text:
- The UK’s Green Travel List: Top 10 Countries
- Why These Countries Made the List
- What Makes a Country “Green” for Travel?
- The UK’s Green Travel List: The Bottom 10 Countries
- Why These Countries Didn’t Make the List
- What Makes a Country “Not Green” for Travel?
- The UK’s Green Travel List: How It Was Compiled
- What the List Means for Travelers
- What the List Means for the Environment
- What the List Means for the Future of Travel
The Top 10 Countries on the UK’s Green Travel List – from Costa Rica to the Cook Islands, find out where you can go to help save the planet.
Checkout this video:
The UK’s Green Travel List: Top 10 Countries
The UK has released its inaugural “Green Travel List,” which ranks the top 10 countries in the world for sustainable tourism.
Topping the list is Costa Rica, which is praised for its efforts to protect its natural resources and promote sustainable tourism practices. The country has more than a quarter of its land area designated as protected parks and reserves, and is working to become carbon-neutral by 2021.
Other countries in the top 10 include France, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. All of these nations are leaders in promoting sustainable tourism practices and protecting their natural environments.
The UK’s Green Travel List is an important tool for promoting sustainable tourism around the world. By highlighting the successes of these 10 nations, other countries can learn from their example and work towards becoming more sustainable themselves.
Why These Countries Made the List
The United Kingdom has released its “Green Travel List” of the top 10 countries that are friendly to tourists who want to travel in an eco-conscious way. The list was compiled after taking into consideration a number of factors, including each country’s commitment to environmental protection, its infrastructure for sustainable tourism, and the experiences and activities that it offers visitors.
The countries that made the list are:
1. Costa Rica
9. New Zealand
What Makes a Country “Green” for Travel?
There are many factors that go into making a country “green” for travel purposes. To create the list, the UK considered such things as a country’s emissions, public transportation, renewable energy, and nature and marine conservation. The list reflects a broad range of both developed and developing countries that are leading the way in sustainable travel practices.
What follows are the Top 10 Countries on the UK’s Green Travel List:
The UK’s Green Travel List: The Bottom 10 Countries
The UK’s Green Travel List is a ranking of the world’s countries according to their sustainability and environmental friendliness.
The bottom 10 countries on the list are:
10. United States
3. South Africa
Why These Countries Didn’t Make the List
There are a number of reasons why some countries didn’t make the top 10 on the UK’s green travel list.
Some countries, such as China and India, have a rapidly growing economy and a large population. This results in a high demand for resources, which can put strain on the environment.
Other countries, such as those in the Middle East, rely heavily on oil and gas exports. This means that they often have less incentive to invest in renewable energy sources.
Finally, some countries simply don’t have the infrastructure in place to support sustainable tourism. This includes things like public transport and recycling facilities.
Despite these challenges, there are a number of countries that are working hard to improve their environmental credentials. Morocco, for example, is investing heavily in solar power, while Costa Rica has pledged to become carbon-neutral by 2021.
What Makes a Country “Not Green” for Travel?
The Top 10 Countries on the UK’s Green Travel List may not be as “green” as you think. In fact, many of these destinations are quite harmful to the environment. Here are some of the factors that make a country “not green” for travel:
-The country has a high carbon footprint from air travel.
-The country’s tourism industry is damaging to local ecosystems.
-The country has a low recycling rate and produces a lot of waste.
-The country is heavily reliant on fossil fuels for energy.
So, what makes a country “green” for travel? Here are some factors to consider:
-The country has a low carbon footprint from air travel.
-The country’s tourism industry is sustainable and benefits local communities.
-The country has a high recycling rate and produces little waste.
-The country is powered by renewable energy sources.
The UK’s Green Travel List: How It Was Compiled
The UK’s Green Travel List is a list of the top 10 countries that are considered to be the most sustainable and eco-friendly. The list was compiled by a team of travel experts, who looked at a variety of factors, including each country’s emissions levels, environmental protection policies, and renewable energy initiatives.
What the List Means for Travelers
The UK’s “green list” of countries safe for leisure travel has been updated, with Portugal, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates among the destinations now included. The news will be welcomed by many Brits eager to get away after months of lockdown, but what does the list actually mean for travelers?
Here are some things to keep in mind:
– The list is subject to change. The UK government has said that it will review the list every three weeks and make changes as necessary based on the latest data. This means that even if your destination is on the list when you book your trip, it may no longer be by the time you travel.
– The list only applies to England. Travel restrictions in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are decided separately by their devolved governments.
– There are still restrictions in place for all travel, even to green list countries. For example, you must quarantine for 10 days upon returning to England from a green list country (reducing to five if you take a test on days two and eight of your quarantine). And since international travel is not currently recommended by the UK government, your travel insurance may not cover you if you do go ahead with a trip.
So while the updated green list gives some hope for summer travel this year, it’s important to remember that there are still risks involved.
What the List Means for the Environment
The United Kingdom has released its annual “Green Travel List,” and for the second year in a row, Costa Rica has topped the list. The list is compiled by considering a number of factors, including emissions from transport, carbon offsetting schemes, environmental awareness campaigns, and the proportion of renewable energy used.
This year’s list also includes a number of new entries, such as Portugal, Spain, and Malta. The full list is as follows:
1. Costa Rica
What the List Means for the Future of Travel
What the List Means for the Future of Travel
The UK’s Green Travel List is a strong indication that sustainable and eco-friendly travel is on the rise. The list, which was compiled by responsibletravel.com, features the top 10 countries that are “doing the most to promote sustainable tourism.”
Countries that made the list are leaders in sustainable tourism practices, such as supporting local economies, protecting natural habitats, and promoting cultural heritage. The list is a valuable resource for travelers who want to make sure their vacations have a positive impact on the planet.
The UK’s Green Travel List is significant because it shows that eco-friendly travel is no longer a niche market. Sustainable tourism is becoming mainstream, and this trend is likely to continue in the years to come. As more travelers become aware of the environmental impact of their vacation choices, they will seek out destinations that offer green travel options.
The countries on the UK’s Green Travel List are paving the way for a more sustainable future for travel. By supporting sustainable tourism practices, they are setting an example for other countries to follow. As sustainable tourism becomes more popular, it will help to protect our planet for future generations of travelers.


text:
A recent Ofcom report highlighted that some parents were not aware that family friendly internet controls exist but that 85% of parents either talk to their children regularly about internet safety, apply filters or supervise internet access.
Talk Talk, Virgin, Sky and BT have all agreed to introduce network filters for all internet devices by the end of 2014. This will make it much easier for parents to control what their children access. For more information on this go to The Educational App Store Blog.
By the end of 2013 there will be more mobile devices on Earth than people!
6 % of iPad users say they could live without it!
63% of iPad users use them to read books.
Some studies show that children who have access to iPads do better in school that those who don’t.
Apple’s extensive catalogue of free educational apps are used by over 1000 colleges worldwide.

domain: news


text:
Deborah James x In The Style charity collab launches
Digital women's fashion retailer In The Style has announced its newest celebrity partnership with Dame Deborah James and The Bowelbabe Fund.
Having been in development for several months, the collaboration has now launched with the sale of the bespoke Bowelbabe 'Rebellious Hope' T-shirt. All profits from the T-shirt will be donated directly to The Bowelbabe Fund, which raises money for Cancer Research UK.
Following the launch of the charity T-shirt, the full ITS X Dame Deborah James clothing collection will be unveiled. Each piece has been designed collaboratively with Dame Deborah and “perfectly encapsulates the British summertime and activities that [she] loves”.
The Bowelbabe Fund was founded by Deborah James and her family earlier this month to help fund clinical trials and research into new treatments for cancer patients, as well as raising awareness of bowel cancer. In less than a week since its foundation, it has already surpassed £6 million in donations.
This collaboration is the latest fundraising by In The Style with it saying it has raised more than £1 million for charities including the Samaritans, Family Action and Age UK through sale of special charity collections since the company was founded in 2013.
Deborah James said: “The reason why I wanted to do this collection with In The Style is because it has been something totally different to cancer for me. I love fashion and anyone who knows me or has followed me for years knows I love my dresses and I am always hunting for the best prints.”
In The Style Founder & Chief Brand Officer Adam Frisby added: "Although I wish I were saying this under different circumstances, I am incredibly proud of this collaboration. I've followed Deborah for a long time and her constant positivity, uplifting spirit, and overall mentality of living her life to the full to make sure every day counts is an inspiration to me, our team, and everyone else who has come across her journey.
“The team at In The Style have done everything they can to ensure Dame Deborah could see the release of this range, and I'm so incredibly proud of what she has created and everything it stands for.”
Deborah James has documented her fight against bowel cancer for several years, but recently announced that the illness was in its final stage. She was made a Dame only a few days ago.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


text:
Vietnam Airways will start direct flights from Ho Chi Minh Metropolis to Bali in Indonesia.
On the similar time, the flag-carrier may also launch new departures to Phuket, tourism capital of Thailand.
The brand new routes convey the favored vacation islands, identified for his or her lovely seashores, various meals tradition and a variety of festivals inside a direct flight from Vietnam.
From October 27th till March subsequent 12 months, the service anticipated to function the Bali route 5 instances per week.
This is because of operational restrictions at Denpasar Airport.
After this, it’s anticipated to turn out to be a every day flight.
Flights will depart from Ho Chi Minh Metropolis at 11:10 and from Bali at 16:50 each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday of every week.
That is the second route launched by Vietnam Airways that connects Vietnam and Indonesia, following the launch of companies between Ho Chi Minh Metropolis and Jakarta in December 2012.
In the meantime, Vietnam Airways’ third route connecting Vietnam and Thailand might be run 3 times weekly, departing from Ho Chi Minh Metropolis at 15:50 and from Phuket at 18:40 each Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
Le Hong Ha, government vp of Vietnam Airways, mentioned: “The brand new routes show Vietnam Airways’ dedication in frequently increasing our huge community and including a brand new degree of comfort and adaptability to passengers’ journeys.
“Other than providing new, thrilling continuous companies, these routes additionally facilitate worldwide travellers from Europe, Japan, South Korea and plenty of different components of the world to simply entry well-known locations like Bali and Phuket by way of Vietnam Airways’ connecting flights.”
These new flights are operated with Airbus A321 plane.


