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Just three months ago, I wrote about the way low gas prices have shifted American auto-buying preferences to less-efficient trucks and SUVs, and why that made little sense.
Gas in South Carolina was about $2.75 a gallon then, and is hovering around $2 a gallon now.
My point then, and now, is that gas prices bounce up and down all the time, and it makes no sense to make a long-term capital purchase based on the short-term price of a commodity.
It turns out that this shift in car-buying preferences may offer a real money-saving benefit, however, to some auto shoppers.
Put simply, it could cost less to buy a used, fuel-efficient car this year than it did last year.
When gas was $4 a gallon not so long ago, fuel-efficient cars were selling at a premium and fuel-hungry trucks were discounted. Now, the opposite is true, according to analysts with NADA Used Car Guide.
The car-pricing experts affiliated with the National Auto Dealers Association came out with their 2015 used vehicle market forecast several weeks ago, and here’s what they said the forecast means for used vehicle shoppers:
“For consumers interested in purchasing a used, midsize or large pickup truck or utility vehicle, prices are expected to stay high due to low gas prices. On dealer lots, a 5 percent or higher jump in price is forecast for the midsize and large pickup segments, while the midsize and large utility segments should see a 1 percent or greater bump in price.
“The unusually low gas prices will have the opposite effect on compact car shoppers, with midsize car prices seeing a 4 percent or higher drop in value. Consumers interested in buying a car in the used subcompact or compacts segments will see a 6 percent or greater drop in price.
So, expect higher prices for used pickups and lower prices for small gas-sipping cars.
That’s a financial bonus for anyone who was already planning to buy a fuel-efficient car. Of course, over the long term, those car owners will save money on gas as well, because they’ll burn less gas.
As with stocks and real estate, the time to get a good deal is when fewer people want the thing you are planning to buy.
But unlike stocks and real estate, you’re not taking a financial risk by purchasing an out-of-favor fuel-efficient car.
If gas prices don’t rise — fat chance of that — you still have economical transportation. If gas prices do rise, then you’ll save even more, and the resale value of your car will likely increase.
Statistics on fueleconomy.gov show that 2015 model pickup trucks get about 19 miles to the gallon with a combination of city and highway driving. Small cars, such as a Ford Focus, Mazda 3 or Honda Civic, get about 31. Older models also show about a 10 mpg gap between smaller cars and pickups.
Even at today’s super-low gas prices, if you drive 12,000 miles a year, you would save about $490 on gas with a 31-mpg car versus a 19-mpg truck. Double that if the price of gas goes back up to $4.
Now, some people need big trucks to tow large boats or haul construction equipment. But if you’re not one of those folks, this might be your year for a good deal on a car.
According to the NADA forecast, supplies of used luxury compact SUVs on dealer lots are expected to rise by 33 percent this year, so there should be deals in that auto segment as well.


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Back in 2007, Congress passed legislation requiring the FDA to develop regulations to establish a unique device identification system for medical devices. The UDI system can help the FDA find problems with medical devices much earlier, track recalls more efficiently, and improve patient safety. Since that time, the FDA has been working with medical device manufacturers, industry experts, and patient and consumer groups, conducting pilot studies and gathering information to create the proposed rule. To minimize industry costs and speed implementation, the proposed rule builds upon current standards and systems already in use by some companies.
The UDI would include a unique device identifier code specific to a device model, and a product identifier that includes current production information for that device. UDI information will be stored in a publicly available UDI database. Over-the-counter devices sold at retail stores would be exempt from the FDA rule, since these types of items have a UPC code in place.
The UDI system provides important benefits including reducing medical errors, rapid identification and tracking of defective medical devices, and more useful electronic patient records.
The FDA is seeking comment on the proposal for 120 days. A final rule would become effective in stages, over a period of seven years. For more information, and details on how to comment on the proposed ruling, read Proposed Rule: Unique Device Identification System.

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February is canned food month, the U of I Extension Office wants to make sure you are getting the most out of your canned foods.
Nutrition and Wellness Educator Lisa Peterson says make sure you check the label on the can to compare sodium.
Peterson says it can be tough to get an accurate reading on the labels as most of the labels go off serving size but have multiple servings per can.
Peterson says it comes down to moderation, you do not want to take sodium completely out of your diet.
Peterson appeared as a guest on the Newstalk WTIM Morning Show.


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Tyson Food subsidiary recalls 10 tons of beef patties for possible plastic contamination
AdvancePierre Foods, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods, is recalling about 20,300 pounds of ready-to-eat beef patties for potential contamination with plastic.
AdvancePierre Foods, which Tyson acquired in 2017, recalled the 20,373 pounds of beef patties after receiving two consumer complaints April 1 about finding soft purple plastic in the patties, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The agency is concerned some of the product, produced Nov. 30, 2018 at AdvancePierre's Enid, Okla. plant, may be frozen in food service freezers.
The 14-pound cases, each containing three bags with 30 patties, were shipped to food service locations nationwide. The product was distributed to schools, the USDA says, but was not part of food provided by the department for the National School Lunch Program.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions from eating the patties, but anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a health care provider, the department says.
Food service locations who have purchased these products are urged not to serve or consume them, and instead throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.
The cases are labelled "CN Fully Cooked Flamebroiled Beef Patties Caramel Color Added," with case code 155-525-0 and package code 8334. The recalled products have the establishment number “EST. 2260E” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.


