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EW guest editor Paul Woodward finds out the sky’s the limit for Jean-François Quentin’s Constellar group
There’s nothing like an ambitious goal and access to the resources which might enable you to achieve it to light up a new CEO’s eyes. Jean-François Quentin, a veteran of Easyfairs, UBM and, most recently, RX, has recently taken the helm at Constellar in Singapore. The company is the newly rebranded progeny of the merged SingEx and Sphere Exhibits. Backed by Singapore corporate giants Temasek and SPH Group, Quentin says “the sky’s the limit” when it comes to the sort of deals the company could do.
And those ambitious goals? Constellar is, he says, currently a business turning over roughly $80m. He wants to see it enter the global top 20 within 3–5 years. That means targeting a turnover of more than $200m. To get there, he admits, “we will need to be strongly acquisitive”.
Those opportunities could come anywhere in the world, but Quentin is in no rush. He has mapped out a three-stage strategy. The company is already involved in five markets; Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and India. Consolidating existing opportunities in Singapore will come first. Then, Quentin will be looking for business opportunities across the rest of Asia. A review of that is now underway, he says.
But he knows they will have to be opportunistic when other, larger opportunities come onto the market in other parts of the world. “Temasek [which controls 60% of Constellar] has made a clear statement to our chairman that they really want to go further in this market”. They have the resources, he adds, and the team to drive successful acquisitions. He concedes that one of the global top three companies might be beyond their ambitions at this stage but believes that they would be a strong contender to acquire the next $100m-$200m turnover business which comes to market. “We could even enter in the top 10 depending on who’s going to be in the market,” Quentin believes.
But it won’t be all acquisitions at Constellar. Quentin also has an ambitious vision for the company in terms of partnerships. “We want to be a reference partner in Southeast Asia”, he says, targeting 50:50 joint ventures as a key pillar of the company’s expansion strategy. “We want to build what I would call intelligent partnership,” explains Quentin, “meaning that we don’t just want to be managing an event on someone’s behalf. We bring intelligence. We bring customer insight. We bring networks, and at the end we’re going to build the audience in this region and with the network that we have”.
With the 100,000sqm Singapore Expo facility as a key part of the company’s portfolio, Quentin notes that they are already positioned to work across all four components of the MICE business. “We not only rent out space, but we are also providing digital marketing and other services,” he says. The venue business is likely to remain as it is in Singapore, with international expansion focused on the company’s event organiser activities.
But there have been recent investments in the venue which Quentin thinks will make it particularly well suited to future events. He cites the 5,000sqm exhibition hall in Singapore Expo, also the country’s largest hybrid broadcast studio with a 54m long LED widescreen and up to 1,000 seats with safe management measures - as an example of this. “I think we have very, very strong capabilities to manage hybrid events with the skills as well to professionalise the hybridisation of events,” Quentin says, adding “It’s not about commercialising a venue. It’s about providing solutions that can bring your event to a different level”.
He is targeting a very high level for events in which Constellar hopes further to develop its own IP. “If you look at Singapore, I think it’s a place where you can really reinforce our positioning in organising C-level events,” says Quentin. He recognises that different rules apply for events of this type to be successful and believes “we need to bring in some strong people from the content industry”, adding: “we need to build up high level skills in this sector”.
As an example of what can be achieved with both hybrid technology and targeting very high-level participation, Quentin cites the Singapore FinTech Festival. This “is one of our key brands and an event we have developed for five years now with the Monetary Authority in Singapore,” he says. He is impressed that the Constellar team was able last year to develop an event which ran virtually round the world with some 2,000 speakers and 1,500 ‘exhibitors’ in 160 countries, attracting an audience of 60,000 people. This presents a dilemma today, he says. “Obviously it will come to normal, and people want to meet. But you can’t just say we are going to have a physical event. You need to take into account the fact that you have been able to bring some people from 160 countries, as an audience to a seminar or roundtable. Somehow, I think this will stay,” Quentin believes.
The sorts of investment required to fulfil some of the digital goals the industry is setting itself have the potential to dampen what have traditionally been very strong margins from face-to-face events. Quentin has an interesting view on this issue. “I think our industry has been juicy for many years, and I think we need now to think differently,” he says.
He believes that “we have a long term view on things and then you need to do the right things for your business and for your markets. And, therefore we have to make investment. And if we want to have a different value proposition, you need to make investment”. He believes that the company is particularly well set up to pursue those long-term objectives.
Even in the short term, Quentin has interesting ambitions for Constellar’s digital activity. He points out that last year the company was able to preserve around 35% of its pre-pandemic revenues with mainly digital offerings. He thinks that the physical events will come back relatively quickly to 100% of where they were before. So, he believes that a well-managed physical/digital business should be able to achieve 120% of its pre-pandemic scale.
That’s a pretty optimistic view. But, when the sky’s the limit, you can afford a little optimism. We shall be hearing more of Constellar.


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By: Mark Walton
Bayonetta 2 will be a Wii U exclusive, Nintendo revealed today. Platinum Games, creator of the original Bayonetta, will be taking up development duties once more, with the game set for release in March 2013.
Nintendo also revealed that Platinum Games’ Project P100 has been renamed The Wonderful 101. The game is also a Wii U exclusive, but no release date has been given.
Bayonetta 2 was previously rumoured to have been cancelled as part of a company-wide restructuring at publisher SEGA. Bayonetta 2 is now being published by Nintendo.

domain: news


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May 23, 2011
The Humane Society of the United States Applauds Kraft’s Animal Welfare Progress at Company’s Annual Meeting
Tuesday, at the annual shareholder meeting for Kraft (NYSE: KFT), The Humane Society of the United States will applaud the company for its forward-thinking animal welfare policy. Last year, Kraft joined the national movement away from using eggs from caged hens by beginning a new cage-free egg purchasing program.
An HSUS representative will attend the meeting on May 24 at 9:00 a.m., located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, Ill.).
“The Humane Society of the United States applauds Kraft for its work improving conditions for animals in its supply chain,” stated Josh Balk, corporate policy director for The HSUS’s factory farming campaign. “By starting to move away from suppliers that cram egg-laying hens in cages, Kraft has taken an important step forward for animal welfare.”
Chicagoland businesses have been leaders in creating a more humane food system. Kraft, Sara Lee, Barilla Pasta and Career Education Corporation (operator of Le Cordon Bleu) all purchase cage-free eggs.
And across the country, a national movement on these issues has taken root: McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Sonic, Wendy's, Arby’s, Denny's, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Cracker Barrel and Golden Corral are just some of the restaurant chains that use cage-free eggs; Hellmann's mayonnaise has started converting all of the 350 million eggs it uses in the U.S. to cage-free; and Wal-Mart's and Costco's private brand eggs are exclusively cage-free.
Michigan and California have passed laws to outlaw cage confinement of hens, and similar legislation is pending elsewhere. California enacted a law that requires all whole eggs sold statewide to be cage-free by 2015.
- U.S. factory farms confine about 280 million hens in cages so small, they can't even spread their wings. Extensive scientific research confirms this causes suffering.
- Cage-free hens generally have two to three times more space per bird than caged hens. Cage-free hens may not be able to go outside and, like caged hens, may have parts of their beaks cut off, but they can walk, spread their wings and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens crammed into cages.
- Factory farming is a major social issue: A study by food industry consultancy, Technomic, ranked animal welfare as the third-most important social issue to restaurant patrons; an American Farm Bureau-funded report found that 89 percent of Americans believe that food companies that require their suppliers to treat farm animals better are doing the right thing.
Follow The HSUS on Twitter. See our work for animals on your iPhone by searching “HumaneTV” in the App Store.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization—backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty—on the web at humanesociety.org.


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If you’re running late for a Valentine’s Day date, you might consider stopping off and getting a card instead of sending an emojii-laden text.
University of Cincinnati adjunct professor of communication and etiquette expert LisaMarie Luccioni says handwritten notes on paper can mean a lot more than a virtual display of love.
“I believe that at the end of the day, any message of love, appreciation or acknowledgement is always appreciated. Of course, the communication channel that’s used can convey different meanings,” Luccioni said in a news release. “An email, tweet or blog post is more informal, although more public. The card with your signed message and name is more personal. Handwritten notes also symbolize an investment of time. Someone selected and purchased the card, and customized their sentiments just for you.”
The Greeting Card Association estimates that Americans will buy about 145 million greeting cards for Valentine’s Day this year, which is about the same as what they bought in 2013. That’s a little more than $1 billion spent on Valentine’s cards. Valentine’s Day is the second-largest holiday for greeting card sales, behind Christmas, and sales have been on the rise.
Luccioni says that’s because with the rise of digital technology physical greetings have become novel instead of normal.
“The handwritten medium is powerful because it’s unexpected and no longer the classic norm,” she said. “Fewer people communicate this way, so when we do, it’s memorable, and I’d argue more impactful. Electronic communication is a nice option, but a handwritten note is more intimate.”
Here’s a fun figure though, for all the single people on Valentine’s Day: gift cards are almost as profitable as online dating, which raked in $1.24 billion annually.