text:
Honeywell (NYSE:HON) is introducing an Internet-connected thermostat called the Lyric. AppleInsider reports that the Lyric will be able to adjust the temperature of the user’s home dynamically, using geofencing to detect when the owner is close to the house so that it can return the home to the preferred temperature, and regulate the temperature to save on energy costs while the owner is away. As The Verge reports, the geofence will have two settings: a 7-mile radius appropriate for those who live in the suburbs and a 500-foot radius more suited to those who live in cities.
Honeywell says that users can control the thermostat with a smartphone app, or with controls located on the unit itself. Using a sensor, the Lyric can detect when a user walks up to the unit, and will display the current temperature of the home, as well as a colored ring indicating the system’s current activity. It will show orange when heating, blue when cooling, and green when operating in an energy-saving mode. A feature called Fine Tune will also see the Lyric considering current indoor and outdoor temperatures, humidity levels, and weather as it regulates the heating and cooling levels in the home. Honeywell says that the Lyric will find and maintain “the most comfortable” temperature for the owner’s house.
The Lyric, expected to be available in August for $279, is Honeywell’s response to competitors like Nest, which created the Nest Learning Thermostat and was recently acquired by Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). Nest does not feature the geofencing capability that’s a major appeal of Honeywell’s Lyric. Nest’s smart thermostat is also not yet part of a larger home automation system, as Honeywell’s is expected to be. Honeywell has partnered with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to manufacture products compatible with Apple’s HomeKit, a home automation system that will launch with iOS 8 this fall. (Though there’s been no official announcement yet, it’s likely that Lyric will be updated with HomeKit integration when the operating system launches this fall.)


text:
A massive campaign has infected over 4,500 WordPress websites as part of a long-running operation that’s been believed to be active since at least 2017.
The latest operation is said to have been active since December 26, 2022, according to data from urlscan.io. A prior wave seen in early December 2022 impacted more than 3,600 sites, while another set of attacks recorded in September 2022 ensnared more than 7,000 sites.
The rogue code is inserted in the WordPress index.php file, with Sucuri noting that it has removed such changes from more than 33,000 files on the compromised sites in the past 60 days.
“In recent months, this malware campaign has gradually switched from the notorious fake CAPTCHA push notification scam pages to black hat ‘ad networks’ that alternate between redirects to legitimate, sketchy, and purely malicious websites,” Sucuri researcher Denis Sinegubko said.
Thus when unsuspecting users land on one of the hacked WordPress sites, a redirect chain is triggered by means of a traffic direction system, landing the victims on pages serving sketchy ads about products that ironically block unwanted ads.
Even more troublingly, the website for one such ad blocker named Crystal Blocker is engineered to display misleading browser update alerts to trick the users into installing its extension depending on the web browser used.
“And while the extensions indeed have ad blocking functionality, there is no guarantee that they are safe to use — and may contain undisclosed functions in the current version or in future updates,” Sinegubko explained.
Some of the redirects also fall into the outright nefarious category, with the infected websites acting as a conduit for initiating drive-by downloads.
This also includes retrieving from Discord CDN an information-stealing malware known as Raccoon Stealer, which is capable of plundering sensitive data such as passwords, cookies, autofill data from browsers, and crypto wallets.
Google has since stepped in to block one of the rogue domains involved in the redirect scheme, classifying it as an unsafe site that installs “unwanted or malicious software on visitors’ computers.”


text:
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. has confirmed that David Bozeman, an executive of the Ford Motor Co., will be its next CEO.
The role is effective June 26, according to a news release.
Bozeman is currently vice president of the customer service division and enthusiast brands at Ford (NYSE: F). Before joining the automaker last August, Bozeman spent five-plus years as vice president of Amazon Transportation Services. Before that, he spent more than eight years in top positions at Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and more than 16 years at Harley-Davidson Motor Co. (NYSE: HOG).
FreightWaves initially reported Bozeman’s appointment on Friday.
In a statement Tuesday, Jodee Kozlak, chairman of the board of directors of C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW), said: “Dave is a seasoned executive who has a strong track record of reinventing complex operating models with industry-wide impact, proven expertise in global supply chain and logistics management through various economic cycles and extensive experience leading high performing teams and cultures to drive results. Dave is the right leader to take C.H. Robinson’s vision forward.”
Bozeman said, “It is an honor to be joining C.H. Robinson and to lead the next chapter of such an exceptional company. I look forward to working alongside a strong management team and with talented employees to deliver for our customers and accelerate the next phase of sustained growth and success.”
Kumar Galhotra, the president of Ford Blue, congratulated Bozeman and wished him “every success.”
“Dave’s an exceptional leader and partner, and we appreciate his contributions to Ford,” Galhotra said.
Scott Anderson has been serving as C.H. Robinson’s interim CEO since January, when Bob Biesterfeld was let go from the role. Anderson will continue in his role until Bozeman joins the company and will also continue to serve as a member of C.H. Robinson’s board.
This is a developing story.


text:
Bellagio Hotel & Casino
3600 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Thursday, November 3, 2011
WILL THE MOBILE PHONE REPLACE CARDS?
While companies have been developing mobile payment solutions for some time, the technology is positioned to take off. The pay-by-phone market is forecast to make up $22 billion in transactions by 2015, up from "practically none" last year, according to research firm Aite Group. Mercatus LLC, a Boston-based consulting firm, said in a recent study that more than half of U.S. consumers, and almost 80 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 34, will use mobile financial services within five years. What do these statistics mean for the future of plastic cards? Join this panel discussion as they debate and discuss this question, and help you prepare for the convergence of mobile banking and plastic cards.


text:
On Thursday, Amazon.com Inc said it would shut down its online learning platform for high-school students in India after less than two years of its launch, without giving any particular explanation.
Launched early last year due to the rise in online learning as a result of Covid 19, the Amazon Academy platform offered coaching for competitive exams including Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), which allows entry into top engineering colleges including IITs across India.
As per an assessment, the ecommerce behemoth said in a statement that it had made the decision to shut down Amazon Academy “in a phased manner to take care of current customers”.
The decision comes at a time when various edtech platforms are suffering under the pressure of schools and coaching centres reopening across India post the COVID-19-induced lockdowns.
In October 2022, industry leader Byju’s had said it would lay off 2,500 employees in an attempt to turn profitable.
According to local media reports, other players Unacademy, Toppr, WhiteHat Jr, and Vedantu had also announced layoffs earlier this year.


text:
META has described rumors that the company’s billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to resign as “false”.
According to the British “Daily Mail” report, insiders revealed that the 38-year-old has decided to resign as the head of META, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
The decision “will not affect” Zuckerberg’s multibillion-dollar virtual reality project Metaverse, which has cost the company at least $30 billion, they said.
On Tuesday, however, the company’s communications officer, Andy Stone, tweeted that the rumors were false. He simply tweeted: “This is fake.”
The rumors come after the company recently announced that it was laying off a large number of employees due to declining corporate profits.
Investors and analysts have blamed the company’s downfall on Zuckerberg and other executives turning their attention to the Metaverse, which has yet to generate enough interest.
Shares of the social media giant have fallen nearly 70% in the last year but are trending higher after the report.
all rights reserved. This material and other digital content on this site may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior express written permission of PUNCH.
touch: [email protected]


text:
Marriott International’s recent growth in Spain has led to a major expansion of its global sales network in the country. The company’s new global sales office in Madrid, Spain is based at the AC Hotel Cuzco and is now open, complementing our Barcelona Global Sales Office and recent hotel developments in the country.
“Marriott International’s presence in Spain has significantly grown since the AC Hotels by Marriott and Autograph Collection brands joined our global portfolio in 2010. In fact we now have over 80 hotels in Spain, more than any other country in Europe. We are thrilled to open our new global sales office here, significantly expanding our resources in this ever-expanding and dynamic market,” said Neal Jones, vice president of Marriott’s Global Sales Europe and Global Intermediaries.
The new team is tasked with further driving sales momentum in the market as well as forging deeper relationships with key lodging buyers who have significant local and international requirements. As a result of the changes, the former relationship between Marriott International and its General Sales Agent in Spain has ceased. Marriott International has seen its market share in to, and out of Spain, increase significantly over recent years and its grateful to all of its business partners for this success.
Jones added, “The expansion of Marriott’s global sales organization in Spain reaffirms our commitment to this important market and will deliver huge benefits to our Spanish based customers, helping to deliver the high standards of account servicing Marriott in known for.”


