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Deathloop is Arkane Studios' first new game since Prey, and it looks promising: it's about immortal assassins duking it out in an endlessly looping 1970s cityscape. The game has previously been scheduled for a vague 2021 release, but now we've got a specific date: Deathloop will release on May 21, 2021, for PS5 at least.
Bethesda hasn't announced this date itself, but it's published on the Australian PlayStation Store, where the game is currently available for pre-order. Here's the evidence:
Deathloop was originally scheduled to release in 2020, but then the pandemic happened. Whatever the case, it looks amazing in action, and yes, even though it's a PS5 console exclusive, it's definitely coming to PC, though it may not necessarily land on the exact same day.


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Patch 1.12 of Valorant has officially been launched, which is a significantly lighter update compared to the previous 1.11 patch that was hit with instability issues and a multitude of bugs.
After rolling back patch 1.11 and then redeploying it at a later date, Riot Games has learned from its mistakes and has taken the necessary steps to ensure that everything will go smoothly going forward.
Instead of forgoing patch 1.12 altogether, Riot Games decided to simply release a lightweight update. That being said, the main focus of this update is Valorant’s observer mode, as this tool has received a couple of improvements.
Match observers are especially useful in professional games, as they are the ones who flip through the game’s “camera” from player to player, bearing witness to epic, action-filled fights between the two parties.
Patch 1.12 is a little lighter as we worked on fixing up bugs introduced by 1.11.
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) November 10, 2020
Thanks to this latest update, observers can no longer hear the sound the ping makes in-game. Not only that, but their visibility has been greatly improved while in “well-lit” areas. When spectating a match, observers will now appear as “in game” to their friends.
On the other hand, custom games will allow observers to read and send messages in the ‘all’ chatroom. Among other things, game moderators will now be able to make changes to particular game elements like money and stats during competitive matches thanks to the new Game State Modification cheat.
In addition to that, players will be happy to know that the open/close party toggle has been made simpler. Riot Games decided to roll back a feature in patch 1.11 wherein team colors were fixed.
This is because this particular feature was “causing some confusion” with regards to team colors. More specifically, Valorant’s patch notes state that individuals “have started to associate red with attack, and green with defense.”
That being said, Riot Games still plans on utilizing this feature once more some time in the future. For now, though, this will be rolled back indefinitely. Not only that, but players also encountered a bug in patch 1.11 wherein some parts of Valorant would display the wrong colors, which would understandably cause confusion.
Fortunately, the arrival of patch 1.12 brings with it several bug fixes that were brought about by the last patch. For instance, players no longer have to worry about receiving the VAL-51 error after leaving a custom match.
In addition to that, players who make use of the left-handed view model should notice that the recoil has been updated and will show the correct orientation this time around.
Another glitch that has been fixed in patch 1.12 has to do with Cypher. Previously, Cypher had a glitch wherein his Spycam would float in midair as well as attach itself to falling weapons. Fortunately, players no longer have to worry about this issue.
Even though patch 1.12 isn’t as heavy as other patches, there’s still a pretty high chance that Riot Games will skip the next patch that has been scheduled. At the moment, the next patch is expected to go live on December 8. It should arrive shortly after the beginning of the First Strike regional finals.

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The competitive world of Jakarta taxicabs may need to make way for a newcomer.
Jakartans now can take advantage of another premium taxi van offering sophisticated technology and comfort.
Tiara Express has been exclusively tailored for families, executives and expatriates who want comfortable and safe transportation, said Daniel Podiman, president director of PT Express Transindo Utama, which already runs the white Express cab fleet.
He said the company, which specializes in transportation services, would be putting 45 silver Toyota Alphards on the streets.
"It has a spacious interior with enough room for six people. It is the right choice for those who travel in groups," he said at the launch of Tiara Express on Thursday in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta.
"The taxi is also more environmentally friendly because it runs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)," he added.
Each car is outfitted with high-tech amenities: a global positioning system unit which will indicate position, kilometers traveled and speed; audio-video player; city maps; Wi-Fi internet access; and laptop or cell phone charger.
Each cab is also equipped with an electronic payment swipe device to allow passengers to pay using credit or debit cards.
The fare for the premium service is Rp 10,000 (US$1) for flag fall and Rp 5,000 per kilometer, about double standard fares.
Operational director Herwan Gozali said Express had yet to set waiting and minimum order charges.
Herwan said in the near future passengers could also pay with a prepaid voucher, Jakcard, issued by city-owned Bank DKI.
Tiara Express has recruited drivers who speak English, said Herwan.
"We also want our drivers to be hospitable and have broad knowledge about Jakarta," he said.
Tiara Express can be found at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, hotels and shopping malls across the city, or ordered by calling 021-30010060.
Herwan said the premium cabs would be available 18 hours a day from 6 a.m. until midnight.
"We, however, are getting ready to serve our customers 24 hours. We have a special shift called the kalong (bat) unit, which works through the night from 3 p.m. to 10 a.m.," he said, adding they hoped to be operating a fleet of 100 taxis by the end of the year.
Several city taxi operators have gotten savvy about offering high-end and custom services for their consumers.
Last year, PT Kharisma Muda launched Maxi Cab whose taxis can accommodate eight passengers and also run on LPG.
Maxi Cab passengers can also pay with vouchers, credit cards or debit cards.
One regular taxi service, Transcab -- owned by PT Andalan Sekawan Transcab -- delights its passengers by providing a 10-inch LCD television and a range of international channels.
Governor Fauzi Bowo welcomed the presence of premium taxis services.
"Big cities like Jakarta require good, proper mass transportation. This kind of taxi, which can accommodate a lot of people and use LPG, can help reduce air pollution and traffic congestion," said Fauzi at the Tiara Express taxi launching.
"Some people do require a premium taxi. I hope the presence of this transportation will encourage people to leave their cars at home and ride with taxis instead," he said.


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Scoring with Comscore: A Data Driven Approach for Winning Insights on Sports and Fans
Research confirms ability of video and display advertising to drive sustained brand engagement regardless of users clicking on ads or not
London, UK, March 25, 2010 - .Fox Networks (pronounced “dot-fox”), the leading global online network from Fox International Channels (FIC) and Comscore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today unveiled the findings of a ground-breaking U.K. study. The study, commissioned by online video specialist .Fox, used Comscore’s single-source panel methodology to confirm that video and display advertising are effective at driving significant uplift in site visitation and advertiser search queries, even in the face of minimal clicks on ads.
The study evaluated results from four campaigns across four industry sectors and produced the following key findings:
The results, which have been released in full at the Advertising Research Foundation’s 2010 conference in New York this Wednesday, are also particularly significant given sharp decreases in online advertising click-through-rates over recent years, with the U.K. being the worst affected of leading global markets.
The study underscores the fact that consumer search behaviour is positively impacted by the presence of display or video advertising -- even in the face of minimal clicks. In each of the four campaigns, search activity increased significantly when consumers were exposed to these online ad formats, suggesting that the last click on a search ad should not be given 100 percent of the credit in attribution studies.
Commenting on the findings, Hernan Lopez, President of .Fox Networks and COO of FIC said, “This study proves that online display and video advertising drives significant results that are either being ignored by click-through-based metrics, or wrongly attributed to search. We make an open invitation to global advertisers to work with us and Comscore in a follow-up to the study, measuring the impact on actual sales.”
“As the online industry seeks to increase its share of branding advertising budgets, it’s more important than ever to prove the value of display and video ad formats”, said Gian Fulgoni, chairman of Comscore. “This research and our recent Whither the Click study for Europe are helping marketers understand that the internet is indeed a powerful branding medium and how vital it is to measure campaign effectiveness using the appropriate behavioural metrics rather than just the click.”
Anthony Rhind, Global Co-CEO, Havas Digital, one of the agencies that sponsored the study adds, “This .Fox research is valuable because it looks beyond the usual data used by the industry for media trading. As opposed to relying on the usual simplistic denominators of click-thru & last event attribution, this research centres on consumer behaviour proxies that are better placed to reflect communication goals, defining success based on a mix of visitation, engagement and search behaviour across a four week period. By addressing difficult planning considerations such as cross format and multiple touchpoint attribution, this .Fox research better reflects the way Havas Digital believes campaigns must be evaluated if the digital media industry is to continue to grow in terms of significance for major advertisers."
The study was compiled examining four campaigns conducted in 2009 across the Travel, Finance, Government and Utilities sectors. These campaigns utilized various combinations of video and display formats and delivered a total of 300 million impressions to U.K. Internet users.
Comscore’s panel of over 80,000 U.K. consumers was used to passively track behaviour and understand the impact over time of ad exposure on specific activities linked to campaign effectiveness, namely:
o Advertiser Site Visitation
o Search Term Usage
The studies compared the behaviour of internet users who were exposed to the online campaigns with a control group of Comscore panelists who were not exposed. The control group was generated using a sophisticated pair-wise matching process along a number of important demographic and behavioural variables. The process ensured that control panelists visited websites in the same category where the advertising was delivered but were not exposed to the campaigns. It also paired test panelists with relevant control subjects based on demographics, internet usage, connection speed, and other relevant factors.
The full study was presented by Gian Fulgoni and Hernan Lopez at the annual conference of the Advertising Research Foundation in New York, yesterday, March 24th at 10:30am EDT.
About .Fox Networks
.FOX Networks (pronounced "dot FOX") the online division of FOX International Channels, is one of the largest international ad networks, with 150 employees in 20 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
The network serves +10 billion impressions to +50 million unique users each month and leverages FIC’s TV and online teams around the world to facilitate the convergence of TV and online video planning and buying. .Fox Networks is a wholly-owned subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS).www.foxnetworks.com
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. www.comscore.com/companyinfo
Ayaan MohamudComscore, Inc.+ 44 (0) firstname.lastname@example.org


