text:
NEW YORK and LITTLETON, Colo., Dec. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Anheuser-Busch today announced it will acquire Colorado-based Breckenridge Brewery. With this agreement, Breckenridge Brewery is the seventh craft brewery to join The High End, Anheuser-Busch's business unit of craft and import brands.
"We're excited about the partnership and have been encouraged to continue on our path and become more innovative moving forward," said Todd Usry, President of Breckenridge Brewery. "I'm a believer in what The High End is focused on accomplishing and we are flattered that our team was chosen to help guide that journey. We're looking forward to utilizing resources like decades of research and brewing expertise as we continue to create new beers."
Available in 35 states, Breckenridge Brewery will sell approximately 70,000 barrels of beer in 2015. The new brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton have positioned the brewery for future growth. The brewery will continue to make its unique portfolio of beers – ranging from their Vanilla Porter, to Agave Wheat, to their core brands, seasonal specialties and barrel-aged beers.
"Breckenridge Brewery has a long history of innovation and they continue to brew new and exciting beers, from their specialty brews like the Mountain Series that celebrates the brewery's origin as a ski town brewpub, to their planned nitro can series," said Andy Goeler, CEO, Craft, The High End. "They are innovative and have built an amazing business that's enabled them to get their great beers to fans across the country. We look forward to even more growth together."
Breckenridge Brewery will join Goose Island Beer Company, Blue Point Beer Company, 10 Barrel Brewing, Elysian Brewing Company, Golden Road Brewing and Four Peaks Brewing Company as part of The High End's craft beer portfolio.
The partnership includes the company's new production brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton, and original brewpub and current innovation center in the mountain town of Breckenridge.
The current management group, Breckenridge-Wynkoop, will continue to own and operate its remaining businesses including: Ale House at Amato's in Denver; Breckenridge Ale House in Grand Junction; Breckenridge Colorado Craft in Denver; The Cherry Cricket in Denver; Mainline in Fort Collins; Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. in Colorado Springs; and Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver.
Anheuser-Busch's partnership with Breckenridge Brewery is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
First Beverage Group acted as financial advisor to Breckenridge Brewery, and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP provided legal counsel.
About Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge Brewery, based in Littleton, Colo. and founded in 1990, is known for creating balanced, approachable and interesting hand-crafted beers. The original recipes – and a handful of seasonal creations – are hand-crafted at the company's Colorado-based production brewery in Littleton, and brewpub in Breckenridge, and also available in 35 states across the country. For more information, visit http://www.breckbrew.com/ or be social at fb.com/BreckenridgeBrewery and @BreckBrew on Instagram and Twitter.
For more than 160 years, Anheuser-Busch and its world-class brewmasters have carried on a legacy of brewing America's most-popular beers. Starting with the finest ingredients sourced from Anheuser-Busch's family of growers, every batch is crafted using the same exacting standards and time-honored traditions passed down through generations of proud Anheuser-Busch brewmasters and employees. Best known for its fine American-style lagers, Budweiser and Bud Light, the company's beers lead numerous beer segments. Budweiser and Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita were named Brands of the Year for the Beer and the Spirits, Malt Beverages and Wine categories, respectively, by Ace Metrix® in 2014. Anheuser-Busch is the U.S. arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev and operates 17 local breweries, 21 distributorships and 23 agricultural and packaging facilities across the United States. Its flagship brewery remains in St. Louis, Mo., and is among the global company's largest and most technologically capable breweries. Visitor and special beermaster tours are available at its St. Louis and five other Anheuser-Busch breweries. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.
About The High End
The High End is a business unit of Anheuser-Busch, created to provide its unique craft and European import brands with autonomy and support for growth, while fostering a collaborative environment for the brightest brewers in the beer community. The High End brings dedicated resources to support the growth of its brands, create successful partnerships and deliver more variety to consumers. Established now, The High End includes brands such as Stella Artois and Shock Top, along with craft breweries Goose Island, Blue Point, 10 Barrel, Elysian and Golden Road.


text:
Jeff Bezos, Amazon chief and owner of the Washington Post, isn't sure that services like paywalls and tiered subscriptions can work for publishers.
During a wide-ranging panel at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit, Bezos talked about how he works with the Washington Post staff, as well as the tech giant's recent move into artificial intelligence and his thoughts on the presidential election. One of the most interesting nuggets in the conversation came out when Bezos talked about how the Washington Post plans to make money in the future. Despite running arguably the world's biggest ecommerce company, asking consumers to pay for content isn't a model that he's totally sold on.
"These things can change, but I don't see evidence yet that consumers are amenable to those kinds of micro-payments," Bezos told a packed room. "In the early days of music subscription services, consumers were not amenable to music subscriptions—they didn't want that, they wanted to buy it a la carte. Habits and behaviors and patterns of consumers do change slowly over time—maybe one day they will pay."
Bezos also said that he wants to move the Post from "making a relatively large amount of money per reader, having a relatively small number of readers—that was the traditional Post model for decades, [a] very successful model by the way," to, "a model where we make a very small amount of money per reader on a much, much larger number of readers."
Whether Bezos' vision means reducing the paper's ad load or changing new ad formats isn't clear, but he said that he thinks it will include a mixture of both ads and subscriptions. Over the past year, the Washington Post has experimented with a number of new ad products that seemingly fit the bill for Bezos' mandate. In May, the paper rolled out ads that have faster load times, for example. And last month, it started rolling out a mobile website that promises to load pages in less than a second.
In terms of his surprising move to get into the media business three years ago when he acquired the Washington Post, "I did zero due diligence," Bezos said. "I did not negotiate, I accepted the asking price. It couldn't have happened that way except for the person that I was dealing with was Don Graham, who I've known for 15 years and was the most honorable person."
According to Bezos, Graham—the then-owner of the paper—laid out every single problem as well as every great quality when making the deal. "I've owned the paper for a couple of years now and if anything, the warts are not as bad as he made them out to be and the things that are great about the Post are stronger than he made them out to be," he said.
He also compared the culture of the Post as, "swashbuckling, but they're like professional swashbucklers."
That said, Bezos is purposely hands-off with the paper's team. "This is a highly professionalized activity [and] we have people who have decades of experience doing it. I try to help at a much higher level than, 'should we cover this story or that story.'"
Bezos talked a bit about Echo's artificial intelligence technology that uses deep learning to learn more about users' speech patterns, music preferences and more.
"The fact that it's always on, the fact that you can talk to it in an actual way removes a lot of barriers, a lot of friction—it's easier than taking your phone out of your pocket," Bezos said.
In one example of how AI is affecting bigger industries—like the food and grocery space—Bezos said that Amazon is using technology to grade the quality of strawberries for consumers who buy groceries through its Amazon Fresh program.
Lastly, Bezos briefly spoke about the presidential election, slamming Republican candidate Donald Trump, particularly for how he has handled being covered negatively by the press.
"One of the things that makes this country as amazing as it is, is that we are allowed to criticize and scrutinize our elective leaders," he said. "The appropriate thing for a presidential candidate to do is to say, 'I am running for the highest office in the most important country in the world. Please scrutinize me.' That's not what we've seen."
Last week, a report came out that tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel donated $1.25 million to Trump. Thiel is a member on Facebook's board, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg later defended him. When asked if he would do the same if Thiel was on his board, Bezos had a blunt message for Thiel.
"Peter Thiel is a contrarian. And you have to remember: Contrarians are usually wrong."

domain: news


text:
Australia’s authorities are preparing to update their payment legislation in the biggest reform of the sector in more than two decades. These changes will allow for the expansion of the regulatory framework to include new payment processors online, including those that deal with cryptocurrencies.
Reuters reported that the government will start consultations in 2022 on the establishment a licensing framework for cryptocurrency exchanges and regulation of platforms that hold digital assets on behalf clients. Canberra is also interested in exploring the possibility of a central bank digital money ( CBDC), issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Non-cash transactions have seen a spike in the Covid-19 pandemic, as more Australians are turning to online options. Nearly half of them use their smartphones to pay, while crypto transactions have increased 63% in 2021.
Australia’s plan for broadening its payment regulations includes online transaction processors like Apple and Google, as well as providers that allow you to buy-now-pay later such as Afterpay. Their unsupervised operations in Australia will be stopped. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg spoke out about the necessity of the amendments.
Silicon Valley will decide the future of our payments system if we don’t reform the existing framework. Australia must maintain its sovereignty over the payment system.
Google and Apple have not commented on the announcement. However, Afterpay spokespersons were quoted as saying that Afterpay supports any approach that considers consumer benefits from Afterpay’s innovation and competition. Reuters reported that the platform agreed to a buyout by Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter’s payments firm Square.
Australia’s decision comes as a number other large economies are making efforts to establish their financial innovation regulations, including cryptocurrency. The report indicates that Australia, unlike China or India is planning to adopt a more inclusive approach to cryptocurrencies, similar to the United States.


