermarkets & supermarkets, specialty stores, convenience stores, and online sales channels. The hypermarkets & supermarkets segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The market for shiitake mushrooms is dominated by hypermarkets and supermarkets, since these chains have a vast spread network across the country making them easily accessible.
The regional analysis provides a detailed perception of the key regions and the countries. Some of the key countries analyzed for the shiitake mushroom include the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Peru, UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.
Germany's shiitake mushroom market size was valued at USD 0.15 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 0.29 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2023 to 2030. There is an increasing demand for vegetarian food and increased production of processed foods as a result of consumer preferences, driving the market. Germany dominates the shiitake mushroom market in Europe as people become more aware of their health benefits.
China’s shiitake mushroom market size was valued at USD 0.17 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 0.33 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.8% from 2023 to 2030. To meet the demand of both the domestic and international markets for mushrooms and truffles, China produces the world's largest amount of mushrooms and truffles. The harvesting, growing, processing, and marketing of mushrooms is carried out by over 25 million Chinese farmers.
India's shiitake mushroom market size was valued at USD 0.13 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 0.25 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2023 to 2030. As Indian customers become more aware of shiitake, golden, oyster, and white button mushrooms, as well as dried and canned mushrooms, the shiitake mushroom industry in the region is expected to grow due to current lifestyle trends and product safety concerns.
Covid-19 Impact Covid-19 had a major impact on almost all industries, such as electronics, semiconductors, manufacturing, automobile, etc. However, several companies operating in the technology sector have seen increased revenue due to significant changes in consumer preferences toward technological services. In addition, the pandemic has led to significant growth in technology across developing and developed countries.
Furthermore, the growth of the depression treatment market is mainly driven by rising awareness about the health benefits associated with shiitake mushroom.
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The calendar, a source of comfort and joy for retailers during the holiday season of 2012, might generate more anxiety than confidence this year.
In its preliminary forecast for the season, Chicago-based retail traffic counter ShopperTrak projected that sales during November and December would increase 2.4 percent over 2012 levels, lower than the 3 percent increase registered during holiday 2012.
Apparel and accessories sales are expected to come in slightly stronger for the season, rising 2.8 percent.
However, shoppers, armed with a growing arsenal of tablets and smartphones and more apps for them, are expected to be more focused in their hunt for gifts and less apt to engage in leisurely browsing of malls and stores. ShopperTrak expects traffic to dip 1.4 percent from 2012 levels, which rose 2.5 percent from the prior year. For apparel and accessories, the traffic decrease is expected to come in at 1 percent.
Much of the pressure on retailers will come from an unforgiving calendar. Last year, the window between Black Friday and Christmas Day was a full 32 days, the maximum possible, and this year will swing in the opposite direction, shrinking to 25. The seven-day difference will also mean one less weekend during that stretch.
The Jewish calendar complicates matters further. Hanukkah this year begins on Nov. 28, the day of Thanksgiving, and just one day before Black Friday. That’s the earliest Hanukkah has started since 1994, when it also fell on Nov. 28, and the last time it will commence at such an early date until 2032, when the menorah will again first be lit on Nov. 28, truncating the market for Jewish holiday gifts as well.
ShopperTrak expects holiday promotions — even the preplanned kind — to start as early as the day after Halloween, which this year falls on a Thursday.
“Nobody can afford to procrastinate,” said Bill Martin, founder of ShopperTrak. “Retailers must have their holiday marketing and operations ready to go when November begins, as consumers will be ready to take advantage of those deals.”
Martin continues to see signs of thrift among U.S. shoppers, with retailers equipped for the selling opportunities in stores and through traditional and Web-based media best positioned for success.
“Although the economy continues to recover slowly, consumers remain cautious about spending and are not ready to splurge,” Martin noted. “Even though online buying increases each year, brick-and-mortar sales remain retail’s largest profit opportunity. Retailers who deliver a seamless experience both in-store and at every customer touch point have the chance to capitalize and grab their share of wallet when shoppers visit the stores.”
ShopperTrak’s projections and results refer to GAFO sales, meaning those related to general merchandise, apparel, furniture and related classifications.
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews
@prada is introducing a new project at its men’s fall 2018 show this Sunday: “Prada Invites.” The fashion house invited four celebrated creative minds – @ronanaerwanbouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, @herzogdemeuron and @rem.koolhaas – to each create a unique item with its iconic nylon material. The designs will be unveiled on the runway show, which will take place at the company’s warehouse in Viale Ortles 25. #wwdfashion #mfwm (📷: @martinocarrera)
@kering_official is spinning off its stake in puma in an effort to focus on its luxury brands, the brand operator announced yesterday. “We are proud to have supported the turnaround of Puma, which now has unrivaled capabilities to take full advantage of the specific dynamics of its global markets and is poised to achieve substantial growth,” said François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chief executive officer and chairman. Artémis will become a “long-term strategic shareholder” of Puma with a 29 percent stake. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
The fashion world mourns for celebrated street style photographer, Nabile Quenum, who died at age 32 in Paris.
Quenum, creator of the fashion blog “J’ai Perdu Ma Veste,” was a fashion week fixture, and regularly shot for New York magazine’s The Cut, among other outlets, and brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moncler and Adidas. He was also actively involved in the #NoFreePhotos initiative, which kicked off in the fall. Read more about Quenum in @kbsmoke's story on WWD.com. #wwdnews
@verwanggang and @maisonladuree have teamed up on a dessert collab called Vera Wang Pour Ladurée. The collection, which launched this week, features a specialty macaroon, as well as a wedding cake inspired by one of the designer’s gowns. “I could not imagine a more delicate or sophisticated creation to grace any couple’s celebration,” said Wang. #wwdfashion


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Entries in 'link' (4)
The annoying thing isn’t so much that there isn’t an option for Link to be female in Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it’s more the weakness of the excuse given ...
Nintendo revealed a new set of Amiibo yesterday, ahead of its livestream introducing its new Legend of Zelda title, Breath of the Wild, at E3.
Valve's long awaited answer to the living room PC, the Steam Machines, are now open for pre-orders.
Hot on the heels of its Vive VR announcement, Steam has introduced another new piece of hardware – the Steam Link.


