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New Delhi: Ice-cream brand Havmor
, the wholly owned subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate Lotte
Confectionery, has launched its new manufacturing plant in Solapur, making it the company’s third manufacturing unit after Gujarat
and Faridabad. the company said in a statement. The facility will be run by Vaishno Devi Foods Products and will only manufacture Havmor Ice-creams.
With the new plant starting operations in the south-western region of Maharashtra, the company will now cater to the requirement of the Southern market.
“This new plant at Solapur is a significant milestone for us in our expansion journey. We have set our sights on having a national presence and pushing towards a leadership position. Hence it's critical for us to manufacture our much-loved products closer to the consumer markets. This new addition not only adds to the much-needed capacity enhancement but also will fuel further penetration in the markets of Maharashtra and Southern India," said Anindya Dutta, MD, Havmor Ice Cream.
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So, what is urban India eating? Zomato just gave you every detail
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Surprising Facts about Urban India Eating-Zomato Report
Zomato released its report for FY 19 a few days ago. It gives an insight into the food preference of Indians in the 200 cities where the food delivery platform operates.
Text Source-ET Online
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Zomato delivery by boat in Guwahati
Some of the findings are truly eye-opening. For example, a delivery boy had to take a boat across the Brahmaputra to deliver an order to a place near Guwahati.
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292 orders placed by Alwar man with 48 different restaurants
On one occasion, some person in Alwar placed 292 orders with 48 different restaurants. In Jaipur, as many as 415 boxes were required to make a delivery worth Rs 1,84,760.
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Indore has more demand for midnight food delivery than Mumbai
In one of the most surprising finds, Indore beat a big metro like Mumbai — the city that never sleeps — in midnight delivery of food.
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Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh beats all other cities when it comes to Breakfast
When it comes to breakfast, Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh beats all other cities hands down. According to Zomato's figures, this city's love for breakfast is way more than any other place in India.
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Ooty pays highest bill per order
According to the report, Ooty pays the highest average bill per order. Zomato patrons from Manipal are the most frequent in terms of placing food orders. Madurai is where people look up chicken biryani the most.
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Zomato bicycle delivery famous in Bihar
Did you know of any place where bicycles outnumber motorcycles vastly as delivery vehicles? Well, now you know. In Bihar's Gaya and Bhagalpur, Zomato has way more bicycle-riding delivery boys than bike-borne ones.
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Pizza most famous order in Gujarat's Anand
Gujarat's Anand is the place where pizza is the most popular order. Zomato users in Jammu are the most likely to order fast food among tier-3 cities. Among tier-2 cities, Ahmedabad saw the most number of orders being delivered.
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Listen from the CEO himself
Zomato saw a three-fold jump in revenue at $206 million for 2018-2019, which makes for a loss of $294 million, Goyal said. "We now lose Rs 25 per delivery, compared to Rs 44 per delivery in March 2018. Our last mile cost per delivery is now Rs 65, compared to Rs 86 in March last year. The number of deliveries per rider per hour has gone up to 1.4 from 0.9 last year," he added.


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Hulu's plans to expand to the UK have apparently been abandoned, meaning the service will likely remain exclusive to the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
The Telegraph reports that the expansion to the UK failed to come to fruition because negotiations with British broadcasters fell through. At one point last year, insiders believed a deal between Hulu and ITV was possible, but even the ITV discussions have ended — not to mention any hopes for content deals with the BBC.
Both ITV and the BBC operate their own web video distribution sites — the ITV Player and the BBC iPlayer — so they're not in a rush to make deals they fear would undermine their own projects by sharing content. ITV executive Ben McOwen Wilson told the paper that, "Hulu is a major success in the U.S. but the UK TV market is a different place. It is much more consolidated, which mean there are fewer online locations than in the U.S., which users need to visit to get access to their favourite content –- therefore there is less need for aggregators."
Hulu is one of the best repositories for free, streaming television on the web, but it has only been available in the U.S. thus far, much to the ire of web TV fans in other countries. While there are already ways to legally watch many shows online that are broadcast on UK stations, some web viewers might have hoped that a UK version of Hulu would carry some of the U.S. programming that's not available through the BBC iPlayer or similar services.
That would have been unlikely even had the deals gone through. U.S. networks and studios already make good money by inking content deals with local stations in other countries, so they likely wouldn't be keen to undermine those business opportunities by streaming content to those regions online.

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Are you a part of the travel industry in Kenya? Are you seeking an unparalleled opportunity to learn,
By Agnes Mucuha Turkish Airlines Kenya office led by its country manager Mr. Oguzcan, collaborated with the Kenya
Traveling alone could allow access to more thoughts and sensations. Just because you have a partner doesn’t mean
The tourism industry in Africa is slowly healing from the slump brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before
After taking a 52% hit in the first months of COVID, the business travel industry is experiencing an unprecedented surge. The
The hybrid workforce and the pandemic have changed what business travel will mean going forward. Here’s how companies
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|Toshiba Intros New TV Lines – Finally Goes 3D|
|Home Theater News LCD HDTV News|
|Written by Dick Ward|
|Wednesday, 15 September 2010|
Now Toshiba seems to feel that the time is right for 3D and has announced the WX800 Cinema series of televisions, marking the company's first charge into the third dimension.
The WX800 is capable of displaying 3D content in a variety of formats, making it a versatile set as far as your viewing options are concerned. It also includes a tech known as 3D Resolution+ which should help to keep that picture clean and clear.
It also sports the Toshiba CineSpeed LED panel with edge lighting and DynaLight control. It sports a 7,000,000:1 contrast ratio, ClearFrame 240Hz technology and of course, a 1080p resolution. The WX800 is available in a 55 inch model for $3,299 and at 46 for $2,599.
Toshiba's new VX700 is essentially the non-3D version of the WX800. It opts for ClearFrame 120Hz, but still has the internet connectivity, Audyssey EQ processing, and advanced video controls for color and gamma settings.
You'll find the VX700 for $2,799 at 55 inches and $2,299 at 46.


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Investment Robo-Adviser Wealthfront Integrates Coinbase Crypto Accountsbr>
Investment robo-adviser Wealthfront has added support for Coinbase accounts to allow its users to track cryptocurrency investments.
Based in California, Wealthfront is an automated investment service firm with more than $11 billion of assets under management. It provides a financial planning service tool designed to aid its clients in preparing for their financial futures by allowing them to personalize their assumptions for their financial planning goals.
In a blog post published last week, the company announced that its users can now track holdings of cryptocurrency for the first time by connecting their accounts with the Coinbase exchange to the automated investment service.
“We make it possible for you to add information about your cryptocurrency holdings in your Coinbase account to Wealthfront to get a more holistic view of your financial picture. And even more importantly, we factor that information into your free financial plan,” the company said.
Wealthfront said that the new integration with Coinbase alligns with its vision to help users optimize and automate their finances to ensure they reach their unique financial goals.
“One of the most important advantages of a fully automated financial planning solution is it continuously improves as more data becomes available. And the great news is more relevant data becomes available via API every day,” the company said. “Access to your Coinbase account information is just the latest example. Over time you can count on us to incorporate far more data, from your accounts and third-party providers (like our recent announcement with Intuit’s TurboTax), to deliver even better financial advice.”


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It's Whopper time: New Burger King opens on East Mansfield Street
BUCYRUS - Sara Cress had been waiting for this burger.
On Wednesday, she sat with her husband, Kenneth Cress, eating a hamburger in a corner booth at the newly opened Burger King at 1517 E. Mansfield St.
"I'm actually a big Burger King person; it's my favorite restaurant," the Bucyrus woman said. "So when we found out they were changing this to Burger King, I've been keeping up on it. ... A friend of ours actually posted on Facebook that they went past and the sign said 'Now Open,' so I dragged him out of the house and said, 'We're going to Burger King!'"
The dining room wasn't crowded during the noon hour Wednesday, but that's by design, explained David Laslow of the Marysville, Ohio-based Monarch Restaurant Group, which owns the new restaurant.
"We kind of do it on purpose," Laslow said. "We were planning on Wednesday, but again we didn't know we were going to open today at 10 a.m. until 8:30 this morning. So we had planned for it, but there were still possibilities. It's also nice to have a little slower opening to let the crew get used to everything, make sure everything works and we're good to go."
The structure required final approvals from the Richland County Codes and Permits Office, which does building inspections for Crawford County, to be able to open on Wednesday
Ken Floro moved to the area in October to be the new restaurant's manager. He's worked at Burger Kings and for Monarch Restaurant Group in the past.
More:Lights & Sirens | Window smashed, electronic devices stolen
More:Missing Mark's Homemade Ice Cream this winter? Soon, you'll be able to buy it in stores
More:Longtime children's librarian Barb Scott celebrates milestone
"People seem to be excited to have Burger King back," Floro said. "We're just going to try to do a good job and have great food."
Laslow said his company is excited to be in Bucyrus.
"It's a great site," he said. "When we pulled up on it and looked at it originally, it was kind of rough, so we were excited to bring a little new business to the area."
Cress, who lives about eight blocks away, said she likes the site, too.
"Come on, now; it's right here," she said, laughing. "They have a really, really good place out here. Compared to where the old Burger King used to be, I think this is probably the best. You've got a lot of people going to the Bratwurst Festival and the fair coming in, and then of course this is the main stretch of the road, so it's a good place to have it. There's not much choice at this end of town."


