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Just for argument's sake, let's assume that most of us are walking in a fog when it comes to the national economy. And why shouldn't we? You can read and listen and analyze the state of the economy and come to absolutely no agreeable conclusion. Well-respected, honest, trustworthy, intelligent economists disagree on virtually every aspect of the economy. So what are you to believe?
Here's the irony of this situation. The national economy will be at the center of the presidential elections this year as is often the case. And most Americans are justifiably more worried about their pocketbooks than about the threat of terrorism. Let's hope that fact is not lost on President Bush as he faces re-election. But regardless of the political party, the bottom line is that more of us want to be able to understand the bottom line. We want some common sense advice on how to wind our way through this economic maze and we want some sense of where our national economy is headed so we can then adjust our lives to meet those expectations.
Which brings up the point of today's column. By way of background, each month some of the most respected financial minds in America gather and look into a crystal ball to forecast what lies just ahead on the economic front. Every aspect from employment to industrial output to retail sales and trade are analyzed by these experts who have the most detailed information available at their side. These are the experts who tell us where we are going economically and how we should prepare accordingly. And more often than not, they're DEAD WRONG. (I put the capital letters in there so you could realize I was shouting this conclusion)!
Yesterday with much flurry, the retail sales results from February were announced. These numbers are extremely important because they gauge spending patterns and give a sense of the financial status of American households. In short, the February numbers were astonishing. Sales were unbelievably strong across the board. We Americans are indeed spending like drunken sailors on shore leave and that is a fairly good sign that most household finances are in decent shape.
But when compared with the analysts' predictions, the experts bombed again. If you look at the "expert" predictions for Wal-Mart, Target, Gap, Talbots, Limited Brands and Federated, the experts were off by hundreds and hundreds of percentage points. They didn't just miss the boat on these predictions, they fell flat on their faces. Again! Most of the retail giants were twice as strong as the experts had predicted. Some were even higher than that. In short, despite the moderate predictions, Americans fooled the experts once again.
The point of this is a simple one. When the best minds in the business can't get it right, how are we humble credit card users supposed to plan for our financial future? If these experts had come close on their predictions, that would have offered some level of comfort. But these guys are operating in the dark and they are the best in their trade.
Don't feel bad if you lack a true understanding of simple economics. Apparently you're not alone.


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EarlySail has released two BlackBerry smartphone apps for those of you who use Monster.com regularly. They have released one targeted at those looking for jobs called Monster Jobs which lets you search for jobs on your phone and get real time alerts. They also released Monster for Employers which gives you the ability to hire the “right candidate” with Monsters “Magic Search” technology. It also allows you to post jobs and check applications.
You can find both apps in App World below:

