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The creator of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial said it would help accelerate commercialization of SDC as an FDA and USDA approved direct food contact processing aid for raw poultry and fresh produce.
The firm added it would use the financing to pursue regulatory approval for use of SDC as a direct food contact processing aid for raw meats.
PURE Bioscience said the ‘urgent pressure of increasing regulatory requirements’ such as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and USDA Salmonella Action Plan will help drive adoption.
Hank Lambert, CEO, said it received the FDA's Acknowledgement Letter for the poultry FCN last month, enabling it to start the USDA review process.
“We already have plans in place for the in-plant trials that are prescribed as part of the USDA process,” he said.
“With anticipated USDA approval for use of SDC on raw poultry, together with anticipated FDA approval for use on fresh produce, we are well along in preparing for commercialization in both markets in calendar Q1 2016.”
PURE Bioscience resubmitted a Food Contact Notification (FCN) for its antimicrobial in raw poultry processing earlier this year after the US FDA prompted a withdrawal last year.
It withdrew an FCN last year because FDA said silver intake levels were under review due to toxicity concerns so it would not approve it.
PURE said test results demonstrate the lowering of residual silver on poultry to below detectable levels as well as the market analysis on overall silver exposure.
The firm said a number of processors in poultry and produce, are already using EPA registered PURE Hard Surface disinfectant on plant equipment so it may be able to achieve accelerated market adoption with a relatively short sales cycle.
It closed the private placement with investor Franchise Brands, it is the second investment it has made in PURE.


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Victrex, an innovative world leader in high-performance polymer solutions, has opened a new polymer innovation center with an investment of US Dollar 13 million. The innovation center is now fully operational for pilot plant manufacturing of new PAEK polymers. Victrex has launched the innovation center to continue innovations in application performance. The initiative of Victrex in the opening of the new innovation center is in line with its strategy in the development of the next-generation thermoplastic solutions and other differentiated grades of polymers within the PAEK family of high-performance thermoplastics. The recent innovations for the introduction of Victrex AE250 composites for the aerospace industry are part of Victrex polymer-to-parts strategy.
With a keen interest in the high-performance polymer solutions, Victrex focusses on the strategic markets of automotive, aerospace, energy, electronics and medical. Products and applications containing the materials of Victrex such as smartphones, aeroplanes, cars, oil and gas operations and medical devices are used by millions of people in the world every day. Victrex has more than thirty-five years of experience in development of world-leading solutions in PEEK, PAEK-based polymers, selected semi-finished and finished parts that have an impact on the future performance of its customers, and the markets it serves. The materials and applications of Victrex add value to its shareholders.

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Rabobank Dairy Quarterly Q1: International prices to ease through 2014
Rabobank expects an easing of global milk pricing from mid to late Q2 2014, according to its Q1 Dairy Quarterly report.
Exportable dairy supply rose strongly in Q4 2013, and is expected to continue into early 2014 as producers respond to improved margins through high milk prices and falling feed costs. The bank expects a strong Northern Hemisphere production season, on the back of an exceptional season in the Southern Hemisphere, to generate more than enough exportable supply to exceed China’s extraordinary additional needs from the world market, loosening the market somewhat. However, Rabobank analysts say that the rate of price reduction will be limited by structural constraints on suppliers, the need to replenish depleted buyer inventories, and ongoing demand growth in line with a slow economic recovery.
“The most crucial demand side question is whether China will sustain the frenetic buying we have seen on the international market throughout the last 12 months,” states Rabobank analyst Tim Hunt.
Rabobank expects production to rise by an impressive 4% year-over-year for the first half of 2014, fuelling a surge in exports. Fractional growth in the second half of 2014 will be boosted in the first half of 2015 when current quotas are eliminated and the EU will likely make a substantial contribution to boosting international supply.
The U.S. domestic market is only expected to show modest growth over 2014, as slow economic growth and reductions in SNAP payments are compounded by further increases in retail pricing. But improved supply momentum should see exports grow strongly in the first half of 2014.
Rabobank expects the final three months of the New Zealand season (until to May 2014) to see production that is at least 20% to 30% higher than the drought-impacted finish of the 2013 season. While export volumes can be expected to taper off through season end, shipments are likely to continue to trend at least 10% above the previous year due to higher milk flows.
Improved seasonal conditions and increased farm gate prices for Southern producers saw a recent rise in milk flow, albeit marginal. Rabobank expects a further recovery in milk flows in the first half of 2014, on the back of better weather and higher milk prices. A small exportable surplus can also be expected on the back of a 2% year-over-year production increase.
A drought in the Southeast, coupled with weak local demand growth is expected to slow Brazilian supply growth, simultaneously reducing import activity as supply expands faster than local demand.
In the context of a depreciating peso and economic uncertainty, Rabobank expects only modest year-over-year production growth, particularly as margins are eroded from milk prices rising slower than costs.


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More Filipinos have become interested to start a business through franchising since the economic crisis started, the Philippine Franchising Association (PFA) said Thursday.
According to PFA Chairman Bing Limjoco, inquiries have doubled at the onset of the crisis, with more people attending their seminars regarding franchising.
“Franchising is good in good times, but it’s even better during the challenging times,” he said.
Franchising has become an attractive option for those who have lost their jobs and received some form of separation pay, as it usually provides less risk compared to starting a new business.
Getting a franchise, for instance, requires less capital and provides less hassle in terms of management.
“Many more have attended our seminars and they’re looking for a franchise to invest in. The success rate of franchising is 90 percent versus starting a traditional business which is 25 percent,” Limjoco said.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com, photo from sebastienpage.com


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Latest Tor Stories
Following last year’s numerous password dumps and this year’s Twitter hacks, website Ars Technica posed a challenge to a trio of hackers: How long does it take to unlock even the most secure passwords?
idcloak launches a tool that helps users conduct an anonymous Google search– a list of proxies which allows users to search online without giving away their identity. Dallas,
The FBI is suspected of taking down an online child pornography trafficker using malware which captures user information before logging it on a server located in Reston, Virginia.
idcloak’s new China IP Address List gives Chinese users free access to China-only websites from outside the country. Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) August 03, 2013
idcloak releases a new IP proxy list – Proxy for Android – which allows users of Android devices to unblock YouTube videos without rooting their device or paying for the privilege.
idcloak’s US IP Proxy list supports liberal netizens in China who require fast, secure access to an uncensored internet. Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) July 29, 2013
idcloak’s launch of an HTTP proxy list brings popular sites like YouTube and Facebook to internet censoring countries. Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) July 27, 2013
Thinkertec SpyPal is compact software that monitors every activity and thereby allows individuals to keep track of the users stated the Boffin team in their review published today.
idcloak introduces its new Proxy Server USA – a free service which allows users to instantly connect to an American computer from anywhere in the world; they then may access the internet as
Sabai Technology, known for their VPN Router firmware, recently launched a Kickstarter campaign.
- A woman chauffeur.
- A woman who operates an automobile.


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John Wadeson, Sales Manager, will be attending a variety of interesting events in the coming weeks.
Last month Dave Blood, Engineering Manager, started the journey to the roof of Africa as he joined a charity trek to scale the 5,895m summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, the continent’s highest peak.
Outreach Ltd, a leading supplier of hydraulic handling, lifting and access equipment, this year celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Tech Safe Systems Ltd, an Outreach Ltd company is a leading supplier of ROV launch and recovery systems (LARS), bespoke winches, laboratories, control cabins and workshops is proud to welcome Lee Woods to the team as Sales Manager. Lee Woods will spearhead and drive sales in the marine, renewable energy plus oil and gas industry sectors.
Outreach Ltd. is proud to welcome Ian Valentine to the team as General Manager: Sales. Valentine will head the Sales Team and be responsible for all sales functions, working closely with specialist Field Sales Engineers across a diverse range of products and industry sectors.
Tech Safe Systems Ltd. an Outreach Ltd. company is proud to introduce the Mk8 Electric Tether Winch into its product range. This low cost electrically driven winch has been designed specifically for use with inspection class ROVs.
Tech Safe Systems Ltd. an Outreach Ltd. company, have just announced the first installation of a Hänel Lean-Lift at their Shuttleworth Close site in Great Yarmouth.
The latest stage of an ambitious growth programme at Outreach Ltd. sees the acquisition today (Thursday 31st July 2014) of one of the UK’s top suppliers of Launch & Recovery Systems for Remotely Operated Vehicles.


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Artificially intelligent home speakers that talk to users and carry out Internet-based tasks are the latest trendy smart devices, and it seems that Apple is working on one as well. Apple’s smart speaker, which could be just a month away, will compete with Google Home and Amazon Echo.
Apple is expected to release its own version of a smart home speaker equipped with its popular AI assistant Siri, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo, a trusted source of Apple-related news, predicts that the company will position the device as a more premium product than other products on the market with a higher price tag, high-end acoustics and computing power, notes news.com.au.
Further, there are reports that the device will have some design features in common with the Mac Pro, with a concave top and cylindrical shape with physical controls. Apple’s smart speaker is expected to come with high-end components, including a powerful custom CPU which is equivalent to the A8, and superior audio with seven tweeters and one woofer, reports AppleInsider. There are also rumors that Apple’s home assistant will feature AirPlay support for high-fidelity audio over Wi-Fi and a custom W1 Bluetooth chip for easy pairing with accessories.
KGI’s report did not speak of any release date for the device, but it did say that it could come as soon as next month. Sonny Dickson, another popular Apple leaker, has speculated that the tech giant will release the Siri speaker next month at its annual developer conference so that it can go on sale in the second half of the year, notes news.com.au.
Amazon working on a new Echo model with touchscreen display?
Apple’s home speaker will compete directly with Google Home and Amazon Echo. Both enjoy dominant shares in the smart speaker market. Amazon, meanwhile, is not sitting idle, as it is reportedly making efforts to push its market share further up with a fashion-focused product called Echo Look. A low-resolution picture of the new alleged hardware was supposedly found on Amazon’s servers by AFTVnews.com.
The image shows a new Echo model with a touchscreen display and a camera above the display. The device is angled upwards, making it easy to use when it’s sitting on a nightstand or counter, with a possible speaker array below the display. Further, the new Echo, supposedly code-named “Knight,” might come out later this month. If the timeframe is correct, then the e-commerce giant may be looking to compete with Apple, which is rumored to release its own smart speaker next month.
Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, is also pretty comfortable with the idea of a voice assistant with a screen. When speaking to Gadgets360, Schiller did not negate the idea of a voice assistant with a screen.
“There’s many moments where a voice assistant is really beneficial, but that doesn’t mean you’d never want a screen. So the idea of not having a screen, I don’t think suits many situations,” Schiller said.