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Instagram may have put its controversial plan to share user content with advertisers on the back burner, but many members are still angry about a proposal they fear would allow the photo-sharing service to profit from their creative grist.
After co-founder Kevin Systrom posted a second mea-culpa blog post about the proposed changes to its terms of service agreement, saying, "Instagram has no intention of selling your photos," many users seemed doubtful.
"I just read the blog!" wrote a user named "zuzublue." "I think they're not changing anything."
And "kevinshea_nyc" commented: "I really don't see the difference here. Your photos can still be sold by this platform to marketeers."
Systrom's latest statement, which first appeared on Instagram's blogsite Thursday, seemed to muddy the waters even more. And Instagram spokeswoman Meredith Chin seemed to validate the premise in an email that Instagram was simply putting the advertising plan on hold.
"Yes," Chin replied, "you are correct."
Later, she added: "I can't comment on speculation of exactly how advertising will work in the future. What I can tell you is we currently don't have any specific plans around advertising on Instagram, which is why we reinstated the original terms for that section. If and when we do, we'll come back to our users and start the conversation again."
The brouhaha first erupted earlier last week as word spread of the service's new controversial policy.
In his blog post on Thursday, titled "Updated Terms of Service Based on Your Feedback," Systrom began with an apology.
But later in the post, Systrom seemed to leave the door open to some version of content sharing with advertisers.
Kevin Davis, co-founder of photosocial site Rawporter, said: "It seems like Instagram will still try and sell photos to ad agencies and the users won't be getting compensation -- Instagram will.
"Once everyone gets distracted by the holidays," he said, "Instagram will come back and do this again, but much more subtly."
Contact Patrick May at 408-920-5689 or follow him at Twitter.com/patmaymerc.


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DVB-X – the marriage of DTT with 3G
At the recent Dublin DVB World conference, DVB announced that it plans to provide specifications for how to broadcast video content such as music video, film trailers and other multimedia content to handsets. DVB-X promises to bring “one to many” services into the world of 2.5 and 3G mobile handsets, over delivery technologies such as GPRS and UMTS.
Goeran Wahlberg, director of concepts and technology at Nokia, noted that the specification would be used for distributing “audiovisual and multimedia services to all citizens, independent of their location.” He said that DVB-X might become “a mandatory spec for handheld devices in the future.”
The new standard is expected to involve a set of new extensions to the well-known DVB-T standard and is intended to be as backwardly compatible as possible with DVB-T.
The extensions will address data rates, power consumption issues and specialised content delivery capabilities. Professor Ulrich Reimers, chairman of the DVB Technical Module, widely known as the architect of DVB, pointed out that while DVB-T is flexible enough to be received on any kind of device, it cannot do “digital TV broadcast for 24 hours on a mobile handset powered by a standard battery.”
Reimers added that data rates achieved would be around 15 Mbit/s. The most likely network configuration, he said, would be a large-scale Single Frequency Network and a power consumption of less than 100 mW for the DVB-X receiver.
These figures should be raising hairs on the necks of the suffering telcos in 3G land, who are not even sure the UMTS system will give a moving user 2Mbit/s. If one adds that the delivery will most likely involve an IP session, and the fact that DVB is working on its MPEG Implementation guidelines to include Advanced Video Coding (AVC), also known as MPEG-4 Part 10 or H.264, which can deliver Mobile Handset sized video at 176x144 pixels at bit rates of between 50 and 100 kbit/s, even SDTV terrestrial broadcasters will be pulling out their calculators.
DVB has issued a call for technical proposals and is aiming for implementation in 2006.
Editor's note: See the April issue of Broadcast Engineering for a special MPEG-4 report, which includes a full discussion of the technology.
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Bird and butterfly motifs are showing up on home accessories. Photo: Trendease International, To Grace
Trend Tip for a Hip Home
If you want to be at the forefront of new home décor looks, you’ll want to check out a surprising new trend in home accessories: skull designs. Jennifer Castoldi, home design expert and chief creative officer of Trendease International says the motif is now appearing on accessories of all types, from photo frames to dinnerware. “Before, the skull trend was geared to the mass market, the youth market,” she says. “What’s interesting about it now is that it is much more baroque and abstract.”
Birds to Butterflies: A Spotlight on Today’s Fashion-Forward Accessories
Sometimes all a room needs to feel fresh and new are a few fun accents. Check out the latest trends in home accessorizing.
- by Nancy Robinson
Sometimes all a room needs to feel fresh and new is a few fun accents. Updating accessories is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to change the mood of a room, says Jennifer Castoldi, Trendease International’s chief creative officer and a home design expert.
While core furniture pieces are often more expensive—and therefore harder to replace—home accessories are usually much easier to change out with what’s new and hot. And since accessories typically aren’t investments that break the bank, it’s also possible, even advisable, to have a little fun with your purchases, Castoldi says.
“You can use accessories to accent your mood for the moment or the season,” explains Castoldi. “Things like candleholders and photo frames can be changed in an economical fashion, even at the high end.”
Check out today’s latest, hottest trends in home accessories:
- Anything plant related, including plant holders, “green” walls and movable vertical gardens. “Bringing plants into the home is huge right now,” Castoldi says. “Plants clean the air and make it healthier to breathe. It’s a reflection of health concerns and a statement about the environment.” Note: If you think this trend smacks of the ’70s when houseplants and exposed brick walls were all the rage, think again. “This is different than anything that came before,” Castoldi says.
- Bird and butterfly motifs. “During a time in which people have been going through a lot of stress, we’re seeing a lot of bird and butterfly motifs on accessories,” she says. “They’re symbolic of flying away, of escaping the tense lives that many of us are living because of the economic crisis.”
- Watery themes, especially watercolor paintings and finishes that look as if they’ve been washed. Found on everything from wallcoverings to dinnerware, these watery looks “tie into the theme of relaxation, cleansing and rebirth,” explains Castoldi.
- Pixilation. At the other end of the design spectrum, the proliferation of exaggerated pixilation on surfaces (both hard and soft) reflects the omnipresent technological side of modern life.
- Accessories in grayed pastel palettes. “These are not Easter pastels, but more grayed down,” Castoldi says. “They’re actually quite striking and will appeal to those who aren’t pastel lovers.” This new palette also works particularly well paired with neutrals.


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Food additive used to make efficient plastic solar cells
Scientists have created efficient plastic solar cells by replacing an environmentally hazardous chemical with a flavouring agent commonly used in eatables
The solar cells, developed by researchers from North Carolina State University in the US and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, can be manufactured at room temperature, and has implications for large-scale commercial production.
Plastic solar cells, or organic photovoltaic, are popular because they are lightweight, flexible, transparent and inexpensive to manufacture, making them useful in multiple applications.
However, the halogen-containing solvents used in their manufacture are an obstacle to large-scale commercialization.
These solvents are key to making sure that the solar cell's morphology, or structure, maximizes its energy efficiency; however, they are environmentally hazardous.
The use of these harsh chemicals requires a controlled environment, which adds to production costs.
Long Ye, a postdoctoral research scholar at NC State, wanted to find out if non-toxic solvents could provide equally efficient morphology in the manufacturing process.
Researchers developed a proof of concept semi-printed plastic solar cell that utilised o-methylanisole (o-MA) as the solvent.
O-MA is a commonly used flavouring agent in foods, and is non-toxic to humans.
The researchers used soft X-ray techniques to study the morphology of their solar cell. They found that the o-MA based solar cell had similar morphology, crystalline features and device performance to those produced by halogenated solvents.
The solar cell's overall efficiency rating was around 8.4 per cent. The cell could be produced via blade coating at ambient, or room temperature.
Blade coating is a process that uses a glass blade to spread a thin layer of the photovoltaic film onto either a rigid or flexible substrate, and the process is compatible with large-scale commercial manufacturing.
"Two of the key requirements for mass producing these solar cells are that the cells can be produced in the open air environment and that the process doesn't pose health or environmental hazards," said Ye.The research appears in the journal Chemistry of Materials.


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While countless businesses have been told to shut their doors as stage three of the coronavirus lockdown takes place, one Ballarat business is making sure they are perfectly equipped to help emergency workers in need.
Wheels Australia in Howitt Street has been given the green light to remain open and is dedicated to do their part to assist their clients.
Part-owner Rod Hughes, alongside his son Paul Hughes told The Courier ensuring medical workers and other staff on the front line fighting COVID-19 could travel around the region safely was their top priority.
"We want to be there for them, we're here to do our bit," Rod Hughes said.
"If we were forced to close, there would be no one there to take care of the people that have to get in the car and drive to places like Castlemaine, Melton, Meredith to help people who need it.
"Thankfully we can stay open... we'll do everything we can to help our medical workers deliver the urgent care people need."
The business has already made adjustments to its day-to-day operations, including extra sanitisation and providing staff with personal protective equipment. Rod Hughes said he will continue adjusting to whatever is needed going forward.
"We're modifying the building to accommodate drive through customers and we're bringing in face masks and protective equipment to make sure we're being as sanitary as we can."