domain: news


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Langton Capital – 2015-11-10 – Brewdog, EasyHotel, Premier Foods, Sharm & other:
A Day in the Life:
Follow us on Twitter at either @langtoncapital or @brumbymark.
Find previous emails at http://www.langtoncapital.co.uk/daily-notes/
Coming down to London yesterday, a fellow passenger explained to the guard that he was on the wrong train as his own had been cancelled. An everyday occurrence, you may say but his excuse? Well there was a trampoline on the line between Darlington and York.
Ah, ‘of course’ said the guard. There would be.
Anyway, with memories of Reggie Perrin’s 1970s excuses flooding back, let’s leave it at that. On to the news:
Pub, Restaurant & Drinks Producer News:
• Brewdog co-founder James Watt has refuted claims his Aberdeen-based company is overvalued following its ambitious crowdfunding campaigns. Onlookers have questioned whether a PE ratio of 116 might be too high for a fast-growing brewery company, regardless of its momentum. Watt countered: ‘We’ve been the fastest-growing drinks company in the UK for the past three years – we’ll hit £100m in revenues by 2017. We would tell [critics] to look at Fever Tree, which is valued at more than £450m. If you compare our growth rate and fundamentals, I’ll think you’ll find we compare very favourably.’
• Stonegate has reopened The Grapes in Beverley with a new breakfast menu after completing a £200,000 refurbishment. The pub will boast a ‘greater range of cask ale, new and improved choice of proper pub food, even better superb sports viewing facilities and a weekly line up of entertainment’ going forward.
• Mayfair Equity Partners has agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 91-strong YO! Sushi from Quilvest Private Equity in a deal valuing the group at £81m. Executive chairman Robin Rowland commented: ‘In Mayfair we’ve found the right partner to support YO! Sushi through its next stage of development. YO! Sushi offers an accessible, fun and healthy eating out experience no matter when and what the meal occasion. This presents us with significant further growth both in the UK and internationally.’
• Yorkshire-based pub and bar operator Market Town Taverns has appointed Al Cross from 15-strong Halewood Capital as its new managing director.
• The government’s chief medical officer is to recommend a significant lowering of the official limits of alcohol that can be safely drunk daily and weekly. The UK’s new guidelines will also say that women should not drink alcohol at any point during pregnancy or while trying to conceive.
• Brakspear has opened its first managed pub in London and seventh in total, the Pocket Watch in Shepherds Bush. Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said, ‘The demographic of Shepherds Bush has changed dramatically over recent years, creating an exciting opportunity for us. We’ve reinvented the pub from traditional boozer to “third place”, where customers can enjoy a drink or a quick bite, chat with friends and maybe watch some live sport. It’s a community pub with a modern twist and we’re confident it’ll quickly become a favourite place to spend time in Shepherds Bush.’
• Subway and Euro Garages have opened their 100th integrated store at Holtspur Service Station in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. Euro Garages has completed its goal to invest in and open 100 Subways by 2016, creating around 700 jobs in the process, and now plans to open a further 75 Subway sites by the end of the year.
Travel & Hotels:
• Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said that airport security measures must be reviewed in the aftermath of the downed Russian aircraft over Egypt. Flights were delayed on Friday as Sharm el-Sheikh airport struggled to cope with new government restrictions imposed on hold luggage. Many holidaymakers in the Red Sea resort face lengthy delays before they are repatriated.
• Airlines have cancelled flights to Sharm el-Sheikh until 25 November following a Foreign and Commonwealth Office ban on all but essential travel. Thomson, Thomas Cook and Monarch have cancelled flights until 25 November as thousands of Brits wait to make the flight back to the UK.
• EasyHotel announces Master Development Partnership with MAN Investments LLC in Middle East. CEO Guy Parsons reports ‘we are delighted to enter into this new partnership with MAN Investments. MAN has established a significant geographical foothold in the region in a number of business areas, many of which are targeted towards value conscious consumers, which makes them a great cultural fit for easyHotel. With land prices currently at a premium, their capacity for speed and scale of development is impressive and a considerable competitive advantage.’ He concludes ‘we expect the partnership to drive rapid growth for the easyHotel brand in the Middle East that should deliver further shareholder value. The partnership will greatly improve brand awareness in the Middle East, giving us a platform to consider further opportunities in the region.’
• Canadian group Fairfax is taking over Kuoni group’s traditional tour operating activities in Hong Kong in conjunction with Thomas Cook India. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
• Luton airport passenger figures passed 12 million in 12 months for the first time in its history in October, marking 19 months of growth. The airport is currently undergoing a £110m development project to increase annual capacity to 18 million passengers. CEO Nick Barton said: ‘With air capacity in the southeast being such a pressing issue we are committed to playing our part to meet demand and providing the best possible experience for all our passengers.’
• Eurotunnel could take a stake in London City airport as part of a consortium after it was put up for sale this year.
• Japan is close to meeting its 2013 target of attracting 20 million visitors by 2020 and is on target for 19.9 million visitors this year alone. Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said global visitor numbers were already up 49% year-on-year for January to September 2015 as a result of the cheaper yen and airfares.
• With its China JV fresh in the mind of investors, Merlin Entertainments has appointed Yun (Rachel) Chaing to its board. Ms Chaing’s ‘appointment will add further breadth to the Board’s existing sector, geographic and governance experience, with particular expertise in the property, consumer and e-commerce sectors within the Asian markets.’ The group adds ‘Rachel is currently Partner and founding member of the private equity activities of Pacific Alliance Group (PAG), one of the region’s largest Asia-focused alternative investment managers with over $11 billion in funds under management across Private Equity, Real Estate and Hedge Funds. She currently holds Non-Executive positions with Hong Kong-listed Sands China (a majority-owned subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands) and Hong Kong-listed Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) which specializes in the
Finance & Markets:
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has noted a ‘deeply concerning’ global slowdown in trade. The performance of China in particular will lead to lower global growth this year, with global GDP now expected to increase by 2.9% compared to a forecast of 3% in September.
• IEA tells The Economist that Britain could benefit from a Brexit. It would, wouldn’t it?
• Eurozone will only release next tranche of loans for Greece after implementation of reforms (it says)
• World markets: UK down yesterday, ditto Europe. US lower + Far East down in Tues trade
• Oil price down a little further, trading around $47.40 per barrel
• Eurozone investor confidence up in November beating expectations
Langton Licensed Retail Index – Major Movers
The LRI was down 2% last week, while the FTSE all-share was broadly unchanged at -0.03% as oil and technology stocks held the wider market up.
The LRI’s biggest constituent Whitbread skewed the index down with a 4.01% fall. SSP Group meanwhile was up 1.44% as last week travel sentiment improved, though this will likely have been undone by growing suspicions of foul play in the Egyptian plane crash.
In pubs MAB was a riser this week up 1.78%, continuing a good run of form of recent weeks having risen some 9% over the past month, while Marston’s was down 1.42% and Greene King down 0.19%.
Wetherspoon shares reacted badly to a further margin retraction at last week’s Q1 trading statement. The group’s margin was 6.2% for the 13 weeks to 25 October, having been 7.7% for the same period last year and though LfL growth was 2.5%, it’s fair to assume a chunk of this was down to pricing. The group hasn’t announced any share buybacks yet, but we’d be very unsurprised to see them doing so in the coming days.
In the tenanted pubcos, Enterprise was down 3.72%, but Punch saw its shares up 11.47% ahead of its numbers on Thursday. The market will likely be expecting new CEO Duncan Garrood to update on strategy, which, while unlikely to be notably different to Enterprise Inn’s own strategy update, will likely improve market sentiment.
Similarly in the London pubs, Young’s was up 3.32% ahead of its interims on Thursday, while Fuller’s saw its shares fall 5.08% (albeit on a very large spread).
Trading updates come out on Thursday from Punch, Young’s and The Restaurant Group so next week’s LRI update will likely be driven by trading news. Will Brumby – email@example.com
Premier Foods Reports Return to Growth:
Premier Foods has this morning reported H1 numbers to 3 Oct, announces first quarterly growth in two years:
Group says ‘branded sales growth driven by innovation and investment’
Co reports branded sales in H1 increased +0.1% and Q2 up +1.6%. This represents the ‘first quarterly increase for two years’
Trading profit is +8.4%, adjusted PBT is +21.6% with adjusted EPS +21.9%.
Group states reported PAT is £21.7m vs loss of £49.1m last year
Net debt is ‘£585.3m in line with expectations’ and the group says this ‘will reduce significantly in H2’
It adds that its combined pension deficit reduced to £32.8m from £211.8m
The group is still pulling the capex and marketing levers and announces the introduction of a new brand; Paul Hollywood premium baking mixes
CEO Gavin Darby says ‘we are pleased to see Group branded sales growth in both the first half and second quarter of this financial year, as well as Trading profit progression.’
He adds ‘this reflects the clear benefits from our continued commitment to brand investment and innovation’ and says ‘it is also encouraging to see strong sales growth in our International business following the investment we’ve made in additional resources.’
Re the outlook, Mr Darby says ‘in the third quarter of the year, we expect to deliver positive Group branded sales growth, with Sweet Treats performing more strongly than Grocery.’
He concludes ‘the industry backdrop remains a challenging one, but with strategies which are delivering tangible results and significantly higher marketing spend planned for the second half, our profit expectations for the year remain unchanged.’
Re the group’s largest business, Mr Darby says ‘in our Sweet Treats business, we are on track to deliver double digit margins in FY15/16 a year earlier than previously expected.’
Longer term, he says ‘looking further forward, we remain committed to investing for sales and profit growth, and expect to deliver branded sales growth for the Group of 1-2% in FY16/17 and the medium term’.
Langton comment: Premier Foods has had a torrid time of it. It restructured its balance sheet in April 2014 but then faced the problems associated with the ongoing grocery price war in the UK.
This has negatively impacted group numbers but, beneath the surface, a lot of progress was always being made. Marketing spend, after a multi-year hiatus, was stepped up and ditto capital spending.
Commodity prices have been helpful, the supermarkets are now ‘aligned’ (fewer but deeper brands, less SKUs etc.) and even the weather has been helpful and, perhaps tellingly, directors have continued to buy shares.
The group’s pensions deficit, though volatile, is down and debt should reduce significantly in H2. The group needs debt to be <3x EBITDA before it can pay a dividend but this should be possible perhaps as soon as FY18 or, we hope, even FY17.
Current forecasts have the group making around 8.7p this year to put its shares on a rating of 4.4x falling to 4.2x in the year to March 2016. There has clearly been a degree of scepticism here but, as the group continues to deliver, the shares should re-rate.
We have seen the catalysts as either 1) a return to growth, 2) a return to the dividend register or perhaps less excitingly 3) a slowly dawning realisation that the group has a future as well as a past.
The group has now hit number 1) and we thing that number 3) should be underway. With a following wind, and that has been sadly absent for a number of years, the shares should be capable of going much higher.
Retail Roundup from Nick Bubb:
Kingfisher: Today’s site visit for investors and analysts in Dublin has the rather dull focus of Kingfisher’s new company-wide unified SAP IT platform, which will be rolled out across the group. The IT pilot started in B&Q Ireland in July and there be will a number of in-store demonstrations highlighting some of the improved functionality for staff and customers! However, in that deathless phrase, “No material new financial information will be disclosed during this event and there will be no update on current trading”, with Kingfisher’s Q3 trading update (for the 13 weeks ended October 31st) coming up shortly, on November 24th.
BRC Retail Sales figures for October (4 weeks to Oct 31st):
John Lewis Sales Watch: So, moving on from October to November (the 4 weeks to Nov 28th), how did that great High Street bellwether John Lewis do last week? Well, the weather was unhelpfully warm for selling Autumn Fashion and the comp was quite tough (there was a cold snap in early November last year). So, we would only pencil in, at best, flat LFL sales overall (ex the impact of the new Birmingham store etc), ahead of Friday morning’s official figures for w/e Nov 7th.
Debenhams Sale Watch: In case you’re wondering, today’s “Winter Spectacular” (offering “up to” 25% off all departments) is exactly the same timing as last year’s Sale event from Debenhams, so it is definitely a planned promotion and not a panic response to a few weeks of poor trading. Nick Bubb – firstname.lastname@example.org
This was produced for distribution yesterday afternoon: So the trading day is grinding to a close. We’re another day older but are we any wiser? After a day of intensive head-scratching, pen flipping and gossip, we have been considering the following:
Terrorism & Leisure travel:
• Needless to say, the two don’t mix well.
• And the problems will luggage and with securing landing slots for airplanes sent on repatriation missions has ensured the initial phase of the crisis will not be over with as rapidly as had been hoped.
• The reaction thereafter is likely to last for years. Operators and not least their customers will favour non-North African resorts and capacity will be shifted accordingly.
• We have FY numbers from Thomas Cook on 25 Nov and TUI on 10 Dec at which time we will likely be given an indication as to how much the current disruption is likely to cost.
• As far as political fallout is concerned, the UK authorities were quick to ban flying and they will not be allowing baggage to return on the same flights as its owner.
• This suggests in no uncertain terms that the UK authorities believe the problem may be one of security as Sharm el Sheikh and that will raise questions both with regard to that destination and with regard to others.
• 10% of all Winter Sun bookings from Russia to Egypt have already been cancelled and more will follow. This amongst other things suggests that the tragedy will have longer-lasting ramifications for Egypt than it will for the tour operating industry as a whole.
Reinforcing our view re underlying trends:
• Horizon’s tells us this morning that artisanal coffee vendors continue to perform strongly.
• It also says those offering differentiated food are performing well.
• Soho House mentions that it is going to focus on chicken when it comes to restaurant rollouts.
• Goals Soccer has reiterated that tough comps caused by the FIFA World Cup in 2014 could be enough to ruin the year for some more focused operators.
JDW perhaps doing itself no favours:
• Refreshing though it is to see a group resolutely stick to its principles, it can be frustrating from time to time if you’re not completely clear on what they are.
• JDW is in the process of selling (or of otherwise disposing of) a couple of dozen leasehold pubs and it is now to sell some three dozen more.
• The total string of pubs that the group wishes to jettison may be only around 5% of total pubs (and a smaller proportion of group sales) but a slower new-openings profile and sold pubs are not what one has seen lately from JDW.
• It’s inevitable that the group will have ‘outgrown’ some of its pubs – they may have fewer opportunities re accommodation, food, breakfasts etc. – and disposals are to be expected.
• And with other operators, these may have been dribbled out at the rate of half a dozen a year or so suggesting that JDW has made a decision of some sorts regarding a) keeping some units longer than would other operators and b) selling a larger number of units all in one go.
• We do not believe that the group is struggling in its search for a strategy but do acknowledge that the bears may not be short of ammunition
• Consumers are hesitant when it comes to spending.
• Some have put this down to a period of catch-up-spending on large ticket items but others have said that it could be a more deep-seated reaction to the credit crunch.
• This would have the savings ratio rise permanently.
• With that in mind, the Observer has noted that ‘ghosts of crashes past still haunt the consumer Christmas’ and we see some mileage in this argument
• We have unemployment numbers on Wednesday alongside average earnings data.
• We would expect to see more people in jobs earning more money – but still spending remains anaemic
Random information, hopefully not all of it useless (re most leisure operators etc.):
• Pity poor All Leisure Group. Problems with its ships and now issues in Egypt (again) where the group operates tours. Shares were 200p in 2008 but now sell at 7p each.
• Punch shares have been strong over recent weeks. They’re up to 137p (from 87p) in 8mths and have risen by 16% in the last 3wks. The group reports FY numbers on Thursday. It will also at that time update on its strategy post the announcement of the MRO option for tenants. Here it is likely to mirror Enterprise Inns and the group’s share price would suggest that, for the moment at least, the market is willing to focus on the merits of the group and of its assets as a whole.
• It’s Singles Day in China on Wednesday, apparently. On said day, consumers are encouraged to spend a bit of money on themselves. This can have a very material impact on spending patterns overall. It might be mostly stationery, scarves and slippers but, China, being as large as it is, there will be a few BMWs & Jaguar motor cars and Patek Philippe watches thrown into the mix.
• Sterling down steeply (particularly vs US$) on assumption of delayed rate rise here & December rise in the US. Implications for holiday companies, commodity consumers, oil consumers and the rest covered in earlier emails.
• Oil price down (in US$ terms) partly on back of stronger US$.
• Soft commodity prices lower despite El Nino (see Sunday press comments). Commentators focusing on Cocoa and Sugar which, admittedly have been strong. The former is up 17% over the last 12mths whilst sugar, after a very weak mid-year, is now only down 4%.
• IHG shares down with a bump, at time of writing down 109p (c4%) on second denial that group is in merger talks.
• SAB disposal in North America thought to be nearing. This one will be giving us something to write about for some months to come.


