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Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says the supermarket milk wars are huring the state's dairy farmers
- From: The Courier-Mail
- March 09, 2013
SHOPPERS may love cheap milk but Premier Campbell Newman says the bargains are hurting Queensland farmers.
He wants supermarkets to change their discounting to allow more profits to be pumped into the dairy industry.
While he has stopped short of suggesting raising prices, he has claimed the consumer-friendly prices are driving dairy farmers to the wall.
The major supermarkets have driven the price of milk down to $1 a litre which the dairy industry has blamed on a wave of farm failures in Queensland.
In Gladstone yesterday speaking at an Agforce meeting, Mr Newman said he wanted to see the supermarkets negotiate a viable supply agreement that would keep the industry alive.
"I am deeply concerned about the actions of major supermarkets to drive down the prices they pay dairy farmers," Mr Newman said.
"It's getting to the point where we will not have a viable, sustainable dairy industry in this state.
"I'm calling on the major supermarkets to negotiate proper supply agreements that keep the dairy industry alive.
"It's time the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Federal Labor Government had a proper look at this issue."
Queensland Farmers Federation chief executive Dan Galligan said the industry welcomed the Premier's comments and was grateful he had shown an understanding of the issue.
"Savage discounting of retail milk prices is indeed threatening the future viability of the Queensland dairy industry and policy recognition of this is required," Mr Galligan said.
Woolworths chief executive Grant O'Brien said he recognised farmers had been affected but said that the company was working through issues with the suppliers.
A YOUNG woman has been found murdered in the front yard of a home in Brisbane, with her McDonald's uniform scattered in the street.
AUSTRALIA'S most advanced commercial satellite developer has put South Australia at the heart of its ambitions, outlining plans to control a satellite fleet from Mawson Lakes.
NEW parking restrictions in North Adelaide are being considered by the council in a bid to control game-day traffic around the revamped Adelaide Oval.
SHE'S lost more than her closest competitor has earned, so it's no surprise Gina Rinehart tops the list as Australia's wealthiest person. Ever.


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Private equity firms is still a powerful force in the plastic industry mergers and acquisitions
In the foreseeable future, private equity firms is still a strong force in the merger and acquisition of plastic companies.
Plastic financial summit was held in Chicago, financial executives John Hart at the meeting revealed: 2005 - 2007 annual global plastics enterprises the average M & A transactions amount to 93, 2012 -- 2015 this figure rose to 125.
Corporate Finance Hart, general manager of P&M, said that when the choice to sell the business, private equity is a key option we value. Capital Partners Altus partner Greenberg said plastics companies to give private equity firms a small business development and growth opportunities.
Like private equity investment enterprises of plastic which one reason is they usually are in the consumer market, the trend in a shorter cycle, investment plastics enterprises can make money from private equity firms more secure, according to Bain Capital, general manager of Hanau.
Although many plastic companies have matured, but they still have the creativity. In the performance and design has made a lot of progress, manufacturing flexibility is very important, because it can shorten the life cycle of products. Altus, Bain, Graham three plastic companies have invested over the years, but Hanau believes that the current market is close to saturation of plastic mergers and acquisitions, because it will pay a higher amount of the amount.
With the increase in the age of plastic business owners, they are happy to create opportunities for private equity firms. Because a lot of 60s and 70s, the boss has inherited problems, Graham investment of plastic enterprises, there are 2/3 of the family business.

domain: news


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A 116 year old luggage maker to the Queen is to open a giant shop in Mayfair to take advantage of wealthy jetsetters flocking to London.
British brand Globe-Trotter has agreed a deal to open at 35 Albemarle Street next year and will relocate from its small shop in Burlington Arcade.
It will be twice the size of its current boutique as it expands its bespoke business. and will include a special VIP area for customers who want to create individually designed items.
The brand, whose customers include Kate Moss, Daniel Craig and Dita von Teese, has been popular among the world’s elite for more than a century - the Queen used luggage from the brand for her 1947 honeymoon while Sir Edmund Hilary and Winston Churchill were also fans.
Its luggage is still made using vulcanized fibre — a paper based material that was patented in Britain in 1859.
The brand, which makes all its products in a factory in Hertfordshire, has also expanded into leather goods.
It now employs more than 80 people and has increased production of suitcases from 200 cases a week two years ago, to 425 cases a week currently.
Jeff Vaughan, chairman at Globe-Trotter, said: “After 10 successful years in Burlington Arcade the move to larger premises will allow the brand to showcase the ever expanding collection of heritage suitcases.”
Historic luxury luggage companies have been making a beeline for the capital. France’s richest man and luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault is bringing luggage brand Moynat to the UK to open by Christmas at 109-112 Mount Street. While another French group, Goyard, is located at 116 Mount Street.
As the global wealthy travel more frequently, the desire for fancy luggage has grown.
Harrods recently relaunched its luggage department as part of a wider makeover at the store.
- More about:
- Baggage And Luggage
- Bags And Sacks
- Dita Von Teese
- Sir Winston Churchill
- The Super-Rich


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BY KRISTINE STURKIE, Public Affairs, Navy Exchange Service Command
Navy Exchange (NEX) China Lake, California, opened a temporary store in wake of the two earthquakes that shook Ridgecrest, California, on July 4 and 5. To support personnel on base, a temporary NEX store opened on July 9 outside the main store under a covered awning for accessibility and convenience. The temporary store was needed due to damage the main store sustained from the earthquake.
In many areas of the main store, merchandise was knocked off shelves and scattered on the floor. Items for the temporary store were carefully collected by NEX associates and placed on rolling racks that were wheeled out and stocked with essential merchandise. In addition, pallets of water and sports drinks were dispatched from the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) Distribution Center in Chino, California, and delivered to the temporary store within one day. NEX personnel remained on watch to support all mission essential personnel on base.
Personnel from NEXCOM’s Western District Office, as well as managers from the surrounding NEX locations, descended on China Lake to assist in getting the NEX facilities back online, including the barbershop and the gas station, which was back in working order on July 7.
“Following the earthquake, our NEXCOM team jumped into overdrive and within a day and a half had a temporary store set up with the necessary items stocked, all to support mission essential personnel,” said Roland Santos, Western District vice president, NEXCOM. “Although our NEX branch exchange manager sustained damage to his own home, he devoted his time and effort to ensure service members and the folks here to help with the recovery effort were taken care of. It’s a testament to the service attitude of our team, and am proud of what they’re doing here to support!”


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Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in Turkey files for bankruptcy just fourteen months after opening in Istanbul
- Jamie's Italian in Istanbul's $2.5billion Zorlu Center Mall opened in 2013
- But despite its prominent location, it experienced financial difficulties
- Bankruptcy hearing was told chain would cut staff and put in more capital
- Lower prices and tough economic conditions were to blame, company said
- But economist says: 'Turks do not hesitate to eat out even in tough times'
- A spokesman for Mr Oliver said restaurant is 'trading well' and won't close
Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Turkey has been forced to file for bankruptcy after only 14 months of operation.
The Jamie's Italian in Istanbul's $2.5billion Zorlu Center Mall was unable to reach targets due to a tough economic climate, it was reported.
A bankruptcy hearing was told the chain, which is the Italian eatery's largest branch abroad in the summer when it can accommodate almost 200 diners on its outdoor terrace, planned to cut staff and put in more capital after experiencing financial difficulties.
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Jamie Oliver's Istanbul restaurant filed for bankruptcy after only 14 months of operation. Pictured, the celebrity chef, 39, at Jamie's Italian in Manchester
Jamie's Italian in Istanbul's $2.5billion Zorlu Center Mall, pictured, was unable to reach targets due to a tough economic climate, it was reported
The restaurant suffered due to the lower prices offered to compete in the city and a a lower than forecast footfall, the Hurriet Daily News reported.
A spokesman for Jamie Oliver told MailOnline the restaurant will not be closing.
He said: 'Jamie's Italian Istanbul is trading well but is currently in some negotiations with regards to its operations and it is standard practise to request protection from the Court from its creditors whilst those negotiations are ongoing.'
He added: 'Jamie's Italian is working closely with its Turkish partners to resolve the current situation in Istanbul.
In the meantime, the Jamie's Italian restaurant brand remains hugely successful across the world.
'In Australia, the Sydney Jamie's Italian had record numbers of customers through the door in the run up to Christmas while the Perth restaurant still has queues out of the door almost two years after opening.'
The company cited the country's tough economic conditions had been a factor as Turkey's growth fell from 8.8% in 2011 to just 1.7% in the last quarter of 2014.
But Ozgur Altug, chief Turkey economist at BGC Partners, said 'almost all other restaurant and chains are going fine'.
He added restaurants in Istanbul are a 'lucrative business' and 'this has nothing to do with the economy'.
'Turks do not hesitate to eat out even in tough times.'
Jamie’s Italian has been rapidly expanding since it was founded in Oxford in 2008 - with more than 30 restaurants worldwide, including Singapore, Dubai and Russia.
Cleared out: The former Recipease store on Western Road, Brighton, was pictured boarded up last year
Early in 2014, all bar one of Oliver's nostalgic Union Jacks restaurants, including the Chiswick branch, pictured, were shut down
But other business ventures haven't fared as well.
In October last year, the 39-year-old chef unexpectedly closed two of his cookery class shops - and failed to tell staff until they were abruptly cleared out of the premises during a shift.
He shut down his Recipease branches in Clapham Junction and Brighton after five years of operation - with a spokesman claiming they were 'focusing energies on their flagship Notting Hill branch'.
But MailOnline reported that one customer, who called to complain about a cancelled booking, said a despondent former employee temporarily posted to customer services admitted the stores were 'making no money'.
Early in 2014, all bar one of Oliver's nostalgic Union Jacks restaurants were shut down amid financial troubles.
The television chef's company cited a 'challenging climate' as the reason for closures of branches in Holborn, Chiswick and Winchester - with only the branch in Covent Garden remaining open.
An employee from the store claims a woman from head office came into the shop during the day to close the place down without warning
A worker from the Clapham branch, pictured with windows boarded, says she she turned up for work to find the doors were locked
HAS THE NAKED CHEF SPREAD HIS 'PUKKA' EMPIRE TOO THINLY?
After leaving school at 16 years old with just two GCSEs, Jamie Oliver has built a £240million business empire and is one of the most recognised chefs in the world. Here are some of his biggest hits, along with a few of his recent failures.
TV PROGRAMMES AND BOOKS
The Naked Chef, 1999: He became a household name after launching the hit TV show in 1999.
Jamie's 30 minute Meals, 2010: Channel 4 series of 40 episodes focused on home-cooked meals that could be put together within the titular timeframe, using simple techniques.
Jamie's 15 Minute Meals, 2012: A re-vamp of his previous show - now for people with even less time.
Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast, 2014: Jamie and best mate Jimmy Doherty join forces at their end-of-the-pier caff in Southend to make feasts for the weekend.
Jamie's School Dinners, 2005: The rising star hit headlines with his campaign against unhealthy school dinners in this four-part documentary.
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, 2010: After his UK crusade, the chef met resistance in the USA and was barred from entering any public school in LA - with his ABC show also getting cancelled.
Jamie’s Italian: The brand has become hugely successful with chains opening up around the world.
Fifteen Restaurant: Initiative designed to give young people the chance to turn their life around with apprenticeships - it recently met controversy for employing a convicted paedophile.
Recipease: After opening in 2009, two of the three stores were shut down last year.
Union Jack's: The high-priced British-themed venues were hit by bad reviews and complaints and three out of four branches closed in January 2014.
Jme: The Artisan food range folded amid poor sales and criticism that the brand boasted high prices for basic ingredients.
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An increasing number of businesses are looking to standardize and update their mailing lists using address cleaning tools.
The technology is particularly useful to companies which use direct mailing solutions as a means of contacting their customers, according to Address Logics.
Indeed, the organization explained that the tools can be used by businesses of all sizes and help to reduce the likelihood of returned mail.
"Address cleansing and direct mailing solutions offer an alternative to spending hours researching or chancing expensive mailings to addresses that have been changed or are no longer valid," said Robert Liebertz, CEO of Address Logics.
Earlier this month, TCM Net reported that Experian QAS address verification software had helped to reduce one online retailer's costs.
According to Experian QAS, implementing the technology had helped Overstock.com cut costs associated with logistics and care costs by $1 million.
Working at the checkout stage, the tool automatically corrects minor mistakes and prompts customers to fix errors.
Posted by Rachel Wheeler