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Montana's unemployment rate held steady at 5.2 percent in November. The state's rate has declined by half a percent over the last year. The national unemployment rate remains higher than Montana's rate at 7.0 percent in November, down 0.3 percentage points from the prior month.
"Montana's economy continues to perform better than the rest of the nation, steadily adding jobs for our workers," Governor Steve Bullock said. "Strong retail sales during this holiday season will help our economy gain momentum for the next year."
"Retailers hired more workers this holiday season than in prior years, which suggests greater confidence in our stronger economy," said Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy.
Total employment, which includes payroll employment plus agricultural and self-employed workers, added 856 jobs in November. Although employment continues to expand in Montana during 2013, the job growth rate of
0.4 percent this year is slower than the above-average job growth of 2.2 percent during 2012.
Payroll employment indicate that job growth in the private sector was much stronger than growth
overall. Private payroll employment increased by 1,400 jobs over the month, with broad-based gains over all sectors. Seasonal hiring in the retail sector is larger than prior years, suggesting retailers are expecting a stronger holiday sales season. Job losses in government offset the private sector job gains, with a loss of 700 jobs over the month in state and local government. All payroll jobs (both private and public) increased by 700 jobs since October.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in November. Energy prices declined, which offset increases in the food index. Core inflation, measured by the all items less food and energy index, rose by 0.2 percent in November, keeping inflation below historic levels.


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British fashion designer Victoria Beckham says she always takes being a role model seriously and is flattered that people think of her in that light.
The 45-year-old fashionista, in an interview with Britain’s Grazia magazine, was humbled that people across the world look up to her and does her best to set a good example.
Asked how she feels about being a role model, she said: “I am flattered but at the same time take it seriously.”
“I want to advocate being healthy, looking after ourselves. And, as I always say, most importantly, being kind,” the mother-of-four said.
The former Spice Girls star launched her own beauty line last year and she feels so lucky to be expanding her brand.
“For 2020, it’s about continuing the creative journey that I’m on,” she told Grazia.
“I love what I do. I feel so lucky to have the fashion and beauty building side by side and I feel this year is going to be really exciting,” Beckham added.
In 2018, Victoria made the switch from showing her collections at New York Fashion Week to London and she thinks it was a great move. She said, “It just feels right for the brand to show here at the moment. London is so inspiring and creative.”
“I get to see my family in between show prep, which is great. And I try to grab as much sleep as I can as soon as I get home from the studio each night,” she explained.
For her latest collection, the brunette beauty wanted the garments to feel light.
“I’m a minimalist. I don’t like anything to look overly designed. I like it to feel easy,” she said.


text: Online fashion retailer Missy Empire is gearing up for Christmas after recording its most successful Cyber Weekend to date. The Manchester retailer broke records this Cyber Weekend, with sales up 100 per cent on the same period last year. With an offer of 30 per cent off everything for the duration of Black Friday, Cyber Weekend and Cyber Monday, Missy Empire saw sales of close to £500,000 across the four-day period, up from £250,000 last year, whilst conversion rates came in at 5.46n per cent, compared to 4.09 per cent in 2017. Brand owner Ash Siddique saids: “As a brand, we pride ourselves on being open and honest with our customers – none of our prices were inflated prior to our offers launching, which unfortunately has been identified as having been the case with some brands across this promotional period. “Our customers appreciated that and responded by shopping some of our best ever deals – we noted a 50 per cent uplift on sales and boasted record turnover for the four days, despite being just a few days short of payday.” Missy Empire has identified an upwards trend this year, having recently announced record sales in the first half of 2018 and is now on track to hit £12m revenue by the end of the year. The brand has also launched its first taxi advertising campaign.


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Consumers and citizens throughout the U.S. were shocked to hear that 3.8 million vehicles were being recalled by Toyota Motor Corp. due to poorly designed removable floor mats that increased the likelihood of accelerators getting stuck, cars accelerating out of control, and subsequent car accidents. According to a huffingtonpost.com article, this is Toyota’s largest recall to ever take place in the U.S. According to a Toyota spokesman, "A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death."
As Toyota works with officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find a solution for the faulty floor mat issue, owners of these vehicles have reportedly already been notified of the recall. Also, until the problem is fixed, consumers have been advised to take the removable floor mat out from the driver’s side of the vehicle and not substitute it with a replacement.
So what triggered this recall in the first place? Sadly, a high-speed collision took place in California in August involving an out-of-control Lexus automobile exceeding speeds of 120 mph due to a stuck accelerator. In addition to this tragic accident, NHTSA stated that 102 other incidents were reported regarding accelerators on Toyota vehicles that also may have become stuck due to the faulty floor mats.
This recall is undoubtedly a serious issue. If you or someone you know owns a 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350, you might want to tell them about the recall.
Before the floor mat incident, the largest U.S. recall issued by Toyota took place in 2005, involving 900,000 vehicles and a steering problem.
Attorney Howard D. Silver has many years of experience utilizing his extensive knowledge of the California lemon law to help consumers receive their money back on a replacement vehicle when their vehicle does not perform properly. To learn more about your legal rights as a consumer under the California auto lemon law, call the Law Offices of Howard D. Silver at (855) 341-2611 today for a free consultation.


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Industry-leading retailer of aftermarket parts and accessories for off-road vehicles, 4 Wheel Parts, is scheduled to sponsor the 2013 Mint 400 Off-Road Vehicle Parade on March 20. The inaugural parade in Las Vegas celebrates General Tire’s Mint 400 presented by Polaris. For the first time in history off-road vehicles will be showcased cruising down Las Vegas Boulevard.
The rich tradition of past Fremont Street processions is being rekindled and updated by 4 Wheel Parts. “I was honored to take part in the Fremont Street parades years ago and Team 4 Wheel Parts is extremely proud to be involved in this new inaugural parade,” says Jeepspeed racer Eric Heiden. Heiden started racing the Mint 400 in the mid-80s and says it’s great to see the parade tradition resurrected.
The 4 Wheel Parts Mint 400 Off-Road Vehicle Parade kicks off at Circus Circus Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on Wednesday, March 20 at 3:15 p.m. local time. The route travels three miles south and winds up at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. Participants in the event are a segment of the 250+ entries competing Saturday, March 23rd at The Great American Off-Road Race. The Mint 400 has garnered a reputation as the greatest off-road desert race in North America and after a 20 year hiatus it was re-imagined in 2008.


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To market the return of Guitar Hero as Guitar Hero Live, a special event was held in New York where the game was played by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. The reveal event also featured Activision’s CEO, Eric Hirshberg, and the studio head and creative director of FreeStyleGames, Jamie Jackson.
Hirshberg and Jackson talked about the
revived game before the two band members came on to test their skills against the game. Pre-orders opened on Wednesday, and the game will have a full release on smart devices. You can see more gameplay footage here.


