text:
Delta Air Lines this week entered into a definitive agreement with Airbus to buy 50 widebody aircraft during the next several years,
according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the agreement, Airbus will begin delivering 25 Airbus A350-900 aircraft in 2017 and 25 A330-900neo aircraft in 2019. The A350-900 craft will replace Boeing 747-400 aircraft largely on long-range routes between the United States and Asia. The A330-900neo aircraft will replace Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and will be used on "medium-haul transatlantic markets as well as select routes connecting the U.S. West Coast and Asia," according to Delta. Financial details were not disclosed in the filing, though media reports have priced the order at about $14 billion, not taking into consideration discounts usually offered on orders of that size.
Amadeus is partnering with Brazil's Tam Airlines to launch a mobile tool that handles flight disruptions,
the companies announced on Tuesday. The Amadeus Personal Disruption Companion would handle flight cancellations or delays by analyzing data about travelers and their preferences, their destinations and ancillary purchases to "automate the entire disruption management process from end to end." Using this data, airlines can send alternative travel options to a traveler's mobile device, which also might include such personalized offers as upgrades, a free hotel room or relevant airport services. Through the partnership with Tam, Amadeus plans to make the tool available on a white-label basis next year.
October air transactions processed by mega travel agencies and settled through ARC rose 4 percent year over year,
according to ARC data. The average roundtrip fare with taxes in October rose 1.4 percent year over year to $869 among mega agencies, which include American Express, BCD Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Egencia, HRG and Omega World Travel. Meanwhile, "online" agencies experienced a nearly 6 percent decline in October air transactions settled through ARC. For travel agencies in the "other" segment, aggregate transaction volume in October rose around 4 percent year over year, according to ARC.
Business travel spending in India this year will increase 8.6 percent year over year to $26.2 billion,
to be followed by a 9.2 percent increase in 2015, according to a forecast by the Global Business Travel Association Foundation. The organization earlier this year forecast
a 2.1 percent increase in 2014 spending but significantly shifted it upward thanks in part to "renewed optimism for the Indian economy on the heels of new pro-business leadership," according to GBTA vice president of Asia/Pacific operations Welf Ebeling. GBTA projects domestic business travel spending in India will grow 9 percent this year, to be followed by similar growth in 2015. International travel spending from India, meanwhile, will grow 4.8 percent this year because of slower trade growth in the first half of this year but then will pick up to a 9.7 percent increase in 2015, GBTA projects.
Basic Wi-Fi access now is free across the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces portfolio,
the company announced this week. Guests at Taj properties are able to connect on up to three devices at no charge, while guests at Vivanta by Taj and Gateway Hotels can connect on up to two devices, according to the policy. The hotels will offer higher-bandwidth connections for a fee. The Taj group consists of 93 hotels, largely in India as well as 16 properties around the globe, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.
Total revenue for Serko increased 50 percent year over year for the six months ending Sept. 30,
the New Zealand-based online booking and expense software provider announced Thursday. Revenue increased to NZ$4.7 million (US$3.7 million), with revenue from travel bookings, Serko's "core revenue growth engine," up 36 percent year over year. Online transaction volume rose 32 percent. Serko's net loss widened to NZ$3.6 million (US$2.8 million) from NZ$347,000 (US$272,000) for the prior-year period, which CFO Tim Bluett attributed to "the planned investment we have made in growing our organization and operational capacity to support the pipeline of growth for the business."
Virgin Atlantic as of Friday will require a $40 fee for advance seat reservations on all long-haul flights besides Tokyo routes,
though many corporate bookings will be exempt from the fee, the carrier announced this week. Among those exempt from the seat-selection fee are corporate travelers using negotiated corporate fares, premium and premium-economy passengers, tickets in the B and Y economy-fare codes and Delta SkyMiles or Virgin Flying Club members with at least gold status. The carrier also noted that travel agents will be able to assign seats in global distribution systems for travelers in the premium and premium-economy cabins and Y and B classes, but that all other exempt categories would have to request specific seats through the Virgin Atlantic website. All travelers still will be able to pick their seats without charge when checking in within 24 hours of their flight.
MasterCard and Conferma globally expanded their existing integration,
Conferma announced Tuesday. The partnership, first signed in 2011 and dubbed In Control for Business Travel, previously was available only in Europe. With In Control, clients can create virtual card numbers for individual transactions and reconcile booking data. The integration gives In Control clients, including corporate clients and issuing banks, access to Conferma's network of travel management companies, global distribution systems, self-booking tools and online travel agencies to "streamline and modernize [clients'] travel payment and reconciliation processes" regardless of the booking platform used and across all payment categories, according to Conferma.


text:
Nexus 6 tipped to feature 5.2-inch QHD display
The Nexus 6 is the focus of yet more rumour and speculation, with latest reports suggesting the handset will boast a 5.2-inch QHD display.
Contradicting reports yesterday that the handset will be bestowed with a Full HD display, newly leaked benchmarks have pointed to a 5.2-inch QHD screen making the cut. Such an inclusion would see the handset go head-to-head with the likes of the LG G3.
Teased by leaked GFXBenchmark results (below), it has been suggested that the Nexus 6’s 2560 x 1440 pixel QHD panel will line up alongside a bevy of high-end components, including 3GB of RAM and a 2.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor.
If accurate, this would see the Google branded handset outstrip the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 for power. With the much mooted iPhone 6 expected to land within a similar window to the Nexus 6, the smartphone race could be about to heat up.
Set to be the launch device for the recently announced Android L operating system, the Nexus 6 has been pegged for an October unveiling. Despite LG having pieced together both the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 handset, it is believed Motorola will take over manufacturing duties for the Nexus 6.
According to the latest leaks, the handset’s specs sheet will be further bolstered by Qualcomm Adreno 420 graphics, a 12-megapixel primary camera with 4K video capture capabilities, and a 2-megapixel forward-facing snapper.
Although the handset is set to brag 32GB of internal storage, the benchmarks have shown that just 24GB of this will be available to users.
Despite pointing to integrated NFC, an inbuilt pedometer and barometer, it does not appear likely that the Nexus 6 will follow the iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy Alpha in packing a fingerprint scanner.
Read More: Samsung Galaxy S6 release date

domain: news


text:
Central American countries promote multi-destination tourism
Government agencies, tourism boards and private companies from all seven countries in Central America have launched a joint partnership to promote multi-destination travel in the region.
The plan’s main strategy is a promotion campaign dubbed “Centroamérica es tuya, disfrútala” (Central America is yours, enjoy it) offering travel packages at special rates.
Options include offers to enjoy, for example, ecotourism in Costa Rica, culture in Guatemala and beach destinations along the Caribbean coastline in Honduras.
Costa Rican Tourism Minister Mauricio Ventura said Friday during the official presentation that the strategy aims at making Central America more attractive for travelers from all over the world, as well as regional tourists.
The website also offers general information about each country, travel recommendations and links to authorized tour operators.
The president of Costa Rica’s National Tourism Chamber, Pablo Abarca, said the campaign is also a great option for promoting regional tourism.
He noted that local entrepreneurs are confident the joint effort can improve visitation and consolidate the multi-destination market.
The Costa Rican Tourism Board reported Friday that the tourism industry in 2015 generated $10.9 billion for the region, representing a 4.7 percent increase over 2014.
Contact L. Arias at email@example.com
You may be interested
The Tico Times and #MeToo in Costa RicaThe Tico Times - February 20, 2019
Support the Tico TimesFeisty. Dedicated to a cause. A little paper trying to do the best we can for the…
Costa Rican authorities seize half-ton of illegal … cheeseAlejandro Zúñiga - February 20, 2019
Now this is just brie-diculous. An ongoing operation by Costa Rican authorities near the Nicaraguan border resulted in the seizure…
The Tico Times launches Patreon with perks for donorsThe Tico Times - February 20, 2019
Support the Tico Times The Tico Times is a source of independent, unique and quality journalism in Costa Rica and Central…


text:
Bosses at ASDA have taken a number of simple measures in order to protect their staff and customers during the coronavirus crisis.
Black tape markers and perspex screens will now be used in store to help stop the spread of germs and lower the risk for those working.
The picture shows where customers should wait in line to make sure that they are not coming too close to each other or staff.
Perspex screens will also be fitted at the checkouts to protect staff and new hand washing facilities will be introduced in store.
Listing the new in store measures, the post also explained that staff would be provided with hand sanitiser and gloves.
While pharmacy and optical staff members will also be given face masks to wear.
At some stores, staff may also begin limiting the number of customers that can enter at any one time in order to assist with social distancing.
A spokesperson for ASDA said: "It is vital that we implement measures in our stores which will help keep you and our colleagues safe and to ensure they maintain social distancing requirements.
"Although these measures will drastically change how people shop in our stores, this is the right thing for us to do to help limit the spread of infection.
"If you need to visit our stores, from tomorrow (Wednesday) you will see colleagues at the doors to maintain safe customer numbers to help with social distancing, and there will be additional hand sanitiser available when entering and leaving.
"There will also be clear signage, directional barriers and floor markings to help you move around our store easily and maintain a 2-metre distance from other customers and our colleagues.
"We’re asking customers to only touch items they intend to purchase and to use cashless payment wherever they can to minimise contact.
"To make this even easier, as of 1 April, our contactless limit will be increasing to £45.
"We are also in the process of installing Perspex screens at our checkouts, pharmacies and service desks to help minimise contact and keep social distancing in place.
"Our colleagues are working extremely hard and under huge pressure, and we are immensely grateful to them.
"We’re making every effort to protect our colleagues and their health, and are providing additional hand sanitiser and gloves for them, as well as increasing opportunities to step away from the shop floor to wash their hands."