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Topical discussions at the UK Ports Conference echoed the findings of research into global supply chain dependencies on critical infrastructure.
Two new reports present findings from research into the dependency of global supply chains on critical infrastructure resilience
The movement of food around the world is an important reality of today’s globalised, urbanised and heavily populated world. Even small disruptions within the supply chain can result in cascading […]
During February, March and April 2019, the Resilience Shift, working with Arup’s supply chain logistics experts, hosted seven workshops on the topic of Resilience of Food Supply Chains. These were […]
Resilience Shift primers are intended to be a brief document introducing the elementary principles of resilience relevant to an industry sector
Building resilience of critical infrastructure requires decision-makers working in different industry sectors to understand ‘what’ can be done, ‘why’ it should be done, and ‘how’ to put it into practice. […]
Following a pilot workshop in Manchester, United Kingdom, the first of a series of Global Supply Chain workshops took place at the end of February in New York.
As part of the Resilience Shift round-table series a meeting was held in London on 26 November 2018 to explore the challenges and opportunities for the resilience of ports and […]


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South Korean company Samsung has long been working on smartphones with foldable screens. But the so-called Galaxy X concept has not come yet. Now the news is coming that Apple is joining this race. According to the report, Apple is preparing to bring the foldable iPhone to the market.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has said that the company is working on a fashionable smartphone with Asian Partners. Vamsee Mohan, Senior Equity Research analyst, Bank Offer America, said, “We have an idea that Apple is working with suppliers for the iPhone, which can be converted into tablets. It can be launched by 2020.
Experts believe that smartphones with foldable screens will be trending in the coming time, which will be followed by small companies. Earlier Lenovo and Samsung introduced the device’s concept with the foldable screen. Huawei is also doing Research and Development on the Foldable Smartphone and it is possible to simultaneously see smartphones with many companies’ foldable screens.


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South African IoT device company G8Way Technologies has announced a deal with global satellite IoT connectivity solutions provider eSAT to use eSAT satellites for tracking endangered species.
Before investing in any broker,do due diligence and research properly about them.There are too many scam brokers these days.I got[…]
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There's a lot more in US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' decision than you have reported here. Apple won all[…]
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Finalized rule to save consumers more than $10 billion
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule that prevents credit card companies from charging late fees higher than $8, which will save 45 million people an average of $220 or more than $10 billion a year. Groundwork Collaborative’s Director of Policy and Research Bilal Baydoun reacted with the following statement:
“Junk fees, like the excessive late fees credit card companies charge, are yet another tactic corporations use to prey on customers and juice their profit margins even further. CFPB’s new rule demonstrates that policymakers can – and must – take on predatory, deceptive behavior and act as a strong check on corporate power.”
Email email@example.com to speak with one of Groundwork’s experts about today’s CFPB rule and the impact of junk fees and profiteering.


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A city centre bar has lost a bid to extend its opening hours to help it recover from the effects of the coronavirus lockdown.
Councillors have rejected Billy Bootleggers’ request to trade until 3am in Nelson Street, which owner Elliot Towsey argued on Tuesday would give the American-themed underground bar “the biggest chance of survival” following months of closure because of the pandemic crisis.
However, the venue has received a boost with confirmation that Newcastle City Council will allow it to sell samples of its popular apple pie moonshine and other drinks for fans to take home.
A licensing panel determined that Billy Bootleggers will be allowed off sales between 11am and 10pm daily – with the proviso that all drinks must be in sealed containers and be part of gift packages.
Mr Towsey told the council licensing sub-committee on Tuesday that the bid to open for an extra hour until 3am was “to allow us to have a bit more of a chance to get through what is clearly a difficult time for everyone”.
He added: “We are all going to struggle for the next year and, as a little basement bar, I need to try everything I can.”
However, councillors have now concluded that the bar “failed to demonstrate any exceptional circumstances” and said they were not satisfied that the additional hour would not cause a negative impact on the city centre.
Northumbria Police sergeant Julie Cottiss told the hearing: “An extension of the terminal hour would increase the capacity for people to drink more, remain in the city centre for longer, and ultimately lead to an increase in crime and disorder.
“In my experience, the longer you remain in the night time economy the more intoxicated persons become – that brings with it the increased likelihood of those persons becoming the victims or the perpetrators of crime.”
Police solicitor Hayley Hebb added that Covid-19 could not be used as justification to break away from the city’s licensing rules, which stipulate a 2am cut-off for the sale of alcohol under normal circumstances.


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Busiest day ever expected at FedEx
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Today is beginning to look a lot like Christmas for FedEx Corp.
The Memphis-based shipping giant plans to move a record-breaking 19 million packages through its networks on what is projected to be the busiest day in company history.
FedEx's 300,000 employees and 20,000 seasonal personnel will be pushing the company's systems, which will process more than 200 packages per second, to their max.
"At FedEx, we have been preparing for this busy holiday shipping season for almost a year now," T. Michael Glenn, executive vice president of market development, said. "The spirit and drive of our team members, backed by the efficiency of our networks, will help us deliver what we expect will be a record-breaking 280 million packages through our global networks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, up 13 percent from 2011."
FedEx's current daily record is 17.2 million shipments on Dec. 12, 2011, followed by 15.6 million shipments on Dec. 13, 2010.
Increased e-commerce spending is contributing to this year's volumes,with FedEx expecting a 10 percent year-over-year increase in volume from 2011.
For more on FexEx's big day, check out affiliate publication Memphis Business Journal.
Andy Ashby covers commercial real estate; transportation and logistics; construction; and Downtown Memphis. Contact him at email@example.com.
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The vaccination needle strikes but once or twice, while this offer of encouragement is good every day. Krispy Kreme has announced that anyone who shows a valid COVID-19 vaccination card can receive one free Original Glazed doughnut. Vaccinated customers can come back every day this year for another doughnut, CBS reports. A vaccine sticker won't do it; customers have to show they've had at least one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer coronavirus vaccines or the single Johnson & Johnson shot. The deal, which took effect Monday, is good in a store or at the drive-thru, per NBC. Krispy Kreme did say the deal is good only at the dreaded "participating US locations only."
"Providing free Original Glazed doughnuts to those who get vaccinated is just another gesture that we hope sweetens people's lives as the country accelerates to put this virus behind us," a Krispy Kreme statement said. The company, whose employees receive up to four hours of paid time to get vaccinated, also plans to deliver doughnuts to vaccination sites around the country for health care workers and volunteers. Recognizing that whether to be vaccinated "is a highly personal decision," per CNN, Krispy Kreme said those who aren't can still get a free glazed doughnut and a medium coffee every Monday, from March 29 to May 24. (Election Day brought a similar offer.)


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Cameroon has banned the exportation of cereals, including millet and corn, to Nigeria as a meals safety measure after a manufacturing drop.
Cameroon blamed the continued risk from Boko Haram terrorists because the trigger of the lower in meals manufacturing on its northern border.
Damian Kinkoh of the meals management unit of Cameroon’s Trade Ministry says about 6,000 metric tons of corn, millet and rice have been intercepted whereas being transported to Nigeria. Kinkoh says the ministry will return the cereals when the homeowners commit to solely promote the corn, rice and millet in Cameroon and not to Nigeria.
“We see these goods, we seize them and bring them here. It has been fruitful. We have about 2,000 bags of rice,” stated Kinkoh. “We are in Maroua and then in Ngaoundere. So, you go to our warehouses, our warehouses are full.”
The cereals had been intercepted in a number of northern border cities and villages including Maroua, Mora, Kolofata and Limani this week.
But, Yakoubou Ousmaina, the president of the Association of Millet farmers in Mora says they like to solely promote in Nigeria.
According to Voa, Ousmaina stated that members of his affiliation won’t make any revenue in the event that they promote their millet in Cameroon. He says villagers who offered labor in millet farms escaped and his affiliation invested a lot cash to carry staff from safer northern cities and villages to work of their farms. He says Boko Haram scared fertilizer sellers, and the few who’ve remained in northern Cameroon cost very excessive costs for fertilizer.
Ousmaina stated a 50-kilogram bag of millet and corn sells at between $40 and $50 in Cameroon and between $70 and $75 in neighboring northern Nigerian markets. He pleaded with the federal government of Cameroon to give subsidies to farmers to make cereal manufacturing worthwhile.
On Monday, Cameroon introduced what it stated can be a brief corn and millet export ban.
Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of Cameroon’s Far North area that borders Nigeria says the ban is geared toward assuring meals safety for its inhabitants.
He says the federal government has stopped the export of cereals, particularly millet and corn as a result of Cameroon dangers meals shortages. He says the scenario is regarding on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria the place famine looms. He says through the momentary ban on cereal export, retailers can be licensed to take restricted portions of rice to Nigeria.
79 children and their principal kidnapped from a school in Cameroon (Watch video)


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IT and A/V connectivity products manufacturer KanexPro released the latest addition to its lineup—two new ultra-fast HDMI matrix switchers, the HDMX44-4K and HDMX88-4K featuring 4K/60Hz with HDCP2.2.
Both switchers come with 4K/60Hz and are available in combinations of 4×4 and 8×8, KanexPro said. The 4×4 HDMI matrix switcher includes four inputs and four outputs with audio de-embedding and the latest HDCP 2.2 specs, and supported video resolutions of up to 4096×2160 at 60Hz. The 8×8 version includes eight inputs and eight outputs with the same specs.
“These ultra-fast HDCP 2.2 compliant switchers are the solution for mission critical needs that require immediate switching and distribution with the highest resolutions,” Matthew Bute, vice president of sales and marketing for KanexPro, said in a statement. “We created this switcher with those applications in mind and it allows integrators and end-users to have a solution tailored directly to their need.”
Both HD switchers include four or eight additional audio ports via S/PDIF connectors to “support de-embedding from HDMI and expedient firmware upgrades through micro USB ports.”
For additional tech specs, check the switchers out over on the KanexPro website.