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AUSTRALIA’s first uniform interactive online carcase feedback system for beef and lamb has been formally launched with tools to help correct non-compliance costing the industries more than $100 million annually.
Livestock Data Link was developed by Meat & Livestock Australia and industry partners to links carcase slaughter data from the National Livestock Identification System and MSA databases with analytical tools, benchmarking reports and solutions feedback.
The supply chain feedback system includes a decision support tool linking to a ‘Solutions to Feedback’ library that offers producers solutions to improve carcase compliance.
MLA managing director Richard Norton formally launched the Livestock Data Link program in Melbourne last week during the JBS Australia Great Southern Producer Forum.
Mr Norton said $51 million is lost every year from beef cattle not hitting market specifications and another $64 million is lost from carcases being condemned. In 2011-12 it was also estimated another $12-$49m is lost due to offal and meat condemnation.
“So this is a $100 million-plus issue that we are addressing here today, on an annual basis,” he told 350 producers attending the JBS supplier day.
Mr Norton said MLA has been trying to set up Livestock Data Link for about three years.
“I must congratulate JBS for being the first processor that has helped us in this process. “Obviously without processors on board and without getting the information to put into the system for the processor it simply doesn’t work,” he said.
“This is the next big frontier – this huge data management that is going to happen in our industry from sustainability back to genomics and genetics, on how to meet customer specifications and how you can make more money on farm through the process.
“So thank you JBS — it’s an absolute pleasure to formally launch Livestock Data Link to the market.”
There are currently eight companies piloting LDL across 13 processing plants , but MLA was unable to disclose further details.
JBS Southern was one of the early adopters of LDL and will be the first supply chain to release LDL to its producers through JBS’s Farm-Assured programs, covering more than 2000 beef and lamb producers.
LDL available for feedback from all JBS plants
JBS Australia farm assurance supply chain manager Mark Inglis said he was ‘pretty excited’ about Livestock Data Link and what it represented.
“Obviously with my background with MSA and carcase data, I live and breathe carcase data. Every day great results come across my desk and I look at them – and if they are pretty ordinary a buyer will get a phone call from me,” he said.
“When I originally arrived at JBS and looked at the format of what we actually had, it was actually a bit disappointing – the way it went back to producers – so we’ve had a fair input into LDL.”
“I’ve been trying it on the lamb front for two years and we’ve got it to the stage where our producers within the farm assurance program I think are going to actually revel in it,” Mr Inglis said. The project had equally as much application in beef.
“I certainly know there are a few in the room that over the past two years have been at me on when are we going to launch it.”
“Finally it is up and going, so get on it and get amongst it,” he told producers at the Melbourne forum.
“I think you guys will benefit from seeing JBS kill data in its format – you can all understand it.”
Mr Inglis said Livestock Data Link was now available for lamb and beef carcase feedback from all JBS plants.
He said processing plants across Australia have been using different feedback formats.
“LDL is a common form of feedback and a way of interpreting kill data.”
LDL not only allowed producers to see their carcase feedback in a format that was easy, he said, but the data could then be ‘manipulated and played-with to compare performance with others.
Lean meat yield measurement through LDL
JBS Great Southern farm assurance program lamb suppliers will also now be able to see a lean meat yield figure for their lambs using Livestock Data Link.
Mr Inglis said JBS had been trialling a lean meat yield calculation on lamb in the Bordertown, Brooklyn, Longford and Cobram plants for six months. A lamb’s GR measurement and hot standard carcase weight computed with an algorithm are used to give a LMY measurement.
“It is not 100 percent accurate, but is a start,” he said.
Mr Inglis said there was a process to be completed – including improving calculation accuracy, developing carcase scanning technology and educating producers — before the company might use a LMY measurement in a payment system. This might take two to three years on lamb.
He said LDL was being used by JBS buyers to analyse each week’s kill in farm assured lamb and beef.
“The beef buyers on a Friday morning and the lamb buyers on a Monday morning see the data on the previous week’s kill – carcase weight, fat score and lean meat yield – to help fine-tune their buying skills, he said.
“There is a whole realm of information now that is at our fingertips whereas in the past we didn’t have it.”
LDL has potential to help producers deliver for consumers
JBS southern livestock sales business cadet Jose Webb said LDL enabled producers to analyse their carcase performance in terms of compliance to market specifications with performance outcomes linked to solutions for addressing non-compliance at the on-farm level.
She said with broad uptake and utilisation, LDL had the potential to deliver value to the industry by informing the supply chain how to more consistently deliver meat to consumer requirements.
LDL is a web-based supply chain feedback system that:
- Presents carcase feedback in a user-friendly format that encourages producers to use the information to improve their over-the-hook performance,
- Demonstrates to producers in dollar terms the non-compliance or opportunity cost of not meeting market specifications
- Provides producers with the ability to benchmark individual animal and consignment carcase performance at a flock/herd, regional, state and national level, and
- Enhances the capacity to evaluate and monitor carcase performance to support business decisions.
Producers can do carcase trait analysis
MLA value chain relationship manager Verity Gilbertson said before animals are slaughtered, under the LDL system, they are allocated a target market.
“At the end of each day JBS will upload your carcase data into NLIS with this target market.”
This carcase data is then analysed against an LDL grid which is based on the discounts or penalties that apply for not complying with the processor market specifications.
“What will happen is that when you go into LDL you will have an allocated target market and you will then select the processor grid that you have entered in. This will analyse individual carcase performance against that selected grid, and calculate the cost of non-compliance for each trait.”
LDL also allows producers to look at animals that are over or under specification for each trait, Ms Gilbertson said.
“You have the capacity to download a CSV file with individual animal carcase data that will then allow you to go off and do further analysis or be uploaded onto you on-farm system.”
Ms Gilbertson said a key LDL feature is the ‘Solutions to Feedback’ library that will tell producers how to improve compliance on farm. By clicking on any of the segments within the carcase analysis grid, the Solutions to Feedback library will tell producers why each animal on the LDL grid was non-compliant and what the potential solutions are.
“It (LDL) is going to allow you to identify opportunities to improve compliance to market specification and will support you to make business management decisions by offering solutions through ‘Solutions to Feedback,” she told producers at the JBS forum.
An LDL workshop was held during Friday’s JBS forum and more training workshops will be planned with JBS depending on their supply chain needs.
Accessing Livestock Data Link
LDL is accessed with a producer’s NLIS user ID and password. Producers without an NLIS account can set this up on https://nlis.mla.com.au Those requesting an NLIS account should select the Producer account type, and enter a valid PIC (registered in your name) and email address. It may take up to seven days for NLIS to activate a new account. Assistance is available at the NLIS Helpdesk on 1800 654 743 or firstname.lastname@example.org Before producers can use LDL they need to register their NLIS user ID and password on http://ldl.mla.com.au


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Verizon Wireless will start to offer the Wi-Fi only version of Apple's iPad device from 28 October, ending AT&T's reign as the only carrier to sell the device.
This is the first time that Apple is partnering with another wireless carrier apart from AT&T in the US, with the two companies rumoured to be launching a CDMA version of the iPhone next year.
According to Information Week, Verizon Wireless will be offering the Wi-Fi only 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB iPad models to customers at the prices suggested by Apple.
The company is also offering the devices coupled with its Mi-Fi mobile hotspot service which will allow the customers to access Verizon's 3G network using their Wi-Fi only iPads.
Verizon is asking $629, $729, and $829 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB Mi-Fi enabled iPads.
Apple's iPad device has is dominating the tablet market and is expected to continue to do so at least until early net year. The current popularity of the iPad has prompted Apple to reelase the device to US customers via as many retail channels as it can.
Retail chains like Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy have started offering the iPad from their thousands of outlets across the US as the Christmas shopping season approaches.