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Analysts, who questioned whether FCA and Renault had the management expertise to deliver a mega-merger, said Tavares was the right man for the job, having returned Opel to profit after buying it from General Motors in 2017. A Changan representative didn't immediately comment. That includes Chrysler and Dodge, Alfa Romeo and Fiat, Jeep and RAM, Maserati, and the Mopar and SRT tuning brands from the FCA side. The Financial Times reports that emerging technologies make these deals even more important since one company may lack the necessary resources to make needed investments. "I'm pleased with the work already done with Mike (Manley, FCA chief executive) and will be very happy to work with him to build a great company together".
The 50-50 merger is expected to create synergies of more than £3 billion and enough scale to confront what the firms say is "the new era in mobility".
Carmakers globally are facing an expensive upheaval as they attempt to shift away from fossil fuels and toward battery electric vehicles and autonomous technology. This would put the combined group fourth behind Volkswagen, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan Alliance, each at over 10 million units.
Similar to the proposed Renault Group, a merger between FCA and PSA Group would see shareholders from each manufacturer have equal ownership of the newly combined conglomerate that would be overseen by a Dutch parent company.
Milan-listed shares in Fiat Chrysler opened up more than 10% on Wednesday, after ending up more than 7.5% on Tuesday in NY.
Manley called it "an industry-changing combination", and noted the long history of cooperation with Peugeot in industrial vehicles in Europe. PSA executives had been preparing to brief French unions Thursday morning, they said.
Weakened Nestor makes landfall in Florida, bringing heavy rains to Southeast
But there was no damage there. "You have to keep it in perspective: 75 percent of our city was destroyed", Cathey said. Tornado warnings were issued for Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties before expiring late Friday night.
In a statement, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed the deal, saying that the government in Paris would "be particularly vigilant over preserving (the group's) industrial footprint in France". Proven at PSA, it's possible that Tavares is the man to fill the enormous void left by the late Sergio Marchionne at FCA.
In the wake of the announcement, FCA shares in Milan increased to over 9% higher in morning trading.
'This convergence brings significant value to all the stakeholders and opens a bright future for the combined entity, ' said Tavares said in a statement.
A merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA, the No. 2 for vehicle sales in Europe, would create a regional powerhouse to rival Volkswagen AG, with a stock market value of about $49 billion - comparable to Honda Motor Co. Five board members would be nominated by FCA including John Elkann as Chairman and five would be nominated by Groupe PSA including the Senior Independent Director and the Vice-Chairman.
As part of the agreement, the main shareholders - the Peugeots, the Agnelli family investment arm Exor, as well as the Chinese investor Dongfeng and the French state investment bank - agree to maintain their stakes for seven years.


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Welcome to the new CommScope.com experience. Need help? Get Help
We have access to the biggest trove of data ever produced, but how well-positioned are we to use it? And what are the areas in which consumers can derive benefits? ARRIS will be among the industry leaders discussing these themes at this year’s Cable Congress in Brussels this week.
Charles Cheevers, CTO for our CPE business, will be taking part in a panel discussion called Mining Network Data to Fuel Actionable Decisions. With the amount of information available from connected devices in the home, providers have a growing number of opportunities to improve services. New additions coming into the home, such as voice assistants and other IoT devices, will further broaden the possibilities. We can now better understand consumer behavior, improve service quality, and reduce churn. The panel debate will explore the ways in which we are currently prepared to do this.
But if customers are central to key service decisions, how do providers justify improved data mining to end users? Big data from a consumer perspective will also be part of the discussion. The panel debate will take place on Thursday 9th March in the Gold Hall at 11.50 am.
Cable Congress is a two-day event aimed at identifying and understanding the cable broadband market. This year, the event will cover commercial strategies, innovation, customer experience, marketing strategy and content as well as big data.
For more information about Cable Congress, click here.


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Apple has announced a record revenue quarter between January to March, riding high on a surge in demand for new 5G-enabled iPhones as well as Macs and iPads. However, Apple Watch growth story was one that couldn't get much attention during the company's earnings call for its second fiscal quarter of 2021.
Apple's Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri revealed that almost 3 out of 4 Apple Watch sold in the quarter were by first-time users.
The company said it saw $89.6 billion in revenue, which is up 54 per cent year-over-year. The company sold a whopping $48 billion worth of iPhones out of the overall revenue, which is crazy. CEO Tim Cook said that the company saw a double-digit percentage increase for both new iPhone buyers and people upgrading in Q2 2021.
Apple Watch also saw a surge in demand from new users as 75 per cent of customers who purchased the smartwatch were new to the product.
Maestri, during the earnings call (via iMore earning call transcript), said, "Wearables, home, and accessories grew 25 per cent year-over-year to $7.8 billion, setting new March quarter revenue records in every geographic segment. Apple Watch continues to extend its reach, with nearly 75 per cent of the customers purchasing Apple Watch during the quarter being new to the product."
"We are very excited about the future of this category and believe that our integration of hardware, software, and services uniquely positions us to provide great customer experiences in this category," Maestri added.
Cook, during the earnings call, said, "It was a quarter of sustained strength for wearables, home and accessories, which grew by 25% year-over-year. Apple Watch is a global success story and a category set March quarter records in each geographic segment, thanks to strong performance from both Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE."
Apple last year unveiled two new Apple Watch models - the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 6. The company continues to sell the Apple Watch Series 3 in India, which is available at Rs 20,900.
The Apple Watch SE, on the other hand, brings the same large display as Series 6 and sports features like fall detection, compass, and an always-on altimeter. Price in India starts at Rs 29,900 for the GPS model and goes up to Rs 33,900 for the GPS and Cellular models. The Apple Watch Series 6 is the top model and comes with features like a blood oxygen sensor, ECG app, and Always-on Retina display. It is available in India starting at Rs 40,900 for the GPS model and Rs 49,900 for the GPS and Cellular model.


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Frieda's Celebrates 60 Years of Purple and the 2022 Pantone of the Year, Very Peri
LOS ALAMITOS, CA - Purple. Regal, luxurious, and oft associated with the late Dr. Frieda Rapaport Caplan, Founder of Frieda’s. Our industry will always continue to celebrate the efforts and establishments that she made throughout her career, but it feels extra special this year as the company celebrates its 60 years in business. Serendipitously, Pantone also claimed this year’s Color of the Year is Very Peri. Coincidence? Maybe, but a fortuitous occurrence.
“Sometimes two very different points in time can feel very similar,” stated the press release from Frieda’s. “As we at Frieda’s look to celebrate 60 years in business in 2022, we cannot help but notice that as the global pandemic begins to wane, the opportunity that lies ahead does not feel dissimilar to the world of possibilities that were unlocked as Frieda first opened her business Produce Specialties, Inc. on the Los Angeles Produce Market.”
Frieda Caplan took on purple as her brand color when she opened the doors of her business, a move the company noted as particularly courageous when marketing produce at that time was a male-dominated industry—some say it still is—adding a signature beauty to her and her business's innovative approach. In 1990, the company was officially renamed Frieda’s. We had the opportunity to explore this journey in The Snack Magazine's Becoming Timeless.
Both the color Veri Perry and Frieda, continued the release, are known for displaying a joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression. According to the official Pantone website, the PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri was chosen because it is a symbol of both the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through today.
“As we emerge from an intense period of isolation, our standards are changing, and our physical and digital lives have merged,” the release continued. “Very Peri encompasses the qualities of the blues with a violet-red undertone, displaying a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us, just like Frieda did.”
In the words of Frieda, “Success came because I never saw obstacles.”
So, as we continue to push onwards and upwards, sprinkle a little Veri Peri in your day for some inspiration, for some motivation, or for some solidarity.


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Volvo Rents has acquired Max Equipment Rentals, a two-location construction equipment rental company with stores in Oceanside and Perris, Calif. The acquisition comes two months after Volvo Rents’ purchased SoCal Rental Equip Rent, bringing Volvo Rents’ California’s location total to seven.
Max Equipment Rentals is a former RER 100 listee that had had some difficulties in recent years during a recession that hit California particularly hard. However, the state is on the upswing and IHS Global Insight projects that California will lead the nationwide recovery through 2016, spending $723 billion on construction with the third-highest annual average percentage gain of 15.6 percent.
The company was founded by Bob McDaris and Mason Bailey in 2000. McDaris will continue as Volvo Rents’ southwest division sales manager. Bailey will remain as a consultant for a short period of time.
“This transaction provides a long-term bridge toward a successful future for both the Oceanside and Perris stores,” said McDaris.
“California’s economy is growing again, and will see strong economic growth over the near- and long-term, translating into great construction activity,” said Mike Crouch, vice president of business development for Volvo Rents.
Based in Shippensburg, Pa., Volvo Rents is No. 17 on the RER 100.