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The week in fine wine was dominated by the result of the EU referendum. Jane Anson writing in Decanter described the view on Brexit in Bordeaux, while The Drinks Business provided a round-up of reactions from key figures within the drinks trade. Harpers reported on Liv-ex’s experience that following initial reactions, the fine wine market was returning to normality – although Sterling weakness has led to increased dollar-based buying.
Despite financial volatility, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 closed the week on 292.16, up 1.8% on last week’s close. This puts the index up 10.3% year to date, rising 27.28 points on 2015’s close of 264.88.
Bordeaux had a solid week of trade. Following a paltry 14.4% share last week, First Growths bounced back to take a third of all trade by value. Haut Brion and Lafite took the lion’s share, with the 100-point Lafite Rothschild 2003 the fifth most traded wine by value. 99-point Montrose 2003 – described by Parker as “a candidate for a perfect score” – also featured in the top five table.
It was also a good week for the ‘Others’ category, which includes Australia and Spain. These regions saw their market shares rise to 2.9% and 3.0% respectively – more than the Rhone – as parcels of Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2012 and Vega Sicilia Unico 2007 changed hands.


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Baby Boomers Won’t Dominate the Car Industry for Much Longer
Born between 1946 and 1964, the baby boomer generation has ruled the auto industry for decades. Boomers love their cars, and they love sharing that passion with their kids. But millennials may not share the same thoughts about vehicle ownership. As millennials and boomers age, the car industry is seeing a shift in the way vehicles are bought and driven.
Baby boomers equate car ownership with status
The generation that saw the biggest technological advances in cars, baby boomers saw vehicle ownership as something everyone did. Getting your license and buying your first car were rites of passage. Improving the type of vehicle you drive as you get older is a way to show your success. Baby boomers view cars as a form of self-expression and freedom.
Today, this affection for cars hasn’t dissipated. The average car buyer is 51.7 years old. It would take four millennials to replace one boomer in terms of economic impact because baby boomers simply have more money to spend. With little debt, they want to spend money after adding to a savings account their whole life. According to AARP, one in three boomers plans to buy a car in the next three years. The car industry should not ignore this data.
Baby boomers are moving to urban areas
After raising families in suburban areas, many boomers have moved to urban environments for the next stage of life. These baby boomers tend to be more active and keep ownership of their cars.
They enjoy a shorter commute to work, which gives them more time to do things like travel. This means they’ll maintain their cars and likely buy a new one down the line, whereas less active boomers may already be on their last car.
Baby boomers are even joining what was deemed a millennial thing: ride-sharing. As this generation ages, gigs like driving for Uber and Lyft give boomers the freedom to either cut back their work hours or make some extra cash in retirement. Urban areas have more opportunities for side hustles, and ride-sharing is perfect for baby boomers who need a job with less physical labor.
What does the future look like?
For millennials, cars are simply not a priority like they were for baby boomers. Millennials have a lower rate of car ownership than previous generations at the same age. They also have more debt than any other generation, and they’ve inherited a flatter economy.
Millennials grew up in the middle of the 2008 recession, which shaped their views on the economy and how they handle money. Plus, with the popularity of ride-sharing, today’s young adults simply don’t need to own cars like their parents did.
While it may seem like the auto industry is in trouble, that’s not the case. Millennials may not be buying cars as much as their parents, but they are buying them — just later in life and more pragmatically. They view cars as more of an appliance and less of a status symbol.


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APT Prepares to Launch New Brand Identity
Mar 7, 2008 2:38 PM
Belfast - Mar 5, 2008 - APT will unveil a new logo and corporate identity at the NAB Show this year. CEO Noel McKenna explained the rationale behind the re-branding, "In recent years we have grown significantly both in size and maturity and we felt a strong need to update our logo and corporate identity to reflect this. Today's APT is a professional, reliable and customer-centric company and a key player in the broadcast and intellectual property licensing markets. We have recently moved to new corporate headquarters and plan to double our engineering capability in the next 12 months."
In recent years, APT has expanded into new markets, acquired new capabilities and developed new technologies.


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And just in time for wedding season! Looks like @LorenaSGonzalez has also killed the wedding industry. - California Wedding Industry Turned ‘On Top of Its Head’ by Freelancing Law #AB5 https://t.co/dEu9oXej9V via @epochtimes— 🔪SúperAB5 Stabber🔪 (@SuperAndrea) February 1, 2020
Temecula-based destination wedding and event planner Michelle Garibay has run her business for the past 14 years without employees. Garibay has appeared in some of the nation’s most prestigious bridal magazines, including Style Me Pretty, The Knot, and Southern California Bride.
However, Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) has impeded her latest business operations, along with many others in her industry who use independent contractors. AB5 essentially prohibits freelance work, with a few exceptions; it mandates that businesses hire employees instead of paying contractors.
“This industry isn’t well suited to having employees, because the work isn’t steady,” Garibay said. “And the contractors I have working for me have their own businesses as well, and they’re moms with kids—they left full-time employment to be able to have the freedom to work as a contractor.”
Small business owners in California already pay a lot of tax, and they will have to pay more to cover a portion of their employees’ taxes if they hire their freelancers.
California imposes both business and personal income taxes on small business owners who establish limited liability companies (LLCs), creating a double taxation on pass-through net income and the business itself.
Virtually all businesses in California are subject to at least one of three state income taxes on businesses: a corporate tax, a franchise tax, and an alternative minimum tax. Sometimes, small businesses are subject to all three.
To pay all these taxes, plus the added costs of hiring freelancers as employees, small business owners would have to increase their prices, Garibay said.
“This state is not very small-business friendly,” she said. “This is our main source of income to put food on the table for our families. It’s really cost-prohibitive when the state starts demanding that we now hire these people as employees because it’s going to completely throw this industry on top of its head.”...


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Don’t implement cashless toll payments until RFIDs are interoperable – solon tells DOTr
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) should not implement cashless toll payments until radio-frequency identification (RFID) of the two toll operators had become interoperable, Valenzuela 1st District Rep. Wes Gatchalian said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gatchalian said it “puzzles me” why the DOTr decided to implement a cashless toll collection scheme when Easytrip and Autosweep were not yet compatible with each other’s tollway system
“Since the government targets to have full interoperability by next year anyway, then we should also consider delaying the implementation of the cashless toll collection until next year,” Gatchalian said.
The lawmaker urged the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to suspend the implementation of the cashless toll collection until both RFID systems could be made compatible with each other.
The DOTr originally ordered toll expressways to fully implement the contactless payment scheme by Nov. 2 but complaints from motorists made the transport agency push the implementation to Dec. 1.
“I understand that TRB Executive Director Abraham Sales has said there will no longer be extensions after December 1, but implementing the cashless payment scheme without interoperability will only create more problems for our motoring public,” Gatchalian said.
“While we fully support the shift to cashless transaction to lessen physical contact to contain the spread of COVID-19, the move should have been carefully planned and coordinated by the two toll operators to ease the burden of consumers to apply for and load up two different RFID cards,” he added.
Gatchalian raised a point that it would be “burdensome” for motorists to get two different RFID tags, adding that it might be confusing to identify between Autosweep and Easytrip, especially for those who rarely use the expressways.
Autosweep tags are issued by the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) for the Skyway, South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), STAR Tollway, Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEx), Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAx), and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX).
Easytrip is issued by the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) to be used in the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx), C5 Southlink, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).
“It’s not easy for those who live outside of Metro Manila and far from the expressways to have to drive to an installation booth and get an RFID. We have to consider safety precautions because of the coronavirus pandemic plus not everyone has the time to go to an installation site,” Gatchalian said.
He earlier pushed for the passage of House Bill No. 6119, which proposes to establish a national electronic toll collection system for all expressways in the country, minimizing physical contact while on road, particularly between motorists and toll collectors.
Under the bill, the National Electronic Toll Collection System (NETCS) will be established requiring all toll collection facilities operating in Philippine expressways to implement technologies and business practices that will provide for the interoperability of electronic toll collection (ETC) programs in their respective expressways.
It also orders various government agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DOTR), in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), to create a multi-protocol radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.
The RFID tag shall be readily integrated with the existing ETC system of all expressways and the RFID account for the NETCS shall be reloadable in the reloading stations of the existing ETCs.