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An old hand at Christmas tree sales
At 82, tree seller Paul Sexton isn’t ready for the chop just yet
Paul Sexton, selling Christmas trees in Foxrock, Co Dublin. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
Paul Sexton,who is 82 years of age and probably Ireland’s oldest Christmas tree salesman, plugs in the guard dog. “Woof, woof!” says the guard dog, which is actually an electronic speaker designed to fool burglars.
Made in China, it is activated by a sensor and there’s a picture of a German shepherd on the box. Sexton sells them alongside Christmas trees from a shed by a row of retail units he owns in Cornelscourt.
“Ah he’s great!” says Sexton with admiration, as the electronic dog barks away. “If you’re going out shopping or anything, you can switch on your dog.”
You need good security in the Christmas tree business, a business Sexton has been in for more than 60 years. “We once sold them for five shillings,” he says, referring to the trees. “Now they sell for €50.”
Sexton started selling things in his teens. “There was no pocket money in those days in Co Clare. So we used to grow fruit and veg and sell them to hotels.” While developing this into a wholesale business he also found that there was a market for Christmas trees. “It was an underdeveloped market,” he says, “so we developed it.”
At that time Irish Christmas trees were generally “old tops of trees”. They were fine, he says, but they were “a bit raggedy looking”.
“Now there are Christmas tree farms around the country and they grow trees and export them as well. We pick our trees very carefully – 20 or 30 years ago we had to import them from Denmark because we couldn’t get enough good quality trees here to keep our customers happy.”
Sexton grows them himself, although his current crop is a few years off being ready. “The trick is to keep pruning them so that they keep their shape,” he says. “Otherwise they grow all wild and shapeless.”
Fashions have changed. Twenty years ago most trees sold in Ireland were longer, narrower Norway spruce, but in recent years people have preferred the wider, non-shedding Norse fir variety. Plastic trees have also had an impact on business. “But usually after a few years people get tired of the plastic and go back to real trees again,” he says.
A free one
He has a lot of loyal customers. “I get people who come and say, ‘I used to buy trees off you with my grandad.’ A woman came in the other day and said ‘I’ve bought 40 trees over the years it’s about time you gave me a free one!’ I said, ‘When the recession is over I’ll give you a free one.’”