text:
That being said, if you are a little paranoid about exploding batteries, you can start to rest a bit easier because scientists at Stanford have created the first lithium battery that won’t explode. We suppose that isn’t 100% accurate. These batteries will explode at some point, but what the scientists have done is create a battery that is smart enough to cool itself down when it has overheated, and then restart itself once it has reached a safe temperature.
Best of all, it seems that this heating and cooling technique has no impact on the battery’s performance. According to Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, “People have tried different strategies to solve the problem of accidental fires in lithium-ion batteries. We’ve designed the first battery that can be shut down and revived over repeated heating and cooling cycles without compromising performance.”
This involves nanotechnology such as nano spikes. Basically, these spikes touch each other and have electric current flowing through them. However when the battery gets too hot, it expands meaning that the spikes no longer touch each other, thus cutting off any electricity to prevent the battery from heating up even further. Unfortunately, it is unclear as to when this technology will be applied to our current electronics, but it is a good start.
Filed in Science.. Read more about


text:
Ava Labs has launched AvaCloud, a Web3 launchpad designed to assist corporations construct absolutely managed blockchain ecosystems with out the necessity for coding. AvaCloud contains 4 key elements: an automatic blockchain builder, managed validators, complete knowledge instruments and chain interoperability.
AvaCloud will allow corporations to deliver their Web3 merchandise to market sooner and with much less danger with out having to rent a robust engineering group. AvaCloud already helps tasks starting from international enterprises to small Web3 improvement groups.
Ava Labs additionally launched Avalanche Warp Messaging, which permits messaging throughout all Avalanche subnets. This fashion, customers can shortly create a free testnet and run it on the mainnet. In accordance with Ava Labs, the brand new instrument will create higher income alternatives and “units the stage for mass adoption-ready cloud-based infrastructure in blockchain.”
Picture: The Muse
Read the full article here
Discussion about this post


text:
Chip makers Samsung and Numonyx have launched a new project to develop phase change memory chips.
The companies will co-develop hardware and software to allow companies to transition to phase change memory hardware in devices such as mobile handsets, embedded systems and high-performance computing hardware.
Phase change memory has been touted by Intel and others as an eventual replacement for Flash memory, owing to its faster performance and lower energy consumption. The chips store data by changing the physical state of a small chalcogenide glass cell.
The new project intends to help developers better adapt designs to take advantage of the phase change chips. Samsung and Numonyx plan to develop hardware and software to help integrate phase change memory.
"Our joint efforts with Numonyx will enable a more secure path for introducing phase change memory into the mobile environment," said SeiJin Kim, vice president of mobile memory technology planning and enabling at Samsung Electronics.
"We anticipate that phase change memory will eventually be a major addition to our family of memory products, that will nicely complement our other mobile memory solutions and ultimately increase our leadership in the industry."
Freshly launched 11nm Qualcomm silicon will come with Adreno 612 GPU
Are pinning down the exact rate of expansion of the Hubble constant
RISC OS 5 to form the basis of RISC OS Open after Castle Technology sells to RISC OS Developments
A smartphone maker fiddling its benchmarking scores? That's unusual, isn't it?


text:
Electric cars have come a long way from the remote control variations we had over 20 years ago. Today, an electric motor can power a dragster to approximately 2,000 whisper quiet horsepower, and 7.258 seconds down a quarter mile at 184.01 mph (a new record).
You might be wondering, how does one get so much horsepower from an electric motor. Well, according to the example set by the new record holder, 82-year-old Don “Big Daddy” Garlit, it takes four lithium battery packs, 1,200 cells, and six DC electric motors delivering a total of 1,500 killowatts.
The SR-37 electric dragster still has a ways to go to match the potential of nitro-fired top fuel car. A modern top fuel dragster can maintain 8,000 horsepower and 300 mph all day long down a track. However, electric technology is catching up quick, and it shouldn't be too long before a 300 mph electric dragster is in the record books.
“I think we’ll tinker with the gearing and be looking for more power control to the motors so that we have full current delivery,” commented Mike Gerry, the engineer behind the SR-37 dragster. “We hope we can turn it around soon for another test and record attempt—We should get 200 next time out and I think we can break into the sixes.”
Enjoy the serene mayhem of two slick tires pummeling a quarter mile of tarmac, with no other sound in the background, other than the yelp of victory.