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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 6:55 AM EDT
Businesses to Share Vehicles and Make Money on the Innovative Platform
COOP allows fleet owners to generate revenue by simply renting their idle commercial vehicles to other businesses, providing a new source of rental trucks and trailers to a network of carefully vetted companies, large and small.
MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R), a leader in commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation, and supply chain solutions, announced today the expansion of its peer-to-peer truck sharing platform, COOP by Ryder®, to Orlando, Fla. The first-of-its-kind digital platform allows fleet owners to generate revenue by simply renting their idle commercial vehicles to other businesses, providing a new source of rental trucks and trailers to a network of carefully vetted companies, large and small. First launched in 2018, the asset-sharing platform is available throughout Georgia and across parts of Florida.
“Hundreds of businesses have already generated revenue through COOP by sharing their commercial vehicles on the platform,” said Rich Mohr, Chief Technology Officer, Fleet Management Solutions, Ryder. “COOP aims to bring the same model to Central Florida by giving Orlando, a bustling tourist destination with an abundance of food, beverage, and production companies, the same opportunity to generate revenue from idle equipment.”
One COOP customer, Bowman Trailer Leasing, is successfully leveraging COOP in the Orlando market to share its vehicles with other business owners. “Through the COOP platform, our business has already been able to garner thousands of dollars of incremental rental revenue during the slower summer months,” said Leonardo D’Agostini, Business Development, Bowman Trailer Leasing. “The COOP platform really shows how the transportation industry is evolving and how Ryder is committed to using innovation to support large and small businesses like ours.”
How COOP Works
COOP is a peer-to-peer sharing platform that allows businesses to simply and safely rent commercial vehicles from each other. Fleet owners can list their vehicles on the digital platform, set vehicle availability for idle periods and, upon vehicle return, receive guaranteed payments from Ryder. All COOP users are vetted to ensure they comply with safety and reliability standards. Each transaction is covered by physical damage insurance, a $1 million liability policy and includes 24/7 roadside assistance.
COOP FAST FACTS:
Ryder is a Fortune 500® commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation, and supply chain solutions company. The company’s stock (NYSE: R) is a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the S&P MidCap 400® index. Ryder, which provides commercial truck rental, truck leasing, used trucks for sale, and last mile delivery services, has been named among “The World’s Most Admired Companies” by Fortune, as well as one of “America’s Best Employers” and “America’s Best Employers for Women” by Forbes. The company is regularly recognized for its industry-leading practices in third-party logistics, environmentally friendly fleet and supply chain solutions, world-class safety and security programs, and hiring of military veterans. For more information, visit www.ryder.com or our newsroom, and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.
Learn about the significant impact of reefer trailers on transporting perishable goods including tips, technological advancements, & rental options for efficiency.
How the largest value-added distribution company overcame challenges with limited warehouse space by using storage trailers as a quick and cost-saving solution during peak season with the COOP by Ryder rental solutions platform.
It’s no secret that the food distribution industry is highly competitive, and companies need to operate efficiently to succeed. One of the nation's largest food distribution and production companies with over $1.5B in sales wanted to save time and money in a tight economic landscape, and trailer pools presented as a worthwhile long-term solution.


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Ship To Shore PhonoCo. have announced the release of several Konami titles this year, and now they’re ready with preorders for one of them – the legendary Gradius.
The release will feature the Famicom soundtrack on one side and the MSX soundtrack on the other.
The release will be a single LP in two color variants – blue vinyl with white splatter, and crystal clear. It comes in a single pocket jacket with new artwork by Ian Wilding. The artwork will interlock with the artwork for the upcoming Gradius II and III releases, so putting all three titles next to each other will reveal the full artwork.
Exclusive color variants from The Yetee and Vinyl Digital have also been confirmed, although no word on when those will be available to order.
The release is priced at $22 and is scheduled to release in mid-September 2018. It can be preordered from Ship To Shore PhonoCo.’s store here.


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Future iPads might get Surface-style keyboard covers, hint insiders
posted by Daniel P. / Oct 21, 2013, 9:01 AM
An ex-Apple employee posted on his blog that word with former colleagues hinted at a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard cover prototype being prepped for the iPad franchise. Now whether this accessory will see the light of day tomorrow, for the new iPad 5 and iPad mini 2, or at a later date, or at all, is mystery, as far as Apple's prototypes are concerned.
If it does, though, it will likely replace two of the current ones - the magnetic iPad cover and the Bluetooth keyboard. If the new keyboard cover sports Bluetooth 4.0 LE, then even better, as that will allow to not worry about endurance for about as long as you'll be realistically using your iPad.
Posts: 124; Member since: Apr 01, 2012
in Simple Terms...."Shameless Copying" In Technical Terms..."They make best use of technology available"
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 9:03 AM 8
Posts: 7; Member since: Aug 16, 2013
NO! Microsoft will SUE Apple for copying...
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 9:17 AM 1
Posts: 1205; Member since: Mar 14, 2012
Nah, Apple will sue Microsoft and claim as theirs own innovation. We all know Apples tactics, u see something u like, claim it as u own and sue the hell out of the company. Only downside, Microsoft is also US company and ways wont go as Apple want. :)
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 9:53 AM 5
Posts: 270; Member since: Mar 28, 2010
Not only they copied the blue screen of death from Windows, now they are ripping off those crappy Surface covers too. Whats next, paid online multiplayer from the Xbox?
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 9:18 AM 1
Posts: 188; Member since: May 21, 2013
Even the most hardcore Microsoft haters did not call surface covers crappy.
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 9:20 AM 12
Except that they are crappy. They're glorified touch keyboards. Using one isn't really an improvement over just typing on a touch screen. The only benefit is you don't have an on-screen keyboard taking up screen real estate. And you get that benefit at the cost of having to put the surface on a desk, since the one position kickstand doesn't support the tablet on a lap (unlike pretty much every iPad keyboard case). It's one step forward one step back, zero net benefit.
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 11:22 PM 0
Posts: 1337; Member since: Oct 05, 2011
Everyone copies from everyone else in this field, which is why I believe Apple should stop these silly patent disputes. If true this would make Apple a seriously hypocritical- to say that others are violating its design concepts when it would be violating Microsoft design. I hope they don't By the way does anyone know if Microsoft holds a patent on this design or any other company?
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 9:19 AM 4
Posts: 584; Member since: Jun 13, 2008
It would definitely be a welcomed addition because I have purchased 2 different keyboards and had to take both of them back because working with them was just too irritating. If they do decide to release them, hopefully they offer some manly colors as well and don't go in the direction of the iPhone 5C colors.
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 10:35 AM 1
Posts: 1042; Member since: Feb 22, 2012
this would be cool... they would have to attach some sort of kickstand to the back tho.
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 11:11 AM 0
Posts: 150; Member since: May 03, 2013
All of you sound like a bunch of little 12 year old girls. Sorry but keyboards with computers have been around for 30 years. Get over it! Get a life!
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 12:12 PM 1
You're right. It sure does look like the CEO of Apple has gotten over it. "Cook elaborated that converging the iPad with a laptop would result in tradeoffs, ones Apple isn't willing to make. "We are not going to that party, but others might from a defensive point of view."
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 12:25 PM 0
We don't even know if these are true yet or what they will look like. Keyboard covers with bluetooth have been around since the beginning, yet you baboons are ranting based on an article headline. Le sigh.
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 1:10 PM 0
Posts: 1597; Member since: Feb 14, 2011
Microsoft's CEO Mr Ballmer stated publically that the ipad would get Microsoft Office To use Microsoft office correctly folks you need a good keyboard. it is interesting that part of the MS Surface technology has spilled over to the Ipad. HMM look for an Ipad with a built in kickstand coming soon
posted on Oct 21, 2013, 1:15 PM 0
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ANY mandatory controls placed on the out of home food sector would be “impractical and ineffective”, trade group UK Hospitality (UKH) has warned.
Responding to Food Standards Scotland’s (FSS) consultation on proposals to improve the out of home food environment – which closed last week (February 28) and suggested new requirements for trade businesses such as providing calorie information on menus – UK Hospitality said voluntary schemes are the best way to promote healthier attitudes to food and drink, as opposed to “inflexible and ineffective legislation”.
Willie Macleod, UK Hospitality executive director for Scotland, said: “The hospitality and out of home food service sectors are so diverse and varied that any mandatory controls are likely to be impractical and ineffective.
“Regulation would have to be reduced to the lowest level in order to be deliverable across so many different businesses.
“Efforts to shape, manage and execute an out of home nutrition programme should be undertaken with the full involvement of the hospitality sector. These businesses are best placed to understand the challenges we face and opportunities for success. A voluntary scheme, with close cooperation with UKH, its members and the wider sector is the best approach to deliver the most effective and efficient out of home strategy.”


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Arts & Entertainment
The famed musician died Wednesday evening at a Panama City hospital. His wife said he had been in declining health in recent years. The couple lived in Panama City.
The outage began on Christmas. Microsoft's Xbox Live, which had also gone down, is back online, but the company says some applications aren't fully functioning.
The silence of Sony's Tokyo headquarters over the hoopla surrounding Sony Pictures Entertainment's "The Interview" underscores the divide between the Japanese parent company and its U.S.-led subsidiary.
The film took in just over $1 million in ticket sales from 331 locations showing it on Christmas day.
Nutmeg is a feel-good holiday spice. But it once caused serious bloodshed and may have even been a reason the Dutch were willing to part with Manhattan in the 1600s.
While some leaked Sony emails seemed racist, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says they hint at a wider issue: an acceptance of practices, habits and perceptions that limit diversity in Hollywood.
The software used in the Sony data breach is available on the underground market. This makes it easier for criminals to execute an attack but harder to identify the perpetrators.
A group calling itself Lizard Squad has claimed responsibility for a possible denial-of-service attack against the tech companies' online game sites.
The details of wine and winemaking practices in biblical times are debated among experts. But we do know that vino in Christ's day was very different from what we imbibe today.
"It was kind of like a second premiere or something. It was a total blast. It was somewhere between Cannes, a Christmas Party, a protest and a wedding. It was really wonderful."
Want to know what the best picture contenders for the Oscars might be in a couple of years? You might want to take a look at something called the Black List.
Screenwriter Graham Moore wanted to tell the unbelievable true story of Alan Turing since he was a a geeky boy at space camp where Turing was a hero.
As Sony planned to can "The Interview," art house theaters managed to secure a limited release of the film in support of free speech and artistic expression.
The controversial film is in LA theaters today and on Google, YouTube and Sony platforms.
The screenwriters of “Big Eyes” spent a decade trying to get their movie about kitschy art made... and almost made their careers suffer.
Meet the Rabbi that helps Jill Soloway blend Jewish themes with trans themes on the ground-breaking Amazon original series "Transparent."