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One of the forerunners of the SUV craze, the classic 1960s Ford Bronco, is getting a new life.
Ford will begin offering body shells for 1966-70 models later this fall, and they're aimed at enthusiasts who want to upgrade, soup up or improve their aging off-roaders.
Look for the Bronco shell to make an appearance at SEMA this fall, perhaps with an EcoBoost engine underhood. General Motors revealed a similar concept last year, called the E-Rod, which featured a crate engine in a 1955 Chevrolet.
The Ford shells are sold through a California company called Dynacorn, which also specializes in 1960s Mustang body shells.
Ford is also considering adding shells for the Fox-bodied Mustangs of 1979-93.
The idea is to capitalize on enthusiasts' love for restoring their old cars. The shells allow for a quick upgrade, as opposed to extensive bodywork after hours of scouring junkyards. They could be particularly useful for the Bronco, which was known for an unfortunate tendency to rust.
The move is part of a Ford program that licenses tooling to custom companies after the original parts are retired by the Blue Oval. The result is that more than 9,000 parts are available for the restoration market, and they're built to the same specs as those Ford built. The portfolio dates to 1909 and the Model T and reaches forward to the early 2000s.


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India’s Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 has been extended for one year.
New Delhi: Accordingly, the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry in a statement on Tuesday night said: “In view of the unprecedented current situation arising out of the pandemic Novel COVID-19, the Govt. has decided to continue relief under various export promotion schemes by granting an extension of the existing Foreign Trade Policy by another one year i.e. up to 31st March, 2021.”
The present Policy came into force on 1st April, 2015, is for 5 years and had validity upto 31st March, 2020.
Furthermore, the ministry announced several other relief measures to support trade and industry.
“Benefit under all the Export Promotion Schemes (except SEIS) and other schemes, available as on date, will continue to be available for another 12 months. Decision on continuation of SEIS will be taken and notified subsequently,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Similarly, validity period of the Status Holder Certificates is also extended. This will enable the Status Holders to continue to avail the specified facilities/benefits.”
In addition, the ministry came out with several other measures like extending “Transport Marketing Assistance on the specified Agricultural Products” for one year amongst others.


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Gold and silver trading in February 2013 has led to reduced prices for both metals, causing concern among some financial experts, and eager excitement for other investors. According to experts on Silverseek.com and many other credible financial sources, the recent decline in price for gold and silver is not expected to affect long terms gains of either metal. As such, many experts agree that now is the time to purchase gold and silver, while the prices are low, before they increase to record setting levels again.
Gold and silver are at a critical point for investors and potential investors right now for a few reasons. First, many investors are dumping their gold supply for stocks. Global demand for gold had declined 4%
In 2012, and with investors reducing their supply of gold, the available supply is greater than it’s been in years. This also helps bring the overall cost down.
But if investors are getting rid of gold and silver, why should you think it’s a good idea to purchase it?
There are a number of reasons. The global supply of gold declined 1.4% in 2012, and is projected to decline again this year. There is a limited supply of gold in the world, and that supply is dwindling each year. Gold is an alternative to paper money and investments, so even if the dollar becomes less and less valuable over time, gold will maintain its value. Global debt continues to grow. Also, history has shown that the demand for gold and silver increases, driving prices up, as the U.S. economy recovers from economic downturns. This means that as we continue to recover from the recession of the late 2000s, the demand for gold and silver will likely increase as well.
The gold price is currently hovering somewhere in the $1,600/ounce range, more than twice what it was priced at just 5 years ago, despite the recent price decline. Silver is hovering around the $30/ounce range. While it is impossible to predict the future, many experts agree that gold can easily reach levels around $1,920/ounce, and silver reach levels around $40/ounce, before this year is up. According to those projections, it makes sense to invest in gold and silver now, while the price is down, before it gets more expensive and sets new records for value and price.


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A humorous excerpt from a dog diary makes the e-mail rounds periodically. The joke? No matter the day or time, the entries are identical: “Oh, boy! DOG FOOD! My favorite!”
If only we could be as easygoing about what we feed our furry friends. In recent years, new foods and formulas seem to have debuted as often as American Idol hopefuls. Eye-popping packaging shouts words like “natural” and “organic.” And, as some owners explore home-prepared diets, a kind of militancy has crept in, with the implication being that if you don’t feed a certain way, you’re the fur-mom equivalent of Joan Crawford.
“It’s just overwhelming,” agrees board-certified veterinary nutritionist Tony Buffington, DVM, Ph.D., a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition and professor of clinical nutrition at Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital. “The pet-food industry is very competitive, so there’s sort of this arms race going on.”
Here are some things to consider before pressing that nuclear button and committing to a specific brand or approach:
Beware of buzzwords. “Organic” and “holistic” sound great, but what do they mean in relation to a bag of dog food? It’s murky, says William Burkholder, DVM, a veterinary medical officer with the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a detailed definition for the word “organic” in human food, the agency is “still working on the criteria for pet foods,” he says.
As for the new-agey “holistic,” the government has no “specific, defined meaning” for it, Burkholder says. Consumers “need to make sure that what they think it means is what the manufacturer means,” and that may involve a phone call to the company’s customer-service line.
Context is everything. Under the heading of “guaranteed analysis,” manufacturers are required to list minimum percentages in their foods for protein and fat, as well as maximums for moisture and fiber. But no number is an island.
“Notice that labels do not carry information on carbohydrates, therefore, you can’t look at a label and know exactly how much of a major nutrient, such as protein, fat, or carb, is in the food,” says board-certified veterinary nutritionist Joe Bartges, DVM, a professor of medicine and nutrition at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
Plus, making comparisons between different forms of food can be plain exasperating. Bartges contrasts a hypothetical canned food with 75 percent moisture and 4 percent fat to a dry food with 10 percent moisture and 8 percent fat. “Which has more or less fat? From the label, you can’t tell.”
Watch the moving ingredients. Dog-food companies are required to list ingredients in descending order of volume. So, theoretically, a food contains more of the first listed ingredient than the second — unless the manufacturer is creatively categorizing. Ingredient splitting is one way to push a certain ingredient — usually, meat — to the top of the list. In turn, dividing up a grain such as corn into “ground corn” and “corn gluten meal,” for example, lowers its overall ranking on the list.
“There are too many ways to fiddle with these things if people want to,” Buffington says, although he adds that ingredient splitting doesn’t tell consumers anything about the quality of the contents, “or whether it’s a good or bad food.”
Read the fine print. Bartges recommends scrutinizing the label for the usually inconspicuous “nutritional adequacy statement” with the hopes of finding mention of feeding trials.
One way companies can certify that their food is complete and balanced is to conduct these six-month trials, during which dogs eat the food and have their health monitored.
“This tells you that the food was fed to live animals prior to market and that these animals at least performed ‘adequately,’” Bartges says. “In this day and age, we should at least expect the food to be fed to a dog or cat before it goes to the store.”
The other way is by chemical analysis.
Learn the semantics. Some dog-food critics say that a “named” byproduct on the label — such as chicken or beef — is preferable to the vaguer “meat byproduct,” but Buffington says there is an “absence of evidence” to support this recommendation. And no matter what their origin, Bartges says byproducts — which the Association of American Feed Control Officials defines as “the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat,” including lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, and bone, but excluding hair, horns, teeth, and hoofs — get an undeservedly bad rap.
“Although not necessarily that appetizing when [you see] the official definition, if you look closely, many of these things are sold for human consumption,” such as kidneys and livers, he says. “Byproducts are, therefore, not necessarily ‘less than human grade’ and are, in fact, a good source of nutrition in pet foods.”
And while those same critics say “meal” is less optimal than “byproduct,” Bartges doesn’t necessarily agree. ‘Meal merely means dehydrated, or powdered, which is necessary when making a dry product.”
Peruse the preservatives. Semantics are also at play with the antioxidants used to prevent foods from spoiling. Calling a preservative “natural” doesn’t mean it’s naturally produced, notes Bartges. It just means it occurs in nature.
“Natural” antioxidants such as vitamin E have been touted in recent years because of claims that synthetic ones such as BHT, BHA, and ethoxyquin can cause health problems. Bartges reminds that “synthetic” antioxidants “have not been shown to be detrimental or toxic when used at levels that used to be found in pet foods,” but that may be a moot point. “Most pet-food companies have switched to ‘natural’ antioxidants because of public pressure.”
Wet, dry, or in between? Advocates of canned food applaud its high moisture content and the fact that some foods contain “human-grade” ingredients — another term that does not have an official definition in the pet-food industry. Kibble, by contrast, is dried using a process called extrusion, and is often more affordable and convenient to store and feed.
“You can make perfectly acceptable and perfectly unacceptable pet foods by any form of food preservation,” including “soft-moist” foods that are somewhere in the middle, Buffington says. “But that doesn’t tell you about the quality of the food.”
Bartges agrees that the dry and wet debate is not black and white. “Dry foods are not necessarily ‘bad’ or ‘worse’ than canned food,” he says. “Many dogs do very well on dry food and live long and healthy lives.”
Ask the guy — or gal — on the ground. Buffington says seeking out a food produced by an established, respected manufacturer that conducts feeding trials “will get you to the Zip code” of the food you want to feed, “but it won’t get you to the address.”
For that, he suggests consulting your veterinarian. “He or she likely does not have a degree in canine nutrition, but experience can be a very wise teacher,” he says. “When you practice, you start hearing about the same foods over and over” from clients. Inevitably, a pattern emerges, with some foods consistently landing in the thumbs-up list — and others not.
While no vet can know about every food on the store shelf, dog owners should take advantage of their anecdotal experience with one succinct question, Buffington says.
“Here’s what I’m feeding. What do you think?”
Denise Flaim is a DOG FANCY contributing editor, the pets columnist at Newsday, and author of The Holistic Dog Book: Canine Care for the 21st Century (Howell, 2003, $16.99).
This article first appeared in the September 2006 issue of DOG FANCY magazine.


