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BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The transformation of China's agriculture has attracted great attention in the merger and acquisition (M&A) space and capital markets, consultancy Deloitte said in a new report.
Driven by sharply increasing demand for food products around the world, China's farming sector has seen many new entrants including financial investors who previously had no connections or experience with the industry, according to the report, "Tide of Change -- A whole industry chain approach for modern agriculture."
Capital has become more plentiful in a sector where new technology, know-how and management are much in demand in the perpetual quest for higher productivity at lower cost.
A number of Chinese agricultural giants have made acquisitions both locally and overseas to seek further economies of scale and additional land resources, said the report.
Deloitte's research found that the plantation and livestock sectors have become the key M&A deal drivers in Chinese agriculture.
Some 149 agriculture mergers and acquisitions took place in China between the start of 2007 and the end of 2013. The 114 deals with disclosed values had a total transaction value of 13.7 billion U.S. dollars.
Inbound, domestic and outbound M&A transactions were dominated by plantation-related deals, with a proportion of 82 percent, 61 percent and 60 percent respectively in term of transaction volumes in these three markets. Livestock-related deals accounted for 18 percent, 29 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
Patrick Yip, with Deloitte China, said Chinese agricultural companies have become more vertically integrated in the value chain and the integration targets are no longer limited to those in domestic markets.
Asia has traditionally been the most popular region for such Chinese outbound investments, followed by the Americas, Africa, Europe and Australasia, Yip said.
In addition, an increasing number of investors from non-agricultural industries have made investments in local and overseas agricultural sectors through both domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, he noted.
There are three main categories of investors in agriculture -- government-backed investment vehicles (or policy-oriented industrial funds), agricultural enterprises as strategic buyers and financial investors.
The economies of scale and synergy effect of agricultural modernization will move Chinese agriculture up the value chain to create more value for stakeholders in terms of productivity and profitability, Yip forecast.
The fact that there is no shortage of capital in the sector is conducive to its rapid transformation. More deals and larger deals will emerge on the horizon, he said.
The benefits of such transformation could, in the medium to long term, be felt by both Chinese and overseas consumers by way of food products with better quality and at a more competitive cost, the economist added.


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Seminars and educational events are one of the fastest-growing category of magazine events, helping cement reader relationships and giving advertisers direct access to prospective customers in uncluttered settings.
And with some admission fees topping $2,000, the revenue-generating possibilities are not inconsiderable. Almost any type of magazine can jump in, be it bridal guide or business book. Readers appear willing to fork out for such events, turning educational programs into new revenue streams.
Bridal Guide is the lead sponsor of seminars this winter in Boston and New York, crafted by the newly created Wedding Institute. The 2-hour-plus seminars give readers and advertisers a more intimate alternative to mob-like bridal fairs and expos. For $20, engaged couples get information on six wedding-related topics: planning, services, travel, entertaining, health and fitness, and relationships.
Each attendee gets a free gift plus one-on-one marketing opportunities from key Bridal Guide advertisers, including Crane's Stationery, Egyptian Travel Authority, Group SEB's T-Fal and Waterford Crystal. Fuji Photo Film USA and Sandals Resorts also are sponsoring the seminars.
By 2001, the Wedding Institute plans to offer such seminars in 15 cities.
"Our magazine is a launch pad for readers seeking more wedding information on specific topics in a one-on-one setting, and the seminars reinforce our brand as an authority," said Susannah Pask, Bridal Guide's publisher.
Conferences have long been a successful platform for Forbes, but this year the financial magazine is boosting its events further, introducing its first such international activity, the Gilder/Forbes Telecosm Asia Conference in Singapore in March. It will be followed by Forbes' first-ever cruise, the Forbes Cruise for Investors, sailing in Europe June 21. Each event carries a hefty admission fee.
A magazine titled Upside offered seven conferences for executives last year, and for 2000 plans a total of nine including its first-ever business-to-business seminar in March in Palm Springs, Calif., with a fee of $2,495.
Exclusively for invited guests on its 200,000 controlled-circulation list, Upside's events are geared to generate news through the unveiling of the latest technology in certain sectors.
"The magazine fuels interest in business and technology topics; then we bring people together with content, and readers get tremendous benefits and networking opportunities from the one-on-one experience," said Tim G. Smith, VP-general manager of San Francisco-based Upside.
Hearst Magazines also is increasing its events combining entertainment with education.
Last year, Hearst introduced its "All-American Weekend," a three-day series of events in Newport, R.I., for upscale readers, including special breakout sessions showcasing individual magazine titles.
About 400 people paid $150 each to attend the sold-out "Weekend," responding to invitations sent to selected East Coast subscribers of Hearst magazines. The event also was promoted in various Hearst titles, and attendees came from around the U.S.
Hearst declared the event a resounding success and will reprise it in Newport this October, said Michael Clinton, senior VP-chief marketing officer for Hearst. The admission price may climb.
FROM CARS TO TEQUILA
DaimlerChrysler was the overall presenting sponsor of 1999's "Weekend," showcasing four car models, and several other sponsors participated including jeweler Bailey Banks & Biddle, eTrade, Fleet Bank and Seagram Wine & Spirits' Herradura tequila. Each demonstrated and promoted its product within the event.
Included were lectures and film reviews from the editors of Esquire; a regatta overseen by the editors of Boating & Sailing; special tours of Newport mansions led by guides from Town & Country; a wine tasting hosted by SmartMoney; and a fashion brunch sponsored by Harper's Bazaar.
Sponsors also offered events within the event, including a lecture on historic decorating trends sponsored by fabric manufacturer Scalamandre that proved surprisingly popular, Mr. Clinton said.
"Readers are responding to the chance to get deeper information on subjects we cover in our magazines, which adds to our authority on these topics," he said.
Also at Hearst, Victoria is offering its third annual one-day entrepreneurial seminar this October in New York. More than 500 are expected to attend "Turning Your Passion Into Profits," each paying a $229 admission fee.
RELATING IN BERMUDA
Next month, Hearst's Redbook offers its readers a weeklong seminar on relationships to be conducted in Bermuda by John Gray's Mars Venus Institute. A "non-denominational minister" will be on hand so that Redbook's couples can renew their wedding vows.
"Events that build on our magazines' content are becoming an increasingly important part of our brand strategy," Mr. Clinton said.

domain: news


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The Super Bowl may never have been more adorable as advertisers largely traded in racy imagery and crude humor for cute animals and inspirational premises. Some found the approach a heartwarming compliment to the NFL's big game while others lamented the tame nature of the commercials. With the Seattle Seahawks dominating between commercial breaks, the ads were likely the sole reason that many viewers stayed tuned into the game until the end.
"Advertisers are getting attention but they're not trying to go over the top," said David Berkowitz, chief marketing officer for digital ad agency MRY, told The Associated Press. "A lot of brands were going with the safety from the start."
Even before Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seahawks and Denver Broncos kicked off, the ads were trending cute. Notably, Budweiser's "Puppy Love" spot chronicling the unlikely friendship by a puppy and one of the company's iconic Clydesdales was released early and quickly became a viral smash. By the time the Seahawks' dominating 43-8 win was complete, the love for that ad was still strong. It secured the highest score of all commercials aired on USA Today's Super Bowl Ad Meter
"The ad touched the depths of my soul," middle school language-arts teacher Char Baringhaus told USA Today. "Nothing reaches raw emotion like the love of animals."
CLICK HERE to see all the ads aired during Super Bowl XLVIII
Amid the awwwww-inducing ads, there were still Super Bowl commercials that went for laughs and there were plenty of celebrity cameos along the way, too. Retired soccer superstar David Beckham also made sure that there was still plenty of heat in a year that even Go Daddy went away from its risque roots.


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Denon And Marantz Gain Dirac Live Update
Owners of Denon and Marantz receivers, as well as the Marantz AV 10 preamp/processor, are set to take their audio power into another stratosphere, with the Dirac Live room correction update, following Denon parent company Masimo’s recent announcement of the new software.
See the list of eligible receivers below, and if you make the grade you can download either the limited or full bandwidth version at the Dirac online store.
So why are audiophiles so excited about this new advance? Dirac Live is a pro-grade room correction software package. It helps users get optimum performance from their loudspeaker system.
While the Marantz and Denon receivers below already feature Audyssey calibration software, the new Dirac offering brings unique tweaks, such as mixed-phase controller, which allows speakers to be corrected in the time domain.
Still, while Denon and Marantz customers now have the choice between the included Audyssey calibration software and paying for the enhanced Dirac Live upgrade, the update doesn’t include Dirac Bass Control, which can be used to calibrate multiple subwoofers.
A Masimo rep has said they plan to offer this in 2024 products.
● Denon AVR-A1H, AVC-A1H receiver
● Denon AVR-X4800H, AVC-X4800H
● Denon AVR-X3800H, AVC-X3800H
● Marantz AV 10 preamp/processor
● Marantz CINEMA 40 receiver
● Marantz CINEMA 50 receiver


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The clocks have gone back, the temperature is steadily dropping and preview season has kicked off – all the signs of the approach of winter are present and correct. As you read this, I will be sitting in my first preview of the year, my gaze turning towards 2018 while the crucial weeks of the 2017 toy calendar still lie ahead of us. Make no mistake about the challenges which lie ahead over the next seven weeks; footfall figures shown to me by a major specialist retailer were not only significantly down for three of the four weeks in October, but also represented steeper declines than we saw earlier this year. And the launch of the new family-friendly Nintendo Switch looks set to challenge toy spend to some degree. But the eternal optimist in me still believes it will come good as we get closer to Christmas – that last weekend is surely going to be massive?
In the meantime, the November issue of Toy World arrived on desks this week – you can read the digital version of the issue here. The focus of this edition is also very much on 2018, with features covering the key new launches that will be hitting shelves early in the New Year. As you might expect, there is a plethora of new collectible ranges coming through, including Magic Box’s SuperZings, Alpha Animation’s Miximals and Zuru’s Smashers, while the ‘squishy’ category looks poised to be the next big craze, as several companies – including Bandai with Smooshy Mushy – rush to airfreight stock in to meet retail demand. Hasbro also announced at last week’s ComicCon that they’ll be introducing collectible Porgs to the Star Wars Black Series line in the spring, as the creatures continue to be the thing everyone is talking about from the new movie – in a good way thankfully (i.e. the new Ewoks rather than the new Jar-Jar Binks).
In addition to the new range highlights, the November issue also includes an article I worked on with Gary Grant. He first suggested in Nuremberg that he’d like to walk me round his warehouse and show me some of the challenges that his warehouse staff face every day. It took us a while to co-ordinate diaries, but I hope you will agree it was worth the wait: you can read the article here. It would be great to hear from suppliers, logistics companies and indeed other retailers with their thoughts on the subject. In times when every penny counts, it does seem like there may be some easy wins in this area.
And as if to illustrate just how many challenges retailers are facing in the logistics area, Toys R Us has been in the news this week after a parent complained that her daughter’s surprise Christmas present was delivered with the word ‘toys’ – and worse still, the name of the actual toy – emblazoned in large black capital letters across the box. D’oh! Discretion was obviously not part of the service on this occasion. We all know that parents need to master the art of lying to small children quickly, but this kind of faux pas does seem avoidable with a bit of thought. Just like some of the other practices which Gary talks about in the aforementioned article…
Another thing that should in theory be avoidable is embarrassing mistakes in Christmas catalogues; as a publisher, I have every sympathy with retailers, as I know precisely just how easy it is for things to slip through the net every once in a while. That said, Tesco’s catalogue has fallen into one of the more obvious bear traps, by heading a page ‘Stationary’ as opposed to Stationery (unless, of course, they’re really not expecting those lines to move at all!). I suppose it could have been worse; at least they didn’t put ‘Educashional’.
The toy grapevine has been buzzing this week with the news that Mary Wood had left Vivid – and I’m delighted to exclusively reveal that she will be joining Tomy as UK general manager, starting Monday. It’s a fantastic move for both parties and we wish Mary every success in the new role.
Finally, a reminder that it’s Dream Toys next week, so another week in the media spotlight for toys, and hopefully plenty of sales to follow as a result. As Tesco would say, “evry littel hellps.”


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Whether you’re on the side of retail being dead or still very much alive, e-commerce at least, continues to carve out a bigger space for itself.
And when a company like MAS Holdings, a major Sri Lanka-based intimates, activewear and leisure wear supplier that produces more than one million garments every day starts eyeing startups, it’s clear where the industry is headed.
“Although there’s a lot of movement out of traditional retail, there’s also a big movement into online retail,” MAS Holdings’ Ranil Vitarana said during a keynote at the Dornbirn Man-Made Fibers Congress. “We’ve started investing in startup companies, moving to things that accommodate what the retail industry needs.”
Companies MAS has invested in include Wiivv custom insoles, Wearable X “activated” yoga wear and Nanowear medical-grade smart textiles.
Whether it’s the 8,000 plus brick-and-mortar stores slated to close by the time 2017’s done, or Millennials and their newfangled ways, or the general ease and convenience that sees more and more shoppers buying online, there’s a new way for retail to do business and most companies aren’t catching up.
But when you’re competing with a startup that can decide to create a brand that caters to a unique niche in a unique way and which doesn’t have to spend much at all, if anything, on overhead to become successful, it’s no surprise that those companies that haven’t caught up are getting ousted by the day.
“If you want to start an online brand, it’s really cheap. Basically, having a good computer is good enough,” Vitarana said. “And there are companies today that offer to store and stock your product and deliver one piece at a time to your customer.”
He continued, “A person who can disrupt us is a person who can buy some clothes, sell it online, put it in a pressure cooker to get the color and sell it. Someone in a house or someone who understands dying can disrupt us quiet easily without having to spend a lot of money on infrastructure. So if we want to be relevant in the future, we have to be able to also give color in more detail than that person in the house,” Vitarana said by way of example.
What makes matters worse for traditional retail, is that Millennials are gravitating toward these types of businesses. Especially as many of these startup e-tailers are telling a story, exhibiting an ethos today’s largest market of consumers can relate to.
“Millennials have certain values, they like certain causes and those things are coming out: lifestyles around health and wellness, transparency in sourcing,” Vitarana said. “Consumers do not prefer big brands anymore. They want innovative product.”
E-commerce by the numbers
Looking at the numbers, the growth in e-commerce is about 10 percent year-on-year, according to Vitarana. Fifty percent of people bought clothing online last year, and it’s expected that there’s a $523 billion opportunity in this area.
Beyond that, with so many e-tail only businesses that are saving scads of cash on the things traditional retail spends on, these companies are able to add more value to their product.
Taking traditional retail, let’s say the supplier’s cost for a T-shirt was $1.95, then the manufacturer’s cost was $3, the brand still has to take a cut, mark it up, and the consumer cost comes out to $15.
With online only, direct to consumer retail now, Vitarana explained, design might cost $1.95, manufacturing the same $3, but without a brand taking a cut, the consumer’s cost really only needs to be $5. That means the company could either cut the cost to the consumer or still sell it for $15 and spend the $10 adding more value into the product.
“This is why someone like Amazon can sell something much, much cheaper than any other brand you want to mention,” Vitarana said.
Traditional retailers approach MAS asking for innovation, whether it’s better fit or better performance, but as Vitarana explained, they can’t—or won’t afford to pay for it.
“They’re asking for everything but they’ll give you 10 cents more, maybe 15 cents more,” he said. “The best way to innovate for the current retail is in cost actually.”
But how do you build experiences for e-commerce?
Experiences, experiences, experiences. That’s what every apparel retail conference will tell you consumers are after—even though the large majority of retailers still aren’t providing it.
When it comes to e-commerce, where all that really connects the company to the consumer is a computer, creating an experience is a different challenge.
Things like letting shoppers participate in real-time consumer-enabled development to personalize their purchases or use artificial intelligence to virtually try on a garment before they buy it, or connecting consumers in a social way so they can in effect “shop together” or having match bots pay attention to what they’re buying online so that in future searches they can suggest things to buy that the shopper is likely to like, are just some of the ways online shopping can become an experience.
How MAS is working the new system
Today, when MAS wants to test an idea, it designs product virtually and put it online.
“We create a website and put everything about that product into that website and go to Google or Facebook and drive the kind of customer we want to that product. We can give the whole technical detail about that product, the price point and then see if people will click to buy it,” Vitarana explained. “Then we do the same product and give it a different messaging and then see how many people are clicking to buy it. Every day we can have a different product, different marketing, different price and within a week we can have a really good idea of what to make and we haven’t spent a cent making the product.”
Retail can’t be a guessing game anymore—that takes too long, costs too much, leaves too much leftover inventory begging to be marked down, and customers won’t take long to notice that a brand or retailer never has what they want when they want it.


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Intel has bought Israeli mobile navigation specialist Telmap in a deal reported to be worth around $300 million.
The company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel when the deal is closed. No other terms were disclosed by either party.
“This move is a step towards expanding our mobile software services capabilities as Intel continues to grow in the area of software and services,” Peter Biddle general manager of AppUp Products and Services (APS) at Intel said in a blog post.
“Telmap delivers great multi-platform consumer experiences every day and we’re looking forward to combining that focus and excellence with Intel’s to significantly grow their business.”
Intel said the acquisition would enable its app developers to provide users with a range of location-based features for users.
“These new cross-platform location capabilities will allow developers to not just retain their users but delight them via in-app and in-experience location features that they just can’t really do today,” Biddle added.
“New advanced capabilities with just a few lines of code: and who doesn’t like that?”
Telmap, which was founded in 2000, was recently ranked among the top 50 fastest-growing tech companies in Israel by Deloitte. The company has grown by a staggering 1,573 per cent in the last five years.
“We are excited to be ranked eighth on this very prestigious list. The fact that we are on it for the fifth consecutive year is a strong indication that our growth is not only significant and consistent but also sustainable,” said Telmap’s chief executive Oren Nissim.
“We will continue to nurture what we view as our key success factors: our strong relationships with our customers, the mobile operators, our product superiority, our innovative business models and our strong commitment to deliver end user value around location-based services.”


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Years back, Callaway Golf had a hit with their X Forged wedges featuring the original Mack Daddy Grooves. Those grooves were wide and deep and chewed through golf balls. Then the rules changed and the company had to go back to the drawing board. After a few different models, the company and Roger Cleveland created the Mack Daddy 2 wedges. These wedges have proved to be popular ones, which is evident as they are still the companies current wedge despite being released two years ago. That isn’t to say that things have remained completely stagnant though; as time has passed more options have been made available. At first it was just a couple more loft/bounce options with different grinds. Last year, the company released the Tour Grind version. This year, the change is a bit bigger. The company’s newest version of the Mack Daddy wedge is the PM grid, and it will be available starting May 15th.
If you haven’t figured it out already, the “PM” in PM Grind stands for Phil Mickelson. Having combined the talents of renowned designer Roger Cleveland and short game artist Phil Mickelson, the company believes that they have something special.
The first thing that golfers will probably notice about the new wedge is that it’s more than just a different sole grind. The wedge has a unique shape which they say allows the golfer to be more aggressive. The club has grooves that cover the entire face (39% more coverage) and a higher toe. The design adds to the clubs versatility as it allows golfers to accelerate through the ball on all types of shots, be it flops, bunker shots or out of thick rough.
The club is available in four different lofts, 56°, 58°, 60°, and 64°. Retail price for the clubs is $129 each.


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HDFC Bank on Sunday announced the launch of EasyEMI on debit cards, enabling its customers to make payments for items purchased using their debit cards. Offering its pre-approved loan facility to 8 million customers, HDFC Bank said the EasyEMI offer will enable customers to purchase products including consumer durables, consumer electronics, mobiles, furniture and medical equipment "in easy instalments, in a quick, convenient, and transparent manner". Customers will have a pre-approved loan amount available to them 24x7 and the entire process of making a purchase using debit cards in easy instalments is completely paperless, HDFC Bank said in a press release.
- EasyEMI will enable customers to purchase products with easy installments
- Customers will have a pre-approved loan amount available to them 24x7
- Minimum loan that can be availed through EasyEMI is Rs. 10,000
How to use HDFC Bank's 'EasyEMI'
"Customers can simply swipe their debit card and select the EasyEMI option when making payment at offline as well as online merchants. Eligible customers will be informed by the bank on email as well as SMS," HDFC Bank said in its press release dated September 17.
"With EasyEMI on Debit cards, customers get a pre-approved loan offer on their debit cards which they can use with just one swipe at merchant outlets. We feel it is a simple, quick and convenient option for our customers to fulfil their desires particularly during the festive season...," said Parag Rao, country head-card payment products, merchant acquiring services and marketing at HDFC Bank.
Here are five other things to know about HDFC Bank's EasyEMI option:
The minimum loan amount that can be availed through EasyEMI is Rs 10,000.
In the first phase, pre-approved EasyEMI will be offered to about 8 million bank customers across different cities in India.
With this launch, the bank offers easy instalment facility to customers in three form factors - EasyEMI on credit cards, EasyEMI on debit cards, and 'Durable & Lifestyle' finance at merchant outlets.
As of June 30, 2017, HDFC Bank had a distribution network with 4,727 branches and 12,220 ATMs in 2,666 cities/towns.
Customers can utilize the EasyEMI offer to make purchases on major e-commerce sites during their festive sales in a hassle-free and transparent manner, HDFC Bank said."The EasyEMI offer on debit cards can be used for purchasing consumer durables, consumer electronics, mobiles, furniture, fitness equipment; booking flight and train tickets; and availing medical treatment," it noted.


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Titled ‘The Economic Sector in Musandam: Opportunities and Challenges’, the workshop approached the exceptional business environment the governorate has, required incentives for activating economic activities and mechanism for creating more opportunities for job seekers, a press release said.
The participants exchanged opinions and views on how establishing a special economic zone in Musandam shall contribute to creating more new job opportunities, support economic sustainability, and activate a variety of commercial activities.
Businessmen and entrepreneurs who attended the workshop highlighted the impact of establishing a special economic zone on attracting funds and investments to Musandam governorate.
The initial suggestions given by the majority of participants pointed out to the necessity of establishing free markets, commercial spaces, technology parks and many other activities under the umbrella of the proposed special economic zone.
Furthermore, entrepreneurs and businessmen expressed their request that the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) gives a special attention to the economic situation and reality in Musandam by considering the applicable proposals suggested by the local communities.
Source Link: muscatdaily.com


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On Friday (February 24), Frank Ocean hosted a special two-hour #blondedRADIO program on Apple Music station Beats 1.
During the first hour of the show, Ocean played a smooth mix of new material (Kodak Black's "Tunnel Vision," Future's "I'm So Groovy," Migos' "Get Right Witcha"), classics (Celine Dion's "All By Myself," Prince's "When You Were Mine") and his own work ("Nights," "Slide" with Calvin Harris and Migos), while the second hour featured more music and a conversation with Jay Z.
Yes, that Jay Z.
Together, the pair discussed the current state of the music industry, the difference between hip-hop clubs back in the day versus now, and the overall listening habits of today's generation.
"I think with all the technology today, [streaming services] are a more efficient way to get music out," Jay explained to Ocean.
While it's far from surprising to hear Jay provide commentary on the efficiency and purpose of streaming services in 2017—after all, he is the majority owner of a platform now valued at $600 million—the fact that he delivered these remarks on Apple Music, one of TIDAL's two chief competitors, is head-scratching.
In the past, Jay has gone out of his way to give TIDAL any competitive advantage possible, which includes removing a portion of his catalog from Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and even Amazon, so appearing on Beats 1 for an interview with an artist who just released his album exclusively with Apple Music is not nothing.
To be clear, I have no idea what Jay is up to—Was the 33% stake Sprint purchased from TIDAL Jay's equity???—but his history as a calculated business, man, suggests that there's more here than meets the ear.


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Japanese food manufacturer Ezaki Glico has announced sending its human resources to the cloud, laying the digital foundation for its global expansion.
Ezaki Glico's primary business is manufacturing confectionery products such as chocolate, chips, chewing gums, and dairy products. Additionally, the company manufactures processed foods such as curry stocks and retort takikomi gohan pouch, as well as dietary supplement products.
Founded in 1922 by Riichi Ezaki, the company most-known for its Pocky confectionery now conducts business in 30 countries. Realising domestic consumption in Japan is limited, the company is actively promoting its overseas business in areas including Australia.
With its name already established, the company realised that in order to promote product and business development globally, it also needed to have a strong digital backbone to succeed on a global scale.
Ezaki Glico chose a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution from software vendor Workday.
According to the company, it will use the new HR system to consolidate its employee data, view up-to-date organisational information, and create reports in real time.
"This will contribute to business expansion by optimising workforce planning and supporting the company's hiring efforts," a statement explains.
With HR in the cloud, the company also expects to make better talent management decisions and better ensure they are allocating people in ways that make full use of their strengths and abilities.
Workday HCM will also be used as a tool to manage employee data including career history, skills, and training records. Additionally, employees will have self-service capabilities allowing them to build their own career paths and introduce themselves to counterparts in other countries.
Ezaki Glico plans to deploy Workday to major domestic and overseas bases in the fiscal year of 2017, and complete the deployment at all sites of the Ezaki Glico Group in 2019.
GenesisCare ready to scale with a workforce of IT 'change champions'
The cancer and cardiovascular treatment provider took the road less travelled and involved the entire organisation in the implementation of a new IT system to ensure it was something that would benefit its staff, and ultimately its patients.
South Korea aims for paperless society with wider e-document use
Around 1,400 laws that require physical paper reports from companies will be overturned, allowing for electronic documents.
Wendy's cooks up digital transformation plans with kiosks, mobile apps, customer experience lab
Wendy's plans to roll out more self-service kiosks, use agile software development, develop mobile ordering and create a customer experience that drives loyalty and revenue.
Welcome to the data-driven machine: Digital transformation in the construction industry
IoT is an enabler for unabridged data collection, which in turn enables new applications and business models. In the construction industry, some like Caterpillar have been doing it for years, others like Volvo CE are late into this game but catching up.
Digital transformation: Why the future is looking bright for CIOs
CIO Strategies: Digital transformation projects and the need to spread the use of technology throughout organisations is good news for tech chiefs.


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Playtonic Games confirms that Yooka-Laylee is now undergoing specific testing on the Nintendo Switch, with the game set to release on the platform later this year.
Playtonic Games’ Yooka-Laylee is a throwback title that aims to bring back the best elements of N64-era gaming, and apparently that includes huge glitch skips as well.
Yooka-Laylee wears its influences on its sleeve, but gamers with nostalgia for the Nintendo 64 era will find plenty to enjoy — even if others are left cold.
Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic announces its intention to drop YouTuber JonTron’s voice acting talents from the upcoming game due to recent controversy.
Yooka-Laylee gets a very cool trailer that shows off the thrilling and chilling world of Glitterglaze Glacier, the newest level to make its way into the upcoming game.
After an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, the upcoming 3D platform-adventure game Yooka-Laylee has gone gold, well ahead of its release date this spring.
Playtonic Games releases a new trailer for the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee that shows off some of the game’s multiplayer gameplay.
Playtonic Games announces the release date for Yooka-Laylee, and confirms that the game won’t see a release on the Wii U as a result of ‘unforeseen technical issues.’
Playtonic Games announces that Yooka-Laylee will be getting a physical disc release. Kickstarter backers will be examine their options in the near future.
Playtonic Games releases a new trailer for the upcoming Banjo Kazooie spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee, revealing that the game will feature a surprise cameo from Shovel Knight.
In anticipation of E3 2016, Playtonic Games releases a new gameplay trailer for Yooka-Laylee, while also announcing that the game has been delayed to next year.
Kev Bayliss, a former Rare designer that worked on games like Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct, joins Playtonic Games to help develop Yooka-Laylee.
Developer Playtonic Games offers gamers their first look at a new character in Yooka-Laylee, Rextro Sixtyforus, an orange dinosaur inspired by the look of ’90s platformers.
Playtonic Games recently hosted an AMA on Reddit, where it revealed that the team hopes to make its new game ‘Yooka-Laylee’ larger than ‘Banjo-Kazooie’.
Playtonic Games has unveiled the newest characters joining the growing cast of its ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ spiritual successor, as the Ghost Writers join ‘Yooka-Laylee’.
Kickstarter campaigns for ‘Yooka-Laylee’ and ‘Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’ have cleared numerous stretch goals, despite only being on the service for the past two weeks.
Playtonic Games has unveiled a brand new character debuting in its crowd-funded, smash-hit ‘Yooka-Laylee’ in the form of Trowzer – the snake that wears pants.


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Demand for touch panels is set to increase in the fourth quarter of 2010, with growing demand from Apple and other vendors leading to a continued short supply.
TPK Touch Solutions and Wintek are expected to benefit substantially from this demand with both firms predicted to report record revenues in November, Wintek expecting to land net profits in the region of $65 million.
According to Digitimes, Wintek has declined to comment on market estimates, but has apparently indicated monthly revenues have reached $264 million. Wintek also said that current capacity and supply is tight though client demand remains strong, with a lot of production lines relying on the cooperation of upstream suppliers to keep running smoothly.
Smaller brands are also now beginning to see significant growth, particularly with regards to handset products. Orders from other branded vendors are also increasing but not at the same pace as lager clients.
In addition to the largest clients, orders from other branded vendors are seeing significant growth, mainly for handset products. Orders for tablet PC products from other branded vendors are also increasing but not as significantly as the largest clients.
It has also been noted that, while Wintek usually focuses on touch panels for mobile handsets and tablet PCs, there are rumours that Wintek has landed orders from Sony for DSC touch panels, shipments of which are generally very small. Wintek declined comment on these rumours.
Wintek also noted that it has started mass production of small and medium-sized models of its Touch on Lens products, combining a touch panel and cover glass. Shipments of the products are not currently significant in terms of overall shipping figures, though market sources are apparently optimistic for demand.


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Australian retailer The Iconic has released reports on its previous financial year with mixed results.
The brand reported an over 38 percent rise in revenue in 2018, rising to $392.19 million. However, due to a dramatic increase in spending the company’s recorded profits did not reflect the same success. The Iconic posted a net loss of $19.37 million.
The brand has expressed its hopes that 2018’s dramatic spending will have positive carryover effects into 2019, where they hope to have a profitable year.
2018’s loss was dominated by sales and marketing costs, which increased by 33.6 percent. However, the push seemed to be successful as they recorded record traffic and a double-digit market share thanks to their over 1000 brands they have signed.
While the brand may not have reported profitability, the future is looking promising as they continue to make progress on their market presence.


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PHILIPPINES--Nortel Networks is currently working on a business plan as part of a restructuring exercise the company will be implementing, according to company executives.
The business plan will be submitted to the company's credit committee, which will then make the assessment and evaluation, Mark Fioretto, Nortel's South Asia vice president for enterprise, said at a media briefing here Wednesday.
Until then, Fioretto stressed, it is "business as usual" for the networking equipment maker and nothing changes, as far as business operations are concerned. The executive did not disclose any other details on the business plan.
He added that he could not ascertain when the business plan will take effect or how it will affect the organization, noting only that these processes could take between 45 and 120 days.
To date, no details or announcements have been made regarding the business plan.
Nortel last month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in a move deemed to help shield the company from creditors. The company filed Chapter 11 in the United States, Canada and Europe.
According to Fioretto, the filing has not affected Nortel's day-to-day operations.
Various news reports said the Chapter 11 filing was a precursor to a massive reorganization, which could see the company selling some of its assets and trimming its global workforce.
But, Fioretto dismissed the reports, saying that "there is nothing final yet".
"We cannot comment on these rumors," he said, and added that Nortel will continue to work with some of its major partners, including IBM and Microsoft, on releasing products and services for the global market.
In the Philippines, meanwhile, Nortel said it has assured its clients that operations will proceed as planned. Mandy Pascual, the company's Philippines country manager for enterprise, said Nortel continues to win contracts, even after news about the Chapter 11 filing surface.
"Most of our customers expressed support, after the announcement was made," Pascual said, adding that the Nortel recently bagged significant deals from the local business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
However, he said the company is unable to disclose further details of the new contracts wins, pending clearance from the clients.
Pascual added that in light of the economic slowdown, Nortel Philippines will actively pursue "pockets of opportunities" in the country.
He said the company also plans to initiate an expansion plan for areas in the Philippines that it has yet to penetrate.
Joel D. Pinaroc is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.


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Last year, Omega replica watches launched a special edition of the Seamaster Planet Ocean series as the official timekeeper of the 36th America’s Cup. With the beginning of the world’s most prestigious sailing competition approaching, Omega replica released another special timepiece based on the rugged and sporty Seamaster Diver 300M series, which has multiple models of “race ready” “Features.
New Seamaster Diver 300M America’s Cup Replica Watches
This best replica watch comes with an additional rubber strap, displayed in a specially designed box with America’s Cup color and logo. The 36th America’s Cup hosted by Prada will begin on March 6, with Prada Cup champion Luna Rossa, Prada Pirelli and New Zealand’s Emirates Airline team – the finalists’ first rematch in 2000, which proved to be the first. To this end of the America’s Cup, luxury Omega replica watches served as a timekeeper.
The cheap replica watch has a 300-meter waterproof case and is also equipped with a Chrono Lock system that can lock and unlock the chronograph button to prevent accidental adjustments when using the stopwatch function. This watch uses a metal bracelet with an additional rubber strap, both of which use the “Quick Change” system. To change the bracelet, the wearer only needs to press a button to release the needle from the fake watch head without the need for other tools.
The Alveol-shaped bottom cover is decorated with blue lacquer engravings, representing the “36th America’s Cup” and “Oakland 2021”. The wearer can catch a glimpse of the Omega replica Coaxial Perpetual Calendar 9900 Multimeter through its sapphire window, which is an automatic movement equipped with a column-wheel-driven chronograph, and 60 hours of power stored in a double barrel. Like all Master Chronometer movements, it has a silicon balance spring and a coaxial escapement, and is diamagnetic to 15,000 Gauss. Its surface is decorated with Omega replica watch’s iconic Côtes de Genève “Arabesque” pattern.


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Earlier today, during the Capcom Showcase (a new online event by Capcom, the video game juggernaut) there were a number of Resident Evil-related announcements. Of those, the one about the add-on campaign for Resident Evil Village, the most recent entry in the Resident Evil series, was the one I found most interesting. Shadows of Rose, as this particular DLC is titled, is due to be released on October 28 this year, and it will feature Rosemary Winters (the daughter of the main character from Village), as its protagonist. Like the last couple of Resident Evil games, Shadows of Rose appears to be more of a psychological horror game than an action one, and although I can’t say I’m a huge fan of this genre, I do think Rose is a very cool-looking character, and I think it will be a lot of fun to play as her.😊
The long awaited Resident Evil 2 remake was announced a couple of weeks ago at E3 2018, but this trailer (which was shown there) has only just been added to the official Resident Evil YouTube channel. It’s kind of a reveal trailer, as it is not immediately clear what it is about at the start. And while the other trailers that have been released thus far show more actual gameplay, I find this trailer particularly interesting because you get to see a fair bit of Claire Redfield in it.


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Live streaming company Streamin' Garage has announced plans to launch the world's first bitcoin-only game show: “Take my Bitcoins”.
is already in production and it is sponsored by Butterfly Labs, one of the best-known and increasingly controversial providers of bitcoin mining hardware. In recent months, the company has come under fire from miners who are still waiting for products, following lengthy production and delivery delays.
"Take my Bitcoins" will offer contestants a chance to win thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin every week. The show will be co-hosted by celebrities and gameplay will include various online activities, ranging from social media to chat rooms and live call-ins via Skype and Google Voice.
Shut up and take my bitcoins
Streamin' Garage says there is no limit to how many people can win, as the games will continue until the show's bitcoin wallet is empty.
"Streamin' Garage has always strived to break new ground in original online production," said Streamin' Garage founder, Mike Rotman.
Jeff Ownby, VP of Marketing at Butterfly Labs said the company is pleased to lend a helping hand in the creation of the show, which he described as a significant step in broadening awareness about bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general.
"We couldn't be more excited to sponsor this trailblazing event that will feature the first bitcoin miner ever to be used by a customer exclusively for game show prizes," said Ownby.
"Take my Bitcoins" will premiere on 3rd April, at 8pm Pacific Time and you can check it out on takemybitcoins.tv.
There is some fun to be had even if you're not too keen to enter the show. Free bitcoins are up for grabs and the producers want you to guess how many bitcoins will be mined in time for the first show.
Although the name Streamin' Garage implies a certain level of garage-level production, this is not the case. The company was founded by Mike Rotman, who worked on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, South Park and The Simple Life.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, institutional digital assets exchange. Bullish group is majority owned by Block.one; both groups have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.


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updated 11:55 am EDT, Thu July 19, 2007
Vodafone wants 3G iPhone
The interenational phone carrier Vodafone is saying that while it would like to distribute the iPhone in Europe, its major issue is the lack of 3G in the device. Reuters writes that in a recent Vodafone conference call, during which it reported healthy third-quarter finances, the company expressed doubts about success for the iPhone in Europe using its current design -- its cellular broadband comes in the form of EDGE, a "2.5G" technology that even Apple CEO Steve Jobs has admitted can be slow.
"It's clearly a good, software-driven device," said Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, "but we're concerned about wideband area coverage so that 3G (third-generation) or HSDPA (upgraded 3G) connectivity with the iPhone is something that we look forward to."
The difficulty is that much of Europe, particularly Scandinavia, has long been accustomed to 3G services and would likely see the current iPhone as a step backwards rather than the great leap forward promoted by Apple. "Every product, every alterative, every choice here has a price and we just have to be conscious of what it is that we're doing for our customers and our shareholders," said Sarin.
While Vodafone has been pointed to as a serious contender for a pan-European iPhone contract, its recent statements and a general lack of news may indicate that Apple is heading elsewhere, possibly to T-Mobile. Apple is notorious for having coerced AT&T into many concessions, in exchange for an exclusive iPhone contract.


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Jay-Z Teams up With Yankees
Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:56:12
Jay-Z + NYY? It's a New York state of mind for hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and the New York Yankees who are joining forces for a limited edition clothing line.
The rapper and the baseball team are partnering co-brand a clothing line that will be sold exclusively at Yankee Stadium beginning today. All the apparel items, from baseball caps to T-shirts and hooded sweat shirts, will feature Yankees and Jay-Z logos. That's a lot of logos.
The Yankees said the attire was created to commemorate the first official concerts at the new Yankee Stadium on September 13 and 14, when Jay-Z and Eminem will co-headline in a meeting of the rap minds.
Are you a Bronx Bombers fan planning to pick up some of this gear? Is it too much with the logos?


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GM’s top lawyer, criticized over ignition switch recall, to retire
by The Associated Press
U.S. lawmakers demanded Michael Millikin be fired in connection with bungled ignition switch recall
DETROIT—The top lawyer with General Motors Co. (GM), Michael Millikin, who withstood withering criticism from lawmakers for his department’s handling of an ignition switch recall, is retiring early next year.
GM said in a statement that the 66-year-old Millikin will stay on until a replacement is on the job.
During a July United States Senate hearing on the delayed recall of small cars with faulty switches, lawmakers demanded that Millikin be fired.
One senator called the failure of GM’s legal department “stunning.”
Millikin said he didn’t learn of the problem until this year.
At least 27 people died in crashes linked to the switches.
GM has admitted knowing about them a decade ago, yet it didn’t recall the cars until this year.
CEO Mary Barra praised Millikin as a man of impeccable integrity and unwavering loyalty.


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2020 turned out to be a year of new records for the streaming services in Sweden. More people than ever are paying for video streaming services, while viewing reaches new top levels, according to Mediavision. In its latest study, the consultancy firm showed that the pandemic has had substantial effects on the state of the Swedish streaming market, and by that accelerated the digital transformation.
The first quarter of 2020 was characterized by a slowdown in growth on the streaming market, both in terms of subscriptions and viewing. However, when closing 2020, the final result is substantial growth. Restrictions following the pandemic appears to have had a clear and positive impact on interest for video services in general. Last year holds several new records and a continued strong transformation of the media market.
For example, viewing reached a new high during the fourth quarter of 2020. Close to 70% watched online video an average day. This constitutes an increase of more than 10% compared to the same period 2019. By the end of the year, just over 2.6 million households paid for at least one subscription to a video streaming service. This also reveals a strong growth, resulting in online video and traditional pay TV being equally large in terms of paying households. The consumer migration to online in Sweden has been evident since the second quarter.
According to Mediavision’s previous studies, in Q3, for the first time, SVOD-households in Sweden subscribe to more than two services on average. The appetite for SVOD remains high and many express interest in subscribing to more services.
This increased interest in video is also reflected in spend. Today, households in Sweden spend more on online video than ever before. On average, a Swedish household spends (including both paying and non-paying) approximately 120 SEK per month for services from Netflix, Viaplay, Cmore etc.
“2020 was, to say the least, an eventful year. We have seen strong growth for video and more people than ever are consuming video online. We can also conclude that interest for online video has grown among older people. They now adhere to streaming services like Netflix, Viaplay and Cmore to much greater extent than before. On top of that, more households than ever are paying for online video services and for a larger number of services. The number of services offered to households in Sweden has never been greater, implying an even more intensified battle over the consumers in 2021,” commented Marie Nilsson, CEO of Mediavision.
The number of services offered to households in Sweden has never been greater, implying an even more intensified battle over the consumers in 2021” Marie Nilsson CEO of Mediavision


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This year's flu season is shaping up to be just as bad as expected, and that is driving consumers to drug stores for relief.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, the nation's largest pharmacy chain, saw a big boost in December in part because of flu-related purchases.
The retailer said sales in stores open at least 12 months rose 9.2 percent last month, as the flu drove spending higher in the so-called front of the store for things like tissues and over-the-counter medications.
Pharmacy sales also saw a boost due to greater demand for flu shots. Since the start of flu season, Walgreens said it has administered 7.6 million flu shots in its pharmacies, nearly a million more than this time a year ago.
Smaller rival Rite Aid also reported stronger sales due to the flu last month. Shares of Walgreens and CVS Health hit 52-week highs in late December, and Rite Aid shares have been trending upward. All three stocks were trading higher early Wednesday.
The spread of the flu is also driving more patients to see their doctors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu activity was at moderate to high levels in two-thirds of the nation at year's end, when flu-related hospitalization increased. That has analysts wondering whether fourth-quarter results for health insurers will be hurt by flu-related medical costs.
"While flu costs are seasonal and not indicative of underlying cost trends, they can have marginal impact on health plan medical costs and hospital volumes and can be challenging to disentangle from underlying trend estimates," wrote Brian Wright, health-care analyst at Sterne Agee.
Wright estimated Medicaid players Centene and Wellcare Health Plans have the biggest exposure to states that reported the highest levels of severe flu activity at year-end, followed by Molina Healthcare.
For hospitals severe flu seasons result in higher volumes. Those with the greatest exposure to the hardest-hit flu regions include HCA Holdings, Community Health and Tenet Health Care, according to Wright.
Wedbush analyst Sarah James is also concerned that high flu activity will hit fourth-quarter results for pure-play Medicaid insurers, but the impact is likely to be more evenly spread than it was two years ago.
"In 2012, the primary outbreak of concern was in Texas," she wrote in a note to investors. James noted that because of greater exposure to the Lone Star State, Centene's fourth-quarter results that year were harder hit than its rival Molina Health's.
"This year, there is overlap for all companies in multiple regions and states," James said.
UnitedHealth Group will kick off earnings season for the health insurers when it reports Jan. 21.


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Ranch Foods Direct owner Mike Callicrate, right, was among the local food enthusiasts who gathered to celebrate the inaugural 160-page edition of Local Food Shift magazine during a special launch party in September. The “nutrient dense” magazine rolled off the presses following a successful online fundraising campaign that brought in more than $12,000 to support the effort. Held at a newly established food cooperative in a West Denver neighborhood, the event gave supporters like Mike a chance to speak about why they consider the new magazine so important.
To make his point, Mike brought to the gathering’s attention a recent news item about the controversial sale of a 60,000-acre ranch that had originally been gifted to the University of Wyoming and Colorado State University for educational and research purposes. Instead, the colleges sold the historic Y Cross Ranch, defending their decision by saying that in 18 years of operation the ranch had generated a net income of barely $235,000, whereas by selling it they received $14.4 million to place in an endowment to fund university programs.
“If universities teaching agriculture can’t make the ranch work, wouldn’t it be nice if they had at least shared that with Americans and let them know that there’s something wrong in rural America?” Mike said. “Wouldn’t it have been nice if Americans would have been told, even as recently as 20 years ago, that the food system was broken? If they’d known, maybe they would have responded differently. Instead they’ve been kept in the dark about what a struggle it is to produce food in this country.”
“Local Food Shift is a hopeful sign that maybe we can get the real story told,” he continued. “(Publisher) Michael Brownlee, thanks to you and your team, hopefully soon more people will know the truth. Most Americans simply don’t have the information they need to act responsibly and make informed choices when they buy their food.”
The premier issue of the magazine includes articles on food democracy and food sovereignty as well as profiles of local farmer-chefs and a section called Local Food at Home, filled with cooking advice and recipes, introduced and compiled by Colorado Springs’ own Nanna Meyer. Mike Callicrate, a guest contributor, reviews the film, Merchants of Doubt. Subscriptions to the beautiful quarterly are available at LocalFoodShift.pub. You can also visit the website to read the articles online. Or pick up a copy at Ranch Foods Direct.


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Snarf’s continues to expand its sandwich empire, opening three new locations in 2018 and adding more burger shops to its portfolio.
Last month, the Boulder-based sandwich chain announced it would open a new Snarf’s at 25th Avenue and Federal Boulevard.
Snarfburger will take over a former Western Union check-cashing business at 2535 Federal Blvd. And the sandwich side will take over the Nu-Leaf Dispensary next door, spokeswoman Holly Moran said. The company hasn’t announced opening dates.
It also plans to add a Snarfburger store next to the existing Snarf’s sandwich shop on Capitol Hill.
Jim “Snarf” Seidel founded Snarfburger in Boulder in 2013. He founded the Snarf sandwich chain in 1996.
In late 2017, the company opened a South Broadway location. Like the new Federal location, the Broadway Snarf’s is an older building. Moran said Seidel enjoys finding older Denver buildings and giving them new life as part of the chain.
Snarf’s also is slated to open at Denver International Airport, according to its website. The company is expanding to the mountains as well, where a Snarf’s and Snarfburger are set to open near the Outlets at Silverthorne.
Once they’re open, Snarf’s will have 18 stores in Colorado, as well as stops in Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Snarfburger has locations in Boulder and Chicago.


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The National Road Traffic Regulations Act was amended by Transport Minister Ben Martins in October last year. The Act now requires that those transporting goods be in possession of a written declaration containing the nature of the goods transported; the particulars of every consignor and consignee of the load; and a compulsory insurance on the goods, among other requirements.
Norton Rose Fulbright associate Peter Lamb told a business breakfast of the Southern African Shippers, Transport and Logistics Council (SASTALC) in Johannesburg recently that the new regulations “will affect the smooth running of logistics” and supply chain processes.
He dismissed them as vague, saying they could have been handled better.
Over the past 20 years there had been a lack of compliance with road regulations, said Mitchell Brooke from Fruit SA, which is also part of the SASTALC. He was of the view that the new regulations would hamper transportation of cargo.
SASTALC CEO Brenda Ferreira shared these sentiments, and called for solutions that would benefit both government and the industry.
Mihlali Gqada, a logistics and economics specialist at the department of transport, urged the industry to engage with government on a continuous basis.
“Let’s not have silo meetings and come hit at government. There should be integrated planning among us. We all know where we want to go but we don’t know how to get there,” said Gqada, whose department will soon arrange a workshop to address issues including policy direction, among others.


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UK cheese producer Wyke Farms has launched a new cheese brand called London 1856, which has been specifically created for the export market.
According to Wyke Farms, the new range represents the first cheddar from Wyke Farms to be launched on a global scale, while the brand has been developed to target the rapidly growing Asian market.
Wyke Farms claims that it has carried out research over the past four years to understand the needs of shoppers in the region and identify what it is they expect from UK food brands.
The London 1856 range will initially include an extra mature cheddar product which has been aged for 300 days, as well as mild, mature, vintage, and Red Leicester variants.
The launch of the new range comes as Wyke Farms aims to establish a globally recognisable brand to formalise their offering as part of the company’s ‘Brexit proofing’ strategy.
Rich Clothier, managing director at Wyke Farms, said: “In many of the emerging regions we are seeing the first generation within families who are able to travel; the first trip is often London to experience the tastes and culture of the UK.
“Because of this and the success of the London Olympics, ‘Cool Britannia’ is a growing sentiment and one we have been market researching for a number of years. We are now ready with the right cheese, in the right place and at the right time.
“This is the first brand we have ever launched that is targeted purely at export markets.”
The launch of the new export brand follows the company’s announcement in 2019 that it would expand and double the capacity of its Bruton dairy facility in Somerset, in order to launch new products for export.
Wyke Farms also scaled up its international distribution reach earlier this year by agreeing a distribution partnership with Netherlands-headquartered Westland Cheese (Westland Kaasspecialiteiten B.V.).
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2022
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Fashion retailer White Stuff today said it was to cut 390 jobs in the latest phase of a transformation programme responding to the shift of sales online. That shift, it said, was moving faster than ever since the Covid-19 lockdown.
Some 100 redundancies will be made at its headquarters and 290 in its UK retail team, following a consultation with staff. This said White Stuff in a statement, signalled a “fundamental reshaping of the business”.
The retailer, ranked Top100 in RXUK Top500 research, said that over the last 18 months it had developed its online sales and focused on becoming a more digitally-driven brand through a business transformation programme. That programme aimed to respond as customers do more of their shopping online. But the speed of change increased during coronavirus lockdown Covid-19, when more of its existing shoppers started to buy from it online and others tried it for the first time. Since then, change that might have previously taken years to happen had now come about in the space of weeks, it said, and customers are not likely to go back to their old ways while social distancing persists.
Now, it says, it needs a new and more agile approach that will allow it to continue to react to changing customer behaviour while building its White Stuff community.
Jo Jenkins, chief executive of White Stuff, said: “We need to face into the reality, particularly given the ongoing uncertainty of when and how shops might perform given social distancing, that we need a leaner, more agile operating model that allows us to react to changing customer behaviour.”
White Stuff was founded in 1985 and today is a lifestyle fashion brand selling online and through about 100 shops in the UK.


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Pakistan is at a crossroads. It is encountering numerous challenges. Terrorism has started to resurface and the country’s enemies are trying to fan trouble.
At the same time, the global landscape is going through rapid changes, which has posed new challenges. Political parties are fighting among themselves senselessly, complicating the situation in the country. They are hell bent on securing their positions, at any cost.
However, the economic challenges have broken the back of the common citizen. They have weakened the ability of the state to effectively address the woes, as we know that in the modern era, the economic health determines the strength of any country.
A so-called cold war between the West and China has exacerbated the woes for Pakistan. Western powers are forces different countries to take sides and Pakistan is no exception.
Rather, Pakistan is a victim of the cold war as it has refused to take sides. Although Pakistan is paying the price of the neutral stand in different areas, the economy is bearing the brunt of the impact.
In this backdrop, Pakistan is struggling to find a way to revive the economy on a sustainable basis. It is struggling to find economic partners that do not impose any conditions. It is looking for such economic partners that will not push the country into a deeper debt trap.
The Asian Institute of Eco-civilisation Research and Development (AIERD) has analysed the Cold War 2.0 and its motive. It came up with the conclusion that China could be such a partner due to multiple factors.
First, Pakistan and China have been enjoying brotherly relations for decades. Both countries stood by each other, no matter what the situation was. Besides, China never put conditions or compelled Pakistan to accept anything against national interests. China and Pakistan always protected each other’s core interests at all levels.
Second, the economic rational also favours the relationship with China. There is no second opinion that China is a major economic power. Third, China is the biggest market of the world with 1,400 million consumers. It aims to become one of the major consumption markets by encouraging the class transformation.
China is observing a rapid increase in the middle class, which increased from 39.1 million in 2000 to 707 million in 2018. It is pertinent to mention that 68% of the 707 million fall in the lower middle class, which means they will be trying to graduate to the upper middle class (Pew classification).
According to the Chinese classification, the middle class was around 340 million in 2021, which is expected to reach 500 million by 2025-26.
Furthermore, it is hoped that 400-600 million will graduate to the middle class and 200-400 million will graduate to the upper middle class and upper class till 2035. It will create a huge consumption market, which is already above $6 trillion.
An HBSC report estimated that consumption will increase by $1.1 trillion with additional spending by the new middle class in China. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated that China’s private consumption will reach $12.7 trillion in 2030.
Pakistan can benefit from the enhanced consumption, especially in the food sector. China is one of the biggest importers of food commodities and products including meat, soybean, seafood, fruits, wheat, sorghum and dairy products.
Food imports of China reached $266 billion in November 2022. And they are expected to increase further in the coming years.
The food market can provide Pakistan immediate support to revive its economy. Thus, it should work with China to find avenues to promote the export of meat (China imported 2,330,000 tons of meat in 2021), fruits and dairy products.
It would be a win-win proposition, as Pakistan can earn foreign exchange and China can get quality and cheap food. However, to capitalise on the opportunity, Pakistan will have to meet the quality and health standards.
Good thing is that China has already offered its help to meet the international food standards. Besides, Pakistan can also work with China to promote soybean cultivation, which is one of the biggest food imports from China.
Third, Pakistan is home to the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
CPEC is a complete programme that can help to revive the economy and put the country on a fast track of sustainable development. Pakistan can use CPEC to benefit from the enhanced consumption market of China.
Fourth, BRI is the biggest trade, economic, investment and development programme. It has 149 member countries. So, Pakistan through the BRI can connect to 150 markets of the world, which will open diverse markets.
Fifth, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank can be a good alternative for acquiring financial assistance.
Sixth, the China International Import Expo (CIIE) is another landmark initiative. Pakistan by adopting a smart policy can create multiple economic opportunities at CIIE.
Seventh, being a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Pakistan can benefit from the Chinese initiatives like the China-SCO Special Free Economic Zone and the Digital Economy Forum.
Eighth, China has launched two major initiatives called the Global Development Initiative and Six-100 Development programmes. These are very comprehensive initiatives, which cover almost all major areas of development and environmental protection.
The unique aspect of these initiatives is that China is open to project ideas and no conditions are involved.
The facts discussed above clearly indicate that Pakistan should work with China. China offers opportunities, which can turn around the economic and development agenda of Pakistan.
Industrial and agricultural cooperation will pave the way for sustainable development. Education and scientific cooperation will help Pakistan to benefit from the fourth industrial revolution.
The West itself is looking for markets, especially consumption markets. That’s why they always try to appease India. Western countries feel that the Indian market can help to compete with China.
Thus, Pakistan’s cooperation with China will act as a shield against blackmailing by the big global players.
The writer is a political economist and a visiting research fellow at Hebei University, China
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2023.
Read original article here
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On April 12, @Meizu Accessory Weibo account released the poster of their upcoming products, on which says “Wake Me, When You Need Me. Meizu Halo, 422” without specifying what product it will be. Both the visual design and wording are making a clear reference to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The product has been long expected to be their new flagship gaming laptop.
Shortly after, Meizu VP Yang Yan reposted this update, confirming that Halo will be the first product since he took over Meizu Accessory.
Yang was in charge of Flyme, which was the Operating System of Meizu mobile phones. In 2017, he took over the Department of Accessories with internal reallocation. This gaming laptop will be his very first work as head of the department. What surprises will Yang bring to us this time?
Meizu official did not specify what products will be released on April 22, but words have been going around on Weibo saying it will be a gaming laptop. Fans also speculate that, as the word ‘Halo’ suggests, this product may come with some sort of dazzling light effect.
Today, many Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are working their way into the laptop market. Not too long ago, Huawei and Xiaomi, the two biggest giants in Chinese smartphone market both have released their respective laptops. With this release, Meizu is making a statement that it will not budge from the competition.
Meizu will hold the product release conference in Wuzhen, a history-honored town which now is most known for its scenic sights. The location indicates that Meizu wishes to combine “science and technology” with “traditional culture” to bring out unprecedented blaze. Let’s wait and see!


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Tough times may be clouding the middle and lower income groups but supercars and luxuru automobiles are still flying off the shelves for the well-to-do.
According to finance provider, JBR Capital in the UK, there have been “record volumes of lending” on models from the Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche and Rolls-Royce brand in recent weeks.
Last month, Porsche was again the company’s most financed brand. While the all-electric Taycan generated the highest loan applications in March, it was the 911 that was most popular overall, alongside the Macan and Cayenne.
Interestingly, it’s the 991-generation models of the 911, not the latest 992-generation that’s been flying out of the dealerships. As for Lamborghinis, the Huracan has been preferred over the Aventador, making up more than 50% of all Lamborghinis financed by JBR Capital, followed by the Urus.
As for the Prancing Horse, JBR Capital reported that the 458 Italia is the most in-demand Ferrari at the moment, making up more than half of all the loans by JBR Capital for Ferraris.
Over the course of 2020, UK households have accumulated a total of £200billion with savings coming from reduced commuting and restrictions on leisure activities.
The company said since the lockdown, there’s been a stark increase in demand for high-end cars with buyers having more funds allocated, following a permanent work-from-home regime.
Over the course of May, JBR Capital experienced the largest number of loan applications since the business was launched in 2015.
JBR Capital, Founder and CMO, Darren Selig said, “Demand for sports cars, supercars, and prestige vehicles continues to be incredibly strong. We experienced a record March and April – and May has now eclipsed those months. Without doubt there has been pent-up demand, and as restrictions have eased, this has been unleashed onto the market with our dealer introducers reporting luxury cars being snapped up quickly and a lack of stock.
“With customers unable to take expensive overseas holidays, many are looking to treat themselves. Plus, many are fortunate enough to have more money in their pockets through lockdown savings too.”
There are the top 10 most-in-demand vehicles with the most loan applications in May according to JBR Capital:
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Ferrari 458 Italia
Land Rover Defender
Porsche 911 (991)
Range Rover Sport
JBR Capital is the only independent finance lender in the UK dedicated to high-end vehicle financing. To date they’ve loaned over £500m (approx. RM2.9 billion).


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WELCOME TO The small business REPORT
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Bubblr Inc. | December 22, 2021
Bubblr Inc., an ethical technology company focused on the development of Open Source 3.0 tools for the advancement of a better Internet, today announces another licensing for their Open Source Platform. Two weeks ago, Bubblr announced their first licensing agreement with media company UFF (Ultimate Football Fan). UFF and AFTV (Arsenal Football TV).
Now Bubblr is adding the community app-based licensing opportunity as an entirely different marketing channel geared towards helping l...
Abrigo | May 21, 2022
Abrigo, the leader of compliance, credit risk, and lending solutions for financial institutions, announced an alliance with Validis, a secure data ingestion platform that pulls clients' financial information in real-time, standardized for easy consumption. This partnership will allow financial institutions to extract general ledger data quickly and efficiently. With Validis, banks and credit unions can go from application to spreading financials to deciding on loans without leaving Abrigo...
Nuula | June 15, 2022
Nuula, a fintech company that provides small businesses with the tools and capital they need to excel, announced its Canadian launch today. Starting today, Nuula will offer Canadian small business owners a groundbreaking way to track their company's performance and gain access to various financial products tailored to their needs as owners.
Nuula's super app supports many useful features to help small business owners stay on top of what's valuable. It includes monitori...
Scienaptic | April 19, 2022
Scienaptic announced that Profectus Capital is now live on its platform. Scienaptic has implemented its credit decisioning engine and industry-tested scorecards for Bureau data and Financial Statements as part of Phase-I deployment to improve small and medium company (SMB) loan choices. Scienaptic's AI technology will also be used to identify risk trends in Profectus' customer behavior and deliver more precise prediction risk alerts. Scienaptic is a market-leading global provider of AI-p...
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Released as the US high court ensures LGBTQ Americans’ job protection, the 11th ‘Queer Edition’ at Words Without Borders parallels ‘health, economic, and racial justice’ crises.
The Justice Department sues John Bolton over his forthcoming ‘The Room Where It Happened.’ Simon & Schuster rejects the lawsuit.
The coronavirus pandemic pushes another literary festival into the digital realm, and Turkey’s program expects to trump others as a tri-lingual event.
The annual study from Licensing International shows a sixth year of growth for world licensing, positioning brands for the 2020 coronavirus crisis.
China’s April bestsellers show the book market restarting, with Japanese author Higashino Keigo and Mai Jia’s new book topping the lists.
Seeking ‘transformative fiction’ on contemporary issues, Aspen Literary Prize director Adrienne Brodeur says that serious literature creates empathy.
The rising tide of protest over racial injustice reached publishing in the United States on Monday, as #PubWorkers4BlackLives took to social media.
As much as 30 percent of typical annual reading gains may not be carried into schoolwork in the autumn, says an NWEA report, as the COVID-19 pandemic affects US education.
From Germany, Spain, Cameroon and France, the United States, Québec, Greece, Majorca, and the United Kingdom, our titles today are in the early stages of their rights sales.
Asking consumers to remember what booksellers mean to them, Spain’s publishing industry associations roll out a campaign to reopen book retailers.


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TechRepublic: PS5 shortage: Supply chain disruptions affect gamers and developers alike
Story originally appeared in TechRepublic on the March 3, 2021. Excerpts from the story below. To see the full story visit TechRepublic.com.
“Modern cars, especially with the powertrain changes toward electrification, are basically smart devices on wheels and are more semiconductor hungry than ever before,” said Gabriel Werner, vice president and EMEA solutions advisor at Blue Yonder.
Puneet Saxena, global vice president of Global Manufacturing Sector at Blue Yonder, offered a comparatively more optimistic forecast and said the situation may take between three to four months to be resolved. Either of these estimates won’t help logistics and deliveries in the next few months.
“There is short-term frustration for gamers on the road ahead,” Saxena said.
In The News
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- diginomica: Panasonic buys Blue Yonder – the CEO’s inside story
- Phoenix Business Journal: Behind the deal: Blue Yonder CEO Girish Rishi talks Panasonic acquisition and the road ahead
- Automotive News: Blue Yonder CEO on supply chain trends and what’s next
- Retail Systems Research: Panasonic And Blue Yonder: Going All-In On The Automated Supply Chain
- Logistics Viewpoints: Building Profitability with Agility while Digitally Transforming the Supply Chain


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Your favorite Apple, iPhone, iPad, iOS, Jailbreak, and Cydia site.
01-04-2011, 08:36 AM #1
Apple Market Cap Blows Past $300 Billion
On Tuesday morning, Apple was trading up yet again, with shares of the tech company remaining buoyed above $330. It's a positive start to the first trading session after Monday's significant but somewhat overlooked milestone for the Cupertino outfit. During the first full trading day of 2011, shares of Apple popped 2% and effectively pushed Apple's market capitalization beyond the $300 billion threshold for the first time in Apple's history.
Incredibly, it was just over three years ago when Apple's market capitalization exceeded $100 billion. Not a bad 36 month-run. Still, Apple surprised few with the milestone given one record quarter after the next. Apple does, however, remain approximately $70 billion behind Exxon Mobil Corporation's market cap, which as of Monday, exceeded $375 billion. For the time being, it doesn't appear that Apple will soon overtake Exxon. By the same token, of course, no one is poised to take the second spot either - a position held by Apple since it replaced PetroChina Co. in September.
Coinciding with the record year Apple is already off to, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster stated once again this week that his 12-month price target for Apple remains at $438 per share - a full $100 higher than the stock's current value. As we covered Monday, Munster predicted that Apple will not venture into any new product categories in 2011 and, instead, focus on tweaking and improving its current product line throughout the next twelve months.
Last edited by StealthBravo; 01-04-2011 at 08:45 AM.
01-04-2011, 08:46 AM #2
Those are some incredible numbers.
01-04-2011, 09:04 AM #3
just crazy... Who thought that 10 years ago?I don't give a damn about Chuck Norris, Spongebob can grill under water!
01-04-2011, 09:13 AM #4
Indeed crazy numbers.
01-04-2011, 10:40 AM #5
Makes me kick myself for not buying apple stock 10 years ago. I can barely even afford a share now. Lol
Those numbers are just absolutely amazing tho.
01-04-2011, 11:36 AM #6
so market cap triples in the worst economy since the great depression?
unreal lol. I guess people really need their apple products (me included)
01-04-2011, 12:02 PM #7
That just shows you as bad as the economy gets, people will find the money to buy what they want. Just think, how much do these credit card companies love apple? I'm sure a good chuck of that money is from financially careless people that used credit cards to get cool new products. How much interest will capital one make off a MacBook pro buyer paying minimum payment forever?
01-04-2011, 12:35 PM #8
Boy could I kick myself in the butt for not buying into Apples stocks when they were even 89.00 a share...
01-04-2011, 01:20 PM #9
01-04-2011, 06:49 PM #10
My Dad kicks himself every time he sees Apple share prices! He left the company about 6 months before the iPod was announced and cashed in all his shares, which were about $25 at the time
01-06-2011, 07:19 PM #11
that is just insane, im sure the new ipad will help out this year, and if the very very "rumored" verizon iphone comes out too, they'll catch up soonYou don't like the iPad because you don't have one!


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- News tagged "curved display"
Thursday, 8 Oct 2015
People who think all-in-one PCs are boring in design should take a look the new 34-inch Envy Curved from HP! More enviable details after the jump.
Monday, 5 Oct 2015
Acer has officially released its new Predator X34 curved G-Sync monitor. First seen at Computex 2015, the Predator X34 is 34-inches large and supports a QHD resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixels.
Monday, 17 Aug 2015
Acer has launched its XR341CK IPS display with support for AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. Its 3440x1440 resolution should produce sharp images on its massive 34-inch curved display, and gamers will also appreciate the extra-wide viewing angles afforded by the 21:9 aspect ratio.
Tuesday, 2 Jun 2015
ASUS has announced two new ROG gaming monitors that will support NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology. There’s the 34-inch ROG Curved and the 27-inch ROG Swift PG279Q. More details about these new monitors inside.
Monday, 6 Apr 2015
A third-party warranty firm has just released its findings on how easily new phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge bend. Watch the video and find out if Samsung's latest phone is any more durable than its rivals.
Monday, 2 Mar 2015
Curved displays are all the rage now so it's little wonder that major manufacturers like Samsung are releasing their products fast and furious. The latest in the Korean giant's arsenal? The SE790C and SD590C monitors.
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2013
Looks like smartphones with curved displays are ready for prime time with Samsung officially announcing the Galaxy Round, a smartphone with 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLED display.
Samsung’s mobile business head of strategy marketing D.J. Lee has revealed that the company is planning to introduce a smartphone with a curved display in South Korea this October. (Update: @evleaks has leaked a couple of press shots.)


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The cryptocurrency mixer PrivCoin shut down due to “new and extensive regulations” in the European Union. PrivCoin previously made public and private contributions to the Tor Project and donated all of their profits to charities.
PrivCoin users will see a simple message in place of the mixer’s homepage. Text as follows:
While we previously blocked users from countries with over-reaching regulations, new and extensive regulations added to the European Union in January 2020 have made it impossible to reasonably operate Privcoin.io
Privcoin has been not for profit and will donate the remainder of the “profits” made to worthy charities.
We sincerely hope that we have saved several lives by providing privacy services.
Cryptocurrency expert kidnapped for $1 million bitcoin ransom
Thief behind violence and cryptocurrency grand larceny pleads guilty
Bitcoin exchange chief kidnapped as he leaves work
Dutch Bitcoin Trader Tortured in â€œBrutalâ€ Home Invasion
2 bitcoin traders were held at gunpoint in an armed raid in rural England
Bitcoin Trader Kidnapped and Tortured in South Africa
[Caution] Telling other people how much Bitcoin you have
In addition to the usual claims about privacy made by other mixers, PrivCoin suggested that mixing coins potentially saved lives. The links in the GoodBye World message were also referenced on the mixer’s FAQ section titled “Why Should I Use You?”
When you use Bitcoin with other parties they know who you are, where your coins are held and how many coins you have. Armed with this information. an unscrupulous party can do things like attempt to hack you, kidnap you, torture you, or a competitor can track your company’s revenue. They can also monitor your coins and know where you send them to use that information against you for example if you should use coins on a dating website.
Instead, to preserve your own personal privacy and dignity you can send us (for example) 1 Bitcoin and receive 0.9949 BTC back into your new wallet that has no traces of your identity on it. Using time delays and multiple addresses ensures nobody will know anything about your coins.
PrivCoin had a significant number of users, according to forum threads and Reddit posts about the mixer. Empire Market even recommended the mixer to their customers as a method to conceal Litecoin transactions.
Last year, Dutch law enforcement seized BestMixer.io. Bitcoin Blender shut down only days later. The United States just indicted the administrator of Grams for operating the Grams Bitcoin mixer, Helix (which ultimately failed as a mixer). The number of trusted mixers is in decline and will likely continue to do so as users shift from Bitcoin to Monero and similarly private cryptocurrencies.


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More than four times as many guests travelled with TUI in the first quarter of 2022 as in the same period last year, the company has revealed, as the travel rebound continues.
Revenue was five times higher than in the same period last year, with the travel giant taking in €2.37 billion.
However, TUI still recorded a net loss of €274 million for the first three months of the year, though this was an improvement on the losses of €676 million for the same period of 2021.
TUI chief executive, Fritz Joussen, said: “We expect a strong summer 2022.
“The path out of the pandemic is becoming increasingly clear.
“Demand for travel is high across all markets.
“TUI has used the time to transform: we are leaner and more efficient today and are becoming more profitable than before the crisis.
“On this basis, we will push ahead with the repayment of the state aid granted and the focus on new growth.”
TUI said the framework conditions for tourism have improved significantly, with government measures becoming “more predictable and reliable”.
The lifting of comprehensive restrictions has begun or is foreseeable in some markets, the company said, with the United Kingdom and Denmark leading the way.


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The world’s largest Audi showroom is scheduled to open in Dubai this November. The $30 million structure features numerous eco elements in its design and will be able to showcase up to 57 cars over three levels and 94,000 square feet.
Thus far Audi has invested 355,000 man-hours and $30 million in its upcoming Audi showroom located at the Audi Terminal in Dubai. Located between the second and third interchange on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, the showroom will be the first multi-floor car showroom in Dubai. It will offer unique services for Audi customers such as valet parking service, an escalator and panoramic elevator, state-of-the-art multimedia technology and a power wall for virtual vehicle customization.
Expected to open in November, the Audi showroom will incorporate numerous environmentally friendly features through its high-grade building materials and waste water re-usage system. Designed based on an airport terminal concept, the showroom also integrates maximization of energy efficiency through its layout.
Source: Luxury Launches


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Former MySpace chief executive Chris DeWolfe is stepping up his game strategy with the acquisition of social mobile game developer/publisher Social Gaming Network (SGN) and free online game network Hallpass Media this week. The move comes a little over a year after DeWolfe and a team of other MySpace leaders bought San Francisco casual-social gaming company MindJolt.
In the last 12 months, MindJolt has been expanding its reach beyond its Facebook games platform into web publishing and ad platforms as a means to monetize. Meanwhile, its presence on Facebook has been going through some fluctuations. A year ago it had nearly 17 million monthly active users and 1.90 million daily active users across all of its properties, according to AppData, our tracking service for top apps and developers on Facebook — a drop-off from previous months. Then traffic grew over last summer before starting on a long and increasingly gradual decline. Today, it has 10.5 million MAU and 1.43 million DAU.
Despite the shrinkage, MindJolt said last November that it was making $20 million in annual revenue. Other Facebook game developers have found ways to increase revenues even as MAU and DAU decline over time and it appaers that MindJolt is one of them.
DeWolfe’s long-running plan for MindJolt has been to ramp up monetization through brand partnerships and virtual goods, expand the company’s global presence both online and via smartphones, and work more closely with game developers to create games. SGN and Hallpass Media will help on both the second and third points by adding a library of iOS, Android, and online games as well as an online network of over 4 million gamers. According to the press release announcing the acquisitions, SGN has “a host” of new games set to release on iOS and Android in 2011.
For SGN, in any case, it’s a quiet ending to a prolonged saga. The company was one of the first to get into social gaming, having been spun off from FreeWebs in April of 2008 as it began to get traction on Facebook’s platform. As early rivals, specifically Zynga, doubled down on Facebook gaming, SGN decided to switch focus to mobile by the end of its first year. It went on to launch a number of successful titles for iOS devices, although it has faced intense competition from a wide range of other developers large and small.
The New York Times first wrote about the acquisitions, yesterday, with a look at MySpace’s decline in contrast to MindJolt’s rise. DeWolfe’s former social networking platform has lost users, lost game developers, and reportedly is losing revenue so badly that anonymous sources told the paper MySpace is expected to fetch no more than $100 million when owner News Corp auctions it off this year. News Corp is the one that ousted DeWolfe when it bought MySpace in 2009, and now, says the NY Times, DeWolfe may be one of the bidders looking to buy the dying the network.


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Sellouts of certain Mint products are starting to occur and other offerings will soon be joining them as the year comes to a close. Continue reading
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