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On this week's news roundup, we take a look at how LinkedIn Influencer partnerships can help B2B's, BuzzFeed's strategic decision to hire independent creators to produce content, how the NFL CMO is engaging with Gen Z through content creators, and Rolling Stone's most influential creator list. We also share Elon Musk's new change to Twitter for content creators and the conversation around an online streaming bill passed in the Canadian Senate last week.
Forbes: How B2B's can attract customers and employees with LinkedIn Influencer partnerships
Description: LinkedIn is quickly becoming a platform where influencers are present because of its business-focused community and positive atmosphere, unlike some social media platforms where toxic commentaries and reactions can be frequent. Read on to see the 12 tips from Forbes Agency Council on how B2B’s can attract customers and employees with LinkedIn Influencer partnerships.
Observer: CEO Jonah Peretti increases reliance on creator content
Description: BuzzFeed is aiming to lean on social media creators to produce content across their sites after shuttering BuzzFeed News and laying off 15% of staff. The rise of influencer marketing has media companies competing for limited advertising dollars, leading BuzzFeed to start hiring independent creators to commission content.
Rolling Stone: The 20 Most Influential Creators Right Now
Description: Who are the most influential creators right now? Check out the influencers who are featured in Rolling Stone’s Most Influential list, from innovative bloggers, to controversial streamers and TikTok stars.
Digiday: NFL CMO Tom Ellis on why content creators are leading the league's Gen Z-focused strategy
Description: How is NFL CMO Tom Ellis engaging with their priority target audience? Using Gen Z content creators of course! Read more to find out how the NFL is engaging with Gen Z to continue growing the NFL fanbase authentically.
CoinTelegraph: Elon Musk introduces Twitter monetization avenues for content creators
Description: Elon Musk has enacted another change to improve Twitter’s bottom-line: creators are now able to monetize their content, a move aimed to increase follower engagement and create new revenue streams on the platform. What exactly does this mean? Read more to find out!
Betakit: As Bill C-11 passes, YouTube Influencers, content creators express concern while Big Tech quiet
Description: Where is the Canadian content love? Bill C-11 passed into legislation in the Canadian Senate last week, an online streaming bill aimed to compel streaming giants like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok to add more Canadian content and contribute financially to Canadian productions. Read more to learn about the opposing views of this bill from Canadian digital creators themselves.
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The online trading industry is losing established investors faster than it can replace them with new traders, fueling efforts by online investment firms to provide aggregation services to retain and attract traders, according to a new study from J.D. Power and Associates.
The '2001 Semiannual Online Trading Investor Satisfaction Study', which surveyed 8626 online investors across the US, reports that the industry lost 18 per cent of established online investors in the last six months and saw only an 8 per cent increase in new investors.
Nancy Salk, director of investment services at J.D. Power and Associates, warns: "We're at a critical point in online trading where brokerage firms need to provide consolidation incentives to investors. With multiple brokerage usage on the decline - from 42 per cent of investors using more than one online firm down to 24 per cent in the last six months - the push for existing online investors to consolidate their accounts is becoming the strongest strategy for online brokerage firms to increase revenue."
According to the survey, forty-five per cent of online investors agree that aggregation would allow their brokerage firm to better assist them with their total portfolio strategy.
Scottrade ranked highest in customer satisfaction, closely by Brown & Co., Merrill Lynch, Schwab, T. Rowe Price, and Fidelity. "Firms that have focused on information resources and customer service will continue to be on the right path, as they are still the key components of investor retention," says Salk.
Where investors previously favored customer service as the prime contributor to overall satisfaction, information resources offered by the firm is now the key driver, followed by customer service, core values, Web site capability, cost, and trade execution.


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More iPhone 3G buzz from Uncle Walt
We've been gaining confidence in the time horizon for a new rev of the iPhone hardware along with everyone else these past few days, but having the imprimatur of Mr. M on a June 3G release makes it all seem more real, somehow.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
[via 9to5Mac / Computerworld]
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- Logic Pro X update brings AirDrop support, new effects, tools, and more
- Parallels Access 2.5 released, adds file manager, computer-to-computer remote access
- The Google Translate iOS app is about to get a lot smarter
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- Vizzywig 8xHD price tag now a very affordable $49.99
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April 19, 2014 |
By: Neha Alawadhi NEW DELHI: The idea of choosing your work and not be a clock-watcher is tantalising and something Indian information technology professionals are increasingly getting to do, thanks to the numerous online freelancing websites. These IT professionals see freelancing as an opportunity to do more challenging work and also earn a little extra at the same time. It also allows them to break through from the monotony of the facile work they do at their day jobs.
September 9, 2014 |
A first mover has the opportunity to craft a competitive edge. It can become a figurehead, it can capture customers, it can erect entry barriers, it can make mistakes and correct them. In the happening Indian e-commerce space, such an association is usually made with Flipkart, which started in 2007. Except Flipkart, for all the ways it has been the marker of e-commerce in India, wasn't the first mover. Three years before Flipkart made a non-descript beginning as an online book store, there was eBay.in, the Indian subsidiary of the $16-billion US company.
March 5, 2013 |
MUMBAI: French firm Pernod Ricard has overtaken Vijay Mallya's United Spirits to become the country's most profitable spirits marketer last year, thanks to Indian consumers' increasing appetite for premium drinks. The maker of Absolut Vodka and Chivas Regal Scotch whisky crossed the $1-billion sales mark in the country in 2011-12 when its sales rose 34% to Rs 5,941 crore, making India the fourth-largest market for Pernod Ricard. Its net profit soared 77% to Rs 593 crore during the period, according to the Registrar of Companies, where it filed the financial results in January, making India the fifth-largest contributor to the French firm's worldwide profits.
December 11, 2014 |
MUMBAI: Everstone Capital, the $2.2-billion India and South East Asia-focused private equity group, is out on a shopping spree. Just a fortnight after scooping up Servion, a Chennai-based provider of customer interaction management solutions, it is now buying the payroll processing business of Aon Hewitt for $60 million, said people aware of the development. A global outsourcing, consulting and reinsurance broking firm, Aon had inherited this business from Hewitt after acquiring it in 2010 to become the world's largest human resource services firm.
April 16, 2015 |
NEW DELHI| BENGALURU: India could look at protecting net neutrality by enacting laws similar to that of countries like Chile, Brazil and the United States, according to experts. "We are not living on another planet. We must understand global best practices," said Saurabh Srivastava, co-founder, Indian Angel Network who warned that breaking network neutrality in favour of a "licence quota permit raj" will dry up global venture capital which has been coming to India. "The lesson to learn from other pronet neutrality countries is that the parliament should take a hands-on approach to the issue," said Arun Mohan Sukumar, senior fellow at the Centre for Communication Governance, National Law University.
February 4, 2008 |
A budget, it could be argued, is just a method of worrying before you spend money ? as well as afterwards. But the budget, which the FM would present later this month, promises to be notable for more reasons than one. It is generally expected that the ruling alliance at the Centre, in detailing its annual financial statement, would unabashedly get into the election mode. So, expect stepped up outlays for various budgetary schemes, programmes and sundry proposals. An active review of effective tax rates can be safely conjectured, both across the board and selectively, given the unprecedented revenue buoyancy which has come to hand.
July 24, 2013 |
NEW DELHI: India will become the third largest automotive market in the world by 2016 ahead of Japan, Germany and Brazil, riding on its domestic automotive sales , according to IHS Automotive, a global market information provider. Although the economic growth vulnerability and lower sentiment resulted in market slowdown in 2012 and 2013, India is expected to regain strong growth trend from 2014 onwards, said the Colorado-based firm. "We expect that by 2016, vehicle sales would surpass Brazil, Germany and Japan making India the third largest market," IHS Senior Principal Economist Charles Chesbrough said here.
October 30, 2014 |
MUMBAI: Mid-size software services firm Mphasis Ltd continued its trend of posting successive declines in revenue, as it continues to face headwinds from the weakness of its parent company HP and its US mortgage market dependent-digital risk segment. Hewlett Packard owns a little over 60% of Mphasis and contributes about 36% to its revenues. But as the technology giant has struggled to win deals globally, the amount of work flowing through to its Indian unit has also dropped.
February 4, 2009 |
LONDON: Aviva, the biggest British insurer, said Wednesday that its life and pension sales jumped 11 percent in 2008 compared with a year earlier, boosted by strong growth in Asia. "In a year of unprecedented turbulence, our sales have continued to grow," chief executive Andrew Moss said in a statement. "Growth in developing economies such as Asia and central and eastern Europe has offset difficult conditions in more mature markets such as Ireland and Italy. "Our capital position remains strong and Aviva continues to be attractive to customers seeking security for their long-term savings," Moss added.
May 22, 2007 |
MUMBAI: Leading IT analyst Gartner on Tuesday said organisations operating in "constrained environments" in emerging nations such as India and China are innovating at a faster rate than ever before. "Innovations from new, relatively untapped markets is driving global innovation, creating a force that cannot be ignored by organisations in mature markets," Gartner said. The issue was also discussed at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo held in Barcelona, according to Sandy Shen, Gartner's Research Director.