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Valhalla, NY—Fujifilm North America announced that to enhance its sales strategies, it will launch a national, multi-pronged digital camera advertising campaign for the 2010 holiday selling season that extends the reach of Fujifilm’s branding campaign that began this summer.
“Fujifilm’s digital camera business has grown significantly from last year, and with this new, ongoing campaign, we’re aiming even higher,” said Ron Gazzola, vice president, Marketing and Operations, Electronic Imaging, Fujifilm North America Corporation.
The new campaign includes a commercial showcasing Fujifilm’s line of long zoom digital cameras, “Zoom Your World,” shot by famed director Francoise Vogel and Paranoid U.S. production company. It will be seen on national network and cable television, from November 14 through December 22, featuring the FinePix HS10 and S-series digital cameras, hitting TV’s highest rated primetime programs, such as: Glee, Survivor, CSI Miami, House, Dancing with the stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, The Amazing Race, Hawaii Five-O and The Mentalist. The spot will also be seen on key NFL games, FOX and CBS NFL Today and early morning news on ABC and FOX affiliated stations.
“Our goal in creating this campaign was to raise Fujifilm brand awareness to drive sales and service to our retail partners in a consumer-friendly way, as well as support the trade to enhance sell through,” said Gazzola.
The campaign’s components also include: national and regional FSI placement featuring the complete camera lineup; trade and custom regional print ads featuring the FinePix HS10, F300EXR and Real 3D W3; Time Square digital billboards, including The Geoffrey Tron digital billboard located on the Toys R Us building and CBS digital billboard; a new Hispanic ad featuring the Z70; and online advertising.
For first time, Fujifilm will also have a cinema commercial for its FinePix Real 3D W3 digital camera in both 3D and 2D throughout the U.S. from November 19 through December 30, including Tangled, Yogi Bear, Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Megamind, and Tron. The 3D spots for Tangled and Narnia will be viewed on all 3D screens during that time period. A 2D spot for Harry Potter will be viewed on all screens for the first two prime weeks of release. For all showings, the commercial will be placed immediately before the feature presentation to maximize exposure.
“The reason we decided to include cinema advertising in the campaign is because the FinePix Real 3D W3 digital camera is a unique high-end product, and we wanted to be in the best place where we could introduce this product to the family audience,” added Gazzola. “We know there will be packed houses during the holidays. We’ve never had that kind of concentrated exposure in a great venue, with a captive audience – and the spot is fun to watch.”
To view the cinema and TV spots, go to: FinePix Real 3D cinema spot (3D version) youtube.com/watch?v=6fNQ9M2TofQ; FinePix Real 3D cinema spot (2D version) youtube.com/watch?v=DvluCKR8IAw; Fujifilm long-zoom TV spot, youtube.com/watch?v=3VUPpVmvTdk; and the CBS NFL Today Fujifilm Photo Sweepstakes, youtube.com/watch?v=o2v3fV0cNhE.


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A manufacturer may have found a gap in the market that could see more senior citizens looking to recycle mobile phones.
Ankaka has launched two new models which are primarily targeted at the older market.
The Old Faithful and Mobile Companion designs have been developed to cater specifically for seniors who may not understand all the mod cons that are becoming available on smartphones.
Having been ergonomically designed to aid people with sight issues, the handsets contain a large SOS button, which when pressed makes a direct call to the emergency services.
Should the phones be made available in the UK, it could cause a flurry of older people looking to sell mobile phones in order to snap up one of the user-friendly models.
As well as having an emergency button, the phones also possess larger than average keypads to help the partially-sighted dial numbers, or even send text messages.
Instead of hearing a tone when pressing a button, the Old Faithful and Mobile Companion activate a voice which tells the user which number they have pressed.
Ankaka's public relations representative Lisa Zhou believes the firm has indeed filled a sizeable gap in the mobile phone market.
"Young adults make use of their cell phones almost all the time; they make calls, send text messages, surf the internet and more. But what about senior citizens? They have different needs too," she commented.
"Your elderly loved ones will surely enjoy this handset and they will have no difficulty in using it."
Despite being aimed at older generations, some youngsters may be tempted to buy one of the phones, as both incorporate useful features such as a camera and dual SIM card compatibility.
The phones' manufacturer Ankaka has been in operation since 2005 and has established links with more than 400 Chinese electronics firms, as it bids to become a dominant player in the Chinese electrical wholesale industry.


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Hash-oil vaporizers show both the potential and the challenges of the cannabis industry. Their convenience and discretion are undeniable, but so are the inconsistencies in dosage and potency. GoFire, a vaporizer startup in Denver, has slowly been working on a solution to those problems, however, and is almost ready to unveil it.
The company’s self-dosing vaporizer employs a microchip on hash-oil cartridges to read cannabis testing results, which consumers can use and then log in a journal on their phones. To learn how GoFire plans to use this new technology to change medical and recreational cannabis, we talked with CEO Peter Calfee.
People say that a sure sign of aging is that your hangovers get worse, but if you can battle through the pain and make it to work, that proves you’re still young at heart. They’re wrong: The real sign that you’re moving over the hill comes when you start preferring going out during the day to going out at night, when both your body and your mind have had it with the bar-room chumming, tequila shots and Taco Bell runs. Now you care more about raking leaves, finishing The Haunting of Hill House before social media spoils it, and enjoying a good meal.
If going hard at brunch now means buds instead of booze, you can get the best of both worlds from Mimosa, a sativa-leaning hybrid named after the favored Sunday cocktail. A child of Clementine and Purple Punch, Mimosa is a strain new to the Mile High that’s gotten off to a quick start. It appeared on several best-newcomer lists this year, including our own, and can be found at a handful of dispensaries around Denver despite not having shown up until 2017.
Thanksgiving deserves more love. This middle child of a holiday is routinely sidestepped for Christmas before Halloween is even over, which is a damn shame. How can you beat a day full of family, food and football — and maybe even a James Bond movie?
For the past four turkey days, Coloradans have been able to give thanks for the laws allowing them to toke up before the big feast. Whether you consume cannabis to rev up your appetite, help you deal with a political debate between your uncle and mother, or send you to dreamland after the feast, the plant can help. Here are fifteen strains available in Denver that’ll help you mow down food and still let you comfortably fall asleep afterward.
Dear Stoner: What does THC do medically? I know it results in the “high” feeling, but what do medical marijuana users still need it for? CBD and other cannabinoids are here now.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a traditional Thanksgiving — eating leftovers the week after is a holiday by itself — but some people like to put their own spin on the feast.
I’ve had friends who serve mac and cheese, tamales or dumplings as their Thanksgiving side dishes, all of which are more than welcome in ma’ belly anytime. But in 2018, we can take that a step further, incorporating hemp and CBD into drinks, side dishes, the main course and dessert.
Possible windfalls from legalizing hemp and CBD may get all the headlines, but terpenes could have just as much commercial potential. Terpenes are responsible for the smells and flavors that help us distinguish different strains of pot; like elevator songs and character actors, you recognize them without knowing what they are.
Terpenes are found in many plants, which is why cannabis can taste like citrus fruit, lavender and so on. They’ve shown potential for aiding in pain relief and other medical ailments, and you can consume them much like cannabinoids, via vaping or ingestion. But the public still doesn’t know much about identifying terpenes, and scientists are nowhere near understanding their full potential. To learn more about them, we chatted with Dr.Tristan Watkins, chief science officer for Lucid Mood, a cannabis vaping company that manipulates terpenes for desired effects.
The forced resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have much larger implications for where Robert Mueller’s investigation into President Donald Trump is heading, but ousting ol’ Jeffy was a score for the marijuana industry.
Sessions has a long history of hating the plant, and the hits kept coming during his short time as AG. In the ’80s, he’d said that he thought members of the Ku Klux Klan “were okay until I found out they smoked pot.” That didn’t stop Trump from appointing Sessions to AG in 2017, however, and that’s when the real madness began.
While immigration, health care and gun control continue to divide the country, at least one issue is starting to bring us together: legalizing cannabis.
After the November 6 election, Michigan will be joining Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, California, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont as the tenth state to legalize recreational cannabis, while Utah and Missouri each approved medical marijuana measures. And those weren’t the only victories for cannabis.


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- Test category by sumit
‘Indian Large Enterprises' Spending On Digital Transformation To Cross $360 Million by 2020’
As per Zinnov, a large enterprise denotes a business entity operating in India with headquarters in India / outside India, and having a headcount of 1,000+ employees
Photo Credit : Shutterstock
Indian large enterprises are undergoing digital transformation with a focus on enhancing operational efficiencies and delivering an unparalleled customer experience, said a recent report released by management consulting firm Zinnov on Monday (31 July).
As per Zinnov, a large enterprise denotes a business entity operating in India with headquarters in India / outside India, and having a headcount of 1,000+ employees.
Public-listed large enterprises generate revenues equivalent to nearly 40 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP). Consistent performance over the years has led these enterprises clocking revenues of over $1 billion in FY17, said the Zinnov report.
It also mentioned that billion dollar public-listed large enterprises' Spending on digital transformation to cross $360 million by 2020.
Praveen Bhadada, Partner & Global Head - Digital Transformation, Zinnov said, "We are witnessing a wave of digital transformation in billion dollar public-listed large enterprises, particularly on five tenets of talent, processes, infrastructure, business models, and innovation. The billion dollar public-listed large enterprises are expected to spend in excess of $360 million towards digital transformation by 2020, growing year-on-year at a staggering rate of 45 per cent.”
“We also expect a direct impact, not just on the workforce within these billion dollar public-listed large enterprises, but also on adoption of digital technologies by the entire business ecosystem."
The report has also envisaged certain challenges to the enterprises -
1. Rising input costs, lack of skilled workforce, customer acquisition, managing operational issues, legislative and environmental barriers
2. Competition from fast-growing domestic enterprises such as Patanjali, Jio etc., as well as from leading multi-national corporations quickly building their presence in the Indian market
3. Digital native enterprises are solving the use-cases, earlier catered to by only the traditional verticals, with the use of digital technologies
However, there lies some opportunities:
1. Initiatives like Digital India, Smart City, Make-in-India among others, are expected to create a plethora of cross-industry opportunities
2. With over 60 per cent of working age population, India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world and this demographic dividend will boost consumerism over the next couple of decades
3. Growing trade and investment relations with nations, rise as an export hub as well as inorganic growth and diversification opportunities are driving more enterprises to look beyond the nation's borders.