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The Binge Bang Theory
Binge viewing may be sending spoiler alerts across the internet – and sometimes compressing entire TV seasons into one lazy Sunday – but it looks like it’s here to stay.
It seems only yesterday that the TV season began in September and ended in May.
Almost overnight, it has been compressed into a vacation week, a lazy Sunday or a sick day.
That’s because of Netflix, of course. The streaming service has quickly become one of television’s most delightfully disruptive forces, not only changing the way programming is paid for, produced and distributed, but how audiences are measured.
Perhaps most disruptive is its bold strategy of releasing entire seasons of its new original shows at once — letting viewers watch thirteen or more episodes in quick succession — rather than releasing one episode at a time, week by week, over the course of several months.
But is this new way to view your favorite shows a good thing for the television business? Is binging — defined by Netflix as watching two or more episodes of a show in a single sitting — the way most programming will be consumed in the on-demand future?
Netflix executives definitely believe so. And according to recent viewer studies, so do many of its nearly 40 million subscribers. But television critics, along with a number of Netflix competitors, aren’t so sure. They question how a show’s social-media-fueled buzz factor will be affected when an entire season is consumed in a cocoon of isolation.
It is certainly a hot topic within the industry.
Did Binging Really Boost Breaking Bad?
In recent interviews, Vince Gilligan — creator and executive producer of perhaps the most-binged show in recent memory, Breaking Bad — has wondered aloud whether his program, lightly viewed in its initial seasons on AMC, would have ever found the mass audience it eventually did if legions of new viewers hadn’t caught up with the series on platforms like Netflix, then seamlessly joined the five-season-long train of serialized dramatic storytelling.
Of course, Netflix didn’t invent binge viewing. In the late 1990s, cable networks started airing marathons of classic shows just as viewers were learning to store their favorite series on their digital video recorders. A decade later, binge behavior became routine with the emergence of TV on DVD.
Yet the practice had its limitations. In a world still dominated by ad-supported linear television, there were commercials to skip through and those discs weren’t going to swap out themselves.
But in the on-demand realm of the internet, binging has become ubiquitous, and Netflix has taken the practice to a whole new level, with the next episode of almost any popular serialized drama viewers may have missed on broadcast or cable — Rescue Me, The Tudors, Damages, et cetera — automatically queuing up as soon as the previous installment ends.
Like the next irresistible chapter of a best-selling novel, this system entices the viewer to say, “Okay, just one more episode….”
“They’ve more or less built a perfect mousetrap, and [binge viewing] has become an elemental part of it,” says Verne Gay, TV critic for Newsday.
Other subscription video-on-demand services — like Amazon Prime, Hulu or HBO Go — have also introduced software that swiftly transitions viewers to the next episode. Perhaps most importantly, they have solid libraries of shows to binge on.
But binging on television’s archival past is one thing. Using the strategy with new seasons and fresh episodes had never been done until Netflix introduced its first original series last year.
The New Normal for New Shows
In February 2013, after committing more than $100 million to produce the first season of the Emmy-winning drama House of Cards, Netflix made the first thirteen episodes available for viewing all at once.
The company did the same thing for its next original, the reboot of the Fox comedy Arrested Development, unspooling all fifteen first-season episodes last May. It did it again two months later, with the debut of Jenji Kohan’s Orange Is the New Black.
Suddenly, binging became a central component of the company’s overall strategy.
Touting explosive subscriber growth of late, Netflix executives say the creation of premium original shows is central to its plan and the game-changing “Binge on it” strategy is working.
In December, Netflix proudly headlined a press release, “Binge-Watching Is the New Normal.”
More than 60% of Netflixers Binge Regularly, Study Says
That release featured a study by independent research firm Harris Interactive revealing that 61 percent of 1,500 Netflix users surveyed said they regularly binge-stream shows on Netflix, and 79 percent said TV is more enjoyable when several episodes are consumed at one time.
Meanwhile, another study conducted by Los Angeles entertainment research firm MarketCast found that 80 percent of survey respondents in their twenties said they regularly binge on TV shows online.
“Our viewing data shows that the majority of streamers would actually prefer to have a whole season available to watch at their own pace,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer of Netflix, in the company release.
“Netflix has pioneered audience choice in programming and has helped free consumers from the limitations of linear television.
Our own original series are created for multi-episodic viewing, lining up the content with new norms of viewer control for the first time.”
Of course, since Netflix does not share its viewer data, it’s difficult to determine if this strategy is increasing viewership or influencing subscriber growth. But Netflix has undoubtedly shifted consumer expectations, and competitors have had to respond.
Comcast, Hulu Fall in Line
Shortly after the premiere of House of Cards last year, cable TV giant Comcast made 3,500 episodes of various popular series — many of them premium cable shows, such as Game of Thrones, Spartacus, Girls, Dexter and Californication — available for binge-watching on the on-demand portion of its service for one week.
Comcast subscribers could gorge on the older seasons of these shows even if they didn’t pay for the channel from which they originated.
Hulu, meanwhile, responded by making more than 700 episodes from the various Star Trek TV series available for binge viewing on its free platform.
So far, no other programmer has been so bold as to post a full season of new original episodes for continuous consumption — but they have been thinking about it.
Amazon Mulled All-At-Once Strategy for Alpha House
Just days before his company was set to debut the first post-pilot episodes of its new original comedy Alpha House, Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios, said he and his team were still mulling how many first-season episodes of the show they would make available in November.
Ultimately, they decided to debut only the second and third episodes, before rolling out each of the remaining seven installments every Friday.
“All things being equal, I think people like to have all the episodes available at once,” Price admitted (Amazon, too, has gobs of publicly shielded viewer data from which to draw conclusions). But an all-at-once strategy would have had consequences, namely delaying the premiere of Alpha House.
In fact, the real-world physics of the TV production cycle seem to have influenced Netflix, too.
How Kids on Vacay Influenced the Turbo Fast Team
When it came to the release of the animated kids series Turbo Fast — a spinoff of the DreamWorks Animation feature film Turbo, released in summer 2013 — Netflix executives wanted to debut the show over the subsequent winter holidays, when the characters were still fresh in the minds of young viewers, who — importantly — were out of school and able to binge.
With only five episodes in the can, however, the company opted for a truncated first season, releasing those first five installments on Christmas Eve and telling subscribers, in effect, “We’ll have more episodes real soon.”
The Waiting Game
In this regard, there is one issue recent binging surveys haven’t addressed: will viewers of shows like House of Cards be willing to wait until the entire new season is written, shot, edited and encoded?
Indeed, the release of season two of House of Cards — February 14 — comes 54 weeks after the release of season 1. For viewers who binged on season 1, that is a long time to wait.
For Amazon’s Roy Price, another factor weighing in his decision to release Alpha House in the more traditional, staggered fashion was the isolation that tends to accompany binge viewing.
According to the Harris Interactive study, nearly half of bingers prefer to practice their viewer gluttony alone.
Binging, Price added, “does create a problem for the water cooler. You can see that in the numbers.”
Water Cooler Problems: Spoilers
Even in the DVR age, the weekly incremental unfurling of a popular series allows buzz to build organically: next-day recaps proliferate on the internet and in newspapers; fans share their thoughts, questions and predictions in social media; and yes, a few people still talk about shows at the office water cooler.
“There are advantages to the classic model, particularly in the social media environment,” says Gay of Newsday. “Binging can be a solipsistic exercise — watch when you want — that doesn’t emphasize sharing the experience.”
Indeed, with viewers consuming episodes on vastly different schedules, the opportunity to create natural buzz gets lost amid the online rash of spoiler alerts. It’s very difficult for two people to discuss a show — on social media or even in person — when one person is on episode four and the other has already finished the season.
“Great TV is also all about anticipation, waiting for the next episode, wondering what it will bring, musing about character and motive,” Gay adds. “With binging, the wait is over instantly. For someone who wants gratification instantly, that’s fine. But too much all at once can rob us of that collective social-media moment when everyone is sharing their reactions at the same time.”
Beyond affecting the more esoteric aspects of the viewer experience in ways it may not yet understand, Netflix’s strategy of enabling bingers has also rendered unanticipated economic repercussions.
Netflix is Adjusting Business Practices, Hastings Says
While Netflix was reporting its fiscal 2013 third-quarter performance to investors in October, company CEO Reed Hastings flummoxed some analysts and members of the media with this declaration: “When we started with original content, we didn’t have specific data about viewing patterns for content that premiered on Netflix.
"We decided to use straight-line amortization based on our experience with TV series from other networks. Now we have more specific viewing data for original content, which shows more viewing in the early months of a show’s debut, so we are accelerating the amortization of such content commensurately. We’ll continue to monitor the viewing patterns and adjust the amortization schedule as appropriate.”
Hastings was essentially telling investors that Netflix subscribers were consuming its original series so fast, that the company needed to accelerate the schedule for applying production expenses to the bottom line.
Will Netflix stick to its all-at-once strategy?
At least for now, the answer seems to be yes.
While segmenting season 1 of Turbo Fast, the company nonetheless released all 8 episodes of the second season of Norwegian coproduction Lilyhammer in December (and picked up the third season, to be aired sometime in 2014). And all 13 second-season episodes of House of Cards will be available on February 14, Valentine’s Day.
It seems viewers will have a choice of spending that day with the person they love… or the online series they just might adore.
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On July 19, Digital Trends criticized the decline in sales of Oculus Go and HTC Vive, thereby insinuating that virtual reality technology at large was losing its appeal. The HTC Vive team strongly refuted the report, showing its outstanding sales record.
Based on data provided by Amazon, Digital Trends claimed that the sales of Playstation VR, Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Go, and HTC VIve have plummeted, and that the demand for VR has generally dropped.
“At the time, tech experts declared that high-end PC VR had arrived. The $799 HTC Vive, built for relatively high-end PCs, had the entertainment and gaming world scrambling to develop content for the new system, and sales for the system quickly climbed to an impressive top-50 spot despite the higher price tag. Today, though, its sales rank has plummeted,” the report read, adding that consumers are “done” with virtual reality.
The basis of the majority of “VR is dead” reports released in the past week expressed concerns regarding the drop in the sales of VR headsets. However, the HTC Vive team emphasized that most of the reports did not take the volatility of the production phase of VR headsets into consideration, and assumed massive amounts of VR headsets can be produced without scaling.
Companies like HTC and Samsung operate large-scale supply chains and factories to produce smartphones, laptops, TVs, and many other types of devices. Hence, it is difficult for conglomerates to allocate a large chunk of their resources to a relatively new area in VR manufacturing, and even large-scale corporations need to scale accordingly, based on market demand and consumer adoption.
Throughout July, HTC experienced the largest spike in demand for its Vive headset to date and sold out its inventory. Because the company did not have any VR headsets to sell to the public, data shown by Amazon portrayed a drop in sales when in reality, previous weeks saw an unforeseen increase in sales and HTC could no longer sell more VR headsets to focus on manufacturing.
“VIVE has paced at its highest sales velocity of all time, for weeks on end, and we sold out. For a consumer electronic product in its third calendar year, this continued trajectory is nearly unheard of. Don’t worry, though: we are ramping up production of the original VIVE and units will continue to roll out to online and retail over the coming weeks,” the HTC Vive team said.
New Technology Requires Growth Curve
As with any new technology such as the blockchain, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, the growth of virtual reality will require a significant amount of development and improvement by developers, manufacturers, and distributors before it sees mainstream adoption.
It is inaccurate to claim that the trajectory of VR growth is in danger due to the lack of sales in the short-term triggered by a massive spike in demand, and it is certainly optimistic that companies like HTC are seeing increasing demand for VR headsets, which are still in their infancy as an emerging technology.


