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The Sarnia‐Lambton Economic Partnership will again be providing a Digital Service Squad (DSS) to help businesses across the region to utilize digital technologies to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. The DSS will be funded with a $60,000 grant from Digital Main Street Ontario and provided by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
“Building on a successful four months with the Digital Service Squad program in 2019, through collaboration with community partners, we are thrilled to expand our reach to assist businesses across the Sarnia‐Lambton area in 2020/2021,” said Sarnia‐Lambton Economic Partnership’s Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Thompson. “Local businesses are critical to our communities, and this program will help ensure they continue to thrive by leveraging digital technologies and online best practices.
Established in 2018, Digital Main Street Ontario had recently extended thanks to an investment of $42.5 million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and $7.45 million from the Ontario Ministry for Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT). The nearly $50‐million investment will help small businesses across Ontario to pivot their operations to include online business models, regain lost revenue and become more resilient and competitive as the economy recovers. The Ontario BIA Association administers the DMS grant program to Ontario’s main street small businesses.
“Ontario’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and the keystone of our economic recovery. That is why we have invested in Digital Main Street to help these enterprises adapt to doing business in a digital world, and take advantage of the record number of people shopping online. Congratulations to Sarnia‐Lambton on the launch of your Digital Service Squad,” said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “The work you’re doing with small businesses in your community will help keep our main streets vibrant, support good, local jobs and help our economy come back strong.”
Digital Service Squads are fundamental to Digital Main Street’s design and success, with trained specialists who meet with small businesses, at no cost, to help them improve their online presence. The squads assist with a number of activities, including developing a Google My Business profile, enhancing their social media presence and providing support for basic website and e‐commerce set‐up. Squads will also assist qualified small businesses through the application process for a $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant, which includes an online assessment, online training modules and the development of a Digital Transformation Plan (DTP).
“The COVID‐19 pandemic hit Ontario’s main streets hard, so Digital Main Street is needed more than ever,” said Kay Matthews, Executive Director of OBIAA. “We know that businesses that participated in Digital Main Street last year were better able to cope when the pandemic hit, and we’re excited that FedDev Ontario and Ontario are providing the funding to extend this important program to help businesses in communities across Sarnia‐Lambton.”


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$10bn buy-back scheme to boost share price Dell is to spend $10bn (£4.9bn) on buying back company shares, the first stock re-purchase for more than a year. Buy-back plans were suspended in August...
Facebook has established a new subsidiary called Calibra to create financial services for Libra
President Trump has rejected reports of US agencies deploying malware in Russia's power grid
Pull Reminders, Pull Analytics, and Pull Assigner now available free in the GitHub Marketplace
EclecticIQ's Aleksander Jarosz on minimising the risk of lockdowns, data theft and disruption

domain: news


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PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ShopRunner, which brings together a network of retailers to deliver powerful shopping services, today announced that it has added a number of new retail partners to its growing ecosystem, including Brooks Brothers, MacMall and Claire's. Apart from being popular consumer destinations, these retailers provide greater consumer choice in the two largest online shopping categories – apparel and accessories, and consumer electronics.
In the apparel category, the iconic American brand Brooks Brothers will launch after the new year and will join ShopRunner's already robust offerings including American Eagle Outfitters, Lord and Taylor, Timberland, and Calvin Klein, among others.
ShopRunner also continues to launch new partners in the consumer electronics category. MacMall, the leading direct reseller of Apple products, joins other top electronics retailers NewEgg and RadioShack. The launch of popular jewelry and accessories store Claire's along with other retailers, highlights ShopRunner's commitment to growth across the entire retail spectrum, with recent additions like Franklin Covey, ReadingGlasses.com, Fathead and more. Other top brands already in the network include Toys"R"Us, GNC, Sports Authority and PetSmart.
In less than two years since the company's inception, ShopRunner continues to see growth not only for the company itself, but also in the value it provides to retailers and consumers. Currently, 75 percent of orders from ShopRunner members are new customers for any given retailer.
"ShopRunner is an entirely new approach, going far beyond an isolated website experience. In advance of the holiday season, we are excited to be able to offer these new retailers as a part of our growing network," said Scott Thompson, CEO, ShopRunner. "ShopRunner remains committed to providing value not only to our retail partners but also to our members. Increasing merchandise assortment in popular online categories is a vital part of that and we look forward to continuing this momentum."
ShopRunner brings together a network of retailers to deliver powerful shopping services for its members. The first and only company to unite America's most sought-after retailers in such a mutually beneficial ecosystem, the ShopRunner network enables retailers to offer more deeply integrated shopping services than they could on their own. As a result, ShopRunner members shop easily and often across ShopRunner's network of retail websites and stores, saving time and money with unlimited free two-day shipping, free and easy returns, as well as quick and simple checkout through PayRunner. Soon, members will also have the option of receiving their package at thousands of nearby ShopRunner PickupPoint™ locations. By making shopping easier, ShopRunner's 60+ retailers including Toys"R"Us, American Eagle Outfitters, PetSmart, GNC and Sports Authority are better positioned to compete in today's marketplace.


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Catherine Gluckstein, Vice President of Xbox Gaming Cloud, announced via Youtube that Xbox Cloud Gaming Service has seen an 1800% increase over the last year, which in turn has prompted them to increase the server capacity. This is no small leap for cloud gaming, it seems as though gamers are opening themselves up to the concept more and more as time goes on.
While Microsoft has primarily focused on the Xbox console, this increase in interest in Xbox Cloud Gaming seems to be causing them to turn their attention more towards that service. The service streams game’s from a remote location to users’ phones, tablets, and laptops from Xbox.com/play, and as of recent months, the games can now be streamed onto newer Samsung TVs.
Currently, on the Xbox Gaming Cloud, there are over 300 games available, where they can be streamed onto the mobile device of choice with ease. While some of the games do come with touchscreen controls available, players can also connect a controller to give for a more console-like experience, as well as a more familiar control option. This latest increase in numbers could give Microsoft that extra push to really start marketing this service, since it already comes free of charge to those who purchase Gamepass.
To meet the demand of the increase in usage, the company has decided to expand the servers to players all across the world in order to make the game more accessible to those across the map, as well as add in more players for gamers to interact with. It is, without a doubt, Fortnite to blame for this sudden surge in Cloud Gaming users, as it is completely free to play even without a Gamepass Ultimate subscription. Since Microsoft partnered with Epic Games and allowed Google Play users to have complete access to the game regardless of the ban, it has triggered several users to play right from the comfort of their handheld and mobile devices.
Cloud gaming is nothing new, and Microsoft will have quite the hefty competition in the category. Platforms like Google Stadia, which was recently rumored to be shutting down shows no signs of stopping yet, also have a hand to play within the Cloud gaming industry. Other handheld Cloud Gaming devices will also be stiff competition in the market, such as the Steam Deck and the newest upcoming handheld device that is being created by Logitech and Tencent.
To date, the Xbox Cloud Gaming service has over 10 million users throughout 28 countries, and it seems as though Microsoft has no plans on slowing down their growth anytime soon.