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BRAMPTON, Ont. — The second installment of the Road Today Truck Show is coming back to the Powerade Centre in Brampton May 29-30. Activities at the event will include a trade show, show and shine competition, job fair, educational seminars, pit crew challenge, road safety awareness, family entertainment, ethnic food stalls and lots more. Road Today Trucking Excellence Awards will also be presented during the show.
Last year’s inaugural event attracted more than 8,000 visitors and 100 exhibitors, and organizers say this year’s event is generating “huge interest from all sectors of trucking industry.” Inside floor space is nearly sold out and the outside space is now being offered to interested companies.
Participating companies will offer prizes and discounts worth thousands of dollars to the show visitors. Spectator entry to the show is free.
Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry. All posts by Truck News


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The clock is ticking. With less than one week until Christmas, stores are aiming to help last minute holiday shoppers by extending their hours.
Starting at 7 a.m. Sunday, Macy's will be open 24 hours a day until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve at its State Street and Oakbrook stores.
Kohl's is upping the ante this year with all of its stores nationwide now open around the clock. It will total 100 hours straight through Christmas Eve.
Other stores have extended shopping hours starting this weekend. Toys R Us will stay open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday through Monday, then 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.


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Latest News on Lays Chips
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Apr 26, 2019
Farm groups protest as PepsiCo sues Gujarat farmers for growing potato variety used to manufacture Lays chipsPotato farmers in North Gujarat are being sued under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, (PVP act for short), filed by the Indian arm of the multinational giant Pepsico India Holdings pvt ltd for growing a potato variety it uses to manufacture Lays chips.


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Micromax is aggressively working on 4G devices including dongles and smartphones, and is also planning to launch Windows Phone 8 based smartphones as well as a tablet. Rahul Sharma, Micromax s co-founder, has revealed that the company is gearing up to introduce their fourth-generation network based devices, as soon as operators make their services available more widely. Also Read - Micromax In 1 goes on sale in India today on Flipkart: Top 5 features, price of all variants
On the sidelines of the launch of Micromax Canvas 4, Sharma spoke about their upcoming projects which includes 4G devices and said that, we are aggressively working on our 4G offerings including smartphones and dongles. On availability of these devices, he commented that, We will launch these as soon as we will found the ecosystem ready for the same.
Besides this, the company is also considering working on other operating systems and is planning to launch their Windows Phone 8 based smartphone and tablet in near future. Rahul Sharma confirmed the same but did not mention any details on the time frame of the launch.


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The largest SDcard has been introduced by SanDisk. There are a lot of phone manufacturers that claims there phone can be “expanded up to 2 terabytes using a MicroSD“. Well, today SanDisk is getting a little closer to that size, with a 400GB MicroSD card.
The memory claims the title of the world’s largest storage device capacity for the SDcard format because it beats the last year Samsung 256GB card with a considerable margin.
The 400GB MicroSD can transfer files at up to 100mb/s, is classified as SDXC UHS-I card and rated as App performance class A1 Device (i.e it can run apps well).
The price might be the deal breaker, there is a catch a hefty $249.99 price tag. SanDisk hasn’t yet announced the day the 400GB microSD card will be available on stores.
Can you get that MicroSD card at that price?


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The largest contract electronics manufacturer in the world, Foxconn of Taiwan, announced on Tuesday that it will begin producing driverless electric tractors for California-based Monarch Tractor in Lordstown, Ohio, starting in early 2023.
As the U.S. agriculture industry transitions to smart farming, heavy machinery manufacturers, like Deere & Co. and Georgia-based AGCO, have their sights set on the electric vehicle market.
Since acquiring the Ohio facility that was originally a General Motors Assembly plant last year, Foxconn, best known for producing Apple‘s iPhones, has signed its first manufacturing contract with Monarch Tractor.
The battery-operated MK-V series tractor from Monarch is expected to start being produced in the first quarter of 2023, according to Foxconn, formerly known as Hon Hai Technology Group.
The autonomous electric tractor from Monarch, a Silicon Valley-based company, made its debut to a limited group of farmers last year. Since then, the business and Italian-American automaker CNH Industrial has formed a multi-year licensing arrangement. Monarch Tractor is owned by CNH Industrial in a minority capacity.
With competition brewing among farm equipment manufacturers to expand product lines in precision agriculture technology and autonomous machinery, Monarch‘s chief executive, Praveen Penmetsa, told Reuters that the company’s business model to target smaller farmers gives them a unique opportunity to increase the market share while being on the same playing field with bigger manufacturers.
“Their technology is focused on the large farm operations and commodity crops. Fruits and vegetable farmers use much smaller tractors so we are focused on smaller farmers – that differentiates us a lot,” Penmetsa said.
The company wouldn’t say how much the tractor will cost, but it did say that farmers would need to pay a monthly subscription to access the services and that the autonomous software would be offered separately.


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LAST UPDATED : May 19, 2019, 05:31 AM IST
- Flip side of Sterlite shutdown: Electrical products, pumpsets may cost more as copper turns dear
Get ready to pay more for your electrical products and pumpsets as prices and import of copper, a raw material used in making them, have gone up ever since the closure of Sterlite’s Tuticorin copper smelter on March 27.
- Cash crunch triggers Dharavi shutdown
The sprawling slum of Dharavi, among Asia’s largest, is also an economic powerhouse. According to local manufacturers, at least 5,000 leather units and 4,000 garment factories operate from the thicket of shanties. Over the last month, 80-90% of these cottage industries have shut down.


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Articles & Video
Making things gel
Dyacare has launched a new seaweed-based product in a gel formulation, aimed primarily at the seed treatment and hydroseeding markets. Martin Driscoll, CEO of Dyacare UK, spoke to New AG International.
Fixing on a solution
Fertilizer heavyweight The Mosaic Company and BioConsortia have joined forces to collaborate on new nitrogen-fixing microbial products. The age of the bio-commodity fertilizer could be about to begin.
Ginkgo Bioworks launches flagship partnership with Bayer
Ginkgo Bioworks has announced plans to significantly expand its platform capabilities in agricultural biologicals, from discovery to field.
KitoZyme’s KitoGreen obtains EC approval
KitoZyme, manufacturer of fungal chitosan, has been granted approval for its KitoGreen products by the European Commission as Basic Substances for Plant Protection, for multiple applications and crops.
Tradecorp, Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics launch joint research unit
Tradecorp and the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics have launched a joint research unit called Biological Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture.
Vive introduces Averland FC to fight nematodes in cotton
Cotton growers have a new tool to battle nematodes in-furrow with Averland FC nematicide/insecticide/miticide from Vive Crop Protection.
Mosaic and BioConsortia expand nitrogen-fixing microbial products to Asia markets
The Mosaic Company and BioConsortia, Inc. have entered into a new agreement to develop and launch nitrogen fixing microbial products for all crops, including corn, wheat, rice, fruit and vegetables in China, India, Thailand and Vietnam.
Plant Response acquired by The Mosaic Company
Plant Response, an industry consolidator of biological-based solutions, recovered waste fertilizers and other crop input technologies, has been acquired by The Mosaic Company, a global manufacturer of agricultural fertilizers and chemicals.
Biocontrol lab opened in Jamaica
The Bodles Research Station in St. Catherine (Jamaica) now boasts a new biological control laboratory, which will strengthen the island’s pest control measures while helping to protect the environment.
Industry profiles - interview with Rovensa CEO Eric van Innis
New AG International recently had the opportunity to catch up with Eric van Innis, CEO Rovensa Group, as well as hear more about Tradecorp's latest product, Biimore.
A&L Biological Inc. announces biostimulant to manage transplant stress
A&L Biological Inc., a subsidiary of A&L Canada Laboratories Inc., has been granted registration from the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) for AL-Bio 7, a new biostimulant formulation.
Suterra announces partnership with Phytech
Suterra has entered into a new partnership agreement with Phytech. The agreement adds Suterra’s Puffer aerosol pheromone mating disruption products to Phytech’s digital farming platform with integrated plant health and irrigation Internet of Things (IoT) monitor and control service.
Joyn Bio opens new facility to develop engineered microbes for crop protection
Joyn Bio has opened a new greenhouse facility that will support the screening and discovery of engineered microbial strains for a broad set of crop protection applications.
Bhutan to soon have its first biofertilizer company
Bhutan will soon have its first biofertilizer company at Athang Gewog in Wangdue via a partnership between Farm Machinery Corporation Limited (FMCL) and B&B Korea Co., Ltd. The joint venture is a business idea committed to fulfilling Bhutan’s aspiration of becoming 100 percent organic in agriculture.