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Opel Media Online
- Highest European February sales and market share since 2011
- Opel outgrows overall market significantly
- Volume increases in 17 markets
Rüsselsheim. Opel has carried on where it left off in January by continuing its upward trend across Europe in February. Preliminary figures show new registrations of around 80,300 vehicles – an increase of 15 percent or around 10,500 units compared to the same month of 2015. Opel’s market share was up by around 0.3 percentage points to 5.6 percent. The company therefore recorded it best February sales figures and market share for five years.
Opel’s overall results for the first two months of 2016 are also positive. Sales were up by around 18,000 units or almost 13 percent, meaning that the brand grew more than twice as strong as the overall market. The Rüsselsheim-based carmaker managed to increase its market share by more than 0.3 percentage points to around 5.7 in this period, giving it its highest sales figures and market share for the two first months of the year since 2011.
“We grew in 17 markets thanks to our young and attractive portfolio. The new Astra was key for our success. The Astra Sports Tourer, available at dealers from April, and the new Mokka X will continue to drive our business after a strong start into the year,” said Peter Christian Küspert, Vice President Sales & Aftersales Opel Group.
Opel’s strong growth in February is mainly based on the demand for the new Astra. The Astra, whose current generation only made its market debut in most European countries in November, was sold over 18,000 times in February. An increase of around one third. Across Europe Opel has already received over 130,000 orders for the European “Car of the Year 2016”. The Opel Corsa was also key to the company’s success with sales increasing by around 12 percent to 20,400 units in February.
Opel’s new registrations were up in 17 European markets in February, including the four large western European markets Germany (+27%), Italy (+24%), France (+23%) and Spain (+23%). Elsewhere, the brand with the Blitz also increased its market share in
16 European markets.


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Recession running out of steam?
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON – The number of newly laid-off Americans filing jobless claims fell more than expected last week and retail sales grew in May for the first time in three months.
But a rise in the number of people continuing to receive jobless aid signaled that an economic recovery is still far off.
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 601,000. That’s below analysts’ estimates of 615,000.
Still, the number of people claiming benefits for more than a week rose 59,000 to more than 6.8 million, the highest on records dating to 1967. The department also revised last week’s data on continuing claims, replacing what had been a drop of 15,000 with an increase of 6,000.
That means continuing claims have set records for 19 straight weeks. The data lag initial claims by a week.
Retail sales rose for the first time in three months in May, as a rebound in demand at auto dealerships and gas stations helped offset weakness at department stores.
The Commerce Department said retail sales increased 0.5 percent last month, in line with economists’ expectations. It was the largest increase since sales rose 1.7 percent in January following six straight declines.
Excluding autos, retail sales also grew 0.5 percent in May, better than the 0.2 percent gain that economists had expected.
Wall Street welcomed the drop in new jobless claims and growth in retail sales. The Dow Jones industrial average added about 75 points in morning trading, and broader indices also rose.
Consumers may be spending a bit more and layoffs may be slowing, but companies are reluctant to hire amid the longest recession since World War II. That makes it harder for the unemployed to find work.
Jobless claims are a measure of the pace of layoffs and are seen as a timely, if volatile, indicator of the economy’s health.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell to 621,750, down from a high of about 658,000 in early April. Many economists see the decline as a sign that layoffs have peaked and the recession is bottoming out.
Still, the levels are far above what is customary in a healthy economy. Initial claims stood at 388,000 a year ago.
The department said last week that companies eliminated a net total of 345,000 jobs in May. While steep, that’s about half the monthly average of jobs lost in the first quarter.
Yet the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, a 25-year high, as hundreds of thousands of people entered the labor market and began looking for work but couldn’t find it, the department said.
Also Thursday, the Commerce Department said businesses cut inventories 1.1 percent in April as they struggle to get stockpiles more in line with falling sales.
Inventories have fallen for eight straight months, the longest stretch since there were 15 consecutive declines in 2001-2002, a period that covered the last recession.
AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.
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Airbnb is sharpening its focus on experiential travel by investing US$20 million in far-out travel and exploration specialist Atlas Obscura, which offers experiences such as night photography in the Californian desert and the chance to see Turkmenistan’s Gates of Hell. Emily Eastman reports
When Joshua Foer and Dylan Thuras founded Atlas Obscura in 2009, they had identified a global appetite for original content about the weird and wonderful places and experiences of the world.
Ten years later, the digital magazine and travel company is set to build on its USP – a global community of explorers who share their discoveries in a comprehensive database and a source of quality journalism, local experiences and trips to non-traditional destinations – with US$20 million of investment from Airbnb.
The home-sharing juggernaut has turned its focus to experiences and excursions in recent years. This latest move – the largest investment ever raised by Atlas Obscura – means Airbnb users can now book Atlas Obscura trips and events via Airbnb’s website and mobile app.
These range from photographing scorpions at night in the Californian desert and the chance to see Mexico’s great butterfly migration, to visiting the Gates of Hell in Turkmenistan and exploring abandoned, underground spaces in the bowels of Berlin.
It’s a huge opportunity for Atlas Obscura to tap into a global audience. The company says its trips and experiences comprise more than half of its business, and the investment will be funnelled into expanding its offerings in these areas.
For Airbnb, it’s another profit stream as the company continues to diversify its revenue sources. The pressure to do so has intensified in the face of global regulatory pressures on home rentals.
Last year, Airbnb’s “Experiences” side of the business exceeded one million bookings. Back in 2016, it offered 500 experiences in 12 cities. Today, that’s grown to 40,000 in more than 1,000 cities.“As we grow, it’s important that we maintain unique, high-quality supply,” Airbnb told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). “With Atlas Obscura specialising in unusual and obscure travel destinations, this relationship continues to build on our intention to offer something more authentic and less mass-produced.”
The demand is certainly there. Between 2014 and 2018, the amount spent by travellers on tours, attractions, events and activities rose 21 per cent to US$159 billion, reports WSJ.
As the peak travel season drew to a close in 2018, TripAdvisor crunched its data from around the world. Compared with 2017, 67 per cent more travellers in 2018 chose to book an outdoor activity such as scuba diving, bungee jumping or glacier hiking. Cooking and painting classes jumped 61 per cent, while food, wine and nightlife experiences were up 45 per cent.Given the figures, Airbnb’s investment comes as little surprise. Atlas Obscura has built a niche focus around unusual experiences and curious places. From small-group trips to Chernobyl’s Forbidden Zone and local experiences like “Cooking with critters in LA”, the website attracted 4.3 million unique visitors in July – up 17 per cent on last year.
With the investment, Atlas Obscura plans to expand these offerings. Outgoing CEO David Plotz told WSJ: “What we have is a very powerful brand that is not dependent on the traditional lines of revenue that digital media has depended on.”
And its offbeat approach extends to recruitment. In October, Plotz announced in a note to readers that he is stepping down and, in lieu of traditional recruitment, the company has put out a call for site users to help select a new CEO.
Plotz told The Daily Beast that the move was in keeping with Atlas Obscura’s decade-long focus on drawing from its community of users.
“We hope that there will be someone in our community, someone who already understands us, who knows us, who will put themselves forward, or maybe they know somebody who seems like they have the perfect sensibility,” he said.
The company’s founders acknowledge the enormous evolution Atlas Obscura has gone through. With a new CEO at the helm and a huge cash injection, everyone will be watching to see where it goes next.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/6/2003 (5175 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
BUSINESS has nowhere to go but up for a Winnipeg-based Web site that plans weddings for gay and lesbian couples.
"We're tickled pink things are coming out the way they're coming out," said Rita Leonard, chuckling over her own pun.
Leonard started the Web site pridebride.com four months ago with her partner Paula Rutledge.
It's the only service in Canada and believed to be one of the few in North America that plans weddings with all the trimmings for gay and lesbian couples.
Now, with Ottawa announcing yesterday it would rewrite the definition of marriage to include same-sex matrimony, the Winnipeg partners feel poised to ride a wave of weddings.
"Toronto Pride is going to set up a booth to marry people. There is going to be a flood of people in Ontario. It's going to happen in every province. We expect it to happen here," she said.
"There are tonnes of families out there -- like my partner and I, raising a child. They've just been waiting (to be legally married)," Leonard said.
Pridebride.com has been jammed since a Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in favour of same-sex marriage last week.
"If we're talking hits, we're talking 10,000," said Leonard, talking about visits to the Web site the day after the ruling.
"If we're talking about people specifically looking for pridebride.com, we're talking about 600 people a day (since the court ruling)," Leonard said.
The business tracks gay-friendly marriage commissioners, finds places where couples are welcome to hold ceremonies, venues for receptions and romantic getaways for honeymoons.
In their first four months, they have planned 150 weddings.
"We like to think of ourselves as business visionaries. We did a lot of research for it. We didn't just walk out of the closet," Leonard quipped.
Leonard said there are a couple of comparable businesses in the United States but as far as she knows pridebride.com is the only gay and lesbian wedding-planner service in Canada.
It offers a Web site and provides one-stop shopping for items such as gay-friendly announcements to honeymoon retreats, arranging and selling everything to carry off a wedding with all the trimmings.
"We can help our clients avoid all that annoying coming out to everyone -- coming out to the baker, coming out to the jeweler, coming out to the tuxedo rental place," said Leonard.
The partnership gets the cake, books the hall, has the invitations printed and even scouts out gay-friendly jewellers -- some gay and lesbian couples with wedding rings wear the gold bands on the right ring fingers to be different from straight couples that wear them on the left ring finger, Leonard said.
The timing for the business couldn't have been better for the partners. In the last week, Leonard has added current affairs to the Web site, with postings on the latest news updates.
"It's phenomenal. That there is a little company from Winnipeg that can be in the forefront in the whole, wide world," said Leonard.
Last week the Web site got a couple from Scotland, who needed a place to hold their wedding. Leonard and Rutledge filled their order finding them a Scottish venue to host it.
They don't make money by charging clients set fees; they charge vendors and they charge for products such as cake toppers and wedding invitations.
There's so little available out there, Leonard said, using wedding cake toppers as one stand-out example.
"That was our first product. We started looking around and we were just disgusted by what we found. Cake toppers ripped off with two brides -- that looked like they'd been stuck to grooms -- put beside each other. That's not the way it should be," Leonard declared.
Rutledge declined to provide a list of the service providers she uses because it might hurt her business.
However, she said some of the city's large hotels, such as the Fairmont and the Fort Garry Hotel, are excellent companies to work with.
Several jewellers, including A&A Jewellers, are also sensitive to the needs of gay and lesbian clients, making them feel comfortable and welcome as they pick out marriage rings, Rutledge said.
She urged businesses that want gay and lesbian business to use signs or symbols in their stores that will be recognized by homosexual couples.