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This week in eBuzz from Michael Carney’s Marketing Week:
- The Ozzie’s obsession with online videos:
- ipredict top of the pollsters
The Ozzie’s obsession with online videos
We’re not sure what it says about the Australian psyche—or perhaps their free-to-air TV fare —but it seems that our Trans-Tasman cuzzies are enthusiastic consumers of online video content, with 41 percent of Internet users streaming or downloading videos and more than one in five (21%) reporting to be doing so on a regular basis, according to findings released earlier this week from Nielsen’s 2010 Internet & Technology Report. Comparatively, just a quarter of Internet users in the UK are streaming or downloading video.
Video downloading and streaming in Australia is expected to increase in 2010—44 percent of regular online video users say they’ll watch more video streams, while one third (33 percent) intend to download more online video content.
In a hint of things to come, the Internet & Technology Report showed that the most popular video downloads and streams were full length episodes of TV shows, amateur video clips such as those found on YouTube, music videos and feature-length movies.
In other words, this Catch Up TV concept is catching on, especially as more and more of the hot TV shows migrate online.
Video advertising support remains more problematic. Despite the increasing adoption of video content by users, advertisers have been less supportive. According to Paul Fisher, CEO, IAB Australia, online video advertising revenue accounts for just four percent of total online display revenues.
Nielsen has been in discussion with key Australian industry bodies and clients about the viability of a Video Market Intelligence service, similar to the company’s existing Market Intelligence service. It’s a step in the right direction, but it’s nowhere near as ambitious as that planned by Nielsen in the US.
Across the globe, in the land of hope and glory, Nielsen intends to start making available data that take into account viewing of commercials that run in a particular show, no matter whether they are seen online or on TV. The data will be made available for evaluation starting this September and are intended to become the basis for ad negotiations in February 2011.
Yes, combined viewing data. There is a catch. For Nielsen to be able to provide the commercial rating, shows seen online will have to have the same group of commercials that run on TV. If this system were adopted en masse — and it’s not clear that it would be—online viewing might be crammed just as full of commercials as the more traditional TV-watching experience.
“That in itself is a challenge,” Rino Scanzoni, chief investment officer at WPP’s Group M, told Advertising Age. “The consumer has been used to getting [online video]with either limited commercial interruption or no commercial interruption.”
Indeed, viewing programs on Hulu, the online video site owned by NBC Universal, News Corp. and Walt Disney, means encountering significantly fewer ads than one would see watching TV. And Disney’s ABC.com has met with some success by running ABC shows with just a few ads, often from a single advertiser.
But many TV executives say these methods don’t bring much, if any, profit—and therefore cannot continue.
So is the full-ad-content-online strategy viable?
Consumers already say they hate “pre-rolls” (solus ads run before video content). Yet, according to TubeMogul, 84% of online video viewers who are served a 30-second pre-roll ad before a piece of video content watch the entire ad without clicking away.
So why does the drum beat of “pre roll is dead” roll on? Randy Kilgore, chief revenue officer for Tremor Media, came up with four main reasons:
- A lot of content stinks. Pundits use drop-off figures to cite consumer dislike. What they fail to consider is very often people click on videos on a whim. They see a brief description and they commit lightly. If there’s an ad, they weigh the amount of time they need to invest versus what they might get from the content and often bail. Can’t really blame them? But if you measured only professional content, you’d find far different results.
- Targeting is nascent. Pre-rolls are placed based on site level or section level content descriptions (which implies demographic targeting). That’s fine until the technology evolves—which it is, rapidly—but if I see an ad for a women’s product on a news site and I’m only mildly interested in the content, I’m out.
- Video search stinks. People aren’t finding what they want, they’re finding what happens to be in front of them. Again, lack of commitment to the content increases impatience with the advertising. Not a format issue, a technology issue.
- Herd mentality still rules. I guarantee you, people who bash pre-roll haven’t stopped to think about the issues—it’s just easy/lazy to go along with the crowd. Every time I hear a speaker bash pre-roll, I approach them after the session. Every single time they tell me I’m right, pre-roll is here to stay. Lesson learned: Filter what you hear.
In other words, online video advertising will really work only if it lives up to the digital promise. That probably means that in the long term the Nielsen combined data report won’t fly. If we get better online video advertising execution online instead, we’re willing to make the sacrifice.
ipredict top of the pollsters
NZ Prediction Market operators iPredict are understandably upbeat over new research out of the University of Michigan which shows that iPredict significantly outperformed pollsters in the 2008 election. iPredict was the second-most accurate forecaster across the 2008 election campaign, beating all but one pollster and all ‘polls of polls’.
What are prediction markets? Cue Wikipedia:
[They] are speculative markets created for the purpose of making predictions. Assets are created whose final cash value is tied to a particular event (e.g. will the next US president be a Republican) or parameter (e.g., total sales next quarter). The current market prices can then be interpreted as predictions of the probability of the event or the expected value of the parameter. Prediction markets are thus structured as betting exchanges, without any risk for the bookmaker.
To put it another way: prediction markets involve betting on the outcome of current events, with or without real money being involved.
As James Surowiecki argued in his 2004 book The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations, the combined wisdom of a diverse group of individuals leads to decisions that are often better than could have been made by any single member of the group.
Do we get smarter if we’re betting real money?
Well, at least we think more about our decisions when we have real skin in the game.
So why did iPredict (which does involve real money) do better than most pollsters? iPredict CEO Matt Burgess offers up some suggestions on his blog:
Prediction markets have consistently beaten polls for twenty years in the US, and in 2008 that trend continued in New Zealand. There are a number of reasons for this:
- Pollsters ask the wrong question. Pollsters do not generally ask about vote share on polling day. They ask: if the election were tomorrow, who would you vote for. That’s a question that introduces bias and interferes with an election day forecast: elections have milestones, and different parties receive varying amounts of coverage during a campaign’s course. In the US, convention bounce is a well-known phenomenon in polling. By asking about an election tomorrow, polling results are being shoe-horned into answering a different question.
- Pollsters results are sensitive to sampling bias. Pollsters have to be very careful about the composition of their samples, because their results strongly depend on it, and have secret correction formulas that weight the responses they receive to correct for composition problems that naturally arise in sampling. McGirr and Salmond confirm that pollsters consistently lean one way or the other on the political spectrum, probably this is down to the subtle ways composition and corrections affect the final result. These biases, while reasonably consistent, add noise and make it harder to know what will happen on the day that counts.
- Pollsters are facing increasing difficulty in sampling. Most pollsters sample by phone and a non-random sample of people do not answer their phone. Working out who those people are and correcting for their absence is not trivial. Furthermore, the number of people who answer their phone and who are willing to answer a phone survey is declining, further increasing sampling difficulties since it is, as always, a non-random selection of people declining to answer.
- Pollsters face lags. Polls aren’t usually conducted in a night, and may occur over a period of up to two weeks—an eternity in an election campaign. Add more time for the numbers to be crunched and the results published.
None of this is to say what polling companies do isn’t valuable—absolutely it is. But if you want the most accurate and up to date information then these factors count against polls.
Implications for Marketers?
The New York Times covered some interesting business uses for prediction markets in an article on the topic in April 2008:
Companies like the InterContinental Hotels Group, General Electric and Hewlett-Packard are using prediction markets to try to improve forecasting, reduce risk and accelerate innovation by tapping into the collective wisdom of the work force.
Like blogs and wikis, prediction markets can spur communication and collaboration within a company. Yet they add rigorous measurement to business forecasts, like estimating the sales of a new product or the chances that a project will be finished on time.
Corporate prediction markets work like this: Employees, and potentially outsiders, make their wagers over the Internet using virtual currency, betting anonymously. They bet on what they think will actually happen, not what they hope will happen or what the boss wants. The payoff for the most accurate players is typically a modest prize, cash or an iPod.
The early results are encouraging. “The potential is that prediction markets may be the thing that enables a big company to act more like a small, nimble company again,” said Jeffrey Severts, a vice president who oversees prediction markets at Best Buy, the electronics retailer.
The store chain has experimented with prediction markets on everything from demand for digital set-top boxes to store-opening dates. For example, Mr. Severts said that in the fall of 2006, the prices in a prediction market on whether a new store in Shanghai would open on time—in December 2006—dropped sharply from $80 a share into the $40–$50 range. Players made yes-no bets, and the virtual dollar drop reflected increasing doubt that the store would open on time.
Indeed, Best Buy’s first store in China opened late, in January 2007, but the warning signs from the prediction market helped prevent further slippage.
The jury is still out on whether whether such uses of prediction markets are mainly an innovative way to gather information from employees or a font of reliable answers. At any rate, they’re worth considering as another weapon in your knowledge-gathering arsenal.
- And make sure you check out the Marketing Rebooted eCourses. As the name might suggest, is all about the challenges facing marketers as we head into the second decade of the new millennium. Under that name, we’ll be bringing you a series of eCourses for marketers trained in traditional advertising and marketing methods, who know a little about new generation marketing tools and techniques—but not enough. The first installment will be on social media. And there’s a rundown of the course content and what it will cover here.


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What is the Metaverse?
Users of Horizon typically stop using the game after a few months, according to an internal document. While the game has more than ten thousand worlds, they can only support a few dozen avatars at a time. This is because the platform needs a lot of computational power to project the shared space. If a world fills up, users are relegated to an overflow room, where they have to wait for their turn to join.
The metaverse runs on multiple technologies, including augmented reality, virtual reality, spatial computing, and artificial intelligence. Users interact with the metaverse through their devices. Blockchain technology is critical to the project because it uses non-fungible tokens to facilitate payments and transactions. Users can create unique digital assets in the metaverse using crypto currencies.
The metaverse will also provide a new way for creators to work from home. The company’s $10 million Horizon Creators Fund will provide resources for Horizon Worlds creators.
What is Second Life and its relation to the Metaverse?
The metaverse is a growing phenomenon. It’s a technology that can be used to simulate reality, and it’s already being used by several companies. Microsoft, Epic Games, and Nike are just a few of the big tech companies adding new features to their products to take advantage of this technology.
There are some rules, however, that govern the virtual world. These rules differ by jurisdiction, and some are listed in the metaverse’s terms of service. While these rules vary by jurisdiction, the overall idea is that people should remain civil. As such, it’s important to understand the rules and be aware of them before entering a virtual world.
There are two major challenges associated with the metaverse. First, it’s hard to establish economic relationships in such a virtual environment. In a virtual world, brands can replace nations, while pop culture franchises can destroy reality. But there’s still a way to shape the future of the metaverse.
What is Microsoft doing with metaverse?
With a massive user base and popular game systems like Xbox Live, Xbox Game Pass, and Office 365, Microsoft seems to be well positioned to capitalize on the Metaverse’s commercial use cases. The company also has plans to make the metaverse compatible with XBox and gaming, but this won’t mean a complete break from PowerPoint or Word, Microsoft’s most common software applications.
Microsoft’s metaverse is an extension of the company’s larger business philosophy. It aims to allow users to live within an interconnected virtual world, where all interactions are made possible through the use of the company’s software. Users can move between different virtual worlds, meet new people, shop, play games, and make and share avatars.
The metaverse can be an excellent tool for fostering collaboration and strengthening bonds in the workplace. But executives need to be careful that this new way of working doesn’t lead to burnout. It’s imperative to balance the physical and virtual worlds, and the HR department will need to design new hybrid work policies. Additionally, HR needs to incorporate metaverse expertise into governance structures.
What is the relationship between Metaverse and the Social Media?
The service offers a wide range of social media features, including scheduling and monitoring, multiple accounts, requiring approval, and enabling you to monitor, engage, and engage with your followers. The company also offers metrics, so you can gauge your social media performance. The basic version is free and works on desktop browsers, smartphones, and tablets. Hootsuite also has an iPad app that makes managing your accounts easy.
Metaverse has a variety of high-level use cases, including remote collaboration, education, marketing, engineering, and digital twins for maintenance. The benefits of the metaverse are many, and the potential is endless. It has been called an all-in-one social media toolkit for businesses.
The metaverse is a virtual world integrated with augmented reality. Users can access content in two dimensions and experience it in three dimensions with the use of a VR headset. Users can also shop in virtual malls, where they can purchase items from brands such as Gucci.
Does Epic Games have a metaverse?
Epic Games has invested in several projects to advance their game engine and further the popular Fortnite. The company also acquired Twinmotion and Cubic Motion, two startups that have developed technologies for creating user-generated games within the same world. Another investment that Epic made was in SuperAwesome, a company that is focused on creating safe digital engagement for children.
To further engage children in the Metaverse, Epic is planning to introduce a platform that caters to children and teenagers rather than the general population. For this, the companies have announced a partnership with Lego Group in April 2022. Through this partnership, they plan to add more features that are good for kids, like a “safe search” option and a way for parents to keep an eye on what their kids are doing.
Epic Games has also invested in Hadean, a metaverse startup that aims to revolutionize distributed computing. The company recently raised $30 million in a Series A funding round. Investors include Molten Ventures, 2050 Capital, Alumni Ventures, and Aster Capital. The company has been in business for seven years and wants to build a metaverse that will change the way distributed computing works.
This way, any e-commerce site can set up shop in the metaverse, and everyone can exchange currency easily. However, there are some hurdles to interoperability, including credit card regulations and currency conversion. Fortunately, a blockchain-based currency can help overcome these problems.
The Metaverse is a promising space, but the current system makes it difficult to engage in the immersive experience it promises. Currently, users must go through the tedious process of buying games and assets that are available on the Metaverse. In addition, they must spend money on credits to make purchases. (Also Read: Top 5 Cryptocurrency Trading Tips)