text:
Calif. Raises Minimum Wage to $8
Sacramento, Calif., Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders have agreed to lift the minimum wage in California from $6.75 an hour to $8. The hike, the first since early 2004, will effect the more than 1 million Californians who earn minimum wage and will allow them to receive a nearly 20% pay increase over the next year and a half.
Workers will get a 75? increase Jan. 1 and an additional 50? on Jan. 1, 2008.
The jump to $7.50 on New Year’s Day will make California’s minimum wage the nation’s fourth-highest, following Washington, Oregon and Connecticut. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.
Aether to Buy The Athlete’s Foot
New York City, Aether Holdings announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Athlete’s Foot brand along with the global retail franchise operation. Aether also said it intends to start doing business as NexCen Brands Inc.
Robert Corliss, president and CEO of The Athlete’s Foot, will continue with Aether after the closing as president and CEO of Aether’s retail franchise division, NexCen Franchise Brands Inc.
Aether has also agreed to enter into employment arrangements with certain key executives of The Athlete’s Foot, including Corliss. The company did not disclose names of other executives.
“This franchise system will provide us not only with a historical and growing revenue stream, but also a flexible distribution channel for additional consumer brands that we plan to acquire in the future,” said Robert D’Loren, Aether’s president and CEO. “This is an exciting first step for Aether toward building a large and diverse portfolio of consumer brands and franchise-related assets.”
Aether will pay $51.5 million at closing through a combination of cash and the issuance of Aether common stock. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2006.
Gap 2Q Profit Plunges
New York City, The prospects for a quick turnaround at Gap Inc. diminished Thursday after the retailer reported more than a 50% drop in second-quarter profit and cut its earnings forecast for the year.
Gap Inc. reported its net income for the quarter ended July 29 dropped to $128 million from $272 million for the same period last year. Sales were flat at $3.72 billion, while comp-store sales fell 5%, compared with a prior-year decrease of 3%. Gap cited sluggish sales and “aggressive” discounting.
“The second quarter was more challenging than we expected,” Paul Pressler, CEO and president, Gap Inc., said in an address to investors during a conference call Thursday. “While we are encouraged by improved performance at Banana Republic, business was tough at Gap and Old Navy as we cleared through summer product. But across all businesses, I believe we are making progress.” Comp-store sales at Gap stores fell 6% in the second quarter, while comp-stores sales at Old Navy slumped 5% and comp-store sales at Banana Republic slipped 1%.


text:
Vlambeer revealed today that it is closing shop, an announcement that comes on the independent game studio’s 10th anniversary.
Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman started Vlambeer in 2010. The studio has created notable indie games like Luftrausers and Ridiculous Fishing, and it’s been a leader in the indie dev scene.
“This is not a sad day for us, as we both have plenty of plans for the future,” a statement from the studio reads on a Steam page promoting a sale of its games. “For today, we hope you join us in playing some video games, blowing up some inter-dimensional cops, collecting some crates, and violently shaking the screen.”
Vlambeer still has one game in development, UltraBugs. The studio noted that it will still release it.


text:
Hollywood Fashion Secrets was a proud sponsor of the Hollywood Fashion Secrets Handicap Race at this year's Melbourne Cup Carnival at Randwick Racecourse.
The team was thrilled to be bestowed with the honour of presenting the race sash to the winning horse, and even got to meet the beautiful horse and its owners.
The Hollywood Fashion Secrets team also distributed samples of their infamous Hollywood Fashion Tape to race goers to help them avoid any race day fashion malfunctions!
As you can imagine, this was met with squeals of delight from women who hadn't managed to get to the shops to pick up their own Hollywood Fashion Secrets products before the big day.
We think that next year we might have to take some Hollywood Feet products with us, to help all the ladies (us included) get through the day in heels, and avoid burning balls of the feet, and painful blisters. Plus, we all know that walking home with shoes in hand is never fashionable!


text:
NACC Hosts Virtual Town Hall
The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a virtual town hall with U.S. Representatives Bill Foster and Sean Casten.
They discussed the CARES Act, updates from Washington, and the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP.
Congressman foster believes one mistake made in the first version of PPP is that businesses were getting loans on a first come, first serve basis – resulting in larger businesses receiving more money.
“If you could get your paperwork in electronically and fast, you were at the head of the line. As a result, a lot of the largest loans ended up going to the larger businesses,” said Foster. “When the money ran out, the ones left holding the bag were disproportionately small businesses and this is not what congress intended.”
This will be talked about once they return to Washington.
Business Owners Concerned
One concern for some business owners is the fear of being sued when they eventually reopen in case an employee or customer gets COVID-19.
The Congressmen said clear guidelines are needed. The CDC presented clear guidelines, but the white house administration did not want to use them.
“A push that we’re currently working on, to strengthen OSHA guidance and put enforcement rules around OSHA because if you have a clear set of rules from OSHA that says if you reopen, this is a safe level of social distancing, this is who should have masks and what the obligations are,” said Casten. “You put that all in place and now you’ve essentially been given a liability waiver.”
Both Foster and Casten assured that though it isn’t final, they are hopeful further PPP funding will be available after may.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
If you have a story idea or news tip you want to share, we want to hear from you!


text:
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
Lord & Taylor is exploring filing for bankruptcy protection after it was forced to temporarily shut all of its 38 U.S. department stores in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
It is one of several options that the retailer and its advisers are exploring, which also include trying to negotiate relief from creditors and finding additional financing, some of the sources said, adding that no final decisions have been made.
Fashion rental service start-up Le Tote acquired Lord & Taylor last year from Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson’s Bay Company for C$100 million. Hudson’s Bay kept ownership of some of Lord & Taylor’s real estate and assumed responsibility for its rent payments, amounting to tens of millions of dollars a year.
The sources requested anonymity because the deliberations are confidential. Lord & Taylor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Le Tote spokeswoman said Lord & Taylor is working through various options and declined to comment further. A representative for Hudson’s Bay, based in Canada, declined to comment.
Lord & Taylor is not alone among U.S. department store operators forced to weigh bankruptcy in response to prolonged store closures following the coronavirus outbreak. Neiman Marcus Group plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as this week, while J.C. Penney Company Inc is also considering a similar move, Reuters previously reported.
Lord & Taylor was famous for its holiday window display in its flagship on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, but Hudson’s Bay sold the building to co-working space operator WeWork in 2019.
Le Tote also owes Hudson’s Bay C$33.2 million stemming from a promissory note from the deal.
Le Tote acquired Lord & Taylor to expand beyond e-commerce into brick-and-mortar stores. It acquired Lord & Taylor’s operations, including its merchandise inventory, online business and most of its employees.
As part of the deal last year, Hudson’s Bay also secured an ownership stake in Le Tote and two seats on the company’s board. Hudson’s Bay representatives have since stepped down from the board, one of the sources said.
Many U.S. businesses grappling with the economic fallout from the pandemic have tapped government funds as part of a $2.3 trillion stimulus program. But most retailers have not been eligible for aid.
The National Retail Federation (NRF), which represents department stores and other shops and e-commerce firms, asked the U.S. Treasury last week to include them in government support programs.
“The Treasury has been a good partner, and we continue to work with them on this and a number of other issues important to our members,” the NRF said on Monday.


text:
SINGAPORE: Food takes centrestage during Chinese New Year, like most festive celebrations. But in the lead up to the occasion this year, retailers selling festive goodies say business is more lacklustre compared to 2015.
Family-run bak kwa (sliced barbecued pork) stall Bee Kim Heng has seen festive retail sales drop by 10 to 20 per cent compared to last year. Based at People’s Park Food Centre, Bee Kim Heng – which is run by Mr Teo Ah Thin, 81 – has been in operation for almost 50 years.
“We suspect it’s the economy, (it’s) because of the retrenchments that are going around in the market,” said Mr Damien Teo, who helps his father out during busy periods like Chinese New Year.
Bak kwa, or sliced barbecued pork, being grilled at Bee Kim Heng. (Photo: Linette Lim)
Mr Teo, who is in his 30s, added: “A lot of our business is very dependent on regular customers. Some of the regular customers, for example – in the year before, they’d buy 3kg, maybe 5kg. This year, some of them have cut down in terms of the quantity they buy. They just want to save up a bit, I guess.”
Similarly, fruit and nut supplier Tian Ran has experienced a 30 per cent drop in sales for the festive period. “A lot of people are browsing and tasting, but fewer are buying. I think it’s due to the bad economic situation,” said a Tian Ran employee, who only wanted to be known as Mr Fang.
Mr Fang has been selling peanuts and melon seeds – traditional Chinese New Year snacks – for the past eight years. While this year’s takings are poorer than last year, the 40 year-old said he feels things are not as bad as in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Festive goodies, like melon seeds and peanuts, on display in Chinatown. (Photo: Linette Lim)
Less than a few hundred metres away, in the annual Chinatown Festive Street Bazaar, employees running a temporary waxed meat stall also opined that buying sentiment is poor.
“We’re mainly in distribution, but we have set up a stall at this bazaar for many years. This year, sales are down about 30 per cent,” said a stall employee, who only gave his name as Mr Liang.
The 56-year-old who has been in the business for 30 years, believes that shoppers have held back due to the rainy weather, and a poorer economic climate.
A customer buying waxed meat - a Chinese New Year staple - at the Festive Street Bazaar in Chinatown. (Photo: Linette Lim)
A MIXED PICTURE, OVERALL?
Outside of the Chinatown area – the epicentre of Chinese New Year shopping – other consumer businesses appear to be faring a little better.
For example, Paradise Group, which will have over 20 restaurants in operation on the first and second day of the Chinese New Year period, told Channel NewsAsia these restaurants are already 80 to 90 per cent booked for the first day.
Hotel Fort Canning also expects to “sell-out for the season”, as it caters to both foreign visitors and local staycationers. In an email reply, a hotel spokesperson said: “Demand for our rooms are typically higher during this extended period of festivities and the hotel usually runs at full capacity.”
Meanwhile, online travel agency ZUJI has recorded a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in staycation hotel bookings during the Chinese New Year period, with an average spend of S$190 to S$220 per night.
“We’re also seeing more 4-star hotels being booked on ZUJI this year, as compared to last year which had an almost even split of both 4 and 5-stars bookings. This could possibly be due to Singapore travellers being more budget conscious,” said Ms Chua Hui Wan, CEO of ZUJI Singapore.


text:
Reggie Fils-Aime Will Promote Super Mario Run on Wednesday's The Tonight Show
Get an early look at Mario's debut on mobile phones before next week's release.
Tonight on NBC's The Tonight Show, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime will join host Jimmy Fallon to hype next week's release of Super Mario Run for iPhone.
Nintendo of America tweeted a picture of Fils-Aime relaxing in his dressing room, appropriately named The Shroom Room.
Super Mario Run will launch on December 15 as a free-to-start title. Players can pay a one-time fee of $10 to unlock the entire game. Its release will go down in history as a watershed moment for Nintendo.
In the past, Nintendo operated according to three business pillars: consoles, handhelds, and other, my own term for a catch-all that includes t-shirts, toothbrushes, cereal, and other merchandise based on their multitude of videogame properties.
Those pillars shifted when Nintendo unveiled the Switch last October. The Switch, a console and a handheld, serves as a consolidation of those pillars. Super Mario Run evinces Nintendo's commitment to mobile platforms as another pillar.
Interested in learning more about Super Mario Run? Check out Modojo's guide to learn about its controls, game modes, and more.