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Uber is about to start giving rides in self-driving cars
On Thursday, Uber announced that passengers in Pittsburgh soon would be able to hail a self-driving car from the high-tech, ride-hailing service.
The robot cars aren’t coming. The robot cars are here.
A fleet of Fords and Volvos, capable of driving themselves, is fully equipped and ready to hit the streets of Pittsburgh within weeks.
The cars will be deployed by Uber, the ride-hailing company. Experimental robot cars already prowl streets and highways. But in this case, Uber customers will be inside.
An Uber employee will be at the wheel in case things go wrong. But, eventually, Uber intends to render human drivers unnecessary.
“Uber is accelerating its plan to replace its 1 million human drivers with robots as quickly as possible,” Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said in a blog post Thursday. He also announced a partnership with Volvo to work on driverless car development and the acquisition of Otto, a driverless truck technology company.
Some companies push boundaries. Uber is known for busting through them. It went from nothing in 2009 to become the largest app-based ride-hailing company on Earth, with more than a million drivers globally and a presence in more than 60 countries.
Now it’s the first service to transport commercial passengers in fully autonomous cars on public roadways. Uber will be using Ford Focuses and Volvo XC90s.
“This will help people understand whether they like these systems or not,” said Aaron Steinfeld, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. “And Uber can identify areas where they need to make changes based on feedback.”
Uber, of course, is just one player in the rush toward driverless vehicles. General Motors, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Tesla and most other automakers are pushing the technology. Google is working on self-driving cars and possibly Apple, too.
Manufacturers already offer “driver assist” technologies that can adjust speed, accelerate, brake, change lanes, park and avoid hazards. But the human driver is expected to pay attention.
The holy grail, though, is truly driverless vehicles, and the pace is accelerating.
On Tuesday, Ford announced it will manufacture a completely driverless car by 2021 — no steering wheel, no pedals for gas or brakes; Ford said those cars will initially be used for ride-sharing and ride-hailing.
On Thursday, Volvo also announced a 2021 date for such cars. (For now, its cars for Uber will also be drivable by humans.)
The timelines signal a new future in which fewer people own cars and more of them hitch a ride in self-driving fleets. Such a future will have major implications not just for car ownership but public transportation as well. Automakers are scrambling to adapt.
“The nature of ownership is changing,” Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields said Tuesday in Silicon Valley. He said human-piloted cars won’t be displaced in large numbers soon, but driver-assist and self-driving cars will take increasingly bigger shares of the total market.
Plenty of people, he said, “want to get around the city without the hassle of driving or parking.”
It’s a prospect that could be a game changer for traffic-weary drivers.
“When people think of self-driving cars, they think this magical car will drop out of the sky and it’ll do everything,” said John Zimmer, president of Lyft, the Uber competitor owned in part by General Motors. But, he cautioned, the move to autonomous vehicles “isn’t going to happen overnight.”
The reality is driverless cars are likely to evolve in increments, he said, initially with limited capabilities, traveling on set routes.
That’s one reason it makes sense for automakers and ride-hailing companies to team up. Self-driving cars require clear lane markings to operate, and ride-hailing services can work with city officials to create zones where autonomous cars can operate.
“Ride-hailing looks like it’ll be at the forefront of autonomous vehicles,” said Jack Nerad, analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “It’s a good way for traditional car manufacturers and ride-hailing companies to get a feel for this.”
For its initial Pittsburgh run, Uber said it will select existing customers to volunteer for the self-driving service, though it did not specify how many. It did not say how many cars will be in the self-driving fleet, nor when or where the service might be expanded. For the time being, the rides will be free.
Uber has a self-driving research lab in Pittsburgh, home to Carnegie Mellon University, one of the world’s top robot and artificial intelligence research centers. In fact, Uber hired many professors away from the university.
Now, moving from concept to execution, Uber is working directly with the auto industry.
The $300-million joint project with Volvo will provide “base vehicles that will be able to incorporate the latest developments in [autonomous driving] technologies, up to and including fully autonomous driverless cars,” the automaker said.
The two companies said they’ll each develop their own technologies but coordinate their research. Volvo will manufacture the vehicles; Uber will buy them.
It’s not just cars. By buying Otto, a San Francisco driverless trucking technology start-up, Uber has signaled plans to enter the motor freight business.
“Our self-driving trucks will allow drivers to rest while their truck is moving, and our platform will ensure drivers can easily find loads and are paid fairly,” Otto said in a blog post.
Uber is moving far beyond an app-based car service, said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com.
“Their idea is really mobility,” she said.
Uber has spent the last year and a half dabbling with logistics, first with the 2014 launch of lunch delivery service UberEats, then last year with UberRush, a business-facing courier service.
Uber’s moves come weeks after Chinese ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing sealed a deal, worth an estimated $35 billion, to acquire Uber China’s brand, business operations and data.
Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
3:20 p.m.: This article was updated with more quotes and background information.
9:30 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from analyst Jessica Caldwell and more information about the Didi Chuxing deal.
8:05 a.m.: This article was updated with information about the Didi Chuxing deal.
7:30 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details and staff reporting.
This article was originally published at 6 a.m.


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Boss Fight has the ability to produce some blockbuster games across various genres
Streaming giant Netflix has recently made an announcement that it has acquired Boss Fight Entertainment, a popular game development studio based in Texas. Boss Fight gained massive traction after it launched Dungeon Boss back in 2015. The VP of Netflix’s Game Studios, Amir Rahimi, has stated that, since the company’s entry into the mobile games segment, the team has been trying its best to expand its games catalog little by little.
Soon the company is expected to have its own creative development team. Boss Fight has the ability to produce some blockbuster games across various genres and deliver the members some great games that can be accessed from wherever the users want. Netflix is expecting Boss Fight to bring in fun-filled games for the users. The founder of Boss Fight has stated that the company’s mission is to deliver based on Netflix’s commitment to give its users ad-free games as a part of the subscription model. The founder has also revealed that the company is very excited about its future and the focus now is on creating delightful games for users without the need to worry about monetization. The Boss Fight is one of the earliest entrants to work with Netflix, and it has the potential to shape the future of Netflix games.


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Plant-based substitutes for meat have been gaining popularity as more people shift towards vegan or vegetarian diets.
Earlier on Tuesday, the company raised the size and price of its offering after increased demand from investors. The IPO raised $240 million.
The money raised from the IPO gives Beyond Meat firepower to compete with its chief rival and Silicon Valley startup Impossible foods.
Plant-based substitutes for meat have been gaining popularity as more people shift towards vegan or vegetarian diets, amid growing concerns https://reut.rs/2Dri7JQ about animal welfare and the environmental hazards of intensive animal farming.
Burger King and Impossible foods last month started selling their vegan burger Impossible Whopper in 59 stores in and around St. Louis, Missouri.
Los Angeles-based Beyond Meat began selling its plant-based burger at fast-food chain Carl's Jr in January.
The company said it intends to use a bulk of its IPO proceeds for research and development, as well as building manufacturing facilities.
Beyond Meat creates substitutes for meat by using ingredients that mimic the composition of animal-based meat, like proteins from peas, faba beans and soy, that look and cook like beef or chicken.
Online food delivering platform Zomato has rolled out a new offer wherein customers need to predict the country's next prime minister ahead of the final counting on May 23 and win caskbacks on food orders.
From Burger King's introduction of a vegetarian version of its uber-popular Whopper burger to the much-celebrated Wall Street entry of vegan startup Beyond meat, companies selling meat alternatives have the wind in their sails.
Few foods are more emblematic of France than the pungent white pucks of camembert. But camembert lovers and producers are currently embroiled in a conflict over what constitutes the real thing.
The 28-year-old farmer has since become a sensation after people praised him on social media and compared him to retired Jamaican sprint superstar Bolt, who is the world's fastest man for his record run of 100 metres in 9.58 seconds.
Richard Quinn, renowned for his originality and daring British designs has made a mark among big names like Amal Clooney and many others.
Published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, the research found that 23.3 per cent of women who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) reported their child's school attendance was disrupted due to IPV.
In the video, a young male is seen getting in the restaurant's oversized kitchen sink and another man wearing a Wendy's uniform is seen throwing something into the sink and saying: "Wash yourself!"


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Google’s mobile operating system, Android, is poised to make yet another huge leap in adoption. The steadily improving user-interface and native support for Google Apps is solidifying Android’s position as a leading OS for mobile devices.
Software improvements aside, Android’s growth is largely attributed to the open source operating system enabling hardware manufactures to bring down prices. For example, in China an unlocked iPhone 4 costs $1,282 USD; whereas, new Android phones could be under $150 USD.
Smartphone manufacturers and wireless service providers have been successful at penetrating developing markets with expensive 3G services. However, in order to increase the rate of adoption they plan to introduce powerful 3G enabled smartphones in the under $150 price range.
These lower priced smartphones are well positioned to reach mainstream adoption in developing markets. A recent study from ABI Research reports that there will be over 5 billion mobile subscribers by the end of 2010. The largest growth rates are expected to be in Asia and Africa.
In addition to the opportunities in developing markets, Android has been gaining ground in the US. According to The NDP Group, Android has pushed past Apple in unit sales for Q1 of 2010. RIM still leads the group with 36% market share, but Android has beaten Apple’s 21% share by increasing to 28%. On Google’s official blog they have reported 160,000 Android powered devices get activated worldwide every day.
The expanding market is opening doors for Android application developers. Last week, Google released a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) application development platform called App Inventor. Although the platform is currently in closed beta, it promises to make Android application development much easier by enabling users to create applications without writing a single line of code. This new development method is likely to push the number of applications on the Android Marketplace well past the nearly 100,000 applications available today.
At OptimusMobility we believe Android is a powerful mobile OS with great potential. That’s why we have our developers creating advanced applications for our clients.
(Photo credit: Jay Cuthrell)


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April 26, 2016
Jacksonville, FL, has been hard-hit with Sears’ recent store closure announcements. Two Kmarts and one Sears will be shuttered in the metro, leaving approximately 400,000 square feet of vacant space.
Cliff Taylor with CBRE noted that re-purposing Kmarts would likely not be a problem. He mentioned a Kmart in St. Augustine, FL that closed in 2012. Today, the center is almost full.
When discussing the Sears space, however, brokers aren’t as optimistic. The Sears is an anchor at the struggling Regency Square Mall on Arlington Expressway. According to Jason Ryals with Colliers International, Regency Square is high-traffic, low-capture. This means that while many people drive by, few stop to shop.