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On a Wednesday evening in one of Karachi’s oldest areas, Lea Market, Samir Rajput is working the phone, trying to seal a deal with his clients before 8 p.m., the starting time of the Mandi – one of the mega city’s main wholesale markets for unbranded, loose milk. He goes through this rigmarole twice a day to settle the days’ wholesale price with retailers.
Sporting a French beard and clad in blue jeans, Rajput, who has been working with his father for the past 30 years, dips his bare hands in the steel container to ascertain the milk’s quality – the conventional ways of the market. Juxtaposed against the state-of-the-art 30 lab tests from farm to factory to check if the produce is fit for human consumption by the corporate sector – the likes of Engro Foods and Nestle Pakistan – this seems primitive.
Once Rajput approves the quality, the milk makes it to the retailers where it’s sifted with muslin to make sure the flies, insects or other similar deposits are filtered before it is poured into chillers, ready to consumers to buy and consume.
About 12 kilometers south, on the coast of Arabian sea, stands The Harbour Front, a modern triangular tower that is home to leading local and multinational corporations. On the fifth floor of this 19-storey building, the new management of Engro Foods is left scratching their heads as loose milk suppliers continue to defy the company’s core strategy: educating consumers about hazards of unhygienic loose milk, and in the process, converting them to packaged milk.
With an objective to make formal sector increase its share from a dismal 6% of the market to 30% by 2030, the two largest players Engro Foods and Nestle Pakistan spent Rs17 billion in the first nine months of 2017 on marketing and distribution of their products, but that wasn’t enough to convert more consumers to branded dairy products. In other words, the advertising dollars meant to create awareness about the packaged milk and its unbranded rivals apparently fell on deaf ears and unseeing eyes.
“When we boil milk bought from the dairy, a thick cream surfaces, which does not happen with the Tetra Pak [packaged UHT] milk from the shop. Tea and other things made with packaged milk do not taste the same,” said Samina Durrani, a resident of North Karachi, explaining why she prefers loose milk from a nearby dairy farm.
More commonly known as Barrah, the dairy farms, which cater to consumers like Durrani, are mostly situated in Karachi’s outskirts Sohrab Goth, Bhains [Cattle] Colony and on Super Highway (M2). They operate under terrible hygiene conditions, but these farm owners have their own justifications for that.
Thriving, despite poor hygiene:
“We need water to maintain hygiene. In Karachi even humans don’t get clean water to drink, how can we assure hygiene for cattle,” says Liaquat Mastoi, who owns a dairy farm in the Cattle Colony – home to 1,500 dairy farms, producing 4 million litres a day, easily the largest supplier of fresh milk to port city.
Despite poor hygiene, the loose milk market thrives, and keeps on growing at a significant scale. There is no public data to measure the size and growth of Karachi’s unbranded milk market, but industry sources estimate that the city consumes 5.5 million liters a day, which is almost entirely supplied by the traditional, unstructured loose milk retailers, otherwise criticized for their primitive supply chain.
The above estimate is about two years old, while the market is said to have expanded significantly since. The overall consumer expenditure in the country grew by 8% between 2015 and 2016, according to a report by Euromonitor. And fresh milk constitutes 6 to 7% of the consumer basket, a set of common goods and services purchased by households on a daily basis every month.
A field survey of populated neighborhoods like North Karachi, Gulshan e Iqbal, Gulistan e Jauhar, Orangi Town, and Korangi indicates an increase in the business of loose or unbranded milk as several new shops have opened up in these areas. Take for example Bhittai Colony Sector B, off the busy Korangi Crossing bus stop. At least 10 new milk shops alone have opened up here within a range of only 150 meters in the last one-and-a-half years.
What went wrong at Engro Foods
Though it is the biggest brand from formal sector in Karachi, Engro’s signature UHT milk Olper’s has a less than 5% share in the city because of a drop in volumes in the last 18 months, according to market analysts. The company is losing consumers back to the undocumented sector not only in Karachi but also in other parts of the country, multiple sources confirmed to Profit – though it was evident from the company’s financial data.
Just before its acquisition in 2016 by the Dutch dairy giant Frieslandcampina, Engro Foods had reported its highest-ever quarterly earnings. However, the company is in hot waters since the takeover, reporting losses in two of the last four quarters for which data is available.
In the first nine months of 2017, Engro’s net profit dropped by 85% to Rs385.7 million, a far cry from Rs2.6 billion of the corresponding period of last year. On the other hand, sales for the period decreased by a fifth to Rs27 billion. Little wonder then, what used to be one of investors’ most beloved stocks lost almost 60% of its value last year – Engro Foods share was trading at Rs80.3 on the last trading session of the year, down from Rs191.7, its price on January 2, 2017.
To add insult to injury, the government policies over the past couple of years, and ‘negative perception’ that stem from media coverage of a Supreme Court case and Punjab Food Authority’s campaign against packaged milk, and tea whitener factor turned out to be too much to handle for Engro Foods’ new management, putting its leadership to test.
In this report, Profit takes a look at what went wrong at Engro Foods, how the new management plans to fix it and whether it can do it anytime soon.
The struggle against loose milk
From day one, Engro Foods has remained focussed on tapping into the loose milk market, and the new management doesn’t seem to have changed that strategy either.
“Our long term objective is to drive the conversion from loose milk,” the company said in an email to Profit. Reaffirming its policy stance, it said, “Engro Foods is focusing on various initiatives centered on rebranding the image of packaged milk as well as educating consumers about the hygiene and quality standards prevalent within the packaged industry relative to adulterated, unhygienic loose milk.”
However, in its little over 10-years in the business, the company’s struggle against loose milk is now even more pronounced than the competition from formal sector, where it was a clear leader with 56% share in the UHT (Tetra Pak) segment as recently as 2016.
Take Mabrook for example, a pilot project the company launched in late 2013 to take the bull by the horns. The company took the battle to home turf of its unbranded rival by entering the retail market itself through franchise model. Cream or high fat content being the selling point of unbranded milk, Mabrook was launched with the slogan ‘balai bhar doodh’ (high fat milk). Engro Foods’ bet was to hygienically dispense pasteurised milk and create the feel of loose milk to lure consumers away from traditional milk sellers. It had even set aside a whopping Rs460 million for marketing, promotion and subsidies (to the franchisees), but the idea didn’t click and the company had to wind up that project in a year – having spent half the budget by then.
According to both the company and analysts, the model was unviable economically since even successful franchises were complaining about low return on investment and high operational costs. Though Engro was the most aggressive about conversion from loose milk, the whole formal sector has put hygiene at the front of their marketing campaigns. For example, Nestle Pakistan ran a big marketing campaign on television under the ‘Safe Milk’ banner, without hardly making a difference to the overall equation.
It took formal sector almost 10 years to nearly double their share from a paltry 3.5% in 2006 to 6% in 2016. Since then it has at best remained stagnant, and by some accounts seen a drop. In the same period, the market size increased from 33 billion liters to 54 billion liters a year or 11.3% share of the GDP as per Economic Survey of Pakistan 2015-2016.
A 2006 paper penned by Engro Foods founding CEO, Sarfaraz Rehman, had estimated that the packaged milk industry would reach 40% of the total milk market by 2015. But far from meeting the forecast, the branded milk industry’s share has not even reached a tenth of the market – a clear indication that the informal sector fully cashed in on this market expansion.
Engro hit the hardest
Market analysts, industry experts and even executives from dairy sector Profit spoke to agree that the industry has lost some share back to the loose milk suppliers during last one-and-a-half years, the focus period for this report. This was primarily because of regressive government policies and negative perception among the people.
In 2016, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) conducted lab tests of 16 UHT milk brands and found that only six of them were fit for consumption. It was later submitted to Supreme Court – hearing a petition by Barrister Zafarullah Khan against quality of milk sold in the country. But the damage was done by the manner of media’s coverage of the case, resulting loss in consumer confidence in the packaged milk, and a drop in the industry’s volumes.
It dealt a fresh blow to the sector, already reeling from being moved to tax-exempt from zero-rating regime only recently. The change in tax policy meant the industry could no more claim refunds on value-added tax paid on inputs. That is the sales tax paid by dairy companies on import of raw material like powdered milk had to become part of the cost. At present the government owes dairy sector about Rs15 billion in refund claims, of which Engro Foods’ share is around Rs2 billion (as of Sept 30, 2017). Making already a bad situation worse, the government imposed another 25% duty on import of skimmed powdered milk, raising input costs by 8%.
If removing the sector from zero-rating wasn’t enough, the national exchequer served notices to the producers of tea whiteners asking them to pay taxes on these products for the entire period since their launch because they were not tax exempt anymore. For example, Fauji Foods received a sales tax order, dated May 26, from Inland Revenue for payment of Rs974 million for sales tax along with default surcharge and penalty of Rs225 million due to alleged non-payment of sales tax on “Chai Mix, Dairy Rozana and Dostea (tea whitener)” – on the grounds that zero rating or exemption is available to dairy products only, not the tea whitener.
Industry sources say all companies received that notice including Engro. Fauji Foods says it has filed an appeal with Inland Revenue, and since it expected a favorable outcome, it didn’t create any provision for that. The other players expressed similar views, maintaining the order doesn’t make sense and instead of paying up, they would rather challenge it. The flip side is, if tax on tea whiteners for the last 10 years is to be paid, Engro Foods may have to dish out around Rs10 billion.
These policies combined with negative reporting sent the overall industry volumes scurrying down 40% during the last 18 months, according to an official familiar with the matter. Again the company hit the hardest was Engro Foods.
A glance at the financial statements of Engro Foods, Fauji Foods and Nestle Pakistan shows that Engro Foods was the only listed company that saw a decline in its volume during the period under review.
Since the change in management, the company has stopped giving analysts briefings and investor presentations about its business, but sources familiar with the matter told Profit that Olper’s volumes were down 15% to 1.2 million liters in the last fiscal year against 1.4 million liters in the corresponding period. Tarang, the tea whitener, received some serious hammering, going down from 970,000 liters to 400,000 liters, a drop of more than 50%.
“Engro got the hit by virtue of being the largest player in UHT segment,” said an industry expert on conditions of anonymity, with multiple sources endorsing his view.
More than 90% of the company’s revenue come from UHT segment. According to an analyst, Tarang was 50% of all UHT sales followed by Olper’s (40%) and Omang (7-8%) at the end of 2016. Since its two main products, Olper’s and Tarang, got clobbered, Engro found itself pushed against the ropes. Despite MilkPak running neck to neck with Olper’s, Nestle didn’t suffer to the same extent because UHT accounts for less than a fifth of its revenues, and it is not dependent on it as such.
Expansion, not a priority
“The company is in consolidation phase. So putting the house in order seems to be the priority, not expansion,” said an analyst, adding, since it has become an MNC, this is usually how they operate – settling down first and then expanding.
Other sources are getting similar impressions from some of the company’s recent moves. “FrieslandCampina has even reduced collection centres,” said the expert, adding the company might be relying more on powdered milk as it became cheaper than locally procured milk because of a notable drop in international prices. According to industry insiders, both Engro Foods and Nestle mostly procure milk from local farmers and rely on imported milk powder only in summers to make up for the seasonal shortfall.
“When a new company comes, the market grows but the new player also eats into someone’s share and it is usually the largest player that gets hit,” the analyst said. For example, he said there are many brands that have set up dairy farms and catering to their surrounding areas. Jahangir Tarin dairy, which is located near Sadiqabad on the border of Sindh and Punjab is one example, for it is catering to four to five cities in close vicinity.
Overall dairy sector growth declined due to negative perception created in the media about packaged milk and efforts by Punjab Food Authority on certain labeling requirements related to tea whiteners, Fauji Foods said in a report. Talking about the PFA episode, CEO of a dairy company said as per PCSIR’s findings, heavy metals were found in UHT samples. These heavy metals were actually iron and zinc which are naturally present in the milk and were well within the limits as per international standards, but media coverage failed to highlight that. Later on even SC agreed to it, he said.
Analysts and experts we spoke to say the PFA episode became too much to handle for Engro Foods. Tarang suffered the most because of PFA’s campaign which targeted tea whiteners, said the expert. However, he added Tarang also ran into some quality issues for the first time since its launch and the timing was cruel. “There were complaints about the liquid whitener getting spoiled quite often,” he said.
Besides, media coverage, increase in duties also dented the segment. All tea whiteners use skimmed powdered milk. Therefore, the import duties hit them hard as prices increased, resulting in consumers to switch to cheaper brands or loose milk, said an analyst. Dominated by Tarang for almost a decade, the tea whitener segment has seen increased competition after two big brands, Dostea of Fauji Foods and CupShup of Dalda Foods, entered the market recently and Nestle also aggressively marketed EveryDay. Though all brands were affected, being top of the totem pole, Tarang suffered the most.
Misconceptions about the UHT
Fauji Foods report says, the industry is recovering from the negative media campaign against packaged milk and tea whitener and is expected to grow in the period ahead.
“There are misconceptions about UHT technology in Pakistan. Majority of Europe is on UHT,” CEO of a dairy company said, giving examples of France, Spain and Germany where UHT is 96% (in the first two), and 60% in the third because it offers convenience. “Even in India, packaged industry has 40% share,” said he.
Experts are of the opinion that eventually the entire milk market will be converted to packaged industry as is the case everywhere in the world. Media speculation and rumours about the quality of UHT milk will die down, they say, but the real threat that still persists is the market for loose milk. In such an environment, regressive policies only hurt industry’s efforts for conversion.
“The imposition of regulatory duty and the change in sales tax regime on dairy products has increased cost pressures on the processed industry. The impact of these changes has not been fully passed onto the consumer, putting pressure on the company’s margins,” said Engro Foods responding to a question – the company’s gross margin declined from 25.4% to 17.1% during the nine-months ending September 2017.
The company says the undocumented and untaxed loose milk sector has created an uneven playing field for the processed industry – Engro Foods and Nestle Pakistan collectively paid Rs6 billion in corporate tax for 2016 as opposed to none paid by undocumented sector. “Current Company efforts are targeted towards driving loose milk conversion to fuel category growth while employing other tactical measures to gain market share,” it said.
The company admitted its sales were affected by the widening gap with loose milk and a widening pricing differential between loose and processed milk has also hurt conversion in the recent past.
The higher price differential with loose milk meant that price sensitive consumers switched back to the latter – loose milk was selling at Rs80 per kilogram and Olper’s at Rs95 per liter two years ago; currently the rates are Rs85 and Rs130.
The documented sector has to pass on the impact of increased costs to consumers because they can’t compromise on quality. The unbranded milk suppliers on the other hand have various ways to deal with any rise in input costs.
According to a survey by Profit, to retailers a liter of milk with 4% fat level costs Rs60, and with 7% fat level Rs80. This doesn’t include the labor and transportation expenses that further jack up overall costs of procurement. As a result, they resort to different methods to maximize their profits. For example, water is mixed in the milk to increase its quantity, corn flour is added to thicken the consistency, and ice – 8 litres for every 40 litres of milk – and caustic soda are used to increase the shelf life of this highly perishable commodity.
“Often one liter costs us more than 80 rupees. If we don’t do these things, how will we be able to sustain the business,” a loose milk retailer told our correspondent.
In a dairy convention at the Karachi Press Club in 2016, dairy farmers protested against the formal sector and demanded price regulation. They even questioned the corporate sector for selling “branded milk powder with chemicals that could cause health concerns”, without specifying, which chemicals were added. Even if coincidently, their calls were answered after UHT producers were taken on by the PFA. The formal sector demands, however, may not achieve similar results.
A delegation of Pakistan Dairy Association, an association of branded dairy milk producers, called on Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Islamabad last December and made some recommendations. These include, introduction of minimum pasteurization law at the federal level, harmonizing foods standards at national level, reinstatement of zero-rating regime, and removal of regulatory duty on skimmed milk powder.
Profit’s queries to the government were not responded to till the filing of this report, but an FBR official confirmed that the incumbent is in no mood to make any changes in the current tax regime.
Engro remains optimistic
That said, Engro Foods is still optimistic about achieving higher conversion rates. “It is possible to achieve this target and even beyond, given a level playing field coupled with efforts from all the players in the organized dairy sector,” said the company responding to a question if the formal sector can still reach 30% of the market by 2030. “We believe that the implementation of the minimum pasteurization law is under consideration by the government. This is an initiative that has clear and immediate impact on the health of the future generations,” said the company spokesman.
Responding to another question, the company said it would increase its product range. “RFC has a wide and diverse product portfolio and the company will introduce those best fit for the Pakistani market.”
The company refused to comment on the statistics about Tarang and Olper’s that we shared with them, nor did it specify a timeline for completion of the consolidation phase. “We see a huge opportunity in the Pakistani dairy market. Friesland has a long term view on Pakistan, which is why they have made a significant investment in Engro Foods,” it said.
Though optimistic about its long-term growth prospects, Engro Foods said the key objective is to drive conversion from loose milk to safe packaged milk as well as increase the product range offered to consumers. However, one of the analysts surveyed by Profit said, if their margins didn’t improve and things were not fixed he sees them reporting a loss of Rs0.15 per share in the last quarter of 2017.
-With additional input from Aisha Arshad
Once upon a time, a Japanese was walking down in Some Pakistani city centre. All of a sudden he saw a board on a dairy shop written PURE MILK IS AVAILABLE OVER HERE, He was astonished to see this narrative and asked his fellow that is there impure milk exist in Pakistan because this was beyond his imagination. To his innocence he was told that over 90% of the say over 50 billion litres of Pakistani milk sold every year is impure one.
As far above mentioned article is concerned, the crux of the problem is that The prevailing retail prices of packaged milk is beyond the affordability of say 90 % of 200 million Pakistani consumers. In the developed countries, agriculture, particularly dairy and livestock are subsidized, not to speak of levieing taxes and duties on such products. In the UK market pure pasturized milk is available 2 litres for one pound and certain hours it is 4 litres in one pound. How do they do? is some thing to ponder over. m.aslam ch
The problem with Engro which I felt is that their products are mostly not available normally in any big superstore such as Hyperstar etc. Whenever I want to buy their flour (Onaaj) or Milk (Olper), it is out of stock and then since last few months, it is not coming at all in major stores. Engro has to realize that the market that they target normally shops from supermarkets so it is sheer negligence that why their products are not available there whereas the alternates (Milkpak etc) are always available. I have searched Onaaj in many stores but still can’t get hold of it even though I found it one of the best flour brand.
instead of improving loose milk market, why we need to convert share of ordinary milkman to few corporate east india company
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We’ve already written about the new-generation Land Cruiser. However, the upcoming 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser Hybrid is now official, something we didn’t expect to happen in the next year or two. According to numerous reports, next-gen Land Cruiser will debut this August with a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. The same reports are saying that Toyota will trade its current V8 for a hybrid output that is borrowed from the Lexus LC 500h model.
That means the full-size SUV will lose horsepower but not significantly. According to Toyota, this model will get a lighter structure so the performances won’t drop drastically. The new platform is available, but Land Cruiser remains a body-on-frame SUV. Of course, the new-gen model is getting a redesign and an interior overhaul as well. Lastly, the hybrid version won’t depart from the regular Land Cruiser in terms of design.
New Body-On-Frame Platform
The upcoming 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser Hybrid will ride on a new architecture. This platform is a body-on-frame structure, once again. According to Toyota, new underpinnings will reduce a vehicle’s weight. For that reason, the lower output won’t drop the overall SUV’s performance. Moreover, this platform can accommodate a complete hybrid setup, including the battery pack.
New TNGA-F (Toyota New Global Architecture-F) will maintain Land Cruiser’s off-road capability and durability. Overall, the Japanese manufacturer feels the change is much-needed, and it should improve the ride quality in general.
2021 Toyota Land Cruiser Hybrid Setup
Toyota’s flagship SUV will trade its 381-hp V8 for a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. The very same setup can be found in a new Lexus LC 500h sedan. Lexus is using a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine in combination with two electric motors. Total output is rated at 354 horsepower. As you can see, a new 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser Hybrid will produce less power than the conventional gasoline variant.
The only thing that is uncertain at this moment is the transmission. Whatsoever, Lexus’ sophisticated gearbox won’t be able to survive the off-road abuse. Just like in the regular model, Land Cruiser Hybrid will also offer a 4×4 setup.
2021 Land Cruiser Redesign
Besides the latest mechanical changes, the new 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser Hybrid will wear a new design. It is Toyota’s latest design language, and you won’t be able to spot a difference between gasoline and hybrid models. Land Cruiser continues with its blocky appearance and simple styling. However, a new model will be more flamboyant, and a new platform will result in small dimensional changes.
Whatsoever, the full-size SUV will be 193.7 inches long. That means a new model is one inch shorter than its predecessor. Moreover, 2021 Land Cruiser is slightly wider. The new model will look more upscale, and it will wear a slightly larger grille. The rear part is getting a cleaner design, and Toyota will introduce new exterior colors.
Price and Arrival Date
The next-gen 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser Hybrid will arrive this August. It is huge news for this full-size SUV, and it comes as a big surprise for the fans around the globe. Unfortunately, new Land Cruiser Hybrid is uncertain for the United States at this point.
Interestingly, Japanese manufacturer sold less than 4,000 models in the U.S in 2019. However, this could be Toyota’s answer to the American markets. The price is another mystery, but we can expect for full-size SUV to start at $90,000.