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New Volkswagen chief executive Matthias Mueller said the carmaker has drawn up a "comprehensive" action plan to ensure that its diesel models will be able to meet emission standards. Tim Graham reports.
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Asian markets falling on Tuesday to multi-year lows alongside a global sell-off prompted by soft commodity prices and increased pressure from the slowing Chinese economy. Ryan Brooks reports.
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The daughter of Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker is suing Porsche over his death in a crash two years ago. Paul Chapman reports.
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Stocks ended sharply lower on Monday and were on track for their worst quarter in four years as investors worried about China as well as the impact of an interest-rate hike. Leah Duncan reports.
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Apple sold more than 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices in their debut weekend, more than the ten million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models sold in their opening weekend last year. Leah Duncan reports.
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The reductions come as the retailer is trying to shed its "Whole Paycheck" nickname and fend off competition. Shartia Brantley reports.
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Ethiopia has growth rates many in the west can only dream of. As Sonia Legg reports it's hoping a new metro rail system will boost the economy even higher.
01:41Added 79 Views / 0 Likes
The new CEO of Volkswagen starts work facing the daunting task of dealing with the fallout from the emissions scandal. As Tim Graham reports the clean-up has reportedly already begun with several top managers suspended.
01:43Added 61 Views / 0 Likes
New Delhi, Sept 28 (ANI): Trading at the Bombay Stock Exchange today closed 246.66 points down to stand at 25,616.84. At the National Stock Exchange the Nifty closed 72.80 points down to stand at 7,795.70. Rajesh Exports Ltd and Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd
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Spanish financial markets welcome the result of a regional vote in Catalonia, where secessionists won a majority of seats in parliament. As Laura Frykberg reports they're not seen to have a clear mandate to push for independence.
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Metals firm Alcoa will separate into two independent publicly traded companies during the second half of 2016. The split should qualify as a tax-free transaction for shareholders. Shartia Brantley reports.
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Talks between Vodafone and Liberty Global about exchanging assets to better compete in Europe's converging mobile, broadband and TV markets have collapsed. As Grace pascoe reports neither side could agree on the value of their businesses.


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Standard-offer prices are set to rise for medium and large commercial and industrial customers of Central Maine Power Co. and Bangor Hydro Electric Co.
The prices, set yesterday by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, are 6.4 cents a kilowatt hour for CMP customers and 6.3 cents a kilowatt hour for BHE customers, according to a press release. They're effective for six months beginning Sept. 1.
The prices are 16% and 18% higher than current standard-offer prices, respectively. However, compared to the same period last year, the new prices are 11% lower for CMP customers and 14% lower for BHE customers.
Commission Chairman Thomas Welch said the prices "reflect the best bids received in a vigorous competitive auction," saying they follow recent increases in natural gas markets.
The prices don't affect commercial and industrial customers that purchase their own electricity supply in the market. Standard-offer prices for residential and small commercial customers are not affected and will remain at current levels until March 2013.


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Will Micron Stock Lead the Recovery With Q2 Earnings?
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) is scheduled to release its fiscal second-quarter financial results after the markets close on Wednesday. Although Micron stock has fallen from its highs in February, semiconductors could be the first stocks that recover from this market downturn, and investors will first get some insight into this when Micron reports.
Analysts are calling for $0.37 in earnings per share (EPS) and $4.68 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $1.71 in EPS and $5.84 billion.
The company previously issued guidance, but it’s safe to say that this may be subject to change. In December, Micron said that it expected to see EPS of $0.35, give or take $0.06, and revenue in the range of $4.5 billion to $4.8 billion.
As more work moves online to help slow the spread of COVID-19, demand for additional memory, both local and in the cloud, is expected to rise. Higher demand is also projected for servers.
Micron supplies dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) memory chips for servers and NAND flash memory chips for smartphones. These chips have been suffering from supply chain disruptions, but those are expected to resolve themselves by the end of the month.
New servers to meet the demands of cloud services are also expected to be needed. Those devices also require DRAM memory chips.
Excluding Wednesday’s move, Micron stock had outperformed the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 despite a 19.5% retreat year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the share price was actually up about 7%.
Here’s what analysts had to say ahead of the report:
- KeyCorp has an Overweight rating with a $58 price target.
- Credit Suisse has a Buy rating with a $90 target price.
- Wells Fargo’s Overweight rating comes with a $50 price target.
- Morgan Stanley rates it as Overweight with a $53.50 price target.
- Robert Baird has a Neutral rating and a $55 price target.
Micron stock traded down about 4% at $41.58 Wednesday morning, in a 52-week range of $31.13 to $61.19. The consensus price target is $65.01.