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Park City • Colorado skier Sarah Mytych wanted to try the slopes in Utah and Canada. New Utahn Phillip Melfi wanted to get to know the state’s resorts better.
Both bought a new Ikon Pass for this season, the first competitor to approach the breadth and depth of offerings of Vail Resorts' industry-changing Epic Pass. It launched 10 years ago, giving holders unlimited skiing across resorts within the Vail umbrella.
Alterra Mountain’s Ikon Pass launched last spring at a number of resorts across the world, and its first season included five resorts in Utah (Alta, Snowbird, Deer Valley, Brighton and Solitude). Although it’s the new kid, the Ikon Pass has already made a splash, something officials from both resort groups say is good for skiers and the slopes they love across the world.
“The Ikon Pass has been good for the industry as a whole and reinforces the notion that ‘If you ski, you should consider a season pass,’” said Johnna Muscente, director of communications for Vail Resorts Management Company.
The company sold 21 percent more Epic passes — with a 13 percent increase in revenue — in North America this season, after selling a record number of passes in the 2017-2018 ski season, she said.
For unlimited access to 21 resorts, the 2018-2019 Epic Pass went for $899; for the Epic Local Pass, with restricted access to 27 resorts, skiers paid $669. Neither Epic pass is still available for the current season. By comparison, an adult season pass for Park City Resort cost $709 this season, and is likewise no longer available.
Although the typical season pass had always encouraged its holders to come more frequently, Muscente said, the Epic Pass was the first to give skiers and snowboarders the chance to go when and where they want.
That freedom extends to far-off slopes they might not have considered going to before, she said, and allows them to mitigate dry winters by providing access to resorts in various climates and regions.
“The pass taps into the sampling nature of skiers and travelers and gives our pass holders the mobility to try different resorts while still being able to visit their tried-and-true favorites as often as they’d like,” Muscente said. “The pass has also shifted purchasing behavior to benefit and incentivize those who purchase in advance. You wouldn’t walk up to an airline counter and buy your ticket two hours before your flight, so why would you do that at a ski resort?”
These shifts in behavior and attitudes have become apparent throughout the industry, said Erik Forsell, chief marketing officer of Alterra Mountain Company, and even smaller resorts are looking to join the movement.
“Lots of fiercely independent ski resorts are looking at the success of [multi-resort] passes, but a lot of ski resorts were started out of a counterculture,” he said. “So a question has always been, ‘How do we partner but stay independent?’”
The Ikon Pass, priced this year at $899, gives unlimited access to 14 Alterra resorts, including Solitude, and limited access to Deer Valley, another Alterra resort. But Forsell said partnerships born out of years-long relationships with 23 independent ski resorts, including Brighton, Alta and Snowbird, will give pass holders up to seven days of access to these resorts as well.
The Ikon Base Pass, at $599 this year, gives skiers unlimited access to 12 resorts and up to five days at the other 25 ski resorts owned by or partnered with Alterra. Neither Ikon pass is still available for purchase this season.
By contrast, a season pass at Solitude — which includes two days at Alta, Snowbird and Brighton, and four days at Deer Valley — is priced at $1,299 for the 2018-2019 season.
For Mytych, a Denver-based graphic designer, the Ikon Pass has already proven to be a huge step up from the Rocky Mountain Super Pass+, which she purchased for years before it was discontinued and replaced by Ikon.
“I’ve stuck to Colorado pass resorts for four years, and timing worked out with the release of the Ikon that I’m also in a position to take a few trips to new resorts — the Ikon basically made that possible,” she said. “Their acquisitions were far above our expectations; even having Aspen on it, which has never done a collective pass, was a huge selling point for me.”
Forsell said the point of the Ikon Pass is to allow and even encourage those partnered resorts to continue to operate independently.
Alterra said sales in the first year the pass has been offered far surpassed expectations, but the privately held company declined to specify its sales or projections.
Forsell said he is most excited to see the map of where pass holders went and when.
“We can’t wait to see the travel patterns. It’s just too early to tell yet,” he said. “I think a lot of people will find out more about different resorts they might not have tried — and I think a lot of people will find out about Utah and what it’s about.”
Those new visitors include people like Mytych, who hit the Utah slopes for the first time last week with her Ikon pass.
“I haven’t skied Utah before, but Alta, Snowbird, Deer Valley and Solitude have been on my bucket list since I was a 15-year-old dreaming ski dreams in Wisconsin. So when the Ikon resort list was announced, a week in Utah was [my] No. 1 trip goal,” she said.
Mytych said her favorite resorts haven’t changed, but she is relishing the new slopes now open to her. “I also have flights already booked to Calgary to hit Banff and Lake Louise resorts later this year,” she said.
Melfi, who moved to Utah in September for a job, picked the Ikon pass to help determine which Utah resorts are his favorites. He’s visited the state to ski and snowboard, but now that he’s living here, he wanted to do a personal study of his options.
“I wanted to try a lot of different places and find out what I liked best,” he said.
Melfi spent a few days in December at Snowbird Resort with his sons. And it might be the one he picks next year — when he plans to drop the Ikon pass for just one resort, he said.
So far, the season is shaping up well, said Caitlin Furin, director of communications for Ski Utah. Early storms gave Utah a strong start, and she expects the same upward trend that gave the state a record 4.1 million skier days last year will continue through this winter.
Perhaps the most important contributions that passes like Epic and Ikon make, she said, are the increased visibility for resorts, a longterm focus for company marketing and the required early purchases, which help resorts plan ahead.
"Multiple resorts under one brand allows for a broader reach and gives skiing and snowboarding more exposure,” she said. “If someone purchases one of these season passes ... it’s likely that the resort will see them at one point or another during the season. It’s getting more people skiing and snowboarding, which benefits everyone.”
Corrections: An earlier version of this story misspelled the Alterra Mountain Company Chief Marketing Officer’s first name. Also, the Ikon pass includes limited access to Brighton, but not to Brian Head, and the price of the Ikon base pass this season was misstated.


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As Bitcoin, crypto’s largest asset continues to consolidate in price, numerous other non-Bitcoin crypto assets, known as altcoin, are showing a little bit of life in the price department after months of losing value. Data Dash the YouTube channel which has the highest number of subscribers and followers when it comes to spreading authentic knowledge on Cryptocurrency has featured a video in which the content was about the top three altcoins that would see a rise in value in terms of prices.
Image Source: s3.amazonaws.com
Nicholas Merten the creator and host of the YouTube channel Data Dash in an interview with the news outlet back in August 2019 revealed that the value of the altcoins is on the rise when it comes to value gain. According to him, the last two altcoin cycle happened way back in 2017 when the Cryptocurrency was launched. The price that year was as high as 20,000 dollars and the second cycle the Bitcoin value rose to 1,100 dollars.
Image Source: i.ytimg.com
According to Nicholas Merten Bitcoin has had an exceptional year. The analysis as done by Nicholas Merten showed a price rise of more than 300 percent. The data showed that the price of the Bitcoin rose from a low of 4000 dollars to a massive high of 13000 dollars. On the other hand, the altcoin market has had a tough year as listed on the Coin Market Cap website. When comparing the amount of money invested in altcoin in comparison to Bitcoin (BTC), Nicholas Merten uses the Bitcoin dominance theory which according to him is on the wane. Merten regularly used these statistics as a reference on his YouTube Channel. According to Social Blade that tracks Nicholas Merten Channel, his channel has more than three lakh subscribers and over 21 million views.
Disclaimer: Darkweblink.com does not promote or endorse claims that have been made by any parties in this article. The information provided here is for the general purpose only and unintended to promote or support purchasing and/or selling of any products and services or serve as a recommendation in the involvement of doing so. Neither Darkweblink.com nor any member is responsible directly or indirectly for any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused by or in relation with the reliance on or usage of any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.


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Wealth is accumulating rapidly with investable assets projected to increase from RMB 21TN in 2015 to RMB 45TN in 2020. Personal consumption is expected to experience double digit growth, eventually accounting for over three-quarters of China’s total consumption by 2020. The Chinese mass affluent class is achieving a new state of mind and will be the driving force in shaping the Chinese consumer’s ‘New Normal’.
The mass affluent population is experiencing a major shift in behaviours towards wealth and lifestyle, signaled by increased allocation to investments and consumptions, with more emphasis on balanced and diversified investment as well as meaningful experiences to elevate lifestyles. At the same time, they are still grappling with basic needs, with shaky economic and social security, discontent over cost of living and lagging development of wealth management and basic welfare.
Supported by the insights from a survey with 1,000 Chinese mass affluent consumers, this Oliver Wyman reports aim to reveal the evolving aspirations of the Chinese mass affluent class, and to contrast that with the limitations and dilemmas they faced. Several new themes for consumer businesses and wealth managers to succeed in a new era of consuming and investing are highlighted for actions.