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The Meta Quest and Quest 2 (formerly Oculus Quest) are still unique devices in the tech world, giving you a VR entertainment and gaming experience without the need for a connected PC. HTC, maker of Vive headsets, is about to reveal its answer to the Quest.
HTC told The Verge that it will introduce a new flagship virtual reality headset on January 5, 2023 — during the next Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The company says the headset will have a lightweight design, and support for “gaming, entertainment, exercise, [and] even some of the more powerful use cases” like productivity and enterprise tools.
HTC is promising a two-hour battery life, controllers with six degrees of freedom and hand tracking, and most importantly, a fully self-contained design — no external PC required, just like the Quest and Quest 2. The single image appears to show a goggles-style design. You can see at least one of the outward-facing cameras, which HTC says will pass a color video feed to the internal screen, allowing for mixed reality experiences.
There’s no information about pricing yet, but an HTC representative did tell The Verge, “We’re in an era when consumer VR headsets have been massively subsidized by companies that are trying to vacuum up and take personal data to provide to advertisers. We don’t believe the way that we want to approach it is to compromise on privacy.” Meta (formerly Facebook) raised the price of the Quest 2 to $400 back in August, presumably because it couldn’t subsidize the headset at the same level any longer. HTC’s device could end up around the same price, or even higher.
Source: The Verge


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The director of CATL, a company specializing in the manufacture of batteries, alerts the Chinese government to the need to reduce polluting emissions linked to this industry.
Today, electric cars have been growing in popularity for several years now, with market share dropping from 7.9% in the first six months of 2021 to 12.1% in the same period this year. And with good reason, everything is done by the government to encourage drivers to opt for this motorization, with large tax aids such as the ecological bonus in particular.
But that’s not all, because the European Union has even decided to simply ban the sale of new thermal cars from 2035 onwards. But if the electric car has the advantage of not rejecting any use of polluting gas, it is not 100% clean.
a polluting production
In fact, today, most of the batteries installed in our electric cars are produced in China, although some manufacturers, such as Tesla, are starting to produce their cells in other countries and mainly in the United States. We can also mention Volkswagen, which launched the construction of a Gigafactory in Germany.
But the Middle Kingdom is not well known for paying attention to the environment, although the amount of harmful particles in the air dropped by 40% between 2013 and 2020 in the country, according to the report.Energy Policy Institute from the University of Chicago. However, there is still a long way to go, especially in terms of battery production.
Indeed, according to Zeng Yuqun, manager of the giant CATL specializing in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars, China would have ” apparently late compared to other countries in the world “in terms of managing emissions in the manufacturing process”.
These statements, transmitted by Bloomberg were made during the World Congress on New Energy Vehicles, which took place in Beijing. Several industry representatives were then present in order to try to find solutions to make the electric car even cleaner in the future.
In turn, Chen Hong, president of SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, denounces the strategy of some manufacturers, who launch themselves “blindly” into the development of models with greater autonomy, thus requiring greater consumption of resources. A situation that may not last while the cost of raw materials is exploding.
According to a report by Bloombergthe price of lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite has increased eightfold compared to September 2021. This has the effect of pushing up prices for new electric cars, even if the market is also disrupted by the war in Ukraine and the shortage of semiconductors.
Congress participants therefore urge China to make effortsas well as the implementation of measures establish an up-to-date carbon emissions database, encourage companies to improve production facilities, invest more in energy efficient products, and develop battery recycling activities“.
Another solution could be the development of solid-state batteries, which could “reduce the carbon footprint of an electric car battery by up to 39%”, according to a report by the NGO Transport and Environment. But that’s not all, because a Swedish company is working alongside him to develop a battery using wood.
Batteries made in Europe
Finally, the production of batteries will be less and less polluting, as it is carried out with low carbon energy. This is also the case with the Chinese giant CATL, which has already opened a factory in Germany that uses renewable energy and intends to do the same with a Gigafactory in Hungary.
However, the extraction of metals should also be cleaner, but it is on the right track, as evidenced by the various European projects, whether in France or Germany. Recycling is also a very interesting path and has already been implemented by manufacturers.
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Nonfarm payrolls disappointed in March, posting a 120K increase. Retail took a huge hit, losing 34K jobs and the construction industry, traditionally the lead driver out of recession, has yet to gain any real traction in creating jobs.
The BLS release notes,
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in manufacturing, food services and drinking places, and health care, but was down in retail trade.
The economy has a long way to go in recovering the 8.8 million jobs lost during the financial/economic crisis. Even with the 3.6 million gain in NFP since March 2010, cumulative job creation since February 2008 is still a hugely negative 5.2 million. Moving in the right direction, yes, but not even close to claiming victory.


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MEXICO CITY, June 17 (Reuters) - Coffee farmers in Mexico and Central America should see output rise by at least 10 percent next season as the mostly arabica growing region begins to recover from a devastating fungal outbreak, the top regional coffee buyer for Starbucks Corp said on Tuesday.
The region responsible for more than a fifth of the world's arabica coffee crop is suffering its worst-ever outbreak of roya, or coffee leaf rust, but the upcoming 2014/2015 harvesting season should provide significant relief.
"A very conservative (estimate) is 10 percent more production in Mexico and Central America next season," said Alfredo Nuno, green coffee buyer for Mexico and Central America for U.S.-based Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain.
If coffee output from Mexico and Central America rises by a tenth, production will total 17.6 million 60-kg bags during the 2014/2015 season, according to data from the London-based International Coffee Organization.
Output would rise by 1.6 million bags, compared with estimated output of nearly 16 million bags during the current 2013/2014 season.
Nuno said lower output across the region caused by damage from roya has not led to a breach of contracts between the company and its suppliers, nor has it forced the chain to source its beans from other countries.
"The areas that have been hardest hit are mostly in lower altitudes where the coffee grown doesn't meet Starbucks's quality standards," he said, adding that his visits to farms in the region provide encouraging signs.
"Compared to last year, the situation is less terrible," he said. "Flowering (of coffee trees) has been good, and it seems like next year will be even better."
Nuno pointed to Colombia, the world's largest producer of washed arabica beans, which experienced a similarly devastating roya outbreak beginning around 2008, but only this year is output expected to reach pre-roya levels of about 11 million bags. He said poorer, less-organized Central American coffee-producing nations will likely take longer to recover.
One exception, he said, could be Honduras, Central America's top producer, where output from new coffee plantations "is so big that it could offset the losses."
Nuno said that over the next few months Starbucks franchises in Mexico, the chain's largest market in Latin America, will fund the donation of roya-resistant trees and other support to struggling farmers in Chiapas state, Mexico's top coffee producer.
While proceeds from select coffee sales at Starbucks's Mexican cafes from June through December will be used to help approximately 2,500 Chiapas farmers, Nuno declined to say how much the company expects to spend on the assistance.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia and Adriana Barrera; Editing by Ken Wills)


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Chinese ginger supplies are expected to be tight this year as the country’s growers turn away from the crop and cold weather delays shipments, according to supplier I Love Produce.
While no official statistics are maintained on the Chinese ginger crop, I Love Produce’s Chinese office has estimated production area declined around 20 per cent for the crop now entering the market, with a drop in yield of 10-15 per cent.
Ginger prices on the Chinese market have increased about 50 per cent over the last three weeks, according to the company’s president Jim Provost, who attributes the rise to the smaller crop and cold weather.
Provost said poor prices for Chinese ginger over the last two years have turned farmers away from the crop.
Unusually cold weather in Shandong – below freezing for much of the past month – has also meant growers haven’t been able to carry out the ginger washing, drying and curing process.
“Until temperatures warm up, exports will be light, and there will be a gap in supply from mid-January to possibly the end of February,” I Love Produce said in a statement.
The company expects Chinese ginger prices to continue to rise in the short term on the back of the shortage, also pushed by increased demand as Chinese New Year approaches on 10 February. Prices will likely stay high over the course of the year.
“I would recommend retailers lock in ads for ginger early as supplies will be tight in February,” said Provost.
I Love Produce is a US-based sourcing and marketing company specialising in garlic, ginger and onions.


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Dead Frog Brewery Releases Beerstagrammer Collaboration Brew
On August 9, 2019 At 7:00 pm
Responses : Comments are off for this post
LANGLEY, BC – Dead Frog Brewery has announced the release of a new beer brewed in collaboration with the “Beerstagrammers” behind the Instagram accounts Craft Beer Tourist, West Coast Homebrewer, and BC Beer Guy,
Big Melon, Little Berries (7.3% abv, 18 IBU) is a “fruity Imperial Pilsner loaded with juicy watermelon and fresh blackberry.”
Big Melon, Little Berries is being released today (August 9th) at the Dead Frog taproom, with a launch party starting at 5:30 PM featuring the debut of the new beer, a meet-and-greet with the Beerstagrammers, and $2 off all tacos.
Source & Photo: Dead Frog Brewery website


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By Keach Hagey and Joe Flint
Walt Disney Co. and Univision are in talks for Disney to exit Fusion, their joint venture cable and digital network aimed at millennials that has struggled to gain traction since it launched two years ago, according to people familiar with the matter.
Both sides are trying to find a way for Disney to exit by the end of the year, some of the people said. While Univision buying out Disney’s stake is one of the options being discussed, it isn’t the only one, according to some of the people.
Launched in October 2013 as a partnership between Disney’s ABC News and Univision, Fusion was originally conceived as a channel targeting English-speaking Hispanics, but soon broadened its focus to all millennials. The idea was to give ABC News more access to the rapidly growing Hispanic population in the U.S., while giving Univision–which dominates Spanish-language television, but has seen its audience age in recent years–entrée to a younger demographic.
Disney, with its powerful suite of cable channels including ESPN, has handled distribution and advertising sales for the fledgling cable channel, while Univision handles the content, led by Fusion CEO and Univision Chief News and Digital Officer Isaac Lee.