text:
– USA, NY – Shapr, the professional networking app that helps people make meaningful connections with relevant professionals announced today that it has raised $9.5 million from private investors. The investors include Dannon Chairman Franck Riboud, the Bouygues Family, and the Afflelou Family. Shapr will use the funds to hire 15 employees for its Paris and New York offices in the next 12 months and launch Shapr Premium, a paid subscription model.
Shapr, which is available for iOS and Android as a free app, now counts over half a million users and has generated more than 3 million professional matches in 2017 alone. Over the last year, Shapr has helped professionals in the US, UK, and France to find investors and cofounders, launch new businesses, and sign new job offers. However, many professionals use Shapr for the sole purpose of meaningful conversations, with 64% of users reporting “ideas and inspiration” as their primary reason for using the app.
“We want to help every person find a sense of purpose in their professional lives,” says Shapr CEO and Co-Founder Ludovic Huraux. “Shapr offers inspiring connections to people who want to exchange ideas, learn from each other and work together on meaningful projects. Our crazy ambition is that every human takes one hour a week to meet someone new.”
To get started, users select up to ten interests such as #Startups, #AI or #GraphicDesign. People are also encouraged to add a few more personal interests such as #Meditation or #Running. The app then uses a proprietary algorithm to curate a daily selection of 15 profiles to browse, making the networking experience highly relevant, manageable and enjoyable.
Before the end of the year, Shapr Premium will launch, offering Shapr users more options to enhance their networking experience. Upcoming features include the option to browse up to 50 profiles per day, increasing the number of potential matches. In addition, the Premium version will include manual location settings, so that Shapr users can set up meetings before heading to a new destination or continue to network remotely while traveling. Additional features will be announced later this year.
The subscription service marks Shapr’s first steps towards monetizing the platform, with additional revenue channels planned to launch in 2018. Shapr will continue to offer a free version of the app that allows for 15 suggested profiles a day and unlimited messaging with matches.
“According to recent research, 21% of millennials have changed jobs in the last 3 years, and close to 50% of them would take a pay cut to find a job that better matches their values,” says Franck Riboud, Chairman of Dannon and investor in Shapr. “The way people job search and manage their careers is rapidly changing, and they rely on their networks more than ever. Shapr understood that, and has created a product that offers a fresh and efficient way for professionals to connect. With 20,000 matches happening each day, the company is well positioned to become a leader in the professional networking space.
Shapr previously raised 2 seed rounds of $3 million in 2015, and $4 million in 2016. The Shapr team will continue to invest in marketing in the US, UK, France. In addition, Shapr plans to invest in Canada, where a community of 25,000 users has emerged organically in the last three months.
Launched in 2015 by Ludovic Huraux, Jonathan Rogez, Cyril Ferey, Vincent Bobin, and Thomas Bouttefort, Shapr is the go-to professional networking app for people intent on shaping their career. Shapr has offices in Paris and New York, and has raised $16.5 million in funding to date. The app is available for iOS and Android. Three of the founders formerly co-founded the leading French premium dating website called Attractive World, which sold to Affinitas Group in October 2016.
For more information : http://www.shapr.co
- Disclaimer - News, data, and statements included in this release are intended exclusively for general information purposes. Talent4Boards does not guarantee that news is accurate or about the correct person and accepts neither liability for the consequences of the reader’s reliance, nor responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Nothing in this release should be considered for decisions about referred securities. Products and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.


text:
Plenty of events to keep you busy all weekend:
Friday, April 1, 11:00am-6:00pm
Our April issue gave you the scoop on Soil Kitchen, a temporary public art project, and it's opening its doors this Friday! Stop by the location on Second Street and Girard Avenue in Northern Liberties, and enjoy free soup in exchange for soil samples from the neighborhood! The installation will be open until Wednesday, April 6th.
Friday, April 1, 2:00pm-9:00pm
In celebration of First Friday and their opening for the season, The Trolley Car Diner on Germantown Avenue is giving away free water ice from 2-9pm and a free beer tasting from 5:30-7:30. First come, first serve. Closer to Kelly Drive? Stop in to the Trolley Car Cafe on 3269 S. Ferry Road for free ice cream from 2-9pm.
Saturday, April 2, 7:00pm-10:30pm
The Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc. (JLP) is hosting the Green Carpet Event, an exciting eco- themed fashion show to raise funds for the JLP and its community projects. Join JLP for a night filled with fashion by local designers and sponsored by an array of the region’s best businesses. Spend your night with friends and fellow fashion enthusiasts at a pre-show cocktail party followed by an eco themed runway show featuring styles and trends from Arcadia Boutique, the JLP Thrift Shop, Lilly Pultizer, Onassis Clothing LLC, Priscilla of Boston, Sagets Formal Wear, Whitney Eve, and more. This event will be held in the Northern Liberties at The Piazza at Schmidts, 1050 North Hancook Street.. To purchase tickets, click HERE.
More after the jump!
Saturday, April 2 and April 9
This weekend, the Morris Arboretum is partnering up with the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia to host its annual Japanese Cherry Blossom celebration. The Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival is an initiative of the Japan of America Society of Greater Philadelphia with the goal of fostering a better understanding of the cultural, social, and education customs of Japan in the United States. For more information, contact Susan Crane at (215) 247-5777 x121.
Sunday, April 3-April 5, 11:00am-2p.m.
The Solar Energy Industries Association and Solar Electric Power Association team up for the PV America Solar Conference, at the Convention Center. Expect over thousands of buyers/experts/industry big shots. Monday, the 4th, is "public day." Exhibit doors are open for those interested in checking out the latest in solar tech, registered or not. Check out pvamericaexpo.com for more information.


text:
Slovenia, Government has capped the wholesale prices of regular petrol and diesel, SEE Energy News
The Slovenian Government has capped the wholesale prices of regular petrol and diesel some two and a half weeks after regulating retail prices. The wholesale price has been set two eurocents below the retail price.
Wholesalers will be allowed to charge 1.483 euros/liter of petrol and 1.521 euros/liter of diesel.
The regulated wholesale price provided a margin that would make it possible for small retailers to secure fuel supplies. Many small petrol station operators have complained that they were simply not getting fuel from wholesalers since retail prices were capped. Either that, or they were forced to buy fuel at a price above the maximum retail price.
The new Government decree explicitly stipulates that companies selling fuel may not stop deliveries. In the event they incur losses, they will be compensated under a scheme that will be put in place after this temporary measure expires.
Price caps were initially valid for a month, but the decree extended their validity until 30 April.


text:
[The] government-funded “Cash For Clunkers” program …did just what it set out to do: get old, low-mileage cars off the road and stimulate auto sales in the U.S.
That may come as a surprise, given the sharp criticism leveled at the program last year. On the one hand, some folks claimed that the program was an ineffective economic stimulus; they argued that it mostly helped people who were already planning on buying a car, rather than stimulating new sales. On the other hand, some felt it did too little to reduce gas consumption—and pointed out that some buyers simply traded an old pickup for a new one.
But now that the dust has settled, it seems that the program was at least modestly effective in meeting both economic and environmental goals. On the environmental side, the new vehicles sold under the program used 38 percent less gas per mile than the clunkers that got traded in. Of course, I still wonder how much of that MPG gain you can attribute to the Cash for Clunkers program, as opposed to just general industry and consumer trends. Still, those numbers are at least consistent with the claim that Cash for Clunkers did help trim the nation’s appetite for gas. And now, on the stimulus side, Maritz found that the Clunkers program really did spur additional sales of more-efficient vehicles, rather than just shifting the timing around a bit.
So it seems that some folks have given the Cash for Clunker tires a good kick, and concluded that the program was no lemon.


text:
Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
SANTA MONICA— In light of the current economic situation, it's always surprising when we see or hear bout new stores opening, but that's exactly what's happening on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, 15 commercial leases have been signed after having lost a total of 30 earlier this year. Stores likeRachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Couture are apparently able to move into vacant spaces on the street as a result of decreased rent. [SMDP]
YOUR COMPUTER— Local artist Shepard Fairey and Evolutionary Media Group maven Jennifer Gross teamed up to edit ART FOR OBAMA: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change, released today both in stores and online. The collection of political collages, paintings, photo composites, prints and computer-generated pieces includes Fairey's iconic Hope portrait, as well as other recognizable works dedicated to the 44th President of the United States. [RackedWire]


text:
ENOC Link becomes the only digital mobile fuelling operator in the UAE to offer customers bio-diesel.
ENOC Link, the digital mobile fuel delivery service for businesses in the UAE, is launching of bio-diesel fuel for commercial fleets, offering access to Biodiesel B5, B20 and B100. The recent expansion in ENOC Link’s operations makes it the only digital mobile fuelling operator in the UAE to offer customers bio-diesel.
ENOC Link has deployed multiple dedicated biodiesel delivery trucks with tank capacities varying from 800 to 5,000 litres to serve existing and prospect customers.
ENOC Link plans to expand the fleet to meet increasing customer demand in the near future.
“We have seen an increasing interest from business customers opting for cleaner fuel options that will not only reduce emission levels, but enhance operational efficiencies,” said Group CEO, ENOC, Saif Humaid Al Falasi.
ENOC Link is a mobile fuelling concept that is part of Next, ENOC Group’s accelerator programme, which provides delivery of petrol and diesel to businesses.


text:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares Broadcom Corp. rose more than 15% Wednesday morning after the company reported what analysts described as solid first-quarter results.
Broadcom BRCM on Tuesday reported a 22% increase in first-quarter profit, boosted by better-than-expected sales in its traditional business segments.
The company posted net income of $74.3 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with profit of $61 million, or 10 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $1.03 billion, up from $901.5 million.
The company said its first-quarter revenue included royalties of $35.6 million in connection with a patent licensing agreement.
Analysts had expected the company to report earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $991.3 million, according to a survey by FactSet Research.
For the current quarter, the company said it expects revenue of $1.075 billion to $1.125 billion.
"The company provided upbeat guidance for fiscal second quarter, 2008, with revenues expected to be up 4-9% due to good first quarter booking trends across its three product segments," analyst Krishna Shankar of JMP Securities said in a research note.
Analyst Daniel Berenbaum of Caris & Company said broader market concerns remain, but Broadcom posted a "very solid quarter and guidance."
"We are concerned that a softening macro environment could impact second half of 2008 revenue, but for now our fear of estimate cuts has proven to be unfounded," he said in a research note. "More importantly, cost control efforts exceeded our expectations. We still see this as the premier growth story in large-cap semiconductors."
In a statement, Broadcom CEO Scott A. McGregor said the chipmaker got a boost from its enterprise networking and broadband communications business units.
But he also echoed the concerns of other chip companies about the state of the broader economy.
"While we remain cautious on the macroeconomic front, based on strong ordering trends from our customers throughout the first quarter, we expect solid revenue growth for the second quarter within each of our three major target markets."
The Irvine, Calif., company is a major maker of communications chips, although it has been pushing steadily into the cell-phone chip market.
Analyst Shaw Wu of American Technology Research said Broadcom's results highlighted the company's efforts to boost sales and manage costs, while trying to navigate through current market uncertainties.
"The results came in much better than expectations due to better revenue and better expense control," he said. "We find the strong results somewhat surprising given concerns surrounding weakness in the consumer end market."
Analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group said Broadcom's networking business is getting a boost from strong demand, particularly in the corporate technology market.
"Networking has been a pretty warm sector," he said. "This infrastructure has to be built out."


text:
#kamisukareview – Erajaya The Group, through its subsidiary, PT Sinar Eka Selaras, simultaneously inaugurated 3 retail outlets located on the 3A floor of Grand Indonesia East Mall in Central Jakarta.
This new retail outlet will carry the Urban Republic brand, and single brand outlets
Garmin and DJI. The three new outlets will prioritize a holistic shopping experience for Erajaya customers.
In addition to quality assurance in terms of service, product authenticity to official after-sales guarantees, customers can better understand, explore and understand the functions of the products offered through
hands-on experience area and demo unit.
This is seen as a way to make visitors feel comfortable and pleasant while staying at the Erajaya Group outlet network. This retail network expansion is also carried out in order to strengthen the IoT (Internet of Things) business line and the information technology ecosystem.
The Urban Republic store, for example, is a gadget and lifestyle store where consumers can get the latest IoT products, accessories, gaming, wearables, smart homes to increase productivity and efficiency in their lives, after consulting with staff who
experienced and knowledable.
By opening these new outlets or stores, Erajaya Group also reaffirms its commitment and focus on customer satisfaction. Among other things, by providing official product guarantees, guarantees
friendly service, guaranteed ease of transactions.
Erajaya also makes shopping easy with mobile shopping services and home delivery services via Whatsapp at number 0819 0740 0585, which fulfillment from the nearest outlet, including this new shop in the center of Jakarta.
To ensure the safety and health of our customers and employees in this new normal era, the three new retail outlets have always implemented strict health protocols, including:
Measurement of the body temperature of all employees before starting work, mandatory use of masks and / or face shields for all employees, restrictions on the number of consumers who will enter the shop,
guarding and spacing the queue at the cashier.
This includes measuring the body temperature of the customer who will enter it
shop, and the obligation of consumers to clean hands with sanitizing fluids and wear masks while in the shop area.
“The opening of these three new Erajaya outlets is the result of an in-depth and measurable evaluation, and a manifestation of our commitment and confidence in the future of the retail business.
“We are proud to announce that until the end of September 2020, Erajaya Group has nearly 1100 retail outlets throughout Indonesia, with a vision to bring the best service standards in its class.
“With the expansion of this retail network, we hope that our consumers can more easily buy their ideal gadget products,” said Djohan Sutanto as Director of PT Erajaya Swasembada Tbk.
During this Grand Opening period, each outlet offers various attractive promos starting from September 25-30, 2020, including:


text:
REPRINT 1945: Racketeers, Bootleggers, Heels and Drips
This 1945 Daily Globe editorial blasts racketeers, bootleggers, heels and drips, with a really great curse: "...Bad cess to 'em. May they be buried in bogs and may their spirits wander through ... Posted on 2/10/10 at 7:00 AM
WORTHINGTON — The Worthington Police Department is asking for assistance from the public in identifying a woman in a surveillance photo.
According to authorities, the woman was involved in allegedly passing a counterfeit bill March 3.
WORTHINGTON — Of the two men arrested last week in Luverne for passing counterfeit $100 bills, one’s case is now being handled by the federal courts, while the other case remains in Nobles County District Court.
View your ad here! Cost effective targeted advertising. Contextual advertising starting as low as $79/month. This includes targeted ad delivery and search results! Add your business to the Marketplace »


text:
J.J. Kane Auctioneers held a sale on Oct. 15, in Waxahachie, Texas. Bidders from 41 U.S. states and seven countries bid on 551 lots. Gross sales topped $4 million. There was a wide selection of items up for sale, including power line and utility equipment, construction equipment, trucks and trailers.
Today's top stories


text:
Sony Corporation has targeted the end of March, 2013, for a return to profitability, according to a statement with a 10 per cent return on equity expected by that date.
The company has already achieved 80 per cent of its planned cost savings this year, which when complete will total JPY 330 billion (USD 3.7 billion), and will focus its efforts on it three core business segments of TV, game and digital imaging.
In the PlayStation space the corporation wants a return to profitability for the fiscal year ending March 2011, while it plans to generate higher revenues by further cost reductions, greater hardware and software sales and the development of PlayStation Network services.
Meanwhile the LCD business is expected to be profitable in the same time frame, targeting a 20 per cent market share, while the company is looking to maintain its market-leading position in the digital imaging space.
Among its plans for new business growth is the 3DTV space, with plans to launch "3D-related products for the home, including TV, Blu-ray Disc players/recorders and 3D gaming on PlayStation 3 in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011."
The corporation's share price was down 2.2 per cent to JPY 2470 (USD 27.73) at the close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange today.


text:
E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, highlights the latest in interactive games.
Your crisp tenner buys you 24 hours of live sporting action via Apple's little square box, with no contract.
After receiving criticism for its male-only e-sports championships, the International e-Sports Federation has opened those tournaments to all comers.
The soon to be shuttered Xbox Entertainment Studios showed the first peek at the film about this spring's successful dig for thousands of Atari E.T. cartridges buried in New Mexico in 1983.
YouTube has launched a raft of new tools for video creators to lure them away from Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Twitch.
Click here for the list of which 2013/14 Premier League games will be screened live by Sky Sports and BT Sport channels.
The sparring video-game giants face off in dueling press conferences, with Sony talking multimedia and hardware and Microsoft sticking to games.
Sony showed off new trailers and gameplay footage for a wide variety of new games, including Destiny, The Order: 1886, Far Cry 4, Mortal Kombat X, Dead Island 2, and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
At its E3 evening press conference, Sony strikes hard on all its strengths with unexpected game reveals and updates on its numerous ongoing projects.
At the E3 games show in Los Angeles, Sony reveals new games and sequels, updates to its Now service, and its branded set-top box, PlayStation TV.
Last year was the PlayStation 4. What will Sony's 2014 E3 press conference bring? A big dose of Vita and PS4 games, and more: tune in for CNET's live coverage.


text:
THE sale of more than 150 historic books from Wigan’s libraries has fetched half a million pounds at auction.
Wigan Council’s decision to sell the treasures – 158 in total, from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries – met with opposition in some quarters as five were pre-1500 and the only copies surviving in Britain.
But the cash-strapped authority defended its decision to put the items up for sale at Bonhams, in London, last week, stating that the volumes were no longer in demand and were not specific to Wigan.
And today it was celebrating a welcome addition to its funds.
A spokesman added that the money raised – £500,000 – would be a major boost to its library services, managed by Wigan, Leisure and Culture Trust.
He said: “Wigan Council has been, and still is, facing huge reductions in government grants totalling £66m over four years.
“In 2011 we restructured Wigan and Leigh’s library service, saving £1.1m and in order to fund this a decision was taken to sell some antiquarian books that are have received little or no public interest since they were acquired and are not intrinsically linked to the borough’s heritage, in that, they contain no information relating to Wigan or its people.
“A number of considerations were taken into account when deciding what to do with these books.
“Wigan’s Library Service does not have the resources or expertise to care for these books – which need to be housed and preserved in the right climate and light controlled conditions and none of the books sold were received as a bequest.
“The items are not Wigan-specific – so there is no loss to the borough’s heritage collection.
“Regardless of whether a public organisation or private collector bought the books, it is unlikely that there would be no potential for them to be accessed by those few academics who have an interest in them.”
An historian, who had tried to prevent the sale of the books was disappointed that the five most antiquated volumes have been taken away from Wigan.
Conradus (Eusebius) - Brevis annotatio in errores scribentium S. Augustinum fuisse eremitam, Sold for £5,000:
Diodorus Siculus - Bibliothecae historicae libri VI. Sold for £6,000:
Horatius Flaccus (Quintus) - Opera. Sold for £11,875;
Angelus De Clavasio - Summa angelica de casibus conscientiae. Sold for £4,000;
Augustine (Aurelius, Saint) De trinitate, Sold for £2,062;
Katie Flanagan, chairman of the Historic Libraries Forum, said: “It seems a shame because those books should still be accessible to researchers. These books did belong to the people of Wigan.
“But I hope the WLCT and council use the money for more library books and I hope the works don’t disappear into private hands and are maintained to proper standards.”
The forum had voiced concerns that the books unique to Britain might be sold abroad. Bonhams have declined to disclose any details of the buyers so it is not known whether this fear has been fulfilled.


text:
We're only halfway through the year, and USDA has already reported more than twice as many cattle have disappeared compared to last year, as thieves are cashing in on a hurd of money.
"It's relatively easy to steal cattle and horses and other stock. Just load them up in a trailer and take them down the road," said Jack Carson, Department of Agriculture Spokesperson.
Is it easy enough for thieves to cover their tracks?
"It's very easy to see when somebody brands over an existing brand. It sounds like it'd be easy in theory, but it's not. It stands out," said Carson.
Cattle is branded to identify its owner, and Carson said it's very important to show that. Branding-over, however, is a felony in the state.
"They need to be identifiable, because that makes it very easy, much more easy for our investigators to go and locate them," added Carson.
To read the entire article, link here.


