text:
Dangote Salt partners NAFDAC to sanitise Nigerian food market
- NASCON Allied Industries, the producer of Dangote Salt, said it would collaborate with NAFDAC to eliminate unscrupulous traders who sell fake and substandard products.
Dangote Salt has said it would collaborate with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to sanitize the Nigerian food market and eliminate unscrupulous traders who sell fake and substandard products.
Paul Ferrer, Managing Director of NASCON Allied Industries PLC (National Salt Company of Nigeria PLC) – the producer of Dangote Salt – and Chief Corporate Communication Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, stated this during a courtesy visit to the office of NAFDAC's Acting Director-General, Yetunde Oni, in Lagos.
Ferrer commended NAFDAC’s efforts in getting rid of substandard products and sanitising the nation’s food market. He, however, said it has been observed that some shady individuals are violating the agency’s directives with respect to the packaging of industrial salts. Ferrer said industrial salts are being packaged and sold in quantities as small as 5-20kg, in contravention of NAFDAC’s directive of selling industrial salts in 50kg packaging.
The NASCON Allied Industries boss said making industrial salts available in smaller quantities is dangerous because unsuspecting consumers may easily purchase industrial salts for consumption instead of iodised salts. While the latter is meant for human consumption, the former is not.
The NAFDAC Acting DG thanked the delegation for its confidence in the agency’s work. She advised companies in the food sector to create Post-Market Surveillance (PMS) units in their establishments for self-regulation of the market, in order to make enforcement easier for NAFDAC.
“The establishment of the PMS unit is the way to go, to actually tackle this menace. The value chain has to be monitored,” she said.
NAFDAC and NASCON Allied Industries agreed to work closely to monitor the quality of products produced by manufacturers and what is supplied to the markets. The agency’s boss also called on food manufacturers to assist in equipping NAFDAC’s laboratories and provide vehicles to boost its operations and make the agency more effective.
NASCON Allied Industries, which was incorporated in 1973 and privatized in 1982, controls more than 60% of the market.
- How Covid-19 has exposed pre-existing structural inequality
- Covid-19 crisis calls for IMO health security regulations for ports and ships
- How NLNG Train 7 project can benefit Nigeria
- Imminent structural shifts in business post-Covid-19
- Matters arising from maiden Health Preparedness Index of Nigerian states
Most Popular News
- FG approves resumption of domestic flights as Covid-19 continues to spread
- FCMB Pensions Agrees to Acquire 96% of AIICO Pension
- Nigeria’s public debt rises to N28.63 trillion
- Seven million more Nigerians to slip into poverty in 2020 – World Bank
- IMF predicts deeper recession in Nigeria as it revises global outlook
- Google selects eight Nigerian startups for accelerator programme


text:
The coming leap in Machine-to-Machine communication will change our lives.
By Elisa Oddone
Jordan is gearing up for another digital revolution. Home appliances, hospital equipment, and car control panels managed by smartphone apps and sensors used to be the stuff of science fiction, but are now quickly becoming a reality.
Machine-to-machine communication (M2M) is what runs under the banner of The Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications are limitless. Any natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address can now connect to the Internet; from a heart monitor implant, to a a biochip transponder inserted under the skin of a farm animal.
Some 3.5 billion devices are online today—a number that could soar to 50 billion in just over five years, according to Cisco. That’s on top of data centers with millions of computer servers, several billion mobile devices, and all the gaming devices, personal computers, and anything else with a chip inside.
“Our internal research indicates that by 2020, the Internet of Everything (another name for the IoT) will generate some $19 trillion worth of opportunity in terms of revenues and cost savings for all industries involved,” said Irfan Verjee, principal for the Cisco Service Provider Transformation Group.
Even though the IoT’s adoption in the Middle East is happening at a much slower rate than elsewhere in the world, the foundations for the industry’s eventual boom are already being put in place. “The whole ecosystem for the Internet of Things is still nascent at a global level,” said Ziad Matar, senior director of business development for the MENA region and South East Asia with the American chipmaker Qualcomm. “Despite the region’s delay, its interest in the sector is starting at the right time, possibly leading to more mature decisions based on the latest technological developments.”
The French telecom group Orange shares this outlook, though it stressed some fundamental requirements are still needed to be put in place to guarantee a solid implementation of the IoT. “The IoT will explode in the Middle East in the next few years,” said Orange Jordan CEO Jean-Francois Thomas. “Everything is ready and people are hungry for the application of this technology.”
One such example is Dubai, which is currently preparing to host World Expo 2020. In the next five years, the emirate is set to connect, coordinate, and manage its ground transport, national security and defense services, as well as travel and touristic assistance and other civil applications by leveraging the IoT. As a matter of fact, Dubai aims to become one of the world’s best connected cities by 2017, according to Cisco.
Room for Improvement
Built on cloud computing and networks of data-gathering sensors, M2M communication is a mobile, virtual, and instantaneous connection. Cloud-based applications are the key to using leveraged data. The IoT doesn’t function without cloud-based applications to interpret and transmit the data coming from all these sensors. The cloud is what enables the apps to work for consumers anytime, anywhere.
The need for an enhanced, more efficient technological infrastructure to run the IoT means its improvement is more urgent than ever. But there still is a long road ahead.
One problem is the current lack of compatibility between systems. The IoT still lacks its own html and there are no common platforms or standards available for it to run on. This raises questions about how different devices can connect and communicate with one another. Another obstacle is the insufficient spectrum of frequencies available for all these myriad of devices to operate on.
Thomas believes it would behove governments to facilitate these basic requirements. “Governments should look at the evolution of the IoT as an overall benefit for the country,” he said. “Governments would benefit indirectly through savings and an enhanced agility in the way they manage services by allowing the use of frequencies at low cost to develop a suitable ecosystem for the IoT.”
Omar Omoush, Umniah’s marketing director, said governments should guarantee investment, entrepreneurship, and flexible regulations to allow the sector to push forward. “This is especially needed in the Kingdom, where regulations are stifling businesses and causing many of them to relocate outside, and where we should work further and establish more 4G services,” he said.
His view was echoed by Cisco’s Verjee. “There should be a small number of flexible and smart regulations on the government’s side to allow the industry to develop competitively,” he said. “It should provide better and stable electricity, help open extra frequencies for wifi, allow permanent roaming, consider licensing for NVNO, and expand the spectrum of frequencies.”
Users are also another key element for IoT development, especially since its framework of operation has not been standardized yet. “It is going to be a kind of jungle for a while in which only the fittest framework will survive and its natural selection would be left up to the consumers,” Thomas said.
In Jordan, Umniah is already providing consumers with a chance to live in a smart home. According to Omoush, his company can connect anything inside homes in the Kingdom. “Everything can be ruled by sensors; doors, heaters, lights, and water heaters. Everything can be controlled via the [Umniah] app downloaded on your smartphone.”
Prices for such systems are affordable, he said, as they depend on the package chosen by the client. Packages begin from around $1,500 for seven different services and installation, plus a monthly subscription fee of $6.
As the technology evolves, so does our dependence on the Internet, leaving people increasingly interested in services like IoT. This means products are losing their luxury status, and their cost is steadily declining.
“Those who choose these services are middle class people, they don’t belong to the wealthiest echelons of society. We are talking about individuals living in apartments and not large villas,” said Omoush.
But IoT’s infusion is also heading more and more towards businesses.
Earlier this year, Umniah launched its Video Analytics Monitoring Solution for retailers with just a niche market in mind. But this has not been the case as the service has been widely adopted. “What we observed in the past months has been amazing,” Omoush said. “This is due to the fact that Jordan is a high-tech country despite its low GDP. People are hungry for technological solutions.”
By using this service, which can count and profile people, register the human traffic flow, audience attention, as well as intrusion and loitering attempts, retailers can learn more about their customers and use the information they collect to provide better services. “Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China are a step forward in the implementation of such services,” Omoush said. “Surprisingly, they are also just starting to spread throughout the United States. Jordan has so far had a pioneering role in their implementation in the region.”
The IoT is also bringing in a host of new collaborations and partnerships, something that isn’t always easy to achieve in the region. Providers are now unanimously calling for dialogue between different stakeholders to make sure that investments chime their goal, avoiding more sector fragmentation.
“This is a story of partnerships and collaboration not only between vendors and service providers, but mostly about strategic partnerships between the agents of innovation,” Verjee said.
The IoT is about the interpolation of computer hardware and software into many applications, so it’s also necessary that providers partner and start discussing security.
All the new connected devices give hackers potential opportunities to break into home products such as security systems, monitoring cameras, and smart TVs. Guarantees on security and data privacy need to grow together with the development of the IoT to protect consumers from harmful intrusion into their lives. “We took a lot of precautions to protect the privacy of the customers in the services we provide,” Omoush said. “The information we collect while monitoring the shops are only linked to clients as persons interacting with the store: their preferences, gender, and in what areas of the shop they spend more time. We don’t intrude on the person’s privacy. But this possible violation is a hot topic concerning these services.”
A new data economy is also growing out of the Internet revolution’s poster children. Young people who grew up surrounded by social media are sharing more information about themselves online than their older counterparts. And for the economically-minded, that means it’s high time to take advantage of that.
“Now data is going to be exchanged between entities and it will carry a certain amount of monetary value,” Verjee said. “What will happen in the future, and what companies are currently working on is to create some control for the users over the data they publicly share and create some form of monetization from them. These are the times of total connectivity.”