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Posted by Dale Buss on May 15, 2013 01:38 PM
Many other auto brands are pinning their hopes for global gains on a continued strengthening of the US market and their position in it. So why not Nissan and its Infiniti luxury brand? The chiefs of both brands are expressing their intentions to leapfrog other marques in the next few years in large part by persuading more Americans to buy them.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that he has ordered his team to double Nissan's sales in the US by 2017. If Ghosn also means to double market share, that would give Nissan about a 15 percent chunk of American car sales within three years, compared with its 7.7 percent share and sales of 1.1 million units last year, up in volume by 5 percent over the previous year.
With the European market difficult for its sibling Renault brand and other national arenas, including China, proving somewhat iffier, Ghosn has focused on his disappointment with Nissan's recent sales performance in the US and has vowed to correct it. Much of the problem stemmed from difficult and late launches of the redesigned bread-and-butter sedan, the Nissan Altima, and other new models last year.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on May 6, 2013 09:15 AM
YouTube close to launching paid subscription channels, reports say.
Amazon launches first Android app-store in China, ahead of Google.
Pfizer lets bashful buyers get Viagra online.
Al Jazeera America plans to open Detroit bureau.
Asustek plans to make small Windows 8 tablets.
Audi considers doubling production at Mexico factory under construction.
Berkshire Hathaway provides peek at era after Buffett.
BuzzFeed takes steps to expand foreign news.Continue reading...
start your engines
Posted by Dale Buss on May 2, 2013 05:27 PM
With their racing heritage and ongoing participation in the sport, Mercedes-Benz and BMW know something about keeping close competitors in their rear-view mirrors. That's why it may take more than a new branding campaign for Lexus—which also races—to take back its US luxury-market leadership from its German rivals this year.
BMW took the American luxury-segment crown away from Lexus in 2011, when the Toyota-owned brand was dealing with short supplies after the earthquake and tsunmi in Japan, and the German brand has held on to it for the last two years. There's been a lot of speculation that Lexus might be able to regain the No. 1 spot in the segment this year because its supply situation is now fully resolved, and it's got some new products.
But that isn't happening—at least not yet. And actually, in April, Mercedes-Benz strengthened its 2013 lead over BMW in the segment, having finished in second place behind BMW for each of the last two full years. In April, the Mercedes brand widened its sales lead to nearly 4,700 vehicles for the year to date over BMW, with nearly 93,000 sold to BMW's more than 88,000.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on April 24, 2013 11:42 AM
It's one thing for Lexus to become a more American brand by building vehicles here, which has been announced in recent days, but a bigger challenge might be recasting the Toyota-owned luxury brand as an aspirational marque for younger consumers.
That is Lexus's goal, and it's in the midst of rolling out a number of initiatives to attempt to achieve that.
The brand plans a rollout of a new global marketing campaign in May under the fresh tagline, "Amazing in Motion." It is emphasizing mold-breaking exterior design for the first time in Lexus history, especially through the introduction of a so-called spindle hourglass-shaped grille. And it is even taking a page from a brand as far afield as GQ, by opening a new series of Intersect by Lexus meeting places in Tokyo, Dubai and New York starting this summer.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on April 18, 2013 08:02 PM
There remain obstacles in doing it, but there's no denying the strong rush of foreign upscale automakers that are announcing plans to expand production in the United States these days.
Toyota is expected to confirm on Friday morning that it is moving production of its Lexus ES from southern Japan to Georgetown, Ky.; Nissan is looking to build a second US plant for its Infiniti brand, which already makes the JX SUV in Tennessee; and German luxury automakers each in their own ways are expanding American manufacturing footprints that used to be mainly afterthoughts. Mainstream players are participating in the trend too, such as Subaru, which is set to expand US production, presumably at its existing plant in Indiana.
For Toyota, one of the keys to its Lexus decision was several years of appreciation in the value of the yen, which made Japan manufacturing cost-prohibitive. Another key in the Lexus decision was recognition that, after decades of closing the gap, the quality standards apparent in US manufacturing by all brands, and by American workers, finally rivaled those established by Japan in the 80s.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on April 18, 2013 09:08 AM
Apple loses throne to Exxon as world's biggest company as its slowdown threatens a $30-billion global supplier web.
Twitter launches music app for iOs devices today.
Burberry sales rise as China growth recovers.
BlackBerry says Alicia Keyes delivers its PowerPoint presentations.
CNN deals with aftermath of erroneous reporting in Boston Marathon investigation.
Carnival plans to spend up to $700 million to upgrade fleet.
Chevrolet says its new Cruze diesel outdoes Volkswagen Jetta diesel in mileage.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on April 15, 2013 07:14 PM
Volvo owners always knew they were different from other consumers. Now, the brand is launching a new, integrated advertising campaign in the US that explicitly appeals to the non-materialistic, minimalist ethos which differentiates Volvo aficionados from buyers of other luxury and near-luxury brands.
In the process, Volvo brand stewards hope to finally begin turning around the sales of a franchise whose US results peaked a decade ago, when the company was owned by Ford, and have kept on sliding over the last few years as Ford lost interest and then, in 2010, sold Volvo to Geely, a large Chinese automaker, for $1.5 billion.
Volvo owners' "interpretation of luxury is different but very real," Tassos Panas, vice president of marketing and product planning for Volvo of North America, told brandchannel. "They're more into life's experiences, and more into a Scandinavian simple design [of vehicles] versus a lot of clutter. They are very much luxury customers and love luxury products, but they don't feel a need to impress others."Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on April 11, 2013 09:16 AM
Deutsche Telekom raises bid for MetroPCS.
The Masters begins at Augusta National today with Tiger Woods again among the favorites.
Toyota and other Japanese automakers recall 3.4 million vehicles over Takata airbag.
Applebee's led first-quarter social media engagement by restaurants.
Barnes & Noble rebrands self-publishing platform PubIt! as Nook Press as it continues to invest in future of Nook brand.
Justin Bieber backs a debit card for teens, from parents.
ConocoPhillips suspends Arctic drilling plan.
Daimler says worsening Europe puts its 2013 profit outlook in doubt.
Dell plans to double sales outlets in China.Continue reading...


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- ‘Rinse and repeat’: 2 inches rain, temps in low 30s forecast this week in Berkeley
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Samsung may be preparing a Windows Phone Mango version of its popular Galaxy S II.
Samsung is currently testing a device named the SGH-i937. WMPU notes that the device includes the same bluetooth profile as Windows Phone Mango and is being reported as a Windows Phone device on the occasional gamers list. The Samsung Galaxy S II device features a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 4.3″ super-AMOLED screen. Samsung also ships the device with an 8MP camera with LED flash and a front facing 2MP camera.
Windows Phone Mango is expected to include front facing camera support. Microsoft has not yet officially detailed the hardware specifications for Mango devices but a HTC device leaked last week. The device appears to confirm front facing cam support for Mango. The HTC Eternity is a 4.7″ WVGA Super LCD device with a 1.5GHz CPU, 8PM camera (with autofocus and dual LED flash) and front-facing 1.3MP camera. The Eternity includes 16GB of storage, DLNA support and SRS surround sound speakers. Beta 2 versions of Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango developer tools include references to front-facing cam support. A new icon appears to be very similar to the rumored “chatter” application that Microsoft may be planning for Windows 8. Details of “chatter” leaked to the internet last month after references to “Chatter” were discovered in early leaked builds of Windows 8. It’s believed that Chatter is a video calling service that will be integrated directly into Windows 8.
Microsoft is expected to ship Windows Phone Mango in the September/October time frame. Nokia will launch its first Windows Phone devices using the new Mango platform. Nokia has previously revealed that it plans to launch its first Windows Phones in six European countries. Nokia plans to launch first in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and the Netherlands. Nokia’s Windows Phone devices are currently labeled with “W” (for Windows). Nokia is also rumored to be launching a dual-core N8 variant with a 12MP camera, QWERTY touchscreen candy bar phone and a cheaper touchscreen device with less expensive body.


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HONG KONG, March 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Vitasoy has always been committed to providing the public with nutritious and tasty plant-based products. During the pandemic period, Vitasoy has been supporting all walks of life, including underprivileged families, cleaning workers and frontline workers, through local non-profit charity organizations. Vitasoy hopes that the public can stay strong and healthy to fight against the epidemic.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Hong Kong Fire Services Department has been dedicated to supporting the frontline relief work and assisting in picking up patients with confirmed infection, contributing to the protection of the lives and health of the citizens. In appreciation of their tireless efforts, Vitasoy will donate more than 100,000 Vitasoy products, including VITASOY soy milk products, VITA lemon tea drinks and VITA distilled water to support the frontline teams and their endeavour through this challenging time.
Vitasoy International Holdings Limited is a leading manufacturer and distributor of plant-based food and beverages. Established in 1940 by the late Dr. Kwee-seong Lo in Hong Kong China, the Company strives to promote sustainable plant-based nutrition through provision of a variety of high-quality products with Nutrition, Taste and Sustainability as the guidelines for its portfolio offerings. Currently, Vitasoy has manufacturing operations in Hong Kong China, Mainland China, Australia, Singapore and the Philippines. Its products are available in about 40 markets worldwide.
Vitasoy is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00345.HK) and included as a constituent of MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index, Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong Index, and Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong Big Bay Area Index, and Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Benchmark Index, and Dow Jones Sustainability Indices – Asia Pacific, among others. Vitasoy website: www.vitasoy.com