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It is a very rare occurrence which is why we’re highlighting it. An independent retailer, Expansys, is selling the 16GB version of the Apple iPhone 5 (white or black) for only £500, that’s a £29 saving off its retail price at Apple.
It is notable because Apple is notoriously difficult when it comes to discounts and the fact that this happens less than six months after the launch of the Apple iPhone 5 and that there are ample stocks means that this is neither a loss-leader operation nor one which is being done without Apple’s ascent.
The Apple iPhone 5 was launched on 12 September and comes with a new Apple A6 SoC, one which supports LTE/4G. It has a 4in 1,136 x 640 pixels display, abandoning its original 3:2 aspect ratio for a more traditional 16:9 one.
There’s an 8-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 4.0, a front facing 1.2-megapixel camera, GPS, a Lightning connector and most importantly, a new form factor.
Apple’s new flagship abandons the glass back from the iPhone 4 series, which allows it to drop in thickness and weight. Check out our review of the Apple iPhone 5. Note that like all other iPhone handsets, this one locks on the first SIM card introduced.


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Vuzix has announced plans to develop a stylish head-mounted display solution in the form of Smart Glasses, through a licensing partnership with Nokia. The yet-unnamed product would integrate a bright, high-contrast display with a pair of seemingly ordinary-looking sunglasses -- sounds like a perfect companion to the ZionEyez in-glasses camera prototype we saw last month.
There’s been no shortage of Google Glass parodies and straight-up copies since Google released their heads-up display in 2012. While Google’s design has stuck to its guns since the developer edition - aka the Explorer Edition - has been released, there’ve been several iterations in competing camps since that year.
Samsung must want to keep an open mind when it comes to wearable displays. Just a short while after it explored the possibility ofsmart sports glasses, the company is back with a patent for a heads-up display with a built-in earpiece.
Part of the connected home initiative many are attempting to tackle is home security. NETGEAR and iControl have teamed up to make security a focus with thier new STS7000 unit. The touchscreen display will give you ful control over your home security, but can also be a hub for all things in your connected home.
Home automation has been a hot topic in the tech industry lately. Apple recently unveiled its new platform for connected appliances called HomeKit , and this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was filled with household gadgets that you can control using your smartphone.
WithGlassandAndroid Wear, Google has already invested a lot of time and resources into developing the next-generation of wearables, but it'sanother of its eye-focused projectsthat has today received its first major boost.
The return of commercial supersonic flight at faster-than-Concorde speeds could be one step closer to reality, with NASA developing real-time sonic boom prediction that would be essential to minimizing the impa
Google is about to determine the future of smartwatches. Whenit announcedAndroid Wear-- its new platform for wearable technology (watches in particular) -- I was in London for an industry trade show, along with a number of wearables manufacturers. I'm not sure the timing was deliberate, but there's no doubt the mood in the room changed once the news broke.
Have you ever found yourself deep in the jungle searching for bad guys, or how about deep in space looking for those aggressive aliens? If you play video games, especially FPS (First Person Shooters) games, you probably know what I am talking about. One issue I have noticed when putting in long sessions of gaming is that my eyes start to tire and even ache. The Demon series gaming glasses from NoScope may be able to solve this issue.
Hot on the heels of AT&T's recent announcement that it would bebeefing up its connected car offerings, Ralph de la Vega, who's now the chief executive of AT&T's Mobile and Business Solutions group, chaired a panel at CTIA earlier today to make the case for the internet-enabled vehicle.
Google is now trying even harder to make its Glass headset something really worth wearing. The search engine giant has just announced that it will be working with the Luxottica Group to bring designs from Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue Eyewear and other designers to its wearable display.
Google announced its plan to take on the billions of TV viewers in the world with a groundbreaking product that would blur the lines between internet and broadcast --four years ago. Executives from Dish Network, Best Buy, Sony, Logitech, Sony and Inteljoined the stagewith Google's then-CEO Eric Schmidt to herald the coming of a new era -- which never came.
In 1999, Samsung launched the YEPP series aiming to deliver some of thesmallest MP3 playerson the market. These devices went beyond mere MP3 playback functionality with built-in FM tuners and voice recorders. By 2005, however, Samsung was looking for a better way to make its YEPP players stand out from the portable media players crowding the market.
Connected TVs are on pace to take over the television viewing experience. There will be more than 759 million televisions connected to the Internet worldwide by 2018, more than double 2013's number, according to Digital TV Research.
Trying to take another stab at the digital camera market, Samsung is reported to have filed a patent for a camera whose display is completely see-through. Whether this so-called innovation will be enough to put the company on top of that market segment still remains to be seen when an actual device takes flesh.
Samsung has just taken a big step in its home automation plans by launching itsSmart Home servicein the US and Korea. That means you can now download an Android app that, in conjunction with Samsung's cloud service, will give you control over certain (crazy expensive) Samsung smart appliances.
Apple is reportedly working on new connected home products for consumers, according to 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman. Although Apple unveiled its HomeKit platform for developers at this year's WWDC, the company is now working on actual hardware products for everyday users.


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SAN FRANCISCO -- Seattle-based iLike, the popular music program on the Web and on Facebook, said today that it is partnering with Billboard, the music chart provider, to create a new music chart based on social media.
The chart will be based on the massive volume of daily music activity that iLike tracks across the Internet. The weekly charts will reflect which songs are most popular each week among iLike users on Facebook and iLike's desktop software, which users add to their iTunes and Windows Media collections.
Billboard will also give newsfeeds to iLike's more than 4 million users.
Billboard will have two weekly charts based on the listening habits of registered users on iLike.com and Facebook. The first chart will report on the week's top 25 songs "most added" to Facebook user profiles. The second chart will leverage iLike's popular desktop plugins for iTunes and Windows Media Player to monitor the top 25 songs that consumers are adding to their personal music libraries on their desktops and iPods.


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Blog: New tool to measure sustainability
Leonie Barrie | 30 July 2012
Clothing and footwear firms including Nike, Marks & Spencer, Levi Strauss and Walmart are among those backing a new tool designed to measure sustainability and environmental impact across the supply chain.
The companies are members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), which last week unveiled its new and long-awaited Higg Index. The new index is designed to measure everything from water and energy use to greenhouse gas emissions, waste, chemicals and toxicity, and has been released after a year of beta testing the sustainability impacts of some 150 products from more than 63 companies.
For apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh, the focus is on trying to avoid any possible unrest by workers around the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr holiday. Firms have agreed to clear payments of salaries, bonuses and other financial benefits before the festival on 19 August.
The decision comes after at least 50 people were injured when violence erupted again at the troubled Ashulia industrial zone on the outskirts of Dhaka - a month after protests forced around 300 garment factories to close.
Hong Kong based clothing giant Esquel Group is eyeing Vietnam for further expansion of its business, and has begun constructing a US$25m apparel plant at the Luong Son industrial zone in the northern province of Hoa Binh. All products made at the plant will be exported to the group's international brand clients, and add to the company's two existing facilities in the country.
Perhaps not surprisingly, textile and clothing markets are likely to remain subdued this year, given the considerable uncertainty in the global economy, and the fact that the debt crisis in the eurozone continues to hit business and consumer confidence. Weak market conditions in the EU and the US affected exports from several Asian countries in the first quarter of 2012, following strong growth in 2011 as a whole.
Poor consumer sentiment in Europe, combined with the impact of strategic investments, has weighed on sportswear brand Puma, pushing it to a 29% drop in second-quarter profit. The company now says it will speed up its transformation plan to "establish a more efficient business model, operating on a leaner cost base."
As if retailers didn’t have enough to contend with as they try to get to grips with doing business in a digitally-connected omni-channel world, it seems the rise of the “selfie” is also beginning to i...
Britain’s Modern Slavery Act, which began coming into force at the end of July, sets new disclosure standards on an extraordinary number of garment businesses. But its legal niceties won’t really dete...
After the latest round of TPP talks failed to clinch a deal, the race is now on to secure an agreement before the US presidential elections halt progress. Trade ministers are scrambling to try and for...
More apparel retailers appear to be ramping up their sustainability efforts in a way that will get consumers involved, with initiatives such as clothing recycling becoming increasingly popular....
- Yuan devaluation impact mixed for garment firms
- Will Vietnam struggle with impending trade deals?
- The new age of disruption on apparel production
- Kurt Cavano on “the Uberfication of everything”
- Gap bullish on China growth opportunities
- US Q2 in brief: J Crew, Aeropostale, Bebe Stores
- Luen Thai to continue investment in Vietnam
- Adidas seeking to resolve shoe supplier dispute
- Adidas files trademark suit against Forever 21
- China market woes could hit consumer spending
- Global Database of the Top 1000 Apparel Producers - Company Names, Financial Performance, and Contact Details
- Ethiopia – the emerging textile and clothing industry
- Myanmar's Garment Sector in 2015 - now with updated members' directory
- Global market review of lingerie - forecasts to 2020
- Global market review of swimwear - forecasts to 2019