domain: news


text:
European parliament votes through recovery package promising almost €4bn in new energy funding
The European clean tech sector was celebrating this week after the European parliament voted through plans to invest €5bn (£3.32bn) in new energy infrastructure and broadband development projects as part...
America's twin economic hubs have started a race to electrify their buildings - and so far the Big Apple is winning
Less than one per cent of clothing material today is refashioned to produce new clothing - but some top brands are exploring one potential solution.
But smart charging won't take off unless it works for the user, warns TechUK's Susanne Baker
Former We Mean Business CEO tasked with getting businesses, investors, organisations, and cities engaged with the COP26 summit happening in Glasgow in November


text:
WEST CHESTER, Pa. — QVC announced that Linda Dillman has been appointed CIO, reporting to QVC president and CEO Mike George.
Dillman, who has more than 20 years of experience leading IT teams, most recently served as SVP global IT at HP. Previously, she was EVP and CIO at Wal-Mart Stores, where she was instrumental in transforming the supply chain management model for Walmart, according to a QVC press release.
"QVC's 25-year track record of success relies on our ability to deliver a high quality, seamless multi-platform experience to our millions of customers worldwide," said QVC President and CEO, Mike George . "This is no easy accomplishment and requires strong IT leadership that can meet our business' high demands for technical functionality, scalability and performance. Linda's background makes her ideally suited to keep QVC at the forefront of innovation and maintain our leadership as the premier global multimedia retailer."
Prior to joining QVC, Dillman served as SVP Global IT at Hewlett-Packard, where she was responsible for development, support and management of all IT applications for the enterprise services business unit and all global functions.
Dillman spent 18 years at Walmart, from 1991 to 2009, during which time she served in areas of increasing responsibility in IT, including EVP and CIO, and also served as EVP risk and benefits. At Wal-Mart Stores, she helped the company harness real-time information on purchasing patterns and economic logistics to ensure millions of products were in stock quickly and efficiently, regardless of where the product's supplier was located, according to QVC. She also led several international systems conversions, most notably during Walmart Stores' acquisition of the Asda chain in the United Kingdom .
Dillman holds a degree in business administration from the University of Indianapolis.


text:
Percentage of shoppers who are going into holiday shopping with some idea of what they want to buy, according to research by Tophatter Inc.: 43
Percentage who make a detailed list and stick to it: 16
When asked what gift categories they plan to buy the most of this year, percentage of respondents who cited toys and video games "because they're what all the kids in my life love most": 23
Percentage who say gift cards or cash "because it's easy and always welcome": 20
Source: Tophatter Inc.
Percentage of full-time employees who will not travel out of state over the holidays, according to research from the human capital management company iSolved, detailing the plans and priorities of employees this holiday season: 70
Percentage of staff who will be taking less paid time off this holiday season than ever before: 38
Percentage of employees who want a bonus most from their employer to end the year: 37
Percentage of Americans who either have or are considering opting out of in-person holiday parties this year, according to a survey by Omaha Steaks: 63
Percentage who are contemplating a Zoom holiday instead: 36
Source: Omaha Steaks
Percentage of Americans who say they will spend the same amount of money this holiday season as last year, according to a survey by 5w Public Relations: 53
Percentage who say they would be spending less: 29
Percentage who plan to spend more: 18
Source: 5W Public Relations.
Percentage of mortgage holders who don't know their interest rate, according to a survey from Bankrate: 27
Percentage who have not refinanced this year despite record low rates: 80
Percentage of mortgage borrowers who have a rate of 4% or more, making them likely candidates to refinance at lower rates: 33
Percentage of full-time office employees who say they aren't sad to see office parties go, according to a survey by Molson Coors Beverage Co.: 50
Percentage who would choose time off from work over a holiday party: 70
Source: Molson Coors Beverage Co.
Percentage of shoppers who said out-of-stock merchandise topped their list for a bad shopping experience, according to an Oracle retail survey: 47
Percentage who said they weren't willing to wait for an item to be back in stock before trying another brand: 63
While in-store shopping, percentage who said it was important to see staff and other customers wearing masks: 79
Percentage who said it was important to see visible cleaning efforts: 82
Percentage who noted contactless checkout was important: 66
Percentage of office workers in the U.S. who are OK with wearing a mask in the office, of which 51% said they will wear one as long as is necessary, according to a survey by VoiceNation: 81
Percentage who said they would find it too much to wear a mask all day: 15
Percentage who said they don't mind wearing a mask at work in the short term, but would be less happy if the policy was for the long term: 16
Ranks of companionship, reduced stress or anxiety, reduced boredom and monotony, and reduced depression on the list of important benefits of having a pet during COVID-19, according to a report released by Mars Petcare: 1, 2, 3, 4
Percentage of pet owners who welcomed a new pet this year, with more than half doing so for companionship (58%): 30
Rank of spending more time with pets -- ahead of increased flexibility (46%), cost savings from lack of commute (47%) and more time with family (36%) -- as the primary benefit of working from home: 1
Percentage of pet owners who say they worry about the anxiety they may suffer once they have to return to work without their pet: 75
Source: Mars Petcare U.S.
Percentage of employees who have returned to working in offices who say they weren't given a choice, as their company made doing so mandatory, according to a survey by Lives Over Leases, a global movement to protect the health and safety of office building tenants and employees: 63
Percentage of all full-time employees who would like their employer to ensure regular and professional deep cleanings of office and building spaces to increase safety: 63
Percentage who would like limits on the number of people in the office at one time: 58.4
Source: Lives Over Leases.
"It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." -- Moliere, actor and playwright (1622-1673)
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at email@example.com.)


text:
Intellichoice has released its annual list of cars it considers a Best Value of the Year.
Read This Article
The 2014 Toyota Corolla has finally arrived, looking like it's ready to finally take on the competition with a host of new, class-leading features.
Toyota announced today that it will debut the third-generation 2014 Toyota Highlander at this month's New York Auto Show.
Although Toyota is unlikely to hit the market share peak it had four years ago, it's still on track to improving quality and sales numbers.


text:
Pacer International, a nonasset-based North America third-party logistics and freight transportation provider, reported today, may 4, financial results for the three-month period ended April 6. Reflecting a softening in domestic intermodal and truck volumes for the quarter, income from operations decreased 41.0 percent to $14.4 million, compared to $24.4 million for the quarter ended April 7, 2006. Revenues decreased $4.3 million to $465.1 million compared to $469.4 million a year earlier.
“The softer domestic market impacted the company’s rail brokerage, trucking and domestic Stacktrain operations and was partially offset by increased wholesale auto and wholesale international volumes,” said Mike Uremovich, chairman and chief executive officer of Concord, Calif.-based Pacer. Results include $1.8 million in severance costs and restructuring charges incurred during the 2007 quarter, and a $1.8 million write-off of loan fees associated with the refinancing of Pacer’s credit facility during the quarter, Uremovich said.
Pacer’s cash flow remains strong with $26.7 million of operating cash flow for the quarter, Uremovich said. Cash flow was used to pay a $5.6 million dividend declared in the fourth quarter of 2006 and to repurchase $9.8 million of common stock during the 2007 quarter. “We are making changes at Pacer to streamline operations and increase efficiency and profitability in both of our operating segments and in the corporate offices,” Uremovich said. “We have incurred severance costs during the quarter that will reduce employment, and we plan on closing four facilities within our logistics segment by June 2007.
“In addition, we have established a senior management team to identify and implement process improvements and other savings opportunities to improve results in the future,” Uremovich said. “We have favorably refinanced our debt and increased our borrowing capacity to a total of $250 million, and we have extended the maturity of our credit agreement to the year 2012. We expect these actions to provide additional framework for improved results. Also, our board of directors, on April 3, 2007, approved an additional $100 million share repurchase.”


text:
Published on April 12, 2017
The Indian paint market which was around Rs 40,300 crores in 2014-15 is expected to reach Rs 70, 875 crores by 2019-2020 years and is likely to see a 20 per cent compounded annual growth rate until 2017.
As per market players, with the increasing demand from retail consumers, on rapid urbanization, and development of rural markets the industry will reach the level of Rs 62,000 crore in the upcoming two years.
As per recent research The Government is anticipated to continue with its reforms agenda, with policy decisions like GST, Infrastructure, and Power Sector Reforms projected to be implemented in the near term. These reforms, would provide great impetus to the economy as well as to the paint industry.
Decorative paints segment is expected to achieve higher expansion in near term . The fiscal incentives given by the government to the housing sector have enormously benefited the housing sector. This will benefit key players in the long term.
As per market players, on the cost front the industry benefited from the low crude oil prices and derivatives prices, as recently the oil prices are going up will enhance the cost of product. As per the some market players in near term it is anticipated that the paint and coating products prices will go up whereas on demand front demand will be on higher side as so many infrastructure projects are in queue.


text:
Simon, a global leader in premier shopping, dining and entertainment destinations, has announced that The Slanted Door will be joining The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, opening in 2018. A modern Vietnamese restaurant with roots in San Francisco’s Mission District, The Slanted Door will open its first location outside of California, an 8200 square foot restaurant to be situated on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The Slanted Door will open at The Forum Shops in 2018.
“When we think about elevating the consumer experience, restaurants like The Slanted Door are the kinds of brands Simon looks for,” says Vicki Hanor, senior executive vice president of Leasing at Simon. “With its first floor, high visibility location, we are certain that it will become an instant favorite for our shoppers and visitors to Las Vegas in search of exceptional and unique dining venues.”
The Slanted Door, which opened its first restaurant in 1995, uses the finest and freshest local ingredients and Vietnamese cooking techniques to create a menu that has been recognized with the exclusive James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award (2014), given to only one restaurant nationally a year.
“We are excited to expand into the Las Vegas market,” says The Slanted Door owner and executive chef, Charles Phan. “The Forum Shops will provide unparalleled access to residents, tourists and shoppers and we look forward to creating the kind of dining ambiance that has been so warmly received in San Francisco for the last 20-plus years.”


text:
Super-Speedy 5G Mobile Network Slated to Kick Off at the 2018 World Cup
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and Russian mobile carrier Megafon are teaming up to kick off the world’s first 5G mobile network, slated for debut at the 2018 World Cup.
Such a timeline predates widespread industry estimates that 5G wouldn’t arrive until 2020, according to Huawei Products president Ryan Ding.
“We are confident of turning science-fiction-like service into a 5G reality for citizens in Russia and soccer fans around the world, two years ahead of the industry’s estimated 5G introduction date,” Ding said in a statement.
In an announcement yesterday, Huawei and Megafon said that they were beginning collaborative trials in the run-up to the World Cup, which will be held in 11 Russian cities in July 2018.
The rollout of hurtling 5G speeds -- amid an ever-crowding mobile landscape and a burgeoning Internet of Things -- has been hotly anticipated by tech companies and consumers alike.
Previously, South Korea's Ministry of Science and Technology announced plans to spend about $1.5 billion to build a national 5G wireless network to be commercially available by 2020. Such a framework would reportedly provide speeds 1,000 times faster than most 4G LTE networks, by which users would be able to download a full-length, 800-megabyte film in just one second.
Entrepreneur Editors' Picks
Formerly Enslaved Black Man Nearest Green Taught Jack Daniel Everything He Knew About Whiskey. Today, the Founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey Celebrates His Legacy.
Leadership Lessons From the Exclusive Creativity School That 'Packs 5 Years Learning Into 5 Days'
3 Expert-Backed Strategies for Staying Calm in Times of Confrontation
The CEO of Wayfair Has Helped Revolutionize Digital Shopping for 20 Years. Here's How He Handles Rocky Economic Conditions.
This Founder Went to Prison When He Was 15 Years Old. That's Where He Came Up With the Idea for a Company Now Backed By John Legend.
3 Signs You're Letting Pride Get in the Way of Being Successful
Chip and Joanna Gaines and Shonda Rhimes Found Incredible Success By Using This One Entrepreneurial Strategy. Here's How You Can Too.


text:
The "Black Friday in July" phenomenon had been slowly gaining traction for a few years when, in mid-summer 2015, Amazon made it official. Unfortunately, after a hyped-up announcement declaring its first annual Prime Day sale to be "better than Black Friday," Amazon fell completely flat. But can the online retail giant make it up to consumers in 2016?
The biggest problem with last year's Prime Day was Amazon's inability to deliver on the doorbuster deals it promised. The fabled $75 TV was live for all of eight seconds before it was completely sold out, as were all of the other major deals Amazon had been promoting in the weeks leading up to Prime Day 2015.
But last year's failure hasn't stopped Amazon from putting the same gusto into their 2016 Prime Day promotion -- far from it. The first Prime Day might have been a disappointment for consumers, but it wasn't a failure for Amazon: all the hype got shoppers in a frenzy, and Amazon sales spiked 93 percent as a result. For Prime Day 2016, Amazon is apparently stepping up its game when it comes to stock. A press release from the company claims its TV stock is going to be nearly twice what it usually has for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, so TV-hungry shoppers might actually be able to score a cheap set this time around.
However, even Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon Prime, is being cautious about the company's ability to fulfill customer demand on July 12: “Even with this massive selection we know many of the Prime Day offers will sell out, so members should download theAmazon shopping app to receive notifications on their favorite deals."
Whether or not Amazon truly delivers on the promise of Prime Day, July 12 is still likely to boast some serious deals if you don't limit your shopping to Amazon. As we reported last year, the best thing about Prime Day 2015 was the response from other retailers. Walmart took 20 to 50 percent off thousands of items, and offered free shipping on orders over $35. Macy's countered Prime Day with no minimum free shipping and crazy site-wide discounts that were available long after Amazon's best steals were nothing but a distant memory. Best Buy tried to beat Amazon to the punch with their Tuesday TechDay sale, keeping many of those sale items live through Prime Day.
We'd be surprised not to see similar sales pop up this year, cementing Black Friday (er, Tuesday?) in July for years to come. If you're not already a Prime member, sign up for a free trial now, and cancel it within 30 days if you're not impressed. Personally, I love my Prime membership so much that I honestly can't imagine my life without it, so I recommend giving it a shot now so you can at least check out what Prime Day has to offer.
This article originally appeared on BradsDeals. Read more from BradsDeals:


text:
BlogWhere we share market news, views and reviews
Last Saturday was a perfect September Market day. A little bit cool, but with a beautiful blue sky. Saturday also happened to be the day that Withrow Market launched our Urban Growers Pilot Project, something we’ve been working on getting up and running these past few weeks.
Now that the summer is almost over, planning has already begun for next year’s market season. We have been so happy with the successes this year; for some time, there was uncertainty over the market opening at all.
Volunteers are our most valuable asset here at Withrow Park Farmers’ Market! Get to know the individuals behind the face masks this season.
We are working hard to find a way to connect farmers and food vendors with our community this season.
We’ve created a list of our vendors offering delivery, pick-up, and other purchasing options.
We’ve been crunching the numbers and we’re excited to share the results from our waste reduction efforts!
We have had an amazing season thus far and with only one Market remaining, taking time to reflect on our success heavily involves highlighting the contributions of our wonderful volunteer team!
As Rhea walked in the Autumn Makers’ Market, she knew that each Maker had a story to tell. From upcycling to hand-making their goods, the Market brought new perspectives to this fast fashion driven society.
Mozhgan noticed during her first visit that Withrow Market was a family-oriented community in which people are kind, spend quality time interacting with one another and most importantly, they care about their health and environment.
Get early notice of market delights.
Don't miss out. Visit the market before visiting the market. Our weekly Wednesday newsletter will give you advance notice of who and what to expect on the coming Saturday. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Wondering what the emails are like? Browse the archive.


text: The Italian designer recently chatted with Vogue U.K. and spurted out classic Cavalli gems about both the duchess (“A princess should be sexy”) and Victoria Beckham (“I remember when she asked me to design the Spice Girls costumes for the reunion in 2008, I was so surprised and pleased because I really didn’t like the competition — Dolce & Gabbana”). More surprisingly, he also shared a silly tidbit about himself that involved a used cigarette and the Internet. “At the Cavalli for H&M launch in 2007, I stepped out of the car smoking and dropped my cigarette on the pavement — a disgusting, dirty Italian habit — and I found out not long afterwards that it was sold on eBay for £250,” he said. “My children said to me, ‘You are not allowed to throw your butts away ever again, we’ll have them.’” Somebody spent nearly $400 for something that touched Cavalli’s mouth! That person could have purchased a new, animal-print wallet instead.


text:
GE's Blankenship to discuss Haier purchase
Chip Blankenship, the president and CEO of General Electric's appliances, will talk briefly Tuesday morning at Appliance Park about the proposed sale of GE Appliances to Chinese manufacturing giant Qingdao Haier Co.
Executives at parent GE announced Jan. 15 plans to sell the division for $5.4 billion, and a long-term agreement with Haier to use the GE brand and maintain Louisville as the appliances headquarters. The Fairfield, Conn.-based company has said that they expect the deal to close this summer after the transaction undergoes regulatory review.
The prior plan to sell GE's 12,000-employee division to Swedish-based Electrolux collapsed in December, leading GE to place the division back on the block. While there are unknowns about how the Chinese will lead the division, the sale has been viewed as a better deal for Louisville because of Haier's headquarter plans and indications that current executives would remain in place.
Unlike the sale agreement with Electrolux, which faced tough questions about market overlaps and diminished competition, Haier's 1 percent market share in U.S. appliances isn't expected to face the same regulatory hurdles.
On Tuesday, reporters have been invited to view the assembly line in Building 2 where GE has begun full production of the Zoneline packaged terminal room air conditioner, an in-wall heating and cooling unit used primarily in hotels.The company had outsourced the production overseas in 1987 after building the units at Appliance Park for more than 25 years.
It announced last October that the company would move operations back to Louisville and invest $40 million in equipment to support the work. GE has added 75 new employees to staff 100-person line.
Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 502-582-4082 or by email, firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
Hello, and acquire behind to a burdensome news cycle surrounding a purported arriving all-new inheritor to a Toyota Supra. Today’s refurbish comes from Auto Express, that claims a new automobile will entrance during a Geneva Motor Show underneath a Gazoo Racing brand.
The parable of a new Toyota Supra might finally be entrance to a consummate with a entrance in March, and AutoExpress claims to have a details. Supposedly, a new Supra comes with 4 opposite models or trims including a bottom Supra, GR, GR Sport and GRMN, allegedly with a extended spectrum of opening defining any model.
Here’s some-more about Toyota branding a automobile underneath a Gazoo Racing name from a Auto Express report:
“The Supra will be by Gazoo,” a opening division, Shigeki Tomoyama, told Auto Express late final year. The news comes after it transpired that a Gazoo Racing group became some-more heavily concerned in a car’s growth – after Toyota boss Akio Toyoda tested a car and motionless it indispensable to be “more mobile”. Prototype cars have given been given some-more of an corner to what was a sincerely soft initial set-up.
The news also reiterates things we’ve listened before, like that a Supra will be hardtop usually while a BMW reflection will be automobile only, and that a dual models might have opposite engines.
Obviously we should take this news with a complicated sip of skepticism, though it’s during slightest lovely that a Supra rumormill is finally changeable into exhibit hints, definition we might indeed get to see this thing unclosed in a nearby future. Let’s wish it doesn’t disappoint.


text:
Shares of Walt Disney (DIS -4.01%) hit an all-time high of $58.22 Monday, and are still rising as of this writing. Just when you thought Disney was becoming too predictable, the media titan threw a surprise twist into the mix. Last week, the company said it would be closing down LucasArts, Lucasfilm's video game division, after Disney acquired Lucasfilm just four months ago for a cool $4 billion. The decision is part of Disney's strategy to transition from game production to a licensing model, according to Bloomberg.
That's not all... Disney is also implementing a cost-cutting initiative that will include layoffs in its studio and consumer products division. Trimming back its expenses should help Disney boost profitability in the quarters ahead. However, with shares of Disney up more than 15% year to date, is it too late for investors to be bullish about the stock's future? Here are a couple reasons why I believe Disney is worth owning into 2014 and beyond.
Big hits on the horizon
Disney's ESPN sports channel continues to be a bright spot for the company. In fact, ESPN makes up about 75% of cable network sales, according to Morningstar. This is particularly impressive considering ESPN is able to successfully increase the amount it charges subscribers. Going forward, this pricing power should help the company offset rising programming costs.
Importantly, Disney remains focused on expanding the reach of its digital content. Earlier this year, Disney reached a multiyear content deal with AT&T that delivers 70 Disney-owned channels to AT&T's U-verse digital network. This and other deals like it will help Disney's content reach more viewers. Together with the strength of its ESPN network and upcoming summer blockbusters, Disney looks poised to continue its rally.


text:
Chariton (AP) -- Dwight Vredenburg, who helped to turn Hy-Vee Food Stores, Inc. into Iowa's largest employer and a major Midwest grocery chain serving seven states, died Thursday (February 28, 2002) at Lucas County Health Center from complications of a stroke. He was 88.
Ron Pearson, who succeeded Vredenburg as president of the company in 1983, said his predecessor was a pioneer who helped lead the grocery industry from the mom-and-pop era to the introduction of the modern supermarket.
Vredenburg began sacking beans in the back of his father's small grocery store in Lamoni. He was promoted to wait on customers at age 15. It was one of many promotions Vredenburg would see in the Hy-Vee empire until his retirement at age 75 in 1989. In 1930, Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg -- Dwight Vredenburg's father -- opened a store in the small town of Beaconsfield in Ringgold County -- a partnership that was the birth of Hy-Vee.
By 1938, with 15 stores spread across Southern Iowa and Northern Missouri under various partnerships, the owners decided to incorporate as Hyde & Vredenburg, Inc.
Dwight Vredenburg, then 23, was selected as president. The chain's name was changed to Hy-Vee in 1953.
Vredenburg said he got the job because he was the only one who graduated from college. He had earned a commerce degree in 1935 from the University of Iowa and was managing a store in Centerville.
Over the next 45 years, he led the company to become a major grocery chain in Iowa and the Midwest. In 1983, when Pearson succeeded him as president of the company, Vredenburg retained he titles of chairman and CEO until his retirement in 1989.
More Current Towns of Ringgold County
Come HOME to Ringgold County--A GREAT place to LOVE!!!


text:
Capitalizing on the success of last year's inaugural Roadshow, which attracted over 400 visitors to four different locations, this year's event will visit five cities, three of them for the first time.
The Integrated Systems Roadshow, powered by ISE, will again be pushing back the boundaries when it embarks on a ten -day tour of duty in Copenhagen on Wednesday, 17 October. Capitalizing on the success of last year's inaugural Roadshow, which attracted over 400 visitors to four different locations, this year's event will visit five cities, three of them for the first time.
After the Danish capital, the Roadshow returns to Warsaw on 19 October and to Prague three days later. On 24 October it visits Vienna for the first time, before finishing its journey in the Croatian capital, Zagreb, on Friday 26 October. This year's event coincides with AV Week, a series of worldwide events devised by InfoComm International to celebrate the best in the audiovisual industry. Designed to bring a flavour of audiovisual technology and electronic systems integration to some of Europe's emerging markets, the Integrated Systems Roadshow will retain its successful formula of a hotel -based event, featuring manufacturer training sessions and a tabletop tradeshow. Admission is free, but is restricted to trade -only visitors.
With six weeks to go before the Roadshow gets under way, exhibitor numbers are already 50% up on last year, reflecting the growth of Integrated Systems Europe and assuring visitors of an enriched array of technologies in each city. AMX, Crestron, Extron and Christie Digital are all confirmed as Platinum sponsors for 2007.
Rob Robinson, Marketing Director of Stardraw, is just one of the vast majority of 2006 participants to have rebooked for next month's event. "Last year's Roadshow was incredibly productive for us," says Robinson. "We're looking for the top end of systems integrators in the commercial and residential marketplaces, and that is exactly what the event delivered. We had no hesitation in signing up as Silver sponsors again."
After analysing feedback from both exhibitors and visitors, the Roadshow's organisers have made subtle but significant changes to the format for 2007. Training sessions are now slightly longer and fewer in number - a move welcomed by Stardraw. "The new format will give attendees more time to browse the tradeshow area," Robinson believes. "That's important for us, because we produce software solutions that are not off -the -shelf items; people need time to interact with them to see how they can put them to use in their business. In short, we like to 'press the flesh!'
Another innovation this year is Association -led training, to complement the manufacturer seminars. InfoComm, for example, is offering a module from its Academy Design School entitled 'Designing For Optimum Projected Image Quality'. The session will be led by Greg Jeffreys of Paradigm AV in Copenhagen, and InfoComm's Scott Wills on the rest of the tour.
Among the many new exhibitors confirmed for 2007 is one of eight Gold sponsors, projectiondesign, for whom Anders Løkke, Marketing and Communications Manager, comments: "We are always looking at ways in which we can get closer to our customers, and the Roadshow looks like a great way of doing that. The format of manufacturer training combined with a small tradeshow gives us the opportunity to have something for everybody - both existing customers and potential new ones. It's an event we are really looking forward to."
Also new to the Roadshow this year is Lab.gruppen. Tim Chapman, the audio amplifier maker's Head of Marketing, describes the event as "a gorgeous, cost -effective opportunity to take our product line to countries where there is no trade show addressing the installation sector - which, for us, is the market that is growing the fastest."
And Stardraw's Robinson believes this year's 'tour dates' offer plenty of potential. "Warsaw and Prague were both excellent in 2006," he says, "while Denmark and Austria, though small, are both very sophisticated markets. As for Zagreb, it is exciting simply because that part of Europe is new to us."
Further details, including a full exhibitor listing and hotel information, can be found at: www.iseurope.org/roadshow.
For media enquiries and photography, contact: Dan Goldstein, ISE Press Office:
ISE is jointly sponsored by the three leading electronic systems industry associations: the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association® (CEDIA®), InfoComm International® and the National Systems Contractors Association® (NSCA®). All are international organizations serving a combined membership of more than 9,000 companies and individuals in over 70 countries.
CEDIA® is an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home. The association was founded in September 1989 and has more than 3,500 member companies worldwide. CEDIA Members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and experience in this specialized field. For more information on CEDIA,
visit the association's Web site atwww.cedia.org.
InfoComm International® is the international trade association of the professional audiovisual and information communications industries. Established in 1939, InfoComm has 4,200 members, including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, independent consultants, programmers, rental and staging companies, end -users and multimedia professionals from more than 70 countries. InfoComm International is the leading resource for AV market research and news. Its training and education programs, along with its separately administered Certified
Technology Specialist (CTS) and corporately administered Certified Audiovisual Solutions Provider (CAVSP) company credentials, set a standard of excellence for AV professionals. InfoComm International is the founder of InfoComm, the largest annual conference and exhibition for AV buyers and sellers worldwide. InfoComm also co -sponsors the Integrated Systems shows in Europe and Russia and the InfoComm Asia shows incorporating Integrated Systems China and Asia. Additional information is available at www.infocomm.org.
InfoComm conducts a broad outreach campaign targeted to the customers of the AV industry through various marketing strategies, including advertising, education, exhibiting at tradeshows, and providing materials for AV company use. InfoComm has established an international AV Week held in October each year as a unifying event for the AV industry. Visit www.avweek.org for more information, or call +1 703.273.7200.
NSCA® is the leading not -for -profit association representing companies involved in commercial electronic systems integration and building technologies. With a slate of more than 2,500 member companies worldwide, the NSCA is a powerful advocate of all who work within the commercial electronic systems industry, including systems contractors/integrators, product manufacturers, independent design consultants, independent sales representatives, architects, specifying engineers, facility managers,building owners and others. For more information visit: www.nsca.org


text:
Every week Unruly scours the web for the latest and greatest headlines, reports and research you need to stay ahead of the game!
This week we take a deep dive into a new US programmatic ad spend report from eMarketer, as well as taking a look at the latest viewability initiative from IAB Tech Lab.
Elsewhere the AOP and Deloitte released the latest publisher revenue figures.
A new report published by eMarketer this week forecasts that US programmatic ad spend will reach $46bn by the end of 2018 – with 86% of all digital display spend happening programmatically.
The report also suggests that 74% of all digital video dollars will be spent programmatically by the end of the year – amounting to more than $13bn. eMarketer’s research also shows a change in tact when it comes to programmatic buying methods, with PMP budgets increasing at a faster rate than open market. PMP spend for digital display will reach $9b by the end of 2018, and rise to $13bn by 2020.
The IAB Technology Laboratory released its Open Measurement Software Development Kit this week, a set of tools designed to seamlessly facilitate third-party viewability and verification measurement for ads served in mobile app environments—without the various measurement provider SDKs and systems previously required.
Dennis Buchheim, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IAB Tech Lab said “Historically, publishers have integrated separately with each of many vendors’ SDKs to ensure proper measurement and verification, and buyers have been frustrated when publishers didn’t support a preferred vendor. With the OM SDK, key parties came together to make this seamless.”
Findings from the latest Digital Publishers Revenue Index (DPRI), a quarterly report on UK publishing from the Association for Online Publishing (AOP) and Deloitte, reveals publishers experienced a 5.6% growth in total digital revenue in 2017 compared to 2016, rising to £365.5m. The increase was fuelled by a 27% annual revenue increase from display advertising.
Dan Ison, lead partner for media and entertainment at Deloitte, commented: “Publishers generally ended 2017 on a positive note when compared to the previous year. Almost a third of respondents recording year-on-year growth of more than 25% in the final quarter of the year, which was double the share of respondents from Q4 2016. Significantly, total digital revenue for Q4 2017 was £102.3m, the first time that the £100m barrier for a quarter has been broken since our research began”.


text:
McDonald’s firmly puts the McPlant on the menu in the Netherlands
06 October 2022
McDonald’s is putting its plant-based burger, the McPlant, permanently on its menu. The burger chain announced this Monday after a successful pilot last year. Just last month, McDonald’s ended sales of the vegetarian version in America.
Created in collaboration with Beyond Meat, the McPlant is made from products such as pea protein, rice protein, potatoes, and beets. Last year, the burger was already temporarily on the menu in the Netherlands. The reintroduction aligns with McDonald’s plant-based strategy to broaden its menu offerings for guests by providing more and more plant-based options.
Since McDonald’s first launched the McPlant in 2020, the burger has been conquering more and more markets with introductions in Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Austria, the US, the UK, and Ireland. Stijn Mentrop, Marketing Director at McDonald’s Netherlands: “We find it important to move with the preferences of our guests, who expect more and more variety. For chicken, we have been offering tasty alternatives with our Veggie products for some time, and now we are doing the same for beef.”
In America, the introduction of the vegetarian burger initially went well, but sales later slumped. Last month, the burger giant decided to stop sales in the US.
Are you interested in the Life Science Industry? Or are you currently looking for a job in a Food (Sciences) organisation? Then make sure to check out how experts at QTC Recruitment can help you with that here!
Also published on Foodclicks.nl


text:
Abel Horvath Finds Business Success In E-Commerce Industry
Times Square Chronicles is the go-to place for the best-kept secrets and latest updates. Times Square may be the tourist hotspot of North America, but New York residents are the community members who live and breathe city life and make dedicated readers.
The digital platform recently managed to take time out and meet the CEO of Fulfillment Hub USA, Abel Horvath to have a quick chat about the business that has emerged to be a massive success.
Suzanna Bowling, who co-owns and publishes the newspaper Times Square Chronicles or T2C, learned how Abel Horvath, the CEO of Fulfillment Hub USA, has led the company to soaring heights.
Fulfillment Hub USA – The perfect 3PL partner for your business
“His strong work ethics and resourcefulness have together created a top-rated company in a fast-moving industry. Services that the company oversees include shipping, warehousing, e-commerce fulfillment, kitting, and more,” quotes the publication.
When partnering with Fulfillment Hub USA, businesses can concentrate on what matters more — marketing and scaling up. Fulfillment Hub USA takes care of managing inventory, picking, packing, shipping, and even returns.
Abel says, “We reacted to the demand of the markets and the much-needed demand of our customers. They wanted more when they were with the competition. They then came to us, and we delivered simply the best.”
You can read more on the interview here:


text:
Remember the world’s cheapest tablet to be coming out of some factory in India? Yes, the Aakash tablet. We have got some news about it. It is making waves if we go by the mainstream media. There was news that quite a few governments have been making frantic calls to Kapil Sibal on how can...
I haven’t heard about Yogesh Sapkale until now. I wouldn’t have heard about him if it wasn’t for my Google Alerts and this Neowin article. Apparently there has been a controversy over a ‘review’ of the Nokia Lumia 800 phone on the MoneyLife magazine. Sapkale is a mini celebrity right now in the sense of...
Indians are taking to social media like never before. Google and Facebook have already realized it. From opening offices in India to including Indic languages and sending Internet enabled buses to India’s hinterlands, they are doing it all. At the center of all this Internet and social media craze are four companies – Google, Facebook,...
If you are reading this, then the world’s cheapest tablet, Aakash, isn’t meant for you. You were not the target audience when Aakash was conceived, designed and executed. The target audience was different. Aakash was supposed to be an entry point in India for students to get access to the Internet. The critics around the...
Rediff, an India-based portal, has lost its way. Though it had a brief poster boy image amongst India’s web properties, it never really innovated except for a redesign of its website and pestering its users with slideshows. Now let’s see what Rediff has been up to. There is email, there’s content and there’s search. Of...
Former Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa blames others for anti-Muslim attacks
Wed, Jul 29, 2015 3:08PM UTC
Taiwan, Thailand join deal to end tariffs on tech products
Wed, Jul 29, 2015 10:27AM UTC
Oldest ever giant panda celebrates with bamboo, veggie cake
Wed, Jul 29, 2015 7:58AM UTC


text:
"The state of New Mexico and Virgin Galactic have unveiled design concepts of the first Spaceport to be used for commercial flights. On 4 September, the designs were revealed for a project that is to begin construction in 2008. A design team comprised of American and British architects and designers combined to submit the winning design that was unveiled last week during a ceremony sponsored by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA). There is clearly a market for individuals to become "space tourists", and it appears Virgin and NMSA have an initial offering for those with deep pockets and grand dreams."
It's hard to believe, but within a few years, the dream of space tourism could become a reality!
[image: Virgin Galactic Spaceport]


text:
Celanese to raise emulsions prices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Celanese Corporation said it is raising the price of all emulsions
sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by up to EUR 80/MT effective
June 1, 2012, or as contracts allow. This price increase includes all
vinyl acetate and acrylic-based emulsions and affects applications
including, but not limited to, adhesives, paint and coatings, building
and construction, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.
Celanese also previously announced it will increase the price of all
emulsions--vinyl acetate/ethylene (VAE), vinyl acrylic, pure acrylic,
PVAc homopolymers and other copolymers--sold in the Americas by
$0.03/wet pound effective May 14, 2012, or as contracts allow.


text:
The CBD industry is witnessing rapid growth with ample of products in the consumer market. Companies are joining the CBD league, given the promising returns and boom in the economic market.
A nationwide recognized consumer cannabidiol (CBD) label, cbdMD will be auctioning off Team cbdMD Athlete and American Rallycross (ARX) driver Steve Arpin’s pink firesuit. 100 percent of the proceeds from the auction will be going towards supporting those affected by breast cancer.
Tying a season-best result with the second place, Arpin closed the 2019 American Rallycross season on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on October 6. Arpin’s #00 cbdMD Ford Fiesta was wrapped in a bright pink hue to support breast cancer awareness, along with a fire suit to match with it.
Arpin donated the fire suit to cbdMD after the race as an auction item which will be given to the online highest bidder. cbdMD has selected Carolina Breast Friends to receive 100 percent of the money from the fire suit auction.
Carolina Breast Friends is a foundation that aims at providing resources and education via mentoring and fellowship during any stage of the breast cancer journey. You can see Arpin’s fire suit by visiting the online live auction website here.
Steve said that it was extremely special to run on a weekend for such an honorable cause. He further added that he is grateful to be able to donate his fire suit for a charitable cause- breast cancer awareness.
President of cbdMD, Caryn Dunayer said the team has been extremely proud to have Steve as a part of cbdMD. He appreciated Steve on giving his fire suit for auction to support breast cancer survivors and raise awareness. It showed how generous and charitable Steve is, said Dunayer.
cbdMD, Inc. is a nationally-recognized consumer cannabidiol (CBD) brand that has an array of products and deals including CBD gummies, CBD bath bombs, CBD tinctures, CBD topicals, and CBD pet products. cbdMD not just deals with CBD products but is also the proud partner with Barstool Sports, Nitro Circus, Life Time, BIG3 Basketball League, and Bellator MMA. cbdMD has some eminent sports teams onboard with the largest rosters of professional sports athletes that make the “Team cbdMD”
What is CBD?
CBD or cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive substance found in hemp, a cannabis genus plant, which is allegedly good for health. It helps in alleviating the symptoms of severe diseases such as Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, Tourettes and even cancer.
CBD has anti-inflammatory properties which help in reducing acute ache, pain, inflammation, swelling, muscle rupture, fractures, and accident recovery. CBD has gained immense popularity, especially after the Farm Bill was passed in December 2018. The act legalized hemp production and cannabidiol for medicinal uses.
This led to a huge movement of business leaders, retailers, and consumers to invest in the CBD market. From CBD based oils to tincture, creams to foot cream, gummies to beer, CBD is now being used in plenty of different consumer products.
Despite the benefits of CBD, researchers and scientists have shown concerns regarding the after-effects and long term impact of CBD. There is little research to back up the claims made by companies that market CBD products as a cure to cancer and other diseases.
Is CBD legal?
CBD was legalized in December 2018 by the U.S. government with a maximum concentration limit of 0.03% THC per unit. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive component found in cannabis. It is responsible for causing the “high” that people get while smoking a joint or weed.
Looking at the ill-effects of THC, the government kept stringent limits on its concentration in CBD products. However, the Food and Drug Administration has not yet created a regulatory framework that clearly defines the legal limit on the concentrations of CBD products. The FDA has warned several companies for marketing their products as a go-to healthy alternative for diseases.
The agency had organized a public meeting on May 31 with stakeholders, business leaders, consumers, researchers, scientists, and others to discuss CBD products. The consumer market is flooded with products that are not regulated and might contain high levels of THC. The FDA has warned consumers to be aware of such CBD products and take necessary precautions to ensure they do not invest in illegal products.


text:
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Saturday, January 07, 2017
Kenyan coffee shop opens after FDOT delays
A large part of the delay was insensitive FDOT's inexplicably long time in approving a simple curb cut. Racism?
Posted January 7, 2017 06:15 am - Updated January 7, 2017 06:37 am
Growers Alliance coffee shop opens after delays from hurricane
Contributed Purity Gikunju and Martin Kabaki stand with their coffee grinding operation in Jacksonville. The two have opened Growers Alliance Cafe & Gift Shop on Anastasia Boulevard.
PETER.WILLOTT@STAUGUSTINE.COM Growers Alliance Cafe and Bakery on Anastasia Boulevard in St. Augustine is finally open after years of planning and a few months’ delay from Hurricane Matthew.
Eight years ago, Purity Gikunju and Martin Kabaki started to hook St. Augustine on the Kenyan coffee their families and neighbors grow in their native country.
It was a small operation at first as they carted coffee pots from Jacksonville to the local farmers market on Saturday mornings, trying not to spill the hot liquid on their feet in the process.
Today, they’re celebrating the grand opening of what they hope will be the first of several coffee shops.
The Growers Alliance Cafe & Gift Shop at 322 Anastasia Blvd. is having its grand opening at 3 p.m. today. It marks the beginning of a new phase in the life of the business and the end of a difficult period for Gikunju and Kabaki.
A two-year process of a turning a former auto repair shop into a coffee shop was further delayed when Hurricane Matthew flooded Anastasia Boulevard just days before Growers Alliance was about to open in October 2016. But the couple, who had operated out of a food truck on the property while working to get the shop in order, just accepted the setback and remained focused on the goal of preparing to open.
Actually, the damage wasn’t even as bad as Gikunju feared when she got to the flood-damaged store.
“In my mind, I was thinking everything was flattened,” Gikunju said. “Our hearts went out to everyone else.”
As harrowing as the experience was, both Gikunju and Kabaki said they feel the troubles only made them stronger and more appreciative of the St. Augustine community.
“The storm has brought everyone together,” Gikunju said. “It’s like people are all holding hands to see how they can help out.”
Added Kabaki: “We feel like we can survive anything.”
The extra weeks needed to prepare for the opening have not done anything to leave Gikunju and Kabaki dispirited. They remained determined to keep their dream going.
That attitude has impressed some of the Growers Alliance’s loyal customers, including St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver.
Shaver said she was drawn to the coffee from her early days in St. Augustine visiting the farmers market. She’s gotten to know Gikunju and Kabaki as they went through the various zoning processes to get their shop open — and to have a drive-thru.
“They are the most upbeat, kind, lovely people,” said Shaver, who will participate in the grand opening festivities.
“The singular view of what they wanted to do and absolute refusal to budge from that (is impressive). I do genuinely think it (the shop) has all the makings of a destination (business).”
Getting the shop open at time when the Anastasia Boulevard corridor is going through a “reimagining,” as Shaver puts it, also seems to be fitting. Some of the other area businesses that have opened in recent years, like the Balefire Brasserie and Planet! Sarbez!, even serve the Growers Alliance coffee.
“We feel fortunate that despite the delays the timing has been perfect because the (Anastasia Boulevard) district is booming,” Kabaki said.
In the weeks since the soft opening, Kabaki said the store is seeing more traffic each day, which makes him optimistic of the future success of the business.
There’s a lot riding on that possible success even beyond Kabaki and Gikunju.
One of the reasons they got into the coffee business was to support Kenyan farmers and, in turn, help communities where they used to live. (Gikunju and Kabaki grew up in different villages and met in the United States.)
The sale of Kenyan coffee increases access to clean water and health care in the country, so Gikunju and Kabaki obviously want to help with that.
And in an effort to showcase their native country and what the coffee industry can do for the lives of the people there, the couple even organizes trips to Kenya where visitors can volunteer on a farm or a dialysis clinic in addition to the traditional safari.
“The best fulfillment for me is the change back home,” Kabaki said. “We feel like we are helping empower people.”
Added Gikunju: “That’s my joy knowing these kids are impacted every day.”


text:
The premier portion of New Zealand Bloodstock's national yearling sales generated a median price that increased 3.7% from a year ago and a gross revenue that was down less than 1%. The average price declined 3.7%.
A Danehill Dancer colt topped the opening session of the premier portion of New Zealand Bloodstock's national yearling sale, bringing NZ$800,000 ($618,272 in U.S. funds) Jan. 31 at Karaka.
Average price rises 25.7% from last year and is the sale's second-highest ever.
A son of Dolphin Street topped the National Stud Farm premier sale in Malaysia Nov. 20, bringing 230,000 ringgits ($67,923 in U.S. funds). The Australia-based Magic Millions auction firm conducted the sale, which offered juveniles.
Business declined significantly at New Zealand Bloodstock's premier yearling sale, which ended in Karaka Jan. 27 after a two-day run.
A daughter of Encosta de Lago brought Aus$490,000 to lead all lots sold in the Inglis Premier Sale March 3 at the Oaklands Junction complex in Melbourne, Australia.
Day one of New Zealand's Premier yearling sale at Karaka began in the same manner in which pretty much every yearling sale in the world has ended over the past two years -- with a bang..
Most Popular Stories
- EquiLottery, AmTote in Strategic Relationship
- EVA Vaccines: What You Need to Know
- Baffert Seeks 7th Futurity Win with Dortmund
- Trainer Wells Pleads Guilty to Rigging Races
- Red Pollard Seabiscuit Saddle to be Auctioned
- Tax Break on Racehorses Passes Congress
- Untapable, Tapiture Settle in at Fair Grounds
- New York Panel Announces Winning Casino Bids
- New Management for 2015 at Rillito Park
- New Rules Lead to Spike in Indiana Positives


text:
If you still don’t have a mobile-friendly version of your website you’re most likely turning away potential customers without knowing it.
Consider the numbers: Nearly half of all U.S. adults use a smartphone, according to recent findings by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Ninety percent of those smartphone owners say they use the device to check email and surf the web. That’s not counting people who use other mobile devices, such as tablets, to access the web.
With mobile internet traffic on the rise, you might think small businesses are developing mobile-friendly websites. But you’d be wrong. Only 26 percent of small businesses have a mobile website. That’s a growing problem — especially for local businesses.
…Read the full article on entrepreneur.com
The point is you need to have a mobile optimised website in 2012. It is no longer just a fancy option.
Here at sarthakkalucha.com, we specialize in mobile optimized web design. Please contact us or request a callback if you want your website redesigned for mobile and tablet optimisation. For a demo of how a mobile optimized website looks, please open www.sarthakkalucha.com on your smartphone and/or tablet, and see how the site fits perfectly into your device’s screen real estate.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
Sign Up for the Pacific Business News Afternoon Edition Newsletter
Send this story to a friend
Hawaii’s Kona Brewing redesigns retail bottles for its craft beers
Hawaii-based Kona Brewing Co. is unveiling a new look for its retail beer bottles later this month.
The new 12-ounce bottles will feature a map of the Hawaiian Island chain and the words “Liquid Aloha” embossed into the glass, along with new die-cut labels and packaging, company officials said in a statement.
The new look will be featured on the company’s Longboard Island Lager, Big Wave Golden Ale, Fire Rock Pale Ale and other beers.
The new bottles will be in stores in 36 states as of Monday, and a kickoff is planned at the Kona Brewing pubs in Koko Marina Center on Oahu and at the company's Kailua-Kona headquarters that week.
“Our continued growth in 2012 has enabled us to invest in our packaging and put our best foot forward as we gain new fans,” Mattson Davis, Kona Brewing’s president, said in a statement. “We’re delivering more of that sense of place that Kona is known for, and I think this new bottle and package really brings Hawaii home.”
The repackaging also includes slimmer bottles to make shipping more efficient as well, the company said.
Mark Abramson covers transportation, military contracting and sports marketing for Pacific Business News.
- Most popular
- Clark Hatch Fitness Center sold to former Hawaii basketball standout Martin, partner
- Pearl Ultralounge shutting down, Ala Moana Center taking back space
- Aikahi Park Shopping Center adds three new restaurants, one Lego shop
- Zilkha Biomass Energy’s black pellet could bring low-cost energy to Hawaii
- Honolulu leads poll to name ‘best place to postpone a career’
- Kamehameha Schools puts Windward Mall, Hawaii Kai Towne Center on the market
- Cost to turn Hawaii hospital into nursing home doubles to $20M
- Castle & Cooke to develop condo project in Kakaako on Kamehameha Schools land
- Judge: State is owner of crumbling seawall along Waikiki’s Gold Coast
- Pearl Ultralounge could reopen in a new spot in Honolulu — but not soon
Should the City and County of Honolulu start selling advertising space on the sides and backs of city buses?
- Careers at Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless | Local Opportunities
- Human Resources Manager ALTRES Staffing | Honolulu, HI
- Director of Sales Kauai Beach Resort | Lihue, HI
- Administrative Assistant for Donor Development & Public Relations Shriners Hospitals For Children | Honolulu, HI
- Health Professional/RN/LPN/LVN/MA/Phlebotomist Hooper Holmes | Honolulu, HI


text:
Steven Macari, holistic health practitioner, nutritionist at Drive 495 and founder of the SLVRBK mat, provides 8 tips to tune up your metabolism. Let's start with the most basic definintion of metabolism—the
40 reasons to start planning your winter getaway ASAP. Whether you're looking for a quick weekend getaway, the ultimate surf or are planning the trip of a lifetime, a beach vacation is always a good idea.
In a new report from BI Intelligence, we unpack data from over a dozen sources to understand how social media demographics are still shifting. Here are a few of the key takeaways from the BI Intelligence
After publishing an open letter to Tim Cook earlier today once again requesting Apple to increase its share buyback program, high-profile investor and Apple shareholder Carl Icahn went on CNBC for an to
Over the weekend Apple shared a short list of HealthKit apps that work with the new Health app on iOS 8 after a few apps hit the App Store on Friday with HealthKit support included. Several more iPhone
Changing Planet Being a part of the Worldwide Voyage is a privilege that each crew member is grateful for. As such, our kuleana, or responsibilities, are numerous and our days are packed with duties, and
Harper's Bazaar on Twitter
With all the talk about inversions and America’s Burger King Going Canadian, it’s easy to ignore even more prevalent tax savings by numerous American companies. Take Microsoft, which admits in its 2014
This post was written by Herbert Lui and edited by Robleh Jama, and originally appeared on the Busy Building Things blog. Companies like Facebook and Shopify renew their inspiration by using our art products.
Fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as "remarkable". Although fasting diets have been criticised
Happiness: Everyone wants it, yet relatively few seem to get enough of it, especially those in their early 40s. (I'm no psychologist, but that's probably about when many of us start thinking, "Wait--is
As many of us bide our time with ice, snow, and unpleasant temperatures, it’s fun to daydream about exotic vacation resorts. The Lion Sands Game Reserve, located at the Sabie Sand Reserve in South Africa
Lovers Deep is a luxury submarine offered by Oliver’s Travels for couples to go on a romantic getaway, deep in the ocean, and perhaps join what they’re coining as the “Mile Low Club” (an undersea alternative
How do innovative minds like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs come up with their groundbreaking ideas? Here’s five ways they think differently. Drawing parallels between Elon Musk and Steve Jobs is irresistible,


text:
Customer service vital to business
IF you ask Bette Hobson what the most important part of business is, she immediately has the answer: “Your customers are your business.”
Mrs Hobson and her husband, Bill, own the Burnett Battery Centre/Burnett Home Energy Centre and last year were awarded with a Bundaberg and District Chamber of Commerce customer service award.
“I thought it was excellent because, in a business, customer service is a big percentage of what you do,” Mrs Hobson said.
“It is an essential part of business and high on the list of our priorities.
“You have to have a customer relationship if you want your business to be successful and thrive.”
Mrs Hobson said when people paid for something, they expected service along with it.
“We always work at our business and always have,” she said.
“We wouldn't still be here after 16 years otherwise.”
Mrs Hobson said the chamber's customer service awards were important, not just to recognise people or businesses, but also for businesses to know where they stood or to have something to strive to.
To help encourage great customer service and reward businesses who offer it, the NewsMail is joining with the Bundaberg Chamber of Commerce to make the customer service awards bigger in 2011.
NewsMail advertising manager Bruce Partridge said he was excited to be a part of the initiative, which recognised a healthy, competitive business community, and he said it was good for the prosperity of the whole region.
“The modern consumer has an even greater choice than ever with businesses competing with other towns, regions and even the rest of the world, since the advent of online trading,” Mr Partridge said.
“Great service, with competitive quality products, is the greatest defence in a competitive world.”
Anyone can nominate shop and office assistants, hospitality workers, health and professional service workers and tradies – anyone is eligible if they give exceptional service.
Entry forms and information will be published in the NewsMail and on the Bundaberg Chamber of Commerce website.
Sea FM will also promote the awards.
The process is simple – just give a reason for the nomination in writing of no more than 75 words.
The first award this year will be announced and presented at the chamber's breakfast meeting on April 19. There will be a new winner at each breakfast meeting, held every second month, until December.
The winners will be selected by a panel of chamber committee members, who will be looking for exceptional examples of customer service that go beyond the call of normal workplace duties.
Award winners will receive a framed certificate plus a gift from the chamber.


text:
Gold Medalist Adjetey-Nelson and OneChange at the Market This Saturday
Wednesday October 20th, 2010
Posted at 3:44pm
Hello time traveller!!
This article is 3133 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.
The Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market has been holding special event days once a month this past summer, but it seems they’re ramping up their roster of special guests in the last few weeks of the season. Two weeks ago Canadian funny-man Red Green was in attendance, and this coming Saturday, a gold-medalist will be shaking hands and signing autographs.
Jamie Adjetey-Nelson, who brought home the gold medal for his win in the decathlon at the Commonwealth Games in India earlier this month, is a University of Windsor alumnus and winner of Windsor’s 2009 Olympic Shield Athlete of the Year award. From day one of the competition he commanded the leaderboard, and beat out Brent Newdick of New Zealand (silver medalist) and Martin Brockman from England (bronze) with 8070 points. Adjetey-Nelson will be on hand from 10am to 12pm to meet his fellow Windsorites.
Also at the market this Saturday will be representatives of the OneChange campaign, who will be handing out free tire gauges (while supplies last). OneChange is a national effort that encourages Canadians to make one small change, like switching your porch light to an energy efficient bulb or making sure your tires are adequately inflated, in order to increase our energy efficiency.
Making their third appearance at the market, the Ohkwa•lí Native Crafts crew will be selling their indigenous gifts and at 10am, they’ll offer a native craft workshop for anyone who wants to take home something special. If you have someone on your gift list that enjoys aboriginal art, be sure to check out their booth, as it’s chock full of moccasins, jewelery, artwork, t-shirts, belt buckles, drums and other great gift ideas.
Most importantly, the stars of the market will be out in full force. Fall raspberries, apples, pears, eggplant, hot peppers, beans, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, chard and other green and leafies are in abundance now, at the height of the harvest. And as always, every kid that visits the information booth will get to take home a gift!
Come on out and meet a local hero, hear the stories of past heroes, and become a hero yourself this weekend at the market! The Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market runs from 8am to 1pm, at the old Greyhound bus depot at 44 University Avenue East.


text:
Angry Birds to feature Bad Piggy Bank in-game payment system(Read article summary)
Angry Birds developer Rovio will soon allow fans to purchase upgrades and power-ups with the click of a button (or the tap of a finger).
Angry Birds – the wildly popular handheld game starring an army of ticked-off avians and their porcine foes – is getting a new in-game payment system. According to Rovio, the creators of Angry Birds, the new system, dubbed Bad Piggy Bank, will allow users to upgrade or purchase new items and levels with one tap of the finger. Crucially, Bad Piggy Bank will not require users to have a credit card – the in-game charges will be applied directly to their phone bill.
"This gives operators some revenue, compared to none. We are going to open it up to all other developers," Peter Vesterbacka, head of Rovio's business development in North America, told Reuters today. Bad Piggy Bank is expected to be rolled out early next year. Although Rovio did not specify what exactly users would be paying for, it's safe to assume Rovio will be creating some levels and power-ups in the future, some of which would cost hard cash.
Angry Birds has been one of the great runaway hits of 2010, partly because it is so cheap – a buck on iTunes and it was free on Android – and partly because the game model is so intuitive and enjoyable. “People like to be entertained,” Carl Howe, a director at tech research firm Yankee Group, told the Monitor earlier this year. “We think of ourselves as being overworked and busy all the time, but the reality is that we have lots of little nooks and crannies in our day."


text:
By Chris Blasinsky
LONDON—While there’s no doubt the coronavirus pandemic will have lasting impacts on global transportation and mobility trends, the team at Global Convenience Store Focus hosted a Shop Talk Live webinar on June 12 to hear from industry experts just how much has changed, and how much these trends will be delayed.
A significant challenge for the transportation industry is the unprecedented drop in vehicle sales, commented Eric Hannon, partner at McKinsey & Company, with countries like China showing signs of what a recovery could look like for the rest of the world as demand rises and more people divert from public and shared transportation to private vehicle ownership—which is largely driven by health concerns.
John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute, said the shine has faded from shared mobility since the pandemic hit, with data from an April 2020 Deloitte global survey suggesting that most consumers say they will limit public or shared transportation. Ryan Robinson, automotive research leader at Deloitte, shared these insights at the Fuels Institute’s FUELS2020 Virtual Experience, which found that during the pandemic, most U.S. consumers (79%) agreed their vehicle represents a key social distancing tool. Consumers are also concerned about public transit, with 60% of U.S. consumers surveyed planning to limit use in the next three months, which will impact mass transit. Ride-hailing serves are also a concern, with 58% of U.S. consumers planning to limit use in the next three months.
As the trend toward greater vehicle ownership gains traction, the key to keeping these newer users behind the wheel could be for OEMs to build stickiness with them, said Arun Prasad P, head of passenger vehicles product marketing at Nissan Motors (GB). After the pandemic, will these consumers keep their cars or revert to shared and public mobility options? These are the types of questions the OEMs should be considering, he suggested.
On the flip side of potentially seeing more passenger vehicles on the road, telecommuting could have significant environmental impacts. Eichberger noted that an ongoing project by the Fuels Institute indicates that 37% of the U.S. workforce could feasibly work from home, per a University of Chicago study, and doing so one day a week would yield reductions in tailpipe emissions by 5% each for CO2, NOX and PM2.5.
While all vehicle sales are being impacted by the pandemic, electric vehicles (EV) may be showing signs that they’re a bit more resilient than traditional vehicle sales in terms of share, suggested Hannon. A recent McKinsey article notes that post-crisis, EV sales will rebound strongly in China and keep the projected increase in EV market share on track. The firm also says that EV investments will remain on the same trajectory in Europe, while EV demand might stagnate in the United States, “especially if federal regulations about emissions loosen and oil prices remain low.”
Even if the pandemic were to disappear tomorrow, the barriers for greater EV adoption would remain. In the U.S. for example, Eichberger pointed to a newly released Fuels Institute report, “Electric Vehicle Adoption: Focus on Charging,” that suggests in addition to purchase price and insufficient consumer awareness around EVs, the lack of adequate charging infrastructure continues to slow the transition to mass EV adoption. Where people live, work and how they travel will ultimately influence the pace of EV adoption and the necessary charging infrastructure.
Autonomous vehicle technology, meanwhile, could become more focused on the last-mile delivery in the short and near term, with more focus on autonomous devices like drones and delivery robots gaining traction in more urban environments. Hannon noted that this is one of the bright spots for autonomous during the pandemic, which has the potential to be more efficient and brings more options for contactless delivery solutions.
Meanwhile, many companies are reevaluating their sustainability strategies to emerge from the pandemic more resilient and more environmentally conscious, noted Hannon, with more companies taking a deep dive into their core purpose, which is often defined around sustainability and ESG policies (Environment Social Governance). He noted that companies with strong ESG policies seem to have been more resilient during the shutdown and delivered better performance. (Read more on creating strategic sustainability goals in the online NACS resource, “Making Sustainability Convenient.”)
Eichberger agreed that more attention will be devoted to corporate social responsibility strategies. “I think we’ll see a higher level of CSR, ESG and attention to detail,” he said, adding that the pandemic shutdown may be a temporary blip, but it’s resetting mindsets. As a result, “we’ll likely see a movement toward more sustainable business models.”
Chris Blasinsky, who has been working from home since March 13 and driven her car roughly 30 miles since, is the NACS content communications strategist. She can be reached at email@example.com, and on Twitter and LinkedIn.


text:
Google announced today that it has begun to support physical beacons in its Chrome browser for Android.
The feature, which has been tested in the iOS app since last summer, is heading to Chrome 49 for Android soon. It enables users to opt in to interact with and receive content from nearby Bluetooth-enabled beacons in public places like shops, sports stadiums, schools, etc.
Support is initially coming to the beta version of Chrome for Android, so it’ll just hit a selection of the app’s total user base at first, but it will roll out to the stable version over time.
Physical beacons offer a different marketing approach for companies that’s only just being realized today. Google’s blog post highlights a number of examples already, including how a school uses beacons to distribute class notes, how beacons were deployed at CES to replace marketing brochures, and how the Golden State Warriors pass highlight videos to fans over the air. That’s really just the surface being scratched right now, and enabling beacon interaction in Chrome for both iOS and Android is a major step toward opening future opportunities.
Beacons are likely to be a hot topic in 2016, and there are a number of tech companies pioneering the concept with hardware and software. Estimote, the company rumored to be working with retail giant Target, recently closed a $10.7 million Series A round, while there’s SoftBank-backed Swirl Networks, which raised an $18 million Series C last year, and Gimbal, a beacon company that was spun out of tech giant Qualcomm in 2014, in the mix, too.
That’s quite all from Google today, though. Furthering its push into connecting the physical and online worlds, Google has created an Internet of Things Technology Research Award Pilot.
Citing difficulties around interoperability, user privacy, and managing interaction, Google said it is inviting university researchers to participate in the pilot via four to eight week experiments. Would-be takers have until the end of February to submit their proposals for inspection. Full details are on the Google Research blog here.


text:
O.C. Schulz & Sons ready for the Red River Valley potato season
O.C. Schulz & Sons Inc. understands a vital key to success is simply doing the right thing, for a long time. Longevity is synonymous with the fifth-generation family potato farm, which has made a name for itself growing, packing and shipping spuds from the Red River Valley.
“My great-grandfather homesteaded here,” said Dave Moquist, a partner in the Crystal, ND-based company. “Now we have the next generation involved.”
While Moquist and the Schulz team think they’ve seen it all, that doesn’t mean the days are boring. “This time of year, we’ve got guys on the farm fixing trucks and doing what we need to get going,” said Moquist.
Everyone pitches in, whether the need is in the warehouse or outside clearing snow from the most recent blizzard. “There’s a new challenge every day; right now it’s getting roads cleared so we can get trucks in and out,” he said.
Schulz & Sons specializes in red and yellow potatoes and utilizes sugar beets, wheat and soybeans for rotational purposes. “We raise 1,200 acres of potatoes for the fresh market,” said Moquist. The breakdown is 70 percent reds and 30 percent yellows. “We’ve been at that split for a few years now, it’s all demand-based so we grow with the market,” he added.
“A majority of our potatoes go out A-sized, both colors,” he said. “We work hard to not do damage to the potatoes, so we don’t have too many No. 2s, but there’s always some misshapen or with growth cracks.”
Schulz is currently seeing a strong market for potatoes this year, “partly based on the supply of russets being down some, so we’re seeing stronger demand for reds and yellows to help fill that gap,” Moquist said. “Price-wise that puts us all on a more equal basis between the colors.”
News on the farm is the addition of a new packingline, fit with new electronic grader and sizer. “We’re still fine-tuning, making adjustments as we go, but are getting closer to a finished product as it relates to bagging and sizes,” he said.
The rain-fed potato farm is dependent on the Red River Valley’s good weather and stable snowpack. “This year we’ve had more normal yields, last year was down due to drought, but we have good supplies and we’re here to sell them,” he said.
With a good crop this year, Schulz started shipping in October and expects to go through May. “We start as soon as we can and go until we’re through them,” said Moquist.


text: Mitas bicycle tires are planning a series of new products for the coming season. Road cycling fans are sure to be delighted by a completely new 25-622 (700x25C) road tire, which will be the fi rst Mitas tubeless ready (i.e. Tubeless Supra) road tire and be launched to market with a completely new tread design. Mitas will also offer tubeless ready e-MTB tires of 29- and 27.5-inch sizes and in the “plus” widths of 2.6 to 2.8 inches. “We are also working on a facelift for the pivotal V96 Scylla tread, which after ten years on the market deserves a new but just as functional appearance,” says Pavel Nosek, head of marketing at MITAS Bicycle Tires & Tubes. The plan is also to change the design of the labels on the sidewalls of the Elite category mountain bike tires.


text:
MUMBAI: The Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) has welcomed the Union Budget 2007-08 for continuation of Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) scheme during the Eleventh Plan; the Texprocil Chairman, Mr Prem Malik told BT News here on March 2.
Mr Prem Malik has appreciated the government for understanding the prime role of TUFS in the much needed modernization and scaling-up of manufacturing facilities in the textile sector.
He pointed out that the single most important factor inhibiting technology upgradation has been the high cost of capital.
According to him, the enhanced outlay of Rs. 911 Cr under the scheme (from Rs.535 crore in 2006-07) will not be adequate to meet with investment requirements to spur the efforts at modernization.
He hoped that the outlay will be increased to at least Rs 1500 Cr for the year in order to build world class, state-of-the-art, production capacities and enable India to become a global player in world trade.
He was also confident that the proposal to increase the provision for textile parks under Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) from Rs.189 crore in 2006-07 to Rs.425 crore in 2007-08 will strengthen the manufacturing base in the Textile sector.
He also welcomed the reduction in the peak rate of custom duty for non-agricultural products from 12.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
He was optimistic that the reduction in customs duty on polyester fibres and yarns from 10 per cent to 7.5 per cent will provide the much needed fillip to the exports of blended textile products where currently India has a negligible presence in the world markets.
Mr.Malik was however disappointed that some issues like reduction in import duty on Textile Machinery, reduction in Excise Duty on Textile Machinery to 8% from the present level of 16%, reduction in mandatory excise duty on MMF fibre, reduction in transaction costs did not find any mention in the Finance Ministerís Budget Speech.
He hoped that these issues will be considered favourably by the Government before passing the Finance Bill.


text:
|Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback||
Novell proposes .dir name for directories
(IDG) -- Novell Inc. last week proposed a new Internet domain that would make it easier for companies engaged in e-commerce to integrate corporate directories.
The plan is drawing both praise and heavy criticism.
Novell is pushing a ".dir" global Top Level Domain (TLD) that would identify a company's directory to its business partners and allow integration of user identity data from multiple companies.
Novell made the proposal as part of an effort by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to add new TLDs to the Internet's Domain Name System. DNS is a hierarchical database for locating servers on the Internet.
DNS would be used to locate directories, but questions remain about how the directories would be integrated. Novell's proposal includes using its proprietary technology, called federated directories, which will ship this month in the company's eDirectory 8.5.
"The intent is to have a place where we can pull together all directories," says Winston Bumpus, director of open technologies and standards at Novell. He is also chairman of the Directory Interoperability Forum (DIF) within The Open Group vendor consortium. "We want the directory visible in a standard way. All DNS is doing is providing a rendezvous point so directories can talk to each other."
With .dir, a company's directory would be identified by the .dir extension at the end of its domain name. For example, a company called Magnet Parts could use the domain www.magnetparts.com.dir.
"I think .dir is a great idea," says Richard Reid, manager of worldwide messaging and directory services at True North Communications, an advertising agency in Chicago. "Businesses will know that everything in that TLD is a directory and that you can work with it."
One vendor agrees that .dir could be the point of entrance into a company's directory.
"Any company like Coca-Cola should have a .dir domain," says Blair Thomas, vice president of marketing at NetPro Computing Inc., a directory management company in Phoenix.
Although observers say .dir is a clever idea, some believe Novell is trying to make an end run around standards.
Mark Wahl, co-chairman of DIF's Service Provider Directory-Enabled Network Applications working group and Sun Microsystems Inc.'s chief architect of unified user management services for iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions, says DIF isn't behind Novell's proposal.
Furthermore, Wahl says Sun wasn't aware of the proposal and that "today's domain names work fine for mail, Web, directory and [business-to-business] applications. [Sun/Netscape's] iPlanet recommends the use of the Internet Engineering Task Force's RFC 2247 and traditional domain names," he says.
"There are standard and DNS extension specifications being developed in the IETF that can help the Domain Name System integrate better with directories," he adds. "These specifications are easy to deploy with existing DNS names and don't need the creation of a new domain name space."
Bumpus insists his company had no intention of sidestepping standards.
"We wanted to get [the proposal] out there because ICANN had set a short deadline," Bumpus says. "Novell wants to set a baseline for interoperability based on IETF standards, and the DIF allows for that to happen."
Critics of the proposal also question what they see as the subversion of DNS for commercial purposes.
"Why is everyone looking to ICANN to rubber-stamp their business models?" says Rick Wesson, CEO of Alice's Registry in Santa Cruz, Calif., a consulting firm for ICANN-accredited registrars. "Novell wants to create a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol [LDAP] root, but it doesn't need a TLD to do that. It can build the same infrastructure under the existing DNS domains."
For instance, Novell could encourage that directories be advertised using the LDAP port 389, just like the Web uses port 80. Messages from dir.novell.com could be sent on port 389, which would be recognized as an LDAP server, says Thomas.
Novell says establishing a TLD is important because it would guarantee the type of site that uses the .dir domain. The proposed .dir is a so-called chartered domain and would require .dir applicants to be fully compliant with LDAP 2000, an LDAP conformance test sponsored by DIF.
However, there are no LDAP 2000-compliant directories at the moment. Only Novell, Netscape Communications Corp., Critical Path and Oracle Corp. have promised that their directories will pass the compliance test when it is available by year's end.
"People do want to open up their back-end systems to all their constituents outside the organization," says Gordon Eubanks, CEO of directory integrator Oblix Inc. in Milpitas, Calif. "To do that, however, you have to make sure you are talking to a standard, not a brand."
Eubanks says .dir could become a standard method for directory interoperability.
Other experts also question Novell's motivation for pushing .dir.
"This is not a bad idea in and of itself," says Jamie Lewis, CEO of The Burton Group in Midvale, Utah. "Users need a unique way to identify directory trees on the Internet, and maybe a domain name is the way to do that. But right now, Novell is in go-it-alone mode and has what amounts to [a proprietary] e-directory-to-e-directory proposal."
Lewis says Novell should take a leadership role on directory standards.
"Novell should open up the mechanism it has developed for federated directories using DNS and publish it to a standards body, then stand back and live with the results," he says.
Microsoft Corp., also a DIF member, says it hadn't heard of .dir until Novell made its proposal, but LDAP 2000 will provide users with only base-level functionality, such as query processes.
"From what we know about .dir, Novell is addressing about 20% of customer problems and hiding its real intentions behind standards," says Shanen Boettcher, lead product manager for Windows 2000.
Microsoft also says Novell has yet to prove how communication between directories will be secure.
Internet group invites public comment on new domain names
RELATED IDG.net STORIES:
Directories meet e-commerce
|Back to the top||
© 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.