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Crypto exchange Binance.US is building a space in Portals, a metaverse platform built on the Solana blockchain. Portals recreates a dense urban environment where users can explore buildings and interactive rooms.
“Binance.US is getting a space in Portals Downtown with a focus on delivering the latest news, charts, and events virtually,” Portals head of community and partnerships Chris Lund said in a Twitter message to CoinDesk.
Lund said FTX.US, the U.S. arm of crypto exchange FTX, will also build its own office in Portals.
Companies have been rushing headfirst into open metaverses such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, both of which are Ethereum-based. Portals seems to be an early favorite for capturing metaverse mania on the high-speed Solana blockchain.
Binance.US spokesperson Zachary Tindall said the virtual buildout is meant to be a gathering place for exchange users.
“We are creating a space in the metaverse for the Binance.US community to come together,” Tindall told CoinDesk in an email. “It’s the first of many steps we’re taking to be forward-looking as we build and reach our community in new environments.”
And Binance won’t be alone.
— Magic Eden 🪄 Leading NFT Marketplace on Solana (@MagicEden_NFT) December 23, 2021
Solana projects Raydium, Magic Eden, Audius, Bonfida and others will also have a presence in the Portals metaverse, Lund said. Metaverses generally describe a virtual world in which people can interact as they do in the real world, but digitally.
Traditional companies have made a beeline for the metaverse in the past year. Social media giant Facebook underwent a major rebrand and became Meta in a broader effort to lead metaverse-based applications. It’s unclear how Facebook’s metaverse effort will interact with existing open metaverses.
Over in Decentraland, global electronics giant Samsung launched a metaverse version of its Samsung 837 location in New York City. Called “Samsung 837X,” the pop-up space featured quests leading to exclusive NFTs and live mixed-reality events.
Zack Seward contributed reporting.


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15th June 2011
Good morning. UK inflation figures yesterday offered little reason to believe the Bank of England will raise interest rates any time soon, and as a result Sterling fell slightly and struggled vs other currencies. At 08:30am this morning rates are as follows:
- GBP/EUR 1.1385
- GBP/USD 1.6351
- GBP/AUD 1.5286
- GBP/NZD 2.0066
- GBP/CAD 1.5814
- GBP/ZAR 11.074
- GBP/JPY 131.78
- GBP/DKK 8.4933
- GBP/NOK 8.8843
- EUR/USD 1.4355
UK Inflation / Interest Rates
Inflation rose to 4.5% yesterday, in line with analysts expectations. Despite this being well above the governments target of 2%, it’s unlikely the Bank of England will raise interest rates to combat this due to the effect it would have on the economic recovery.
The BoE has repeatedly warned that inflation could get as high as 5% before retreating, and the fact interest rates will stay low despite this is keeping the Pound weak.
With other central banks such as the EU expected to raise interest rates several times this year, the differential is likely to keep GBP/EUR rates low.
Sterling has risen slightly this morning however, as investors look to buy Sterling before the Retail Sales figures today. Also the EU finance meeting is casting doubt on the ability of Greece to repay it’s debts, and this has weakened the Euro slightly.
What do the analysts say?
“I wouldn’t want to buy sterling after the data,” said Chris Walker, currency strategist at UBS. It doesn’t change expectations that rates will stay low for the next six months, at least.”
Other analysts said stubborn inflation was harmful to the broader economy, which has suffered as the UK grapples with strict fiscal austerity measures, and many see downward risks to the pound.
“High UK inflation remains a risk to growth, both via a squeeze on real consumers incomes and by limiting the BoE’s ability to ease policy further in response to the fiscal drag from spending cuts in the next year,” BBH analysts said.
Quite simply, it’s expected Sterling will remain weak against other currencies for some time to come. Today we have some jobs data from the UK that could hurt the Pound even more, and Retail Sales figures tomorrow will also be closely watched.
If you need to buy or sell foreign currency, click below now to send us an enquiry for free. Our exhange rates are up to 5% better than offered by banks. Take the first step to making the most of your currency now.


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Async_Wake Exploit Confirmed Working on Apple TV 4K and tvOS 11.x
The async_wake exploit released by Google security researcher Ian Beer today has been confirmed working on the Apple TV 4K and tvOS 11.x. The exploit which also affects iOS 11.1.2 was tested on the ATV by Jonathan Levin, author of MacOS and iOS Internals.
Congratulating unparalleled paragon of hacking @i41nbeer for a truly marvelous, clean exploit which also works (*confirmed*) on TvOS 11.x and the Apple TV 4K! My #Jailbreak #Toolkit will be expanded to support this platform as well - and #LiberTV will finally get its update :-)
Levin says his jailbreak toolkit is "a dylib for those people who end up with a send right to the kernel_task port (a.k.a tfp0) in their process, but don't know what to do next."
LiberTV is a jailbreak utility for the Apple TV released by Levin in March. At that time it was semi-tethered, based on yalu, and supported the Apple TV 4 and tvOS 9.1 through 10.1.
We'll be watching closely for the LiberTV update and any word on a jailbreak release for iOS.
- Jonathan Levin Releases iOS 11.0.X - iOS 11.1.X Jailbreak Jonathan Levin Releases iOS 11 – 11.1.2 Jailbreak for All 64-bit Apple Devices! New Apple TV 4K Gains Gigabit Ethernet Port, Drops USB-C Port First iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K Pre-Orders Start Arriving in New Zealand Apple TV May Get 4K Video This Year iOS 11.1.2 Jailbreak to.panga Released LiberiOS Jailbreak Tool for iOS 11.0-11.1.2 Receives An Update, But Still No Cydia Apple TV 4K May Update New Siri Remote With Haptic Feedback


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The Case For Liberating Oil Exports
Imagine this: US iron miners, thanks to revolutionary technology that can extract iron from once-useless rock, double their production in 5 years, creating hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth, contributing to steel production for billions of people around the world, and making America a world leader in iron once again.
The production explosion is so big that domestic steel mills can’t keep up, but that needn’t be a problem. There are plenty of international steel mills that will buy US iron and make it into steel that we or anyone else in the world can buy—at ever-lower prices, thanks to the growing supply of iron and steel on the market.
What if, instead of liberating this beneficent combination of domestic production and international trade, the government xenophobically insisted on banning the export of iron—“crude steel”—even though every other industry, including steelmakers, is (properly) allowed to sell the products it produces to buyers around the world?
Here’s what would happen.
Deprived of an international market, iron makers would have to sell their product at artificially low prices to only domestic steelmakers, who would make an artificially inflated profit. Iron makers would lower their production because iron would be less profitable, and there would be mass layoffs where there could have been mass job-creation. With less iron in the world, there would be less steel in the world and higher prices for everyone. The US’s opportunity to be the world leader in iron would be threatened.
Fortunately, there is no proposal to ban “crude steel” sales. But appallingly, there is a four-decade official policy of banning the international sale of an even more vital commodity: crude oil, or petroleum.
Original Article: http://onforb.es/1NYhVRo


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Gucci has increased the prices of some of its products in China. On March 1, a customer service representative from Gucci’s flagship store on Taobao stated that, due to increasing raw material costs, the company has passed on costs to consumers. A comparison reveals that the prices for some popular bags such as the Marmont Supermini have increased by over 1,100 RMB ($172), a hike of over 10 percent.
On March 1, Versace announced actor Bai Jingting’s appointment as global ambassador for its fragrances, and released a new commercial for the Eros fragrance series. The brand said Bai’s distinctive personal style and confidence resonate with its philosophy. The star has appeared in the films Yesterday Once More and Unique Way, and TV series Ping Pong and Rush to the Dead Summer.
Givenchy Beauty on March 1 announced singer and actor Fan Chengcheng as the brand’s makeup ambassador. They unveiled a new advertisement, showcasing products such as the Prisme Libre loose powder, Le Rouge lipstick, and Teint Couture foundation. Fan, 23, is an ex member of the boy group Nine Percent, and a former member of boy group Next. Since last year, he has been a cast member of the Keep Running variety show.
Netizens on social media have recently reported that barricades surrounding what was to be a Louis Vuitton store in Hainan Haikou’s Mixc Shopping Mall have been removed, leading to speculation that the store opening might have been canceled. In April last year, barricades were erected around two floors of shops in Haikou’s Wanda Plaza, with signs reading “Louis Vuitton coming soon.”
Puma has invited women from various fields who are passionate about sports, including footballer Yao Wei, musician Zhao Meng, and blogger Niu Yu, to interpret the confident and diverse power of women. In conjunction, Puma will launch a series of trendy items that combine sports functionality and fashion.
China’s central bank is making another push to slash barriers facing foreign visitors using the country’s mobile payment services, in the latest effort to revive the tourism market. The People’s Bank of China has guided major payment platforms including Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’s Tenpay — the operator of WeChat Pay — to increase the single transaction limit for foreign users to $5,000 from $1,000, according to deputy governor Zhang Qingsong at a March 1 briefing.
Paris Fashion Week collaborated with authorities and fashion industry bodies in Shenzhen to mount the Shenzhen Futian Fashion Day on February 26. The event comprised runway shows at the Palais Brongniart by three prominent Chinese brands: Ellassay, Yiner, and La Koradior. Drawing inspiration from luxury labels like Michael Kors and Gucci, the collections showcased tailored sophistication and feminine elegance, signaling the brands’ global aspirations. France is seeking to entice Chinese fashion brands to the country amid the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism’s 60th anniversary.
Longchamp kicked off a pop-up event titled “Longchamp University” at the Tsutaya Bookstore in Shanghai’s Changning District on February 28. The event is open to the public until March 13. Inspired by the campus life in Paris, it invites visitors to immerse themselves in the Parisian art-filled atmosphere of Longchamp University.
On February 29, Beiersdorf Group reported sales grew 10.8% to $10.64 billion (€9.5 billion) in FY 2023. Its beauty brands sales grew 12.5% YoY to $8.71 billion (€7.78 billion). However, the challenging travel industry and cautious Chinese market led to a decrease in sales for luxury brands La Prairie and Chantecaille by 15.4% and 18.4%, respectively.