text:
Source: This Is Money/HBOS
The squeeze on family budgets was brought into sharp focus by the publication of entertainment inflation figures for the entertainment and leisure pursuits of ordinary Britons. Some of the figures, particularly the cost of attending live sport are astonishing. When coupled with the rising price of fuel these bring the cost of a family day out up to frightening levels and out of the reach of many.
So what might this mean for brands? Well first of all giving your loyalists some kind of helping hand to have fun these days feels like a great opportunity. In the social sphere entertainment based rewards have got to be a great way to activate your community and to build size and scale.
Secondly it also stikes us that in a world rich with second screens and gaming consoles, creating shared family fun experiences to brighten up time at home is a big opportunity. ‘Gameification’ sounds like made up marketing babble and as such may be an offputting concept. However in a world where the price of fun is rising so rapidly, connecting with people through play looks like an attractive prospect.
With increasing numbers of people watching TV with Zeebox in their hands expect to see branded fun built into many major broadcast campaigns over the next twelve months.
Music festival Coachella has recently wrapped up the second of its two long weekends. Taking advantage of the relatively warm climates of the Californian desert, the famous event jumpstarts the summer festival season. This year’s event has seen sponsors step up with innovative marketing ideas, whilst Coachella (itself a brand) has also provided a brilliant example of maximizing social media presence.
Boasting an eclectic line up of artists over the two weekends – none of which are overtly commercial and many of which have gained popularity by the release of free music – bombarding festival goers with brand messaging and products with a lack of relevance to the surroundings could have backfired. It appears that this year’s sponsors were aware of this and delivered innovative solutions for their brands, enhancing consumers’ festival experience.
Heineken launched its cold storage room, allowing Coachella attendees to store up to two cases of Heineken in their own personal coolers accessed via the owners’ thumbprints. Helping to avoid frequent queuing throughout the day and, worst of all, warm beers (the bane of a festival goer’s life!). Meanwhile several fashion brands, such as Lacoste and Guess, hosted after parties near the festival site, with an array of entertainment options, including performances from some artists featured at Coachella, to support the launch of new products.
As mobile phones have become an increasingly popular replacement to a lighter in the air, illuminating the arena at the request of the artist, sponsoring a festival has become a logical choice for phone companies – particularly in light of research that suggests 66% of concert goers nowadays take pictures via their smartphones and about 32% send Facebook updates or tweets from a show. T-Mobile took advantage of this, bringing their ‘Neon Carnival’ to Coachella. This included carnival games and thrill rides such as bumper cars, an enormous Ferris wheel and a giant slide. Again, the reason for this event was the launch of a new product (new beats by Dre sound technology for the HTC one mobile phone) – however, it was placed in the context of a funfair, allowing those attending to receive a memorable, positive brand experience.
In a bid for cultural relevance (topic discussed in my previous blog post) Hyundai presented their Re:Generation music documentary, placing artists from different genres together in creative collaboration. Hyundai’s Advertising Director David Matathia hopes this approach is a “more effective model that appeals to that audience more than pushing ad messages at them”. It would appear these brands have headed the warning of Scott Lucas, executive director of Interbrand Cincinnati, who advised “the experience needs to be carefully planned to ensure not just execution but relevancy”.
As for Coachella itself, the now infamous Tupac hologram generated a huge buzz across all social media platforms during the first weekend, as mentions of the hologram exceeded 2.3 million tweets during one evening alone. The festival’s embracement of viral output (the whole weekend was streamed live) and notable online presence helped it amplify the buzz. Through developing a YouTube channel, and Tumblr, Twitter and Pinterest accounts, the festival had a presence across 9 social media platforms. As a brand itself, Coachella has laid the blueprint for those in the consumer market to follow when thinking of creating consumer engagement, product content and generating buzz. The only difficult part is coming up with the creative idea to get people talking.
Most of us in advertising belong either to Generation Y (born between mid-seventies and mid-nineties, characterised by a sense of presumed self-importance) or Generation X (born between mid-seventies and sixties, those are the ones drinking to avoid going home), and we’re generally aware of our own generations’ needs and habits. However, as Baby Boomers (born before mid-sixties) approach retirement and Generation Z (born later than mid-nineties) start having disposable incomes of their own, it’s worth looking at what these groups are really like, as their views and lifestyles aren’t like ours – or how we’d expect them to be.
For the first time, the under 16s are outnumbered by pensioners, as the Baby Boom Generation are reaching retirement. These Baby Boomers are, despite their old age, maintaining their place as the dominant economic force in consumer UK, as argued by ‘two brains’ Willets in his book The Pinch. They hold more than 80 per cent of the nation’s £6.7trn in wealth, they have been the main beneficiaries of the property boom, and have comparatively decent pensions.
Despite youth culture dominating society, the old are the ones who can afford to live like youngsters, with young people paying for expensive mortgages, university fees, and their parents’ pensions. Our language is infused with terms that capture the enduring youth of older generations – kidulthood, menoporsche, grandboomer, middleyouth – and our technology uptake is now driven by older gadget lovers. In addition, Baby Boomers increasingly opt for partial retirement, slowing the transition from work to full time gardening. When retired, their main priorities are their hobbies, holiday homes, and their financial future – often achieved through “skiing” (an abbreviation for spending the kids’ inheritance). In recent years, we’ve increasingly seen the entertainment industry and popular culture responding to their needs, with the Dome full of bands from the Baby Boomers’ youth, and films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel getting mass audiences in cinemas
Though outnumbered by Baby Boomers, there is a new generation – Generation Z – that is starting to experience the joys of disposable income for the first time. However, unlike Boomers, they appear to have a very conservative set of hopes for the future. A ‘Generations apart’ series for Radio 4 recently conducted interviews with older members of Generation Z and found that the main hopes of those interviewed were for decent work, stable housing, and a contented family life.
This generation has grown up during mass unemployment, economic uncertainty and fear of terrorism, and many argue that this experience has conditioned this generation into rejecting the radicalism of previous generations and focusing instead on working hard to get the basic things in life. As a result, they are becoming servants to convention – less liberal, less experimental and not creating rebellious niche sub-cultures that their parents used to belong to. We might see advertising targeted at the youth moving to focus more on values such as safety, security, stability, and ‘normality’.
The way this messaging is delivered will undoubtedly change as well. Generation Z have grown with a multi-screen, digitally connected world being the norm. This will impact how advertisers try to reach this new group, with joined up digital messaging increasingly becoming commonplace.
In addition, towns are divided up by age (into old, middle-aged and young areas) more than ever before. For instance, town centres now have no bingo halls, but an abundance of wine bars. Consequently, outdoor advertising could soon be more effective at targeting youth (as well as other age groups).
Even though the generation is less radical, it will have some high expectations, having grown up during the democratisation of luxury; to them, a posh hand bag is a statement that should be afforded by anyone, not just the rich. They’ve also spent much of their youth receiving content and entertainment for free, adding to their heightened and hard-to-meet expectations.
Brands seek cultural capital by aligning themselves with underground talent
The use of celebrity endorsement has been a long established technique for brands looking to expand, create a buzz or gain some level of fame. However, an obvious disparity between the values or interests of the chosen endorser and those of the brand may lead to public cynicism. In addition a misjudged communication strategy can lead to infamy rather than fame, highlighted by Snickers’ promoted tweet campaign which received an unfavourable response.
Avoiding these concerns, many brands are focusing instead on investment in culture rather than on any one particular individual to endorse their brand or product. Colin Drummond of Ogilvy West argues this approach is ‘established by a brand looking to be a facilitator of culture, broadening the horizons past simply focusing on the benefits of the product alone’. Red Bull have been the pioneers in the way of culture led marketing, establishing a music academy in 1998, involving participants from across the globe and notable artists running seminars every year.
There have been other notable examples of brands looking to connect with consumers in a broad cultural landscape. These include the Smirnoff nightlife exchange project featuring Madonna and Garnier’s pop up salons at summer music festivals. However, recently some brands have been directing their activities outside of the mainstream, as an alternative strategy in pursuit of cultural relevancy. Here are some examples:
In promotion of a new Sportswear range, Nike’s ‘Always On’ campaign included a multitude of vignettes featuring up and coming unsigned artists, creating original tracks to accompany visuals that starred athletes of varying degrees of popularity from a number of sports. The video below focuses on the annual Dyckman basketball tournament in Harlem, New York which is organised by the community and features amateur stars within the sub culture of streetball. The soundtrack is provided by Harlem artist Vado. It features no overt product messaging and integrates the brand into the storyline. The focus is on cultural relevance among a sub-genre and, in a broader context, support of local community.
Moving further away from any kind of product placement (besides a not-so-subtly worn baseball cap), Reebok have recently partnered with unsigned New York artists Action Bronson & Party Supplies. Part of Reebok’s classic sessions campaign. They financed an entire project available for free download, establishing Reebok’s investment in music and the creative process. Again, there is an absence of any product messaging, besides casual references dropped into conversation in the below video. As you will note, the only overt branding is the Reebok logo at the beginning and end of the video. The focus is on entertaining the consumer’s cultural interests, creating a greater possibility of sharing the content.
Besides simply investing in the normal activities of an artist, some brands are looking to involve cultural figures as creative directors. Expanding on the role of simple endorser and providing a platform to put their talents to work on behalf of the brand. Again, there are examples of this on a grander scale, such as Lady Gaga designing a product for Polaroid or Jean Paul Gaultier for Diet Coke.
Contrastingly, Sony, in their bid for cultural relevance, has looked towards underground personalities enlisting Prodigy (New York rapper), Mike Posner (singer/songwriter) and Steve Aoki (electro house musician) to curate a cover for their new Sony S Tablet, in a social media tie in with fashion magazine Complex. The interviews featuring each artist involve both the product and personality in equal measure; the value created is in the selection of those individuals, helping to leverage cultural respect and authenticity. It will be interesting to see if other brands follow suit and value cultural marketing as a key component of brand promotion in the U.K.
The month of March ushers in the closing period of the Premiership and commencement of training for all cricketers of the country. However, across the Atlantic it means one thing: March Madness, the annual College basketball tournament which continues to garner huge interest, captivating a TV and, increasingly, a social media audience. This provides an opportunity for brands to get in on the action as official sponsors or otherwise. To put the scale of March Madness in perspective, the TV deal with the governing body the NCAA is currently $10.8 billion over 14 years (bear in mind that’s just 14 months’ worth of coverage!). Although all current activity is primarily for the U.S. market, I thought it would be interesting to run down some of the innovative campaigns over this period, as brands look to integrate their promotions across of forms of media.
Coca-Cola has introduced a multitude of platforms to encourage engagement via social media, including texts for prizes during live games, and is also the sponsor of the official social arena, which allows fans to share game content and discuss games with others, accessed via the Coke Zero website.
It has also used the opportunity to invest in the marketing of its energy drink Powerade, launching a commercial alongside a Facebook page which offers the chance to win tickets to the Final Game. In addition, they have also teamed up with convenience store chain 7Eleven to produce souvenir cups which hold a QR code providing a link to the Powerade website and a video of a selected memorable moment of the tournament, hosted by former players.
The Nissan-owned car firm Infinity has launched a campaign involving social marketing and philanthropy. Announced via a promoted tweet, it promises to donate money to the American Cancer Society for every correct tournament bracket pick made via its website.
Other sponsors Dominos, Reeces and UPS find their Facebook pages now dominated by March Madness, with opportunities for prizes, encouraging engagement with the brands page during games.
Unilever launched Dove’s ‘Journey to comfort’ campaign featuring stories from former and current basketball players. The ad is accompanied by a Facebook page where people are encouraged to share their own stories, a dedictated website and also an app which allows you to send a personal message to Shaq (featured below), interacting with the brand and the personality.
As you can see, these ‘corporate champions’ have come up with some original ideas, enabling them to engage the consumer by idenfiying shared values and or interests despite there being no immediate connection to basketball itself. They provide inspiration for future campaigns focused on cross platform engagement.
Just to show that insights and inspiration can come from any source, I’m going to transport you back to the intellectual cauldron that was ancient Athens.
Sam Leith’s recent book on the lost art of rhetoric, ‘You Talkin’ To Me?’ draws heavily on the the principles of public speaking and framing of persuasive arguments from an age before Gutenberg let alone Google.
He isolates the three key elements of a persuasive argument:
Ethos – my credibility
Logos – the rational reasons for my argument
Pathos – my emotional appeal to you
These approaches and their combination are basically what we build for brands when we tell their stories, either via crafting content or working out how to build a plan to fit the consumer journey.
I saw a really inspiring presentation from an M&C Saatchi planner this week that also suggested that in combinations of two, these principles are great foundations for building brand positionings. His argument was that by using all three there is a danger of being all things to all men.
Anyway there you have it. Check out Sam Leith and his search for the perfect rhetorical argument and get a different perspective on your planning issue.


text:
Market visualization from Coin360
At press time, Bitcoin is seeing no significant price change on the day, trading at around $3,607, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is lower than $3,745, the price at which Bitcoin started the week.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Ripple (XRP) has seen its value undergo little change in the 24 hours to press time, trading at around $0.316, gaining little over half a percent on the day. On its weekly chart, the current price is lower than $0.332, the price at which XRP started the week.
Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Second-largest altcoin Ethereum (ETH) has also seen its value increase by over half of a percent over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading at $117, having started the day about one dollar lower. On the weekly chart, Ethereum’s current value is lower than $125, the price at which the coin started the week.
Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the ones experiencing the most notable price action are Tron, which is up nearly 8 percent, Litecoin (LTC) and Binance Coin (BNB), which are both up about 3 percent.
The combined market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies — currently equivalent to about $120.3 billion — is around 124.9 billion at press time, the value it reported one week ago.
Total crypto market cap 7-day chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
As Cointelegraph recently reported, Nouriel Roubini, a notorious cryptocurrency critic, has stated that blockchain is “no better than an Excel spreadsheet” during a panel at the Blockchain Economic Forum in Davos.
Also, a survey by trade association the Global Blockchain Business Council recently showed that 40 percent of institutional investors believe blockchain may be the most important innovation since the internet.


text:
Apple hasn’t shared any precise quantity, however Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang calculated that Apple might have sold as many as 6 million iPhone X units this weekend on my own, BoulevardInsider reported.
With one of these giant quantity, it’s onerous to clutch Apple’s good fortune with the iPhone X. Last quarter, Apple sold 39.three million iPhones whilst you mix all iPhone fashions. In different phrases, Apple most often sells round 1.75 million iPhones during a Four-day length.
So this weekend used to be an enormous weekend for Apple, although you don’t be mindful different iPhone fashions. The corporate sold greater than 17 iPhone X units each and every unmarried 2nd during 4 days.
Rosenblatt additionally says that Apple these days produces three million units every week. But this could build up to Four million units every week in only a few weeks. Overall, Apple might have sold 15 million iPhone X units ever because it went on sale.
Zhang says that the general public purchase the dearer 256GB type. Apple is these days promoting two times as many 256GB units of the iPhone X in comparison to the 64GB type.
This will have to very much enhance Apple’s reasonable promoting value within the corporate’s subsequent profits file. Apple could finally end up promoting 30 million iPhone X units during the present quarter that leads to December, and 40 million units during the following quarter. It seems top rate iPhone wasn’t a foul thought.
Featured Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