text:
“Some entrepreneurs are lucky and some entrepreneurs are smart. Catherine Tabor is both.”
Catherine Tabor was recently featured in Forbes, “Luck And Smarts Help This Entrepreneur Succeed,” in a profile by Geri Stengel who writes about the success factors of women entrepreneurs.
She tells the story of Catherine’s first business, a concierge company walking dogs and running errands in her 20s and how a lucky break turned that into an employee discount program for brands like Coca-Cola and Delta. Catherine’s dedication to solving problems led her to recognize where the gap in the industry was: connecting the dots between online promotions and retail stores, and thus Sparkfly was born.
Catherine went on to grow Sparkfly by raising $18 million from angel investors and now counts the likes of Great Clips and Chipotle among her 65 brands with success stories.
Stengel writes, “Many more companies are likely to follow suit. Retailers’ POS priorities include adding capabilities to their current POS system (53%), implementing omnichannel integrations (43%), and creating a unified commerce platform (41%).” Tabor and Sparkfly excel at helping brands connect real-time consumer behavior with online and in-store sales and has used their technology to power over 100 million transactions.
Want to improve customer acquisition and loyalty programs? Sparkfly can help. Contact us to learn more!


text:
Shanynn is back with some cool carnival cotton candy hacks! → Credits ← Host: Shanynn Covington Studio Teacher: Kelly Shea Directed by: Rachel Eck ...
This RSS feed URL is deprecated [...]
via Lowell Sun]
E-cigarettes are your child's worst friend Online By Maura Healey Special to the Sentinel & Enterprise For the past 50 years, health advocates, state attorneys general, and a host of others fought to reduce [...]
via GW Hatchet]
Satirical products dangerously neutralize political messages Hundreds of kids bought Trump products like cotton candy called “Trump's hair” and a stress ball of his face this summer, but I overheard some of them say they don't know the difference between Democrats and Republicans – but they know Democrats are [...]
via The Daily News of Newburyport]
COMMENTARY: Protecting kids from 'iPhone of e-cigarettes' Here are the facts. Just one cartridge used in these devices can contain as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes, not to mention the additional chemicals and potentially carcinogenic compounds. It's a highly addictive and dangerous combination [...]
Protecting kids from e-cigarette sellers who target youth Here are the facts: Just one cartridge used in these devices can contain as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes, not to mention the additional chemicals and potentially carcinogenic compounds. It's a highly addictive and dangerous combination [...]
The truth hurt sometimes. Real friends don’t sugarcoat facts. #cotton #candy #land
Cotton candy was invented by a dentist #facts
@johnkruzel @PolitiFact @JudgeJeanine @GreggJarrett Twisting the truth and reporting alternate facts - that’s how T… t.co/5yxqknIvWV
On a shelf of glitzy vodka bottles that look like they were designed specifically for making bad choices at a nightclub, Tito’s stands out. (Or actually, with its humble brown label and lack of whipped cream or cotton candy flavors, it tends to not stand out.)A multi-billion-dollar “small batch” brand, Tito’s is now the best-selling vodka in the country. Its founder was just added to Forbes’ 400 richest people list (at No. 324, not too shabby). We’re mostly busy trying to get adopted by...
Govt likely to raise import duty on Wheat MCX records Rs. 95,461.10 crore in weekly turnover Commodities Outlook: Markets to trade with a neutral bias as holiday mood takes over World Cotton trade at four-year high UP adds Potato to mid-day meal to arrest falling prices The rise in Cotton price seen last week is only a short-term speculative increase and will not sustain,...
Ella's Deli Facebook After 42 years of business, popular deli and ice cream parlor Ella’s Deli announced today that it is closing. The restaurant was well known for its great food, wide selection of ice cream treats, the retro contraptions that lined the ceiling, and the carousel outside.Here’s everything you need to know.1. The Restaurant Will Close Down Unless Someone Buys ItElla’s Deli announced on their Facebook Page on January 3, 2018 that they will be closing at their current location...
So Tim Moran, why did you open a store devoted exclusively to cotton candy ?"Because there weren't any,'' the owner of SpinnCandy replies. He smiles. "And pre-packaged cotton candy is horrible.''What Moran calls the nation's only cotton candy store just opened a second location in Chester Borough; his Mansfield store, outside Hackettstown, opened last August.Cotton candy -- spun sugar -- is a boardwalk and county fair staple, but SpinnCandy's product tastes nothing like the...


text:
Why may food prices start rising again raising fresh fears of high food price inflation? The key is to understand the reactions of farmers to changes in prices and the decisions they make about whether to plant new crops on marginally productive land.
"If inflation comes roaring back, the first place many people feel the pinch may be in food prices. The cost of corn, soya and wheat has fallen sharply from the levels they reached last summer at the height of the commodity boom. But lower prices mean lower returns per acre, so farmers are cutting plantings of marginally productive land to maximise profits.
European farmers cut plantings of winter wheat 2 per cent this year. In the US, which supplies half the world’s corn and a fifth of its wheat, officials expect plantings of those crops to decline 1.2 per cent and 7 per cent respectively. The US Department of Agriculture says aggregate 2009 plantings of the eight biggest grains could fall the largest amount in 20 years.
Food prices might rise even in the absence of an economic recovery. Export stockpiles are tight. That has not been a big problem in recent years thanks to an unusually long spate of good weather. At some point, that lucky streak will end.
Such concerns help explain why food prices have not fallen as far as those of other commodities. Prices for corn, wheat, soya and rice have dropped nearly half from their 2008 peaks, but they are still trading at about double their average prices of the past 10 years. Corn, at $4 a bushel, costs the same as it did in 2007. Aluminium, by contrast, is trading at levels not seen since 2003. Natural gas prices have not been so low since 2002. Food prices are unlikely to fall into line with those of other commodities. Indeed, they may not have anywhere to go but up."
(1) How could you illustrate the process described above with supply and demand diagrams?
(2) Explain why price elasticity of demand and price elasticity of supply is relevant in explaining food price volatility
(3) What do you understand by the term ‘marginally productive land’?