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Source: Ian Paul / PC World
Verizon customers are in an uproar after discovering that the carrier will start charging a $2 “convenience” fee to process one-time credit and debit card bill payments made by phone and online. The new fee goes into effect Jan. 15, and will only be charged to people making one-time payments directly to Verizon either by phone or on a Verizon website.
Originally reported by Droid Life this week, Verizon’s convenience fee has inspired customers to consider canceling their contracts and others to sign an online petition demanding the carrier reverse its plan.
Verizon says the fee offsets costs incurred by the company for customers who make single payments through what the carrier calls “alternate payment channels,” namely via telephone or the Web. You can avoid the $2 fee by paying by electronic check or enrolling in Verizon’s automatic payment system that automatically deducts your bill from a bank account or credit card. The fee also won’t be charged to those who pay in person at a Verizon payment kiosk, online through a bank, by mail using a check or money order, or online using Verizon Wireless gift and rebate cards.
The carrier claims its new fee is meant to make up the difference for costs the company incurs such as credit card transaction fees. But I can’t help noticing the new system appears to be designed to encourage more people to sign up for automatic bill payment. Such a move could help Verizon reduce costs related to chasing down delinquent customers and create a more reliable monthly stream of cash payments.
To read this article in its entirety visit PC World.


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We're being told to be a patriot and book a staycation.
Ireland's tourism sector is on its knees and crying out for support this Summer.
Fáilte Ireland's been in a special Covid committee with politicians this morning, describing just how hard the crisis has hit our tourism sector.
Chief exec Paul Kelly said 70% percent of hotel guests come from overseas and he urged us to book a staycation and support them this Summer;
"All these businesses need to survive for the rest of the year and into the next tourism season
"To anybody who is worried about capacity or space, there's plenty of capacity and there's plenty of space", he insisted.
Our new TV ad ‘Ireland, make a break for it’, is part of our new @discoverirl marketing campaign, in what is a major drive by @Failte_Ireland to encourage people to take domestic breaks this summer. #MakeABreakForIt #staycations #TourismTogether pic.twitter.com/TWpIv7ep40— Fáilte Ireland (@Failte_Ireland) June 29, 2020
The Social Democrats want the Government to set up quarantine hotels for overseas visitors, like in Australia.
Co-leader Roisin Shortall says the last three months are worthless if we don’t quarantine visitors:
"That's how other countries have dealt with travel successfully
"And that applies if the levels in the UK are high
"The alternative is to have an open door policy [...] and run the very high risk of doing huge damage", she said.
Meanwhile one of the most popular attractions in the city is set to layoff staff.
John Dunne from the Guinness Staff Union says most visitors to the Storehouse were from overseas;
"We're looking at a considerable number of people because of the fairly big collapse in visitor numbers", he said.
Fáilte Ireland says 77% of beds in hotels are currently unsold and says the patriotic thing to do this Summer is make a booking.
Visit our Covid-19 info hub for the latest news and information on the Covid-19 pandemic


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Qantas made headlines this week for distributing its record profit in the form of a five per cent bonus for employees, but vitamin brand Blackmores has blown it out of the water.
The Australian company, which exploded in the lucrative Chinese market last year, will celebrate its $100 million profit (double that of 2015) by giving its staff a bonus equivalent to almost nine weeks pay.
That sum equates to over 17 per cent of each employees’ annual salary.
The hefty bonuses, shared among 1000 staff, reflect the companies meteoric ascension into the hearts and shelves of Chinese buyers eager for ‘clean and green’ Australian health products.
The same is true of fellow Australian vitamin success story Swisse, which last year sold to Chinese buyers for $1.67 billion.
Blackmores shares up 75 per cent
Blackmores posted a 52 per cent sales increase on 2015, reflected in its share price, which shot up 75 per cent to $125 in the past year.
CEO Christina Holgate took home a total of $2.8 million in salary and incentives in 2015-2016, and will receive a 29 per cent pay rise next year.
In his chairman’s report, Marcus Blackmore said the 44 days extra pay was part of the company’s “longstanding profit sharing program”, which aligns staff benefits with shareholder benefits.
He emphasised the importance of China to the brand, noting that more than half its staff speak an Asian language as their mother tongue, while 50 head office employees were currently learning to read and write in Mandarin.
“Our team is always deserving of recognition for its hard work, commitment to our values and enthusiasm for our business and this year is no exception,” he wrote.
Chinese lapping up Australian health brands
Vitamins aren’t the only product leading the Australian charge into China.
Demand for Lucas’ Papaw Ointment saw Australian chemists and retailers scrambling for stock earlier this year, as buyers packaged up tubes and tubs to send to China.
In June, Lucas’ manager Lynette Swinglehurst told The New Daily she was initially confused by the spike in orders, before realising much of the product was being diverted offshore – along with other Australian products.
“They’ve got rooms out the back with people making packages with Papaw Ointment, baby formula and Nu-Lax [an Australian-made laxative],” she said.
Nu-Lax, another Queensland-manufactured product, is made with fermented fruit and said to be popular in China for its health properties.
Additionally, Australian baby formula has been incredibly popular with Chinese buyers after six Chinese babies died of melamine poisoning from contaminated formula in 2008.
As a result, demand for Australian formula has skyrocketed, triggering limits on how many tins each customer can buy.


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Chandigarh: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the PepsiCo India Company. In fact, the customer found a dead worm in a bottle of Mountain Dew, after which he complained in the Consumer Forum. But the Consumer Forum rejected the complainant's petition. After this, the complainant challenged the order of the forum in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Now, while hearing the petition of the complainant, the commission has imposed a fine of five lakh rupees on PepsiCo India Private Limited Company, making Mountain Dew.
The complainant's lawyer Fateh Jeet Singh said that the commission has ordered to deposit Rs 2.5 lakh in the PGI Poor Patient Fund and Rs 2.5 lakh in the Consumer Legal Aid account. Along with this, the company has also asked the complainant to pay Rs 60,000 as compensation amount and Rs 25,000 as case expenses for the problem caused by the complainant. In addition, the shop from which the bottle was purchased ordered him to return Rs 35 of the bottle to the complainant.
Found a dead worm
Naveen Sethi resident of Mohali told in an appeal that on 21 June 2015, he bought a bottle of Mountain Dew for Rs 35 from Munshi Ram Dev Raj Mahajan Kariyana & General Merchant Shop located in Sector-23. A dead worm and other things were present in it. He gave a complaint in the Consumer Forum. But his complaint was rejected by the forum.
Support CAA, then make missed call immediately
The forum said that the bottle was sent for testing after one year from the manufacturing date. The test was sent to the Public Analyst Government Lab, Chandigarh. After investigation, the fluid in the bottle was said to be unsafe. But the forum still rejected the petition. At the same time, the commission said that what can be seen clearly can be ignored.
PepsiCo Company argues
Arguing in their favor, the PepsiCo company said that the case Naveen has made against them is not made. Said that some fake manufacturing companies are selling beverages using their brand name. Against which he has given a complaint to the police.
For this, it was also claimed that the complainant had neither bought the bottle nor found any dead worm in it. Apart from this, the shop from which the bottle was purchased did not appear in the commission, due to which the commission has now declared this decision, declaring it as X party.


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The new ChromeBook will be much better than your current laptop and will have all the benefits of the Intel Core i7-7500U processor and 8GB of RAM, according to a new report.
The company also claims the Chromebook will have more storage than the currently available laptop.
The new machine, which is expected to launch in June, is said to have a screen resolution of 1280×800 and will cost £699.99.
This is the first Chromebook we have seen that can compete with the Apple MacBook Air, which retails for $1,099.
The Chromebook will also come with an Intel Core M3 chip, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 32GB of storage and a 256GB SSD.
Read moreGoogle says the new Chromebook will support up to 4K video and up to 256GB of flash storage, but it won’t support Thunderbolt 3.
The new Chromebook, which will be available in a range of different configurations, is expected not to have the latest Intel chipsets.
It will also feature an external webcam, but that feature is not expected to be included.
The Chromebook is expected for a launch in the second half of this year.
Google is also offering an optional USB Type-C port that can be used to connect an external monitor or keyboard to the laptop.


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Founded in 1865 to finance trade between Asia and the West, today HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations serving around 46 million customers.
Shopping has taken over gambling as the biggest earner in Singapore’s tourism industry, rising 44 percent year-on-year in the six months through June, says Bloomberg. According to official data, the period marks the first time that shopping revenue has outpaced casino revenue since 2012. Around 2.1 million Chinese visited Singapore last year, said Bloomberg, double […]
Galaxy led in VIP market share gain in October by 6.3 percent month on month, boosted partly by win rate and at the expense of MGM which had a strong and lucky month in September, HSBC Research said. MGM’s share dropped 5.7 percent, while Sands relatively outperformed by adding 0.9 percent to its share. Sands […]
As China prepared to celebrate the year of the monkey in early February, there were many who wondered if the celebrations would be muted because of the effects of the perceived economic slowdown as Q4 GDP growth came in at 6.8 percent. That was lower than expected and came as industrial production slowed, exports and imports remained sluggish and prices fell, highlighting deflationary pressures in the economy.On the face of it, the sluggish economy, coupled with a weaker Renminbi making overseas travel more expensive, might bode ill for the regional and indeed global casinos. However, the consumer sector has shown surprising strength.


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On Tuesday, Avast PLC announced the release of a premium version of its free safe and private browser.
The company said that Avast Secure Browser PRO, a Chromium-based browser for Windows PCs, includes an integrated virtual private network and advanced Adblock technology for people who need a “lightweight but comprehensive” suite of security and privacy and performance services to combat web-based threats.
According to Fiona Cliffe, director of Browser Product at Avast, they’ve developed the browser around a security and privacy centre to give this in a way that is frictionless for the user and based on the concept that security and privacy must be simplified and demystified to maintain people’s digital freedom.
Listed on the FTSE 100 Avast Secure Browser PRO now includes up to five devices on both mobile and desktop, as well as associated privacy and compatibility features, according to the firm.
Avast didn’t comment on NortonLifelock’s anticipated takeover of the company. Avast agreed to be purchased by NortonLifeLock, located in Tempe, Arizona, in August’s US $8.6 billion transactions. The offer is USD2.37 in cash plus 0.1937 of a NortonLifeLock share for each Avast share.