text: USTR Toughens IP Stance On China, Russia, Thailand; Praises EU, Brazil 30/04/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)By William New The United States Trade Representative’s office on 30 April announced the elevation of its pressure on China, Russia, Thailand, and others to better protect US intellectual property rights. But the announcement stirred reactions by accentuating the increasingly political-sounding criticism by developed countries of Thailand’s decision to utilise flexibilities under international trade rules allowing countries to manufacture cheap versions of patented drugs. Brazil, meanwhile, was taken off the “watch list” of USTR’s annual so-called Special 301 process for improvements in copyright enforcement. It will be monitored under a so-called “out-of-cycle” review, along with the Czech Republic and Pakistan, and reassessed in a year. A USTR official told reporters that Brazil’s recent declaration that the antiretroviral drug Efavirenz is of public interest, which could lead to a compulsory license, had not worked against Brazil but would be considered in the upcoming review. This year’s report is also marked by the results of the first province-by-province analysis of China, seen as the largest source of pirated and counterfeit goods globally. Russia risks losing US support for a multilateral agreement on the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization, a US trade official said in a telephone press briefing. And a contributing reason for Thailand’s elevation on the list is its decision to issue compulsory licenses for three pharmaceuticals (two HIV/AIDS drugs and a heart disease treatment), allowing the use of the patented material to produce cheaper versions, an official said. “The [Bush] administration’s top priorities this year continue to be addressing weak IPR protection and enforcement, particularly in China and Russia,” the report said. “Although this year’s Special 301 report shows positive progress in many countries, rampant counterfeiting and piracy problems have continued to plague China and Russia, indicating a need for stronger IPR regimes.” The report contains separate sections on “counterfeit pharmaceuticals”, “intellectual property and health,” and “supporting pharmaceutical innovation,” which tout the advantages of strong IP protection. For Thailand, one of the reasons cited for its elevation is “the further indications of a weakening of respect for patents” by issuing the compulsory licenses, even though it was not accused of violating WTO rules. “While the United States acknowledges a country’s ability to issue such licenses in accordance with WTO rules, the lack of transparency and due process exhibited in Thailand represents a serious concern,” the report said. “These actions have compounded previously expressed concerns such as delay in the granting of patents and weak protection against unfair commercial use for data generated to obtain marketing approval.” ‘Bullies and Hypocrites’ In response to questions from reporters, USTR stressed that the compulsory licenses were only one factor among many longstanding concerns in Thailand, such as copyright protection. But Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), an advocacy group, reacted strongly. “The sanctioning of countries for using legitimate and important flexibilities in the TRIPS agreement brings shame to all US citizens who are increasingly seen in Thailand and elsewhere as bullies and hypocrites,” KEI Executive Director James Love said in a statement. KEI said Thailand has been “highly” transparent in its issuance of the licenses, which the government has said repeatedly since taking the decisions in December and January. “Since Thailand is acting legally, the USTR makes vague allegations that while Thailand has the ‘ability’ under the WTO rules to issue such licenses, there was something undefined that the USTR cannot or will not explain that was worth citing on the 301 list,” Love stated. “If Thailand actually did something the US claims is contrary to US trade policy, the USTR should at least be able to explain it. What is the “due process” for the 301 list? We should not be giving the impression to the world that US pharmaceutical industry lobbyists can use USTR to settle commercial disputes, entirely outside of the framework of global trade rules.” In addition to analysing individual provinces in China, the report singles out “notorious markets” around the world, such as China’s Silk Street Market or Russia’s allofmp3.com, the world’s largest server-based pirate music website. US copyright industry sources indicate that perhaps 90 percent of all copyrighted materials sold in China were pirated in 2006, the report said. A copyright industry group praised the report, while also pointing out shortcomings. Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America said the report “provides important leadership for dealing with the global scourge of piracy.” But Glickman criticised the decision to return Canada to the lower watch list despite US industry pressure to elevate it for failing to stop filming of new release movies that then end up on the Internet. “Canada should have been elevated to the Priority Watch List,” Glickman said. China Standards-Setting in Sights The report also cites concern over China’s treatment of intellectual property in standards-setting. It also specified concern with China’s “lack of clarity in laws involving generic drug patent infringement” and China’s “protection against unfair commercial use for data generated to obtain marketing approval.” A similar concern was cited in a number of countries, such as India, where Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has legally challenged India’s new patent law. As mandated by the 1974 US Trade Act and amended by later agreements, every year at the end of April, USTR issues the report listing countries it deems to “deny adequate and effective protection for IPR or deny fair and equitable market access for persons that rely on intellectual property protection.” Those deemed most problematic are designated as “priority foreign countries,” followed by the “priority watch list” and the “watch list.” Countries that fail to respond are threatened with losing the trade benefits the US government unilaterally provides for access to its market known the Generalised System of Preferences, and ultimately, trade sanctions. In addition to China and Russia, on the priority watch list this year are Argentina, Chile, Egypt, India, Israel, Lebanon, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela. There are 30 countries on the watch list (see below). Perhaps reacting to a negative portrayal by some of the annual report, which gives USTR a unilateral wedge against smaller economies, the trade office this year emphasised the positive side of the report as well. Positive Changes Too The report “isn’t only about complaints and problems,” a US trade official said. Removed from the watch list altogether were Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, the European Union and Latvia. The EU change was mainly due to its adoption of new regulations on geographical indications (products deriving their names from geographical locations or characteristics) after an adverse 2005 WTO dispute settlement panel ruling, USTR said. The report also highlighted USTR’s focus on Internet piracy. It said, for instance, that the United States will continue to use bilateral trade negotiations to elevate countries’ protection levels, and will continue to press other countries to implement two 1996 copyright treaties at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty The United States also will continue to provide technical assistance to trading partners, will work with WTO members to implement the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), possibly using dispute settlement consultations where necessary to encourage implementation. It also will continue to push for discussion of implementation of TRIPS enforcement provisions in the WTO TRIPS Council, along with the European Union, Japan and Switzerland, it said. The watch list this year includes: Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. There is also a watch list of countries that recently completed free trade agreements with the United States, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru and Korea, all of whom were on the watch list last year. William New may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Related "USTR Toughens IP Stance On China, Russia, Thailand; Praises EU, Brazil" by Intellectual Property Watch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


text:
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is using his trip to Japan to meet with executives of companies that have operations in Alabama.
A spokesman for the governor said he and other top state economic development officials met Wednesday with the chairman of Toyota and discussed the ongoing expansion of Toyota's engine plant in Huntsville. Toyota has invested $850 million in the plant, which has nearly 1,200 workers.
Prior to visiting Toyota, Bentley met with the president and CEO of Otsuka Holdings. It is the parent company of Pharmative, which has a vitamin plant in Opelika that employs 240 workers.
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
A stern warning has been issued to a Middlesbrough off-licence to stick to the rules on drink sales.
It was given after a Middlesbrough Council licensing panel heard details of problems with the 24/7 off-licence in Linthorpe Road.
The council's trading standards department had asked for a review of the licence for the premises issued to Abdul Zaman.
Cleveland Police also raised concerns.
The panel heard that the shop ran a delivery service. In August in a test purchase operation run by trading standards and the police, an alcohol order was delivered to a 15-year-old in Hemlington.
Cleveland Police also raised concerns including sales to under 18s at the store. Mr Zaman had received a caution following one incident.
Clive Harvard, solicitor for Mr Zaman, told the panel his client had made strenuous efforts to put in place systems to ensure staff did not sell alcohol to people under 18.
He said Mr Zaman had responded to the difficulties highlighted.
He said systems had been put in place, staff had undergone training, and Mr Zaman had agreed to accept tighter conditions on the licence.
Principal trading standards officer Sinead Upton said: "What is missing here at 24/7 is control. Procedures are being put in place but not being picked up in practice."
Cleveland Police solicitor Marie Nevison said: "Mr Zaman was given a warning in July - a warning that has not been heeded."
In its decision the panel agreed a tightening up of conditions covering the sale of alcohol at the shop and the delivery part of the business.
The panel said if the licence for the business was brought back before it for review, it would take a strong view if it was found there was a lack of control over the premises.
The panel also "strongly suggested" Mr Zaman met with the police and trading standards to help resolve any problems.


text:
Updated: Jul 1, 2022, 21:00 IST
Many of us take vitamin pills or mineral supplements daily thinking they fill the gaps in our diet and come with added health benefits. The trend became even more pronounced during the pandemic as people thought these supplements help boost immunity. Dr Uma Kumar, professor and head, department of rheumatology at AIIMS, Delhi tells us about the risks of their indiscriminate use.
Q: People routinely take vitamins or supplements hoping to fill nutrient gaps or in trying to keep some common diseases away. Are we overdoing popping of vitamin pills and supplements?