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In a world where people buy electronics online without ever talking to another human being, the Genius Bar staff in an Apple Store offer a distinctly personal relationship between a company and its customers. But that's nothing compared to what James Pinkstone experienced when two Apple technicians visited his home to figure out why iTunes apparently deleted 122GB of his music collection.
Pinkstone, director of studio and operations for Atlanta, Georgia-based creative agency Vellum, blogged about the loss in May in a post titled "Apple Stole My Music." A backup restored the data files, but that wasn't the end of the saga. Apple sent two engineers to Pinkstone's house to try to reproduce the problem using a special version of iTunes to track what went haywire, Pinkstone said in a follow-up blog post.
They couldn't reproduce the problem, Pinkstone said, but it appears Apple is tackling the issue. The new iTunes 12.4 arrived Monday, and according to TechCrunch, it's got "safeguards" to protect against file deletion.
Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
reading•Apple makes a house call after iTunes zaps 122GB of customer's music
Jan 23•Apple defuses iOS 'text bomb'
Jan 23•Friendly reminder: Please don't bite your phone battery
Jan 23•HomePod, Apple's $349 Siri-enabled speaker, hits Feb. 9
Jan 23•Apple HomePod coming on Feb. 9, preorders open on Friday


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Aldar-Retail Arabia deal to bring top brands to Yas Mall
Abu Dhabi, July 16, 2014
Aldar Properties, an Abu Dhabi-based listed property development, investment and management company, has signed a new partnership deal with Retail Arabia, a leading regional retail franchise owner for Yas Mall.
The deal will include a new concept House of Fraser department store spanning 110,000 sq ft, the first Hamleys - the oldest and largest toy shop in the world - store in Abu Dhabi, and the first Joe Fresh - the international fashion brand - store in the UAE.
Mohammed Al Mubarak, Aldar’s CEO, said: “We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Retail Arabia as we continue to bring unique retail experiences to Yas Island and the wider Abu Dhabi retail landscape. We are particularly pleased to see House of Fraser’s continued expansion in the UAE and to be the first to market in Abu Dhabi with Hamleys and Joe Fresh demonstrates our commitment to creating the best and most unique shopping experiences for our customers.”
Nabil Daud, CEO, Retail Arabia International, said: "This is a very exciting moment for Retail Arabia and we are delighted to partner with Aldar on what we see as one of the region’s most exciting retail projects for some time.
“The House of Fraser at Yas Mall will give customers a new shopping experience as we roll out our new exciting concept and will be home to a range of international brands launching for the first time in the UAE. The first Hamleys and Joe Fresh stores in Abu Dhabi will also make a big contribution to the existing strong retail mix at Yas Mall.”
Yas Mall will open with a range of leading international and regional retail and F&B brands, a 20-screen cinema operated by VOX Cinemas and a family entertainment zone by Funworks. - TradeArabia News Service


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Making Dreams Come True
The Dream Foundation recently celebrated “Fifteen Years of Making Dreams Come True” and it boasts quite a record: 8,852 dreams, 46,800 bouquets of flowers, 31,374 toys for children and 1,081 active volunteers.
A sold-out crowd of 540 converged on Bacara Resort & Spa for the 8th annual gala. Until last year, the event was a ladies’ luncheon and fashion show. Now it’s a black-tie evening that the gentlemen seem to enjoy.


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2 nabbed at Texas border in credit fraud case
By Christopher Sherman, AP
January 22, 2014, 12:13 am TWN
McALLEN, Texas--A South Texas police chief said Monday that two Mexican citizens who were arrested at the border used account information stolen during the Target security breach to buy tens of thousands of US dollars' worth of merchandise. But a federal official said later there currently was no connection between the arrests and the retailer's credit card data theft.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said Mary Carmen Garcia, 27, and Daniel Guardiola Dominguez, 28, both of Monterrey, Mexico, had used cards containing the account information of South Texas residents. Rodriguez said they were used to purchase numerous items at national retailers in the area including Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.
"They're obviously selling the data sets by region," Rodriguez said.
Late Monday, a federal official with knowledge of the case said there currently was no connection between the McAllen case and any ongoing investigation into the Target breach, but would not elaborate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was prohibited from providing details about the investigation.
The discrepancy could not immediately be rectified late Monday. Messages left for Rodriguez and his lieutenant Monday evening seeking a response to those comments weren't immediately returned
Garcia and Guardiola were both being held Monday on state fraud charges. It was not immediately known whether they had retained lawyers.
Rodriguez said he did not know whether these arrests were the first related to the Target breach.
Asked about the McAllen arrests, Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in an email Monday that the investigation was active and ongoing.
"I'd have to refer you to local law enforcement there for any questions about their community," she said.
The Minneapolis-based company said last week that it has stopped more than a dozen operations that sought to scam breach victims by way of email, phone calls and text messages.


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Jio Creative Labs' Pride month campaign embraces diversity around us
June is celebrated as the Pride month and as every year, even this year, we witnessed various brands executing some great pride month campaigns. As June comes to an end, everyone is talking about the various campaigns brands have conceptualized and executed this 2022.
While some brands were involved in a performative allyship, few did what needed to be done – acknowledged what pride truly stands for, celebrated its magnificent diversity and amplified what the LGBTQIA community really wants to voice!
Unlike other campaigns which were released at the beginning of the month, one comes at the end of the month. The campaign is ‘Check For Respect’ conceptualized and executed by the Jio Creative Labs - a division of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited that handles advertising and communications, conceptualised and executed the campaign.
The brand's most recent video underscores the value of inclusivity and respect that the pride community loses out on after the pride month.
The campaign sends out a clear message that brands must approach Pride not just as an opportunity to profit from the community but as a chance to vocally use the community's influence and the brand's reach to effect change and on how the LGBTQIA community is perceived outside of pride month.
Speaking about the campaign, Aman Aggarwal Creative Director Jio Creative Labs, said, “As a company, we believe in inclusivity. We didn’t do this to win an award or to capitalize on the topicality of the pride month. It’s something we believe in. We would have done it anyway. The least we can do as advertisers is do work that can catalyse change. This is our way of contributing to change and being an ally for the community.”
At the Jio Creative Labs, a team of storytellers are engaged in researching real life human stories from across the country so that as a brand they can send out messages of positivity and contribute a drop worth in the ocean of goodwill.


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Study shows public support for paper, but environmental education needed
June 26, 2019 By P&PC Staff
The results of a new survey commissioned by paper advocacy group Two Sides reveal that the North American public largely believes in the use of paper products, but that it has some misconceptions about the pulp and paper industry.
Two Sides is a global independent non-profit organization created to promote the responsible production, use, and sustainability of print and paper. The study was conducted by independent research company Toluna, who surveyed consumers from across the U.S. (2,094 respondents) and Canada (1,044 respondents) on environmental topics and preferences relating to paper and print.
The survey indicates that consumers are concerned about the environment, but there are some gaps between consumer environmental perceptions and facts. According to Two Sides, this is particularly evident for questions related to forest management and recycling.
Fifty-eight per cent of U.S. consumers surveyed believe U.S. forests have been decreasing in size since the year 2000. But U.S. forests have had a net growth of over 1,500 NFL football fields per day since 2000.
Fifteen per cent of Americans and 21 per cent of Canadians think the paper recovery rate exceeds 60 per cent. The paper recovery rate is over 68 per cent in the U.S and 70 per cent in Canada.
Out of six choices, Americans and Canadians rank urban development (first), construction (second) and pulp and paper (third) as having the most impact on global deforestation. Agriculture was ranked as having the least impact. However, according to Two Sides, agriculture is the top cause of global deforestation and, in most developed countries such as the U.S. and Canada, pulp and paper is not a cause of forest loss due to government regulations, sustainable forestry practices and forest certification programs.
When it comes to paper purchasing behavior, 70 per cent of Americans and Canadians believe it is important to use paper products from sustainably managed forests. However, only 22-27 per cent pay attention to forest certification labels when purchasing paper.
Out of eight common materials and products, wood is considered the most environmentally friendly material, followed by paper and glass. Plastic and electronic devices are considered the least environmentally friendly.
When it comes to reading books, magazines and newspapers, print is preferred over digital.
- 68 per cent of Americans and Canadians believe print is the most enjoyable way to read books.
- 65 per cent of Americans and 59 per cent of Canadians prefer to read magazines in print.
- 53 per cent of Americans and 49 per cent of Canadians prefer to read newspapers in print.
Further to print being the preferred medium for reading, the digital push by many corporate service providers (ex: banks, telecoms, utilities, insurance) appears to be unpopular with many consumers. Eighty-two per cent of Canadians and 86 per cent of Americans believe they should have the right to choose how they receive their communications (electronically or printed), and a further 66 per cent (Canada) to 74 per cent (U.S.) agree they should not be charged to receive paper statements.
“It is great to see that print as a communications medium is still preferred by many consumers,” says Phil Riebel, president of Two Sides North America, in a release. “Clearly, people also recognize the sustainable features of paper when compared to many other products, especially electronics and plastic. However, there is a need to educate consumers on sustainable forestry practices, the real causes of deforestation and the great recycling story of print and paper.”
Other key findings
- 71 per cent of Americans and 68 per cent of Canadians believe in the importance of “switching off” their digital devices and reading more in print.
- 49 per cent of U.S. and 46 per cent of Canadian consumers believe they spend too much time on electronic devices, and over half (53 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively) are concerned that the overuse of electronic devices could be damaging to their health.
- 85 per cent of U.S. and 80 per cent of Canadian consumers believe they should have the right to revert to paper-based communications even after switching to digital.
- 54 per cent of U.S. and 56 per cent of Canadian consumers believe only recycled paper should be used to make paper products. Two Sides notes that wood fibre from well-managed forests is essential to papermaking because recycled fibre breaks down after each use and can only be reused five to seven times.
- 29 per cent of U.S. and 26 per cent of Canadian consumers believe paper production is a major cause of global GHG emissions. According to Two Sides, the pulp, paper and print industries are a low contributor to the global greenhouse gas inventory with one per cent of total global GHG emissions.
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We have reported in the past how Turkey is gearing up for a massive educational project, involving a hefty purchase of tablets. Apple‘s CEO Tim Cook has now landed in the country, in what many see as an occasion to discuss the $4 billion iPad deal.
Apple has recently started focusing on Turkey and Cook’s arrival also coincides with the opening of the first Apple retail location in the country. While it is quite possible that Cook is there simply to overlook the expansion of Apple’s retail stores in new territory, rumors have it that his focus will be the Turkish FATIH project.
FATIH project is the name for the educational undertaking that Turkish government has planned. It involves bringing the latest in technology to 42,000 schools and 570,000 classes. In the initial phase of the project, a total of 57,500 tablets have been purchased by the Turkish government. In total, the tablets needed for the entire duration of the project alone rake in a massive $4 billion in purchase costs. These tablets will be purchased over the next few years.
It is estimated that a total of 12.6 million slates are due to be purchased as part of the initiative. This is precisely why the meeting between Tim Cook and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, due to take place on Tuesday, is very significant. If Apple is able to bag the deal, that would be a huge win for Cook in a post-Jobs Apple era. And from the looks of it, it shouldn’t be too hard given Apple’s sustained dominance as the top manufacturer in the tablet market.