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The Australian channel has been slammed in a new report for failing to provide adequate service and solutions to small businesses.
And it may be too late to win back the small business market, according to the BIS Shrapnel report. It claims that small businesses have now been so alienated from buying technology that most have no place for it in their future plans, citing budget and time restraints as the primary causes for their aversion.
However, resellers contacted by ARN have disputed the report claiming their small business customers are more than happy with the service they provide.
The report, titled: Marketing Enabled Technologies to Small Business Enterprise, claimed those Australian technology resellers and service providers are ignoring and alienating a potentially lucrative market. It claims there is a distinct lack of after-sales support for the more than 800,000 businesses with one to 20 employees.
The report's author, Liz Berryman, told ARN last week that only one third of businesses within this range even use a PC, not through lack of interest but because of a lack of time and knowledge to implement an effective technology strategy.
"There are several instances where small businesses have bought computers and then simply not used them because so-called experts have only wanted the dollar, rather than following up on the sale."
However, resellers that ARN talked to last week disparaged the survey's findings as untrue and misguided. According to Arthur Haddad, sales and marketing director for Turbosoft, resellers are reliant upon providing a high level of service.
"We rely on small businesses and their recommendations. We have some larger clients but they are just the icing on the cake. So our after-sales service is just as important as the actual sale."
Director of AB Office Electronics, Benson Chan, agrees and says he attempts to provide a total solution to small businesses.
Chan rationalises that large corporations have internal resources that they can utilise whereas " small-to-medium businesses are our focus because they have no one else to rely upon for their technology requirements".
According to Berryman, small businesses are easily driven to frustration by lack of training and access to the necessary information. Consequently, small business owners mistrust technology and the IT industry.
The problem is exacerbated when a customer's original investment, which averages $4500, expands to an unexpected $7500 due to technology support services.
Warren Macdonald, managing director of Barmac, recognises the attitude but believes that it is not as prevalent in his dealings with small businesses as the survey implies.
"Some small businesses expect you to do everything but it depends on the manager, because a couple of people really take an interest in technology and its applications. Admittedly, others, who are the whole business, just don't have the time to learn."
He stressed that service is an extremely important part of his business but it is not free. Haddad agrees, and asserts that most small businesses don't mind paying a bit extra for good service.
"Small businesses pay a higher premium than large volume driven companies, but they get a better quality and customised service."
The impression the report paints of small business owners as being ignorant is misguided, according to Neil Thompson of Abbot Technology. Small business people are often underestimated in their capacity to take on new ideas and systems, he says.
"They [small business owners] are a lot smarter than some people give them credit for and they are using whatever technology is available to make themselves more efficient."
In general, resellers see the key to operating in a small business market is to work face to face with a customer, recognise their specific needs and provide an ongoing solution for them and the growth of their company.