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A survey conducted by the consulting firm Gartner found that the majority of finance executives do not plan to acquire bitcoin as a corporate asset in the course of 2021.
In an article published on its blog on February 16, the firm presented the results of the survey of 77 finance executives in the first days of this month, including 50 directors of financial companies. Although he did not give names or mention the places where he applied the questionnaire.
The results show that, of the total number of respondents, only 5% said they planned to hold bitcoin as an asset, while 84% assured that they do not plan to include the pioneer cryptocurrency as a corporate asset in the short term.
According to Gartner data, the majority of the group interested in bitcoin plans to acquire it in the next few years.
Even 16% of respondents willing to adopt cryptocurrency as part of their organization’s financial strategy were in no rush. 5% of respondents indicated that they would start having bitcoin in 2021, 1% said they would have bitcoin sometime in 2022-2023, and the remaining 9% indicated that they would start having bitcoin in 2024 or later.
The consultant indicates that the results were similar in both large and small organizations. The greatest interest was observed in companies linked to the technology sector. “Finance executives at private companies were the least favorable to bitcoin and only 7% said they would ever keep it,” he added.
Top fears: volatility and lack of regulation of bitcoin
Regarding the results of the survey, Alexander Bant, head of research at Gartner Finance explained that the volatility of the cryptocurrency was one of the reasons respondents were against investing in bitcoin. They rated the strategy as very “high financial risk.”
“It would be extremely difficult to mitigate the kind of price fluctuations observed in cryptocurrency in the last five years,” the executives told the firm. They also mentioned other problems, such as the slow adoption of BTC as a massively accepted form of payment, regulatory concerns, and a lack of experience in handling cryptocurrencies.
84% of those surveyed fear the volatility of bitcoin, 38% prefer not to invest due to its low adoption as a payment method, and 32% have doubts about the lack of regulation. Source: Gartner.
“71% of those surveyed said that one of the main things they would like to know is what others are doing with bitcoin. 78% want to hear more from regulators about bitcoin and better understand the risks involved in holding it, “the publication states.
In this regard, Bant recalled that this strategy is an incipient phenomenon. With this he referred to the fact that the decisions to invest in these types of assets, which have been made by companies such as MicroStrategy, only date from last year.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, the business intelligence company led by Michael Saylor made a first purchase of 21,454 bitcoins in August 2020. This, as part of a treasury strategy aimed at mitigating the negative effects of the global economic outlook, caused in large part for the coronavirus pandemic.
The initial amount invested by MicroStrategy, which by that date represented about $ 250 million, it has appreciated by more than 400% in six months due to the rise in the price of bitcoin. Purchases continued at the end of 2020 and early 2021.
This line of action that uses BTC as a safeguard of value similar to gold has been supported by companies such as Tesla, Ruffer and Grayscale, to name just a few. According to the information service Bitcoin Treasuries, corporations have allocated more than 45 billion dollars to invest in the first cryptocurrency.
However, Gartner’s Head of Research believes that the results of his survey they expose the fears that still underlie many entrepreneurs. “Financial leaders tasked with ensuring financial stability are not prone to speculative leaps into unfamiliar territory,” he said.
Along those lines, an eToro survey conducted earlier this year showed a trend similar to that of Gartner, after interviewing some 25 companies linked to the ecosystem.
Most of them cited regulatory uncertainty, insufficient presence of traditional custodial providers and low capitalization of the cryptocurrency market as the main factors hampering institutional participation in bitcoin.


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Hanfu, meaning “Han clothing,” is based on the idea of donning costumes worn in bygone eras by China’s Han ethnic group. Some of the most popular styles are from the Ming, Song and Tang dynasties.
About three-quarters of hanfu customers are between 16 and 24 years old. Members of this generation often see it as a way to rediscover and engage with their country’s traditional culture.
The main features of hanfu include collars, upper garments in the style of a skirt, jade ornaments and a sash, according to Wen Run, professor of textile design and industrial economics at Donghua University.
Materials such as brocade and yarn, along with traditional craftwork, including embroidery, are also hallmarks of the attire.
It has seen a resurgence in recent years, despite some initial public resistance. It's pretty exciting to see young Chinese people building up their self-confidence and developing their individuality to show the world what they love. For more Chinese, this dress code might become a good starting point to further explore the beauty of the country's traditions.
Yang Na is one of those hanfu enthusiasts who have been dedicated to the revival of the costume for over a decade. As a media professional, she wears hanfu, talks about it and has even written a book about it, titled "Hanfu Returns."
Song Xuan, a student from Harbin, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province said, "hanfu is my daily outfit. In the summer, I wear it just like this. In the winter, I'll put a warm sweater inside and a down coat outside.
Hanfu enthusiasts refer to themselves online as tongpao, which literally means wearing the same type of gown as a symbol of comradeship.
2020年3月，穿着汉服逛北京玉渊潭公园的女孩们 摄影：中国日报记者 邹红
There were more than 2 million hanfu enthusiasts in China in 2018, according to a survey by the market consultancy iMedia Research, a year-on-year rise of nearly 73 percent. The total value of the hanfu industry exceeded 1 billion yuan.
Deng, who also joined a hanfu club at her high school, said she spends about 3,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan ($432 to $720) on the attire every year.
Hanfu company Zhiyuji, founded by actress Xu Jiao in 2016, did over RMB 10 million ($1.4 million) in sales in 2018.
As the main organizer of the association, Li Siting, president of the Hunan Hanfu Culture Promotion Association, often communicates with her counterparts from different places. Last November, she attended the 7th Chinese ritual and music conference in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, which was the first time she met overseas Chinese culture lovers from Japan, France, Argentina and other places.
“Hanfu is the perfect bridge for young people to connect with Chinese culture and identity,” said Fang Wenshan, a lyricist who started the Hanfu Culture Week in Xitang seven years ago.
After 16 years of development from the so-called "fantastical dress" to daily attire, hanfu has been through quite the change in status.
Whatever the controversies behind the new trend, some traditional beauty on modern streets will indeed add a bit of vitality and diversity to urban life.
bygone /ˈbaɪɡɔːn/ adj 很久以前的；以往的
sash /sæʃ/ n 腰带；饰带
brocade /brəˈkeɪd/ n 织锦缎
yarn /jɑːrn/ n 纱线
embroidery /ɪmˈbrɔɪdəri/ n 绣花；刺绣图案；刺绣品
hallmark /ˈhɔːlmɑːrk/ n 特征；特点


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The ASA said the images linked to the firm’s ‘School Days’ and ‘Back to School’ ranges, one of which showed a women in a short skirt bending over so that her underwear was visible, amounted to “underage porn”. The image is on the brand’s website and Instagram page.
The advertising watchdog said the images were edited so “the focus was on her buttocks and groin rather than on the skirt being modelled”.
The ASA said the adverts were “gratuitous and objectified women” and were “therefore sexist and likely to cause serious and widespread offence”. They added that the adverts imitated voyeuristic “up-skirt” photographs taken without consent.
The ASA ruled: “We considered the ads had the effect of inappropriately sexualising school-age girls and were therefore offensive and irresponsible.
“We considered the ads had therefore not been prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers or to society.”
The images first appeared a month ago, prompting outrage among social media users.
In response to the complaints, American Apparel said the campaigns were “not graphic, explicit or pornographic but designed to show a range of different images of people who were natural, not posed and real.”
The company said one of the models in the adverts was 30 and was one of the photographers, denying any intention to represent an underage model or be linked to a ‘Back to School’ marketing campaign.
This is not the first time the ASA has reprimanded the clothing retailer. In December 2013, the watchdog said images on the company’s website gave the “impression that the women were vulnerable and in sexually provocative poses”. In April 2012, the ASA said adverts run in Vice magazine appeared to sexualise a child.
The news comes just months after the suspension of the company’s founder and chief executive Dov Charney, who was voted out by the retailer’s board in June.
According to CNN, however, Charney was entitled to stay on as a “consultant” and receive his full base salary. American Apparel’s website stated he oversaw the majority of the company’s “creative content”, which includes adverts.
Charney served as CEO and chairman of the board from December 2007 until this year, when he was removed from both roles. He faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct including a claim that he received oral sex while being interviewed by a reporter.
In 2010, American Apparel was sued for allegedly terminating an employee who was undergoing cancer treatment.