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Florida lawmakers have slashed the state’s Business Rental Tax (BRT) three consecutive years and, apparently, will seek to do so again in 2020.
While no bills proposing to trim the BRT had been formally filed and numbered as of Tuesday, the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research (OEDR) factored in an anticipated half-percent cut Monday in its final revenue estimating conference before the 2020 session begins Jan. 14.
In 1969, the Florida Legislature adopted the BRT, the nation’s only sales tax on commercial leases. The state’s Revenue Department estimated at least 150,000 businesses collectively paid nearly $2 billion in BRT in 2018.
Since 2017, lawmakers have whittled the BRT back from 6 percent to 5.5 percent, including a reduction in the sales tax from 5.7 to 5.5 percent adopted during the 2019 session that goes into effect on Jan. 1.
That 0.2 percent decline will save Florida businesses more than $64.5 million, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.
The BRT applies to retail, office and industrial leases but does not include hotel or apartment leases. It is imposed on base rent, plus any common-area maintenance fees, property taxes and payments for services such as utilities, parking, and janitorial services.
The granting of a license to use property for placement of ATMs, kiosks, vending, amusement, or newspaper machines is also taxable under BRT provisions. In sub-leasing contracts, the lowest level of sub-leasing is required to pay the sales tax.
Commercial leases and business rents are also subject to applicable local option sales taxes, which can range from 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent. Among counties that tack on a local BRT surtax is Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
During the 2019 session, numerous proposals surfaced seeking to slash the BRT to as low as 3.5 percent, if not eliminate it altogether. The House Ways & Means Committee ultimately produced House Bill 7123, which trimmed it from 5.7 to 5.5 percent.
A similar gaggle of BRT-related bills is likely to emerge during the 2020 session, which prompted the OEDR to review numerous scenarios during its revenue estimating conference update that concluded Monday, which will provide the dollar-and-cent forecasts for lawmakers to work with when they assemble the state’s fiscal 2021 spending plan.
The most likely scenario is a half-percent BRT cut, lowering the sales tax to 5 percent beginning Jan. 1, 2021. Apparently, in fact, a bill pending formal introduction from an as-yet unnamed lawmaker will seek to do just that, according to officials during revenue estimating conference deliberations last week.
If the Legislature adopted a 0.5 BRT cut, it would save business owners at least an anticipated $829 million in over the next five fiscal years, according to the state economists’ projections.
Other BRT-reduction scenarios in addition to the half-percent cut were also considered, including anticipated proposals to exempt small businesses, ranging from four, nine, 14 and 19 employees, from the sales tax altogether.
If a measure exempting commercial entities with 19 or fewer employees from the BRT is adopted, state economists project it would save eligible small businesses at least $1.3 billion over the next five years.
There is, apparently, a pending measure in the offing seeking to exempt small businesses from the BRT, Division of Revenue Chief Economist Bob McKee told the panel on Friday, but it is uncertain how some businesses would be categorized.
“If you’re seasonal,” McKee said, “and for nine months of the year you have 25 employees, and for one month of the year, you only have two or three employees” it is unclear when “you meet that test” to qualify for the exemption.


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Gujarat could be home to an industrial cluster for manufacturing electronics. A high-level delegation of trade representatives from Taiwan, which is expected to arrive in Gujarat as part of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) 2019 next week, is looking at making large investments in the information technology (IT) sector. If top sources in the state government are to be believed, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the GESIA IT association and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council is in the pipeline.
“Taiwan External Trade Development Council is looking at a collaboration with GESIA (Gujarat Electronics and Software Industries’ Association) to set up a manufacturing cluster for electronics and electronic components,” a top source in the state government confirmed. “Some four MoUs are in the pipeline, with two large ones in the IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) sectors.”
The Taiwan Computer Association (TCA) is also exploring collaboration with the Federation of IT Associations of Gujarat (FITAG). “FITAG and TCA are exploring collaboration with the government of Gujarat. Discussions are underway for the setting up of yet another industrial cluster,” said the source.
The magnitude of Taiwanese investments through both these likely collaborations is not yet known. However, if they materialize, it will be a boost for the IT and ITES sectors in Gujarat, especially after it was awarded industry status
Government officials believe that if these investments come through, they will help Gujarat move toward the higher end of the manufacturing value chain. “Taiwan has grown because of small and medium companies. It is the world leader in electronics and hardware. If they come into Gujarat, the state’s manufacturing industry will move higher up the value chain and will benefit in terms of technology,” said D Thara, vice chairman and managing director of GIDC.
The delegation from Taiwan is also looking at investments in the chemicals and fertilizers sector, government sources said. Only recently the Taiwan-based China Synthetic Rubber Corporation (CSRC) also committed to an investment of Rs 1000 crore in Gujarat.― Times of India


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Industry Leaders Look to Future at Euro RSCG Panel on “Trends for 2011.5 and Beyond”
June 16, 2011
From the demise of Osama Bin Laden to the disaster in Japan, 2011 has been full of surprises—and we’re only halfway through. What’s in store for the rest of the year?
Renowned trendspotter Marian Salzman, CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, turned her forecasting eye to the latter half of 2011 at a breakfast presentation today. Following her remarks, Salzman was joined by Jeff Chu, articles editor, Fast Company, and Ed Saunders, group marketing director, Google Creative Lab, in a roundtable discussion moderated by Jeff Brooks, CEO of Euro RSCG New York. The event took place at the agency’s headquarters in New York City.
“We are living in uncertain and ever-changing times,” Salzman said, “and we’re seeing the natural reaction to that uncertainty take two forms: anxiety over potential impending disasters, whether natural, political, or economic, and a desire to simplify our aesthetic and ‘go local’ in a digital, thoroughly interconnected way.”


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Out of the major tech companies, people trust Facebook the least with their personal information. Amazon and Twitter come in a distant second and third, with 8 percent of people saying they trust these companies the least with their personal information. Five times more people place Facebook as the least trustworthy company to handle their personal information when compared to Amazon and Twitter.
Reports recently revealed that Facebook had hired a communications firm to do opposition research against George Soros to traffic anti-Semitic attacks against the progressive philanthropist after he made disparaging remarks against the company.
This chart shows companies people trust least with their personal information.
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WION: China has claimed that the country is rolling out its digital currency in four cities starting next week.
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the health risk embedded into using physical currencies came to light. This development is interesting because China was the initial epicentre of the outbreak, and now seems to be recovering.
Over the last few months, the Chinese central bank has intensified efforts to develop a digital currency, the Guardian reported. The “e-RMB” shall mark the first official digital currency operated by a major economy.
The cities where trials are underway include Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Beijing’s Xiong’an.
According to China Daily, a State-run media outlet, many government employees across these cities will now receive payments via digital currencies only, many beginning this month.
This means that the e-currency has now been imbibed into the country’s government structure.
Another Chinese news outlet – Sina news claimed that in Suzhou, the currency would be employed solely on public transport. In Xiong’an, the focus will be food and retail.
This is part of a blanket coverage plan whereby the need for physical currency will be minimised, if not eliminated. Even though most countries have thought about implementing it, China is the only country to go ahead with it.
A government sanctioned app will be used to store and use the digital currency, many reports claim.China’s central bank set up a research team in 2014 to find out ways of launching its own digital currency which would tremendously cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policymakers’ control of money supply.
China’s proposed new digital currency would be similar to Facebook Inc’s Libra coin, Reuters reported.
It would be used across major payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, a senior central bank official told Reuters in October 2019.
China had enforced a cryptography law in January 2020 aimed at “facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information”, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The fear surrounding physical contact may trigger widespread and instant adoption of the digital currency.