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The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index has been tracking home prices for more than 30 years and are considered among the leading measures of U.S. home values. According to the latest release – which contains data through the end of June – home prices are up 4.3% over last year at the same time.
Rising Prices, Slower Pace
But while prices continue to increase, they are doing so at a slower pace. In fact, June’s increase was flat from the month before and both the 10- and 20-City Composites saw declines. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, says prices are stable, but the long-term trend remains to be seen. “Housing prices were stable in June,” Lazzara said. “The National Composite Home Price Index rose by 4.3% in June 2020, as it had also done in May … More data will be required to understand whether the market resumes its previous path of accelerating prices, continues to decelerate or remains stable. That said, it’s important to bear in mind that deceleration is quite different from an environment in which prices actually fall.” According to the data, Phoenix, Seattle, and Tampa saw the biggest price gains year-over-year. Find out more by clicking on the link (source).
Here at A1 Mortgage, we know how important it is to choose the right house for you and your companion. We have the responsibility to provide you with the best products and the highest level of customer service possible. With hundreds of loan programs available, we tailor a loan specific to your mortgage needs. Get pre-approved and start shopping for your dream home by clicking here!


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The Call of Duty franchise has been a popular first-person shooter game for over a decade. Still, the community is becoming increasingly concerned about the rise of pay-to-win bundles prioritizing monetization over fair gameplay. The latest update, Warzone 2.0, and DMZ have only amplified these fears as players brace for releasing a controversial pay-to-win bundle with bonus effects for the extraction mode.
Recently, a new season of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 was launched along with a package that has garnered some controversy due to its “bonus effects” for the extraction mode, DMZ.
One of these packages called the Classic Ghost Pack, is priced at 2400 CP and provides players with a two-plate armor vest and a 15-minute insured weapon cooldown for each of the two guns included in the bundle.
It also offers an additional active duty operator slot for DMZ. While these bonuses might seem like little, they give users a clear advantage over those not purchasing the bundle.
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The recent update of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 has sparked controversy among players due to the Roze and Thorn bundle, which was data-mined from the update.
This bundle features the Thorns Out Roze operator skin that allegedly grants players a free UAV at the start of DMZ matches. As the UAV can reveal enemy locations on the mini-map for 30 seconds, many gamers are concerned that this skin will give an unfair advantage to those who use it. The community has voiced their concerns, with some players arguing that the Thorns Out skin would create an imbalanced playing field in DMZ games.
Following the concerns raised by players over the controversial bonus effects in Call of Duty, some had hoped that Activision would remove them entirely. However, instead of eliminating the effects, Activision has taken a different approach and introduced balance changes to address the issue. The latest patch notes for the update reveal that a one-minute countdown has been added to DMZ matches, which will prevent players from using the UAV Killstreak immediately.
This change effectively nerfs the advantage that the Thorns Out skin would have provided, as players who use the UAV will have to wait for one minute before seeing enemy locations on the mini-map.
However, as many in the community have pointed out, this change is a slight nerf that will do little to address the underlying issues with pay-to-win bundles in Call of Duty. While delaying the usage of UAVs may help balance gameplay to some extent, it won’t prevent players from using the Roze and Thorn bundles to gain an advantage once the countdown is up. As one Redditor said, “Delaying their usage, ultimately, isn’t going to fix anything – just prolongs the inevitable.”
The rise of pay-to-win bundles in Call of Duty is not new, with the community raising concerns about the trend for several years. Many players argue that these bundles are ruining the game’s competitive integrity, allowing users to gain an unfair advantage over those who do not purchase them.
This has led to a growing sense of frustration in the community, with some players even calling for a boycott of the game. However, it’s not just the pay-to-win bundles themselves that are the issue. It’s also the fact that they are often released alongside significant updates, which can make it difficult for players to keep up with the meta. This creates a situation where players feel they need to purchase these bundles for remaining competitive, leading to a “pay-to-play” mentality that many in the community find distasteful.
Activision’s response to the community’s concerns about the Roze and Thorn bundle is a positive step. Still, more is needed to address the more significant issue: the perception of pay-to-win mechanics in Call of Duty. As more and more bundles with bonus effects are introduced into the game, it’s becoming increasingly clear that players willing to spend real money have an advantage over those not.
This is a dangerous trend for any game, as it can lead to a toxic environment where only those with deep pockets can succeed. It also undermines the core principle of fair play, which is essential for any multiplayer game to thrive.
The rise of pay-to-win bundles in Call of Duty has caused concern among the community, with many feeling that the game’s developers prioritize monetization over fair gameplay.
Pay-to-win mechanics can hurt the game’s long-term health by driving away players who feel they can’t compete on a level playing field. Cosmetic items and battle pass systems are alternatives that can provide revenue without sacrificing gameplay balance. Some bonus effects in Call of Duty, like exclusive skins or bonus XP, are relatively harmless, but when they affect gameplay, it creates an unfair playing field. Activision must reconsider bonus effects offered in bundles and explore alternative revenue streams to ensure the game is fair and enjoyable for all players.


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Xiaomi’s Poco X3 will soon be launched in Indonesia starting next week. Following are the prices and specifications of the Poco X3 which will be equipped with NFC functionality.
T RIBUN-MEDAN.com -Small X3 will soon be launched in Indonesia.
According to Poco Indonesia’s official post on its official Instagram account, the Poco X3 will be launched on 15 October.
The launch event will take place virtually starting at 20.00 WIB.
Previously, this middle class cellphone from Xiaomi was officially launched in Europe last September.
The Poco X3 brought to Indonesia is different from the Indian version, where the Indonesian version of the Poco X3 is equipped with the NFC function.
“Responding to all your requests, Poco Indonesia will provide Small X3 NFC officially visited Indonesia on October 15, 2020, ”wrote the Poco Indonesia account.
This launch is only about three months away from the Poco F2 which was launched in early July.
As reported KompasTeknoA little information is obtained by uploading Poco Indonesia to Instagram.
Not yet sure whether Small X3 which was brought to Indonesia has the same specifications as Small X3 global version.


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Old Mutual predicts a 20 percent drop in sales after outbreak of pandemic
DURBAN – Old Mutual slid more than 5 percent on the JSE yesterday after the financial services group warned its half-year profits could decline by more than 20 percent as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak impacting on its sales.
Old Mutual said that it expected its headline earnings per share (Heps) and earnings per share (Eps) for the six months to end June to be more than 20 percent lower than the 128.1 cents a share and 127.3c reported respectively last year.
The group said it would publish a further guidance to shareholders once it was more certain of the range of the decreases.
“Low levels of issued sales in April and May will have a negative impact on our reported profits and value of new business (VNB) for the first half of 2020,” Old Mutual said.
“Initiatives in the form of premium holidays, discounts and deferrals of rate increases will pose further downside pressure on revenue levels.”
The group said the pandemic was likely to impact its performance in the 2020 financial year despite the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions in South Africa and other countries where it operated.
It said the risk of rising infection rates would adversely impact mortality experience while other Covid-19 related claims such as business interruption claims could impact underwriting experience negatively.
Old Mutual said issued sales in Mass and Foundation Cluster were down around 90 percent and declined by almost 50 percent in Personal Finance.
“We expect sales levels to recover subsequent to lockdown and specific management actions have been put in place to accelerate sales and greater access to customers,” the group said.
In the three months to end March, the group said results from operations (RFO) declined by 33 percent during the quarter and Life APE Sales tumbled 15 percent while funds under management (FUM) also declined 7 percent to R979.7 billion.
“The significant drop in issued sales will negatively impact reported Life APE sales in the first half of 2020, and therefore we expected this metric to be lower than the prior year as the impact of lower issued sales volumes comes through,” the group said.
Old Mutual said it expected market circumstances to place pressure on earnings in the short term.
“However, we remain confident in the strength of our cash reserves and balance sheet to withstand this volatility, ensuring we will continue to be able to deliver on our promises to customers and providing a platform to accelerate growth as economic conditions improve,” the group said.
The Old Mutual share price declined 5.15 percent on the JSE yesterday to close at R12.33.