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The London bombings have raised fresh concerns that small and medium-sized enterprises are failing to plan for unexpected disruptions to their business.
Although many FTSE companies have plans in place and test them regularly, SMEs are seen increasingly as the weakest link in supply chains.
In particular, SMEs will come under pressure to show they have thought about the business continuity of their IT systems. IT managers will have to consider data back-up systems, whether their firms need to duplicate their equipment at emergency back-up centres, and how staff could be given access to central IT systems if buildings became inaccessible.
Earlier this month James Hart, commissioner of the City of London police, warned that 50% of firms in the City were ill prepared for the disruption caused by a terrorist attack. His comments have raised fears that even small companies not targeted directly by terrorists could be forced out of business if they find access to premises blocked following an attack. A closure for just a week could be fatal to a low-profit-margin business.
Pressure from larger businesses, regulators, insurers and the development of a new business continuity standard will make it more difficult for smaller firms to ignore business continuity in the future.
Tim Cracknell, delivery manager for insurance broker Marsh's business continuity management service, said insurers first began asking more questions about business continuity planning following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
"Information was king after 9/11. Insurers became a lot more selective as to what they were going to offer. They wanted to have only the best risks on their books. They wanted clients to demonstrate they had robust contingency plans. They wanted evidence of testing," he said.
After the London bombings, insurers' interest in business continuity planning has grown, said Cracknell. And although the cost of business continuity cover has fallen, insurers will increasingly question companiesÕ business continuity planning when the market picks up again.
Regulatory compliance in the financial sector has prompted a series of initiatives among financial organisations to improve the business continuity plans of their critical suppliers.
The Bank of England and the Treasury are working with 60 City organisations on the Resiliance Benchmarking Project, which aims to assess how the UK's financial system would react to a major disruption.
Lloyd's insurance market is reviewing all 44 Lloyd's managing agents and working with them to ensure they have emergency plans in place.
In the retail sector, the major supermarkets, including Asda and Tesco, have been working with their critical suppliers to assist them in developing business continuity plans.
Sainbury's is planning a major business continuity drive following a pilot with its IT and store equipment suppliers this year. It now plans to focus on the business continuity plans of the top suppliers delivering goods for sale in its stores.
Steve Mellish, Sainsbury's head of business continuity, said, "We will be asking what their current capability is, whether they have business continuity plans and disaster recovery, do they cover IT, loss of a crucial location, etc. If we get something back saying 'no we do not have cover for IT' we will be talking to them very quickly."
Sainsbury's programme is collaborative and involves working with suppliers to improve their business continuity plans, rather than penalising them when their plans are lacking. But the supermarket is considering making business continuity planning a condition in new contracts with future suppliers.
In the public sector, the Civil Contingencies Act will make it compulsory for all local authorities, police, fire and ambulance services to put continuity plans in place by the end of the year. The act will have knock-on effects for SMEs. Local authorities will expect them to demonstrate that they have business plans in place.
Wayne Harrop, business continuity officer at Wakefield Metropolitan City Council, said his authority would be seeking assurances from its critical suppliers that they have plans in place to survive an emergency. The council is focusing both on developing business continuity plans for the council as a whole and on developing business continuity plans for specific council services.
Harrop is working with business managers in the council to identify the most critical suppliers from the 19,000 it does business with. "We are trying to identify the critical suppliers. We are putting together an emergency clause for all future contracts. It will say what we expect the suppliers to do at short notice, if there is an emergency," he said.
Until now there has been no readily accepted benchmark for business continuity planning. But this will change next year when the British Standards Institute publishes the first formal business continuity standard.
Once it is established, the standard could be taken up quickly by larger firms as a minimum benchmark for the smaller firms that supply them.
"I think it will make a big change across the whole spectrum," said Cracknell. "There will be those who measure up against the new standard, and get a British Standard on their letterhead. It will become a true standard and businesses will be asking whether you are accredited."
The BSI has set up a committee of representatives from large and small firms to finalise the new standard, which will be based on the BSI's PAS 56, an informal business continuity standard, and other international standards from the US and the Far East.
Larger companies are using PAS 56 as a guideline for their own business continuity planning. But it has been criticised as being too complex for smaller firms. The new standard is expected to be simpler.
In the meantime, the BSI is working with the London Resiliance Group to develop a simpler version of PAS 56 for smaller companies, which is expected to become available later this year.
Nicki Dennis, head of risk market development at BSI, said the institute wanted to end the myth that that business continuity was expensive. "Firms are probably doing a lot of it anyway without realising," she said.
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office is trying to encourage more SMEs firms to take business continuity planning more seriously. The organisation is working with trade associations to show small firms there is a sound business case for establishing business continuity plans.
Richard Flynn, business liaison officer at the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said, "People that have thought about business continuity planning will have a commercial advantage over those that have not thought about it. Large companies are much more likely to place contracts with companies that can show they have thought about it. We have seen this quite a lot."


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BAGNODESIGN has opened a new headquarters in Leeds
BAGNODESIGN, international manufacturer and supplier of design-led bathroom solutions, has opened a new European Headquarters in Leeds.
Enabling the manufacturer to easily distribute its wide portfolio of bathroom products to suppliers and end users throughout the UK and Europe, the new facilities, located in the Birstall area of Leeds, cover a total of 20,000 square feet.
This includes a warehouse stocking the company’s entire collection, comprising 1,500 product lines and encompassing every area of a bathroom’s design, including sanitaryware, brassware, furniture and accessories.
Alongside the warehouse and offices, the new BAGNODESIGN headquarters also includes a 4,000 square foot showroom, where customers, designers and architects are free to browse the latest products and seek advice on their bathroom specifications from the BAGNODESIGN team. End users, hoteliers and developers can also find inspiration from the many displays and make full use of the facilities on offer at the new Leeds HQ. The premises also includes a training facility and R&D room, enabling those involved in the bathroom industry to brainstorm ideas and keep abreast of the latest innovations all at one location.
With an enviable reputation for supplying innovative and highly functional bathroom solutions, BAGNODESIGN is part of the Sanipex Group, which is present in more than 30 countries across four continents. The brand first launched in the UK in 2012, with the opening of its A&D Centre in London’s Clerkenwell. With its products now stocked by more than 60 dealers throughout the UK and Ireland, the new headquarters in Leeds ensures BAGNODESIGN stock is readily available to customers both in the UK and Europe.
Commenting on the opening, UK Sales Director Mark Walker said: “The new European headquarters is a very positive move for BAGNODESIGN, and will further aid our growth within this market. With a strong network of dealers now in place throughout the UK, this is the perfect platform from which to expand the business further afield and into Europe, ensuring we can turn orders around quickly wherever the destination.
“As well as being a distribution base for our UK and European customers, we hope that architects and designers based in the north of England will make use of our facilities too, whether for training or to see our wide range of bathroom products ‘in the flesh’. Our London A&D Centre has become a hub for those involved in bathroom design to meet and thrash out ideas and we hope the same will be true of our Leeds showroom.”
The address of BAGNODESIGN’s new European headquarters is Unit 1, Oakwell Park Trading Estate, Birstall, Leeds, WF17 9LU. For more details visit www.bagnodesign.co.uk or call 01924 233977.
10 28 00 - Toilet, Bath, and Laundry Accessories


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Yelp is making no secrets that it plans to go public sooner rather than later.
The San Francisco-based review site has taken another step towards going public by hiring Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to lead its offering.
The company is expected to have a valuation of $1.5 to $2 billion once it does go public, far higher than the reported $500 million that Google had offered to take over the company.
Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman said in July that his company "couldn't help but notice social-media plays like Groupon going public."
He said that he envisioned Groupon going public within the next year but he did not have an exact time line on when that might happen.
Groupon went public last week and after a hot opening of $30, its stock dipped back to reality a day later.
San Francisco-based social gaming company Zynga is largely expected to be the next popular startup to go public.


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Canvey shoppers queued in the January morning cold… to be the first customers into the town’s newest pound shop.
Poundland opened up on Saturday morning in the former 99p Store unit, in Furtherwick Road, with management claiming more than 100 people queued up for the store’s grand opening.
Poundland, which took over the 99p Store business over last year, decided to re-brand the Canvey discount outlet opposite the Knightswick Centre, to give residents a “cleaner and fresher” store.
The first 100 people who entered the new shop were given a £5 voucher.
Business manager Lee McQuade said: “It’s been an absolutely fantastic opening this morning, we had queues down the road with over 100 people waiting for the store to be opened.
“The feedback we have had has been very good, and the staff, the majority of whom are from Canvey, have done a sterling job in getting everything ready for the opening.”
Shoppers queue for Poundland
The rebrand had created six new jobs for the island, while he added if Poundland’s strong start is maintained, there will be a further five roles created.
It was due to open up on Friday, but was delayed a day to give shoppers the best “experience” possible.
And the brisk morning didn’t put off bargain hunters, who formed a long queue down Furtherwick Road.
Nicky Thane, 39, of Hilton Road, Canvey, was third in the line, and said: “Shops like these on Canvey are really good as it means we don’t have to leave the island.
“I liked 99p Store but thought it got a bit rubbish, and I had to go to Pitsea if I wanted to visit Poundland.”
She spent her vouchers on black boxes and some children’s toys.
Town centre high streets are often criticised for the amount of discount shops that spring up in them, but Mr McQuade said that is what people what.
He added: “People vote with their feet – if they didn’t like us they wouldn’t use us.
“But there were plenty of people that have turned up today.”