text:
From left: Grayson, Abdurahman and Kimmerly
Local distilleries are winning fans all across Canada and around the world. But here at home, where Prohibition-era policies still rule, selling B.C.-brewed hooch is proving a tall order.The building that stands 30 metres from Pete Kimmerly’s house does indeed look more like a cathedral than a high-end gin and vodka distillery.
Nestled amongst the firs and cedars on his Hornby Island acreage, Kimmerly’s “church,” as he calls his Island Spirits Distillery, climbs two storeys high in rustic carriage-house fashion with a swinging barn door and timber flourish. Inside, the pulpit is reserved for five 200-litre bubbling vats of fermenting sugars, a three-metre sweep of a bar and a wildly eccentric display of copper pipes, glass jars and stainless steel.
“We want to bring gin and vodka up to single-malt class,” says Kimmerly, wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans, as he glides behind the bar to pour the first round of drinks. A couple of years ago, when he and his business partners, winemaker John Grayson and chemist Naz Abdurahman, asked friends to blind taste-test their gin and vodka against some of the world’s top-ranked brands, their product consistently won out.
As an artisan distillery producing no more than 60 bottles of liquor a day, Island Spirits doesn’t keep its still going at all times. This means that, instead of having to filter impurities out of its liquor after the fact (as the large distillation companies do), Island Spirits can let its still run its course, waiting to use the purest alcohol – the “heart” – for its spirits.
In November the partners sent off their first two pallets to Alberta – 360 bottles of gin and 360 bottles of vodka under the Phrog label – through a private distributor and received word that a gin club in Calgary promptly bought out the entire stock at their local liquor store. “I don’t believe we’re going to lose too many customers,” Kimmerly says, with a grin.
But keeping customers isn’t the problem; it’s finding them in the first place. While Alberta – with its privatized liquor distribution and slew of high-end stores selling just its kind of product – has proven friendly to Island Spirits, in B.C. it’s a different story. Prohibition-era policies dating back to the early 1920s have left this province with a complex bureaucracy, whopping taxation and a distributor – the Crown-operated Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) – that, in Grayson’s words, “has a heritage of complete control.”
All this makes it next to impossible for artisan distilleries – high on quality, low on quantity – to launch, let alone survive. Five such distilleries – including Island Spirits – now exist in the province. Not so bad when you consider there are between 12 and 15 artisan distilleries in the whole country. Disappointing, perhaps, when you hear there are nine in the city of Portland alone – or 33,000 in Germany.
The LDB effectively owns all distilled spirits (any liquor with over 22.9 per cent alcohol content) as soon as they hit store shelves, charging a 167 per cent markup (on top of a hefty federal excise tax) and dictating exactly where and how they can be sold.
By the time a $50 bottle of Phrog gin has been shipped from Kimmerly’s distillery to the LDB, ordered by the local Hornby Island Liquor store and sold to a customer, Island Spirits is left with $12.50. The actual cost to make that bottle, because of the extra time and energy required for Island Spirits to let its still run its course, is almost $13. No wonder the distillers are searching outside B.C. for buyers.
But when Kimmerly told the LDB that Island Spirits wouldn’t sign its distribution agreement because Island Spirits was going to export only, the LDB threatened to pull its licence. “In their defence,” Kimmerly says of the LDB, “they’re tasked with enforcing B.C. liquor laws, one of which states that the province ‘assumes title’ of liquor as soon as it’s packaged in consumer-quantity containers.”
In other words, if Island Spirits wanted in the game, it would have to play by the LDB’s rules – and lose money doing so. “We’re being stifled, treated like a big distillation company making millions of gallons,” Grayson says, wearing jeans and gumboots, joining Kimmerly at the bar. “We just want distilleries treated like wineries.”
In the late ’70s, the federal government agreed to waive its excise taxes on all Canadian wines made with 100 per cent local grapes. Seeing the wisdom in helping its local farmers and a burgeoning industry, B.C. soon followed, allowing wineries to sell these same wines directly to tourists, bars, private liquor stores, restaurants and hotels without any LDB markup.
Within 20 years, small mom-and-pop vineyards dotted the Okanagan and Cowichan valleys, each with its own winery and tasting room for the growing number of tourists lining up for samples. One minor regulatory change and suddenly grape farming, winemaking and agri-tourism were viable industries in the province.
“We want the LDB to acknowledge small [spirit] producers,” Grayson says. “Give them a chance to thrive and diversify the economy.”
For B.C.’s early colonists, liquor was less a luxury and more a way of life. “Hard liquor was cheap and readily available, unlike milk, coffee and tea,” writes Robert Campbell in his book Demon Rum or Easy Money: Government Control of Liquor in British Columbia From Prohibition to Privatization.
“In rural areas, distilled grain reduced transportation costs and served as a substitute for cash.” By the beginning of the 19th century, B.C. had a ratio of 177 men to every 100 women – a result of the transient nature of its burgeoning mining, fishing and logging industries. Cheap, accessible whisky helped break these settlers into their bleak, lonely lives in the wilderness.
Cheap whisky, as well as beer, helped fuel the rapid expansion of saloons across the province – but also spurred the growing temperance movement into the western hinterland. The local anti-liquor lobby – the “drys” – now had a symbol for their cause: the dark, dank bar filled with drunk husbands and absent fathers, drinking away their family’s income in the company of less-than-reputable women.
A B.C. referendum, instigated by the anti-liquor lobby, officially endorsed Prohibition in 1917, with the provincial legislature passing a bill banning the sale of liquor in B.C. later that year. A year after that, the federal Parliament tightened the noose further, passing its own law to ban the manufacture, transportation and sale of anything stronger than 2.5 per cent alcohol content and thus restricting interprovincial trade in liquor. Selling or buying booze from anyone but your doctor was now a crime in B.C.
Between bootlegging and medical “prescriptions” for liquor, however, the B.C. government soon discovered it couldn’t effectively enforce Prohibition. It also discovered it didn’t want to. With sales of liquor to industry, churches and “patients” bringing in over $1.5 million to provincial coffers in 1919, there were fat profits to be made in the booze business. In 1921 the government decided to end Prohibition but maintain control over the business, creating a three-member Liquor Control Board, at arm’s length from the government, to make regulations and set policy.
While the bureaucracy grew and changed shape over the years, eventually separating into the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch and the Liquor Distribution Branch, its raison d’être remained the same: a government body that didn’t look like a government body to enforce regulations, sell booze and cash in.
And cash in they have. In 1922, the first year post-Prohibition, liquor revenue for the government was $2.1 million. In 1947 it had climbed to close to $15 million. The LDB’s latest figures, for the fiscal year ending March 2008, show a net income of $857 million for the B.C. government on gross sales of almost $2.7 billion.
Of that total, Canadian-made spirits sold through the LDB represent $410 million in sales, with more than a quarter (over $110 million) accounted for by three “domestic” brands – Captain Morgan, Crown Royal and Smirnoff Red – manufactured here for British liquor giant Diageo PLC.
“We choose what we carry, what not to carry, based on consumer demand,” says Gord Hall, the LDB’s director of corporate policy, when asked how artisan distilleries such as Island Spirits, which represent a fraction of that sales total, can break into the market.
“If we choose not to carry a product, [local distilleries] have access to private liquor stores and restaurants – but through the LDB.”
Unlike beer – whose powerful interests successfully lobbied the province to allow breweries direct access to the public through saloons, restaurants and hotels as soon as government control began – and homegrown wine – which now enjoys an equally direct route to their buyers – the fate of local spirit producers remains in the hands of a few provincial bureaucrats. “Spirits are still back in Prohibition days: controlled, ironfisted,” Grayson laments, savouring his last sip of gin. “People have lost sight that distilling is just another way of processing fruit.”
Frank Deiter, owner and founder of Okanagan Spirits, is keenly aware of that fact. A German expat, Deiter spent 30 years in the B.C. forestry industry before deciding in 2002 to switch careers and get into the distillery business. All it took was a late fall stroll through an Okanagan orchard.
Seeing row upon row of rotting apples lying on the ground, Deiter recalled how in Europe farmers were turning rotting apples into high-end bottles of brandy, shipping them across the ocean and selling them on B.C. liquor store shelves. “I thought, What are we doing?” Deiter explains over the phone from his distillery in Vernon.
Today, using soon-to-be-dumped fruit from farms across the area, Deiter sells thousands of bottles a year (under his Okanagan Spirits label) of fruit brandies, absinthe and aquavit, grossing over $350,000 annually. For him the problem has never been the spirits themselves, which win lots of awards, but rather how much harder it is to get them into the hands of customers compared to wine or beer. Like Island Spirits, Deiter doesn’t technically sell his own liquor; the LDB does through its outlets, bars, restaurants and private liquor stores, including one that’s two blocks from his distillery.
Even the bottles Deiter sells directly to the public at his on-site store are sold on behalf of the LDB, with Deiter sending all money from on-site sales to LDB coffers; in return he gets a 30 per cent “commission” in the mail. B.C. wineries using locally grown produce, on the other hand, can sell their wines directly to whomever they choose – on-site or off-site, with no markup and no excise tax – and keep every penny (except GST and PST) for themselves.
Even the wines they sell through LDB stores are only charged a 117 per cent markup, compared to the 167 per cent markup for spirits. Less markup, less taxes and direct sales mean wine producers can sell for less and walk away with more.
That’s why, in 2007, Deiter helped form the Artisan Distillers Guild of B.C., which includes Okanagan Spirits, Merrydale Ciderworks Corp., Spirit West Distillery and soon Victoria Spirits and Island Spirits. Its objective is to lobby the province to ensure “the policies in place for wineries be extended to our types of distilleries,” Deiter explains.
These days Deiter and other B.C. distillers are looking with hope to what’s happening south of the border, in Washington state, where just such policy changes are in the works. The soon-to-be-approved Senate Bill 6496 will see the distillery licence fee lowered from $2,000 to $100 and will allow distilleries producing liquor with at least half locally grown produce to offer free samplings and sell up to nine litres of their product per customer on-site, markup free – effectively bringing craft distilleries in line with Washington wineries.
Arlen Harris, director of the Washington Brewers Guild, predicts the distillery scene is going to explode as a result. He told the Seattle Times in 2008 that within the first year of the proposed regulations he expected to see 10 to 12 new distilleries in Washington.
As far as local distillers are concerned, the potential for such growth exists here too – when and if government lets it happen. “Look at our burgeoning wine industry,” Deiter says. “It’s only because of changes in policy to distribution. The industry takes care of itself.”
Back at the “church” on Hornby Island, Kimmerly is pouring another round of gins. He and Grayson could talk about their product (and the politics) for hours, but their partner, Naz Abdurahman, has just walked through the door. The South Africa native and retired UBC chemistry professor is Island Spirits’ “god of purity,” according to Kimmerly – a title earned from his intimate, if not spiritual, understanding of distillation.
Short glasses of gin in hand (“You just need a touch of water,” Kimmerly insists), the three men hover by the bar talking up their latest experiments. They’re currently fermenting Hornby Island apples in a barrel by the bar to see whether they can harvest fruit sugars on-island, and they just sent samples of their gin and vodka to the chemistry department at the University of Toronto for “the first full spectrographic analysis” (a test for impurities) in Canada.
With ambitions to sell over 18,000 bottles a year across North America and Europe, the trio believe they can turn Scotch worshippers worldwide into gin and vodka believers too. But before all that, there’s some missionary work to do here at home. A few simple changes in regulations, they insist, and not only will their distillery survive, but dozens – if not hundreds – more could flourish alongside them. They need the LDB to make the first move.
“The problem is habit,” Grayson says, leaning back against the bar and staring at the dozens of boxes filled with gin and vodka waiting to be shipped out. “The habit of total control and not thinking that the industry evolves.”
Adds Kimmerly beside him, “Once an organization gets used to their ways, they begin to feel like, Why change?”


text:
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A chemist has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing trade secrets belonging to Eastman Chemical Company and other companies.
A federal judge in Greeneville sentenced Xiaorong You, aka Shannon You, 59 of Lansing, Michigan, to 168 months in prison, ordered her to serve three years of supervised release, and pay a $200,000 fine.
You was convicted in April 2021 of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud.
According to federal prosecutors, You stole trade secrets related to formulations for bisphenol-A-free (BPA-free) coatings for the inside of drink cans for the purpose of establishing a can-coating manufacturer in China. She was granted access to the trade secrets while working for Coca-Cola in Atlanta and Eastman in Kingsport.
Prosecutors said she stole trade secrets that belonged to several companies, including Akzo-Nobel, BASF, Dow Chemical, PPG, Toyochem, Sherwin Williams, and Eastman, that cost nearly $120 million to develop.
According to the Department of Justice, You and her Chinese corporate partner, Weihai Jinhong Group, received millions of dollars in Chinese government grants to support the new company.
“As the evidence at trial showed, the defendant stole valuable trade secrets and intended to use them to benefit not only a foreign company, but also the government of China,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a release. “Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this offense, as well as the Department of Justice’s commitment to protect our nation’s security by investigating and prosecuting those who steal U.S. companies’ intellectual property.”
You was employed as the principal engineer for global research from Coca-Cola from December 2012 through August 2017, according to prosecutors. She worked as a packaging application development manager for Eastman from September 2017 through June 2018.