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**Bhubaneswar:** Grozip, a startup from Odisha has been selected as a participant in the eFounders Fellowship, a programme jointly organized by the Alibaba Business School and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in support of sustainable development.
Started two years back by Bhubaneswar based Ananda Kumar Mishra, online store Grozip earned recognition by signing a MoU with Odisha State Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (Omfed) in October last year for selling milk and other milk products online.
Presently, Grozip is also selling Bakeries and Horticulture products prepared by Omfed and various other products that can be found in a local grocery store. It is now active in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri but also planning to expand to other cities of Odisha.
Grozip was also one among the 40 startups from India selected for spending an hour with Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the Startup India Program in June 2018.
For merchants, Grozip provides a way to deliver goods and a new channel to acquire customers. For consumers, it’s a way to discover new shops in your neighbourhood and it’s a huge time-saver.
It is a proud moment in the startup history of Odisha to represent in the global forum and make the State proud. Participants of the eFounders Fellowship will get mentored by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and other leaders of the Chinese technology giant.
The fellowship is open for experienced young entrepreneurs who speak English, are interested in online commerce and can contribute to future development. Participants were selected through a rigorous application process and are expected to uphold the high standard that led to their selection.
Upon completion of the course, participants are expected to make a commitment to share knowledge gained with their communities.


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More than $1 million worth of racing cars and equipment that belonged to late Aiken businessman Dale Phelon was sold Tuesday at auction.
More than 500 lots went up for bid at Phelon Motorsports in Aiken, including 27 cars and three motorcycles.
A 1969 Lola Can-Am Series car originally owned by Roger Penske and driven by Mark Donohue was sold for $175,000. Phelon purchased the car in 1994 and installed a 486-cubic-inch Chevrolet big block engine that puts out 850 horsepower.
Other big-ticket items sold Tuesday were a 2010 Audi R8 for $112,000 and a 1995 Roush Ford Mustang for $100,000. Ten vehicles sold for more than $50,000 at the auction, which was conducted by Iron Horse Auction Co., of Rockingham, N.C.
Phelon died in March after a brief battle with brain cancer.


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The government has reassured people that there “isn’t a shortage of food” because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Environment Secretary George Eustice told MPs in the Commons that there is “significant resilience in our food supply chain” amid public concern over COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
He said: “There isn’t a shortage of food, the challenge that we’ve had is getting food to shelves in time when people have been purchasing more.”
Supermarkets have stepped up their efforts to stop panic buying in recent days, restricting purchases across a wide range of products.
Stores have moved to reassure people that enough stock is being delivered every night, urging shoppers to purchase goods as they normally would.
But long queues have been reported up and down the country, with many people turning up before supermarkets even open.
There have also been reports of people pushing two trolleys around shops.
Facing questions from MPs on Thursday, Mr Eustice outlined the steps the government is taking to help deliveries reach stores.
He said one thing ministers are looking at is changing competition law to allow retailers and haulage companies to work together.
“We have taken steps including setting aside delivery curfews so that lorries can run around the clock, relaxing driver hours to ensure the deliveries can take place more frequently, and we are in discussions with other government colleagues in MHCLG [the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] around other support that we would deliver locally to get food to those who are self-isolating.”
Labour’s shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard said millions were “already in food poverty”, adding: “This is now an immediate family emergency for many of those.”
He asked: “With food banks running low on food, many volunteers of food banks over the age of 70 and soon needing to self-isolate, what steps is he taking to assist those in genuine hunger today?”
The environment secretary replied: “I’ve been in regular, daily calls with the food supply sector that included discussions around food banks and we are in dialogue with supermarkets to ensure we can make sure they get access to the supplies that they need.”
Mr Eustice added that the government was working on “specific proposals” to help the “most vulnerable”.
Mr Pollard called on the government to make sure that “every supermarket, not just the Co-Op, are still contributing to food banks”.
He said: “We won’t get through this crisis unless there’s government intervention to support those people and ensure that we have those food supply chains remaining open.”
Source: Read Full Article


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(FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) - This holiday season, you may want to take extra caution when preparing meals.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, avocados may harbor bacteria and dirt within the peel.
Although the peel is typically not eaten, germs from your knife while cutting can affect both areas.
The FDA said that federal investigators' sampling found Listeria monocytogenes on the peels of about one in every five avocados. The new data is part of a 2014-16 study, in which investigators tested 361 domestic and imported avocado skins; 64 , or 17.73 percent, tested positive.
- Listeria monocytogenes was detected by the FDA in avocado skin samples from both domestic and imported product. Of the 64 positive avocado skin samples, 33 were from domestic avocados and 31 were from imported avocados. The FDA notified the responsible firms of the test results as soon as the results were available.
- Salmonella was detected by the FDA in 12 avocado skin samples from domestically grown product. No samples from imported avocados tested positive for Salmonella. In response to the detections, the FDA worked with the firms that owned or released the product to conduct voluntary recalls and followed up with facility inspections.
Click here for the FDA's full report!


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// M&S gives staff 15% additional pay reward for working on the frontline in food stores
// M&S also confirms furloughed staff will receive full pay
// Separately, it temporarily added branded items to maintain “strong availability” during pandemic
Marks & Spencer has announced a 15 per cent pay rise for shop floor staff working on the frontline in its food stores, and confirmed that furloughed staff will receive full pay.
The retailer said that staff across its stores and supply chain who continue to work will receive their additional pay reward “in recognition of the work they are doing to support their teams and the national effort to help customers access the products they need” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, M&S temporarily suspended its clothing and home store operations and closed outlet stores, while its food and online businesses remain open.
- Coronavirus: M&S launches online “food boxes” for vulnerable customers
- Coronavirus: 90% sales drop forecast for M&S’s clothing & home
- Big Interview: Nathan Ansell, Marketing Director, M&S Clothing & Home
As a result, M&S said it would continue to pay staff who have been affected by the temporary store closures.
It added that its furloughing arrangement is voluntary, meaning food store colleagues who are carers or who feel more vulnerable are able to step away.
“Any colleague who is furloughed for the coming weeks will do so on full pay,” M&S said in a statement.
M&S reiterated its commitment to full pay staff who need to self-isolate for seven to 14 days, and highlighted that staff who are pregnant, over 70 or with the health conditions specified by the Department of Health, are already on leave for 12 weeks on full pay.
Meanwhile, the retailer is rolling out plastic face shields for staff working on the frontline this week.
M&S said that staff who opt to wear one would have “their own personal face shield” and in a retail environment these would be preferable to the disposable clinical masks since they are easy to clean and do not lead to unnecessary face touching from regular adjustments.
The plastic face shields are in addition to the protective plastic screens which are being installed on checkouts across the UK.
“M&S fully supports the government’s efforts to protect our NHS and save lives,” M&S retail and operations director Sacha Berendji said.
“We are actively encouraging social distancing in our foodhalls, and have already introduced a number of measures to help colleagues stay healthy and enable customers to shop for the essentials they need with confidence – from floor markings to the introduction of sneeze guards at till points.
“The latest measure is the introduction of reusable face shields, which will be distributed to our hard working teams this week.”
Separately, M&S temporarily added a number of branded items to its ranges in a bid to maintain a “strong availability” during the pandemic.
M&S’s food business usually stocks own-brand grocery items, but its addition of branded items will help maintain the availability core cupboard staples.
The retailer also emulated grocery chains by confirming that smaller food suppliers will have access immediate payments during coronavirus crisis.
“Like all retailers, we’re working to play our part in feeding the nation and ensuring that our customers can continue to buy the products they need for their families,” M&S food managing director Stuart Machin said.
“We’d like to thank every one of our incredible suppliers – from our farmers, growers and manufacturers to our packers, processors and logistics providers – for working tirelessly to support us all during these unprecedented times.”