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Ethanim has entered into an in-depth strategic cooperation with the Japanese chain game Mechaverse War | News
TOKYO, March 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, metaverse infrastructure platform Ethanim entered into deep strategic cooperation with well-known Japan Mechaverse War chain game project. Both the parties will play their respective advantages and capabilities in the metaverse underlying technology, chain game development and green construction to jointly promote the development of the metaverse industry and bring the chain game application into a true decentralized era.
Through this cooperation, Ethanim will impact the chain game industry through Mechaverse War. The implementation of the innovative technology adopted by Ethanim will allow the Mechaverse War chain game to provide users with a smooth experience comparable to centralization in a completely decentralized environment. At the same time, it can guarantee the security of users’ funds, so that users have more confidence in Mechaverse War. And the game can create a more secure and eternal metaverse world for users.
Mechaverse War aims to create the metaverse world’s first real-time strategy robot conquest game platform. Based on a playable game environment, it will develop NFT derivative scenarios, undertake the digital promotion and extension of high-quality Japanese anime IP, and build an open metaverse platform for Japanese anime by GameFi’s value connection. Mechaverse War is growing rapidly and recently received a $1 million investment from CGV FoF, an Asian FOF fund.
In 2021, Mechaverse War completed a $1.2 million roundtable led by from Japan IFG Corporation which has the best IP games and animation resources from Japanese studios. Its team and visual designers are all seasoned practitioners of the Japanese game design, blockchain, and animation industry. They led the planning of Fist of the North Star and City Hunter, and participated in the production process of top IPs such as the mechanical design of Gundam and Final Fantasy. They have extensive experience in game development and blockchain.
As a metaverse infrastructure platform, Ethanim solves problems of slow transaction speed, low concurrency, and inability to support large and complex computations with trusted computing technology. This allows consensus between on-chain game nodes to be achieved quickly; at the same time, the creative modularization of edge computing, virtual GPU, decentralized storage and other technologies can allow the system to expand horizontally infinitely, so that the decentralized chain game has performance comparable to traditional centralized games, which increases the fun of user experience, and also allows users to easily obtain corresponding revenue through in-game NFT transactions, namely play to win.
Since the launch of the Metaverse infrastructure on February 8, the Ethanim team approached a number of game publishers and animation companies. Mechaverse War is the first blockchain game project to achieve strategic cooperation with Ethanim. Then, Ethanim will cooperate with more blockchain game projects to make them fully decentralized and protect asset security for blockchain game users.
Show original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ethanim-has-reached-a-deep-strategic-cooperation-with-the-japanese-chain-game-mechaverse-war-301501565.html


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FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Chemical company BASF
said Thursday its third-quarter net income fell 69% to 237 million euros ($349 million) from the same period a year ago. BASF said it anticipates a significant decline in sales and earnings for full year 2009. Fourth-quarter income from operations before special items is likely to be higher than in the weak fourth quarter of 2008, but lower than in the third quarter of this year, the company said. BASF expects a 9.1% decline in industrial production and a 6.1% decline in chemical production excluding pharmaceuticals in 2009. "Higher costs for the Ciba integration will additionally negatively impact earnings. BASF is therefore unlikely to reach its goal of earning its cost of capital this year," said BASF Chairman Jürgen Hambrecht in a statement. BASF had already reported third-quarter sales of 12.8 billion euros, and EBIT before items of 1.25 billion euros.


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To stay ahead of the proverbial curve, many traditional print magazines have moved to a digital-first approach to publishing. Glamour magazine is one such publication that took the right steps in order to meet their customers’ desires.
Digital-first has become one of the critical decision points impacting print publications across industries. The fashion industry has been significantly impacted by target markets choosing digital alternatives to printed publications. With the advent of high-speed internet and devices that provide instant access to information, the fashion industry has struggled to maintain a leading mind-share position on trends in style with their readers.
Glamour, founded in 1939, is a women’s magazine with divisions across the US, UK, and various European countries. The magazine is published by Condé Nast , one of the largest fashion publishing groups with a global reach of over one billion consumers across digital media outlets.
Prior to 2016, management at Glamour recognized that the shift towards a digital market would require a change on their end. The UK branch of Glamour first took steps toward a stronger online presence back in 2017, when they began cutting back on printed issues in order “to become a digital first, beauty-first brand. ”
As a leading fashion and beauty magazine, Glamour currently holds a strong position across online platforms, boasting more than 11 million online users and a social media following of over 14 million. Thus making the permanent shift toward a digital-first platform a sensible decision for the company’s future growth.
“For me the exciting thing was: how do you take a brand like Glamour that’s been built over 17 years as one of the most successful and well-known women’s brands across the UK, from a print title of 12 times a year and grow it across multi platforms — social, experiential and, obviously, online?”
The move for Glamour to cease their printed issues was hinted at when the magazine’s editor in chief, Cindie Leive , stepped down after 16 years. Samantha Barry was then hired in January 2018 to lead and accomplish this change in Glamour’s approach to its readers. Barry recognized the demand to secure a strong digital presence for the publication, and her role as editor in chief has allowed Glamour to transform their brand in the expanding world of digital media.
Upon Barry’s arrival, the plan to relaunch the US branch of Glamour on a digital platform was officially set in motion. In an interview for The New York Times , Barry said, “It’s where the audiences are, and it’s where our growth is. That monthly schedule, for a Glamour audience, doesn’t make sense anymore.”
In October 2016, In Style UK made the decision to close their print editions permanently as a result of falling circulation patterns. Marie Claire UK reacted to market pressure in the same manner. The magazine announced in September 2019 that they plan to cease print publication after November. A spokesperson from Marie Claire UK told BBC News , “A strategy focusing on Marie Claire UK’s digital business will give the brand the best opportunity to secure a profitable and sustainable future.”
While these two popular UK magazines made the switch to digital in order to stay afloat, this was not necessary Glamour at the time.Unlike In Style UK and Marie Claire UK, Glamour’s print publication was highly successful when they announced their digital shift. What this seems to indicate is a keen sense of market movement and the corresponding flexibility to accomplish a significant change in business direction.
Camilla Newman, Glamour’s publishing director, spoke about the magazine’s decision at the PPA (Professional Publishers Association) festival in May 2018 saying, “It’s really important to point out that the print circulation of Glamour was really healthy when we were looking at changing the format to a digital-first brand.” In fact, the company’s 2018 market value was €15.5 million, or $17 million, with an estimated growth forecast up 21.1% over the next five years.
At the time of their decision, Glamour indicated a revenue growth model for the next twenty quarters. However, it’s not apparent whether the marketing impact that drove other publications into digital publishing to avoid significant loss was a part of their consideration.
With the success in printed editions and, at the time, no downward move in print revenue, the shift toward a solely digital platform was both a bold and proactive choice for the company. Not many publicly-traded companies have a management team with the fortitude to make decisions that could negatively impact revenue and stock-holder dividends. However, with the strong positive growth across all digital media outlets, it seems Glamour timed their move well.
Even with the digital-first approach, Glamour hasn’t forgotten about their consumers that prefer print. The magazine produces a “biannual, collectible, glossy ” edition that celebrates diversity among women, while at the same time, reaching their audience with the nostalgia of a physical issue. This decision to blend the “old with the new”, shows the sensitivity of Glamour management to their customers. Further, these special editions hold the potential of becoming collectibles which will contribute to cementing Glamour as one of the leading fashion brands since 1939.
While Glamour isn’t the only magazine to make the digital-first transition, they are one of the few companies to take a proactive approach in the world of digital publishing. Since Barry’s rise to editor in chief, Glamour’s online views “have risen 12 per cent, to 6.3 million.” “Glamour is a brand – it’s not just a magazine ,” Barry says, and this approach has truly transformed the iconic publication while still managing to maintain the integrity it held before a digital shift.


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Nissan Sunny of India is known as Versa in the US auto industry. Japanese car maker, Nissan has announced price of their 2013 Sunny sedan. According to the new price structure, 2013 Sunny gets expensive by $1,000 (INR 55,115) compared to the 2012 model, and excluding the $790 (INR 43,540) destination charges.
Nissan launched the 2012 Sunny in the US last year with a starting price of $10,990. Nissan has now announced that the base model of Sunny in the US will cost $11,990 (INR 6.61 lakhs) for the base 1.6L S MT model. In all, five variants of the 2013 Sunny are on offer, Sunny S MT, Sunny S 4AT, Sunny S Plus CVT, Sunny SV CVT, and Sunny SL CVT.
All these five variants are powered by 1.6L HR16DE petrol engine generating 108 ho and 107 lb-ft torque and are priced between $11,990 and $16,590 (INR 9.14 lakhs), excluding destination charges of $790. Apart from the price increase, the new version of Sunny also offers a better mileage (40 mpg) than its outgoing variant (38 mpg).
Nissan India is scheduled to launch the 2013 Sunny next year. In India, Nissan Sunny is offered with 1.5L engines in petrol and diesel options with a price range of INR 5.93 lakhs to INR 8.93 lakhs. Only once the 2013 Sunny is launched in India we will get to know whether the Japanese car maker applies a $1,000 price increase to the Indian car market as well.