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It is safe to say that the leaked pictures of what is rumoured to be Chelsea’s new home kit for the 2021/2022 season has not pleased a majority of the club’s supporters across the world.
The Nike-manufactured home kit has been widely branded as an eyesore ever since the first leaks surfaced, but a new leak that displays the back of the shirt shows the truly despicable nature of the kit.
The kit features an amalgamation of two patterns on the traditional royal blue colours of the club, highlighted by elements of yellow.
While the majority of the shirt is covered in a zig-zag pattern, one-third of the shirt has a chequered pattern printed – a choice of design that has baffled a lot of the club’s supporters online.
If the kit was not already considered as an abomination, the latest leaks which have surfaced online are certain to even make the most tolerant of supporters give in.
The display from the backside of the shirt has been leaked online, and it is an even worse sight – the kit has the same patterns on the back of the shirt, just on the opposite sides of the one in the front of the shirt.
The design has enraged the West London club’s supporters as it has been described as a disgrace and for some, even the worst home kit in the club’s history.
It is sportswear manufacturing giants Nike’s fifth home kit for the club since signing a deal in 2017, but it would not be an occasion that the highly expecting Chelsea supporters would be willing to celebrate – considering the unpopularity of the home kit even before its official release.


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Smart Home Company Goes Hollywood
Vivint CEO Todd Pederson will be featured on the season finale of “Undercover Boss” on CBS. The show will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Friday, Feb. 20.
Vivint provides home security, energy management, automation, cloud storage and high-speed Internet solutions for more than 850,000 customers across North American according a press release.
The CEO plays a video store owner from Bend, Oregon, working with several Vivint employees across several areas of the business, including field services.
Pederson’s experience on the show was positive. “Going undercover was such an incredible experience that I actually didn’t want it to end,” he said. “We have grown exponentially in the past 14 years, and I want to make sure our employees understand how critical they are to our business.”
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“Undercover Boss” is a reality show that has followed high-level executives for six seasons as they work “anonymously” with the rank and file of their companies. –Casey Meserve
The Stats on Thermostats
Do you think installing a $250 smart thermostat isn’t worth it to homebuyers? According to Nest, its device will pay for itself in less than two years. I’d say that’s a good selling point.
Three internal energy-saving studies from the company find that the device saves 10 to 12 percent on the heating bill and about 15 percent on the cooling bill. This comes out to a yearly savings of about $131 to $145.
A press release on Nest’s website reports that though the thermostat can “learn” a homeowner’s schedule and start adjusting itself accordingly, the best energy savings can be achieved by “teaching” it.
Iris Retailer Eyeballs Installer Services
Up until now, do it yourself smart home kits have been in their own category. With Lowe’s backing a local installer services company, however, the lines might get a little blurred.
Lowe’s, which recently launched its Iris platform, has invested $65 million in start-up Porch.com. Writers for Forbes speculate that this relationship could make Iris a more appealing option for those still wary about installing the system on their own.
At the International Builders’ Show in January, two representatives from Lowe’s said that Iris was doing okay in some markets, but remains on the shelves in many. A huge part factor is “the human bug.” Consumers are just having a hard time doing it themselves.
Wink is apparently exploring this option for its own smart home products in 2015. Best Buy’s Geek Squad installations rake in a good chunk for the company. German smart home company DigitalStrom has created a modular smart home system supposedly fit for electricians and builders. This is not some new-fangled idea, but one smart home retailers may want to consider in order to stay relevant in the market.
Quick Hit: Smart Home Gets Crowded
Samsung Smart TVs Too Smart?
Last week there was speculation that Samsung’s Smart TV could actually be listening in on you. How big brother of them.
While this is likely a way for the company to establish better performance, the feature does raise yet even more questions about smart device security issues. If the transmission is not encrypted, a hacker could conceivably turn your TV into an eavesdropping device.


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Hard Rock Hotel is resurfacing in the Asia-Pacific after a long hiatus, establishing presence in two locations within the year.
First off the pipeline is the 300-room Hard Rock Hotel Macau at the City of Dreams, which opens in June, followed by the 249-room Hard Rock Hotel Penang along the beach in Batu Ferringhi around August or September.
“Our new hotel in Macau will have a higher premium in terms of positioning. This is the way we are developing all our new properties in the US – either as a four-star or a five-star. Hard Rock Macau will be our first premium hotel in Asia,” said Hamish Dodds, Hard Rock president and chief executive officer. “Ours in Penang is in the advanced stage of construction. Like the Macau property, it is located in an area of major hotel development. This provides it the opportunity to become one of the real premium projects there.”
The Hard Rock chain – inspired by the iconic Hard Rock Cafe – launched its first outpost in the region in Bali in 1998, then its second in Pattaya in 2001.
Despite the global recession, the group believes that the rock n’ roll vibe, combined with an upscale, hip and fun image, offers guests a unique proposition. Dodds explained: “Our brand is so different. We are confident that even in an environment where spending is slowing down, we will take more than our fair share of the market and be successful.”
The chain is also looking forward to the arrival of Hard Rock Hotel in Singapore, one of six hotels coming up at Resorts World at Sentosa and slated for a mid-2010 launch.
Hard Rock is keen to get a foothold in China, particularly Beijing and Shanghai and is now looking at potential projects in both cities. Dodds said: “It is about preparing for growth. A lot of our projects have long lead times, as much as four years. So we have to be setting the groundwork now so that every year there is going to be a product coming to the market.
“We are very excited to be active again in Asia. Our new high quality hotels will provide an appetiser for the China Mainland consumer to get to know our brand and for other Asian consumers to get reacquainted with it.”
For more details, visit www.hardrockhotels.com


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With less than two weeks until the global climate strikes, 930 tech and corporate Amazon employees have pledged to walk out of the company’s offices on September 20, demanding zero emissions by 2030.
The climate action, which follows strikes at Amazon warehouses, most recently on Amazon Prime Day, marks the first time white collar Amazon employees have staged a walkout.
Workers with the group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice are demanding that the company adopt a resolution to eliminate its massive carbon footprint by 2030. Compared to other tech giants, Amazon, which ships billions of packages each year and controls a huge portion of the cloud computing market, has come under particular scrutiny for its carbon emissions.
“For us, it’s really important that Amazon can commit to being a leader against the climate crisis,” said Sarah Read, 28, a user experience researcher for Prime Video, who will participate in the walkout in Seattle. “It’s important to us that Amazon commit to zero emissions by 2030, to no custom contracts that help fossil fuel companies, to no donations to climate-change denying lobbyists and politicians. It’s important to hold Amazon to really high standards.”
On September 20, the biggest day of the weeklong climate strike taking place in 117 countries, Amazon employees in Seattle will walk out of their offices at 11:30 a.m., gather at the giant glass spheres at the center of Amazon’s corporate campus, then march to city hall to rally with youth climate activists. “When the youth called for adults to walk out with them, I felt it was important for me to join,” Read said. An internal call for action that began circulating among employees on September 4 received around 930 pledges as of September 8, Read said.
“Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon," an Amazon spokesperson told Motherboard in response to news of the walkout. "We have dedicated sustainability teams who have been working for years on initiatives to reduce our environmental impact. Earlier this year, we announced Shipment Zero - Amazon’s vision to make all Amazon shipments net zero carbon, with 50% of all shipments net zero by 2030."
"Over the past decade through our sustainable packaging programs, we’ve eliminated more than 244,000 tons of packaging materials and avoided 500 million shipping boxes," the Amazon spokesperson continued. "To track our progress on this journey and as part of an overall commitment to sharing our sustainability goals, we plan to share Amazon’s company-wide carbon footprint, along with related goals and programs, later this year. This follows an extensive project over the past few years to develop an advanced scientific model to carefully map our carbon footprint to provide our business teams with detailed information helping them identify ways to reduce carbon use in their businesses.”
The news was first published by Wired but was independently confirmed by Motherboard.
Microsoft workers in Seattle will participate in the walkout. Organizers say Google workers could also join.
Have a tip about Amazon? We'd like to hear from you. You can send Lauren an email at email@example.com.
The group leading the walkout, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, formed last December when 28 employees filed a shareholder resolution, a common tactic in tech labor organizing, that called on Amazon to adopt a company-wide climate plan. Since then, the group has been at the forefront of the growing movement of tech workers demanding companies including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft take action on a range of issues, including carbon emissions, military and law enforcement contracts, and sexual harassment.
In February, the email list for Amazon Employees for Climate Justice grew from 600 to 1,200 in about 24 hours. Days later, the company announced “Shipping Zero,” a plan to eliminate half of Amazon’s shipping emissions by 2030. Yet, some vocal employees say that “Shipping Zero” does not go far enough, pointing out that an increase in emissions would still be possible.
In April, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice published an open letter, signed by 8,215 of the company’s 65,000 corporate and tech employees in the United States, criticizing the shipping giant for helping “fossil fuel companies accelerate and expand oil and gas extraction” while touting its own efforts to reduce emissions. The letter asked Bezos and the company’s board to adopt a climate shareholder resolution for zero emissions by 2030.
The following month, dozens of employees stood up at the company’s annual meeting demanding to meet with Bezos, who dodged their questions, refusing to come out from backstage. Thirty-one percent of the shareholders who voted endorsed the climate resolution, which the organizers considered a major feat.
Correction: This story previously said that dozens of Amazon employees got on stage at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in support of a resolution for Amazon to reach zero emissions by 2030. The employees were at the meeting but did not get on stage. Motherboard regrets the error.