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Pittsburgh, PA – May 2019 Well, Michele Fausti, along with help from her daughter (Jaci) and sister (Cindy), generated the most organized garage sale imaginable. Numerous weekends were spent folding, hanging, organizing and marking the items for sale ranging from jackets, tees, polos, long sleeve button down shirts, umbrellas, hats, pens, mugs, padfolios, and other […]
Promo Marketing, the Philadelphia-based source of product and marketing information for distributor sales professionals, announced that HDS is one of their Top 50 Distributors of 2016. For more than 10 years, Promo Marketing has assessed the most successful promotional products distributors. The Top 50 Distributors list features the biggest companies working today, ranked by 2015 sales […]
HDS is listed on this year’s Print+Promo Top 50 Distributors List! Print+Promo is the leading source of business strategies for the distributor sales professional. The annual ranking recognizes the industry’s highest-selling companies based on revenue for the last completed fiscal year. We are excited to be named number 15.
CFO Martin Bohinski, VP of Sales Mark Algeri and VP of Marketing Kelly Chiccitt accepted the Fastest Growing Companies ” The Pittsburgh 100 ” Award at The Westin Convention Hotel August 18th, 2016. HDS Ranked #79 with 32% revenue growth.
Pittsburgh, PA – May 2016 What to do with outdated samples of shirts, jackets, hats, and other products? How about have a yard sale and donate to a Great Cause. Michele Fausti, VP of Special Projects, donated her time and energy to collecting, transporting and selling old product samples provided by HDS at her annual neighborhood garage […]
Phoenix, AZ – April 2015 HDS hosted their 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation suite night at the Phoenix Suns final home game on Tuesday, April 14th. The event was once again held in the Ring of Honor Suite, where clients and their guests enjoyed food and drinks while cheering for the Suns as they took on […]


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The Kroger Co. has announced a partnership with ClusterTruck to open a series of delivery-only “dark kitchen” restaurants capable of delivering fresh meals to shoppers in less than 30 minutes.
Kroger Delivery Kitchen Powered by ClusterTruck will offer multiple menus from a single scratch kitchen, the Cincinnati-based retailer said. The service officially launched Dec. 2 in Carmel, Ind., with additional availability in Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; and in Denver, where the service will be known as King Soopers Delivery Kitchen.
The move represents a new play to meet consumer demand for fresh prepared food and will further blur the lines between food retail and restaurants—a field Kroger executives have made no secret of pursuing.
ClusterTruck, based in Indianapolis, operates dark kitchens powered by proprietary software that uses custom algorithms to optimize kitchen and delivery operations. According to the company, this approach ensures that nearly every order is in the hands of the customer within seven minutes of the meal’s preparation. The average time between placing an order and a customer receiving their food is less than 30 minutes.
“The way our customers order and receive meals is evolving, and ClusterTruck’s innovative culinary and digital design is cracking the code for the future of profitable meal delivery,” said Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief information officer, in a release. “Kroger is leveraging ClusterTruck’s advanced technology to ensure our customers don’t have to sacrifice quality and value for convenience when it comes to meal delivery. Kroger Delivery Kitchen Powered by ClusterTruck will allow our customers to access restaurant-quality fresh and delicious meals like never before and without having to pay excessive service or delivery fees.”
ClusterTruck was founded in 2015 and opened its first kitchen in 2016. According to its website, it orchestrates delivery driver availability and meal preparation to ensure customers receive fresh food. Users can schedule deliveries and make group orders. The Kroger association now aligns with Clustertruck operations in the cities where the partnership operates; in other sites, such as Kansas City, the site maintains branding as ClusterTruck, although the menu options and look are similar.
Food offerings on the site include a selection of “chef recommendations” breakfasts (called Brekkie); pizza and wings; a kids menu; burgers and sandwiches; soups and salads; Latin-inspired street food it calls Comida; and sides and drinks. Nearly all the offerings on the Carmel site were marked with discounted pricing vs. the same offerings in Kansas City.
“Our recipe for success has been a blend of cutting-edge software combined with high-quality ingredients and delicious variety,” said Chris Baggott, ClusterTruck's co-founder and CEO. “This winning combination has allowed us to thrill customers across the country while achieving profitability. We’re excited to partner with Kroger to redefine the food experience for their valued customers.”
Kroger executives have long looked at restaurants and prepared food as market-share opportunities, noting shoppers spend about as much on food away from home as they do on food at home. The company in recent years has opened a restaurant; invested in the meal kit company HomeChef; and recently launched a food hall at a new flagship store in downtown Cincinnati. Kroger will potentially bring new marketing power and its own customer data to ClusterTruck.
“ClusterTruck’s ultra-fresh and quick made-from-scratch meals set them apart in the food delivery landscape,” said Suzy Monford, Kroger’s group VP of fresh. “Kroger Delivery Kitchen customers can order pizza or pad Thai on the same order and get it delivered hot and fresh, within minutes of the meals being prepared. We are excited to work together to bring this partnership to life to provide our customers with real food delivered to their doorstep.”


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Happy Wednesday and welcome to On The MoneyYour overnight guide to everything that affects your bills, bank account, and bottom line. Subscribe here: thehill.com/newsletter-signup.
Today’s big deal: Consumer prices rose 7 percent for the year to December, the highest increase since 1982, according to Labor Department data. We’ll also look at a recent report detailing the major problems millions of taxpayers experienced last year, and concerns ahead of the upcoming tax return season.
Let’s go to it.
Inflation has risen to its highest level since 1982
Consumer prices rose 7 percent from the year to December, an increase that the Labor Department said on Wednesday was the highest since 1982.
The division’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in consumer goods and services, rose 0.5 percent in December alone, still a smaller jump from the previous two months.
- Officials described increases in the price of shelter and used cars and trucks as “the biggest contributors to the increase of all seasonally adjusted items.” Rising food prices were also identified in the latest report as a prominent contributor to inflation, although the 0.5 percent increase last month was lower than in recent months.
- Prices for furnishings, home operations, clothing, new vehicles and medical care also rose in December, while auto insurance rates and entertainment prices fell, just as in the previous month. Energy prices fell 0.4 percent in December after a series of increases. Gasoline and natural gas prices also fell.
- The new inflation report adds to the list of challenges facing President Biden as his administration has sought to promote the strong strides the economy has made amid the country’s ongoing recovery during the pandemic in the face of rising prices.
Biden said the latest inflation data showed his administration was “making progress in slowing the rate of price increases,” but acknowledged that more work was needed to bring costs down to American families.
“Inflation is a global challenge, and it is showing up in nearly every developed country as it emerges from pandemic recession,” Biden said. “America is fortunate to have one of the fastest growing economies – thanks in part to the US bailout – that enables us to tackle high prices and maintain strong and sustainable economic growth. This is my goal and I am focused on reaching it every day.”
The Biden administration has taken steps to ease supply chain bottlenecks at ports and trucks in order to keep costs down.
The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant has more here.
IRS watchdog ‘extremely concerned’ about upcoming filing season
National taxpayer attorney Erin M. Collins, chair of the IRS internal oversight body, shares concerns about the upcoming filing season In the last report of her office It details the major problems that millions of taxpayers have experienced last year.
“There is no way to color the year 2021 in the tax administration,” Collins wrote in her office’s 2021 annual report to Congress, which was released early Wednesday. “The year 2021 has not presented a shortage of taxpayer problems.”
- The report found that tens of millions of taxpayers experienced delays when it came to filing returns, many of which it said “translated directly into refund delays,” with less than 80 percent of individual taxpayers receiving refunds.
- I also found that ”
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New lithium-ion battery design that’s 2,000 times more powerful, recharges 1,000 times faster
By Sebastian Anthony on April 17, 2013 – ExtremeTech
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new lithium-ion battery technology that is 2,000 times more powerful than comparable batteries. According to the researchers, this is not simply an evolutionary step in battery tech, “It’s a new enabling technology… it breaks the normal paradigms of energy sources. It’s allowing us to do different, new things.”
Currently, energy storage is all about trade-offs. You can have lots of power (watts), or lots of energy (watt-hours), but you can’t generally have both. Supercapacitors can release a massive amount of power, but only for a few seconds; fuel cells can store a vast amount of energy, but are limited in their peak power output. This a problem because most modern applications of bleeding-edge tech — smartphones, wearable computers, electric vehicles — require large amounts of power and energy. Lithium-ion batteries are currently the best solution for high-power-and-energy applications, but even the best li-ion battery designs demand that industrial designers and electronic engineers make serious trade-offs when creating a new device.
Which brings us neatly onto the University of Illinois’ battery, which has a higher power density than a supercapacitor, and yet comparable energy density to current nickel-zinc and lithium-ion batteries. According to the university’s press release, this new battery could allow for wireless devices to transmit their signals 30 times farther — or, perhaps more usefully, be equipped with a battery that’s 30 times smaller. If that wasn’t enough, this new battery is rechargeable – and can be charged 1,000 times faster than conventional li-ion batteries. In short, this is a dream battery. (See: DoE calls for a chemical battery with 5x capacity, within 5 years – can it be done?)
These huge advances stem from a brand new cathode and anode structure, pioneered by the University of Illinois researchers. In essence, a standard li-ion battery normally has a solid, two-dimensional anode made of graphite and a cathode made of a lithium salt. The new Illinois battery, on the other hand, has a porous, three-dimensional anode and cathode. To create this new electrode structure, the researchers build up a structure of polystyrene (Styrofoam) on a glass substrate, electrodeposit nickel onto the polystyrene, and then electrodeposit nickel-tin onto the anode and manganese dioxide onto the cathode. The diagram above does a good job of explaining the process.
The end result is that these porous electrodes have a massive surface area, allowing for more chemical reactions to take place in a given space, ultimately providing a massive boost to discharge speed (power output) and charging. So far, the researchers have used this tech to create a button-sized microbattery, and you can see in the graph below how well their battery compares to a conventional Sony CR1620 button cell. The energy density is slightly lower, but the power density is 2,000 times greater. On the opposite end of the bleeding-edge spectrum — increased energy density, but lower power density — then IBM’s lithium-air battery currently leads the pack.
In real-world use, this tech will probably be used to equip consumer devices with batteries that are much smaller and lighter — imagine a smartphone with a battery the thickness of a credit card, which can be recharged in a few seconds. There will also be plenty of applications outside the consumer space, in high-powered settings such as lasers and medical devices, and other areas that normally use supercapacitors, such as Formula 1 cars and fast-recharge power tools. For this to occur, though, the University of Illinois will first have to prove that their technology scales to larger battery sizes, and that the production process isn’t prohibitively expensive for commercial production. Here’s hoping.