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This month’s SWIFT renminbi (RMB) tracker shows that RMB payments increased by a third (32.6%) in February versus January 2012, propelling the RMB back to position 17, whereas world payments declined by -0.3% (mainly because significant drops in euro and pound payments). Overall, RMB share in world payments is 0.33%, up from 0.25% in January 2012.
However, RMB payments with Australia are now one of the lowest in Asia, down to a mere 1.9% of all Australia’s payments with China and Hong Kong from 3.1 % in January 2012. This is well below the average of 6.6% RMB payments in Asia (excluding China and Hong Kong). On the other hand, RMB payments with Taiwan, non-existent one year ago, increased to 11.4%.
There are at least two good reasons to develop more RMB payments with Australia:
- With nearly 20%, China is Australia’s biggest trading partner (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2010-11).
- Payments flows between Australia and China and Hong Kong are among the biggest in Asia. This should give ample opportunity for China and Australia to grow their RMB flows.
The annual BNP Paribas Cash Management University kicked off on Thursday morning with treasury professionals congregating in Paris from across Europe.
APIs may be a solution to MT940 challenges, says Karen Fagan, treasury operation manager, for British television company, ITV.
Kicking off the first day of the Singapore Fintech Festival, issues with cryptocurrencies were addressed by MIT media labs director, Joi Ito, and panels of technology leaders discussed how they’re using data analytics.
Sibos 2017 day two highlights: Brexit and banking, and why ‘data is the new oil’ in financial services
How nation first politics can impact global financial organisations It’s clear that data and regulation are the two key topics that are ... read more


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Shares in focus: Associated British Foods - the conglomerate baking many profit pies
Associated British Foods is a great business. So should you buy the shares? Phil Oakley investigates.
ABF is a great business, but its shares look a bit rich for me, says Phil Oakley.
Associated British Foods looks a lot like a family-owned conglomerate, with its fingers in many pies. The company was founded by a Canadian, Garfield Weston, back in 1935. Today the Weston family still owns 54% of ABF's shares, as well as other business interests, such as the up-market department stores Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.
The company started out as a bakeries business, but has spread its wings to become one of Britain's most prominent food companies, with divisions operating in almost every part of the supply chain.
It still makes flour and sells well-known brands of bread, such as Kingsmill, Sunblest and Allinson, and other big brands, such as Twinings teas, Ovaltine, Ryvita and Jordans cereals.
It also supplies ingredients to restaurants and wholesalers and makes and sells animal feed to farmers. On top of that it is the UK's biggest producer of sugar, and has sugar businesses in Africa and China.
However, in recent times the company's fortunes (and its share price) have become increasingly dependent on a completely different business that of value-for-money retail chain Primark. This business has become something of a phenomenon in the UK and, increasingly, in Europe.
You can see what I mean when you look at the share price chart above right. ABF has been a great share to own over the last few years, even though overall performance has been solid, rather than stellar. During the last ten years, ABF has increased its earning per share (EPS) at an average rate of 8% a year.
Over the same period, the price of its shares has increased almost fourfold. In short, investors have been prepared to pay more for its earnings driving up the price/earnings (p/e) ratio for the shares. At nearly 30 times 2015 expected EPS, ABF is one of the most expensively rated companies in the FTSE 100.
History tells us that companies are rarely worth this kind of valuation. It would seem that investors are betting that Primark will keep growing strongly for many years. If it can, then ABF's shares might be worth the current price. But if it can't, then it's hard to see how anyone buying today could make much money.
The big headache at the moment is the sugar business. In 2012, this business made £510m in profit (although this looked unsustainably high at the time) and accounted for half of ABF's total trading profits. But some City analysts think the business will make hardly any money at all in 2015.
Sugar prices in the European Union have plunged as producers have flooded the market ahead of a change in EU quota rules in 2017. Hopefully things should not get anyworse after this year. But the bottom line is that ABF's EPS will fall slightly in 2015. This makes ABF's current high valuation look even more perplexing.
Elsewhere, the grocery business isdoing well, with sales of Twinings and Ovaltine growing nicely. But as far as the future prosperity of shareholders is concerned, it's really all about Primark. So just how big and valuable can this business become?
Primark is already an outstanding business. Its success has been built on being quick to spot trends and to offer the latest fashions at fantastic prices. It doesn't advertise, buys in bulk, has low overheads and keeps its shops well stocked.
During the last three years the business has caught fire and profits have more than doubled. In 2014, it had sales of £5bn and profits of £662m, which equated to a great return on capital employed (ROCE) of 33.2%.
The challenge is for Primark to keep on growing while maintaining this sort of ROCE. It currently has 287 stores and 10.7m square feet of selling space it's going to have to open up a lot more shops and also keep sales and profits growing in the existing ones.
ABF certainly has big plans for the business. It has been expanding across Europe, and so far this is going well, even in countries where the economy has been weak, such as Spain. A recent move into France has also been a great success. The company plans to announce a further expansion next year.
This year will also see Primark enter the American market for the first time, with eight stores being opened in the northeast of the country. It will be interesting to see whether the low-price fashion model can be a hit there. If it is, then Primark may be able to succeed where other British retailers have failed miserably.
In short, this is a very good business, and if you were to ask me whether I'd like to own a slice of Primark and ABF's grocery brands, I wouldn't hesitate to say yes. However and this is the key for any investment not at any price. ABF's share price is way too rich for me at the moment and seems to take Primark's future success as a given.
The problem with this situation is that there's no room for disappointment so there's no all-important margin of safety in buying the shares at the current price. To me, the downside risk looks too big, whereas the upside potential looks fairly small.So the share price needs to come down a lot before I would buy in.
Verdict: put on your watchlist


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Professor Dan Horne, Chief Knowledge Officer at Gx, in conjunction with Dionne Nickerson of Providence College, has recently published a white paper called ‘Understanding the Drivers of Mobile Payment Adoption: Comparing Kenya and Tanzania’. The study looks at the perceived impact on business development and wealth creation that pervasive mobile payments usage generates and compares and contrasts micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya with those in neighbouring Tanzania where mobile payments have been available for several years but where the technologies have not seen the widespread adoption found in Kenya.
Over the last three months, Gx has undertaken a number of research projects that have analysed the behaviour and attitudes of consumers and end-users with respect to the use of mobile phones as a payment device.
In Africa, we have undertaken studies in two countries that have produced different results regarding uptake of mobile payments. Unlike our European surveys, our African respondents comprised microenterprises rather than consumers. In Kenya, our research has shown that the success of M-Pesa has not been replicated in Tanzania for several reasons Including macro characteristics, usage patterns and, importantly, perceptions about how and why to use the product.
For any payment instrument, be it a traditional prepaid card or a mobile device, it is important that it is useful, easy to use and solves a pressing problem that a consumer has and crucially that the consumer can trust the application. In the African research we have highlighted here, the disparity between respondents that use mobile payments and those that do not underlines that these are essential criteria for mobile payments to be successfully adopted by a critical mass of consumers.
You can read the full report here.


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Asus Mobiles on Wednesday launched its new budget smartphone in the ZenFone series, the ZenFone Go. The latest Asus smartphone has been listed on India’s one of the top online retailer store Flipkart.com with a price tag of Rs. 7,999. The device will soon available to purchase.
Asus ZenFone Go- Full Specifications:
The specs of ZenFone Go adds 5-inch HD display with 1280 x 720 pixels screen resolution adding a pixel density of 294ppi. It has a 2GB of RAM for quick multi-tasking which is seen in most of the latest budget devices. The thing which would upset the customers is its internal storage. It offers only 8GB of inbuilt memory while many other company handsets packs with 16GB at the similar price tag.
There is a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6580 quad-core processor under the hardware field which is coupled with Mali-400 MP2 GPU. It runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop OS with Asus ZenUI on top. To provide juice to the handset, a 2070mah battery has been allocated on the back.
The Asus ZenFone Go has an 8-megapixles rear camera with LED Flash and a 2-megapixels front camera for video calling and Selfies. Apart from 4G LTE, the device includes all the other connectivity features. We still have a question why Asus does not include the 4G LTE option in its latest budget device, while many other recently launched entry-level devices comes with the LTE feature.
It measures 144.5 x 71 x 10mm and weighs around 135 grams. The device comes in three different colors variant- Black, Red and white.
- 2GB of RAM for better performance
- Android 5.1 latest operating system
- Various color options
- Doesn’t include 4G LTE connectivity
- Only 8GB of internal storage


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Remote Access is a Team Effort
Marlin Central Monitoring, Kissimmee, Fla., and VideoProtein have teamed up to provide a standardized video solution that will deliver remote access to video systems through a single interface, allowing dealers to generate additional recurring revenues by offering multiple new video services to their customers. The partnership should allow the DVRs and cameras several expanded features that go well beyond their original capabilities.
“VideoProtein allows us to standardize video alarms, verification and guard tours on one monitoring platform without dictating to dealers what DVR or camera equipment to use,” said Barry Brannon, Marlin’s vice president of business development. “We’ve actually been able to bring on more dealers as a result of this relationship.”