text:
THE Blackburn Rovers club shop in the town centre has been cleaned out of ‘Rudy Gestede Special’ T-shirts – by the man whose face adorns them!
Before Saturday’s final game of the season at home to Wigan Athletic red-hot Rovers striker Gestede snaffled up the remaining T-shirts from the store on Church Street.
Not that Gestede, who bagged a brilliant brace in the 4-3 win over Wigan, was finished there.
The towering targetman also bought 15 replica home shirts and 10 replica away shirts, all of which were emblazoned with his name and squad number, 39.
Gestede intends to hand out the replica shirts and ‘Special’ T-shirts to members of his proud family back home in France.
A Rovers club spokesman said: “It is fantastic to see the big man buying products from the store.
“The range of personalised t-shirts have proved very popular with supporters.
MORE TOP STORIES:
“And it’s clear to see that they’ve proved just as popular with the players themselves!”
Gestede has certainly proved popular with Rovers fans and his team-mates alike since he made the move from Cardiff City in November.
The 25-year-old, who was born in France but plays internationally for West African nation Benin, scored 13 goals in 28 appearances as Gary Bowyer’s side came within touching distance of a place in the play-offs.
Rovers finished just two points outside the top six despite the efforts of Gestede.
All of his 13 goals came after the turn of the New Year which, along with Bournemouth’s Lewis Grabban, was the most in the Championship, with nine coming in his last nine games of the campaign.
Gestede’s stunning end-of-season form earned him the Championship player of the month award for April and a ringing endorsement from his Rovers boss following the thrilling final-day victory over Wigan.
Bowyer said: “Rudy, what can you say about the big man?
“What a contribution he’s made to the football club.”
The designs of the ‘Rudy Gestede Special’ T-shirts are a take on the logo of seminal Coventry band The Specials, who had a UK top-10 hit with ‘A Message to You, Rudy’ in 1979.
And while Gestede has ensured the T-shirts have sold out in the club shop in Blackburn town centre, they are still available to buy from Rovers’ online store, priced £11.99, at onerovers.co.uk Tom Cairney, Jordan Rhodes and David Dunn also feature in the personalised T-shirt range.


text:
Disney has revealed images of the Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. The resort will debut renovations when it reopens summer 2018.
Disney offered up a look at some of the spaces coming to the revamped port of entry coming to Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World.
The new images were revealed along with some details on the Disney Parks Blog today.
The resort has been undergoing construction updates since earlier this year with Old Port Royale entryway closing in May.
The new version that is slated to be open in late summer 2018 will include updated Centertown Market, Shutters restaurant, Banana Cabana outdoor bar and Calypso Trading Post.
Disney has said the update will become the centralized location where guests can access services and amenities as well as more dining. Centertown Market will offer casual eating as well as a quick bite market while Shutters will have waterfront dining.


text:
Apple may have to release another fix for its recently released operating system update iOS 6.1 to protect against thieves and hackers.
All any would-be thief or hacker would have to do is hold down the power button and abort an emergency call, and they are in, although it does require precision timing.
A video demonstrating the hack, posted on YouTube by a blogger identifying themselves only as videosdebarraquito, is attracting thousands of views.
This means that, until the flaw is fixed, anyone can view or modify contacts, check the voicemail, send text messages, make FaceTime calls and access photos on a locked iPhone running iOS 6.1.
More on Apple iOS
- Apple releases fix for latest iOS update
- Apple seeks to improve iOS security with image recognition
- Does the iOS Security Guide reveal any Apple iOS security issues?
- A guide to enterprise iOS management
- Apple launches iPhone 5 with updated iOS 6
An Apple spokesperson confirmed to AllThingsD that it is aware of the vulnerability and plans to issue a fix in a future software update, but no timeline for the update was offered.
News of the flaw comes just weeks after it emerged that Apple is planning to improve the security of iPhones and iPads by using image recognition or response to unlock the devices.
The US Patent and Trademark Office recently published a patent application made by Apple in 2011 for a system that would require users to respond to a randomly chosen image to access devices.
The system is aimed at making Apple’s devices more secure and less attractive to thieves by replacing the current passcode with something that is not so easily compromised.


text:
New BBC research into who owns the High Street prompts government announcement on a new register for landlords.Read more
Radio 4 You and Yours Reporter
The BBC visits an M&S store that is closing and another that is seen as the future.
A supermarket is being piloted in London which has no tills, with customers expected to pay by app.
Supermarkets dominate the world of food shopping but who first had the idea of a supermarket?


text:
Amazon announces fulfillment center in Nampa, 1,000 full-time jobs
Amazon confirms it’s building a fulfillment center service in Idaho that will bring about 1,000 jobs.
Amazon is building the facility in Nampa. The city already has a temporary Amazon distribution center, but this new 650,000-square-foot building is much bigger.
That space will be filled with workers making a $15 an hour minimum wage. Residents say it will be a much needed boost.
"Anytime we can bring in jobs into the state, I think that's a win," said Chris Fejeran, Nampa resident.
"Better job opportunities especially around this area,” said Maria Maestas, Nampa resident.
Nampa mayor Debbie Kling said she's excited for the changes these jobs will bring.
She said this will help those living in Nampa make a decent wage and not have to commute so far.
Kling also says they realize the facility will create more traffic, but projects to alleviate the issue are already underway and scheduled to be done by Amazon’s opening.
The fulfillment center is slated to open in fall 2020.
For job information, go to Amazon's


text:
…the L.A.’s Parking Enforcement Sucks, but I’ve never heard of them ticketing a car with a dead guy in it. (I could be wrong about that, though.)
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian authorities have apologized to the family of an elderly man who was given a parking ticket while he lay dead in his car in a suburban shopping center.
The 71-year-old man, known to be seriously ill, went missing nine days ago and his body was found in his car in a shopping mall car park in a Melbourne suburb, police said.
A parking ticket had been placed on the car the day before his body was found.[full story]


text:
Could Renault and Nissan have a competitor in their effort to form an alliance with General Motors? Top executives at Toyota Motor are mulling their own overture to GM to head off rival Nissan from forging an alliance that could help the Japanese-French car company, according to people with knowledge of the Japanese auto maker's plans.
General Motors' Chairman and CEO G. Richard Wagoner Jr. met with Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan and Renault, in Detroit on Friday to discuss how the three auto companies might pursue an alliance.
Both companies issued a joint statement saying they will take about 90 days to explore potential benefits of an alliance.
If Wagoner decides to move ahead, GM and Renault-Nissan could join together in an alliance that would give Ghosn's company a 20% stake in GM. The allied companies could then share engines, platforms, and other parts. If Wagoner doesn't want to sell Renault an equity stake, the three auto giants could just form some joint ventures and still combine their engineering capabilities.
Sources close to Toyota say the company is considering its options and looking at different opportunities that they could propose to GM. ""Toyota has no interest in seeing an alliance like this [linking Renault, Nissan and GM] take place," said an executive who asked not to be identified.
One Toyota source says the company has "war-gamed" a way to assist GM. Despite Toyota's juggernaut-like growth, which has resulted in the company increasing its U.S. market share from 9.3% in 2000 to 14.6% today and earning in excess of $10 billion a year the past three years, the company fears the kind of social and political backlash that could come if General Motors falls apart.
Whether Toyota actually makes a bid remains to be seen. Several GM executives have said the company has heard nothing from the Japanese auto maker. And Toyota spokesman Steven Curtis said any talk of an offer from the company is "pure speculation."
One source familiar with Toyota's strategy said that an equity tie-up like the one GM investor Kirk Kerkorian has proposed between GM and Renault-Nissan would be unlikely. "It's not in their culture," he said.
General Motors and Toyota have long worked together, albeit in a limited way. The two jointly operate an assembly plant in Freemont, Calif., where the Toyota Corolla, Matrix, and Tacoma pickup are assembled under the same roof as the Pontiac Vibe.
Wagoner was in Washington D.C. on July 13 testifying before Congress about health-care policy. In a gathering of reporters, he hinted that a deal with another auto maker besides Renault-Nissan was possible, according to Automotive News. "Could other things arise?" he said to Automotive News. "Sure, they could happen any time, but nothing else I can talk to you about today." Wagoner also said that a possible, even desirable, outcome could be no deal at all.
Toyota's interest in GM could make for a desirable solution for the GM chairman. GM executives see the Renault-Nissan alliance as a play by Kerkorian—GM's fourth-largest shareholder, with 10% of the stock—to get Carlos Ghosn into the driver's seat at GM.
That's one reason executives have been skeptical about a tie-up with Renault-Nissan. Other executives have said that they aren't sure the synergies would really be worth selling 20% of the company. Nor would they solve some of GM's long-term issues, such as rising health-care costs, falling market share, and the company's battle to buoy sport-utility vehicle profits while gasoline prices rise.
Still, even if GM and Renault-Nissan strike some kind of alliance, Ghosn may not be seeking to replace Wagoner. In an interview on Capitol Hill on July 13 Ghosn told Bloomberg "I don't need it," in reference to the top job at GM.
Given the companies' history, it is possible that Toyota could make GM an offer of expanding joint ventures, and even sharing technology and vehicle development, without buying an equity stake. While other auto makers have merged or struck alliances that involve equity swaps, Toyota has steered clear of such deals. GM, meanwhile, has recently been unwinding several mostly unsuccessful joint ventures it struck with Fiat (FIA ), Suzuki, Isuzu, and Fuji Heavy Industries.
Discussions of an alliance with Nissan-Renault were sparked by Kerkorian's Tracinda and its GM board representative Jerome B. York. Tracinda has been trying to pressure Wagoner to move faster in restructuring the auto maker. The billionaire's company publicly announced on June 30 that the Japanese-French auto maker was interested in pursuing alliance talks.
Wagoner then formed an internal committee to study the merits of the proposal.
If Toyota is serious, Wagoner will have another one to study pretty soon.