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NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow came within 60 points of its all-time high Wednesday, rising sharply for a second straight day.
NEW YORK (AP) - Target is setting its bullseye on Canada in 2013.
NEW YORK (AP) - Boy, it just wasn't J.C. Penney's year.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jacob Lew to be Treasury secretary, affirming President Barack Obama's choice of a budget expert at a time when Congress and the White House are at odds over sharp government spending cuts.
CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple CEO Tim Cook sought to reassure shareholders worried about the company's sagging stock price that the iPhone and iPad maker is on the verge of inventing more breakthrough products that will prove it hasn't lost its creative edge.
WASHINGTON (AP) - With big, automatic budget cuts about to kick in, House Republicans are turning to mapping strategy for the next showdown just a month away, when a government shutdown instead of just a slowdown will be at stake.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law. Ignore the notices, and violators could face an Internet slow-down for 48 hours. Those who claim they're innocent can protest - for a fee.
NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter creator Jack Dorsey are among the tech luminaries appearing in a new video promoting the teaching and learning of computer coding in schools.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Beer lovers across the U.S. have accused Anheuser-Busch of watering down its Budweiser, Michelob and other brands, in class-action suits seeking millions in damages.
SAN JOSE (AP) - Apple has agreed to give more than $100 million in iTunes store credits to settle a lawsuit alleging that the iPhone and iPad maker improperly charged kids for playing games on their mobile devices.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Profits at U.S. banks jumped almost 37 percent for the October-December period, reaching the highest level for a fourth quarter in six years as banks continued to step up lending.
SANTA CLARA (AP) - Hewlett-Packard is selling its webOS software to South Korean electronics company LG Electronics, securing a new home for a technological orphan.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet users who illegally share music, movies or television shows online could soon receive warning notices from the nation's five major Internet service providers.
TURLOCK - Emanuel Medical Center will become part of Tenet Healthcare.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twitter co-founder Biz Stone hopes to demonstrate that a picture can be worth even more than 140 characters of text.
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Alan Mulally is staying at Ford.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - After attempts to hawk 3-D and OLED TVs fizzled in recent years, television manufacturers are taking small steps toward making a new technology, Ultra HD, more viable for mainstream consumers.
NEW YORK (AP) - Aereo, a Barry Diller-backed startup that provides broadcast television channels over the Internet for a monthly fee, said Tuesday that it has secured $34 million in additional funding from outside investors.
CUPERTINO ( AP) - Apple says people spent more than $10 billion in its app store last year, on apps such as "Minecraft," ''Angry Birds Star Wars" and "Sleep Cycle" alarm clock.


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CryptoControl – One stop site for news, trading, portfolio & more
Disclaimer: The text below is a press release that was not written by Cryptonews.com.
Keeping up to date on the latest movements of the ever-shifting cryptocurrency market can be a time consuming task. There are now hundreds of different valuable cryptos, so keeping up with their latest price shifts and the contributing factors involves a significant amount of focus.
The crypto market can be extremely volatile, and is heavily influenced by the crypto news cycle. News stories on legislative changes to the ways in which cryptos are regulated can cause sharp and sudden drops in value. Hype around a specific crypto, such as the latest buzz surrounding Bitcoin, can result in rapid increases in value.
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- Blockchain Visualizer


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The final countdown to the official day of romance has started and there’s not long left to get someone you care about, something special.
There are so many gift ideas to choose from that finding the perfect way to show how much
But one of the surprise hits of the occasion is food.
And we’re not talking about dining out at a top-end restaurant or a luxurious box of chocolates.
Marks and Spencer has already launched the Tomahawk ribeye steak - a mouthwatering showstopper for those looking to impress on Friday.
And there are countless dine-in deals on offer at most supermarkets, including M&S.
Asda is spreading the love with pork by selling its own heart-shaped Extra Special Cumberland Pork Sausages and Morrisons is now selling heart-shaped doughnuts for Valentine's Day.
There are even strawberry rose ice cream cones on sale at the Co-op.
The heart-shaped pork sausage wrapped in bacon, will be hitting shelves at M&S stores on Valentine's Day.
After all, nothing says 'I love you' like a 458g sausage.
The lightly truffled Love Sausage costs £6 and comes packed in a ready-to-cook baking tray - saving you time on the washing up.
It's just the ticket for serving with mash and gravy in the evening, or alongside eggs for a Valentine's Day breakfast.
But that's not all. M&S is set to bring out a brand new mini version of its romantic pork treat.
Available on February 14th, the Give a Little Love Sausage is a twin pack of heart-shaped pork sausages infused with truffle.
Serve them on top of muffins, crumpets, or try cracking an egg in the middle for the ultimate romantic breakfast.
The original Love Sausage was an absolute hit with shoppers last year, selling out fast across the UK.
Kirsty Rowley, the product developer for Love Sausage said: "Love Sausage mania swept the UK and beyond last year, and it was a huge hit with our customers.
"There may be some imitators this year (the sincerest form of flattery) but I am happy to say the original and BEST is back!"
Find your nearest M&S using the online store finder tool here.


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November 21, 2022 4:54 PM
At the request of the French National Gambling Authority (ANJ), NFT fantasy gaming platform Sorare has agreed to adapt its blockchain-enabled NFT games by March 31 2023.
The news comes after extensive discussions since March 2021 over the ANJ’s concerns about the lack of regulations for web3-enabled gaming offers such as that provided by Sorare. The ANJ wants to protect the public from excessive gambling, protect minors and ensure anti-money laundering compliance.
Powered by blockchain technology, Sorare’s football fantasy game allows players to buy, sell and trade virtual teams represented by digital player cards. The NFTs are priced in ETH but can be bought and sold with fiat or cryptocurrencies.


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By Shelly Xu
Last updated: Feb 15, 2023
China’s commercial real estate industry has grown rapidly over the past five years. According to an industry research report from IBISWorld, the industry revenue is expected to increase at an annualized 2.9% over the five years through 2021, to $326.8 billion. The Org speaks with Jill Gu, founder of Made in House, a creative agency that works closely with brands seeking to define their place in China's commercial real estate landscape.
Founded in September 2020, MIH is a full-service creative agency focusing on creative consultancy and art advisory based in Shanghai, China.
MIH creates impact and longevity for brands seeking to define their place in China's commercial real estate landscape. By helping companies build out their brand architecture with a tailored voice, MIH aims to create both impactsand relevance for the contemporary Chinese audience.
The agency's services include commercial strategy, brand development, graphic design, content creation and public relations.
China’s commercial real estate industry has grown rapidly over the past five years. According to an industry research report from IBISWorld, the industry revenue is expected to increase at an annualized 2.9% over the five years through 2021, to $326.8 billion.
Such increase in revenue also comes from foreign investment. MordorIntelligence says recent NBS data shows Foreign investors have significantly increased their presence in China's commercial real estate sector, investing around $11.5 billion last year, a record since 2005 and up 61.5 % Year-on-Year.
In addition, according to a global commercial real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle, 56 % of China’s commercial property investment went to Shanghai, which is considered a stable and long-term investment destination among investors both, from home and abroad.
However, with the development of the economy and technology, the emergence of new models and business forms, and changes in consumer behavior, ideas, and habits, traditional businesses can no longer meet public needs.
A report from Souhu predicts that in the next 5 to 10 years in the post-epidemic era, the commercial design industry will revolve around creativity in culture and technology.
The purpose of design is to serve the people who ultimately use the product. As consumption upgrades in people’s daily lives, individuals’ pursuit of life quality is increasing. The report says In the future, commercial designs will become more humanistic in terms of concept, scale and space relationship, distance, materials and so on.
Accessibility of public transportation, low-carbon, smart, healthy and sustainable design will be key for any commercial space. The rapid development of technology including 5G, virtual reality technology, along with the integration of online commerce, smart devices will also push businesses to engage with their customers and clients in a more creative way.
Meanwhile, according to One Wei Design, a relatively new concept of “cultural commercial real estate” is also entering the market. Such design comes through historical or fashionable cultural themes, creates unique scenes that are different from daily life, and form highly personalized themed commercial spaces to meet the specific cultural experience.
“I believe the real estate industry in the future will not just be the brick and mortar,” Gu said. “It will evolve into the content creator, in culture, art, entertainment or technology. We can already see the evolution happening.”
Within less than a year, “Made In House” has taken part in projects such as commercial planning, art galleries, art consultancy and design assistance.
In June, the company became the partner of “Design Miami/” to curate its first design forum exhibition in China. On November 4, the first “Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai” kicked off its 11-day collection-level design art exhibition.
Supported by Shanghai Bund Investment and Development (Group) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Huangpu District Culture and Tourism Bureau, and the co-organizer “Han and Tang Culture,” the art event explored design as “an art form through 20th century and contemporary works, while drawing on the historical relationship between Chinese culture and exquisite objects, and making new interpretations in a global context.”
As Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai’s first collection-level design event in Asia, the exhibition opened to the public for the first time, attracting 33 select international and regional galleries and studios from around the world.
“The exhibition created an unprecedented design and art environment and helped bring high-quality resources to the Chinese market,” Gu said.
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Microsoft office for Military and Microsoft Office 2019 price list
Posted On May 20, 2021
Microsoft Office for Military is the latest piece of Microsoft’s Office portfolio that will be available in 2019, according to the latest pricing announcement by the company.
Microsoft Office for military is priced at $999 for the desktop version, $999.99 for the tablet version, and $1,999.98 for the mobile version.
Microsoft has already launched Office for Business customers with the new 2019 version of the suite, but Office for business customers are the ones that will benefit the most from the Office 2019 update.
The company has announced Office 2019 for Business as a separate add-on offering, which is meant to be a part of the Office Suite, and Microsoft is not making any specific mention of the upcoming update for business users.
Microsoft also has a separate Office for education offering for students and educators, which will be updated for 2019 as well.
Microsoft does not make any specific comment on pricing for the new Office 2019 software for military or office customers, but it is rumored that the 2019 version will cost $499.99.
Microsoft is also reportedly working on a new set of productivity software for students.
The Microsoft Office 2016 suite of productivity tools will be released this month, which includes a suite of new templates, tools, and software to make it easier for students to work on documents.
The suite will be free to use for students, but Microsoft is offering a $99 annual subscription to upgrade to Office 2016.