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The bar was three deep in the lounge area of East Harlem’s Gran Piatto D’Oro restaurant last weekend and the shots — filled with a creamy, ivory-hued sweet concoction — plentiful and free.
“Ooh, I can taste the fresh coconut,” one imbiber assessed, before sampling the next of five competing batches.
“Too much nutmeg,” another said, wincing in dissatisfaction.
This was the fifth qualifying event of the annual Coquito Masters since early November, held by the International Coquito Federation to determine the best recipe for what is commonly described as “Puerto Rican eggnog.”
“A lot of people don’t know what coquito is,” says Debbie Quinones, who founded the federation 11 years ago to promote the holiday beverage.
“It’s not eggnog with a shot of rum, it’s more than that. It needs a specific consistency and body — it’s like looking for a white unicorn in a cup,” says Quinones.
The winner that night was 69-year-old Emilio F. Carillo, a retired exec who grew up drinking it in East Harlem with family during the holidays. “Everybody made it, and everybody wanted to know whose was better,” Carillo says.
Frank Maldonado, executive chef at Puerto Rican restaurants Sazon in TriBeCa and Sofrito in Midtown and White Plains, has been making and selling his own version for the past few years. “On the most basic level, the major difference between coquito and eggnog is that the former is a traditional drink native to Puerto Rico whereas eggnog is native to the United States,” he says. “Both drinks are associated with Christmas, but while eggnog is milk- and egg-based, coquito has a very prominent coconut and spicy-tea base. Essentially, it’s a blend of coconut cream, evaporated milk, condensed milk, spices and rum. The result should be a rich, bone-white, creamy concoction with flecks of cinnamon.
Maldonado, who ran restaurants in his native Puerto Rico before moving to New York in 2006, is one of the few in the city to sell coquito, which means “small coconut,” in a retail establishment. (It’s offered as a dessert cocktail in the special prix fixe menu at each of his locations. In White Plains, it comes alcohol-free.)
Most procure the sweet drink from Puerto Rican friends and family, who traditionally make batches every holiday season.
“A lot of my neighbors make it,” says Diana Perez, a 35-year-old Mexican-American food stylist who recently made the trek down from her home in Washington Heights to Sazon and remembers trying it for the first time as a child on the Upper West Side. “That was the highlight of the Christmas season at school — non-alcoholic, of course.”
Perez takes a sip of the thick concoction from a snifter filled by Maldonado. “His is just perfect,” she says. “It gives you a buzz, but it won’t make you frat-party drunk.” She says she’s seen fliers advertising homemade coquito posted in laundromats around her neighborhood.
“It’s our moonshine,” says chef John Colon, from La Brisa Farm Café at La Marqueta in East Harlem. “We do it from home.”
That said, in order to offer his tipple at La Brisa Farm, he had to obtain a license and up his standards. “It can’t come out of abuelita’s kitchen,” he adds.
Colon, who’s been drinking coquito since the age of six, also points out how competitive coquito makers can be. “It’s a pride thing,” he says. “You want to show off your stock. Everybody throws in a spice or two that offsets it and makes it over the top — like ‘wow,’ mediocre, or ‘yuck.’”
So what’s in his recipe? “I can’t tell you or I’ll have to kill you,” he says.
TRY THESE RECIPES!
Coquito by Frank Maldonado
3/4 cup Spiced Tea
1 cup cream of coconut
1 cup condensed milk
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1-1/2 cups Don Q Gold rum
2 cups hot water
1/4 cup fresh ginger mashed
6 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
6 anise stars
Place the tea ingredients in a saucepan and pan boil for 5 minutes. Strain and set aside. Then place the cooled tea, coconut milk, condensed milk and ground cinnamon in the blender or hand blender. With the it on, add the evaporated milk, cream of coconut and rum. Chill for 4 hours in the refrigerator. Serves 25, when poured as a shot, which is traditionally how Coquito is served.
Eggnog from “King Cocktail” Dale DeGroff
1.5 ounces Makers Mark Bourbon
4 ounces fresh apple cider
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1-2 dashes of Dale’s
Assemble bourbon, cider, egg, and sugar in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake very well to completely emulsify the egg. Strain over ice into a large goblet and top with freshly grated nutmeg. Serves 6.


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TRADERS' TIPS: City insiders say buy Whitbread and sell Countryside after trading update
BUY THIS Berenberg has a buy rating on the group behind the Costa coffee and Premier Inn chains.
Whitbread hopes to have 85,000 hotel rooms under its Premier brand by 2020, up from 60,000 today, while Costa will be looking to continue its strong run by expanding in both the UK and overseas and deploying more of its Costa Express self-service machines.
Berenberg has a target of 5000p. At the close on Friday its share price was 3887p.
Expansion: Costa owners Whitbread are looking to expand the coffee shop chain in the UK and overseas
SELL THIS Investors are expecting positive news from Countryside’s forthcoming trading update.
The introduction of an extra stamp duty levy on second homes sparked a sales surge in the first quarter of the year.
But Whitman Howard brokers expect the housing market to be much flatter for the rest of 2016. Its note states: ‘Countryside’s operational gearing implies that any further revenue weakness will have a significant impact on earnings.’
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SPEECH: Chairman of
El Segundo toy company talks about ethics and new protocol after recalls.
By Rachel Konrad
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO – Robert A. Eckert, chairman and CEO of Mattel Inc., said Wednesday that the world’s largest toy maker has “significantly increased” spot testing and other safety protocols at manufacturing plants after the recall of more than 20 million products made in China.
“Trust can be earned and can be lost. Building credibility and trust takes time but can be dissolved in an instant,” the father of four told hundreds of executives gathered for an annual Business for Social Responsibility conference. “When my children say, `Dad, trust me,’ I always respond, `Deeds, not words.’ I believe that also applies to business.”
So far, more than 21 million toys made in China – from Baby Einstein Discover & Play Color Blocks by Kids II Inc., to Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway by RC2 Corp. – have been found to contain excessive levels of lead paint, tiny magnets that could be swallowed or other potentially serious problems. El Segundo-based Mattel has been at the center of the recall wave, with more than 20million affected products.
Eckert described Mattel’s new “three-point check system,” which is meant to ensure that toys with excessive levels of lead paint don’t end up in the hands of consumers.
The system requires all paint to be tested before the manufacturing process begins, and it applies to every vendor, contractor, subcontractor and paint storage facility. Mattel also banned contractors from outsourcing work to other locations, he said.
The company established a consumer call center dedicated to the recalls and has communicated with at least 6 million people by phone and e-mail. It has sent out 5million mailing labels so people can return recalled products.
Eckert also created a new “corporate responsibility organization” overseeing product quality, labor standards and sustainability. Mattel is working on “viable recycling options” for the recalled toys and their containers, he said.
Eckert stopped short of saying the recalls would never be repeated, emphasizing that “no business enterprise is perfect.” He also described the controls as “evolutionary, not revolutionary.”
But he said the beefed-up protocols weren’t simply to placate frightened customers; they were also meant for Wall Street.
“If you’d have asked me 10 years ago, I’d have said our role … is to earn a return on capital to make money,” Eckert said. “Today I’ve become evangelical about the fact that making money and doing good are complementary, not conflicting. It’s a responsibility.”


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Qualcomm’s longstanding dominance in LTE chipsets for smartphones, and specifically with Apple’s iPhone, is getting a major hit today. The European Commission today announced that it would be fining the company €997 million, or $1.23 billion, for abusing its market position between 2011 and 2016, related to its relationship with Apple. The figure works out to 4.9 percent of Qualcomm’s revenues in 2017. (And the 4.9 percent take was worked out based on the five+ year period of violation.)
“Qualcomm illegally shut out rivals from the market for LTE baseband chipsets for over five years, thereby cementing its market dominance,” said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in a statement. “Qualcomm paid billions of US Dollars to a key customer, Apple, so that it would not buy from rivals. These payments were not just reductions in price — they were made on the condition that Apple would exclusively use Qualcomm’s baseband chipsets in all its iPhones and iPads.
“This meant that no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market, no matter how good their products were. Qualcomm’s behaviour denied consumers and other companies more choice and innovation – and this in a sector with a huge demand and potential for innovative technologies. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules and why we have taken today’s decision.”
Intel, which was one of the key losers in that arrangement, has been scrambling to catch up for years and while now the iPhone is made using chipsets from both vendors. However, all is not completely resolved.
There may be more than simple anticompetitive practices at issue here, since some tests appear to show that iPhones run on Intel’s chips are performing slower than their Qualcomm-based counterparts. This could prove to be grounds for an appeal down the line.
We are reaching out to both companies for comment and will update this post as we get it.
The baseband chipsets at the center of this case are what enable smartphones to connect to cellular networks for voice and data services.
Qualcomm, as the EU points out, is the world’s biggest LTE supplier, making it a target for regulators looking into those who abuse their market dominance.
This is not the first time that Qualcomm has been under regulatory scrutiny. The company faced an $854 million fine in South Korea over anticompetitive practices, forcing vendors to pay royalties on its patents.
And vendor financing, which is the practice by which companies essentially pay customers to take on big orders of their equipment, is not a new thing — it was particularly strong in the late Nineties and early 00’s when telecoms networks were rapidly updating legacy infrastructure and building new mobile and digital networks.
Prior to this, Qualcomm was also fined in Korea to the tune of $208 million over its CDMA dominance back in 2009.
Qualcomm’s deal with Apple, in which it committed payments to Apple to secure exclusivity, started in 2011 and then were renewed in 2013.
“The agreement made clear that Qualcomm would cease these payments, if Apple commercially launched a device with a chipset supplied by a rival,” the EC notes in its statement. “Furthermore, for most of the time the agreement was in place, Apple would have had to return to Qualcomm a large part of the payments it had received in the past, if it decided to switch suppliers. This meant that Qualcomm’s rivals were denied the possibility to compete effectively for Apple’s significant business, no matter how good their products were. They were also denied business opportunities with other customers that could have followed from securing Apple as a customer.
“In fact, internal documents show that Apple gave serious consideration to switching part of its baseband chipset requirements to Intel. Qualcomm’s exclusivity condition was a material factor why Apple decided against doing so, until the agreement came to an end. Then, in September 2016, when the agreement was about to expire and the cost of switching under its terms was limited, Apple started to source part of its baseband chipset requirements from Intel. But until then, Qualcomm’s practices denied consumers and other companies the benefits of effective competition, namely more choice and innovation.”
We’ll update this post as we learn more.