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With the continuing threat of al-Qaeda possibly plotting another terrorist attack in the U.S., companies that make explosives-detection products are gaining increased attention from the Dept. of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration – and investors.
Tiny and little-known Implant Sciences, which trades over-the-counter with the ticker symbol IMSC, is one of them. The Massachusetts-based company develops and makes sophisticated sensors and detection systems for the homeland security and defense markets.
What differentiates Implant from other homeland security makers is its chief product, Quantum Sniffer, whose explosive trace sensors are capable of detecting minute amounts of a wide variety of explosives, regardless of whether they are the military, commercial or home-made type. Equally important, the Sniffer also detects traces of narcotic substances.
The product, which has yet to be approved in the U.S., is already available and being used in India, Pakistan, and China, where the product was deployed during the Olympics games in Beijing. True, there are already a number of products based on new technology that have become part of government campaigns worldwide to combat terrorism, including products produced by Raytheon (RTN) and L-3 Communications (LLL). But Implant Sciences is a pure-play whose unique, patented technologies have started to stir investor interest.
It's the only one of its kind that's made in the U.S., according to Implant. Its major competitors are Smiths Detection of the U.K. and Morpho Detection of France. They dominate the global explosives-detection business, but Implant''s emergence as a competitor would bring a U.S. company into the growing market.
Implant’s technologies provide both trace and detection of both narcotics and liquid substances, including powder, which have a broader market and greater demand than those of security metal detectors, says Gregory MacArthur, president of investment consulting firm ViewPoint2000.
He notes that Implant’s QS-H150 portable explosives detector has received the “Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology Designation” from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, while its QS-B220 bench-top explosives and narcotics trace detector got the “Developmental Testing & Evaluation Designation” under the “Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technology Act or SAFETY Act of 2002.
MacArthur notes that starting on Dec. 3, 2012, the government will require all freight forwarders to have their cargoes inspected prior to loading which, he says, should “open up a large new market for the explosives-detection makers like Implant. With Implant’s strong growth prospects, says MacArthur, the stock offers great upside potential over the next six to 12 months. He believes the stock is worth $3 to $4 a share.
“With demand for its product starting to mount, Implant has become an attractive pure play in explosives-detection,” says Rob Goldman, analyst at Goldman Small Cap Research, who rates the stock as a speculative buy. The stock, which traded at 85 cents a share a year ago, has been on the rise in recent weeks, climbing to a high of $1.78 a share on June 28, 2012, from $1 on June 22, 2012.
Speculation that Implant’s Sniffer will be certified by and get approval from the TSA this summer drove the stock up. Profit taking on the stock’ swift leap has brought the stock down to $1.43. But some expect the stock to continue rising.
One big investor points out that should TSA give Implant the go-signal to market the Sniffer, companies like Raytheon or L-3 may opt to collaborate or do a deal with Implant to further develop and market the product. TSA’s approval will allow Implant’s products to enter the huge U.S. market. So far, the government has allocated $374 million for new explosive detection systems, notes Goldman, and $40 million for hand-held explosive trace detection devices. Worldwide, some analysts figure the bomb- or explosives-detection market is about $4 billion.
“If Implant makes the TSA list, the stock would be on its way to $3 a share,” says Goldman, as sales would skyrocket. He estimates sales could hit about $25 million next year. So far, Implant has yet to make a penny. Last year, Implant’s revenues doubled to $6.65 million, from 2010’s $3.47 million.
"Our patented technologies provide unique screening capabilities to extend and improve counter-terrorist and homeland security efforts,” says Implant Sciences CEO Glenn Bolduc. It is the only U.S. product of its kind, he says, that could be used almost anywhere to sniff traces of explosives of any sort on people, packages, luggage or cargo at airports, trains and terminals, and shipping ports.
It will do more than what the “Advanced Imaging Technology” scanners do, which are commonly referred to as “body scanners” that are now being used at some major airports, says Bolduc. “If the TSA deploys our Sniffer system, which detects both explosives and narcotics," says Bolduc, “you wouldn’t have to take off your coats, belts and shoes – or empty your pockets.”


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NEW DELHI: Automobile sales in India jumped by 17 per cent year-on-year in August led by healthy growth in passenger vehicle sales, as per data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday. Overall, automobile sales rose to 18,77,072 units in August 2022 as against 15,94,573 units sold in August 2021.
As per the SIAM data, passenger vehicle sales registered a growth of 21 per cent and sales rose to 2,81,210 units in August 2022 as against 2,32,224 units sold in August 2021. Total two-wheelers sales rose to 15,57,429 units in August 2022, registering year-on-year growth of 16.33 per cent against 13,38,740 units sold in August 2021.
Total three-wheelers sales during the month under review stood at 38,369 units, up by 62 per cent, as against 23,606 units sold in August 2021. Total van sales in August 2022 stood at 12,236 units, up by 12.74 per cent against 10,853 units sold in August 2021.
Commenting on the August 2022 sales data, Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM, said, “In August 2022, sales in the passenger vehicle segment stood at 2.8 lakh units, two-wheelers posted sales of 15.6 lakh units, while three-wheeler segment posted sales of just 38,000 units.”
“While good monsoon and the upcoming festive season is likely to increase demand, SIAM is keeping a close watch on the dynamic supply-side challenges. High CNG prices is a big challenge for the industry and we keenly look forward to the kind interventions and support from the government,” Menon said. (ANI)


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Lenovo is all set bring its subsidiary company, ZUK in India. The company will launch Lenovo ZUK Z1 in India next month. It will be priced around Rs. 20,000 in India.
Lenovo launched the ZUK Z1 in October last year. Now the company is bringing the smartphone in India. Invites for the launch have been distributed by the company however launch date is not revealed.
Lenovo Zuk Z1 sports a 5.5 inch Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) IPS Display. It is powered by a 64 bit 2.5GHz Quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Processor with 3GB of RAM. For Graphics it has a Adreno 330 GPU.
Zuk Z1 comes with a 13 Megapixel Sony Exmor RS IMX214 sensor rear camera with LED flash. For selfies, It has a 8 Megapixel OmniVision front camera. It comes with 64GB in-built storage which cannot be expanded.
Its connectivity options include 4G, LTE, 3G, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS/AGPS, GLONASS, Wi-Fi Direct, WLAN, Bluetooth, USB OTG, and Micro-USB. It comes with USB Type-C. It packs a huge 4,100 mAh Battery. It also sports a FingerPrint scanner under its home button.
Lenovo Zuk Z1 will be launched in India next month. It will be priced below Rs. 20,000.


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Disney World’s announcement of demand pricing for multiday passes has park watchers suspecting Disneyland will be next.
Starting Oct. 16, prices for Walt Disney World’s passes will vary according to popularity, the park said this week. The rate structure has not yet been announced, but under a similar pricing scheme used for single-day tickets, February and September have the most “value-priced” days.
Both Disneyland and Disney World are preparing for a surge of visitors when they open their Star Wars attractions in 2019. Disneyland has already announced it will increase the number of blackout dates for some passes.
Two years ago, Disney’s Southern California parks launched a three-tier price structure for one-day tickets: The $135 tickets are good any day, but those costing $117 or $97 have blackout dates. An extra $50 allows the holder to “park hop” between Disneyland and California Adventure.
In the last three months of this year, only eight days are open for the $97 tickets, all of them on Monday through Thursday in the first two weeks of November.
The popular three-day pass is currently $280 for one park, $330 for both.


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GloFo takes TSMC to court over process patents
The California-based foundy is seeking “significant damages” from TSMC because of the alleged use of Globalfoundries’ technology in making chips that have been sold for “tens of billions of dollars.”
The suits have been filed in the United States and Germany and represent an increase in the tension between the two companies that has lasted for at least a couple of years. However, this is thought to be the first time that Globalfoundries has mentioned publicly that TSMC is using its proprietary technology.
The lawsuits have been filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. Federal District Courts in the Districts of Delaware and the Western District of Texas, and the Regional Courts of Dusseldorf and Mannheim in Germany.
In addition to seeking redress for the alleged patent infringement Globalfoundries is petitioning for a ban on semiconductor products made using the offending processes from being imported into the U.S. and Germany. These lawsuits require Globalfoundries to name customers of TSMC and downstream electronics companies, who, in most cases, are the actual importers of the products that incorporate the alleged infringing TSMC technology.
This would likely include such names as Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei and Apple and products such as the Apple iPhone and iPad and Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
“While semiconductor manufacturing has continued to shift to Asia, GF has bucked the trend by investing heavily in the American and European semiconductor industries, spending more than $15 billion dollars in the last decade in the U.S. and more than $6 billion in Europe’s largest semiconductor manufacturing fabrication facility. These lawsuits are aimed at protecting those investments and the US and European-based innovation that powers them,” said Gregg Bartlett, senior vice president, engineering and technology at Globalfoundries, in a statement. “For years, while we have been devoting billions of dollars to domestic research and development, TSMC has been unlawfully reaping the benefits of our investments. This action is critical to halt Taiwan Semiconductor’s unlawful use of our vital assets and to safeguard the American and European manufacturing base.”
Next: Long-running spat
Back in 2017 Globalfoundries is reported to have asked the European Commission to investigate TSMC for unfair leverage of its dominant position in the foundry market. In Europe TSMC was accused of such actions as: demands for exclusivity in contracts, offers of loyalty rebates, the bundling of sales, and threats of restricting access to TSMC’s semiconductor production. While TSMC has about 50 percent of the pure-play foundry market it is said to have 100 percent of the profit made in the industry. Globalfoundries was reported to have asked the Chinese authorities to conduct a similar investigation in 2019.
However, such antitrust investigations can be exceedingly lengthy and in August 2018 Globalfoundries decided to pull back from leading edge manufacturing processes.
At the time of publishing this report TSMC had not responded to the latest development. In the past TSMC has consistently denied any wrong-doing and said that it would co-operate with any anti-trust investigations.
Related links and articles:
GloFo rethinks its future, drops 7nm FinFET
Report: GlobalFoundries accuses TSMC of unfair selling
Report: Globalfoundries asks China to probe TSMC
TSMC responds to antitrust investigation reports


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Search Tags: business
A mining and machinery and equipment manufacturer plans to open a facility in Bland County that would create 50 jobs.
Six mornings a week, Vigilante Coffee opens at 1017 7th Street N.W., in Mount Vernon Square. Its red walls, leather booths and spray painted tables may not look like your typical coffee shop decor, but that's because Vigilante Coffee isn't very typical.
The green and energy sectors have some of the hottest jobs on the market. Joan Michelson, CEO of Green Connections Radio, provides tips for taking advantage of the employment opportunities.
The Wall Street Journal reports that retailers like Staples adjust online prices based on a customer's distance from a store and a company's competitors.
What's the hottest toy for the holidays this year? Well, there doesn't seem to be one.
Bridal Brokerage matches couples looking to sell a wedding with those wanting to buy one and then takes a cut depending on the date, cost and location of the wedding.
The Baltimore County Council has voted to approve a $140 million retail project as opponents line up to halt the development.
Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, raps about pizza and his five-time Super Bowl Champion team in a new add for pizza chain Papa Johns.