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This weekend, Friday 9- 11 February will be a bumper weekend of activities at EPIC!
The bookfair will be open in the Budawang and Coorong pavilions on:
Friday 9am to 6pm
Saturday 9am to 5pm, and
Sunday 10am to 4pm
The Capital Region Farmers market will be on Saturday morning 7:30am to 11:30am in the Kosciusko and Kuringai pavilions delivering the freshest produce meats and hand made goodies from all over Capital country.
Canberra Fashion Market and Canberra Kids Market are combining for the first time into a massive market selling new and pre-loved clothes toys and footwear for the whole family! Saturday only, in the Fitzroy Pavilion from 10am to 3pm.
To assist people in getting to Exhibition park, the EPIC bus stop on Flemington Rd will be active: Friday, Saturday & Sunday 9:30am to 3:30pm only
Please Note: Due to the expected number of visitors this weekend, traffic changes will be in place. Please check the EPIC website and/ or Facebook page for updates on traffic changes.
See you there!


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As part of its Thursday update, SCEA has announced a number of additions to the PlayStation Network Store, including Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
, an online multiplayer add-on to Tekken 5
and three sports and racing demos.
Released Wednesday on Xbox Live Arcade, Capcom has made its Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
remake available to PlayStation Network users, with identical artistic touch-ups and online play, set at a price of $9.99.
Also available is the add-on to Namco Bandai's arcade fighter Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection
. First released
in March, the new pack gives the game online mutiplayer capabilities at a price of $9.99, or bundled with the original game for $29.99.
Sony has also updated with three sports and racing demos, including Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008, All-Pro Football 2K8
, and NASCAR ’08
, as well as two more Heavenly Sword
related videos, including an “Episode Four: The Sound of Combat” making-of video and the fourth episode of its "The Divine Birth” anime video.
Finally, the service has added three trailers, one for its forthcoming RPG Folklore
, as well as Clive Barker’s Jericho
, and two movie trailers for Beowulf and Bee Movie.


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December 2017. Adidas has successfully foiled an attempt by a Mr Xiangqun Zhang to register a clothing label after the European Trademark Office EUIPO ruled it was too similar to adidas’ own.
Amazingly crude copy of the adidas logo
The logo Mr Zhang tried to register is a very crude design and looks as though it’s been done by a five-year-old! It’s a remarkably poor and clumsy copy. Fortunately it won’t be given a place in the European trademark register.
EUIPO issued its ruling on 6 December 2017, the same day on which the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) announced that due to ‘innovation’, the number of global patent and trademark registrations had risen sharply again in 2016, mainly on the strength of applications from China. Luckily most of these new Chinese trademarks will more ‘innovative’ than what Zhang was offering.


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It’s no secret that Millennials care more about what they eat than previous generations. And no, it’s not because they’re picky eaters.
It’s because they are more health conscious than baby boomers and Gen Xers combined, stated a relatively recent report from Nielsen, a NY-based marketing research firm. “Today's younger consumers are the most willing to take initiative on behalf of their well-being, and they are prepared to pay premium prices if necessary to achieve their goals,” the report reads.
It’s no surprise, then, that fitness food delivery services like Healthy Food Delivery have cropped up in the last two years, and are practically thriving as overnight successes wherever they appear. For a generation that believes in innovation and ‘working smarter, not harder,’ fitness food delivery services provide a popular alternative to the traditional way of preparing food tailored to their bodies’ specific nutritional needs and goals. No shopping, no cooking: only food that caters to your body's requirements, delivered straight to you with a single swipe or call from your phone – a concept that's truly healthy and amazingly convenient.
Healthy Food Delivery, in particular, is a fitness food delivery startup that only recently began serving customers across London. But they’re by no means operating small-scale: having already amassed a massive following of regular customers across the city, they now enjoy business from all boroughs, from Hillingdon to Havering.
“London has a significant population of Millennials, and that has helped us grow a lot in such a short period,” notes Inga Rogozina, proprietor of Healthy Food Delivery.
We’re surprised at how much we’ve grown ourselves, and we’re constantly looking for ways just to keep up with the delivery demand half the time.
Healthy Food Delivery is by no means the only fitness food delivery service in the neighborhood, but it’s by far one of the most ideal, granted its competitive pricing and gobsmackingly good food. “We pride ourselves in our ability to provide scrumptious food that’s truly tailored to the needs of our customers, and at reasonable prices, to boot. Our low overhead as a strictly delivery-only business is to thank for that,” notes Inga.
“Thanks to that, we’re struggling a bit with our ability to deliver food promptly, which means more chefs and delivery persons on our payroll. Before this campaign, we were actually considering crowdfunding as an option to raise capital, but since the concept was new to us, we didn’t know how to launch one and where.
Luckily, we found TFGcrowd thanks to a tip from a friend of mine, and saw it as the best platform for the amount that we need.
Emil Kerimov, CEO, and Founder of TFGcrowd is pleased with the Healthy Food Delivery’s decision to partner with them. “It’s a great business with a proven record and a fascinating concept. All our research so far shows the market they’re dealing with as growing, and I can see them entering their growth phase within the third quarter of next year at this rate. I wish them all the best in what they’re doing.”
Healthy Food Delivery hopes to raise 20’000€ and is offering a 17% interest rate on returns to be paid out monthly over the course of the 6-month loan term.