text:
BRITISH travellers can get much more for their money during the festive season if they holiday in the right place.
While the travel industry continues to bounce back from the Coronavirus pandemic, there are some destinations where the sterling is stronger than it was when UK restrictions began in March 2020.
According to analysis by the Post Office’s Holiday Money Index 2021 of the best performing currencies, the Turkish Lira tops the list.
It’s currency per pound has made a gain of a whopping 73 per cent, with Brits able to get £210 extra on a £500 transaction compared to early 2020.
The report also reveals the fastest-selling currencies and the best-value long-haul winter sun destinations.
In terms of exchange rate value, the report names Jamaica as the second-best location for Brits.
There, £500 will buy them an extra £127 of currency, a 34 per cent gain since the first lockdown.
Mauritius is third in the ranking with a 29 per cent gain and Kenya is fourth, with a £99 gain.
Most read in News Travel
The report also incorporates holiday destinations in terms of item costs.
Thailand for example, which last month re-opened to British tourists, is now viewed as a viable option.
On the popular island of Phuket, Brits will pay an average of £61.45 for a standard a three-course meal for two and a range of drinks.
Meanwhile, two US destinations, New York and Orlando, also make it into the top 10.
Nick Boden, Post Office head of travel money, said: “The strength of sterling is a real bonus, but it is also important to consider the cost of living in individual countries.
“When you combine the two, Jamaica and Mauritius look like winter sun winners according to our barometer of resort costs.
“Prices for meals and drinks are 79 per cent higher in Barbados than in Jamaica. Similarly, when you compare costs in the most popular US destinations, visitors to Orlando in Florida will pay around a third less than in New York.”
The report also lists the fastest growing currencies with the Icelandic Krona topping the list.
The Post Office believes there is a correlation between rises and the lifting of UK Covid travel restrictions throughout the year.
Sales of the Croatian kuna, for example, are up 1,304 per cent, boosted by demand during the school half-term holiday.
Rises in the UAE dirham as well as currencies for Caribbean islands such as St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados also correlate with the trend.
According to Post Office Money, there has been a growth for most major holiday currencies since the start of summer with the Euro and Dollars ranking high.
Nick added: “Looking at our currency sales, the green shoots of recovery are now evident for most of the destinations now opening up to British visitors again and reveal a latent demand for hotspots in Europe and further afield.”
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?
Click here to upload yours.


text:
Gabrielle Union Wade shares adorable photo of her posing with her toddler daughter on Instagram and our ovaries are jumping. The new mum posted the photo of her and daughter Kaava James Union Wade last night. Interestingly, the photo has already racked 618,128 in likes.
The actress shared on November 8, 2018, that, she and husband Dwayne Wade have been blessed with a “miracle baby”. Of course, Gabrielle is one of the celebrities who has had a baby via surrogate and are very open about it.
Gabrielle Union Wade & Daughter Kaava James Union Wade
In her latest Instagram post with Kaava James, the happy mother is seen wearing a red pleated dress paired with yellow sandals. As expected, her vibrant red summer dress with spaghetti straps is from her fashion brand New York & Company. Similarly, Gabrielle and Dwayne Wade’s daughter wear a multi-colour jumpsuit from the same company.
The mother pair duo looks emotionally adorable and we cannot get enough of Kaava’s cheeky smile.


text:
PPG Industries recently announced the opening of a regional headquarters for its architectural coatings business in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The facility is located in Cranberry Township, Pa., approximately 20 miles north of PPG’s global headquarters in Pittsburgh.
The 118,000-sq-ft facility will reportedly accommodate approximately 550 employees in various management, marketing, information technology, customer support and related service and administration positions. Nearly 400 employees currently work at the site, and PPG anticipates the facility will be close to full capacity by the end of 2015 as it continues to consolidate operations from multiple sites.
“As PPG continues to expand its architectural coatings business, establishing a regional headquarters is an important step in aligning our business to meet our customers’ growing needs,” said Charles E. Bunch, chairman and CEO. “The official opening of this facility further strengthens our presence in the state and in the Pittsburgh area, which has been home to our global headquarters for more than 130 years.”
The facility features an open floor plan with collaborative workspaces, an amphitheater for large-scale employee meetings and presentations, a product showcase store, training facilities, and areas to pilot retail displays.
For more information, visit www.ppg.com.


text:
Cars and parts have been returned to rightful owners.
The growth won’t occur through open points.
The electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK.
Specifically, the passenger presence system my fail to recognize that the passenger seat is occupied.
In the first six months of the year, sales have grown 2.68 percent to 43,221 units.
The U.S. is now the Encore’s largest market.
The seatbelt tensioner is to blame.
Sales are up 5 percent for the first six months of 2016.
Sales are down a slight 0.79 percent for the first six months of the year.
Growth for a sedan in the face of seemingly insatiable demand for crossovers.
Impressive growth for Chevy’s full-size sedan.
And it could call it Cruze XL.
Chevy’s midsize truck continues to find more new homes.


text:
Yesterday, B&T ran an opinion piece from MAW Communications creative partner Michael Willcocks on flexibility in the workplace and, why, it’s not always the right option for agencies. Today, Nancy Hromin, the principal of Culture Zone, says, if you look at the facts, then giving your staff flexibility actually brings home the benefits in spades…
I must admit, I thought I might have been reading something out of a Mad Men script circa 1950s when reading the opinion piece of the Creative head of MWA communications that was posted yesterday.
There are literally hundreds of extensive studies and research out of Harvard, MIT, Sloan School of Management and Cambridge to name a few that make a direct correlation to workplace productivity and workplace flexibility. You only have to google it to get the data. How can it be that people still say this stuff with such conviction?
The business environment has changed significantly since Mr Willcocks was a young ad man. In terms of technology, changing customer demands, demography, globalisation and lifestyle choices, a number of shifting trends have created a need for workforce agility, that is, making sure that companies establish a workforce to support its objectives, by harnessing these societal changes. This requires a modern approach to jobs, cut many different way to respond to the global consumer, diversity, and competition.
The biggest block is the belief that flexibility is a workplace benefit rather than a business strategy to enhance productivity. This was evident in the opinion piece yesterday.
Mr Willcocks’ opinion is his reality and so for that I won’t pontificate on the belief structures in the article and their validity other than name a few that really surprised me from a senior executive.
- “ You have to earn your stripes for flexibility “
- “If I had flexibility when I was young, I would have done two or three hours and then slackened off for the rest of the day”
- “It’s a privilege for the seniors”
- “Mother’s working from home, so that’s a necessity”
- “Letting juniors work from home doesn’t do your business any favours”
So let’s just blow some of this out of the water and share some data.
- Global consulting giant Deloitte quantified flexibility’s cost savings by calculating the turnover expense for those professionals who said they would have left the firm had they not had a flexible arrangement. Based on this calculation alone, ONE firm determined that it saved an estimated $41.5 million in turnover-related costs in one year alone (Source: Corporate Voices for Working Families and WFD Consulting, 2011)
- A North American study “Leveraging Workplace Flexibility for Engagement and Productivity” found metrics in the companies researched that implemented flexible work practices included:
- Improved financial performance (adults like to be trusted it seems)
- Turnover rate of key talent decreased
- Shareholder value increased
- An Increase in sales
- Significantly increased Employee engagement (which costs the American economy $450 billion annually in lost time)
- Increase productivity with reduced commuting time
Locally, the McKinsey top-tier firm produced a white paper on the impact of global competition, emerging skill shortages, and changing demographics. Without a shadow of a doubt, companies that adopt flexible practices across the board, and not as a privilege based on status and seniority, will survive and prosper.
A quote from “Reinventing Organisations” by Frederic Laloux summaries it all beautifully “when organisations see employees as reasonable people who can be trusted to do the right thing, very little control mechanisms and riles are needed. When trust is extended, it breeds responsibility in return. Peer pressure regulates the system better than hierarchy or rules ever can.”
This book quotes multiple examples of companies which have successfully embarked on this contemporary and modern way of working with impressive financial results.
Nancy Hromin is the principal of Culture Zone and a director of the Misfit Media company where pretty much everyone comes and goes as they please, including the office dog, Toto. Stuff still gets done, and actually it’s a rocking team that works really hard when they need to and chills out when they don’t. Everyone seems pretty happy. Money still gets made.
Arguably no one’s copped it harder than the travel business since the arrival of the Wuhan bat flu. But with vaccines now rolling out the hope is we’ll all soon be taking to air (or boat, car or ferry) anytime soon. Enter a new campaign for US travel brand Internova Travel Group that represents some […]
Culture-leading publisher Highsnobiety continues to evolve its local operations with the appointment of Citizens of Culture as its strategic partner across media operations within Australia. Highsnobiety is a premium global brand dedicated to cultural pioneers, with work spanning across digital platforms, print media, documentaries, cutting edge events, a shopping platform and a full service creative […]
An investigation by British broadcaster ITV has found that Amazon is destroying millions of items in unsold or returned stock. The report specifically focuses on one of the 24 warehouses the company has in the UK. According to ITV News, the destroyed items are largely unused and new, either returned items or those which never […]
Australian fashion brand Witchery has partnered with B Corp GlamCorner as part of GlamCorner’s subscription box offering as the demand for everyday essentials soars. This partnership marks another milestone for the Australian fashion industry towards becoming more circular and introducing more paths to reduce textile waste. Customers nationally will be able to rent more of […]
The media, marketing and creative industries are being encouraged to host their own ‘Curry Club for COVID’ before 30th June to help meet the ambitious $100k target set by its organisers. Curry Club for COVID, which was conceived by long-time adtech executive Peter Bray, sales director at Impact, and is powered by industry social purpose organisation […]
The UnLtd Cup is returning for its tenth consecutive year, marking a decade of soccer shenanigans that’s raised nearly $500,000 for children’s mental health charity, KidsXpress. On July 22-23rd, 28 teams from across the industry will battle it out on the soccer field in the two-day tournament at Sydney University Sports and Fitness Centre, Darlington. […]
Australian-bred company Ultra Commerce has acquired New Zealand-based company Vesta eCommerce, a global software business providing leading product data management solutions. The recent acquisition is a significant move for the business, which is Australian born, owned, and headquartered, but has built out a global presence as it pursues rapid growth in the eCommerce market. Connecting […]
Canteen’s latest campaign features the combined talents of Director Luna Laure and creative agency Crater. The campaign strives to raise awareness for young people affected by cancer. The awareness campaign centres around Harry Barentson, who at 12 years of age found out his pregnant mum had cancer. The campaign aims to bring awareness to Canteen’s […]