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MyPal to be displayed at MEGATRANS2018
MyPal, an Australian made innovation in pallet technology, will be on display at MEGATRANS2018 this May.
The pallets focus on performance and engineering to achieve the features of plastic and the durability of timber. MyPal is impervious to liquids and easily cleaned for industries that rely on hygiene.
MyPal also provides custom designed and manufactured pallets to suit client requirements.
MEGATRANS2018 takes place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 10-12 May this year. For more information on the event and on exhibiting, contact Anastasia Razdiakonova: P 03 9690 8766 E email@example.com


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- Ingrid Torjesen
- London, UK
Vitamin D supplementation does not prevent fractures or falls, or have any clinically meaningful effects on bone mineral density, a large meta-analysis has found.1 The authors concluded there “is little justification to use vitamin D supplements to maintain or improve musculoskeletal health,” as is currently recommended by Public Health England (PHE).
In July 2016, PHE issued guidance that the general population should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 mg of vitamin D during the autumn and winter as people may not get enough of the vitamin through sunlight on the skin and diet.2
This recommendation coincided with the publication of a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition that concluded that everyone over the age of one year should consume 10 mg of vitamin D daily.3
The findings of the new meta-analysis, published in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, now question the benefits of taking vitamin D supplements.
The authors reviewed 81 randomised controlled trials (n=53 537 participants) assessing the health effects of vitamin D supplementation published before 26 February 2018.
Pooled analyses showed that vitamin D supplementation had no effect on total fracture (36 trials; n=44 790; relative risk (RR) 1.00; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.93 to 1.07), hip fracture (20 trials; n=36 655; RR 1.11; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.26), or falls (37 trials; n=34 144; RR 0.97; 95% CI, 0.93 to 1.02).
Vitamin D supplementation made no clinically relevant difference to bone mineral density at any site (range −0.16% to 0.76% over 1 to 5 years).
Results were similar in randomised controlled trials of high dose versus low dose vitamin D and in subgroup analyses of randomised controlled trials using doses greater than 800 IU per day.
The authors concluded, “Vitamin D supplementation did not have meaningful effects on fracture, falls, or bone mineral density, and future trials are unlikely to alter these conclusions. Therefore, there is little justification for the use of vitamin D supplements to maintain or improve musculoskeletal health, and clinical guidelines should reflect these findings.”
They considered the only exception was vitamin D supplementation for the prevention or treatment of rickets and osteomalacia, which can occur after a prolonged lack of exposure to sunshine that leads to 25-(OH)D concentrations lower than 25 nmol/L.
“More than half of the trials reported a mean baseline 25-(OH)D concentration of less than 50 nmol/L, a cut-off often considered to indicate vitamin D insufficiency,” the study authors said, but they conceded that trials of populations with low baseline 25-(OH)D levels might produce different results, and that only four trials, involving a total of 831 participants, had baseline levels less than 25 nmol/L.
Commenting on the findings, Adrian Martineau, clinical professor of respiratory infection and immunity at Queen Mary University of London said PHE’s recommendations “are designed specifically to elevate vitamin D levels out of the deficient range” of <25 nmol/L. “Achieving this target in the whole UK population would save lives by preventing the most extreme manifestations of vitamin D deficiency (seizures and heart failure in infants), which occur every year in the UK,” he said. “The findings of the new paper do not provide any reason to revisit or reconsider this sound advice.”
While the meta-analysis included all available trials of vitamin D, these trials included too few participants, used an insufficient dose of vitamin D, and had an insufficient duration of treatment, said Robert Clarke, professor of epidemiology and public health, University of Oxford. “It is too soon to suggest making changes to health recommendations on vitamin D for bone health based on this study,” he said. “We should wait until the results of the five ongoing trials of vitamin D, involving a total of 57 000 adults, that will be available in the next year or so.”


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Mahindra&Mahindra, as we reported yesterday, has taken the wraps of the Maxximo Mini Van. Essentially a Maxximo with a roof and additional seats, the Mini Van is priced at Rs 3.2 lakh BS III (ex-showroom Navi Mumbai).
Developed with an investment of Rs 200 crore, the Mini Van is priced at around Rs 1,500 more expensive than competition (Tata Ace Magic). It will lock horns with Force Motors' Trump Trip and Maruti' legendary Omni van which is the segment king.
Within six months of its launch, the Mini Van will be sold through 230 dealers and 600 outlets. Mahindra has captured about 23 percent share of the sub-one tonne LCV market.
The product has been successful in the application movement form with over 40,000 Maxximos sold since the launch.


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NEW YORK, January 20, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — To celebrate National Pizza Day, more than 200 pizzerias across the country will come together on Wednesday February 9 to feed the hungry through the Pizza Across America campaign of Slice Out Hunger and World Pizza Champions.
First developed by member World Pizza Champions Carmine Testa along with his sons Michael and Nicky, known nationally as the Jersey Pizza Boys, and the non-profit organization Slice Out Hunger, the campaign began in 2018. This is the program’s fifth year .
“We want to encourage pizza restaurants to donate and deliver at least ten large pizzas to local food banks, shelters or care centers of their choice,” said Mike Bausch, Vice President of World Pizza Champions. “Our members are the most award-winning pizzerias in the country and we are all heavily involved in our communities, so this is our way of leading by example.”
Co-founder of Pizza Across America Carmine Testa believes this program is an important way for pizza restaurants, which depend on local customers, to give back and support their communities locally, even at a time when restaurants are hurting. “In my eyes, the best way to celebrate National Pizza Day is to help others and give back to our local communities,” Testa said. “We are so grateful for the support of every pizzeria, and without their support, this pizza night wouldn’t be so epic!”
The process for delivering pizza donations in each state will be handled by Slice Out Hunger, a New York-based nonprofit founded by Scott Wiener (from Scott’s Pizza Tours). “I was excited about the idea of the Jersey Pizza Boys when Carmine first introduced it to me in 2018,” says Wiener, “but this year it’s even more critical to tackle the growing problem of food insecurity in our country”.
Hormel Foods will sponsor deliveries from select participating Pizza Across America pizzerias. Pizzerias interested in participating can find information at http://www.sliceouthunger.org/paa.
About the World Pizza Champions
The World Pizza Champions™ team is a US-based multinational non-profit made up of elite pizza professionals. Through international competitions, outreach activities, public demonstrations and community service, the team is dedicated to promoting pizza making as a respected craft and viable career choice. For more information, visit http://www.worldpizzachampions.com.
About Slice Out Hunger
Slice Out Hunger is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization that produces pizza-related events and campaigns in support of America’s hunger relief and prevention efforts. The organization raised more than $1.3M to fight food insecurity in the United States For more information, visit http://www.sliceouthunger.org.
Scott Wiener, Slice Hunger, +1 (347) 868-7701, [email protected]
SOURCE Cut the Hunger


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Steve Cohen, a hedge fund billionaire whose move to invest in crypto startup Radkl made headlines across Wall Street, has reportedly ditched the investment, according to Bloomberg.
Cohen invested in the crypto company in September last year.
Radkl still ‘well capitalised’
A Radkl spokesperson confirmed the report, the publication noted, noting that despite the exit of the founder of hedge fund firm Point 72 Asset Management, the startup remains in a good position capital-wise.
The source also claimed the quantitative trading platform, which launched its services in 2021, is still ‘well-capitalised’ and has major support from existing investors. The startup is also seeing significant growth, the report quoted the spokesperson as saying.
Radkl is a firm that sprouted off GTS, the New York Stock Exchange market maker and offers new prop trading functionality for digital assets. The platform experienced massive growth amid last year’s bull run, but like the larger crypto market, hit some lull amid the crypto winter.
Part of its growing pains include the exit of its pioneer managing director Jim Greco and three others. Jason Bell, Allan Erskine, and Beatrice O’Carroll have all exited over the past seven months.
As well as Radkl, Cohen’s other crypto investments include NFT project Recur and participation in a funding round for blockchain analytics provider Messari


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On November 4, Microsoft released its Microsoft Kinect device and by now, Microsoft has already sold one million Kinectic devices. Microsoft also announced that it is aiming to cross the 5 million mark by the end of this year.
Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft said – “We are appreciative of the response we have seen from consumers that has culminated in sales of more than 1 million units in the first 10 days on the market for Kinect for Xbox 360. This is a great start to the holiday season, and we will continue to work with our retailer partners to keep pace with high demand and deliver against our plan to sell more than 5 million Kinect sensors worldwide by the end of this year.”
Kinect is an add-on gaming device from Microsoft through which users can enjoy motion games. You just have to connect the Kinect device with your Xbox 360 gaming console and you can motion gaming with the help of Microsoft Kinect device. There is no need of any other device or controller.
Microsoft will launch its Kinect device in Asia on 18th and in Japan on 20th November. Users can purchase the Kinect device in following ways:
- Kinect as a standalone product for $149.99.
- Xbox 360 4G console with Kinect for $299.99 and the “Kinect Adventures” game.
- Xbox 360 250GB console with Kinect and the “Kinect Adventures” game for $399.99.
It is also expected that Microsoft Kinect will be available at 60,000 retailers across 38 nations.