text:
New Zealand has posted the third consecutive fall in the terms of trade.
Volumes of exports and imports are down, reflecting the slowing world economy, but prices of both are up.
The quarterly result caps off a year of dramatic changes in New Zealand’s trade balance.
On an annual basis, total import prices rose 19.2% for the 12 months to December, compared to a 1.4% decrease the previous year, and a 4.4% increase in 2006.
Export prices increase 21.4% for the year, compared to 7.3% the previous year and 8.3% in 2006.
In the most recent quarter, export volumes dropped 1.8%, with petroleum, and petrol products showing the largest drop at 17.5%.
Forestry products were another significant contributor with a 5.7% drop.
Export prices were up 2.5%, driven primarily by the decline in the New Zealand dollar, says Statistics New Zealand.
On the import side, volumes fell 4.8%, with passenger cars (27.1% and capital goods (7.7%) being the principle contributors.
Import prices, meanwhile, rose 3.4% - a rise which follows substantial previous quarterly increases (9.6% and 4.9% for the September and June quarters respectively).
Again, the drop in the New Zealand dollar is the main reason.
However a decline in petrol and related prices (down 22.4% for the quarter) has helped prevent the increase in import prices from being as bad as it could have been.
There have been substantial price rises in mechanical machinery, which is up 18.3% - the largest quarterly rise since the survey began in 1971.
This article is tagged with the following keywords. Find out more about MyNBR Tags
- Irish govt supports Apple, says it will challenge EU's order to recoup €13b in 'illegal' tax benefits
- Genius move: Live-stream file-sharing chaos will play into Dotcom’s hands
- Mad Butcher owner flags going concern issue
- Editor’s Insight: What's so cool about Cools
- Carmel and Hugh Fisher buy palatial clifftop Takapuna home
Most listened to
- No chief of staff leaves one year before an election, says Matthew Hooton
- 'Grumpy as hell' Bill Bennett says he'll use a VPN to connect to Chelsea's club channel
- NZForex's Alex Hill says the market will be paying more attention to data, than comments from officials
- Timely chief executive Ryan Baker on making an unfashionable profit
- NZ King Salmon CEO Grant Rosewarne on his company's float plans


text:
You can usually rely on Katy Perry to appear on stage wearing some kind of novelty stuffed animal, cartoon character hat or a gigantic plastic snack stuck to her boobs, but her signature crazy fashion has been turning heads for different reasons this week.
Katykat's sparkly sunflower dress might just look like another one of her comic book style get-ups but it's actually been BLOOMING (wahey) with controversy over in China, as many have taken her look to be a strong political statement.
The dress itself was a vibrant lime green shade of sparkly JOY studded with huge sunflowers, but is also thought to be a pro-Taiwanese statement from Katy as she performed in Taipei earlier this week, surrounded by huge sunflowers in her stage design too.
Last month marked the anniversary of Taiwan's Sunflower Student Movement, when students staged a huge 23-day occupation of Taiwan's parliament to protest against the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, a trade pact which many feared would give mainland China a huge amount of economic influence.
Thousands of supporters came together outside the building while the students were inside, and demonstrators carried sunflowers as a symbol of hope, which is where Katy and her magical sunflower boobs come in.
At one point she even donned the Taiwanese national flag as a cape, but her political prowess did take a slight battering when she asked the crowd: "I don't even know how to speak Mandarin. That's what you speak, right?"
It's also worth noting that sunflowers have been a motif in Katy's Prismatic tour for quite some time now, so her rumoured support for independence could just be one big sparkly coincidence.
INTERESTING. No idea what political statement the rainbow mermaid unicorn hair is supposed to be making but it's filling our hearts with joy.
What do you think of Katy's potentially political sunflowers? Let us know with a tweet to @ComsopolitanUK.
MORE CELEBRITY NEWS


text:
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Beer lovers gave Founders Brewing Co. a tongue-lashing this weekend when server issues with a third-party ticketing system sent the ticket release for the brewery’s insanely popular Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) somewhat off the rails.
People trying to buy tickets to the release of KBS at the brewery in March were met with an overloaded server that crashed on Saturday morning just as throngs of beer lovers were trying to log on at 11 a.m. for tickets to the coveted event.
The brewery’s Facebook page was hit with hundreds of complaints by folks stymied by the servers at Brown Paper Tickets, which apparently went into an automated maintenance cycle just as usage was spiking, according to a social media statement.
Users were left in limbo at checkout for long periods, causing confusion and anger as many hit ‘refresh’ on the page over and over, likely exacerbating the situation.
The debacle follows the 2012 release of KBS, where more than 1,000 people lined up outside the brewery’s Grandville Avenue SW taproom in Grand Rapids — some 12 hours in advance — in order to get their hands on a case of KBS, which is a specialty, high demand barrel-aged beer with world class rankings on industry websites.
Surprised by the demand, Founders pulled back on the amount of beer each person could buy last year, but many still left empty-handed. Founders restructured this year’s release with the online ticketing model to avoid repeating that situation.
Many Founders fans have posted angry complaints about KBS tickets showing up at inflated prices on eBay. Others are calling shenanigans on Brown Paper Ticket’s estimation of a 25-minute delay in ticket purchasing attempts, citing times up to 40 minutes, an hour, or more. Some are reporting getting a confirmation email from the ticketing company with an order number but no tickets attached.
A sampling of some of the issues posted on Facebook:
Douglas Rehfeldt: “The KBS ticket sale was big FAIL. I connected to the site at 1055, at 1100 browser refresh two days were already sold out? I was kicked out of the Brown Paper Tickets site while entering my credit card number, and when I got back in at 1112 all the tickets were sold out. How did two ticket days get sold out by 1100, which was the start time? Can you say BOTS. And Brown Paper Tickets totally hosed this sale.”
Steve VanBergen: “Crashed at checkout 4 times, surprised i got that far. truly a horrendous situation...”
Riley Plemons: “It keeps telling me that there are tickets available for Thursday and as soon as I try to add one to my cart it says that I am trying to purchase more tickets than are available....”
On Saturday, the brewery posted several apologies on social media. On Tuesday, they released a statement from Brown Paper Tickets on their website:
“Brown Paper Tickets would like to apologize to Founders Brewing Company, and its customers, for a 25-minute delay in our ability to sell tickets to the 2013 KBS bottle release event. We have now taken protective measures to ensure that our customers are not inconvenienced in the future. The error was rooted in our communications and not in our servers — in other words human error. It is our business and passion to get these things right and we failed. If it isn’t understood already, Brown Paper Tickets stands behind Founders Brewing Company and their events, but in front of any criticism for the KBS online ticket sale. It was our bad and we’ll not let it happen again.”
Founders also posted a statement signed by brewery co-founders Dave Engbers and Mike Stevens reminding people that “we will likely never get supply up enough to match demand for this product” due to the yearlong barrel-aging process.
The fact that KBS is ranked No. 9 among the all-time best beers in the world by Beer Advocate reviewers, and No. 4 on the 2012 list at Rate Beer, speaks to the demand for a brew that Founders stakes its reputation on every year.
“In our planning for next year’s on-site release, we’ll work to ensure that the process is as efficient, fair and enjoyable for everyone involved as possible," the statement read. "We plan to do continued research to select a ticketing partner and release process that works best for us.”
The first day that KBS will be available is Wednesday, March 27 at the brewery’s taproom, ahead of its distribution across Founders entire footprint starting April 1. The brewery moved the KBS release from early to late March this year amid a realignment of the brand categories.


text:
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (Glaxo), the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world, has agreed to sell its drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena to Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd for $2.1 billion (£1.35 billion).
Suntory announced it will buy Glaxo’s Ribena and Lucozade brands with cash at hand.
Suntory says it wants to make more inroads into European and emerging drinks markets.
Suntory bottles and distributes Pepsico drinks in Japan, a market it says is saturated and shrinking.
GlaxoSmithKline, headquartered in the United Kingdom, announced earlier this year that it was planning to sell off its two drink brands and focus more on health-care products.
Glaxo makes and sells prescription and OTC (over-the-counter) medications as well as consumer products such as toothpaste and drinks. Glaxo’s top-selling prescription medications include the anti-depressant Paxil ($11.6 billion sales in 2012), diabetes drug Avandia ($10.4 billion sales in 2012), anti-depressant Wellburtin ($5.9 billion sales), asthma drugs Ventolin, Flovent and Advair, and Zantac, an H2-antagonist.
David Redfern, Chief Strategy Officer, Glaxo, said:
“Lucozade and Ribena are iconic brands that have made a huge contribution to GSK over the years, but now is the right time to sell them as we increase the focus of our Consumer Healthcare business and execute the delivery of our late stage pipeline of pharmaceuticals and vaccines. We believe the future of Lucozade and Ribena is in good hands given SBF’s established beverages business, ambitious growth plans and also their recognition of the strong performance and capability of the GSK employees working on these products.”
In July 2013, Suntory President, Nobuhiro Torii, said that his company was willing to spend more than $5 billion (¥500 billion) worldwide on acquisitions.
In 2009, Suntory bought the European soft drinks company Orangina Schweppes Group for $3.3 billion. This latest acquisition will further expand the company’s reach into the European soft drinks’ market.
Suntory says that the purchase of the Lucozade and Ribena brands will also give it greater access to emerging markets, such as those in Africa and Malasya.
At a news conference today, Mr. Tori said:
“This is a very rare opportunity that allows us to obtain strong brands. I think we were able to obtain an invaluable asset this time.”
Worldwide sales for Ribena and Lucozade reached about $800 million (£510 million).
Glaxo says the money from the sale will go towards reducing the company’s debt.
Suntory and Glaxo say the deal will be finalized by the end of 2013.
Suntory Holdings Limited owns the following businesses:
- Suntory Beverage and Food Limited
- Tipco F&B Co., Ltd
- Subway Japan
- Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC
- Orangina Schweppes Grou
- Morrison Bowmore Distillers, Limited
- Louis Royer S.A.S
- Grupo Restaurante Suntory Mexico
- Gold Knoll Ltd
- Frucor Beverages Limited
- Florigene Pty Ltd
- Château Lagrange S.A.S
- Cerebos Pacific Ltd
Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd was the 4th largest supplier of soft drinks worldwide in 2013, and the second in Japan. It is a core company of Suntory Holdings Ltd, with global consolidated sales over $18 billion in 2012.