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Austin, Texas-based collectables company Mondo is poised to release a limited edition vinyl version of the "Marvel's Luke Cage" soundtrack featuring the show's all-original, hip-hop-infused score created by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
The company announced the special release ahead of an evening of music curated by Shaheed Muhammad and Younge at the The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles on October 6.
"We sought to create a score that reflects the world of Luke Cage. We see this world as a place where classic cinema meets classic Hip Hop," Younge and Shaheed Muhammad said in a statement.
The two-disc soundtrack features cover and gatefold art by Matthew Woodson and comes pressed on 180-gram "Power Man Yellow" vinyl – the ideal gift for those looking for a "Sweet Christmas!" present. Priced at $35, the limited edition release goes on sale Friday, October 7 at 12PM CST on mondotees.com
The soundtrack is now available via digital retailers and streaming services.


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The European Union has proposed a default volume setting for MP3 devices sold in member countries. According to EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, users frequently raised the volume of their MP3 players to “damagingly loud” levels.
“And the evidence is that particularly young people – who are listening to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week – have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk,” claimed Kuneva. “It can take years for the hearing damage to show, and then it is simply too late. These standards make small technical changes to players so that by default, normal use is safe. If consumers chose to override the default settings they can, but there will be clear warnings so they know the risks they are taking.”
Kuneva explained that existing EU rules do not currently prescribe a maximum sound limit or require any specific volume levels. However, future standards are likely to include more than a general warning about excessive volume levels in an instruction manual.
“Safe use depends on exposure time and volume levels. At 80 dB(A), exposure should be limited to 40 hours/week. At 89 dB(A) exposure should not exceed 5 hours/week,” said Kuneva. “The safe exposure levels defined above shall be the default settings on products. Higher exposure levels can be permitted, provided that they have been intentionally selected by the user and the product incorporates a reliable means to inform the user of the risks.”
Kuneva noted that official endorsement of such a proposal by CENELEC – an EU standard setting organization – could take up to 24 months. Although EU standards are not mandatory, the volume limit would become the “de facto” industry norm if approved by the European Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
As such, future products that do not meet such standards would likely be forced to undergo costly independent testing.


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Media Contacts Database
Journalist Enquiry Service
Press Release Wire
12th November 2014
Jargon PR has been appointed by luxury watch brand Tom Carter Watches to launch the brand within the UK and drive significant awareness throughout the consumer press.
The agency will launch the brand at Canary Wharf this month with ambassador Tom Carter and Formula championship driver Tio Ellinas.
Links for media database subscribers
No links attached.


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Monday, June 7, 2010
Alexander McQueen Dresses to be Auctioned at Bonhams
Two Alexander McQueen dresses are to be auctioned off at Bonhams, Knightsbridge on June 30, as part of the Vision 21 sale. The dresses, some of the first to be auctioned off since McQueen's death in February, are from the designer's ready-to-wear collection for autumn/winter 2007. This particular collection was inspired by the Salem Witch trials of 1692—an event one of McQueen's ancestors was tragically involved in, being burnt at the stake. These two dresses, each one of a kind, are expected to be sold for £30,000.


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Mercedes-Benz is launching ‘Style Pit Stop’, a series of online fashion films that supports the brand’s involvement with fashion and style.
An Oscar winning actress, a life changing charity CEO, an Olympic gold medallist, a ground breaking artist and an inspiring nurse of the year – are just a few of the women to showcase the new Autumn collections in a campaign announced by Marks & Spencer.
Mini fashionistas will be able to show their support for charity this summer as Debenhams has joined forces with BBC Children in Need to create an exclusive range of designer clothing, which is launching in stores and online this week.
Men's fashion destination Stuarts London has named Ryan Gosling as the best dressed male actor from a recent poll that the site has carried out.
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge helped highlight The Royal British Legion’s range of poppy jewellery earlier this year when she wore a crystal poppy brooch to a reception celebrating a South Pole expedition in support of the Legion’s vital work for all members of the British Armed Forces past and present, and their families.
David Cameron, Barack Obama and Boris Johnson are the new unlikely fashion icons.
WAXX is a celebrity favourite brand renowned for pushing the boundaries in bold and daring designs. Originally designed for extreme sports and with the tagline ‘Dare to Wear’ the WAXX customer is trendy, unique and not afraid to be themselves.
Stealing hearts (and votes) Daniel Craig’s classic tuxedo from Casino Royale has been named Sharpest Suit in Film – according to a poll of fashion conscious film fans.
Dr No, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, has topped the ‘best swimwear scene’ in a film poll conducted by beachwear specialists Trixan Body.
Mayfair’s prestigious Mount Street last night stepped into spring with a fabulous evening of late-night shopping and entertainment to commemorate 325 years of the May Fayre.
Angelina Jolie showed once again that she Cannes do no wrong when it comes to style, stunningly accessorizing her sand-coloured Ferragamo ensemble with two stunning emerald designs from her Style of Jolie jewellery line – a collaborative collection developed with Robert Procop – at a photocall for Kung Fu Panda 2 in Cannes on Wednesday.
Interest in the design of Kate Middleton’s wedding dress is reaching fever pitch in parts of the international media in the run up to the ‘big day’ on 29 April. Fashions have changed over the years – for royal brides and others – as demonstrated by a number of exhibitions being held to coincide with the Royal Wedding.
Kelly Brook is back this Spring Summer with another stunning swimwear range exclusively for New Look.
Rihanna is set to launch her own perfume brand with Parlux Fragrances Inc this month.
Angelina Jolie modelled a dazzling pair of Green Beryl Tablet Earrings from Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels to the premiere of her latest movie, The Tourist.
1 to 15 of 67 for Celebrity Fashion


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Published on : Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Almost half of these travelers are expected to come from routes that were thought of recently – connecting flights between Europe and Asia, boosted by swift growth in tourism from China.
The weak ruble, currently trading at 62 to the dollar, less than half its value five years ago has made Russia one of the top three destinations globally for Chinese tourists. “The ruble devaluation after 2014, Moscow’s efforts to simplify the process for Chinese tour groups to get visas together and active marketing by Russian tourism firms have contributed to the trend,” said Alexander Gabuev, chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center.
“Russia has also allowed more flights from regional Chinese air companies toMoscow, which helps turn the Russian capital into an air hub for Europe-bound Chinese tourism,” Gabuev added.
In spite of criticism from Russia’s Culture Ministry that Chinese tourists are overcrowding popular St. Petersburg tourist sites, their big spending makes the Chinese tourists an attractive proposition. An average Chinese tourist spends $700 on a trip to Russia.
Sheremetyevo, Moscow’s largest airport, is looking to capitalize on this growth. Signs and announcements are in Mandarin throughout, while duty-free stores accept popular Chinese payment methods, including UnionPay cards and online systems WeChat Pay and Alipay.
More than 2.3 million Chinese tourists flew into Sheremetyevo in 2019, including 1.26 million transferring via the airport. Sheremetyevo expects the number to grow by 30 percent per year in the years to come.


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With 2017 coming to close we have seen many celebrities cuting off their long hair to beautiful sassy bobs. From Kylie Jenner to Jessica Parker and now in the final hours of 2017 Beyoncé went for the chop.
On Wednesday 27th December Beyoncé took to Instagram sharing her brand new hair cut. The honey blonde curly hair which sweeps her shoulders. The gorgeous pictures were taken from Beyoncé’s recent Christmas trip to Miami, Florida with her husband, Jay-Z, and her three kids, Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir.


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Competition with cheaper lemon producers abroad forced Italy’s Amalfi lemon growers to open up to tourism for survival, but COVID-19 has snatched that form of income from them too.
Down in the coastal town of Amalfi, signs advertise tours of the lemon groves up on the hillside. Visitors are told they can walk through the lemon groves, learning about the cultivation process and then the products, like limoncello, that are made from Amalfi’s famous Sfusato lemon.
Despite this now-protected lemon being grown for centuries along the terraces of the Amalfi Coast, farmers have been struggling for years as countries such as Argentina, Morocco and Turkey began putting much cheaper lemons on the market.
The production costs of Amalfi lemons are high because the cultivation and the harvest are done by hand. It is grueling work on the precipitous terraces, climbing hundreds of steps a day and shouldering baskets of lemons weighing 50 or 60 kg.
For this reason, local labor is hard to find. Many young people prefer to work in the restaurants and bars down on the coast.
With the Amalfi Coast relying more and more on tourism for its economy (some 95% of its income is now from tourism), it seemed the only option for the Amalfi lemon groves’ survival too. Farmers like Salvatore Aceto (pictured) have opened up their terraces to tours and, in Aceto’s case, an agriturismo.
Tours and limoncello tastings have been key to the lemon growers’ income in the last years, but the COVID-19 emergency has meant this economic lifeline has also been cut this year.
Italy has opened its borders to countries including those in the Schengen Zone and the UK, but the country remains closed to the USA, a real blow for the Amalfi Coast. The area is particularly popular with Americans, with one hotel attributing 82% of his guests to the US. American visitors are also the biggest spenders in Italy, according to official statistics.
Low tourist numbers mean low sales for the Amalfi lemon growers, who will have to hope for lifted border restrictions soon and a late summer surge in visitor numbers.