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Not all Windows XP users enjoyed a smooth upgrade to Service Pack 3. Shortly after the patch appeared on Windows Update, folks were storming message boards with complaints about endless reboot loops and other show-stopping bugs. Microsoft exec Jesper Johansson later shed light on the cause for one issue: HP mistakenly pre-loaded its AMD-based computers with an operating system image containing an Intel processor power management driver.
eWeek now says Microsoft is working together with HP on a fix. An HP spokeswoman told eWeek, "We are of course working diligently with Microsoft on a software update and will be proactively distributing a patch to customers this week through our automated HP Update service that will prevent this error from occurring." Users will also be able to head to hp's website and search for patch SP37394. "When the update is available, the search results screen will list the update with instructions for downloading and installation," she added.
In the meantime, HP has posted an article in its Customer Care knowledge base with workaround instructions for users running into the problem. Those looking for a pre-installation workaround can check Johansson's post, too.


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It doesn’t take a cryptologist to figure out that “123” isn’t exactly the hardest password to crack. Yet millions of people still use countless variations of it to lock up their digital-dependent lives, potentially exposing themselves to hackers.
In fact, more than 2.5 million people this year used “123456” as their password, which took less than one second to crack and was exposed nearly 24 million times.
That’s according to a list compiled by the password manager company NordPass, which ranked the 200 most common — and worst — passwords of 2020.
Perhaps not surprisingly, “123456” took the top spot on the company’s annual survey.
Evidently, adding more digits doesn’t help: “123456789” took the second spot and was exposed nearly 8 million times.
Using “password” as your password isn’t a great alternative, either. That ranked fourth and took less than a second to crack.
The 10 worst passwords were mostly composed of predictable number combinations, including “111111.”
But there were two new entries on this year’s list: “picture1,” which ranked third, and “senha,” which rounded out the top 10. (“Senha” is Portuguese for “password.”)
Some new passwords on NordPass’s list appear creative — such as “jacket025” and “trustno1” — but they, too, were easily cracked. There were also quite a few names on the list (sorry Ashley, Michelle, Jordan and Justin).
Other popular passwords include:
Despite constant warnings from cybersecurity experts about the dangers of online hacking, NordPass found that many of the most commonly used passwords in 2019 were still being used this year.
Chad Hammond, a security expert with the company, said that if you recognize your password among the top 200, change it immediately.
“Most of these passwords can be hacked in less than a second. Also, they have already been exposed in previous data breaches,” he said in a news release.
In recent years, the data of hundreds of millions of people have been breached. According to the database company Statista, breaches in the U.S. last year exposed nearly 165 million sensitive records.
Such exposure can be pricey. Identity theft can cost people thousands of dollars to resolve. The 2020 Identity Fraud Report by Javelin Strategy & Research found that fraud losses grew to nearly $17 billion in 2019, with consumers facing $3.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs that year.
Experts say strengthening passwords is a simple way to keep your personal information from becoming public.
“For example, your weak password can be used for credential stuffing attacks, where the breached logins are used to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. If you fall victim to a credential stuffing attack, you might lose your Facebook or another important account with all its content,” Hammond said.
“Also, your email address could be used for phishing attacks or for scamming your family and friends, who may very well fall for it, as the email will supposedly be coming from you,” he said.
NordPass recommends using complex, lengthy and unique passwords and then storing them in a password manager. Also, delete accounts you no longer use and regularly check the ones you do for suspicious activity.
- Use at least 10 characters; 12 is ideal for most home users.
- Try to be unpredictable. Don’t use names, dates or common words. Mix numbers, symbols and capital letters into the middle of your password, not at the beginning or end.
- Never use phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, your Social Security number, your name, family members’ names or pets’ names in your password.
- Don’t use the same password for many accounts. If it’s stolen from you — or from one of the companies where you do business — thieves can use it to take over all your accounts.
- Don’t share passwords on the phone, in texts or by email. Legitimate companies will not ask you for your password.
- Opt for two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication whenever offered to add an extra layer of protection to your accounts.
- Change your passwords regularly. Every three months is a good rule of thumb.
And remember, if you’re tired of trying to come up with clever passwords and you just type in “whatever,” that took less than a second to crack and was exposed nearly 200,000 times this year.
NordPass’s list of passwords was compiled in partnership with a third-party company specializing in data breach research. They evaluated a database that contained 275,699,516 passwords in total.


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// French Connection receives $6.5m loan for US business
// Fashion retailer notes “encouraging” trade across stores in England and Wales since being able to reopen
French Connection on Friday announced its US business has secured USD 6.5 million (£4.9 million) in additional funding, noting that trade has been “encouraging” at its stores in England and Wales since reopening on Wednesday December 2.
In a trading update this morning the UK-based fashion retailer said it had secured funding through the Main Street Lending Programme to support its US-based operations and employees.
The loan is for a period of five years, with repayments due from the end of the third year.
French Connection noted that its US business is predominantly wholesale, and that the loan will provide the working capital needed “at certain times of year to operate”.
“Looking forward there will continue to be considerable challenges, with both the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the uncertainty relating to Brexit but we feel we are well positioned to capitalise on any opportunities that arise,” the retailer added.
French Connection said that since its half year results on October 13, its ecommerce channels had continued to trade positively despite adopting “a less promotional stance”.
Wholesale has performed well with the company’s major online customers continuing to trade and take deliveries throughout the period.
French Connection added that its Spring 21 orders are currently ahead of its expectations.


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“The weddings that were supposed to happen in April-June did not happen. Now those weddings are happening in October-December,” stated Mayank Mohanlal, director of century-old Mohanlal Sons that operates a few dozen shops in north India and counts prime politicians, film stars and cricketers amongst its purchasers. “On top of that, there are marriages that were planned for this quarter. Plus there are no sayas (astrologically auspicious days) in January and February, so those weddings are also getting squeezed into this quarter.”
Mohanlal Sons noticed enterprise regain virtually 85% of final yr’s degree in October, up from about 60% in September, because of this revival in wedding ceremony purchases. “So we have to rake in the moolah between October to December,” stated Mohanlal.
This is a welcome rebound for ethnic put on corporations which were hit tougher in the course of the pandemic as shoppers both reduce down spending on apparels and moved to work-from-home attires together with T-shirts, shorts and sportswear merchandise and just about shunned ethnic-wear objects.
The onset of the Diwali season and the revival in weddings after months of inactivity are spreading some cheer amongst ethnic attire sellers together with Manyavar, Biba, W for Woman, Meena Bazaar amongst others.
“As weddings are coming up now, demand in October has been decent for us,” stated Dalpat Jain, CFO of Manyavar, a Howrah, West Bengal, based mostly ethnic model endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan and Ranveer Singh. “So we are hoping November also should be a good month. Third quarter is historically important for us, and from a revenue perspective, we should be able to earn 90-100% of what we did last year. ”
Though a rush of weddings is anticipated this quarter, they’d be restricted to small gatherings of 100-150 company in comparison with the large fats Indian weddings of earlier instances.
“Currently they are spending less on the entertainment or the décor but they want to fulfil their desire of dressing best and looking the best on their most important days,” stated Sameer Manglani, associate on the Delhi-based ethnic put on model Meena Bazaar who stated the corporate has now regained virtually 80% of its pre-pandemic enterprise.


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Latest Internet censorship Stories
A new project launched by Wikileaks will reveal evidence of a global surveillance network that allows governments to spy on their citizens through their smartphones and other mobile devices, website founder Julian Assange told reporters Thursday.
Joining TeleMate.Net Softwareâ€™s broad customer baseâ€”including over 18,000 deployments globallyâ€”a Georgia-based charter system will receive a free web filter and realize significant cost
The US Army analyst accused of leaking a vast number of government secrets to the Wikileaks website will make his first court appearance on December 16.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Monday that the site will have to stop publishing secret cables if it is unable to end a financial "blockade" by companies like Visa and Mastercard.
The hacker group Anonymous busted a collection of child pornography Web sites and published the names of those who have participated in its illegal activities.
The US government obtained a secret court order forcing Google Inc. and Internet provider Sonic.net Inc. to release data from email accounts of a WikiLeaks volunteer.
The free resource helps K-12 districts balance the educational use of the Internet with online safety and security. Bakersfield, CA (PRWEB) October 05, 2011
- The parings of haberdine; also, any kind of fragments.