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From Steve Jobs almost nixing the Genius Bar to the big, bad, scary entity that keeps us advertising folk up at night, here’s What We Read this week.
Study: Majority of retailers are ready to invest in IoTFrom innovative delivery services to micro-locationing, here’s another interesting study that analyzes the technology trends that are impacting and shaping the future of the retail industry.
Karen Johnson, Senior Account Director
Steve Jobs initially blasted Genius Bars at Apple storesExperiential retail is all the rage right now. Consumers don’t need to come to your brick and mortar store anymore, as the argument goes, so you better offer an in-person brand experience at retail to draw consumers. We know that Apple is a pioneer in experiential retail, but this article from Apple Insider suggests that the Genius Bar, a signature of any Apple store, nearly was killed by none other than super genius Steve Jobs: “I’ve never met someone who knows technology who knows how to connect with people. They’re all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar,” Jobs reportedly said.
CJ Powell, Writer
Forget Facebook and Google: The ad world thinks this tech giant is ‘terrifying’The advertising world continues to evolve and new opportunities arise and it’s important to be open to change help clients navigate the transition to a more digital-centric approach.
Ali Lego, Chief Operating Officer
The Year of Mobile Strikes Again!Mobile continues to grow (no surprise), and as more and more budgets are shifted to mobile, where’s the money coming from? This article highlighting topics from last week’s Mobile World Summit suggests TV is continuing to see a decline. In fact, in 2017, total digital budgets will surpass TV for the first time.
Anne Wright, Director of Client Services
Eight Times American Brands Got PoliticalWe’re in a time when many Americans are taking a political stand, and a lot of us choose to spend our dollars with like-minded companies. Brands certainly have influence today, but it isn’t a new phenomenon. Here are Eight Times American Brands Got Political in history.
Elizabeth Knight, Account Supervisor
“Degrading” Saint Laurent Campaign Under Fire by French Ad WatchdogWorld renowned fashion designer, Yves St Laurent, is in some trouble for releasing sexist ads. The ads are highly offensive, and people have taken to social media to express their disapproval of the ads. Designers need to understand their impact on not just grown women, but young girls who might interpret this to be the way women should look and behave.
Teri Springer, Senior Art Director


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JONESBORO, Ark. – Several vehicles at Nebo Auto Center faced a costly incident when catalytic converters were snatched from them between August 5 and 7.
The theft, which took place at 3910 S. Stadium Boulevard, specifically targeted two vehicles on the dealership’s parking lot. Among the victimized vehicles was a maroon 2018 Toyota Tundra pickup. The converters, frequently sold as scrap metal, have cost the dealership an estimated $4,000 in damages.
In Arkansas, stealing catalytic converters is considered a felony, reflecting the severity and cost of the crime.
The Jonesboro Police Department (JPD) is actively investigating the thefts and seeks the public’s help. If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are urged to reach out to JPD immediately.


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Merger Monday gave us a juicy corporate shopping spree this year, with over $60bn of corporate mergers and acquisitions announced in a single day.
What’s Merger Monday?
A festive movie analogy for y’all: if Black Friday was Home Alone 1 and Cyber Monday was Home Alone 2, Merger Monday would be the Home Alone 3 which you probably don’t care as much for. It’s one of three informally recognised days surrounding the US Thanksgiving holidays.
Why is Merger Monday even a “thing”?
Corporate boards and executives tend to announce deals they have been working on behind the scenes on the Monday before Thanksgiving over in the US, with the hope of wrapping up media events and press conferences related to said deals ahead of some (hopefully peaceful) quality time with family & friends over the Thanksgiving weekend.
A quick list of the deals announced - details in links:
Charles Schwab announced plans to buy TD Ameritrade for $26bn, creating a ginormous brokerage with over $5 trillion in assets.
LVMH announced plans to buy Tiffany for $16.2bn, with a previous $14.5bn offer having been rejected last month.
Novartis announced plans to buy The Medicines Co. - which is currently developing an innovative cholestrol drug - for $9.7bn.
Viagogo announced plans to buy Stubhub from eBay for $4.1bn, combining the leading second-hand ticketing sites in Europe and the US.
Mitsubishi and partners announced plans to buy Dutch utility Eneco Dutch utility Eneco for €4.1bn, fighting off Royal Dutch Shell and KKR shaped competition.
Why should you care?
A fair question given the holiday shopping frenzy currently underway, so we’ll keep it short.
While some of the industry redefining deals above are far from done (Charles Schwab x TD Ameritrade and Viagogo x Stubhub may be subject to regulatory scrutiny for potentially lowering the competitive forces in their respective industries), the mere fact that corporate executives feel confident enough to announce these deals is a positive sign.
This becomes clearer with some context - prior to Merger Monday, there had been a notable slowdown in merger activity this year, with several companies deciding against merging or acquiring other companies given uncertainty around global economic growth and the US / China trade war. While these risks still remain, the fact that a number of company executives now seem more willing to engage in mergers and acquisitions has been be taken as a sign of increased confidence in the global economy, helping US stock markets reach fresh record highs early in the week. Again.
Economic conditions still remain relatively fragile, but adding a blockbuster Merger Monday to the recent stock market rally and sprinkling a little support from central banks on top gave investors a rather delicious bull-market shaped Thanksgiving pudding to indulge in 🥧
What Else is Going On?
Black Friday vs. Climate Strikes
Consumerism vs. Environmentalism 🥊
Yesterday’s Black Friday sales were accompanied by Climate Strikes across the globe, with young people everywhere taking to the streets demanding action on Climate Change. There’s currently a divide between companies who are taking a stand against Black Friday and the excessive consumerism it encourages, and those who are running harder to meet demand. It seems finding a balance between our desires as consumers and our desire to protect the planet isn’t so easy after all.
They Think It’s All Over...
An influential and historically accurate poll suggested Boris Johnson is on course to win an overwhelming majority in Parliament, but the Conservatives are keen to avoid any complacency, having come under fire on the NHS this week. It’s a long way back for the Labour Party from here, with under 2 weeks left until Election Day - but it’s not over yet.
Ocado shares had a great day yesterday, gaining 10% following news that the company has been hired by Japan’s largest supermarket group AEON to help develop the technology for its grocery eCommerce business. The one-time British online grocery service is looking increasingly like a tech company - it generates an increasing amount of its value from working with grocery chains worldwide to provide software & hardware solutions for grocery eCommerce. The partnership with AEON marks the company’s first in Asia, with investors hoping for more to come.
Foes, not Friends 👫
What started as a friendly takeover attempt of HP by Xerox is turning hostile, fast. HP management turned down Xerox’s $33.5bn offer for the company, saying the valuation did not reflect HP’s true value as a company. Xerox disagrees, and in turn will take the $33.5bn offer directly to HP shareholders. Watch this space for more...
Come Get Me
Not one to be outdone by Merger Monday deal announcements, private equity firm Apollo “What’s Thanksgiving?” Global increased its bid for technology equipment distributor Tech Data on Black Friday in the face of a competing bid from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. “Black Friday Bargain Hunting” clearly means something entirely different for the executives at Apollo.
Please know, the value of investments can go up as well as down and you may receive back less than your original investment, meaning, when investing your capital is at risk.
Disclaimer: At Evarvest we believe in making investing and investment education more accessible, but we don’t provide investment advice and individual investors should make their own decisions. While we try our best, we cannot ensure the accuracy of the information we provide.
This content is copyright protected by Evarvest Limited (12544579). Evarvest Limited refers to the Evarvest network and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, each of which is a separate legal entity.
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Over the months we have seen how Motorola has been able to position itself as one of the most interesting brands for medium and high range in Latin America.
This firm, belonging to Lenovo, for years presented us with smartphones with some considerable areas of opportunity to improve, especially in the field of the main camera and the battery.
But with recent models, like the Moto G200 5Gwe have found that the company has configured a new era for its devices, with an optimal and attractive balance in its technical specifications, its performance and particularly its price.
As would be expected and natural with any brand that reaches this stage of its development cycle, Lenovo has begun exploring new territory in more complex segments.
So now, surprisingly, we discover that the firm is aiming quite high, to compete against Samsung in a field that could be considered still relatively unexplored: phones that unwind and expand.
The first Motorola rollable is shown at the Lenovo Tech World 2022 conference
According to a report by colleagues at GSM ArenaMotorola’s parent company has held the Lenovo Tech World 2022 event, where it has surprisingly shown several very interesting concepts for future devices that it is currently developing.
It is obvious that there are several projects At the door the company and when Luca Rossi, executive vice president of Lenovo Group, took the stage we saw an interesting gallery of ideas.
But there was one that stole all the spotlight. The concept of Motorola’s first smartphone that unrolls and stretches:
In the purest style of a scroll with a display that surrounds much of the body of the device, this prototype was shown as one of the most interesting developments under the umbrella of Lenovo.
From what could be seen on the chara, the device has an expandable panel, which can increase its dimensions from 5 to 6.5 inches.
However, one of the most interesting details was perhaps that it was possible to observe how the interface and content of smartphones adjusted dynamically to the change in the dimensions of its display.
This is undoubtedly a glimpse into the future of what awaits us smartphone users in not too long a time.
Unfortunately Lenovo did not raise an approximate tentative date for the launch of this device.