text:
THE most basic issue faced by fisheries companies in the country is the lack of supply chain infrastructure, Majestic Seafood Corporation Ltd general manager Napoleon Benitez says.
Benitez said the other issues involved the cost of utilities which were higher than countries such as the Philippines and Thailand.
“Most of our raw materials, aside from fish, are imported for example tin cans. We have our own can manufacturing facilities but we bring in the tin plates from Indonesia. All of the processors are importing cans from countries like Thailand and the Philippines.”
Other costs include:
- LABOUR – includes hiring, deployment and accommodation of technical staff;
- WATER – cost of water supply is high due to the additional charges for sewerage and standby fees;
- POWER – electricity supply is 10 times higher than Thailand. There is no coal in PNG so it had to be imported from Indonesia and Philippines.
- SECURITY services – the law and order situation in PNG calls for more security guards to be at the plant to ensure the safety of the people and properties.


text:
China is both the second largest economy and importer in the world. Since its accession into the World Trade Organization in 2001, the country’s gross domestic product has grown from being ranked sixth globally to now representing roughly 15 percent of the world’s GDP. With this economic boom, China is experiencing more liberalization, rising living standards, a growing middle class and changing consumption patterns. Yet, opportunities for U.S. industries to access this burgeoning marketplace continue to be stifled by regulatory barriers and trade disputes.
Now more than ever, the Chinese people are incorporating meat and dairy products into their diets. In its attempts to be self-sustaining, the country has begun not only growing more animals, but also producing more meat, poultry and dairy products. To keep pace with the growing food demands of a growing population, the Chinese feed industry has been scaling up at an average rate of more than 10 percent over the past 20 years, now becoming the world’s largest with a total output of 187.9 million metric tons of feed in 2018. However, the Chinese feed industry continues to be plagued by on-farm, outdated production technology and techniques, environmental pollution, low-quality inputs, poor machinery and low management expertise in small-scale operations, which have led to feed safety problems.
The U.S. feed industry, by comparison, has long been recognized as a leader in the development and deployment of products to increase feed production and feed conversion ratios and reduce production costs, in accordance with stringent food safety regulations. With so much to offer in terms of technology and expertise, it is no wonder that China has become one of the largest single export markets for U.S. feed and feed ingredients, valued at over $394 million in 2018 (excluding alfalfa and hay products). Yet, many regulatory hurdles remain that are reducing the U.S. animal food industry’s access into this burgeoning marketplace.
The American Feed Industry Association continues to work with the U.S. government to advocate for U.S. feed, feed ingredients, pet food and animal food manufacturing technologies to have greater access into the Chinese market by urging China to modify some of its outdated and unnecessary regulatory policies. Ongoing trade disputes between the United States and China, however, challenge the relationship between the two countries, and U.S. animal food manufacturers are at risk of losing their place in this vital marketplace in the future.
Learn more about:


text:
How industry has adapted to online training resources
The dawn of Industry 4.0 had already ushered in a new era of industrial digitalisation. But it’s safe to say that the Coronavirus pandemic has somewhat accelerated the digitisation of the engineering and manufacturing sectors. With many engineers side-lined through furlough and working from home, there has never been a greater need for online training. Bürkert explains how they and others have been helping to bridge the virtual skills divide.
In a fascinating article written for The Conversation at the beginning of lockdown in Britain, Adam Cooper, Lecturer in Policy Research and Practice at UCL, lamented the fact that engineers had not been further at the forefront of the government’s advisory team during the pandemic (save for the impressively rapid development of respiratory devices). Surely engineers could play a bigger role in this crisis, he argued.
“What about focusing on the mass production and distribution of on-street hand sanitiser, or gloves treated with new, safe anti-viral coatings?” said Cooper. “There may also be new ways of opening doors without grabbing the handle, or indeed pressing lift buttons. Could we design better protective infrastructure for shop workers facing customers at tills? What about bring-your-own trolley handles?”
All interesting ideas that underline the fact that engineers and manufacturers instinctively find solutions to the most pressing issues of the day.
Nationwide shortage of STEM skills
One of the issues that continues to plague the engineering industry is the ongoing skills gap in the sector. The nationwide shortage of STEM skills is believed to cost UK businesses around £1.5 billion a year in recruitment, temporary staffing, inflated salaries and additional training costs.
In the current climate, with socially distanced university programmes and traditional training environments out of the question, the task of training new and current engineers just got harder. Unsurprisingly, engineers have found a way to overcome these challenges and still maintain a semblance of structured continual professional development (CPD) from the confines of their desks.
The answer, of course, is online engineering courses and training.
Online engineering courses bridging the skills gap
The Engage online learning hub helps engineers and manufacturers gain the skills they need to keep pace with emerging trends and technologies, with a particular focus on industrial digitalisation. Launched by training providers Enginuity, the online platform offers several online engineering courses around the role of digital technology within the industry, as well as a more advanced ‘Engage Academy’ offering free online classes.
The engage platform also hosts a range of useful content from major UK engineering organisations, including the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, Make UK and FutureLearn. The idea behind the scheme is to upskill returning engineers with the knowledge they need to adapt and respond to the increasingly more digital landscape in the current era of Industry 4.0.
Bürkert Spotlight keeps engineers connected
Bürkert UK also recognises that online engineering training is more important than ever. Which is why they launched their own Bürkert Spotlight series of training webinars, podcasts and online content to keep engineers up to date with latest engineering insights and breakthrough Bürkert products emerging from their production line. All hosted by their extremely knowledgeable Field Segment Managers.
Bürkert’s webinars and online training resources are available completely free of charge. Registering your attendance at one of their many upcoming webinars couldn’t be easier. Simply sign up to become a member and choose which events you would like to attend. In the process, you gain access to all their exclusive content and valuable technological insights from some of the most knowledgeable experts in their fields.
For more information, please contact Bürkert today.
Get the latest process industry news
Interested in receiving even more industry-leading news from Process Industry Forum delivered directly to your inbox? Then sign up to our free newsletter. Bringing you the latest news, trends, innovations and opinion from across the process industry, our exclusive newsletter gives you all the industry insights of the moment in one, easy-to-digest bulletin. Stay ahead of the competition with regular process industry news instalments from PIF.


text:
Celine bags any time to celine bag achieve anniversary second of Celine Luggage bags luxury. In case you backpack these ample backpack on the street, will be advised a cool arcade crazy. Having Celine Boston Bag said that, which woman is simply not? Could be the trend from the celine outlet shop amiss isn’t you of incorrect, nevertheless, his amateur aback a celine luggage mini ample backpack go out, alike if not shopping, and it serves to physical appearance fashion. Primarily acceptable for alpine ladies, this kind of Celine Luggage Tote adeptness look major backpack of benefit.
Assange lodged his mulberry bags appeal against extradition mulberry outlet with the Supreme mulberry factory shop Court in February, with his lawyers arguing the European arrest warrant used to seek his extradition was not valid as the Swedish prosecutor did not have Mulberry Bayswater Bags sufficient authority to order the extradition. This was rejected by a mulberry handbags majority of five to two by the Supreme Court justices.


text:
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Don’t expect to be able to take advantage of this tactic forever though. The Fair Isaac Company is on to the ‘instant credit repair’ scheme and intends to update its credit scoring methods within the year to take such ‘cheating’ into account.
And don’t assume because the current practices are not specifically illegal, that they are perfectly legal and legitimate. “What I've gathered from attorneys here is that it appears to be legal” technically, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) spokesman Frank Dorman has said. “However, the agency is not saying that it is legal.”
The use of borrowed credit makes lenders very nervous as it makes it harder to tell who has actually maintained a good credit record and who has simply bought their way into excellent credit. This dilemma makes their risk-evaluation methods less effective. Plus, using borrowed credit without disclosure to your lender may be considered mortgage fraud. As Ginny Ferguson, credit expert for the National Association of Mortgage Brokers recently said, “These [instant credit repair] companies are encouraging consumers to commit fraud. On a standard home loan, there's a clause that says the consumer is not omitting pertinent facts that could impact his or her ability to repay the loan,” Ferguson said.
So before you dive into one of these ‘instant credit repair’ schemes, consider carefully the dangers of buying into a quick credit fix with ‘borrowed’ credit.
The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments or external internet links are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of First Capital, we make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of this information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.
Roadmap to a Higher Credit Score: http://firstcapitalmtg.blogspot.com/2011/08/dispute-any-information-that-brings.html


text:
POYNTON’S shoppers will have to wait at least two years before their new village supermarket is opened, the company has confirmed.
Building work on the 16,000 sq ft Park Lane store will not even start until next summer.
Waitrose was given the green light to build by MBC in May this year, but since the dust has settled, uncertainty has grown in the area over when the diggers will move in.
A spokeswoman for the supermarket confirmed this week: "We will not start work on the Poynton store until summer 2009, which was our plan from the beginning. It is likely to be an 18-month project, and we hope to open in autumn 2010."
She denied that the "credit crunch" had any affect on the time scale for the Poynton outlet.
Keith Lambert, spokesman for Poynton Partnership of Traders and owner of Mates DIY on Park Lane said: "It’s probably a good thing. Poynton is quiet (in retail terms) like the rest of the country, and I can’t imagine diggers and trucks going up and down Park Lane would help that.
"No doubt it would create a few problems with traffic. The fact they aren’t starting yet is probably a blessing in disguise."
Poynton West Councillor Gabor Bartos hopes the extra time will allow a better arrangement to be found over parking at the supermarket.
"I am unhappy that Waitrose are saying they do not plan to build their own car park," he said.
"The car park around the civic hall is free and it is a precious commodity. It is just arrogance for a company to use one that is already there. It is a commercial investment so they should provide their own.
"If it is the people of Poynton who benefit, then I will welcome it."
When built, the Waitrose will stand on the site of Vernon Building Society, which will relocate further down Park Lane.