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ITALY: Footwear Industry Moves Out Of Recession Says ANCI
The Italian footwear industry is moving out of the recession that has crippled it for the past three years the Italian footwear manufacturers association said.Antonio Brotini, chairman of ANCI, the Italian footwear manufacturers association, said: "Production has increased by 1.5 per cent according to data from our regular six-monthly sample surveys. These figures are the first sign of a change in the negative period we've been through. Even the fall in exports, heavily negative for the past three years, has slowed considerably, with a figure of only -1.8 per cent in the first five months. But the most encouraging news is the growth in value - 10 per cent - and of average prices, which are up 12.9 per cent."The ANCI said that it was too early to say whether the Italian industry was moving into a positive cycle and pointed out that there were still problems to be dealt with. The strength of the dollar would encourage greater competition in non-European markets, as well as increasing raw hide prices.
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This is the new Philadelphia Union away jersey 2021, Philly Union’s new secondary kit for the upcoming MLS season. Made by Adidas, the new Philadelphia alternate shirt was officially unveiled in the first week of February 2021.
The predominantly blue and yellow kit features a lightning bolt design on the front and was made in association with the club’s supporters. The words “Energy and Persistence Conquer All” can be seen inside the necktape.
The 2021 season of Major League Soccer is just a few weeks away, and fittingly enough for an idea that was conceived 27 years ago, will have 27 teams this campaign with the addition of a new expansion franchise in the form of Austin FC. Continue reading
This is the new Club America third kit 2021, Mexican club America’s new second alternative strip for the upcoming Mexican league season. The new jersey has been made by Nike and is a nod to the country’s Aztec culture and is also a tribute to the famous Eagle Knight jersey worn by well known goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa back in 2008. Veteran Ochoa was also chosen to model this outfield shirt, as was Giovani dos Santos, as can be seen in the pics below.


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Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has launched a carbon emission tracker feature within its mobile app. The initiative results from QIB’s collaboration with Visa and sustainability service solution provider, ecolytiq.
QIB said that the launch reinforces its commitment to reshape digital banking with a focus on sustainability and environmental awareness.
The aim is to instil environment-friendly card spend behaviour among its customers. It also represents a first-of-its-kind initiative within the card sector in Qatar.
Informing customers of carbon emissions associated with every card transaction
Specifically, the feature aims to enlighten customers about the carbon emissions associated with every card transaction. QIB said it will encourage customers to embrace more eco-friendly financial activities. Users can now track their transactions and receive guidance on cultivating more responsible spending habits. QIB will be able to calculate and account for its carbon footprint originating from its retail banking customer card spends.
Some of the key features include environment friendly card spending tips and tracking of users’ cumulative monthly carbon footprint. It will also compare customers’ behaviour with previous months carbon emission values. And it offers the option to refine specific transactions as well as refine customer profile based on individual lifestyle. All of these features will, said QIB, help towards identifying a more accurate carbon footprint impact.
D Anand, QIB GM, Personal Banking, said: “The QIB mobile app stands as the preferred banking channel for our customers. It exemplifies our commitment to leading in digital banking through Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. We consistently investigate our customers’ daily banking needs and proactively integrate features that align with ESG standards. Our dedication goes beyond addressing current needs. We are steadfast in our investment in technology and innovation to elevate the overall customer experience while working towards a greener, more sustainable environment.”
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Monumental shift in the market
David Lais, ecolytiq co-founder and MD added: “This partnership marks a monumental shift in the market. Climate engagement in banking is coming to Qatar. Our innovative work with QIB and Visa is giving banking customers in Qatar more transparency and choice to live sustainably. We are proud to have been chosen to help QIB guide their customers through the complexity of the environmental crisis by making this a fundamental part of QIB’s banking experience. QIB has decided to embrace the future of banking by being a part of it.”
Ecolytiq teamed up with Visa and Mashreq in a similar launch in the UAE. The Mashreq carbon emission tracker launch represented a first of its kind product in the UAE.
Shashank Singh, Visa Country Manager, Qatar and Kuwait, said: “We are delighted to acknowledge the groundbreaking achievement by QIB with the launch of the carbon emission tracker feature developed in partnership with ecolytiq. This pioneering initiative highlights QIB’s dedication to transforming digital banking, placing a significant emphasis on sustainability and environmental consciousness.”
QIB: only local bank to adopt Equator Principles
Earlier in 2023, the bank unveiled the third edition of its sustainability report, spotlighting significant advancements in its sustainability initiatives. This encompasses proactive steps taken to manage climate-related risks and capitalise on opportunities. It also aligns with the recommendations set forth by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. In June 2023, QIB became the first and only bank in Qatar to adopt the Equator Principles. This integrates environmental, social, and governance-based risks in its risk management process.


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SM Northwest placed on lockdown after sound of gunfire. The Shawnee Mission School District placed SM Northwest on lockdown for a period Monday morning after reports of what sounded like gunfire in the area. Chief Communication Officer David Smith said there had been no confirmation of gunfire in the area as of Monday afternoon. SM Northwest is one of the locations that offers the Summer Lunch Bunch program, which provides hot meals during the summer months, so it sees a decent amount of foot traffic in and out of the building even when school is not in session.
Merriam hosting Party in Your Park this Friday. The city of Merriam is hosting Party in Your Park from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 19 at Campbell Park, 9674 W. 61st St. Merriam parks and recreation staff will entertain with games, a bounce house and light dinner, and area musicians will provide live entertainment.
Plant disease identified in rhododendrons in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s plant protection and weed control program last month confirmed the presence of a plant disease, Sudden Oak Death (SOD), in hundreds of rhododendrons sold at large retail stores in Kansas. The plant disease has killed large tracts of oaks and other native species in California and Oregon, and infected rhododendrons have been identified in 10 states in the Midwest, including Kansas. The causal agent of SOD, Phytophthora ramorum, had been detected in rhododendrons originating from Park Hill Plants nursery in Oklahoma, and plants from that nursery were shipped to 60 Walmart stores across Kansas and one Home Depot store in Pittsburg, Kansas. There is no treatment for the disease and infected plants should be destroyed to prevent spread. For more information about the plant disease, go to agriculture.ks.gov/SOD.


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Airlines, cruises, casinos and hotels were among the gainers in premarket trading after China's slashing of the quarantine time for inbound travelers by half boosted hopes of a big jump in international travel and spending.
Shares of Walt Disney Inc rose 2.5% to top the list of gainers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after the company's Shanghai Disney Resort said it would reopen the Disneyland theme park on June 30 after being shut for more than three months.
Spirit Airlines and American Airlines Group Inc were the biggest gainers in the sector, rising 4% and 2% respectively.
Melco Resorts jumped 10% and led the rise in the casino sector, closely followed by Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International.
Wall Street's main indexes started the week on soft footing after worries of surging inflation and an aggressive Federal Reserve dominated sentiment amid few market moving catalysts till the start of earnings season in two weeks.
Investors are now looking at data to determine whether the economy can withstand large interest rate hikes by the U.S. central bank to stamp out inflation.
A survey from the Conference Board is expected to show its consumer confidence index slipped to a reading of 100.4 in June, from 106.4 in May, at 10 a.m. ET.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to post losses in June and are on course to log two straight quarterly declines for the first time since 2015.
At 6:49 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 175 points, or 0.56%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 20 points, or 0.51%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 52.25 points, or 0.43%.
Nike Inc shed 2.8% as it forecast first-quarter revenue below estimates on expectations of more discounts and pandemic-related disruptions in China, its most profitable market.
Occidental Petroleum Corp climbed 3.1% after top investor Warren Buffett raised stake in the shale producer.
China ADRs also rose on Beijing easing its COVID curbs, with e-commerce firms Alibaba.com, JD.com and Pinduoduo up between 1.2% and 1.4%
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
By Shreyashi Sanyal


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Could the next London Fashion Week in February be the best one ever? Just yesterday, we announced that Stella McCartney would be coming home to hold a fashion presentation during […]
Post Tagged with: "McQ"
McQ has been born as the younger contemporary label of the Alexander McQueen brand, and this month, an exclusive collection will be popping up in Selfridges.
We’re not sure if it’s the decidedly punk spirit or the Cobain-infused angst, but something at McQ’s press day had us feeling rather rebellious. Tartan and safety pins? Hell, why […]