text:
Grill manufacturer Weber-Stephen Products has announced that Thomas Koos will join Weber as CEO, effective April 1. Koos brings more than 20 years of marketing and management experience with consumer durable products with him to Weber-Stephen, most recently at Jacuzzi Brands Corp. where he served as president and CEO.
Current Weber-Stephen president and CEO Jim Stephen will become executive chairman of the company.
Prior to his work at Jacuzzi, Koos held senior positions at Black & Decker and Newell Rubbermaid.
“Tom’s global business experience, passion for building brands and deep knowledge of our distribution channels makes him a great fit for Weber,” said Stephen. “I look forward to working with Tom and our team at Weber as we continue to expand and promote our strong brand around the world.”


text:
The Steelers will wear their Color Rush uniforms when they host the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 25, and while red and green might be the color of the day, the Steelers will be the men in black.
This will be the first time the Steelers have worn all black uniforms, an image of which was just unveiled by the team on Tuesday.
>>> Get Your Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger & more Color Rush Jerseys!
"It will be something different," said Team President Art Rooney II in August. "The first time we have worn black pants. It will be an all black uniform with gold numbers. I think our fans will enjoy it. It's something different. It's going to be interesting to see how it goes."
The Color Rush uniforms, designed by Nike, are monochromatic uniforms to be featured for the most part on Thursday Night Football this season, but with Steelers-Ravens being one of only two Christmas Day games, the decision was made to wear them that day.
"We haven't had a home game on Christmas in my memory," said Rooney. "It will be unique, special. This will add a little more excitement to what I am sure will be an exciting day."
A look at the Color Rush uniform the Steelers will wear on Christmas Day vs. the Ravens.


text:
Sisu Clinic, a doctor-led aesthetic medicine destination with 14 clinics nationwide, has partnered with Javelin for its growth strategy for 2022.
Following a multi-agency pitch process Javelin was awarded the deal based on their nationwide out-of-home campaign, radio, digital audio and TV advertising through Sky Adsmart,
Javelin also included in their pitch programmatic display, YouTube, search and social activity as a key part of their media delivery.
Speaking after being awarded the partnership, Javelin Director of Media Aoife Hofler said: "Javelin are delighted to have been appointed as Sisu Clinic’s media agency of choice in Ireland.
"Sisu is a dynamic and hugely ambitious young brand who are growing at scale both in Ireland and around the world. We are very excited to partner with the team at Sisu on this journey and drive large scale awareness and trial to the ever growing demographic of men and women interested in aesthetic medicine.
"Since launching in 2018 Sisu Clinic prides themselves on empathy, integrity and innovation. These are all values we strongly align with as an agency at Javelin. We are excited to do our part in contributing to the growth of Sisu Clinic over the coming months and years."
Sisu Clinic was founded by Corkman Pat Phelan, alongside doctors Brian and James Cotter in 2018 and they have grown to 14 clinics nationwide.
The company now have plans to take its clinics to new markets, with clinics opening in London and Miami in a matter of weeks, while continuing to invest in the Irish market.
Amy French, Sisu Clinic’s Marketing Manager in Ireland added: "At Sisu, we pride ourselves on bringing bespoke patient care and unparalleled service to the cosmetic medicine industry, both in Ireland and across the world.
"With extraordinary growth in the Irish market this year, now is the perfect opportunity to tell the Sisu story to mass audiences, and we're incredibly excited to partner with the brilliant team at Javelin to bring the brand to life."
This campaign will look to highlight the company's goal of setting a new standard in the cosmetic medicine market, whereby procedures and treatments are only administered by licensed professionals.


text:
The award aims to honour high-quality and effective IT products and services in domestic market, which also can make inroads into international markets, contributing to promoting IT application and development in Vietnam in recent years.
This year, the organising board will select ten excellent products and services in terms of socio-economic efficiency, brand reputation, revenue, market share, customers, and technological innovation.
Programmes to promote awarded products and services will be arranged nationwide in the year.
The deadline for submission is March 6 and the results will be announced at an awarding ceremony in late April this year.
Vietnam has recorded strong development in software and IT service, which achieved average growth up to between 20-35 percent in 2000-2010 and from 10-15 percent over the last five years.
The sectors importantly contributed to the national socio-economic development and further improving Vietnam’s position in the international IT map.
VINASA Chairman Truong Gia Binh highlighted Vietnamese IT firms’ competiveness on the international market, expressing his hope that the Sao Khue award will help bring more opportunities to Vietnamese IT enterprises to introduce their products and services in foreign markets.


text:
Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsaio released a new note on XPeng reiterating the firm’s Overweight rating and $41 price target on the shares. Based on the last closing price of $24.47, Hsiao sees a 67.5% upside potential on the EV maker shares following a better than expected July delivery numbers.
The analyst said that “overall July sales volume came in slightly better than the reduced market expectation thanks to a more significant sales upturn at the end of the month, likely driven by promotions,” The Fly initially reported.
In August, XPeng plans to begin accepting reservations for its new, flagship G9 SUV followed by an official launch in September 2022.
Hsiao commented saying, “all eyes are on the G9 launch, as the company plans to take pre-orders for the vehicle in August, followed by an official September rollout”.
The EV maker delivered 11,524 vehicles in July 2022, representing a 43% increase year-over-year and a 24.65% from the previous month with year-to-date deliveries reaching 80,507 vehicles, a 108% increase year-over-year.
XPeng detailed that deliveries included 6,397 P7s, 3,608 P5 smart family sedans and 1,519 G3i SUVs with the cumulative deliveries reaching nearly 220,000 as of the end of July 2022.
According to recent reports, the company made a discount of 5,000 – 10,000 yuan ($740 – $1481) for all its models in China due to the surge in production capacity and insufficient order reserves. In an interview with the local media, XPeng Motors’ PR Department answered “I don’t want you to follow”. The price reductions are scheduled to last until the last day of the month.
The company is reportedly preparing to release a new version of its sedan P7 by mid-2023 and the first pictures were exposed on the internet suggesting some interior and exterior changes.
The new XPeng P7 will feature a multi-function steering wheel similar to the G9 which adopts the design of metal buttons and rollers reducing the probability of accidental touch. The model is expected to be built on the 800V high-voltage SiC platform and will be able to add over 200kms in only 5 minutes.


text:
On the Inside: How Birchbox crafts its social video strategy
This is On the Inside, a Digiday series that takes readers on a tour through brands, agencies and publishers to find out what makes them different.
It’s not often that a marketing employee feels like a celebrity.
But most marketers aren’t Rachel Silver. As head of social marketing and content strategy at Birchbox, the beauty subscription service and retailer, Silver appears in hundreds of videos every month showing women how to use mascara, curl their lashes or contour their cheekbones. She has amassed a little following.
“When I was over at an event in our Soho store last night, I felt like I was famous, since everyone there has watched my videos,” she told Digiday. “Then I got out back onto the real world on West Broadway and realized that I wasn’t.”
But video content is a huge part of Birchbox’s strategy — and success. Content is such an integral part of Birchbox’s shtick is that the first employee the founders hired at the company was a director of content, Mollie Chen.
But a few months ago, the 5-year-old company made a big change, bringing content and social media into one team under Silver. Chen now heads the “brand voice” team. “What we were realizing now is that social media and content are basically the same thing,” said Silver. So Birchbox has chosen to prioritize content created for social media — tailored to individual platforms — over other types of content.
While the company still posts its videos on its site and has a robust email program as well, Silver said, “People consume content differently online, so we’ll go where they are.”
The brand today shoots most of its videos in a light-filled studio in its Flatiron headquarters. Employees tend to star in them — a call for authenticity since people want to see “regular” people that look like them so they’ll be tempted to buy the products featured or subscribe to a box.
The brand shoots multiple videos and edits them into many different lengths and cuts. On Facebook, shorter, silent videos work because of autoplay and the automatic mute. On YouTube, which Birchbox thinks of mostly as a “search engine,” people are opting in to watch “how to put on liquid eyeliner,” for example, so longer videos hosted by Silver work. Birchbox’s YouTube channel has over 67,000 subscribers. But Facebook is still its best-performing platform. Silver calls it “many people’s Internet.”
The brand has also tweaked how it measures ROI. On YouTube, Silver focuses on how many people watched the video that came from search or discovered it in some way. On Facebook, she has decided to look at how far people made it through a video. And the brand is also trying to put more unboxing videos that aren’t as evergreen — like the unveiling of a new, limited-edition Christmas box, for example — on short-term platforms like Periscope or Snapchat instead of putting them on YouTube.
“It’s very saturated now,” said Silver. “Our ability to reach people has changed. Back when we started, there were fewer beauty YouTubers — Refinery29 wasn’t doing their digital stuff — our content was great as it still is, but it was easier.”
Video by Hannah Yi
‘The most influential people aren’t on social’: Why amplification is not key to Team Epiphany’s influencer strategy
In the latest episode of Digiday's weekly show The New Normal, Coltrane Curtis talks about his company's unique influencer marketing strategy.
‘We’re letting Facebook grade their own homework’: Here’s how advertisers’ desired changes differ from overall boycott
The overall goals of civil rights advocates organizing the boycott differ slightly from those of advertisers.
How Facebook’s brand safety audit with the Media Rating Council will work
The MRC audit will determine whether Facebook has applied an advertising adjacency standard into its brand safety protections.
SponsoredWhy data clean rooms are a start, but not enough
Clean rooms are intended to be a “safe space” for brands to collaborate with walled gardens, but the greater opportunity for all brands is bringing together all of their data to create a single source of truth that they own and can continually enrich.
Member Exclusive‘Are you going to put people over profit?’: As Facebook boycott continues, DTCs still running ads on the platform in a tricky spot
The Facebook boycott is part of a larger cultural shift towards a more “values-based consumerism.”
WTF is California’s new, and potentially stronger, privacy law?
In November, California residents will vote on the state's second privacy law, which is basically the CCPA 2.0


text:
Last summer at the San Diego Comic Con International Hasbro finally made the announcement that I had been waiting for: a 3-3/4" Marvel Universe line. As a big fan of the 3-3/4" scale (there’s nothing better in my book) I was hoping Hasbro would go this route with the Marvel license. The announcement was made, the first pictures were shown and the waiting began. The line wasn’t due to hit stores until March 2009! That was a long way off from July 2008!
As things go in the realms of the intertubes, the intervening months were full of speculation, excitement and more than a little controversy from collectors who had invested many years and hundreds of dollars into the 6" Marvel Legends line. And now, it seemed, Hasbro would be putting the bulk of their attention into this new Marvel Universe line.
From Hasbro’s standpoint I can certainly understand the decision. They inherited Marvel Legends, but Marvel Universe is theirs in both concept and execution. As, arguably, the leader when it comes to 3-3/4" action figures Marvel Universe provided Hasbro with the opportunity to do an expansive Marvel toy line their way. And while everyone may not agree, Hasbro’s way is working out pretty darn well for me.
Flash forward to the New York Comic Con and Toy Fair, and we got to see a little more of what was in store for Marvel Universe. Not only are we expecting something like 34 single carded figures, but we’re also looking at a series of 12 Comic Book 2 Packs based upon the old Secret Wars maxi-series from 25 years ago, and a series of Gigantic Battles 2 packs at Wal-Mart featuring a giant 12" character paired with a 3-3/4" character. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
I received a preview figure (Iron Man) from Hasbro a little before the New York Comic Con, and since then found a few more figures at a Meijer in northern Ohio while on a road-trip. So, having had the figures in hand for awhile now I can safely say I love these figures! Hasbro has done a really spectacular job, and things only look to improve. The sculpting and articulation is great, for the most part. The character selection is a lot of fun, mixing A-List characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man and Wolverine with lesser known characters such as Iron First, Ronin and Moon Knight. I cannot wait to see what this line is like a year or two down the road.
The biggest compliment I can give this line is that it has reinvigorated my interest in Marvel Comics. I’ve barely read much Marvel product over the past couple years at all. But I still had a love for many of their characters. My first comic, when I was nine years old, was a Marvel Comic. When I was 13 my parents practically had to drag me to see Superman: The Movie. I didn’t want to see it because it was DC! (Ironically that movie ignited my love for DC Comics). But over the last few years I moved away from reading Marvel stuff and am just now, inspired by the MU line, am going back and picking up trades. I’m looking forward to delving into the mystery of the Red Hulk (he’s coming in Wave 4), learning more about Ronin (I know Clint Barton, formerly Hawkeye is under the mask but don’t know much beyond that) and reading the current adventures of Iron Fist and others. I’ve been following the Ed Brubaker run on Captain America, and am really excited about getting a figure of "Bucky" Cap in the upcoming Secret Invasion-inspired Gigantic Battles set with Captain America and Goliath Skrull!
Marvel Universe will likely have me spending as much on trade paperbacks as on the toyline itself!
I would imagine that Marvel Universe will have another big presence this summer at SDCC. I can’t wait to see what gets unveiled there.
I still love DC Comics, and still enjoy the heck out of Mattel’s Infinite Heroes 3-3/4" line…but what Hasbro is doing with Marvel Universe has me saying: "MAKE MINE MARVEL!"
20 Comments »
Leave a Comment
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- View complete archive...


text:
One day after the telecom regulator suspended the sale of Grameenphone SIMs, the mobile network operator's share price plunged, making it the top loser at the premier bourse Thursday.
In a statement published at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website, the largest mobile service provider in the country said it has received a letter from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on 29 June with an embargo on selling new SIM in connection to quality of services.
BTRC has imposed an indefinite suspension on Grameenphone as it is not providing quality service to its users despite repeatedly being asked to do so, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said earlier.
At the end of last year, BTRC found in a Quality of Service drive test in the divisional areas that all the mobile operators, except Banglalink, were providing lower speed of the 4G compared to the local benchmark of 7Mbps.
Since trading began at the DSE yesterday, many investors placed orders for selling the Grameenphone shares, fearing that the suspension on SIM sales will hurt the company's earnings.
As customers did not show much interest in the Grameenphone shares, only 1.73 lakh of its shares were traded by the end of the day.
The company's share price dropped 2% to reach Tk294.10 yesterday.
People involved in this sector said the company's share price could drop further, but it did not happen due to the rule that dictates that a share's price can be reduced maximum 2% – instead of 10% – in a trading session. Consequently, the drop in Grameenphone share price did not affect the stock exchange indices.
Earlier, in 2020, BTRC imposed a number of conditions on Grameenphone, declaring the operator as a significant market power (SMP).
As part of the instructions, the regulatory authority reduced the mobile number portability (MNP) lock-in period for Grameenphone. Also, taking approval for all existing and new services, packages, and offers has been made mandatory for the largest operator.
Meanwhile, Grameenphone has reported that its net profit in the first-quarter of 2022 was badly affected by an increase in the modernisation cost and currency devaluation.
During the January-March quarter of this year, its net profit fell by 9% to Tk809.81 crore, while its revenue increased by 4% to reach Tk3,633 crore.
Grameenphone said in a recent press release that in the first three months, the company acquired 0.5 million new subscribers, reaching 83.7 million total subscribers. Around 53.2% or 44.6 million of Grameenphone's total subscribers are using internet services, growing by 6.8% from the same period last year.


text:
Nokia has made an intellectual property rights declaration to the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) with respect to Google's VP8 data format and decoding guide, listing 64 granted patents and 22 pending patent applications. VP8 is Google's dream to create a royalty-free codec, but it's reportedly not open standard and Nokia is having none of it (to see why, check quote below). The company is already seeking injunctions against HTC in Germany over two VP8 patents.
So what's this all about? Nokia is unwilling to not only commit to royalty-free licensing of patents, but also a FRAND licensing commitment. VP8 is a single-company project and no as such no party can be forced to support it, leaving Google in an interesting position indeed. By contrast, H.264 (video compression standard) is an industry-wide initiative and all companies involved agreed to FRAND licensing form the get go.
This doesn't mean Nokia won't strike a deal with the likes of HTC, should the price be right, but if the company doesn't share the same vision as Google (who does these days?) then it has no obligation to license anything out. It's also interesting to point out that Motorola never joined the VP8 initiative before Google made the purchase. Motorola also reserved the right to enforce any VP8-related patents it might own.
We wonder if the folk at Google frequently play Monopoly on Android hardware. Nokia has since commented on the VP8 patent infringement:
"Nokia believes that open and collaborative efforts for standardization are in the best interests of consumers, innovators and the industry as a whole. We are now witnessing one company attempting to force the adoption of its proprietary technology, which offers no advantages over existing, widely deployed standards such as H.264 and infringes Nokia's intellectual property. As a result, we have taken the unusual step of declaring to the Internet Engineering Task Force that we are not prepared to license any Nokia patents which may be needed to implement its RFC6386 specification for VP8, or for derivative codecs."
Nokia criticises Google for wanting to push VP8 as an Internet standard - basically viewing the vision as "one company attempting to force the adoption of its proprietary technology." H.264 is certainly classed and viewed as open standard, and is a complete contrast to what Google is attempting to achieve with VP8. One cannot forget that Google owns the largest video sharing website, YouTube. Why wouldn't the company want to try and wiggle through?
It's not just Nokia displaying signs of concern either. Instapaper developer Marco Arment has pointed out in a recent blog post that Google is attempting to "gain control of the web for themselves and their products." Will Nokia end up helping Google out with VP8? Not likely. Who requires VP8 aside from Google? It's not in the best interest of competition, something that Google is renown for.
We're not ones to give Google praise, but sometimes they truly deserve a jolly good spanking. Good guy Nokia strikes again.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
The Medium Interview: How the Xbox Series X|S made this title possible
Looking for some inside information on the upcoming psychological horror game The Medium? Well, here's everything you need to know about the gameplay mechanics, haunting storytelling, and performance on Xbox Series X/S, straight from the team responsible.
Everything you need to know about AMD Radeon RX 6000 GPUs
AMD has unveiled its new lineup of Radeon RX 6000-series graphics cards, with three new pieces of hardware to look forward to. Here's what you need to know.
AMD's 'Big Navi' Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs are here, coming November 18
AMD today launched its latest GPUs, the Radeon RX 6000 series. The new cards are a major jump over the previous generation, offering even more power with big architectural improvements.
These are the best Surface Duo cases you can buy
With Microsoft Surface Duo bringing a new hinged, dual-screen form factor, we’ve rounded up the best cases, sleeves, and bumpers available in late 2020.


text:
If you want to enjoy Pancakes like you do when you go abroad, then wait no more. The lovely taste of American Pancakes will be coming soon to Pakistan and you can enjoy it at an IHOP near you. The International Chain of American pancakes IHOP is opening its doors in Pakistan and with the first outlet in Karachi by the end of the year.
International House of Pancakes plans to spread their chain to all over the country with 18 more chains in the span of 9 years.
Why is IHOP coming to Pakistan? They want to explore the Pakistani market to seek new revenue and expand their brand to countries where people love food, especially breakfast. The Dine Brands Chief Executive Officer Steve Joyce said “Pakistan’s Rapidly Growing Economy” was the reason behind their opening the chain of IHOP in Pakistan.
IHOP may be a new brand for Pakistanis but there is still significant awareness regarding Pancakes in the country and we are looking forward to visiting the outlet later this year.
Wow Great news IHOP coming to Pakhttps://t.co/YpATYcE6SW
— mLaNgi bAbA (@naumanayubi) March 18, 2019
IHOP plans to open its first in Karachi, and will be followed by 18 more across the country over the next nine years, parent Dine Brands Global Inc. https://t.co/t94la6zfQf
— Roohan Ahmed (@Roohan2Ahmed) March 19, 2019


text:
Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma Bets Big on Indian Startups, Launches AIF with Target Corpus of Rs 30 Crore
In a bid to support Indian startups, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm Founder and CEO, has announced the launch of his maiden fund-VSS Investments Fund, for his private investments, having a total target corpus of Rs 30 crore.
This Sebi-approved Alternate Investment Fund (AIF), which is sponsored by VSS Investco Private Limited, an entity owned and controlled by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, has a total size of Rs 20 crore and a green shoe option of Rs 10 crore, taking the total fund corpus to Rs 30 crore. Additionally, the fund will be actively managed by a professional investment manager.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma | VSS Investments Fund
The fund, which is focused on serving Indian consumers and businesses, will target artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles, environment, and sustainability-related startups incubated in India. Additionally, the fund will also support Paytm’s founder follow-on investments in his current portfolio. His startup investment portfolio includes 21 companies, which are- Ola Electric, GOQii, Mesa School of Business, Daalchini Technologies, Treebo, UNNATI, and more.
Speaking about the development, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm Founder and CEO, stated that the Indian startup ecosystem has some of the brightest entrepreneurs in the world and highlighted their potential to become a powerhouse of AI-driven innovations and advanced technology.
“The launch of this fund is a continuation of my belief in supporting young and promising Indian founders, aligned with the fact that technology has a huge role to play in the development of the country.”
With Sharma being the primary contributor to the fund, various external investors will also participate in the round.
Paytm Q2FY24 results
Recently, Sharma’s publically listed Paytm posted Q2FY24 results, which saw its net loss narrow to Rs 290.5 crore on a consolidated basis in Q2FY24 from Rs 357 crore in Q1FY24. In the second quarter of the last financial year (Q2FY23), the fintech giant posted a loss of Rs 571.1 crore.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Paytm saw its total income rise 8 per cent to Rs 2,662.5 crore in Q2FY24 compared to Rs 2,464.2 crore in Q1FY24.
Note: If you are a budding entrepreneur and require assistance to register a Pvt Ltd Company, register a company, create financial projections, business development, LLP Registration, compliance filing, funding formalities, debt funding, CFO Services, or other startup related legal services, contact us.


text:
Alex Jones, the radio host and right-wing provocateur, will be financially responsible for damages to parents of two children who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, a Texas judge ruled this week.
Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued three default judgments against Mr. Jones Monday after the Infowars host failed to follow court-ordered requests for documents and information in three defamation cases over his claims the school shooting was a hoax, the rulings said.
Walmart coupon: $20 off your $50+ order
DoorDash Cyber Week 2022: 50% off DashPass Membership
Exclusive Expedia Coupon - 8% off Hotels with No Min Spend
25% off sitewide with this Target Promo Code
Up to 15% off + free shipping at Wayfair
60% off running shoes and apparel at Nike


text:
Independent retailers have called for clearer information on accessing government support, as prime minister Boris Johnson ordered all non-essential stores to close their doors in the battle against coronavirus Covis-19.
In an address to the nation on Monday evening, Johnson told UK residents they must only leave their homes to buy food or medicine, to travel to and from work where absolutely necessary, for medical needs or to provide care, or for one form of exercise a day.
To ensure compliance with this, he ordered the closure of all non-essential shops, including fashion retailers.
In the face of enforced closures, independent retailers have called for the government to provide further support, and to better outline how to claim that which is already available.
“It’s good the government has stepped in and the support sounds good but there’s no clear information to try and apply for it,” Rink Bindra, head of omni-channel at independent footwear retailer Tower London, told Drapers.
“It was announced a week ago, banks are waiting for clarification for the application forms – that’s not there. They’re saying good stuff but we need some actions now.”
Tower London had prepared for the eventuality of forced closures with online teams working from home in shift patterns. It has organised back up staff to step in should some team members fall ill.
“We can go for three or four months in this mode,” Bindra said. “Going by what’s happened in Italy and France, online has still traded. It’s not ideal and we’ll do whatever the government wants us to, but we’ll keep going.”
The owner of eponymous London-based womenswear independent Pamela Shiffer, agreed that government guidance must be clearer: “Given the unprecedented times we’re living in, a total lockdown was inevitable, however, we all need total clarity and it’s my feeling the government needed to have all aspects in place before they could release the total lockdown statement.
“Any help the government is offering is a blessing and the only way many of us will survive, however, the business casualties will run deep unless appropriate financial schemes are implanted and made easy for us to access. This is a very worrying time for all businesses in the fashion retail sector, however even more so as an independent retailer.”
Penny Rawson, founder of Cheshire-based womenswear independent The Edit welcomed the government’s measures but said she feared “they may not be enough”.
“Our struggle now will be with commercial rents as we will struggle to pay these with no income,” she told Drapers. “We hope that landlords will see the long-term benefits of helping businesses to survive. Or in the prime minister’s words ‘we don’t want to pass the problem up’. Therefore would he consider rent support?”
”It’s so difficult even for the government to know what to do. Most insurance companies won’t pay out because the wording around enforced closure says ‘if a notifiable disease is AT the premises’.”
She added: “We also need clarification on trading online. We would need a team member to visit the workplace to pick orders and post. This is also a very stressful time in terms of stock management: will we receive too much and be burdened with bills, will we receive nothing and face stock scarcity later in the year? It’s very difficult to tell. It is the dynamic who will survive, and those who are able to adapt will flourish.”
Paul Platt, director of Crewe-based menswear independent Pockets, told Drapers that suppliers and brands were being supportive throughout the ongoing crisis.
However, he shared Rawson’s concerns regarding stock, and questioned whether autumn 20 product will still be produced: “And if it is, will we be open to sell it, and will people even want it?
”I am quite sympathetic with the government, they’ve done their best in the difficult circumstances. The world will be a very different place at the end of all of this. I’m not expecting it to be all resolved within 12 weeks - it will be much longer than that. It will be a year before getting back to some sort of normality. Then I feel the market will probably change, and people will have gotten more used to shopping online. The high street will suffer further as a result.”


text:
SINDELFINGEN, Germany / SYRACUSE, USA, 6 August 2019: Bitzer has approved serial production of its ORBIT (model range VL) and ORBIT+ scroll compressors for use with refrigerants in the A2L safety group, the company said through a Press release. The refrigerants concerned – R454B, R452B and R32 – have a low global warming potential (GWP) and have only low-flammability ratings, the release added.
According to the release, the deployment of ORBIT and ORBIT+ make Bitzer the first manufacturer in the world to supply scroll compressors with displacements of between 20 and 80 m3/h (50 Hz) for use with A2L refrigerants.
The familiar ORBIT series in the VA model range, the release said, will continue to be available for operation with A1 refrigerants. ORBIT and ORBIT+ were presented as a world premiere at the Mostra Convegno Expocomfort trade fair in 2018 and are already integrated into the BITZER software, ensuring that they can be quickly and easily configured by customers.
According to the release, BITZER customers will particularly benefit from the A2L approval of the ORBIT and ORBIT+ compressors – both series provide several years of planning security, due to the low-GWP values of the refrigerants, R454B, R452B and R32. Before they were approved for serial production, the release said, the ORBIT and ORBIT+ scroll compressors demonstrated their quality and future-proof compatibility in extensive tests. In addition, the release said, they have been successfully qualified by important OEM customers in their qualification programmes.
Image: ORBIT+ with line start permanent magnet motor


text:
- Reuters•25 days ago
German automakers dominated Consumer Reports' annual ranking of automotive brands released on Tuesday, with Volkswagen AG's Audi leading the pack, while U.S. brands continued to lag despite gains for many. ...
- Barrons.com•last month
South Korea has been grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent months. Amid a widening corruption scandal that has engulfed South Korea’s president and Samsung’s heir-apparent, Lee argues the political turmoil could be a catalyst for corporate governance reforms. “When Park got elected she promised to push for better corporate governance but she didn’t honor her promise,” Lee tells Barron’s Asia.
- Reuters•2 months ago
U.S. car and light truck sales slipped 1.8 percent in January as automakers pulled back on bulk sales to rental, government and business fleets and concentrated on more profitable retail sales to individual consumers. Fleet sales, particularly those to rental agencies, are skewed toward passenger cars, which are falling out of favor as consumers shift to sport utility vehicles and trucks. Nissan's Rogue SUV continued to be its top seller as sales soared 45.5 percent in January.
000270.KS : Summary for KiaMtr - Yahoo Finance
Kia Motors Corp. (000270.KS)
KSE - KSE Delayed Price. Currency in KRW
Add to watchlist
|Day's Range||37,050.00 - 37,750.00|
|52 Week Range||35,600.00 - 50,300.00|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||N/A|
|Dividend & Yield||N/A (N/A)|
|1y Target Est||N/A|


text:
Hanesbrands Inc. said Thursday that third-quarter income dropped because of costs associated with the firm's spin-off, but sales increased.
For the three months ended Sept. 29, income fell 22.7 percent to $38.9 million, or 40 cents a diluted share, from $50.3 million, or 52 cents, in the same year-ago quarter. Sales gained 3.1 percent to $1.15 billion from $1.11 billion.
For the nine months, the company said income declined 58.6 percent to $76.3 million, or 79 cents, from $184.2 million, or $1.91, a share. Sales inched up 1.3 percent to $3.32 billion from $3.27 billion.
The company said the third-quarter loss was caused by higher interest expenses associated with the company's independent structure after its spin-off from Sara Lee Corp. in September 2006.
"Since our spin-off, we have increased sales, expanded our margins, and strengthened our balance sheet," Richard A. Noll, chief executive officer, said in a statement. "Our strategic initiatives of investing in our brands, reducing costs and driving cash generation are creating value and positioning us to achieve our long-term growth goals."
The company said for both reporting periods, outerwear sales posted strong growth, and sales of its largest segment, intimate apparel, had declined. Strong outerwear volume was boosted by sales of Hanes brand casualwear and Champion brand activewear.
Hanesbrands acquired an offshore textile plant in El Salvador in August, and also selected Nanjing, China, as the site to build its first textile production plant in Asia.
The company said in the third quarter it substantially completed the separation of its pension plan assets and liabilities from its former parent, adding that its plans are 97 percent funded.
Steve Aoki held a presentation, a runway show and outdoor concert for his men's line Dim Mak. Here's a look from his spring 2018 collection, which was titled "Paradise Found." #wwdfashion #wwdmens (📷: George Chinsee)
"It's really hard sometimes. I think I have a reputation for being really tough and aggressive and pushy but I really am a very shy person who wants to be liked, and that's the conflict constantly. There's something that takes hold - I want people to like me, I don't want to be mean - but if I see something that just cries out to be answered, I go for it," says renowned NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell. (📷: @axeldupeux)


text:
KIGALI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Rwanda’s year-on-year inflation rate slowed to 4.54 percent in January from 5.74 percent in the previous month, the statistics office said on Thursday.
Consumer prices eased 0.71 percent in January from the previous month, driven by a decrease in the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The underlying year-on-year inflation rate -- which excludes fresh food and energy prices -- fell to 3.17 percent from 3.46 percent in December, although the underlying index rose 0.25 percent in January from a month earlier.
Earlier this month the central bank governor told Reuters the central African country’s inflation rate would remain in single digits in 2010 on the back of strong agricultural output.
Inflation surged in Rwanda in 2008 on the back of higher food and fuel prices -- as was the case in the region’s other, bigger economies.
Like Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, inflation rates in Rwanda have been slowing gradually over the past year and expectations of better harvests have improved the inflationary outlook even though economic growth is now picking up.


text:
BOONTON, NJ – Fossil Farms recently completed an analysis of its carbon footprint and environmental impact and will take immediate measures to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. Phase 1 of the initiative was the investment into carbon offset markets allowing the company to achieve carbon neutrality. Phase 2 is the immediate change of shipping materials to 100% curbside recyclable products. For Phase 3, Fossil Farms will construct a solar farm at its corporate headquarters in Boonton, NJ, to produce 100% of the company’s electricity needs. In the coming years, further measures will be taken to pursue industry-leading, net-zero goal setting and sustainable business practices.
Fossil Farms distributes products nationally to wholesale accounts, ships product nationally by its e-commerce business and maintains a company retail store at the Boonton, NJ, headquarters, which has recently launched a full-service catering company and food truck.
"We're just getting started at 25 years in business," said Ben Del Coro, vice president of sales and marketing.
Consumer demand for high-quality and transparency in sourcing drives Fossil Farms’ growth and commitment to establishing equitable partnerships, managing sustainable supply chains and ethical business practices.


text:
In a joint statement in response to the CMA Phase Two Issues Statement on the proposed merger of Asda and Sainsbury's, a spokesperson said:
“We recognise that this is an important merger and welcome the detailed and thorough review by the CMA. We look forward to working constructively with the CMA and Inquiry panel during this second phase of the process and to making our case that the proposed merger is pro-competitive.
"Customers will be the big winners from the combination. By bringing our two businesses together, we will be able to invest further in more convenient ways of shopping while lowering prices and reducing the cost of living for millions of UK households.”


text:
A new campaign by Milo is encouraging Australians to share their Milo moments and special occasions they’ve shared with Milo over the last 83 years.
The campaign is asking for contributions from all generations of Australians, using the hashtag #itsgottabeMILO across all social media platforms.
So far there has been three notable moment themes that have started to emerge:
- Family life
Milo brand manager Joel Willis said: “The #itsgottabeMILO campaign is all about celebrating the moments in life when Milo is enjoyed.”
“Our 83-year heritage means we have been a big part in most Australian’s lives and this campaign wants to seek out Milo moments past and present,” he said.
“Convenience stores are a key part of our retail strategy as we want every family to have Milo readily available and close by them when they need to refuel! We know there has been many a mad dash to the closest servo when the tin is running low and thirsty kids are returning from weekend sport or after school!
“Milo is ranged in all major convenience retailers, including 7-Eleven, Coles Express, Woolworths Petrol, Caltex and BP.”


text:
Super Mario Bros. 35 is releasing on October 1st exclusively to Nintendo Switch Online Subscribers.
Super Mario Bros 35
Super Mario is a multimedia franchise and video game series. Firstly, the game has developed by Nintendo starring its character, Mario. Super Mario Bros is another name of this game.
Moreover, it is the core series of the greater franchise of Mario. However, Super Mario Bros. first released on September 13, 1985.
Mario has come a long way since it has been launched. To celebrate their 35th anniversary, they are going to release this Super Mario bros. 35 on October 1st. Especially, 35 online players can join to play the game. Players that you will defeat will be other player’s forces.
You may also see: PUBG PC Solo rank matches are coming soon!
Also, everyone will get the similar chance to play. You can use items and strategies to defeat the opponents. The last Mario standing will be the winner of the game.
Super Mario Bros 35: Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch
Last but not least, Nintendo Switch online members will get the excursive chance to play this game. As per the news, this game will be playable till March 31st, 2021. Additionally, In a short trailer Nintendo Published on Thursday.
“We look forward to everyone joining us on a Mario journey 35 years in the making,” said Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser.
You may also see: True Damage Yasuo Prestige Edition Revealed in LEAGUE OF LEGENDS!
He also said “We are marking this significant milestone with a wide variety of games and experiences that all generations of Mario fans, from here to the Mushroom Kingdom, can enjoy together.”


text:
The Ontario government’s decision to shut down cannabis stores in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic will only send customers back to the black market where they’ll buy unregulated products, says one prominent retailer.
Cameron Brown, spokesman for the The Hunny Pot, says his company has two stores open already and four under construction. The company’s location in downtown Toronto was one of the first to open in April 2019 and has been doing brisk enough business that more stores are on the way.
He said after Premier Doug Ford announced pot shops would be closed due to COVID, his store in Toronto and another location in Burlington were swamped.
“As soon as that announcement came in both stores were lined up around the corner, doing double the business than in previous days,” Brown said Sunday as he worked filing compliance reports with the Ontario Cannabis Store.
Like other cannabis retailers, some of The Hunny Pot customers were new to smoking pot, many others were people who had previously purchased from dealers or illegal dispensaries.
“We are about to give everything back,” Brown said of the inevitable growth in the black market if stores like his remain closed.
Brown noted illegal pot shops and online delivery services are targeting his locations with advertising for customers who may not realize the shops were forced to close.
“I go up to our store in the Junction and there is a sticker up saying text to get weed,” Brown said. “We are pushing people to unregulated product.”
Being shut down also has an incredible economic impact.
“We have six different rents that are coming out; we have employees to worry about,” Brown said.
The industry is hoping that the province will reconsider and allow the stores to keep selling even if they don’t allow customers inside.
“Curbside pick-up or delivery are options that most retailers in Ontario could handle,” Brown said.
It’s something the Ford government may have to consider.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020


text:
Original post by Phahamang Thakudi via ITWeb
Amazon has decided to join Google and Apple in the 3D mapping game with its purchase of start-up UpNext, which has spent the past few years developing detailed 3D maps for iOS and Android, Venture Beat writes.
The UpNext buy gives Amazon its very own mapping service, which it can include with the Kindle Fire tablet and its upcoming successor.
GigaOM says the Kindle Fire does not currently include a GPS radio, but the UpNext acquisition, which would help Amazon offer native mapping capabilities, potentially points to a more robust Kindle Fire in the future, as well as an Amazon smartphone.
New York-based UpNext offers interactive, detailed 3D maps of cities and venues.


text:
The countdown has officially begun, with only four weeks to go until the Children’s Heart Unit Fund’s first ever Hearts & Handbags afternoon tea event, which takes place at The Hilton Hotel in Gateshead this May.
CHUF’s eagerly anticipated charity fundraiser, which is sponsored by Intu Eldon Square and Intu Metrocentre’, has been organised to raise vital funds for children’s cardiac care across the region, and is already set to be a sell out, with tickets flying out the door following an exclusive launch event.
Hearts & Handbags is to be held from 2pm – 5pm on Sunday 14th May, where guests will be welcomed with a sparkling drinks reception and a selection of retail stalls from Molton Brown, The Handbag Clinic, The Botanist, Aspinal of London and many more.
Guests will be treated to a selection of mouth-watering sweet and savoury bites before meeting a panel of parents, medical staff and Heart Heroes who will share their experiences. Kaylee Davidson-Olley, who this year celebrates 30 years since receiving a new heart, will also be a panel member and guest of honour on the day as the longest surviving baby to ever receive a heart transplant in the UK
The afternoon will conclude with a showcase of some of the summer’s hottest trends on the catwalk, followed by an exhilarating Handbag Auction with a range of accessories up for grabs.
All funds raised on the day will be used to support the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital as well as a number of other District General Hospitals in the North of England providing children’s cardiac care.
It’s not too late to be part of the inaugural Hearts & Handbags event! Tickets are priced at £35 per person with tables of 10 or 12 also available. To book, or to find out more, please contact email@example.com.