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A recent episode of Saturday Night Live poked fun at Kohler with a toilet commercial parody. The spot, starring actor Benedict Cumberbatch, “advertises” a fake product called the Koohl Toilet. Cumberbatch enters a Matrix-style meeting where a televised leader is describing traditional toilets: “It has been designed to make you look stupid and feel foolish. It is against regulation to look cool or feel confident while on the toilet. This is the way it has always been and must always be.”
Cumberbatch smashes open a box, revealing a glossy black toilet from “the future,” and sits on it backwards. “A reverse bowl toilet that you sit on the cool way, backwards with your arms casually draped over the top,” says the voice-over. Kohler, which confirmed that it wasn’t aware of the spoof prior to it airing on the November 5 episode, responded in kind via social media with an image of President and CEO David Kohler sitting backwards on a black toilet.
“The Saturday Night Live Kohler toilet commercial was purely organic and a pleasant surprise,” says Elizabeth Brady, Kohler’s senior vice president of brand management. “We were flattered, enjoyed the satire and have received a lot of positive comments. Kohler has always strived to be innovative and design-forward and provide high-quality products, so it was exciting to see a show like SNL spoof on some of the great work we’ve done to promote toilet innovation. As a brand, we are actively engaged in social media, and the team definitely had some fun crafting our response and extending the reach of this exposure.”
Watch the full clip here.


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With the recent release of Firefox 4, Echofon has just put out a major update of its Twitter extension for Firefox, featuring a new design and takes full advantage of Mozilla's latest browser. Echofon can now be used as a Firefox sidebar or pulled out into a separate window, and it now includes...
When it comes to car-sharing service Zipcar, iPhone users get to have all the fun. But Android users -- who have thus far been relegated to using the mobile website for car reservations -- are about to get in on the app action. Zipcar has confirmed via Twitter that Android users can expect an app,...
Evernote's Chrome extension might not be quite as powerful a tool as Evernote's Mac and PC apps, but it does make a great addition to any note-capturing addict's browser toolbox. The latest update adds common Evernote actions to Chrome's right-click menu, making grabbing a clipping or starting a...
Apple has released iOS 4.3.1, and it's now available via the "update" button in iTunes. 4.3.1 isn't a feature update, but it does fix a graphics glitch for the 4th-gen iPod Touch and some issues with connecting to cellular networks. The update isn't available for Verizon iPhone users -- who...
Just when Instagram had reached the peak of trendiness, along comes the next big thing in mobile photo-sharing: Color. Color is an iPhone/Android app that lets you share location-tagged photos. What's new about Color is the way it builds your contacts: it shows you photos from people who are...
Sharing an entire Dropbox folder can be a bit of a pain, unless it's your Public folder. Plus, Dropbox only natively displays photo galleries for your Photos folder. What's a sharing addict to do? Try Views.fm, a Dropbox viewer that lets you share any folder publicly or with selected friends, and...
Sparrow, the slick-looking alternative mail client for Mac, is no longer Gmail-only! With the release of version 1.1 -- now available in the Mac App Store -- Sparrow supports any IMAP account you've got. That includes MobileMe, Yahoo and AOL accounts, as well as any custom IMAP setups you're...
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DIGITAL MARKETING NEWS
Facebook warns advertisers ‘Clear History’ tool may impact ad targeting
Facebook released an announcement Tuesday letting advertisers know that its coming “Clear History” tool — a feature that will allow users to disconnect their off-Facebook activity from their profile — may impact ad targeting, but will not affect any measurement or analytics tools.
“It’s important to understand that advertising and protecting people’s information are not at odds,” writes Facebook on its Business blog post, “We can do both.”
How the “Clear History” tool will work. Facebook’s Clear History tool was first announced during last year’s F8 Conference when CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his team was working on a tool that would let users clear their browsing history on the platform and see all the apps they had interacted with.
The company clarified the feature doesn’t actually delete a user’s browsing activity or off-line actions, but makes the data anonymous: “If you clear your history or use the new setting, we’ll remove identifying information so a history of the websites and apps you’ve used won’t be associated with your account. We’ll still provide apps and websites with aggregated analytics.”
The Clear History feature is designed to deliver more transparency for users, showing them a list of the apps and websites they have visited that employ Facebook business tools like the Facebook Pixel, SDK and API.
Facebook reports it will be rolling out the new tool in the coming months, more than a year since it was first announced.
Implications for ad targeting. Facebook said that once the tool is live, and users are able to disconnect their off-Facebook activity from their profile, the company will no longer be able to use that data for ad targeting.
“This means that targeting options powered by Facebook’s business tools, like the Facebook pixel, can’t be used to reach someone with ads. This includes Custom Audiences built from visitors to websites or apps,” writes Facebook.
The company recommends advertisers take this under consideration when planning their strategies for the second half of the year.
Measurement and analytics reports. Facebook says it doesn’t anticipate any changes to measurement and analytics reports once the Clear History tool has launched. Because the company is not deleting off-platform activity by users — only making it anonymous — that data will still be available for measurement reports.
“We will still be able to provide accurate measurement to help businesses understand the impact of their Facebook investment, while honoring people’s choice to exercise control over their off-Facebook activity,” writes Facebook.
Why we should care. Facebook has long been a goldmine for ad targeting, but at what cost to user privacy and data security? The Clear History tool addresses a critical issue that has been at the core of Facebook’s ongoing crisis over how it handles user data. The company stresses that a “big component” of the new tool is giving users more transparency into how their data is used and insight into how advertisers use Facebook’s business tools. It also makes the argument that informing people about how their information is being used will only improve how consumers feel about the ads they see.
Our industry is seeing the initial glimpses of a whole new Facebook — one focused on privacy and one-on-one messaging versus public social feeds. For advertisers, this means ad targeting options are likely to become more limited. As we move forward into this new era of Facebook, marketers must reconsider how they connect with their audiences — on and off the platform.


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“This decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November,” the corporate stated in a press release. “Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community.”
Parlement Technologies and Ye had introduced plans for the deal in October. At the time the corporate stated it anticipated the deal to shut through the fourth quarter of 2022.
Ye has been criticised in current months for making anti-Semitic remarks. On November 22, he dined with former US President Donald Trump at Trump’s personal membership in Florida together with Nick Fuentes, a distinguished white supremacist.
In September, Ye terminated his partnership with attire retailer Gap Inc. German sporting items maker Adidas terminated its partnership with Ye in October.
Parler, which launched in 2018, has been reinstated on Google and Apple Inc’s app shops after being eliminated following the US Capitol riots in January 2021.
Discover the tales of your curiosity
Parler is one among a number of social media platforms, together with Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, which have positioned themselves as free-speech options to Twitter Inc previous to its new possession beneath billionaire Elon Musk.