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Agency Baldwin& combined animated video content with Facebook and old-fashioned scratch-n-sniff cards to promote Burt's Bees' new natural product line.
There's not a bag big enough to dispose of the Glad Products Company's recent social venture.
At Fitness Magazine, insight is the driver that propels and informs every new initiative.
Since rebranding as Modify Watches in October of last year the company has faced an identity crisis: Are its consumers taste-making 15-year-old sneaker enthusiasts or hip 60-year-old women?
Pistol manufacturer Glock launched a 25th anniversary promotion with a new website, as well as print and digital ads featuring the well-known gun enthusiast R. Lee Ermey, aka "Gunny." An anniversary-themed sweepstakes, announced prominently on the site TeamGlock.com, offers consumers the chance to win a trip to the brand's birthplace and global headquarters in Austria.
Company of the week
Concerned about growth? With over 25 years experience in the industry, the list experts at Fairfield Marketing Group possess the know-how to help immediately improve any domestic or international direct marketing effort. First-time and well-established mailers can rely on Fairfield Marketing Group's expertise to help launch campaigns into positive and profitable ventures.
It doesn't matter how much data you have if you don't integrate your data sets, says market researcher Matthias Hartmann.
Radio version 2014 delivers an exciting palette of marketing tools to make the medium of sound more effective for direct response advertisers.
How marketers can navigate the new customer engagement era.


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Amazon announced Amazon Fire TV today, a device that streams games and movies over the web. The Fire TV features 2 GB of RAM and a dedicated GPU, which Amazon said is the kind "usually found in smartphones." Additionally, Fire TV is based on Android and HTML, so apps are expected to be easy for developers to port to the device. It comes with a TV remote-like controller that includes a microphone on it, which can be used for the device's voice search functions. The Fire TV's separate dual-stick game pad
The device's UI includes sections for movies, television, apps and photos in addition to games. Among the app icons shown during Amazon's presentation were Twitch, WWE Network, Watch ESPN, Netflix and Hulu Plus. Amazon said it is "starting off with Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video of course, and we're rolling in other partners over time." As for the games available on Fire TV
, the device will host "thousands" from publishers like EA and Ubisoft, and will include Minecraft
shortly after it launches.
Earlier in March, we got a look at what Amazon's Bluetooth gamepads
might look like. The company founded
Amazon Game Studios in 2012 and acquired
Double Helix, the studio behind Killer Instinct
, in February.
The Amazon Fire TV will cost $99 and is available to purchase today on Amazon's store


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Shanghai: A parasite that can cause epilepsy and or lead to paralysis has been detected in eels imported from Indonesia and the Philippines, officials said here.
This was the first time the parasite, gnathostoma spinigerum, has been found in China, said officials with the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.
Shanghai may ban eel imports from the two countries to ensure food safety, the Shanghai Daily reported.
The bureau tested 26 samples of eels imported from Indonesia, and the parasite was found in 14 samples. It was also found in nine samples from the Philippines.
The parasite can affect both livestock and humans. It spreads through food, by contact with infected animals and can pass from mothers to their babies, officials said.
There is a huge market for eels in China and imported products are very popular.


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Hell’s Kitchen founders open Angel Food Bakery just above their underground restaurant rather than grow their brand into riskier unknown territories.
On Mother’s Day Weekend, exactly ten years after opening Hell’s Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis, the restaurant’s founders will swing open the pearly gates of Angel Food Bakery + Coffee Bar.
What’s interesting is that rather than expand by opening more Hell’s Kitchen restaurants into oft-requested markets such as Chicago, L.A. or Boston, the owners have purposefully chosen to stay in their own backyard. “Why constantly head out of town when we could do our own thing in the city we know best?” explained founder Mitch Omer.
Ironically juxtaposed directly above the award-winning underground restaurant, the bakery has already been called “the coolest urban bakery in the country” because the owners tore down all walls to put the action front and center for customers to watch. At Angel Food, bakers and pastry chefs ice exquisite cupcakes, put the finishing touches on decadent donuts, roll fondant for cakes, and pull artisan crusted breads out of the glass-door ovens directly in front of customers. Guests with a bit of time can snag one of the few coveted counter stools to devour just-made treats while watching bakers fly about, kneading dough and working their magic in full view only inches away.
“Adding the bakery wasn’t a marketing gimmick to grow sales,” explained co-founder Cynthia Gerdes, “but rather a carefully conceived strategy that organically grew out of a need for more kitchen space.” The founders are constantly in touch with 10,981 Facebook fans and 22,400 email newsletter subscribers from around the country who love their candid and hair-raising “behind the scenes” blog posts. When the owners first mused about moving their tight baking corner up above to an empty space, online chatter showed a demand for a full service downtown bakery. Surprised, “we had an epiphany and decided to expanded our playful concept then and there,” said Gerdes.
“In hindsight, it was a no-brainer,” adds Omer. Hell’s Kitchen, named “Restaurant of the Decade” by StarTribune VitaMN readers, slings out award-winning comfort food with a creative twist, and Angel Food Bakery will follow its footsteps. Donuts, cupcakes, craft breads, croissants, cheesecakes will continue the passionate made-from-scratch mentality; even the bakery’s coffee bar syrups are scratch-made.
“There isn’t just one way to grow a company,” observed Gerdes. “This allows us to be on-site, gives our kitchen staff a chance to spread their wings, creates decent-paying full time jobs with benefits in our very own backyard, and gives our underground restaurant even more excitement as we head into our second decade.”
All of this originated as part of a yearlong series of events to mark Hell’s Kitchen’s 10th Anniversary, no easy feat considering the quirky, award-winning restaurant suffered so many mishaps the first few months in 2002, it’s a miracle the place survived even one year. “Let’s not even go there,” suggested Omer, whose shattered leg was in traction after an accident just 10 days into the opening. To survive, he and Gerdes had to sell off everything they owned (including their house), raid their son’s college fund (with permission, Omer insists, adding that the loan has long been paid back in full), and beg vendors for extended payment plans.
The restaurant is now considered one of the country’s busiest eateries, according to OpenTable, their previous reservation system, as well as Eveve, the European-based reservation system now gobbling up disgruntled OpenTable clients across the country. Hell’s Kitchen is now Eveve’s most-reserved worldwide client, and before leaving, was consistently on OpenTable’s most-booked list as well, topping even many of their popular Manhattan restaurants.
And while Hell’s Kitchen is now wildly successful, the bakery is a separate entity (“Think of it like a little sister without an allowance” laughed Gerdes), so the founders turned to their rabidly loyal customers for startup funds. Utilizing KickStarter, an international crowdfunding site, customers near and far pledged $10 or more dollars in exchange for some goodies in trade. The bakers are now figuring out how to ship boxes of Happy Birthday Donuts to backers across the country. “But what a win/win situation,” marveled Omer, still surprised that they raised more than double their goal in just 10 days. “Our customers literally made this bakery come to life with their support and snagged some great deals in the process.” The KickStarter project proved so successful that downtown delivery and online ordering will now happen sooner rather than later.
Usually fully booked with brunch and dinner reservations on weekends, Hell’s Kitchen always saves space for “walk-ins” if they don’t mind a bit of a wait. “We call our waiting area purgatory,” observes Omer. “And now they can check out heaven as they wait to get into hell,” added Gerdes with a wink, grateful that they chose to grow their business within their own market instead of venturing elsewhere.