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Privatizing liquor sales would cost Sask. $115M, says report
by The Canadian Press
Don McMorris, minister of Saskatchewan's liquor authority, disputes the report calling it "just not accurate at all"
REGINA—A public policy think-tank says the Saskatchewan government will lose revenue if it goes through with a plan to privatize liquor sales.
A report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says privatization would drain $115 million from the province’s books over the next five years
The government announced last fall that it will make 40 of its 75 liquor stores private outlets if the Saskatchewan Party is re-elected at the ballot box in April.
Report author David Campanella says wholesale liquor costs have been increasing an average of six per cent a year—a major cost the government would face which isn’t included in the privatization proposal.
He also says the government’s markup on wholesale prices is being reduced by about 25 per cent—another loss of revenue.
Don McMorris, minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, says the information in the report is wrong.
“It’s just not accurate at all,” McMorris said Feb. 11. “They really need to go back to the very first paper we put out that would dispel and answer so many of the questions and conclusions they’ve made regarding revenue neutral for government.
“That first document was an education piece. Obviously they didn’t read it.”
McMorris said the government will still sell liquor to stores at the price the government decides, so no revenue will be lost.
“The vast majority of revenue is created from when government brings the alcohol in to marking it up, and then it’s retailed after that.”
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Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart said it will open two additional college campus locations, nearly two years after make its university debut at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
According to a Monday report by the Wall Street Journal, which cited Inside Higher Ed, the retailer will open a 5,000-sq.-ft. store at Arizona State University in Phoenix next month, and will open in Atlanta on the Georgia Tech campus later this year.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Delia Garcia told WSJ that its university stores would be “tailored to the on-campus customer, providing general merchandise, convenience items [and] pharmacy services.” Garcia said that the company is still testing this business model, and that no new locations are scheduled beyond Georgia Tech.
No text books will be sold at the campus stores, according to Wal-Mart, so as not to compete directly with college bookstores.


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Drug Companies Drive 2010 Corporate Giving
By Americas Charities on June 2, 2011
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK — Drug companies helped drive an almost 18 percent increase in corporate philanthropy last year as they gave away medicine to poor Americans still struggling in a rough economy, a survey found on Thursday.
The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy poll of 110 companies found they gave $13 billion in cash and products last year as the United States began to emerge from recession.
While 40 percent of the 110 companies -- polled annually for the past four years -- boosted their giving last year by more than 10 percent, another 17 percent decreased their giving by more than 10 percent compared to 2009.


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from the about-time dept
With the entertainment industry constantly pushing for ever more draconian changes to copyright law, it seems we’re finally seeing some pushback from folks who are extremely knowledgeable about copyright law and its impact. From that, more and more suggestions are popping up, saying that copyright reform really needs to go in an opposite direction. In the last year alone, we’ve already highlighted proposals from Jessica Litman and Public Knowledge with suggestions on how to reform copyright law. On top of that, William Patry has indicated that his next book will be all about how to fix the copyright system. Now, apparently, we can add Pam Samuelson’s voice to the group. SF Gate has a short article by Samuelson highlighting the problems with copyright law today, and then suggesting some ways to fix the system. Apparently, she’s about to release a larger report, called “The Copyright Principles Project: Directions for Reform,” which will “explore 25 ideas for copyright reform.” Once that comes out, we’ll be sure to spend some time going through the proposals, but it’s great that some of the brightest minds in copyright are all starting to converge on the need to fix copyright law, rather than just keep ratcheting it up.
Filed Under: copyright, copyright reform, pamela samuelson


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Back in April, Disney announced that Disney+ would be rolled out in Western Europe by the end of the March 2020, however the new streaming service is currently available as a trial in the Netherlands, but looking at some of the current job vacancies, it does look like Disney+ won’t be hitting for a while.
Looking at the Disney Careers page, they have multiple positions available for their new Disney+ app in the UK, which cover Europe and Africa including:
Programming Director Disney+ Europe and Africa
Customer Service Coordinator, Disney+
Customer Experience Manager, Disney+
Content Merchandiser, Disney+
Senior Data Analyst, Disney+
Along with many others
All of these new positions have only been advertised in the past week, so it will take time for Disney to conducted interviews, do reference checks and train new staff.
The Disney+ team in Europe is responsible for the launch and day-to-day operation of Disney+ across the region, specifically focused on customer acquisition and retention, marketing, promotions and synergy, product development and partnerships, implementation/adaptation of the global content strategy, and research and analytics.
The Programming Director Disney+ Europe and Africa will also lead content strategy, adapting the global content strategy for each market in the region. And the reason for these differences include rights, windowing restrictions, availability, European quota restrictions, competitive context, regulatory restrictions, market preferences, research, viewing analysis, etc.
Many of the other jobs are much more technical in nature. Disney Streaming Services already has offices in Manchester and Amsterdam. And its in Amsterdam that Disney+ is currently being tested before it rolls out in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Disney already has a streaming service called DisneyLife in the UK and Ireland, but the roll out in Europe is more complicated due to European quotas, which mean streaming services must provide a certain percentage of its content must be made in Europe. Which is one of the big reasons why Disney has recently invested so much in studio space in the UK.
There are also issues with existing deals with companies like Sky and rules in certain countries like France, which won’t allow any recently released movies to be available on a streaming platform, to protect cinemas.
Hopefully once the US launch of Disney+ is completed, Disney can start making more announcements regarding its international roll out, since up till now, this slide is pretty much all we know:
It’s also good news for African Disney fans, since these job descriptions look to confirm Disney+ will also eventually be rolling out there as well.
Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom.


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Eatplanted, operating as Planted in mainland Europe, announces it has secured its first major listing with a national retailer. Three Eatplanted products will roll out on 26th December and will be stocked in the butchery section of Morrisons, the fifth largest supermarket chain in the UK.
Founded in 2019, the Zurich-based company is a foodtech spin-off from the Swiss Technical Institute of Technology and claims to be Europe’s leading plant-based meat brand. The foodtech describes itself as a “science driven team hungry for change and working hard to revolutionise the food chain in Eatplanted’s factory and science labs in Switzerland”. Among its international awards, Eatplanted ranked first at the TOP 100 Swiss Start-up Awards in 2021.
The products launching into Morrisons under a two for £5 promotion are:
- eatplanted.chicken Original 160g
- eatplanted.kebab Original 160g
- eatplanted.pulled BBQ 160g
The products are based on a combination of proteins from peas, sunflowers and oats which, according to Eatplanted, contains all essential amino acids.
Glasshouse production facility
Eatplanted produces its alternative meats under a glasshouse production facility in Kemptthal, Switzerland – claiming it to be the first transparent meat production open to the public. Its process utilises a novel bio-structuring approach that combines protein structuring and biotechnology, stating that in its early days Eatplanted was quick to build intellectual property around this bio structuring approach.
UK Country Manager, Matt Done, said: “We’re delighted to have secured our first major retail listing and are pleased to feature in Morrisons. We’re seeing that consumers are becoming more open to meat alternatives and conscious food choices and a boom in meat-free eating is expected for 2023, so this listing is good timing.”
Eatplanted is available at restaurants and retailers across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy and most recently, the UK, where two SKUs rolled out into health store Holland & Barrett last month.


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just the Round-Up - The week in drinks
The week in drinks
The top ten stories published on just-drinks this week:
New Zealand's Government has said it will raise the minimum age for buying alcohol in the country's off-trade to 20 from 18, as part of a crackdown on drinks sales.
The head of Foster's Group's Australian beer arm, Carlton & United Breweries, has said that tough conditions in the the country's beer market are set to continue.
Heineken has reported a strong rise in half-year profits as cost controls across its business offset weak beer sales in Europe and North America.
Efes Breweries International has bucked a decline on Russia's beer market by reporting a strong increase in sales in the first half of 2010.
Japan's Asahi Breweries is to follow-up its takeover of Schweppes in Australia by acquiring the country's third largest soft drinks group, P&N Beverages, for AUD364m (US$323m).
Diageo plans to push further into Africa's beer market and invest more in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America as consumer demand for alcoholic drinks in Europe and North America continues to falter.
Cognac volume sales increased by 11% in the year to the end of July, with resurgent growth led by high-end varieties, according to the trade body Bureau National Interprofessionnel Cognac (BNIC).
Kirin Holdings has said that will take full control of its wine and spirits subsidiary, Mercian Corporation, following irregularities in the division's accounts.
Diageo's results last week spelt out one strong message, as far as M&A nut Richard Woodard is concerned. Let's watch him clap his hands and jump up and down as he tells us what he heard....
- Diageo Q4 & FY - Preview
- Is Diageo approaching its "Et tu, Brute" Moment?
- Has Diageo added Beer to its 'Non-Core' List?
- Diageo, Heineken and NBL in South Africa & Namibia
- SABMiller, Carlsberg, Heineken: Poland's beer itch
- NPD: Tomatin Contrast, Cù Bòcan
- Diageo, Heineken end South Africa, Namibia JV
- Bacardi creates Bacardi rum marketing role
- Diageo comm's director latest to leave
- Diageo hit by SEC investigation in US
- Global gin insights - market data, product innovation and consumer trends research
- Global rum insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research
- Global Tequila insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research
- Global liqueurs insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research
- Global Scotch whisky insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research


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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Mar-18
The ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Index rose from 126.9 to 127.7 in February 2018. This is still 2 points off the September 2017 high, but it is a solid level. On a seasonally adjusted basis the index remains 8 points off its September high at 124.7. The Current Conditions Index fell 4 points in February to 127.3. The Future Conditions Index lifted another 4 points to 128.0 and has largely unwound its post-election dip. A net 15% of consumers feel financially better off than a year ago. The proportion of those who reported being worse off was the lowest in the history of the survey. Meanwhile, a net 34% of consumers expect to be better off financially this time next year (up 5 points).
ROY MORGAN LIMITED