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NEW YORK – King Features and 11 licensees are betting more than $12 million in marketing expenses that the Berenstain Bears can be as popular in the toy market as they are in children’s books. Debuting at this week’s Toy Fair in New York will be a variety of toys from the 31-year-old bear family, whose advice books sold more than 24 million copies in 1992. It’s not the first time King Features has tried to translate the Berenstain brand equity into toys. However, the recent success of Berenstain videos, software and two national promotions with McDonald’s convinced the company the timing was right for another dip into the market. Golzman projects retail sales of $250 million for Berenstain licensed goods this year, which would be an increase of around 500% from 1991.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)


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Join CNET for live coverage of the next-generation Xbox unveiling at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash.
Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One game console at a press event in Redmond, Wash., on May 21, 2013.
Check out our first impressions of the Xbox One (with video).
What is Net neutrality?
Learn about the debate over Internet traffic equality and why it matters.


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Some relief for Airbnb; Peloton’s live classes are going dark
Fox Business Briefs: Airbnb raises money from private equity giant Silver Lake and the investment firm Sixth Street Partners who will now own part of the struggling home-sharing company; Peloton will suspend live classes after an employee tested positive for coronavirus.
Peloton users can now access workouts on Roku.
Continue Reading Below
The fitness company’s app is available on digital media player service Roku, the company announced Wednesday, making Peloton’s fitness content more accessible to consumers across all major streaming platforms.


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The sapphire, a crucial scratch resistance element, might have no supply shortage issue, as a new report claims that Apple has got plenty of supply of the specific material for the upcoming iPhone 6 and iWatch.
According to Mac Rumors, the report has been published by Seeking Alpha, where an analyst, known as Matt Margolis, states that after examining GT Advanced facility of Mesa sapphire plant, he finds that the Cupertino company has abundant supply of the scratch resistant material, and is very likely to produce more than 200m units per year.
GT Advanced has already set up more than 2,500 furnaces. Each of the sapphire containers will weigh more than 200kg. Consequently, the prediction of annual production has been increased significantly from the previous analysis done in February, when Margolis estimated a yearly supply between 100 to 200 million units.
However, the current estimation indicates that Apple will have no problem applying sapphire in every iPhone 6 and iWatch effectively, consequently enhancing the durability.


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MARKET REPORT: Blue-chip shares bounce as oil price breaches $44 following reports Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement on output
The blue-chip index of leading shares put on a late rally fuelled by gains in the price of oil, following reports that Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached agreement on output cuts ahead of a heavily-anticipated meeting of oil-producing nations on Sunday.
Crude oil rose to a five-month high of $44 in mid-afternoon trading shortly after the report from Russia’s Interfax, which sent the FTSE 100 to record intra-day highs for the year. The index closed 42.27 points firmer at 6242.39.
‘The FTSE is breaking higher as commodity gains are fuelling buying across energy and metals producers,’ said Josh Mahony of IG Index. ‘Despite an initially bearish jump in CPI reading, an IMF growth update for China and oil strength has provided enough emphasis to continue the bullish sentiment from this week.’
Crude but effective: The blue chip index of leading shares put on a late rally fuelled by gains in the price of oil
Mining and metal shares were in the ascendant led by Anglo American, on talk US private equity group Apollo is eyeing up a bid with Brazil’s Vale for Anglo’s niobium and phosphates business in Brazil, which could reportedly be worth as much as $1billion.
Anglo jumped 9.2 per cent or 53.6p to 638.7p, further boosted by upbeat comments on rough diamond sales from De Beers, its diamond division.
BHP Billiton rose 3.9 per cent or 30.4p to 808.6p, while Glencore advanced by 5 per cent or 7.05p to 148.55p and Rio Tinto gained 2.8 per cent or 56p to 2086.5p.
Standard Chartered, the Asia-focused bank with significant exposure to the commodity markets, mirrored gains in basic material shares, firming 5.08 per cent or 22.75p at 470.7p.
JP Morgan issued a bullish note on the bank and reiterated an ‘overweight’ stance, citing the significant progress it has made addressing the first stage of CEO Bill Winters’s strategy.
Retail stocks were in the spotlight after France’s LVMH reported that sales in its trend-setting fashion and leather goods division were flat, against market expectations of 3 per cent growth.
In light of the numbers, Credit Suisse was cautious on Burberry, down 0.31per cent or 4p at 1301p.
Meanwhile Moody’s was downbeat on the High Street, and said consumer spending is switching to entertainment from clothing. M&S slid by 1.3 per cent or 5.7p to 437.7p.
Second line High Street retailer Ted Baker was also under pressure after Panmure Gordon initiated coverage with a ‘sell’ recommendation and an intrinsic valuation of £919million, or 1902p per share.
‘Several highly-rated consumer stocks have capitulated over the last quarter, reporting weak like-for-like sales growth over the comparative period,’ analyst Michael Stewart wrote. ‘We think Ted Baker will be the next.’
Panmure’s analysis shows that global underlying sales growth appears negative in the second half of the previous reporting period – leading them to claim that the full year results for 2016 masked this.
The shares, which Panmure reckons are about 38 per cent overvalued according to their calculations, fell 1.2 per cent or 31p to 2604p.
Elsewhere traders were paying attention to Premaitha, the company that has developed a non-invasive test for Down’s syndrome for pregnant women, on talk that a major shareholder has placed out his 18 per cent stake.
Fincap, the broker, is believed to have placed the 41million block of shares with institutions and an existing director of Premaitha, market sources claimed. Premaitha shares were down 5.3 per cent or 0.5p at 8.88p.
Carclo stood out among the small caps after the supplier of technical plastics products for the medical and industrial sectors – as well as LED lighting for luxury super cars – was bolstered by a positive year-end trading update. The shares gained 12.2 per cent or 15.5p to 142.75p.
However, City of London Investment Group was under the cosh after third quarter results in which the asset-management group made no mention of the likely year-end divi. ‘The dividend will remain a key valuation metric,’ said analysts at N+1 Singer. The shares closed down 5 per cent or 16p to 301p.
Quantum Pharma shares were up 2.22 per cent or 1.25p at 57.5p after the Medicines and Healthcare Regulator Agency approved two strengths for Vitamin D capsules it manufactures.
Four products will be licensed – both branded versions, and the cheaper generic versions. Vitamin D is mostly absorbed from sunlight but an increase in the use of sunblock due to rising awareness of skin cancer has seen a spike in levels of Vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to rickets, bone deformities and osteoporosis.
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