text: < PrevNext > AI's Journey to Add a Personal Touch to Business Travel Will Take Root By TravelBank co-founder & CEO Duke Chung / 22 January 2019 Share Buzzword or not, artificial intelligence will move beyond travel booking to all aspects of the travel experience from before booking to real-time itinerary changes to post-trip actions. But don't expect to see this truly personalized experience until 2025. No, 2019 isn't the year AI takes over the corporate travel industry, but it is the year AI lays the groundwork to bring a personal touch that will change the next 20 years of corporate travel.Chatbots are going to get smarter, but don't count out travel agents just yet: Conversational AI, particularly in chatbots and predictive text, already is being used for customer service. Chatbots and self-service options, preferred by Millennials, provide deeper information and are faster during high-volume events when airline travel agents aren't available. However, don't add travel agents to the list of jobs AI will eliminate. Instead, AI will empower travel agents to deliver more efficient and personal experiences. When chatbots interact with customers first, travel agents then can focus on providing better customer service.Machine learning and other types of AI will garner more attention: Right now, machine learning gathers and interprets data to draw conclusions about customers and make relevant recommendations. The technology is more meaningful when those systems have a lot of data and can collect even more information. Expense companies, for example, can capture approximately five times more data than travel-only software companies, according to internal TravelBank data analyzed in 2019, which is why we'll see more partnerships and consolidation in the space. Travel platforms that are constantly learning and understanding personal travel preferences and applying that to travelers' schedules are closer to automatic creation of full travel itineraries for business travelers. For example, if a travel management platform determines a user has SkyMiles status, it will present the traveler with recommended Delta flight results, including Comfort Plus and Delta One upgrade options.Expense reports will become the new fax machines: AI's impact on expense reports will come in stages. In the next year or two, AI will determine which new expense entry is a flight, another form of transportation, lodging or miscellaneous. When an expense is identified as a flight, for example, pre-approved settings from the internal team can improve the reimbursement process significantly, cutting the time an employee waits for payment. In five to 10 years, expense reports will require almost zero human oversight from either user or approver. Machine learning can tap GPS data to auto-fill categories and gather receipt information, and with mobile wallets, expense reports will just happen.This year is key to what corporate travel looks like in 10 years. And over the next 15 years, AI will be smart enough to book changes to preferred routes and hotels automatically based on profile and history; just recently, Google's AI labs trained a neural network to book a flight. When we look back at how we got there, 2019 will mark the turning point.


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During this impressive period of economic expansion, 2016 was a banner year for big box industrial absorption with 16.1 million square feet. Even as we get late into the cycle, there’s always the possibility of topping records as that figure rose to 17.4 million square feet last year.
Reinforcing this 2019 absorption, according to Colliers International research, were new leases and lease expansions in the newest and largest industrial buildings to come to market. Totaling 20.8 million square feet, this was also a record for the cycle.
The development of new, massive warehouses can drive up vacancy for this product type just because of the sheer amount of new space that is added. In fact, for the past few years, lagging leasing activity among buildings greater than 750,000 square feet has saddled this size category with the highest vacancy rate in the Chicago metro.
According to last year’s figures, this category’s 6.76 percent vacancy rate turned out to be the lowest as large-footprint users returned to the market. The overall big box vacancy rate decreased by 54 basis points to 8.53 percent in the Chicago area during 2019, the lowest the rate has been since Q2 2017.
Users were overwhelmingly drawn to the I-80 corridor; the 5.7 million square feet of net absorption in that submarket was good for a third of recorded net absorption across the market. These fundamentals were buoyed by the completion of several build-to-suit projects and nearly 6 million square feet of new leasing volume—the most in 2019.
Colliers helped broker the Q4 lease that saw Amazon commit to over 1 million square feet at 23714 W. Amoco Road in Channahon, Illinois. Venture One Real Estate is developing the build-to-suit project on behalf of the e-commerce giant.
The largest lease of 2019 was also in the I-80 corridor, as Target Corporation took the entirety of Rock Creek Logistics Center in Joliet, Illinois. Developed as a joint venture between The Opus Group and AEW Capital Management, the 1.2 million-square-foot industrial logistics facility features 36-foot clear height, 350 trailer positions, four drive-in doors, more than 400 parking stalls and 92 exterior dock doors.
Market-wide, supply and demand are fairly balanced at the moment. The 17.4 million square feet of net absorption during 2019 kept pace with the 17.5 million square feet of new speculative and build-to-suit big box product delivered during the year.
In addition to their Joliet facility, Target pre-leased an additional 1 million square feet of spec space at 3501 S. Pulaski Road in Chicago. Crate & Barrel and Fresenius Kabi USA each agreed to move into large, build-to-suit facilities—646,380 square feet in Romeoville, Illinois for the former and 590,525 square feet in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin for the latter.
Developers completed 17.5 million square feet of big box space last year, across 40 projects—the largest tally of new completions in two years. There are another 30 big box projects now underway that will deliver 12.4 million square feet to the market. Of these, 21 buildings totaling 7.1 million square feet are being built on spec.
In another record for Chicago’s industrial market, new big box leasing activity totaled 20.7 million square feet during 2019 according to Colliers research. There were four new leases greater than 800,000 square feet signed during the year, two of which were over 1 million square feet. That’s quite the turn of events from one year prior as there wasn’t a single lease greater than 800,000 square feet signed during 2018.


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May is here and it’s already a busy busy month here at Namecheap. We’ve launched new dedicated servers, are running a dedicated server promotion, have a new Namecheap Deals partner, and we’re always busy at work making sure we always put our customers first. Domains for Less! For the rest of May, get $1 off … Continue reading May 2013 Newsletter
There’s been a large attack on worldwide WordPress installations over the past week. This has made news at the highest levels and was covered early on by ArsTechnica and even today made the BBC. We were initially rather silent on the attack itself. Others were quick to jump on the PR bandwagon but we were … Continue reading The big WordPress attack and how Namecheap helped
Everyone knows that finding the right products and services can be difficult and taxing on your brain. Namecheap has come up with a way to remove the need for you to think at all. Today they announced the most innovative solution to hit the market, yet – the Guesstimator™ (patent pending). Like magic, the Guesstimator™ instinctively … Continue reading Namecheap Announces Their New Crystal Ball Technology: The Guesstimator™ (patent pending)!
This week is CISPA Action Week! At Namecheap, we’re proud to be at the forefront of raising awareness with EFF about CISPA with the #CISPAAlert program. This time, we feel that the Internet community is the only force that can stop this privacy-destroying legislation. Why are “we the users” the only ones left? It’s quite … Continue reading CISPA Action Week – Sound the Alarm to Protect Privacy
Do you know everything there is to know about domain names? Perhaps you do, but perhaps you don’t. Our team has put together the most exhaustive domain name infographic ever, covering everything from the pros and cons of generic TLDs to the top gTLD registries to details on ccTLDs, to the traffic by TLD, and … Continue reading Want to know more about domains? [INFOGRAPHIC]
We’re pleased to announce that we are now accepting Bitcoin payment methods on Namecheap. We’re the first domain name registrar to do so and the fifth largest site in the world accepting Bitcoin, so we’re really proud of our innovative approach and this accomplishment. Bitcoin is a peer to peer decentralized currency that enables instant … Continue reading Namecheap Now Accepts Bitcoin
We’ll be donating $0.10 $1.00 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation for every retweet and share of this post and for tweets mentioning the hashtag #CISPAalert. In addition, coupon code CISPAalert will save you a dollar on all com/net/org registrations and transfers and we’ll donate $0.10 $1.00 to EFF for every domain registered and transferred on … Continue reading Unite With Namecheap Against CISPA
Namecheap’s 2nd Annual Move Your Domain Day exceeded expectations. We donated $44,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help continue the fight for an Open Internet. The infographic below summarizes the events and shows the impact of #myddnc. Thanks to everyone for making it a huge success! Click here for large size
Last year, our customers helped us raise more than $64,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the fight for our Internet freedom. With SOPA lingering, we told our lawmakers that we do not want a closed Internet. SOPA in its iteration in 2012 may have been squashed, but we continually face threats to our Internet … Continue reading Namecheap Announces 2nd Annual Move Your Domain Day
Namecheap is turning 12! To celebrate our birthday, we’re running a trivia starting on 10/24 (EST)! We’ll be asking Namecheap-themed questions every hour for the 24 hours and giving away domains and an iPad to the top winner! In the event of a tie, we’ll randomly select one winner among the top scorers. We’re also … Continue reading Namecheap Turns 12!


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Building on the early success of its new Magic Mixies IP, Moose Toys is rolling out a robust licensing program to expand the brand and tap into a new wave of interactive unboxing experiences.
Magic Mixies are interactive toys that come with a cauldron, wand, spell book and all of the ingredients kids need to mix up a magical potion. After filling the cauldron with water, children are prompted to add the ingredients, which foam and bubble before revealing a completely dry Mixie creature.
Within a month of their October 1 launch, the toys had become company’s highest-grossing SKU per week, even surpassing its ever-popular Shopkins brand. This rapid-fire success prompted the Australian toymaker to fast-track the brand’s licensing program, which will hit retail in time for the 2022 holiday season and focus on publishing, apparel and accessories. These new products will launch in North America, Australia and the UK first, before rolling out globally. And a second wave of additional categories is set to hit shelves in fall 2023.
Moose Toy’s chief marketing officer Ronnie Frankowski believes Magic Mixies became an overnight sensation because it empowers kids to control the unboxing experience.
“Kids are actually creating the magic, as opposed to lots of other surprise or unboxing experiences that are more about [just watching it happen],” he says. “It provides an almost theatrical experience at home.”
The toy’s US$69.99 price point was also a contributing factor to its high-grossing performance. (Shopkins collectibles, by contrast, were priced at less than US$5 when they first launched in 2014.) And the unboxing experience has the potential for re-playability since the cauldron can be reused with Magic Mixies Cauldron Magical Mist and Spells Refill Packs that are available for US$9.99.
The line has proven so popular that the toyco can’t keep it on shelves. Ongoing delays in the shipping industry are contributing to this scarcity as growing consumer demand and disruptions to the supply chain have created long wait times and increased prices. Despite shifting to air shipping in an effort to meet demand, Moose Toys expects the range to completely sell out during the holiday season.
In addition to a consumer products program, Moose is also planning content inspired by Magic Mixies. The focus will be on exploring the world of the brand and the backstory of its characters, Frankowski says.