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Another sure sign of spring: the boring Chairman’s letter…
Along with the daffodils and the start of baseball (and one of these days, warmer weather) comes another rite of spring: the Chairman’s letter. While Warren Buffett’s annual letter is always held up as an example, most of them — as we footnoted last week — are either full of happy-talk or a long boring recitation of facts.
But then we came across this letter from Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) which caught our attention. Like Buffett’s letters, Chairman and CEO Steven Roth, actually has a sense of humor, and, perhaps even more surprising, a personality. And the lack of sugar-coating is downright refreshing. Here’s a snippet:
Our share price declined 28.4% in 2008 and a further 40.0% in 2009 to date. Mike and I consider our share price over time to be an important report card on our performance and, this year, if we were still school age, we—d be off to detention (along with every other REIT manager).
A bit later on, the letter also officially declares 2009 the “Great Recession” and notes that one of Vornado’s properties, the Hotel Pennsylvania across from New York’s Penn Station, “will struggle to do half as well as last year”. Roth also jokes — or at least we think it’s a joke — about starting a new bank which won’t have “legacy problems or bad loans”. There’s also a very interesting observation about retailers — a key constituency for Vornado: “Most retailers themselves are on shaky financial footing and even worse they suffer from a sameness of product offering, a boredom, if you will…Really scary is the consolidation of mall anchors. In many malls, in many markets, the loss of an anchor now spells a very long-term empty and a dead mall wing. Who will replace Mervyn—s, etc.?”
The letter also has an interesting political endorsement of the Obama Administration, calling the city “Washington, the beneficiary of an ambitious, new administration” and noting that it is “perhaps the strongest real estate market in the country.”
If only more Chairman’s letters were this entertaining, we might actually read them.
We’ll be off tomorrow for the holiday, but back on Monday with a new crop of filings!


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In food news …
Sanagan's has a new location, lambic beer hits the LCBO and Restaurant Makeover gets an, uh, makeover.
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Meat on the move
After a two-month renovation, butcher Peter Sanagan has opened his new shop, Sanagan’s Meat Locker, at 176 Baldwin St. (where European Quality Meats and Sausages used to be). The Kensington Market space is 10 times the size of the old 400 sq. ft. shop down the block. He promises not just naturally raised meat but also prepared foods such as terrines, rillettes and sandwiches.
Sweet on sour
Beer lovers are in a tart mood after the return of Lindemans Cuvée René Gueuze ($6.95 per 375 mL bottle) to LCBO shelves. This Belgian beer is a lambic: It’s produced by fermentation with semi-wild yeasts that consume a lot more sugars than standard brewing yeasts do, creating a beer that’s downright sour — and much desired among aficionados.
Restaurant Makeover gets, uh, makeover
After five seasons of helping struggling restaurateurs, Food Network Canada darling Restaurant Makeover is switching it up. On Aug. 30, Restaurant Takeover will debut, featuring hidden cameras and a change in the chef and designer roster. Participating restaurants include Village Pizza, Shamrock & Thistle, Hillbilly Heaven and Brownstone Bistro.
For more food and drink news, visit the EAT blog at thestar.com/eat
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We’ve all heard that too much sun can cause premature wrinkles and aging. Most of us know to wear sunscreen when we’re enjoying the weather on sunny days. But what if we were to wear SPF every day all the time?
A new study of 900 people conducted exactly this experiment. Half of the participants were told to continue their usual practices and half of the participants were directed to slather on sunscreen daily.
The New York Times reports that after four and a half years, the group that wore sunscreen daily had noticeably smoother and more resilient skin than the other group. Says Dr. Gilchrest, Boston University dermatology professor, “[The research] makes it clear that extensive, consistent use of sunscreen can alter a pattern of what would be an inevitable progression of photo-aging.” He also notes, “They were not taking the worst sun offenders and taking them out of the sun. Everyone had pretty darn good sun-protection habits to begin with.”
Definitely makes you think about adding sunscreen to your everyday morning ritual! What would we do without our Rejuvenating Day Lotion SPF 30?
Photo courtesy of The New York Times.


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4 min read.Updated: 03 Nov 2020, 04:12 PM ISTLata Jha
Hollywood studios, media industry experts said, are getting increasingly disenchanted with Bollywood’s business model where their local co-producers do not part with intellectual property rights for foreign players to monetize
NEW DELHI: After more than a decade-long presence in the Indian film market, Hollywood studios like Disney, Sony and Viacom18 are tweaking their strategies by either scaling back operations or focusing on regional and digital content rather than big budget Hindi films.
Walt Disney may be slowing down film production in the country through its acquired arm Fox Star Studios (Disney acquired 21st Century Fox Inc. in June 2018 which made Star India, Fox Star Studios, and Hotstar part of Walt Disney). Top Fox Star executives including CEO Vijay Singh, chief acquisition officer Amar Butala and chief marketing officer Shikha Kapur have quit in the past few months. In fact, Disney’s earlier stint at filmmaking in India via its UTV acquisition, too, fell short of expectations after flops such as Mohenjo Daro and Jagga Jasoos.
Hollywood studios, media industry experts said, are getting increasingly disenchanted with Bollywood’s business model where their local co-producers do not part with IPs (intellectual property rights) for foreign players to monetize and lead stars take away 60-70% of production budgets. Besides, big budget films are no longer fetching big returns.
Trade expert said apart from Fox Star, even studios like Viacom18 and Sony are turning conservative, focusing on small budget films and more regional language narratives besides digital content. The shift to digital content is inspired by video platforms like Netflix and Amazon owning IPs to all their original shows and calling the shots instead of the producers they commission the projects to.
“With UTV, Disney realized it was a problem of overvaluation after a series of films underperformed. With Fox Star though, they were notching up hits like Housefull 4 etc as recently as last year but realized they couldn’t build franchises across businesses the way they do in Hollywood," a former executive of the company said on condition of anonymity referring to the fact that local producers were unwilling to part with IPs while the leading cast was commanding as much as Rs. 100-150 crore for films with a total budget of Rs. 200 crore.
Indian producers and actors may function like this, the person said, but it doesn’t make sense for a risk-averse, disciplined company like Disney, which would rather focus on distributing its Hollywood films that are seeing greater traction, cases in point being recent blockbusters like the Avengers franchise and The Jungle Book.
In an official response to Mint’s queries, Disney denied it was scaling back film business. “Fox Star Studios is one of the country's largest film studios with production and distribution business for local and Hollywood movies. Our studio business is a significant asset for Star India and after the merger with the Walt Disney Company, it has become even stronger," it said adding that the company has released three movies from the Fox Star Studios portfolio directly to its digital platform, with Laxmii slated next. “In the past six months, we have seen disruption in the movie production and distribution landscape, which has led to changes in release schedules. Further more, the team is focused on making the three-part movie Brahmastra. We remain excited about the prospects of our studios business under Bikram Duggal’s leadership," it added.
Media industry experts say often the global lens of Hollywood studios does not adapt well to India. Pradeep Dwivedi, CEO-India at Eros International Media Ltd said it has definitely been a learning curve for Hollywood corporates that entered with much enthusiasm but have seen the downside of understanding the cultural nuances and creative quotient of a country like India which, however, remains an attractive economic proposition.
“The studio business is tough and complex and requires discipline," said Ajit Andhare, chief operating officer, Viacom18 Studios. IP sharing remains a challenge, Andhare admitted, but one that needs to be resolved with collaboration and openness with producer partners rather than being seen as an ego battle. “We don’t want to look at India only from the lens of Bollywood but address all pockets, be it Hindi, Hollywood or regional cinema," Andhare added, explaining the studio’s foray into languages such as Tamil and Telugu.
To be sure, studios, across the board, have realised the importance of investing in digital content and streaming platforms. While Disney has announced global intention to reorganize its media and entertainment businesses to “focus on developing and producing original content for the company’s streaming services," Viacom18 has its own digital content brand Tipping Point. Sony Pictures Networks, too is bullish on its VoD service, SonyLIV. The company did not respond to queries on its film studio business here and the last film it made was Shakuntala Devi that was released on a streaming platform.
Producer Anand Pandit said streaming platforms will become more important post this pandemic and content will be driven by what appeals to demographic diversity.
“Studios usually tend to go big on tent-pole films and that could be a strategic error because success with those is rare. The trend now is of medium-budget, niche subjects and better talent discovery that helps spread risk and manage the portfolio better," said Siddharth Anand Kumar, vice-president, films and television, Saregama India, adding that OTTs like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have already shown the way with vernacular content that appeals to the youth and is driving viewership across audience segments.
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By Ian Walker
Gresham Technologies saw a 13% drop in its shares in early trade as the company announced its decision to exit the lower-margin legacy sub-contracting business with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), resulting in a reduction in revenue next year.
Shares of Gresham Technologies were down 18.50 pence at 119.0 pence at 1046 GMT.
The software and services company revealed on Friday that it expects to generate £8.5 million ($10.6 million) in revenue from the lower-margin legacy non-Clareti agreements this year, which have fixed margins of 13%. However, these agreements will be discontinued starting from January.
Negotiations with ANZ
Gresham Technologies stated that it is currently finalizing negotiations with ANZ, its largest customer in terms of revenue, for the renewal of existing business through to the following year.
Solid Financial Outlook
The company reassured investors that its revenue and earnings for the current year are expected to align with market forecasts. It highlighted that as of the end of October, 98% of the anticipated revenue had already been recognized or was under contract.
Furthermore, Gresham Technologies emphasized its strong pipeline of opportunities, both from new and existing customers. It expressed optimism about closing more Clareti subscription businesses before the year's end, which will contribute to annualized recurring revenue and its fiscal 2024 planned revenue.
Currently, the company has not released any full-year forecasts. However, based on a forecast from one analyst obtained from FactSet, revenue for the year is expected to reach £50.2 million, compared to £48.7 million in 2022.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) - a preferred metric by the company that excludes exceptional and other one-off items - are projected to be £11.0 million, up from £10.3 million.
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