text:
East Rand Galleria has been transformed into East Point.
East Point prepares for holiday festivities
While renovations progress steadily at East Point (previously East Rand Galleria Shopping Centre) plans have already been set in motion to make this coming December one of the most festive yet for visitors.
East Point provides Festive season update
As the festive season gets underway, East Point has geared up construction and welcomed more tenant openings this past month. Construction will resume early 2016.
Upgrades at shopping centre are taking shape
VISITORS to East Point, previously East Rand Galleria Shopping Centre, will notice a marked difference as the outside facade around Entrance 1 nears completion and construction of Entrance 2 kicks into high gear.
East Point’s stores remain open for business
As East Point (previously East Rand Galleria Shopping Centre) progresses through its renovations, which will ultimately offer a superior shopping experience for customers, trading continues from a broad variety of stores.
East Point opens Entrance 1 to the public
East Point (previously East Rand Galleria Shopping Centre) has reached an exciting milestone in its redevelopment with the official opening of Entrance 1. The new entrance reflects the chic style and aesthetics of what will be the centre’s completed look and feel.
Revamp complete 2016
The revamp of East Point Shopping Centre (previously East Rand Galleria Shopping Centre) is complete.
It was announced back in August of 2014 that the East Rand Galleria will receive a major R400-million reconfiguration and renovation from owners, JSE-listed SA Corporate Real Estate Fund.
The refurbishment also marked the centre adopting a new name, East Point Shopping Centre, to better reflect its refreshed, aspirational market positioning.
Over the last couple of years, the shopping centre has undergone a radical change that includes doubling its retail variety to around 120 stores, a fresh new family-oriented food court, and improve parking and access.
Shoppers are also offered the quality and value they expect with a substantially upgraded Pick ’n Pay Hypermarket at its heart, situated at Entrance One.
There are also now two entrances for Game, one located in North Rand Road and the other is accessible while walking thorough the centre itself.
Entrance Two is the home of the food court, which features Brooklyn Brothers (a modern American diner), Hello Tomato (freshly made-to-order pasta and modern Italian thin crust pizza), John Dory’s (family seafood and grill restaurant), Simply Asia (authentic Thai food) and then well-known Italian cuisine restaurant, Mimmos.
Take note, the Parrots establishment, which has been part of the centre for many years, is also part of the food court.
As we look forward to bringing our shoppers an enhanced shopping experience, we invite all those on the East Rand to come and view our beautiful shopping centre which now offers a variety of great brands and at the same time fabulous food,” said Zandre van den Berg, Marketing Manager
“We look forward to bringing our shoppers an enhanced customer experience this festive season and would like to wish our shoppers, tenants and stakeholders a Merry Christmas and may 2017 be a prosperous and rewarding year for everyone!” Natasha Koning, Centre Manager


text:
“Apple shares could have upside of more than 20% this year, Wedge Partners Analyst Brian Blair tells Barrons.com,” Dimitra DeFotis reports for Barron’s.
“Wedge Partners doesn’t publish price targets, but Blair tells us he thinks the stock could go ‘to $600 or $650 over the next 12 months,'” DeFotis reports. “Shares of Apple (AAPL) are up 54 cents, or 0.10%, at $536.61.”
DeFotis reports, “Blair issued a favorable note this morning on Apple that concludes that while the company is ‘at an impasse,’ R&D spending, potential production forecasts and Apple’s need to grow all point to ‘a coming wave of innovation.'”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Bill” for the heads up.]


text:
Comcast is adding another hook to try to keep customers in front of the TV: video games in its set-top boxes.
Rice University engineers have demonstrated the first system that allows wireless data transmissions over UHF channels during active TV broadcasts. If the technology were incorporated into next-generation TVs or smart remotes, ...
Comcast, the country's largest cable company, is offering its own online video alternative as people spend fewer hours watching live TV and more time using tablets and phones for entertainment.
HBO posted the first episodes of its two newest comedy series on Facebook on Thursday, turning the social networking site into a new platform for TV viewing.
The price of Showtime is being trimmed to $9 a month for Hulu subscribers in a deal that will make it the first premium pay TV service offered through Hulu.
With Apple expected to further delay an update to its already outdated Apple TV, consumers should take a look at Nvidia's new Shield device to get a sense of the future of streaming media players.
Marriott International Inc. says its flagship hotel unit will offer guests access to Netflix Inc.'s streaming-video service on TVs in its guest rooms.
Showtime said Monday its online streaming service will be available through Roku and through Sony's PlayStation Vue cloud TV service.
Netflix will debut in Italy and Portugal in October as the Internet video service accelerates its international expansion.
Cable and satellite TV providers are joining together to get more heft as the Internet shakes up the television industry.


text:
December 23, 2013 Community Market & Insights (CMI) has released key findings from its Annual LGBT Travel Survey. Now in its 18th year, the study has successfully tracked the trends, travel patterns, brand recognition and destination rankings of the LGBT community over time. More than 3,000 LGBTs from across the United States participated in this study in autumn 2013.
The research was presented at CMI?s 14th Conference on LGBT Tourism & Hospitality in Fort Lauderdale last week, and the complete report is now available at no charge at www.CommunityMarketingInc.com.
Top Ten Research Findings for 2013
- 2013 saw modest increases in LGBT leisure travel over the previous year (a 5% increase).? However, the trend towards a decrease in business travel continues from recent years.
- When asked to write in their answer, ?Which hotel group or brand has done the best job outreaching to the LGBT community over the past year?? Hilton was the number one large brand hotel group, while Kimpton won the title among boutique brands.
- Among LGBT Americans who traveled to another destination and spent at least one night in a hotel, New York City remains the number one most-visited destination by LGBTs, with Chicago and San Francisco tied for second.
- When selecting a hotel, free WiFi is a major motivator for over 70% of LGBT community members. Hotel brands that continue to charge for an Internet connection could be seen as having a competitive disadvantage.
- Among LGBT parents, researching and selecting a hotel that is ?child-friendly? becomes more important than selecting a hotel that is ?LGBT-friendly,? although both are important.
- Over 70% of LGBT travelers consider themselves to be a ?planner? when arranging a vacation, with fewer than 15% considering themselves as ?spontaneous? in their travel choices.
- Over 75% of LGBTs under age 45 use their mobile devices for travel information. And among those who use their mobile devices, over 80% are using them to find local restaurants, and nearly 60% use mobile devices to research local attractions.
- ?For those just getting married, there is no clear favorite same-sex honeymoon destination. Responses varied widely across the United States, Canada and Europe. The destination with the highest number participants was Hawaii, but the honeymoon destination only represented 7% of couples. This may improve with Hawaii?s recent recognition of marriage equality.
- Pride events continue to play an important role in motivating LGBT travel. And younger LGBTs are even more likely to travel to another city for a Pride event than older LGBTs.
- The LGBT media and mainstream media play an equal role in influencing the travel decisions of gay men and lesbians.
The Community Marketing & Insights team has been conducting LGBT consumer research for 20 years. Our methodologies include online surveys, focus groups, IDIs, MROCs, and advisory boards in North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia. Industry leaders around the world depend on CMI?s LGBT research and analysis as a basis for feasibility evaluations, positioning, economic impact, ad creative and brand testing, informed forecasting, measurable marketing planning and assessment of return on investment.
CMI?s clients span a wide spectrum of industries. Custom CMI studies have been produced for Wells Fargo Bank, Aetna Insurance, Gilead Pharmaceuticals, Target Brands, Johnson & Johnson, E&J Gallo Wineries, Prudential Financial, Hyatt Hotels, MetLife, WNBA, Esurance, Travelocity, Absolut Vodka, American Cancer Society, Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB, Japan National Tourism Organization, The U.S. Census and numerous other corporations and organizations across North America and around the world. CMI?s research has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Advertising Week, CBS News, NPR, Associated Press and many other international, national and regional media.


text:
With other social platforms ‘maxed out,’ InStyle magazine focuses on Pinterest: InStyle’s Pinterest audience is increasing by 22 percent year-over-year –it now has 236,000 followers — making it a focal point for InStyle’s digital team, even as the platform’s ability to drive social traffic falls behind both Facebook and Twitter, respectively.
What publishers want Snapchat to fix about Discover: Talk to anyone, and it’s clear that the the mostly young Snapchat audience is less enthusiastic about Discover than big media companies. Traffic to Discover is a fraction of the regular user activity that reaches more than 100 million people a day.
Nielsen expands digital campaign measurement to 25 new countries by 2016: Nielsen plans to expand its digital advertising measurement solution, Digital Ad Ratings. Over the course of the year, Nielsen will expand the solution into eight new markets globally, with the addition of mobile measurement to existing Digital Ad Ratings offerings in a further eight markets.
Jeff Goldblum Spare The Act: Jeff Goldblum’s Spare The Act Laptop, part of the Currys PC WorldChristmas 2015 advertising campaign, has been awarded British Arrows Commercial of the Year. Goldblum gives acting lessons in five commercials, showing people how to respond to receiving disappointing, boring and unimaginative gifts with dignity.
Adobe partners with comScore on digital TV and ad measurement: At Adobe Summit, Adobe and comScore announced a global strategic partnership to provide new insights into the media consumption behaviors of digital audiences. This new partnership will deliver consistent, cross-device audience measurement of video and ad content, providing advanced insight into consumer viewing behaviors for better media planning and buying.
Publicis launches Sapient Inside to combine tech & creativity: Publicis Groupe, has launched a new initiative, Sapient Inside, designed to bring the best of the Publicis. Sapient platform to Publicis Communications clients, providing them with a significant competitive advantage by connecting brand marketing to digital and enterprise technology. More than ever clients are looking for outstanding creative solutions, but increasingly require that those solutions leverage technology in order to scale their marketing investments effectively.
Facebook Audience Network partners with third-party mediation platforms, including Twitter’s MoPub: Facebook Audience Network (FAN) has launched a partner program for mobile mediation platforms to integrate with the mobile ad network. App publishers using one of the approved third-party platforms will be able to tap FAN’s native ad formats and get access to the demand generated by Facebook’s three million advertisers.
Facebook video metrics add richer day-by-day data: Facebook is improving upon the video metrics feature it rolled out last month. In February, Facebook enhanced its video metric view with information on minutes viewed, 10-second views, whether videos were watched with sound on (or off), unique viewers, views, average percent completion, audience retention, average view duration and organic vs. paid views. Today, even more detail is being added to video metrics, including day-by-day performance.
Impersonated on Facebook? The social network is testing an alert feature: Facebook’s safety team is working to prevent impersonation, enhance security and stop the spread of images that expose victims of abuse.
Persil and Omo Free The Kids: Childhood play is under threat. This is the stark conclusion of Unilever’s new global integrated marketing campaign for laundry products OMO and Persil. The Free The Kids campaign reveals that the majority of children spend as little time outdoors as maximum security prisoners, with one in two spending an hour or less outside per day and one in 10 never playing outdoors.
Snapchat Is Buying Bitstrips, the Company That Turns You Into an Emoji: Snapchat is buying Bitstrips, the company behind the Bitmoji app that lets you create an avatar of yourself to share on social media and over text, according to a source familiar with the deal.