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Suda51 embraces Unreal Engine
Grasshopper Manufacture big wig Suda51, Goichi Suda, if you prefer, has revealed that his firm will make use of the latest Unreal Engine 3 technology - in creating the Japanese firm's new multi-platform horror title which is to be published by Electronic Arts.
"Unreal Engine 3 is a powerful, easy-to-implement game engine that is helping the creative team at Grasshopper quickly bring our vision to life," beamed Suda in a news release.
"The innovative tools and technology in Unreal Engine 3 help developers create games faster, easier and with less risk."
Details are scant on Grasshopper's latest opus, but given that its from the team behind Killer-7 and No More Heroes, we're expecting something suitably outlandish.
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Midas Extra share tips: GSK and IQE
Each week, Financial Mail on Sunday and thisismoney.co.uk bring you additional share tips from the long-running and respected Midas share tipping column. See the full Midas newspaper archive.
September 2008 will probably be remembered as one of the most tumultuous months in financial history. In years to come, academics will write books about it; economists will point out lessons to be learnt from it and banks will swear blind that they will never repeat the same mistakes again. Now however, investors have to live through it - and that is not easy.
There is undoubtedly money to be made in times like these but you have to be canny and you have to be patient. Many investors are sitting on losses and the future looks gloomy. But, if nothing else, the past year has proved that economic cycles still exist. What goes up must come down: conversely what goes down does invariably go up. In other words, buying shares now could be an excellent and opportunistic investment.
Equity strategists, who look at the stockmarket from a high level, point out that the yield on FTSE100 companies currently exceeds that of ten-year government bonds by 20%. This is highly unusual. It tends to mean that shares have been oversold and smart investors should be able to identify some good bargains.
There are several points to bear in mind. First, a diversified portfolio is particularly beneficial now, blending solid, defensive stocks with higher-risk shares that could yield high rewards.
Second, when looking at the more mature sectors, stocks should be judged on their absolute return, which is a combination of the increase in the share price and the dividend payment.
Over the next few months, many companies are likely to report that conditions are more difficult than expected and profits will be lower than forecast. This may well affect the dividend payments of all but the most financially secure businesses or those which generate plenty of cash, such as healthcare and telecoms stocks.
Share charts: thisismoney.co.uk/gsk
Within healthcare, it is hard to find a stock that is bigger or more solid than GlaxoSmithKline. The company has been out of favour for years, as stockbrokers found it too dull and boring to recommend. Now however, dull and boring have become attractive attributes and GSK shares have turned the corner.
Last year, underlying turnover rose 2% to £22.7bn and operating profits were 3% ahead at £7.6bn. These are not startling growth figures but the dividend was up 10% at 53p and the company is dedicated to a progressive dividend policy, which means making payments above the rate of inflation.
Like many of the big pharmaceutical groups, GlaxoSmithKline has two major challenges to overcome: several of its largest drugs come off-patent from around 2011 and there is the constant and growing risk of competition from smaller rivals. But the company recognises the challenges it faces and seems determined to meet them head on.
At the interim results last July, the group set out three new strategic priorities to increase growth, reduce risk and improve long-term financial performance.
The aims seem pretty straightforward: grow a diversified global business, deliver valuable products and simplify operations.
But this simplicity should be praised, particularly as many large pharmaceutical groups have been criticised in the past for being too complex and too tanker-like to respond to today's fast-moving world.
GlaxoSmithKline also has a new chief executive, Andrew Witty, who will be keen to make his mark.
Midas verdict: GlaxoSmithKline shares have fallen more than 20% in the past two years to 1208p. They were lower still a few months ago but there is plenty of potential in this company and investors can always derive comfort from the dividend. Buy as a core, defensive holding.
Arm yourself for the market storm
Our latest stock market analysis and investment advice:
Share charts: thisismoney.co.uk/iqe
At the high-risk, high-growth end of the spectrum is IQE, a Welsh-based company that is a world leader in the manufacture of something called gallium arsenide. This is a vital component of software chips used for a huge range of products from mobile phones to light bulbs to solar panels.
Most people have heard of silicon chips but gallium arsenide chips are much more powerful, much more efficient and much more flexible. New wave mobile phones, for example, which allow their owners to download films, TV and music, use GA chips. In fact, the first iPhone had just one such chip, later models used four of them and there are some mobiles with 18 of these souped-up chips in them.
Gallium arsenide is also used in laptops, satellite navigation systems in cars, TV satellites, CDs, DVDs and a host of other electronic equipment.
The product has other functions too. It is a core ingredient of a modern form of solar energy, which is as effective as gas and oil at producing electricity. And it is at the heart of so-called LED lighting, which is highly energy efficient and which is likely to replace ordinary light bulbs entirely over the next ten to 20 years.
This may sound like pie in the sky but gallium arsenide chips are being used today and IQE is already profitable. Last year, the company delivered revenues of £50.1m, a year-on-year increase of 54%. Underlying earnings rose from a loss of £1.7m to a profit of £3.9m and the group actually generated cash of £1.9m.
Analysts expect IQE to produce sales of more than £60m in 2008 and earnings of £8m.
The company is run by Drew Nelson, who has a PhD in semi-conductors and helped found the business 20 years ago. It joined Aim in 2004 and has grown four-fold since then. Nelson owns just under 10% of IQE, so he has a vested interest in making the company work. He is extremely confident about the next few years, pointing out that City brokers anticipate growth of 20% or more for the foreseeable future.
Currently, some big manufacturers make their own chips and some outsource production. More and more of them are likely to outsource and IQE is a leader in this field.
Midas verdict: IQE shares are trading at 12.8p, having been more than 21p late last year. The company has suffered from market nerves but it has excellent potential and enough cash to see it through the tough economic cycle. Buy and hold.
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Doughnut stand expands into full-time shop, serves up apple cider treats to locals
Sara Swann | News Editor
It’s one of the first Saturdays of fall in Syracuse, one of the first where the morning brings relief instead of another heat wave.
Shoppers at the Central New York Regional Market have traded shorts for sweaters as they fill the market’s long, green-roofed sheds to capacity. They’re making their way between the dozens of fellow shoppers, throwing out an “excuse me” and squeezing through to search for which of the many vendors is selling the best eggplant.
But off to the side of the C Shed, some shoppers have made their way out of the bustle, forming a winding line for something different — a warm apple cider doughnut from Regional Donut Authority.
Shoppers like Sam Weber, who said she’s carb-loading before she starts looking for vegetables.
Like Spencer Burgess, who said he needs a doughnut and a few cups of coffee to fully wake up on the chilly morning.
Whatever their reason, market shoppers will wait five, 10, even 15 minutes to get a doughnut. There’s a line even though the stand can fry up to 672 doughnuts per hour. The stand has been a market staple for nearly six years, and in July, it expanded into a full-time shop just minutes from the market.
At the front of the line, customers are greeted by owner Rich Lickfield, who mans the stand every Saturday. He hands off a doughnut — freshly coated in cinnamon sugar and still hot from the Donut Robot Mark V doughnut maker — and quickly moves to the next customer.
Thirteen years ago, Lickfield was serving up something different at the market: pizza. Lickfield opened the stand to promote his full-time pizza shop.
“We figured you can spend a lot of money on advertising … Or you can spend less money on rent at a place like that and make money off your advertising,” Lickfield said. “(You) get your product actually in people’s mouths and make a couple bucks doing it.”
At the time, there was also a successful doughnut stand at the market. But when the owner decided to stop selling at the market, it was a noticeable loss. Lickfield said market-goers constantly asked him if the doughnuts were coming back.
The market went two years without any doughnuts before Lickfield decided to take a risk and fill the void himself. He didn’t have a doughnut recipe, but figured he’d give it a shot.
Sara Swann | News Editor
After all, Lickfield and his wife Sue have been in the food business for years, with Sue currently working with Syracuse University Catering Services. Their son Logan is also a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science.
With a full-time job, Sue said she’s only occasionally around to help at the stand or shop on weekends, and Logan works at the stand every Saturday. But overall, making the doughnuts and running the stand is up to Lickfield.
Lickfield created a batter and started doing taste tests, asking people to try doughnuts made with and without apple cider. Everyone preferred the cider doughnuts, and though it’s a little more expensive, to Lickfield it was a “no-brainer” to keep cider in the recipe.
“If you don’t tell somebody that it’s in there, they don’t know it’s in there — they just know the doughnut tastes good,” Lickfield said.
Since then, Lickfield has taken the batter recipe a step further. It usually takes about 10 minutes for doughnut batter to rise so it can be fried. Lickfield’s created a batter that’s ready to fry instantly.
With its seemingly never-ending line, Regional Donut Authority took off in a way Lickfield’s pizza stand never did. So after five years in business, he was ready to expand.
“We decided to take a shot and open a shop and give Dunkin’ Donuts a run for their money,” Lickfield said.
The Regional Donut Authority storefront sits in Liverpool, New York, marked by a fluorescent sign spelling out the store’s name in a retro typeface. It sets the theme for inside the shop — records hanging from the ceiling and an antique cash register in the corner greet anyone who walks inside.
Behind the tiled counter, Kristen Smith, an employee at the shop, puts the finishing touches on a few doughnuts sitting on wax paper.
“This is a chocolate raspberry drizzle with buttercream frosting,” she explained as she squeezed icing onto the doughnuts.
At Regional Donut Authority’s full-time shop, there’s more than just the apple cider doughnuts that made the shop famous. In front of Smith, there’s an assortment of toppings — crushed Butterfingers, rainbow sprinkles, pretzel pieces — reminiscent of an ice cream shop. Inside the small doughnut case, which only stocks a few freshly-made doughnuts, there are creations that Lickfield has dubbed “New Fangled Donuts.”
Whenever he has a few hours, Lickfield will start experimenting. For one of his most recent special doughnut flavors, he took some lemon icing fruits, which create a lemon flavor in icings and glazes. He mixed them into some doughnut batter along with some poppy seeds, topped the finished fry cake with a lemon glaze, and created a new lemon poppy flavor.
This creative freedom is part of what sets him apart from chains like Dunkin’ Donuts.
“You don’t have to be limited by what’s available from your vendors; you can just mix stuff together,” Lickfield said. “We just play.”
But not being a big-name business can be a challenge. Restaurants can’t operate a drive-thru in Liverpool, Lickfield said, but a Dunkin’ Donuts opening near Regional Donut Authority recently was approved to open a drive-thru.
Sara Swann | News Editor
With a drive-thru, Lickfield feels he could triple his business. He said about 22,000 cars drive by the shop every day, but so many still haven’t noticed the business or stopped in.
And while the market stand is established and has a following, those customers don’t always make their way to the full-time shop.
“We get so many people that come to the market,” Lickfield said. “If I could get 10 percent of them to come here, this place would be wildly successful.”
Just then, the door jingles and another customer files into the line at the counter.
“There’s all these people here, I gotta go help them,” Lickfield said.
And he steps back behind the counter, ready to serve up a few more of his fried creations.
Published on October 3, 2016 at 10:19 pm