text:
-- CEO expects price pressure from high gold and diamond prices to continue.
-- Company will continue to invest in production and distribution despite the strong franc.
-- Double-digit sales rise in January, February close to that level, says CEO
-- Market reacts negatively, share price drops 5.7%.
(Rewrites throughout, adding CEO, analyst, trader comment.)
ZURICH (MarketWatch) -- Swatch Group AG (UHR.VX) reported mixed earnings Tuesday triggering a slide in luxury stocks across Europe.
The world's biggest watchmaker's upbeat outlook for 2012 failed to calm investors who took profits and sent Swatch's share price lower, as dividend and operating profit fell short of expectations.
The company, which makes watches under brands such as Longines, Tissot and Omega, said it still expects growth in 2012 despite the strong Swiss franc and rising prices of gold and diamonds, which pinched margins at its watch and jewellery division in 2011.
Chief Executive Nick Hayek also remained bullish about the prospects for watch sales in 2012.
"Our sales are up by double digits in January, and February looks very close to that," Hayek told Dow Jones Newswires.
"The comparatives are tougher (in 2012), but we can think we can still grow profit," he added.
The CEO was speaking as Swatch reported an 18% increase in 2011 net profit attributable to shareholders for the year, to 1.27 billion Swiss francs ($1.38 billion) from CHF1.07 billion a year earlier, a new record for the company.
The rise was in line with the CHF1.26 billion forecast by analysts in a Dow Jones Newswires poll. Net sales, which had already been announced in January, rose 11% to CHF6.76 billion from CHF6.11 billion a year earlier.
But the company's shares fell as the market reacted negatively to the profit made at operating level, which fell short of forecasts. Operating profit rose 12% to CHF1.61 billion against the CHF1.66 billion expected.
The company's 15% increase in its dividend payout to CHF5.75 per bearer share also disappointed investors who were expecting more, a trader said.
"These were mixed figures, and because the stock has performed well in the last few months, there has been some profit-taking," the trader said.
At 1500 GMT, Swatch shares were trading 5.7% lower at CHF391 on the Swiss Market Index, which was down 0.1%.
Shares in other luxury stocks across Europe including LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton (MC.FR), Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (CFR.VX) and Hermes International SCA (RMS.FR) all dropped more than 3% after the Swatch results.
Hayek said his company would not increase prices to compensate for the strong Swiss franc -- which lopped CHF700 million from sales in 2011 -- or for the rising price of diamonds and gold which had reduced the profitability of the company's high-end watches.
As a result the operating profit margin at the watch-making division, which makes up 88% of Swatch's sales, slipped to 22.7% from 23.9% in 2010.
"We want to increase margins every year. But last year the exchange rate continued to dramatically change in the second half and the price of gold and diamonds sky-rocketed," Hayek said.
Swatch was badly hit by the surging price of diamonds, as the company nearly quadrupled the sale of diamond watches to CHF300 million in 2011.
"As long as there is so much liquidity in the world, everybody invests in gold and diamonds. Gold and diamond prices will unfortunately not go down," Hayek said.
"But we are not going to compensate by increasing prices. The consumer is sensitive. I am not excluding some small price increases, but we will find ways to gain efficiencies. That is what we are trained to do."
Hayek said Swatch could increase its overall group profit margins, which rose to 23.9% in 2011 from 23.5% a year earlier.
"Our ambition is to do even better in 2012," he said.
Alessandro Migliorini, an analyst at brokerage Helvea, said: "Overall the results are strong and could have been stronger had the group been more aggressive in raising prices."


text:
L’Oréal case highlights split over online liability
Online auction site eBay and French cosmetics and perfume company L’Oréal have until next week to inform a French court of their plans to cooperate better in the fight against online fakes
On May 14, the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance ruled that eBay had fulfilled its obligation in good faith to help prevent fake LOréal products from being sold on its website. But the judge, Elisabeth Belfort, told the two parties...
Please log in
to read the rest of this article. New to Managing Intellectual Property?
Take advantage of free access to up to 5 articles on Managing IP and become a member today. It’s free to join and the benefits start straight away.
Please make sure you log in to read the rest of the article.
Join us nowGain FREE access to up to five free articles when you register now.


text:
Despite the announcement today from AT&T, we had knownabout the Nokia Surge 6790 for quite a while (though at the time, it wascodenamed "Mako"). Marketed at younger users with a "social circle," the Surge offers a sliding QWERTYkeyboard, Symbian S60, 2.4-inch screen, 3G, A-GPS, Exchange and personal e-mail support, FM radio, stereo Bluetooth, full HTML web browser, and AT&T Navigator. It will be available in stores and online at www.att.com/wireless on July 19th for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year service agreement.
Additional features are highlighted in the excerpt from the press release below:
Despite the different form factor, is anyone thinking about picking one up when it launches on Sunday?


text:
Facebook has reported “a significant reduction in the demand for advertising” over the last three weeks of the first quarter of 2020, although the social media giant says that had stabilised in the first part of April.
Even so, the social giant reported a robust 18 per cent increase in Q1 revenue, to $17.74 billion, and net income of $4.9 billion (or earnings per share of $1.71).
The company said Facebook monthly active users increased by 10 per cent year over year, to 2.6 billion worldwide – a gain of about 100 million in the quarter.
However, it also said: “We expect that we will lose at least some of this increased engagement when various shelter-in-place restrictions are relaxed in the future.”
Facebook declined to provide revenue guidance for the second quarter or full-year 2020.
“Our business has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, like all companies, we are facing a period of unprecedented uncertainty in our business outlook,” the company said.
The ad pullback at the tail end of Q1 was “broad based,” with a particular decline in travel and auto categories, CFO Dave Wehner said in the earnings call.
Brand advertising spend also dropped, while Facebook saw “relative strength” in a few categories including gaming advertising, he added.
Shares of Facebook rose more than 10 per cent in after-hours trading (after closing up 6 per cent in regular trading), as investors evidently feared the COVID-19 damage was going to be worse.
“Our work has always been about helping you stay connected with the people you care about. With people relying on our services more than ever, we’re focused on keeping people safe, informed and connected,” Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, said in a statement.
Facebook daily active users were 1.73 billion on average for March 2020, up 11 per cent year-over-year.
The company’s monthly active users across the family of services – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – also grew 11 per cent, to 2.99 billion as of the end of March.
“This economic pullback has certainly reinforced for me the importance of maintaining high margins,” Zuckerberg said. Facebook’s operating margin in Q1 was 33 per cent, versus 42 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Zuckerberg also expressed his concern that the COVID-19 crisis “will last longer than people are currently anticipating” and that reopening public places too soon will exacerbate the societal and business effects of the pandemic.


text:
Should venture firms bundle their biotech portfolios to make them more attractive to new investors?
Ron Wooten, president of NovaQuest, an investment and business-development unit of Quintiles Transnational Corp., a contract-research organization, thinks so. His reasoning: many biotech start-ups have only one worthy drug. Betting on a single, risky product doesn’t appeal much these days, but an investor may find a group of start-ups within a firm’s portfolio intriguing.
So what if the firm created a security enabling that investor to back all of them at once? This would provide exposure to all the drugs in the portfolio without the binary risk of betting on any one of them, Wooten said.
Institutions get this diversification when they become limited partners in a venture fund. Wooten said VCs should consider giving non-LPs a similar opportunity to gain exposure to a swath of their portfolios. This also would give their companies a new way to raise money. So far, firms haven’t done this, but Wooten predicts they will.
“There was a time when money was seeking deals, now deals are seeking money,” he said. VCs “haven’t demonstrated that type of ingenuity yet, but I think it has to happen eventually. What you are going to do when you’ve got 30 companies in a portfolio, and none can attract capital individually? If you put eight of them together, you probably could.
“It takes a little more work than venture capitalists have had to do up to now,” he said. “It takes a true portfolio-management mentality, but I predict that companies will be pushed to that pretty soon.
The idea interested some venture capitalists we queried, though clearly the logistics would make such a scheme hard to execute. The thought of funding a batch of companies in another firm’s portfolio, however, didn’t appeal as much to VCs because it clashes with how venture firms usually operate – scanning hundreds of start-ups for the few meeting their criteria.
“Our job is to select [a] specific situation because we believe in [its] merit,” said Philippe Chambon, managing director of New Leaf Venture Partners. “Investing in a portfolio negates the logic of why we are here.”
More resonant to venture investors, however, is an offshoot of Wooten’s idea: the notion that a private equity firm or VC group could roll up a group of biotechs – or individual drugs acquired from these companies – to create a single entity with a strong portfolio. Most clinical-stage compounds never reach market, so plucking the best prospects out of multiple start-ups makes sense to some.
The challenge with a rollup is to assemble a syndicate that is united about the types of products to acquire and the exit strategy, said Nessan Bermingham, managing partner of Bio Equity Risk Management. A holding company with many compounds, however, would have multiple options. It could develop drug candidates and license them out, or create start-ups around its best products. The holding company itself could go public or be acquired as well. “I think it’s a great idea,” Bermingham said. “With the right venture syndicate you could do it.”
Write to Brian Gormley at firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
The electronics company will initially launch two digital TVs - the LH5000 and LH7700 - later in 2009 that will feature integrated Freesat tuners and, according to LG, boast a refresh rate of 200Hz. However, users will still need a satellite dish to receive the broadcasts. Further products are expected throughout the year.
Freesat is a satellite TV package from the BBC and ITV that was launched in May last year and offers over 140 channels. Users need a satellite dish, which can be provided and installed by Freesat for around £80, as well as a set-top box. However, once viewers have these items, they can receive all channels for no monthly subscription.
"We're extremely pleased to be working with LG as a manufacturing partner for Freesat in 2009," said Emma Scott, managing director of Freesat.
Scott added that Freesat is continuing talks with other manufacturers in a bid to ensure more products with integrated Freesat turners hit the market.
See also: LG screen optimised for viewing outdoors


text:
BARRIE - Kathy Torrance isn’t toasting the beer industry right now.
Torrance has Celiac Disease, and she’s disappointed the industry isn’t taking the high road when it comes to food labeling.
Recently the brewing industry in general opposed changing their labels to add an ingredient list. And Health Canada has continued to give the industry an exemption.
After being ill for 15 years, the Thornton resident was finally diagnosed with Celiac Disease and has come to understand what she can and can’t consume. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder where the culprit is gluten, found in wheat, barley and rye. If ingested, it damages the lining of the intestine and will cause damage to the immune system.
Symptoms vary from each person, but may include diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue and cramps.
“Obviously, beer contains gluten, so I can’t have beer. But this labeling is not just about beer, it’s about all food items,” said Torrance.
Two years ago Health Canada said it would work on food labels to protect people with allergies. “It’s been stalled because the beer industry doesn’t want to have to change the labeling.”
Peter Chiodo, head brewer of Flying Monkeys in Barrie, said he’s not opposed to changing his label.
“Our position is it takes time to evolve. Brewers like us could implement this in 18 months,” said Chiodo.
“We don’t want it to be a change that impacts the curb appeal of our product either.”
He understands the point behind the labeling, as his son is allergic to milk, nuts and eggs.
It wouldn’t be expensive for Flying Monkeys to add an ingredient list, he said, and the hesitation of some brewers isn’t about giving away secret ingredients.
“We need to be involved in the process, where it’s reasonable. If it’s on the bottom of the box or the side of the box, it may not need to be on the label of the product itself. There are ways to do it, for those who have painted bottles.”
Celiac Disease affects 1 in 133 people and for more information, click here.