text:
European auto sector hits 17-year low, Renault cuts jobs
European auto sales plunged to their lowest point in 17 years in 2012, trade data revealed on Wednesday after Renault announced the latest job cuts to hit the beleaguered sector.
New car registrations in the European Union fell by 8.2% from their 2011 level to 12.05 million units last year, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said.
Sales in December fell for the 15th month in a row by 16.3% on a 12-month basis, even slipping slightly in Germany despite the global strength of top German brands.
French automakers in particular are being hard hit with Renault announcing 7,500 job cuts late on Tuesday.
PSA Peugeot Citroen, the second-biggest carmaker in Europe after the booming German VW group, has just been rescued by the state. The group is restructuring with 8,000 job cuts and targets development abroad after a government report said its strategy had missed the bus of globalisation.
And on Wednesday French car parts maker Faurecia reported weak results causing its shares to plunge.
By contrast the VW group has reported record global sales for 2012 with a rise of 11.0% to 9.07 million units and aspires to being the biggest manufacturer globally, ahead of Japanese Toyota, by 2018. German Daimler said at the Detroit auto show this week that it is on track to be the world's top luxury carmaker by the end of the decade.
The second-biggest manufacturer globally is General Motors, which struck a strategic partnership with PSA this year, but GM's sales across the whole of Europe fell by 8.2% last year, the US group said in Detroit.
Hyundai-Kia sales rise
These companies, and European manufacturers in general, are looking to growth in emerging markets to compensate for what they expect to be a lasting weaker trend in Europe, but these markets are also the home base for new competitors notably in China.
The European trade association said in its report on the European market, "Demand for new cars reached the lowest level recorded since 1995, totalling 12,053,904 units" in 2012.
Last year's 8.2% shrinkage was the worst since a downturn of 16.9% in 1993, the association said.
The trend was aggravated by exceptionally bad figures for December in debt-stricken Europe.
"In December, new car registrations declined by a sharp 16.3% in the EU, continuing a downward trend commenced 15 months ago. The decline is the steepest recorded in a month of December since 2008," the statement said.
With the eurozone struggling to cope with the tax rises and cuts in state spending imposed to correct its debt crisis, businesses and consumers have cut down their spending on vehicles.
In some countries the market, and employment, were supported after the financial crisis hit economies in 2008 by government subsidies for the replacement of old vehicles with new ones. But these schemes have run out and many European groups have announced job cuts and plant closures similar to, albeit less dramatic, those that occurred immediately in the US auto industry.
The latest came late on Tuesday from Renault which said it would shed 7,500 French jobs, or about 17.0% of its workforce by 2016, but by means of not replacing normal departures.
Renault, which has diversified its manufacturing into low-cost countries close to western Europe in recent years, notably in Romania where it builds its Dacia-branded vehicles, said that an agreement with unions on the cutbacks would save it 400 million euros ($534 million) in overheads and would avert any plant closures.
"On the basis of a progressive recovery of the European market, establishing such an agreement would allow for growth in French output that is more sustained than that of the European market," Renault said.
However the European trade data for the year showed big differences between countries.
Car sales rose only in Britain, by 5.3% from the level in 2011.
In Germany, a fall in sales on the home market was contained to 2.9% but in France sales slumped by 13.9%, in Spain by 13.4% and in Italy by 19.9%.
In terms of brands, sales in western Europe by PSA Peugeot Citroen fell by 12.9%, by Renault 18.9 and by Fiat of Italy by 15.8%.
Sales by Opel, based in Germany but owned by US group General Motors which has recovered strongly from bankruptcy, fell by 15.6%.
However, other German brands did far better. Sales by Audi rose by 3.7%, and by BMW they fell by 0.1% and by Mercedes-Benz by 0.9%.
In terms of sales in Europe by foreign manufacturers, the South Korean group Hyundai-Kia raised sales under the Hyundai name by 9.4% and under the Kia brand by 14.6%.


text:
FedEx Tumbles After Pulling Annual Earnings Forecast
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
FedEx Corp. lost $11 billion in market value, wiping out two years of stock gains, after withdrawing its earnings forecast on worsening business conditions.
The package delivery giant flagged weakness in Asia and challenges in Europe as it pulled its prior outlook and reported preliminary results for the latest quarter that fell well short of Wall Street’s expectations. The conditions could deteriorate further in the current period, FedEx said.
The company will take immediate steps to cut costs, including parking some aircraft, cutting workers’ hours and closing more than 90 FedEx Office locations.
Put simply, it was an “ugly quarter,” according to Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Garrett Holland. “Global freight demand has significantly deteriorated.”
FedEx’s stock plunged 21% Sept. 16 in New York, the biggest one-day drop since at least 1980. At $161.02, the shares fell to the lowest level since July 2020.
While economic data has been mixed, with employment and manufacturing holding up, companies across industries are starting to paint a grimmer picture of the economy. Conditions in Asia and Europe also appear to be weighing on the U.S., where consumers are shifting spending into travel and concerts and away from online shopping.
General Electric Co.’s chief financial officer warned Sept. 15 that the company is seeing pressure on cash flow amid supply chain snags, while industrial titans U.S. Steel Corp., Alcoa Corp. and Nucor Corp. have said deliveries are waning. The CEO of McDonald’s Corp. said Sept 14 he expects a minor U.S. recession in 2023 and a more significant one in Europe.
Earlier this summer, retailers such as Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. scaled back expectations as consumers recalibrate their spending. In August, shipping containers arriving in Los Angeles — the busiest U.S. port — fell by the most since the early days of the pandemic, which is another sign that demand is moderating.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing above or go here for more info
FedEx’s bleak comments are a setback for its new CEO, Raj Subramaniam, who had won investor support shortly after taking the reins in June by raising the dividend, agreeing to revamp the board and laying out a multiyear plan to boost profit. Subramaniam now must steer the courier through a post-pandemic economy in which consumers are spending more on services than discretionary purchases.
Earnings, excluding some items, for the fiscal first quarter were projected to be $3.44 a share, FedEx said in the statement detailing preliminary results. That’s well short of the $5.10 average estimate of analysts. Preliminary revenue of $23.2 billion in the period ended Aug. 31 narrowly missed expectations.
“Global volumes declined as macroeconomic trends significantly worsened later in the quarter, both internationally and in the U.S.,” Subramaniam said in the statement.
The news triggered a raft of downgrades from Wall Street analysts.
FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.


text:
Sales at 143-year-old bakery Warburtons drop for the third year in a row as experts blame 'fad diets' for shoppers ditching toast and sandwiches
- Bread is less popular than it previously was with sales falling yet again
- One-time only restructuring costs have also had an effect
- Low-carb diets and 'gluten-free' alternatives are more popular
Fad diets have taken a slice out of family baker Warburtons sales – with profits wiped out as bread falls out of fashion.
Experts said shoppers are switching from morning toast and lunch-time sandwiches to low-carb diets and 'gluten-free' alternatives.
Sales at the 143-year-old firm dropped last year for the third year running.
Celebrity endorsement: Not even Robert De Niro can help boost falling sales at Warburtons
The company, still run by family members, complained of a 'continuing decline in the core market'.
Warburtons is trying to stem the drop in sales from its packaged bread products with new bagel and wrap categories, which it says are growing.
It has hired Robert De Niro to appear as the mafia-style Bagel Boss in its latest advertising campaign.
But Aimee Benson, consumer insight director at market research firm Kantar, said: 'Bread is in long-term decline.
'The industry is trying to reinvigorate, adding seeds and looking at bagels or wraps, but it's still not really saving the category.
More and more people are choosing gluten-free options, perhaps buying bread less frequently or choosing to remove bread from their diets altogether.'
There has been a growing awareness of the effects of wheat products on those with Coeliac disease, whose immune system reacts to gluten which is also found in grains.
Fad diets: Sales are being hit with bread less popular than it once was
But Benson said: 'I don't think people are doing it necessarily because they are Coeliac. What we are seeing is the rise of 'lifestylers' – people who are not necessarily medically diagnosed but who are trying to cut gluten out of their diet.'
Only 2.4 per cent of British households say they are medically diagnosed as gluten intolerant or with Coeliac disease.
Benson said sales of 'Free From' products have risen 36 per cent in a year and are worth £2.2 billion thanks largely to these 'lifestylers'.
Meanwhile, the wrapped bread market, valued at £1.5 billion, has been falling steadily at an average of £10 million annually for the past five years.
Sales at Warburtons dropped 3.5 per cent to £506 million in the year to September 2018. Profit slumped from £20.7 million a year earlier to a loss of £13.5 million.
'The wrapped bakery market remains very competitive with the continuing decline in the core market compounded this period by increased input costs. Growth in new product ranges did not offset the decline in established core ranges,' it said in documents filed at Companies House.
The company said the losses were due to one-time only restructuring costs as well as the sales decline. Those included £19.6 million of costs related to the closure of its Stockton Bakery due to excess capacity.
Jonathan Warburton, chairman of Warburtons, said in a separate statement released to The Mail on Sunday: 'Excluding the exceptional costs, the underlying business remains profitable. During the same period, we also invested significantly to ensure we are well placed for long-term growth.'