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Premium jeans maker True Religion Apparel Inc. on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings that fell significantly short of Wall Street expectations and cut its 2006 outlook, sending its shares down more than 22% after hours.
Chief Financial Officer Charles Lesser blamed exceptionally warm weather outside the U.S. and softer-than-expected sales in Japan for the lowered sales outlook.
Shares of True Religion fell $4.78 to $16.48 in extended trading after having risen $1.22 to $21.26 in the regular session.
On the possible sale of True Religion, Chief Executive Jeffrey Lubell said the Los Angeles-based company was still reviewing strategic alternatives.
For the year, True Religion expects sales of $138 million to $140 million, down from its previous estimate of $148 million to $150 million.
True Religion cut its 2006 earnings outlook to $1.11 to $1.12 a share, before one-time expenses on arbitration settlement and unusual banking expenses of 8 cents a share. In August, the company projected 2006 earnings of about $1.25 a share, before one-time expense of 5 cents a share.
Analysts have forecast earnings of $1.27 a share, before items, on revenue of $149.9 million for the year, according to Reuters Estimates.
For the third quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings of 37 cents a share, which missed analysts' expectations by 7 cents a share. The company's quarterly sales of $42.9 million were below analysts' estimates by $5 million.


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JD Sports sells 15 retail brands to Frasers Group for almost £50m
JD Sports has sold 15 retail brands to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group for almost £50m.
The owner of House of Fraser and Sports Direct has snapped up JD Sports’ interests in Base Childrenswear, Choice, Clothingsites (including Brown Bag Clothing), Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Missy Empire, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Prevu Studio, Rascal Clothing, Tessuti (including Xile), Scotts, Watch Shop and Topgrade Sportswear (including Get The Label).
The deal has been agreed for up to £47.5m and is to be paid by Frasers Group’s existing cash resources.
The deals for Cricket, Tessuti Scotts, Giulio, Choice, Rascal Clothing and Topgrade Sportswear (including Get The Label) are expected to complete early next year. The deals of the other businesses were completed on exchange.
JD Sports said the deals come following a strategic review led by the group’s chief executive, Régis Schultz.
A statement said: “The divestment of these businesses will allow the group to focus more fully on the opportunities across the rest of the group, in particular the international and digital expansion of the group’s core premium sports fashion fascias.
JD Sports added that the deals will result in it recognising a non-cash exceptional charge in its annual accounts for the period to January. 28 2023 of approximately £100m.
Mr Schultz said: “JD is rightly recognised for its laser focus on the customer and we are convinced that the most significant opportunities lie in the continued international development of the group’s global sports fashion businesses.
“We are pleased to have agreed the sale of these attractive, but non-core, brands and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all colleagues at the businesses which form part of the transaction for their hard work and contribution to the group over the years.”
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There’s nothing more uplifting than a bright light in a dark situation, and in the case of recent hurricane devastation, that shining light comes from TJX. The parent company of TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshalls, TJX has confirmed that it is still paying its employees in Puerto Rico, even though the stores themselves remain closed.
Hurricane Maria hit the island on September 20, causing at least 51 deaths and damaging approximately 230,000 homes. Even now, two months later, most of Puerto Rico is still without electricity, and at least 20 percent of the island is without water.
But one Facebook user had an encouraging message to leave people on the #PuertoRicoStrong page — his son, employed by Marshalls, had just publicly thanked TJX for continuing to send paychecks his way, despite his workplace being closed.
“I was worried about my son and he told me, ‘Don’t worry dad, Marshalls is still paying us,'” dad Ivan Melendez wrote in the post. “And they have given employees supplies. Thank you Marshalls, for such an honorable gesture.”
In a statement to NBC Boston, TJX explained their decision to continue sending checks to their employees.
“Based on the devastating situation in Puerto Rico, we can confirm that we have continued to pay our TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods Associates on the island,” a spokesperson for TJX said in a statement. “We believe it is the right thing for us to do under these circumstances.”
There are 29 TJX-owned stores on the island, and though it’s not clear how many of them are still closed or when the closed stores will open, it’s encouraging to see that the parent company is still keeping its employees top of mind during this tough time. How inspiring!
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Apple is reportedly set to ship a rumored less-expensive version of the iPhone to China Mobile, indicating that the two companies have finally signed an agreement that could see the iPhone access the world's largest cellular carrier's over 700 million subscribers.
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported Apple is prepping shipments of a low-cost iPhone, dubbed by many as the "iPhone 5C," to China Mobile, suggesting the Cupertino, Calif., company has finally reached an agreement with the Chinese telecom.
While an official signed agreement has not yet been announced, Apple's planned shipments strongly suggest a deal was reached after years of negotiations.
The sources say Apple asked partner supplier Foxconn to add China Mobile to the list of iPhone 5C recipients, though not much else is known about the purported plan. It is unknown if the carrier will be part of a launch expected to happen toward the end of September, but news of the deal may be announced at Apple's Sept. 10 media event.
A report on Thursday claimed current Apple partner carriers China Telecom and China Unicom would be taking receipt of both the iPhone 5C and the flagship "iPhone 5S" variant for a Sept. 20 release. China Mobile was said to be waiting in the wings and could debut the iPhone on its network as soon as November.


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The Senate just released 88 pages of a confidential 270+ page marketing plan by Forest Laboratories, created in 2004 and focused on how to get doctors to prescribe the antidepressant Lexapro over similar but cheaper alternatives such as Celexa. The New York Times notes that the line between marketing and education seems to be heavily blurred, which may not surprise you. There are, however, two interesting notes for consumers who may be taking Lexapro.
The first is that the FDA doesn’t require Lexapro’s makers to statistically back up their claim that Lexapro is more effective than Celexa, which is basically Lexapro’s parent. (Forest Laboratories changed the molecular structure of Celexa, which was about to lose its patent protection, in order to create Lexapro in 2002.) In fact, Forest has even used this near-interchangeability to its financial advantage:
The F.D.A. views the two medicines as so interchangeable that the agency recently approved Lexapro’s use in depressed adolescents based in part on the results of a study Forest conducted using Celexa.
The second is that sales of Lexapro are on the wane, and correspondingly Forest “has been recently raising the price.” But, “Many doctors say they believe that Lexapro is the best antidepressant, so they prescribe the drug despite its cost.”


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Gulfood deals exceed $500m.
"Current total exceeds $500 million and still counting. Contracts made during the show are still being reported and tallied. Organisers expect figures to increase considerably as more information on deals signed at the show is reported," a spokesperson told Gulf News.
"In 2007, the value of deals collated two weeks after the exhibition reached $300 million. But we're barely a few days after the closing of Gulfood and that amount has already been exceeded," the source added.
Koma, a Dutch manufacturer of freezing and cooling systems, reportedly bagged about $2 million worth of deals over the course of Gulfood. Its subsidiary made an additional $1.6 million.
Companies exhibiting under the US Pavilion also sealed a staggering $100 million deals, while a major supplier generated business in excess of $80 million in the first three days of the exhibition.
Brazilian group Nutriza also went home with orders for over 300 tonnes of the Friato chicken brand, as spice importers and equipment suppliers reported strong sales.
Malaysian manufacturers of palm oil-based products, MM Vitaoils and Alami Vegetable Oil Products, won deals worth over $1 million. High demand from countries like Yemen and Kuwait, as well as several African nations, were recorded.
Cafe Canecao, a coffee company, also signed a contract to ship $100,000 worth of coffee to Saudi Arabia. Other companies, such as Sanden Intercool, a manufacturer of refrigerated showcases and freezers, reported strong business with visitors from major target markets.
"This is our fourth year at Gulfood and the exhibition is bigger and better than ever. Our aim was to develop serious business inquiries from Africa, a key market for us, and we have exceeded our expectations," said Manoj Kanaya, Sanden Intercool sales and marketing manager. Show organisers attributed Gulfood's strong commercial performance this year to the record number of visitors, with over 39,000 people registered over the week.
There were also more than 2,500 companies that participated, compared to last year's 2,471 firms.
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|Publication:||Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)|
|Date:||Mar 3, 2008|
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