text:
The European IT market is seeing fresh challenges from the fast-growing Asian market as Europe recovers from the slump of the early 2000s.
Asia-Pacific is the star in IT growth these days, with the market expected to grow 7 percent annually compared to 4 percent in Europe, according to a new report from KPMG Consulting titled Convergence Gathers Pace.
The reports quotes figures that Asia will have spent $650bn in 2004 on software, hardware, IT solutions and communications services — and this figure will rise to $800bn by 2007.
Asia is seeing rising numbers of mobile and broadband users as well as upward investment trends in communications networks, with 10 million new mobile subscribers each month, the report says.
Convergence of fixed and mobile telephony and of voice and data are already well underway in Asia — a trend KPMG predicts should only continue.
It's the outsourcing of IT services, though, that's really giving the region a kickstart, especially to India and China. Asia faces some challenges here, however, with costs rising and service providers needing to give more value to customers and win high-margin work as opposed to just call centres and other low-end work.
Crispin O'Brien, KPMG's head of technology, told ZDNet UK sister site silicon.com: "People are driving costs down by outsourcing to Asia-Pacific. But we're seeing that's not sufficient for the Asian market. They're looking to move up the value chain."
He cited Chinese company Lenova buying IBM's PC business as an example of this. Though PCs and notebooks are viewed as low-margin businesses by the West, "it's a different proposition to have a maker of one of major brands based in China", he said.
While Europe is facing the threat of increased competition from Asian IT companies, there's also an opportunity for European companies wanting to sell consumer technology into this large arena.
But O'Brien warns it won't necessarily be easy. "The challenge is to understand what consumers want at some level," he said. "Nokia and Vodafone have learned it's not enough to have one global product offering... The products need to be tailored to each market."
Separate research shows that though European IT growth lags behind Asia, it has at least recovered from the IT slump of the early part of the decade.
According to European Information Technology Observatory (EITO) 2005 edition, the European IT market is expected to grow by 4 percent in 2005, up from 3.3 percent in 2004 and 0.9 percent in 2003.
The UK is just outpacing the rest of Europe and the US with predicted growth of 4.6 percent in 2005 compared to 3.9 percent in the US.
Yet according to a third set of research from analysts Ovum and Indepen Consulting released earlier this month, all is not well for Europe. Though its IT market growth rate may be slightly ahead of the US, its spending on technology is 20 years behind.
If this continues, Ovum and Indepen warn, European productivity levels could fall below US and even some Asian countries. In addition, low levels of IT investment could damage the region's ability to compete globally and put jobs and market growth at risk.


text:
Los Angeles is adding another player to its roster of packaged health food startups.
Irvine-based Longève Brands, a startup selling fake meat crumbles made of pea protein, closed a $5 million seed round Wednesday led by Wavemaker Partners and Springboard. The company's line of faux-meat products includes "Protein Crumbles" that resemble ground meat and can sit on pantry shelves instead of needing refrigeration.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gyms across the country were forced to close without knowing when they would reopen. Presence Fit is hoping to fill that void by launching their application to create interactive remote workouts.
Presence Fit has trainers working in two-way live high intensity interval training classes which uses your smartphone's camera and audio. No need for any other equipment.
The Los Angeles-based company had a soft launch in June, but today announced it has raised $1 million in seed funding and will soon be expanding. The raise is backed by angel investor Michael Stoppelman and Tom Masonry, among others.
Robert Jadon is a co-founder of Presence Fit.
Dr. Masaki Nakada is a co-founder of Presence Fit.
- Zwift's Raises $450M to Build Fitness Hardware - dot.LA ›
- FitOn Fitness App Raises $7 Million in Funding - dot.LA ›
The pandemic has forced many gyms to close and emptied others, catapulting the at-home fitness industry.
Zwift, a social fitness application that lets users virtually train together on their treadmills and bikes, is taking advantage of the shift.
The Long Beach-based company announced Wednesday it raised $450 million to build out Zwift-branded "hardware' for fitness buffs that uses the company's 3-D generated worlds to ride or run alongside others. It's also looking to expand into esports as it builds out the 10 virtual worlds it offers in the platform. In the summer, Zwift hosted a virtual Tour de France in July.
- Barry's Not Sobbing: VR Training Platform Talespin Triples Funding ›
- A Virtual Reality Look at a COVID-19 Patient's Lungs: No 'MD' ›
- Holos Will Bring Its Virtual Reality Training to the Air Force, IAI - dot.LA ›
- VR Startups NextVR and ViRvii Attract Big Tech - dot.LA ›
- Presence Fit Raises 1M Seed Round Bring Gyms into Homes - dot.LA ›


text:
Until now, it was only speculation, now there is already confirmation of the upcoming cooperation.
While in the past people wrote that they would not play a production that Fortnite promotes, it is difficult to imagine a situation in which a potential buyer resigns from Ferrari because it has partnered with Epic.
And such cooperation will take place. It is not known yet when or how, but on the official profiles, there is something that is the final confirmation of cooperation in the coming weeks.
Fortnite x Ferrari Confirmation
Let us also recall where these leaks came from. Leakers figured out that the promotional artwork could indicate an upcoming collaboration. Of course, hardly anyone believed it at all.
Until now. A few minutes ago, this photo appeared on the official Epic profiles: hardly anyone believed it at all.
If the official Ferrari profile is right, then it won’t be long. Here we read, the Ferrari 296 GTB will arrive in Fortnite tomorrow:


text:
LAPD patrol cars cordon off the 600 block of S. Broadway following a botched jewelry store robbery in which one alleged robber was shot.
Authorities say a man attempting to rob a downtown jewelry store was shot and injured today by an off-duty cop inside the store, although two accomplices got away.
The incident happened this afternoon on the 600 block of South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. There are several jewelry stores on this block -- Aquarius, Del Amo and Gold Castle, to name a few -- and police did not immediately specify which one had been hit.
According to news reports, three men tried to hold up the store at around 2:30 p.m. today. NBC says that at least two of the men entered the store and “took hold” of a guard inside, according to a police spokesperson.
That’s when an off-duty reserve sheriff’s deputy saw the robbery attempt in progress and shot one of the robbers, according to reports. The man stumbled out of the store and collapsed. He remains in the hospital in stable condition.
The Los Angeles Police Department today released video footage of a sharp-dressed thief who asked to see a pair of expensive Rolex watches, waited patiently for the items to be set before him, then grabbed them both and bolted out the door.
Police said the incident occurred at about 4:50 p.m. last Thursday, May 10 at a jewelry store at Century City Shopping Center on the 10200 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. (They did not say which store, but a Tiffany & Co. is located there.)
In the footage, the man can be seen in a pressed button-down shirt, with glasses and a goatee, looking around the store as he waits for the watches to appear. Then he suddenly grabs them and bolts from the store as a security guard lunges at him.
The stolen Rolexes together are valued at $64,900, police said.


text:
At the beginning of this month South Africans were met with news that their DStv monthly subscription fee would be hiked from 1 April (see tables). This led to a social media storm with many saying they would cancel their subscription. Today Naspers’ MultiChoice Africa, which offers video entertainment services in Africa outside South Africa, announced that there will be no price increase for subscribers to its DStv service (direct-to-home satellite television service) in the majority of its African markets.
Naspers CEO, Bob Van Dijk explained to CNBC Africa what was behind the changes in the video below.
In a statement the media giant said “most African markets have suffered as a result of commodity and oil price weakness, and because of the significant devaluation of local currencies. Many of MultiChoice Africa’s costs are incurred in dollars, which forced it to pass through price increases in 2015. Nevertheless, MultiChoice Africa continues to suffer adverse impacts from the economic environment.
“Since subscribers are still under severe financial pressure, MultiChoice Africa has decided not to increase subscription prices for DStv in most of its markets in 2016”.
The statement quoted Imtiaz Patel CEO of Naspers’s Video entertainment segment saying “We believe MultiChoice Africa is correctly responding to prevailing market conditions. Barring any further external economic shocks, we do not anticipate a price increase in 2016.”
“As a group, we believe in the longer term potential of our markets in Africa. We will therefore provide the necessary financial support to MultiChoice Africa. We are in a position to do this because most of the Naspers group business (65% of revenue) is outside Africa, where times are better and our businesses are in good shape.” said Van Dijk.