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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, in India is currently prepping up to the launch of its all new compact SUV, the Compass. The automaker has already showcased the same to the media along with revealing all its specifications and details combined. The automaker is betting big on this SUV as the same is locally manufactured and hence is to sport a competitive price point.
This however is not the only exciting news around the FCA brand in India. If media reports are to be believed, the company might just soon pull the plug on the aging Punto hatchback and the Linea sedan. As to when the same is to happen, is not confirmed yet.
However, it is to be believed that the soon to be unveiled Fiat Argo could be a possible replacement for the Punto, while the space for the Linea could be taken up by the Fiat Tipo.
Fiat has recently teased a video of the Argo which is to soon arrive in the Brazilian market. Based on the automaker’s small wide platform, the Argo could arrive in the Indian car market by the year 2018.
The Argo shares quite a lot of its features from the Tipo but gets several features which are unique to this vehicle as well. These include new LED DRLs, a v-shaped crease on the bonnet, a brand new instrument cluster, roof mounted spoiler among the others.
The cabin of the Fiat Argo is to be premium and feature rich. It is likely to come equip with multiple creature comforts, which is to include the likes of multi-functional steering wheel, touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control to name a few.
The engine specifications of the Fiat Argo will consists of both petrol as well as diesel powertrains. The former is to be a 1.2-litre engine churning out 67bhp along with 96Nm of peak torque. The latter on the other hand is to come with a 1.3-litre unit producing 90bhp along with 208nm of peak torque. The transmission responsibilities will be taken care of by a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard, while there also be a 5-speed automatic on offer.
Talking about the prices, the Fiat Argo is likely to fall in the price bracket of INR 5 to 8 lakh.


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New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law this week giving licensed cannabis businesses a standard business tax credit, aimed at making the state’s regulated marijuana industry more viable. The bill, which separates New Jersey’s tax code from federal tax code Section 280E, was signed into law by Murphy on Monday after the state legislature
The post New Jersey Governor Signs Bill Extending Tax Deductions to Cannabis Companies appeared first on Cannabis News | NUG Magazine.
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Director of Animal Care and Control for Los Angeles County
Marcia Mayeda on KCRW
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North Korea could pose a threat to countries across Southeast Asia as it looks to exploit cryptocurrency exchanges due to gaps in regulatory frameworks, according to a new report.
The research from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) finds that as North Korea continues to circumvent international sanctions, it’s turning its attention to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Due to the proximity of Southeast Asia to North Korea, this makes it vulnerable to the nation’s cryptocurrency activity.
“Since Southeast Asia also features a nascent but burgeoning cryptocurrency industry, local law enforcement agencies will likely require further knowledge and resources to ensure that they can successfully respond to cryptocurrency-related criminal activity over time should the local cryptocurrency industry continue to grow in scale,” the report reads.
Cryptocurrency in Southeast Asia
Specifically, the research evaluates Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with the use of…


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We were recently invited to take part in the recent Selangor International Expo (SIE) 2017. It was organised by the Selangor government, to bring together different industry players under one roof. The event was held in Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC) in Setia Alam, Shah Alam.
The event took place from September 14 – 17, 2017, where the first two days were for trade visitors, and the rest of the days were open to public. We received quite a number of inquiries from foreign delegates.
It was also a great opportunity to interact with customers, who have been consuming our products, and knowing which are their favourite herbal tea (yay!)
All in all, we had a great time, and most importantly, knowing that more customers know about our delicious, aromatic, homegrown, Malaysian tea! (note: We had this customer, who loved our tea so much, that she drank so many cups and refused to leave. She couldn’t decide which tea to buy, so she ended buying all! LOL)


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Shirley Johnson, owner and operator of A’Dashi announced today she is offering A’Dashi for sale. “It is time for someone else to carry on the A’Dashi tradition, while I crave out more time to spend with my family and my young dressage horse,” explains, Johnson.
Johnson, a self-admitted perfectionist, got the idea for the A’Dashi boutique almost a decade ago. It was her dream to create a boutique that “offered only the very best for those who enjoy the equestrian lifestyle”. A’Dashi debuted in 1997 during the Winter Equestrian Festival. Since then equestrians throughout the United States and Europe have become addicted to Johnson’s unique blend of equestrian necessities and fine European fashions. Along with A’Dashi’s mobile store that has been a constant at the top United States Dressage events, including Devon, the World Cup, WEF and the California dressage circuit, A’Dashi’s home base has been a quaint boutique located in the heart of Wellington.
Johnson, a former US Olympic Festival Medalist and dressage judge, combined her love of horses with her fashion and business sense to spawn A’Dashi, “which was has truly become an icon”. Johnson employed the help of Olympic medalist, Lisa Wilcox, to promote the brand’s European flair. Wilcox, who resides in Europe, has been the store’s fashion model for the past two years. “Lisa helped us identify with our equestrian clientele, while also solidifying our brand as a fashion boutique for the Wellington woman who enjoys a sporty lifestyle,” says Johnson. Johnson’s success formula has created a strong brand and opportunity for the next lucky buyer.
Going into season, it is business as usual for Johnson until A’Dashi is sold. Then Johnson, will join her family in Texas, where she and her husband are building a new home close to her son, daughter-in-law and grandson. Johnson’s mom, Joyce Ferbrache, who has assisted her with A’Dashi, will retire in Texas also. “I am looking forward to spending time my family and also working with my young dressage prospect. He is truly the most talented young horse, I have ever owned,” added Johnson.


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|Representatives of BIM Group and AEON Việt Nam Co Ltd at the signing ceremony. — VNS Photo|
HÀ NỘI — Property developer BIM Group and the AEON Việt Nam Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the leading Japanese retail and financial services corporation AEON, have signed a co-operation agreement to build a new shopping mall in Hà Nội’s Hà Đông District.
The mall, with a total floor area of over 200,000sq.m, will be AEON’s second in Hà Nội. Construction will start in 2017 and is expected to be completed in April, 2019.
The project is designed to provide parking for thousands of cars and will also be connected to public transportation with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route 1 running from Yên Nghĩa Station to Kim Mã Station and BRT route 2 running from Kim Mã Station to Hòa Lạc High-tech Park. Eventually it will also be linked to the Cát Linh-Hà Đông elevated urban railway project.
When put into operation in 2019, AEON Mall Hà Đông is expected to create thousands of jobs for local workers.
BIM Group is partnering with many famous international brands, including Frasers Hospitality, InterContinental Hotels Group, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels and The Ascott Limited.
AEON is now one of the largest retailing groups in the world with over 179 member companies both inside and outside Japan. Its business operation expanded to 14 countries and territories, including eight Asian countries. AEON has been present in Việt Nam since 2009 and currently has four shopping malls in the country. — VNS


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FedEx® has announced its largest General Rate Increase in almost a decade, and it’s a big one at 5.9% on average, according to the carrier.
But what does average even mean? Chances are your rates will be going up by some other amount – an amount probably more than 5.9%. The challenge is that it’s on you to figure out. Understanding how and where your rates will be affected is the first step to mitigating these increases where you can.
This is no easy task with rate increases all over the board and for nearly all of the carrier’s services and surcharges. But we can help.
Our report identifies the main takeaways that the TransImpact parcel experts pulled from the report that shippers like you need to be aware of. Armed with this analysis, the true impact of the 2022 FedEx® GRI will come into focus and give you the knowledge you need to take action.


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Rustan’s The Beauty Source in partnership with Moët & Chandon and Belvedere brought to Cebu for the first time their annual Rustan’s Beauty Addict event.
Tag: Jo Malone London
Zee Lifestyle celebrates 20 years of Cebu lifestyle with the Emerald Ball, the glitziest event this side of the country.
‘Tis the season for gift giving, scented entertaining, decadent wrapping, sophistication, color and fun. And, of course, the holidays would be so much better if you find these under your Christmas tree.
Zee Lifestyle continues to celebrate 20 years of being Cebu’s premier lifestyle bible with its anniversary exhibit ongoing at The Gallery, Ayala Center Cebu.
One of Jo Malone London’s best seller, Lime Basil and Mandarin is now joined by…


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Australia’s biggest ever electric vehicle event will power up this Friday, with a fleet of EV world experts and enthusiasts set to share their knowledge.
The Australian Electric Vehicle Association 2020 EV Vision e-Conference will focus on Australia’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and a phase out of fuel-dependent cars in the international market.
“The transport industry is undergoing a radical transformation, with the next few years set to bring more change both internationally, and importantly, here in Australia,” says Australian Electric Vehicle Association President Chris Nash.
“We are seeing a huge surge in automakers preparing to phase out cars powered solely by internal combustion engines, as governments look to put the brakes on fuel emissions, and the growth of EVs and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) continue to climb.”
The online conference will feature 45 speakers from around the world, including Australia’s Fully Charged Show founder and president, Robert Llewellyn and Norwegian EV Association Secretary General, Christina Bu.
Keynote speaker, Electric Vehicle Council CEO, Behyad Jafari says the conference will be a valuable event for the transport industry.
“This is a great opportunity for Australia to harness the collective knowledge of industry experts from around the world and really gather intelligence on how to move Australia’s transport industry forward,” Mr Jafari said.
Lily D’Ambrosio, the Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, will open the conference and is expected to make an announcement regarding Victoria’s EV future.


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Sixty-foot flames were just minutes away from engulfing the headquarters and warehouse of San Diego-based RoadRunner Sports. But the athletic shoes cataloger was given a reprieve.
It was 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 26, and CEO/ “chief runner” Michael Gotfredson was on the roof of RoadRunner’s headquarters with a hose to ward off the embers. Fifteen minutes later, however, the company’s luck changed thanks to Mother Nature. “At right around a quarter of three, the wind shifted,” Gotfredson recalls. “Wildfires had never been a problem before in 20 years of business. This is a once-in-a-20-year deal.”
Gotfredson says he can’t complain since the company came out of the experience undamaged, and employees were shaken up, though unharmed physically and financially. “Miraculously, out of 300 employees, nobody’s home burned,” he says. “A number were evacuated, though.”
The wildfire did, however, disrupt the company’s delivery schedule, holding up orders by 48 hours due to two lost days of work, with no orders taken over the phone and no shipping on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27. To keep customers apprised of the situation, the company put notes explaining the delay in packages, posted information on the Website, and a recorded a message about the wildfire for those calling its toll-free number.