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Innovation alliance for Ruta N and Bosch
Representatives of multinational Bosch recently visited Medellin (Colombia), and signed a cooperation agreement with Medellin Innovation District Ruta N.
As part of their visit to get to know Medellin and find out how it has become a hub of innovation in Latin America, Bosch representatives met with Alejandro Franco, Executive Director of IASP member Ruta N as well as Ruta N’s Innovation Lab team.
Bosch is a major world player in terms of innovation: its research generates a patent every 30 minutes, and nearly 10% of sales are invested in new products and solutions. The Innovation Lab brings together different methodologies and technologies with the innovation ecosystem of the city to help local entrepreneurs, startups, teachers and government to identify, prototype and validate their innovative services, products and experiences..
The agreement seeks to increase innovation among science, technology and research organisations in Medellin, and some advantages for users of the Innovation Lab. They will have privileged access to Bosch experts from around the world and their latest research and developments, especially in their field of IoT, intelligent agriculture, connected buildings, mobility, smart cities and Industry 4.0.
Angela Infante of Bosch Colombia commented: “This agreement is an alliance that will open up a two-lane relationship of communication and learning. We want mutual support between the Innovation Lan and Bosch to develop our activities and to connect what’s happening in the rest of the world with new developments in Medellin.”


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By Rachel Eddie
Stamps could cost an extra 10¢ from next year, under an Australia Post push as fewer letters are sent around the country.
From January, posting a letter within Australia will cost $1.10 instead of $1 if the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) accepts the Australia Post proposal.
It would be the first rise in stamp prices in four years, when they went up from 70¢ to $1.
"The first thing is, it's really just a bit of a catch-up. We're not really addressing the totality of the losses we have in lettering with this price increase," Australia Post managing director and chief executive Christine Holgate said.
Concession stamps, available to 5.7 million Australians including pensioners and veterans, will still cost 60¢. The price of posting a greeting card over Christmas will also remain at 65¢.
Ms Holgate said it would have been irresponsible to go another year without raising the price of stamps, with growing costs and a growing population.
"I'm sure your own bills at home have gone up," Ms Holgate said.
She said it would also help community post offices in rural areas, who take a commission from sales, as well as other licensed partners, to stay afloat.
Australia Post last year lost $190 million in its letters business, despite "significant efficiency savings" and a booming number of parcels being sent around the country.
"In the last financial year, we delivered a profit in line with that three years earlier. We did this with 820 million less letters delivered to over 700,000 more homes," Ms Holgate said in a statement.
"Our posties deliver to more than 12.1 million addresses across the country. It doesn't matter if they have one letter or 100 for the address, they still need to drive past the letterbox each day."
Australia Post lodged the notice to the ACCC this week, as part of a lengthy process that is expected to include public consultation.
Ms Holgate said she expected the proposal to be accepted based on the company's efficiencies.
ACCC commissioner Cristina Cifuentes said the watchdog would consider trends in the postal industry when assessing the proposed price increase.
"We will consider various issues including ... whether Australia Post has adequately explored efficiency improvements before increasing its letter prices,” Ms Cifuentes said in a statement.
“We will welcome submissions on this proposal and will take into account the views of industry stakeholders, consumers and Australia Post itself.”
The ACCC does not approve the price increase but will assess whether it meets competition and consumer legislation and then notify Australia Post whether it has any objections. It will release its draft proposal in November this year.
Australia Post estimates the 10 cent increase would cost the average household less than $1.50 a year even if they regularly post letters.
Charities will still get discounts. Australia Post will still offer businesses and government customers, who post about 97 per cent of letters, incentives to use mail.
Ms Holgate said only about 2 per cent of letters were posted by the general population with no concession.
Australia Post expects to send about 2 billion letters this year, and for that to decrease about 10 per cent next year.
The retail award rate had grown by 13 per cent since the last raise in the postage rate, Australia Post said, along with other costs.
In 2017, Ms Holgate replaced former chief executive Ahmed Fahour, who walked away with $10.8 million in parting pay including superannuation after quitting.
Ms Holgate's pay was set by the Remuneration Tribunal at a maximum $2.75 million a year, with a fixed base salary of $1.37 million, according to reports at the time.


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A memristor-based circuit that spits out a steady stream of true random numbers could hold the key to enhanced security in NFC transactions, reports IEEE Spectrum. The tiny circuit, invented by engineers at the National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in Taiwan, offers the prospect of using small low power devices to generate true random numbers — something that is difficult to do using today’s digital circuits, which typically produce numbers that aren’t completely random, the publication explains.
- India to rank states on digital transactions
- HSBC to launch Hong Kong P2P mobile payments app
- Indian mobile wallet adds healthcare services
- Singapore commuters to get NFC-enabled transport payment wearables
- Call to ‘digitise Indian rupee’ using blockchain


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A few more changes are being considered with the bill, some of which are not in the current bill but could be added.
The bill aims to add a number of qualifying conditions, some of which have previously been rejected by the state. These new diseases include migraines, autism spectrum disorder, arthritis, terminal diseases, and opioid use disorders. All of this would of course expand the customer base, which with 209,000 patients is already significantly larger than the state greatly underrated Patient roles could be this early in the program.
Meeting the more than expected patient demand has inspired the state to increase the number of pharmacies operating today from less than 60 to 130.
Huffman said he was considering another change that would allow Level I and Level II breeders (that is, large and small) to expand to their maximum size without waiting for a request from the state.
Marijuana growers large and small are allowed to have 25,000 and 3,000 square feet of growing space, respectively. Current rules allow you to add this base level twice in two separate steps. The maximum growable area allowed is 75,000 square feet for large cultivators and 9,000 for their smaller counterparts.
The state requires cultivators to apply for expansion, and it will only approve expansion after making such requests.
This has been a problem for some. Akron Level II breeder Fire Rock Ltd. sued the state in 2020 so as not to respond to an extension application.
The state is soliciting applications for expansion as it is releasing new pharmacy licenses this fall. But the OMMCP law can allow producers to request expansion to their maximum size without being asked.
Huffman said it was hoped that this could increase marijuana supply and reduce retail costs while ensuring that enough product is available for these future new dispensaries.
Restrictions on promoting business and communicating with customers are another headache for businesses.
They are prevented from showing pictures of products and flowers online, from responding to questions or comments on social media, and from selling or giving away promotional items such as t-shirts. Pharmacies are also not allowed to post “We’re open” signs or sandwich boards on sidewalks.
“We know there are some First Amendment issues to be resolved here and we are working on this with lawyers,” said McNamee.
Companies say these advertising bans hamper their ability to spread brand and product awareness – in a world where pharmaceutical companies can’t get fewer advertisements direct to consumers.
Huffman said he was investigating this.
“The bill will improve the ability of advertising,” said Huffman. “It still protects the children and vulnerable people. It’s not mass advertising. You won’t see billboards.”
What the bill won’t do, Huffman said, is growing your own crops or smoking marijuana. However, a provision allowing home-growing of plants is a feature of the three efforts currently under way in the state to legalize recreational marijuana, which include separate efforts Democratic lawmakers, Republican lawmakers and the Coalition to regulate marijuana like alcohol.
The lack of regulations allowing home-growing and smoking marijuana primarily helped pass HB 523, said Huffman, who notes, “I just don’t think this General Assembly would like to look at those two aspects.”


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Thursday, January 10, 2008
"Many merchants who reported sales figures Thursday failed to meet already lowered sales projections, making this the weakest holiday season since 2002. Their performance led a string of stores to reduce earnings outlooks for the fourth quarter."
Here's a link to the article:
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Today they released a statement saying that they expect the U.S. economy to drop into recession this year, prompting the Federal Reserve to slash benchmark lending rates to 2.5 percent by the third quarter.
You can read the release here:
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year to all!
With everyone back to work after holiday celebrations, it’s time to start thinking about what’s ahead in 2008. To help, I’ve put together a few predictions.
The Economy: In my opinion, the “Big Kahuna” of predictions has to do with the economy. I may not be an economist, but I’ve been around long enough to know the signs of recession when I see them. A quick look in the local (US) newspaper tells part of the story: numerous housing foreclosures and auctions. I haven’t seen that since 1992. In addition, rumors a of a weak holiday retail season abound. Coupled with the current and unfolding lending crisis, a dismal Q4 earnings report could seal it. If I’m right, this means that 2008 budgets will be flat to down – especially for IT. The rest of my predictions are either caused by or accelerated by this prediction.
Market consolidation: As everyone is already aware, 2007 was a year of massive consolidation for BI and EPM software vendors. Although Hyperion, Business Objects and Cognos are gone, the fun’s not over yet. As the big guys feel even more pressure to boost revenues and profits, I believe they’ll gobble up any remaining, above-average software vendors of size (> $100M USD).
Leveraging Existing Investments: With a combination of lower budgets and real urgency to improve business performance, I expect many organizations to try and get more value from software and systems they already own. This would be especially good news for systems integrators – especially those with deep expertise in key vertical and functional areas. So, I would anticipate consultancies become even busier than in 2007 and for a whole new crop to emerge in 2008. Caveat Emptor!
Rise of the Business Buyer: I don’t want to give Nick Carr (Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage - Harvard Business School Press) too much credit, but many IT Departments have become alienated from the business and less relevant than they could or should have been. An exclusive focus upon the largest software solution providers doesn’t help. In defense of IT, much of this may not be their fault and they may find themselves in an impossible situation. Nevertheless, emerging software vendors and consultants have caught on to the trend and are focusing selling efforts on business management – with the promise of implementing business solutions faster than IT can. Of course, these vendors may eventually have to deal with IT, but will avoid it (if at all possible) until business management is “on board”.
New Approaches Map to the Emerging Market: On-demand, open source and software appliances have been around for a few years and have experienced varying rates of adoption and success. However, with the above forces changing the shape of the market in 2008 – these options - offering lower cost and fast deployment - become vastly more appealing – especially to business users! Expect to see lots more of each at the expense of traditional software offerings.
What do you think?


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They said it couldn't be done.
Our scientists found a way.
A battery made with recycled batteries that maintains high battery runtime? An impossibility for decades is now reality - thanks to Energizer® scientists, breakthrough technology and exclusive partnerships. Introducing Energizer® EcoAdvanced™, the world's first AA battery made with 4% recycled batteries and our longest-lasting alkaline.
The Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ Story
We're proud to announce another world's first from Energizer®
Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ AA and AAA batteries are our highest performing, most responsible alkaline batteries (vs. our other alkaline batteries which contain no recycled batteries). Now enjoy performance for your most critical devices, while creating less impact on the planet. Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ creates less impact on the planet by requiring less mining of virgin material and reducing the amount of batteries consumers need to power their devices resulting in less waste.
Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ is our longest-lasting alkaline battery and the world's first AA battery made with recycled batteries. Today, it contains 4% by total weight (which is nearly 10% of a key active ingredient) -- it's another step on our journey to bring performance and responsibility to the world. That's Positivenergy™
Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ Technology
Energizer®'s award-winning scientists created Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ using exclusive partnerships and breakthrough technology.
Technology that refines and transforms recycled battery material to create a high-performance active ingredient.
An active ingredient used in conjunction with energy rings, resulting in a long-lasting battery that has less impact on the planet by requiring less mining of virgin material and reducing the amount of batteries consumers need to power their devices resulting in less waste. Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ holds power up to 12 years in storage.
It's another in a long line of world firsts from Energizer®.
Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ Responsibility
Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ is commited to bringing performance and responsibility to the world.
Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ is the world's only household battery made with recycled batteries. Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ has achieved UL (Underwriters Laboratories) Environment Claim Validation for being made with 4% recycled batteries on AA (3.8% on AAA). By using Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ our longest-lasting alkaline battery, the world can use fewer batteries and create less waste.
With science as our guide, Energizer® is leading the journey to a future where battery recycling has a positive impact on the environment and will be more broadly available.
Innovations such as Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ batteries have created a use -- and a value -- for recycled battery materials (which until today had little use or economic value).
By 2025, our vision for Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ is to increase the amount of recycled battery material ten-fold to 40%.
Energizer® Leading and Shaping Battery Recycling
We've been leading and shaping the collection and recycling of batteries for years. As founding members of The Corporation for Battery Recycling, we're leading and shaping an industry solution to collect and recycle primary batteries in an environmentally positive way.
Recycling technologies have advanced to recover a higher quantity and quality of the battery materials through proper processing -- this offsets the environmental impact of collecting, shipping, sorting and processing.
We are working with partners like Redux Recycling in Europe and Retriev Technologies in North America to improve and expand processing capacity, which is the bottleneck today -- not battery collection -- to achieving our Energizer® EcoAdvanced™ vision of increasing the amount of recycled battery material ten-fold to 40%.
We are creating a use and value for recycled battery materials with the invention of Energizer® EcoAdvanced™.


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Depending on whom you talk to, long term care insurance industry sales either are better than ever, or they have clearly seen better days. What’s causing the disconnect?
After 20-plus years of involvement in marketing insurance and financial products, I can tell you the answer is quite simple. Those who recognize the evolution of consumers are seeing growth. Those who operate under yesterday’s premises aren’t.
When it comes to long term care issues, what is causing consumers to evolve, and how are these changes affecting attitudes? And what marketing messages will propel sales to higher levels?
For the past five years, consumers have been inundated with messages about the need for LTC planning. By one estimate, the average adult over the age of 50 has received more than 250 messages during that time. In many cases, he or she has responded. The federally funded LTC planning awareness campaign conducted last year in eight states drew an 8% response rate. That level is the envy of any direct marketer.
Moreover, our association’s 2005 monitoring of the all-important consumer print media witnessed a virtual doubling (up an estimated 85%) of articles extolling the importance of long term care planning. On the positive side, virtually all the articles encouraged readers to investigate long term care insurance as a viable solution.
Regrettably, many of these same articles associated LTC insurance with the one harmful term expensive that has limited the growth of market penetration. Perhaps more importantly, the vast majority incorrectly portrayed what protection would cost. In the era of 10-second sound bites, this one spells bad news for increased sales.
For many insurance and financial products, consumer acceptance is closely correlated with constructive media attitudes and corresponding exposure. Both come in phases that evolve over time. Prime examples are 401(k) products, which underwent a similar evolution in both message and acceptance. The first generation of media coverage explained the virtues of saving for one’s own retirement. Over time, media coverage and consumer understanding evolved into in-depth assessments of investment options and, of late, administrative cost-saving measures.
The first phase of creating awareness for LTC insurance has ended, though the results will carry on for some time. The future growth of sales will correlate directly to how effectively one delivers second-generation messaging–in particular, ways that LTC insurance can be made highly affordable. If the media’s and consumers’ perceptions are that LTC protection is expensive, overcoming this will not be simple. However, it can be accomplished.


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What was meant to be a ribbing from an intense baseball rivalry is now becoming a PR nightmare for sports giant Nike in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. Retailers are pulling Nike T-shirts emblazoned with the bloodied words “Boston Massacre” from their racks, and Nike has pulled the shirts from their outlet stores and large online retailers, a spokesman told ABC News.
Customers in a West Palm Beach, Fla., Beall’s store alerted employees of the shirts, and were described as “disturbed” that they hadn’t been pulled off the shelves sooner, according to WPTV-5.
The shirts were in no way intended to refer to the bombing that took place in Boston last week, but were created for New York Yankees fans to boast about their series sweeps of the Boston Red Sox in 1978 and 2006, which ended the Red Sox’s playoff chances in both of those years.
The sweeps were referred to among fans of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry as the “Boston massacres.”
According to ABC News, it’s not the first time Nike has had to pull a product in the wake of a tragedy. In February, an ad featuring Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius with the caption, “I am the bullet in the chamber,” was pulled after he was charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Watch the WPTV-5 report here.
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Closure of the Chaman border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was badly affecting Balochistans economy as the trade between the two countries has come to a complete halt, top officials said here, urging for it to reopen.
Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industries (QCCI) President Ghulam Farooq Khan Khilji and senior vice president Badaruddin Kakar said that the continuous closure of the border caused massive unemployment as thousands of daily wagers working at both sides of the border lost their jobs, Dawn news reported on Monday.
They said the closure of the border had created a difficult situation for the people in the bordering districts of the province.
They urged the government to immediately open the Chaman border so that trade activities between the two countries could be resumed.
“Even financially stable people in import, export and service businesses are facing a serious economic crisis,” Khliji was quoted as saying in the Dawn news report.
He said that already employment opportunities were very limited in Balochistan which had no industrial and other jobs in its border areas, and the closure of Chaman had further deteriorated the economic situation in these areas.
The Chaman border was closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Dawn news.
Afghan traders currently use Torkham, which has been opened, and Chaman border points for transit trade and both countries are exploring ways to use other crossings for transit trade.


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If you're reading this site, or if you're just a tech enthusiast, you're well aware of one thing: Apple is terrible at keeping a secret. Honestly, the company keeps things under wraps with all the tact of a junior-high schooler. But according to some Apple employees, the supply chain holds every bit of the blame.
According to worker watchdog group, China Labor Watch, thousands of Chinese workers at a Foxconn plant have gone on strike. The labor dispute arrives on the heels of recent riots and other reports of unrest within Apple's iPhone 5 manufacturing supplier.
Despite the grumblings of analysts, Apple's iPhone 5 launch was an unqualified success, and it's not over yet -- the handset will arrive in another batch of countries around the world this Friday, even while Cupertino struggles to keep up with demand here in the U.S. If you haven't been able to get your hands on one quite yet, read on to find out how to get one as early as tomorrow -- and why the Verizon model might be the best choice for world travelers.
Imagine you're a student, attending classes and working towards the requirements of your law or medical degree. Then one day, you're told to get on a bus and report to the local factory to build iPhones. Sure, it sounds pretty crazy, but that's apparently what happened to thousands of young people in Jiangsu Province, China; the site of notorious Apple supplier, Foxconn.
Over the past few months, Apple fans have spent plenty of time poring over allegedly leaked photos of iPhone 5 components. We've seen the longer body, the aluminum back, the NFC chip that may have been a total hoax. Regardless, Apple's September 12 event is only a week away now. But impending "official" announcements be damned, someone has posted what looks like a legitimate video of the new iPhone booting up.
The plight of workers at Chinese mega-factory Foxconn has haunted Apple -- and other electronics giants -- for quite some time now. Stories of employees leaping from the roof of the facility, allegedly in response to poor working conditions, are an ugly blemish on Cupertino's otherwise friendly image of Genius Bars and worker-centric office space. According to one analyst, Apple may have attempted to address the issue by subsidizing pay boosts at its Chinese manufacturing partner.
It's been awhile since we've heard this one, but a report this week is dragging out new details about Amazon's ambitions to release a smartphone of its own to follow up the company's Kindle Fire success.
iPhone 5 rumors are like opinions: everybody has one to share--except us. Instead of speculating what new handset hotness is being cooked up in Cupertino, we’d rather wait and bask in the glory of yet another amazing piece of Sir Jonathan Ive designed hardware once it is officially announced. That said, we’re not above keeping you up privy to what everyone else is saying about this year’s most anticipated handset.
Happy Windows 8 Release Preview day, folks! Microsoft has officially pulled the trigger on its latest version, which appears to be the last step prior to the actual release coming this fall. If that’s not enough to excite you on this fine Thursday, how does a cheap unlocked iPhone 3GS sound? Or maybe some juicy rumors about another release from the folks in Redmond which might come in November? Go ahead, dive in and read the latest for this Thursday, May 31, 2012 -- after all, it’s the last day of the month!


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31 Jul Facial Biometrics Cuts Shoplifting Losses by 50%
Shoplifting incidents continue to rise, forcing retailers to turn to facial biometrics as a security measure.
The increase in retail attacks, as well as a growing level of aggression from organized groups, is prompting widespread concern.
The 2021 “Retail Security Survey: The State of National Retail Security and Organized Retail Crime” report by the National Retail Federation provides some alarming statistics. According to the report, 64% of respondents observed a surge in losses from organized criminal groups since 2016, while 53% reported an escalation/increase in theft. What is more, 82% of respondents mentioned intensification in the ferocity of attacks and the involvement of weapons.
Facial recognition systems have proven to be highly effective in preventing theft and robberies. For example, according to the Daily Mail, a facial biometrics system installed in a major retail store chain prevents thousands of crimes each month. Additionally, Charged disclosed that a local convenience store saw a staggering 90% reduction in losses following the installation of an AI-based system.
Cameras installed in the store are constantly recording. The Cameras then extract facial images and create profiles stored in a database. An installed system then continually cross-references real-time video data against the biometric profiles catalogues.
If a customer is previously involved in theft, vandalism or is on a ‘stop-list’, the customer is then more closely followed and monitored by installed cameras. The cameras are then quickly able to detect illicit behaviour and can alert security personnel when necessary.
The camera also assists policing departments, giving them the necessary information to stop recurring thieves.
“The moment a person on the stop list enters the camera’s field of view, the operator is immediately notified. Based on our experience, implementation of Id-Guard saves security specialists time as they no longer have to spend hours sifting through video footage when investigating incidents,” says Cristiano J S Maffessoni, Francaza’s CIO.
Maria Kazhuro, RecFaces’ BDM in Latin America, shares, “RecFaces has developed two lines of ready-to-use biometric solutions specifically designed for the security and retail sectors. We’ve seen an immense demand for our ready-made solutions in Latin America, thanks to their quick and easy deployment on any equipment. Our solutions allow customers to identify offenders, instantly respond to incidents, conduct marketing research, and foster customer loyalty.”


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Angie Stone’s Saturday concert at Wolf Creek Amphitheater has been canceled.
The Fulton County venue says the show will be rescheduled, but no new date has been announced.
Ticket refunds are available at point of purchase. Tickets bought through Ticketmaster online or over the phone should be refunded automatically within in a week of the canceled date.
A spokesperson for the venue did not respond to a query about why the show is being rescheduled, but a recent AJC story indicated ticket sales had been slow.
By Melissa Ruggieri, Atlanta Music Scene


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JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd (NYSE:JKS) posted record-high shipments and revenues for 2019 and said it does not expect the coronavirus outbreak to materially hurt its operations.
The Chinese solar module maker said on Friday that the COVID-19 outbreak will not have any “material adverse impact” on its business thanks to initiatives of stocking up critical raw materials and enhancing production and logistics. Although the supply chain was temporarily affected, it has improved significantly in the first quarter, the manufacturer explained, adding that around 400 MW-500 MW of solar module shipments will be delayed to the second quarter. It has recovered to 100% capacity utilisation, with future capacity expansion plans not seen to be hurt by the outbreak.
JinkoSolar closed 2019 with an attributable net profit to ordinary shareholders of CNY 898.7 million (USD 128.4m/EUR 115.1m), more than doubling from CNY 406.5 million a year back. Revenues in the past year reached an all-time-high at CNY 29.75 billion, growing 18.8% in annual terms mainly thanks to the increase in module shipments. However, this was partially offset by a decline in the average selling price of solar modules. The higher shipments, coupled with increased production volumes and a cut in integrated production costs led to a record gross profit of CNY 5.43 billion.
More details about the company’s performance in the fourth quarter (Q4) and full 2019 are given in the table below.
Figures in CNY, except percentages
Gross margin (%)
Gross margin (%) without countervailing and anti-dumping duty reversal benefits
Net income attr. to ordinary shareholders
Non-GAAP net income attr. to ordinary shareholders
At end-2019, JinkoSolar had an in-house annual production capacity of 11.5 GW for mono wafers, 11.5 GW for cells and 16 GW for modules. It shipped 14.3 GW of solar modules in 2019, including 64 MW that will be used for company-owned downstream projects abroad, up from 11.4 GW in 2018.
"We are benefitting from the rapid expansion of our mono wafer production capacity during the second half of 2019 and our industry-leading integrated cost structure, which has ideally positioned us to drive growth throughout full year 2020 where we expect solar module shipments to increase by approximately 35%," said CEO Kangping Chen.
For the first quarter of this year, the company forecasts total solar module shipments of 3.4 GW to 3.7 GW, total revenues of between USD 1 billion and USD 1.08 billion and gross margin of 19%-21%. For the full year, it sees total solar module shipments within the range of 18 GW-20 GW.
The following table shows the company's annual solar manufacturing capacity targets for end-2020.
Type of product
10.6 GW (including 9.8 GW for PERC cells and 800 MW for N type cells)
Veselina Petrova is one of Renewables Now's most experienced green energy writers. For several years she has been keeping track of game-changing events both large and small projects and across the globe.


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Can HP Whip EDS into Shape?
When Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) announced its $13.9 billion acquisition (BusinessWeek.com, 5/13/08) of tech services giant Electronic Data Systems (EDS) on May 13, pundits heralded it as a bold move by HP Chief Executive Mark Hurd. In one stroke, it seemed, he had put HP on a more equal footing with market leader IBM (IBM) in the fiercely competitive tech services business. Together, HP and EDS will create a services giant with $38 billion in revenues, compared with IBM's $54 billion.
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Monte Carlo Fashions saw sales climb by approximately 12 per cent in the third quarter of FY23 and approximately 19 per cent in the nine months of FY23, according to the company’s regulatory filing on Wednesday.
The company’s quarterly sales have been the strongest ever because of strong brand equity with customers, the newest fashion items, and exceptional quality, as well as strong end-of-season sales and a promising festive season throughout India.
The company maintained its previously disclosed annual growth estimate of 20 per cent to 25 per cent, it said.
“As most of its net revenue from franchises, EBOs and MBOs are sold on pre-order or outright, inventory risk is minimised, consequently helping MCFL remain insulated from hazard sales in the branded apparel business,” the company said.
More qualitative growth has been supported by the company’s strategy of limiting sales returns.
“Despite the higher raw material prices, the company has strategically tackled the volatility by optimising the product mix, passing on the costs to consumers and rationalising overheads,” it said.
“The company has consistently improved its product mix based on early fashion trends and attractive price points. This has been garnering fair market share by the company,” it added.
The Company continued with its strategy of strengthening its retail presence in India by opening 13 new EBOs during Q3FY23, out of which 7 EBOs were opened in the Northern Region, 2 EBOs in the Central Region and 4 EBOs opened in the Eastern Region. With this, the total number of EBOs has reached approximately 347 across 20 states and four union territories, the statement said.
The company maintains its yearly growth guidance of opening 40-45 new EBOs, it informed earlier.
The company is working to install SAP S/4HANA solution – Fashion and Vertical Business by the first week of February 2023. The company is focusing on creating reliable procedures and improving client experience.
“This is an intelligent ERP providing real-time insights in all areas of the business and predictive consumer trend insights. This will enhance our flexibility and agility to deliver end-to-end customer experiences and at the same time achieve significant bottom-line cost savings. Monte Carlo maintains its first mover’s streak to implement such kinds of digital solutions in the industry,” the company said.
The company is present on most of the main online marketplaces, including Ajio, Amazon, Flipkart, FirstCry, Myntra, and Kapsons, in addition to its own website and through MBOs and distributors, NCS.
After the firm reported good revenues in the December quarter as a result of rising demand across all of its verticals, shares of Monte Carlo Fashions finished 4.18 per cent higher at Rs 699.25 per piece on the BSE on Wednesday.