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Full profile →'">
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
Disney fiscal Q1 results were above the street estimates led by Star Wars. However, the stock price still dropped 4% in the trading session as investors continue to worry about subscriber growth. However, the company’s management stated that ESPN recently added more subscribers without quantifying the numbers. The subscriber decline reported last year was primarily due to people opting for lighter pay-TV packages, which did not include ESPN. Now the company is negotiating with pay-TV operators to include ESPN in smaller packages, including the recent successful example of Dish Network. We continue to believe that ESPN will not see significant subscriber declines in the coming years, as it has secured long term rights to some of the most popular sports programming, including NFL and MLB (see – How Important Is ESPN For Disney?). For the quarter, media networks revenue grew 8%, led by double-digit advertising growth while segment operating income declined 6% due to higher programming costs.
Theme parks posted steady volume and spending growth in the U.S., and the segment’s operating income jumped 22% to just under $1 billion. Theme parks operations looks promising for Disney in the coming years, as the company will add new attractions, including Avatar Land and Star Wars. Also, Disney’s Shanghai park will be operational from June this year and should provide a significant boost to international theme parks and resorts revenues. It should be noted that China’s theme park market has grown in low-double-digits in the past five years, and Disney will surely benefit from the increasing demand in the region (also see – How Important Are Theme Parks For Disney?).
Looking at the studio business, Star Wars was the driving force for the segment and Disney’s overall results. Revenues jumped 46%, while operating income was up a stellar 86% to over $1 billion. In fact, beyond studio operations, Star Wars also boosted the consumer products and interactive media business, which saw a 23% jump in segment operating income to $860 million. We continue to believe that Star Wars will remain the future growth driver for Disney, as there are more sequels to follow in the coming years. Disney is likely to continue to monetize its acquired brands, such as Marvel and Pixar, along with Lucasfilm, in the coming years. There is a long list of popular movie titles, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain America, Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy and Frozen among others, that Disney plans to release in the coming years. Previous installments of these movies have done well at the box-office and there are no signs of demand fading away. This strengthens our view that the studio business will continue to provide steady growth for Disney in the foreseeable future. We currently have $121 price estimate for Disney’s shares.
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Amazon’s ongoing disruption of the retail industry has been the shiny object attracting most observers’ interest for years now, but reports of brutal working conditions in its warehouses and . Living conditions training mail takes a minimum of 10 days to arrive in china from the united states the initiative in joining activities outside of work . Poor working conditions persist at chinese suppliers of global it-brands researchers from china labor watch working in the factories and the others by danwatch . Hkcic report, 1997 - examined workers' rights and working conditions in the factories of five major subcontractors producing sports shoes in china: yue yuen, nority international, ktp holdings and wellco these factories produce shoes for nike and reebok.
Suicide at chinese iphone factory reignites concern over working conditions and 2011 at foxconn factories in china amid concerns over working conditions working conditions by standing on . Labor and working conditions n china workers get a relatively small piece of economic pie: 53 percent in 2007, down from 61 percent in 1990 and compared with two third in the united states. In september and october 2015, clw conducted a new investigation of the working conditions at pegatron’s changshuo factory in shanghai, which is currently producing the iphone 6s.
China conditions working manufacturers - select 2018 high quality conditions working products in best price from certified chinese metal working machine manufacturers, working machines suppliers, wholesalers and factory on made-in-chinacom. In 2006, bsr, along with a division of the world bank and other groups, initiated a project to improve working conditions in factories building cellphones and other devices in china and elsewhere . China’s largest electronics manufacturer and employer has been criticized in the past for poor working conditions at factories where apple inc devices were made, leading to the company . To improve working conditions at the bottom of the supply chain by putting pressure on specific brands to change health and safety practices in the jeans industry in china achievements over the last five years, war on want has been working together with our partners asia monitor resource centre (amrc) and labour action china (lac), and with .
Saipan working conditions in china - many people in china have thought that their lives were too poor, and their working conditions aren’t as good. Apple is under fire for “excessive overtime” and illegal working conditions in another chinese factory work “excessive and illegal overtime” according to china labor watch . China labor watch increases on poor working conditions in chinese toy factories at a hearing of the congressional-executive committee on china . 1 minimum working conditions an employer should provide an employee with a clean and safe working environment in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations regarding safety and hygiene. Foxconn has been moving its production further north to inland china there is no indication that similar compensation or improvements to working conditions have taken place in other factories nevertheless, human rights organisations have gained insight into the gated foxconn dormitories and highlighted some daily practices including full .
Most importantly, they should not ban work for children, as this can worsen their living conditions furthermore, china should allow more ngos and trade unions that can monitor problems and find convincing statistics to persuade the government to take immediate actions. According to chinese labour law, the standard working time is 40 hours per week in theory, the standard work week in china runs from monday to friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, but in reality, overtime is the norm and most local companies don’t compensate their workers for it. Working conditions and salaries in china: according to chinese labour law, the standard working time is 40 hours per week in theory, the standard work week in china runs from monday to friday from. Working in china and us essay comparison/contrast of work culture between china and the us the work cultures of china and the united states have been related to and influenced by their own cultural values. Discover all relevant statistics and facts on employment in china now on statistacom the statistics portal number of employed persons in china 2016, by work unit.
The new york-based china labor watch released a report at the weekend following a nine-month investigation of working conditions at a factory in the city of hengyang owned by hon hai precision . Transcript ()in recent months, several reports have been released regarding working conditions in chinese factories that manufacture products popular in the united states—laptops, iphones, ipads, cordless phones. Improve working conditions in china, in particular for hundreds of millions of migrant workers, although the effects of its implementation remain to be seen in contrast with the trends towards formalisation apparent in china, and despite robust. Advocacy group china labour watch and bloomberg have released reports highlighting harsh working conditions at a manufacturing plant in suqian, china the factory is owned by catcher, a company .
The working conditions in tves in china are notoriously worse than in other factories and have aroused serious criticism according to government statistics, . 'working excessive overtime without a single day off during the week' 'living together in crowded dorms and exposure to dangerous chemicals' two explosions in 2011 in china 'due to aluminum dust . Working conditions in china essay 1903 words feb 2nd, 2006 8 pages in america a full time job is a 40 hour week, with time and a half pay for any overtime hours.


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CMOC celebrates World Mustang Day with special event, Sunday April 18!
1964. The Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Cassius Clay adopted a new faith, and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Dr Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize, in America the Civil Rights Act was passed and in South Africa Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. The US Government issued the first warning that smoking could be dangerous to health. And a new automotive legend was born.
The Ford Mustang launch on Friday April 17 1964 turned out to be so much more significant that just another new car introduction, for the way in which it was done, its immediate impact on the market, and the enduring influence and recognition that it continues to have to this day.
The story of Mustang’s development as a new, trend setting stylish and sporty two door model with great performance at a very affordable price has been told many times, and is well known by all Mustang owners and fans.
The launch was carefully crafted by the Ford marketing execs, in the same way that the product engineering team had developed the car itself. With almost military precision, the strategy was one of a carefully planned advance campaign to tease the public and build awareness that something big was coming, and then....wham!! A full frontal assault on the weekend commencing Friday April 17, designed to reach and positively impact everyone, whether an immediate new car buyer, those with a casual interest, whether a Ford fan or not, and everyone else too!
As America awoke on April 17, the doors opened in every Ford dealership to showcase the all new Mustang. Plus there were Mustangs in every other location where people would see the new Mustang, no matter what else they were doing....displays in airports, banks, shopping centres, hotels.
Every advertisement, and every poster featured the same imagery, carefully selected to emphasise Mustang’s long bonnet/short boot sporty styling. A side profile of a fully optioned Mustang notchback, Wimbledon white, and heavy emphasis on the starting price, $2368. (Interestingly, the actual sale price averaged $3000, reflecting the willingness to buyers to “option up”).
The “marketing blitz” was completed with a wide range of other support actions, including high profile display at the New York World’s Trade Fair, initial media motoring reports from all the US automotive media, and the announcement that Mustang had won the Tiffany &Co award for Excellence in American Design (the first auto company to do so). In total over 2600 advertisements and stories appeared in print between April 16 -19.
The success of the April 17 launch strategy even caught Ford by surprise. Mustang production had commenced six weeks earlier, and with a daily rate of approx 540 Mustangs, there were around 16000 Mustangs in dealer showrooms or in transit across the US. But the order count, as of the end of the weekend was 22000! (As a result, urgent decisions were taken to convert two additional assembly plants to Mustang production, coming on stream mid 1964.)
So, why is World Mustang Day, and this story about April 17 1964, important? It’s because even today the essential spirit that is Mustang, and characterises Mustang owners and enthusiasts, date back directly and continuously to what happened that day. April 17 1964 was the day that Mustang captured the hearts of the public who saw the new car as something special, a car that reflected their desire for fun and style and performance, an affordable car that embodied a sense of freedom and achievement, and a car that brought people together. That’s very much what being a Mustang owner still means today, all over the world.
For the Canterbury Mustang Owners Club, two new features of our planning make this year’s World Mustang Day celebration event is quite different. Firstly, we are using the expansive parking of Christchurch’s beloved Court Theatre for our display and get-together, a wonderful central city location (with a touch of the dramatic, just like the Mustangs!). Secondly, through the great support of Team Hutchinson Ford, we’ve been able to put together a great World Mustang Day promotion with Christchurch’s leading radio station, NewstalkZB and their leading talkback host, Chris Lynch. We expecting a great public turnout to see and enjoy the celebration display, and contribute to our two chosen charities, Home and Family and the Court Theatre trust.
Happy birthday, Ford Mustang! See you at the Court Theatre!