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Whooha, Tamashii Nations just dropped a biggie. THREE new repaints were revealed for their upcoming Dragonball World Tour stops. Goku Black will be getting a repaint with clear pink hair and a pink energy aura effects piece. Ultimate Son Gohan, will be getting reissued, this time with a new Super Saiyan head and yelling standard face. Lastly, Golden Frieza gets reissued with slightly different gold tones. These three will join the fourth item – Kid Goku in his purple gear. The tour stops will be global this go around, but there are at least two North America stops – San » Continue Reading.
The post Goku Black, Son Gohan & Golden Frieza – More New Dragonball Tour Exclusives Revealed! appeared first on The Toyark – News.


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When I first spoke to Richard Garriott, the creator of Ultima, five years ago, I accused him of being weird. He had just told me he owned "a dungeon filled with macabre items" to be fair; five vampire-hunting kits, three shrunken heads, two mummies, three skeletons in coffins, human hearts and a human foetus. That's weird, isn't it? But he just laughed. "You might call it weird," he said. "I call it fascinating."
UPDATE 28TH JULY: I feel bad updating this story because Lord British, well, he survived - said no one even attacked him at all. What the bloody hell are you all playing at?!
When Ultima Online came out 17 years ago it blew my teenage mind. My medieval fantasy world was alive, inhabited by actual other people. I didn't care that I didn't have any idea what to do because it was so exciting! But Ultima Online was obtuse - making progress was an initiation, not a right. It was a reward in and of itself. And knowing that someone could come and kill you in a dungeon and loot everything you carried? Part of the magic.
How odd to see vintage online worlds Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online make the April Steam Greenlight selection, among 73 others.
The studio that started as Mythic Entertainment before becoming EA Mythic and then Mythic and then BioWare Mythic has returned to being called Mythic.
Update: The official Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar press release has arrived. It will be a PC and iPad game, and be released later this year.
Ultima Forever will have "fully integrated" cross-platform play, and "rich and deep" RPG elements.
BioWare Mythic is developing the game. This must be the project Warhammer Online orator Paul Barnett is leading.
How successfully Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo can migrate their existing online communities will be the key to their next-generation success.
The prospect of Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott leading a well-funded MMO project for NCsoft was mouth watering. But Tabula Rasa lasted just 15 months before NCsoft pulled the plug and Garriott walked away.
Richard Garriott has sneered at the direction Ultima Online, his creation, has taken since he was "pushed" from the MMO years ago.
Question-marks - that's what hangs over EA's decision to stop people giving away Ultima IV for free; that's what hangs over BioWare-Mythic creative director Paul Barnett (formerly a Warhammer Online preacher) mentioning "secret projects"; that's what hangs over the mystery MMO an EA job posting exposed yesterday.
Mythic executive producer Jeff Hickman has moved to reassure players of the three MMOs that it operates - Warhammer Online, Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot - that it will continue to support them with customer service and new content.
The lead designer of Ultima Online has boasted that the 12-year-old game is doing better than many more modern rivals, and still has plenty of new content to come in future.
EA and Mythic are offering anyone who's ever played Ultima Online a chance to revisit the vintage MMORPG for free, with unlimited game time, between now and 16th October.
Mythic has announced that it will release the 8th expansion to EA's venerable MMO, Ultima Online, on September 8th.
Mythic is now accepting sign-ups for the Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss closed beta test.
Only current Ultima Online subscribers will be able to take part, and there are only a limited number of spots available. Head over to the official Ultima Online website to put your name down.
Mythic announced recently that Stygian Abyss will launch this summer. It's the eighth expansion for the long-running MMO and most notably adds a playable gargoyle race and enormous Stygian Abyss dungeon - the hardest the virtual world has ever seen, apparently.
Mythic has announced that Ultima Online expansion Stygian Abyss will arrive this summer. The same add-on had been promised a release two years ago.
Stygian Abyss, the eighth expansion for the isometric MMO, adds the playable Gargoyle race that has unique Throwing, Imbuing and Mysticism skills. And there's the eponymous Stygian Abyss dungeon itself, which is the largest of any in Ultima Online, and home to the wickedly difficult Medusa, Primeval Lich and Stygian Dragon baddies.
The expansion also opens the Gargoyle homeland of Ter Mur for exploration, and introduces new areas where players can punch each other like rats.
In a revealing profile of the gold-selling industry - the second in our four-part feature series on the trade in in-game currencies and services - the number of gold farmers in China is estimated at one million.
It's always the maze that gets me. Though its appeal has waned somewhat after each subsequent visit, I still hold fond memories of meandering through a seemingly endless tangle of forest and shrubbery - darting past an ettin, a gargoyle, and perhaps less thrillingly, a mongbat - and finding myself at the entrance of a giant hedge labyrinth. Supposedly constructed by the wizard Relvinian with a view to getting daemons to do his laundry, it's a calming, floral little place whose only real perils are the odd troll-under-the-bridge and the nimbus of hellspawn living at its core. It's not tied to any particular quest I know of; it's just sitting there, waiting to be discovered.
EA has celebrated a decade of Ultima Online by inviting back those of you who have subscribed to the game at some point in the past.
EA has released the new Kingdom Reborn update that will completely revamp the ageing graphics of Ultima Online.
It seems crazy, but Ultima Online was originally released ten years ago. Can the MMO really be so old? Can an MMO so old really still be around today? Well, it appears yes. While the developers were extremely cagey when we asked how many players are still on the servers, it’s certainly enough for EA to still take it seriously.
Ultima Online's rulers have taken steps to sort out a large number of users who were using the MMORPG's cheque system to store enormous amounts of gold created by manipulating game-exploits.
Just weeks after EA announced its acquisition of MMO developer Mythic, it's been revealed that the studio will be helping out with Ultima Online.
Electronic Arts has ceased development of MMORPG Ultima X: Odyssey. In a note on the game's official website, producer David Yee cited the need to refocus resources on Ultima Online - including a forthcoming expansion and another, as-yet unannounced project - and said it was "the right move for the future of all things Ultima, including the community and the team."
Electronic Arts and its underlings Origin Systems have finally revealed what they've been concocting under the sheets at a press and fan conference in San Franciso yesterday. The big announcement was the long-awaited and - according to just about everybody - much needed new title to advance the Ultima franchise, Ultima X: Odyssey.
MMORPG fan Julian Dibbell is carving a new life for himself out of the online market for cash, weapons, armour, homes and other artefacts found in Ultima Online, BBC News Online reports this week. Apparently Julian set himself a goal of earning $1000 in three weeks, and having scraped it by a hair's breadth, he's now planning to support his wife and child by playing UO and flogging its wares.
EA's Origin studio has announced that development is underway on
Ultima Online was the first big success in the massively
When Richard Garriott left Origin following the release of the
Ultima Worlds Online : Origin, as well as being an obvious nominee
The company formerly known as Origin Systems sent word that they
The Ultima Online 2 homepage posted
The sequel to that taker of many peoples personal lives, Ultima
Something spicy for you this morning - Richard Garriott is leaving


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Banks invest heavily to protect their customers, but protection is difficult when a customer becomes the victim of a scam and unknowingly sends money to a criminal directly from their account. Losses from Authorised Push Payment (APP) schemes cost victims over £455 million in the UK in 2019, a 29% increase over 2018. While fraudsters showed a propensity to perpetrate these schemes against personal accounts (£317.1 million), business accounts (£138.7 million) were also significantly impacted. Across Europe, similar patterns were found, with more than €24 billion in financial losses from scams over the past two-year period.