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Twitter has updated its Windows 10 and iPad clients to introduce several features and enhance the overall experience. Among several additions to Twitter’s Windows 10 client, are group messaging and support for multiple accounts. The iOS client is getting a responsive design, and several features that were previously available on the iPhone client.
For years Twitter has neglected the Windows platform, and its modern app on Windows 8 does not offer several features. But it seems the company is finally giving it some attention. The Twitter for Windows 10 client is getting the much-needed group messaging feature (Group Direct Messages). Users will also be able to access more than one account at once, as the micro-blogging platform has added support for multiple accounts.
Other features include the ability to comment on other people’s tweets, and quote tweets, and also the ability to view, feature, and subscribe to lists. Windows users will also see a new ‘Happening Now’ section that will allow them to keep a tab on what’s trending on the social network. Twitter will also auto-save their incomplete tweets as drafts for them.
Separately, Twitter’s iPad app has been updated to add an iPhone-style user interface, and several of its new features, making it a universal app. The new interface looks like a stretched version of the social network’s iPhone client. The company noted that it took the device type, orientation, canvas, size class, and typographic settings and constraints into consideration while designing the app.
The unification is a good news for both users and consumers. For an end user, the features available in the iPhone app will be available to iPad client as well. For Twitter, it will be easier and convenient to add new features to both the clients.


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When it comes to tablets, the name in town right now is the iPad. It may be a funny name, but now it's out there and Apple loves it. But it turns out that the iPad name doesn't fully belong to Apple.
Proview, a struggling Taiwanese-owned company with offices in Hong Kong and China, is making it no secret that it wants to go after Apple over the trademarked IPAD name.
“We will sue them for damages in China and in the US,” Yang Rongshan, Proview’s chairman, told the Financial Times.
Proview makes flat screens and unsuccessfully tried to make a tablet computer nearly 10 years ago called the I-Pad.
Interestingly, Proview sold the "global trademark" to the name to a company called IP Application Development (IPAD) for around $51,000. At the time, Proview did not know that Apple was actually behind IP Application Development.
Proview said that it did not sell to Apple the rights for the name use in China. Indeed, databases show two IPAD trademarks in China belonging to Proview.
“It is arrogant of Apple to just ignore our rights and go ahead selling the iPad in this market, and we will oppose that,” Yang said. “Besides that, we are in big financial trouble and the trademarks are a valuable asset that could help us sort out part of that trouble.”


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Sometime towards the end of this month, if all goes as planned, a Korean cargo vessel will set sail from a South Korean port – its destination: Rotterdam. Nothing special about that port of call. What’s unusual is the route – above Russia, in waters once clogged with ice. According to this Bloomberg article, this could be a game-changing event on the Asia-Europe trade.
Expeditors sues long-term client for unpaid $20m in row over invoices
More bad news for carriers hoping rates decline has bottomed-out
Rivals set out to woo UPS customers as fears of a strike grow
Rate erosion may be easing, but rock-bottom prices are 'not good for anybody'
2M axes Asia-North Europe loop, as carriers shop for more tonnage
Taiwan carriers pay record staff bonuses after year of bumper profits
Shippers put more pressure on ocean carriers for carbon-free services
Billund sees launch of Maersk Air China link – 'a start-up on steroids'
West coast ports suffering as US container imports plunge by 37%
Dachser's M&A in air and ocean freight – how serious is that?
Atlas Air merger with Apollo group finally set to close on Friday
Asia services expanding as logistics players opt for a 'China+1' strategy


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Profits at Royal Bank of Scotland halved in the first quarter after the taxpayer-owned bank set aside more than £800m to cover a surge of bad debts caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
RBS announced on Friday that pre-tax profits had fallen to £519m in the first three months of 2020, comparedwith just over £1bn a year earlier.
What are the UK government’s ‘five tests’ for ending lockdown restrictions?
The UK government has said that these five tests have to be met before they will consider easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions:
- The NHS has sufficient capacity to provide critical care and specialist treatment right across the UK
- A sustained and consistent fall in daily deaths from Coronavirus
- Reliable data to show that the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels across the board
- Operational challenges including testing and personal protective equipement (PPE) are in hand with supply able to meet future demand
- Confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelms the NHS
Profits were hit by an £802m provision, a sum set aside to cover potential loan losses due to an economic downturn that could make it harder for it retail and business customers to repay their debts. Analysts were expecting a £515m charge, according to consensus estimates compiled by the lender.
The Edinburgh-based bank, which is changing its parent name to NatWest this year, said the group “has significant exposures to many of the commercial sectors that are already being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, including property, retail, leisure, travel and shipping”.
It brings the total loan loss charges announced by the five largest UK banks to about £7.4bn for the first quarter.
A provision of £1.4bn nearly wiped out first-quarter profits at Lloyds Banking Group, which fell 95% to £74m. On Wednesday, Barclays reported a 38% drop in pre-tax profits after taking a £2.1bn charge to cover bad debts, which it predicted could soar to £4.5bn by the end of the year.
This week HSBC warned it could end up setting aside $11bn (£8.8bn) to cover loan losses for 2020, after the pandemic hit its main markets across Asia and Europe. It reported a first-quarter charge of $3bn (£2.4bn). Standard Chartered also revealed a $962m (£776m) loan loss charge on Wednesday that pushed first-quarter pre-tax profits down 29% to $886m.
RBS, which is still 62% owned by the taxpayer after its £45.5bn bailout in 2008, also announced it was winding down its fledgling digital retail bank, Bó, months after its launch in November. It plans to fold the technology into Mettle, its digital bank for small and medium-sized business customers.
Source: Read Full Article


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BMW X6 xDrive35i M Sport launched, priced at RM719k without insurance [+Video]
Apr 21, 2015 2:05 pm
BMW Group Malaysia at their BMW World Malaysia event last week launched their second generation X6 alongside the 2-Series Active Tourer and i8. The...
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Episode 107: It’s time for new Micron megafab, Twitter sale back on, Russian game engine, Tachyum processors, Binance heist and we review the Made By Google event
Welcome back to the WTR as Karl and Jay discuss the latest tech news, gadgets, games, & films!
We are available on Apple and Spotify Podcasts, Anchor and via all good podcast sources!
This week we covered:
- Micron Has Pledged To Invest Up To $100 Billion To Establish a Gigantic Fab Unit in New York State
- Elon Musk says he’ll buy Twitter, again, for $54.20 a share, again
- Russian government collides with reality, rejects plans to fund a ‘national game engine’
- Tachyum Publishes Prodigy Universal Processor Whitepaper: Up To 6x Faster Than NVIDIA H100 & 30x Faster Than Intel Xeon 8380, Available In 2H 2023
- More than half a billion dollars stolen from world’s largest crypto exchange
- Google Event
As always, we’d love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant


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Shouldn't DECK have filed something with SEC last month?
It seems Sam Poser and people in the know, insider or otherwise, got wind of below last month. Since this was going to have material impact on sales/earnings and stock price, wasn't DECK's management obligated to file this to SEC like 8-K or something last month?
"In response, Uggs said it decided last month to roll back prices on some classic styles in the U.S. The price cuts are retroactive, meaning stores that received Uggs as far back as July can discount the merchandise remaining on their shelves for shoppers. It's an unusual move for Deckers, which rarely discounts Uggs." excerpt from AP.
A public company with a material decision like this with so many vendors and people involved must have made it public as soon as possible.


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NetSuite has told V3 that it is planning general availability for its SuiteCommerce platform in 2013, having constrained the rollout earlier due to huge demand.
Talking to V3 on Wednesday, Andy Lloyd, general manager of commerce products at NetSuite, said that after having first given the product to some customers under embargo at the start of the year it saw huge interest in the platform.
SuiteCommerce, an end-to-end e-commerce platform, was then publicly announced in May in San Francisco at its SuiteWorld event, with select customers the first to start using the system throughout the year.
Lloyd said that the firm is now hoping it has all the pieces in place to offer the product to all interested firms from 2013.
"We are progressively ramping up next year and starting in January we will start selling the product, although still on limited release. And then in the second half of next year we will remove the restrictions," he said.
"The only caveat is that if we see the same level of interest that we saw at the beginning of this year, we will have to make sure our partner ecosystems is able to support us."
He explained the firm is also working to ensure its professional services team is fully trained up to fully understand the platform so they can help customers get their implementation live.
Lloyd also said that the firm was not worried that rivals could steal a march on its offering given the long time to full availability.
"For our rivals to come in and offer anything of a similar proposition they would have to build a cloud-based ERP system - and we've seen anyone else be successful doing that - and then build a cloud-based e-commerce platform too," he said.
Holger Kisker, principal analyst at Forrester, told V3 the rollout process was a smart move from NetSuite as it would ensure a smooth transition from launch to implementations.
"It's better to rollout a solution in a controlled way - to ramp-up the number of customers and improve the solution based on early customer's feedback," he said.
"I regard six months as a best practice and anything up to one year still fully acceptable - this is how software companies should launch new solutions in the market."
Delays to the roll-out of age verification for adult websites hasn't stopped government from considering extending them to more websites
Bluehole confirms rumours that Playstation 4 port is coming on 7 December
Atmospheric iodine works as a significant sink of tropospheric ozone, nullifying the harmful pollutant
A temperature rise of just 1.8° C would melt major ice sheets


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Does your sweetie have a sweet tooth?
In preparation for Valentine's Day, Dunkin' Donuts advertised some heart-shaped treats during their Super Bowl commercial spot on Sunday.
We want some of those.
CLICK HERE to see the rest of the 2014 Super Bowl commercials as well as all of the best, worst and most unforgettable from the past.
As the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks battled for the right to lift the Lombardi Trophy, Super Bowl advertisers competed for another prize: your attention. Each time that FOX cut away from Super Bowl XLVIII to pay the bills, another group of blockbuster commercials and movie trailers was unveiled (although many had been teased or released in advance). Were people at your Super Bowl paying closer attention during the game or the commercial breaks?


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SMI has so far experienced limited growth in India compared to its Japanese counterpart Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India.
Similarly, the current production capacity of 450,000 units at the Gurgaon plant will be stepped upto 550,000 units per annum in FY’14 with the Hayate accounting for 60 percent of this increased capacity.
At present, this commuter bike accounts for around 25 percent of SMI's production with five models – the Hayate, GS150R, Slingshot plus motorcycles, and Access and Swish scooters – produced at the facility. The CBUs available from SMI include the Intruder, Bandit, GSX R1000 and Hayabusa bikes.
“Capacity expansion is currently underway and this will continue,” affirms Atul Gupta, vice-president, sales and marketing. He had earlier told Autocar Professional that the company is mulling a second manufacturing facility at Rohtak, also in Haryana, with an investment of Rs 500 crore as part of its expansion plan. To be spread across 50 acres, the plant will have a production capacity of 500,000 units per annum.
Many new models of both scooters and motorcycles are expected to be produced at the Rohtak plant that will enable SMI to reach a production capacity of a million units by 2015 when the new facility will go on stream. SMI has so far experienced limited growth in India compared to its Japanese counterpart Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. The Hayate competes in the Hero Splendor and Honda Dream Yuga segment. At present, it sells around 10,000 units per month while sales numbers for the 125cc Access and Swish scooters are 25,000 and 5,000 units per month, respectively.
The way ahead
Going forward, the Hayate along with the scooter portfolio will play an important role in SMI’s growth gameplan in India. Both the Access and Swish have a waiting period of around six to nine months as the current production capacity at the Gurgaon plant is 30,000 units per month compared to the demand for 50,000 units, says Gupta. Undaunted by the growing popularity of the 109cc Honda Dream Yuga, he feels that the Hayate commands its own clientele and markets in a different space to the competition.
But with new models in both scooters and bikes in the pipeline in FY’14, Suzuki expects the year to be a better one. Despite the industry growing at around 3-4 percent, SMI is optimistic of garnering an additional five percent market share in both scooters and bikes. It claims it holds a market share of 20-21 percent in the scooter segment and three percent in motorcycles.
For SMI, a strengthened distribution network will be the key growth driver. At present, South India provides the maximum sales of 30 percent, the west and north chip in with 25 percent and the east brings 20 percent. SMI, which has sold 314,840 units between April-December 2012, expects to end the current fiscal with sales of 450,000 units. For 2013-14, the company forecasts an over 25 percent growth over the current fiscal. Meanwhile, SMI kicked off its first consignment of exports with 100 units of its GS 150R bike to Columbia as a testing exercise in that market during August-September 2012.
The heightened level of connectivity, software and electronic content in vehicle architectures of the future is driving ...
Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which launched the Hyryder five months ago, is witnessing strong acceptance with almost 80% of t...


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- 57 vehicles are affected in Canada
- Front driveshafts will be replaced, for free
- No in-market warranty claims or reported crashes/injuries; issue discovered by supplier
Honda Canada will voluntarily recall 57 Acura RDX (2021) vehicles in Canada to replace the front left driveshaft, for free.
Certain incorrectly manufactured front driveshafts may be subject to premature internal wear, which could cause a vehicle to lose motive power to the front wheels or to roll unexpectedly while in park without use of the parking brake. Both potential scenarios could increase the risk of a crash.
Honda has not received any in-market warranty claims or reports of crash or injury related to this issue, which was discovered during quality inspections at the driveshaft supplier.
Honda Canada is announcing this recall to encourage each owner or lessee of an affected vehicle to take it to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Acura. Mailed notification to owners will occur in January 2022.
Owners of units manufactured for the Canadian market can check if their vehicle is affected by visiting www.Acura.ca/recalls
About Honda Canada
Honda Canada Inc. was founded in 1969 and is the parent company for both Honda and Acura vehicle brands in Canada. Since 1986, the company has produced Honda engines and more than nine million cars and light trucks at its Alliston, Ontario manufacturing facilities, where the Honda CR-V and Honda Civic are currently built. Honda Canada has invested more than $4.7 billion in Canada, and each year it sources nearly $2.1 billion in goods and services from Canadian suppliers. Honda Canada has sold more than five million Honda and Acura passenger cars and light trucks in Canada. For more information on Honda Canada, please visit www.hondacanada.ca.
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Malaysia-headquartered used car platform Carsome has announced a group-wide accelerated profitability plan to achieve its target of positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) within the next few quarters.
This plan includes accelerating its integration with the newly-acquired iCar and WapCar ecosystem of companies, as well as “employee base optimization”, and automation of processes to further increase group efficiency, Carsome said in a statement on Thursday.
In light of macroeconomic challenges, this is crucial to continuously enable Carsome to adapt to customers’ changing needs, the Malaysia-based unicorn said.
As part of the “employee base optimization”, Carsome said it will focus on improving productivity across the business, aligning resources with contributions to the bottom line, and enforcing stricter performance management.
“This strategy will impact a certain number of employees, who will receive their full severance package and extended health benefits until the end of the year, together with support on their job search,” Carsome added.
In addition, the executive team is forgoing their salaries for the remainder of 2022 to help contribute to an ex gratia payment for departing team members, the company said.
“The company remains highly appreciative of its past and present employees and will navigate the macroeconomic headwinds with them,” it added.
It is understood that less than 10 percent of the workforce will be affected.
With operations across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, Carsome said it aims to digitize the region’s used car industry by reshaping and elevating the car transaction and ownership experience.
Together with Subsidiary Brands iCar Asia, WapCar and Cartimes, Carsome provides end-to-end solutions to consumers and used car dealers across the decision funnel, from car content consumption, car inspection, ownership transfer to financing and other ancillary services, promising to bring trust, transparency, and choice to our customers. Carsome currently has more than 4,000 employees across all its offices in Asia.
Malaysia’s Carsome appoints football legend & icon Eric Cantona as brand ambassador


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The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has allowed the €100mn acquisition of assets of Bulgaria’s Bulgartabac Holding by British American Tobacco (BAT), a notice on CPC’s website said on May 2. First announced on April 12, the deal was reported to involve all 23 active cigarette brands of Bulgartabac Holding.
The acquisition will make BAT the cigarette market leader in Bulgaria, boosting its market share to 41.8% from 13.2%. BAT is also buying Bulgartabac’s logistics and distribution business, as well as the retail chain Lafka in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Bulgartabac Holding was privatised in September 2011, when the state sold an 80% equity stake for €100.1mn. On May 2, the company had a market capitalisation of BGN316.8mn (€162mn), according to data from the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
CPC approved the transaction on April 25. The deal must also be approved by the antitrust regulators in Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania, where Bulgartabac’s cigarettes are sold. The buyer expects the deal completion to occur in mid-2017. BAT will finance the purchase with its own funds.
BAT will continue to produce the purchased brands at Bulgartabac’s Blagoevgrad cigarette plant for one or two years. After that it will reconsider its plans and review the manufacturing and equipment depending on its strategy. The investor was not interested in Bulgartabac’s factories, most likely because it has many production facilities in the region, Capital Daily reported previously.
In 2016, Bulgartabac Holding reported a loss of BGN16.7mn on revenues of BGN335.5mn, according to unaudited consolidated financial statements. Total assets stood at BGN728.8mn at end-2016, and equity amounted to BGN320.8mn.
The Sofia city authorities have announced plans for wide-reaching measures to curb high levels of air pollution in the capital. Bulgaria has the highest levels of PM10 concentrations in ... more
The European Commission said that will refer Bulgaria and Romania, along with Luxembourg and Spain, to the Court of Justice of the EU as they have failed to notify ... more
Bulgarian state-owned gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz and Macedonian energy company MER Skopje have signed an agreement on the start of a ... more