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A shop in Reading has had its alcohol licence taken away for selling fake vodka containing harmful chemicals.
Ann Summers Boss In Windsor For CBE
Lingerie tycoon, Jacqueline Gold will receive a CBE at Windsor Castle today.
Jacqueline Gold, 55, the chief executive of Ann Summers, will be awarded the honour for her services to entrepreneurship, women in business and social enterprise by Princess Anne who is leading the ceremony.
The mother-of-one is reportedly the 16th richest women in the country, with an estimated fortune of £250 million.
As well as the chain of shops, which currently employ more than 10,000 people, she launched the Party Plan business where women can buy Ann Summers lingerie and accessories at events hosted in people's homes.
Learning of her accolade in the New Year's Honours List she said the CBE was the ``highlight'' of her career and ahead of the ceremony Gold tweeted saying she was ``very excited''.
Oxford will join cities across the country later protesting Donald Trump's upcoming state visit to the UK.
Search and Rescue specialists have found human remains at the site of the explosion in the Gibbs Crescent area of Oxford.
Fire Crews Still Trying To Make Area Safe Before Removing Rubble.
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Tupperware Brands Evolves into a True Space-Age Company
“I think people still are a little bit surprised when they hear Tupperware is now considered, at least in NASA circles, a space-related company.”
David Kusuma was listed as a speaker at the 2017 International Space Station Research & Development conference in Washington, D.C., and attendees were wondering why. As a vice president of Tupperware Brands, he represents a company known for plastic food storage containers used in the kitchen — not on rockets carrying astronauts. But it all made sense when he gave his presentation.
“Tupperware is a brand not normally associated with the space industry,” Kusuma told the audience. “But I want to tell you about how technology and advanced materials have become part of our modern-day DNA.”
The $2.3 billion global corporation based in Kissimmee has become one of hundreds of suppliers that contribute to experiments in space. In fact, when Kusuma returned to the conference this July after not attending the event in 2018, people asked where he had been. Since his presentation, Tupperware Brands has been fielding inquiries from at least eight companies interested in partnering on aerospace projects. The company has become part of the club.
“I don’t know where this will go,” said Kusuma, who oversees research and product innovation for the publicly held company. “I think people still are a little bit surprised when they hear Tupperware is now considered, at least in NASA circles, a space-related company. We don’t know where we can take it from here, but it’s exciting that a number of aerospace companies are interested in working with Tupperware, especially on food related projects.”
The focus on aerospace is just one of the ways Tupperware Brands is staying current and has remained a technology and innovation company in addition to a household goods manufacturer.
Preserving the Planet
Kusuma was on stage at the 2017 conference with commercial R&D experts to discuss activities that were taking place in low Earth orbit and insights on the future of space travel. But to put Tupperware’s venture into space contracting into perspective, he began with a little history about the company.
Founded in 1948 by inventor Earl Tupper in Leominster, Massachusetts, the company became famous for its innovative sales techniques involving home sales parties where housewives and mothers invited friends to play games and, incidentally, buy pastel-colored containers that would keep food fresh in their refrigerators. Each container had a lid — or seal as Tupperware enthusiasts call it — that fit snugly and could be “burped” to let out air before sealing.
Today, more than 3 million independent sales people represent the direct-selling company worldwide — meaning about every 1.3 seconds there is a Tupperware party starting somewhere in the world, Kusuma told the audience. The company is still focused on improving the kitchen experience: It has been introducing technologies that let people use their microwave ovens to cook complete meals instead of just reheating food — even devices that allow for microwave grilling.
By the nature of its products, Tupperware products have always been a leader in sustainability because they can be reused for years and even generations. But the company has stepped up its efforts to help the planet by developing containers that preserve fresh food longer.
That’s because about 40 percent of food ends up in landfills in the United States, Kusuma said. Worldwide, people waste about 1.3 billion tons of food. Working with university researchers, Tupperware Brands has designed containers to hold specific fruits and vegetables with varying degrees of breathability that extend the life of each type of produce by as much as two or three weeks. It has also developed special containers with a membrane that regulates moisture to keep cheese fresh, and similar containers for bread.
The company also has tackled another global issue. About 1.8 million people worldwide live without access to safe drinking water. Tupperware Brands focused on water filtration technologies by working with industry experts, including former U.S. astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave. The result was the development of a personal water filtration system that uses a NASA technology: a ceramic shell with nanopores that remove pathogens from the liquid. Today it’s one of the company’s bestselling products.
From Earth to Space
About three years ago, NASA asked Tupperware Brands to work with the space agency on a project that optimizes the germination and growth of seeds into fresh fruits and vegetables in space. The goal is increasingly important because current and future space travel involve more astronauts staying away from Earth for longer periods of time, and fresh food in their diets has become more and more important.
The engineering for growing fresh food in space is tricky because plants require light and water — two elements difficult to provide in an enclosed space capsule in zero gravity. Astronauts aboard the ISS had already been growing leafy vegetables and flowers inside the Vegetable Production System, known as the “Veggie” facility. To reduce the frequency of watering plants in space, Dr. Howard Levine and a group at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) started exploring concepts for a “plant pillow” that would hold the root structure of the plants. It evolved into a semi-hydroponic design called the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS).
NASA’s website explains the project this way: “Organisms grow differently in space, from single-celled bacteria to plants and humans. Future long-duration space missions will require crew members to grow their own food. Therefore, understanding how plants respond to microgravity and demonstrating the reliable vegetable production on-orbit are important steps toward that goal. Veggie PONDS uses a newly developed passive nutrient delivery system and the Veggie plant growth facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to cultivate lettuce and mizuna greens, which are to be harvested on-orbit, and consumed, with samples returned to Earth for analysis.”
At Tupperware Brands, a team of four led by Kusuma was assigned to work with Techshot, an aerospace solutions provider based in Greenville, Indiana, that guides numerous contractors through the processes of getting their research and products into space. “We were asked to work with them because of our long-term focus on food preservation and food-safe materials,” Kusuma said. “It was an opportunity to do something new and highlight the fact that we are cutting-edge.”
The team visited the space kitchen at Johnson Space Center, which brings in astronauts prior to their launch, and gathers information from them about their favorite meals before putting together recipes with proper nutrition that will work in space. The food is then prepared for the space station and launched from KSC.
Together, the Tupperware Brands and Techshot team further developed Levine’s rough prototype into a new device that consists of as few parts and components as possible — a requirement for industrialization and manufacturing. Up to six of the devices can be installed in Veggie at one time.
“Like the plant pillows, the PONDS devices are single-use items, which can be discarded after the plants are grown and harvested on-orbit,” according to a press release about the project. “However, unlike the plant pillows, PONDS can also be returned, refurbished, and reflown in space.”
The first batch, launched in April 2018, achieved 100 percent germination of the seeds, but the devices were using more water than the plants required. NASA asked the team to refine the function. Version 2.0 consisted of not one but three different solutions, so NASA sent four of each, for a total of 12 units, on the next mission to the ISS, launched in April 2019. All of those seeds also germinated, but the soil was left too dry. Version 3.0, to be launched in early 2020, produced tomatoes in about 90 days and is being tested with other seeds.
One of the team’s biggest thrills, Kusuma said, was sitting in with NASA personnel as they spoke with the astronauts on the space station. The Tupperware team was not able to ask direct questions but could have those questions relayed to the astronauts, whose answers were beamed back to Earth via video on a screen at KSC. “Tupperware had great interactions with both Techshot and NASA,” Kusuma said.
One of the measures NASA uses to determine whether a project is successful is the ability for it to be commercialized to improve life on Earth. The space agency focuses on developing technologies that are for space use and research. The PONDS project could someday turn into a future line of products for Tupperware.
“The greater opportunity is that we have a chance to look at how to use this technology in people’s homes,” Kusuma said. “People want fresh vegetables all the time but don’t necessarily have a lot of space for growing them, especially in urban kitchens.”
A Long Journey
This isn’t the first time Tupperware Brands has worked with NASA. The journey started about 15 years ago, when the company was invited to work with aerospace company Boeing to create storage systems inside Orion, the successor to the space shuttle, and new spacecraft designed to carry astronauts and cargo to the ISS and beyond. There was a cylindrical-shaped storage space below the floor of the crew cabin, and containers had to be pie-shaped to be lifted in and out of the vehicle through an airlock, Kusuma said. Boeing wasn’t selected for that project, so Tupperware’s role as a subcontractor partner was cut short.
The next opportunity came in 2005 when the European Space Agency contacted Kusuma about a project involving the University of Udine in Italy. The ESA wanted a container that fit a very specific set of dimensions, and it would be going to the ISS aboard a Russian TMA-6 rocket. The container was to be used in stem cell research to determine how cells multiply in weightlessness, looking forward to long-term spaceflight.
Kusuma looked through Tupperware’s master database of about 10,000 molds and found a match. The normal Tupperware materials would not be hardy enough to withstand the rigors of space travel, so the company customized a special one for the ESA.
“It was the first time we had ever been connected to a spaceflight operation,” Kusuma said. “Every time the Tupperware container moved, I got an email like, ‘The TMA-6 has docked with the International Space Station, and the Tupperware container has been moved into the Aquarius Incubator aboard ISS!’”
The container’s mission lasted 10 days, and Kusuma recalls his phone ringing about two weeks later: “I actually got a call from the project administrator from the ESA. He said, ‘I’ve got your container here. Everything went well. Would you like it back, or can I sell it on eBay?’” Today the container sits in a display case in a hallway at the Tupperware Brands headquarters.
Will a PONDS container also be on display there someday? It might be too early to say. For now, Tupperware continues to launch new innovations on Earth as well as in space.
“Tupperware products have included smart technology features for nearly 70 years,” Kusuma said in a press release announcing the PONDS project. “Our product evolution goals have always been to meet today’s needs for consumers, whether that includes microwaveable grills or food processors that require no electricity; we are proud to now say that this includes sustainable vegetation growth in space. This has been one of our most exciting and unique collaborations, and we are honored to have worked alongside NASA and Techshot on the advancement and success of the PONDS project.”


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HMD Global has launched a new 5G phone in the budget price category. Called the Nokia X100 5G, the smartphone comes powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 processor and has a 48MP quad camera setup on the back. Nokia X100 5G: Price and availabilityNokia X100 5G
will be available in the US market only. The smartphone is exclusively available to T-Mobile and Metro T-Mobile customers. It packs 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The handset carries a price tag of $252 (roughly Rs 18,700). It will go on sale on November 19. Nokia X100 5G: Specifications
The smartphone comes powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 octa-core processor. Nokia X100 5G is equipped with a 6.67-inch Full-HD+ display with a resolution of 1080x2400 pixels. The display offers an aspect ratio of 20:9.
The handset runs on Android 11 Go edition and packs 6GB of RAM. It is paired with 128GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 1TB using a microSD card. The device is backed by a 4470mAh battery. The handset comes with an 18 watt fast charging adapter.
On the camera front, Nokia X100 5G has a 16MP sensor for selfies. On the rear, the phone
has a quad camera setup consisting of a 48MP main sensor. It is paired with a 5MP ultra-wide lens, a 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP macro sensor.
The smartphone offers OZO Audio technology for audio output and is also equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack.