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Two of hospitality’s leading technologies companies have integrated their solutions to enable restaurant customers to self-checkout and close their open checks with minimal interaction from wait staff. MyCheck, a leading mobile payment technology platform, is enabling a seamless pay-at-the-table experience via direct integration to the Squirrel Systems point-of-sale system (POS). MyCheck allows guests to view, […]
LBA Hospitality (LBA), a hotel management company that oversees 65 properties from a variety of top hotel brands, reduced the time it takes to collect signed contracts and secure guest payments from an average of two to three days to merely a few hours with Sertifi, greatly enhancing guest convenience and security.
LWHA Asset Management Services (LWHA), a hospitality advisory firm, and Meyer Jabara Hotels (MJH), a hotel ownership and management group, have teamed to operate a portfolio of five hotels in North and South Carolina. LWHA will serve as asset manager, while Meyer Jabara Hotels will oversee day-to-day operations. Meyer Jabara Hotels has equity in this […]
Not a week appears to go by without the opening of a luxury hotel somewhere in the world. Just take a look a consumer travel magazine and you’ll see all sorts of new concepts and offerings flooding the market. Until about 15 years ago, the differentiation between luxury hotel brands was clear. Guests knew who […]
IVvy Inc., a global events and hospitality technology company based in Queensland, Australia, today announced its entry into the North American market, offering an online alternative to the traditional request-for-proposal meetings model that promises to save planners and venues time and money.
StayNTouch, an innovator in mobile technology and Property Management Systems (PMS) for hotels, is pleased to announce it’s partnership with Filament Hospitality where it plans to deploy its Rover PMS™ and Zest™ products across its entire portfolio of hotels.
Stockholm – June 27, 2017 – Prestigious, four-diamond luxury hotel, InterContinental® Toronto Centre Hotel, announces the successful implementation of ASSA ABLOY Hospitality’s industry-leading RFID locking solution and Visionline system to update and enhance overall property security at the glamorously-appointed 584-room property located in downtown Toronto, Ontario. The InterContinental Toronto Centre is managed by InterContinental Hotels […]
Thailand is an old country, but it has been taking major strides in recent years to become a top player in the modern luxury hospitality game.
NAVIS, the No. 1 reservation sales and marketing technology provider for the hospitality industry, today announced Narrowcast™ Cloud, a ground-up refresh of its flagship reservation-sales platform.
Angie Hospitality, creator of Angie, the world’s first interactive 24-hour guest room assistant, Wi-Fi and room control technology solution, today announces the official launch of its newly-developed corporate website, designed to bring Angie’s full suite of capabilities to the forefront of the hotel industry. The first phase of this highly informative and interactive website offers […]
Toronto — Wondering why the Kube Systems booth is buzzing at HITEC Toronto? Today at the premier Hospitality Technology Exposition & Conference, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the industry’s leading provider of mobile device charging solutions has some new, innovative products on display. Here are five fabulous reasons why hoteliers are flocking to Booth […]
Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, today announced the latest version of its groundbreaking DataMagine™ document management system, which includes innovative enhancements designed to increase speed, improve security and boost overall performance.
Today, SONIFI Solutions, Inc. announced website pairing for STAYCAST, hospitality’s leading in-room streaming solution. With website pairing, guests simply visit a website to connect to the in-room TV – no app required.
Infor, a leading provider of beautiful business applications specialized by industry and built for the cloud, today announced the continued momentum of Infor Hospitality. Hospitality-specific applications for the gaming, restaurant and hotel industries that deliver increased organizational visibility, modern user interfaces and flexible deployment options contributed to the welcoming and expansion of relationships with more […]
If your hotel has a reasonable amount of meeting space (+10,000 ft) and your banquet business is a significant contributor in your Food and Beverage Department (+20% of F&B revenue), you are going to want to separate local banquet business from group banquet business on all of your financial statements, forecasts, budgets and daily reporting.
Cendyn, the most integrated CRM provider in the hospitality industry, is proud to announce the international debut of the company’s flagship enhanced loyalty solution, eLoyalty. Created specifically for hotels, it gives loyalty members an easy-to-use portal to view status, redeem rewards and manage profiles, while providing staff with centralized management across the loyalty ecosystem.
Cloud5, hospitality’s #1 communications technology and services platform, is partnering with Go Moment to offer the industry’s leading automated guest engagement solution. Go Moment delivers guest services using the millennial guests’ medium of choice – text messaging – to ensure guests get instant, AI-powered service without needing to download any apps.
SaveMyChairs has launched an innovative platform and mobile app that will change the future of the pool experience at resorts around the world. Launched today at the world’s largest technology show for the hospitality industry – HITEC 2017 – SaveMyChairs will be getting a lot of attention from the industry this week for solving a […]
Global hospitality management software provider Xn protel Systems today announced at HITEC Toronto the integration of xnPOS to protel.I/O, the groundbreaking Enterprise Hospitality Framework from protel hotelsoftware.
Since founding iRiS, Jason Jefferys has led the evolution of the company into the premier provider of Guest Experience Solutions to the hospitality sector. Jason has built a global, award winning organisation which has won major global clients, including Marriott and Accor, and developed strategic partnerships with Oracle and Microsoft. The success of iRiS has […]
Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, today announced that Sonesta Resorts St. Maarten and its management company, The Maho Group, have selected Agilysys Eatec® to manage inventory and procurement operations at three all-inclusive properties —Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort, Casino & Spa; Sonesta Ocean Point Resort; […]
Pegasus Solutions, a leading global provider of travel distribution and hospitality software for hotel reservations, distribution, operations and merchandising, today announces the appointment of Phil Steitz as Chief Technology Officer.
Centreviews, a cloud-based solution that helps companies improve controls to identify, resolve and prevent problems with their accounts payables, has entered a strategic business partnership with SpendBridge, a cloud-based procurement and sourcing solution that enables shoppers to compare items from pre-approved local and national suppliers guiding them to the best purchasing decision. The alliance of […]
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) announced today that it is organizing a Blockchain Technology Task Force to prepare for the technology’s future impact on hospitality. The task force will be chaired by Lyle Worthington, CHTP, CIO of The Student Hotel and the 2017 HFTP Global President.
Eleven, the industry’s pioneer in cloud-based guest Wi-Fi management software, announces new features, usability enhancements, and integrations to the ElevenOS guest Wi-Fi platform. Developing software that fits the needs of the market, Eleven is committed to building a platform that enables the next generation of personalized Wi-Fi experience that build loyalty.Simplify the User Experience with […]
Hospitality technology firm Monscierge releases new platform-data statistics, detailing the impact on hotel revenues and guests satisfaction scores when hotel employees use Connect Staff by Monscierge. This digital tool is an application on Monscierge’s Connect platform for workflow and communication management between various departments of a hotel, with data being captured at every touchpoint for […]
NEW YORK, NY — June 26, 2017 — Hotel360 Technologies, an integrated hospitality technology and digital marketing company comprised of HEBS Digital and Serenata CRM, will debut its end-to-end guest acquisition, engagement and retention approach at HITEC Toronto, booth 2601.
Eating out has never been more popular. It’s no longer a special treat, but an everyday delight.
Toronto – June 26, 2017 – Cendyn, the most integrated CRM provider in the hospitality industry, is proud to announce the international debut of the company’s flagship enhanced loyalty solution, eLoyalty. Created specifically for hotels, it gives loyalty members an easy-to-use portal to view status, redeem rewards and manage profiles, while providing staff with centralized […]
Kinseth Hospitality Companies is pleased to announce the official ground breaking of the Toweplace Suites Dubuque, Iowa took place on June 22, 2017. The groundbreaking ceremony took place at the construction site of the TownePlace Suites by Marriott located at 1151 Washington Street. With nearly 100 guests in attendance Molly Grover, CEO of the Dubuque […]
Volara, the first voice-based hotel guest engagement solution that turns the Amazon Echo and Alexa into a powerful hotel business tool, announced today its deployment in 12 hotels nationwide. The firm’s hotel-grade software connects guests to hotel staff and services by automated voice.
The team behind famed restaurant Nobu has set about involving themselves in another branch of the hospitality industry – hotels and resorts. Fledgling brand Nobu Hotels is the brainchild of one of the most renowned names in cuisine, celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, and his partners in the restaurant, including actor Robert DeNiro and chief executive […]


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BARCELONA, Spain--Jibe Mobile CEO Amir Sarhangi thinks Rich Communications Services (RCS), carriers' answer to over-the-top messaging services, is not dead--far from it. For a long time it was hard to take that position seriously, but Sarhangi said that there is growing momentum behind RCS because smartphone makers are embedding phones with RCS software, which combines IP messaging and traditional SMS messaging into a single service.
A Skype co-founder is backing a new mobile messaging and media sharing service called Wire meant to disrupt Skype and other popular messaging apps. Fully 11 years after Skype was founded and three years after Microsoft bought Skype, Janus Friis is trying to give his former company a run for its money with Wire.
Verizon Wireless is going to continue to play a conservative game in terms of its pricing strategy and will not overreact to price cuts by rivals, according to a report from financial analysts who met with the carrier's top executives.
The over-the-top era is fully coming into view in the pay-TV market. It is an emerging, slimmed-down, lower-cost, digitally focused set of alternatives that operators hope will bring a legion of millennial-generation pay-TV holdouts into the fold. Special report.
A new report from Deloitte has found that multichannel video subscribers in the U.K. have a voracious appetite for content from a variety of sources range of sources, and the same trend could happen in the U.S.
Facebook is preparing to launch a new application called Slingshot that features messages that disappear quickly, similar to Snapchat. The app, which Facebook initially launched and then unpublished, is the latest from the social networking giant that represents a specialized function apart from Facebook's core app.
A report by consumer data company Experian shows a direct link between the availability of over-the-top content such as Netflix and an increase in consumers cutting the cable cord.
Operators are hedging their bets when it comes to over the top (OTT) messaging, embracing specialised OTT companies on the one hand, while on the other continuing to develop their own OTT messaging strategies.
Tango, the company behind the popular over-the-top messaging and social app of the same name, raised $280 million in new funding, mostly from the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. The new funding underscores the heightened interest in mobile messaging and OTT services, especially in the wake of Facebook's $19 billion deal to acquire WhatsApp.
Keith Mallinson There is a lot to play for and at stake in mobile communications. It is among the very largest industries with operator revenues of $1.16 trillion (€812.4 billion)...

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Apple Partnering With American Express on iPhone Mobile Payments Initiative [Updated]
Apple's rumored mobile payments initiative appears to be coming closer to launch, with Re/code reporting the company has reached a deal to partner with American Express.
Apple has reached an agreement with American Express to work together on its new iPhone payments system, according to sources familiar with the talks. American Express is one of several partners Apple will need to sign up before it can launch its new payments plan, which sources say it plans to announce at its September 9 product event.
Apple was previously reported to have been in negotiations with Visa over the effort, which is said to leverage the upcoming iPhone 6. Just days ago, a logic board leak revealed the near field communications (NFC) chip destined for the iPhone 6 and which will presumably play an important role in enabling the mobile payments functionality.
With Apple's extensive database of credit card numbers linked to iTunes Store accounts and new security technology such as Touch ID built into the iPhone, the company is strongly positioned to leverage those assets for widespread adoption of mobile payments. The effort naturally requires partnerships with credit card processors and retailers, but the pieces do appear to be falling into place just ahead of next week's media event.
Update 5:19 PM: A new report from Bloomberg claims Apple will be teaming with Visa and MasterCard in addition to American Express for its mobile payments initiative, which will be unveiled at Apple's media event on September 9.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max will have the thinnest bezels of any smartphone, beating the record currently held by the Xiaomi 13. That's according to the leaker known as "Ice Universe," who has divulged accurate information about Apple's plans in the past.
Both iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have thinner, curved bezels compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, potentially resulting in an Apple...
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro.
If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
While the iPhone 15 lineup is around six months away, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes are expected for the iPhone 15 Pro models in particular, including a titanium frame and more.
Below, we have recapped 11 features rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A17...
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase?
This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely be more expensive than previous Pro models, according to Jeff Pu, a tech analyst at Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities.
In a research note this week, Pu predicted the iPhone 15 Pro models will see a price increase due to several rumored hardware upgrades, including a titanium frame,...
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007.
The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
Top Rated Comments
credit cards to us means you buy things you cant actually afford
Not for everyone. I personally buy everything on a credit card because it's a secure way to buy things, if the card is stolen you can refuse the charge and the credit card company can help you recover the funds. If you pay off your credit card every month many earn you rewards. For people who are responsible with money credit cards are great.
I understand why you say this, but they're a tool to be used wisely. I had a boss that said this:
Good decisions require wisdom.
Wisdom comes from making bad decisions.
I have another saying:
Smart people learn from their own mistakes.
Wise people learn from others' mistakes.
As a business owner, I am not too fond of amex. They charge on average a higher percentage than Visa or MC, and payments take twice as long to post to our account.


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Thursday at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is traditionally Moving Motor Show day. The Moving Motor Show 2014 is now in its fourth year, having started in 2010 as a replacement to the cancelled British Motor Show. The Moving Motor Show this year seemed to be busier than ever before. The crowds were similar in size to a normal day at the Festival, despite this, we managed to get some pictures of the cars out on track!
The idea behind the Moving Motor Show is that ordinary Joe Public can attend and test drive a car on the famous hill climb. It is a refreshing break from the normal layout of motor shows. The result is that the Moving Motor Show is much more geared towards the average consumer than the industry in general.
Amon those taking part this year were Ferrari with a Ferrari 458 Italia, 458 Spider and F12 Berlinetta. Aston Martin had a Rapide S and a V12 Vantage S whereas Audi had professional drivers piloting the Audi R8 V10 Plus and the Audi RS6 Avant. Other manufacturers in Abarth, Dacia, Toyota, Renault, Hyundai and Porsche.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014 will get underway properly tomorrow with the race cars heading up the hill for the first time. Take a look at our preview (with links to live streams) and follow all the latest news on our dedicated Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014 news channel. Enjoy the photos!


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Famous fashion designer Andre Kim is coming out with a new line for jewelry and Nichkhun Horvejkul from 2pm and Seul Ong from 2am were chosen as models and will be walking the runway. the fashion show is dedicated to NamDaeMun and will be held on April 28 at Seoul Sheraton Walkerhill hotel. For Nich and Seul Ong, this will be their first time as models on the runway.
-hope they do well! im pretty much dead sure they’re gonna look HOTT :]]]
Credits@SooKyeong (K Bites) for article and photo


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When Google announced the Pixel 2 on October 4, one of the biggest complaints that fans and customers had was with the company's decision to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack. Google is one of many companies making the push to Bluetooth and USB Type-C audio solutions, and in an effort to make the transition a bit smoother, Google includes a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter in the box with every Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.
Although adapters/dongles are never preferable, this is still appreciated on Google's part. However, as anyone that uses phones, laptops, or other gadgets that are really pushing the USB Type-C lifestyle knows, adapters can be very easy to lose.
As such, when the Pixel 2 was added to the Google Store for preorder, another item popped up as well – a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter that you could purchase in case you want an extra one or ever lose the included one with the Pixel 2. The price? Twenty freaking dollars.
Google's unnecessarily high pricing for the adapter was quickly met with a bit of justified outrage, and likely due to all of the backlash, the price has been dropped from $20 to just $9.
The new price is much more reasonable than what was previously being asked, and we can only hope that not too many people purchased one of these prior to the change.


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The future of Call of Duty was a bit up in the air.
Ever since Microsoft announced its intention to buy Activision Blizzard, along with all the games under their wing, there’s been a lot of talk about where these franchises should go.
Call of Duty is understandably at the forefront of this conversation, as it’s one of the biggest gaming franchises around – and while it’s been confirmed that, at least for the next few years, the game won’t be exclusive to Xbox , fans have wondered if some of the series’ legacy titles might still be coming to Game Pass.
Well, it seems that this question has finally been answered.
Call Of Duty games have been suggested to come to Game Pass
Although they have not yet arrived directly on the service, a huge hint that Call of Duty is coming to Game Pass was discovered on the Xbox store.
As first announced by ModernWarzone, some Call of Duty games have appeared on the Xbox Store page for Game Pass games on sale, which doesn’t directly confirm their arrival on the pass, but it’s a big clue. The Bethesda games that went to Game Pass appeared here before it was officially announced that they were coming to the Pass, so there’s a very real possibility that those games could follow suit.
Even better, it’s not just the classics that appear – the section is headlined by Black Ops Cold Warand is joined by Modern Warfare Remastered and 2019 modern warfare. Who still knows if Avant-garde will join them – but if so, it means that each Call of Duty the game available on Xbox would likely make its way to Game Pass.
When will Call Of Duty come to Game Pass?
We still don’t know when we can expect an announcement from Call of Dutyhas arrived on Game Pass, but this appearance on the Xbox store is a hint that it could be soon. We would expect a huge Bombshell announcement for their arrival, as they’ll likely come alongside a slew of other Activision Blizzard titles, but we’ll just have to wait and see how big the drop really will be.
That’s big and could be another massive draw for the already hugely popular Game Pass. Call of DutyThe arrival of Game Pass may well make Game Pass the ultimate gaming subscription, destroying the newly revamped PS Plus before it can even roll out of the pits.


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Present during the workshop on “Towards a GE-FREE India” Forum, Hydrabad Feb 25, 2008.
By Mrs. Kim, Kyung soon
Former chairperson of local association of KWPA
The member of La Via Campesina
La Via Campesina is the international peasant movement, and spread in Europe, Africa, South America, North America, Central America, South Asia and South-East Asia and East Asia.
Today the delegation who is here is the women peasants from South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Philippine, Timor Leste, Cambodia, and Thailand. La Via Campesina is struggling against GMO. GMO is our main struggle in national and international level. GMO had cause serious problem for farming in our member countries.
With the name of neo-liberalism, the international moving of world capital, products and service etc are increasing and going faster. Neo-liberal globalization is the idealogy which US and transnational companies created to control the world. It is more clear when we see who drive this globalization. TNCs such as Monsanto and developed countries especially US use the international institutions such as WTO, FTA and EPA to promote strongly neo-liberalism. Agriculture is not exclusive from their hand. They also target to agriculture. Originally agriculture is based on natural circulation of organism with internal resources, and then agriculture should not be based on trading or producing to sell and buy with large scale production. Even if that, TNCs inform farmers of GM seed saying they developed the seed which is strongly against pest and guarantee high-productivity so that provide the consumers with low-price food. But how is the reality? Currently world food price keeps going high price and the price of animal feed and fertilizers are continuously going high.
Now I’d like to introduce a lot of problems which the countries in our region have because of GMO.
The cotton Bt introduce in Indonesia since 2001, the testing field in South Sulawesi run by Monsanto with the support by Indonesia government. The testing field cover 500 hectare of land. Monsanto introduce the Cotton Bt to farmer with promised will bring high benefit but in reality all the promise only empty promise. The cotton bt case had been filed class action to the court by the civil society(farmer groups, consumer groups, urban poor and so on) on 2002 but we are lost in the high court.
Until today, the GMO crops believed secretly grow in Indonesia land and Monsanto continue in business without telling the farmer that the seed is GMO seed.
In Japan GMO products aren’t openly grown. But in Ibaraki prefecture, the GMO rice is grown in the field. And Japan is importing GMO food from USA such as soyabean. The NOUMINREN (La Via Campesina in Japan) research laboratory had found the GMO in tofu and animal feed who sell in supermarket. The farmers and consumers are protesting the GMO. Another case found which imported seed of colza transported and the seed fall on the road and contaminated the local seed. These cases are found in many ports in Japan.
GMO introduce in Thailand since 10 years ago, which is on 9 kinds of food stuff. What is crucial is the introduction of GM papaya, which is popular as the local food for papaya salad. Farmer in alliance with the Assembly of the Poor protest on the GMO introduction as this will make the peasant depend on the GMO seed.
Timor Leste as new country becomes the market of the food all over the world since the local market open after the independency seven years ago. The Timor people staple food are cassava, corn, rice, and sago. But most we can find in the market is imported food from foreign country. The meat comes from Australia, and soybean from USA. The GMO product comes from the food aid from foreign countries.
For Korean situation, recently Monsanto introduced GM grass for a golf field at Jeju Island in which developed the organic agriculture in Korea. And then farmers in Jeju island are struggling against it. To more worse, Korea government is pushing FTA with US and try to ratify it within this year. Once Kor-US FTA go through the assembly According to the articles of Kor-US FTA, Korea have to import GM products that fit the US standard without other regulations or testing. That is one of the reasons the farmers oppose the FTA. Korea will face the tremendous GM danger because of Kor-US FTA.
We believe that GMO is not solution for eradication the hunger. Farmers are responsible to feed the people with safe and healthy food. The GMO is introduced by few TNC and support by developed countries. Food sovereignty is the rights of nation to determine our own food policy without any intervention from other country.
This is why we need to mobilize during the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan next July. The G8 countries have had summit on deciding the future of the world population. G8 countries produce the neo-liberalism policies and create the hunger, poverty and global warming. As this is time for food sovereignty.


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Madrid, Spain (PRWEB) February 4, 2009
This has been noted during the holidays when the supermarkets in tenerife and the supermarkets in andalucia noted an increase in their sales in comparison with previous periods.
Supermarkets like Hiperdino in Gran Canaria is one of the supermarkets that held their sales percentage during the whole year and closed 2008 with new business openings. This represent an investment of more than 3 million euros for the supermarket chain Dinosol. An important number that was possible due to the strong demand that the supermarkets in Spain are facing.
According to recent statistics, the 75% of the families in the south of Spain have visited the supermarkets to take advantage of the holiday sales. The supermarkets take advantage of this by displaying important discounts to draw consumers to buy more.
(source: TNS Consumer)
Various local authorities have announced that in comparison with last year, there has been a 10% increase in the number of clients, making an approximate number of 2 million persons (source: http://www.europapress.es ). A similar situation was seen in the supermarkets canary islands.
Some specialists declare that this change is due to the fact that the citizens are adapting themselves to the new circumstances in the market, taking advantage of buying, for example, discounted furnishings and thereby saving money in the long term. Moreover the company owners launch discounts and special offers to avoid an "economic freeze". Some supermarkets in andalucia are following the same example and cut prices.
Anyhow, some organizations disagree with this theory, claiming that impulsive buying is the result of "special offers" and in the end affect the economy of the families. To avoid that this season of discounts affect the family economy, i.e., that it doesn't affect the acquisition of the primary products, the Ministry of Sanity and Consumption has started a campaign called "Buy with criterion".
Buy with criterion was started at the end of December and since then their web has been visited by more than 100 000 persons.
The main idea with this campaign is to make a plan of the family budget in the beginning of the month and a then buy according to this plan. It is also recommended to keep the receipts and use cash instead of paying by credit card.
The campaign has been spread by various means of communication, but its effect on the consuming habits can not still be measured.
(source: The Spanish Ministry of Sanity and Consumption)


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JD.com (NYSE:JD) reported its second-quarter earnings August 13. They were better than expected sending JD stock up by more than 8% on the news. Unfortunately, it’s gone sideways ever since.
JD traded at $50 as recently as January 2018. It fell all the way to $19 that year on allegations CEO and founder Richard Liu raped a 21-year-old student in Minnesota. Although charges were never laid, JD stock’s never fully recovered from the fallout. And the trade war between the U.S. and China didn’t help its cause.
As for the business, the latest quarterly results suggest it is starting to turn the corner. However, despite the positive earnings surprise and being up 47% year to date through August 29, JD stock’s gotten stuck at $30.
So, investors are left wondering if JD.com is a $30 or a $50 stock. Here are my arguments for both stock prices.
JD.com is a $50 Stock
InvestorPlace contributor Laura Hoy recently wrote that JD’s work to build its logistics work is starting to pay off for the company as it gets higher-margin, third-party e-commerce revenues. Furthermore, as the company’s gotten involved in the digital advertising space, margins have jumped higher.
One only needs to look at the growth Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is experiencing from its foray into digital advertising to know that it’s a lucrative endeavor. eMarketer estimates that Amazon’s U.S. ad business will grow 53% in 2019 to $11.3 billion.
So, what’s JD.com’s ad business look like at the moment?
JD doesn’t separate its ad revenue. It’s included with the fees the company generates from third-party sellers using its marketplaces. In the first six months of 2019, marketplace and advertising revenues were $2.8 billion, 25% higher than a year earlier.
During its Q2 2019 conference call, CFO Sidney Huang did say that the company’s 42% increase in net service revenues during the quarter were “driven by strong momentum from third-party logistics and advertising revenues.”
Although its net services revenue only accounted for 11.2% of its overall revenue, the margins are much higher than those for its own ecommerce sales.
More importantly, a number of analysts were asking questions about its advertising business during the Q&A after the conference call. You can be sure that they will continue to pester the company for greater detail. Investors should continue to pay attention to this aspect of its business.
Like Amazon, it will be bigger than most realize.
One of the reasons I prefer Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) over JD is because of the free cash flow it generates.
Well, in the first six months of the year, JD had $2.8 billion in free cash flow on $39.5 billion in revenue for an FCF margin of 7.1%. In Alibaba’s first quarter ended June 30, it had free cash flow of $3.8 billion on revenue of $16.7 billion for an FCF margin of 22.8%.
Clearly, JD can’t hold a candle to Alibaba, but if it continues to grow the services side of its business, I could see the gap tightening.
JD’s headed in the right direction.
JD.com is a $30 Stock
JD is making headway in its business. There’s no question. However, the volatility of its free cash flow makes its stock awfully difficult to commit to.
In the second quarter, JD had a 40% increase in its free cash flow to $2.7 billion. That’s an impressive figure. What you might not notice about the jump in free cash flow is that a big chunk of it came from the sale of some of its logistics and real estate properties. Otherwise, its free cash flow wouldn’t have been nearly as high.
Until JD generates consistent free cash flow, its stock isn’t nearly as attractive as BABA’s. That’s especially true if the trade war drags on well into 2020.
Other than its inconsistent free cash flow generation, there’s very little to say that’s negative about JD.com.
The Bottom Line on JD Stock
InvestorPlace’s Will Healy recently stated that JD has tested $26 twice this summer. On both occasions, it’s bounced higher. He believes you should wait for a third-time lucky.
I believe he’s right.
Is JD a $30 or $50 stock?
It’s a $50 stock disguised as a $30 stock. Once a trade agreement is reached, $50 will be easy pickings.
At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


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PM Narendra Modi is featuring on Discovery's Man vs. Wild today. Here's what we know about it
- Man vs Wild, will be featuring India's Prime Minister
- The episode will air at 9 pm on Discovery.
- Narendra Modi is the third world leader to feature on the show. Before him, American's
Barack Obamaand Russia's Vladimir Putinappeared with Bear Grylls.
The host of the show, Bear Grylls, recently shared the promo. In the 45 seconds, long promo PM Narendra Modi can be seen welcoming Grylls in India.
The show has been shot in the Jim Corbett National Park and will throw light on wildlife conservation, highlighting issues related to environmental change.
AdvertisementThe program will be aired in 180 countries. Adventurer and television presenter Edward
The show Man vs Wild was first aired as "Born Survivors" in 2006. Grylls who is a former soldier turns into a survival instructor who explores the least hospitable places and documents the process.
In its previous episodes, Grylls ate anything that could provide him nutrition. He also once wore the skin of a seal to fetch fish in freezing water.
However, the show which features Modi might not be as ‘wild’. Grylls is also infamously known for drinking his own urine on the show. This is when he can’t do something else which he does, which is squeezes water out of elephant dung for drinking. However, Modi may not be seen doing any of this.
My upbringing does not allow me to take a life: Modi
Modi will soon be seen expressing his views on conservation of nature. He will also be seen at the Himalayas where he speaks about cleanliness drive in addition to reminiscing his own youth.
AdvertisementA video, giving a sneak peek of the episode, was released on Friday.
In the show, gives Modi an improvised version of a spear as a safeguard against potential attack by a tiger. Modi says: "My upbringing does not allow me to take a life. However, I will hold it (the spear) since you insist."
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The website that earlier featured pictures and videos of mostly monuments and tourist spots, now showcases landscapes, waterfalls and tiger reserves. Pictures from Jim Corbett National Park, Ranthambore National Park and other national parks now feature on the home page of Incredible India.
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Medical marijuana is now legal in 23 US states and it has prompted a market for cannabis related apps including those connecting producers with customers, delivery services and review sites.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Marijuana is already legal for medical and recreational use in the District of Columbia. Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Colorado also allow recreational use and possession of cannabis.
Twenty-three states from Maine to California allow medical marijuana use. But if you are taking a road trip from the NorthEastern shore to Southern California, there are a lot of states in between where marijuana is still illegal.
The laws are constantly changing and the laws for use and possession in those states is not uniform.
And ignorance of the law is not a legal defense.
CALIFORNIA: Months after Apple pulled marijuana user social app MassRoots from the App Store on November 4, 2014, the Cupertino company has reversed course and allowed the app in the App Store as long as its geo-restricted to the 23 states where marijuana is legal, MassRoots founder Isaac Dietrich told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“A few hours ago, an Apple representative called to notify us that our efforts were successful: the App Store is permitting cannabis social apps that are geo-restricted to the 23 states that have legalized medicinal cannabis. MassRoots is available for download in the App Store,” Dietrich said.
In a blog post on its website, MassRoots notes that it will be “implementing new features to strengthen our compliance even beyond what is currently required.”
Currently, the app requires users to login to their account to use the app. When a user registers a new account within the app, it requires location access to verify that the user is in one of the 23 states where marijuana is legal. However, users who register for a MassRoots account on its website and then log into the app do not undergo the state check, opening the possibility for users to lie about which state they’re residing in.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles city attorney filed a lawsuit Tuesday to shut down a mobile phone application that arranges medical marijuana home deliveries.
The suit alleges that the iPhone and Android free app, Nestdrop, is a “flagrant attempt” to bypass restrictions contained in Proposition D, the medical marijuana law approved by Los Angeles voters last year.
Nestdrop links customers with delivery services. It started as an alcoholic beverage delivery service but added marijuana in November, promising arrival within an hour.
Pot delivery is currently only available in Los Angeles, but the company has said it wants to expand throughout Southern California.
Customers must prove they have a doctor’s prescription and must be a member of a medical marijuana collective, although they can join a local one through the app.
The company said it works with local dispensaries that can provide pot in bud, edible and concentrated forms.


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October has been a busy month for Nike’s Air Max 90 as it has been manufactured with themed makeovers meant to celebrate the forthcoming Halloween and Day of the Dead holidays, as well as revealed its plans to revive its classic “Infrared” makeup. And now, its Fall catalog has just grown even further as another GR entry has swiftly made its way to the market today.
This rendition is primarily hued with “Velvet Brown” synthetic uppers, and mudguards and comes packaged with additional seasonally-appropriate accents that purloin most of the attention. Autumn-esque hits of “Yukon Brown” touch onto the overlays atop the mid-foot and toe tips, while hits of “University Red” pop out through the Air Max branding, Swoosh, backdrops, toe tip overlays, and front of the outsoles. Given the nature of its color-blocking, they almost channel a similar vibe to the “Cigar City” SB Dunk Highs that dropped back in 2011. If you’re thinking of copping a pair, you can find these available right now on Nike.com for $120 USD.
For other sneaker news, a Wacko Maria Nike SB collection is slated to release on Halloween.
Nike Air Max 90
Release Date: Oct 22nd, 2020
Color: Velvet Brown/University Red/Yukon Brown/Black
Mens: $120 Style Code: CT1686-200
Make sure to follow @kicksfinder for live tweets during the release date.
Where to Buy
More like this at ebay


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Movies and web series are being released one after another on the digital entertainment medium including OTT platforms, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, G5, Disney Hotstar, Alt Balaji, Sony Liv, which became the biggest medium of entertainment for the people during the Corona crisis. Recently, Sushmita Sen’s crime thriller web series Arya on Disney + Hotstar, Lal Bazar on G5, Rasabhari on Amazon Prime among other web series and Bulbul movies were released on Netflix. Now this week, more than one web series and movies are going to be released on these OTT platforms.
On July 10, Abhishek Bachchan is going to make a digital debut on Amazon Prime Video. Abhishek Bachchan’s web series Breathe: Into the Shadow is set to release on July 10. At the same time, the crime drama web series Unneeded (Undekhi) is going to be released on Sony LIV on July 10, which is a crime thriller. On July 10, the psychological series thriller web series Mafia adorned by Namit Das and other leading actors is going to be released on Zee5. Also on July 11, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s Oscar-winning film A Star Is Born is set to release on Netflix. Famous actress Charlize Theron’s film The Old Guard is being released on July 10 on Netflix itself. Tom Hanks’ war drama Greyhound is released on July 10 on the OTT platform Apple TV Plus.
ब्रीद सीजन 2 (Breathe Into The Shadows) वेब सीरीज
Release date – 10 July (on Amazon Prime Video)
Breath: Into the Shadow is the most awaited web series of the web series of famous artists like Abhishek Bachchan, Amit Shad, Nitya Menon, and Symy Kher. The first reason for this is that Abhishek Bachchan is about to debut on the digital platform from this web series and the world is going to see him in a different way than films. The second point is that after the success of Breath Season 1 and the polarity of this web series, its season 2 was waiting for 2 years. R. in the first season of the crime suspense drama Breath. Madhavan had spread such magic that there was a panic in the world of Indian web series. Breath Season 2 is releasing this week on Friday, July 10 on Amazon Prime, in which a father comes under the pressure of a miscreant to save his daughter and bleeds on the blood and keeps throwing dust in the eyes of the police. Malayalam star Nitya Menon is also entering the digital platform in Breath Season 2.
अनदेखी (Undekhi) वेब सीरीज
Release Date – 10 July (at SonyLIV)
Sony is going to release the crime thriller drama Unseen after Jimmy Shergill starrer Your Honor, trying to gain a foothold in India and compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime. This web series is based on fictionalized events, including Harsh Chhaya, Ankur Rathi, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Surya Sharma, Abhishek Chauhan, Apoorva Soni, and Meenakshi Rathi among others. It is being said about this web series directed by Ashish R, Shukla, that it will tie the audience in such a way that they will not withdraw from mobile, laptop, or computer until they see all 10 episodes. In recent times, if the kind of web series made in India, if the ignorance goes around them, then Sony Liv will be followed. On July 10, Unseen is releasing on Sony Live.
माफिया (Mafia) वेब सीरीज
Release date – 10 July (on ZEE5)
More than one web series is being released on G5. After releasing crime dramas like Kali 2 and Lal Bazaar in the past, Mafia is being released on July 5 on G5. The web series Mafia Kahaani, adorned by artists like Namit Das, Riddhima Ghosh, Madhurima Roy, Ankita Chakraborty, and Isha Saha, is a story of 6 friends whose lives turn into a setback. Some incidents happen in such a way that they become common after killing each other. It is being claimed that all the episodes of Psychological Drama Mafia are full of thrills and suspense.
If you do not understand my given information,then you can ask me your question in the comment box, I will answer your questions as soon as possible.


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Microsoft is cheering a significant psychological victory with the news that Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII will be released simultaneously on both Xbox 360 and PS3.
It’s the first time a full, numbered instalment in the FF series has debuted on more than one machine, and (with the exception of MMO FFXI) the first time since FFVII that a new instalment hasn’t been a PlayStation exclusive upon release.
Closing the Microsoft press briefing at E3 this morning, Square boss Yoichi Wada told a fevered crowd:
At long last, the day we have all been waiting for has arrived. It gives me great pleasure to unveil this today – especially an Xbox 360 version of the latest in a series that has shipped 85 million. It is planned for release.
We believe that releasing a 360 version will allow us to provide a game to even more fans in North America and Europe. And we’re working hard on its development. Last of all, I‘d like to thank [Microsoft boss] Don Mattrick for giving me the opportunity.”
A mysterious – and hugely impressive – video trailer showed the title in its full glory, with a female and male protagonist who have been ‘marked by the fateful ‘cie’ – making them destined for greatness.
There were many futuristic elements to the game’s tableau, including a sprawling metropolis-like floating city called Pulse.
No release date was set and a full format list was not confirmed.


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The payments system is not something you ordinarily think as outsourced. However, the moment somebody in your organization decides to receive a payment via an intermediary (lockbox, collection agent, bank, third-party providers of “receivables management” servicers and more) or make a payment via an intermediary (AP servicer, freight forwarder, procurement specialists or software and more) – you’ve outsourced a payment.
There are 10 areas of risk to know about, assess, manage and mitigate so that the payments side of the business doesn’t become a risk headache, according to Michael Alfonsi, VP and portfolio manager for BancTec. He says all of these risks begin with the simple questions:
- Are your payments in the mail? The USPS boasts it delivers 80 percent of the mail on time. If you answered yes, then an immediate second question is important:
- How do you process the payments once you receive them? Do you process them? Does somebody else process them? Or do you use a combination of both?
“If you answered yes to either question, the risks, unfortunately, are abundant,” posits Alfonsi. They include:
1. Order entry risk. Do your business expenses get into the system on time?
2. Bill print and mailing risk. Does your business print and post the bills in a timely fashion?
3. USPS delivery risk. The risks are both outbound and inbound. The USPS has never been in such turmoil in its 236 year history. “Confusion and chaos reign as the Postal Service groans under severe contractions in processing centers and third-party, inter-city contractor delivery services,” he reports. “The only assurance now is that mail sent IN a city to a business in that same city will be affected the least. And for 170 smaller cities in the U.S., that’s not even true.” Every company who receives more than $180M a year in mailed check payments needs to review where it receives those payments from to ensure they are not leaving money on the table,” concludes Alfonsi.
4. Payer turnaround time risk. You lose time if the payer takes its time.
5. Provider risk. Who performs your payment processing services? Do you use a lockbox, in-house scanners or other capture devices or software? Alfonsi says third-party lockbox processors “are contracting and consolidating at an alarming rate.” He says there is a price war going on for these services due to this underutilized capacity. “Providers want to offer cheap deals with long- term commitments to ensure revenue streams,” he explains. “It’s like buying a cheap ticket for a flight 45 days from now on an airline that may be out of business in 30 days. Selecting these providers can be a foolish business decision and a double whammy in implementation costs,” he says.
6. Fraud risk. What are you doing to prevent fraud and mitigate payment risk? Alfonsi says “providers and banks are transferring risk onto the receiver of payments in return for discount rates and processing costs, claiming co-sourced arrangements make anyone involved in a transaction liable. The implication is whoever receives that payment, no matter what the form, will ultimately carry the business risk. This is a sea change in approach.”
7. Rate increase risk. Alfonsi reports payment costs have increased at double the core inflation rate for the last four years. Provider consolidation, banks’ need for non-credit revenue streams, new product features, risk management tools and product functionality will all drive up costs, he points out.
Do you know how much your payment service really costs? “If you do not know every cost element and how cost dynamics affect your organization, you are in trouble,” says Alfonsi. He explains a company that does not have the correct method to capture unit costs, the financial framework to view costs (especially if they are invisible) or the competency to forecast cost is at risk for a spike in services costs. “This can be a career ender,” he adds.
8. Payment type risk. Do your payment media match your customers’ preferences? If not, Alfonsi says “your payments strategy delays getting your payments.” He says it is “mind-boggling to see how often payments take a back seat when organizations fear a new payments channel like e-Check or M-initiated payments.” Forcing customers to use traditional ACH or even paper checks “leaves tens of thousands of dollars on the table in costs of funds and poor payment operations,” he observes.
Even in B2B payments, customers comfortable with emerging payment media like payments made via a social media channel expect companies they do business with to adapt, not freeze. The issue is managing costs and risks to accelerate payments and improve posting and data for analysis purposes.
9. Information risk. Where do you get advice in outsourcing and the payments system? “Hopefully, the answer is from a wide variety of sources and not just one relationship manager at one bank or a friendly third-party processor,” says Alfonsi. He says:
- Data on PCI compliance should come from the Payment Security Council.
- Data on payment and treasury services costs should come from Phoenix-Hecht.
- Data on e-payments should come from NACHA.
- Reliable data comes from associations like local chapters of the IAPP and IARP.
10. RFP risk. Alfonsi says enterprises that put out RFPs for services “rarely get the exact solution to meet their needs.” He says organizations that scored the lowest costs, had the shortest time to implement and ended up with the lowest risk and most efficient solutions followed a new model. They challenged prospective providers to come up with their best thinking, which included revealing their true costs and cost reduction targets; these providers have “a clear vision of a future state that is realistic given the constraints,” he explains. Today Alfonsi says “the buyer must be the story teller, not the sales person.” He underscores this approach requires new sourcing and management skill.
Alfonsi says addressing these 10 risks “with truthful, comprehensive answers” produces “a clear picture of where your payments outsourcing and strategy lie – from top quartile to bottom decile. This is the best way “to make payment outsourcing effective for your organization,” he concludes.
For more information on reducing risks in outsourcing payments, visit www.banctec.com.


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URBANDALE, IOWA – The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the nation’s top nutrition panel, has decided to drop warnings about eating foods high in cholesterol.
Experts now say cholesterol in the diet is no longer considered a “nutrient of concern.”
“The Iowa Egg Council welcomes the release of this report, and it amplifies what we all know to be true, that eggs are great for our health. Additionally, eggs are great for Iowa’s economy and we should all be proud of that fact,” according to Iowa Egg Council Executive Director Randy Olson.
Eggs are nutrient rich, making them one of the few foods that naturally contain vitamin D. In addition to Vitamin D, including the highest quality protein, eggs promote healthy brain function and eyesight. Eggs are an excellent source of choline, which contributes to fetal brain development. Eggs, also, provide small amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, two nutrients that contribute eye health.
Iowa ranks #1 in egg production, producing 15 billion eggs annually. The Iowa egg industry generates 2 billion in total statewide sales annually, 8,000 jobs statewide and $424 million in personal wages. Additionally, the Iowa egg industry contributes $19.3 million to the state general tax revenues every year.
Full report found here http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-BINDER/meeting7/docs/DGAC-Meeting-7-SC-1.pdf


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TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – The Burger Stand in Topeka’s College Hill area is moving to a new location, an employee confirmed Thursday.
The worker at the Burger Stand said it is moving into the old Boss Hawg’s location in Topeka’s Brookwood Shopping Center on 29th Street. The restaurant’s last day in College Hill is Wednesday. It will be open for carryout only in March, and it is looking at a full opening in the new location in May.
Brookwood Shopping Center took to social media to welcome its newest business.
“We can’t wait to hang out at our newest Brookwood restaurant and grab a Gourmet Burger and Craft Brew!”Brookwood Shopping Center


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‘Intense lockdown’ ends in 3 Tamil Nadu cities, grocery shops to be open till 5pm tomorrow
The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced some relaxations for Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai where a four-day “intense lockdown” was clamped to check the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will end at 9pm.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said shops selling essential items, vegetables and fruits will open between 6am and 5pm in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai municipal corporation limits on Thursday, news agency ANI reported.
However, Palaniswami said the timings for shops will be between 6am and 1pm from May 1, according to ANI.
The restrictions that prevailed before April 26 would continue to apply after the completion of the complete lockdown that is scheduled to end in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, he said.
The government also urged the people to strictly follow social distancing norm while shopping and asked them to remain patient and calm. “People are directed to wear masks,” while visiting the shops, it said cautioning them against the contagion.
Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai were among the five cities in Tamil Nadu which were put under an “intense lockdown” to check the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus disease or Covid-19 on April 26.
The lockdown was intensified for four days from April 26 till 9pm on April 29 in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. Two smaller cities of Salem and Tirupur are under stricter restrictions for three days till 9pm on April 28.
The government decided to tighten curbs under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in select urban regions based on expert opinion as the number of infections rose.
The “intense lockdown” in Tamil Nadu came in the middle of a nationwide shutdown ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month and extended to May 3.


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Contractors are challenged with presenting and selling the industry’s most efficient products to consumers. Manufacturers are largely responsible for improving efficiency within their product lines while at the same time ensuring their products are desirable, affordable, and ahead of all the other roadblocks the industry may throw their way.
A recent American Home Comfort study from Decision Analyst reinforces this revelation, reporting that, for the first time in years, homeowners are more trusting of the internet for HVAC information than they are their contractors. In today’s marketplace, customers are opting to educate themselves on HVAC products via the internet prior to a contractor’s arrival.
Depending on who you’re talking with, the phrase "green ductwork" can mean different things, though most agree it typically encompasses recycled materials, various IAQ elements, duct-sealing products, and more.
Because it uses the earth as a free heat source or heat sink, geothermal is inherently a highly efficient technology that can help homeowners and building owners save a significant amount of energy and money. And, as advances in technology continue to improve the efficiency and controls of these units, the industry is concurrently investigating ways to make geothermal an affordable option for all.
For the past decade, those in the geothermal heating and cooling industry have benefited from two tax credits that incentivize residential and commercial geothermal installations. But both of these tax credits are four months away from expiring, and all efforts to extend them have failed thus far.
Geothermal manufacturers, distributors, and organizations like the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) have stepped up their training efforts to ensure HVACR contractors are installing and servicing geothermal equipment to the highest standard.
More and more homeowners are gravitating toward the control and convenience offered by new thermostats, which are designed to make managing energy easier than ever before. But, despite all the bells and whistles, consumers are most often looking for simple solutions because their time is valuable — and most don’t want to spend a lot of time tracking their energy use.
While there are still misperceptions that deter some in the small-building market from investing in building management systems (BMS), many expect small-building owners and operators to continue to invest in BMS.
A new credential — the Energy Management Professional (EMP) certification from Energy Management Association (EMA) — is training individuals to balance the goals of energy conservation and building performance, which, according to Andrew Heitman of Building Energy Sciences LLC, Pensacola, Florida, keeps customers happy.


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Although there’s been a sharp reduction in trade and commercial ties with Russia and in Ukraine’s dependence on its neighbor, some key sectors still show levels of interaction that pose a threat to national security
The last five years have seen Ukrainian-Russian trade relations actively decline. The original impulse came when the Customs Union was set up in 2011 by Russia with Kazakhstan and Belarus, following which Russia began trade wars against Ukrainian manufacturers and producers as a way to force Ukraine to also join. In summer of 2013, pressure grew once more as President Viktor Yanukovych prepared, for all intents and purposes, to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union that included a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. With Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine in early and mid-2014 and the economic component of the AA between Ukraine and the EU coming into force in 2016, the process accelerated steadily.
The economic aspect of Russia’s hybrid war has cost both countries enormously. By 2016, Ukraine’s exports of goods and services to Russia had shrunk to US $6.68 billion from US $20.31bn in 2013 and US $25.26bn in 2011. Russian suppliers lost even more: imports from Russia collapsed to US $5.65bn from $24.65bn in 2013 and US $30.47bn in 2011. The winner, if one can even talk in such terms in this kind of situation, turned out to be Ukraine. Its huge trade deficit with Russia, which amounted to US $5.2bn in 2011, had turned to a surplus of more than US $1bn by 2016.
A sloppy clean-up
The main thing is that Russia lost its status as Ukraine’s key trading and commercial partner, a dependence on its larger neighbor that forced the country, for more than two decades, to concede to Moscow’s demands, even when Kyiv enjoyed a pro-European administration, and made the majority of its producers effectively Russian lobbyists. This release from its dependence is now a fact at the level of the economy in general, but has not yet been absorbed in the consciousness of Ukrainian business—which can be seen in the way a large chunk of it positions itself. The consequence is that too many businesses have remained pro-Russian through sheer inertia.
This is partly encouraged by the remnants of economic dependence on Russia, as well, by the large debts that a slew of Ukrainian companies have at Russian banks. Other factors include the dominance of imported Russian top managers, the continuing and significant dependence of strategic domestic sectors on supplies of raw materials and fuels from the RF, and the dependence of certain export goods on the Russian market. To overcome these factors, a new push is needed, either from ordinary Ukrainians or from targeted restrictive measures on the part of the state—perhaps both.
The biggest positive impact in releasing Ukraine from the dominance of Russian business more recently can be attributed to the sharp loss of position by IUD, the Industrial Union of Donbas, a corporation once owned by Serhiy Taruta and now controlled by Russia’s Vneshekonombank. In 2013, it was responsible for almost 20% of Ukraine's metal output; since the blockade of ORDiLO, it has almost completely lost its market. Another factor was the sale of the Kharkiv Tractor Plant by its Russian owner. Yet another one is sanctions against Russian banks and other companies, which is forcing them to find a way out of the Ukrainian market, including the sale of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank, the Russian state savings bank.
Still, there remains the threat that these sales are fictions, because the buyers are Russian business entities, the way it was with Sberbank in Ukraine. Or that someone is taking advantage of the situation to reduce the evident presence of Russian business on individual Ukrainian markets in order for them to be dominated by companies that are nominally Ukrainian, but are actually owned by Ukrainian compradors who are closely linked to Russia, such as SCM’s Rinat Akhmetov or Oleksandr Yaroslavskiy, who has long been an agent for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
In a discussion of the prospects and purpose of maintaining Russian business in Ukraine that took place in March 2016, the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) Aleksandr Shokhin told those present that, according to Putin, “you have to be patient a little longer. At least there’s still a chance.” As long as this opinion does not change to its opposite and we don’t see a large-scale, irreversible exit of Russian businesses from Ukraine, there’s a great deal that needs to be done.
It is also evident that an opposite tendency is taking place: a growing presence of other Russian FIGs on the Ukrainian market, such as the Alfa Group, which recently added Italy’s UniCredit—and along with it, its subsidiary and one of Ukraine’s larger financial institutions, UkrSotsBank—to a portfolio that already contains its own eponymous Ukrainian subsidiary. Alfa also continues to control the largest mobile operators in Ukraine, Kyivstar, and has a stake in a smaller one, life:), and the other major operator is owned by Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems, which has rebranded its Ukrainian subsidiary as Vodaphone. Dozens of other Russian providers also continue to operate on the internet and telecoms service markets.
In this regard, the recent decision to add owners of Russian social networks to Ukraine’s sanctions list seems like just a small step in a huge task that needs to be undertaken to free the country from the domination of Kremlin agents in strategic sectors. Because any Russian entity operating in these sectors is completely dependent politically on Russia’s security forces for its survival.
Trends in bilateral trade in services
Exports of Ukrainian goods to the Russian Federation bottomed out in 2016, possibly temporarily, at US $3.59bn or 9.9% of Ukraine’s overall exports compared to US $15.05bn or 23.8% in 2013, and US $19.8bn or 29.0% in 2011. Since the beginning of 2017, exports began to rise again, reaching US $1.28bn over January-April, which is 38.5% more than for the same period last year. Still, the trade wars of recent year have led to a situation where the cumulative domestic export to Russia, the volumes of goods and services are almost equal. Nearly US $3.09bn of services or 32.1% of overall exports of services from Ukraine went to Russia in 2016. The decline in such exports compared to 2013 and 2011 is also significant, when they were 36.9% and 38.5%, but nothing compared to the collapse of trade in goods.
At first glance, Ukraine’s dependence on the export of services to Russia remains considerable, and exchanging them seems beneficial primarily to Ukraine, as it ensures a substantial surplus balance of US $3.1bn, compared to less than US $0.5bn of imported services in 2016. However, these apparent figures hide a radically different reality. The lion’s share of domestic exports is transport services, which constituted US $2.77bn or 89.6% of all exports and US $2.63 of the trade surplus. But included in these figures is more than 80% of the cost of Russian gas that transits through Ukraine’s gas transport system (GTS).
This transit is a service exported to Russia only as a consequence of the fact that, at one point, Ukraine’s leadership allowed the Russians to maintain their colonial approach to Ukraine and its GTS. And so gas is sold to Europe, not at the Ukrainian-Russian border, as it should be, but on the Ukrainian section of the one-time border of the USSR. In the end, this approach entrenched Ukraine’s status as almost little more than a Russian autonomy, a territory through which Gazprom simply transported its fuel to consumers. Once Ukraine puts into effect its announced intention to change things when the current contract with Gazprom expires in 2019, European consumers will be buying Gazprom’s natural gas at the border between Ukraine and Russia, and the transit services will then be exported to EU countries, not to the Russian Federation.
If transporting gas is removed from the equation, it turns out that there is no other serious component in the export of services to Russia from Ukraine. And that means that Ukraine has a significant positive balance only in such service areas as IT, with US $145.1 million exported vs US $68.1mn imported, equipment maintenance and repair with US $29.3mn vs US $5.3mn, construction with US $5.5mn vs $1.3mn, and processing raw materials on a tolling basis, with US $4.2mn vs US $0.9mn. Russia, by contrast, has a huge positive balance in providing a slew of services to Ukraine, suggesting that the post-colonial inertia in business, finance and insurance remains: business services with $206.7mn imported vs US $119.1mn exported, financial with US $34.6mn vs US $2.7mn, insurance with US $5.7mn vs US $1.0mn, as well as royalties and other matters related to intellectual property with US $10.5mn vs US $7.2mn.
Weak spots in bilateral trade in goods
The weak spot for Ukraine’s export goods to the RF remains the fact that most of them continue to constitute a major share of their makers’ overall exports. For instance, over January-April 2017, 70% of all Ukrainian deliveries to Russia represented 40%+ of the total export of such goods out of Ukraine, while for around 30% of deliveries to the Federation, the Russian market represented 70%+ of the total export of such goods out of Ukraine. To be more precise, nearly all of Ukraine’s alumina exports—96.1% worth US $166.6mn in Q1 of 2017—and all of its exports of radioactive elements and isotopes, worth US $36.6mn, end up on the Russian market. They are the final remnants of Moscow’s strategy of incorporating Ukrainian assets into the “transnational corporation” known as the Russian Federation.
In the case of alumina, it’s about the output of the Mykolayiv Alumina Plant (MHZ), which is part of Deripaska and Partners’ Rossiyskiy Aluminia [Russian Aluminum]. Indeed, the domination of the Russian monopolist has led to a situation where, despite its capacity to satisfy all of Ukraine’s domestic needs and even export aluminum and goods made of it, Ukraine still imports it to this day, including from Russia! Meanwhile, the commitments Rossiyskiy Aluminia made to build an aluminum plant in Ukraine and process part of the alumina into aluminum locally during the privatization of MAP were forgotten the moment the papers were signed. Moreover, for a long time, RA deliberately blocked the work and effectively destroyed another enterprise in the industry, the Zaporizhzhia Aluminum Plant (ZAK).
The export of all of Ukraine’s nuclear materials to Russia, which is reprocessed into nuclear fuel and other materials in the Federation and then imported to Ukraine as a finished product, is similarly the consequence of many years of failure on the part of Ukraine’s governments in establishing a domestic nuclear production cycle for the country’s atomic energy stations (AESs).
Still, substantial dependence, more than 40% of all exports, on the Russian market can be seen in an additional 30 or so other Ukrainian commodities whose deliveries to the RF are worth nearly US $1bn a year and more—each. These are predominantly a large variety of machine-building products, which were connected to supplying components to Russian enterprises: turbines worth US $83.1mn over January-April 2017, or 66.8% of all such exports from Ukraine; railcars worth US $22.5mn or 82.4% and locomotive railcar components worth US $24.5mn or about 53.0%; liquid pumps worth US $24.2mn or 65.9%; electric motors and generators worth US $16.1mn or 63.5%; transformers worth US $12.3mn or 44.7%; motion transmission mechanisms worth US $14.5mn or 68.5%; farming equipment worth US $11.5mn or 64.8%; and equipment for moving soil, rock and ores worth US $8.9mn or 62.5%.
For these manufacturers, it’s clear that the Russian market remains key to their export business and sometimes even represents most of their production, however small the orders might be. On one hand, this illustrate just how flaccid are the marketing and production strategies of the management of these enterprises, which are not putting serious effort into finding opportunities to reorient their production facilities towards modified versions of items that could be sold to different markets or even domestically. On the other, it also shows that the government is doing little or nothing to encourage this kind of reorientation from the Russian market to the domestic one or other foreign ones. For instance, it could offer targeted interest-free or low-interest loans for the purchase and modernization of equipment and for retraining personnel. There are also not enough public procurements and often unjustified preferences in purchasing that kind of equipment and technology in Ukraine itself.
A huge dependence on the Russian market is also evident among certain types of finished rolled steel products. For instance, 77.5% of all of Ukraine’s exports of steel angles, structural bars and sections, worth US $72.3mn in the first four months of 2017, 58.1% of all galvanized flat-rolled steel, worth US $27.8mn, 72.7% of stainless flat-rolled steel, worth $20.0mn, and 48.1% of bars, rods and sections of corrosion-resistant steel, worth US $14.5mn, are exported to the Russian Federation.
Clearly, the export of certain types of steel to the RF was huge within its category, even though it was relatively minor compared to the total export of all steel products from Ukraine, worth US $1.4 billion during this same period—never mind all ferrous exports, which were worth US $2.9bn. Ukrainian pipe-makers have pretty solidly moved away from the Russian market, after being the focus many a trade war between the two countries in years past: over January-April, they shipped only 24.3% of their products, worth US $31.2mn, to the RF.
Other industrial manufacturers, however, still are quite dependent on this market. 50.5% of Ukraine’s wallpaper products, worth US $20.2 million over January-April 2017, went to Russia, 58.4% of ceramic tiles, worth $12.8mn, 45.1% of uncoated paper and cardboard, worth US $9.5mn, and 50.0% of plastic containers for transporting and packaging goods, worth $13.5mn. Even though this represents sectors that are far from leading ones in Ukraine’s economy, each of their annual sales to the Russian market amount to generally UAH 1bn and more and their share of overall exports is quite large. So the loss of the Russian market for many manufacturers in key sector could be quite painful.
And so, the shrinkage of the Russian market share from around 30.0% to only 9.3% of exported domestic products in the first four months of 2017 does not reflect the uneven share of individual groups of goods. The fact is that the majority of industries either export only a few percentage points of their product or none at all to Russia. The basis for Ukrainian deliveries to the RF continue to be predominantly those products that are simply very dependent on this particular market and makes these manufacturers very vulnerable not only to the economic situation in Russia but to bilateral relations. In terms of Ukraine today, this means that they will inevitably tend to lobby Russian positions.
Threats to economic security
Meanwhile, Ukraine is enormously dependent on imports of most of its raw materials and fuels from Russia, which constitutes a threat to the country’s economic security in key sectors: the power industry, steel-making and farming. Moscow has demonstrated on many occasions its readiness to use not only restrictions on imports of Ukrainian goods that are very dependent on the Russian market in its hybrid war against Ukraine, but also restrictions on the delivery of raw materials and fuels from its own suppliers. Such artificial shortages threaten to cause serious problems for Ukraine’s economy. The latest examples are coal, piping and liquid gas. Moreover, this does not mean that in the future this kind of manipulation might not be extended to other commodities for which Ukraine is critically dependent on supplies from the RF. Most of these can obviously be substituted by switching to other suppliers, but with Russia delivering 50-80% of the needed quantities today, switching in a hurry is likely to present real problems. That means that this switch needs to be happening gradually, already today.
In the power industry, this means the hyperdependence on Russian nuclear fuel at Ukraine’s AESs, and on Russian anthracite, petroleum products and liquid gas at its cogeneration plants or TESs. The example of nuclear fuel is one of the top success stories in this regard. Although 66.3% of Ukraine’s nuclear fuel for its AESs, calculated in fissile isotopes, and 70.5% in terms of value was imported from the RF in 2016, this was still considerably less than just a year earlier, when the same shares were 90% and 95%, while in the first four months of 2017, the share of RF imports of fuel assemblies was down to 53% by value.
With other forms of energy, the situation is much worse. In 2016, 69.8% of all anthracite imports were from Russia, 66.7% by value. Since the beginning of 2017, all deliveries came from Russia, despite earlier announcements by the Ministry of Power and Coal that they would be banned. Moreover, there are indications that shipments of anthracite to Tsentrenergo, one of the central power utilities, marked as apparently coming from Georgia appear to have been fictitious sales.
The situation is also critical with deliveries of petroleum products and liquid gas. Fully 75.6% or 71.7% by value of the former came to Ukraine from the RF and Belarus in 2016, even though in 2015 only 67.9% and 66.7% did. This year, the share is up to 77.0%. In 2016, 75.6% of all liquid propane-butane came from the RF or 75.4% by value, while another 20.7%, 19.1% by value, came from Belarus. By comparison, these same imports in 2015 amounted to only 60.4% and 58.3% from Russia and 93.1%, 89.9% by value, for the two countries combined. And so we can see, not only complete dependence on supplies from the only realistic source, and continuing pressure to reduce supplies from alternative sources. Yet it would seem that the import of this kind of gas should be a lot simpler to diversify than imports of piping.
In the metallurgical industry, Ukraine is hyperdependent on deliveries of coke and bituminous coal from Russia, which is needed to process ores. The share of RF imports of bituminous coal grew to 69.8% in 2016, or 63.2% by value, compared to 55.0% and 46.8% in 2015, while imports of coke rose to 44.7%, 45.1% by value, compared to 34.5% and 36.9% in 2015—although the total volume of imported coke in 2016 was actually down from 2015.
In the farm sector, dangerous dependence levels can be seen in imports of Russian nitrogen-based and especially complex fertilizers. In 2016, 78.1% of nitrogen-based fertilizers, 80.6% by value, came from the RF. The lion’s share of other fertilizers came from Belarus, whose enterprises are completely dependent on the supply of gas from Russia, which is needed to produce them. Ukraine also gets all of its semi-finished ammonia to produce fertilizers at domestic plants. Lat year, 73.4% or 67.4% by value of all complex chemical fertilizers came from the RF as well, representing a domestic market share that is significantly larger because of the smaller output volumes from domestic manufacturers.
And so, overcoming Ukraine’s critical dependence on Russian imports of raw materials and goods that are important for the economic security of the country requires active, immediate measures to gradually diversify supplies. At the same time, it’s important to avoid getting into prohibitive tariffs and other mechanisms that simply provide artificial breaks to individual market monopolists and create problems for consumers, as happened not long ago with mineral fertilizers.
A more measured and long-term instrument against dumping and monopolization on the Ukrainian market by Russian suppliers could be to apply a cap on the volume of deliveries from a single source, say, not more than 25% or 35%, which is acceptable according to domestic anti-monopoly legislation. But the calculus for such measures must be based on the real, not nominal, country of origin of each product. For instance, it’s obvious that supplies of petroleum products or liquid gas from Belarus should be treated as the equivalent of supplies coming from Russia, which is the sole source of all raw materials for producers in Belarus.
The Russian foreign minister claimed that Ukraine was planning an "armed provocation" in the coming weeks. Moscow-Kyiv relations have continued to deteriorate after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships at sea


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In a major step to control the misuse of untraceable mobile phone numbers by tricksters, terrorists and other irresponsible parties, the Bali branch of PT Telkom has commenced registering the purchasers of pre-paid telephone cards.
The move towards eventual registration of all mobile hand phone users in Indonesia is in response to new regulation issued by Indonesia's Minister of Communications stipulating that between October 29, 2005 and April 28, 2006 all pre-paid phone card users must clearly register their identities or face having their phone service terminated. Since October 28th all new pre-paid phone card used purchasing cards at the PT Telkom office have been required to present personal identification in order to register their ownership of the subject telephone number. Similar measure are being introduced over time through the large network of private distributors of pre-paid phone cards.
To hasten the registration of pre-existing phone cards PT Telkom is placing advertisements in major media reminding their customers of the need to register as well as sending short-messaging-service (SMS) reminders to all unregistered numbers.
There are currently an estimated 140,000 pre-paid phone cards in use on Bali. PT Telkom authorities insist that any user who has failed to register his or her identity by the April 28, 2006 deadline can expect to have their number deactivated.
Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced
if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com.


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Croda International (LON:CRDA) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from GBX 4,550 ($62.86) to GBX 4,800 ($66.32) in a research report released on Friday. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.
Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CRDA. Liberum Capital restated a hold rating and issued a GBX 4,300 ($59.41) price target on shares of Croda International in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Jefferies Group cut shares of Croda International to a hold rating and upped their price target for the company from GBX 4,500 ($62.17) to GBX 4,700 ($64.94) in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Croda International from GBX 4,225 ($58.37) to GBX 4,800 ($66.32) and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Croda International from GBX 4,000 ($55.26) to GBX 4,700 ($64.94) and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Croda International to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from GBX 4,150 ($57.34) to GBX 5,000 ($69.08) in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 4,379.09 ($60.50).
Shares of Croda International (CRDA) traded down GBX 32 ($0.44) during trading hours on Friday, reaching GBX 4,548 ($62.84). 711,630 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 455,652. The company has a market cap of $5,980.00 and a P/E ratio of 2,540.78. Croda International has a fifty-two week low of GBX 3,461 ($47.82) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 4,668 ($64.49).
Croda International (LON:CRDA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported GBX 179 ($2.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of GBX 173.50 ($2.40) by GBX 5.50 ($0.08). The business had revenue of GBX 137.31 billion during the quarter. Croda International had a net margin of 17.16% and a return on equity of 37.33%.
The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 19th will be given a GBX 46 ($0.64) dividend. This is a boost from Croda International’s previous dividend of $35.00. This represents a yield of 1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 19th.
In other news, insider Steve Foots sold 21,181 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 4,434 ($61.26), for a total transaction of £939,165.54 ($1,297,548.41). Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 11 shares of company stock valued at $49,010.
About Croda International
Croda International Plc creates, makes and sells specialty chemicals. It operates through four segments. The Personal Care segment focuses on ingredients for skin, hair, sun and color cosmetic products. Its portfolio includes anti-ageing ingredients for skin, conditioning agents for hair care and metal oxides for ultraviolet (UV) filters.
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Pasco PD is looking to locate this suspect, who allegedly made off with some expensive merchandise from Walmart.
Police did not specify what day the theft occurred
Officers say this man, dressed in an Airwalk camo t-shirt, loaded an expensive TV and a portable air conditioning unit into his cart and then wheeled it out through an emergency exit.
Kennewick Police are seeking to ID and locate these two suspects related to a major fraud and theft case.
The suspects allegedly stole a debit card, then spent a lot of money
Police did not specify the business or when it occurred, but said surveillance videos captured the suspects stealing the card, and leaving one of the stores where purchases were made.


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Monday Motorbikes Partners with Cerberus Security to provide enhanced security services during South by Southwest in Austin, TX.
LONG BEACH, CA, USA, March 10, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Monday Motorbikes, a leader in the electric mobility industry, has announced that it has been selected by Austin-based security company, Cerberus Security, as a strategic partner in the deployment of a connected mobile security and event management platform for public events. This new partnership will combine the latest Monday Motorbikes electric bike, battery and application technology, including Monday’s routing and distributed communications app, with the professional Cerberus Security management force through Austin’s South by Southwest festival from March 11th to March 20th.
“Monday is proud to team with Cerberus Security as we deploy Monday’s latest e-bike, smart app, RF communication and security lighting tools. Monday’s Event Patrol tools are part of an event management solution to optimize security access and minimize disruption in outdoor events” states Monday Motorbikes CEO, Bruce Riggs.
Cerberus will be supplying a portion of their security teams with Monday Motorbikes’ award-winning electric bikes to provide:
• Efficient transport for key security personnel across Austin
• Quicker incident response times for their clients
• Better patrol capabilities during SXSW events
Together with Cerberus Security, Monday Motorbikes will be able to increase the usable applications of their electric bikes to include security teams across the country.
“The partnership with Monday Motorbikes will give Cerberus staff the ability to respond and react to our customers needs in a safer and more timely manner”, said Kevin Cotton, CEO of Cerberus Security, “This new application will benefit our teams and, more importantly, the people at the events we serve.”
With the global micromobilty market poised to surpass $31B by 2025*, innovative applications for e-mobility devices are continuously increasing. Compared to automobiles, e-bikes provide improved transport speeds in dense urban areas as well as access to a variety of terrains where automobiles cannot go.
ABOUT MONDAY MOTORBIKES
Monday Motorbikes develops and manufactures electric mobility solutions to be fast, fun, simple and connected for everyone. Founded by environmentally focused entrepreneurs, Monday Motorbikes is a technology forward, American lifestyle brand based in Long Beach, CA. The company has earned design patents, product awards, and users’ choice endorsement for electric mobility solutions in consumers and commercial applications across the US, Canada, and Latin America. Learn more at www.mondaymotorbikes.com
Founded in 2014, Cerberus delivers full-service security and staffing support for clients in Texas. Their licensed professionals are trained to work with their clients and attendees across a broad range of events including concerts, tradeshows, and conferences. Learn more at www.cerberus-security.com.
*Global Micro-mobility Market (https://en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/global-micro-mobility-market-to-thrive-with-bike-sharing-set-to-dominate-by-2025-324396.shtml)


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Tourism Australia and Visa have announced a three year partnership to promote Australia as a “must-see” destination for the next wave of travellers: independent, sophisticated millennials.
The tie up will see Tourism Australia leverage Visa's Cross Border campaign '#notatourist' to promote the core message of its positioning, that “There's Nothing Like Australia” across the Asia Pacific region. The work will promote Australia's food and wine along with coast and aquatic experiences with the aim of turning interest into bottom-line expenditure.
Tourism Australia MD John O'Sullivan said the campaign will start in China with the aim of targeting the “free and independent” millennial traveller; a segment that the organisation hasn’t typically targeted.
“They are the next wave of traveller that are coming through and they're highly independent, high inquisitive, very savvy and sophisticated,” O’Sullivan said.
“We know a lot of them have education experience in Australia – so they know their destination. So really its an opportunity to appeal to that target market using a campaign that is really defined, through its media channels, but also through its user generated content and the viral assets that we'll build around it.”
O'Sullivan said the Visa campaign also ties into the Tourism Australia positioning which promotes an “experience” view of Australia, with a focus on the unique and money-can't buy moments, instead of pushing sightseeing.
It also ties into Tourism Australia's focus on digital and user-generated elements, which has seen the brand consistently top ranked in terms of Facebook fans.
O'Sullivan said the business has a saying that “no one tells a story better about Australia than an Australian or someone who has visited Australia.”
“What we really like about Visa's “not a tourist” campaign is that it delves into experiences and international travellers behaving like locals,” O'Sullivan said.
“That's really at the core of what we're seeing in our research which is that international travellers, particularly millennial, are really looking for experiences which are unique.
“By casting the net wide and allowing people to tell us their stories, we think that is a more effective way of marketing the country overall but to also bring to live these experiences that we know travellers are really looking at.”
The Visa and Tourism Australia campaign will start in China, Australia's highest value inbound market before broadened to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia for its second phase. In addition, the partnership with Visa, and an earlier partnership with Expedia announced July will also allow Tourism Australia to capture insights and data from Visa itself.
“So a key part of these new arrangement that we're starting to strike is the ability to tap into their insights their data about their customers who are coming to Australia: what their preferences are, what they're spending on, what they're not spending on,” O'Sullivan.
“Then we can define and work with the industry, and give them a better overview of the product and experiences that we need to be ashing more broadly.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at email@example.com


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The ‘Snappening’: 200,000 snapchat accounts rumoured hacked and to be released at the weekend
Fri 10 Oct 2014
If it’s not an idle boast, 200,000 private images and videos from European users of ‘self-deleting’ photo app SnapChat, totalling 13gb, could be released by hackers this weekend, according to board posts at the online counterculture site 4Chan.
Social media strategist Kenny Withers posted screenshots of the thread in question on his website (cached version, via WebArchive), which indicates that the stolen SnapChat images will be placed into a new and searchable website, currently under construction. According to the screenshots of the 4Chan forum, it will be possible to search for photos based on user-name. Additionally, the thread indicates that the files will be distributed via a Torrent site.
Early links to aborted attempts to distribute the material indicate that the disclosure – nicknamed ‘The Snappening’ on the 4Chan board – is not a hoax. One attempt at distributing the photos was attributed to the URL http://viralpop.com/snapsaved/ – but the site was blocked by Hostgator shortly afterward.
Unlike the recent Apple data breach, wherein intimate celebrity pictures were obtained from Apple’s iCloud service and then publicly distributed, the numbers are far greater this time, and the number of personal intrusions into private lives potentially very high.
One of the posts seems to be a response to a now-unavailable early URL, and if correct would indicate that the disclosure site will go online at 3pm Saturday, Central time:
There seems some evidence in the exchanges that connecting the user-images to the user-names via a searchable online database is slowing down the anonymous hacker’s work.
SnapChat is a SmartPhone app which allows the user to take and send a photo which will self-delete after a few seconds. Consequently it became one of the most popular photo apps in the world this year because of its ability to facilitate ‘sexting’ – transmission of intimate pictures – without leaving a record.
However the third-party image-storage service SnapSave is able to intercept the sent photo before deletion and store it to its – apparently now-hacked – server.


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Law coming to protect intellectual rights of ganja growers
The Government is to bring legislation to protect growers of new varieties of ganja plants as it seeks to step up intellectual property protection of producers.
Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Anthony Hylton, says the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office and the Ministry of Agriculture are in the process of developing the new legislation.
Hylton says the legislation will complement the developments in the cannabis industry.
He says the law will facilitate and encourage innovation in the growing of new plant varieties as well as the registration of the rights of ganja growers and farmers.
According to the minister, the move will bring about a new area of intellectual property protection in Jamaica.
Meanwhile, Hylton says Jamaica has a signed bilateral agreement with the Swiss Government for the registration of medicinal marijuana.
Noting that Jamaicans have long used marijuana for the cure of asthma and various ailments, he said the move is the next step in the development and monetisation of the ganja industry.
Jamaica has enacted amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act which, among other things, allows for the establishment of a regulated industry for ganja for medical, scientific, and therapeutic uses.
It also provides for the creation of a Cannabis Licensing Authority, which will be responsible for developing the regulations governing the medical marijuana industry.


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The focus today might be on the Surface Laptop 4 and the new lineup of Modern accessories, but Microsoft also announced some news around the Surface Duo, too. It came as a footnote in today’s main Surface Laptop blog post, but the business version of Microsoft’s dual-screen phone is now coming to more education and commercial customers in 9 European countries.
This expansion is coming as part of Microsoft’s commitment to “delivering innovative devices that keep people productive,” according to Pete Kyriacou, VP of Microsoft Devices. It also comes after the Duo expanded to consumers in Canada, France, and the UK back in February. Now, business, education, and enterprise customers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland can enjoy the Duo, too.
Though this is the business version of the Duo, it is definitely nice to see that Microsoft feels good enough to push the device out to more markets across the world. As consumers, we’re still waiting for more on the next version of the Duo, though, but it looks like Microsoft is playing with the idea of more durable hinges for a possible Duo 2.