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Of all the things that is unholy and blasphemous! The debate about the best football team in Europe may be over with the conclusion of Euro 2020, but food jokes about the two finalists, England and Italy, are still continuing unabated on social media. Domino’s Japan has created a ‘Fish and Chips pizza’, that is topped with lemon slices, potatoes, basil and tomato sauce. In a move that some in the media have referred to the monstrocity as “Japan Dominos have invented a dish that insults both England and Italy”!
The ‘Fish and Chips vs Pizza’ memes and jokes started trending just after England and Italy qualified for the finals. Social media users argued which cuisine is better and even turned food pictures into memes with texts like ‘don’t add pineapples to pizza’, ‘you cannot put fish on chips’, ‘fish and chips or pasta’. As the nations were divided after the final match, a food brand has created a pizza to bring the two groups of fans back together. The tweet garnered thousands of reactions and resonated with other users who agreed the invention was an insult to both countries.
Domino’s Japan responded from their official handle “We are sorry our fish and chip pizza has caused so much trouble. We think it’s quite delicious. If you are in Japan and would like to challenge let us knowThumbs up We may be able to work out a plan internally that we can offer to you for free!”


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A new alkaline water brand launching this month uses an innovative distillation system mimicking the natural rainwater cycle.
The makers say the five-step bespoke distillation and purification system removes 99.9 per cent of impurities, and Zuddha Alkaline Water runs through a series of filters which adds minerals andnatural bio-ceramics. The process increases the oxidation reduction potential (ORP) level, breaking the water molecules down further to provide deeper hydration, to produce a water with a pH of +9.0.
Zuddha Alkaline Water is the creation of entrepreneurs Bobby Sheldrake and Peter Mayes and has been four years in development.
“Water is vital to life and we think that the quality of the water we drink is underestimated. We find it curious that it is so overlooked as a benefit to health and wellbeing,” said co-creator Peter Mayes.
“Alkaline water is a fast-growing sector in other countries and has been linked to many health benefits … We have set out to produce a pure water which we believe will bring a deeper hydration to those who drink it.”
Mayes says that mineral water remains the most-consumed drink in the UK, now accounting for over 22 per cent of the total soft drinks market in the UK, and that sales demonstrate that consumers ever more health conscious.
“Water is a competitive sector, although we believe that due to its sophisticated production process that Zuddha stands out as one of the purest and most hydrating waters on the shelf,” added Sheldrake.
Available in 500ml glass bottles, Zuddha Alkaline Water is available for distribution within grocery and specialist health stores from its Lincolnshire-based factory at a recommended retail price of £2.09.


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Ticketmaster has agreed to an out-of-court settlement with the New Jersey attorney general's office over its sale of tickets to upcoming Bruce Springsteen concerts at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands.
Fans who tried to buy tickets online several weeks ago complained that within seconds of the tickets going on sale online, the Ticketmaster Web site was directing people to a subsidiary called TicketsNow, which acts as a re-seller of tickets at a much higher price.
Some 2,200 complaints were made to New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs over the Web site and what many felt was a "bait and switch."
Ticketmaster has agreed to refund the difference for fans who bought at the higher-priced TicketsNow site. Also, 2,000 tickets for the shows will be made available for purchase in a random drawing for everyone who actually filed complaints with the state.
Ticketmaster has agreed for the next year, at least, it will not show a link from its primary Web site to the TicketsNow site. After, any proposed link will need personal approval of New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram.
The company also agreed that it will no longer buy internet advertising that would steer people searching for Ticketmaster, on Google, for example, over to the higher-priced TicketsNow site.
Though Ticketmaster is not being fined, it agreed to pay $350,000 to cover the state's cost in this investigation.
Milgram also revealed that talks have begun for more Springsteen concerts later this year, and if those who filed a complaint don't win the lottery for some of the extra seats being made available for the May concerts, then they will get a $100 gift certificate plus the right to buy tickets to one of the future concerts.


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A list for pasta lovers. An article about sleep deprivation. A web page detailing the history of cocaine traffickers.
Advertisers and publishers say these types of ads — known as native ads and packaged to look like journalism — are less intrusive and more appealing (not to mention more likely to be shared on social media) than other online ads. But consumer advocates say this native advertising can be intentionally misleading, and they have long called for some kind of federal regulation.


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What Amazon Can Educate You about Building a Terrific Company Lifestyle – Not
Crisis staff had been summoned to Amazon’s warehouses nearly 200 moments for suicide tries and other mental health crises in excess of a 5-calendar year span.
Workforce say brutal doing the job circumstances at the firm depart some to get to out for support just before in the end trying to find reduction through suicide, The Every day Beast claimed Monday.
Crisis employees had been summoned to Amazon warehouses at minimum 189 situations amongst 2013 and 2018, the report pointed out, citing police reports and other documents acquired as a result of open records requests. The stories arrived from 46 of the mega transport company’s warehouses.
Doing the job Disorders at Amazon
Amazon staff informed reporters they often end their work day sensation as if they are one more cog-in-the-wheel of a massive machine, a person that grinds them up and leaves them pissed off and frustrated. Former employee Nick Veasley told a sheriff as a great deal in July 2018.
“With all the requires his employer has placed on him and issues he’s dealing with in existence [sic] is starting to be way too substantially and thinking of hurting himself,” he informed a sheriff. Veasley, who worked at a warehouse in Etna, Ohio, informed the sheriff that he “is annoyed with his employment because he felt he was lied to by Amazon at his orientation.”
The sheriff’s report extra: “He keeps saying the firm explained to him they valued his work and would be treated as if he mattered and not just a amount.” Veasley informed reporters: “The quota, the boringness, all the things.” Supervisors acted as enforcers, in accordance to Veasley. “Do that, do this, do this,” he explained. “Crack the whip, crack the whip, crack the whip.”
The Daily Beast’s piece will come soon right after reports in 2018 showing that Amazon was shelling out people today to overcome on Twitter negative publicity about the company’s performing circumstances. Workforce in Monday’s report also claimed they were being overworked and isolated.
“It’s this isolating colony of hell exactly where people today having breakdowns is a standard incidence,” Jace Crouch, a former personnel at a warehouse in Florida, told reporters. It is “mentally taxing to do the identical activity super rapidly for 10-hour shifts, four or five days a 7 days.” Crouch endured an emotional disaster on the task, according to The Each day Beast report.
The number of phone calls never “take into account the overall of our associate population, hrs worked, or our growing community,” Amazon explained in a assertion to The Everyday Beast. “The bodily and mental properly-currently being of our associates is our major priority, and we are very pleased of each our attempts and all round good results in this location.”
Equivalent predicaments are occurring at other huge tech corporations, The Verge documented in February. Lots of of the workers at Fb contractor Cognizant are acquiring meltdowns while attempting to reasonable the wide troves of content persons write-up on the social media platform. Combing through people’s content material is turning Cognizant’s Arizona business into a darkish and sinister put.
Several moderators told a reporter that conspiracy theories took sturdy root at the workplace. The 2018 Parkland capturing, which resulted in 17 casualties in Florida, in the beginning horrified team, moderators explained. A single human being The Verge called Chloe, for instance, claimed her colleagues sooner or later began expressing uncertainties about the preliminary tale as extra conspiracy content was posted to Fb and Instagram.
Republished by authorization. Original in this article
This report, “What Amazon Can Teach You about Building a Good Corporation Tradition – Not” was initially printed on Smaller Enterprise Trends


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Netflix finds itself in a rather unsettling position. The company is having trouble convincing all the major content providers to jump on its streaming service — as evidenced by its recent troubles with Starz — and its CEO Reed Hastings’ recent apology didn’t go over well. All the while, shareholders are jumping ship at an alarming rate over concerns that the future might not be so bright for the company.
But Netflix believes it has a trump card ready to go. And that trump card is named Qwikster.
After apologizing to users, Hastings announced that Netflix is spinning off its DVD-by-mail business, and calling it Qwikster. The move won’t change pricing in any way, and current customers won’t see an interruption in service. However, in addition to movies and television shows, those folks will be able to rent video games — for an additional fee.
Hastings, trying to keep a brave face, made it seem like Qwikster would be the next big thing in rentals. And all the while, he failed to prove why those who were concerned with paying about $16 per month for streaming and DVD rentals would find so much more value in doing the same, but paying Netflix and Qwikster $7.99 per month each.
The fact is, Netflix should have made it right in a different way. Rather than simply apologizing, the company could have said that it was wrong with its new pricing scheme and gone back to the old way. Or if it couldn’t justify that from a business perspective, maybe it could have found more suitable financial terms for customers. Simply spinning off a business and adding game rentals just won’t cut it.
I have to say, I’m a little concerned with Netflix right now. Although I think the company will remain financially stable for the coming years, I’m not necessarily convinced that it knows what it needs to do to be overwhelmingly dominant in the marketplace.
Think about it: Netflix is the biggest player in the streaming market, and has been for quite some time. And yet, it hasn’t been able to fully pull away from competitors, like Amazon, and content providers are still unwilling to play nice. Although we’ve been quick to blame those providers for failing to see the changing times, what if it has more to do with Netflix not understanding what it needs to do to make a deal work?
Luckily for Netflix, it’s facing off with competitors that are clueless. Amazon’s streaming service has been largely ignored by many consumers, and the idea that Dish will offer up a Blockbuster-branded service soon is almost laughable. But what if Apple joins the space with all its might instead of just trying to offer some content via iTunes? Apple knows how to get things done. And Netflix’s poor management as of late seems to indicate that the company won’t be able to respond too favorably.
Although there are some that support Netflix’s Qwikster move, I just don’t think it was a good idea. Both the name and the idea make the company look foolish. And looking foolish is something Netflix doesn’t need right now.